Yo guys! It's your favorite person ever: Nox! You're no one's favorite person Nox. And Aerith, everyone's least favorite human being. Damnit Aeri! I named you! No, you stated that I looked like Aerith from Final Fantasy. Momoko said I acted like L from Death Note. You do...but now I see a bigger DC thing in you. After all, you're Tim Fucking Drake. So I've been told.
Anyways, this week Nox and I got fantastic news: The people on the RP site like the story so far. We've been given permission to use their characters, and we're loving the ideas we have from the variety of OCs. Plus the amazing Fallen liked the story! I feel like we're gonna end up breaking out into song. I actually fell out of my chair when I was informed Fallen liked it. I did a spit take...no lie. So, in honor of that, we've got some news for those RPers: 1. I'm gonna join the site! I'm planning to go in as Harley, just because she's my all-time favorite character. So whoa! 2. We have decided to offer you guys the ability to commission one-shots. They can be of any kind, don't limit yourselves to DC. Its a thank you because the support you guys have given us is simply amazing.
Now readers, all of you must now go out and join the Young Justice RPG. Its the awesome Proboards one, not the tumblr one. Seriously. Get it straight. Also, Aeri and I will be answering all reviews at the end of the story so thank you guys for your support.
Alright, we'll do the OC disclaimers at the bottom. Anyways, the title (BTW Aeri misspelled Title in the last chapter...thought you guys should know) is from two songs by Green Day: Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. We don't own anything besides the plot. Oh! And an old RP on the site inspired this chapter! Thanks to Query, Fallen and Fal!
Chapter 2: I Beg to Dream and Differ (What's Fucked Up and Everything's Alright)
It had been a few weeks since the incident. To quickly stop the angst marathon, Steph had thrown herself into both her college work and her hunt for the winged ninja who saved her. After many Google searches, due to the fact that Dick had lived up to his name and denied her use of the Bat-Computer, she had gleaned enough information to get an idea of what she was dealing with.
Which was how she found herself in New York City, counting the hours until night, so she could personally thank the ninja in his own territory. However, like Gotham, New York was huge, and she was more than a little fearful of getting herself completely and hopelessly lost. Just like Damian said she would.
Turning a corner, Steph grinned as she spotted a small coffee shop sandwiched in between some hipster clothing store and a record store. It'd be quiet, that much she could tell from looking in the nearly empty shop's windows. She glanced at the stores around it before walking into the shop, wondering, "Who even has records anymore?"
Stephanie made her way to the counter, the grin fading into a gentle smile as she approached the boy there. He was tall and lanky, with features that reminded her of a puppy. A really adorable puppy; one that you wanted to hug all the time.
"Hi! Welcome to the Daily Grind," the boy, his nametag read Cameron, said, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "What can I get for you?"
"How about," Steph paused, looking at the menu just above Cameron, "A grande Turtle on Steroids? What is that?"
"It's one of our best brews. It's flavored with mocha and caramel, and a lot of espresso," Cameron stated, smiling. "It's strong, but that's how they like it here. Lots of caffeine."
"Sounds good," she replied. He nodded and tapped the register in front of him, bringing up her total.
"That'll be five-fifty." Steph nodded and pulled her wallet out of her bag. She flipped it open and frowned.
"I only have four dollars." She looked up at Cameron who frowned slightly. "I'm sor-"
"I'll have the same as her, and Rinny over here will have an Almond Joy," a smooth voice said behind her. Steph turned around to see two people standing in line behind her. One was a girl with choppy red hair, while the other was a young man with shaggy brown hair. He had on, what appeared to be, a genuine leather jacket, which probably cost more than Steph could make in a month. The man had slightly rounded features, making him look like a young Jeremy Renner or a slightly hardened Thomas Dekker. He flashed her a smile, before turning to his companion. "What's that bring us to, Rin?"
"He's such a prick," Steph thought, scowling at him. Here she was, attempting to order a drink, coming up short, and he just pushed past her as if she didn't exist. "Although, he is kinda hot. Sorta in that Johnny Rzeznik/bad-boy, sort of way."
"Sixteen-fifty," the blonde girl, Rin, stated in a thick Brooklyn accent, smiling slightly at Cameron. He grinned back at her and punched everything into the register.
"So it'll be two Turtles on Steroids, and one Almond Joy," Cameron told them. Steph's blue eyes widened slightly as it dawned on her. The leather-jacket-wearing-prick just bought her a cup of coffee. "Like Rinny-Tin-Tin said: sixteen-fifty."
Rin scowled at him while the man next to her chuckled softly, pulling out his wallet and paying for the drinks. Turning towards Steph, the man flashed a charming smile, "Kiss me if I'm wrong, but have we met?"
"Um, wow," Steph laughed, shaking her head at the pickup line. "If I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me-"
"You'd have a nickel?" Steph grinned at him, the memory of her team-up with Kara flashing through her mind at the question.
"I'd have a nickel."He laughed at her reply, chocolate brown eyes twinkling slightly.
"I'm Vince."
"Steph."
"Your drinks," Cameron cut in, grinning at Rin, who was shaking with silent laughter. Vince nodded and grabbed two of the drinks, passing one to Rin, and the other to Steph. Taking the last one for himself, he tilted his head towards one of the small tables in the shop.
"Wanna join us, Steph?" She nodded, and followed Vince and Rin to one of the tables. Vince placed his drink down on it, turning around to mouth something to Cameron. As he turned, disaster struck. Steph's foot caught on the leg of an incredibly devious chair, and sent her tumbling forward. She caught herself before she could land flat on her face, but the coffee was another story. The almost boiling hot drink had spilled, covering Vince's left arm. Vince closed his eyes, breathing deeply, while Steph started to apologize.
"Oh my god, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod: I am so sorry. Are you hurt? Oh god." Vince cracked open his eyes to peer at her silently as he pulled his jacket off, wincing at the burn covering his bicep. Blue eyes glued themselves to the burn, starting another round of: "Ohmygod, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine Steph," Vince stated quietly, offering her a gentle, if not pained, smile. "Accidents happen. Lord knows how many times Rin, Cam and James have done the same."
"Hey, don't group me with that punk!" Rin protested, scowling. Vince smirked slightly at her indignant expression, before turning his attention back to Stephanie as they sat down.
"Are you from around here?" She shook her head quickly at his question, answering smoothly.
"No, I'm from Gotham. You?"
"Metropolis, originally," Vince shrugged. "Moved around a bit before ending up here."
"Brooklyn baby," Rin grinned. "Though I lived in Bludhaven for a bit."
"So, what brings you to New York?"
"Business," Stephanie answered. "I'm looking for someone."
"Who?" Vince asked, brown eyes twinkling with some hidden emotion. Amusement perhaps? "We know the city better than anyone."
"I doubt you'd know him," Steph smiled. "Cause he's a freaking Archangel in ninja's clothing."
"You'd be surprised," Vince grinned. "I know a lot of people."
She shrugged at him, before changing the topic, "So does New York have a Batman or something?"
"Good Steph, reel them in with talks of vigilantes. Maybe they know something about him."
"That's Rin-Man's specialty, actually," Cameron replied from the counter, where he was checking the amount of caramel the shop had. "She's the photographer for The Prophet."
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Rin questioned, attempting to sound annoyed, only to be met with a grin. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to Steph, "New York has a team of heroes protecting her. 'The Guardian Order', the reporters call them. My boss hates them, but they sell papes."
"Who's on the team?" Stephanie inquired, leaning in.
"Only the weirdest mix of heroes I've ever seen. There's this one, Wham, who looks more like a college student than anything else. Doesn't wear any sort of costume: just a small mask." Rin paused, taking a sip of her coffee. The Gothamite thought back on the research she had done: she hadn't heard of a Wham-hero or otherwise. "L. Lyle thinks that he's a member of the Mexican drug cartel."
"L. Lyle?"
"Lawson. The Editor for the Prophet? He's anti-vigilante," Vince filled in, smiling slightly. "A real prick if you ask me."
"No one was," Rin quipped, smirking at him. It was clear to Steph that the other blonde loved the topic of vigilantes, or at least loved the attention. "We've got a half-human, half-fox chick too. Calls herself the Kitsune. Lawson thinks she's the result of some lab experiment."
"Wait I've heard of her. She's, like, the creature version of Red Hood from what I gathered." Before Steph could muse anymore on that vigilante, Rin was moving on.
"Then there's The Boltman and Blackhawk. Boltman-"
"He's the fucking God of Thunder," Vince chimed in. "Even told L. Lyle off once. Best. Day. Ever."
"So I take it that your boss hates him?" Steph asked.
"More than hates," Rin grinned. "He started a smear campaign."
"Heh, that sounds like Gotham."
"Boltman is pretty hard to get pictures of; not really one for posing for the camera, ya know? Anyways, Blackhawk, well, he reminds me of another hero who used to guard the city. What was his name? Nighthawk?" Rin shrugged again, "Eh, it's not my job to know their names. Just to take their pictures. But there's one who gets the most press. They call him the Falcon. My boss says that he's half-bird, half-freak, but I don't know. He saved my life once, so he can't be all-bad."
"Aw, does someone have a crush on the big, bad, Falcon?" Vince teased, only to be met with a disgusted face.
"Come on bro, you know that I love my men tall, blond and dreamy." Vince cackled at her response, earning a confused look from Steph. Struggling to calm down, he managed between laughs:
"She's…in love…with…Aquaman." Blue eyes widened as Steph turned to look at Rin for confirmation. Rin just nodded, her ears bright pink. The three dissolved into laughter, earning only a slightly amused look from Cameron. The man was used to all sorts of strange people with the two regulars.
After all, it was New York.
Dead hands clawed at him, decaying faces sneering at his terror. His parents. Bruce. Conner. Bart. Steph. Cass. Alfred. Dick. Jason. All of them….dead.
"We're dead, boy."
"Why didn't you save us?"
"This is your fault."
"Tim, why didn't you help me?"
"You didn't find it."
"It's too late, kid."
"You're gonna pay for this, Timbo."
"NO!" Time sat upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Shuddering, his blue eyes scanned the dark room for the phantoms that haunted his dreams. They landed on the stunning figure of his partner, who smiled at him from her spot in the doorway.
"Tea?" she offered, dark eyes clearly showing both her concern and her own fear. Time nodded quickly, attempting to shake off the after effects of the dream.
"Yeah…just let me get dressed," Tim replied, glancing quickly at the basketball shorts he was wearing. Cass shrugged at him, as though she was saying 'Why bother? It's not something I haven't seen before', before slipping silently out of his room in the small Okinawain house they were staying in.
He and Cassandra had been traveling together for a few months. They had dressed each other's wounds, and shared their war stories, bringing them closer together with every passing second. He was her Robin; she was his Batgirl. Nothing could ever change that, that bond could never be broken.
He climbed out of bed, and after a fruitless half-hearted attempt of looking for different clothes; Tim made his way into the tiny dining room. Cass was in the middle of preparing their tea, using the same ancient technique their host had taught her. He stood there for a moment, watching her work. Cassandra was elegant no matter what she was doing, and her preparing tea was no less graceful than her taking on an army. She looked up at him, a small smile gracing her face, and prompting him to kneel down across the table from her.
"You had another one?" she asked, pouring then both cups of green tea and handing his to him.
"Gomen." He took a sip, attempting to ignore the question that he knew she already knew the answer to. After a very long minute of silence, he finally admitted quietly: "They're getting worse."
He felt weak, like a kid getting bullied on the playground. He had worked for Batman, had lived through everyone he loved leaving him: he wasn't weak. Cass's dark eyes focused on his blue ones as she spoke, her words both easing his mind and sending a shiver down his spine.
"Mine too."
AN: Holy fuck that was fun to write. Um, we should explain everything now. There's a drink at a coffee shop I frequent called the Turtle, made like how Cameron described it. It's my favorite drink, and so we decided to give it a kick as a throw to my bro. L. Lyle Lawson is a parody of J. Jonah. Jameson. Just thought it wasn't obvious enough. Anyways the OCs go as following: Falcon and Vince both belong to my bro, Cameron and Wham belong to Jazz, The Boltman belongs to Boltman, Blackhawk belongs to fellow fan-fic writer Sand Torrent, Kitsune belongs to Nox technically, and Rin belongs to moi. Hehe, Rin has a crush on Aquaman. Fucking amazing. Anyways, that part between Tim and Cass, that wasn't in the first draft. Aeri added that in primarily to show that this isn't a Steph story. This thing hits Bat-Clan no matter where they are. On a side note, I do know how to do the tea ceromony Cass is doing thanks to Momoko. They take their tea very seriously. Like how you take your hockey.
Anyways, onto review replies:
Anon: Wow that's a lot of words. I swear that I've seen that same review on like twenty other stories. Listen, we get the whole fact that you have to quote that History Channel thing on the Wild West, but neithet of us see what that has to do with the story. We didn't say anything in the last chapter about how we'd love some alien from a distant corner of space saving our world. Therefore it was unwarranted. However, I'm going to say something, just because of the fact that I don't only think that it was unwarranted. You stated that heroes are bullies, hypocrites, corrupt, and down right horrible creatures. By that, therefore one must assume, that you think the same of cops and soldiers. They are heroes after all. Do you believe that they are bullies? That someone should drop an a-bomb on them? Aeri, chill. I get that you have family and friends in the service. Anon is just a troll. Don't flip out over something that hides under bridges and eats goats. You're right. I'm sorry for my conduct, Anon.
Broken Shadows: Oooh! Multiple questions! I'm going to attempt to answer these without giving away the plot. 1. I can't tell you that, but nice catch. I thought only Aeri's Bro caught that one. 2. Nope. What causes someone to convulse, foam at the mouth, and then die? The answer: cyanide. Nice one, Gan. 3. Hahahahahaha, no. 4. Maybe. We don't think so but you never know.
Lune: Sweet name! Um, Aeri, you wrote for him: you explain it. Deep down...Damian is a nice person. He just got fucked over by his family one too many times.
Vitani: Hehe, Lion King 2 anyone? Um, please refrain from insulting other reviewers. unless you do it in a language I don't know (anyone other than English).
Sand Torrent: Hey buddy! You got a mention! Charrie? Really man? Um, didn't you give me permission to use Blackhawk? Because I distinctly remember you doing that and Query making a very amusing comment about hands. Behave Nox, Darling. Anyways, hiya James. Do me a favor, mate, and stay frosty. You totes got that from a game. Up yours Noxy.
Anyways, tune in soon for chapter 3. Oh, Fallen? Can Aeri make an app for civilian? I've been pestering her about using Rin in shit. The site seems like it could use a Rinny-Tin-Tin.
Nox...no. Just no. Besides putting a character from an Original work into fandom doesn't work very well. Rin's a part of Binary, remember? And Kit is a part of my story Heart of Darkness. We all got stuff like that. But I love the character, and everyone else will too!
If you say so, Aerith Gan out.
Oh come one, Aeri. Don't you want to rev your Noxy? *winks* Well readers, this has been Nox...hitting on Aeri...who left...I mean, *cough* This had been Nox the Great and All-Powerful, signing off.