Wonders and Supers (Cassandra)

[Superboy]

Soaring through the air, Conner was thinking. He'd performed his super-leap right on the coast of Metropolis, so that he'd be able to get to the Tower within a single bound. The running start had also helped. On a nice, bright and sunny day like this one, he was able to think quite clearly, as well as absorb enough solar energy to keep his powers going. But he'd be at the tower within a few minutes. But today, he was being troubled. Being in Metropolis....It always reminded him of when he'd first been created and escaped, when he'd first left Cadmus. Reminding him of who his human “Father” was, and what he had been cloned to do.

Conner had been cloned to replace Superman, should he ever die. He'd been cloned to be the governments personal Superman, the hero they could use. But he'd been broken free before he was aged to adulthood, and implanted with programming that would allow them to control him. But he'd been freed, and he'd used his freedom for a good purpose. He was a hero, and he was now embracing his Kryptonian heritage. Looking forward, he knew he'd be landing within a few seconds. He needed to get rid of some energy. Taking a breathe, he performed a three flips, which weren't easy. Landing in the ocean, at least forty feet away from the Tower. Surfacing, he saw he had caused a small wave, but it wouldn't cause any damage.

Swimming right for the shore, he stepped onto the shore. He generally entered the Tower by leaping onto the top, and making his way down. But, today he felt like taking the front entrance. Walking into the Tower, he used his super speed to race up the stairs. He was quite fast whenever he ran, able to move at speeds that made him appear like a blur to a normal human. Even those with enhanced perception wouldn't be able to make him out unless they concentrated very hard. Making it to his room, he quickly went into the bathroom, and took his t-shirt off. Ringing it out over the sink, he ran a towel through his hair. Putting another black t-shirt on that had a red S-Shield on it, he left the room, making his way to the training area.

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

Dressed in a blood red sports bra and lycra shorts that reached to her upper thighs, Cassie hammered at the training bag again. This time, she hadn’t bothered with wrappings around her hands or feet, happily slamming her flesh against the leather and sand of the bag without any cares or worries. She was tough, far tougher and stronger than the bag, and there wasn’t even a way she could break a nail whatever she did. It was a cathartic feeling, letting out all the pent up anger that was the frustratingly inevitable result of the Silent Armour. It itched, even now, but the rush of adrenaline through her was soothing, while the impact of her fists against the bag was distinctly helpful. Varying her routine for her own amusement, the blonde spun on one heel to smash the other into the bag’s centre, sending it rocking back easily as the suspension creaked and tried to compensate for the power of a blow it just wasn’t exactly designed to cope with.

Smirking, amused, Cassie spun again the other way, driving her foot into the bag again but with all her power this time. This time, she did feel the impact shiver from the ball of her feet, up the length of her calf and the sculpted muscle of her thigh, but it was the pleasant shock of exercising her full power again, not just the little bit she usually allowed herself. The chain holding the bag up, already abused by the young powerhouse for long minutes, gave up. It snapped somewhere as the bag shot back, spinning across the room to slam against the wall and drop to the floor. Cassie’s grin was obviously pleased. It felt good, it really did. Of course, if she did that to a person, she was pretty sure that it’d break every bone in their body… But… Well, there were people like Superman out there and she was equally sure that she could do that to him and it’d not be enough to put him down. Who knew who she was going to have to deal with now? She didn’t.

Not since her life had been turned upside down, shaken about and made into a giant sitcom for the gods’ amusement.

Cockily, she strolled across the room to snag the bag and drape it casually over one shoulder as easily as another girl might lift a handbag. Well, whatever it was, she was confident she could deal with them. She was dealing – just – with the evil armour, she was dealing with coming up on three months basically a stranger in a Tower full of them, she could deal with bad guys.

At which point, the universe decided to throw her a curve ball as, not too far from where she was standing, she heard the door open. Not terribly concerned, she half-turned, tossing the mane of her hair back out of her line of sight and eyeing the newcomer.

Ok. So, he was hot. And it was a measure of how little Cassie really cared that she didn’t even mind how absolutely pointless that was as a first thought. It was still true. What caught her eye next though brought that train of thought to a dead stop and the blonde straightened slightly, curious now. Hefting the bag onto her shoulder more securely, cocking her hip to the side slightly and putting weight on one leg, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey there. Is that a Superman ‘S’ on your shirt, Blue Eyes?”

[Superboy]

The thing about using Super-speed was that you always dried off fast, due to the intense air pressure from the speed. His jeans had dried off pretty fast, even though his t-shirt hadn't. Cracking his neck as he made his way towards the training room, his thoughts returned to the interesting, yet disturbing dichotomy that made up his life. He was the partial genetic clone of the Man of Steel, but also the partial genetic clone of Lex Luthor, Superman's greatest enemy. He had both good, and evil DNA, and a “shadow” inside of him. Sometimes, he wasn't sure whether he could be a good hero, because of the fact there were times when he was quite arrogant, and the dreams where he had become a tyrannical dictator, having killed Lex, but also having used other methods to take down Superman. This was a recurring nightmare, one that terrified him. He tended to push it deep down, ignoring it. So that it wouldn't take a hold of him, and that he could deny this fate. Defy the possibility that he might become a villain.

Besides, Conner knew that there was a chance he would never reach that point. Where everything seemed bleak. Where it seemed like the only way he could survive in the world was to become a villain, a rogue. That was a point of no return, and he was sure his friends would help him out if he were to ever come close to that point of no return. He had to hold onto that hope, because if he didn't, he'd become a being of despair. With no other emotions, only holding onto despair, anger and other emotions similar. But it wasn't happening now, and his friends would help him. So, he needed to shake off these thoughts. Walking into the training room, his jaw nearly fell wide open as he saw who was in here. A beautiful girl, wearing a blood red tube top and lycra shorts. Grinning at her question, he nodded. “Yes it is beautiful. Superboy, or the Boy of Steel if you like, at your service. And may I inquire as to who you are?”

Despite the fact he wasn't a die hard brainiac like his human “father”, Conner still liked to use sophisticated language at times. It was better than speaking like a boorish thug, even if he acted like one with his strength. Cracking his neck, he said “Want to train with me? If you think you can handle it.” Giving her a grin, he was trying to be subtle with his flirting. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea about him, because first impressions were always important.

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

Though she didn’t know it, Cassie was sharing the thought that first impressions were important. They were. They pretty much determined how she treated people, that first few moments when she settled her opinion. That’s how she was – not totally impulsive, but it took a while for her to get past what she thought of people the first time she met them, even more so than for most people in her limited experience. She was honest enough to admit it, even if that was a long, long way from doing anything about it. If people made a bad impression to start with, then they could easily kiss all chance of being on her good side goodbye. And, for most people, being on Cassie’s good side was where they wanted to be even if they didn’t know it.

This kid with the ‘S’ on his t-shirt was starting out on her good side though. And not just because he called her ‘beautiful’. Admittedly, just like the rest of the club hereabouts, he seemed to like going by one of the childish nicknames. Alright, in the field or whatever, Cassie could see why they used them, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to know people as Superboy or Red Robin or… Whatever. They had real names. They could use them.

"Sure, you can ask,” she told him, forward as always, "Though I have to say? Boy of Steel? I think I’d rather call you Blue Eyes. Superboy sounds like you aren’t all grown up and Boy of Steel? I’d definitely rather call you Blue Eyes.”

The other Titan promptly cracked his neck, grinning as he did so and wondering if she’d like to train with him if she thought she could handle it. Cassie grinned right back, lowering the bag down to her side and tossing it away easily across the gym with a flick of her wrist. "Oh, I think I can handle it. I’m pretty good at manhandling.” She cocked her head back at a slight angle, eyeing him up and down again. "Right about now, I’d usually be asking if you were sure you could handle me. I hit pretty hard –but you’re a big Superboy, so I’m guessing you can take it.” The blonde cracked her own neck slightly, before lowering her head slightly, not taking her eyes off him, full lips quirked in a confident little smirk.

"So, what did you have in mind?” Cassie gestured at the mats. "Straight sparring?”

This actually promised to be pretty entertaining. She’d never gone up against a Super before, given most of her fight experience was either before she got the armour or against people who didn’t have a snowball’s chance in a firestorm of beating her. So Cassie was confident? She was pretty sure she had good cause. This was something else though and she was looking forward to seeing what he could do and how far they could push each other. It was a bit Darwinian, but conflict did tend to make people better.

[Superboy]

First impressions were always so important. They determined whether you would be friends with the person you were talking to, or if they would hate your guts and try to kill you next time they saw you. And Conner didn't want that, as he hated people wanting to kill him. The enemies of the Titans already had it out for the former members of the Titans, and the current members as well. So making new enemies was not high on his agenda for life. What was high ion this agenda was trying to get to know the other Titans, and that would include using his real name instead of just saying he was “Superboy.” So he'd tell this girl his real name in a few minutes. Besides, he didn't know her name either, so it might help.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Conner looked at the girl. He thought she was beautiful, due to her strength, plus the fact she seemed to be quite blunt as well. She had said he could ask, but she preferred calling him blue eyes to Superboy or Boy of Steel. Well, both did sound a bit childish, but it was “Superboy”, or “Superteen.” Besides, he did have several other aliases, mostly just names he had been given by the press.

“Well, Blue Eyes isn't such a bad name. Especially when its coming from someone as dazzling as you. But, you can also call me Conner. It's my real name. Plus, its better than being known as Superboy all of the time. I enjoy both names. And I still don't know who you are. You're name, if you please?” Giving her a smile, he stretched slightly. His muscles had never pulled before, but he always stretched. Just to be safe.

The grin she shot back assured him that he wasn't going to hurt her. Conner usually held back a vast portion of his strength, culminating in him only utilizing a base power of one hundred tons against any normal meta-human. With this girl, he had a feeling he could let loose slightly. “Well, if you think you can handle me, then you must have some impressive powers. At least when you are cocky enough to spar with me. Not to be arrogant, but I am the clone of Superman.” Three years ago, he probably wouldn't have said he was Supermans clone. Now, he had accepted he was a clone of Superman, and he would tell his friends this. The girls small smirk made him smirk back. “Yes, straight sparring. On the mats. Only place we can fight where we will land softly.”

Walking over to the mats, Conner cracked his knuckles and fingers. Yes, this seemed dangerous for a normal human, but for a Kryptonian....Well, it was just a bit of fun. Stretching slightly, he flicked off his shoes, and took on a common fighting stance he used all the time. One foot behind the other, evenly spread apart, with his fists raised in front of him. “Give me your best shot.” Even if she hit him with one hundred tons of strength, he'd be mostly okay. His invulnerability allowed him to go toe to toe with metahumans who possessed greater strength then him.

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

If he’d called himself Superteen, Cassie probably wouldn’t have been able to stop laughing. Seriously.

She arched a dark eyebrow at him as he spoke, assuring her that ‘Blue Eyes’ wasn’t too bad coming from someone like her and that she could call him Conner. Definitely better than Superboy.

"You’ll always be Blue Eyes to me,” the blonde deadpanned. "Just keep your eyes up here-“ She tapped the side of her face, beside her own eyes, "And we’ll get along just fine.” Her grin turned crooked. "Or at least don’t stare. It’s rude. I’m Cassandra. But my friends, who I’m guessing now include you, call me Cassie.” A hand was extended towards him, the one not currently holding a heavy bag on her shoulder. "Pleased to meet you, Conner.”

There was a definite urge to bring out the Armour when he talked about being Superman’s clone, not helped by the rage the thing inspired not exactly knowing the difference between a friendly sparring match and a real fight. But Cassie did her best to ignore it, mostly because she intended to save that for when she either needed it or could really impress him. Fighting with or without it didn’t really make her stronger or weaker – it just meant she couldn’t take quite as much punishment without it. "Maybe I’m wrong,” She freely admitted, obviously not caring. "But there’s two really good reasons to try anyway. Firstly, if I’m going to go up against a Super, I’d much rather my first time was here than when they’re actually trying to kill me. Besides, I’m not a girl you ought to be underestimating.”

It was at this point her smirk made its appearance. "Plus I love a good fight. Most of the people I run into are way too breakable. I’m guessing you know how it is.” And his return smirk certainly didn’t hurt those good looks she’d mentioned. "I’m guessing this isn’t going to stick to the mats, but I like an optimist.”

Cassie was already barefoot, from her prior training, so she didn’t need to get rid of any shoes or anything as she walked back over to join him, flexing her toes slightly as she felt the familiar sensation of the mats under her soles. It was familiar and a little comforting compared to the tiny, tiny niggling feeling about this - like she was actually a little out of her depth. This was the first time she’d even sparred with a Super, and while she was almost overwhelmingly confident that she’d be able to hold her own, there was just that tiniest bit of doubt. But it wasn’t going to stop her. Instead, she just cracked her own knuckles, flexed her fingers for a moment, then dropped into a nice, easy kickboxing stance opposite him. Her own fists were raised protectively, ready to block anything he might throw at her. Nothing fancy, nothing special, but it worked for her and she saw no reason it wouldn’t work for her now.

Particularly if he was going to give her a free shot. And he wanted her best shot, did he? Oh, she was going to enjoy this.

"Ok,” Cassie said, with that almost-wickedly confident grin. And she was already moving; keeping one heel planted firmly on the mat as a base, she twisted while the other snapped up, aimed at Conner’s body with all the considerable speed and power she could deliver. If he wanted her best shot, that’s what she was giving him – a side kick delivered with the same strength that had sent that bag flying across the room. If she hit a normal guy like that, she’d break bones – her kicks, backed by the Armour and Cassie’s nicely developed lower body, packed a hell of a punch. On a Superboy, well, she’d be interested to see how he took it.

[Superboy]

Superteen might have been one of the stupidest things he could have done. It would have been like calling Superman “Steel-Man.” That would just have been downright stupid. So, it was one reason he hadn't chosen “Steel-Boy” or “Super-Teen” as a hero name. He was Superboy, and also Kon-El. Smiling a bit after her words, he knew that they might just get along fine, even if they were both blunt and to the point.

“Oh please, I am not some pervert who will stare at a girls chest all the time. And even if I was, I'd be classy about it. And being called Blue Eyes....Well, its better than “Super-Brat.” No word of a lie, I was once called Super-Brat. And it's lovely to meet you Cassie. My friends call me Kon, just to shorten my name. Plus, it's also my Kryptonian name. Sorry, I ramble.” Shaking her hand, he smiled and his gaze fell back to the broken bag that she was carrying. She was obviously strong if she had done that, but anyone with at least peak-human strength could knock the bag off of its hook. But, due to the damage to the hook and the straps on the bag, he could easily see it was someone with a degree of superhuman strength. Because he'd done the same sort of damage to the bags before, when he didn't hold back enough.

Against Cassie, Conner felt like he should use his full strength....Or at least more than his usual one hundred ton limit. Even if he wasn't going to use all of his strength, he'd at least use a small portion of it. “And I'm not a boy you ought to be understanding. Its a bit to complex to understand me at times. And also, no Super would kill you.....Unless it was a Rogue Kryptonian. Besides, sparring is always fun.” Stretching one more time, he knew that this sparring match would be fun. He'd get a good work out, make a new friend, and maybe even pick up some new skills.

The stance that Cassandra took wasn't one he had seen before. But then, the kicks also took him by surprise. He had barely reacted in time, due to his surprise. So, he took at least three kicks to the stomach, as well as being pushed back. But then, he grabbed her by the leg on her last kick. Putting at least some strength into this one, he grunted, and then flipped Cassie over his back. He used this manoeuvre a good bit, and it was a reliable one.

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

"That’d be a first for a teenage boy,” Cassie said, but without any real rancour behind her words. She was in fact clearly amused by what he had to say, mostly the suggestion that he’d be ‘classy’ about it. Could anyone be classy about that? And she’d met far too many teenage boys who did just that to easily believe otherwise. But, then if it was true, she wouldn’t complain. For all that Cassie was proud of her looks and curves, some perv as a boyfriend wasn’t her idea of a good time. He was strong though, she could tell that from his handshake. She didn’t mind. Her own grip was sure and strong too. "Kon, huh? I like it. It’s definitely better than Super-Brat. And I don’t mind rambling either. You seem fun, so I’m sure it won’t be boring.”

The blonde powerhouse cocked her head slightly to the side as he talked about not being easily understood but didn’t ask questions. She knew all about having dark secrets and if he wanted to play the tall dark and mysterious card, then she was happy enough not knowing, particularly if that avoided any awkward questions about her own secrets. "Sparring is fun,” she agreed, "Particularly someone who can take a decent punch. So, even if the rogue Kryptonian thing wasn’t an issue, I’d still take you up on that. Punching bags are boring.”

Cassie wouldn’t ever know what he had expected her to do. But nobody needed to tell her that the barrage of kicks she delivered to his stomach weren’t it. Or at least that’s how she explained the fact that she was able to nail him several times in a row with the same move in more or less the same place. It wasn’t until she pushed her luck with the last kick, having given him a second to catch his breath as she repositioned, his hands caught her by the calf. She had an instant to curse to herself for being overconfident before she was literally flipped over Kon’s back, heading fast for the floor. With no time to think, she just did what she thought was best. He’d still got her lower leg caught. So the blonde instinctively shoved her hands forward, looking to break her fall.

It worked, basically leaving her in a handstand behind Superboy, who was still holding her leg. Before he could let go or do anything else, Cassie went to squeeze her legs together around his head, using her strength and leverage to try and jerk him over her and slam him into the ground. It wasn’t a move she’d ever used before, but she figured that between having her calves clamped around his neck with all that pressure and then being hammered head first into the mat wouldn’t be doing even a Kryptonian any good. Then maybe she could take advantage of what she thought were her better grappling skills. If not, hey, she’d done pretty well out of the stand-up fight so far.

Either way, unless Blue-Eyes thought fast, it was his turn to eat mat.

[Superboy]

Chuckling, Conner said “Well, I am quite a “super” teenage boy. So I could be the first to change what most teenage boys do.” Yes, he had said that as a bit of a joke, but he was also serious. He didn't mean to talk about this sort of thing, but she had brought it up first. So, he was now making the best of the joke. Besides, he didn't need to have a girlfriend who thought all men were sick perverts. But he doubted Cassie thought this way about him. Maybe she just was joking, because this had happened to her before. But, since he couldn't read minds, he had no idea whether this was true, or if it was just his speculation. “Thanks. Its short for Kon-El. Its my Kryptonian name, so it also doubles as a nickname. And it's been at least two or three years since I was called Super-Brat. And it's not going to be boring, you'll enjoy this sparring.” Giving her a grin, he rolled his shoulders, ready to fight.

Not being understood was something that the Kryptonian/Human hybrid knew to well. For years, he had been treated like he was an abomination, like he had no right to live. Like he was just a stupid, carbon copy of Superman that was as evil as Lex Luthor. And it made him feel terrible, as he had begun to believe these people who had treated him this way. “Oh, I can take a hit. I'm almost indestructible. Hell, I once had my feet dipped in lava, and I survived that without any permanent injury. So I'm sure I can take a hit without keeling over immediately. It would take hits from other Kryptonians or similarly powerful beings to hurt me permanently. And the rambling continues.” Grinning, he knew the sparring match would be quite interesting, due to them both being superpowered beings. At least, that's what he thought she was. For all he knew, she could be a god. Or maybe an amazon like Wonder Woman.

Even though the kicks had taken him by surprise, Conner knew he could quickly counteract the kicks. He was always thinking of counter strategies in a fight, due to his intellect and the fact he could think faster than a normal human. And he had easily counteracted her last kick, flipping her over his back. But, Cassie seemed to be a good fighter, and she landed in a handstand. She reacted faster than he was about to, and his head was now trapped between her legs. There was a joke that he could make, but he didn't have the time, as she flipped him. Landing on his back, he cracked his neck and forced himself onto his feet. Taking his fighting stance again, he dived towards Cassie, intent on pinning her down.

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

Did Cassie think all teenage boys were sick perverts?

Hell no, there were the ones who liked other boys.

Ok, making bad and probably really politically incorrect ones aside, no, she didn’t think that and she was mostly joking. She did think that a good number of teenage boys didn’t use their brains around girls, because of hormones. But mostly she was joking here. He didn’t really seem the type.

Kon-El… Conner. Well, that made sense then. "I’m pretty sure you’re not a brat,” She agreed. "Kon it is. How do you want to go about this then? I don’t think either of us is going out without smashing the place in the process and I don’t give easily. So, are we doing this by points or something?”

And he was ‘almost’ indestructible was he? Well, she had some help in that field herself, actually. It would definitely be interesting… "Luckily I’m pretty tough myself,” the blonde agreed. She threw him a smile. "I don’t mind the rambling much either. It’s good to know what you can do, if they actually mean us to do stuff on this team.”

It was just as well he hadn’t made that joke or Cassie would have done her level best to crack his neck for him on general principle. He had a way to go before she’d be comfortable taking that sort of joke and making her uncomfortable in a situation where not even social etiquette stopped her trying to pound the culprit into the ground (not that social etiquette really would stop an angry Cassie) was probably asking for ‘World’s Greatest Idiot’ to be engraved on their tombstone once they’d been peeled out of the crater. Obviously, with a Kryptonian or cloned Kryptonian, whatever, it wasn’t likely to go that far, but still… She wasn’t comfortable. And, in this situation, it was basically encouraged for her to pummel him.

Still, her move worked. Caught apparently off-guard, Kon wasn’t able to stop her legs snapping around his neck in time and the brutal tug she gave flipped him over before he could react (or make stupid jokes). He went slamming head and back first into the mat while Cassie quickly released her leg-grip on him and rolled away to get back on her own feet first. She managed it, getting back into her own stance with not long to waste before Superboy was on his feet too. She had to give him that, the guy was tough. Admittedly, she hadn’t done that full force, just enough to get him off his feet and hopefully dazed, but she was still admiring the way he just shook it off.

She liked her sparring partners able to take a beating.

Meantime, he was coming right at her. Cassie, used to being able to just overpower her enemies even if she knew this was different, instinctively just dug her feet into the mat, braced herself and met him head on. Best case, she’d be able to stop him or push him back, more likely he’d be in position for another kick to the gut – in a real fight, she’d aim lower, but this was just sparring – and worst case he’d just bulldoze her in which case it was down on the mat and hoping that her training would let her win. Either way, Cassie was grinning as he dived towards her.

He was right.

This was fun.