Post by The Wonderful Wachter on Feb 10, 2014 22:57:21 GMT -5
Ultimate ‘Haven Annual #1-1
Part One
Driver’s Ed.
Part One
Driver’s Ed.
Central Business District,
Blüdhaven
Do you know what’s better than the first time you find yourself behind the wheel of new car? When you find yourself behind the wheels of a car like no other; a car that makes every single vehicle in the Fast & Furious franchise look like a go-kart.
Jason hated every single moment he had been forced into the tri-bat until this very second. He couldn’t fault himself for feeling that way. The tri-bat was ridiculous. For someone of Kate’s orientation, he had always found it a wee bit on the strange side for her signature vehicle to have a distinctly phallic shape (balls included) to it. The three wheels – two in the front, one in the back – with a long, slender body definitely drew to the forefront of the mind the male reproductive organ. Why would he want to sit in that? Yet the appearance could be forgiven now that he was the one in the driver’s seat.
The explanation given to the tri-bat’s unusual assembly was it suited Batwoman’s needs – his laughter following that statement had not been appreciated. The sleek three-wheel design allowed greater maneuverability within the cramped streets and alleyways of Blüdhaven. Better yet, when combined with the special features that gave the vehicle its name, the tri-bat could go anywhere in the veritable labyrinth hidden beneath the city. Tunnels that if rumors were to be believed could lead even into the heart of Gotham itself. Its front wheels could even be retracted to fit into all but the tightest of passageways.
Simply perfect and had been from the first blueprints. Only minor changes had been made over the years. Things that augmented the capabilities slightly, made the engine run more efficiently, those sorts of things. Oddly appropriate, three had been built. Kate still used the first. The second had been destroyed. And the third – the one Redbird drove now – had been built with passengers in mind. When she flew with the Birds, Batwoman realized the tri-bat mk. I didn’t have enough leg room for others. It was understandably larger.
“You’re not still mad about Steph, are you?” Redbird called back to Kate.
Like everything else about the tri-bat, seating came in threes, one behind the other. Seats two and three could be stripped out for room or storage like the third one was now. Kate sat perched practically on Jason’s shoulder, her face whiter than Batwoman’s make up. That spoke volumes about how she felt at this very moment compared to her sidekick. Kate had issues with being in control and Redbird driving her vehicle came incredibly close to her living a nightmare.
“She would have found out eventually,” Batwoman allowed, her voice tight with emotion. “She shares her father’s gift for guessing things that she has no godly reason to be able to. What I am mad about is how you admitted it to her.”
“Sorry.”
“About your admission or nearly dinging that mini-coupe?”
“I had inches to spare.”
“Unless she opened her door.”
“She didn’t.”
The tri-bat shot across the Spine in a reddish-silver blur, shocking a few of the street walkers on the corner. He wanted nothing more than to twist the wheel and rocket his way down the length of Haven’s main street, weaving in and around the people partaking in the fleshy services of his city but he knew Kate would never approve. Across it was.
A smile broke his face as a cop in his street blues jumped out of his way. The cop wasn’t doing his job. He was shaking down a few of the prostitutes, hoping for maybe a freebee or some cash. Rookie. Whoever put her there already had the woman on the take of some other corrupt official. He’d be lucky if all he had to do to learn his lesson was piss himself. Better than the alternative of a bullet.
“On the subject of Stephanie, why don’t you relax from training on Wednesday and spend it with her?”
“Why would I do that?”
“I was under the impression that you two were more than –“
“Close friends?” Jason finished the sentence for her as he turned down an alleyway and brought in the wheels. “It doesn’t mean I want to spend Valentine’s Day with her just because she knows my secret.”
“It would be easier for you to be around someone your own age who knows your secret and is somewhat part of the world we live in.”
Redbird chewed on his bottom lip in thought. Stephanie was cute to be sure and apparently she had already known of her father’s secret life before ever laying eyes on Jason. She had kept that to herself for years, feigning obliviousness to Artie’s strange hours and calls, covering for him during the times her mother grew suspicious. The easy choice without a doubt.
Ultimately, he just didn’t know. Stephanie did not make his pulse race like Helena did. And she was too good. His lessons with Dr. Langstrom and Ryder had taught him a thing or two about the situation he found himself in from a scientific and psychological angle respectively. Wildcat, however, had explained to him in detail his first hand experiences and Richard couldn’t be counted on to have helpful insight without starting the advice by saying calm your mind. The males in his life had failed in showing him right path to take.
Maybe that’s just how it was for all teenage boys… even those who moonlight as a caped vigilante.
“Why don’t you just be honest, huh? You just want to –“
“Eyes on the road!”
“Sorry!” Jason grimaced. “Anyways, you just want to spend time with Renee and to do that, you have to pawn me off on someone else.”
“You’re not wrong but I was your age once. And I was Redbird just like you are. I know how difficult it can be when your body –“
“LA LA LA! BW, we are not having this conversation no matter how curious I am about what you did when you were my age.”
They drove in silence for the next few minutes. Jason proved to have a deft hand at the tri-bat’s controls. It wasn’t exactly his first time driving. He did commandeer Arnot’s fancy car last week. Before that, he had boosted a few cars back in the days when he wasn’t the perfect citizen he was now. He used to have a knack for finding the perfect hub-caps that could keep him fed for a few weeks. At the present, Kate found she didn’t have much to teach him other than to tell him what not touch.
A line of cars stopped ahead. Further on, he saw the nine o’clock train rumble on by along the green line. Redbird switched over to the lane empty of oncoming traffic and threw the tri-bat into overdrive. The speed drove him back into his seat with a smile plastered across his face. He’d been waiting for a moment to try his favorite feature out.
“Redbird…”
“I see it.”
“Not that!”
Jason pushed a button on the wheel, readying his yeehaw. The commuter train loomed large in the windshield, the front of the tri-bat rose up, the wheels springing off the ground and literally boosting the vehicle high into the air. High enough to carry it over the rails at a diagonal to avoid a collision with the traffic stopped on the other side.
Except there was no traffic to worry about. As far as the eye could see was open water. He’d forgotten that the road curved here, that this was the end of the Haven, and if he didn’t act quickly, it’d be the end of them too.
He leaned forward, pressing down the wheel. Reverse thrusters fired, edging the nose of the tri-bat down. A flip of the switch pulled the wheels in and sealed up the cabin. The wall of choppy water smacking at the tiny cliff face dared him to pierce its depths. He faced that dare head on. The tri-bat slipped into the ocean with nary a splash.
Jason sighed in relief. He’d been slightly worried that it wouldn’t be deep enough.
The tri-bat’s name did not come from the number of wheels as Jason had first thought. The name found its origin in the ways it could travel: by land, by air (albeit boosted jumping), and by sea. They didn’t use the aquatic feature that often. As they sank down, he had to admit, it was pretty cool.
He twisted in his seat to look back at Batwoman. Her eyes were wide in terror, her knuckles tight as her fingers clinched the sides of her chair. He had a distinct feeling she wanted to throttle him.
“Soooo… Valentine’s Day off? Yeah, I think I can use the break.”
Turning on the propeller, Redbird fought the urge to whistle to the tune of Under the Sea. It might just push Kate over the edge.
Ultimate ‘Haven Annual #1-1
Part Two
My Final Valentine
Part Two
My Final Valentine
Apartment Overlooking Thrawn Park,
Blüdhaven
The Browns were not the richest of families in ‘Haven but they definitely were not wanting for cash in the least. Ole Artie had made a killer fortune with game shows as a kid. They even had framed pictures around the apartment of the Amazing Quiz Boy. Then, when he got older, he had a game show of his own. During those years he wrote a number of bestsellers both fictional and nonfictional, amassing riches close to Jason’s imagination. And finally, in the waning years of his boredom, he crafted his information network for the good, bad, and the Wildcat.
Apparently, his wife still thought his money came from sound investments and royalties.
Their apartment nearly rivaled Kate’s penthouse. Three stories, multiple-rooms, and an entire wall devoted to a window overlooking Thrawn Park – the greenest, non bum littered piece of land in all of the Haven. Jason had good odds the window in question was bulletproof and a large part of him wanted to test the theory. The second floor overlooked the meat of the first. It wrapped around the sitting/living/family/whatever you wanna call it room. There was a nice balcony with a futon up there that could watch the massive TV screen Clue had from on high. The last floor wasn’t much of one. Jason had been up there a few times and almost all of it was devoted to Stephanie.
They found themselves in the whatchamacallit room under the cover of blankets atop the couch like any normal couple would be on a cold Valentine’s Day that happened to overlap with a school night. Stephanie and Jason, a couple, a normal couple… there was something completely wrong with the picture. There was also something that felt very right which made Jason hate Kate’s advice all the more.
Stephanie wasn’t that remarkable of a girl physically. She was best described as pretty and cute, never beautiful and sexy. There was some pudge to her, Jason could feel her body pressed closely beside his beneath the blanket but he really, really didn’t mind that. Nor could he find fault with the way every so often, a sharp intake of his breath would cause a strand of her golden tresses to brush against his skin of his cheek. He’d come to realize he didn’t mind about that as well.
“Do you think they’ll take me on?”
“Uh…Hmm?” Lost in the feel of Stephanie so close to him, Jason didn’t immediately understand the question.
“You know. The guys and Kate.”
“Oh. No clue. They made me a student the same night Richard left me bruised with more than just my dignity.”
“Really? That quick? I’ve been waiting for over a week.”
“I had a fantastic résumé.”
The incredulous look Stephanie turned on him was understandable. He’d have given himself the same look if he was in her place. Except, he didn’t think he’d ever be that close to his own face. And he’d never show off those cute dimples. Certainly wouldn’t experience the urge to lean forward to feel the press of lips.
He moved away a little, leaning against the couch’s armrest, forcing Steph to hold herself up using something other than him. His face felt hotter than it had any reason to be on this cold night. His heart jumped at her playful smile until it caught somewhere around his throat.
“And what sort of résumé was that?”
“I stole from each and every one of them until I got caught. Your dad, he, uh… he recruited me.”
“Why’d he recruit you?”
“No… clue.”
The covers slipped as Stephanie adjusted herself. They fell farther still when she sidled closer to Jason. There was no more room to escape her proximity short of moving off the couch and as much mind over body control the Dragon had been teaching him, the boy wasn’t quite confident he could without a sign of embarrassment showing through. Her warm breath washed against his cheek.
He stared death in the face at least three nights a week and here he was gulping like a schoolboy over a girl. He opened his mouth to speak. Stephanie silenced him with a finger to his lips. The covers had all but fallen completely off. Somehow, she was taking advantage of his inability finish complete thoughts to straddle his lap, her arms framing his head as she leaned down close.
So close. Inches. Centimeters. He had to switch to the metric system to define the situation. Her nose practically touched his. Her hair tickled him. His pulse wouldn’t slow down.
“Jason,” her voice was heavier than he’d heard before, “wait for it,” she tilted her head, bringing her lips towards his, “Five, four, three, two,” he didn’t care that she was counting down to the kiss. He found thoughts to be so pointless. “One.” Their lips brushed for a –
“Brrrzztt, Brrzztt!”
Stephanie laughed in his face as the phone vibrating on the table terrified him into nearly throwing her off. She patted his cheek and stood to answer it.
“Hi, daddy… Nah, she’s not home yet. Said she was stopping to get takeout… Jason?” Stephanie gave him a wink. “We’re watching the Lion King. Can You Feel the Love Tonight just started… Yeah, I’ll have mom call you when she gets in… Bye.”
Jason keeled over, his head in his hands as he felt his blood start to cool and he was in control of himself once more. What was it that he had thought back in the tri-bat? Stephanie was too good? She couldn’t get his pulse to race? He had to admit he was wrong about that.
“You… used me.” He somehow managed to say after she hung up.
“Do you have a problem with it?” She spread her arms wide. “He’s got cameras all over this place. Makes Nannycam look like a no-budget paid program.” She sat the phone down and bent close for a whisper. “If we really want to mess with him, I should take you up to my room. He does have some borders he won’t cross.”
“You’re my kind of twisted,” he laughed far too nervously for his own liking.
Stephanie smiled demurely, her eyes sparkling. She took a few steps back and curled her finger for him to follow. For an impossibly long moment in time, Jason remained stationary in his seat. He’d jumped to his feet before he knew what his legs were thinking.
It wasn’t to her room she led him. They stayed on the first floor, shrouded under dim shadow in the corner by the stairs. Her fingers entwined themselves in the fabric of his hoodie. She drew him close. For once, Jason wasn’t jealous she was a fraction of an inch taller than him. For once, his thoughts were filled only with those of her.
“Jay?”
“Yeah?”
“Five… Four… three…”
His body trembled as his lips enveloped hers. Their first kiss deep, promising the same thing it promised all couples in the grips of first love. They had a future together. Passion. Nobody but them. The kiss was the easiest thing in the world. It was the world. She pulled him tightly into her embrace as they finally breathed apart, their foreheads pressed together. Jason stared into those eyes and wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.
“Brrrzztt, Brrzztt!”
