2015.04.20 - Dinosaurs, Nudity, Crazy Plans, and Sadness

{{LogPage
 * title=    Dinosaurs, Nudity, Crazy Plans, and Sadness
 * summary=  Vorpal comes home and brings an unexpected passenger. Comedy and Sadness Ensue
 * location= The Hall of (Young) Justice
 * date=     2015-04-19
 * emitter=  N/A
 * players=  Impulse, Superboy, Zack Evingston, Vorpal, and Beast Boy
 * npcs=     N/A
 * groups=   Young Justice League
 * tone=     Angsty, Comedic, and Social=
 * rating=   Public
 * reason=
 * logtext=

Coming to the Hall was item number one on Vorpal's agenda. That it got derailed due to a robbery was immaterial- even though the robbery did allow him to touch base with the BSA to discover that, yes, they did know who he was and, yes, he had been missing. So at least SOME things fit... but now came some extra verification: The Hall of Justice.

The Hall of YOUNG Justice, Keith had suggested once. It was good to see the building, as he moves towards the entrance. It felt like he had been gone for a decade...

"I hope they know who I am. Otherwise it's another jump..." and he wasn't sure whom to look up in this dimension for a quick trip across the dimensional tellurian.

Unknown to Vorpal, he's carrying a passenger with him. Who's been there since the robbery. Beast Boy... who's in the form of a flea and just trying to find out why this weird purple cat knows him. And also get a chance to get his damn loincloth back. He's not moving around or biting or anything... not wanting to alert Vorpal that he's picked up a passenger.

Superboy! The Teen of Steel! Boy of Tomorrow! What amazing heroic activity is he up to right now? Saving the world? Training to stop vile villains?

Naw. He's just out back sunbathing. In just some board shorts patterned after his costume and sunglasses, he's lounging on a chair and enjoying the sun's rays. And he seems content to stay that way...until he gets a little ping over the comm. Just the security system alerting him that someone that hasn't checked in for a long while finally has. "Huh?" Conner blinks a few times, looking towards the hall then starting to head back in.

Anyone that has watched Doctor Who would easily recognize the sound that begins filling the Hall of Justice as a blue Police box materializes inside the Hall of Justice. There's nothing there too weird about the box itself. The door opens to it, but rather than the Doctor stepping out. It's Zack. He's dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt today. "'Allo everyone." He says with a bit of a smile as he looks around.

And Bart? He's in the kitchen. And for once, it doesn't seem that anything has exploded! He's sitting perched on a counter, dressed in his costume with the cowl and goggles hanging down behind him like a lowered hood, and he has an apron tied on that was probably a free giveaway, as it advertises the "Grill-o-Tron 9000" on the front. Balancing a large cookbook that looks like he dug it out of someone's attic on one knee, he sit and--with a doggedly determined sort of patience--stares at the oven while waiting for it to preheat. A bowl of generally correctly mixed cookie dough sits beside him.

As Zack's not-a-TARDIS appears, Bart blinks a few times. Then he says, "Whoa. I didn't know we had a Wonkavator. Isn't it s'posed to be, like, glass, though?"

To Vorpal's surprise, the system lets him in. Despite the fact that he was declared MIA - presumably dead by the BSA, the Hall still had him in the system.

Unless there was something //else// going on that he wasn't privy to? Could be. The cheshire cat, loincloth in his right hand still, walks into the main hall, calling out "Er... hello? Anybody home?"

He hears voices. And then there's a blue glow coming from up ahead. Strange...

Gar's just been lazy dosing in his flea form ... though some activity other than Vorpal dealing with idiots has him paying closer attention. He moves carefully up o the top of Vorpal's head ... trying to not alert Vorpal to his presence. At least the weirdo still has what he wants.

Some people are home alright. Like the half-Kryptonian clone that's grinning when he spots Vorpal. T-shirt in one hand and towel hanging over his shoulder, he gives a quick X-ray vision scan to make sure its not a robot/skrull/durlan and then he's speeding over to toss a friendly arm around the cheshire's shoulders. "Well, someone finally dragged the cat back in!" he declares with a laugh. Then there's suddenly the not-a-Tardis and Kon's blinking. "The hell...Zack? Why'd ya teleport a phone booth in here?" he asks, glancing Bart's way to see if he knows.

"It's not a phone booth. It's a mobile base." Zack says grinning broadly,"It's a TARDIS. Well.. Minus the ability to move through time." He says laughing softly,"Come on inside." He says stepping into his box,"It's a TARDIS, not a Wonkavator." He says cheerfully. "I built her. She's incredible!" He says enthusiastically.

"Wait, wai-" Vorpal finds himself hugged by Impulse and Superboy, and a slight moment of relief happens. He's not aware of his little green passenger. "Guys, wait... you know who I am? Who am I? Tell me something, please, anything..." in his frantic hand waving, he manages to drop the loincloth to the ground.

"It's not a phone booth. It's a mobile base." Zack says grinning broadly,"It's a TARDIS. Well.. Minus the ability to move through time." He says laughing softly,"Come on inside." He says stepping into his box,"It's a TARDIS, not a Wonkavator." He says cheerfully. "I built her. She's incredible!" He says enthusiastically.

Bart gives a big shrug at Superboy's look, his expression clearly indicating that he's just as confused, too, and then he hops down to speed-speedier-than-Superboy-just-because-he-can and move to fling his arms around Vorpal in a quick (not shocking, that) hug, grinning widely. "The cat came back!" he declares with what might be a slightly too smug level of cheer for such a lame joke, but so it goes. Zack's explanation brings a puzzled look and then a shrug. "A Wonkavator woulda been cooler. Oooh, or a Space Trek teleporter...." Then he grins at everyone and zwips back into the kitchen. A "Woot!" of satisfaction can be heard, and then he starts putting the cookies in to bake.

"Dude, Keith! Of course we know who ya are!" Superboy declares, relaxing a bit but keeping his arm around Keith. Bart gets offered a fist to bump for the joke but no further comment. Superboy hasn't noticed the flea but the loincloth gets him arching a brow. "Dude, where the hell were ya?" he asks, scooping the loincloth off the floor. "Don't tell me you ended up Tarzanin' it too?" he asks. Zack explaining his booth gets Conner blinking a few times. "A what now?" he asks, head tilting to the side. He glances after Bart and then between Zack and Vorpal a few times.

"You're Vorpal. I once put a binding spell on you." Zack says shrugging indifferently,"Did you hit your head?" He asks curiously,"TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Now, I cannot handle the time part. The spell just wouldn't stick right and it was getting dangerous to force it there. So another time I'll have to figure out how to get that to stick." He says cheerfully and stepping into the TARDIS. Of course he's a Whovian and pretty much the only one on the team no doubt.

Vorpal exhales and feels as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders- mostly. He still needed some more verification. "... I teleported... something happened. Chaos magic, I got... swallowed up. So many dimensions.... so many of them alike. I thought I was home many times but not..." he looks around the room, looking rather tired. "I'm still not sure this is /it/. You know me... but that doesn't mean anything." Kon's attention to the loincloth causes Vorpal to focus on it. That. The thing that was /wrong/ with this dimension. He doesn't have time to give Impulse a hug because, being Impulse, he's on the move before the cheshire can react. So he proceeds to answer:

"About that loincloth. Kon... do you remember Garfield Logan? You know, the green guy I crushed hard on? Can you tell me what he usually looks like?"

Do not seed any information. Let Kon volunteer the data of who Garfield was in this dimension. See if it matches...

Bart reappears after popping the cookies in the oven. (He even remembered to set the timer!) Then he's suddenly back with the others, hands tucked loosely behind his back as he rocks back and forth on his heels. "So, you were, like... lost between worlds? Huh." He drops his hands, then reaches up with one to scratch his nose and asks thoughtfully, "Did you find any cool gear or power-ups or anything?" Sadly, Zack's enchanted phone booth just doesn't seem to stack up compared to Vorpal's adventures abroad--like, really abroad.

"Gar...you mean Beast Boy? When he's not turning into stuff he's a green guy. Had a little fang-smile thing goin' on...uhh..." Conner frowns a little. "That's about all I can remember..." he trails off, rubbing the back of his head. "Weird," he adds. "Wait, why did you make a time traveling phone booth?" he asks, looking at Zack's TARDIS. "And how can it be a mobile base?" "Well I think it would make a lot more sense once you're inside." Zack says rolling his eyes a bit,"It's from Doctor Who." He says sighing as if this were something Superboy should know,"And it's a thing. It's not a phonebooth. It's a Police Box. They're different. Police Boxes had people locked inside of them for breaking laws. This one does lock and it would take a pretty impressive attack to destroy it."

Vorpal is trying to resist asking about the time traveling booth... because that's just too tempting. He needs to find some things out. "Okay. Then. Kon, focus... did you ever see him running around half naked and sporting a loincloth? //This// loincloth?" He stares at Kon, and then at Impulse and then at Zack, "I don't mean to derail... but think about this. It's //very// important."

So far, things were clicking. They might remember Gar the way //he// remembers, but he has to make sure, before he tells them something is clearly wrong.

This was weirding Gar out big time... it was like people were walking on his grave. Or knew him and he had no clue who they were. Especially the purple cat who kept using that name. That name he hasn't really heard spoken since he was 6 and his parents died. Since he was just the "Beast Boy" in Gorilla City.

"Doctor who...?" Kon doesn't know. A Whovian he is not. "Wait, they're locking people in boxes like that? That's messed up," he says, missing the point. Glancing at Vorpal, Conner frowns. "I...uh...can't remember what he ran around in. Last person I heard of runnin' around in a loincloth was me that time I got back to Metro from that screwed island," he says.

"Not any more. It stopped in the 80s I think. I know it's stopped though. I will have to introduce you to Doctor Who at some point." Zack says looking at Kon, before turning to Vorpal,"I don't remember him very well. Not sure he and I actually met." He says shrugging a bit.

Impulse stares at Zack in puzzlement until he reveals that people aren't locked in police boxes anymore. Filing this away under "old-timey weirdness," Bart shrugs and gives his full attention back to Vorpal. "Ummm, I never knew Gar too well, but I don't remember a loin cloth." A beat, and he tilts his head. "Waaaiiit. You stole Gar's loincloth? Um...."

"NO!" Vorpal says, then looks at the loincloth. "Not //exactly//. He left it behind when he shifted." Breath. Breath. Okay... this //seemed// like home. So there was something wrong with Gar.

"Look, it's complicated. He helped stop a robbery but he also ran with some of the money. I got it back, but he sort of dropped the 'cloth in the process and... there's just something weird about Gar. For one, he was acting totally... not himself. And he's kind of... well, Gar is supposed to be, what, twenty? Right now he's, like, Jailbait!"

He pauses and looks from the sixteen year old to the fourteen year old. "No offense meant. I mean to say that Gar was past puberty at this point. During the time that I was gone did some crazy mad scientist with an age-reversal gun appear or something? Anything like that?"

For those with super eyesight... they might notice a tiny green speck bouncing off the top of Keith's head. And landing on the purple catman's hand and vanishing into the fur. And then poor Keith is about to get something most animals recieve every day.... a painful itchy flea bite. Which will hopefully get him to drop the loincloth. And then there's another green speck bounce... a shimmer and an audible *POP* as the green teen Beast Boy suddenly takes on a great deal of mass.... hoping to grab the loincloth and flee. A note, you can't see anything. He's in his excessively monkey-boy form... just with no tail. "Yeah, the purple freak stole it! And stop calling me Gar! I don't know any of you people!" And then Gar tries to flee.

"So he's running around naked?" Superboy asks, amused by this idea. "I don't remember how old he..." Superboy pauses as he notices the green speck. "The hell..." he trails off, watching it land on Vorpal's hand. Suddenly there's a naked green guy yelling at them. "Hey!" he exclaims, moving at super speed to block the door. "Hold up, what's goin' on here?"

Zwip! Impulse is suddenly standing in front of naked-fuzzball-Gar, peering at him in puzzlement. "Stop calling you your name? What are we s'posed to call you, Monkeybutt?" He sticks out his tongue at Beast Boy and says, "Anyway, would you stop a sec and put on your... cloth, please? Seriously, dude. We have a dress code." He doesn't understand Gar's confusion, but he also doesn't seem to have grasped quite how intense it might be.

Ok. Zack does not like suddenly appearing people, even if they're someone that people supposedly know. Lifting a hand, Zack makes a throwing motion and a series of bands appear heading to bind Beast Boy in place much like what happened with Vorpal the first time Zack met him. "Hold on right there. Who the bloody hell are you?" He calls out sounding quite put out. Yes. His mother would scold him for language but he's not with her right now.

Being bitten, and then having a green guy jump //out// of you is a trip and a half. One Vorpal wasn't quite ready for. As Gar makes his way to the door, he's still trying to get his bearings.

"Guys, wait, chill, it's G-..." He doesn't like his own name? What's wrong with him.

A deep breath and he raises his hands. "Guys, take it easy. He was with the Doom Patrol, Zack. He used to go by Beast Boy before he changed his moninker to Changeling. He was doing stuff in Hollywood for a while-" and then ended up necking in his apartment, for reasons that are too convoluted to fully delve into.

To Gar, he keeps his hands raised in an 'I won't hurt you' gesture, drawing a little closer, but only close enough to ask him a question. "You really don't remember me? How about Lilith? Remember Lilith?"

"That name doesn't mean anything to me!" Gar growls just a little bit at Impulse. And takes a wild swing at the speedy teen, which of course misses given Impulse's speed. "It's Beast Boy!" People shouldn't know him. The only humans he really knew before this was his parents. And then Gar turns and tries to scamper over Superboy to get to get out of here. And then there's bands binding him... and Gar pretty much just loses his crap. No... not literally.

The bands maybe restrain him, but they can't stop him from shifting forms. As there's a shimmer and a loud *POP*, which is Beast Boy drawing in a hell of a lot of mass. And then thrashing around wildly and trying to bite anyone who comes close. "HUNTER!!" He's associating the bands with nets, but even as he draws in all the mass for a T-Rex shift.... he can't break free. And then you have a thrusting T-Rex vocalizing like a Gorilla. Calling for help. And then he just bellows at the top of his massive T-Rex lungs when Vorpal starts telling "Lies" about him. "Stop talking like you know me!!!!"

A naked green guy climbing on him. While he's just in a swim suit. This would be a hell of a time for someone from the League to walk in. Superboy makes a mental note to deal with the security footage later. In the mean time he's trying to grab hold of Gar but then there's Zack's spell. And suddenly dinosaur. He yelps and dodges out of the way of the biting but suddenly...tail. Conner lets out an OOF as he's struck, but he's holding on...even if his sunglasses go flying wildly across the room to break. He goes through so many of those. Holding on tightly to that tail, Conner grits his teeth and starts focusing his TTK. If he's able, he's just going to lift the big green T-rex into the air. "Zack! Let him go! Everyone else calm down! You included Beast Boy!" he pauses a moment. "Impulse! Go find out how those guys in zoos put alligators to sleep! Maybe it'll help with dinosaurs!" he calls out his sudden idea.

"Aww, great!" Impulse laments as Gar replies with the Anakin Skywalker riff. "He's become Darth Beast Boy! Now we're gonna need a Jedi to stop him!" Then Gar turns into a T-rex, and Bart's eyes go wide. "Grife! He's gone full dino!" He blurs around as he speaks, taking in the situation from multiple angles, and then Kon gives a command. "Er, okay!" he says, and he zwips away, out of view.

A sound comes from the TARDIS, like a gong, "What Brilliant timing. You guys will have to handle this on your own. Mother's calling and I am not sure what it is she wants, or how long this will take." Zack says before tossing a band towards Superboy,"When you are ready to break the spell, snap the band and the bands will release." It was a quick focus but he figured that it would be workable for the Teen of Steel. That done, he strides into the TARDIS again and the doors slam shut behind him. After a short time, the dematrialization sound of the TARDIS begins echoing as the vehicle fades from existence with Zack.

"Jesus!" And this is where something //very// different about Vorpal becomes evident- he doesn't teleport away when Gar makes for him. No. A hole in reality opens under him, like a Rabbit Hole, and deposits him on the other side of the hall, closing neatly behind him. In case they can't restrain Gar, he will try to lure the green Rex towards him, so Kon can take him from behind.

"Fine, fine, Beast Boy, then. Calm. Down.!" he says, his voice echoing strangely as his powers of illusion come online and stay on standby... in case he needs to use the trump card he's just thought of.

It's a //horrible/// card. But it's what he'll do if the others can't hold him.%r

"Let me go, Let me go, LET ME GO!" He thrashes as much as he can as Superboy lifts him in the air by his tail. And is barking orders to the speedy one... and the purple cat is trying to calm him down. And he does calm for a moment which gives him a second to actually think in the middle of his freak out. And drops out of his T-Rex form... there's a few shimmers and a half-hearted Pop... but Gar realizes he taxed his shifting too much by going T-Rex for today. He still isn't great at massive mass shifts. So he does manage to shift out of T-Rex form... meaning Superboy no longer has a tail to hold. But he also can't shift his form again. And well, unless someone catches him he cracks his head on the floor of the Hall Of Justice.... and slumps.

The look on Superboy's face it probably priceless when Zack not only tosses him the magic thingy but leaves. If one would see his thought bubble right now it would be a picture of him thwacking Zack upside the head. The band pings off his forehead since he's got his hands full of T-rex tail and its not easy to hold onto a flailing dinosaur! Vorpal pulling a disappearing act gets Conner giving him a confused look but then Gar's changing. And the tail is gone. "Erk!" he yelps, speeding down to catch Gar.

Now his trunks are not his costume. And they were tied on rather loosely to begin with. All that dino-flailing only made things worse...so when he goes flying at super speed, there's a cartoonish moment where there's just a pair of board shorts hanging in the air before the fall. And then there's a naked clone zipping down to prevent Gar from cracking his head open on the floor. He gets there just in the nick of time...even if he ends up on his back on the floor with a Beast Boy on top of him.

Conner lets out a breath of relief. And then registers the draft and the green guy serving as a censor bar. Awkward pause...faint blush...then he's looking to Vorpal. "We need pants."

Of course the loincloth is right there for the guy without fur to cover up...

Yes. This //had// to be his universe. Its malicious drive to embarrass him and those around him asserts itself with unquestionable malignity. The Cheshire watches, and then sighs, slapping his forehead.

"... so, to recap. I've been gone for a year, I have a mostly empty bank account, my apartment is gone, my things are gone, my guy is gone, the guy I had a crush on is now apparently a //minor// who has no idea who the heck I am, and is currently naked on top of my best friend, who is also naked."

He walks over to grab the loincloth in order to hand it over to the compromising couple. "... have I mentioned that I hate my life?"

Well... he didn't crack his head open. But the fight is completely out of him now. Since he can't shift forms right now if he wanted to. And *sniff sniff* did... Impulse remember his cookies at all during the chaos? Cause if not... they're gonna have to explain the T-Rex damage and potential burning cookies damage. Gar just exhales heavily and looks down at Superboy under him with a sheepish grin. And then he frowns a bit at Vorpal.. as he starts talking again. "I'm sorry I'm not who you wnat me to be, okay. Just.... let me go. Please. I'm meant to run free. I never should have left Africa." Gar just starts banging his head on Superboy's chest. Gar can't take the offered cloth but looks up from Superboy. "Could be worse... could be raining."

And just then.... the fire sprinklers go off on them.

"Already hangin' free if ya catch my drift," Conner tries to joke awkwardly. He reaches up to take the loincloth and sighs. "Keith, dude...don't say that, you'll give it what it wants. And c'mon, green dude. We're not tryin' to hold ya prisoner or anythin'. We wanted to talk and a certain magic guy is getting a super noogie when I get my hands on him," he says. "How about we go get dressed, sit down, eat, and figure out this mess?" he suggests. Then there's the line about rain. And the sprinklers going off. And Superboy groans as he reaches up to take the loincloth. "I am so not cleanin' this up."

A glowing, purple umbrella appears in Vorpal's hands. At least //he// is not getting wet. "It's not your fault," the Cheshire says, sounding tired. He //has// been jumping around dimensions for a long time. "You're not Garfield Logan. Not your fault. But Superboy's right, we're not trying to hold you. These guys can help you. They've got food, too." He remembers seeing the green teen for the first time, eating cheese.

"So you can talk to us. After dressing up. Your choice."

"Your... weird box friend did something..." Garfield doesn't have a grasp of magic. It's lucky for everyone he has a grasp of common decency. Or the excessively furry default form he's still sporting. Gar wriggles just a bit. "I just want what's mine back." His stomach growls though... loudly and angrily at the mention of food. "I... I could eat." Yeah, the way to a Beast Boy's heart is through his stomach. "That trap cheese isn't doin' it." Vorpal does likely remember the trap snapping earlier today. His ears droop a bit and he looks incredibly sad for a moment when the name is mentioned again. "I'll stay.... for now."

"There's a glowing band on the floor, Keith? Go smash it and he'll be free," Kon remarks, nodding towards a t-rex footprint it landed in. He's still using Gar to maintain decency so when the loincloth is mentioned, he chuckles awkwardly. "Ya can have it back just uh...mind if I borrow it until I get some pants? I can't do the fuzzy trick you're doin'," he says. "And don't worry, we'll have a good meal," he pauses a second. "But no burnt cookies. Someone turn that off!"

A purple, glowing anvil falls on the band, smashing it and thus setting Gar free. The next thing the Cheshire does is to turn the fire off and get the burnt cookies out of the oven. When he comes back, the umbrella is gone.

"Alright, you're free to get up." If he's aware of Gar's expression, he doesn't show it. He seems to be distracted bby the fact that his unitard's right shoulder is ripped, and thus a part of it is just hanging off his chest.

"Figure. I hop around the multiverse with the same outfit for a whole year, and it gives up fleeing from something as mundane as a dinosaur when I get home."

He pulls the cloth up, but to no avail. "... right. I'm going to Zelinksy's, then, and then to buy some regular clothes" the cheshire says, lips pressed into a thin line. "Kon, I'm going to use one of the rooms here until I get back on my feet."

He's clearly not happy with the discoveries he's made today, but he's resigned himself. He does worry about what could have happened to Gar- was //he// responsible? Did his crossing into this world somehow displace Gar with another Gar? The possibility was gnawing at his gut, and he didn't like it. He needed to talk to someone, anyone who could help him find out.

Maybe Kent Nelson was still hanging around Oblivion?

Vorpal sees lost in thought, scratching his chin.

Gar offers an exhale of relief as he's free... sliding off Superboy and sitting on the floor and wrapping his arms around his knees. "It's okay... you can borrow it. I don't really need it." He grins sheepishly and glances around at the mess he made. And his ears droop even more as he does. "Sorry." Gar offers sheepishly to Vorpal about his ripped costume. "If it's any comfort... I wouldn't have eaten you. Just chewed you a bit."

When his fuzzy green censor slides off, Conner quickly pulls the loincloth on. "And I'm Super Tarzan again," he mutters, shifting a bit. "Don't worry about it. Not like this sorta thing doesn't happen often," he says, waving it off. "And we gotta talk about what's goin' on with you later, Vorp. I'll get rooms ready for you and G-Rex here," yes he gives Gar a nickname, hopping to his feet and offering Gar a hand. "Hey, Imp? Where'd ya go?" he calls out, wondering what took the speedy teen away so long.

Annnnd, zwip! Impulse is back, but empty-handed. Appearing beside Superboy, he reports anxiously, "Konnn, that kind of tranquilizer is a seriously intense controlled substance, and they wouldn't give me any!" He plants his hands on his hips and huffs, "They thought I wanted to get high! Stupid Wally, making people think all speedsters are weird and irresponsible." He pauses, then, and notices Gar sitting relatively calmly on the floor. "Oh. Did he stop freaking out? Phew. Guess we don't need to tranq him anyway, then." He pauses to peer at Vorpal. "Did he, like, chew on you guys too much?"

"You don't need to apologize, G-east Boy." Vorpal corrects himself, his voice is remarkably even. Probably because he's reached the point where all he wants is to sleep. But there are things that need to be done. "We're fine, Impulse. We're just dandy. C'mon, Supes, give the kid something to eat, he's skin and bones."

+Yep, he's a kid, get used to that+

-I better not go to the Watchtower and find out Superman is a Gogo-boy or something like that! +We should be so lucky+

"I... need to go get clothes before I end up as naked as these two."

"I... I'm not staying." At least he says that now. But some structure would probably do him good. He's just having some trouble relating to humans, no matter how weird they may be. "I don't think..." He stands up and jumps back a bit with a surprised monkey-like 'EEK' when Impulse returns. "Don't do that!" Crazy powered people are crazy. "Sorry... I just... the last ones like you... tried to net me." The hunters he mentioned in the Congo. He does look a bit less pathetic when the talk of feeding him comes up again. "I.... I don't eat ... beasts." He clarifies as he turns to head for the kitchen.

"Don't gotta stay long term but at least hang overnight. Gonna rain tonight," Superboy says, frowning at the sky. "There's some of your old spare stuff still in the locker room, Vorp," he offers. "And ya can borrow some of mine," he pauses as Impulse reappears. And can only stare. "Dude...I didn't mean drug him! I mean...didn't ya see those shows at the zoo? With the guys that like...turn the alligators over and pat their stomachs an suddenly they're all sleepy?" he tries to explain as he ushers the smaller heroes towards the kitchen.

Frowning, Bart says, "Oh... well, I dunno where to find an alligator tamer at this time of night!" He hmphs, about to say something else, when he catches the scene of burning and the sound of the fire alarm. "Oh, nass--the cookies!" And then he zwips ahead into the kitchen. The amount of billowing smoke increases, then begins to reduce as Bart flicks on the oven fan. More swearing in Interlac ensues as he realizes, calling out, "Kooonnn? I think I set the oven wrong."

"And that's my cue to vamoose," Vorpal says, walking towards the door. "I'll be back. After I take care of a few more things..."

He stops at the door and looks at something on his finger. Then he turns around.

"Kon?"

A ring flies towards the teen of steel, turning in the air and catching the light.

"Put this in my room. Somewhere safe, okay? I don't want to lose it."

After all, this was his home, such as it was.

"I'll think about it. A little rain is nice. always loved it back home." Gar offers with a shrug of his shoulders and can't help but laugh a bit at the banter between Kon and Impulse. "I can't give you an alligator now... later?" Okay, maybe these people arn't so bad after all. And at least they're not adults. All they do is die... and use you. And try to shoot you. And... Gar pauses and turns when Vorpal goes to leave. He kinda feels bad he's not this... Gar Logan he knowns. And doesn't know how he can make it better. Though he does break into a sprint and dash towards the purple cat and wrap his arms around him. "I'm sorry I'm not this... the.. Gar you miss."

Superboy catches the ring easily, glancing at it. His eyes go wide and then he looks sad. "Yeah...I'll do it. Don't worry," he says. He has to hold onto it now since...no pockets. Gar's hug-dash get a small smile an then Conner blinks at all of Bart's cursing. "That or it's evil like the washing machine...c'mon. You clean that up and I'll get us all food," he says, patting Bart's shoulder with his free hand.

Sighing, Impulse says, "Thanks, Kon." And then he takes the cookie tray out of the oven, dumps it in the sink, and begins running cool water over the whole mess to wash his cookie attempt down the garbage disposal. He watches Gar hug Vorpal with an uncertain expression, hopeful and yet apprehensive. Bart might act oblivious, but he's picked up on the complexity of the situation--and it doesn't seem happy, so far.

The cheshire cat's right eyebrow rises and he pats Beast Boy's head. "Stop apologizing, it's not you doing anything on purpose." A wry smirk appears on the cat's face as he pulls Beast Boy apart so he can talk to him properly.

"The universe is a messy, disorganized, wild and terrifying place. Shit happens, you deal with it, and you carry on. Sometimes people leave you halfway through the woods..."

He stops himself, because starting to quote Sondheim is a sure way of going into a monologue, and his suit may not survive a monologue. He looks at Gar with eyes that have the inscrutable expression of cats. Whatever thoughts or feelings that may be his are hidden behind the mystical divinity of unashamed felinity (quoting Lloyd Webber is also only to be done in moderation.) "You have shelter, you have food, stay awhile and eat, talk. I don't resent you. I will resent you if you act like an idiot and run off without eating a proper meal."

He looks at his bare shoulder and huffs, "And now I need to get clothes. Kon? Don't distract Impulse again, I want there to be cookies when I get back."

And with that he turns around and walks towards the doors, vanishing into thin air as his invisibility spell takes hold.

EPILOGUE
Later that night...

Having set security to notify him once Keith got back, Superboy's making his way to the room he fixed up for the Cheshire. Same room he'd been assigned last time he was here just...cleaned. More clothed in lounge pants and a t-shirt, the teen of steel knocks on Keith's door and waits. He left the ring in the room like asked so he knows Keith probably has it back by now. Keith is, indeed, home. He's got one costume from Zelinsky- not his uniform. That will take some days to create, due to his absence, but he's got a basic unitard with the sleeves taken off and a high collar. Next to the costume, on the bed, there are a few pairs of pants and shirts that Keith is currently folding. Clad in a tank top and some shorts, the cat looks up at the knock.

"Come in."

Walking rather than floating, Conner steps into the room and closes the door behind him. He arches a brow silently at Keith's costume but offers no comment. "Hey, man," he greets. "Thought I'd come by and see if ya were okay. Or if ya wanted to talk or somethin'..."

"What's there to talk about?" Keith says, and sighs. "I expected to come back and find my life in ruins. But to this extent?" he shakes his head and looks up at Kon.

Shrugging, Conner leans against the door. "Anythin'," he offers. "What you missed, what went on earlier, the guy who gave you that ring..." he nods towards where he left it. "C'mon, Keith. Ya know I'm here for ya."

Keith exhales and closes his eyes. Afer a few seconds, he says quietly, "Please tell me he at least was ok when he left. He must have gone to his home... where his brothers were. Do you know?" He didn't want to know if it was bad... but he had to know.

"Tell me he healed from the loss. I would have never left his side. I was taken-"

Conner doesn't reply at first, looking down at the floor. He eventually pushes off the wall and walks over to put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "The last time I saw him was right after the last time I saw you. Like a day. And he seemed okay. We trained just like always at his gym and he seemed to be in a good mood..."

Vorpal sighs and closes his eyes, brushing at his eyes for a few seconds. "Please let him be well. If we can't be together, at least let him be happy. It's the least he deserves." He sighs and walks to tthe corner of the room where the ring is.

Hand dropping to his side, Conner just watches Keith silently. "I'm sorry," he offers, not knowing what else to say. He knows how bad it feels to lose someone like that and he wishes he could be of more help. The cheshire cat touches the ring with a finger. "... Oblivion. I will ask Doctor Fate. Surely he won't deny me at least that knowledge."

He turns to look at Conner, his face drawn and weary. "Here I am, once again having lost just about everything. And here I thought that was behind me."

"No need to go there," Superboy offers with a tiny, joyless smile. "He's literally a comm call away now. Joined the Justice League," he says. "Had to check in with him the other day," he waves it off though. "Keith..." he trails off, not sure what else to say so he just holds his arms in a silent offer of a hug.

Keith hugs Kon back, closing his eyes tightly.

"I thought... I'd be able to handle this better. I had a year to think about what I'd come back to..."

A sniffle. "Goddamnit... I miss him so much..."

Conner closes his eyes too, holding onto Keith and providing as much support as the Cheshire needs. "I know, man," he murmurs quietly. "I miss him too."

"And this... did I do this, Kon?" Keith asks, trying to compose himself. Do not cry. Do not cry no matter what. "This... Gar. He's not Gar, but he is. Did I screw everything up by coming back? Change reality in some way? It has to be, I can't explain it any other way..."

"No," Kon says firmly. "Trust me, this sure as hell wasn't you. Been goin' on before we met and happened while you were gone," he says. "I have no idea what...or how to even explain it but like...its happened before. People just...feeling different. I remember one thing that just doesn't mesh. And I -know- I should be more bothered by it but I just..." he shrugs. "Nobody mentioned anythin' wrong telepathically or magic or..." he shakes his head. "You didn't do anythin'."

Breath control helps to keep things in. Keith nods and steps back from Kon. "... it's a mess, though. Underage, and almost a savage. What are you going to do with him?"

Sighning, Conner shrugs. "Feed him, try to talk to him, get him into pants...offer the team to help him any way we can," he says. "If he'll let us. Dunno what else to do..."

"Right. Of course." Keith's eyes linger over the ring before coming back to Conner. "... tell me what's happened. While I've been gone. I guess I might as well hear the whole kit and kaboodle while I'm still in the middle of shock."

Letting out a breath, Kon gestures for Keith to sit down. He'll follow suit. "Lots of stuff. Batman faked bein' dead, that bludhaven city went to hell, giant robots are stompin' around probably illegally, two dumbass Kryptonian gods showed up and caused a ton of trouble, I got possessed by one and it almost killed me," he shakes his head. "On the plus side, that little prick Jon-El is gone," he offers. Keith takes this in as he sits down on the bed, and blinks a couple of time. "Faked being dead?" He shakes his head. There was, of course, the thing nobody knew- that //he// knew who Batman really was. "What... is he around now? Why did he do that?" He could call at the Wayne Manor... but then again, he never had before.

"It's complicated Gotham crap," Conner shakes his head. "Something going on with Deathstroke and the rest. He's back now as Batman. Probably flyin' around bein' spooky in Gotham now."

"I'll.. have to talk to him." How? Well, he did mention that Batman was trainning him at some point. "Anything else I should be aware of? Have the JLAers forgotten I existed?"

"Nothin' I can think of. There's reports written up in the computer. Your old login and stuff should still work," he gestures at the computer on the desk. "Some might have. Hard to tell, haven't spent much time with 'em in awhile," he shakes his head. "Saw the most of Zenith, Star Flare, and Star Sapphire," he says. He pauses a beat though. "Oh yeah. We changed the name," he remembers. "We're not the JLA anymore. Dropped the 'of America'. Now we're just the Justice League, which Power Girl quit over for some reason," he rolls his eyes.

"So business as usual, then," Keith mutters. And then he asks - "Have you seen Raven?" pause. "Have you met Raven? Only I think she should be contacted. Just in case she gets a surprise." It was not a good idea, surprising Raven. Especially with the surprise that one of her friends was... well. Not himself anymore.

Kon shakes his head, looking lost. "Heard the name but never met anyone by it," he says. "She someone I should know?"

"She and Gar had... history." Keith says. How much of it? He doesn't quite know. But it was enough to make him feel jealous when he knew of it. "I'll give you her description. She's a slippery one... witchy. Supernatural." He exhales and hangs his head.

"How about the old gang. Anyone still around aside from Impulse and Zack?"

Kon makes a slight face at the mention of witchiness but lets it go. When asked about the old gang, he managrs a small smile. "Most of us are still here. Zenith went out on patrol though. And no idea what Zach Zatara's up to," he gestures vaguely. "Haven't seen Robin in a long while but what else is new..."

"Right, the bats being the bats." Keith says quietly. "Just... got to deal with things. Carry on with my life. I.. honesty don't know how. I spent a lot of time trying to get back, I didn't think about what I'd do when I got back, you know?"

"Still a spot on the team for ya," Conner offers. "Could use someone who kicks ass like you," he adds. "Best thing I can figure is to take it a day at a time. How I've been doin' it. Mostly."

"Yeah. What else is there?" Keith smirks and shrugs. "Now that I'm here and I'm fully aware of what I've lost- I mean, I thought 'bout it. That I might come back to find... but to actually be here at last and see it. Feels like someone tore something out of my chest, y'know?" He runs a finger down his chest idly.

"I don't feel like the same person. Not whole. Kinda empty."

He looks at Kon in the eyes and nods slowly. "I'll... take the spot in the team. It's the right thing to do."

"I know," Conner says quietly, reaching up to pat his own chest lightly. "I never did tell ya why I left Hawaii and came here full time, did I?" he asks, looking down at his hands. He knows that broken, empty, incomplete feeling too well.

Meeting Keith's eyes, Kon smiles slightly. "I put a com and other stuff in your desk drawer," he'd been hopeful that Keith would agree to stay.

Keith acknowledges the unspoken heartbreak in common with a nod, and a look at the drawer. "It sounds good. I'll... put the comm on in the morning then. I should sleep- traveling through parallel realities is exhausting."

He tries a smile, but it doesn't come across as genuine. "You got the wild child settled in or did he gnaw his way through the walls?"

Kon laughs a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "I left him with Impulse and all the movies and video games that could occupy them," he says. "He seemed tired as hell so he mighta passed out after eatin' though."

"And if he wasn't tired enough to pass out, ten minutes with Impulse would do the trick." Keith nods approvingly, "Good strategy. In the next few days see if you can find out his story and the whole 'Africa' thing..."

The cheshire pauses and scratches his neck. "I mean, I know the story, sort of. Gar's parents were there when he got sick with... Saruma? Something like that, a virus, I think. The cure is what turned him green.... and made him capable of shifting into animals..." Keith trails off. Yeah, they had been close. He remember Gar telling him the story, and then about how he lost his parents, and how he lost his adoptive mother. And then there had been a kiss-

"I should sleep," he says quietly. "Kon. Thank you. For everything."

Nodding, Kon reaches over to hug Keith again. "No problem, man. If ya need anythin' else, my room's down the hall. And I'm a com page away," he offers, standing. "I'll try and find out what I can, " he offers as he heads for the door.

"Thank you, Kon. You're a prince." The cheshire sighs and smiles wearily. "Goodnight, buddy..."

}}