Shameful Plug: Everyone go read my other Static Shock story, "Fade Away" ;)

Wrongful Vanity: You...you just win the entire internet XD Your review was my favorite purely because it says how much you know me and you were just like, "Yeah...the chances of you finishing this? Zero to none. But at least try to get one or two more chapters in before you abandon it!" It made me smile quite largely. You totally get a gold star.

Saturn's Hikari: XD, yes, I was just kidding. Richie's not pregnant (though it worries me how many people thought I wasn't kidding). And I know exactly how you feel. It's my rule in life, really. The more I love the character? The more angsty he will be. Bwaha. And you'll just have to see who helps Richie ;) -- Also, Frieda and Daisy will be in it next chapter with cameos and such. And don't worry, long reviews make me inexplicably happy :)

Soon to be world renown Gracie: Your review made me smile. I have defenders of justice and slash! ;3 -- While it wasn't on this fic that I got flamed (I have yet to get a bad review on this one...which makes me worry that now that I've said it, the bad reviews will come pouring in XD; ), I still muchly appreciate your comments and your 'deep thoughts' and I'm glad you like the story so much :)

LTC: A review like that makes my day :) And yes, I too think it's totally unfair how Richie's constantly being the damsel in distress (I loved it in "Gear", however, when Richie's like "I'm coming to save you!" and Virgil's just like, "...say WHAT?"), except for in "No Man's an Island" and "Hoop Squand". Uhm, because Richie in bondage and/or severe pain? That's just pure love right there. And it's also really sweet though, how whenever Richie's hurt or captured, Virgil's mind suddenly just becomes one-track like "Save Gear. Save Gear. Save Gear. Save Gear." :3

Dmitri A: XD yes, well X-Men is very handy. I'll give you (and anyone else who's reading this part) a sneak preview and say that I may have stole a bit of Richie's later craziness from Dark Phoenix XD;; And agreed. The League pwnz. I'm also incredibly flattered about the compliment of keeping V and Richie in character. I think that's the biggest compliment I can get :)

richie4: Err...what's up with the end is that Virgil is joking with Superman while Richie is in extreme pain?

Kari Ana: /flattered/ Thank you so much for your review! It made my day. And I'm not really trying to kill you, because that would mean no more lovely ego-boosting reviews from you ;3

silentremorse: Nope, not a jalepano-pizza induced dream and he's not going to be a parent either. V was just joking ;p

Shannon: I'm glad you're impressed :) - And yeah, I agree. Angsty!Richie is good, but Weak!Richie? Now that's just out of character XD

Princess of Mirrors: No, Richie's not actually pregnant, silly! And I'll attempt to finish these stories. Attempt XD;

Also cookies to Onyxlight, WildfireFriendship0, Nerb, LunaGoldsun, MeLaiya, jigsaws231, sheraven, stranj00, Hybridbabe, SailorVegeta, SnakeMistress, and tp96 for making me smile with your reviews as well!


Shatter
Chapter Three


"Well…at least your helmet was off," Virgil offered as he took a seat by the window of their temporary quarters, giving his partner a guilty grin. Richie responded to the comment with a nasty glare as he threw on a new shirt lent to him by The Flash. It was about a size or two big on him, but he liked his clothes baggy anyway. And it was a huge step up from his vomit-covered costume. Virgil, on the other hand, had simply removed his jacket and mask, seeming comfortable enough in his black undershirt and uniform pants.

"So…you want to tell me why we're at the Watchtower?" Richie wondered suspiciously, stretching out on one of the large beds that filled the room. Virgil tore his eyes away from the expanse of space outside of the window that had caught his attention and glanced over his shoulder at the blonde.

"I don't know… somehow it just seemed like a really bad idea to bring you to the local hospital on Martin Luther Boulevard. You know, with our secret identities and all."

"But… how did you get in contact with the League?"

Virgil grinned and shrugged. "You know that communicator Batman gave us and told us to use only for emergencies?"

Richie nodded and stared at Virgil blankly for a moment, before his brain finally caught on to what Virgil was saying. "V! This isn't an emergency!"

"Uhm, yeah, when my best friend is screaming at me telepathically about how much he hurts and how scared he is, I consider that an emergency," Virgil retorted, looking non-to-pleased at Richie's attempt to lessen the gravity of the situation. Richie flushed and turned his head away.

"Did I really do that?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh…I, uh, don't remember that," Richie admitted under his breath, adverting his eyes to an odd shaped stain on the comforter. Frowning, Virgil stood and made his way to over to his friend, sitting on the edge of the bed by Richie's feet.

"Really? Do you remember anything?"

"Uhh…you getting your ass kicked?"

Virgil rolled his eyes and cocked an eyebrow. "How convenient," he smirked, grabbing a pillow from the floor and chucking it at Richie's head. Richie grinned and laughed, catching the pillow deftly in his hands.

"So what now?"

"Now…" There was a long pause as Virgil glanced at Richie out of the corner of his eye, before he blushed and shook his head. "Uh, now…we go to the main control room."

Richie stared at Virgil suspiciously as he stood. "Sure."

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

In retrospect, Richie probably should have anticipated the sudden downpour of nerves that hit him the second he stepped into the Watchtower's main control room. He'd almost passed out from excitement the first time he'd been in the presence of the Justice League and this occasion seemed to be no different. Sitting down hesitantly in the chair that J'onn J'onzz held out for him, Richie took a long moment to study the faces of the superheroes that stood before him, trying to gauge how he should treat them based on his remembered impressions of each.

Let's see…He mulled as he began to go down the line in order. Batman, I'm on pretty good terms with… Hell, I was even his first choice when it came to fixing the time machine when Virg got trapped in the future…The Flash, I thought was pretty cool with me…Superman, I think I was okay with him too…Never met Wonder Woman, but If I'm cool with even Batman then she should be all right…J'onn likes everybody…GL, well, aside from that whole me and Virg trying to kill him thing, I think we're pretty okay…Riche paused as he focused on the last person in the row. Okay, scratch the whole part about if I'm in Batman's good graces, I can make it with anyone. Hawkgirl is definitely pretty damn scary.

"Oh, am I?"

Choking on the air that suddenly seemed lodged in his throat, Richie allowed himself the decency to flush.

"I, uhm…shit."

"Nice move, Rich. While you're at it, what do you think about me?" Virgil snickered as he leaned his arm on the back of Richie's chair. Richie's face, if possible, became even redder and he emitted a soft growl of embarrassment.

You're a giant dick.

"Aw, you don't mean that."

Groaning, Richie buried his face in his hands and mentally wished for Virgil to go off alone and do some rather rude things to himself.

With a wicked grin, Virgil elbowed Richie's shoulders. "Not without you, bro."

Richie began to choke again.

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

"Well, now that you two are through with your taunting…"

"You dudes are through, right?" Flash cut in with a grin, giving Richie the distinct impression that the older superhero really didn't want the taunting to be over. J'onn, however, gave no time for comment as he continued on with what he had been saying.

"Now that all this has ended, I wonder if we would be able to begin with the examination…."

Richie froze. "Wait, what?"

With a strange cough, Virgil stepped away from his side, clearly avoiding eye contact. "Oh…right…and then there was that little detail about some tests the League wants to run on you like you were some lab rat to experiment with that I forgot to mention…"

Rolling his eyes, Richie tried very hard not to reach out and strangle Virgil.

"….I think I hate you right now," he muttered under his breath.

"Ah, ah ah…If you don't have anything nice to say…"

Curse you in my head?

Virgil cocked his head to the side and frowned. "Hey, now, that's cheating."

"Children!"

Suddenly feeling several years younger than their age, Richie and Virgil adverted their gazes to the floor, mumbling a guilty "sorry" in unison. J'onn merely stared at them for a long moment, the smallest shadow of a smile littering his features, before he stepped over to the chair Richie currently resided in.

"Now, Gear…if you'd please lean your head back…" he murmured as he got into position behind the chair. Richie raised an eyebrow and looked at Virgil skeptically, before doing as he was instructed.

"Now… close your eyes and relax…"

All at once, Richie could feel the martian's comforting presence within his mind, dipping in and out of every hidden recess. He nearly moaned out loud from the tender mental strokes when they brushed against his pleasure lobe. Smiling to himself, he sunk down deeper into the chair, feeling as though his entire body was being wrapped in a soothing warmth.

As abruptly as the pleasure came, it was ripped away, replaced by a deafening pain. Clutching his head in his hands, Richie tried to stifle the scream that was fighting its way up his throat, willing the angry bolts of fire that seemed to penetrate his skull to stop. It was getting harder to breathe.

: Gear… Please try to relax…:

The voice pierced through his mind and only caused the pain to increase.

: Calm down…relax…:

"S-s-stop--"

: Gear… Richard…it's all right…:

"S-STOP--" Richie's word's erupted into a shriek as a blinding flash suddenly sparked before his eyes and his world was instantly at peace.

The silence was even louder than the pain.

Breathing harshly, Richie tried to ignore how the wisps of air escaping his lips were the only sounds emanating from the room.

J-J'onn…?

He waited for a moment, feeling his blood run cold when he received no reply.

J'onn…?

The image of Virgil at the gas station, suddenly falling into an eerie calm, flashed through his mind.

J'onn!

Forcing his eyes open, Richie sat up in his chair, feeling a wave of nausea hit him as he took in the sight before him. The sight of Virgil and The Flash standing frozen in front of him with identical looks of concern written on their faces. He didn't have to turn around to know what he'd see when he gazed at J'onn. Scrambling out of his seat, Richie nearly tripped as he made his way out of the room, eyes darting around nervously, afraid that the walls, with their ears and eyes, were ready to punish him for his crime.

As he turned a sharp corner in the hallway, he slammed head first into Batman, mumbling a shattered apology as he pushed past the superhero and continued to run as far as he could go.

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

"Lucy…you got some splainin' to do…"

The voice was soft and teasing and enough to make Richie jump off the perch he had made for himself in the Watchtower's abandoned storage room and race to Virgil's side in relief. Before Virgil could get another word out, he found himself engulfed in an emotion-filled hug and felt a grin line his face in spite of himself.

"Well…this is a nice change from being cursed at and frozen in place."

"Fuck you…" Richie muttered, mentally scolding himself for his inability to keep his voice from growing thick. "How…?"

"Pfft," Virgil pulled away and smirked, giving no indication that he was aware that his best friend was currently on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Richie was eternally grateful. "You may be little Miss Teen Psychic, but J'onn takes the Queen's crown any day."

Looking away and making as if he had gotten something stuck in his eye, Richie snorted. "Did you just refer to J'onn as a Queen?"

"I also just referred to you as a 'miss.'"

"Somehow? A lot less insulting."

Virgil grinned and threw an arm over Richie's shoulder, pulling his friend close in a reassuring sign of amity.

"Are you going to tell me what happened out there?" he pried, trying to keep his tone light. Richie cocked an eyebrow at him and bit his lip, seriously considering the question.

"Probably not," he replied after a moment, briefly lifting up his shoulders in a shrugging motion. Virgil frowned.

"Are you going to tell me ever?"

"Maybe."

"Are you at least going to tell me what J'onn's deepest darkest secret is because I know you pried into his head as much as he did into yours?"

With a small smile, Richie laughed. "Well…it's not really a secret of J'onn's as much as it is a secret of Superman that he promised to keep."

Perking up with interest, Virgil turned to face the blonde fully, eyes wide and curious. "Spill."

"Okay okay!" Richie grinned and paused for dramatic effect. "Superman…He has a tape recording of Batman singing in the shower, provided by The Flash, hidden in his room that he holds over Batman's head as a way to make sure Bats is more sociable."

Groaning in disappointment, Virgil frowned. "And that's secret how?"

"When he's alone he likes to listen to it. A lot."

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

Meetings in the Watchtower's conference room were never known to be a good thing. They were considered to be a symbol of dread, a sign that something very serious, and potentially dangerous, was on the way. They were looked at as a last resort to solve a growing problem. A way to brainstorm ideas on how to prevent the next apocalypse.

Not to figure out what to do about a growing teenage boy.

And yet… here were the seven core members of The Justice League, each taking up a spot at the elliptical table, waiting anxiously to chalk up their slight sense of unease to a superhero's paranoia.

Making his way to the head of the table, J'onn took his seat and sighed.

"The boy is more powerful than we thought…" he began gravely, already knowing he had no need to clarify which boy they were to discuss. The Flash nodded his agreement.

"It was like the dude was in my head controlling my body – making me freeze--"

"It was an accident, right?" Wonder Woman interrupted, standing from her seat and resting her hands on the table. Batman gazed at her cooly out of the corner of his eye.

"And if it wasn't? Gear was able to stop three superheroes in his tracks with one word. What are you going to do to him if he actually tries next time?" The tone of his voice relayed that he firmly believed the entire incident was not intentional on Gear's part and was fully ready to contest were anyone to believe differently. Not daring to level with Batman on a subject that, for some reason or another, the man cared about, Wonder Woman merely frowned and took her seat once again.

"So what do you propose we do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow to accompany the soft drumming of her fingers on the table. Batman shrugged and stood, indicating that, at least in his view, the meeting was over.

"Help him."

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

It was warm where he was. Safe. Comforting.

Groaning, Richie rolled over in bed, opening his eyes slowly to reveal the familiar sight of his bedroom wall. He briefly glanced over to the clock on his nightstand and a small whimper escaped his throat.

7:20am. Time to get up for school.

With a suffering sigh, Richie forced himself to roll out bed and stumble his way to his closet.

"Mrrr…shirt…" he mumbled incoherently, grabbing the first article of clothing his eyes landed on. It occurred to him only after he was about to step out of the door to his room that he probably needed to put on some pants as well. Staggering to his drawer, Richie pulled out the top pair of jeans and yanked them on.

It took him two tries before he realized he was putting them on backwards.

After his third and successful attempt, he made his way back to his bed, reaching down on the floor to locate a pair of shoes.

"Mff…sneakers…" He paused as his hand brushed against something smooth and large. "Mmf..?"

Lying back, Richie scooped the object up from the floor with one hand, bringing it into his line of vision.

It was a helmet.

An orange helmet.

With a green visor.

The first thought that crossed Richie's mind was that orange wasn't really his color. By the time the second thought came around, however, he was beginning to think more clearly.

"What the…" Sitting up, Richie turned the helmet over in his hands, studying the various scanners and sensors the object presented. As he looked down at the floor for any sort of clue as to where the helmet could have come from, his eyes widened when he spotted a neatly written note.

"Gear,

This helmet has been specially designed to aid you in your quest to control your powers. We have complete faith that you'll be able to figure it out on your own.

-The League"

And suddenly it all came back. The fight with the aquatic bang baby, the blackout, the Watchtower…. everything.

Dumping the helmet into his book bag, Richie yanked on his sneakers and raced downstairs.

He needed to talk to Virgil.

O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O

"…..A helmet?"

"Yes."

"A helmet?"

"That's right."

"A helmet."

"Yes, V, I believe we have established that," Richie said with a smirk as he took his usual seat in Chemistry class. Virgil sat next to him and frowned.

"Do you have any idea what it's supposed to do?"

"I…think it's supposed to help me with my new powers," Richie explained, taking out a piece of notebook paper so that he could begin working on the pre-class assignment that decorated the whiteboard.

"Did they tell you how to work it?" Virgil wondered, reaching over to steal the paper away from Richie to use for himself. The blonde rolled his eyes and pulled out another sheet.

"Nope."

"That's…reassuring."

Richie grinned and wrote his name in the top corner of his paper with a flourish.

"You just want an excuse for us to go back to the Watchtower."

Eyes widening at the accusation, Virgil flushed guiltily. "Only a little."

Shaking his head with a soft chortle, Richie leaned over and opened his backpack slightly, gazing into the darkness at the shiny orange surface of his newest toy.

"I wonder if they have it in green."


TBC