crossover, part three
...okay. Maybe I'm done, with this bit. (Could be wrong again, though; only time will tell.)
No More Secrets
He needs clothes, before he attempts a hotel room. Cosmo was right, in that there are a few places around San Francisco that still take the League seriously enough to give one of its members a deep discount, even if all he's buying is clothes.
It wouldn't do to wear the same lab coat all weekend or longer, and he'd rather keep a low profile as much as possible, under the circumstances.
After making sure he's got clothes for a few days, he checks himself into a hotel, takes a shower, and orders up room service, all the while eyeing the scrap of paper from lunch. It's a good sign that she's still willing to talk to him, at least, even if he doesn't know how long that's going to last after the preliminary explanation. Still, he's got to stay and try, and this isn't the sort of thing he feels comfortable taking to email; after he eats his dinner, he picks up the hotel phone and dials.
His heart sinks, a little, when a man's voice answers. "Hello?"
"Hi. Is... Penny there?"
"This isn't some kind of official business, is it?"
Billy can't blame the guy for being a little suspicious, all things considered. "No. Definitely not."
"All right. Just a second."
He waits, toying nervously with the phone cord, until Penny comes on the line. "Hello?"
"...God, I'm sorry." It's not what he wanted to start with, but it's all that'll come out - and he does definitely owe her an apology. "I - you weren't supposed to be involved in that. At all. And I didn't know you were okay until this afternoon, I swear, or I would have--"
"Calm down, Billy. It's... well, when I got here, I found out why you hadn't said anything. That part's all right, and I know accidents happen, I just - I want to know why."
"Well. Did you ever find my blog?"
"I did," Penny says. "A couple of days before the shelter dedication. I guess I didn't want to believe it was you, until I... saw the evidence for myself."
"That covered a lot of it. I've always had big ideas, and - I looked around, and the only alternative I saw was Captain Hammer. With people calling that asshole a hero, can you really blame me for taking the opposite path?"
"Less so now, but... changing the world has never been a particularly fast process, and I've never heard of it being the League's thing. Destroying the world, sure, but what's left after you destroy it to try to fix?"
Billy sighs. "I might be stuck working with that, now. I don't know if I can pull myself out of this mess. It's highly unlikely I could just quit, at this point."
"...Well. It sounded like you liked Cosmo's plan, earlier. And I don't entirely like where he's going, but he can't be completely heartless, no matter what Carl says - there's his intentions, and the fact that he told me what was going on."
"I guess. Who's Carl?"
"He answered the phone. He..." Penny trails off for a moment before continuing. "There's some kind of bad blood between him and Cosmo - he needed a lot of convincing to spare me a couch, until I can get my own place. And he's doing something about the whole 'the public thinks I'm dead' thing. He's a sweet kid, and by kid I mean he's older than me but acts seventeen half the time. But anyway..."
"Oh. Mainly, I like the sound of a plan that's closer to changing the world than anything I've been able to come up with on my own, or heard from anyone else. Don't know if triggering a global recession was the best way, but... you kind of have to admire the dedication it's taken him to get this far."
"True. But... especially if you're helping out, I think you could both use someone to make sure you actually do some of the good you want to see happen."
"...You'd do that? After - after everything?" He can't quite believe his ears, even though he knew Penny had a big heart. He wouldn't have hoped it was this big, even at the best of times.
"Neither of you are completely hopeless, Billy. I'd hate to see you end up there when I could do something about it."
Billy smiles a little, even though he knows she can't see it. "You would. Well, um. I'm staying up here this weekend, if you... want to do something. If you don't, it's totally cool--"
"I'd like that. Maybe not a laundromat, this time." There's a hint of a laugh, in her voice.
"I think we can do that."
As they set about arranging something - dinner the next night, as things work out - it almost feels like they're normal people, for a few moments. Billy knows that's about as far from the truth as anything could be, but it doesn't really matter.
She's alive and she doesn't hate him. Whatever else might happen, that's a pretty major victory.
No More Secrets
He needs clothes, before he attempts a hotel room. Cosmo was right, in that there are a few places around San Francisco that still take the League seriously enough to give one of its members a deep discount, even if all he's buying is clothes.
It wouldn't do to wear the same lab coat all weekend or longer, and he'd rather keep a low profile as much as possible, under the circumstances.
After making sure he's got clothes for a few days, he checks himself into a hotel, takes a shower, and orders up room service, all the while eyeing the scrap of paper from lunch. It's a good sign that she's still willing to talk to him, at least, even if he doesn't know how long that's going to last after the preliminary explanation. Still, he's got to stay and try, and this isn't the sort of thing he feels comfortable taking to email; after he eats his dinner, he picks up the hotel phone and dials.
His heart sinks, a little, when a man's voice answers. "Hello?"
"Hi. Is... Penny there?"
"This isn't some kind of official business, is it?"
Billy can't blame the guy for being a little suspicious, all things considered. "No. Definitely not."
"All right. Just a second."
He waits, toying nervously with the phone cord, until Penny comes on the line. "Hello?"
"...God, I'm sorry." It's not what he wanted to start with, but it's all that'll come out - and he does definitely owe her an apology. "I - you weren't supposed to be involved in that. At all. And I didn't know you were okay until this afternoon, I swear, or I would have--"
"Calm down, Billy. It's... well, when I got here, I found out why you hadn't said anything. That part's all right, and I know accidents happen, I just - I want to know why."
"Well. Did you ever find my blog?"
"I did," Penny says. "A couple of days before the shelter dedication. I guess I didn't want to believe it was you, until I... saw the evidence for myself."
"That covered a lot of it. I've always had big ideas, and - I looked around, and the only alternative I saw was Captain Hammer. With people calling that asshole a hero, can you really blame me for taking the opposite path?"
"Less so now, but... changing the world has never been a particularly fast process, and I've never heard of it being the League's thing. Destroying the world, sure, but what's left after you destroy it to try to fix?"
Billy sighs. "I might be stuck working with that, now. I don't know if I can pull myself out of this mess. It's highly unlikely I could just quit, at this point."
"...Well. It sounded like you liked Cosmo's plan, earlier. And I don't entirely like where he's going, but he can't be completely heartless, no matter what Carl says - there's his intentions, and the fact that he told me what was going on."
"I guess. Who's Carl?"
"He answered the phone. He..." Penny trails off for a moment before continuing. "There's some kind of bad blood between him and Cosmo - he needed a lot of convincing to spare me a couch, until I can get my own place. And he's doing something about the whole 'the public thinks I'm dead' thing. He's a sweet kid, and by kid I mean he's older than me but acts seventeen half the time. But anyway..."
"Oh. Mainly, I like the sound of a plan that's closer to changing the world than anything I've been able to come up with on my own, or heard from anyone else. Don't know if triggering a global recession was the best way, but... you kind of have to admire the dedication it's taken him to get this far."
"True. But... especially if you're helping out, I think you could both use someone to make sure you actually do some of the good you want to see happen."
"...You'd do that? After - after everything?" He can't quite believe his ears, even though he knew Penny had a big heart. He wouldn't have hoped it was this big, even at the best of times.
"Neither of you are completely hopeless, Billy. I'd hate to see you end up there when I could do something about it."
Billy smiles a little, even though he knows she can't see it. "You would. Well, um. I'm staying up here this weekend, if you... want to do something. If you don't, it's totally cool--"
"I'd like that. Maybe not a laundromat, this time." There's a hint of a laugh, in her voice.
"I think we can do that."
As they set about arranging something - dinner the next night, as things work out - it almost feels like they're normal people, for a few moments. Billy knows that's about as far from the truth as anything could be, but it doesn't really matter.
She's alive and she doesn't hate him. Whatever else might happen, that's a pretty major victory.