Queen Chapter 1: Scouted

Yes, I know I have another story running, but they are not related.
Summary: Boomer was thought to be the least of his brothers. Not one person saw his true potential. Boomer was an brilliant actor, and student. He hid his potential under a mask, a veil of idiocy, one so convincing, he himself sometimes belived it. When one person cracks that mask, he is offered his biggest dream: Power.

Boomer quietly finished up his math homework. It was nine-thirty. Who knew messing problems up when you know the answer was this hard? Boomer shuffled his papers, setting them in a neat stack. Glancing outside, he glimpsed the feeble rays of the moon attempting to light the town, the stars hidden behind a haze of clouds. Boomer looked at the moon. Small, underestimated, weak. Yet it had the power to control the tide. Just like him, it wasn't considered worthy of anything. People said it sat around looking pretty. Like his outer facade. Yes, he thought bitterly. Dumb and blond. Nothing else. Pulling off his shirt, he rummaged around for a new one, settling on the plain, black one Butch gave him as a replacement. Tugging on a simple pair of cerulean pajama bottoms, he headed downstairs for a quick dinner.

"Hey." Butch greeted his blond brother, smiling faintly. "There's a plate for you in the microwave, if you're hungry." Brick looked up from his meal. Fuck. Boomer was in no mood to get nagged at, so he muttered a hasty thanks and went to get his plate. Brick followed him, leaning on the counter. Boomer pretended not to notice, setting the microwave for three minutes on medium.

"You okay?" Boomer whirled around, shocked. Brick looked at his younger sibling with a concerned, careful look. "You usually bounce into the room at the speed of light. Did Buttercup do something to you?" God damnit. Moron! Boomer's facade really slipped this time. He shook his head frantically, waving his hands in front of him.

"N-n-n-n-no!" Boomer stammered, mentally cursing himself for his idiocy. "I-i-" Brick cut his brother off quietly.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me. Just... next time, try to smile a bit. You look like roadkill." Brick said, smirking. A grin wrangled itself out of Boomer, to Bricks' relief. He laughed a bit. Brick really did know how to cheer him up.

"It wasn't Buttercup or the girls, it was just that my teacher really must hate me," Boomer said, finally. "She didn't have coffee this morning," Boomer explained, When Brick looked confused. He snorted, amused, while grabbing his glass and waiting for his brother to get his dinner.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Brick asked, after dinner. "We got that new one, Karate Kid." Boomer looked up, excited.

"Yeah! Lets go!" Boomer said brightly.Thank God. He didn't realise it. Placing a fake smile on his face, one he'd perfected years ago, he bounced onto the couch, hoping to lose himself in the movie.

The sun shone brightly, waking a tired blond Rowdyruff. He yawned as he walked into the kitchen, drawinga smile and a cup of hot chocolate from his sympathetic, green-clad sibling. Mumblinga thanks, he looked around for Brick, finding his 'oldest' brother asleep.

"What happened to Brick?" Boomer mumbled around another yawn. Butch looked at the empty pad of paper and scribbled a note. 'Dad has him doing the taxes this year. So let him sleep.' Boomer winced, remembering the years his parental figure, Mojo, had been doingthe taxes alone. In recent years, the boys had started helpingout, Boomer searchingand findingtax records, Butch with filing, Brick with math. As the primate grew older, he began forgetting things. Small things, like names, or the date. But as of now, the former villain and terror of Townsvillecould barely remember how his name was spelled, much less do math or other basic things. When he was himself, he dedicated time to helpinghis boys, even if it was simply by getting them to smile. 'Ditto here. Wanna help me get him in something he won't wake up in pain to?' Butch nodded and smiled, obviously amused.

Boomer flopped back into his chair, tired. Butch rubbed his sore shoulder. The two had dragged Brick up to Boomers' bed. While none of the three ever admitted it, Boomers' bed was by far the most comfortable, in terms of sleeping. Soonerorlater, one of them would stay the night with their younger sibling.

"God that hurt," Butch said with a groan."Brick's heavier than that ship I tossed at Buttercup!" Boomer snorted in an attempt to stifle his laughter. But of course, he failed. Butch pretended to glare at Boomer. "Ohhhh, so you think I'm jokingdon't you," Butch teased, slinkingaround the table. "You're so going to get it!" Butchexclaimed, chasinghis siblingaround the table, tickling him mercilessly. After his siblings' laughter ceased, Butch held his brother in a bear hug, throughly preventinghisbrother from retaliating. While Boomer knew how to escape, his outer facade didn't. That sobered him up pretty fast. Butch, beingButch, noticed this change in behavior, and set his younger siblingin a chair. "Hey. Hey, what's wrong?" The gentle tone of his brother's voice made him look up. "Did something happen?" Boomer realised what he had done. Moron!

"H-have you..." Boomer trailed off, knowing if he said what he wanted to, his siblings would most certainly find out who he really was. But even that didn't stop his words. "Do you ever feel like you're living a life that isn't yours?". Butch looked straight at his brother, a serious look in his eyes. Slowly, he gave his brother a small smile.

"Yeah. Wanna tell me about it?" Butch said, patting the seat next to him. "I'll tell you if you tell me." That was all he needed to break. He told his brother everything, from who he really was, to the facade he had put up, just so that they wouldn't worry about him. Butch said nothing, holding Boomer close. "Wow." Butch said finally, when Boomer finished. "That explains a lot." Boomer looked up in shock.

"You're... not mad?"Boomer asked, stunned. He shook his head.

"Nah, more relived than anything else," a new voice from behind them said. The two jumped, turning to see Brick leaning on the doorframe, faintly smiling. A couple strides brought him next to th blonde. "I never got how your mood changed so fast. Listeningto you helped me get it into perspective." Brick slung an arm over his sibling's shoulder. "So, if you go with me later to get a bite to eat at Amanda's, I'll find a way for you to get your grades up where they would be, 'aight?" Boomer smiled happily, not even slightly depressed anymore. He set his head on Bricks' shoulder, sighing.

"Deal."

The three boys walked home from Amanda's pastry shop, laughing and joking like old times. Not one of them noticed the girl subtly following them, skipping lightly with her jump rope. They turned the corner, going through an alleyway, when Boomer stopped to tie his sneakers, waving his brothers on. The little girl skipped in place, staring at the blond intently. A sense of unease washed over Boomer, as he glanced up at the spherical mirror, placed in such a way that he had a perfect view of the little girl behind him. He froze, his body on alert, attentively studying the young child. She looked left, then right, before walking closer to the blue ruff. She pulled out a Rubik's cube, while tapping him on the shoulder.

"Mister?" She asked shyly. Boomer sat on the ground, his back against the wall. "I heard you were good at this. Can you fix it? My big sister will be furious that I messed it up." Boomer gave the little girl a smile.

"Sure." He studied it for a bit. The cube was an 18x18, and really messed up. A couple of deft turns, and he got the rhythm, neatly finishing the cube in a mere four minutes. "Here sweetie." She gave him an awed look.

"Wow... How did you do that!" She asked.

"Well, I started by doing a 2x2, then upgrading to a 3x3, and so on," Boomer explained. "If you want a 2x2, go to Samsons'. He'll let you borrow it." The little girl beamed, taking the cube back.

"Thanks, mister," she mumbled shyly, before running off. After she left, Boomer noticed a chess piece on the ground. Dusting it off, he tested it. a dull ringing sound reverbrated from it. Metal, maybe steel, and hollow. What's in it? Boomer found a small latch on the bottom. Flipping the chess piece over, he unscrewed the end, finding a small, rolled up scrap of paper. He checked the piece again. Hn. A Queen. The tallest player on the chessboard. It would make sense to have the queen as a small message carrier. Who would check a royal for anything but gems. Ha. The paper was adressed to him.

Boomer checked the clock. 11:58. He returned to the scrap of paper, smoothing it to reread the words

Boomer,
I apologise for contacting you in such a suspicious manner. But, I have an offer for you. I know of your prospective talents, and I would like you to come work for me. Please meet me at midnight either tonight of tommorow, by the old bell tower.
Sincerly,
Queen.

Boomer looked at the clock. 11:59. Whoever this Queen person was, she really wanted him to work for him if she went through so much hassle. He streaked through the open window. This better be worth my time.