2013.06.30 - No Light, No Light

The body of Kon still lies on the white sheeted bed it's been on since the encounter in the Sahara Desert the mind of the clone sunken in on itself trapped in some self-imposed cage inspired by Hellspont's psychic manipulations.

At this moment Void stands beside the bed staring down at the young man's far-away expression. Music actually blares from one end of the room to the next.

Hey, said a hustler's work is never through

We're making it cos we make it move

The only thing we know how to do

As if requiring an explanation Void looks towards the opening door at Nate and Rose, "I've been monitoring his brain's spontaneous electrical activity and it appears he responds best when music playing. His neural oscillations even out or to put it simply, it calms him." The silver encased woman tips her head slightly to return staring at Kon-El. No emotion on the entity's face simply that expression-less visage she constantly wears.

Nate is frowning, leaning against a wall of the room, arms crossed over his chest. "He got pushed into a pretty weird telepathic illusion or dream. He is in some kind of school in a village. I didn't know Conner ever went to school. Helspont must be even weirder than he looks." He glances at Rose, "funny thing is, you were in the illusion too, so maybe he will listen to you more than to me."

Rose had passed out in the lab after the whole event, feet kicked up on a able and slid down in a chair. After the 'possession' scans were done she was permitted to leave by Void and finally sleep and get the dirt and sand washed off....

Several showers and a power nap later...

Rose is walking in behind Nate, cut off shorts hanging thread-bare strings down over legs, one wrapped at the thigh in fresh gauze, a tattered band tank top hanging off a shoulder with holes and tears leaving abdomen bare to the half hang it took, riding aloft over one hip.

When Void spoke, Rose nodded, staying clear of the a.i. to stand at the opposing side of the bed Kon laid in, watching him, arms folding over her chest.

"I remember when he used to look like this all the time..." She says lowly, glancing up to Nate and wincing. "He went to school... With me... In a memory they imbedded in him while he was being raised in a tube..." The more you know...

The music continues though Void turns it down several notches so it isn't as loud as it was before. "He is ready whenever the two of you are. He is not even aware of what is transpiring right now. The psychic intrusion of Hellspont has reverted him near entirely to a state before Stormwatch, this is beyond my realm of knowledge or capabilities so it will be entirely up to you, Mr. Grey." Nate's eyes widen at the realization. "Ah... that makes sense. So Conner has been pushed into a previous... construct. That must be easier to do." Because, really, Helspont knowing about human high schools was a idea too bizarre to wrap his mind around. "Okay, I had time to rest, so I want to try to pull him out again. And I want to take you with me into his mind, Rose. You okay with it?"

Rose did not like it once she knew by what Nate said, her brows are furrowed, forehead creased as she stares down at Kon in his comatose state, fingers that are wrapped around her biceps are dimpling the skin. She did not like when N.O.W.H.E.R.E did it in the first place, in fact at times she asked for themm to stop, especially at the end..

"Yes, if it will help." Rose didn't see -how- it would, but -if- it would she was for it.

Inside Kon's mind is an entirely different place than the V.R. world Cadmus once fabricated for him. A world picked up off of strands of DNA and elaborated on through advanced technological and alien means. A world Rose Wilson had actually witnessed once upon a time thanks to her involvement with N.O.W.H.E.R.E..

A rural town little more than a village somewhere in Kansas. The sky is brilliantly lit up and orange from the setting of the sun, never ending cornfields span out in all directions like a grand golden ocean. Nate and Rose find themselves standing in the parking lot of a high school and looming above this highschool towering higher than any statue should is a statue of none other than Superman. It's enormous and definitely the tallest structure in the entire town, perhaps the entire state. It is as if someone put a skyscraper that didn't belong in the middle of a farming community. This isn't something that was there before. Not something Ravager seen in the virtual reality Cadmus created.

All around them kids are milling about some of them dancing by cars and the low hum of music can be heard in the background, like a constant background noise that comes from eveywhere. It also explains why here and there people are shuffling or wearing leopard print clothing. Yes, the outside world is still to some extent affecting Kon's subconscious mind.

One girl, standing off alone with hair falling around her face and a book clutched in her hands seems to be alone, apart from everyone else and facing the two of them. Awkward, even more so awkward that she resembles the girl from the Ring.

Nate nods at Rose and offers her a faint smile, "brace yourself," he suggests. Because he knows Rose's mind pretty well, and it is easy to pull her into Conner's mindscape. Which is a quite interesting place. "Never would have pictured him as a country boy," states Nate, looking around with some curiosity. The mindscapes of sleeping people are weird things. Conner is not that bad, he guesses. "Is anything of this familiar to you?"

Rose didn't want to go. What they had done to him in Cadmus was even unknown to her until too late, as well as her involvement as 'Rose'. She hated them for it even as she watched on screens, now she is going to be in it, and a part of her wanted to run - she couldn't even sort her mind most of the time, let alone be in someone elses.

The blue eyes pierced Nate's..

Standing there in the parking lot her eyes skipped over the scenery, arms still clutched across her chest in a self-hugs of assurance that she finally released, glancing to Nate and nodding. "The statue doesn't belong here..." Freezing she stares at /Ringu/ and leans towards Nate. "He hates her... That movie." Pausing she looks over the people in their dance, shaking her head and inwardly laughing at Void's choice in music to make a scene like this occur. "We're at the old school."

"Get out." The little girl hisses but doesn't make a move towards them. Only standing there. This is where Nate will feel an oddity, all of this /all/ of this feels like Kon except for that voice. Nothing about it seems at all like the moody Boy of Steel they know. One blink and Ringu is gone.

Party rockin' in the house tonight!

Everybody just have a good time!

And we gonna make you lose your mind, everybody just have a good good good time...

A very large form runs between the two of them pausing only briefly as if in apology, "Sorry y'all I got to derp a derp derp somewhere!" This figure is recognizable as Siege in his rock form. A cone worn on his head and a 'kick me' sign on his stoney back. That's not very nice of Kon but it's most likely meant in good humor and intentions, especially since the golem seems quite friendly and happy.

Those human people gathered around and dancing, partying, talking, etc all seem to be in their own phantasmal worlds of repeat. Carrying on much like extras in a movie or NPC's in a video game. The lot outside of the school has open doors in to the structure whatever sensitive powers Nate has in someone elses mind he can feel the source of /Kon/ that direction. Even though it is also all around them. Careful passing through the doorways there is a large crowd of people devil grinding on eachother.

"Conner tastes in music kinda suck," comments Nate, taking Rose's hand leading her towards what he assumes in the center of Conner's consciousness. The Siege's look-alike makes him snicker, though. Then he asks, "who is Ringu, anyway? Someone from the Cadmus dream-world?"

Rose...Never experience high school. not really, in Kon's deep memories and to Cadmus she did, but -really-... As soon as Ringu disappears Rose has moved forward, passing through the spectral fog that whisped away with the push of her figure through it to scatter the final residue of that 'haunting'. Leaning down by a group of leather and stud wearing rebellious outcasts Rose leans down and snares a beer from the 'stash' backpack and pops it open, knocking it back and momentarily taking that moment with her head tipped back and the bottle pressed to her lips does she take that moment to move on her own, taking on the dance of the devil/grind/. One teen about to yell in protest instead starts nodding and commencing his dance on the hood of the old beat up chevy.

Rose's hand is grabbed by Nate and she is tugged out of a life she never had, into....another one, snapping back to the 'reality' of it, that being... "No, its a horror movie chick, she's the main creature, haunting. He hates the movie, hates her. I think it scares him."

A single brow raises as 'Siege' passes, smirking at his back even as she is lead on.

I'm on the pursuit of happiness

I know everything that shine ain't always gold

I'll be fine once I get it, yeah

I'll be good

Through the devil grinding mob and in to the hallways beyond opens up to a new world one of polished floors, lockers and doorways. Men and women in labcoats now mingle with the students, occasionally the labcoats walk up to a silent screaming student, covering it's mouth with hands and dragging them off in to doorways that slam shut. Chains and locks wrapping around those doors like vines. So it just got a little darker. The music keeps playing however and seems to lighten things up a bit.

Leaning against the wall is a Illyana in a cheerleader outfit that includes buckles, leathers and spikes casually munching a banana; lounging around her is an entourage of Limbo demons and a Spider-Man with a top hat and cane who seems to be dancing in front of her and the demons. Doing a jig of some sort and dancing like he's straight out of Singing in the Rain. Spidey turns as Rose and Nate pass by, "Move along kiddos! Nothing to see here, private show!" The Illyana dopple just gives them a wink. "Yeah, get lost, Kon doesn't want you here."

Further down the hall and it gets closer and closer to /Kon/.

"Try not to pay too much attention to the scenery, he is... kinda sleeping," advises Nate. But he is not following his own advice, he is watching and trying to understand what he sees. And when Illyana and Spider-Man appear, he stops to stare. "Conner knows Spider-Man? No, nevermind... just further down the hall. We are close."

Stepping into the school Rose has already discarded the bottle of beer, her eyes darting over the scenario within. The sight of the ones coming out in lab coats, the screaming students. Instinctively her hand is reaching behind her, to the small of her back... Nothing there, gripping air which makes her hand come back around and rub her palm over the front of those cut offs. She is having slight issues going from natural instinct of reality to what isn't real, but she /gets it/ and her eyes get a placidity to them, covering up (or trying to) cover up what she is really feeling. Instead of trying to play with the scenery she gives the figures of Illy and Spider-man a wide berth. "He met him the other day, so did I. Illyana brought him around.." She murmurs as she keeps close. "so... this is going to be easy, right?"

Off with your head

Dance 'til you're dead

Heads will roll

Heads will roll

Heads will roll

On the floor

It's not everyday someone gets to see Spider-Man dance like Gene Kelly but Rose and Nate had just witnessed it. The hallways wind, turning in and curving towards a small door that opens up to a gymnasium inside is an assembly going on. The podium in the center has Hellspont upon it wearing a dress suit and grinning at the mass of students gathered around to his left and right are scantly clad versions of Swift and Velocity, they are both literally wearing Slave Leia outfits. Both of them wearing next to nothing as they fan the daemonite. Everyone's heads turn as the duo walk in to the room and stare. Ringu is back as well above them clinging to the ceiling, "I told you to go away. Kon doesn't want you here."

"Rose Wilson, Nathaniel Grey why aren't the two of you in class?" Asks the Daemonite. "It's very bad to skip class and will result in punishment. A door off beside the bleachers opens up and bodies pour in to the room, recognizable are several members of the Titans and Super-Family.

"There, the outsiders! Get them!" shouts Robin, the lead figure and a bola sails at the two Stormwatch members. This is what happens when something just ain't right.

Nate shrugs, "you want a weapon? Just think hard about it, imagine it. We are in a mindscape." Not that weapons would actually be here, but just thinking they do work makes them... well, somewhat dangerous. Nate opens the door of the gym, "must be in here..." pause, "or not." Helspont had to be the principal, of course. He could facepalm. But there is little time, since they have Kryptonian copies and Titans attacking them. Nate has met some of these folks in the real, physical world, but this is just a dream, right? Just in case he ducks under a tossed batrang and tries to zap 'Power Girl' with a TK-blast.

If a glance is spared and it is caught at the right moment Rose's expression has flickered to one of almost panic. Realization is slowly dawning she has no idea what to do here, she has no weapons, is this even her body? No control... Or maybe Singing in the Rain Spider-Man did her in on top of the ceiling crawling, well-dwelling horror movie as they slide into the gymnasium. Nate's words finally register just on time. "Who is that? Who are...Oh hell.." Poor Vel and Swift. Could she imagine up a camera that comes back with her?

Pausing as the onslaught comes she lowers to a crouch, one leg tucked beneath her, the other boot clad foot braced and extended forward as she dodges the bola in a dropped pose, one hand on the floor for bracing, the other hand held out.. "No place like home..." She utters as blue gaze snaps forward and no sword comes to hand, she... Is having issues settling the fine line between dream and reality and making this reality -hers-. No matter with a push of the tucked leg she is charging headlog towards Robin. "Conner!" Trying to call him out... End this.

Just shoot for the Stars

If it feels right

Then aim for my heart

If you feel like

And take me away, make it okay!

I swear I'll behave

Hellspont resumes his speech to the students as they all return to staring at him. The fanning commences as they all carry on like nothing is transpiring. They are after all just gray phantasms in a troubled mind.

The Titans, Supergirl and Powergirl on the other hand are not going back to what they're doing. That TK Blast from Nate drives it's target through the wall and in to the beyond. It punches a hole where impact should have been through the gymnasium wall which beyond she can be seen sailing in to a horde of black creatures swirling around a long haired man who grips her up and feeds her to his minions paying no mind to Nate or Rose or the assembly within. The Darkness. Yes, Kon met him as well amongst several others. Impulse, Robin, Supergirl and Wondergirl race towards Nate and Rose only to suddenly be enveloped in a bright white light and the gymnasium even the school melts down around them, fading away to reveal a stormy rain covered field. At their feet is mud and behind them is a tractor. Lightning strikes down somewhere behind them flashing off the cornfield. The music dim behind the sounds of crashing thunder.

A whine becomes audible and a large white dog strides up prodding it's muzzle against Rose's hand. It's tail wagging.

Nate reels in surprise as the mindscape changes suddenly. Maybe Conner heard Rose's scream. "Damn, we were close, now I am not sure." He looks around, trying to find Conner again. Why is it raining. He is sure everything has a meaning here, but he lacks the skill to understand. He turns to the white-haired girl, "Call him again, Rose."

Rose stopped as that hole in the wall opened to reveal... She blinks and narrows her gaze. What was his name? Jackie? But wh---? No time for questions as she shields her gaze with her arm from the white flare of light only to uncover when she feels the falling touch of cold rain on her skin, lowering slowly to look over the field and let her hands fall to her sides with a sigh. "His parents' field.." She says lowly, glancing to Nate as the whine and cold nose shoving into her hand has her lowering to pet the dog for a moment. "I don't know you..." She speaks to the beast in that crouch, hands gripping in a ruffle around its ears looking up at Nate. Rising back up she looks out over the field, looking for the fence line. "Conner!"

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes

I never knew daylight could be so violent

A revelation in the light of day

''You can't choose what stays and fades away ''

The rain continues to pound down around them before the white dog barks once and turns walking off through the cornfield vanishing in to it towards a house in the distance, the Helpworth's farmhouse. Rose would recognize it. Once again Nate can feel that presence of Kon in the hound and in that direction. "Follow the white dog, uh?" Again, Nate takes Rose's hand. He does not want to lose her here, so it is somewhat of a reflex. "Lets try to get to the farmhouse, I think I can sense him there."

The farmhouse is as it has always been. Large, typical American and inviting. Yet something about it seems off, the windows are all gone, broken out, smashed, the insides are gutted, empty and a pair bodies lay in the lawn. Mr. and Mrs. H as Conner always referred to them when he lived under their roof. Adoptive family, closest thing to parents he ever knew and entirely fake. Not even real people. Kon is perched on the roof in a football uniform the team logo across it reads Spartans. A helmet in his hands he is staring in to.

Rose watches the dog go, and glances to Nate as he takes her hand, taking his in return and following it towards the house, the house that looks nothing like what she had seen, stopping and jerking back at the bodies of his 'parents', shaking her head and a mix of some form of emotion flicks over her gaze, a sorrow as she stares at the rather morbid sight and swallows, looking at Nate with brows dipped over the bridge of her nose. "He thought it was all real... They killed them all.." even me... She didn't say it but her eyes traveled upward to the roof and landed on Conner and spoke lowly. "Conner, come on. Let's go."

Nate has little to say to Rose's revelation about Conner's false memories. He frowns and looks up at Conner. His memories are what made him what he is, even if some days he wishes he could forget most of them. In most regards Conner had a far worse deal. Nothing in his mindscape was real but for a few people he has met the last year? He glances back, there was Superman statue, too. "Yeah, come back to Stormwatch, we are all waiting for you. Besides, how are we going to explain Superman we lost you?"

Through the crowded islands

Crying out at me

In your place there were a thousand other faces

I was disappearing in plain sight

Heaven help me

I need to make it right

"I don't want to go. It's easier here." His head lifts up and he looks at Rose and Nate then off in to the horizon where that towering statue of Superman stands. "Even with that stupid thing always staring down at me." Anger sparks up on Kon's features and he stands up to throw the helmet at it, launching it off at the proud face of Earth's mightest hero.

"Who cares what you say to him. Just leave me here."

His back turns to them and he looks down at the bodies of his adoptive parents. Now they no longer look like dead people but instead broken mannequins in farm clothes. It's too late though he's aware and they're here. They're waking him up whether he likes it or not. Everything is beginning to peel away around them like colors faded in running water. The music is getting louder and the 'real' feeling of the inside of Kon's mind is fading gradually. Nate knows despite his words he is waking. They've succeeded in pulling him out of Hellspont's psychic reversion.

"But you are /that thing/ with us." Rose says, almost like a plea, for once cracking beneath being tired of losing the few she couldn't let go of, that she got comfortable with, just as she had expressed to Nate in her own odd way. Her jaw tenses and sets with an inaudible grind of teeth as she finally sets a determined glare at the brooding Superboy. "We're not leaving you here in your own personal Limbo." That said, the paints begin to run and Rose looks around, the bodies falsified in reality as she steps away from them almost with a look of revulsion, but not at them, at the memories and the root of it all, stepping over them finally to walk to the eave where the roof hung over the yard and looked up, holding out her hand to Kon. "Time to really go home."

"Easier what?" Asks Nate, looking puzzled. "There is no 'here'. You are just sleeping after a psychic attack and it might be dangerous to leave you hear for long. So..." he is waking up. Good. "Do you find living in the real world difficult? We gotta talk about it later."

"No, this is home and there is nothing to talk about." Kon says to Nate and Rose, her offering of a hand ignored as he instead he continues to stare at the fading broken landscape of Fakeville Kansas in the world of Neverexisted Earth. It's done, however, they accomplished their task.

I'm waking up

I feel it in my bones

Enough to make my systems grow

Welcome to the new age

To the new age...

"Welcome back Nate, Rose and Conner." Void's voice can be heard before she is actually seen.

The beeping sounds of the machine next to Kon's bed loud and clear now as well as the playlist going through the speakers around the room. They're back inside Halo Towers and out of the clone's mind.

"I am glad to see you all returned our patient to operable health. Conner, I will require that you stay here and undergo tests to make sure you are unharmed. Spartan has already been informed of your success, well done Stormwatch." So mechanical sounding and so empty the woman just smiles at the three.

Kon exhales and rolls over on his side with his back to them to face the wall. Completely silent.

"I must ask that the two of you leave while I oversee the rest of his recovery." Yes Void is ushering them out the door.

Before they leave the solemn sounding Kon asks, "Did we at least beat Helspont?" "He ran away," replies Nate, taking a step towards the door. Hey, it is true! "See you later, we should have a victory party or something."

Nate left, easily ushered out by Void perhaps, but Rose dipped to the side and slipped from any form of 'push' to get her to leave to remain in the room as the door hisses to a close and she is heading back for Kon and that table, her back to the wall and slightly facing Void with a narrowed gaze - akin to a challenge to the A.I. as she reaches the table where Kon lays and begins ripping any wires or tube from him and machinery if not stopped. "You're..." *rip* "Not..." *Pop* "Testing..." Kicking a monitoring machine aside. "Him.."

Kon's body half turns and he glares at Rose as she starts pulling wiring and devices away the machine knocked over. She'll discover none of the tubing was actually in him besides where necessary nothing on the young man was punctured as well, hes a Kryptonian. "What are you doing?" The young man asks.

Void herself doesn't move instead just watches. "I'll assure you Rose he will not be injured. I am not even sure I am capable of harming him. The machinery on the other hand is Halo property and can be so I would ask that you refrain from breaking it."

Blame panic, or perhaps somewhere in her mind helping him in this case is redeeming herself some? Keeping torment from him she couldn't keep from herself. Rose did not look at Kon as she stood there with hoses wrapped around one fist, looking at their unattached ends and her upper lip peeling back as she snaps at Void, the A.I. she still did not trust for simply what she is. "Take it out of my check." Rose snaps the words as if a bite would come with them, but when Kon asks her that question she stops and her hand shakes, tossing the hoses with an upward flip of her arm to send them sailing like snakes across the room to slap against the wall. "I never liked what they did to you, I didn't like seeing it again. I won't lt it happen again."

"Void isn't going to hurt me, Rose."A little surprised at Rose's display of emotion and mildly confused Kon sits up so his back is against the headboard. "I'll be fine." Touching really that the Ravager would be so protective over him. She's made leaps and bounds in her distancing from Cadmus.

"Already done." Void says curtly in regards to the -take it out of my check- comment. "May I commence checking on Conner's vitals or do you wish to continue breaking the lab's equipment?"

Ohh, lets go

You're the best way I know to escape that extraordinary

This world ain't for you and I know for damn sure this world ain't for me

Lift up and say goodbye

Just let your fire set me free

"Good. Then quit your bitching." Rose mutters, more like a growl towards Void, stepping aside and using the toe of her boot to shove a small table aside and lean against the wall with her arms folded across her chest, legs crossing at the ankles as she glares forward, trying had to fight the wavering in her eyes that remains lightly veiled by the free fall of white hair over her shoulders. Anger was easier to manage then... This... And it was there, the confusion as she cast a glance to Kon at his words. "I'm sorry." Is all she says in response to that while she watches him and then looks at Void. "Do what you have to..." No light, no light in your bright blue eyes.. Never knew daylight could be so violent

...Fitting...

Void doesn't return any look words or expressions she simply turns towards Kon and lifts up her hand as 3D image like displays raise up over his bed laden form and begin to scroll quickly, lights flashing off of her metallic skin coating.

Kon's expression had already softened a bit at Rose's earlier words the apology has him opening his mouth to say something then just closing it to roll over on his side again back to her once more, "It wasn't too weird in there was it? I don't really know all of what you and Nate seen."

Rose is watching Void as she gets closer, her approach watched and followed with the slow slide of her narrowed gaze that remains there until she shoves off the wall. Threatening the A.I. would do no good or anything, but she'd burn this place down, and dump gasoline on the ashes.. It showed. The tension is still there and it is evident as the weight of it is finally making straight shoulders hunch in from too much.

At his question she looks at him and shakes her head. "Get some rest Kon." All she had to say to that as she hit the button to open the door and slipped out.