puddle-splashing

[tesseract]

It was raining, hard. Not even raining, it was torrenting. Freezing raindrops the size of ice cubes hurtled down from the clouds, breaking upon the hard cracked cement of Star City. Huge puddles had already formed, perfect for splashing in. The thing that made the sport even better was that there wasn't anybody else to ruin it.

Tesser jumped, barefoot, from one giant puddle to another, the collections of water made to seem even large by her tiny frame. Surrounding's ignored, the six year old would have looked compleatly normal - albeit a little malnurished - save she wore a piece of black gauze as a blindfold.

It didn't inhibit her any, though, in her games. She passed along the streets in this manner, enjoying herself dispite the miserable weather that had every other sane person huddling inside with a good book.

As she was about to cross a normally buisy downtown intersection, there came a screach and a huge splash. The red head looked to her side just in time to see a huge black streach limo swearving dangerously on the slick asphalt. In her rush to get out of the way, she slipped and landed on her backside in an expecially deep puddle.

Climbing out again, she could only sigh and try to wring out her baggy tee shirt. Looking up at the sky which showed no sign of abating, suddenly her game didn't seem as fun anymore.

[The Joker]

Johnny wondered why he was even here, there was nothing in this place that he needed, he had never even heard of it before. He walked down the sidewalk, and after a moment of thought, he realized he was here just to be anywhere else away from his life, he was escaping, but obviously it was harder then he thought. His memories and thoughts wouldn't leave him alone, it was obvious that Reed's death had done more damage then he thought.

He'd lost weight, not a whole lot, just a few pounds, but if he continued not eating he would lose more. He hadn't shaved recently, and his face was fuzzy with blonde hair that threatend to turn into a beard if left unchecked for to long. He wish he had brought an umbrela, not that he was getting wet, every time the rain hit him it evaporated. The only problem with that was that it turned into steam afterwards, so there was a steady cloud of steam following him wherever he went.

He noticed a girl playing in the street from the corner of his eye. She looked like a homeless person, underweight, horrible clothes. He found himself pitying the girl, her life had been hard, terrible he was sure. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't even help himself, how could he call himself a hero when he was like this? He saw that the girl almost got hit by a car, and ran over to her.

[red]"Are you ok?"[/red] He couldn't think of anything else to say to her. He offered a shallow smile at the girl, the best he could muster.

[tesseract]

Tesser hugged her arms around her, backing under the tiny overhang of a closed coffee shop. It didn't do much but as she looked around, she saw a man rushing toward her. He was tall and strong and she was sure it wasn't just her crazy eyes telling her that a could of steam was following him. He wasn't even wet in the slightest! She realised in wonderment. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

Tesser nodded slowly, looking up into his face. Through the peach-fuzz she could see a great saddness about this man. His smile was one of a man trying to hide a deep hurt. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tesser told herself that she had no place to worry about this man, but another part of her did.

"I'm fine." She said at last, "How are you?" The normal answer was made more by a sincerity in the red head's voice.

[The Joker]

He was glad that the rain was being blocked out by the coffe shops overhang, that meant the steam would be gone for now. Johnny was glad to hear that the girl was ok, even if he didn't know her, he had to worry about everyone, that was part of being a superhero. He stopped another sigh from coming on, trying not to look more depressed then he already did.

He was a little puzzled, why was the girl asking him if he was ok? He didn't just almost get hit by a car! He took a moment to think about what to say. [red]"I'm fine."[/red] He stratched his face, wondering what to do for the girl, but then he got an idea. [red]"Hey, you hungry? I was about to get some food, you wanna join?"[/red]

Of course that was a lie, but he didn't want to make it look like he was inviting the girl out of pity, but she would probably think he was doing it because of that anyways, she didn't seem like a stupid person.

[tesseract]

Tesser ducked her head, she knew she looked bad, but she didn't want to bother this man because he felt sorry for her, and she was positive that was why he had just asked her to eat with him. Still, after a moment of thought, her rumbling stomach took over her super-ego and she nodded to him.

"If it's not out of your way," She started, but peetered off. Leaning slightly against the man's leg, she looked up at him. He looked so sad, she wished there were something she could do. Well, maybe later.

"My name's Tesser." She said softly, strengthened by the man's apparant abundance of body heat, even in this freezing rain. And now she did smile, a real one, as she made a decision. People were good, and did good things for one another. He just had, hadn't he?

[The Joker]

For a second there it looked like the girl was about to decline his invitation, and he hoped that she wouldn't. In one way, being around her made him feel better, letting him know that his life really wasn't so horrible, but because of that reason, he felt even worse. He pushed aside thouse thoughts, convincing himself that he was helping her to help her. [red]"Its no trouble at all."[/red]

They shortly arrived at a little diner, it didn't look like anything special, but it was good enough for him. He sat down in a booth across from the girl, who had introduced herself as Tesser. He smiled at her a little, the smile was a little less shallow this time. [red]"My names Johnny."[/red] He didn't tell her his whole name because he didn't really want to go through the whole wow your a superhero thing, although he was sure the girl noticed something strange about him, he didn't want the whole cat out of the bag.

[red]"Order anything you'd like."[/red] He smiled again, it would be nice to see the girl with a little bit more meat on her bones. His smile went away as he looked at the menu, he had a question he was going to ask, but he didn't like it, mostly because he knew the answer and didn't like it. [red]"So, do you live on your own?"[/red]

[tesseract]

Tesser was happy to skip into the diner out of the pouring downfall, sliding into the soft booth across from the man, who introduced himself as Johnny.

"Johnny." She repeated softly, as if tasting the name. He looked as if he were about to say something else, but didn't. Tesser wondered about his last name, but only for a moment. After all, it's not like she had given hers. He told her she could order anything and the red head flushed, looking down at the menue. Through her blindfold, she could make out the black printed squiggles, and knew them to make words, names of food. Prices.

Ashamed that she couldn't read them, however, she decided to play it by ear, say something obvious. Like, frenchfries and a coke, every diner had those. She started when he asked the question.

"So, do you live on your own?"

She flashed a fleeting smile at him, saying. "You bet I do." With a toss of her head she said, "I can manage myself better than any of those parent types. And if I don't eat every day," she shrugged, "at least I'm free, right?"

The waitress stopped by and introduced herself as Joan, asking for orders.

"I'd like a coke and a big plate of french fries." Tesser said sweetly. "Johnny?"

[The Joker]

Johnny smiled a little bit, just watched Tesser. She was strong, special somehow, he just had a feeling that she wasn't your average little girl. He was a little curious about why she was wearing the blindfold, but he kept it to himself, he wasn't going to barrage her with questions.

He listend to her response to his question, not one he really cared for, but at least she was happy. He smiled at her, he envied her a little, not for her situation, but for being a kid, it seemed to easy to be cheery and to not let life get you down. He glanced at the waitress, chuckling a little as Tesser ordered a coke and some fries. [red]"I'll have a coke and a burger."[/red]

He watched the waitress walk off and then looked back to Tesser, he was still quite curious about the girl. [red]"Don't you ever get lonely?"[/red] He knew he couldn't have made it through everything he had been through without the others, they helped him become stronger, gave him a reason to live, and with Reed gone, he lost a little bit of that.

[tesseract]

Coke and burger, coke and fries. Between the two of them they made an almost normal compleat american meal. Almost. Tesser couldn't help but wonder about this sad, kind, man who had been so nice to her for reasons she still wasn't sure about. However, his question came first. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

Tesser ducked her head, biting her lower lip before looking back up at Johnny saying with a tiny nod.

"Yah, I get lonely a lot. But, people think that because your a kid they can talk to you with a funny voice and not tell the truth and you'll be happy. And I hate that, and I hate them." She finished with a hard, bitter note in her voice. "Until I meet somebody who'll treat my like a person, I can live with being lonely."

Shaking the angry thoughts away, though, Tesser leaned across the table a little bit.

"Now it's your turn, Johnny." She said, "Why are you so sad?"

[The Joker]

Johnny watched as the girl seemed to study him a little, she was probably still curious as to why he was doing this, or maybe she was wondering something else. Sometimes he wished that he had the power to read minds, but he was happy with his own abilities, they made him who he was.

He almost frowned a little at the girls words, it seemed that people treated her like a kid, and he hated it when he was treated like a kid too, so he could understand where the girl was coming from. He hadn't really treated her like a little girl, but silently promised her that he wouldn't do that.

He sighed a little at her question, she had answered enough of his truthfully, and he supposed that it was only fair that he did the same. [red]"The reason that I'm sad... Well. I was in the war, me and my friends were all part of the Untouchables. It was a horrible war, but what made it even worse was that one of my friends died, and now... Everythings just shattered."[/red]

Johnny sighed again, there it was. He had managed to reveal just how much of a state of weakness he was in at that moment, and he didn't like it. He had hoped to be somebody that this girl could look up to, but why would she do that now?

[tesseract]

Tesser's mouth opened into a little 'ohhhh' of understanding. Suddenly her questions had answers. She looked at Johnny, her face unreadable for a moment, then there was a bustle and the waitress came by with the food. The little girl put on a smile, thanked the woman, and took the food. But as soon as her back was turned, the facade was dropped again.

Inside her head, Tesser decided that this man was Johnny Storm, only way he could have been in the untouchables. And she could guess which friend he was talking about, but he hadn't told her for a reason so she gave no sign that she knew.

"So you came back home after the war." She said, finishing the story, "And instead of getting a hero's welcome you found yourself shunned by most of the population and now the government too. But you are still a hero, there are a lot of people out there who owe you their lives and they know it. You haven't been forgotten, and neither have those who didn't return. It's because of them that we live now, and for them that we contenue living." She glanced at his Hamburger,

"It's unhealthy not to eat, you know."

[The Joker]

For a moment, Tesser's expression was unreadable, he couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. The waitress had come and dropped off the food, Johnny flashed her a small smile in thanks, but it had dropped off when she left, he only kept up the facade as long as he had to. Johnny was sure that the girl knew who he was now, she knew he was a hero, it was obvious, he had mentioned the Untouchables, only heroes were in that group.

[red]"I could understand the reaction of most people. I'm not proud of the things I had to do in that war, but all that really matters to me is that Reed didn't come back with his, and that means the end of the Fantastic Four."[/red] He was absolutely certain that the girl had to know who he was now, he had mentioned the F4, no way she didn't know about them.

[red]"I'm still gonna save people, fight the good fight and everything, but I'll have to do it on different grounds."[/red] Johnny had loved being in the Fantastic Four, he had people to rely on, but now he could only rely on himself.

[tesseract]

"War is never right, and it's never fair." Tesser said, inbetween large bites of french fries. "War crimes are committed by everybody, both sides. It wasn't, and isn't right, the way the untouchable's were treated upon return, and even now."

She shook her head, "The Fantastic four may be done, but what about the others? It's not easy, to always be on your own." She said, then looked down. "Not that I'm really in a place to talk, I ran away when I was eight, so I don't really have a lot of strings. But... you do."

Finishing off the last french fries, she sighed, leaning back against the booth.

[The Joker]

He took a sip from the coke, he wasn't really feeling hungry, but he took a bite from the burger just so Tesser wouldn't worry about him more. He listend to her talk more, the war wasn't right, and he hated how the hero comunity was treated on their return, if it wasn't for them then this war would have ended up being entirely different, and not in a good way.

[red]"I could join another hero team if I wanted, and I probably will end up doing that, but I don't much feel like it right now, I'm taking a break from it all, clearing my head."[/red] It was a little strange, he was talking to this girl like she was an adult, but she was so intelligent for her age, she didn't act like a kid much at all. He supposed thats what living on the streets would do for you.

[red]"I know you probably don't really like it that much when people try to help you, but I can't just let you stay on the streets. Some of the reason is because your just a kid, and I know thats the part you don't like, but I also want to do it because you have alot of potential. Your smart, probably one of the smartest kids I've met, and you could do some big things in your life, but if you just live out here on the streets, you might never amount to anything, and I'd hate to see that happen."[/red]

[tesseract]

Tesser nodded along with what Johnny had to say, she liked this man. He had been so kind, and more than that, he was a hero. Not just in the sense of the Fantastic Four and Untouchables, but the way he kept on going after he had been treated. Tesser knew for a fact, that not everybody had.

However, then he turned the talk to her. she felt her face tighten some, he didn't know. Of course he didn't, he had wondered, but... she didn't want to tell him. She didn't want to loose this friend she had made. When he finished she said in a flinty voice.

"People like me don't amount to anything ever, Johnny. People like me are found on their 45'th birthday's curled up in cardboard boxes dead from hypothermia, with nothing to identify them but Salvation Army records."

She let out her breath and looked away saying, "It's people like you who have potential. I mean, look at you. You're Johnny Storm, if you want to change the world, you can, you have. But it's not the same in the allys. that's just the way the world works, always has, always will."

She shrugged akwardly, casting about for something to change the subject on. And then she found it. The TV in the corner was turned onto the news and the ancher was spouting something about how the government was blaming all former Untouchable's for war crimes and was hunting them down.

"Did you know about this?" She asked him almost frantically, gesturning to the TV.