Disclaimer: I do not own Legion.
A bit of fluff between the Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass of New Earth. I know it's early for Halloween, but after seeing so many trailers for that god awful remake it's hard not to think about it. I've finally started to kick my writer's block. Hope you like. Honest criticism please.
Twas the week before Halloween and all through the Earth, people were getting ready to have some ghastly good mirth. Case in point, early this October dusk at the supermarket called GeneralMart, distributing food for over four centuries. They have everything and even more than that, to get ready for the 31st. Candy, costumes, decorations, and pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins. Thank god those things don't go out of style for another month. Now let's focus on two distinct shoppers both wearing blue, white, and lightning bolts.
"Ayla, what are you doing?"
"Hmm?"
Garth and Ayla Ranzz, the brother and sister Legionnaires Lightning Lad and Lightning (formerly Light) Lass. Both lightning wielders, both red heads, and both doing some shopping for the upcoming holiday. Ayla wanted to pick some up to spruce the headquarters, and Garth because this was the first Halloween he could spend with his ENTIRE family since the insanity. Wife, sister, and son.
"What. Are. You. Doing?" Garth said slowly and carefully so his sister understood. He was eyeing the two bags of candy she had in her hands.
"I was just putting this in the cart." She said. He took the bags out of her hands and began to read their names out loud.
"Miniature Gooey Bars with reduced fat, no sugar, and Oatmeal Raisin Fig Bars." He grimaced at the thought and stuck them on a random spot on the shelf next to him. "I don't think so."
"What's wrong with them?" Ayla innocently asked.
"Those are the kind of candy that teachers give to their students in kindergarten classes when they get a right answer. Or the kind of candy dentists keep in their waiting room. Get the full size bars and the double chocolate crunch cookie bars." He pointed further down the candy aisle. "And NO raisins."
"They cost more." She told him as she started piling bags into the cart.
"Well I made a promise that I wasn't going to be one of those adults who gave out sugar free candy and fruit that hasn't been dipped in caramel of pure sugar on Halloween." Garth said proudly, as Ayla rolled her eyes. "Remember back on Winath what happened to the grown-ups who gave that stuff out?"
"Sure. I remember that one year poor Mr. Grozz got his entire house covered in elva bird eggs and ploog dung because he gave out toothbrushes. The look on his face when he saw what those kids did to the north side of his house." Ayla laughed to herself.
"Ayla, I never went to Mr. Grozz's house that year." Garth said solemnly. Ayla choked on her laughter.
"Oh. Yeah." She blushed nervously.
"Nice to know why I got blamed for that."
"Water under the bridge, brother dear." Ayla shrugged it off.
"Yeah, well, you can pay for the candy, then." He started piling more bags of stuff sure to rot teeth, pack on pounds, and cause diabetic comas.
"And WHY should I do that?" Ayla asked with her arms crossed.
"It'll help heal my emotional scars." Garth snarkly smiled with a bag of tootsie rolls in his hand. Ayla stuck her tongue out.
"Deal with it in therapy."
"ANYWAY, you think we have enough candy?" Garth asked.
"I dunno, I think you left a bag of black licorice on a self." Ayla said, noticing a couple of the shoppers were a bit shocked at seeing actual Legionnaires. One actually fainted into a stand of candy corn.
"Well I had to leave SOMETHING behind." Garth admitted. "Come on, I still have to pick up the costumes."
"I'd think they're out of the good ones by now."
"Never hurts to look."
Although right now it might have with some of the stuff that was left. The two looked disbelievingly at the costumes on the racks.
"Geez, what is this crap? Hardware, Hangman, Brother Power? You heard of these guys?" Garth asked Ayla as she held up a "Black Alice" costume.
"Nope." Her eyes trailed over to the tags on the empty racks. "But it looks like Green Lantern's all the rage this year."
"They still have any Batman costumes left?" Garth asked as he started looking behind the crap costumes.
"You're going as Batman this year? Seriously?" Ayla asked.
"Eh, it was Imra's idea. We're doing a group costume thing. I'm Batman, Imra's going as Catwoman, and Graym's going to be..." Garth trailed off, trying to remember which sidekick Graym was supposed to be. "Spoiler."
Ayla held her laugh in.
"Uh, Garth, not to punch a hole in your bubble, but Spoiler was a GIRL."
Garth stopped in the middle of his search and blushed a bit. Of course, Ayla couldn't see that, but she knew it was happening.
"Oh. I meant Robin. Got the two confused." Garth shrugged it off, but that didn't stop his sister from giggling.
"Well, guess what I'm going as this year." Ayla said.
"Please tell me you and Timber Wolf aren't doing a "Little Red Riding Hood" thing." Garth moaned.
"Uh, no." Ayla lied through her teeth. "That's such a cliché. Hey, look! They have Legionnaire costumes." Ayla quickly changed the subject. Garth stuck his head out from the racks, not finding one Batman or infant sized Robin costume anywhere.
"No way." He said with disbelief as he saw a rack, a half-filled rack mind you, of Legionnaire costumes.
"Wow, I haven't seen this in ages." Garth said, holding up a knock-off Lightning Boy outfit.
"And, hmm, look at that. They're out of Light Lass outfits." Ayla said. "I guess my fans must really like me."
"OMG I got so excited I had to put in on before I left."
Ayla felt her jaw hit the floor when she saw an overweight, middle-aged, balding man in glasses walking by in a Light Lass costume. A costume which was, is, basically a midnight blue girl's bathing suit with a golden brown leaf on it. Ayla just stood there, shocked and pale, as Garth laughed his ass off.
"…wow sis, you're fans must REALLY like you." He said, clutching his sides.
"You will not say anything to anyone. EVER." Ayla warned him.
"Why? I'm sure Imra and the others would like to know how you met your-"
"Don't say it."
"But I was-"
"Do not SAY IT, Garth."
"Alright, alright. I know when to stop." Garth held his hands up in defense. He went back to the cart when he turned to Ayla and said "yourbiggestfan".
"THAT'S IT!" Ayla screamed and began to chase after her brother as he sped down the aisle with the cart.
"Was that Lightning Lass and her brother?" The companion to Ayla's, ahem, biggest fan said as they ran past them.
"No way. Light Lass would never act like that."
…
"Is this big enough?" Garth asked as he held up a round, orange pumpkin up to his face.
"Well it's bigger than your head so, yeah." Ayla said. Garth put the pumpkin inside the second cart they had to get.
"That everything?" Ayla asked.
"Hold on. I've gotta get pluberries for breakfast tomorrow." Garth told her. "I thought I'd make pancakes. These look fresh?" Garth asked as he held up a container of them.
"Lemme see." Ayla opened the container, picked up one of the pluberries, and then squirted it in Garth's face.
"Yeah they're fresh." Ayla said.
"Funny." Garth muttered as he wiped the stuff off his face. "I guess that makes us even."
"Just about." Ayla said. "We done?"
"Yeah."
The two made their way to the checkout counter as Garth discussed with Ayla where he might be able to find a Batman and Robin costume when they passed a bin filled with discount movie vids.
"Oh hey, check to see if they any interesting horror vids. Imra's leaving for some late meeting at the UP tonight with Brainy and I need something to keep me awake until she get's back."
"Or you could, y'know, go to sleep." Ayla told him as they started looking through the bin.
"Well there's that."
"Let's see... Friday the 13th: Jason Goes To Hell, Friday the 13th: Jason Goes Back to Hell, Jason Goes Back To Hell Again, Jason Goes To London, Jason Goes To Another Dimension, Jason Goes Dutch, Jason Goes To Sunday School, Jason Goes To A Convent, and... Friday the 13th Part 33 1/3: Jason Goes To Party Beach."
"Oooh! That one. I heard this one decapitation scene is really cool." Garth said.
"I better hope my nephew isn't going to watch this." Ayla said disapprovingly. Garth gave her a "look".
"You honestly think I'd let my son watch something like this? Please, you insult me."
"I can't help it, it's so easy." Ayla told him. "Does Imra know about your bad taste in movies?"
"She knew about when she married me and she's made her peace with it." Garth said. "And God knows it was hard for her to accept that." Garth rolled his eyes.
"What?" Garth asked.
"Nothing, it's just…" Ayla trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"This is pretty much the calmest you've been in a long time. You haven't yelled or snapped or fired electricity at anyone in the past few hours. It's, well, refreshing. You've been acting more like your old self." Ayla said.
"My old self?" Garth raised an eyebrow. "Ayla I think I was always like that."
"You mean hotheaded, snippy, psychotic?" Ayla asked.
"I was going to say emotional, but, okay. I guess I'm, I dunno, I'm happier now that we don't have to hide from those reject nuts. And that Imra and me finally got Graym back from that old parrot of aunt from her's. God knows what kind of psychological torture she put him through."
"So are you saying you're willing to keep your anger in check around your son but you won't do it around, oh say, the president of Earth?"
"Well I'm more worried about scaring a baby than I am scaring a full grown man. But, I should really be doing it more Imra, and you. Anything else, sis?" Garth innocently asked.
"...yeah, you need a haircut." Ayla muttered. Garth blanked.
"A haircut, huh?" He said to no one in particular. "Well I guess I-WHOA!" He screamed.
"What?!"
"What is that?!" Garth screamed, pointing behind her.
"What?" Ayla whipped around, but saw nothing. "I don't-"
"Gotcha!" Garth yelled and got her in a headlock.
"Hey!" Ayla yelled as Garth started to grind his knuckles into her head.
"'Get a haircut', huh sis?" He asked.
"Okay, okay enough!" Ayla laughed. "I-"
"GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY IN THE REGISTER NOW!!"
The two turned to see some idiot wearing a Freddy Krueger mask holding a knife at one of the cashiers. Well, there were only three cashiers left open, and the other two were freaking out. So much for security guards.
"I MEAN IT!!" The guy screamed, instantly breaking up touching brother/sister moment.
"O-okay, I'm-"
"NOT FAST EN-"
ZZZZZTTTTT!!!
The guy was hit with enough voltage to silence at least twenty split personalities and he dropped like a heap. A LIVING heap, mind you. And one twitching like a epileptic squirrel.
"Y-you, I can't believe you, uh, is there anything I can-?"
"Yeah can you check in the back to see if you have any Batman costumes for someone of about my build, and maybe a Robin costume for a two year old?" Garth asked.
"And maybe a Wonder Woman costume?" Ayla asked.
"I-I'll check." The cashier said. "Could you, uh, make sure he doesn't-"
"Sure."
"Wonder Woman?" Garth smirked at his sister.
"Quiet or I'll tie you up with my Lasso of Truth."
"Not before I use my Bat-Sister Repellant Gas on you."
End.