closed

[heliakal]

Who: Superman & Solid Snake
When: Sometime during the chaos
Where: St. Murtel
What: Snake rescues some kids, Clark gives them a lift.
Warnings: Visual pun if you squint, property damage, and mentions of an exploded planet and such.

This isn't going to be like Caducus Primary. Clark knows the situation is unlikely to escalate on that scale again - not with Bruce safely on the Moira, and everyone largely fighting with non-lethal force. Still, at times like this it's hard to shake the image a city coming down around him, the feeling of utter helplessness, and the deafening silence that had followed.

Sometimes he feels like nothing more than a farm boy from Kansas trying to fill a role that's far too big for anyone, but he knows it's not some experience or skill he lacked that would have changed what had ultimately happened. There are things that will always be beyond his abilities, no matter how extraordinary. Thankfully, helping people isn't one of them. This isn't going to be like Caducus Primary, or even like Metropolis. He's got more help here, after all. They'll do better this time.

Once the security has been deactivated at St. Murtel, plenty of the crew go in to help the children get to safety. Clark flies along above them, weaving between groups to share information about safer routes to travel, and help them clear out road blocks or security guards. Of course, there's an abundance of the latter to contend with. They've blocked off most of the roads leading out with tire spikes and cars from the security force - too dangerous to ram through even for anyone who's managed to steal a vehicle.

One of the newer road blocks manages to catch someone, and Clark sees the car slow to a stop, and the guards advancing with weapons drawn. He can hear the kids in the backseat, and that's pretty much all he has to know.

Heat builds behind his eyes, and his pupils white out like miniature suns, the light veining bright red past his temples. One of the guards shrieks as the gun in his hand goes red hot, and the others only take a moment to glance over quizzically before their own weapons begin to superheat. Someone gets a shot off at him, but nothing happens. A few people drop their weapons before he looks at them. Everyone backs away, at least a few steps, if not a full retreat. Clark descends until he's hovering just a couple of feet off the ground, his back to the car.

He has to blink a couple of times to clear out the heat vision, his eyes returning to their usual blue, though his expression doesn't change.

"They're children," he says, every syllable heavy with condemnation. He glides forward, ignoring the way the guards scramble to get away. "You can't really want to drag them back to that. It's over. Get out of the way."

Most of them do. He shoves the roadblock to the side like it's made of paper weights instead of armored cars, clearing the way. Someone mutters 'I don't get paid enough for this shit.' and the guards mostly back off or full-on run. Clark lets them go. He doesn't really care where they get to, as long as they're gone.

He finally drops to the ground after that, and turns back to the car with the children, holding up his hands briefly, palms-out, though it's mostly a placating gesture. He doesn't want them to think he means them any harm. He comes around to the side to speak to the driver -- Snake. He should have guessed the other man would get mixed up in something like this.

"Is everyone okay?" he asks, leaning down. "There are more road blocks up ahead. I could give you a lift back to the dropoff point, if you don't mind."

Comments

[soldiergenes]

The hardest part about getting the kids out had been clearing the building and then the compound around it. Being stealthy with a group of kids behind you, even a group of kids scared stiff who realized that their lives depended on being quiet, was no simple task. And not something that Snake has an excess of experience in, either.

There had been a few rough scrapes, moments when someone spotted him and he'd had to incapacitate them before they alerted anyone else. He would have rather the kids not have to be exposed to even more violence, but chances were that they experienced a lot worse within Link'd Inc's walls.

Snake may not know how to pilot any aircraft, but hotwiring a car is a useful skill for someone with his particular occupation. He's usually not the one who ends up driving, instead being relegated to the shooter role, but in this case he's on his own. He'd prefer to avoid any firefights entirely, not prepared for what he'd do if a stray bullet hit one of these kids.

Unfortunately, there are only so many roads to take in order to get the kids to safety, and eventually Snake has to leave the alleyways and back streets to access a bridge. He shouldn't be surprised that it's blocked off, but he has to wonder what's wrong with these people that they'd go to so much effort to keep a bunch of children captive as experimental subjects.

Then again, Snake's seen worse. There are people out there who'd decided that building a walking nuclear tank was a good idea, or that turning Frank Jaeger into a cyborg ninja was a good idea. There's really no limit to how sick some people can be. Right now, though, he needs to figure out how to get around this. Snake has half a mind to tell the kids to get down and then mow right through the guards and the blockage alike. But then the guards start screaming.

Snake whips around, searching for the source of the distress, and spots someone literally flying overhead. Not running on water or up buildings, but full-on flying. The only person he's ever seen do that before is Psycho Mantis, which obviously isn't a good sign.

All Snake can do is watch the interaction play out between the floating man and the guards, and most of them are smart enough to realize when they're outmatched. Good. When the stranger lands and turns towards them, most of the kids cower in the back. He may be trying to show that he doesn't mean them any harm, but that doesn't make any of what just happened less frightening.

Snake also finally gets a good look at the guy's face. It takes a second, but then he places it: this is the guy he'd run into while breaking into Thán's office. Journalist, huh?

There's not time to get into that right now, though, not with a jeep full of kids. "Physically okay, yeah." He can't say much for the rest of it. They're probably all pretty traumatized. "What do you mean, a lift?" Transferring them into a smaller spacecraft would be pretty risky when they're so exposed, and he doesn't see anything like that around them.

[heliakal]

He glances back at the children, but they still look pretty frightened -- of him. He gives them sympathetic look, but he doesn't really expect anything less than getting them to safety will help at this point.

Snake, on the other hand, seems to be taking this in stride. He's still as rational and level-headed as he was back in Thán's office, which will hopefully make this whole thing a lot easier. They don't really have time to go back and forth with explanations right now.

"I can carry the car while I fly." He doesn't see any reason to mince words. "Trust me, you'll all be safe. I wouldn't offer if I thought there was a chance I couldn't handle it."

[soldiergenes]

The explanations can come later, when a bunch of kids aren't in immediate danger, but Snake still trips over what Clark says at first. He can carry a car full of people while he flies. He can carry a car full of people while he flies. Snake stares at Clark for a few seconds, his expression essentially blank. He's gotten a little too good at hiding when he's surprised.

The real question becomes, can he trust this guy? They've spoken all of once, and that situation had been tense in an entirely different way. It occurs to Snake that his threat with the gun had probably meant nothing to Clark back then, but that's neither here nor there.

If he decides to turn down the offer and goes the long way round, he might end up in another situation where there's no easy way out. As he hears the thundering sound of more police running their way, Snake nods firmly. "All right, do it."

He turns around in the driver's seat to look at the kids. "We're going for a ride -- everyone better strap in."

If he ever makes it home, there's no way anyone will actually believe this is a thing that happened to him. Then again, Snake doesn't know if he'll even want to remember it by that point.

[heliakal]

He gets a fairly blank expression from Snake at first; he can't help but think of a computer bluescreening. That's probably not good. Way to go, Kal.

He's just starting to consider leaving it so he can pull ahead to clear out roadblocks when Snake seems to make up his mind. It's a lot of trust to ask for after what he just did, whether or not Snake recognizes him from the other night. The fact is that if Clark had wanted to hurt anyone, there isn't anything that they could have done to stop him - he's clearly not here for that. Still, he'd rather not point that out if he doesn't have to.

He nods when Snake gives him the go-ahead and straightens up.

He taps the hood lightly, a kind of absent gesture. "Make sure all the windows are rolled up."

He calls Snake's MID and leaves the voice connection open, too - it's easier than trying to yell at him during the flight if anything comes up. "Everybody ready?"

He moves around the front and settles on one knee so he can pick up the nose of the car first, pulling it upward and over his shoulders, then across his back. It's a little awkward to carry, but it should hold for the short flight.

The ground beneath them rumbles and Clark grunts softly with the effort when he pushes upward. It's a sharp jolt at first, but after that they ascend slowly and steadily. They sail clear above the rooftops, and Clark shifts his grip a little bit to align himself with the bottom of the car.

"How's it going in there?" The air gets a little thin higher up, and while he's pretty sure they're still within a safe range, it's better to check that everyone's alright; it doesn't effect him the way it does humans after all.

[soldiergenes]

Not about to take any chances, Snake cranks up the windows and then turns up the volume on his MID to make sure that his connection with Clark remains clear. He might end up seriously regretting his choice to do this, but sometimes in the middle of a battle, snap decisions have to be made. If something goes wrong, then he'll take responsibility for it.

"Ready," he says into the MID's receiver.

Even though his attention should be on keeping the kids calm, Snake actually leans up in his seat to look over the hood at what Clark's doing. Before he knows it, the entire front of the car tilts up and the kids yelp in the backseat, some of them horrified, though there's a few who sound closer to excited.

The car settles, and Snake glances out the window as it sinks in that it's perched on Clark's back. Then the rise up into the air with a quick jolt, dragging more high-pitched screams out of the kids.

Thankfully, it levels out after that. Snake wouldn't call it a smooth ride, but they are most definitely flying high above the city and any further threats from the Emiri officials. Snake's stomach may have bottomed out for a second or two there, but he calms himself quickly and then turns to check on the kids.

"All right," he responds when Clark checks in. "A few of these kids might be scarred for life, but one or two of 'em might end up bugging you for another ride." This isn't Disneyland, but hey, if this gets them to safety then Snake isn't about to complain.

[heliakal]

Clark chuckles at that. "Tell them if they try to help calm the other kids down, we'll talk about it."

He's not really opposed to taking a couple of them up for a flight; after everything they've been through, these kids deserve whatever kind of happiness they can find. It's more a matter of when they'd really manage to make time for it - the reality of the situation is, things on Emiri are tense and hostile right now.

And speaking of...

"It's pretty impressive that you got them that far... And that you even agreed to this. I take it your job back home throws you a lot of curve balls?"

Just making casual conversation while carrying a a car, as you do.

[soldiergenes]

The more time that passes without any sudden, rollercoaster-like movements, the more that the kids start to relax as it sets in that they might finally be on their way to safety. Some of them even get up on their knees to look out the windows, gasping in shock while they try to push down their fear.

Since they're talking amongst themselves, Snake doesn't have to do a lot of supervision. He's as much a passenger on this trip as they are, after all. Somehow, Clark's managing to talk over his MID even while he carries them, which -- Snake's going to not think too hard about the logistics of that.

It's like the guy does this kind of thing every day.

"I'm not used to escorting kids out of shady government facilities, but the stealth part is pretty familiar." Snake leans himself up against the door, keeping an eye out the window. "And I'm guessing you're more than just a journalist."

Obviously.

[heliakal]

Clark can hear the kids inside even without the MID to help. Something heavy in his chest seems to lighten just a bit. He knows the things he can do can scare people, but when there's ever the option, he'd prefer to inspire wonder over fear. There's nothing quite like flying - it's nice to share it when he can, even in ways as unusual as this.

He doesn't know if Snake is enjoying it exactly, but at least he doesn't seem afraid of heights.

"I can't figure out if you're a soldier or a spy. Is it classified?" There's a certain weariness to the question, like he expects to run up against a wall there. He's been rebuffed for questions about this kind of work a few times before, by other people, but that's never stopped him from asking.

As for what he is... There's just a beat where Clark considers lying, but in the end he doesn't see the point. Keeping things separate made sense on Earth, but he couldn't just ask someone to trust him without giving anything in return.

"Well, sometimes being a journalist is enough," he says. "And sometimes it isn't."

"You might have guessed I'm not human," he continues, a little dryly. "But I'm not really used to this kind of thing either. I just try to help however I can."

[soldiergenes]

It would be tough to be afraid of heights when he once had to rappel down the side of a building while being shot at by a helicopter. This actually isn't as bad as that, even if it's stranger. He's not enjoying it, no, but maybe in another circumstance he might have been able to see some of the fun in it.

"Not exactly," Snake admits in response to that question. "But the short answer is that I'm both." That probably doesn't clear up much of anything, but now also isn't the time to get into a drawn-out conversation about his background.

Clark would have to be something other than human despite his appearances, as there's no good way to explain what he's doing otherwise. That begs the question of what Clark is if not human, but again, there's a time and a place for that and it's not now.

"You're sure acting like you're used to it," Snake points out. Then again, some people are good at behaving like they belong, maybe out of necessity. "All I can say is I'm relieved you're using those powers of yours for good." Snake winces as he says the words. He sounds like someone right out of one of Otacon's Japanese cartoons, but then again, this situation fits that programming pretty well.

[heliakal]

Well, that's an interesting answer. While it doesn't really tell him a lot, it does shed some light on why Snake seems different from most of the soldiers that Clark has dealt with in the past. Granted, that probably has a lot more to do with who Snake is than what he does.

He knows he should be a little more weary around soldiers. It's easier to work together towards a common goal or against a common enemy, even if they might not like the idea of doing so, but a part of him hopes that it turns out to be more than that. They might not have started off on a great note, but he'd like to be able to trust someone like Snake - even Superman is only one person, and being able to co-ordinate with others means helping a lot more people in the long run. There's a lot he could learn from someone with experience, too.

"That makes two of us, then." Both acting like everything is routine. Maybe Snake says he isn't used to this but he's calm and willing to carry on a conversation. That's not the way most people react. Clark can definitely appreciate it. Despite the strangeness of the situation, dealing with someone as collected as Snake is sort of refreshing.

The last bit actually catches him off guard. Somehow, he expected a lot more cynicism.

"Well, that's what I'm here for," he says, unselfconscious. "Truth, justice, and the occasional taxi service."

They're coming up on the meeting point now, so Clark slows down a bit. "I know it was a lot to ask so - thank you. For trusting me."

[soldiergenes]

Carrying on conversations through bizarre situations is more or less Snake's M.O. at this point, thanks to the codec. This wouldn't be the first utterly surreal moment in his life, not by a long shot, and he's always been pretty good about rolling with the punches. The fact that both of them are chatting like everything is normal has also helped the kids to calm down. If the adults aren't panicking, there's nothing to worry about.

Whether or not Snake will want to work more with Clark in the future remains to be seen, but he has to admit that this little stunt has given him some points in his book. Clark seems genuine about wanting to help, and that sort of earnestness could go a long way in their situation.

Clark also seems to have a sense of humor about his unbelievable powers, which goes a long way toward him not being completely obnoxious.

Snake can tell that they'll be landing soon, so he turns around in his seat again to let the kids know that they're almost in the clear. When Clark phones back in to thank him, Snake frowns to himself for a moment and then responds. "You're the one who got me out of a pretty bad situation." Snake hadn't had many options at the time, but he's not quite callous enough to say that. "I'm not sure I would have been able to keep those kids from getting recaptured without someone getting hurt." That someone probably would have been him, so Snake has to admit he owes Clark one.

[heliakal]

"You would have managed," he says, with easy certainty. He knows that Snake is capable - it just happened that working together this time was the best solution. There's a lot more to it, there always is, but he takes whatever he gets in the most positive light he can find.

The rebels recognize him, or at least recognize the suit, so thankfully there's no more trouble to be had. Shifting his grip again in mid-air is a lot easier than it was when they were coming up, and the landing causes barely a bump when they finally touch the ground. The only major shift is when Clark has to take a knee to set the car down again.

Once the children are seen to and escorted away, it leaves him and Snake.

Clark holds out a hand to the other man. "Be safe out there, Snake."

It's more of a hope that he'll be alright than a request. He knows Snake will do whatever he has to do.

[soldiergenes]

The landing is actually much easier than the take-off. It's kind of bizarre putting his feet back on solid ground after the flight, but if Snake's unsteady, it doesn't show in his body language. He's vigilant about making certain that each and every one of those kids ends up in safe hands, but once they've cleared off, all that's left are him and Clark and the car he stole.

Given the circumstances of their first meeting, there hadn't even been time for a handshake, but Snake doesn't reject it now, stepping forward to grip Clark's hand firmly. He's all too aware of how Clark could probably crush every bone in his hand.

"No promises," he replies with a one-armed shrug. It's not that Snake wants to get into trouble, exactly, but it has a way of finding him all the same.

He's got all kinds of questions for Clark, but that will have to wait for when they're not in the middle of a crisis. There's still plenty of work to be done.