tushanshu_logs | What Are You Worth, the Things You Love or the People You Hurt?

There's something almost poetic about the situation, Jor-El offering to teach her. It's the opportunity he might have had with Kal-El in a different circumstance. Now she's the one learning from him instead, the one who attacked the son who was raised by an ordinary human family. Sounds like the stuff of comic books.

Hayley lifts her hands to readjust the cape ever so slightly. Then she wraps the excess width around herself as much as she can while sitting, admiring the feel of it. Her smile remains as she tilts her head. "Why did you give me this?"

It's a scenario he has tried to not think on. He knew well before Kal-El's birth that it was something that would never happen, that it was too late to ever have. He never expected to know his son at all, but here he has. It does not mean he will restrict himself to teaching only family, has not.

"To comfort you." He gives a smile in return. It's small, but readily present, and fully evident it's one. This had gone far better than he had hoped; while she may still have flinched earlier, he hadn't actually expected her to be willing to still continue learning from him, even in the case of her accepting the apology.

She's not entirely certain what prompted it, but she's pretty sure this is the first time she's seen Jor-El actually smile. It only takes her a moment to realize how strange it is. Normally he's so logical. Now here he is, apologizing, giving her his cape to comfort her, and even smiling with a look that Hayley knows she could easily come to strive for.

"Are you feeling okay?" The question comes with some humor in her tone, but the sentiment behind it is sincere. She's certainly not about to complain if he is. The last thing she needs, though, is him showing up in another week to apologize again and ask for the return of the cape.

As unusual as it may seem to her- and he's fairly confident that that is what is prompting her question- he does actually know how to smile. It's something he rarely chooses to exhibit.

"Yes, I am." He has much more to do, with who he needs to find and apologize to, for what he and Kal-El did, but it no longer seems as difficult or unlikely to accomplish as it did at the start. He now has something more than an empty hope and absolute reasoning to go off- evidence.

Hayley gives him another smile. Normally this is the part where she would reach out a hand to shake or give him a nudge. Unfortunately, she finds that for all their talking and progress, the idea of casual physical contact with him is still intimidating. Instead, she just pulls the cape around herself again as a reminder that he's someone to trust.

"Thanks, for apologizing. I know you didn't have to. And yeah, I mean obviously it was pretty evil, but I know you're really trying to make it right." It's the method in which he attempts to find justice that intrigues her more than the actual act. Is this what heroes do? She's not sure she wants to think about it right now.

"With what happened, you deserved one." As do all of the others they attacked. It is something that must be done, at least while Kal-El is still in the prison.

What happened while they were under the statue's influence could not be allowed to control them further.

Hayley doesn't address that. She knows she deserved an apology, maybe was even entitled to one after what he, specifically, did to her. But it also wasn't him and that makes things complicated. A complication she doesn't want to go into, one she's not ready to expound upon.

"What about Superman?" She asks instead, seemingly suddenly. It barely crosses her mind before she blurts it out. Although she genuinely views Jor-El and his son as separate people with whom she has very different relationships, Jor-El is definitely the best one to know what's going on with the other man. "I mean, is he back to normal or..?"

"Yes, he's back to normal." Or as normal as he can be, when wracked with guilt over what they did. That is something that will require time to recover from, if it is something he will ever heal mentally from.

"Kal-El's chosen to stay in the prison for the time being." It's not a choice he can agree with, but one he can understand. They both acted in ways that were against their very core selves, but for Kal-El, it was all the more blatant an offense against his very being while they were like that.

It was something that could easily break a person.

Hayley nods a little to acknowledge she's listening as her gaze wanders away from him. Her eyes fall to some of the fabric around her shoulders and she stares at it, wondering if Clark's cape feels the same. That he's chosen to stay in jail isn't exactly a surprise, but it's not something she understands either.

"Why?" She lifts her eyes to look at him again with the question. She has a very basic idea of the things they did - Bart not wanting to talk about it was indication enough of that - but Superman wasn't himself. "Either it wasn't him and it's not his fault or it was and he should be executed."

It's not quite so black and white as she makes it out to be and some part of her knows that. But it seems unfair that he should pick and choose. It's not his fault when Hannibal uses his abilities to murder her, but it's his fault when some monster does? Maybe he only cares because he saw it with his own eyes. Whatever the case, it makes Hayley feel all the less important or cared for from her former- current friend.

"Because for a short time, we were both living weapons," he responds gently, meeting her eyes in turn.

"It was not his fault, but it was a strong awakening to what could occur here should it happen again, and here, rather than in an enclosed place like the world within that bottle. The prison negates powers."

Both his and Kal-El's particular danger in the event of being controlled again had been made more than clear.

Of course the urge to present her own case emerges. Hayley had been insisting for months that others, besides the Bat Man, should have Kryptonite in case something happened. This was exactly that and- It suddenly occurs to her that maybe that's why Bart didn't want to talk about it. But for as much as she still thinks the rock is a good emergency source, it's not the right answer here. Like the Bat Man taught her. There are other ways.

"He can't stay there forever." Whether it's a remark on her concern for him or the practicality of the matter is unclear. Hayley doesn't even know herself if it's a resentful remark about his hiding away, concern for Clark and the guilt he must be feeling, or both. "Why didn't you stay?"

"It wouldn't help anyone." Staying would have done nothing- for himself or for resolving any aspect of what happened. Full penance can be made through action, rather than doing nothing. For Kal-El, at least, it least had some form of help for him in a way, even if it could not last.

Besides, it would be too much time to deliberate and think on his own actions, not only what happened in Kithika, but since his arrival here in the first place. His original death. It was something he tried to avoid thinking on in depth. There was only so much flexibility in thought that even he could manage.

"He's aware of that. It hasn't changed his decision." Kal-El is an adult, and entitled to his own choices.

There are a million things she can think to say on the matter, both pleasant and not. None are meant for Jor-El. The things she wants to say are all for the friend of hers who sits behind bars feeling the agony of his mistakes. Some part of her feels like maybe this punishment is its own proper way to bring Superman down a peg, something she couldn't have engineered if she tried. A better way.

Whatever the case, she can't think of anything else on the subject that she needs to share with the man's father instead of the man himself. So Hayley jumps topics again. Sort of. "What did you both do to Kon and Bart?"

Edited 2014-03-22 03:50 (UTC)

He looks down for a moment, the question instantly bringing to mind what they had done. While they might recover physically, the damage there would be lasting.

"We injured them when Kon refused to join us." The answer is succinct. The details are not his to reveal.

Hayley watches his face and can tell he's less than pleased by the memories. It's not enough. She can't begin to recognize to what extent they may have hurt her friends - when she did come to have so many of them? - or how badly Jor-El feels. She'll have to resort to asking with plain candor.

"Did they die?" Her expression tightens in anticipation of his answer, hands falling to her lap. Because she can't contain herself, she adds, "Please. Bart won't talk about it and I don't know if it's because he doesn't want to remember or he's worried I'll do something or maybe he's stupidly trying to protect me again, but I need to know what happened to them."

While some part of her is aware of the fact that she definitely cares more for Bart's safety and well being than pretty much anyone else on the turtle right now, Kon is family to the two former monsters and that makes it even worse for him than for anyone else.

Somehow, in spite of everything, she and Kon are kind of friends now. He gave her a chance and understood when it seemed like no one else did and, like Bruce, that means something to her. She can only hope to do the same for him sometime.

Jor-El's response takes longer to come than the last. "Kon-El we left alive." In the state of mind he had been in, while Kon-El's status as a hybrid made the youth less valuable- as though that was something easily applied to a living being, much less a family member- he was still potentially useful, and therefore mattered.

"We didn't check to see if Bart survived." Or if what they had done to him was even survivable.

Bart had not mattered.

Hayley cringes slightly, simultaneously pulling away from him a hint while also pulling his cape more tightly around herself. It pains her, the mere idea of Bart and Kon both being hurt. Especially Bart, though she tries not to think about that specifically.

She doesn't have to ask how badly they hurt Bart. If Jor-El doesn't know if he lived or died, it's bad enough. She can't bring herself to ask anymore details. Maybe the girl can simply try to be there for them and let that be enough. More likely, she'll offer condolences and try to avoid either getting mad at her.

"Thanks for telling me," she says finally, to have something to say.

He's aware of her pulling away- it's hard not to- but also of her subsequent action.

"You're welcome."

There's little else to say for now, allowing her to control the conversation as he is.

Hayley wants to open up again. She wants to tell him all about how Bart always treats her like she's going to break, or how she's worried about Kon seeming lonely, or how frustrating it is that Kal's blaming himself after he took no part in her own death. But for as much as she trusts that Jor-El is himself again, the memory of the monster remains too fresh for her to do so. Instead, she gives him another weak smile.

"You can stay for as long as you want to? But you don't have to. We can talk more soon, if you have places to be." She needs time to think and suspects he has other people to talk to.

Releasing the cape with one hand, she slides it around herself with the other and tries to fold it back up once in front of her. Then she offers it out to him, not imagining that he might mean for her to keep it. "Thanks."

He shakes his head, lightly, palm of his hand out, and he gently pushes the folded cape back in her direction. "Keep it."

"It brought you comfort." Safety he cannot return to her so easily, but something that gave her that, she can keep.

There is very little he can currently besides offer her time, and that.

Hayley holds the cape out even as he declines it and for another few seconds beyond that, as if expecting that he'll change his mind. Eventually, finally, she withdraws the item and lightly holds it against herself. It's an unconscious gesture of both affection and protection, wanting to keep the cape safe and to keep it near. "What about your.. uniform.. thing?"

Having just thanked him, she can't bring herself to say it again. It feels inadequate anyway. Some part of her mind curses her for becoming so attached to Jor-El as another part takes solace from the velvet between her fingers.

Watching her hold it close, it helps Jor-El conclude that it was the right choice. "It's no more part of a uniform for me than your jacket is for you." A marker of his relative on Krypton, but not a necessary article of clothing- here, at least. "It's only something that's part of my culture." Even though it's much too long for her to wear- and he doubts that Hayley would wear it as intended in the first place- it's something he's sharing with her.

When he has the time and inclination, replacing it will be simple.

If Hayley had a uniform, her red jacket would definitely be a part of it. She can't imagine giving the item up to anyone at any time for any reason. Whether that makes her a worse person than Jor-El or simply more attached to material goods, she's not entirely certain and has no interest in dwelling on.

"What is it? In your culture, I mean. Does it like, represent something?" She really has no idea.

Simple article of clothing or not, it's one that he associates with her fully, the jacket being just as much a presence as his cape.

"It's one indicator of status. The emblem of my family is another." It's a topic he had not broached before, even when he explained his rise in the science guild. Without context, it would mean little.

Hayley gently drops the cape from her chest, ensuring it stays nicely folded as she lowers it to her lap instead and drops her hands on top of it. Should she be treating it with more respect? Is she being insulting now?

"What does it mean? That you're a scientist?" She adopts a sarcastic grin, one slightly at a disconnect with her current mood. "Are you secretly a big deal?"

What Are You Worth, the Things You Love or the People You Hurt?

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