Discordant Hormoney. Chapter 7
I realized a week or two ago that the basement I was picturing in this was actually a modified version of the Foremans' basement in That 70's Show. And really only small modifications, at that. The stairs go straight up instead of turning, for instance. And there's no door outside. And the area where the TV sits and that the audience doesn't really see is filled with boxes.
...I just thought I should share that. ^_^
This chapter's a bit short, but that's just because it seemed like a good stopping point. The rest's coming soon. (Almost done!)
Any Batman OOCness is there because I don't give a shit I don't really have a feel for the character. (Besides, if DC's writers can make him OOC, I figure I can get a little slack. Eh? *grin*)
Beta by lakidaa.
CHAPTERS: { Prologue }{ Chapter One }{ Chapter Two }{ Chapter Three }{ Chapter Four }{ Chapter Five }{ Chapter Six }{ Chapter Seven }{ Chapter Eight }{ Epilogue }
<-{ previous story: Midst Of Rough Earthliness } { next story: Harmonious Discourse }->
~7th Chapter
After everyone was back aboard the Bug, they started back.
Mikey and Ted sat close together in a small alcove while Ted explained to Mikey that Chicago was not some sort of touristy, old timey theme town, as he had been assuming, and that it was actually fairly typical of the cities of the current time. Which in turn led to a discussion of what Mikey remembered from science class about time travel, sci-fi theories Ted remembered, and their own extrapolations based on those and what they could assume from what they were told of Mikey's successful integration into the timeline as an adult.
Kid Flash occasionally contributed his own knowledge and theories, as well as the fact of his own existence, but found it difficult to stay still for the conversation for very long.
"Are your folks usually so...goopy together?" he asked Junior, leaning over the back of the boy's chair.
Junior clapped his hands over his ears and said, "Not listening! Lalala, can't hear you!"
"They're cute!" Kid Flash laughed, tugging playfully on the boy's arm.
A smile tugging at his lips, Robin turned away and put in a call to the Teen Titans who had stayed behind. "We've got them," he said. "Have you made any progress in finding the cause of their age regression?"
"Robin?" Cyborg answered slowly. "Yeah, Raven thinks she's got it. She just needs to check it against their magical signatures or something. Listen...we've got company here."
Eyes widening behind his mask, Robin asked, "Who?"
"Seems someone missed an appointment with the Justice League," Cyborg answered grimly. "And they're not happy about it."
----------
With the brightly colored costumes displayed in plain view, it seemed pointless to bother with the cursory subtlety they had previously been attempting, so the Bug set down directly on the front lawn. As the teens filed out of the airship, Mikey and Ted hung back, uncertain what was going on but worried that it seemed to involve them.
"What are you doing here?" Superboy asked, flying over to hover in front of Superman.
"We had a meeting with the Blue Beetle," Superman said sternly. "He failed to show up."
"Yeah well something kinda came up," Superboy retorted. At that, all eyes turned to Mikey and Ted, who looked uncomfortable at the scrutiny.
"So I see," Superman murmured.
It was, Robin mused, looking a bit like a standoff. And disturbingly familiar to when the Justice League had interfered with their initial forming of the current team.
That did not bode well. Especially since the chances of Nightwing again intervening and talking sense into everyone were slim to none.
----------
When he felt Mikey's hand on his arm tightening, Ted turned to ask what was up, but stopped when he saw how pale the boy was. Mikey looked, frankly, terrified.
And his eyes were fixed on some of the shadows cast by the ruins of the house.
Staring into the darkness for a moment, Ted finally thought he could make out a human figure. "Hey, is there someone in--" he started to ask, but to his surprise Mikey clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Sh!" Mikey hissed, pressing so close against him that his mouth practically touched Ted's ear. "Don't talk about it, don't look at it, just...just don't." His voice wavered on the last words and he swallowed audibly.
"What?" Ted asked quietly after prying Mikey's hand off his face.
Tugging him back a few steps, Mikey whispered, "The Batman." At Ted's confused look, he made a tiny frustrated sound. "It's--He's--It's...I thought it was just a myth! A story to get kids to behave. But he's here."
"I don't understand."
"He's a...A soul collector. A-A--I don't know! He comes at night and steals bad kids and he's here and-and-and sometimes you see the kids again, but they've had their souls taken, or maybe they are the souls I don't remember, and they're...bird creatures, demons, that do his bidding and...."
"And what?" a low, gravelly voice demanded from behind them.
Mikey screamed.
----------
All talk ceased as the terrified scream pierced the air and everyone turned to see Batman looming over Mikey and Ted from the shadows the Bug cast. Mikey seemed to be uncertain whether to hide behind Ted or shove the boy behind him protectively, and appeared to be hysterically babbling apologies and prayers. His verbal progress was severely hampered by the fact that he didn't seem to know exactly what he was apologizing for, as well as a noticeable lack of knowledge about any particular religion.
Batman, for his part, merely stood there, calmly, coolly staring down at the teens.
Then he took a step forward.
Clutching Ted to his side in a bruising grip, Mikey squeezed his eyes shut against the boy's neck and just whimpered "Sorrysorrysorry." Around them, a protective sheen of yellow appeared in the air.
Mikey, without realizing it, had activated his forcefield.
"Leave them alone!" Junior shouted, aiming the BB gun at the Dark Knight. "Why d'ya have to be such a grouchy-puss?"
"Excuse me?" Batman said flatly, staring him down.
"You're the one who built the Satallite of Doomy Death, aren't you?" Junior pressed, shifting. "That was stupid."
"You understand nothing," Batman sneered. "It was necessary."
"Why?" Junior demanded, clearly bewildered. "Who needs a giant killer satellite?"
"It was to keep an eye on the League, to ensure that they never abused their power...again."
Junior stared at him. "What?"
"They stole ten minutes of my life!" Batman snapped, looming over him.
"And you just stole ten minutes of mine!" Junior retorted. "Quit kvetching about it and get outta the way so we can fix them!" He jerked his head in the direction of Mikey and Ted. "I don't care if you're a big scary bat god in the future, you're in the way now."
"Hey!" Cyborg called from the remains of the front door. "Raven says she knows what changed them, so let's get this show on the road. We don't have all day."
Batman gave Junior a scornful look and strode past him with a dramatic snap of his cape. Lowering the BB gun, Junior let out a relieved breath.
"That was...Man, you yelled at Batman!" Superboy gushed, coming to stand in front of Junior. "That was so--"
Junior doubled over and retched.
"--cool, until you puked on my shoes," Superboy finished with considerably less enthusiasm. "Dude. Nasty."
"I yelled at the big scary bat god," Junior wheezed as Superboy held his shoulder to steady him. "I threatened the big scary bat god."
"Yeah.... And you lived to tell about it."
Junior looked up and Superboy grinned at him. Junior grinned back.
"C'mon," Superboy said, tilting his head toward the house.
Looking up, Junior could see his dads being led inside by Robin, who was carefully staying between Mikey's line of sight and Batman. He swallowed and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, then straightened and walked toward the house with Superboy's hand still on his shoulder.
"Hey, sorry about your shoes."
"Dude." Superboy wrinkled his nose. "Hey, sorry about yours."
Junior looked down at his lime green shoes. "Why? What's wrong with 'em?"
Superboy snorted and patted his shoulder.
-----
[ETA of chapter the eighth: I know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of writing it down.]
...I just thought I should share that. ^_^
This chapter's a bit short, but that's just because it seemed like a good stopping point. The rest's coming soon. (Almost done!)
Any Batman OOCness is there because I don't give a shit I don't really have a feel for the character. (Besides, if DC's writers can make him OOC, I figure I can get a little slack. Eh? *grin*)
Beta by lakidaa.
CHAPTERS: { Prologue }{ Chapter One }{ Chapter Two }{ Chapter Three }{ Chapter Four }{ Chapter Five }{ Chapter Six }{ Chapter Seven }{ Chapter Eight }{ Epilogue }
<-{ previous story: Midst Of Rough Earthliness } { next story: Harmonious Discourse }->
~7th Chapter
After everyone was back aboard the Bug, they started back.
Mikey and Ted sat close together in a small alcove while Ted explained to Mikey that Chicago was not some sort of touristy, old timey theme town, as he had been assuming, and that it was actually fairly typical of the cities of the current time. Which in turn led to a discussion of what Mikey remembered from science class about time travel, sci-fi theories Ted remembered, and their own extrapolations based on those and what they could assume from what they were told of Mikey's successful integration into the timeline as an adult.
Kid Flash occasionally contributed his own knowledge and theories, as well as the fact of his own existence, but found it difficult to stay still for the conversation for very long.
"Are your folks usually so...goopy together?" he asked Junior, leaning over the back of the boy's chair.
Junior clapped his hands over his ears and said, "Not listening! Lalala, can't hear you!"
"They're cute!" Kid Flash laughed, tugging playfully on the boy's arm.
A smile tugging at his lips, Robin turned away and put in a call to the Teen Titans who had stayed behind. "We've got them," he said. "Have you made any progress in finding the cause of their age regression?"
"Robin?" Cyborg answered slowly. "Yeah, Raven thinks she's got it. She just needs to check it against their magical signatures or something. Listen...we've got company here."
Eyes widening behind his mask, Robin asked, "Who?"
"Seems someone missed an appointment with the Justice League," Cyborg answered grimly. "And they're not happy about it."
----------
With the brightly colored costumes displayed in plain view, it seemed pointless to bother with the cursory subtlety they had previously been attempting, so the Bug set down directly on the front lawn. As the teens filed out of the airship, Mikey and Ted hung back, uncertain what was going on but worried that it seemed to involve them.
"What are you doing here?" Superboy asked, flying over to hover in front of Superman.
"We had a meeting with the Blue Beetle," Superman said sternly. "He failed to show up."
"Yeah well something kinda came up," Superboy retorted. At that, all eyes turned to Mikey and Ted, who looked uncomfortable at the scrutiny.
"So I see," Superman murmured.
It was, Robin mused, looking a bit like a standoff. And disturbingly familiar to when the Justice League had interfered with their initial forming of the current team.
That did not bode well. Especially since the chances of Nightwing again intervening and talking sense into everyone were slim to none.
----------
When he felt Mikey's hand on his arm tightening, Ted turned to ask what was up, but stopped when he saw how pale the boy was. Mikey looked, frankly, terrified.
And his eyes were fixed on some of the shadows cast by the ruins of the house.
Staring into the darkness for a moment, Ted finally thought he could make out a human figure. "Hey, is there someone in--" he started to ask, but to his surprise Mikey clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Sh!" Mikey hissed, pressing so close against him that his mouth practically touched Ted's ear. "Don't talk about it, don't look at it, just...just don't." His voice wavered on the last words and he swallowed audibly.
"What?" Ted asked quietly after prying Mikey's hand off his face.
Tugging him back a few steps, Mikey whispered, "The Batman." At Ted's confused look, he made a tiny frustrated sound. "It's--He's--It's...I thought it was just a myth! A story to get kids to behave. But he's here."
"I don't understand."
"He's a...A soul collector. A-A--I don't know! He comes at night and steals bad kids and he's here and-and-and sometimes you see the kids again, but they've had their souls taken, or maybe they are the souls I don't remember, and they're...bird creatures, demons, that do his bidding and...."
"And what?" a low, gravelly voice demanded from behind them.
Mikey screamed.
----------
All talk ceased as the terrified scream pierced the air and everyone turned to see Batman looming over Mikey and Ted from the shadows the Bug cast. Mikey seemed to be uncertain whether to hide behind Ted or shove the boy behind him protectively, and appeared to be hysterically babbling apologies and prayers. His verbal progress was severely hampered by the fact that he didn't seem to know exactly what he was apologizing for, as well as a noticeable lack of knowledge about any particular religion.
Batman, for his part, merely stood there, calmly, coolly staring down at the teens.
Then he took a step forward.
Clutching Ted to his side in a bruising grip, Mikey squeezed his eyes shut against the boy's neck and just whimpered "Sorrysorrysorry." Around them, a protective sheen of yellow appeared in the air.
Mikey, without realizing it, had activated his forcefield.
"Leave them alone!" Junior shouted, aiming the BB gun at the Dark Knight. "Why d'ya have to be such a grouchy-puss?"
"Excuse me?" Batman said flatly, staring him down.
"You're the one who built the Satallite of Doomy Death, aren't you?" Junior pressed, shifting. "That was stupid."
"You understand nothing," Batman sneered. "It was necessary."
"Why?" Junior demanded, clearly bewildered. "Who needs a giant killer satellite?"
"It was to keep an eye on the League, to ensure that they never abused their power...again."
Junior stared at him. "What?"
"They stole ten minutes of my life!" Batman snapped, looming over him.
"And you just stole ten minutes of mine!" Junior retorted. "Quit kvetching about it and get outta the way so we can fix them!" He jerked his head in the direction of Mikey and Ted. "I don't care if you're a big scary bat god in the future, you're in the way now."
"Hey!" Cyborg called from the remains of the front door. "Raven says she knows what changed them, so let's get this show on the road. We don't have all day."
Batman gave Junior a scornful look and strode past him with a dramatic snap of his cape. Lowering the BB gun, Junior let out a relieved breath.
"That was...Man, you yelled at Batman!" Superboy gushed, coming to stand in front of Junior. "That was so--"
Junior doubled over and retched.
"--cool, until you puked on my shoes," Superboy finished with considerably less enthusiasm. "Dude. Nasty."
"I yelled at the big scary bat god," Junior wheezed as Superboy held his shoulder to steady him. "I threatened the big scary bat god."
"Yeah.... And you lived to tell about it."
Junior looked up and Superboy grinned at him. Junior grinned back.
"C'mon," Superboy said, tilting his head toward the house.
Looking up, Junior could see his dads being led inside by Robin, who was carefully staying between Mikey's line of sight and Batman. He swallowed and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, then straightened and walked toward the house with Superboy's hand still on his shoulder.
"Hey, sorry about your shoes."
"Dude." Superboy wrinkled his nose. "Hey, sorry about yours."
Junior looked down at his lime green shoes. "Why? What's wrong with 'em?"
Superboy snorted and patted his shoulder.
-----
[ETA of chapter the eighth: I know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of writing it down.]