2013.05.26 - We All Fall Down

"Uuugh." Booster Gold is sitting at a commissary table, with his goggles and cowl off, so that they hang like an unworn hood at the back of his neck. He also has his gloves off, and the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes. On the table before him are a half eaten sandwich and a big glass of milk. Hovering nearby is Skeets, who has a holo-screen display floating just before him.
"I could write it for you, if you wish, sir," the little robot offers, slowly bobbing in mid-air.
"Meh. I can do it, it's just making my head hurt. I didn't go to school for this kind of thing," mutters Booster, folding his arms so that they rest on the table top, giving the holo-screen a weary look.
A touch of a rarity, Jazmin's boots tap softly on the floor of HQ as she moves into the commissary in costume. She glances briefly over to where Booster is puzzling at something, nodding to him and Skeets both as she moves her way over to the handy autobots that will provide food. Or in this case, something that approximates food in the form of cookies. And ice cream. Nothing that one who wishes to continue to wear spandex as a lifestyle should be eating, really. She takes her sugar over to where Booster sits and leans over to take a peek. "Mind if I join you?"
"Please, do!" Booster sits back, gesturing to one of the open chairs at his table. He looks sincerely relieved to have something distract him from the work he was attempting to do. "Rene suggested that I write up some stuff about my trip here and the transport I used and so on. Just to have it on file. I agree, although some of the stuff I'm trying to express is not coming easily to me." He waves his hand a bit at Skeets, and the robot floats aside.
Jazmin slides into a seat setting down the plate of cookies first and nudging it over in clear invitation to share. "What are you trying to explain?" She tucks a leg up under her as she dips her spoon into her ice cream to be able to nibble at it lightly. "It might work better if you're explaining it to someone and then transcribe that, rather than writing it?"
Booster takes one of the cookies as he sighs. "Well, basically, I traveled here in a time machine. I landed in a secluded area in the Pine Barrens, scanned the area... there was no one around. I stepped out, and then there was a flash of light and chronal energy... according to Skeets," he uses the cookie to gesture at the robot, who perks up a bit when he gets referenced. "I saw a figure in there but it all vanished before we could see who it was. So, for all I know, the Jersey Devil hopped in and is joyriding around the timestreams."
Ginger snaps with plenty of snap are the cookies on offer and Jazmin collects up one for herself to scoop up icecream with. "So did you intent to get in a time machine and come to the 21st century?" She asks and then mmms softly and nibbles on ice cream and cookie combination before adding. "Mysterious person in your time machine, yes? Were there, or are there, any restrictions on your time machine?"
"Oh yeah, I knew exactly where and when I wanted to go. The machine looked like..." Booster looks around for something to draw on or with, then ends up setting his cookie down on his sandwich plate, dusts crumbs off of his hands, and plucks Skeets out of the air.
"Sir, please!" Skeets protests.
Holding Skeets in the crook of one arm, Booster 'draws' in the air with his fingertip, and the holo-projection Skeets is emitting ends up showing a simple sphere with some kind of base. "It was kind of confusing when I first got into it, but then after I started fiddling around with the controls, it felt a lot more intuitive. I don't think it really had any restrictions, once I figured out when and where I needed to go, I was able to go there. Here."
Jazmin listens as she slowly eats ice cream and watches. She mmms softly. "It wasn't something you'd used before? Where did it come from, in your original time and place?" She stifles a little smile at Skeets' protest at being man handled by Booster. "Skeets, can you record this, even upside down and being used as a projector?"
Booster grins, and releases the struggling Skeets. The little robot flies into the air again where it gives an abrupt shimmy, just as an affronted bird might shake out its feathers. Skeets says, "Yes, ma'am, although it will be much easier for me to do so when I am not being contained." He has no face and therefore no facial expressions, but his tone manages to sound reproachful.
Taking a bite of his cookie, Booster then says, "It wasn't my time machine. I ... uh, essentially stole it. It was in the museum where I was working as a night watchman. Where it came from before that? I have no idea, and neither did the curators, who noted it was from the 'past' but the technology involved was too sophisticated for it to be from prior centuries."
"I'm certain, yes." Jazmin smiles a little, clearly amused by Skeets, in the most fond sort of way. She quirks a brow at Booster. "Soo.. you 'borrowed' a time machine from the museum where you were working, and then it got stolen from you before you could take it back.. that sum it up fairly well?" She mmms thoughtfully around her ice cream, using the other half of her cookie to scoop up more. "It.. it really doesn't sound like past technology to me either."
"Okay, well, admittedly I was not planning on returning to my native era," Booster clarifies, eyes glancing towards the ceiling as he lifts one hand in a sheepish shrug. "But I could have programmed it to pop back there. Except someone swooped in from nowhere and took it. So... yeah. I mean, it was probably a time-lost artifact, like my ring..." Even though he had removed his gloves in order to eat, he still has his Legion flight ring on his hand. He always wears that. "I... was also going to note in this write-up that yes, I'm basically a criminal. I'm not kidding either, I did brief jailtime before I stole all this stuff and broke federal power-use laws." He grins brightly. "I'm hoping the ends justify the means."
"It was probably a time lost thing, yeah." Jazmin agrees thoughtfully, clearly just leaving the notion of legality aside. "Federal power-use laws?" She quirks her head, curious on that point. "You.. weren't supposed to use powers? Really?"
"Yeah! I mean, it wasn't illegal to have powers. Some people are born with abilities or gain them or whatever, of course," Booster nods, and gestures vaguely with his free hand, because the other is occupied with handling his food. "So in general if someone had minor abilities they could probably get away with it, but it still wasn't legal. And there weren't any superheroes or supervillains, not even non-powered vigilante types. So... power-use would get you fined, or jail time, varying depending on severity. But for some things, the punishment was way more severe." He points at Jazmin with the last bit of cookie he is holding in his fingertips and says, "Time-travel? That's execution, no trial." Booster pops the cookie into his mouth.
"Remind me never to accidentally end up in your former time, I really have no desire to be executed." Jazmin comments absently with a little hunh. "So what did you do that landed you in jail? Or should I pretend that I'm polite and not actually ask you that, because it is completely prying. You are welcome to not answer."
"I know, it was strict and stupid. Is... will be?" Booster glances upwards as he tries to figure out the appropriate tense for discussing things in his personal past that will be in the possible future of the current present. Then he gives up on that, shrugs, and brushes some crumbs from his lower lip. "Well... it's kind of a long story, and it's a little complicated. I guess the short and simple version is, I was a college football player, and I got caught throwing a game."
"And if you were doing the long and complicated part?" Jazmin prompts with a calm and quiet voice. "As.. throwing a college football game seems extreme for jail time, although I have learned that Earth's attitude on football is .. not at all sane or reasonable to a non-native, but neither is most of television."
"Ah, that... is why it's complicated." Booster grins at Jazmin, a little wanly. "I mentioned there were no superheroes in my era... all security was strictly enforced by the police, and they had a lot of robot drones to patrol places and keep everyone in line. Including breaking rules such as, hanging around in your neighborhood at night while being poor." He sits back in his chair, with one elbow hitched back to prop on the backrest. "When American-rules football was revived, it became huge... bigger than it is in this century, if you can believe that. There were other sports, of course, but football was the one I played. So, players could become pretty famous, even revered." His gaze drops to the remains of his sandwich, and he idly plucks crumbs from one of the bread slices. "So, doing what I did... you know, that's kind of like a hero revealing he's actually a villain."
Jazmin shifts in her seat, tucking her other leg up as she attempts to put some feeling back in the foot she had been sitting, tapping it on the floor a moment as she listens. "Ahh. So the golden boy, forgive the pun, fall from grace and making an example out of you, all in one fell swoop?" She muses, considering him. "That must have been really hard on you. Did you actually throw the game?"
"That's not far from what the judge said, that he'd make an example out of me," Booster is no longer smiling. He looks contemplative, and a little sad, although his gaze is still on his unfinished lunch. "I was famous, as in... extremely famous. There were bidding wars to sign me for when I'd graduate. So... when I was arrested, it was a huge scandal and I couldn't really go anywhere, because everyone recognized me. It's why I worked a night shift." He lifts his head a little, just enough to allow him to glance at Jazmin without eye strain. "And yeah, I was guilty. I did throw that game."
"Why?" Jazmin asks the salient question about the whole situation. "Why did you throw it? Was it worth it?" She watches him, quiet and thoughtfully. Not quite fawning sympathy, but no judgment either as she listens. "It changed your life completely, and likely changed you as well."
"I..." Booster hesitates, looking at the tabletop again. His expression is haunted, sad, and even mildly disgusted. After a long, silent moment, he sits up and rubs his hand over his face, glancing at Jazmin with a weak grin. "This is the ... complicated part. Initially I was just betting on my own games, still not legal but I wasn't betting against my team, there was no fix. I just... I needed the money. My mom was sick, and we were so poor, and the government wouldn't provide the treatments she needed." He rests his elbows on the table, with one hand pushing through his hair. "I told her, her and my sister, that I was getting all that money from scouts I'd agreed to sign with once I'd graduated."
"Understandable." Jazmin nods slowly at the classic motivation of a sick parent. "Family is a strong incentive to do whatever you can to keep them safe. So initially no, but that didn't keep up with the need is my guess?" She still watches him, the play of emotions across his face. "And then something changed.."
"Yeah, it was... fine, and something I was planning to stop the moment we didn't need all that extra money." Booster rubs his forehead with the heel of his hand, as he shuts his eyes. "But then my dad showed up, he... wasn't a nice person. Especially not to mom. He was the reason we were so poor, and then he just abandoned us when Michelle and I were little kids. I saw him a couple of times after that but never for more than a few minutes, until then. He told me he was in trouble from all of his gambling, that loan sharks were going to kill him if he didn't pay off everything." When Booster looks up at Jazmin this time, he just looks incredibly tired. "I knew he was a big liar, a cheat, a crook. But I wanted my father back, although who knows why anyone would want him. I thought I could make everything okay again, so ... I threw the game for him. And to answer your earlier question, no, it wasn't worth it."
"I'm sorry to hear that Booster." Jazmin reaches a hand out, to touch his arm if he lets her. "I can't imagine not having parents who support and love you, and I can completely understand that urge to have your father back. I absolutely can."
"But it was a stupid urge," Booster replies, looking incredulous; not at Jazmin, so much as at himself. "He's a horrible person. I should have told him to shove off, I mean my sister even tried to talk me out of it." He shakes his head, his lips pulling back into something that is between a grin and a grimace. "I really bought into the whole idea of being a hero, that I could fix our family by doing this, but the truth is... I was just a quarterback and my family was fine without him. My mom and my sister loved me and supported me, we didn't need that... him back."
"I'm pretty sure there's something here about boys and fathers." Jazmin points out quietly. "So bad idea, for good, if misguided intentions, and .. I can see why you'd say it wasn't worth it, knowing the whole story. Have you made peace with it at this point? From your perspective, how long ago was it?"
Booster takes in a slow, deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. He is very good at dropping down a cool and friendly facade even when he is agitated, but this is not one of those times; this is a little beyond his ability to pretend everything is okay. "About six months ago." He takes in another breath, although this ends up more akin to a sigh. "After I was arrested, it was impossible to keep a lid on things. My mom just..." His eyes shut. "She thought I was in league with my father, or worse, turning into him. She dis... disowned me, which is why I ended up in another city, working at that museum."
"Oh hon." Jazmin's voice loses the calm, full of sympathy. "This is fresh, new and open wounds for you. I'm sorry to have poked at it." She frowns softly, her brow furrowing. "Oh that has got to be hard.. and now you're here, in a whole different time and world. What about your sister, what did she think?"
A strangled little laugh escapes from Booster's throat. "I had to come here, I... my sister stayed with mom. Which, that's fine, I'm glad she did." He takes in another breath, and his voice takes on a hoarse edge. "But I didn't speak with her again until... I don't know, when did I get here? A month or two ago?" He does the little laugh again. "She called me, because... I mean, I was keeping a low profile. The media still loved my story, you know how that is. They were hounding my family for more material, and the stress and the lack of money, I mean." He pulls back from Jazmin's contact now, sitting back in his chair with his hand over his eyes, and his other arm folded across his chest. "She died, because I'm stupid and selfish. My mom died, and I killed her. And I couldn't face that, and I stole that damn time machine and I came here."
"You did not kill your mother." Jazmin answers, her voice low and quiet and earnest "I know you feel like you did, and I'm not going to say that it helped, but you did not kill her. I can see why you came here, I can also see why you weren't planning on going back. Nor, I expect, are you ever planning on going back."
"She'd be alive and healthy if I'd done things differently." Booster's voice is entirely hoarse now, which means he is probably crying, although he does this in an incredibly calm manner. He firmly keeps his hand over his eyes, however. "It just... it adds up to the same thing. In my mind." He breathes in a soft, prolonged sniff. "Not sure what I'm even trying to prove, here. In this era, I mean. I guess I figured... ehh."
In tactful silence, Skeets flies in a little closer with a fresh tissue grasped in one of his extensible claws. He drops this on Booster's arm, then quickly hovers back again.
"You can't know that." Jazmin uncurls from her seat, to come around the table and crouch down next to him, leaving her ice cream behind. "You might suspect it, but you can't know it for certain." She gives a little shake of her head. "You don’t have anything to prove here, not to anyone else but yourself. Which is a whole lot harder, I'm learning, than proving it to anyone else."
Booster rubs his eyes with his fingers, then picks up the tissue to dry them better and dab at his nose. For whatever reason, he is a remarkably stoic crier. "I tend to make bad decisions. I'm... hoping that I'll start making better ones, now. I just..." He lifts his hands, then drops them again, at a loss. Looking down at Jazmin, his expression is bleary, but he must be regaining some self control because he grins at her. "I usually don't talk about this stuff. Who ever wants to hear about someone's dumb college days?"
"Hoping is a start. Practicing, and learning from the last ones also helps." Jazmin reaches out to pat at his leg, pushing herself up to lean against the table a moment. "I didn't have college days, so I do want to hear. And .. I asked, and thank you for telling me."
"Well... well, I mean, I wasn't planning on talking about it, probably ever, but I guess these things happen. So..." Booster arches one eyebrow and casually points Jazmin's way. "Thank you for listening." He winks at her. Even when his eyes are red-rimmed and his nose is also a bit rosy, he can pull off the cheesy charm. "I never actually finished college, although I tried it twice. Maybe we can sign up for some local thing and do a... I dunno. Pottery class or whatever."
"I was drafted into a supergroup to defend the planet instead of formal education." Jazmin muses on that a moment and then shrugs. "Sometimes.. no matter how much you think its just going to stay hidden, and then you find it coming up to your thoughts." She snickers softly at the last quip. "Underwater basket weaving. Wait.. you have force fields, that'd end badly for me." She considers him a moment and then leans in to offer him a hug. "I'm glad you ended up here, Booster. I've monitor shift in a couple, you okay?"
"Well, uh, thank you," Booster mutters quietly, almost sheepishly, as he hugs Jazmin in return. He is clearly a little embarrassed at having exhibited genuine emotions. Not to mention having genuine emotions exhibited towards him. After the hug, he rises from his chair, saying, "Sure, I'm fine. Better than okay, in fact." He tilts his head to one side in a cocky gesture, pointing dual finger-guns at Jazmin. "Totally Boosterrific!" Booster clicks his tongue twice as he 'fires' his finger guns and gives Jazmin a wink and a sun-bright smile.
"Boosterrific." Jazmin repeats at him and smirks at the million watt smile, no matter that it comes with still slightly red eyes. "Well, I'll see your Boosterrific self in the morning after I spend the night watching monitors." She lifts her hand to 'shoot' him right back with her own finger guns, not quite so smooth and practiced as his. "Good night Boost." She collects up half melted ice cream, waves at him and heads for a night of boredom.
"Sir, do you want to finish your report?" Skeets asks, hovering uncertainly in the background.
Booster lifts a hand in farewell to Jazmin, watching her go. He then looks back at Skeets and says, "Yes, but... not just this second. I'm going to go fly around, I think, and clear my head. I'll meet you back here in about an hour."
"Certainly, sir!" Skeets flies back to the table, then turns and says, "Sir?" just as Booster is about to leave. His boss looks back, brows arched in query. "...nevermind, sir. Enjoy your flight!" Skeets watches Booster go, and then hurriedly starts to clean up the table, and wait.
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