nexus_sages | (no subject)

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A young man sits on one of the many couches in the Forum, and sighs at a notebook in his hands. The page is full of scribbled-out text, pages and pages of it. The pages are dog-eared and a bit ragged, indicating he's been using this notebook for a while.

"How can it be this hard to think of a good name for a secret identity?"

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"Yeah. I guess I'm just nervous because I might get stuck with a name I don't like."

"That's why you give yourself an out. If you don't like the names they call you, at some point say, 'actually, I'm--' and go from there."

"Assuming they listen. Newspapers love to go with what's trendy. But I take your point."

"It doesn't matter what they call you, it matters what you answer to," the old man counters with firm certainty.

"You sound too sure of that not to have some kinda personal experience," Jon says, hoping that it's a polite way to ask about it.

"I've had my share of names," the old man admits. "I was Captain America for a long time. Nomad for a while, the Agent once." He pauses, thinking back, then admits, "I once pretended to be Mirage. And I've been called plenty else, besides."

"That's a lot of names," Jon says, raising his eyebrows.

"It was a long career," the old man points out.

"So it was kind of one of those... 'being who you needed to be at the time' sort of things?"

"It was," he confirms, and gives the young man a smile by way of encouragement.

"I guess I get that," Jon agrees, nodding. "Dad didn't start being Superman until he decided to take the plunge and get in the public eye instead of just zipping around so no one could see him."

"That sounds like something I would've done."

"Did you wear a mask?" Jon asks, curious. It's something else he's been trying to decide on, and hasn't come to a conclusion either way.

"I did. Half-face cowl with a helmet under it, most of the time." The man digs out a Starkphone and pulls up one of his old photos. "Here, that was me."

"That's the kind of mask Batman uses," Jon says, recognizing the basic design. "It's definitely better than the domino masks a lot of people use."

"For some things. A domino mask is only a token disguise, true, but as it hides less of the face it can make someone seem more approachable."

"There is that," Jon agrees. "And there are some in the League who use even riskier disguises, like wearing glasses in their 'civilian' personas, even if they don't need them, then going barefaced in costume."

"I could see how that would work," the old man admits. "The right pair of glasses, maybe a change in posture, tone, stride, expression, a person could look very different. And then you don't risk losing your mask in a crisis."

"Exactly. It works really well if you know how to do it right, but it also means you've got to keep it up in public all the time, just in case someone's watching."

"I have to admit, it seems like a lot of work."

"Yeah. It's understandably not a popular choice."

"To be fair," the old man admits, "my real name was a matter of public record early on, I just didn't have many people around me to be threatened by proximity."

"Not much family?" Jon says, a little sympathy in his voice. He doesn't know what that's like, growing up as one of six kids in the house.

"My dad died in the first World War. My mom was a nurse in a TB ward--got hit, couldn't shake it. I was an only child."

"Sorry," Jon says, although he's not sure if he's apologizing for asking or just expressing regret at the old man's misfortune, long ago though it was. "I can't say I know how that feels."