WHO Adamus & Diana WHAT Paying it forward WHEN recentlyish WHERE Starbucks WARNINGS low STATUS Closed | Completed GDoc
Adamus was content here. He’d gotten over his guilt at not being back home, since he’d come to understand that he somehow still existed in his home dimension as well. He’d studied multiverse theory a bit since arriving here, and it had opened him up to the possibilities.
He liked his work, his quickly growing bank account, and the few friends he’d made here. Maybe he wasn’t the happiest person who was ever born, but the contentment he had here was more than he ever had back home.
And he had also started experimenting with the altruism that humans often exhibited that he was entirely unfamiliar with. He was at Starbucks right now to conduct a social experiment called ‘Paying it Forward.” He ordered his drink, then when they gave him the total, he gave them ten extra dollars.
“Use this to pay for the two orders behind me.”
That was how it was done, if he’d understood correctly.
***
Diana was enjoying Madison Valley moreso now than she had in the past few months. Her experiences as a teenager in this town were different than she could have expected it to be, but it had allowed her to view certain people and certain things from a different perspective. She was still grateful to be back to herself, but she found her relationship with Cassie had changed for the better.
To that end, she was at Starbucks, waiting in line to order their drinks. Diana had heard his request to the woman at the register as she was the next person to put in her order, but had not yet experienced the phenomenon and found herself a bit insulted by it.
"Thank you, but I am perfectly able to pay for my order," she said, firm but not quite rude. She'd been working on her tone of late.
***
Well, that was certainly not the reaction he had expected. He wasn’t offended, but looked at her curiously. This was a social experiment, after all.
“So you feel that someone offering to pay for you is insulting?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Why do you not see it as a kindness?”
***
Diana shifted, not uncomfortable by any means, but she was willing to give him the chance to explain his intentions. "I am perfectly capable of paying for myself," she replied, not quite defensive, but close. "I have a job that I am well compensated for and a ward I look after without issue."
She considered the situation to make sure she wasn't missing some kind of custom. "We are not on a date, though even if we were I am not certain I would allow you to cover my portion of the bill, unless we were in agreement I would pay next time." Diana thought it was foolish for a man to pay for everything in a relationship. Women were perfectly able to contribute.
"Why else would you offer to pay for my drinks if not because you thought I could not afford it myself?"
***
Adamus was far more curious than offended. He had not expected this reaction, and it was rather fascinating.
“In the article I read, it was said that doing such a thing was supposed to spread kindness. I pay for the one behind me, then they pay for the one behind them, and a surge of kindness and altruism begins. That was what I was attempting to start. There were many examples in the article about how it had worked.”
He cocked his head a little.
“I wonder why you do not see it that way.”
***
Diana had never heard of such a thing before, but she could understand why Man would find it an uncommon occurrence. They did not generally think of others in this way. "It would perhaps have gone more smoothly had I not been the one in line behind you," she replied with a small smile.
"I believe this may be one of many customs in Man's World that I do not wholly understand. However, if this is what you wish to do, I will follow along and pay for the order behind me in return," Diana agreed. Now that she understood the purpose of it, she was curious herself as to how far along the chain it would go.
***
“I also understand very few of such customs. My people would never consider doing something like this. But humans are...different. They care for each other. It...fascinates me.”
He had been fascinated with the ideas of kindness and altruism ever since his three year stay in One’s memories. The Loric lived and cared for each other so, and he had felt these things for the first time through her.
“Yes, I would like it if you would do that. It’s how it’s supposed to work, I believe.”
***
Diana didn't quite agree with his assessment, but Man certainly did have the capacity to care. She had seen it when it really counted, just not typically in the every day. Perhaps this would prove enlightening for her as well. She nodded to the man and then turned to the woman behind the till.
"I will have two grande frappuccinos, one mocha and the other mint," she requested. "And I will pay for the person behind me." She handed over twice what her bill had totaled and stepped to the side to wait for her drinks to be made. Since she was also waiting next to the man who'd started this, she held out her hand.
"I am Diana, of Themyscira," she said, introducing herself.
***
He took her hand and shook it firmly.
“I am Adamus Sutekh, although during my time on Earth, I went by the simpler Adam Sutton. You may refer to me as either.”
He looked at her with curiosity in his dark eyes.
“Are you not from Earth?”
***
"Adamus," she decided, reciting his name with near perfect inflection. She had a mastery over many languages and a working knowledge of nearly all spoken and written dialects. They had all be part of her training on Themyscira as there was no way to know what part of Man's World she would need to travel to save it.
"Themyscira is a hidden island on Earth, created by the Gods so that we Amazons could protect and guard the gates of Tartarus." It was a truth that had fallen out of favor with Man's World centuries ago, from what she could tell. The Amazons did not need to be believed in to do their duty to Man's World. "I joined Man's World to protect them from an alien invasion," Diana explained, content to share her story with him.
"Why did you come to Earth?"
***
“An alien invasion?” Adamus asked curiously. “Which Aliens were attacking your world?”
He frowned and looked down.
“I came as part of an Alien invasion. I was just a child, but I came with my family and my people with the purpose of conquering Earth and taking it for my people.”
***
"The Imperium," Diana replied easily. "They are a parasitic race that tried to take over the Earth, only they were not nearly so successful." The Justice League had prevented it by working together. None of them could have succeeded alone.
Diana looked at him curiously when he admitted to being part of an Alien invasion. He wasn't a threat to her, hadn't presented himself as a threat for the duration they had been in Madison Valley together.
"Why?" she asked, curious and non-confrontational.
***
These Imperium reminded Adamus far too much of his own people and he clenched his jaw so as not to say so. He didn’t want trouble through any misunderstanding.
“It wasn’t my choice. I was a child. I came with my father who had convinced me that my people were in the right.”
He sighed.
“It took a great deal of time but eventually I learned that he was wrong.”
***
"But you learned it," Diana replied. That settled the matter, regardless of the fact that he was still an alien. "Not all recognize the error of their ways and you were only following your father." She would follow her mother in much the same way, but she also had learned to stand up for what she believed in. Just like he had.
"Man's World is not alway a good place, but they try." Her gaze drifted to the line once more and was pleased to see that their chain was still going after four additional customers. "I have been proud to protect them in my world and, when the situation called for it, they had my back in return." She distinctly remembered being on the run, of hiding in a restaurant with Bruce and blending in. It was a shame he did not also remember.
***
“I did. The circumstances under which I was taught were a bit odd, but they were profound.”
He had learned to care, to love, and to see his people for what they were from his venture into One’s mind. It was the opposite of what his father had intended by downloading the dead girl’s memories into Adamus’s consciousness.
“Yes,” he nodded, also pleased to see the chain continue. “They are capable of great cruelty, but also great kindness.”
***
"All that matters is that you learned it in such a way that it has stuck with you." It happened that invaders could be swayed to the right course of action sometimes, but even just one defection could make a difference. It was hard when it happened in the opposite way, when a trusted team member aligned with her people even against her team. It had taken some time for Diana to trust Shayera after that.
Their drinks were called a moment later and Diana got up to gather all three drinks, handing Adamus his once she returned to where they had been standing.
"It is an unexpected way to spend the afternoon, but not unwelcome. Your research said this occurs with some frequency?"
***
“Yes,” he said. “This and similar events. I don’t suppose you would like to participate as well? Compare notes, so to speak?”
It would be interesting to have another opinion, after all.
***
Diana considered his suggestion. "I would simply attempt the same, paying for the person behind me, in another establishment?" she asked, making sure that she understood correctly what he was asking of her. It certainly seemed reasonable enough, though she wasn't quite certain what other kinds of stores might be suitable environments to execute the experiment in.
"I would certainly be open to it," she admitted.
***
“Yes, that’s exactly it,” Adamus said. “It is simple enough, but fascinating in its results. Perhaps we could meet for lunch in a week to discuss our observations?”
***
Diana nodded. "That seems reasonable," she said as agreement. She could certainly afford the time and the effort it would take to participate in this social experiment and then have lunch with him afterwards. It got her thinking and anything in Man's World that made her question something this much was worth exploring.
"It was nice to meet you, Adamus," she added with a small smile. "I will reach out to you later this week to set up our lunch. In the meantime, thank you." Diana lifted her frappuccinos perhaps unnecessarily to indicate that was what she was thanking him for. The chain was still going, she was pleased to see. "Have a good rest of your day." With that, she headed out to meet up with Cassie and to discuss this more with her ward.