8040/Meeting In The Skies

Meeting In The Skies
Date of Scene:	29 September 2021
Location:	Daily Planet Building - New Troy
Synopsis:	Superman and John Stewart have a conversation about methods, and the motivations of the Guardians of the Universe.
Cast of Characters:	Clark Kent, John Stewart

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Clark Kent has posed:
Metropolis, mid-afternoon.

"Why do you keep doing this?!" Superman snaps, struggling.

Jetpack Harry laughs, as he struggles to keep his latest jet pack in the air. "Because the skies belong to man, Superman! No alien's going to tell me where I can and can't fly!"

"How about what second story jobs you can and can't do?" Superman says, gesturing at the oversized canvas bag with an actual dollar sign printed on it. "Now I know those aren't used anymore."

"Three Dimensional Printing, Superman! It'll be your doom!" Harry laughs, again, even as his jet pack sputters and chokes; he's forgotten the fuel limits again. "Ah. Ah! Save me, Superman!"

Superman sighs, a little, grabbing Harry by the scruff of his neck. "You want me to drop you off at the New Troy precinct?"

"Oh that'd be swell, they have butter cake today!"

This is the day to day life of Superman in a city that's adopted to having a man that can fly protecting it. Clark floats over to the Science Police chapterhouse, because they keep insisting on sounding like something out of a bad sci-fi novel, dropping Jet Pack Harry in a heap and not staying for a slice of butter cake. The man of steel exits the precinct, kicking into the sky again, looking to finish his morning patrol and get back to his day job.

John Stewart has posed:
As Superman turns around to exit, there's a very, VERY obvious green beacon in the sky. It's in the shape of a man, but whoever it is, is making themselves obvious enough to be seen across the city... VERY high up in the sky.

It's a clear 'come and find me' to Superman, in the direct center of Metropolis.

Clark Kent has posed:
There was a time when a giant green hologram would've been a relief.

Superman's face scowls, a little, and he realzies this. Clark takes a minute to grab a drink from a street vendor (cherry coke, Superman eats his stress.), uses a blast of freeze breath to get it to the approprate chill, and chugs the thing in one go. Feeling approprately zen, Superman says, "Up! Up and away!" and leaps into the air!

Superman uses his telescopic vision to make a quick scan of the area he judges the projection to be coming from, as he approaches it. It's not that he's expecting an ambush from a Green Lantern...

But he wasn't expecting the Guardians to do what they did, either.

John Stewart has posed:
Coming closer, it's a Green Lantern. The new one that just arrived as the other ones partner, to be exact. Initially, Superman can't really see past the projected green light that surrounds him... until he drops it when he sees Superman approaching.

Bald and black, there's no mistaking him as John Stewart. He is the only one of the Corps that doesn't hide who he is... with the only thing being hidden being his eyes as that green glow emits from them.

As Superman approaches, the Green Lantern gives a friendly smile, "John Stewart, Green Lantern of this sector alongside my partner." offers a friendly nod, "I'd offer a handshake, but I don't know if that's your custom, or if you'd trust me for that." He frowns then, "given what happened on Oa, you mind if we have a chat?"

Clark Kent has posed:
It's a little odd.

Clark supposes it shouldn't be. If you get, he doesn't know, ring wizard basic training in space of course you're going to come back different. God knows his old man talks about how he felt like a ghost coming home after his time in the war. It's just, for a second, it feels like John Stewart's the alien instead of Superman.

Clark offers a handshake, mid-air. He was going to, anyway, but now that John mentions trust it's become a challenge. Superman's worked with Hal for years and this nonsense needs to be put to bed. "Superman." Clark says, as if he wasn't wearing a giant S on his chest.

"And that sounds fine. Better to get this all out in the air." And better him than Karen for dealing with this, Clark privately decides.

John Stewart has posed:
Karen versus John would be an epic fight. Former military with a ring versus a Kryptonian? They'd probably wreck half the city with that one, if they didn't just go into space.

Nonetheless, John does shake the hand offered. That green glow around his form is muted compared to just moments ago, but it's still there; a firm reminder the man is still human and needs that ring to fly.

"Sounds good to me." John replies cordially, "you got a favorite spot, or is here good?"

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark is more worried about Karen the negotiator. She makes Bruce seem like an actual fop sometimes. He doesn't get it, and doesn't pretend to; Clark writes because he likes to, and if he needs serious money he just makes some diamonds.

Superman half wants to just get this over with here, but he can literally feel his mother scolding him for being a rude host. "You hungry?" Clark asks, and rockets back to the ground. He lands with surprising grace in front of a soft pretzel cart, where the owner is already pulling a fresh batch out of his little cart oven.

"Best in the city." Clark offers, handing a few bills over to the owner. "You're amazing, Yuusef, how do you always know when I'm stopping by?"

"Trade secret, Mister Superman! Having an important super-conference I see!"

"Just a chat." Superman says, "It was here or the moon, and New Troy has better street food." Clark winks, grinning a bit.

John Stewart has posed:
He follows almost as fast and lands just as gracefully himself; a clear indication that John knows what he's doing with that ring. "Wow, haven't had one of these in years." John notes as he pulls out a ten dollar bill himself and hands it over "As many as that gets me, please." John asks. The money came out of his uniform at least.

Then, he looks to Superman, "checks out. Only someone who was raised here would have an appreciation for this salty goodness." John chuckles a bit as he looks to the man again, "Keep the change."

As he nibbles on a pretzel briefly, then continues, "so I don't know how much they explained this to you, but the situation was fairly complicated. I'm pretty well versed in the history behind it, if you have any questions you'd like me to answer right away."

Clark Kent has posed:
Ten bucks buys a lot of soft pretzels. Yuusef gets a warming bag, possibly having gotten a lot of business over the years from Superman bringing other capes to the place. It's designed to fit snugly on a utility belt.

"Didn't get much explanation, really." Superman says, licking his fingers as he walks. "Showed up looking for directions, and your bosses pointed a lot of weapons at my family and shoved us in a box."

"Meanwhile, General Zod apparently invaded Earth while I was away." Superman scowls at that, his body language subtly changing as he lets the frustration flow through himself rather than risk breaking something. "Can't help but notice that wasn't high on the agenda. Bird in the hand, I guess."

A pause. "There are a lot of intergalactic tyrannies, Lantern Stewart. Some we even have to do business with, or so they tell me. Certainly I don't see these 'Shi'ar' that just invaded Earth on anyone's hit list. Why are your bosses so afraid of what is still fundamentally a species so small it's not going to survive this generation?"

John Stewart has posed:
He nods... then, he takes another bite, chews, and swallows, before answering. "It's the historical reputation. I studied it while I was being mentored." He makes a wide gestures skyward, "The rest of that aside for a moment, the Hegemony was... a terrifying opponent. They could have been after something else... but everything I've seen points to them trying to conquer the known universe out of nowhere just because they could."

Then, John looks back to Superman and points to him, "You and the Kryptonians here are the first non-aggressive examples of your species we've ever met, Superman."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Again, that seems to describe a great deal of what I know about intergalactic civilization. I don't have a Lantern's understanding of it, but it seems to me like most of the galaxy just decided to bring imperialism to the stars." Superman says with a sort of cold neutrality. He finishes his snack, taking the time to consider his words.

"There was a child, in the cold of space. A freak accident, I later found out. The Guardians's first instinct was to kill it." Superman says, looking John in the eye. "Nothing from what fragmented historical data I have on Krypton warrants that response. Thugs like Zod, Jax-Ur, the Phantom King, they exist in every society, and it breaks my heart knowing the vast majority of surviving Kryptonians were the ones we stuck in jail."

"I never liked the idea of some paternalistic council of higher beings enforcing their idea of justice on the universe." Superman says, "Which is hypocritical, I'm aware, but at least I don't make people wear a uniform. But my work with Lantern Jordan brought me around to the idea of just how much good the Green Lantern Corps does. And then they turn, as one, on people lost in space, looking for refugees? What do you want me to do with that?"

John Stewart has posed:
"Most galactic civilizations aren't demi-gods of your strength, and can be mediated. They threatened the balance of the entire galaxy, including Oa itself." John takes another bite, and shrugs, "You defend this planet pretty well as your adopted home, by all accounts. If a legion of yous came to this world and said it was theirs by right, wouldn't you defend yourself and Earth?"

Then, he shakes his head, "The Guardians take the long view on the universe in general. They have long memories and keep galaxies stable. No one is perfect, but the Green Lanterns were created to keep our universe from fracturing in chaos. I don't know what was going on with that child, so I'll reserve judgment... but most of those Imperialistic empires out there? Our job isn't to impose our ideals and culture on any society. Our job is to preserve life and do what we can to keep the peace if chaos reigns. If a civilization threatens the stability we've built, the Guardians will tell us and we respond accordingly."

Clark Kent has posed:
Here we go, Superman thinks, trying to give Stewart the benefit of the doubt.

"We're only 'demigods' in extremely rare conditions." Clark points out, "And I have done exactly that, whenever Zod comes sniffing around."

"Again, Lantern Stewart, I'm not sure exactly what you're fishing for here. I'm not interested in a war with the Guardians. If it really comes down to it, it's a big galaxy and we can stay out of each other's way. I'd just be careful around a group of people with a habit of branding entire civilizations 'too dangerous to exist'. Sounds habit forming."

John Stewart has posed:
"I'm not fishing for anything." John points out, "I'm just explaining the situation as I see it. I have nothing against you or the other Kryptonians here. From everything, you've more than proven yourself to be a pretty good defender and seem to make solid judgment calls as one of the leaders of the League." John notes, before finishing a Pretzel and grabbing the bag. He attaches it to his uniform before he looks back to Superman, "I'm leery of blind obedience to anyone, myself... so I give everyone a chance. I figured I'd extend that to you." He smiles then, "You have nothing to fear from me while I'm one of the primaries for this sector."

He offers a handshake again, "So, let's just say that I'm happy to leave you to your work and vice versa, and happy to back you up if you need it. I don't know if I will be joining any of the super groups, but I'm still considering my options."

Clark Kent has posed:
Superman pauses.

Stewart pretty effectively diffuses the tension, though. He's right. Anything more is going to take time and effort.

"We're trying to get some standardized communication going." Superman admits, "But it's been an effort, and the various governments of the world aren't huge fans of us not having to go through their red tape. Get used to that."

"Seems like you have a good head on your shoulders regardless of who you sign up with."

John Stewart has posed:
"I like to think so." Another major change from Hal in John; Hal is one full of smug... but John seems to have some humility to him. "I dealt with that all the time in special forces. One of the many reasons I got out when I did. I'll stick to Architect work." John smirks, "turns out a lot of people like your designs when you've been studying off world for five years."

Then, John steps back a few paces, and the green glow around him intensifies, before he brings up his ring and a phone number writes itself in the air, "My phone number for Lantern business. Call me whenever you have a need for it. If I can make it and I'm not busy on other planets in the sector, you can bet your ass I'll be here."

Clark Kent has posed:
"That." Clark says, sounding a bit like himself again, "Actually sounds really cool. Alien influenced architecture. I'd love to see it sometime."

Clark pauses, his ears pricking. "Damn. Thanks for the number, John, but there's about to be a problem on the mag-lev monorail. I can hear the damage someone did to the track. Got to take care of that. I'll be in touch! Up!"

And Superman rockets into the air, into action! "Up and away!"