The Interviews
When Steven and Connie filled the online application to become a superhero it was as a joke. There was no way that the Justice League would be interested in a couple of kids. So Connie could not believe her ears when she received the call from the Justice League.
"This is Martian Manhunter from the Justice League is Connie Maheswaran in?" asked the voice.
"Yes, that's me!" exclaimed Connie.
"We at the Justice League have read your application and are very impressed. We would like to invite you and your partner to Metropolis for an interview at the Justice League."
Connie screamed silently for joy.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
"Yes, let me discuss this with my partner. When do you want us to come?"
"We understand that you're still a minor, so discuss this with your caregivers too. We'll call again in two days time to book an appointment." The alien hung up.
The first thing Connie did was run right over to Steven's house. She slammed open the door.
"Steven I got great news! We've been selected for an interview for the Justice League," she shouted.
"Connie it's 7 am and you're still in your pajamas," said Steven.
Her boyfriend was also in his pajamas as he sat at the breakfast bar. Meanwhile Pearl was making pancakes in the kitchen.
"Steven, don't you get it? The greatest heroes on Earth want to interview us. Oh, this is going to be so great. We've got to get costumes, names, a backstory.."
"Don't get ahead of yourself Connie. You and Steven still have a lot of training to do," said Pearl.
"But that's just it, Pearl. We would undergo a rigorous training program and it's not like Steven and I are inexperienced. We've fought monsters loads of times. So can Steven and I still go?"
Pearl made a show of thinking it over. She hemmed and hawed. "Okay, you can both go – provided you discuss this with your parents Connie."
Both children shrieked and hugged Pearl.
"I've got to tell Peridot. She'd love a trip to Metropolis," said Steven.
"You better not. Peridot isn't really that socially adept. Best let her stay in the barn," said Pearl.
And so after some negotiations Connie, her father Doug, Steven and Pearl traveled in Doug's minivan to Metropolis that Friday. They did not notice the burnt down barn as they passed Peridot's old home.
Peridot was working in the supply cupboard at LexBurgers when she received the call. She was busy repairing some laptops but could not work next to the food in the main room. Suddenly her cellphone trilled.
"Steven?" she cried out. Peridot had so much to talk about.
"Sorry no, this is the Flash from the Justice League. We've read your application and we are very impressed with your qualifications. How would you feel about coming in for an interview at the Hall of Justice?"
"I can come right away. What should I bring? Can I bring my machines?"
"Hold on, how about this weekend. Just bring yourself and your equipment. That is all you need."
They arranged a time. After some negotiations, Peridot ran out of the cupboard.
"Hey Guys! The job is as good as mine. Let's have some shakes to celebrate!" shouted Peridot.
"Young lady you can't just order food without paying for it," said the frymaster a single mother in her 30's.
"Besides the lactic emulsifier is broken," added the cashier a pimply faced boy.
"I can fix that," replied Peridot.
Connie was impressed. Not only was Pearl a mighty warrior but she was smart too. That evening during the last leg of their journey, Pearl had driven up to a small townhouse in a nice suburb of Metropolis. It was much like Connie's house in Beach City.
"All right everybody take your things out. We are staying in this house for tonight," said Pearl.
"You've arranged for us to stay in a house tonight? Pearl that's brilliant. How can I ever thank you?" her father Doug was also pleased.
"Help me make dinner and let me drive from now on," answered Pearl.
As Doug Maheswaran sat eating aloo gobi with Connie and Steven, he studied the house. It looked so uncannily like his house, right down to the decorations. There were pictures of an Indian American family just like his too. It was downright freaky.
"So ah how again did you select this house?" asked Doug.
"Simple I put the Beach house on Home Swap and wouldn't you know? A family in Metropolis was looking for a place to stay in Beach City," said Pearl proudly.
Doug looked at Pearl not quite believing her. Suddenly Pearl's phone rang. Pearl answered it and regretted it.
"Pearl where are you?" shouted Amethyst. "Peridot's missing and we burnt down the boardwalk. One more thing, why is there a family of 5 roosting in the Beach house?"
"Steven and I are on vacation remember? We switched houses with that family to use their home. And honestly how could you let the boardwalk burn down?" chided Pearl.
"It was a corrupted gem! It breathed fire and stuff. The Mayor is pissed. We were going to get Peridot to fix the town but we can't find her!"
"Well try the Crab Claw then, at the arcade."
"We already did. Look this is a mess, the Mayor's pressing charges, Greg's refusing to pay and it's really awkward going in and out of the temple. You gotta come back and fix things."
"No I don't. I haven't had a vacation in over 200 years. There's always something that keeps coming up and I have to fix things. Well not anymore, this is my time. Steven and I are going to relax and have a good time and there's nothing you can do about it. As for the family, if you burnt down the town, they will leave soon enough."
She slammed down the phone. The humans stared at her. Pearl smiled stiffly. "Well how about we clean up and go to bed? You kids have a big day tomorrow."
The next morning Connie pounded on Steven's door. They had just put on their costumes and were about to go down the stairs when Doug stopped them.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked her father.
"We're having breakfast and then we're going to the Justice League,"answered Connie.
"Not dressed like that you're not."
Pearl hearing the commotion climbed up the stairs to see what was going on.
"But Dad, we're applying to be super heroes. We can't just appear in street clothes," whined Connie.
Doug was having none of it "Young Lady a tiny red bikini and a strawberry shaped hat is not a costume. Change at once. And what are you supposed to be Steven?"
"A biscuit," said Steven sadly. He was wearing a round foam suit.
"Pearl help me out here," pleaded Connie.
"I agree with your father. You're not a superhero yet. A costume would just make you look crazy right now," said Pearl.
Hawk Girl didn't know why she agreed to come in for the interviews today. Last night, J'onn J'onzz marched right into her quarters.
"Hawk girl, I need you to come to the interview session tomorrow. There's something you need to see," said Martian Manhunter coldly.
"How nice you to knock," said Hawk Girl sarcastically.
"Shayera, I'm serious. Please come."
Hawk Girl looked at the serious almost pleading look on J'onn's face. This was big but still.
"Can't you tell me what it is then?"
"I can't not really. It's something you must see. I tried explaining this to Kal'el but he's biased and the rest are ignorant. So can you please come?"
Reluctantly Hawk Girl agreed. The next morning she flew her shuttle down. As she walked through the waiting room she saw the assortment of weirdos waiting in line. They were a waste of time, but the Justice League needed wing power. Maybe the children would have some potential. She sat down in her place.
"Hey is this seat taken?" asked the Flash.
He sat down and leaned over. Oh Gods, he was going to flirt with her.
"Hey does J'onn seem a little bit off, today?"
"I'll be a little bit off, if these interviews end up being a waste of my time."
The first candidate was a man in a mushroom costume. He stood proudly holding what looked like some sort of grenades.
"I am Fun Guy. With my good time spores I am able to disable evil with a psychedelic good time."
"So you poison people with fungal spores?" asked Hawk Girl.
Fun Guy nodded.
"Next," called out Batman.
The next candidate was a man in a lumpy brown costume.
"I am Captain Poo-"
"No!" shouted Superman. "Next!"
Then there was a woman in a skimpy costume and a katana. She was clearly fit but cut herself with her sword. There was a bit of interest when a middle aged man wearing a business suit and a mask came in.
"I am the Accountant. With my accountancy skills I root out and audit evil. No ill gotten gains are safe in any tax haven. With my special powers I will garnish evil's might," boasted the man.
"Sir, you're obviously highly skilled but why are you applying for this position?"asked the Flash impatiently.
"My son thinks my job is lame," admitted the Accountant.
"We'll get you an interview FBI's forensic accountancy department," said Superman.
Then a middle aged woman came up with a parrot on her shoulder. She at least, wasn't wearing a costume.
"So what made you decide to apply for the superhero position?"asked Green Lantern diplomatically.
"Oh, I'm not applying for the position, Rocky is," said the woman.
The members of the Justice League looked at each other. Flash made a face.
"Miss, this is a very serious position. We do not appreciate jokes," said Superman.
The woman raised her finger. She put on a little mask on the bird.
"Rocky, it's hero time," said the woman.
The bird flew off her shoulder as the woman threw some targets into the air. Rocky swooped down and blasted them with some sort of energy beams from his beak. After the smoke had cleared, the bird landed on his owner's shoulder.
"I'm Boom Bird," it shouted.
Superman was the first to speak,"That was quite interesting. Miss-"
"Mercy."
"Do you have any powers yourself?" asked J'onn.
"No," replied the woman.
"This is something we have never encountered. Quite honestly we don't know what to make of it. Will you be around in Metropolis for the weekend?"asked Superman.
The next applicant to come in was truly strange. The girl wore a set of paint cans on her feet, as well as a tie and an alien themed boxers over a green jumpsuit. But that was not the strangest thing about her. The girl appearing about 12 years old had green skin and a rock on her forehead.
"That, ah is an interesting costume you have on," said the Flash.
"It's not a costume. According to this planet's customs one is supposed to wear their best clothes to a job interview," said the girl. Flash couldn't help but notice her large pyramidal hairstyle.
Superman took the lead, again, "So tell us about yourself."
"I am Peridot Facet 2F5L Cut 5XG of the Diamond Authority. I was gemetically engineered and created to observe the final stages in the development of the Cluster. The Cluster was a geoweapon deep inside the Earth that if it emerged would destroy the planet itself."
The news caused a minor panic. The members of the Justice League talked among themselves about what to do.
Batman took charge, "And what is the present status of this Cluster?"
"The Cluster is presently deactivated. While I was observing the Cluster and other gem fusion experiments I was hunted down and captured by the Crystal Clods. They trapped me on this planet and had me build a drill. When it started to emerge, my companion Steven Universe and I drilled to the location of the Cluster. Steven put it in stasis where it stays right to this day."
"So you admit to taking part in an experiment that would destroy all life on Earth? Why do you think we would possibly interested in you?" said Martian Manhunter.
"Because of this," Peridot then opened her handbag and dumped it out. On the floor was a small pile of computer parts. They floated up and formed into a set of small robots, which when set down scrambled along the floor. Peridot looked up smugly.
She continued, "As you can see not only am I a first class technician but I am also ferrokinetic. In the case of the Cluster, I had no part in creating it. In fact I was created for it. If not for Steven, I would have died along with the rest of you so I hold no allegiance to Homeworld."
"Still that does not change the fact that you are Gem Warrior and are therefore an enemy of all organic life!" Martian Manhunter was standing now.
Hawk Girl was surprised by what happens next. Flash put his hand on J'onn.
"Dude calm down, she looks more like a Gem Technician than a Gem Warrior," said Flash.
"You know nothing about this – rock person," snapped J'onn.
"And neither do you," said the Green Lantern. "Even the most warlike societies have civilians. Peridot please continue with your story."
"Well after Steven and I saved the planet, those Crystal Clods set me up in a barn just outside of Beach City. I had very little contact with the outside world. What knowledge I have of Earth's customs I got from watching TV."
"That explains it," muttered Batman under his breath. "Peridot what made you decide that to apply for this position."
"The barn caught on fire," replied Peridot.
"And so you learned about the kindness of humanity and wanted to pay them back?" asked Wonder Woman.
"No! The citizens of Beach City are rather oblivious. When I went back to the temple Garnet threw me out. She told me I wasn't a Crystal Gem despite me working for them for over a year. I was homeless and alone. I didn't know what to do. Then I saw your ad on the newspaper and I came here."
"Tell me of your first impression of humans," asked Hawk Girl.
"Well when I first was introduced to humans I was not impressed. They were in a zoo with their every need taken care of. They were lazy, stupid pampered pets. But the humans in the wild are nothing like them. They are smart, clearly capable beings," answered Peridot.
"I've got a question. Why do you smell like fryer oil?" asked the Flash.
The other members of the Justice League shook their heads in embarrassment. Peridot fiddled with her tie.
"It's quite simple. I am presently residing at a low level food dispensary called LexBurgers. When the barn burnt down, I lost not only my home such as it was, but also my tablet and my pet pumpkin were smashed. I have nothing and nowhere to go, please let me have this job!" Peridot wiped a tear away.
The Justice League huddled and talked among themselves.
"This Peridot's motives are not pure. She doesn't want to help people. Peridot is just looking for a place to live," said Wonder Woman.
"Is anybody we've seen had pure motives? At least she is honest," stated Superman.
"Still I have never seen anybody more needing our help than this little girl," said Batman.
"That little girl's species destroyed my race," said J'onn coldly.
"So that's what's bothering you? Look the Green Lantern corps are familiar with Gemkind and I can tell you that not all gems are the same. This girl has potential. We should at the very least send her to the next stage," said Hal Jordan.
"Ah Peridot, one question how old are you?"asked Hal.
The little green gem thought about it for a moment, "I'm about 12, 12 of your Earth years old."
Hal gave a look to Martian Manhunter, "Great, we would like you to come in for the next round. How does this Monday sound?"
"I told you we should have left earlier. Now we're going to be late," said Connie.
They were were in the middle of a traffic jam. Despite this being a Saturday morning, traffic was reduced to a crawl.
"A good nutritious breakfast is something that can't be skipped, especially today," chided Pearl.
"We could have bought something in town!" said Connie exasperated.
"Don't take that tone, Connie. Despite your mother being a doctor, we are not made of money. Besides there is no way I am allowing you to eat garbage while I'm around," said her Dad.
Connie grumbled and sat back down. By some miracle when they reached the Hall of Justice it was not too late. When they finally reached the waiting room Connie saw all the strangely dressed weirdos. The door to the interview room burst open. Connie couldn't believe her eyes.
"Peri?" said Steven.
"I went onto the next round!" shouted Peridot.
Before Connie could draw her sword, Pearl clamped her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't," said the pale Gem firmly.
"Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran, Jam buds you're up next," called out the receptionist.
Steven walked in but Pearl still held onto Connie. She looked down sternly at Connie.
"Before you go in there, I must tell how important this interview is. Steven is at the final stages of his training. I cannot teach him anymore. These superheroes will teach him what he needs to know. That is why it is very important that we make a good impression."
"But Peridot is no hero. She doesn't deserve to be in the Justice League."
"Enough, any negative comments on a fellow applicant will make a bad impression for us. You will distance yourself from Peridot, you will make no mention of her and you will not under any circumstances volunteer any information about her. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good, now hurry up. Steven is waiting."
When Connie raced in to catch up she saw all the world's greatest heroes sitting behind a large table. There was Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a few others she didn't recognize.
"Thank you for coming over, tell us about yourselves," asked Superman regally.
"I'm Steven Universe" said Steven.
"And I'm Connie Maheswaran," said Connie.
"Together we protect Beach City."
"From monsters and evil doers."
"I have a wide range of magical powers from healing, entering people's minds through dreams to super strength. I inherited them from my mother, Rose Quartz, the leader of the Crystal Gems."
"And I have trained over two years under the best swordsman in the world, Pearl. While Steven gifted me his mother's sword," said Connie as she pulled out her sword.
"Tell us about your adventures," prompted Hawk Girl.
Connie was the first to speak,"Our first adventure happened 3 years ago. Steven and I went on a quest to get back the ocean from the evil Lapis Lazuli. In our next adventure we fought these gem monsters in a hospital. And in another time we were on a mission to hunt monsters in Canada when we met the evil Jasper. She got away and then attacked us at the beach. Steven and I formed Stevonnie and kicked Jasper's butt. During this time Steven and I have been training under Pearl to fight the evil Homeworld Gems
"And what about you Steven?" asked Batman pointedly.
"Well to honest, my gem powers and my heritage tend to get me and the people I love in trouble. That time the ocean got stolen by Lapis Lazuli was my fault. I let her out of a magic mirror but she was still broken and confused. That is why she stole the ocean. Then there was the time I had these bad dreams about a palanquin and despite the warnings of the Gems, I took my Dad to Korea with me where he got abducted by Blue Diamond and placed in a zoo. We had managed to capture a shuttle earlier and had used that to reach Dad. But none of us knew how to operate it and we nearly crashed in the zoo. Because of me, we nearly died.
Finally two Homeworld gems started abducting more humans for the zoo. We fought with them and lost. It was only because I gave myself up that the Crystal Gems and my friends survived. Then it got worse, my friend Lars was still trapped. We got taken to Homeworld where I faced a trial for my mother's crimes. Well, we managed to escape, make new friends and I returned to back home. But not before Lars sacrificed himself trying to save us. I was able to bring him back to life but now he's trapped on Homeworld and is now - different."
"Different how?" asked J'onn.
"He's pink and he has this portal in his hair which I used to get back home," admitted Steven.
"And you haven't gone back and rescued him?" asked Wonder Woman.
"The portal is linked to my mother's lion. He's presently missing and we lost the shuttle. So no, we can't go back and rescue him."
"You're from Beach City aren't you. Are you that Steven who stopped the Cluster with Peridot?" asked Superman.
Steven looked almost ashamed,"Ye-ah that's me. Peridot had come to the Earth to watch over the Cluster. She got stranded on Earth. Thinking she was here to destroy the Earth, we hunted her down. Something was off, so I released her from her bubble. After she told us about the Cluster, she built a drill, used that drill to take us to the Cluster and helped me stop it."
"Which does not really count because Peridot was a prisoner of war and forced to save the Earth," blurted out Connie.
Pearl looked at Connie sharply.
"So you know Peridot, tell me your impressions of her?" asked Batman.
"Well my impression was that Peridot wasn't really interested in life on Earth. She and Lapis lived in the barn and kept mainly to themselves," said Connie.
"That's not true, Peridot is way interested in life on Earth. She kept helping out on missions. I would have visited her more often but stuff kept getting in the way," said Steven.
"When was the last time you spoke to her?" asked Batman pointedly.
"It was over a week ago," admitted Steven.
"Onto to the next order of business. Steven how does your family feel about you becoming a superhero?" asked Superman.
"Well Pearl and my Dad are very supportive. He thinks that this would give me a chance to see the big old world. And Pearl actually got us a house to stay in while we're at Metropolis," said Steven.
"And you Connie, how does your legal guardian feel about you training to be a superhero?" asked the Flash.
Doug Maheswaran cleared his throat, "Excuse me, but I am actually Connie's father and I can tell you her mother and I are very proud of her."
"I'm sorry. It's just that the children who apply are usually orphans," answered the Flash. "You aware how dangerous it is even to train as a superhero?"
"Connie has proven she can handle herself on many occasions. My wife and I are very proud of her and all that's she's accomplished," said Doug proudly.
"And what is the real reason?" said Batman pointedly.
"Well the fact is Beach City is a very dangerous place. Last month Connie almost got abducted by aliens. My wife and I feel that Metropolis would be a much safer place to be in."
The member of the Justice League talked among themselves. After a couple of minutes they faced Steven and Connie.
"Congratulations, Steven and Connie. You two have shown excellent promise. We would like to invite you for the next stage of testing this Monday."
Connie and Steven squealed hugging each other.