When Damian had been warned that the new guy volunteering at the animal shelter was a bit of a space cadet, he expected a drug addict and worried about the creatures. He swapped a shift so he could observe the guy.
When he greeted the new guy, the hair on the back of his neck seemed to feel prickly. The guy had shades on, even inside, but he didn’t seem blind. The fellow was friendly enough, but Damian wouldn’t settle until he had observed him.
The fellow seemed almost to float as he made his way to start prepping dinner bowls for the dogs. He hummed an odd tune, his head cocked to the side and his motions clearly from muscle memory as he made his way over. Damian expected him to run into the closed door in front of him, but instead Danny went through. Literally. He phased through the closed door.
Meta. Gotham City was a dangerous place for anyone, but especially a meta. Between the Mad Hatter’s nanotechnology, Joker’s toxins, and Scarecrow’s Fear juice, a meta increased the danger a hundredfold.
As Danny returned with food bowls stacked neatly, Damian put in the question, “So, you’re a meta?”
“Something like that. It’s kind of a family… thing. Won’t bore you with more; you have to unlock friendship level five to get my tragic back story,” Danny joked, and Damian recognized the line as one he’d overheard classmates use during conversations with friends.
Just then, Danny’s head shot straight up.
“Someone’s after those pit bull puppies. Be right back.” He declared, the food bowls drifting carefully to the floor as he turned and rushed through the wall to where the puppies were.
In his hurry, his sunglasses fell off and Damian was left stunned for a moment; Lazarus green flames seemed to surround his eyes like long eyelashes but his eyes… the swirl of galaxies in a midnight aurora filled the space. There were no whites to his eyes, just a slowly swirling cluster. His freckles also seemed to sparkle for a moment and his hair? Started changing color as he rushed out.
Damian charged after him, temporarily delayed by the necessary fact that he had to unlock the security door instead of intangibility.
When he caught up, he expected to hear a fight or see someone knocked down.
Instead, three men stared in helpless fixation at the face of the now white haired young man who clearly floated before them.
“Isn’t it a beautiful moment? That blinding brilliance? The colors more intense than even a shrimp can see? Doesn’t it dazzle?” Danny’s voice was unearthly and mysterious, the sound of a whisper oddly echoing as though through a crowded amphitheater.
Three white men in polo shirts with a wooden crate were agape before him.
“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? Near a dinky little planet a few lifetimes away from us sits a little star exploding. Will the shattered embers destroy life elsewhere, or will they spin together with other shards to create something new? The possibilities are endless!”
As his words rolled out, Damian had to shake off a sense of curiosity and yearning. The three guys dropped, their eyes lulled closed, and Danny’s voice grew puzzled.
“But don’t you want to hear more?” Now a hint of loneliness leaked in. “Just a little farther out, three new stars have been born. So precious, these new forms. Who will they inspire with their luster when their light reaches the night sky of that little blue and green stone we watch from?”
Damian shook himself free of the odd hypnosis and placed the sunglasses back into position on the boy.
“Huh? What’s going on?” The voice was bewildered before taking in the three unconscious would be dognappers. Then disappointed frustration entered his voice. “Oh not again… crap! This happens every time! But… the stars are too beautiful- how could I not look in on them? How could they grow in safety without the Ancient?” Danny looked around. “Where did I leave the dog food bowls?”
Crap, Damian thought, if the rogues get ahold of this kid, we’re screwed.
