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New York"What you got there bitch!" The man said pulling the woman's bag from her and knocking her to the floor. Another man pushed her friend to the ground next to her while his partners searched the bag. One pulled out her purse and threw the rest away. A racket turned their attention down the ally.
A blonde young man stumbled to his feet, holding his head. He collapsed into one of the trashcans, knocking it to the ground. Again he climbed to his feet, continuing down the alleyway with his head in his hands.
"Think he has a wallet?" One of the three men said walking towards the new comer. The blonde sat against the wall and squinted up at the man. He tried to fight as his pockets were roughly searched but received an uppercut for his trouble.
Flashes of memories pounded in his head. A woman in purple and black twisting his arm. Another with a mane of red showing him how to punch. Bringing his helmeted forehead into his nose of a much larger man. Once the images faded he pulled himself up.
"He ain't got shit." The man who punched him called to his friends.
"Hey." The blonde said. Turning round he received his very own uppercut. The blonde followed through by thrusting his knee into the mans side and charging him into another trashcan. He turned to look at the mans shocked partners. Noticing the women on their knees he pulled an object from a hidden pocket on the inside of his belt. Not knowing what the egg did he threw it anyway, confidant it would help. The narrow ally was swallowed in a flash of light that blinded all but the blonde who had closed his eyes.
The Scaphoid is relatively easy to break and slow to heal.
The blonde cracked the bone with his hands then bought his elbow into his victims face while sweeping his legs from under him.
The last and only conscious mans eyesight began to clear up. When the spots finally cleared both girls and the teen were gone, along with his own cash.
"Thanks." The redheaded of the two women said once the three of them stopped running.
"That's okay." Said the blonde.
"My names Bethany and this is Jessica. What's yours?" She asked.
"R…Gea…I-I don't know…I can't remember!" Said the blonde.
- - -
New York"You found his scent yet Feral?" Static said into his Shock Box as he flew over the unfamiliar city.
"It's a big city Static." Came her response. "I've only been out here for a few hours."
"What about the rest of you?" Static asked.
"A few look-alikes but no." She-bang said.
"I doubt we'll find him like this." Blacklash supplied.
"Well until we get a lead it's what we're gonna do." Static said.
- - -
Bethany and Jessica's Residence
"What do you like with your eggs? Oh I am so sorry." Jessica said.
"That's okay. Plains fine." He answered.
"Coming right up." She smiled.
"Morning. Oh!" Bethany yawned walking from the room she shared with Jessica, attempting to run a comb through her hair. "I nearly forgot about you. Did you sleep all right, I know that couch can play hell on your back."
"I didn't sleep much, couldn't." He said.
"Did you remember anything?" Jess asked.
"No. I went out like a light…I just didn't stay like that for long. Thank you for letting me stay here."
"After what you did. How could we turn you away? Any idea what you're going to do?" Said Beth.
"Go to the hospital and then report myself missing at a police station. The leading cause of amnesia is head trauma and I think I need glasses."
"You do remember some things then." Bethany stated.
"I don't remember anything…I just know things. The same way I know how to talk English or that the sky is blue or that emc2 explains the relation between mass and energy. I know but I don't remember learning what I know. You're burning the eggs." He said.
"I'm burning the eggs?…I'm burning the eggs!" Jessica realised.
"Why don't you let me cook for you?" The man said walking behind the table in the kitchen.
Heat a non-stick skillet (or a regular skillet greased with a small amount of butter, margarine or cooking oil) at medium heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.
Break eggs and gently slip into the skillet. Immediately reduce heat to low. Cook slowly until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard (turning eggs gently to cook both sides or adding a small amount of water and covering with lid to cook tops of eggs). Season with salt and pepper as desired.
"What should we call you?" Bethany asked.
"An unidentified person is usually designated as John Doe." He said cracking an egg.
"Why don't you pick your own name?" Jessica said taking a seat next to Bethany.
"Not many people get to pick their own names…call me Ricky." Ricky decided.
"Any name you want and you pick Ricky?" Beth asked.
"It sounds familiar. Could be my real name. Which of you is studying medicine at NYU?" He asked.
"How did you know about that?" Bethany asked.
"The books, letter head on the desk and the way you looked me and Jess over last night." Ricky explained.
"Observant aren't you. I'll be on my second year after the summer. We came all the way from Southester so that I could study here." Bethany said.
"How long have the two of you been together?" Ricky asked as he flipped the egg.
"What do you mean?" Jessica asked.
"…How long have the two of you been lovers?" He asked. Noticing them look at each other he explained. "One bed."
"We've been best friends since we were thirteen, together since seventeen." Bethany said taking Jess's hand in her own.
"Good for you. Breakfast is up." Ricky said dishing the food onto three plates and carrying them over to the table. "So what do you do?" He asked Jessica.
"I'm not nearly as smart Beth. I'm just a lowly Waitress."
- - -
New YorkThe man she was chasing ran straight into a bike messenger. He staggered back to his feet in panic and continued on his stampede. Several more people were pushed aside as he ran down the street. He tried to turn down an ally but his momentum carried him into the wall. Pushing himself from the brick he continued running. He could feel himself being hunted.
He ran into the fence and desperately began climbing. Feral reached the fence just as he began pulling himself over. She watched as he lowered his foot on the other side, looking for a hold instead of just jumping. Shaking her head she pulled out her weapon and fire a red bolt at his foot. With a yelp he fell to the floor.
In a single leap Feral pulled her figure into a momentary handstand on the top of the fence before leaning over and landing perfectly on her feet. She roughly lifted the guy up and sat him on a closed dumpster. His leather shoes had protected him from her blast. Somewhat.
"Hey, hey." Feral said pushing the side of his head. When he didn't respond she grabbed him by the checks and jaw. She knew he was just pretending, not wanting to undergo the impending interrogation. With a sigh Feral's claws extended from her fingers and dug into his face. His brown eyes snapped open.
"GTA fits into two categories. Fun or money, which was that." She snarled. Tears came to his eyes but he didn't say a word. That alone told her which it was. People didn't kill snitches because of fun. "If it was fun I'm gunna tie you to the back of my bike and drag you to the furthest police station in New York from here. If it was money I'll let you go if you tell me where you were going to take the car."
"Garage On Vam Dan Street." He said. Her claws were removed from his face. As soon as he was free he took off again at a run. Before he got to far a wire suddenly wrapped itself around his ankles and bought to the ground. With horror he realised he was being pulled back to The Feral. Feral loosened her snare and pulled a picture from her the back of her belt.
"Before you go…have you seen this chap?" She asked pointing it at him. He was careful to look at the picture thoroughly. He shook his head. "Ahh well."
Will that she leaped back over the fence and made her way to the waiting Predator.
- - -
Mount Sinai HospitalThe doctor shone the light in his eye. As expected his iris shrank and grew as it was supposed to.
"You think you have amnesia?" She asked.
"Retrograde, yes." Ricky replied. The doctor took away the light and looked him in the eye.
"I can't find any signs of head trauma." She said. By the tone of her voice he guessed she thought this was some sort of prank. It was Beth who bought him here, saying that she knew this doctor from the university.
"What about other causes. Drug or alcohol abuse maybe, or brain infection." Ricky pushed.
"Drugs or alcohol usually produce Transient global amnesia not Retrograde and I don't see any of the other signs of a brain infection." She sighed.
"Could it be Psychogenic?" He continued.
"Psychogenic amnesia suppresses a traumatic event not your entire history." She said.
"History is a recorded fact. Past or memory would be a more accurate term." Ricky corrected.
"Okay, that's it." She said.
"What's it?" He asked.
"This prank. It's over. I don't know how you got Bethany involved but I'll except this in good nature and won't report the two of you if you both leave now."
"You think this is a joke?" He said.
"You obviously know a lot about amnesia." She stated.
"I seem to know a lot about a lot." He stated back.
"Such as?"
"I can cook eggs for breakfast. I can speak English, recognise colours and numbers. I know that Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., was the third man to walk on the moon or that light is both a particle and a wave. The atomic number of copper is twenty-nine. Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light. Mars's gravity is zero point three eight of earths. I even know that Tamaranian males can't fire starbolts and are considered the weaker gender because of this. I know everything I might need to know except for anything that concerns me." He said.
"…If you come back tomorrow we can see if a MRI scan reveals anything but if this is a prank." She let the threat hang.
"Thank you, I'll be back tomorrow." Ricky said standing up and leaving the small room. Beth had left him with her teacher and given him a key to her apartment, saying he could return there once he was done.
He walked out of the Mount Sinai Hospital and made his way to cross Central Park. He jumped back off the road as a truck sped past him. Flying near the truck a teen stood on a metal disk yelling at the driver to stop. Ricky watched as the superhero disappeared into the distance before resuming his walk through the park.
Static, real name Virgil Hawkins, student at Dakota Union High. Ricky stopped. He knew who Static was!
She-Bang, real name Shanice Vale, student at Dakota Union High.
The Feral, real name Amelia McKinley, student at Dakota University.
Blacklash, real name Unknown, alias John Black, student at Dakota Union High.
Superman, real name Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet.
Batman, real name Bruce Wayne, industrialist and philanthropist.
- - -
New YorkStatic flew in front of the truck pushing it back with his energy and halting the vehicles axel, stopping the wheels from turning. The door to the truck open as if of its own choice and the driver pulled from his seat. Moving him to the side of the truck Static clung him to it as the police cars arrived at the scene. Without even stopping to except their praise he flew off again.
"We could really do with you're help here Rich?" He said to himself.
- - -
Bethany and Jessica's Residence
Like the night before Ricky awoke after just a few hours sleep. He knew, without knowing why, that it was all the sleep he needed so walked over to the bookshelf that was filled with various medical tomes. Turning on a small lamp he sat down and began reading.
He had to hold the book close to his face to be able to see the text clearly. His eyes sight defiantly needed glasses. Read each word quickly he had to stop after a moment and sighed. He didn't know why but reading like that felt so slow. His eyes scanned over the page much quicker but he didn't take in any of the words. Shaking his head he returned to reading at a normal pace.
DNA is composed of two anti-parallel strands, which wind about a common axis to form a double helix.
As he read each word he realised that his mind had taken in what he had read. It was strange. It was like he had taken a mental picture of the page and then read it in his head later. He scanned his eyes quickly over the rest of the page.
One complete Ricky closed his eyes and called up the image of the book. Because he was looking through the page with his minds eye he was able to read through it quicker then his actual eyes would allow.
Each strand of DNA is composed of a linear array of nucleotides bonded in such a way that the bases extend toward the central axis of the molecule while the two backbones are composed of alternating sugar and phosphate subunits. The bases of the two strands are weakly bonded to each other in a complementary fashion. In other words, an adenine is always bound to a thymine while a cytosine is always bound to a guanine.
With a grin Ricky scanned the rest of the book with his eyes. Once finished he turned to the copy he now had in his mind and read it there instead. By the time morning came he had amassed Beth's entire medical library.
- - -
New YorkBlacklash held the Shock Box as close to the pair as he dared without arousing suspicion. On the other end of the line She-bang held a recording devise to her own Box as the conversation was carried to it. The Shock Box Blacklash held had been hidden under his skin. The only thing the pair saw was an overweight jogger enjoying a sweet snack. He didn't even need to look at them as he could see them without moving his head.
"He's in for three counts of homicide, rape, assault and attempted arson. It's going to take more then that for me to help you get your brother off." The DA said to the other man.
"How much did you have in mind?" The other man said with apparent distain.
"Busted." She-bang said to herself.
- - -
Mount Sinai Hospital"Follow me Ricky." The doctor said as soon as he returned to the hospital. "I'm sorry about my behaviour yesterday but I honestly thought you were involved in a prank."
"What changed your mind?" He said having to jog to keep up with her.
"Four more cases of Retrograde Amnesia came in yesterday in different areas around the city. You're the fifth we know about."
"Do you have a theory about what the cause is?" He asked as an orderly pushed him into a wheelchair.
"No. I'm taking you to have an x-ray first and then more scans that the other patients have already undergone." She explained.
"Do we have anything in common?" He asked her.
"Not that I know about but an FBI agent was in earlier and he didn't look to happy."
- - -
Mount Sinai HospitalThe three members of Mount Sinai Hospital's medical staff all looked at the image of Ricky's neck.
"What is that?"
"Looks like he has something metallic attached to his spine."
"Like what?"
"Is that Brainiac's mark!"
"It is. Brainiac, you don't think."
"Can't be him. But who knows how that computer thinks."
"We need to tell someone. Get a message to the Justice League or something."
- - -
Mount Sinai HospitalRicky looked up as a Golden man with a small hovering computer walked into the room. Ricky had been laying on the bed in this room for over an hour. He hadn't even looked at the results of his x-ray.
"Isn't a Green Lantern supposed to wear green?" Ricky asked the golden man.
"I'm not Green Lantern I'm Booster Gold." The man snapped. He must have heard that too many before. Seeing his blank stare the small robot floated closer to him and created a holographic two-dimensional image. The projection depicted Booster Gold in a number of Heroic lights before ending in the phase "Booster Gold! Protecting his past to ensure your future!"
"Oh." Ricky said. "Why didn't you just say so?"
"I picked the wrong time period. Would you turnaround and lower your head." Gold ordered him.
"Why?"
"I just need to check something."
Frowning Ricky turned complied. Booster Gold roughly rubbed the back of his neck until he found something. He stopped suddenly and pushed his fist into the back of Ricky's skull.
"My Gauntlets fire blasts of energy that can blow your head off." He said
He's found the spinal implant.
"This is it skeet. My moment. Okay pal, keep your hands were I can see them." Booster said. Behind him Booster Gold pressed his hand to his ear. "J'onn this is Booster Gold. Yeah it's about that…no don't put me on…hold."
"That must be annoying Green Lantern." Ricky said.
Hearing the gauntlet powering up to fire Ricky moved his head to one side and backed up into Booster, burying his elbow into his stomach and grabbing his wrist with his other hand. The gauntlet fired a blast of golden energy at the wall. Pulling his wrist and pushing into him, Ricky lifted Booster Gold off his feet and onto the bed. Still holding his wrist, Ricky moved his elbow from his side up to his throat. Pushing forward with it caused the entire bed to move towards the window. The bed stopped when it crashed into the wall but Ricky continued to push Gold through the closed window. The glass shattered and Booster Gold fell, his small robot following him the entire time.
He can fly.
Ricky turned and ran from the room. Booster Gold had found his implant. What implant? Why would he have an implant? Why would the Justice League be after him because of it? Ricky entered the first toilet he found and tried to see the back of his neck in the mirror. Not able to he lent against basin. Looking at himself the mirror he licked his lips and shrugged his shoulders. Backing up a pace he kicked the mirror as hard as he could.
Picking out the largest piece he could Ricky moved in front of the other mirror. Lifting the smaller mirror shard behind him Ricky finally found an answer. The mark had been covered in a makeup to hide it. That's why Booster Gold had rubbed the back of his neck. Three green circles connected by two lines.
Brainiac's mark!
- - -End of Part one- - -
AN
Tell me what you think because I want to know.
Before answering the question I was asked, I need to tell you all that starting Monday I'll be back at University. I don't yet know how much work I'll be piled with so it may, and probably will, affect how often I can work on my stories and post updates. You may have to start waiting longer. Sorry.
The following was asked by Mari
If I see Gizmo robbing a bank I don't call on the…Richie to stop him just because he's his enemy. What was he going to call Richie, because you can tell he wasn't going to call him Gear. Come on, give, please.
I actually wondered if anyone would pick up that little titbit up. You are correct. In the future Richie will go by a different name. What that name is however I won't spoil for you. Well done for asking though.