Hatman sat perched upon the top of a building overlooking Parody Plaza, watching the throng celebrate the Lair Legion’s victory over the Parody Master. He hugged his knees to his chest and wrapped his cape around himself, gently rocking back and forth.

“I thought I’d find you up here,” a familiar voice said. Jay wasn’t surprised by the speaker, and didn’t turn to acknowledge her. He simply held out his cape and the woman behind him snuggled in beside him and tucked the cape around her.

The Sorceress turned a concerned gaze upon the leader of the Lair Legion. “Spill it,” she said simply.

“What?” he asked. The blonde woman next to him didn’t say anything, just kept staring at him. Within moments he cracked and sighed. “You’re not supposed to be able to do that anymore.”

“And you should know better than to feel guilty about what happened to Finny and the rest,” she admonished him.

The brim of his cap shaded his eyes from Whitney’s view. “I was their leader, and they died under my command. We’ve never lost so many in one battle before.” He hung his head low, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Whitney removed the cap from his head, and tilted his chin so he was looking her in the eye. “You heard Lisa. They’re not dead, they’ve gone on to their happy ending. Right now I’ll bet Banjooooo is snuggled in the backseat of a car at a drive in theatre with Elise. Enty is blowing things up to his heart’s content. DK and Finny…well, they’re probably busting up a drug ring right about now. But they’re happy! The Parodyverse is made up of stories, right? Well, what’s more fitting than a happy ending in a world full of stories?”

“I know,” Jay nodded his head, wiping his tears with the hem of his cape. “In my head, I really do. But in my gut, I feel like I let them down.”

“That’s because you’re a hero. A hero who would lay his life down for his friends, for a stranger, for anyone needing protecting. If you could have you would have taken their place in a heartbeat.” The pained look on Jay’s face when she spoke revealed what was really bothering him.

“You wish you had taken their place,” she whispered in realization.

“No, that’s not quite it,” he said, looking out over the city. “But I’ve been thinking, what if I had? What is my happy ending?” He looked back at his former lover. “I don’t know what it would be.”

“It’s not you, Zdenka, and a litter of kids?” Whitney met his gaze. “Don’t you love her?”

“I…I don’t know anymore,” Hatman sighed. Whitney had gotten to the root of his problem. “When I think about my happy ending, all I can think of is you, me, and -“

“--our baby,” she finished for him.

“I never gave him or her a chance. I didn’t listen to you and I unilaterally decided to set things the way they were. I didn’t get to teach him to ride a bike, I didn’t get to build her a dollhouse. And all I can think about now is I may have missed my second chance to do those things.” The tears were fully streaming down his face now. “Do you have any idea how close I was to jumping in after Carl? I was so close to meeting our child…” he trailed off as he began to sob.

“Oh Jay,” she breathed, and pulled him closer into an embrace. As the celebration throbbed beneath them, the leader of the mighty Lair Legion wept over what the Parody Master had unwittingly given and taken away. Whitney held him, encouraging him to let his emotions out as no other could. Time lost all meaning as the two sat there, gently rocking.

When his tears subsided Whitney looked at him carefully, considering whether she should say what she wants to say. “You can still have your happy ending,” she said softly.

“You mean, you and me…”

“No, not like that,” she smiled gently. “We’ve changed too much, experienced too much to go back to the way things were. I love you, but not like that, not anymore. What I mean is, I can harness the energies left behind by the reality bubble, and I can send you to your happy ending.”

Jay could hardly comprehend what Whitney was telling him. “You can send me there? Really?”

“I can…but not now. You need to get your emotions in check first. Take some time, really think things through, with your head and not your heart, and then let me know.” She unwrapped herself from his cape and stood up. “The energy is dissipating, and it won’t be long before I’m unable to gather the energy back together. But you have to be absolutely sure that this is what you want.”

She turned then and left, leaving the Capped Crusader to think about his future.

To be continued…

Having Hatty see the "happy ending" narrative bomb as a second chance to watch his child grow up was an interesting twist... one very much in character, but that I never would have imagined. The cooling of his feelings for Zdenka was something of a bombshell as well...

I'll keep my fingers crossed that he doesn't change his original decision. After all, if Sorcy isn't really with him, is the ending real or imaginary? Not that I'm the best arbiter of what's real or not...

Looking forward to seeing how this one unwinds!

I'd say right now he's confused. In contemplating his happy ending, he realizes he would be happiest if he had never lost his child in the alternate timeline. Since he can't think of anything that would make him happier, he feels conflicted about Zdenka.

Honestly, I just sat down to write a tie-in, which started with Hat just being guilty about the LLers that were hit by the narrative bomb. One thing I love about the PV is the characters sometimes just write themselves, and this is a case where Hatman and Sorceress decided the story for me.


There will be various arguments debated in the conclusion.


Me too!

~Hat~

> >

> > > Hatman sat perched upon the top of a building overlooking Parody Plaza, watching the throng celebrate the Lair Legion’s victory over the Parody Master. He hugged his knees to his chest and wrapped his cape around himself, gently rocking back and forth. > > “I thought I’d find you up here,” a familiar voice said. Jay wasn’t surprised by the speaker, and didn’t turn to acknowledge her. He simply held out his cape and the woman behind him snuggled in beside him and tucked the cape around her. > > The Sorceress turned a concerned gaze upon the leader of the Lair Legion. “Spill it,” she said simply. > > “What?” he asked. The blonde woman next to him didn’t say anything, just kept staring at him. Within moments he cracked and sighed. “You’re not supposed to be able to do that anymore.” > > “And you should know better than to feel guilty about what happened to Finny and the rest,” she admonished him. > > The brim of his cap shaded his eyes from Whitney’s view. “I was their leader, and they died under my command. We’ve never lost so many in one battle before.” He hung his head low, and a tear rolled down his cheek. > > Whitney removed the cap from his head, and tilted his chin so he was looking her in the eye. “You heard Lisa. They’re not dead, they’ve gone on to their happy ending. Right now I’ll bet Banjooooo is snuggled in the backseat of a car at a drive in theatre with Elise. Enty is blowing things up to his heart’s content. DK and Finny…well, they’re probably busting up a drug ring right about now. But they’re happy! The Parodyverse is made up of stories, right? Well, what’s more fitting than a happy ending in a world full of stories?” > > “I know,” Jay nodded his head, wiping his tears with the hem of his cape. “In my head, I really do. But in my gut, I feel like I let them down.” > > “That’s because you’re a hero. A hero who would lay his life down for his friends, for a stranger, for anyone needing protecting. If you could have you would have taken their place in a heartbeat.” The pained look on Jay’s face when she spoke revealed what was really bothering him. > > “You wish you had taken their place,” she whispered in realization. > > “No, that’s not quite it,” he said, looking out over the city. “But I’ve been thinking, what if I had? What is my happy ending?” He looked back at his former lover. “I don’t know what it would be.” > > “It’s not you, Zdenka, and a litter of kids?” Whitney met his gaze. “Don’t you love her?” > > “I…I don’t know anymore,” Hatman sighed. Whitney had gotten to the root of his problem. “When I think about my happy ending, all I can think of is you, me, and -“ > > “--our baby,” she finished for him. > > “I never gave him or her a chance. I didn’t listen to you and I unilaterally decided to set things the way they were. I didn’t get to teach him to ride a bike, I didn’t get to build her a dollhouse. And all I can think about now is I may have missed my second chance to do those things.” The tears were fully streaming down his face now. “Do you have any idea how close I was to jumping in after Carl? I was so close to meeting our child…” he trailed off as he began to sob. > > “Oh Jay,” she breathed, and pulled him closer into an embrace. As the celebration throbbed beneath them, the leader of the mighty Lair Legion wept over what the Parody Master had unwittingly given and taken away. Whitney held him, encouraging him to let his emotions out as no other could. Time lost all meaning as the two sat there, gently rocking. > > When his tears subsided Whitney looked at him carefully, considering whether she should say what she wants to say. “You can still have your happy ending,” she said softly. > > “You mean, you and me…” > > “No, not like that,” she smiled gently. “We’ve changed too much, experienced too much to go back to the way things were. I love you, but not like that, not anymore. What I mean is, I can harness the energies left behind by the reality bubble, and I can send you to your happy ending.” > > Jay could hardly comprehend what Whitney was telling him. “You can send me there? Really?” > > “I can…but not now. You need to get your emotions in check first. Take some time, really think things through, with your head and not your heart, and then let me know.” She unwrapped herself from his cape and stood up. “The energy is dissipating, and it won’t be long before I’m unable to gather the energy back together. But you have to be absolutely sure that this is what you want.” > > She turned then and left, leaving the Capped Crusader to think about his future. > > To be continued… >