Homplot Wake Up Post

[thethirdwonder]

Normally, Cassie wasn't one to spend a lot of time in bed. But lately, or really the last two days, it had taken everything she had to get out of bed in the morning. Someone people might have been excited to find out the king of the Greek gods was their father but for Cassie, it just made her miserable. The powers she'd felt she'd earned for her bravery now felt cheapened. It just...it just wasn't fair.

And because she'd spent more time in bed, she knew instantly when she woke up that she wasn't on the island. After the events in the Fire Nation the month before, Cassie woke up quickly and sat up at the ready, wanting to be prepared for wherever she'd found herself. It was with a small sigh of relief when she realized that she was asleep on the couch of Young Justice headquarters. She took a deep breath and made herself float for the first time in years. Even through her depression, she couldn't help a small smile.

Comments

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

"This yours?"

Right at that moment I take another guy out. Shot cold dead with a bullet to the brain. And I even get points for this!

"It's nice. I'm getting better, I think."

I would've liked to say I played stuff like this when growing up, but Camp Half-Blood doesn't let campers have much of anything they didn't have back in ancient Greece.

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"I lost interest after I got shot," Bart said, simply. "It put a lot of things in perspective."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

I don't answer right away, but, no, I don't stop the shooting game. If he asks to play some other game, fine, but I'm not going to shut it off just to pamper the guy.

"Tough break, I guess."

I shoot a few more enemy soldiers. Why? They're enemies, and I'm on a mission. Maybe the game's a good life lesson.

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"It changes the view of things. Even more than that time I was catching machine gun bullets and the one I missed grazed a friend," Bart said, not really looking at the game. "But I never really liked guns in the first place. The only reason exist is to kill people. Like swords."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

I'm listening to him and I really like that end part. Like swords. Nice. Now I know his angle here.

"You must be Bart or Kon. Look, I haven't done anything to anyone since I came to Tabula Rasa. I'm not out to hurt people just for an evil chuckle. If you don't give me a problem, I won't give you any. I'd even leave you guys alone in your headquarters here and live off the streets, but Cassie told me to stay here."

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"I'm Bart," he said, looking at him. "And to be honest, I don't really know the whole of what happened between you and the girls. But Cassie's in charge of this team in this time, and she's always been a firebrand."

He shrugged a little, running his hand through his hair. "Things seemed so much more black and white, when we were just Young Justice. The good guys just were. But it's never that simple."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

Firebrand? I'd agree with that. I've already paused my game to talk to Bart without messing up my mission.

"No, it's not. Good? Evil? Whatever."

I don't even think I know the difference anymore.

"So, what's this Young Justice thing all about? You guys have super powers, right?"

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"Most of us, yeah. It doesn't take powers to be a hero, I mean, look at Batman, right?" Bart said, deciding not to broach the part about good and evil. His own views had changed a lot with the black ring.

"It was a place where we could be ourselves. Where the grown-ups didn't interfere, didn't judge every decision we made. We were all viewed as junior versions. My cousin, the Flash? He's a total hypocrite. Doing the exact same things he talks about hating when he was Kid Flash.

"But for me, this ended years ago. So I don't see it the same way Cassie does. She still can't imagine any other team. I remember that, I even remember exactly how it felt to be here back then, but it isn't who I am now."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

I never really considered the fact that Batman actually didn't have powers. Now that Bart mentioned it, though, he just seems to be a really skilled guy. I had the standard share of comics and cartoons when I was a kid, but I've been living in very different worlds and never thought about that kind of stuff since. But this shows I could cut it here if this wasn't just some dream. I don't think of things I can do as 'comic-book' powers, but I think I can hold my own with them if it came to it.

And, Bart is Kid Flash, huh? The Flash is the super-fast guy in red tights. So that's what he meant about catching bullets. He meant literally picking them out of the air. Pretty good.

"So, this Young Justice group is just a bunch of young heroes doing what they want to? There's nobody lording over you, controlling or directing you? That actually sounds pretty good."

I nod my head as I think about it. Much better than Camp Half-Blood. In some ways that place is like a concentration camp.

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"Well, Red Tornado's our adult supervision. He always tries to keep things from getting too far out of hand, and the League sometimes steps in. We even had a parent/mentor night once. I understand Cissie's and Cassie's moms got into some sort of fight," Bart said, trying to think how to explain things.

"The thing is that we needed a place to make mistakes. Do the things we thought were right at the time and turned out to be really stupid. The older heroes treat us like kids, which means they try to shelter us a lot. I'm not really sure how to explain it. I've never had any other life."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

"So, Bart, where do I crash later tonight? Do you guys keep a spare bed around here?"

Might as well get that out of the way so I know what I can expect. I'm not going to go knocking door to door looking for an empty room. If I don't wake up in Tabula Rasa, I might as well enjoy the few nights' sleep I get here. Sleeping in the streets isn't so comfortable.

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"We have a few. Never know when you're going to have visitors. Or wounded," Bart said, remembering. "But you might not want to be in the later category."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

I cock my head and grin as I slide a finger down the scar on the side of my face.

"Don't think I know that, Bart? I got this fighting a dragon. You guys aren't the only ones who've seen action. Although no ambrosia here to heal up. Too bad."

Not that Bart or most of the others could use that for healing, but it's handy when you need it.

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"Healing usually isn't an issue for me. Unless there's more damage than I can set before my metabolism goes too far. S'pose most people would call that a good thing," Bart said, sighing.

"The first time Cissie was here, it was when she'd gotten shot with one of her own arrows. Guy calling himself Harm. That was really when the team formed. When the girls showed up."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

At this point, I'm not all that interested to hear small pieces of their past. I've got the main points now. It's not like I want to get too close to these people, but we can hang out and maybe play some video games. In any case, I've got to do something or my ADD will kick in.

"Want to play a game or something? You can pick the game."

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

"I, uh, left most of these here because I'd already memorized them," Bart said, ducking his head a little. "So it's kinda like cheating to play 'em, especially against someone else. Even when I'm not stretching time, my reactions are better than a normal-speedster."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

Looks like Bart went a bit overboard on the games!

"Okay... guess we won't then."

I lean back into the chair.

"I probably wouldn't be much of an opponent, anyway. I never had much chance to play video games except on the island when they showed up for me."

[slowspeedster.livejournal.com]

Bart didn't look at him, not really sure what to say about his past.

"Sorry. I just...well, grew up playing those kinds of games. Even when I don't, they assume I cheat," he finally said. "But I could give you the nickel tour. Looks like you already found the kitchen."

[luke-castellan.livejournal.com]

"Sure," I say with a half-shrug as I get back up.

"Lead on, Bart."

And, of course, I take Backbiter with me. I'm mostly at ease, but my sword hasn't been further from me than six inches since I woke up.