posted
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posted
Well, um, I guess this would count in the Dads section. It's a story I did in October, one of many I've done to showcase the fatherly side of Johns rendition of Lightning Lad, along with a child-version of one of my original characters, Ebony Dent.
The Haunted Laundry Room
Garth Ranzz yawned and proceeded to scratch the back of his head. He then started mumbling to himself about the stinking chore duty as poured bleach into the automated washing unit.
"Don't know why I had to listen to Cos to all that speel about 'pulling our weight'."
You see, and this is kinda important to know, Garth Ranzz was in his mid-to-late twenties, a scruffy, muscular redhead from the planet Winath (pronounced "Wine-ath") who could generate electricity after a childhood incident involving his twin sister, older brother, and lightning beasts. He was married to the love of his life, a blonde telepath named Imra, had a wonderful baby boy named Graym, and helped found an intergalactic team of superheroes (the Legion of Super-Heroes). Oh, did I mention he was currently in another universe?
This superhero team which Garth was a founding member of was currently on a mission which took them to a parallel universe, home to alternate versions of himself, Imra, their friends, family, and enemies. They had no idea just how long they would be in this parallel world, and it was decided that his Legion would what they could to aid this Legion in both defending truth, justice, life, and liberty, as well doing their fair share of chores and work around the HQ. Garth got laundry duty. This wouldn't be a problem, if hadn't had to do it at 4 in the morning,
"Don't know why I got stuck with stupid laundry duty" he continued to mutter, shorting the whites and the colored clothing. He was a bit amazed that most of these kids had theme wardrobes, and started to wonder if they were the same way back home. (Currently he was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and black sweatpants)
Now, please don't get the wrong idea, Garth was a farm boy and was used to being up at such hours, for the first half of his life until he joined the Legion. And being a father he was used to waking up in the middle of the night to soothe whatever was bothering his child. But after a sleepless night and walking around barefoot on a cold metal floor is enough to make anyone cranky. Being the hothead that he is, though, at least it was nice to have a reason.
He yawned again as the machine began to whir. The clock on the wall was now reading 4:18 AM.
"*Sighs*. So, what now? I try and get two hours of sleep, or get breakfast now? Wonder how Imra would feel about breakfast this early? Nah. She'd probably be... why am I talking to myself?"
The soft moan coming from seemingly nowhere answered that. It was soft and quiet, but noticeable, above the whirring of the laundry machine. Enough to snap Garth fully in the waking world.
"Hello?" he asked, not completely sure where it came from. Another soft moan arose and began to egg on frustration.
"Really not in the mood at 4 freaking AM to deal with 'ghosts'." He said, peeved.
And the answer to that was a louder one. He still couldn't tell where it came from, due to the sounds of the machine. He could barely make out the first one he heard.
"Halloween isn't until next week, so you-"
He was cut off by another one, more distressed and scared. Tell me, if you were up in the middle of the night and heard someone moaning wouldn't that freak you out? Probably explains why Garth's eyes began to spark.
"Okay, enough now, seriously." Another moan, sadder, more fearful. "Cham, is that you?" Garth asked, obviously wanting to know if it was the young Durlan he was going to electrocute. The moans were turning into breathless gasps, frantic breathing.
"Whoever's doing this, knock it off." Garth's voice was getting more agitated as he kept getting no replies. His hands were beginning to spark as well. This was really getting to him. The machine kept whirring on.
"Come out now and maybe I'll dial the voltage down to 5000 instead of 10." Garth ordered.
Frantic cries and breathless gasps, louder.
"Okay, now to the count of 3!"
Louder. Breathless. Frantic. Whirring.
"1..." he counted.
Louder and quicker, fearful and sad, water rushing.
"2..." he was almost done.
Louder and louder and faster and faster, until-
DING!
"Aaaaahhh!!!" the voice screamed.
"Aahh!"
Thud!
"Ow!"
"'Ow'?"
Garth nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that scream, his heart was racing, but he calmed down almsot as quickly when he recognized the little voice he could not tell was coming from the closet hamper as the machine stopped.
"Wait a minute..." he said to himself, angrily as the hampre door slid open. The light inside was on, and on the bottom shelf was little Ebony Dent, rubbing her forehead where she hit her head.
"Uh..." Garth really didn't know what to say, as she was the last person he expected to see.
This little, black-haired seven year old was, once, a seventeen year old dimensionally displaced vigilante who was recently deaged to her current state, with no memory of the last few months. And since then she saw Garth, this one at least, as a big brother/fatherly figure.
"What time'z it? Oww..." she moaned, rubbing a black and blue on her forehead.
"It's-never mind that. What are you doing in here at this time of night?" Garth question before picking her up to get a better look at her bump.
"I head a bad dream and couldn't fall asleep again. I remembered I left a book in here and went to get *yawns* it. I must've fallen asleep again." She held up the book in question, a book on Superstring Theory.
"And had another bad dream. Hmm, it's not too big." He said, commenting on the small bruise on her forehead. "You want some ice for that?" She shook her head. "Then, are you gonna tell me why you left a book in a laundry hamper?"
"It's one of the quietest rooms in this whole place. I came in here so I didn't have to listen to all the arguing that goes on when I'm trying to read." Ebony explained.
"Arguing? Since when do I argue?"
"When you thought Nemesis Kid was giving Imra looks and you started screaming at him." Ebony sharply eyed him.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He bashfully grinned. "But he WAS, you know."
"Uh huh."
"You know, if you had a bad dream, or dreams as the case may be, you could've said something to me. Or Imra."
"*Yawns* I didn't wanna annoy you guys this late." She tried to say as she rubbed her eye.
"Annoy us?" Garth's trickster mode decided to turn on just as the washing unit's drying mode turned on.
"Awww, you know you could never annoy us!" He jubilantly said as started to give her a bone crushing bear hug.
"Gkt. Can't. Breath. Too. Ack!"
"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Garth chuckled. "It's your own fault for getting me worked up."
"And that permits the bone crushing?"
"No, that was a bonus. Now come on, I'm getting you some ice for... that..." He trailed off.
"Monkeyboy?" She asked.
"So I know the moaning was you." He said. "Now I'm trying to figure out who's behind the oozing slime coming out of the wall."
Ebony turned around to see what Garth was seeing. The two watched rusty, orange-brown pus oozing out of the walls. The pus smelled as if a dead body had been set on fire inside a vat of methane. And it slowly began to spell out:
GET OUT NOW.
The two blankly stared at the oozing, bubbling walls.
"It's too early for this." Ebony said.
"Yes. Yes it is." Garth agreed.
-------------------- I want to be hated by lies - Bring Back Lian Harper
posted
Well, here's another one, cut out of my second Christmas track list. Too bad they don't have a Brothers exhibit.
Ebony was glad to have finally gotten back in the zone. As she did, she recalled her experience at a second childhood...
3009 Metropolis
05. The Stakeout
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the HQ, a creature was stirring...
"Hey! Psst!" Said creature nudged to the sleeping seven-year old under the sheets.
"Nuh." The seven-year old replied in slumbering daze.
"'Nuh'? What kind of word is 'nuh'?" The eight-year old redhead asked. The other girl rose from under her sheets.
"It dates back to ancient Sumeria and is a basic word to describe a form of love making involving hot candle wax and tepid honey." She flatly said with half-open eyes.
"L-love making?!" The redhead screamed.
Eight-year old Ayla Ranzz had nearly fallen off seven-year old Ebony Dent's bed. Ayla was wearing a pair of powder blue sweatpants and a t-shirt with the "Bananas in Pajamas" on them. Ebony still had on her oversized t-shirt for "Goodbye-Land". Ebony reached over and turned on a light.
"I was joking, girl." Ebony said, sleep sand crust in the corners of her eyes.
"I knew that." Ayla said, trying to regain her composure. Ebony sighed.
"What do you WANT Ayla? I was dreaming of sugar plum fairies doing the Freddie."
"It's after midnight." Ayla whispered.
"So..." Ebony asked, wondering where this was leading.
"So? That means it's official Christmas." Ayla replied, giggling.
"Well Feliz Navidad. Wake me up in seven hours." Ebony said, and turned off the lights.
"Oh no you don't." Ayla said, turning them back on.
"What are you doing?" Ebony asked, irate and grumpy.
"I wanna wait up for Santa!" Ayla shouted.
"Didn't we already get enough of that last night?" Ebony asked, remembering two psychopaths and their unexpected visit.
"That's different. That wasn't the real Santa." Ayla said, waving it off.
"So...?" Ebony asked again.
"Oh come on! Haven't you always wanted to meet Santa Claus?" Ayla shook her.
"Well do you REALLY want to meet Santa Claus or is it just an excuse to get to the gifts he's gonna give you the minute you get them?" Ebony asked.
"..."
Ayla couldn't think of a proper response.
"Uh-huh. Good NIGHT, Ayla." Ebony said, and turned the light off again.
"Pleaaaaase? I don't wanna wait up by myself." Ayla said, not bothering to turn the light on again. Ebony sat up and turned the light on again to get a better look at Ayla's puppy dog pout.
Nothing good's gonna come out of this. But I honestly can't leave Ayla alone. Chances are she'll probably tear through all the gifts the minute she sees them. Girl's got the impulse control of an epileptic. No offense. And besides, I'm probably gonna have to give Santa an explanation as to why we're up.
"Fine." Ebony said, sighing as she did.
"Woot!" Ayla giggled in joy. And pulled the unsuspecting seven-year old to her doom. Or not.
...
The lounge was dark. Save for the crackling of the vid fire. The large tree was filled with dozens upon dozens of gifts underneath. A plate with cookies and a glass of milk was left behind, eagerly awaiting it's Rubenesque owner.
"Wow! Look at all the gifts everyone got everyone else!" Ayla whispered.
"Joy." Ebony put it.
"What do you think they got?" Ayla asked, shaking one of the gifts, addressed to someone named "Marella" from Brin.
"I really don't care." Ebony moaned. "Oh well, looks like Santa's not here. Let's go." Ebony quickly said before Ayla grabbed her shirt collar.
"Park it, Missy." Ayla ordered. She had cleared away some of the gifts in order to make a hidey hole under the tree for the two of them. As they crawled under, Ayla pulled the gifts back in their place, but with enough room to spy for any visitors.
"So, is this all we're gonna do?" Ebony asked.
"Yep. Snack?" Ayla said, holding up a couple of the cookies.
"Those are for Santa." Ebony reminded her.
"He won't miss one." Ayla said.
"Drop the macadamia cocoa clusters. Now." Ebony ordered.
"Fine." Ayla muttered.
And so, they wait...
And they wait...
And wait...
And wait...
And some time later...
"Ayla my legs are asleep and I want to join them." Ebony moaned.
"Just a little while longer. He'll be there." Ayla said, still enthusiastic.
"You're impossible." Ebony sighed.
"So, what do you want for Christmas? I mean, REALLY want?" Ayla asked, breaking the ice.
"Well... what do YOU want?" Ebony replied.
"Me?" Ayla replied. "Well, I'm just glad to be spending Christmas with Garth. It's the first one after, after I stopped being a cloud." She said, smiling, with just a sprinkle of melancholy in the mix. Shaken, not stirred.
"You ever miss being a cloud?" Ebony asked.
"No way!" Ayla said, pushing that off.
"Well, what about your other brother, Mekt?" Ebony asked again.
"Oh he's coming by. Our parents, too. We're gonna open the gifts they got us." Ayla informed her, still smiling.
"Oh..."
"Well, what do you want?" Ayla asked again.
"I dunno. It's something Santa might not be able to give me." Ebony explained, with just a pinch more melancholy in the martini that was her childhood.
"What?" Ayla plied on.
"I'll know in the morning. Which isn't long from know." Ebony wondered aloud, guessing what the time was.
"Oh don't worry. He'll be here." Ayla said.
And so they wait...
...
And Christmas morning came!
"I can't find Ayla anywhere!" Young Garth Ranzz said to his older doppleganger. The younger Garth wore red sweatpants and socks with a black short-sleeved shirt.
"Oh for God's sake, not again." The Garth Ranzz of New Earth moaned. He was wearing black sweatpants with a t-shirt saying "Ghost Patrol" along with a button-up plaid flannel shirt.
"Maybe they're in here." The younger Garth said as the two entered the lounge.
"I'll check in the-wait." The older Ranzz said.
"What?" The young one asked.
"Do you hear something?"
It sounded like... snoring.
"It's coming from the tree." The young one said.
They pushed the presents aside, to find two young girls asleep under the tree.
Ayla's eyes began to stir, when...
"Aaah!"
"Aaah!"
"Aaah!"
"Wha-?"
The two Garths fell as Ayla climbed out from under the tree, dragging Ebony with her.
"Ayla!" Her brother said.
"Garth!" Ayla responded.
"Monkey?" Half-asleep Ebony asked.
"Gah!"
"Gah? Who's Gah?" Ebony asked to the two Ranzzes, fallen over one another.
"Gah, an invisible monkey who lives in my laundry hamper." The younger Garth said.
"When did you get a invisible monkey and WHY am I just learning about this now?" Ayla asked.
"Okay, okay, enough shtick. Seriously, what are you two doing in here?" The younger one asked, annoyed.
"Don't look at me." Ebony said, yawning as she pointed to Ayla.
"I just wanted to see Santa Claus." Ayla said.
"And how is the fat man?" The older Garth asked. Ayla didn't respond. Garth sighed.
"In any case, Merry Christmas, sis." Garth said to his sister as the two Lightning Lads got up."
"So, can we open presents?" Ayla asked.
"Oh no." Garth said. "Because you decided to camp out underneath a giant plastic tree, you have to wait until AFTER breakfast."
"But Gaaaaaaarth." Ayla whined.
The two stared one another down.
"Okay, but can I have banana nut waffles?" Ayla asked.
"Sure." Garth said, taking his little sister by the hand.
"Score!" Ayla said as they walked to the kitchen.
"Good morning, sunshine." The older Garth said to Ebony. "Merry Christmas."
"erry ristmas." Ebony said as she yawned again.
"So, waiting for Santa, huh?" The older Ranzz asked, smirking.
"She wouldn't leave me alone." Ebony moaned.
"Aw poor princess. Well, come on. Breakfast?" He asked. "I'll make pancakes."
"Pancakes?" Ebony asked.
"Sure." Garth said as he placed Ebony on his shoulders.
"Well don't just stand there. Charge, Magnolia!" Ebony ordered him like a horse.
"Ye-haw!"
The two laughed as he brought her into the kitchen for breakfast with the rest of the Legion. The two girls were happy that they got what they wanted for Christmas.
Ayla: Christmas with her brother.
Ebony: Spending Christmas with other people.
They didn't see the lump of coal placed on top of the stack of gifts. With a note:
Better luck next year, Ayla.
-------------------- I want to be hated by lies - Bring Back Lian Harper
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