09/15/13
Had a hard time getting this one out but I like how it turned out.
Comic Books
It was more of a curiosity than anything else that led Brainy to take up Bouncing Boy's offer to show him a comic book shop. He knew these relics of Earth's past were home to volumes of Earth folklore and mythology, done in mostly pictures. Some of the old bounded, synthetic papers were even based on historical figures.
This was how Brainy ended up purchasing a Superman comic book. He, of course, knew who the hero was, having grown hearing stories that were meant to make the hero akin to the boogey man to Brainy when he was a child. Instead, when the fear passed with age it was replaced with a curiosity that Earth had no end of fuel to feed it.
The comic book was one of many reprints of an account of "actual events" of Superman's life created while the hero was still alive. Every page made that claim less and less likely but there was something undeniably interesting about it and Brainy ended up buying another one when he joined Bouncing Boy on another one of his weekly excursions to the shop.
Soon enough Brainy had a small collection of purely Superman comics. He kept them in a box, imitating the storage example of the shop, in plastic covers and bits of imitation cardboard. Still Brainy held no "collector's value" in them and felt no hesitance in lending them to the other Legionnaires upon request, as long as they followed his "no eating or drinking" rule while reading the comic book.
When Superman came to the Legion Brainy read the comics less and less. He had all but forgotten about them until Phantom Girl returned one of his issues; right in front of Superman.
Though Brainy attempted to hide it before Superman could see, the destined hero was too fast, snatching it away before he could do so. Superman was almost too amazed by the fact he had a comic book series to tease Brainy about having an issue; almost.
It became what Brainy could only describe as a game of "keep away" as Superman tried to read the comic and Brainy attempted to take it away from him. Superman tried to keep it out of the shorter boy's reach by holding it upward and Brainy tried to stretch out his arm with his technological advantages to grab it, making Superman fly up to further the distance between them. Soon enough they were flying all over Legion headquarters, Brainy chasing Superman under the excuse of Superman not being able to learn too much about his future.
Eventually Brainy had enough of chasing Superman and decided it was time to play to the older boy's weakness. Though Brainy had no acting skills worth bragging about he managed to convince Superman his flight ring malfunctioned and let himself go to a straight fall.
As Brainy predicted Superman swooped down and caught him just in time but still managed not to be off guard enough for Brainy to snatch the comic away.
Brainy blamed what he did next out of frustration but he stopped Superman from commenting on Brainy's stunt by kissing him.
Both of them forgot about the comic book after that.