(no subject)

[signifies]

CHARACTERS: Clark with Bellamy, the Doctor, and Peter Parker respectively.
DATE: A little while after his arrival.
WARNINGS: None expected!
SUMMARY: Making friends.

Comments

~unburdening

[signifies]

[ While he could spend all his hours in the library, Clark prefers to take out a stack of books and settle comfortably in the rec room with something to drink and some music. He's been experiencing hunger and fatigue for the first time here in Oska. While he eats more habitually than he sleeps, it's still better to form a pleasant routine, so that he never forgets to do it.

His chair is next to the window, in direct sunlight. There's no music on in the room this time, he couldn't pick and decided to save his focus for the books. A lot of them are on language. He learns fast, and figured, why not.

As he cracks one open, Bellamy enters. Clark hadn't seen him since the training simulation ended. At first, he had assumed the teammate wasn't real like the rest of it, but he knew better after trying it a few times.

He stands up. ]

Hi. How're you doing?

[unburdening]

[ using the training simulation hadn't been a mistake, exactly, so much as a test. he has misgivings about virtual reality after seeing ALIE and her city of light, but it's a resource available to them and he'd be stupid not to use it. at first, like clark, he hadn't been sure his if his teammate were real or another part of the simulation -- he's still too new to this place, too unused to these faces. but clark had been much more real than the townspeople of the sim, and when bellamy sees him, the surprise is only at the unexpected meeting.

or maybe just the pleasantries, which have more place here than they had on post-apocalyptic earth. ]

Fine, [ he says, short, since there's no need to elaborate into specifics that apply to clark just as equally (away from home and worried, missing it, missing people, uncertainty at so much about oska and these people working here). ] You seem busy.

[signifies]

[ He doesn't miss Earth that much. That's hard to come to terms with given what he just gave up to protect it, but it's hard not to like a place that has knowledge from all these other universes. He doesn't have to hide here either. Oska 2, Earth 0.

At the moment, he only misses Mom and Lois. ]

I was just going to read.

[ Some of the books on the table have their spines facing Bellamy. They're on language, history, and astronomy. ]

Are you new here as well?

[unburdening]

[ the history books in particular catch his eye, and he spares them a longer look out of curiosity than the others. wondering which era in particular clark's looking into, or if it'll even be familiar. ]

Yeah. I got here when the others came back from the last mission, the labyrinth. [ "as well," so he asks, so: ] Were you there for that, or did you arrive here too?

[ here, aka oska ]

[signifies]

[ He has one on the 20th century, but he's also looking into some histories on alien civilizations. There's no pattern to the names, Clark just picked out books that looked interesting.

Which is to say, all of them. ]

I arrived straight here.

[ He holds out his hand to shake Bellamy's, it's only polite. ]

I'm Kal.

[unburdening]

[ bellamy's partial to classical mythologies himself, though he hasn't tried out the books on alien cultures yet.

he takes clark's hand, gives it a shake; firm, with a rough, calloused hand, but not like someone who's shaken a lot of hands. ]

Bellamy. Nice to meet you in the flesh.

[signifies]

[ Clark's hands are smooth despite years of blue-collar work. Blame those Kryptonian genes.

His handshake is firm, but very brief. He's not sure it's a universal gesture. ]

Same to you. Where are you from, if I may ask?

[unburdening]

Earth.

[ not so long ago, that wouldn't have been his answer. but to people who don't know anything about his earth, there's not a lot of point in splitting hairs about the fact that he grew up in orbit. ]

Probably not the one you know, [ then adds, grudgingly, ] if you know it.

[signifies]

I do.

[ He grew up there. But he hasn't yet decided what kind of story he's keeping to. From the beginning, he's never needed to hide here. It's hard to get used to. ]

Although, I'm Kryptonian.

~webdesigned

[signifies]

[ The training simulator is useful, but Clark really prefers to be out in the sunshine. He sleeps in his room and gets up at the crack of dawn to go outside and drink in the rays, feeling them strengthen his cells. Everything feels better in the new day.

Outside is where he feels better practicing. He might be able to break the sound barrier without a sweat, but flying is still a new power for him. Going too fast shatters glass as he passes, and he doesn't want to cause that. He's also not one hundred percent on braking or hovering, and he should get started on difficult manoeuvres.

Clark waits until it's around noon. Having more sunlight feels like it'll be less risky. Right?

Whatever acrobatics he tried to do mid-flight backfire spectacularly. A red-and-blue shape is falling out of the sky, heading straight for Peter. ]

Look out!

[ Clark veers sharply to avoid him, streaks past, and crashes into a tree. He crumples onto the ground. ]

I'm okay!

[ He did feel that, though. ]

[webdesigned]

( wow, this is surreal. usually the red-and-blue shape falling from the sky is him! it's almost hard to believe it's not, only Peter definitely is just wandering around the castle in his street clothes, and not suited up or practicing his aerial stunts. luckily for both of them (or maybe not for Clark?), Peter can feel the impact coming, even though he's listening to music as he ambles around. he spots the problem before it hits him thanks to his spidey senses, and barely even has time to yelp before he webslings at the nearest reprieve and sends himself flying to someplace a little safer as the bundle of red and blue hits like a bag of bricks.

he's still hanging from the tree that was just barely close enough to be a good landing zone when he blinks over at the landing zone. )

Okay? ( he says, incredulous, and to be fair... who wouldn't be? the guy had hit pretty darn hard and from pretty high up, too. Peter is still hanging upside-down, his glasses starting to fall off his nose, as he gapes a little. even Spider-Man can be shocked by the super powered. it is still a thing. he manages to find his voice a beat late. ) I don't know how, but, I mean... I'm glad to hear it? ( he realizes a beat late how spidery he's managing to look despite the fact he's not suited up, and while Peter has not hid his super identity from members of ALASTAIR since Woodhurst, he does at least mildly realize he doesn't have to make this any weirder than necessary.

he drops from the tree a beat later, landing pretty lightly, if only compared to how Clark had. he heads that way to offer the guy a hand up. ) Is it dumb to ask how you got up there?

[signifies]

[ Luckily for them that the only hurt feelings here are the leaves that fell from the tree. Clark props himself up on his elbow to look at Peter right away, worried he might not have swerved in time. He can hear the faint strains of music coming from the headphones.

He blinks in surprise seeing Peter hanging upside down, but actually, he smiles readily. Peter could be another human-looking alien like him.

There's so many here he should probably not be surprised anymore, but it's not normal for him to see other people using their powers or talking about them openly. He doesn't want to feel it should be normal anyway. What Peter's doing is pretty cool. ]

Thanks.

[ His grip on Peter's hand is firm, but also very careful. Up close, Clark can see how young he really is, and also, he expects he's much stronger than him. ]

I learnt to fly recently. [ Sheepish. ]

[webdesigned]

( it wouldn't be normal for him if he were back home. the openness he's found in Audentes isn't something he'd maintain back in New York, where being who he is and doing what he does means there's forever a target painted on his back. that's a target he doesn't want landing on the backs of the few people he has left, but all those problems are back in New York. he doesn't have any enemies or arch nemesis types here. in Audentes, honesty was certainly better than secrecy, but it'd taken him a year and some big mistakes to learn that.

Peter doesn't look as strong as he is, but even as a spindly kid he's strong enough to pull someone back to their feet. pretty easy to tell that the guy does make it easier on him whether he needs it or not. )

Oh yeah? Bit of a learning curve, I take it. I'm glad you're still in one piece. ( it's impossible to not note the guy doesn't seem to have a scratch on him, and considering that landing? he really should. impressive, and a little intimidating. he lets go of the stranger once he's on his feet again, using his hand to pull his earbuds out of his ears. ) The closest I've been to flying is in a plane. I'm much more accustomed to swinging.

[signifies]

[ He's also invulnerable, but Clark stays quiet about that power. He doesn't want to overwhelm someone on a first meeting with the laundry list of what he can do. Even if that might be more normal here than it ever will be on Earth. ]

Yeah, looks like it.

[ Clark smiles sheepishly. ]

I'd offer to take you up, but I don't think I'm inspiring a lot of confidence at present.

[ He dusts some of the dirt off himself. The cape streams out majestically behind him. It's the only thing totally unscathed by the awful landing.

He holds out a hand to shake Peter's. ]

Kal. I'm from Krypton.

[webdesigned]

Well, I'm not going to say no, but I will say I don't take a landing quite as well as you do.

( he can take an incredible amount of damage, that's a fact, yet he's pretty far from invulnerable or invincible. he will always feel a hard landing, even though he's survived some pretty bad ones. probably shouldn't sign up for a potential crash.... but Peter tends to live a little on the thrill seeking side. he's even worse about that now than he was before.

Peter accepts the handshake, taking in the costume. he's got to say, even when he's suited up, he doesn't look half as impressive as this guy. )

Like another planet? That's ... well, it used to be pretty crazy. Since I ended up here, I guess I should be more or less used to it. ( it's still pretty cool, though, and the grin he's wearing indicates it. ) Peter. Peter Parker. Nice to meet you, Kal.

[signifies]

I'm not a bad cushion.

[ Hopefully he's not going to fall out of the sky again, though it's still better than crashing into a mountain and taking half the peak with him. Clark thinks his learning curve is going okay. ]

Likewise, Peter.

[ With the hole in the ground, Clark made quite the impression. He looks down at it and grins. ]

How long have you been here?

[webdesigned]

I'm not sure the ground here would agree with that, but I'm not gonna lie, I'd probably still give it a shot.

( because despite the crater, flying sounds like it'd be worth it. and maybe it wouldn't be so bad for the person not doing the brunt of the landing. actually, it definitely isn't, speaking as someone who has taken the brunt of gravity before to protect someone else before. it's weird to get offer of protection when usually he's the one giving it.

weird... but not bad. Peter always finds himself delighted to meet others with powers. it makes him feel less isolated by something he didn't really ask for in the first place. )

A year? Almost two, now. Kinda crazy to think about it that way. ( because Peter definitely hoped he'd have gone home by now, and he's still here with no sign of getting back any time soon. ) Are you new? Or a transfer?

~spacerhyme

[signifies]

[ The Observatory should have been the next place Clark got lost in after the library. Somehow, he hasn't spent a lot of time here. Krypton was beyond his grasp before he knew its name. Now, when he's met his people, he feels less inclined. He knows it's unfair to believe they might all be like Zod, but it's false hope to think they'll be like his biological father.

He doesn't want to look for it and find an empty space where a planet should be. There was enough death waiting for him on board the scout ship, and now all his people are trapped in the Phantom Zone.

But his father wrote the Codex into his body. All those millions of unborn Kryptonians are kept safe by the last living survivor. Maybe he owes it to them to try and look. Or at least, look for somewhere his people can rebuild. He shouldn't stop looking up. Neither of his parents would want that for him.

He puts on his red and blue ancestral suit, and walks into the Observatory, looking for star charts. Seeing someone already there, he nods to them politely and smiles. ]

Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting.

[spacerhyme]

[ space, the final frontier. which contains every other frontier. and the doctor had been nearly entirely cut off from it before he even arrived here, longer than can possibly be healthy. he misses it like a goldfish misses the rivers. stargazing from a rooftop can only take you so far; sometimes, you've just got to watch the planets spin from the outside.

and this is the closest he can get, at the moment. the doctor pulls his gaze away from the three-dimensional projection overhead, and looks at clark. stares... at clark, really. only for a moment, but that is a very bold sartorial choice. ]

No, I was only - [ he raises his hand, gestures vaguely at the star system displayed.

it won't look familiar. or maybe it will, in a generic sense. planets, spinning round stars, spinning round each other - it could be anywhere. ]

What are you looking for?

[ pure curiosity. he might be seeking a distraction, and surely anyone walking in here has something they're hoping to see. ]

[signifies]

[ It's his best choice of clothes at the moment. While he's conspicuous, Clark's not comfortable wearing the Audentes uniform. The S is a symbol he respects. And he thinks he should get used to wearing it.

He looks up at the projection, not recognising anything. Dad had bought Clark a telescope after telling him the truth about who he was, and they'd spent their weekends watching the stars. Clark would point to one. Dad would say maybe he was from there, and they'd make up stories about what it was like.

Clark grew out of the stories. They never filled up what was missing. ]

I was hoping to see something I might recognise.

[ The view from Earth had been a limited one. He's only seen a projection of Krypton, but he'd recognise any of its ships if he saw them.

Clark would have left it at that vague answer at if he didn't hear two heartbeats from this human-looking gentleman. He blinks in surprise.

He's an alien too. ]

I'm Kryptonian.

[spacerhyme]

Kryptonian?

[ turns the name over in his head, tries to place it... there's the element, of course, but this chap doesn't appear to be predominantly comprised of it, so that wouldn't make much sense.

no, this is a new one. or an old one he's forgotten about, but it seems unlikely. ]

Dunno it - er, probably. From Kryptonia? Krypton? Krypto-Five?

[ as he says that, he begins looking about the room; perhaps they've got a database, or some physical star charts tucked away in here. now he needs to find this mystery planet himself. ]

[signifies]

Er - Krypton.

[ He's not surprised the Doctor hasn't heard of it, but Clark also doesn't know how well known his people were among the stars. They'd set up outposts, but abandoned them. If others had come along, they might not have known what to make of those old structures. ]

What about you?

[spacerhyme]

[ shakes his head. nope, never heard of a planet krypton, he's sure. ]

Erm.

[ he appears to have found some sort of documentation, and suddenly he's quite preoccupied with the business of flipping through them. he keeps his head down. ]

I doubt you've heard of it... [ scratches behind the back of his ear with one hand, glances off to the side at nothing.

he knows there shouldn't be any harm in saying, in that case... ]

Gallifrey.

[ but they have got a rep. in some corners of their universe. ]

[signifies]

Yeah, sorry, I haven't.

[ It puts them on even ground, then. Neither's heard of the other, although the Doctor seems to expect that he would know about Krypton.

Clark comes over slowly, peering at the documents the Doctor's rifling through. ]

What star does it orbit?

[spacerhyme]

You won't have heard their names, either.

[ two, in fact; but he doesn't seem inclined to say more about it.

instead, he hands clark a small stack of the sheets - they're folded up star maps, probably from the library. ]

One of these might have yours in it.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say probably, you'll have more luck finding it if your system's within Earth's general vicinity... the space-time rift that's sucking up all the new recruits has a glaringly obvious bias.

[ he's not mad about it, cos it's not like he can talk, but man. it's a lot of earthlings. ]