Superman part 3 – Rough Justice from All's Fair in Love.
Bruce Wayne's computer-like mind was always a few chess piece moves ahead of any adversary, but today, he was caught off guard by this group of superheroes and everyday people. His latest distraction had been the evening with Selena Kyle, also known as Catwoman. He tried to refocus his priorities after the beautiful and dangerous Miss Kyle had disrupted them.
"What exactly are you moving forward on, Mr. Queen?" Batman inquired. "As you no doubt know, Batman, I have already decided to reveal my Green Arrow persona to Metropolis and the world. Now that I'm in the public eye, there are others that may or may not wish to join our cause." Oliver sounded very much like a salesperson, as he attempted to draw the caped crusaders in.
In the background, another motorcycle came roaring into the parking lot. The solo female rider circled around the oddly secured bat vehicles, and pulled up alongside Batgirl's bike. She flipped off the vintage cycle's engine. It was a 1976 Honda Gold Wing with the lacquered black finish and gold racing stripes.
The tall, slim, muscular young woman dismounted from her cycle. She removed her black and gold helmet and attached it to the back of the bike seat. She shook her head and a full, lengthy, mane of raven black hair spilled onto her shoulders and down her back. She stalked up the few stairs that led to the VFW Hall's lobby entrance. The masked young woman pushed both doors open and entered the banquet hall.
"Did I miss anything?" The new arrival said in a synthesized voice. Oliver smiled broadly as he waved the girl over to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gold Wing." He joked in an exaggerated tone and applauded. Dick Grayson whistled as the attractive young bike enthusiast made her way over to them. Gold Wing made an exaggerated, playful bow toward the audience.
Barbara Gordon gasped as she noted that the young woman's outfit resembled her Batgirl getup. Bruce Wayne sized the guest up. Gold Wing was taller than either Barbara or Dick, with long legs. Her raven black mane displayed several bright gold strands of hair which rimmed her smallish face.
The Gold Wing was dressed in tight, form fitting leather pants, sported black leather slightly heeled boots, a hip hugging, gold chain link belt, a bright gold blouse that was low cut, and a loose fitting leather jacket that framed her hourglass figure. She topped it all off with a cheesy black Mardi Gras style mask, with large eye slits. Bruce focused on her eyes, eventually determining that they were steel blue.
"Hey, I like that style, sister." Gold Wing said as she checked out the Batgirl outfit. "You rock! I take it that you're the Batman, and…uh…what are you supposed to be?" She grinned thinly at Dick Grayson. "Nightwing." Dick said curtly. "Okay. I guess that'll work." Gold Wing conceded.
"How could arguably the fastest girl on the planet nearly be late for the meeting?" Chloe playfully chastised Laura Lake. "What can I say? I took my dad's motorcycle out for a spin to get here."
Laura responded. "You're fast?" Nightwing smirked as he spoke. "That is for me to know and you to find out." Gold Wing flirted. "She's nearly as fast as me." Bart put in as he hugged Laura.
"That has yet to be determined, Impulse." Gold Wing snickered. "After the meeting we race to Mexico for some fresh Chalupas!" Bart challenged. "Done. Loser pays." Laura and Bart fist bumped.
"Done." He agreed. "It takes more than a costume and an attitude to become a crime-fighter." Batman snarled at Gold Wing. "Said the man in the bat costume!" Laura snapped. "Okay. Moving on." Oliver urged. Gold Wing purposely took a seat next to Dick after greeting the others.
"Detective Jones, how many people are you still expecting?" Batgirl asked from across the row. "There's no way to know for sure." The Martian Manhunter replied. "I have invited roughly twenty five people. Most have responded positively." As if on cue, three more cars pulled up in the parking lot.
"Does this group have a name?" Bruce growled, posing the question to no one in particular. "We're still working on that angle." Oliver answered as he took his place in front of the stage. Kara had finished fussing with the speakers' paperwork, and had taken a seat next to Lois and Clark.
Arthur Curry and his wife Mira arrived next. Neither wore any type of costume, but Bruce noted the color scheme of orange, green, and gold throughout their clothing, including the symbol of a gold trident emblazoned across the chest of AC's orange shirt.
Dinah Lance and her younger sister, Donna, came through the lobby shortly thereafter. Dinah wore her natural fluffy blonde hair which cascaded halfway down her back, and Black Canary gold and black eye mask. She wore green contact lenses to hide the true color of her eyes. She wore a simple black miniskirt and gold sleeveless blouse that featured her insignia, an image of a black colored canary.
Donna, a conservative talk show host in Oklahoma, was the latest addition to the team. Dinah had been forced to tell her sister the truth about her secret life as a superhero. Donna had no powers, but could be used as another media relations outlet once the team had decided to go completely public.
The final car had contained Courtney Whitmore and Ken Nelson. The newest guests came in full costume. Courtney was in full Stargirl gear, Staff of Justice in hand, wearing a red, white, and blue outfit consisting of a dark blue miniskirt, and a cropped, midriff bearing, red and white half shirt sporting a bright blue five pointed star across her chest. She topped it off with a dark blue mask that highlighted her mane of blonde hair. It gave her the appearance of a cheerleader, Bruce noted sardonically.
Ken Nelson wore a blue outfit with the Gold Helmet of Naboo upon his head. The group had been doing some research, and Carter Hall had located young Kenny Nelson, the nephew of the late Kent Nelson, who had died tragically a few years ago. He had assumed the mantle of the Dr. Fate of this generation. Kenny accented his outfit with a flowing gold cape and gold vinyl boots.
Oliver introduced everyone in the group, as Barbara and Dick openly gawked. "These people are serious!" Dick commented into Barbara's bat ear. "I don't know how anyone could take them seriously." Bruce grumbled. "Hey bat dude! Lighten up!" Laura snapped. "You haven't seen anything yet!"
As if on cue, Victor Stone arrived, running into the VFW Hall wearing his traditional silver metallic outfit with the half head eye mask. "Am I late?" He asked as he chugged past Courtney and Ken. "Not just yet, Cyborg." Oliver answered as the floor beneath Cyborg's feet rumbled.
Bruce was really intrigued now. Was this guy really a Cyborg? He wondered silently. The young African-American man seemed human enough. Bruce and Lucius Fox had been experimenting with cybernetic technology, but this guy appeared to be a highly evolved android.
A loud pop was heard, followed by a huge plume of white smoke, which drifted up towards the rafters. When the smoke cleared, the leggy magician, Zatanna stood leisurely in place, striking a sexy pose. "Zana?" Bruce barely mouthed the word. He knew Zatanna Zataran from his early experimentation with magical tricks and the art of escape. He'd trained under the world renowned John Zataran, Zana's father.
"Zee!" Oliver quickly greeted her. "Glad you could make it." Zatanna and Oliver hugged briefly. "I was on tour in Europe when I got your message. What's the big powwow about?" She asked pleasantly.
By now, Barbara and Dick were growing overwhelmed. Even Bruce had to admit that he'd underestimated the importance of this group get together. There was much more to the alien Detective Jones's outreach to them than he'd expected.
In the distance, a helicopter engine was heard. Oliver Queen had sent a company chopper to bring the few remaining guests to the event. Queen Industries had secured the area with a field dampener that had the effect of cloaking the VFW Hall. The helicopter landed just outside the range of this array.
The pilot, a trusted Queen Industries operative, had feigned engine trouble to the local Gotham City International Airport's control tower. The pilot said that his helicopter was under control, but he'd have to land in a field nearby to repair the damage, just to be on the safe side. Naturally, GCIA would want to inspect the personal chopper when it finally arrived at its destination.
This ruse allowed the last guests to get in under the security surveillance blanket, and quickly make their way toward the cloaked VFW Hall. A young woman in a tan and dark brown archery outfit was the first to hop onto a small motorized dirt bike, and zip through the roughage into the hall's parking lot. The last three guests chose an alternate route. The pilot, sworn to secrecy, gawked in astonishment.
The VFW Hall's lobby doors opened, and in flew Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and an attractive young woman in a multicolored swimsuit. Bruce, Barbara, Dick, and Donna Lance all gasped in unison. Oliver waved nonchalantly at the new arrivals. "That's everybody, I think." He announced politely, simultaneously watching and enjoying the stunned expressions on his other guest's faces.
"I believe you all know, well most of you anyway, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but you may not know our royal guest, Diana Prince, Princess of the Amazons." Oliver let that fact hang in the air for dramatic effect. "Diana has chosen to become a visible ally to our cause." Jon Jonz spoke from the podium.
"In view of Mariah's attempt to lead my Amazons in a war against part of humanity, I apologize for the unorthodox way we were introduced to the world." Diana landed just in front of the stage, and quickly faced the moderate audience. "The Amazon Incursion was not my idea, and I differed greatly with my mother, Queen Hippolyta, but unfortunately, her word is final."
The seminar goers were stunned into silence. Hawkman and Hawkgirl flew quick circles around the hall, checking for any unwarranted guests. They landed in the center of an aisle, and hurriedly took their seats. Finally, the girl from the dirt bike rushed in. "Mia! Great to see you again." Oliver noted his protégé's arrival. Diana thanked the audience for their attention and sat down next to Clark.
"Will wonders never cease?" Lois commented. "You didn't tell me that Diana could fly." Clark shrugged. "I didn't know. She'd never mentioned it before. It's a wonder that she found this place."
Lois snapped her fingers. "That's it!" Clark eyed her suspiciously. "What's it?" He asked warily. "That can be Diana's superhero name: Wonder Woman." Lois clarified. "I guess. It fits her." Clark remarked. "I'll run it by her." Lois offered. "If she doesn't break me in half, that probably means that she likes it."
Bruce, Barbara, and Dick were speechless, Donna less so, because she'd just been given a good talking to by her elder, secretive sister. "Can I record this for my talk show?" She questioned Oliver. "No. Sorry, Donna, this meeting is to be kept under the veil of utmost secrecy. If you recorded it, I'd have to kill you." Oliver said with a look of seriousness. Naturally, he was just being sarcastic, but Donna didn't have to know that. Dinah smirked as her usually chatty young sister went silent.
"Now we can get started." Jon Jonz began with authority. "Let's begin with introductions." He encouraged. Bruce was beside himself, regretting the fact that he'd complied with Detective Jones' wishes, and turned off any recording device that he or the others had brought with them. They would have to commit the bizarre meeting to personal memory only. Queen had promised a transcript of the meeting.
Everyone introduced themselves using either their real name or their superhero persona. Finally, the Batman and the others spoke up. "Nightwing" Dick Grayson said bluntly. "Batgirl" Barbara stated warily. Bruce made doubly sure that his voice synthesizer was on. "Batman" and I wonder exactly what the purpose of all this is." He grumbled. "That is precisely what we will discuss next." Diana responded.
Diana had decided to join Jon Jonz, and Oliver behind the podium. The young Amazon was already used to speaking before large groups of people, though all were female, of course, but her proud mother had always put Diana front and center for any of the Amazon nation meetings. She would be expected to follow in Hippolyta's footsteps, should the queen one day grow too old to lead the tribes, or be killed in battle, which was the highest honor for an Amazon warrior.
Next follow the story in Beyond Smallville: Gold Wing