8 Justice League the Corps
Anna Fortune and Al Rothstein walked along the Mission Bay Boardwalk in San Diego, California. Al lived in LA and had brought Anna south for a change of pace. She'd shown him Salem, Massachusetts and he'd shown her Los Angeles but now he wanted to show off another part of his native state. It was still morning on the West Coast. Later this evening he would take her to the Hotel Del Coronado.
The first thing Al wanted to do though was to get Anna on the beachfront rollercoaster. It wasn't the biggest or the baddest, but in Southern California, you went Six Flags Magic Mountain for that. He just wanted to break her in gently. He mentally kicked himself when he realized he could have taken her to the House of the Mouse. Disneyland and its next door neighbor, California Adventureland, had plenty of rides for novices.
"What's up, chum?" Anna asked as she walked alongside him, her left arm wrapped around his right.
Al wanted to beg off the question but Anna had grown to know him too well in these last few months. She was damned intuitive and caught cues that were often overlooked. He wasn't surprised by her query; in fact, he would've been surprised if she hadn't picked up on his frustration.
He stopped and he faced her, holding her hands, and explained the why behind his momentary funk. Her responding smile lit up the already bright day, "There will be time enough for that later on. Quite frankly, we've hit every haunt in Salem that I know of. I haven't spent a great deal of time there. Discovering your own little world is proving to be loads of fun."
Al just grinned like a goofy, overgrown kid. She freed a hand and tapped him on the nose with the tip of a finger, "You say this 'rollercoaster' is akin to flying?"
"It's sorta like that," he replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" she wanted to know, "Is it that big squiggly mess of metal that makes everyone scream"
"Uh huh," Al nodded.
"Then I say again, what are we waiting for? It looks fun!" she began to drag him down the walkway.
They rode the ride and Anna got off with a gleam in her eye, "Let's go again!"
"Aren't you hungry?" Al wondered. It was noon now and he hadn't had a meal. Anna, rising on Eastern Standard Time, was three hours ahead of him. She'd breakfasted with the Nelsons but she hadn't had anything else since.
"Yes, but…" Anna began to protest. Her excitement was definitely getting the better of her, Al thought.
She gave him a curious look, as though she could read his thoughts. He shook it off. Anna might be a sorceress but she was no telepath, at least not in any way that she'd admitted to.
He was about to ask her point blank when she took hold of his arm and snuggled in close, "All right. Let's eat."
The distraction worked and he was refocused. A small part of Al's brain registered the fact that Anna frequently redirected him through subtle means. In fact, she was very good at getting her own way. Like when she was with him, she came from an era where the men provided everything so it was a rare day when she carried her wallet. He'd finally convinced her to do so for ID purposes but he'd never bothered to check to see if she had any cash.
She drew the same salary as any other Leaguer but he didn't know if she had a bank to draw from or what? She managed on her own in Salem so she had to have access to cash but you wouldn't know it when he was around. The chivalrous side to his nature enjoyed providing for her but part of him recoiled at the idea that she would be dependent upon him. What if something happened to him?
He noted that Anna was giving him a curious sidelong glance and that provoked the same question that he had before she'd worked her wiles on him. This time she was saved by the sound of her signal device going off.
She took off her pack/purse and rummaged inside. It contained a wallet, a mobile phone, two squeeze bottles of Gatorade, and her JLU signal device. The latter was beeping up a storm.
"Oh, drat and bother," she said as she retrieved the offensive device. It was then that she noted that Al didn't have the same problem.
He noted the scrutiny, "I can't believe you didn't leave that at my place."
"And where is yours, hmm?" she inquired.
"At my place," he confirmed her suspicions.
"Then it's good that one of us is responsible, isn't it?" she said snarkily.
"It isn't like that," he began but she held up a finger to ward him off.
"Anna Fortune here," she said into the device.
"Ah'm real sorry `bout this. Ah know you got to be havin' a good time but the League needs ya'll to come in," Penny declared.
Not having any flight duties to perform, Penny had been wrangled into signaling JLers and asking them to report to the priority alert they'd ignored. In Anna's case, the screaming of the rollercoaster's other passengers had kept her from hearing the alert.
Hula Hula was now the chief officer in charge of Monitor Duty. He scheduled the rotation and oversaw the actual performance of the duty. L-Ron and Oberon were his deputies. He was working with Penny, guiding her as to who had or had not responded to the priority alert.
"We need you in Manhattan ASAP. Ah can arrange transport if ya'll need it," she offered.
"No need. I can get us there. I will need a geographic location to home in on," Anna disclosed.
"Aim for Times Square, sweetie. Ya'll be in the thick of it down there," Penny relayed, "Hope to see you soon."
Anna stuffed her signal device back into her pack and shrugged it back on, "Ready?"
"Our costumes are in my apartment and it will take us 2-3 hours with traffic," Al warned.
"Nonsense," Anna smiled cheekily, "Step onto the beach and away from the people."
He did as he was instructed and she conjured with her hands and whispered unintelligible words and suddenly they were in his living room. He was stunned, "I thought you needed a geographic reference or an anchor."
She moved to his book shelf where he had a deity carving she'd given him, "Viola!"
"So, you had an ulterior motive for giving me that," he mused.
"Now I can visit you, day or night," the emphasis on the last word caught him by surprise. Their relationship had been surprisingly chaste given Anna's normally reckless appetites. Then again, she came from an era where women didn't give away their virtue lightly.
"You can use the spare bedroom," he offered.
She grabbed her duffel and marched…into his room. The door closed before Al could say anything. A second later it opened and his costume was thrown out. Stymied, Al gathered the collected pieces that comprised his uniform and he shuffled off into the spare bedroom.
He emerged first, fully clothed but his mask was off. It was draped around his neck like a hood. He stood in the living room and waited for Anna. Waiting became pacing and pacing became him going to the bedroom door and preparing to knock.
The door swung open before his fist could connect with it. She was fully costumed, except her bandana mask was pulled down to her neck. She wore a beatific smile.
"Ready?" she asked brightly.
"In a moment," he lifted her chin with his knuckle so that her face was ready for his to descend upon it. Their lips met and Anna gasped as a sense of electricity passed between them. He moved away, his eyes locked on hers.
His were rich with emotion. Hers were sharp and bright with anticipation. Her grin was lopsided.
"You're getting better at this, Handsome Stranger," she decided.
He pulled his mask on, "I just wanted to let you know before we took off."
She affixed her mask into place, "Know what?"
"How I feel about you," he stated.
"And how is that, exactly?" she wondered.
"Well, I…uh...I…um…" he verbally stumbled about.
Her eyes flashed with merriment, "Never mind. I'll spare you for now. You will have to say it someday soon."
"Say what?" he asked.
"The words you're avoiding," she happily remarked, "I believe there are three of them."
Al was in shock. Could it be? No way! It was too soon. But Anna seemed to know his mind better than he did. Which brought up…?
"Ready?" she asked again, a little more impatiently.
"Sure," he shrugged. She'd done it to him again, "Should be fun."
Anna repeated the incantation, only there were more verses to it this time and there was a sense of dislocation and they were suddenly in NYC. All hell was breaking loose around them.
"This is your idea of fun?" Anna dryly asked.
Al was momentarily speechless.
"Stand down," Superman ordered.
"We aren't doing anything other than spreading the word of love," Supreme answered the challenge.
"You are an escaped prisoner. We're taking you back to the Gulag where you belong," Superman announced, "I'm taking you in."
"We're helping these people, in ways you can't understand," Supreme countered.
"You're disrupting people's lives. Leave them alone and let them get on with their daily routines," Superman argued.
"You can't stop the spread of love," Supreme stated.
Superman walked up to him and punched him. Supreme was staggered but he held his ground, "Why did you do that?"
Superman hit him again. When that had no effect, he tried it again. The third time penetrated the fugue state.
Supreme's eyes lost their violet glow and instead were lit up by hate. He hit Superman as hard as he could and the Man of Steel sailed off into the river. Diana let loose of a battle cry and kicked Supreme across the face. It threw him back.
A whip snapped around Diana's throat and then Lashina energized it. Diana resisted and tried to fly away. This kept the whip taut and the New Goddess spun her around and then arced her into the pavement.
The whip let go of Diana's throat and Lashina snapped it for effect, "You attacked my lover because of what he did to yours. Well, you're not the only one who protects their own."
Diana got up onto one knee and she could see the violet glow in Lashina's eyes had been driven from her by the sight of her beloved being attacked. The whip snapped again. This time it lashed out towards Diana. She blocked it with her bracelet. It was easier than deflecting bullets. It coiled around her wrist.
Lashina smiled, "You know what I love about your bracelets, sweetie? They're conductive."
She energized the whip and Diana was once again pulsated by waved of arcane energy. The Princess knew that the whip was merely a channel. Lashina was the source of the power. If the whip were removed, however, all she could affect was what she could touch.
Diana tried ripping the whip out of Lashina's hand but the goddess held on too tightly. The Amazon reached out with her other hand and took hold of it. Yanking for all she was worth, she drug Lashina forward but the whip remained in her hand.
The energy blast was sapping Diana's fabled strength…but wouldn't it drain Lashina as well? The answer to that question might make the difference between life and death. She kicked off the ground and pulled with every last ounce of strength. Lashina lost her grip and Diana broke free.
Diana flew to the other side of the six lanes of traffic. Catching her breath, she unwrapped the whip from her wrist. She decided that she didn't want to go through that again.
"Oh, darling!" Lashina called across the thoroughfare. She pulled a second whip off of her waist, as Catwoman often did, "You have one and so do I! Let's play!"
"Hera," Diana invoked the patron goddess of the Amazons, "Help me overcome this mad creature."
John entered the General Assembly. He'd brashly flown in without any reconnaissance and he knew that could be a dangerous mistake but then again, Carol didn't look to be spoiling for a fight. That said, he didn't know how many other Sapphires were here with her or their intentions.
As he flew between the representatives and the podium, Carol watched him closely. With her was a small woman with mint green hair and slightly translucent skin. Her facial features were off for a human, if the other signs didn't give it away. Then again, John knew people with green hair among other things.
One wore a bag. He assumed she was the holder of the rings. She had emerald green skin and otherwise appeared human. Her hair was a forest green so dark it was almost black. Around her eyes were yellowish circles, whether they were cosmetic or natural, he couldn't say.
These two Sapphires were unnerved by his presence. Carol and the last Sapphire seemed at peace with his presence. Actually, the woman beside Carol seemed excited…or maybe slightly agitated. Her skin was almost as dark as his and she had pointed, elfin ears. She looked like she came from…Xanshi? But that was impossible.
Fatality laughed, "I can see on your face you weren't expecting to see me, or anyone else from Xanshi. Why should you? After all, you destroyed my world."
John was grief stricken. He'd once been falsely accused of destroying a world. The mere charge had only been believed because of the incident with Xanshi. It had been a rookie mistake. He'd thought he could handle anything. Those people and that world had paid for his arrogance.
"I was the eldest child of the ruling family so I'd been sent to the Warlords of Okaara. I was there when you murdered my family and my people. Oh, the Guardians forgave you, I know. The impertinence of youth and all that," Fatality laughed. It had a hollow sound, "I hunted Green Lanterns for a while since I didn't know that it was you, specifically, that had destroyed my homeworld. That garnered Sinestro's attention."
"You joined his Corps?" John was surprised. He would have heard of her.
"For a time. We had a difference in opinion regarding methodology and we parted ways," she added to the tale.
"Sinestro never let's go of anyone unless they're dead," John countered.
Fatality smiled sweetly, "I can be very persuasive."
"And you joined Carol's Star Sapphire Corps," John finished for her.
Fatality was pleased that he'd connected the dots, "I was adrift, bereft of purpose and reason to live and then the Star Sapphires showed me love. I'd already been chosen by one ring, it seemed natural that I would be chosen by another."
"So now I take it we duel to the death?" John wondered.
Fatality smiled. It was indulgent and altogether all too caring for his taste, "No, now I run interference while Carol and my fellow sisters finish their great work."
"But…" John began.
Fatality flew up between him and Carol, "I've forgiven you. I did so in the name of love. I feel compassion for you and the weight you must bear for your mistake. I can take that away."
"I don't think so," John rebutted.
"Will you walk away, John Stewart?" she inquired.
"What's your name?" John asked.
"The only name left to me is Fatality," she supplied, "Will you walk away and let us do our holy work?"
"I'm afraid not." John decided.
A thundering crash echoed through the massive chambers as Mary came bursting through the walls. She skidded to a halt and scrambled to her feet. Galatea came flying in after her. John looked disappointed.
"Seems someone else has rejected your 'love'," he said.
Fatality held forth her ring and it flared to life, "You may not believe in our mission but you need not mock us."
"Of course he doesn't believe in our mission," Carol said as she flew up behind Fatality, "Green Lanterns are about control while the Light of Love is all about releasing ourselves. You can't have perfect order where people love freely. It's spontaneous and variable. It ebbs and flows, unlike the vise grip of Will. It seizes everything and chokes it to death. Be careful of your love for Shayera. If you try to control her or her feelings, she'll demolish you."
"I think I'll take relational advice from someone that can keep a relationship going," John smarted off.
Carol shook her head, "Low blow, John. You know the star sapphire kept me from maintaining a real relationship."
"So you're all talk and lofty ideas with nothing to back it up with," John angrily shot back, "I've been in the trenches and I've earned my love. What about you?"
"You'll learn soon enough. Control isn't everything. There has to be room for feeling," Carol lowered herself to the ground, "Sisters!"
Carol, Maewen, and Arven radiated the delegates with violet light.
"No!" John started to react when Fatality fired a force beam that blew him through the opposing wall.
"Did you really listen to what I said? No!" she murmured and then set out in pursuit of the Green Lantern.
