2012-09-11 - Conner Visits the Guthries

Kon-El did his duty and called ahead before visiting the school greeted by one of the teachers and let in through the front entrance. He also showed up relatively incognito. Well, as incognito as he can go while still maintaining 'I'm Superboy.' I guess it would be difficult for anyone to buy that a kid in a T-shirt's actually the cloned son of Superman. The teacher retires to the porch, reading a book and drinking a cool drink as Superboy waves over to Paige, approaching in his Titans era costume, which is far less heroic when he's not actually doing some display of power in it.

Paige Guthrie has been on lockdown for a while and has been trying to keep herself busy. Lots of studying, Danger Room training, working out, jogging.... the last part being something she's currently doing as she jogs over to Kon-El, having recognized him from the earlier encounter they had with the whole mugger incident. "Oh.... hi there, Superboy?" She looks around. The perimeter defenses didnt go off which likely means he was invited. "Nice to see ya again" she says.

Outside of the outfit change, Kon-el does look much the same as he did, down to the spiked hair. "Hey, finally took you up on that offer to visit," he says with a chuckle, and walks alongside her if she continues to jog. "2nd time here, actually, first time I had to meet with the guy who runs the place, chat with him about some stuff. He said I could visit long as I call ahead, so... I did." He spreads his arms, and chuckle. "Ta-da!"

Paige smiles a bit and shrugs. "I might have been busy training. I didnt realize the Professor was allowing you guys on campus." She pauses. "Neat though. Ah hope they start accepting metahumans also. Makes it more inclusive."

"Sounds messy," Superboy remarks, remembering the girl's power. "And I wouldn't say 'you guys.' I visited, asked some questions, and wondered if it'd be alright to visit more often. This was before Star Labs released that report, and I was kind of wondering if /I/ might be a mutant." He considers for a moment, continuing alongside for as long as she keeps jogging. "Guess it's down to just being some weird quirk of the mixing DNA, and well... I guess anti-Meta stuff's kind of on the rise, but honestly, most of it seems to be coming from your side of things. Sort of comes down to basic philosophical differences, I think."

Paige Guthrie tilts her head and stops jogging. "Ah thought all you Super guys and gals were aliens." She puts her hands on her hips and shrugs. "I know... a lot of it comes from our 'universe'" she says, making air quotes. "But ah still think it's actually a minority of people - ah actually like the term meta-humans." She pauses. "Sorta... removes that barrier a bit don't it. Ah'm going to a mutant right rally after this lockdown thing's over for me. We're trying to bring in some notable metahumans to it as well. Yknow... you guys managed to have humans and mutants... metahumans.... work together. We have it here too. It's just a little difference between us and, say, the Fantastic Four, bein' that with us it's how we were born. But if you guys can have no real bias against metahumans it does give me lots of hope for the future."

"Superman and Supergirl are aliens, so's my dog, but... well, I'm complicated. I'm actually a clone," Superboy explains. "But you can't just clone a Kryptonian, the DNA's too weird, so they had to mix in some human." None of this is stuff she couldn't find if she researched hard enough. "I don't know, maybe it's because our first BIG hero was... well, Superman. When the greatest hero in the world's an actual alien from another planet, little things like some weird DNA seem rather tiny."

Kon-el will definately hear it first, but the air above their heads fill with the sound of flapping wings, and upon looking up, a red winged angel shall appear, bursting through the lowest level of clouds, and spinning a barrel roll as he descends, wings trailing cloud vapor for a few dozen feet. His flight path spins the vapor into a white double helix protruding from the cloud and he drops out of the sky rapidly, diving down, hair rushing between his toes as he's flying with naught on but a pair of shorts, a T-shirt tied around his waist.

Slowing his dive, those auburn wings flare and he dumps speed, coming in low over the grass before he flaps them hardly, buffeting Kon and his sister both with a few powerful bursts of air. "Hi guys.. New boyfreind Paige?"

Paige Guthrie nods a little. "Yeah I guess so. Been reading about the guy. Sometimes sounds almost like a story all the things he can do." She smiles. "Mutant, metahuman, alien... hey when it comes down to it we're all still people, right?" She then looks over, putting her hand over her hair a bit as Josh lands and flaps. So she responds by giving him a punch on the shoulder. Hard punch too! "C'mon Josh." She shakes her head and grins. "Superboy, this big showoff's here my baby brother, Josh." She looks over at Superboy, then back at Josh. "Josh, this is Superboy, one of those alien superheroes... though he's also like a clone or half human. Got a whole mess of stuff with him. He actually helped me out when some guy tried to mug me a few weeks ago. Cool huh?"

Kon-El's already looking up at Josh's approach. You wouldn't think the difference between something human sized with wings and an actual bird'd be that noticable by sound alone, but it is. "Taken," is his immediate response at the accusation/tease. "If there was magic in the blood, I'd probably complete someone's bingo card." He floats up to Josh, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you," he says, openly looking at the wings, and comparing the two. "Okay, see, you're kind of what I expected from 'Mutant,'" he tells Josh, and then looks between the two again. "Do siblings normally vary this much?" he wonders.

Kon-El's already looking up at Josh's approach. You wouldn't think the difference between something human sized with wings and an actual bird'd be that noticable by sound alone, but it is. "Taken," is his immediate response at the accusation/tease. "If there was magic in the blood, I'd probably complete someone's bingo card." He steps over to Josh, offering a hand. "Nice to meet you," he says, openly looking at the wings, and comparing the two. "Okay, see, you're kind of what I expected from 'Mutant,'" he tells Josh, and then looks between the two again. "Do siblings normally vary this much?" he wonders.

Josh shrugs, rubbing his shoulder. It'll heal in a minute or two. "It's genetics.. our family has a history of bein' mutants.. like some families have a history of heart problems or whatnot.. Us.. we get skin like tissue paper with a mystery prize underneath.. great big wings, or butt-blastin... that'd be my older brother Sam. In case you were wonderin." He says, playing up his normally mellow southern kentucky accent just to embarress Paige. Her punch tells him she like the guy.. better than her lips ever could. He grins, seeing Kon examining his wings. So he shows off. Why not? His shoulders pull back just a bit and that 14 foot wingspan spans out, exposing his wings in all their russet glory, myriad patterns of red on red tracing inside the feathers. "They have their uses."

Paige Guthrie suppresses the urge to laugh about how Josh describe's Sam's power. "I don't think we're any more different than any other siblings." She then adds, "Just... with powers."

"Like it better than a cape," Superboy says with a nod. "There's a few winged types from our end of things, don't really know any of them that well, though. Just see them on the news from time to time." He raises an eyebrow. "Butt-blasts... So... he... farts fire?" he wonders. "That sounds..." Painful, silly, embarrassing? "interesting."

Paige Guthrie rolls her eyes. "Don't mind Josh. Sam's power is that he can generate themo-chemical energy. Basically turns him into a living rocket. His lower half of his body turns all rocket-like and he goes invulnerable durin' that."

Josh cackles at Kon-el's description. a manly cackle, but a cackle nonetheless. "No.. we just tease him with that cuz of how he looks when he does it. I'm not sure on the science behind it.. but.. the uh.. Kinetic energy.. you know like when you swing a fist? Well he can make that in his body and build it up to the point of explosion.. and when it does.. it sends him flying like a cannonball. But he's got this forcefield thing that protects him.. so it pretty much demolishes anything he hits. His nickname is Cannonball." He explains with a grin. "I'm Josh like Paige said... " Though he is suddenly wondering why a member of Gen X would need saving from a few muggers.. turn to brick and brain them? Simple enough..

"Oh," Kon-El says with sudden understanding. "Okay, yeah, I know how that works," he says with a nod. "Similar deal... just... not as showy," he explains. "And... well, I try not to run into things. We cause enough property damage when we really get fighting anyway."

Paige Guthrie smirks, then grins. "Yeah. And my brother's nickname is Icarus. Yknow, like the fella who got too smart for his own britches and flew up to the sun when gravity knocked him upside his head?" She crosses her head and just grins happily. "And mine's Husk. For reasons ya already found out about during our last meetup." She looks over at Josh and says in a hushed voice, realizing what he must be thinking, "I didnt really need help but him and some other metahuman hero guy saw the mugger pull a weapon on me and figured I was a damsel in distress. It was still nice of them. Besides.... I didnt want to ruin my new clothes anyway." She then smiles again at Kon, toying with her hair a bit idly.

Josh busts out laughing at that, and his wings fold in on themselves, tucking in neatly behind his back. "Wow Paige.. most girls would shed clothing for a guy that looked like that. You actually shed your skin? " He teases, and moving to stay out of range of her small and painful fist. And the Icarus of legend didn't fall.. his wings were made of wax.. and they melted when he got to close to the sun. It's also a metaphor to being careful not to fly to high or you'll have that much farther to fall. THAT'S why I took the name Icarus." He tells Kon, assuming Paige isn't trying to beat him about the head and face.

Kon-El actually blushes a bit at that, and coughs. "I sort of already have a girlfriend," he explains. "Wondergirl. Might have heard of her," he says, wanting to nip /that/ in the bud. "Sounds a bit like naming a rowboat Titanic, to me," he says of the Icarus name.

Paige Guthrie grins a bit, despite the whole 'guy has a girlfriend' thing. "I'm sure she's a 'wonderful' girl." She looks at Josh. "I know where ya sleep Josh yknow."

Josh grins wide at his sister. "I'll find new accomodations for the next six months or so. Water under the bridge." But he does turn his gaze on Kon. "Not quite sure but I think that was a little insulting. Me taking the Icarus name." He says, waiting for an explanation.

"Sorry, didn't mean to insult," Kon-El says. "Just... naming yourself after a guy that crashed... I dunno. Then again, I insisted on being called Superman when I first got my start, and he'd been beaten to death, so I guess I'm not really one to talk."

Paige Guthrie looks at her brother then at Superboy. "Oh cmon now guys, no need to fight over codenames. I don't think he meant anything harsh by it." She smiles at her brother. "I'm the one who's supposed to have the thin skin, remember?" Wow, did Paige just joke? She's definitely less preachy than normal around Superboy.

The smile on Jay's lips falls like it was never there, and his gaze shifts to Paige once more.. as she knows his story. But shifting his gaze to the ground between Kon's feet he says simply. "It fits.. The Icarus of legend is famous for falling after trying to touch the sun. I was chasing something just as impossible.. and fell just as far. " He says, his tone suddenly somber. "It fits.." He says and turns away without another word. Wings open and with a burst of dust and blast of air from his wings he launches himself airborne once more and flys away, apparently done talking.

At the change of demeanor, Superboy gives a visible flinch. "Crud, sorry, I--" and then Jay's fling off. He looks back to Paige, then looks after Jay. "I'm going to apologize, see you around?" he asks, starting to lift off himself.

Paige Guthrie looks over at Superboy. "I'm sorry about that. I'm noticing a lot of our folk seem to be getting sort of... well... short of temper about outsiders sayin' stuff about our names, our problems, so on. It's misdirected anger - lotta us have had sorta hard times with the outside world. Sense of humor's hard to keep up."