-BOO!
Did I scare you? Work's been crazy, so I'm glad I started this back in september!
In this Halloween special we take on a classic premise: A boy and his monster(s) let loose on halloween! The unhumans look a lot less humanoid in this fic, everyone knows Captain Marvel's ID, and once again I use any pronouns for M'gann.-
It was a cold mid-October night in Happy Harbour, rain battering the dead leaves until the pungent odor of sweet rot filled the streets, modest halloween decorations lit the streets, and on the edge of town six figures slunk along the edge of the woods, flashlights flashing through the trees.
Branches snapped deep in the forest, drawing Conner's electric blue eyes.
"Just animals." Wally assured, passing him on the trail.
"This is going to be amazing," Dick declared, his sneakers squeaking on the wet leaves. "We'll get popcorn and everything."
Kaldur winced, not wanting to bring down the mood; he knew the noise would stun him and the knew the smell of the popcorn would suffocate his fragile lungs. "Are... are we sure? We aren't supposed to be down here."
"Nobody's gonna know." Artemis assured. "Besides, no one will be able to see us at the back."
Conner stopped again, causing the other two unhumans to crash into him.
"Conner? Can you keep walking please?" M'gann asked. "Walking on two legs is hard enough."
"I thought..." He pointed into the dark of the woods. "...I saw..."
Wally shone his light in, it barely reached twenty feet. "I don't see anything."
"It's probably a squirrel." Dick said. "This is the problem with you guys spending all day cooped up in the mountain!"
The path merged into sidewalk and the teens found themselves on a quiet suburban street. A couple pedestrians dotted the road, crossing the street when they saw the cohort of teens approaching.
"Unhumans behind us, no one will notice."
"There!" Conner exclaimed, voice echoing around the block. "I saw it! There's something in the alley."
Dick was about to dismiss this, turning back towards the theatre, when a large, cold hand clamped around his shoulder.
"Uh oh." Wally whispered, backing into his friends, shoving M'gann to the ground.
"Robin." A gruff, disapproving voice ordered. "Back to the mountain. Now."
"Dad!" Dick demanded as they passed into the batcave. "How did you know?"
"Red Tornado alerted me that the residents of the mountain had left." Bruce glared down at him. "Dick, you know they aren't allowed to leave. It's just not safe."
"For them? Or for you?"
"For civilians." He replied curtly. "And for the league. You know what would happen if it got out we were harboring unrecognized aliens from the pentagon."
Dick crossed his arms as severely as possible. "So what? You use them as backup when it's convenient, and don't let them out in public to lead normal lives?"
"Well... yes." Bruce replied.
Dick threw his mask down, storming from the cave.
He fumed all the way to his room, slamming the door. It wasn't fair; it just wasn't fair. Bruce refused to get to know his friends, to see that they were just normal teens like him.
I mean you have to admit, Wally's voice echoed through his head, They don't exactly look like normal teens.
Dick couldn't deny it: Kadur was tattooed with ghostly teal eyes and frilly, petal-thin gills; Conner was a creepy clone of one of the most famous people in the world, and M'gann, bless her soul, could barely pass as bipedal.
He buried his face in his pillow. It wasn't fair. They weren't dangerous! and just because they looked like monsters it didn't mean they were evil! They couldn't help being scary.
He paused on those words; monster, scary. An idea in it's genesis began to develop deep in his mind.
It could be risky, if Bruce found out they'd all be grounded... but there was only one day when monsters could roam the streets, and he didn't plan on wasting it.
"Do you want me to heat up something?"
"No, it's okay, I'll do something tonight." M'gann replied. "Besides, you did the laundry." He tore into a pack of instant ramen and tossed it in a pot, pouring the flavour pack in after it. She was just scouring the fridge for anything else to add, when they heard a familiar clicking of nails on the linolium. "Wolf! Get out of here!" She exclaimed, pushing the creature back. Wolf had a very strong sense of smell, and combined with his speed and size, he was always getting into something.
"Down, boy!" Conner grabbed the canine by his scruff and hauled him off. "Go sit with Kaldur."
Wolf followed the scent of salt and ozone to the boy on the couch, climbing up and settling on top, drowning the boy in his fur.
"Do..." Kaldur struggled to be heard through the sound dampening fluff. "Do you think we should listen to Robin?"
"Why not?" M'gann asked.
"Well, we got in trouble again, and Batman said not to leave..."
"Do you want to be stuck inside forever?" Conner asked severely. "You say you want to learn about your father's racial side, but you only ever see four humans."
Kaldur didn't let the boy provoke him, recognizing Conner's projection. "I suppose it would be nice, if we were allowed."
"Or if we could avoid being caught..."
"That's enough of that." M'gann exclaimed. "Let's think happy thoughts! Like, uh... the Ramen's almost ready!"
"Arty!" Dick leaned out the window, squinting through the torrential downpour. "Do you want a ride?"
"WHAT?" she pulled an earbud out and her hood back, hunched against the rain.
"DO YOU WANT A RIDE?"
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" She shouted.
"ANYWHERE," Dick shouted back.
Artemis cracked the door open and fell through, landing in a sopping wet pile on top of him. "Same."
The limo coated off, through the afterschool traffic with surprising ease, lit by the chatter of the teens as they shot the breeze and stripped their wet rain gear.
"Did you get my email?" Dick asked, removing books from his wet backpack to prevent water damage.
Artemis nodded and glanced anxiously at the rearview mirror. "Can we talk here?"
"Don't worry. Alfred is safe." He assured. "So? What do you think?"
"I think you're out of your head." She said frankly.
"Is that a yes?"
"Sure, but if I get in trouble, you're getting what's coming to you." She gave the boy a punch in the shoulder, a taster of what was to come should they get caught.
"It'll be fine, Billy wants to go trick-or-treating, right? We'll just tag along, circle back after an hour and meet the others at the bottom of the mountain."
"Well thanks for the warning, I'll have to pull a costume together."
Dick caught a glimpse of something black and orange out the window. "Alfred?"
"Yes, Master Dick?"
"Can we stop here on the way home?" He pointed across the street to the pop-up halloween store. He turned to Artemis.
"Of course, Master Dick."
"I like your look." Wally, the Werewolf, said, adjusting his whiskers.
"Thanks, Alfie helped me make it." Dick, the Phantom of the Opera, replied. He spun, swishing his cape. "are you excited?"
"To let the monsters run loose? absolutely."
"You guys put a lot of effort into your costumes." Billy piped up from the couch.
Artemis stuck her thumbs against her hard pallet, attaching her fangs. "I's easy fer you." She slurred around her gloved fingers. "Yer a cute lil kid."
"Yeah," Wally added, reaching out to fluff the fur under Wolf's chin. "You and Robin will get candy regardless, we have to fight for it."
"The implication being that I'm not also a teenager." Dick huffed.
"You can pass as younger though, we can't." Artemis, fangs finally affixed, began straightening the tucking shorts under her leggings. "Kaldur? How're you guys doing over there?"
"We're certainly surviving." The boy replied crisply, trying and failing to cover his tattoos with foundation. If you squinted, you might assume his looks were a costume... the eyes might be makeup and contacts, the gills might be SFX... well, it was a bit of a stretch, but hopefully when they got out in the dark it would be harder to tell.
M'gann tried to raise her helmet's visor to peak, only to have it slammed shut again. "Hey!"
"The mask is there to cover your face, that's the point." Artemis reminded, returning to the arduous task of swishing her cape back and forth like a princess dress.
Despite being the more humanoid of the aliens, Conner didn't look human; his eyes were sunken and inhumanly wide, glowing fluorescent blue under the shade cast by his sharp brow. His pallid skin was pulled so tight over his ribbons of muscle that he looked ready to rip open at any moment. On top of all that, his costume was also pretty pathetic: blue pants, blue shirt, red cape. The quality pained Dick, but Conner seemed to like his Superman costume, so he kept his perfectionism to himself.
"Hellooo!" Billy interrupted, collapsing over Wolf's napping form like a pillow. "Can we get going now? We gotta hit up the good houses early so they don't remember us when we come back later!"
"One sec." Dick fastened his cloak snug and warm around his shoulders. "Alright, let's go."
The night was dark and busy, the streets filled with a low smoke from the fireworks just down the block. Kids as young as toddlers and as old as themselves hurried up and down the block, collecting candy.
A Lake Monster, An Astronaut, and Superman all clustered under a fir, watching wearily as trick-or-treaters passed.
"This was a mistake," Kaldur said. He'd given up on the makeup and decided to cover his tattoos with a jacket instead. "They'll notice we're gone any moment."
"Red's resetting his battery tonight." M'gann's voice echoed through her helmet. "We have at least an hour."
Before Kaldur could find something else to worry himself, Conner spoke up: "I see them."
"Hey guys!" Billy lead the three teens over. "Check it: I've already got tons of candy."
"We're lucky he and Robin are so cute," Wally explained. "People give you dirty looks if you look like a teen."
"That's a backhanded compliment," Dick tsked.
"Remember our deal." Billy said. "Five dollars from each of you and you'll get your portions of candy."
"I'll cover it." Dick said quickly. "You keep to your duty, soldier, We'll see what we can score."
Billy saluted. "Meet you back here at eleven." And with that he took off.
"Well," Wally took out his phone. "There's a party at the local high school..."
There was a deafening crack, causing Conner to jump, covering his ears.
"Whoa, buddy," Wally hovering his hand over the other boy's shoulder. "It's just the fireworks."
"C'mon," Dick began leading the way. "I'm eager to show off my look."
It took a few streets, but being a small harbour town, it didn't take long. Trick-or-treaters flooded cautiously around the alien teens, staring impolitely at their impossibly inhuman costumes. They passed yard after yard of decorations, from modest to extravagant, before finally reaching a small oval track, and the building beyond it.
"Behold," Dick said dramatically, "Happy Harbour High!"
The school was a lot smaller than Gotham Academy, but no bigger than Wally's deep midwestern secondary. It was a smalltown school, there was no doubt in that.
"The party's the gym." Wally announced. "C'mon."
Conner stood, watching the deafening flash of lights and music
"Aren't you coming in?" The girl asked.
He shook his head. "Too loud."
"As you like it." She shrugged. "Later."
Entering the building, Kaldur found the gymnasium surprisingly humid, which pleased him greatly, even if it was loud and dark and crowded. "M'gann, I think we should stick..." He turned in a circle, searching. "...Together." With a sigh, he started back towards the entrance, searching for anyone he came with.
From the corner of her eye M'gann spotted a cluster of teens in matching skirts. Many had scars and stitches drawn on, but all were covered in glitter. Drawn to the sparkle, they approached the across the room.
"Hey," M'gann yelled so as to be heard through their helmet. "I really like your costumes!"
"Aw Thanks," One of the zombies twirled her skirt. "We're on the cheer team, so we thought 'why waste a good outfit'."
"I love it!" M'gann stimmed excitedly, admiring the zombie cheerleaders. "I'm M'gann!"
"Megan?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, Hello space commander Megan," One of the other zombies, a light skinned girl, saluted with a cheeky grin. "I'm Wendy."
"let's go outside," The first zombie, a shining girl with a fluffy black hair said, covering her ears. "It's too loud to talk here"
Conner picked at the grass, wincing at the occasional screams and shouts from the gym. He wasn't enjoying himself much. His friends had all gone off to talk to other people, but he didn't want to. He didn't know these people, and that means he didn't trust them.
Conner wanted to scream, the overwhelming noise-- even out here- grated on his mind.
He stood suddenly, crashing into something huge behind him.
"Hey!" A hand gripped the scruff of his cape, "Watch where you're going!"
Turning, Conner saw a boy his age; he was tall, with close-cropped hair, and he was was bigger than him. The boy's eyes hovered on his face for five long seconds; anger, surprise, confusion, repulsion, fear, anger. He let go of Conner's nape, glowering down at him, as if undecided between aggression and disgust.
Confused, bathed in feelings he didn't like, Conner staggered away keeping an eye on the other boy.
"Have you seen everyone?" Wally asked.
"WHAT?" Artemis yelled over the music.
"HAVE YOU SEEN EVERYONE?"
"NO, I THOUGHT YOU WERE WITH EM?"
Wally glanced around for his best friend, who (being very charismatic for a thirteen-year-old) had settled himself in a group of theatre kids, who admired his costume. "DICK!"
"HUH?"
Wally pushed through the crowd. "WHERE ARE THE ALIENS?"
Dick politely excused himself and hurried over, cape billowing. "Shit."
"Hey, I love your costume."
Surprised, Kaldur reached up and scratched his gills. "Oh. Thank you?"
"Can I touch them?" Another student, standing very close to the first, asked.
"Oh, I'm not sure." Kaldur backed up a few feet.
"They're so real, where did you buy them?" Two fingers gently pressed into his neck. Kaldur gasped for air, staggering back. His hands shot up to cover his neck, but it was no use. His gills flared out violently, pained.
"Oh my god." The boy said. "Are... Those are real!"
Kaldur cupped his hands over his gills, eyes wide as saucers. He staggered away, bumping into the crowds behind him. Turning on his bare heel, Kaldur ran.
Multiple teens were clustered behind the school; one of the cheerleaders who hadn't spoken yet took out a vape and began passing it around.
"I'm Karen." The girl with the fluffy hair said. "What grade are you in?"
"Oh, I don't go here." M'gann explained. "My friends brought me cause they heard there was a party."
"Hun, you gotta either speak up or take the mask off."
"Oh," They raised their voice. "I don't go here!"
The girl next to her blew out a rancidly sweet cloud and held the device out. "Want a hit?"
"Oh. no thank you."
"Good on you, it's a bad habit." Karen also skipped. "I've been clean for months now, not that these ones make it easy..."
She caught sight of someone. "Hey Mel!"
A large boy strode over, leaning down slightly to greet his friend; M'gann was shocked, she didn't know teenagers got any bigger than Conner.
"Some kid tried to start shit." He said, jerking his thumb behind him. "couldn't watch where he was going."
M'gann followed his finger and perked up, waving. "Hey!"
"Girl, don't talk to him." Karen hissed.
"He's definitely on a bad trip." One of the other girls agreed. "Look at his eyes."
"No he's not! That's my friend!" They waved harder. "CONNER!"
Conner watched Mel and the cheerleaders cautiously. "M'gann. Why are you talking to them?"
"They're nice."
He glared at each teen in turn. "I'm going."
"...That guy's your friend?" One of the girls asked, watching Conner sprint away across the oval.
"He's..." Wendy began, "Good zombie superman costume."
"Oh no, he's just dressed as Superman." M'gann laughed.
The group got quiet. The girl who'd passed her vape around got it back. "What do you look like under there?"
"Why?"
"We don't..." Karen looked as apprehensive as the others. "I mean, you don't go here, you won't show your face, how're we supposed to know you're not a creep?"
"How would knowing what I look like--" M'gann hadn't even got the words out when someone barreled into her.
Their space helmet cracked as it hit the concrete.
M'gann's hands raised, running through their stringy hair. She hid her face in her hands, trying desperately to mold her face into something human.
"M'gann?" Someone asked.
"Kaldur?" She raised her eyes to his. In tandem, they turned to face the onlookers.
Kaldur stooped picking up the helmet, it's tinted plastic visor now shattered. He gently placed it in her malformed hands "We need to leave. Now."
Dick swore, locking the stall door. "Hello?" He asked, holding the phone to his ear.
"Dick? where are you?"
"I'm trick-or-treating, remember?" He bluffed "With Billy. Why?"
"Red Tornado wanted someone to check your friends were behaving." Bruce replied. "But If you're busy..."
"No!" His voice cracked. Dick covered his mouth, quickly hushing himself. "No, you know, we're near a zeta. We'll stop by and check on them."
"No, don't bother. I'm in the cave anyways, I'll check on them."
"Oh," He squeaked. "Great. uh.... one sec."
Dick hung up, stifled a scream, and shot out of the washroom.
"WHOA!" The ten-year-old sprawled back on the pavement. "Watch it, bud-- Conner?"
Conner looked down, pausing as he mindlessly plowed through the sidewalks, trying not to let the violence and stress get the better of him. "Captain marvel?"
"Billy." The boy corrected. "Where are you going? Where is everyone."
"I'm going home," He replied, "It's too loud."
"Do you know where home is?" Billy dusted himself off. Conner pointed at the faint outline of the mountain in the distance. "You're hopeless!" The preteen laughed, passing the kryptonian his half-pound of candy. "Hold that will you? I'll walk you back."
Kids jumped aside as the two barreled down the sidewalk, staring up at their hideous faces and flaring gills. A passing child stopped and stared, "Is it real?" They asked their mother.
"We need to find somewhere less busy." Kaldur choked over the firework smoke, which still lingered in the suburb.
"Wait, I know where we are!" M'gann grabbed him around the wrist, throwing xir weight to tug his friend off the pavement. Kaldur let himself be dragged, vaguely hoping she might have found something.
"Where are we?"
"Now we're in the woods! just like before?" They fidgeted hopefully. "That helps... right?"
Kaldur sighed. "At least we're in private..."
"No luck." Wally panted. "The streets are too congested; I can't get anywhere!"
"We're screwed."
"We better head back to the mountain," Dick sighed. "to accept our grounding."
"There you are." Billy said, pushing the hanger door and open. "Y'know, I think I've got enough candy for the night."
"You do?" Conner asked, back to the (still open) door.
"Yeah, plus you're all paying for my candy, so I get use that to go buy more candy!" The preteen grinned, flopping against the couch's armrest. "Margins like this have never existed!" Conner didn't reply. Billy pat the seat beside him. "C'mon, we'll watch something fun until the others get home."
Conner frowned a little. "I feel like... something's missing."
"You're right! We need soda!"
Conner shook his head. "No, someone."
Kaldur stopped in their trekking. "do you hear that?"
M'gann stopped humming. "Hear what?"
Somewhere a twig snapped.
"That." He said redundantly.
A little closer, the crisp leaves rustled in the wind.
"Kaldur, are you scared?"
"No." He lied, leading the way through the deep woods.
"Are we getting any closer?"
"...I don't know."
Another twig snapped, and another, and before they knew it, something was crasing through the woods towards them, yellow eyes flashing in the dark.
M'gann shut her eyes, wincing in anticipation.
Something coarse and wet slivered up her neck. Horrified, her eye opened a crack.
"...wolf?"
The zeta called out Batman's arrival, much to the youths' surprise.
"What are you doing?"
Billy stood up as a formality. "Watching a movie."
Batman assessed the room severely. There were only too children. "I thought you were supposed to be with Robin? Where are the others?"
There was a deafening crash-- paining Conner-- as the door tore open "WE'RE HERE!" M'gann panted, gripping Wolf's mane. "Sorry, we're here."
"What were you doing out on the mountain?" Batman demanded, completely disregarding their costumes and makeup. "You're forbidden from leaving the internal headquarters without permission."
"We were... I'm sorry," Kaldur began, ready to accept his fate. "We were-- I gave permission--"
"The fireworks spooked Wolf." Billy said casually, sitting down again and checking on Conner. "They went out to find him."
"Yes." Kaldur sputtered. "You're right..."
"And where is Robin?" Batman demanded of those present, irritation growing up his throat.
"I dunno. Those three snuck out to a party or something."
Bruce cursed something about teenagers under his breath, returning from whence he came threw the zeta
"Why did you lie for us?"
"You're my friends." He replied. "Also, now I can justify up charging you on candy."
Conner perked up. "Voices."
Straining, they heard a series of murmurs coming into earshot. "Who is it?" M'gann hissed. Before her companion could reply, a caped figure swept into the doorframe.
"B, I.... guys?"
"Robin?"
"How did you get here?" Wally demanded, leaning over his friend's shoulder.
Dick held up a hand. "Don't question it. just be glad."
"Candy anyone?" Billy shook his bag at them. "We're almost back from the ad break."