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LOS:Broken Gears Chp10

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Chapter 10

The kiss had been brief and chaste. To be truthful, it wasn’t much different then a kiss between family members or close friends. Still it probably wasn’t a good idea on Backpack’s part to cut the connection the moment their lips separated.

Brainy backed away so quickly he nearly went straight into the hallway’s wall. His mind moving faster then it had in ages, but unable to complete a thought. People and events were running through his mind, some of which were foreign to him. He had never gone to high school, never had to worry about what his parents thought of his friends.

The thoughts started to some faster. Fights, comics, Saturn Girl, Static, Bouncing Boy, homework, equations, inventions, Lightning Lad, computers, Hot Streak, space travel, Colu, the big bang, Superman, Clark.

“Stop it. Please stop,” Brainy whimpered, holding onto his head, foolishly thinking that it would somehow contain his thoughts. Somewhere in all the chaos, he remembered Backpack was still attached to his back. “Get it off. Get it off!”

Moving wildly, Brainy evaded every attempt Richie made to grab hold of him as he tried to tear Backpack off of him. It wasn’t until Brainy nearly hit the wall again that Richie was successful. Richie grabbed hold of Brainy and wrapped his arms as tightly around the shorter boy as he could, not knowing that if Brainy had been in the right mind he could have easily broke free of his grip.

Backpack jumped off of Brainy and onto the fallen sweater moments before the struggling caused the two geniuses to fall down right in front of it. It took a few steps backwards to ensure its safety and continued to observe them.

“Calm down Brainy. It’s okay,” said Richie desperately. “Listen to my voice.”

Clark? Brainy’s mind reached out mistakenly. Please, help me. It hurts.

Feeling Brainy starting to clam down, Richie continued, “It’s okay. I’m here.”

The thoughts were still running through his mind, but they dulled to the point Brainy didn’t want to tear his own head off anymore. Feeling like someone had just flattened his mind with a giant boulder, he rested his forehead on Richie’s shoulder.

Richie relaxed his hold, sighing. He wasn’t completely sure of what had happened, but it was obvious that it had actually physically pained Brainy while all it did to him was give him a mild headache. Perhaps he needed to check Backpack’s programming?

“What. Just. Happened?” asked a very familiar, angry, voice.

Richie glanced up in the direction he had come from. To his horror, he saw a very murderous looking Virgil. His best friend, still in his night clothes, seemed to be unconsciously gathering energy in his hands as if contemplating blasted the two on the floor before hearing their explanations. In comparison, when he looked away from Virgil and towards Sharon’s room, Superman’s wide eyes, just woken up, ‘I don’t believe what I’m seeing’ look was kinda funny. He laughed nervously.

“You wanna hear something funny? I really have no idea.”

----------------------------------

Brainy sat on the ground with his head in his hands, covering his face, trying to figure out what had happened. His head was pounding and he kept having random thoughts. The world seemed muddled around him. He couldn’t understand anything the others were saying and stopped paying attention because he could no longer bear the looks they were giving him. Static/Virgil’s glare. Richie’s embarrassed eyes and excited smile. Worst of all, Superman’s disbelief and worry.

Gadgets, tools, scribbles on chalkboards. Go away. Strategies, reports, the lab. Go away. Lockers, books, teachers, parents, Burger Fool. Go away. Hundreds of identical faces, perfection, intelligence, a retreating figure that wouldn’t come back no matter how much he called. Go away. Music, laughter, jokes, games. They’re not mine. “It is only logical that the descendent of Brainiac would be our greatest prodigy.” Go away.

A hand touched his shoulder and Brainy looked up. Superman had kneeled down next to him and was saying something, but it was like it too far away for him to hear. He suggested to his ears and shook his head.

Superman leaned in, bringing his lips closer to Brainy’s ear.

As Brainy felt Superman’s breath against him, the lips from before came all too clearly to the front of his mind.

“Are you alright?” asked Superman.

Brainy felt sick and shook his head no.

It was another hour before Brainy’s hearing returned and his mind began to work the way it was supposed to. It was then he learned how lucky they had been. Virgil’s father left but ten minutes before… what happened occurred. He still didn’t want to think about it, to acknowledge it. He felt like the betrayed and the betrayer. Why had he kissed Richie with the way he felt about Clark? Why did it hurt so badly?

“Backpack won’t be doing that again, anyway. I’ve made sure of that,” said Richie, giving his invention a pointed look.

Backpack beeped a few things and crouched down on its mechanical legs in a way that looked like it was moping.

“Any idea why you both reacted so- so differently?” asked Virgil, much calmer then he had been earlier.

“My mind is partly mechanical. I can take in much more information in a shorter amount of time,” said Brainy slowly. “Not that I could make sense of anything. It was too- disorienting, like a virus.”

“At least most of the affects are gone, right?” questioned Richie.

“Most,” agreed Brainy, not looking at him.

“This is definitely one of those weirder days,” mumbled Virgil. “Who’s hungry?”

“Me,” said Richie quickly.

“That’s a given,” smiled Virgil. “How about you two?”

“Yes,” admitted Superman, sounding defeated.

“I don’t need to eat,” stated Brainy.

“I’d understand that attitude if Sharon was cooking, but I’m not that bad at it,” said Virgil. “You two need to learn to lighten up. Man, it’s weird giving advice to past Superman and a version of Brainiac… Listen, it was weird and painful looking but everyone is okay, or will be okay with time. You can’t let this get to you or how will you handle the bigger stuff? Now, who wants omelets, besides Richie?”

“I-I’ll stay up here for a while,” said Brainy.

“Just lay down for a while longer,” said Virgil. He glanced at Superman and grabbed hold of Richie’s arm and pulled him downstairs with him.

Brainy slowly stood up from the floor, hopeing against logic that Superman would follow the others. When he didn’t, he said, without looking at him, “Go downstairs and eat. I’ll be alright.”

Not waiting for a reply, Brainy walked back into Sharon’s room. He barely acknowledged the overabundance of pink or stuffed animals on the ground or the fact that this was a room other then it was at least a room away from the others. Collapsing onto the bed, he didn’t bother to pull the covers over himself.

Richie’s thoughts may have been gone but that didn’t stop Brainy’s own thoughts and guilt from tormenting him. He had kissed Richie. On Colu, physical touching was frowned upon with rare exceptions for romantic relationships. Even receiving a kiss from a friend would be frowned upon, but Brainy had learned to accept it as part of Earth custom’s when -mainly- Triplicate Girl couldn’t contain herself from giving him an occasional kiss on the cheek.

Throughout his entire life Brainy had only given a kiss to one person before. Though it, too, had been on the cheek it had been rejected and that person was long gone. Now he had shared in a kiss with a person he didn’t love. On Colu that was considered illogical, barbaric, disgusting, it went on and on. Even though such kisses were common on Earth, particularly during this time, Brainy couldn’t help but feel ashamed of himself. He had not just wronged himself but the person he really loved in the act.

No longer able to contain himself, Brainy choked back a sob. He curled his body into himself and wanted nothing more then to cry. Denying himself even that, no tears would come. All he could was breathe deeply, uncontrollably, wrap his arms around himself and let his body shake in shame.

They never should have come to this time.

Brainy bolted into a sitting position when a familiar hand touched his shoulder. He wasn’t sure whether or not to be surprised as see saw Superman standing there. His eyes immediately looked away.

“Leave me alone… please.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” said Superman, sitting on the bed. “Please, talk to me.”

“I-” Brainy started, but was lost as to what to say. Whether or not he wanted to say anything. Superman knew nothing about his home planet, its cultures and beliefs. “On my old planet-” He had no idea if Superman even saw the kiss. “Before, when backpack-” He still didn’t know what he had been thinking at the time. How could he explain it. “I can’t. I don’t know how.”

Superman reached out and touched Brainy’s face. Slowly letting his fingers graze over the cheek facing him before taking hold of his chin and turning it so Brainy would have to face him. He looked into Brainy’s eyes, that couldn’t be any more heart breaking if they tried, and tried, desperately, to think of something, anything that would comfort Brainy. It was almost physically painful to see Brainy so sad.

Brainy couldn’t bear the sight of Superman, looking at him that way. It was as if Superman was trying to look inside of him, see what was in his very soul. That is, if a Brainiac could even have a soul. He wanted to look away but he couldn’t bring himself to turn his head, even though Superman wasn’t holding onto his face very tightly, or to close his eyes.

Once he saw Superman’s face, he was done for. If Superman was smiling, he’d do anything to keep that smile there. If Superman was sad, he’d do anything to make it go away. Superman embodied the very source of his strength; light, warmth and goodness. And Brainy was a moth to the universe’s biggest flame.

“I kissed Richie,” said Brainy. “I don’t even know why I did it. When Backpack had connected our minds it felt like the world, like our minds had been fogged up and our senses had somehow been heightened. He touched my cheek and the next I know we had kissed and the connection was broken and my mind was going crazy. For a second I even thought he was you and, and- please say something.”

Surprising Brainy, Superman took Brainy into his arms and held him as close as he could without hurting him.

“Did he force you to-”

“No,” said Brainy. If anyone had forced anything it had been Backpack, but he didn’t think Gear’s mechanical helper would have planned on the kiss. He almost wondered what Backpack had wanted to accomplish by the entire thing. “It’s just that, on my home planet, kissing someone you don’t love is-it’s one of the worst things you can do. Especially since physical touching is, in general, frowned upon.”

“No one can blame you for something that was out of your control, Brainy,” said Superman. “Though I don’t know what else to say.”

There was nothing Superman could say. The cultures they were raised in were too different. On earth, touch was a part of life. Handshakes, pats on the shoulder, hugs, kisses of different varieties and so many other examples. Clark, most likely, grew in a household where he experienced these things everyday in the loving Kent household where it was accepted, even expected, that he kissed his mother’s cheek and shake hands with his father after a hard day’s work on the farm.

On Colu, parents never touched their children more then necessary. Brainy hadn’t even seen his mother since he was very young and never knew who his father was. And after his mother was gone he was his society’s most prized possession, the next Brainiac. People rarely socialized with him, wanting him to concentrate on furthering his intelligence, let alone touched him in any way.

Brainy still remembered his first week in the Legion with horror. When it was made known that Brainy was the youngest in the Legion and the pats on the head and the hugs started, Brainy hadn’t known how to handle it. He remembered always checking around the corner to make sure one of the girls weren’t there, and feeling like a trapped animal whenever he was around one. Then when he had actually been in one of the girl’s clutches, or three in the case of Triplicate Girl, he would have mild panic attacks that no one really noticed because it was all internal. No matter how much he protested the girls wouldn’t stop. They just thought he was being shy and he wouldn’t admit that he was scared of them.

He had actually been trying to run away from Triplicate Girl when Phantom Girl phased out of a wall and hugged him. It was made worse when Triplicate Girl joined in. The feeling of being ambushed, or trapped, or possibly the familiarity of being attacked by superheroes brought on one of Brainiac’s memories. He physically froze up then fainted after the memory of Brainiac fighting the Justice League ran its course. He had been very grateful when Saturn Girl had been the only one around when he woke up. It had been much easier to explain the situation to her and have her explain to the others then to have an entire audience to his shame. That was when he started to threaten the girls with his laser canons if they attempted to hug him or pat him on the head any further. Like he had told Superman, he actually had to shoot at someone before his threats became successful.

Even when that threat was gone, Brainy was still in a mostly human, very touchy environment. People would sometimes forget his no touching rule and pat him on the shoulder after he had done something well. He couldn’t even count the number of times he had turned down a high five from his fellow male Legionnaires. There was always an awkwardness in these moments that made Brainy feel even more isolated from his teammates as he had been in his own society.

It was Lyle, Invisible Kid, that first confronted Brainy about his touching issues. Lyle joined the Legion shortly after Brainy did and, not only could he turn invisible, but he rivaled Brainy in intelligence. They didn’t get along at first, they argued over science, competed in their inventions and, though Brainy had never admitted it, Brainy saw Lyle as a threat to his position on the team. Lyle was intelligent, vastly valuable on spy missions, sneaking into places and more pleasant to be around for their teammates. Plus Lyle didn’t have the stigma of being a descendent of one of the worst enemies to one of history’s greatest heroes.

They eventually calmed down their rivalry an became friends, due on the most part to Saturn Girl threatening to make them sit in the corner or locking them into a room together if they couldn’t learn to get along. And Cosmic Boy, who had been the leader back then, threatening to follow through on Saturn Girl’s threats. Brainy soon learned to trust Lyle, more then any other Legionnaire, and value him for his intelligence, personality and honesty. It had still surprised Brainy though when Lyle had flat out asked what Brainy had against human contact.

“Do you think we’re dirty or something?” Lyle had asked.

Brainy had answered with a simple no, not yet willing to admit how uneasy being touched made him.

“You have to learn to deal with being touched, Brainy,” said Lyle, who had been the one to give Brainiac Five his nickname. And, at the time, only he could get away with calling Brainy it without getting yelled at. “What if you have to rescue someone from a burning building or deal with a scared child? Plus it would make it easier for you to interact with the others and besides…” He had smirked teasingly at his friend. “I think Triplicate Girl will explode if you don’t allow an occasional hug.”

At the time, Brainy didn’t think he’d ever allow Triplicate Girl to ever hug him again, but Lyle had a logical argument. He stated such and added, “But how am I supposed to get over my… aversion to it?”

“We could try shock therapy,” Lyle had said and, before Brainy could ask what he had meant, Lyle wrapped Brainy in a tight hug.

Brainy had panicked, struggled, and demanded that Lyle let go to no avail. Lyle didn’t even let go when Brainy had started to cry and beg to be let go. When Brainy calmed down and was released from Lyle’s hold, Brainy fully expected Lyle to tease him with his reaction for something as simple as a hug. Instead Lyle apologized for his ‘tough love’ and promised they would take it much more slowly. Brainy doubted he ever would have gotten used to being touched without Lyle’s patience, but Lyle was something Brainy didn’t like to think about anymore.

“Brainy,” started Superman hesitantly. “Should I let go?”

At first Brainy wasn’t sure why Superman had asked. He had hugged Brainy many times before now, but then he remembered how he had said Coluans frown on touching in general. He supposed he didn’t help in the matter. Every time Superman had held him, Brainy had never held on back. He supposed he still had problems with levels of intimacy that Lyle could never had helped him with.

Wrapping his arms around Superman, resting his hands on top of his shoulder’s, Brainy fully leaned against the other boy. Not trusting his voice, he shook his head.
Happy Birthday to me! :dance:
I've gotten lots of awesome fanart for my b-day. From :iconrsb5: :iconbrainiac6techgirl: :iconyu-gi-ah: (though she hasn't posted it yet) and two from :iconinstant-rhapsody: ! There might be more on the way since a few other people said they'd draw me stuff as well but this is what I got so far. I, of course, promise chapter dedications to those who drew me fanart so this chapter is for them. :hug:
© 2008 - 2024 PriestessOfNox
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TheLabBook's avatar
Very cute, although I do have one complaint. 
Touching someone who does not like to be touched ("shock therapy") does not make them more comfortable over time in terms of intimacy. Instead, it creates negative associations. Not liking human contact is a characteristic present in many people with autism or aspergers, but it is not limited to those people. In fact, I have a character (based off of a real person) in a comic I'm working on who has this trait. Freaking out when being touched is almost an irrational response (which you wrote very well), and he slowly becomes more comfortable with physical contact by being allowed space, so he doesn't feel threatened or violated when he is touched. 

Once again it is a wonderful story and I don't mean to give the impression that I am attacking you (I understand this is an impression that is very easy to get over the internet when you can't hear  person's tone of voice), I just wanted to share my experience.