#he’d make that BWONG noise if you poke him

[nolfanworks]

Do you think if Astarion drank enough blood he’d get all bloated and red like a tick? All I can think is a big round red Astarion full of blood rolling around like that blueberry girl in Willy Wonka.

[strivingscribe]

Salt of the Earth ~ Ch 006

Salt of the Earth by MsMoon

Chapter 6 ~ That Meghan Trainor Song

Chapters: 6/?

Chapter Navigation: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

Fandom: Young Justice

Rating: ExplicitWarnings: Angst, Feeling? Violence?

Relationships: Nope.

Summary: After responding to an incident, members of the team are saved by an unknown metahuman. But no protocols are in place to deal with the series of unfortunate events that assail Anitia Moore. What exactly should the team do when a someone with powers needs training but doesn’t want to be a member of the team?

Author’s Notes: In case anyone is wondering, the Meghan Trainor song that’s referenced in the title is supposed to be ‘Lips are Moving’ :)

Without further ado!

Tim Drake wasn’t an ungrateful sort of person by nature. In fact, he’d like to think that he looked back on any given day of his life and focused on the silver lining, the good news, the reason to keep going.

 Today, it was the enormous size of the computer interface at the team’s HQ.

 It came in handy during times when he needed to focus on multiple points at the same time.

 Currently, he had recognition software running over both Anita Moore’s behavioral patterns for the last—he double checked the time span it was currently at—seven months and climbing.

 He was also running a program over her academic records—a more fine-tooth comb. It was going through her papers to catalog patterns of speech and recurring themes.

 He was also searching the photos of her bedroom that Bumblebee had taken, in order to catalog the specific items in her room. The bugs were still in place, and the transcript software was running simultaneously (though no one was currently at the Moore house), and he was also monitoring cell phone activity...

 Not only was it impossible for the Moore family to do anything with Anita without him knowing about it, but within a few short hours… he’d have a decent sense of who she was as a person.

 “Have you slept?” 

Robin didn’t look away from the screen as Artemis approached. “I didn’t need much.”

 “Hmn.” she grunts, but otherwise she’s satisfied without adding further comment. Conner wanders in as well, and he is gracious enough not to mention Tim’s sleeping habits. “What’s the word, bird?”

 Conner gave Artemis a questioning look. Her sense of humor had been… odd lately.

 “The Moore girl is at school. Her brothers too. Her mother’s probably at the family bakery.”

 “Probably?” Conner only wants to clarify, because it isn’t often that Robin fails to speak in absolutes.

 “Her cell phone is pinging near there. We haven’t bugged that location, but it’s still a decent enough estimation.”

 “It’s still too early for drama.” Artemis grumbled.

 As if on cue, a box popped up with an alert.

 “What’s that?” Conner asked.

 “Text message.” Robin said, squinting at the text that had popped up. “‘This shit is crazy. You won’t even believe.’” He read robotically.

 “Is that from Anita?”

 “Yes. To her mom.” Robin informed. Another text popped up in the same window. “‘Don’t be surprised if you get a call. I’m on my way home.’...” As the new information registered, it made his eyes nearly bulged.

 “Oh, shit.” Artemis breathed. Conner was already in the elevator, because there was no time to lose.

Anita couldn’t fight the slouch she’d slipped into. Her shoulders were hunched forward and her arms were folded across her stomach, because she couldn’t stop herself.

 Her teeth ached and her stomach felt like it was on fire. It came in throbs and waves. Throbs in the teeth and waves in the belly. 

Pain was such a strange thing. The throbs faded in and out, and the waves crested, peaked, washed through the rest of her nerves and then…. petered out. Meanwhile, the bwong noise from Inception was still raging in her molars.

 “Goddamn lead.” she muttered to herself.

 “Mrs. Douglas, might I steal Anita Moore from you for a moment?”

 That voice brought her momentarily out of her fog. She looked up to see Mr. Davis poking his mostly bald head into the room. The man should just shave… the wispy brown hair that haloed his shiny bald head only made him look older. If he shaved, he’d probably look much younger.

 “Uh.. very well.” Mr. Douglas looked her way, and nodded.

 Out of habit, Anita grabbed her backpack, which she’d yet to really unpack. Class had only just started and she was… she was not doing well.

 “You won’t have to worry about your things, dear.” Mrs. Douglas assured, but Anita ignored her.

 She didn’t trust her classmates (or anyone else)....and she preferred to keep her things on her person or in her locker. Nothing else made sense to her.

 “What’s going on, Mr. Davis?” she asked, her voice low and a little more creaky than usual.

 “I have the greatest news and the best surprise for you!” Mr. Davis enthused. “Come with me.” he said, leading her down the hallway.

 “...I hate surprises.” she monotoned.

 This lanky, red-faced man was mostly harmless, but he still didn’t understand boundaries properly as far as Anita was concerned. He was the teacher that sent her essay into the local university for publication.

 “Well, how does a scholarship opportunity sound then?” He asked, an enormous smile on his face.

 ...the man meant well, he really did. But… He and Anita had different ideas about her future. 

He had some weird notion that he was Michelle Pfeiffer and she was the entire class of at-risk ne'er do wells from Dangerous Minds, and if he only prompted her properly, she’d blossom into an ambitious student… At least it wasn’t the plot of She’s All That.

 “I...don’t know that I want a future in science.” Anita admitted reluctantly. It was true, but she was hesitant to relent her truths to anyone.

 “Oh! Don’t worry about that.” he waved off her admission. He probably didn’t believe her, or thought she was ‘just being shy’.

 This was part of why Anita didn’t like talking to people. They so rarely listened.

 She followed along, eyeing the dingy tile until he led her into his office. She was distracted, again, by the weird pewter award he had on the corner of his desk. It looked like a large circle set into the top of a pyramid, with a bunch of metal dings all over it.

 “So, this is the student.”

 Anita whirled around, very nearly colliding with the corner of the desk, to find a sharply dressed man closing the door. He had been behind the open door, so she hadn’t noticed him till now…

 “Anita Moore, meet Mr. Lex Luthor.” Mr. Davis beamed as he motioned between them.

 When Mr. Luthor stepped forward to shake her hand, she stepped back, keeping the corner of the desk between them. She stared at his face in shock, his expression calm and somewhat expectant. Her eyes finally drifted down to his hand. Mr. Davis was giving her that, ‘well go on!’ look, which only served to annoy her.

 She blinked rapidly, shaking herself out of stasis. She took Lex Luthor’s hand in a firm grip.

 “That’s quite a handshake you have there.” He said.

 Anita swallowed past her parched throat. “Why is Mr. Luthor shaking my hand?” she asked the room in general. Also, why wasn’t he letting go yet?

 He let out a little laugh and nodded. “Right to the point! I do appreciate directness.” he said, releasing her hand. She was more than a little relieved when he stepped back. “I’m sure you know that Lexcorp awards several scholarships to promising young scholars.”

 Anita felt a tenseness creep up into the back of her neck.

 “I was delighted with your essay about the Mississippi River and the Louisiana Wetlands.”

 “The swamp essay?” Anita clarified.

 He smiled, and Anita was reminded why charisma was not a dump-stat. This man could sell ice to Eskimos.

 “Yes. The leaps you made, connecting the damming of the Mississippi river to the erosion of the—”

 “None of that research is new or unique. I made those conclusions from the library here.” Anita tried to argue.

 “That is what makes it significant. I can’t imagine what you could possibly do with proper funding and on-site exposure.” Anita just stared at him wide-eyed. “You don’t appear to understand what’s going on.”

 “Anita is very modest.” Mr. Davis assured, which only made Anita glare at him.

 Mr. Luthor half turned to Mr. Davis and smiled. “Mr. Davis, perhaps I could speak with the young lady alone.”

 Anita blinked rapidly, more than a little shocked by this absurd request.

 “Of course!” Mr. Davis said. Anita’s eyes practically bugged out as the science teacher quickly shuffled out of his office and shut the door.

 Mr. Luthor smirked. “There’s no need to be so shocked. Mr. Davis wants what’s best for you, and he knows I can offer you an easy academic future.”

 “I don’t need an academic future. I need a practical one. Or...just one at all.”

 An eyebrow arched as he surveyed her. “I wonder. Do you really mean that? You have no intentions of going to college?”

 “I love science, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to make up my whole life.” Anita argued. “I’m a teenager. I only know that I don’t want to wake up in my 30’s realizing I made a snap decision and ended up putting all my time and energy into a career that I hate.”

 Mr. Luthor turned and inspected Mr. Davis’s bookshelf. “That’s understandable.”

 When he moved, Anita suddenly felt… vulnerable. Like she needed to keep an eye on him, because he was obviously dangerous… but she couldn’t figure out why.

 Her hand landed on the award, her fingers stretching out over the metal… she pulled at the pewter, feeling it seep into her fingers, but it held nothing offensive. It felt...like..like... a shield? Her thumb slid over the little pyramid and the brass nameplate on its base… Brass. Oh, that felt promising.

 “I wonder at your passing up this opportunity. You don’t have many good connections as it is, and the pressure of your future will not wait. You need to start making plans now. ” he said without turning to face her.

 “I beg your pardon.” it was a demand, not a question.

 “After all, you have very few resources. Your mother can’t possibly support you all by herself, nor should she have to. She has three other children to consider, and they’ll all need her money and attention.”

 It was then that Mr. Luthor turned and eyed her, his gaze dropping to her hand on Mr. Davis’s award, his smirk deepening. “Do you intend to hit me with that?” he asked, sounding almost delighted at the prospect.

 “I don’t need to hit you for you to feel it.” Anita challenged. 

Technically, the lead and kryptonite were still in her system, and jasper never left her person. So… she could probably fight her way out of anything. Maybe.... but how bad would it be if it came to that? What sort of fall-out was she looking at?

 Both of his eyebrows rose. “Interesting.” 

Her eyes narrowed, because his face was… strange. It wasn’t the genial showman he had been when Mr. Davis was here. He was something else now… It was like he had decided that she was some sort of puzzle, and he wanted to figure her out.

 Putting what he’d said earlier about her family—knowledge he shouldn't have—together with this new behavior… Anita’s eyes widened, her shoulders hunched forward and her chin jutted out. “You need to explain yourself right now.” it wasn’t quite a challenge, but at the same time it wasn’t a request. Not that she was in any position to threaten him...

 “I’m not here because of your essay.” he admitted.

 “I assumed that was a lie.”

 “What gave me away?”

 “Your lips were moving.” she snarked, infuriated when he chuckled.

 “A girl like yourself can do many things, Anita. You can go very far, given the proper connections, but… you’ll always want to keep your family safe...won’t you?”

 “This is starting to smell a hell of a lot like coercion with the faintest whiff of bullshit.” Anita grumbled.

 Mr. Luthor opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the door opening. Anita was never so happy to see the school’s guidance counselor.

 “I’m so sorry!” Miss. McGuire stormed in, her high heels clacking on the old tile and her curly blond hair looking even more frazzled than usual. Her glasses hung like a necklace against her blouse, but those keen blue eyes were both determined and just a touch irate.

“Not at all, I was just—”

 “Mr. Luthor, I’m afraid there’s been some mistake.” she interrupted. “We cannot allow one of our students, especially one of our female students, to be left alone without accompaniment.” she said, stressing the obvious predicament they were in.

 “I’m certain Mr. Luthor’s intentions are not—” Mr. Davis began.

 “Intentions are not our business, Mr. Davis.” Miss McGuire rebutted. “Our business is the safety of our charges, both actual and perceived.”

 It was then that Anita realized exactly how bad this would look. She obviously hadn’t wanted to be here, and yet Mr. Davis had cornered her in his office with another man… and then he left her there, alone with him. It made her skin crawl anew.

 Now that he was back in magnanimous showman mode, Mr. Luthor only nodded. “Of course, I understand that.”

 Anita tried to remember how Mom held herself. The way she spoke and how she behaved. Right now, she needed whatever gumption Mom possessed. She slammed her shoulders back, straightening her spine and holding her chin up from her neck.

 “Thank you for your offer, Mr. Luthor, but I’m not interested in being a commodity.” she bit out, walking past him without making any eye contact. She wanted him to feel shelved, ignored, inept. She did meet Mr. Davis’s eyes. Honestly, Mom would probably threaten legal action...but Anita didn’t know if she had that sort of chutzpah. Still, she paused long enough to growl, “Expect a call from my mother.” before stalking out.

 She overheard Mr. Davis grumble, “Fantastic.”

 She kept walking, turning down another hallway and then jogging to the nearest exit once she was out of sight. 

Somehow she still didn’t feel safe. She exhaled heavily, trying not to pant as she leaned back against the doors…. she didn’t want to be dramatic, but… she really just couldn’t make herself go back in there! She pulled out her cell phone and quickly texted Mom.

  ‘This shit is crazy. You won't even believe.’ 

She felt some heaviness in her ankles, and had to wonder if that was the pewter...or maybe the bronze. Still, there hadn’t been a lot of bronze there to draw on. Now that she was stationary, it was starting to feel...awkward. 

 She took a deep, fortifying breath, letting it out slowly. For some reason, this sounded so clear to her. The way you sometimes stuff your ears and listen to yourself breathe...and yet she could still hear everything else.

  ‘Don’t be surprised if you get a call. I’m on my way home. Mr. Davis threw me in a room with Lex-effin-Luthor for no reason than because Luthor wanted to. You were right, school was a mistake today. I can’t even right now.’

 She shook her head again, still completely baffled by what happened. She started her walk home. It’d take a while by foot, but that time would help her clear her head…. she hoped.

 …

 Six blocks from school, she scuttled into an alleyway when her eyes landed on a free-roaming Superboy.