Randomly We Roll Along

Fic: A Dream Second. Bart Allen. G.

2009-10-19T20:35:23Z

Title: An Dream Second
Fandom: DCU
Characters: Bart Allen
Prompt: for fanfic100: 59. Food, for random_30: 19. Life is but a dream.
Word Count: 362
Rating: G
Summary: Bart is dreaming...
Author's Notes: Oh god, the crack. Written at 2 AM. So. Take a peak into Bart's dream... IF YOU DARE. Also, could I get my shananagin tag changed to museofspeed, please? Thanks. :-)

random_30 @ 2009-07-10T10:24:00

2009-07-10T17:24:27Z

Title: Ice Cream
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Angelo “**** you Chuck Austen” Espinosa, Jubilee
Prompt: 8. And a cherry on top.
Word Count: 173
Rating: PG
Summary: “You aren’t actually going to eat that, are you?”
Author's Notes: Do I LOOK like I own anything?

fanfic: "Applied Knowledge" by Eliyes

2009-05-30T23:41:31Z

Title: Applied Knowledge
Fandom: Marvel Comics
Characters: Rictor
Prompt: No time for the bomb squad.
Word Count: 310
Rating: E for Everyone
Summary: (See prompt)
Author's Notes: If you'd like more Rictor + TNT = ♥, check out The New Mutants #76 (which I blathered about here.)

Rictor knew a fair bit about explosives -- both the kinds you can make from household junk, and the dynamite popular with his family -- but he knew even more about explosions. They were cool, and dangerous, so as a kid he'd committed to memory all the instructions he'd been given or even just overheard, and as a teen he'd regularly eavesdropped when the Beast had been explaining the physics of Boom-Boom's powers to her.

He knew about shapes charges, and how explosions affected the area around them depending on what was there. He knew about shrapnel. What he didn't know was how to defuse the high-tech bomb currently attached to one of this building's support pillars, with only seconds to go.

But he knew what to do.

From outside, this is what happened: the entire front of the building cracked open. People inside screamed as they were carried out by floors that were suddenly behaving like landslides, spilling them into the street. The roof shook, and then collapsed into a rain of rubble. The noise was monstrous, as a building never expected to have to survive an earthquake rapidly succumbed to Rictor's power.

That was nothing compared to when the bomb went off. It was literally deafening -- temporarily, at least. When hearing came back, and the ringing faded a little, the sirens of approaching emergency service vehicles were filling the air.

Out of the broken shell of the building, covered in dust, walked Rictor. He was carrying a little boy, and a women with a broken cane in one hand was leaning on him. He knew that the people who had seen him use his powers to force them out of the building would probably assume he's caused the blast -- almost no one had seen the bomb -- but he knew that he'd saved the day.

Sometimes, that was enough.

Cross-posted from my journal.

fanfic: "Negotiation" by Eliyes

2009-05-30T10:45:58Z

Title: Negotiation
Fandom: Marvel Comics
Characters: Rictor and Boom-Boom
Prompt: I don't think that'll fit.
Word Count: 257
Rating: E for Everyone
Summary: Boom-Boom exhibits a vastly different spacial perception from Ric's own...
Author's Notes: I always like these two arguing. They're so good at it. I especially love it when Ric wins. X3

"No."

"C'mon, we need a real couch."

"And we need groceries more."

"It's free, Ric, it's not like it's eating into the ice cream budget."

"I know that, but we're supposed to be at the market by now."

"So hurry up and help me get this loaded! We'll hardly lose any time!"

"Which brings us back to NO. Boom-Boom, it won't fit. That thing is like a foot-and-a-half wider than the car!"

"...Can't we just but the back seats down?"

"It's not a hatchback, it's a sedan. That's another 'no'."

"If we had the JEEP..."

"If we had the truck. Hell, if we had rope, you might convince me to tie it to the top of the car, if we could get it up there."

"Shouldn't we still have that stuff in the trunk from the last week's training exercises?"

"Sam took it all out to make room for the groceries."

Boom-Boom did her best puppy dog eyes.

Ric put his hands on his hips and stared her down.

He one, this time.

"Fine," Boom-Boom conceded with an ungracious sigh of disgust, stomping around to the passenger side of the car and flinging herself into the seat.

"Can we at least look for rope at the store?" she asked plaintively as Ric slid in behind the steering wheel..

"I have a better idea: use a payphone and call Sam and Bobby to come get it with the truck."

(And that's how X-Force got a real couch for their Arizona HQ!)

Cross-posted from my journal.

Original fiction (Maniac Love): "A Game of Cat and Mouse" by Eliyes

2009-05-10T03:12:17Z

Title: A Game of Cat and Mouse
Fandom: Maniac Love
Characters: Alice Nicholas, Leslie Nicholas, others
Prompt: Badger, badger, badger.
Word Count: 757
Rating: PG for mild swearing.
Summary: Alice's mom (Leslie) needs her help finding something precious -- by phone.
Author's Notes: Little something for Mother's Day. ;3

Alice was almost to the campus library when her cell phone breedled. "Shit," she said, swinging her bag around to dig for it. "Forgot I left that on." A quick glance at screen showed her the caller ID before she flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"Mom?"

'Hi, honey. You're not in class, are you?' her mother's voice replied, sounding worried.

"No, I just got out." She shifter her knapsack back over his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

'I can't find Reba.'

Alice felt her face fall. Reba was her cat, a huge tabby who was getting on in years. She sat down heavily at a nearby picnic table.

"You've tried shaking the kibble box?"

'Yes. I know she didn't get outside. Dickie's out there, and you know he never leaves her alone when she gets out.'

"Right." She did know that. Dickie was a very excitable dog, and while Reba was unquestionably the boss inside the house, the yard was a whole other matter.

'I'm gonna put you on speaker phone, and you can call her.'

"Uh," Alice looked around. There were people out and about on the campus, who would undoubtedly think she was strange if she started the kitty call into her cell phone.

On the other hand, she barely knew any of these people, whereas Reba had loved her since she was a little girl, and brought her mousies, and had kittens on her dolphin bedspread that time.

'Okay,' her mom prompted.

"Reba! Reeeeeebaaaaa!" Alice called at full volume. "Heeeeeeere kittykittykittykittykittykittykittykittykittykitty! Heeeere kittykittykittykittykitty!" She paused and waited.

'Nothing. Try again?'

Alice called again. Behind her, someone did a truly pathetic meow, and people laughed.

'Uh, I think I heard a rustle, but I'm not sure where it came from. She's not answering back.'

"She usually doesn't, mom."

'Well, except when you sing.'

Alice slumped forward and covered her face in embarrassment. "Sing?"

'You remember, whenever you'd sing in the shower she'd howl --'

"Well, yeah, but --"

'Especially when you do your Little Nell impression.'

Alice sighed, straightening up and pushing her hair back. "Okay. Right. Got the volume up?"

'Of course I do.'

Keeping her eyes closed, Alice hummed a little, trying to get high and nasal enough, then broke into the one song Reba could never help but try to drown out.

"It was great when it all began! I was a regular Frankie fan --"

'Ooh! I heard a meow! Keep singing!'

Desperately trying not to laugh at the sudden mental image of her mother as the sea witch from Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, Alice kept up.

"That was before he had the plan to start workin' on a muscle man --"

'Oh my God,' Alice's mom exclaimed, exasperated. 'What are you doing in the recycling, Reba?' A near desperate yowl answered. Alice figured 'what the Hell' and kept going.

"Now the only thing that brings me hope --"

'Myeee!' came Reba's voice.

"Is my love for a certain dope --"

'Meeer!'

A disheartening amount of crashing and cursing from the phone over-rode the end of it, and a wolf-whistle from close behind her made Alice jump. She turned and gave a wild-eyed look at Holly's friend Dan, who was leaning on the picnic table, grinning at her.

'Got her!' her mother announced triumphantly, drawing Alice's attention back to her phone.

"What? You did? Oh, good, is she okay?"

'Oh, she's fine,' was the benevolent response, 'Although she seems to think you're trapped in the phone. She misses you.'

"I miss you, too, Reba," Alice crooned.

'You should come visit her. Hint hint.'

Alice laughed. "I see what you did there! Nicely played, Mom. Yeah, I guess. Next weekend?"

'Whenever you want, honey. Your dad can come pick you up Friday after work?'

"Sure, okay."

'And now, I really should get back to the taxes,' her mom sighed. 'Say good-bye, Reba.' A throaty purr temporarily thundered into Alice's ear, followed by, 'I love you, snifflebum.'

Alice's, "Bye, Mom, Love you, too," was a little strangled by embarrassment over the nickname.

"So," Dan said, sliding onto the bench next to her as soon as she clapped her cell phone shut and slinging an arm over her shoulders (which was slightly awkward, because apparently in normal sneakers she was actually taller than him), "Why aren't you in the Theatre Club yet? And what can I do to lure you in?"

"Help me smooth things over with Holl when I break our date next weekend," she suggested, "and I'm yours to convince."

.

FYI, to remember the lyrics, I had to sing them. My cat immediately appeared from wherever she'd been napping. X3

Cross-posted from my journal.

random_30 @ 2009-04-15T10:35:00

2009-04-15T17:36:04Z

Title: Crazy Making
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Sean Cassidy
Prompt: 10. The what and the what?
Word Count: 174
Rating: PG
Summary: “I don’t want to see or hear you for the rest of the week.”
Author's Notes: I? I don’t own a damn thing.

Title: Thanksgiving
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Jono/Paige
Prompt: 12. Not what you're looking for
Word Count: 181
Rating: PG
Summary: Jono knows that he's not what Paige really wants.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

Fic: They Don't Have Valentine's Day on Krypton. Kon/Cassie. Bart/Carol. PG.

2009-03-07T19:34:37Z

Title: They Don't Have Valentine's Day on Krypton
Fandom: Teen Titans
Characters: Kon/Cassie, Bart/Carol, Tim, Ted.
Prompt: random_30: 12. Not what you're looking for. dcu_freeforall: 24. Amazons Attack.
Word Count: 1100
Rating: PG
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. And Cassie's boyfriend is not doing his boyfriendly duty.
Author's Notes: For the Superboy Valentine's Day Challenge! And thanks, as always, to julius12

[ficlet] Movie Time!

2009-02-27T22:49:22Z

Title: Movie Time!
Fandom: Startopia, with references to Star Wars.
Characters: VAL and a nameless narrator.
Prompt: 022. No one will ever believe this...
Word Count: 133 words.
Rating: G.
Summary: Remember the time you were arrested for saying 'these are not the droids you're looking for'? Yeah.
Author's Notes: Pure silliness.

---

VAL sounded smug, which was a bad thing. James eyed the monitors, listening to VAL's tale of how he got rid of the last station manager. (HOW many times had Star Wars been playing on the monitors before VAL let them turn it off? And what had he done to the exits?) It took only moments for James to imagine how the aftermath went...

“Do you even know how much we hate that movie? You guys pull that all the time!”

“I was joking!”

“You're still under arrest.”

“For saying that?”

“YES! Do you even know how many times we've seen it?”

“I want my lawyer.”

“You don't get a lawyer. Didn't you read the signs?”

“But - I - “

“No lawyer. Period. Our Station Manager will back us with this. A short stint in the cell, and you'll be set.”

“I was JOKING.”

“We don't joke about the Jedi here, buddy. In you go.”

I turned away from the cell, shuddering as the all-too-familiar strains of Star Wars' theme song started. The poor sap would see the rightness of our ways soon, unfortunately -

Five hundred viewings of Star Wars: A New Hope would scar anyone for life, even the most hardened of aliens. It was amazing how even humans grew to hate the movie, even though they created it.

---

random_30 @ 2009-02-27T10:27:00

2009-02-27T18:28:11Z

Title: The Problem with Precognition
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Everett, Angelo “F*** You Chuck Austen” Espinosa
Prompt: 24. You have three months to live.
Word Count: 188
Rating: PG
Summary: There are some powers that Everett REALLY doesn’t like to borrow.
Author's Notes:

Title: Time’s Up
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Everett
Prompt: 25. No time for the bomb squad
Word Count: 177
Rating: PG
Summary: There’s no time to waste.
Author's Notes: I own nothing, and Everett ’s death hasn’t been a spoiler for a VERY long time.

random_30 @ 2009-02-24T10:21:00

2009-02-24T18:21:21Z

Title: Switching Toothpaste
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Monet/Jubilee
Prompt: 22. No one will ever believe this.
Word Count: 185
Rating: PG
Summary: No one will ever believe how they saved the world, not in a million years.
Author's Notes: I own nothing. I’m sure you all know that by now, but it occasionally needs saying.

random_30 @ 2009-02-21T10:39:00

2009-02-21T18:40:18Z

Title: Road Map
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Angelo “F*** You Chuck Austen” Espinosa, Jonothon Starsmore, Howard the Duck
Prompt: 16. Do you know the way to San Jose ?
Word Count: 181
Rating: PG
Summary: In which our heroes are a little lost as they take a detour before going back east.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

Title: Man on the Stair
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Penance, Chamber
Prompt: 17. I met a man upon the stair.
Word Count: 163
Rating: PG
Summary: Two stranger people passing on the stair.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

random_30 @ 2009-02-12T10:26:00

2009-02-12T18:26:55Z

Title: The Diary
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Paige
Prompt: 13. I’m gonna blog about it.
Word Count: 159
Rating: PG
Summary: Paige is thinking about keeping her diary on-line.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

Rictor claim: "The Condom Fairy Attacks" by Eliyes

2009-02-10T20:55:26Z

Title: The Condom Fairy Attacks
Fandom: Marvel U (X-Factor v3)
Characters: Jamie Maddrox, Julio Richter, others
Prompt: Day late, dollar short.
Word Count: 703
Rating: M
Summary: Ric and Jamie run into someone ...interesting. (Jamie pov.)
Author's Notes: This takes place in the 5 month time skip, and can be considered an AU starting from when that began, because I really think that in that time, some of the "team" would have been smart enough change what they look like some, given that the FBI is looking for them.

"You know, I think this may be the first time I've ever seen you wear a hat," Jamie commented, eying the ballcap on Rictor's head. It was black and had some sort of swirly symbol on it which Ric claimed had to do with a Japanese cartoon. He had tucked his hair up under it -- he was currently growing it out -- and that, combined with his newly-grown goatee made Jamie feel a bit like he was walking next to a stranger. Since they were currently hiding from a government agency, that wasn't really a bad thing, but it was unsettling.

The polo shirt just made it worse.

"I've worn them before," Ric said neutrally, eyes flicking around. It was late summer, and late enough at night to be full dark, but the area they were strolling through had turned into some sort of street festival. A lot of happy, drunk people, some in costumes, were going to make it a little challenging to meet up with their contact here, but it was too late to reschedule or relocate. The guy didn't have a cell phone.

"Look comin'," Ric said suddenly. Jamie followed his gaze to see a group of people wearing colourful fake fairy wings disperse though the crowd -- and one was bearing down on them. His particular wings were lime green with DayGlo pink swirls that matched his glittery pink latex shorts.

As a superhero, Jamie had encountered people wearing all manner of tight-fitting costumes, up to and including latex. However, most people -- and especially most guys -- wore something underneath so that their goods weren't clearly displayed the way this apparition's were. It was like a train wreck, to use a common cliché. He tucked right and was obviously uncircumcised.

He was also giving something to Rictor, with a chipper, "here ya go!"

"Thanks," Ric replied, and, "I like your socks."

"Thanks!"

Jamie turned to watch him go, noting the green and white striped stockings and discovering that there were panels missing from the back of the shorts. He swiveled back around quickly.

"Here," Ric said, handing him a small square packet.

"He gave you a condom?" Jamie asked, bemused, as Ric tucked it into his hand.

"He gave me one for each of us. You know how to use a condom, right?"

"Of course I know how to --" Jamie paused. "You do mean for sex, right?"

"Yes, I mean for sex. Just in case, here's a quick demo." Rictor stopped walking and so Jamie stopped, too, mildly terrified about what might happen next.

"First, carefully tear the package from the edge," Ric said, matching actions to words. "Also, don't use your teeth 'cuz you could tear or puncture the condom."

"Uh, is this really the place..."

"Next, remove condom from wrapper."

"Ric, I know how --"

"Step three, pinch tip and roll condom down over your dick. Or, in this instance, my arm."

"Whoa." Jamie hadn't realized condoms stretched quite that much.

"Step four, have sex. Step five, remove in such a way that the contents don't spill. Not like this," he added, having to peel it off so it turned inside out. There was a smattering of applause from around them as Ric gestured as if to say 'tada!'

"Finally, step six: do not get anyone else pregnant, ever. Or I will help hide your corpse." He seemed serious.

"I have no intention of cheating on the mother of my child!" Jamie protested.

"That'd be more convincing if you hadn't already done it." Ric flapped the condom at Jamie before dropping it in a nearby trash can. "Hey -- is that him?"

Later that night, Jamie looked up as Rictor walked in with one of his dupes. Ric kicked off his shoes, but the dupe just came right over to be reabsorbed. He reeled for a moment with the flood of memories, and then...

"Ric!" Jamie yelled. "Stop traumatizing my dupes!"

"You're the one who sent us to meet a guy at a leather bar!" Ric retorted, snagging a bottle of Pepsi from the fridge.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Why do you smell like latex?" Monet asked. Jamie shook his head. It was turning into one of those weeks.

Cross-posted from my journal.

Fic: Happy Birthday (Generation X/PG-13)

2009-02-06T19:29:53Z

Title: Happy Birthday
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Angelo “F*** YOU Chuck Austen” Espinosa, Everett, Sean, Jono
Prompt: 14. Booze and Hookers
Word Count: 184
Rating: PG
Summary: Angelo wanted to spring for hookers.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

Fic: Bombs away! Bart/Carol. G.

2009-02-05T00:07:47Z

Title: Bombs away!
Fandom: Impulse
Characters: Bart/Carol
Prompt: 25. No time for the bomb squad.
Word Count: 150
Rating: G
Summary: Bart's playing games and a bomb's about to go off!
Author's Notes: For milleniumrex!

Fic: The Fortress (Generation X/PG)

2009-01-30T18:31:59Z

Title: The Fortress
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Emma Frost, Artie, Everett
Prompt: 2. Blanket Fort
Word Count: 211
Rating: PG
Summary: There was a tent in the middle of the room.
Author's Notes: I own nothing, obviously.

That fic where Zachary meets the Beetlecast

2009-01-22T14:52:55Z

Title: Beetlemania
Characters: Zach/Eddie, Jaime, Paco, Brenda
Rating: PG
Prompt: It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Word Count: 903
Summary: There's trouble in El Paso, and Jaime calls the Titans for backup. Unfortunately, the only ones available were Zach and Eddie.
Author's Note: Inspired by this thread by touch_of_grey37.

“Just be lucky I got him to come along at all,” he said. “Next time, just call Traci or something.”

Fic: Have to Run. Bart/Carol. PG.

2009-01-17T21:42:59Z

Title: Have to Run
Fandom: Impulse
Characters: Bart/Carol
Prompt: For random_30: 001. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Word Count: 1130
Rating: PG
Summary: Carol is smart and pretty.
Author's Notes: Thanks to julius12 as always for the beta!

The Car (Generation X/#23)

2009-01-03T18:32:39Z

Title: The Car
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Sean Cassidy, Jubilee, Angelo ‘F*** YOU Chuck Austen’ Espinosa
Prompt: 23. Wax on, wax off
Word Count: 183
Rating: PG
Summary: Maybe this will teach them about borrowing cars.
Author's Notes: Me? If I owned any of this, the GenX gang would still be together.

Zach/Eddie (and pretty long)

2008-12-20T06:16:58Z

Title: Bedtime
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie, Greta, Tracy, Anita, Tim, mentions of Dream
Prompt: 2. Blanket Fort
Word Count: 1368
Rating: PG
Summary: Earth experiences a sudden infestation of bogeymen, and the Shadowpact must stop them from killing countless human children before they fall asleep.
Author's Note: I wrote this while sick. Sorry if it sucks.

"So explain to me why you need to use our bed,” he said.

Zach/Eddie fic

2008-12-14T01:40:48Z

Title: Beneath an Unfamiliar Sky
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie
Prompt: 12. Not What You're Looking For
Word Count: 603
Rating: PG
Summary: The boys hit a pretty big stumbling block.
Author's Note: This takes place during the New Azarath Camping Trip, and is not in continuity with most of the other stuff I've written for these guys.

“Zat,” he said one warm night as they lay side by side under the New Azarath night sky, trying to grab what little sleep they could. “Hey, you awake?”

Zach/Eddie

2008-12-10T00:29:40Z

Title: Weddings Are Kind of Impractical
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie
Prompt: 20. And I Will Always Love You
Word Count: 289
Rating: PG
Summary: Why the boys will never get married.

Zachary, in particular, was absolutely certain that Zatanna would, given the chance, throw a wild and crazy bachelor party for him and he wanted no part of it whatsoever.

Title: Disappearing Acts
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie, Jaime
Prompt: 17. I Met a Man Upon the Stair
Word Count: 388
Rating: R
Summary: Eddie gets a surprise visit.

When Zachary wound a hand through his long white hair he lost all semblance of control (like he always did).

Why yes, I am inordinately fond of Zachary Zatara

2008-11-30T08:29:36Z

Title: All Grown Up (Or So They Say)
Fandom: DC (Zach/Eddie)
Characters: Zach, Eddie, Tracy Thirteen, Greta Hayes, Anita Fite, Tim Hunter, Jaime Reyes
Prompt: 26. Future Tense
Word Count: 282
Rating: PG
Summary: Two members of the Shadowpact cause more trouble than the rest of the team combined.
Author's Notes: I've been working on some stuff with this version of the Shadowpact. Most of the events discussed here are somehow involved.

Zachary ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe by attempting to summon a kayak.

Title: A Little Bit Ridiculous
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie, Stephen Colbert
Prompt: 11. You Can't Do That on TV
Word Count: 421
Rating: PG
Summary: Zachary lands his dream interview.
Author's Notes: I originally planned to incorporate this into the zatara_diaries, but it works better here.

Stephen Colbert had, in his infinite wisdom, elected to have him on the show.

Title: Little Black Books
Fandom: DC (Zachary Zatara/Red Devil)
Characters: Zach, Eddie
Prompt: 13. I'm Gonna Blog About It
Word Count: 247
Rating: R
Summary: Eddie doesn't like it when Zach writes in bed.
Author's Notes: Obviously, this is set in the Zatara Diaries universe.

Zachary had a nasty habit of journaling. Specifically, journaling in bed.

Crossposted to shadow_crest and titans_together.

GenerationX Claim: #7, #11

2008-11-21T19:20:17Z

Title: A Hard Woman to Find
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Paige Guthrie, Angelo “F*** You Chuck Austen” Espinosa.
Prompt: 7. I got better.
Word Count: 250
Rating: PG
Summary: Angelo’s doing his best to track down the rest of his old teammates.
Author's Notes: Yet another addition to That Damn Mpreg.

Title: On the Television
Fandom: Generation X
Characters: Monet, Emma, Angelo “F*** You Chuck Austen” Espinosa, Jono, Everett
Prompt: 11. You can’t do that on TV
Word Count: 210
Rating: PG
Summary: This is why Emma doesn’t like letting them run around the city without supervision.
Author's Notes: I own nothing.

Rictor claim: "Wound-up Boy" by Eliyes

2008-10-23T21:08:00Z

Title: Wound-up Boy
Fandom: Marvel U
Characters: Rictor, The Right, Shatterstar
Prompt: I got better.
Word Count: 806
Rating: R? Involves torture, drugs, violence, etc.
Summary: A closer look at what The Right did to Rictor, and how that affected one friendship.
Author's Notes: I swear I'm capable of writing happy fic for Rictor, really I am. This just isn't one.

Some of what The Right did to him was just research, and some was torture just for the fun of it. Most was both. One of the first things they'd injected him with was a "truth serum". He had only vague, surreal memories of the interrogation that followed, but they'd asked him his name early enough that he'd kept most of the answer behind his teeth, stubbornly not correcting them when his slurred "Richter" was mistaken for "Rictor". He was smart enough to recognise that his family would be outgunned and probably slaughtered if they tried to rescue him, so there was no point in letting on how to contact them.

There were more drugs, added to an IV drip that stayed in him so they didn't have to touch him too much. Even when he was tired, he fought the sedatives, afraid that this time he wouldn't wake up. He hated the stimulants, hated feeling full of energy and jittery while he was trapped in their restraints. The drugs he hated most were the narcotics; stealing his ability to think, or keep the contents of his stomach down; making him lose his grasp of what was happening to him, of time passing. They only gave them to him in order to put him through withdrawal, but he despised the whole cycle.

When he was weak he hoped they'd accidentally give him a fatal overdose. Other times he was afraid he was dead already, and this was hell.

They told him he was a monster. He was a mutant, unnatural, and so they fitted him with a special helmet that was supposed to keep him from using his powers. They even told him what those powers were: he caused earthquakes.

They had found him after a massive quake in Guadalajara that they told him he had caused. All that destruction -- all those people killed -- because he was a freak of nature. He didn't want to believe it, but they had proof. They could deactivate the helmet and make him do it again. That's what the seizures were for.

Pain worked better, though.

He'd never known there could be so many kinds of pain. They tried all kinds of things on him. He was beaten every which way, shocked, even burned some -- although the guy who did that disappeared after. The worst, though, was the machines. He didn't even know how they worked, just what they did. With the flip of a switch he'd be screaming in agony. They could control how intense, how often, and where the pain was. They could make him feel like he was on fire, or freezing, or being stabbed a thousand times; whatever they wanted.

They enjoyed hurting him, especially the leader. They wanted to break him, but they also wanted to use him. Nearly everything they did to him was measured, recorded, compiled until they had a sure notion of how to force him to use his mutant power they way they wanted him to. They figured out how to make him destroy another city.

First, narcotics, strong ones. They must have kept him doped for a week to make sure that getting cut off would be particularly hellish. They moved him while he was out of it. Once withdrawal was underway, they pumped him full of stimulants and started up the torture machine. It started low and just got worse and worse.

Then they took off his helmet, and suddenly he could feel that there was something there. It was like having a crick in his neck and wanting to pop it, only amplified to a truly enormous degree. It was a fault line, they told him as they injected him with the cocktail that caused the seizures.

He was going to destroy San Francisco.

The Right hated him just because he was a mutant, and had primed him to do this awful thing that would move the world to hate mutants, too. He was a helpless bomb they set, a living weapon who couldn't control his own potential for destruction.

Fortunately -- for Rictor and for the city of San Francisco -- The Right's plan was thwarted. He was saved by mutants who didn't think he was a monster, and who taught him to control the terrible power at his command.

Years later, his best friend was a time-tossed alien who had been genetically engineered to be a superb gladiator; who had risen to super-stardom in that lethal sport; whose life, even after the arena slaves rebelled, primarily centered on fighting and killing. On the outside, their relationship seemed a weird match, and in many respects it was. They had a lot of differences, but they had some very basic things in common.

Shatterstar knew himself to be an instrument of death, forged by others.

Rictor could relate.

Cross-posted from my journal.