DROP OF GOLDEN SUN
Chapter One: My Only Sunshine
***
DISCLAIMER:
Young Justice is all DC, not me! … Ah, an aspiring poet… ^_^
A/N:
Hey, how are ya? Wow. A Ray story. Don't worry - everyone else is here too. ANYWAY, this is obviously the David/Nauck Ray from Young Justice - you know, Issue #41 onward, else it wouldn't be here. I've never read the original Ray I or Ray II comics, though I did a little biographical research out of interest. Hm, I own Crisis Times Five (1-4) too, but that wasn't any help. Oh, and another flaw - I'm not an authority on Young Justice either. My sister collects and I was exposed through her. My point here, folks? I'm writing this with little information. Oh, I'm SUCH a hypocrite. ^_^ I've always felt people shouldn't write about something unless they have a good knowledge of the primary documents, yet here I am with this, regardless. Silly me. How tunes change, eh? The underlying message I'm rambling towards? Please be kind. I don't want you experts who know every DC syllable tearing me apart. ^_^ Just ignore every error, please and thanks. God bless ya for it! ;)
Additionally, please note I consider Ray's eyes green and hair sandy brown. I mean, people SAY red - and I can admittedly almost see it in certain panels - unfortunately I feel YJ Ray has light brown hair. Sorry, guys. Picture your preference, perhaps… hm… whatever, right?
IMPORTANT: Don't be fooled by the beginning! KEEP READING, trust me.
BTW, there should be several chapters, each around fifteen to twenty pages. Give this thing a chance, please. It's not AT ALL what it seems. Hopefully I keep ya guessing. That's the plan! ^_^ Enjoy! Reviews appreciated!
~ Tabby J, 2003
***
Faint singing, little girls' voices carrying with melancholy innocence across a breeze neither warm nor cold…
"…Ring around the rosy…"
It's a funny story, really, mine…
"A pocket full of posies…"
Well, alright… maybe not funny Ha Ha…
"A tissue… a tissue…"
Actually… it's one of the saddest stories you'll ever hear.
"We all fall down."
***
We're here for a good time
Not a long time
So, have a good time
The sun can't shine everyday
- Trooper
Man… life's so short. Mine especially. First they wasted it… then I wasted it. I absolutely wasted it. We all waste everything, really.
***
Void. Hm, funny word that. Void. Means an empty place - yet, also means to be without. Well, believe me, friend… when you live in a void you live without. Now, I may be wrong, but I also associate the word with being no good and not being able. Ya, void's a funny word. Sums up my situation perfectly. I'm every void…
Man… I miss things. Lots of things. Everything, actually. Ya, you miss everything when you're every void. I even miss the things I hate… just on principal. You understand.
Watching was the hardest part. Watching everything I couldn't have…
***
I suppose I could have screamed. I suppose I could have shrieked my throat black with blood, but I had sense then; sanity. No, before the despair took me I just watched in frustrated silence. Staring in helplessly, hopelessly from the sidelines, thinking endlessly. Thinking and thinking. Then praying and praying - funny, I wasn't religious until this little bit of business… No, I had hope back in the silence. They say a hero never loses hope - or at least, when they do they cease to be a hero. Well, HELL, I was just some kid. I joined the game too late, played for a year and then… nothing. Endless, silent nothing.
The screaming started. Long and hard and filled with hateful rage no one can ever know until they know what I know. No one knows what I know. No one. The screaming was as endless as the silence surrounding it and eventually I wasn't sure if it was even real… How can silence be sound and sound silence? I mean, what the hell IS sound? … OK, let me run this one by ya: If I tree falls in the woods and nobody's around to hear… does it make a sound? I don't think so. I mean, sound is waves hitting our ears. If there's no ears for the waves to hit - hell, no sound. I mean, even if you set a video camera out in the woods and wait for that widow maker, I'm telling ya, man - when you play the tape the waves hit your ears. That's not proof. Sound's only heard when there are ears to hear it! And check this… two guys are together, one deaf and one not, K? There's a sound. What sound? Who cares. Sure, no sound exists for the deaf guy - tree falling syndrome, right? Well, hell, sound still exists in general in the scenario coz there's a pair of wave-vibrating ears present. Someone tried to beat me with that deaf guy take once. MAN, just shut up, people! Like you've had a billion years to think about this crap! … You understand, I'm sure…
Sorry, YA… when you've got all eternity… you start to think very, very deeply along very troubled lines… TOO deeply along ALL troubled lines… I suppose that's when the madness starts. The crying. Endless crying that turns to endless laughing… and then finally endless screaming again until you simply CANNOT BREAK THE CYCLE. Scream, cry, laugh… scream, cry - LORD!
Hope wasn't abandoned, I suppose. Merely forgotten altogether. Plagued no longer when futile theories of escape… I became distracted with the deepness. There's no other way to put it - the deepness of it all. The thoughts that lead to madness. Reality blurred and everything in question, everything sleepy and deep. Sleepy inside and the outside forgotten. Eventually, I couldn't even see them anymore. Any of them. Anything out there at all. I was wide awake… yet asleep to it somehow. Unbeknownst, a new plague set in, haunting me, within myself - distorting, poisoning…
AH! Do I even HAVE a voice? Do I just imagine the sound of - ER, do I confuse it with the voice in my HEAD? Is there a voice in one's head or do they simply confuse it with speech or, NO, simply THINK it exists… Sound inside my head? No, there can't be sound inside - there CAN'T - my ears don't vibrate in there! My ears don't vibrate in there! They don't vibrate at all anymore! I can't hear! I can't - help me! Lord, Lord, LORD… if you're out there… please save me from this place… or at least save me from madness… Lord, I always dreamed of living forever young… but… not like this. Not like this at all. This is Hell. HELL.
HELL!!! (Hell… hell… hell…)
Is there really an echo in here? How could questionable sound bounce off non-existent walls? What contains me? Where is here? WHAT is here? Does HERE even exist? … Reality is forever shattered, I suppose. I can do nothing more than the cycle… which I promise you will someday end in silence just as it aimlessly began. Someday, in this dayless realm, my soul - which lies upon the edge of a blade, balancing in madness - will finally fall and shatter like glass. Silence. All will be silent then. Forever. Light is eternal silence, they say. Whoever the hell THEY is…
You understand, I'm sure… I know you understand. Ah, the voices on the wind… the voices of melancholy children… so sleepy… so…
"DOE… a deer, a female deer…"
The plague I battled was madness.
"RAY… a drop of golden sun…"
I wish I could tell you I won.
***
Ray Terrill didn't slam from his bed or bolt upright gasping. He didn't cry out, scream or cry as some do. His eyes fluttered gently a moment and then finally opened, focused and took on a look of concentration, a look of remembrance… his unconscious fading as conscious set in…
The strange nightmare of a crazed man rambling, mumbling unintelligibly, slipped away into the haze of unconscious from whence it came. A crazed monologue. A soft breeze carrying soft voices… It didn't seem a nightmare, but it had certainly been one. The crazed sob story, the endless emptiness and the whispers that followed - it didn't seem the stuff of nightmares, but it was. It WAS. It hadn't been the words or images. It had been the feelings. He'd felt the desperation, the pain, the panic, the terror, the absolute RAGE… and finally… the insanity… Yet, nothing had been worse than that frightened desperation - it had been the cause of all the others. That shattering desperation…
Trapped, absolutely trapped… FOREVER…
With a soft groan, the attractive young man rolled off the couch at YJ Headquarters, dream forgotten. He'd crashed there again. There was little else in his life… He'd never had much of a life… He wasn't like other youths by ANY stretch of the imagination…
Rubbing his eyes, he subconsciously ran a hand through his unkempt hair… wishing he could just sleep in and lounge about in a housecoat all day… with a coffee, sleepy and trying carelessly to be even a little productive - wandering aimlessly about the house, turning on the computer but doing nothing with it… He missed those groggy days of old, before everything had changed. Before he'd found out about his genetic "gift"…
Now that he knew, there were few casual moments. The odd game of pool, a sport here or there - it WAS nice to be allowed outside, after all - but, hell, it was always go, go, go. He was suddenly caught up in this global game of mask and cape. This duel of egotistical, pretentious images. He had an image to hold up. Face to keep before the others. In a league or no, you still had to keep up the image. Casual moment, quiet game of pool - whatever - you still had the image to keep up. The game never slept. Even when YOU slept… pray you didn't snore…
He found it especially bad, personally, as he'd never dealt with people or image ever before. They were a shocking new - AH! Suddenly, as though a shocking reminder, images of the darkness slammed back to him, hard and unfocused. AH! The dark house, the isolation, the locks and blacked out windows, people staring from the street… The lonely darkness… He'd spent much of his early childhood in the pitch black BASEMENT, for God's sake - OH MY GOD - never, NEVER again - AH. No, this was much better. Much better. Don't you ever forget it, Ray. Much better. His earliest memories, his BIRTHDAYS - the basement - GOD…
His thoughts drifted to breakfast as his morning malcontent, for it was a morning thing, deepened. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone… but food wasn't working for him anymore. Literally. He still hadn't mastered his powers and probably never would… therefore, change was constant within him. At this point in his fiery development, dairy soured in his stomach. His digestive track in general was on the fritz - failing to give him the full nutritional content of anything and often bringing food poisoning. Blazingly matchless heartburn haunted his nights.
Sighing, he found himself in the kitchen, forcing upon himself an air of dignity, when truthfully, he missed his housecoat and wanted to sleepily shuffle about with some steamy mocha. BAH, his housecoat would burn off his body and the creamy coffee would simply sour in his st-
"Morning, Sunshine." Snapper was at the kitchen table. Ray nodded in masculine greeting and opened the fridge. After a moment the older man added, "Sleep well?"
"Can't complain - you?"
"Had the weirdest dream. Savage - yet somehow adorable - space beasts were chasing me around a living room with fish… and get this, they were wearing lamp shades on their heads…"
Ray smiled and closed the fridge with nothing, for the thought of anything within made him physically ill. Burning, food poisoning…
"You dream much?" Spoon in hand, Snapper was eating peanut butter.
"Everyone dreams every night, Snap… it's only a question of whether one remembers or not."
"You know what I mean…" Snapper was mildly put off. "Do you remember-"
"Actually…" Ray interrupted with another slapping flash of remembrance… and then his heightened tone slipped away, as did the memory. He stood, hand still on the fridge, staring softly in deep thought. Then, suddenly - jerking his head, he casually resumed, "Damn. Almost remembered." Shaking his head again, nonchalant, he smiled at Snapper and sat down.
"Gotta hate that…" Snapper sounded indifferent, eyes in his jar, digging deeper with his silver spoon. Then, very casual, eyes still down - "So… all this brooding, bad blood between you and Kon … Been ignoring it awhile now, but it's starting to affect-"
"His immature, obnoxious, egotistical attitude turns everything into hostile rivalry. He's no longer the STAR, Snapper - the unique center of attention. Obviously never had his place challenged. It's his childish way of dealing with the threat he feels I pose. I'm older and we're equally matched-"
Eyes up - "You're both to blame. Listen to yourself, man - you're all ego too. He pushes then you shove. You're both playing the game. Personally, I don't give a crap about your power trip, macho testosterone CRAP, but it's hard on the team… It's a power struggle and it takes two to tango." … Silence … then pointlessly, "If you two did literally, in fact, tango… who'd have the rose in their-"
"Snapper." Ray interrupted, ticked. "Someone's got to put the arrogant ass in his place, alright?"
"Funny… he said the same thing about you."
***
"They were cute?" Secret had an interested eyebrow raised.
"It was the lampshades." Snapper was blunt.
The day drifted on and eventually, by afternoon, the entire team had assembled - everyone outside. Some by the pool, some on the lawn, some on the courts… Snapper and Secret sat on the back porch chatting aimlessly.
On the lawn, Robin and Kon were pointlessly plucking grass and occasionally uttering the odd phrase. It was far too hot, conversation never really picking up. Finally, Kon made of the mistake of asking -
"Who's faster - Flash or Impulse?"
"We've been over this." Robin muttered, breaking twigs. "They're both about the same… though, as of late, I've been seriously debating whether EITHER is really the Fastest Man Alive… anyone on the Speed Force, in fact…"
Kon blinked, then was annoyed - "What? Who the hell could be faster-"
Robin motioned silently with his head across to the pool. There - dozing in a deckchair and special black and gold trunks, recharging as he soaked in the intense sunlight, lay The Ray.
Those familiar with Kon's nature would not be at all surprised to learn his ego blazed and he started something. Before too very long the image and egos of all three heroes - Impulse, Kon and Ray - were absolutely burning in conflict. The only solution - a macho, testosterone trial. In short, a race. A race to determine the fastest man alive.
***
"My money's on Ray." Cassie whispered, as not to hurt Bart's feelings. "I mean, light's instant. You flick a light switch and it's there. You click a flashlight and it's there. No matter how great the distant light hits the first thing in its path instantly. INSTANTLY-"
"And so does Impulse…" Anita disagreed. "I think they'll tie."
"Remember when Superman raced Flash - neck and neck." Secret added.
"That merely proves Ray's faster than both Impulse AND Kon." Robin shrugged. "If both Superman, Kon and Impulse are merely faster than a speeding bullet, they have no hope of beating a guy faster than the speed of light…"
"Nah, nah, man…" Lobo cut in. "I've seen 'em. Bart and Ray - pals, eh. When they travel together - to battle, to the store - neck and neck. Plus, they raced the other day. They're STILL fighting over who won. That's why there being so pissy right now on the subject…"
Robin looked thoughtful, "HM… I would have said Ray was merely being polite… had you not brought work into it. In an emergency speed is everything and etiquette be damned… and there is the matter of that race, for sure…"
"Exactly. Tie." Anita concluded. Secret and Slobo agreed.
Cassie and Robin, however, held out, and would have continued to argue their point, had Snapper not approached, a furious Kon-El in tow. Entering their midst and interrupting their debate, Snapper was Snapper - very sarcastic. "Did it ever dawn upon the magnificent council that perhaps this was a bad, nay, TERRIBLE idea?"
Ignoring Snapper, Kon entered the casual fray - "Remember Zandia? Impulse NAILED Ray!"
"They were neck and neck-" Lobo started to dispute.
Kon interrupted, "Not then. When Impulse slammed him from here to-"
"People." Snapper resumed order. "I repeat, this will do nothing save hurt feelings, shatter self-respect and burn down acres of-"
"Point taken and disregarded." Kon bluntly broke formation, heading over to where Ray and Impulse were warming up, an air of aggressive ego hanging over them. "The race is on!" he boomed.
Snapper rolled his eyes as the others followed, leaving him. Lord, Kon was immature… "Elections, races - what's with these kids?"
***
"Guys, you really don't have to do this…" Cass crossed her arms.
"Seriously - you've got nothing to prove." Anita seconded.
Kon rolled his eyes, ready to drop the flag, "Ignore them." Well planned pause and finally - "Then again, if either of you wishes to stand down… no dishonor."
Silence.
"Coz ya know… if either of you feels a little cold at the ankles… or a little yellow on the back… we'll all understand…"
Silence.
"Raymond?" Kon drew it out, challenging, mocking…
Furious inside, Ray kept his smooth exterior up… a look of sheer determination as he slipped his golden helmet over his face. "I'm fine, Kon. You only want me to pull so YOU save face."
Silence.
Kon, obviously pissed, also tried to manifest coolness. "Whatever, man… We'll see who loses everything here, hm?"
In a tough spot, Ray needed to save face - keep up his image - yet, at the same time, he knew he had everything to lose, while Kon had absolutely nothing on the line. For once, he had to credit the moron with some intelligence. This was going to be ugly. Very ugly.
"Guys…" Cassie tried again. "Someone has to win and someone has to lose here, OK? And then if we race tomorrow the other might win - I mean, come on - what day of the week is it? It could go either way. Ray could say he wasn't fully charged, Impulse could say he had a cold, headache, flesh eating disease - WHATEVER - this is STUPID. No matter what the outcome someone's going to get hurt and no one will except the results anyway. Let's just-"
"Sure, Cass, just make excuses for them." Kon muttered, then turned sharply to the pair. "First one to see her point is a coward."
Ouch. The C word.
"Bring it…" Teeth gritted, Ray was posed to start, deeply focused.
"Fine. Just don't false start. I've no idea how we'd-"
Snapper barged forward, interrupting Kon. "I need a moment with Ray…"
"Oh PLEASE… well planned escape, RAYMOND…" In his face.
"If you call me that one more-" Ray stood his ground, pissed.
"Gentlemen." Snapper shoved between. "I seriously need to speak with Ray. You're little game can wait…"
***
"So what was so desperately important and unrealistically only involves ME?" Ray was skeptical, raising an eyebrow as he sat before Snapper's desk.
"Ray… I have some very bad news…" Snapper was very, very serious.
Surprised, Terrill blinked… then silence… finally, "What's wrong?"
"Alright, alright. Kon's right. I'm just trying to stop the race."
"SNAPPER." Ray stood. "I have to defend my-"
"Stupid ego. Yes, I've noticed. You super heroes-"
Ray was walking out.
Actually pissed, "Ray! Listen to me, man! Of you and Kon I've been trying to reason with YOU. Why? Admittedly, we've always been able to talk, but that's not it. You were right on one count, man - you're the older, mature one. I hoped you'd be the bigger person and see the light. Pun absolutely intended. Stop being a jerk out there."
A glare and nothing more.
***
"Here he comes…" Robin muttered, everyone still standing around.
"Oh Hera…" Cassie trailed off. What was going to happen now?
Kon was muttering… "If he's coming out with some excuse to-"
"He was just trying to stall things. Let's do this." Ray was blunt, putting his helmet back on.
The pair braced themselves and Kon-El started. "Ready… steady… on your mark… get set… GO!"
The pair were off in flashes of fire and light just as Snapper jogged on sight, their lights casting over him - the indescribable expression of the sad spectator upon his face. Too late, he could do nothing but watch like the rest. They'd circle the globe one hundred times and the first back would be champ. Considering the milliseconds at stake there would most definitely be a photo finish…
"I hope you're happy, Kon… this is ridiculous…" Cassie muttered.
***
Raging in light, Ray couldn't see a thing. He poured it on like never before though, knowing Impulse would do the very same. He desperately needed to win… he had to win… he just HAD to-
As he fretted and raged, zinging through the air at the speed of light… new dynamics fell into play. Was it his emotions? His effort? Another phrase in his development? The extremely bright sun and extra energy it provided? His digestive track? A combination all the above, perhaps. Ray would never know… but somehow, as he raced harder and harder… he began to change, to transform.
The very fabric of the universe seemed to change before his startled eyes. Existence was almost translucent for a moment, he was flying so unbelievably fast, then it all shifted into something else. Something biblically awesome and overwhelming. He would never, as long as he lived, be able to describe what he saw and felt… but it was-
Terrifying.
Frightened, Ray hit the brakes.
Screeching to a dead stop and crashing into a very dense tree line… Ray lay painfully unconscious, dreaming of eternity…
***
Impulse hit the brakes too, only, at Young Justice Headquarters, the race over. Dragging his heels across the state… he managed to stop right before Kon-El. Very confused, his eyes were darting around. "What? Where-? Why did he-"
"Bart wins." Kon-El smiled. Outside cocky, inside RELIEVED.
"Why'd Ray stop?" Bart wasn't listening.
"He choked?" Kon realized, thrilled. This was too good to be true.
"I dunno. He just hit the brakes suddenly… Maybe he saw me pulling ahead and-"
"You'd pulled ahead?" Kon interrupted. Better and better and-
"I'm not sure. It's so hard to tell, I mean, we're-"
"Regardless, he choked." Superboy crossed his arms, case closed.
Silence.
"I hope he's alright…" Secret's quiet voice came from the back.
"Of course he's alright…" Kon continued, very smug. "And you know something, people, I would not be surprise if Ray Terrill never showed his face around here again. It's about time someone broke his-"
"Oh PLEASE." Snapper turned and left. "I'm not listening to this…"
***
Darkness, gentle voices on the wind… singing… a very beautiful song danced sadly in the air, in the emptiness…
"Inch worm… inch worm… measuring the marigolds… you and your arithmetic will probably do far…"
Beautiful with a touch of gloom… the song whispered on and on…
"Two and two are four… four and four are eight… eight and eight are sixteen… sixteen and sixteen are thirty two…"
Ray's eyes fluttered gently, his dream dancing about his conscious… fading away into darkness and slumber…
"Inch worm… inch worm… measuring the marigolds… won't you, please, just stop and see… how beautiful they are?"
Awake, Ray realized he wasn't safe in bed. No, no. He definitely wasn't home safe in bed…
"…Oh, never seem to stop and see how beautiful they are…"
***
Only a few members remained now, bored… vegetating wastefully across the furniture. Anita sat, head resting on her hand, in a recliner as though waiting for something she didn't care for. Kon and Cassie were on the couch… Kon smug and Cass somewhat anxious. Robin was across the room at the computer… oblivious to their-
Snapper entered, "You kids still here?"
"We could ask you the same question… only regarding the big picture." Robin spoke with casual indifference as he typed.
"Not too big, unless you're threatening my life."
"Medium then."
"Huh?" Kon blinked.
"Small being here tonight, medium being here working in general-"
"Thank you, Robin. If Superboy can't follow the quips-"
Kon was annoyed. "Oh, Snapper, you're just pissed coz your boy let ya down today - but hey, like he had a chance anyway, right? If you believed in him at all you wouldn't have tried to talk him out-"
"I don't play favorites, kid." Snapper was blunt.
Silence.
Cassie finally spoke, clearly concerned. "Oh, Hera, where is that idiot? What if he stopped for some other reason, guys - like, let's say he-"
"You're all still on THAT?" Robin blinked, pushing away from the keyboard. "People - it was this afternoon."
"But-" Cassie started.
"Honey, build me a bridge and get over it." Anita agreed, bored.
"A team member is missing and-"
"People always go missing 'round here, Cass - people join, quit, join, quit - stay, leave - come, go - why do you always fret like an old-"
The glare silenced Kon instantly.
Anita sighed, frustrated. "He'll probably show up tomorrow. He lost some serious face today, mon. He'll need some time to deal… though admittedly, I think he's being a real loser about the whole thing. I mean, hiding out overnight pouting about something that happened THIS AFTERNOON, spirits be praised… He needs to build a bridge and get over HIMSELF…"
"Here, here…" Kon-El amusingly seconded.
Snapper sighed, "You kids are hopeless…"
Cassie's expression suddenly hardened. "You're absolutely right, Anita. Ray is being SUCH an ass over this. I… I thought he was a bigger person than this. I mean, I really, really respected him. Wanted him to join us and thought the world of him. GRRR… I respected him a lot, guys and now… NOW I'm seriously pissed. Maybe he SHOULDN'T come back."
"Here, here…" Kon repeated.
"Ah." Robin said simply, having resumed typing. "I see. You think highly of a person, their practically perfect to ya and then WHAM - they do something stupid that shows their human, shattering the pedestal you've put them on… Gotcha."
"Robin." Cass was annoyed. "Let it go. I thought we'd dealt with-"
"Sincerely. I hate it when people I respect let me down."
"Sure." Cassie muttered, ticked. "Whatever."
"Well, people…" Anita sensed a potential fight and glanced at her watch, lifting her duffle bag. "I should probably get going. It's late. Same time tomorrow?"
Everyone muttered unintelligible, sounding tired and discontent.
"Right, then. Night." She was out the door.
***
Entering the kitchen Kon-El did a serious double take. Bart had sat down to a breakfast table piled sky high - all sugary junk. "Holy crow caw, man - this is a binge even for YOU. What the hell's the matter?"
Bart sighed, obviously depressed. "I just can't believe what happened yesterday… Ray-"
"-let you down too? I know the feeling." Wonder Girl entered snarling.
"No, no, quite the contrary…" Bart sighed. "I can't believe I let such a stupid thing come between us. I wasn't myself. I just got so caught up in my speed ego… I just… MAN, I was a total jerk…"
"YOU weren't the jerk. Ray should'a been the bigger person." Kon insisted, taking a doughnut from the pile. Cassie glared and Kon wasn't entirely convinced he knew why.
Robin entered, "Wow. Hershey meets Tim Horton's: A Breakfast Story."
Superboy was blunt. "He's depressed coz idiot-box Light Bright was such an ass yesterday. I mean, PLEASE, people - it was YESTERDAY. Can we move on? As Ray himself would say: Cry me a river and row away on it!"
"Hm, that was almost relevant, Kon." Cassidy remarked indifferently, opening the morning paper. "Almost, but not quite."
"Oh… I use to love hearing him say that…" Bart's depression deepened. "…It was clever and original… he was always such a wit-"
"What's with all the cheesy river imagery-" Robin started, but Bart interrupted, miserable…
"I said: I use to love-"
"Right, right. I get it, Bart. You're sad he's gone. You're sad you fought. There's nothing anyone can do about it now. Stop talking about the guy like he's in the past tense for Crocky's sake! We have more important things to worry about, OK?"
"Like this outdoor concert!" Cassie was delighted, showing the paper.
"NO, I was thinking more along the lines of saving the-"
"-Senators. Ottawa's the capitol of the capitol of hockey, after all." Kon was now reading the sport's section. "By the way, Ray was absolutely NOT witty, Bart. Let go of that delusion. I think you're confusing him with episodes of your favourite shows again - only they aren't witty either."
"There ya go. According to MY taste, Ray was witty." Bart was sad.
"SIGH, people. I give up." Robin walked out.
Bart actually sighed, burying another treat in his mouth… "I waited so long to be the guy's friend and I blew it…"
"You both blew it. He's no saint." Cassie snorted, eyes on newsprint.
Bart muttered, "I wonder where he is… and if he'll ever come back…"
***
Blinding colors blended, blurred by insanely humid heat. The haze seemed almost psychological somehow… like the vagueness of a vision. A dream. Then, in a shocking instant the world was intensely bright and beautiful. Vegetation… humidity… it was too warm, and yet so lovely…
He was lying on a tropical forest floor. Wait - now that his eyes had focused… he realized he was actually within a jungle. A jungle like no other he'd ever experienced. Everything was larger than life. He'd never, ever even imagined tree trunks so tall and THICK… their roots stretched thick and endless in the earth, half-visible… ENORMOUS and natural - untouched by man, unseen by man… WOAH…
A glorious gold and black butterfly fluttered down and landed delicately upon his limp, lifeless hand. He stared at it for quite some time, his mind blank - nothing within it save the beauty of the butterfly, magnificent and beyond reality. He absolutely adored it. He moved to touch it finally, but it was startled away, leaving him somewhat sad…
Sighing, he lay sleepy and sore. It was too warm - was it his power or the actual climate? Seemed to be both… He felt feverish…
A refreshing shadow fell over his face, the effect quite cooling. Enjoying it, Ray didn't immediately glance up. However, when he did… Lord above, he was looking into the face of…
Something straight out of Jurassic Park.
***
Panting, trembling… sitting high in the rocky hills, Ray Terrill was trying to piece things together. Gratefully, the creature's uncharacteristic hesitation and his super speed had saved his life. What could it possibly have…? Trying to recall it exactly in detail, he figured it a Komodo Dragon.
Still shaken, though he'd been through MUCH worse, Ray watched over the unique terrain. It was beautiful… yet, even up here it was far too warm. He was in the tropics for certain… LORDY, it was hot…
The sleepiness slipping over him again… but knowing it wasn't safe to doze in unfamiliar terrain… he fought it for a moment - unfortunately, he began to slip in and out until-
AH!
Amazing green eyes open again, Ray felt something soft caressing his cheek. Something as beautifully gentle as butterfly wings…
Oh wait…
His waking start had also startled the butterfly. Another black and gold butterfly… they were fairly large with unique wing shape and swallow tails. Literally golden…
Sighing with relief, the young man held out his hand. Gracefully, with slight hesitation, the magnificent mistress of flora landed upon it. Resting there it flexed its wings casually and then froze, soaking in the blazing sun. Ray did the same.
Time seemed to drift carelessly-
AH!
A strange shriek, much like an attacked bird. Startled, Terrill was on his feet, the butterfly instantly gone, forgotten. He was ready for- He saw the indescribable shadow first… then heard the strange sound.
It rounded the corner, egg in claws… tall, thin… shifty…
It was one of those creepy egg eating dinosaurs.
***
"Where the hell am I? Dino Island?" Ray was furious, flying low over the plains, observing all the now obvious dinosaur herds. Heavens, that egg dinosaur had given him a fright. There was something so chilling about that type. Something-
He had to get back to Young Justice Headquarters and inform them of this freakish place. Some super genius super villain had obviously been inspired by Jurassic Park and was now-
***
"Does this island never END?" Ray's frustration mounted. His sense of distance was totally disproportioned. Usually he could fly blind within light and know exactly when to start and stop… but… now… what on earth was going on?
Discouraged, he landed within a desert region. His senses told him THIS was where YJ was to stand. He walked to the very spot his powers felt were the kitchen, the breakfast table… yet, found himself staring at nothing more than sand. He could just image Impulse there eating a mountain of doughnuts… yet there was nothing save sand… A hundred yards off stood a hideous, black and bubbling tar pit… that was the main room… Anita would have dropped her duffle bag there by the- GRRR… what was wrong with his powers? What had happened to him!?
He zoomed on, landing where he felt Washington DC, USA was… then Ottawa, Canada… then London, England… and Madrid, Spain… etc… etc… Rome, Italy… He'd been to Coliseum a dozen times - where THE HELL was it!? Where was Big Ben, Lady Liberty - where was it all? Where was The Great Wall of China… Hadrian's Wall? There weren't even ruins! No, NO -he was just disoriented, just MESSED UP!
Feeling his senses were off and his power damaged, he figured he hadn't even left the island yet. At a loss, he kept trying to escape the enormous mass of land… and occasionally he would… but only an enormous mass of water would follow. One land, one water repeatedly. One land, one water, one land, one - AH - what on God's green earth was THIS?!
It took him several dozen spins around the world to finally accept it.
Civilization didn't exist. The continents were one giant land mass.
***
Green eyes… intense, secretly fascinated green eyes… staring between the enormous, ancient gray-brown branches of a barky log… staring into the grassy clearing… Cautious, silent, hidden… only eyes revealed…
The predator was silent. It didn't roar or shriek after the kill, as was expected. No… it only shrieked and shrilled when it actually needed to - intimidation or communication. It wasn't a savage, blood thirsty killer. No, it killed only now and then to eat. It was like an ancient, enormous wolf, really. Keeping the population in check, only praying upon the weak - strengthened the genes of other species. No deliberate cruelty. No murderous battle cry - it struck quick and silent. Like a lion… if it was seen coming, it abandoned all attempt.
This was just nature. Nothing more. It was silent. It didn't roar to express its murderous power. It didn't see itself as king of the jungle. Nature was nature in 2003, 1003… at the birth of the very world…
It had been in the water in a flash, upon the duck-billed herbivore. Ray had merely been relaxing among the rocks… listening to the beautiful calls of their sloping headpieces… their beautifully long and slender headpieces… curved and the source of countless splendid sounds… It had unexpectedly come and killed one. Was he sad? Of course. Unfortunately, it was the reality of nature. He ate beef and chicken.
He watched it eat silently… little scavengers on the outskirts. Ignored, unless they proved too nervy, and even then they were only threatened with a half-heartened and near silent lung. For the most, however, the Rex ignored them as though they were invisible. Ray was reminded of wolves and ravens - lions and jackals, vultures… it was all the same…
Majestic myth had built itself around this prehistoric pawn of nature…
***
Ray was surprisingly fond of the tubby, little thing - some form of ankylosaurus - still enormous, yet as dinosaurs went it seemed somewhat small… hm… It was a very interesting brown with occasional flashes of copper and bronze within its armor.
It was so temperate. Quiet, indifferent to the world and all within it, even the grass it never ceased to munch. Munch was the only word for it. The sound was very present. It had gradually come to accept and ignore him as it accepted and ignored the invisibly itchy parasites upon its shell… Ray sat sometimes lazily upon the thick branches above it, or the rocks beside - occasionally even upon the grass nearby. He dared closer and closer each encounter, his secret hope to eventually touch it.
It had no herd. Was its type meant to? He hadn't a clue as to the answer. He would visit it off and on… admiring its remarkable, unique protective gear. The powerful bone-spiked ball at the end of its powerful tail was especially impressive. Surely nothing could harm this creature. Even its underbelly was armored - more turtle than porcupine. It's head and neck were protected, for the most part its legs… hm… It's feet seemed thick and sturdy, though unprotected. Hm… much more impressive than the small headed stegosaurus, he'd decided. Probably smarter too… though admittedly, his indifferent friend did absolutely nothing to illustrate such. It munched without reaction to anything. ANYTHING. Cows at least- no, no, he loved it dearly. It was just relaxed, calm… confident… He loved it dearly, more than anything - latching on desperately without realizing.
"Fused lizard"… that's what its name meant… but how had he known something as offhand as THAT? Hm… bones fused into armor…
Throughout his tropical adventures, trying to solve the mystery of this new world and hopefully how to eventually escape it… Ray saw many frightful things. Many powerful, awesome things. Yet, constantly, he returned to the little dinosaur and therapeutically listened to it munch. Thinking, thinking…
He was frightened of raptors. Well, what Jurassic Park had incorrectly called raptors. Their real name started with… D? Hm… No matter. They frightened him. They whipped about instantaneously, executing instant, brilliant and unspoken attack maneuvers. They slashed any size of creature dead instantly. Instantly - the very word surrounded the species. No other word could really sum them up as fittingly… HM… perhaps his new friend - as one sided as their affection was - could defeat the monsters. All of them. Their claws couldn't tear him and he'd surely kill them one after the other with good, hard blows. Simple blows of death…
To see his creature actually live… to be provoked… to kill… wow…
Actually, upon thought he realized they would probably blind it and eat its feet. Um, wait… nooo… Raymond, you silly. The reason the creature was so indifferent, so unchanging and passive was obvious. It had nothing to fear. Raptors wouldn't bother. No one would bother. In fact, he was probably the first animal to pay it mind at all within its entire existence. He eventually even named the simple creature. When he found his escape he'd gladly summon all his power to take it back with him. Screw altering history - screw it! He loved his friend dearly… or at least he thought he did… the mind forms crazy attachments when-
None of this would ever come to pass, obviously. None of his immature delusions would ever come to pass. In truth, he would sit in the psychologically companionable atmosphere of the ankylosaurus and just downright deal. Whenever the true severity of his situation threatened to break the surface, as it did constantly, he would return to his special dinosaur and be subconsciously comforted. Coping… defense mechanisms - hey, Freud was onto something, people…
The creature obviously moved around, but he could always eventually find it. It was always within the vicinity. He preferred to sleep by it. As silly as it sounded, the temperate little warrior somehow made him feel safe. Familiarity, attachment… armor… Defense mechanism.
Unfortunately, the morning finally came when Ray awoke to find himself alone. His dinosaur gone. Vanished.
Try as he might, he never found it again. Never saw it ever again. He would never solve the mystery…
Truly alone now, with no way to cope, the severity slammed down…
***
"Wow!" the boy whispered to himself under the blanket, a very soft and special artificial light with him, barely touching the text. His eyes had adjusted years ago to working under the most slightest of illuminated conditions. "I had no idea so many dinosaurs started with A!" He hadn't even heard of 99% of them and he'd considered himself an expert… yikes…
He talked to himself often, as he was always alone… it was dark as night in the room… however, the faint light managed to catch the corners of some large dinosaur posters upon the wall…
The duckbills with the long, curved headpieces that supposedly played the most hauntingly beautiful music - the stuff of souls… Oh! His favourite, of course… the armadillo-like dinosaur… the small, armored fellow… my, he was cute… like a little pet… a companion…
The boy, seven, was an excellent reader. His fingertips touched lightly upon the word "ankylosaurus" finally and he smiled…
***
Just as grass in a temperate little warrior's clearing could not last forever, nor could Ray's boyishly subconscious fascination with dinosaurs… it couldn't last and he was stranded, shocked, lost… totally trapped…
Confused and tired, Ray sat brooding on a rock, a large herd of triceratops grazing nearby, behind him. He sat there… sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset… with the triceratops behind… just staring off, thinking. A calm, but bitchy expression his. The perfect black and gold butterflies would come and go carelessly, the only change in scene. One would land on his neck a while and then move on, another within his hair or beside him on the rocks. They would dance in pairs about him - he was silent, motionless - absolutely indifferent. He didn't even blink…
Sunrise, sunset… sunrise, sunset… his expression and position virtually changeless and the triceratops forever in the backdrop… sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise-
Then finally…
***
The boy pushed the extremely thick and heavy text upon the dark kitchen table while his father-uncle folded laundry, a black silhouette against the very soft artificial light over the kitchen sink…
"Guess what I'd call my ankylosaurus?"
"Cleo?" the father figure guessed the most obvious and logical choice, sounding entirely indifferent as he folded another towel listlessly.
"Noooo…" the small boy made a face of dislike.
"Then what?"
***
He snapped.
Walking calmly through the multiple herds of herbivores, Raymond blasted the ground randomly with fire - watching dinosaurs shriek and run, terrified, this way and that. Ray started calm, then was absolutely enraged - frustrated beyond belief. Blasting, shrieking, blasting -
Finally, he came to the triceratops… and ladies and gentlemen, they were not so passive. As moody and intolerant as bulls or rhinoceroses, they were extremely provoked. In fact, they charged.
Frightened - for though he'd braved many dangers, nothing was quite like having a large herd of triceratops unexpectedly come at you in murderous fury at close range…
He took off in panic, taking cover within the rocks again, above their attack. The huffy roan creatures then began systematically striking the formation's base, their fury building and their blows hardening. Panting, Ray watched, waiting for when he'd have to burst away again…
A distant, distracting rumble… the three horns stopped hesitantly, watching the horizon. Ray saw it. So faint and far away, yet enormous all the same, was a mountain. On the other side of the world, nearly faint as sky - yet gigantic and rumbling - stood a mountain. Horrible, extremely black smoke was now pouring from it. Then an unreal red-
OH… MY… GOD…
Startling crashes, like claps of thunder… the triceratops were so startled they ran for their lives… Ray, equally alarmed, fell from his rocky perch, landing hard. In agony, he felt the tremor in the earth strengthen… it wasn't ceasing… He dodged rocks - the rocks were coming down! The whole world was crashing down around him!
A quake rippled through the mysterious cradle of life… and chaos consumed all in its wake…
Terror, absolute unbridled terror - the splendid sky darkened and literally seemed to split in two… petrifaction, wild panic… utter confusion… the sky was falling… the sky was falling and it would cover the living and the dead alike in a suffocating cloak!
The sky and land cracked - loud, SO LOUD - the shrieks, the running, the absolute PANIC… to be there, to see it… There was NO DOUBT…
It was the end of the world.
***
Kon sighed, glancing through the latest TV Guide… "BORING…"
Impulse, still depressed, was curled up in a chair nearby. "I wonder what Ray's doing…"
"Sitting on his ass wondering what we're doing." Kon was blunt.
***
Panicked beyond all bounds of sanity, Raymond took off faster than ever before, faster than anything ever had before - the largest sonic wave known to man was coming, the smoke and poisoning cloak - it was all coming straight for him! Coming too fast! He had to outrun it, but he couldn't! It was just too- AH!
Then it happened again. Just as before. Realities slid, colliding without colliding. He stared wide eyed into the beauty as he raced through translucent universe, less afraid. He felt different, changed - he felt like… nothing at all. Like air.
Ray Terrill had truly become light… and raging forward faster than any mere light… Ray felt the world around him change again… he could almost hear voices… whispers echoing through eternity…
He hit the brakes.
***
Frozen in shock, he found himself staring over a world that would have confused the Jetsons, if it didn't bring them to tears first. A monstrous place of smog, metal and hideously blunt technology - colorless and lacking any true life. No green. Nothing grew. Not a plant. Nothing breathed!
Ray finally understood what was happening to him.
This was the fate of man. If man still existed at all.
***
"…Miserably, you'll never see how beautiful they are…"
***
Chapter One: My Only Sunshine
***
DISCLAIMER:
Young Justice is all DC, not me! … Ah, an aspiring poet… ^_^
A/N:
Hey, how are ya? Wow. A Ray story. Don't worry - everyone else is here too. ANYWAY, this is obviously the David/Nauck Ray from Young Justice - you know, Issue #41 onward, else it wouldn't be here. I've never read the original Ray I or Ray II comics, though I did a little biographical research out of interest. Hm, I own Crisis Times Five (1-4) too, but that wasn't any help. Oh, and another flaw - I'm not an authority on Young Justice either. My sister collects and I was exposed through her. My point here, folks? I'm writing this with little information. Oh, I'm SUCH a hypocrite. ^_^ I've always felt people shouldn't write about something unless they have a good knowledge of the primary documents, yet here I am with this, regardless. Silly me. How tunes change, eh? The underlying message I'm rambling towards? Please be kind. I don't want you experts who know every DC syllable tearing me apart. ^_^ Just ignore every error, please and thanks. God bless ya for it! ;)
Additionally, please note I consider Ray's eyes green and hair sandy brown. I mean, people SAY red - and I can admittedly almost see it in certain panels - unfortunately I feel YJ Ray has light brown hair. Sorry, guys. Picture your preference, perhaps… hm… whatever, right?
IMPORTANT: Don't be fooled by the beginning! KEEP READING, trust me.
BTW, there should be several chapters, each around fifteen to twenty pages. Give this thing a chance, please. It's not AT ALL what it seems. Hopefully I keep ya guessing. That's the plan! ^_^ Enjoy! Reviews appreciated!
~ Tabby J, 2003
***
Faint singing, little girls' voices carrying with melancholy innocence across a breeze neither warm nor cold…
"…Ring around the rosy…"
It's a funny story, really, mine…
"A pocket full of posies…"
Well, alright… maybe not funny Ha Ha…
"A tissue… a tissue…"
Actually… it's one of the saddest stories you'll ever hear.
"We all fall down."
***
We're here for a good time
Not a long time
So, have a good time
The sun can't shine everyday
- Trooper
Man… life's so short. Mine especially. First they wasted it… then I wasted it. I absolutely wasted it. We all waste everything, really.
***
Void. Hm, funny word that. Void. Means an empty place - yet, also means to be without. Well, believe me, friend… when you live in a void you live without. Now, I may be wrong, but I also associate the word with being no good and not being able. Ya, void's a funny word. Sums up my situation perfectly. I'm every void…
Man… I miss things. Lots of things. Everything, actually. Ya, you miss everything when you're every void. I even miss the things I hate… just on principal. You understand.
Watching was the hardest part. Watching everything I couldn't have…
***
I suppose I could have screamed. I suppose I could have shrieked my throat black with blood, but I had sense then; sanity. No, before the despair took me I just watched in frustrated silence. Staring in helplessly, hopelessly from the sidelines, thinking endlessly. Thinking and thinking. Then praying and praying - funny, I wasn't religious until this little bit of business… No, I had hope back in the silence. They say a hero never loses hope - or at least, when they do they cease to be a hero. Well, HELL, I was just some kid. I joined the game too late, played for a year and then… nothing. Endless, silent nothing.
The screaming started. Long and hard and filled with hateful rage no one can ever know until they know what I know. No one knows what I know. No one. The screaming was as endless as the silence surrounding it and eventually I wasn't sure if it was even real… How can silence be sound and sound silence? I mean, what the hell IS sound? … OK, let me run this one by ya: If I tree falls in the woods and nobody's around to hear… does it make a sound? I don't think so. I mean, sound is waves hitting our ears. If there's no ears for the waves to hit - hell, no sound. I mean, even if you set a video camera out in the woods and wait for that widow maker, I'm telling ya, man - when you play the tape the waves hit your ears. That's not proof. Sound's only heard when there are ears to hear it! And check this… two guys are together, one deaf and one not, K? There's a sound. What sound? Who cares. Sure, no sound exists for the deaf guy - tree falling syndrome, right? Well, hell, sound still exists in general in the scenario coz there's a pair of wave-vibrating ears present. Someone tried to beat me with that deaf guy take once. MAN, just shut up, people! Like you've had a billion years to think about this crap! … You understand, I'm sure…
Sorry, YA… when you've got all eternity… you start to think very, very deeply along very troubled lines… TOO deeply along ALL troubled lines… I suppose that's when the madness starts. The crying. Endless crying that turns to endless laughing… and then finally endless screaming again until you simply CANNOT BREAK THE CYCLE. Scream, cry, laugh… scream, cry - LORD!
Hope wasn't abandoned, I suppose. Merely forgotten altogether. Plagued no longer when futile theories of escape… I became distracted with the deepness. There's no other way to put it - the deepness of it all. The thoughts that lead to madness. Reality blurred and everything in question, everything sleepy and deep. Sleepy inside and the outside forgotten. Eventually, I couldn't even see them anymore. Any of them. Anything out there at all. I was wide awake… yet asleep to it somehow. Unbeknownst, a new plague set in, haunting me, within myself - distorting, poisoning…
AH! Do I even HAVE a voice? Do I just imagine the sound of - ER, do I confuse it with the voice in my HEAD? Is there a voice in one's head or do they simply confuse it with speech or, NO, simply THINK it exists… Sound inside my head? No, there can't be sound inside - there CAN'T - my ears don't vibrate in there! My ears don't vibrate in there! They don't vibrate at all anymore! I can't hear! I can't - help me! Lord, Lord, LORD… if you're out there… please save me from this place… or at least save me from madness… Lord, I always dreamed of living forever young… but… not like this. Not like this at all. This is Hell. HELL.
HELL!!! (Hell… hell… hell…)
Is there really an echo in here? How could questionable sound bounce off non-existent walls? What contains me? Where is here? WHAT is here? Does HERE even exist? … Reality is forever shattered, I suppose. I can do nothing more than the cycle… which I promise you will someday end in silence just as it aimlessly began. Someday, in this dayless realm, my soul - which lies upon the edge of a blade, balancing in madness - will finally fall and shatter like glass. Silence. All will be silent then. Forever. Light is eternal silence, they say. Whoever the hell THEY is…
You understand, I'm sure… I know you understand. Ah, the voices on the wind… the voices of melancholy children… so sleepy… so…
"DOE… a deer, a female deer…"
The plague I battled was madness.
"RAY… a drop of golden sun…"
I wish I could tell you I won.
***
Ray Terrill didn't slam from his bed or bolt upright gasping. He didn't cry out, scream or cry as some do. His eyes fluttered gently a moment and then finally opened, focused and took on a look of concentration, a look of remembrance… his unconscious fading as conscious set in…
The strange nightmare of a crazed man rambling, mumbling unintelligibly, slipped away into the haze of unconscious from whence it came. A crazed monologue. A soft breeze carrying soft voices… It didn't seem a nightmare, but it had certainly been one. The crazed sob story, the endless emptiness and the whispers that followed - it didn't seem the stuff of nightmares, but it was. It WAS. It hadn't been the words or images. It had been the feelings. He'd felt the desperation, the pain, the panic, the terror, the absolute RAGE… and finally… the insanity… Yet, nothing had been worse than that frightened desperation - it had been the cause of all the others. That shattering desperation…
Trapped, absolutely trapped… FOREVER…
With a soft groan, the attractive young man rolled off the couch at YJ Headquarters, dream forgotten. He'd crashed there again. There was little else in his life… He'd never had much of a life… He wasn't like other youths by ANY stretch of the imagination…
Rubbing his eyes, he subconsciously ran a hand through his unkempt hair… wishing he could just sleep in and lounge about in a housecoat all day… with a coffee, sleepy and trying carelessly to be even a little productive - wandering aimlessly about the house, turning on the computer but doing nothing with it… He missed those groggy days of old, before everything had changed. Before he'd found out about his genetic "gift"…
Now that he knew, there were few casual moments. The odd game of pool, a sport here or there - it WAS nice to be allowed outside, after all - but, hell, it was always go, go, go. He was suddenly caught up in this global game of mask and cape. This duel of egotistical, pretentious images. He had an image to hold up. Face to keep before the others. In a league or no, you still had to keep up the image. Casual moment, quiet game of pool - whatever - you still had the image to keep up. The game never slept. Even when YOU slept… pray you didn't snore…
He found it especially bad, personally, as he'd never dealt with people or image ever before. They were a shocking new - AH! Suddenly, as though a shocking reminder, images of the darkness slammed back to him, hard and unfocused. AH! The dark house, the isolation, the locks and blacked out windows, people staring from the street… The lonely darkness… He'd spent much of his early childhood in the pitch black BASEMENT, for God's sake - OH MY GOD - never, NEVER again - AH. No, this was much better. Much better. Don't you ever forget it, Ray. Much better. His earliest memories, his BIRTHDAYS - the basement - GOD…
His thoughts drifted to breakfast as his morning malcontent, for it was a morning thing, deepened. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone… but food wasn't working for him anymore. Literally. He still hadn't mastered his powers and probably never would… therefore, change was constant within him. At this point in his fiery development, dairy soured in his stomach. His digestive track in general was on the fritz - failing to give him the full nutritional content of anything and often bringing food poisoning. Blazingly matchless heartburn haunted his nights.
Sighing, he found himself in the kitchen, forcing upon himself an air of dignity, when truthfully, he missed his housecoat and wanted to sleepily shuffle about with some steamy mocha. BAH, his housecoat would burn off his body and the creamy coffee would simply sour in his st-
"Morning, Sunshine." Snapper was at the kitchen table. Ray nodded in masculine greeting and opened the fridge. After a moment the older man added, "Sleep well?"
"Can't complain - you?"
"Had the weirdest dream. Savage - yet somehow adorable - space beasts were chasing me around a living room with fish… and get this, they were wearing lamp shades on their heads…"
Ray smiled and closed the fridge with nothing, for the thought of anything within made him physically ill. Burning, food poisoning…
"You dream much?" Spoon in hand, Snapper was eating peanut butter.
"Everyone dreams every night, Snap… it's only a question of whether one remembers or not."
"You know what I mean…" Snapper was mildly put off. "Do you remember-"
"Actually…" Ray interrupted with another slapping flash of remembrance… and then his heightened tone slipped away, as did the memory. He stood, hand still on the fridge, staring softly in deep thought. Then, suddenly - jerking his head, he casually resumed, "Damn. Almost remembered." Shaking his head again, nonchalant, he smiled at Snapper and sat down.
"Gotta hate that…" Snapper sounded indifferent, eyes in his jar, digging deeper with his silver spoon. Then, very casual, eyes still down - "So… all this brooding, bad blood between you and Kon … Been ignoring it awhile now, but it's starting to affect-"
"His immature, obnoxious, egotistical attitude turns everything into hostile rivalry. He's no longer the STAR, Snapper - the unique center of attention. Obviously never had his place challenged. It's his childish way of dealing with the threat he feels I pose. I'm older and we're equally matched-"
Eyes up - "You're both to blame. Listen to yourself, man - you're all ego too. He pushes then you shove. You're both playing the game. Personally, I don't give a crap about your power trip, macho testosterone CRAP, but it's hard on the team… It's a power struggle and it takes two to tango." … Silence … then pointlessly, "If you two did literally, in fact, tango… who'd have the rose in their-"
"Snapper." Ray interrupted, ticked. "Someone's got to put the arrogant ass in his place, alright?"
"Funny… he said the same thing about you."
***
"They were cute?" Secret had an interested eyebrow raised.
"It was the lampshades." Snapper was blunt.
The day drifted on and eventually, by afternoon, the entire team had assembled - everyone outside. Some by the pool, some on the lawn, some on the courts… Snapper and Secret sat on the back porch chatting aimlessly.
On the lawn, Robin and Kon were pointlessly plucking grass and occasionally uttering the odd phrase. It was far too hot, conversation never really picking up. Finally, Kon made of the mistake of asking -
"Who's faster - Flash or Impulse?"
"We've been over this." Robin muttered, breaking twigs. "They're both about the same… though, as of late, I've been seriously debating whether EITHER is really the Fastest Man Alive… anyone on the Speed Force, in fact…"
Kon blinked, then was annoyed - "What? Who the hell could be faster-"
Robin motioned silently with his head across to the pool. There - dozing in a deckchair and special black and gold trunks, recharging as he soaked in the intense sunlight, lay The Ray.
Those familiar with Kon's nature would not be at all surprised to learn his ego blazed and he started something. Before too very long the image and egos of all three heroes - Impulse, Kon and Ray - were absolutely burning in conflict. The only solution - a macho, testosterone trial. In short, a race. A race to determine the fastest man alive.
***
"My money's on Ray." Cassie whispered, as not to hurt Bart's feelings. "I mean, light's instant. You flick a light switch and it's there. You click a flashlight and it's there. No matter how great the distant light hits the first thing in its path instantly. INSTANTLY-"
"And so does Impulse…" Anita disagreed. "I think they'll tie."
"Remember when Superman raced Flash - neck and neck." Secret added.
"That merely proves Ray's faster than both Impulse AND Kon." Robin shrugged. "If both Superman, Kon and Impulse are merely faster than a speeding bullet, they have no hope of beating a guy faster than the speed of light…"
"Nah, nah, man…" Lobo cut in. "I've seen 'em. Bart and Ray - pals, eh. When they travel together - to battle, to the store - neck and neck. Plus, they raced the other day. They're STILL fighting over who won. That's why there being so pissy right now on the subject…"
Robin looked thoughtful, "HM… I would have said Ray was merely being polite… had you not brought work into it. In an emergency speed is everything and etiquette be damned… and there is the matter of that race, for sure…"
"Exactly. Tie." Anita concluded. Secret and Slobo agreed.
Cassie and Robin, however, held out, and would have continued to argue their point, had Snapper not approached, a furious Kon-El in tow. Entering their midst and interrupting their debate, Snapper was Snapper - very sarcastic. "Did it ever dawn upon the magnificent council that perhaps this was a bad, nay, TERRIBLE idea?"
Ignoring Snapper, Kon entered the casual fray - "Remember Zandia? Impulse NAILED Ray!"
"They were neck and neck-" Lobo started to dispute.
Kon interrupted, "Not then. When Impulse slammed him from here to-"
"People." Snapper resumed order. "I repeat, this will do nothing save hurt feelings, shatter self-respect and burn down acres of-"
"Point taken and disregarded." Kon bluntly broke formation, heading over to where Ray and Impulse were warming up, an air of aggressive ego hanging over them. "The race is on!" he boomed.
Snapper rolled his eyes as the others followed, leaving him. Lord, Kon was immature… "Elections, races - what's with these kids?"
***
"Guys, you really don't have to do this…" Cass crossed her arms.
"Seriously - you've got nothing to prove." Anita seconded.
Kon rolled his eyes, ready to drop the flag, "Ignore them." Well planned pause and finally - "Then again, if either of you wishes to stand down… no dishonor."
Silence.
"Coz ya know… if either of you feels a little cold at the ankles… or a little yellow on the back… we'll all understand…"
Silence.
"Raymond?" Kon drew it out, challenging, mocking…
Furious inside, Ray kept his smooth exterior up… a look of sheer determination as he slipped his golden helmet over his face. "I'm fine, Kon. You only want me to pull so YOU save face."
Silence.
Kon, obviously pissed, also tried to manifest coolness. "Whatever, man… We'll see who loses everything here, hm?"
In a tough spot, Ray needed to save face - keep up his image - yet, at the same time, he knew he had everything to lose, while Kon had absolutely nothing on the line. For once, he had to credit the moron with some intelligence. This was going to be ugly. Very ugly.
"Guys…" Cassie tried again. "Someone has to win and someone has to lose here, OK? And then if we race tomorrow the other might win - I mean, come on - what day of the week is it? It could go either way. Ray could say he wasn't fully charged, Impulse could say he had a cold, headache, flesh eating disease - WHATEVER - this is STUPID. No matter what the outcome someone's going to get hurt and no one will except the results anyway. Let's just-"
"Sure, Cass, just make excuses for them." Kon muttered, then turned sharply to the pair. "First one to see her point is a coward."
Ouch. The C word.
"Bring it…" Teeth gritted, Ray was posed to start, deeply focused.
"Fine. Just don't false start. I've no idea how we'd-"
Snapper barged forward, interrupting Kon. "I need a moment with Ray…"
"Oh PLEASE… well planned escape, RAYMOND…" In his face.
"If you call me that one more-" Ray stood his ground, pissed.
"Gentlemen." Snapper shoved between. "I seriously need to speak with Ray. You're little game can wait…"
***
"So what was so desperately important and unrealistically only involves ME?" Ray was skeptical, raising an eyebrow as he sat before Snapper's desk.
"Ray… I have some very bad news…" Snapper was very, very serious.
Surprised, Terrill blinked… then silence… finally, "What's wrong?"
"Alright, alright. Kon's right. I'm just trying to stop the race."
"SNAPPER." Ray stood. "I have to defend my-"
"Stupid ego. Yes, I've noticed. You super heroes-"
Ray was walking out.
Actually pissed, "Ray! Listen to me, man! Of you and Kon I've been trying to reason with YOU. Why? Admittedly, we've always been able to talk, but that's not it. You were right on one count, man - you're the older, mature one. I hoped you'd be the bigger person and see the light. Pun absolutely intended. Stop being a jerk out there."
A glare and nothing more.
***
"Here he comes…" Robin muttered, everyone still standing around.
"Oh Hera…" Cassie trailed off. What was going to happen now?
Kon was muttering… "If he's coming out with some excuse to-"
"He was just trying to stall things. Let's do this." Ray was blunt, putting his helmet back on.
The pair braced themselves and Kon-El started. "Ready… steady… on your mark… get set… GO!"
The pair were off in flashes of fire and light just as Snapper jogged on sight, their lights casting over him - the indescribable expression of the sad spectator upon his face. Too late, he could do nothing but watch like the rest. They'd circle the globe one hundred times and the first back would be champ. Considering the milliseconds at stake there would most definitely be a photo finish…
"I hope you're happy, Kon… this is ridiculous…" Cassie muttered.
***
Raging in light, Ray couldn't see a thing. He poured it on like never before though, knowing Impulse would do the very same. He desperately needed to win… he had to win… he just HAD to-
As he fretted and raged, zinging through the air at the speed of light… new dynamics fell into play. Was it his emotions? His effort? Another phrase in his development? The extremely bright sun and extra energy it provided? His digestive track? A combination all the above, perhaps. Ray would never know… but somehow, as he raced harder and harder… he began to change, to transform.
The very fabric of the universe seemed to change before his startled eyes. Existence was almost translucent for a moment, he was flying so unbelievably fast, then it all shifted into something else. Something biblically awesome and overwhelming. He would never, as long as he lived, be able to describe what he saw and felt… but it was-
Terrifying.
Frightened, Ray hit the brakes.
Screeching to a dead stop and crashing into a very dense tree line… Ray lay painfully unconscious, dreaming of eternity…
***
Impulse hit the brakes too, only, at Young Justice Headquarters, the race over. Dragging his heels across the state… he managed to stop right before Kon-El. Very confused, his eyes were darting around. "What? Where-? Why did he-"
"Bart wins." Kon-El smiled. Outside cocky, inside RELIEVED.
"Why'd Ray stop?" Bart wasn't listening.
"He choked?" Kon realized, thrilled. This was too good to be true.
"I dunno. He just hit the brakes suddenly… Maybe he saw me pulling ahead and-"
"You'd pulled ahead?" Kon interrupted. Better and better and-
"I'm not sure. It's so hard to tell, I mean, we're-"
"Regardless, he choked." Superboy crossed his arms, case closed.
Silence.
"I hope he's alright…" Secret's quiet voice came from the back.
"Of course he's alright…" Kon continued, very smug. "And you know something, people, I would not be surprise if Ray Terrill never showed his face around here again. It's about time someone broke his-"
"Oh PLEASE." Snapper turned and left. "I'm not listening to this…"
***
Darkness, gentle voices on the wind… singing… a very beautiful song danced sadly in the air, in the emptiness…
"Inch worm… inch worm… measuring the marigolds… you and your arithmetic will probably do far…"
Beautiful with a touch of gloom… the song whispered on and on…
"Two and two are four… four and four are eight… eight and eight are sixteen… sixteen and sixteen are thirty two…"
Ray's eyes fluttered gently, his dream dancing about his conscious… fading away into darkness and slumber…
"Inch worm… inch worm… measuring the marigolds… won't you, please, just stop and see… how beautiful they are?"
Awake, Ray realized he wasn't safe in bed. No, no. He definitely wasn't home safe in bed…
"…Oh, never seem to stop and see how beautiful they are…"
***
Only a few members remained now, bored… vegetating wastefully across the furniture. Anita sat, head resting on her hand, in a recliner as though waiting for something she didn't care for. Kon and Cassie were on the couch… Kon smug and Cass somewhat anxious. Robin was across the room at the computer… oblivious to their-
Snapper entered, "You kids still here?"
"We could ask you the same question… only regarding the big picture." Robin spoke with casual indifference as he typed.
"Not too big, unless you're threatening my life."
"Medium then."
"Huh?" Kon blinked.
"Small being here tonight, medium being here working in general-"
"Thank you, Robin. If Superboy can't follow the quips-"
Kon was annoyed. "Oh, Snapper, you're just pissed coz your boy let ya down today - but hey, like he had a chance anyway, right? If you believed in him at all you wouldn't have tried to talk him out-"
"I don't play favorites, kid." Snapper was blunt.
Silence.
Cassie finally spoke, clearly concerned. "Oh, Hera, where is that idiot? What if he stopped for some other reason, guys - like, let's say he-"
"You're all still on THAT?" Robin blinked, pushing away from the keyboard. "People - it was this afternoon."
"But-" Cassie started.
"Honey, build me a bridge and get over it." Anita agreed, bored.
"A team member is missing and-"
"People always go missing 'round here, Cass - people join, quit, join, quit - stay, leave - come, go - why do you always fret like an old-"
The glare silenced Kon instantly.
Anita sighed, frustrated. "He'll probably show up tomorrow. He lost some serious face today, mon. He'll need some time to deal… though admittedly, I think he's being a real loser about the whole thing. I mean, hiding out overnight pouting about something that happened THIS AFTERNOON, spirits be praised… He needs to build a bridge and get over HIMSELF…"
"Here, here…" Kon-El amusingly seconded.
Snapper sighed, "You kids are hopeless…"
Cassie's expression suddenly hardened. "You're absolutely right, Anita. Ray is being SUCH an ass over this. I… I thought he was a bigger person than this. I mean, I really, really respected him. Wanted him to join us and thought the world of him. GRRR… I respected him a lot, guys and now… NOW I'm seriously pissed. Maybe he SHOULDN'T come back."
"Here, here…" Kon repeated.
"Ah." Robin said simply, having resumed typing. "I see. You think highly of a person, their practically perfect to ya and then WHAM - they do something stupid that shows their human, shattering the pedestal you've put them on… Gotcha."
"Robin." Cass was annoyed. "Let it go. I thought we'd dealt with-"
"Sincerely. I hate it when people I respect let me down."
"Sure." Cassie muttered, ticked. "Whatever."
"Well, people…" Anita sensed a potential fight and glanced at her watch, lifting her duffle bag. "I should probably get going. It's late. Same time tomorrow?"
Everyone muttered unintelligible, sounding tired and discontent.
"Right, then. Night." She was out the door.
***
Entering the kitchen Kon-El did a serious double take. Bart had sat down to a breakfast table piled sky high - all sugary junk. "Holy crow caw, man - this is a binge even for YOU. What the hell's the matter?"
Bart sighed, obviously depressed. "I just can't believe what happened yesterday… Ray-"
"-let you down too? I know the feeling." Wonder Girl entered snarling.
"No, no, quite the contrary…" Bart sighed. "I can't believe I let such a stupid thing come between us. I wasn't myself. I just got so caught up in my speed ego… I just… MAN, I was a total jerk…"
"YOU weren't the jerk. Ray should'a been the bigger person." Kon insisted, taking a doughnut from the pile. Cassie glared and Kon wasn't entirely convinced he knew why.
Robin entered, "Wow. Hershey meets Tim Horton's: A Breakfast Story."
Superboy was blunt. "He's depressed coz idiot-box Light Bright was such an ass yesterday. I mean, PLEASE, people - it was YESTERDAY. Can we move on? As Ray himself would say: Cry me a river and row away on it!"
"Hm, that was almost relevant, Kon." Cassidy remarked indifferently, opening the morning paper. "Almost, but not quite."
"Oh… I use to love hearing him say that…" Bart's depression deepened. "…It was clever and original… he was always such a wit-"
"What's with all the cheesy river imagery-" Robin started, but Bart interrupted, miserable…
"I said: I use to love-"
"Right, right. I get it, Bart. You're sad he's gone. You're sad you fought. There's nothing anyone can do about it now. Stop talking about the guy like he's in the past tense for Crocky's sake! We have more important things to worry about, OK?"
"Like this outdoor concert!" Cassie was delighted, showing the paper.
"NO, I was thinking more along the lines of saving the-"
"-Senators. Ottawa's the capitol of the capitol of hockey, after all." Kon was now reading the sport's section. "By the way, Ray was absolutely NOT witty, Bart. Let go of that delusion. I think you're confusing him with episodes of your favourite shows again - only they aren't witty either."
"There ya go. According to MY taste, Ray was witty." Bart was sad.
"SIGH, people. I give up." Robin walked out.
Bart actually sighed, burying another treat in his mouth… "I waited so long to be the guy's friend and I blew it…"
"You both blew it. He's no saint." Cassie snorted, eyes on newsprint.
Bart muttered, "I wonder where he is… and if he'll ever come back…"
***
Blinding colors blended, blurred by insanely humid heat. The haze seemed almost psychological somehow… like the vagueness of a vision. A dream. Then, in a shocking instant the world was intensely bright and beautiful. Vegetation… humidity… it was too warm, and yet so lovely…
He was lying on a tropical forest floor. Wait - now that his eyes had focused… he realized he was actually within a jungle. A jungle like no other he'd ever experienced. Everything was larger than life. He'd never, ever even imagined tree trunks so tall and THICK… their roots stretched thick and endless in the earth, half-visible… ENORMOUS and natural - untouched by man, unseen by man… WOAH…
A glorious gold and black butterfly fluttered down and landed delicately upon his limp, lifeless hand. He stared at it for quite some time, his mind blank - nothing within it save the beauty of the butterfly, magnificent and beyond reality. He absolutely adored it. He moved to touch it finally, but it was startled away, leaving him somewhat sad…
Sighing, he lay sleepy and sore. It was too warm - was it his power or the actual climate? Seemed to be both… He felt feverish…
A refreshing shadow fell over his face, the effect quite cooling. Enjoying it, Ray didn't immediately glance up. However, when he did… Lord above, he was looking into the face of…
Something straight out of Jurassic Park.
***
Panting, trembling… sitting high in the rocky hills, Ray Terrill was trying to piece things together. Gratefully, the creature's uncharacteristic hesitation and his super speed had saved his life. What could it possibly have…? Trying to recall it exactly in detail, he figured it a Komodo Dragon.
Still shaken, though he'd been through MUCH worse, Ray watched over the unique terrain. It was beautiful… yet, even up here it was far too warm. He was in the tropics for certain… LORDY, it was hot…
The sleepiness slipping over him again… but knowing it wasn't safe to doze in unfamiliar terrain… he fought it for a moment - unfortunately, he began to slip in and out until-
AH!
Amazing green eyes open again, Ray felt something soft caressing his cheek. Something as beautifully gentle as butterfly wings…
Oh wait…
His waking start had also startled the butterfly. Another black and gold butterfly… they were fairly large with unique wing shape and swallow tails. Literally golden…
Sighing with relief, the young man held out his hand. Gracefully, with slight hesitation, the magnificent mistress of flora landed upon it. Resting there it flexed its wings casually and then froze, soaking in the blazing sun. Ray did the same.
Time seemed to drift carelessly-
AH!
A strange shriek, much like an attacked bird. Startled, Terrill was on his feet, the butterfly instantly gone, forgotten. He was ready for- He saw the indescribable shadow first… then heard the strange sound.
It rounded the corner, egg in claws… tall, thin… shifty…
It was one of those creepy egg eating dinosaurs.
***
"Where the hell am I? Dino Island?" Ray was furious, flying low over the plains, observing all the now obvious dinosaur herds. Heavens, that egg dinosaur had given him a fright. There was something so chilling about that type. Something-
He had to get back to Young Justice Headquarters and inform them of this freakish place. Some super genius super villain had obviously been inspired by Jurassic Park and was now-
***
"Does this island never END?" Ray's frustration mounted. His sense of distance was totally disproportioned. Usually he could fly blind within light and know exactly when to start and stop… but… now… what on earth was going on?
Discouraged, he landed within a desert region. His senses told him THIS was where YJ was to stand. He walked to the very spot his powers felt were the kitchen, the breakfast table… yet, found himself staring at nothing more than sand. He could just image Impulse there eating a mountain of doughnuts… yet there was nothing save sand… A hundred yards off stood a hideous, black and bubbling tar pit… that was the main room… Anita would have dropped her duffle bag there by the- GRRR… what was wrong with his powers? What had happened to him!?
He zoomed on, landing where he felt Washington DC, USA was… then Ottawa, Canada… then London, England… and Madrid, Spain… etc… etc… Rome, Italy… He'd been to Coliseum a dozen times - where THE HELL was it!? Where was Big Ben, Lady Liberty - where was it all? Where was The Great Wall of China… Hadrian's Wall? There weren't even ruins! No, NO -he was just disoriented, just MESSED UP!
Feeling his senses were off and his power damaged, he figured he hadn't even left the island yet. At a loss, he kept trying to escape the enormous mass of land… and occasionally he would… but only an enormous mass of water would follow. One land, one water repeatedly. One land, one water, one land, one - AH - what on God's green earth was THIS?!
It took him several dozen spins around the world to finally accept it.
Civilization didn't exist. The continents were one giant land mass.
***
Green eyes… intense, secretly fascinated green eyes… staring between the enormous, ancient gray-brown branches of a barky log… staring into the grassy clearing… Cautious, silent, hidden… only eyes revealed…
The predator was silent. It didn't roar or shriek after the kill, as was expected. No… it only shrieked and shrilled when it actually needed to - intimidation or communication. It wasn't a savage, blood thirsty killer. No, it killed only now and then to eat. It was like an ancient, enormous wolf, really. Keeping the population in check, only praying upon the weak - strengthened the genes of other species. No deliberate cruelty. No murderous battle cry - it struck quick and silent. Like a lion… if it was seen coming, it abandoned all attempt.
This was just nature. Nothing more. It was silent. It didn't roar to express its murderous power. It didn't see itself as king of the jungle. Nature was nature in 2003, 1003… at the birth of the very world…
It had been in the water in a flash, upon the duck-billed herbivore. Ray had merely been relaxing among the rocks… listening to the beautiful calls of their sloping headpieces… their beautifully long and slender headpieces… curved and the source of countless splendid sounds… It had unexpectedly come and killed one. Was he sad? Of course. Unfortunately, it was the reality of nature. He ate beef and chicken.
He watched it eat silently… little scavengers on the outskirts. Ignored, unless they proved too nervy, and even then they were only threatened with a half-heartened and near silent lung. For the most, however, the Rex ignored them as though they were invisible. Ray was reminded of wolves and ravens - lions and jackals, vultures… it was all the same…
Majestic myth had built itself around this prehistoric pawn of nature…
***
Ray was surprisingly fond of the tubby, little thing - some form of ankylosaurus - still enormous, yet as dinosaurs went it seemed somewhat small… hm… It was a very interesting brown with occasional flashes of copper and bronze within its armor.
It was so temperate. Quiet, indifferent to the world and all within it, even the grass it never ceased to munch. Munch was the only word for it. The sound was very present. It had gradually come to accept and ignore him as it accepted and ignored the invisibly itchy parasites upon its shell… Ray sat sometimes lazily upon the thick branches above it, or the rocks beside - occasionally even upon the grass nearby. He dared closer and closer each encounter, his secret hope to eventually touch it.
It had no herd. Was its type meant to? He hadn't a clue as to the answer. He would visit it off and on… admiring its remarkable, unique protective gear. The powerful bone-spiked ball at the end of its powerful tail was especially impressive. Surely nothing could harm this creature. Even its underbelly was armored - more turtle than porcupine. It's head and neck were protected, for the most part its legs… hm… It's feet seemed thick and sturdy, though unprotected. Hm… much more impressive than the small headed stegosaurus, he'd decided. Probably smarter too… though admittedly, his indifferent friend did absolutely nothing to illustrate such. It munched without reaction to anything. ANYTHING. Cows at least- no, no, he loved it dearly. It was just relaxed, calm… confident… He loved it dearly, more than anything - latching on desperately without realizing.
"Fused lizard"… that's what its name meant… but how had he known something as offhand as THAT? Hm… bones fused into armor…
Throughout his tropical adventures, trying to solve the mystery of this new world and hopefully how to eventually escape it… Ray saw many frightful things. Many powerful, awesome things. Yet, constantly, he returned to the little dinosaur and therapeutically listened to it munch. Thinking, thinking…
He was frightened of raptors. Well, what Jurassic Park had incorrectly called raptors. Their real name started with… D? Hm… No matter. They frightened him. They whipped about instantaneously, executing instant, brilliant and unspoken attack maneuvers. They slashed any size of creature dead instantly. Instantly - the very word surrounded the species. No other word could really sum them up as fittingly… HM… perhaps his new friend - as one sided as their affection was - could defeat the monsters. All of them. Their claws couldn't tear him and he'd surely kill them one after the other with good, hard blows. Simple blows of death…
To see his creature actually live… to be provoked… to kill… wow…
Actually, upon thought he realized they would probably blind it and eat its feet. Um, wait… nooo… Raymond, you silly. The reason the creature was so indifferent, so unchanging and passive was obvious. It had nothing to fear. Raptors wouldn't bother. No one would bother. In fact, he was probably the first animal to pay it mind at all within its entire existence. He eventually even named the simple creature. When he found his escape he'd gladly summon all his power to take it back with him. Screw altering history - screw it! He loved his friend dearly… or at least he thought he did… the mind forms crazy attachments when-
None of this would ever come to pass, obviously. None of his immature delusions would ever come to pass. In truth, he would sit in the psychologically companionable atmosphere of the ankylosaurus and just downright deal. Whenever the true severity of his situation threatened to break the surface, as it did constantly, he would return to his special dinosaur and be subconsciously comforted. Coping… defense mechanisms - hey, Freud was onto something, people…
The creature obviously moved around, but he could always eventually find it. It was always within the vicinity. He preferred to sleep by it. As silly as it sounded, the temperate little warrior somehow made him feel safe. Familiarity, attachment… armor… Defense mechanism.
Unfortunately, the morning finally came when Ray awoke to find himself alone. His dinosaur gone. Vanished.
Try as he might, he never found it again. Never saw it ever again. He would never solve the mystery…
Truly alone now, with no way to cope, the severity slammed down…
***
"Wow!" the boy whispered to himself under the blanket, a very soft and special artificial light with him, barely touching the text. His eyes had adjusted years ago to working under the most slightest of illuminated conditions. "I had no idea so many dinosaurs started with A!" He hadn't even heard of 99% of them and he'd considered himself an expert… yikes…
He talked to himself often, as he was always alone… it was dark as night in the room… however, the faint light managed to catch the corners of some large dinosaur posters upon the wall…
The duckbills with the long, curved headpieces that supposedly played the most hauntingly beautiful music - the stuff of souls… Oh! His favourite, of course… the armadillo-like dinosaur… the small, armored fellow… my, he was cute… like a little pet… a companion…
The boy, seven, was an excellent reader. His fingertips touched lightly upon the word "ankylosaurus" finally and he smiled…
***
Just as grass in a temperate little warrior's clearing could not last forever, nor could Ray's boyishly subconscious fascination with dinosaurs… it couldn't last and he was stranded, shocked, lost… totally trapped…
Confused and tired, Ray sat brooding on a rock, a large herd of triceratops grazing nearby, behind him. He sat there… sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset… with the triceratops behind… just staring off, thinking. A calm, but bitchy expression his. The perfect black and gold butterflies would come and go carelessly, the only change in scene. One would land on his neck a while and then move on, another within his hair or beside him on the rocks. They would dance in pairs about him - he was silent, motionless - absolutely indifferent. He didn't even blink…
Sunrise, sunset… sunrise, sunset… his expression and position virtually changeless and the triceratops forever in the backdrop… sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise-
Then finally…
***
The boy pushed the extremely thick and heavy text upon the dark kitchen table while his father-uncle folded laundry, a black silhouette against the very soft artificial light over the kitchen sink…
"Guess what I'd call my ankylosaurus?"
"Cleo?" the father figure guessed the most obvious and logical choice, sounding entirely indifferent as he folded another towel listlessly.
"Noooo…" the small boy made a face of dislike.
"Then what?"
***
He snapped.
Walking calmly through the multiple herds of herbivores, Raymond blasted the ground randomly with fire - watching dinosaurs shriek and run, terrified, this way and that. Ray started calm, then was absolutely enraged - frustrated beyond belief. Blasting, shrieking, blasting -
Finally, he came to the triceratops… and ladies and gentlemen, they were not so passive. As moody and intolerant as bulls or rhinoceroses, they were extremely provoked. In fact, they charged.
Frightened - for though he'd braved many dangers, nothing was quite like having a large herd of triceratops unexpectedly come at you in murderous fury at close range…
He took off in panic, taking cover within the rocks again, above their attack. The huffy roan creatures then began systematically striking the formation's base, their fury building and their blows hardening. Panting, Ray watched, waiting for when he'd have to burst away again…
A distant, distracting rumble… the three horns stopped hesitantly, watching the horizon. Ray saw it. So faint and far away, yet enormous all the same, was a mountain. On the other side of the world, nearly faint as sky - yet gigantic and rumbling - stood a mountain. Horrible, extremely black smoke was now pouring from it. Then an unreal red-
OH… MY… GOD…
Startling crashes, like claps of thunder… the triceratops were so startled they ran for their lives… Ray, equally alarmed, fell from his rocky perch, landing hard. In agony, he felt the tremor in the earth strengthen… it wasn't ceasing… He dodged rocks - the rocks were coming down! The whole world was crashing down around him!
A quake rippled through the mysterious cradle of life… and chaos consumed all in its wake…
Terror, absolute unbridled terror - the splendid sky darkened and literally seemed to split in two… petrifaction, wild panic… utter confusion… the sky was falling… the sky was falling and it would cover the living and the dead alike in a suffocating cloak!
The sky and land cracked - loud, SO LOUD - the shrieks, the running, the absolute PANIC… to be there, to see it… There was NO DOUBT…
It was the end of the world.
***
Kon sighed, glancing through the latest TV Guide… "BORING…"
Impulse, still depressed, was curled up in a chair nearby. "I wonder what Ray's doing…"
"Sitting on his ass wondering what we're doing." Kon was blunt.
***
Panicked beyond all bounds of sanity, Raymond took off faster than ever before, faster than anything ever had before - the largest sonic wave known to man was coming, the smoke and poisoning cloak - it was all coming straight for him! Coming too fast! He had to outrun it, but he couldn't! It was just too- AH!
Then it happened again. Just as before. Realities slid, colliding without colliding. He stared wide eyed into the beauty as he raced through translucent universe, less afraid. He felt different, changed - he felt like… nothing at all. Like air.
Ray Terrill had truly become light… and raging forward faster than any mere light… Ray felt the world around him change again… he could almost hear voices… whispers echoing through eternity…
He hit the brakes.
***
Frozen in shock, he found himself staring over a world that would have confused the Jetsons, if it didn't bring them to tears first. A monstrous place of smog, metal and hideously blunt technology - colorless and lacking any true life. No green. Nothing grew. Not a plant. Nothing breathed!
Ray finally understood what was happening to him.
This was the fate of man. If man still existed at all.
***
"…Miserably, you'll never see how beautiful they are…"
***
