anemoi | Operation Drag Booster Back

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Operation Drag Booster Back

Who: Booster Gold, volunteers for dragging his ass back
What: Booster wants to ragequit everything, several people would really rather he didn't.
When: Not long after this post.
Where: Somewhere around the southern edge of town.

He flew south. There wasn't any real reason for that choice in direction, he just happened to be facing north when he threw his phone off the roof. The choice of flight, though, that was deliberate. It was probably a mistake--flight made him way more visible than walking would, and he wasn't really going fast enough to make up for that, even though he could--but Booster didn't really care. Flying like this, where he didn't have to pay attention to where he was going, and didn't have to worry about putting on a happy face just in case anyone was looking, he'd always preferred that. It always helped him clear his head out some, and in a way, it was oddly comforting, being as alone physically as he felt emotionally.

Almost a shame it wasn't going to last.

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Danny flew south. He didn't know what was happening with Booster or why, only that something was headed south and that it might be Booster. So he flew, keeping a close eye out for anything on the ground that might be his Justice League buddy.

He was a little shocked, though, when he looked up and saw Booster right ahead of him in mid-air, flying. Danny didn't know Booster could fly. But that was irrelevant compared to the larger problem--why he quit, and why he was trying to fly away in the first place.

"Booster!" He shouts ahead of him at the man. "Booster, slow down!"

Booster turns to face Danny and pulls up into a steady hover. He hasn't seen the kid for a few days, and he's glad he hasn't gone and disappeared on him, but that doesn't actually make him glad to see him, not right now, and it shows on his face and in his unusually dark tone of voice.

"What do you want?"

Whoa. He's never seen Booster so vicious and angry before. Danny halts in mid-air as well and floats at eye level to him.

"W--we're just worried! Kotetsu and Gordon and a whole bunch of us--we're just worried about whatever happened that made you quit!"

He holds up his hands in a peaceful gesture as he speaks, trying to tread this situation carefully. An angry Booster is a Booster that Danny has never seen and does not know how to deal with.

"It has nothing to do with you guys. Forget about it. Forget about me. Should be easy."

And with that, Booster turns to leave again, apparently perfectly content to leave the conversation at that.

"What? No!" Danny flies forward and places a firm hand on Booster's shoulder. If he takes off again, he's taking Danny with him this time.

"It has something to do with us now, since I'm here and the others are catching up! We're just trying to help!"

Booster does at least stop instead of zooming off. He bats Danny's hand off his shoulder.

"Let me go. It's too late for--for anyone to help."

He still sounds mad, but also upset.

Okay, good. He's still here, he's not going to rush off. Danny allows Booster to bat his hand away. He's never had to deal with this, with calming someone down instead of just punching the bad guy out, but he's definitely going to try.

"Maybe it's not! Maybe there is something we can do, if we just--know what it is!"

There's a pause before Booster answers.

"Can you bring back the dead?"

It's hard to tell if the question's meant to be rhetorical or not. He still has his back turned, meaning no facial cues, and all the anger's drained out of his voice, leaving only a s ort of quiet hopelessness behind. But if he was going to ask anyone a question like that and mean it, it'd be a ghost like Danny, wouldn't it?

Oh.

It takes Danny a moment to process the question before he tries answering.

"I...I don't know."

In fact, he's pretty sure he can't, but he doesn't want to shoot Booster down, especially when he's so clueless as to what's going on.

"...Why?"

The answer is slightly cutoff by the sound of a van approaching. An old van, from the sounds of things, going... pretty damn fast, actually. In fact, it shoots past for a bit, and you can hear the brakes squealing pretty hard before it SOMEHOW manages to come to a stop at the expense of a light pole. Poor light pole.

Kotetsu gets out once his legs feel solid again. "OI! BOOSTER!" he shouts up at the two. "We've been looking for you! What the hell's going on?"

Edited 2012-03-23 02:28 (UTC)

Man, Booster sure switches between depressed and angry quickly. "Was 'I quit' too ambiguous for you guys?" he shouts as he lands by the van. "Do you need me to spell it out for you? I'm done! Finished! I'm through with the League, I'm through with remembering stupid crap I can't do a damn thing about, and I'm through with pretending it's all OK! I'm tired of it and I'm leaving before I drive myself crazy! Do you get it now?"

The passenger side door bashes open and disgorges a groaning scientist that practically forms a pool on the asphalt. He didn't give himself time to become solid again like Kotetsu; he was just that desperate to get out of the damn van.

"Ngh, jeezus... I think the sound barrier's going to file a restraining order on us. Booster, what the hell's wrong with you? Just where do you think you're going to go? We're on an island. No one's ever left it. What, do you plan on hiding out in the woods and becoming a hermit?"

Joachim exits unsteadily via the back of the van. Oof. They might be onto something with that newfangled seatbelt invention.

"I don't get it at all! You put your blood and sweat into getting the League off the ground, and now you're just running away without saying a word? I'm not letting you leave it at that!"

So in retrospect, asking the scarab to make the van go slightly faster than normal might have been a bad idea. Especially considering 'slightly faster' meant 'speed increased to 120 mph, police speed radars disarmed, engaging....

Jaime's the last to get out, though even he's wobbling towards the rest of the group.

"Seriously? It might feel hopeless now, but you're not alone!"

"Shut up, all of you! None of you have any idea what you're talking about! I'm not going back, alright? I'm leaving, and it's no damn business of yours where I go!"

By which he means he doesn't have any sort of destination in mind beyond 'pick a direction and then fly in it until he doesn't want to fly in that direction any more' but it's not like he needs to share that information.

"You'll all be better off if I don't stick around, anyway! I'm not the hero you think I am! I'm not really a hero at all! I'm just an idiot who screws up everything he touches!"

Danny flies down to ground level himself, standing a few feet away from Booster. "Like what? The Justice League? There's nothing screwed up about people working together to help others--the last thing it is is screwed up! And you started that!"

In fact, the implication that the entire Justice League was screwed up actually is making him a little angry too. He crosses his arms.

"Why are you even quitting like this in the first place?" Danny suspects it had something to do with whoever Booster wanted alive again...whoever must have died. "You're the last person I'd expect to just give up!"

"The League? It doesn't take a genius to think that maybe superheroes should work together! One of you guys would've thought it up on your own sooner or later, the only reason I got there first was because we had a League back home. And you know why I made sure I was the one to put it together? So I could still be involved even without my powers, so I could still matter, without having to earn any of it."

Booster shakes his head.

"Working together to help people, that's what you guys do, I just take the credit for making it happen. Does that really sound like the last person you'd expect to quit to you?"

"You dumbass! Yeah, you're the guy who made it happen because you WANTED it to happen! And why'd you want it to happen? Because you wanted to help save people in this town, right?" Kotetsu gesticulates angrily. "Okay, maybe you can't do flashy superhero stuff, but you're still the guy that helped pull this together! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and think about the REAL reason you did this! Because you wanted to help people, right?!"

He grits his teeth. "Stop thinking just about yourself and think about everybody else you're screwing over with this!"

Gordon joins the duo now, shouldering the crowbar and scowling as well, but nearly rocks backwards when he hears Kotetsu say that. Wait. Booster doesn't have ANY powers?

"Hold up, but you were flying before... wait... OH HELL. You DO have repulsion tech after all! Goddammit, I should've known! You're built on science, not superpowers! Well... well you know what? You don't need superpowers to make a difference! And right now the town needs the League and YOU more than ever! You saw that freakshow clown's transmission! Don't say you didn't!"

Whatever angry tirade Booster was preparing to launch at Kotetsu is immediately forgotten when Gordon interjects.

"Freakshow clown?"

He hasn't seen the transmission in question, but the description definitely makes him think of one person in particular above all else. But... Surely the Joker couldn't really be here, right? Not now.

Booster apparently has problems with clowns, if just saying that is enough to get him to swerve the topic over from worrying inner turmoil. Joachim is okay with this. As upsetting as clowns are, if talking about them will get his buddy's mind off of whatever's upset him, Joachim will talk about clowns for as long as it takes.

"Some creepy pale fellow with a very loud laugh."

He hadn't tried talking to the guy, but at least one of the others had to have been curious enough.

"Where did he say he was from? Gothaven, wasn't it?"

"Gotham."

If Jaime doesn't sound too happy about knowing this, it's because he really isn't. Although he hadn't seen the post, the description's enough to make him incredibly uneasy.

"I don't know why the Joker's here of all places, but we're the only ones who can stop him."

Booster goes pale at the confirmation. He bows his head in thought for a while, and when he raises it again, there's a look of grim determination on his face. Surely he has decided to stay in Sirocco and hel--!

"If you manage to catch the son of a bitch, you should kill him right away. That's the best advice I can give you."

Oh, come on.

Danny is silent for a few moments, eyes wide. Not only was Booster's steadfast decision to not come back, even with this Joker guy around, a shock, but so was his recommendation to kill him. Especially the recommendation to kill him. That's crossing a moral line that Danny has never had to consider before. The mere thought of it makes him feel queasy.

At last, though, he finds his words, simultaneously angry by Booster's stubbornness and still reeling from his suggestion to kill.

"C-come on! You know him better than any of us do--you can tell us what to do and how to stop whatever he's trying before anyone gets hurt!

"You helping could be the difference between a lot of innocent people getting hurt! Or do you not care about that anymore either?"

Oh, this is too much.

First he finds out both Booster and Jaime apparently know this douche. But rather than help them figure the guy out, he's just passing the buck -- and telling them to do the worst thing a hero can do.

His fists clench and unclench at his side; his rage is beginning to boil over. "That's all you've got? 'Kill him?' What makes us any better than him if we go around killing every son of a bitch who's inconvenient? We're not executioners, Booster! We're supposed to help bring justice, not decide for it! Don't tell me you're so wrapped up in whatever the goddamn hell's gotten into your head right now that you're going to let MORE people die for the sake of your little hissy fit! That's just unforgivable!"

And it's at the moment Kotetsu starts his speech that Barnaby, who is rather late but managed to at least keep the van within his sights, shows up, looking rather haggard.

He listens to the older man before he speaks up as well. "The old man does have a point," he says. "We can't decide whether to kill someone or not. That's up to the authorities. What we do is keep the peace."

Booster's not very concerned about Barnaby's opinion on the matter, or, really, about the morality issue of killing the Joker in general. They can all have a calm, reasoned debate about it later, when one of the participants isn't in the middle of a messy emotional breakdown.

"Dammit, of course I don't want anybody to die! That's why I'm leaving! I already got my sister killed doing this, and probably my best friend, too, and God only knows who else I've forgotten about! I can't even protect the people closest to me, and you expect me to be responsible for protecting an entire city from one of the worst mass murderers who ever lived? I can't do that! All that'll happen is more people getting killed, and if that happened--if anything happened to you guys, I--I wouldn't be able to live with myself, I couldn't--I coul--I--"

Anything beyond that is lost in sobbing.

Well... that explains a lot. Gordon leans his back against a wall, actually quiet for a few moments... for a change.

"Booster... you can't outrun memories. They're going to come anyway."

Barnaby is silent as he lets that sink in. Then, he says, "I can't speak for all of us, but I think I was well aware of the risks when I chose to be a Hero back home."

Granted, it was for revenge, but he isn't bringing that one up. Not right now. "You apparently know something about this 'mass murderer'. You'd be of more help here than somewhere else."

Apparently, it's not clowns in general, just this one. But they can deal with the bad guy later; there's more important battles to fight right now. Emotional battles. Joachim steps in and claps a comforting hand on Booster's shoulder.

"And don't forget, you're not the only hero around these days. We can protect ourselves and the city right alongside you!"

Wait up. Jaime'd had a sinking feeling that Booster knew Ted pretty well, but to think that Ted was dead? And Jaime might've had a part to play in that?

The others might've gone for comforting words, but Jaime stood there awkwardly for a millisecond before rushing in and wrapping his arms around Booster. He doesn't say anything - not yet, anyways - because there's really nothing more that he can add.

Everything's going to be alright. It just... it just may not seem like it right now.

Danny can barely find it in him to move. He was not prepared to see Booster crying. He was not prepared to see any adult crying.

Finally, though, he approaches and gently places his hand on Booster's shoulder as well, although he still doesn't feel as though his mental functions were back to working.

This must've been why he asked Danny if he could revive people.

"We..." He gulps and tries speaking again. "No matter what, we can help keep people safe...and with you, we can help even more."

It's hard to stay really mad at a guy that's just had a mental breakdown. Kotetsu does not join in on the buddy circle; it's crowded enough. He lowers his hat over his eyes.

"Oi. Seems like everybody's said about everything that should be said, but here's a little extra on top. I know it hurts that people have died. Always does. But you gotta ask yourself: is quitting what they would've wanted? We love people. We lose people. Heroes risk this more than a lotta people. Sometimes, doing this job means being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But lemme tell you something: they'd probably be angrier at you for quitting doing what you wanna do over it. So... think hard about that sorta thing, and think about what would really honor their passing, got it?" he says, at last.

Almost as if he's speaking from experience.

Booster doesn't really know what kind of reaction he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. How can they still want him to come back after this? Why do they still have faith in him? He returns Jaime's hug and lowers his head as the sobs quiet down into a long silence.

How and why, does it really matter? They still want him to come back. They still have faith in him. They need his help, need him. Can he really abandon them now, knowing that?

No, of course not. He looks up again, and this time, he's smiling. It's a sad smile, clearly forced, and when he speaks, it's obvious that he's just barely holding back more tears. But however shakily delivered, the message is clear.

"Do you--Do you think they'll give me a new phone if I ask really nicely?"

He's coming back.

Gordon listens on as Kotetsu, Joachim, the whole group, slightly flabbergasted and feeling a little out of place, all told. He's not a member here, and he knew Booster was crucial to the Justice League but he had no idea...

That's a real look of relief on his face, however brief, when Booster asks his question. He leans down with a smile and claps a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. We'll get you one."

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Operation Drag Booster Back

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