A/N: Back again and now with a fucked up sleep schedule... I should be asleep but I'm not.. Hard to explain, not that you mind.
As I mentioned to , I think Gar's little speech to Raven might've actually inspired the rest of the Watchmen more than he thought. You'll see what I mean when Question's revenge is shown.

The Watchman II

---

For someone so uptight, angry, and often paranoid about the world, Garfield Logan never seems to keep surprising the world. In a house he's never been at, under the roof of someone he doesn't even know, the vagrant vigilante finds himself snoring, looking blissfully into the darkness that is the sleeping world. Sprawled on a couch next to the garage, he seems totally oblivious to the universe in general. Sleep, for some, doesn't come easy... and it hasn't come in almost two and a half days. On the floor next to the couch sits an emptied can of ravioli, fished out with a sauce-stained fork, his battered trench coat serving as his blanket. If it weren't for the fact he's in the superhero business, Gar might actually make a pretty good college student in this city. Only thing is Gar isn't alone in this room.

"Wake up." Question announces, looking down at the sleeping form on the couch.

An even louder snore escapes Gar's throat, bringing the conspiracy theorist to a sigh. Some kids never learn to sleep light these days. Tapping his earpiece, Question asks "Raven, are you there?"

"Here. What's the matter Question?"

"Our resident hobo fell asleep here and I can't seem to wake him up. Any suggestions?"

"How did you get him to sleep? He goes three, four days sometimes without sleeping?"

Looking around the room, Question notes the sparseness of the room in contrast to the large television across from the couch. "I imagine he must've gotten bored waiting for my favor to be cashed in. I'll fill everyone in on the details later.. if I can wake him up, it'll be faster."

"(Sigh) Fine. You know he's got great hearing, right?"

"Brought on from the increased aware of the same effects that gave him his powers and.."

"Simple yes would do. Anyway, do you have anything that can play music over there?"

Glancing about the room, he remembered hearing something about a radio being kept inside. Where the hell is it? "Working on that. What then?"

Noise starts to stir from the couch now. First it sounds simply like a whimper... fear... being chased perhaps? Sweat forming on his forehead, trickling down the neck. Nothing too major, perhaps a small nightmare. However, as Question looks around the room, the talking, while muffled, becomes more intense. Names like "Ripper" and "Slade" are tossed about, along with the occasional "Chuck Norris". So much is the groaning that even Question has to peel his sights away.

"I think he's in the middle of a nightmare." he duly informs the goth, tilting his head at the odd appearance of his little friend.

"Another one?"

"Appears so. He's talking about Ripper right now and.."

"RIPPER? Question, wake him up, now! He's reliving that day three years ago!"

The panic in her voice not-withstanding, Gar suddenly terrifies Question as he leaps from the couch, eyes wide awake in a frenzy, claws extended. Calling the name of his heated rival, he angrily scans the room for this dreamy intruder into his overly vivid mind.

Hands up in defense, Question warns his partner "Gar, calm down! You had a nightmare."

"Ripper... that son of a bitch fuck face..." Breathing hard and fast, gasping for air while his skin tightens under the clammy touch of sweat and shivers. Eyes burning like the gates of Hell, alive and screaming for vengeance.

"WATCHMAN!" Question yells, attempting in some form to regain the boy's senses. "Calm down! That dream's over!"

It takes a few minutes to gather himself but finally Gar looks over at his friend, palming part of his face with his hand. "... Q?"

"Take a breath, Garfield. You had a nightmare. Raven said you were probably reliving that fight.."

"It wasn't the same fight, Q. No, that one I can remember, even in a dream, I know its just replaying. No, this one was much different."

"How so?"

Fists balling tightly, as though replacing his hands with boulders, Gar hisses back in reply "Bastard was taunting me the entire time. Never attacked, never ran, just stood there talking to me. Wanted to kill him, couldn't move. Paralyzed. So close but I couldn't get to him... " frustrated, Gar moves about the room, wanting to hit something but can't. "Its all a bunch of bullshit, Question. He's out there, probably watching over ALL of this, and the only thing we can do it guess where he is.. Hell, all we can REALLY do is guess WHY he's doing all of this!"

Question is about to reply to this small rant before a door opens behind them. Both turning to meet the new entrant, they notice Rev with a tired look on his facial features.

"Its ready if you wanna come out and see it."

---

Later, sun still shining brightly in the September sky, a brown boat of a car, mid eighties model with its angular features, cruises down twentieth avenue. Behind it, a patched up and seemingly innocent-looking blue Shelby follows behind though not far enough to become cut off.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Gar asks, sitting shotgun in the front seat next to Rev.

"Question's behind this. How often does he fuck up?" The coarse reply isn't meant to be as derogatory. Contrary, it sounds light-hearted and almost ironic.

"This is the first time I heard him resorting to this kind of measure though. I mean, yeah, he nearly strangled Luthor to death with a necktie but that didn't involve a car." Gar admits, looking out of the window. "I guess he hated getting the car damaged more than I thought."

"He made me a promise a few years ago to take care of it. Getting shot's one thing but Question doesn't make promises lightly." Rev remarks, tapping the steering wheel as they wait for a green light.

"That man surprises me everyday. Few years ago I found out he had friends in Gotham that ran guns for a living, next I find out he's buddy buddy with a local mechanic."

"No one gives him the credit he deserves." Rev's words hover a bit at the end of the comment, eyes drifting away for a moment.

"Green light.' Gar reminds, hearing the honking behind them.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Got lost there for a second."

As the car pulls out, Watchman glances over at Rev. Eyes staring ahead, looking as he might after a hard day fighting Ripper or Desade...

"You look like you've seen some shit in your life." Gar points out bluntly, putting his head onto his fist leaning on the door.

"What gives you that impression?" Rev asks, finger double tapping on the wheel while keeping his eyes fixated forward.

"Because you have the same stare I do. Don't tell me its just because you're driving either. Mechanics are good enough behind a wheel they could drive without even opening their eyes."

Glancing over at Watchman, Rev asks "Do you know why Question really came to my garage last night?"

"No. He didn't tell me much about it at all, even this morning."

Clutching the wheel tightly, Rev warns him "He wants to demolish that depot apart."

"Figured that much from the way he was talking yesterday."

Glaring, Rev informs him "Did he tell you that we're both sitting on the demolitions?"

---

"QUESTION YOU BASTARD!!" The screeching voice of Garfield Logan over the earpiece is enough to bring a bemused chuckle from the lips of the Question. Looks like Rev finally spilled the beans about the operation.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Of course, Gar does have the most horrible timing. That new song Q had been waiting for had just started playing on the radio..

"You could've at least WARNED me what I was getting into! What if this thing blows and.."

"Watchman, do you trust me?"

"Trust you? At this point I'm ready to rip that mask off your face and shove it down your throat!"

Turning up the music a little louder, Question answers back in jest. "Please. I'd have you begging for mercy before you got close enough to touch me."

"That can be arranged!"

"Stick to the plan and you might live enough to find out." No matter how tough he tries to be, he still can be a funny little kid when he's pissed.

---

"So why are you helping us anyway? I imagine its not just because you owe Q a favor?" Gar asks, his rage at Question dying down after awhile. If you're about to go into battle, at least figure out the last few nagging issues before you die, right?

"According to him, we both have something in common. When he told me what we're doing, I didn't even consider it worth cashing in as a favor." Eyes turning dark, eyebrows dropping a bit, lips quivering, Rev finishes. "No, this one's on the house."

"Mutual enemy? White Rabbit you mean?"

Granted a car up ahead is stopping at a red light, Rev does hit the brakes a little harder than necessary. Thanks to the seatbelt, Gar doesn't connect skull-to-dashboard... Almost though.

"Yeah, White Rabbit. Tell me something, do you know what that drug can really do?"

"Outside of fucking up your head, making you wanna die, and turning you into a junkie?" Gar offers, not sure how to approach this topic.

"Know what else it does? It takes away a child's parents."

Watchman's own eyes soften as Rev's grows more and more dark, like the inside of Edgar Poe's mind, like the other side of a yin-yang.

"You see, it didn't get my dad first. That's the common belief in this fucking city, that only the guys do it. No, its not just the men, the women do it too. Mom got hooked on it by accident. A "friend" of her's gave her one laced inside of a cupcake during a church function. Guess what? That one cupcake ended up turning to over twenty-five thousand dollars over two years." Gar winces at the thought of that much White Rabbit, especially considering how cheap it sells for, in one person's body. "By the time she... well, by the time her time came, she weighed less than a twelve year old and racked up a debt that dad couldn't afford to pay. White Rabbit wasn't the only bill she racked up, Watchman, she also piled up on the hospital bills to treat it. Medicare isn't cheap in this country, its not like how it used to be for us up in Canada. No, here it costs two arms and a leg... and then they want the other leg."

"You said didn't get your dad first... You mean he's.."

"Oh, it caught up to him just as fast. He never touched the stuff, mind you. No, what caught up to him was the pushers that sold her the drugs. They were owed a LOT of money and dad didn't have the credit or the cash on hand to pay." Silently, a lone tear runs down the cheek of the mechanic. Gar's face also turns to grief, reflecting on the loss of his own parents. "So of course one day I come home from school and what do I find? The American Dream? You know, a loving family and a quiet home? No, I found a dead man I loved as my own flesh and blood with a bullet hole in his head and both of his legs ripped off..."

"So that's why you're helping us turn that place into a crater." Sympathy at this moment seems like it would fall too short of its goal. What's needed now is motivation and reassurance, not lament.

"Crater? When this goes off, they'll be lucky if this thing doesn't take out half the neighborhood."

---

Arriving at the storage area, the blue Shelby parks away from sight to give them some manner of cover. Question offers to linger in the rear, keeping a lookout for any incoming reinforcements once the attack begins. For all intensive purposes, it up to Rev and Gar to set the place ablaze. No pressure.

Pulling up to the entry gate, they're stopped by a pair of odd-looking men. Both with shades but wearing Hawaiian shirts and sneakers, their attempts to blend in fail miserably. Then again, with guns in their back pockets, who needs to blend in? "What are you two here for?"

Rev does the speaking lest Gar kill one of them with his claws. "Dropping off some packages from the big man."

"Desade sent you two down here in this hunk of junk?" One of the men jokes out loud. Gar and Rev force a laugh through barred teeth. Its one thing to laugh at a car... but knowing what this car can REALLY do and not be able to announce it though..

"Recession hit everyone hard. Said if we do this we might be able to move up to a 90's car." Rev jokes, tapping the wheel a bit. "No love for the classics."

"I'm sure. Go on through. Dump the stuff out in the middle shed."

"Thanks man." Rev waves, moving into the storage area with surprisingly little trouble.

"This is strange." Gar mentions as they near the center aisle.

"What's that?"

"Nothing ever goes this easy for me. Call me crazy but they let us in too damn easily."

As per instructed, they pull up to the main shed. Exiting the car, Rev taps on the shed door a few times. Opening up with a quick burst, a man inside with an automatic machine gun waves them in. Rev, all to happy to oblige, gets back into the car and pulls into the building. White Rabbit, bound in giant crates and packages, lines the wide expanse in all areas of the shed. The car's just barely able to fit inside considering all the goods.

The so-called "easy" part of the mission ends, however, as Gar exits the car along with Rev.

"Hey, wait a second, who the fuck are you?"

Looking over at the voice, Gar's annoyance turns to panic as the guard's expression changes to fear.

"YOU'RE THAT FUCKING WATCHMAN GUY! I KNOW THAT LOOK ANYWHERE!"

Gun lifting up to shoot, Gar braces himself for a shot that never comes. In fact, the only gun smoke seen and smelled in this garage comes from a quick-fired shot from Rev's own firearm.

"Whew... good shot." Watchman offers, seeing the man go down in a spray of blood.

"Crazy world we live in. Lets blow this thing before we get those other goons on our ass."

Opening the trunk, Gar whistles again at the size of the "package". Beeping red and white, counting down from ninety, the pair quickly shut the trunk and make haste for the fence leading to the avenue. Surprised at the ease of the mission. Gar almost complains as he doesn't even notice the two gatesmen from earlier running towards the center of the facility. They continue to laugh and joke at their posts while one of their own was killed just seconds prior.

When Rev and Gar finally make it away from the blast range however, Watchman takes out his pair of headphones and plugs it into his one ear.

"What's with the plugs, man? It won't be that loud."

"No," Gar offers. "But sometimes a good show deserves a good soundtrack."

As the bomb counts down from ten, a track from Cowboy Bebop begins to play over the headphones. Children's voices start to sing in a language not known on this Earth. Piano playing whimsically over the vocals, bringing a surreal feeling to the world.

BOOM! The blast begins in earnest, several explosions in the main shed bringing the two guards back to reality. A third blast sends bits of metal roofing material flying high into the sky. There must've been some weapons stored nearby as a secondary blast takes out an adjacent shed, setting off a terrific blast of fire and smoke.... And then the real fun begins. With Gar fluttering his hands around to match the beat of his song, the bomb rips through the complex in four different directions, fire and death trailing it in its wake. Building after building erupts in large fireballs, burning their poisonous substances and dangerous weapons with each lick of flame and concussive force.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Question asks Rev, now joining them from behind.

Gar's hands continue to match the explosion and music in a crazy waltz. Rev looks at the explosion with a smile on his face. Bittersweet irony... the only way to stop this plague is to destroy it down to the last atom.. by any means necessary.

"Yes, it is."

Song starting to wrap up, the explosions die down, leaving an inferno in its wake. If there was any chance of salvaging this place, it'll long be gone after the flames are extinguished. Fire trucks and police sirens are heard in the distance, warning the trio of the necessity of disappearing. Today, the vigilantes seeking to save the world from White Rabbit remain victorious. The only question is how will their adversaries respond?

--

A/N2: Apologies if this isn't "up to Erick standard" again, still feeling the effects of sluggish sleep schedule. There's a reason this place wasn't so heavily guarded, as will be described later. Question will not tolerate having his car shot at! Click, click, boom! But now Gar's got a bit of a problem. Even in his "disguise", he's still recognizable. That brown coat, nothing but trouble!

Trivia:
- (Forgot to include last chapter). "Mr. X" Xavier Knight (on 20th Ave) is reference to reviewer/reader X Knight. He'll be involved coming soon.
- Gar must like Chef Boyerdee?
- "Green Bird" was the song played as the bomb went off. It was either that or "1812 Overture"
- Question asking "Beautiful, is it not?" is another in-joke at Question being a spoof of V... Goto my deviantart page for a "Q for Question" spoof poster.

Rhetorical:
- What are the odds of Gar's hideout going "boom" from all of this? hehe.