12021/Checking on Crush

Checking on Crush
Date of Scene:	15 July 2022
Location:	A construction site in Manhattan.
Synopsis:	Superman swings by the construction site and surprises Crush with the fact that she's on the League's radar.
Cast of Characters:	Clark Kent, Xiomara Rojas

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Clark Kent has posed:

    Superman isn't usually one to keep checking in on every powered being or alien living on the East Coast, but Crush is a slightly different case. She's powerful enough to be a danger to begin with on her own, then when you add in who her father is and it's not a bad idea to at least touch base every now and then. He knows she's consciously chosen to take a different path then Lobo, but with Czarnian genes you can never be sure. Certainly she's got a bit of an anger problem here and there even though she is trying to be one of the 'good guys', and anger attached to that level of power is a dangerous combination.

    It's close to the end of the normal construction day when Crush takes another load of I-beams from the ground to the top of the building frame. When she turns from putting them down where they are needed, Kal is leaning against a vertical beam with his arms crossed across his chest and red cape streaming out like a flag in the wind. "You've gotten really good at that. Most of the people I know who are strong enough to jump that far don't have the accuracy to stick a landing on such a narrow spot, especially not when carrying quite a few tons worth of construction materials."

    He pushes gently off the beam and walks over to her, extending his hand to her in the custom of their adopted planet. "You look like you're enjoying this job, which I'm glad to see. A bit more wholesome then the underground fighting circuit. How have you been doing? I hear you're also looking at joining the Titans, which I would certainly support. It would be good for you to have some people around your age that understand the kind of strength you have to be careful using in everyday life. I'd bet most of them have some version of the 'and then I tore the car door off trying to open it' story."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
It was the worst kept secret of Crushes teenage life... she actually liked working construction. It wasn't just helping move things far more quickly than a crane could, it was all the little things about building or renovating something that most people had no clue about. That was another not so well kept secret, she liked learning new things.

Dressed in the matching coveralls everyone else wore on the construction site, she had made it her own by having the top part down with sleeves tied around her waist to expose the aqua tank top she wore beneath. Wrapped around her waist was a thick black chain, looked like a belt really, except there was no buckle and no indication of where it started or ended.

"Last load Stan," she calls out as she sets the beams down, then turns and... nearly jumps out of her skin.

There were a hundred possible ways to meet and greet Superman, at the top of the buildings steel skeleton was not one she knew of until now. In a matter of seconds the calm, almost happy-go-lucky attitude she had is replaced by suspicion and that usual hint of Czarnian anger. Thanks to Richard Stadler however, the anger was easily shoved back into the box.

"Yeah," is what she says first, slowly, staring at the Kryptonian with slightly wide eyes. It's then she notices the hand, blinks once and slowly reaches out to take and shake it. Never mind that her mind was screaming, 'What the ever living fu...' over Superman being there.

"Ms. O'Connail's dad likes my style," she then offers, putting on the teen attitude. "An I'm good at it to boot."

Her grip is likely too much for a human, but no where near what she's capable of... she's getting better at this whole 'pulling strength' thing, but no where near good enough yet. "How you know so much about me?" She finally asks.

Clark Kent has posed:
    "Oh, I keep my eyes and ears open, and the League tends to keep track of people at your level of power just to make sure there are no problems cropping up. There's not a lot we can't keep an eye on when we need to. Given that your father and I added a number of new craters to the Moon last year, you might understand why I'd be at least a little interested in how you're doing. You could be a powerful force for good or one of the most dangerous villains on Earth." The handshake is returned at the same level she uses, then released.

    "Mine happened at about four or five, I think. My dad just repaired it and started working with me on controlling my strength." Ah, he's referring to the car door thing. "If you ever feel like you need a little practice with that, let me know. I've been doing it for quite a while now, and I'm no longer worried about breaking hands or delicate glass objects. It's really just a matter of getting a feel for the weakness of different objects."

    He looks around the building site, then gestures at the beams she just dropped off. "For instance, those beams we could both tie into knots, but they are strong enough that we don't have to be terribly careful when picking them up. Now, the windows they are starting to install on the lower levels require an entirely different touch to survive one of us picking them up. Like so many things in life, it's practice, practice, practice."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
In that moment Crush had two options. Lost her shit over Superman talking about her father, whom she hated and who hated her, or bite her tongue. Her eyes flashed red for a split second then she choose option two and bit her tongue... literally. That tiny jolt of self inflicted pain was enough to keep her from saying most of the things that crossed her mind in reference to her father, and from doing what normally happened, which was lose her temper.

"Wasn't a problem as a kid," she mutters quietly, still watching him closely. He was here cause she might be a threat, maybe, sort of... if she didn't do good things, well good guy things.

"I been working on it in the danger room. Computer tells me when I'm using too much strength, cause I'm not supposed to punch people too hard, if I get to help the Titans I mean." She then comments with a light shrug. "Used to being alone, so just do it."

She wasn't a villain, she knew that much. She didn't desire to take over the world or hurt other people, unless they ticked her off and then she wanted to hurt them all the way. That was the primary reason for anger management things, like counting or biting her tongue.

"My adoptive parents were..." she pauses, trying to decide if he even needed to know, but whatever... might as well. "They were stoners, but they cared. Dad tried to help with my 'tamper tantrums' and mom used to have a way of keeping me calm, but the strength, it wasn't really an issue until... it was."

Until it was... which was exactly five years ago when those adoptive parents were killed and Obelus was stolen. That was a bad year, one filled with memories of hunting down the drug lord that killed her parents. During that time she hadn't cared about her strength, used it to her advantage, and that's when the underground fighting started.

"Hey... how did /you/ know about the underground fighting?!" She suddenly blurts out. "You got spies in the metahuman and mutants gangs or something?"

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman listens to what she has to say, noting the rise in her heart rate and other indicators of anger when her father is mentioned. It's filed away for another time, preferably when there's nothing breakable like buildings around to have _that_ particular conversation.

    "I'm glad you're getting involved with a group who has a danger room to practice in. That makes it way easier to work on it. I did it the hard way, learning to catch things like apples and lightbulbs when they were thrown to me. Seems that we strong folks can lose a little control when we have to catch something, not just pick it up easily. Something to do with concentrating more on the catch than the grip we catch with, I imagine. I'd suggest adding that sort of thing to your training, it really does help."

    "I'm glad you had parents who loved you. That's important for a child, even if they were stoners, as you say. A lot of kids out there don't even have that going for them. I wish I could help each and every one of them, but that's a pretty impossible job even for me. I have to be content with the charities we contribute to and hope they can help as many kids as possible."

    He chuckles slightly at her final question. "Of course we do. Well, more people who are willing to give us information than actual spies we send into those groups. As I said, there's not a lot the League can't keep track of, and something like a super-powered fighting league has the potential to hurt a lot of people. We try to keep things from getting lethal in that kind of thing. We could shut them down, but in some ways they are a safer outlet for people to use their powers and even make a living when they can't seem to fit into the normal people's world well enough."

    He rises a foot or two into the air, the iconic red cape billowing behind him. "I'll let you finish up, just wanted to touch base and see how you are doing. I'm glad to see you finding your place, but if there's ever something you need a hand with, let the League know. You can get contact info from our website, including an emergency contact number if it's an immediate issue."

    He tilts his head to one side for a moment, then sighs slightly. "Afraid I have to go, sounds like I'm needed." He waves, rises a couple more feet into the air, then shoots away across the city in a blur... but a blur that's carefully just below the speed of sound. No sonic booms here, there's too much glass all around.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
For a few minutes after Superman has zipped off to save the day, Crush just stands there on the beam staring after him. She was being watched by more than the teachers at Happy Harbor, more than Colette O'Connail, more than the Titans... the League. Never once in all this time did she consider herself that kind of threat, but the way the big man had put it... hell yeah she was, so it made perfect sense.

Finally blinking a few times, she turns to look back at the beams to a bewildered Stan, complete with safety harness, just standing there staring at her. "You know Superman?" He asks tentatively, a hint of awe in his tone.

"I do now," she replies with a snort. "Get back to work Stan, you need to be home on time or your wife will murderer you with that shrill voice of hers."