tushanshu | 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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[She looks at him, smiles, and then goes back to poking at the pie.

It's about as much as she'd expect from Clark, one so eager to talk about always being there for her while simultaneously offering no trust or commitment. It might bother her more if she wasn't confident that Tony, Sharon, or herself will find him first. And she's hoping Tony will actually tell her. The last thing their killer deserves is jail.]

[Clark knows something he just did was a mistake. He just can't quite figure out what it was. Or rather, he does... but he doesn't like the implications. If someone so young as her has that kind of views on criminals and murder it's no surprise that everyone who isn't from his world doesn't understand his morals. He doesn't know what to do about it.]

Do you have a lead on the murderer you haven't told me about?

[Hayley looks up and then shakes her head, frowning. At this point, she can't remember much of anything about the murders, try as she might. It's all a dark blur.]

No. I'm hoping the other person killed does.

[A hum as he nods. He wonders if her blurry memory is because of the shock or the attacker knew how to stop her short term memory. Bruce has done it plenty of times. []

You don't remember a pinch of some sort on your shoulder by chance , do you?

[Her brow immediately furrows with clear confusion. It's the kind of question she would ask, so very pointed yet with almost no explanation. Clark isn't supposed to be like that.]

I don't really remember anything right now. Why?

[He realizes his mistake once it's too late, but pretending to know less about things or have less knowledge in general is actually harder than he'd thought when he begun gathering information, back at home.]

Nerves related to short time memory go through it, and the right kind of pinch can make people forget the last- [An indistinct movement of his hand.] well, it depends on the person and the pinch but more less one hour or so, two at the most. I was wondering if that's what they did to you.

[Hayley thinks for a moment, flinches, and then drops her gaze as her expression hardens some.]

I don't think there was a pinch.

[The memories still aren't distinct enough to make any sense of, but it's not the kind of black and gone forgetting that his pinch would suggest. There's a haze there, pieces jumbled that need putting back together with time and energy she simply doesn't possess at present.]

I'm sorry if it made you comfortable, it was just an idea I wanted to check.

No, it's- You're fine. [She takes another bite of the pie and returns to poking it after.] Why did you ask about a pinch though? Is that a superpower or something?

[Clark is done with his own slice, so he gently sets the dish away.]

Hardly. I meant a literal pinch, someone reaching for the nerves I told you about. You don't need a superpower at all if you know the right way to pinch- which I don't, by the way, so I couldn't really show you.

Oh. [She believes him because she has no reason not to. Part of her wonders if it's something he experienced himself or if he maybe knows someone who can do it. Maybe Superman can. The thought makes her uncomfortable, but she pokes her pie with the same enthusiasm.

After a beat, she looks up at him.] Why are you here right now?

Because I failed to protect you, so trying to make you feel better is the next best thing.

[He's being completely honest.]

[The fork stills and Hayley looks up at him, heart suddenly quickening with the anxiety his words bring. That he feels any obligation to protect her, whether sincere or otherwise, means that she's allowing herself to get too close to the man and it makes her nervous.]

You don't have to protect me. [The words are level, disconnected from some level of emotion.]

Did I say I have to? [He can tell the subject is making her uncomfortable right now. He's counting the seconds until he shooos him away with a mention to how he's not her father, or something by the sort. But now that he's started he can't really stop himself.]

You're a friend. And you were killed because I wasn't there to protect you. And I want to make things better, make up for it, but I'm not sure how.

Edited 2014-01-03 23:28 (UTC)

[Hayley looks at him for another long stretch of silence. She has no rational reason to doubt his words when he's been so good to her. Some part of the back of her mind still questions it, still makes her wonder if it's a good idea to rely on someone who might change his mind.]

Thanks. [She replies finally.] Just.. stay for awhile?

[He gives her a gentle smile as he reaches for the dishes.]

I'll clean this up. [Which is his way of saying yes, while still feeling somewhat useful. He'd hate to leave her alone after she's let herself look so vulnerable over the network after all.]

seven : a scary conversation [AUDIO]

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