Sell you a Bridge chapter 176

February 14th 2011 The OZ 8:00 PM EDT

The  papay, it turned out, were NOT all dead. They were however, apparently  herbivores when they could manage, which was bullshit, because we  absolutely could have grown them a tree. DGs magic seemed to have some  connection to the OZ because when they surrounded us and I got ready to  throw down it brought the tree she was leaning up against to life,  creating a bunch of weird fruit that looked like red pears.

We  made it through the field with no problems before eventually stopping  to camp around sunset. I sat down with the girls next to the fire and  stretched out. I turned to Dreamer as everyone else settled in to sleep  after a hard day trekking along. "So, you went to earth and met Superboy  huh?" I grinned at her. "Did you think he was dreamy?" I was pretty  sure he was banging miss green jeans on the team so I wasn't really  worried she was interested, but I like bad puns.

She  rolled her eyes. "No. He was a bit sullen. Not my type." She gave me a  sly smile. "I prefer my men with a sense of humor. Though I suppose you  make up for that in other ways." Zee gave made a loud wince of  sympathetic pain at her burn and I grinned at seeing her so loosened up.  "To be honest with you, I think Earth was my favorite place that I've  visited in my travels, however."

That  was surprising, she'd been across the whole universe I was pretty sure.  In and out of the Sphere of Gods. "That's high praise from someone as  well traveled as you are. What made such a strong impression on you."  Dreamer looked away, her cheeks lighting up in a blush as she murmured  something unintelligible under her breath. I frowned. "Wait, what? I  didn't catch that."

Her  eyes snapped up to mine in a defiant glare. "I said I love Mango Bubble  Tea!" Zee and I just gaped at her as she hid her face in my chest. She  giggled slightly. "It's just so good. I know that's a strange answer but  I had mango milk tea with boba and it was so delicious. I've never  tasted anything like that. I drank it every day I was on earth. I even  smuggled some of the powder back with me when I returned to New  Genesis."

I  had to clamp down hard not to burst out laughing, but I managed. Still, I  had to say what I was thinking. "That's adorable." She glared at me,  cheeks still flushed. Embarrassed Dreamer was cute Dreamer. I held up my  hands in self defense. "Hey you don't have to be the wise zen figure  all the time with us. We like to see your cute side too. Come on, spill,  you were on earth for a while before you found Superboy and the Sphere  right? What else did you do that was fun? There had to be some things  you liked."

She  pouted and looked away, and Zee rolled over onto my chest to get closer  to her so we could both listen when she finally spoke up. "I enjoyed  water slides." Zee squealed at the dark blush on Dreamers face and we  urged her to keep going. She huffed but continued. "I liked tacos, and  ice cream, and walking in the park. Not the parks themselves mind you,  those were usually lackluster, but all the people gathered together in  safety. The children playing by themselves or together as their families  watch, acting as little ambassadors from their various factions."

Her  smile was bright and animated as she talked, seeming to gather momentum  as we let her gush about her experience on our home. "And I enjoy  amusement parks. The idea of a place whose sole purpose is to bring joy  is mesmerizing to me. So many unique and inventive ideas all to make  people happy. Also video game arcades, for the same reason, everything  inside seems dedicated to joy and laughter." Her eyes narrowed and her  frown morphed into a scowl. "Except the game with the claw and the box. I  believe that to be an instrument of evil."

I  cracked up at that. "Yeah, pretty much everyone on Earth came to that  same conclusion years ago." I snuggled up to her, Zee rolling over off  me so she was sprawled halfway across each of us. "Sounds like you did  some fun stuff. We have other things we can still show you though. Like  the fair, which is kind of like an amusement park, but it moves, and the  food is way better. Or worse depending on your point of view." I looked  up at Zee. "What do you think baby? What do you want to show Dreamer?"

Zee  had been a shut in most of her life, but she'd spent time exploring and  trying to live her life as best she could , and she'd seen some cool  magic shit too. She bit her lip in thought. "I think I'd want to show  her the clock tower, and the island. Places that were just for us. Plus  the movie theater. I love going to the movies." She closed her eyes  happily. "The smell of the popcorn, the way audience comes together  during the movie like one big blob of over the top emotion. It's just  so...special."

Zee  and I had gone to the movies together a few times, and she always loved  it there. I think being off in our own little world like that made her  happy. Dreamer noticed her soft smile and gave us both one of her own.  "That does sound very nice. I would love to see more of your world with  you both. It is certainly unique in many ways among the places I've been  before, and I would relish a chance to visit again." Her tone as she  said that was almost...shy. And I realized that we'd never talked about  Dreamer coming back with us.

A  discussion we would definitely be having, but later, because the whole  mood was spoiled by DG jerking awake on the other side of the fire with a  loud yell. Some of us slept through the noise, but Zee, Dreamer and I  got up to go check on the girl. I knelt down next to her, but she didn't  seem to see me, her big blue eyes staring off into the middle distance  as she clearly relived a memory or a dream. I put a hand on her  shoulder. "Hey you ok?"

She  jumped, as if she hadn't known I was there, but then swallowed and  nodded quickly. "Yeah...I. I had a nightmare. About Azkedelia. She told  me when she had me captive that we were friends when we were little. I  assumed it was just some of her mind game nonsense to try to get me to  give her the emerald, but now I'm not so sure." She sounded uncertain,  like she was struggling to avoid believing something that she already  knew was true.

"Maybe  your Dream was trying to tell you something." Cut in Todo. He seemed  eager to get her to explore her memories and the things related to them,  so I wasn't surprised he was looking for deeper meaning. Then again, DG  was a magical princess from a fairy tale kingdom so maybe special  princess answer dreams came with the package. In terms of the destiny  lottery she might have even beaten me out, and I was the bastard son of a  Gotham mob boss with the power to warp reality.

DG  stood up, starting to pace as she talked. Artemis was looking at her in  concern as she and Wally joined us by the fire. I saw Zee lean over to  fill her in as DG started talking. "In the dream, I was scared, and my  mother was rocking me on a swing. In a special place." She closed her  eyes, clearly trying to remember something but having trouble grasping  it. Her face scrunched in frustration. "A beautiful place. By a lake."

Cain  cut in cautiously. "Well...there's about a hundred lakes just south of  here." She looked at him helplessly and he smiled gently back. "You know  which lake." She shook her head in denial. "Yes, you do. You just need  to focus DG. You were there before, as a little girl. Just give it a  try." She closed her eyes again, brow furrowing in concentration as she  did her best to dig even deeper.

She  gritted her teeth in annoyance. "It was...magical. I see a shimmering  lake, I'm skipping stones. There's a big house next to the water and a  gazebo on one side where my mother would sit with me. My sister and I  are catching minnows in the shallows, but we have to stop because it's  time for dinner." She shook her head sharply. "No! None of this is  helping. It could be anywhere!"

Artemis  walked over and put a hand on DG's shoulder. After the revelation of  her magic the two of them had started spending time together, especially  when Zee was off with Dreamer and I. She gave the girl a reassuring  squeeze. "Hey. They're your memories, which means they're helping YOU.  We can find the house or whatever when we get to lake country, but until  then just focus on remembering whatever you can, relevant or not.  Rediscovering your past is more important than getting some info."

She  smirked at me. "Besides, worst case we just send Morgan out to fly  around and look, clone army style." I winced because that actually WAS a  valid search tactic, but it was also a stupidly expensive one. I might  need hundreds of clones depending on how big this lake country area was,  and I absolutely didn't have the points to burn. I was at sixty two  hundred, sure, but I was also saving up to curb stomp Azkedelia again if  she showed her face. If I tapped myself out doing an air search I might  not have the juice to hand with the wicked witch if she came knocking.

Luckily  that wasn't necessary. Wally raised a hand. "Not really an issue. I can  run a search almost as fast." He gave me a subtle nod to show he he  knew I needed to save my strength and I sighed in relief. Then the  redhead did something I didn't expect. He turned to Raw. "Hey big guy,  think you could pull your mirror vision trick again? If you can show us  what DG is remembering it'll give me a place to start on my search. Even  if it's changed seeing how it looked in the recent past will give me an  idea of the layout at least."

Raw  nodded excitedly. "Yes! Raw help DG! Show image to the red one to lead  the way." I gave Wally a respectful nod. That was a damn good thought. I  wouldn't have even considered it. I'd probably have asked her to try to  draw it or something. Raw turned to our wayward princess. "DG allow Raw  access? Share her memories with friends? Very personal thing to ask,  but Raw believes it will help us find the answers DG seeks." He gave her  a reassuring smile, and she returned it, eyes soft as she looked at the  big furry teddy bear.

She  held out a hand. "Sure Raw. I'm happy to have your help. I know with  you on the case we can find out where the lake house is in no time." Raw  took her hand and led her to a small creek nearby. Apparently any  reflective surface was fine for his ability. He knelt down, still  touching her hand, and touched his to the surface of the water. He was  gentle, being careful not to cause many ripples, and he waited for the  water to settle before he focused. Then, before our eyes, the water  blurred, and DG's memories began to play for us again.