First Unused Utility Belt | Video

[hellofist]

[When the video feed comes on, it looks like everything is upside down. Only Cassandra's neck and chin are visible at first, showing a lopsided frown as she fumbles with the communicator, nearly drops it, and then finally turns it upside down. Now the view is her face right side up, and she grins into the camera before a paning shot shows she is hanging upside down from a tree in the CES.]

Crunches. Upside down. 500. Bored.

[She could have done this in the gym, yes, but there are less people here usually. Besides-]

Climbed the tree. Always wanted... to try. Bats are upside down. Funny, because [She puts her hand on her chest here.] Batgirl. Warden.

[And then she waves.] Hi.

Comments

[an_abomination]

I am starting to think there's a whole army of Bats back in Gotham.

[hellofist]

[Just staring for a long time at him until she flips down from the tree, landing on her feet with hardly a sound.]

Kon? Where... are you? Come to CES.

[an_abomination]

[Sighs.] That's me...just not the Kon you know. I'm from another world that's similar to yours but with significant differences.

[hellofist]

But-

[She's looking close now, the video held closer to her face so she can get a better look at him. He is different, and it makes her feel wobbly inside.]

Come anyway. Please?

[an_abomination]

Sure. [Steph spoke fondly of all of the other Batgirls, saying they all deserved her title. He might not know who she is but if she was a threat to him, Steph likely would have said something in passing.]

I'll need you to let me in, I'm an Inmate here. [Quickly adds in.]

I'm friends with some of your friends and I've made a lot of progress here, I even got some of my power restrictions lifted.

[hellofist]

You- How?

[He's supposed to be Superboy. Superboy shouldn't be an inmate. There is no sense to this, but she's waiting to let him in quick enough. It'll make more sense once she can see all of him, in purpose. She hopes.]

Which friends?

Private.

[an_abomination]

It's a long story.

[Leaves it at that.]

Cassie, Kara, Tim, Dick [whenever he decides to open up.] I'm getting to know Babs, and Steph, she's my girlfriend.

Private.

[hellofist]

[And she doesn't press it. There's enough she has to make sense of, Kon's confusion will have to be set aside. She doesn't have the camera pointed at herself anymore, she's trying to find him in person now.]

Walk faster.

Private.

[an_abomination]

[Picks up the pace and arrives there within a couple of minutes. He's feeling somewhat uncertain about their encounter, so there's a twinge of nervousness in his smile.]

Hey.

Private.

[hellofist]

[Nerves? He stood up to Batman, yelled at him. She comes right up to him, watching every twitch to him as they get closer, and she knows before they touch he's not the right Kon.

Reaching up, she takes his face in her hands and pulls him down to her level- he's taller. It's weird. Face to face, she searches his eyes and he's still not in there. He's Kon-But-Not-Kon.]

Private.

[an_abomination]

[The look on his face indicates that while he is surprised, he's not weirded out by it. If anything, it demonstrates to him how far he's come since he first came here. He scanned Dick to tell if he was real or not and then used his powers on Steph's hands when he brushed his fingers across hers, without giving her a warning.

Watches her curiously, wondering what she's searching for. There are differences between the two of them that are obvious. However, for someone with her level of observation, she'll also notice that there are similarities in their body languages that are uncanny.]

Private.

[hellofist]

[She stares at him hard, but it doesn't last long. When she drops her hands from him it's to wrap her arms around herself. She wishes she had the cowl to hide behind right now.]

Knew you. Different you. You were... important.

Private.

[an_abomination]

I'm sorry that it's upsetting to you that I'm not who you know, but I'm not sorry I'm not him. [Isn't going to apologize for being himself.]

It's not like you can't see him whenever you want. You're a Warden, if you want to go back home, you can. You made a deal to come here, I didn't have a choice.

Private.

[hellofist]

Don't apologize. [There's nothing to apologize for, not really. It isn't his fault she got her hopes up.]

... Your hair is better.

Private.

[an_abomination]

[Hearing her say that surprises him more than her grabbing his face. Chuckles softly and grins.]

Thanks, I actually need a haircut. [It's grown longer than what he'd prefer like in the icon but he's been making due.]

I know I'm not the Superboy you know, but there's nothing stopping us from becoming friends while we're here.

Private.

[hellofist]

I can. Will be careful. [She's never cut hair before, but how hard can it really be?]

Almost him. Would be if... small things changed. [And she's looking him over again like she's mapping out all the tiny differences, the little things that do match up.] Still good at dates?

Private.

[an_abomination]

[Blink.Blink.]

Oh, did the two of us date back in your world?

Private.

[hellofist]

You made castles. In clouds. Good date.

Spam.

[an_abomination]

Huh, I never thought about doing it. Now that I think about it, it's possible and would be neat.

[Makes a mental note to himself.]

Date's aren't exactly easy to do here but Steph and I make due. During one of the ports, when the Barge visits another planet, we ended up on a vacation planet. Steph and I spent the day together on the beach, watched the sunset, hit up a nice restaurant, intergalatic movie, and listened to some live music.

It was really nice. [His body practically radiates affection for Steph as he shares some of their memories.

Spam.

[hellofist]

You were- he was neat. Planes in the sky, though. Almost... ended bad.

[She's suddenly feeling very homesick and it's a new thing for her. There's a lot here that's changed and she's not particularly fond of change.]

But what about... Tim? Tim and Steph were...

[Tim and Steph just WERE, like the sky is blue and the grass is green and Bruce Wayne is Batman.]

Spam.

[an_abomination]

I bet. [Chuckles.] I'm glad they are okay.

[His attitude goes from a friendly one to an annoyed one within seconds.]

We're together now, they're not. Steph's been with me for months and Tim's interested in someone else.

Spam.

[hellofist]

[Oh, there are lots of emotions there. They're like a wave that builds up and up and sometimes Cass doesn't know how other people don't see the way their own bodies talk.]

Fine. Different subject?

Spam.

[an_abomination]

Different subject.

[Rubs the back of his head and looks her over.]

Do you have any questions about this place that haven't been answered yet?

Spam.

[hellofist]

[She's looking straight back at him, but she's looking at him like he's Kon, not her Kon. Just... a new one.]

Yes. But... not important. We can be... friends?

Spam.

[an_abomination]

I'd like that. [The friendly smile returns to his face and he gives her a solid pat on the shoulder. It's one of the first gestures of friendship he learned here.]