11426/Caffeine Makes Everything Better

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Caffeine Makes Everything Better
Date of Scene: 01 June 2022
Location: The Coffee Bean
Synopsis: Jon Kent and Morgan Finn meet at the Coffee Bean. Hilarity ensues, and expert origami is done.
Cast of Characters: Morgan Finn, Jon Kent




Morgan Finn has posed:
The Wonder Boy moniker doesn't have anywhere near the cachet that Wonder Woman does, and so Morgan honestly doesn't go very many places and get recognized. But a coffee shop right outside of the Themysciran Embassy? Sure. So as Morgan -- decked out in his casual civilian clothes -- is walking by himself on this warm spring evening and about to enter The Coffee Bean when someone speaks.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but are you...are you Wonder Boy?" a young woman who is holding hands with a young man asks him.

Morgan stops and, to his credit, gives them a genuine, warm smile. "Yep, guilty! You're not a cop are you?" he teases.

The woman giggles and her companion likewise laughs a bit. "No, just a fan. Could we get a selfie?"

Morgan falls in right between the two and throws his arms around their shoulders as the guy holds his phone way, way out to get all three of them. He snaps the picture. They thanks him, he shakes their hands, and then he breaks off and enters the shop.

Jon Kent has posed:
For Jon Kent not getting recognized is how he knows he understood the assignment. Superman, his dad used to say, never wears a mask, because people need to trust Superman because how powerful he is. Not wearing mask is a show of vulnerability, masks hide how you are feeling, what you are thinking. Superman can't afford to hide, he can't give people a reason to fear if he has to help them.

'But Mister Wayne wears a mask-' he would say,
'Yes, but Mister Wayne dresses up like a bat and gets hit over the head twenty-eight times a night, so maybe he's not the best example,' his father would say with a slightly mischievous smile.

And so, those who come from the House of El do not hide their face. But they do coast under people's expectations when they are living their own private lives. Baggy clothes chosen to be drab and unremarkable. The cap, the glasses, and the gentle politenes makes for a perfectly unremarkable young man. Most people tend to overlook you when you play to certain expectations, and so even the fact that he could be considered handsome goes right out the window, subsumed by the performance.

Said unremarkable young man is currently heading to get his coffee, and he happens to perk his super-hearing at the exchange. He's heard that Wonder Woman has found another sidekick, and that it was actually a boy this time! He admits to being curious, getting a glimpse at someone whose paths he might potentially cross in the future. As he walks, he cranes his head to get a glimpse- and in doing so, because he's still a teenager, Super or not, he gets so absorbed in the selfie performance that he ends up bumping into someone else ahead of him in line.

Because he's a teenager, and also half-kryptonian, he doesn't have the finest grasp of his powers at all times. The businessman surprisingly finds himself falling forward from a light bump that felt like a light shove. Fortunately, his fall is cushioned- by the person in front of him. And so on, and so forth, and in the blinking of an eye, there are four people on the floor, unhurt but scrambling to get up from the domino effect...

And one very embarrassed Jon Kent, who now is being noticed by the entire coffeehouse after the startled shouts of those who went down.

His father would say that he has not understood the assignment.

"G-Gah I'm s-sorry," he stammers, his voice carrying the barest hint of a Kansas twang "I- wasn't looking where I was going."

Morgan Finn has posed:
The door alert chimes gently as it opens and Morgan enters. Not unlike the House of El, he, too, does not hide his face. But also, he doesn't hide his identity. The Themyscirans -- and those adjacent to them, like Diana's male ward -- represent the open and unabashed goodness that they believe resides in every heart even if it needs to be coaxed out sometimes.

But we've already established that Morgan doesn't really carry very much fame, and this human domino spectacle is really stealing everyone's attention in the coffee shop anyway. So Morgan slips in unnoticed despite his encounter out on the sidewalk. He sees people on the floor. Eyebrows arch up. The nearly ever-present smile quirks his lips. "What, is there a robbery or something?" the constant jokester quips as he playfully puts his hands up. A small spasm of laughter makes its way around the room, lightening up some of the tension from people being knocked over. Morgan's gaze finds its way to Jon's face, lingers there for an awkward beat or two, and then quickly shifts away as a slight redness graces the young demigod's earlobes.

Jon Kent has posed:
Grateful for the difusing joke, Jon takes the chance to take several steps over to this left, where he can pretend he has been looking at some of the merchandise (expensive coffee mugs) next to the other display cases (more expensive coffee mugs) which are different from the merch near the cash register (even more expensive coffee mugs.) His pride is slightly deflated from having bungled things so badly, so much so that for a moment he doesn't need to pretend he's an insecure teen dressed to disappear from view, he /is/ one. He's not expecting all eyes on him when he's Jon Kent, Ordinary Teenager, and it's embarrassing.

When he looks up, he catches that guy, Wonder Boy, looking away and he jots it down to what a ridiculous display he made in there.

Dad's playbook often said that when you bungle something up, you should take time to re-group, re-assess, and then do better after making sure everyone was alright. Nobody was injured, only ruffled, so Jon grabs the first thing in front of him (an extremely expensive mug) and darts for the open register, where he plunks the mug down and he begins to fumble for his wallet. He had to get out of there, but not just dart out, that would draw attention. Buy your mug, he says to himself, and then remember that you left something on the stove. Like, your pride, or something.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Next in line is Morgan. He doesn't have any merch. He's here for four things: coffee, coffee, food, and food. And so he ends up right behind Jon in line, albeit empty handed. He glances to the totally normal, completely not superheroic teen and lets out a small, subdued laugh.

"I don't think you'd look very good with a plunger on your head," the young demigod says to the tall kid next to him. Possibly Jon gives him an odd look in return? Morgan reaches over and picks up the mug that Jon hastily grabbed in his embarrassment. He was in the section of mugs commemorating bizarre -- but real -- national holidays. In this case, the mug says 'Happy Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day!' and shows a cartoon man with, that's right, a plunger on his head. "You should stick with the hat, I think," Morgan quips, with one side of his mouth turned upward. He sets the mug back down on the counter.

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon stares at the mug he grabbed, and realizes he just overlooked another one of his dad's nuggets of wisdom: Always pay attention to what you're doing. Now he has to come up with a perfectly reasonable reason, right. Be quick, Kent.

"It's- it's for our plumber," Jon says, picking up the mug and showing it off, "To th-thank her. Because we clog our toilets so often and he has to work hard-" and now he realizes the story has gotten away from him and is painting a very awkward and, frankly, TMI information about the digestive life of the Kent household. He shuts up and puts forth his money, rubbing at the back of his head, "So, um, yeah. He's a good man."

Morgan Finn has posed:
The teen demigod's gaze goes to the mug, then to Jon, then to the mug, then to Jon. "So...*she* is a good man, your plumber?" he asks, his ever-present and easy smile still on his face. He briefly lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Hey, man, I don't judge. There are all kinds of ways to live a life."

He turns to the girl at the counter. "Hey, Shaina, how's it going? I'm, uh, I'm gonna have..." He looks over to Jon briefly. "I'll have a vanilla cinnamon latte with an extra shot, four double chocolate donuts..." He reaches over and slides Jon's plumber's new mug closer to the cash register. "...this *amazing* mug for a woman who is the best toilet unclogging dude in the world, and whatever my new friend is having."

Shaina grins all wide. "Sure thing, Morgan!" She looks to Jon. "What'cha gonna have, sir?"

Jon Kent has posed:
Caught in a contradiction. Gosh, he was failing so many of dad's Super-Maxims, he felt like he needed to go into detention in the figurative Phantom Homeroom and write them out a hundredscore until he got them right. He blinks a couple of times and clears his throat. "Oh, you don't need to buy the mug, it's ok, I'm buying it with my own cash because it's a gift." Yes. "For a person." Definitely. "Who exists." He slides a twenty, "But I will have that coffee. Uh..."

Speed-reading the menu, he decides upon something simple. "Just a chai latte will do, please. Er, a small one."

He shoots Morgan a slightly embarrassed, small smile, "Thanks. That's a lot of donuts. Are you taking them to someone?"

Yes. He is still playing dumb about the fact that this boy is his Dad's best friend's sidekick.

Morgan Finn has posed:
The who-is-paying-for-what details all get sorted by the consummate professional, Shaina. The chaos of the situation doesn't seem to be an issue for Morgan. In fact, he seems to be really amused and thriving on it. The mug, the drinks, and the donuts are all slid across the counter. Morgan grabs his drink and his plate of donuts and starts walking toward a table.

"Oh I'm definitely taking these donuts to someone," he he replies. He sets his drink down on a table and pats his stomach. "They're for the monster that lives in here," he quips with a chuckle as he sits down.

The teen demigod points to the the other seats at the table he chose. "If you're not on the run, hang out if you want to." A shrug. A perceptive observer might pick up that he is acting more casually than he seems to feel.

Jon Kent has posed:
"Sh-sure," Jon says, setting his mug down and putting both hands around it in the very image of an old man warming his hands with a warm cup of cocoa. Except, of course, his mug is empty and his actual drink is cold, but those are just details.

"That's a lot of sugar," he observes, helpfully, "Y-you're probably going to be buzzin' around like nothin' else," he says with a little smile. That Kansas twang comes and goes, like someone who has been accustomed to sanding it down, but occasionally having it crop up in moments of relaxation. "I'm Jon. Jon Kent, pleased to meetcha," he says, offering one of his hands for a shake.

Morgan Finn has posed:
When Jon offers his hand, Morgan takes in a deep, deep breath and stares at the hand for a moment. He reaches for it, and is oddly hesitant for some reason. A few drops of perspiration appear on his forehead and he seems...nervous. He veeeeeeery slooooooowly moves his hand toward Jons and grabs it with a gingerly softness.

"Hey, Jon. I'm Morgan Finn."

When the shake is successfully navigated, he grabs one of his donuts and takes a huge bite. He's a hearty eater, this one. He slides the plate closer to Jon and unabashedly talks with his mouth full: "Hewm youself if you wam somm." It's not that he's rude or thoughtless, it's that he is a demigod. He lives closer to the wellsprings of life than regular humans, and is so often caught in the moment.

Jon Kent has posed:
"Oh thank you, but I'm not really into sweets that much," Jon says after that very soft handshake. It relieves him, because he still hasn't fully controlled the fine-tuning of his super strength, so most of the time his handshake feels like he is handing someone a dead fish to weigh instead of a hand. Morgan having a similar gentle handshake ensure no questions will be asked, although it usually just reinforces Jon's appearance of being a very shy, milquetoast teenager with confidence issues.

"But thanks, I appreciate... um, you come to this place often, I see?" he smiles a little, "I'm sorta looking at new places to hang out. I don't get out a lot after school work's done. But I'm trying to change that."

Morgan Finn has posed:
By the time Jon finishes talking, Morgan has already devoured the first donut. He turns around and gestures out the storefront window to the Themysciran Embassy across the street. "I live right across the street. But I practically live in this coffee shop as well." He drags a napkin across his mouth quickly as he chuckles a little bit. "I should keep my voice down before they decide to charge me rent."

He nods in Jon's direction. "Where d'you go to school? I go to Crappy Harbor." Donut #2: Your time has come! He tears into it.

Jon Kent has posed:
Blue eyes flit over to the embassy, and back, "Oh, you work at that Embassy? What do you do over there?" Jon asks. There's value in asking people questions, especially about things you already know- how someone answers can reveal a lot about themselves. Not that Diana would be likely to pick a dishonest kid for her sidekick, but it does tell you a lot about a person's flavor, what they emphasize or minimize.

"Crappy Harbor?" Jon tilts his head a little and frowns, "I do- Oh, Oh! You mean Happy Harbor." He lets out a little laugh, "I hadn't heard it called that! Why's it crappy?" he says, leaning forward as he smells a scoop of sorts.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan washes down his current mouthful of donut with a big ole sip of latte. Like he does with most things in life, the teen demigod eats and drinks with vigor and enthusiasm. There is juuuuuust a *little* tiny touch of bashfulness to him when Jon asks what he does at the embassy. "I'm Diana Prince's ward. I train and fight with her under the code name Wonder Boy." Clearly, he is making no attempt to speak discreetly or quietly. It would be easy to (correctly) infer that like Diana, Morgan's identity is public.

And just to show that he is paying attention and has situational awareness, Morgan dodges the question about why he calls it Crappy Harbor and counters with, "You still didn't tell me where you go to school." A flash of a small grin.

Jon Kent has posed:
"Oh! Well, that's nice. I had heard somethin' about Wonder Woman getting a ward but..." he shrugs with a little shyness, "I'm not very up-and-up on a lotta stuff." He clears his throat a bit and takes a swig from his chai.

"I ain't in school. I mean, not in public school. Not yet. I'm bein' homeschooled right now 'cause I transferred in the middle of the year and my parents thought it'd be best if I just started next year fresh instead of gettin' in mid-year. I don't do too well with new crowds an' all." He shrugs and smiles a little.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Now it's Morgan's turn to scrutinize Jon. He watches the other teen for a beat or two as he analyzes the answer. Nobody has ever accused Morgan of being book smart but he has a keen ability of observation. "Alright. Right on. I know the feeling. I tend to avoid the big crowds, too. It's easier said than done in Manhattan. I grew up in the Kitchen, so it was a little easier there."

Another big drag of the latte. "So home schooled, huh?" He looks and sounds surprised. "What's that like? Do like tutors or whatever come to your home?"

Jon Kent has posed:
"Oh, not like that, no- mom and da' take care of it. Dad's a journalist and mom's- a writer, and they've gone through all of the required stuff. At the end of the summer I gotta take the placement exam, y'know, make sure I learned all the required stuff 'fore I jump in next year, but I'm sure I'll be fine." He smiles broadly now, "I spend more time studying than doing much of anythin' else, so I should be fine, right?"

Before Morgan's scrutiny can get stronger, he gestures with his chin, "So why's it so crappy over at the harbor?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan is stuffing his last donut in his mouth. Dude can eat. "I'th nop!" he says, mouth full of donut, and him doing his best to stifle a laugh. His eyes glitter with life. He quickly grabs his latte and takes a deep drink to clear his mouth, then once again he drags a napkin across his lips. "It's not," he repeats, this time more clearly. "It's just a dumb joke, like a...um...y'know...a pun? A play on words or whatever?" A shrug.

"I like it there actually. They're good to us." Talking about emotional stuff, Morgan glances down at the table and idly plays with his napkin between his fingers. "There are powered kids, like me. And non-powered kids. Everyone just gets along. Everyone is just free to be who they are." A pause? Maybe for emphasis? "Or to only show that part of themselves they feel comfortable showing."

Jon Kent has posed:
"That sounds /super/ interestin' Morgan. I bet you get a lot of kids askin' you questions about what Wonder Woman's like." Funny enough, he doesn't. "Sounds like a nice place, though. I'll probably end up goming somewhere in Metropolis, that's where I live." He shrugs, "Look at me, I was about to say it must be interestin' to go to school with powered kids, but if you're Wonder Woman's ward, you must have powers of your own."

Blue eyes dart down, and then up again after looking at Morgan's waist, and he leans forward conspiratorily, "D'ya have your own lasso yet? Or those bullet-deflecting bracelets? I always wondered what those look like up close."

Morgan Finn has posed:
A grin creeps across the kid's face slyly. Morgan answers, "Most of my friends at Cr...at Happy Harbor wanna know if Diana is single." The sides of Morgan's neck redden slightly. "Buncha idiots," he says, though there is warmth in his voice as he does -- affection for his friends. "Like Diana would ever date a high school boy."

He holds up the horribly twisted and shredded napkin that he had been nervously picking at. "Look, I made a swan!" If that mass of damp, torn pulp is a swan, someone should put the deformed wretch out of its misery. "Rar!" He makes the 'swan' move across the table a few inches. Deflection. He doesn't like talking about himself.

"I have some powers, yeah," Morgan admits. "My father is Asclepius, the god of medicine. I've had a couple powers since I was little. I'm starting to develop more as I get older." He glances up at Jon vulnerably, seeing if he's freaking out his newfound friend too badly. He almost looks like he feels guilty or abashed.

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon Kent takes this in the same way as he would hear someone talking about their Dear Aunt Tilly. Not a widened eye, just that wholesome hayseed meekness. "Huh, I remember readin' about him. Mom made sure I read up on all of the myths... my favorites are the Norse..." he seems to realize who he is talking to, and chuckles nervously a little, "No offense. The Greeks are cool too. Don't that make you the brother of the goddess of Hygiene too? That's cool. Funny that, though, I never really thought to think that the Greek gods would still be going at it, you read all of that stuff and think 'Oh sure but that was thousands of years ago'..."

The realization dawns on him that he has just talked about Morgan's father 'going at it' which really can't be comfortable for any teenager to hear his parents discussed in that context, so he gleefully veers towards the diversion, "You made a swan," he comments and nods approvingly. And makes a note of not talking about Leda and the swan.

Morgan Finn has posed:
As Jon's conversation veers into the sexual dynamics of Greek deities -- in particular, Morgan's father -- the teen demigod's face turns a curious shade of rose. "Oh yeah, they're still doing their thing out there somewhere. I've never been to Olympus. My cousin Alex is going to take me there sometime. I've never even met my father." He holds up his left hand. On the index finger is a gold-hued ring. It's just a plain metal ring, not unlike, say, a wedding band. It catches the light in very odd ways, making strange and subtle patterns if one stares at it for too long. "This is all I have of him. Maybe someday I'll get to Olympus and meet him." A shrug.

He glances back to Jon. "Sounds like your parents are pretty dope. Home schooling you and stuff, and taking an interest in your shit. That's...um...pretty cool, man." So, yeah, parents aren't the super happy-happy-joy-joy subject for him. But Morgan's personality isn't built for sulking, and the damp mood passes quickly and the sparkle returns immediately to his cinnamon brown eyes.

Jon Kent has posed:
Right. Never talk about parents around other Superheroes. Clark Kent Maxim number thirty-four. It's a rule that has long been observed that the Kents seem to unfairly get not only some of the best parents, but also the living/invested parents. There's a reason nobody talked about Mother/Father's day around the Watchtower. Another assignment that needs to be reviewed.

"Well, it's been nice meetin' ya, Morgan, but I gotta start headin' back. Gotta catch the hyperloop if I don't want to be out way past curfew time." He gives the Wonder Boy a shy grin, "Not all of us can go an' fight crime at all hours of the day... Wonder Woman doesn't have a curfew for you, does she?" He asks with genuine curiosity, "I guess I never really thought about it. Like, obviously Batman never gave Robin curfew because, like, he would go out with him at night. So many technicalities of superheroin' us in the public don't know."

Morgan Finn has posed:
There seems to be a sleight sinking of Morgan's features when Jon announces that he has to go. "Oh okay, yeah. Don't want you getting in trouble or whatever. I don't really go out at night unless there's a reason. My main focus is early morning combat training at the crack of dawn, and then school. Of course Happy Harbor is on summer break now so things are a little more relaxed."

Mister Bold Demigod looks down at the table and moves poor Swany around with his fingertip. Abashed. "You wanna...wanna swap numbers or whatever? Or hook up as Facebook friends? So that maybe we can chill sometime or something?"

Jon Kent has posed:
"Oh right! Sure! Here-" scribbling on the one napkin that hasn't been torn apart, he writes his Twitter moniker: @JonKent123, "I'm not on Facebook much, that's like, for my dad and whatnot and I don't take enough pictures to do Insta, but I get on twitter now and then. Just tag me and I'll follow ya so you can DM me if ya wanna meet up or hang out or stuff. My schedule's a little crazy with the studying but we can come up with something." He shoots him a grin, "Maybe I can come watch ya train, I've never seen Amazon training. I bet it's kinda epic."

He stands up and gives a friendly wave- in order to avoid shaking hands again and risking too tight a squeeze... not because Wonder Boy probably couldn't take it, but rather because he can, and if Jon squeezed too hard, he'd give himself away. "Thanks for being so nice. And for the chai. Next time's mah treat." He stops and picks up the mug he had bought. "Can't forget this!" he says, and starts walking out of the coffee shop, asking himself who the hell he can give that mug to, now.