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Post by Superboy on Feb 8, 2012 17:07:06 GMT -5
Conner wasn't the type to mind being corrected when he was wrong, but he couldn't be doing with someone else having the last word, and so when Brainy pointed out the error in his logic, he didn't take offense, but he was forced to return with his own sentiment. "But what's the point in having allies, if you can't return the favor?" And that was truly how he felt. He didn't know if it was really as heroic as it sounded, but one of the things he felt was driving him was his desire to pay the people back who got him here. He would save the lives of Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman, because they were the ones who first found him in his chamber at Cadmus and freed him. And he would somehow find a way of paying Superman back for (sort of) accepting him into his life. He believed that he wouldn't be truly at peace until he did that.
And once he was, he could move onto saving the rest of world.
He couldn't help but fix Brainy with a questioning look when he was offered the enigmatic utterance that followed. Was 'you will' a historical fact, or just a promise? Was it a 'you will because you already have', or a 'you will because I know you have it in you'? Or were they the same thing coming from him? And what was it about this guy that made him ask so many questions? It was the time travel thing. It had to be. It was a needlessly complex business, and Conner, for one, didn't plan on hopping to the future or the past any time soon. He didn't even want to know what Brainy had meant with that comment. He let it go.
He was a lot more interested in the subject of conversation that involved the possibility of his training. Once again he had to stifle his bemused and cynical expression when the Coluan suggested that he could be... what? His sparring partner? He would be scared of breaking him by accident. Yeah, that was a situation he would rather avoid, if he could help it.
He was then queried as to whether he'd trained himself at all. It wasn't going to be easy answering this in a way that didn't seem Neanderthal, if Brainy was used to 'simulations' and crazy future-tech. He would have to give it a shot anyway.
"Well, nothing really. Some lifting, you know. Stacks of hay... tractors... Seeing how far I can throw things that I don't need to come back..." He nodded, "And I can't fly yet. But I practise jumping whenever I can get away with it, and I can go pretty far in one leap now... annnnd..." He frowned, thinking about anything else he could add to the list that would make it the tiniest bit more impressive. He'd really had very little freedom on the farm to get in the power testing he wanted. He clicked his fingers when he thought of something. "Holding my breath." He said, and then, to clarify, "You know, because Superman can do that..." He made a little pushing motion with his hand. "...Breath thingie. I guessed he must have super lungs or something, so maybe if I had them too, I could hold my breath longer but, ah..." He looked disappointed, "Nothing in that area so far."
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 8, 2012 20:07:13 GMT -5
The Coluan inclined his head slightly, conceding the point, though he did have an additional quirk of his own to add. Brainiac 5.0 did not lose in anything intellectually related. “And that is why you will now be trained.” After all, as he was, untrained, he would not be much use. Perhaps if he had been full Kryptonian, yes, as even Superman before he truly was that was fairly talented, but being only half, his powers were thus lessened.
The other did not seem to know what to make of his statement, though Brainy had intended it to be a fact, and so he quirked an eyebrow, curiously wondering if he would inquire about it. He did not, did not ask about his future and how he did in it, and so the android felt his respect for the other rising slightly. Few could resist the temptation of not knowing what would happen, for it to be a weight off of their shoulders, and he could respect that.
Therefore, though the training methods were crude and primitive, nothing that he would chose to do, he nodded slightly when presented with them, understanding their usage and catalouging them for later analysis, to see what recommendations he could give to make it better. If there was one thing that he was good at, it was analyzing things, picking them apart and making them better.
“His Super-Breath,” Brainy clarified, though that honestly wasn’t much of an accurate descriptor. It was a name, of course, and that was sort of what mattered at that point. He frowned slightly, considering an option in his mind. He did have a spare… And considering he could flip through his data and see if it would break the timeline, and take it back if it would…
Alright, he would do it.
One of the three circles on his chest, the upper left, opening like a panel, Brainiac reached inside, pulling out a ring. “Here,” he told Superboy, offering the yellow ring to him. “It’s a flight ring. I may have to take it back later, if it will mess up the timeline, but for now…” He trailed off, smiling slightly. He knew that euphoric feeling, when you could first fly, and it would be nice for the clone to experience.
“Now… Are there any powers you know that Superman has, that you don’t?” This would prove essential for figuring out what to assist him with, as well as what to skim his data for, to see if the other ever developed said powers, to see whether or not it would be worthwhile to work on them. Otherwise, they could do aerodynamic skills, and then spar.
It would be… interesting.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 9, 2012 13:20:25 GMT -5
Examining the little yellow ring he was given, Conner wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He held it between his fingers and turned it around, checking it for details beyond the general shape, color, weight, and design. He didn't recognize it as any particular object beyond a simple ring, but he wasn't surprised that his strictly 21st century mindset couldn't place something that had come out of an alien's chest.
Wait, did he manufacture these rings inside his chest? Conner couldn't help but look at the disk the ring had come from with a vague expression of awe and bewilderment. There was so much he didn't understand about Brainy and where he came from. It made him feel ancient, even though this was supposed to be his time. The boy from the future was supposed to be the one out of place here.
Still, he turned his attention back to the ring, his attention captivated by it. A flight ring, was it? Wasn't that cheating? He bet Superman never needed to use a flight ring... but surely if it helped him get his feet off the ground, it couldn't be a bad thing. It would be kind of like training wheels on a bicycle.
He felt the urge to slip it on and turn into Superman and fly off into the distance (a delusional urge - he knew that wouldn't be the case, but it was a pleasant mental image), but was distracted by Brainy's next question.
He considered the list of abilities that he had been told Superman possessed and compared them mentally with his own, less impressive roster, "Super speed." He replied, "The super and freeze breath. I have the hearing, but none of the vision-related powers yet. But I've only been out of a tank for two months." He added, clearly trying to justify his lagging behind on the abilities front like a kid who was falling behind his peers in class, "I'm sure it took Superman more than two months to develop all of the powers too." Actually, this was a blind assumption. He had no idea how long it took Superman to learn to use his powers. Perhaps he had been born with the full set. In which case, why hadn't Conner?
Whatever the case, he was fairly certain Brainy would know what to do, given his supposed intellect combined with his research on heroes of the 'past'. He still didn't know him very well, and he still didn't trust him entirely, but any instruction he was offered from his new friend would be better than the instruction he had gotten so far, which was none.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 9, 2012 14:30:28 GMT -5
The look on the other’s face as he glanced at Brainy’s chest… Well, it was almost enough to bring the Coluan to laughter, but being who he was, he didn’t, though he was internally finding it really funny. “Storage compartments,” he clarified, tapping the middle circle on his frontal chest plate, recognizing the bemusement in his eyes for what it was. Superboy, no, Connor, didn’t put it on either, something which surprised him, as he was pretty sure that the other would, if only to be able to float and see what it was like.
Then again, the other wasn’t Superman. Only half. He had to remember that.
Listening to the list, the Coluan filed those away, unsurprised (although the other was only out of the tank for two months? Interesting…). Out of all the powers that Superman had, those were the ones that made the most sense that he would not have. But he nodded. “Yes, it did. Even by the time he came to us, he had not discovered all of them.” Tipping his head to the side, he added on a comment, feeling far more relaxed in Superboy’s presence than he had his entire time in the 21st century. “Of course, developing and controlling them are two different factors entirely.”
Letting a “Hmm…” slip out of his mouth, Brainiac 5 leaned back slightly, considering the matter through his scan of twelfth level intelligence, before he decided upon the option that would prove the most effective: Sparring. He needed to see where Connor was, power-wise, and he was likely unused to fighting in a battle (97.4%), only training his powers, so it would give him experience in that area, as well.
And the Coluan was not an easy opponent.
“Very well,” he spoke, hopping lightly off of the fence and landing on the ground gracefully, smiling slightly as he looked up at the taller boy. “We will spar first. It’s the easiest way to grasp where you are with your powers, and you need to know how to fight, not just use your abilities. And then we can go from there.”
Yes, that was the best solution. Then he could give the other recommendations on his training schedule, and they could perhaps train further things, but… He considered a new option, and spoke up again, questioningly. “Unless you want to work on aerodynamics first?” Then sparring. That was also acceptable.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 9, 2012 16:03:46 GMT -5
Somewhat relieved by the revelation that those circles were merely storage compartments, Conner's mind was free to close off that little distraction... though built-in storage was pretty weird, it wasn't as weird as having the ability to create jewelry in your torso. But there was no telling what he could do. He was some kind of alien robot, after all.
It was this thought that made him the slightest bit less uncomfortable about the idea with sparring with Brainy, which was the suggestion that came next. He asked if he wanted to train in aerodynamics before that, though, and Conner looked down at the ring in his hand. Aerodynamic training probably involved flying, right?
He dropped the ring into his pocket. He decided he would rather do things exactly as Brainy suggested them. His new companion was doing him a huge favor here, after all, so he didn't see that he had any say in how it was done. If it was sparring first, it was sparring first. Even if he was already worried about breaking him. And he wasn't sure if he knew enough about technology (and future technology at that) to know how to fix him if he did. Actually, could one 'fix' Brainiac 5? He hadn't actually said that he was a robot, but Conner had made this assumption based on the '5.0' and the fact that he apparently didn't age like a human. Maybe he would ask about that later.
"Sparring's fine with me." He agreed, "Maybe we should use a field slightly farther away though, just in case. Follow me." He turned on the spot and, almost without bending his knees, seemed to shoot up into the air in a super powered jump.
For a few seconds, the world hurtled away from him and he could see the patchwork of green and yellow stretching out for miles around. He traveled through the air, spreading his arms out to enjoy the feel of the wind rushing against his hands and between his fingers, until he began to drop back down into another field.
He hit the ground and bounced a couple of uncontrolled steps forward with his landing. He hadn't quite perfected the stopping mechanics of the super jump yet, but it was, in his opinion, still the only way to travel. He turned around again to see if Brainy had followed him, and brushed the dust off his chest that he had kicked up into the air with his landing.
This field, unlike the first, had much shorter grass that would make for a more even battleground, and, also unlike the first, was bordered on all sides by thick trees, so that he couldn't see out, but more importantly, no-one else could see in.
He began to bounce up and down a little on the spot and raised his arms, which was partially him striking a fighting pose he had seen once on the TV, and partially just his being unable to contain his elation at the situation he found himself in.
"Okay, let's see what you've got, Brainy." He smirked, suddenly buzzing with energy.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 9, 2012 16:25:37 GMT -5
Oh, so no aerodynamics? Hm, that would give him an advantage… Then again, he was a trained fighter, not one that simply had powers. He would have the upper hand no matter what. Should he go easy on the other? …No, he should not, at least until he had grasped the extent of his powers. After all, unless it came down to strategy, Superman could defeat him, and the other had a great many of the same powers that Superman did, so it was best not to underestimate him. No, he wouldn’t fight his best, say, as if he were in a fight with the Fatal Five, but he would fight.
Nodding slightly, he replied. “Very well.” With that, he floated slightly, and waited until Connor launched himself upwards, until he followed. It was a good thing that the other didn’t have super speed, or he would have been left behind, but as it was, he floated behind the other ‘alien’, blonde hair blown away from his face as he watched the other. Kind of looked like a bird, with no offense intended.
Frowning slightly as the other was uncontrolled on the ground, and filing that away for a later point, Brainy touched down gracefully, smiling slightly. This would be… an interesting fight, to say the least. It was a suitable battlefield, as well, albeit one very different than anything that he was used to, and he was about to commend Superboy on his choice, when the other apparently prepared himself.
…Was he seriously going to attempt to fight like that?
Lifting an eyebrow, Brainiac 5 shook his head slightly in disbelief. “It’s a good thing I’m training you…” He’d get nowhere like that. Absolutely nowhere.
And with that comment, Brainy transformed, his plates shifting and parts moving as he turned into his battle form, smiling as he did so, though it wasn’t as apparent on his transformed face. “Alright, Connor,” he said, and lifted an arm, quickly turning it into a laser cannon and firing.
A weak one, of course, no need to harm the other if he was unable to get out of the way in time. Just something that would sting lightly. Hopefully, despite the fact that he did not have super speed, he would be able to dodge, and then attack.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 9, 2012 17:07:03 GMT -5
The bouncing slowly came to a hesitant stop after Brainy's comment, to which he was going to take a little offense, but all thoughts seemed to fall directly out of his brain and onto the ground when, before his eyes, the short kid before him shifted and transformed and suddenly, he was the short one instead. As he watched the android go up, his guard (laughable as it was) went down, as did his mouth, which hung open in awe.
"Whoa-" He started to say, but then someone shot a laser cannon at him, and he was forced to cut the sentiment short.
His leap to safety was executed admirably, and he avoided the shot entirely. His landing, as with his jump, wasn't so smooth. He landed roughly on his chest, though he managed to use his arms to spring himself up without losing any momentum from the leap. What resulted was that he was back on his feet and facing his opponent in one piece, but the process wasn't quite as quick or smooth as it should have been.
When he came up from the dodge and was facing Brainy again, he was grinning. It appeared that his initial worries about damaging his friend were almost completely unnecessary.
Almost.
Baring his teeth in an expression of both aggression and joy, Conner made his move. He dashed forward, feet moving fast, but not super-fast, to cross the distance between them. As he ran, he decided on his target. The knee joint of the left leg. One swift punch to put it out of action and put the opponent down without any damage to the head or torso, where he assumed all the important circuitry was housed. Luckily, that green metal looked a lot thicker than it did moments ago, so as he honed in on the target spot, and pulled back his fist ready to punch, he didn't bother being too careful with how much energy he was putting behind it. He threw his fist wildly forward, still grinning like a maniac.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 9, 2012 17:49:39 GMT -5
“Jumping out of the way isn’t always the answer,” Brainy chided calmly, seeing the result of his attempt. “Dropping works just as well, as does simply moving out of the way.” After all, it was not as if it were going to home in on him, and even if it did, jumping would do nothing to avoid it. Plus, jumping and landing improperly took up too much time, as evidenced by the Coluan just standing in place, waiting and unmoving. It was a good thing that he had plenty of patience.
Superboy did seem to be having a good time, however, so he let himself smile slightly, as invisible as it was. The quick move was good, and it spoke of a speed even without his Kryptonian heritage’s speed, but the rest of the action… not as much. For one, it was very obvious to see what point he was focusing on, and he was relentless. Both of them were not good, and for an untrained being that was facing a lifeform with the fastest and most intelligent mind ever (considering that the others lost their place to hold that spot when they went insane), it was tantamount to suicide.
Thankfully, Connor was not facing off against any other Coluan than Brainy, so he would be fine.
It was far too easy to shift out of the way, to move slightly, and instead of flying out of the way, to secure himself, like he could have, Brainiac 5 stayed on the ground in order to use an arm to see if he could shove the other forward even further, to get him away more. It didn’t matter if that push would connect, or not, but factoring in the law of inertia, the reckless punch, and the other’s speed, he would continue to move forward for a bit. How much depended on how quickly he could recover, and if he would be able to recover enough to make an attack out of it. Doubtful, as usually only skilled fighters could do that, but he could have instincts. A 63.5% possibility, increased to 71.2% if Superman’s genes were more prominent.
“Aim for a more vital spot,” he instructed in his calm voice, making no further move to attack unless the other did. For now, he would evaluate his attacking skills. “And be less obvious about it. Anyone could see where you were heading.” Not all would be able to do something about it, of course, considering his speed, but now was not the time to consider details like that, rather teach. “Do not be as straight-forward, expect your opponent to attack and move. Do not put that much power behind one punch unless you know it will connect.”
Surprisingly to anyone who sort of knew him, but didn’t know know him, Brainiac 5 was a good teacher. He wasn’t the nicest, however.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 10, 2012 16:01:27 GMT -5
The wise words of instruction echoed in the back of his mind, and Conner did his best to absorb the information they held even as he moved in for his attack...
But the target that was there one second suddenly wasn't anymore, and, as a side effect, there was nothing to stop him from moving forward. His predicament only worsened when there was a shoving force on his back and he was sent hurtling forward, unable to stop his own momentum. Brainy was behind him, telling him what he was doing wrong, but it was hard to take his words in when his face was a few seconds from hitting the ground.
Somehow, and he didn't know how, he managed to get his feet out from behind them and stick them out in front, digging his heels into the grass before him, stopping his uncontrolled run, causing his knees to bend in a sort of crouch - but then, unthinking, he continued the movement, so that the moment he was low to the ground, he sprang back out again.
'Don't be straightforward.' That was what he had said, wasn't it? Well he didn't know any fighting moves, but that meant that he also didn't know what wasn't considered conventional technique. And this move that was unfolding out of him by instinct was anything but straightforward.
Having exploded backward from his crouch-stop, he flew back through the air, his back facing the ground, both his arms stretched out and balled into fists aimed straight at his opponent's chest, which he rocketed toward like a kryptonian cannonball.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 10, 2012 17:54:39 GMT -5
…So he didn’t manage to dodge the blow. That was unfortunate, as the added push sent him farther than he would have gone otherwise, but as Brainiac 5 had not actually intended it to hurt, merely to send him farther, it wouldn’t cause any damage. But the other had to be aware of his surroundings, especially when he couldn’t see his opponent. His best move when whomever he was facing was not in his vision was to make them in his vision, somehow.
It would be a lot better for Superboy, the sooner his vision-related powers (if they ever) developed.
Before he could make such a statement, however, the other managed to halt his run, and Brainy observed as he dug in his heels, apparently instinctively, and crouched low. Good, that was a perfect way to halt himself, although spinning around at the end would-
His conscious monologue (though his subconscious thoughts finished the sentence with ’assist him better in seeing the opponent’) was cut off as the other jettisoned towards him, in the most out-of-the-blue move he had seen for quite awhile, as the last time such a thing had completely surprised him as this one did was when he was first observing his teammate’s fight and analyzing them, and Bouncing Boy had literally hopped up and down on Cosmic Boy until he had been shoved into the ground. No, this was not something he had expected at all, and that delighted him.
Of course, having the quickest mind that existed helped quite a bit in the ‘thinking up strategies’ portion of fighting, and when the half-Kryptonian got close enough, he activated his quantum shield, a shimmering purple globe-shaped shield around himself that, as it was on a low frequency, would sting the clone when he encountered it.
His next move, after the shield had stung him and pushed him slightly away, halting his momentum enough that even if the other did manage to hit him when he turned it off, it would not harm him, but for maybe a slight dent, at the most, was to turn off his shield, catch the other’s fists, and fling him lightly away. Not enough so that it would harm him, or that he would impact a tree or not be able to catch himself, but enough that it would stall him from starting another move so that he could speak.
And even if that did not work, he would halt him, and could then speak.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” were his words, spoken in his lightly calm tone. “When you had your back to me, I could have hurt you very badly. Good recovery, though if not for your next move, you should have turned around, so that I was in range of your vision, and very unexpected attack. One I have not seen before.”
But he smirked lightly, speaking again in the same tone. “Always assume your opponent is more prepared than you, however.”
Especially if you were facing off against one you didn’t know the powers of.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 10, 2012 18:57:44 GMT -5
An electrifying buzz that invaded the bones of Conner's hands and quickly raced down his spine was the first thing that told him his attack had been unsuccessful. The second thing was that he was being flung back through the air the way he had come - though his return trip was a lot less graceful.
Catching glimpses of the spinning ground below him, the clone stuck his feet out in an attempt to catch the surface and maybe right himself in a single move. Clearly, this kind of move took more co-ordination than he currently possessed, because the result of the attempt was that he spun, hit the ground, and rolled a couple of times before coming to a halt.
He didn't stay on the ground for long, but immediately picked himself up and faced Brainiac 5 again. The electrifying effect of whatever fancy gadget he had thrown himself into had been a bit of a shock, but the sensation had worn off, and the impact with the ground hadn't affected him at all, except to slow him down and show him up.
He needed to up his game. He was looking, he thought, like a lost cause. And Brainy had trained Superman. He was probably comparing them, right now, in that robot brain of his, and Conner was willing to bet anything that he was not coming out on top. Experience or no experience, he had to show his teacher that he had potential before this sparring match was over, or he would give up on him for sure.
Only half of his mind was listening and taking in what Brainy was saying as he stood there for a moment. The other half was, for the first time, analyzing the situation.
Aim for a more vital spot. Be less obvious about it.
He had said this when he was aiming for his knee joint... but looking at him, the way he was built, considering how much he must weigh in this state, surely the legs would be the best place to hit. If he could get him down on the ground he could use his own size and weight against him.
Right, he would run-
No, not run.
Always assume your opponent is more prepared than you.
Brainy would have seen it coming by now already and would shoot him down before he could get close. A jump then, to close the distance? No. Not enough control. So that meant...
Brainy had finished speaking. He was ready to go again. And Conner was born ready.
He dashed forward again, taking only a single step before going into a jump aimed straight at his opponent's head - or at least, it looked that way. In actual fact, the leap was a feint. Having put less energy into the jump than it appeared, he landed a few feet in front of him on the ground, and the momentum of the move carried him that last few feet, so that he was, in an instant, between the robot's massive feet. Seeing his opening and seizing his chance, he threw his own leg out in a sweeping kick aimed at Brainy's foot, putting a fair amount of power behind the attack, factoring in stabilizing units and who-knew-what else to be working against him when he made the impact.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 10, 2012 21:20:13 GMT -5
Hm, he had not anticipated that it would be that difficult for Kon-El to recover himself from that toss. It had been a light one, after all, and the Coluan had made sure that he would not impact anything, but judging from the way he had spun and then hit the ground. Yes, aerodynamic work would be next. There wasn’t much they could do, fight-wise, without working on all of the individual aspects and then working them into an overall dynamic. And it was clear that Superboy was not at all prepared for a fight.
Still, he had managed to get to his feet rather quickly, keeping him within sight, and he appeared to be thinking, which was always a good thing.
…Unless you happened to be Lightning Lad, of course.
Brainy observed the other, watching how the clone’s muscles tensed and bunched, and how he set off like a ship, spring forth at a speed that was quite competent, for not having super speed (shades of it seemed to be appearing, although that could just be the natural physique that came with being Kryptonian), and then jumped, aiming straight for the Coluan’s head.
How disappointing, and despairingly simple to dodge, especially with the force that was behind it. Unless he had unnoticeably made his jump one of his ‘super’ ones (a 34.2% chance), then it was unlikely that he would even be able to damage the other, should he make contact. (Well, it would have damaged a human, of course, and Brainy was not one, especially in this form. Connor was unaware of how he was in this form, though, he had to give him that.)
It seemed to be his plan, however, to fall short, something which would have made Brainiac 5 raise an eyebrow, had he actually been in the form that had eyebrows. For no, he had to settle for his eyes widening slightly. How disappointing. The plan, though, seemed to be aiming for his legs…. Something he had not anticipated, having thought that the other would not aim for something he had already informed him was ‘not vital’, though it now seemed like the other was being contrary, as well as the fact that he had been aiming for his head before. An admirable plan.
For a miniscule fraction of a second (1/3200 seconds, actually), his mind whirred, eyes lighting up for a moment as he took full reign of the gift that was a twelfth level intellect, and thought. Considering what form he was in, he would not be able to move as quickly out of the way as if he were in his ‘normal’ one (if he had been, it would’ve been a simple matter to even just twist out of the way), and it was unlikely that he would be able to avoid the hit altogether. Kon-El was already within the area that his shield covered, meaning that was of no use, so there was only one option left for Brainiac 5:
Fly.
So he moved, flitting upward, and the hit struck, unfortunately, shattering through his foot and lower part of his leg, destroying it and sending pieces everywhere. Kryptonians. Always destroying things. “Ow,” was his simple intonation, spoken in the same calm voice he had been using, while alarms screamed in his mind, yelling shrilly to him that he had been damaged. As if he didn’t know?
At this point in a battle, this was usually where he quickly transformed into his old form, and someone, formerly Lightning Lad, and now Superman, brought him back to the headquarters to recharge and reform in peace, but he could not do that here. Therefore, he muffled the alarms using sheer force of will (and cutting off 32.1% of his conscious mind), and surveyed his situation.
His left leg was broken, ending in a ragged stump just below the knee, that was sparking slightly, exposing wires, as well as leaking a slow, steady stream of green fluid (which hopefully did not land on Connor. He was Kryptonian, so it wouldn’t harm him as much as it would a human, but it would kick in and burn slightly in a few moments, something he did not wish to deal with), and he floated slightly above and away from him, arms crossing.
“Good,” he intoned, slight smile on his face despite the fact that bits of his leg now dotted the ground. “A cunning plan, one that was unexpected, though you still did not aim for a vital part.” Perhaps he had thought that the leg was a vital part? …Maybe. Taking that out on a being that could not fly would definitely be a smart move, but a truly ridiculous number of creatures were able to be airborn in the 31st century, so it was not always something so cut-and-dry.
Therefore, one always assumed the worst.
“I think it’s time to work on something else,” he informed the other, shifting into his ‘normal’ mode and sitting on the ground. He let out a wince, features briefly contorting into an expression of pain as he let his alarms flare once more, before he wiped his face clean, instead turning to inspect his ragged stump of a left leg.
Hm… It definitely wasn’t good, but it was far from the worst that he had ever had. Considering that he had pieces that would serve as reinforcements, when he regrew it, it would certainly be fine that he wasn’t fully charged. Although it would still be annoying to watch his energy levels drop as he reformed it…
[Note: ...How did this grow so big asfksdk. But what I was going to say is that if Superboy would totally attack the floating Brainy after he smashes his foot/leg, totally ignore everything (but his observation of how he looks with the smashed leg/green liquid stuff) after the 'Ow', mkay? It just... went on, and then I thought of it, and was like D: and... yep, think I'm gonna stop talking now. >.< So obvious I should be in bed OTL.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 11, 2012 11:13:05 GMT -5
The immense satisfaction that Conner felt when his boot made contact with the intended target of his attack was replaced in the same second by a pang of horror that shot through him when, instead of whisking Brainy's feet out from under him and causing him to fall, he realized he had crunched the material like cardboard and kicked right through it, scattering the metal and the parts it contained in an explosive arc.
It took him a second to piece together in his shocked mind what had happened - that Brainy had risen up at the last moment. Of course. He had assumed that his bulkier form would stop him from flying, but that assumption seemed baseless now. It seemed that physics had taken over after that, and instead of toppling the giant, he had blown its foot off.
Conner stood, wide eyed, staring at what was left of the limb. It was ruined. His eyes then darted to his friend's face, searching for any trace of pain or emotion. He was indescribably relieved to see none. That put a firm and final tick in the check box for 'Robot' - though it was an incredibly dangerous way to find out. The fact that Brainy wasn't rolling on the ground and hollering in pain, combined with the calm and calculated tones in his voice as he finished giving him combat advice saved a little of his guilt. He hadn't injured him. But he had damaged him.
That theory flew out the window when his friend sat on the ground and winced. Seeing this, he crossed the distance between them in a shot and knelt beside him, staring at the injury helplessly. "Brainy - I-I'm sorry!" He stammered, looking horrified at his actions, "I didn't mean to -- I thought -- I didn't --" He shook his head, unable to find the words to adequately say 'I'm sorry I kicked your leg off, I hope we can still be friends!', so instead he said, "What can I do? Can we fix you? You're leaking-" He realized, "Will you be alright?" It wasn't like he could take him to a hospital, or a mechanic or a scientist for that matter. In the future they probably had techniques for fixing stuff like this in a flash, but stuck back here in the past - he'd ruined everything with a single careless move. He cursed himself. He had known that sparring was a bad idea, but he had gone ahead and done it anyway. And now the kid he had met not half an hour ago was missing half of one of his limbs and there was nothing he could do about it.
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Post by Brainiac 5 on Feb 11, 2012 16:45:17 GMT -5
Hm, Connor seemed very shocked at his lack of limb. Perhaps that had not been his intention, to destroy it? If it wasn’t, then he would definitely have to practice on controlling his power, and if it was, they would have to discuss what was allowed for sparring practice, but that could wait for later. For now, he needed to repair his limb, because the alarms in his head were annoying.
…Plus, it hurt. Not in the way that it hurt more organic lifeforms, but it just… hurt. A difficult thing to explain to anyone who was not Coluan.
The other could certainly move quickly, under certain circumstances, something that he would have to test later. Perhaps the super speed was unconsciously revealing itself? A possibility, though only one with a 56.8% chance. Muffling the alarms (and using 32.6% of his mind this time to cut them off), he blinked purple eyes up at Superboy, surprised. “It’s fine, Connor, really,” the Coluan tried to reassure him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine.”
Yes, it definitely wasn’t the best situation that he had been in, but he could easily get out of this one. It wasn’t as if he had enemies still actively trying to destroy him, nor allies that had to step out of their way to protect him so that he could perhaps perform an inadequate mid-field regeneration that would leave him able to fight, but weaker and more vulnerable. No, he was fine. The situation could be far worse.
“Kon-El, calm down,” Brainiac 5 told him, voice gaining a hint of the commanding tone that he used whenever his teammates did something stupid, before the questions registered, and he sighed slightly, a touch of a smile on his face as he realized that the other was simply worried for him. It had been a bit since anyone was, seeing as his… friends knew that he was fine, most of the time. “It won’t do any good to panic, alright?”
He paused for a moment, considering the question over in his head. What could the other do? Coming to a decision, he asked a question, glancing down at his ruined leg with a twist to his face before glancing up. “Could you gather the pieces?” Brainy questioned, his eyes flickering to where pieces of his leg lay around them. Surprisingly to anyone who was human, it didn’t really bother him. He was far too used to literally falling to pieces. “I can fix myself…”
Of course, he could fix himself without the pieces, but it would cost a lot less energy to use them to help rebuild his leg, as well as the added fact that he would be able to reinforce his leg from where it had been damaged before.
Honestly, aside from the fact that the steadily-growing-louder alarms in the back of his head were bothering him, only indicated by a slight pinch and twist to his face, and that he would lose a bit of energy, this was actually a plus. He could reinforce his legs, and that was always much better than the alternative.
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Post by Superboy on Feb 12, 2012 15:19:39 GMT -5
Luckily one of the two teenagers was managing to keep a cool head in the situation. Surprisingly, it was the one who had had his leg smashed to pieces. Brainy's stern voice did more than the words he spoke to put him back in place. He was right, panicking wasn't going to help anyone, and even he, with his robotic body and way of speaking, wouldn't be able to stop from showing some trace of panic if the situation was really as bad as it looked. At least, Conner didn't think so. In actual fact, he had no idea how Brainy's mind worked. At first he had thought 'robotic looking alien'. Then that had given way to 'full-on robot'. Now he could feel pain, but he could repair himself? Maybe Coluans were a race of cyborgs.
He wasn't sure how to approach the topic. He was fairly certain that Brainy would be happy to explain to him exactly what he was if he asked (he didn't seem the type to be cagey about something factual like that). But right now hardly seemed the right moment. Instead he nodded at the instruction he was given, glad to hear that his friend was apparently proficient in self-maintenance. "Right." He said, and got up to see exactly where all the parts had fallen, "You got it."
He moved off to start collecting the parts, of which there were quite a few, and scattered widely across the immediate vicinity. He bent down to pick up a green cylinder, and then took a few steps and bent down to retrieve some kind of black pipe.
At this point he paused, his hand hovering over the piece in hesitation. Something that Brainy had said was only just registering with him. Somehow it had slipped by his immediate perceptions while he was panicking about the situation, but now he frowned as he replayed it in his mind. "What did you call me?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, and then turning around completely so that he was facing the alien again, "Kon-El? Is that a kryptonian name?" Superman's name was Kal-El, wasn't it? It was the same. "Is it... my kryptonian name?" He fixed Brainy with a searching look, trying to glean more information from him just by looking at him.
It was only a name, just two syllables - but it was a kryptonian name, and if it was his, that could mean any number of things. At the top of the list was that, at some point, Superman would honor him with a name that made him... part of the family. He didn't know how to feel about that. But he didn't know anything for sure at this point, so he looked to Brainy, hoping for enlightenment. It was one thing not asking about his future, but if he was going to throw hints out, only an idiot would ignore them...
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