Title: Not-So-Cleverly-Named Meme: Ghoul
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman Beyond, Return of the Joker, blah, blah, blah…
Warning: Slight AU, hinted slash and references to RotJ.
Summary: One can only wonder how Ghoul would be before, after and during his induction into the Jokerz.
Mommy and Daddy got the best cocaine,
Ritalin's never gonna feel the same.
Twenty-four hours on an empty brain,
I've got my finger on the trigger
And you're in my way.
-Sugarcult.
5 Years Old:
Screaming awake, bruised little hands clutched the covers of his bed as Stewart Carter Winthorp the Third fell out of his bed and landed in a cold sweat on the floor of his fancy bedroom.
When his eyes finally opened, he seemed to shake even harder at every shadow that caught his eye and every creek that came from the floor as he moved off the blankets he'd landed on and back into his bed. The sweating had caused his bed clothes to get uncomfortable and sticky and he had to fight himself not to just pull them off.
He wanted for all the world to go running to his parents' room and ask them if he could sleep with them, but he didn't want to get yelled at and didn't want to wake up the butlers and maids who were asleep in their own rooms down the halls. It would be selfish for him to wake up the people who generally took care of him after his father or mother slapped or yelled at him for something stupid he'd done.
And despite the terror in him, he didn't want to be selfish like his parents.
13 Years Old:
Ghoul: A creature of horror said to either be the dead embodiment of a human or something entirely of the land of the dead.
The words were laid out in fading black ink on the yellowing paper of the book (a real book, not the digitalized kind) that the young blond teen had found in the decaying husk of what he father had called an old fashioned library. The book was an old copy that categorized mythological figures and places and, despite the fact that digging through the piles of burned and rained on books and rotted wood had ruined his school uniform, he found that it was useful to the question that had been in his head for a while now.
Moving his head from left to right, as though making sure that nobody would see him and never mind that the area of town he was in was generally empty save for drug users and illegal activists, he slipped the book into his bag and snuck back to his house. Hopefully his parents would still be at that party they were supposed to be at for some charity (and here he snorts inside of his head every time) auction.
17 Years Old:
Sharp, almost talon like fingers pealed the plastic folds off of yet another band-aid, deposited them into a nearby trash bin that quite frankly seemed useless in their current living conditions, and carefully set the sticky thing to one of the cleaned cuts that Ghoul had all along his arms, knees, face, etc.
Woof took a second to admire his handiwork and then gave a groan, realizing the moment was spoiled by the many more bloody marks he had yet to get to when they were running out of bandages. And of course, that Ghoul was still unconscious and would most definitely wake up screaming as per usual. Sigh.
Turning back to the box that barely contained any more of what he needed, the hyena splicer almost jumped into the air when Ghoul gave not a scream, but a painful cough and just barely opened his eyes, seemingly confused how he had gotten back to his room in the factory when he had been knocked unconscious on the roof of another Wayne building. Woof didn't blame him. Aside from everything else, Ghoul had suffered a manageable concussion on account of Batman. The jerk.
Woof gave his friend a little nudge with his knuckles to the other's cheek, alerting Ghoul that he was there and there was nothing to fear. He had this done to him whenever Ghoul patched him up, and it seemed to be their way of communicating endearment and affection for the other.
"…Woof? How'd we…how'd we get here…" The blond asked hoarsely, "…Did you…carry me again?"
Woof nodded.
Ghoul sighed. Trying to sit up from his lying down position only proved a useless endeavor as Woof lay down beside him and then Ghoul just submitted to being taken care of for the night.
25 Years Old:
Eyes glassed over because of the hours spent looking at the huge computer screen in front of him, Ghoul almost didn't blink, despite his surprise, as a black gloved hand tapped his shoulder and made him spin a little in his chair to face McGinnis and Deidre, both looking worn out even in their costumes.
"Rough night," He stated, not questioned, casually.
When both gave a little groan, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh, the sound able to not sound so creepy since he stopped putting on so much makeup and was wearing just a pair of black jeans and a simple, ratty orange shirt. Terry, or Batman as he requested the ex-thief to call him during work hours, flinched a little at the sound, still not quite used to such a joyful sound from the grey skinned young man, but still handed over the wonderfully black and more importantly hot coffee he'd brought up from the Watchtower's kitchen. No cream, no sugar and fresh.
Ghoul, (as he still preferred to be called over any of his previous names) gladly accepted the drink and turned expectantly to Deidre. The sister to Joker's Daughter and current room-mate to both himself and Woof, gave the computer expert/hacker/king of the Tower the batch of doughnuts from his favorite store he expected every morning, along with the data both heroes had collected from the fight against Blight and Spellbinder not three hours ago.
Taking both objects gratefully, Ghoul managed to speak in-between snarfing down his breakfast and typing the new information into the computer, "So, you get everything we really needed? Codes, schematics, blue prints, etc?"
"Yeah," Terry drawled, taking his mask off to massage the back of his skull without interference, "But just barely. The slimy bastards almost melted the systems and we had to dig that out of rubble for half an hour."
"Guess Super Ham owes you a pat on the back," Ghoul chuckled. He quickly regretted so when a piece of doughnut got stuck in his windpipe and he ended up coughing for a few seconds, Deidre giving him a slight worried look.
Terry had a moment of German happiness before Ghoul composed himself and went back to typing, downing half of the coffee at the same time, "Anyway, if everything's here, I should be able to get you the lay-out of both of their hidey holes and a location for where they're going to strike next."
The new Dark Knight nodded appreciatively and then mentioned heading to the room he kept to pass out in if they needed him, leaving the two ex-Jokerz to themselves.
After a year and a half of being with the Justice League, the uncomfortable feeling of betrayal he'd felt for Deidre for a much longer period had dissipated and made it possible for them to communicate more often now, but there was still that uncomfortable silence he always felt when she sat down in the other chair he kept for Maxine or J'onn. There was no exception now as she was quiet for a moment, going over her words carefully before speaking for the first time since coming into the room.
"How long have you been awake now?"
"Just seven…days," He confessed, still typing away at the speed of light, "Why?"
"Woof's getting a little worried since you took on Cuvier, got spliced and haven't talked to him since two days ago," She stated plainly, a little worry in her voice as always, "We both are worried. So…how are you doing? I mean, I know you got the anti-serum, but there are always lingering effects, so—"
"Darling," Ghoul sighed, using her codename like everyone else in the League did when she got all antsy, only the way he said it was with a bit more knowing and had the desired effect of quieting her chatter, "I'm fine. I've been in here since the serum was administered, doing my job. I haven't had any violent rages and I'm not growing rabbit ears again. You and Woof really worry too much."
"'Kay," She said, "Just promise you'll take a sedative and lay down in a while. As in: when you're finished with the files and not a minute later."
Feeling a little bold because of the caffeine running through his blood, Ghoul moved his wheeled chair over until it was touching Deidre's on the left side and leaned his head over conspiratorially, his long blond hair falling over his shoulders as he whispered a with a little more of his own accent. The tiny voice in the back of his mind reminded him that she carried around a mallet that weighed twice as much as he did, but he ignored it for some good fun, "Give me a little back rub and I'll take to bed now."
The blond gave an indignant squeak and with a kick to his chair, he went twirling through the open door and right down the tiled hall, laughing as he passed by both Merina and Kai-ro. The two heroes gave him a disturbed look as he continued on down the hall on nothing but the momentum of the kick, and it made him laugh just a little harder.