2013.07.28 - Cruel To Be Kind

Upon his rescue and return from MojoWorld, Booster Gold is having a little trouble adjusting. Although he has only been missing for about two weeks according to the calendar of this world, according to his personal chronology he and Missy were in the Mojoverse for three months.
So far, Booster has accepted that his nickname might be 'Booster', and that something was done to his mind and memories, but it seems this is not something simple that can just be shaken off. Skeets is trying, however, by showing Booster recent albeit pre-kidnapping holos, photographs and videos of himself. The problem with this is that the model and commercial work he was doing is not a far cry from the kind of stuff he was doing on MojoWorld.
At the moment, Booster is within one part of the Legion's infirmary, dressed in jeans and a royal blue t-shirt, politely trying to listen to Skeets as the little robot feeds him tidbits about his forgotten life history.
Keith's performance in Mojoworld had been personally shaming for him. It took a lot of oomph for Keith to get out of the apartment where had been holed up since their return, but eventually he had to go. Michael was a friend and, pride or not, he would have done the same for him. Going through the process of checking in and being shunted around doesn't take too long, since he had been on the rescue mission. So it is that Keith steps into the infirmary dressed in just jeans and a white T-shirt, his left arm thoroughly bandaged after receiving a kiss from one of Spiral's blades. His appearance by itself is strange, because he is almost never out of his uniform... of course, Booster wouldn't remember that. He walks in carrying a little bag, and smiles "Hey, Michael... Skeets...." he says, stopping at the door and making sure he's not interrupting anything important.
"Oh, hey." Booster sits up a little, giving Keith a wave. "The citi--I mean," he turns the wave into more of an erasing gesture as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I know you have a name..." He closes his eyes as he tries to root through his restructured memory, fingers curling into a loose fist. The young man is quiet for a long time, however, and when he looks at Keith again, his expression is a little sad and embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I still don't remember you, beyond seeing you... there. I know I should, but I can't find the memory." He brightens up, though, standing and offering a handshake to the cat man. "In any case, I wanted to thank you for helping me." His mastery of current American English is better than it was, which may also be Spiral's doing.
Keith smiles and shakes his hand... "Hey, don't thank me... you're my friend, even if you can't remember at the moment. I'm Keith... and there was no way I wasn't going to help and come looking for you..." at this point the young man frowns and, without warning, gives him a hug. "I thought you were dead... I'm so glad I was wrong."
Booster seems a little surprised by the hug, but not adverse to it. He even gives Keith a pat on the back. "Well, I appreciate it. Even if I seem kind of cavalier, it's just because I... think I still don't understand everything that happened. I'm still not sure that this isn't just some... alternate reality for me." He gestures at Skeets, who is floating nearby. "I remember Skeets but not like this. I have memories of my entire life, but Skeets says they're either entirely wrong, or they're... almost correct but not completely."
While Jazmin might have been in (grimy, damp, battered) uniform in Mojoworld, full on Kid Quantum mode, here she's in civvies of jeans and a t-shirt as she comes to the doorway of the infirmary that she herself only left a short time ago. The young woman lingers there, crossing her arms as she leans against the door frame, listening in and watching Booster and Keith for a moment, a few moments really, before injecting herself into the conversation.
Keith finally drops out of the hug, blinking a little. "I know... it's all very confusing for you. But we'll help you get through... right, SKEETS?" he looks over to the little bot. He hasn't noticed Jazmin walk in just yet. "I don't know who that... creature was, except that she was nigh omnipotent. There was a moment where she whispered... all of the things I wanted. It's as if she knew. She promised to give me everything I wanted---" he trails off before discussing what THAT was, "--- and that's probably what she did to you in some form or another... here... I've brought you a get better present..." he takes out a little cooler out of the bag. Inside there is a little box of ice cream sandwiches.
"I have been trying my best," says Skeets. "It's difficult to know where to start unraveling things, however. I would call it an impressively thorough job if I didn't think that sounded like an endorsement of what has happened." He turns a little, to 'look' Jazmin's way, but greets her only on a communications frequency rather than 'aloud', in case she wants to remain quiet for now.
"Her name is Spiral," Booster explains, without much rancor. He does frown faintly, as if a part of him held a grudge against her, while the rest of him has no idea why this might be the case. The gift is taken with curiosity. "Thank you, it's very nice of you to bring me something. What is this?" Although this is not all that strange; even prior to his disappearance, Booster had no idea that ice cream sandwiches existed.
"Right, Spiral. I knew that." She had mentioned it, of course. But his mind had OTHER names for her that came first. Not names he could repeat in polite company. "They're ice cream sandwiches. You've never had these because... well... I'm sure Skeets will tell you why eventually. I still buy these every now and again but I don't really eat them. Since my transformation, I've lost the ability to taste sweet things... but I remember them being delicious. Give it a try." Keith grins.
Jazmin nods to Skeets, the conversation there very quiet, over the comm rather than a whole lot of announcing of herself. "How's he doing? How're you doing?" A nearly silent query to the golden 'bot hovering. She watches the conversation, the ice cream on offer and then she twists her lips up into a wry little smirk of a smile. Her voice raises to normal volumes. "I like them. Ice cream and cookie squished together. Dessert item, usually chocolate cookie and vanilla ice cream."
Skeets responds to Jazmin 'silently' over the comm link, first, saying, "I feel fortunate that I am able to adjust my patience levels to some degree. I think it would be easier if she had replaced his memories with completely unrelated ones."
"Hi, Jazmin," says Booster, settling down again. Although he was not able to remember her, either, he relearned her name. "I don't know what any of that is, but I'll give it a try. We really didn't eat." Taking one of the ice cream sandwiches, he looks thoughtful as he says, "I don't recall what we did when I was a kid, when it comes to eating. I guess we did?"
"You told me what you ate. It didn't sound very appetizing. Some form of government cheese... only worse, I guess." He turns around and notices Jazmin when she speaks. She was a member of the team. Immediate self-consciousness, "Um... hi there..." he says, with a little smile and stepping to the side.
"She really did a number on your head, I'm sorry Michael." Jazmin replies simply and nods to Skeets, pushing herself up to come more fully into the room. Any commentary she might have upon Keith's performance in the mission doesn't show on her face. "Nice to see you again, Vorpal. I'm Jazmin, or Kid Quantum, as per preference. We didn't really fuss too hard with introductions when we met."
"Generally, after Trixie and I were finished with an episode, we'd retire to our pods. That's where we'd get healed and nourished, and allowed to rest," Booster explains, as if this were common behavior. "I don't remember her doing anything to us other than taking care of us. I'm worried about Trixie, though... I mean, I know there's veracity with what you guys have told me." He points to the Legion ring he is wearing. "I can make this work with barely a thought, it feels natural. Skeets told me it belonged to me, and that felt right. It's making me question other things." He has a bite of the ice cream sandwich, then, and the expression on his face is odd. He does not look disgusted, merely confused and uncertain. After a moment, he says, "I don't think I know words for this, but I think it might be interesting."
"Keith is fine... I won't be going by 'Vorpal' soon." He says, and leaves it there. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jazmin..." his ears twitch when he hears what Booster says, and smirks at his ice cream reaction. "Eat it, but slowly. If you eat it too quickly you'll get a brain freeze."
"Well.. you've lost your memories, she did that at some point, even if you don't remember it. As she clearly has the ability to make you forget things, like your entire life, she could have done anything to you, and you wouldn't remember it." Jazmin explains with a little shrug. "Trixie was.. which one of the girls? I have to admit, I was most focused on you, Boost. Michael. I'd hoped being back here would help shake more remembrances loose, but perhaps in time. We might have to go on a tour of your old haunts, see if any remind you of anything." She quirks a brow at Keith, a tilt of her head. "Why not?"
"Trixie was my co-star," Booster explains cheerfully. "The red-headed one who smiled all the time," he further prompts. That would be the re-made Missy Cramer, of course; her new hair is beautiful but is not treated or dyed, unlike her prior long blonde locks. Even when she weeps, now, she smiles beautifully, and she has been doing a lot of weeping since her rescue. But that is neither here nor there.
"So your name is 'Vorpal', too?" Booster wonders, of Keith. "A code-name, right? Or...a nick-name? Like the one I'm supposed to have." He spreads his hands, still unsure about this matter. Booster eats his ice cream sandwich with some care, having been warned. For all he knows, it will explode if mishandled.
"Yes, it's a codename. You're Booster Gold, and Michael. I'm Vorpal for now and Keith..." he looks at Jazmin, and seems dodgy "... there have been... discussions of retirement." He leaves it at that. The thought that Spiral could have done ANYTHING, at anytime, disturbs him. On top of it all, he now had to worry about whether he was potentially molested by an interdimensional six-armed letch. Just adding more to the cocktail. "You'll get the hang of it soon... I'm sorry I couldn't help in finding where you were. I pawned myself off to John Constantine and the incompetent git didn't come up with anything except to tell me you didn't exist. I even pestered poor Dr. Fate abou---" he pauses "...this will just confuse you, since you don't remember any of those people, so forget that for now."
"Not knowing who anyone is, isn't restricted to Michael's memory gaps, I don't know any of those names either." Jazmin shrugs a little. "We're not from around here, is perhaps the general term for it." She eyes the ice cream a moment. "And hunh.. I suppose I don't have to worry about you giving me a hard time for not promoting the brand, Boost." She teases lightly, a soft little laugh, even if she's going to be the only one who follows. "Basically .. Skeets did the heavy lifting in the finding of Michael."
"The information that Mr. O'Neil provided did help," Skeets pipes up. "It allowed me to remove several avenues from consideration, which narrowed my search parameters significantly. It brought my processing load down from roughly a year to only a week and a half."
Booster is frowning again, looking upwards thoughtfully. "Well... Keith, if you got yourself into debt with other people looking for me, I don't think you should have to shoulder that on your own. In fact, I insist that you allow me to help you with that, in return for your kindness. I know I only played a hero on T.V., but I just feel it isn't right that you ought to pay for my problems." He glances to Skeets, then, and says, "My name really is Michael though, right?"
"Yes, sir," says the robot. "Michael Jon Carter. Codename, Booster Gold. Derived from your football nickname of 'Booster'."
Keith smirks, "Sometimes art imitates life, Michael," He says to the comment about playing a hero on television, and leaves it at that so as not to ruin Skeet's recovery plan by inserting unneeded information. "And drop that nonsense. You're my friend, I didn't do it just so I could call in a favor later." He puts a hand on Michael's shoulder, "You have been kind to me when others would simply ignore me, there's no debt between us, and you're just going to focus on getting better. I can deal with Constantine. The last time he tried to get smart with me, I dropped an anvil on his privates."
He clarifies, "A paperweight-sized anvil."
"An.. an anvil on his privates?" Jazmin blinks in surprise, her voice expressing that quite clearly. "Even paperweight sized.. Damn. I.. that's either quite the reaction, or he was getting damn smart. I don't know the man, to know how much I should be surprised." She crosses her arms over her chest again, looming next to the pair of them. "Did you come away with any physical injuries, Michael? I perhaps wasn't the gentlest in grabbing you, but I didn't think I'd break you."
"...What does 'Booster Gold' even mean," Booster is wondering, after Skeets' prompting. Then, louder, he answers Jazmin with, "No, I wasn't hurt at all. I mean, I was used to way rougher treatment than that, so don't worry." He gives Jazmin a wink and a finger-gun, because certain elements of his personality were clearly unalterable. "Keith, I get that, but by the same token if you do run into a situation related to this and you need help, please ask me. I'd feel really bad about it, if you didn't. That's all."
"That's because you don't know John Constantine. He was capable of driving the Princess of Gemworld - an absolutely lovely lass- to grab a bat and start beating him over and over and over and over. Apparently the man accidentally let loose a murderous angel back into her homeworld. A tiny anvil to the goolies is a fraction of what he deserves... even if he did help. A little." Keith says to Jaz, and then nods at Booster "Alright, alright. I will consider it." Because proud cat is proud. "Honestly, I'll just be happy to have you back to normal."
"You're right, I don't. I even said that." Jazmin points out with a little half chuckle to Keith. "Not from around here, and apparently I don't get out much." She turns her head to look at Booster again and then she laughs more warmly, more authentically at the wink. "Well, some bits of the old you are clearly still hiding in there somewhere. I'll keep that in mind if ever I'm kidnapping you from the clutches of evil and throwing you through a portal. Ideally, not so often."
"Is 'normal' really an improvement? I mean, what's wrong with the way I am now?" Booster wonders, licking a little melted ice cream from his fingertips as he finishes the ice cream sandwich. "I'm in good health, and apart from being confused I also feel good. Emotionally, and all that, I mean. I'd need to re-acquaint myself with everyone, that's the downside, but Skeets has really detailed information about everything I've done."
"Yes, sir," says Skeets, "But..." The little robot hesitates. "I'm uncertain if I am truly qualified to argue this subject, it seems to touch on some very human things."
"The less we have to do with more portals, the better," Rokk agrees, leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. Then he eyes Booster; his eyes glance to Skeets and then give Jazmin an 'oh, damn' wince. "I was gonna ask how things were going, but I take it things are still..." A beat. "Incomplete?"
Not that Booster can tell, right now, or that Keith would know, but Skeets and Jazmin can definitely tell the older guy's approximately infinitely more relaxed than he was last week, say. He's still not in civvies, but you know, this is Legion HQ, and he's a Legionnaire, so it's not weird. At all. "I think, Skeets, that the fact that you're unhappy about it makes you qualified to argue the subject."
Keith chuckles a little. "I'm with..." he looks at Rokk. They weren't introduced, so he head-cants in his direction. "Skeets, you are qualified. And the thing is, Michael, that it's just not you. Your mind was altered, and it was filled with lies. Even if you believe them, they're still lies. You have a whole life behind you that was real, friends that you made who are still around. Real people instead of that Hexabrachial Harridan who obviously uses people as her tools. Between having a life that didn't happen and one that did... I think you'll be richer for the real one, no matter how pleasant the other one may have been." He crosses his arms. "But maybe I'm speaking selfishly like a cat just because I want my friend back." a little smirk.
A turn of Jazmin's head as Rokk joins them. "There's a learning curve, lets put it that way." She takes a breath, deep as she turns back to the conversation at hand. "Well.. 'normal' is fairly relative, but there's something to be said to .. just as Keith says. The old you was pretty awesome, the new you.. was put together whole cloth by a manipulative psychobitch, which is worrisome for the details. Honestly, I'm glad you're home, and we'll work out how to get you reacclimatized, memories or not."
"Those are salient points," Skeets acknowledges, when the others weigh in on the validity of the robot's feelings and opinions. "Sir... Michael, it feels strange that you would have memories of me that do not reflect my own experiences. For example, your... mind map of me as your co-worker in the Space Museum has been replaced, because you no longer have the memory of working as a security guard."
Booster holds up one hand. "Okay, but... it's not whole cloth, is it? I have memories that still seem valid, from stuff Skeets said, earlier. I was a star quarterback in high school and at Gotham University. In fact, I was considered the greatest college football quarterback in centuries."
Skeets grudgingly admits, "That is actually true."
"And I remember signing a contract to play professionally, and how proud my parents and my sister were," Booster grins faintly, at this memory. "My first step towards being a real superstar."
Skeets then says, "...and that isn't true, sir."
"Cos," the guy says, pushing off the doorframe and walking forward, pulling an omnicom off his belt and bringing up the display as he comes over. "I never caught your name," he tells Keith then, and scrolls the screen before handing it over to Jazmin. "That's the last of the data SHIELD saw fit to share, but--" he starts, then blinks at Skeets and Booster. "How the-- look, Booster was your nickname in college. In football. But that's all completely beside the point." He props himself up against the counter facing Booster's med bed thing. "I actually know what it feels like. Where you're at right now. And maybe you're right, maybe it's easier to just rebuild, to believe the shortcuts and overlook the memory holes, to let the lies knit themselves in to stay. Maybe it won't hurt as much as remembering disappointments or people you've lost, and maybe you're thinking it doesn't really make a difference-- but the Michael Jon Carter we know is a stand-up guy doesn't let lies sit there. Who had the chops to tell us he stole his flight ring and power suit -- and the guy who we voted into the Legion. If you don't remember this stuff-- it doesn't apply to you, does it?"
Ok, THAT? He didn't know. But the cat plays it cool-- he remembered Booster saying he regretted some things, but he avoided telling him what they were.
"Superstar or not, you're a hero. And I look up to you." he says sincerely. Looking at Cos, he says "Keith. Hello, Cos." He felt a little more uncomfortable now that two of the team from the extraction were here. He hadn't actually made much of a difference, and that was what had been eating him since. He didn't realize it, but his illusion power was kicking in as he took another step back, putting him into shadows that normally wouldn't be there. Still visible, just a little hard to spot.
"Okay.. I promise I remembered to shower." Jazmin comments as she glances towards Keith, squinting a little. "And I also am pretty confident that I'm really not that scary. I can't speak for Cos, he's only a little scary every other Thursday. Are we interrupting and you just are too polite to say?" Clearly, subtle isn't part of Jazmin's usual conversational tactics.
"Okay, see... that doesn't even make sense to me," Booster gestures at Rokk. "He... I mean, I stole this stuff to become a hero? What kind of hero steals stuff? I know that much and I'm not even--" Even as Keith fades, he lifts his hand at the cat-man, eyebrows arched. "I appreciate you saying that, but while it's true I was a sports hero, I was just pretending to be an action hero for the cameras." Booster rubs his forehead a little, wincing. "I mean being a real hero would be great, but I was just faking it. The people who were in danger, that was all a set-up, so even if I did save them, it's all fake."
"And that's why thinking what you do about yourself sucks," Cos tells Booster cheerfully. "Because right now? You think you're a fake. And, uh. I guess it's because right now, you are fake?" He glances to Skeets for confirmation, then looks back to the blond. "But that's just right now, and it's because of brainwashing. And, well, we'll get Imra and Jeka to look you over, and maybe have Zoe or Xao and Brainy help out, if there's weird dimensional magic science involved in it." Then he hoists himself up onto the counter and peers at Vorpal. "Seriously, did one of us just say something offensive or something?"
Keith blinks, and then looks down at himself and sees the shadows. He lets out a rather fiery curse "...sorry, this happens when I'm feeling... nevermind." He dismisses the illusions and steps back into the light, angry at himself. At least the Greek Chorus Shadoop ladies didn't show up. That would have been awkward. "You are a hero for real, Michael. Cos is right. There are some things you told me you regret, but you never told me what they were... for what's worth, you could have stolen that stuff and it wouldn't matter after seeing you do what you've done."
"When you're feeling... " Jazmin prompts Vorpal curiously before she's turning back towards Michael. "Sorry dude, the weird crap we do every day is way more freaky than anything she planted in your head. Our hero stuff is real, and I need you back and the team does. So.. you get to enjoy the hospitality of Legion HQ a while longer. Not exactly the scenario I'd envisioned you finally staying in HQ rather than your apartment, but hey.. I'll take it."
"Ugh." Booster sits back, keeping his eyes shut, lightly massaging one temple with his fingertips. "I'm not trying to disbelieve any of you, but it's in conflict with what I can remember. I don't know why I'd steal anything, I had money... I remember that. We didn't have a lot when I was growing up, but when I got signed they gave me that bonus. I remember that vividly because my mother was sick, and the bonus was enough to pay for her treatments. But... maybe, after that?" He lifts his hands helplessly, unable to bring up anything about these alleged thefts.
"Ah... uh." Skeets awkwardly tilts up, then down, and remains silent for a long moment. Then, he says to Cos, "Some assistance along those lines would probably help, sir, yes."
"Yeah, it's all right. Don't worry about it for now, Boost. At least you don't think you're the most useless Khundian slave in the history of the empire," Rokk says with a half-grin, then sighing. "That's probably the understatement of the year. Jaz, you already tag Imra, or you want me to? Actually-- Keith, you said? You were there way longer, you've got a better idea of what's going on than either of us, maybe--" He looks to the young woman. "Maybe he can give her a hand?"
Keith looks uncomfortable and answers "Insecure" in a clip when Jazmin probes him. But he quickly moves onto Cos' question before he is forced to explore that. "Me? I don't know how I could help. There was just... weird crap and... I didn't really do much in the first place. Outside of taking home a souvenir." He smirks, touching his bandages. "I know as much as you do- about the weird television, about the malleable world, the 'extras'... and the fact that Michael and Missy were brainwashed into this show amalgam of Murphy Brown, Knightrider and T----you have no clue what I'm talking about because you're all time displaced. Sorry."
"I haven't yet, I will rather than you, lest she decide that you want your job back." Jazmin notes to Rokk with a quirk of a half smile. She turns back to Keith and gestures. "Interested in working with our resident telepath to try and untangle some of Boost's life? The fact that I only understood about half of that sentence speaks to how out of our realm pop culture television is. I tried watching it, I .. didn't last very long before I was yelling at people, and that stopped seeming like entertainment." She glances to Rokk and notes almost absently. "We totally need a psychiatrist on staff. Unless Imra moonlights as that too."
Booster sighs quietly, relaxing back in his chair as he opens his eyes. He looks a little weary, now. "If my real life sucked, just know that I'm going to hold a grudge against all of you forever, for making me remember it." Booster grins a little, then, and winks. "To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with some of the scenes we did on that show. I always tried my best to save the Citizens, but..." The corner of his mouth twitches. The comment is casual, but even Spiral could not eradicate the natural feelings of horror that rise up in Michael when he sees someone hurt or, worse, killed; she buried it, but it's clearly lurking under the surface. "So it's probably all for the best, if I can get past all of this."
Keith nods and says "I would very much like to work with your telepath if it will help Booster in any way." He grimaces, the civilians killed... he hated Spiral for that. He wanted her to suffer. Suffer horribly. "Don't think about that, Michael. Just focus on your therapy with Skeets... and I'll see if there's anything I can do to help." he gives him a smile and pats his shoulder.
Apparently Rokk's been hanging around with Booster anyway, because he snap-points at Jazmin. "That. Right there," he says, aiming those words at Keith. "You really think we can handle figuring out what they did to his head without the right reference set?" Then he gives Jaz a rueful look. "No, she needs one as much as the rest of us. I miss Dr. Ryk'rr. There've gotta be mental health professionals that cater to the weird set, right?" And then he sits forward, elbows on his knees, and says very firmly to Booster, "You're a hero. Of course your life sucks. It comes along with the 'glory, power, and fame' package, it's a rider."
"If your real life sucks, don't worry.. we're all in the suck right there with you." Jazmin quips as she unfolds her arms to reach out and pat Booster's shoulder before stepping back again. "I should get back to paperwork. Boost, you know I love you when I'm willing to do paperwork for ya dude." She nods to Rokk and her expression turns rueful. "Right, don't know Dr. Ryk'rr either. I need a flowchart. Keith, if you could leave your preferred contact info such that I can have Imra contact you about working on this? Boost, I'll come bother you later. And Rokk? You and me, we need to go for coffee a few more times. Skeets, similar offer, except I'll drink your coffee for you." On those notes, Jazmin turns to head out.
As Jazmin heads toward the exit, a giant snake enters. "Greetings," says the giant snake, which is Princess Projectra.
"Yeah, I... yeah." Booster gives Jazmin a little smile as she goes. "I get it... Cos," he manages to remember Rokk's preferred code-nickname. "I mean, the character I played had some kind of motivational background and so on, because that always gives a hero the drive to keep going. I don't think I have that going on, though... not with what I remember, anyway. Maybe it's still in there, though." He sits up again, and says to Keith, "Thanks again, by the way. I really--" What he realies is not said, however, because when Princess Projectra enters, he goes silent immediately. It should be noted that he is not really shocked by her appearance, she just happens to be the largest snake-person in his current memory, and that is worthy of a little boggling.
"I feel like I'm being called to the Principal's office!" Cos calls after Jazmin, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. It would probably look less rakish if he weren't thirty-something, that expression. "I'll be around." Then he brightens at the sight of the enormous reptile. "Jeka! Hi! Did you hear what happened to Booster? He can't remember anything real, mostly!" He looks at Booster, then, and a totally new expression blooms on his face: horror at the man's plight. "Sprock, I can't even tell you I told you she was a giant snake because you don't remember me saying it." A pause, then, and he shakes his head sadly. "Princess Projectra, Booster Gold, Keith. There. Introductions, made."
That is the second largest snake Keith has ever seen. "Er.. it's a pleasure to meet you, Princess.... that's two princesses in a week, I'm on a roll." He smiles a little, and looks at Booster boggling. And then looks at Princess. "He's... had his mind warped by Spiral."
"Where I come from, I am considered delicate and slender." Princess Projectra protests. "Also, it is not that I am a 'giant snake', it is that your snakes are like very small Orandans. Do not be so ethnocentric, Cosmic Boy! Tsk tsk." The enormous serpent acknowledges Keith with a cant of her head, then slithers up to Booster Gold. "Oh, yes, I can see the lies all over him." What she means by that is left unexplained. "There's truth, still, but under veils."
Booster does not seem put off by having a giant snake near him, at least. He gets used to her presence quickly enough. He does protest, "I'm not... trying to lie. What's in my memories, that's the truth to me. I can't find anything else in there, even when everyone else tells me what they know of me. I am trying." This is said quietly, a touch sullenly. Perhaps part of him feels that the others might think he is resisting everything on purpose.
Keith pats Booster's back. "Take it easy... I know it's hard." He looks at the Princess. "You can sense them? Is there anything that can be done for him, do you think?"
Rokk slips off the counter, smirking, and lands an inch off the floor. He crosses his arms. "You're a giant snake as long as I'm Cosmic Boy, your Highness. And yeah no, Booster," the Braalian man says, dropping his arms and heading to the door, "no one thinks you're lying, or you're not trying. There's just a lot of fishing Jeckie and Imra are going to have to do to get you out of the mess those nassheads buried you in. It's all gonna work out fine. Look, I'm going to Starbucks, I'll be back in like ten minutes. You want anything?"
"Please relax so that I may probe your brain," Jeka says to Booster, pointedly ignoring Rokk!!! Her eyes go a bit wide as she focuses on the emanations of Booster's mind.
"A double-shot red eye with five sugars, sir," Skeets informs Rokk, since he did make the offer. After a moment, the robot feels the need to clarify, "Not for me, of course, but that is what Booster usually orders."
"At least I'm being asked for permission before my brain gets messed with, this time," Booster remarks rather sardonically, but he complies with Jeka, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. He tries to relax, to allow the snake to help him.
Keith smirks a little at Cos. He doesn't understand team dynamics, since he's never been in one, and assumes these people are just slightly deranged from their time displacement. He stands behind Booster and massages his shoulders. "Breathe out and close your eyes and let the princess do her thing." he says. He was SO tempted to ask for caffeine. But it was better not. His illusion powers started acting on their own if he overcaffeinated himself.
Poor Keith. They're deranged anyway! Oh ho ho. "Check, Skeets. Right, back in a few," says the Braalian Legionnaire, proceeding to hotfoot it out of there so he doesn't, you know, screw anything up. Also, for coffee. And horrifyingly fattening pastries.
"Tell me about yourself, Michael," Jeka says, her syllables sibilant and serpentine. "Tell me about how you grew up. How you came to be Booster Gold."
Booster sighs again, not in exasperation, but another bid to relax. He is scouring his memories, trying to find anything hiding, but what's there is what's there. "Well... that's the thing. I'm not Booster Gold... or, I guess I am, from what everyone is telling me. But I don't remember that." He is quiet for a moment, then continues, "What I do remember... I grew up in Gotham City, living with my parents and my sister. We weren't poor but we weren't rich, either. My mom and dad did what they could to make sure my sister and I were safe and fed." Booster pauses again, frowning faintly. "My dad and I would play football together while I was growing up, he helped me a lot when I started playing. Especially in High School, and then I got a full football scholarship to Gotham University."
Booster opens his eyes, watching Projectra now as he continues, "I was wildly successful, a star quarterback. My parents were really proud of me. And then... my mom got sick, but I was getting signed to play professionally and managed to work out a deal. You know, some money up front, so we could pay for her treatments. That saved her life." The corner of his mouth lifts at this memory, clearly a fond one. "And then I played a while, and a talent scout felt I had some real star quality going on. And I ended up cast in that show..."
Keith listens quietly, letting Projectra do her thing. He wondered quietly what it was like to be a snake. Then again, maybe she wondered what it was like to be a cat sometimes? No, not bloody likely.
All around them, the world changes. The Gotham of the future, but not the one Booster describes at all. Michael and his sister Michelle flee from an abusive father, their mother battered and bruised at his hands. Poverty reigns. Mutant creatures roam the streets and alleyways. Michael's father leaves, all the family's savings in his pocket. The walls are covered in rust. Princess Projectra frowns, or at least makes a snaky face that is probably meant to be a frown. "Booster, this is going to take time. And it is going to be very painful for you, I think. Perhaps we should do it privately."
Booster stiffens as the imagery that Projectra pulls seems to nudge things within his mind. He cannot quite remember any of this, but it feels pervasively familiar. "Is this what you're finding in my mind?" he asks, quietly, his expression faint but one of betrayal. Booster reaches up, lightly but firmly brushing Keith's hand from his shoulder; it is not an unkind gesture, but it would seem that Michael is not feeling open to any sort of contact. In a much softer tone, he says to the telepath, "Why would you want to help me remember... all that?"
Oh crap, that HAD to be the telepathic equivalent of 'Zo, Herr Boosterr, Tell me about your Mutter?'
"I should head out, Princess." he says, looking uneasy. If she was going to look into his mind and unearth all sorts of terrible things, he didn't want to be there to see them. Booster didn't tell them to him for a reason, and he wasn't going to pry. The psychic illusion around him disconcerted him a little. It was too much like his own illusions, and yet completely different.
"Because I am your friend, and it is the truth, and friends should not lie to each other, even if it seems comforting." Princess Projectra coils up on herself, taking a seat as it were. Vorpal earns an appreciative nod of farewell. "Goodbye, sir. Thank you for helping to return Booster to us. I fear there is still much to be done if we are to recover him truly."
Looking towards the floor, Booster rubs at the back of his neck. Then, he says, "Keith, thanks again for everything you've done. I'm sure this is all kind of weird and frustrating." Sitting up properly, he looks to Princess Projectra. "You're right. Although... if we could continue this tomorrow? I'd..." Michael hesitates, but some part of him knows or remembers that one cannot fib to this snake. "I'd just like one last night to enjoy these memories, before I have to give them up."
"I didn't really do anything."
The cat looks at Booster and nods. "I'm sorry this is so hard for you, Boost... please take good care of yourself. Your highness..." The cat gives a nod of respect to the princess and, in a moment, he is gone as he teleports out through the door, and then makes his way hastily outside.
"Of course," Jeka says, patting Booster on the shoulder with one of her little robot arms. "I am truly sorry that they are not real. It seems that witch gave you happiness, which was in its falseness perhaps the cruelest gift she had to offer." The illusions fade, but the Orandan regards them for a moment as though they were still there. "And if you ever wish... to see those happy things again, I could..." she trails off.
"I... no." Booster shakes his head, lifting one hand. He watches Keith slip away, then smiles faintly at Projectra. "I think... if the reality is that different, I don't think I want to keep those images so vividly in my head. I think that would be too much. I'll just enjoy it for now, but thank you."
Booster rises from the chair, half turning away from Princess Projectra. "I think I'll get some rest, though. In the meantime." Because he has dreams about this family, this idealized family, fed by those false memories. He's going to miss them, once they're gone.
Category:Log