Tales From Superboy! (Discontinued)

#12

It was a little past 9pm by the time "Superman" made it back home. An apartment he lives within alongside his adoptive and technical biological mother. They occupy the home on the 2nd floor, while the other two are held by retaining renters on the first and third floor. The building resides in a good neighborhood. Decent - nothing extravagant, as per Joel Kent's preference. She felt it would help her son assimilate into society. She felt she could stand to mingle with the common folk, as well. After all, she's obliviously stood by as her life rushed by for years in her countless days in solitude and endless research.

The sound of the front door locks shifting alerts Joel that her son has returned home. The moment she hears the door being pushed open, she promptly welcomes him home from the living room before he can utter a word.

"Welcome home, Connor!"

"Oh–.. Thank you." The clone hesitates for a moment, taken by surprise. Soon, he enters completely and shuts the door behind him, locking it also.

"How was your day out?" She asks, resuming her task of carrying the boxes in her grasp and setting them beside the sofa nearby.

"It was fine. Fairly interesting, I'd say." He answers whilst treading a few steps further inside, making use of a moment to take in just how much work his mother had done to unpack and set up in his absence.

"Seems you've been quite–"

WHOOSH.

Before he can finish that thought, Joel zips about at a pace even he can't follow without trying. By the time he blinks and looks back to where she once stood, all those boxes had been emptied and their contents stored away. The last bits, she was in the process of putting up within the kitchen at normal speed.

"Busy." He finishes after that pause. His brows knit a sympathetic expression upon his face.

"That's good to know. And... something like that. I've been putting off unpacking all day. I had only started three or so minutes before you arrived." She explains, now shutting the cabinet doors and heading back to join him back in the living room.

"Do you need help? I can do the re–" He attempts to offer.

"Not at all, Connor. That was actually the very last set of boxes I had left to get to." He cuts him off, putting the proposal to rest swiftly. Her eyes drift toward the loaded bag in his hand.

"What do you have there with you, by the way?" She asks.

"Ah, a myriad of films and general media I was advised to watch. Pop-culture, Mr. Leech called it." The clone answers, adjusting to hold the plastic bag by both ends as he peers down at the collection of DVDs and VHS tapes.

"Mr. Leech? Who's that, and why did he suggest you consume all of this... uuhh... material?" She questions with an arching brow, arms also lifting in unity to fold across her chest.

"He said it'd help me adopt lingo and swagger, which in turn will help me connect with the youths of today. As well as gain overall fame that surpasses the former Superman's reputation. As stated by him..." His tone held notable skepticism, but he was really to try, nonetheless. The answer admittedly resonates with Joel's sense of logic.

"Makes complete sense to me. Even back on my Krypton, we had influential people. Idols much like the ones on Earth, and above them - The Council." A frown overtakes her features as she sighs heavily with a bottomless pit of annoyance for those aggravating days of old.

"As incompetent and useless as they were, they held control over the masses. Told them how to think, how to feel, how to utterly abandon critical thinking in favor of a deceitful sense of security. Even so, they were held in high regard. Even I respected them when I was still green in the field of science." She further explains.

"Oh, I see. That's more power than I could ever know what to do with. Sounds surreal, if I'm being honest."

"It does, doesn't it? But it's quite embedded into just about every society. Aliens, insects, animals... It's there and very real. Luckily, you only need to be relatable to the common people, not lead them. Learning their ways will undoubtedly help you become just that. And you know what? It's just as much of an opportunity for me to do the same. So, I'll watch all of those with you! Maybe it'll even be a bonding experience for the both of us." Joel reasons.

"Hm. Sounds good to me. However, I should warn you... there's at least two or three days' worth of content here. I'm going to be sitting through all of it for as long as it takes. I promised to do so before my next meeting with Mr. Leech." Connor forewarns.

"Absolutely fine with me! I'm used to staying up for days at a time. I'm ready when you are."

"Alright, now I just have to figure out which I should start with..."

"What are some of the titles you have? Maybe one of them will stick out to you."

"Let's see..." The clone trails off, moving to take a seat on the couch before he begins pulling case after case.

"Grease, Hairspray, Saved By The Bell: Season One, Breakfast Club, Greasy 2, Saved By The Bell: Season 3, and... there's Season 2. Crybaby, Dirty Dancing, Footloose, The Fonz, Italian Momma's Boy, Italian Familia, Johnny And The Boys, Johnny And The Boys 2 and 3 Special Set, The Warriors, The Snappers, Happy Days, and several more." Connor finishes. Still awfully indecisive.

"Hmm.. Okay, how about we just view them in alphabetical order?" Joel suggests.

"Fine by me. I don't know what to make of any of these movies..." He obliges, moving to pop the first disc into the DVD player in front of them.

"I'll make some popcorn." Joel announces, rising to do just that, and store away the empty boxes. So begins their binge watching of pop-culture movies.