A DC Short Story, Part One
Gotham City...beautiful, isolated, prosperous. But Gotham City was also dangerous. Though I didn't realize it when I moved there with my friend Steve, Gotham City was paradise not only for the honest, adventurous, and hardworking, but also for the greedy, uncouth, and villainous. We found ourselves in a large condo for good price, and were able to find jobs quickly. Steve found himself working at a restaurant called "The Tater House," while I found work in my normal venue: a bakery. Things went well in the first few months. The jobs paid us enough that we were never without the necessary things, like power and food. I even managed to buy my dream car, a Stingray. I wasn't able to insure it yet, but at least I had it. I didn't mind walking a mile or so to work, when it paid so damn well. However, things changed one night after work. It was about 10:00, maybe 10:20, and I was almost home, when I heard voices talking in an alley. They were saying something about some "weapon." It made me uneasy, so I decided to take a peek.
There were two men, one of whom was dressed in a metal suit, with a face mask, half black and half red. He spoke in a voice which was deep, smug, mocking, and a little bored. The other man was hidden by the shadows too much for me to notice any distinguishing traits or clothing. Metal man was saying, "...do realize the potential this weapon has, do you not? And you will take this into account, yes? We don't want to destroy the city, only conquer it." The man in the shadows waved off his remarks, looking only like a silhouette, while saying, "Yes, of course. Leave it all to me." I began to back away, thinking that maybe I shouldn't get involved, but metal man had different plans for me. He'd already noticed me, and moved amazingly fast. He was in front of me in a matter of seconds, with his fist in my gut. "Can't have you snitching, can we?" he asked. As I gasped for breath, I was surprised to hear a loud smashing sound. Looking up, I saw metal man struggling to rise, among the smashed bricks of a nearby wall.
Next to me stood a large breasted blonde girl, in a white tee and blue jean shorts. The tee-shirt has a S inside of a diamond looking shape. I straightened and looked around. 'I must really have been out of it', I thought, because the girl had seemed to appear so suddenly. A bit away stood a man with a bow, in a Robin Hood looking outfit. A moment later, a man dropped down from above. He was dressed in all black, his headgear resembling a bat, and he wore a cape. Metal man finally rose, and said, "Well, well well. Batman, what a pleasant surprise. Fortunately for you and the chunky kid, I've got an appointment to keep. Farewell for now." He threw down a smoke bomb, and fled. I coughed at the sudden smoke, saying "Ah, what the fuck." Batman chuckled, and spoke into a device he pulled from his belt. "Manhunter, this is Batman. We need an evac, and escort for a civilian to base. Slade is in town. This guy might know something, Slade was trying to kill him when we got here." His voice was deep and gruff, somewhat intimidating and badass.
The blonde girl with the big breasts smiled and said, "We'll take you somewhere safe." Robin Hood nodded and added, "We'll need you to tell us anything you might know, if you don't mind." I blinked, and looked at them wthout speaking. Who the hell were these people? Within a few minutes, some more people in costumes arrived, and said they would cover us as we left. And then the blonde girl picked me up, as if I were styrofoam, and began to FLY away with me, as Robin Hood and Batman followed. We were met by a flying transport vehicle, which I'd never seen before, and it flew us into orbit, and into a base above the planet. I was a little freaked out by all of the recent events. Everything was happening way too fast, and so far nobody was explaining anything to me. They lead me somewhere inside, I got lost past the first few turns. I've always been bad at directions. As they led me down the halls and through rooms, I noticed that along with some normal looking people, were a whole lot of other people dressed in costumes and uniforms.
The blonde girl with the boobs waved to a man as we passed him. He was wearing blue and red spandex, with a symbol just like hers on his uniform. He also had swirly hair, and a red cape. Batman motioned for him to follow, and Swirly Hair fell into the group. Soon after, we reached our destination, a modestly furnished room, with a table and some chairs, and a man inside. His skin was green and he wore a black cloaky uniform, with an elvis collar. Green Elvis smiled in a friendly way at me, and said, "Please, sit. We'll begin the meeting." I sat at the large table and the others all followed suit. "What is this all about? Who are you guys? And how the hell can she fly," I asked, while pointing at the blonde with the boobs.
Green Elvis said, "That is Supergirl. Her powers give her super speed and strength, and the ability to fly, among other things. She has the same powers as Superman there." He gestured towards Swirly Hair. 'Superman? Sounds lame,' I thought. Supergirl wasn't much better, but at least she was easy on the eyes, and seemed friendly. Superman just seemed uptight so far. "I am known as Martian Manhunter, though many shorten it to Manhunter," Green Elvis continued. "These two are known as Batman and Green Arrow. All of us here, and some that are away, form an organization called The Justice League. We are striving to put an end to the evils on Earth." A league for heroes? That didn't sound too bad to me. "As to why you're here, it's because you may have witnessed something important. Slade would likely not have bothered with you otherwise." I shrugged in response. I really didn't think what I'd heard had any importance. But since they'd gone to the trouble to bring me here, I could've been wrong.
"He was talking about some weapon, and how he wanted to conquer Gotham," I said. "I didn't hear what the weapon was, but he was saying it had a lot of potential. He told the other guy that he only wanted to conquer the city, not destroy it. You sure this Slade guy isn't just some nutjob?" Manhunter shook his head. "Afraid not. Slade is a very dangerous criminal, and to underestimate him would be a serious mistake. I'm sorry, but for the time being, you'll need to stay here, for your own safety. Please understand." I grunted, signalling that I did indeed understand, but wasn't happy about it. "You'll have an escort each day, until you return to your room and sleep," he continued. "It will not always be the same person,and if you have any problems with any of them, I want you to let me know, and it will be taken care of." I was a little surprised at that. An escort was just their way of saying 'bodyguard', at least that was how I took it. I wasn't far off, either.
As it turned out, Supergirl was assigned to me first, that night, to show me to my room, and the next day. She showed me what the various devices and controls did, making very sure to show me how to contact Martian Manhunter. She made me repeat the instructions back to her, and then test it on my own. Manhunter was quite pleased that Supergirl had showed me how to contact him immediately, since he'd forgotten to pass those instructions on to me. She told me that her name was Kara, since it was wierd to keep calling her Supergirl. (At least to me.) After that, she left and I went to sleep. I was awoken the next morning by a chime, which, after a few moments, I realized was the doorbell. Supergirl's voice came through a speaker as I rose from the bed to get dressed. "Hey Nick, get up, we've got things to do." I grunted a reply as I got dressed, not realizing at first that she couldn't hear me. Her voice came through again, in an overly sweet tone, as she said, "Oh Niiiick, wake up Nick. If you don't I'll have to break the door down."
Quickly realizing the problem, I rushed over to the intercom and pushed the button, saying, "I'm up, I'm up. Let me get dressed." I heard a giggle from the other side of the door as I resumed dressing. I then exited the room, looking at her in slight annoyance as I said, "So what's the big rush?" She smiled and replied, "Well, first we need to get breakfast, then I need to give you a tour and introduce you to some people." I sighed in disappointment. That was all she wanted? I'd been hoping that it was important, but it sounded boring. "Alright," I replied, "let's get going, then." She made an affirmative noise and obligingly led me to the breakfast hall, which was not surprisingly filled with costumed heroes. The food wasn't bad, as it turned out. They offered a large variety of breakfast foods, most of which seemed appetizing to me. I chose to eat a fairly simple omelette, eating quickly and fairly quietly.
Afterwards, she led me through a series of hallways, and into a small lounge, which had a fridge and some games in it, along with a group of people sitting at a large table. Supergirl motioned for me to sit, which I did, and then sat next to me. "These are the Titans," she explained. "The guy in the black over there is called Nightwing, and he'll be escorting you tomorrow. Next to him is Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and finally Changeling." I looked at them all, sizing them up. Nightwing looked like he'd taken a lot of design pointers from Batman, though he wasn't as old. Starfire was a cute redhead with long hair, dressed in purple, with metal bracers. Cyborg was a black guy who looked exactly like his name. He was a cyborg, a human with machines grafted to his skin. Raven was a black haired girl with pale skin, who was dressed in a dark blue cloak and hood. I couldn't clearly tell her hair length. I thought she was hot. Changeling was a green haired guy, who really didn't seem that unordinary aside from his skin. It was also green. "Nice to meet you all," I said to them. I was answered by a chorus of slightly different answers from most of them, and a nod from Raven, who remained silent. The next hour and a half was spent getting acquainted with the Titans. Nightwing preferred to spend a large majority of his spare time training, but also enjoyed video games and a variety of other quite normal things, such as movies. Changeling and Cyborg both shared interests with Nightwing when it came to video games and movies. And while Cyborgs interests veered towards the techie side, Changeling's interests were in the direction of the kitchen. He enjoyed cooking, particularly with unusual ingredients. Starfire also enjoyed cooking, but her tastes were even stranger than Changelings. Although, she had been learning 'Earth cooking,' as she proudly told me. She also enjoyed stuffed animals, and all things happy, shiny, and cute. Raven turned out to be just as she looked, very dark and mysterious. She enjoyed meditating and reading, and generally didn't like to get into the excitement. It seemed we shared a common interest in authors to some extent, and she recommended a few books to me.
By the time Supergirl pulled me away from the group, I had warmed up to them, and was no longer looking for escape routes. Not that I could've gotten past them anyways, but that's not the point. I was actually a bit reluctant to leave them, but I did as Supergirl asked, and followed her along the twisty corridors of the base. We ended up back at the command room, where Martian Manhunter was waiting. There were no chairs in this room, so I just stood next to Supergirl as she discussed the day so far with Manhunter, and they talked about what I should do for the remainder of the day. He was very approving of my schedule so far, and expressed a desire for me to meet more of the superheroes, and to more specifically spend more time with those who would escort me. Supergirl readily agreed to this, and I found myself once again being led through the base. Eventually, Supergirl stopped at a door and rang the doorbell. The door was soon opened by Batman, and we were let in. Supergirl explained to him, (And therefore me as well) that she thought it would be beneficial to me to learn a bit about him, since he had been one of my rescuers. Batman motioned for us to sit, and we both found seats. "What made you start doing this kind of stuff," I asked him. He didn't hesitate with his answer. "I thought it was time for someone to give the scum a taste of the fear that they force on others." I nodded, not able to disagree with that. "Do you have any powers," I asked. He shook his head. "No. I utilize a variety of technological weapons and stealth techniques. I am also quite adept at hand to hand fighting." He leaned forward a bit before continuing. "If you're planning on doing something, don't. Slade can kill you before you blink. That night we found you, we were all lucky. You were lucky we were so close. We were lucky Slade didn't want you enough to fight. I know you take it personally, him trying to kill you, but don't. You're not important to Slade. What you heard is. You were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time." He paused briefly. "Look, nobody wants to be nobody. But not everyone can be someone in this kind of situation. Just try to stay out of the way." He got up and left. I was a bit shocked, honestly. I'd never planned on being a hero, but I'd also never thought someone could so coldly tell me I was nothing to anyone. Let alone a hero.
Supergirl cleared her throat after a moment, causing me to look up at her. "Don't take it personally. Batman is very blunt. Let's get you back to your room for now." I nodded, and followed her back, grateful for her kindness. When I arrived back at my room, she said "I'll leave you alone for now. If you need me, call me. I'll be around. Oh. I have news. Your roommate. We picked him up this morning, for safekeeping. If you want to talk to him, you can call him too." She smiled, waved, and left. I thought about what she'd just said. Steve was here? I turned on the computer and looked up Steve, but didn't activate the calling system. I didn't want to speak to anyone anyways. I switched it off after a moment and just went to bed. I woke the next day to the now more familiar chime of the doorbell. I dressed quickly and opened the door. Nightwing stood there, looking none too pleased. "Come on, let's get going. We've got places to be," he said. I silently followed him to the large cafeteria, and ate breakfast. Afterwards, as we walked through the halls, he spoke again. "Look, I'm going to tell you honestly. I don't like who you are. You're out of shape, you barely know what's going on, and I think we're wasting time keeping you here. If things were different, and if you were different, I wouldn't be saying this. But this is the way things are. But regardless, I'll do my job. I hope you can do yours." I inwardly sighed, and replied, "Yes, I know. Stay out of the way." Nightwing nodded and led me to where the other Titans were. I stayed in a chair off to the side while they discussed things, until Starfire approached me. "Friend Nick, why do you stay alone over here," she asked. She looked confused, and a bit sad. "It's what I'm supposed to do, isn't it," I responded. She shook her head vigorously, and said, "I would never wish for you to be alone. Please, join us." She grabbed my hand and led me over to the others. I stood there, feeling awkward, while Nightwing looked annoyed. Starfire looked over at him, saying "Nightwing, I have brought our friend Nick to join us. Let us rejoice at the company of our new friend!" After a moment, Nightwing chuckled and said "Alright, alright. Have it your way, Starfire."
The rest of the day wasn't so bad, though I couldn't quite shake my depression at the words of Batman and Nightwing. I cooked lunch with Changeling, then sat and talked with Raven for a while. She even started showing me how to meditate, much to Starfire's approval, who said it "is of much use to friend Raven." It did seem to help me relax, and so I gladly accepted her offers for continued lessons, before we were gathered up for a movie. "Robot Revolution," Cyborg declared happily. I liked robots, and the movie, while sort of cheesy, was decent enough, though I was a bit nervous the whole time. Mostly because Raven and Starfire were sitting on either side of me. I relaxed gradually throughout the movie, but not completely. After the movie was over, Cyborg and Nightwing began a heated battle of some sort in a fighting game. Raven departed to meditate, and I joined her, though she made it clear she was not resuming my lesson today. Nevertheless, I attempted to meditate along with her, if for no other reason than I found her company enjoyable. This in itself seemed to make the meditation easier, and I thought I was doing well until Changeling and Starfire burst into the room, announcing that it was dinner time. I was a bit surprised that time had passed so quickly, but given all the events earlier, I came to the conclusion that I hadn't actually been meditating for more than half an hour. Changeling had cooked what he aptly named ToBeefy Mac. It was an enjoyable meal, even though it was very simple. After dinner was done, Nightwing announced that he was taking me back to my room. Changeling and Cyborg gave a loud goodbye, while Starfire hugged me tightly while doing the same. It was a bit awkward, but nice. Raven softly bid me farewell, telling me to remember what she'd shown me. I told her I would, and thanked her. Nightwing then took me through the corridors, leading me back to my room.