"It's been six weeks, Bruce." John sighed, "What do you think he's doing?"
"Apparently fulfilling your heart's secret desire." Batman's dark response was seeping with sarcasm. The two of them were in the monitor room, switching shifts so that John could go home. Wally, meanwhile, was sitting at the table behind them sorting through John's mail because he was a) bored and b) had no boundaries. It had been almost two months since John had released a genie on Earth, and the League had yet to see any effects of the actions or find any lead on the supernatural being's whereabouts.
"I'm being serious." John raised his voice.
"If you were being serious, you would be spending less time asking me to guess what he's doing and more time trying to figure it out yourself." He snapped. His fingers slid over the keys of the computer, pulling up reports while watching various news reports out of the corner of his eye. His mask made his already serious face look graver than usual, and John was sure that beneath the cover, his eyes were shining with annoyance, "I can't tell you what it is you want, John. Only you can do that, so if you need to meditate or have a near death experience and realize what's really important, you go for it. However, I have a corporation to run, a Watchtower to organize, and new members to train. There are bigger worries in my life than whatever mischievous spirits you've let loose on this world."
"That spirit could hurt people!" John cried.
"Hasn't happened yet." Bruce stated plainly. He quit typing and turned to look at John with anger in his eyes. Point to the monitors, he shouted, "But you know what has hurt people? The hurricane which made landfall in Central Mexico last night or the building collapse in Mali today, where people are still trapped in the rubble. I have to allocate my resources and prioritize my problems. This is a problem you have to workout yourself. If something happens, I'll reconsider."
"GL, your subscription to the Washington Post is about to expire." Wally injected.
"Not now, Wally." John dismissed with the wave of his gloved hand. He turned back to Batman, who had now sat back down, but Flash interrupted him before he could speak.
"Well, if you want to remain blissfully unaware of what's happening in the world." The speedster shrugged as he put his feet on one of the chairs, "Be my guest." He tossed the envelope in the growing pile of junk mail and slid open the top of another with his pointer figure. John was both impressed and annoyed.
"You don't get to say that to me."
"Hey!" The young hero looked offended, "I watch the news, and I'm dating a reporter. That puts me more in the loop than you."
John sighed and turned back to Batman. He pinched his nose between two of his fingers, and asked in disbelief, "So you're really not going to help me with this?"
Bruce shrugged, "Nope."
"Fine." He rolled his eyes, "Flash, let's go."
Wally grabbed the mail so quickly that John could feel a gentle breeze behind him. An instant later, the hero was walking beside him and pushing a pile of papers into John's hand. He smiled as he informed him excitedly, "Fire told me about this great new Ethiopian place in Miami. Apparently there's an all you can eat buffet. Right on the beach, perfect view of the ocean. There's even some bars you can visit if that's what you feel like."
"So?" John grimaced, hoping he was wrong.
"You owe me dinner." Wally grinned.
Now, if there was one thing John wanted to avoid, it was taking Wally to a buffet. Wally could eat the Watchtower out of house and home if he wanted to, and setting the hero loose on any business was bound to make it so he could never go there again. Businesses made buffets for people with limits - Wally was a bottomless pit who happened to camouflage as human quite well. John took a deep breathe, and started, "Listen, I'm really busy today, and-"
"Nope." Wally interrupted, "You promised dinner and I'm collecting. Plus, you need to get out of this metal cage! Go meet some people, see the sun, breathe air that hasn't been filtered god knows how many times." Wally punched him affectionately in the arm, "Repay all the favors you owe me. Come on, GL! You know you want to."
John sighed heavily, "Fine. One meal and then I'm going home."
Wally looked at him seriously as he steered them towards the transport bay, "You sure you don't want to hang out with a couple of us? You've been really distant since-"
"I'm fine." John cut him off, "Lunch and that's it."
"We're just a little worried about you, that's all." Wally defended.
"Maybe people should stick to their own business." The Lantern muttered stiffly.
"You haven't been yourself in months!"
"Look," John stopped and turned to Wally. The Lantern's eyes glowed a dangerous green, as if preparing for a fight. He lowered his voice, so the words he growled were heard only by his friend, "One meal. That's all you get today because I have a million other crises to deal with today and a world to rebuild. It hasn't even been six months since the invasion, and there are greater priorities than me not socializing properly. Understand?"
"Fine." Flash sighed with a smile and quipped, "Baby steps it is."
"Who hates Miami?" Iggy asked skeptically while he gasped for air. Sweat sparkled amongst the strands of his bleached yellow-white hair and his tan skin was flushed cherry red. He pulled off his drenched cut off, showing off his well defined abs which made several women, and even a few men, glance his direction in appreciation. Most were lounging about the beach in their swimsuits, appreciating the hot, sunny day. Despite their eyes, his gaze didn't deviate from his partner, though his mouth smirked just a little at the attention.
"Tons of people hate Miami." Summer sighed as she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the perspiration from her pale forehead. Even after months in the city, her skin had failed to tan even a shade, while Iggy's glowed a brilliant bronze.
"Sane people don't hate Miami." He insisted.
"Miami is humid and suffocating." She whispered as she grabbed her water bottle from her gym bag. Immediately, she collapsed next to their pile of stuff, sighing in satisfaction as the tension from their run began to subside. She used one foot to kick the shoe off of her other and then began to struggle to rid the sweaty, sand filled socks from her body.
Iggy fell onto his back beside her, throwing his arm over his eyes to block out the sun, and continued to breath heavily, "Miami is relaxed, carefree... vibrant even, some people might say."
"Yeah. And I'm none of those things." She said as she sat up to pour the remainder of the cool water over her body. Even after the bottle had laid out in the June sun for nearly an hour, the icy streams of liquid sent welcomed shivers through across her back. Pulling her dark hair out of her now messy ponytail, Summer Holbrooks shook out her thick mane of curls, savoring the feeling of the ocean breeze working its way through her locks. Slowly, she lowered herself back onto the hot grains of sand and turned her head towards her companion, "Denver could be a good change. You could come visit."
"No one wants to visit Denver." He said offhandedly.
"Thousands of people visit Denver every year." She laughed.
"Yeah. For like two days so they can get their fill of winter and remember why people retire to Florida. Less frostbite, more bikinis." He insisted, "Anyway, no one named Summer is meant to live in Denver. Florida was your fate."
"I moved to Florida on a whim."
"A great whim."
"A shit whim." She countered, "No one makes good decisions after their fiance dies."
"You were running. We all run, you know that. It's part of what makes us all friends... but also what contributes to us being such shitty people." He shrugged and then asked seriously, "If you leave now, what makes you think you aren't running again?"
"What would I be running from?" She quipped.
"Let's get real, Sum." He sighed, "None of us exactly have the kind of lives that parents dream of for their babies. But you're just starting to get your feet under yourself again. I mean, you have a job, friends, half of an apartment. You really want to uproot and start all over again? And in Denver? Really? You couldn't at least chose LA or New York? Or even Seattle? I'd rather you be a hipster before a fucking icicle."
"I just-" She struggled for the words, "Nothing here feels right."
"Is it the location or the guilt?" He looked at her with understanding in his bold green eyes.
"Maybe both." She sighed, "But I know that I wasn't meant to sit still."
"At least take a couple of weeks to think about it." Iggy pleaded, "It'll give you time to save up the money, at least, and maybe for something to change here. Plus, you'll have to test clean and you aren't going to be able to do that anytime soon."
She nodded slowly, "That sounds responsible."
"And every fiber of your being is probably fighting against it." He chuckled.
"Exactly." She smiled.