Episode 10: The Test
"What?" Precious nearly fell out of bed. "No! Tell me I'm having a nightmare."
"Wish we could," Gear answered.
"You just told me that my future won't be ruined!" Precious said angrily to Static.
"Hey, what do I look like, Miss Cleo?" he answered with a shrug.
"And you said I didn't have to worry about the test!" she growled at Batman.
"You don't. The test should go fine. It's the people giving the test that we need to worry about."
"Don't get scared or worried," Static said calmly. "You're not going to be hurt. It's just–well, let us explain. See, yesterday . . . well, yesterday for us, a few tomorrows down the line for you, you . . . well, the future you, which is still you but . . . anyway, you came to visit me, just out of the blue. We live kind of far apart, and you're . . . busy most of the time. So this was a surprise. We had some coffee, and we talked. You never really told me why you were visiting, but you did leave me a clue. Before you left, you gave me a small box and told me not to open it until tomorrow."
"Did I visit Gear too?"
"Oh no, we work together a lot," Gear answered. "I think we went out for breakfast that morning. Virgil and I don't know how, but something about that recent contact helped us remember you when everybody else in the world seemed to forget.
"I don't know if I ever panicked more than I did the next day. All of our research was gone. I thought somebody had stolen it. When I went to work, they looked at me like I was some sort of stranger. I went to your house, and it wasn't even built yet!"
"It was just as weird where I was," Static continued. "Things had really changed. Stuff I was used to was gone, just like that. I thought you were in trouble. I couldn't reach Gear or you on the Shock Box. I checked with the Justice League for your file, and it wasn't available. Nobody at the League had even heard of you. I finally contacted Gear, and when I heard that he was just as confused as I was–"
"So we called Mom, your Aunt Maggie you know? Every time we mentioned you, she just burst into tears. And, uh, there was nobody else in our family that was in any position to tell us where you were."
"So we knew there was only one guy that could figure this out."
"Hold on, guys," Terry said. "Why don't I tell my side of the story? I'm the outsider."
Gear shrugged. "OK."
"Knock yourself out, man," Static said.
"In the morning, I was at high school with my friends. We were talking and laughing, just like we usually do. Of course, we were late for class. The halls were pretty much empty except for Dana, Max, and me. Then this woman came out of nowhere. She had worn out clothes, tangled hair, and a frightened look in her eyes. I thought that she was a dreg."
"A dreg?" Precious interrupted.
"That's slang," Static explained. "It means 'unsavory character,' or 'somebody poor.'"
"Yeah," Terry nodded. "Well, anyway, her eyes were fixed on me, and it was really creepy. I tried to ignore her and talk to my friends, but she didn't turn away from me. She came right up to me, didn't even notice my friends. She put something into my hand and whispered into my ear, 'Help me.' I tried to call her back and ask questions, but she acted as though she didn't hear me. The thing she gave me was a digital watch, but it was always stuck at 3:00. I tried to fix it, but nothing worked. I know only one guy who could figure this out–my employer."
TRANSITION–FLASHBACK (or is it flash forward?)
"You know, it would have helped if she at least told me how I could help her," Terry told Bruce.
"Mmmph," Bruce grunted. He was busy taking the watch apart.
"I can't help but wonder, why me? Does she somehow know my secret? And if she does, how? I've never seen her in my life!"
"She was trying to tell you something without actually saying anything. That's obvious."
"But why?"
"I knew it. This is no ordinary watch. Look." Bruce pointed to something around the watch's rim. "This is a fingerprint reader. It also has hologram hardware."
"What's that doing there?"
"Evidently, when the right person gets this watch, it will play a message."
"Well, that's not me. My hands have been all over it."
Bruce ran his finger around the edge. "It's not for me, either."
"So, I'm expected to give this watch to somebody to play a message. But I don't even know who that is!"
"B-MAN!" somebody called from the back of the cave. Static and Gear suddenly ran into the cave. "We need your detective skills."
"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.
"She's gone," Gear answered. "And the weird thing is, we're the only ones who seem to care!"
"Who do you mean?"
"The Muse!" they said at once.
"The who?" Terry asked.
They talked at once. "You know, angel wings, colored halo, always appears slightly different, able to control things with her imagination, she was the first superhero who wore braces for crying out loud!"
"Never heard of her."
"She has been kinda out of the superhero business lately," Static acknowledged. "Her hands have been full, but she does do a lot of work for the League."
"Have you heard of Precious Swan?" Gear asked.
"What?" Terry said.
"Precious Swan! It was one of the biggest names in the world a few days ago! She–"
"Gentlemen," Bruce broke in, "It's been almost forty years. I thought that you had let her go."
"Let her go?"
"It's time I brought you back to reality. Computer, display security camera 205, Metropolis Mental Hospital."
There was a spike of static on the screen, and then a young woman appeared in black and white. The room she was in had padded walls. The woman sat on the bed, thrashed about, and screamed.
"That's the woman I saw this morning!" Terry cried.
"That's her! Our Precious!" Static said in shock.
"You got to be kidding me!" Gear said. "This is a joke, right?"
"I don't joke, Gear. You know me better than that," Bruce answered.
"But . . . she's cured! Remember, the chip?"
"Cured of what?" Terry asked.
"Um, have you ever seen Rain Man?" Static asked.
"I've heard of it. It's a classic, isn't it?"
"The late great Dustin Hoffman's finest. How about Mozart and the Whale?"
"You're saying she's . . . artistic?"
"Autistic, Terry."
"Yeah, that's what I meant."
"Believe it or not, Terry, she used to be one of the most impressive superheroes I had ever seen," Bruce said. He turned to Static and Gear, "But before she became a teenager, something happened. All of her headgear was stolen, and she was taken to a boarding school against her will. She left her communicator at home, so you weren't able to trace her. Once you found where she was headed for, it was too late. She'd come undone. Evidently, her captors tried to push her mental abilities to the limit, and it made her revert. You tried to get her back, recreate her 'Magic Hats,' but the damage was permanent. The original Magic Hats were never recovered."
"This can't be!" Gear yelled. "She was the biggest success story ever. Everybody knows."
"I can understand why you're in denial, but you got to move on. You did all you could to get her back. We all tried, but it's over. There's nothing more that we can do."
"When was she committed?"
"Her mother committed Precious when she turned 18."
"Now, I know that's not true! She turned the world on its ear in her mid twenties!"
"You're living in a fantasy, both of you. Accept the past. Now, if you'll excuse us, Terry and I have a real mystery on our hands."
Static and Gear turned away and spoke to each other. "Man, now I know how George Bailey felt," Gear said.
"Yeah, this is all very weird, especially when I think that I just saw her yesterday," Virgil nodded. "Hey, wait a minute. I wonder if I still have . . ." He pulled a box out of his pocket. "Yeah. It's that doodad she gave me. Now I can see what it is."
"Hey Bruce!" Gear spoke up. "This is proof that the Precious we know is out there and doing well."
"She came to visit me yesterday," Static explained, "and she gave me this." He showed Bruce the box and opened it. Everyone gasped.
It was a digital watch stuck at 3:00, identical to Terry's watch. Bruce inspected it. "This also has a fingerprint reader."
"A fingerprint reader? Let me check it." Static ran his finger around the edge, and a blue light emitted from the watch. A small hologram of the woman on the computer screen appeared before him.
"Precious!" Static and Gear said at once.
"Hey guys," the hologram answered them. "Bruce, I hope you're doing well. Hi, Terry. I know you don't know me, but I remember you very well." She paused and smiled at the superhero. "OK, guys. I know you're worried about me, but you can save me from this fate. All of this happened because some people I believe Terry is familiar with have traveled back to my childhood and altered history."
"Time travel! Of course!" Gear said excitedly.
"That's right. Now, I don't have much time to explain. All of you need to be cloaked with invisibility. Gear, I believe you have that unique technology installed in Backpack, and I know Terry has a similar program in his belt. If you can download it into this watch and give it to Static then upgrade Terry's program, that would be great. As I recall, Bruce and Static confiscated time traveling technology from one of their villains. Remember that reevaluation I had to take? I want you to transport about twenty-four hours before that happened to my old school. Keep a close guard on me and Mommy at all times. Keep your eyes and ears open for anybody suspicious so that we can recognize them. And Terry, hold on to the watch I gave you. It will have additional information later. Good luck!" With that, her image faded away.
"Well, let's get to it!" Static yelled. They immediately got up and scrambled about getting everything prepared. Gear followed his instructions. Bruce found the equipment Precious referred to. Static started putting together a strategy.
"OK, here's what we're going to do. Terry, you need to be with Precious. She's not very comfortable with strangers, so you need to let her know you're cool, oh excuse me, 'schway.'"
"I'm going to follow Aunt Claire!" Gear announced.
"Fine. I'll campus the area and look for clues. We don't want her to get too excited or confused with us being around, so Gear, maybe you and I should be disguised and stay out of sight. We'll let her know the game plan once we got the story straight and when we can get her alone. Sound like a plan?" Everybody nodded. "Alright, let's do this thing!"
TRANSITION
They hurriedly told Precious this story with most of the details. They only left out her autism, and they inadvertently neglected to mention Bruce Wayne's name.
"But I don't understand!" Precious said. "If I'm in a hospital, won't I eventually get better?"
"Actually," Gear explained, "this is kind of hospital where they put people that they don't know how to make better. They put you there to keep you from hurting yourself or society."
"We do know who we're after now," Terry explained. "Gear saw them when he was with your mother. One of them goes by Spellbinder. From what Static and Gear told me about your powers, his is much like yours. He creates scenarios that are completely within the mind, and he makes thieves out of common people. The other calls herself Bombshell. She runs a school called the Braintrust which seeks out people with ESP. She has explosive mental powers of her own."
"How did they get here?"
"I bet they used Bombshell's powers," Gear said. "There's a controversial theory that anybody can travel through time if they concentrate hard enough."
"But I don't have ESP. What would they want with me?"
"You can do pretty incredible stuff when you got your Magic Hat set just right," Static acknowledged.
"And I think that it's your hat that they're after," Gear said.
"My hat? Why?"
"The technology in that hat helped lay the groundwork for one of the most revolutionary inventions of the century. We worked on it together as a super-secret project for years. It made you a billionaire!"
"What? You mean, I'm going to be rich?"
"Oh yeah, enough to make Bill Gates spin in his grave with jealousy," Virgil answered.
"You didn't mention that," Terry said.
"I was about to," Gear said.
"So what is this invention?"
"I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to figure it out on your own. You were so proud of yourself when you got the idea, and I won't cheat you out of that moment by telling you."
"Awwe," Precious groaned. "Well, can I at least see that watch?"
"Sure." Terry handed her the watch. "We still can't figure out what it's for."
"I have a hunch." Precious put it on and ran her finger around the rim. Sure enough, the same hologram appeared.
"Hi Precious," the hologram said. "I know this has been a crazy day, but I hope you understand why by now. Hopefully, you guys have figured out who your foes are. Mr. Billings is jealous at my success. He's here to steal my Magic Hat so that he can better his technology and take my place. He brought Bombshell along for the ride because he knew her psychological powers could take him here, but she somehow knows parts of my secret. She thinks that with some manipulation she can make me into a weapon. Here's what you need to do, Precious. You'll run across both of them tomorrow. Answer their questions and do what they ask you do, but do not take off your Magic Hat for a second. Don't let them have it! At 3:00, all of you must be revealed and fight. Gather all the help that you need, but you do not need to worry about getting Magic Hat 2. As long as you are wearing this watch, that will be taken care of." The hologram closed her eyes, mumbled something, and transformed into a beautiful angel. "Don't lose heart, Muse! Remember, you have nothing to fear from your enemy! Your friends are with you." Then the hologram faded.
Precious leaned back in her bed. She could not believe a thing.
"I know you got a lot to think about," Static said. "You get some sleep."
"We'll see you tomorrow," Gear said.
"Uh, sweet dreams, Muse," Terry said as he turned off the lamp.
Just as they left, Static opened the door again. "By the way, I really like your room. I think this is the first time I've been here." He looked at a picture of his younger self. "Who is that handsome devil? I think you're a huge fan, whoever he is. He's all over the place." Precious giggled. "Well, goodnight."
TRANSITION
"Wake up, Honey. It's about time to go."
Precious groaned and groggily got up. It had not been a good night. She went over everything she experienced over and over, and she thought of new questions that really worried her. She did manage to get some sleep, but it still felt like once she went under that she woke up. Part of her wasn't convinced that it was completely real. As she got dressed, she said to her mother, "I had the strangest dream last night."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I dreamed that Virgil and Richie visited me, but they were grown up!"
"Grown up?"
"Yeah!" She continued to tell Claire as they walked down the stairs. "They were from the future, and they said I was going to be rich!"
"Wow, what a groovy dream!"
"Yeah, and . . ."
But then she noticed Terry getting up from the couch. He yawned and said, "Good morning."
"And what, Honey?" Claire asked.
"And . . . I think I need some coffee."
"OK, you go fix it." Claire had a big breakfast for Precious waiting with fruit, eggs, biscuits, and orange juice. "This food will help you concentrate."
Precious ate and brushed her teeth. Terry came behind her. "Didn't you get some breakfast?" she asked him.
"We got some sausage biscuits earlier. Virgil had some old school money on him. Now, here's the plan. I'm going to be with you all day, right by your side, unless you feel that it will distract you. Gear still wants to be with your mother and make sure that she remains safe. Static will keep a look out for Spellbinder and Bombshell and will try to keep them away from you."
"If you please, Terry, can't Static or Gear please stay with me? They're my friends, and they still know me."
"I still want to get to know you. I hear that you're one of the best superheroes ever, and I want to see your power and understand the person behind it."
"But I have a lot of questions, and I'm very worried, and I don't work well when I'm worried."
"Hmm. Well, maybe at least Virgil could accompany you for the ride. Don't ask anything too deep. We're not giving away too much."
"Thank you. I'll be careful."
When she was ready, she went downstairs. Gear was already in the front passenger seat. Precious opened the back door for Virgil to get in. "Mommy, can I sit in the back? I'm still kinda tired, and I'd like to lie down."
"OK, Honey, but try to stay awake."
"Thank you." She got in, buckled up, and leaned her head on Virgil's shoulder. "Why aren't you buckled up?" she whispered.
"Oh, Gear invented inertia force fields. Besides, a seat belt buckled with nobody in it probably would look pretty suspicious."
"Good point."
Clair started the car and put in a tape. Vivacious violin music played. "What is this?" Precious asked.
"Mozart. This music is proven to stimulate portions of your brain."
"I like it. Could you turn it up, please?"
"Sure, I can turn it up a little." She did.
"Good, we can talk," Precious said softly to Virgil.
"OK, so what's bothering you?" he replied.
"Just the whole rich thing. The more I thought of it, the more it troubled me. I just find it as a surprise. All I wanted was to be an RPG writer in Japan. What happened to my dream?"
"Oh, you're living your dream! You got all the RPGs you can play, and you always slate some time just to have fun. You're always coming up with new, amazing ideas."
"And what about the Muse? Is she still around?"
"Oh yeah. You're one of the major players in the Justice League now. Some of the only times we get to see each other anymore is in our superhero get up. Of course, you still find time to call me on the ole Shock Box occasionally."
"And I've heard so many stories about rich people becoming greedy and mean. Is that what's going to happen?"
"Not all rich people are mean. Bruce Wayne isn't mean."
"Mr. Wayne is rich?"
"Of course. He funded millions of dollars to make the place that you're going. And anyway, you don't have to worry about that. You give away much of your money to missionaries and charities. Everybody talks about how generous and kind hearted you are."
"But that's how I am in the public eye. What about me privately? Are we still friends? "
"Of course we are. We don't see each other much, like I said, because of the distance and I got my own life too. But you still consider me as an important part of your life. You've humbled me of what you asked me to do."
"Like what?"
"Well, I helped you learn how to drive."
"That's in a few years, isn't it?"
"It takes you a little longer than most people. Of course, now cars practically drive themselves. Let's see, what else? Well, you asked me to present you at your reception. Adam did the music of course, and Sharon helped. I never noticed how beautiful Sharon's voice was until she sang 'Unforgettable.'"
"What do you mean? What kind of reception?"
"You know, the big one. You're . . . wedding reception."
"I get married? To whom?"
"Nobody you know yet."
"I didn't expect that I was going to get married. Come on, who is it?"
"Somebody who needs you as much as you need him."
"Do I meet him in college?"
"Maybe."
"Does he know I'm a superhero?"
"Perhaps."
"Is he a superhero?"
"He could be."
"Oh man, you're driving me nuts!"
"Sorry, can't say more than that. You want some of your future to be a surprise, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
They were quiet for several minutes, then Virgil spoke up again. "Well, there is something that I think you should know. The other guys may not want me to say this, but I feel like I gotta. Precious, the first few years when you out on your own are going to be hard. You do move to Japan. You're far from everyone you love, and you feel lonely. You experience a lot of doors shut in your face, and the superhero scene isn't very accepting. On top of this, there's a lot of personal tragedy that goes on. But I want you to know that in spite of everything, it's all gonna be ok. You're gonna have a dream life, and you'll be very happy, and things are gonna work out. You remember that will you?"
"Yeah, I'll remember."
"I mean, there's no reason to do anything drastic."
"Drastic? What do you mean, 'drastic.'"
Virgil shook his head. "Don't make me say it, please. I'm still in denial that you even tried it."
"What? Do I do something really bad?"
Virgil just sighed. "You'll understand when the time comes, and I pray that on that day you remember my words."
"OK, I'll try. I'm sorry."
"I know. You told me when it was all over."
Precious sighed and looked out the window. Virgil softly stroked her hair. "Thank you for saving me yesterday from Donnie and Clayton," Precious whispered.
"No prob. Hey, you're the one who called for me."
They were very quiet. Precious listened to the music and watched the sights as the sun came up.
"We're almost there, Sweetie," Claire said. "Just a few more miles to go. Hey, isn't that interesting? That building looks like a big T."
Precious snapped up. "That's Titan Tower! Can we please get a closer look?"
"Well . . . ok. We are a little early." She took the next exit and drove a little while until they were right outside the Tower. "Very impressive. Looks nice in the sunrise. Hey, is that Robin? What's he doing all the way out here, and where's Batman? He sure looks like he's getting a workout."
Robin was outside all by himself on the obstacle course. "I got an idea. Roll the window down," Precious whispered to Virgil. Virgil did, and Precious stuck her head out the window. "Hi Robin! I'm a big fan!"
"Oh, good morning!" he called back. "How are you today?"
"Good. How about you?"
"I'm OK. Just getting an early morning workout."
"Alright, well keep up the good work."
"Thanks. Have a good day!"
Virgil rolled the window back up, and Claire started to drive away. "Uh, I don't think Robin knows who you are outside of uniform."
"Robin wasn't really the one who I came here to contact," she answered. She looked out the window and concentrated really hard. "Raven! Raven, are you there? It's me, the Muse. Can you hear me?" She was thinking so hard, she mouthed the words.
"I can hear you," a voice replied in her mind. "In fact, you don't have to be so loud."
"Sorry. I'm not used to talking to anybody telepathically."
"Don't concentrate too hard. Just think. Now, why are you here? What do you need me to do?"
"I don't have much time to explain. I need the Titans' help. Please come to the ARC at 3:00."
"No problem. What's the ARC?"
"I don't know exactly, but it's in Gotham City. Maybe Robin would know." Raven didn't answer. "Raven? Are you there? We must be too far to maintain contact."
"So, who are these Titans?" Claire asked.
"I've heard of them, but I haven't seen all of them in action. They're a group of young superheroes, and Robin is their leader."
"Cool. I'm glad you got to see him." She thought to herself, "Maybe it will take your mind off of seeing Batman."
About half an hour later, they were at the large office building. They went up a few floors to an office. Precious immediately went over to inspect the books and toys. Claire started filling out forms. The other superheroes took a seat.
"There's still trouble in the Middle East?" Virgil commented on a news report on TV. "Man, we went back farther than I thought."
"Mommy told me there's always going to be trouble in the Middle East," Precious whispered.
"Yeah, but it's gotten a lot better. We just had the Olympics in Bagdad with no incident."
Just then, somebody came in. Claire got to her feet. "Bruce Wayne?"
"Ah," he said. "You must be Claire Foley. Please to meet you at last." He shook her hand. "My goodness, you are lovely."
"Wow. I can't believe that you are taking time away from your busy life to see me."
"Well, I don't have long. I just wanted to say hi real quick. Is that your daughter?"
"Yes, that's my Precious."
"May I see her?"
"Be my guest."
He walked over to her corner and knelt down. "How are you doing?" he said gently.
"You're Mr. Wayne?"
"That's right."
"You're very powerful and respected in Gotham City, right?"
"Yes, I am."
She said in a half whisper, "Can I ask you something?"
"You asked me something three times, but I can answer something else."
She whispered really low, "How well do you know Batman?"
Bruce was taken aback. "Uh, about as well as everybody else in the city."
"You have to excuse her," Claire said. "She is obsessed with superheroes. Ever since she heard we were coming to Gotham City, all she wanted was to see Batman."
"Ms. Foley, can I see you for a minute?" the secretary asked.
Claire got up and checked with her, and Bruce said in a deeper voice, "What do you want to know?"
"I need you to send him a message somehow," she answered. "The Muse needs him. I know her personally, and she's in trouble. He needs to come here at 3:00."
"Should Batman also tell her partners in Dakota?"
"He doesn't have to. Besides they're busy. Oh, and tell him to let Alfred take care of her," she pointed to Claire. "He knows who Alfred is. If there's danger here, I don't want her to get her."
"I'll take care of it." Bruce got up. "My, she has a fascinating imagination."
"Yes she does," Claire laughed.
"Oh, by the way," Bruce whispered, "I did a lot of background checks, and I couldn't find any information on the Braintrust or Ira Billings. But I'm not giving up. If I find anything, I'll call the receptionist, and if you have any concerns, call me. I believe you have my number."
"Alright, sir, thank you."
Then, somebody came in from the clinical area. "Miss Foley!" An Oriental man in a white lab coat approached her. "Glad to finally meet you. I'm Grant Temple."
"Dr. Temple? I didn't know that you worked here!"
"I come and go. We trade research findings. This is really the first time I did a project with them at Mr. Wayne's request. Allow me to introduce my assistant–"
"SURPRISE!" A familiar face popped out from behind the doctor and waved cheerfully.
"Sharon!" Precious said eagerly.
"Sharon?" Virgil said in disbelief.
"Oh, so you know each other already. Good."
"Yeah, she's a friend of my little brother's," Sharon explained to him.
"You don't think this will cause a conflict of interest, Doctor, do you?" Claire asked.
"Well, I think it will put your daughter more at ease. Sharon is going to administer most of the tests. Autistic children function best when something in their environment is familiar."
"So, Precious, are you ready?" Sharon asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Precious answered.
"Come on, then." Precious followed Sharon to the back, and Virgil followed Precious. "So, how are you?"
"I'm doing good. How's your family?"
"Everybody's fine. Oh hey, did you hear about Virgil? He's starring in a Shakespeare play."
"Yeah, I heard. Richie's in it too."
"Needless to say, we're all proud. Though I am kinda shocked. Who knew Virgil had that level of culture?"
"Well, what do you expect, Sharon?" Virgil said. "I share my name with an epic poet, remember?"
Precious giggled and waited for Sharon's comeback, but then she remembered that Sharon couldn't hear him. "He shares his name with an epic poet, you know," she repeated.
Sharon stopped and turned back to her. "How did you know that?"
"Virgil told me."
"So what did the original Virgil write?"
Precious paused because she had no idea that there was a poet named Virgil, let alone what his poetry was. What was an epic anyway? "The Aeneid," Virgil said, and Precious repeated.
"Very good," Sharon nodded. "Have you read it before?"
"No."
"It's really hard. Maybe you'll read it in college." They finally reached a room in the back. "Have a seat. I gotta go get some things real quick, so hang tight." She closed the door.
"Sharon," Virgil sighed. "I didn't think I'd see her."
"What's wrong?" Precious asked.
"It's just been a while since we've seen each other. Something happened to her, and well, I really learned to appreciate her more."
"Oh no! Do you mean, she . . . ?"
But Virgil looked like he did not want to answer. Sharon came back in. "So, let's get this thing started."
Basically, Sharon made Precious do several manual puzzles. She showed her pictures and told her to make sentences based on them that contained certain words. Most of the time, though, they talked.
"Alright, I need to give some of this information to Dr. Temple. I'll be right back."
"OK." Sharon left the room, and Virgil followed her. Sharon did not close the door this time. Precious waited patiently until she heard a voice behind her.
"Precious? Would you come with me, please?"
Precious turned around and saw a short woman with dark hair and a malicious smile on her face.
TRANSITION
Robin came into the den of Titan Tower. As usual, Cyborg was playing video games and Beast Boy was making breakfast.
"Morning Robin!" Beast Boy greeted. "Want some tofu bacon?"
"Tofu bacon? That exists?"
"Yeah, it's new."
"I'll pass. I was in the mood for some cereal anyway." Robin poured himself a bowl. "I just experienced one of the drawbacks of having such an obvious hideout. A fan just drove on up here and shouted. I didn't know exactly what to do, but I tried to play it cool."
"That was no ordinary fan," a voice said behind him.
Robin nearly dropped his bowl. "Raven, you scared me."
"That was the Muse. She spoke to me telepathically. She's in trouble, and she needs our help."
"She sure didn't look like she needed help."
"I don't know how, but she somehow knows that trouble is coming later today. She wanted us at 3:00. Incidently, do you know what the ark is?"
"A big boat in the Bible," Robin shrugged.
"It's where we need to find her. It's in Gotham, and she said you what it is. Before I could get more information, she was out of range."
"That's going to take some investigation."
TRANSITION
Virgil and Richie practiced for the play as they were waiting for biology to begin. Richie said one of his most notable lines in a sly whisper, "'O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.'"
"Oh treachery!" Virgil replied in a mournful voice.
"It's 'misery,' Virg."
"Oh yeah. I always get those mixed up."
They continued to rehearse through roll call. Then, in the middle of roll call, a voice came on the intercom. "Could Virgil Hawkins and Richie Foley please come to the office? Someone is here to pick them up."
They went down to the office. Virgil was confused and concerned as to why they were being called up. Richie just wanted to keep rehearsing. Yet when they got there, Virgil stopped short. "You! Dawg! What brings you here?"
"No times for questions. Right this way." Alfred led them outside. "I took another vehicle here. There is your ride." He pointed to the other side of the parking lot. There was the Batmobile waiting for them.
TRANSITION
"What are you doing?" Terry shouted at Virgil as he walked after Sharon.
"That's my sister. I haven't seen her in years. I miss her."
"You're just as bad as your friend, you know that."
"I'm telling you, Terry, if you could see your father alive again, you'd understand."
"Well, right now all I understand is that your precious Muse is unguarded, and I just saw Ira Billings walk into the other room."
"I got her in sight."
"Slag!" Terry went into the other room in a huff. He closed the door behind him.
"How did that happen?" Bombshell asked Precious tactfully. "Did you do that?"
"No. It might have been the wind."
"It wasn't the wind."
Terry caught on. "Slag!"
"I didn't do it!" Precious repeated. "That's not important anyway, is it? Who cares who closed that door?"
"Do you want to go to a better school or not?" Mr. Billings yelled.
"That's enough, Ira. She's not lying."
"Very well. Precious, I hear you have a special talent, and I would like to see you do it. So," Mr. Billings took a deep breath, "Antidisestablishmentarianism."
Precious gave him a blank stare. She knew her future self told her to answer all of their questions, but she felt that a little defiance was in order. She knew that was one of the longest words in the English language. She was aching to give it a try, but she couldn't find it in her mental dictionary.
"Well, spell it!"
"I-T," she answered blandly.
"What? What are you trying to pull?"
"You told me to spell it."
"But what about anti–"
"Ira, that's not important!" Bombshell said. "We have more significant tests for you, my dear. Look." She put down on the table a hi-bounce ball. "I hear that you like colors. This ball has a lot of colors, does it not?"
"Yes. It's pretty."
"Don't you think? Now, why don't you make it bounce?"
"OK." Precious reached for it.
"No, no, no, no. Don't touch it. Bounce it using your mind."
"That's impossible. Well, maybe not impossible. You're talking about tele-kinnnesis, right? I've seen some people who could do it. One's in jail. But I can't do it."
"We have on good authority that you can," Mr. Billings answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Look at me," Bombshell answered. "I can see into your mind, my dear. Do you know that Extra Sensory Perception opens channels in the mind that are normally closed? These passages are dilated in your mind. You spoke telepathically with someone less than twenty-four hours ago."
Precious gasped then tried to regain her composure. She looked around in confusion.
"There's no point in lying, dear."
"I won't lie. Lying is wrong. But, I just . . . I don't want to talk about it." Bombshell continued to stare. Precious knew she would uncover all sorts of secrets if the girl stayed quiet for too long. "Alright. I did speak to someone telepathically, but I'm not the telepath."
"Have you ever tapped into your true potential?" Mr. Billings asked. "Have you ever experimented with that hat?"
"What about it?"
"We hear that the hat of yours can do incredible things."
"The hat? What's so special about the hat? I know it's called the Magic Hat and all, and I feel really good wearing it, but it's just the colors and the lights, right?"
"Now, I see you are covering something up," Bombshell said.
Precious gasped and looked toward Terry.
"What are you looking at, child? Why aren't you looking at me, or at least the ball? Aren't you still trying to make it bounce?"
"No, I don't wanna!"
Suddenly, there was a huge bang that shook the mirror behind her. The door burst open, and a ver angry Sharon Hawkins approached Bombshell. "Excuse me. This is my patient! I'm testing her! You're not even supposed to be here if you don't work at the ARC! Did Dr. Temple clear you?"
"Sharon, relax," Mr. Billings answered.
"I will NOT relax!" Sharon continued to yell. Mr. Billings pulled something out of his coat.
"Uh-oh," Terry said. "Precious, cover your eyes." Precious did so. There was a flash, and then Sharon stopped yelling. She walked out of the room, disoriented.
"What did you just to my friend?" Precious demanded.
"Preoccupied her," Mr. Billings answered. "She's fine. But back to your hat. Why don't you let me see it? I can show you what it can do."
"NO!" Precious screamed and held it tighter on her head. "MY HAT! YOU DON'T TOUCH IT!"
"Don't you want to see what you can do?"
"UH-UHH! I WON'T PUSH MYSELF! GET AWAY!"
"I got an idea to get them off you back," Terry said. He reached over the table and picked up the ball. He slowly carried it up, then he threw it in Bombshell's face. "Now, run for it!" Precious did.
"Why did you do that?" she said angrily to Terry as they tried to hide. "You just confirmed that I was a telepath!"
"OK, maybe I wasn't thinking too clearly. Virgil! Virgil, where are you?"
"Where's the fire, kid?" Virgil yelled.
"You wanted to look after your sister, and she needs looking after!"
"What? Whoa!" Sharon was running around and throwing papers everywhere. He ran up to her. "Sorry about this, Sis." He put his hand on her head and gave her a shock. Sharon stopped and blinked. "Feel better?"
"Uh, what just happened?" she asked. "Oh, Precious! Precious!"
"I'm right here!" she answered.
Sharon got her. "Let's get out of here. Why don't we break for lunch early?"
"Yeah, I am kinda hungry."
"We're not supposed to do this, but why don't we go to Burger Fool, my treat?"
"Sounds good."
They went out, not knowing that the superhero villains were watching them.
"What made her break out of it so easily?" Mr. Billings asked.
"The girl did it," Bombshell answered. "I felt something very powerful, and I believe it came from her mind."
"This isn't going to be as easy as we hoped," Mr. Billings sighed.
"Yes. She is not as naive and trusting as she looks. She knows something. But we won't stop. We will get that hat," Bombshell's eyes glowed with a strange fire as she finished, "no matter what it takes."
TRANSITION
Well, why don't we break here too? I don't know why my stories end up so long. This is already 21 pages, and I haven't even reached the exciting part yet. Anyhow, the next chapter will be the big showdown.
