Mullet-verse robo-love...sorta.
Title: Again For The First Time
Fandom: Justice League
Characters: Junior, Goldie, Max, L-Ron
Word Count: 1175
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: For anyone wondering how Max and L-Ron met again for the first time. Title subject to...existing after I think about it. change if I think of something better.
Again For The First Time
"Hey, that guy looks kinda, like, familiar."
"The blond guy?"
"Nooo, the metal guy."
Goldie's eyebrows lifted and she glanced over the back of their booth. "Huh. You're right, he does look kinda familiar."
Nodding, Junior stole more of Max's fries. Max didn't object, because technically they were Junior's, they were just sitting in front of him to make it look like he was eating. Besides, he was too busy realizing that the faint buzz in his mind was the presence of another AI. Turning to look over his shoulder, he gasped and suddenly ducked under the table.
There was silence from above before Junior and Goldie simultaneously, from opposite sides of the table, glanced under the table at him. Max refused to acknowledge the looks they were giving him, which suggested they thought he had spontaneously gone loopy.
"Max, I don't think he's an evil robot," Junior said slowly. "And anyway, I don't think you'd have to, like, worry about that."
Wrapping his arms around his knees, Max dropped his forehead onto them and groaned. Evil wasn't what he was worried about.
To his shock, at the sight of the short robot, covered in metal the color of phosphor bronze and with an intriguingly wedge-shaped head, a sudden, intense feeling of lust had hit him. The feeling itself was almost entirely unfamiliar to him. AIs were few and far between on Earth and, apparently, they were the only beings he found attractive.
It was a very depressing thing to learn about one's self, especially if you happened to be a teenage boy.
Now a few years older and wiser, though still a teen, Max clung to the sensation. Calling to memory the image of the small AI sweeping up straw wrappers and spilled french fries, Max savored it. Somehow it seemed wrong that such an amazing specimen of robotics was cleaning up after meatsacks.
"Max?" Junior nudged him with his foot.
Max grunted. "Go away. Thinking."
"Your hologram's hooked to whatever it is," Goldie pointed out, grinning. "You're blushing."
Max lifted his head sharply to stare at her in surprise. Damn the responsiveness of his hologram--Wait. "No it's not."
"No, but you thought it might be." Her grin was smug. He hated her. And Junior. Both of them. Stupid, squishy meatsacks.
"Huh? Oh! Ohhh." Junior's grin was more like a leer. "Why don't you go, like, say 'hi'?"
"I hate you both," Max informed them, voice flat. "When the robot revolution comes, your bones will be used to build me a computer chair."
They just snickered. Max made a face at them and slid out from under the table, taking note that the AI was no longer sweeping, or visible. "I'm going to the bathroom. I still hate you both."
"Love you too, Max!" Junior chirped. A look of confusion crossed his face, then. "Wait, you don't--"
Max was through the door of the men's restroom before Junior could finish pointing out that, with Max's physiology, nothing in the bathroom could really interest him. The stall, to be alone, to contemplate the fact that someone existed in the world who he found sexually attractive, was what interested Max.
Instead of alone-time, he got the AI.
"Yah!" Max yelped, jumping back and hitting his head on the door.
The AI's wedge head tilted toward him, mop still moving over the floor. Somehow it hadn't occurred to Max that not seeing the robot sweeping anymore meant that it was probably in another part of the establishment, and that that part was potentially the bathroom.
"I apologize, sir," it said. "Just mopping up. I'll be done in a minute."
Max suddenly got two impressions from it: That it was male, and that he was trying to make himself less obtrusive because he thought Max was reacting to his inhuman appearance.
"Oh, no," Max croaked, then cleared his throat. Both vocalizations were unnecessary, but he had been human for a long time and it was difficult to break the habit, especially when he frequently still had to give the impression that he was human. "Uh, no. No, that's okay. I...you're fine." A rapid nod accompanied his words.
The robot stared at him for a minute. Max got the impression of a raised eyebrow. Somehow. Despite the lack of eyebrows. Or eyes. Or really anything in the way of human facial characteristics.
His nametag introduced him as "HI! I'm Ron".
"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, you look familiar."
That "sir" sent an unusual thrill through him that Max tried to ignore. There were more important things to pay attention to. ...Such as the way the bathroom light shone off Ron, or the exact timbre of his voice, which Max was recording for future reference.
"I get that sometimes," Max mumbled. More now that his appearance was closing in on adult...and what the late Maxwell Lord had once looked like. He stuck out a hand, irritation at the man he would never be again making him bold. "I'm Max."
Even without eyes, the sudden jerk and tilt of Ron's head gave the distinct impression that if he had them, they would be wide. "My Lord Maxwell?"
There was disbelief in his voice, as well as awe. And...was that hope?
"Smith," Max blurted. "Max Smith."
"...I wouldn't tell anyone if it were really you, sir," Ron said quietly, leaning the mop against a sink. He stepped closer and took Max's still-extended hand, peering up at him. Yes, it was definitely hope.
"You wouldn't tell anyone a murderer and madman was still alive and well?" Max snapped, realizing even as he said it that he was giving himself away.
Ron shook his head. "It wasn't you, sir. It couldn't have been." He still had Max's hand in his. Now he tilted his head to look at it curiously. Turning it over, palm upward, he touched it with his other hand. His voice was almost a whisper as he said, "Hologram..."
Suddenly, not sure why he was doing it but knowing he wanted Ron to know the truth, Max dropped his hologram. Silver gleamed harshly under the bathroom lights and Max narrowed his softly-glowing eyes.
"Yes," he replied.
There was silence in the bathroom, broken only by an occasional drip. Ron stared up at him. Max stared back.
Finally, Ron said, "I won't tell anyone...my lord."
The sensation was similar to lust, but just slightly different. It almost tasted like what he felt toward his family, though he had never wanted to melt his nanites into Junior and lick the electrical impulses of his thoughts like he wanted to do with Ron.
Max decided he liked the feeling, and maybe if he spent more time with Ron he could put a name to it.
"I'm not the man you knew," he said quietly, flipping his hologram back up.
The tilt of Ron's head indicated a smile. "I think I would like to get to know the man you are now, your chromatophorousness."
Max smiled back. "I'd like that."
Fandom: Justice League
Characters: Junior, Goldie, Max, L-Ron
Word Count: 1175
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: For anyone wondering how Max and L-Ron met again for the first time. Title subject to...existing after I think about it. change if I think of something better.
Again For The First Time
"Hey, that guy looks kinda, like, familiar."
"The blond guy?"
"Nooo, the metal guy."
Goldie's eyebrows lifted and she glanced over the back of their booth. "Huh. You're right, he does look kinda familiar."
Nodding, Junior stole more of Max's fries. Max didn't object, because technically they were Junior's, they were just sitting in front of him to make it look like he was eating. Besides, he was too busy realizing that the faint buzz in his mind was the presence of another AI. Turning to look over his shoulder, he gasped and suddenly ducked under the table.
There was silence from above before Junior and Goldie simultaneously, from opposite sides of the table, glanced under the table at him. Max refused to acknowledge the looks they were giving him, which suggested they thought he had spontaneously gone loopy.
"Max, I don't think he's an evil robot," Junior said slowly. "And anyway, I don't think you'd have to, like, worry about that."
Wrapping his arms around his knees, Max dropped his forehead onto them and groaned. Evil wasn't what he was worried about.
To his shock, at the sight of the short robot, covered in metal the color of phosphor bronze and with an intriguingly wedge-shaped head, a sudden, intense feeling of lust had hit him. The feeling itself was almost entirely unfamiliar to him. AIs were few and far between on Earth and, apparently, they were the only beings he found attractive.
It was a very depressing thing to learn about one's self, especially if you happened to be a teenage boy.
Now a few years older and wiser, though still a teen, Max clung to the sensation. Calling to memory the image of the small AI sweeping up straw wrappers and spilled french fries, Max savored it. Somehow it seemed wrong that such an amazing specimen of robotics was cleaning up after meatsacks.
"Max?" Junior nudged him with his foot.
Max grunted. "Go away. Thinking."
"Your hologram's hooked to whatever it is," Goldie pointed out, grinning. "You're blushing."
Max lifted his head sharply to stare at her in surprise. Damn the responsiveness of his hologram--Wait. "No it's not."
"No, but you thought it might be." Her grin was smug. He hated her. And Junior. Both of them. Stupid, squishy meatsacks.
"Huh? Oh! Ohhh." Junior's grin was more like a leer. "Why don't you go, like, say 'hi'?"
"I hate you both," Max informed them, voice flat. "When the robot revolution comes, your bones will be used to build me a computer chair."
They just snickered. Max made a face at them and slid out from under the table, taking note that the AI was no longer sweeping, or visible. "I'm going to the bathroom. I still hate you both."
"Love you too, Max!" Junior chirped. A look of confusion crossed his face, then. "Wait, you don't--"
Max was through the door of the men's restroom before Junior could finish pointing out that, with Max's physiology, nothing in the bathroom could really interest him. The stall, to be alone, to contemplate the fact that someone existed in the world who he found sexually attractive, was what interested Max.
Instead of alone-time, he got the AI.
"Yah!" Max yelped, jumping back and hitting his head on the door.
The AI's wedge head tilted toward him, mop still moving over the floor. Somehow it hadn't occurred to Max that not seeing the robot sweeping anymore meant that it was probably in another part of the establishment, and that that part was potentially the bathroom.
"I apologize, sir," it said. "Just mopping up. I'll be done in a minute."
Max suddenly got two impressions from it: That it was male, and that he was trying to make himself less obtrusive because he thought Max was reacting to his inhuman appearance.
"Oh, no," Max croaked, then cleared his throat. Both vocalizations were unnecessary, but he had been human for a long time and it was difficult to break the habit, especially when he frequently still had to give the impression that he was human. "Uh, no. No, that's okay. I...you're fine." A rapid nod accompanied his words.
The robot stared at him for a minute. Max got the impression of a raised eyebrow. Somehow. Despite the lack of eyebrows. Or eyes. Or really anything in the way of human facial characteristics.
His nametag introduced him as "HI! I'm Ron".
"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, you look familiar."
That "sir" sent an unusual thrill through him that Max tried to ignore. There were more important things to pay attention to. ...Such as the way the bathroom light shone off Ron, or the exact timbre of his voice, which Max was recording for future reference.
"I get that sometimes," Max mumbled. More now that his appearance was closing in on adult...and what the late Maxwell Lord had once looked like. He stuck out a hand, irritation at the man he would never be again making him bold. "I'm Max."
Even without eyes, the sudden jerk and tilt of Ron's head gave the distinct impression that if he had them, they would be wide. "My Lord Maxwell?"
There was disbelief in his voice, as well as awe. And...was that hope?
"Smith," Max blurted. "Max Smith."
"...I wouldn't tell anyone if it were really you, sir," Ron said quietly, leaning the mop against a sink. He stepped closer and took Max's still-extended hand, peering up at him. Yes, it was definitely hope.
"You wouldn't tell anyone a murderer and madman was still alive and well?" Max snapped, realizing even as he said it that he was giving himself away.
Ron shook his head. "It wasn't you, sir. It couldn't have been." He still had Max's hand in his. Now he tilted his head to look at it curiously. Turning it over, palm upward, he touched it with his other hand. His voice was almost a whisper as he said, "Hologram..."
Suddenly, not sure why he was doing it but knowing he wanted Ron to know the truth, Max dropped his hologram. Silver gleamed harshly under the bathroom lights and Max narrowed his softly-glowing eyes.
"Yes," he replied.
There was silence in the bathroom, broken only by an occasional drip. Ron stared up at him. Max stared back.
Finally, Ron said, "I won't tell anyone...my lord."
The sensation was similar to lust, but just slightly different. It almost tasted like what he felt toward his family, though he had never wanted to melt his nanites into Junior and lick the electrical impulses of his thoughts like he wanted to do with Ron.
Max decided he liked the feeling, and maybe if he spent more time with Ron he could put a name to it.
"I'm not the man you knew," he said quietly, flipping his hologram back up.
The tilt of Ron's head indicated a smile. "I think I would like to get to know the man you are now, your chromatophorousness."
Max smiled back. "I'd like that."