18th July

11:37 GMT-4

I plonk myself in the seat to the left of the entrance and the chair extends a seatbelt around me. M'gann follows a moment later and takes the pilot position.

"Strap in for launch."

She did let me have a brief go at controlling the ship a few days ago. I can handle simple manoeuvres with the manual controls but I couldn't get my head around using the gravity drive for more complex stunts. Intellectually, I know that 'down' is towards the floor of the ship but whenever I tried to do anything fancy I kept becoming convinced that it was about to be the planet's surface again. It's weird; I don't have that problem with the ring at all. My attempt at using the telepathic control system with the ring was a complete failure.

Kid Flash comes in next and takes the left midship position, swinging the chair around to face M'gann. Robin takes right midship, Superboy at right forwards and Kaldur at left forwards. Guess I'm nobby no-mates then.

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors."

The ship manifests the control columns and M'gann raises her hands above them. I still haven't quite got used to flight that doesn't involve either conventional gravity or inertia. When I use the ring to alter my inertia it's all pre-programmed. I just ride along with it. I tried altering gravity so that the pull towards the ceiling was two gees once. It wasn't painful or even uncomfortable, but it was weird as heck and I haven't done it again. M'gann's ship pulls out of the hangar so smoothly that if I couldn't see the view I would think that we hadn't moved at all.

We shoot out over the water. I have no idea why no one has seen us. In a sensible universe we'd be a tourist attraction by now. M'gann shows off the artificial gravity by putting us into a brief vertical climb, turns and spins the ship on it's axis, and then turns us back towards Happy Harbour itself. The whole time everyone on board felt no more than one point one gravities towards the floor, and maybe point one against the direction of acceleration. It actually feels like being in a malfunctioning simulator. If all Martian technology is like this I have no idea why they aren't the dominant power in this system.

"Incredible."

Robin seems to appreciate it. He can probably compare it to the Batwing, so can better understand how much more advanced it is than the best Earth has to offer.

"sigh She sure is."

Either Wallace isliterallybesotted, or, wow. M'gann turns to look at him. I can't see her face from here.

"Ah, I mean, the ship."

He's actually pointing. Good save. Good save.

"Which, like all ships, is a she."

Stop digging, man.

"Fast with his feet. Not so much with his mouth."

Oowh, harsh, Robin. Harsh.

"Dude!"

I should probably try and help him out.

"Would it be a problem if someone saw us up here?"

M'gann stretches her neck to look at me. I worry a little about the pilot taking her eyes off the window, but there isn't anything to hit up here and no way for a birdstrike to interfere with the engines.

"Why would it be? We're not doing anything wrong."

"Do you have a pilot's license?"

"Yes! Oh. Do you mean an Earth pilot's license, or a Martian one?"

"Whichever one the American civil aviation authority is likely to ask for."

Wallace takes the opportunity to support M'gann.

"C'mon, Oh El. No one's gonna care about that."

Maybe he's right. Maybe civil authorities have learned to leave alien craft well alone. I certainly wouldn't blame them.

"No no. You can't call me Oh El, it'll get confusing."

I now have Robin's attention too.

"You see any other Orange Lanterns around here?"

"No, but Superboy's an El, isn't he."

Wallace looks puzzled.

"How d'you get 'El' from Superboy."

"From his father? That's usually how it works, isn't it? Kryptonians aren't matrilineal."

Superboy is now paying close attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Superman's name. Kal-El. Son of Jor-El. Which presumably makes you, whatever you end up picking as your first name, followed by El. The important thing is, I can't be Oh El, because it would make me sound Kryptonian. People would get confused."

Superboy looks stunned.

"I didn't know Superman had a name."

"You didn't think his parents called him Superman, did you?"

"I didn't… I hadn't… thought about it…"

I smile.

"Learn something new every day."

Robin leans towards M'gann.

"Hey. How about showing us a little Martian shape shifting?"

Guess he decided that I've pushed Super-El too much.

M'gann rises to her feet and steps forwards from the pilot's seat. The reeds on stone noise again as her legs turn… dark… grey..?

I get out of my seat to take a closer look, glowing orange-soled boots making sure I stick to the deck.

"Hehe. Damn, I look good."

Orange Lantern M'gann strikes a pose. She even has her ring facing the right way. Wallace doesn't seem to share my appreciation.

"Oh, that is just wrong."

Wait, does that mean that she reallywasn'twearing clothes earlier? Not mentioningthatto Wallace.

M'gann twirls on the spot, and shifts to female Kid Flash. Does Jessie Quick exist here? Another one to look up. Wallace seems confused.

"That's… sorta wrong, but also kinda right."

Robin claps.

"Impressive."

M'gann shifts back to her default form.

"But you know you're not exactly gunna fool anyone with those."

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder."

"And your clothes…"

Bad Aqualad! Bad! I was hoping no one else had noticed!

"They're organic, like the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

Uh? Wait, why was she so… Is shifting your skin like hanging around in pyjamas for a Human? And you put on actual clothes for company? Not somethingIdo now, as getting dressed takes a literal second with the ring.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"

Wallace continues with his interest in everything M'gann.

"Density shifting? No… it's a very advanced technique."

"Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall. When he tries it? Bloody nose."

"Dude!"

Robin is definitely off Wallace's wingman list.

"I've heard that power rings are supposed to be able to do the same thing."

I surround my left hand in an orange aura and press it against the side of the ship.

"Nothing yet. Guess we've all something to work on."

M'gann extends her hands again and the control columns twist to reach her.

"Well, here's something I can do."

A dull thumm sounds through the ship.

"Camouflage mode."

The stealth on this ship is really good. Even knowing exactly where to look it's practically impossible to spot. Just hope no one shoots us with a paintball gun. Not sure how it compares to Wonder Woman's jet. OrangeVision bypasses both anyway.

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor power plant. I suggest you investigate. Covertly. I'm sending co-ordinates."

"Received. Adjusting course."

Robin snorts.

"Tornado's keeping us busy again."

We're now over land. I haven't learned the geography of this part of the town yet, but I can see three slim white chimneys attached to an industrial building. Presumably, our target.

"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert."

M'gann sounds more positive. Superboy looks around.

"I think I know the cause."

Tornado? Why is there a t-. Supervillain. Of course. Couldn't be someone testing the fire alarm at the wrong time. M'gann takes evasive action. I doubt that they've seen us, but an area effect attack will still knock us silly.

Too late!