Lauriver Chronicles

Chapter 88

"Wait, so this is where you grew up?" Rachel asked Gar as they, Roy, Dick and Courtney walked through the town of Cloverton.

"Only for a few years. Before that, I was in Africa with my parents." Gar said, since his parents had been running a wildlife preserve back before he'd turned green.

"Before the plague that killed your parents." Dick said, since he knew Gar's origin story, but there was something about it that never sat right with him about it.

"Yeah, I still don't know what caused the outbreak, but I was the only survivor and it's only thanks to the work of Niles Caulder, though his treatment did have the side effects of turning my skin green and giving me my powers." Gar said.

"And then he brought you to this mansion?" Roy asked as they walked up to Doom Manor.

"Yeah. And it turns out that I wasn't even the freakiest houseguest he had." Gar said.

"Yeah, Bruce has a file on his little Doom Patrol. Even though they've never been seen outside the house before." Dick said.

"The Chief doesn't want them to draw attention to themselves, since unlike me, they can't really blend in and they need more intensive care than I did." Gar said.

"What, why?" Rachel asked, since that was suspicious.

"You'll understand when you see them." Garfield said, grateful he still had a key to the gate as he opened it.

"Okay, this place definitely feels creepy and that's coming from me." Rachel said as they walked through the house.

"Yeah, but once you get passed the decor, it does feel like home." Gar said.

"Garfield, what a surprise." Dr. Niles Caulder said as he rolled up to them in a wheelchair.

"Chief, good to see you again." Gar said.

"What brings you back?" Caulder asked.

Before Gar could explain, Courtney's eyes suddenly glowed a bright yellow before her staff suddenly flew into her hand.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know. But the staff is drawn to something in this house and so am I. Cosmo, you're up." Courtney said, referring to her staff by it's affectionate nickname and the staff warbled before lifting her off the ground and flying her away.

"Courtney." Rachel said as she took flight herself after her friend while Dick glared at Caulder.

"What's going on here Niles? This is your one chance to come clean freely." Dick said, right as they heard loud clunky footsteps come running down the stairs to see some kind of robot walk down.

"Cliff." Gar said as he rushed forward to hug the bot.

"Gar, what brings you back here?" the robot asked.

"Long story." Gar said.

"Who are you?" Roy asked.

"Cliff Steele." Cliff said.

"Wait, the racecar driver?" Roy asked, since he'd been a fan of Cliff's before his life had gone to shit.

"You know who I was?" Cliff asked.

"Yeah, I was a big fan. I thought you were dead." Roy said.

"And there are times I wish I was, since that would be preferable to being a brain inside this tin can." Cliff said and if his robot face could glare, they could all tell he'd be glaring at Caulder for how crude he'd made his body.

But they were cut off from any further conversation when they heard Courtney's scream from below.

"She's in my lab." Caulder said, now worried about what they'd find.