Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.
'Tis the Season
Butter Pecan
"Ho ho explode!"
'Santa' threw the present at Flash, who, predictably, moved out of the way before it had even left his enemies' hand.
The present exploded as it hit the floor.
Ralph scowled. He hated supervillains. Mysteries, he liked. Supervillains? Not so much. Not that anyone else liked supervillains, but he had a particular distaste for them. In fact-
"Watch it, Ralph!"
The rubber band man snapped out of his daze in time to see another present explode in front of him, sending him hurtling backwards across the icy street and through a large window.
Painfully and unsurprisingly (considering his usual luck), Ralph landed on a banquet table before falling down and rolling along the ground as gracefully as a panicking cow.
"Ugh…"
He opened his eyes, and, becoming increasingly aware of the well dressed group of people staring down at him, flipped to his feet and struck a heroic pose. One of the women in particular was giving him a concerned look.
She actually looked kind of pretty in that pink dress.
Ralph looked around. He had obviously fell into some debutant ball, and wasn't really dressed for the occasion. He stuck his head up as Superman-ly as he could manage.
"Not to worry, ladies and gentlemen, I'll have this cleared up-"
The doors sprang open, and Flash zipped in, looking around the room quickly as snow rushed in behind him. His lens-covered eyes found Ralph, and he smiled.
"I got him!"
Ralph sighed. That was all it took.
"Look, it's the Flash!"
"Flash, over here-"
"-my daughter just loves you-"
"-your autograph? I don't like to ask, but-"
All eyes were now on the Scarlet Speedster. Not that Ralph was angry at him or anything. This was Central City, after all. It was his city. He was like Elvis. Sinatra, even.
"Why the long face?"
Ralph looked over to the voice in front of him. It was that same woman who had been in the pink dress. He waved a dismissive elongated hand.
"Ah, it's nothing. Don't you want to go talk to the Flash?"
This time she waved a dismissive hand. "I can see him any day. I've never seen you before."
Ralph smiled, and took her hand as he had always been taught to. "I'm Ralph."
She smiled back, and his heart jumped. He wondered if that would happen every time she smiled at him.
"Nice to meet you, Ralph. I'm Sue."
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(A/N: The title of this chapter (and most of the story) comes from a flashback in the opening chapter of the Justice League comic miniseries, 'Identity Crisis'.)