Super what now?

[bestdadinamestris]

There's nothing Hughes loves more than his family.

There's nothing Hughes loves more than anything other than his family than information.

The Nexus was a strange cross-section of a universe that the Intelligence officer simply didn't understand. He was doing his best to accommodate all of the strange goings on in his mind by learning about and understanding them a little at a time.

The fact that there was a portal to and from the Nexus in his world was growing on him. The grand scale of technology beyond what was available in his world was daunting, but didn't come up as much since he avoided most of the shops in the Forum. And some of the characters that had appeared in the Nexus? Well, if they were human, it was understandable. Weird, but understandable. Everything else? Well... he was just going to have to take some more time for everything else.

He liked being in the Forum, picking up bits and pieces as he simply listened. That's how he got onto this whole thing about some people being "better" than others, in some rather unscientific sounding ways. He'd spent a while trying to glean more information about it and failed quite spectacularly. People simply accepted that's the way things were. Not Maes Hughes. He needs to know, and if listening isn't enough, then, well... Sometimes, it's just easier to reach out and gather information the old fashioned way - by asking.

"There's been a lot of talk in the forum lately about super heroes and people doing super human things. It's all a little too vague for my taste. If I don't know how to define something, I can't know it when I see it. So, my question to you is this: How do you define the term 'super hero?' Or, rather, what makes a person a 'super hero?'"

Comments

[aw_hawkguy]

"There was an accident, with a gamma bomb. Funky radiation, he was in it. Now, he gets mad, he turns green. Madder he gets, stronger he gets." Clint lives in that world, so it's normal-ish to him.

"Pretty much, yeah. I was a circus performer, before I was a hero, so I kinda brought some of the look over from that. And, y'know? From a hundred feet away, it's hard to see who's got a bow, but you can spot the purple guy for sure."

[bestdadinamestris]

"I'm afraid I don't fully understand all of that, but the 'accident' part I do understand. Hopefully he doesn't get mad too often?" Lab accidents are not fun. Lab accidents involving alchemy and experiments on prisoners, even less so. Hughes tries not to think about all of that as Clint continues.

"You'd think the arrows flying by would be enough." He chuckles. "Has it always been purple for you? Or have there been other, more outlandish costumes in the past?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Well, y'know, he tries not to. Doesn't always get to decide whether he gets mad, though."

"Hey, spot the arrow in motion in the middle of an earthquake in a big city, and I'll give you a cookie."

[bestdadinamestris]

"I'm assuming he's got some tricks to keep control, though? Something to help keep him from going all green strong-man on unsuspecting people?"

Hughes chuckles. "You're talking to a man who makes his living by finding a needle in a haystack." He grins, his eyes full of mischief. "Don't make a bet you're not willing to follow up on."

[aw_hawkguy]

"He does what he can, yeah. It's hard for him, though--the Hulk wasn't always seen as a hero, and trying not to get angry about anything while you're on the run from the US Army and other folks who want you either dead or workin' for them? Not easy."

Clint grins in answer to Maes' chuckle. "A cookie, I'm willing to wager."

[bestdadinamestris]

"Did the registration make it better or worse for him? I could see it going either way, considering he wants to hide away from the world."

Hughes offers a hand with a grin. "You give me an earthquake and an arrow, and I'll find it in motion. If not, I'll bring you one of my wife's pies."

[aw_hawkguy]

"He was, uh... off-planet, when it happened. And pretty mad about other stuff, when he got back. It's going better for him, now, though. The army doesn't chase him, anymore, and he gets to do science when he's not out being the Hulk."

Clint laughs, shaking the offered hand. "Oh, what? I have to bring the earthquake? Your wife's pies better be worth it!"

[bestdadinamestris]

Hughes is going to ignore the off-planet thing. That's still beyond his comprehension. "Glad to hear it's working out."

"Hey, you're the one who mentioned the earthquake. You want me to do it, you have to bring it." He laughs as he shakes Clint's hand, letting go when the laughter becomes a little too much. "And trust me, the pie will be worth it. I promise, I won't even take a bite of it now that I promised the whole thing to you."

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint grins. "Would, uh, some other kind'a crisis work? Alien invasion, maybe? Big earthquakes aren't that common. Harder to predict, too."

[bestdadinamestris]

"Are you planning an alien invasion any time soon?" Hughes chuckles. "I'd be willing to take some other kind of crisis, but at least let it be something that gets people out and running around. I don't want to win too easily."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Heh. Well, they do kinda happen, now and again." He scratches the back of his head. "Tell you what: if you've got a people-running-around crisis, gimme a call and we can play spot-the-arrow."

[bestdadinamestris]

That still gets a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He doesn't like the idea of that kind of panic happening back home. "If I can get back to the Nexus and find you, I will."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Deal." Clint doesn't like to think about it, either. But hey, an invitation means he gets to help.