Jaime tied his new shoes neatly. His mother had gotten them for him after she noticed his old ones were worn through and through. They had been for quite a while, but he wasn't about to complain about getting some new ones. They weren't anything too fancy, just simple running shoes. Still, it meant a lot to Jaime that his mother took some time and money to buy him some new ones.
He was heading out to the municipal library to do some reading and homework. He always felt more productive there. It was probably just that, a feeling, but he'd rather feel productive and not be, than feel un-productive and not be; something about dressing for the job you want, and Jaime wanted to be productive in his life.
He slung his new backpack on his chair and tied all the clips to secure it there. After a hasty "see you later," he exited his home. The trip from there to the library wasn't that long and Jaime figured he needed the exercise. As usual, the thing that gave him the most trouble was pushing the buttons to cross and opening the library doors. Couldn't people figure out to put the button where the door wouldn't block it when it opened? Jaime always had to dash backwards to avoid blocking the door.
He sighed as he wheeled into the library quietly. It wasn't that old; the building might've been around Jaime's age, if not a little older. The library had moved there from another older building when Jaime was about six or seven. It was composed of red bricks on the outside and the inside had a deep red carpet over the whole floor. The bookcases were those cheap metal ones with the dividers you could pull out and stick back it at another place. They were red too. The walls were either orange or beige-brown. Jaime knew it was supposed to make the place feel warm or homey, but it somehow managed to look stuffy and boring. He liked it that way; it was a reminder of those huge old libraries in books and movies. He immediately headed for one of the desks in the back.
He quickly moved the chair out of the way and rolled into position. He pulled out a book he needed to annotate and his notebook along with a pencil. He started reading, sometimes jotting down what seemed important in his notebook. He made it to the third chapter before his mind began to wander
Do those glyphs mean anything in particular? I cannot find them in any database I currently have access to, the scarab said, interrupting his distracted thoughts.
"Uh what?" Jaime whispered back, looking down at the little doodles in the margin of his notebook. He quickly started to erase them. "No, no, they don't mean anything. Except that maybe it's time for a break."
He gathered his things and stuffed them in his backpack. Jaime wheeled himself towards the door. Maybe some sunlight and fresh air would help him get his focus back.
He rolled around, just soaking in the bright day. He enjoyed the gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun, but even though his eyes were closed it couldn't stop the budding headache that routinely came with intense studying. Jaime stretched his neck, feeling a satisfying pop and some stiffness leaving.
Maybe I could go to the park, he mused looking over in its general area. The calmness there might actually help him more than the stuffiness of the library.
Wheeling himself there proved to be easier than he thought. It was mostly a downhill slope, though luckily for him it wasn't too abrupt. He'd be able to get back, probably. Most likely, he thought.
Jaime stayed on the path through the park, taking in the greens of the trees and the oranges, reds and other sunny colours of the park's structures. He parked himself on the side of the path, next to a tree. Not being able to help himself, Jaime procrastinated by watching the chaotic movement of the leaves shifting in the cool breeze. It was a welcomed distraction for his restless mind; the tumultuous patterns forming and constantly changing occupied his eyes, permitting his mind to wander aimlessly for a little while longer. His thoughts fluttered across the past few months and his forced reorientation. Eventually, and it was inevitable, the unruly ache every person like him - or that used to be like him - resurfaced. Sighing, Jaime leaned his head back closed his eyes.
Cassie and Artemis had been sitting there in front of the immense console coloured with dull greys, and fashionned with multiple monitors showing boring images for hours, or so it had seemed. When she'd asked, Artemis had ground out it had only been a little over an hour and suggested Cassie buy a watch. Cassie harrumphed and turned to the monitors away from the other girl.
"Oh suck it up," Artemis said not turning away from the screens, typing away at the keyboards. "Team Beta, there's a disturbance in your sector, about eight clicks north-north-west. Go."
"Understood, we are heading there now," replied the voice of Kaldur.
That what is, at least for a while more. There was no speaking and barely any noise except those made by the monitors. Eventually, after a few more seconds, Cassie stopped pouting and sat back in her chair. She tapped around her own keyboard, her eyes flicking from one screen to another. How could Artemis not be bored out of her mind? She chanced a glance at the older girl, careful to keep up the string of words she'd begun typing. Ramrod straight, eyes focused and hands typing in short bursts. Artemis reminded Cassie of Robin - or maybe it was the other way around?
She jumped when she'd been found out. Artemis had just stopped and then turned slowly to look - glare, stare, ogle? Cassie thought - at her partner. It's when she noticed the look she was receiving that Cassie figured out she had stopped typing and was, quite honestly, just gawking. Artemis rotated her chair to face her, slouching a bit, yet still looking just as dangerous.
"What now?"
"How're you not dying of boredom? I can't handle this, it's just too boring!"
Artemis smirked and took out her earpiece, handing it to Cassie. She obediently put it to her ear. Something was playing, some people talking or something. Handing it back to Artemis, she made a face.
"You're listening to a radio show?" she asked.
"No," Artemis chuckled. She jabbed a finger at the farthest screen. On it , Cassie noted, a television show was playing. An easy distraction that didn't end up taking too much attention - if any - in Cassie's case. "I don't have the patience for radio talk shows... or any talk shows really," Artemis continued, shrugging with an easy smile. "'cept Dr. Phil, that shit is hilarious; he's such a dork."
They both laughed, Cassie snorting a bit, earning more laugher from her friend. They eventually quieted down, but the two were now smiling instead of wearing a pout or being stone-faced. Cassie thought she could feel some tension leaving the room, giving her some much needed comfort. Not that Artemis made her nervous or tense; she'd never admit that.
Doing like her friend, Cassie set up a screen that had been off - hey it's not like I can look everywhere at once, she'd told herself, and set it up on some random TV channel. After linking up her earpiece to the monitor, Cassie returned to the task at hand.
Her eyes glanced at the screen in front of her, going from screen to screen, eventually looking at her "distraction monitor". She lingered there longer than she should before moving to other monitors. After a while, Cassie double checked every monitor before typing her half-hourly report. She glanced at Artemis, noticing she wasn't typing her report. Instead, she was typing furiously, jumping from screen to screen, mumbling to herself. She sometimes jotted down something in an incomprehensible scribble Cassie couldn't read.
After a small moment where Cassie simply observed her, sometimes trying to look at the monitors, she spoke up. "Uh... Artemis, what's wrong? Something exciting?" she hoped. Sitting here, Cassie thought, is just so darn dull.
"No, no..." the other replied, pulling out her phone and quick dialing a number Cassie couldn't see. Pulling out some paper and a pen, Artemis spoke up. "Hey, got something... Yeah... Meet you there... Tell her to come." Then, to Cassie, "Hold down the fort, I have to meet Nightwing."
Before leaving, Artemis closed that specific monitor, actually bothering to lock it. She shot a meaningful look at Cassie, don't look, it said. And Cassie nodded as Artemis promptly left.
Cassie felt a momentary bout of panic at having to watch twice as many monitors and possibly having to write two reports - not to mention the one Artemis hadn't written before leaving - all on her own.
"Oh, you are so paying for this," she mumbled the threat to Artemis, even though she had left quite a while ago.
Briskly making her way through the hallways, which were thankfully mostly empty, she kept jotting down things on the paper she had taken with her. How hadn't they noticed this sooner? Well, okay, she might have an answer to that; rich people won't notice a penny or two missing here and there, would they?
Shaking herself from her monologue, she reached the room where she'd been heading. Not bothering to knock or slow down, Artemis entered and kicked the door close behind her. She quickly lifted her mask, allowing it to rest on her forehead and the crown of her head instead of on her face. She turned towards the other two occupants of the room and nodded.
"If you wanted to talk to me so badly, all you had to do was ask," Nightwing said, smirking. However he sobered up quickly when she didn't raise to the bait.
"What's wrong, Artemis?" Canary asked, silently asking, Why did you ask me to come?
"I found something," she said, her voice thick. She tossed the paper on the coffee table between the three of them. "Money's been-"
"Stolen from lots of rich people," Nightwing interrupted. Rather rudely, Artemis thought, you guys asked me to explain so let me...
Canary shot a glance at Nightwing, before taking Artemis' notes from him. He made a face, but she knew he'd been done reading them. "Go on," she urged Artemis as she skimmed through the writing.
"Kay, as I was saying," she shot a half-hearted glare at her friend. "Money's been taken out from multiple accounts. Nothing big, not on their own, just pennies - heck tenths or hundredths of pennies - but it adds up. A lot. If it's one person."
"Someone needs resources, for what?" Nightwing asked, mostly directing the question at Canary, seeing as she had pulled out a pen of her own and was scribbling in the margins of the notes.
"Artemis, tell me what else did you find?"
She told Nightwing she'd locked down her findings, and he immediately accessed them with his holographic computer. "I, uh, not much else..." she admitted lamely.
Canary looked at her, silently prying for more information, but just as she was opening her mouth, Nightwing spoke up.
"Well... Hm, that's interesting. I thought that WayneTech had better security than that... Or this guy is just that good." He paused, typing away at the holographic keyboard. "Okay, he's that good."
"What makes you say that?" the two women asked. Canary continued, "I know WayneTech is one of the top-notch companies concerning its cyber-security, but I know a handful of people who can hack into it." She looked at him meaningfully.
"He's trained by Batman..." Artemis motioned at Nightwing. "Besides, aren't he and Bruce Wayne buddies or something?"
Nightwing just shrugged. "This person definitely wasn't trained by Batman, I can tell you that..." The screen quickly flickered through other companies' firewalls. "This guy doesn't have a set signature, but there are a few consistencies."
"Yeah, yeah, techno-babble," Artemis waved her hand. "Can you track this guy down or what?"
Before Nightwing could answer with a cocky "who do you think you're talking to?", Canary showed the two of them the notes, updated with her scribbles. After a brief explanation of what she'd written down, she turned to Nightwing.
"Can you describe the hacker's patterns?"
"Yeah, he's..." he hesitated, looking through the firewalls. "Methodical, completely logical and systematic... No flourish whatsoever, how boring," he complained. "It's like it was done by a computer, which it might've been, the more I think about it... Actually, this had to be done by a computer or a program. Looking at the length of time it would take to get through some of the security is miliseconds. Unless the hacker had a program already made, which even I can't do without a lot of probing..."
Canary nodded, looking satisfied with the answer, puzzling Artemis a bit. "How many computers do you think can hack into all these companies?"
Nightwing closed the hologram. "And do it differently every time?" He shook his head minutely. "A handful, maybe less."
Artemis spoke up. "Wait, I only know one, and it's kinda out of business at the moment. We're not talking who I think we're talking about are we?"
Canary sighed, tossing the papers on the small table. She let herself plop down into one of the comforting green armchairs. She propped her elbows on her knees and steepled her fingers, thinking.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Nightwing said.
Canary shook her head. "I'm not, and I don't want to even think about this, but... It is the most likelyscenario, isn't it?"
"Wait! What about the other computers that could've done this?"Artemis asked, interrupting them both.
Night turned to her and started counting off his fingers. "One is owned by S.T.A.R Labs, currently funded by not only the government but also WayneTech, LexCorp and Queen Industries. One is being developed by LexCorp - still in early stages. Another one - in later stages - is being made by a joint effort of WayneTech and Queen Industries. The last two are owned by Batman and... Blue." he finished, sighing.
"So check out people from S.T.A.R Labs! Obviously someone's been using their program to steal money." Artemis said, no hesitation in her voice.
Canary nodded. "I agree we should check them out first."
"Blue... I didn't think he has what it takes to do something like this," Nightwing added thoughtfully. "But we should still consider..."
Artemis bristled at the last part. "What?! Are you serious? Nightwing, this is Blue Beetle we're talking about! The guy made himself barf trying to tell his parents what he did! The guy who wouldn't even walk on the grass of someone's home when he chased someone!" She couldn't believe this. No way could one of her team mates ever do stuff like this.
"Woah," Nightwing said, taking a step back. He raised his hands in a placating manner. "I'm not saying he did it! Heck, I don't think he'd do it unless he was forced to! But we have to look everywhere, don't you think?"
Canary watched Artemis, waiting for her temper to cool a bit. When she was noticeably calmer, albeit not less irritated by the comment, she stood from her chair.
"Here's what I suggest," she said, mindful that Nightwing was technically the Team's leader. "You start with S.T.A.R. Labs and LexCorp, they've been known to... hide things. While that is happening, I'll keep an eye on Jaime."
"We keep this under wraps, or..?" Artemis asked, mostly herself.
Nightwing started to say something, but the sound died in his mouth. He hesitated before saying anything. Then, "Tell them we're inspecting LexCorp and S.T.A.R. Labs about some stolen funds, but don't mention Jaime yet. I don't want to make things difficult for him until we make sure he hasn't done anything."
Jaime hadn't been in for more than a minute when he heard his mom call for him. So instead of skipping "supper" and going to his room, he turned and wheeled himself to the living room.
"You guys... You're being creepy..." Jaime complained hesitantly. His mom, his sister and his step-father were standing there in front of him. Had Jaime held a frame in front of them, they'd have looked like any regular ordinary family photo - except Jaime knew one thing, and it was that his family would never be like that - and the thought disturbed him.
"Jaime," Jose began, his voice oddly bereft of its usual gruffness, "Your mother and Ifound this and thought it'd make a nice surprise for you."
"Oh! Oh! Can I give it? Please!" Milagro pleaded, jumping up and down while pulling on Jose's shirt. He chuckled and nodded.
"Close your eyes, niño," his mother instructed as Jaime's little sister ran out of the room towards the kitchen.
She was back in an instant, clutching something behind her back. Before Jaime could formulate a thought - let alone a fully verbalized question - about what they could have found anything, Milagro stopped dead in her tracks a few feet away.
"Close your eyes!" she demanded, a little humour slipping through her annoyance.
"Aye, aye, fine..." he complained, but closed his eyes nonetheless.
He heard Milagro chuckle and his mother whisper something. Jose prodded for his sister to actually give Jaime the surprise instead of just playing around, though he still didn't sound mad to Jaime. After a few seconds and a sigh, he felt something soft being thrust into his hands. His first instincts told him it must've been a shirt or a new hoodie, but after handling it for a bit, Jaime found no folds.
"Can I-" he began but was cut off by his sister yelling out "No cheating!"
Raising his eyebrows - also looking heavenwards if his eyes had been opened - Jaime continued fingering the soft pillowy object. He noticed that at two corners were some strings or straps and that there was a tag on the side somewhere. The cloth felt soft but rugged, somewhat like a couch cushion or...
"A seat cushion?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at what he'd been given. The pattern on the cushion, composed of colours ranging from hot rod red and sunset orange to navy blue, resembled the ones on the seats of a bus. He loved it.
"It's so soft..." he remarked. Obviously, Jaime had expected the pillow to be at least somewhat soft, but it wasn't just soft. It was extraordinarily soft, as if the filling had been collected from the clouds that surrounded Mt. Olympus as the gods poured nectar and ambrosia into them. "How's it even this soft..?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother shrug. "Just a little something for my little guitarrista," she said in reply.
"Gracìas," Jaime breathed out, before he froze. "Wait, how much did this cost?"
Jose chuckled, well it was closer to a boisterous laugh. Does Jose laugh? Like, is he really able to do that? Jaime thought confusedly. "Don't worry about that niño," he waved his big hand in dismissal. "The price was of no object, as they say!"
Jaime narrowed his eyes, but clamped his mouth shut when Milagro jumped onto his lap, bouncing with energy.
"Are you going to try it? C'mon, pleaaaaaaaaaaase?" she asked, still bouncing up and down.
"Y-You ne-e-eed s-some-th-thing to sp-spend all th-th-that enerrrrrr-gy," he said, his voice jumping with every bounce before he put a hand on Milagro's shoulder to stop her. "But yes, I'll try it."
He tossed the pillow to his sister, softly hitting her face, making her squeal. Jaime pushed himself up using the arm rests on the chair.
"Go ahead," he nodded at his sister who, obediently, put it underneath him on his seat. She quickly pushed the straps through two little openings near the back and she moved away. He let himself fall onto the now obscenely comfortable wheelchair. Milagro used the two straps to tie the pillow to the chair. "Thanks," he told her as he sat back, even more comfortably.
"How is it?" asked Jose, a small smile on his face. It unsettled Jaime, but he made no move to show that.
"Soft," he instead blurted out. "So soft."
"YAY!" Milagro squealed, hugging him and then running off to jump in their mom and Jose's arms. "He likes it! Like I said he would!"
The two agreed, suggesting they settle down for supper. Milagro quickly - and loudly - agreed. She skipped over to Jaime's back and gently pushed him towards the table, despite his protests that he could push himself. They were half-hearted, to be honest, born out of the want to not bother her. Once there, she took her seat next to him and Jose. His mother gave them each a helping of shepard's pie.
"A friend of mine gave me the recipe, it looked interesting!" she'd explained when they'd asked - before sitting on Jaime's left. He took a quick bite, tasting the dish. It was made in layers, three in fact: one of ground beef; one of corn; and one of mashed potatoes on top. Despite the juice of the meat and the corn, the meal felt somewhat dry and he sprayed some ketchup over it to help. It was otherwise very good and the cubes of cheddar accompanied it really well. It all felt very homey and the atmosphere matched. Jose and Milagro's banter was amiable, with Jaime's mom sometimes making a comment or asking a question about school or homework. Then it was Milagro's turn to ask the two questions, mostly about work, but also about this and that. Jaime ate in silence, simply enjoying the sound of life and... a family.
"How was your day chico?" Despite the soft words, the voice was deep and Jaime was surprised it had been Jose who had asked him.
You're not my father... He couldn't help but think bitterly for a moment, before shaking the thought from his head and replying. "The usual," he said, shrugging. "Went to the library to study and then I went to the park for some fresh air and more studying. I also spent some time reading, I guess"
Jose nodded, making a small joke about how much Jaime had been reading as of late. It didn't sting like Jaime expected it to and was actually somewhat funny. Despite himself, Jaime found himself chuckling along with his sister and mother as he continued to eat.
"Do you want some more, Jaime?" his mother asked, already getting up to get him some more food. She took his plate and walked over to the counter, filling his plate with more Sheppard's pie. She gave the plate back to him with a smile before sitting back down.
Jaime chanced a glance at the remaining Sheppard's pie. He was surprised to see how much was still left; the one they'd started on was only halfway through and there was another one still intact.
"How much did you make?" Jaime asked incredulously.
"Just this, it's really cheap to make though," she replied.
He nodded, still a bit incredulous because, really, that was a lot of food. At least that's how it seemed to him. He went back to his food, spending the rest of the supper mostly listening to the others conversing.
When she heard the door at her back swoosh open, she didn't bother to turn around. She just slouched more, her eyes slightly glazed over from watching so many monitors and writing those stinking reports. She sighed heavily.
"I'm bored," she said to whomever was walking up behind her. Heavy steps, long strides accompanied by two sets of lighter steps that clicked off the floor like claws. Connor and Wolf, she guessed.
Connor grunted in reply. He went behind the other chair, not bothering to sit down. After shooting a brief glance her way - as if he was making sure she wasn't going to look - he started tying away on the console. Cassie couldn't quite figure out what he was typing without turning her head to look. Not that she really cared, but for curiosity's sake she wanted to know. But she kept to herself, though.
Looking at some monitors, she noted the disturbances, marking some down in case they became too much for the "proper" authorities. She paused when Connor stopped typing, but didn't look yet. She'd probably go into the logs later and check out whatever he was looking at anyway.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the screens flicker to a different setting. Almost expecting it to be the static he sometimes still watched, Cassie decided he might've just wanted some peace and quiet and opted to come here. But then he sat and started petting Wolf; she could hear his hand glide over the fur. Connor always sat ramrod straight, with his hands in his lap.
Cassie turned to ask what he was looking at, when her eyes caught the screen he was looking at. It was some city, kind of big, but definitely not New York City big. Just looking at the monitor made her feel the hotness of the dry air. It was bright, and dusty.
"I miss him," she heard Connor say.
"What? Miss who, Connor?"
Sighing, he replied. "Jaime. Wolf misses him too."
Cassie raised an eyebrow, briefly recalling how Jaime always managed to sneak food away for their companion. She still wondered how he managed to get to Bart's food stash. "Oooookay..." She shrugged. "Why don't you visit him?" Why don't we visit him...
Connor shook his head minutely, pausing in his petting. "No. Don't think he'd appreciate it much."
"Suit yourself, but he'd just tell you, right? If he wanted you to leave, I mean."
When he didn't reply, she chanced a look at his eyes. They lacked the usual focus that they usually held. Thinking it'd be better to leave him to his thoughts, she went back to her work.
A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I'm aware this chapter most likely isn't what people had in mind, especially after such an ungodly long period of time. What's it been now? Over four months?
If you're interested, I've been working on several things: work (university ain't cheap); being part of a youtube team; taking up martial arts again; and a webcomic.
Yes, I am producing, drawing and writing a webcomic. It's still in pre-production, but as soon as some more pages are made it'll start to be published. If you're interested in the concept art you can visit the page.
So, once more, yes I am sorry. No I am not giving up on writing (I actually have ideas for other fics, but now I know better than to write+publish two fanfics at once), and yes I will finish this story.
Any review, constructive criticisms and ideas are welcome!
[EDIT] I am also working on Borra Week 2015, which takes place August 15th - 21st so look forward to that! I'll be posting here, on Tumblr ( ) and on DeviantArt ( ) because I might make both written and visual pieces for some of the prompts, or just one or the other. In which case, I'll post a link here because you can put up pictures as a "chapter".