Booster Gold #20.5 - Ride the Wave

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Author: ScarecrowSid

Book: Booster Gold

Arc: ★Society

Set: 23

★

    The Perforated Man stared at the walls of his cell. Or, rather, his tomb.

    That is what it was, after all. The tomb of some long dead Atlantean king, or something like that. It didn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. It was a cage, and it was doing its job.

    It was nice to have some peace and quiet between trips. Whatever magic built this place, it seemed to work as a sort of tethering point, and every unexpected trip brought him back here. He was barrelling through time, almost daily, and landing back in this cell.

    The Perforated Man had loved time travel, back when was Booster Gold, but this just felt wrong. Without his suit, he wasn’t a captain or passenger, he was debris at the mercy of the tide. He didn’t ride the wave so much as it rode him, right into the ground.

    If Rip Hunter knew and planned for this to happen, then that boy had learned more from the Perforated Man than he previously thought. That was good, someone needed to keep time from tearing itself apart. Booster Gold, the true Booster Gold, was set for the next few years, and there was nothing to worry about. He could ride the wave, and let time slip by.

    It didn’t matter anyway, he was dying.

★ ★

    The Perforated Man woke in a storm, one littered with iron and stone. He was on Earth, he knew that because he never left it, but this was a different place and time. The shards within the storm cut at him, scoring deep gashes along his arms and back, clattering to the ground for scant seconds before the storm drew them back to purpose.

    He suffered in silence, content to live through his penance. He wouldn’t be here long, the luminescent orange mist was already bubbling from the exposed cuts. A few seconds more, and then he would vanish into the ether.

    A flash of red light appeared, scanning the space around him. The Perforated Man chanced a glance into the storm, seeking the light’s source. Some stood there, something large enough that the pings of iron and ore bouncing off its frame created a vast space in the storm. This shelter was shaped like a man, only twice as tall. At the center of what must have been its face, there sat a single, red eye.

    What was-

    And then, he was gone.

★ ★ ★

    Ted Kord wasn’t dying, but there was a good chance he would at this rate. Twice in the last ten minutes, he had spat out teeth and dark blood. He was bleeding internally, at the very least, and there was a good chance he had broken the majority of his ribs.

    Moving hurt, hell, breathing hurt. He glanced around, seeking out Michael.

    “Oh, shit,” Ted muttered, grasping his side as he rolled over. Booster Gold lay in a pool of his own blood, tainting the snow around him. “Michael, wake up.”

    Booster Gold did not reply.

    Ted pushed himself up, reaching near delirium as he fought through the pain. It was too cold. It was too dark. And he was too hurt.

    But as bad as things were for him, his friend was dying.

    It took moments that felt like hours to crawl over to Booster Gold, each one agony. Ted reached him, exhausted, and slapped one hand down on the man’s back. Booster did not move or give an indication of noticing the strike. Ted struck again, then winced as the cold bit through his suit. There must have been a tear in it, somewhere.

    “Dammit,” Ted muttered. He was definitely going to die. “Goddamn snow…”

    “Sir!” The chirp came from nearby, and Skeets hovered into Ted’s view a short second later. “You’re awake. I was worried!”

    “Skeets… Michael is…”

    “His vital signs are bad, but present, Mr. Kord. I have searched for help, but there is nothing in sight. We appear to be in… frozen place.”

    “You don’t say,” Ted muttered. “Any idea what year it is.”

    A new voice boomed overhead, “What year is it supposed to be?”

    Ted turned, spotting the second figure hovering beside them. He wore black from the neck down, and there were streaks of silver in jet black hair. Ted didn’t need to see the symbol across his chest to recognize the man. A single letter S, resting at the heart of a diamond, all in silver.

    Ted blinked, then snorted. “Oh, thank god. It’s Superman.”

★ ★ ★ ★