Mullet-verse trifecta. Prologue
Yeah okay, started this way sooner than I expected to, but at the same time not as soon. You know writer's block? Well I got writer's traffic jam. I have plenty of scenes, but I only just got the actual plot to make some sense. *squint*
Anyway! Two things first: One, holy cow! The epilogue of Discordant Hormoney got 300+ comments. I mean, I realize that about three comments in on any given thread it's got nothing to do with the fic, but still. So thanks, guys, for being so chatty! :D It makes me feel ridiculously special.
Second, were we still gonna do that...Boostle fic/art exchange thing? There was talk of doing it for Valentine's. (No pressure! Just asking! ^_^)
Considering naming this "Little Boy Blue" because "Cat's in the Cradle" is on my current playlist and I hear it a ridiculous number of times each day. But for now it's just "Mullet-verse Trifecta." Because I am a geek.
Beta by alba_aulbath.
CHAPTERS: { Prologue }{ Chapter One }{ Chapter Two }{ Chapter Three }{ Chapter Four }{ Chapter Five }{ Chapter Six }{ Chapter Seven }{ Chapter Eight }{ Chapter Nine }{ Chapter Ten }{ Chapter Eleven }{ Epilogue }
<-{ previous story: Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide } { next story: Mullet-verse handbook/guide }->
Prologue~
Life, such as it was, settled into a less hectic pattern for the household of Carter and Kord. Likewise the S01101101011010010111010001101000 family (who were, coincidentally, the only ones capable of pronouncing the name, though Junior kept gamely trying).
Their new apartment was a two bedroom so Ted and Booster shared a room, and a bed. Despite that, Ted held firm on his ultimatum that there would be no sex until Booster was blond again. So the bed was used only for sleeping, and the occasional stealth snuggle.
Booster insisted that Ted's ban on sex was driving him nuts, but Ted just pointed out that it was a lack of sanity that had made Booster dye his hair in the first place so he wasn't concerned. Booster countered that he was tempted to use insanity as an excuse to tie Ted up and ravish him. Ted requested that they work up to bondage, because he was a little out of practice.
While Booster was still reeling from that Ted left for his R&D job at KORD Industries, laughing the whole way.
Aside from amusing Ted, his teasing did inspire Booster to wash the dye from his hair. Or at least, to try to wash the dye from his hair. It proved to be surprisingly, annoyingly, frustratingly resilient.
Leaning against the bathroom doorway, shirtless and dripping, Booster held up a bottle of shampoo and mournfully said, "It's not coming out."
Ted looked up, raising his eyes from Booster's wet chest to his face through sheer force of will. He was still getting used to the idea of finding another man attractive, but his body seemed to be in the accelerated learning program in that regard. "What do you mean it's not coming out?"
Shaking the shampoo bottle with one hand, Booster gestured to his hair with his other. "I mean it's not coming out," Booster stressed, turning slightly to toss the bottle in the trash. "I used the whole thing and my hair's still black."
"Oh god," Ted muttered, bringing a hand to his eyes. "You didn't magic it black, did you?"
"No!" Booster huffed in frustration, then dropped onto the bed beside Ted. "Just dye. I don't know why it's not coming out. It was just some cheap wash in, wash out dye. It washed in just fine, but it's not washing out." Rolling onto his side, he rested his cheek on Ted's stomach and looked up at him pleadingly. "Maybe I could just wait for it to grow out. I'm already starting to see the roots."
Ted made a musing sound and absently reached down to run his fingers through Booster's wet hair, staring up at the ceiling. "If you can wait that long to have sex, then go for it."
Booster groaned and buried his face in Ted's shirt. "Hate you," he muttered, voice muffled by the material. He raised his head enough to narrow an eye at Ted. "I'll talk quantum mechanics. String theory. Tesseracts."
Unable to contain a shiver, Ted trailed his fingers over Booster's ear and tugged it in retaliation. "Don't waste good material."
Booster groaned again. "Store," he said, resigned. "I'll get a shirt. You check the kitchen, see if we need milk or anything." Pressing a kiss to Ted's abdomen, he raised himself onto his elbows and nipped at Ted's fingers as they left his hair. When Ted raised an eyebrow at him, Booster smirked and got up, heading for the closet.
Sighing, Ted sat up and got off the bed too, leaving the bedroom in search of the kitchen.
On the way through the living room, he caught sight of Skeets floating toward Junior's room. "Hey Skeets, Booster and I are going to the store, could you watch--"
"I'm afraid I have plans," Skeets said apologetically, following him to the kitchen. "Bug and I are taking Max to the park. I'm just here to pick him up."
Ted frowned. "Wait, he's...?" He motioned to Junior's room.
"Yes, he said Junior had asked for his opinion on something."
Narrowing his eyes at the door, Ted shook his head. "Just...tell Junior we're going out and he can call for take-out if he gets hungry, would you?"
One of Skeets's tiny buggy legs moved as if saluting him. "Aye-aye."
---------------
"What about The Lime Green Beetle?" Junior asked, striking a heroic pose.
A glance over at Max, leaning back on his bed, revealed a disbelieving expression on the metallic teen's face. At least he was pretty sure it was disbelief. It was sometimes hard to tell. "Maybe something not based on your disturbingly obsessive desire to wear those shoes?" he suggested, pointing at Junior's feet.
Looking down thoughtfully, Junior rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes for a moment. "Why not?"
Max sighed and swiped a hand over his face. "Well for one thing it doesn't really roll off the tongue. For another...it's a truly hideous color. I mean, are you sure it was Superboy's shoes you puked on?"
"I like 'em," Junior mumbled.
"Good for you." Max rolled his eyes. "Look...maybe something combining elements of your parents' identities."
Junior flopped down on the bed perpendicular to him, making the other boy bounce. "I did. That was it."
There was a pause before Max said, "The beetle thing? 'Cause otherwise I'm not seeing the connection."
"Green?" Junior prompted, looking at him. When that didn't get a response he elaborated. "Blue and Gold? Blue and yellow make green, and gold's just a kind of yellow. Right?"
Max stared at him. "Your logic astounds me sometimes. Aaand it was just a happy coincidence that green happens to be the exact color of your favorite shoes?"
"I like them," Junior insisted.
Shaking his head, Max turned to face him. "I don't see why you want to be a hero anyway. With your genetics there's probably any number of career opportunities open to you."
"Well yeah, obviously," Junior said, rolling his eyes. "I'll need to make money somehow."
"It's not--" Max cut himself off, frowning. "I just.... It all makes me a little uncomfortable sometimes."
"Max?"
"All these heroes. Everywhere. You can't turn on the news without hearing about one. They've got territories staked out. Hell you can't turn over a rock without finding one. It's...it's different from back in 'my day'. There weren't as many heroes and you sure didn't hear about them every day. And the kind of power they have, it's...it's kind of scary." Max drew his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them, lowering his chin to his arms. "Bug said it was that kind of thinking that let...'Grandpa Eye' get into my head last time. But...I can't just stop thinking it. I mean...." He looked up at Junior worriedly. "I'm one of them now."
Junior cocked his head thoughtfully. "Well...not really," he said slowly. "The metal's kinda weird, sure, but you're not really scary."
Max stared at him for a moment, then snorted and shook his head. "Thanks," he said dryly. "I feel so much better now."
Beaming at him, Junior reached over and patted his leg. "What are uncles for?"
Max made a face at him, but a tapping at the door interrupted whatever he might have been going to say.
"Abandon hope, ye who enter!" Junior called cheerfully.
After a moment, the door opened and Skeets floated in. "Time to go, Max," he said. "Junior, your parents went to the store. Ted said you could get take-out if you get hungry."
Junior grinned and bounced to his feet, jostling Max and making the boy scramble to keep from falling off the bed. "Cool! Bye, Max. Have fun."
"Bonding," Max said flatly, plastering on a smile. "Yay. Later, Limey. Remember, if you need an agent I get first dibs."
"Dad said not to sign anything you gave me till he'd read it over first," Junior chirped pleasantly.
Max made another face at him and followed Skeets out, closing the door behind them.
Alone in his room, Junior flopped back on his bed and let out a deep breath. "Some day I'm gonna be a hero," he told the ceiling, grinning.
---------------
"Where's the list?" Booster asked, looking around them as they walked.
Ted tapped the side of his head. "I've got it," he said. "And stop fidgeting, it's making me nervous."
"The hair on the back of my neck feels weird," Booster muttered.
"That's because you put indestructible hair dye on it," Ted countered.
Booster stuck his tongue out at him. "Funny. You're real funny, Ted. A laugh riot."
"I'm here all week," Ted said with a negligent wave of his hand. "Don't forget to tip your waitresses."
Booster opened his mouth to respond, but the world suddenly exploded in a soundless void of white. His senses insisted there was nothing around him, including himself.
He was just starting to panic when everything seemed to pop and suddenly he was blinking spots from his eyes.
"Da--" A voice abruptly cut itself off with a surprised sound. Then there was a faint woosh of air and a worrying click.
When the spots finally dissipated enough that Booster could see, he found himself staring down the barrel of an oddly-shaped gun.
"I can think of about three explanations for this," said the Blue Beetle holding the gun on him. "So you better start first."
-----
For a detailed explanation of the Mullet-verse and all the characters and such it entails, you can check out my new handy-dandy Mullet-verse...um...explanation post. Thing. -_- Yeah okay, the name could use some work. What ever it is, it's HERE.
[ETA of chapter the first: plotted, just needs to be written]
Anyway! Two things first: One, holy cow! The epilogue of Discordant Hormoney got 300+ comments. I mean, I realize that about three comments in on any given thread it's got nothing to do with the fic, but still. So thanks, guys, for being so chatty! :D It makes me feel ridiculously special.
Second, were we still gonna do that...Boostle fic/art exchange thing? There was talk of doing it for Valentine's. (No pressure! Just asking! ^_^)
Considering naming this "Little Boy Blue" because "Cat's in the Cradle" is on my current playlist and I hear it a ridiculous number of times each day. But for now it's just "Mullet-verse Trifecta." Because I am a geek.
Beta by alba_aulbath.
CHAPTERS: { Prologue }{ Chapter One }{ Chapter Two }{ Chapter Three }{ Chapter Four }{ Chapter Five }{ Chapter Six }{ Chapter Seven }{ Chapter Eight }{ Chapter Nine }{ Chapter Ten }{ Chapter Eleven }{ Epilogue }
<-{ previous story: Dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide } { next story: Mullet-verse handbook/guide }->
Prologue~
Life, such as it was, settled into a less hectic pattern for the household of Carter and Kord. Likewise the S01101101011010010111010001101000 family (who were, coincidentally, the only ones capable of pronouncing the name, though Junior kept gamely trying).
Their new apartment was a two bedroom so Ted and Booster shared a room, and a bed. Despite that, Ted held firm on his ultimatum that there would be no sex until Booster was blond again. So the bed was used only for sleeping, and the occasional stealth snuggle.
Booster insisted that Ted's ban on sex was driving him nuts, but Ted just pointed out that it was a lack of sanity that had made Booster dye his hair in the first place so he wasn't concerned. Booster countered that he was tempted to use insanity as an excuse to tie Ted up and ravish him. Ted requested that they work up to bondage, because he was a little out of practice.
While Booster was still reeling from that Ted left for his R&D job at KORD Industries, laughing the whole way.
Aside from amusing Ted, his teasing did inspire Booster to wash the dye from his hair. Or at least, to try to wash the dye from his hair. It proved to be surprisingly, annoyingly, frustratingly resilient.
Leaning against the bathroom doorway, shirtless and dripping, Booster held up a bottle of shampoo and mournfully said, "It's not coming out."
Ted looked up, raising his eyes from Booster's wet chest to his face through sheer force of will. He was still getting used to the idea of finding another man attractive, but his body seemed to be in the accelerated learning program in that regard. "What do you mean it's not coming out?"
Shaking the shampoo bottle with one hand, Booster gestured to his hair with his other. "I mean it's not coming out," Booster stressed, turning slightly to toss the bottle in the trash. "I used the whole thing and my hair's still black."
"Oh god," Ted muttered, bringing a hand to his eyes. "You didn't magic it black, did you?"
"No!" Booster huffed in frustration, then dropped onto the bed beside Ted. "Just dye. I don't know why it's not coming out. It was just some cheap wash in, wash out dye. It washed in just fine, but it's not washing out." Rolling onto his side, he rested his cheek on Ted's stomach and looked up at him pleadingly. "Maybe I could just wait for it to grow out. I'm already starting to see the roots."
Ted made a musing sound and absently reached down to run his fingers through Booster's wet hair, staring up at the ceiling. "If you can wait that long to have sex, then go for it."
Booster groaned and buried his face in Ted's shirt. "Hate you," he muttered, voice muffled by the material. He raised his head enough to narrow an eye at Ted. "I'll talk quantum mechanics. String theory. Tesseracts."
Unable to contain a shiver, Ted trailed his fingers over Booster's ear and tugged it in retaliation. "Don't waste good material."
Booster groaned again. "Store," he said, resigned. "I'll get a shirt. You check the kitchen, see if we need milk or anything." Pressing a kiss to Ted's abdomen, he raised himself onto his elbows and nipped at Ted's fingers as they left his hair. When Ted raised an eyebrow at him, Booster smirked and got up, heading for the closet.
Sighing, Ted sat up and got off the bed too, leaving the bedroom in search of the kitchen.
On the way through the living room, he caught sight of Skeets floating toward Junior's room. "Hey Skeets, Booster and I are going to the store, could you watch--"
"I'm afraid I have plans," Skeets said apologetically, following him to the kitchen. "Bug and I are taking Max to the park. I'm just here to pick him up."
Ted frowned. "Wait, he's...?" He motioned to Junior's room.
"Yes, he said Junior had asked for his opinion on something."
Narrowing his eyes at the door, Ted shook his head. "Just...tell Junior we're going out and he can call for take-out if he gets hungry, would you?"
One of Skeets's tiny buggy legs moved as if saluting him. "Aye-aye."
---------------
"What about The Lime Green Beetle?" Junior asked, striking a heroic pose.
A glance over at Max, leaning back on his bed, revealed a disbelieving expression on the metallic teen's face. At least he was pretty sure it was disbelief. It was sometimes hard to tell. "Maybe something not based on your disturbingly obsessive desire to wear those shoes?" he suggested, pointing at Junior's feet.
Looking down thoughtfully, Junior rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes for a moment. "Why not?"
Max sighed and swiped a hand over his face. "Well for one thing it doesn't really roll off the tongue. For another...it's a truly hideous color. I mean, are you sure it was Superboy's shoes you puked on?"
"I like 'em," Junior mumbled.
"Good for you." Max rolled his eyes. "Look...maybe something combining elements of your parents' identities."
Junior flopped down on the bed perpendicular to him, making the other boy bounce. "I did. That was it."
There was a pause before Max said, "The beetle thing? 'Cause otherwise I'm not seeing the connection."
"Green?" Junior prompted, looking at him. When that didn't get a response he elaborated. "Blue and Gold? Blue and yellow make green, and gold's just a kind of yellow. Right?"
Max stared at him. "Your logic astounds me sometimes. Aaand it was just a happy coincidence that green happens to be the exact color of your favorite shoes?"
"I like them," Junior insisted.
Shaking his head, Max turned to face him. "I don't see why you want to be a hero anyway. With your genetics there's probably any number of career opportunities open to you."
"Well yeah, obviously," Junior said, rolling his eyes. "I'll need to make money somehow."
"It's not--" Max cut himself off, frowning. "I just.... It all makes me a little uncomfortable sometimes."
"Max?"
"All these heroes. Everywhere. You can't turn on the news without hearing about one. They've got territories staked out. Hell you can't turn over a rock without finding one. It's...it's different from back in 'my day'. There weren't as many heroes and you sure didn't hear about them every day. And the kind of power they have, it's...it's kind of scary." Max drew his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them, lowering his chin to his arms. "Bug said it was that kind of thinking that let...'Grandpa Eye' get into my head last time. But...I can't just stop thinking it. I mean...." He looked up at Junior worriedly. "I'm one of them now."
Junior cocked his head thoughtfully. "Well...not really," he said slowly. "The metal's kinda weird, sure, but you're not really scary."
Max stared at him for a moment, then snorted and shook his head. "Thanks," he said dryly. "I feel so much better now."
Beaming at him, Junior reached over and patted his leg. "What are uncles for?"
Max made a face at him, but a tapping at the door interrupted whatever he might have been going to say.
"Abandon hope, ye who enter!" Junior called cheerfully.
After a moment, the door opened and Skeets floated in. "Time to go, Max," he said. "Junior, your parents went to the store. Ted said you could get take-out if you get hungry."
Junior grinned and bounced to his feet, jostling Max and making the boy scramble to keep from falling off the bed. "Cool! Bye, Max. Have fun."
"Bonding," Max said flatly, plastering on a smile. "Yay. Later, Limey. Remember, if you need an agent I get first dibs."
"Dad said not to sign anything you gave me till he'd read it over first," Junior chirped pleasantly.
Max made another face at him and followed Skeets out, closing the door behind them.
Alone in his room, Junior flopped back on his bed and let out a deep breath. "Some day I'm gonna be a hero," he told the ceiling, grinning.
---------------
"Where's the list?" Booster asked, looking around them as they walked.
Ted tapped the side of his head. "I've got it," he said. "And stop fidgeting, it's making me nervous."
"The hair on the back of my neck feels weird," Booster muttered.
"That's because you put indestructible hair dye on it," Ted countered.
Booster stuck his tongue out at him. "Funny. You're real funny, Ted. A laugh riot."
"I'm here all week," Ted said with a negligent wave of his hand. "Don't forget to tip your waitresses."
Booster opened his mouth to respond, but the world suddenly exploded in a soundless void of white. His senses insisted there was nothing around him, including himself.
He was just starting to panic when everything seemed to pop and suddenly he was blinking spots from his eyes.
"Da--" A voice abruptly cut itself off with a surprised sound. Then there was a faint woosh of air and a worrying click.
When the spots finally dissipated enough that Booster could see, he found himself staring down the barrel of an oddly-shaped gun.
"I can think of about three explanations for this," said the Blue Beetle holding the gun on him. "So you better start first."
-----
For a detailed explanation of the Mullet-verse and all the characters and such it entails, you can check out my new handy-dandy Mullet-verse...um...explanation post. Thing. -_- Yeah okay, the name could use some work. What ever it is, it's HERE.
[ETA of chapter the first: plotted, just needs to be written]