Chink in the Armor
Chelsea wandered quietly through the halls of The Watch Tower. She could sense something in there, but couldn't put her finger on it. Almost as if the air was thick with tension. When she entered one of the larger lounge rooms, she took note of a few bigger named heroes gathered around a television broadcast. Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, all had negative expressions. It had been a while since she had seen this many original members in one place. Her curiosity got the better of her. She wandered over near them silently and stood between Diana and John, "What's up?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her chest. On the television screen was Captain Marvel. She listened as he was being interviewed. He displayed a harmless support toward Lex Luthor's campaign for president. Chelsea's eyes darted to Superman.
Superman looked infuriated. His teeth were tightly clenched, "What is he doing?"
"I don't see the problem." Chelsea murmured.
"Showing support for Luthor is bad for the Justice League's reputation. We can't go around voicing our political views, regardless of what they are." Superman told her.
"He's entitled to his own opinion, don't you think?" she replied.
Superman raised an eyebrow of disbelief, "He is, but it doesn't give him the right to broadcast it."
Chelsea couldn't believe what he was saying, "That's the equivalence of not having one at all."
"Don't get him wrong Starlight," John stepped in, "he's just looking out for the good of the league. This kind of press is bad for us, and we're already dealing with so much from Amanda Waller and Project Cadmus. Luthor is under suspicion as well."
"How does the law go? Innocent until proven guilty?" Chelsea stared at Superman hard, "Last time I checked we weren't above the law either." with that left hanging in the air she turned and walked away as quickly as she left.
Making her way through a nearly empty cafeteria and out into a corridor that had a long set of windows exposing the view of Earth to those who passed by, she passed none other than Captain Marvel herself. After a moment's hesitation she called out to him, "Captain Marvel?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
When he turned to her, a gentle wholesome smile spread across his face, "You're… Starlight, right?" he asked.
"That's me." she nodded, "You can call me Chelsea though."
He tilted his head, and came toward her, offering out his hand, "Then you can call me Billy." his cheeks lit up rosy red.
Chelsea took note of his boyish charms despite his large size. He reminded her of Superman, but there was something in his innocent eyes she no longer saw in Superman. He was like a blank canvas to her. One that was filled with so much promise. He could be anything he wanted to be.
Catching himself staring he looked away sort of embarrassed, "Sorry it's just-" he started, "we all look up to you, you know?"
"Who? Me?" she asked with surprise in her tone.
"You're one of us. The first addition to the Justice League. I've heard rumors from some of the other newcomers that you're really sweet. I guess they weren't mistaken." He explained.
She had been hearing this for a while. Any time one of the new additions had a problem they always seemed to cling to her like a beacon in the darkness. It was a lot of responsibility to take on. She lead him over to the railing, overlooking the planet, "Billy, I'm glad I ran into you." she leaned against the railing and gazed at him closely, "Understand, this isn't coming from me, but rather… it's just a warning, because I care." she ran her fingers through her hair, "Superman wasn't pleased when he watched your interview on the news. While I find it admirable that you've voiced your support for such a minority liked figure as Lex Luthor, he wasn't exactly pleased you gave everyone on the face of the planet ammo toward the Justice League. Again, this is not my point of view, but-"
"If we don't display the message that people can change for the better, than what kind of heroes are we? Aren't we supposed to believe in everybody? Isn't that our job?" wondered Billy.
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Billy. I know you have the best intentions and I can tell you're a great person." she touched his arm consolingly, "I just don't want you to get in trouble."
"I've always looked up to Superman." he confessed, "He's my idol… but lately I get the impression that… I dunno, something's changed in him."
"There's a light in your eyes… a light I used to see in Superman's… but experience has hardened him. He's still got good intentions, he just goes to the extreme from time to time… plus…" she winked at him, "He's a tad stubborn in instilling his own views on everyone else."
"What's it like?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she replied.
"Being an original member? Being able to talk to Superman like you're long time pals? Playing Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots with The Flash? Having a casual conversation with the Martian Manhunter?"
She smiled as memories flooded in like water through a broken dam. This recollection almost brought her to tears. She hadn't done anything remotely close to that with any of them in some time, "It's been a while… but back then…" she looked out at the Earth, taking in just how big it truly was, "... it was like… finding a place to call home… for the first time in my whole life."
A couple days later Chelsea came walking into the same room where everyone had been hovering around a big screen. Today there was the usual congestion in the room to be expected. As she weaved in and out of the crowd she flew up to the top deck to get a word with J'onn, "Hey J'onn, how're you?"
He didn't hesitate as he continued to punch commands into the computer and teleporting leaguers to missions, "I am very busy Starlight. How may I assist you?"
Chelsea noticed that most of the original members had been calling her Starlight more frequently lately. Their separation seemed to stretch even further, "I was actually stopping by to ask if our original members meeting was still scheduled for this afternoon?"
"Yes, it is." he confirmed simply.
Chelsea had never seen J'onn so focused, even for him. In fact she hardly ever seen him away from his post. The idea he didn't get out much, it caused a tinge of worry inside her. No one deserved this job every single day. Especially someone so kind as J'onn, "Thank you… sorry to have interrupted you." she murmured before hovering over the edge and descending down to the bottom floor of the room.
J'onn paused only momentarily to reflect on what had just happened. Starlight was like family to him. How could he have not honored her with some respect with eye contact or a well-deserved smile? As he resumed his typing, he felt a looming cloud of guilt in his conscious.
Chelsea walked among the crowded room. She knew many faces. Green Arrow was the most accurate archer. Booster Gold was a goofy futuristic hero that tended to get called Green Lantern by mistake. The Question was full conspiracy plots she imagined webbed together across all four walls of his room. Black Canary was not only beautiful, but deadly talented with her combat skills. Vigilante and Shining Knight could always be found together having a friendly debate over something or another. Even Supergirl, Superman's cousin, had a charm about her that was all her own. Yet this organization had grown so much, there was many more faces she didn't recognize then those she actually knew. She felt lost in the crowd.
A news broadcast broke onto the the television screen and everyone gathered to see what was happening. The footage showed Superman trading blows with Captain Marvel. They were leveling a section of Metropolis that was under construction to be reopened to the public as a hospitable place to live. Chelsea scrunched her eyebrows in disbelief. Her eyes started to glow with fury. She lifted herself up into the air and flew over to the teleporter to land, "J'onn send me to their location!" she yelled to him.
"I would advise you to-" he started to say.
"Now." she said simply. In the blink of an eye she was standing in some of the destruction of the district. She saw the two squaring off, playing chicken while being airborne. Using as much telekinetic energy she could muster she pulled them both down to the ground and got between them, "Knock it off!" she barked, still having a hold on their bodies, "What is the meaning of this? Is this what you had in mind for bad publicity for the league Superman!? Well!? Is it!?" she let go of him, pushing him back a bit, "Look around you! You can't just start a grudge match in a newly rehabilitated area!" A small group of people were watching from a distance.
"Luthor has something dangerous underground!" exclaimed Superman.
Chelsea spotted Lex Luthor in the crowd, "Mr. Luthor, can I have a word with you?"
Lex came forward in a clean suit. He was good at keeping a professional appearance despite the mayhem.
"What is Superman talking about?" she asked.
"Below the district is a generator for clean energy. Superman is alarmed because I coated it with lead, but I assured him I did it for his own protection. The generator is powered by Kryptonite." Lex explained, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"You can't expect me to just trust that!" Superman said to Starlight.
"And I think we should believe him," Captain Marvel explained from behind Chelsea.
"Superman, would you stop and take a look around right now? Look at those people. Look at their faces!" she held her hand out, gesturing to the terrified civilians, "They're scared to death right now. It will take weeks for this mess to be cleaned up, and people were looking to bring their families here."
"They have nothing to fear." argued Superman, "Not from me anyway." his gaze shifted to Lex.
"Enough!" yelled Chelsea, "Your personal vendettas should be cleared on your own time. You didn't want bad publicity for the Justice League… well you got it anyway. And you brought it on us! Not Lex! Not Billy! You!"
"It's comforting to see someone with a clear head on their shoulders." Lex sighed with relief as he took Chelsea's hand and kissed the top of it, "I'm honored… Starlight is it?"
Chelsea grabbed his hand and pulled him in, leaning forward, "Don't think this makes us allies Lex… I have my eye on you." she said through gritted teeth coldly. She looked to Superman, "Either help us clean up this mess or find something productive to do, since we can all clearly see how destructive you've been." she crossed her arms.
Superman couldn't believe how she was acting. It baffled him. He turned to the civilians and gave an apology, before requesting J'onn to teleport him back to The Watch Tower.
Chelsea rolled her eyes and grabbed her earpiece, "J'onn, myself and Captain Marvel have a long day ahead of us. Requesting assistance?"
J'onn replied, "I shall send Green Arrow and Booster Gold."
"We'll have this cleaned up in no time, don't worry." Captain Marvel assured Lex and the civilians.
"If you clear the debris, I can have my construction workers fix the destruction." Lex told them, "This is only a minor setback." he turned to the nervous crowd of people, "Lex Corp will have the district up and running within two weeks. Mark my words."
Chelsea and Billy started clearing large chunks of debri from the area. It didn't take long before Green Arrow and Booster Gold showed up for assistance.
"You've got some stones on you girl. I'll give you that." Ollie, Green Arrow, commented into the silence.
"Seriously!" agreed Booster Gold, "standing up to Superman? None of us would have had the courage to do that."
"I tried, but I only made a mess of things…" sighed Captain Marvel.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Billy. Superman's just got a lot of pent up anger he can't really release because when he does… well… look around you. This is with restraint." Chelsea said, clearing a section, "Was the whole thing broadcasted to The Watch Tower?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," nodded Ollie, "but I got to say, the overall feel of the room was utter shock you weren't afraid to put Superman in his place."
"His actions weren't justified. He's been acting so weird lately. I know he's got this weird relationship with Lex, but this was just out of hand." Chelsea explained.
"Don't worry, we all agree with you, but those of us in the room who weren't original members couldn't have been more proud of you."
"I'm serious when I say you're a leader to us." Billy smiled to her.
"Come on now… I'm not a leader… I just don't want things to get overlooked because our numbers have grown. We have to function as a unit. If that means other members have to step in and intervene, than so be it." she told them.
Later that afternoon once they had all parted ways at The Watch Tower, Chelsea made it down the hall to the meeting room where only original members were allowed. When she walked in, she was the last one to arrive. She was cut with the sense of hostility in the air the moment she entered the room. They all looked at her with disapproving stares, with Superman in the middle. Chelsea walked up and took her seat across from Superman in the circular table. There was a moment of silence, "Okay what's going on?" she wondered.
"Funny… we wanted to ask you the same thing." Clark said, crossing his arms, as he stood over the table.
"What're you talking about?" she asked.
"Chelsea," Diana said sadly, "your actions today were uncalled for."
Chelsea gave a laugh of skepticism, "What?"
"You acted like a child." Clark said sternly, "What you did- was an attempt to embarrass me not only in front of those citizens, but in front of the whole damn league! Do you think it's easy sitting in this chair?"
"Woah! Time out! Freeze!" Chelsea said, jumping to her feet, "I have a chair Clark… or should I say Superman? I don't feel like I close to anyone at this table anymore!" she said, "You're not the only one in this room. Democracy, that's what we preach right?" she asked, "Who are you to act like you're the man running this whole operation!? Hell! The damn computer system wouldn't work if J'onn wasn't parked there day in and day out! Was that your decision too?"
"Enough!" exclaimed Clark. The room grew eerily quiet, "Your actions were uncalled for, unprofessional, and you deliberately disobeyed me, in an attempt to publicly upstage me. Starlight, we took it to a vote… a democratic vote if you prefer," he said, in nearly a mocking tone, "by rule of this group, you are dismissed from your duties in this room. You are no longer allowed entry until you can prove to us once more you deserve to have a seat in here."
Chelsea took a moment to look at each and every one of them. She tallied it in her head. It was clear Clark, John, J'onn, and Diana all voted to accept this. Did Bruce and Wally do the same? Bruce stayed stone-faced. While he probably did vote against her, deep down he felt guilty for it. Wally looked crestfallen with disappointment. He was the only reason it wasn't unanimous. Chelsea lifted her head and gave Clark a cold stare, "There are people on that planet… as well as people in this space craft… who look at each and every one of you… with pride. They want to be you. They look up to you. They look to you as role-models. And yet, most of them, are intimidated to talk to any of you." Chelsea's eyes started to water, but she refused to shed tears, "I have been aching for months. Months of missing my family. No!" she shook her head once, "Not my crazed father. Not the mother who was destroyed by him. All the faces in this room. My family. My chosen family. All of you and Shayera… Hawkgirl… I feel miles away from you all. Why is that?" she asked into the open air, "Do you know people walk up to me and ask 'What's Superman like? He seems like a really nice guy.' or 'What kind of things do you and Martian Manhunter talk about?' and 'The Flash is so friendly. You guys are close right?' and you know what?" she was trembling, shaking her head in disbelief once more, "I don't know what to tell them… because I don't know the answer to those questions anymore." she looked each one of them over briefly before sighing.
Giving a single nod she blinked her teary eyes away and clasped her hands behind her back, "You all look down on me like a child. Like I'm behaving like a child. I've done so much growing, because of you. But if I'm not needed in this room, I know I will always be needed by the new members. They see a friend in me. And people down on Earth still need me as well." she turned to the door and walked up to it. It opened, "Whether you still need me, is for you to decide." with that, she exited the room.
After that little speed bump knocked the wind out of her sails, Chelsea retreated to some place safe. Her sanctuary… her apartment. She laid on the couch limply. Tears spilled from her eyes, but she was so numb she hardly felt them anymore. She clutched a pillow to her chest, and every now and then would break out into loud, ugly, uncontrollable sobs. She was so angry. So very angry. The torment inside her caused objects around her to flee from her, being thrown into walls. Her window started to crack. The sound startled her, snapping her back into focus. Her powers relied so heavily on her emotions, and nowadays it grew harder and harder to keep them in check.
There was a knock at the door. She didn't answer. She sat up and held the pillow to her chest, pressing her lips to the fabric. The door opened anyway. Bruce stepped in. He paused, noticing the wreckage around her. Chelsea looked up at him with red, swollen eyes, but didn't say a word.
He quietly took a seat next to her and breathed deeply through his nose, "Forgive me… I'm not good at… comforting people."
"You didn't have to come, Bruce. I know you're angry with me." she whined in a hushed tone.
He swallowed, "I didn't vote against you." he said.
Her eyes widened, "You looked so angry…"
"I was…" he admitted, "at Clark. He didn't leave me with much of a choice. He assumed I would want to suspend you as well, but he overlooked some details."
Chelsea raised an eyebrow, "I don't understand."
"I love you." he told her. Hearing it himself, he chuckled, "If it were anyone else… anyone but you…" he shook his head, "but it was."
He broke his old habits, just because of her. She was so bewildered by this.
"You do right by the new additions to the league. You make them feel comfortable… safe… secure… they confine in you. You should be proud of yourself for that. Clark is being… a bit bull-headed, but once he thinks this over, he'll come around. He is ever the boy scout after all." he looked at her with his usual serious expression. His blue eyes swirled enchantingly, "But why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" she asked.
"That you were hurting… hurting this much." he answered, "I guess on some level I knew… but like I said… I'm so bad at this."
"Bruce Wayne… bad at something? Plot twist." she mused.
He raised an eyebrow. The corner of his lip curled up momentarily, amused by her sarcasm, "What happened between you and Wally? Why don't you two ever get together anymore?"
Chelsea gave him a strange look, "Wouldn't it bother you if I spent time with Wally like I used to?"
Bruce straightened his shoulders. This was confirmation to her, "He's your best friend Chelsea." he said, like he was admitting it to himself, "You still see him as such, am I correct?"
Chelsea looked at him silently.
"You can say yes, it won't hurt my feelings." he told her.
She sighed, "I miss him. I miss him a lot, Bruce. I don't want you to think something would happen between us. I don't want you to have any more doubt in me than you might already. I know you. I know how you are. It takes a lifetime to gain your trust, and less than a heartbeat to lose it forever. I'm not saying I refrained from spending time with Wally because I thought it would hurt you, truly we've just drifted apart. He keeps himself busy, and I've tried to reach out to him, but… I think he's angry with me."
"She's my best friend Bats… Nothing, not even her breaking my heart, could change that. I'll still be right there beside her… even if she decides I'm not what she wants as something more than what we have… I love her, that much."
Bruce recalled Wally saying those very words to him, "The night you had been shot… he swore to me he would never abandon you… he went back on his word." Bruce felt a bit of resentment toward Wally he had not felt in some time.
"I hurt him, Bruce." Chelsea told him, "I tried not to see it. I tried to not to think it was possible, but I hurt him. I picked you. I picked the man I have been in love with nearly my whole life. Try to understand that he did all he could to compete with that. That the fastest man in the world, lost one of the single most important races in his lifetime, to that."
Bruce was amazed she showed such sympathy for him. Bruce would have felt betrayed. He'd have cut ties with Wally completely. He would refuse to feel remorse, but not her. No, she was too kind hearted for that. It was her kindness that had melted his heart, "If you can somehow repair the bond between you someday, I encourage it. You deserve to have that again. I know it meant a lot to you."
Chelsea rested her head on his shoulder, "You mean everything to me."
He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in, "Are you going to be alright?" Chelsea could sense his worry, which was unfamiliar to him. It had to be overwhelming.
"Yeah," she murmured, "eventually… I think things will be okay… but until then… don't ever be afraid to hold me, alright?"
He brushed back some of her hair and held her face in his large hands, "If holding you should scare me… then this should be terrifying…" he said quietly with his low voice, taking her lips hostage with his. Her shoulders instantly slumped. She felt finally at ease.
"Well your little plan didn't quite work out did it?" asked a female voice over an intercom on an office telephone.
Lex sat at his desk in his office, "It didn't go as planned, but I'd say it was rather successful." he sounded satisfied.
"How?" asked Amanda Waller on speaker phone.
"I not only got to embarrass Superman… I found a chink in their armor. That Starlight… she's not afraid to stand up against the Man of Steel… the quarrel can only benefit us."
"If you say so," she sighed, "Come by Cadmus headquarters tomorrow… I have something I need to show you."
Author's Notes: I feel like a lot escalated in that chapter. Woo! Sorry if there are any glaring errors, I wrote this late at night so even after re-reading it I might miss some things. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, because I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I'm borrowing a bit of the plot from Unlimited, but I intend to skew it quite a bit once I get further in. Thanks for reading and send a review my way. :)
