Summer's End (part 22)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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5th May
16:23 GMT -7
I sit on the floor in the middle of the living…
I sit on the floor in the middle of my living room, television on and showing the highlights of a meeting between the UN Security Council, the Justice League, and Lex Luthor and a few other EDF officers. My… Small people who live in my house. My children, are clustered around me, drawing reassurance from my presence as I… I try and get back into father-mode after so long in cruel tyrant mode.
It's… Not as bad as when I got anti-lifed. So there's that.
I note that in the establishing shots they show the Pax Lex guarding the sky over New York and EDF marines in light armour looking considerably more dangerous than the US army personnel standing guard outside. If the few shots that show his face in any detail are anything to go by I'd say that Lex looks pleased, and… As my God senses readjust to being back in this era I think I'm getting feedback from him.
It's so weak.
"Daddy?"
The youngest -Sarah, her name's Sarah, don't forget it- hasn't really stopped looking at me since we all sat down. She keeps touching me, reassuring herself that I'm still here. I'm not entirely sure why. I… Don't remember her being this clingy.
I smile down at her beneficently. "Yes, honeybun?"
"Why were you gone so long?"
"Didn't Jean explain who the Sheeda are?"
Sarah nods, stroking my left side with her right hand and looking away.
"Then you know what I was doing. I was fighting them. And now they're nearly beaten."
She's not looking at me. That's… Bad..? With Sheeda that's a sign of deference, but with human… Humanish, children, I don't… Think it's a good sign.
I reach around and pick her up, an action which causes her to jerk her head upwards in surprise as I deposit her in my lap and wrap my… Well, my hands around her.
"What's the matter?"
She has to tip her head all of the way back to look up at my face.
"You feel different, Daddy. We can…" She looks around at her natural brothers and sisters for support, and they're all watching me too. "We can all feel it. Do you need the ponies?"
"No, not -hah!- right now." I lean down, remember I'm too big for that, then lift her up so that I can kiss her forehead. "I was sent to the future, and I was there for a very long time until I could come back. I'm a little out of sorts, but I'll be fine in a little while."
I stretch out my arms, and the rest of my brood squeeze in closer so that I can hug them all at once. Except Lynne, who's…
I look around at where she's sitting on the settee. "Lynne?"
I feel her mental probe and **I try to arrange my experiences in the far future into some sort of coherent narrative for her perusal.** She frowns very faintly, her eyes becoming a little vacant as she focuses on her internal slideshow.
"Do you want us to call Artemis?"
"Yes."
I blink in surprise. I hadn't.. meant to say that. My children need me around and Lex needs me out of the spotlight. Artemis…
Needs to talk to the friends she hasn't seen in… Decades, at least.
Lynne's already offering me the phone, Artemis's home number already ringing. I smile faintly as I take it from her and hold it against my right ear.
"Thank you."
It's… Ringing. I still haven't entirely gotten used to American ring tones. Land line ring tones, I-
"Hello?"
-mean.
"Paula, good afternoon. Is-"
"Grayven?"
"-Artemis with you?"
"Yes, she-. Hold on."
"Hey… Grayven."
"Not exactly a grand palace, is it?"
"It's… Home… Apparently."
"Is it all coming back to you, or..?"
"Kinda? I remember where stuff is, but… It's.. not… Home, anymore. Y'know?"
"I thought you said that your apartment made you feel like you stepped out of an Edgar Allan Poe poem?"
"Ye-ah, but at least the poem was about me. I keep-. Looking around for servants."
"Only to be expected."
"I think I've lived like that most of my life now." I hear her exhale. "I took a look at my wardrobe and I don't understand any of it."
"Do you want a g-goblin? I'm sure the genomorphs can spare one."
"I don't think Mom's got.. room. Hey…"
"Yes, it feels weird for me t-. You know what? Mother Box, hush tube."
"Ping!"
"OhthankGod."
I barely have time to toss the phone back to Lynne before Artemis strolls in and-.
Embrace my Other Half.
"Oh." She stops. "Is.. this..? Ah, hi!"
She smiles at the children who are now all staring up at her like a pack of meerkats.
"My children? Yes."
"No, I meant-. It felt like… We were back in the future."
"Apokoliptian technology runs throughout my mountain. It helps me project my power, anchors it… It's not quite like having-. Children, move over and let Artemis sit down."
There's a shuffling around as they make space for her to my right, and she plonks herself down, not quite leaning against me but being about as close as she can without doing that.
"It's not quite like having an entire civilisation at my beck and call, but it's the closest thing I've got. You can feel it?"
"Mm-hm." She nods, looking around. "It's not.. the same, but it's… Familiar. Better."
"Well, feel free to drop by any time you want."
On the screen in front of us, Lex climbs up to a podium.
"So is this where Luthor takes over the world?"
"No, this is where he makes mildly smug remarks about the fleet's performance relative to the Justice League but otherwise sounds like a public servant. He needs to create-."
"Capitalise on the good will to get everyone invested in the fleet, so that no one tries to stop him."
I smile and nod. "Correct. Mass participation defence of the planet."
"Which we both… Know is better than a small… Group of Highborn. Ah, super… Heroes." She thinks for a moment. "I didn't… Use to think like this."
"Life changes us." I should probably shift the topic. "So are you going to keep your hair like that, or dye it back to blonde?"
16:23 GMT -7
I sit on the floor in the middle of the living…
I sit on the floor in the middle of my living room, television on and showing the highlights of a meeting between the UN Security Council, the Justice League, and Lex Luthor and a few other EDF officers. My… Small people who live in my house. My children, are clustered around me, drawing reassurance from my presence as I… I try and get back into father-mode after so long in cruel tyrant mode.
It's… Not as bad as when I got anti-lifed. So there's that.
I note that in the establishing shots they show the Pax Lex guarding the sky over New York and EDF marines in light armour looking considerably more dangerous than the US army personnel standing guard outside. If the few shots that show his face in any detail are anything to go by I'd say that Lex looks pleased, and… As my God senses readjust to being back in this era I think I'm getting feedback from him.
It's so weak.
"Daddy?"
The youngest -Sarah, her name's Sarah, don't forget it- hasn't really stopped looking at me since we all sat down. She keeps touching me, reassuring herself that I'm still here. I'm not entirely sure why. I… Don't remember her being this clingy.
I smile down at her beneficently. "Yes, honeybun?"
"Why were you gone so long?"
"Didn't Jean explain who the Sheeda are?"
Sarah nods, stroking my left side with her right hand and looking away.
"Then you know what I was doing. I was fighting them. And now they're nearly beaten."
She's not looking at me. That's… Bad..? With Sheeda that's a sign of deference, but with human… Humanish, children, I don't… Think it's a good sign.
I reach around and pick her up, an action which causes her to jerk her head upwards in surprise as I deposit her in my lap and wrap my… Well, my hands around her.
"What's the matter?"
She has to tip her head all of the way back to look up at my face.
"You feel different, Daddy. We can…" She looks around at her natural brothers and sisters for support, and they're all watching me too. "We can all feel it. Do you need the ponies?"
"No, not -hah!- right now." I lean down, remember I'm too big for that, then lift her up so that I can kiss her forehead. "I was sent to the future, and I was there for a very long time until I could come back. I'm a little out of sorts, but I'll be fine in a little while."
I stretch out my arms, and the rest of my brood squeeze in closer so that I can hug them all at once. Except Lynne, who's…
I look around at where she's sitting on the settee. "Lynne?"
I feel her mental probe and **I try to arrange my experiences in the far future into some sort of coherent narrative for her perusal.** She frowns very faintly, her eyes becoming a little vacant as she focuses on her internal slideshow.
"Do you want us to call Artemis?"
"Yes."
I blink in surprise. I hadn't.. meant to say that. My children need me around and Lex needs me out of the spotlight. Artemis…
Needs to talk to the friends she hasn't seen in… Decades, at least.
Lynne's already offering me the phone, Artemis's home number already ringing. I smile faintly as I take it from her and hold it against my right ear.
"Thank you."
It's… Ringing. I still haven't entirely gotten used to American ring tones. Land line ring tones, I-
"Hello?"
-mean.
"Paula, good afternoon. Is-"
"Grayven?"
"-Artemis with you?"
"Yes, she-. Hold on."
"Hey… Grayven."
"Not exactly a grand palace, is it?"
"It's… Home… Apparently."
"Is it all coming back to you, or..?"
"Kinda? I remember where stuff is, but… It's.. not… Home, anymore. Y'know?"
"I thought you said that your apartment made you feel like you stepped out of an Edgar Allan Poe poem?"
"Ye-ah, but at least the poem was about me. I keep-. Looking around for servants."
"Only to be expected."
"I think I've lived like that most of my life now." I hear her exhale. "I took a look at my wardrobe and I don't understand any of it."
"Do you want a g-goblin? I'm sure the genomorphs can spare one."
"I don't think Mom's got.. room. Hey…"
"Yes, it feels weird for me t-. You know what? Mother Box, hush tube."
"Ping!"
"OhthankGod."
I barely have time to toss the phone back to Lynne before Artemis strolls in and-.
Embrace my Other Half.
"Oh." She stops. "Is.. this..? Ah, hi!"
She smiles at the children who are now all staring up at her like a pack of meerkats.
"My children? Yes."
"No, I meant-. It felt like… We were back in the future."
"Apokoliptian technology runs throughout my mountain. It helps me project my power, anchors it… It's not quite like having-. Children, move over and let Artemis sit down."
There's a shuffling around as they make space for her to my right, and she plonks herself down, not quite leaning against me but being about as close as she can without doing that.
"It's not quite like having an entire civilisation at my beck and call, but it's the closest thing I've got. You can feel it?"
"Mm-hm." She nods, looking around. "It's not.. the same, but it's… Familiar. Better."
"Well, feel free to drop by any time you want."
On the screen in front of us, Lex climbs up to a podium.
"So is this where Luthor takes over the world?"
"No, this is where he makes mildly smug remarks about the fleet's performance relative to the Justice League but otherwise sounds like a public servant. He needs to create-."
"Capitalise on the good will to get everyone invested in the fleet, so that no one tries to stop him."
I smile and nod. "Correct. Mass participation defence of the planet."
"Which we both… Know is better than a small… Group of Highborn. Ah, super… Heroes." She thinks for a moment. "I didn't… Use to think like this."
"Life changes us." I should probably shift the topic. "So are you going to keep your hair like that, or dye it back to blonde?"
Last edited:
I know she probably thinks Dad hugs are best hugs... 
