13 Justice League Family Ties
Batman's tactical unit, as they were now called, enjoyed a night of rest and fine food. Although Godiva's family wasn't in residence, a minimal staff was. Listening to the staff address her, he and Nightwing learned her real name was Dorcas Leigh.
Godiva led the team to the map room. Current maps of every major metropolis on the planet could be found here as well as interactive versions. The great table that dominated the center of the room was in fact a touchscreen activated and manipulated computer. Nightwing grinned, knowing that Batman must've had a spark of envy because he knew the Batcave was lacking a similar amenity.
Batman set them to the task of searching strike points in London. They needed approaches to the places where the Almeracian troops congregated. They were going to hijack a lander and fly it into the Paris mothership. Once there, the Global Guardians would create havoc to distract the troopers aboard so Batman and Nightwing could make their way to the detention facility and free Jack O'Lantern and the others.
Batman got them started. As he did so, Godiva sashayed out of the room with a blatantly "come hither" look cast his way. Nightwing was on the edge of his seat as he waited for Batman's response. To his total amazement, his mentor followed her. He looked over to Ulla with a stupefied expression on his face.
She grinned, "Who could've known?"
Rising Sun and Wonder Girl shared Ulla's amusement. Only Grundy seemed oblivious to the situation despite it practically slapping him in the face. Oh, to be a zombie, Nightwing thought.
Batman followed Godiva's trail. She was being coy and trying to mask her steps. Her attempts were rather pathetic actually.
He wondered why he was doing what he was doing. It made no sense. After the debacle with Selina, he'd sworn off women. Well, not completely. He still took the occasional floozy to bed but he had sworn off relationships. If Godiva were looking for one of those, she needn't bother. However, if she were just looking to indulge a fantasy by bedding Batman, well, he could be persuaded to oblige. The prehensile nature of her hair was quite compelling. His imagination had already sorted out the places where she could use its magic charms.
He found her in her bedroom, not that that was an obvious destination, he mused. She languidly rose from the mattress and began to prowl her way towards him. Her movements were quite predatory. In that fashion she reminded him of Selina. In other ways though…
"Come here," she purred as she threw her arms around his neck, "I have something for you."
The kiss, when their lips met, was smoldering. Batman gave into his lust and threatened to consume her. She tilted her head back, "You are hungry. Let's see what we can do about that?"
"Are you certain, Diana? Won't this cost you something?" he inquired.
She pulled away from him and her manner was scathing.
"Dorcas," she said icily.
"What?" Batman was uncustomarily confused.
"My name is Dorcas, not Diana," she seethed.
Batman realized what he'd done. Godiva's aristocratic manner reminded him of Diana. Her aloofness and casual coldness to those she deemed inferior only cemented that image in his mind. He knew intellectually that Diana had grown in the social graces since those early days with the League but his heart was still wrapped up with the Diana he'd first met.
"I'm sorry," he said uncomfortably. Admitting he was wrong took a huge toll on his psyche. His self image of being nearly infallible couldn't abide admitting mistakes. Still, he'd wronged Godiva and she deserved the apology.
"Damn right you should be!" she yelled and stormed out of the room. He could hear her stomping throughout the manor until she reached the gardens in the rear portion of the house and slammed the door shut behind her.
Batman stood there alone and confused. How could he have allowed this to happen? He'd made his peace with rejecting Diana, or had he? He wasn't so certain now. He'd thought her unattainable but Clark, of all people, had proven that theory wrong. Now she was not only married but she was pregnant. A cold fist closed around his heart as he also exited the room.
Down in the map room, they heard the noise and then watched Godiva move through the house like a force of nature. When things quieted down, Ulla remarked; "Things must've gone well."
"I don't know why he even tried. She isn't his type," Wonder Girl commented.
"She would've been once upon a time," Nightwing informed them, "But that ship sailed a long time ago."
"Batman thinks Godiva is Wonder Woman," Grundy suddenly spoke. Every eye turned to him, "He loved her. Or at least he loved her as much as he can love anyone."
"Is this true?" Wonder Girl was all over this theory.
"They had…well they had something. I wouldn't call it a relationship. He wouldn't let it go that far," Nightwing shared.
"Uh…Dick?" Ulla was tugging at his arm.
"What?" he asked as he turned to face her. She was staring at the door frame and he followed her gaze to see why. Standing in the door was Batman. He was angry, but when wasn't he?
"Oh shit," Wonder Girl whispered.
Batman moved through the room like a dark menace. He came to the table and sat down. Everyone but Grundy held their collective breath.
"Found anything yet?" Batman inquired.
Godiva stood outside shivering. All she had on was her bloody costume and that wasn't very warm. Bare arms and legs weren't recommended in London in November. She angrily wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Arrogant ponce!" she snarled. How could she have felt attracted to such a horrid creature? He'd been ready to take advantage of her all while crying out the name of a former lover. What kind of cad did that?
Actually, I can think of quite a few, she admitted to herself. She rallied herself. She still had to face him and the others undoubtedly knew what had happened by now. It wasn't like she'd been subtle, either in seduction or in anger. She'd sighed. Life had been much simpler when she'd been an average woman.
But who wants that? she asked herself. Marriage? Children? Springing forth unwanted offspring while dallying with the postman? No, thank you!
"Is something wrong?" Mary asked as she alighted next to Godiva.
The Briton nearly came out of her skin. Two more dropped out of the sky, both men. One was obviously too young for her but the other one? The one in the red suit with the cape? Now, he was a morsel of a man. Godiva felt cheered up already.
"You must be the Marvel Family," Godiva realized.
"That's us," Mary said in a chipper tone, "And judging by all that hair, you're Godiva. Funny thing is, you even resemble Goldilocks."
"Don't mention that name!" Godiva snapped. The last thing she needed was to be compared to her erstwhile, and more than slightly deranged, sister.
"Sorry. I just couldn't help but notice," Mary said in a hurt voice.
Godiva noted that Captain Marvel was scowling at her. She vaguely recalled that two of the Marvels were blood kin. She'd obviously managed to offend his sister. Although, the youngest member of the clan wasn't looking upon her very favorably either.
"I'm sorry, dear. You just caught me at a poor moment. I've just had troubles with Batman," she said soothingly.
She could tell by their reactions that explained away a multitude of sins. She took Captain Marvel by the arm. She wrapped her hair around his waist for good measure, "You simply must allow me to show you my home."
She guided him inside, leaving the other two Marvels standing in the garden. Wearing a droll expression, Junior bowed before Mary.
"Shall we adjourn?" he teased.
"We simply must," she played along.
He took her hand and led her into the house. Mary noticed that it was rather nice holding Captain Marvel Jr.'s hand. It made her feel safe and like she belonged. She hadn't felt that way around Ray for a very long time. After his little "revelatory" talk to her in LA it wasn't like she was cheating on him by enjoying the moment.
They weren't a couple anymore. He'd seen to that. She'd known it was coming though. It just took this war to break through the ice that was keeping them afloat. Their values were too disparate to maintain a viable relationship. He'd finally brought up the unmentionables like family, kids, and commitment. Ray simply wasn't there for the long haul. Sure, he professed to love her, but he wanted her exclusively. No kids, no brothers, just her and him.
And he wanted all the benefits of such a relationship. Besides seeing a gilded cage, Mary had warned him at the very beginning that she wasn't putting out. He bided his time in order to wear down her resistance but if anything, she was more determined now than ever.
She wanted her life, lived by her standards, and aimed at her goals. Ray couldn't handle that? Fine! She'd wait until she found someone who could.
And she realized that Freddy Freeman was an ideal candidate. They'd known each other their entire lives and he'd always treated with the respect they both knew she deserved. She suddenly saw this hand holding thing in a whole new light and she rather liked the view under that light.
"We'll be getting word tomorrow on when to commit to our assault," Batman said to the gathered group. If he was distracted by Godiva's fawning over Captain Marvel, it didn't register beyond his normal façade, "We'll be getting word on when Superman is starting his assault. The time differential means that when he sets out at 0800 EST it'll be 1300 GMT here."
"Excuse me," Captain Marvel Jr. interrupted, "I'm probably the only ignorant one here but what is '1300' hours on a normal clock?"
"1:00 PM," Batman growled.
"Got it," Junior was totally unfazed by Batman's anger. Mary was more enamored than ever.
Nightwing and Ulla were whispering to one another. Their observations of the room's dynamic had grown beyond Batman and Godiva to include the Marvels. Batman suddenly rapped his knuckles on the table. If he hadn't already been standing he probably would've leapt to his feet.
"Would you two like to share with the group?" Batman growled.
"Nope," Nightwing simply said.
"No?" Batman apparently had hearing difficulties.
"As in, 'No, we don't care to share with the group'. Anyone that has a question can talk to us after this meeting concludes," Nightwing grinned, "Except you."
"If we're staying overnight, could we get rooms?" Mary inquired.
"Of course," Godiva said ingratiatingly, "I'll have Manfred show you to separate rooms. You do prefer separate rooms?"
Mary blushed, "Of course."
"That's what I thought," Godiva tartly remarked.
Captain Marvel bristled and Godiva patted his arm, "I'll show you to your room personally."
Marvel suddenly looked to Mary with eyes filled with panic. Mary silently mouthed Courtney's name. Captain Marvel suddenly looked galvanized. Mary had a feeling that Godiva was going to meet Billy Batson.
"She's in for a helluva surprise," Junior whispered conspiratorially.
It took all of Mary's self control to keep from giggling. She doubted she'd be there for the actual moment but she had a fairly solid grasp on how it would go. But then again, this was Goldilocks' older sister. She might actually get off on seducing teenage boys.
Mary suddenly and desperately wanted to take a shower, "Are we done here?"
Batman shot her an evil glare, "Yes. We're. Done."
"Thank God," Mary said as she scooted away from the table. Batman strode out of the room as though he were too busy and too important to have a care in the world. Wonder Girl approached Mary and Junior.
"Don's told me about your secret identities. It'll be nice to hang out with someone my own age for a change," she confessed.
"Who's 'Don'?" Junior blurted suddenly.
Wonder Girl and Mary grinned. Wonder Girl answered, "You know Don as Dove."
"And why is he handing out our identities?" Junior asked suspiciously, "They're secret for a reason."
Wonder Girl smirked, "Maybe you've heard him talk about me? My name's Donna Troy."
"You're Donna Troy?" Junior couldn't believe it, "I thought she was someone he knew from work."
Donna was decidedly amused, "And why would you think that?"
Junior looked embarrassed, "Well, he said you were 'in the business'. I figured he either had a civilian job or you were a hooker. Sorry."
Donna's mirth grew geometrically, "Come on, I'll show you to the kitchen and introduce you to Manfred."
The Marvel pair gladly followed her. After arriving in the expansive dining hall, they reverted back to their mortal forms. Mary said, "Shazam" to trigger the transformation and Junior said the name of his greatest hero, which was of course, "Captain Marvel."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know about your crutch," Donna said as she maneuvered through the trophy filled room, "Will you be able to manage?"
"I'll be fine. I grew up with this sucker and its younger siblings," Freddy reassured her.
Eileen, the cook, brought them all Shepherd's Pies. Freddy hungrily dug in while the two young women talked. Finally they stopped talking and just sat there watching the culinary carnage.
"What?" he asked, suddenly self conscious.
"Hungry?" Donna inquired.
"Yeah," Freddy admitted, "We don't get hungry as Marvels but the last time I was mortal I hadn't eaten for 16 hours."
Donna was suddenly very concerned, "Does that happen very often?"
Freddy expression was rueful, "More often than I'd like. Running a newsstand can be pretty all consuming."
"Aren't you a little young to be manning a newsstand?" Donna wondered.
"Hey, I own that stand," Freddy said proudly, "Besides aren't you a little young to try and save the world?"
Donna wore a wry expression as she said, "Touché."
"Can I ask you a personal question, since you're dissecting my life?" he inquired.
Donna smirked, "Go ahead.
"Won't your and Don's kids get confused between the two of your names? What are you going to name them? Dawn for a girl and Donatello for a boy?" Freddy asked.
"I hadn't thought about it," Donna admitted, "What are you and Mary planning on your kids?"
Mary started choking on the mashed potatoes in her pie. Freddy looked more amused than offended, "We haven't discussed it."
"I'd say the time is rapidly approaching," Donna observed.
Mary was bright red, and not just from the choking. Her hand trembled as she reached for a glass of milk, "We haven't even discussed dating."
"Oh? I thought by the look of you two you were a couple," Donna admitted.
Mary began to choke on her milk. Donna gave her a pitying look, "Maybe I should just change the subject."
"Until earlier today, Mary had a boyfriend," Freddy supplied the missing link.
"And he wasn't you," Donna suddenly grasped the essentials.
"Pretty much," Freddy confirmed her suspicions.
"But you'd wished it was," Donna got to the nitty gritty.
Mary sat her glass down. She didn't trust her reaction. Freddy was very calm and composed as he said, "Yes."
Donna rose, "I think I'll leave you two to have a little heartfelt chat. Pull on that chord by the door when you want Manfred too show you to your rooms."
As Donna slipped out of the room she realized she wasn't even missed. She grinned. Good for them.
Godiva came storming down the stairs again. If anything, she was more upset than last time. Godiva stopped long enough to stare over Donna's shoulder so that she beheld Mary and Freddy.
"Goddamn children!" Godiva snarled and tore off through the house.
If Donna had adequately traced Batman's general direction as the meeting concluded then Godiva was headed directly for him. Could be interesting, she mused.
John and Shayera came to rest over the North American continent. They were still in orbit. They'd cut their honeymoon short in order to help stave off the invasion. Shayera, of course, was encapsulated in a force bubble. They'd left their luggage behind and only carried Shayera's mace with them. John could tell that his wife was getting more and more wound up with each passing second.
"Well Lantern?" Shayera asked through the connective field generated by the ring, "Are we going in or not?"
"Turn your signal device on," John suggested, "There's some interesting chatter going on."
"From the League?" she asked hopefully.
"No, I think it's the Almeracians," he said.
Shayera tuned in and grew even angrier, "It is the Almeracians. How'd they get this channel? This is even directed at you, me, Kyle and Kara."
"They were probably sitting back watching the planet while we left. I can only guess that Kyle and Kara left Earth after us," John surmised.
"Brilliant insight. You must be a Green lantern," Shayera sniped, "Can we go after them now?"
"Ease off, Hot Dog," John commented, "We need to sit back and observe them in action and try and contact some form of authority on Earth and coordinate our actions in order to maximize their effect. Why are you so anxious to just jump into the fray?"
"Because I sat back and gathered intel the last time and people suffered. I won't let anyone else suffer because of me," Shayera declared.
"You're talking about the Thanagarian invasion," John realized.
"Do you know any other invasions I was involved in?" she asked dryly.
"Well we have been invaded by Darkseid's forces, the Gordanians, and the Daxamites since then," he matched her tone.
"I know. I just wasn't responsible for those other ones, Shayera argued.
"You weren't responsible for Thanagar's invasion either," John fought back.
"I led them here!" Shayera snapped, "They wouldn't have been able to hold the League or any of Earth's heroes without my research."
"It seems to me that you've gotten quite a swollen head," John commented.
"What?" that startled her.
"You make it seem like the invasion couldn't have happened without you. They knew about Earth or you wouldn't have been sent here. They would have invaded regardless of your reports," John let the truth of his words sink in, "What couldn't have happened without you is the saving of the planet and all of her people."
John saw her stunned expression and recognized it for what it was, "Yes, that was you. This planet and all of its citizens owe their lives to you. Will you ever get a thank you? Probably not. You've barely earned tolerance down there and there are still plenty of groups that hate you because of what you are and not because of who you are. If they got to know the who like I have then everyone would love you like I do."
Shayera smirked, "That'd be a helluva harem."
"I bet," John chuckled. He moved into the bubble and drew her in, "I'd like to submit my application to be considered for your harem."
Shayera smirked, "I think you're already in, or had you forgotten this?"
She held up her ring finger and showed off the diamond ring. Then she tapped her jewel studded earlobes, "Or these?"
John smiled, "I just wanted to make sure you hadn't."
"Mmm…it'll take me at least two more days for the glow to wear off. After that? Who knows so you'd best be good to me," Shayera wore a sultry smile.
"Isn't this cozy?" Carol Ferris' voice suddenly projected through the field.
John and Shayera turned to see the entire Star Sapphire Corps assembled before them in orbit. Shayera tensed and John mentally prepared for a fight. Carol look mortified.
"I'm so sorry. You two were having a moment and I blew it," she was honestly repentant.
The couple could tell she was being honest. John asked the obvious, "What are you doing here, Carol? I think the Almeracians have things buttoned up pretty well without you or your…sisters."
"I'm here because of them…but not in the way you seem to think," Carol chastised him, "Earth is my home planet, remember? I still have family here. Besides, my husband asked me for my help in ridding the place of the Almeracians."
John didn't like the way she said that. She only had one husband that he knew about and Kyle had rejected her. To his dismay, Kyle emerged from a pocket of Star Sapphires. But he had Kara in a force bubble like John had Shayera in. Maybe he wasn't a brainwashed dupe again.
"May I speak with Kyle?" John asked.
"Of course," Carol readily agreed.
"Alone?" John insisted.
Carol wore a knowing smile, "Of course."
Carol brushed a hand across Kyle's shoulder as she passed him. Kara bristled but she seemed to be holding it together. Kyle floated them to John's periphery.
"Am I glad to see you two," Kyle admitted.
"The Star Sapphires?" John asked archly.
"The Guardians wouldn't deploy the GL Corps. What was I supposed to do?" Kyle wondered.
"You could have picked a Corps that you don't have such a tangled relationship with. For your sake if not for Kara's," John advised.
"So you want me to send them back?" Kyle asked.
John scowled, "No. They're already here and they're earnest."
"What?" Shayera and Kara said at once.
"You heard what I said," John stiffly replied, "We need the help. The League obviously hasn't saved the day in a matter of a few hours like normal. That means they're already dead or they're overwhelmed. Either way, two Green lanterns, a Thanagarian, and an Argoan aren't going to mop up the invasion force by ourselves."
"But the Sapphires?" Shayera repeated.
"They're powerful. We know that from experience and they seem committed. We need that," John pointed out.
Shayera scowled, "I'll give it my blessing if we separate Kyle from Carol. She's their leader and we don't need her distracted. We also don't need her making cutesy moves to aggravate Kara."
Kara flashed her an appreciative smile as Kyle spoke, "I'll pitch it."
John gave him a wary look and Kyle implored, "She'll only buy it from me."
"He's right," Kara said in a resigned tone, "You can argue until the cows come home but Carol's only going to listen to Kyle."
"Okay, I'm going in," Kyle sailed away and left Kara in John's force bubble.
"How's it been going?" Shayera asked.
"We went to the Guardians so they could help free Kyle from Carol's influence," Kara explained.
"Did that work?" Shayera wondered.
Kara wore a rueful smile, "Well the first thing he did after being 'freed' was seek her out. So you tell me."
"Ouch," Shayera admitted.
"He's coming back," Kara warned, "And he's got her with him."
"Do you agree to the terms, Carol?" John sternly asked.
Carol was positively glowing when she replied, "Of course I agree. I don't have to be with Kyle for him to be with me."
John was wondering if she'd just offered up a riddle when she spoke again, "I have an estate outside of London. There's a mothership over London but we should be able to slip into Foxworth unobserved."
"Foxworth?" John bemusedly repeated.
"My ancestors were fox hunt enthusiasts," Carol explained.
Despite her accent, John often forgot that Carol's family was from the UK. Her father had relocated the company and corporate HQ of Ferris Aircraft to the Mojave Desert in California back when Carol was teenager. She'd grown up in the shadow of Edwards AFB. Aviation was in her blood.
"Can your estate hold us all?" John wondered. There had to be close to 100 Sapphires.
"Why John, you've been to the family home near Edwards?" Carol was decidedly amused.
"Yes, with Hal," John threw that name out there to see if he'd score a hit.
It was a foul ball. Carol didn't even blink, "Foxworth makes that look like a tree house. Everyone will fit. Comfortably."
"I don't know. We should be trying to contact the authorities," John hemmed and hawed.
Carol laughed and John began to get irritated. She caught her breath, "I'm sorry. Daddy referred to Foxworth as his 'Command Post'. Trust me; you'll have the world at your fingertips."
"Okay, that takes care of my last objection," John conceded.
"Now we come to my terms," Carol suddenly interjected.
"What terms?" John growled.
"Oh, they'll be simple enough to meet," Carol assured him. Seeing that she had everyone's attention she explained, "Kyle and Kara will have separate rooms. And there will be no fraternizing in the other's room. You see, I can turn a blind eye to my husband's infidelities when he's halfway across the universe but I will not condone it under my own roof. Simple enough?"
"And what rooms are off limits to you?" John demanded to know. Kara was seething. Shayera was ready to unload on her with her mace. Meanwhile Kyle was smirking. It was, in his opinion, a clever trap.
"I shan't be in any bedroom but my own," Carol promised, "However, I would not turn Kyle away should he seek my affections and my forgiveness."
"I suppose that's the price for your assistance," Kara said scathingly.
"I remember my own impertinent youth so I'll forgive the slight," Carol allowed, "The Star Sapphire Corps is freely offering its services in the liberation of Earth. Free of charge. No conditions whatsoever."
"And what about the Sapphire Queen?" Kara grated, "What does she get out of this?"
Carol's eyes practically sparkled with impish mirth, "That, m'dear, is for me alone to know."