tushanshu | seven : a scary conversation [AUDIO]

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seven : a scary conversation [AUDIO]

[Hayley sighs a little, then sounds mostly disappointed. Those paying close attention can probably tell it masks a level of anger.]

Seriously? Is no one talking about the whole people getting murdered thing?

[ooc: Action for Superman is in first thread]

[100% Trek encrypted to: Clark]
[There's the longest pause before she speaks, extremely quiet and definitely scared.]

So I, uh.. was dead.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Lois]
[Her voice is mostly level when she messages Lois, but clearly hiding something less neutral.]

I know you and Clark tell each other everything, so whatever. I need some time off from the radio.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Bruce Banner]
You need to see something. Can you come over later?

[100% Trek encrypted to: Dick Grayson (comics)]
You know, you never actually told me who your family members are.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Jason Todd]
Tell me you're not too busy for a drink.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Maxwell Lord]
[There's a pause, then Hayley sounds more pleasant.]
Hey.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Chekov]
Will you help teach me how to encrypt things? I want to learn.

[100% Trek encrypted to: Loki]
What makes a soul any different from just like, memories and neurons and whatever?

[100% Trek encrypted to: Jor-El] - (added a short while later)
You have all the same powers Superman does, right?

[100% Trek encrypted to: Bruce Wayne] - (added a short while later)
I'm sorry, about work. I just need a few more days off and then I'll come back. Please?

[Assume she hasn't shown up the last week or so.]

[100% Trek encrypted to: Sabriel] - (added a short while later)
I want to learn magic.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Finally, after what seemed like a much longer day than it actually was, Hayley sent a message to Jor-El saying simply 'I'm ready.' While it didn't frighten her too much to be alone in meeting people at seedy bars or dark alleys, the idea of walking to her teacher's suite in the evening was uncomfortable. She isn't sure if that was when she died or if it's simply an appropriate level of fear returning to her after recklessness. Either way, she feels better having the escort.

Now considerably more presentable, though still a hint pale and clearly exhausted, the girl slips her taser into her back pocket again. She doesn't want the extraneous items she normally carries with her in her bag and she feels no need to hide the weapon right now. If anything, she wants to get a hold of something better and more potent. But until then, this will have to do.

Then she's pacing by the door, waiting for him to arrive.]

[He leaves shortly after receiving the message, arriving at Hayley's suite within a few minutes; superspeed and flight (careful, as he was still cautious of both, the ability to fly moreso) bringing him there much sooner than he would have arrived at a normal walking speed.

Upon locating Hayley's suite, he knocks carefully at the door.]

Hayley? I am here.

[Hayley freezes at the knock, her body immediately tensing as she looks to the door. At his voice, her muscles relax and she steps forward to open the door for him. She gives him a small smile, weaker than her usual fare, then steps outside and locks up behind her. There's no ceremony in greeting him, no glamor in the way she won't quite let him out of her sight, no comfort in how she seems to jump at every little noise.]

Thanks. [She drops her gaze from him to their path, keeping him in her peripherals and allowing him to lead the way. She's quieter, even in her presence, much of her vitality and spirit seemingly drained away.]

You are welcome, Hayley.

[He makes no comments on her behavior, says nothing to try to comfort her, only observing. The only concession being rarely more than arm's length- her arm's length- away. Close enough for her to reach him if she felt the need, for whatever reason.]

Have you eaten yet?

[While she used a meal time to indicate when she would contact him, it did not necessarily mean that in this state she would have actually eaten.]

[She walks along with him in silence, grateful for the proximity though she would never ask for it. When he asks about her eating, she cringes slightly and gives him a brief expression of guilt, as if just being caught breaking a long established rule. Hayley has picked at the food in her house over the week, but purchased nothing new and been lucky to manage two mediocre meals per day.]

Not really.

[The admission is quiet. She doesn't want to lie to him, but she doesn't want to talk about where she's been or what she's been doing either.]

[Her actions are still her own. He has no need or responsibility to ask further if she does not provide the answer herself; he is, after all, not her guardian, though he has taken interest in her well-being.]

When we arrive, you are welcome to help yourself to the kitchen if you are hungry.

[She can feel that tension building in the back of her mind again, that expectation for the golden period of Jor-El to end and the darkness to creep in. He's too perfect for her needs, too much like the imaginary, cinematic image of the mentor that helps the kid get to college, realize their true love, and succeed at life. But no one's such a celluloid image and she doesn't trust it to last.]

Yeah, maybe. [For as hungry as she actually is, the idea of trying to put together a meal is unappealing. Or maybe it's the idea of making herself too comfortable in his home.] I might just try to sleep.

[As far as his mentoring of her goes goes, he thinks it completely within reasonable bounds- it's only luck that Hayley does not need more from him than he provides.]

Whatever you need.

[He does not think of the suite as 'home', that will always be reserved for the citadel on Krypton.]

Take the time you require to process everything. [It's said gently, as though almost a reminder, a comment regarding observation instead.]

[Her weak smile returns with his kindness and disappears with his concern to be replaced by a small frown. Part of the idea of coming with him is the hope that he won't remind her of what happened. If he starts pushing her the way she knows Clark and Lois would have, she'll find somewhere else.]

I'm fine. [It's a cold and clipped reply, clearly disinterested in his suggestion.]

[It's very obvious that she is not, has not been, and likely will not be for the neat future, but if it is the coping mechanism she has chosen to stay with, he will not try to force her to open up further than she has already. The fact she admitted it happened had likely been trial enough.]

Very well.

[It is a simple enough matter to continue on the way to his suite, still keeping close to her, being careful and deliberate in their route- well lit where possible, and never paths that were completely devoid of others going from place to place.]

[Hayley frowns at his words, bracing herself for the inevitable follow up. But it never comes. He never pushes her, never insists she's lying - even though it's obvious she is - or clamors to push care on her. It's not entirely what she expected in coming to stay with him, but she's grateful for it.

Now, as long as Superman doesn't come visit while she's there, they'll be fine.]

I'm sorry if I like.. interrupted any plans or whatever. [Not really. Hayley just wants something to talk about other than herself. She wants to play the passive girl, the one people want to look out for and protect. She needs that, if something happens again.]

[What she needs now and what she needs in general are far different things; even with quickly as he realized that he had died and been brought back to life, all that followed after his arrival had prevented him from thinking on it as much as he would have otherwise. Pushing her to think or talk further on her death would not help her in this state.

It had taken time before he had been ready to inform the other members of his family present, after all.]

You had not.

[While there were things he was working on, and plans nearing completion with regards to the technology division for Wayne Enterprises, there had been nothing to interrupt; that required a more focused schedule than he had here.]

[Hayley accepts the reply with a tacit appreciation. While interrupting any plans wouldn't particularly change her mind about staying with him, the fact that she's primarily unobtrusive in this circumstance is a benefit to her. He's less likely to associate her with the difficulty her presence brings if it brings none at all.

The two walk in silence for some time, Hayley's gaze shifting from reserved and focused on the road to darting between everyone they pass. She's clearly unnerved by their vulnerability in the open, but she says nothing of it.

Jor-El can't fly like Tony can - to her knowledge - and he doesn't present the comfort of Bruce's hand leading her through the nightmare. He's a mentor and, as such, she chooses to keep him at a distance the same way in which he leaves her at arm's length. For all the time they've spent together, they know so little about each other.

After some time, Hayley stops suddenly. She lifts a hand to her hair, tugging gently at the short strands with frustration.] How can you be so calm?

[He's too observant for her to truly ever become unobtrusive; even her simply being there would be impossible to ignore; whether he had something else to do or not, he would still be mindful of her presence.

Even though he has formed closer relationships to others here since his arrival, ones that in many ways have much more warmth than most that he ever had on Krypton, with Hayley he had defaulted to that standard; in many ways her behavior was reminscient of that of the people of his home, more so than either of the Kal-Els, Kara, and Kon-El.

Her sudden stop and question, the ready frustration, however, reminds him that even if she were Kryptonian, the reasoning behind his treatment of her right now, with her still in shock, is tenuous at best. If not for the wholly unexpected presence of family here, he himself would have likely withdrawn completely. Had attempted to even afterwards, in fact, when approached by others.

He sets a hand gently on her shoulder, lightly enough that if she were to step away or otherwise move it would easily remove herself from it.]

I died before I arrived here.

[The words are quiet, straightforward. Matter of fact. He has had time to recover from it, enough to be able to tell her.]

[Hayley expects a rational response, a lecture on controlling your emotions or the rational mind. She expects him to be sympathetic, as he is with the hand on her shoulder, but not the words that follow. Many of her theories shift and fall into place, painting a more complete picture of the man. Her immediate thought is to ask if Kal died too, but it's not right, not now.

His touch feels like a weight and, though she doesn't move to withdraw from it, her shoulder tenses below his touch. As much as she trusts him not to harm her - and she does, almost entirely, or she wouldn't be staying with him now -, there's a part of her that knows how quickly he could kill her if he wanted to and it puts her ill at ease in some vague way.]

I didn't know. [The reply is softer, frustration dissipated with the unexpected turn. Now she sounds curious, though still tired.] I didn't even know people could die before they came here. I mean, I heard people saying they did, but I wasn't sure.. [She shakes her head before she trails off too far.] And you remember it? You remember what happened?

[He leaves it there for the moment, waiting on whether or not she untenses with time- if she shows no signs of untensing, he will remove his hand from her shoulder; there's no need to distress her unnecessarily.]

I had little intention of burdening you with the knowledge. [Under the circumstances now, however, instead of a burden, hopefully it will help her own recovery instead.]

I do. [Even now, the memory is still painfully sharp, Dru-Zod's long thin blade slipping through his ribcage a sensation that will never entirely fade from his consciousness, conjoined with the all-too aware knowledge that with their actions just as he felt betrayed by Zod piercing him with that blade, Zod too had felt the same, their actions contrasting in parallel, mutually incompatible; where Zod sought to kill to preserve their people, he had sought to bring to life to do the same.]

[The light touch is discomforting, so Hayley consciously shift slightly to lift her shoulder against his hand. It's her silent way of expressing acceptance for the affection behind the gesture, rather than the hollow touch it was before. With that movement, her shoulder begins to relax.

It annoys her a little that Jor-El was hiding his death for fear of burdening her. Not only is it a selfish choice, but it serves as a reminder of how little she knows him and throws into sharp focus just how little he trusts her. The girl makes a mental note to work on improving that.

Her expression shows none of that, however, working instead to express concern for his loss. To have died before is a seemingly rare and horrifying experience, the parallel instantly drawing them closer at least in some small way. Never mind the philosophical implications of souls and clones and all those things she's trying to ignore.]

Can I.. [She scrunches up one side of her mouth, not sure if she's making a mistake.] Will you tell me what happened? Or is that too..? [A vague gesture.]

[With her moving into the contact, he grasps her shoulder somewhat now, actually applying light pressure with his touch.

He notices the concern on her face, which he takes as an encouraging sign. Even if she is not interested in thinking further on her own death and resurrection, the fact that she is asking with regards to his own is a promising sign.

He has had time enough to come to terms with having died (if not what resulted in it) that he is willing to tell her.]

We should continue on before it gets any later, but yes, I will.

[He moves to begin walking again, keeping his hand on her shoulder. Unless she asks or moves out from under it, he will leave it there for the rest of the walk to his suite.]

[Though she'll never admit to it, his hand on her shoulder is some small measure of the comfort she's been longing for. The tangible reassurance of his presence and her physical safety is alluring and she makes no effort to end the contact.

She gives a small nod and immediately begins to walk with him again, matching his pace for the most part. Occasionally, she unconsciously speeds up, anxious with a particular intersection or the sight of some individual, but never out of his reach. Not a minute later into their journey, her body is much more at ease.]

[Only when they reach his suite does he release his hand from her shoulder, both to open the door and allow her to enter.

Once they are inside, he begins to speak.]

Krypton had long grown stagnant by my time. Our resources were depleted, and rather than search elsewhere, against my recommendation they decided to harvest from the planet's core, which destabilized it.

I was not the only one who was against the council's decisions; far from it. A former friend of mine was also discontent with the direction the council was taking us in, with their refusal to accept change. We had contrasting opinions, however, on how it should be resolved, which had led to our falling out. His was not peaceable.

The day he undertook his coup was also the day my wife and I launched Kal-El's ship to save him from the rest of the planet's fate. He discovered our plans while we were in the midst of preparations.

In his effort to stop the launch, we fought, and he killed me.

[There were certain details that were better off left unmentioned, such as what led to Zod pursuing him in the first place. It was for the better that as few people as possible learned of the codex. The manner of his death was, though personal, in the grand scheme of things here insignificant. It was already readily apparent that the majority of those who knew of Kal-El were already aware that he had been the last of his kind, at least elsewhere.]

[She follows him as obedient as a four-legged companion for the moment, though never feeling like one. When they arrive, she steps into his suite when he opens the door for her and immediately begins looking around. Hayley crosses her arms unconsciously when he begins to speak, turning to look at him again.

Where most others had known of Kal-El's arrival on Earth as a single Kryptonian man, Hayley is oblivious to it. She met Supergirl before Superman here anyway. At the moment, however, she's focused on Jor-El's own story and his loss.]

Is that when you came here? [She asks softly, arms tightening around herself at the thought of trying to deal with someone like this place after death without knowing people here. But then, of course, Jor-El had his son.]

Yes, it is.

[His response is gentle; as much keeping matching the volume of her voice as it is in remembering that she had been among the first responses to his request for aid on the network.]

[She nods and the memory of his first post to the network comes to mind. He seemed hurt or unwell then. Back when he was only a tool to get to Superman. Now he's a mentor and, at this exact moment, a salvation. While she doesn't feel regret for using him, she begrudges how much more complicated everything has become.]

How did you.. I mean, it couldn't have been easy.

[He had been. Even when he had responded to the replies, he still was having difficulty from breathing in a different atmosphere, and still recovering from shock.]

I was unwilling to make mention of it for some time. It was only during the time Tu Vishan went underwater and the barrier connected us to Sinbrilee that I finally informed Kal-El.

[And the rest of his family here. His voice is patient, allowing her to ask questions as needed, or wanted.]

[That actually catches Hayley off guard and the shock shows on her face. She figured he would have told his son when Kal-El arrived to help him that first day, or maybe within a few days. That he waited so long suddenly makes her feel much less selfish for allowing herself a week to grieve. Simultaneously, it surprises her that he would tell her so soon after informing his own family, it having only been a couple months since then. Maybe less.]

Why are you telling me? [The question is sincere, and she doesn't need to ask why he would wait. Rather:] What made you finally tell him?

seven : a scary conversation [AUDIO]

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