Chapter Seven: Crawling From the Wreckage
toddlyWonder [tW] began messaging chicksdigtheEars [cE] at 11:34 am
tW: hey, gar. how's it going?
cE: ….
cE: not good dude
cE: dp just ttlly forced me to leve
cE: though im AM free to do watever i lyke atm...
tW: i am, dude. you repeated yourself.
tW: wait, they forced you to leave?
tW: you? the doom patrol?
tW: whaaaat? (anguished scream)
cE: dunno exctly why
cE: tink its got smng to do wit my behavior..… idk
cE: not lyke i waned to stay anyway
cE: steves been TTLY jackin my stile ltly
cE: wntd to.. gt out. go n mi own.
cE: u felin me dude?
tW: oh. daddy issues. riiiiiiiight. (knowing look)
cE: hahha yeh J
cE: OH btw
cE: call me beast boy now
cE: not wit tem rn sove got mre freedom
tW: i distinctly remember you wanting to call yourself beast man…
tW: but whatever. good on ya, bro! (accepting grin)
cE: :D
tW: guess you'll be headin' off on your own, then, huh?
tW: beast boy? (confused)
Beast Boy frowned. He'd had very good motivation for quitting the Doom Patrol, but he hadn't put much thought into where he'd wanted to go afterwards. Where would he settle in between all the tofu, video games, and girls? He frowned upon realizing that toddlyWonder might know. His friend, who he had extrapolated to be one Jason Todd, had recently obtained a job with Bruce Wayne, one of the most famous CEOs ever (Garfield squeed a bit at that.) He was bound to know a thing or two about lodgings and the type.
tW: (taps foot impatiently)
cE: WAIT
cE: sry bout that dude
cE: got caryed awy tinkin n that.…
cE: say were SOULD i go?
tW: you mean you don't…
cE: hahaaaaa
cE: yeh flieng solo as alyaws 8)
cE: actlly idnt put muc tought in it tho.
cE: uh
cE: do u kno..
tW: hmm? (curious)
cE: abot….… haaaa
tW: beast boy. tell me.
tW: now. (ominous thunder)
cE: ….
cE: ok FYNE
cE: sheesh
cE: do u kno were i ken stey?
cE: to fit cryme n all?
tW: huh. give me a moment to look over that…
tW: (processing)
Garfield sighed as he waited. Jason, while abrasive and a bit manipulative, was a damn good scavenger (it had apparently been how he'd obtained the job, natch.) No matter what the database, be it a phone, a library, or Mr. Wayne's own network, he could find anything. It wouldn't take him long to find something, aggresive as he may be.
tW: FOUND IT (confetti)
tW: ceeelebration time, cmon!
tW: dananana nan a na naaa
cE: JAYSON
tW: what? (inquisitive)
cE: kyna shot on tyme her..
tW: :?
cE: ykno... busstop n ll...
tW: oh, yeah! right!
tW: shame you don't wanna sing along, though…
tW: it's a good song. and I know you have a great singing voice. 7:D
cE: HHAHAHAHAHHA nice tri
tW: fine. (grumble)
tW: found some great spots in socal. LA, san marcos, and jump, to be specific.
tW: any significant preference?
cE: ..
A bus rumbled to a stop beside Beast Boy. Climbing on, he put a coin in the till, shot a smirk and a gesture at the driver, and sat down by a window to ponder over Jason's choices.
cE: errrrr
cE: i unno dude
cE: las bleh
cE: san marcos seems pree cool
cE: dunno anything bout jump tho…
cE: lready mentioned la dot say nything funny
tW: you don't speak Spanish, do you? J
cE: no should i be
tW: nah. just checking. would be cool. (hopeless)
tW: let's see…
tW: seems like you don't want to visit LA. who wouldn't?
cE: u
tW: hey! (pouts)
cE: sry
tW: J
tW: that only leaves san marcos and jump.
tW: far as I know, sanmar, as the locals call it, is a pretty safe place in general. not much violence other than the beach and downtown.
tW: you're not planning to continue heroism, are you? (inquisitive)
cE: WAT DUDE
cE: of corse i am wth man
cE: sittin arond on the bech with sme chicks sems nice….
cE: but id raher keep up wat ive started. dum enogh to try anythin and ll.
tW: as I expected. :D
tW: jump…
tW: I don't know, dude. lots of crime all over, and not just the supernatural mystery you guys always used to fight.
tW: if it helps…
tW: robin seems to be there? oh WOW. hadn't seen THAT comin'.
cE: ?
tW: covert as always… hehehe… don't mind me. he hadn't shown any signs of leaving gotham, is all.
cE: ohscll
cE: but yOU SAID ROBIN wHAT?
cE: !?
Garfield began thrashing about in excitement, attracting the ire of other passengers. He didn't care much, though. Robin… was everything to him. His role model, in heroism and out. His motivation to stay with the Doom Patrol as long as he did (Rita's boobs notwithstanding.) His…
… his idol. He sighed dreamily and slumped back in his chair.
cE: oHYL DUDE wHAT
cE: WHYS HE TERE
tW: dude, calm down. (exasperated.)
tW: sorry. don't mind me. had a bad day at… work.
tW: carry on, garfield… (expectant)
cE: no m sry
cE: but i was askin u tho?
tW: ah. I think I take the blame then. forgive me. (bows)
tW: looks like he… left batman all together. can't really tell why.
tW: guess he was pretty tired of him, huh? teen superheroes can do that to a person. J
cE: i acually hppned to LYKE yj….
cE: nm its past us no
cE: cnt imagine batman wld do THAT mch to a person
tW: well, he IS batman, after all. I should know, sin
tW: wait
tW: you're… you're not thinking of going after him, are you? (worried)
cE: aDOIIII
cE: OF CORSE I M
cE: who do u think i m dude
cE: green lantern?
tW: …
tW: NOOO! (ashamed)
tW: don't make fun of him, bro. he's just a bit dense, is all.
cE: :D
tW: well then…
tW: guess you're headed off to jump, then?
tW: to meet him, to fight with him, or just plain admire him from afer? (eyebrows)
cE: lol wat do u tink
cE: yeh i lyke robin but i aint THAT fangirly
cE: (nsfw r34 ffic blech)
cE: im gonna see wat i cen do from afr and go n frm tere
cE: u with me?
tW: hahaha, agree with you on the fanfic. it's gross. L (pukes)
tW: i… guess i'll support your decision, then… still think you should meet him, though.
tW: he may think you're a crazy but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you talked to him.
tW: what do you think?
cE: …
Garfield looked out the window and exhaled. A chance to go to Jump City, California, and… meet Robin? And talk to him? And possibly fight baddies with him, knowing that Jason, being as clingy as he was, would support him?
Oh, yes. Of course he would.
cE: sry thinkin again
cE: i gotta say….
cE: yeh
cE: why not J
cE: itll be nice to get back into the swing of things and all :D
tW: knew you'd jam with me, dude. :D
tW: sooo…
tW: you're probably on a bus now, right?
tW: wanna relax and play some doomed with me?
cE: nahhhhhh
cE: hope you dont mind but i gotta let this all sink in
cE: ill be SURE to around with you a bit once ive arrived
cE: bb swear J
tW: bb swear? really? (annoyed)
cE: dude srsly do it
cE: for the team and all
tW: ugh…
tW: all RIGHT. bb swear. :D
cE: AWSUM
cE: welp imagonna catch some shuteye or somn
cE: seeya around dude ;D
tW: all right then, beast boy. see you later.
chicksdigtheEars [cE] has left the chat.
Beast Boy, confident in his chosen path, smiled to himself. Putting his bag on the window to use as a pillow, he pulled off his boots, lay down on the seat (face hanging down, of course,) and closed his eyes, anxious of the coming day.
tW: still, dude, I unno…
tW: lots of danger in jump…
tW: someone of your experience might not be able to handle it…
tW: meh. whatever. good luck.
toddlyWonder [tW] has left the chat.
Still sniffling to himself, Lewa rose and surveyed the mangled remains of his hut. It had been ruined. Ugh. He'd have to get it replaced, later…
If he ever came back, that is. The Air Toa was all set to pack his bags and leave New Atero; he just didn't feel like leaving. It all seemed too sudden to be real. His brothers and sister up and abandoning him like that, on his intentions…
A series of knocks interrupted his train of thought. "Come in," Lewa rasped.
The grating squeaking sound of the hut's door came into play but quickly diminished. Standing in front of him was a tall Toa with white armour, golden chest and armplates, and a brilliantly shining mask…
"Takanuva," Lewa noted. "You're time-late. What took-long?"
The novice Toa raised a hand in apology. "Sorry brother. I was a bit… preoccupied helping move Agoran to a shelter… Turaga's orders…"
"Agoran? Really?" The green Toa had to let out a laugh at that, an emotion that quickly vanished. "Wait… why'd you do that?"
"It was getting hard to refer to them both," Takanuva admitted with a chuckle. His mask hardened. "The Council believes Spherus Magna and its peoples are under threat of an alien invasion… why, I'm not exactly sure. Ackar says their leader's been babbling along about a 'Rotunda' or something. They've been bombing buildings looking for it," he finished, rubbing his head.
Lewa shot up at that. "What? Hurt-bombing? Have we done anything?"
Taka raised an eyebrow. "'We?' Wait, what happened to the others?" He began to panic, jumping around rapidly. "Were they not with you?"
The Spirit of Air's face fell. "They were… We got into a dark-fight," he remarked. "None of us… are close-working anymore.
"Karz! That's not going to be good… wait… Turaga Onewa had noted something about this. 'The noble warriors split into new paths,'" he recalled.
"Yeah, an apparent prophecy. I've heard." Lewa cleared his throat. "I'll speak-say it again, brother. Have we done anything?"
Taka helped Lewa up. "Not immediately… we are to protect the Agoran and leave them be. Until they are done searching for whatever they require, anyway," he beamed. "Do you want to help?"
A Miru drooped in sadness… "I'd… rather not…" Tears began to fall again. "Wanted to take some time alone. To reflect on what I've done. You can call on me after something happens."
"You have no intention of fulfilling your duty?" Taka inquired.
"No, brother. Our unity has been broken. I don't think I'll be able to do anything about my duty, not when my destiny is in the clouds, anyway…" Lewa sighed and gave his brother a weary fistbump, walking to the door. "I'll see you around, Toa of Light."
"As to you, Toa of Air," Taka returned as he raised his Light Scythe and sped off in a bright flash.
Lewa Nuva, Toa of Air- wait, was he Lewa Nuva anymore? The team had broken up. He supposed he might as well be Lewa, Toa Nuva of Air, but that didn't have the same ring to it- Oh well. He'd just be Lewa, Toa of Air then.
Anyways, Lewa, Toa of Air, exhaled in exhaustion and slumped down again. He didn't want to believe that such a threat could pull the planet in its grip, not after what happened with the Shadow Hunters… A few sniffles rang out over the desert. What had he gotten himself into?
Some sobs escaped his mouth before he realized it didn't matter. The Great Beings and Turaga had declared them obsolete, anyway. Why didn't Taka know? Because he was late? Was the Toa entering a lost cause just because of an outside threat?
Snrrk. Lewa inhaled to remove some dermis fluid that had run down his mask. Stop crying, you dolt, he thought. You'll get over this. Just do what you told Taka you'd do… He perked. Yeah. Reflecting sounded like a good idea right now. The Toa couldn't exactly do it here, though…
Wait. My Glatorian-brother and sister. Smirking at the idea, he got up once again, turned on his jets, rose up into the air, and called the wind to fly him away.
The beeping had not stopped for a good five minutes. In that time, the Glatorian had stiffened up, met a golden brethren (his superior?), had a chat, left him to his own devices, and sat down a bit before flying off. H'ssiah had a very good chance to follow him, but the infernal device had finally got itself working. An image of the captured Glatorian, his assistant, and their captors appeared.
"Speak," he hissed.
"Woah! No need to get so uppity, boss," the smaller of the two replied. "We, uh… we just took these twos to a ridge near town. To wait for you and whatnot."
"Wait for me?" H' scowled. "Do you not realize you are working on your own accord? I told you to wait because I did not want you to search for the Rutan'gah. Your cargo is… erm… to be seen as a threat. Yes."
"I'll show you a threat," an indiscriminate voice mumbled.
"SILENCE!" ssiah roared. "Well… it seems you are there now, anyway. What do you plan to do with the Glatorian?"
The two soldiers stayed silent. Then they gaped. The Lieutenant began to grow angry.
"I said… what do you plan to DO?"
"Uh… boss?" the larger responded.
"What?"
"There's another one comin'."
"What do you mean?"
"Yeah, that's what I told youse. There's another one comin'."
"Who's 'comin''?"
"Another one of 'em. Those robot guys." The soldier squinted. "Flyin' heres, I think." He shivered, covering himself with his arms.. "Jeez. Wind's pickin' up. You feelin' the same thing?"
"I don't care about the weather!" H' screamed. He froze. "Wait… another one? You meant to say another Glatorian, yes?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Well… DO something, you idiots! Make a move on it! See what it wants; he could be important!"
The thinner troop gaped. "Important to the monarchy. The Queen, you buffoon."
The alien perked. "Oh, yeahs, the Queenie!" He saluted, prompting his partner to do so as well. "We… uh… we're gonna wait and see what he does. Might not be dangerous, unlike these twos."
"We aren't 'dangerous'," Akhmou insisted. He received a slap on the back of the head.
ssiah licked his lips. "Might not be dangerous, you say?" He twirled his uniform's cape. "Very well then. Go find a way to make yourself known to the Glatorian without making yourself known. And don't screw this up," he insisted, holding up the communicator. "I am watching you."
"Sir, yes, sir!" The two yelled, saluting again. They ran off, seemingly forgetting to turn off their communicator. It took a while before the Glatorian did so himself. The Gordanian smiled a bit at that.
So now he knew that the Glatorian, even if they did not know anything about the Rutan'gah, still posed a threat; its severity was unknown. Perfect. He smirked and rallied his troops, having to bark a bit to get some of them away. "Follow me, men," he called and pointed in the distance. "We march to that ridge."
"This meeting will now come to order."
A gong sounded, and with it, a variety of people both from the former Matoran Universe and the three Magnas sat themselves on benches. A meeting of the Great Council was now in session, and for good reason too. It appeared that an alien being had found its way to Spherus Magna, and had attracted another species right behind it, apparently looking for the thing. The Agori and Matoran had been hurriedly evacuated, but the Glatorian and Toa had apparently not been allowed to do anything, which some leaders had raised a fuss at. The gathering had apparently been called to alleviate their concerns.
Ackar, who was chosen to be head representative of the Glatorian, stood up and cleared his throat. "Hello, everyone," he began. "I trust you all know why we are here." A dull murmur started up, prompting him to fake a cough. "Please settle down. One of the Turaga knows more of what is behind all this. I am sure he will tell us. Vakama?"
The Turaga got up in tandem with the Glatorian's seating. "Thank you, Ackar. Gathered friends," he noted, gesturing to his audience. "Today we have learned that Spherus Magna is still not immune to great threat; as you are all aware, an extraterrestrial lifeform has landed on our surface, bringing extreme dangers in its wake. Many of you, I have found," he looked at the Great Being representative, Angonce, specifically, "believe that we are not equipped to deal with them, being that we are currently weak and useless. Many of you do not. I understand this, you must realize, but I would like to state at this moment that I side with the Great Beings on their decision. The Toa and Glatorian must not fight."
As expected, everyone gaped. Vakama rapped his firestaff on his desk to get their attention. "Do not be alarmed by this, brothers and sisters." He picked a small tablet up from inside a drawer. "A few days ago," he continued, holding it in the air, "a member of our group; a seer, you could say; found this text inscribed in the fires of truth. He thinks it is a prophecy, an indication of their destiny. I would read it myself, but Nokama thinks I must keep my mouth shut more often." He chuckled. "Therefore I will call him to the stand to tell us personally."
Turaga Nuju stood up, grabbed the tablet, and hobbled over to the bench, facial features obviously indicating a desire to not be here. He gripped the edge of the speaker's stand and glared at the crowd.
"CCcckk wheee hiss beep clck," the Turaga started, but stopped when he saw his brother of earth gesturing him to close his mouth. The offer was accepted, but not before Nuju pouted incredulously.
"Forgive Turaga Nuju, friends," Vakama insisted. "Since our last battle with Velika he has decided to... continue speaking in the tongue of birds. I seem to remember him having a new translator…"
A small blue shape popped out of existence with a blip and fell down a bit, landing on the ice Turaga's head. Apologizing relentlessly, it scrambled off the Matatu before the man could fume any further. Noticing the many pairs of eyes focusing on her, it grinned sheepishly and took a place besides its apparent mentor.
"Sorry I was late, everyone," it spoke. The shape had a rough but feminine voice, a small stature, blue armour, glowing yellow eyes, and a blue 'bearded' mask not unlike Vakama's. To any random member of the Council, she would appear to be a simple being, chosen to be the Turaga's companion, but to the six beings themselves she was Macku, a Ga-Matoran who had been 'chosen' to become Nuju's translator after a group of Toa, Glatoran, and Agoran had defeated the malevolent Great Being Velika (To this day, Nokama still did not know how she had obtained the job.)
"Caught up with Kohlii practice," Macku clarified. "Say," she said, turning to Nuju, "wasn't there something you wanted to translate? Right now, I mean?" The Turaga began to redden. "Apologies," the Matoran continued, taking this as a sign to back off. Nuju sighed and began to speak again.
"I saw a prophecy in the fires, as Vakama noted," Macku said through Nuju. "I feel it is important. Let me tell you now." He straightened his already highly arched back, an indication that whatever he was going to say was fairly serious. A few more murmurs rose up, quickly silenced by Ackar.
The Turaga coughed for a few moments before beginning.
Chapter Seventeen: Renewal
The night sky was a rich but dark shade of blue, brightened by two bright moons. A flock of Canyon Deer moved into a patch of forest to graze. The air, warm and damp, felt calming on Lewa's mask- although he wasn't at his intended destination quite yet.
It flickered into view as he thought of this, short and stocky yet imposing at the same time. Gamarrus Ridge had once been a training site for future on-call Glatorian, chosen for its location and geographical position; after the Reformation, Onua and a mining crew had cleared the compound out and transformed it into a site fit for the excavation of resources. It was here that he and Lewa had met to converse about the resurgence of the Bohrok and their eventual feelings; the Air Toa couldn't help but smile when he thought about it. A few months after, the crew had allowed visitors to scale the rim. The two visited it often, usually to share a few moments after reconstruction work, but Onua had eventually left to go survey… whatever he had been surveying, and Lewa had gotten caught up in the hassle with the Shadow Hunters. Coming here to relax shortly afterward, he had soon met two Glatorian with the same intentions and struck up a great friendship.
As he got closer to the ridge, the Toa was able to make out more of the rim, and noted that they appeared to be there right now; one tall teal green Glatorian with navy blue armour and a trident, and another, squatter, yellow Glatorian with forest green armour and what appeared to be daggers. Lewa could never really tell, but yes, that was them, alright. He dimmed the intensity of the wind and swooped in, using his Miru to control his fall.
Kiina parried another jab by Gresh about her social life and sighed inwardly. Life in the arena had been good as of late, with lots of action and glamour, but her teammate Tarix had seemed to be growing more… haggard. She wasn't sure why; in fact it seemed like all her opponents become like that without much of an explanation. Off the playing field, Berix and Gresh had steadily become annoying, almost to a breaking point. They had definitely been influenced, which led her to the last part of her gripe… the source hadn't been here. The Tajunan had been told he was hurt fighting Marendar, but she knew he wasn't that fragile… none of the Toa were.
"Oh, come on, Gresh. Don't you have anything better to do than to ask me another Hot or Not question? Something interesting had to have happened this past week."
"Aside from Fenix being a pain in the backside-posterior? Not much." He frowned. "What'd you expect, woman? Mata Nui didn't ever say anything about Spherus Magna being entertaining-enjoyable."
"Please stop using tree-speak," Kiina groaned. "It doesn't work well on you at all. You're not a surfer."
"And I'm pretty sure you're not a babbling maniac who shrieks in joy all the time," Gresh retorted. "'Woo-HOO!'" he mimicked, dancing around and screaming in mockery. His friend growled and reddened in shame.
A familiar feeling spared her pride, however. With a small sparking sound, the blowing winds began to slow, and a clanking noise sounded as what appeared to be boots hit the ground. Looking behind them, the two saw a lanky, lime-green armoured figure limping towards them, mask tilted upwards in a grin.
"Nice imitation, jungle-brother," the being intoned. "Really strike-focuses her joy-qualities."
"Lewa!"
Kiina ran up to the figure, gripping its neck in a hug. Confused for a minute, Lewa stared up before giving her one right back. "Great to see you too, Kiina," he murmured.
She growled again, pushed herself off him, and knelt down so that she could see his mask. "Don't you ever do that again!" she yelled. "We were worried sick about you!"
"Plus," Gresh added, "Kiina didn't exactly feel like talking about the perks of taming a Scarabax over and over again." The Glatorian shot daggers at him upon hearing this.
Lewa smirked. "Apologies. Think-guess you don't want me to quick-fight, then?"
Kiina frowned. "No, you idiot. We mean don't leave us hanging without a message for so long."
The Toa's mask fell. "Oh… that was not my fault. Ta…" He paused and put his head on Kiina's chest. "He told me not to get out of bed. For my own good."
"Could you not send a message through him?" the Tesaran inquired.
"Much-tried," Lewa answered, "but f… lead-brother is much-strict. He would not allow me to." He sighed and rubbed his mask on Kiina's armour a bit.
The female Glatorian stared bemusedly at this. Although she was primarily focused on fighting, Kiina knew enough about social relations to have a clue that something was not right. It was how she and Gresh had met Lewa, in fact.
Here's Chapter Seven!
Before I get into the comments, I just wanted to mention that I've taken Danny Phantom hostage. He'll never be able to star in your Hurt/Comfort fics unless I recieve some reviews as ransom. *evil laugh*
Anyways...
1. The chat between BB and Jason was really fun to write. I'm assuming that the two had established a banter sometime before "X", which would explain why Beast Boy's so fixated on his identity being Jason Todd. *shrugs* Took a while to get down each person's quirks, but I think I did okay. (Yes, this does take from Homestuck a bit. Sue me.) Jason's not Robin yet, if you're wondering.
3. Taka to the rescue! He wasn't with the Toa at the meeting because he's only an honorary Nuva and he'd probably be busy finding his own destiny anyway. (Ooor fighting back the Gordanians. He could be doing that too.)
4. Lewa's in troooooubleeee...
5. The Agori chiefs and Turaga formed an alliance about a month or so after the Reformation, to try and keep relations from falling apart. Soon other races became interested, and those that were able decided to join. The enlargened alliance eventually needed a new room, and in the process of moving dubbed itself the Great Council. (It's not quite related to the Agori-Matoran Confederation that was mentioned earlier.)
6. Macku is Nuju's new translator because... Eh. First Matoran that came to mind. It might make for some funny moments later on. (What do you think the prophecy's going to be?)
7. Gamarrus ridge is obviously the one that was seen in Frustrations and I think Adaptations. I'm not entirely sure. I made up most of the Spherus Magna stuff.
More fluff coming up shortly! Read and pay ransom! Heh. Ransom.