CHAPTER NINE - MUSEUM PIECES
"Booster," Catherine sighed. "This is really not necessary."
Booster Gold was currently sitting comfortably on the sofa in her office, reading of all things, the latest copy of the National Inquirer. Since he had been assigned to her be her protector, Booster had not let Catherine out of his sight. While it was flattering that Guy and the others thought so much of her, Booster was rather hard to explain to her colleagues at the Paris branch of the United Nations.
"Guy seemed to think it was a good idea and so do I." Booster replied. "The Gray Man approached you once already Catherine, you never know what he might be up to next."
Catherine frowned. Although she knew Guy's precautionary measures were necessary, it still did not mean she liked the idea of having a round the clock body guard. She supposed she should be grateful that Booster was not in uniform. At the moment, he seemed as any well-dressed American, complete with suit and tie. Booster did have an alternate identity that did not get often used. Since his arrival from the 25th century, most people knew him as Booster Gold, not Michael Carter.
"I still do not think it is necessary," she retorted, knowing she was simply being defiant. "You are not easy to explain."
"Just say I'm your cousin from America or something like that." Booster suggested. "The black sheep of the Colbert family who was sent overseas to hide a shameful, who has now returned like the prodigal son reclaim his destiny."
Catherine rolled her eyes in resignation and returned to the daily reports on her desk. "You Americans spend too much time watching soap operas."
Booster smiled faintly and rose to his feet. She had a great office for a government worker. It offered a sweeping view of the Champ Elysees river and the perennial shadow of the Eiffel Tower overlooked the rest of the city. The interior was furnished with elegant pieces of antique furniture that did not seem excessively ornate but perfectly functional for the purpose. It came equipped with a small bar fridge and a comfortable sofa suite for entertaining and those rare occasions when she chose to work late, it served as a makeshift bed.
It was a gorgeous day spring day in Paris and Booster looked out at the sunshine outside and came to one unshakeable conclusion. He wanted to be outside in it. "Come on Catherine," he turned around and strode purposefully to her desk. "Why don't we play hooky today? Its been ages since I've been in Paris, let's go sight seeing."
"Booster," Catherine said trying to remain calm. "I am French and I do not need to go sight seeing in Paris."
"Oh really?" He looked at her sceptically with his arms folded. "When was the last time you went up the Eiffel Tower or visited the Louvre, huh?"
Damn, he had her there. "Not for some time. However that does not mean I can simply forget my work and go off for and play, what did you call it?"
"Hooky." Booster said emphasising the word and then continued without missing a beat. "I don't see why not? You've got an office large enough to park a Citroen and a secretary who brings you coffee and croissants at your pleasure. I don't think you're in any danger of getting a pink slip."
"I know that but....." Catherine paused as she saw the puppy dog look on his face. At that moment, she did not have the heart to say no. Of course he was right, she could take a day off whenever she wanted to. In fact, there were superiors who often told her she needed the time to herself, however Catherine was much too dedicated to listen. Reluctantly, she knew his arguments were winning her over and she disliked it intensely. Still, if he was forced to stay here all afternoon, he was going to drive himself insane with boredom and take her with him.
"All right," she conceded. "But we are not going to Eiffel Tower."
"Okay." He grinned triumphantly.
Catherine was almost tempted to slap him again.
*********
Instead of going to all those venues that made foreigners appear to be so typically tourists, Catherine decided that if she must spend the afternoon outdoors, she would go to her favourite places. Booster did not mind where he went as long as it was outside the walls of her confining office. They took a stroll to the Musée d'Orsay, a delightful old rail station that had been transformed into a museum. Inside and out, the building had been restored to its past glory with pictures hanging within to show its passage through time.
Despite himself, Booster found the place to be interesting because much of these objects had not survived into the 25th century from which he originated. Catherine was a perfect companion for such a visit because Booster did not know a word of French. She explained that this was one of her favourite places and she often came here alone. Although he did not voice it, he felt somewhat privileged that she chose to share this with him.
They spent over two hours at the Musée d'Orsay before leaving the place and taking a stroll on the paved walkways that ran parallel with the Seine. The walkway was lined with tall trees whose leaves were sported soft pink flowers in full bloom. With the sun behind them, the place took on an unearthly glow and for the first time in his life, Booster understood what people meant when they said Paris was magic personified.
"It must have been great growing up here." He remarked as they watched the boats go by on the river. Old men were placing bocce in the nearby distance while struggling artists accosted passers by for two minute portraits. Street mimes in any culture were irritating although in France it was more of an art then it was a vocation.
"France can be beautiful when it wants to be." She answered, unable to deny that the day had gone better than she thought. With a sudden start, she realised that she had no one in her life to share any of the things she had shown Booster today. While the thought disturbed her, Catherine brushed it away quickly. A question for another time, she decided.
"Having spent the day here like this, I'm kind of sorry I never transferred to the Paris branch when the League was still around." He declared, taking in the sight of the sun making its slow descent across the river.
"New York has its moments." Catherine countered but inwardly she knew he was right. New York, someone once said, was like a fast talking salesman, all glitter and false tinsel. Paris was different. It stood for centuries as the apex of civilisation. Now it was a living monument to the man's transformation from barbarian to artisan. Paris was old and its cobbled streets and aged buildings spoke a wisdom that was unique only to it. Very few foreigners who came to Paris truly understood the beauty of the city. Paris was one of those cities that could speak volumes to you by simply walking through it. The lucky few who did would find themselves slipping through the veneer of reality into a place where anything was possible.
"Can I ask you something Catherine?" Booster asked quietly.
She sensed some importance to the question about to be asked and put her full attention to it. "Please do."
"You remember how we first met?"
Catherine tried to suppress a smile but did not manage it. "It is hard to forget."
"Tell me about it." Booster let out an embarrassed sigh, unable to forget the incident where he had tried to proposition her quite arrogantly and had been put back in place very sharply. "You never held it against me, why?"
It was a fair question, she supposed. Although so many years from the day, it seemed strange that it should prey on his mind still. "Maybe I remember what it was like to be new in town where first impressions are important. I had my moments too you know, when I tried to impress people and fell quite flat on my face. I guess I could empathise with you."
"I used to hear rumours about you and the Captain," he inquired softly. "Were they true?"
Now they were getting to the heart of the matter, she realised. "We had a friendship that could have been more but the Captain never chose to explore it." She answered him truthfully.
"I see." Booster replied, unable to understand how anyone could let someone like Catherine slip through their fingers. "I wish I could say I was sorry but I can't." He admitted.
Catherine placed a hand on his cheek. "I am flattered, Booster Gold."
He swallowed hard. "My name is Michael, Catherine. Booster Gold is the guy in the mask."
Catherine stepped back and extended her hand towards him. "I am pleased to meet you Michael."
*********
"Boys, boys, boys, I leave you alone and what happens?" Dream Slayer mused as he looked at his former companions, now regulated to nothing more than museum show pieces. "You become sport for the kiddies."
Even though they had been damaged by Supergirl and returned to the museum, Mitch Wacky, their creator who had been contracted to repair the Extremists replicas had done a masterful job. As Dream Slayer stood before the Extremists display, he could see the beauty of Uncle Mitch's work. There finish on Lord Havok's armour was almost flawless, with no evidence of anything more than a scratch. As a machinist, Mitch Wacky had no peer. Even though the eyes inside that uniform was lifeless, Lord Havok looked as menacing as always. In his time, Lord Havok had been a forced to be reckoned with, Dream Slayer decided. The man had possessed an intellect of utter ruthlessness, untainted by notions of morality or compassion.
All the programming of that mind still existed beneath the armour. It simply required awakening.
Although his game with his enemies was going splendidly, his interest was starting to wane. He did not simply want them to die. No, he wanted them on their knees begging for him to kill them so he could spit in their faces before he made them scream again. However, the taste of that victory would be shallow if he was alone to savour it. No game could truly be won if he played alone. He wanted his friends and for the lack of them, he would be satisfied with these mechanical replacements that simulated the originals so perfectly. Dream Slayer wanted them back with him and this time, there would be no mistakes. There would be no stupid errors in programming that would allow them to be deactivated by Mitch Wacky like a toaster oven that needed switching off.
He stood before the display and no present took any notice of him. All they saw was a greying man, no different from any other in the museum. At the moment, a group of children were babbling in French as they gaped at the Extremists exhibit, pointing and tossing little bits of foot at the display.
"They do not look so dangerous." One of the children declared, staring at Tracer at his feral best. He was a particularly fat child and had Tracer actually heard the remark, he would likely split open the boy's gut before asking the kid to repeat himself.
"Superman defeated them." The only girl in the group spoke.
"It was not Superman Michelle!" The fat boy responded indignantly. "It is the Justice League."
"You mean with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman?" She asked, awed by just saying those names out loud.
"Not that League!" A thinner boy with glasses sighed in exasperation. "The other ones. You know, the weaker ones."
Dream Slayer smiled at that. The weaker ones. How right they were. When he was done with the former members of the Justice League, not only would they be forgotten memories but on he would build his new seat of power with their bleached bones. Dream Slayer stepped forward, standing directly behind the children. They paid him little attention as they continued chattering about inconsequential things.
The programming was there. It simply needed awakening.
He closed his eyes and reached into the mass of circuits and wire, travelling through the sophisticated cabling that moved through the replicant bodies. The internal energy source was still intact. Mitch Wacky's repairs had restored them to almost perfect functionality. The only thing lacking to make them whole was that initial spark of energy that would bring them to life.
"Its time to play a game boys." He spoke up, loud enough for the children to hear.
"Do you say something Monsieur?" The fat boy looked up at him with chubby cheeks and freckled skin. What an odious little specimen. It would probably be a service to nature if he were to kill this little rodent, but then he did not want to steal sport from his deprived friends. There was plenty of blood to be spilled here and so much torture to go around.
"Hello there." Another voice said spoke out shattering the moment. The boy turned around and saw the attention of his friends captured by something else entirely. The Extremist named Tracer had moved out of the display, his muscles moving with the lethal grace of a predator who had picked up the scent.
He dropped off the raised floor in front of them, landing like on his haunches like a cat. "Its been a long time children," he smiled flexing his inch long talons as they started to scream. "Tracer wants to play."
*************
Booster and Catherine found themselves at a small bistro called the Le Thermomètre in the Place de la République. It was walking distance from the Seine River walk and it seemed the best conclusion to what was turning out to be a pretty nice day for Booster Gold. The bistro was like any other of its type, warm but dimly illuminated with cosy decor and comfortable booths for intimate dining. After all these years, he finally got the date with Catherine, he never had the chance to ask. Life could be terribly fickle at times.
"So how is the new team going?" Catherine inquired after the desert had been served. She could not believe what a nice time she was having, particularly with Booster Gold. It appeared that he was far from childish when properly motivated. Despite herself, she decided that she could get to like this side of his personality a great deal.
"Okay." Booster replied after swallowing his mouthful of cheesecake. "Guy is actually better as team leader than either Ted or I thought."
"His dossier prior to his coma was very impressive." Catherine answered. "Had it not been for his accident, he would have made a fine Green Lantern."
"Its tough to believe he was such a pain the ass." Booster could not help commenting. However, she was not wrong. He wondered what Guy Gardner would have been like back then, before life had twisted his mind to near psychosis. "He's so together these days, you know. I mean he really did better than most of us. Its not just the success, its also the Vuldarian part of him." Booster suddenly sobered for a moment as he considered what he was about to say. "There was a time when I wouldn't even dream of giving him the time of day but you should have seen him at the meeting, it was weird. He almost reminded me of Jonn."
"People change." Catherine pointed out but she could see his point. Of all the people in the League who could ever replace Jonn as team leader, Catherine had rated Guy somewhere above Gnort. "He's lost a number of people in his life, Booster. Tora was just one person, there's Joe Jones, Kari Limbo and just about everybody he ever knew in Coast City. Tragedy like that forces one to look at things whether one likes it or not."
"I guess we've all changed in one way or another." He said quietly. "I always thought life was one big adventure until the Overmaster. That changed everything for me. When I woke up in that hospital in pieces and heard Tora was dead, I knew I was lucky even though I didn't feel that way at the time. I think that changed my perspective on how I wanted the rest of my life to go. It took a long time to be able to look at myself in the mirror without feeling like half a man. I was angry for a long time Catherine, angry at all the bad things and not realising for one moment that I was luckier than most. By all accounts, I should still be a cripple but I'm not, I'm whole. I should be a janitor in the 25th century but I'm not. I'm a superhero named Booster Gold and I have good friends who have risked their lives for me more times than I can count. That's got to be worth something."
He had grown and she liked the man he had become. Michael Carter had come of age and he had Booster Gold to thank for that. She was about to respond when suddenly, her pager screamed from inside her purse. The shrill broke the quiet warmth of the bistro and she quickly fumbled for her purse to reach the device.
"This must be important." She stated. "They would not page me otherwise." It was true. Since her return to normal UN duties, she could count the number of times she had actually been paged by the office. On those rare occasions, they usually had a good reason for contacting her. Catherine removed the pager and glanced at its digital face. Without saying another word, she retrieved her cellular phone and started dialing.
"Is something wrong?" Booster inquired, noticing the sudden shift in her demeanour. Something had happened. He could see the tension creeping into the face. Catherine did not answer him but continued with her call.
"Hello." She spoke. "This is Catherine Colbert."
Booster listened to her short clipped sentences as she responded to what appeared to be initial inquiries before her face suddenly melted in a mask of horror. "Oh my god."
"What is it?" He demanded, starting to get very alarmed himself. Catherine was infamous for her ability to remain cool under pressure. To see her like this, made him wonder what could frighten her.
"Have you attempted to contact the Watchtower?" She questioned the caller on the other end of the line. "No response." She paused a moment, contemplating the options left to her before she spoke again. "I think I may have another option. I'll be in touch." With that, she terminated the line and looked up at him.
"What's happened?" Booster asked immediately.
"The Extremists replicants," Catherine managed to say. She could not believe it was happening again. A few months ago when they had been destroyed by Supergirl, Catherine had thought that was the end of the matter. However, it appeared that the Museum had hired Mitch Wacky to restore the exhibit to its former glory. Apparently, Mitch had done a spectacular job. "They've been reactivated. At the moment, they're tearing the Madame Clouseau Wax Museum apart They've already killed several people and local authorities are moving in."
This was bad, Booster agreed. The Extremists were one of the most dangerous foes the League had ever faced. They were a ruthless group of super villains who took pride in sadism and often resorted to using nuclear weapons the hold the world at ransom. Only a deadly gambit by the League had defeated the group and Booster did not relish what could happen to civilian authorities if they attempted to engage the Extremists.
"Have they tried calling the League?" Booster inquired.
"Yes but there is no answer at the Watchtower." She replied exasperated. If there was still a Paris branch of the League, this could have been dealt with effectively. Instead they had to resort to calling around and wasting precious time.
"Where is this museum?" Booster asked quickly.
"Five kilometres north of here." Catherine answered. "Why?"
"Use the communicator," Booster rose to his feet. "Get in contact with Guy and the others and tell them to get here fast."
"Where are you going?" She demanded as he slipped out of the booth and started running towards the exit. Suddenly, it occurred to her what he was about to do. "Booster, you can't go after them. There's four of them! They'll kill you!"
However, it was too late. He was already gone.
************
Booster was still wearing his civilian clothes when he took flight to the Parisian sky. Fortunately, he still had his Legion flight ring and his wrist gauntlets so he could still fly and was protected by force fields. He knew Catherine was right, he could not possibly fight the Extremists on his own but then Booster had no intention of encountering them at all. His primary concern was aimed at the lives of the civilians who were called on to defend the city against this monster. They were even more fragile than he was and even if he could not stop the Extremists, he could at least get the people in the museum to safety.
When he was airborne, Booster started to see signs of the panic that had gripped the city. Sirens were wailing as police cars sped along the streets towards the direction of the Wax Museum. A column of smoke appeared in the distance, rising from unseen flames. Flying towards the scene of all the commotion, Booster could see people evacuating the area like rats leaving a sinking ship. Explosions were erupting, shaking buildings and breaking glass with each detonation. He could hear people screaming in terror before their voices were drowned out by the wail of the emergency vehicles.
When he arrived on the scene, he saw a dozen police cars converged around the main parking lot in front of the museum. A dozen buildings around the museum was on fire or partly demolished. Debris was scattered all over the place. For a moment, Booster had some impression of what Paris must have looked like during World War 2. He could see overturned police cars and to his dismay, bodies scattered around the place. Some looked as if they were incinerated alive, others torn to pieces and some that lay at the foot of falls as if they had been swatted against the brick like an unwanted toy. The place looked like a war zone. It sickened him to know that four people had managed so much destruction.
The police had created a perimeter line surrounding the museum and Booster was uncertain if this was a good idea or not. Although they were armed with sophisticated weapons, Booster knew just how much destruction the Extremists were capable of causing. When the group chose to go on the offensive, nothing would stop them from killing these people without hesitation. Unfortunately, this situation required superhuman help. At the moment, the civilians in the area were only liabilities.
Suddenly, Booster recognised a familiar face in the sea of faces below him. Making a quick descent, he landed behind the police line amidst a rumble of pointing fingers and exclamations of surprise.
"Inspector Cadmus." Booster called out to the permanently rumpled officer who was currently dispensing orders to a group of police. The man had been too busy with the current crisis to notice his dramatic entrance. The inspector looked up as he heard his name being called. There was sweat and blood on his face and Booster guessed that he had been taking an active part in leading the assault. Unfortunately, judging from the bodies that were lying behind the perimeter line, it did not look as if Cadmus had been very successful.
"Booster Gold?" Cadmus looked at him. The Inspector had never seen him out of uniform. "It is you, isn't it?"
"Yes it is," Booster replied. He knew of Cadmus mostly by reputation. While the Inspector had no love for the Justice League, Captain Atom had believed the man to be fair. At the moment, Inspector Cadmus seem not need all the help he could get "What is the situation?"
"They have presently withdrawn inside the museum." Cadmus retorted bitterly. Booster did not doubt that Cadmus took the deaths of all his fallen comrades personally. If it were Ted or Guy out there, Booster knew he would feel the same. "They said we're poor sport and they're waiting for something interesting to come along."
"Are they any people in the museum?" Booster inquired.
"At least a dozen." Cadmus answered. "The lucky ones who have managed to escape have reported several dead inside. Some were even children." The man said trying to hide his anger but failing to do so.
Booster could not blame him for feeling that way when his own stomach knotted at that disclosure. However he forced his rage away. "I'm going in." Booster stated firmly before he had time to change his mind on the subject. "We need to get those people out."
"Alone?" Cadmus declared. "With all due respect Mousieur Gold, these are dangerous men even for paranormals. You can't mean to take them on your own?"
"Not if I can help it," he answered shortly. "However, we don't have a choice do we? You can't make any definitive assault until those people free and we can't take the risk of letting the Extremists play their sadistic torture games. Do you want the hostages subjected to that?"
Cadmus had to say no. "Alright Mousieur Gold, we will do it your way. What do you need from us?"
"Do you have any museum blue prints?" Booster asked. "I'd like to find an alternate route in. Believe me, I don't want to run into them without backup myself. I just want to get those people out."
Cadmus nodded in understanding. "Villier!" He shouted to one of his men. Villier who was a uniformed officer, hurried to the Inspector's side. "Yes Sir?"
"Get me a map of the museum." He ordered before turning back to Booster. "Mousieur Gold needs all the help he can get."