Title: Taking Chances

Pairing: Off-Ramp/Frostbite

Notes: Dubious continuity. This happens after issue 17, but Hard Drive is still in charge, so go figure. Story is unfinished and likely to stay that way.

Young Heroes' headquarters building, upstairs hallway, 6:25 AM:

Silence...

"Eyahh!"

THUMP.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" laughed Off-Ramp.

"GETTT OUTTT!!" yelled Frostbite.

A minute later, Off-Ramp stumbled out into the hall wearing only a pair of red boxers, and the door slammed shut after him. Creating a gateway on both sides of the door in question, Off-Ramp leaned through it and asked,

"Can I have my clothes back?"

Frostbite obliged him, starting with Off-Ramp's heavy leather boots hurled as forcefully as possible.

Junior, who had come out of his room to investigate the disturbance, was forced to duck FAST. ...He failed.

Still chuckling, Off-Ramp dissolved the 'gates, and began picking up his clothes from the floor. But behind his left boot he discovered-

"Junior?"

A tiny green pajama-covered form was crumpled in a boneless heap just beside the baseboard.

"Oh my GOD! Junior, talk to me buddy!"

Junior remained still, and Off-Ramp noticed that one of the hand-high scientist's arms was bent at an odd angle.

Off-Ramp 'gated back into Frostbite's room.

"What part of get-" began Frostbite, angrily.

"Shut up and listen! One of those boots you threw just creamed Junior, so sound the alarm and for God's sake don't let anybody step on him! I'm goin' to get some medical-type help," with that, Off-Ramp stepped through a second gate and vanished.

"...Junior?" whispered Frostbite, eyes wide.

Out in the hall, Frostbite discovered the same scene that Off-Ramp had just left, except that Junior's bent arm now had a small red spot on it.

Johns Hopkins Medical Center, micro-surgery wing, 7:50 AM:

The entire Young Heroes team, minus one obvious exception, was assembled in an out-of-the-way waiting room. Hard Drive was slumped forward in his seat, trying to block out everyone ELSE's anxieties, and rubbing the bridge of his nose to relieve his own. Bonfire was trying to comfort Zip-Kid, who was in turn sobbing on Thunderhead's shoulder. Thunderhead was miserable. Monstergirl was glaring at Frostbite and Off-Ramp, who were sitting at opposite ends of the same couch looking shell-shocked.

A slightly tired-looking doctor, a young black man in light green surgical scrubs, walked in.

Everyone looked up quickly.

"So far so good, people," he announced.

Collective sigh of relief

"My name is Dr. Walker. Your friend's out of danger, but he suffered a compound fracture to his left arm, and quite a bump on the head. His arm has been successfully set and taped up-"

"Taped?" echoed Bonfire.

"Given the scale of..." the Doctor faltered, "-well... of your friend, sutures would have been excessive," he explained.

"Ah," Hard Drive nodded curtly.

"As to the bump, Junior has re-gained consciousness, but he may still have a concussion so I'm going to keep him here over night for observation."

"Just as long as he's okay..." sniffled Zip-Kid.

"Um... Can we see him now?" asked Thunderhead, hopefully.

"Actually, I'd need to know more about the circumstances of Junior's injury first. You are a superhero team, but as I understand, this injury had nothing to do with your that, correct?"

"I know what you're asking," put in Off-Ramp, "-but it wasn't intentional."

"So what did happen?" asked Dr. Walker.

"Well..." began Frostbite, "George and I were arguing, and I threw a boot at him..."

"...But it fell through one of my gateways, so Frostbite couldn't see where he was aiming..." added Off-Ramp.

"...and I accidentally hit Junior," Frostbite finished, miserably.

"Gateways?..." asked Dr. Walker. Off-Ramp opened a 'gate in the air in front of him, put his hand through it, and waggled his fingers through a second 'gate on the other side of the room. "-I see."

Hard drive picked up the stray thought, 'I really love this job' from Dr. Walker's direction, and smiled.

Dr. Walker sighed.

"If you're going to have members on your team that are small enough to flush down a toilet, you'd better learn to be more careful around them."

"SMALL ENOUGH TO FLUSH DOWN A TOILET??" repeated Bonfire.

"Interesting choice of words," agreed Monstergirl, crossing her arms critically.

"Just putting things in perspective," Dr. Walker told them, frankly.

"Hey, That's a good question... How does-" began Thunderhead, brow furrowing.

"Weren't you going to let Junior have visitors?" interrupted Hard Drive, quickly.

"Yes, if you'll come this way...?" Dr. Walker motioned towards the door.

Johns Hopkins medical center, Junior's room, 7:55AM:

"Hey, how's it going? ...Besides the obvious, I mean..." waved Thunderhead.

"We're really really reallly glad you're okay," Zip-Kid piped up, flying up to hover beside Junior's bed.

"Yeah, sorry about the boot thing by the way..." added Off-Ramp.

Junior smiled, and looked around the room at each of his team-mates.

Hard Drive's eyes widened suddenly.

"Okay," decided Junior, "-it's official. This is the coolest dream I've ever had."

"Dream?" echoed Zip-Kid, in a small voice.

"Tom Swift, eat your heart out," Junior nodded, happily.

"Well, um, do you know who you are?" asked Bonfire.

"Sure. Junior, right?"

"What's your real name?" challenged Hard drive.

"..." Junior opened his mouth, then frowned and closed it. "Wait a minute, if we're a superhero team, I wouldn't necessarily know your real name either. How will you know if I get it right?"

"Yeah, you'd have to be psychic," Monstergirl put in, looking at Hard Drive sidelong.

"Which you might be, come to think of it," Junior mused. "-but no, I don't think I'm going to tell you what my real name is."

There was a silence.

"Well... What's my name, then?" Thunderhead asked.

"Donner?" guessed Junior. Thunderhead's face fell.

"Wait a minute," Hard Drive held up a hand, "-Donner means 'thunder' in German. Junior would know that."

"It's not a total loss," agreed Thunderhead.

"But- do you know anybody else's name?" asked Zip Kid.

"Sure I do. You're Tinkerbell, and they-" Junior pointed to Monstergirl, Bonfire, Hard Drive, then Off-Ramp. "-are Xena, the Lady Torch, Hard-Head, and um... I keep wanting to say Evil Kineevil..."

"This is not good..." muttered Hard Drive.

"High-Road... Hitch-Hiker... um, am I close?"

"Off-Ramp."

"O-kay..." Junior looked over at Frostbite and snapped his fingers, "-now -you- I know. You're Jack Frost, but your nickname is Mr. Congeniality, right?"

A centimeter-thick coating of ice suddenly formed around one of Frostbite's fists with a sharp crackling sound. Junior swallowed, and looked around the room at the dubious and worried expressions of his friends.

"No, huh?"

Young Heroes headquarters building, Thunderhead's room, 1:04 PM:

Thunderhead adjusted the strings of his custom-made guitar, thumbed them experimentally, and began to pick out a tune. It was a ballad, that began simply and steadily, then broke in the middle, and built back into something even better by the end.

"...But I never knew you- -could look so bro-ken,- -I never knew,- -you could lie so still... But it's here in the one place- -that nothin' could touch us-" Thunderhead broke off, and repeated the last two chords he'd played, "...there's got to be something that rhymes better than 'spill'..." he muttered, and paused to write something in the spiral notepad that lay open on the edge of his bed.

Young Heroes headquarters building, the garage, 1:04 PM:

K'Chhk- ...Fssshhhh... -Click.

Off-Ramp drew on his cigarette, then held it between his fingers in front of him, exhaled smoke, and looked over at Frostbite. Frostbite was crystallizing what looked like either a golf ball with very sharp spines or a Christmas tree ornament in the palm of his hand. Frostbite noticed he was being watched, but didn't look up.

"We really fucked up this time, didn't we?" he said.

"Yeah," Off-Ramp agreed.

Silence.

"If we had to do it over again-"

"Don't," interrupted Off-Ramp.

"What?"

"Just don't."

"Dr. Walker was right though, and it could have been much worse..."

"We fucked up, we learned not to throw things through 'gates, end of story," Off-Ramp took another drag on his cigarette.

"But still..." pressed Frostbite.

Silence.

"You really aren't taking this thing with Junior getting hurt very seriously, are you?" Frostbite observed, disgustedly.

"I -AM-, but... Frost, we all take our chances. Aside from watching where I step, I don't see what more I can do for him," Off-Ramp explained, spreading his hands.

Frostbite sighed uncomfortably.

Young Heroes headquarters, the kitchen, 1:20 PM:

Ring... Ring...!

Hard Drive picked up the phone.

"Yes, this is- -what?- -slow down, Sir- -I see... -Yes, we'll be right there." He hung up the phone, and turned to Bonfire and Zip-Kid.

"-We've got a mission, people."

-