Discordant Hormoney. Chapter 6
Warning: This chapter contains cheese. The cheese bit was thought up in the wee edge between asleep and awake when everything seems brilliant.
Beta by alba_aulbath.
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 }->
~6th Chapter
Before they had split up, lines of communication had been synchronized. Junior, Skeets, and Bug had been keyed in to the same frequency as the Teen Titans. So as he flew after the age-regressed pair, Kon turned on his communicator and shouted over the wind, "I'll give your dad this, kid: he can really move."
"Uh, thanks."
"Let us know when you catch them so we can meet up with you," Robin spoke up.
Kon smiled. "Will do," he said.
"When," not "if." It was nice to know Tim had faith in him.
----------
Clambering back aboard the Bug, Junior looked around. "Hi, Max. Hi, Skeets. Have you seen the binoculars?"
"You mean those big clunky things you left on the seat?" Max asked, then flinched away from one of Skeets's legs. "Ow! And could you tell it to stop poking me?"
Junior stared at him, opaque yellow goggles enhancing his blank expression. "Skeets is a twenty-fifth century artificial intelligence, Max. You can tell him yourself." That said, he sat on the edge of the hatch with the skywire in one hand, preparing to jump back out. "Besides, it just means he likes you."
"Well it hurts!" Max protested, glaring at Skeets.
Junior shrugged. "He could be using his laser," he pointed out, then jumped.
Max stared after him for a moment, then glanced at Skeets. "I'm okay with poking. Poking is good."
Skeets poked his shoulder.
Max forced a smile.
----------
Playing building chicken with some flying government lackey was getting them nowhere fast.
Actually it was getting them to several places very fast. The problem was that Mr. S-shirt was getting there with them.
While Mikey had desperation on his side, S-shirt clearly had him beat on flying experience.
They needed an advantage.
They needed a plan.
They needed a miracle.
Mikey flew into a clothesline.
----------
"He's--Aw, I don't believe this!" Superboy's voice came over the comm.
"What is it?" Robin asked from his rooftop perch. Above him, Junior was trying to keep track of their progress with a pair of binoculars that could have doubled as a weapon. He was hanging from the Bug's skywire by his knees.
"That's like the fifth clothesline he's hit!" Superboy said, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. "And they're still going. I mean, he's got...I think that's a skirt over his head and he's still going!"
"Are they in any danger of hitting a building?"
"Nah, it's all clear and he's going in a straight li--Whoa!"
"What?" Robin demanded, crouching in preparation.
"Lost 'em." Superboy sounded surprised. "He dove into a bunch of trees, I think it's a park. Why don't you guys come on over."
"We're coming," Robin said after Superboy relayed the address.
"Be there in a--There!" Kid Flash proclaimed over the comm.
"Need a lift?"
Robin glanced over and found himself at eye level with an upside-down Junior. Holding up a line, he said, "I've got it." After a second's thought, he added, "Don't worry, we'll find them."
"Who's worried?" Junior said cheerfully, beaming. "I've never played hide and seek before. This is great!" Tapping the communicator on his ear, he told Skeets to "Go for it" and the Bug started off with Junior still hanging upside-down from the skywire.
Robin shook his head and followed after, swinging from building to building.
----------
"Hurry!" Mikey hissed, staring up at the sky warily.
In front of him, a dazed Ted was tugging a baggy long-sleeved shirt on over his blue suit. He was already wearing a pair of pants. Both had been liberated from the clotheslines Mikey had run into.
The rest of the clothes had been formed into a vaguely person-shaped bundle contained in Ted's coat.
"I'll draw them away and meet you back at the theater in an hour. Try to get ahold of your uncle." Glancing up at the sky again, Mikey clutched the bundle tighter and got ready to take off.
"Hey Mikey?" Ted said tentatively.
Mikey looked back down at him. Biting his lip nervously, Ted seemed to finally come to a decision because he stepped up to the boy, grabbed the front of his hoodie, and kissed him.
When Ted let go, Mikey stared at him in surprise. "Why'd you...."
"For luck," Ted said, trying to sound casual. His cheeks were bright red. "Be careful, okay?"
Mikey grinned at him. "See you in an hour, Ted."
As he rose into the air, something tumbled from the coat's pocket and fell to the ground with a muffled "thump."
"Hey wait, you dropped--" Ted stopped in the process of picking it up and instead stared down at the open wallet.
----------
"There they are!" Superboy called, speeding after the flying black and tan figures.
Mikey glanced back at Superboy, then abruptly swerved in surprise when a large green bird appeared in front of him. Beast Boy's intervention slowed him enough that Superboy managed to tackle him in midair.
Holding him tightly, Superboy brought them both back to the ground where they were soon joined by the rest of the search party.
"It's just him," Kid Flash pointed out, zooming forward and back, taking the coat-wrapped bundle with him and holding it up for them to see.
"Lemme go!" Mikey screamed, struggling against Superboy's hold. When he didn't seem to be making any progress, his flailing grew more violent. His shouting grew in volume and many of the words didn't appear to be English, though Kid Flash seemed to understand them. From the look on his face, they weren't complimentary.
"If he keeps that up he's gonna hurt himself," Beast Boy spoke up.
"Mikey, we're not going to hurt you--" Robin started. Mikey interrupted with something mostly unintelligible that made Kid Flash gasp.
Suddenly dashing forward, Junior grabbed the thrashing boy's shoulders and shouted, "Look at me!" Letting go with one hand, he yanked his goggles over his head. "Dad said I had your eyes. Look!"
Startled, Mikey did as told. The blue eyes staring intently up at him could easily have been in a mirror or his sister's face.
Junior smiled Ted's shy smile at him.
Mikey quit struggling.
----------
They found Ted in a nondescript diner, sitting at a booth. He was fiddling with something on the table.
"Ted?" Robin said gently as they drew near.
Ted hunched his shoulders and sniffed quietly. "You know...it's funny the kinds of things you can ignore if you don't think about it." He looked up, eyes slightly red, and searched out Junior in the small crowd of teens. When Ted found him, he held something up. "This is what you meant when you said we weren't how we're supposed to be."
It was a driver's license identifying the brown-haired man on it as Ted Kord.
"I'm supposed to be this, aren't I?" he asked, indicating the card. When Junior nodded, Ted lowered the card, and his eyes, back to the table. "I...It all seems pretty obvious, now. I mean...I feel kind of silly for not noticing." He glanced up again and gave them a tiny, wavering smile. "I'm in better shape than...ever. And just looking around. The clothes, the cars...everything's a little...different."
He stared down at his hands, still playing with what they could now see was a wallet, and sniffed again. "What happened?"
"Magic," Junior said simply.
Ted shook his head. "What about the...bug suit?"
"You're a hero," Robin said. "The Blue Beetle."
"Yeah?" Ted looked up at him hopefully. "Am I any good?"
"Definitely," Robin said with feeling.
Ted smiled shyly, then looked down again. This time he removed and held up a small picture from the wallet. In it, an adult Mikey stood with his arm around an adult Ted, while a beaming Junior stood in front of them.
Glancing over at Junior, he asked, "So are you like our kid sidekick or something?"
"Not quite," Junior said slowly, scratching his ear. "Um...my name is Michael Theodore Carter-Kord. ...But you usually call me 'Junior'."
Ted stared at him, eyes wide, and shook his head. Shouldering his way through, Mikey slid into the booth next to him, putting his arm around the boy and resting his chin on Ted's shoulder. Mikey spoke to him too quietly for anyone to hear (except Superboy, who looked embarrassed and stared down at his feet), and eventually Ted nodded.
Leaning against Mikey, Ted stared at the photo and murmured, "We look pretty happy."
Mikey smiled down at the family portrait and put his hand over Ted's. "Yeah, Ted. We do."
-----
[ETA of chapter the seventh: I know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of writing it down.]
Beta by alba_aulbath.
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 }->
~6th Chapter
Before they had split up, lines of communication had been synchronized. Junior, Skeets, and Bug had been keyed in to the same frequency as the Teen Titans. So as he flew after the age-regressed pair, Kon turned on his communicator and shouted over the wind, "I'll give your dad this, kid: he can really move."
"Uh, thanks."
"Let us know when you catch them so we can meet up with you," Robin spoke up.
Kon smiled. "Will do," he said.
"When," not "if." It was nice to know Tim had faith in him.
----------
Clambering back aboard the Bug, Junior looked around. "Hi, Max. Hi, Skeets. Have you seen the binoculars?"
"You mean those big clunky things you left on the seat?" Max asked, then flinched away from one of Skeets's legs. "Ow! And could you tell it to stop poking me?"
Junior stared at him, opaque yellow goggles enhancing his blank expression. "Skeets is a twenty-fifth century artificial intelligence, Max. You can tell him yourself." That said, he sat on the edge of the hatch with the skywire in one hand, preparing to jump back out. "Besides, it just means he likes you."
"Well it hurts!" Max protested, glaring at Skeets.
Junior shrugged. "He could be using his laser," he pointed out, then jumped.
Max stared after him for a moment, then glanced at Skeets. "I'm okay with poking. Poking is good."
Skeets poked his shoulder.
Max forced a smile.
----------
Playing building chicken with some flying government lackey was getting them nowhere fast.
Actually it was getting them to several places very fast. The problem was that Mr. S-shirt was getting there with them.
While Mikey had desperation on his side, S-shirt clearly had him beat on flying experience.
They needed an advantage.
They needed a plan.
They needed a miracle.
Mikey flew into a clothesline.
----------
"He's--Aw, I don't believe this!" Superboy's voice came over the comm.
"What is it?" Robin asked from his rooftop perch. Above him, Junior was trying to keep track of their progress with a pair of binoculars that could have doubled as a weapon. He was hanging from the Bug's skywire by his knees.
"That's like the fifth clothesline he's hit!" Superboy said, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. "And they're still going. I mean, he's got...I think that's a skirt over his head and he's still going!"
"Are they in any danger of hitting a building?"
"Nah, it's all clear and he's going in a straight li--Whoa!"
"What?" Robin demanded, crouching in preparation.
"Lost 'em." Superboy sounded surprised. "He dove into a bunch of trees, I think it's a park. Why don't you guys come on over."
"We're coming," Robin said after Superboy relayed the address.
"Be there in a--There!" Kid Flash proclaimed over the comm.
"Need a lift?"
Robin glanced over and found himself at eye level with an upside-down Junior. Holding up a line, he said, "I've got it." After a second's thought, he added, "Don't worry, we'll find them."
"Who's worried?" Junior said cheerfully, beaming. "I've never played hide and seek before. This is great!" Tapping the communicator on his ear, he told Skeets to "Go for it" and the Bug started off with Junior still hanging upside-down from the skywire.
Robin shook his head and followed after, swinging from building to building.
----------
"Hurry!" Mikey hissed, staring up at the sky warily.
In front of him, a dazed Ted was tugging a baggy long-sleeved shirt on over his blue suit. He was already wearing a pair of pants. Both had been liberated from the clotheslines Mikey had run into.
The rest of the clothes had been formed into a vaguely person-shaped bundle contained in Ted's coat.
"I'll draw them away and meet you back at the theater in an hour. Try to get ahold of your uncle." Glancing up at the sky again, Mikey clutched the bundle tighter and got ready to take off.
"Hey Mikey?" Ted said tentatively.
Mikey looked back down at him. Biting his lip nervously, Ted seemed to finally come to a decision because he stepped up to the boy, grabbed the front of his hoodie, and kissed him.
When Ted let go, Mikey stared at him in surprise. "Why'd you...."
"For luck," Ted said, trying to sound casual. His cheeks were bright red. "Be careful, okay?"
Mikey grinned at him. "See you in an hour, Ted."
As he rose into the air, something tumbled from the coat's pocket and fell to the ground with a muffled "thump."
"Hey wait, you dropped--" Ted stopped in the process of picking it up and instead stared down at the open wallet.
----------
"There they are!" Superboy called, speeding after the flying black and tan figures.
Mikey glanced back at Superboy, then abruptly swerved in surprise when a large green bird appeared in front of him. Beast Boy's intervention slowed him enough that Superboy managed to tackle him in midair.
Holding him tightly, Superboy brought them both back to the ground where they were soon joined by the rest of the search party.
"It's just him," Kid Flash pointed out, zooming forward and back, taking the coat-wrapped bundle with him and holding it up for them to see.
"Lemme go!" Mikey screamed, struggling against Superboy's hold. When he didn't seem to be making any progress, his flailing grew more violent. His shouting grew in volume and many of the words didn't appear to be English, though Kid Flash seemed to understand them. From the look on his face, they weren't complimentary.
"If he keeps that up he's gonna hurt himself," Beast Boy spoke up.
"Mikey, we're not going to hurt you--" Robin started. Mikey interrupted with something mostly unintelligible that made Kid Flash gasp.
Suddenly dashing forward, Junior grabbed the thrashing boy's shoulders and shouted, "Look at me!" Letting go with one hand, he yanked his goggles over his head. "Dad said I had your eyes. Look!"
Startled, Mikey did as told. The blue eyes staring intently up at him could easily have been in a mirror or his sister's face.
Junior smiled Ted's shy smile at him.
Mikey quit struggling.
----------
They found Ted in a nondescript diner, sitting at a booth. He was fiddling with something on the table.
"Ted?" Robin said gently as they drew near.
Ted hunched his shoulders and sniffed quietly. "You know...it's funny the kinds of things you can ignore if you don't think about it." He looked up, eyes slightly red, and searched out Junior in the small crowd of teens. When Ted found him, he held something up. "This is what you meant when you said we weren't how we're supposed to be."
It was a driver's license identifying the brown-haired man on it as Ted Kord.
"I'm supposed to be this, aren't I?" he asked, indicating the card. When Junior nodded, Ted lowered the card, and his eyes, back to the table. "I...It all seems pretty obvious, now. I mean...I feel kind of silly for not noticing." He glanced up again and gave them a tiny, wavering smile. "I'm in better shape than...ever. And just looking around. The clothes, the cars...everything's a little...different."
He stared down at his hands, still playing with what they could now see was a wallet, and sniffed again. "What happened?"
"Magic," Junior said simply.
Ted shook his head. "What about the...bug suit?"
"You're a hero," Robin said. "The Blue Beetle."
"Yeah?" Ted looked up at him hopefully. "Am I any good?"
"Definitely," Robin said with feeling.
Ted smiled shyly, then looked down again. This time he removed and held up a small picture from the wallet. In it, an adult Mikey stood with his arm around an adult Ted, while a beaming Junior stood in front of them.
Glancing over at Junior, he asked, "So are you like our kid sidekick or something?"
"Not quite," Junior said slowly, scratching his ear. "Um...my name is Michael Theodore Carter-Kord. ...But you usually call me 'Junior'."
Ted stared at him, eyes wide, and shook his head. Shouldering his way through, Mikey slid into the booth next to him, putting his arm around the boy and resting his chin on Ted's shoulder. Mikey spoke to him too quietly for anyone to hear (except Superboy, who looked embarrassed and stared down at his feet), and eventually Ted nodded.
Leaning against Mikey, Ted stared at the photo and murmured, "We look pretty happy."
Mikey smiled down at the family portrait and put his hand over Ted's. "Yeah, Ted. We do."
-----
[ETA of chapter the seventh: I know what's going to happen, it's just a matter of writing it down.]