Levity
Metropolis
March 12 16:30
When they arrived at the mall, they split into three groups: Tigress, Batgirl and Miss Martian went with Maya, Kid Flash, Robin and Blue Beetle went with Raiku, and Aqualad and Nightwing went with Arin.
"Wow, there's...so much stuff here. I don't even know where to begin doing...well anything!" Maya's eyes sparkled with delight.
"That's usually the attitude of the average female mall goer." Batgirl joked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to get either of your actual names." Maya said extending her hand.
"Barbara Gordon, pleasure to officially meet you again."
"Artemis, same."
"We'll have to remember to have the rest of the team meet and greet you guys so we can all get an idea of how we'll work together." Miss Martian said.
"Yeah, didn't recognize that guy Jaime when I bumped into him earlier. Also didn't expect him to be that cute." Maya admitted.
"Crushing on guys at mall? Also the usual activity of the average female mall goer." Batgirl added.
"I wouldn't really call it a crush. I've seen plenty of crazy looking aliens and just thought that armor was what he actually looked like."
"You also didn't expect him to be that cute." Tigress teased," You should ask him out."
"No no no, I won't be doing that. Once we're done here we'll be leaving anyway. It's best not to make attachments like that." Maya said.
"You guys sure move around alot. Do you have a home?" Miss Martian asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"The Grandmaster's ship I guess. We go there whenever we lose her trail, except for now."
"He said that it orbits a blue sun. I've heard it's the sun that empowers you guys the most." Batgirl said.
"Yeah, the first thing the Grandmaster taught us was control so we wouldn't accidentally punch holes in the ship." Maya admitted.
"If that's the case how have you guys not defeated this witch yet?" Tigress asked.
"She still wields really powerful magic along with those cultists of hers. The Dark Sisters and Dark Brother don't make it any easier, especially when they put innocent lives at risk in order to escape." Maya replied in exasperation.
At the food court, Robin, Kid Flash and Blue Beetle couldn't hide their amusement at Raiku's newfound love for fast food.
"I mean seriously, how do you guys not eat here all the time?" He asked in between taking bites of his burger.
"I'm not sure how a kryptonian metabolism works, but too much of that stuff is pretty bad for us human folk." Kid Flash joked.
"How can something so good be so wrong?" Raiku asked woefully.
"You sure you didn't get too much?" Robin asked looking at his plate.
"Burger, fries, a pizza, and this milkshake thing? Nah, shame you guys didn't want to get more. We're growing boys after all." he said cheerfully.
"You're eating that like you've been starving. You should slow down before you choke or something." Blue Beetle warned.
"Yeah, wouldn't want to get scolded again by the Grandmaster." Raiku admitted.
"I take it he's a pretty strict guy?" Kid Flash asked.
"You bet, though I have an awesomely bad habit of pressing his buttons." Raiku gave a fiendish grin.
"So how was it growing up chasing around that woman?" Robin asked.
"I don't really have another life to compare it to, so I guess I could say it's been pretty awesome. Saw tons of cool worlds, met some quality people, stopped that witch from destroying the lives of a couple thousand people. Good times, good times."
"You seem like the most upbeat out the four of you." Blue Beetle commented.
"Yeah, I pretty much am. The Grandmaster was a general, so he's all for the rules and discipline, and Arin is pretty much on that train as well. Maya kind shifts between taking things seriously, and goofing off with me." Raiku finished his burger and started on his fries.
"Yeah, she bumped into me earlier. Had to reintroduce myself since I wasn't wearing the armor."
"Yeah she said something about being surprised about how cute you were without it. Don't know why she thought that was your actual skin." Raiku said absent-mindedly.
"She said that?" Blue Beetle asked, surprised.
"Yeah, not her best observation if you ask me. It's obvious that was armor and not-"
"No I mean the cute thing?" he asked hurriedly.
"That? Oh, yeah. She's totally into you, without the bug armor but I don't think that matters much now. Anyhoo, if you guys want, I've got tons of stories to tell, and you can even tell me some of the cool things you do around here." Raiku offered.
"Sounds pretty crash and I might take you up on that if you give me a slice of that pizza." Kid Flash bargained.
"Yeah, we're currently trying to stop this peanut gallery of villains who call themselves the Light." Robin explained.
"Odd name for a group of villains to name themselves. I guessing these are the 'we're the best thing for mankind' villains?" Raiku asked.
"Definitely. They even tried to help this alien force called the Reach enslave the alien scarab attached to my spine." Blue Beetle added angrily.
"Definitely sounds like a story I'll sacrifice a slice of pizza to hear."
Aqualad, Nightwing and Arin decided instead to take a walk around town. Both noticed that Arin wore a jacket and kept his left hand in his pocket.
"So as someone who's been around the galaxy, what do you think of Earth?" Nightwing asked.
"It's definitely different, but almost exactly how grandfather described it." Arin gazed at the tall buildings.
"Almost? Did we come up short somewhere?"
"He said that even though you humans look like us, you don't possess any powers. That was obviously false as some of you do, but grandfather was very prideful of Krypton and the achievements of her people. I'm not surprised he tried to sell you guys short when it came to descriptions." Arin chuckled.
"Well if you're impressed by this, you'll be amazed if you ever get to see Atlantis." Aqualad said.
"That's if we stay long enough for me to have that chance." Arin said sadly.
"I'm guessing your granddad moves you guys around alot?" Nightwing asked.
"Yes. He said it's dangerous to stay in one place, and even more dangerous to for any of us to make any friends. That's why I find his order for us to get better acquainted with you all strange." Arin stopped and seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"I believe that maybe he could've had a change of heart, or maybe our success will rely on how much we trust each other in battle. I'll admit I am somewhat puzzled by your grandfather's assumption that friends are somehow a weakness." Aqualad said.
"It's not that it's a weakness, it can be exploited by her. If she can't hurt you physically, she'll go after the things you care about instead. It's a typical thing for villains like her, so grandfather has been adamant about us not having any 'cracks in our armor'." Arin explained.
"He almost sounds like Batman." Nightwind admitted.
"Which one was he?"
"The scary looking guy in the black cape."
"Isn't he the one who gave us this currency to trade with? He doesn't seem so bad." Arin said.
Aqualad and Nightwing chuckled at this statement.
"Yeah, he's more of an acquired taste."
They turned the corner and began walking through the park. Arin took the time to observe the activities taking place around him. Aqualad and Nightwing noticed that he looked almost confused at the playful activities before him.
"You alright?" Nightwing sounded concerned.
"Yeah just...never really saw anything like this before." he admitted.
"Children...playing?" Nightwing asked, confused.
"Is that what it looks like?" Arin raised an eyebrow.
"I take it your childhood did not leave much room for play?" Aqualad asked.
"No. Before we found Maya and Raiku, he was hell bent on making sure I knew how to fight and control my power. Even after them, he wasn't as strict, but our activities were either hunting her down, or training in preparation for her resurgence whenever we lost track of her. Maya and Raiku didn't really get the same treatment."
"This is probably a silly question, but what do you do for fun?" Nightwing asked.
"I'm not really the 'fun' king of guy; that's Maya and Raiku. If we're not actively hunting the witch, or whatever evil doer we come across, I'm usually training. I'll admit...having to socialize isn't one of my strong points."
"Well, how about we change that? Let's hit the arcade." Nightwing suggested.
"I-I don't know how to play 'arcade'. I told you I'm not one for these activities." Arin protested.
"We know." Aqualad chuckled.
Nightwing put his hand on Arin's shoulder,"Don't worry, we'll show you how. It'll be fun."
Arin was taken aback by the atmosphere of the arcade. He didn't know what to make of the various games before him, and felt a bit embarrassed. Nightwing and Aqualad gathered quarters from the machine and led him over to the three basketball shooting games.
"So, all ya gotta do, is the shoot the ball in the hoop. Like this." Nightwing explained, shooting the basketball into the hoop.
He became frustrated after he missed his first few and started watching Aqualad and Nightwing. Once he felt he could mimic their technique he gave it another try. After a few more attempts he was elated when a ball finally went in.
"Good work man!", Nightwing congratulated him,"Now we're going to make things more interesting."
"How?" Arin asked.
"See who can get the most in the net before the timer runs out, for bragging rights of course."
"I accept the challenge." Arin said.
"Same here." Aqualad added.
They played five games, with Nighwing winning 3 and Aqualad and Arin winning one each. They moved on to other games throughout the arcade, from bowling to video games. Despite how much Arin was enjoying himself, he couldn't shake the sinister feeling that they were being watched. Every so often he's see something in the corner of his eye, just out of his sight. The slightest turn in the direction of the elusive object caused it to go away, only to return moments later. He thought he was being paranoid, but he saw Nightwing and Aqualad also seemed uneasy. He decided to use the reflective screen of the video game and put a quarter in. He lost the round and as the screen went black, he nearly had to bite his lip to keep from making a scene. For a split second he saw the glowing red eyes of a Dark Sister in the arcade before she suddenly vanished. He went to Nightwing and Aqualad, and with a smile, and putting his arms around them led them out of arcade and back towards the mall, filling them in on the way.
"And here I thought you were finally opening up." Nightwing said,"So, what do you think we should do?"
"We'll continue on as though I didn't see her." Arin said, earning a look of shock from the other two.
"Do you think that's-" Aqualad began.
"If they're wasting their time stalking us, then we know they're not putting that much manpower into finding the vestige. When we meet back up at the watchtower later I'll ask Maya and Raiku if they saw anything too." Arin said.
"I believe they were going to see a movie in another thirty minutes or so." Aqualad said.
"Well, I say we should join them. Safety in numbers right?" Arin suggested.
Nightwing called Batgirl, and when she confirmed their next destination was the theater, the three headed that way. By the time they arrived, the girls were already there. Arin noticed that Maya had bought a new outfit.
"So what have you boys been up to?" Batgirl asked.
"Took a walk around town, then stopped at the arcade to teach this guy how to have some fun." Nightwing answered, pointing at Arin.
"Arin? Having fun? You actually managed to achieve that?" Maya sounded shocked.
"Hey! I'm not that bad." Arin protested.
"Did you take a picture? I always wondered what him having fun would look like." Maya joked.
"What's this? Arin had fun? And it wasn't training?" Raiku walked up with Robin, Blue Beetle and Kid Flash.
"Yeah, even won a basketball game at the arcade." Nightwing added.
"As I live and breath, it seems miracles can happen." Raiku said dramatically.
"Alright alright, you've made your points." Arin admitted,"I did have fun, and as you can the see the sky isn't falling so can we please go watch this movie?"
They bought their tickets and proceeded inside to the concession stand. When they found their seats, Kid Flash began to eye some of the candy Raiku purchased.
"Hey Raiku, gonna share the wealth with some of those treats?" he asked.
"Uh sure. I think I might've bought too much this time." Raiku admitted.
"Hey Blue, wanna switch seats?" Kid Flash asked.
"Dude, that stuff's gonna rot your teeth if you eat too much of it." Blue Beetle warned as he got up.
"Ah sugar's good for you. Here, have some popcorn." Kid Flash said handing him a large bucket full of popcorn.
"We just ate like, twenty minutes ago. Why did you get so much?" Blue Beetle asked.
"So you can share." Raiku and Kid Flash said in unison.
Blue Beetle turned to see he was now sitting next to Maya. He turned back around and frowned at Raiku and Kid Flash for tricking him. They, along with Robin, smiled and gave him a thumbs up in return.
"Um...want some popcorn?" he asked her.
"Yeah! Thanks!" she responded, happily taking a handful.
The Watchtower
March 12 17:35
Oren spent the evening reminiscing about Krypton with the Justice League. Superman couldn't stop smiling.
"I still can't believe after all this time I wasn't the only one who survived." he beamed.
"Clark's pretty much a middle aged man. Why haven't you ever revealed yourself or even dropped by to say 'hi!'?" Green Arrow asked.
"Sadly, Scilia's schemes demanded constant vigilance on my part. Word did reach my ear eventually of the champion from Earth who was also kryptonian. My first thought was that Jor-El had indeed survived, and in my haste for retribution against her I hadn't noticed him. When our travels brought us close to this planet I did take a moment to see who this person was. Imagine my surprise to learn that his son was this champion others spoke of. Your father would be so proud of what you have accomplished here." Oren said warmly, patting Superman on the shoulder.
"Thank you, but you still haven't told us why you never revealed yourself." Superman said.
"I...felt that we were in the past. When I finally had a good look at you I realized that this was your new home, and these people were your new family." Oren said.
"You're family too Oren." Superman assured him.
"Yeah, we could definitely use more kryptonians around." Flash added.
Oren pondered the idea for a moment,"Hmmm...perhaps we could stay depending on how this situation turns out."
"What do you mean?" Batman asked.
"If we stop her and she escapes, we must give chase. We've only been able to back her into this corner because of how relentlessly we've pursued her. If we stop her and see that she faces justice...then perhaps we could." Oren said.
"With all of us working together, we'll stop her." Superman said confidently.
Uknown Location
March 12 22:00
The Dark Brother stood on a cliff overlooking an endless ocean, a full moon hanging overhead. As the Dark Sisters emerged from the shadows behind him, he didn't even turn his head.
"Well?" he growled impatiently.
"They spent the day sauntering about the city before watching a movie Brother." One reported.
"And the Grandmaster?"
"His location is still unknown to us. We assume he is with the Justice League in their satellite base."
"Excellent. It seems this planet has slowed them down considerably from how relentlessly they've been in the past. Mother will be pleased to hear of this development." he chuckled.
"Brother, there is one more thing."
"What?" he sounded irritated.
"It appears our little sister is beginning to befriend some of the humans on this planet; humans with no defense against our power."
He turned around, and beneath his helmet a sadistic grin formed on his face,"Go on..."