Chapter Text
The cooler temperatures, the gorgeous silvery moon which shone high above along with its tiny star friends, and the overall slowing down of everything within life of beings...all of these things could be the concoction used to create such a peaceful atmosphere of nighttime. Faint glowing from the bars, other establishments, and streetlights certainly assisted with providing alternative, closer-to-Earth-lights for anybody who was still awake, even at two-thirty at night.
Ahh…
Larry sighed through his nose as he snuggled his face deeper into his pillow, pulling the heavy blanket to himself meanwhile. In his sleep, he sighed again, pleasant once he felt more comfortable. Boy , he was busy today, so he definitely needed some good night’s rest.
A yawn escaped him; however, Alfred didn’t feel at all tired. In fact, once he shut down the computers in the Larry Cave for the night, he trekked up the stairs, to the living room, and then to the kitchen. It was time for a small late night snack and a hot cup of cocoa. Perhaps there was something interesting on the television he could enjoy as well. For the Brit, sleep wasn’t that much as a deal and hadn’t been for many years now. The reason why was unknown to him and Larry; however, Alfred didn’t question it at all. Larry, on the other hand, worried about the lack of sleep that the butler got. Silly Larry, worrying about such a trifle...
...that means something of little to no importance.
Seconds apart from each other were the sincere calls of “goodnight” from workers of all statuses from a building as they drifted onto the sidewalk. Some of these fellas were going to stay up just a little longer, probably to get some food or have a nice drink. Other fellas chose to hit the hay because business-related activities drained them of energy.
Through bleary eyes, he yawned quietly, though his mouth stretched as wide as it could go. He blinked a few times in order to dissolve the tears which formed mid-yawn. Boy, whoever decided having two long meetings in one day must have been sadistic, to say the least. No, he swear, he wasn’t the one who chose it. As if he’d deprive anybody of sleep. That stuff was important!
Wait, hold on...what’s happening at that small electronic store across the street?
Two gentlemen in black slipped behind the establishment, the tallest of them with a crowbar slung over his shoulder.
...he was getting a bad feeling about them as he clutched his case closer to himself. It only took him a second to decide if he should check things out, but as soon as he heard the sudden creaking and breaking of wood, he definitely made up his mind.
Thankfully for him, there was a perfect alley way to slide into.
“Hurry up man!”
“I’m trying!”
The short scallion huffed with a roll of his eyes while the other scallion grunted and continued to pull apart the nails and wood which was nailed over the back door.
The taller one spoke up, grunting again, “Why did they do this anyway? Seems inconvenient if you ask me.”
He stepped aside just on time for the final piece of wood to smack onto the cold pavement with a “clunk”. “Heck if I know. C’mon, let’s go already.”
He nodded to him and then glanced to the doorknob. Upon turning the knob, he and his accomplice entered the store which practically filled itself to the brim with televisions, DVD players, CD players, computers, and various smaller tech goodies on shelves and within display cases which stretched to the ceiling. “So we’re supposed to grab as much as we can, right?”
“If ya ask me,” he commented to the tall scallion as they both filed into the shop, “I would’ve picked something a bit more profitable than this little joint.”
“I don’t know, Trey,” he lifted a DVD player and then checked the price attached to it, “electronics are pretty profitable. I get what Juan was going on about.”
Again, a huff came from the scallion known as Trey. “At least with jewelry and money you can grab a lot. Over half of the stuff here almost takes two people to snatch!” His eyes drifted to the right, over to where the headphones were. Why on earth would those be sold here? He approached them and picked up a set, examining its brand name and the asking price.
...oh.
“...people are willing to shell out almost a hundred or two for headphones?! Can you believe this, Duri?!”
He looked over his shoulder while carefully putting the DVD player into his large backpack. “They’re high definition and can block out any noise. I have a pair of them from the last place we hit.”
“I don’t know whether to be impressed or question you.”
“Be impressed.”
“I’ll think about it.”
While Trey went to drop each and every expensive-as-heck headphone into his backpack, Duri decided to try grabbing a laptop computer...or two...or three. Gosh some of them were so thin, even while they were packed in a box. Good thing he had an extra bag so he could grab more.
He grabbed a laptop, but he paused all of a sudden, for he heard the faint “ding-a-ling” as though wind chimes were in the room. Duri glanced about, blinking. He didn’t see a wind chime, so where did the sound come from?
Beep! “Hey, hurry up! I think their security system went off!”
The taller of the two puffed and then nodded, replying, “Alright alright…”
Trey went to the back entrance and watched as his partner stuffed his bag with -- what it looked like -- laptop computers from atop the shelves. What a weird placement. Weren’t they typically in cases because of their value and because they’re a hot item that people are willing to steal?
...you know what? Never mind.
He grunted for a few seconds, but the tall scallion successfully shoved one more laptop into the extra bag. “Got it!”
While Duri finally made it back to him, Trey said with a yawn, “Can’t wait to get back and hit the sack…”
“ Why wait when you could it right now? “
A shiver ran up his spine for some reason, but he ignored it. “Because,” Trey answered the deep disembodied voice with a shrug, “we’ve gotta take your motorcycle to get home. Why would you even ask that?”
“Trey…?”
“What?”
“...I didn’t say anything.”
The two paled and then Duri got closer to Trey, growing anxious by the second. The shorter scallion nudged his head over his shoulder, gesturing and suggesting they should turn around. Once Duri nodded, they spun in unison. Nobody was behind them. All they could see was the nice outdoors presenting itself to them.
They sighed in relief.
Ding-a-ling.
The chimes sounded behind them, the same one which Duri heard a moment ago. Duri, recognizing this, tugged the shoulder of Trey’s black sweater twice. Trey glanced up to him and then when the taller scallion nudged his head to the exit, he obviously agreed. They had to get out of here--
The head of a crooked staff reached high above the duo’s heads and then pushed the door closed ever so quietly. Although the room had limited lighting, they could see a mobile dangling from the staff, producing a soft jingle.
Duri and Trey had no choice but to see who could be behind them…
...and boy, did they regret it.
A tall figure, a rather tall one, donned in a thick purple cloth loomed over Trey and Duri. Because of the hood, his face wasn’t able to be seen by either scallion, but what they could see was an amulet which hung from his neck and shone faintly. Now, they weren’t certain if they were seeing things due to the lights being minimal or what they saw was real, but whichever was indeed true...something like a haze surrounded the form’s non-existent feet all the way to the tip of his head.
Trey broke the silence, whispering to his accomplice, “Didn’t bring a weapon either?”
Shakily, Duri shook his head. “No…?”
He gulped and then looked to the figure. “What d’ya want? Can’t you see we’re busy?”
Instead of answering the inquiry, the figure said with amusement in his low voice, “You seem tired.”
Duri turned and tried to pry the door open, even as the staff which belonged to the unknown person remained glued to it. Meanwhile, Trey stammered defensively, “S--so what if I am? I’m plannin’ on sleeping when I get home! Now how ‘bout you move your cane and let me and my pal leave before you get hurt!”
“I can tell right away that you can’t hurt me...especially while you’re in that state.”
“...what ‘state’?”
A yelp from Trey was what made Duri spin back around just in time to see the short scallion now being held up to the cloaked figure’s face. “Trey!”
Ignoring Duri’s cry, the deep voiced man said to Trey, “Those dark rings under your eyes sure stand out from here. I could relate...”
Trey, from where he dangled now, had a perfect view of the deep purple, half-lidded eyes which practically seeped into his the longer he stared into him. He couldn’t help it though. It was as though the man was pulling him into a trance! Trying to keep himself calm, he feebly chuckled out, “And that matching eyeshadow sure stands out. Your point is?”
Okay, Duri had no idea what to do. Trying to take this huge guy down would be -- here’s an understatement -- difficult task-wise. Just as he took a nervous step forward, he spotted the purple haze becoming more visible and swirling higher and higher until it continuously danced about the man’s broad shoulders. Oh boy, this guy was magic, wasn’t he?
“Like I said earlier,” the man in purple answered as his eyes suddenly began to form a hypnotic pattern within them, “why wait when you could sleep right now ?”
How he wanted to avert those shimmering, hypnotizing eyes in front of him; however, Trey couldn’t! Those darn eyes were forcing him to stay still and simply accept what was happening. The sensation was weird. His body felt numb, but there was a warmth surrounding it while the lids of his eyes grew heavy by the second. He yawned, a rather long one. Finally, his vision darkened, and his head fell back.
Duri gulped hard as the figure wrapped Trey’s slumbering form into his cloak briefly and then settling him to the floor with care. He probably gulped loud, for the tall man tilted his head to him and began to drift toward him. The scallion backed up; however, it wasn’t much, distance-wise because his back immediately made contact against the door. The chimes on the man’s staff sounded once more.
And before Duri soon joined Trey in Dream Land, he remembered stuttering in question, “Um...wh--who are you anyway…?”
He finally saw the man’s face for himself. A much older man stared at him with a sleepy smile and the shiniest pair of eyes he ever saw.
Over the sweet, gentle chiming of his mobile, the man answered.
Officer Scooter climbed out of his patrol vehicle moments after his fellow officers arrived to the electronic store which was in the process of being broken into. As he approached the building, he asked one of the officers, “Alright laddie, what do we have?”
“Well,” he started, “at two thirty-five, the security system went off. We arrived here as soon as possible and found these two here.”
Two rapscallions in black ski masks were sleeping away in front of the store entrance with a heavy blanket wrapped around their bodies. When Officer Scooter curiously removed the blanket, he and the other officers saw a rope was keeping the duo tied together just in case they decided to run off. In the meantime, two officers were digging through the four backpacks sitting atop a police car. Of course, it was all stuff belonging to the store.
“Funny,” Scooter commented. “Couldn’t have been LarryBoy who did this, could it?”
“We didn’t signal him,” the officer beside him responded with a nonchalant shrug. “Didn’t think we’d need to over something so small…”
“But who--”
“Hey, look at the blanket. There’s something etched on it…”
The mustachioed officer bundled the blanket, searching around for what the other man said. At first, there was nothing, but once Scooter reached to another corner of the admittedly soft material, he finally discovered the etching of a golden-colored patch. It read:
The Dormancer.
LarryBoy and the City That Hardly Sleeps
“As for today, it’s going to be a comfy sixty-five degrees, which is a perfect day to go outside and have a picnic or party,” a calming voice droning on the television was the first thing Larry heard as he bounded down the stairs with a loud yawn while he stretched.
Aaah, Saturday. How he loved this day of the week!
Larry poked his head into the living room, saying cheerfully, “Mornin’ Alfred!” Though, his smile dropped when he noticed how his butler was curled up against the arm of the couch with a sleepy look on his face. He blinked. “Alfred?”
Alfred yelped, sitting up straight, causing his monocle to go askew. “Master Larry,” he squeaked from surprise, “how long have you been there?!”
He cocked a brow. “Not long. You okay? You don’t look so well.”
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You’ve got rings under your eyes. Have you been gettin’ enough sleep?”
The Brit laughed lightly as he fixed his eyepiece. “Sleep? Come now, I don’t need to sleep often. I’m fine! What you’re seeing is probably the way the light’s hitting my face!”
“Alfred…” Larry pointed out with scrunched eyebrows, “you’ve always told me to sleep to keep up my energy. Shouldn’t you be doing the same so you don’t get sick or somethin’?”
“I’ve plenty of stamina to keep me going with only four hours of sleep,” he assured Larry and rose from the couch. His eyes glanced to the clock sitting atop the television. “It’s a little late to have breakfast,” he suggested, “but how about we go out for some brunch today?”
Larry immediately perked up. “I’m in!” He leaned in closer, winking. “I’ll drive for us.”
Another laugh bubbled from Alfred at the younger man’s behaviour. “Oh, so eager!”
“Especially since it looks like you didn’t sleep at all.”
“...Master Larry ...”
“Don’t wanna fall asleep at the wheel!”
He groaned out loud. “Master Larry,” he practically whined, “you sound like me saying that!”
Larry couldn’t contain the smug grin as he chimed in response, “Like what you’ve said about me: you’re rubbing off on me for the better!”
The Brit’s cheeks burned from embarrassment at that. “How on earth do you remember me saying that? That was years ago!”
With a small shrug, his smile’s intensity softened. “I thought it was really sweet when you said it.”
“I’m...going to get myself cleaned up. I suggest you do the same since you’re still in your pjs…”
“ ‘kay.”
Try as he might, the snicker at how embarrassed Alfred became all of a sudden spilled from Larry’s lips. He was about to head back to his room to prepare for their outing, but then something from the television captured his attention.
“On the corner of Oaks and Mulberry, Jim’s Electronics almost became the victim of a theft overnight,” the male news reporter announced, “however, the thieves were captured in an unusual manner and placed outside of the store.”
The camera on the television switched to a photo of two scallions sleeping, propped against each other with their backs against the store. In addition to that, there appeared to be a heavy-looking purple blanket tucked around their body. Larry quirked a brow at this. Huh, that’s weird. Did the bad guys get sleepy mid-theft?
“At first, the police believed this could’ve been a new method being tested out by our own LarryBoy, but upon inspection of the blanket, they discovered the words ‘The Dormancer ’ patched onto it. Could it be that our city has another superhero? We might never know.”
In a hushed, confused tone, he muttered, “Another superhero…?” Larry plopped onto the couch with his eyebrows knitting together. “Huh…”
“Neither thieves could remember much of the encounter, though their faint description seems to support another hero being in Bumblyburg. Moving on with other news…”
Larry ignored the television and began to wonder about this possible newcomer. “Well,” he said out loud, “it wouldn’t be the first that I’ve met a fellow superhero. I’ve met plenty of ‘em! Vogue, S-Cape, Thingamabob…” he faltered, just a little, “...Batsman, and Tech Whisperer--”
“Master Larry?”
He made a squeaked “ee!” and shot off the couch. Alfred was standing at the living room entrance in a lightweight coat, a sweater, and a red scarf draping his shoulders. He must have heard the last two names he listed, for the Brit appeared to be taken aback rather than curious as usual. “O--oh, hey Alfred! Dressed already?”
Alfred darted his stare elsewhere for a moment, but then returned his brown eyes to the younger man and then huffed, “I am...unlike you.”
He gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry. The news was talkin’ about some guy named Dormancer stopping a pair of thieves last night and got absorbed in it. Curious ‘n’ all.”
He blinked. “Dormancer?”
“A superhero.”
“A superhero?”
“Y’know, like I am?”
“I know that, silly. It’s just...there’s another superhero here?”
Larry shrugged. “Looks like it. I wonder if I might bump into him the next time I’m out there…” He decided, since he was now up, to go and get dressed instead of making Alfred wait any longer. After all, it’s been almost three weeks since the two of them got to go out like this. He wasn’t certain about the Brit, but he missed doing it. “I’m gonna get dressed. Be right back, okay?”
Alfred nodded, replying, “Will do, Master Larry.”
“Oh,” As Larry took a step up the stairs, he looked back to Alfred, “and Alfred?”
“Yes?”
“...y’know you don’t have to call me ‘Master Larry’, right?”
Taking a seat upon the couch once more, the tall man assured him with a bow of his head, “I rather enjoy calling you that, but thank you for letting me know that I’m not required to.”
‘It was worth a shot again,’ his mind said.
At a bar and grill in the downtown area…
With a pleasant sigh after downing a large mug of root beer, the shorter of the two gourds sat back against the booth seat. “Aah, that hit the spot!”
Meanwhile, his brother briefly glanced over to him, midway through his own drink as he questioned all of a sudden, “Didn’t this place used to be somethin’ else a long time ago…?”
Jimmy, the shorter of the two brothers, thought for a millisecond in order to retrieve any possible answers. “Yeah, actually…” He shoveled some spaghetti into his mouth, answering, “This used to be Nezzer’s Bar and Grill...or Pub and Grill. I forget. He gave it up a little while after that ‘Bumblyburg Blackout’ that happened before Christmas. Why’d ya ask?”
Jerry, who was the quiet one of the two, sat back as well. If he had feet, he probably would’ve been lightly kicking them. “I thought I saw him just now.”
When Jimmy quirked an eyebrow, non-verbally asking him where Nezzer could be seen, Jerry bowed his head a little and then nudged it over to where the entrance was twice. Jimmy turned around in his seat but saw nobody matching Nezzer’s body type standing there among the people flowing in and out of the lively establishment.
“I was thinking that he might miss the place,” Jerry confessed.
“After all these years? Maybe.” Jimmy returned to his former position with a grunt. “Buuuut, I’ve heard he’s been doin’ okay at wherever he’s working at now. Hope the big guy’s okay. Anyway, let’s order some food. I’m starving!”
Meanwhile, from the right-hand corner of the entrance, a figure was peeping into the bar and grill with a small smile before pulling away.
“They were asleep in front of the store?”
Larry and Alfred had arrived to an Old Country Buffet by the time eleven-thirty rolled around. As soon as they took a seat at a booth, Larry couldn’t help but dump as much info on Alfred about “Dormancer” and the attempted theft that was spoke about on the news.
Larry nodded as he swallowed his toast and eggs. “They didn’t look beat up or anythin’...”
Alfred hummed in thought, taking a sip of his coffee while his eyes drifted to the window beside them. He sat his cup down. “Dormancer…” he curiously murmured the name. “A portion of it appears to be the word ‘dormant ’ which could hint that he’s able to temporarily slow down one’s physical functions and, perchance, leaving them in a deep sleep for awhile.”
He raised his brows at this. “He can make people sleep?”
“If what you’re telling me is true, then yes.”
“Whoa…”
“An interesting manner to fight crime, I admit.” Alfred paused for a moment as he grabbed the container of creamer and poured a small amount into his coffee. Far too bitter, still. Hopefully the creamer would assist. “I wonder how long and strong the effects are...”
Larry immediately said, “Maybe enough for you to get some sleep.”
He frowned, his eyes going to him. “Honestly, Master Larry...the four hours I overall get is more than enough!”
The out-of-costume superhero frowned back. “Sure doesn’t look like it.”
With a lift of his cup, he told Larry, “I’ll bet he couldn’t put me to sleep, even with the strongest of his spells or whatever he uses.”
“Anyway,” the buck-toothed male rose from his seat, announcing, “I’m gonna grab some more mac’n’cheese. Want some?”
“For brunch? No thank you.”
“Bacon omelette then!”
Alfred beamed brightly. “Thank you, Master Larry.”
Off Larry went to the area which had countless of buffet tables spread out for all to enjoy. He grabbed two medium-sized plates -- one for him, and one for Alfred. A small smile crept to his face as he glanced over his shoulder to the Brit. Man, he’s come a long way from the Tech Whisperer days. Never saw him sad, crying…things like that.
His head craned back to its normal position. “I’m gonna give him the biggest omelette they have,” he said to himself. Larry wanted to make certain Alfred’s food was still warm, so he decided to grab the omelette after the gooey, breaded mac’n’cheese landed safely on his plastic plate.
Attempting not to drool over the cheesy pasta was an especially difficult task as he carefully scooped the ladle-filled macaroni and cheese from the serving tray to his plate. Sure, Alfred was going to give him the stink eye for piling the plate, but hopefully he would be partly distracted by the fluffy goodness that was bacon omelette.
“There we go.” Larry beamed at the perfect amount -- well, for him anyway -- sitting upon his plate. As he turned in order to head to where the breakfast items were, he ran face first against something soft, causing him to grunt -- okay, squeak -- on impact. He backed up a little in an instant and saw a rather...tall guy in a simple business suit staring down at him with a confused look. “Um, sorry about that,” Larry apologized.
But the huge man gave him a small half smile whilst his purple eyes softened and replied, “It’s alright. I get distracted by the food here too! The macaroni and cheese especially gets to me.”
“Heh, same here…” Almost shyly, Larry bowed his head and then took off to the breakfast foods.
He chuckled as soon as the younger male was gone. “Cute little fella. Almost looks a little like…” he paused, interrupting himself. “Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was ,” he muttered before turning to the food, “sometimes the answer to anything can be so obvious…”
Suddenly, he pulled back to yawn. And as he did just that, the work tag attached to his navy blue jacket shone thanks to the light striking it. Upon the badge, there was a name which read: Mister Nezzer.
to be continued