Make Me Feel
Disclaimer: I'm not saying it anymore.
Notes: So sorry that I didn't update yesterday. My mom dragged to an outing. So, yeah, thank you Psyche 'pallasathena' Scyon, Repto, Agent Silver, elvesmagic101, Pirate Goddess, Moon Avenger, Toilet Paper Roll, DocOcksGirl31, phendrana, Kippixin, and Selene for all reading and reviewing. Wow, that was a lot of reviews.
Chapter 22
The next morning both men awoke early and prepared to head out.
About two and a half minutes after Zachary had entered the bathroom to shower Otto heard a clear and obvious cry of disgust the moment after he heard the water start.
"What happened?"
He watched as Zachary's head appeared through a crack in the now partially opened door. The boy wore an expression of sheer disgust and horror on his face.
"The waters coming out black!"
Otto didn't even try to cover up his amusement. He laughed for a moment then shook his head and looked at the boy's face.
"Well, either don't take a shower, or get out if your leg starts to rot off."
The boy looked at him incredulously and glowered at him. He watched as the boy ducked back into the room and heard the shower be shut off. There was a bit of rustling and Zachary emerged fully dressed but still looking very disgusted. The youth walked towards his bed muttering under his breath, Otto was only able to catch one line of it though.
"…sickest damn thing ever…"
They left not long after that. Otto didn't even bother going to check them out, they just got in the car (SUV) and left.
Just like any car ride they would talk for a small while and drift off into silence and then talk for a moment and then sit in silence. After a particularly long stretch of silence Zachary decided he needed to focus on something. Chewing his lip he glanced over at the older man next to him.
"Can we listen to some music?"
Otto looked over at the boy's hopeful look and smiled.
"Alright."
Zachary grinned happily and twisted in his seat so that he could reach into the back seat and search through his bag. He pulled out his c.d. book and opened it searching through the pages for something.
Taking a glance at the older man out of the corner of his eye he quickly ruled out Limp Bizkit, Metallica, System of a Down, Alice Cooper, ACDC, Kid Rock, Puddle of Mud, P.O.D, Trapt, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, KISS, and about three fourths of his entire collection.
Frowning he flipped towards the back of the book and suddenly grinned when he hit pay dirt. He skillfully removed the disc and fed it into the player.
There was a pause after the music started and Otto looked over at Zachary somewhat curiously.
"Who is this singing?"
"This is Warren Zevon. He's one of my favorites but I don't listen to him as often as I should."
Otto nodded and they fell back into silence. About an hour and a half later the c.d. was starting it's 22nd and last track when Otto began listening very closely to the song's lyrics.
I've got a bitter pot of je ne sais quoi
Guess what-I'm stirring it with a monkey's paw
Since I saw you coming out of my barber's shop
In that skimpy little halter top
Did you light the candles? Did you put on
"Kind of Blue"?
Did you use that Ivy League voodoo on him, too?
He thinks he'll be alright but he doesn't know for sure
Like every other unindieted coconspirator
Mata Hari had a house in France
Where she worked on all her secret plans
Men were falling for her sight unseen
She was a genius
There's a face in every window of the
Songwriters' Neighborhood
Everybody's your best friend when you're doing
well-I mean good
The poet who lived next door when you were young
and poor
Grew up to be a backstabbing entrepreneur
Albert Einstein was a ladies' man
While he was working on his universal plan
He was making out like Charlie Sheen
He was a genius
When you dropped me and staked your claim
On a V.I.P. who could make your name
You latched onto him and I became
A minor inconvenience
Your prot'ege' don't care about art
I'm the one that always told you you were smart
You broke my heart to smithereens
And that took genius
You and the barber make a handsome pair
Guess what-I never liked the way he cut your hair
I didn't like the way he turned your head
But there's nothing I can do or say I haven't done
or said
Everybody needs a place to stand
And a method for their schemes or scams
If I could only get my record clean
I'd be a genius
The music ended and the disc rolled out.
Otto suddenly had a very large lump in his throat. The lyrics of that song had somehow struck very close to home.
"What was that song called?"
Zachary looked up at him while removing the disc and smiled not seeing how troubled the older man was.
"That was 'Genius'. One of Warren Zevon's masterpieces."
Otto nodded and fell back into silence.
Three Days Later
Zachary was sleeping slumped up against the window as Otto drove. It was about eight thirty in the evening and Otto smiled when he saw a sign up ahead. He looked over at the boy and nudged him. Zachary snapped awake and looked over at him in surprise.
"What?"
The older man grinned and pointed up ahead. Zachary's eyes followed and a huge grin plastered itself on his youthful face.
Gotham City this Exit
In less than ten minutes they were driving into Gotham and Zachary was looking out the window looking as if he was oozing with excitement. He was excited all of a sudden because he had just realized that he was going home. He was going to sleep in his bed and see his mom and Emily. He was, at the moment, almost hyper.
Otto on the other hand was looking out at the city in a confused matter. The sky here was cloudy gray even at night, it looked more polluted and full of litter than New York ever did. And the people were all bundled up and walking around looking like they were either possible criminals, possible victims, or like they were the living dead.
But he could see Zachary's happiness to be returning to his hometown, and didn't make any remarks on the state of the city.
Zachary gave the older man the directions to the Wayne Estate and in less than an hour they pulled up in front of the gate.
Otto was, quite frankly, in shock. Zachary had said they had lots of land, he had said they had a big house, he had said that they were rich. But this home would have put Osbourn to shame. It was like a small castle, a very creepy looking small castle.
Otto pulled right up to the gate and Zachary got out to punch in the code that would open it. There was a whining screech of metal and the gates swung open.
Zachary hopped back into the car and talked as Otto drove down the very long driveway.
"You're going to love it here. My mom is this really nice lady and my sister…well, she's annoying but I think you might like her. Alfred is our main servant, but he's like family. He took care of my dad when my dad was a kid."
Otto listened to the boy talk but in truth he feared what might happen. It hadn't come to the boy that his family might not be willing to take him back in. They might disown him the moment they see him. But he didn't want to say anything that would hurt the boy.
Otto parked in front of the front door and watched as Zachary leapt from the vehicle the moment it was turned off.
"Don't worry about any of our things or the car. We can just send one of the servants to do it for us later."
Otto shook his head and got out of the car himself. He paused to stretch and listened to his children whine about having to stay hidden. Mentally he told them to wait a while until everything had been properly worked out.
He joined Zachary on the porch of the mansion and watched him pull out a very old looking brass key and unlock the door. The boy made room for Otto to walk in ahead of him and then shut and locked the door behind them.
Zachary grinned at him.
"I know where my mom will be right now. Just follow me."
Otto followed the boy through the huge home with a sense of awe as he looked around them. The halls were magnificent and filled with no doubt priceless bits of art and antiques. Yes, this made Harry look like a middle class worker.
Zachary stopped in front of a large pair of oak doors that were already open. Inside looked like a rich sitting room. With a large fireplace, which was currently lit and plush antique looking furniture along with even more art.
A woman sat looking away from them and into the fireplace. She was wearing an expensive black dress that clung to her generous curves and long chestnut colored hair flowed down to her waist.
Zachary made a hand motion telling Otto to stand in the dark doorway and he took a couple steps into the room while making no noise.
"Hi mamma."
The woman whipped around instantly and looked at her sheepish looking son standing just feet away from her. Her sea foam green eyes were just like her son's only they were a bit warmer and a tiny bit darker and she stared at the boy as if he were a ghost. Her mouth opened several times but nothing came out.
Then, the tears began to fall.
The woman cried and stood up taking a hesitant step towards her son as if she feared he would disappear if she came to close. She held up her hands as if she wanted to embrace him but was scared he would fade away.
"Zachary."
Her voice was soft and hushed and she didn't see Otto standing in the darkened doorway, all she saw was her first born standing just feet away from her arms.
The woman suddenly launched forward and wrapper her arms around her baby boy and sobbed from joy when she realized that he was solid under her touch.
Zachary squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled the smell of his mother's perfume and felt her warm arms around him. She hugged him and kissed his cheeks, sobbing the entire time.
She began saying "my boy," over and over again like a broken record.
Otto in the doorway felt like he was watching something that was sacred and holy. He could see the joy, love, and sadness that seemed to reek from the woman and felt suddenly very out of place.
The woman moved back a step and took a deep breath. She placed both of her hands on her son's face and looked at him still teary-eyed. To her, it was as if her child had returned from the dead.
"Oh Zachary, where have you been? The media said that you…that you…joined with that Octavius man."
Simultaneously both Zachary and Otto flinched.
Zachary gently reached up and touched his mother's hands on his face and gently pulled them down. He held on to them and looked into his weeping mother's eyes.
"Mamma, I…would like you to meet Otto Octavius. He's my, well, my boyfriend, I guess you could say."
He turned to Otto in the doorway and the older man took a few steps into the room and into the light. His hands were clasped in front of him and he was wearing his coat and sunglasses. But he made an attempt to look at the woman pleasantly.
Teresa stared at the man with her mouth slightly ajar. She looked from her son in disbelief and then back to the older man. Slowly, her look of disbelief melted and was replaced with pure anger. She stepped away from her son and took an angry stomp towards the scientist.
"What did you do to him?! Zachary was a good boy; you turned him into a wanted criminal! I would think that would be enough for a monster! Did you have to warp his poor mind like that you freak?!"
In her anger she took several more steps toward the man and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. The second after she slapped him, she realized she had slapped a super villain. Startled she took several steps back and waited for him to do something to her.
But, of course, he didn't.
He just looked up at the angered mother calmly and touched where there was a warm sting was on his cheek.
"You have every right to be angry and suspicious of my intentions, Madam. But, I assure you, that I have not bestowed any harm upon you son. I have only been interested in helping him as best I can, we…just, I guess you could say, fell for each other while together alone for all that time."
Teresa watched him with some suspicion and turned to her son who was looking at her with the look of a kicked puppy.
"I love him mamma. Let us stay, please?"
Teresa was genuinely startled, but so was Otto. The boy had never admitted out loud that he loved the older man. Otto felt very touched and felt his own love for the boy grow ten folds.
Teresa looked from her son to…his…partner and sighed.
"I'm not losing my baby again. You can stay, both of you."
End of Chapter
Yeah!! Hope you guys like this. I worked really hard. Make sure you really read the lyrics of that song and if your interested look up the song and listen to it. Thanks for reading and please review!!
Stray-