For my buddy Ethan, should he ever read this. You were the Junior to my Laura for nine solid years of our childhood. Keep being a hero, dude. ~ET
Junior licked the chocolate coating of his ice cream cone again, eyes closed, drinking in the peace of this moment in the park. The park that, yesterday, wasn't supposed to be here today. The park Laura had saved. Junior laughed and ran a hand through his curly green afro. Their friendship seemed totally back on track after he'd apologized last night at the concert. It had been a weird few days, not having her to talk to, especially considering all the crazy things they'd been through over the years. Lying aliens trying to eat them, a gossipy weed trying to eat them, that weirdo fear-freeze guy at the museum who surprisingly didn't want to eat them… well, a lot of stuff that was way less forgivable than forgetting a camera. He figured she'd just been stressed over the park, but they didn't make it hurt any less. But now everything was normal, and they were sharing ice cream at the park. It was a good day.
He heard Laura giggle across the picnic table and he opened his eyes. She was flipping through his sketchbook, one hand on the spoon in her banana split. "Anti-gravity spray?" She flashed him a grin and a picture he'd doodled of spraying Bruce Onion until he bloated cartoonishly and floated away. "You've got to be making that up."
He shook his head. "No, that's a legit thing." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he couldn't help but grin. "Well… I may have exaggerated the inflating part…"
"Which comic book did you pull it from?" she asked.
He must've stared blankly at her or something, because she suddenly looked worried. "Don't tell me it's from one of your…" she lowered her voice "... adventures."
Junior grinned wide, and Laura groaned, dropping her spoon and facepalming dramatically. She always gave him a hard time about his superhero training, he assumed because she was jealous… or more probably worried. He let his excitement overtake him. "Come on, you want to hear the story. You know you do."
She shook her head with a small laugh. "I want to know how I missed the story."
"I think it was before I told you I was Ricochet, so that's probably why." He bit into the crunchy chocolate coating of his ice cream slowly, silently taunting his friend into asking him more about it.
Laura took the bait, albeit with a knowing giggle. "Well, come on, Junior, you've hooked me now. What happened?"
With a smile, he set his ice cream cone on a napkin and grabbed his sketchbook, hastily illustrating as he began his adventure tale.
Ten-year-old Junior Asparagus could not fly, but of all the ten-year-olds in the city, he sure was the closest. He let out a wild "YAHOO!" as he bounced around the cavern for the millionth time. He couldn't wait. Today, Larryboy had promised him his very first hands-on training: a nighttime patrol session. As soon as darkness fell, Larryboy and Ricochet would be prowling the streets of Bumblyburg seeking doers of evil! All night long they'd be fighting bad guys. Well, at least until eleven, when Junior had to go home. And if they started at eight, that would be three whole hours of real superhero stuff!
The door to the LarryCave slid open and Larryboy strode in, all confidence. Junior gasped and slid to a stop a few feet away from the hero. This was really about to happen!
Larryboy laughed, and for a moment his buck-toothed smile sent Junior into deja vu. Why did he know that smile? Maybe all the pictures of Larryboy on the news…
"Alfred said you'd gotten here early. Ready to go, kid?" Larryboy asked, his voice chipper.
"Yep!" Junior couldn't keep from bouncing on his feet.
Larryboy twisted one of his plunger ears and grinned. "Okay, what are the rules?"
Junior had been studying; he remembered. "Never fear. Trust God instead."
"Good. Number two?"
"Ask for help when you need it."
"Okay, the other one?"
"Umm… always listen to super-adults instructions?"
Larryboy bit his lip. "Any more?"
Uh-oh. What had he forgotten? "Umm… I don't think so…?"
The older hero laughed and playfully socked Junior in the shoulder. "Don't get wet."
"Oh." Yeah, that was pretty critical.
Larryboy turned and started walking towards the Larrymobile. "It's okay. You pass. You remembered the really important stuff."
"Yes!" Junior leapt ahead of his teacher and towards the vehicle bay. "Can I drive my jet-ski?"
Larryboy had already opened the hatch of the mobile and was hoisting himself inside. "Nah, tonight, you better stick with me. Night is more dangerous."
"Okay." Junior climbed into the backseat of the Larrymobile. He'd ridden back here once or twice, but each new ride was more thrilling than the last. So many buttons, so many new sensations to experience, and all right here behind Larryboy he would learn everything he needed to be just like the hero in front of him.
The glass hatch clicked shut with Junior's seatbelt and he squirmed with excitement. Larryboy pushed a couple of buttons, then turned to the backseat, grinning wildly. "You ready, kiddo?" The floor beneath them was spinning towards the door.
"You bet!"
"Then let's. Be. Those. Heroes!"
They shot off into the night.
Larry flipped his blinker left and rolled lazily around the corner. A streetlight flickered on a graffitied wall. Maybe tomorrow he'd come clean it up. Larryboy didn't mind the occasional street muralist here or there, but lately he'd started carrying around turpentine because of all the hateful paintings popping up around the city. Slogans like "You are alone," "No one loves you," and "Hate Everything," had been slowly infiltrating the city's brick walls. But nighttime wasn't the best time to clean off paint, or it would be back in the morning. Besides, it was his first night teaching Junior out and about. Larry's nerves would fry if something serious happened to the kid, and though graffiti artists weren't usually that serious, something seemed amiss with the unknown artists of late.
"Larryboy?" the groggy boy asked from the backseat. He'd curled up into the seat and was blinking to keep his eyes open. Larry braced himself for the statement he thought might come from the active ten-year-old: "I'm bored."
Yep. Nothing was happening.
An idea suddenly struck him. Maybe he could have a teaching moment or something. "Me too," Larryboy admitted. "Let's take a detour." He turned back towards downtown.
Junior had nodded off in the few minutes it took to reach their destination, but when Larryboy rolled to a stop, the boy opened his eyes quickly. They suddenly widened with panic. "What are we doing here?"
"C'mon, it'll be okay. It's for training," Larry replied, tapping the button to open the hatch. He almost smiled; the adventure here had been the time Alfred had installed all those buttons. Now they were all old hat to the hero.
Ricochet looked nervous as he climbed out of the Larrymobile. "Larryboy… do you… do you remember what happened at this water tower?"
Larry gave the kid a reassuring smile. "Couldn't forget. That's why we're here. Never know when you'll have to race to the top of a scary building to defeat an alien." Junior gulped, and suddenly Larry regretted bringing up the fib. He didn't let his smile falter, however. "If you can beat me to the top, I'll buy you some ice cream on the way home."
Junior's fears melted in the wake of a challenge and a reward. "Really? Let's go!"
"Three, two, one…" Larry counted, and Ricochet crouched in concentration.
"GO!" Ricochet yelled, and leapt into the sky. He bounced off the trunk of the water tower and flew towards the tower's rim. He grabbed the railing, rolled himself over, flailing to catch his footing on the tower. Shooting to his feet, he yelled, "I WON!" Only he turned around to see the buck-toothed grin on his hero, his plunger ear stuck to the water tower's center.
"Think again, buddy," Larryboy said, his ear retracting back towards his head. Junior sighed in defeat, his excitement quickly deflating. Larry shrugged. "Oh, don't feel so bad. Race to the bottom?"
Ricochet's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"
For the better part of a half hour, the two raced up and down the water tower. Larryboy hadn't had so much fun on patrol in years. Professor Bok Choy had been right- having a student was challenging, but so worth it. Plus, it was good exercise and training. They'd both sleep well tonight.
After Junior won an embarrassing amount of times in a row, Larry decided to take a break. "Okay, (pant) no (pant) more." He plopped down on the water tower, and Junior bounced over and sat beside him.
"That was fun!" Ricochet announced.
A moment of quiet ensued, and Larry finally caught his breath. He could tell by Junior's fidgeting that a question was coming. "Larryboy?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you really bring me here?"
That was not the question Larry was expecting. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, trying to come up with a solid answer. The best thing he could think of was the truth, which was oddly appropriate here. "I thought you could use a thinking place."
Junior looked confused. "A what?"
Larryboy shrugged. "Someplace where you can be alone to think or pray. Every superhero has one. I thought this might be a good place for you."
Ricochet sniffed, burying his head between his knees. "Why?"
Larry sighed. He didn't realize Junior was so regretful over what happened here, but he understood. Explaining it would be harder. "Look at me," he instructed gently. Ricochet did, but only barely. "You're gonna make mistakes. You're gonna mess up big time. You see the park over there?" He pointed to Celery Park, its stage glowing off in the distance. "That place almost got destroyed because I was at home drinking chocolate. A bunch of people almost got hurt because I was at home drinking chocolate. I was so sick from drinking chocolate I almost couldn't rescue anyone."
"But you did," Ricochet muttered.
Larry smiled softly. "I did. And do you know how?" The boy shook his head. "Because the grace of God is always bigger than any of our mistakes. He sent me people to help me. Ultimately He rescued everybody that day, including me. I couldn't do this without Him. And neither can you." He poked his student gently in the shoulder, and Ricochet glanced up at him. "You have to train your heart to follow Jesus just as much as you train your body to rescue people. And it starts with a quiet place to read your Bible and pray."
"You want me to do it here?" Ricochet asked.
Larryboy shrugged. "Place doesn't really matter. Here seems more fun than your closet, though."
Ricochet nodded. "I'll do it here. To face my fears."
Larryboy smiled. "Atta boy." He ruffled Ricochet's dark curly hair, and Junior giggled.
It was getting late; Larry probably should get the kid home soon. "Race you to the bottom?"
Ricochet grinned. "Can you take another defeat?"
Larryboy snorted. "You should see me in CandyLand, kid. I can lose all day."
"Oh, good," a voice intoned from behind them. A chill raced up Larryboy's spine. "Maybe you won't have too much trouble losing tonight, then." Larryboy shot to his feet and whirled around.
A black-hooded figure rose from neon-pink smoke on the opposite edge of the roof. Highlighter-yellow combat boots and a belt full of neon spray paint cans screamed for attention against the backdrop of her black wardrobe. Instantly Larryboy knew she was trouble, the trouble spraying hateful messages all across the city. "Ricochet, get behind me," he growled. This was about to get serious.
Junior froze behind Larryboy, gawking at the villainess before them. He'd never seen her before, but she looked super dangerous. He steeled himself not to be afraid, praying quickly for bravery. "Who… Who are you?" he stuttered.
She stalked towards them, her hands hovering above the spray cans on her hips. "I am… the BLACK MOMENT!"
From her intonation, the name was supposed to be dramatic, but Junior didn't understand it. Apparently Larryboy didn't either. "Umm… What's that s'posed to mean?" the older hero asked.
The Black Moment paused, her shoulders and blonde curls drooping in confusion. "The… The black moment? Moment of self-doubt? Worth- lowering thoughts? The part of the story when you realize you aren't enough, you can't do it, you'll never win, you should just give in to your hate?" She rolled her eyes at their blank stares. "Whatever. When I spray you with my Animosity Acrylics, you'll feel it."
She whipped a can off her belt and sprayed a cloud of pink paint at the heroes. Ricochet bounced left and Larryboy dove right. Junior scrambled to the side of the water tower and stumbled on the steep slope.
Black Moment grinned. "Clumsy, huh? Would hate for you to slip up!" She flipped in front of Junior and yanked the yellow can from her waist. Ricochet flinched, with no time to react as she popped the cap.
"I don't think so!" A scarlet plunger snatched the can towards Larryboy, the yellow paint spraying wildly into the air. Larryboy caught the can with his left hand, coating both his super-suction ear and purple glove in neon yellow paint. Junior bounced over the Black Moment, frantically praying and trying not to panic. Larryboy shrugged. "That actually didn't-" Suddenly his fingers slipped, and he threw the paint can in the air. Before he could catch it, it tumbled onto the water tower and down to the ground.
Black Moment smirked. "Mess-up paint. You're never gonna get it right." Ricochet gasped, but Larryboy just glared and shot his other suction ear at the villainess. She grabbed his ear, yanking him forward and spraying a cloud of orange paint at him. Larryboy slid under the paint cloud, tinges of orange coating his face. He let out a guttural scream and charged her. She flipped gracefully out of the way. "Rage paint. You hate me now, don't you? You hate everybody."
Ricochet watched in horror as his teacher's face contorted with malice. "I… I don't hate…" Larryboy struggled to force the words out. Only a few smudges of orange paint were on him; how potent was this stuff? Larryboy couldn't take much more. Ricochet had to help.
Ricochet hopped and bounced off the tower into the air, rocketing towards the Black Moment. He rolled midair, headed for a head-first collision. She whirled towards him. Green paint smattered his face and hair and he gasped. His body tingled with a weird sensation. Instead of landing, he started floating into the air. What did you think you were doing? Junior thought suddenly, arms flailing as he tried to propel himself back towards solid ground. You can't help Larryboy. You're no hero. You brought the Fib here the first time and nearly killed your hero. Why would it be any different now? "No," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. He'd screwed this up. He couldn't watch his hero suffer for his mistakes. It would be better if he just floated away.
"Anti-gravity paint," the Black Moment taunted. "You're disgusted by all your screw-ups. It would be better if you just up and left."
Something hard smacked into Ricochet's stomach. He blinked and saw Larryboy's yellowed plunger sticking to his chest. Ricochet clutched it so it wouldn't slip off, but he kept floating backwards. Larryboy grabbed the line to his ear and pulled with his non-clumsified hand, trying to draw Ricochet back down to earth. Why would he rescue you? Junior's mind objected. You're just holding him back. Larryboy's feet slid, Ricochet nearly pulling him into the air. The older hero grabbed the line with his other hand, but it slipped from his grasp.
The Black Moment pulled a can of black paint from her belt. Larryboy shot his second ear at her, yanking the can from her hands but spraying black paint all over his ear. The suction cup released the paint and slid off the tower as if it weighed two hundred pounds. Black Moment growled as Larryboy slipped off the water tower, suspended in midair between his grounded ear and floating protégé. "Not what I meant the Extreme-Gravity paint to do, but I guess the weight of depression can keep you stuck enough."
She pulled the pink spray paint from her hip, smirking as Larryboy spun around the tower uncontrollably. "One spray from this paint and you'll do whatever I want, yearning to be anyone but yourself. No one will be able to tell me I'm too powerless anymore! I'll be unstoppable!"
No! Junior thought. You lost. You lost for Larryboy, for Mom and Dad, for Laura, for the whole city. It's over. You messed it up again.
Larryboy growled, orange splotches of paint marring his face. "You're making a huge mistake!" he screamed, his tone enraged, though he obviously was fighting to stay rational.
The Black Moment glared at him. "That's the point!" she yelled. "Nobody's good enough, so stop trying to make us be! The city is better off without you and your little sidekick swooping in to tell us to get it together when even you can't do everything right!" Larryboy yelled at her animalistically, his temples throbbing in anger, still whirling around the tower. Black Moment shook up her pink spray paint can. "Now hold still!"
What do I do, God? Junior cried. His own thoughts answered. You can do nothing. You're useless. You're-
Forgiven. This was a different voice. Remember grace.
Grace! Grace that forgave him when he told the truth. Grace that rescued Larryboy from his chocolate temptation. Grace that forgave Junior of all his fears and sins and failure and missteps. Grace that made it okay to not be enough because God is enough.
The weird tingling began to subside, and suddenly Ricochet was falling. Larryboy was yanked down just as Black Moment sprayed her pink paint. She yelled in frustration as they fell out of the sky.
They crashed to the ground, a tangle of yellow plunger cord and paint. Ricochet bounced on impact, but landed back next to his teacher. Larryboy panted, banging his head against the grass wildly. "How?" he growled, clenching his fists against his rage. "How'd you make it stop?"
"Grace, Larryboy! Remember grace!" Junior yelled.
Larryboy nodded, slowly opening his eyes. Their enraged glint had subsided. "She deserves grace as much as we do."
Junior nodded, smiling. "Not that we really deserve it."
Larryboy gave a small laugh and nodded again. "Grace is a gift, even for her. A good gift."
"But not good enough!" Black Moment screamed. She dropped to the ground in front of them with an impressive roll, trigger-fingering her pink and green spray cans. "No one is good enough and everyone needs to feel it! You need to feel my pain!"
"Ricochet," Larryboy whispered through his teeth. "Get the turpentine from the Larrymobile." Junior backed up a few slow steps, Black Moment's soullessly dark eyes glaring him down. He gulped. She would charge the second his back turned. He glanced to his teacher, worry roiling in his stomach. Larryboy's eyes were on the villainess. "I got your back." That was enough. Ricochet whirled and shot away.
Sounds of crashing and yelling and clacking can marbles barraged Junior's hearing. He skidded to the pavement and fumbled for the latch. Throwing the hatch open, he clambered into the backseat. Could he find it in time? Sticky green paint coated sweat dripped from his thick curls into his eyes. Gosh, why were there so many buttons? Where were the lights? Forget it, there was no time! Larryboy had said the turpe-stuff was in here somewhere. Finally Junior found it in a side pocket of the backseat, a metal can labeled "Tomato's Trusty-True Turpentine!" ….He had no idea what that was, but he trusted Larryboy. Ricochet grabbed it and bounced out of the Larrymobile.
Fear froze him in his tracks. The Black Moment had tied Larryboy in his right plunger rope, her pink spray paint can pressed to his temple. The yellowed, clumsy plunger had retracted, but the heavy one stuck his bindings to the ground. "Drop the turpentine, kid, and I won't spray him," she demanded. You're too late. You're only making this worse. His hair began to tingle, his feet lifting off the pavement. His panic made him float quicker. His lungs seized up- what should he do?!
Grace. It would be okay. He couldn't screw up so bad God couldn't fix it. His toes brushed the asphalt. Larryboy, bruised and smattered in neon paint, managed a grin. "Chuck it."
Ricochet drop-kicked the turpentine can. Black Moment flinched and Larryboy shot his yellow-crusted plunger into the pink can, knocking it out of her hand. The can whirled end-over-end and crashed into the turpentine. Pink powder and clear gooey turpentine exploded over the villainess and hero! The spray paint melted in midair. Black Moment screeched as the turpentine rained down and washed away her precious Animosity Acrylics. Larryboy popped his stuck ear from the ground and unraveled himself as rapidly as he could, but the Black Moment fled and disappeared into the shadows.
Ricochet bounded over to his hero, too worried to try to pursue the villainess. "Larryboy! Are you okay?"
He didn't expect his hero to drop his ear coil and smother him in a hug. "I'm so proud of you." That was the moment Ricochet decided that he never needed to worry about being inadequate ever again. He buried his head in Larryboy's chest and hugged his hero tight.
A/N
TADA! What do you think? Did you like it? I had so much fun writing this. I write a lot of superhero stuff for some OCs a friend and I made, so I thought it would be fun to try stretching myself with new powers and age ranges. Let me tell you, super-suction ears and spray paint are way different than lightning and ice, but I loved the challenge. Pieces of this story inspired by a little of everything: Lego Batman, Into the Spiderverse, Darkwing Duck (anyone catch the Splatter Phoenix references? No? Go watch some Darkwing Duck). The theme of grace woven into the story wasn't planned from the beginning, but I think it's a really important thing to think about. No matter who you are or what you've done, Jesus' grace is enough for you. Ask Him to give you that grace, and you'll be forgiven. It's the best thing that ever happened to me, and it will be for you too. You don't have to be enough because He is enough. If you let Him, He'll make you who you are meant to be. Thanks for reading my fanfic! There may be more Ricochet and Larryboy stories soon… as soon as I start/finish what I'm supposed to be writing haha. Also I want you to know I have nothing against graffiti art. My sister's into it, so as long as you're not painting hate in places it doesn't belong, I'm cool with it. ? SoliD out until next time!
