[Honestly, if they're so lucid, Stan would be questioning all of this as just part of the dream. People say all kinds of weird stuff in their dreams. But this seems like it might actually be true, so color Stan surprised.]

Huh! Uh, good for you, I guess. I mean, to me that sounds like they're just saddlin' one of the hardest jobs in the city on a kid, but...at least you've got it good.

[He's from one of the roughest parts of the city and lives among criminals. Peace is something they all laugh at - they're too bitter and too burned to believe in it.

...It finally occurs to him how weird that must be coming from a twelve-year-old.]

I-- I don't usually look like this, by the way. I haven't been a kid in decades, I just...y'know. I thought it'd be weirder if an old man was beatin' up a bunch of kids. So I went easy on 'em.

[It wasn't even really a handicap, since he let himself split into six Stans and use flames. But an adult jumping in that way tends to be jarring, and when he interferes in a way that's too uncomfortable or shocking, a person's subconscious tends to shut him out and wake the person up. It wouldn't have been a comfort - they might have wondered if he would turn on them.]