The Fallout

by Guardian Amulet

25 years after the death of Lois and Jimmy in Gotham, Superman's attack on the city in revenge has left the world paralyzed with fear of the Meta human heroes. In this climate, a new threat is beginning to rise COMPLETE Reviews welcome

1. Chapter 1 The new face of Heroism

The senate had just gone for recess, and he walked over to the office down the hall, the office reserved for one of the current senators from the state of California. Currently, that was this man; Hal Jordan, former Air Force pilot, governor, now senator- and Green Lantern. Though, of course, the latter was a secret, and increasingly the less used persona. As he walked into the antechamber of the office, he looked at the woman seated behind the desk, busily typing away at the computer in front of her. She was attractive, with long hair and a slight face; most of the more unscrupulous senators- and coincidentally, the ones he'd prefer to route from an office they do not deserve on account of it- would have tried to make a pass at her. Hal trusted her; trusted her with even his darkest secret, a secret that could topple the very foundation of the government. That trust was enough.

"Good afternoon, Claudia," he told her.

"Good afternoon, sir," she replied, looking up. "The file you requested is on your desk."

"Thank you, Claudia," Hal said. "Make sure I'm not disturbed, unless it's important."

"Yes, Senator." Hal walked past her, into his office, and shut the door. The office was comfortable, with a carpeted floor, a large well-made desk along a wall of windows. Sitting on his desk was a brown folder, the top laced down. Stamped on the folder itself were various messages, top secret, for eyes only, and such nonsense. As the chair of the subcommittee on Meta-human affairs, Hal needed the file to prepare himself for a speech he was going to need to give in a week. He wanted to know the latest information, the information he knew he would be smacked with when it came time to make his presentation- whatever that was going to be.

The file itself was thick, and inside were stacks of papers, some of them blackened out to hide information protected by a security level even above Hal's own. Within were various mentions of Meta-human activity in the United States. Most of them centered on Metropolis and Gotham. It also had a mention of a Meta-human being apprehended in Seattle.

Seattle?

Hal paused, going back to read over the entire report. Mentioned in there were reports from eyewitnesses interviewed after the fact, claiming to also see a young woman, approximately between the ages of 17 and 22, garbed in green and black, wielding a bow with incredible accuracy. Immediately following the report, all but tacked onto it, was another report. The office of Homeland Security was investigating what it was calling a 'disturbing' trend on the internet. There were articles popping up all over the internet and at college campuses around the country demanding fair treatment of Meta-humans. They were all credited to an unknown person or persons calling themselves 'Concerned Student'.

Frowning, Hal went over this second report, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. He traced the dates of the articles at the colleges, and found the first printing in the University of Washington's campus newspaper.

The green-clad archer and inflammatory articles were all the proof Hal needed, even though it was circumstantial; he knew Ollie lived in Seattle, and he knew he had a daughter, old enough (or young enough, depending on one's point of view) to be the archer. And ten to one odds, she was up to her father's old tricks.

"Damn it, Ollie," Hal whispered under his breath. "You didn't have to raise her to be your daughter." He hit the intercom a little harder than he needed to. "Claudia?"

"Yes, Senator?" her voice came back from the speaker.

"Are there any important votes coming up between now and Monday?"

"Your schedule is on your desk," she said. Hal looked over it quickly- typical day to day tedium. Nothing of worth, nothing he couldn't miss.

"I'll be leaving for an extended engagement this weekend," he said. "Bring the car around, please."

"Of course, sir." The click on the other side told him that she had pulled her finger off the button. Hal took the file and put it into his briefcase, making absolutely certain to lock it. He would need to travel home, then book a ticket to Seattle. It was about time to go visit his old friend.

"You are going to stay here."

"Forget it," Olivia growled back at the man who stood in front of her. He was twice her age or more; she wouldn't be able to tell if she tried. His mere gaze would have caused men to run in fear, especially any man older than thirty, but the young woman stood there, unafraid. She had braved the dangers of the overrun ruins of Metropolis, had fought Amazons over the Atlantic Ocean, even braved the mysterious island of Themyscira to report back on what was happening there. She was Olivia Queen, the new Green Arrow, and she wasn't about to back down from an argument, even an argument with Superman. True, he had lost his mind twenty five years ago, before she had been born; he had killed a lot of people in Gotham, had destroyed most of the Justice League, and caused the current laws against heroes and Meta-humans. He seemed to have changed since the time however, had grown more…cold, uncaring, but less prone to anger at the same time. Though, the hole he punched straight through an Amazon would have her in doubt…

"It's too dangerous for you," he said.

"But it wasn't too dangerous to send me there scouting. Alone, I might add," she said, folding her arms in front of her, still holding her bow.

"Without any powers, you'll be helpless," he insisted again.

"But I wasn't helpless before," Olivia said. "Fighting off Bizarro in Metropolis, taking out the Amazons in Gotham and over the Atlantic, even getting back with news that Gorilla Grodd's the one who's taken control of them in the first place."

"You're staying here," his female companion spoke up. "There's no room for discussion. Let's go, Clark." Olivia watched helplessly, her fists curled tightly, as Superman and Wonder Woman went streaking off. And she was left alone in her house.

More than frustrated, Olivia went upstairs, into her room, slamming the door. She heard a slurred complaint from her father, but ignored it. She sat down hard at her desk, opening her laptop and powering it on. If she couldn't help fight physically, she would fight the masses with her mind. She called up her word processor, beginning work on a post, one designed to inflame those who read it, calling for a return of the heroes who had once protected the earth with their lives. It was time to get over what had happened. A culture that lived in constant fear of its past was a stagnant one, dead. She had no other way to fight.

As she was finishing up the last few sentences, she heard the doorbell downstairs. Knowing that she couldn't depend on her father to get it, she finished up quickly, posted to the internet, and started downstairs. Again, she heard her father shout something, but she ignored it. Heading downstairs, the doorbell rang again. "I'm coming!" she said in exasperation.

Finally, she reached the door and opened it. Standing there was a man in a very nice suit, a long black rain slicker overtop. He had gray, close-cut hair and a lined face, and held a briefcase in his right hand. "Good to see you, Olivia," he said.

Just as she was about to ask how he had known her name, recognition hit. He was older by some ten years, but she still recognized him. "Uncle Hal!" she said, smiling for what seemed the first time in weeks.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

Olivia moved out of the way. "How have you been, Senator?" she chided, as he put the briefcase down on the chair.

"Life's been fair," he said. "You look good. Where's your father?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. It had been ten years; he didn't know. "He's upstairs," she said.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," he said. "We need to catch up."

"It's going to be a little more than a few minutes, even if he's coherent," she muttered. Hal just looked at her, then continued up the steps. As he left, Olivia looked at the briefcase. The lock was overly sophisticated, even more so than the lock she had found on the lead box of Kryptonite in Metropolis. She decided to leave it be; better not to mess with whatever Uncle Hal had hidden in there. Besides, the sudden bash that she heard upstairs warranted her attention more.

As she ran up the stairs, she could see that the door to her father's room had been blown open, and was hanging off one of its hinges. Inside, she heard her father moving. "Well, Hal F'king Jorrrdan," he slurred, his voice barely recognizable. Olivia stood in the doorway, leaning against the jam, arms folded. Her uncle stood in front of her, just off to the side enough to see her father lying on the bed, a bottle of Wild Turkey almost finished in his right hand. He didn't have a left one, not anymore. "What're you d'ing herrre?"

"Oliver," Hal said, calm as anything. From his right hand came a green glow, a glow of energy that formed into a hand. It grasped the bottle and wrestled it from her inebriated father. "Good to see you too."

"H'y, that's a p'rfectly good bottle'o booze," he said.

"Not anymore. Time to wake up, Ollie." The hand poured the rest of the bottle over his head. If it hadn't been her father, Olivia might have laughed. It then picked him up by the collar of the shirt and dragged him into the bathroom, where she heard the water running . . . and her father's infuriated shouts.

Hal turned to her. "How long has he been like this?"

"Past three years," she said, lowering her head. "You're not going to drown him, are you?"

"He won't drown," Hal told her. "Where's Dinah?"

Olivia turned away. "Why don't you go ask Aquaman?" she growled sourly. That elicited some shock from him.

"Where is she?" he asked again.

"Last I heard, Batman traced her to Atlantis."

"You should get me up to speed on what's happening," he said. The sound of water ended, and the green glow retracted into the ring he wore.

"Well, there's Amazonians tearing a swath across the planet," she said. "Being led by Gorilla Grodd."

"Grodd?" he asked. "I didn't think he had the power to control that many people, let alone Amazonians."

"We think he might have some sort of device to enhance his abilities. So Superman told me."

"Superman?"

Olivia sighed. Her fathers had come out of the room, and sat down again, his long hair, more gray than blonde anymore, dripping wet. "Yeah. He came back when Wonder Woman was injured. Then I was told to sneak onto Themyscira and find out why the Amazonians were attacking. Superman and Wonder Woman are on their way there now to stop him. Mom left when Superman showed up. We tracked her to Spain, then Portugal. I went off to Themyscira while Batman traced her to Atlantis. I don't know where he went after that."

"Wait a minute," Ollie said from the bed, "your mother's missing?"

Olivia bit down hard. "Yes, pop. Haven't you wondered why you've been passing out and waking up alone the past few days?" she snapped angrily. He looked away.

"So, I hear news of an archer in town," Hal said. "Woman in green, about your age."

Olivia shrugged. "Someone's gotta fight the good fight, illegal or not."

"They're also posting inflammatory remarks on the internet about Meta-human rights. Trying to change the politicians in DC."

Olivia shrugged, unable to hide the smile of satisfaction. "Someone's gotta do something about it," she said. "It's about time we stopped being scared, especially now that we have a real threat."

"You're being noticed in Washington," Hal said, and she heard a hint of concern in his voice. "You may want to lay low for a little while."

Olivia sighed. He was right; getting herself caught wasn't going to help the cause any. Besides, she couldn't help anyone from prison. "After we go find mom."

Hal nodded, then looked over at her father. "We're going to need your help, Ollie. Get shaved, put on some deodorant. Get cleaned up. You're a mess."

Ollie grunted in annoyance. "Gimme an hour." He went into the bathroom, and Olivia went downstairs.

"So, show me this bow of yours," Hal requested.

"It's in the lab downstairs," she said, leading him down into the basement. There was a small bench in the back corner with equipment on and near it, as well as the makeshift hospital bed that Wonder Woman had been in while she was injured. She picked her bow up off the rack and handed it to her uncle. He wasn't an uncle by blood or anything, but she had known him since she was a child. If she had been baptized, he would have been her Godfather, but her own father had gone on a tirade about organized religion on earth. He would know, however; he had been dead at least once before.

"Hmm," he moaned thoughtfully, holding it out with one hand as he ran a green light from the ring over it with the other. "Lots of sophisticated technology in here. You built this yourself?"

Olivia smiled, as he handed it back to her. "Yep." As she turned to put the bow back on the wall, Hal's phone rang.

"Yes?" She could only hear part of the conversation. "I'm at a friend's house. Yes. All right. Get as much information on it as you can." His tone was cold, almost...surgical. Something was wrong. "Olivia, where's the TV?"

"Living room," she said, as she led him upstairs, turning on the TV. Hal grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

An anchorman took up the screen now. "This is Fox Rusher from LNN News," he announced. "We have this story just in, we have a report of a massive earthquake in the country of Morocco. Eyewitnesses are reporting that a strange red beam of light was seen in the area just before the quake. The area has been devastated, and it is estimated that the death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands." Just then, a graphic of the earthquake's location and magnitude were shown. Olivia felt her throat tighten. It was Africa.

"Grodd," she whispered.

Hal looked at her, then turned back to the stairs. "Ollie, you better hurry it up."

Rusher was back on again. He was going on again about the quake, when he paused, and was most obviously listening to the earpiece he wore. "This just in, a second earthquake has been reported, this one in Kashmir. Again, witnesses are reporting a red beam of light just before this quake."

"Grodd may already have started his attack."

Hal shook his head. "No, I doubt it. He wouldn't attack such obscure places. He'd go after new York, London."

Olivia nodded. "I did remember hearing him say he would attack New York first," she remembered audibly.

"Looks like my niece is withholding information."

"I'm not meaning to," she said. Just then, realization made her eyes go wide. "If those places were hit, that means that the other Amazonians are heading back for Themyscira," she said. "Superman and Wonder Woman are going to be surrounded."

"You know where Themyscira is, Olivia?" Hal asked.

She shrugged. "Ehh...Supes took me there once. I think I can remember the way."

"Good enough. Grab your bow."

She ran down the stairs, grabbing her bow and quickly pulling on the black body suit, throwing on her green cloak and hood. Once she ran back upstairs, she once again barely recognized her uncle; he looked much younger, dressed in black and green, a small green mask over his eyes and temples. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Olivia nodded, and quickly she found herself surrounded by a large green bubble, and was being pulled through the air behind her uncle at an incredible speed. At first, she felt her heart leap up into her throat, but she soon calmed. "Thanks for the warning, Uncle Hal," she said.

"We're in costume, you don't call me that," he said sternly.

"Then what do you want me to call you?"

"Green Lantern. Or Lantern. Or just uncle."

"Lantern. Got it," she muttered. "You know, you could have warned me first. You know I hate flying."

"You shouldn't complain so much," he muttered to her.

"Well, excuse me! If you'll remember, pop died in a plane crash, and I nearly did ove-" Just then, a large green gag appeared over her mouth.

"At last, some peace and quiet."

Olivia glared at him, trying to demand that he remove the gag, but her words were muffled. Instead, she pointed down to the ocean. Eventually, he removed the gag. "I can't tell you where to go if I can't speak!" she shouted. "Now, you should be bearing a little left up here. Get down low, we'll be coming up on it soon."

Sure enough, in a few minutes, she recognized the large, low-hanging cloud that obscured the island from the rest of the world. They landed on one of the golden beaches and moved quickly into the jungle, looking around. Patrols went by, groups of four women, all in black jumpsuits with silver bracers. As Olivia was about to move past them, she heard the sound of a horn, the familiar sound that had before caused the women to become zombies.

"They're heading to the capitol," she told Lantern. "Be quiet, and follow me."

The two of them slipped through the forest, until they came to the very edge of a beautiful city. The buildings were made of white marble, all in a Greek architecture, around a central building. There, being carried out on his golden throne by four women, was the silverback gorilla, Grodd. And chained to a golden post with glowing chains were the two heroes.

Olivia looked up at the rooftop. It would be perfect to snipe the chains from there. "Lantern, get me up there," she whispered. Silently, a hand came from the ring and lifted her to the roof, where she perched behind a slope near the center. She settled herself in and steadied the bow, aiming for the chains around Wonder Woman. She remembered Superman saying something about keeping magic away from him; on an island full of magic, it would make sense to free the magic-user first.

"My loyal subjects!" Grodd hissed at the brain-washed crowd. "Our success has been completed! Soon, we will overcome the world of man and destroy it. We have also captured two traitors, and will see to it that they are punished as such. No more will we have to fear the superheroes."

"Wrong, ape," Olivia whispered, as she pulled back on her bow, the circuitry inside forming a perfect arrow, with a small tool at the tip. She let fly, watching as it struck true. The chains were nicked, but didn't break. Cursing to herself, Olivia pulled back again as Grodd turned to see her on the rooftop.

"Get her!" he demanded. Olivia watched as two Amazonians hopped up onto the roof, diving at her. She let go of the string and dove away quickly, feeling the sting as one grabbed a lock of her long blonde hair as pulled it out as she moved. Looking down, she saw that Lantern was not there any longer. She hoped that he had gone after whatever it was that might be fueling Grodd, and moved deftly from rooftop to rooftop, trying to keep all attention on herself to give him time to work.

The women tried to pin her between them, but she dropped quickly, whirling around in a flagrant display of color. She noted one woman on the ground, as she threw a net, and quickly jumped out of the way as it entangled the two women who had been chasing her on the rooftops. Again, Olivia pulled back and struck at Wonder Woman's chains, but still nothing. The princess was now struggling against them, however, trying to break them on her own.

Olivia continued her romp from rooftop to rooftop, until she noticed Lantern appearing from the mouth of the palace, pointing his ring at the throne and firing. The back exploded outwards, revealing a panel of sophisticated circuitry. She smiled as she avoided a rain of arrows headed her way (and she smiled at the irony). Unfortunately, her smile turned cold as she watched as Grodd's eyes lit up, as did Superman's; his chains fell off, and he went straight for Lantern.

"Look out!" she cried, as she fired again at the chains. The last chink made it, and Wonder Woman finally broke free. Pulling back again quickly, Olivia formed a warhead, aiming right for the exposed chair. As per her usual, the arrow rang true, until it hit the chair, causing the electronics to explode inside. The women all stopped moving, clutching their heads. As Wonder Woman had finally gotten free of her chains, Olivia watched as Superman grabbed Lantern, spinning him and holding his arms back behind his head painfully. She looked over at the form of Grodd, now motionless, and loosed an arrow at him, hoping to break his concentration. There was no effect. Even at the rooftop, she could hear Lantern's body cracking in protest. "Time to die, Green Lantern," she heard Grodd's voice say from Superman. Again, she fired at Grodd, hoping that a disruption arrow would stop the control, but the body just fell limp to the ground.

Finally, she turned it on Superman, pulling back again. As she did, she felt the rooftop under her shake, and looked down in time to see the stonework moving under her feet. She ducked out of the way quickly, barely avoiding the sandwich of her between two very large slabs of stone. Still, Wonder Woman was trying to pull Superman off of Lantern. He pushed her aside, knocking her back, then threw the badly-bruised man at Olivia. She ducked out of the way, and heard him crash into the wall behind her. Grodd flew up, stopping only to pierce two beams into his old body, killing it. Olivia watched as he flew away, and Wonder Woman dropped to her knees.

"Are you all right?"

She looked up, seeming a little stunned. "Yes, thanks to you." She looked over at Lantern, who had finally gotten to his feet. "I have to attend to my subjects. You have to leave here, before they realize you are here. Go!"

Olivia nodded, and was once again encased in the large green sphere. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, you said your mother was in Atlantis. I think that's a good place to start."

Atlantis. The palace itself took up most of the underwater city, and that was where Batman was prowling, moving through the shadows between columns of coral and stonework. He had not seen Dinah or Aquaman for two days. It was time to change that.

Batman. It was a mantle inherited; Bruce Wayne had become unable to continue his vigil of Gotham City, and now there was a new Batman. If anyone had seen beneath the cowl (which wasn't going to happen in Atlantis), they would see a man much younger than Bruce, just shy of thirty, but with traces of his features. His appearance, however, was dominantly his mother's, middle eastern dark hair and darker skin. In his childhood, he had never known his mother, or his father- his birth, if that was what one wanted to call it, was not exactly 'natural'. There was nothing natural about being nurtured by the green ichor of a Lazarus Pit. Still, this new Batman, this Kamal Wayne, knew the influence that the original Batman had on the populace of Gotham, if not the rest of the world; he made certain to move, act, and sound just like his father. When he had been sane, of course, whatever sanity Batman had once had.

Moving swiftly through the halls, avoiding detection by the guards at the doorways, he paused only when he heard the proximity alert blaring throughout the city. He ducked back into a shadow quickly as a group of guards ran down the hall, towards the throne room (for lack of a better name for it). Following silently, Batman made his way also into the chamber behind them, in time to see the intruder being pinned to the ground. He wore a black bodysuit and scuba gear, long hair dripping wet, held face down.

"Get the fuck off me!" he shouted. That was all the proof of identification he needed, though the missing left arm helped.

"Get him up," Aquaman said, staying seated. Batman stood in the doorway, watching from the shadows. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find Dinah. I know you've got her here," he said.

Aquaman shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you just missed her," he said, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Mentioned something about returning to the surface to her loving husband."

"I'm not leaving until I see her," Ollie threatened, still struggling against the guards.

"She is no longer here, Oliver. You're too late. And you are not welcome here. Guards, take him to the exit and make certain he leaves." Batman once again melded into the shadows as the guards left with their still struggling charge. A minute later, another man entered and approached the king.

"She says that she is ready to leave."

"Excellent. Have a submersible readied and tell her that I regret I could not see her off in person. Tell her that we are now even."

The man bowed, and Batman waited as he passed, trailing behind him through the complex series of halls. He ducked into a small alcove as they turned a corner, coming to a door. Two guards stood watch outside it, and one pushed a button just behind him to open the door. It closed behind him, the guards staying stock-still.

Knowing that it would be useless to try and get past the guards without being seen, and not wanting to raise the alarm with violence, Batman went to an external hatch, took a deep breath, and made his way to the nearby window. Inside he could see the man from the throne room, and Dinah, her back to him. It seemed they were in a conversation, as she gestured to him casually. He could not hear what she was saying, but he could read the other's lips. Half a conversation was better than none.

"Yes. You are most welcome. My king says he regrets not being able t se you off in person, but to tell you that you and he are now even. Yes. Your submersible is ready to take you to the surface. This way."

Ducking back into the city quickly, he took a deep breath and gasped for a second or so before making his way back to the hall. He stopped in time to see Dinah, and frowned. Around her neck was a large device, holding her head in place, with a speaker box at her throat. Again, the proximity alarms went off. Her eyes went wide, and she turned around, heading again for the throne room. Looking back over his shoulder, Batman could see a large, green-glowing object, with the symbol of- no….wait…the Green Lantern corps?

If it was a Green Lantern, he could take care of himself, he reasoned to himself. He followed Dinah back, making his way to the upper level of the chamber unseen as she disappeared into an antechamber behind the throne. A few minutes later, the doors opened, and he got a good view of the intruders. One was most obviously Olivia, as Green Arrow, though her cloak was torn and dirty. The other was a man, six foot, and looking not a day older than the images he had managed to scrounge out of the Bat computer of the old Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

"Looks like we should open a tourist's booth here," Aquaman said sarcastically.

"It's good to see you again, too, Arthur," Lantern replied.

"Where's my mother?"

That caused Aquaman to turn, regarding the girl with disdain. "Who is she?"

"Who do you think she is, with that attitude?" Lantern replied.

"I didn't know Batman had a daughter," he replied.

Before he could let Arrow reply, he spread his arms, opening the cape and flying down, looming menacingly over the throne room. The guards scattered, Arrow pulled her bow and aimed, though her arm shook, just slightly. Lantern had pulled up his hand, and even Aquaman stood up suddenly, pulling out a staff, aiming it.

"He did not have a daughter," he said.

"She's Ollie's daughter," Lantern said.

She put her bow down. "I asked where my mother was."

Again, she was all but ignored. Instead, Aquaman turned to Batman. "I forgot you were here," he said "A mistake I won't make again."

"I asked you a question!" Arrow burst out, taking a step forward.

He gazed at her with cold, unfeeling eyes. "You ought to have respect for your elders, girl," he said carefully. "As for your mother, she has left, and you missed your father by a few minutes. This is not a family reunion hall. Please leave."

"We had better go," Batman said quietly to her.

"Where did she go?" Arrow demanded.

"To see a friend."

There was silence, as they all stood there, staring at each other. Lantern was the first to move, Arrow following reluctantly behind him.

Finally, in the halls, Batman spoke up. "You were only minutes later than your father; I'm surprised you did not see him."

"He came looking for mom, too?"

Batman nodded. "In fact, his arrival and yours prevented her departure."

Without even breaking stride, Arrow turned and began to march back down the hall.

"Olivia, where are you going?" Lantern demanded.

"To find her!" she shouter back. Quickly, Batman pulled out one of his batarangs and threw it. It looped around the young woman four times, as she stopped short. Then, with surprising deftness, she spun the opposite direction, freeing herself from the line and running the rest of the way to the throne room, throwing the doors open.

"Mom?"

Standing there was Dinah, looking surprised to see her daughter there.

"Olivia." Her voice came from the speaker, though her lips did not move.

"You….you can talk," Arrow said, sounding stunned. "That's what you came here for."

Behind them, Lantern and Aquaman were squaring off. "You lied to me, Arthur," Lantern said.

"It was in her best interests," he replied. "She needed a place to stay in solitude for a little while."

"Mom, you can come home now," Arrow said. Her voice had changed, from the steeled alto it had been before to an almost meek hum. "We've been worried about you."

"I can't come home yet," Dinah replied.

"But pop…"

"I don't care about your father."

Batman watched the sudden flood of emotion on the girl's face. There was rage, and confusion, and a deep set pain, before anger finally took over, turning her expression- and voice- to stone.

"Fine," she growled, her jaw held together tightly. "See you later, then." With that, she turned and stormed off. Lantern followed after her with a sigh. They were escorted by guard to the bay where they had first come in. By that time, her stride had slowed, her shoulders had sagged. The ride back was silent, until she finally said, "If pop had just left, he should be out here, right?"

"It was only a few minutes ago," Batman said to her. Though he looked over, he didn't meet her eyes. It was only a moment later that he heard his other companion speak up.

"Found him."

He looked down; on the ocean was a speedboat, heading northeast at breakneck speeds. Once again the emerald energy snaked out, picked up the lone occupant, and brought him up into the jet that had formed after they had broken the surface.

"What the fuck d'you think you're doing?" The words came out almost visible through the fumes of alcohol on his breath. Quickly, he was gagged with a green band and held in the back of the jet. His daughter hovered nearby, silent. It didn't take a detective to see that she was upset and in deep thought.

"Where to now?" Lantern asked.

"Seattle," Arrow said. "We have to get the kryptonite, if Super Grodd is on the loose."

"We should then perhaps return to my estate. It is safe there."

Lantern looked over, then nodded. "One stop flight to Gotham, layover in Seattle."

After quickly grabbing the lead box from its safe, the four of them had made their way to the old, dilapidated Wayne Manor in Gotham. Ollie locked in the library upstairs, Olivia, Hal and Kamal were in the lower level cavern. She was sitting at the lab bench, holding the glowing green rock on front of her.

"So, what did I miss?" Kamal asked.

"Grodd's hold on Themyscira is over," Hal said. "But he's taken over Superman's body now. He flew off; we don't know where he went."

Hal looked over as an Asian woman glided down the steps, bowing slightly to Kamal. "Good afternoon, Master Wayne," she said. "Your father was upset that you did not visit him on Tuesday. He caused quite a scene. The doctors take it as a good sign, that he is growing aware of time."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid my little hiatus wasn't cleared through him first. Minshi, cut a check for whatever damages he caused. And have the Rolls brought around. I'll go to Arkham for the afternoon and see how father is doing." He then turned to his guests. "I trust you'll be comfortable here?"

Hal looked over at Olivia. She was hunched over the bench, working busily. He doubted she even heard a word. "We'll be all right here," he said.

"If you need anything, ask Minshi. She will make certain you are comfortable in my absence." With that, he went upstairs, presumably to change before leaving for Arkham. Hal wandered around the cave for a little bit, until he heard Olivia push the bench she was sitting on back, scraping the metal legs against the stone floor. He turned around to see her holding a very small, off-white object on the tip of her right index finger.

"What's that?" he asked, walking over to her as she carefully put the tiny contraption in her left cheek.

"Something to help," she said.

"What are you planning on doing with it?" Hal asked, feeling slightly uneasy at her vague answer.

She turned and looked him straight in the eye, her face much too solemn for a teenaged girl. "Uncle Hal, do you trust me?"

"Yes," he answered cautiously. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Just remember that, and whatever you do, whatever pop does, don't call the police. Okay?"

He wanted to protest, needed to protest, especially since her mother was gone, her father was incoherent, and there was no one else to watch over her (and god knew she of all people needed a guardian angel at that point), but he could only nod. "Olivia."

"I'll be back soon. Just remember what you said." With that, she went upstairs, throwing her cloak and hood down on the table next to the still untouched rock of kryptonite she was supposed to have been working on. Hal watched as she went, then pulled his ring up, the green glow showing her form heading upstairs, to the locked library where Ollie was. He listened in as well. Whatever was going to happen, it wasn't going to be good; Olivia was troubled, and Ollie was drunk.

He heard her unlock the door, and grabbed for what looked like a bookend, holding it up over his head, waiting. He winced as Olivia opened the door, but watched as Ollie caught himself, lowering the object.

"Pop?" she asked. "We need to talk." Her voice was all but pleading.

"I need to get the hell out of here," he said. "Get outta the way."

Olivia shook her head, closing the door behind her. "I can't let you do that, pop. We really need to talk. Please."

"Damn it, get out of the way, Olivia." He reached over to grab her, but she pushed him back.

"This is how it's going to be?" she asked. "I'm not moving. You're going to have to go through me."

"Damn it!" He reached for her again, grabbing her by the shoulder and throwing her down on the ground. She kicked out, tripping him onto his back, then tried to get to her feet. Ollie was doing the same, and was reaching for the door as well. Again, Olivia pushed him over, but he kept his balance, getting fully to his feet. "Get out of my way!" he shouted, grabbing for the lamp on the table nearby.

"Make me!" Olivia shouted back. Ollie swung. That was all Hal needed to see. He was racing up the steps as he watched Olivia drop, and not move. Getting his balance again, Ollie moved for the door as Hal reached it.

"Get out of the fucking way!"

"No, Ollie!" Hal all but shouted, throwing him back into the room with a large green hand. "Look at Olivia! Look what you've done!"

Ollie sneered, but looked down at her. She was lying on her side, glass covering her face and tangled in her hair. Her green eyes were open and glossed over. The rage on Ollie's face soon turned to concern, then panic. He knelt down and pushed against her neck. "I've got no pulse. She's not breathing!"

Hal gritted his teeth. "We've got to get her to a hospital," he said. Without thinking, he surrounded the three of them in another green bubble, and flew as fast as he could to Gotham Mercy Hospital. Ollie had picked her up in his arms and was trying to shake her awake. Nothing. Hal could feel his own fear beginning to rise. Was she really dead?

Did her father really kill her?

They made it to the hospital only moments later, where Ollie began to rough up the doctors, demanding that they do something. Olivia was taken away to the intensive care unit, and both men were left in the hallway. It was only then that Hal realized he was still in the green and black Green Lantern uniform. Quickly, he ducked into a closet and emerged as Senator Jordan again. Ollie was still standing numbly in the hallway. Hal eased him down into a chair, as he mumbled, then broke down, covering his face with his hand.

"They'll take care of her," Hal said. "We just have to wait. Can I get you something? There's a coffee machine over there." Ollie managed a very weak nod, and Hal went off, looking down the hall. He was concerned with the lack of scrambling doctors or nurses. Either they knew what was wrong with Olivia and whoever was on staff could handle it… or there was nothing they could do for her. They could only wait.

The wait seemed to take forever, before there was finally commotion in the halls. It wasn't what either of them were expecting, however. Swarming through the hospital were suddenly men in black suits, all carrying weapons. Hal again felt himself grit his teeth; idiot, he had come as Green Lantern to a public place. Of course, the MCC would descend on the place.

One of the men came up to him and Ollie, and they both stood up. "Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, flashing them both a badge. "I'm with Homeland Security. I'd like to ask you both a few questions."

Hal barely noted the sudden punch that collapsed the man. Ollie wasn't even pausing, reaching out to the next man, breaking his nose, and tripping the last one. He then went tearing down the hallway, towards the entrance. Whatever he was doing, he was on his own; Senator Jordan would not be able to aid a man who had assaulted an officer, at least not overtly. But he could cover his getaway. He tried to be helpful, tripping the men, pushing them into each other as he tried to 'help' them to their feet. Down the hall, he heard shots, and began to make his way to the exit with the others in the maelstrom.

Once he had gotten to the door, there were more men in suits, ordering people into groups. Finally, a woman in a skirted suit came forward and addressed the somewhat-panicked crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, please. We are here to assess the situation and any risk there may be to you and your relatives here at the hospital. So, if you'd please just sit tight and cooperate with our investigators, we'll try and get your testimonies processed as quickly as possible. Thank you."

Her eyes swept over the crowd, until they rested on Hal. He straightened himself up, and started to walk towards her. "You seem familiar," she said, her voice measured carefully.

"Senator Jordan," he introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Agent Todd with Homeland Security," she said, shaking his hand. "If you don't mind my asking, Senator, what are you doing here?"

"I am here with a friend of mine," he said as he scanned the crowd. No sign of Ollie. Good. "I seem to have lost him in the confusion, though."

"Well, it is dangerous for you to be here, Senator," Todd said, motioning to another man. "Agent Williams, take the senator here back to Washington. Unless, of course, there is someplace else you need to be?" There was a hint of threat in her voice.

Hal set his jaw. "No place else to be," he said, resisting the urge to look back at the hospital. Olivia was still in there…but if he couldn't be there, then there was always Kamal and his seemingly endless resources. He would phone the eccentric billionaire as soon as he could. He'd also see if he could get him to track down Ollie...wherever he ran off to.

"This way, Senator," Williams said, gesturing him to a helicopter that had landed nearby. Seeing no alternative, Hal followed the man and hoped that everything would work itself out.

The serum had worn off as it was supposed to, but instead of seeing a room full of books, or even a bedroom in Wayne Manor, Olivia was looking up at the cold, white ceiling of a hospital room.

Shit.

The doctors next to her were filling out paperwork. There was nothing hooked up to her, though the equipment was everywhere. A nurse to her left let out a rather frightened scream, as Olivia sat up, rubbing her head. Whatever kind of lamp that was, it wasn't easy on the temples. Before she knew what was happening, however, the doctor had dropped his pen, and was insisting that she lie back down, forcing her onto her back again.

"I'm fine!" she told him, as she struggled to get up.

"Please miss, just lie back down and relax, we're going to have to run a few tests," he told her. His voice sounded shaky.

"I'm telling you, I'm perfectly all right. I've got to go to my father."

"Miss, I can't let you do that. A minute ago…you were dead."

"I know, I did that to myself, I have to go talk to him." She finally sighed, seeing no other alternative. Reaching back, she punched the doctor right above the nose, then rolled off the bed, unraveling the sheet with her. She spun it once, snapping it over the poor already-terrified nurse's head, then into her chest.

As she did, she heard the door open. As she spun to accost the new intruder, she caught herself; standing there was Kamal, as Batman. "How the hell did you know I'd be here?" she asked.

"Security cameras," he said. "And you're a terrible actor. Next time hit yourself over the head. It'd be more convincing." Olivia shrugged, buttoning up her shirt quickly. "The MCC's here. Your uncle panicked and brought you here as Green Lantern. We've got to go."

Olivia cursed again, then nodded. After being taken to a public place by a hero, it wouldn't really do too much to ruin her reputation any more if she left with one. Once in the hallway, they were stopped by a shout.

"Freeze!"

Turning, the sheet still wrapped in her hands like a whip, Olivia saw three men down the hall, dressed in black suits and sunglasses, pointing guns at them. There was suddenly a black streak moving towards them, knocking their weapons away.

"Get to the roof," Batman told her quietly. Nodding, Olivia ran to the stairwell and began to climb- literally climb. Ignoring the stairs, she pulled herself up and over each banister as quickly as she could go. Behind her, she heard Batman's own footsteps, and some ways behind him, the three men. When she finally burst through on the roof of the building, she stopped short; a very large black helicopter had landed, and one other was circling the area. She ducked out of the way quickly as the search light ran over the area, nearly running into Batman.

"Hold on," he said, as he threw another one of his black contraptions, this one with a line attached to it. Olivia grabbed him around the shoulders and shut her eyes, as they left the rooftop, the air whipping at the both of them until they stopped on another solid object. Finally opening her eyes, she found herself standing on another building across the street. Quickly, they both jumped down to street level, where a black car was waiting. As she jumped in and felt her body press into the seat from acceleration, the car was filled with bright light.

"This is Homeland Security," a voice boomed from the helicopter. "Stop your vehicle at once and surrender."

"I thought these windows were tinted," Olivia said.

"They are."

She held up her middle finger at the sky. "Then can they see this?" Not even a smile. "Fine, be that way. We have to-" Her words were cut off as she was once again throw back, the car moving faster than she thought a car would be able to. A few moments later, and the light was behind them. "We have to find my father. Do you have any bat contraption that can do that?"

"I usually would, but that requires him to have something to trace," Batman replied.

"Eh." She paused for a moment, thinking. As she moved in the seat, trying to peel herself out from the indent she had left, she felt something in her pocket: her cell phone. Quickly, she pulled it out and dialed her father's number. "Come on, come on, answer…."

"Who the hell is this?"

"Pop, it's me."

"Olivia? No. No, it can't be." His voice sounded hollow, almost echoing in the phone.

"Yes, it is. Listen, we really need to talk. Tell me where you are." As she spoke, Batman reached over, hitting the key for speakerphone.

"Look, I don't know who the hell this is, but I want you off this phone. Right now."

"Pop, it's me!"

"No, Olivia is dead."

"No, I'm not." She barely perceived that the car was suddenly changing directions. They were approaching a bridge. Realizing what he had done, Olivia began looking out the window. "Please, just tell me where you are. I'll be there soon."

He didn't have to answer. There, on the side of the bridge, was a man, standing on the wrong side of the causeway. "Stop the car!" she shouted, pressing the button to open the top. Before it had come to a stop, she was jumping out, onto the bridge itself. "Pop!"

He turned around, his face completely pale. He blinked once, and then turned back.

"No, Pop, please!" she begged, her whole body shaking. "Please, come back over here. We really need to talk."

"You were dead," he whispered, barely audible over the traffic.

"I know," she soothed. "But I'm okay now. Please." She took a few steps closer, as he managed to climb over the barrier of the causeway before collapsing. She ran over to him, propping him up on her shoulders as she led him back to the car. The drive back to the manor was eerily quiet, as she realized just how close she had come to losing both her parents.

Fucking retard.

Once they had gotten back to the Manor, Ollie went to go lie down, understandably exhausted and confused. Minshi had already cleaned up the library, and everything was as it had been, sans the broken lamp.

"You goaded him into a fight," Kamal said, once he had changed again.

"Yeah. It was better than a twelve step program. Besides, it's not like I meant for him to do what he did. If Uncle Hal hadn't taken me out of here, things would have been different." She then looked around; he wasn't there. "Where is Uncle Hal?"

"I cannot say I know. I did not see him at the hospital."

"Great. Well, he's a tough geezer, he can take care of himself," she said. "As for us, we'd better get back to Seattle. Pop'll need someplace comfortable, familiar, especially if he's going to be drying out."

"I understand," Kamal said. "I'll have a plane made ready for the both of you in the morning."

Olivia looked over at the bench she had been working at. Sitting next to it was Hal's locked briefcase. Smiling, she picked it up. "I wonder what's in here," she said to herself, trying to keep the grin off her face.

She could barely hear Kamal's sigh as he took the briefcase and put a small instrument to the lock, popping it open. Inside was a large, brown folder that was tied closed. Opening it, she began to read through as Kamal took photos of the documents. She came to a set of documents that had been clipped together, about the Meta-human that she had helped apprehend in Seattle. It mentioned her as the archer, and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. As well was the report of the remarks she had posted from Kamal's jet a couple days ago.

"All right," he said with a smile. "Washington's sitting up and taking notice. This is great news!"

"It is dangerous to attract so much attention," Kamal said.

Olivia dismissed his concern with a quick wave of her hand. "I live in Seattle. There are more wireless coffee shops than streets in Seattle, and I know someone who works at a little computer shop. He installed an IP mask in my laptop. No way to trace the posts."

"Those are the people that the government hires to find people like you," he said.

Just then, Minshi entered. "Master Wayne, there is a rather interesting news feed that you should see," she said, turning on the TV. It was, of course, tuned to LNN, and the bottom of the feed listed the location as Washington, DC. It was focused on the sky, where at least a dozen attack choppers had been deployed, surrounding two figures. One was the commandeered form of Superman, and the other made Olivia catch her breath.

The other was Green Lantern.

The helicopter that Agent Williams had led him to was an unmarked black helicopter. Though his specialty was with planes, Hal knew from his time in the military that this type of attack chopper was not standard issue to a civilian group such as Homeland Security. There were two pilots, Agent Williams, and himself. The journey back to Washington, DC was all but silent. That is, until they received a frantic radio communiqué.

"All available units, we have an emergency over the Washington monument. Again, all available units, we have an emergency over the monument. Positive Identification of-"

At this point, Hal didn't need to hear the rest of the message. Through the helicopter's cockpit as it reoriented itself quickly, he could see a man floating in mid air, tearing down parts of the monument. Grodd.

"Hold on, Senator," Williams said. "I'd strap in if I were you." Suddenly, the side of the helicopter opened, the air whipping through as a large cannon swung into place. Williams grabbed the two large handles for the cannon.

"I wouldn't suggest that, Agent," Hal said urgently. "You know what you're up against." More than anything, he felt helpless. Surrounded by these obviously-MCC agents, he could do nothing to help but sit quietly and hope that he could slip away after they landed.

"Don't worry, Senator," Williams said. "We know what we're doing."

Hal gripped the seat tightly as he watched the cannon swing around. From the barrel came a bolt of pure energy, a weapon that he knew for a fact that no civilian group should have access to. The blast did little more than get Grodd's attention, though he stopped his assault on the monument. He turned and glared at the helicopter, his heat beams arcing across the nose of the chopper. It was reflected off by the special paint. Seeing this, Grodd flew forward, up to the helicopter. It wasn't a few moments later that the gun was no longer attached to the side of the chopper, and Williams was on the floor of the chopped, bleeding profusely from his head.

Quickly, Grodd swung around, punching through the cockpit canopy, instantly killing the left pilot. The co-pilot began to panic, swinging the helicopter side to side in a vain effort to disengage the overcome Kryptonian. Hal jumped up out of his seat and pushed the dead pilot out of the way. His old military instincts kicked in, as he started to force the helicopter to the ground. Unfortunately, it was all but impossible, what with Grodd now bending the blades. He looked over at the copilot. He was completely white, shaking uncontrollably.

Hal grabbed the man and forced him out of the cockpit, pulling him out of the crashing copter. With a quick blow to the back of the head, he was unconscious, and Hal was now able to will his ring to his finger. He used the ring to slow their descent, enough for him to land and drop the man. Knowing that he was outmatched, he grabbed his cell phone, dialing Kamal quickly. He didn't even bother to wait for him to say his greeting, before he said, "Get to DC, now!" and hung up. His suit had now changed back into the green and black of the Green Lantern Corps, and he was racing back up into the sky. Grodd was now turning his attention back to the helicopter, rushing at one of the two dozen attack choppers that were now surrounding him. Unfortunately, they did not paint Hal as a friendly; some of them were maneuvering to target him as well.

Grodd turned now to regard him, grinning. It was a very odd feeling, looking into the silvered eyes. As he stared him down, the helicopters had launched missiles. Hal quickly used his ring to put up a sphere of emerald energy to protect him, as he moved towards one of the choppers. His energy grabbed it by the tail, forcing it slowly to the ground. It was out of the fight, but the pilots inside were safe. The same could not be said of the others. They were being torn apart by heat beams.

Flying back up, Hal extended his arm, forcing an energy shield to form around Grodd. He glared angrily at him, and punched through the sphere, shattering it into sparks of green energy. With each one that Hal put up, he would destroy.

"I do not have time for these games, Green Lantern," he said. The silver eyes glowed, and Hal felt something in his head, a painful migraine that threatened to break his concentration. As soon as he shifted his focus from Grodd to his pounding head, the overcome alien sped off to the north. He knew he couldn't let Grodd go off, so he summoned his willpower again, blasting him with a burst of pure energy.

It did the trick. He began to fly off towards Gotham, hoping to lure him as well, shortening the journey Kamal would have to make. Instead of trying to contain Grodd with his ring, Hal concentrated on protecting himself, allowing Grodd to strike over and over again. He finally had to stop and hold his ground, especially when a swipe got through his protective field. The strike felt like a ton of bricks, knocking the wind out of him. Fortunately, his ring protected him, giving him a second wind. And a third, and a fourth, as Grodd continued to pummel him. All through the beating, Hal concentrated on two things: keeping Grodd's attention on him, and staying up and conscious to assist in keeping his attention. He could only hope that Kamal would be able to reach him before he fell. Already, he was beginning to feel exhaustion.

Suddenly, Hal noted a very small, quick-moving object whiz past Grodd. Looking down, he saw the Batmobile turning quickly to follow him, and a small, green-clad figure leaning out the top hatch. His relief that Olivia was healthy would have to wait. He pointed his shaking fist down at the vehicle, lifting it into the air; Kamal and Olivia had no chance of helping if they were on the ground, and he doubted he would be able to get Grodd to go down to them. As Olivia was pulling back on her bow again, Hal noted that Kamal was climbing out onto the hood. The image was blurred as he felt another blow from Grodd.

There was a flash of motion, and a sudden shout from the villain, as Kamal landed on his back, having jumped from the Batmobile's hood. Grodd stopped, hovering there, seemingly wilting. It was then that Hal noticed the large chunk of kryptonite that he held.

A moment later, an arrow struck him in the chest, sending neural sparks through him. Suddenly, he heard Clark's voice, and the silver disappeared from his eyes. Hal eased the Batmobile down, guiding Clark down to the ground, as well. Kamal tossed the kryptonite to Olivia.

"What happened?" he asked, looking around. "Where's Diana?"

"Long story," Hal said. His voice was cold; he was trying to control his anger. He had fought Superman once, fought him in his own impregnable fortress. He hadn't been able to kill him there- it was not his place to be an executioner. Now, the memories he had tried to suppress were returning. It was an unpleasant sensation. "Grodd took control of your body. You destroyed parts of Washington."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"I…" He never finished his sentence. He looked at the three of them, and without a word, flew off to the south.

"That was weird," Olivia said.

Hal looked over. "Yes, it was."

"Come on. We should be getting back to Gotham."

The journey back took very little time, and soon they were all seated in one of the parlors at the Manor. Hal learned that Olivia had put herself into a state of suspended animation to get a point across; she had thought it would be the only way to get through to her father, Hal thought it was something stupid, though it definitely fit the description of a typical Queen family scheme.

"If you don't mind, Kamal, I'm going to need to get back to DC," Hal said. "I have to explain that I avoided death thanks to Green Lantern. Hopefully it'll swing some of the senators towards a favorable opinion of the Meta-human and hero populace."

"My idea all along," Olivia said. Hal glared at her. Definitely the same Olivia.

"I will have a plane made ready for you in the morning."

"And us?"

Kamal nodded to the girl.

Hal frowned. "You're going back to Seattle? Why not stay here, or in Washington?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I don't think I could deal with living in Washington Land-of-the-Living-Corpses DC. And while Gotham is….well…dark and all, I thought Pop would need someplace familiar to stay while he…you know." She shook her head. "Anyway, he's still got the shop there, and I figure it'll get his mind off of other things if he's working it. Besides, it hasn't been making a profit for a while now, and I can only afford to sustain it for so long before I even go broke."

"So, you've been supporting his habit?"

Olivia glared. "Bad choice of words, Uncle Hal. But yeah, I got my hands on some money, and a few friends of mine who were stock brokers knew where to invest it and when, and a few years later I have a nice, comfy bed with which to help." She got up from the chair. "I'm gonna go check on Pop, then turn in for the night. See everyone in the morning."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Hal said, getting up as well.

The next morning, Hal found himself in the pilot's seat of a small Cessna, making his way back to DC. He made his way to his office, drafting up a very hastily-prepared speech for presentation to the senate. Though it was only Sunday, he wanted to be ready; by then, word that he had survived the attack on DC would have spread throughout the senate, and he was going to be ready with a few choice words to defend the heroes and start his bid of fair treatment. Besides, he figured it was time, no thanks to Olivia forcing his hand with her sudden crusade of righteousness. If he didn't get at least something resembling a bill into the senate, this black ops branch of Homeland Security was going to be knocking down the door with guns, and he really didn't want to think of the damage that the Queens would do to the agents.

Not even an hour after he had gotten to his office for some weekend hours did he get a knock on the door. "Come in," he said.

Entering, looking exactly as he remembered, was Agent Todd. "Senator, I was surprised to hear you had come in today. I was even more surprised to hear you had survived a helicopter crash."

"Yes well, I wouldn't have, if it wasn't for Green Lantern."

"That other Meta-human that was in the sky yesterday night?" she asked, walking over to him with all the grace of a tiger stalking prey. "Do you have anyone that can back this claim up?"

"Yes, actually. There was a copilot that survived the encounter, as well."

"And how exactly did you get from DC to Gotham so quickly?" she pressed.

"It was Green Lantern."

"Did you talk to him?"

"No," Hal replied. "He took me back to Gotham and said 'You'll be safe here', and left. That was it."

Todd went over to the window, then turned to him. "I was meaning to ask you, Senator, why exactly were you at Gotham Mercy Hospital yesterday?"

"I was actually speaking with Kamal Wayne earlier, looking for campaign contributions. He is a rather wealthy and influential man, after all."

"Yes, I know all about Kamal Wayne," Todd said dismissively, "but you didn't answer the question of why you were at the hospital."

"A friend of mine was there, his daughter had an accident. She was later released, though."

Todd only nodded. "I simply find it odd that Green Lantern was sighted in both locations."

Hal shook his head. "I think you're taking this in the wrong direction, Agent Todd. Green Lantern saved my life. Perhaps he knew that my life was in danger, and he was following me. First in Gotham, then from Gotham to DC. It would make sense."

Todd gave him an amused look. "A senator in the protection of a criminal? Interesting thought."

Hal bristled, but said nothing. "If there's nothing else, Agent, I do have some work I need to get caught up on."

"Of course, of course," she said, though her voice sounded distant. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

"If you need my assistance, you know where to find me."

"Yes, I do." With that veiled threat, she turned and left the office. Hal slumped down in his chair. He hit the intercom button, then paused; Claudia had been in the antechamber. Todd must have forced her way past, or else slipped in while Claudia was otherwise out. "Claudia?"

"Yes, senator?"

Hal kept his voice quiet. "Do me a favor. See if you can get me any data on an Agent Todd with Homeland Security."

"Ye, sir."

Quickly, Hal picked up his phone, dialing the Wayne Mansion in Gotham. He recognized the voice of Minshi when she answered. "Hello, Minshi, this is Senator Jordan. I need to speak with Mr. Wayne, if he has a moment."

"Hold, please," she said. Hal waited, looking out at the mall from his office window. A minute later, he heard the familiar, slightly-accented voice.

"Hello, Senator."

"Kamal, good to hear from you again. Listen, I just wanted to call and thank you again for your generous contribution to the party," Hal said, trying to sound natural. "It was good to see you again."

"I was thinking the same thing, and I'm only glad I could help. I know that it's never too early to start collecting for the next election."

Hal breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, Kamal. Listen, I have a few things here that I've got to still catch up on before Monday, so I'm going to have to cut this short. Maybe we can get together again some time, work on that golf swing of yours."

"Any time you feel like it."

"Good-bye, Kamal." Hal hung up, sighing to himself. Either he read Kamal's responses correctly, or he hung up on a very confused man. Now, all he had left on his agenda was to get working on his address to the senate for the next day.

Seattle was cool and overcast, just as Olivia remembered it, and just as it was every day. She had taken her father home, and had made certain that he spent at least a few hours in the shop, working. Though it was closed, it was in disarray, and the final finished storefront looked much better. It was good for him to get his mind off of the cravings, and allowed him at least some action to pull him out of his silent depression. He had barely said four words to her the entire trip back, and flight phobia or not, that was just not like him.

The day passed quickly, and finally, her father went to sleep. Olivia stayed in the house for an hour more, trying to clean up without making too much noise; dishes that had been sitting in the sink for a week were in the dishwasher, the trash had been taken out, as well as nearly four dozen bottles. She had gone through every cabinet, cubby, closet, and room, looking behind anything that could hide something the size of a bottle. She found a half dozen bottles hidden around the house, and made certain to dispose of them, breaking them inside two plastic bags to make certain that Ollie could not simply grab them out of the trash before it was picked up.

After she had finished, she checked upstairs. Indeed, her father was asleep, and she silently grabbed her corduroy coat and house keys, and walked the half-mile to the small coffee house down the street. She had meant what she said to Kamal; Seattle was riddled with them, the same way Gotham was riddled with diners on every corner.

She went inside. Though it was past 11:00, the music inside was still on, the coffee machines were still noisily interrupting, and there were still a few people around. Looking over to the left, at the single pool table that was set up in the building, she noted a few people she had known while volunteering at the Salvation Army a few years ago, before she had stopped going to school. One noticed her as well, and beckoned her over.

"Olivia, we were just about to start a game, you in?"

Olivia shook her head. "Thanks and all, Marcus, but I think I'll just watch."

"C'mon," he said, tossing her a cue that she quickly caught. "You and me, stripes and colors."

Olivia sighed dramatically, trying to hide the smile from her face. "All right, but I still need a coffee. Tom, would you get me a double mocha? There should be some money in my coat pocket." She waited at the end of the table as Marcus set the balls and placed the cue ball down. "You breaking, or should I?"

"Ladies first," he said.

"So, you're breaking?"

That elicited laughter from the others, as Tom returned with her drink. She took a sip, ignoring the burn to her mouth, and aimed for the cue ball. With all her practice aiming at moving targets, it was relatively simple to hit the stationary ones on the table. She rounded the table, finishing up in record time.

"Damn, Olivia, where have you been practicing?"

"Yeah," the third man asked. "I haven't seen you around lately. At all."

Olivia shrugged. "I've been seeing the wonders of the world. Madrid, Portugal, Gotham…"

Their laughter was cut short as Tom looked over at the window. "Narcs," he whispered "Narcs. Narcs."

Olivia looked over in time to see three men and a woman enter the establishment, wearing suits and sunglasses. The woman went up to the front counter, as Olivia reset the balls on the table. "Please, don't tell me you guys have been selling," she said.

"We don't get involved in that," Marcus said. "Our drug of choice is caffeine."

Olivia was getting ready to break when the woman spoke up. "Could I have your attention please," she said. "I am Agent Todd with Homeland Security. As of this moment, this establishment is closed. Please, cooperate fully with our investigation, and we will release you as soon as we can."

Olivia glared hard at the cue ball instead of the woman, though her hands shook. The file came back to mind. Homeland Security. What the hell were they doing there? As she went to break, the balls scattered. She nearly scratched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marcus's concerned look; he knew she was nervous.

As she was about to concede play to him, Todd grabbed the cue ball. "Hey, we're using that," Olivia said, covering her nervousness the only way she knew how: with bluster.

"You can have it back in a minute," she said, tossing it back on the table as she stepped forward. Her eyes grated over Olivia like a razor over sandpaper. "What's your name?"

"Olivia."

"Olivia what?" Her voice was not even slightly annoyed. That made her even more nervous.

"Queen," she responded sourly.

"Ah. And, if you don't mind my asking, where were you yesterday?"

"In Gotham."

"Gotham?" she said, blatantly feigning surprise. Olivia glanced at her friends; they were all standing there, silent. No help there. "Now, why would you be in Gotham?"

"On vacation," she said.

"I could think of a few other places that would be better for a vacation. Like, Metropolis for instance. I hear it is rather beautiful there, especially downtown, hmm?"

Olivia set her jaw. "I wouldn't know," she replied. "Only an idiot would go into Metropolis, what with the Metas running around and all."

"Yes," Todd replied. She was still composed, and had a dangerous look in her eye, a look that was growing ever more intense. Coincidentally, the feeling of dread in the pit of Olivia's stomach was growing ever more intense, as well… "There are reports of 'Metas' as you call them here in Seattle, if I recall. A woman who is…" her eyes scanned over Olivia harshly, "about your age…and your height…with blonde hair. And she wields a bow very well."

"Then why aren't you snooping around the Archer's Club?" Olivia said, trying to throw the woman off balance.

"You think I'm not?"

"I see you here."

"I just wanted to tell this unknown hero that being a vigilante is against the law. It would be very unwise for her to continue her career as it is. Very unwise."

"So, why are you telling me this?"

"Tell me, Olivia, have you ever gone to the University of Washington?"

Olivia frowned. "No. I mean, yes, I've physically gone to the campus, but I was never accepted. I dropped all my applications when I stopped going to school."

"Did you ever post on any of their boards?" Todd asked.

Olivia felt the dread turn into full-blown illness. She tried to hide it from her face. "Not that I can remember, no."

"Have you ever been to them?"

"Yeah, of course, when I was thinking about going."

"And what were you looking for?" she asked, leaning forward, just slightly, her voice somewhat softer.

"Oh, it's been at least two years since I went, I have to see if I…can…remember…" she said, stalling, waiting. "Oh yeah. I remember. I was looking up what the other students thought of the food."

"So you were worried about this?"

"Hell yeah, I would have had to eat that stuff the next four years, or else take out another loan for food." The woman was still not growing annoyed. The girl tried to hide her own annoyance.

"So, you would have called yourself a concerned student, perhaps?"

Olivia was at a loss of words for a moment. How the hell did she knew? How? She had been careful, had made certain only to post on the laptop with it's masked IP, had made certain to make her sound like a current student. "No, I wouldn't," she finally said. "I never became a student there. I was just looking."

"I see." There was a dramatic pause, as Todd stared at her, locked eyes with her. Olivia set her jaw, glaring right back, pushing down her fear and allowing anger to take it's place. "I may need to ask you further questions, Olivia Queen."

"I work at my Pop's shop on Main, Sherwood Florist. I'm there from 10 AM to 7 PM, weekdays, 11 AM to 4 PM Saturdays. We're closed Sundays," she replied, sounding like a commercial, chipper voice and all.

"I am familiar with the flower shop," Todd said. She didn't say anything else, only turned, motioned to the men, and went out the door.

"What the hell was that all about?" Marcus asked.

Olivia waited until the agents had disappeared from view of the window before she leaned on the pool table for support, her legs feeling shaky. "I don't know," she said. "But I really hate her. Look, guys, sorry about the trouble. I have to get home, Pop might need me."

"Olivia…"

"I'll see you guys later," she said, grabbing her coat off the chair and running home. All through her mind, she thought back to the conversation, what she should have said, what she shouldn't have said. When she finally made it home, she was surprised at herself; she was relieved that the place seemed undisturbed. Quickly, she slipped inside, and checked on her father again, to make certain he was still asleep. As he was, she merely went into her own room and fell onto the bed, suffering through a long night of restless sleep.

The next morning, most of the senate seemed to be in an agitated state. Some of it was because the senator thought to be dead had strolled in as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened; the rest was from the speech he had given. Hal scanned over the crowd as he spoke, trying to put as much conviction into his voice as he could, without sounding too overblown.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the senate," he began, "I am here today to tell you of a harrowing event you may have seen on the news: the fight between Superman and Green Lantern. You may think this is a repeat of the tragic events that we remember so well. But I am here today to say that Green Lantern saved my life and countless others that day. He selflessly risked his own life to do the right thing. He put humanity first, living up to our highest ethics of valor and heroism.

"I am here today to tell you that instead of containing Meta-humans, we should be integrating them into society and giving them responsibility commensurate with their abilities. We should not blindly condemn them for just being Meta-human, for that is the highest form of bigotry, racism which violates our beloved constitution. They should be treated as every other human being on our planet; with honesty and fairness, the way our forefathers wanted this country, as a shining light for hope and freedom. Please do not turn this into a new era of McCarthyism or Nazi Germany with their internment camps. We must learn our lessons well; we must not treat them as we treated the Japanese Americans during World War II. Just because they are different does not mean they are not Americans. Thank you."

As was expected, he left the floor with a mixed response, though Hal was pleasantly surprised to hear more cheering than he had suspected he would get. The rest of the day's session was pale in comparison and it seemed as though many of the senators did not have their minds in their work, either.

As the day ended, Hal made his way back to his office, where Claudia was. She was sitting at her desk, working efficiently, as usual.

"Hey, I need to get a drink. Want to come along?"

She looked up, her face somewhat annoyed, until she saw the very serious look in his eyes. "Sure," she said. "Let me just grab my coat."

Twenty minutes later, they were both seated at a small table in the Continental, one of the more renowned bars in the capitol. Martini in hand, he started to go over his concerns with his confidant.

"I think something very bad is happening," he said to her. "First Superman's return, and this Agent Todd with Homeland Security, and the file you had left me."

Claudia was about to sip from her own pina colada, then paused. "Oh, yes. I couldn't find any record of an Agent Todd in the records of Homeland Security."

Hal sighed. "Another confusing mystery to add," he muttered to himself. "I think I may need to go on an extended leave. I want to make certain you can cover me here. Todd may come looking for me, or one of her goons from Homeland Security. I'm sure she's watching me right now, and I'm certain she's tapped the office. No, don't look so obvious," he cautioned, as she looked around the bar. "You may have to do some fast thinking and even faster talking while I'm away."

"I can do it, Senator," she said. "Don't worry about me."

Hal smiled. "Thanks. Are you hungry?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I think I better get back. When will you be leaving?"

"I'm not sure. But I'll let you know." Hal stood up and left the bill on the table. "See you tomorrow morning then." With that, they both left, heading their separate ways. Hal's path took him back towards the mall on his way home. People will still about, as it was only early evening, the sun just beginning to set. That made the explosion off to his left all the more intruding.

Looking over, he saw smoke billowing from the roof of one of the buildings along the mall, and ran over as quickly as he could. He was in public; there would be very little that he could do that was not humanly possible. He could, however, still be a conscientious citizen.

Heading over the building, which he finally identified as the Smithsonian Institute, he saw the bedlam that was just outside; people running in all directions, police struggling to contain and control the crowd as firefighters began to make their way inside. Hal went to the front door, guiding the people towards the police and just-arriving ambulances as needed. As he did so, another officer came up to him and was attempting to assist. Fortunately for Hal, his radio was on, and from it, he learned why the museum was hit. Someone had stolen one of the artifacts, a small clock of Aztec origin. Before he could glean any more information, however, he was being led away by another officer, as though he were one of the panicked crowd. Knowing that he would be able to do little more about the issue that night, and especially as Hal Jordan, he went willingly, and finally made his way home with much on his mind.

Monday had been more or less mundane. Olivia spent the entire day in the shop, with her father, though she was still somewhat on edge from the events of the past evening. She didn't mention anything, however; her father was still listless, and she doubted that he would be noticing her somewhat odd behavior. Though, admittedly, not all of her odd behavior was attributable to the events of the past night.

"I think we need to put in an order for more lilacs," she said as she came out from the back room.

"We'll do it tomorrow," Ollie said. "Go clean up the back while I lock up."

Olivia paused a moment, then nodded. She waited in the doorway a moment, then went into the back, rinsing off the shears and wiping down the tables. Once that was completed, she searched the back room for any alcohol that may have been hidden. Nothing.

Finally, she came back out to the front, as her father was shutting off the lights. They made their way out the back, to the van, and proceeded to drive the few blocks back home. It was a silent, uncomfortable ride back, until they got to the house.

As they were walking up to the front door, Ollie put his arm out.

"What is it?"

"There." Olivia looked, and saw that the front door was cracked open, just a little bit. Her face paled. "What?"

"I…met up with some agent last night when I was out," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"You went out last night?"

"Not the time, Pop," Olivia said, as she moved slowly up to the door. Easing it open, she saw the living room completely trashed, the floor completely covered. The kitchen looked the same way. As she heard Ollie coming it behind her, she ran upstairs, to her room. It had been trashed, as well, all except for her desk, where her laptop lay, undisturbed. She powered it on, and checked the last security checkpoint. It should have been sometime Thursday. The last checkpoint was listed as 2 PM that day.

"They copied my hard drive," she growled to herself.

"Who's 'they'?"

Olivia jumped slightly, as she turned to see her father standing in the doorway. "You really aren't going to like what I've got to say. We've got to get out of here."

"Get your stuff together," Ollie said. "Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes."

"I only need ten," Olivia said, heading down the stairs and into the basement. She saw that it wasn't sacked; either they were interrupted before they could get down there, or they found what they had been looking for and left before heading downstairs. She grabbed her bow and a few spare components for the mechanical guts of it, and then returned to her room for a few changes of clothes.

Fifteen minutes later they were both on the road, and Olivia started to explain what had happened. "After you went to sleep last night, I went over to the coffee shop for a break." She turned to see her father glaring at her. "Hey, I need some downtime, too, after the past week. Are you going to let me finish, or should I pause for chastisement first?" Ollie said nothing, only looked back out the windshield. "I was playing pool when these suits came in and shut the entire place down. Some woman named Todd who said she was with Homeland Security said she was looking into the Meta-human they have reports of, even though I'm not."

"Why do you think she was looking for you?"

Olivia winced. "I saw a classified file in Uncle Hal's briefcase. It had mentions of the Meta-human I caught a few days ago for the police, and some witness reports of seeing me."

Ollie looked over again. "Did they see your face?"

"No! Pop, I'm not an idiot."

"What were they doing looking at your laptop?"

"This one you're not gonna like as much." There was silence, waiting. "I, uh…I was trying to help change public opinion. So I've been writing up these arguments and putting them out on the internet. "

There was a long pause. "That was an incredibly stupid thing to do," Ollie said.

"Someone has to get the point across. Heroes need to be given a little more freedom again. I'm tired of having to sit on my hands because I'm not allowed to help people. Besides, they shouldn't be able to squash my freedom of speech."

"We're not dealing with any usual agents." They pulled into a small gas station. "Fill the van up, I've gotta go get some supplies."

"Pop…"

"Just fill the tank," he said, getting out of the van. Olivia hopped out and went around the side, to the pump, and began to fill the tank. She looked around as she waited. Cars were coming up as usual, but she saw no police or black Lincolns coming up the road. The handle popped, and Olivia put the pump back, turning in time to see her father coming back with a bag of goods. "Let's go," he said. "You're driving."

"Where?" she asked, as she got into the driver's seat. Ollie got into the back, dumping out the contents of the bag. There was a small clock, a few bottles of lighter fluid, and some cans of spray paint. "And what are you doing back there?"

"Just drive. North."

"Yes, sir," she muttered, shifting into first gear and pulling out of the gas station. She kept an eye on the road behind them, making certain that they weren't being followed. They weren't.

"Pull off onto the first dirt road," Ollie told her.

"Where at?"

"The first one!"

Olivia turned to look over her shoulder. He had the spray paint sitting on the floor, and was working with the lighter fluid. "Damn, it's good to have you back."

"Just pull over."

Olivia did, turning onto a small dirt road off of Route 65. She stopped after a half mile, and got out near a pay phone. She was ordered to wait in the car, while Ollie made a call.

"Who are you calling?" Olivia asked, frowning.

"Who else?" he answered. "Hal."

Olivia waited in the driver's seat as her father went up to make the call, keeping an eye on the dirt road to make certain no dust clouds were forming from vehicles making their way towards them- or stopping some distance to watch them. It was quite some time before Ollie came back, pulling the spray paint out of the back and tossing a couple cans of it to Olivia. "Get started," he said, and proceeded to spray the side of the van.

It took a couple hours and all the cans of paint, but in the end, the van had a fresh black pattern over the sides. Once that was done, they got back into the van, and began to head North again.

"We should probably stop at a town, hit the ATM. Cash can't be traced," Olivia said.

"But the ATM transaction can, and they'll know where to look for us, what direction we're going. I've been without money before; we can handle it."

"Then how are we going to get lodging?" Olivia pointed out. "Or are we going to rough it?"

She caught her father's gaze in the rearview mirror. The useless rearview mirror, as it only gave her a view of the back doors. "We never took you camping enough as a child," he said. "Give me your cell phone."

Olivia pulled the phone from her pocket, glancing at it. "It doesn't have much charge left," she said, holding it over her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter," Ollie said, taking it from her. She heard a healthy cracking sound, and glanced back. Her phone was in pieces, and her father was pulling out a small chip from the guts. Olivia turned back to the road. Whatever her father was doing, she didn't want to know just then.

A little while later, he climbed into the passenger's seat, putting his new contraption in the glove compartment.

"Is that a bomb!" Olivia exclaimed.

Ollie handed her the phone. "See that red button inside?"

Olivia looked down, then took the phone gingerly and put it in her breast pocket. "Don't touch it. Got it."

"We need someplace to ditch the van, someplace that'll hide the explosion." Olivia saw him turn his head, and glanced over quickly, barely reading the green sign announcing the turn off for Hougen Creek., fourteen kilometers away. That was the first time Olivia realized they had crossed into Canada. She pulled off onto the side road without prompting, until they were bumping off the road, towards the small river. "Stop."

Olivia braked obediently, as her father got out. He took the cell phone from her. "Drive towards the river. Hop out at the last second."

"Please don't blow it up until I'm out," she said, half-jokingly.

"I won't," Ollie said, and Olivia turned away from the somewhat hurt look he gave her. He went to the back, opening the doors and removing what they had hastily thrown in almost a day before. She left the driver's door open, and hit the gas, ignoring the shifter; it didn't matter if she tore up the gears at that point. The river was coming up, and at the last moment, she rolled out of the door, and the van splashed into the river, moving forward until it was submerged and the gears stopped. As she made her way back to where her father waited, she heard the explosion behind her, and the fountain of water suddenly appeared, disappearing just as quickly.

As she made it back up to him, he handed her an axe. "Cut down those trees," he said. "We're making our own shelter. It should last for a month or two, until it gets cold. Then we'll have to move on."

'Gets cold?' Olivia thought to herself as she hefted the axe and went to the nearest tree. It was already October. Still, the mind-numbing work was a chance for her to sort out the events of the past twenty four hours, and as it got dark, they had a small building made of the logs she had cut down.

"Looks good," Ollie said. "Now, get some sleep. I'll keep first watch."

Too exhausted to say anything, she nodded, and crawled inside the structure. After only a few minutes, she was asleep.