agoodyarn | for firstlanternsson: Chemistry and You

for firstlanternsson: Chemistry and You

Carter Hall was out of the country, so there was no feathers to ruffle, but that didn't mean that Sandy wasn't glad to be spending some time in the lab.

He'd been making an effort to try and be more... personable. Less withdrawn. He'd actually, much to even his own surprise, looked into perhaps attending a few sessions with a psychiatrist after significant urging from Jesse and Rick both. But this was his first real... social engagement in what felt very much like forever. That it was with Todd was coincidence to some degree, but he was also somewhat glad of it. He trusted Todd after all, as he'd said. And Todd was probably more aware of how much a wreck he was than most people.

But it all added up to him being in the labs at 2:50pm, a little early to start figuring out what he might need for the work they'd be doing. He wasn't sure what Todd might be thinking of contributing, but that wouldn't stop him from attempting to figure it out himself a bit, at least in the abstract. Of course, time flew when you were focused on your notebook...

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Its just at 3:00pm that shadows gather from a corner and slowly rise up to a humanoid form. Gradually the darkness slinks away to reveal Obsidian and he pushes his cape back out of his way as he steps forward.

"Hello," he greets, hoping he doesn't startle Sanderson.

He doesn't have a lot planned to contribute to their little project but Todd plans to at least enjoy some time hanging out.

Not in the least. He looked up with a wry little smile and threw off a salute, pushing himself to his feet.

"Ready to get to work, or fresh off a shift?"

Because that was an excuse for coffee.

"Both," Todd replied, his smile harder to see. "I'm guessing you'd like to get something to drink before we get to work though," he teased gently. He knew how much everyone on the team frequented the coffee makers in the building.

"You know me so well," he said back with a rueful smile as he straightened up his clothes and shoved his notebook into a pocket.

"I'm assuming the shift went quietly?" he asked as they made their way over towards the kitchenette. Sand wasn't the only one who needed caffeine on a solid drip after all.

"I would have brought something with me but I didn't know if you had one already or not," Todd replied, actually walking as he followed Sanderson.

There was a faint hum and a nod in reply to the question. "No attacks, no one fans or photographers trying to sneak in, so it was all quiet. Other than a few raccoon going after our trash anyway," he replied, his 'mask' and cowl fading away into wisps of shadow as his face was revealed.

The reveal of his face earned a rare faint smile from Sandy.

"I never say no to coffee, Todd. Never."

And thankfully, he found the coffee he preferred in the cabinet above the machine: a dark roast with literally the highest amount of caffeine available on the market. A filter, a few scoops, some water, and soon enough it was brewing.

"Sounds like a good shift to me. Though clearly, those raccoons will have to be checked for nefarious purposes."

"Even if you've already got a cup?" Todd teased a little. He leaned against the counter as Sandy started preparing the coffee.

"Yes, clearly the little bandits need to be caught and interrogated," he chuckled.

"Even if I'm surrounded by cups," Because Sand didn't exactly enjoy sleep, after all. He couldn't help a laugh at the racoons, though.

"They're wearing masks! I think their nefariousness is pretty clear."

"Well, that just leads to cold and stale coffee," Todd remarked. He knew about Sandy's aversion to sleep. There were nights he'd rather be awake and buzzed with enough caffeine to vibrate like the Flash too. "At least stick to nice warm cups or the freshly made iced stuff."

"I'll start setting traps. We'll lock them up right alongside the Injustice Society."

"It's all got caffeine," though mostly it had to do with a dislike for waste. But he smiled over at Todd and made a mental note to try not to drink anything too old.

He couldn't help a laugh at the mental image of the prison cells, one with a group of racoons and the other with, well--

"Do we really want to let those two meet? They could hatch some pretty wild schemes."

"Doesn't it lose effectiveness if you leave it out too long?" Todd joked. He really had no idea on that one. He just didn't want Sandy drinking anything too horrible just to stay awake. He didn't want him getting sick.

"I'll be fine. The raccoon would just double cross them in the end for the contents of our dumpster."

He grinned a little over at Todd and his mouth felt a little sore from it. Did he really smile so little?

"Maybe we need to implement this the next time one of them shows up. Stealth raccoon infiltration. They'll never see it coming."

"No one ever sees the raccoon invasion coming until its too late," Todd laughed. "Thankfully I've prepared ahead for it. I'll just teleport them away when the time comes."

"That's why the brownstone has the best security," Sandy said as he sipped at his coffee. "We have contingencies for raccoon invasion. I don't think even Batman has a plan for that."

Todd hummed thoughtfully and started to use some tendrils of shadow to prepare a coffee for himself.

"I think he might have one. It would just be more complicated and likely involve being a jerk to everyone who's supposed to be his ally for no reason at all."

"He did help fix things up after that mess on Thanksgiving," he reminded mildly enough. Though Batman was... Batman. The man was incredibly competent at his job, and he certainly had his virtues but...

Brusque didn't even begin to describe him.

"But you're not wrong."

"So did everyone else that was here," Todd replied, stirring his coffee. The shadow manipulator didn't particularly get along with Batman. Not since his Infinity Inc. Days and especially not after the times the ShadowLands took control and Todd became a threat to the world.

"I'd rather deal with Nightwing than him anyway."

"I'm pretty sure anyone you'd ask would prefer to work with Nightwing," Sandy said with a soft snort.

He spread his hands and sipped at his coffee.

"How Michael deals with him half the time, I'll never know. He's probably the only one of the Justice League that actually makes me think the words 'get off my lawn' like an old man. But I can be professional."

"And not just because he's much more attractive," Todd laughed before taking a sip of his drink.

"He must have some tech that increases his patience," Todd joked quietly. "Oh, you're not an old man."

Sand considered that, tilted his head back and forth a few times, frowned...

"I don't know. Not that you can see much with the cowl on him, but it's not a bad jawline. Makes me think of the movie-stars I remember." His finger circled from one side to the other. "Whereas Nightwing's more like a movie star from nowadays, I think."

The joke about the tech got another quick smile.

"Maybe that face mask filters out all asinine requests?"

"Well, I was factoring in personality too," Todd chuckled.

"If it does, he needs to stop holding out on us. I'm sure you get some stupid ones too."

"Maybe that's what we should work on," he offered with a crooked grin, "filters for our masks. Much more important than the gas."

Todd smiled a bit, returning to his shadow form. "I don't really wear a mask," he remarked. As he lifted his cup to take another sip, Todd shifted back human.

"And I'd be even less help with tech than chemistry," he chuckled.

"You're providing color commentary and my allotment of human interaction for the week," he said as he finally started over towards his usual lab bench.

"Only a week, huh?" Todd laughed, following along. "Hopefully I'll be actually useful too. In case my color commentary skills aren't up to par."

for firstlanternsson: Chemistry and You

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