Reflections
Note: This story takes place between Gen13 #25-26 but before the events in Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday #3.
A chill wind blew though the concrete canyons of Manhattan. On a cold Saturday evening, with Christmas and New Year's just over, most New Yorkers had nothing better to do than go out and pick up some after holiday bargains. That was what Roxanne Spaulding had been doing. But even a veteran mallrat like her could only shop for so long before getting sore feet. So, laden with packages, she had decided to return to the apartment that was Gen13's new headquarters.
"Mr. L? Anyone here?" she called out as she came in.
"Mr. Lynch is gone. He left a note saying he was going to meet a contact and wouldn't be back until late tomorrow," answered a voice from the living room.
When Roxy walked in she saw her friend and teammate, Caitlin Fairchild, stretched on a couch wearing a somber expression. "Hey, Cat. You look like Muppets stole your gum. What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong," replied Fairchild.
"Cat, you're really smart and a great leader, but one thing you aren't is a good liar. Come on, tell me what's wrong," said Roxy.
"Where are the others? I thought they went shopping with you."
"You're trying to change the subject," observed Freefall. "Grunge, Sarah, and Bobby got tired of shopping and decided to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Now, enough games. Tell me what's wrong!"
"Okay. It's just that I've been thinking is all," Fairchild sighed.
"About what, exactly?"
"Everything, Roxy. Everything that's happened to me since those guys from Project: Genesis came knocking on my door."
"Oh," said Freefall, begaing to understand.
"It's just that now I finally feel like I can stop, catch my breath, and try to deal with what's been happening."
"Come on, Cat. All our lives have been wild since Genesis. We've been to Madagascar, Gammora, Mexico, England, Italy, Porta Rico, and all over. We've traveled in time. You have twice. We've even been to hell. I mean HELL!! We've tangled with badguys like Hammersmith, Traveler, Kull, the Plax, that little sicko Baby Luv, and, of course, Tran--"
Freefall stopped herself as she realized the name she had almost said.
"Roxy, it's okay," assured Fairchild. "You can say his name. Trance. I'm finally starting to feel over what he did to me in San Francisco.
"But what about you? You've always gotten the worst of it when we've dealt with him and the Freak Show. I mean, you almost died the last time we fought him."
"I don't think I'll ever be totally what Trance has done to me. I still have nightmares about that freak Trent Reznor wannabe," shuddered Roxy.
The girls were then silent for a few moments. "Cat? What was it like? What he did to you?"
Fairchild took a deep breath. "It was like dreaming but still being awake. Everything he said seemed to make so much sense. Part of me wanted to fight but couldn't. Thank god you snapped me out of it when you did. I might have killed you."
"Don't blame yourself, Cat. Blame Trance. The next time we see that creep he'll pay for what he did to us! All of us!" proclaimed Freefall.
The girls were then silent again. "It's not just Trance," Fairchild finally admited. "It's everything. We've seen so much violence. We've seen so many people die. People like Michael Cray and Kobe."
"Remember, Cat, all those people gave their lives so that we and others could live. Isn't that important?"
"Yeah, I guess I'd forgoten about that," admitted Caitlin.
It was then that the girls heard someone else enter the apartment. It was Grunge and he was soaked from head to toe.
"Hang on, Grunge. Let me go get a cat to drag you in," teased Freefall.
"Not funny, Rox!" hissed Grunge, trying not to let his teeth chatter.
"What happened?" asked Cat.
"Me, Sarah, and Bobby were just about to Rockefeller Center. Suddenly, a cab plows right though a mondo-huge puddle spraying me big time!" The girls couldn't help but bust out laughing. "Yeah, yeah, very funny. I'm going to go change before I freeze," muttered Grunge as he stalked off to his room.
"You know, Eddie is a real insensitive jerk sometimes, but he can always make me laugh," smiled Freefall.
"Yes, he does have a tendency to remind me of all the good times we've had."
"That's the sprit, Cat! Hey, remember the wild Back to School bash at UCSD?" quizzed Roxy.
"That was fun. Until we had to fight that psycho gorilla, I mean."
"Oh, yeah. I still get the chills whenever I think of that thing carting me around like I was Fay Wray."
"You know, I think that the best part of this whole experience, aside form meeting all of you, is that I finally got to meet me dad," admitted Fairchild. "Even if I did end up losing him again."
"Yeah, that was probably the only good thing to come out of that whole Gammora mess," nodded Roxy. "Try not to feel to bad about losing your dad. At least you had some time with him. I don't know where my step mom is and I know almost zero about my real parents."
"It's funny, I kinda know were both of you are coming from," said Grunge. He was coming back into the living room after drying and changing into some sweatpants and a Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt.
"Wadda mean, Grunge? You got to meet your dad," asked Roxy.
"In some messed up possible future so it wasn't really him! Uh, sorta."
"Okay, I understand. But at least you got to spend a little time with him. That's more than I've ever had," sighed Freefall as she sank into a nearby chair.
"I never knew you felt this way, Roxy. Why didn't you ever say anything to us? We're your friends. We're supposed to help you though stuff like this," said Fairchild as she knelt down by her teammate.
"Well, Cat….it's like..uh…I…you know…"
"We understand, Rox," comforted Grunge. "You know, I just thought of something my dad said to me in the future. He said, 'Make me proud and be the man I know is inside you.'"
"I never heard him say that. Wow!" exclaimed Roxy.
"You were busy fighting the D'Rahn," explained Grunge. "It's weird. I only knew him for a few minuets, but I really do want to make him proud of me. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that whereever your dad is, if he were to meet you today, he'd be mega-proud!"
"Really? You think so?"
"Totally, Rox! You're a super-hero," Grunge declared. "We wouldn't have able to beat jerks like Mr. Gone and Helmut without you. You've also been a righteous friend to all of us."
"Jeez, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Freefall then hopped out of her chair and gave Grunge and big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Grungeman, sometimes you can really be the best!"
Grunge gave one of his trademark goofy smiles and hugged his teammate back. "Thanks, Rox. You're the best to."
Standing discreet distance away, Fairchild watched her friends embrace. "Now here's a side of Eddie we don't see enough of. Maybe there's hope for those two yet."
The warm feeling in the room was suddenly broken by voices from the hall.
"Ooooowwwwwww! Watch my foot!"
"Sorry. Lean on me while I get the door."
"Okay, but hurry up. My ankle is killing me and I-- Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands!"
"Sorry."
"I'll just bet you are!"
It was then that Bobby and Sarah stumbled into the apartment. Sarah had her right foot slightly in the air and her left arm around Bobby's shoulders for support.
"What happened to you?" asked Freefall.
"We were skating and having a good time at Rockefeller Center. Suddenly, some goof with glasses and a Planet Hollywood jacket slammed into me!" growled Sarah. "I think I sprained my ankle."
"He slammed into you? I don't think so! You were busy checking out that blonde chick in the tight ski pants and you plowed into him," corrected Bobby.
Everyone else tried to stifle a chuckle.
"Yeah, whatever," mumbled Sarah as Bobby helped her into a chair. "Look, just get me some aspirin. My foot really hurts."
"Yes, ma'am!" replied Burnout in a joking ready-to-please voice. He then gave Sarah a mock salute and headed off to look for some aspirin.
"So, what were all of you talking about before we came in?" asked Rainmaker.
"Uh… we were…. that is," stammered Fairchild.
"Talking about all the stuff we did while we were at UCSD!" answered Grunge.
"Yeah, that's right!" exclaimed Roxy. "Hey, Sarah, remember when you, Cat, and me rocked out at the Battle of the Bands?"
"I sure do!" interrupted Grunge. "Rox was okay a guitar, and Sarah was decent on drums, but Cat's singing was…UGH! It reminded me of the sound a garbage disposal makes if you drop a fork down it!"
"And how would you know that, exactly?" probed Cat.
"Uh…I plead the 5th."
It was then that Bobby come back from the kitchen with a glass of water and some aspirin which he gave to a grateful Sarah. "We did have some good times at UCSD," he said. "Hey, Grunge, remember when Salma Dunbier drank us both under the table at that frat party?"
"That girl was not human! NOBODY can swill that much booze! Say, what about the time Cat blew up the Physical Chemistry lab?"
"That was NOT my fault! Someone mislabeled those beakers!" flared Fairchild.
"Yeah, Cat, I'm sure," poked Freefall. "What about our rad spring break trip? I still can't believe Mr.L let us go to Mexico by ourselves."
"Yes," agreed Sarah. "Seeing that Mayan temple at Chichen Itza was incredible."
"Totally, Sarah! Rocking out and going to college beats fighting freaks like the Deviants, Panic, or the Numbskulls any day!"
"Right on, Grunge!" applauded Freefall. "Say, what about the time…"
And so it went. Instead of a group of fugitive SPB's on the run from I.O. Gen13 was just a normal bunch of friends talking and laughing. They reminisced about college, their adventures, and all the Seinfeldesque things of life.
The conversation continued on as afternoon became evening. During all of this Fairchild noticed that Rainmaker had been saying less and less. Eventually she stopped talking and began to stare off into space.
"Uh, Sarah? Is something wrong? You look like you're a million miles away," said Cat.
"It's nothing. I was just…"
"Just what?" asked Bobby.
"I was thinking about what Grunge said. About the Deviants," Sarah sighed.
"Jeez, what do Threshead, Sub-whine, Frostbutt, and those other rejects have to do with anything?" muttered Grunge scornfully.
"Well, here we are sitting around talking about all the fun stuff we've done. But for some reason I can't stop thinking about Threshold and Bliss. I mean, they were captured by I.O. when they were just kids, and that got me thinking about when the Keepers hunted me down back on the reservation," said Rainmaker.
"Um, Sarah, you're not, like, making a lot of sense here," said Freefall.
"What I'm saying is I can't help but think what I might have been like if I.O. had been brainwashing me since I was about five like those two," Sarah clarified. "Or what if I'd been one of those people dragged off by Ivana when the Genesis Compound was destroyed like the Deviants were. Ivana must have filled their heads with some pretty nasty stuff to make them want to kill all of us so bad."
"I see what you're driving at," said Bobby. "One twist of fate and any one of us could have ended up psychos like DV8."
"I think I get what you're saying to," proclaimed Grunge. "Kinda reminds me of the 'Mirror, Mirror' episode of Star Trek."
After that a cloud of gloom seemed to cover the room. The young Gen-actives all simply sat, each lost in their own thoughts.
Eventually the silence was broken. "Man, this SUCKS!" cried Grunge as he leapt to his feet, startling his teammates. "Look at all of us! We're as grim and gritty as an 80's comic book!"
With that, Grunge marched over to the nearby coffee table and scooped up the TV Guide. He quickly flipped though the pages, stopped to look at something, nodded, and seemed satisfied with what he'd found. He then turned back to his on-looking friends. "Bobby, go make some popcorn. Cat, see if you can scrounge up some soda. Rox, open up some nachos. Sarah, you…"he paused as he looked at Sarah's swollen ankle, "have a really nice sweater," concluded Grunge.
"Grunge, what has gotten into you?" wondered Freefall.
"There's a Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel tonight. They're showing all my favorites. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, The Amazing Colossal Man, and," he paused and gave Freefall and Fairchild a silly grin, Teenagers from Outer Space."
The others other just stared at him. "What?! Would you rather sit around and be all down or would you rather wisecrack though some of the worst movies ever made?" Grunge asked.
"I guess he does have a point," Freefall giggled.
That was all it took for the kids to rush into action. In a few minuets the team was laughing and joking their way through Attack of the Giant Leeches.
Gen13 knew that they had a difficult road ahead of them. They knew that there were people in the world who would like nothing better that to enslave or kill them. But for the moment those things didn't matter. What mattered was enjoying friendship and all the other good things life had to offer while there was a chance. And, for the moment, that was enough.
THE END
Notes: Okay, you're probably saying "What's this?! I've never heard of some of the events/characters mentioned in this story!" Chill. I pulled a lot of those things from stories outside the regular Gen13 series. By this I mean issues of Gen13 Bootleg, the annuals, one-shots, mini-series, and crossovers.
By now some of you are saying "Okay, I know what your talking about when it comes to some if this stuff but what's up with all the things they did while at UCSD? Weren't they there for only, like, two issues?" Nope, the kids spent quite a bit of time at UCSD. No one knows exactly how much (comic book time is different than ours, don't you know?) but according to the Gen13 College Yearbook 1997 they spent that time staying busy.
If you go and look in the "Mugs Shots" section of that book you'll see a "goof with glasses and a Planet Hollywood jacket." That would be me, your (not so) humble author. I know writing yourself into a story is considered bad form by many fanfic lovers (myself included) but I figured if guys like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Todd MacFarland, Grant Morrison, Dan Jurgens, Alex Ross, Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell, Sarah Becker, John Bryne, and Kurt Busick can appear in their own creations there's no reason I shouldn't be able to give myself a "cameo" in one of my stories.