The loud thumps of heavy footsteps echoed through the east Norfolk alleyway. The heavy breathing of the man in black leather with a ski-mask over his face was almost as loud. He glanced over his shoulder to see if his pursuer was still behind him, but the dark street was empty.
"Where are you going so fast? Not scared of little old me, are you?" came a sweet, sing-song voice from the rooftops above.
"Stay away from me!" the man's voice shook from the knowledge that he had been cornered.
"Very well." The voice sang. Then the winds began to pick up around the man. He whirled around in fright as purple mist began to seep from the winds. Soon he was screaming as he was picked up off the ground and thrown over the buildings behind him only to land on the hood of a nearby police cruiser.
A soft thud echoed through the silent alley as a small shape dropped to the pavement from a fire escape. The shadowy figure quickly and silently made its way toward the brightly-lit main street a block to the north. The purple mist that had thrown the man began to dissipate, most of it flowing into the fleeting figure.
Another soft sound was heard from the other side of the dark, high-walled street. The first figure turned with a smirk. "You're a long way from Gotham, Dark Knight." Batman's face below his cowl pulled down into a scowl. "And you're a long way from Central City, Flash."
"Aw man!" the scarlet speedster whined as he skidded to a stop behind the still smirking figure. "Bet you don't know why we're here, though!" he asked hopefully.
"No, I have no clue why you two are here. It's like I'm a Legion of Doom scout or anything." Confusion and weariness began to creep into the now cornered shadow's voice.
"True, but we've been scouting you. We've seen and heard reports of some of your 'work.'" Batman wanted to finish this conversation quickly and get this cocky little metahuman to the Watchtower.
The figure that had stayed in the shadows suddenly stepped into the light of a nearby streetlamp. "Now what does the Justice League want with a small-town vigilante like me?" The once shadowy figure was a young woman in her mid twenties with white-blond hair that flowed down past her exposed stomach to touch the top of her black skinny-jeans. Her alabaster stomach, which was as pale as the rest of her, was open to the cold night until it hit her blue, tight and long-sleeved shirt. Her deep purple eyes focused on the two heroes who now stood side by side.
"Whoa, you're…" Flash would have made some undesirable remark, but a cloud of purple energy covered his mouth, effectively silencing him.
"Could you do that more often?" Batman joked darkly.
"Of course. But I'd hate to keep your team mates waiting; so we should best be going." She gracefully loped to the other side of the alley from which Batman had come.
The Dark Knight's cape rustled as he ran to catch up. "You don't know where we're going!" he growled.
"You do!" she sang as she tapped her temple.
The three hurried through the alleyways until they reached Town Point Park. Resting by the water's edge was a sleek silver spacecraft about the size of a yacht. They filed on and took various seats inside the vessel. The ride was silent aside from the whir of the engines and Flash's foot tapping away at super-sonic speeds.
When the ship docked in the bay of the floating station the Justice League used as a base, the door opened to reveal none other than the Man of Steel himself. "Welcome to the Watchtower, ms." He extended his large hand to the still stunned woman.
"Thank you, Superman." she was surprised by the authenticity of his welcome. She, personally, had thought that the whole 'boy scout' routine was just a façade.
Wonder Woman came floating down from who knows where to land next to her comrade. "What do you call yourself?" she asked as she also extended her hand to the newcomer.
"Trix, your highness." She bowed her head as she met Wonder Woman's hand in a firm shake.
"She's as bad as Batman as far as formalities are concerned!" laughed a winged woman with a mace fastened to her belt. She flapped her feathered appendages a few times before landing gracefully on the other side of Superman from Wonder Woman. "I'm Hawkgirl." She, too, shook hands with Trix.
After Batman and Flash had disembarked from the Javelin, as they told Trix it was called, Trix did a quick mental count of five extremely powerful superheroes; the famed Justice League had seven members. She simply surmised that the other two were on a mission or something else duty-related.
"Where are GL and J'onn?" Flash asked Hawkgirl after e had slowed down to walk beside her.
"Lantern's coming and J'onn is on the control deck; somebody had to watch the monitors." Flash nodded as he sped back up. Trix's interest was rekindled with the thought of possibility of meeting the heroes soon.
The six left the docking bay quickly and entered a large elevator. Once inside, Superman reached over and hit the button labeled 'control.' The elevator moved quickly while all of the occupants were silent. Hawkgirl was leaning against the front corner, Batman and Wonder Woman were standing near each other in the back, Superman had placed himself between Trix and the door, and Flash stood beside her with his foot tapping at super-speeds again.
"This is going to be interesting." Trix heard Flash mutter. But she couldn't be sure he had actually said it, he could have just thought it.
When the doors opened, Superman was the first to step out, followed closely by Trix; while the others moved at a more leisurely pace. Standing on the other side of the raised platform from the group was a
blue caped figure with its back to them. "J'onn," Superman called out. "We've brought the new one up."
The figure turned to face the group, which Trix was now at the front of; since Superman had taken a few steps back. Trix was jolted by the sight before her. The man stood about six foot seven, very muscled, and green-ish; but Trix almost completely ignored her last observation. He wore blue boots, tight blue shorts, and his blue cape was fastened by red straps that criss-crossed across his broad chest. His head was smooth with a slightly pronounced brow, and his red eyes were captivating. Trix found her eyes ensnared by his.
While she was looking J'onn over, he was doing the same to Trix. She was slightly petite; probably only five foot six, she was extremely thin, yet she appeared strong. Her tight-fitting black pants hugged the curves of her legs until they stopped with a purple belt at her hips. Her exposed stomach was thin, toned, and marred by scars that few had noticed. Her blue top gripped her chest and thin shoulders and traveled down to her delicate hands. From there, J'onn's eyes traveled up her shimmering white-blond hair to her face. It was slightly heart-shaped and pale; with soft pink lips, a few freckles on her cheekbones, and the most vibrant pair of eyes J'onn had ever seen.
Red locked with violet from that point. After a few moments, Superman interceded for his friend and the newcomer. "J'onn, this is Trix." He motioned towards the immobile woman.
J'onn nodded as he took a few steps to stand in front of Trix. He extended his hand to her; but unlike his comrades, his rendering of the gesture was almost shy. "My name is J'onn J'onzz." He said in a deep voice that almost made Trix shudder, but she suppressed it. "It is good to meet you." he added when their hands met. An almost electric current went through both of them at the contact.
The moment between the two of them was broken by the elevator doors opening again. Out stepped a tall, dark skinned man wearing the intergalacticaly recognized uniform of the Green Lantern Corps. He quickly walked forward to stand next to Hawkgirl. "Sorry I'm late." He addressed the group of now eight.
Superman nodded and turned back to Trix. "Green Lantern, this is Trix." He motioned to her again before she met yet another of the heroes in a handshake.
Batman spoke up for the first time since the group had grown larger than three. "I think we should get this done and over with." The other League members nodded and made their ways back to the elevator Trix fell into step along side J'onn and stood beside him in the elevator. Occasionally, their arms would brush against the other. His cool skin had an odd effect on Trix, as did her warm skin on J'onn.
Soon they all stepped off the elevator, which had been a bit more crowded than before. The group moved down a few corridors and came to a stop in front of a set of double metal doors. They filed into the slightly large room with a long table with seven chairs against a wall and a lone chair in the center of the room. The League members took their seats at the table while Superman motioned for Trix to take the lone chair.
As soon as everyone was seated, Superman cleared his throat to get their attention. Once he had it, he began. "Trix, I'm sure you're wondering why we've brought you here." She nodded. "Well, we have decided to gather other extraordinary people to supplement our ranks. We have selected you to be the first trainee." Trix's jaw popped open as the words sunk in.
"But we have a few questions for you before we make it official." Batman spoke up from his seat at Superman's right. Trix nodded, still in shock. "We know you go by Trix, but what is your name."
Trix shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Sure, they were the Justice League, but she had never told anyone about her alter ego. "Don't worry," Wonder Woman soothed, having picked up on the other woman's unease. "Anything you say in this room will stay between the eight of us."
Trix nodded as she took a deep breath to calm herself. "My name is Madeline Thorold." She had always thought that her name was boring, but her agent was always trying to tell her otherwise.
"Madeline Thorold, as in the model Maddie Thorold?" Flash asked excitedly.
Madeline groaned. "The one and only." She dropped her head into her hands, separating herself from the others by a curtain of her white-blond hair.
"Moving on." Batman growled at Flash. "What are your powers?"
This was an easy question for Madeline, so she looked up from her hands. "I have control over this purple mist-like stuff, I'm empathic, and slightly telepathic." J'onn's red eyes lit up at the notion of someone else understanding the mind like he did. But she was empathic, so he would have to curb this unknown that was bubbling in his chest.
Batman nodded before giving his next question. "Do you have any family that might need to be protected?"
"None." Madeline sighed. "I'm an only child, my parents died when I was seventeen, and I've never really been with anyone."J'onn felt great empathy towards Madeline. He was the last of his kind; his family and whole species killed by an opposing race of Martians. Madeline, however, was bombarded by his thoughts and feelings. She glanced over at the Martian with a new understanding. But when she accidentally caught his eyes, she felt a blush working its way onto her cheeks and looked back to Batman for his next question.
"Well, that was everything." Superman said instead. "Welcome to the League!" he nodded toward the now petrified Madeline.
Flash sprinted around the table to stand in front of her. "So, Maddie, I was just wondering if you wanted to go get a drink with me later. And please, call me Wally; not Flash."
Madeline managed to crack her shock and actually act like a normal person. "Um, Wally, as much as I would like to, I'm afraid I can't." It felt so weird on her tongue to call the fastest man alive by his first name.
Wally nodded sadly and sprinted out the door. Wonder Woman approached Madeline next while chuckling at her friend under her breath. "Don't mind him; he's like that with all beautiful women; especially since you're apparently a model that he knows. But Shiera was right about you and formalities; you must call me Diana. And please, forget about my heritage; here you are my equal." Madeline nodded meekly as she pieced together that Shiera was Hawkgirl. But the concept of the Themysciran Princess considering her beautiful and her equal was rather nerve-racking.
After Diana walked to the door, Green Lantern walked up to her with Shiera a few steps behind him "Since this seems to be the new tradition: My name is John Stewart; not to be confused with J'onn over there." Madeline let out a small laugh. That one sound just about knocked J'onn off his chair; which he was still in. It was soft, slightly high in pitch, and like a smooth bell.
"Well, you're a Green Lantern and he's green." Shiera joked as she walked past the two. "Well, Maddie, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to show you to your room and then give you a small tour." She called to the door. Madeline didn't particularly like the use of the shortened version of her name, but she didn't want to complain to the heroes who had just accepted her.
"One moment." She called as she stood from her chair. She walked over to J'onn, who was still in his chair. He was staring off into space, trying to corral his emotions before the empathic object of them noticed their presence. "Hey, J'onn, are you going to sit there all day or are you going to come along?" she had meant for her voice to be lighthearted and joking, but as soon as his red eyes met hers, she lost most of her train of thought and it came out shaky and soft.
Madeline's violet eyes had the same effect on J'onn. He had intended to stay in the meeting room until he could regain his composure; but Madeline's voice, among other things, had him captivated. He had been thinking about how their eyes had locked on their meeting, the shock that had gone through him when they shook hands, and the odd warm tingling that had radiated on his arm whenever she accidentally touched him in the close quarters of the elevator. He also wondered why she turned down Flash's offer of a drink. And most importantly; why had she come over to ask him about his intentions? He looked into the full force of her eyes. "Of course." He almost stuttered. A small smile graced her pink lips, and he had a hard time not mirroring it on his green counterpart.
Madeline was glad J'onn had agreed; she wanted to spend more time around this fellow telepath. She also wanted to get to know him better, and to figure out why she couldn't hear his thoughts in the back of her head like she could everybody else's. She carefully hooked her hand under the crook of his elbow and gently pulled him from his seat and led him to the door. Yet another shock went through them at the contact. She broke the contact to turn to Shiera, who was trying desperately not to smirk; since her mouth was not covered by her feathery cowl. "I don't need to be shown to my room; I already know where it is."
"How…" Shiera began, but was cut off by Madeline tapping her temple with an innocent smile.
J'onn smirked inwardly, but Madeline felt his change in emotion from shocked to amused. She turned to him and almost gasped. He had leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms across his chest. His
faced was graced by a small smile, and their eyes locked yet again. Both were trying to deny the odd emotions rising in their chests, and both were completely and utterly loosing. J'onn's mind was thrown into a tumble by the angelic yet mischievous woman before him; while Madeline trying to submerge her mirrored opinions for the lone alien Adonis before her.
And to think they'd only known each other for half an hour at the most.
Greetings fellow earthlings! Both halves of idkaname speaking.
The two of us have been JLA fans since the age of 5, and we have finally found the perfect inspiration.
Note: later chapters might me told from Maddie or J'onn's POV, depending on who has more time to write (the female half C M would write for Maddie, and the male half L W would write for J'onn) But if we do, it will be a repeat of the awkwardness that ensued after L W wrote as Abe for a chapter in "Never Judge."
Well, we love your reviews and reply EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Sincerely,
C M + L W idkaname