Runarounds

Don skidded to a stop as the blue clad man landed in front of him. His incredulous eyes took in the exaggerated 'S' in red and yellow on his chest. He took a second to control his expression. Dawnie always said the reason he attracted so much punishment was that he was easy to read. Overseer Luac had loved seeing anger, defiance and despair in much that order.

"Can I help you, sir?" Don asked as his eyes skipped around for signs of anyone else.

It would so suck if his own father showed up; he'd asked Court and that… person was merrily zipping around doing good everywhere here. The last thing he needed was for his life to start resembling San's. The next thing you knew, he'd be digging up his own stash of Quell, and he didn't need Dawnie to know he still had some calibrated for their metabolism.

"I have questions for you and your little group." The man looked amused at Don's antics.

Don paused at that. This was implying they had information they shouldn't have. The fact he was amused meant he thought he was faster than Don. He might be on par with his and Dawnie's father, but Don knew that he clocked faster than that man. At least that's what the oversatisfied scientists had always said.

"What sort of questions?" Don asked, straightening up. It didn't matter. He could go from standing to light speed in less than two seconds.

"The sort that start with just who your parents are," was the question he wasn't expecting.

*****

San nearly fell as he came to a stop and narrowed his eyes at the man leaning against the corner of the building. He looked around but didn't see anyone else. His vision suddenly telescoped before adjusting back to normal, giving him a sudden migraine. He winced. One hand came up to press against his temple.

"Must be strange seeing them still breathing," the man asked. Even the dark meaningful intonations were the same, making the memories blur just a little.

"Uncle Bruce?" San blurted out before shaking his head. "Sorry, mistook you for someone else entirely," he said with a sharp smile he didn't mean.

"And that was a little more confirmation that I needed," Bruce replied, standing up. "Still, why are you chasing after Lois' kidnappers?"

"She's just collateral damage, old man." San took a wary step backwards. Uncle Bruce always freaked him out. Lucy was never phased by him, though. "We're just looking for an old friend." Or eight, he added silently. Court had found a corpse they'd all been more than happy to see.

He wondered that the people who had it weren't looking for the rest. Still, seeing Overseer Luac with part of his head missing had been cause for celebration. San himself wasn't sure if he'd been able to stand up to the being. Overseer Luac was the stuff of all their nightmares still. If they weren't scared of losing the trace they had, they would have gone home and told everyone they'd managed to get out.

He was sure it would be cause for a massive party. Boy, he wouldn't mind a party right about now. It would distract Aarti and get Lucy off his back about the baggie of Quell they'd seen. Maybe he could even sweettalk innocent little Eileen into warping him someplace it'd take them a few days to figure out where.

He forcefully wrenched his attention back to his present. He planned on giving someone's head in a jar to Eileen. Didn't matter whose; the ones who escaped had all been in the lab that morning when they vivisected her pet rabbit to see what her reaction would be. Lucy hadn't known and none of her age mates had suspected a thing. It had to have been one of the most pampered creatures in their world.

It was the one thing he'd promised himself to get, not that he was going to mention it to Dawnie or Aarti. They'd object. Court and Lucy, though? They'd probably find him a big enough jar.

San started as his foot broke the surface of the road. With a muffled curse, he wrenched it free, losing yet another sneaker. He and Don thought the amount of footwear going missing lately would have attracted someone's attention by now.

"Looks like the story was right and you can't control yourself," Bruce remarked, straightening up.

San snorted lightly at that. He knew that contemplative tone. The last time he heard it, he'd been stuck in a weird immersion therapy session getting clean. The Quell the researchers gave him was most definitely not the same stuff they used on Don and Dawnie. Rendering him mostly human-normal was just a valued side effect.

"Was there a point to this conversation? If not, things await doing," San said, taking a careful step back. He was getting better at judging his accelerations having raced with Don these past few days.

San kept his expression blank as he slowly wriggled his toes. It was going to be a pain replacing these yet again. Then he grinned, startling Bruce; he'd bet that Bruce had no idea that Court was draining one of his secret little 'bat' accounts dry for their living expenses. If it wasn't for the shoe budget Court had put him and the twins on, they would probably have emptied it by now.

*****

"So, Court?" Lucy said, peering over the edge of the building. She sighed. "I have a super-sized problem over here."

"And how can I solve that for you, oh goddess of my heart?" Court responded. There was the sound of rapid clicks coming over his line.

Lucy looked up. A silvery plane was slowly traversing the sky in serene ignorance. One side of her face twitched into a mean little smile.

"Remember that famous picture?? With the plane??" She twirled a lock of hair around one finger.

"You are so wicked, my dearest heart," Court murmured. "Let me show you fireworks."

Lucy's smile widened as the plane suddenly wobbled. One of the engines then burst into glorious flame. She sat down on the rooftop, watching as it started to plunge downwards.

"How much of a mess do you think it'll make when it hits land?" Lucy absently asked as she traced the trail of black smoke behind the plane.

"You're such a pyscho," Dawnie scolded without much heat.

"Thanks for the save, sugar face," Don added.

"And I've found her!" Aarti interjected.

Lucy let out a satisfied sigh as a sudden blur of blue shot towards the plane followed by a familiar engine roar from below.

"Did you have to blow up a plane?" San asked as he gingerly sat down next to her.

"Did you have to lose another sneaker?" Lucy countered.

"Can I help it if the footwear's fragile?"