11590/Irresponsible Construction Practices

Irresponsible Construction Practices
Date of Scene:	13 June 2022
Location:	New York Harbor Docks
Synopsis:	Heavy stuff collapses above an innocent security guard. Wonder Boy gets caught in the industrial debris field and loses consciousness. Superboy saves the day!
Cast of Characters:	Morgan Finn, Jon Kent

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Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan has had a lot going on in his life recently. Dr. Morrigan MacIntyre, the headmistress of Happy Harbor High School, died on a class trip right in front of his eyes. And more recently, he answered Wonder Woman's call to help battle a massive creature known as a world eater. The battle was brutal, intense. And at one point, the teen demigod was legit absolutely sure he was going to die. So yeah, a lot of emotional rollercoaster stuff going down.

So this evening, without telling a soul where he was going, Morgan donned the sacred armor of Wonder Boy, and went on patrol high above the city streets. But truth be told, the kid is not at all looking for trouble. If he was, there are literally thousands of places around New York he could be that are more sinister and dangerous than the Brooklyn harbor. He sits up on a construction crane that is not currently being used, legs dangling fearlessly over the edge.

And he catches sight of a familiar figure below. Here in the harbor district, no less!

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon was not looking for trouble. Not really. It wasn't his night to look for trouble (he still had a curfew to obseve, super-powered or not). He wanted to be near the water, because when you grow up with nothing but Kansas as far as the eye can see for your first few years, it gives you an appreciation for a lot of things. Elevation, vegetation, variety. Water.

His dad had also told him stories about the time when he worked on a fishing boat of some sort when he went out to try to find himself, so being neir the docks was a bit of a comfort. He's also amused by the thought that, if he had come back earlier enough in the timeline, he could at one point have potentially spotted his future dad hauling nets. The image amuses him for some reason, and he grins as he walks, hands in his pockets and head slightly down.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Sure, Morgan could swoop down and say hi. And he probably will! But for now he just wants to watch something peaceful for a change. He tugs one knee up his chest and rests his chin on it as he watches Jon being Jon. There's no massive, flying worm creature trying to kill him and his friends. There's no goddess from the underworld killing his headmistress. It's just a quiet evening near the water, and someone he recently met is down there chillin'. Cool. Really cool.

And, as per usual, everything is quiet and peaceful right up until the moment when it's not. Right up to the moment where a sudden shriek of metal screams out in protest in the cool evening air. A construction scaffold suddenly gives way with the kind of fierceness and immediacy that takes away all decisions and choices. In these moments, sometimes one is forced to make a terrible decision that will surely have lasting consequences, and one /might/ be lucky to have two full seconds to think it over. Might. But probably not.

The construction crew has mostly gone home for the night. One lone security guard is walking the perimeter, keeping an eyes on things, probably dreaming about things other than his dull job. And in that moment, he is standing underneath several hundred pounds of screaming metal. He barely has time to look up when all hell breaks loose and certain death rockets toward him.

Jon Kent has posed:
Legacy is something that you can't avoid when you're the son of Kal-El, you know? Or the grandson of Ma and Pa Kent. There was that bus of schoolchildren his dad has saved when he was barely older than he was- and Ma and Pa would not have been the kind to tell him to just let them die to protect his identity. It wasn't the Kent way.

But there was also the problem of responsibility. There was always a danger, every time he used his powers-- his pet cat, Goldie, had paid the price of that. It's something he's never forgotten.

The boy is a blur of blue and red- blue for his jeans and shirt, red for his hat- he has the advantage of being half-Kryptonian and the benefits of their enhanced reaction times and speed. He has to be careful, because he can't simply rush in and sweep the guard away at full speed or he will kill him. He has to slow down just enough to intercept him, grab a hold of him, and then speed away just fast enough to get him away, but not so fast that he stops his heart. This is something his dad has harped on constantly, how fragile the human body is to forces. He's practiced with crash test dummies. He's practiced with balloons. He's even had to sit down and jot out equations and work out the physics and biology under his dad's patient, watchful eyes. His mother, by her part, had compiled material on the human body, and assorted rescue procedures.

Sure, he could have sped in and blasted the debris, but that could have created scattered shrapnel and molten metal flying everywhere. This way was better, he thought.

Slowing down, Jon quickly checks on the security guard, grateful for the fact that it is night and therefore his face isn't in direct light. "Sir, are you alright?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan's lips part as he rises to his feet atop the construction crane. Just before the entire area is awash in construction dust, Morgan witnesses Jon's astonishing feat. The teen demigod is stunned as his brains works to process what just happened. At first he goes down the Maybe It Was A Trick Of My Eyes checklist. Nope. It's a clear night and he saw what he saw.

Sadly, Morgan can't fly. But he can fall really far without getting hurt. So he literally jumps off of the construction crane and three-point-superhero lands on the ground. Gotta be dramatic while wearing the Wonder Boy armor, don't ya know.

He takes off running in the direction of the massive dust cloud that clings to everything and fills the air.

"JON!" he yells out. "JON! YOU OKAY MAN?"

Coughing as the dust fills his lungs, Morgan holds his hand futilely over his mouth. "JO..." He starts to go into a heavy coughing fit. He didn't think this through at all. His head swims as the thick construction dust overcomes him. The world spins. He's on his knees. What's...going...on?

Blackness.

Jon Kent has posed:
As Jon checks on the security officer, his ears pick up his name being called out loud, and he frowns. He advanced far enough that the cloud of dust is just now getting to them, but he recognizes the voice calling out for him: His dad's best friend's sidekick, Wonder Boy. "Call 911!" he says to the security guard, "There's someone else there!"

A quick X-ray scan around the area as he runs reveals that there are no casualties, and that the building was deserted, fortunately, so by the time he reaches Morgan, Jon knows he only has one person to deal with. There is a momentary blur to his outline as he runs, and by the time he has reached Morgan, he is no longer in his civilian clothes but the Superboy outfit, cape trailing behind him, his clothing bundled up under an arm.

"Don't try to talk!" he says, the timid and milquetoast demeanor from the coffeeshop is gone just like that, and instead hands as strong as anything else grab Morgan by theshoulder and, in a second, he is being hoisted upwards, away from the settling cloud of dust and into fresh air, up in the night sky. Thank goodness for the cover of darkness.

Morgan Finn has posed:
"It's okay, baby, you rest. You'll feel better in no time." The voice: Jenny Finn, Morgan's biological mother. She's such a comfort. She's so understanding and gentle. And she's been dead for three years. She sits on the bed next to young, eight-year-old Morgan. His powers had not quite started to manifest yet and he was still capable of getting sick back then. She rubs Vick's Vapor Rub on his bare chest as he coughs and coughs and...

Morgan opens his eyes suddenly, coughing the thick, gross dust out of his lungs. He inhales a deep, long breath as he looks around to get his bearings. He's way up in the air. He's not falling. And impossibly strong arms are holding him aloft. It's Superboy.

Morgan swallows heavily as he catches his breath. "Jon..." he murmurs as he looks at Superboy.

Jon Kent has posed:
"You inhaled a lot of dust," Jon says, eagle eyes scanning the nearby area for suitable rooftops. This isn't Metropolis, which has high-rises sprouting off high-rises. Off the docks, the closest high building that was suitable for landing was one of the buildings overlooking Cadman Plaza Park- it was tall with no adjacent buildings that were taller.

Landing with a gentle touch upon the rooftop, Jon quickly looks at Morgan, hearing trying to pick up his breathing, and his lungs. "Can you breathe normally? Is there any pain when you breathe?" he says, reaching out to touch the demigod's shoulder with one of his hands, blue eyes showing concern and worry.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Letting out a few more residual coughs, Morgan is able to stand on his own upon landing. But he sticks close to Jon, you know, just in case he gets weak. Or whatever.

"Yeah, I'm good." And then he makes a deep, almost retching sound as he bends over and his body heaves what's left in his lungs out. His potent self-healing powers are expelling the contaminants from his body. Taken a deep breath he stands back up, cheeks flushed red. "Sorry. That was...that was pretty gross." He lets out a little smirk as he wipes the back of his hand across his lips.

He watches Jon for several moments trying to gauge if he's upset right now. "That was pretty incredible what you did down there. There might not be ten people in the whole world who could have saved that dude from dying." He nods in Jon's direction. "You should be proud."

Jon Kent has posed:
John looks a little flustered as Morgan heaves, cleary hoping to help in some way, but not quite knowing what it is that you do for someone who just coughed up powdered cinderblock. When the demigod returns to normal, the teen of steel visibly relaxes. The wind picks up, setting his cape to flap behind him but also bring some refreshing coolness in this stifling Summer.

Jon's expression isn't easy to read, there's mostly caution, watching Morgan, and up until recently there was worry about his health. He doesn't have personal experience with Demigods, that's his dad's thing, so he wasn't entirely sure if one could die from dusting.

When Morgan makes his observation, Jon blinks a couple of times, seemingly embarrassed. He reaches behind his head and rubs at the back of his head, for want of anything else. "It's just what I have to do. It's... you know." He gestures to wards the symbol on his chest. "You jumped in too, that's what Wonder Woman would have done, right?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Psychologically, Morgan is not built for sulking or negativity for any real period of time. It's just not who he is at the molecular level. So he lets out a snort and a smirk at Jon's words. "Except she wouldn't have needed rescuing." Really just by reflex he reaches out and gives Jon's shoulder a playful punch like guys do sometimes, and it causes him to stagger back a few steps. There is a surprised -- and entirely amused look -- on his face.

"Okay I shouldn't do that," he says with one corner of his mouth curled up in a half grin. "We know that now." Unintentionally mimicking Jon, Morgan reaches back with one hand and rubs the back of his neck. "So that whole time in the coffee shop?" he says. "That whole shy boi thing. That was...that was actually pretty amazing. I'm sorry that I saw that. I swear on my honor I'll never tell a soul, man."

Jon Kent has posed:
The teen of steel lets out a little embarrassed chuckle, "It's not exactly an act. I just. It's like- just gotta emphasize different things about you, right. And you put that away when you are this other thing." He shrugs, somewhat at a loss for the right words. "I don't wear a mask- can't wear a mask- so I need to make sure people notice different things about me when I'm just walkin' around bein' me than when I'm flyin' around. It ain't an act 'cause you can't really-- keep it up? Dad says it's gotta be part of you or it goes all fake and flat."

He takes a slow breath, and then he nods, "I mean, I have to trust you. But if I can't trust Wonder Woman's sidekick, who can you trust? 'sides, she knows my dad. Even if-" he trails off. "Well, I don't know if he's *told* her I exist. 'cause I don't *technically* exist. Right now. In 2022. It's complicated."

Morgan Finn has posed:
Slowly, Morgan starts to pace a bit to vent off energy. There are no pockets in the Wonder Boy armor, and he seems fidgety not knowing what to do with his hands. He settles for grabbing his belt. Sirens erupt in the distance as fire crews speed toward the scaffolding collapse site. He glances in that direction for just a moment.

"Are you displaced in time?" Morgan asks in a gentle tone, like one might use to ask a kid in the mall if he's lost. For all his powers, Morgan's biggest strengths are his compassion and empathy. He looks at Jon softly.

Jon Kent has posed:
"Something like that, yeah," Jon says with a light shrug of his shoulders and an easy smile, "I'm not supposed to be born here until a few years. Mom and Dad took it super well."

He puts his tongue against his cheek, seemingly considering the accuracy of his statement, which then receives the addition of "Eventually." Judging it sufficient then, he nods.

"It's not a big deal, though, 'cause I spend time with mom, dad, or my grandparents- which is cool, 'cause when I was growing up they were already pretty old, so by the time... you know," he says, being something somewhat recent to him, "they were pretty on in age. This time I kind of get to spend with them before they go."

Nothing in his blue eyes betrays if he feels any weight from the notion that he actually knows when that time will likely be.

Morgan Finn has posed:
The teen demigod cants his head a bit to one side, causing a cascade of hair to slide in front of his brow. He absently swipes it away with a flick of one hand. "So did you, like, live an entire life or something? Like your parent grew old and stuff?" He has a puzzled expression on his face. Morgan certainly isn't dumb, but neither has anyone ever accused him of being a genius. And time travel math is hard.

Jon Kent has posed:
He smiles. "Nah, 'm sixteen but my parents didn't have me *that* late!" That Kansas accent sneaks in when he's relaxed. "Only a couple of years. Let me telk you, that made their eyes go wide-heh." When he smiles, there's definitely an echo of his famous father. Over the years, it might grow into the calming, reassuring presence of the Man of Steel. And then he grows thoughtful for a little. "Hope I didn't say anything to them to make sure I don't get born." He holds up a hand in front of Morgan, "Then it'll be like that old movie mom and dad watch where this dude who goes back to the past starts fading out in slo-mo."

Morgan Finn has posed:
"Where are your clothes?"

It's a question that Morgan just blurts out suddenly. He looks Superboy up and down. "When you were down on the ground and I was watching y...." He stops dead and his cheeks and ears burn beet red. "I mean." Deep breath. Exhale. Dumb ass.

The suddenly nervous teen starts to pace again. "Okay so you were down there wearing regular cloths. Now you're all Super decked out. Where are...where are your clothes?"

Jon Kent has posed:
"Right here," Jon says. The wind had tilted his cape so that it draped over one shoulder, hiding one arm. As he moves the cape aside, the cap, shirt and jeans are visibly tucked under the arm, with the sneakers dangling from the wrist, tied together by the shoelaces. "It's tricky but I've been able to change at super-speed... I just didn't have the time to stash my clothes somewhere before getting you. But I figured it was dark enough that nobody would notice I was carrying them."

He tilts his head, hearing the sirens, and purses his lips. "I should probably head over there to help... and maybe see what caused that scaffolding to break down like that. Maybe it was planned?"

To kill a solitary security guard? Well, you never knew. This /was/ New York, not Metropolis. His Dad said things went down over here. Although nowhere near as bad as they do in Gotham, where the security guard might actually be a supervillain.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan slides a high-tech, custom cellphone from a pouch on his belt. "Alright, well, maybe next time we can hang out without someone almost dying." His cinnamon brown eyes glitter energetically.

He presses a button on the side of the phone. "Lanis, need a pick-up at the harbor." He slides the phone back into the pouch.

"The Invisible Jet will come and get me," he says, with a sort of proud look on his face. "Lanis is the AI. She's pretty cool. She saved my life the other night."

A few moments pass. Morgan smiles. "She'll be here any second. She flies really fast."

A few more moments pass awkwardly. Morgan takes a deep breath. "Sure is a nice night out." His foot taps a little bit. "She might have....might have gotten held up for a moment and st-...and stuff."

His earlobes burn beet red. "Dammit," he murmurs to himself under his breath. This is embarrassing.

But then, finally, there is a rush of air and suddenly the Invisible Jet drops its cloak and appears hovering just off the edge of the roof. The ramp lowers. "That's the...that's the jet right...right there," Morgan stammers, pointing at the very obvious jet hovering nearby.

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon's eyebrows go up and he lets out an impressive whistle. "Daaaaaaaaaym. My dad won't even let me have a motorcycle," he grins. And then waves.

"Sure thing, next time we'll just hang. Good to see you again, Wonder Boy." Codenames now, because it's business time. He actuall puts his clothes down, straightens his cape, and takes a second to collect himself. Then, standing ramrod-straight, all confidence, he jumps off the rooftop and glides through the air, a blur of blue and red, heading towards the flashing blue and red lights.