Benny sat fuming in the copilot's chair, letting Bruce fly the craft he'd built. Nobody dared to speak, lest they set off the normally cheery astronaut's fury. "Benny...?" Unikitty finally ventured, scooting up closer to him. "What are you remembering?"
"I can't believe I actually dated that jerk!" Benny exploded, kicking the dashboard and startling the others.
"Take it easy!" Bruce snapped in response.
"He used me!" the spaceman snarled back. "That absolute-!"
"Sorry I asked," Unikitty squeaked, scooting away again.
Benny fell silent once more as they finally arrived in his old home realm. It didn't take them long to find the only paved road through the desert, from the air. They followed it until they found a dilapidated old hotel- and Sirius' abandoned convertible. "That building really ought to be condemned and torn down," Emmet commented. Bruce touched the spaceship down on the other side of the road, and Benny was the first to scramble out and sprint toward the hotel, screaming their friends' names. There was no reply from inside. Unikitty leapt out after him, trotting up to his side, her fur standing on end.
"What is it?" Benny asked, turning to her.
"There's definitely something here," she murmured. "I can feel an awful lot of magic being used- he may have created some sort of pocket dimension that they're trapped in, if they can't hear us."
"We probably won't be able to see them, either, then." Benny slumped. "How are we going to find them?"
"Maybe once we get inside it'll look different?"
Slowly, everyone turned to see Dick standing at the back of the group. "Darn it, Dick, I thought you were in bed," Bruce spluttered. "Darn sneaky kid. How the heck did you get on the ship without us noticing?"
"Let's figure that out later," Emmet interrupted. "Right now, that's the best idea we have." He turned on his flashlight and approached the door. It shrieked in protest as he pulled it open, and he flinched when one of the rusty hinges broke.
There was nothing to see. Just filthy, peeling wallpaper, water stains, and rotted carpeting. Lucy joined him, taking his hand. "God, this is so creepy," she muttered. "What ever possessed them to stop here?"
"Considering what the Ringmaster is capable of, it likely didn't look this way to them," Vitruvius pointed out. "Everyone, try to stick together. He might not be after us, but we are intruding on his plans, and I doubt he'll take kindly to that." Benny wound his fingers through Unikitty's fur, and she chirped at him in worry. Dick was quick to grab Bruce's hand, his adoptive father pulling him close.
An idea occurred to the vigilante. "Hey. Benny."
"What?"
"You got your phone, right?"
"Yeah...?"
"Why don't you try calling them? That way we'll be able to at least hear them, until we figure out how to see them."
Benny stared at Bruce for a moment, wondering why he hadn't thought of that. "Worth a try," he said with a shrug, and pulled out his phone.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
