Isaac took the small, delicate cup into his hands. Careful not to shatter the porcelain container, Sentinel took a sip of this 'earl grey tea.' He wasn't the world's foremost expert on all things tea; Earl Grey sounded like the name of a famous actor and not a drink derived from...Some kind of citrus? [color=63cff6]"Well."[/color] Sentinel stated before taking another sip of the strangely delicious beverage. "[color=6ecff6]I can see why it's your favorite. Thank you. For..All this."[/color] Isaac cracked a small smile when Rhea mentioned her raggedy appearance. He chuckled with her, motioning to his own state of disrepair. [color=6ecff6]"I'm in no place to complain."[/color] It's not like he'd complain about Rhea's looks in a million years. Just seeing those auburn eyes was enough to calm the restless Boy of Steel.

Not that he'd tell her that. Not in a million years.

[i][color=6ecff6]She's not the first girl to smile at me. I think. Have any other girls ever smiled at me? Does Supergirl count as a real girl? Because she's smiled at my awful puns once or twice. Wait a second.[/color][/i] Oops. There's actually someone in the room other than just Isaac and the dust mites. Oh man, how long have they been sitting there in total silence? Was he being awkward? This is the longest conversation Isaac's had with anyone who's name doesn't start with the word 'Super.' Sentinel gave Rhea the least awkward look he could as she began to laugh. Her heartbeat was faster than normal. She must be agitated or excited. The real ice breaker soon followed when Rhea broke the silence with a hilarious confession.

"Oh, thank Rao!" Sentinel laughed. He let loose all of his pent up emotion in one long chucklefest. [color=6ecff6]"I thought I was supposed to say something next. I was kind'a worried there was some kind of unspoken rules to talking during tea."[/color] Isaac lowered his back, setting both palms down on the bed as he let himself really relax. It seemed the pair's combined awkwardness had managed to overwhelm the 'social standards meter' and caused it to overload, breaking the proverbial ice unintentionally. What an odd analogy Isaac just thought up. Whatever.

[color=6ecff6]"Thanks."[/color] Sentinel said in regard to the room comment. [color=6ecff6]"Although, if I'm being totally honest, I'm never in here. I live up on the roof."[/color] Isaac pointed at the ceiling and shrugged.[color=6ecff6] "I don't really sleep; All I need is a little sun to get my blood flowing."[/color] Sentinel took another drink of the tea, using his ice breath to subtly cool it down. [color=6ecff6][i]Huh,[/i][/color] Isaac told himself, [color=6ecff6][i]I've never been able to control my powers that well.[/i][/color] After a moment of consideration Sentinel understood what was happening. He rarely used his abilities in a state like this. A state of...Happiness? Calm? Bliss? All of the above, even? Maybe that was going to far. Maybe he'd just grown accustomed to boiling rage and dark hatred, and forgotten what simple content felt like.

Maybe he should try this social thing more often.

Isaac noticed the change in Rhea's tone almost the moment she started to speak. Her accent lessened, and she seemed to become more serious than before. Isaac made a side note of Rhea's sentient being comment. He wasn't any good at the whole 'being polite' thing, but he was sure that was deliberate. Why would she choose such a vague trait to try connecting with Sentinel on a personal level? Was 'person' too good for a Kryptonian rage monster? All he was in her mind was 'sentient?!' One celled organisms are 'sentient' too! What is this?

Cell offered a brief respite in her little speech. She took Isaac's side on the Lobo issue, which calmed Sentinel down a little. Jeez, did one little adjective really set him off like that? Isaac needed to get control of himself before someone actually insulted him and Sentinel turned into a murderer.

[color=6ecff6]"You're not."[/color] Sentinel whispered. Why did Rhea need to add that last part? 'I could be wrong.' And the way she said it. The inflections she made with her voice. The little, unconscious things people do when they're being too careful. So that was it, then? Was Rhea just trying to keep the Teapot from shrieking? Was that what this was all about? Isaac's [i]anger issues?[/i] She wasn't here for Isaac. To be his friend. To get to know a fellow person who needed some interaction. She was here to cover her own skin! So when he went off he'd be especially careful not to hurt her!

[color=6ecff6][i]Wait, Grant. Stop. Stop it you annoying, bipolar little brat. Stop listening for the undertones. Don't focus on the heartbeat and the breathing or what she's doing with her voice. Shut up and listen to her. Listen to what she's saying! Rhea's your friend; and you better be damn sure not to hurt her the next time you blow your top. Not to hurt anyone.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Cancer?"[/color] The storm of emotions that clouded Sentinel's eyes stopped abruptly as Rhea brought up her past experiences. He only felt pity now. He could definitely understand her. All Cell wanted to do was help people. She just wanted to use her powers to protect them. Sure, she wasn't the best at controlling them and sometimes she might make dumb choices. But that wasn't the point! Rhea wanted to keep them all safe. To save them. Why couldn't the Titans see that Sentinel only wanted to keep them all safe. That's all he ever wanted. No matter how dumb, convoluted or violent; everything Isaac did and said was for the good of other people.

Rhea started to sound like a self-help book when she spouted a couple of admittedly very quotable lines.

[color=6ecff6][i]Just because you stumble doesn't mean that you're lost.[/i][/color]

Don't understand me. That's an understatement. Isaac rarely understands himself. All these emotions...So powerful. So strong. Yet all they seem to make Sentinel is weak. Huh. Could Rhea be the one? Was she really strong enough?

Isaac smiled and ignored the thoughts biting at the back of his mind. "That's very impressive." Sentinel joked as Rhea moved her ears. Isaac reache a tentative hand over to Rhea, taking the tiny, delicate things into his own palms. He ever so carefully wrapped his fingers around hers. He was determined not to hurt her. [color=6ecff6]"Thank you."[/color] Those two words were filled with more emotion than the entire Spanish soap opera channel. Channel 39, El Loco, to be more specific. (Don't judge.)

[color=6ecff6]"I'd appreciate it, actually. The Kryptonite traces left in the scar tissue are killing me." [/color] Sentinel instinctively removed his shirt (or what was left of it) to allow better access to the newly formed wounds. With the shirt off, Isaac exposed a plethora of other injures that had healed incorrectly and left massive scars. [color=6ecff6]"This wasn't my first bad spill, incidentally."[/color] Wearing the 'S' on your chest attracted a lot of attention. Not all of it was from adoring fan girls. [color=6ecff6]"No need to worry about cancer. I can't exactly get sick. Unless it's Kryptonite related, I guess, but I doubt you have any of that on you."[/color]

Now came the hard part. Whether or not, and just how much, Isaac should reveal to his new found friend. She seemed to sincere. But they all did, didn't they? Terra seemed pretty sincere when she was around too. But we all remember how that turned out.

But an arrow has to be pulled back before it is launched into greater heights, as they say.

Alright. Maybe Isaac would share a little bit. But not too much. No need to tell her ever little thing about him.

[color=6ecff6]"Well...I..I'd like you to know how much I'm trusting you right now. The only other person on the team who knows any of this is Rose."[/color] With that disclaimer out of the way, Isaac began his tale. [color=6ecff6]"For starters, I'm not a real Kryptonian. I used to be as human as you or anyone else. I got my powers from wishing on a falling star. When I was eight my mom died in a car accident. She was driving home from work when it started to rain. She...She lost control of the car and went plummeting off a bridge. She drowned in a lake because she couldn't get out of the car.

That's when my dad started to lose it. He started drinking more and more, and left me with my uncle almost every day after I'd get out of school. I hated the few days when Uncle Nelson wasn't available, because my dad used to beat me when he got really wasted."[/color] Sentinel paused for a moment. He looked at Rhea, biting his lip. [color=6ecff6]"If this is too much for you, I can stop."[/color]