Fic: Code Dylan 1/1 Zoom
Title: Code Dylan Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own Zoom. Characters: Dylan, Connor, Marsha, Summer, Jack, Laraby. Words: 5050 Prompt: Dylan is unintentionally cock blocked by a curious Connor. Fandom: Zoom Pairing: Pre-Dylan/Connor, one sided Dylan/Summer. Rating: Adult Warnings: Language, Violence Summary: Fallout from the addition of Connor to the team sets off a chain reaction in Dylan. What happens when an already unstable teen with super powers goes nova? Author's Note: This assumes Dylan's reasons and reactions weren't just typical teen angst. ______________________________________
Area fifty-two was not the best place to be spending your hours, but when one had no other choice, it would do in a pinch. Dylan was sure if he kept repeating it enough to himself, he might actually believe it one of these days. Still, it beat being stuck at school with those assholes again.
Not like he was of school entirely.
Rotating the pencil between his fingers, he glanced up at the clock. Fifteen more minutes before he could go back to his room. Not that there was much to do there. Still, at least then he wouldn't be stuck listening Marsha go on and on about her crush on Zoom.
Could the woman be any more of a girl?
Rolling his eyes, he chuffed. Mega-boy was more likely to stop eating. There were some things in the universe that was just constant like that. Prime example, he glanced over to Wonder.
Summer. The only girl his age. She was hot, and had enough of it to be considered all that. Except her attitude.
What the hell was her problem?
Looking towards the board, Summer used the tip of her pen to guide her eyes. Getting enough information, she went back to her homework.
It was just plain sick. Dylan wasn't sure she was right in the head any more. There had to be an explanation for a girl who actually liked doing school work. Looking to Marsha, he figured she had something to do with it.
It was all her fault. She was all Summer ever talked about. How wonderful it was to have a woman superhero to look up to. How great she was. The strides having a woman superhero.
Marsha this. Marsha that. Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!
Groaning, he snapped the pencil against his leg. He started to tap the eraser against his thigh quickly. When Summer's back went rigid, he smirked and picked up the speed.
Looking back over her shoulder, she scowled at Dylan. Narrowing her eyes, she gave his pencil a warning look.
Dylan knew what she meant. She had done it twice today already. With a grin, he stopped moving the pencil and gave her an innocent look.
Summer rolled her eyes. At a snort to her right, she glanced over to Connor. The other teen was watching them with a serious expression. Smiling at him, she went back to her work.
Groaning to himself, Dylan threw the pencil at the table. Screw this crap! Standing up, he snatched his bag from the desk top.
"Dylan, where do you think you're going?" Dragged from the comic books on her desk, Marsha pushed her glasses up her nose. The blush in her cheeks spoke of what she had really been doing.
"Out of here." He quickly slung the bag over his shoulder. If Summer wanted to play little miss goody two-shoes, she could do it without him. Dylan spared the teen a final look, then rolled his eyes again.
Pen clenched in her hand, Summer was staring at him. Her expression was far from amused. "Dylan, where do you think you're going?"
"Parrots the Teacher's Pet." He wasn't really quite sure what prompted him to get snaughty with her. Summer hadn't done anything except be a good girl. "I don't have to tell you anything." Turning to the door, he started for it.
"Don't be such a jerk! We've still got class." Pointing to the clock as if he hadn't known, Summer kept a firm grip on her pen. There was letting this one go like last time. "You can wait fifteen minutes to goof off."
"Whatever." With a growl, he went invisible and stormed out of the class.
"Dylan! Get back, here! Dylan!" Marsha's voice chased him in to the hall as he picked up speed. "Damn it. Security, this is Doctor Holloway. We have a Code Dylan..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was setting out over the canyon when someone found him. Didn't matter, he wasn't going back in until he was damn well good and ready. If they didn't like it, well that was just too bad. They could suck it!
Picking up another red stone, he chucked out towards the sun. It would never make it, but that wasn't the point. Actually, there wasn't really a point. He just liked watching them fly out there.
Dylan picked up yellow stone. It had a few familiar shaped curves. This one he named Summer. With a snarl, he pitched it away as fast as he could. That seemed to be the way of all things called Summer in his life anyways.
A smattering of pebbles came tumbling his way from higher up on the rock face. That meant someone was actually coming down towards him. He must not be making the invisibility on the rocks last long enough, he decided.
"I know you're here."
It was Jack. Great. Old man Zoom himself.
To mess with him, Dylan moved further back towards the Base along the ledge. Then, he tossed an orange rock up the face of the mountain to knock loose several smaller stones. If he did it right, it would make it look like he was moving there.
The ruse worked.
Watching as the older man carefully made his way further up the rock face, Dylan crossed his arms. If he stood still, anyone watching would have a hard time to see his invisible self. Moving gave off a distortion if he wasn't concentrating.
"All right, Dylan, this isn't funny." Having reached the location of the rock slide, Jack glanced about him. His brow creased when he squinted to protect his eyes from the sunlight. "Come out, I'm not going to chase you across this mountain."
With a snort, Dylan let his cloaking effect fall. Arms crossed he glanced up at the older man from under a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing. What's gotten in to you?" Jack looked to get down towards him. Seeing the rock path down to the ledge, he grimaced then thought better of it. Instead, he turned completely and sat down on the rocks. "I thought we were past this."
Dylan considered playing dumb. There would be at least ten minutes of fumfering between them before the subject was brought up again. Still, it was hot outside, especially the sun going down. "I guess not."
This at least gave Jack hope. "What is it this time? Did someone piss you off, you get a call from your folks? Give me something to work with here?"
"Ask Summer. She's the one who seems to have forgotten the facts." Tilting his head, Dylan brought up his invisibility again. Tossing the hair out of his eyes, he turned and started for the base. At least there he could find a cool spot to brood in.
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Jack's voice echoed in the wind. When he didn't get a response, he glanced about again. "Dylan? Dylan! That kid, I swear!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were waiting for him when he got back to his room. Two men in gray uniforms with radios and bad attitudes. Nothing was said, he knew the drill.
So, here he sat in 'time out'. What he was supposed to learn from all this was nothing. He knew this was more about retribution for his acting out. There was no reform, it was all about punishment.
General Laraby wasn't fooling anyone.
There would be no Zoom coming to get him out this time. No mission to save the world, it was pretty much standard fare now. Well, until the next crises cropped up. Since they had reformed the team, he was certain it was only a matter of time.
Bad guys always did like to come out in droves when there was someone to stop them.
He knew that was the only reason Laraby kept them around. If the bad guys were gone, they would be back with their parents so fast. Dylan snorted. Good luck with that.
Not that he had to worry about it. Even with all the crap he pulled, they would never send him away. He was the perfect age and his abilities were such that made him indespinsible. They didn't come out and say it, no, but he knew.
Why else would they lock him up here instead of sending him away?
Dylan looked down at the front of his jumpsuit. There were some specks of lint mixing with the yellow fabric. Slowly, because there was nothing else to distract himself with, he picked them off one a time. When he had finished, he almost regretted doing them all at once.
He could have milked pulling them off for a hour. Hell, he could always pick them up and put them back on his jumpsuit. Or, better yet, he could roll around the floor of the picking up lint and other items. That way he could have more than just the lint to pluck off.
God, he was so bored!
Dropping his head to his chest, Dylan sighed. The isolation cell was going to take it out of him this time. He wasn't really sure why he had let them take him. He had a choice, he could have run. Hell, he didn't even have to return to his cell/bedroom.
Yet, he had come back. Like that psychotic dog. Pavel Chekov, or something.
Whatever.
It didn't matter. Sliding his fingers out, he began to check the firmness of the floor. If he could find the right spot, he would lay down and try to get some sleep. May be if he tried that, he could make the hours go by.
The floor was pretty much solid, but it had some give. The wonder of the design. Still, it wasn't a mattress. Pushing his legs out to the side, he leaned over until he was laying down on the floor, his back to the wall.
Once he was laying down, he closed his eyes. It wasn't completely bad. He had been in the cell enough times to know how to get comfortable. The trick was getting his hips placed in the right position. He was just about there when the cell door opened.
The first thing he saw were a familiar pair of red boots.
Despite their ware, and having gone out of fashion thirty years before, their owner stuck to them religiously. Stopping just inside the cell, they faced Dylan.
With an inner groan, Dylan looked up to find the elder Shepard watching him. Rolling his eyes, he didn't bother to keep this one inside. This was all he needed, a lecture from the crazy one on the team.
Cocking his head at an angle, Connor let a few strands of hair fall over his face. His pale skin looked sweaty in the white light of the cell. In the quiet, he studied Dylan.
With a sigh, Dylan met his gaze. For the first time, he noticed the other teen had blue eyes. A darker shade than his own. Not that it mattered. Scowling at the older teen, he sat up. "What?"
Seeming to have come to a conclusion with his studies, Connor glanced about the cell. Finding a spot opposite Dylan, he walked over. He used the wall to edge himself down in to a sitting position. "How many times have you been stuck in here?"
"Too many times," as he answered, Dylan found his attention drawn to the other teen's attempts at getting comfortable. Catching himself watching Connor tug at the crotch of his snug jumpsuit, Dylan frowned and looked away.
Not like there was much to look at besides the other boy.
So, he found himself watching Connor again. This time, he kept his attention eyes strictly above the chest area. "How many times were you?"
"Twice." Connor shrugged, as if it were unimportant. "Both Jackie's fault."
"I get that. He's the type." Drawing his knees up to his chest, Dylan crossed his arms to rest over them. He wasn't going to get in to that. It was best to change the subject. "We were always taught you were the bad guy. It's kinda weird you being here."
"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for this either." The hardline of his jaw was the outward sign of Connor's feeling on this. Dropping his chin, more hair fell over his face. "General Laraby is going to do his best to make sure we never get out of here."
"Not a problem. Got no where else to be." His own words made Dylan scowl. This wasn't what he had intended to be saying to the guy. Then again, he never had really spoken to him. "None of us really do. That's why we're here."
"Summer has family." As he spoke, Connor glanced up to Dylan face. His expression was carefully guarded.
And for good reason, Dylan thought. Lowering his eyebrows, he scowled at the other teen. "Yeah, well, she can do whatever she pleases. If she wants to hang out with the rest of us losers, she can."
Looking away, Connor tried to smother a sigh. "We're not losers, just different." There was a better chance of him being believable if he met Dylan's eyes. Yet, he did not.
That was okay. Dylan didn't want to believe it either. After that, neither of them spoke for a while. So, he dropped his head to his knees. If he tried hard enough, he might be able to sleep in this position.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sleep never came for Dylan.
So, he sat there watching the other teen where he lay curled up against the far wall. His back was pressed to the webbing, eyes closed. An arm lay under his head, but the rest of him was tightly wound in a ball. He read once in one of those science magazines how one slept determined their personality.
Fetal position meant they were...something like clingy and emotionally traumatized. It explained why the teen was choosing to stay with him in the cell.
He could understand. The shit life he lived must have left some mental scars, probably physical ones too. If that were the case, they were definitely two peas in the same fucked up pod.
Cell.
Whatever.
The lights were put to dim, but he could still clearly make out the guard at his post. He was busy playing something on the computer.
Dylan hoped he was jerking off. A relaxed guard was always easier to deal with. Besides, someone deserved to be having sex, even if it was just with themselves. This place was too uptight.
Shaking the hair out of his face, he wondered what the hell he was really doing here. Sure, there would be a million things to do with his abilities, but was he that pathetic to believe this was the life he wanted? He couldn't even wander off to take a piss without their permission. And even then, it was probably bottled off for lab tests or something.
He rolled his eyes. This place was making him fucking paranoid. Climbing to his feet, he groaned as his knees popped. He was getting too old for this superhero bullshit.
A smirk on his face, he wondered if Jack had felt this way. The guy certain fit the image of washed up. Then again, he could kick Dylan's ass, but that was only because he was fast. He viciously thought Marsha was discovering that was true in all things.
That gave him a good snicker.
With a half dragging gate, he made his way to the door. It wasn't much of a barrier, but his abilities wouldn't work on it. Not like they would do him any good here anyways. Making a door invisible didn't remove it.
Didn't matter either way, his abilities wouldn't work on the material.
So, he stood there watching through the gaps. There was nothing better to do. Well, he could pester Connor awake, but he didn't feel like bouncing off the walls. Just because the guy wasn't radioactively insane any more, didn't mean he would be suddenly tame.
Groaning, he let his head bounce off the door. This was driving him up the wall. The waiting, nothing to do, it was pure hell! All he had done was walk out, he hadn't committed a criminal act! These bastards could have at least given him a fucking book!
"Cool." The whispered word echoed in the cell.
Spinning around, Dylan prepared to fight off the dark teen. Instead, he found Connor where he had left him, only now he was awake and watching him. Looking down, he saw what had been dubbed 'cool'. His entire body was rippling in and out of existence like waves on a pond.
So he was losing control. He was tired and pissed off. It wasn't like he could cause anybody harm like this. No matter what 'Marsha' said about losing control.
At least he didn't spit fucking rainbows!
There was a girly power. Did she even realize how much of a fucking dork she was? She wasn't the only one, they were all freaks, and not even the cool kind. Just a bunch of lame side kicks.
That's what they should call themselves, the Lame Ducks. It had a nice ring to it, and spoke what they were. Between emotional BS and suck ass powers, there wasn't much to be proud of.
Jack probably knew this. Had seen it from the start and had been sucked in to the loser faction by the fact he realized they were all alike.
Well, not any more. Jack had his powers back. His brother was back. They were close to finding a new team.
Of his team, there was only really Summer who could qualify for Zennith status. Mega-Boy hadn't worked out and Princess was just a whiny little brat.
So, between Wonder, Captain Zoom, and Concussion, they could pretty much form a new team. He and Marsha would be the sidekicks. Invisi-Teen and Blow-Job. Yeah, he could totally see that happening. Not good enough for first string, never good enough for anything!
Something touched his cheek, making him jerk away hard. Reaching up to cover the spot where he had been touched, Dylan knew he had to focus on the world around him. He took a breath to center himself. Then looked.
Connor. It had been Connor, his hand was still paused midair where he had been touching Dylan's cheek.
Not touching. Caressing. Holding.
Swallowing, Dylan frowned. What the hell had just happened? He knew he was freaking, but he had plenty of good reasons to. He had to get the hell out of the damned cell!
The world around him seemed to waver. It was a second before he realized the distortions were real. He was making things go invisible, but the material was resisting his efforts. Clenching his fists, Dylan felt his pulse racing through his veins.
Seeing Connor start to phase out of sight made his heart stop.
He was seriously losing it here! Dylan knew he had to calm down. There was no other option. Closing his eyes, his entire body trembled. He wanted to get out of there.
There was shouting. Someone was calling words, saying things he couldn't make out. Static filled his ears whiting out their voices. Pain raced up his spine, exploding through his skull, making him throw his head back and scream.
He knew something was happening, but couldn't bring himself to care. It hurt so badly. Dylan just wanted everything to stop so badly. Why wouldn't they let it stop?
The pain in his head increased. Then, something inside burst. Opening his eyes, he saw the world for what felt like the first time.
Dylan knew he was laying on his back, could feel the world beneath him. Above him, stars, so vast and so many, filled the entire sky. As far as he could see, they continued on forever.
There was no sound in the vastness of space. No need for breath, yet he still breathed. He knew there was something strange about all of this, but didn't really care to try and figure out why. There was nothing pressing, nothing to distract him.
He was free.
The world was gone and he was all that was left. Him and the stars. He exhaled, closing his eyes in peace. He was free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jesus Christ!"
"I warned you, General, you cannot keep continue to keep him locked up in those cells." Marsha's voice filled the void between Dylan's thoughts. She sounded concerned. "This was just a panic attack, I can only imagine how bad it would have been had he lost complete control."
"Lost complete control? I think he went there and beyond!" The General sounded extremely pissed off. "You had better learn your students better control, or else I might be forced to do it for you."
"Do not threaten me or my kids." Sounded like Marsha was getting right in the man's face.
This made Dylan snort.
"Besides, this is just as much your fault as it was his!" Her voice took on the shrill nails on a blackboard tone. "He wasn't going to leave, and you know it. We came back here, all of us, of our own free will."
"Yeah, well, don't remind me what a mistake letting you in was! I just might rectify the situation." There was a soft sound of material hitting flesh, then the General's heavy footsteps disappeared from within earshot.
Sighing, Marsha shook her head. Walking over to Dylan's beside, she placed her hand to his forehead.
It took a supreme effort, but he kept from reacting to her touch. Opening his eyes meant answering questions. And unless he knew them already, he wasn't willing to speak yet.
Whether she noticed or not, Marsha didn't push it. Brushing the hair off his face, she tried to smile. When that failed, she shook her head again and walked away.
Laying there, Dylan heard her heels clack away. Even as she walked down the hall, their familiar sticatto echoed back to him. He was curious as to how he got wherever he was, but still tired enough not to give in to that notion. So, instead, he lay there for a while.
In the quiet of wherever, he felt comfortable. There was none of the usual craziness associated with the base. He could finally relax and enjoy time with his own thoughts.
And that was where the problem lay.
He had no idea what to think.
Sure, there were the plenty of memories he had gathered. He could review statistics for a while, but that wasn't any fun. Dylan knew he was more of a go and do something kinda guy. Really out there, working the angles.
If he could roll his eyes mentally, he would have done it. So laying there with nothing to do was boring. Yet, it beat hanging around the rest of their lame ass team. Who in their right mind got psyched about making a few jokes about a bad guy?
They hadn't even done anything, yet, suddenly, they were superheroes.
It was all just a big joke. They weren't heroes. They weren't even really a team. Yeah, the group had powers, but that didn't make them anything except freaks. Whoopty do, go team side show!
A tap on his shoulder dragged him from his thoughts.
"You can stop pretending, now. They're gone." It was Connor. He wasn't whispering, but his voice wouldn't have traveled far either. That was just so typical of the guy, like he didn't want to be noticed on purpose. "I know you are faking. Unlike the General and Skittle Breath, I'm not a complete moron."
Dylan considered ignoring the guy, but a quick poke in the arm roused him. Opening his eyes, he glared at the other teen. The lights were dim enough that he barely flinched. "What?"
Staring down at Dylan, Connor had a mischievous smile playing at his lips. The hair over his face added to the effect. "That was pretty impressive last night."
"What are you talking about?" Frowning, Dylan tried to remember what had been cool about last night. The last thing he could recall was the cell, he had started to lose control. Then, stars. Shaking his head, he reached up to rub at his temple. "I don't remember. What happened?"
That made Connor snort. "Oh, nothing. Just the entire base and half the mountain went invisible." The smiled blossomed complete with a wink. "You should have heard the screaming. People were going out of their minds, bouncing off the walls. It was pretty funny."
"I bet." No wonder the General had been about to blow a gaskett. It looked like he and the cells would be getting reaquainted real soon. "Great."
"Oh, don't worry, you're not going back there." With a tilt of his head, Connor grabbed Dylan by the shoulder. He tugged the younger teen up in to a sitting position. "After an expenditure like that, you'll be burned out for a few days. If I were you, I'd not try to use my abilities for a week or so."
As he was released and his own muscles kicking in to keep him sitting, Dylan nodded his understanding. His entire nervous system felt like he had been sticking his finger in a light socket again. He hadn't done that since he was three.
Letting his head hang, Dylan's hair fell over his face. "Thanks for the advice." The way he was feeling, he never wanted to use them again. It would serve him well if they were gone forever.
Patting him on the shoulder, Connor nodded. "No problem."
"Is this a private party?" Coming around the other side of the bed, Summer pushed her hair behind her ear. She faced Dylan, but her eyes kept darting over to Connor.
This happened enough times that Dylan caught on. Face shutting down, he straightened up.
Connor also noticed her actions and Dylan's reaction. Clearing his throat, he held his head higher and stared at her directly. "Actually, Dylan and I were talking."
Taken aback, Summer paused. Glancing over to Dylan, she gave them a hesitent smile. "You all right?"
"Yeah." Dylan nodded. For the first time, he wasn't sure why, he really didn't want to see her. "It's nothing."
"Nothing? You had us all invisible." Her voice rose slightly. Only their location and company kept it down. "That's not nothing, Dylan!"
"I think he realizes that." Using his soft voice again, Connor tried to draw her ire.
For some reason, that annoyed Dylan more than being yelled at. Facing the older teen, he started to scowl. The slightly widened eyes and thinned lips made him rethink.
"Do you even realize what this means?" Summer's voice drew their attention again. Exasperated, she sighed. "We are trying to prove ourselves, we can't keep pulling stupid stunts like this."
Dylan knew that by we, she meant him. He agreed, he couldn't pull stupid stunts. Only this wasn't a stunt. "I didn't know what I was doing."
"Obviously." With a roll of her eyes, she crossed her arms. "Dylan, you're not a kid. Tucker and Cindy know better than you do, and they are still kids!"
"All right!" Taking a step towards her, Connor raised his hand to block her from getting any nearer to Dylan. "He's got it. Now just chill and walk it off."
"Walk it off?" There came a snort from Summer. "This isn't something..."
"Shut up!" Pushing himself off the bed, Dylan had to use the arm rail to steady himself. He barely managed to keep his feet under him. "God. You're just like them! Always whining or ranting about something. No wonder we always fight."
That silenced her. Staring at Dylan, Summer looked incredulous. For almost a full minute, she did little else. Then, with a blink, she shook her head. "Grow up, Dylan, before you really hurt someone."
"Yeah, well, you first." With that, he snatched up the pillow off the bed and swung it at her head.
Only her quick reflexes stopped the pillow from hitting her in the face. With a glare, she sent it flying back towards him, harder and faster. Uncrossing her arms, she didn't bother to wait to see if it hit before storming out of the infirmary.
Laughing as Dylan took the pillow to the face, Connor had to move quick to catch him before he fell. His arms locked under the taller teen's shoulders. He jerked forward under his weight, but managed to remain upright.
Shaking the stuffing from his face and spitting it from his mouth, Dylan growled. What the hell was her problem? He would never figure her out. Once he was able to see again, Dylan noticed how close he and Connor were.
The heat of the other teen's body against his made something in his stomach twitter. Suddenly light headed, he closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to Connor's shoulder. "Help me back in to bed, please."
"All right." Carefully moving, he swung his own legs out first, then Dylan's. Connor overbalanced and dropped them both on the bed, himself on top.
Snickering, Dylan had enough strength to grab the rails of the bed. He tugged himself back in to position and laid his head on the second pillow.
As he stood up, Connor brushed off the front of his uniform. He tried to discreetly tug the front of his pants to make them more comfortable.
Despite the other teen's efforts, Dylan noticed. When Connor looked back up at him, he swallowed.
Cheeks coloring, Connor jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Look, I gotta..."
"Stay." Before he knew it, Dylan had reached out and taken Connor's hand. He didn't want to let this go. "Please. Just until I fall asleep again. Which shouldn't be too long, since I'm really tired."
This made Connor snort. The mischievous smile returned as he nodded. "All right." He leaned forward to push on Dylan's legs. "Move over so I can sit then."
"Fine." There were a couple chairs, but Dylan wasn't going to complain.
Standing outside the room, his arms crossed, Jack scowled.