maskormenace | 01, video

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[Ted’s looking a little uncertain, as he stands outside his nice shiny new house. Granted, he appreciates the whole ‘new house’ thing, especially since his was destroyed by a giant crazy lightning bolt, but something’s on his mind. He might look a little familiar to some, but he doesn't have his cowl on. That got taken by everyone's favorite ex-boss, back in Switzerland.]

So, uh. Forgive me if I’m a little skeptical of the whole ‘secret army base and a nice shiny new house’ thing. Secret army bases in the middle of anywhere kinda tend to put a guy’s guard up. And considering I’ve just come from one of those, I’d -- well, I dunno if I can go home. But it’d be nice. [He frowns, briefly, and moves to lean against the wall of the house.]

On another note. Anyone from the Justice League here? ‘Cause I have something to tell them. ...Oh. Uh. This is Ted Kord, by the way. Hi.

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[ Several seconds later a shadow appears above Ted and if he glances up, he'll see Karen in her civvies (she would have changed into her costume, but she had to move as fast as she could ― she had to see him in the flesh as soon as possible) descending.

She lands a few feet from Ted, not yet moving. It's as if something heavy has shackled both her ankles down. So, instead, she stares at Ted as if she's seen a ghost.

This is essentially seeing a ghost.

She swallows hard. ]

... Ted. Hi.

[ She wonders if she's imagining this. Maybe Max is back and messing with her head.

There have been so many friends who have come back from the dead, but Ted has never been one of them. Like the others, she failed Ted and to this day it still haunts her. ]

You're not a zombie, are you?

[It's okay. He's kind of gotten used to everyone treating him like a joke over the years. It doesn't mean it doesn't sting a little, still and he hesitates a bit when she lands. He almost wants to yell at her, to point out that she clearly has time for him now when she didn't not that long ago -- for him, anyway. But he doesn't. That can wait until he's figured out more of this place, that hopefully no one from the League is in danger here; that Max is gone. Priorities, Teddy, stick to those.]

Pretty sure the only thing I'm hungry for is a cheesesteak. I probably can't get a decent one here though, huh.

[ Her chest tightens, but a few seconds later she's gliding over to Ted and wrapping both arms around him, lifting him a few inches off the ground. She holds onto him tightly as her heart pounds hard in her rib cage, almost as if letting him go will mean losing him again. ]

Yeah, you're definitely not a Black Lantern.

... It's great to see you.

[He's returning the hug, perhaps not as tightly, but not without a few theatrical gasps for air. It's pretty clear that Karen, at least, regrets the --whole mess that Ted was intimately familiar with not so very long ago; so it's hard to begrudge her a hug.]

What, they've gone rainbow now? [Pff. Lanterns. Who pays attention to 'em anyway.]

......Well, it's been a while since I heard anyone say that.

[ Her embrace tightens some more before she finally releases him, taking a step back to regain whatever composure she can actually muster. She's rarely shown her emotional side to others and while she has opened herself up to Ted in the past, she did so while he was unconscious and hospitalized.

She's not actually sure what the procedure is when reuniting with ex-dead friends.

It stings a little to hear that from him. Her shoulders pinch. ]

Ted, I never thought I'd... [ She trails off for a few seconds. ] ... see you again.

I've missed you.

[ They all did. ]

[Ted isn't either, really, he's never been dead before, you see. And there was that one time, with Booster, but he wasn't really dead and it's not like he was ever really far from Booster's side anyway, so the point's a little moot.

He notes the change in posture, but he's not going to apologise. All of that is still too recent, too fresh, but -- like he'd decided earlier. Priorities. Safety first. All that good stuff.]

So I'm guessing the world didn't end, then. [If they realized he's dead, then they must have realized the whole thing about Max. Surely Bats couldn't have been that far behind him.]

I mean, unless there's -- weird time things going on and -- you know what. Just tell me what year it is for you, maybe that'll clear things up.

[ It might be naïve to think Ted would greet her with a little more warmth. Karen's had time to process his death and move on with her life. It's all she can do and all she's ever had to do with losing her entire universe.

But for Ted, it's fresh. ]

It's 2010 back home. [ A beat. ] For me anyway.

[She did help, at least, if only for a little while. Batman just flat-out ignored him. There will be words had at some point, whenever he finds Batsy, but it's a little easier to forgive Karen and the rest. At least they gave him some amount of concern when he told them there was something up.]

Okay. [A pause, to rub his temples.] So I can assume that mostly everybody made it safe out of -- what Max had planned. I'd really appreciate knowing I'm not crazy.

You don't have to give me details yet, if you don't wanna, I just -- we've had enough crap to deal with lately; besides a guy we thought was a friend betraying us, you know?

[ She rubs the side of her arm self-consciously. ]

We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. [ She knows what coming back from the dead does to even the brightest of them. Death changes a person. ] But I'm here, Ted.

[ Apologetically: ] I'm here now.

[ And then she scowls, having to think about Max. ]

He was never our friend. [ She folds her arms over her chest, jaw grinding. ] A friend would never do what he did.

It's okay. I just -- need to know people are safe.

[A beat.] I know. So is Booster, or that's what I heard. It'll be like old home week.

[Then he sighs and shrugs a little.] I don't know anymore. At least tell me he got what he deserved?

[ She could lie, but that would worsen the situation. There's enough tension between them already. ]

... A lot of people got hurt, Ted. Many were killed. [ Her fingers dig into her arms. ] A lot happened after that.

[ She pauses, her expression grim. ]

He got a little more than that.

... Max is dead. Was dead. I'm still trying to figure out what happened.

Dammit. I'm sorry, I wish I could have -- I don't know. Figured it out sooner?

[There's a moment of silence, as he absorbs this, and he nods.]

Good. I kinda hate to say it, but good.

No, it's not your fault.

[ She retorts immediately. She wants to reach out to him and visibly hesitates before allowing her hand to gently clap down on Ted's shoulder, giving it a gentle, reaffirming squeeze. ]

I don't know, Ted. I'm not going to shed a tear for Max, but I sometimes wonder if there had been another way.

[He needed that, and he gives her a little nod of thanks there before rubbing the back of his neck a bit awkwardly.]

Well, I know even less than you. I'm just glad he's got a chance to rot in hell like I told him he should.

It's a long, long story, Ted.

[ And then another Crisis happened and she played a major role in it. She's not sure she wants to get into those wounds that never really closed yet. ]

It was Wonder Woman who killed Max. What she did to him was broadcast all over the world. It was a mess.

Edited 2014-09-09 19:28 (UTC)

Well, I don't have to hear it right now. Don't worry about it.

....Broadcasted? Yeesh.

She was tried for it, but she got off. You know what Max was trying to do, don't you? He had it out for us.

[ Maxwell Lord: grudgewanker even in death. ]

... Have you spoken to Booster yet?

I've heard he's here, but I haven't seen him yet.

And yeah, of course I know what he was trying to do. He knew people's names that even I felt weird about looking at.

[ It's tempting to ask what Max had on her, but she refrains; maybe it's better if she doesn't. Some things are best left that way.

She pauses. ]

You should see him... Booster, I mean.

I know. I'm planning on it if he doesn't show up to say hi himself.

[A pause.] Where do they have you staying?

[ A slight grin. ]

I don't doubt he'll zip his way over to see you as soon as he can.

[ She may have missed Ted, but she's not going to contest Booster's missed and him and hurt more since his death. ]

I'm in number five. Most of us are housed near each other.

Good to know. Maybe I'll stop by sometime.

[A beat.]

How's he doing? Did he get married again?

[ A pause. ]

He's okay. You know him. [ Booster had taken Ted's death the hardest, but he's managed to stay in the game. ] We aren't in contact that often back home, honestly.

[ Even from before his death and the OMAC situation. After her JLI and solo days, she went back to the JSA and life picked up from there for her. ]

Yeah, I know how it is. [He'd fallen out of contact with most of them himself, back before the whole Checkmate thing. Well, aside from Babs and Booster. Some things never change.]

...I hope he is. [He might sound a little protective, there, but he worries about Booster sometimes. The guy borrows money from him half the time, how's he gonna get along when Ted's not around?]

Booster is... [ an idiot. Alright, be nice Peej. ] Booster.

[ Nailed it.

She gives a helpless roll of her shoulder. ]

But he's always been a strong one.

[ He disappeared for some time after Ted's death, but he always came back. He messed up along the way, though he has good intentions beneath the money and fame scheming ideas.

She rubs her elbow sheepishly. ]

... Is it overkill to hug you again?

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