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[ Mondo can't help but laugh at the burst of energy. Superman, huh. That's a pretty popular one, even he's heard of him. That guy with the big 'S' on his chest, right? The rest of the crew, though... okay wait, he knows that black mask, uh. Bat...man, was it? ]

Mine?

[ Crap, er. ]

Th... this guy?

[ He points at the action figure near them ー Martian Manhunter's ー for the sheer reason of the great muscle mass. Ye...ah, lookin' good, pal. ]

( a nice choice, sure. jon gives a thoughtful nod of his head, before he makes his way over to the dresser, grabbing onto the flash and the superman action figures sitting on top of it to bring them over to mondo. )

I have a serious question for you. ( so serious. he raises them both up, holding one in each hand. ) Who would win in a serious race, the Flash or Superman?

[ Uh. Another difficult question.

Flash seems like a fast guy. That symbol's like, the lightning, right? And there's also a saying 'in a flash', which means super fuckin' fast so... Flash, maybe? But didn't Jon say Superman's his favourite? Will he be upset if Mondo says the Flash instead?

Obviously looking a little troubled, frown begins to emerge between his brows. ]

I guess...

[ Mondo's eyes dart from the Flash, to the Superman figure. Momentarily to Jon too, but quickly back to the figures as looking at the boy makes him waver. ]

...uh. Flash?

[ He can't lie, that's what his gut feelin's tellin' him. ]

( wow this guy is really thinking hard about a simple question, isn't he. jon is almost concerned by the way his brows furrow, frown forming on his own lips in response. he's about two seconds away from pulling the toys back, and telling him that it's fine, he doesn't have to answer, it's just a question.

but when he does answer, he gives the right one. jon's frown turns into a smile as he drops the superman figure down to his side, moves the flash to race in front of him. )

Yeah, I agree. Speed's kinda the Flash's thing, right? It wouldn't be fair at all if Superman was stronger and faster than him. And had laser eyes. And could fly and survive in space.

[ A quiet sigh of relief. Got it in one, phew. ]

Yeー yeah! You're right!

[ Whoa, so Superman can do all that! Those comic books sure really like writing about exaggeratedly strong superheroes, eh?

But now Mondo's not sure how to respond. He doesn't really want to break a kid's dream, but letting them live in delusion is kinda cruel too. ]

D'ya... wanna be like Superman when you grow up?

[ Well, he guesses Jon'll learn eventually, like he did. For now he's just gonna keep an eye so the boy doesn't try to jump off high places and break a bone or somethin'. ]

( overly exaggerated powers. . mondo doesn't even know the half of it.

his question's a real easy one to answer, though. jon raises the superman action figure up in front of him, eyes focusing down on it; the blue and red, the "s" carefully painted onto it's chest. )

I did, for a little while. But I think it's important to be myself, not be like Superman. I mean. . Superman's great, right? He's strong, reliable, he does what he has to, and he's always there for the people that need it. But aiming to be like Superman isn't going to get me anywhere. Trying to be like other people won't make anyone happy, right? I just want to be Jon Kent. But I'm sure that being Jon Kent's gonna be pretty great too.

Holy crap... You said some real good thing there.

[ Ah, shit. He tried his best not to curse in front of a kid, but it still slips so naturally. Well, what can he do? This kid's too amazing, what the hell?! He's never seen a snot-nosed brat who's so goddamn mature like him! Maybe this is some kinda over-exaggeration, but that was mildly touching to hear. ]

Yer parents must've taught you well.

[ Mondo closes his gaped mouth to form a proud grin on his lips. ]

'm sure you're gonna be a big shot when you grow up.

[ Though, ironically, this makes him feel ashamed of himself at the same time. What was he doing at Jon's age, he wonders. ]

( it's fine, he's heart a lot of mouths worse than mondo's. the cursing doesn't phase him, but the compliments have him responding a bit sheepishly, putting the toys down on the nearest piece of furniture to raise a hand up and scratch at the back of his head. )

Haha, uh, thanks? My parents're pretty awesome. I. . don't think I'd have been anything like how I turned out if it wasn't for them. ( which is true enough; it was their guidance that helped him discover exactly who he wanted to be, his mother's words that led to him realizing that trying to be like his father was stupid. )

I'll be a way better kind of hero than Superman someday. ( ah, but-- ) What do you want to do when you're grown up?

[ A part of Mondo is rather envious of that, coming from a messed up household himself. While he did have his big brother to be his mentor role and couldn't ask for a better one, it'd be a big fat lie if he said that he felt nothing seeing people from such loving family. Well, it's not like he can do anything about that. He's not even sure if he wishes that his past was different because he got this far thanks to his big brother, too. In some ways, he still can relate to what Jon said. ]

You're already headin' to a good path, I'll guarantee that.

[ It's hard to shake off the habit of judging people just by their looks. He's been trying to, ever since he encountered so many people who're much more than what they seem, but old habits die hard. This talk he's having with Jon really reminds him of it again, though. He's never gotten enough proper, civil interactions with different kinds of people outside of the brief moments in Hope's Peak, as he spent his life mostly with his biker gang. Brawls, vandalism, showing what they've got to prove their 'manliness', doing whatever they want, rebelling against the society ー it's all he's done. As weird as things have been down here, he can't say he isn't thankful for this 'second chance'. ]

Me? I... wanted to be a carpenter.

[ He puts a hand behind his neck awkwardly, eyes beginning to swim away from contact. ]

My past ain't really somethin' to be proud of, been breakin' lotsa things. So I thought this time I'd be the one making stuff, somethin' like that.

( jon sure hopes so. he knows that he believes in himself enough, knows he can do good things because those're what he wants to do. he's saved people, helped others. he's gifted, but he doesn't ever intend to use those gifts to do bad things, not like. . some people expect of him. going down the wrong path would mean a lot more than just going to jail, or making a few bad life choices, or getting scolded.

for jon, messing up and deciding to go down the wrong path could mean destroying the entire earth. even if jon doesn't believe himself to be capable of being that wrong--he knows it's what people back home are afraid of. his father was the exception to the rule, wasn't he? same with kara. but jon is just a kid with all too much power stuck into one tiny impressionable body. )

A carpenter? That's cool! ( carpenters are people who make and repair stuff made with wood, right? I took wood shop once. ( it was fun. ) You look like you've gotta pretty strong arm, so I'm sure you'll be great at it!

[ His smile diminishes a little, but he tries to keep it there. ]

Ya did? Honest to ya, I've never even really tried it out myself... But I do have some confidence in these.

[ He taps his own biceps, subconsciously flexing them for Jon to see. You can use it for monkey bar if you want, he'll allow it. ]

...You know, I wanted to be the number one carpenter in the world, but now that we're here... [ He pauses for a moment. ] It's probably too easy to achieve. This world's just way too small, it will hardly be rewarding.

[ God, what's he yapping about to a kid? Who the fuck even cares? ]

Sorry, that's boring, huh? Ya wanna play somethin'?

( oh no. it might be small, but jon notices it. maybe something to do with that super vision, but the smile fading a bit catches his attention. )

Yeah, I did! I grew up on a farm, too--so I helped my dad with a lot of the farmstuff. . like rebuilding the barn when it burned down, or fixing the posts for the cows, or. . just a lotta stuff, I guess! ( those are pretty nice arm muscles, he agrees. his own smile widens in response, hands shoving down into his pockets to push the action figures into them. ) I don’t think it’d be too easy. I mean. . I’m no expert, and I haven’t been here long at all, but I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff you could do here! I could help, too, if you wanted!

( jon cares, okay. ) The closets’ll give us anything we ask for, right? A girl on the network told me about them. We could ask for carpeting tools. That sounds like a lotta fun to me. Oor. . ( he gestures over to the television sitting on it’s stand, off towards the other side of the room. ) We could play video games. Or a board game. Or uh, something else?

Edited 2017-09-10 14:44 (UTC)

Oi oi... That's real cool.

[ Despite his old-fashioned... fashion, Mondo's a city boy through and through. Things like working at the farm's something that mildly interests him but never has the chance to experience. Well, it seems like the surroundings of Wonderland is more of a countryside than a city... on normal days, anyway, so he can probably try to check out the stable, and explore more of what the land has once this event is over. ]

Whー!!

[ Give him a second. Mondo needs some time to just... put his hand over his own forehead and gather his emotions. Because Jon's seriously givin' him way too many right now!! ]

.......

[ A bit more, he's not tearing up or whatever shit! That's not why he's covering his eyes. Goddammit.

Look, he's never had a lil' bro before, aight?! ]

.......

[ Okay, he's good now, don't worry about his glistening eyes. Crouching down, he puts both his hands on Jon's shoulders firmly. ]

...You're a really good guy. Thanks.

[ It doesn't matter whether Jon will really help him or not ー just him thinking this way is more than enough for Mondo. God. This boy must be some kinda angel. That shot a bullet right through Mondo's heart. ]

You don't hafta do that. [ He chuckles as he pats the boy's head... uh, cap again. ] Let's do something you like. We can do the carpenting stuff 'nother time. [ Gotta practice on his own first, he can't keep showing Jon his uncool sides! After all, he needs to be a dependable big bro, just like how his big bro was. ] What d'ya usually enjoy doing?

( technically speaking, he did come from the sky. just--not from heaven, but another planet entirely. well, he didn't, but his father did, and that counts for something--right? sorry your angel is actually an alien, mondo.

but also he can't really tell mondo that his hobbies include breaking into buildings with some loser in red, black, green, and yellow, jumping off of the top of tall buildings, and punching villains in the face. not that he doesn't have any other hobbies, just--that one's definitely #1. something about the allure of moonlighting as a secret hero's definitely awesome. the best. )

I like working with wood and stuff! My dad once carved ( with his heat vision ) a new leg for someone who didn't have one out of wood! It was really awesome. I'd like to be able to do stuff like that one day. But uh. . I have the Monk-e Monsters Interactive Gaming System hooked up to my TV, if you want to play that? I liked helping out with the animals back home, too, but I don't know if there's any farms here. . And not really fun for most people, I guess.

[ Oh great, Mondo gets another alien friend. The day he finds out about all these facts of Jon his head's gonna explode. ]

Holy crap! [ What a fucking cool dad. ] Your dad do woodwork or somethin'?

[ Aaaand... question marks fill his eyes. Monkーwhat? Hello technology, Mondo's worst enemy. ] Uh, sure! Sounds fun! [ Well. Whatever. He can try. ] Don't think there's a farm here, but there's a stable nearby. We can go there whenever this event thing's over. Ya like horses?

Dad does a lot of stuff. He’s a reporter. He kept up the farm, but we were gonna move off of it soon. ( what reporter doesn’t also have experience in woodworking? gosh, mondo. obviously, reporters do stuff like that. gotta know the stuff they’re reporting, after all!! . . not that he reported about wood. but.

jon makes his way over to the tv, sitting down on the ground in front of it to boot it and the gaming console below it up before grabbing onto the two controllers settled right next to the console; one goes onto his own lap, the other goes beside him for mondo. ) Horses’re pretty cool. I know how to ride them, but I’ve got more experience working with cows and stuff.

[ Mondo's got zero clue of what reporters do apart from... reporting news on newspaper or TV, but he guesses a lot of things happen in the background or something. He gives a hum of acknowledgement to that. Living in the farm area sounds nice. ]

You guys gonna move to a city?

[ Ooh, so they use this to play. Huh. He's seen these on TV before. Let him examine it for a bit. ] You do? Well, let's go then, next time. [ Obviously, he prefers riding motorbikes to horses, but animals in general are great. Even for a bit, maybe he can have a taste of farm life that way. ]

I don’t really want to, but--they’ve got work stuff in Metropolis. ( he’d way prefer to be living the city life and going to a new school and all of that new stuff rather than be stuck here. so maybe moving to the city really isn’t all that bad of an idea.

even as jon speaks, he keeps his eyes glued to the screen, going through the start menu and getting the game set up and please don’t make me try to explain a fake game, i don’t know how this game works. ) I’m first player, so you just gotta pick your character, and your screen shows below mine--it’s split screen, ‘cause we only have one console and it doesn’t look like we have wifi here even we did have a second.

[ Ah, he's heard of those. He attends school just barely passing the attendance requirement back then, but he remembers there're transfer students from time to time. Having to move around 'cuz of parents' job must be kinda tough on 'em too. He shifts his focal point from Jon to the screen, nodding at the explanation even if he doesn't completely get it. Man, what are these? Monsters? ]

Er, aight. Uh. So, guess this is how Iー uh. [ He ends up selecting a character instead of going left and right. Well, whatever. ...The fuck's wifi again? Is it that 'internet' thingy? While Jon selects his, Mondo waits, guessing that's how it works. ] ...Say, d'ya miss your friends from home? Moving means you gotta make new friends, right?

Yeah. ( that’s 90% of the reason he’s against moving in the first place: jon makes friends easily enough, sure, but it doesn’t mean he wants to start all over. he likes his friends; they’re all pretty great people, who do pretty great things. ) I miss Kathy and Maya the most--Maya and I weren’t close friends, but she’s pretty awesome.

I knew Kathy for a while, too—her grandfather and her were from out of town and moved into my hometown a little while ago ( actually, from outer space. ) but we had a lot in common. She’s real nice. Probably the bestest friend I’ve ever had. ( and it’s. . good, to have a friend he truly can relate to. sure, kathy’s heritage is way different from his own, but he still felt comfortable talking to her, and being able to open up to her; she was a lot more in control than jon, but she understood the struggle of being a kid with more power than they should have. )

Maya lives far away from my home town anyway, though. . she travels a lot, so moving won’t mean I get to see her less, I guess. Damian’s always lived pretty far away, too, but he and his dad visited a lot. I’m sure they’ll come even when we’re in Metropolis. ( he shifts through the game menu for a moment, changing the difficulty to easy before starting the level of whatever the heck this game is. ) Damian’s here anyway, so I don’t really--miss him. ( he sure does miss bruce being around though. ) Do you miss your friends from back home?

[ Kathy and Maya, huh. Well, he won't be surprised if Jon's popular amongst the girls, even Mondo's impressed by him. He listens to Jon talk about them with a mischievous smirk on his face, ready to tease him about it like those typical nosy big brothers the moment he gets the chance.

But the chance doesn't come as his attention is captured by the mention of a friend of Jon being here. ]

Oh, he's here? Ain't that great! You won't feel too lonely then, at least. [ So Damian is a guy's name. He's really not good with foreign names, but he's still pretty sure Kathy and Maya are girls. And about thatー ] ...Ah? [ Just when he's gearing up to tease him this time round, the question is flung back to him. Well. His hand reaches up behind his head, scratching. ]

I... guess so. [ Rather than friends, Crazy Diamond members were more of his comrades, probably. He surely had the time of his life blasting through the night with them then but... he doesn't have a place to return anymore. In fact, he probably had no rights calling them comrades in the first place. After all, he's been lying to them the entire time. ] ...... [ He contemplates for a moment. ] But two of my classmates are here, so. It's notー It's not so bad. [ And he's lying again, through his teeth and crooked smile. Things have been pretty... complicated with them. Putting teens into a murder game setting must be one of the most brilliant ways to fuck them all up. ] ーA, anyway, we're gonna play, right?

( at least one of the multiple here that are from a world at least mildly similar to his own knows he exists, instead of thinking that there's no way jon exists. damian remembers him. unlike kara, and everyone else he's talked to thus far who know his parents, but not him. the multiverse is weird like that.

damian is. . okay. he's loud and arrogant, but jon's gotten used to him. he probably shouldn't really explain--damian himself much, because jon knows he's really bad at telling halftruths; considering most of his time with damian has been spent in capes and masks, he's bound to slip up at some point.

jon can hear the way mondo's heart stutters when he lies, but that's not something he can really. . say out loud, is it? he can't tell mondo that he's got super ears, can tell when people are telling him mistruths; jon hates liars, but he does also understand that this kind of lie isn't laced with malice. this guy's probably just trying not to make a big deal out of. . whatever it is.

he leans his shoulder against mondo, starts the level up and starts moving his character around. ) We're friends now too, right? If you ever need anything. . you can come to me. I'm, uh--a lot stronger than I look, cross my heart. So you really don't have to worry about me. But I'd be happy to be there for you an' stuff.

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jon is so sweet oh my god 1/5

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oops i lied 4/4

he's a good boy, tries his best every day.

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