Post by DocQuantum on Jun 16, 2017 20:37:47 GMT
Chapter 1: Safe Haven
Gotham City had become a dangerous place for Stretch O'Brien. His old stomping grounds were now being watched not only by the police, as per usual, but also by hit men working for the Gorilla Mob. That wasn't anything new, since Ape-Face had been after him for a while, but now Stretch feared that he was now being targeted by the Joker's number one guy as well.
It had all gone down like this. Stretch and his old pal Mitch Crandall had managed to steal a cache of stolen diamonds right out from under the nose of Franko Morelli. They had taken the precaution of adopting disguises for the job, but Franko had guessed who they were pretty quickly. There were only so many teenage super-crooks in Gotham City, let alone the world, who could stretch their bodies or run at super-speed. (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See Batman Family: The Wedding March, Chapter 7: The Diamond Heist.]
Although Stretch had already begun making an earnest effort to get out of crime and start over, even using his connections to take some college courses, the big diamond heist had been a setback in some ways. Yes, he and Maggie had a bit of cash in their pockets that would last them for a while, but he couldn't stay in the city any longer. He wanted to keep studying for some kind of legitimate career, even though he didn't know what that would be yet. Until the heat died down, it would be difficult to continue his education or settle down anywhere.
Out of desperation, Stretch had accepted an offer to reunite with his old allies in the Junior Injustice Society, and he and Maggie even managed to stay at one of Savant's places in Keystone City for a while, but they didn't want to overstay their welcome. (*) He'd already made it perfectly clear that he wasn't interested in the whole costumed super-villain thing any longer, despite his brief return to crime. Now that Maggie was in the family way, things were different. Instead of succumbing to peer pressure, Stretch and Maggie just disappeared one day, leaving a note behind for his former partners in crime.
[(*) Editor's note: See The Brave and the Bold: Whiz Kid and Savant: The City of Truth, Chapter 4: The History of Candor and The Brave and the Bold: Whiz Kid and Savant: The City of Truth, Chapter 5: The Adventures of Nightbird and Flamewing.]
The O'Briens headed back east again, this time completely avoiding all of the big East Coast cities and going through back roads. Travel abroad was difficult, since the airports were being watched, and the O'Briens didn't really want to leave the country just yet, anyway.
Stretch had reached out to his father, Marty O'Brien, who had tried to pull a few strings for his son, but there was only so much even the second Plasticman could do to keep his son and daughter-in-law safe. Marty had mentioned that a certain government program might be right up his alley, but Stretch had already heard nasty rumors from Mitch about Commander Steel and his Suicide Squad, and he had no desire to be Steel's next casualty. Stretch had already vetoed the witness protection program as well, since that would've meant turning state's evidence on his friends and foes alike, and Stretch was no rat.
That only left them one last option. Marty told his son about a certain mountain retreat that had served as a haven of sorts, not only for him, but also for the original Plastic Man. A stay at Rest-Haven had become somewhat of a family tradition for the O'Briens.
"This it?" asked Maggie O'Brien, looking around as she carried a duffel bag. All she could see was a dusty path leading up the mountain.
"Naw, babe," said Stretch, lugging two large suitcases. "We're gonna have to walk a ways to get there. You gonna be OK?"
"Yeah, yeah," said Maggie. "I might be knocked up an' all, but I'm barely showing." She patted her small baby bump.
"Just let me know if you need to stop, and we'll stop," said Stretch, but although she waved him off and kept walking, he looked at her with concern. They'd already had to stop at two gas stations on the way here so Maggie could use the facilities, and she hadn't been able to keep anything down today.
Maggie was nearing the end of her first trimester, and her pregnancy had been difficult for her. She had morning sickness all the time, whether it was morning, afternoon, or night. She always felt exhausted, and slept every moment she could. Only a few months ago Stretch and Maggie liked to stay up together and watch the late show on Elvira's House of Mystery, but now Maggie could barely stay awake past eight o'clock. She liked to say, in a joking way, that they'd better hope she had their babies all in one go as twins or triplets, because there was no way in hell that she was going to put her body through this again.
After nearly half an hour of walking up the mountain trail, the spire roofs of Rest-Haven finally came into view.
"Wow!" Maggie said, managing to muster up some enthusiasm despite her discomfort. "It's like something out of a storybook, isn't it, babycakes?"
"Yeah," said Stretch. "My dad said this place is pretty special -- like no other place on earth. Though I ain't sure what he meant by that."
"Well, I just hope it's special enough for us to stay a while," she replied as they approached the large, wooden front door. "I don't look forward to making the trek back down the mountain when all I can do is waddle."
"Don't worry, honey," he said. "It's all arranged. We can stay here until the baby's born."
Just as Stretch reached out his arm to knock on the old oak door, it opened inwardly before he could make contact.
"Welcome to Rest-Haven, my son."
Stretch frowned and looked around, elongating his neck to peer inside. Although they'd heard a voice, they couldn't see anyone. "Uh... hello?"
"Oh! I'm sorry," the man replied. "I forgot to let myself be seen."
At that, a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a brown monk's robe stepped out of the doorway. Maggie gasped, because it looked like he had appeared from nowhere, but she figured he must've just stepped into view.
"My name is Brother Willis," said the man, peering at the young couple over his spectacles. He looked like a stereotypical monk with a ring of hair around his bald head, sort of like Friar Tuck or a German beer mascot. He seemed to be around fifty years of age, but Stretch knew that must be impossible.
After Stretch and Maggie made their introductions, Stretch asked the monk, "You aren't the same Brother Willis that my dad knew back in the '60s, or that my grandpa knew back in the '40s, are you?"
Brother Willis merely smiled knowingly and turned into the old stone building, motioning for them to follow him. "Come, come. We've got rooms for you already set up."
Stretch glanced at Maggie and shrugged, then followed him to their rooms, which included a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom, and a small living room with a few shelves full of books. As they were led through the castle-like structure, they could've sworn they heard strange but familiar sounds, as if there was some kind of fighting going on nearby. Rest-Haven wasn't exactly what he expected it to be.
***
As soon as Stretch and Maggie O'Brien had settled into their bedroom at Rest-Haven, Maggie fell fast asleep. She'd just planned to sit down and rest for a moment with her eyes closed, but that had turned into another early night. After Brother Willis presented him with their meal, Stretch had managed to wake her just long enough for her to take a few bites of food before she fell back asleep, but at least she wouldn't be starving by morning.
Since there was nothing else to do that evening, Stretch decided to look around the place. This mountain retreat was certainly something special, all right, but he wasn't quite sure why. For a monastery of this size, it was fairly empty. At least, he had only seen Brother Willis so far, but there were the sounds of fighting he'd heard earlier on. It was quiet now, though.
As he thought about it, for some reason it reminded him of all those martial arts movies he loved that featured Shaolin monks with amazing fighting abilities. But this was a Christian monastery, so it wasn't quite the same thing. Still, the sounds he'd heard were unmistakable. They sounded exactly like the battles you'd hear in Gotham City or Metropolis, or even Los Angeles, whenever one of those super-teams was battling super-crooks.
Wandering around a bit in the empty hallways, Stretch found a small room that seemed to be another guest quarters. It was empty as well, so he went inside and looked around. There was a bed inside that seemed like it hadn't been slept in for years, with a window that overlooked the mountainous countryside.
As Stretch opened the shutters and looked outside at the starry night sky, he began to hear strange sounds, like muffled voices. Turning away from the window, he sneaked over to the door and looked out into the darkened hallway, but there was no one there that he could see.
"Uh... anyone there?" he called, but no one replied. "Huh. Guess it was just my imagination," he said, and turned back into the room, but stretched out one ear to hear anything. Sure enough, a few moments later, there was the sound of heavy footsteps clumping along the stone hallway, as if a large figure was passing through. That was followed by the creaking of another door far away, and the same door being closed shut. "Must be a few other guests around here. Gotta ask Brother Willis about that tomorrow. He--"
Stretch was startled suddenly by a glowing coming from within the room, and his heart sank back in terror as what seemed like a ghost was sitting on the bed, wearing pyjamas. And as the ghost stretched his arms out, they extended across the room, startling him. The ghost then pulled at his cheeks and stretched them out as well, seeming to be just as startled at what was happening to him. The whole scene was horrifying at first, but Stretch couldn't help but notice that the ghost had a certain resemblance.
"D-D-Dad?!" Stretch gasped, and just as he spoke, the apparition vanished. The room was darkened once again, lit only by the light of the full moon above streaming through the open window.
"What the hell kinda place is this, anyway?!" muttered Stretch.
Gotham City had become a dangerous place for Stretch O'Brien. His old stomping grounds were now being watched not only by the police, as per usual, but also by hit men working for the Gorilla Mob. That wasn't anything new, since Ape-Face had been after him for a while, but now Stretch feared that he was now being targeted by the Joker's number one guy as well.
It had all gone down like this. Stretch and his old pal Mitch Crandall had managed to steal a cache of stolen diamonds right out from under the nose of Franko Morelli. They had taken the precaution of adopting disguises for the job, but Franko had guessed who they were pretty quickly. There were only so many teenage super-crooks in Gotham City, let alone the world, who could stretch their bodies or run at super-speed. (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See Batman Family: The Wedding March, Chapter 7: The Diamond Heist.]
Although Stretch had already begun making an earnest effort to get out of crime and start over, even using his connections to take some college courses, the big diamond heist had been a setback in some ways. Yes, he and Maggie had a bit of cash in their pockets that would last them for a while, but he couldn't stay in the city any longer. He wanted to keep studying for some kind of legitimate career, even though he didn't know what that would be yet. Until the heat died down, it would be difficult to continue his education or settle down anywhere.
Out of desperation, Stretch had accepted an offer to reunite with his old allies in the Junior Injustice Society, and he and Maggie even managed to stay at one of Savant's places in Keystone City for a while, but they didn't want to overstay their welcome. (*) He'd already made it perfectly clear that he wasn't interested in the whole costumed super-villain thing any longer, despite his brief return to crime. Now that Maggie was in the family way, things were different. Instead of succumbing to peer pressure, Stretch and Maggie just disappeared one day, leaving a note behind for his former partners in crime.
[(*) Editor's note: See The Brave and the Bold: Whiz Kid and Savant: The City of Truth, Chapter 4: The History of Candor and The Brave and the Bold: Whiz Kid and Savant: The City of Truth, Chapter 5: The Adventures of Nightbird and Flamewing.]
The O'Briens headed back east again, this time completely avoiding all of the big East Coast cities and going through back roads. Travel abroad was difficult, since the airports were being watched, and the O'Briens didn't really want to leave the country just yet, anyway.
Stretch had reached out to his father, Marty O'Brien, who had tried to pull a few strings for his son, but there was only so much even the second Plasticman could do to keep his son and daughter-in-law safe. Marty had mentioned that a certain government program might be right up his alley, but Stretch had already heard nasty rumors from Mitch about Commander Steel and his Suicide Squad, and he had no desire to be Steel's next casualty. Stretch had already vetoed the witness protection program as well, since that would've meant turning state's evidence on his friends and foes alike, and Stretch was no rat.
That only left them one last option. Marty told his son about a certain mountain retreat that had served as a haven of sorts, not only for him, but also for the original Plastic Man. A stay at Rest-Haven had become somewhat of a family tradition for the O'Briens.
"This it?" asked Maggie O'Brien, looking around as she carried a duffel bag. All she could see was a dusty path leading up the mountain.
"Naw, babe," said Stretch, lugging two large suitcases. "We're gonna have to walk a ways to get there. You gonna be OK?"
"Yeah, yeah," said Maggie. "I might be knocked up an' all, but I'm barely showing." She patted her small baby bump.
"Just let me know if you need to stop, and we'll stop," said Stretch, but although she waved him off and kept walking, he looked at her with concern. They'd already had to stop at two gas stations on the way here so Maggie could use the facilities, and she hadn't been able to keep anything down today.
Maggie was nearing the end of her first trimester, and her pregnancy had been difficult for her. She had morning sickness all the time, whether it was morning, afternoon, or night. She always felt exhausted, and slept every moment she could. Only a few months ago Stretch and Maggie liked to stay up together and watch the late show on Elvira's House of Mystery, but now Maggie could barely stay awake past eight o'clock. She liked to say, in a joking way, that they'd better hope she had their babies all in one go as twins or triplets, because there was no way in hell that she was going to put her body through this again.
After nearly half an hour of walking up the mountain trail, the spire roofs of Rest-Haven finally came into view.
"Wow!" Maggie said, managing to muster up some enthusiasm despite her discomfort. "It's like something out of a storybook, isn't it, babycakes?"
"Yeah," said Stretch. "My dad said this place is pretty special -- like no other place on earth. Though I ain't sure what he meant by that."
"Well, I just hope it's special enough for us to stay a while," she replied as they approached the large, wooden front door. "I don't look forward to making the trek back down the mountain when all I can do is waddle."
"Don't worry, honey," he said. "It's all arranged. We can stay here until the baby's born."
Just as Stretch reached out his arm to knock on the old oak door, it opened inwardly before he could make contact.
"Welcome to Rest-Haven, my son."
Stretch frowned and looked around, elongating his neck to peer inside. Although they'd heard a voice, they couldn't see anyone. "Uh... hello?"
"Oh! I'm sorry," the man replied. "I forgot to let myself be seen."
At that, a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a brown monk's robe stepped out of the doorway. Maggie gasped, because it looked like he had appeared from nowhere, but she figured he must've just stepped into view.
"My name is Brother Willis," said the man, peering at the young couple over his spectacles. He looked like a stereotypical monk with a ring of hair around his bald head, sort of like Friar Tuck or a German beer mascot. He seemed to be around fifty years of age, but Stretch knew that must be impossible.
After Stretch and Maggie made their introductions, Stretch asked the monk, "You aren't the same Brother Willis that my dad knew back in the '60s, or that my grandpa knew back in the '40s, are you?"
Brother Willis merely smiled knowingly and turned into the old stone building, motioning for them to follow him. "Come, come. We've got rooms for you already set up."
Stretch glanced at Maggie and shrugged, then followed him to their rooms, which included a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom, and a small living room with a few shelves full of books. As they were led through the castle-like structure, they could've sworn they heard strange but familiar sounds, as if there was some kind of fighting going on nearby. Rest-Haven wasn't exactly what he expected it to be.
***
As soon as Stretch and Maggie O'Brien had settled into their bedroom at Rest-Haven, Maggie fell fast asleep. She'd just planned to sit down and rest for a moment with her eyes closed, but that had turned into another early night. After Brother Willis presented him with their meal, Stretch had managed to wake her just long enough for her to take a few bites of food before she fell back asleep, but at least she wouldn't be starving by morning.
Since there was nothing else to do that evening, Stretch decided to look around the place. This mountain retreat was certainly something special, all right, but he wasn't quite sure why. For a monastery of this size, it was fairly empty. At least, he had only seen Brother Willis so far, but there were the sounds of fighting he'd heard earlier on. It was quiet now, though.
As he thought about it, for some reason it reminded him of all those martial arts movies he loved that featured Shaolin monks with amazing fighting abilities. But this was a Christian monastery, so it wasn't quite the same thing. Still, the sounds he'd heard were unmistakable. They sounded exactly like the battles you'd hear in Gotham City or Metropolis, or even Los Angeles, whenever one of those super-teams was battling super-crooks.
Wandering around a bit in the empty hallways, Stretch found a small room that seemed to be another guest quarters. It was empty as well, so he went inside and looked around. There was a bed inside that seemed like it hadn't been slept in for years, with a window that overlooked the mountainous countryside.
As Stretch opened the shutters and looked outside at the starry night sky, he began to hear strange sounds, like muffled voices. Turning away from the window, he sneaked over to the door and looked out into the darkened hallway, but there was no one there that he could see.
"Uh... anyone there?" he called, but no one replied. "Huh. Guess it was just my imagination," he said, and turned back into the room, but stretched out one ear to hear anything. Sure enough, a few moments later, there was the sound of heavy footsteps clumping along the stone hallway, as if a large figure was passing through. That was followed by the creaking of another door far away, and the same door being closed shut. "Must be a few other guests around here. Gotta ask Brother Willis about that tomorrow. He--"
Stretch was startled suddenly by a glowing coming from within the room, and his heart sank back in terror as what seemed like a ghost was sitting on the bed, wearing pyjamas. And as the ghost stretched his arms out, they extended across the room, startling him. The ghost then pulled at his cheeks and stretched them out as well, seeming to be just as startled at what was happening to him. The whole scene was horrifying at first, but Stretch couldn't help but notice that the ghost had a certain resemblance.
"D-D-Dad?!" Stretch gasped, and just as he spoke, the apparition vanished. The room was darkened once again, lit only by the light of the full moon above streaming through the open window.
"What the hell kinda place is this, anyway?!" muttered Stretch.