Hawkgirl burst into the conference room in, fists raised in agitation. "Okay, what's the big emergency?"
The three other senior members in the room looked up from their respective chairs around the conference table. Green Lantern was deep in thought, not paying attention. J'onn waited, imperceptible as usual. Wonder Woman turned her stately head in curiosity. "Emergency?"
"Wally messaged me just now, said the situation was critical and to meet in the conference room. So what's the deal-a lead on Lex Luthor's whereabouts? Vandal Savage coup?"
Lantern looked up. "The kid told me he was in trouble with the law."
"I was with J'onn on monitor duty, Wally told us it was important to discuss national security," Wonder Woman added.
"Hey everyone!" Superman's cheerful, booming voice approached. "What's the surprise?" No one responded. "You did get the message, right?"
J'onn looked thoughtful. "Hmm. It appears we have all been slightly misled."
"So…no imminent butt-kicking?" Hawkgirl looked a little disappointed.
"No surprise?" Superman looked even more so.
Lantern narrowed his glowing emerald eyes. "Wait until Wally gets here. I came all the way from deep space for this."
A red blur entered the conference room in a flurry.
"Sorry I'm late. Printer was out of ink-hey!"
A giant green hand held Flash suspended, his legs still running in midair. "Time out track star."
"GL buddy, what's the deal?"
"Uh, you lied to us!" Hawkgirl yelled.
"Technically he hinted, we inferred," J-onn added.
"When you message me 'It's life or death' and hang up all of a sudden, I assume it actually is!"
"Using our precious time to-"
"Hold on." Superman motioned for Lantern to calm down, flying the Flash to the ground. "I'm sure there's an explanation for the, uh, mutual misunderstanding. Right?"
"Thank you Supes." Flash straightened his cowl. "Now if you let me explain, you will count this meeting as an enlightening experience."
The ancient cash register sputtered a receipt. The pawnbroker, bored, watched the client light the third cigarette in a five minute transaction. Hardly an enlightening conversation. The lighter reflected red in the client's eyes. Slim rolled his. If this guy's high turtleneck and leather jacket didn't scream rich and privileged, his cigarettes did. Only yuppies smoked menthol.
"Here ya go. Sorry I couldn't a gotcha more, but you see these ain't in high demand since it's, uh..."
"…Damaged."
The client gestured to the carousel figurine, the music box inside dead and soulless.
"You said it, not me."
"Parents gave it to me when I was a kid."
"What a shame," Slim muttered. The receipt was nearly printed. Good. How he hated pleasant chit chat.
Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow in query. "Shouldn't we wait for Bruce?"
The client sighed. "One must move on. Besides-they won't even notice it's gone."
Flash coughed. "Bats said if no one's bleeding, mortally wounded, dead, or surrounded by robots it's not an emergency and he's busy."
"Nice doin' business with ya." Slim waved the man outta the store, watched him stroll down the street, the smoke tailing behind. "Sucker." The yuppie accepted fifteen bucks for some broken out music box. On the outside? A gold leafed beauty. He'd sell it downtown for much more than he paid. These richie riches may got money to blow, but they sure don't know their own treasures.
Slim looked at this watch. There were several watches in the display case before him, but his own Rolex was the only one that actually worked. Not that his real clients cared.
"Probably threatening some slimy crime lord right now," Hawkgirl huffed. "Lucky."
The entrance doorbell rang. Slim looked up, running dirty fingernails through greasy hair, smiling at an attempt at charm.
Green Lantern sighed. "Got a bad feeling about this already…"
The pawnshop door swung through silent air.
"How can I help y-"
No one was there.
"Hello? Eddie?"
At least, not that he could see.
The overhead lights shorted out, cloaking the musty air in darkness.
"Who's there?"
The leaking light from unwashed windows cast the room in eerie shadow, a reddish glow from the door's sign reading OPEN.
A swoosh. The sign blinked once and expired.
"Looks like you're closing early tonight."
A figure hulked in the corner. A darkness with piercing eyes.
"Business has been good."
Slim had to try hard to control the tremor in his voice.
"N-not really Batm-man."
"The tv says differently."
Channel Four's icon shrieked from the staticky television screen. Linda Park's voice buzzed in and out.
"…The police conclude no one was inside the theater when it exploded, but still the mystery remains. Authorities are linking the theater break-in to a similar act in my own Keystone City…"
Crash. The tv rained electric sparks, broken by the figure's fist. Batman advanced, the vampiric cape draping the shoulders lurching closer.
"You break it you buy it." Slim held steady, gripping a nearby armchair for balance. Ratty and missing chunks of upholstery, the disturbed dust floated in the soiled window light. "Whatta ya want?"
Batman didn't respond at first. If Slim could see his eyes underneath the glowing lenses, he would have noticed the dark knight studying a small bookshelf in the corner. Antique volumes of poetry.
"I said whatta ya want?"
"I little enlightenment."
"Don't got nothin' to do with no fires. I'm an honest to gosh citizen a this city."
"Believe that when I see it. A fence like you certainly isn't the brains and certainly isn't in it for charity. Who's paying you for the jobs."
"Mark. Steve. Can't say."
"Come on, the chemicals and pyrotechnics didn't heist themselves. Eddie Shanks and the rest say business is rough with you stealing all the competition."
"You trust the word of a no good thief like him?"
"Every one of you superstitious cowards are the same. Turn up the heat…"
Batman cracked his knuckles.
"…and the truth comes out."
The cloaked Bat just stood there, all silent. Didn't even flip a table. Somehow the silence was even scarier.
"A name. Now."
"Rumpelstiltskin."
Slim took exactly three seconds to pull the gun from it hiding place inside the chair's stuffing. In a quarter of that time the dark knight punched the gun away, knocking the pawnbroker onto his knees.
"Hiding the gun in the armchair trick? Please. It's been done."
"Ow! My arm."
Batman grabbed the man's slimy wrist, watch flashing, helpless. "Don't worry, it' not broken. Yet."
"Okay okay. Anything."
"A guy like you-however gutless-plays it smart. Meets in person. Tell me where."
"The old construction site on the corner of Fifth and Z street. Happy?"
"Anything else you'd like to share with the class?"
"OW!" Slim shut his eyes, gritting his unbrushed teeth. "The guy calls hisself Mark McFly."
His wrist was free. Slim slowly opened his eyes. He was alone. The OPEN sign on the door sputtered to life, the room once again glowing red.
"…So they split the kids into Metropolis and Gotham children's centers until a new one can be built in Central City. (Hence the emergency, Hawkgirl.) The mayor said he'd do all he could, but construction won't be anytime soon with the legal obstacles. When I said trouble with the law GL, I meant now all the kids gotta make do with tight accommodations and budgets more in the red than my super suit."
GL squinted. " 'National security' threat, huh?"
"The situation is within this nation and we are making it secure."
Hawkgirl shrugged. "The boy does have a point. Sort of."
"There must be more we can do," Wonder Woman proffered. "I'm sure Bruce wouldn't mind making a generous donation."
Superman nodded in agreement. "If the construction crew needs a hand, sign me up. Don't know much about city buildings, but I mighta helped Pa build a barn or two back in Smallville."
Lantern's lip twitched in amusement. Sometimes he forgot the mightiest hero on earth was such a farm boy.
"Not that I'm not ready to help in any way I can, but was an emergency Watchtower meeting that necessary?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Ya caught my alterior motives red-handed. Literally. For a decision this big, I needed you all here." Flash zoomed around the room, handing each member a neon-colored flyer. The advertisements featured a hand-drawn stick figure with a huge smiley face surrounded by stars and lightning bolts. The headline read Tri-State Charity Carnival! Help raise money! This weekend! With the Super Friends!
"Ta-da! Please peruse your carefully made visual aids."
J'onn spoke up. "Forgive me, but I do not understand the meaning of these colorful blotches."
"Those are drawings J'onn. Of us."
Everyone in the room just stared. Superman turned his paper upside down, trying hard to decipher the squiggles and blobs as anything remotely super, his eight kinds of vision of no help. Flash sighed in exasperation, pointing.
"That's you flying, Big Guy-and GL floating in cosmic green glowing stuff-"
"That leprechaun is supposed to be me?"
"Maybe it's abstract art…"
"Why are there so many stars?"
"For dramatic effect. Duh."
Superman cleared his throat. "If we could get back to business, please." He paused. "And for the record, my chin is not that big."
"As I was saying, a project this super awesome needs super help. The Tri-State orphanages are holding a combined carnival so the kids can have a good time, and to help raise money. But more importantly, to get the community involved, helping its youngest members. And what better way than to lead by example, right Big Guy?"
Superman spoke up. "So by 'super friends'…you mean…"
"Us. As in all of us. The Justice League."
This sank in.
"The mayor said they are short on funding and workers, right? So picture this: all fifty some odd leaguers volunteer to run the carnival for the day. Volunteering to take pictures with the kids, run the games, rides, kissing booth, not to mention the cotton candy and boy it's gonna be so much fun!" Flash waited for a response. "Well?"
Superman didn't quite know what to say; Hawkgirl didn't quite know what a carnival was; J'onn was deep in thought; and Lantern's mouth was open in disbelief. Wonder Woman, always the diplomat, broke the silence.
"This matter requires further discussion."
Lantern spoke up. "What's to discuss? We shouldn't do it."
Flash's enthusiasm melted. "What? GL, think about it. I posted this carnival on my Facebook page an hour ago and already two thousand likes—"
"That's great, but think of the logistics."
"—Ten thousand pledges to donate or help with projects in the near future, not to mention my Twitter followers—"
"Twitter? Is that like a bird or something?" Hawkgirl wondered.
"Plus…I kind of already promised the mayor we would."
Superman and Wonder Woman exchanged glances. "Wally, perhaps you shouldn't have jumped the gun—"
Lantern was not as subtle in his surprise. "Are you out of your ginger mind?"
"But GL—"
"But nothing. Think about the risks! Every discount rogue in a tiff could show up, putting all those civilians in harm's way. Not to mention the lack of global monitoring, the liabilities—"
"Now John, the children—"
"Clark, it's their safety that concerns me—"
"We should have waited for Bruce—"
"John has a point—"
A red blur and lightning bolt circled the room, striking through the arguing. The Scarlet Speedster now stood on the table, flickering with the electric current. His gloved hand pulled off the iconic cowl, revealing the freckly face underneath, innocent green eyes looking to his seniors one by one.
"Those kids at the orphanage, they lost their home, parents, everything. They looked me right in the eye and asked—not Wally West, but the Flash—if it would be okay. Now that simple kid from Nebraska can't do much, but that Flash—" Here he adjusted the scarlet cowl, eyes glowing once again— "That hero they trust and believe in—the same hero you are—he looked them straight in the eye and promised it would all be okay. That he would do everything he could to make it right." The scarlet head hung in humility. "What's the use of a power ring, mind powers, wings, super strength, immortality, lightning speed—what's the use of any of it if we stand by and do nothing."
Superman nodded. "Let's take a vote. I'm with Wally on this."
J'onn opened his glowing Martian eyes. "In honor of my own children, I will do all I can."
For a moment, Wonder Woman held the Martian's hand. She too was without a family. "And I."
Hawkgirl was next. "Still don't know what a carnival is…but I'm in. This is actually a brilliant idea."
Flash winked. "I have my moments."
All eyes were on Lantern. "There could be risks."
Superman smiled. "Then who better to handle security than a member of the Green Lantern corps."
Sigh. Sometimes GL hated how the Big Guy was impossible to hate.
"Fine."
"If there isn't anything else, meeting adjourned."
"Great! I have sign-up sheets here—"
"One more thing." Lantern raised an eyebrow, almost cracking a smile. "The 'super friends'? Seriously?"
"Come on, the name is significantly more kid-friendly than Justice League."
"And significantly less dignified," Hawkgirl quipped.
"Speaking of which…" Flash employed his biggest, used-car-salesman-grin. "Shayera, you're a beautiful dame. You'd be perfect for the kissing booth. And J'onn! What are your thoughts on goats?..."
With Flash and the other members occupied, Wonder Woman pulled Superman aside.
"I've been meaning to talk you." The Amazon used a low whisper only audible to one with super hearing. "It's about Bruce. I'm worried."
"I'm sure Flash will fill him in on the details."
"Not about that." She pulled him to the farthest corner of the room. "I thought his absence was all coincidence, but I've asked around. No one in the League has seen him for months."
"He's a part-timer at best, you know that."
"Even Alfred hasn't seen much if him."
"Coincidence."
The Amazon raised her eyebrow in significance. "Clark—this weekend is the year mark."
The big Kryptonian froze.
"I didn't realize…"
"Most have forgotten."
"But not you."
"Nor Bruce. At first he couldn't stop working. Signed up for every mission, even with the JLI. I hoped with time Hera would grant him the peace he desires..."
Superman pulled her in a silent embrace. The closest of friends understand even the unspoken.
"Sometimes I forget he's not invulnerable."
"Give him time, Diana. He'll come back when he's ready."
Over her friend's broad back, she stared at the chair across the room, a bat emblem etched on the metal. How cold and empty, how alone it seemed.
His fingers shook as he waited. Once, twice the ringtone buzzed through the staticky reception of the pawnshop. Bleary-eyed from the booze and late hour, Slim squinted at his watch. Not a single dishonest, gangbanging, thieving, murderous customer all night. Which left his other client.
A voice responded from the other end of the cell phone.
"A bit late for business calls."
Slim poured himself another shot, trying not to spill. "Well sir, you know what they say, Gotham never sleeps. Say, about the job tonight. Got a top-a-the line guy, real profesh. Thing is for someone classy as him, I'm chargin' double.
"We agreed on a price."
"Mama taught me to roll with inflation, man. Mama didn't raise no fool."
"I'm the best in the business. Knock the socks offa Eddie Shanks.
A pause. "Too bad."
"Fine, go to Shanks. I'll just be collectin' the last job's salary. And don't think about crossin' me man, I got connections no newb likes you could ever dream. "
A moment of silence. "I used to work in the theater business. Seen everyone from Affleck to Bale. Know what I learned? How to spot the real actors. See, they hide the truth. Manipulate it. Take advantage of disbelief."
Slim took a second to mull that over. These clients could be so freaking cryptic.
"Okay then. Now about the money—"
"Relax, I never miss a payment."
A delighted chuckle sounded from the other side of the phone. The liquor bottle slipped, shattering on the already-stained floor. Damn.
"What's so funny."
A faint tune. Twisted, warped notes sounded in the background. Slim wheeled around. That melody. Somewhere in the shop.
"Of course, you can't afford to lose a job like tonight. Bats are quite bad for business."
Slim took an unsteady step. The music, somewhere around the counter. He gulped.
"Got no idea what ya mean."
"Really."
"It was Eddie, huh?" The alcohol-influenced voice now had an edge of panic. "Lousy snitch. Batsy came in, threw a tv, I ain't told him nothing, honest."
"Really."
"Now I ain't done ya wrong before, huh? With the jobs and all? No better work in all Gotham or Bludhaven. Come on you gotta lemme in the job."
The music was louder, faster. Slim pushed the faceless watches, past the broken silver. Where was it coming from?
"You've played your part well, dear boy."
There it was: the music box. Flickering back to life.
"The Batman had one thing straight."
Slim reached for the box. Just as the music stopped.
"Turn up the heat…"
The explosion blinded the night.
"…and the truth comes out."
The man leaned back in the chair, eyes fixed on the surveillance video. Too far away to feel the cleansing burn, he watched in muted ecstasy. The licking flames twisted, roared with malice. Reflected in the man's eyes, his cigar smoke curled, dancing in approval.