Chapter Five — C-A-M-P F-I-R-E SONG

"I look up at her, at my mother, a woman I've never known and never really knew; a woman always on the verge of disappearance."


Ever since the Joker had reared his ugly head in the dark and dreary, crime riddled New Jersey city and started using his Joker venom on civilians the city had allotted a large building on the corner of the Gotham University Hospital grounds to take care of the victims, it was almost like a nursing home met Arkham. Insanity inducing cackling echoed throughout the halls no matter what time of day you stopped by.

It was always the worst though around noon.

Two days after the events that had taken place in Happy Harbor Arley stepped into the Saint Maturinus building with a bouquet of daisies in her hand, the white floor was spotless and the thirty foot tan walls behind the receptionists desk simply had the wards name on it. The receptionist, an older black woman with curly hair and dark lipstick smiled at Arley and her flowers. Arley couldn't remember a time she hadn't seen the woman sitting behind the front desk, smiling and welcoming.

"Arley," the woman greeted, "How are you?"

Arley shrugged, she tried to smile; it was almost ironic that the healthy visitors— the friends and families of the Jokers victims —always had to scrape something together when walking through the buildings large glass doors and not the victims themselves. The woman set a large book on the desks counter in front of Arley and the Lantern took the fountain pen that was tied to the visitors log.

"Alright I guess," Arley said as she signed her name in the visitors book. "How are you ma'am?"

"Can't complain hun," the receptionist said taking back the book and pen from Arley, she typed a few things into her computer and handed the youngest Lantern her a large palm sized sticker that simply read Visitor.

"Thank you," Arley said, her voice soft, she peeled the back of the sticker off and stuck it to the bottom left of her t-shirt, right above her hip. With a two-finger salute Arley walked off, the daisies in her hand were clutched tightly as she moved towards the buildings elevator.

A janitor had a cleaning cart and a man with a sleeping baby girl stood in front of Arley, the both of them waiting for an elevator too. The metal doors opened and Arley, the janitor and the man holding the baby moved to the side. A little boy and what appeared to be the boys Grandmother exited the elevator first; the pair of them weeping, after them a man— a young blonde man with red rimmed eyes —followed and a handful of the strangers Arley knew she had seen from past visits exited the elevator, not one of them looked okay in the slightest.

When Arley entered the elevator the floors seven and nine had been already been pressed; Arley pressed five. It only took a minute or two to get to the fifth floor, not nearly enough for Arley to collect herself, to ready herself to hear the loud cackling bouncing off the hospital walls.

The man behind her flinched and the baby in his arms stirred; the janitor however did not react. Arley bit her lip and moved forward. She counted the rooms and read the names on the plaques next to the doors as she past each one, she knew the names on the floor just as she knew her way around Oa. Arley stopped halfway down the hall at a room marked Maria Gomez and breathed. The stems of the Daisy's in her hand bent awkwardly as she tightened her grip on them; with her other hand Arley knocked.

No one responded so she pushed open the door. The room looked like every other hospital room Arley had ever seen, it was white and spotless and none of the large windows in the room had blinds or curtains because the patients could use the string and fabric to hurt the doctors or nurses or themselves, the windows didn't open either.

"Mama?" Arley asked, "Are you in here?" No one answered again. "Mama, are you awake?"

There was no answer. Arley entered the room and found her mother, Maria Gomez, awake, sitting up in bed staring blankly at the blanket a nurse or orderly had draped over her legs.

Maria Gomez had once been full of life; she had been beautiful— her hair had once been short and her brown eyes had once been bright and full of light, and her olive skin used to glow in the sunlight —now Arley could barley stand to look at her mother and the shell of a person she had become.

Her mothers dark black hair was long and greasy, though her skin was still shades darker then Arley's it seemed to lack something— a glow of some kind —and her mothers dark brown eyes may have well belonged to a corpses because the sparkle that had once danced through them was gone. Maria Gomez looked up nothing flashed through them, no recognition or happiness. It was like she was looking through Arley.

"Hola mama," Arley forced herself to grin, she placed the flowers on the walls built in shelf, under the television and took a seat next to her mothers bed; the shelves were built into the walls and the chairs and beds were drilled into the floor, the corners of the furniture were rounded and everything in the room had been made safe for both Maria Gomez and her visitors. Arley didn't reach out and touch the woman, the last the she had her mother had been sent into some kind of fit and had accidentally— blinded by the fit she had been in —struck Arley clean across the face.

Arley hadn't blamed her mother though; it hadn't been her fault.

"Come on mom," Arley whispered, "It's me, it's Arley." The woman didn't so much as blink. Arley sighed as her mother looked back down at the blanket. "I'm a League member now," Arley said softly as forced herself to smile at the good news, "Sort of. We, the guys and I, have a team. Manhunters niece M'gann is on it and so is Superboy, he's Superman's clone, he's on it too."

Her mother didn't respond. Arley didn't expect her too, she hadn't actually spoken since the attack, sure Maria had screamed and cackled and she had shrieked at the top of her lungs but she hadn't spoken words in almost twelve years, the doctors didn't think she or any of the other patients would.

"Wally, you know my friend, he said to tell you he said hi, he promised as soon as you start to get better he'll bake you a cake so you should start getting better right now, cause Wally's great in the kitchen," Arley said in wobbly voice; she'd talked about Wally to her mother before, she'd spoken about how he had a genius level IQ and how he was her best friend and even her feelings for him and why she'd never tell him what she felt. Her mother just blinked in reply.

"Hal, I'm sure if you got better Hal would let you move in with us, we could share my room, just like before." Arley had been four when her mother had been exposed to the Jokers mind altering gas but she could vaguely remember the tiny Park Row apartment her mother and her had lived in, it'd been a small one bedroom in a bad part of town, right where Crime Alley started and the rest of Gotham ended. The apartment no matter how much you cleaned always stayed dirty and roach infested, but the fire escape had been sturdy so every month when the moon was full and bright enough to poke through the Gotham smog the pair of them, Arley and her mother, would sit out there and Maria would tell Arley stores of her father and the dates they had used to go on before the man had died.

Arley couldn't remember any of the stories themselves, just the joy she had felt as she had sat in her mothers arms out on the fire escape, safe and loved.

"And John, if you got better I'm sure John could help you get a job at his old studio." Because for a short time between the Marines and the Corpse John Stewart had been a weatherman, before the attack Arleys' mother had worked two jobs, one as a waitress and another as receptionist but Arley could see her mother— she could picture in two or three or four years time, when her mother was better —on the news, smiling the way she once had, wishing everyone a good morning.

"Mama, ma, please, por favor solo mejora," she begged her mother to get better, tears quelled up in the corners of Arley's eyes and as the fell the Lantern didn't bother to whip them away. Why would she, there would just be more before she left, "Please."

And then the screaming started; loud cackling laughter that sounded more like shrieking escaped from the woman's mouth, her head was thrown back and her eyes were wide and blank. Arley continued to cry, the sounds of her sobs became muffled under her mothers manic laughter.

...

Arley had been home in Coast City, wrapped up under all her blankets with her bedroom air conditioner blasting when her phone rang. Her laptop, as she ignored her phone, played Daughtry's September and in her hand under her heavy coverlet was an old worn picture of her and her parents, the day she had been born.

Maria Gomez and Alfie Gluck had been two teens so in love they'd forgotten to use protection one passion filled night; they had been happy until one night a little after Arley's first birthday, Alfie had been brutally killed for his grandfathers old watch and the seventeen dollars in his pocket.

When she'd been younger, before Hal had put her in therapy with Canary, Arley used to wonder what would've happened to her mother and father if she had never been born, if neither Maria or Alfie had never had to spend money on her crib or baby food or diapers could the two young teens in love have left Gotham? Would her father still have died on a snow covered street and would her mother still be trapped in her own mind or would be they be alive and happy and healthy somewhere in Santa Monica or New York?

She still of course thought it from time to time, but more often then not when the thought crossed her mind it was less I bet my parents would've been fine if I never came along, and more like I wonder what life would've been like if my father had bought my formula after work instead of after I had gone to bed? And What would mama and I be doing right now if she hadn't taken that shortcut home?

Her phone ran again and Arley slowly moved from under her covers as she stuck her hand out and grabbed the device from her bedside table, Wally's smiling face beamed as his contact information lit up the screen. With a sigh Arley swiped her thumb across the phones screen and placed it against her ear, her hand moved back under the blankets.

"Hey," Arley said, her voice was small and quite, "What's up?"

"I—" Wally stopped himself, "Are you okay?" It was obliviously not what he had called to ask but from the tone of his voice it was the question that took precedent.

"Yeah," Arley lied, her voice just as lackluster and quiet as it had been when she had answered the phone, "What's up?"

"Dude," Wally pressed from his end of line, "You don't sound okay."

"Who cares," Arley muttered as Wally parroted her words back at her, "I'm fine, now why'd you call?"

"You only sound like this when you see―is today the twentieth?" Wally asked more to himself then to Arley. Arley always visited her mother on the twentieth, it was a tradition she had started in Foster Care, she wasn't able to see her mother every week and if she tried too she would've never gotten to see her mother so at seven Arley had started sneaking out of her Foster homes― leaving her foster homes; more often then not her foster parents just didn't care about her whereabouts so long as she was alive and they could collect her checks ―on the twentieth of every month.

"She's not doing any better then usual," Arley said into the speaker of the phone, "The doctors said to have hope." They weren't any closer to a cure though, there were dozens of strains of Joker venom and science was a long way from reversing the effects of even one, though apparently, according to the doctors that didn't mean Arley should give up hope; aliens and witches and gods were real so there wasn't any reason a medical miracles couldn't happen one of these days.

"You should," Wally said and Arley sighed.

"I do." And she did, she hoped that one day she could wake up and find her mother in the kitchen and Hal sitting at the table as her mother made chorizo and eggs, she hoped one day her mother could sit next to John as Arley walked across a graduation stage or down an isle. She hoped one day she'd have her mother back but that didn't mean the time between then and now didn't hurt; if grief was like tumor then hope was like hemophilia, it was incurable and dangerous.

"You called for something," Arley said into he phone as she tried to move away from the topic of her mother.

"Right," Wally said, "Miss M and I already got the others to agree but don't feel like you have too just because Dick and Kaldur are going too―"

"―Wally," Arley said into the phone, sighing the speedsters name as she cut off his concerned ramblings. She was never, as long as they weren't in the middle of a battle field under fire, going to tell him to get to the point; but just because she wasn't going to to that didn't mean she was going to allow the red head to fuss over her. She was sad not sick.

"―We're all going camping," Wally said into the phone in a single breath, "No one really comes into the woods around the mountain and Megan really wanted to go camping because it was on her Earth bucket list. Anyway you don't have to come if you don't want too, I won't go if you don't want me too, I can spend the night with you if you need me. You know what I'll just tell Megan to tell the guys to reschedule."

"Don't," Arley said into the speaker, "You don't need to reschedule just because I'm upset."

"Of course we do," Wally said, "You're part of the team, besides why would I want to go camping without you? It wouldn't be half as fun." Arley couldn't help but smile, slowly, she moved to hold the phone to her ear as she sat up in her bed.

"Wally you don't need to reschedule, I'll come," the Lantern told the speedster and Arley could feel the boy on the other end of the line pause as the girl kicked off her blanket; the cool air of the room rushed over Arley's skin and goosebumps appeared on the girls legs.

"You don't have to do that you know," Wally said, "I don't mind, the others, they won't mind―"

"―I want to," Arley said, "Really, I mean what's the difference between you coming over here and me going over there?" Wally breathed as Arley stood, "Besides I'm sure Megan is really excited, there's no need for two of us to be sad."

"You're sure?" Wally pressed, "I don't mind, I don't care about having to reschedule."

"I'm sure Wally," Arley said softly, "I just need to let Hal know, okay, text me what I should bring."

"Okay, I'll let the others know you're on you way, but seriously, if you change your mind it's cool," Wally stressed and Arley couldn't help but chuckle,

"You know the more you tell me it's cool if I don't come the more it seems like you don't want me to come," the girl laughed; Wally on the other side of the line chuckled,

"It's not that and you know it," he said, "I just-I care about you." Arley's heart sputtered in her chest like a broken down car and she warmed; Wally was her friend― her best friend ―so of course he cared about her but Arley was in love with the boy, she loved hearing him say that he cared about her. Even if he didn't mean it in the way she wished he did.

"I care about you too Wally," Arley said kindly into the phones speaker, "But seriously text me what I need to bring, I know a sleeping bag and stuff but like food, who's got the marshmallows?"

"I do, uh, honestly just bring, you know the churro chips the bakery by you makes?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you bring some of those for me? Oh, and hot dogs, you know, for everyone else?"

"Sure, but only if you bring me a pack of scotcharoos." Scotcharoos were caramel peanut butter cereal treats topped with chocolate and butterscotch that Wally swore was in practically every mid-West grocery store but Arley could never seem to find whenever she'd walk into one.

"Course, I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later."

...

And see each other later they did; Wally was there waiting for Arley outside of the Mount Justice cave. The girl― with her pretty pink backpack full of snacks and games like Uno and Go Fish, and her Lantern, thrown over one shoulder, and her sleeping bag thrown over the other ―dropped both of her bags as Wally West― who was already in his pajamas; checkered flannel bottoms and a Missouri S&T university t-shirt he had gotten from his uncle at some point or another ―opened his arms at the sight of her.

Arley wasted no time accepting the hug.

Arley buried her face in the boys chest, his ribs poked out through the thin black and green t-shirt and Wally, as Arley just squeezed the boy tightly― her arms were thrown around the boys waist as his were wound tightly around Arley's shoulders ―pressed his nose against the start of Arley's hair, his lips hovered over the crown of her head. Wally was warm, it was usually the first thing Arley noticed when hugging him, it was somehow one hundred percent because of powers; Wally had never been as warm as he was before the accident and both Barry his uncle and Jay Garrick, the first Flash, were just as warm as Wally.

With a deep breath Arley stepped away from the boy, a construct shot out from her ring and moved behind her, scooping up both of her bags and slipping them onto her shoulders.

"Where are the others?" She wondered.

"Inside I didn't want to crowd you when you got here," Wally told her and Arley looked at the boy softly; yeah sometimes his mouth worked faster then either his feet or brain could keep up with but this was why she loved him, why ever since they were thirteen Arley hadn't been able to think about anybody else, boy or girl or alien.

"Thanks."

Wally shrugged as if it were nothing as he motioned his head inside, Arley nodded ever so slightly and with Wally's hand placed on the small of Arleys back the young heroes, at a normal pace entered the Mount Justice cave; the security system announcing them as they crossed over the caves threshold.

The pair found the rest of the team― their friends ―waiting for them in the kitchen, around the marble island counter and amount the already opened bags of chips and popcorn.

"Arley!" M'gann cheered, the Martian girl was the first to notice Arley and Wally's appearance. The green girl beamed at the sight of the two heroes; M'gann was wearing bright yellow pajamas, the buttons of her top were black and the hem of her shorts were too, though the fuzzy bunny slippers on her feet were a bright and vibrant blue color. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"I'm happy I could make it too M'gann."

M'gann moved around the counter as the rest of the boys who had been laughing at something began to turn to Arley and Wally; the Martian, smiling brilliantly, threw her arms around Arley, hugging the girl.

Hugging M'gann was different then hugging Wally, though Arley only hesitated a moment before wrapping her own arms around the taller girls waist as she greeted the alien girl. When the two pulled away from one another M'gann kept her hand on Arley's shoulder; Dick, who though was in his pajamas had his dark glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose and waved at Arley, his cheeks were puffed out and cheese dust coated the boys lips.

Kaldur who was in a pair of pajamas he had borrowed from Superboy― Arley knew he had borrowed them from Superboy because Arley had been the one to convince the clone to buy the polar bear printed bottoms ―smiled at Arley, flashing the girl a sliver of white as his lips parted.

"So," Arley wondered, "Where exactly are we setting up camp?"

Wally had said in the woods around the Mountain but as she had flown over the tiny Rhode Island town of Happy Harbor to the cave Arley had noticed there was a lot of forest.

"Not far," Kaldur said, "Just beyond the tree line outside the cave."

"Oh," Arley said, she turned to Wally who had moved from behind her and towards the food n the kitchen island, "So just like what we'd do when we were kids?"

When they had been younger, before Wally had gotten his powers― and before he had even found out Arley was Green Lantern ―the two of them used to pitch Rudy Wests old tent in the West family backyard and call it camping; they used to look at the stars and it was usually on those nights a nine or ten year old Arley Gluck would tell Wally about her life in foster care, about her foster parents and what she'd gone through.

It was on those nights Wally would reach over the grassy backyard ground and hold her hand as they looked aimlessly up at the sky.

"Yeah," Wally nodded as he made a grab for the cheese puffs Dick had been eating, "Exactly." Superboy stood from his seat,

"Can we go now?" The clone boy wondered almost childishly, "The moon's going to rise soon."

"I do not see why not, Arley is here," Kaldur said standing himself, he began to reach for the open snack bags scattered across the kitchen island; both Dick and the Atlantean rolled the bags shut before putting them neatly in a dark blue duffel bag. M'gann as the boys began to put the snacks away turned to Arley,

"Before we go outside side can I show you something privately?" The Martian girl asked quietly, Arley blinked. It was easy enough to tell that by show the Martian girl really meant talk to.

"Yeah," Arley nodded, "Of course." She looked to the boys and then to the alien girl, "Uh guys?" Wally and Dick and the two non-human boys all turned to Arley and M'gann. "Megan's going to show me a new outfit she got, we'll meet you four outside okay?"

Wally frowned, his brows knitted together. "We can wait if you want."

Arley smiled at the red head, her heart sped up in her chest; he cared― Arley already knew Wally cared about her but still ―but the fact he constantly went out of his way to show he cared about, it was something that constantly sent joy though her body.

"No it's cool, we won't be too long, I promise," Arley told the speedster, and the other boys before she started to lead M'gann towards her own room.

M'gann M'orzz's bedroom was something out of teenage sitcom, which seeing as Martians loved television, wasn't that surprising. The walls were painted a sparkly periwinkle color and her bed, which she had draped under a white canopy, Christmas lights lined the walls and a hot pink lava lamp glowed on the green girls desk.

"Nice room," Arley complemented as the door shut behind them, the Lantern looked at M'gann who nervously twiddled her fingers, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," M'gann nodded, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Don't know but you did want to talk, right?" M'gann, with a grimace nodded, the Martian girl moved to her bed and sat on the edge of it.

"It's not―" M'gann stopped herself, "―You're a normal girl right?" M'gann asked and Arley couldn't help but snort at the question.

"No," Arley shook her head. "In case you forgot most teenage girls don't have alien power rings that give them super powers."

"I meant when you're not active as a Lantern you're a normal girl, right?" M'gann questioned.

Arley's knee jerk reaction was to tell the Martian that she was always an active Lantern― the only time a Lantern wasn't active was when they were dead ―only to shrug instead; she understood the gist of what the Martian was asking.

And truthfully, she wasn't. Arley was an ex-foster kid from Gotham who joined the drama club— only to, in the end, not preform, because she couldn't be on stage and save the world at the same time —and constantly put herself between kids smaller then herself and bullies twice her size.

"Sort of," Arley answered. "Why?"

"Well, uh, you know guys right?" Arley froze where she stood.

M'gann was in love with Wally wasn't she? Or at least, M'gann liked Wally. She was going to ask Arley for advice and Arley, as Wally's best friend who loved him and only wanted what was best for him was going to have to tell the Martian girl good advice on how to woo the boy she loved, wasn't she?

"Kinda?" Arley shrugged, if she played it off, if she acted like she had never even spoken to a boy in her life then perhaps M'gann wouldn't ask her for advice on how to properly approach the speedster. "I mean all guys are different and no one's the same so I'm not an expert, you know?"

"Right," M'gann said, "But, uh, Superboy―"

"―Superboy?" Arley blinked; Not Wally then? M'gann nodded, her thin brows knitted together.

"Did you think―"

"―No one―" Arley interjected, her cheeks stained red.

"―It was one of the other guys―" M'gann began to smile,

"―I mean there is four of them―" the Lantern tried to wave off.

"―Do you like one of them?" M'gann wondered, her brown eyes sparkled as Arley shifted her weight and ducked her head; hiding her blushing face, "You do! Who?"

"I-why?" Arley wondered, "I mean you like Superboy―"

"―No I don't," M'gann said cutting Arley off, "Who said I liked him?" Arley couldn't help but smirk,

"I mean you did bring me to your room to talk about him so unless he's done something―" Arley paused, her teasing tone gone, "―He hasn't right? I mean I know he's only just got unpodded but that's still not okay if he's made you feel uncomfortable this is your home too."

"No," M'gann shook her head, "Superboy's been very sweet the past few days I just," M'gann shoulders slumped, "You were right, I do like him. Nortz I'm lame!" M'gann threw herself back against her mattress and Arley moved from where she was standing to the girls bed; the Lantern knelt against the mattress.

"Hey come on, no you're not." M'gann turned her head and looked wearily at Arley,

"Yes I am. I told he looked dapper before, in his pajamas." Arley grimaced at the alien girls blunder, she had made a fool of herself in front of Wally more times then she could count but her and Wally were best friends, they had years of friendship behind them to help each other laugh off the awkward moments; M'gann and Superboy didn't. "Dapper!"

"It could be worse," Arley tried to cheer M'gann up, "You could have called him sexy." M'gann groaned and Arley patted the alien girls arm.

"It's okay, we all make fools of ourselves in front of the guy we like," Arley said sympathetically.

"We do?" M'gann wondered, "You have?"

"Of course I have," Arley said with a nod. M'gann looked at Arley curiously and the Lantern sighed, "Okay, alright, but if this gets back to him I'm going to smother you in sleep, just know that okay?" M'gann sat up and nodded excitedly.

"Totally!"

"Wally, I-I've liked Wally since we were twelve so trust me when I say, short of him accidentally walking in on me changing there hasn't been a lot of embarrassing things I haven't done in front of him." The year before, right before the start of their Freshmen year, back when they were fourteen Arley had bleed through her tampon and through her pants staining Wally's favorite blanket; and while the speedster had shrugged it off Arley was still mortified over it.

M'gann looked at Arley with a magnificent smile on her face and she hugged the Lantern.

"Thank you," M'gann whispered. Arley pulled back.

"For what?"

"Making me feel better, back on Mars my sisters would have laughed at me if I came to them with a boy problem," the green girl explained and Arley frowned only to take the Martian girls hand in her and lace their fingers together; past foster siblings came to mind― foster brothers who pulled at Arley's pigtails and cut her hair whenever they wanted something to laugh at, and foster sisters who were quick to leave her behind if it was her their foster parents or the police caught and not them ―and Arley breathed.

"Yeah well don't worry about that again okay?" Arley beamed at M'gann, "Feel free to come to me with anything, alright?"

"And you won't laugh at me? No matter the question?" M'gann asked timidly.

"Of course not Megs," Arley swore, "From what I understand about them, sisters aren't supposed to laugh at each other, they're supposed to be there for one another." M'gann didn't cry but if a single tear slipped down the girls face Arley pretended she didn't see it.

...

Dick had won Uno several times in a row which shouldn't have been possible but with every cry of Uno out Arley began to suspect card games were part of his bat-training; Uno being one of them. After having swept the cards back into her bag Arley pressed her shoulder against Wally's as the fire all six teens sat around crackled.

Arley held her half burnt marshmallow up for Wally to eat and wordlessly the boy moved to snatch it off the marshmallow sticks Dick had brought. The stars shinned above them and the moon light the sky.

"So now that I've creamed all of you at cards, what next?" Dick wondered,

"You did not cream us!" Wally denied and Dick smirked, the youngest boy crossed his arms over his chest and Kaldur who sat between M'gann and Superboy across the fire, looked on between the Boy Wonder and speedster in amusement.

"Oh yeah? And how many cards were you left with in the last game?"

Thirty-two, somehow; "That's not the point!" Wally defended as Dick snickered.

"What about stories?" M'gann wondered, "I mean on television people always tell stories around the camp fire." Wally with a cheesy smile and made Arley's own grin dim, batted his eyes at M'gann.

"Great idea beautiful, but uh, what kind of stories?" M'gann bit her lip before her eyes brightened, a metaphorical light bulb going off above her head.

"Hello Megan! What about how you guys became heroes?" M'gann looked to Arley over the flickering flames, "Do you want to go first?"

Arley, put on the spot, straightened, "Oh, uh, sure. I mean there's not much to say, I was at right place right time and the ring chose me, that's it really." Superboy arched a brow.

"That's it?" The clone wondered, "I could come up with a better story then it."

"I didn't come up with that it's the truth, I just―" Arley shrugged, she felt Wally place a hand on her back, between her shoulder blade, "―A Lantern had to die for me to get my ring, so it's not like I got bit my radioactive spider or I was given the ring my a long lost relative. It's how the gig goes, you die and your ring, as long as it still has some juice finds the person with the most willpower. That just happened to be me."

It was easier to think of everything that had come after getting the ring and being inducted into the Corps; it was easier to block out the memory of a dying alien man whose body, once the ring left it, withered into dust. There'd been so much blood in that Gotham alleyway, and Arley had promised the alien everything would be okay; she'd been eight and on her own for just over a month when she her rings previous Lantern and her had crossed paths.

"Oh," Superboy blinked, "Sorry." Arley shrugged.

"It's fine you didn't know," she smiled at boy, it was forced and disingenuous but it eased the tension in Superboys shoulders, "It's not something the Guardians want us broadcasting to the known universe, you know what I mean?"

Superboy nodded; if people found out that all you really needed to do to get one of the most powerful objects in the universe was kill the person who had it before― if someone found all all you needed to do, was to want something you were willing to kill over ―then suddenly Corps members would stop being peace keepers and law enforcers and start being targets.

"What about you Wally?" M'gann wondered, "How did you become Kid Flash?" Wally, practically preening under M'gann's attention, puffed out his chest. Arley rolled her eyes and caught Dicks sympathetic look; the Lantern ignored it in favor of the fires flames.

She was used to Wally flirting with other girls, she was used to pinning after a best friend who didn't— would never —want her.

"I built the same experiment that gave Flash his powers, genius, right?" Wally bragged, Arley turned her head and glared at the speedster,

"You nearly gave everyone a heart attack, you know that!" When Hal had appeared on Oa and told her Wally had been in an accident the then twelve year old girl had nearly had an aneurysm then and there in the dinning hall.

Arley turned to M'gann, "The Flash's experiment, the one that gave him powers, exploded. Genius Boy over here followed the Flash's notes down to the letter and nearly got himself killed. He destroyed his garage!"

"You know," Wally said somewhat tersely, "Not even my mom still holds the garage over my head."

"It's probably because you're her son or something," Arley joked.

"Besides," Wally added, "It's more than that." Wally looked at M'gann and Superboy, "So, you guys have to know that this literally goes back a few generations, each generation of the Flash started with a bang! Jay Garrick, the first Flash, he started out in a freak lab accident-back in his prime, in the forties and fifties he was the fastest man alive but then boom!" Wally claps his hands together, "The eighties hit and here comes this fan who wants to know everything about Jay-see back then Jay didn't really hide his identity."

Wally waves his hand flippantly in the air, "Anyway this fan wants to know everything about Jay, and they spend hours talking about Jay's adventures and the accident that turned him into the Flash and so what dose this fan do? This guy goes as far to purposefully recreate the experiment that created the original Flash, and it works! I mean yeah the result was still a big explosion but lo-and-behold he becomes Speedy McSpeed-Speedy himself!"

Arley couldn't help but snicker at the silly nickname; Dick stuck the knuckle of his left index finger between his teeth at Wally's antics. Superboy and M'gann both listened on intrigued though.

"Now this guy's the Flash, not the original Flash but the Flash we all know today, and thing is he's even faster than Jay Garrick Flash! So check it, because all great minds think alike and like the second Flash was a fan of the first I was a fan of the Flash-the second one not the first; I mean I was a fan of the first Flash after I got to know him but Jay's a little before my time," Wally explained.

"Anyway, long story short, one day while Arley over here saving the universe—" Arley flashed Wally a smile, he paused his story to return it, "—I was over at my uncles, but that doesn't matter because what dose matter is what I found at the house. See I stumbled across his notebooks and got the shock of a life-time! That was the day I found out my uncle was the Flash and once the shock passed a bit I kept reading, this journal went on to explain all of his experiences and experiments, epically the one that made him the second Flash and when I found that out I kind of—" Arley snorted,

"—Kind of? Wally once you realized who I was-and who the others were, you harrassed me, Hal, John, Guy and your uncle about making you his partner," Arley said fondly. Wally, shot Arley a dry grimace.

"I didn't harrass you-besides it's not like you actually spoke to uncle B about it, you kept telling me being a hero was too dangerous—"

"—Which it is!" Arley said, "Come on, you're telling me the guys we face aren't dangerous?" Mr. Twister could have killed them more than once during their fight in town. Wally rolled his eyes,

"I'm not saying that but you were saving the universe and Bat's already Robbie over here and Green Arrow had Speedy." Wally turned to look at M'gann and Superboy, "I have to admit the Flash was slightly resistant to the idea at first but I wore him down!"

"This story's getting kind of confusing," Superboy said with his brows raised. Wally held his hand up in the clones direction,

"Just let me finish and you will be confused no more Supey. So, anyway, having seen his journal and without my best friend to convince him otherwise, I was left with only one option. To recreate the experiment with my own chemistry set, and you know what? I was able to do it!"

"It worked?" Kaldur looked at Arley, "I thought you said he blew up his garage?"

"He did," Arley nodded. Wally shrugged,

"The experiment didn't actually work at first, but a couple of weeks after I got out of the hospital I was off to a running start—" Dick groaned at the pun and Arley snorted; whilst they might not have been blood both Wally and his uncle were two peas in a pod. They two of them were both always late, and they both had terrible sense of humor; Barry always swore he'd be back in a flash.

"—And when the Flash saw I had powers how could he not want me as his partner? This time the Flash jumped at the chance to have a partner!"

Superboy looked at Arley, "Is that how it actually happened?" Arley looked at Wally who looked expectantly at her.

"Yeah," Arley said with a shrug, "For the most part. Though he left out the part how after he got his powers he looked like a baby deer-AH!" Wally grabbed Arley around the shoulders, into a loose headlock and pressed her against his chest.

"I did not!" Wally denied, "I looked cool!" Arley let out a loud laugh, something that sounded almost like a cackle.

"Still though," M'gann nodded, beaming, "It's impressive." Wally's chest puffed up as M'gann turned to Kaldur and Arley moved out of Wally's arms, "And what about you Aqualad? How did you become your mentors protegee?"

"I was offered. I, my friend Garth and I, saved our Kings life. You see two years ago when Ocean-Master attacked Atlantis and our King was nearly defeated but Garth and I who were returning home from classes when the attack started, when we saw our King fall, we knew we had to do something."

"So you and your friend stopped this Ocean-Master?" M'gann wondered excitedly and Kaldur chuckled, he shook his head. M'gann's brows knotted together.

"No, Garth and I were defeated but in the time the two of faced Ocean-Master our King was able to regain his strength. Ocean-Master still escaped but he did so wounded; no one has seen or heard from him since then, we believe him to be crippled, or dead."

"Wait," Superboy said, "If your friend helped you too why isn't he here?"

"Garth declined our Kings offer, he rather study."

"Nerd," Wally laughed, Arley elbowed the speedster and Kaldur, who wasn't the slightest bit offended on behalf of his friend laughed.

"Perhaps, Garth has always been the studious one between us."

"Wait hold on, dose that mean you're a jock where you come from Kaldur, cause honestly I never pictured you shoving kids into lockers," Arley laughed. Kaldur looked at the dark haired girl amused.

"I have never put someone in a locker, is that something jocks do on the surface?"

"Oh yeah," Dick nodded, "They give swirly and tie kids to flagpoles; really, it's hell."

"Like you've ever been tied to a flagpole or given a swirly," Arley laughed. Neither of those two things had ever happened to her either, and to be more then honest it was usually Arley who jumped into the fray, between the bully and victim threatening to do worse to the bully if they didn't leave the kid they were tormenting alone.

"What about you Robin?" M'gann wondered, "How did you become Batman's protegee?" Arley could see that behind his glasses Dick blinked at the Martian girl, "I mean, I know you can't tell us much because of your identity, but is there anything you can tell us?"

"No," Dick said, his lips pressed together firmly, "Nothing, sorry." M'gann frowned. Silence settled over the six and Dick looked away from the fire into the woods, Arley pulled her legs to her chest as a metaphorical dark cloud gathered over her younger friend, the boys shoulders fell.

"Who have I told about the first Lantern?" Arley asked suddenly, Dick and Wally raised their hands. Arley looked to M'gann and Kaldur and Superboy, "Do you guys want to hear it?"

"Of course!" M'gann said excitedly and she leaned forward.

"Awesome, okay." Arley squared her shoulder and closed her eyes as she remembered the first bit of Lantern history she ever learned. Kilowog had read it to her as a bedtime story; he had told it to her and the other recruits in training but it only really stuck with her later that night, he had used his ring to conjure along images to match the story. It was one of her favorite memories.

"The Book of Oa, first chapter, first verse: long ago before our stars had ignited, long ago when life was new and the universe was in its infancy, before order there was chaos." Arley opened her eyes and looked into the fire, she looked around and both Superboy and M'gann were both already entranced; Kaldur leaned forward in anticipation and both Wally and Dick listened with their full attention.

"Chaos out balanced creation, hate out balanced fellowship and all life suffered. The Guardians saw it all, the evil was far too great to be left unchecked and so they gathered the light, they knew of it's variety and strength and of the light with the most power but they sought their answer in the light of will; to form from it a weapon unequaled, to turn armies to sand. Will, given substance, forming. And so the greatest warriors in the universe were gathered, and out of them four would be chosen. The first four, it was an event to be recorded and remembered." Arley recited.

"The Guardians said to the assembly, 'Stand tall Warriors, if we are to be your Guardians you are to be our strength, if you are to be our strength these shall be your arms.' And so the Guardians presented the rings to the warriors, one by one the rings began to find their bearers until the last ring was left and the unexpected happened. At the time they called it an accident but the thing about accidents is that they're only the will of the universe expressing itself; and it was the universe's will that the fourth Lantern be Avra. A mere scribe, chronicler to the Guardian: and so it would be for all time, the rings would choose their successors."

Arley's eyes flickered down to her ring, "The Guardians had armed the first four and sought to train them, though no training could prepare them for what would come," Arley seemed to swallow her tongue for a moment because no training ever could prepare someone for the heat of battle, for war. Arley pushed out all the thoughts that had nothing to do with the story she was telling; she forced herself to focus on the story of the first Lantern.

"When training gave way to duty," she continued stiffly, "A plague had savaged the Universe, the Guardians had dispatched the first four to stop it's advance, ready or not. The first four fought but it was too much for them, for anyone, the third of the first four was killed, her ring, before it could find it's way back the Guardians was gathered up by one of the other Lanterns, some say the first others say the second, but no matter who collected the ring the fact remained, only three Lanterns stood between the Universe and evil.

And the first Lantern saw this and would not run. Avra spoke and said 'The Guardians forged these rings from will. Will can do more than pave our retreat. Will is the first cause behind any action. We must will our survival.' But the other two Lanterns did not have Avra's faith, they said he'd die and so Avra replied, 'So be it, I choose to believe in the Guardians.' Avra, as he flew towards the battle, knew he could die, that what he was facing was not like his books in which he could invent the outcome, but still, he refused to retreat, he battled on; he fought valiantly, but was soon nearly overwhelmed by the enemy fleet's numbers. Avra knew his defeat was near, that his death was not far, and so he gathered his will for one final, one lone assault. But in the end he did not die because in that battle Avra held his first― the first ―construct. No longer a scribe, now a warrior; the first Lantern."

"Woah," M'gann breathed. Arley nodded, as she remembered how the first verse ended;

"That was the beginning, in time the first of the rings would be past on while a hundred more were forged, and then thousands, all would be taught as the first Lantern had learned, it was a new path to victory, a use for the ring not even the Guardians had predicted, and of course in time old Lanterns would fall, their rings given to the new, to learn as they did. Even Avra would fall, his ring given to one who would be taught his lessons and would one day teach them. What was once a unique innovation became the way for all. The way of will."

"Wonderful," Kaldur smiled, M'gann clapped and Wally slung an arm over Arley's shoulders. "Do you have any more stories like that?" The Atlantean boy wondered, "I mean," Kaldur straightened, "If no one else has any stories they would like to share."

Dick and Wally and M'gann all shook their heads; Arley with a bright grin rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she wondered what other stories she could tell the team.

"Do-do you guys want to hear about Rassalin and the Three Keys?" Arley wondered.

"Is that the one with the time traveling statues?" Wally asked; Conner's brows shot up,

"Time traveling statues?" Arley looked at the clone.

"Weeping Angles," she said, "They're-um, okay so they're kind of hard to explain, but from what the Corps database says they're kind murderous psychopaths'."

"How can one be a kind, murderous psychopath?" Kaldur wondered; Arley grimaced, she'd asked Tomar-Tu the same thing when she had read about them in the archives.

"They kill you without actually killing you, basically they send you back in time, to a different time period, and feed off of your remaining time energy. They're all extinct now so we don't have to worry about any coming to Earth," Arley swore, Kaldur nodded but the Atlanteans brows had furrowed together and his lips had twisted down; like he were thinking of some type of plan, just incase the Weeping Angles weren't in fact extinct.

"Anyway," Arley added as she looked at Wally, "No, Rassalin was Kaled." Arley looked out at the team as she leaned back; "Long ago, back when the Corps was still new and they hadn't yet firmly established themselves in the universe, and chaos still ravaged the cosmos and war was rampant between planets, two planets, Thal and Skaro, found themselves locked in what at the time had seemed like an endless battle. Thal and Skaro, were both in Rassalin's sector and it was her duty to not only make sure the war didn't spread to neighboring planets, but to make sure that it ended."

Arley smiled wryly; the words 'By any means necessary' caught in her throat.

"Anyway, when Rassalin finally managed to get the Emperor of Skaro and the Thalian Queen to sit down the Thalian Queen was adamite that one of Skaro's Chief Scientist had been working on a doomsday device, one that could wipe out all life in the universe."

"Were they?" M'gann asked as she leaned forward. Arley nodded.

"It's why Rasslin's story in the Book of Oa, the Thalian Queen had been right, see Skaro's Chief Chemist hadn't just built one doomsday device he had built three-hence the name, the Three Keys. The Scientist named each weapon after a perceived Thalian crime, pride, power, and knowledge; he believed Thalian's were too prideful for their own good, he thought they had too much power in the universe-the Lantern before Rassalin was from the Thalian Royal family, and even after his passing that carried some weight, and he believed that Thal was harboring knowledge."

"What kind of knowledge?" Dick asked, Arley shrugged,

"Whatever he thought Thal was hiding wasn't recorded in the Book of Oa, just that it was important enough to destroy half the universe over-anyway Rassalin fights him and gets the keys but by the time the fight's over it was nearly too late, for both her and the universe," Arley spoke. "Rassalin had not only been wounded in the fight against the Sceintist but before he had been defeated the Scientist set off the keys, and Rassalin knew that she didn't have time to figure out how to stop them, they were going to go off. So she did what any Lantern would do-she didn't flinch in the face of fear. Rassalin gathered the keys into her arms and she flew off to the wastelands of Skaro. Rassalin knew that it was risky but she also knew she didn't have any other choice, the keys were going to destruct soon and take more than half the universe with them, so with her indomitable will, she formed a construct and waited and waited, until they went off. The Book of Oa says her construct shook and it trembled but it never splintered-that it was her construct that saved the universe that day."

It was quite for a moment.

"That seriously happened?" Superboy asked and Arley smiled weakly at the clone.

"Yeah, I mean, it's all recorded in the Book." Superboys brows came together,

"Your constructs can really stop a blast that big?"

"A Lanterns constructs are only as unbreakable as their willpower."

"So what your saying is your construct could beat Supey in an arm wrestling contest?" Dick wondered mischievously.

"No way―"

"―Of course," Arley and Superboy said together; both teens brows shot up. Arley's ring twinkled on her finger. "I'm sorry Superboy, do you want to go?"

"Sure," Superboy half smirked, "I mean, if you really want to lose."

Wally let out a loud, near manic laugh next to Arley as the Lantern tilted her head; her ring grew brighter.

"Oh you're so on!"