SEPT 2003 - #51

Ice Cream by Paul Hahn

Johnny Gallo, also known as Ricochet, was throwing his discs at a rapid pace. His unique powers, along with a special danger-sense and the ability to jump pretty high, also allowed him to throw items with incredible accuracy, bouncing them from one point to another; hence the name Ricochet.

"Keep 'em coming," Freddy Freemen, also known as Marvel Boy, said. He was using his super-strength and speed to catch or block every disc Johnny sent at him. "I can do this all day."

"Yeah, good for you," Johnny frowned. "Just keep on makin' my powers seem pointless."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure a normal guy wouldn't stand a chance against this assault," Freddy replied, continuing to deflect the attack.

"Uh-huh," Johnny said absently.

"It's not my fault that I've got the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury."

"Right," Ricochet said, throwing a final disc. "And it's not my fault some of these guys explode."

"Huh?" Freddy managed to ask just as the disc hit his arm and exploded, knocking Marvel Boy back onto his butt.

Ricochet burst out laughing.

"Son of a . . . " Freddy grumbled.

Mary Freeman walked out of the mansion resort and onto the large back yard where the other two were practicing.

"Don't go hurting my brother now," Mary frowned.

"Me?" Johnny asked. "Hurt him? Mister strength of Hercules?"

Mary shook her head and laughed. "You can still hurt his pride."

"Really?" Johnny asked. "Nifty."

"Don't give him ideas," Freddy frowned. "And you, knock it off with the explosives."

"Well, if you're gonna be that way," Johnny shrugged, "then this practice session is over."

"Okay," Freddy shrugged. "Shazam!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut through the clear blue sky and struck Marvel Boy, taking away his costume and all of his super powers in a flash.

"Holy crap," Johnny said, grabbing his chest. "Warn a guy . . . "

"I did," Freddy replied. "Whenever I say that name, I turn into Marvel Boy, or back to Freddy Freeman."

"What word?" Johnny asked.

Freddy rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you've gotta be prepared for those hard questions," Johnny shrugged. "What if a super villain tricked you into saying the magic word? Bye bye Freddy, right?"

"Luckily, unlike some members of Young Justice, the Marvel siblings aren't complete idiots," Mary replied while shooting a glare.

Johnny sighed. "I don't get any respect."

Eddie McDonough sat in his room, watching the others outside through a window. He let out a sigh. They could be out there, out of costume, having a good time. And he wouldn't let himself.

Eddie was born with a palsied right arm; He was crippled by it; it was unusable. And so he had always felt inadequate . . . a lesser man. That's why he was such an egg head. Instead of going outside and playing with friends, he was always sitting in his room, his head inside a book. He longed to be a part of something, to belong to a group of friends, but he wouldn't let himself. He was an insecure man.

He thought being a superhero would be great. Being a part of Young Justice would allow him to belong to a group, and wearing the Hornet suit would give him use over his right arm, allowing him to be normal. But it didn't help things. It just made his insecurities worse.

Now he had to worry about being an inadequate fighter; a lesser super hero. And beyond that, he was now even more ashamed of his arm, and refused to really hang with the group at all, unless wearing enough of the suit to make his arm work.

A knock came at his door.

"Uh . . . who is it?" Eddie asked, not used to visitors.

"It's Sarah," was the reply. Sarah Raimes was also known as Virago. She didn't have any real special combat powers, but she did have a nifty little ability: visions of things that had just happened, were happening, or were about to happen. Visions that let her help people.

"Uh . . . yes?" Eddie asked.

"A whole bunch of us are going into town for ice cream," she answered. "Wanna join us? It's beautiful out there."

"Uh . . . n-no, no thanks," Eddie replied.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "It'll be fun."

"No, I . . . I've got some things to do. Uh . . . maybe next time?"

"Well, alright," Sarah sighed. "Maybe next time."

She walked away and Eddie lowered his head.

"Finally, wheels," Johnny said happily as the group headed into the city inside their big, blue van.

"It's a nasty, old, half rusted-through van," Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat, frowned. "You'd think with all the high-tech equipment our boss got for the base, he could at least find us a decent car."

"Think about it, Cat," Johnny said. "It's a total shaggin' wagon."

Felicia rolled her eyes.

"You have got a one-track mind," Jenni Ognats, a.k.a. XS, frowned.

"I wouldn't say that," Johnny replied. "I think about you two, Jenni. But what can I say? Tall, blonde and beautiful with legs up to here and great big . . . uh . . . feet . . . are my favorite."

"Men," Felicia added.

Ray was driving, with Sarah next to him riding shotgun. Johnny and Jenni were in the middle row, with the Marvel twins and Felicia in the back.

"And Eddie didn't want to come?" Ray asked Sarah.

"Nope," Sarah frowned. "And here I thought I was anti-social."

"You are," Johnny replied. "He's just a weirdo."

"It's his loss," Mary added. "It's a beautiful day, nothing's going on, and Buckeye gave us the day to ourselves. This is what Young Justice should be about."

"Yeah . . . ice cream, an' hittin' things," Freddy grinned.

"Your brother's kinda slow," Felicia whispered to Mary.

"Nah," Mary replied. "He just knows what he wants outta life."

"Speaking of wanting stuff outta life," Johnny asked, "are we there yet?"

"We'll be there soon enough," Ray frowned.

"You drive like my dead grandma," Johnny replied.

"Don't make me come back there," Ray barked.

Felicia smacked Johnny upside the head.

"Ow," he frowned, rubbing his head.

"Hey, I just realized," Freddy frowned, "I don't have any cash. I mean . . . super-heroing isn't a paying gig."

"Relax," Jenni said, "Buckeye gave Ray a wad of cash for us to use."

"A wad you say?" Felicia asked curiously.

"For ice cream," Ray frowned. "He said he expects change."

"What an old man," she answered.

"So, seriously, are we there yet?" Johnny asked. "I mean, come on . . . "

"It's just ahead, Nancy," Ray rolled his eyes. "Ever hear of a thing called traffic? It sucks."

"Excuses excuses," Johnny replied. "And don't call me Nancy."

"Okay, Carroll."

Eddie had left his room and was in the kitchen, grabbing a Pepsi.

"Hey Eddie," Buckeye said, walking into the kitchen. "How come you didn't go with the rest of the gang?"

"Oh, you know . . . I had stuff to do. For the suit."

"Uh-huh," Alexander answered. "Eddie, you can't just lock yourself up here all the time. You need to get out some, be a part of the team, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," Eddie frowned.

"Make more of an effort. I know the team'll accept you, no problem. You're worrying for no reason."

"Easy for you to say," Eddie answered. He held up his right arm. "You don't have this to deal with."

"We all have our crosses to carry, Eddie," Alex frowned. "You deal with yours. And, actually, I've got to go deal with one of mine. I'll be gone until later tonight, most likely. When they get back, be sure to hang with them, okay?"

"Sure . . . whatever," Eddie said, his voice filled with apathy.

Alex shook his head and continued out.

"Stack it high as you can," Freddy grinned as he ordered an ice cream cone. "All the way to the heavens."

"Apparently he's got the diet of Dionysus, too," Johnny said.

"I wonder if all super heroes get to spend a day eating ice cream," Jenni wondered as she dug into a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough.

"They probably don't have to go anywhere," Felicia answered. "I bet the JLA's got, like, every flavor of ice cream ever created just sitting in their base."

"Lucky bastards," Freddy said as he took hold of his giant ice cream cone.

The group, after getting their ice cream, grabbed a couple of tables, pushed up near each other and sat down.

"You know what's really weird?" Johnny asked.

"What?" Jenni asked back.

"Three of us have white hair," he answered.

Freddy laughed.

"Well, I'm a blonde," Felicia replied. "It's only white when I power up."

"Mine's natural," Sarah shrugged. "What's your excuse, Johnny?"

"Uhh . . . let's call mine silver," he said.

"Is that what it says on the bottle?" Ray asked.

"Bottle nothing," Johnny frowned. "I'm all natural, all the time. The hair drives the ladies wild."

"Where?" Felicia asked. "In Bizarro world?"

"So, Ray," Mary started, "you were the first one of us here, right? When Buckeye formed the team?"

"Yup," Ray replied, licking a cone.

"So, do you two go back or something?" Mary asked. "I mean, he went to you first . . . determined you were gonna lead . . . and then had you help him recruit everyone else. What's his deal?"

"I dunno," Ray shrugged. "Just that his name is Alex, and you can call him that. And, uh . . . he's married. Or he was. I don't know if he's divorced. I think he said separated, once. Something about super heroics getting in the way."

"The dude chose crime-fighting over love-making?" Johnny asked. "That's messed."

"The greater good, I suppose," Ray answered. "He must feel that he can make a difference. And Young Justice is how he plans to do it. He's a good guy, really. He cares."

"Good for him," Johnny cut in. "I mean, really . . . just hope no one thinks he's a pedophile or anything for recruiting a buncha fifteen to eighteen-year-olds so he could live with us and call us by weird nicknames."

"You're messed," Jenni sighed.

"Yeah, this Young Justice thing could be pretty cool," Felicia replied. "And I, for one, love my costume and nickname. Makes me feel good. And Johnny, don't comment on it at all if you want to live."

Johnny put his hands up innocently.

"Felicia's right," Ray said. "We're heroes . . . we're making a difference in this world. It's good to do that, it feels good. And who knows, maybe we'll even get some fame for it, too. Which would be a bonus, right?"

"Yeah, like when they do Young Justice: The Movie," Johnny said. "I wonder who would play me . . . "

Eddie had just finished a sandwich he had made, and was heading back from his room to the kitchen. As he walked along the hallway, he saw a spark of light out of the corner of his eye. He stopped short and turned his attention to the main foyer, where it had occurred. He froze, as his eyes fell upon two intruders that had just appeared into the team's home.

One was a woman; tall, dark hair, wearing dark purple and stature like a rich snob. The other was a boy, a child; he had bushy black hair and wore a small black suit. They were definitely an odd couple.

Eddie strained his ears to hear them, to make out what they were saying.

"It's about time," the woman grinned. "Wouldn't you agree, Klarion?"

"You forgot the bum bum BUM! part, Contessa," Klarion frowned.

"I have said it often enough, it's pointless and annoying," Contessa frowned back. "And it's besides the point. We're not hear to squabble. We're here for a specific purpose."

"I don't detect their life signatures at all," Klarion said. "If they had been here within the last three months, they would register. And since it was their base . . . "

"Excellent," Contessa grinned.

Eddie could barely make out what they were saying, and what he could make out, he didn't understand. His every instinct was to hide. But his brain was telling him to go back to his room, to get the suit. He remained frozen.

"Then it's true," Klarion grinned. "The only guys to ever mess with us are gone."

"Yes," Contessa continued grinning. "Young Justice is dead."

Eddie McDonough's jaw hit the floor.