2014.02.19 - So Who Are You?

It's late in the afternoon and Powerboy, previously known as Superboy is out in uniform, currently looking up at a rather tall tree that some girls kitten has climbed up he spots the kitty and leaps up to snatch him from the tree to help him down. "Here you go Susan." the young man says as he hands the small cat back to the young girl before he leaps back into the air the little girl yelling out "Thanks Superboy!" as he leaps to the top of one of the bell towers of the numerous large churches here getting a lay of the land and looking for any other trouble he might be of assistance with.

“You’re Power Boy now?”

As the young superhero breaks the tree line, Superman is waiting for him there. His cape is caught in the wind, fluttering behind him and his arms are crossed over his chest. His brow is furrowed, stern but unintimidating, as he looks critically over the boy.

No superhearing, no super vision, and definately without any sort of flight power has Powerboy getting caught by suprise as he goes past Superman "HuH!?" is all he says as he goes past his body twisting "ohh crap!" he exclaims as his sudden mid air turn to look at superman has his landing go sideways the boy's trajectory will take him right /into/ the bell tower to peal off the bell if not take the top of the tower off like a cannonball hitting a wall.. "Little help here!" he calls out as he tries to right himself before he hits..

Superman arches an eyebrow before he moves. A blue and red blur through the air, he catches up with and seizes Power Boy by the cape before he can strike the tower. Having caught him, he carries him over to the tower and sets him down upon the ledge there. The Man of Steel himself remains hovering in the air, arms once again folded across his chest.

Powerboy hangs like a caught fish, or a chastised dog before being set on the bell tower, turning around to face Superman he crosses his arms infront of his chest covering the angular House of El crest emblazoned on the chain/scalemail armor that he's wearing. "I.. uhh..hi. Yea Matrix and I were talking with these other guys and I uhh.. well I guess Superboy's kinda taken." he pauses and squints up at Superman as he talks "And since it was taken, I thought I'd take a page out of Kara's book and just started going with Powerboy." he explains the last part coming out as a rush.

“That makes sense,” Superman replies with a nod, eyes narrowing when he gets a good look at Power Boy’s chest emblem, “But I’ve got another question.”

He lifts a hand, pointing a finger square at the House of El sigil that the young hero wears. There are probably a hundred explanations for why he has it but he clearly wants to hear it from the Horse’s mouth so to speak.

“Where did you get that?”

Powerboy gets a little defensive about it. " "--Well, the armor was made for me when I was born, and when I turned 14 it was given to me to wear. I'm from the future and am a member of the House of El, same as you--" " The boy explains in fluent Kryptonian before slipping back into english. "I sort of had a small run in with a Motherbox in the fortress and it.. well i ended up here which is apparently /not/ my universe at all." he finishes a bit sheepishly. (--Kryptonian.)

“My ... what?”

A cruise missile could hit Superman and do little more than ruffle his hair, but that particular revelation hits him like an average man is hit by a freight train. The Kryptonian is a little different from what he himself has learned but not so much so that he cannot understand it.

If he has any further questions they go unspoken, his mouth slightly agape. Not quite the stoic front of heroism he was wearing moments ago.

Powerboy's defensive little expression goes out the window as he sees Superman's reaction "Huh? what?" he says confused as well "I'm, I know Kryptonian, in my world you're like family to me, this armor was made for me for use when I got old enough." he explains holding out his hands in a placating gesture. seeming about to panic himself.

“No, I understand ... just ... “

Superman shakes his head, arms relaxing to his side and his whole body loosening up in general. Almost straight away he seems more relatable and less authoritative. He shakes his head, rubbing his face in disbelief.

“Sorry, it’s not every day somebody tells you they’re your son from another universe.”

A pause, and then his expression hardens just a touch.

“Though you said you’re Kryptonian. Kryptonians can fly under a yellow sun. You’re not flying.”

Powerboy waves his hands infront of him "Woah woah woah woah!.. I didn't /say/ I was your son. Is this worlds Superboy your son? When Matrix wore the uniform, was /she/ related to you?" he says though his words ring with a bit of a hollow tone, Powerboy not being that good of a liar. Then he's being asked about being able to fly.. "I.." he coughs crossing his hands over his chest again "Yeah.. I can't fly, can't do the heat vision or super hearing either." he says his words ringing true.

Superman appears shocked for a moment, startled that he misinterpreted the boy. But as he denies it, the Man of Steel's eyes narrow. He hears Power Boy's heartbeat. He hears the blood rushing through arteries. Nobody, not even Kryptonians, lie without tell-tale biological scenes - just not everyone can hear them.

"In this universe," he begins, gesturing around himself airily, "there are no other Kryptonians. Only me. I'm the House of El. Nobody else made it off Krypton. Is that different where you come from?"

He doesn't let on about his suspicions of dishonesty, though his expression is one of sudden scepticism.

"uhh..there's like atleast one other here that I know about.. well.. atleast in my world she is." he says simply bringing a hand back to scratch the back of his head. "Then there's Supergirl, Kara Zor'El she's your cousin." he explains telling the truth as far as he knows, the tell tale signs of a lie not there for those.

The lies don't sit well with Superman and it shows. When it comes to matters of his lost homeworld he can be, surprisingly enough, quite sensitive.

"Yes, I know who Supergirl is," he answers, his jaw clenched, "So you're her son, then? That still doesn't explain the fact that you're not flying and that I got the jump on you."

He drifts closer, his eyes suddenly glowing like embers.

"I want you to stop lying to me now. Tell me who you really are and how you learned that language."

His brow knits as he focuses on Power Boy. His sense of vision honing in to a microscopic degree, examining the very biology of this so called Son of El with a critical, scientific eye.

Powerboy's DNA is triple helixed just like a Kryptonian's but with something else mixed in, something taking the place of normal DNA chains to finish the sequences. Now it's eye rolling time as the demands come. "I've already told you I'm from the future of an alternate reality, a Motherbox brought me here before she self destructed. Apparently I crossed dimensional barriers when I cameback here. Who my parents are or aren't doesn't matter right now, and if I told you could change events as they relate to /this/ realities future and I'm just not comfortable letting that out. Now you can look at me with your heat vision all you want but I know you're not going to melt my face off, and you know you're not going to melt my face off. If you want I /Can/ share information with you that only someone you trust would know if that'll put you at ease." he says his arms staying crossed infront of his chest, his own cape floating about him as the wind ruffles it. "Also, we're kinda drawing a crowd here" he says glancing down at the people who are looking up to see two men who could be brothers talking, both wearing the blue and red uniforms. "How bout you take me over there into the back alley, I'll change out of my armor, you can switch into the suit and tie and we can go get a chili dog from one of the vendors outside of the Daily Planet." he offers peaceably.

“Why the Planet?” Superman asks, zipping around at speed to grab Power Boy by the cape once again. Maybe he’s not going to melt his face off but the fact that he’s agitated isn’t going away and he vents that frustration by hauling him around by the metaphorical scruff of the neck.

Instead of heading to the alleyway, however, he flies further into the air. Up and up until they break through the clouds, hundreds of feet above the streets of Metropolis.

“If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t force you, but for what it’s worth I believe you. You’re Kryptonian. Partly, at least. I’ve watched you enough to know you’re not out to cause trouble.”

The close look at the man’s DNA will warrant some research back at the Fortress, no doubt. But Superman keeps that to himself.

“You said you’d tell me something that I wouldn’t say to anybody I didn’t trust. Tell me.”

Powerboy nods "Your Kryptonian name is Kal-El, but your human name is Clark Kent, reporter for the daily planet, you grew up in Smallville Kansas on a farm to Johnathan and Martha Kent." he says simply and matter of factly not seeming to be troubled with the height they are up at. "And you're right, I am only part Kryptonian, it's why I can't fly, hear everybody and their mother, or shoot laser beams out of my head. Though it's been theorized as I get older I'll devlop more powers. Right now between what genetics gave me, and what the gods have given me I'm pretty much able to hold my own." he explains tapping his armor with one bracer covered wrist."That sensitive enough for it to vette me?" he asks once more crossing his arms infront of his chest..

Powerboy adds in afterthought. "And the Planet cause A, you work there, and B, they've got the best hot dog vendor in the city."

Superman has managed to keep a grip on his own emotions, so when those particular bombs are dropped he doesn’t seem to react. Indeed, he doesn’t confirm or deny one way or the other. After all, what if it were just an exceptionally lucky bluff?

“The gods ... “ he notes that out loud, as though weighing up several notions in his head.

Then, he shakes his head, and begins to descend towards the midtown streets, “I’ll need to take a raincheck on the hotdog. But alright. I still have questions but you don’t seem like you’re going to answer them.”

Powerboy nods as he's set down in an alleyway where others won't see the landing. Spinning on his boots there's a flare of bright light and then the armor is gone, his waist length black hair now a golden blonde though his eyes are still that shockingly blue color, a pair of bluejeans, lumber jack boots, a golden t-shirt and a leather bomber jacket that has the Planet Krypton (tm) logo on the back his civilian clothing. "If it's not got to do with my pedigree and I can sure, if it helps to make a point I know who Bruce is as well, I trained with him in the cave before being given the uniform albiet he was quite a bit older at the time, I've kinda been avoiding him here, sometimes he puts two and two together a bit uncannily well, you know?" he says going quiet letting himself be set down on the street. "I'm staying at Legion headquarters, you can find me there, or if you know how to get ahold of Mae she can bring you to me."

"Keep other people's identities to yourself," Superman warns, lifting a finger to point at Powerboy, "I mightn't know them yet and it's up to them to reveal them when they're ready. Not you just because you've read a few pages ahead."

He nods his head, adding, "I'll find you."

That said, he suddenly vanishes. Taking to the sky at speed, he is a momentary blur of red and blue in the air before he disappears into the Metropolitan skyline. Duty calls.