"Is this a stripper in your cake surprise or here's a gun to the back of your head surprise?" - Rick
October 8th
Late Night
Insomnia II
It was some time after midnight when Encore and Starfire entered the dimness that was the main room of Titans Tower. Encore entered warily as if he were treading on holy ground, but Starfire went forward confidently.
"I much prefer the company." Encore said. "But I think I could have spent all night looking at that moon. It almost felt like I could reach up and touch it."
"It is a most pleasant sight. It reminds me of Gra'tzie on my home planet." Starfire said.
"Gra'tzie?"
"Terran earthlings would call it a lunar festival. Once every cycle - year, that is - it is possible to see Tammaran's three moons in the sky at once. The middle moon is made of a material much like your Earthern quartz. It reflects the light of our red sun in a brilliant rainbow. It is a time of much rejoicing and celebration." Starfire sighed wistfully at the memory.
"It sounds beautiful." Encore said. He marveled that such a thing could exist and, even more so, that he could be in the prescence of a being that had seen such a miracle. It reminded him of how very little he truly knew.
Starfire smiled. "Raven says looking up too often makes one lose perspective."
"She's very wise, isn't she?"
"Raven? Oh, yes. Very much so."
Encore thought about it. "Well, no one's ever accused me of being a wise man, but I reckon if you don't look up every one in a while it's easy to forget that you're a part of something much greater, you know? It's easy to get lost inside yourself if all you do is stare at your feet." Encore rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that make sense?"
"I believe it does." Starfire nodded.
Encore let out a helpless little laugh that made him sound younger than he already was. "You sure are easy to talk to. Do you know that?"
"I enjoy listening to my friends."
The way Starfire said 'friends' stirred something inside Encore. They had barely met and already this pretty alien girl considered him a friend. He was immediately grateful for the inclusiveness and ease she had openly bestowed upon him.
"Also," she added with a slight flush. "I enjoy hearing your accent."
Encore grinned at her, his teeth flashing in the dark. He was oddly proud of that. He might have said more - most likely with an exaggerated version of his southern drawl - if he hadn't spied the kitchen area out of the corner of his eye. HIs pinched and empty stomach growled at him discontentedly and he realized he hadn't eaten since the tournament.
"Say..." He was already unconsciously leaning that way. "Mind if I have a little something to eat?"
"Of course not." Starfire said generously. "Please, eat all you like."
Encore smirked even as he walked into the kitchen. "Careful what you promise, darlin'. Right now I feel like I could eat half a grocery store." He opened the refrigerator, squinted against the sudden light and leaned down to peer inside.
"If you can consume more than Cyborg," Starfire declared with innocent sarcasm. "Then I shall dine on your hat."
That joke was worded in such a strange way that it took a moment to penetrate. Encore hesitated, let it sink in and then let out an unrestrained giggle. Starfire made him feel like a little kid all over again.
His stomach brought him back to the task at hand. He grabbed a soda, pulled out a plate of what looked like grayish-brown meat and nudged the refrigerator door shut with his hip. He peeled away the clear wrap that covered the plate and picked up a piece of the cylindrical food. He peered at it, took an experimental nibble and then popped it into his mouth.
"Mmm," he said around the food. "This is pretty good. What is it? Some kind of sausage?"
"That is tofu." Starfire told him.
Encore swallowed and considered. Then he shrugged. "It's still good." He decided. He learned against the kitchen counter and reached for another one. "So, do you want to talk about it?"
Starfire sat at the kitchen table and looked up at him. "Hm?"
"You know. The reason you're not asleep right now. I figure you didn't want to talk about, but it wouldn't be polite not to ask."
Starfire sighed. She leaned forward and clasped her hand together. "I...would rather not. I do not believe it will help. Sometimes, at least for a time, you merely wish to forget what worries you most." She looked up at him. "...does that make sense?" She asked in an echo of Encore's earlier question.
Encore smiled gravely at her. "I believe it does." He paused. "Are you feeling sleepy yet?"
Starfire silently shook her head.
"Me, neither." He took a sip from his soda. "How about we zone out in front of a television until our eyes get heavy?"
"Very well." Starfire agreed. She stood up and motioned for him to follow. She sat down on the couch and Encore lowered himself down beside her.
He blinked and looked around the dark room. "Um, so where's the-" Starfire clicked on the television and the cowboy stared up at it in stunned disbelief. "Holy crap on a barbequed biscuit! This is your TV? I thought it was a frickin' wall! It's like two times taller than I am! Crazy!"
Starfire was greatly amused by his reaction. "I am glad you like it." She told him.
The instantly forgettable commercial ended and a late night twenty four hour news network show began. It was a simple set with a long desk and a bluescreen landscape of Jump City at night behind it. A young, curly-haired blonde woman sat behind the desk with three older men in ties and suits. The camera focused in on her perfectly made up face.
"Welcome back to TBEP News where we always give you the level truth. This is Beyond The Headlines, where the new kid on the block - that's me, Bethany Snow - probes the minds of three of our veteran reporters here at TBEP for their highly educated opinions on current events. Gentlemen, we have to start with the biggest news of the day: The JCPD sting of the underground fighting tournament illegally held in the old Downtown arena. Several arrests were made, but no further details are available. Dozens of injuries were reported but, as of yet, there are no casualties. What do we take away from this?"
"I think this that, more than ever, Jump City needs a strong, assertive mayor. Even since the tragic death of former Mayor Amelia Madeline, and sometimes even before, Commissioner David Walker has had free reign to do whatever he pleases! He disregards rules and regulations and protocol at every turn and this impromptu sting is yet another example! He rides the popularity and support for the Teen Titans like a show pony! if it weren't for their support, the commissioner's surly disposition and shady practices would have caused him to fall out of favor years ago! And let's not forget that this sting resulted in the destruction of a city landmark over fifty years old!"
"That arena was scheduled for demolition later this year, anyway. You're over dramatizing! Commissioner Walker - while certainly a bad interview - has been a pillar of the community and continues to be so. He's also the first Police Commissioner to openly accept and work with a group of superheroes such as this! Shouldn't he be commemorated for bringing the police force and superheroism together?"
"Superheroism is just a euphenism for illegal vigilantism! The Teen Titans, for all the good they've done, answer to no one! And neither does Walker! He hides behind them, I tell you, and acts as unaccountable as they are without the mask!"
"Even so, you must admit the results are-"
Encore made a face as the 'political experts' continued to wrangle with one another. "We were at the tournament. They're not going to tell us anything we don't already know." He pointed out.
Starfire took the hint and used the remote control to turn the channel. She flipped from a cooking show to a courtroom drama through two weight loss commercials and an advert for a medicine to cure erectile dysfunction. She switched again and paused longer than Encore would have liked on a channel that was likely a cheaper alternative to the medicine in the previous advert. Encore held his breath and Starfire finally continued her channel surfing. He blushed and glanced at the alien girl, but she seemed unaffected.
Starfire stopped on a pro wrestling show. The watched as a long-haired man in tights launched himself off the top turnbuckle and drop an elbow on a man in black whom was apparently so beaten that he could not move out of the way of the attack.
"Looky there." Encore perked up. "I haven't seen this in forever. I used to watch this stuff all the time."
"You are no longer a fan of the wrestling?" Starfire asked him.
"Well, Amber never really liked it so I reckon I just eventually-" He stopped himself. He didn't want to open that avenue of conversation. He looked at Starfire. "What about you? Are you a fan?"
"I have seen Cyborg and Beast Boy enjoy it from time to time, though I have no truly given it any attention. Robin tells me it is fake."
"It's no faker than anything else on TV." Encore shrugged.
"I do not understand." Starfire admitted. "They are not truly fighting, correct?"
"True, but neither are martial artists in kung-fu movies. Soldiers in action flicks aren't getting shot. People in romantic films aren't really in love. They're pretending. They're acting."
"That is different." Starfire insisted.
"Oh? Why so?"
Starfire frowned thoughtfully, but couldn't come up with an answer.
"As a matter of fact, wrestlers have it worse." Encore went on. "No one ever watches a movie and says 'that guy isn't really crying. I bet he used eyedrops. That's so fake!'. But turn on pro wrestling and there will always be somebody to quickly point out that they aren't really punching each other and that they're just stomping the ground. Does that seem fair to you?"
"...no, it does not." Starfire said.
"People who view it as a sport are going to be disappointed. But if the accept it as what it is - pure entertainment - the can get more out of it. Think of it as a performance, like a play."
Starfire looked at him, then back at the television. Then she set down the remote control and watched.
TTTTTTTTTT
Rick did a good job of hiding his nervousness, but he could feel it growing in his gut. He had survived so long for one reason and one reason alone: He kept his eyes open. He paid attention. He knew what was happening around him and was always ready to act. Rick was many things: A blind fool was not one of them.
Sammy, Verilli's right-hand man, had quite effectively taken all of that away when he had pulled up in a black, window-tinted SUV that evening and picked him up from his job on the wharf. He refused to tell Rick where they were going and Rick was smart enough to know he was unable to refuse.
Sammy had always made Rick wary and for good reason. He was meant to be intimidating. There was a time when the dark-skinned South American had been considered the greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the world. His curly white hair showed that he was past his prime, but Rick knew he was still extremely dangerous. He was tall and long and had retained his athleticism. The shockwave pulsars in his cuffs more than made up for any physical shortcomings age had brought on. He was dressed sharply in an immaculate blue suit and dark shades made it impossible to know what he was thinking.
The trip was taking a long time. They cruised out of Jump City and left the lights of it far behind. They drove north into the mountains and nighttime forests passed on either side. Rick was out of his element and trapped in ignorance. He didn't like it one bit.
"You're still not going to tell me where we're going?" Rick said.
"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." Sammy replied.
"I don't like surprises." RIck grumbled. "Especially when I don't know what kind of surprise to expect. Is this a stripper in your cake surprise or here's a gun to the back of your head surprise?"
Sammy suddenly grinned, his teeth white against his brown lips. It didn't make Rick feel any better. "I like you, Rick. I always have."
"...but you're still not going to tell me where we're going, are you?"
"Relax. We're almost there."
"Being relaxed can get you killed." Rick said.
"You're always ready for anything, aren't you, Rick?" Sammy asked him.
"I try to be. It's why I've lived as long as I have."
"Well, trust me: There's no way you'll be ready for what I'm about to show you, so you might as well take it easy. There it is now."
Sammy pulled the SUV off the road and onto a nearly invisible dirt track leading back into the forrest. They went along slowly, the large truck bumping ponderly along the off-road path. Dark, foreboding branches from nearby trees scraped at the windows like skeleton fingers. At the end of the drive was a rickety old shack transplanted straight from a bad horror movie. A single, lonely dim light shone from its front porch.
Sammy and Rick exited the SUV and the wooden stepped creaked loudly as they walked up them. The door squeaked as it was opened and the room beyond was as black as a politican's soul.
"This isn't making me feel any better." Rick said.
"If I was going to kill you, Rick, why would I take the trouble to drive you all the way out here first? Come on." Sammy stepped inside the darkness and Rick reluctantly followed after him. There was a barely audible click as Sammy fumbled with something unseen. The floor lurched and suddenly descended beneath their feet. Harsh florescent lights flashed on and revealed there were quickly being lowered in a glinting, high-tech metal elevator.
"W-where are we going?" Rick asked, reorienting his balance.
"Like I said, I don't want to ruin the surprise."
Even after he realized they were moving, Rick couldn't quite get his stomach under control. "Just how fast are we going?"
"Five hundred miles an hour."
"That's not possible. We'd be slammed against the ceiling if-"
"This elevator has artifical gravity to compensate." Sammy told him.
Rick rubbed his stubbled chin in thought. "What could be so important this far underground?"
Sammy smirked but didn't answer.
A short ding rang out. The elevator stopped and, after a short, mechanical hum, Rick found his stomach again. The double doors slid opened and they were immediately met by a monster. It towered over them with grayish-brown fur and hulking shoulders and a bovine face. Horns curved out from its forehead and its hairy, bipedal feet were hooved. An electronic collar was fastened firmly around its neck. The creature's white on black eyes looked at them hatefully and flicked to glare suspiciously at Rick.
"He's with me." Sammy answered the unasked question. "Let us pass."
The real-life minotaur let out a snort and moved aside.
"What is that thing?" Rick asked once they had passed.
"It's called a wildebeest." Sammy explained. "We found them down here, living in caves throughout the mountains. They formed a community around this place to protect it. But once we beat them back-"
They continued on. The passageway expanded into a huge, well-lit cavern. Dozens of the wildebeests could be seen shuffling along disheartedly at various tasks.
"-we put them to work." Sammy finished.
"They looked pretty strong." Rick said. "I'm guessing those collars have something to do with keeping them in line?"
"Right. There's two failsafes in them. The first is one hell of an electric shock. That's usually enough to calm down the few beligrent ones."
"What's the second failsafe?"
"It explodes." Sammy said flatly. "We try not to use that often. Very messy."
Rick followed along, looking around in amazement. They were walking steadily downwards and the cavern loomed higher and higher. Rick heard the rushing sound long before the ground leveled out, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was until he saw it.
At first glance, it looked like a river of blood. It was nearly a hundred yards across the current was swift with crimson froth. Dozens of wildebeests stood near the shore, turning hydralic levers. Rick knelt down on the rocky shore and peered closely at the strange river.
"I wouldn't touch it if I were you." Sammy warned him.
"What is it?" Rick wanted to know.
"It would have been heaven for your friend Jeff. This is Blood Ice."
"Blood Ice?" Rick's eyes went wide. "All of this? Incredible! It's like a river of gold!"
Sammy laughed. "If this was gold we'd lose money."
"This is where Blood Ice comes from?" Rick asked.
"Yes. Every bit of it. This stuff is so deep underground that you could never drill it. This is the only place on earth where it comes close enough to the surface to get to."
"A free drug only Verilli has access to. He could end up ruling the world." Rick stood up, still marveling at the river. "Why are you showing me this?"
"The former overseer here...had an accident. He got addicted to this crap. The boss didn't mind him taking a little off the top - there's plenty to go around, after all - but he started taking more and more until he was no longer reliable. You've seen junkies on the stuff. He was no longer useful to us."
"So you killed him." Rick said. "That's sensible. What does this have to do with me?"
"Like I said, Rick." Sammy pointed out. "You're reliable and you don't take Blood Ice. You're perfect for this job."
Rick frowned at him. "Are you saying-"
"Congratulations, Rick. You just got promoted."
TTTTTTTTTT
On the couch in the main room of Titans Tower, Encore and Starfire continued watching the wrestling show on the big screen television.
"Check this guy out." Encore was explaining. "His leg has been beat on during the whole match. Even now, when he's making his comeback, he's still limping on it. You have to appreciate that attention to detail. The best wrestlers always sell the..." He turned his head to find Starfire had slumped over, curled up against the armrest of the couch and fast asleep. "...leg." He finished quietly. He reached over her, grabbed the remote control and clicked off the television, thrusting the room into black again.
Encore stood up and saw a blanket draped across the back of a futon couch not far away. He grabbed it and laid it over his new alien friend. Starfire shifted slightly, but her eyes remained closed.
Encore wandered around the room, unsure of what to do. The distraction of Starfire and the television was gone now and his thoughts threatened to assault him again. He went to the window - more a glass wall that anything else - and stared across the bay at Jump City. The lights were strangely beautiful. It looked a lot better from up here in his opinion, especially compared to his former viewpoints of it. He preferred the tower view from seeing the city from a hard park bench or from inside a rain-stained phone booth.
The focus of his eyes shifted and he found himself staring at his reflection in the glass. His face was all glasses and hat; the core of the Encore persona. The name 'Encore' still sounded strange to him. He felt like he was in a Halloween costume in the Summertime. He glanced over his shoulder to be sure Starfire was still asleep and removed the disguise. Without the hat, glasses and fake hair, he was just plain old Jonny again. There was something endearing about seeing his own face again, like being reunited with an old friend.
That buzzing in his ears he had almost grown accustomed to by now grew louder. His reflection began to morph before his eyes. He quickly covered his eyes. He didn't want to see it. He couldn't stand the thought of facing Amber's image again. He turned and slid down to a sitting position. He took in deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He couldn't decide whether he was being haunted or if he was just slowly going crazy. He somehow hoped for the former.
"What are you trying to tell me, Amber?" He whispered.
There was no reply.
