2014.03.22 - Not Another Superboy

Superboy! The Teen of Steel! The Boy of Tomorrow! That's Kon-El. And he's still grinning wide as he flies away from the beach. He's flying backwards of course, waving to the still cheering crowd after having rescued a few kids that were playing on a pier and fell in the water only to be pulled out by a riptide. Superboy was happy to dive in and carry them to safty. Once he's far enough away that he can't be easily seen by the crowd, Conner turns in the air and starts flying normally. "Now I was gonna go look for DVDs..." he trails off to himself, considering what movies he wants to pick up.

A typical day of heroics for Superboy is interrupted quite bluntly and without preamble by nothing short of a Hypertemporal EVENT. And it isn't even Tuesday.

In a sudden eruption of vertigo, the air in front of Kon-El seems to warp, distorting, and then with a sound and motion that cannot properly be defined but might most easily be described as a "cosmic pop," all is righted--save that the figure appears.

It cannot be coincidence. Such odds would defy calculation. No, only some sort of gravity--a pull across time, space, and beyond--could possibly explain the sudden appearance of the other form, clad in black and red, who looks almost like Superboy's twin. The new figure hands in the air for a moment, and then he suddenly tumbles downward, spinning head over heels--and headed right for the largest Ferris wheel on the island, below. As he accelerates, it's inevitable that, should he impact the ride, casualties are inevitable!

Kon 'skids to a halt' in the air, startled out of his thoughts by the sudden weirdness in front of him. The look on his face is priceless, eyes wide behind his sunglasses and jaw dropped. He's tempted to poke at the messed up air and then suddenly there's a person. He goes right into 'prepare to catch the falling person!' mode but then he gets a look at them. And cue another stare. Right up until that figure falls. "Oh crap!" he exclaims, tapping into superspeed as he shoots down to grab that suddenly appeared person out of the air. "Whoa there, buddy! I got ya!"

As the stranger is caught by Superboy, he is easily caught up--he doesn't weigh any more than a normal human of his stature and build. However, feeling Superboy's grip seems to stir his senses, and he rather abruptly seeks to shoot upward and away from Superboy, crying out in surprise. As he hovers nearby, no longer a threat to the Ferris wheel below, he looks around wildly, confusion evident on his face. Spotting Superboy nearby, the stranger floats backward, raising a hand to point at him. "You! You--assaulted me! Don't you DARE touch me!" His words slur slightly, as if he were recovering from being dazed or unconscious.

Superboy wasn't worried about weight. He trusts his strength after all. The sudden cry of surprise catches Superboy off guard and he holds on tighter. Dragged a few feet in the air, he lets go and shoots an annoyed look at the other teen. Eyes trail over that costume, Kon not sure he likes the fact that this guy is wearing it. Someone with the shield popping out of nowhere like that? Especially after everything that's been happening? That's not a good sign in his book. And then comes the accusation and Kon just ends up looking more annoyed. "Hey! I didn't assault anyone, dude. I saved your butt from wrecking a lot people's day."

The newcomer puts a hand to his head as if dizzy. "You... saved me?" he echoes, and then he shakes his head, holding up his hands, palms out. "Keep back anyway! Ugh. Everything's so... spinny." He wobbles in the air a moment before steadying himself, and then he looks to Superboy again, squinting as if he doesn't trust what he sees. "Wait. You... you're wearing my symbol." For a moment he almost looks like he'll be angry, but then puzzlement wins out, and he drifts closer again, despite his warning to keep back, and reaches out to lay a hand on the S-shield upon Kon-El's chest.

"That's what I just said," Superboy replies. "It's sorta my thing. Saving the day and looking good doing it," he replies, cocky as always. "Fine but if you take a nose dive again, I'm catching you," he warns. "Your symbol? Dude, you're the one who it looks weird on. Me, Superman, Supergirl...we're the ones that wear it normally," he says. There's a frown as the necomer touches his chest. "And who the heck are you anyway?"

Superboy's question prompts the newcomer to back off again, reaching up to clutch at his forehead with one hand. "I... it's too hard to think. The symbol... means you're... a friend?" His hand slips down, scrubbing across his face, and he looks up, a bit more clear-eyed. "I'm... K--" he begins, hesitating as if stumbling on the words. He frowns, muttering to himself, "K... El...? K'el?" He looks up at Superboy, expression half-vacant, as if hoping the other will know what this means.

"It means I'm one of the good guys," Superboy says, frowing a little as he watches the newcomer. The confusion is pretty mutual, Kon listening closely as the other teen speaks. His eyes widen at the 'El' name, Kon immediately paying more attention. "K'el?" he asks, just making sure he heard right. "I'm Superboy."

"K'el," the stranger repeats, as if getting a feel for the word in his mouth. "Y-yes. It feels... not like the whole thing... but it's me. That's my name." He peers at Superboy again, another dazed look passing across his eyes. "You're... Superboy? But I...? But--no," he mutters to himself, clearly confused again. Growing agitated, he slams both fists against the sides of his legs, snarling, "Why won't it make SENSE?!"

"Okay, K'el," Superboy says, making a mental not to find Clark soon. Some random guy with the shield showing up out of nowhere, using the El name...it was something the big blue boyscout would definitely want to hear about. "Yeah, the one and only. I know some twerp was trying to pinch the name before but that wasn't gonna fly," he says. The sudden angry reaction gets another frown. "Dude, calm down a second. What's not making sense?"

Waving his hands back and forth as if trying to wave away a cloud of stinging flies, K'el says, "No, no! Nothing makes sense!" He shoots back several feet, raising his hand to point at Superboy. "It's not right! I need to find--help!" Then, he turns and shoots off through the air, arcing upwards as he begins to accelerate away, fleeing the scene.

"What do you mean nothing?" Superboy asks, floating closer. The sudden distance makes him tense and then eyes are going wide as K'el flees. "Hey!" he yelps, shooting after him. "Wait up and maybe I can help!"

Nothing short of a panic seems to fuel K'el's flight, and he begins to outpace Superboy in his sudden retreat. He hardly even seems to have any destination in mind, veering almost drunkenly back and forth, but finally he slips away, beyond Superboy's sight, and even the sonic booms fade to silence.

Whomever K'ell is, it seems that Superboy has run him off, at least for now. What his arrival portends, however, remains yet to be seen....