Author: DoctorV
Main characters: Booster Gold, Batman, Ted Kord (mention)
So...yeah. Something my brain kicked around for a bit. Angsty!Booster versus territorial!Batman without any physical violence. Batman's got this whole "rar, my city, get out" thing with other superheroes, but Booster's a native Gotham boy so... Has this ever actually been addressed in canon?
Time: after Blue Beetle's death.
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The Batman
Batman landed silently behind the blond man sitting on the roof. He waited a moment before speaking. "Gotham is my town. Get out."
"My town, too." The man retorted, looking over his shoulder at the Dark Knight. At his incredulous almost-expression, the blond snapped, "I was born in Gotham. At least I will be. Anyway I'm not in costume, what do you care?"
"You're wearing your blasters, Booster."
Booster smirked. "Like I said, I was born here. I'm not stupid enough to walk around unarmed." He frowned and turned back to face the cityscape. "And it's Michael right now. So...leave me alone so I can pretend the buildings are taller."
"Why are you here?"
"Homesick." Michael sneered, then got to his feet and pointed out at the city. "Over there? Hospital where I was born, then where I looked after my mom." He pointed again. "And way over there? I'm gonna play ball there some day." He turned back to stare at the crumbling buildings and vacant lot he had been facing earlier. His voice was soft when he said, "And some day...there's gonna be a restoration project and someone's going to build a park, right there. I used to play there with Michelle all the time. It...wasn't a great park, I mean it was already old by then. But there were plants and you don't usually see those in Gotham. Didn't. Won't." He bowed his head, arms crossed almost protectively.
Batman was silent.
"I showed Ted once. He thought it was kind of funny, but he listened. Then he showed me where the local park is now and we sat on the swings and I told him about Gotham in a few hundred years." Michael smiled. "He didn't believe all of it, but I was making some of it up, so that was okay." He turned to face Batman then, the fondness in his expression leeching away. "You're still a legend where I come from."
"I don't want to know--" Batman started.
"Something to scare kids at night." Michael continued viciously. "'Be good or The Batman will get you.' I nearly wet myself when I first met you. Even after I got to know you better you still made me nervous when you loomed. I couldn't shake the feeling you were trying to decide whether or not to eat my soul." He stared down at his feet and smiled. "Ted thought that was funny, too. But then, he wasn't from Gotham, so what'd he know?"
Batman was silent.
Michael frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, I think he was from Hub, and that place almost makes Gotham look like Metropolis." He shook his head. "I'm glad he left. The Question's better suited to it, anyway. Blue Beetle didn't use deadly force." He snorted. "A hairdryer! A hairdryer with blinking lights. That was his big thing." He choked a little and blurted in a watery voice, "God, it's a wonder he didn't get killed sooner."
Batman was silent.
Quickly composing himself, Michael wrapped his arms around himself and bowed his head. "He was...he was really..." He bit his lip. "For all our ins and outs...the fighting...he was my best friend. I...loved him." He choked again and whispered, "I miss him."
"Just...leave me alone, Gotham's my city, too." He sat back on the edge of the roof, staring at crumbling concrete and seeing scraggly green. "The Batman already got me and my best friend's dead. You don't scare me anymore."
Batman was silent, and when Michael glanced back he was gone.