"…And you would never believe what Lex said then. He was all like, 'You can't stop someone with the last name Luthor, Superman'. And I told him, 'So you're saying that just because your name is Lex flippin' Luthor, you can't be stopped?' That was a Supes quote, you know. And anyway, he looked all annoyed, and tried to blast me through a wall. Lex, not Supes, that is-"
"Oh?" Ice was resting her chin on one hand, blue eyes staring off absently towards the doorway of the cafeteria.
"You don't say." Shayera rolled her eyes, annoyed with the long story that he was currently telling them. Even though she considered Wally her younger brother, she got tired of hearing the same story told over and over again to everyone in the Justice League. And she had been there herself, and it hadn't been really as exciting as he was making it sound.
"Flash, Black Canary, and Green Arrow to the monitoring womb," came J'onn's voice over the communications system, sounding tired.
"What did you do this time?" Shayera asked, straightening up slightly from her bored position. "Did you and Oliver put more pink dye in Batman's laundry?" She squinted suspiciously at him, recalling the incident clearly. The Dark Knight had been downright terrifying when he had seen his new pink costume. Though what could Dinah have done? She usually wasn't involved in the millions of pranks up here, despite the fact that her boyfriend Green Arrow was usually involved.
The Scarlet Speedster looked nervous. "Uh…no pink dye," he said, raising his eyebrows behind his mask. "Actually, I don't know why they want me. Maybe they found out about what we did with the lipstick and mascara." He added this last part under his breath, but Shayera heard it anyway.
"Please don't tell me. I don't really want to be an accomplice to you and Oliver."
"Actually, it was me and Booster," the crimson-clad hero bragged smugly. "And we got Skeets involved, too, Shayera. You should have been there. It was totally hilarious."
"Really? What did you do, Flash?" The Brazilian beauty Fire looked slightly interested now. She took a delicate bite out of her sweet potato, green eyes wide.
He opened his mouth to answer her, but was interrupted when Green Arrow rushed over to their table, glancing worriedly over his shoulder. "Wally, did you tell someone about the notes?" he hissed urgently.
"Oh, I forgot about that one."
"I don't know you people," Shayera announced, slapping one hand over her face. "Why do you keep doing this? You're just asking for trouble."
Flash shrugged, unconcerned. "I doubt that anyone will find out."
"Flash and Green Arrow to the monitoring womb." J'onn repeated himself loudly.
"It sounds like someone already did. And if I get suspended again, I don't think anyone will be too happy," the emerald archer confessed confidentially.
"But I thought that you didn't want to be in the League, anyway. If you got kicked out, then it wouldn't really matter to you, right?"
"Uh…well…I like it because…of all the pranks we've been playing. Right." He didn't have to mention Canary, as it was obvious to everyone at the table that she was who he was talking about. His and Canary's not-so-secret relationship was a favorite gossip topic in the league.
"Did you ever consider that it could be a mission that they want you to get up there for?" Shayera asked tartly.
Both guys looked at each other like this hadn't occurred to them.
"Brilliant deduction," Ice declared, enjoying the conversation a lot more when she hadn't already heard the same story twelve times. She sipped her iced mocha with a slight smirk on her face.
"You two get your butts up here now!" Dinah shouted out of the speakers of the intercom, annoyed voice practically shaking the whole Watchtower.
"Well, maybe you're right about the mission thing," Wally decided, jumping to his feet. He disappeared in a blur of red, heading in the direction of the monitoring womb.
"Hey, wait up!" Green Arrow raced after him, pounding footsteps against the floor echoing into the distance.
The winged warrior rolled her eyes, turning back to her salad.
Xxxxx
When Flash streaked into the monitoring womb, J'onn was waiting with Zatanna, Wildcat, and a very impatient Black Canary. "It took you long enough," she muttered. "Where's Oliver?"
"He's, uh, coming." Flash quickly scanned his memory to see if he could remember pulling some kind of prank that had involved Zatanna and Wildcat. He couldn't really think of anything, and slightly relaxed. Shayera was probably right about it just being a mission.
"He'd better be."
"We should probably hurry. Security won't delay them for very long, and they're going to get away if we don't get down there." Zatanna seemed more dressed up than normal, face freshly powdered and her costume was fancier than usual.
At that exact moment, Arrow came jogging into the room, eyes wide behind his mask. "Wait for a guy next time, Flash," he panted out.
"Are you ready for your mission?" J'onn asked them, not sounding very amused.
"Yeah," Wally mumbled with embarrassment, avoiding the Martian's chilly gaze.
"Captain Cold, Trickster, and Mirror Master are currently stealing tickets for the show that Zatanna was set to perform in Central City this afternoon," J'onn told them, moving his fingers agilely across the main computer's keyboard. "According to the security cameras, they've almost emptied out every single one of them. The guards are not really stopping them very well."
Flash snorted. "They're stealing tickets for a magic show? How lame is that?"
Zatanna looked offended. "I happen to put on quite a performance, Flash," she informed him icily.
"They obviously want the tickets to sell on the black market," Canary uttered, hands planted on her hips.
"Are we going to get this show on the road or stand around yakking?" Wildcat asked loudly, trying to sound tough. He was a little insecure sometimes, thinking that no one wanted him in the League since he was the oldest member.
"Let's go," Flash agreed with a shrug.
"We need to stop them and get everything back in order before the show later," Zatanna added worriedly, frowning slightly.
"Go down to the teleporters," J'onn said, pulling up the controls for the teleportation pad on the computer screen. He quickly sent the coordinates for the old theater where the crime was being committed down to the technician manning the pad. It would save time, so that the heroes wouldn't have to explain to him where they wanted to go.
Flash sped over and waited while the others followed him, tapping one foot against the floor. Now that he knew that something was happening in his city, he was more than ready to get down there. Once his four teammates had joined him, the technician activated the teleporter. All of them felt the familiar sensation of their molecules being torn apart, then banding snugly back together. There was a bright explosion of blue light, and then the Leaguers appeared down in Central City.
"Wow, this place is sure something," Green Arrow announced, glancing around at the fancy theater built up around them as he tried to get orientated again. The ceiling was made of golden carvings, and the seats stretched out below them were a soft red. The long curtain on the stage where they were standing was heavy red velvet.
"Looks like something from Gotham," Wildcat said, looking around.
"Listen!" Dinah cocked her head to one side, a strand of blond hair draping itself into her eyes. "I hear someone talking."
"Who is-" Zatanna began, tensing as she waited for the villains' inevitable attack.
Suddenly, she was interrupted as Mirror Master and Trickster came crashing through the wall, sheetrock splintering around their limp bodies with the force of the impact. They were accompanied by a shrill scream that sounded much like Dinah's Canary Cry. Only, she wasn't doing it. Everyone was forced to cover their ears to block out the sonic shriek as it assaulted them. It finally stopped, after a few seconds.
"What's going on?" Canary cried in confusion.
"That's what we're going to find out!" Flash ran off to stage, around the empty seats, and through the large hole in the far wall. He heard the others start after them, but didn't pause to wait for them to catch up.
A guy in his late teens or early twenties was holding Captain Cold by his shirtfront, punching him in the face. He was wearing a dark green and black costume with two lighter green lightning bolts shooting up the front. A large watch was strapped to one arm. He had ruffled black hair, and a dark smirk on his face.
"Hey, hey! Don't kill him!" Flash blurred over and jerked the two apart. Cold fell limply to the ground, then sat up and covered his nose with one hand. Blood was streaming down, and the villain started cursing loudly.
"He was trying to steal tickets or something from here, and you took forever to show up," the youth said importantly, glaring at the speedster before him. "I mean, how lame is that? Who in the black market would want to buy tickets to a magic show when there are jewels and paintings and stuff like that out there?"
"Wow, that's exactly what I said," the Fastest Man Alive realized.
"My wife loves Zatanna! I was getting them for her!" Cold moaned pathetically, blood trickling between his fingers.
The person in black and green smirked. "Well, you're just lucky that I happened to be here. They were about to get away, dude."
Flash frowned with confusion. "Uh…who are you exactly?"
"What's going on?" Arrow came rushing over, finally reaching them. Wildcat, Zatanna, and Canary were right on his heels. He did a double take, staring at the newcomer. "Who the heck are you?"
"I can't really tell you." He glanced down at his watch, muttering angrily under his breath. "Well, I've gotta go. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Bye, Grandpa. Bye, Zatanna. Oh, and bye to you too, Mr. Arrow. Catch ya later!" He blurred away in a streak of green and black.
There was a long silence.
Zatanna raised her hand before speaking. "Um…what just happened?"