Koriand'r felt anxious, rubbing at her hands as she waited for...well...the first contact she had had with her home planet since before her arrival on this planet.

How many of this planet's day-night cycles had passed with her looking to the stars and seeking the one which her home orbited? She knew which one it was, but the pollution of light from the human settlement she had resided in made it difficult to find that particular star's light.

The relationships she had formed with this planet's natives were important to her. Her home was also important to her. Neither had come into conflict—until now that is.

Telecommunication had a tendency to alter voices. Frequencies were only so reliable to carry their contents for so long until natural degradation occurred. Yet, the voice that had spoken to her, she hoped it was who she suspected it to be.

With the night portion of the day-night cycle taking supremacy, the exiled Tamaranean waited outside of the Titans Tower for the arrival of a spacecraft that was either of Tamaranean-make, or…

Shaking her head, she continued her vigil. Behind her, she knew the others were waiting with her. They knew how important this was to her and it made her feel all the more supported. Did they possess the same patience as her? Well, she had overheard complaints from Garfield, Bart, and Cassie about the length of time this was consuming.

As she had recalled, it was Red Robin who had insisted on diverting this harbinger of Tamaran to the orbital headquarters of the Justice League first. She did understand the reasoning; the record of life beyond this planet arriving was very negative. To avert any misunderstandings to help ease the passage of her kinsman was more preferable.

Then, in the distance, over the expanse of ocean made of salt-infused water, she identified the movement of a moving craft. It was not ocean based, nor did it follow the habits of Earth-based aircraft. This was the moment, the one she had been waiting for since the communication had occurred earlier in the day.

Flying close to the blue liquid surface was the ambassador's ship. Keeping a profile of minimal disruption was what it was doing, as it grew closer and closer, she spotted details of the craft that created disappointment within her.

Even though Tamaran was capable of faster than light travel, it had not developed the technology independently. It was...there was no Earth-based vocabulary to describe such an action, but the words forced, placed, and integrated came close. The Citadel wanted to make sure its vassal states held the technology to better allow its dignitaries safe and quick travel was available on its conquered worlds. This ship held many identifying features that marked it of Citadel-make.

Her guard would have to be raised, just in case. Her anxiety increased as cognitions of other scenarios, such as other unidentified passengers resided on this ship. She did not want such a scenario, but battle and experience had taught her to consider as many as possible.

Finally, the spacecraft landed next to the island that the tower was built on. It hovered over the body of dihydrogen monoxide, its entrance hatch leveled with the land. This was it. Though consumed with the ship, she sensed her comrades drawing closer from behind. She was not alone, not like before. If there was a danger here, they would be able to face it.

The hatch opened and a massive, towering form emerged from it. Happiness and joy began to warm her from within.

Tough, hard, and intimidating, all of these words could be used to describe this Tamaranean, who had to tilt his head forward with each step he took closer to her. There were hushed whispers behind her, commentary that she ignored.

Her eyes fell over the scared eye with its discolored pupil. The beard, always a marvel. His size, so comforting. Koriand'r could not contain it within herself anymore.

She lunged forward, allowing flight to speed up her momentum and collided with the newly arrived Tamaranean, her arms stretching out and around to clasp the man in as tight an embrace as she could muster. She was unable to help it as she cried out a name she had not known she would ever say again, but felt so very good to say once more.

"Galfore!"

Of all the Tamaraneans to see, it was her k'norfka. He was one of three males from Tamaran who she held dearly in her heart, one that she saw only kindness, love, and safety. He could inspire fear in others, but never her. He who held her with gentle touch. He who would give advice even if it was not always heeded. He who would fill the place of her beloved father when her parent could not. He who was capable of besting some of the worst Tamaran had to offer to protect her when she could not. He who—oh no.

Too late. The trap was sprung. Massive arms captured her, fearsome strength held her, and soon enough organs were pressured in ways they should not be pressured.

Oh, and the bones, bones grinding against one another!

There was only one threat from this Tamaranean, only one, and that was that he sometimes failed to remember his own strength, especially when it came to the familial embrace of strong affect.

"My precious Koriand'r! The sight of you brings to me happiness of which you cannot imagine!"

"My spinal column and vertebrae!"

It was often said that Galfore's hugs could be lethal. Especially to the recipient.

The pressure lessened and she was placed down once more. Her legs were unsteady, which was absolutely normal after such an experience. What was that Earth saying again? Stroll it away?

"You okay there, Kori?" Ah, that was Victor, and his concern was very audible.

She addressed it as soon as her breathing was better regulated. "I am. I need time for...recuperation. My k'norfka is very overzealous with his affections."

There was much confusion on her friends' faces, even as they cautiously approached the two Tamaraneans. "Knorfa?" Red Robin repeated, a query into the unfamiliar word.

"K'norfka," she corrected first, because understanding words were very important, she had learned. "This is Galfore, and he cared for me when my parents were unable to, or unavailable to. I have not seen him since I left my home."

Galfore's head bowed, his eyes shutting. "It is a day I still regret not resisting. To see you again, healthy, well, there are no words in this language I know to tell you what I am feeling."

Pain, that was the only way to describe the facial expression her k'norfka exhibited. To show comfort, she reached out and took his hand, allowing his larger one to close over her much smaller one. It was almost like childhood again.

"You speak English." Hm? Oh, Raven was speaking. "How did you learn it?"

"The same way all Tamaraneans learn language," Galfore answered, his voice growing stronger with each word he spoke.

Raven took a step away from them. Odd. Why would she...oh, yes. Now she remembered. "Who did you kiss?" her dark friend asked cautiously.

"Wait, kiss?" Bart was the individual expressing his confusion.

Galfore lifted his head back, eyes looking upward. "I do not know any names of any people on this planet, but it was a person in a uniform a shade darker than my skin. He wore a symbol on his chest, a lightning bolt I believe."

It took several seconds for her friends to suddenly recognize who her k'norfka had described.

"The Flash?" Red Robin said dumbly.

"Whoa, whoa, what's this about kissing Flash?" Bart exclaimed, instantly at Red Robin's side.

Then Victor and Garfield engaged in the laughter, though it was the kind of laughter that was not contagious. "Did somebody record it?" Garfield managed to say between his laughs.

"Did someone record it?" Bart repeated with a large amount of urgency, looking to each and every one of them for affirmation.

"I do not know the importance of this Flash, but he did not have a large vocabulary as I was hoping," Galfore said, raising a hand to rub the back of his head, something he did when he was uncomfortable. It was endearing to her.

"Explain," Raven demanded, her sight focused solely on her.

Why was Raven so suddenly interested? Well, it could not hurt to explain it. "Tamaraneans are capable of learning language through lip-to-lip contact. I have explained this to you before...oh, I believe I neglected to mention that we are only able to acquire the vocabulary that the individual we engage in lip-to-lip contact with is knowledgeable of."

Snorts from Garfield and Victor again. Raven was glaring to them now. There was something she was missing here. Koriand'r found herself finding companionship with her own confusion with Terra, the small blonde human as misplaced as her.

"So...you needed to talk with Kori, I mean, Koriand'r, right," Red Robin redirected, clapping his hands together.

Galfore gave a nod to the small, dark-haired human, and turned to look down on her again. It really was close to being a child once again. "I have wanted nothing more than to see you again, bumgorf—" no, he did not just say that! "—but it is not for a reunion that I have sought you out. I have been assigned as Ambassador of our Grand Ruler to find and inform you of new changes."

The younger Tamaranean felt one of her hearts drop. So, this was formal. That he used the term Grand Ruler...this was important, at least when it occurred to Tamaranean matters. For her, that was a title that brought back a lot of unpleasant memories. Bad memories.

It also brought back feelings. Confusing and conflicting feelings, oh how she wished they were not confusing and conflicting!

"Sounds like an important guy," Bart remarked. "What does he want with Kori?"

"She," Red Robin corrected.

Only Bart and Terra were blinking their eyes. "The Grand Ruler's a girl?" Terra asked.

"She is," Galfore confirmed. To Koriand'r, he continued, "Grand Ruler Komand'r requests an audience with you. Your sister wishes to discuss matters of enormous importance."

There was a tense atmosphere within the meeting room. Batman could feel it almost immediately, his eyes falling right onto Green Lantern. Hawkgirl was sitting next to him and he noticed they were sitting closer than the usual chair placement.

Superman was on the other side of Lantern, his fingers entwined with each other as he held them in front of his mouth. His elbows were propped up on the table, allowing him to do this. He appeared to be in deep contemplation.

Next was Diana, who wasn't immune to the tension. J'onn was taking his seat next to her, Batman next to him, which left Flash between the Dark Knight and Hawkgirl.

John Stewart didn't waste any time broaching the topic at hand. "The Legion is becoming far too aggressive," he announced. "Something needs to be done with them."

"That's what we're working on," Diana responded. She looked less tired, the dark-haired woman recovering more and more from her experience with Silver Banshee.

"Not fast enough," he retorted. "They terrorized a city; they robbed not one, but three banks simultaneously; and now they kidnapped two of our own. That is completely unacceptable."

"I understand you are upset, as are the rest of us," J'onn said. "It is an unprecedented situation. If it was as simple as finding the Legion, we would have already done it. Clearly they have been planning their activities far in advance."

"What signs do you think this sends to the newer members?" Stewart growled. "That we can't protect our own? That every time they go into battle they're at risk for capture, if not worse? The rest of the world is seeing this too."

"I agree," Hawkgirl added. "This situation is getting worse every day we let the Legion roam freely."

"And what do you propose we do?" Batman asked pointedly.

The two Leaguers shared a look with each other. "We hunt them down…" Lantern paused for a brief moment, as if he wanted to say more but caught himself. Batman faintly wondered if the words "like dogs," was how he wanted to finish that sentence. "We show them there's no place for them to hide."

"That sounds super," Flash replied with a healthy level of snark in his tone. "So, where are they? If you know, it'd make it so much easier."

Lantern glanced at the speedster. He was frowning, as if he hadn't expected such a response, or at least one from that quarter. He stayed silent, not even reprimanding the red-clad man.

Hawkgirl had no such problem responding. "You weren't the one that was held captive," she shot back heatedly. "This planet is only so big. There can't be that many hiding places left."

"Flash makes a good point," Batman said, earning himself glares from the two angered Leaguers. "What we know so far of the Legion is that they aren't restricted to one area. They've been to Midway, Keystone, and Gateway City. These aren't exactly in the same zip code. It's unlikely they're hiding out in these areas."

"We expanded our ranks, haven't we? We have more heroes that can search, not just the seven of us," the Thanagarian pressed, not willing to give up on this point.

Batman raised an eyebrow up. "And how would you like to arrange the search? Each hero has one sector? That's brilliant; we're just setting ourselves up for not one, but several people to get ambushed and end up in the same circumstance you were in."

"I'm not hearing any ideas from you," Green Lantern shot back.

"That's because there aren't any good, safe ones at this time. So instead of trying to run off half-cocked, we need to find a lead. We have Girder in custody and we can interrogate him if he comes to."

"What do you mean if?" Flash asked.

Batman kept his eyes on Green Lantern. "He took a strong blow to the head. I'm unfamiliar with his capabilities, so for all I know, he could wake up in the next five seconds, or a month from now."

Flash was frowning at this. "It was just a hit to the head? I've done that a number of times and I never knocked him out that way. How strong of a hit was it?"

The vigilante tilted his head back, practically pointing with his chin towards Stewart. "Ask him. He's the one that did it."

"I did what was necessary," Stewart immediately responded. "No more, no less."

"I will monitor Girder's condition," J'onn interjected, ever the moderator. "Medical treatment will be administered as needed."

"And then what?" Hawkgirl then said. "We interrogate him, we get what we want—what comes next? Do we just sit on our hands and wait until the Legion does its next crime?"

"Obviously we go in and stop them," Flash replied.

"And then?" she continued. "This isn't some isolated event. The whole world is watching this unfold. There are others out there that are watching and taking note of how we're responding. How many more do you think will try to make their own Legion of Doom? We can't allow that to happen."

"So we make an example of them?" Batman suggested.

"Someone needs to. This is as good of an opportunity as any."

Batman leaned forward in his seat. "What you're talking about isn't justice—it's revenge. The Justice League isn't about paying back people that wronged them."

"So you want us to leave them alone? Is that it?" she demanded.

"I want us to bring them in, but we do it smart. We don't go in guns blazing. Wherever the Legion is hiding, they're not just playing poker. They've undoubtedly noticed Girder is missing, so they'll be preparing a trap for us. What we need to do is get as much information on them and their hideout and then go in."

"All of which takes time," Green Lantern interjected. "And you seem to be taking time with your investigation."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to insinuate?"

"You're the one that's arguing that we let the Legion get away with what they've done. Criminals shouldn't be given that luxury. And the whole time, you're hiding behind safety as a reason not to do our jobs." One of Lantern's hands was on top of the table and it was clenching into a fist. "We can't let this go on. We can't let them get away with thinking they can push us around. Not after today."

Hawkgirl leaned forward. "Never again."

"They were encouraging him every step of the way. They used Flash's death as justification. 'We can't let that happen again.'"

Batman's eyes were wide, though his mask thankfully kept them hidden from sight. He knew those words; they sent a cold shiver down his spine as the rest of his body went numb.

A silence had fallen upon the group, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl glaring down the Dark Knight, who was frozen where he sat. It wasn't until Diana spoke up that it ended. "While I agree we cannot allow the Legion to act without reprisal, there is something to be said about Batman's point of doing this safely. We have been reacting to the Legion and they have clearly set every stage thus far. Perhaps a new tactic is in order."

Though he was stunned, Batman didn't hear the usual confidence in Diana's tone. She sounded more reserved; diplomatic even. Her mind wasn't as made up as Lantern and Hawkgirl.

"I can get behind that, I guess," Flash added. "But I don't think we should be going from door to door and kicking them in. And splitting up to be on our own? I don't think that would be a good idea either."

Steadily, eyes found their way to Superman. The entire time, he had kept silent, just watching the meeting unfold. His eyes merely moved from person to person as they spoke, soaking in what they were saying.

It took him a moment to realize he was expected to say something. Lowering his clasped hands to the table, he cleared his throat before saying, "We seem to be at an impasse at the moment. Clearly what just happened is affecting everyone. I think it would be best if we convened the meeting so that J'onn and Batman can go back to their respective investigations. The sooner they make headway, the better."

That was a rather well-thoughtout response from the Man of Steel. Considering what he had heard just now, the meeting might as well be over. Taking the opportunity the Kryptonian had plainly laid out, Batman abruptly stood up, pushing his chair back with the back of his legs. He didn't say a thing as he turned and left the meeting room.

And beneath his cape, his hands were tight fists, clenching harder with every passing second.

Diana felt she had changed since her arrival in Man's World. She had come here full of ideals and a wanderlust to learn everything. She had experienced triumph and loss; joy and sadness; challenges that could have and should have broken her, and she had come out on the other side stronger for it.

The meeting had just ended. John and Shayera were justifiably upset by the Legion of Doom's latest scheme, so she understood where they were coming from in their need to put a stop to them. She also understood Batman's words of caution. If these were the days of her first arrival into Man's World, she would have vocalized her full support for her two friends.

She was more mature now though, so she found herself agreeing more with Batman. Admittingly, there was some bias and any statement she made that aligned herself with Gotham's Dark Knight would have been dismissed as such. Such patronizing would have enraged her once, but she could see it now for what it was, merely an attempt to silence her and brush off her words. It was a common thing she had experienced in Man's World, but she had proven herself time and again that she was one that shouldn't be so easily ignored.

Still, it was rather unsettling the passion her comrades spoke with. That even Flash was making snide remarks when he was more easy natured spoke to the strain they were under.

"Diana?"

The Amazon found herself stopping as she turned around. She found Superman walking up to her and she greeted him with a warm—albeit weak—smile. She was still tired, a phenomenon she was also uncomfortable with. She wanted to be welcoming, but the fatigue made even simple gestures exhausting. "Superman," she returned his greeting.

"Can we talk?" he asked her as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Certainly." She crossed her arms over her abdomen, her hands cupping around her elbows as she rested her weight on one leg.

"That was a rather tense meeting," he began.

Diana found herself nodding. "It was, not that I can blame anyone."

Superman nodded. "I was hoping to get your view on things. Everyone was pretty much dug-in to their sides for the most part, so I felt it was in the best interest of everyone to get them separated and see what they all thought."

That was wise, she had to admit. "Each side has valid points," she told him, "even if some things were said in the heat of the moment."

"And which way are you leaning?"

"Something must be done with the Legion, but we cannot afford any more missteps. That seems to be all we've been doing since their emergence."

"And your solution?"

Diana sighed. "I don't really have one at the moment, unfortunately."

Again, the dark-haired man nodded. "I do think we need to pinpoint where the Legion is first, but I can't help but think that an example should be made. Every attack the Legion of Doom commits only emboldens other criminals, possibly even pushes some to join their ranks. There's a lot more of them than there are of us, so we really can't win an arms race with them."

That was an interesting point, Diana had to admit. "What kind of example did you have in mind?"

His blue eyes glazed over as he gave her question some thought. "I don't know if simply throwing them in jail would be enough. We've encountered many of the Legion's members separately over the years and prison really hasn't stopped them. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. How much longer can we really go doing the same thing?"

Perhaps it was because many of Diana's opponents over the years had been divine in nature that she never developed a so-called Rogue's Gallery like many of the others. It left her with a different viewpoint on the matter. "A longer term solution would be more beneficial, but there aren't many acceptable ones that I know of."

"I do have to admit, sometimes I wonder if our reasons for not killing the bad guys aren't just shackling us. There have been times I felt that killing someone would be more effective."

Diana narrowed her eyes slightly. She hadn't known her friend had thoughts like this. How long had he had them? "How long have you thought of this?"

Superman shrugged. "I really can't tell you one exact time to be honest, but lately, with the Legion attacks, it does make me wonder about it."

The Amazon would have been lying if she hadn't considered the same thing at one point or another. Her considerations stem from her culture, however, and she was quite well aware that Superman had values that were more consistent with the modern age. "It's truly something that shouldn't be taken lightly," she said after a moment.

"You're right," he agreed. He then sighed. "I guess I should go check on the others and feel them out as well. Thanks for stopping to talk with me." Superman then turned and began walking back the way he came.

Which left Diana to watch him go. Something seemed off, she could feel it. Was the stress really getting to them? She had seen the League frustrated, irritated, if not down right angry, but never could one say they gave out under pressure.

It made her wonder what was really happening in the League.

Ever get the feeling you were in over your head? Ollie had felt that way more times than he cared for, but through perseverance and some lucky, you could find yourself coming out better than before.

Not for the first time the Emerald Archer wondered what he was doing up here. Sure, "Join the Justice League," the Bat said, "it'll be fine," he said. Well, okay, he didn't say that last part, or even the first one. That had been directed at Black Canary and he just happened to walk in on that moment and thought "What the hell?" and tagged along.

"So when do you want to talk about it?" Speaking of Pretty Bird, she was sprawled on the spartan bed in her designated quarters. Each member got their own Plain Jane bedroom during orientation, one of the few perks that came with the job. She was lying on it, using her arms to prop up her upper body as she had one leg fully extended and hanging off the bed, the other bent at the knee to allow her foot to rest on the mattress.

She was a pretty picture if he ever saw one. The thing was, she knew it too if that small, teasing smile was anything to go by.

Unfortunately—and this was a rarity at that—he wasn't quite in the mood to see what the blonde was up for, recreationally of course. So he settled for, "Things aren't what I thought they would be when we came to the auditions."

Canary's smile faded, something he was rather sad about. "I know what you mean," she agreed softly. "It's been pretty tough, hasn't it?"

"Going up bad guys isn't my problem. I was expecting that at some point. Maybe not every bad guy the Justice League had previously pissed off, but some of them." Ollie drifted off as he considered his next words. "Something just doesn't seem right, does it?"

Pretty Bird shifted on the bed, though all she accomplished was bouncing up and down as she adjusted her arms. "What do you mean?"

"It's like they thought everyone they recruited would fit seamlessly into their team. They weren't expecting some hiccups along the way." While that was true, that wasn't what was bothering the archer. People made mistakes, sure, and this one seemed like an unexpected blunder on the League's part, but this was also the first time they had expanded their ranks since their founding. Everyone was learning a new process and it was just bad luck someone more organized came along to throw a wrench into things.

"Is that all?" Canary asked, her beautiful blues locked on him, prodding him along.

"No, not really." He raised a hand up and scratched the back of his head. "I think what's really getting to me is that little speech of Green Lantern's. It was exactly what everyone needed to hear. 'We may lose the battle, but not the war.'" While that may have been paraphrasing things, it was basically the gist of what the man had said. "But it comes off as way too Patton for me."

The blonde bombshell raised an eyebrow at that. "Alright, you've lost me."

Ollie gestured with a hand, pretty much just throwing it up in the air. "It was very militaristic. It was like a conservative trying to motivate their base with some patriotic nonsense. Us versus them; we're the good guys, they're the bad guys, and we need to take them down hard."

"Are you sure you're talking about Green Lantern and not Captain Atom?"

Alright, to be fair, he and Captain Atom had been in an argument when Green Lantern had interrupted it. Now the Captain was a grade-A jerk if you ask him. He had been blindly defending the League's actions so far. Faintly, the archer wondered if there was even a brain in the guy's head, or if the military had drilled it out of him.

Ollie was used to questioning things. As far as he was concerned, there was always a way to improve things, a better way to do them. That had been his point until Lantern came in and preached unity and winning and "Go, Justice League! Go!"

And everyone had eaten it up. Maybe that was what was troubling him. Everyone here was an accomplished hero; yet, there was so much kowtowing to the original League members. While they were the veterans in situations like this, it was almost like blind faith that they were being followed. So Lantern's timely words came off more as someone preaching "Stay the course." Staying the course wasn't working, so perhaps it was time to change things.

"Well, are you going to answer me, or not?" Black Canary inquired. "Or are you trying to perfect your brooding pose?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," he murmured. He wanted to run a hand through his hair, but his hat would just get in the way. Sure, he could have taken it off, but it rather completed his ensemble. And just having his hand underneath it just made him look silly. "I'm starting to think joining the League was not a wise choice."

"It's overwhelming, isn't it?" she said knowingly. "Sometimes I wonder what Batman was thinking, encouraging me to join. I mean, these are all people with crazy powers and the best I can do is scream really loud. If it was just a matter of punching and kicking people, that's one thing, but punching and kicking isn't going to fix everything."

Yeah, Batman had been the one to suggest League membership, wasn't he? Though the last time they had spent any time around each other had been that whole Bane fiasco, he had gotten the impression the guy was thinking about a hundred different things at the same time. He literally tried to carry everyone on his shoulders.

Was that what it took to stand with veritable gods and not bat an eye? The guy was just like him and Pretty Birds, not an iota of power except exceptional skill and endurance. Yet, his presence commanded respect out of people that could squash him in an instant if they wanted to.

"I think we should have a talk with Batman," Ollie finally said. "I get the feeling there's more to him wanting us here than what we were told."

To Invisible Fan: Not everyone that has an account posts stories. Some people have it to keep up with stories they like, be it as a favorite or follow. That's perfectly fine. You can also use the guest review function as you currently do, that's fine as well. As ships go, I can't say much for AV. For me, I can't say I'm set in stone. I like Batman with Wonder Woman or Zatanna, for instance. I do think Superman and Lois are one of those set-in-stone things. John Stewart and Hawkgirl is present in the series as well. Hero-wise, I'm a fan of Zatanna and Martian Manhunter. While I don't have much knowledge on backstories on these characters, I do research a bunch of the characters so I don't make a complete fool of myself.