Chapter Nine

A Gathering Of Heroes

"...and for all the listeners now tuning in, this is Leslie Willis covering the sudden gathering of super-powered beings and heroes here at the Themyscaran Embassy, also known as the Hall of Justice, here in Metropolis.

"In response to a summons by Princess Diana of Themyscera, better known as the Amazonian adventurer Wonder Woman, many heroes have arrived and even more are expected. Steel, Metropolis' tech-enhanced knight in shining armour was, naturally, the first to arrive, but many others have shown up. Green Arrow recently appeared, with his partner Red Arrow and his Protégé Artemis, while Aquaman, King of Atlantis, has also arrived. And now Hawkgirl has flown overhead, battle-mace ready. You go, girl!

"Whatever is going on has the hero world in a... wait. What is that? Ladies and gentlemen, something is coming down the road... it looks like... like some sort of stealth tank on wheels, and it's flanked by two flying people dressed in black and silver and a third, a green-skinned man... It's pulling up outside the Hall and the top is opening...

"Batman! It's Batman! Gotham's dark knight! And with him are his allies Batwoman and Nightwing! They're heading up the steps now, and Diana's come out to see what's going on... she seems astonished to see them. They're going inside, all of them...

"Whatever is going on, it must be really, really important to pull the semi-mythical Batman out of Gotham. And the two new heroes? Who are they? What are their powers? When we find out, you'll be the first to know."

Clark managed to hide his smile at the shocked expression on Diana's face as Batman led them up the stairs.

"Batman... who?"

"Not here." Batman said. "Inside. The others need to see this. Who do we have so far?"

Diana nodded and led them towards the main hall.

"Harkgirl just came, we have Steel, the three Arrows, six Green lanterns from the Corps as well as the non-Corps Green Lantern, Alan Scott. The Flash, Aquaman, Captain Marvel..."

Batman nodded as Diana continued the list.

"I'll need to speak to them. I have the information about the threat.

Diana nodded, but then stopped and faced him. "And the three I don't recognise are..?"

"Heavy hitters. Powerful as Captain Marvel, perhaps more so."

Diana whistled in shock, then continued down the corridor.

"I can tell that this is going to be interesting."

x

"For those who do not know me, I am Batman. Most of you recognise my allies, Nightwing and Batwoman, from the media reports. Here we have Superman and Supergirl, who come to us from another world. In strength terms, they are comparable to Captain Marvel over there, with a similar powerset. They can be trusted. The green man is the source of my knowledge about the threat we face. J'onn. The floor is yours."

"Thank you, Batman. The threat we face is a race known as the Joining..."

"Hello handsome." a voice said and Nightwing glanced to one side as a white-gloved hand touched his shoulder.

"Zatanna?"

Zatanna stared at him, confusion showing in her face. "You... know me?"

Nightwing swallowed, then saw Batwoman smirking at him. Fighting to get his brain working, he swallowed again and fought down his rising panic. "We have files on all major players and many of the minor ones. Your magic skills, and those of your father, came to our attention."

"How is that possible?" another familiar voice said and Nightwing managed not to curse, knowing that Zatara was standing behind them. "We have not previously used our magic skills publicly."

"...Batman interviewed Dick Grayson a few years back." Nightwing hedged. "While investigating his parents murders. The subject was mentioned in passing. A dropped comment. It was enough."

"Hmph. I expected better than that, Dick." Zatara said and Zatanna's eyes opened wide.

"Dick? It is you!" Zatanna grabbed Dick and pulled him into a firm hug, then held him out at arms length, looking him up and down. "But how? Nightwing was active long before you left us."

"Long story, and not mine to tell." Dick whispered, noticing the glances they were receiving. "I'll let Batman decide how much to tell you."

"I'm sure Bruce will tell us the whole story." Zatara said, and three jaws dropped. His eyes glittered with suppressed amusement. "Daughter, if you had learned how to read auras as I directed, this would not be coming as a surprise to you."

"Auras." Nightwing sighed. "Dammit."

"It is a useful skill. As is being able to pay attention to more than one thing."

Zatanna nodded and turned her attention back to J'onn's speech.

"Alan Scott?"

The green-and-red-clad man turned and smiled.

"Batman. It's an honour to meet you at last. May I help you?"

"Information." Batman replied. "I talked to the other Green Lanterns, but they refused to discuss why you weren't part of the Corps."

"Straight to the point." Alan said. "I approve. I was never part of the Green Lantern Corps, although they do seem to regard me as an honorary member. My powers are similar to theirs, but unlike them, I don't need to recharge since I don't use a power ring. I use the Starheart."

Batman tilted his head slightly.

"It's a mystical gem that bonded with me. Replaced my heart, actually. Keeps me alive. Apparently it channels the excess magic of the universe through me or something like that, I never truly understood what that meant."

"Interessting." Batman mused. "You have the same general hard-light abilities of the other lanterns here?"

"Yes, but I don't mesh as well. My constructs and theirs destabilise each other when in contact."

Batman frowned. "Excess magic... Come with me, I think you should meet Zatara and his daughter. I have a theory..."

"You are Kryptonians." the voice accused. Clark and Kara turned to see who had spoken and found themselves facing a red-skinned humanoid. Behind him, a quartet of human with similar outfits listened, as well as a giant in the same colours.

"Is that a problem?" Clark asked and the red-skinned man suddenly smiled and held out his hand.

"Sinestro of the Green Lantern Corps." he said. "My colleagues are Killiwog," the giant nodded, "John stewart, Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordon and... Guy Gardner."

"Yo, Supes." Guy said, moving forwards. "Ready to join the big leagues? Hey, Supergirl, nice to meet you. Guy Gardner, intersteller hero. You may have heard of me."

"More like intersteller pain-in-the-ass." said the only un-masked human lantern. "John Stewart. Retired Marine. Kyle's a graphic artist, Hal's a test pilot. Killiwog's the primary trainer for the Corps."

"Honoured to meet you." Superman said with a slight bow. "Hello again, Hal."

Sinestro looked back at Hal, then at Superman. "You've met?"

"It was when Hal and Clark Wayne were testing the Javelin." Clark said, mentally berating himself. "They flew to Krypton, where they helped me to rescue my cousin, Kara, and brought us to Earth. Hal told me that the Green Lantern Corps had a bit of a history with Kryptonians, so Kara and I decided to keep a low profile until now."

"That wasn't in your report." Sinestro said, then he shrugged. "Then again, the Guardians would have been... less than happy about having two Kryptonians on the planet they've recruited four Lanterns from, so I can see why you kept it quiet. We will have to report this, you know."

"I believe that this is the place, sir. That's Superman over there."

The electronic voice somehow cut through the hall and all gazes turned to where a blue-and-gold clad man had just entered.

"Way to blow my big entrance, Skeets."

"Sorry, sir."

Superman moved across and the new arrival stared at him.

"Greetings. You are?"

"Umm... Oh my god, Superman's talking to me! He asked me my name! Hi, I'm... I'm Booster... G-gold... ohgodijustmessedupdidnti!"

The man facepalmed and Superman bit back a laugh.

"Booster Gold. I assume you are here to help with the imminent crisis?"

"Um, yeah. Crisis. Help with. Yeah."

"Splendid." Superman smiled. "I see you're new to this, so please, come with me, I'll take you to Batman."

"Oh wow!" the new arrival said as he followed Superman. "Batman is here? Skeets, this is the right place... this is so cool!"

"I thought you planned to call yourself Goldstar, sir?"

"Not now, Skeets!"

Supergirl became aware of the deep silence behind her, then a deep, gravelly voice spoke.

"Who was that pooza? Didn't look like a hero to me."

"I'm sure Batman will know what to do with him." Supergirl said. "I wonder what his powers are?"

"Hey, another girl on the team!" a voice said and Supergirl found herself dragged off. "I'm Hawkgirl, I like your gauntlets. Looks like you're a scrapper too, eh?"

The silence seemed to grow deeper as Supergirl vanished, then John Stewart spoke. "Whoever that winged broad was, she looks like trouble."

"Heh." Guy said with a wide grin. "I like'em feisty."

x

"Alright." Diana said from the podium. "Reports are starting to come in about landings around the world. Batman has come up with a plan of counter-attack which will play to all our strengths. Batman?"

"The main target is the Joining's Hive-ship which is attaining orbit." Batman said. "The primary strike team for that are the six members of the Lantern Corps, Superman, Supergirl, Captain Marvel and J'onn. They are our heaviest hitters. Sinestro will lead the Lanterns, Superman, Supergirl and Marvel will provide cover. J'onn will guide them to the Hive Queen. Zatara, Zatanna and Alan Scott will teleport to Berlin to counter the forces there. Steel, Wonder Woman and the Flash will head to..."