the beast within

“back here,” gar hissed out, head peeking out from around the countertop to nod kon over in his direction. shuffling over to make space for the other, he kept an ear out, frowning as he waited for any sound. “yeah, because that sounds like a great idea,” he grumbled sarcastically, eyes shooting around the room. “i mean... the others might kill us for drawing more attention, but...” his eyes rise towards the ceiling, offering a shrug. “those things definitely can’t fly... right?” 

“this... should be fun.” looking towards the ceiling, gar chuckles to himself because... of course of all the people he could find himself stuck in an elevator with, kon would be the one. “not scared of small spaces, i hope?” he teases - he’s certain even if the superboy was, he’d put on the biggest show not to make it obvious. “then again, you could probably just punch through the elevator wall if you wanted. ... dude, wanna test that theory?”

it’s become basic instinct at this point - hit first, think later. and especially when he’s sleeping, you never know which dark nightmares are going to come find you in the middle of the night these days. so when he feels that hand around his shoulder, even through a couple heavy layers of sleep, he punches up - and groggily scrambles back along his mattress, hands curled into fists and ready to give the asshole’s jaw another crack. ... until he realizes who that jaw belongs to, arrows slung across his back and curse words forming on his lips. “jesus, roy... ever heard of knocking?” he asks with a groan, already slouching back down into his original position. “or better yet - let sleeping dogs lie. especially this one!!”

the descent downwards from the windowsill is slow and awkward as garfield eventually drops to his feet, spinning to face the girl. the surprise that registers on his face is evident, but he manages to pull out another smile, shrugging slightly. “shit - your place, huh? i was trying to surprise a friend - guess i got the wrong apartment, definitely gotta keep better track than that.”

garfield nods slightly, sighing before he stands, his shoulders rising in a shrug. “i mean - good! definitely good. we’ve got this. we fixed things once. we can fix them again, for sure. right? right.” he’s no longer sure if he’s just responding to her, or attempting to convince himself. but he was quick to right himself, raising his head and smiling over at artemis. “we get this sorted and everything’s gonna be all good.” 

“i hate this.” garfield can’t stop grumbling from where he and tim are perched up on the rooftop, glaring down at the streets below. “we try and help people - put ourselves in danger so we can’t help anyone else. let people fend for themselves - well, then they get hurt, and we all get to live with the guilty conscience. it’s the worst fucking catch-22 ever.” even with the fact there isn’t much they can do, they still keep a watch - keeps garfield a little more sane, at least. and it allows them some freedom of movement under the cover of darkness. he can kinda get batman’s whole stealth mode thing now. “... how long do you think this is gonna hold up for?” his voice goes a little softer, genuine worry seeping into his words. 

it’s a late night - he’s moving quietly through the streets, keeping an eye out for anything... strange. anything that he could lend his aid to, anything that could keep the others safe. it’s a habit he’s taken to - he’s never been the type to need to feel useful, but in these times? keeping busy is the best option he’s got. he walks quietly on the street, hood pulled up high over his head, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. he turns a corner, notices a figure moving towards him, a young woman. he automatically slouches, trying to make himself smaller, unassuming. as they cross by each other, his eyes rise to her face - she’s pretty. blue eyes, wavy blonde hair, he’s not quite sure if she even notices him walking by. but as she passes - maybe it’s the curve of her nose, maybe it’s the way she walks... it makes him pause, eyes widening. the smell that emanates off her... masked with perfume, but... but it smells like home. he swings around with hesitation, calling out to her despite how stupid of an idea it is: “... rae??” 

“... hi?” Garfield has pulled himself halfway through the window, determined to get inside here - he’s heard rumours, others metas and superpowered people hiding together - when the sound of footsteps behind him has him pausing, his ass and legs still hanging out. swinging his head around he flashes the figure a smile, trying to think on his feet. “if... i told you i locked myself out. you’d buy that, right?” 

“it’s really good to see you, kor - seriously, i mean it.” not that he thought she doubted the sincerity of his words - but in times like these, it seemed appropriate to let your friends know just how much you cared. leading her up the stairs of the abandoned office building, he continued to explain, “i mean - hiding out’s fun and all, but it’s still good to see a familiar face, ya know? i’m also hoping that you’re gonna tell me you’ve got some better digs than i do. cause i mean - abandoned desks make for a good defense system, but like... not sleeping on a floor would be great.”

“wait - hey - ‘scuse me?” he’s just trying to get anybody’s attention, hoping that maybe he can convince someone to grab him some food - these days, anybody that looks even remotely ‘weird’ in any shape or form seems to be enough to have people screaming for help. and the hair, the skin? yeah, that falls into the weird category. “hey - dude!” he jumps in front of a guy that’s about to step up into the corner store, hood almost covering his eyes as he grins at him. “look, i uh... weird favour to ask, but would you mind picking up a couple sandwiches? i got the cash, they’re... well, let’s just say they’re not too fond of me in there.” 

“i mean - you know me. i’m not usually one for the whole ‘plan’ thing.” making light of the scenario was the only way garfield could keep his head about all of this. it was a half-decent coping mechanism, if he said so himself. “but like... you do have a plan, right? you’re gonna do that whole thing where you go ‘alright team, we’re gonna do this’ and then we just... do it? and maybe i’ll fuck a few things up here and there, and then other people’ll do some badass stuff, and just... you know, we’ll fix it?” he’s not even quite sure he’s convincing himself as he rambles on, but all he can do is hope expectantly that his friend will at least pretend for his sake that things are going to be okay. 

“cassandra fucking sandsmark for the love of god!” a quick look down the street before he’s chasing after her, hood flying up over his head with ease as he gets a hand on her shoulder. “just keep walking,” he mutters, eyes wandering around. “long time no see, huh?”

food. all they’d wanted was to sneak out and get some food. serves them right for leaving in a pair. he’d genuinely thought that their disguises were perfect - not that kon really needed one. and all gar had really done was pull a beanie on over the bright green hair. but still!! good disguises. right now though, running away from sentinels that were on their asses? no longer seemed so impressive. “in here!!” he yells out to - well, the thin air this point. slamming his shoulder into the locked door, he lets out a growl, eyes glowing green for a moment, just on the edge of a shift as he lets that animal strength flow through him - and even if the lock doesn’t break, at least the door goes flying down. he sprints through, seems like a retail space for rent, but right now, it doesn’t matter, it’s a place to hide. he skids down behind the countertop, breathing heavily, his eyes still glowing a bright green, ideas running through his head. “kon?!” he hisses into the air, hoping maybe the superkid can hear him. “still with me??”

“well this is... bad.” garfield looks out through the window, seating himself on the ledge, his features pulled downwards into a frown. it’s not in his natural skillset to worry. he doesn’t like having to worry. worrying is not his thing. but now that everyone’s found their way back to the present - god, he has so many people out there to think of, friends who he can only pray aren’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. looking over to the other, he sighs quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. “... have you heard from any of the others?”