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talonkarrdeMatthew "Motorhead" Rynman and Doctor Jordan Kingston are sitting at the dining table of a typical suburban house. There is a mug in front of each and a bottle of brandy nearby; the rest of the table is empty. There are sounds of small children playing in the living room, though they cannot be seen from the kitchen.
Matthew is a red-headed, handsome man in his mid-thirties, who looks tense as he plays with the edge of the tablecloth. Doctor Kingston is an older man with lines around his face and silver around his temples; he peers over his spectacles at his companion.
"How did the battle go with the Elementalists?"
"We won, doc. You had to have seen that on the news, at least." Matthew doesn't make eye contact with the doctor, instead pulling insistently at a loose thread, slowly unraveling the tablecloth.
"Yes, of course," the doctor responds impatiently, waving towards an unseen television in the living room. "I watched the aftermath from a few different angles, even managed to get a feed of the security footage during the battle. But it didn't show you. What was your part?"
Matthew tenses, pulling too hard and snapping the thread he has in his fingers.
"I..." he trails off, swallowing. "I went in the Cobra. Since we were going to be battling in the new construction zone, we figured that the Rhino wasn't going to be able to be able to navigate well enough, and we just got the Cobra upgraded with the new guns..."
Doctor Kingston pushes his spectacles up and nods, pouring the younger man some more brandy as he notices the slight trembling of Matthew's fingers. Then he waits patiently; the clock ticks in the background.
"Well, th-they were waiting for us. Firefight strafed Lady Savage and Wildkin, Icicle started in on the Transhumanist, and Monsoon came from behind to blast Apollo to the ground. I rolled up just after them and started in shooting - the heat ray to free Robert, the machine gun to distract Meteor while Apollo got back up... It was okay. We had trained for this."
Matthew swallows again and reaches for the mug. He raises it to his cracked lips before noticing the trembling in his fingers; it takes a large force of will to quell it. When he does drink, he takes a long draught, swallowing several times before setting it back down. The doctor doesn't comment, still waiting.
"And it was all going well until I realized that the last member of their team—"
"Terre," The doctor says, frowning as he sees the shakes in Matthew return.
"Jumped down from the girders. Was waiting for me, and before I could hit him with anything, he clapped his hands together, and, well, you know what he does. The ground rose up and smashed Cobra to pieces; I hit the ejector seat and barely got out."
Matthew looks away, trying to hide the scared look on his face, keep the tears from spilling out. The clock ticks heavily in the silence.
"And then?"
"And then..." Matthew says in a whisper, closing his eyes. "I floated to the ground and he gave a twist of his hand, and like that, my legs were encased in solid earth. And he comes up to me... he walks up and looks me in the eye and says, 'You're really nothing at all without your toys, 'Motorhead'. Not even worth killing, in fact. It'd be harder for us if an actual superhero joined the League to replace you.'"
Doctor Kingston sits back, frowning heavily as he looks over his companion. Even if no one in the League would admit it, Terre's words were absolutely true; while 'Motorhead' could master any vehicle in the world, that was the extent of his powers; without a vehicle, he was no match for any adversary.
"What will you do?" the doctor finally asks.
There is a long pause.
"I...want to stop being Motorhead," Matthew says, his eyes still closed.
"You mean—" comes the startled reply.
"That's why I came to you, Doctor, because I know that you have the power to make me normal again. It isn't- isn't enough just to quit the League, they could still kidnap me and use me as a hostage. But, but, you see, if you make me normal, if I stop being a 'superhero', then I just become another person, someone that sure, might get caught in this, but won't deliberately be targeted."
The words come fast and furious now, without giving the doctor a chance to respond.
"So do that mental thing you do, where you make me forget my power — I know that you can do it, I've seen the old newspaper articles! You did it with, the, the Jackaw, wasn't it? And then later, when the Merchant of Madness almost broke the League, you did it to him too, stripped him of everything he—"
"Matthew!" Doctor Kingston says abruptly, the word ringing out louder than he intended it to, quieting the children playing in the background. After a moment, they resume, and the doctor continues in a lower voice. "Matthew, if I had such a power, do you really think that I would be allowed to live out my years in peace? Think about it — my children would constantly be targets, my powers desired by both sides. Why do you think the League has never called on me in the years since I've retired? I made myself forget my own abilities, Matthew. I am no longer Doctor Oblivion."
"But, but, you must have some sort of—"
"I don't have those powers anymore, Matthew. I'm sorry," the man who was once was known as the Master of Memories says, a heavy look in his eyes. In his retirement, he had accomplished exactly what the young man was looking for, and understood Matthew's desire more than he could say. And the look on Matthew's face, one devoid of hope, leads Doctor Kingston to say something he would not otherwise have said, reveal a secret he has told no one else.
"But," the Doctor starts, seeing the sudden glimmer of hope in Matthew's eyes, "I have found that some things lurk at the edge of consciousness, unwilling to be banished forever. I do not know if it is because I can not work properly on myself, or if the others that I did this to felt the same, and simply never understood what it was. But perhaps my powers are not all gone, and so... I will try what you ask."
Matthew's response is instinctual, unconscious. He leans forward, gripping the doctor's hand. He doesn't speak, but his eyes show everything.
"It may not work. It may harm both of us-" Doctor Oblivion starts to say, though he knows that Matthew will not be deterred. He falls silent, then, reaching out with his free hand, spreading his fingers across his companion's head, and finding the buzzing in his own.
It grows louder and louder, drowning out the sound of the kids in the background, growing until it is the only sound the Doctor hears, until it is almost unbearable. And then there is a flash, and silence, and darkness overtakes both men.
Matthew is a red-headed, handsome man in his mid-thirties, who looks tense as he plays with the edge of the tablecloth. Doctor Kingston is an older man with lines around his face and silver around his temples; he peers over his spectacles at his companion.
"How did the battle go with the Elementalists?"
"We won, doc. You had to have seen that on the news, at least." Matthew doesn't make eye contact with the doctor, instead pulling insistently at a loose thread, slowly unraveling the tablecloth.
"Yes, of course," the doctor responds impatiently, waving towards an unseen television in the living room. "I watched the aftermath from a few different angles, even managed to get a feed of the security footage during the battle. But it didn't show you. What was your part?"
Matthew tenses, pulling too hard and snapping the thread he has in his fingers.
"I..." he trails off, swallowing. "I went in the Cobra. Since we were going to be battling in the new construction zone, we figured that the Rhino wasn't going to be able to be able to navigate well enough, and we just got the Cobra upgraded with the new guns..."
Doctor Kingston pushes his spectacles up and nods, pouring the younger man some more brandy as he notices the slight trembling of Matthew's fingers. Then he waits patiently; the clock ticks in the background.
"Well, th-they were waiting for us. Firefight strafed Lady Savage and Wildkin, Icicle started in on the Transhumanist, and Monsoon came from behind to blast Apollo to the ground. I rolled up just after them and started in shooting - the heat ray to free Robert, the machine gun to distract Meteor while Apollo got back up... It was okay. We had trained for this."
Matthew swallows again and reaches for the mug. He raises it to his cracked lips before noticing the trembling in his fingers; it takes a large force of will to quell it. When he does drink, he takes a long draught, swallowing several times before setting it back down. The doctor doesn't comment, still waiting.
"And it was all going well until I realized that the last member of their team—"
"Terre," The doctor says, frowning as he sees the shakes in Matthew return.
"Jumped down from the girders. Was waiting for me, and before I could hit him with anything, he clapped his hands together, and, well, you know what he does. The ground rose up and smashed Cobra to pieces; I hit the ejector seat and barely got out."
Matthew looks away, trying to hide the scared look on his face, keep the tears from spilling out. The clock ticks heavily in the silence.
"And then?"
"And then..." Matthew says in a whisper, closing his eyes. "I floated to the ground and he gave a twist of his hand, and like that, my legs were encased in solid earth. And he comes up to me... he walks up and looks me in the eye and says, 'You're really nothing at all without your toys, 'Motorhead'. Not even worth killing, in fact. It'd be harder for us if an actual superhero joined the League to replace you.'"
Doctor Kingston sits back, frowning heavily as he looks over his companion. Even if no one in the League would admit it, Terre's words were absolutely true; while 'Motorhead' could master any vehicle in the world, that was the extent of his powers; without a vehicle, he was no match for any adversary.
"What will you do?" the doctor finally asks.
There is a long pause.
"I...want to stop being Motorhead," Matthew says, his eyes still closed.
"You mean—" comes the startled reply.
"That's why I came to you, Doctor, because I know that you have the power to make me normal again. It isn't- isn't enough just to quit the League, they could still kidnap me and use me as a hostage. But, but, you see, if you make me normal, if I stop being a 'superhero', then I just become another person, someone that sure, might get caught in this, but won't deliberately be targeted."
The words come fast and furious now, without giving the doctor a chance to respond.
"So do that mental thing you do, where you make me forget my power — I know that you can do it, I've seen the old newspaper articles! You did it with, the, the Jackaw, wasn't it? And then later, when the Merchant of Madness almost broke the League, you did it to him too, stripped him of everything he—"
"Matthew!" Doctor Kingston says abruptly, the word ringing out louder than he intended it to, quieting the children playing in the background. After a moment, they resume, and the doctor continues in a lower voice. "Matthew, if I had such a power, do you really think that I would be allowed to live out my years in peace? Think about it — my children would constantly be targets, my powers desired by both sides. Why do you think the League has never called on me in the years since I've retired? I made myself forget my own abilities, Matthew. I am no longer Doctor Oblivion."
"But, but, you must have some sort of—"
"I don't have those powers anymore, Matthew. I'm sorry," the man who was once was known as the Master of Memories says, a heavy look in his eyes. In his retirement, he had accomplished exactly what the young man was looking for, and understood Matthew's desire more than he could say. And the look on Matthew's face, one devoid of hope, leads Doctor Kingston to say something he would not otherwise have said, reveal a secret he has told no one else.
"But," the Doctor starts, seeing the sudden glimmer of hope in Matthew's eyes, "I have found that some things lurk at the edge of consciousness, unwilling to be banished forever. I do not know if it is because I can not work properly on myself, or if the others that I did this to felt the same, and simply never understood what it was. But perhaps my powers are not all gone, and so... I will try what you ask."
Matthew's response is instinctual, unconscious. He leans forward, gripping the doctor's hand. He doesn't speak, but his eyes show everything.
"It may not work. It may harm both of us-" Doctor Oblivion starts to say, though he knows that Matthew will not be deterred. He falls silent, then, reaching out with his free hand, spreading his fingers across his companion's head, and finding the buzzing in his own.
It grows louder and louder, drowning out the sound of the kids in the background, growing until it is the only sound the Doctor hears, until it is almost unbearable. And then there is a flash, and silence, and darkness overtakes both men.
