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crack_van2005-08-16 04:56 am
marag.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-08-16 04:56 am
The Case of the Disappearing Felines by Jamjar (PG)
Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: None
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jamjar
Author Website: Not that I know of
Why this must be read:
Before they were Teen Titans, before they were the founding members of Young Justice, they were three young superheroes: Bart Allen (Impulse, grandson of the Flash), Conner Kent (Superboy, clone of Superman), and Tim Drake (Robin III). This is a story from those early days when they were just getting to know each other and starting to become friends as well as allies. It's a great introduction to the three characters, I think, and absolutely adorable.
Bart was born in the 31st century and lived a very accelerated early life until he came to our time, so he's not like other superheroes, let alone like other kids. Jamjar does a fabulous job getting inside his very unique perspective on things, as the three teens solve a minor mystery.
"Do you know where Tigger is?" Bart says, finishing off the energy bar.
"Visiting Roo?" Max suggests, not looking up from his book. Bart thinks about grabbing it and seeing what it is, but Max has a pretty good grip on it and it probably isn't anything interesting anyway. His stomach is being pretty insistent about Bart having other priorities, so he wolfs down a couple of banana-nut muffins.
"Oh, cool. I was kind of worried 'cause I haven't seen him around." And he's still hungry, so maybe he should get another energy bar? The bars taste kind of like really sweet muesli and they make his mouth dry, but Max says they're military issue and they're small enough that he can have enough in his locker to stop dying of hunger before lunch... He can dip it in nutella, that might make them taste a bit-- ooh, and then dip that in the pine-nuts Max keeps for making salads and--
And Max is looking up at him, frowning a little. Maybe the pine-nuts were a bad idea. "Wait, who are we talking about?"
It takes him a minute to rewind the conversation. "Huh? Tigger, Mrs Johansen's cat. He's kind of gray and black and keeps bringing me frogs, which is, I mean, I know it's the thought that counts? Only I wouldn't mind if it was mice, but I *like* frogs, they're actually pretty cool."
"Tigger is a real cat?"
Is Max being *deliberately* slow? "Well, duh."
"Oh. Oh, I see." Max is kind of smiling.
"What did you think? Is there an imaginary cat? Is it like that bunny in that film Wally made us watch? Because that would be *cool*."
"Tigger is a character from a children's story," Max says.
Bart shrugs and goes back to his snack. "Does this mean you don't know where Tigger is?"
Max shakes his head. "No, but some cats like to wander. He'll probably turn up." He's looking at Bart, one of those carefully-judging looks he gets a *lot*. "Would you like a cat?" he says.
Bart flashes on all the cats he's ever seen. He could have a white one, and stroke it and be all "yes, Mr Bond," or a black one and it could be his *familiar* or a big, tough ginger tomcat that would totally rule the neighbourhood. "Really?"
Max nods. "Maybe. It might teach you responsibility." He's kind of smiling again, like maybe he doubts that, but is willing to try anyway.
It'd be really good to have a pet, but... "It wouldn't be safe for it, right?" he says. "'Cause we can run away when bad guys come, but it wouldn't know, and they might hurt it to send a message to us." Bart shrugs and gets a pineapple out from the fruit basket, cutting it into easy to eat triangles. "And we wouldn't be able to feed him if we got time-zapped or had to fight aliens on another planet or something."
Max is giving him this look. It's not unreadable, because he can see something like affection and pride and sadness. He just doesn't get what it means.
Tigger isn't there the next day, and neither is the scary tortoiseshell that sometimes hangs around, which is a little disappointing. Bart has only ever gone near the tortoiseshell once, and learnt that cats can be *painful*, but he kind of likes looking at it. It's big and looks soft, but is actually really tough and strolls around like it owns the place. If Bart was a cat, he'd like to be a cat like that, a cat the other cats respected. Except he probably wouldn't hiss when people wanted to stroke him.
The Case of the Disappearing Felines
Pairing: None
Author on LJ:
jamjarAuthor Website: Not that I know of
Why this must be read:
Before they were Teen Titans, before they were the founding members of Young Justice, they were three young superheroes: Bart Allen (Impulse, grandson of the Flash), Conner Kent (Superboy, clone of Superman), and Tim Drake (Robin III). This is a story from those early days when they were just getting to know each other and starting to become friends as well as allies. It's a great introduction to the three characters, I think, and absolutely adorable.
Bart was born in the 31st century and lived a very accelerated early life until he came to our time, so he's not like other superheroes, let alone like other kids. Jamjar does a fabulous job getting inside his very unique perspective on things, as the three teens solve a minor mystery.
"Do you know where Tigger is?" Bart says, finishing off the energy bar.
"Visiting Roo?" Max suggests, not looking up from his book. Bart thinks about grabbing it and seeing what it is, but Max has a pretty good grip on it and it probably isn't anything interesting anyway. His stomach is being pretty insistent about Bart having other priorities, so he wolfs down a couple of banana-nut muffins.
"Oh, cool. I was kind of worried 'cause I haven't seen him around." And he's still hungry, so maybe he should get another energy bar? The bars taste kind of like really sweet muesli and they make his mouth dry, but Max says they're military issue and they're small enough that he can have enough in his locker to stop dying of hunger before lunch... He can dip it in nutella, that might make them taste a bit-- ooh, and then dip that in the pine-nuts Max keeps for making salads and--
And Max is looking up at him, frowning a little. Maybe the pine-nuts were a bad idea. "Wait, who are we talking about?"
It takes him a minute to rewind the conversation. "Huh? Tigger, Mrs Johansen's cat. He's kind of gray and black and keeps bringing me frogs, which is, I mean, I know it's the thought that counts? Only I wouldn't mind if it was mice, but I *like* frogs, they're actually pretty cool."
"Tigger is a real cat?"
Is Max being *deliberately* slow? "Well, duh."
"Oh. Oh, I see." Max is kind of smiling.
"What did you think? Is there an imaginary cat? Is it like that bunny in that film Wally made us watch? Because that would be *cool*."
"Tigger is a character from a children's story," Max says.
Bart shrugs and goes back to his snack. "Does this mean you don't know where Tigger is?"
Max shakes his head. "No, but some cats like to wander. He'll probably turn up." He's looking at Bart, one of those carefully-judging looks he gets a *lot*. "Would you like a cat?" he says.
Bart flashes on all the cats he's ever seen. He could have a white one, and stroke it and be all "yes, Mr Bond," or a black one and it could be his *familiar* or a big, tough ginger tomcat that would totally rule the neighbourhood. "Really?"
Max nods. "Maybe. It might teach you responsibility." He's kind of smiling again, like maybe he doubts that, but is willing to try anyway.
It'd be really good to have a pet, but... "It wouldn't be safe for it, right?" he says. "'Cause we can run away when bad guys come, but it wouldn't know, and they might hurt it to send a message to us." Bart shrugs and gets a pineapple out from the fruit basket, cutting it into easy to eat triangles. "And we wouldn't be able to feed him if we got time-zapped or had to fight aliens on another planet or something."
Max is giving him this look. It's not unreadable, because he can see something like affection and pride and sadness. He just doesn't get what it means.
Tigger isn't there the next day, and neither is the scary tortoiseshell that sometimes hangs around, which is a little disappointing. Bart has only ever gone near the tortoiseshell once, and learnt that cats can be *painful*, but he kind of likes looking at it. It's big and looks soft, but is actually really tough and strolls around like it owns the place. If Bart was a cat, he'd like to be a cat like that, a cat the other cats respected. Except he probably wouldn't hiss when people wanted to stroke him.
The Case of the Disappearing Felines