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

"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?"

He gives her a level eye in return.

"On Krypton, we had a group elite families. Among them was mine, the house of El. My family produced some of the most prominent members of Krypton's various guilds for thousands of years," he explains.

"Every Kryptonian was part of a guild; they are parts of our lives that are nearly as important as our families. As a race, we prided ourselves on our knowledge and prized science above all else. I was the head of the Science Guild." Even in disgrace as he was in the end, cut off from the resources and lack of restrictions he would normally have had available, it was still a position that allowed him audiences with the council.

"So yes, you could say that." There's only a particular look in his eyes to let her know that he found humor to her questions, posed as they were.

In spite of her teasing, Hayley doesn't expect Jor-El to be. It's not that he isn't a commanding presence, that he's lacking in any intelligence or wisdom. But in an entire population, people of significance are pretty rare. She sure as hell isn't one, in the grand scheme of things, and even some of the superheroes are beginning to seem like one of many. To be the head of the most important Guild and part of a respected family name? He really is kind of a big deal. And it's weird.

"You're serious," she clarifies, just in case. But his look of humor extends only to her words and not his own. As if he ever jokes like that anyway. Although worth of an 'ohmygod' response, Hayley remains too uncomfortable to dip into such amicable territory. Instead, she looks down to the cape and allows her fingers to travel over the material again.

"So the cape shows what guild you're in? Or the leadership? If it's an El thing, I don't really think I should have it." Not with Kal-El around.

A position of importance that matters little, here. Something that he's come to enjoy; what expectations there are here stem not from his reputation on Krypton but instead come completely incidental to that- they're related instead to being Kal-El's father. Something that not all of those present here are aware of.

"Neither of those, directly. It's only an indicator of status," he answers, which should be enough to let her know that yes, he's serious. It's not something she seems to actually be doubting either way. "And even if it was directly due to my family, giving it to you would still be my decision to make."

"Only important people wear capes?" It sounds ridiculous when she says it like that, but it's an honest question. Hayley wants to understand more about Jor-El, about the place he comes from and what it must have been like for him. It's not the same as wanting to know Clark, who grew up on Earth. This is only about the father.

To the latter, she shifts uncomfortably. "Yeah, but I'm not sure I'd want to be the one to answer where it came from and why you gave it to me if he asked."

She doubts there's a question as to who 'he' refers to.

"If that happened, Kal-El would have to answer to me in turn." It isn't a choice for Kal-El to question, even if he would.

"A person of status isn't necessarily the same as someone of importance," he explains. "Kryptonian society, its social classes, were heavily regimented." Each guild bearing its own different level of importance to society as a whole and what status was ascribed to its members and each house- particularly the oldest ones, such as his own- beqeathing some kind of social standing to its members.

It was strange to her, how easily Jor-El could separate their relationship from Kal-El. To her, it was as intertwined as trying to deal with Bart and Kon. To him, they were clearly separate entities, with the other in mind but never catered to. She gave a small smile, one that didn't quite seem genuine, as she thought about the matter. It was easier to reply to the other issue.

"Okay, but you were both, right?" Because it was hard to imagine someone like Jor-El not being important if he had such status. He was certainly the type to earn it.

While it was something he would not forget, it was not something he would hold against her or in Kal-El's favor. Logic and reason had too strong a grasp on him to do so, even where emotions were involved.

"Yes, I was."

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

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