Author Notes: The last time I wrote a DC fanfic was years ago, when I wrote the fanfic "The Choices That Were Made." I've decided to jump back into the DC world after a long leave of absence. I'm hoping to write a string of fics putting our beloved DC characters in famous storylines that we know and love. That's what I've done here. This fic is completely AU and is based on the movie Moulin Rouge. Please remember that I wrote this from memory so it won't be exactly like the movie, but it should be close. I hope everyone enjoys imagining their favorite characters in roles that they would never be in. The writing style in this one is sort of childish, but that's only because in the movie, Ewan's character told the story in a very simple, childish manner. Hope you enjoy!
******
The night was beginning to fall on Paris, France. Jack McPhee, a strange, loud, and humorous dwarf, a pure child of the Bohemian revolution, sat atop one of the tallest buildings in the city. A building only a few blocks from his former home, the Moulin Rouge. Tears filled his eyes, as they always did when he thought about the events of the weeks past. He knew he had to let go of the emotions that were bottling up inside of him. So he did so, the way one special person had taught him to in the not so distant past. He began to sing.
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far, very far
.Over land and sea.
A little shy…
He thought of that boy, the boy who had became a man by the story's end. His heart ached for him. He knew that the boy was feeling a pain he didn't understand, one he hopefully would never experience himself. The boy, Pacey Witter, was perhaps the luckiest and most unlucky person he had ever encountered in his life. The one person who made him ponder one of the worlds greatest questions… Jack spoke aloud, "Is it better to have and loved and lost, than to never of loved at all?" He took a deep breath…and continued to sing…
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And we spoke of many things…
Fools and kings,
This he said to me
…Jack remembered what he said…Perhaps the most insightful, genius thing he had ever heard…
The greatest thing…
You'll ever learn.
Is just to love…
And be loved…
In return.
His mind quickly relived the story that he had the pleasure and the pain of being apart of. A tale of love, a tale of jealousy…a tale that should only be told…but never lived. A tale that could have only happened in one place…The Moulin Rouge.
********
The Moulin Rouge. A nightclub, a dance hall, was ruled over by Dawson Leery, the king of nighttime pleasures. It was a place where the rich and powerful came to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld. The children of the revolution. The Bohemian Revolution. The revolution that overtook the youth of the world. Everyone was an artist, everyone had a purpose, and everyone believed in the same things.
Beauty. Freedom. Truth. And love.
The most beautiful of these underworld creatures was Josephine Potter. They called her, "The Sparkling Diamond." She was a courtesan. She sold her love to men, and she was the star of the Moulin Rouge. She was the woman Pacey Witter fell in love with.
*******
It was 1899 when Pacey Witter arrived in Paris, France. He knew nothing of the Moulin Rouge, of Dawson Leery, or of Josephine. The world had been swept up in the Bohemian Revolution, and he had traveled to Paris to be apart of it.
His father had tried to discourage him from going. "It's a center of sin!" But as soon as he arrived he had seen that his father's words couldn't have been farther from the truth. "You'll never be a writer Pacey! You screw up too damn much to be anything!"
He would prove his father wrong.
He came to live a penniless existence in the middle of the Revolution. He was amidst artists of all kinds. Painters, actors, musicians, they were all centered in the underworld of Paris. He came there to be a writer. A writer of beauty, freedom, truth, and above all things, love.
There was just one problem. Pacey Witter had never been in love. But, lucky for him, right at that moment an unconscious young man fell through his roof, who was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed a nun. The dwarf spoke as he burst in through Pacey's door.
"How do you do there? My name is Jack Ramón Toulouse LaFrance McPheeee." He held out the last syllable of his last name for emphasis. A bright smile crossed his face as he walked over to the young blonde man who had just fell through Pacey's roof. "I'm terribly sorry about all this. We were just upstairs rehearsing a play."
Pacey could only think of one word to say…"What?!"
"Yes a play! Something very modern called…" The dwarf's hands flew in the air and a charming smile crossed his face…it seemed to Pacey that the dwarf was trying to emphasize how great the play was…"Spectacular Spectacular! And it's set in Switzerland!"
The young dwarf walked to his unconscious friend who was dangling from the ceiling of Pacey's apartment. His foot was still caught on something on the apartment upstairs, leaving him to look like a rather tacky chandelier hanging from the ceiling. "Unfortunately our friend here, Charlie is his name, suffers from an odd disease called narcolepsy. He's awake one minute." Jack made a few snoring sounds for effect, "Then unconscious the next."
Before Pacey could respond, a strange trio looked down upon them from upstairs. "Is he ok?!" Asked a rather loud female, whom he soon came to know as Audrey. She did not seem happy. She seemed rather stressed, as one would be after working with such an odd group of young men. Pacey stared blankly upwards at her, completely lost in the utter confusion around him.
The young woman, Audrey, continued to complain, "Seeing as how the young Bostonian is now unconscious, the scenario will not be finished in time to present to the financier tomorrow." She looked down into apartment at Jack and Pacey, giving them both a look that made it seem she blamed them both for the situation.
Another person, an odd, glasses wearing, top hat sporting, Elton John rip off spoke next. "I still have to finish the music!" Pacey was caught off guard. They all seemed very unprepared for people who were supposedly presenting a show tomorrow.
Jack flashed another smile, as he remained much calmer than his fellow thespians. "We'll just find someone to read the part." His solution seemed simple enough, and all though two of the three people looking down on them seemed to accept it, Audrey wasn't having any of it.
"Where are we going to find someone to read the role of a young, sensitive, Switzerland goat herder?" Pacey unconsciously made eye contact with Jack, and from the very instant he did, he wished that he hadn't of. Before he knew it, he was upstairs, standing in for the unconscious Bostonian.
*****
Pacey sat atop a fake mountain range, wearing a rather silly looking dress hat with a strange yellow feather sticking out of the back of it like a cow lick. Below him, Jack, still dressed as a nun, began to sing. The music behind his lyrics wasn't really music at all…it was a mix of odd sounds and rings…like a mixture of small appliances and cellular telephones all ringing at the same time…
The hills are awake,
With the euphonium symphonies of Vespaaaaaa
Uh ha!
What an absolutely horrid song! Pacey couldn't believe that these people were actually going to present this to someone tomorrow. Apparently, neither could Audrey. "Stop stop!" She ran over to the young Elton John wannabe, Sateese, behind the piano. "Stop the awful music! It's drowning out my words! Can't we just stick to a little decorative piano?" It seemed to Pacey that there were definite artistic differences between Sateese's music and Audrey's words.
That's when all hell broke loose. Pacey could only watch from atop his fake mountain as the group of thespians all started to complain about each and every little detail of their show. It started when the long bearded, quiet, older gentleman of the group said, "I don't think a nun is going to be singing about a hill."
Sateese quickly through in another suggestion, "What if she said, the hills are vital to the toning of the sound?"
Then Jack jumped in, "No! The hills are shaking and quaking!…" The rest was quickly interrupted when Charlie, who was laid peacefully down on a bed across the room, jumped up.
"The hills are alive with symphonic melodies!" Before he could hear everyone's dismissal of his suggestion, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he once again collapsed back onto the bed, asleep.
The group got louder and louder with suggestions and dismissals. As they continued to debate, the perfect combination of words came to Pacey. "The hills are…" He tried to share his suggestion with the group but it was just too loud for him to be heard. He tried again, "The hills are…" Yet again, no one stopped to hear his suggestion. Finally, irritated by the lack of attention, Pacey broke out into song himself. His voice loud enough for everyone on their floor to hear.
The hills are alive…
With the sound of music.
The group was stunned. Pacey's voice was flawless…enchanting. It demanded attention, but was still soft, and gentle enough to be considered beautiful. They all stared blankly at Pacey, who was still on the fake mountain range above them. Before any of them could speak, once again, Charlie jumped off the bed.
This time, he walked towards the group, grunting a word with each slow stomp he took in their direction. "The hills are alive with the sound of music." He looked at them all, and then up to Pacey. "I love it!" Everyone instantly became lost in their own world, singing Pacey's lyrics to themselves, all accepting how perfect they were for the play.
Everyone instantly fell in love with Pacey. Everyone except Audrey, who was visibly jealous over Pacey's natural talent and perfect suggestion. "It fits perfectly!" shouted Sateese from behind his piano, where he was playing the song over and over.
Pacey smiled at the compliments. Never had anything he'd written been so accepted and adored. The words kept flowing to his mind, and he felt no need to stop singing now.
With songs they have sung.
For a thousand years.
A collective gasp came over the group as they instantly fell in love with another one of his suggestions. Jack could barely contain his joy. "It's wonderful!" Jack jumped in the air as he strained his neck to look up at Pacey. Sometimes Jack hated being a midget. He flashed Pacey a smile and looked to Audrey. "Audrey…you two should write the show together." Jack's voice was calm and audibly hesitant, because Jack knew what Audrey's reaction would likely be.
She stared angrily at Jack, furious at his suggestion. Then, with no prior warning, she walked quickly to the door, opened it wide, and only said, "Goodbye!", before slamming it shut behind her.
Jack smiled and picked up his drink from a small table nearby. The green liquid splashed around in his glass as he raised it in a toast towards Pacey. "To your first job in Paris." He smiled and quickly took down the shot.
Sateese, quickly ran over to Jack. "But Jack! Isn't he kind of green?"
Jack only replied with, "The hills are alive with the sound of music." That was all he needed to say. Pacey's talent was undeniable.
Sateese looked up to Pacey. "No offence. But have you ever written anything like this before?"
Pacey was completely lost in what had just happened. Had he just been volunteered for this job? Was he going to have to write a play? "No," was his answer to Sateese's inquiry. He most definitely had not written anything like that before. And he wasn't so sure he could do it again. What if he had to write the play and he couldn't do it? What if it was awful? What if no one liked it? What if it was a failure and his dad was right about him? His mind just kept spinning…
Charlie broke into the conversation. "Ah! The boy has talent!" Charlie walked next to Pacey, who was descending a latter, and through his hands out. "I like him!" Little did Charlie realize, one of his hands had landed directly on Pacey's crotch.
Pacey froze, and his jaw flew open. Charlie turned his head as soon as he noticed that the surface his hand rested on was indeed not the wall. When he noticed where his hand had stopped he quickly pulled it back and looked nervously at his group of friends. "Nothing funny. I just like talent." He gave a nod and then took a few steps away from Pacey.
Jack motioned all of his friends to huddle around him. The excitement was getting to him as he repeated the words. "The hills are alive with the sound of music! With Pacey writing the show we can finally put on a true Bohemian Revolutionary show like we always dreamed of!" Everyone in the group instantly became joyous when they realized the opportunity they had been presented.
Sateese, always the pessimist, interrupted the festive mood. "Yes. But how will we convince Leery?" Little did he know, Jack had a plan.
"Josephine," he replied, and then continued to explain his plan.
They would dress Pacey up in one of the Bostonian's best suits and attempt to pass him off as a famous English writer. And once Josephine had heard his modern poetry, she would be astounded and insist to Leery that Pacey write Spectacular Spectacular.
The only problem was Pacey continued to hear his father's voice in his head. "You're going to waste your life at the Moulin Rouge with some Can-Can dancer!" The thoughts came faster and faster and Pacey was beginning to be overwhelmed. Before anyone could ask what was wrong he quickly ran to the ladder that ran from the floor of their apartment down through the hole in his ceiling. He whined out a simple statement, "No! I can't write a show for the Moulin Rouge!"
The group quickly chased after him, making him stop before he climbed all the way down the ladder. "Why not?" Jack demanded to know, his voice still soothing and calm.
Pacey on the other hand, was neither soothed nor calmed. "I don't even know if I am a true Bohemian Revolutionary!" Another collective gasp fell over the group of thespians.
Jack was the first to question him. "Do you believe in beauty?!"
"Yes."
Charlie followed, banging on of his fists against his chest. "Freedom?!"
"Yes, of course."
Sateese poked his head through the group and stared down at Pacey. "Truth?!"
"Yes." A slight smile came across Pacey's lips. He only wanted to write the truth.
The bearded, still nameless man, chimed in next. "Love?!"
Pacey was caught off guard by the question. Never had anyone wanted him to believe in love. Everyone in his small town of Wilmington, North Carolina called him a fool for believing so blindly in an emotion he had never felt. "Love…love. Above all things I believe in love. Love is like oxygen. Love is a many splendor thing. Love lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love!" A bright smile came across Pacey's face as he was able to share his belief in love with others that shared it.
Once again, Pacey's words had stunned the group. His words excited them. He seemed to understand what they were all about. What they all stood for. And he made it seem so simple.
Jack was ecstatic. "See! You can't fool us! You are the voice of the children of the revolution!"
"We can't be fooled!" The other three cried out in unison as they all lifted Pacey off the ladder and back into the upper floor apartment.
"We call on you to write the world's first truly Bohemian Revolutionary show!" Jack danced around the room, insisting that they press on with his plan.
It was a hectic plan. Pacey was to audition for Josephine, and he was to taste his first glass of Absinthe, the preferred drug of the children of the revolution. It was a smooth, green liquid, purchased easily in a large glass bottle in any store in the underworld of Paris.
As soon as Pacey tasted the sweet substance, its effects kicked in. He looked at the scantily clad fairy on the bottle, and much to his surprise, she came to life right before his very eyes.
"I'm a fairy!" She said as she flew of the Absinthe label and into the air in front of the five hallucinating males. She began to sing.
The hills are alive.
All five of them started to sing along with the fairy.
With the sound of music.
They all broke out in laughter as the fairy began to dance in front of them. She was very suggestive in her movements, bending her body in all the right ways so that the young gentlemen could get perfect glimpses at all her assets through her small green outfit.
The men continued to laugh and all soon ran to the window of the apartment and began to sing out over Paris' underworld.
We believe in beauty.
Freedom.
Truth and love.
They continued to sing in the background, dancing their way onto the streets.
No you won't fool the children of the revolution.
No you won't fool the children of the revolution.
They sang and smiled and the sexy little fairy followed them on their way. Singing over their background vocals.
The hills are alive.
With the sound of music.
They were on their way to the Moulin Rouge. And Pacey was to perform his poetry for the one and only "Sparkling Diamond," Josephine Potter.