Well, Here goes. This is my first attempt at publishing on this site, so I don't know if I'm doing it right or not. I do not own any of these characters, I should mention. Please read and review. Thanks!

Klarion and Greta: The Lazerus Project

Chapter 1: An Idle Mind….

"Bored, Teekl. I am just plain bored," complained Klarion the Witch Boy, to his cat-familiar. At the moment, he was sitting at the very apex of the Great Pyramid, in a position that would have been extremely uncomfortable for a normal human being; however, if there was one thing Klarion was not, it was normal.

Human, mortal scientists would have described what he was actually sitting on as a "force field," and that was as good a name as any. It was a field, and it did exert force, so that definition did fit. However, human scientists would very probably never figure out the exact mechanics of said force field, for it was not based on science, as humans understood the term.

Simply put, it was based on magic. Klarion, one of the Lords of Chaos, had conjured up, with little more than a thought, an invisible cushion for his pet and himself to sit upon.

"Bored, bored, bored." He let his gaze wander over the landscape. The view, of course, was spectacular—if you liked sand.

"Mreow?" asked his familiar.

"Well, normally, what I'd usually do is pick a fight with someone. It's ridiculously easy, you know. Most of the time, all I have to do is materialize somewhere, and somebody usually takes it from there. But, you know what, Teekl? I'm just not in the mood for a fight right now. Don't really understand it, myself."

"Miaow?"

"What's that? Yes, I remember. Stephanie was…nice. I wonder how she's doing, with the Batgirl thing and all."

"Meow!"

"What? She's not Batgirl any longer? See, that's the problem with the world of mortals: things change so quickly. Even a Lord of Chaos like myself is hard pressed to just keep up with it all. So…if she's not Batgirl anymore, what is she doing?"

"Miaow! Mrrreow."

"Oh. I see." He paused while a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Hm. You think she'd be up for a little visit?"

Stephanie Brown, aka the Spoiler, aka Batgirl, had just settled in for the night when a sudden flash of light appeared in her bedroom. "What th-*?" Then her eyes adjusted, and she recognized the pair. "You!"

"I'm sorry; were you expecting someone else?" Klarion asked, in all innocence.

"No, but, but I sure wasn't expecting you! Klarion! You can't just go bursting into people's bedrooms unannounced like that! What if," and here she blushed, "what if I hadn't been alone?"

"Hm. An interesting proposition. Perhaps I could have materialized in, say, the living room…" Klarion thoughtfully chewed a knuckle, while Teekl got down from his lap and proceeded to prowl around the small bedroom. "Well, now I know. But…as it happens, you ARE alone….are you up for a chat?"

She drew the sheets up around her. She wasn't wearing anything but her oversize sleep shirt, and, although she didn't think Klarion would be the sort to take advantage of that, she still had her modesty to consider. Flashing Klarion rated right up there with kissing a porcupine, on her scale of Really, Really Bad Ideas. "Uhm, well, maybe a short chat….What's on your mind?" While she spoke, her eyes tracked Teekl. She was extremely aware that Teekl, whatever else he may be, wasn't an ordinary cat. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been a six-and-a-half-foot tall rampaging weretiger, wreaking havoc in downtown Gotham City. It was a hard image to shake.

"Oh, I shan't be long," sighed Klarion, standing up and walking to the window. "I've come to you, because, well, because you were understanding and helpful to me before. I'm afraid I've developed a bit of a notorious reputation with the rest of the superhero community." Here he smiled a positively devilish smile. "Not entirely underserved, however, if I do say so myself."

"Well, yeah."

"The problem is, Stephanie, I believe I'm bored. I'm bored and I really don't know how to handle that."

"How have you dealt with it in the pas-wait, my bad, I forgot who I was talking to. Yeah, uhm, we'd all really appreciate it if you didn't do….those things….anymore. But why do you say you're bored?" Even as she talked, Stephanie was trying to think of ways to keep him occupied and talking. All things considered, a bored Klarion was, in her estimation, a condition yellow emergency. "Say. What about your family? Don't you have some family in, in Limbotown?"

His face twisted. "Yes, but they've gotten this notion that I should be Submissionary. I simply don't want that job." He sat back down, scowling.

"Why not? What does a Submissionary do?" He told her. "Oh. Yuck. Yeah, I, I wouldn't want that job, either." She thought fast. "Surely, you've had some positive interaction with, with someone."

"Oh, a few. But mostly they're all…adults, you know? They generally have no time for me. Even the other Lords of Chaos usually go their own way. That is, unless we're working on some big project together, like a major spell or something."

Something occurred to her. "Uh, Klarion? Are you sure it's boredom you're feeling?"

He looked puzzled. "Well, I, I suppose so. Why? What else could it be?"

"Maybe you're….lonely. Maybe?"

"Lonely? Hm. You know, that possibility never occurred to me. But how would I tell?"

"Well, you want some company. I understand about you and Teekl, of course, but, but still. Maybe you want someone more or less your own age to talk to. Have you ever considered that?"

"I confess I haven't. I mean, I've always been….satisfied with my own company. And Teekl's of course. Always been a bit of a loner. Hm" He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But that might be an even harder problem to solve than boredom. I mean, what would I do, where would I go?"

"Surely you've had some positive interaction with somebody here in, in Blue Rafters. Or is there maybe someone back in your hometown, in Limbo Town?"

He sighed and sat down in the chair, crossing his legs. "No. Life in Limbo Town is….well, let's just say, I feel I've outgrown it. It's more of a straightjacket than you know. No, there's no one for me to even talk to there, more or less."

"Hm. What about that girl who's cat we, uhm, borrowed? She was about your age, wasn't she?"

He shuddered visibly. "Prudence? You really have no idea. Don't you remember, she was ready to blast you to smithereens simply because you complimented her on her bonnet?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, she did seem to have a bit of a hair trigger temper, there."

"I believe the human phrase is, 'she has issues.'"

"Hm. So, in all your time here and there, there's been no one, no one at all that you could, could sorta relate to?"

Klarion thought and thought hard. "Weeelllll, there was this one person…." At that very moment Teekl chose to rejoin them, carrying, in his jaws, a huge, hairy tarantula spider he'd caught, two of its legs still kicking. Stephanie's eyes grew as big as dinner plates. "Teekl!" The witch boy admonished, "Haven't I told you a hundred times, don't go helping yourself to our host's larder? Miss Stephanie might've been saving that for a special occasion!"

"Mmmreow!" Teekl dropped his repulsive burden and gazed at Klarion accusingly.

"It certainly shows a lack of good manners, Teekl! After all, we are guests here. The least you could do is offer Miss Stephanie a drumstick. It's not like you'll miss it; you've got seven more."

"Ah, ah, th-that's quite alright, Klarion, I, I, I'm on a really strict diet." Like, as of five seconds ago. "Teekl can have it all, and he's welcome to it." Where the devil had the cat found that revolting thing? And were there more? She felt a little nauseated, just thinking about the other things she might not have found just yet. I'll never be able to eat crab claws at the buffet ever again…

"Well, that's very gracious of you, Stephanie. But to answer your question, yes, there was someone who attracted my attention. Unfortunately she's…dead….." His voice trailed off as if he'd just thought of something.

"I'm sorry to hear that. How long ago did this happen?"

"Not all that long." He got up and stood at the window, gazing out again, his mood pensive. "Hm. You know….death doesn't have to be the final word. Especially for someone with my , ah, resources, and skilled in the arts of necromancy. Someone like myself…"

Stephanie felt chill bumps forming on her arms. "Klarion….please tell me you're not thinking about conjuring up some moldering zombie or something. Please."

He jerked back to reality. "Oh, no, nothing like that. That's far too crude. But…." He thoughtfully tapped his chin. "But there may be…other ways." Abruptly he seemed to come to a decision. "That's it. That's what I'll do. Thank you, Stephanie. You always seem to know just what to do. I'd be lost without you. Teekl, come." He gestured, summoning a portal.

"Look, Klarion, don't do anything the rest of the universe will regret, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it. Come along, Teekl. Yes, you can bring your snack. You've already eaten off of it; I doubt Miss Stephanie wants it now." The witch-cat snatched up the remains of the spider and leaped up into his arms. "Again, many thanks, Stephanie! People like you make it all worthwhile!" And he was gone.

Stephanie Brown lay back, emotionally exhausted and not a little apprehensive. What was the witch boy up to? "Somehow, I can't help but believe that, no matter how this turns out, I'm gonna get yelled at…." Then she either fell instantly asleep or fainted; she never could determine which, later.