April
As they worked, April would regale Gar with tales of a socialite back in the old days. The Pomp and the Pimps she told him in a scandals tone. Her laughter was constant as she described how foolish people were for the dumbest of reasons that seemed so important back then.
The only time she wasn't laughing was when she would talk about what she was missing, or what had been taken from her. She was a little vague on the specifics of that. Gar got the feeling she was a little crazy, but she could still function, and he didn't mind her company at all. [Maybe after we got out of here, I could introduce Arnie to her, they talked the same way.]
"How long have you been here April? Any idea what we are supposed to be looking for?" Gar asked her.
"I have been here for about a week and a half and all I know is that any time a shovel hits something solid they chase everyone away from the spot and dig for themselves for a while." She replied
"So, this skeleton that I just hit with my shovel isn't a big deal?" Gar asked, pointing at a skeleton wrapped in what looked like heavy cloth that was rotting away.
"What are you to Jaybirds yammering about over there? You wanna be docked your food for the day?" A guard shouted out.
"No thanks, I was just asking my partner if this skeleton here was what we were looking for. I'll just dig through it so never mind." Gar raised his shovel up as if he was ready to shove it through the skeleton to keep digging when the guy shouted for him to stop.
"Everyone go group up over there for a short break. Boss is being nice and letting you rest for a bit!" One of the guards yelled.
Gar was wondering if the out of shape Boss Biggis would walk out here, or make them drive him the 300 yards. When you're that big, 30 yards has to look like a marathon unless he is looking at a table with 30 yards worth of food. Sure enough, the Humvee is driven over and Biggis gets out and waddles over to the spot Gar and April were digging.
"Who is the one that found the body? Check them to make sure they didn't steal anything and then go through the dirt they dug up to make sure they didn't miss anything." Boss Biggis yelled panting from the exorcise of walking from his truck to the grave site.
The guard that yelled at us came over and started to roughly search my clothes to which I didn't object but as soon as he reached for April, Gar saw him freeze and take a closer look. Stepping back, he politely asked her where she dumped the dirt from the wheelbarrow. She pointed to where it was, and he went that way.
Taking a look around, Gar noticed for the first time that no one looked at April or would even get close to her at all. This surprised me as she was so easy to talk to and had lots of wonderful and colorful stories to share.
"April, why does it seem that everyone is more afraid of you than the guards?" Gar asked. "Even the guard was respectful to you when he got a look at you. Is this a weird Undercover Boss show or Squid Games? After we find what we are looking for there is a big reveal that you are the true boss here and just bumming it for fun?" He asked with a laugh.
"Ah no dear, you see the second day I was here a gentleman decided he wanted to take some excess energy out on me, so I cut his belly open and grabbed his intestines that were falling out and did a beautiful pirouette until I was all wrapped up in them. One of his friends took exception to that and tried to hurt me too, so I gave him a hug and bit his nose off. Oh, look he is over there. Hi Danny. I see you're still here, glad it didn't get infected!" she waved to a guy off to the side who was hiding behind a couple of other guys.
[Hmm maybe I should hold off on introducing her to Arnie.]
"You are not upset with me are you, Logan? For doing that?" She asked
"No April, I understand a lady has to defend herself and I hate anyone that uses their strength to terrorize the weak. I'm just mentally reminding myself to stay on your good side." He assured her.
"No worries there little Logan, you aren't like these sheep who have given up and don't help those around them. Hiding away crying for someone else to save them instead of banding together. Gotham would be so much better if more people cared. Maybe I wouldn't have lost what I'm looking for if people had helped me. This City has done nothing but get worse since I lost it, so I don't much like the people of Gotham. With a few exceptions that are trying to fix the issues. Running around with masks and capes, sooo exciting. I wonder where they get such wonderful toys!" Her eyes smiled as she spoke.
After about 10 minutes of standing around, April walked over to the rock wall and called Logan over.
"Logan dear, could you reach that mold on the wall for me? It looks interesting." She requested.
Laughing. Gar reached up and pulled off a couple of handfuls worth off the wall, handing it to her, "Are you a botanist April you have an interest in mold and fungi?"
"No, I was raised in a family of chemists, I think. Chemical structures come easy to me for some reason. I have a friend who's a Botanist though, I should introduce you to her. She is a bit older than you but you both have the same tone. She would be interested in this plant. And it may help me also." She said as she tucked it away in a pocket
Gar wondered what tone she was talking about, then shrugged it off, figuring maybe their tone of voice was the same or something like that. April had some weird tangents that Gar just made mental adjustments for.
"Get back to digging you lazy bum's keep an eye out for more skeletons and holler out when you find one. The teams that do find one get bread to go with dinner tonight." Boss Biggis yelled, then he waddled his way back to his Humvee.
"With such an enticement, what are we waiting for my lovely April?" Gar gallantly offered his arm to lead her back to their dig spot to get their tools and find another spot to dig in. April laughed loudly and grabbed his arm.
The sound of laughter echoed in the chamber; it got them some stares that said we were crazy. Gar didn't care what they thought but he really hoped that they wouldn't find the treasure today as he came up with a few plans of his own.
Later that evening between all the teams there were a total of 8 skeletons found and each team that found one got a dinner roll to split among them.
After dinner was over, Gar told April to get some good sleep because the morning was likely to be lively.
"So soon? I enjoyed our time together so much. Pity, but maybe we will meet again sometime." She seemed truly upset at the prospect of them going their separate ways.
"I'll tell you what April, I will come to the Crowne Point Park and find the biggest tree and climb it every couple nights. You can find me there whenever you want. I'll even leave notes if I have to be away for a time. You still need to introduce me to your friend anyway, right?" He smiled at her.
"Oh, my dear, I'm afraid that outside of this little moment of paradise, we will never be the same again. But I will try and look for you when I can. My young friend's name is Pam, I hope you get the chance to meet her, she has had a rough go of life." She waved over her shoulder to him as she entered her tent.
Gar headed to an empty tent and started looking for his little birdy on the surface world. After about an hour, he finally felt his mental signature. [J'onn was right, everyone dose have a color, but it's more like they have a background color with other colors mixed in to make them individual, no two are alike ever.] He would have to ask more about this in his next training session with J'onn.
{Hey Birdy, how was your day?} Gar asked Robin.
He replied, {It was a bright and sunshiny day, how was it in the mud and dark there, Mr. Logan?}
{Damn Dick, that was a snappy comeback. Feeling your oats today?}
{How did you get that name? Did you dig into my mind? Matt said this mind exorcise would keep you out.!} Robin thought in a panic.
{Chill man I was just calling you a Dick... Is that really your name? First or last name? Who is this Matt that he has a way of hiding his thoughts from Martian telepathy?} Gar asked smiling to himself.