A/N: I don't own any members of the Justice League. They belong to Cartoon Network, Marvel, and DC Comics. I do, however, own Taipana.
Chapter 4: Concepts and Angles
"So, want to tell us how you know her," Superman asked his oldest friend as they sat in their chairs within the confines of their personal conference room.
"We worked together before all of us met during the alien invasion four years ago," he stated off-handedly.
"And you used to date," Flash stated with a big grin, but Batman just glared at him.
"I stopped working with her two years prior to that though, so it's been a good six years since I've seen her."
"And you used to date," Flash said yet again.
"That's not a concept you're cruising past anytime soon, is it," Shayera asked pointedly, ceasing Flash's one-liners and allowing Batman to continue. "Why'd you stop working with her? She seems nice enough."
"Like she said, looks can be deceiving. Those six years ago, she called me for a chance to repay a debt I owed to her. Someone was sending out chemical compounds to a company in Japan from the docks. Little did I know that, when I got there, she was hoarding a few of the chemicals for herself. I later found out that they were recently upgraded compounds for Splicing."
"I've heard of Splicing. It's the mixing animal DNA into one's genes for an appearance change. Very hush-hush now though. What happened," Superman asked in his usual polite manner.
"It was supposed to become the latest teen rage, but the D.A. wanted to outlaw it, claiming that tests show it causes a dangerous increase in aggressive behavior. They were right. They also forgot to mention that it's an addictive drug," he explained coldly. "She told me she's clean, but I'm not so sure."
"Then we shouldn't trust her," Diana stated forcefully. "You said she went to you for help only to end up betraying you in the end for this drug. Who's to say she won't do it again?'
"I AM," Superman shouted, slamming his hands on the table. He was really getting sick of those two arguing all the time. They were being sillier then teenagers. Kara's more mature than they are at times, he thought.
"You're being superior again," Diana told him angrily. Batman simply added his own two cents, saying, "Perish the thought."
"Do you know, when you talk like that you remind me of Charlie Brown's teacher? "Wah-wah-wah-wah,"" Flash said to Superman, moving his hand to pretend it was talking. He smiled up at the Man of Steel only to gain a deadly glare in return.
"Look, she sounded sincere enough. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt," he stated, seeing that Shayera was nodding with approval. "Bruce, you, Diana, and Wally will go with her to Oz Corp. If anything comes up, let us know and you'll have full back-up support."
As soon as they left the room, they saw Taipana waiting patiently. She had been talking to the Question, which was shocking because most of the time he didn't bother with socializing. He seemed to be intrigued by her; intrigued enough to stick around and talk to her while the original Leaguers talked. When they showed up though, he left as quickly as he came.
"You have our support. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash will go with you," Superman said, stepping up to her.
"No," she said immediately. "I'll take Bruce, Hawkgirl, and Green Arrow. We'll have a better tactical advantage with them," she explained. Superman eyed her carefully and she changed her authorial tone to be polite. "If that's all right with you?" Superman smiled and nodded. Green Arrow was called down and, as soon as he arrived, the four got on the teleporter and J'ohn sent them off to New York.
After that, the others went on other cases. Wonder Woman, who was in desperate need to blow off steam, went to the Training Simulator. J'ohn stayed on post at the computer while John went to work in the Netherlands with Vixen and Captain Atom. Flash, on the other hand, went to the cafeteria for a much needed caffeine fix. Once everyone was gone, Superman walked up the halls quietly. When he finally reached his destination, he noticed Huntress was just leaving. He made a mental note to ask about her later.
"Question, you have a moment," he asked to the faceless man's back.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes," he said, quoting the musical RENT. Why, he wasn't really sure himself, but Question was always odd and did things no one really understood.
"Good to know," Superman said with a wavering voice, a little unsure. "I noticed you were talking to Taipana. I need you to do me a favor and find out everything about her."
"Harrison, Kendra Olivia a.k.a. Taipana," he stated, causing his superior to be a little shocked that he already knew her full name. "What do you need to know? Family? Date of birth? Haunts? Lock and key secrets?"
"Everything," he stated shortly, then turned and walked away to find Kara.
"How would you like me to go about it," Question called after him. Superman stopped and turned back to look at him.
"You're a detective – detect."
P.S.: Three pages total.