Owned by DC, though the story & direction is mine. Rated M just in case
Michael Jon Carter pushed his broom around the Metropolis Space Museum with as much apathy he could muster. He hated his job, but he was begrudgingly thankful for it as it was one of the few things he was qualified for, even though it was bottom of the barrel. Nowhere else would hire him due to his very public scandal of being caught fixing hyperball games and because he didn’t have a degree he wasn’t qualified for anything asides from menial labour that robots wouldn’t do.
Michael looked up at the camera array and waved his pass as he headed to the Hall of the 20th Century. It was where Michael wasted most of his time due to a blind pocket on the camera array allowing him to sleep in one of the displays.
“What the?” he looked at the yellowish sphere that took the place of the Batmobile that was in the spot where he slept. Michael tapped it with the broom and it made a sound like steel even though it was opaque and glass-like. He looked at the display card
Rip Hunter’s Time Sphere.
On loan from the Smithsonian-Luthor Conglomerate
“Where’s my Batcar?” he moaned as he walked around the sphere looking at it. “See through as well! This is…”
“Impressive isn’t it!”
Michael jumped at the voice from nowhere. Behind him was a striking woman with black hair and blue eyes. Her name badge read: Alexandra Gianopoulos 20th Century Archivist.
“What is it?” asked Michael.
“This is a time machine.” Alexandra stated.
“So do I use Clearwash or Buff-N-Go on it?” asked Michael holding up a white cloth and a yellow cloth.
She nearly choked as she said firmly “You don’t touch it! The finish is a unique crystalline al…”
“Don’t clean, fine with me!” Michael grabbed the broom and moved along muttering to himself. Alexandra watched him wander off.
**
Michael held his pass up to the camera as he moved into the Room of Treasure. This place hurt the eyes even the low nightlights. Gems, gold trinkets, amulets, a gold helmet and other artefacts from everywhere. This was Michael’s second favourite place, mainly because it was here he made off with stuff to sell. It was risky but not if you did your homework like he did. You check the cleaning roster, you check the length of the piece you wish to swipes stay and you don’t get too greedy. Now this place was alarmed, monitored and guarded, except for a three minute window every second Wednesday at three am when they reset the system. Three minutes to pop a case and swap the object. All the stuff he’d taken so far had at least ten to fifty years of shelf life meaning that when he’d gotten enough he’d retire, meaning the first things to be found out as fake would be in 2471.
The perfect crimes.
Michael looked at the beetle scarab under the diamond glass. That was his next target. It was on loan from the Egypt.com Centre of Antiquities on a ninety-nine year lease and twenty seven of those years had gone by. The azure and silver beetle would fetch at least a hundred thousand. Michael polished the glass.
“See you next Wednesday”
**
“Booster, what do I want a brooch for huh?” snarled the voice at the end of holo-screen. Even though it was a video call the screen was deliberately hazed.
Michael shuddered. He hated the term Booster. Sure it was what he did, but he didn’t like it. “Because it’s old and worth a bunch.”
“Ten!”
“Only if that’s followed by another ninety!”
“Because I want gold Booster, not blue bugs!” scowled the voice. “Twenty!”
“Are you serious?” Michael grabbed the screen in frustration. “It’s worth at least two hundred on the open market and I want half that! Don’t screw me around!”
“Eighty five. Final offer!”
Michael rubbed his mouth “You are a tight bastard! Ninety two or I walk.”
The hazed figure chuckled “Deal. See you soon Booster.”
Michael closed the screen and ran an e-wipe across it to remove any digital fingerprints. Best be safe than sorry. Another strike and he’d end up doing a long stretch on somewhere like Mars or Titan.
**
Michael clocked on to see that woman again. He rolled his eyes and shook his head in frustration. Normally it was just him and a few drones. Now he’d have to be extra careful with someone else around, otherwise he’d just wait another fortnight.
“Hey!” He called out to her, waiting for her to acknowledge. “HEY!”
Slowly she turned from the time sphere, “Yes?”
“I’m going to be using Cloroxinal-74 on the floors.”
“Okay.”
Michael clenched his teeth “Lady, its super strength ammonia. I tell you this so you don’t walk into the wrong area, pass out and die! So are you staying in here?”
“Yes!”
“Was that so hard…you pompous, stuck up, too pretty for the rest of us…” muttered Michael as he put on his gas mask and poured a pool of it at the entrance of Hall of the 20 th Century, effectively trapping her in. Alexandra screwed up her nose at the potent smell causing Michael to smirk and give her a big passive-aggressive wave before heading off.
He checked his watch; he had two minutes until his window. Michael grabbed the hovercart of chemicals and made his way over to the Room of Treasure.
**
“Seven, six,” counted Michael as he polished the golden hawk statue. “Five, four, three, two, one…wait another three, two and one to be sure.” Michael heard the very faint click-whir which if you weren’t listening for, you’d never even notice.
Michael looked around before getting the pry bar out of the hovercart. He slid it under the slight gap and easily parted the lock and slid in a piece of plastic to hold it in place. Michael pulled the fake beetle out of his pocket and in a deft movement, flipped the lid, snatched the real beetle and placed the fake in its place. He took his cloth and quickly wiped off all traces.
“Nice!” he commented as he admired the scarab in the lowlight.
“Science Police! Freeze!”
Michael nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around. Alexandra Gianopoulos stood there pointing her badge and gun at him.
“Michael ‘Booster’ Carter, you’re under arrest!”
Michael looked at her “You’re not with the SP?”
“Stay right there!” she barked.
Michael threw the scarab into the air. Alexandra looked up and Michael stepped in and smashed her across the wrists with the pry bar, disarming her and nearly breaking her arms with the force. He tossed the bar, grabbed her by the throat and caught the beetle with the other hand like he’d done it a million times.
“I’m a cop!”
“Shut up!” He snarled as he pressed her throat tighter “Just shut up!”
“Let me go…bac…”
“I said SHUT UP!” Michael punched her in the face, leaving a beetle imprint on her cheek from the force of the blow. “I am not going to jail!”
Alexandra struggled and Michael tumbled them both to the ground, landing heavily on top of her. She tried to bite him. He put both hands around her neck and shook her.
“I AM NOT GOING TO JAIL!”
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”
Michael’s watched beeped, warning him he had a minute before everything came online again. It was in that moment he saw what he’d done.
“No. No. No. Oh god!”
Alexandra was a wrong colour and deep finger marks on her neck. She wasn’t breathing. Michael swore. His careful plan had gone to hell. He quickly scooped her up and bundled her onto the cart as his watch gave him a thirty second warning. Michael quickly wiped down everything, grabbed the scarab and headed for the door as casually as he could.
As he exited the Room of Treasure he saw three Science Police officers shimmered into view running his way. Michael swore again, grabbed the scarab and the pry bar and ran.
“We have the place surrounded Carter!”
Michael wasn’t listening and didn’t care, his first priority was escape. He rounded a corner to see two more heading his way. He ran back to the Hall of the 20th Century, he knew at least there were some working weapons in here. Shame the Batmobile was gone; he’d just drive over them and out a wall.
Michael smashed open a case triggering the alarm. No point being quiet now. He scooped up the gold shield and buckled it to his arm. Several more swings and he grabbed some rings, belts, wrist gauntlets. Quickly dressing himself in his makeshift arsenal he started towards the window when a series of laser bursts made him jump back the other way and dive behind the Amazo robot.
“Freeze Carter!”
Michael raised his arm and fired a blast from the gauntlet that knocked the officer clear out of the room. “Cool!”
The other officers opened fire and whilst durable the Amazo robot was poor cover. Michael scurried away but was caught in the open between the time sphere and the Phantom Zone projector. The four officers slowly approached.
“Hands up!”
Michael flung the shield and ran to the projector but the officers fired and drove him back the other way. Swearing and randomly firing back Michael dove into the time sphere and began pressing buttons. The officers fired on him as he tried to close the door. An errant blast got in, ricocheted around the sphere and shot through his shoulder.
“God dammit!” Michael slapped the consul in pain and frustration and got the door shut. He looked at the officers who slowly surrounded him.
“Nowhere to go Carter!”
Michael looked at the buttons, dials and switches and smiled “This isn’t a replica.”
“Get out of the bubble with your hands up!”
Michael pushed a button and the sphere began vibrating. “Seems the controls are designed for idiots like me” He pushed another button and the sphere levitated just off the podium.
“Open fire!”
Laser blasts hit the sphere; Michael ducked just in case and slapped the panels again. The sphere rose three feet into the air and began slowly rotating. Michael pushed more buttons “C’mon you hunk of junk!”
He smashed his fist onto the panel. There was a burst of light.
To be continued...
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