8039/A Cracked Gem

A Cracked Gem
Date of Scene:	29 September 2021
Location:	Gotham General Hospital
Synopsis:	Amy Winston gets an unexpected visitor in her hospital room, one who seems to know she is also Princess Amethyst. A conversation ensues.
Cast of Characters:	Amy Winston, Conner Kent

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Amy Winston has posed:
In the aftermath of the Gotham Park attack, police and paramedics swarmed into the scene. With the attackers having quite literally evaporated, the battered rebels were taken away under police escort for treatment and eventual interrogation, while paramedics tended to the injuries of bystanders with the more serious cases being taken to enemy hospitals.

The Princess Amethyst, however, was nowhere to be found. Though it meant temporarily abandoning her allies, she knew the only way she'd be able to help them was if she wasn't caught and amidst the commotion used magic to shift her attire to something more typical of an Earth teenager. That is how she has wound up in a recovery bed at Gotham General Hospital after being escorted away by the paramedics and not a DEO medical lab or holding cell.

After a night of tossing and turning troubled sleep, Amy lies in her hospital bed staring at an old Looney Toons cartoon. Earth TV hasn't changed much in the last year she's been gone, at least. She's wearing a hospital gown as one would expect with a fair number of visible bandages and an IV drip. Seems she got pretty banged up fighting that army before things spilled over to Earth. In one corner of the room is a nice flower arrangement that another visitor must have brought.

Conner Kent has posed:
Although Conner was in his civvies and vanished seconds after Sardonyx and his army retreated, watched from a rooftop what happened later. The DEO rounding up the refugees. The injured and dead taken to the local hospitals, etc.

There was little he could do, but he took some pictures from his expensive Starkphone, to add later to the Outsiders database, and also because he has very little faith in the goodness of the DEO.

He also spotted Amethyst clothes-switching because telescopic vision is sometimes really useful. Also, she definitely caught his attention during the battle. The problem was to find her later, as the hospital was very busy all the night and the new admissions weren't processed until the morning. When he could use the backdoors (batdoors?) in the system to look for her.

Which is why he knocks at the door of her hospital room now. And then sneaks in.

Amy Winston has posed:
At the sound of the knock, Amy sits up in her hospital bed and immediately regrets doing so. The sharp twinge of pain from cracked ribs causing her to grimace. "Who is it?"

When it isn't one of the nurses or doctors that enters, her eyes immediately go to the call button near her bed and then back to Conner. "Who are you?"

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner turns to give Amy a careful once over. Because, well, magic. He doesn't want to get turned into a newt or something. "Hey, good morning," he stays by the door, "I am Conner, we kind of meet yesterday. Well, in the sense we were both trying to kick the same asshat's butt."

Today Conner is wearing mostly the same outfit, although he has thick-soled boots and the t-shirt under the leather jacket is black with a famous red S on it. "He called you Amethyst, right? It is the surname, I guess?"

Amy Winston has posed:
Amy grimaces again, apparently not having anticipated anyone recognizing her. She changed into Earth clothes, that's fool proof! Or so she had thought. "Conner."

She repeats glancing towards the call button again and then back at Conner, clearly suspicious. "I'm Amy, Amy Winston." She introduces herself with her Earthname, seemingly not ready to just give the game away just yet.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Nice to meet you. Amethyst is the codename, then?" Asks the young man, "mine is Superboy, you might have heard about my, ah... house head," yes, lets call Him that.

Moving on! "Anyway. I was in Gotham visiting friends when you brought that people. Which is okay, although I think the US is not being good with refugees right now. And then... hmm, I really want to know if the asshat will try to attack the city again. What's his story?"

Amy Winston has posed:
Under the covers, one of Amy's hands surrepticiously fingers a small green stone, Amazonite, from a small bag. The sort of bag most geeks would keep many sided polyhedron dice in. Closing her hand around the stone she regards Conner again. When no lies are detected though, particularly with the declaration of being Superboy, she does seem to relax, at least a little bit.

"Amethyst is a House." She finally admits borrowing Conner's own word. "I am a US Citizen. "She adds when Conner brings up America's refugee difficulties.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I meant the people that came with you," comments Conner, "they didn't look much like Americans, and the D.E.O. took them." And they have done some really nasty things to aliens in the past, but that is for a future conversation, Conner will try to put some media attention on the gemworlders to protect them.

"Well, if you are you know how those things work," he sighs. "I still would like to know how likely is that Sardonyx will attack the city and start killing people again. And what can we do to prevent it."

Amy Winston has posed:
Amy frowns, which makes her wince again because of her injured ribs. "Yeah, I'm going to need to get them out." She at least seems pretty confident that she can do this, which is a bit at odds with the fact she is laying in a hospital bed pretty banged up.

She sighs, which only results in another wince from the sharp pain. "Amethyst is one of the Twelve Great Houses of a world called Nilaa, it used to be the ruling house. Now it's in exile. A tyrant of House Opal, who styles himself as Dark Opal because I guess he thinks it's edgy or something, I don't know, he's ruled Nilaa for the last eighteen years with an iron fist." She stops to let that much sink in.

"Sardonyx is the lord of a minor house that serves Opal. Grade A sadistic bastard. I honestly didn't expect him to chase me to Earth though. I didn't think Opal had the means. He had to have expended significant magical power to chase me, especially with so many soldiers. After his failure and the losses he took, he's lucky if he isn't being punished by Dark Opal as we speak. After the trashing he took I doubt you'll be seeing him again any time soon."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Well, you also have a way to cross over," points out Conner. Still, if it is not easy, it is a bit of a relief. "I have never heard about Nilaa. But I don't know much about magical travels. There might be gates or something?" He will do some research later. "Are you going to stay here for a while? I mean, not running away from the hospital soon. I can try to get here a good healer."

Amy Winston has posed:
"I do." Amy doesn't dispute that she can cross between the worlds. "But I've also lived on Earth for most of my life and know the way." 'most of' being the key words there. "For most residens of Nilaa First Home as they call it is a nigh mythical place. The means to cross are largely lost and you need to know where you are going or you can get lost between worlds. Sardonyx followed me, that's the only way he could get here. It was almost definitely pure impulse, which is why he had no idea what he was in for. Honestly I was surprised too, pleasantly so that so many strong individuals happened to be in that park.

"I'm waiting for them to discharge me." She says in response to Conner's last question. "There's less questions that way." She's not quite a bat, but she definitely does not seem to crave any sort of spotlight either. But then, spotlights attract the attention of authorities she'd rather not deal with.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Hmm, okay," he pulls out a burner phone from a pocket from his jacket. "I am with a team of heroes that operates from Gotham. We have ties with the League, and of course the Bat. This phone has a few secure numbers in the memory, please call us if there is another invasion, or you think there could be. You might want to drop by the Hall of Justice of Metropolis, too."

Amy Winston has posed:
Amy doesn't exactly reach for the phone given her condition but she does give a small nod. "Sure, thanks. You can just leave it on the table over there. It's always good to have help when things like that happen. But like I said, I don't think you'll be seeing him again." She seems distracted on some level though, perhaps still thinking about the rebels in the clutches of the DEO or maybe it's Nilaa. Whatever it is, an invasion of Earth doesn't seem to be at the top of her worries.

Conner Kent has posed:
In Conner experience world-ruling tyrants are rarely happy to stay in their thrones and die of old age. If what Amy is saying is true, and he believes her, chances are Earth will see some more trouble coming from Nilaa.

"Well, hope for the best but... you know," he offers the blonde a smile, leaving the phone within easy reach. "I'd love to know more about Nilaa and you, but I hear the nurses in the room at the right, and I think you will have breakfast here in three minutes. I better not be here, hmm?"