~ Chapter Two
Steven Beauchamp was confused. Very. Marty was acting strange. This wasn't terribly unusual. He was Marty, after all. The day Marty started acting like a normal person, was the day Steve would eat his spandex wrestling unitard. But he actually seemed to be kind of depressed which was not Marty at all.
Steve got up, and went downstairs. His little sister, Casey needed a little help on her science project, so Steve got covered in Popsicle sticks and glue. If Marty was watching, he no doubt would have asked Steve if he would like some tea for Mrs Patticakes and conjured up an impromptu tea party complete with dolls and pink ribbons, or maybe he would have just picked up the Popsicle sticks and made popsicle-zilla and gone tramping through Casey's City of the Future.
Well, actually that probably wasn't what Marty would have done. The wonderful thing about Marty was that it was absolutely impossible to predict anything that he might do.
It wasn't the same when he was gone. In the time since Marty had died, he had gotten so used to him just popping in and out of Steve's life like it was his own. He had never thought that maybe Marty had other places to be, other friends out there somewhere.
And it unnerved him. Not quite as much as the time he had woken up in the middle of the night to see Marty standing over his bed, watching him sleep, but still. . .
He should go out. Hang out with his friends. That was a laugh. Even dead, Marty was the only friend Steve had or wanted to have. Jordan's idea of a conversation was "Duuuddeeee" and the twins were like . . . hanging out with a couple of forty year olds. Geeky forty year olds.
Okay, then, the library. He did have a paper due. And he was usually pretty good about finishing these things. Unless Marty came up with some crazy scheme. Which was happening pretty often lately.
Marty was currently drifting through the universe. It was actually pretty fun if you could get over the whole no-molecules-of-air thing. That sensation was actually rather itchy.
And *poof* he was abruptly sitting in front of the Big Head, (really, God's cousin Rod, but Marty would never ever call him that). And he was looking rather mad. "Please don't eat me."
"Marty." The Big Head said warningly.
"What can I do for you? Hawaiian beach party? No, I've got it, a set of sunglasses." Marty used his infinite powers as a protector in the service of light/goodness to summon up a gigantic set of sunglasses. It really wasn't his fault they were pink and star-shaped.
"Marty." The Big Head said a little more strongly.
"On second thought, you know, that is just not the look for you." Marty snapped his fingers and sent those monstrosities back to wherever they had come from. Probably a planet in the Larne system. The whole population had such bad taste. But truly awesome chicken wings, go figure.
"Marty, why are you neglecting your duties. No scratch that." The Big Head snorted. If there was anything in the world Marty would rather not see, it was a gigantic head (about ten feet tall) snorting. I mean, nostril flare? Eeeww. "Why are you neglecting your duties more than usual?"
"Little ol' me?" Marty asked innocently, with extra-wide innocent eyes.
"Never mind." The Big Head shook his head, in distaste about as genuine as Marty's innocent act. "I have an assignment for you."
