(open) i know the sun will shine tomorrow

[thisisontherecord]

WHO: Take your pick of Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Jon Kent, Superman, or Superboy + you!
WHEN: End of August through to September Mission start.
WHERE: Etraya (various locations)
WHAT: A catch-all for running into the Kents, the Supers, or the singular Lane.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Specify which folks you're looking to run into in your subject line!

Do you run into one of them:

1. At the apartments near the Hospital? Find them on the top floor.

2. In the food stores (Kwik Trip, 7-11, Bangtang Market, the bot-run restaurants) scattered throughout Etraya? Snacks are at a premium for some of these guys.

3. On a rooftop somewhere in Etraya. Yes, even Lois.

4. Exploring the Daily Planet. It's the wrong one, but it's also what's here.

5. Down in the Catacombs. Why has part of Paris been recreated here, anyway?

6. Wildcard yourself anywhere in Etraya!

Comments

any of u. all of u. does the martial arts movie "come here" hand gesture

[rudelanguage]

[dramatis personae: Pending & Antigone]

2(ish).
[there is an incidental trail of litter from one of the food locales that is, once one notices it before bots do the cleanup, winding its merry way on toward the nearest bridge where a mess of other trash and repurposed, pilfered goods has built up a little transient hideout of sorts at the underpass.

just before it, a tall, green-skinned man with unbrushed, ratty hair is laying supine on the grass just before the decline turns to gravel and water, but he sits up when he hears footsteps. half-awake, he assumes it's another fucking machine trying to gank his shit, so without looking, he picks up an apple core and lobs it over his head in the noise's direction.]

Fuck off.


3.
[atop of the five-story library in Alexandria, a three-foot, pink-furred creature is doing some weird shit with chalk and a planchette. the darker tone to this flat expanse of the building's roof helps the white chalk pop, and Antigone figures barring a flying red-and-black menace she hasn't seen in a while, she's likely not gonna have anyone fly over and say hello because...who fucking cares about her or what she does? she's not stealing! currently!

behold: weird magic symbology and squiggles amidst what appears to be some bit of topographic views of the nearby area. mysterious.]

lois rolling up to take on 2

[thisisontherecord]

( it's like following a bear trail. lois has not exactly done that, but she's seen photographs of it, more from the west coast issues with bears getting into regular house break-ins and needing relocating to safer, no human contact regions.

point is, she's loosely tracking back on the rubbage with an eye for needing to adapt to bear scaring possibilities when instead she sees... some green guy on the grass. there's not much observing before she's batting the apple core that came flying her way out of the air, grimacing at the wet splotch it leaves on her palm. ugh. gross? )

Why? Because you asked so nicely?

( glancing around... she sees this is... sort of a home. huh. this person that big on no faith with housing? relatable if not practical. )

[rudelanguage]

[it likely would not help to know that the mouth that noshed on that apple hasn't brushed their teeth in, uh.......

....


anyway.

anyway, the voice is so un-bot-like that Pending jolts right up in a genuine startle, swinging his head around with wide, jaundiced eyes. WHAT THE--]

Y-- [UHHhhhhHhhhh.

beat.]

...You are not a robot. [congratulations!]

[thisisontherecord]

( she does not need to know the bacteria hell-life she's living one palm closer to right now than ever before.

lois does not look contrite at how startled this person is. she also doesn't come closer, instead sort of... observing him. )

Definitely not a robot. One of the newer abductees.

( she lifts a hand, offering a very small wave. )

Didn't mean to startle you. I was wondering about the... ( she glances back: ) ... trail of debris.

kell-el | open to all!

[kryptonix]

( 2 — food stores )

[ there are just too many choices. as someone who is more used to a block of protein and nutritions maybe every few weeks, the idea of being able to choose and eat what he wants is jarring. even his time in the 34th century hadn't changed that. ]

These cannot be real flavors.

( 3 — daily planet roof )

[ he came here a few times last month. not sure what to make of it. he's a clone. superman's legacy is not his legacy. everyone has made that abundantly clear. he doesn't want to be clark. he's never wanted to be clark.

but where does that leave him? kell-el looks at the globe, pensive. ]

[rudelanguage]

...

[Is this going to be a Heather-thing again, Knife wonders, staring with more scrutiny at this stranger. it's part to see if she, too, is carrying a rat around. maybe some women just carry rats and get on your ass about garbage in some worlds and it's not just a Heather-thing. Knife doesn't know!

meeting her eyes again:] It'll disappear. They pick it up. [the robots.]

roof.

[solarson]

( he’s yet to really explore the inside of this place if he’s honest. mostly, he’s usually been on the roof of it. so when he sees someone… sort of… familiar… there on the roof of it, he drifts his way down to land on the roof instead of at the front of the building on the ground. maybe next time.

donning his superboy uniform, sneakers tap against the rooftop he lands on and he waves a little to kell-el there. does he… remember him? well. only one way to find out! )

Uh… hey! You’re here, too, huh?

[kryptonix]

[ the kid. still weird to see kids with costumes. uncomfortable, even for kell-el. ]

I'll leave if it's a problem.

[ he's not — part of anything anyway. ]

also but separately on the roof? maybe kell is just hanging out there a lot idk

[newsbeat]

[He's only been here a short time, but Clark is already making a habit of flying throughout Etraya, both because he wants to really know this place down to his bones, the way he knows Metropolis from above, and because — well, flying is still fun, even if it also feels very normal after all these years. He hopes that never changes.

He nearly misses the sight of the figure on the roof of the Planet, and it's a split-second decision that has him changing course to touch down there himself. He's not at all sure he'll be welcomed, but — might as well try.]

Hey. Kell-el, right? Or is it just Kell? I don't know what you prefer to be called.

[He and Lois had traded notes, such as they are, and at least he has a name now. Really, it'd been pretty rude of him to not get one back in San Francisco. (Maybe this guy had been a little rude too, but Clark figures that's no excuse for his own behavior.)]

I wasn't at my best when we met before. I saw you from above and thought I'd try again.

[solarson]

( blue eyes blink as he approaches the other, cape gently flowing in the breeze around him. that's a funny and weird thing to say?? )

Uh... no? Why would it be a problem?

w/clark & jon | public sentiment and lex luthor, the conversation

[thisisontherecord]

( Lois hooks her arm through Clark's as soon as he's back in her apartment, smiling up at him in welcome. In fact, let's at least indulge in being affectionate, it's one of the few silver linings she gets with them being here in this whole nonsense situation. She goes up on her toes to plant a kiss on the side of his face, giving his arm a squeeze. )

Hey there.

( Hearing Jon nearby, she turns to look for him, shifting gears with a hint of regret. This isn't going to be fun for anyone, and she doesn't actually think Clark is ready for it. In ways, there are deep unkindnesses being thrust on him for things he had no control over, one after another, because a son he never knew he could have came from a future they may never see and is, by merit of being Superboy, needing information about why that's a redder flag to Luthor's eyes than he could possibly know. )

Did Jon already tell you about the wonderfully terrible advice the Batman gave him?

( This conversation is not going to be one of the pleasant ones, but she'd like to start it out being by his side. )

we are for the food stores

[thisisontherecord]

( Lois tosses another energy or protein bar or something like it into the canvas tote she has hooked over her shoulder, hearing a familiar voice saying something that is, ultimately, relatable. Only she doesn't actually know what he's looking at, so her ask from further away is: )

Is it blue raspberry? Because that's the longest running joke in the States.

2

[newsbeat]

[It's not that the apple core hurts when it bounces off Clark's forehead; it doesn't, and probably wouldn't even if he didn't have immunity to things that hit much harder than half-rotten fruit.

Getting hit an apple core ballista is a pretty new experience, though, enough to prompt Clark to stop in his tracks and raise an eyebrow instead of continuing on. Wow. Rude.]

Hi to you too?

[rudelanguage]

[Again?!

Pending sits upright and twists at the waist, grimacing at a dude in some funny paladin pajamas.]

Uh. Sorry.

[...]

Thought it was a machine.

[newsbeat]

[It's a very pleasant greeting once Clark returns to Lois' apartment (and yeah, he knew she and Jon were in this one thanks to x-ray vision, but it also hadn't occurred to him to let them have some time together and go back to his own place — maybe he'll examine that later and maybe not) but something about it sets him on edge all the same. The immediacy of the greeting, maybe, or a sixth sense to go with the overpowered other five.]

More or less, yeah. Emphasis on the terrible. I appreciate that he was the most straightforward with sharing information when I showed up in San Francisco, but I don't think a guy who wears a mask gets what it's like for those of us who don't.

[Maybe some small part of him wishes Superman did wear a mask, even though not doing so was a key component of never making people wonder who he really was.

Darn it. It had worked so well until Etraya.]

[thisisontherecord]

( Lois nods, keeping an eye on Clark. She deliberately relaxes her body language, because she knows he won't appreciate what she's going to be saying, or possibly even how she says it. )

Even if you had been the masking sort of hero, there are parts of this that wouldn't have been helped. Jon being Superboy all the time is going to be a lot more attention grabbing than a kid who happens to be metahuman around here.

( To a vested and singular audience of Lex Luthor. Best case scenario, Luthor doesn't stick around long and Echo (or whatever) sends him back (or unmakes him, details). Worst case? They're here with Luthor for the long haul.

She lifts her eyebrows a touch: Clark has to know why. Lois pitches her voice a touch lower, stating a case, calm and steady. )

Batman doesn't need to know what he doesn't already know. But it may be better in the long run if Jon does.

[thisisontherecord]

...

( well, okay then? )

Huh. Right. The companion bots had to be in charge of trash collection and disposal, didn't they.

( in the many things she's been thinking about, that had not been... as high on the list. just like sewage. water. electricity. actually what the hell is powering everything anyway? )

Any particular reason you staked out the bridge for a campsite?

[newsbeat]

[Oh. Well, that's still careless, but not actively rude.]

Not last I checked.

[It'd be a heck of a robot that could look so...fleshy, Clark figures. An impressive hypothetical feat, honestly.]

Sorry if I bothered you. I'm just passing through.

[rudelanguage]

[c'mon lady. it's a city. it's a mostly vacant city, but any city willing to call itself a city needs a bum.

anyway:] Easier. Out of the way. Less people. [the perks are endless!

they ended at 3.]

[rudelanguage]

[Pending stares awkwardly at him.]

Okay. [...


...

...

...]

Have fun? [???]

[newsbeat]

I'm aware.

[He agrees. Luthor doesn't need to know who he is or who Jon is to understand that the two of them are connected, and that's all it'll take to spark some very unhealthy interest, Clark is certain. To a degree, it's inevitable; they've been brought here for a reason, which means doing more than hiding away at home. Even if that were a feasible option, though, it's not one they could take. He wouldn't be himself if he turned his back on people, worlds that need his help. He's certain it's the same for Jon.

The next part of what Lois says, though. That prompts a sharp look and a tightened jaw. He knows what she's getting at, or thinks he does, and really?]

Jon already knows that Luthor's dangerous, though. We had a whole conversation about it.

[thisisontherecord]

... Not a fan of being trapped in a building?

( There are... so many... many empty buildings across Etraya. So many. Many creepily empty.

She does not reflect on how they need a bum. There's no economy. And like hell does she know if anyone's qualified to offer mental health care, another leading cause; are there even ready access to drugs? Do green folks even have the same metabolisms as anyone who would be a ...

... she's going to decide, for the moment, to go with "not a fan of buildings." )

[rudelanguage]

I've found these...little glass eyes. In some. [he lifts a hand, curling index finger to approximate the size of them.] Like the eyes of the robots.

I don't want to be looked at...in supposed "safe" spaces.

[beat.]

The doors can probably be...locked against my wishes, too. [not that a rogue can't break a lock! but like. it's the principle.]

[thisisontherecord]

( It's really not hard to read how he's prickling, and so she does what she's done before: look at him directly and gesture with her free hand, letting the arm she hooked through have free and easy ability to just pull away. Clark is an adult, he can gesticulate his way through whatever he's feeling to his heart's necessary content. It's probably one of the few spaces where he can while fully known as everything he is.

And while he's doing that, Lois isn't the kind to back down when it feels important. For better or worse. )

Yes, he does know Luthor's dangerous. Does he know what about 'Superboy' makes him a target?

[newsbeat]

Isn't that enough?

[Clark knows she she's getting at and he cannot believe she's doing this now, without giving him a word of warning, a small heads-up. He's worked through what happened with his parents' video and the betrayal that came with it, or at least likes to think he has, but that's a long way from explaining it to a child, their child, before he's even had time to think about how he'd want to do it.]

Luthor's deranged and obsessed. He won't need a genetic test to spot the connection and act on it. Everything else is just details.

[That's not true and he knows it, but recognition of this fact is coming in third behind being hurt and kind of pissed off that she's springing this on him.]