Mullet-verse trifecta. Chapter 1
Hn...the internet on my computer decided to spaz out kerflooey because I, get this, updated the security. It smells a bit like irony and tastes a lot like inconvenient! :D
Never-the-less! I walked down to my local library where they have computers with intarweb access. Sure there's a time limit, and people walking around all over who could look over your shoulder at any given time, and a time limit, and people on phones, and of course the time limit, and that one guy who came up behind me asking if I'd seen his library card, and did I mention the time limit? ...Ahem. Anyway. I managed, during the course of those time limits, to write something vaguely recognizable as a chapter. Then I came home, waited till my mom went to bed, and edited the crap outta it on her computer. ;) This is the result.
Tentative title is still "Little Boy Blue." Damn that song and its ability to make me sentimental.
Beta by Saint alba_aulbath the Patient.
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 }->
~1st Chapter
Landing lightly in the shadows of the alley, Goldie looked around. Her normal blindingly gold suit had been forgone in favor of just her flight ring. Her wrist blasters were stuffed in a pocket just in case.
The call hadn't been especially clear on anything except that she needed to come get Blue, which had her worried.
She stepped into the light, hands in her pockets clutching the blasters, then abruptly jerked to a halt. In front of her, at close enough to eye level that she wouldn't have to lecture about the difference between breasts and eyes, were a pair of eyes.
The eyes blinked at her, then motioned toward a nearby door and retracted into it.
The door opened as she got closer and Luke peered out at her. He looked nervous.
"Hey, Goldie," he said. "I am...so sorry. I--"
"Louie, where's Blue?" Goldie asked with false pleasantness.
"Goldie? Goldie!" Blue flung the door open and pushed past Louie. Taking a few steps forward, he threw his arms around her and leaned heavily on her.
"What the--Ugh! Blue, you reek of booze!"
Louie winced, more than a non-meta would probably be capable of. "I swear, if I'da known he couldn't hold his liquor I woulda cut him off sooner."
"He usually drinks wine," Goldie said absently, shifting her grip on Blue as he pressed his face against her neck, humming tunelessly. Catching sight of Louie's raised eyebrow Goldie rolled her eyes. "He says it tastes like raisins."
Louie snorted and they shared a knowing look.
Grunting softly as Blue slumped and she had to hold more of his weight, Goldie frowned at Luke. "How'd he get like this, anyway?"
"Er...a little friendly competition?"
Goldie narrowed her eyes at him. "With who?"
Louie smiled sheepishly as his ears morphed into the familiar forms of a specific set of stylized wings.
"A speedster?" Goldie demanded, jostling Blue irritably. "You were doing shots with a speedster? Of all the boneheaded-- You know they've got scary-fast metabolisms! What the hell possessed you to--"
Pressing a finger to her lips, Blue shushed her quietly, eyes darting around. "There's evil afoot, old chum," he whispered. Then he suddenly flung an arm out, wobbling on his feet. "To the Beetle-mobile!" He burst out laughing and hung from her shoulder with one arm.
"Oh god, not this again."
"Ever since that parallel universe he got sent to," Louie sighed.
"His first week back I swear I was ready to sock him if he called me 'chum' again," Goldie muttered, wrapping her arms around Blue.
"I got chills when he said Batman was a swell guy there," Louie said, shivering melodramatically as comical goosebumps briefly rose all over him. "Of course that was before...."
"The pre-human Batman days?" Goldie smiled at him. "You're good people, Lu. Thanks for calling me."
An exaggerated blush rose on Luke's face as he shuffled his feet, then he winked at her. "No problem, Goldie. See ya later." He waved as she rose into the air, carrying her partner.
"Woo! I'm king of the world!" Blue flung his arms out and Goldie had to shift her grip quickly to avoid dropping him.
"Swear to god, Blue, I'm gonna burn that damn movie," she muttered as she maneuvered them up through Bug's open hatch.
"Aw." Blue leaned over and gave her cheek a sloppy kiss. "Y'wouldn't do that." His eyes darted from side to side, then he whispered, "I'll tell ya a seeecret."
"Oh yeah?" Goldie asked, dumping him into one of Bug's seats. "What's that?"
Blue put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Can't tell anyone."
Rolling her eyes as she took the controls, Goldie promised, "I won't tell anyone."
"Even you?"
"Huh?"
"Y'gotta keep it to yerself, but y'can't keep it to y'rself. Can't tell yourself. Keep it a secret."
Goldie stared at him. "Oookaaay."
"I'm gonna marry you some day," Blue said, beaming at her.
Goldie continued to stare at him. "That's...." She shook her head. "So why do we always deny we're together when people ask?"
"'Cause we aren't." Blue gave her a look that indicated she should've known that. "It's...it's tradition."
Smiling, Goldie turned her attention to the control panel in front of her. "You and your traditions," she murmured affectionately.
"See...if we wait? Then...then.... When we do get together?" Blue spread his hands and smiled brilliantly. "Happy ever after. Just like my folks have."
Goldie opened her mouth to reply, but Blue had already slumped unconsciously in the chair, a soft snore gurgling from his open mouth. Smiling, she reached over and gently petted his hair. "Yeah," she said wistfully, her vision going watery. "They sure did."
---------------
"Blue Beetle."
Junior grinned, recognizing the voice. "And a good day to you too, tall, dark, and batty. I thought your shift wasn't for another hour."
"I'm here to talk to you," Batman replied, striding forward to stand next to his chair in the monitor room.
Raising an eyebrow behind the opaque yellow of his goggles, Junior said, "Oh?"
"You need to let them go," Batman said quietly, dropping a companionable hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, I don't make up the duty rosters--" he started.
"Your parents, Blue," Batman interrupted, hand tightening on his shoulder. "They're gone, let it go. Booster and Beetle were good people but--"
"You're right," Junior said cheerfully.
"What?"
"They are gone," Junior agreed, then looked up at him and frowned. "Gone. Not dead. There's a difference. Gone means you find 'em, dead means you find a spell."
Batman sighed and dropped his hand. "I'm telling you this as a friend. You're displaying a worrying level of obsession. And it could be dangerous to your mental health."
"Funny thing, my dads always get scary-competent when they're nuts," Junior replied blithely. "Maybe they passed that on to me."
"Goldie's worried about you."
"Goldie bet me I'd get myself killed trying to find my folks." Junior smirked at him. "That's one dollar I intend to win."
"Junior...." Batman sighed.
"Tim," Junior countered sternly. "Does this conversation have anything to do with monitor duty?"
"No."
"Is it helping me find my dads?"
"...No."
"Theeen why are we having it?" Junior smiled cheerfully at him. "I'll see you in forty-five minutes for shift change, Batman."
Sighing once more, the Dark Knight turned and strode towards the door.
"Oh, and Bats?" Junior called after him.
Batman stopped at the door and waited.
"You lose points for using Goldie against me."
---------------
It was a simple request, even if tinged with desperation. It called for a simple response.
"Why me?" was all the faceless man asked, staring up into the expressionless yellow goggles of the third man to call himself Blue Beetle.
Hanging upside-down from a fire escape, Junior smiled hopefully. "Because you're a nice guy who I know would be willing to help out a pal?"
The Question made a sound to indicate he didn't believe him.
Junior sighed and grabbed hold of a metal bar so he could swing down into the alley. Brushing his gloves off on his suit as he straightened from his landing, he turned to face the Question again. "Okay, because no one's sure what you have, just that it works," he said quietly. "And so far nothing else has. Just...please?"
Question sighed. "Would it be too cliche to say I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Just cliche enough, I think."
"I'll help," Question muttered. "Despite my misgivings."
Junior grinned.
---------------
The paisley-shaded dancing lights faded away into failed nothingness, leaving behind only a faint scent of burnt hair.
"What? No! You...you got a feel for them, didn't you?" Junior's Blue Beetle cowl was off and his goggles had been shoved onto his forehead. "They're out there somewhere. You felt them, didn't you?"
Question stared expressionlessly at the pleading blue eyes. "I felt something," he corrected.
"Something's better than nothing," Junior countered.
Question leaned against the table and sighed. "A crumb isn't the same as a cookie."
"It gives us something to shoot for. We'll figure it out. We can do this."
His expression was fierce as he said determinedly, "We will do this."
---------------
"Are you sure about this?" Question asked slowly, cocking his head and pointedly not calling the man a lunatic.
"Look, it's...blood is good for this kind of thing, right?" Junior asked, fidgeting. "Well I'm their blood. So you use me to find them."
"Blood is powerful, yes," Question agreed. "But also dangerous. Are you sure you--Why am I asking? Of course you're sure." He sighed in resignation. "Even knowing all the possible consequences you would probably still be sure you wanted to continue this ill-advised crap shoot into the time-space continuum."
Junior bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment, then turned and took something from a desk drawer. "And I thought maybe if you needed a power boost, you could try this," he said, holding up an amulet that looked suspiciously like a blue scarab.
"Is that...?"
"Yep," Junior replied, adjusting his cowl and shoving his goggles over his eyes. "So let's do this thing."
---------------
The white light slowly formed into two man-shaped figures and Junior had to fight to stay still as Question had instructed. It was working. It was finally working!
"Da--" Junior started excitedly, recognizing his dads' faces, then abruptly cut himself off as he realized that what he was seeing wasn't a trick of the light.
It was his dads...but not as he recognized them. Their hair was different, for one thing. And they looked.... Something wasn't right. It wasn't them.
It was reflexes honed through practice and practical application that had his dart gun out and aimed at them so quickly, while his mind whirled with possibilities.
"I can think of about three explanations for this," Junior said, even as his mind presented him with more. "So you better start first."
-----
Mullet-verse handbook/guide. (AKA "Are you as lost as I am?")
[ETA of chapter the second: plotted, just needs to be written]
Never-the-less! I walked down to my local library where they have computers with intarweb access. Sure there's a time limit, and people walking around all over who could look over your shoulder at any given time, and a time limit, and people on phones, and of course the time limit, and that one guy who came up behind me asking if I'd seen his library card, and did I mention the time limit? ...Ahem. Anyway. I managed, during the course of those time limits, to write something vaguely recognizable as a chapter. Then I came home, waited till my mom went to bed, and edited the crap outta it on her computer. ;) This is the result.
Tentative title is still "Little Boy Blue." Damn that song and its ability to make me sentimental.
Beta by Saint alba_aulbath the Patient.
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 }->
~1st Chapter
Landing lightly in the shadows of the alley, Goldie looked around. Her normal blindingly gold suit had been forgone in favor of just her flight ring. Her wrist blasters were stuffed in a pocket just in case.
The call hadn't been especially clear on anything except that she needed to come get Blue, which had her worried.
She stepped into the light, hands in her pockets clutching the blasters, then abruptly jerked to a halt. In front of her, at close enough to eye level that she wouldn't have to lecture about the difference between breasts and eyes, were a pair of eyes.
The eyes blinked at her, then motioned toward a nearby door and retracted into it.
The door opened as she got closer and Luke peered out at her. He looked nervous.
"Hey, Goldie," he said. "I am...so sorry. I--"
"Louie, where's Blue?" Goldie asked with false pleasantness.
"Goldie? Goldie!" Blue flung the door open and pushed past Louie. Taking a few steps forward, he threw his arms around her and leaned heavily on her.
"What the--Ugh! Blue, you reek of booze!"
Louie winced, more than a non-meta would probably be capable of. "I swear, if I'da known he couldn't hold his liquor I woulda cut him off sooner."
"He usually drinks wine," Goldie said absently, shifting her grip on Blue as he pressed his face against her neck, humming tunelessly. Catching sight of Louie's raised eyebrow Goldie rolled her eyes. "He says it tastes like raisins."
Louie snorted and they shared a knowing look.
Grunting softly as Blue slumped and she had to hold more of his weight, Goldie frowned at Luke. "How'd he get like this, anyway?"
"Er...a little friendly competition?"
Goldie narrowed her eyes at him. "With who?"
Louie smiled sheepishly as his ears morphed into the familiar forms of a specific set of stylized wings.
"A speedster?" Goldie demanded, jostling Blue irritably. "You were doing shots with a speedster? Of all the boneheaded-- You know they've got scary-fast metabolisms! What the hell possessed you to--"
Pressing a finger to her lips, Blue shushed her quietly, eyes darting around. "There's evil afoot, old chum," he whispered. Then he suddenly flung an arm out, wobbling on his feet. "To the Beetle-mobile!" He burst out laughing and hung from her shoulder with one arm.
"Oh god, not this again."
"Ever since that parallel universe he got sent to," Louie sighed.
"His first week back I swear I was ready to sock him if he called me 'chum' again," Goldie muttered, wrapping her arms around Blue.
"I got chills when he said Batman was a swell guy there," Louie said, shivering melodramatically as comical goosebumps briefly rose all over him. "Of course that was before...."
"The pre-human Batman days?" Goldie smiled at him. "You're good people, Lu. Thanks for calling me."
An exaggerated blush rose on Luke's face as he shuffled his feet, then he winked at her. "No problem, Goldie. See ya later." He waved as she rose into the air, carrying her partner.
"Woo! I'm king of the world!" Blue flung his arms out and Goldie had to shift her grip quickly to avoid dropping him.
"Swear to god, Blue, I'm gonna burn that damn movie," she muttered as she maneuvered them up through Bug's open hatch.
"Aw." Blue leaned over and gave her cheek a sloppy kiss. "Y'wouldn't do that." His eyes darted from side to side, then he whispered, "I'll tell ya a seeecret."
"Oh yeah?" Goldie asked, dumping him into one of Bug's seats. "What's that?"
Blue put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Can't tell anyone."
Rolling her eyes as she took the controls, Goldie promised, "I won't tell anyone."
"Even you?"
"Huh?"
"Y'gotta keep it to yerself, but y'can't keep it to y'rself. Can't tell yourself. Keep it a secret."
Goldie stared at him. "Oookaaay."
"I'm gonna marry you some day," Blue said, beaming at her.
Goldie continued to stare at him. "That's...." She shook her head. "So why do we always deny we're together when people ask?"
"'Cause we aren't." Blue gave her a look that indicated she should've known that. "It's...it's tradition."
Smiling, Goldie turned her attention to the control panel in front of her. "You and your traditions," she murmured affectionately.
"See...if we wait? Then...then.... When we do get together?" Blue spread his hands and smiled brilliantly. "Happy ever after. Just like my folks have."
Goldie opened her mouth to reply, but Blue had already slumped unconsciously in the chair, a soft snore gurgling from his open mouth. Smiling, she reached over and gently petted his hair. "Yeah," she said wistfully, her vision going watery. "They sure did."
---------------
"Blue Beetle."
Junior grinned, recognizing the voice. "And a good day to you too, tall, dark, and batty. I thought your shift wasn't for another hour."
"I'm here to talk to you," Batman replied, striding forward to stand next to his chair in the monitor room.
Raising an eyebrow behind the opaque yellow of his goggles, Junior said, "Oh?"
"You need to let them go," Batman said quietly, dropping a companionable hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, I don't make up the duty rosters--" he started.
"Your parents, Blue," Batman interrupted, hand tightening on his shoulder. "They're gone, let it go. Booster and Beetle were good people but--"
"You're right," Junior said cheerfully.
"What?"
"They are gone," Junior agreed, then looked up at him and frowned. "Gone. Not dead. There's a difference. Gone means you find 'em, dead means you find a spell."
Batman sighed and dropped his hand. "I'm telling you this as a friend. You're displaying a worrying level of obsession. And it could be dangerous to your mental health."
"Funny thing, my dads always get scary-competent when they're nuts," Junior replied blithely. "Maybe they passed that on to me."
"Goldie's worried about you."
"Goldie bet me I'd get myself killed trying to find my folks." Junior smirked at him. "That's one dollar I intend to win."
"Junior...." Batman sighed.
"Tim," Junior countered sternly. "Does this conversation have anything to do with monitor duty?"
"No."
"Is it helping me find my dads?"
"...No."
"Theeen why are we having it?" Junior smiled cheerfully at him. "I'll see you in forty-five minutes for shift change, Batman."
Sighing once more, the Dark Knight turned and strode towards the door.
"Oh, and Bats?" Junior called after him.
Batman stopped at the door and waited.
"You lose points for using Goldie against me."
---------------
It was a simple request, even if tinged with desperation. It called for a simple response.
"Why me?" was all the faceless man asked, staring up into the expressionless yellow goggles of the third man to call himself Blue Beetle.
Hanging upside-down from a fire escape, Junior smiled hopefully. "Because you're a nice guy who I know would be willing to help out a pal?"
The Question made a sound to indicate he didn't believe him.
Junior sighed and grabbed hold of a metal bar so he could swing down into the alley. Brushing his gloves off on his suit as he straightened from his landing, he turned to face the Question again. "Okay, because no one's sure what you have, just that it works," he said quietly. "And so far nothing else has. Just...please?"
Question sighed. "Would it be too cliche to say I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Just cliche enough, I think."
"I'll help," Question muttered. "Despite my misgivings."
Junior grinned.
---------------
The paisley-shaded dancing lights faded away into failed nothingness, leaving behind only a faint scent of burnt hair.
"What? No! You...you got a feel for them, didn't you?" Junior's Blue Beetle cowl was off and his goggles had been shoved onto his forehead. "They're out there somewhere. You felt them, didn't you?"
Question stared expressionlessly at the pleading blue eyes. "I felt something," he corrected.
"Something's better than nothing," Junior countered.
Question leaned against the table and sighed. "A crumb isn't the same as a cookie."
"It gives us something to shoot for. We'll figure it out. We can do this."
His expression was fierce as he said determinedly, "We will do this."
---------------
"Are you sure about this?" Question asked slowly, cocking his head and pointedly not calling the man a lunatic.
"Look, it's...blood is good for this kind of thing, right?" Junior asked, fidgeting. "Well I'm their blood. So you use me to find them."
"Blood is powerful, yes," Question agreed. "But also dangerous. Are you sure you--Why am I asking? Of course you're sure." He sighed in resignation. "Even knowing all the possible consequences you would probably still be sure you wanted to continue this ill-advised crap shoot into the time-space continuum."
Junior bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment, then turned and took something from a desk drawer. "And I thought maybe if you needed a power boost, you could try this," he said, holding up an amulet that looked suspiciously like a blue scarab.
"Is that...?"
"Yep," Junior replied, adjusting his cowl and shoving his goggles over his eyes. "So let's do this thing."
---------------
The white light slowly formed into two man-shaped figures and Junior had to fight to stay still as Question had instructed. It was working. It was finally working!
"Da--" Junior started excitedly, recognizing his dads' faces, then abruptly cut himself off as he realized that what he was seeing wasn't a trick of the light.
It was his dads...but not as he recognized them. Their hair was different, for one thing. And they looked.... Something wasn't right. It wasn't them.
It was reflexes honed through practice and practical application that had his dart gun out and aimed at them so quickly, while his mind whirled with possibilities.
"I can think of about three explanations for this," Junior said, even as his mind presented him with more. "So you better start first."
-----
Mullet-verse handbook/guide. (AKA "Are you as lost as I am?")
[ETA of chapter the second: plotted, just needs to be written]