DISCLAIMERS/NOTES
1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.
2. My continuity branches off after the end of Season 1. So the last episode to occur was the two-part "The Savage Time". No Season 2. No JL Unlimited.
PART 11
Superman walked into the Trophy Room, followed by the Atom, Flash and Green Lantern.
"And this is the earliest piece of news we have on us. The first ever story written about us in the Daily Planet." Superman pointed at a framed plaque on the wall, displaying the front page of an edition of the Daily Planet. The headline read, "There's a New League in Town."
Atom looked at the plaque. "Very nice," he said. "Exclusive by Clark Kent. He sure gets around, doesn't he?"
Superman looked blank. "I haven't noticed."
Flash walked up to them. "And that's basically the entire tour."
"Very impressive," Atom said. "You've certainly done wonders with this place. Thanks for letting me visit."
"Any time," Superman said.
"Well, I have to get going," said Atom. "It was great seeing you all."
Superman put a hand on Atom's shoulder. "You too, Ray. And thanks for helping us. You literally saved our lives."
Atom waved his hand. "Think nothing of it, you'd have done the same for me. I hope your friends get well soon."
A couple of hours later, Superman sat with Lantern in the kitchen. They both looked nervous. "So…" Superman began, "how's Hawkgirl doing?"
"She's still recovering," Lantern replied. "She suffered some pretty bad burns."
"Why aren't you with her?"
Lantern looked at him. "Why would I… ?"
"John, please. I saw the news." Superman looked sympathetic. "I know how you feel about her."
Lantern looked angry for a moment, but it quickly faded. "I don't feel like going in there at the moment. Flash… is with her."
Superman looked down. "Oh…"
There was silence for a few moments.
"J'onn's getting on good," Lantern eventually said. "The toxin has worn off. He should be completely recovered in an hour or so."
"That's good."
"How's Batman?"
Superman sighed. "He'll have some bruises for a few days, but he'll be OK. He's… being his usual self. I asked him if he needed help sitting up earlier, and he gave me a look that challenged my heat vision."
Lantern smiled. "Typical."
"Diana's been with him all the time," said Superman. "She's keeping him in order."
"They've been spending a lot of time together lately…" Lantern commented.
"I know," Superman said. "In my time with the group, I've… noticed a lot of things. About particular bonds between certain Leaguers. I think they care about eachother a great deal."
Lantern cocked an eyebrow. "Batman – caring about someone?"
Superman smiled. "Don't sound so shocked. You'd be surprised how warm people can be, when they appear calm and collected. Wouldn't you say, John?"
Lantern stared at Superman. "What are you implying?"
Superman stood up. "Tell her how you feel."
He then left the room, leaving Lantern alone at the table…
/
"And then, she said 'When are we leaving then?'!"
Hawkgirl raised her eyebrows. Flash was telling her what he had overheard a few days earlier between Batman and Diana. "Are you serious?"
Flash nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. Batman was all calm and serious and everything, but lemme tell ya: there's something between those two."
Hawkgirl shook her head. "Who'd have thought? I mean, I knew there was a bond between them, but… wow."
"Yeah, who WOULD have thought?" Flash shrugged. "Guess there's a heart in that guy after all."
They were silent for a moment.
"So…" Flash began, "what do you think his place is like?"
"Whose?"
"Batman's."
Hawkgirl's eyes widened. "Oh, please, I don't want to think about that. Last time I did that… well, let's just say not many things make me shudder."
Flash smiled. "Yeah, pretty odd, eh? Think he has like bats or something?"
"It wouldn't surprise me."
"Maybe he lives in like, this dark house. Or a castle. With candles everywhere and Phantom of the Opera playing non-stop on the sound system. Or maybe he has like, this big cave, cos you know how bats like caves."
"Batman in a cave?" Hawkgirl looked quizzical. "I don't know. Seems a bit… downtrodden. You know how orderly Batman is. I think he'd like a nice, tidy mansion, or manor or something. Filled with… er… batcomputers."
"Maybe he has pictures of his family around the place," said Flash.
Hawkgirl shook her head and sighed. "I don't know, I can't really picture Batman as the kind of guy who blends in at a family picnic." She smiled. "You know, it's a good job he's not here right now. He'd have your hide."
Flash grinned. "Hey, you never know. Maybe he has like, this big picture of mommy and daddy bat hanging upside down from their cave."
Hawkgirl tried to stop a laugh, but could not hold it. She let out a giggle, and Flash smiled. "Stop it," she said. "It hurts when I laugh."
Flash's smile instantly fell. "Sorry. I… er… don't want to make you worse."
Hawkgirl smiled sweetly. "That's impossible."
There was silence again for a few moments.
Eventually Flash spoke. "Look… about the other day…"
Hawkgirl looked down. "Not now. I just… can't deal with things at the moment."
"Then when?" Flash asked.
Hawkgirl looked at him, then slowly said, "When I'm ready."
Flash sighed, and looked down. They sat in silence again, before Flash again spoke.
"What type of movie collection do you think he has?"
"Who?"
"Batman."
Hawkgirl raised her eyebrows, then responded, "I don't know. Shakesphere?"
Flash put on a quizzical look. "What?"
"He seems rather educated."
"Yeah, he does at that. I bet he has a butler and everything."
Hawkgirl grinned. "Oh please… the day Batman needs a butler is the day Superman needs long hair."
"What are you two talking about?"
Flash and Hawkgirl looked at the entranceway of the medbay, and Green Lantern entered. The air immediate tensed.
"We were just talking about Batman's private life," Flash said warily.
Lantern folded his arms. "If he has any smarts, he doesn't have a private life. And if he does, he's smart enough to keep it separate from work."
Hawkgirl looked at Lantern. Lantern looked at her, resentment in his eyes.
Flash looked at the two, and quickly broke the silence. "He trains most of the time, I think. He probably has martial arts movies to train to."
"I always pictured him as a classics man," Lantern said. "Black and white serials, that type of thing."
"Like Zorro?" asked Flash.
"Pretty much, yeah," Lantern said.
"Oh yeah," Flash said. "Can you really picture Batman going to the pictures? Mr. 'I'm not a people person' going to the theatre? I can't see him begging his mommy and daddy to take him. Heck, it would be so boring, I'd want a bullet in… "
A shadow fell over the medbay.
Flash, Lantern and Hawkgirl looked at the entranceway.
Batman was there, bruised and in pain. Diana was next to him, close.
Flash waved his hand mildly. "Er… hi, Bats. How's it going?"
Batman looked at Flash, then slowly walked into the room. "I just came to remind you," he said, "about your press conference tomorrow."
Lantern frowned. "I don't need reminding."
"I was just making sure that Flash knew. After all, I sometimes feel like… a 'daddy' to him." He looked at Flash, and Flash gulped.
Batman turned to leave the room. "I suggest you sort out your own private lives before you talk about other peoples'. You know how letting personal problems effect decisions can make things… messy."
He started to walk away, but saw Diana. She looked at him, confused and worried.
Batman looked down, and sighed.
He then lifted his head, and cleared his throat. "And Flash?"
Flash looked at Batman's back, nervous. "Yeah… ?
"The tickets were a dollar. Each."
/
J'onn walked into the training room, confused that the heat sensors indicated that someone was in there.
He looked around the large room, and saw a punching bag being attacked. The person attacking it, however, was hidden by it.
He walked towards the punching bag, and could make out the person.
Robin.
"How are you feeling?" the Martian asked.
Robin darted his head to him, but he quickly returned it to the punching bag. "I'm fine. How are you, Mr. Shones?"
J'onn smiled. "It's J'onzz. But please, call me J'onn."
Robin kept punching the bag hard.
"Is something wrong?" J'onn asked.
"Why should anything be wrong?" Robin replied, in an angry tone. "Just because I acted like an amateur infront of a guy who WAS an amateur. Just because he walked right over me. Why would that make you think anything was wrong?"
J'onn shook his head. The young boy had obviously taken his defeat personally. "You shouldn't feel like you failed. He surprised all of us."
"That's not the point," said Robin. "I'm Batman's partner. THE Batman. I should have a level of skill. I just barged into the situation like an idiot. I acted like a moron, and he treated me like a moron." Robin kicked the punching bag hard, and it swung upwards. The bar it was attached to strained as it nearly came unbolted from the floor.
J'onn stopped the bag in mid-swing and slowly returned it to a stable position. "You are far from a moron, Robin. Whenever Batman talks about you or any of his other partners, I don't need my telepathy to see the pride he holds for all of you."
Robin looked at him. "He talks about us?"
"Sometimes," said J'onn. "As you know, Batman isn't the most talkative person in the world. But when asked, he talks almost uncontrollably about you. He's immensely proud of all of you. And last night… not once did he consider you a failure. He thought you did all you could, given the surprise of Prometheus' attack. And you saved a woman from being killed. In the end, that's what matters."
Robin looked at the punching bag, which was creased and torn from the battering he had given it. He sighed. "I think I broke your punching bag."
"It wouldn't be the first time," J'onn said. "Batman brings in a new one on a weekly basis."
Robin smiled, and looked at the Martian. J'onn returned the smile. "I'm sorry," Robin suddenly said. "Here I am, talking about myself. How are YOU? The toxin thing all gone?"
"Yes," replied J'onn. "I can, if you will, hold myself together again." He looked at Robin. "Can you?"
Robin smiled. "After this talk, I think so. Thanks, Shone."
"It's J'onn," the Martian said. He then shook his head, and smiled. "Never mind."
/
Hawkgirl was alone. Finally.
Finally. She had time to think.
A lot had happened over the last couple of days. Too much. And now she had to sort it out.
And that meant deciding what she wanted.
She had slept with Green Lantern. She had shared intimacy with Flash. She had felt something for both of them.
But which one did she like more?
And… did she even WANT a relationship? She had such responsibilities, so many people depending on her. The people of Earth needed her to be focused.
And anyway, her relationship with Kator was all but finished anyway. Ever since she had been transported from Thanagar to Earth, she had had no contact with her homeworld, or her longtime partner.
She had been alone for so long. As much as she tried to deny it, she hated it.
And Lantern was alone too. She had always felt a bond with him, ever since they had met during the Alien Invasion that brought the League together. And they had talked strategy so many times… she often wondered why they had done so as much as they did. How many times does strategy have to be planned?
Plus, she knew she cared for him deeply. When she was forced to leave him during their mission to Earth's past, she hated it. If it was possible, she would have chased Flash back to him. And the relief she felt when they found him… she felt like a little girl again.
She knew she cared for him. More than any other Leaguer. Even more than Flash. Despite the passionate moment they had shared… it was fleeting. She cared about him, more than as just a friend… but…
Love was a strange concept. How many times had it driven her crazy? She liked Lantern. She liked Flash. But now, as she sat there in the medbay, she knew there was a difference.
She cared for Flash more than as just a friend. But not more than… a CLOSE friend.
The attraction she had felt for him was just that – attraction. It was not as deep or as powerful as her feelings for John…
Hawkgirl blinked.
That was it.
Just like that.
She loved him.
Everything became clear. She knew now… she loved him.
She tried to stand, but a burn mark on her back stung her, and she moaned in pain. She laid back down, and slowed her breathing.
She heard someone enter the medbay. She looked at the doorway.
Lantern.
His face was creased with worry. "Are you alright? I heard a noise."
Hawkgirl smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to use the little hawk's room."
Lantern frowned. "Really? Oh. Well… er…"
Hawkgirl was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Lantern scratched the back of his head. "Well, er… I was going to say if you needed any help, but… if you need to go THERE… well… er…"
Hawkgirl laughed. "It's OK, I'll be alright." She tried to stand again, and Lantern went over to her. He put his arm over her.
"Here, I can help you HERE," he said.
"Thanks." Hawkgirl then walked towards the restroom. "If I need you, I'll call you."
Lantern's face froze. "Are you serious?"
Hawkgirl smiled, and winked. She then went into the restroom.
A few minutes later, Hawkgirl walked back into the medbay. She stopped as she saw what Lantern sitting by her empty bedside. "What are you still doing here?" she asked.
Lantern seemed embarrassed. "Oh. Well, I… er… just wanted to make sure you were OK."
"I told you I'm fine," she said, and walked over to her bed. "What were you doing before you heard me, then?"
Lantern's embarrassed expression did not leave his face. After a long pause, he responded, "Rounds."
Hawkgirl blinked. "What?"
"Yeah, you know. Doing the rounds. Checking the scene. Combing the area. Used to do it all the time in the Marines."
"You've never done that here," Hawkgirl said. "What were you really doing?"
"How do you know I don't do it here?"
"I'm a detective."
Lantern was silent for a few moments. Eventually, he said, "I was just… around."
Hawkgirl looked at him. "Around?"
Lantern talked slowly, quietly. "Just… making sure you were OK."
Hawkgirl smiled. "That's sweet of you, John. I'm fine, really. I'm sure there's something more important you could be doing."
"Probably," he said. "But nothing I'd RATHER be doing."
They stared at eachother.
Hawkgirl sighed. "John?"
"Yes?"
"I don't regret it anymore."
Lantern blinked. "What…?"
Slowly, Hawkgirl lowered her head. She leaned closer and closer to John, and then, closing her eyes, gently brushed her lips against his.
Their lips parted, and they both smiled.
They then kissed again, and gently embraced…
Neither noticed a figure standing behind the slightly ajar door, looking in. The figure quickly disappeared in a red and gold blur…
TO BE COCLUDED
