Disclaimers and Useless/Useful Stuff to Know:
Don't own any of these characters. Never will. Wish I did. Major spoilers for "Countdown to Infinite Crisis". Good idea to read the comic first. Also, spoilers for the Question six-issue miniseries.
Warning: The Pool is Contaminated
by Alba Aulbath
There was no way to ever possibly describe the feelings that came through when he was following the scarab. It led him away, and he couldn't even tell precisely where they were going.
And for the first time in days - maybe a week or so - he laid himself down as He instructed.
A shock of life came to him, as the scarab clung onto his chest, waves of lightning coming through him.
The azure scarab disappeared in the shocks running through his body, and slowly, he sat up.
He was solid. He was breathing.
Feeling frantically on the top of his head, he found a roughly sewn mask there, the patchwork done by the Question from days earlier. Tearing it off, he ran his gloved fingers through his hair, feeling no traces of what Max had done to him. Touching his arm - it had been broken before he died - it was fine. Everything that had been wrong was fixed.
Standing up, he didn't notice the Martian Manhunter standing in the doorway.
He was a living, breathing man.
He wanted one thing.
"I want some cheesecake," Blue Beetle muttered.
Time slowed, time had no meaning when one was approaching the end, the very end he chose. His spirit would not be damned, he would pass on to whatever was beyond. He tried to listen. He tried to Hear, tried to See for him, and he was gone.
Forever? Let it not be forever.
"In six true words," he told himself as he fell.
Falling, falling, falling.
Six True Words fell then, too. It hadn't been her choice. This had been his choice.
He would die by his own rules, not by Max's.
Was he gone forever?
In Six True Words.
He'd want you to celebrate life.
"Let's celebrate," he whispered.
And fell.
And fell.
Fell.
Step, step, step, and was approaching...
It had been the day Dr. Rodor - sweet, old Tot, rest in peace, in peace, peace...
Flowers had been offered by him.
"He'd want you to celebrate life."
No one ever smiled at him quite like that.
In six true words.
Will you please help me, Question?
In six true words, yes yes and yes again, he could not deny him. Only he spoke Six True Words.
"Speak to me..."
He could see what happened to him, could See it if he tried-
"Go to hell, Max."
A shot and death and pain and-
"I can See..."
In true words, he fell.
Because it was his choice.
"Beetle?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Ted saw J'onn. Blinking, feeling strange - dead for awhile, and suddenly back to life? Sure, plenty of costumed people did it, but Ted never imagined he would have. It was abnormal. It wasn't something he enjoyed.
But he tried not to think about it.
Instead, there'd been Booster and Question to worry about; they were being chased, they needed his help...
"Beetle."
"Yeah, I heard you. Now, 'scuse me." Ted hadn't thought much of it, but he had lifted a few inches off of the floor, moving towards the door.
J'onn hadn't moved. "What has happened?"
"The hell you care?" Ted had admitted to Question he was bitter. Only now that he was alive again, able to actually speak with the Martian Manhunter, did he feel any kind of anger. It was easier to swallow up when he was dead. "I have somewhere to go. And yeah, 'I will be leaving', thank you SO much, J'onn."
Quietly, the Martian stepped aside. "What is happening with Michael and Vic?"
"They're in trouble - which, by the way, could have been avoided DAYS ago - and I'm gonna go help." Not another word by Blue Beetle, and he left, finding with some strange ease and grace to fly.
It finally came of notice to him as he landed in the teleporting pod, groaning to himself, "Oh jeez, I've been infected with magic. That's just PEACHY."
With a sigh, Ted keyed in the coordinates where he had last seen Booster Gold and the Question.
Appearing in midair, Ted wobbled a bit while he hovered. It was a bit difficult, but he was surprised that he could stay there with relative ease - considering his lack of experience using any kind of magic.
While he didn't favor it, if it would help him, he might as well get used to it.
Looking around, Ted searched the area from the point he was at for, hopefully, a clue as to where they were-
It was then he saw someone fall back from a building, making a fast plummet towards the streets below.
Someone who had lost a fedora along the way, wearing a trenchcoat, and had no face.
"Can you stay out of the 'almost dead' zone for ONE DAY?" Beetle grumbled.
At least, this would be a good test for his flight speed, he fathomed. Taking in a deep breath, he held out his hands as he took a dive down at an angle, flying down in hopes of reaching him in time. It made him belatedly wonder where Booster had gone - and in dread, hoped for the best. Surely, Booster was fine.
Reaching out as he advanced closer and closer, Ted grumbled, "So owing me dinner, so owing me dinner, SO OWING ME DINNER-"
Gloved fingers grabbed onto the front of the faceless man's coat, lifting him up with surprising ease. It was funny; Ted was positive he hadn't been capable of that much strength before...
But it made him recall what Doc Garret had been able to do before him.
Lifting the Question up into his arms, Ted took off into the air, landing roughly onto another tower. "Question? Hey! I can't tell if you're awake!"
The faceless vigilante lifted his head, no-faced face staring at Blue Beetle. "...You're alive... you live after all.. am I really delusional?"
"You really want me to answer that?" Ted raised a brow at him. "Where's Booster?"
"Michael... made him go... hid him away... gone, gone - you're alive..." The Question was trembling.
"Yeah, we'll skip around in flowers about it later. We have to find Booster."
The Human Enigma grabbed onto Ted's shoulder before he could move. "Let me See... let me See and Hear..."
Ted frowned, but nodded. The way the Question was talking was a little less sane than usual, and he didn't really understand why. What happened in the amount of time he disappeared?
"Where I... backed off. Michael... and Max."
"Max!" Ted narrowed his eyes. "You're bleeding, but... think you can tag along?"
"Yes," Question muttered. "Yes, yes... don't disappear..."
"Hopefully, not this time."
Blue Beetle took off, carrying the faceless man with him.
Gazing over the edge of the building, Maxwell Lord scowled. The Question took a plummet on his own. Fair enough, but there was more security in being the actual cause of death than seeing suicide. In the world of metahumans, death was difficult to stay.
It was to his surprise that yellow beams were fired at him at both of his flanks, quickly disposing of the soldiers that were behind him.
Max lifted his head to see what was happening, just in time to receive a fist in the face.
"You really did do it!" Booster Gold snarled, landing another vicious blow against Max's face. "Didn't you? You killed Ted!"
Blood dribbled down his chin from a split lip, but Max still eyed at him with confidence. "I offered to let him do the right thing - but he didn't want to, Booster."
"Question was telling the truth. You did this, and you're trying to kill us, too!" Booster threw him against the paved roof, holding up a powered hand, golden light charging. "I'm so damned sick of this. You guys took apart Skeets, you killed Ted, you...! I'm tired of LOSING PEOPLE!"
Max eyed up at him, some desperation in his expression as his nose began to bleed. "You don't want to shoot me, Booster."
The blonde struggled with himself against the mental influence, but the golden light disappeared from his hand. It didn't stop him from landing another strike against Max's jaw, lifting another fist to slam against him. There was every intention of nonstop blows.
"Maybe I don't!" Booster snarled. "Maybe I don't - maybe I want to crush you, Max!"
A foot slammed down against Maxwell Lord's ribcage, and Booster reached down, curling his fingers around the other man's throat.
"BOOSTER!"
The blonde lifted up his head sharply, spotting the last person he expected to be flying down in front of him.
"Ted..." Booster's throat went dry, and he stepped away from Max. "You... aren't you-"
"I got better," Blue Beetle said weakly. "Don't kill him, Booster." He attempted to set the Question down onto his feet, but the faceless man wavered; instead, Ted held him by the arm to support him.
"You're kidding me. You're fucking kidding me. He KILLED you."
Question muttered, "Death... life... celebrate life... damn him, damn the spirit of the sinned, damn him... celebrate his death..."
"You're not helping," Ted grumbled.
"I..." Question turned his head away, mumbling words to himself.
"Booster, if anything, let the JLA deal with Max."
"Why! They-" Booster began.
"They totally deserve to deal with him," Ted told him darkly. "Trust me, J'onn's probably going to be here any moment. He saw me leave the Watchtower; must've freaked even him out a bit."
"Let the Gods battle the sinned," the Question said softly. "Gods be damned, sinned be damned... we fools... listen..." He wavered physically. "In six true words..." At that moment, he toppled forward, apparently unconscious - it wasn't as if any of them could tell.
Blue Beetle caught the Question easily enough, then grumbled as he lifted him up. "We'll wait 'til J'onn gets here. Okay?"
Booster glowered at Max, then sighed. "...Yeah. ... Okay..."
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold were waiting basically on the other side of Edge City, settled on another roof and hid away nicely enough from Checkmate. Booster had bound, gagged, and blindfolded Max, who'd given away to unconsciousness fairly easily after the blonde had taken out some of his anger onto him; Beetle had been stuck with carrying the Question, who still hadn't woken up.
It had left, at least, the pair enough time to let things sink in:
Blue Beetle had been dead, but wasn't anymore.
Somewhere, somehow, the Question had snapped and gotten even more insane.
Booster Gold had been prepared to kill Maxwell Lord.
Beetle also had attained some powers from the scarab, by what means he still was unsure... and very uncomfortable with.
Ted knelt by the unconscious faceless man, having taken off the Human Enigma's coat, wrapped it up, and tucked it under the Question's head. "Sorry for getting you and him wrapped up in this, Booster..."
"Hey, hey. Look. Don't be; I'm sorry that no one decided they should bother listening to you." Booster frowned and folded his arms. He'd been doing nothing but pacing after they had found a spot to temporarily settle at, and Beetle was getting tired of watching him. "And I think Question's probably too crazy to care about being in danger or not. Actually, I think he likes it, so..."
"Yeah, well." Ted sighed. "Every time I tried to apologize to him, it's not like he thought I had anything to be sorry for either."
"You were really talking to him?"
Lifting his head, Blue Beetle nodded. "Crazy as it sounds, yeah. I don't entirely know what powers he has to be able to, but he could see me and hear me... and everyone else. Anything that lived, anyway. Something about feng shui - which I swear, I thought was a ridiculous technique people use for interior design, but apparently not. Anyway, he didn't always have those powers... I wonder where he learned to do it."
"Speaking of which, when did you get flight lessons?" Booster smirked a bit at him.
"I..." Ted shrugged, helplessly. "The scarab was the original Blue Beetle's. It gave him the power to fly, superstrength, and lightning. So far, I'm pretty sure I only have one out of the three." He would have, admittedly, been too uncomfortable with all three powers. After coming back from the dead, he was abnormal enough as it was.
However, Booster lifted a brow. "You sure? I mean-"
"Trust me, Booster, I don't want to be able to shoot lightning from my hands or be able to arm wrestle with Superman. Being dead and then NOT being dead is enough on my table right now, especially when I don't really have a whole lot left as Ted Kord."
"Ted..."
Blue Beetle scowled. "I'm serious... Kord Industries is as good as gone now, and everything I had was blown to pieces, or otherwise burnt to ashes."
"How do you think I feel?" Booster grumbled. "My apartment..."
"I know," Ted admitted quietly. "But... you know, my point still stands-"
"So does mine! Everyone in my life's being killed, one by one! Who was supposed to be after you, Ted? Not a whole lot to choose from - maybe Bea, or how about Scott! I thought, after I got out of my apartment - after it exploded... 'Wow, I'm this close to losing everything, but hey, at least I'll find Ted'. And what do I hear from Question?" Booster seemed incapable of expressing exactly how he wanted in words, so he added in wild gestures. "I hear you're dead. Gone. Because of Max. Of all people, Max Lord killed you! I thought maybe he was just crazy, but no. No, the League knew, and nobody told me. That's exactly when I had nothing left but to try my damned hardest to finish what you started, right? Or maybe just kill Max, 'cuz I'd at least have felt better."
There was a moment of silence and unease, and Booster let out a heavy sigh. "But... you know... it doesn't matter. 'Cuz you're not dead. We don't have much, but ... can't we have enough?"
Ted looked at him, then shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Hell, you're right... I'm just glad you're okay. You know, burns and bullets aside."
There was shifting coming from the Question, as he abruptly turned over onto his side, holding onto his head. He muttered, "Infestations... the wrath, the sinned... the death, I can see, I can See at last..."
"Still snapped, huh?" Booster muttered.
"What happened, anyway? I kinda missed it when the scarab went flying off. I followed it." Beetle was no longer focusing his eyes on Booster and instead watched Question, hesitant about touching him.
"I really have no idea. He spazzed out and started saying things I totally didn't get. Then I got shot and had to land us both, but Question told me to go away, said he'd cover my tracks. Kept mentioning you. I didn't want to, but he was pretty damned insistent..."
The information hadn't helped clear anything for him, but Ted expressed his confusion in a shrug before placing a gloved hand over the faceless man's shoulder. "Question?"
The dark-haired man turned his head sharply, and Ted assumed he was looking up at him. "Alive. Was it all fake...?"
"No, I was pretty dead for awhile," Ted told him, which was a strange form of assurance. "What happened to you after I left?"
"Gone. There was... nothing..." Question tilted his head as he stared up at Ted. "Nothing. Couldn't See you. Hear you. Had nothing."
"That seems to be a trend around here," Booster commented.
"Okay, let's slow down, then. Why did you snap when I disappeared for, oh, fifteen minutes or however long it was?" Ted quirked a brow.
Question muttered, "No life to celebrate."
"What's that mean?"
There was a pause, and the faceless man stared at him. Finally, he turned his head away, voice quiet; the Question sounded very disappointed, "You don't remember."
"Remember what?" Ted frowned.
"I think that's his point," Booster told him.
The Question slowly sat up, holding his head. "Purpose, gone. Four years, four years. Gone. Returned, and left, just in days." He lifted his head, and wherever his gaze landed on, it wasn't as if Booster or Beetle could tell. "Maybe not yet... maybe not..."
"Do you know what he's talking about?" Booster Gold sounded tired - and with all things considered, Blue Beetle didn't blame him.
"Not really." Beetle paused to consider. "...I think..."
The Question stood up, wearily. Ted was after him in just a few seconds, telling him, "You sure should be standing? With all that's happened, you still need some serious medical attention-"
"One purpose left..." The faceless man stepped away from him, towards Max, reaching out to grab him by the front of his shirt. "Be damned, let the sinned be damned for all eternity-"
"Aw fuck," Booster muttered, but Blue Beetle stepped in before he said anything else.
"Question!" Ted stepped towards the faceless vigilante. "Question, put him down!"
The Human Enigma held Max over the edge of the roof. "I will," he growled. "I will. An eye for an eye, a life for a life - be sinned, the sinned. Be damned, your sinned soul."
"Stop it - no one else should have to die!"
"Even if he's the cause of your suffering?" Question hissed. "Both of you? He, the Gods - they did this to you!"
"Knock it off already!" Booster told him, frowning. "Ted said that's it, so don't do this!"
Question turned his head away. "You know, Michael. You know, even a little, of how much you'd like to see him pay. Be in pain, for his spirit to suffer with the rest of the damned in the world. I can do that. I can damn him. I can-"
"Vic, stop it!" Ted snapped at him, reaching out for the faceless man's arm. "Okay? Just stop it..."
The use of his name had gotten his attention, and the Question lowered his head. "I See it, when I step out of my body. I See it, what he did to you. But you don't want..."
"No, but..." Ted frowned. "I know that he'll get what's coming to him. But not like this, okay? ...Please? Vic..."
There was silence from the Question. Eventually, he caved in, and threw Max aside, remaining quiet.
Blue Beetle let out a heavy breath of relieved air. Smiling a bit, he let go and looked at the faceless vigilante. "Thanks. For all of the crap you've been putting up with since you got involved."
The Question turned his head to look at Ted, tilting it. "...'Thanks'?" he repeated, as if unsure he heard properly. "...Don't have to..."
"Yeah, well, either you take 'Sorry' or 'Thanks', okay?"
"Ah." Question nodded. "...Then... you're welcome."
You are all together. Good.
"Where...?" Booster lifted his head, but the faceless man pointed to the sky, where both Martian Manhunter and Superman were descending.
This is... When J'onn landed lightly, he turned his head to see Max still unconscious.
"Max really was involved," Superman murmured, amazed. "Beetle, it's really good to see you."
"Wish I could say the same," Booster Gold muttered, folding his arms. The Man of Steel turned his head to eye at him, but the blonde hardly wavered.
The Question knelt down, picking up his coat and dusting it off. "So the Gods arrive to lay claim to the sinned. A gift from the lowly fools. Credit will be due when it is undue."
"How were we to know that Max-" Superman began.
"Because he shot me in the fucking head," Ted grumbled, turning around and folding his arms. "Are you going to take him, Superman?"
The Kryptonian was alarmed by the tone taken to him. "Yes, but... Beetle, we only heard from Question about Max being involved. We didn't think it was possible."
"Because you heard it from someone who was talking to a dead guy," Ted muttered flatly. "And if you heard it from Booster, would it have made a difference?"
Superman hesitated, but J'onn spoke up. The unstability of Victor's mind made it questionable for us to make proper conclusions.
"Look, that's all real wonderful, but. Just take Max and go already. I'm really not in the mood to deal with the League right now." Ted scowled. "And I mean that, too," he muttered. "I'll be happy to tell stories over a campfire or whatever some other time, but right now..."
"Right now, we should run," the Question muttered to Blue Beetle. "Checkmate will find us, eventually. Let the Gods leave with their prize, and we'll take our leave. ...I can See them..."
"I understand that we've made mistakes in handling what's been going on lately, but let us help you, Beetle," Superman offered. "You can't run forever."
Booster snorted. "And take your help? You had a helping hand in what happened to us! To Beetle! Thanks so very fucking much."
"Let's make this simple."
Eyes turned to the familiar dark cape and cowl of the Dark Knight as he approached from the shadows. Batman glanced over Blue Beetle, eyes narrowed with typical judgement, but made no comment. Turning his head to focus on the group in general, he said, "Checkmate's following you."
"This has been stated pretty thoroughly," the Question told him. "But you've finally decided to take a little investigation time, I hope."
"Hn." Batman seemed content to pretend the Question said nothing. "Max has been keeping his trail pretty clean. But at least we know for sure now. However-"
"I wonder if anyone in the superhero community has 'Captain Obvious' as a name yet," Booster grumbled.
"However." Batman set his glare to the blonde briefly. "...This is big. Much more than any of us could have imagined. To directly put a hand of help in to you three right now would definitely alert them of our awareness."
"Why is this a BAD THING?"
The Question spoke up after Booster was done. "Gives them incentive to move. They find the JLA has Max, they'll use their plans to obliterate them. Not hard for them to do, if they remember anything about their files they used to have... Being subtle might be better. ... Better than nothing."
"I may have a way of getting you three somewhere to safety. I'd have to make Vic Sage, Ted Kord, and Michael Carter disappear for awhile. For how long..." Batman lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "You'll be safe. And recover - which is something you'll all be needing."
"I don't know about this," Booster muttered bitterly. The Human Enigma remained in silence, but he seemed to be agreeing.
Blue Beetle, however, turned to them and shook his head. "I'm upset, too. But I know we need somewhere to go. Vic, you've been to a lot of different places since I dragged you into this, and they've still been able to follow you. If Batman can make us disappear - and I know he can - so we have somewhere to go..."
"I don't like it," Booster sighed. "I really don't. I don't want to ask for their help, Ted. But... I don't have any good ideas."
Ted glanced to the Question. "How about it?"
The faceless man shrugged, turning his head aside. "...I'll follow. Whatever you want."
"That's real nice and everything, but what do you think?"
"...I think they owe you better than this," Question murmured quietly. "But it'll do... Rather you safe than chance death again so soon..."
Blue Beetle nodded. "So it's a go?"
"Can we really do anything else?" Booster Gold grumbled.
"Not right now, no," Beetle admitted softly. "But hey, we'll manage, right...?" Turning around to the Dark Knight, he nodded. "So, where to?"
There had been very little exchange of words between all of them. J'onn had assured that he and Superman would take Maxwell Lord to a proper place and arrangement; Ted noted that neither of his teammates felt all that comforted by the Martian's words. Bitterly, he had quietly agreed with them, which had been strange and upsetting; there'd been a time when all of them in the League - formerly or otherwise - had looked up to the Martian Manhunter. Now, Ted felt angry for the lack of trust between them.
Batman, being Batman, had simply motioned the remaining three to follow him. Pressing a series of commands on his utility belt, he had summoned his Batwing, climbing inside. The Question had grumbled, requiring assistance inside the jet.
Somewhere along the line, Blue Beetle had found himself fallen asleep during the trip. Wherever they were going, it hadn't seemed to be profusely in Ted's mind; pretty much, the fact that he was alive was occupying every feeling in him, and it exhausted him.
However much time had passed didn't matter. Ted found himself waking up, staring at the ceiling of a damp cavern, and listening to Booster sounding annoyed,
"Do you enjoy pain?"
The Question muttered, "I ignore it." Then he grunted.
"Bullet wasn't so easy to get to, Vic. Booster, yours went through, but you still need stitches." Batman.
"Can I get painkillers?" Booster pleaded.
Ted sat up slowly, and wasn't really surprised to find himself with a headache. It was a bit typical with the stress going on as of late, with what being dead, alive, and everything else. The Question was sitting on top of the gurney - second time in one week - with his jacket and shirt off. Batman had yanked out the bullet that had been lodged in the faceless man's scapula. Booster Gold, whether or not he realized it, had his lower lip sticking out and was obviously not looking forward to his turn.
"Better?" Question turned his head, faceless face in the inventor's direction.
"Eh, kinda," Ted muttered, holding his head.
Batman stepped around the faceless man, narrowing his eyes behind his cowl. "After I'm done with Vic, Alfred will come down to deal with Booster."
"You make it sound like I'm a pain," Booster Gold complained.
"I don't think I need to elaborate, then," Batman muttered under his breath. "I'll be leaving to take care of your arrangements."
Ted peered at him. "Arrangements?"
"You three are going to disappear off the face of the planet," Batman told him, beginning to stitch up the gaping hole in the Question's shoulder. "It means hiding. Pretending to be civillians. So no hunting Checkmate - or being chased by Checkmate. I'll be working with Oracle to set up the proper information for all three of you and your new identities, and where you'll be staying. For now - you're going to be here until we're done."
"How long's that gonna take?" Ted eyed at him. "And as much as I love the vacation idea, but how long are we going to be stuck hiding?"
"It'll take us a few hours to make the arrangements. As for how long you're staying there... it'll vary, until we're prepared to take on Checkmate. They're much more powerful than we can think right now, and we have to leak out the information slowly. We'll contact you when we have to. All your accounts, and whatever's left in them, will be transferred into your new ones. You'll be supported properly through sufficient funds. ...And it'd be helpful if you'd get jobs, too, when everything is set. Go for realism. You're going to be different people, gentlemen." Batman finished the stitching.
"Maxwell Lord," Question muttered.
"Will be in our hands for the time being. For whatever will happen to him is out of our hands."
Question turned his head to look at Batman. "It isn't always, with the Justice League."
"No," Batman growled. "It isn't."
Ted glanced to Booster, brow raised; however, his blonde friend could only shrug helplessly.
"Alfred will be down." Batman set aside his tools, then glared at the three. "Do not touch anything in the cave. All three of you." He narrowed his eyes in Question's direction. "Especially. The computer." Turning around, he started towards the Batmobile.
After Blue Beetle was positive that Batman had left, he looked towards the other two. "So. Wayne Manor again, huh?"
"Again?" Booster was puzzled.
"Was here earlier. Why I was with Batman when I found you," Question informed him, hopping off of the gurney and grabbing his clothes. "Manor. Again. Yes. To be tossed around in the middle."
Ted folded his arms. "I dunno about you, but I'd love to see you go one day where you don't almost die, Vic."
"I..." Where his eyebrows should have been, there was a crease, suggesting a frown on the man's faceless face. "...Don't call me that."
"Why not? That's your name, isn't it? I mean, the one you gave yourself, anyway."
"Just. Don't." The Question paused, then added quietly, "Please." He placed on his trenchcoat, deciding it'd be too much of a hassle for a shirt.
"Identity crisis," Booster muttered to Ted, then spoke louder to the Human Enigma. "You call us by our names, though."
"Different. Very different." Question shook his head. "Not... comfortable. With the name."
Maybe it was better not to ask; Ted had a headache, and he wasn't positive he could stand asking the Question much about it. There'd be a complicated and relatively crazy response to it that he wouldn't be able to comprehend right away.
Somehow, this relationship - whatever you could call it - was easier when he was dead, and Ted wasn't entirely positive why.
"Okay then." Ted sighed, rubbing his head. "Do we actually know where Max is?"
"No," Booster muttered.
"Probably afraid that we'll go after him," Question suggested. "Don't know. Martian was probably talking to Clark telepathetically about where. Otherwise, wouldn't say. Couldn't Hear, either."
"Clark?" Booster was puzzled.
Ted turned his head to the blonde. "Clark Kent. You know, Daily Planet? He's Superman."
"No shit? Really?"
"Uh-huh." Question approached Blue Beetle. "Hold still."
The inventor peered at the faceless man. "Huh?"
"Reiki. You're in pain."
"Oh. Um."
Booster had immediately perked up, looking worried. "You are?"
"It's just a headache, and I think people fussing over me is gonna make it worse." Ted rubbed his index finger against his temple. "You know, this stress with being dead, not dead, Checkmate, everything. Kinda getting to me."
"Mmhmm. Shut up." The Question peeled off his gloves, leaving them carelessly on the floor of the cave. "Keep still. Arms down." Rubbing his bare hands together, he appeared to be concentrating.
The funny thing was, Ted was positive he was sensing... something off what whatever Question was doing. He had seen him do it to Booster before, but this was different somehow.
He didn't like it, but he didn't say anything.
Reaching out, the Question placed his hands onto the top of Blue Beetle's head. There was a rush of energy -
And the strange thing was, for a moment, Ted was actually capable of seeing some it, in a way. It was a pulse of something warm, yellow; something earthly.
Was this Sight?
In that moment, the Question pulled back, tilting his head. "Gone?"
Ted paused, holding his head. Blinking, he nodded. "Yeah. What is that, anyway? Part of feng shui?"
"Not really. Reiki's Japanese. Feng shui's Chinese."
There were light steps coming down from one of the entrances of the cave. At the staircase, Alfred Pennyworth was approaching, looking down towards the three waiting. Nodding to them politely, he greeted them, "Master Sage, still battered?"
"Nnn."
"And Master Kord, it is a delight to see you alive and well." Alfred nodded to Blue Beetle. "Master Carter, you will need your wounds treated?"
"And burns," Question murmured.
"Indeed. Master Kord, perhaps you would like to freshen yourself upstairs? I've left you some clothes outside Master Bruce's shower."
Ted glanced to his two companions.
"What? I can't go shower like this," Booster told him. "You go ahead. And, um... painkillers, please, Alfred?"
A wry smile was on the butler's face. "Of course, Master Carter."
Question nodded to Ted. "Go. ... You've been dead for days. I probably smell better." He gestured. "I'll be here, with Michael. Go ahead."
Eventually, Ted agreed silently, turning and heading upstairs to the main part of the manor warily.
It felt odd, to actually be alone finally. For the past few days, even when he was dead, Question had at least been his company. It was awkward. Worrying.
But he was sure that nothing would happen; there were both Booster Gold and the Question in the cave if anything happened to be threatening.
"Ugh, I think Vic passed on some of his paranoia," Ted grumbled, heading towards the bathroom.
It was the first time he'd taken off his suit since before he'd been shot in the head. The thought made him wince, but it was the truth. So he looked at himself in the mirror quietly after the top of his Blue Beetle suit was gone.
It was then Ted Kord found the tattoo of a blue beetle on his chest.
So. That was where the scarab went.
"Aw, jeez," he groaned.
Notes:
You know... I don't think I actually have much to say here.
Except, if you're confused about stuff, you probably should be, since it won't be cleared up until later. Which means, you're probably confused about the Question.
And rightfully, you should be.
WHEE.