19457/A Dance with a Lance

A Dance with a Lance
Date of Scene:	09 November 2024
Location:	Lower Levels
Synopsis:	Diana and Jon have a heart to heaert in the JL training center.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Jon Kent

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Diana Prince has posed:
The cool, dim light of the Hall of Justice's underground training center cast elongated shadows along the room's polished floor, broken only by the rhythmic movements of Wonder Woman as she practiced alone. Dressed in her full armor, Diana held a gleaming golden lance, the weapon an elegant extension of her form. Each motion was a fluid transition to the next, her steps and strikes blending in a disciplined, almost dance-like kata that displayed both strength and grace. The lance arced, spun, and swept through the air with precision, the faint hum of its passage the only sound to accompany her.

Though her body moved with practiced ease, her eyes were distant, and her expression thoughtful. She was lost in her own mind, the steady rhythm of her movements an anchor as her thoughts wandered to recent events, allies, and threats on the horizon. Yet, even as her focus drifted inward, every motion was exact, every strike purposeful, her discipline honed over nearly a thousand years, on full display.

She moved with even steps, her golden lance's blade humming through the air, as she worked it around herself, moving around the combat training mats upon her wedge-heeled armored boots.

Jon Kent has posed:
With such a full schedule -- college, tutoring, helping Ma Kent on the farm, the Titans -- it is often with a sense of self-consciousness and wrought feelings of neglectfulness that Superboy enters the esteemed Hall of Justice, that heroic place built by giants. He pads into the training area in his uniform, his own version of his father's suit -- recognizable but perhaps just a touch more modern-looking. He moves like someone who has gone to great lengths to control his strength. How trivial it would be for him to accidentally break a hand during a handshake, or crack a door handle, or smash a chair while sitting down.

When he sees who is here he almost leaves. Wonder Woman. One of the greatest of the greats. But instead he gets lost in her battle kata: total economy of motion, a perfect blend of power and grace. It's a marvel to behold that few get to witness. He stands respectfully with his back against a wall, clasping his hands in front of him, and watches without disturbing this potent warrior.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's movements grew sharper, each strike and sweep of the lance hitting with a fierce, controlled power as her training intensified. Her breaths quickened, each exhale timed with a precise thrust or parry as she pushed herself harder, the lance cutting through the air in swift, practiced arcs. With a final, forceful pivot, she spun the lance around in a low sweep, the tip slicing through the air before coming to an abrupt halt?pointed directly toward the entrance of the training room. Her gaze followed the line of the lance, her intense focus settling on Superboy, who had just entered, watching her from several meters away.

The Princess kept the spear pointed at the Kryptonian youth, letting it stay like that for a few seconds, as she seemed to come down from her training trance. She snapped the spear back, dropped its butt to the matt beside her boots, and gave it two quick stamps against the ground. The resulting cracks reverberated through the room, and Diana cracked a smile upon her lips. "Jon." She said, her voice slightly echoing, as she started to walk toward her things resting on a table beside the sparring area. "How are you tonight?" She asked, her husky voice casually calm, sincerely kind, even after her little workout had finished.

Jon Kent has posed:
Growing up never even catching the common cold or breaking a bone or getting stitches makes one tend to be a bit fearless and difficult to startle. But when Wonder Woman's lance stops pointing at him, Superboy's eyes widen just a notch and he attempts to take a step back but he's already with his back against the wall, which is no doubt reinforced against the likes of him. One does not take Wonder Woman lightly. At least not with any sort of success.

"I'm doing great, Diana, thanks. Sometimes I come here at night when everyone goes to bed." Like other Kryptonians, he doesn't sleep. His gaze goes around the room thoughtfully. "The hum of this place at night is...comforting. It reminds me that Earth is not un-watched." He draws a deep breath and clears his throat. "How...how are you?"

Diana Prince has posed:
There was something amusing about how Jon Kent carried himself, that Diana had seen for some time, likely since she had first met him. As she leaned her lance against a small sitting bench, she reached for a thermos of water, which she raised up to take a sip from. After she set it down again, and he replied to her, she cast a look back to him. "I am well, quite well, in the moment, at least." She noted, as she set her cup down again. she gathered her lance up, and gave it a twirl, causing the golden staff to spin in a full revolution beside her person. She walked across the space of the training room, to one of the aparatus cabinets, specifically designed for her sundries. She pulled the door open, and revealed a mighty collection of various Amazonian weapons. The spear was placed in to a specific spot, before she turned to look toward where he was again. "You need not wait for others to vacate the area, before you use it, Jon." She informed him, though he would likely have been told this before.

She closed the cabinet door with a click and a seal sound following it.

She walked toard him now, her tall form passing beneath the spot lighting from the ceiling high above. "You are a member of this team, and I imagine many would enjoy sparring with you."

Jon Kent has posed:
Superboy gently clasps his hands behind his back and stands with erect posture. He's a respectful young man by nature, but doubly so while in uniform in these hallowed halls, in which he is a direct representative of the House of El, something he takes with the utmost seriousness. "I know. I always feel welcome here." A tiny grin tics at one corner of his mouth. "Well maybe not always when Bruce is here."

Jon walks slowly over toward one of the weapon cabinets and opens it. He doesn't remove a weapon, just runs his fingertips over them gently. "Do you think it was inevitable that weapons were developed?" he asks gently. "Do you think there was ever a time when we could have turned this way instead of that way and never have needed them?" He peers over his shoulder back at Diana when he asks this.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana found her way back over to her cup of water, where she gathered it up, and slipped its black handle over the back of her knuckles, her fingers slipped around its surface. She turned to look back at him, as he moved toward the weapons cache. His question earns a moment of thought from her, before she shakes her head. "Not if we wished to survive, as a species." She said back to him, before taking another sip from the contents of the cup.

When she lowered it again, she moved her right hand up to toss her dark locks of hair off of her right shoulder, and back behind her neck, leaving her shoulder bared due to the nature of her armor. "Humans had to evolve to make tools to survive the natural elements. To hunt for food, to protect themselves against predators. To eventually protect themselves against one another. It was an inevitable escalation of needs, in order to prevail over the ddangers that our ancestors faced here on Earth. I would imagine it was quite the same for your father's homeworld too, though I have not ever spoke to him much on the history of Krypton."

She glanced at him again, and took a step toward him, before she paused and placed her free hand on the side of one of the training machines. "What makes you wonder that?" She asked. "Are you wishing that Humans found another way to solve their faced perils?"

Jon Kent has posed:
One thing that some people find unsettling about Kryptonians is they don't fidget or shift. Jon stands there, hands clasped behind his back, motionless. He has no need to shift position to relieve stress on this bone or that muscle. He doesn't get sore or achy cramped. He doesn't have to breathe, even. Being up this close to a Kryptonian is to really be able to see how alien they really are. It's almost like conversing with an animated statue. These are the small things his father is constantly reminding him about because it could give away his secret identity to the really clever observer.

"I don't know. It's a silly question. I get...circumspect at night, I think. It's when I spend the most amount of time alone so my brain goes in a lot of weird directions." He peers down at the floor as he collects his thoughts. "Do you...do you think you'll fight forever, Diana?" Jon shifts his gaze back up to the Amazonian. There is almost a hint of sadness in his blue eyes as he asks this question.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana knew Jon well enough to know that he was a young man with a lot of inner turmoil, likely stemming from being ripped out of his own reality, and deposited in to one that seemed to be challenging for him to find his place within. She felt a wealth of sorrow for him, and could see the challenges in his mind expressed through the features on his face.

She ended up beside him, and placed her left hand upon his shoulder. He would feel a squeeze from her leather wrapped hand. "I will fight as long as I need to fight, and no further. Be it from my demise, or from reaching a place where fighting is no longer necessary. But I would rather continue to forever train, because I believe it is better to be a warrior thriving in peace, than a peaceful person, lost in a sudden war."

She afforded him a soft smile, and dropped her hand from his shoulder. "Should you ever need to talk to someone too, you know I am here to help."

Jon Kent has posed:
A gentle, slightly humorless smile crosses Jon's face. "I never want to bother you. Honestly, I'm surprised you guys even let me in the front door. I'm so busy with so many things that I neglect my time here."

The young man's blue eyes light up suddenly. "Oh but I did go on a mission with the Titans the other day. We found this island way out in the Atlantic that was like..." He tips his head a bit to one side. "...phasing in and out of existence? There was a lot of magic involved, which as you know isn't exactly my jam. Luckily Raven was with us. She wrapped up everything really nicely." He peers at Wonder Woman. "So I'm not...you know...not completely wasting my time."

Diana Prince has posed:
The first part of what Jon said, caused Diana to tilt her head a little to the side. The second half of his words went mostly unacknowledged. Diana stepped a little closer to him, and reached her left hand out to place her palm against his chest, right over the S emblazened upon his suit. "Jon?" She questioned him with his name alone, tilting her head to the side, as she held eye contact with him, trying to keep his eye contact locked on her own.

"Do not question your place here." She told him, stern, but kind, her voice trying to convey the sincereity of what she was hoping to tell him. "You are your father's son. You come from a long line of heroic people. What you can bring to this team? It is not something that can be measured. You are an integral piece of everything that the Justice League stands for. You have to come to realize it, though. You have to see that you are one of the world's finest, if you can only get past your own hindrances that you place upon yourself. You have a place on this team, because you have already earned it. What you are capable of providing, for this world? It's... beyond what almost anyone else could ever provide."

She glanced toward the training center's exit, where Jon had come in mere minutes ago, before she looked back to him. "The entire planet is in peril, just beyond those doors. Nine billion souls, all needing your help, either right this very moment? Or soon. Not many can be there for such an outcry, but who you are? What YOU are capable of being? You can be there for them... if you want to be."

Jon Kent has posed:
Superboy is utterly silent and motionless as Diana talks to him -- the surest sign that someone is truly dialed in to someone else's words. "I /do/ want to help them," he confesses. "I love this world in a way that perhaps even my father fully can't because I was born here, this is my home. Well, at least an identical version of it. I /am/ one of those nine billion souls. And when I see stuff like this Silver Surfer guy pulling his shenanigans..." Superboy glances toward the equipment racks. "...it makes me really angry, and then I /understand/ the weapons and that it was inevitable that we built them."

He turns back to face Wonder Woman again. "I just wish there was a better way." Jon shrugs his shoulders. "Anyway, I've taken up enough of your time. I might go up in space and recharge a bit. Sometimes it's nice to watch the sun burning."

Diana Prince has posed:
After his response, Diana lowers her hand from that iconic symbol upon Jon's chest. She takes a step back, and to the side, to yield to him space enough to slip out of the training center again. She offers him a warm smile, and a soft nod. "I am always here for you, and you are never wasting my time, nor are you bothering me. You are of paramount importance to the team, Jon. Remember that. You may even play an integral part in preserving this world against the threats that Galactus, and his minions, wish to bring upon it."

She turned to walk back to her belongings beside the sparring floor, her eyes looking back over her shoulder at him as she walks. "And the weapons are only as dangerous as the hands that wield them." She tells him, as she walks with a casual stride back to where she had been when he first entered the chamber.

Jon Kent has posed:
Jon is not particularly skilled at ending conversations. It comes from both being young and inexperienced, and being able to leave rooms at high speeds. Once Diana's words have wound down, the only signs that Jon was there at all are the whooshing sound, and the sudden rush of air. Moments later a caped young man floats in the eerie silence of space, absorbing all he needs to live from the rays of the sun, and playing back the words in his mind of the wise and powerful Amazonian who has shown him so much kindness.