Title: Useful Tools
Fandom: Static Shock
Characters: Batman, Virgil/Richie
Prompt: #33 (Too Much)
Word Count: 500
Rating: T (warning: cursing)
Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or the Justice League.
Author's Notes: m/m, drabble, Batman's POV, kind of dark. Following the story arc for "Unaffected" and all if its sister fics. I thought, why not, ya know. This one needs to be read in sequence after the others. A drabble created for the Lj community known as fanfic100. Unedited and unbeta'd.
Useful Tools
"You're piling too much on him," Static warned. "But I bet you already knew that. After all, you are the goddamn Batman."
Batman paused inside the younger man's hideout. The gas station appeared to be just another abandoned building, just a little cleaner. Just a little more closed and secure. But with Static leaning against the wall beside the door that led to Gear's lab, Batman didn't feel very safe.
Not when there was a low hum of energy hanging in the air. Little streaks of lighting danced around Static, a direct contrast to how at-ease the youth was trying to appear. Cautiously, he reached into his utility belt and pulled out his secret weapon. 'As secret weapon as a water pistol can be. But if it works… well, everyone of us has a weakness. It just happens that Virgil has two.'
The detective in him had wanted to lock Virgil up, or at least find a way to limit his power, because Virgil was the one to kill all those people in the lab. He could still see the bodies that littered the ground. Including Alva, and excluding Gear due to being revived, twenty-three people lost their lives that day. Twenty-three charred bodies waited in the ash and debris to be picked up and catalogued. Twenty-three families had to be notified about the loss of a son or daughter, wife or husband, mother or father.
All because Virgil lost control.
Batman knew the reporters were focusing on Alva's death. It was a story combination of kidnapping, torture unto death, and the city's most admired Bang Baby seeking revenge. And he knew that the reporters were getting their stories from members of the Breed, as several of them had been filmed speaking about their ordeal. Normally, if the Breed said anything, most of the city ignored them, but this time… this time it was Static who had killed.
All in his rage to kill Alva.
While Gear was comatose up at the Watch Tower, Batman had made sure that Dakota had been routinely protected by other members of the League, rotating Green Arrow, Vixen, Black Canary, Teen Titan members, and others through the town, all the while collecting data on what the city was actually like. Fittingly, the information provided pointed to the fact that Static really was the ideal candidate for Dakota, there was still the fact that he killed a lot of people.
Never one to enjoy restricting the innocent, Batman had to take into consideration that by limiting Gear, he was in fact limiting Static. At least for a little while. Until the young superhuman tried to get rebellious.
Like now.
"I only give him what he can handle," Batman replied. "And I don't give him anything that isn't needed."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Static growled.
"He's being useful," Batman said darkly. "I would suggest you do the same."
"Or else?" Static asked as he pushed away from the wall.
Batman didn't bother to reply.