Sorry for the long wait…Like, I'm really, REALLY sorry it took so long to update, but I really hope you like it! Oh, and I need to add a quick disclaimer now…
Bonanza does not belong to me, it belongs to whatever company that owns it…If I owned it, I'd be happy…and probably wouldn't be writing this because I was too rich to bother…
And a few shout outs!...
Soon to be world renown Gracie- Do I get a cookie now?
Demonmasterslyth-if you used your head a little, you'd see that this story IS in fact about Richie, so I'd suggest keeping your mouth shut unless you know what you're talking about, and like a lot of people seem to tell me…If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all…
And a quick thank you to Cyllwen, sye5, GirlieG, and zizzy333 for reviewing and being so nice! And, so, here it is, for all of you, the story continues!
Chapter 9-What the Hell is Going on Here?
Gear's temper flared to the point that, had someone been trying to measure it, would have had an exploding instrument. How dare this…this criminal, this murderer, stand so close to him. In a way, mock him, implying his superiority. Gear wanted so badly just to grab his throat and squeeze the life out of this man. But, before his temper got the better of him, his logic and conscience won over, the knowledge that the Justice League was only a few feet away keeping the young hero from doing anything stupid.
They stood there for exactly ten seconds before Halo finally moved, grabbing his glass of Champaign as he turned. "So, what brings you to my humble little home?" He asked, waving his arms around to indicate the apartment. "Did you want a tour, a drink….a gun?" The last words were spoken with a subtle touch of the same menacing laughter that still haunted Gear from the day of the bank robbery. Gear's composure fell for a split second, revealing his shocked appearance.
"What?" He barely managed to sigh as Reed's words sank in.
"A gun Gear. I have a collection, would you like to see it?" Gear gathered his senses before replying, much calmer now.
"Yes, we would." The group followed Reed. Gear entered the room with the full intention of finding the weapon that had been used to hurt Virgil. And there it was, in plain sight, hoisted up on the wall in a glass case. Gear's temper rose once more, realizing that the gun was set up as some sort of trophy, a reminder and award for what it had accomplished to do. Reed turned around and saw Richie staring at the gun, and before the young hero could say anything, his host began speaking, a friendly smile spread across his face.
"Nice one, isn't it? I got it from a show, Bonanza, you might have heard of it. Great western. It's an original from the show. Cost me a fortune to get, but I'm sure glad I did."
Batman had also seen Gear staring at the gun, and new fully well why, so he decided that this was the perfect time to intrude on the conversation. "Can we take a look at it?" It felt a little odd to ask, but this man seemed too friendly, at least at this point, to demand anything. Plus, they were in a room full of guns with a supposed mad-man….Better to ask.
"Why, you a fan too?" Reed laughed slightly before opening one of the drawers and shuffling threw it before finding what he was looking for. "Alright, but only if you promise to be careful with it. I sure would hate to see anything happen to it." Using the key he had just extracted from the drawer, he opened the glass case and gingerly took out the gun and giving it to Batman.
Looking over it, The Dark Knight began his interrogation. "Have you ever used it?" The question came as such a shock to Reed that he nearly laughed.
"You must be joking. Using an original from a classic western as a weapon? That would be crazy."
"Crazy or not, this gun has been used recently." Batman stated once he was done examining the weapon.
"What are you talking about? That gun has been in that case since I bought it." Panic started to show clearly on the man's face, but not the kind Gear expected. Reed's eyes open so wide that Gear could have sworn a pigeon would be able to fit in them with no problem. Before anyone know what was going on, Reed slid to the floor, leaning against the drawers. "No…No...No…" He mumbled, holding his head as if it were ready to fall off. "It was never opened…I didn't touch it…Never opened it….Never…" As Flash leaned in to try and comfort him, Reed's head suddenly shot up. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He screamed, the tears of fear and anger trickling down his face. "Nobody touch me!"
Everyone stood in shock at the scene they were witnessing before them. Not knowing what to do without hurting the man, they all stood as he unleashed his emotions, each of them contemplating the situation at hand. "I never touch the guns…Guns hurt people…. But he touches them…He holds them…"
"Who holds the guns Tyler?" Asked Wonder Woman as gently as she could, mustering up all of her feminine instincts to try and calm the man.
Fearful eyes looked up at the League, eyes unsure of what to do, who to trust. "He…he's here sometimes…He's very mean…Doesn't like anyone….Very mean." Reed mumbled, his broken up phrases seeming perfectly logical to the incoherent man.
"This isn't getting us anywhere." Stated Hawkgirl, looking around the room in an attempt to find something that might make this visit a little more worth while.
"SHUT UP!" Reed yelled, grasping his head as he crumpled to the floor yet again. "You stupid idiot…SHUT UP…You don't know what your talking about…." Reed shook his head, trying to ward of the demons only visible to him. "I…I'm sorry…I'll be quiet…" Reed whispered, suddenly becoming very still.
"Tyler?" Wonder Woman came closer before kneeling down next to him and pulling the now weeping man into a hug, letting him stay there until his energy ran out and he fell asleep in her arms. She quickly laid him down on the couch before returning to the gun room.
"That was…odd." Said Flash, looking around at the team to make sure he wasn't the only one who thought that. Gear nodded as he took the gun from Batman, looking at it closely for himself.
"Backpack, run an analysis on it to see when was the last time it was used." Backpack got up and walked over to where Gear had placed the gun.
Flash cocked his eyebrow curiously. "Why? You know it was used in the bank robbery, and that's the gun that was used to shoot Static, isn't it?" Flash was starting to get a headache from everything that was going on…Really; who honestly wants to deal with two cowardly robbers, a historic monument gun, and a crazy guy/robber in that order…All he wanted now were three large pepperoni pizzas and a long nap.
"Yeah, that's what I think, but, this guy has defiantly got major issues, so, who knows, maybe he used it after the robbery. You never know what a little extra searching might turn up." Backpack beeped to show that it was done with its appointed task as Gear read the readings. "That's odd…There are fingerprints on it, Reed's, but they're smudged. I'm guessing that this same gun was used, except Reed was wearing gloves."
"How do you know it's Reed who was wearing the gloves and not someone else?" Asked Green Lantern. This case was definitely starting to get interesting, if it hadn't done so before.
"DNA analysis proves that the gloves where worn by Reed. Sometimes I love being a genius." Backpack climbed back onto it's owner as Batman took out a small bag to place the gun in for further testing.
"My guess is," Batman started, "Reed's got multiple personalities, but he doesn't know it." Thinking about it further, Batman decided to rephrase that statement. "No, that's wrong, a few of him know it, but the original Tyler Reed, the one we first spoke to, has no idea."
"Huh"
"That's confusing."
"What?"
"Ugh, my head."
All range out at the same time.
"So, he going to get away with this…isn't he?" Asked Gear, a mixture of worry, fear, and hatred expressed vividly in his eyes.
Soooo….what did you think? I know, major twist, huh? It was fun writing this, and I was happy that I got a chance to wriggle in Bonanza, my fav western…actually, the only western I watch, but I love it! So, you've read, now please review!
