Booster Gold: Say the Tragic Words

From Horrifying to Creepy

“Name?”

“Booster Gold.”

“Yeah but your real name,” the pimply faced kid behind the counter said.

“Michael Jon Carter…look, it says 'Booster Gold’ on the card, let's go with that,” Booster said. He tapped on the white card on the counter again.

The kid held the card up to inspect it again. Embossed in bold letters, the text read;

BIG BELLY BURGER SPOKESMAN

BOOSTER GOLD

GRATIS MEALS FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

“So can I get my burgers please?” Booster asked, exasperated.

“I am unsure this is the best use of our time sir,” Skeets said, floating alongside Booster while they existed the franchise location. “Should we continue our pursuit of Abra Kadabra?”

“There’s been no trace of Kadabra, I'm hungry, and we made this appointment weeks ago” Booster said, tearing chunks of his burger out with his pearly teeth. “We’ll keep searching after this. Plus what do I always say?”

“'Shoot my left side?’”

“No, the other thing.”

“‘My costume isn't gaudy?’”

“What I always say, Skeets,” Booster said, sneering a little as he corrected his robot assistant, “is BIG BELLY BURGERS ARE DA BOMB!”

Booster hollered out, his voice projecting from the picnic area out over the parking lot. The dinner rush crowd piddled through the drive-thru or strolled in from parked cars. That made it prime time for public appearances. Street lights clicked over to life, casting yellowed hues onto the concrete. Booster's chromed shoulders turned the streetlights into a spotlight, much to his liking. He stood there, hands on his hips, chest outstretched. His toothy smile beamed, communicating confidence and a welcome attitude.

“Should I scan for tachyons to get a reading on Kadabra’s wand, sir?” Skeets asked, hovering over Booster's gratis meal on a picnic table. “While you're performing your contractual duty.”

“Can’t you access the records and see where he is?” Booster asked through his smile.

“I am currently unable to access the records for this time,” Skeets said, a bit of distress in his modulated voice. “And still cannot contact Rip Hunter. It is becoming frustrating.”

“Performance issues affect everybody,” Booster said, his tone clipped. Unconcerned, he turned his attention away. “Looks like it's hero time.”

Coming out of Big Belly Burger, a woman and a young boy approached the golden duo. The boy has a mess of curly hair and wore a baggy red shirt with a lightning bolt zig-zagging down the front. His mother sashayed behind him, with a hand on his back to  guide him. Her lips had a dark red sheen to them, with the corner of her mouth turned up to smirk.

Booster noticed the boy’s fingers clutched an unstained napkin, and his thumb squeezed a pen to his palm. Once they were close enough to not be obvious, Booster knelt down and faced the boy, relaxing the smile a bit. He'd seen Superman in action enough times to know that grinning too much made you look like a shark to kids. Keep it casual, he thought."Hey there! Who's this?" Booster said. He meant it for the boy and his mother, in case he proved to be shy.

“Romeo, say hi to the nice man,” the mother said, rubbing her boy’s back. Shyness became a certainty. The boy, Romeo, tried his best to say hello, but only opened his mouth and exhaled. “I'm sorry, he loves super heroes so much. Especially the Flash. But you're great too!”