@cjk [ audio ]

[signifies]

Hello everyone. My name is Clark. I'll try and keep this brief.

Firstly, I've drawn up a blank list and placed one on the bulletin board on each housing floor. If those with medical expertise feel comfortable, they can put their name, residence here, and — if they have one — specialisation, in case of an emergency. We have several residents who aren't from the same point in time, so if you'd like to volunteer to update someone's medical knowledge, please mark your name with an asterisk.

Secondly, ah-- [ a bit of a laugh. ] I'm from Kansas, which some of you might recognise as being host to some pretty bad weather. Now, I'm not going to say I'm paranoid, but-- I like to think ahead. So, I've made up some kits with some of the usual survival paraphernalia back home and distributed them between floors. Feel free to help yourselves if you need them.

[ No one has to use them, but he’d rather everyone knows they're available. ]

Thank you for your time.

( all replies in audio unless otherwise stated )

Comments

[fingerstripes]

[ He'd had the forethought to leave the Nightwing suit tucked away at the apartment, along with any incriminating hidden gear he'd normally have on hand. It's not... exactly a great feeling, limiting his options in unfamiliar territory. But that's also a discussion that would almost definitely go over better if it happens on open terms.

And anyway, he'll never really be unarmed. ]

Thanks. [ He takes the seat across from Clark with an easy bounce. ] Gotta admit I haven't had a lot of time to check out the cafe scene.

[ He's just really into the secluded corners in this place. ]

[signifies]

[ Satisfied, Clark nods. If anything happens, he should be able to protect Dick, long enough for him to make it somewhere safe. ]

Me neither.

[ He pushes the menu across the table. ]

The waiter says they're known for their lattes.

[fingerstripes]

I'll give it a shot. [ Typically he's more of a black coffee guy, but that's more lack of time than taste. ]

You're gonna have to tell me if it holds a candle to what Metropolis has to offer on that front.

[signifies]

[ It sounds like he's really planning a visit someday. Clark can imagine it. ]

You'll have to tell me if it's anything like Bludhaven.

[fingerstripes]

[ That brings a bright smile to his face. ]

Can't say much for the coffee. But it has a few charms, if you know where to look. You should swing by sometime.

[signifies]

I will.

[ They have a fifteen year gap, but if there's still a Dick Grayson there, Clark's curious enough to look him up. ]

Especially if there's a story to be found.

[ He raises an eyebrow. Time to talk about weird. ]

[fingerstripes]

Well, you can count on Bludhaven not to disappoint there.

[ But it's a lead-in if ever he's seen one. Clark's a brilliant man, of course he knows something's up.

He taps his fingers on the menu. Tries his hardest not to show his hand in a grimace. ]

...So, uh- strange question. When we had that sit-down with the brass on day one, how much of that... actually came as a shock?

The multiverse talk.

[signifies]

[ A lot of it had. Clark knew there was a way into the Phantom Zone, not places like this. It's harder to adjust to people from different times, instead of different universes. If they don't know Metropolis, they don't know Superman. It gives him leeway he doesn't have at home. ]

It's all new to me. You're the first person who recognised Metropolis.

[fingerstripes]

Yeah. I've run into that too. Seems Gotham isn't exactly a universal landmark either. [ And it's left him a little lost for touchstones. For a sense of perspective on time and place. It's a dangerous place to be, alone. It's part of why it feels so important for Clark to understand. He takes a breath. ]

...But where I come from we've-

Honestly it's been weirder to run across worlds where a lot of us aren't represented. [ Wow how this must sound. ]

Uh- In some way.

[signifies]

[ It sounds like it'd throw anyone off-balance. Dick seems to have either experience or expectation. Clark can see how Riverview or anywhere else like it might mess with that. ]

... Us?

[fingerstripes]

...Friends. Sometimes family. [ Technically he's only ever met one other version of himself, but it's more than enough to know they're out there. It's never been a comfortable feeling, exactly. But it's a reality. Inescapable.

How would it feel to be hit with that without that framework already in place? ]

It's pretty far above my pay grade. But, uh- we've actually kind of met before. [ As carefully, casually as he can. ]

[signifies]

[ Dick says friends first. Clark's eyebrows rocket upwards. If they know each other, Dick's behaviour makes sense to him. He's trying to break this gently. Clark would almost prefer a punch in the gut.

He speaks again only after their coffee arrives, having used the time to consider his words. ]

Were we friends?

[fingerstripes]

...Yeah.

We actually met when I was a kid. You'd already been, uh- working out of Metropolis for a few years. [ Working. He studies his coffee, suddenly embarrassed. ]

...There's obviously some differences. [ And there's a way out, if he needs to take it. ]

[signifies]

There are.

[ 1998 versus 2013. Time's shifted forward. He feels guilty: Dick looked for something familiar and found him. ]

I hope enough is the same.

[fingerstripes]

[ It's something Clark would say, and it's enough to startle a laugh out of him. ]

Well, it says something that you haven't chased me out of here screaming yet. [ He kind of wouldn't blame him at this point. He still can't quite look at him, embarrassed by just how relieved he feels. ]

I know it's a lot to take in.

[signifies]

It is.

[ Dick's done a lot not to make feel as overwhelming as it is. Clark shakes his head, smiling a little. ]

Do you mind if I ask--?

[ About Dick. ]

[fingerstripes]

[ He waves a dismissive hand. ]

No. Definitely not. S'only fair. [ For all the flippant tone implies, it's not an offer he's ever made lightly.

But if you can't trust Superman, who can you trust? ]

[signifies]

[ He'll appreciate it when he realises Dick is not this open with everyone. ]

Do you work together often? What do you do?

[ Roundabout way of asking about the codename. Clark didn't see any weapons on him and Dick scans as completely human. Clark's already worried about the kind of people he might face. A human being can accomplish some incredible things, but Clark's thinking on the scale of Zod. Humans in general wouldn't stand much of a chance. ]

[fingerstripes]

I started in Gotham awhile back. The, uh- the man who raised me- [ he fumbles on Bruce's name- ]

He got a head start on the masked vigilante thing. My job was pretty much running interference. You'd be surprised how far you can get against your average Gotham mobster when you're a kid nobody expects much from. [ Most of the memories are still good ones, and it shows in his eyes. ] I went by Robin then.

...That's kind of where he came in. They... well, they didn't always see eye to eye, but they became friends over the years. And so he was my friend too. When I needed to get out of town for a few days, there was an open couch in Metropolis. When I was really in trouble, and I couldn't call on my partner, I could always count on him.

Not every time. But enough. [ There's an open look of true fondness on his face for a moment, then he's quick to tuck it behind the coffee cup. ]

And that didn't change after I left.

[signifies]

[ Clark's expression darkens when Dick says he started as a child. He can't imagine that, and it's probably why he doesn't see eye to eye with this 'partner' at first. Then again, what happens to a child that they become a vigilante?

This is all in the future for Clark. He doesn't want to assume: Dick obviously respects this other Superman deeply. Clark's not him. He's not even someone to look up to. ]

How many others are there? In... our business.

[fingerstripes]

A hundred now? Maybe more than that. [ If he catches the darkened look, he studiously keeps his reaction to himself. ]

It's a little tough to estimate when there's more in costume than just metahumans.

[signifies]

[ Clark's jaw drops.

He stares down at his coffee, trying to grasp this. ]

There's-- there's only me so far.

[ Dick isn't lying. Clark can hear the honesty in his voice and his heart. ]

[fingerstripes]

I'm sure that's- I mean, uh... [ He fumbles again, feeling a sudden, sharp little pang of guilt. This isn't a Clark who's been wearing a cape since before Dick took his first swing on the trapeze. Who's had a lifetime to adjust to other people with secrets. People privy to his secrets. ]

Not that I'm much of an expert, but I wouldn't assume there's much cohesion beyond the fact that you happen to exist in both of them. I mean we had- there's never been a Justice Society, right? They were pretty much the first in my world, and that was decades ago.

[signifies]

No, I've never heard of them.

[ People wouldn't be up in arms about an alien visitor if they were used to this. ]

Who are they?

[fingerstripes]

...They all came out with unique talents at around the same time. So it came naturally for them to work together. This was back in the 1940s.

[ Now is probably not the time to bring up the Justice League. The question he has is bigger than that. ]

If you've seriously never met any of us, then that means there's no one...

No one you can call on, is there?