15614/Metropolis Rooftops

Metropolis Rooftops
Date of Scene:	14 August 2023
Location:	Uptown - St. Martin's Island
Synopsis:	Phoebe and Jon Kent have a light-hearted and flying conversation.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Jon Kent

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe Beacon had an inordinate amount of free time and a unwilling desire to not sleep. So she had stopped in to grab coffee with a friend who went to Metropolis U and was getting ready for his sophomore year of college, which meant he was also a Very Busy Bee. So now she was up on a random rooftop, because she's very used to being in cities of three dimensions and not just streetsides and alley ways.

    Which is why it was a little weird, she supposes, that looking over the really rather clean Metropolis neighborhood, sans graffiti and with its lower crime rate, that she felt more at home on the rooftops looking over the neighborhood than inside the coffee shop below where of COURSE a barrista has posted to all three of his social media accounts that a WAYNE had come in, bought coffee for everyone for the next two hours, and left a staggering thousand dollar tip on her own two dollar cup of coffe.

    (Hash-tag: Wish I Had That Problem, Rich People Don't Get It, CoffeCoffeeCoffee, -- which got shared on the @PAW-Official (Verified) account with three crying-while-laughing emojis and started #coffeecoffeecoffee trending.

Jon Kent has posed:
Well Jon isn't, like, live-in-the-slums-on-welfare poor, but he's kinda poor. And a free coffee is *exactly* up his alley. Plus, he wonders who the mysterious Wayne is. He knows quite a few of them. So he shows up at the coffee shop and orders a large with cream and sugar. The caffeine doesn't affect him, of course, but the sweet and the cream are quite pleasant. He talks to the barista about which Wayne left the generous gift, and when the employee describes the person Jon smiles. Phoebe.

He is texting on his three-years-out-of-date iPhone with a chipped screen as he departs the store. <<Mmmmmmm, free coffee!>> he texts Phoebe, with a grin on his lips. <<Dude said a Wayne paid for it. Must be Tim, I bet.>> He sits down on a bench, grinning at himself for his cleverness. He takes a big drink of the sweet, creamy liquid.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh no man it was one of the like, two, three girl Wayne Kids. The one with the hair wraps and everything! I heard once she punched a CFO out the window and BATMAN had to save him!" the Barrista describes Phoebe, pretty much to a T. Minus the fact that the CFO was punched out the window.

    He had grabbed her thinking she was from the secretary pool and she had judo-thrown him across a desk. He was then later expelled sans any golden parachutes from his position on account of ungentlemenly behavior.

    Jon would after a moment receive a picture of himself in reply to his text, from above -- since Phoebe's hanging out on the rooftop.

    <<100% Tim's doing. He's sleeping off a LOTR marathon on my couch.>>

Jon Kent has posed:
Queue the Superman Theme Song. We all know how this works. Innocent, mild-mannered Jon slips into a revolving door and faster than the human eye can blink, Superboy whooshes out then up, up, and away! Eat your heart out, Flash.

"Look, mama," an excited girl blurts out as she tugs on her mother's hand. "It's Superman!"

With a sigh, Superboy rolls his eyes and smiles. He lands on the rooftop as gently as a feather touching down. "Hey," Jon says. "What are you doing in this town? Isn't it some kinda treaty violation or something?" Playful. Light-hearted. Jon.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Super violative of the Metropo-Gotham Accords of 2017, in which the 'you got peanutbutter in my chocolate-slash-you got chocolate in my peanutbutter' provision allows for business dealings without the need for capes." Phoebe replies breezily to Jon, but she lets hte smile spread on her face, the bright sunlight picking out the few freckles she has on her face.

    "But really, I was meeting a friend for coffee, and he had to bolt for a lunch date." she explains, and motions to her own very nice, would-work-at-the-Wayne-Enterprises office. "Which also explains why I'm not in kevlar."

Jon Kent has posed:
Sitting on the edge of the roof with his legs dangling, Superboy lies back on the roof and peers upward. For obvious reasons, he *loves* the sun shining down on his face. He closes his eyes and sigh contentedly.

"Do you ever wonder why certain people are given great powers or capability and some are not? Is it random? Is there such a thing as fate or destiny? He squints one eye open and side glances Phoebe. "You're all magic and stuff. You must have some kind of inside info to share with us muggles?" A smile. Harry Potter. Jon loves Harry Potter.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe sits on the side of the roof, and she closes her eyes, tilting her head towards the sun as well.

    "Well. If you were to ask some mages, they would say fate is bollocks, but they've got special cases." she replies thoughtfully, her eyes still closed. "Fate, destiny... they're all different color threads from a spool. The threads can be used to make a tapestry to show the big picture, with some threads bright and golden, some threads very America red-and-blue." she pokes a little fun at the SuperFam.

    "And other threads work in the background, defining the shapes of the other threads, or connecting the backing. Others make the fancy fringe that goes on the outside of the tapestry. And some are meant for smaller things -- like embroidery projects. No one thread is supposed to be more important than the other, to the weaver, but to those who look at the threads? Of couse they're going to be drawn to the brighter colors on the image of the tapestry." she jokes, and then looks out over the city.

    "Destiny and Fate have always seemed, to me, two sides of the same coin. You are Destined to be /Great/. You have a legacy to uphold Truth and Justice, to fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

    And then she lays back, and looks up to the sky.

    "Fated always seems to be the dark futures."

Jon Kent has posed:
Now Jon floats upward a few feet, very slowly, very gently. His cape wriggles a little in the summer breeze. "C'mon, Ms. Dark and Mysterious. I have no doubt that no small number of Gothamites owe their lives to you. If you just hung out drinking black coffee and smoking clove cigarettes, Gotham would be a worse place. *BATMAN* trusts you. That's not nothing."

He lets himself slowly spin as he peers around the city -- *his* city. This young prince is the heir apparent of none other than Superman himself. Wrapped in Destiny as Phoebe suggested, he is more self-assured than any 19-year-old has a right to be. Jon, the champion.

He holds out a hand in Phoebe's direction. "You wanna fly?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... that is literally what I did until I became single again. /Gods/ I want a cigarette so badly." Phoebe bemoans. She may not be kidding. And she heaves out a very dramatic huff of breath as she sits back up... and pokes a little bit at the cape. "And how do you know I was talking about myself? Maybe I've got a great Destiny. Maybe I end up saving the world without making the big sacrifices." she sticks her tongue out as he spins around slowly, looking out over Metropolis.

    And she narrows her eyes a minute, and then looks out over the city again.

    "Kinda left my grapples in my other business suit." she comments wryly.

Jon Kent has posed:
Superboy remains floating there, a few feet off of the top of the roof, holding out one hand. "I can help with that. If you want. I promise not to drop you." A small grin. "I only have ever dropped anyone on Mondays."

He beams at Phoebe. Superboy, the floating princeling of the House of El. Jon, the royal.

The wind whips his cape a little faster and harder, as if the very sky is waiting in anticipation of Superboy flying through it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Superboy. It *is* Monday." Phoebe states, and the wind catches the tied ends of her headwrap, flicking it a little as she stands there, and looks to the sky, the distant hills, and all of the city before them.

    And hesitantly, she reaches for his hand, tilting her body to the side as if there was going to be a bolt of lightning that toasted their bodies if they touched hands.

Jon Kent has posed:
If one were to pick up the tiniest newborn kitten they would expend exponentially more energy than Superboy spends picking up Phoebe. To be in the inner aura of a Kryptonian is to be partially fused with power. The energy is palpable, especially now when he is not hiding his identity.

"Trust me," he murmurs, his voice as strong as steel and as soothing as warm honey.

Slowly at first, he rises, taking Phoebe under the arms. "If I go too fast or you want to get back to the ground, just say the word. You're in control here."

As he watches for Phoebe's reactions to make sure she can handle it, Jon starts to pick up speed. There is no sound but the wind. No propulsion but Jon's hands. "If you want to free fall for a little bit, say the word. I've taken other friends flying and some of them just love to free fall for a few seconds. Like I said, you are in control, not me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Truthfully?

    Phoebe loves living in three dimensions. The moments of free fall from buildings -- the feeling of your stomach rising to your throat as you fall with nothing to catch you -- adreniline coursing through your veins, your heart pumping in your chest -- but it was a different experience when you're flying under someone else's power.

    "I've been picked up by the other Superboy before." she comments breezily, Conner was, of course, on The Team Red Robin managed. She could feel the warmer-than-human body behind her as she splayed her fingers, her arms out, feeling the wind rush by her ears and her suit jacket flapping as they rise up.

    "Get us up pretty high -- an' then yeah, some free fall sounds good!" Phoebe's heart is thudding. She has goosebumps. Her body's a bit tense, because she *is* trying to will down her fear of being touched at the moment.

Jon Kent has posed:
If you can't trust Superboy to touch you, who can you trust? His word is his absolute and infinite bond. The merest nod of his head is more indelible than the strongest human promise. Jon, the truth-teller.

He smiles when Phoebe asks to go higher, and go higher he does. It requires all of his concentration not to just rocket upwards into the heavens. Our boy *loves* to fly. But that would render her unconscious. So he keeps it down to a dull roar. "By Con-El. He's my brother. The cooler Superboy." Jon's voice is full of affection. He obviously cares for his brother quite a bit.

Before long, he is a few thousand feet in the air -- not quite the altitude of Denver, but high enough that the air is just a bit on the thin side. Superboy comes to a hover and says, "On three. One, two, three." Then he releases Phoebe. It's probably easy to think that he just left Phoebe to fall because he makes absolutely no noise when he flies. But, in truth, he is falling exactly behind her. In fact, after a moment he says, "Don't worry. I'm right here. No harm will come to you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I *never* call him Con-El. Usually just Con, Conner -- I kinda don't call any Kryptonians by their Kryptonian names." Phoebe admits as they go higher, and she feels the air thin slightly, and she feels her hreart rattle in her chest.

    And then he drops her.

    And like her adopted siblings, Phoebe has been airdropped before. She draws her arms and legs out, making her body as flat as possible to catch that wind resistence.

    And when Jon tells her he's right there, she gives a bright grin, and winks at Jon-El, Heir to the Super-Kingdom, and then gives a flash of magic.

    Gone is the clad-in-gray-wool-and-linen-blouse Wayne kid, and in her place is Balm, former JLD leader, current Outsider. The hair wrap flies off her, showing the dusky pink kinks and coils before Phoebe produces a pair of rose-gold wings, each feather traced in a glow like the sun, translucent like glass against the brilliant blue of the Metropolis sky -- and she gives a bright whoop and a laugh as she pulls away, the wings giving a flap before she swoops upwards, returning to higher altitude!

Jon Kent has posed:
Superboy's face *lights* up with delight -- a beaming expression that rivals the Sun itself -- when Phoebe transforms and sprouts wings! "OH YEAH!" he blurts out as he tags alongside her flightpath. For Jon it is never a contest, he doesn't even know *how* to show off. He just maintains the same course and speed as Balm, but moving alongside her.

"I had *no* idea you could even *do* this, Phoebe! You magic types are darned amazing!"

For long moments he flies beside Balm quietly, just enjoying an experience that so few people are privileged to be able to experience. Then he looks at her sly. "Can you dive with those things?" he asks, eyes sparkling mischievously. Have we mentioned that our boy loves to fly?

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I usually don't GET to! In Gotham? I play by Batman's rules. Low magic, keep my head own if I'm doing it -- this? Flying in the middle of the day?!" Phoebe asks as she tucks her wings and rolls through the air, and then draws up a little higher, pausing.

    They don't work like regular wings do, no. "I haven't done this since I was living in New York!" she shares the secret with Jon, before she fodls her wings, and *DIVES* down, her target?

    A water hazard on a golf course!

Jon Kent has posed:
"Ah well I guess I can't help it if Batman is a stick in...." Jon starts. Then Phoebe dives. "OH MY GOSH!" he blurts out! Then he dives right behind her. The wind whips his already-errant hair into a mad, electrifying dance. No teenager on any world has ever looked so happy as Jon does right now, streaking through the air like he was born to. Jon, the flier.

"Oh my gosh, Phoebe, are you doing what I think you're doing?" he calls out, one part terrified and one part exhilarated. But, of course, he trusts Phoebe and know that she knows her own limits and abilities. So he flies close juuuuuuuust in case, but does not otherwise interfere.

"Are we about t'get wet??" he exclaims, his words intermixed about evenly with laughter.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm about to ruin some dude's golf score--" Phoebe gloats just a little, drawing close to the water hazard, and then zipping right along the surface, turning to splash Jon with the water before she pulls up -- and it's true, several people were golfing. Someone took a swing and missed the whole ball becuase *suddenly there are people flying in the golf course!!

    "Dear lord -" someone shouts out "They'll let ANYONE on the green these days!"

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon, of course, is horrified to discover that he is disturbing someone's golf game. He peers at the golfers and yells out, "We're so sorry. Sorry about that, sir!" His cheeks and ears turn red, but he also is clearly enjoying himself.

"PHOEBE!" he exclaims, laughing, when they are out of earshot. "You made that man miss his shot," he says. His voice lowers in volume cutely when he says 'miss his shot.'

"I'm sorry B won't let you do this stuff in Gotham. You can come to Metropolis and fly with me any day. We may even stop some bad guys." He nods in Phoebe's direction. "Is that tech? Or magic? Or a little bit of both?" Jon asks curiously.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "TRUST ME he probably lies on his score sheet! Everyone I've *ever* played golf with does." she recounts, speeding back up, feeling the air pull at her hair and her body, arching upwards and back towards a cell phone tower, overlooking the course they just disrupted, and she lands, delicately on one of the arms of the tower, and then breathing out, she lets the wings fade.

    "Magic. When I was fighting some invading entities in New York, a friend offered to tattoo my back with magic ink. By focusing my magic through the tattoo, I sprout wings and the ability to fly." Phoebe states, breathing out iwth a soft huff.

    "And yeah, B doesn't let me do it much in Gotham, unless it's an emergency. I've used it to save people, but..." she comments, looking over to Jon.

    "It's his city. I play by his rules. That's why Batman allows me to remain on the family."

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon looks over his shoulder back at the golfers. He can still see them. He could see them from the moon if he really wanted to. The idea of cheating and lying is beyond foreign to him. He peers back to Phoebe. "Did he? Did you *see* him cheating?" He looks back one more time for a moment or two.

He begins to slow his speed a bit. "I have half a mind to go back and tell him if he's going to cheat at golf, he has to play in Gotham." But a goofy smile accompanies the statement.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ugh, please no. The next time I have to play nice at a golf club I'm gonna fake being sick." Phoebe remarks quietly.

    And she looks over to Jon, and sticks her tongue out.

    "Everyone cheats at Golf unless it's televised. I've watched people do it. Maybe not him in particular, but yeah." Phoeb replies quietly, she breathes out as she sits at the top of the tower, looking out over the green and the city beyond, and beyond that? There's ocean. Rivers. New York, then Gotham. Her home.

    "... I wonder if I can get all the bad guys to play golf at once and see if they cheat. I bet you Cobblepot doesn't."

Jon Kent has posed:
Superboy hovers effortlessly in the air as Phoebe sits on the tower. "I have to start bringing in the animals before supper," Jon explains. "Are you good if I leave from here? Or should I bring you back to the roof we were at earlier?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a small grin, and giving a salute to Jon, she simply tilts back --

    And disappears!

    And Jon would get a text:

    It's a picture of the Gotham City skyline.

    <<Made it home no problem. Thanks for an up-lifting afternoon, Flyboy.>>

Jon Kent has posed:
With a grin, Superboy looks up and the THUNDERS up into the sky. Within a minute or two he is in Kansas. He takes a picture of some cows and texts it back to Phoebe. "Besse and her sisters send their love."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<COWS. HAS DAMIAN SENT YOU A PICTURE OF HIS COW?>>