Disclaimer: All rights to the characters and locations belong to the respective owners of DC Comics and Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman. The author of this story owns nothing. This story is for fun, not for profit or money of any kind.
Chapter 8: First Meeting
The world was recovering from Brainiac's invasion. The cities of the Earth were repairing the damage. Companies like LexCorp, VladCo, Wayne Industries and Queen International were all funding relief efforts. The four companies had mutually pooled their resources, and world was slowly returning to normal. Even crime had come to a stand still, more or less, in the time that followed the invasion. It was as if everyone, good and evil alike, were taking a step back to catch their breath.
But what the country was talking about the most was the combined forces of Superman, Wonder Woman, Danny Phantom, Batman, Green Lantern, Power Girl, Flash, Hawkgirl, and J'onn J'onnz; whom the media had taken to calling "Martian Manhunter". Everyone and their uncles had been attempting to interview each of the heroes about the subject, however, none of the heroes had made any comment.
The unofficial group had been dubbed the "Super Friends" by various media groups. It was clear that the people were craving, not celebrities to fawn over or the latest fad, but an ideal. Hope. And in the form of this group, they had found it. These extraordinary beings had fought as a unit to protect the world, and everyone in it.
As Batman sat in his cave, minus the cowl, staring at his various screens, he pondered this for some time. He certainly didn't consider any of the other heroes "friends", super or other-wise. He didn't know any of them, with the exception of Superman. The two had previously worked together on a couple of occasions, and knew each other's identity. Phantom, he had worked with once, and trusted the ghost, but he hardly knew him.
He had attempted to research Phantom, but couldn't find much of anything. Then again, he hadn't dug too deeply, yet. Danny Phantom had appeared seemingly out of nowhere almost a year and a half ago. Phantom didn't wear a mask, so he likely didn't have an identity to protect, and with his glowing green eyes and white hair, he would have trouble blending in with the regular public. But because Phantom so rarely ventured beyond Amity Park, Batman didn't focus too much attention on him. The Dark Knight had enough to worry about in Gotham.
Batman's attention wasn't on the identities of the other heroes, at the moment, though. He was considering the attention the group had gotten. None of the heroes had worked together in the days since, but Batman had begun to worry, not just for Gotham, but for the planet. What if the Earth was invaded again? Next time, by a far more dangerous force? One none of the heroes had encountered before? This time, they had been lucky. Brainiac had been a known quantity for Superman, albeit a deadly one.
Next time, they may not be so lucky. They needed to be prepared. With that in mind, he picked up his cell phone. "It's Bruce. We need to talk."
Shortly there after, the heroes had been gathered, once more. Though it had been difficult to track some of the heroes down, like J'onn, everyone had agreed to meet. Batman had given everyone a date and time to meet at an old abandoned brown stone mansion in Civic City. Danny was the last to arrive, as it had taken him a bit of convincing for his parents to agree to let him go after being contacted by Superman.
The inside of the building was dusty, and looked like no one had been there in years. All of the furniture was covered, as were the tables and pictures on the walls. Green Lantern was the first to comment, "Well, Phantom and Bats must feel right at home. This place gives me the creeps!" Danny glared at Lantern. He couldn't quite place it, but the place had a sense to it. A feeling. One of... history. The good kind; like something great once filled these hallways.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl looked uncomfortable at being in the building, for some reason. Hawkman insisted on joining his wife, and no one objected. J'onn looked impassive, as usual. Batman led everyone into a large room, with a large circular table in the middle, covered by an old dusty tarp. "There's a reason Superman and I have gathered you all here today," Batman said, softly. "In case you haven't seen it, the world is still talking about what we managed to accomplish together in Metropolis."
Superman stepped forward. "That's right," he said. "I used to think that I could protect the world on my own. But I'm not that naive anymore. Batman and I have talked at great lengths about this. The world could use our help."
"But why gather us all here, specifically?" Flash asked.
"I was just coming to that," Superman said. "I found this place years ago, back when I was just getting started. This estate belonged to a man named Wesley Dodds. But it wasn't only a house. It also served another purpose." He pulled the tarp off the large table, revealing an old, beautiful marble table, with gold inlays. In the center was a large red and blue crest in the shape of a shield, with the letters "JSA" in the center. Surrounding the crest was a gold circle, with the words "Justice Society of America" in bold black lettering.
"Whoa," Danny whispered.
"That's right," Batman said. "We're standing in the headquarters of the original Justice Society of America." He walked over, and pulled a tarp off of a large picture on the wall, revealing an painting of the old Justice Society members. The original masked superheroes. The original Flash, the original Green Lantern, Dr Fate, Spectre, Dr Midnite, Wildcat, Hourman, Sandman, the Star-Spangled Kid, Mr Terrific, the original Black Canary, and...
"Is that you guys?" Phantom asked Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Everyone looked to the Hawks.
Hawkman crossed his arms and scowled at the floor. Hawkgirl sighed and looked at the painting. "Yes," she said.
Green Lantern scratched his head, somewhat confused. "Um, how?" he asked. "The JSA disbanded back in the seventies. You guys don't look that old."
"Thanagarians age much slower than humans," Hawkman explained.
Lantern cocked his head. "Huh," he said. "And here all this time I thought you guys were just posers stealing their shtick."
Batman cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to him and Superman. "So, what?" Power Girl asked. "You two want us to form a new Justice Society?"
"No," Superman shook his head, glancing at Hawkman and Hawkgirl. "Batman and I were thinking more of a 'Justice League'."
Danny snickered. "You realize that makes us sound like some kind of soft ball team, right?" he joked.
Lantern laughed at that. "Nice one, Casper," he said, slapping Danny's back.
Wonder Woman frowned at the two. "Would you two stop acting like children?" she scolded.
The Flash shrugged, thinking it over. "I don't know," he said. "I kinda like the sound of it. I think Superman and Batman have a point. I'm in."
Wonder Woman nodded in agreement and said, "As am I."
Green Lantern quickly changed his tune. "Me, too! Yup, the world could always use saving."
Phantom rolled his eyes along with everyone else at Green Lantern. "Count me in, too," he said. "This might help get people on my side back home in Amity Park, for a change."
Power Girl put her hands on her hips. "Fine, I'm in, too," she said. Superman smiled at his cousin in thanks, before looking over at J'onn, who had been silent through the whole meeting.
"My home is long gone, and my family is long dead," the Martian said sadly. "Earth has been my new home for a long time now, and I would gladly do anything to protect it. I would be honored to join you all in this endeavor."
Diana put a comforting hand on his green shoulder. "I'm glad," she said. "But it is all of us who would be honored to have you at our side." J'onn gave her a small smile in thanks.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl looked at each other for a moment. Hawkgirl nodded to the group. "We're in," she said.
Hawkman walked up to Batman and glared at him square in the eye. "But only to keep an eye on you all," he warned. "Just remember; this is no Justice Society. This group hasn't even gotten it's feet off the ground. There's a lot of work to be done. Don't fool yourselves just because they talk about you on the news. We may have gotten lucky stopping an invasion, but that doesn't mean a damn thing if we don't know how to function as a group."
"Naturally," Batman replied, coldly. To both they're credit, neither backed down from the other. Superman eventually stepped in between them before it got any more intense.
Danny cleared his throat. "So," he said. "Is this going to be our HQ now, too?"
"Only temporarily," Batman explained, still glaring at Hawkman. "If that's okay with you, that is." Hawkman grunted and shrugged, indifferent.
"Good, it's settled, then," Superman said. He handed out communicators to each member of the group."I think these will come in handy."
After they received their communicators, everyone just glanced at each other for a moment. "So...," Danny said after the awkward silence stretched on. "What now?" No one was quite certain of what to do next. Everyone except Batman.
"Now," the Dark Knight said. "We get to work."