Tangible

Chapter Two:

The Breach and The Meetings

Part I

Summary: I will promise you no more bunny death. That is cruel and unusual. (:snorts and laughs pigishly:) But it was fun while it lasted yes? Anyways, things is gonna be explan-ed in this chappie yo! Yes. Homie. Word. Hyper. One A.M! Oh yeah! My intestines shiver at the cold that seeps within my room, close the window please…

Disclaimer: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a baby was born. This baby's name was copyright infringement! I kid. There is no star wars in this ficcy. . Speaking of star wars though, I like star trek, and believe Spock to be incredibly hot. Alas, he did not think the same of me, and, as such, I am now a delivery boy on a show called Futurama…

2:30 pm – Present – Castle Memory - Courtyard

The sight of the red head always had made the young blond squirm. There was something in the other boy's eyes that screamed negativity. Maybe it was the predatory stare, the cocky anger, or the elitist glint that made Richie uncomfortable, but he couldn't shake off the feeling, try as he might, that something was wrong with the boy.

It was obvious from day one that the red head had hated him. The way he pushed him away, had spat on him, had told him that he was too lowly to play with royalty. It was always clear. The problem was that Richie never quite understood why.

Virgil never cared that his mother was but a lowly scientist for the king, his dad the ornery executioner. Daisy and Frieda loved playing with him, (although he didn't quite enjoy the dresses they put him in, or the make-up they'd ask him to help them with). King Hawkins never had a problem with Richie, he was like a second father to the boy.

But Francis could never get along with him, no matter how hard he tried to be his friend. The stubborn child just couldn't get past the fact that Richie wasn't royalty. And it only got worse as they grew older.

Now that he and Virgil were older they wouldn't play with the girls anymore (they were too weird now-a-days anyways), as such there wasn't a large variety of playmates. They could usually enjoy themselves with the servants or the village kids, but on those days when adults were around Virgil would be chided and told that he should only play with kids who were at "his level".

And so Richie would sit miserably by himself and watch Virgil bicker with the hot-tempered red head, eventually the two would get physical. No matter who threw the first punch in any given fight, it always ended with Virgil as the victor (though he usually had help from his best friend). It was always an annoyance to see Francis, as both boys despised his very existence.

Unfortunately it seemed fated that their paths always crossed. As soon as Francis walked into the courtyard with his father, the king of Castle West, both boys groaned and rose to their feet, intent on escaping before "his royal pain-in-the-ass" could spot them.

"Oh don't get up on MY behalf your majesty, I'm sure you were enjoying cuddling with your little girlfriend."

Too late.

"Go on and return to your loving, don't let us disturb you. We'll let ourselves in to the main castle, won't we father?" Francis smirked up at the silent man beside him, only to be smacked in the back of his head.

"I'll let myself in yes. But you're staying out here, this is man's business." The man gruffly stalked past his shocked prince, entering the castle without a glance back at his son.

"Oh! Dissed!" Richie laughed in spite of himself. Which wasn't such a smart idea. But then, the blond never could learn to keep his mouth shut.

A low growl emanated from the other teen as his fists clenched at his sides. "Think its funny do you?" he stepped forward, glaring with such intensity that Richie could have sworn he saw flames dancing in the red head's eyes.

" How many times have I said that I don't want to hear your voice? How many times have I told you that a lowly dog such as yourself can't speak to someone of higher pedigree? You're not even supposed to be allowed in the courtyard you dirty piece of shit!" The boy was practically seething venom and spitting hatred, he even raised his fist for added emphasis. Only to be cut off by the other prince.

"Back off Francis! Aren't you still hurting from your last beating?" Virgil received a glare for his attempt to stop the imminent fight from progressing. "Why are you even here? You're father obviously doesn't want your company."

The red head laughed, a rough noise like a bark.

" I overheard my dear old man talking about sweet little Frieda. Apparently her idiot of a father is trying to marry her off again!" He crossed his arms and glared behind the other boys at the castle doors. "Like I'm going to let that happen. She's mine."

Richie snorted before he could stop himself. "Yours? You're forgetting that she's already betrothed, huh? As if you could ever claim her anyways, she hates your guts!"

"As does everyone else." Virgil added, high-fiving his friend as they laughed at their 'witty' responses.

Francis tensed even more that before, clenching his teeth so hard that they almost seemed to crack. "There are ways around pre-arranged marriages, smart-asses! And as for Frieda's emotions, - not that her name should ever grace those dirty lips of that blond rat-" He glared menacingly toward Richie, who stuck his tongue out obnoxiously in return. "She doesn't need to like me! Her hatred would only make it all the more…arousing!" His last comment received gapes and odd looks. "Don't look at me like that! I can have anyone I want!" his eyes roved over the blond for a shadowy instant, perhaps challenging him? "ANYONE!"

"Ooohhhkaaay!" Virgil backed up pulling his friend back with him "someone's sounding a little more crazy and possessive than usual! You want to leave now? I have this 'no psychopath' rule about my courtyard!"

" Oh shut the fuck up! You think you're so high and mighty! You're not better than me!"

Before either of the boys could react, Virgil was doubled over in pain.

Francis's fist had lodged itself in the other boy's stomach, or at least that's what it had felt like to him, but the movement was so fast that he couldn't be sure what had hit him. A slew of angry curse words rushed from the attackers mouth as he shoved the twelve year old to the ground.

He reared to further the other Prince's pain and was greeted with a mouthful of Richie's fist. Virgil rose, still clutching his stomach, to join the fight but was caught suddenly by his arm and jerked backwards.

The other boys separated and gaped.

Towering over the three of them was the very definition of Hell's fury: Sharon.

Angry Sharon.

1:35 A.M – Present – Dakota City – Random Docks

He had sent the message via telepathy fifteen minutes ago. What was taking the two so long? He sighed, slightly leaning against the cold spaceship he had borrowed to bring the boys to the watchtower. It really shouldn't have taken them so long. They could fly couldn't they? J'onn prayed that they hadn't just fallen back asleep. Knowing how earth teens and early hours were however…

At last he saw the young superheroes approaching, bickering all the while.

Why was it that humans had to argue all the time? It really grated on the Martian's nerves.

"It's so cold! You suck Gear! Couldn't you've told me to grab a coat or something?"

"I. Didn't. Know. It. Was. Going. To. Be. Cold!" The reply came through gritted teeth, as if the argument was already old.

"And it's so - "

"EARLY! Yeah, I know! You've made yourself perfectly clear!" The two heroes touched down onto the dock, continuing to argue even as they walked toward J'onn.

"Ah! Villain! So you're the one waking us up at this ungodly -" Richie shoved his hand over Virgil's mouth and muttered a short apology, blaming his friend's words on the fact that he wasn't quite awake enough to retain sanity.

The Martian's pupil-less eyes glowed coolly, " Do not worry. I understand the mechanics of human teens, his anger is understandable."

"See? You're so cool! At least SOMEONE understands the value of sleep!" Static triumphantly pumped his fist into the air, shooting a victorious smile over toward his irked partner.

"Probably not to the same extent that you overvalue it…" Gear shook his head and turned back to the Manhunter "So what's the occasion? Another viral takeover of the watchtower?" He had meant it as a joke, but the green one was obviously taking him seriously as a slightly sympathetic look entered his features.

"No. This is worse." J'onn turned and gestured toward the parked vehicle "I'll explain on the way."

"Wooh! And I'm not even in NASA!" Static rushed forward, entering the ship with a bouncy speed that may have rivaled Flash's "Ooo! Soft Chairs!"

Gear sighed and followed suit, sitting next to his partner and poking his side. "No falling asleep, K'?" Static slapped his hand away and buckled himself in.

"Yes mother, I'll try my best."

2:00 A.M – Present – The Watchtower

"So what exactly did you guys do to piss her off so bad?" Virgil stared up at the photo that was acting as a screensaver on Watchtower's main computer " Granted the lady looks creepy but she doesn't look half as evil as you seem to be describing her…"

"I dunno V, in the original stories about her she killed King Arthur, and he was her cousin, so she's obviously got something at least a little wrong with her…" Gear was also staring intently at the screen "She came back a while ago and messed with The League, I remember reading a short article about it in the newspaper a couple of summers ago, but there weren't enough details to really figure out what happened." The two boys glanced over at J'onn, awaiting a response. The Martian cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"The League has run into Le Fey twice so far." He said at last, walking over to the computer and opening a computer file that held several images of a pretty purple jewel. "During the first occasion she had searched out the Philosophers stone and was, with the help of her son…" he glanced at the two younger heroes "his name was Mordred."

Static broke out laughing and Gear chuckled as well, ("Man what a name!") just as J'onn had known they would. Kids…they certainly found everything funny didn't they? He cleared his throat and continued " The two of them transformed London into a medieval city and were attempting to further their usage of the power but then…" He paused, as if he were editing his words carefully "We stopped them, and had foolishly allowed them to flee."

"When they returned the second time Mordred" he ignored the snickers of the two youngest heroes "had obtained the Amulet of First Magic and had betrayed his mother by banishing her and all other adults on earth to another dimension." He smiled, glad he had not participated in this particular mission "Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman made a pact with Le Fey, she turned them into children so that they could defeat Mordred." no laughter. Good, by now that would have been pathetic. "They tricked him into reversing his banishment while making the mistake of destroying his eternal youth. When we last left Le Fey she had vowed to take care of her decrepit son even though he had betrayed her."

"And she's angry at the entire league because Bats, GL, Wonder Woman and Superman tricked her son into becoming an eternally old man? That makes no sense! She's the one who helped them!" Static glared at the pictures on the screen, which were now images of Le Fey and her elderly son.

"Maybe she has mental problems." Gear offered little explanation "But J'onn, about your dream, are you sure you saw us? I don't think we'll ever be even near a castle courtyard…"

The Martian gazed back at the electric boy's partner. " I never said that I saw the future. In fact I know it wasn't anything like that, the two of you couldn't have been older than twelve." He ignored the confused look on the tech boy's face " I'm pretty sure I was glimpsing into an alter dimension, I believe in the present. I don't quite know why the age difference is as large as it is, but I suspect we'll find out more once Dr. Fate gets here. He has quite an arsenal of knowledge about such things."

"So when he gets here, we'll have to go to this other dimension and rescue ourselves? Sounds pretty simple to me." Static smiled wistfully " We might even get back here in time to get some sound sleep!"

Richie snorted. "Don't count on it. Something tells me that this isn't going to be as easy as it sounds." He turned again to ask another question of the older league member, only to come face to face with someone rather unfamiliar "Uh…Dr. Fate, right?" The man nodded silently, his golden mask glistening in the white lights of the watchtower.

Richie smiled "Nice to meet you, I'm Gear, this is Static" Hands were exchanged and a silence overcame the atmosphere. J'onn cleared his throat. Static coughed.

"So…none of you have any questions? Are we ready to go then?" Dr. Fate crossed his arms and watched the heroes expectantly.

"Oh, uh wait!" Gear faltered " Are you going to be with us the entire time?" The fate man nodded " Oh, okay good, J'onn too right? Good, then I'll just ask you more questions when I can think of them, but for now: how did Le Fey manage to cross dimensions so easily? How are we going to do it? Why are our alternate selves younger than us? What is Le Fey plotting? And if we aren't in this dimension, whose going to cover us with our parents?"

The Golden Masked one looked thoughtful for a moment "Not sure yet but I have an idea, one that I'm not at liberty to discuss. We're going to rip a hole in the fabric of time and space, which I'll take care of so don't worry about it. Because Alternate Universes can run on a different timeline from this one. She's plotting vengeance against the league, obviously, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the mechanics of her plan based on what J'onn saw in his dream. And J'onn took the liberty of sending Batman to clear things up with your folks." He glanced at Gear "Is that all?"

"For now I guess, not that those were really very useful answers…"

Static looked a little miffed " 'Not at liberty to discuss'? You're keeping us in the dark on a mission where our other selves are at stake? Man, that's wrong!"

"Its for your own good" The Martian stepped forward to reassure the young boy, then he turned his attention to the other adult. " I suggest we leave now."

"Absolutely." The mystical man replied smoothly. He began to chant in another language before taking out an ankh.

There was a giant flash. Then the Heroes found themselves spinning uncomfortably through a vast cold light They were tossed from the dimensional rift unceremoniously, landing hard on their bottoms.

Static was the first to his feet. His eyes wide with amazement as he stared forward, gaping. Gear rose to stand next to his friend and gasped.

"Holy shit toto! I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"

End Part I

I missed the deadline! (By about two hours, welcome to Monday!) :hangs head in shame: I'm Sorry! I meant to update yesterday, but for some reason I had only typed a paragraph, and it was already two A.M! If it wasn't for my blasted homework…ah but I won't complain! It is spring break! And while I still have a giant load of homework, I think I'll have more time to work on this story. So if all goes well the next chapter can have some actual substance and length! Hmm… this fic still hasn't seen any good slashy-moments…maybe soon? We can only wait to see what our fingers will choose to type…

I can't tell you how much I want to hug those of you who reviewed! You make me glow with happiness from the inside out! It means to me muchly:smile smile smile: So then: Kali – Sorry about writing all confused-ly, I'm still a newb. But I still plan on making it a bit more confusing until later chapters. Just cuz its funny to make people scratch their heads and say "Buwha?"  Leev – the background's a little short, but I think it suffices (besides its been forever since I've seen the eppies, oh, and I left out a few parts about the first battle , involving J'onn, but it'll come up later.) Not based Justice League stuff or anything, but you should be VERY worried for the boys, but that'll also come up later! (keeping secrets! ha!) Many questions! Um – ok – yes but only when they're near each other and/or in an intense amount of pain/emotion, no not really, and no not really, and as for that last question :evil laughter: that's for later chappies (Maybe you're the psychic, not Richie ;) ) Gracie- sorry but this disclaimer was completely based on facts alone, thus it weren't to funny were it? BTW, oomph! You crushed me with Gear! As nice as he is he's still a little heavy ….and I …think I'm suffocating. Dimitri- seeing as how late I updated I'm guessing you starved:sobs: I'm so sorry! The "wake up V" was also one of my favie parts, and yes, bunnies is evil! Grr! MeLaiya – ohhh…you told me to update and I took forever! I'm sorry! It'll be okay though, thanks for loving this ficcie!