Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Majin Buu

Stepping in through the doorway to Catherine's apartment after unlocking the door, I closed the door behind me before I walked into the living room. It was still early in the night for the city, and after checking the time on the clock on the wall, I duly noted Catherine had at least an hour or so left until she clocked off from her work at the lab.

I frowned a bit though, as when I glanced to the kitchen at random, I noticed a piece of paper held in the grip of a fridge magnet clip; I walked over to check what the paper was for, whether it was my business or not, my only assumption was that she came by her apartment on lunch break to leave me a note while spending her breaktime.

Once I approached the fridge, I noticed the folded up piece of paper was indeed addressed to me, before I reached up to grab it. I flipped it over to notice more handwriting, 'Pulling an all nighter, just receive some new alien tech to study. Mind heading to the groceries for me? I left the list of things I need in this note.'

Besides the one bit about alien tech, I couldn't help but raise a brow at the request to go out grocery shopping, when I could just use my magic to make the stuff from common junk or other things…hmm, maybe that's why she did ask for that…that, or she hadn't thought of it, cause I just did just now…

Turning around to look for any money she may have left behind, there was an envelope beside the fridge, making me double check the note once more at the bottom. "Please don't turn junk into groceries, just take the money and get my stuff please."

Shit, I guess she did think ahead. I shrugged to myself, and extended my hand over to grab the envelope and pocketed it along with the grocery list. I could use the simple life anyways, after getting into it with a goddess in the Himalayas.

Plus, I find it funny and amusing that people would see someone like me shop like anyone else. The people of Jump City may be getting used to me, but hardly anyone has seen me shop for groceries.

I can also use my teleportation ability I snagged from Hecate, so at the very least I didn't have to carry groceries all the way back. I frowned again, as I realized after remembering how long the list was, I'd have to use my absorption ability to stow away the groceries inside of me. That, or I just grow extra limbs out of me to carry more bags, either option is fine.

…meh, I'll deal with it after I shop.

Thinking back once more about the alien tech, my curiosity had me wondering how often DC Earth got alien tech. I mean, after so many alien invasions, you'd think humanity kept getting golden eggs just because its Heroes kept fighting intergalactic warlords and all that nonsense.

Shaking my head at the notion, there are only two invasions that I remember about from the cartoons, and I know damn sure that Darkseid hasn't invaded yet, otherwise I'd have read about it online…

…hmm, I should also see if there's a message forum board on heroes, see if Control Freak is among any…and I'm also reminded this is still the wild west era of the internet, so no centralized social media sites just yet…

…wait…that means I can invest…

Shaking my head at the random thoughts that just pop in through my thought process, I really needed to stop that.

Picturing the store I had in mind to shop from, my vision blurred for less than a second, before I stood within the parking lot of a store branded as 'Flormart'. An awful knock off to Walmart, but not like I had any other reason to complain about the name.

I gained of course a few passerby looks from people that were either leaving the store or just now parking, some looked shocked while the others looked confused.

I pulled the hem of my hoodie down a bit to fix it, feeling it ride up was a bit annoying, dutifully ignoring the onlookers, before I relaxed my arms around from my hoodie before pocketing my hands and proceeded to head into the store.

With a few items now inside my cart I acquired, as I pushed it around with one hand, I held the list Catherine needed in my other hand; a few employees and shoppers gave me more curious glances, before resuming their activity, I can almost imagine Lois asking Superman if he can do her groceries.

…actually, I don't think that'd be far from what comics had done with comic book characters for a gag…maybe…

Stepping in front of a butcher counter the store had, I pushed aside my cart to reach over and ring the bell for service.

"On it." A young voice hollered from the back, before a young man in his mid twenties or so stepped out from the double doorway, the man himself spotted me with surprise before calming down as he approached his side of the counter, "Uh…so…what can I do for you?" he asked me, while palming his hand down against the counter to lean against it a bit.

I held my list up to read off of it, "Butcher man…need…one pound beef steak…thin sliced turkey, one pound…" I read off the list, while keeping my sentences simple.

The young butcher guy nodded, before looking over at the selection in the glass to the left, "Do you know what brand of meat you need from that list?" he asked me.

I glanced again at Catherine's list, before looking back up at the butcher, and telling him the requested brand. He nodded, "Gotcha, give me a minute or so." he responded, before walking back to do his work.

While I waited, the store music continued to play in the background, some simple smooth piano music played. This was less awkward than I thought it would be, while at the same time nostalgic feeling.

Having acquired the meat from the butcher, I strolled through the store more to finish up the grocery shopping. As I rounded the corner of an aisle, I passed by some random man dressed in a pressed uniform meant for an office space, save for his overcoat was off, so he was just dressed in a pair of brown slacks, and a white dress shirt.

As we passed each other, the man uttered 'freak' under his breath.

No, I wasn't going to start throwing hands over a simple insult, but I was going to throw back an equal insult. I stopped and turned to look at the average looking office worker with square framed glasses, "Say's office man. All Buu sees is skinny man that looks like he needs more sun!" I retorted, giving him a light insult.

Judging by the brief insult he spew at me, he must be one of those old types of minds that hates stuff out of the ordinary; it was inevitable I'd run into one, so I wasn't surprised by the insult.

The man stopped and slowly turned to give me a harsh glare, "Screw you! I pull in six figures! Not like a bum like you would know!"

I snarked back at the guy, "Buu ain't no bum, Buu works at docks lifting heavy crates. When was last time office man lifted anything!" I smirked back, observing his thin arms.

The office man scoffed back, and corrected glasses a bit over his nose before answering me, "Yeah, cause you're not human! Unlike you, we work hard for our things."

I continued to smirk, "Office man preach all he want, bet office man's wife cheated on him!" he wasn't definitely coming off as having insecurities, or maybe I was just reading him wrong.

The man's face grew red, before he calmed himself down, "Listen here you little freak!" he seethed and jabbed his finger at me, "You keep my wife out of this!" he demanded.

Okay, maybe I was taking this too far…then again, he was the one that started shit with me…

I shook my head, before removing myself from this confrontation, it was already spiraling out of control, and if push came to shove, I had to be mindful to not fold the man too hard.

"Hey!" The man shouted over at me, "We're not through here!" He hollered, but I ignored him.

Which was probably the wrong thing to do, as the man left his cart and stormed over to grab me by the shoulder; I quickly turned and caught him by the wrist with a stone grip as I glared up at him, while he began to express nervousness and fear. "Buu can fold office man like paper, does office man want that?" I challenged him.

The man himself sweated, before he began trying to pull his arm out more, "Let go, you freak!" he demanded.

Right as he began to pull again, I smirked a toothy grin, "If office man insists!" I responded, as I let him go, causing him to stumble back into his cart and fall over onto his rear end from having pulled his arm at the wrong time from out of my grip.

The office man groaned while I walked back toward him and bent at my knees to stare evenly with him, "Buu may be freak, but Office man is jerk. Office man started with insult, Buu will finish with insult back!" I explained to him, while he glared at me.

Silence stayed between us for a few seconds, before I stood up to head back to my cart and resumed shopping. That was honestly my first interaction with some jerk, since I interacted with Johnny Rancid and his cronies. Interacting with Johnny was better than that Office man.

Stepping in line to cash out my groceries, a mother and her child were in front of me while some surfer looking dude was behind me…the dude literally looks like he comes from Point Break…

The child that sat in the child's seat in the cart leaned to the side to peek at me, his eyes still wide after seeing me for the second time since I got in line for the cash register. The mother looked down to her child, before giving me a glance over her shoulder, expressing surprise at seeing what her child was looking at for the second time.

"Oh…uh…" she tried to form a coherent sentence, before speaking, "Well…never thought I'd see you shopping for groceries." she mused.

I stared up at the woman with an amused look, before responding, "Not like Buu bothers with secret identity. Ever picture Superman shopping, but under secret identity?" I questioned back.

The guy behind me promptly spoke up that earned both my and the mother's attention, as I turned to look at him from over my shoulder, "Yeah, dude. I heard this one time, the Flash was seen in some convenience store, shopping for an energy drink! So it's not uncommon for supes to shop, at least, in costume!" He remarked, expressing a simple amused smile.

Interacting with the regular populace had its merits, you got to hear rumors like that from the average person.

The cash register worker spoke up as he began scanning the mother's groceries next, "Nah, you should hear about how this one time, this one store on the East Coast was visited by Hawkgirl!" he offered his own rumor up, earning everyone else's attention.

The cashier looked up as he scanned another item, he showed a chill look about him, "She came in asking for 'Earth Chips', and wanted to try them."

…You know, I don't think the showrunners of the JLU ever showed or animated an episode where the heroes just happened to spend a day under their secret identities…if there was, I don't remember one.

My thoughts were soon interrupted, by the sound of a group of people walking in with boots, along with the clicking of guns, "Listen up, don't know body move! This is a robbery!"

I could barely see from over the aisle of the line I was in, but at the front door were five guys wearing balaclava masks with pump shotguns in their hands.

The funny thing about this moment was that nobody screamed, but every civilian turned their heads towards me, then back at the robbers with bewildered expressions. In everyone's defense, this was probably the right reaction.

"Oi! What was everyone looking at? Some cop over there!? We got you surrounded!" The robber shouted at the top of his lungs.

I responded in kind by simply flying up to hover in the air, giving the men a full view that I was in this store, before quickly bringing my hand out to flick out air bullets with my thumb to disarm the men of their guns; the firearms themselves warped and cracked before shattering out of the men's hands, prompting them to back away with whitened faces.

Nobody said anything, after I outright destroyed the men's weapons with a flick of my thumb and air. Before anyone said anything, the men scrambled over each other in high pitched screams before bolting out the door.

What I did not expect was Robin of all people to come down from above to start kicking them all down to the ground; dealing with each one in quick succession with his extendable bo staff, and using his metal tipped shoes to knock the teeth out of the robbers outside the store. Everyone watched it happen from inside the store, including me while I was still hovering in the air.

"Wait, what happened to your guns! I just saw you enter with shotguns to rob the store!" Robin demanded of them, his voice muffled by the closed doors, as he kept one of the men under his knee, while the others were on their back moaning in pain after receiving a beatdown by Robin.

"Yo, is that Robin from Gotham?"

"I think it is."

"I knew I saw him ride into the city on a motorcycle!"

Huh, Robin's here now? And at night…shoot, does that mean I'm already at the start of when Starfire arrives, or would that happen some other night? Afterall, it's not like the instant everyone is in place, stuff starts rolling…

Robin

Having managed to stop a purse thief not but a few minutes ago in a crowded sidewalk, the subject of which was now suffering a broken leg after he knee dropped the criminal at the back of the knees to the ground, the low life would think twice now to resort to crime; so now Robin was vaulting over the rooftops after returning the stolen purse to its owner, the night was still young and plenty of crime to look out for.

As Robin bounded over a rooftop lip, he landed atop another roof and ran across it while taking out his grappling hook gun to fire it off to swing up onto the hire building up ahead; with a cast of his grappling gun, Robin pulled himself up onto the next building over and paused to take a good look around the city from his vantage point.

Now that he was higher up, he was afforded the benefit of seeing a bit further, albeit, it would be hard to see past the buildings and their streets below, so he'd have to also keep his ears open for any possible noise of trouble.

Placing his foot onto the lip of the building's roof he was on, Robin took a gander to the far off distance of a grocery store in the distance, it wasn't far; Robin narrowed his eyes as he noticed something, before taking out a set of binoculars from his gadget belt, before peering into them. A group of five men wearing balaclava ski masks were heading into the store with shotguns in hand.

A rather overkill amount of men to rob a store, who knows how much the place had on hand for them to steal; in the end though, Robin was about to rain on their parade once they exited the store. If people started screaming, he'd deal with the criminals inside rather than wait for them outside.

Using his paraglider gadget to soar over to the store, and land atop the roof, Robin was about to just go ahead and enter the store and stop the thieves before anything escalated to its worst conclusion inside; what Robin did not expect all of the sudden, was for the men to come running out without their shotguns.

While very suspicious, Robin didn't delay any further, and hopped down to tackle one of the man to the ground, before dispatching the rest with a few well place kick to the jaws and chests, leaving one man still standing after Robin whipped out his bo staff to take the last two of the men.

The remaining thief stumbled back onto his rear end, as Robin glared at the criminal, "Wait, what happened to your guns! I just saw you enter with shotguns to rob the store!" He demanded of the man as he pointed at the man down on the ground, while his other hand still kept a grip on his bo staff.

The man's visible skin underneath the balaclava was ghost white, "Rob-rob to-to fli-flick! Pink! Thumb!" The thief had trouble forming a coherent sentence, something or someone must have dealt with these criminals from inside the store.

Robin stormed over and slammed his foot down onto the man's chest, keeping him pinned under his foot, "Regardless, I'm locking you all up until the police arrive!" he shook his head at the unintelligible man pinning beneath his boot.

The man sputtered a bit more, before shrieking, "That freak in there! He just used his thumb, and flicked our shotguns into bits with air! I've never seen something like it!" he finally answered Robin.

While Robin kept his foot firmly on the criminal's chest, he took an honest look over his shoulder to see who was inside the store. There inside, was none other than that Majin Buu alien, getting his groceries scanned.

…Well that answers part of the questions in his mind…