randomplaces | Futureknight Chapter 6

Batman paused to close her eyes as the fire in her nerves threatened to overwhelm her, then gritted her teeth and continued to try and work her way free of the rubble that entombed her.

"Kid, ya there?" The voice was nearly too faint for the sensors to pick up.

"Lobo." She stopped struggling. "Are you alright?"

"Will be, once they get this @&$# off me. How 'bout you?"

She gritted her teeth, fighting for focus.

"Kid?"

"As you said," she managed, her senses swimming.

"How long we ben in here?"

* * *

"It's been nearly twenty-four hours." David frowned at the pile of rubble. "This is too unstable for the usual rescue teams."

Beside him Superman nodded grimly, one hand brushing the symbol on the front of his black T-shirt. "Batman's not the only one in there."

"What? The building was supposed to be empty." David glanced toward where Robin leaned against a blonde woman in a pale blue dress.

"He's one of ours." Superman looked at his younger sister. "Can you get them out, Supergirl?"

She shook her head, long black hair swaying. "They're too deep. I can't move that much weight at once."

The pale-skinned man next to her shifted restlessly, his bright blue eyes focused on the heap as he grumbled something in another language.

Superman glanced at him. "Chill, Narmo."

"Bite me," growled Young Lobo.

"Misti?" Superman turned toward a green woman in a long white cloak.

"We can get them," she said softly, turning toward a man who looked like her. "Brother, you take Batman."

Green Ghost nodded, and the two of them walked forward into the heap.

"Why doesn't Supes just dig 'em out?" demanded a rubbernecker from the other side of the yellow laser barrier.

Superman fixed him with a cold blue stare. "The biggest piece in that pile is the size of a plum. Most of it is dust. 'N there may be gas pockets. You really want me stirring that all up into the atmosphere? I thought not."

He folded his arms across his chest and turned back to the destroyed building, though David saw him shoot a glance toward Robin and the woman in blue.

* * *

Batman felt fingers close over her hand, then felt herself start to move slowly. "Misti?"

-Green Ghost. Am I moving too quickly?-

She grimaced at the mental touch, then shuddered at the sensation of her cells slipping through the rubbish around her. "No. You could go faster."

-Are you sure?-

"Yes." She gritted her teeth to hold back a scream at the maddening itch.

It rose to scalding heat and her vision dissolved into brightness.

"Aiie!"

"He's collapsed!"

"I think I moved too fast."

"Ada, let me go!"

"How is he?"

"Vital signs are weak..."

Darkness

* * *

David watched the huge heap of dust and gravel, then turned to check the crowd.

A sea of anxious faces focused on the place where the alien siblings had disappeared.

David sighed, then blinked as he noticed a scruffy blonde skatergirl using her distance board as a battering ram to push her way to the front of the crowd. "Hey, kid, cool it."

"Bite me, cowboy." She scowled.

He scowled back, taking a step toward her, but then froze as the crowd roared and turned to see Batman suddenly pop out of the rubble, followed by a figure too bloody to be recognizable. Robin cried out as the Dark Knight teetered and toppled with a crash.

David gasped, his eyes on the still form of the man he considered a friend as a babble of voices broke out all around him.

"Ada, let me go!" Robin struggled in Superman's grasp as the woman in blue knelt next to Batman and hooked a cord to a port on his suit.

"How is he?" David heard his own voice demand.

"Vital signs are weak," said the woman, frowning. "Con, we have to get him home quickly!"

Superman nodded and pushed the sobbing Robin toward Wonder Woman, then gently lifted Batman and flew away with him, Supergirl following in his wake.

David watched them go, feeling shock. -Even in a suit like that? Jesus, help him, please.-

"There was someone else in there." Young Lobo cocked his head.

"I know," said the blonde as she turned toward the other person who'd been in the rubble. "He was dead before the blast."

"Wait." David took a step toward her. "You know what happened?"

"Only what the rubble is saying," she said, watching as her injured teammate was levitated away.

"What the rubble is saying," repeated David blankly.

"Yes." She took Robin from Wonder Woman and put a slender arm around his shoulders. "A pale man in a mask came and killed the janitor, then put… explosives of some sort… all over the room. Just as Lobo and Batman came to the room the man in the mask disappeared. Then the building blew apart."

"Lobo's back." David blinked, suddenly understanding the flying motorcycle complaints and the rash of suspects shoved into stinking dumpsters. Then he blinked again, remembering the images on the disk that Batman had given him. "Was the mask red and black? Full face?"

"Yes." The woman in blue nodded, then looked up as Supergirl returned to hover over them.

Hormah, thought David bleakly. He's teleporting. No wonder we can never track him.

"Let's go," said Young Lobo gruffly. "Wonder Woman, yer in charge till Con gets back."

The tall woman in Roman armor nodded, dark eyes serious behind the nose guard of her helmet, then turned back to her remaining teammates as Young Lobo, Robin, and the woman in blue were lifted into the air in a V behind Supergirl.

David watched them till they disappeared over the rooftops, then turned to look at Gordon.

"What is that?" His friend pointed, eyebrow raised.

David looked down at his hand and blinked. "A stress worm."

"A what now?"

"Stress worm." David stuck it in his pocket, reminding himself again that he had to return it. "We've got to get equipment in here. Tell Hobbs and Kid to have the men move the crowd further back.

Gordon quirked an eyebrow, but turned to follow the order. "Right..."

* * *

It was ten o'clock Thursday morning before he had time to call about the worm.

"Wayne Manor," said the crisp accents of the butler after the first ring.

"This is David Freeman," he said hesitantly. "Could I speak with Veronica please?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Veronica is unable to speak on the telephone at the moment. May I take a message?"

"Er..." He frowned at the worm, which seemed to be cuddling a sugar-dusted cruller that Gordon had left on his desk. Great, she's put me on her brush-off list.

"Commissioner Freeman?"

He blinked. "I was just wondering when it would be a good time to bring her pet back. He ended up in my pocket on Saturday."

"Pet?"

"Yeah, her stress worm." He poked it and got cooed at.

"Oh dear. Please feel free to return it at any time, Commissioner."

"How about in a few minutes?" He gently pried the worm away from the doughnut, ignoring its unhappy squeaks.

"Very well, sir. I shall be expecting you."

* * *

He glanced around at the extensive grounds, remembering stories his father had told him of attending parties at Wayne Manor before the family had been wiped out by that Blight attack.

A coo from the worm in his hand snapped him back to the present and he glanced at it as he pressed the doorbell.

The door opened immediately and the butler stood looking at him mildly. "Good morning, Commissioner Freeman. Have you had breakfast yet?"

He finally realized why Gordon had given him that cruller. "I don't think so. I was too caught up in a case."

She nodded, lips thinning in disapproval. "Won't you please come in? I'm sure that Master Clark would enjoy your company as he takes his mid-morning snack."

"No. It's alright." He shook his head. "I don't want to give you more work..."

"Nonsense, sir! I was in the process of preparing brunch for one of Miss Veronica's house guests, adding a few more ingredients will be no work at all."

David realized that he was inside the house with the door closed and blinked in bewilderment. His bemusement increased as he was escorted to a sunny breakfast nook and his coat was taken. I guess those butler stereotypes are true.

"Hi, Commissioner!" Clark skidded to a stop just before he collided with the table. "Have you seen Batman lately?"

David grinned at the boy's enthusiasm. "I talked to him last night."

"Sweet!" Clark slid into the nook across from him and accepted a steaming mug of chai latte from the butler. "Thanks, Prudence. So he's okay. Being buried under all that stuff didn't hurt him."

"It knocked him out for a bit," said David. "I was a little surprised to see him out last night."

"Nothing can keep Batman down," said Clark loyally. "He always comes back." Then he noticed what David was holding. "Oh, hey! I wondered where Lorn was."

"Lorn?" David set the worm free on the table.

"Lorn Green. You know, the actor on 'Bonanza'?"

"I've never heard of it."

"Oh. Well I'll lend you a couple of episodes." Clark picked the worm up and held it to his chest, crooning to it softly and being cooed at in return. "It's a really old show. From back when TVs still had tubes."

"What is it? Adventure?" David sipped his own chai and hoped no one else could hear his stomach growling in response to all the scents that filled the kitchen.

"Western." Clark ran his fingers lightly over the worm's belly and frowned in concern. "Her egg's gone. I guess it didn't hatch either. Too bad, she's our only green one."

"She was pregnant?" David leaned over to frown at the contented worm.

"They don't get pregnant," said Clark. "They just carry their eggs in a pouch on their belly."

David looked at the lengthwise crease and frowned harder, moving his elbow out of the way as Prudence set a plate of pancakes on the table. "Could I have crushed it? I squeezed her pretty hard a couple times."

"No. You couldn't break a stress worm egg." Clark accepted a sandwich and bowed his head over it, then took a bite and pointed to a tiny ornament on the windowsill next to David.

David hurriedly asked a blessing for his own meal, then picked up the sparkling trinket and saw that it was an egg-shaped box made from some semi-precious stone that he couldn't identify. "What's this?"

"A stress worm eggshell. Ronnie added the gold trim and the stand." Clark finished his chai and reached for the glass of milk Prudence had set by his plate.

"Oh." David turned it in his fingers and studied the intricate filigree work, then set it back on the sill and picked up his fork. "No. I don't think I could break that."

"My grandma's bounced them off my grandpa's head without breaking them," Clark said around a cheek full of sandwich.

"You tellin' tales on me, kid?"

David started and looked up at the lovely woman with the long, pale blonde hair and the bright blue eyes.

She gave him a roguish grin as Clark slid over on the seat to make room for her. "I'm Esther Wolf."

"David Freeman." He offered a hand and was surprised at the grip of her slender hand. "You're Clark's grandma?"

"Yup. His mother's my second oldest." Esther took the plate of pancakes that Prudence handed her and examined them thoughtfully. "What're these brown things?"

"Peanut butter chips," said Clark, taking another huge bite of sandwich.

"Ohh." She grinned and took her fork. "Sweet." Then she glanced at David and quirked an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Clark's mother is alive? I thought..." He stopped, feeling embarrassed.

"We'd all dropped off?" She chuckled. "Nope. Clark lives with Ronnie 'cause he wants ta."

"Oh." David blinked.

"So what're ya here for?" asked Esther, picking peanut butter chips out of her cakes and nibbling them.

"I brought back one of Veronica's stress worms." David gestured to where it sat on Clark's shoulder with its head tucked under. "She accidentally left it with me on Saturday."

"Call 'er Ronnie," advised Esther. "Everyone else does, other'n Pru." She glanced at the woman in question, then turned back. "Y' wanna see 'er?"

"See who?" David pushed away his empty plate, feeling the last few days catching up with him.

"Ronnie," said Esther, pushing hers away as well.

He shook his head, remembering the last thing Veronica had said to him. "No. I need to get home."

"Crash here. Come on." Esther stood and tugged on his arm.

"I don't think Veronica would like that," he said evenly.

"What? Yer crashin' here or you goin' t' see 'er?"

"Either."

"Maybe your visit would make her feel better," said Clark solemnly.

"Feel better?" David tensed. "Is she sick?"

"Clark nodded. "She has been since Sunday. Her nervous system's glitching."

"She said that she didn't want to see me again," said David quietly, his eyes on the table top. "I'd like to respect her wishes."

"She what?" Clark gaped in dismay. "No way!"

"She proly won't see ya anyway," said Esther softly. "She ain't woke up since Tuesday."

David felt his heart jump up into his throat as his eyes flew to her face. "She's that bad?"

The blonde woman nodded mutely.

"The doctor says to just let her rest, but for us to talk to her so she knows we're there," said Clark.

David rubbed his face and growled, then stood. "Where is she?"

"This way." Esther took his arm and leaned against it slightly as she limped at his side.

The halls were decorated with understated elegance, but all David noticed was the slight swaying of the elevator as it reached the second floor, and the little grey stress worm that sat on Ronnie's chest as he came into her room.

Diana Free looked up from where she sat next to the bed, her eyes widening slightly when she saw him. "Her fever's gone up."

Esther growled what sounded like a foreign curse and sat on the side of the bed as she lay a hand on Ronnie's flushed forehead. "Yeah, it has. I'll call Penny. You go eat."

"But who'll sit with her?" Diana frowned.

"Let Davie do it." Esther stood and limped out of the room, her pale dress swishing around her legs.

Diana shot him a rueful look. "Congrats, you've been adopted."

"Okay," he said absently, his eyes on the rise and fall of Ronnie's chest.

"Well, see you. Hit the blue button if you need anything."

"Sure." He dropped into the chair and pulled it closer to the bed, only half-hearing the door close.

Ronnie flinched and whimpered at the sound, then moaned softly.

"Shh." David straightened the blankets under her chin, then realized that he was absently searching for Lorn in his pocket with his other hand and set it over Ronnie's instead.

"Pru," she murmured. "Where's Clark?"

"Clark's downstairs," he said softly, though he knew she couldn't hear him.

"Aiie!" she keened faintly, then fell silent but for the moans.

"Shh," he said, touching her forehead and wincing. "It'll stop soon."

She moaned on, unaware of his words or his presence. The little stress worm on her chest gave an unhappy squeak and twitched.

David picked it up and squeezed it, then dropped it absently and touched Ronnie's cheek with his fingertips. "You're going to be alright."

She turned her face toward him slightly, her expression relaxing.

"Yeah." He smiled slightly. "That's right. Just take it easy and get better."

Ronnie sighed and fell into a quieter sleep.

David sighed and reached down to pull the stress worm out of his pant leg, hearing the door open behind him.

"&$#@!"

David jerked upright in the chair and turned to face the newcomer. "Lobo? What are you doing here?"

The alien biker gave him a dangerous look, red eyes gleaming. "Checkin' on the kid. What the frag're you doin'?"

"Esther asked me to sit with Ronnie." David blinked, his exhausted brain whirling as he glanced from the woman on the bed to the notorious former Teen Titan. "How do you know her?"

Lobo's expression went blank as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Met 'er at Star Labs when they were puttin' 'er back t'gether."

David nodded, then turned back to the bed as Ronnie coughed. Seeing that she was alright, he looked back to Lobo and saw that the alien was halfway across the floor, forehead furrowed in concern.

"Do you want to sit here?" he offered reluctantly.

"Naw. Got better things t' do." Lobo crossed his arms again, eyes on Ronnie's face.

Sure you do, thought David. "I have to go see if Prudence has my room ready anyway." He stood. "Nice meeting you..."

He stopped short as he found himself pinned under a murderous crimson glare.

"Yer stayin' here?" Lobo's voice could have cut steel.

"Yes." David glared back.

"Yeah. He's crashin' in one 'a the spare rooms. Put yer hackles down."

Lobo jumped as Esther patted his butt, then turned his evil expression toward her. "Sez who?"

"Sez me." She folded her arms and matched his glower with one of her own. "He's Ronnie's friend 'n he's worked 'imself stupid. Cut the poor Cregger some slack."

"Look, I don't want to be a..." started David.

"Shut it," said Esther without looking away from Lobo.

"Doesn' matter what I say." The biker turned away sullenly. "Yer gonna do whatever ya fraggin' wanna."

"Yup," said Esther easily, smiling again. "So just siddown 'n keep an eye on that kid 'n I'll take this one t' his room before he falls over."

David looked down at her as she put her arm around his and led him out of the room.

"The doc'll be here in a few," she said cheerfully as they moved down the hall. "I see Ronnie settled down."

"Yeah," said David bemusedly, brain working overtime.

Esther glanced up at him knowingly. "Don't mind the grouch. 'E's just worried."

"He never hit me as the type to befriend a sick child."

Esther stopped in front of a door and let go his arm to push it open. "Even wolves love their cubs."

"Ronnie's not his daughter." David frowned.

"Try tellin' him that." Esther snorted, then glanced around the expansive room. "Anyhow, here ya go. Good night."

"Wait. Esther..." He stopped at her blank look. "Never mind. Thanks for the room."

"No problem, kid. Sleep all ya want." She grinned and left, closing the door behind her.

David frowned after her, but then realized that he was falling asleep on his feet and stumbled to the huge bed. He stayed awake just long enough to pull off his shoes.