The Greatest Secret Never Told
Your Favourite Author
He knew it was uncharitable, but Jatinder Singh couldn't help but laugh at his parents' old reason for moving to the United States when he'd been but a toddler.
America was peaceful and wealthy, they said, and so their family would be as well when they moved there.
His parents remembered the partition of India, how bloody it had been, how the tensions still threatened to spark into war every day. And so, when they could leave for somewhere better, they did.
But, looking out the window of the Metro Tandoori, Jatinder wondered where that peace and wealth had gone. Aliens and madmen seemed to roam the streets of America every day, and Metropolis copped some of the worst of them, trying to take on the city's resident protector: Superman, the greatest hero of them all.
This latest invasion was, in some ways, just the icing on the cake. But something about the bird-men (Thanagarians, he'd heard them called) seemed more…threatening.
Those 'imperium' invaders, for example, had been extremely alien – they looked nothing like humans normally, they could shape shift, they would melt in the sun. They didn't speak a 'normal' language. Their main vehicles looked like giant bugs!
But this Thanagarian 'occupation force' felt like one Earthly nation invading another for its own purposes. They looked, sounded, and felt very human, in the worst possible way.
And that was scary, so much so that Jatinder could nearly forget about the landlord of his shop, who had spent the last few years trying to run his beloved restaurant into the ground but pushing the rent up and up and up. Even if he survived this invasion, he wasn't sure his restaurant would last much longer – even with all the customers he was getting at the moment.
It was his dear wife, Amrit, who suggested that they run the shop at all hours for as long as the invaders would let them. After all, she said, people needed some normality when the outside world was anything but.
So Jatinder was happy to serve, and locals were happy to be served (and eat some delicious tandoori).
And then, that third night, the shooting started.
Everyone had heard that the Justice League had escaped from captivity earlier that day. Tensions were high. The Thanagarian forces were getting rougher with the locals, and constantly demanding that people show their papers.
The mood in the Metro Tandoori wasn't quite sullen, but the customers were clearly on edge, no matter how welcoming Jatinder was to them. He couldn't blame them – he hid his worry behind his smile and his food.
So when the noises began outside, Jatinder resolved to carry on as normal. There'd been unrest all day, but his diner was to be a place of normality, regardless of what was going on outside.
That resolve screeched to a hold when he heard what the Thanagarians were saying.
"It's the Justice League! Get them!"
It was one thing to ignore a bit of yelling. It was another thing to ignore the sustained laser-fire going on, along with the occasional wrench of metal or crash of…well, he assumed it was the bodies of Thanagarians being hit by whoever they were chasing.
He couldn't ignore it, no matter how much he tried. It was like he was suddenly in a dream.
He couldn't stop himself going outside, ignoring the sudden silence of the room. He couldn't stop himself calling the man and woman, on the run, into his restaurant. He couldn't stop himself guiding them to a table, and then telling everyone else to act normal while they waited for the Thanagarians to knock at the door.
When the soldiers showed up a minute later, Amrit had tied up the hair of the woman who was obviously Wonder Woman, but other than that there was no obvious disguise for either of them. What had he been thinking? Surely, the Thanagarians would see through them so easily. Of course the other man (who he was sure he'd seen somewhere before) had been nervous for them – they were sitting ducks, facing down some hungry hawks.
But it turned out that the Thanagarians didn't know human faces very well. All they knew was that the humans they were looking for had black hair, and one was a man and the other a woman.
Everyone in the restaurant matched that description.
Jatinder panicked a little when the soldier pointed to the couple of the back of the restaurant, but the two had already done his work for him – they were kissing. Quite deeply.
Had the circumstances been different, he'd even have found it funny. Wonder Woman and one of her colleagues, having a hot date in his little Indian restaurant? Nobody would ever have guessed.
So he ran with it. They were young lovers, he'd said. They'd been there for hours, couldn't keep their eyes off each other.
And somehow, the hawk-men accepted it, and walked away.
Well, Jatinder's father did always say he'd make a good salesman.
The two didn't stay long after that. While the rest of the room breathed a collective sigh of relief, Jatinder watched them chat for a little bit.
There did seem to be something going on between the two of them. Their initial reactions were utterly human, just a normal man and woman. She seemed abashed and a little unsure, he looked like the cat who got the canary. But then, after a brief discussion, they steeled themselves and got up from their seats. They were back to being heroes.
Jatinder guided them to the back room, and felt like he needed to say something, but Wonder Woman beat him to the punch.
"Thank you so much. We have to be going, but you have done a very brave thing today." The earnestness on her face was almost unbearable. Jatinder felt himself rising to her level, wanting to encourage her and her partner as well.
"Not at all!" he replied. "You put your lives on the line for us. Doing likewise for you is only right. Now go! Save the world!"
Determination filled her eyes as she turned around.
"We will."
As she opened the door and walked out, ready to take on all comers, the man in black stayed behind for a second longer. Jatinder thought the man was going to warn him not to tell anyone what he had seen, but he just nodded and followed his teammate out the door.
Jatinder let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in the presence of that man, and went back into the hall.
As he returned, the hush came back. Everyone seemed to expect him to say something. As he always did when he was unsure of what to do, he looked pleadingly over to his wife. She came over to him and whispered in his ear.
"Darling, some of them seem to have figured out who the man was. It would probably be best to ask them to keep it quiet."
As always, she was right. It would do no good to be going on a secret identity hunt.
Clapping his hands, Jatinder raised his voice.
"Everyone, please. I am sorry for potentially dragging you into a very messy situation, but I felt in the moment that I could only do what was right. Please, I ask of you, do not speak of what you have seen to anyone. Those two and their friends, they are going to save us or die trying – the least we can do is to honour their privacy. Both for today, and in the future."
A murmur came back into the room.
"He's right, you know."
"He did a good thing."
"It's only fair."
But then, one stunned voice rang out.
"But…but that was Bruce Wayne! If he's with Wonder Woman, then that means…that means…he's…you know…"
Yes, Jatinder had a feeling he did know. He may not have recognised the billionaire on sight, but now he had a pretty good idea he knew exactly who he'd been talking to before.
"Even so, my friend, that is all the more reason for us to keep quiet about it! A man like him, risking everything to save our lives? I wish I could live a life half as worthy as him. Besides," he continued, "I also don't feel up to getting any visits late at night from our friend. Do you?"
"N-no…" the woman replied, sullenly.
"All we can do, friends," Jatinder continued, "is hope and pray that those two and the whole Justice League do their part, and save our planet. In the meantime, as an apology for putting you all at risk, you may all have another dish on me!"
The cheers that rang out were worth their weight in gold.
Later that month, after the Thanagarians had retreated and disappeared to parts unknown, and as the governments and media were debating everything that had happened while people like Jatinder tried to get back to normal, a letter arrived in the mail.
Apparently, their landlord had received an offer for the property that was too good to refuse.
He was selling to the Wayne Property Management.
Jatinder wasn't sure if he was meant to be worried about it or not. He hadn't said a word to anyone of who he'd seen, and nothing had come out in the papers about it either. Everyone who had been there on the night was still dining at Metro Tandoori, at least occasionally, but no-one had spoken of that fateful night.
But with the Batman, one could never be too sure. The rumours from Gotham were that he knew…too much. And that he had ways to ensure that no-one else had the same knowledge as him.
A couple of weeks later, a man arrived from WPM, asking Jatinder to look through a new lease agreement. To his surprise, the terms were significantly better than what he had currently – so much better that he asked the man whether the contract had been written correctly.
The agent, an older British gentleman, assured him that the terms were accurate, and that Mr Wayne himself had taken an interest in the restaurant. He'd heard the service was excellent, apparently.
Needless to say, Jatinder couldn't sign the agreement quickly enough.
A few weeks after that, things started getting stranger.
One slow Tuesday night, he was in the kitchen, preparing to close early when he heard the front door open. He couldn't quite make out what the order was, but the customer (a young man, by the sounds of it) seemed to be having a long discussion with Amrit.
After a few minutes, his wife called out to him.
"Darling! I think you should probably come out for this order."
Cautiously, he entered the hall, only to stop in shock at seeing who was standing there.
Leaning on the counter, with a big smile on his face despite a slightly scuffed and ripped uniform, was the Flash.
"Hey there! I've heard good things about this place. Any chance I can get a lot of, uh, everything?"
Blinking out of his surprise, Jatinder rushed over to shake his hand.
"Absolutely, yes! Anything for one of our heroes. I will turn the cookers back on. I hope you like it spicy!"
"You bet I do. With a metabolism like mine, I'll eat anything with a bit of zest to it. And don't worry about the money, just forward the bill to the Justice League, we'll make sure you get paid."
The half hour that followed was a slightly surreal experience of making the best dishes he could, and watching them each get devoured in less than a minute, all the while getting to know everything he did and didn't want to know about the Justice League, and the Flash likewise getting to know him and his wife.
The Flash was a very nice man.
After the hero had finally had his fill (of about half the restaurants available ingredients), the Flash zoomed away, only to return a few seconds later to ask them one more question.
"Hey, I almost forgot, would you guys mind if I booked out the restaurant for a couple of week's time, say on a Sunday night?"
"Not at all, Mister Flash!" Jatinder responded. "You are most welcome here any time."
After passing them the details that he'd written down (surprisingly neatly) on a piece of paper, the Flash went on his way, and the Singhs awaited his return.
Two weeks passed quickly, and the night arrived. Jatinder had stocked up especially for it, though the requested meals on there hadn't been as large as he thought they would be for the Flash, given the appetite he'd shown the first time around. Maybe he was just hungry after a fight?
In fact, scanning through the list once more, everything about the dinner booking suggested it was a romantic dinner for two: small table, candles, flowers, a few courses. But perhaps the Flash had a special someone of his own that he was hiding from the public eye.
Not that Jatinder had been paying special attention to the love lives of the superhero community since the invasion or anything.
A whooshing sound outside drew his attention back to the present, and his wife hurried to the door – it seemed their customer had arrived just on time.
But as the door opened, Jatinder found himself shocked again by the entrance of a superhero.
"Here we are Lois – after you."
"You don't have to be such a gentleman with me, Superman."
"I know, but I want to." The Man of Steel walked in behind her, with a gentle smile on his face. "Hi there, you must be Jatinder and Amrit? We've got a 7pm booking here. This place came recommended from some friends of mine."
"Ah, Superman! Welcome, welcome. It is a privilege to have the hero of our city at our humble restaurant. And you must be Lois Lane, yes? I believe I've seen you on the news once or twice…"
After that, the costumes just kept arriving at their doopstep. Jatinder and Amrit ended up making a game of it, guessing who the next heroes to book an evening at the restaurant would be.
Sometimes, it was other heroic couples, like Black Canary and Green Arrow, or Green Lantern and Vixen. One time even the Huntress and the Question came along, though the latter didn't actually eat anything, and spent half his time in the kitchen examining every ingredient being used and making recommendations to switch brands to avoid secret government psychogenics or something.
(Jatinder made sure to smile and nod, and Amrit kept Huntress company while making sure she didn't drink too much of their red wine. Apparently, the heroine liked her vino.)
Other times, it was friends wanting to celebrate a victory, or family wanting to remember a special occasion. One weekend had seen Flash joined by two other heroes that seemed around his age, who introduced themselves as Speedy and Nightwing. They were very jovial, to say the least.
The next weekend Speedy returned with Green Arrow, and five others alongside them. That had been an interesting group. Stargirl spent most her time alongside Speedy, each sulking about their father figures, Arrow and STRIPE, who were likewise bemoaning how uncool their children found them. Vigilante and Shining Knight appeared quite confused by the food presented to them, but they were very polite, and asked many questions about India. The Crimson Avenger was...stoic.
Other times, heroes would just drop in, often to get take-away. Flash regularly came to visit when he was in Metropolis. A Green Lantern called Kilowog arrived once, asking for anything he could take 'to go'. Upon receiving the curry, he immediately ate it.
The whole thing. Container and all. Thankfully, he found it quite tasty.
One day, Superman came by the back entrance, just to quietly mention that Supergirl had time-travelled to the future and wouldn't be returning. That had been a sad day – Jatinder had enjoyed serving her over the years. She was always free-spirited, quick to laugh and share a joke.
But through it all, he never once saw Wonder Woman or Batman. At least, not until after the fight against that Brainiac/Luthor hybrid. He had watched on the television the following day while preparing to open up, as the Justice League spoke to the masses from the central park in Metropolis.
As the speech from Superman wrapped up, Jatinder heard a knock at the back door. Frowning, moved over to the door and, well, he really should've stopped being surprised to open a door and have a superhero standing in front of him.
But once again, here he was, shocked.
In fairness, it was Batman standing in front of him.
"Hello."
Since when did Batman say 'hello' to anyone?
"Oh, hello, Mister Batman. How may I help you?"
"Sorry to bother you. May I come in?"
Since when did Batman apologise to anyone?
Still, he could hardly refuse the man who had helped save the world, and was also his landlord.
"Certainly, come in."
Both of them moved back into the dining area, where the television commentators were discussing the implications of Superman's speech. Batman stared at the TV for a few seconds, before turning to Jatinder with a quizzical expression.
"You seem to have quite the interest in superheroes these days."
"Well, yes, we do serve many of them. They seem to like our food."
"I believe it's your hospitality they appreciate."
"I hope we can always be welcoming to them. It is a privilege."
Batman nodded, but moved to make his point.
"You realise you are putting yourself in danger by so readily associating with superheroes? People will have noticed."
It was true. People had started stopping by the diner after hearing rumours of superheroes showing up from time to time. It had been good for business, but Jatinder never made a big deal of it. There were no photos on the walls, no signatures, no gifts. Walking in, one would think it was just another local Indian restaurant.
Jatinder liked it that way.
"Even if it is dangerous for us, we are not advertising ourselves as the superhero restaurant. And," he added, "nothing can be as dangerous for us as facing down those invaders. I still cannot believe what we did, what I did that night."
"And I'm grateful for it," Batman said with a surprising warmth. "In fact, we have an offer for you. If you want, you and your wife can join the kitchen staff on the Watchtower, or even at the new headquarters we're building here in Metropolis. You've proven yourselves to be trustworthy, and few places are going to be as safe for you as among your friends in the hero community."
It was a flattering offer, and certainly very tempting. But…
Jatinder shook his head.
"I am very thankful for your offer, but I cannot accept. This restaurant is our dream, and it is a blessing to serve our little community in the way that we do. Perhaps one day, if our children take over from us here, we will join you. But right now, this is where we must be."
And, stunningly, Jatinder got to see the rarest sight of all in response to his little speech.
Batman smiled.
"I'm glad to hear it. People like you are the backbone of healthy communities." Batman put a hand on Jatinder's shoulder. "The reason we keep fighting is so that people like you can keep helping others as well."
As the caped crusader withdrew his hand, Jatinder could do nothing but bow.
"Thank you, Batman. I am honoured."
Batman had one more surprise for him.
"Well, if you're continuing to use this restaurant…" He pulled out a piece of paper from his belt. "I'd appreciate it if you could organise a dinner according to these instructions."
Jatinder took the paper. It was another dinner, much like that one Flash had him organise for Superman.
"Of course, Batman. We will do our best."
Batman nodded, and stalked off.
Three weeks later, there was another knock at the back door. This time, as he opened it, Jatinder was prepared for who was there.
"Your Highness, Mister Wayne – please, come in. It is good to see you both again."