Title: Telling Tales

Author: Estel Baggins

Rating: R (for safety's sake)

Pairing: Richie/Brainiac, Virgil/Richie

Summary: This is the behind-the-scenes action for the episode where Static Shock, Gear and the Justice League team up to battle Brainiac. You needn't have seen the episode, though, or know anything about Static Shock to enjoy this.

Warnings: rape, mild swearing, abuse

Author's Note: The title is a tip of the hat to a chapter in a Stephen King novel. Ten Brownie points to anyone who can name the book.

Table of Contents

This is for your convenience so you aren't thrown by the changes of character and perspective. If you wish to be surprised, please ignore this little thing. Its use is inspired by the format of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Also, the table of contents isn't quite done, since the story isn't finished, so you'll see more and more of the table of contents each time you pick up a new chapter..

Book I

From the Diary of Virgil Hawkins (1)Pg. 1

With Brainiac: Forward: The Story Behind the StoryPg. 2

Chapter OnePg. 4

From the Diary of Virgil Hawkins (2)Pg. 7

Chapter TwoPg. 10

From the Diary of Virgil Hawkins (3)Pg. 16

Telling Tales

Book I

From the diary of Virgil Hawkins/Static Shock

Dear Diary,May 29th, 2003

It really isn't like me to keep a journal, but I got the idea from watching Batman work. He writes down a little about each enemy he faces so he knows how to deal with them the next time, if there is a next time. I don't think there will be in Brainiac's case. He was totaled. But here are the basics on him, anyway:

Name: Brainiac

Species: super-computer monster-thing… Nice and technical. Too bad I can't ask Richie what he thinks Brainiac was. He'd have the perfect techno-term.

Place of origin (he had no birthplace): unknown, but he showed up on Krypton, where Superman was born. Brainiac digitized all the information on Krypton, then destroyed it. He wanted to do the same to Earth, but we shut him down cold.

Purpose: Um… see Place of origin. I'll get used to organizing my thoughts eventually.

Strengths: He can control a lot of electrical systems by getting into them. He can also control people with thought-control disks that he sticks on their bodies. I won't worry about other forms of mind-control. His way of taking over Richie's mind was a special case. Most people don't have a full-blown mental connection to their robots. And, to be fair to Richie, he is only connected that way to Backpack.

Weaknesses: overconfidence is the big one here… and he's still just a computer. He can be overloaded, and he can be surprised. He doesn't think anyone is stronger than he is. Richie proved him wrong. I proved him wrong. The Justice League proved him wrong. You'd think he would have figured out that he isn't invincible after the two or three times Superman blasted him. Are my thoughts wandering? Well, they say my generation has a problem with short attention span…

I'd better never let Batman see this little log. He'd die laughing… if he could ever manage to crack a smile.

Is there anything else I need to say about Backpack… er, I mean, Brainiac? Why did I write the name of Richie's robot? Simple; that robot not only saved our lives, but almost cost Earth its existence. Also… Backpack is Richie's invention, and I can't get Richie out of my mind. He was so green around the glasses when I left him. I want him to be all right, but he's never been so jumpy or so lost-looking. Maybe I should ask Sharon to talk to him. After all, even if she is my big sister, Sharon's supposed to be a pretty good counselor.

OK, that's an end to my rambling. I'm going to go blow off a little energy. I can't sit still any longer.

With Brainiac

by: Richie Foley

Forward: The Story Behind the Story

Batman told me I would heal faster if I wrote about everything that happened between Brainiac and me, and between V and me. I don't know how Batman, the resident recluse and hermit of the Justice League, can give advice about healing and coping, but I'll try anything. I'm sick of the nightmares. And I can't pursue anything with V unless I'm whole myself. That's something Batman said, but I knew it before then. After all, I'm sixteen, and supposedly a super genius. I do know a few things.

I'll talk about V first, because he was first. His name is Virgil Hawkins, but I call him V or Virg most of the time. Two years ago (we had just entered the ninth grade) there was an explosion down by the Dakota City docks that released a huge bunch of purple gas. V was down by the docks because this guy, Wade, was trying to get him to join his gang. V's mom was killed by gang gunfire (she was a paramedic trying to help people), so V hates guns and gangs, but he was scared and so he showed up at the docks that night. Turns out it was a good thing he did. The gas gave superpowers to many of those that had been caught in it. The powers weren't good for everyone, but they were for many. V came away with power over electricity, and decided to call himself Static Shock, or just Static for short. We found him a costume (made from clothes in my closet so his dad and sister wouldn't suspect anything) and he's dedicated to fighting all the thugs who also gained superpowers during the Big Bang. (That's what the media termed the explosion, and all the meta-humans or mutants that resulted from it are called Bang Babies.)

Looks like it's my turn. My name is Richard Osgood Foley, but call me Richie. Virg and I were best friends before the Big Bang (raising some eyebrows probably because he's black and I'm white, but who cares?) and I became his tech support and sidekick afterwards. I've invented the Shock Voxes, which are a fancy name for the walkie-talkies we use to communicate while he's flying around as Static. As for sidekick, I help him with research on Bang Babies- their hideouts and connections to other metahumans- and turn detective occassionally.

Then, about four months before the incident with Brainiac (I'll get to that- fair warning) V and I discovered that I was turning into a Bang Baby because of my exposure to him right after the Big Bang. Unlike most of the other Bang Babies, though, you can't see my superpower. I was turned from a B and C student to an A-plus student, and beyond. It's now almost impossible to stay focused in class because it's so boring. Anyway, V and I went through the same process as we had when V became Static, except I fashioned my own costume alone because I had to rescue V from this Bang Baby named Ebon who thought my friend was Static. After we escaped (and Ebon was convinced that V wasn't Static) we decided to call me Gear when I'm in costume because of the all the gear (my inventions) that I carry to fight the bad guys. So now we fight as a team (even though I'm still tech support, and even more now than before).

Okay, our back story's out of the way. I would love to tell you all of our adventures before we met Brainiac, if only for the simple fact that I could put off telling about the mad supercomputer a little longer. But I've learned not to put things off, so here goes. I'll be telling this in the third person. Maybe then it won't be so confusing. And, I can't help hoping, maybe it won't hurt so much. Thoughts that Brainiac can read are shown by 'this' and thoughts that Brainiac can't read are shown by italics.

Chapter One

I'll gloss over all the unimportant stuff. It's easier than trying to explain every blow, near-escape and struggle. Here's the long and the short of it:

The Justice League all live on a space station out in space. While they were all floating around up there (I guess there weren't any galaxies that needed to be saved) their space station was hit by a space anomaly. The anomaly hit the station and drained all of its power. It even killed the thrusters that kept the station in orbit around Earth. The whole thing was going to crash on Earth. Batman and V have worked together before, and so Batman suggested V could regenerate the station with his electrical powers. The Justice League set out for Earth.

On Arrow Street in Dakota- that street's near to the waterfront, but a block of buildings separated the two superheroes from that escape route- Static and Gear faced off against Puff and what she called her "Boys". Puff can breathe knock-out gas, an acidic cloud, or even a paralyzing mist. She wasn't attacking, though; she was letting her boys do the work. There was Carmen Dillo, who looks like an armadillo, and is almost as smart as one. Neither Static or Gear was worried about him, except to make sure that he didn't take them by surprise. For all his lack of brains, he had a surprising heft of muscle. Onyx, who had been Puff's sidekick from the beginning, stood nearest to her. Like Carmen, he was amazingly strong, but he had a few more brains to make his strength more dangerous. Last of the boys was Hotstreak. His whole body acts like a torch. He and Puff were the two most dangerous of the four.

Hotstreak's eyes were glittering with malicious laughter, and he tossed a ball of flames from one hand to the other. "Face it, Super-Zeroes, you can barely beat any one of us alone. What are you going to do now?"

Gear hated to admit that the flame-jerk was right. He squared his shoulders. "Bro, who do we go after first?"

Static shook his head. "The police!"

Gear wasn't sure if his friend was joking, but before eh could decide, Puff blew her little cloud of acidic gas at them…

The gas was intercepted by Flash, the member of the Justice League who can move fast as lightning.

In short order, the rest of the Justice league showed up and beat Puff and her gang soundly.

"Yo!" Gear whispered to Static. "I didn't know you were down with these big dogs!"

Static answered, watching Puff and her boys run away, "That's because it was a secret. So secret I didn't know about it."

Batman walked up to the two teens and said, "Static, we need your help."

Hi again. This is Richie. Sorry. I promised I would keep this short, didn't I? Here, let me try again:

On the space station, Static recharged the power cells. The station and Earth were saved. Just as the Justice League were about to send Static and Gear (Gear had begged to come, and promised he would stand in a corner if only they would let him come) all the adult superheroes were called away to save a galaxy, leaving the teens alone on the space station.

Being typical teenage boys, Static and Gear wasted no time: they raided the fridge, finding and devouring all the pizza.

That was when they discovered that Brainiac had invaded the station, and was determined to kill them so he/it could digitize all the information on Earth, then destroy it.

After a dozen or so attempts to kill the two superheroes, Brainiac was finally destroyed (or so everybody thought) when two things happened. First, Static absorbed all the energy he'd put into the space station. Second, Gear uploaded a song into Vrainiac's hard drive a hundred thousand times to make Brainiac crash. Gear used his invention, Backpack, to do this. Backpack was a compact computer that was settled on Gear's back and was connected directly to his brain. (More of that Bang Baby intelligence.)

So… Adventure ended. Brainiac gone. The young superheroes were commended for their showing, and for their quick thinking. The Justice League leaves, and Static and Gear return to their hideout, an abandoned gas station. (There were no deserted tree houses to be found.)

This is Richie again. Virg calls our hideout the "Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude", after Superman's Forest of Solitude. Just in case you find it as amusing as I do. I could tell you how we settled upon that name if you'd like… Wait. I'm stalling again, aren't I? Shit, this is going to be harder than I thought. I hope Batman's right about this. If writing all this down doesn't help with the nightmares, I'm going to get desperate. Not that I'd do anything stupid like run away (I learned that doesn't solve anything when I was fourteen) or kill myself (I couldn't do that to V) but I might just crawl into bed and try to shut everything out.

All right, Richie, deep breath. In… out…. That's a little better. Now, stop your hands from shaking, and just keep going. The sooner you tell it, the sooner you'll know if Batman's idea works or not.

In the gas station, Richie (he was out of his costume now) was typing a set of instructions into his computer at lightning speed.

Across the room, Virgil was tying his sneakers, having just removed his Static costume. He asked, "Do you think my Pops will understand if I say I'm late for dinner because I was out saving the world from an insane robot bent on world domination?"

Richie grinned. "Umm… no."

Virgil shrugged. "Okay. I'll just tell him it was your fault." He stood. "I'll see you in the morning, Rich. Peace, man."

"And out." Richie listened to Virgil leave, then he hit a few more keys before pushing the shut down button. Stretching, he walked over to where he'd left Backpack on the table where he and Virgil sometimes had lunch. "Time to shake it down, buddy," he said, reaching to switch the robot over to external power so the little computer could recharge for the night.

But Backpack moved out of his reach, then sprang at him like a cat. Richie fell backwards and hit the floor. Backpack was now a solid ten pound weight on his chest. Two of the robot's "arms" reached up and touched Richie's face almost delicately.

"Hey! Backpack! Backpack, get off! What are you?"

Richie found himself staring into Backpack's single green sensor-eye. His stomach had turned to ice, and he felt as if his legs were made of Jell-O. Staring back at him from that single eye was the horrible, distinctly non-human face of Brainiac.

"You thought you destroyed me? Incorrect, human. You merely delayed the inevitable."

Backpack's "arm" had stopped brushing Richie's face. "You have developed a connection between yourself and this machine that will be quite useful to me," Brainiac said.

No! If he follows the connection between Backpack and my brain, I'm lost! I won't be able to fight him off! Richie struggled harder. "No! No! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"It is useless to resist, human. I am Brainiac, and none can escape me."

Abruptly, the connection was forged.

'You belong to me now. I will use your body to build my ship. And once my ship is built, your body will help me to take all the information I have come for. Where else in the universe is there a machine quite as efficient as a living mind? Let me give you a sample of all the data I have collected.'

Richie passed out with the shock of information that suddenly flooded his mind.

From the Diary of Virgil Hawkins/Static Shock

Dear Diary,May 31, 2003

I went on patrol last night, cruising around Dakota to see what meta-humans were causing trouble, and which ones were temporarily behaving themselves. But the city seemed quiet, and I have to admit that I kept drifting closer and closer to Richie's house. I glanced in his window just as the clock over City Hall struck ten. I wanted to catch him while he was asleep. I didn't want to bother him, and I didn't want his father to see me. Even though Mr. Foley doesn't know I'm Virgil when I'm in costume, he still doesn't like "my kind" whether they're superheroes or not.

I went to Richie's bedroom window, and peeked inside. He was asleep, his arm thrown over his eyes. Backpack, restored and reprogrammed, was near the bed, operating on what Richie calls surveillance mode. He (I call Backpack 'he' and I call Brainiac 'it'. Go figure.) Anyway, Backpack knew me, so he didn't raise any alarms.

I used my powers to open the window, and slipped inside. In his sleep, Richie stirred, turning so his hand was dangling over the edge of the bed. I crept to his side, set his glasses, which had fallen on the floor, on his night table. Then I tucked the covers around him.

"I'd better go," I whispered to Backpack. "Don't tell him I cam here, okay?"

I swear, Backpack understands more than I give him credit for. I know Richie didn't program him with artificial intelligence, but maybe he developed that on his own. Well, whether he had anything in him more than programming or not, I swear Richie's robot understood me. I grinned at him and headed for the window.

Just as I was about to leave, Richie screamed. I started to turn back towards his bed, thinking to gentle him out of the nightmare as my Moms used to do before she died, but then I heard someone coming down the hall. Backpack scuttled under Richie's bed, and I flew out the window. Unable to just leave my best friend like that, though, I hid beneath the windowsill and left the window itself open a crack so I could hear what was going on inside.

The door to Richie's room was pushed open with such force that it crashed against the wall. As if a switch had been thrown, Richie stopped screaming.

I knew it was dangerous, but I had to take a peek. Mr. Foley stood by the bed, and he was shaking Richie, even though it was obvious (at least to me) that Richie was awake, but just laying there with his eyes closed as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened.

Richie's mother stood a little back from her husband, and her eyes darted from the man to her son.

Richie opened his eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you up," he said, squinting up at his father.

Now, Mr. Foley isn't the most sympathetic man in the world, but I still expected him to try and reassure Richie, or at least ask him what he'd dreamed about.

"You need to learn to be a man, Richie. Men don't scream. Whatever's bothering you, deal with it while you're awake, then you won't have any nightmares." He turned away and left the room.

Richie fumbled his glasses on, then looked at his mother. She smiled vaguely.

"If you need to talk to Dr. Rhodes, just let me know," she whispered.

Now, I didn't know who Dr. Rhodes was, but by the look on Richie's face, I guessed the doctor was probably a psychologist. After the Big Bang, and especially after Brainiac, I know Richie didn't want anyone messing with his mind, even if they had good intentions.

"I'll be okay, Mom. I was just dreaming about school, that's all."

Her vague smile came back. "Richie, you're a smart boy. School isn't a challenge for you." She patted his shoulder and left.

When the door was closed, Richie groaned and put his head in his hands, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead. I couldn't just leave him like that. We've been through too much together; I can always tell when he really needs help. I opened the window.

Richie's head snapped up, his glasses falling back into place. When he saw me, though, he grinned. "BP, why didn't you tell me there was a meta-human here?"

Backpack slipped out from under the bed and beeped an answer. Richie's grin broadened. "Okay, okay. I believe you."

I slipped inside and sat on the bed beside Richie. Backpack hopped up on Richie's other side, for all the world like he was worried, too.

Richie blushed and looked down. "You heard me, didn't you?"

I nodded. "We all have bad dreams, Rich. There's no shame in it."

"I know." He was fidgeting with his earring.

I hate seeing him like that; unsure of himself and afraid of the world. "Rich…" I touched his shoulder and he looked up. "Was it Brainiac?"

Richie bit his lip, then sighed. "I think you have a new superpower you aren't telling me about. Since when have you been able to read my mind?"

"Ever since you've been able to read mine."

Richie smiled slightly. "Fair enough." He reached up and touched my hand. "V, I'm all right. It was just a bad one, that's all. I'll get better. I promise."

There was a creak out in the hallway, and the two of us froze. When the creak wasn't repeated, Richie whispered, "You'd better go. Dad'll go postal."

I couldn't help myself; I reached over and hugged him. For a moment, Richie stiffened, then he leaned against me and returned the embrace fiercely, laying his head on my shoulder.

"I'm always here for you, Richie. You and me, we've been through too much to let anything stop us. Don't let this hurt you. What hurts you hurts us."

Richie gave me an extra-hard squeeze, then pulled away. "I know, Virg. I'll come to you if I need help. I promise." He glanced towards the hall. "You'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Peace, man."

Richie winked. "And out."

I left him then, only to come home and lay awake for hours. So, at about one this morning (which was about half an hour ago) I finally got up, found my journal and sat down at my desk to write this little bit down. My eyes are itching with exhaustion, so I think I'll go back to bed. Hopefully I'll be able to get to sleep this time.

Chapter Two

It's just me, one more time. A week passed from the time Brainiac invaded my mind and body until the supercomputer decided that its ship was ready. So it sent me out to capture the Justice League and Static. I captured Flash, and put a mind-control disk on his back. I mean Brainiac did it, but he used my hands, and Backpack was the one who actually held Flash still.

Brainiac went to an abandoned steel mill and set a trap for the rest of the Justice League.

Let me tell you one more thing before I launch into Brainiac's newest plan. Brainiac knew a few things about me, but not everything. The supercomputer knew I was Gear, and that my name was Richard Osgood Foley, better known as Richie or Rich, but there were a few things I managed to keep hidden from the parasite. That I was able to hide anything at all is more due to Brainiac being distracted by his plans for his new ship, and his thoughts about the demise of the Justice League than any strength I might have possessed. But I have always believed that V has a secret power inside him, something stronger than anyone can ever measure or anticipate. Because of that belief, I wanted to keep his two lives a secret if at all possible.

There was no way I was going to let Brainiac get his hands on Virgil/Static if I could help it.

So, here's what happened after Brainiac used my voice to lure the Justice League and Static to the steel mill. Before they arrived, Brainiac discovered a new bit of information that he had never considered before.

Richie tried to flinch when Brainiac trailed his fingers over his thighs. Shit. My body doesn't understand yet that it can't move. Brainiac, super-villain-computer extraordinaire, controlled him. More. Brainiac WAS him, having taken full possession of his body. Which meant that Richie was being touched by fingers that were both his and yet definitely not his.

'What do you want?' the blond teenager shouted in his mind.

'To absorb all information and destroy the planet when I am finished. Have you not been paying attention, Gear? Or would you prefer that I call you Richie?'

Richie seethed, but tried to keep his mental tone light. 'Yeah, what's a planet good for when you've learned everything about it?' He wished he could roll his eyes. Anything to distract himself from the fingers that were now stroking his crotch.

'Exactly.'

'You don't know anything about sarcasm, do you?'

'Sarcasm is a lowly form of a despicable pastime known as humor. I do not respond to it; that does not mean I do not know everything about it.' He (it, perhaps) rubbed his fingers over Richie's zipper. 'But there are other discoveries to be made. This world is unique in its treatment of sexual practices.' Methodically, Brainiac undid Richie's jeans. 'I have learned that struggling makes this worse for the victim. Therefore, the first time, you will not struggle. The second time, you will. In this way, I will gain all relevant information.'

'All you're going to manage to do is jerk off. You can't rape me if you are me.'

'You have underestimated my power. I can clone myself. I will be both victim and rapist simultaneously.'

'What about love?' Richie wondered how long he could keep the machine talking instead of acting. Static, if you're out there, help me!

'I can simulate love quite easily. I will simply be gentle with you.'

'But I don't love you. You won't get the proper responses from my body unless I love you.' Richie wanted to shiver. Talk, talk, talk, distract, distract, distract… long as I can, anyway.

'That is also simple to accomplish. I know someone you do love.' An image of Static flashed across their mind. 'I will bring him here and the two of you will commence the lovemaking.' Brainiac drew Richie's pants down. 'But first I will experience rape from two angles.'

Richie endured the first rape- the "pleasant" one- by pretending it was Virgil inside him. The two had never been together, I've never confessed my love, even, but Richie had dreamed about being with his friend.

The second rape was like being stabbed. Richie passed out after three of Brainiac's thrusts.

In the steel mill, from a dense shadow near one wall, Richie/Brainiac watched Flash, acting on Brainiac's orders, slap mind-control disks on the chests of the Justice League and Static.

"We await your command, Brainiac," they intoned.

No! Not Static! Richie wanted to cry. Without Static, he didn't think there was any chance any of them would see another day. But then he had to laugh as he watched Static's disk fall off, completely shorted-out.

Brainiac picked up on that realization. "Your natural electrical field shorted out my thought-control disk," the computer said to Static in a voice that was half Richie's and half Brainiac's. "No matter. There are other ways to take care of you."

"Richie?" Static asked. "Is that you, man?"

Calmly, perhaps sensing that the mere sight of him would surprise Static and put him off-balance, Brainiac stepped out of the shadow. Brainiac hadn't finished his ship, and he hadn't really even started on his new body, but he had disfigured Richie's face, overlaying skin with metal so that half of Richie's face was hidden.

"I am not Richie. I am Brainiac."

"Let him go!" Static formed balls of lightning in his hands, ready to strike.

"Go ahead. Attack me. The only one who will feel any pain is your friend."

That's right, Richie thought. Brainiac may be using me, but most of his "body", his hardware, is still in Backpack. If Static could shut Backpack off somehow, force him to reboot, he would lose temporary control of all his systems. I might be able to break free. Hopelessness threatened to steal over him. But Static could never get close enough to shut down Backpack. And he doesn't know the code. Wait. Backpack has a remote control. I've never actually used the thing, but it exists. I've got to tell Static.

The balls of lightning dissipated. "Fight it, Richie! You can do it, man! I broke free from his control, and so can you!"

Here's my chance. Richie shoved forward in that directionless way minds have of moving. It hurt- his whole body was lit with pain- but he managed to meet Static's eyes for a brief moment. He spoke, each word more agonizing than the last. "V… control. Control. Control!"

"That's it, Richie! Fight it! I'll help you."

But Brainiac had overpowered him, blinding him with an image of Static burning, dying. Silently, Richie screamed, and all of his strength evaporated.

But even as he was driven back, Richie realized an amazing fact: Brainiac could read his emotions, and even most of his thoughts. But not all. He doesn't know Static Shock is Virgil Hawkins, even if he knows I'm Gear. If he'd been able to read all of my thoughts, I would have never had a chance to tell V. Now maybe everything will be all right. If only V understood… Inside himself, Richie grinned like a cat.

"You should be more concerned with helping yourself," Brainiac intoned. "Justice League, destroy him."

Richie felt his heart sink as, one by one, Batman, Flash, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern and J'onn, the Martian Manhunter, turned on Static. The younger superhero was forced to retreat.

But Richie refused to lose hope. He heard me. He'll figure out what I meant, even if Brainiac wouldn't let me say everything I wanted to.

When they were alone, Brainiac turned his attention to building himself a body around Richie's own, an impervious silver shell. 'This will only take an hour to complete. Before that time, you will pay for your insolence. I cannot be defeated. I am Brainiac. Resistance is futile.'

You remind me of the Borg from Star Trek, Richie thought. 'How can you make this any worse? Your slaves are turning Static into sliced ham, or does that sophisticated super-computer software of yours have a glitch somewhere?'

'You do not believe that. You hope he will return.'

'Shit. He can read more of my mind now!'

'You cannot hide yourself from me. I am the gatherer of all knowledge.'

'You don't understand everything, and you never can. Knowledge is one thing, but using it is another. Static has more ingenuity in one eyelash than you have in that whole, advanced bucket of bolts you call a brain.' Instinctively, Richie knew he had only two choices for dealing with Brainiac: whole-hearted fight or complete surrender. There was no middle ground.

'An eyelash cannot be ingenious. You are a fool.'

'Right back atcha.'

For a moment, Brainiac didn't answer. Richie had time to consider the possibility that he had shut up the sadistic robot for a while.

'Behold,' said Brainiac.

When he had been overpowered, Richie had traded a view of the outside world, first for a false image of Static being hurt, then for darkness. Now he was able to see again. Batman and Superman marched Static into the room. Virgil looked exhausted and weak.

"Bring him to me. His lover wants to see him."

Richie longed to blush. And he was furious. 'That was my secret!'

Brainiac said, 'If he is going to die, would you not rather that he know?'

'You won't kill him!'

'Not yet. I told you I would find a way to learn about human lovemaking.'

Brainiac, using Richie's hand, beckoned his slaves forward.

Static raised his head and offered Richie a weak smile. He was dragged forward until he stood toe-to-toe with Richie.

Brainiac wrapped Richie's arms around the injured hero. "Kiss me," Brainiac whispered in Richie's voice.

Static tried to pull back. "Never. I won't hurt him."

"But Richie wants it." He closed the distance.

Virgil's lips were impossibly soft, Richie decided. 'If I was just in control of my own body… I could enjoy this.'

At first, Static struggled. Then, seeming to realize that he had no choice, he moved closer, kissing back. "I love you, Rich."

Richie began to cry; Brainiac let him. He was far too shocked and grateful to feel embarrassed. "Do you mean that, V?"

"We might die in a minute, Richie; I wouldn't lie to you at a time like this."

Richie felt vaguely uncomfortable when he heard that, but he let it go when Static kissed him again.

"Make love to me," Brainiac made Richie say.

Static blinked.

"Brainiac says he wants to see it," Brainiac continued. "He said he'll torture me if you won't make love to me."

Static hesitated, then drew Richie closer. His hand slipped down his friend's back, coming to rest on his backside. "I can't imagine a better way to spend my last moments of life."

That vague feeling- it was definitely unease now- assaulted Richie again, and this time he pushed it away more slowly. Then Static moved against him and Richie felt how hard his friend was.

"We'll make this perfect," Static whispered. "You'll keep our memory alive forever inside Brainiac." He thrust against Richie's thigh. "Immortality, Rich; it won't be a dream for you."

'But it was never my dream… never our dream,' Richie thought. "V?"

Static kissed his neck, nipping him lightly.

Richie pushed at Static's shoulders. "V, stop. When did you learn how to do this?" He fought for clarity in his own mind so he could understand the sudden change in his friend. "I know you have no social life, unless you call meeting the giant ameba head-to-head a date." He could sense Brainiac watching this, taking it all in, and switched tactics. "We don't have to perform for him. I'm not afraid of a little pain."

"We're not performing." Static fumbled with the fly of Richie's jeans. "I'm claiming you. I'm making us both happy. Just once before I die, I want to show you how much I love you."

Abruptly, Richie understood his unease. It was complicated, which might have been part of the reason he discounted it at first. No. I ignored it because I wanted this to be V loving me. But it's not. V would never give up. Never. And he would never just fall into my arms when we're in danger, if he ever would. He'd never be this forward. Static was now undoing his zipper… and Richie realized that he was frozen again, back under Brainiac's control. 'Shit. Part of me must have known about this. I didn't use Static's full name, did I? Too bad the rest of me didn't get the message sooner.'

Brainiac sensed his suspicion and realization, if not his actual thoughts. 'You are too intelligent for your own good," Brainiac said.

'I hate you! I'll find a way to break free of you! And when I do, I'll make sure you can never trick anyone again!'

"I love you, Richie. I want to love you. Take down your pants for me."

'You're not Static!' But no matter how much Richie shouted in his mind, Brainiac wouldn't let him speak.

The image before him ran like melted gold. The false Static vanished.

'How did you know?' Brainiac had turned back to building his new body. His tone was calm, but Richie sensed his frustration.

"You told them to kill Static," he answered, all the while thinking, He doesn't know why? Why can't he read me completely yet? What's distracting him? Does V have Backpack's remote control? Is he using it?

A poker of white-hot agony shot through Richie's head, blossoming in his temples.

'Tell me the truth,' Brainiac ordered.

'I did.' Richie wondered if he would die before the real Static came back to find him.

That bolt of pain hit him again and Brainiac allowed him to give voice to his suffering. Richie screamed.

The pain wasn't breaking the insufferable human, and it was wasting Brainiac's much-needed energy. 'When I am at full power, this will not be a concern.' But until then, the human was a decided distraction. When he wasn't in pain, he was trying to pry into Brainiac's innermost thoughts and plans. 'I need most of my resources to build my perfect body. But even if I don't have the power to read him right now, or to break him with pain, I have enough to send him a most unpleasant nightmare. That will distract him until I am ready to take full control again. The nightmare might even break him. I would be afforded an opportunity to observe human madness.'

From the Diary of Virgil Hawkins/Static Shock

Dear Diary,May 31, 2003

Well, at least it's really morning now. The sun has risen, and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. But it's still only six-thirty, which means I can't call Richie, either by the normal way, or by using the Shock Vox. He needs all the sleep he can get. Just because I can't sleep doesn't mean I should deprive him of his rest.

I've been thinking about the little fight the Justice League and I had after I shorted out all of the thought-control disks they were wearing. If I'd listened too them, if I'd just gone home and waited for it all to be over, Richie would be dead. There's no doubt in my mind. As Green Lantern said… Well, I'll just write it all down.

Flash ran up to where the Justice League and I were gathered. Nearby, J'onn was landing the Justice League's jet. "It's started. Brainiac's ship is built, and he's digitizing everything. Even the garbage."

There goes the main source of raw materials for Richie's inventions, I thought. No one ever claimed that being a superhero is lucrative.

"Do you understand now?" Green Lantern asked me. "We have to stop him."

"What about Richie?" Now, the Green Lantern is my number-one hero, but I wasn't about to let him forget who Brainiac was holding prisoner.

"We'll save him if we can," Batman promised.

I glared up at Batman. Usually I feel intimidated by him, but I was too worried about Richie to feel anything else. "That's not good enough. Richie needs-"

"Look at what Brainiac is doing to the city," Green Lantern said. "This is bigger than the fate of one teenager."

I balled my hands into fists. "Not to me. Nothing's more important than saving Richie."

Batman sighed. "We're going after Brainiac."

He turned away, and I started to follow, but the Green Lantern put up a shield between the Justice League and me.

"Hey!" I knew Green Lantern wouldn't back off, and so I appealed to the Dark Knight himself. "Batman-"

But Batman wasn't in the mood to be helpful. "He's right. You're too close to this."

Like you were too close the times you saved Robin from danger. Right. I watched the jet lift off. I remember being sorely tempted to send them a little electrical going-away present. That wouldn't help Richie. I contented myself with a shout that none of them could hear (except J'onn, probably, since he can read minds.) "I guess Brainiac's not the only control freak I've fought today!"

I turned my back on the ship and closed my eyes. Richie stared at me out of the darkness, his skin too pale and his eyes too bright with Brainiac's attempt to regain control of him. Again, he spoke that single word: "Control." And this time, I understood. Everyone has a control. Brainiac controls Richie through his mind, but he had to get into Richie's mind through a piece of hardware. If he didn't have to do that, he could control anyone, at any time, without technology. And how did he get to Richie? Through Backpack, of course, the only device in the world, at least as far as I know, that connects directly to the human mind. And Richie, dear, practical-to-a-fault Richie, built a remote control for Backpack just in case he- Richie- couldn't actually physically or mentally link to his robot, for whatever reason. He could never think of a time when that would happen, but trust Richie to prepare for anything and everything. Did I say practical? Maybe I should have said compulsive and obsessive.

I jumped onto my magnetized saucer, which is my mode of transportation. Richie calls the saucer and me a UFS: Unidentified Flying Static. I headed to the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude. (Go ahead and laugh- I wish we had a better name for the place.)

Of course, it wasn't all that simple. It took me a long time to find the remote because, practical-obsessive as Richie is, that doesn't make him a neat-freak. I found Backpack's remote control behind a cabinet, of all places. Then, with remote in hand, I flew off to confront Brainiac.