Document 1278803-4576b

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Entry 36 –

I am unsure if this method will work but I feel as though the idea has enough merit to warrant an attempt. Therefore I have chosen to activate the mindlink and simultaneously view and stream the relevant security footage to this document in order to relate a real-time analysis and reaction to Thaal's behavior in my absence.

I begin the security feed to observe Thaal entering legion HQ. He walks in with an assurance that borders on intimidation, conveying a sense of confidence I could only dream of exhibiting. He is greeted by Cosmic Boy, who welcomes him in a too-polite manner that feels cold, bordering on threatening to me. Thaal seems unperturbed by his attitude, all swagger and boisterousness. "Where's my Brainy?" he asks, and the possessive term warms my heart. It almost goes without saying that I have a perfect memory, I have no actual need to view the feed a second time, however I enjoy reliving the moments in "real time" rather than replaying it in my mind. But I digress.

"Before you see Querl, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Cosmic Boy says carefully.

"Sure thing, so long as you return the favor," Thaal says amiably, but there is a hint of steel to his tone that neither Rokk nor myself fail to notice. He considers Thaal for a moment, then nods in acquiescence.

"Why don't I show you around?" Cosmic Boy offers, starting down the hallway. I switch security feeds to follow the interaction.

"Sure thing, I've always wanted to see the inside of this place," Thaal says. "I have to say, it's pretty neat."

"Thank you," Cosmic Boy says sharply, then, "why are you here?"

"My friend needed me," Thaal answers simply. The two walk in awkward silence, occasionally broken by Cosmic Boy pointing out various areas as they go.

"How did you get R.J. Brande to intervene on your behalf?" Cosmic Boy asks darkly, glancing at Thaal.

"He's a friend of the family," Thaal says lightly.

"And what family would that be?"

"None of your business," Thaal answers. "If you're really worried, you can always call Saturn Girl. I won't object to a scan. I have nothing to hide."

"If you have nothing to hide, why won't you answer me?" Cosmic Boy challenges.

"Because frankly it's none of your business and I don't feel like telling you," Thaal replies. "I'm here to see Brainy, not tell you my life story."

"Rokk," Imra calls, exiting a nearby door, "What's going on?" She nears the Braalian, murmuring in his ear. I replay the sequence, focusing on her words, carefully isolating the sound in order to hear her say "I got a strong sense of unease from you. Are you in trouble?"

"This is Querl's friend," Cosmic Boy says through gritted teeth.

"Oh yes, I heard you were coming," Imra says to Thaal, though a moment later she is giving Rokk a pointed look that I recognize instantly. They're talking, telepathically. Cosmic Boy seems miffed, but finally he sighs. "Imra will be taking over the tour," he grinds out, sounding reticent.

Thaal shrugs. "Sure. So long as I get to see Brainy sooner than later," he says.

Cosmic Boy fixes Thaal with a glare. "That is the 'only reason you're here', correct?" He sounds incredulous

Thaal, somewhat graciously, I think, chooses not to dignify the accusatory tone with a response, only turning to Imra. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Saturn Girl."

"Call me Imra," Imra says gently, a glance at Cosmic Boy as if to shoo him away. Cosmic Boy scowls, but does move off in the opposite direction after a long moment. Imra watches him go for a few seconds, then turns to Thaal.

"Why are you here?"she asks, suddenly all business.

"Unlike some, I never desert a friend in need," Thaal says, not hiding the acid in his tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Imra asks, sounding slightly hurt by the accusation.

"You're the telepath here, why don't you tell me what I mean by that," Thaal responds icily.

Imra stares back impassively, as though trying to suss him out. She seems to be satisfied by whatever she learns, because she steps back, gesturing him to follow her. "This way," she says, "I'll give you the grand tour," she offers.

"I'd rather see Brainy, if you don't mind," Thaal replies, following nonetheless. I have to switch to a new camera feed as they move out of view.

"He's sleeping now, he did not sleep much last night and COMPUTO informs me that he requires more sleep before commencing the day's activities," Imra explains, and as they talk I switch from feed to feed, tracking their movements.

"Wow, do you always rely on computers to tell you how your friends are doing instead of, y'know, actually going and talking to them to make sure they're doing all right?" Thaal asks bitingly. "I mean, I know logistically it's not as practical, but I think you'll find it's a more authentic way of seeing how your friends are doing."

Imra shoots a disgruntled glance in his direction, but says nothing. He's scored a direct hit, accusing her of being callous. He isn't wrong. I'm amazed that he's detected this so quickly, but then, Thaal does have quite the eye for people's motivations. He is as tactless as they came, but he understands people at their cores, in a way I doubt I will ever be able to truly master. The two of them walk, the atmosphere one of nearly suffocating silence before Imra speaks again. "Why now?" she asks, "why not sooner?"

"He asked me to come. I'm not going to just invite myself over," Thaal explains.

"Why did he ask?" Imra asks.

"I think you'd better ask him, I don't speak for Brainy, only myself," Thaal says. "When was the last time you spoke to him?" he asks, and Imra comes to a stuttering stop mid-hallway.

"I…" she frowns in concentration.

Thaal scoffs. "Enough said."

The cameras lose them them for a half-second, and I make a mental note to update the system, as that sort of lax security should not be tolerated. They are now outside the control room, and Imra pauses awkwardly.

"This is the control center through this door," Imra says quickly, "I can't allow you inside," she adds without a hint of apology.

"That's fine," Thaal says. "When can I see Brainy?"

"We're calling him Querl," Imra says, glancing sidelong at Thaal.

"And I call him Brainy," Thaal responds automatically. "Your point?"

Imra says nothing more, only moves down the hallway with a sigh. I follow their progress with a new camera. "This is the training center," she indicates. Thaal hums with detached interest.

Another camera. "The cafeteria," she continues.

Cameras shift again, "personal quarters are down this hall," she drifts past, speeding up almost unconsciously and Thaal has to jog to keep up with Imra's flight-ring-borne figure.

Again I find them on the cameras, outside the main computer terminal room. "COMPUTO's core," Imra explains, and as the cameras change angle yet again she tries to breeze past "the labs-"

"Hold up, this I gotta see," Thaal stops outside the doors of Lab 01, "Is anyone working today?"

Imra looks hesitant. "I believe Invisible Kid is, but I'd prefer if you didn't disturb-"

Ignoring her, Thaal pushes through the doors into a decontamination room between the main hallway and the lab itself, and strides quickly into the lab. I follow him with the security feed. Invisible Kid is focused on an experiment of some sort, and barely registers that someone has entered the lab. I am proud to note that Thaal waits until Invisible Kid has stepped away from the experiment before he approaches him. "Yo," Thaal greets him, and Invisible Kid nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Who are you?" He asks, sounding baffled. Before Thaal has a chance to answer, Invisible Kid's flight ring crackles. I check a different feed, and sure enough, outside the lab, Imra appears to be weighing the pros and cons of entering versus not entering the lab. She decides to wait outside, appearing anxious, hailing Invisible Kid on his flight ring.

"Yeah?" Invisible Kid speaks to his ring, ignoring Thaal for the moment.

"Are you all right?" Imra asks.

"Fine, just...who is this guy?" Invisible Kid sounds confused.

"He's a...guest." Imra says hesitantly. "A...VIP, of sorts," she says after a long, awkward pause.

"Ooo-kaaay," Norg drags out the two syllables, a look of confusion crossing his features. "Do I give him a tour, or…?"

"Are you busy now?"

"To be honest, I'm… stuck?" Norg confesses, and I realize he looks frazzled, irritated, and his eyes are red-rimmed from exhaustion, or...something else. I'm not sure I want to consider the implications fully at this juncture. "So if you're busy, I can show him around…"

"If that's all right with you," Imra sounds concerned.

"Yeah," Invisible Kid says, a slight quaver to his tone, "I'm sure."

"Thank you," Imra says, and I switch cameras to watch her walk away.

I return to the lab feed. Thaal extends a hand, "I'm Thaal," he says brightly.

"I'm Lyle Norg," Invisible Kid introduces himself. "You can call me Lyle. Or Invisible Kid. Or useless," he mutters under his breath. I doubt Thaal can hear him, but after some finagling I am able to pick it up on the security feed. Something in me wilts a little. The Norg I interact with never seems to display this self-doubt. He always seems bristling with confidence, almost to the point of over-indulgent self-aggrandization.

"So," Thaal says after a moment, "you're one of the creeps who's been destroying my friend's sense of self-worth to the point where he doesn't think he's worth anyone's time or concern," Thaal says this nonchalantly, his bright tone at odds with the topic of conversation, as though he were commenting on the weather rather than leveling a serious accusation at Invisible Kid.

"...pardon?" Invisible Kid practically chokes out the question, his face draining of all color. He looks like he's afraid he's misheard Thaal.

Thaal quickly puts that notion to rest. "You're, to put it succinctly, a sprocking nass," Thaal tells him, face devoid of anger, an almost deadly calm to his tone, as though his statement were an established fact rather than a baseless insult.

"I don't have to listen to this," Invisible Kid says, "I can have someone else take you on your tour."

"Have you even tried befriending him? Or is one Brainiac enough fulfill your friendship quota?" Thaal contines as though Invisible Kid hasn't spoken.

"What? Of course not!" Invisible Kid responds, before looking irritated at himself, as though he was thinking better of responding. Part of me agreed - what Thaal was saying was, frankly, ridiculous.

"Then sprocking why doesn't he have any friends that care about him enough to make sure he's sleeping and eating regularly?" Thaal's voice is low, dangerous, and heavy with accusation.

Norg steps back, hands rising in a universal gesture of innocence, "I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Have you sprocking looked at him lately?" Thaal demands. "What part of 'dark undereye circles', 'listless behavior' and 'gaunt features' is unclear to you? Shall I make it more clear?"

Invisible Kid is backing away from Thaal at this point, shaking his head as though trying unsuccessfully to shake off the words being thrown in his face. "I don't know what you're-"

"FIVE MINUTES," Thaal shouts, "LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES ON THE COMMS AND HE WAS SPROCKING CRYING. DO YOU SPROCKING KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE BRAINY CRY?"

Lyle shakes his head. "I don't even know what you're talking about," he protests.

"HE THOUGHT YOU WERE HIS FRIENDS," Thaal shouts, "AND YOU...you...abandoned him," Thaal seems to deflate, losing steam. "I used to idolize you, you know," he says quietly. "But now… now I'm ashamed for you. Because you don't even know what you're missing out on."

"I am really confused," Invisible Kid tells Thaal, "I guess I'm...sorry?"

"Yeah, well, it's not me you need to apologize to," Thaal mutters. "Now, where can I find Brainy?"

"You mean Brainiac Five? He's away on a mission." Invisible Kid says.

"Not that Brainy, my Brainy," Thaal says.

"Oh, you mean Querl?"

"Yeah. Brainy," Thaal says pointedly. "Where can I find him?"

"Probably lab number five," Invisible Kid tells Thaal. "That's where he's been sleeping lately."

"Because that's a healthy habit," Thaal says. "Never leaving the lab."

Invisible Kid looks surprised. "I...guess you have a point there," he admits. "I wonder why...?"

Thaal's eyes narrow. "That's a great question," he says dangerously. "Why don't you try asking your precious founders? Your fellow Legionnaires?"

Invisible Kid's forehead wrinkles as he contemplates that. "O-okay," he stutters, looking confused.

"Which way to lab five?" Thaal asks.

"Down the hall to the left," Invisible Kid says automatically. "Do you need me to show you there?"

"I'm sure I can find my own way. You can get back to whatever 'very important thing' you were doing before I got here," Thaal says, disgust in his tone. He moves towards the door before pausing.

"Just remember," he says over his shoulder, "I don't know what your relationship with your family is like, but the Legion is the closest thing to a family Brainy's ever had."

Norg's head jerks up, eyes widening as Thaal continues.

"How would you feel if your family replaced you with a genetic double and proceeded to pretend you didn't exist?" Thaal shrugs then, as if he was 'just curious'. "Some food for thought," he says dismissively, and steps through the doors, leaving a shell-shocked Norg standing in the middle of the lab, pale and breathing hard.

A few moments later, Norg swipes angrily at his eyes, then spins on his heel and strides back to the lab equipment.

I switch cameras to observe Thaal barge into Laboratory Five and awaken me. I've already recorded the events that occurred from that point forward, so it is at this point I feel it is best to disconnect the security feeds.

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I am...still somewhat unsure of how to react. Thaal was very protective of me, perhaps to the detriment of those he came in contact with. I believe I understand a bit better the tension between Thaal and Invisible Kid, as well as the reason why Imra and Cosmic Boy seemed so concerned with Thaal's visit. He was… practially predatory at times, and while I appreciate the gesture, I believe I understand Imra and Cosmic Boy's defensiveness a bit better. Likely Thaal's accusations held enough truth to make them uncomfortable. I have often found that speaking the truth is not always the best course of action, at least not when the recipient is unprepared to come face-to-face with an uncomfortable reality. As such, I can comprehend why Thaal's behavior was seen as a problem beyond mere nuisance. I can't say that I would have been entirely comfortable being confronted in such a way.

I also feel that my own volatile reaction likely did little to calm the inner turmoil of Saturn Girl or Cosmic Boy. Perhaps I should try to be more sensitive to the emotional needs of others. Part of me balks at the idea of this, because they do not seem particularly concerned with my emotional needs, so why should I worry about them? Then again, is this not the hero's path? To care for others, even when they do not care for you? To do thankless, menial jobs without being asked, without expecting any sort of recognition? In that sense, perhaps I can be a hero, even if no one realizes it.

Somehow, this thought is comforting. I do not have to be recognized as a hero to be a hero.

Still. A little recognition would not be unwelcome…

A/N:

THIS CHAPTER. THIS CHAPTER WAS REALLY HARD TO WRITE. I DON'T KNOW WHY.

(Also It's late. Better late than never...?) Also it's super long. So. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's a thing.

MAN THAAL IS SUCH A BAMF I LOVE HIM. Also hopefully people are starting to see that there are things going on with Lyle so... yeah, cut the poor boy some slack, he's not a heartless as people make him out to be. He's kind of reeling from the reaming Thaal put him through and also dealing with personal issues. More on that to come, hopefully.

On an unfortunate note I now don't actually know what the next chapter will be about, so hopefully I can figure that out before this fic turns to dust... Again, I'll try to update next month-ish, HOWEVER, I will be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo in April, so depending on whether I get something pre-written or take a break to write this fic, I may or may not have something to put up here in April. I will do my best to keep this story up-to-date, but, well, we all know my track record...

As always, thank you so much for your continued support and lovely reviews! Stay tuned!