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.

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[Her opening the door takes him by surprise, but it's okay. He can do doors. He's just gotten into the habit of entering using the window because it's easier to do that when you're flying.

Plus some people do leave their windows open, but no one has their doors open for flying aliens to enter their houses.]

I'm glad you're alright. [It's the first thing he says when he steps inside, glancing at the screens and grateful for that little sunshine. He's charged, there's no risk for him to lose his powers... but he always feels weird in complete darkness, away from the sun.]

[A chill runs down the girl's spine and she straightens and stiffens with the sensation. She's simultaneously nervous and relieved to have Superman standing before her again, here because she called. She's still not sure why she did, other than for the reassurance having a super powered superhero in her living room.]

I'm fine. [She knows it wasn't a question, but she's unwilling to thank him for the remark. Her mere existence is a vulnerability right now, so showing additional feelings are that much more difficult. Hayley shifts her weight.]

I don't- I don't know why I called you here. I guess you can just go. [Her embarrassment at having called him for no particular reason - not one she can admit to, at least - is hidden beneath her exhaustion and fear, her expression one mainly of weary apathy.]

[Kal is careful not to let her show his worry. Hayley calling him because she needs help wouldn't have been weird or worrying. Calling him simply to ask questions, or even to talk to him about how the murderer had managed to get her wouldn't have been either.

But simply calling him like that, to have a chat with him... it's not that he minds, that's not really it. It's just that it feels weird, somehow- maybe because Hayley doesn't usually allow herself to be vulnerable unless she will get something out of it.

Because while Kal might not be aware at the moment of how manipulative Hayley can be, he's very much aware that she sometimes plays up the little girl act to get him to do or say something. He just doesn't mind, if it's the way she has to get close to people.]

I can just- stay here for a while, if you need someone to be here? Or talk to you. Or- leave, of course, if you want me to.

Oh, uh.. [Hayley lifts both hands to wrap around her neck, her default posture when immensely stressed.

The sheer level of exhaustion is visible in every way she presents herself, but the way her senses are on edge and her nerves are frayed is harder to spot. The only reason she said anything at all was because she reached a point where the agony of doing nothing and being alone was worse than admitting to what happened. But she still doesn't want to talk about it.

While having Superman here provides the physical safety she fears lacking, she doesn't trust him enough to open up.] I can make you some coffee, I guess. If you drink coffee. I'm not really.. doing anything.

Edited 2013-10-14 05:57 (UTC)

[He gives her a smile. He'd actually rather have tea, he's the biggest Earl Grey fan there is- but he isn't going to be rude.]

Sure, if you don't mind? Don't feel like you have to do that because I'm here though, I really don't mind staying around until you feel safe.

It has nothing to do with feeling safe. [She snaps back immediately, without even thinking.

Of course it does. Hayley's terrified and now that she's finally reaching out to communicate with others, she's desperate for the comfort of a familiar - and very strong - presence with her. But her existing vulnerability makes it near impossible just to admit to wanting help, let alone just how scared she is.

She frowns deeply, dismayed both at her retort and how obvious her fear obviously is, but she says nothing more. Instead, the girl moves off towards the kitchen to set about making coffee. She has to focus on what she's doing to still her hands, her fingers shaking slightly with the discomfort of having someone super powered in the other room.

There's no doubt in her mind that she trusts Superman, but there's something about his presence that sets her ill at ease. Maybe knowing that Clark and Lois will find out everything she says here, that the hero is practically married to the two.

Focusing on the coffee, she calls out to him.] Shouldn't you be busy saving a puppy or something?

[He tilts his head, the curl falling to his side. He'd liked talking to Hayley from day one because of how smart she is, how quick she is to adapt to everything around her, how she seemed to be interested in everything as long as she could keep on gathering information.

But there's always a little part of her he doesn't see, as if he's trying to see the dark side of the moon. It's always little snaps like this that make him pause, make him consider what is she actually hiding. He isn't stupid, he knows it has something to with a man, a stronger man. A man Clark sometimes reminds her of, if he isn't careful.

You are not my father.]

There are no puppies in Keeliai, and the only kitten there is around the turtle happens to be in very good hands. There are no disasters going on, nothing that requires my immediate attention.

Why are you so reluctant to admit you want to feel safe? It's not unusual, or something to be ashamed of. And there's only you and I, and I promise I wouldn't judge you.

[Hayley works quietly in the kitchen, setting about to warming up the coffee she brewed not long before and grabbing a couple mugs for them. It's more comfortable being a room away from him, where her every expression isn't under study and scrutiny.

At his reply about puppies and the kitten, she actually smiles a little, but it immediately disappears as he continues. She thinks for a second, then calls out again.] Why don't you want anyone having the Kryptonite? It has nothing to do with judgment.

[The answer itself is simple, but rife with deeper meanings. In its own way, it's one of the most sincere and explanatory reasons she's given to anyone on the turtle. If he reads it right, he'll understand that vulnerability is her Kryptonite and that the worst thing is to have it available, regardless of trust.]

Edited 2013-10-19 22:06 (UTC)

[He will make sure to not mention that the wall makes no difference for him then, he can easily still see her every movement if he wants to- but he's respecting her privacy because that's what she needs right now.]

It's different when it's the only thing that can hurt you and you have enemies that would stop at nothing to kill you.

[But Kal's an expert at double-meanings. You can't be a hundred per cent honest while leading a double identity and not learn how to play around with words, and he'd been in love with the written word long before that. The hidden meaning of her words doesn't escape him.]

And you're wrong, by the way. There is someone I trust with Kryptonite.

[Hayley actually rolls her eyes at that, because he still doesn't understand. In some ways, vulnerability is the only thing that can hurt her. Physical harm hurts, of course, but death took a sense of safety from her that anything less than that couldn't. It's the only thing that hurts. And she has plenty of people that would use it against her. No, it's not exactly the same, but in her teenage mind, it's still her own Kryptonite.

She finishes pouring a couple mugs and moves back into the room with him, plastering a neutral expression on her features before entering. Hayley offers him one of the mugs.

His comment is so overtly unfinished that her knee-jerk reaction is not to buy into it, not to allow him to finish that thought. But the curiosity is too strong and, for once, she can't entirely help herself.] Who?

[When Hayley enters the room again he's simply hovering on the air with his legs crossed, as if the air was the most comfortable chair he could find. It's weird how he simply ends up using his powers when he's wearing the suit he isn't even conscious of it. It's like a change of mindset he isn't even aware of until someone points it out. When the S-shield is on his chest, he's Superman and that's final.]

My best friend. [The answer is quick and without giving it much thought. He had long since stopped trying to pretend Batman wasn't his friend back at home- they had even filled in for each other in each other's cities, Batman had been used to get to Superman and viceversa... it would be even harder to deny their friendship. Here in the turtle it could maybe had been easier, but Kal had a hard time pretending not to be close to someone he'd called a brother. They hadn't even tried- or at least Kal hadn't even tried and Bruce had gone with it.

Admitting Batman is the one who had Kryptonite on the turtle is a bit harder. Again, it hadn't been a secret that Batman had the biggest amount of Kryptonite put together on Earth. And it wasn't like Bruce wasn't able to handle the secret identity thing, even if everyone on the turtle knew Batman had Kryptonite it would still be hell for them to really figure out who really had it, and where.

He realizes he'd already taken a decision before he'd even started listing the pros and cons when he sees he hadn't even bothered with the cons. He wants Hayley to trust him, and he trusts Batman enough to know he's hidden the Green K enough for it to not be a danger unless Bruce himself wants it to.]

Ever heard of Batman?

[Hayley hesitates and eyes him when she first catches sight of him hovering, but once she's handed over one of the mugs, she settles back into her own space. She takes a seat on the arm of the nearby couch, watching him. His flight reminds her again of Tony's rescuing of her, or his transportation of her to her suite at least. But she quickly shakes it out of her mind to focus on Superman's words.

Batman? Is someone actually called- Then it occurs to her that the shadow taunting her in Sinbrilee had a symbol much like a bat on his chest and the pointed ears to match. She frowns. If Superman's best friend is the guy who was playing Twenty Questions with her, it's no wonder he didn't want her to let Jeff kill himself.]

I think I met him.

[She answers honestly, distracted in the moment by how weird the guy was and how much she wanted to meet with him again now, to take him up on his offer.]

[That gets Kal to raise an eyebrow.] Did you? Because then you should consider yourself lucky. Batman is... well, he's my best friend but even I have to admit the man is kind of a recluse. It's hard to get a glimpse at him, let alone meet him unless you're a criminal.

[Which should be a flashing red light with 'danger' written in it and an alarm for everyone else, but Kal just assumes the girl got lucky. He knows Hayley hides more than what she shows when it comes to him, but the extremes she's able to get haven't even crossed his mind.

Mostly because she's doing her job right: Kal does see her as the little girl she pretends to be. Smart girl, clever girl, but still a little girl to his eyes.]

Well... I've known him for decades. We didn't always see face to face but now he's my best friend and... I trust him with my life, quite literally.

It was in Sinbrilee, in one of the other planes. [She offers as explanation, hoping that will distract Superman from the idea that she might be a criminal. Hayley doesn't consider herself one, but she's smart enough to know that not everyone would agree and is fairly confident that someone like Superman would have his own judgments to offer.] I don't think either of us meant to be there.

[She gives a one-shouldered shrug before taking a sip of her coffee. Kal's explanation of trusting the Batman is strange when compared with the shadow of a man that she met. If they really are the same person, then Superman might be very different than she had believed.]

But would he kill you if he had to, to save other peoples' lives?

I see.

[He does, he'd ended up visiting... a lot of other people's realms during the trip to Sinbrilee. And Bruce himself had had to pull him out from his own nightmare. Nothing strikes him as weird about them meeting like that.

But the question makes him pause. Would Bruce be able to kill him?

Part of him wants to say yes, that's the main reason he trusts him with the Kryptonite after all. If the moment came he wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't pull back- he would do what needed to be done because he understood better than anyone Kal would rather die than hurt innocent people- or worse. In his worst moments, when he's looking at the ceiling while lying down in bed and fully aware of how close he's been in the past, how a bit of mind-control or a little spell or a new color of Kryptonite could end it all... knowing Bruce has a bright green ring with Kal's name on it is what gets him to calm down.

But Bruce is his friend, his brother. Bruce doesn't kill, even if he had implied he would let Kal get rid of Lex in his darkest moments, if he so wished. Bruce wouldn't stop at anything to keep his city, his lover, his queen safe and that includes taking care of Kal should he need to.

But the dichotomy between that idea and the man he'd trusted with his wife's life on occasions is had to swallow.]

He would do what needed to be done [He says at last, not completely satisfied with the answer but hoping he will never have to find out.]

[His response paints a different picture than the shadow of the bat man she met herself, the one insisting that a pedophile rapist murderer didn't deserve to die. If the man suggested that a monster like Jeff would live, she had a hard time picturing that he would be willing to kill Superman, whatever the circumstances.]

I hope you're right. [She pulled her feet more tightly against her body in her place on the couch and takes another sip of her coffee, watching him. His hovering continues to unnerve her a little, but it's becoming a little more familiar with time.

The girl allows the silence to stretch between them for a beat before she stops and looks up to him again.] I might trust Clark like that. Maybe.

[Because that was how they got onto the topic of Kryptonite in the first place, discussing who Superman trusted. Hayley doesn't trust anyone from her home life with the truth and doesn't really trust anyone here with it either. Bruce Banner is the closest, given how much he unintentionally knows about her already, but Clark makes for a better story. Shows knows Kal will tell him, and perhaps Lois, and that Clark will think more of her as a result; everyone was too selfish not to take pride in being trusted and a Kansas farm boy like Clark would revel in it.]

Oh?

[Kal shouldn't have almost chocked out in that one syllable, but he did. He's used to Hayley throwing him for a loop by now and he knows her answers will always be unexpected. He's good at reading people but part of Hayley is still a mystery, and that's probably one of the reasons he enjoys her company.

But that admission came out of nowhere, and Clark isn't quite sure what to do with it. He's glad Hayley trusts him, of course... but it's a bittersweet feeling when he's fully aware he knows how much he's hiding from her. How much he's hiding simply by just standing here, hovering in her suite while she's unwittingly talking about him.]

He's a good choice. A man like Kent- he can't be everywhere, but you can always count on him to be there when you tell him you need him.

[He's tasting ashes in his mouth again, like he does every time he hides the truth from her when she isn't manipulating it out of him. 'You hid it from someone like her once, and it backfired' his mind provides, not for the first time.]

Edited 2013-11-12 22:23 (UTC)

[Hayley drops her gaze to her coffee, partially because it's easier to stare at the cup when lying and partially because it plays into the facade of vulnerability more. She tilts the cup in a slow and shallow circle, watching the liquid swirl around a bit, genuinely distracted.]

What if I don't tell him? Like, is he the kind of guy that can know even when I can't talk about it? Or should I try to.. I don't know.. find someone else? I can't- I can't rely on someone who won't be there again.

[The darkening of her tone at the end is intentional, but also sincere. She means to sound traumatized, but Hayley also knows that, to some extent, she is. Ruined by the father who abused her and the mother who looked the other way. She hasn't relied on people since and has never regretted the decision. Even with death, some part of her continues to cling to her belief that it's the right way to live.]

[If Kal could keep a cool head in this kind of situations he would realize the subtle signs Hayley wasn't telling the truth- or more accurately, only telling the parts of the truth that would get Kal to react the way she wanted him to. Hayley might be a master manipulator and an excellent actress, but it's impossible to completely control your body. Not even Bruce can. And when Kal is really, really paying attention to you... it's pretty impossible to lie to him.

But right now she's somehow triggering all of Kal's overprotective mechanisms and he doesn't doubt a word of what she's saying. If he had been in Hayley's situation, if he had died- when he died and came back from death... he had suddenly realized he wasn't completely invulnerable, and even when he got his powers back he started to act more carefully than he'd done before. Kept close to home. Tried to keep everyone he loved close to him, or at least where he could hear him. And Hayley doesn't have superpowers, not to mention she's much younger... it'd even be weird for her to not be feeling like that.]

You shouldn't be asking me all of that, Hayley. You should be asking him, or his wife, or someone who knows him well enough. [He crouches in front of her, careful not to touch her. He's pretty sure physical contact would not be welcoming unless she's the one to initiate it.]

Why are you asking me of all people? What do you exactly expect me to say? I will protect you no matter what, that much you should know. And I won't let you get hurt if it's up to me, physically or otherwise. But if Kent makes you feel safe, if you trust him... then tell him?

[Hayley physically pulls into herself when he approaches. She doesn't back away entirely and yet it's obvious that she's uncomfortable with him being so near to her. Her hands tighten around her cup of coffee as she watches him, refusing to lower her eyes again, refusing to play the victim.]

You know him better than I do. [She answers honestly. For as little as Kal-El might know Clark, the two definitely know each other better than she knows either of them. Following that, her voice hardens and she gives an exaggerated sigh.] Whatever.

Edited (icon) 2013-11-24 23:54 (UTC)

[He hovers away the moment she looks uncomfortable.]

I know his wife, actually. [Because can someone really know oneself? And this might be Clark using philosophy to justify what would be a blatant lie for everyone else. 'I never lie' indeed.]

But you can change that. You can get to know him better- if you let him know you as well.

[She sighs a little at Superman's response about knowing Lois over Clark. It's not the answer she was hoping for. Because of that, Hayley just sits up straighter, reclaiming the space he's left for her. Her response is intentionally defensive.]

Maybe, but are we done with the whole 'sharing is caring' routine? Because, suddenly? You being here's not making me feel a whole lot better.

[For some reason, that rubs Kal the wrong way. He's half tempted to tell her he's not a dog she can just call any time she needs someone to be with her- but the thing is, he kind of is. Any time anyone needs him, for any reason, he will go.

Hayley is just more honest about using him for safety than most.]

Do you want me to go?

[Hayley hops up from the couch, setting her coffee on the table and shrugging off Superman's entire presence in one gesture.]

You can stay if you want. Or you can go? But I have packing to do and places to be, so it's kind of up to you.

[It's the nicest way she can think of to tell him to leave while in her currently angry, depressed, and powerless mood, simultaneously hating him and wanting him nearby.]

I will leave you to it then. But do you... yell, if you need someone to be with you. I can even stay in a separate room, or outside if it would make you feel better.

But you don't have to feel unsafe.

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everylittlegirl - 2013-12-03 01:42 (UTC) - Expand

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andaway - 2013-12-04 19:20 (UTC) - Expand

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seven : a scary conversation [AUDIO]

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