Chapter 4

After going through several battle simulations, Selina decided to do her own exploration of the ship while Bruce was busy immersing himself in files in the conference room.

After walking past two crewmembers, she came to a room with a sign above it that said Hall of the Kings.

"Hmm, I wonder what's in here," she thought to herself then proceeded to walk on in where saw multiple seats that were bolted to the floor and a large flatscreen monitor with two emblems with banners on it.

The first one was that of a crown with a fighter jet on it and a pair of lightning bolts hitting two stars. The top banner said the Spacekings and the bottom one said SVFA-216.

The image on the next emblem was that of an archer flanked by two fighters and preparing to take a shot with a missile instead of an arrow. Its top banner was titled the Longbows and its bottom one said SVFA-236.

"So you're the one who goes by the name Cat?" asked a voice of someone behind her.

Selina turned around and saw a man dressed in a black flight suit with a Spaceking patch on his chest along with his nametag and two more patches on his sleeves. An Earth patch on the right and an American flag patch on the left.

"Selina is my main name, but Cat is the one I prefer more. Who are you?"

"I am Captain Steinbeck, leader of the Spacekings Fighter Squadron. So what do you think of our briefing room?"

"It looks neat and your ship is very impressive. Commander Womack let me do some battle simulations on her weapons console when I was on the bridge."

"And how did you do?"

"Good enough to get certified to man it if necessary."

"Wow," Steinbeck commented.

"So what can you tell me about the fighters on those emblems on the screen?" Selina asked.

The one on the crown is called a Space Hornet, the kind of bird my squadron flies. It's officially called the F/A-18S, but we just call'em Space Hornets because it sounds better."

"I'm with you on that, Captain."

"Feel free to call me Erin, Cat. No need to address me by rank all the time."

"Ok, what kind of birds do the Longbows fly?"

"F/A-37 Sawsharks, the first fighters to be equipped with AI copilots and with four afterburners on their asses they can smoke us in a race any day of the week."

"That must be irritating, and why does the archer have a missile on his bow instead of an arrow?"

"Well a missile is just like an arrow but with a longer range and a guidance system. Plus the ability to chase you around a corner."

"I've dodged many bullets on the streets of Gotham, but I probably wouldn't be able to dodge one of these things."

"Sounds like you come from a very rough town, Cat."

"Heh, you have no idea just how rough it is."

"Considering that it's in another dimension, I would have to agree. Would you like to see our fighters up close?"

"Sure, but first I have to retrieve my cute little billionaire from the conference room."

"Wait a minute, the boy that came through the portal with you is a billionaire in your city?" Steinbeck asked.

"Yep, and his name is Bruce Wayne," Selina replied with a smile.

"I'll take you to him, but please tell me more about this kid."

"A Bruce Wayne 101 course will cost you three-hundred dollars."

"Rats, we don't have any money on the ship. But I could give you this," Steinbeck replied then unzipped one of his pockets and pulled out a golden coin.

"Hmm, what is it?"

"It's a challenge coin, Cat. If and when you get back to Gotham, you'll have something to prove that you traveled to another dimension. A lot more valuable than currency that's probably a long way off from being in circulation."

Selina considered her options for a moment then decided to take the coin.

"Fine, Erin. Now let's go," Selina said then they walked out of the room and the class on Bruce Wayne began.