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ajremixLong chapter, angst ahead, I need to stop forgetting to put these up, I also need to get writing again and thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dinahqueen for the beta! *phew!*
Title: The Inventor 04
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4880
Characters: Ted, Booster, Michelle, Skeets, Rip, Jaime
Summary: Eras don’t end, they merely change. A week abridged.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Sunday
The morning greeted Booster with the sight of Jaime teaching Michelle how to make omelets while Skeets set the table, each dish precisely placed by his articulated arm. As Booster stepped in the kitchen, Skeets chirped, “Good morning, sir,” which caused the other two to turn with cheery smiles.
“Morning, Booster.”
“Hey, Mikey! Jaime’s showing me how to cook- how do you want your eggs?”
Watching the three of them brought a warm smile to Booster’s face, feeling more relaxed than he had in months- possibly years. “Scrambled,” he said, going to the fridge to get out some drinks, “with cheese.”
“Bah, so boring,” Jaime made a face. He pushed a dish and fork at Michelle. “Break two eggs and beat them.”
She looked dubious. “Can’t you break and I’ll beat?”
“C’mon, everyone should know how to cook a little. Knowing you guys can marginally feed yourselves makes it a lot easier for me to leave this afternoon.”
“It’s Mikey’s breakfast, he should cook it.”
“He’s going to do the dishes afterward.”
Booster whirled, a jug of orange juice in hand. “I’m what?”
The teen smiled brightly. “Whoever doesn’t cook cleans up. It’s only fair.”
Booster looked to Skeets and opened his mouth.
“I do not eat,” Skeets interrupted artfully, “and I’m already setting the table out of the goodness of my heart-analogous circuits.”
“Damn.” He sulked and pouted but was ignored as Jaime tried to explain to Michelle that by tapping the egg gently to the counter, he meant stronger than just touching it to the surface. After a moment Booster asked, “Where’s Rip?”
“He’s getting the time sphere Ted used, going to verify his story” Michelle said, focusing on the egg as if she were defusing a proton bomb. “Ted was gradually crawling out of bed last I checked.”
For a moment it felt like someone had struck Booster right between the eyes. Right, Ted was back. An anxious, shivery feeling went up his back and settled between his shoulder blades and his stomach knotted though Booster wasn’t certain if it was from giddy excitement or anxious dread. He went to check the coffee pot. The coffee inside was warm but old. He tossed it into the sink, rinsed out the pot with a couple flicks of his wrist, then set a new pot to brew. “He may as well be protoplasm for all his coherency pre-coffee,” Booster’s voice was steady and neutral, but the muscles in his jaw twitched.
Michelle’s first egg made it into the dish with a couple fragments of shell she and Jaime fished out. The second one the yolk broke, but came out clean. “I did it!” She did a little dance that melted Booster’s twisted emotions into a laugh. Then she looked at her hands and made a face. “Eeeeew, gross.”
“Yeah, why do you think I’ve been washing my hands so much?” Jaime grinned, grabbing a couple slices of cheese and bringing out some milk. After Michelle cleaned the egg gunk from her fingers and Jaime instructed her on the fine art of egg scrambling, Jaime turned to Booster and asked, “So what are you going to do with Ted now?”
And the twisted emotions came back. “He’s a grown man. As long as it’s not dressing himself, he can make his own decisions.”
“So you don’t want him dressed?”
Booster managed the rare feat of choking on air, coughing roughly as he gave Jaime a mostly shocked, partly horrified and possibly even slightly frightened look. “I- what?”
“You already told us you were attracted to him yesterday,” Michelle said, carefully pouring the egg mixture into the warm pan and stirring it around. “Too late to pretend you’re not.”
“I didn’t- I mean, I’m not- wait!” Booster scrubbed at his face, trying to get his thoughts in order. He didn’t see the flat looks Jaime and Michelle gave each other.
“Mikey, I may not know Ted well, but telling him is going to do you both good in the long run. And the short run if you’d just be honest with him.”
“Remember what we talked about yesterday? About being a product of the time?”
“Remember when we talked about monolithic generalizations and how they shouldn’t be applied to people?” Michelle rolled her eyes. “Honestly, of all the people he could’ve told he came back, why do you think he came to you?”
“Because I’m the one that knows about time travel so I won’t automatically assume he’s an imposter?”
“I give up,” she told Jaime, “my brother’s an idiot.”
“Nrrrph.”
Everyone’s heads swiveled around to find Ted lurching in, hair tousled, eyes still shut. He reached out a hand, groping for something that wasn’t there. Skeets swooped in with a mug that he placed in the wandering hand, then guided Ted around the table and to the coffee pot.
“Wow,” Jaime said, “coffee zombie.”
Booster watched the familiar scene of Ted’s morning coma. His eyes traced the curve of Ted’s back as he hunched forward, the sleepy, disgruntled crease between his eyebrows, his fumbling, shuffling movements. He had a pair of Booster’s sweatpants on, a little snug around the hips, but too long in the legs. Booster’s heart clenched.
Ted yawned hugely, head thunking against the wall as he poured himself a mug and feebly raised it to the vicinity of his face, sticking his nose into it mug before sipping at the coffee. The transition was miraculous. He sighed happily, a dreamy little smile on his lips as Ted pulled back just far enough that he was no longer inhaling the coffee. His face was still in the steam, as if he could absorb the coffee’s magical wake-up properties through his pores. Then he finally opened his eyes, turning to see Booster off to his side and his smile turned into a familiar grin. “Morn’n, buddy.”
Booster couldn’t stop the flashes of memory, of Ted’s grin on a rotted corpse, of the last smile he gave Booster before the time sphere took him away, of the tired, frustrated but genuinely grateful curve of his lips when Booster offered his help before Ted’s house exploded.
He stood up abruptly, unable to look at the man who he considered his best friend. “Excuse me,” Booster forced out in a voice that was practically a whisper, “I’m going to see if Rip needs help.”
Monday
Almost before the light faded he could hear Ted saying, “-come back, Booster,” and it made his chest clench in a way that wasn’t entirely pleasant. “Looking a little rough there, buddy.”
“I’m alright. The timestream’s a good place to take power naps.”
He should’ve been happy Ted was back. He was but it just... it felt unreal. Like a dream where everything fit just too perfectly together.
“Well you’re just in time for some lunch,” Ted playfully smacked Booster’s shoulder. “I’m bored so I’m cooking.”
“You can’t cook.”
“Correction- I don’t cook. But only the exceptionally untalented can screw up pasta and I can build the hell out of a sandwich.”
“I don’t think sandwiches count as cooking.”
“Semantics.”
It was so easy, so tempting to fall back into their usual routine but Booster constantly caught himself wondering how long it was going to last, what was going to break them apart this time.
“Michelle’s gotten pretty good with the time thing. You should let her help out more.”
“Shel doesn’t have nearly the experience I have. I’m not going to have her go solo when she’s still too easily overwhelmed.”
Ted shook his head with a grin. “You’ve turned into such a worrywart.”
Booster bit his tongue because he wanted to say about ten different things and all of them sounded accusatory, clingy, everything Booster was afraid would drive Ted away.
“You know,” there was a hint of something along the lightness of Ted’s words, “you’ve been awfully quiet lately.”
“Sorry, just been having a lot on my mind.”
Like how he felt about Ted being there and his own reactions to those feelings. How could he be anything but ecstatic that Ted was back? How could he want to do anything but spend every moment possible with Ted while he still could? How could Booster be feeling what he was and still call himself Ted’s best friend?
Booster missed whatever Ted said that had the auburn haired man chuckling and grinning, the grin Booster had been missing for two years. The chrono-alarm in Booster’s gauntlet went off and he had to smother down a gasp of relief. “I’m gonna have to take a rain check on lunch,” he said with a grin that probably didn’t look like a grin and felt even less like one, “duty calls. You’d think a guy that can travel through time would have more of it, but...” he shrugged helplessly, turning away before Ted could really answer with more than a stumbling, “Oh, okay.”
Booster didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what to feel and it drove him crazy that he didn’t know. Part of him thought things were much simpler when Ted was dead. Booster hated himself for that.
Tuesday
“I can’t believe he could only understand the concept of time convergence and deviation in football terminology.” Rip turned his incredulous gaze to Skeets. “I can’t believe you and Ted managed to come up with an accurate analogy for time convergence and deviation using football terminology.”
“It is much easier learning new subjects when presented in a familiar context,” Skeets replied.
The very idea of dumbing down all the theories and complexities of time, space and consequence not only made Rip immensely grateful that Skeets (and, to a lesser extent, Ted) was around to do so in Rip’s stead, but it also made Rip all the more desperate to separate Booster and Michelle from his father and aunt. The idea that the two people who taught him all about the family duty needing to be taught in such a simplistic way...
“I assume,” Skeets broke into Rip’s thoughts, “you were not taught via analogies?”
“No. My family began teaching me various sciences at a young age. I tended to understand complex formula and theory fairly easily.”
“I profess some curiosity about your family, Dr. Hunter.”
“Not a lot I can tell you about them,” he warned.
“Understandable. Perhaps, then I should ask about the bloodwork I have recently done on the Carter siblings. One of the results was rather surprising and caused me to run a similar test on you.”
Rip’s blood went cold. “And what was that?” He asked as neutrally as possible.
“DNA, sir.”
Rip tensed, waiting.
“It appears that I am no longer able to identify the genetic markers of either Booster or Michelle. Nor could I with your samples.”
Inside Rip sagged in relief. Outwardly he merely shrugged. “Safety precaution. Nanite technology from a black ops group in the 36th century. If someone were to get a genetic trace on us, they could go back in time and prevent our existing in order to get us out of the way.”
“A very sensible measure,” Skeets agreed. “However, since the Supernova costume is compliant only to the genetic markers of the Carter family, would that mean Booster is no longer capable of wearing it?”
“He still can. The nanites work within a complex system of rules, but to put it simply, the nanites will destroy genetic signatures when the sample leaves the body.”
“I see. Though, as we’re on the subject, I can’t help but wonder how an unknown adversary such as the Black Beetle- who is still at large -knew not only the location of the time lab, but also that Booster was a time traveler.”
Rip froze. That was, indeed, a frightening concern. Not only did they know about Booster and his origin, they also knew how to work the Supernova suit. Whoever the Black Beetle was, they were an extremely dangerous enemy.
“Is there a reason you’re bringing this up?”
“Not particularly,” Skeets hovered about, as if he were shifting idly. Obviously all the time he spent exclusively among humans was starting to rub off on him. “Have you been convinced that Ted is not a danger to the timeline?”
“You’re not subtle, Skeets.”
“I apologize, sir. I have been working solely with Booster for some time.”
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“I’m merely suggesting, Dr. Hunter, that Ted would be useful in helping with our mission. He has already shown he can quickly grasp the science behind the technology and can explain them to Booster and Michelle. He and Booster already work well together and, unless he wishes to be elsewhere and can come up with a viable story for being alive, Ted has nowhere else to go. If that is the case, he would need something to keep occupied with,” Skeets said as dryly as a mechanical being could, “as he tends to be a bit of a troublemaker when he’s bored.”
Rip made a face to himself while Skeets bobbed in close as if scrutinizing the man. “You do not agree.”
“I do. His talents would be a boon.”
“But you don’t like the idea?”
Rip drummed his fingers, lips pressed together as he tried to organize his thoughts logically. “There’s something about Ted’s circumstances that bothers me. It’s like... I know there’s something important in the future that’s directly influenced by his... state of mortality but, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it is.”
“From what you’ve told me, Dr. Hunter, there are others that protect the timeline, correct? In different eras? Perhaps one of them would have an idea.”
“Hmph. It would be easier if I even knew what I was looking for.” Rip ran a hand through his hair, the ends curling a bit. “Even still, just about every record I can find says Ted Kord was killed by Maxwell Lord or from the story fed to the news.”
“And the records that don’t say that?”
“Are either incomplete, have a history of being wildly inaccurate or simply list him as ‘unknown’.”
“That is odd,” Skeets agreed with a bob.
“So now do you understand why I don’t really want to give him free access to my machines? There’s too many variables and unknowns with Ted. How can I trust him if I don’t know what he’s going to do?”
“Most people learn to trust each other without knowing how the future will end up,” the simplicity of the reply made Rip stop. “We know better than anyone else that time is not concrete. That is why there is probability and chance. And I believe we should take it with Ted.”
Rip looked at Skeets, long and hard. He remembered his father’s voice warning him not to depend so much on what he knew of the future. He turned away, going to some notes he had scattered on a table and said, “I’ll think about it.”
Wednesday
“You really need to talk to Ted,” Michelle said as she checked to make sure her wig was in place, the edges of the bob cut brushing against her cheek.
“I will when I’m not so busy,” her brother returned. He was seated at the controls of the time sphere, still in full costume. Michelle insisted on doing the mission alone- Booster suspected Ted had talked to her about taking a more active role.
“You’re doing what Rip usually does. Which would be kind of hilarious because Rip seems totally lost now that he has free time, but you’re hurting Ted you know.”
Michelle was carefully watching Booster’s reactions even as she adjusted the angle of her hat (the bell-shaped hat was adorable- she wondered how it would look with long hair). Even with his back to her, she could still read his emotions in the ridged line of his back. She sighed at his growing silence and then looked herself over one last time. She was a little too curvy to be a proper flapper, but it was good enough that she wouldn’t get any strange looks. Michelle turned and approached her brother’s chair.
“You know,” she poked at the back of Booster’s head until he looked at her, “he came back for you.”
“Don’t, Shel,” his expression was pleading, almost on the edge of heartbreaking. “Don’t try to romanticize this, okay? He’s alive because he didn’t want to die- not like that’s not completely understandable.”
“Do you really think that little of yourself, Mikey? Do you just think you don’t deserve to be happy or to have your life work out or to have someone who loves you?” She hitched herself on the edge of the seat, wrapping her arms around Booster and putting her chin on his shoulder. “Well, I’m here and you’re doing good, important work. So why is it so hard to accept that Ted wants to be with you?”
Booster swallowed against a tightness in his throat, tucking his chin against Michelle’s arm. “...I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Every time I see him I just get so upset and I hate that I feel that way but I can’t help it and I don’t know why.” He reached up and squeezed her elbow, trying to hide his stinging eyes. “Sorry. I sound like such a loser.”
“Not at all. You’re scared and uncertain and everyone’s allowed to feel like that once in a while.” She stroked his hair until Booster calmed. “Just realize that you’re not the only one hurting. I don’t know how much longer Ted is going to last until he does something drastic.”
Booster let out a weak little laugh. “He always had a flare for the dramatic.”
“Hmm, I can see why he’s your friend, then.” She gave him one last squeeze before saying, “Gotta get going. Time waits for no woman in a wig and garters.”
“Good luck,” he called after her, “and remember- if you have any trouble at all-“
“I know, I know. Grife, Mikey- take a load off.” With a kiss to the temple, Michelle jumped out of the time sphere and set about to work.
Thursday
Were it anyone else about anything else, Michelle would’ve stopped the conversation (one-sided as it was) within five words of it starting. But it was Ted and it was Ted being upset at the way Booster was so blatantly avoiding him that Michelle couldn’t help but let him rant. He needed to, he deserved to and Michelle thought it would’ve done everyone a lot better if Booster were there to hear it but he’d run off and hid the first moment he could. Something- as much as she didn’t like thinking it of her brother -he was very good at.
When the irate man (finally) paused long enough to take a breath, Michelle broke in with, “I understand, Ted, I really do. Mikey’s just not ready to talk about it.”
“When is anyone going to ‘be ready’ to talk about something they don’t want to?” Ted knew he shouldn’t be taking his frustrations out on Michelle, but Booster was in hiding and she was an accomplice so a childish part of him considered it fair game. “Do you really think this is healthy for him? Letting him run off and pretend reality doesn’t exist because he... I don’t know- doesn’t like it?” Man, did that ever hurt to say.
Her eyes narrowed and her jaw squared and she looked just as much like her brother being stubborn as she did when she smiled. “It’s not because he doesn’t like it.”
Ted threw his hands into the air. “Well how am I supposed to know if he won’t talk to me?”
“Do you really think raising your voice is going to get you any help?” The ice in Michelle’s voice and clench of fingers on her hips made Ted think of Jonar and hearing him verbally beat down Booster and all the anger abruptly left him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Michelle’s stance relaxed in response. “I know. I understand why you’re upset and I understand why Mikey doesn’t want to deal with this. I had to deal with both when Rip first brought me here and when I realized I’d been dead for so long.” She reached out to put a hand on Ted’s arm. “I’m trying to get him to talk to you, but right now he’s just too hurt and scared. Forcing him into it will only make it worse. As Mikey’s friend and someone who cares about him deeply, don’t ask me to do that to him.”
Ted deflated. He wasn’t entirely certain what he expected to accomplish from talking to Michelle, but he felt as if he’d been defeated on some level. “I know, I just... I’ve never been very good at waiting,” he joked feebly. “My parents couldn’t keep my birthday presents in the house ‘cause I’d always find them.”
She smiled back, squeezing at his arm. “He’ll come around. Even if it’s just to stop me from pestering him about it.”
He grinned and said thanks and she left and he pressed his forehead to the wall and sighed, loneliness settling heavily around him again.
Friday
So technically Rip didn’t actually give Ted the schematics to the computer setup (and if Ted could hack into some of Rip’s higher security files, keeping him around when he’s bored could indeed be very dangerous) but he didn’t complain as some of the ideas Ted had to make it faster, more efficient and accurate were incredibly clever.
To make it even more surprising, Ted was being rather congenial to Rip. Well, congenial considering he was usually highly suspicious and questioning of Rip, almost to an aggressive level. But, Rip supposed, Ted had finally gotten tired of snapping at everyone because he couldn’t snap at Booster. So while Rip watched Ted work, half buried in the guts of a monitor, the two debated about the relativity of morality and the duty towards helping others and it was more of a discussion than their neigh-hostile encounter before.
For some reason, it reminded Rip of something from his childhood- a familiar, comfortable disagreement of minds. Something was still missing, though, and he wasn’t certain what. Rip was sure he was close to figuring out what it was about Ted that was bothering him, but like smoke the answer kept fading just out of view.
Rip said something regarding the application of ethical nihilism (something he didn’t believe in himself, though saw how his actions could be interpreted as such) which made Ted’s legs flex, rolling him out from under the monitor to glare up at Rip, taking the screwdriver from between clenched teeth so he could retort properly. He had about two day’s worth of beard on his face and bulbous yellow goggles over his eyes.
Whatever it was Ted was saying was lost in Rip’s sudden epiphany.
Rip slapped a hand to his face. “Oh God, I’m such an idiot.”
“Not to dispute this fact,” Ted drawled, “but what brought this on?”
Rip peeked out between his fingers, more embarrassed at having missed something that (now that he knew the connection) was really so blatantly obvious than the fact that he was wrong. “Just remembered a... rather important thing. Which, if I’m right, would mean your existence would not only be justified, but probably necessary.”
Though the gleam of his goggles blocked the sight, it was obvious Ted was rolling his eyes. “I’m so glad my life is important because the universe still wants to use me and not because, oh, I’d rather not have died in the first place.”
“While I’m sure we could discuss the philosophy of how much one person’s life is really their own business,” Rip said dryly, “I’d much rather verify this realization. I’m sure you’d rather I have conclusive evidence of your living being a good thing than you being stuck here while the rest of us find bunk.”
“That depends. Are you going to tell me I live until I’m old and gray?”
Rip smirked back and for the briefest moment it struck Ted as familiar until he realized he’d never seen Rip smile before. “I would, except that time is very relative. For all I know, you’re fifty years in the past.” Rip left as Ted not only attempted to make sense of that, but to figure out how it was even possible.
Saturday
He was in the time lab, studiously looking over equipment manuals just as he’d been doing the last few days. That or reports and texts on basic quantum theory. Ted would have found it hilarious if it didn’t annoy him to all hell. It wouldn’t have been so bad with Booster reading up on his Time Master responsibilities if it weren’t for the fact that Booster was doing it merely to avoid Ted. When Booster’s eyes flickered to Ted and then away again for the fourth time, Ted finally lost patience.
He strode over and flopped down pointedly next to Booster, sitting a hair too close- just as they always did. Seeing Booster flinch and pretend he wasn’t trying to scoot away brought a bubble of fury inside Ted.
“Hey,” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
“Hey,” Booster muttered back- he couldn’t have been any more interested in his book if he were trying to crawl inside of it.
“Interesting read?”
“I guess.”
“You only guess?”
“It’s for my job.”
“I’ll bet,” he couldn’t keep the snide tone from his voice because Ted never bothered to hide his emotions. “I also bet that you’ve been cramming more for your job in the last week than you have the last year. Wonder why that is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, well then listen up, old buddy, because I’m gonna spell it out for you.” Ted put his hand on the book, then leaned in to make Booster look at him. “You’re using this time stuff to avoid me. Why?”
“I’m not avoiding anyone. I’ve just been busy.”
“So busy you can barely look me in the face when I’m talking to you? When I actually get to talk to you?”
It took effort- enough that it was obvious which, considering how good an actor Booster was, meant it took a damn lot of effort for him to gaze into Ted’s eyes without flinching away. “You’re overreacting.”
“Don’t lie to me, Booster. You haven’t been able pull a lie on me in years.”
And there was that flinch again and the look on Booster’s face- the utterly careful way he kept his expression blank save what Ted could only possibly label as fear for some reason- was like Ted was some unfathomable terror that had Booster cornered.
“There’s nothing wrong and I’m not avoiding you,” Booster said evenly, like a well-rehearsed line in his head. “Taking care of the timeline is a lot of work and I’m sorry you feel neglected, but I can’t not do this.”
A snarl was working its way to Ted’s lips and he opened his mouth to say something scathing when Booster’s alarm went off. The blond stood, “Gotta go.”
No. He wasn’t going to get away that easily. This was the longest conversation Ted had had with Booster in days and there was no way, with this whatever problem unresolved between them, that Booster was going to leave again.
Ted grabbed at his wrist- would’ve spun him right around if Booster didn’t dig in his feet. “Booster-“
“I have responsibilities now,” he gritted out, not looking at Ted, his fist clenched and muscles in his back ridged, as if he couldn’t stand to explain himself. “Isn’t that what you and everyone else kept saying I need to do? Well I have them now, so let go so I can do my job.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly why you’re so eager to get away from me. You know, if you think my being here- alive -is such a terrible thing, maybe you should just tell me instead of coming up with these half-assed excuses. You want me gone? Fine Say it and I’m out. No point hanging around a best friend that’s stopped caring.”
Booster flinched but still wouldn’t look Ted in the face. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Look, we can talk about it when I get back-“
Ted dropped Booster’s arm as if it burned him and when Booster (finally, finally) looked at him, Ted’s expression was one of cold anger. “Considering this is you we’re talking about? No, we won’t.”
He stalked out and waited just outside the time lab, hoping deep, deep inside that Booster would come out and look for him, that they’d be able to talk it all over and at least come to an understanding, dammit, never mind still being friends. It hurt Ted more than he wanted to dwell on. After all he’d done to get back because Booster was hurting, because Booster needed him and then... this was what he came back to.
He crossed his arms, more holding himself then anything else and he waited.
Booster didn’t come out.
dinahqueen for the beta! *phew!*Title: The Inventor 04
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4880
Characters: Ted, Booster, Michelle, Skeets, Rip, Jaime
Summary: Eras don’t end, they merely change. A week abridged.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Sunday
The morning greeted Booster with the sight of Jaime teaching Michelle how to make omelets while Skeets set the table, each dish precisely placed by his articulated arm. As Booster stepped in the kitchen, Skeets chirped, “Good morning, sir,” which caused the other two to turn with cheery smiles.
“Morning, Booster.”
“Hey, Mikey! Jaime’s showing me how to cook- how do you want your eggs?”
Watching the three of them brought a warm smile to Booster’s face, feeling more relaxed than he had in months- possibly years. “Scrambled,” he said, going to the fridge to get out some drinks, “with cheese.”
“Bah, so boring,” Jaime made a face. He pushed a dish and fork at Michelle. “Break two eggs and beat them.”
She looked dubious. “Can’t you break and I’ll beat?”
“C’mon, everyone should know how to cook a little. Knowing you guys can marginally feed yourselves makes it a lot easier for me to leave this afternoon.”
“It’s Mikey’s breakfast, he should cook it.”
“He’s going to do the dishes afterward.”
Booster whirled, a jug of orange juice in hand. “I’m what?”
The teen smiled brightly. “Whoever doesn’t cook cleans up. It’s only fair.”
Booster looked to Skeets and opened his mouth.
“I do not eat,” Skeets interrupted artfully, “and I’m already setting the table out of the goodness of my heart-analogous circuits.”
“Damn.” He sulked and pouted but was ignored as Jaime tried to explain to Michelle that by tapping the egg gently to the counter, he meant stronger than just touching it to the surface. After a moment Booster asked, “Where’s Rip?”
“He’s getting the time sphere Ted used, going to verify his story” Michelle said, focusing on the egg as if she were defusing a proton bomb. “Ted was gradually crawling out of bed last I checked.”
For a moment it felt like someone had struck Booster right between the eyes. Right, Ted was back. An anxious, shivery feeling went up his back and settled between his shoulder blades and his stomach knotted though Booster wasn’t certain if it was from giddy excitement or anxious dread. He went to check the coffee pot. The coffee inside was warm but old. He tossed it into the sink, rinsed out the pot with a couple flicks of his wrist, then set a new pot to brew. “He may as well be protoplasm for all his coherency pre-coffee,” Booster’s voice was steady and neutral, but the muscles in his jaw twitched.
Michelle’s first egg made it into the dish with a couple fragments of shell she and Jaime fished out. The second one the yolk broke, but came out clean. “I did it!” She did a little dance that melted Booster’s twisted emotions into a laugh. Then she looked at her hands and made a face. “Eeeeew, gross.”
“Yeah, why do you think I’ve been washing my hands so much?” Jaime grinned, grabbing a couple slices of cheese and bringing out some milk. After Michelle cleaned the egg gunk from her fingers and Jaime instructed her on the fine art of egg scrambling, Jaime turned to Booster and asked, “So what are you going to do with Ted now?”
And the twisted emotions came back. “He’s a grown man. As long as it’s not dressing himself, he can make his own decisions.”
“So you don’t want him dressed?”
Booster managed the rare feat of choking on air, coughing roughly as he gave Jaime a mostly shocked, partly horrified and possibly even slightly frightened look. “I- what?”
“You already told us you were attracted to him yesterday,” Michelle said, carefully pouring the egg mixture into the warm pan and stirring it around. “Too late to pretend you’re not.”
“I didn’t- I mean, I’m not- wait!” Booster scrubbed at his face, trying to get his thoughts in order. He didn’t see the flat looks Jaime and Michelle gave each other.
“Mikey, I may not know Ted well, but telling him is going to do you both good in the long run. And the short run if you’d just be honest with him.”
“Remember what we talked about yesterday? About being a product of the time?”
“Remember when we talked about monolithic generalizations and how they shouldn’t be applied to people?” Michelle rolled her eyes. “Honestly, of all the people he could’ve told he came back, why do you think he came to you?”
“Because I’m the one that knows about time travel so I won’t automatically assume he’s an imposter?”
“I give up,” she told Jaime, “my brother’s an idiot.”
“Nrrrph.”
Everyone’s heads swiveled around to find Ted lurching in, hair tousled, eyes still shut. He reached out a hand, groping for something that wasn’t there. Skeets swooped in with a mug that he placed in the wandering hand, then guided Ted around the table and to the coffee pot.
“Wow,” Jaime said, “coffee zombie.”
Booster watched the familiar scene of Ted’s morning coma. His eyes traced the curve of Ted’s back as he hunched forward, the sleepy, disgruntled crease between his eyebrows, his fumbling, shuffling movements. He had a pair of Booster’s sweatpants on, a little snug around the hips, but too long in the legs. Booster’s heart clenched.
Ted yawned hugely, head thunking against the wall as he poured himself a mug and feebly raised it to the vicinity of his face, sticking his nose into it mug before sipping at the coffee. The transition was miraculous. He sighed happily, a dreamy little smile on his lips as Ted pulled back just far enough that he was no longer inhaling the coffee. His face was still in the steam, as if he could absorb the coffee’s magical wake-up properties through his pores. Then he finally opened his eyes, turning to see Booster off to his side and his smile turned into a familiar grin. “Morn’n, buddy.”
Booster couldn’t stop the flashes of memory, of Ted’s grin on a rotted corpse, of the last smile he gave Booster before the time sphere took him away, of the tired, frustrated but genuinely grateful curve of his lips when Booster offered his help before Ted’s house exploded.
He stood up abruptly, unable to look at the man who he considered his best friend. “Excuse me,” Booster forced out in a voice that was practically a whisper, “I’m going to see if Rip needs help.”
Monday
Almost before the light faded he could hear Ted saying, “-come back, Booster,” and it made his chest clench in a way that wasn’t entirely pleasant. “Looking a little rough there, buddy.”
“I’m alright. The timestream’s a good place to take power naps.”
He should’ve been happy Ted was back. He was but it just... it felt unreal. Like a dream where everything fit just too perfectly together.
“Well you’re just in time for some lunch,” Ted playfully smacked Booster’s shoulder. “I’m bored so I’m cooking.”
“You can’t cook.”
“Correction- I don’t cook. But only the exceptionally untalented can screw up pasta and I can build the hell out of a sandwich.”
“I don’t think sandwiches count as cooking.”
“Semantics.”
It was so easy, so tempting to fall back into their usual routine but Booster constantly caught himself wondering how long it was going to last, what was going to break them apart this time.
“Michelle’s gotten pretty good with the time thing. You should let her help out more.”
“Shel doesn’t have nearly the experience I have. I’m not going to have her go solo when she’s still too easily overwhelmed.”
Ted shook his head with a grin. “You’ve turned into such a worrywart.”
Booster bit his tongue because he wanted to say about ten different things and all of them sounded accusatory, clingy, everything Booster was afraid would drive Ted away.
“You know,” there was a hint of something along the lightness of Ted’s words, “you’ve been awfully quiet lately.”
“Sorry, just been having a lot on my mind.”
Like how he felt about Ted being there and his own reactions to those feelings. How could he be anything but ecstatic that Ted was back? How could he want to do anything but spend every moment possible with Ted while he still could? How could Booster be feeling what he was and still call himself Ted’s best friend?
Booster missed whatever Ted said that had the auburn haired man chuckling and grinning, the grin Booster had been missing for two years. The chrono-alarm in Booster’s gauntlet went off and he had to smother down a gasp of relief. “I’m gonna have to take a rain check on lunch,” he said with a grin that probably didn’t look like a grin and felt even less like one, “duty calls. You’d think a guy that can travel through time would have more of it, but...” he shrugged helplessly, turning away before Ted could really answer with more than a stumbling, “Oh, okay.”
Booster didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what to feel and it drove him crazy that he didn’t know. Part of him thought things were much simpler when Ted was dead. Booster hated himself for that.
Tuesday
“I can’t believe he could only understand the concept of time convergence and deviation in football terminology.” Rip turned his incredulous gaze to Skeets. “I can’t believe you and Ted managed to come up with an accurate analogy for time convergence and deviation using football terminology.”
“It is much easier learning new subjects when presented in a familiar context,” Skeets replied.
The very idea of dumbing down all the theories and complexities of time, space and consequence not only made Rip immensely grateful that Skeets (and, to a lesser extent, Ted) was around to do so in Rip’s stead, but it also made Rip all the more desperate to separate Booster and Michelle from his father and aunt. The idea that the two people who taught him all about the family duty needing to be taught in such a simplistic way...
“I assume,” Skeets broke into Rip’s thoughts, “you were not taught via analogies?”
“No. My family began teaching me various sciences at a young age. I tended to understand complex formula and theory fairly easily.”
“I profess some curiosity about your family, Dr. Hunter.”
“Not a lot I can tell you about them,” he warned.
“Understandable. Perhaps, then I should ask about the bloodwork I have recently done on the Carter siblings. One of the results was rather surprising and caused me to run a similar test on you.”
Rip’s blood went cold. “And what was that?” He asked as neutrally as possible.
“DNA, sir.”
Rip tensed, waiting.
“It appears that I am no longer able to identify the genetic markers of either Booster or Michelle. Nor could I with your samples.”
Inside Rip sagged in relief. Outwardly he merely shrugged. “Safety precaution. Nanite technology from a black ops group in the 36th century. If someone were to get a genetic trace on us, they could go back in time and prevent our existing in order to get us out of the way.”
“A very sensible measure,” Skeets agreed. “However, since the Supernova costume is compliant only to the genetic markers of the Carter family, would that mean Booster is no longer capable of wearing it?”
“He still can. The nanites work within a complex system of rules, but to put it simply, the nanites will destroy genetic signatures when the sample leaves the body.”
“I see. Though, as we’re on the subject, I can’t help but wonder how an unknown adversary such as the Black Beetle- who is still at large -knew not only the location of the time lab, but also that Booster was a time traveler.”
Rip froze. That was, indeed, a frightening concern. Not only did they know about Booster and his origin, they also knew how to work the Supernova suit. Whoever the Black Beetle was, they were an extremely dangerous enemy.
“Is there a reason you’re bringing this up?”
“Not particularly,” Skeets hovered about, as if he were shifting idly. Obviously all the time he spent exclusively among humans was starting to rub off on him. “Have you been convinced that Ted is not a danger to the timeline?”
“You’re not subtle, Skeets.”
“I apologize, sir. I have been working solely with Booster for some time.”
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“I’m merely suggesting, Dr. Hunter, that Ted would be useful in helping with our mission. He has already shown he can quickly grasp the science behind the technology and can explain them to Booster and Michelle. He and Booster already work well together and, unless he wishes to be elsewhere and can come up with a viable story for being alive, Ted has nowhere else to go. If that is the case, he would need something to keep occupied with,” Skeets said as dryly as a mechanical being could, “as he tends to be a bit of a troublemaker when he’s bored.”
Rip made a face to himself while Skeets bobbed in close as if scrutinizing the man. “You do not agree.”
“I do. His talents would be a boon.”
“But you don’t like the idea?”
Rip drummed his fingers, lips pressed together as he tried to organize his thoughts logically. “There’s something about Ted’s circumstances that bothers me. It’s like... I know there’s something important in the future that’s directly influenced by his... state of mortality but, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it is.”
“From what you’ve told me, Dr. Hunter, there are others that protect the timeline, correct? In different eras? Perhaps one of them would have an idea.”
“Hmph. It would be easier if I even knew what I was looking for.” Rip ran a hand through his hair, the ends curling a bit. “Even still, just about every record I can find says Ted Kord was killed by Maxwell Lord or from the story fed to the news.”
“And the records that don’t say that?”
“Are either incomplete, have a history of being wildly inaccurate or simply list him as ‘unknown’.”
“That is odd,” Skeets agreed with a bob.
“So now do you understand why I don’t really want to give him free access to my machines? There’s too many variables and unknowns with Ted. How can I trust him if I don’t know what he’s going to do?”
“Most people learn to trust each other without knowing how the future will end up,” the simplicity of the reply made Rip stop. “We know better than anyone else that time is not concrete. That is why there is probability and chance. And I believe we should take it with Ted.”
Rip looked at Skeets, long and hard. He remembered his father’s voice warning him not to depend so much on what he knew of the future. He turned away, going to some notes he had scattered on a table and said, “I’ll think about it.”
Wednesday
“You really need to talk to Ted,” Michelle said as she checked to make sure her wig was in place, the edges of the bob cut brushing against her cheek.
“I will when I’m not so busy,” her brother returned. He was seated at the controls of the time sphere, still in full costume. Michelle insisted on doing the mission alone- Booster suspected Ted had talked to her about taking a more active role.
“You’re doing what Rip usually does. Which would be kind of hilarious because Rip seems totally lost now that he has free time, but you’re hurting Ted you know.”
Michelle was carefully watching Booster’s reactions even as she adjusted the angle of her hat (the bell-shaped hat was adorable- she wondered how it would look with long hair). Even with his back to her, she could still read his emotions in the ridged line of his back. She sighed at his growing silence and then looked herself over one last time. She was a little too curvy to be a proper flapper, but it was good enough that she wouldn’t get any strange looks. Michelle turned and approached her brother’s chair.
“You know,” she poked at the back of Booster’s head until he looked at her, “he came back for you.”
“Don’t, Shel,” his expression was pleading, almost on the edge of heartbreaking. “Don’t try to romanticize this, okay? He’s alive because he didn’t want to die- not like that’s not completely understandable.”
“Do you really think that little of yourself, Mikey? Do you just think you don’t deserve to be happy or to have your life work out or to have someone who loves you?” She hitched herself on the edge of the seat, wrapping her arms around Booster and putting her chin on his shoulder. “Well, I’m here and you’re doing good, important work. So why is it so hard to accept that Ted wants to be with you?”
Booster swallowed against a tightness in his throat, tucking his chin against Michelle’s arm. “...I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Every time I see him I just get so upset and I hate that I feel that way but I can’t help it and I don’t know why.” He reached up and squeezed her elbow, trying to hide his stinging eyes. “Sorry. I sound like such a loser.”
“Not at all. You’re scared and uncertain and everyone’s allowed to feel like that once in a while.” She stroked his hair until Booster calmed. “Just realize that you’re not the only one hurting. I don’t know how much longer Ted is going to last until he does something drastic.”
Booster let out a weak little laugh. “He always had a flare for the dramatic.”
“Hmm, I can see why he’s your friend, then.” She gave him one last squeeze before saying, “Gotta get going. Time waits for no woman in a wig and garters.”
“Good luck,” he called after her, “and remember- if you have any trouble at all-“
“I know, I know. Grife, Mikey- take a load off.” With a kiss to the temple, Michelle jumped out of the time sphere and set about to work.
Thursday
Were it anyone else about anything else, Michelle would’ve stopped the conversation (one-sided as it was) within five words of it starting. But it was Ted and it was Ted being upset at the way Booster was so blatantly avoiding him that Michelle couldn’t help but let him rant. He needed to, he deserved to and Michelle thought it would’ve done everyone a lot better if Booster were there to hear it but he’d run off and hid the first moment he could. Something- as much as she didn’t like thinking it of her brother -he was very good at.
When the irate man (finally) paused long enough to take a breath, Michelle broke in with, “I understand, Ted, I really do. Mikey’s just not ready to talk about it.”
“When is anyone going to ‘be ready’ to talk about something they don’t want to?” Ted knew he shouldn’t be taking his frustrations out on Michelle, but Booster was in hiding and she was an accomplice so a childish part of him considered it fair game. “Do you really think this is healthy for him? Letting him run off and pretend reality doesn’t exist because he... I don’t know- doesn’t like it?” Man, did that ever hurt to say.
Her eyes narrowed and her jaw squared and she looked just as much like her brother being stubborn as she did when she smiled. “It’s not because he doesn’t like it.”
Ted threw his hands into the air. “Well how am I supposed to know if he won’t talk to me?”
“Do you really think raising your voice is going to get you any help?” The ice in Michelle’s voice and clench of fingers on her hips made Ted think of Jonar and hearing him verbally beat down Booster and all the anger abruptly left him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Michelle’s stance relaxed in response. “I know. I understand why you’re upset and I understand why Mikey doesn’t want to deal with this. I had to deal with both when Rip first brought me here and when I realized I’d been dead for so long.” She reached out to put a hand on Ted’s arm. “I’m trying to get him to talk to you, but right now he’s just too hurt and scared. Forcing him into it will only make it worse. As Mikey’s friend and someone who cares about him deeply, don’t ask me to do that to him.”
Ted deflated. He wasn’t entirely certain what he expected to accomplish from talking to Michelle, but he felt as if he’d been defeated on some level. “I know, I just... I’ve never been very good at waiting,” he joked feebly. “My parents couldn’t keep my birthday presents in the house ‘cause I’d always find them.”
She smiled back, squeezing at his arm. “He’ll come around. Even if it’s just to stop me from pestering him about it.”
He grinned and said thanks and she left and he pressed his forehead to the wall and sighed, loneliness settling heavily around him again.
Friday
So technically Rip didn’t actually give Ted the schematics to the computer setup (and if Ted could hack into some of Rip’s higher security files, keeping him around when he’s bored could indeed be very dangerous) but he didn’t complain as some of the ideas Ted had to make it faster, more efficient and accurate were incredibly clever.
To make it even more surprising, Ted was being rather congenial to Rip. Well, congenial considering he was usually highly suspicious and questioning of Rip, almost to an aggressive level. But, Rip supposed, Ted had finally gotten tired of snapping at everyone because he couldn’t snap at Booster. So while Rip watched Ted work, half buried in the guts of a monitor, the two debated about the relativity of morality and the duty towards helping others and it was more of a discussion than their neigh-hostile encounter before.
For some reason, it reminded Rip of something from his childhood- a familiar, comfortable disagreement of minds. Something was still missing, though, and he wasn’t certain what. Rip was sure he was close to figuring out what it was about Ted that was bothering him, but like smoke the answer kept fading just out of view.
Rip said something regarding the application of ethical nihilism (something he didn’t believe in himself, though saw how his actions could be interpreted as such) which made Ted’s legs flex, rolling him out from under the monitor to glare up at Rip, taking the screwdriver from between clenched teeth so he could retort properly. He had about two day’s worth of beard on his face and bulbous yellow goggles over his eyes.
Whatever it was Ted was saying was lost in Rip’s sudden epiphany.
Rip slapped a hand to his face. “Oh God, I’m such an idiot.”
“Not to dispute this fact,” Ted drawled, “but what brought this on?”
Rip peeked out between his fingers, more embarrassed at having missed something that (now that he knew the connection) was really so blatantly obvious than the fact that he was wrong. “Just remembered a... rather important thing. Which, if I’m right, would mean your existence would not only be justified, but probably necessary.”
Though the gleam of his goggles blocked the sight, it was obvious Ted was rolling his eyes. “I’m so glad my life is important because the universe still wants to use me and not because, oh, I’d rather not have died in the first place.”
“While I’m sure we could discuss the philosophy of how much one person’s life is really their own business,” Rip said dryly, “I’d much rather verify this realization. I’m sure you’d rather I have conclusive evidence of your living being a good thing than you being stuck here while the rest of us find bunk.”
“That depends. Are you going to tell me I live until I’m old and gray?”
Rip smirked back and for the briefest moment it struck Ted as familiar until he realized he’d never seen Rip smile before. “I would, except that time is very relative. For all I know, you’re fifty years in the past.” Rip left as Ted not only attempted to make sense of that, but to figure out how it was even possible.
Saturday
He was in the time lab, studiously looking over equipment manuals just as he’d been doing the last few days. That or reports and texts on basic quantum theory. Ted would have found it hilarious if it didn’t annoy him to all hell. It wouldn’t have been so bad with Booster reading up on his Time Master responsibilities if it weren’t for the fact that Booster was doing it merely to avoid Ted. When Booster’s eyes flickered to Ted and then away again for the fourth time, Ted finally lost patience.
He strode over and flopped down pointedly next to Booster, sitting a hair too close- just as they always did. Seeing Booster flinch and pretend he wasn’t trying to scoot away brought a bubble of fury inside Ted.
“Hey,” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
“Hey,” Booster muttered back- he couldn’t have been any more interested in his book if he were trying to crawl inside of it.
“Interesting read?”
“I guess.”
“You only guess?”
“It’s for my job.”
“I’ll bet,” he couldn’t keep the snide tone from his voice because Ted never bothered to hide his emotions. “I also bet that you’ve been cramming more for your job in the last week than you have the last year. Wonder why that is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, well then listen up, old buddy, because I’m gonna spell it out for you.” Ted put his hand on the book, then leaned in to make Booster look at him. “You’re using this time stuff to avoid me. Why?”
“I’m not avoiding anyone. I’ve just been busy.”
“So busy you can barely look me in the face when I’m talking to you? When I actually get to talk to you?”
It took effort- enough that it was obvious which, considering how good an actor Booster was, meant it took a damn lot of effort for him to gaze into Ted’s eyes without flinching away. “You’re overreacting.”
“Don’t lie to me, Booster. You haven’t been able pull a lie on me in years.”
And there was that flinch again and the look on Booster’s face- the utterly careful way he kept his expression blank save what Ted could only possibly label as fear for some reason- was like Ted was some unfathomable terror that had Booster cornered.
“There’s nothing wrong and I’m not avoiding you,” Booster said evenly, like a well-rehearsed line in his head. “Taking care of the timeline is a lot of work and I’m sorry you feel neglected, but I can’t not do this.”
A snarl was working its way to Ted’s lips and he opened his mouth to say something scathing when Booster’s alarm went off. The blond stood, “Gotta go.”
No. He wasn’t going to get away that easily. This was the longest conversation Ted had had with Booster in days and there was no way, with this whatever problem unresolved between them, that Booster was going to leave again.
Ted grabbed at his wrist- would’ve spun him right around if Booster didn’t dig in his feet. “Booster-“
“I have responsibilities now,” he gritted out, not looking at Ted, his fist clenched and muscles in his back ridged, as if he couldn’t stand to explain himself. “Isn’t that what you and everyone else kept saying I need to do? Well I have them now, so let go so I can do my job.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly why you’re so eager to get away from me. You know, if you think my being here- alive -is such a terrible thing, maybe you should just tell me instead of coming up with these half-assed excuses. You want me gone? Fine Say it and I’m out. No point hanging around a best friend that’s stopped caring.”
Booster flinched but still wouldn’t look Ted in the face. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Look, we can talk about it when I get back-“
Ted dropped Booster’s arm as if it burned him and when Booster (finally, finally) looked at him, Ted’s expression was one of cold anger. “Considering this is you we’re talking about? No, we won’t.”
He stalked out and waited just outside the time lab, hoping deep, deep inside that Booster would come out and look for him, that they’d be able to talk it all over and at least come to an understanding, dammit, never mind still being friends. It hurt Ted more than he wanted to dwell on. After all he’d done to get back because Booster was hurting, because Booster needed him and then... this was what he came back to.
He crossed his arms, more holding himself then anything else and he waited.
Booster didn’t come out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2010-03-27 06:27 am (UTC)MIKE I CAN'T TELL IF I WANT TO PUNCH YOU OR GIVE YOU A HUG (which of course means he's totally IC)
haha poor grumpy/frustrated Ted. All this on top of coming back to life?
poor Shel, stuck in the middle of it all
Time waits for no woman in a wig and garters. That line made me chuckle a bit. Shel, so sassy. ♥
I loved Jaime being such a mom.
Lots of delicious hurty bits and Skeets abound.
Moar plz.
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Date: 2010-03-30 12:38 am (UTC)I'm of the opinion that Shel is the one more in charge of the Carter siblings. At least when it concerns stuff other than superheroing. I've got, like, an entire meta essay half-done in my head to support it, but yeah :P Sassy Michelle is fun^^
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Date: 2010-03-27 09:59 am (UTC)You make them angst so good. <3
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Date: 2010-03-30 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-27 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-27 11:40 pm (UTC)I can't wait for more.
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Date: 2010-03-30 12:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-29 11:34 pm (UTC)dammit booster! Ted needs
make outshugs!no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 03:05 am (UTC)Quick ramble than question;
Instead of doing homework I was addicted to my itunes, and I ended up putting together a playlist/(fan) OST to this fic. Do you mind if I post it?
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Date: 2010-03-30 03:19 am (UTC)I'm totally flabbergasted and extremely flattered! I know I would love to see it♥
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Date: 2010-03-30 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:18 am (UTC)http://community.livejournal.com/boostle/382267.html
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Date: 2010-03-30 08:26 pm (UTC)I love everyone. Including you for writing them so well~
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Date: 2010-04-01 04:14 pm (UTC)