"How are they?" inquired Steven Rodgers. His arm was in a sling, and
he winced ever so slightly when he moved. His arm was getting better...but
not quickly.
"They are not doing so hot," replied Dick Grayson. "They have fevers, Kon's being the highest, and they are pale and clammy. I would say they have a severe case of the flu, if not for the circumstances. I would get them some antibiotics or something, but I don't want to risk it. I don't know how the drugs will interact with their systems. But they do not seem to be in immediate danger. But they can't move, which is a problem." Grayson didn't add that he wasn't especially fond of the idea of moving either. While he and his protégé were not as bad off as the other Titans, they were not exactly a hundred percent either. Grayson theorized that it was due to their relative lack of powers "back home." While they were uncomfortable, they were shielded a little.
Parker was in the middle of the two extremes...worse off than the Batclan and Captain America, but better off than the Titans. He spoke up, "so where does that leave us in our search? We have a little under 24 hours to find this guy."
Rodgers nodded, and said, "We have no choice but to stay here through the night. We are in no condition to do anything. Hopefully most of the symptoms will fade and we will be able to continue our search. But we need to begin to face the possibility that we will be unsuccessful in our search. We must begin to formulate a plan B for our problem."
************************************************************************
Craig Hendrickson stepped away from the door. Not a lot of information, more of a confirmation of what he knew: they were weird and they were sick. Two excellent reasons to get the hell out of there. However, Craig still had a nagging feeling that he should stick around, but his gut had gotten him into enough trouble for the day. Fleeing the scene of a crime, even though he did not commit it, was enough trouble for one day. Craig turned to leave, when the door suddenly opened and two of the guys from the ComCon, who kinda looked like brothers were facing him.
Craig turned to walk away hurriedly while the eldest called after him, "Hey you....stop!" Craig began to run, when he was tackled from behind. Hoisted up by the brothers, he was hog marched back in the room and forcibly sat down in a chair. Craig scanned the room as the two brothers caught their breath. Three of the kids Craig was standing near during the robbery were on the bed, seemingly out of it. The old guy was in a sling and the final member with the brown hair looked pretty out of it too. Craig was pretty confident that he could make a break for it now, but again his instincts told him not to. Instead he settled back in the chair, but remained prepared to run.
The older man in the sling began. "I recognize you from the Comic Convention son. What were you doing outside of our door?"
Craig stared back at the man, and cleared his throat. "I am sorry sir. I saw you rush out and I wanted....well I don't know what I wanted. But I followed you back. I guess I was curious. You guys ran out afterwards, when there was no real reason to do so. You guys were heroes. So I guess I followed you to see what the deal was."
"Why didn't you stay," asked the brown haired guy. He was sweating profusely as he stared at Craig. "You didn't do to bad yourself. Took out that last gunman, and saved our friends. Why didn't you stick around?"
Craig thought about that. Why didn't he stick around? "It just never occurred to me. It was more important to figure out what you were doing, in particular why you acted as you did. Besides, I didn't do it for attention...I just did what needed to be done. Which brings me back to my original questions. Who are you and whats the matter with you?"
The elder heroes and Robin considered this. Guy was in good shape, didn't panic in a crisis, looked out for others, and followed his instincts to their doorstop. Things were starting to add up, and certain things were clicking. Maybe...
Dick Grayson asked, "Before we answer your questions, a few more things. First off, whats your name, cause we can't just not call you anything. Also, I assume that since you were at the ComCon you know a little about comics. Would you say that you are well-versed in both....DC and Marvel?"
"Yeah, I guess. I mean I am not uber-nerd, and can't tell you what the thread count is of the Infinity Gauntlet, or what Doomsday's favorite dish is, but I do alright. And as for my name...are you nuts? You all just tackled me and forced me in here, and before that you took on several armed men. I think the less you know about me, the better off I am. Now tell me who the hell you are and what you want, or else I walk. It doesn't really look like any of you are in a position to stop me, if I really put up an effort."
The heroes looked at each other and nodded. He would do. The hard part was over. The exceedingly difficult part came next.
Rodgers stepped forward. "This is going to sound ridiculous, fantastic even, but it is true. I know of no other way to tell you this, or explain it to you. We are a collection of heroes. I am Steven Rodgers, known as Captain America to you. Those two gentlemen are Tim Drake and Dick Grayson, and Peter Parker is the man sitting in the chair opposite you. The three laying down are Kon-El, Bart Allen, and Cassandra Sandmark. I assume you know who they all are?" Craig nodded, and Captain America continued. "We were sent here, by higher powers, the Spectre and the Living Tribunal, to bring back a champion to our plane of existence to fight an evil that has surfaced their, by leading the heroes of two world to do battle for everything, in every sense of the term. We believe, based on what you have told us, that you are the champion we are supposed to bring back."
The heroes paused and Craig looked at them. They looked back. Finally Craig began to speak. "Gentlemen, this is the part of the conversation when I retort with something witty and glib, and blow you off as crazy. You try to convince me, and ultimately I walk home, shaking my head at all the time I have wasted. However, I have had a long day, and I am too tired to be witty. I am scratched, and I am bruised. So I am going to cut to the chase. You all, are nuts. I gotta go. Good luck with returning to reality."
Craig turned to leave, but Dick Grayson grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "I don't think you understand. This isn't just about our worlds...its about yours too."
"I understand that you think its about my world," retorted Craig, "and that I am an idiot for following my 'instincts' here in the first place. Its episodes like this that demonstrate why I am going to be an accountant. Goodbye." Dick looked pained as Craig walked out the door.
"We can't just let him go," said Tim as he moved towards the door. Parker stopped the Boy Wonder, and nodded at Nightwing.
"Slick move," commented Spiderman staring at the Former Boy Wonder. "If I hadn't been patrolling New York for so long, I would have never seen it."
"So we got our champion picked out," said Rodgers. "Now we got 24 hours to convince him to come with us."
"But how," asked Robin. "We don't know where he is? Who he is?"
"Yeah we do," replied Nightwing, holding up his acquired find. "It hurt like hell to get it, but it was worth it. Craig Hendrickson, student at St. Louis University. Shouldn't be too hard to track him down....tomorrow is a school day and I don't think our boy misses much class.
"Lets get to bed...tomorrow is going to be a busy day."
"They are not doing so hot," replied Dick Grayson. "They have fevers, Kon's being the highest, and they are pale and clammy. I would say they have a severe case of the flu, if not for the circumstances. I would get them some antibiotics or something, but I don't want to risk it. I don't know how the drugs will interact with their systems. But they do not seem to be in immediate danger. But they can't move, which is a problem." Grayson didn't add that he wasn't especially fond of the idea of moving either. While he and his protégé were not as bad off as the other Titans, they were not exactly a hundred percent either. Grayson theorized that it was due to their relative lack of powers "back home." While they were uncomfortable, they were shielded a little.
Parker was in the middle of the two extremes...worse off than the Batclan and Captain America, but better off than the Titans. He spoke up, "so where does that leave us in our search? We have a little under 24 hours to find this guy."
Rodgers nodded, and said, "We have no choice but to stay here through the night. We are in no condition to do anything. Hopefully most of the symptoms will fade and we will be able to continue our search. But we need to begin to face the possibility that we will be unsuccessful in our search. We must begin to formulate a plan B for our problem."
************************************************************************
Craig Hendrickson stepped away from the door. Not a lot of information, more of a confirmation of what he knew: they were weird and they were sick. Two excellent reasons to get the hell out of there. However, Craig still had a nagging feeling that he should stick around, but his gut had gotten him into enough trouble for the day. Fleeing the scene of a crime, even though he did not commit it, was enough trouble for one day. Craig turned to leave, when the door suddenly opened and two of the guys from the ComCon, who kinda looked like brothers were facing him.
Craig turned to walk away hurriedly while the eldest called after him, "Hey you....stop!" Craig began to run, when he was tackled from behind. Hoisted up by the brothers, he was hog marched back in the room and forcibly sat down in a chair. Craig scanned the room as the two brothers caught their breath. Three of the kids Craig was standing near during the robbery were on the bed, seemingly out of it. The old guy was in a sling and the final member with the brown hair looked pretty out of it too. Craig was pretty confident that he could make a break for it now, but again his instincts told him not to. Instead he settled back in the chair, but remained prepared to run.
The older man in the sling began. "I recognize you from the Comic Convention son. What were you doing outside of our door?"
Craig stared back at the man, and cleared his throat. "I am sorry sir. I saw you rush out and I wanted....well I don't know what I wanted. But I followed you back. I guess I was curious. You guys ran out afterwards, when there was no real reason to do so. You guys were heroes. So I guess I followed you to see what the deal was."
"Why didn't you stay," asked the brown haired guy. He was sweating profusely as he stared at Craig. "You didn't do to bad yourself. Took out that last gunman, and saved our friends. Why didn't you stick around?"
Craig thought about that. Why didn't he stick around? "It just never occurred to me. It was more important to figure out what you were doing, in particular why you acted as you did. Besides, I didn't do it for attention...I just did what needed to be done. Which brings me back to my original questions. Who are you and whats the matter with you?"
The elder heroes and Robin considered this. Guy was in good shape, didn't panic in a crisis, looked out for others, and followed his instincts to their doorstop. Things were starting to add up, and certain things were clicking. Maybe...
Dick Grayson asked, "Before we answer your questions, a few more things. First off, whats your name, cause we can't just not call you anything. Also, I assume that since you were at the ComCon you know a little about comics. Would you say that you are well-versed in both....DC and Marvel?"
"Yeah, I guess. I mean I am not uber-nerd, and can't tell you what the thread count is of the Infinity Gauntlet, or what Doomsday's favorite dish is, but I do alright. And as for my name...are you nuts? You all just tackled me and forced me in here, and before that you took on several armed men. I think the less you know about me, the better off I am. Now tell me who the hell you are and what you want, or else I walk. It doesn't really look like any of you are in a position to stop me, if I really put up an effort."
The heroes looked at each other and nodded. He would do. The hard part was over. The exceedingly difficult part came next.
Rodgers stepped forward. "This is going to sound ridiculous, fantastic even, but it is true. I know of no other way to tell you this, or explain it to you. We are a collection of heroes. I am Steven Rodgers, known as Captain America to you. Those two gentlemen are Tim Drake and Dick Grayson, and Peter Parker is the man sitting in the chair opposite you. The three laying down are Kon-El, Bart Allen, and Cassandra Sandmark. I assume you know who they all are?" Craig nodded, and Captain America continued. "We were sent here, by higher powers, the Spectre and the Living Tribunal, to bring back a champion to our plane of existence to fight an evil that has surfaced their, by leading the heroes of two world to do battle for everything, in every sense of the term. We believe, based on what you have told us, that you are the champion we are supposed to bring back."
The heroes paused and Craig looked at them. They looked back. Finally Craig began to speak. "Gentlemen, this is the part of the conversation when I retort with something witty and glib, and blow you off as crazy. You try to convince me, and ultimately I walk home, shaking my head at all the time I have wasted. However, I have had a long day, and I am too tired to be witty. I am scratched, and I am bruised. So I am going to cut to the chase. You all, are nuts. I gotta go. Good luck with returning to reality."
Craig turned to leave, but Dick Grayson grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "I don't think you understand. This isn't just about our worlds...its about yours too."
"I understand that you think its about my world," retorted Craig, "and that I am an idiot for following my 'instincts' here in the first place. Its episodes like this that demonstrate why I am going to be an accountant. Goodbye." Dick looked pained as Craig walked out the door.
"We can't just let him go," said Tim as he moved towards the door. Parker stopped the Boy Wonder, and nodded at Nightwing.
"Slick move," commented Spiderman staring at the Former Boy Wonder. "If I hadn't been patrolling New York for so long, I would have never seen it."
"So we got our champion picked out," said Rodgers. "Now we got 24 hours to convince him to come with us."
"But how," asked Robin. "We don't know where he is? Who he is?"
"Yeah we do," replied Nightwing, holding up his acquired find. "It hurt like hell to get it, but it was worth it. Craig Hendrickson, student at St. Louis University. Shouldn't be too hard to track him down....tomorrow is a school day and I don't think our boy misses much class.
"Lets get to bed...tomorrow is going to be a busy day."