luministi | Shield 02

[Today, Kon's standing outside the Talon, a renovated movie theater that currently serves as a coffee shop and hangout for teenagers... in Smallville, Kansas.

Needless to say, he looks kind of speechless as he turns the screen to show the marquee and then the outside of the building before focusing it back on him. He coughs, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he quietly says:]

I know you guys've said you've started seeing stuff from your worlds... well, you can add me to that list. This place here's the Talon. It's a coffee shop, though I haven't bothered to go inside yet.

I'm kinda afraid it's locked or something. [Not that it'd really be a bother for him, what with his heat vision, but he certainly had to keep up the illusion of a smalltown boy from Earth.] But if it's got food, I'll definitely be taking it down to the safehouse later.

[He stops, opens the door, and blankly stares as a basketball pummels him into the face. Wait, since when did the Talon come equipped with those?] OW! [He rubs his face, even though he was more surprised than hurt by SUDDEN BASKETBALL TO THE FACE.] Where the hell did that come----

[Voices interrupt his cursing. Around the Talon, it's the voices of rambunctious teenagers talking about their after-school plans: writing articles for the school newspaper, figuring out how to get drunk in a dry county, events for this week's church youth group, the best way to tip over the cows in Mr. Stein's yard.... Despite the normalcy of it all, there's one conversation that makes Kon shudder.

They're talking about "meteor freaks," the kids who were powered by kryptonite, the alien rocks that fell from Krypton several years ago in Smallville. Although no one's ever been able to prove that Kon WAS one, they weren't able to disprove it either. They wonder about his origins for a minute, before launching back into their original conversation.

Kon presses his lips.] ... Is it just me, or are there voices in the area too?

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Oh! [Sophie is understandably surprised to see him floating. considering the lack of other people from her universe in town, she can't help sounding almost eager as she asks:] Are you a wizard?

Then you must call me Sophie, Conner. I take it you mean to move the food with magic?

[Him? A wizard? Kon furiously shakes his head as he approaches her.]

I'm sorry, but I'm no wizard. I'm... uh, I'm a metahuman? An alien? My powers are all natural.

[Sophie gives him a skeptical look] You say that as though magic isn't natural. [she's a bit disappointed. for a moment, she thought he might be from a world like hers]

By alien, you mean you're...from a different world than your home?

Sorry, ma'am. It's just not natural for someone like me! One of my friends is a wizard, but that's about all I know.

[He offers her a smile, as well as some coffee that he'd just found.] I was born and raised on Earth, but my dad's from this planet called Krypton, so technically I'm not from my home? It's complicated.

[surprised] So there are wizards on your Earth?

I see. [she thinks she does, anyway. she accepts the coffee, nodding gratefully] Thank you. Goodness, another person from Earth! How odd.

Can I help you move more of the food?

You mean most people here aren't from Earth? [He nods, though he looks kind of surprised too. It'd never occurred to him to ASK about people's worlds.] We've kind of got everything back home. Aliens, wizards, time-travelers... I wouldn't be surprised if stuff from Luministi eventually popped up.

Yeah, I could use some help with stuff that isn't in the fridge.

Oh, no, quite the opposite! It seems just about everyone is from Earth, which, as you might imagine, is terribly strange for me. I'd never even heard of it before I came here! [thoughtfully] But it sounds like your Earth is rather different than most. Most of them seem to have no magic at all! Can you believe that?

[she nods. she's brought a basket with her, and she moves to begin retrieving food from the counter] Of course.

Huh. That is kind of strange.... Not even a single bit of it? I know most people don't believe it exists, but my Earth had plenty of magic. [He doesn't mind that he can't use it; his superpowers are enough for him.

Once he's in front of the fridge, he unplugs it before lifting the entire thing in his hands. Kon's... not breaking a single sweat.] But I'm not surprised that you're from elsewhere. What's your planet called?

[thoughtfully] Well, perhaps that's their problem, then. It's hard to say, never having been there myself.

[Sophie can't help looking a bit impressed at that, but she mostly keeps her attention focused on her own task] We just call it "the world," really... [a bit embarrassed] I'd never really thought about it before I came here.

[He normally would've tried to hide his super-strength, but in a situation like this, it's pretty pointless to.]

Really? I guess if you don't travel between planets often, you wouldn't need a name. I don't think Earth even got a name until we realized other planets were out there.

Yes, that makes sense. We do know there are other worlds, though. [thoughtfully] But I don't believe anyone but powerful witches and wizards can travel between them. My husband, Howl, is from another world--a land known as Wales. But I'm afraid I don't know much about it. [her expression falls, and she pauses, just for an instant, in her work. in her present home situation, she feels a bit guilty to admit:] I've always found it rather dreadful, to be honest.

[Wales?

Her husband's from freaking Wales? Kon's trying so hard to hold back his laughter, but it fails.]

Well, that's because he's from Wales. It's like, one of the most boring places on Earth compared to say, the United States or even Egypt!

[So he elaborates:] I think your husband's from a world like mine, at least, since Wales is another country on Earth.

[she stares at Kon, shocked by that response for more than one reason] The land of Wales is on Earth!?

[even after she asks the question, her mouth is still hanging open in surprise]

[He's still laughing hysterically, but he's reining it in long enough to nod.]

Unless there's a planet by that name, I'm pretty sure it's on Earth.

[Sophie is still gaping] I...had no idea. [she reddens and snaps:] Oh, stop that! What is so amusing?

Uh, well... people from my country, the United States, don't really like the food in Wales. It's kind of awful.

[Speaking of food...] I'll tell you the rest on the way to the safehouse?

[still gaping] You dislike it for the food!?

[what a strange standard. but she gasps a bit at the reminder, embarrassed] Oh! Yes, of course. [she piles some more food into the basket, then straightens, hefting it carefully] I'm sure everyone will be glad to have more food.

Well, yeah. If the food's bad, then it's an indicator of the people's ability to feed themselves and thus how they act.

[It's failproof logic in Kon's eyes!] I bet. I thought it'd be easier to find stuff but I guess even this place's gotta goof up sometime.

[Sophie isn't buying it] Don't you think that seems a bit...extreme?

[she heads for the door, ready to take her load to the safehouse] To be frank, I doubt it's a mistake. This town--or rather, the different people running it--seem to enjoy creating obstacles. I imagine someone wants this situation. [thoughtfully] Or, they want something else that required this to happen as well.

Maybe a little, but I still don't trust British people with my food. They've turned perfectly good fish into garbage. [Food is very important to him okay?? Even if he doesn't need to eat to survive.

He carefully follows her out; the fridge is bulky, so it takes him a minute to get it out.] So you think the lack of food's a side-effect of what they really want? I can buy into that.

[as she doesn't know what "British" means, she's not going to argue that. of course, she sounds British herself, but she doesn't know that either]

I think it must be. Perhaps they're changing something about the way the town is run, and it's preventing food from arriving. But it could be anything, really. For the moment, it's best that we concentrate on ensuring we have the food we need for as long as this lasts.

Shield 02 | video

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