Meanwhile, At the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude...

[gear_parts]

"Soooo..." Richie kicks back in one of the chairs he's made, which immediately begins massaging his back while grabbing an ice-cold Coke from the fridge with a long mechanical arm and handing the beverage to him. "Now that you're back... how was New York, bro?"

Comments

[shock2yoursystm.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you've got even worse taste in clothing than the zombies I fought in New York!"

Static nods towards Gear, and starts circling around the Raider's hiding spot, pushing aside the counter and laying down some cover fire with his powers.

[jla-villains.livejournal.com]

Roy scowled.

They were mean!

"My costume's way better than a ton of the other ones out there. Have you seen Trickster's outfit? Or Pied Piper's? Or, good god, the Creepers?!" He was blasting a very sleep-inducing blue at Static now. "Those are tacky costumes!"

[shock2yoursystm.livejournal.com]

"Their costumes actually fit their names. Yours just gives me the impression that you lost a fight with some paint cans" Virgil says, dodging the blast easily.

[gear-parts.livejournal.com]

And Gear is back, carrying the prize he left to retrieve.

A disco ball.

He catches the blue light with the ball, holding it just so.

Much of the blast is refracted, creating a harmless lightshow around them.

But one fragment reflects a portion of the beam directly back at the Raider.

"Take that, Macho-Man!"

[jla-villains.livejournal.com]

Roy stops and looks at the disco ball.

The disco ball.

His most recent ex-girlfriend loved disco.

She'd had a disco ball in her apartment too.

In her bedroom to be precise...

He was just starting to tear up when a ray of his own blue color hit him.

Thud! Thunk!

Snore...

[shock2yoursystm.livejournal.com]

Static facepalms.

"...Macho Man? Gear, what the hell is wrong with you?"

[gear-parts.livejournal.com]

"It's a disco song!" he insists, gliding down towards the sleeping Raider. "But hold your applause... because the amazing Gear isn't done yet!"

As he moves in close, his backpack releases from his back and climbs towards the slumbering form. "Backpack," he orders, "hack his helmet and release everyone who he's affected!" He pauses, then adds, "uh... other than him, I mean."

The AI backpack whirs a moment, extending a cable into the Raider's visor... and a moment later, people across the city begin returning to their normal color.

Gear turns back to Static and bows. "And the crowd goes wild!" He adds in the sound of a large crowd cheering.

[shock2yoursystm.livejournal.com]

"I bow to your superior brainpower, oh master of the mechanical," Static syas while giving the said motion.

[gear-parts.livejournal.com]

He basks in the self-made adulation for a moment, then steps back to let the cops restrain the villain.

He leans over to Static while they watch the officers work. "Be honest. You're secretly in awe that I managed to take out Rainbow Raider with a disco ball."

[shock2yoursystm.livejournal.com]

"Okay, yes. I am in awe. The disco ball was both brilliant and funny."

[gear-parts.livejournal.com]

"Alright, bro, let's get back to the base," Richie grins, slapping his partner on the shoulder. "While you were gone, I invented a VR set for the Xbox. I've been playing some Halo 3, and it's totally sweet."