Hi hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of update for like a month... hehe... I am guilty of procrastination, I admit. That, and I've been having a lot of things going on- I'm taking Health over the summer so I don't have to take it at school, and it's a full four hours a day! I pretty much spend the entire time drawing haha. Also my summer reading book have FINALLY come in the mail, so now I have no excuse to not read them haha.
On a side note- who here has read Interview With the Vampire? Anyone? Anyone? CUZ I FREAKING LOVE IT LIKE WOAH. I'm itching to run to the library and get the next one!
...God, I am such a nerd.
Note for the chapter: Some of you may not know the significancy of Titan; it's Saturn Girl's home, and it's the largest of Saturn's fifty-three moons.
Now then, on to the chapter!
Disclaimer: *mumble* Yeahdon'townLegiondon'trubitin.
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"It's not going to work," a voice cracks for the seventeenth time.
I allow Lyle to calm Garth (again), while I check my handheld computer to make sure all is going to go as planned.
"Yes, it will," Lyle replies cheerfully. I have no idea how he can keep the impatience out of his voice. I would have snapped by now in his place, having to deal with such an annoying, uncharacteristically self-conscious Lightning Lad.
"How do you know?" Garth demands, glancing pleadingly back and forth between Lyle's eyes as if searching for the proof within them.
"Because," Lyle explains, with the tone of someone explaining to a toddler that two plus two does, in fact, equal four. "I came up with it."
I hastily disguise my snort as a cough and pretend to type something into my computer as Lyle brushes tiny pieces of lint off Lightning Lad's shoulder. He is dressed in his cleanest, brightest uniform, his hair is sleeker and more managed than usual, and the light scent of cologne emanates off him. I smile at the idea that he only ever goes to such lengths to impress for Saturn Girl.
"Now, you both remember the plan?" I say, snapping shut the computer and turning to the both of them.
Lightning Lad nods warily, looking a bit paler than usual, and Invisible Kid mock-salutes me. Somehow, I do not feel assured in the least.
A soft knock comes to the door, and Lightning Lad actually flinches; this is so completely unlike the Garth I know that I have the urg to slap some sense into him. He casts a nervous look at Lyle, and the latter nods encouragingly, giving him two thumbs up. He takes a deep, shaky breath, as if preparing to plunge head-first into ice-water, and walks stiffly to the doors. They slide open and reveal Saturn Girl, who smiles warmly at Lightning Lad when she sees him. Phantom Girl must have convinced her to endure one of her notorious "make-overs"; her long, blonde hair falls in waves to her waist and catches the light brilliantly, and her lips are a glossy, baby pink that matches her eyes.
"You look... really pretty," Lightning Lad says awkwardly, and I have to resist smacking my forehead. Still, Saturn Girl's cheeks momentarily flush.
She notices us over Lightning Lad's shoulder and says, "Brainy, Lyle, what are you two doing here?"
Lightning Lad jumps slightly and jerks his head in our direction, blinking at us. He has probably forgotten we are even here.
"Oh, um..." I begin, at a loss for what to say. I never have been good at lying. "We were... that is to say... uh..."
"We were just asking Garth here what good movies are out," Lyle quickly intervenes, to my immense relief. "Brainy and I thought we could take a break from the lab, go and catch a late show, you know?"
He grins and slings an arm casually over my shoulder, which I think is rather over-doing it, but I clench my teeth and do not say anything.
"Is that so...?" Saturn Girl says, raising one eyebrow suspiciously and turning her penetrating gaze upon me. I know what she is thinking; I never take breaks, and very rarely do I leave headquarters except to go on missions. Also, I am not one who is particularly inclined to waste time and money on something as pointless as a fictitious movie, especially not with Lyle of all people.
"Yep, right, Brainy?" Lyle asks, unperturbed, and I only manage to suppress a grimace.
"Yes, that's right," I say through gritted teeth. If that arm does not remove itself from my shoulder in ten seconds...
"Well, see you guys later," Garth says loudly, understandably eager to get out of here as quickly as possible. He ushers Imra out the door, shooting a loaded look over his shoulder at us in the process.
Seven seconds...
Lyle winks and gives him another thumbs-up with his free hand, and the doors shut behind them.
Four...
"Ready to play ninja and follow them?" Lyle says excitedly to me, eyes shining mischievously.
I do not reply, choosing instead to slowly rotate my head in his direction and fix him with the most venomous glare I can muster.
Two...
Lyle chortles and removes his arm, sparing it from being mercilessly ripped out of its socket, but not before ruffling my hair like a canine's.
"You're so cute when you do that pout thing!" he says brightly, skipping out of the way before my fist can collide with his head. "Now come on, we have to get to the planetarium before they do."
He twirls back to face me with an expectant expression upon his face, his hands poised on his hips. Collecting the shredded remains of my dignity, I brush past him, giving him a sour look as I do so, and exit the room.
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I sit behind the main computer in the control center at the Metropolis City Planetarium, constantly checking over everything while supervising the monitors surrounding me. The security guards standing bunched together near the door seem torn between looking offended and casting me reluctantly interested looks, obviously unnerved by my ability to reprogram everything so quickly while easily cracking security codes with hardly any effort.
When Lyle and I called the planetarium earlier and requested their permission to set all of this up, they seemed most reluctant, most likely thinking of the extensive damage the Legion has caused to other areas of the city. Lyle, being the blissfully charismatic soul that he is, was able to persuade the balding, sour-faced manager quite easily into allowing us in when he explained (and his explanation included skillfully inserted flattery) that we were only planning a surprise wedding proposal for a Legion couple, and would never cause any damage to the facilities (here, he assured him the Legion of Superheroes has the most technologically savvy person in the galaxy, causing me to swell with silent pride).
With everything as ready as I could possibly make it, I turn my attention to one of the little monitor screens, where people are slowly filing past with their heads turning in every direction, observing the simulated stars in the black, dome-shaped building. I know Lyle is standing near the control panel towards the back of the large, circular room, completely invisible.
After several minutes, familiar fuschia pink and a crop of orange hair catch my eye; Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad enter, arm-in-arm, Imra looking serene as always with a small smile on her face, and Garth holding his head high and his chest out, looking quite proud. I allow myself a brief smile and watch with a careful eye as Lightning Lad leads her to the center of the room. A few more minutes pass, and the guards at the doors close off the entrance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Metropolis City Planetarium," a female voice chirps over the intercom. "We have a wonderful show planned for you tonight, filled with interesting facts about our solar system and how the ancient people of earth viewed the heavens!"
The voice begins to point out constellations, and I type in a few keys to simulate images traced into the stars; centaurs, lions, and ancient gods light up the inside of the dome. The announcer continues to chitter to the listening visitors, explaining the stories of various constellations, while I almost lazily switch the displayed images to match with the show's program. Fifteen minutes into the presentation, I bring my flight ring to my lips.
"Ready, Lyle?" I say, focussing on where Lyle is stationed.
The control panel door swings open seemingly on its own, going unnoticed by everyone, whose heads are tilted up towards the ceiling.
"Yep," Lyle replies, and I tune into what the voice on the intercom is saying.
"And now, the planets of our solar system," it says in practiced-cheeriness, and I obligingly switch the images on the walls to that of the eight planets and their moons.
When she gets to Saturn, I zoom in on the planet to show its numerous moons and tense in preparation.
"Please direct your attention to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn!"
Heads simultaneously turn to the moon, and Lyle takes his cue. The large, red lever in the control panel swings down down, and all the lights in the dome switch off, bathing everyone in inky darkness.
Knowing I only have about five seconds, I set to work immediately, my fingers flying over the keyboard. I can hear shuffling behind me and assume the guards are trying to get a closer look. I finish quickly and am up and out of my chair at once, heading towards the door.
"Now!" I say to my flight ring.
I arrive in the dome just as the lights flicker back on, entering through the "Employed Personnel Only" door and joining Lyle in rushing to get a look at our work. People blink and look around for a few seconds, confused; the images on the walls and ceiling are back to black, with millions of stars winking down at everyone. One by one, everyone's attention turns to where Titan was just a few seconds ago. In its place, taking up a good one-quarter of the curved wall, the stars have rearranged themselves into one large, glittering message:
WILL YOU MARRY ME, IMRA?
A group has already gathered around where Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are, and Lyle and I break through the throng of people to get a better look at them. Saturn Girl is staring wide-eyed at the message, her hands placed over her mouth. Lightning Lad is smiling widely as though he has just won the lottery, and is gazing intently at Saturn Girl, gauging her reaction and apparently greatly enjoying her speechlessness. He allows her another minute to stare at the message before clearing his throat quietly.
Imra tears her eyes from the twinkling message, along with every pair of eyes in the vicinity, and switches them to Lightning Lad, who gently pries her hands from her mouth and holds them in his own. Saturn Girl shuts her mouth, which was agape, and watches with a dazed expression as Lightning Lad gets down to one knee, never breaking eye-contact with her.
"Saturn Girl," he says, gazing sincerely into her shining eyes. "Imra... I've loved you for a very long time, and I only love you more and more every day."
Those who cannot contain their "aaawwe"s are quickly hushed by their neighbors.
"That's why," he continues, ignoring everyone and letting go of Saturn Girl's hands to retrieve a small, velvety box from his pocket. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He cracks open the box, takes out the ring, which glitters in the starlight and earns several gasps of admiration from the audience, and slips it onto her left ring finger.
"Will you marry me?"
The room is completely silent as every person holds their breath, staring at Saturn Girl in anticipation. Imra stares, frozen, down at Garth for several seconds, her pink eyes slowly filling with tears.
A beautiful smile suddenly lights up her face, brighter than any star in the room.
"Of course!" she cries, and flings herself into Garth's arms, tears streaming freely down her glowing face.
The room errupts in cheers of approval, and several couples embrace or kiss happily in the heat of the moment; I find myself clapping along with everyone else, a pleasant warmth humming in my chest. Lyle grabs my arm and steers me towards Garth and Imra, looking quite triumphant.
"I knew it," Saturn Girl says when she sees us, sending us a sly look. "Only you two could pull something like this off."
Lyle laughs heartily and hugs Imra, who wipes her eyes on the back of her hand and cannot seem to keep a smile off her face. I shake Lightning Lad's hand in congratulations, and he sends me a grateful look. I hug Imra next while Lyle clasps hands with Garth, truly happy for my friends.
"Thanks, guys," Garth says to me and Lyle, taking hold of Imra's hand again and pulling her towards him. "I never could have done something like this on my own."
I open my mouth to welcome him, then stop and bite my lower lip.
"Well, it was Invisible Kid's idea," I reply, smiling at Lyle, who looks taken aback but pleased nonetheless. "I just provided the technological means."
"Don't be modest, Brainy," Lyle says, clapping a hand onto my shoulder. "You did most of the work!"
"What's this?" Saturn Girl asks, raising her eyebrows in pretend shock. "You two are actually friends now?"
I send her an unamused look and am about to retort when Lyle cuts me off.
"More like 'friendly rivals', right, Brainy?" he states, casting me a bright smile.
"Yes," I agree contentedly. "Something like that."
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I spend the rest of the night deeply regretting I ever said anything close to admitting I tolerate Lyle Norg.
"What?" countless Legionnaires would say, baffled. "Brainy actually didn't take credit for his brilliance for once?" As if it were some sort of unnatural phenomenon. Lyle's comments were even worse. "Aw, don't pay any attention to them, Brainy! Come on, let's hang out tomorrow or something!"
I swear, he does it on purpose.
I lean my head into my hands at the kitchen counter, watching Timber Wolf bustle around the kitchen, grumbling to himself as he makes the cookies Phantom Girl requested. Lyle is in the lab, so of course I'm at the opposite side of the building. It irritates me that I cannot experiment as much as I would like to, but I would rather not face a full-of-it Lyle at the moment. I turn my head to the side and sigh, feeling useless without a tool in my hands.
"Hey, Princess, stop moping and have a cookie," Timber Wolf growls, setting a plate down before me.
I do not protest; Brin's cookies are worth the insults.
"Thank you," I mumble, taking a bite from one of the cookies and enjoying the sensation of baked dough and semi-sweet chocolate chips on my tongue.
Brin grunts in response and sets another plate next to mine. "Bring that to Lyle later."
I give him a reproachful look as I chew my cookie.
"Don't give me that look," he warns, looking very intimidating in his pink pin-striped apron. "Here, bring this, too."
He sets two mugs full of steaming hot chocolate on the table and walks back to the oven to check on the second batch. I watch the steam curl into the air from the hot, rich liquid and get another odd feeling of deja-vu. Where have I seen this before...?
Shaking it off yet again, I get out of my seat and pick up the platter of cookies and hot chocolate, deciding I might as well get it over with now and then go to bed. I bid Timber Wolf good night and make my way down the dark, silent corridors, towards the laboratory. The doors slide open to admit me and I step inside, casting my eyes over the room and spotting Lyle, his head lying on the desk before him, deeply asleep. I come to a halt and stare at his back for a moment before sighing and walking to his side. I place the platter next to his head and then pause again, considering just leaving now and going back to my room.
My eyes flicker over his face, half-hidden behind a mess of silky brown hair; I realize with a start that he is not wearing his trade-mark headband. It is lying under his hand upon the desk, looking strangely like some sort of small, resting creature. I am so unaccustomed to seeing Lyle without it I actually stare at his head for a solid minute, thinking it to look oddly desolate. My gaze then lowers to his closed eyes and dark eyelashes, then his slightly-open mouth, and again I find it odd, for I am so used to always seeing Lyle's emotions so blatantly clear on his face, his lips always set into a wide grin...
Unconsciously, my hand moves forward, brushing away a lock of hair from his face, and I let my hand hover in the air for a few seconds before snatching it back, astonished at my own actions. It must really be getting late, I am obviously quite deprived of sleep...
I start to turn around, entirely ready to leave, then stop and listen to the slow, rhythmic breathing behind me. Sprock this human conscience.
I silently turn back around and tap Lyle on the shoulder. He mumbles something incomprehensible under his breath but continues to sleep, as if to spite me.
"Lyle," I say, shaking his shoulder slightly and getting on eye-level with him. "Wake up and eat these cookies so I can go to sleep."
One eye creaks open and struggles to focus on me, and I purse my lips and wait; after blinking several times, Lyle cracks a huge yawn and fully opens both of his ochre eyes, which travel around the room a bit before landing on me.
"Uh... Lyle...?" I ask, unsure. I have the distinct feeling the better part of his conscience remains in his dreams; his eyes seem strangely unfocused as he stares at me.
It all happens too quickly for me to process. One moment, Lyle is seated, staring up at me with a dazed expression, the next, his chair scrapes against the floor and the short distance between us is closed.
It is perhaps the first time my brain has ever failed me, and at the most inconvenient moment at that. My eyes are wide and fixed upon Lyle's closed eyelids; I remain completely frozen, my mind frighteningly blank, all attention focused on the pair of lips now pressing upon my own.
I mentally slap myself and, thankfully, regain enough sense to push Lyle away; he sinks back into the chair and folds his arms upon the table, resting his head upon them and closing his eyes. Within seconds, he is again fast asleep, and I am halfway across the building, my lips still burning.
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Forgive me if there are massive errors, I totally wrote the last half of this chapter at like two in the morning hahaha.
I seriously laughed out loud when I went back and re-read the part with Brainy and his hand-held computer; I suddenly had Sailor Moon flashbacks, with Amy's little Sailor Mercury computer lol.
Thank you for reading, reviews make me poop rainbows and unicorns! =D
-paintupurple