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thejusticelounge2012-09-16 09:15 am
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2012-09-16 09:15 am
Entry tags:
empty cabinets
Following Kyle’s birthday party, J’onn J’onzz returned to the Watchtower and made his way to his quarters. He was scheduled to be on monitor duty in about two hours and was hoping to get in a little meditation time beforehand. As he entered his room and shut the door behind him, J’onn pushed the button on his stereo system and the sounds of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony filled the air.
The Martian wore a smile on his face. He always enjoyed spending social time with his teammates and the few gatherings he had attended at Warriors had all been pleasant. “Kal-El did a fine job putting together that party for Kyle” he thought to himself. “And it was good to see Dick back from his travels along with Guy.” J’onn made his way to the center of his quarters, picking up his meditation cushions and humming Beethoven’s melody along the way. “I hope Kyle enjoyed his gift” J’onn thought, “and his basket of cookies.”
He was about to settle down on the floor when a voice in his head asked, “Are you out of Chocos?”
A look of puzzlement crossed his face and before his body made it all the way to the ground, J’onn stopped and stood up. He made his way to the kitchenette and opened the cabinet doors. Inside were twenty unopened boxes of Chocos.
“Strange” he thought to himself. “I have plenty.”
On his way back to his meditation area, J’onn stopped at his stereo controls and turned the volume knob down from 15 to 12. It had been a bit loud and he needed to concentrate to properly relax. The memory of Kate handing him a margarita at the Warriors party surfaced. He recalled the brush of her fingertips on his as she passed him the glass and he recalled the smile on her face. He really did enjoy himself at the party. Beethoven’s Ninth continued as he picked up and adjusted his meditation pillow again. J’onn was about to sit when he heard the voice again. “Are you sure you’re not out of Chocos?”
J’onn’s head whipped towards the cabinet. “Am I out?” he thought to himself. “Did I not just check?” J’onn dropped his pillow and jogged over to his kitchenette. He opened the cabinet and again saw the stacks of twenty boxes he had seen before. “Well,” he thought to himself, “better safe than sorry.” He shut the cabinet doors and headed back to his meditation area.
Along the way, J’onn noticed his music was quite loud. He stopped and turned the volume knob down another three clicks before picking up his pillow. “I sure hope the Creeper does not take Hawkgirl up on her challenge” he thought. “When it come to a drinking contest, she is not someone to be…”
His thoughts were interrupted. “You must be out of Chocos!” the voice shouted to him.
“Am I?” J’onn wondered aloud. Before he could even formulate an answer to his own question, the Martian flew over to the kitchenette and flung open the cabinet doors with one hand. Inside he saw all twenty boxes, neatly stacked. “Ha,” he thought to himself, “I have plenty.” J’onn noticed that he was gripping his pillow rather tightly in his other hand and felt the slightest bit of embarrassment.
He tossed the pillow back to the floor as he stopped at his stereo. “Why is this music so loud?” J’onn thought. He turned the volume down to 3 and looked over to his closed door. Was someone just knocking? Had he not heard the knocking clearly over the blaring music? Who would be visiting at this hour? J’onn zipped over to the door and opened it. No one. He looked around and down the empty hallway. “Hello?” he called. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Had he even truly heard a knock in the first place? Most people ring the bell. Was this all a ploy? In opening the door, had he unwittingly let someone or something invisible into his quarters? Where were these thoughts coming from? Was he in danger? J’onn attempted a quick mental scan of the area but he could not properly concentrate over the loud shreiks of string instruments. Beethoven’s Ninth was overpowering all of his senses.
“Damn!” J’onn shouted. Had he not already turned that music down? He flew over to his stereo and hit the stop button but the music continued, only louder. Was there a short in the wiring? J’onn angrily punched the power button and the display flicked off, but quickly came right back on. As the music reached a deafening crescendo, the LED display on his stereo went blank and then slowly typed out a sentence: “You are out of Chocos.”
Enraged, J’onn let out a yell as he leaped into the air and flew towards the kitchenette. Beams shot from his eyes and blasted the cabinet doors from their hinges. Before he had landed, J’onn could see clearly all twenty boxes stacked ten by ten next to each other. “Moons of Mars! What has gotten into me?” J’onn asked out loud, his voice echoing in the empty silence.
The Martian was shaking his head as he made his way across his quarters to shut the door he had left open when he first felt that something was wrong.
He smelled the smoke before he saw it. He felt the heat from the flames growing in his kitchenette. Fire: his greatest enemy, his greatest fear. And J’onn had no one to blame but himself. The flames drew him as they flickered. As the fire danced, it called to his mind. He watched them, mesmerized.
As the flames jumped from the burning cabinet door to the dish rag by the sink, J’onn swore he saw a glimpse of his wife in the fire. “M’yriah?” he cried. Speaking her name out loud immediately brought the pain of loss back to him and filled his eyes with tears. J’onn collapsed on the floor, reaching for the growing fire. “Come back to me my love!” he called. “Do not leave me here!”
J’onn’s pleas were drowned out as the violins of Beethoven’s Ninth started again. No, not violins. Alarms. Alarm bells were ringing.
“J’onn…” his wife’s voice called from the flames as they spread to nearby cabinets. “Husband. Come to me. Join me here. Join us. We are both here J’onn . We need you.” J’onn stood and wiped the tears spilling down his cheeks.
“Father?” came another voice from the fire which was growing in his quarters - the voice of his lost daughter. “Daddy?” K’hym’s voice called out. “Where are you Daddy? Where are you? I miss you Daddy. Why don’t you hold me anymore? Why won’t you hold me Daddy?”
“I’m here child!” J’onn called to the flames, making his way towards the growing pyre and certain death.
“Daddy! I hear you! Where are you?”
“Husband. Come to us. Join us.”
“I’m here! I’m coming! I’m, Uff -“
J’onn was knocked to the floor by a shoulder blow from Kate as she rushed into the room with a fire extinguisher. “Dammit J’onn! Didn’t you hear the alarm? What were you doing just standing there looking at the flames?” She aimed the nozzle of the extinguisher at the base of the fire and began spraying, sweeping the base of the fire.
J’onn could hear his wife and daughter screaming as they did on that horrible day so long ago when they were claimed by H’ronmeer’s Curse. “Nooooo!” he bellowed through his own tears. He lunged for the fire extinguisher, but a well-timed kick from Kate to his mid section sent J’onn crumpling to the ground. He reached for his lost loved ones as the flames and the screams faded.
“What the hell is going on here J’onzz?” Kate yelled as she slammed the empty fire extinguisher canister to the floor. “Were you planning on letting the whole damn Watchtower burn? You’re lucky I was even here! I just came up because I left some paperwork I needed at home when I heard the alarm and saw your door open. I mean, what the hell were you thinking?!?”
“M’yriah…” J’onn cried from the floor. “K’hym…”
“J’onn?” Kate asked, the anger temporarily gone from her voice and replaced with concern. “What happened here? What is going on? Talk to me.”
J’onn sat up. “I… I do not know” he answered. “I was just trying to get in some meditation time before… before I had to… I…” His thoughts were interrupted again.
“J’onn…” M’yriah’s voice called to him. “Are you sure you’re not out of Chocos?”
The Martian wore a smile on his face. He always enjoyed spending social time with his teammates and the few gatherings he had attended at Warriors had all been pleasant. “Kal-El did a fine job putting together that party for Kyle” he thought to himself. “And it was good to see Dick back from his travels along with Guy.” J’onn made his way to the center of his quarters, picking up his meditation cushions and humming Beethoven’s melody along the way. “I hope Kyle enjoyed his gift” J’onn thought, “and his basket of cookies.”
He was about to settle down on the floor when a voice in his head asked, “Are you out of Chocos?”
A look of puzzlement crossed his face and before his body made it all the way to the ground, J’onn stopped and stood up. He made his way to the kitchenette and opened the cabinet doors. Inside were twenty unopened boxes of Chocos.
“Strange” he thought to himself. “I have plenty.”
On his way back to his meditation area, J’onn stopped at his stereo controls and turned the volume knob down from 15 to 12. It had been a bit loud and he needed to concentrate to properly relax. The memory of Kate handing him a margarita at the Warriors party surfaced. He recalled the brush of her fingertips on his as she passed him the glass and he recalled the smile on her face. He really did enjoy himself at the party. Beethoven’s Ninth continued as he picked up and adjusted his meditation pillow again. J’onn was about to sit when he heard the voice again. “Are you sure you’re not out of Chocos?”
J’onn’s head whipped towards the cabinet. “Am I out?” he thought to himself. “Did I not just check?” J’onn dropped his pillow and jogged over to his kitchenette. He opened the cabinet and again saw the stacks of twenty boxes he had seen before. “Well,” he thought to himself, “better safe than sorry.” He shut the cabinet doors and headed back to his meditation area.
Along the way, J’onn noticed his music was quite loud. He stopped and turned the volume knob down another three clicks before picking up his pillow. “I sure hope the Creeper does not take Hawkgirl up on her challenge” he thought. “When it come to a drinking contest, she is not someone to be…”
His thoughts were interrupted. “You must be out of Chocos!” the voice shouted to him.
“Am I?” J’onn wondered aloud. Before he could even formulate an answer to his own question, the Martian flew over to the kitchenette and flung open the cabinet doors with one hand. Inside he saw all twenty boxes, neatly stacked. “Ha,” he thought to himself, “I have plenty.” J’onn noticed that he was gripping his pillow rather tightly in his other hand and felt the slightest bit of embarrassment.
He tossed the pillow back to the floor as he stopped at his stereo. “Why is this music so loud?” J’onn thought. He turned the volume down to 3 and looked over to his closed door. Was someone just knocking? Had he not heard the knocking clearly over the blaring music? Who would be visiting at this hour? J’onn zipped over to the door and opened it. No one. He looked around and down the empty hallway. “Hello?” he called. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Had he even truly heard a knock in the first place? Most people ring the bell. Was this all a ploy? In opening the door, had he unwittingly let someone or something invisible into his quarters? Where were these thoughts coming from? Was he in danger? J’onn attempted a quick mental scan of the area but he could not properly concentrate over the loud shreiks of string instruments. Beethoven’s Ninth was overpowering all of his senses.
“Damn!” J’onn shouted. Had he not already turned that music down? He flew over to his stereo and hit the stop button but the music continued, only louder. Was there a short in the wiring? J’onn angrily punched the power button and the display flicked off, but quickly came right back on. As the music reached a deafening crescendo, the LED display on his stereo went blank and then slowly typed out a sentence: “You are out of Chocos.”
Enraged, J’onn let out a yell as he leaped into the air and flew towards the kitchenette. Beams shot from his eyes and blasted the cabinet doors from their hinges. Before he had landed, J’onn could see clearly all twenty boxes stacked ten by ten next to each other. “Moons of Mars! What has gotten into me?” J’onn asked out loud, his voice echoing in the empty silence.
The Martian was shaking his head as he made his way across his quarters to shut the door he had left open when he first felt that something was wrong.
He smelled the smoke before he saw it. He felt the heat from the flames growing in his kitchenette. Fire: his greatest enemy, his greatest fear. And J’onn had no one to blame but himself. The flames drew him as they flickered. As the fire danced, it called to his mind. He watched them, mesmerized.
As the flames jumped from the burning cabinet door to the dish rag by the sink, J’onn swore he saw a glimpse of his wife in the fire. “M’yriah?” he cried. Speaking her name out loud immediately brought the pain of loss back to him and filled his eyes with tears. J’onn collapsed on the floor, reaching for the growing fire. “Come back to me my love!” he called. “Do not leave me here!”
J’onn’s pleas were drowned out as the violins of Beethoven’s Ninth started again. No, not violins. Alarms. Alarm bells were ringing.
“J’onn…” his wife’s voice called from the flames as they spread to nearby cabinets. “Husband. Come to me. Join me here. Join us. We are both here J’onn . We need you.” J’onn stood and wiped the tears spilling down his cheeks.
“Father?” came another voice from the fire which was growing in his quarters - the voice of his lost daughter. “Daddy?” K’hym’s voice called out. “Where are you Daddy? Where are you? I miss you Daddy. Why don’t you hold me anymore? Why won’t you hold me Daddy?”
“I’m here child!” J’onn called to the flames, making his way towards the growing pyre and certain death.
“Daddy! I hear you! Where are you?”
“Husband. Come to us. Join us.”
“I’m here! I’m coming! I’m, Uff -“
J’onn was knocked to the floor by a shoulder blow from Kate as she rushed into the room with a fire extinguisher. “Dammit J’onn! Didn’t you hear the alarm? What were you doing just standing there looking at the flames?” She aimed the nozzle of the extinguisher at the base of the fire and began spraying, sweeping the base of the fire.
J’onn could hear his wife and daughter screaming as they did on that horrible day so long ago when they were claimed by H’ronmeer’s Curse. “Nooooo!” he bellowed through his own tears. He lunged for the fire extinguisher, but a well-timed kick from Kate to his mid section sent J’onn crumpling to the ground. He reached for his lost loved ones as the flames and the screams faded.
“What the hell is going on here J’onzz?” Kate yelled as she slammed the empty fire extinguisher canister to the floor. “Were you planning on letting the whole damn Watchtower burn? You’re lucky I was even here! I just came up because I left some paperwork I needed at home when I heard the alarm and saw your door open. I mean, what the hell were you thinking?!?”
“M’yriah…” J’onn cried from the floor. “K’hym…”
“J’onn?” Kate asked, the anger temporarily gone from her voice and replaced with concern. “What happened here? What is going on? Talk to me.”
J’onn sat up. “I… I do not know” he answered. “I was just trying to get in some meditation time before… before I had to… I…” His thoughts were interrupted again.
“J’onn…” M’yriah’s voice called to him. “Are you sure you’re not out of Chocos?”