Power Girl #3

Cover: A blond girl in a white tee shirt and red shorts floats in the air. She is facing two men wearing jeans and red and green shirts and jackets. The two are pointing submachine guns at her. Behind them are trees and overhead the sky is pink with clouds cast orange.

+JLL+

After the ice cream, I said my goodbyes to Amy, Ray and Bruce Wayne, and then I flew back to Arcadia High School. I felt much better after meeting them. I hadn't wanted to leave, but I needed to get back home. Mom and Dad would worry if I didn't come back, when they noticed.

The game was over of by now, but some people were still here even if they were all in the process of leaving. I landed around the back of the 'H' shaped building and walked around to the side door that I knew would be propped open to let cool night air in.

With the door still propped open, my… former… team had to still be there.

Suddenly, I didn't feel like going inside. I turned and walked back around the corner. It wasn't that I cared about hiding the fact that I had powers from them. I just didn't feel like drawing attention to myself there and then.

So I flew back home. We lived in a gated community across the bay from Gotham proper. The city was old enough and big enough that it had spread from its islands and to the mainland. This process had been accelerated by Gotham's gradual, though tumultuous, increase in prosperity over the past seventy years since Batman first appeared.

The borough, Newtown, held a distinctly more modern style to its architecture. People in Gotham liked to say that Newtown didn't really count as part of their city. It was too new, and its designers had tried to mold it after other cities using more streamlined and modernistic styles. All it did was end up looking generic. You could have easily mistaken the streets for those of any American city, and perhaps quite a few non-American ones, if it weren't for the few dark, overly-Gothic public buildings that I think someone had built there just to spite the borough's original planners. In fact, I think that whoever designed the Gothic public buildings deliberately checked off every single Gothic architecture cliché during construction. Either that or they stole the buildings from Medieval Europe. I personally hadn't discounted that second option.

Our home's gated community was in a residential area and set on hills which allowed us to watch the sun rise over the harbor. Sometimes when I didn't have anything else to do, I'd climb up on the roof and watch the ships coming in and out of the city.

Now wasn't the time for that, however. It was late and I needed to get inside.

Despite not being familiar with navigating by air yet, I was able to quickly locate my house and land in our driveway. I didn't have my keys, but I shouldn't have needed them since our garage door had a keypad. It would create a commotion upon opening, but I didn't mind.

As I walked up to the keypad, I saw that the living room lights were on. That meant Dad was likely home at least. Possibly Mom too, since she hadn't come to the game.

I entered the combination and the garage door slowly ground open. When it was high enough, I slipped under it and walked through the garage. It was tidy and ordered. Mom didn't like it being disordered and Dad and I didn't use the assorted paraphernalia in here enough to overwhelm that.

Two cars, both sedans, were parked inside and shelves lined the back wall of the garage.

I walked to the door to the rest of the house and pressed the button to close the garage door. After that I headed inside and entered the side hallway connecting to the living room and the kitchen.

Looking around, I saw Mom sitting on her sofa, using her laptop. Shewas wearing a white blouse and light blue slacks, and her blond hair framed her face as she watched the screen. She glanced up at me and asked, "Victoria? Why did you use the garage door?"

I shrugged. "I forgot my keys. I'll get them tomorrow."

She harrumphed and turned back to her computer. "Alright, but don't forget your keys again."

Then I paused. Should I tell her now? I couldn't, wouldn't, hide it from my family. I believed in that New Wave stood for, after all. On the other hand, a part of me wanted to just avoid talking to her. She hadn't been there.

"Um, Mom?" I asked, nervous when I should have been happy to reveal to her that I was finally one of them.

She turned her eyes back on me again and frowned. "What's wrong?" She must have noticed something in my voice.

"I…" I looked down to study the off-white carpet. "…I…Triggered."

"Oh…" She set her laptop aside and came over to wrap me in a warm hug. "…Victoria, I'm so sorry."

I silently leaned into her embrace for a moment. Then I shook my head. "I'm… well, I'm fine now."

She stepped back to look at me carefully. "Are you sure? Is that why you don't have your keys?"

"It's…related," I equivocated.

She nodded in understanding. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Just know that I'm here for you if you do."

You and Dad are the reason it happened… I thought, but didn't say.

Mom smiled. "Well, what can you do?"

I shrugged and lifted off of the ground, smiling in anticipation at her reaction. "I can fly, and I think I have some force field that makes me stronger and protects me. I'm not sure about anything else."

"So, a flying brick?" Mom pursed her lips. "I never liked that name."

I kept my smile on my face. "Yeah." I struggled to think of something else to say. "I guess I'll need a costume now, huh?"

She smiled. "Yes, and I know you've been making designs for a while now. Have anything special in mind?"

Shrugging, I replied, "Maybe. We'll see. I'll go and look through my notes."

"Alright, don't let me keep you," Mom replied before returning to her computer as I left for my room.

After that, I collapsed into my bed. I didn't sleep well that night, constantly tossing and turning from nightmares of a grey-skinned man with a lead pipe and faceless thugs with guns.

Eventually, I realized that I wouldn't be able to rest properly, so I sat in bed, thinking about possible costume designs. It was hard to decide what my costume should be, let alone my name. I settled on a mostly white uniform. The costume would consist of a leotard, a knee length skirt (my mom likely wouldn't accept anything shorter than that), white boots that also reached to my knees, and red cape attached to the rest of my costume by a golden chain.

It was a combination of several different costume ideas that I had drawn over the years, including several iterations of the Glory Girl persona that I had wanted to use. Now I just needed a name for it.

I sighed and leaned back against my headboard. I was starting to get hungry, but didn't particularly feel like getting out of bed. At least not until I had a name.

My mind wandered back to my conversation with Amelia, Bruce and Ray. Bruce Wayne had become Batman to help his city. That wasn't particularly shocking. But he'd also talked about how Batman was as much a symbol as a man, and how symbols had power.

I looked down at my hands, thinking of my first attempt at being a hero. I'd like to have power, the power to be a heroic symbol, to inspire awe and fear like Batman, Superman and the others did. That's when the name clicked.

Power Girl.

Maybe it was pretentious. After all, I hadn't done anything to earn that name, and what it meant in my mind. But, I definitely had powers, so it was definitely more applicable than Glory Girl. And it was something for me to aspire too. Now that I thought about it, there was also the fact that if I chose Glory Girl, people would immediately assume that I was going to showboat like Booster Gold was known for doing.

I didn't think that would endear me to my classmates, going from a cape wannabe to a flying brick and showing off my powers.

I sighed. Was there any way around my problems with them?

Sun peaked through the clouds and a shaft of light fell on my right hand. I looked at it for a long moment, enjoying the feeling of warmth on my skin.

Even if they were jealous of my new powers, it didn't matter. After all, Crystal and Eric had been in my shoes and they had plenty of friends. Well, admittedly at least a few were cape groupies, but still.

I lifted off of my bed flew to my door. Everything was going to be okay.

By the time I reached the kitchen, I was smiling. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Gotham Times. He was wearing blue jeans and a plaid shirt with its sleeves rolled up his forearms. When he looked up and saw me, his mouth dropped open. "I- you can fly?"

I spun in the air, showing off my flight. I stopped when I was facing him again and struck a pose in mid-air. "Yep! And I'm a Brute."

He stood up and walked over to clasp a hand on my shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Victoria. I imagine you already have a costume in mind?" he asked with a smile. He was having a good day, then.

I grinned back and showed him my sketches for Power Girl. "Already finished them," I proclaimed. "Check it out!"

He took the journal from my hands and looked over my sketches. He hummed. "It looks good. Not many people can pull of a cape, but if there's anyone in this family that can, it's you, Vicky."

I wrapped him in a hug that lifted him off the ground with a combination of my new strength and my flight. "Thanks, Dad!"

Seeing him wince, I instantly let him down. He rolled his shoulders. "Definitely super strength."

"Sorry," I apologized sheepishly.

He reached up to ruffle my hair. "It's no problem sweetie. Now then, have you had a chance to experiment with your powers or did you just get them?"

I shrugged. "I've had them since last night. I can fly pretty fast, and I can go up above the clouds without getting cold. I think that has to do with my Brute force field."

I noticed footsteps coming out of the study back on the second floor and heading down the stairs. They paused momentarily upon hearing my explanation before continuing down. Likely Mom.

"How do you know that it's a force field?" Dad asked me.

"Well…" I fidgeted uneasily in the air. "…I got hit hard enough for it to get overpowered. Or fast enough. I'm not sure."

"Are you alright?" Mom asked as she rounded the stairs and entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," I told her. And I was, physically at least.

"Trigger events are always bad," Mom said.

"Just remember that you're not alone if you need to talk about it," Dad added.

"Will do," I assured them with a half-hearted smile.

We had breakfast of orange juice and waffles with strawberry jelly. We talked about how I would debut, how long my costume would take to make and things like that. It was nice to finally be a part of the 'family business,' even in Mom's business was technically that of being a lawyer.

It turned out that the costume would take a few days, but that was fine. It would give me a chance to practice my powers with my family. In fact, I spent the rest of the day flying circles around Crystal, Aunt Sarah and Eric. All the while waiting to hear of Batman's coming confrontation with Lung.

Over the course of the day, I gradually became faster and, when we checked, stronger. So, I was solar powered, like Superman. Still didn't have any of his other powers, though.

Aunt Sarah of course had to release a statement that there was a new member, but my official reveal would be the next Saturday.

Finally in the evening, we finally got word from the League. Batman had engaged Lung in Memorial park and they wanted us to help them, the PRT and the police take down the gang which had gathered to watch.

Despite my parents' objections, I managed to make it there in just over a minute. I stayed high above the fight, watching for the moment that Batman might need my help. It looked like some girl around my age was already trying to help by throwing a bottle at Lung. It only distracted Lung of a moment, but Batman was showing that Panacea's help and some first class power armor more than made up for almost a decade of retirement.

By that time, the League had arrived to help the police apprehend the ABB thugs, so I joined in.

At a side street next to the edge of the park, a group of five armed with submachineguns tried to make a break for it by using suppressive fire to keep the police back. They could and would hurt people like that, so I used my sun-boosted speed to drop in and grab the first thug's gun before he could react.

I yanked it out of his hands and bent it at a right angle, sheering some of the metal components. The thugs stepped back, their eyes wide.

I put my hands on my hips and smirked. It probably would have been more impressive if I'd had my costume instead of just a t-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes, but it wasn't like I cared about my secret identity. "Name's Power Girl, and I'm a Superman type," which I felt was at least partly true. "I recommend you lot throw down your guns."

The first thug stepped back and held up his hands. He eyes were cold and constantly searching. He was obviously a veteran gang member, and from the looks of it he was searching for a way out, but knew better than to pick a fight with a flying brick.

Two of his companions didn't, and aimed their guns at me.

Not wanting to see if my newly charged force fields could take the barrage or not, I shot forward and bowled the two of them and the shocked fourth thug over. As they struggled to their feet, I pulled the gun from the hands of the second thug and tossed it into the fifth thug hard enough to make him drop his own weapon and double over.

I flew over to him and quickly bent both of the guns near him into unusability. The two beat cops nearby were already running up, so I turned back to the other four thugs.

The first, second and third were all making a break for it, the third clutching his gun in his hands. The fourth was lying on the ground and aiming his gun at me. I couldn't afford to let him fire, so I charged at him as fast as I could. I heard as much as felt the gunfire hitting my force field, but I managed to grab hold of his gun and crush the barrel before he overwhelmed my protection. However, I collided with him with enough force to send him flying back, so I used my enhanced speed to keep him from hitting his head on a tree or rock and instead direct his tumbling into two of his companions.

I landed next to the three and disarmed the last of the thugs of his gun.

"Stay put," I ordered, before turning to look for the last one.

I scanned the trees that grew near this edge of the park, but I couldn't quite see him. I didn't want him to get away, not after my total failure of a first night, so I focused on trying to catch any sign of him at all. It was hard to make out anything significant given the background noise of the city and the gang's panic at the arrival of the city's heroes as well as law enforcement, but I didn't give up. I wouldn't give up. I'd catch him. I just had to believe that I would. I was a Hero.

I heard ragged breathing and footsteps on dirt coming from beyond trees off to my left.

Turning to the cops, I asked, "You got this? I think I've got the last one."

A muscular dark-skinned one with sideburns shrugged and casually held his handgun and stun gun in the direction of the group of three. His companion, who had olive skin and a leaner build, was cuffing the fifth thug. "Yeah, bring him back here, kid."

Being called a kid annoyed me, but I didn't let it show. I shot off into the air and flew in the direction that I had heard sound coming from. Then I spotted the first thug running through the tree. It was hard to make him out from underneath he canopy, but not impossible as he jogged along.

I decided to be a bit theatrical and flew a short distance in front of him and waited a moment.

When he was just about to pass beneath me, I crashed down through the branches and hit the ground in ground in three point landing that shook the earth. Unfortunately, I hadn't practiced with it, so I slipped and hit my chin on the ground.

The thug was surprised, but he'd either been around capes for a while or was unflappable because he immediately changed directions and broke out into a sprint.

Annoyed at myself for messing that up and the thug for getting away, I lifted off the ground. My chin ached a bit from the awkward landing, but it wasn't anything major. I flew after him through the trees, careful not to embarrass myself by running into any. Even though I didn't fly as fast as I could after a day under the sun, I was still able to outpace him.

He abruptly turned at a right angle and scooped up a handful of detritus off of the ground. Continuing in one motion, he tossed the dirt at me. I had to jerk to the side and cover my eyes. I didn't want to find out the hard way if the dirt could get past my force field. With a burst of speed, I flew around the dirty and circled ahead of him.

He stopped running and looked around for an avenue of escape.

"Just save us all the trouble and give up," I told him. "You can't get away. Right now, you're just tiring yourself out and pissing me off."

He shot me a glare and spat out in accented English, "You think you can stop us? Stupid bimbo, Lung cannot be beaten. He'll break us out."

"And you can keep thinking that on your way to prison," I retorted. "Now turn around and put your hands in the air."

He muttered what were probably curses in Japanese and turned to give me his back. However, he took his time bringing his hands to the back of his head, so I just flew over and grabbed them.

"What-" he started to say before I lifted him into the air and flew up and out from the trees. I smirked when he cried out in surprise. He spent the rest of the short flight back to the cops sulking.

As we came in to a landing, he said, "You don't even have a costume. When Lung learns about this he'll find you and your family-" And then my hands slipped and he fell three feet to the ground. He may have landed badly and twisted his ankle. What a shame.

I slammed into the ground behind him and used what I knew about self-defense to twist his arm behind his back and hoist him into the air with flight and super strength. "I'm with New Wave, so if your boss wants to pick a fight me after he's done getting his ass kicked by Batman, he knows where to find me." I shoved him into the waiting arms of the olive-skinned cop, who quickly had the thug on the ground and cuffed like the rest of his buddies.

"New Wave, huh?" the dark-skinned cop asked. "I hadn't heard there was a new member in the city."

I smiled and offered him a hand. "Victoria Dallon, aka Power Girl. I just recently got my powers and haven't had my official reveal yet. Don't even have a costume."

He clasped my hand and shook it. "Marko Wells, nice to meet you," he greeted. When I let go of his hand, he subtly shook feeling back into it. I'd need to get a better grip on my strength, especially with the sun charging it. "Well," he said as his partner finished up with the last thug, "you're a mite young to be fightin' armed thugs, but I suppose bein' a flyin' brick helps with it."

"Yeah," I replied with a confident smile, "it's much easier."

"Good ta hea that youse ain't puttin' youself in reckless danga," the olive-skinned cop said as he pulled one of the thugs to his feet. "Ah don't like ta hea 'bout tha Wads going out an gettin' in fights. At least wit ta Titans they was doin' it themselves an they was types that you knew could take care a demselves like Nightwing, an Wonder Girl." He shook his head. "Dees days, da Wards're jus kids, yeah?" That hit close to home, but how much of the Teen Titans' members' reputation, especially for the earliest members, came from their iconic status, and how much from them being simply better than today's young heroes? I wasn't sure.

Officer Wells shook his head, a grin on his face. "I'd agree with you if I understood a word you'd just said."

"Well," I interjected, "I'll make sure not to get in over my head." I grinned. "That's what Halbeard is for."

"Yea, you can always trust a Bat to get themselves inta trouble," the olive-skinned cop agreed. "Anaways, youse gonna help us get dese hoolagans inta tha ca? Wes don' gots supa strength."

I nodded in agreement. "Of course, officer."

A few minutes later, the three of the five thugs were in the back of the car and the other two were seated on the ground next to the cruiser. I gave the two officers a wave and flew off towards where Batman had been fighting Lung. By the time I got there, the fight was over and Lung was down for the count.

Crystal, Laserdream in costume, flew over towards me. She was in her red and white bodysuit, and I could see the rest of our family was also in costume at the edge of the park.

She waved as she approached and called out, "Hey, Vicky! You flew off pretty fast back there. Nab any bad guys?"

I smiled and waved back as I flew to meet her halfway. "Yeah, I got five of them. How about you?"

Laserdream shook her head. "No, we just got here." She made a show of looking at the park and its environs. "Looks like we showed up late to the party though." Below, PRT with containment foam sprayers were quickly making their way over to the unconscious Lung.

I shrugged. "That's what you get for being slow."

Laserdream scoffed. "Don't talk back rookie. You don't even have a costume yet," she teased.

"I don't need a costume to be a hero," I retorted. "Like I said, I've already taken down five goons."

"But costumes look snazzy," Laserdream rebutted.

I opened my mouth, but couldn't really object. "Yeah, they are." Then I smirked at her. "But mine's going to be snazzier."

"'Snazzier?'" Laserdream scoffed, idly pointing a finger and sending a laser to hit the ground in front of a gang member trying to run for the trees. When he looked up at her in panic, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who uses 'snazzier' these days? I mean, besides old farts like Supes."

"Superman isn't an old fart!" I objected. "And you're the one to use snazzy first. Don't try to pass the blame off on me."

Laserdream rolled her eyes and sent down two laser beams to either side of the thug when he looked like he was going to try running from the cops coming up. She glanced at me and replied, "Yeah, yeah. As for Supes, he's great, but old fashioned. We're all about justice and accountability, but there comes a time when you have to hit hard. It's like how cops are justified in killing in self-defense or the defense of others, sometimes you have to resort to lethal force."

She finished that statement with a meaningful look at the thug below and he clasped his hands behind his head and got on his knees.

"Batman never accepted that, sometimes at cost to this city," she continued, "and Superman has always been much worse about it than him."

I crossed my arms and shook my head. This was an argument we'd had a dozen times already, but this time I actually had powers. I felt like I understood better. Especially after the alley. "Maybe we can't always be the heroes we want to be. Truth, Justice, Mercy…" I looked out across the city, memories of my first failures and successes at being a hero running through my mind. "…They're hard to apply equally, what with everything we have to deal with." I tried to find whatever train of thought I was trying for and let out a sigh. "I don't know about us, but Superman is practically unstoppable. Anything that can get past his invulnerability, he can regenerate from with sunlight. He can afford to be a symbol to aspire too."

"Even if we can never reach it?" Crystal asked. Her eyes swept across the park and its environs one more time, but neither of us saw anything that warranted our involvement. It looked like the League and the boys in blue were wrapping things up nicely at this point. "I've always preferred the practical approach to heroism. We're putting our lives of the line all day, every day, especially as members of New Wave. Even if it doesn't maintain the flawless image that New Wave and the Justice League like to present, we can do more good if we make sure not to let some nut gun us down. On the streets or in our homes."

Crystal was right, I supposed. She'd been old enough to know our aunt better before the attack. We couldn't protect people if we were killed. I couldn't think of any argument I could make for us to be inspirational that she couldn't just counter with 'and then someone shoots us because we weren't being careful.' I didn't want that to happen to me again. I knew it was cowardly, but I didn't want to find myself lying dying on the ground ever again, with him standing over me mocking. It… made a convincing argument.

It didn't mean that I had to like it, however.

I jerked out of my thoughts when Crystal put her hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't be glum. Not everyone can be like Superman, and you shouldn't feel bad about that." She grinned. "But don't worry, being a superhero can be lots of fun even if you can't go faster than a speeding bullet of adjust the moon's orbit."

I let out a chuckle at the last comment. "You're the expert. I don't know…" I sighed again. "I just… feel like I'm not living up to what a hero's supposed to be."

"Like I said, solar charged or not, you're no Superman," Crystal replied softly, "I know you've had to deal with some…well – don't let Mom or Aunt Carol hear me say this – some shit, especially to get a Brute power. But, you shouldn't get so worked up about being something you'll never attain, okay? Like Ollie said to me last time I saw him, focus on what you can do, and have fun." She leaned closer and whispered, "He was drunk and I'm pretty sure he was hitting on me, but Dad came over and did the whole Papa Bear thing to chase him off."

I leaned back and looked at her incredulously for the frankly disturbing non sequitur.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we've got to go down and show off our newest member to the Justice League."

She flew down and a moment later I followed. Armsmaster was busy with Batman and the girl that had thrown the bottle, so it was Velocity and a PRT officer that collected our statements. The PRT officer was garbed in the standard ballistic mesh and chainmail, so he wasn't one of the Special Tactics Force with their almost-Tinker tech gear. Instead he was basically just grunt and I could tell by his tone that he wasn't particularly happy with the Q and A.

"So, you immediately came here and upon seeing Batman fighting Lung, you decided to watch?" the officer eventually asked, looking up from his notepad.

"I was making sure he didn't need my help," I replied defensively. "I mean, Batman or not, Lung's a monster."

He turned his faceplate towards me but didn't say anything.

I huffed and continued, "So when I was sure he had the situation under control, I went and stopped these five thugs who were going to shoot two cops and get away."

"And then?" Velocity asked me from beside the officer.

"I flew back up to look around and Laserdream came over," I explained in annoyance. I grit my teeth and continued before either could ask another question, "But, by then the situation looked like it was under control, so we kept an eye out until coming down to give you guys our statements."

The officer jotted something else down on his notepad and looked back up. "Anything else?" he asked in a bored tone.

"No."

"Thank you for your cooperation," the officer recited from rote and turned off the voice recorder. Velocity gave a quick nod before turning to look around the rest of the park, both dismissing me in an instant for more important things to do.

I could tell that neither of them was impressed by the new flying brick stopping a mere five armed thugs. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't much but it still irked me. I'd risked my life, on my first day as Power Girl no less. I didn't even have a costume yet!

"So you're not impressed the new flying brick managed to stop five thugs," I found myself saying, but was too annoyed not to continue. "That's OK, I get it, I'm a superman type, I should have gotten here sooner and been able to do more... But frankly, it's my first day, I just got these powers and I managed to stop five squishy civilian thugs without hospitalizing anyone! I for one am pretty impressed with myself!"

The officer gave me flat look, Velocity a reproachful one and Crystal tittered. I folder my arms and glowered at them all, but didn't say anything else until my interviewers had left.

After that, we returned home. It wasn't much for a Hero's first official night, but it was much better than my first fight as a cape.

My success didn't banish nightmares of finding myself in the alley again, of getting shot and beaten. Being powerless to save myself of the woman in the alley.

I found myself waking up far earlier than Mom or Dad, and not being able to or wanting to go back to sleep. So, I got prepared for the day and went out. I flew up to the top of the Wayne tower to watch Gotham stir as the day began.

Blue began seeping to the sky, the darkness of the night above giving way to brighter and paler blue until it touched the barest traces of yellow along the ocean's horizon. Yellow began to rise up into the sky, slow enough that I barely noticed at first. As the radiance spread, the rest of the sky began to brighten alongside it as the night was gradually banished.

Next orange began to well up along the horizon. Growing thicker as the day's light built up. At this point, the brooding clouds to the north began to contrast the sky with royal purple, reluctantly eyeing the light that already heralded the end of the night and sending those that lurked in it back to quiescence. Like too much of the city, they only reluctantly accepted the dawn. Or perhaps, given their location over the Wayne Manor, they were just reluctant to give up their watch over Gotham.

The rising sun's light next began to blend with the fading night to cast more and more of the canvas above in pink. The bands of light began to grow and differentiate.

"Watching the sunrise?" a smooth, authoritative voice asked.

I spun around and gasped. Floating before me was a man clad in red and blue bodysuit, his sapphire eyes twinkling under strong brows upon an ageless face. Behind him swirled waves of crimson as he floated towards me. I watched in silence as he sat down beside me, watching the horizon. Superman. He must be here to chew out Batman.

I opened and closed my mouth. I couldn't even think of what to say.

Not wanting to embarrass myself, I turned back to see the ocean a shining metallic blue, reflecting the swelling light.

The clouds finally began to relent, fading to grey and white as we sat in silence and watched. It looked like the day had already started, not waiting for the sun to arrive.

"That's the false dawn," he said. "Daylight's being reflected off of clouds so high up that most don't notice them."

I frowned and looked up at the sky. If I concentrated, I thought I could see hints of what he was talking about, but I wasn't certain that it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me given how little I'd slept the past two nights.

I felt like I should be saying or doing something instead of just sitting next to one of the most important and iconic people in the world. All I could do was sit there and quietly asked myself, "Why?"

"You looked like you could use company," he replied, and I started. I hadn't realized that I had spoken out loud. "I don't sleep much anymore," he continued. "Among many other oddities, Kryptonians don't need to sleep if they've absorbed enough solar energy."

I looked down at the street far below and muttered, "I wish I didn't have to sleep."

He just chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it, Victoria."

I started again. "Wha- How?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Superman turn and grin at me. "Great memory helps, but mostly it was Bruce telling me to chase you off his property. Apparently only he gets to brood on his rooftops."

My mind stuttered to a stop again, before it clicked. Of course he knows about Batman, he probably knows about yesterday- no, the day before yesterday.

He leaned closer to me and I couldn't help noting how well his suit showed off his physique. He looks pretty good for a man in his nineties.

"Don't tell Bruce this," he continued with a smile in his voice, "but Armsmaster likes to hack the WayneCorp security feeds for the roof so he can 'watch for disturbances,' which is of course completely different from brooding."

When I didn't speak, he turned back to watching the sun rise begin. Color had seeped back into the bottoms of the clouds and they had clad the rest of themselves in grey as though pulling the night back to themselves, if only for a moment.

Then a faint trace of cloud closer to the eastern horizon than the others began to brighten until it shone like golden droplets in the sky.

And then the sun rose. I felt it as much as saw it and for a long moment I sat there with my eyes closed, basking in the feeling of warmth that spread across my skin.

Finally, I opened my eyes again to watch as the sun rose into the sky, its corona growing. I didn't even wonder why it didn't hurt my eyes to look at it.

I broke out of watching the sky again when I heard a sigh from beside me. Turning my head, I saw that that Superman had straightened and floated up into the air again. He glanced towards Newtown and said, "If I remember Mark's address correctly, it looks like they're up. You might want to go back and grab some breakfast."

I nodded my head, numbly.

He waved as he continued to rise away from me. "It was nice meeting you. Hopefully we'll get the chance to talk again soon, but there's always someone that needs help." He vanished in an instant and I heard a soft whump of air.

I stared at the space he'd been a moment ago before shaking my head and flying back home. I quickly slipped into the kitchen and got started on preparing a breakfast of milk and cereal for myself.

Meeting Superman and watching the sun rise with him was pretty surreal, enough so that I wasn't completely sure if I hadn't just dozed and dreamt it all.

I sighed and shook my head as Mom walked into the kitchen. No, it wasn't a dream.

"You're in a good mood today," Mom remarked as she walked over to the cupboard.

"Yeah," I agreed. I'd met Superman.

+JLL+

A shadowed figure sat in the secluded corner booth of a bustling Irish pub. Though it was dark, one could see his white hair and the black eyepatch over his right eye as he sat. He would only occasionally sip his drink the beer in front of him as he constantly watched the rest of the pub in apparent boredom.

A slim woman in a blue hoodie with a long cylindrical case sat down opposite him. They looked at each other for a long moment, before a raspy, ephemeral voice that sounded unsettlingly like a distantly heard scream whispered, "It's him."

The woman unslung the case from her back and passed it over to the man before standing up and walking out of the bar.

Positioning the container so that no one outside the booth could see inside of it, the man opened the case and looked inside to see a sheathed sword held in place so as not to rattle. He pulled the sword out just enough to see the green-tinted metal of the blade.

After a brief moment of silent study, the blade began to glow with luminous soft green striations.

The glow faded and he quietly slid the sword home and asked the open air, "Who is this for?"

The shadows in the booth shifted, and for an instant it might have appeared to an onlooker as though there was another occupant, one wearing a mask but without a face and empty yet strangely filled gloves resting on the tabletop. Then it was gone, leaving behind a folded piece of paper where the figure's gloves had been. The unearthly voice whispered again in the man's ear, "Here are the names. More information will be available from your contact there. The sword is for the first one on the list. She is inexperienced, but will have cape support. The amulet inside of the bronze case at the bottom will prevent that woman from stopping you when she inevitably intervenes. Do not recite the included incantation until contact with her is confirmed or else she will know and escape its effects. After that, make her the priority."

"Understood," the man replied as he resealed the container. He pulled the piece of paper over and unfolded it to glance at the names. Seeing the first target's last name, he let out a low chuckle. "It's been a while since I last set foot in Gotham."

World's Best Therapist: Doc's ExSupervillains Therapy Group Special Issue

Cover: A coffee mug rests on the red cushion of a dark wooden chair. The cup itself is off-white with large, blocky blue letters spelling out, "World's Best Therapist," across the front. Through floor-to-ceiling windows behind the mug, a bright blue sky without any trace of clouds is visible.

+JLL+

The room was wide open, with an entire wall dedicated to floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking serene gardens. Pines, maples and even a willow tree gathered around the interconnected ponds clearly visible within the garden. Cobblestone paths weaved their way through lush ivy, bushes and flowers, and at the far end of the open space, a Zen garden was barely visible.

Several people could be seen walking through the park or sitting on the tasteful stone benches positioned throughout the large gardens. Many of them wore bland blue uniforms of short-sleeved shirts and slacks, while the rest had a variety of mundane clothing. They were all likely enjoying the nice weather outside due to the clear, sunny skies overhead.

Inside the room itself, a ring of chairs was positioned in the center of the room's beige carpeted floors. To anyone entering the room, the seats and their occupants were backlit by the light pouring in through the windows. However, some of the figures stood out with their abnormally shaped silhouettes.

"What about you, Matthew?" a woman with blond hair, blue eyes, a white blouse, a crimson skirt and black high heels asked in a bright, chipper voice. She was sitting in a dark wooden chair with red cushions on the seat and back. In her lap was a clipboard and a mug with the words, "World's Best Therapist," was clasped in her hands. "How have you been?"

"Fine," a deep voice rumbled. It belonged to a large humanoid figure of what looked like partially oozing clay slumped in metal chair that was too small for it. His face resembled that of a figure inexpertly sculpted, lacking a nose or anything more than the vaguest caricature of a human face.

"And how are the treatments going?" the woman prompted, leaning forward in her seat slightly.

The slumped figure let out a wet sigh. "They're working about as well as the docs predicted." He held up his right hand, fingers pointed straight up towards the ceiling and then watched with blank yellow eyes as the digits slumped to the sides slightly. "I heard Panacea was in town a few days ago…"

"Do you think she could have helped you?" the woman inquired.

"She's a frankly ridiculously powerful biokinetic," Matthew retorted, annoyance coloring his voice, "of course she could have. Probably would take a minute, tops. But, no, she had to go off to the middle of nowhere, Africa."

"You don't like that?" the woman asked, glancing down at the clipboard in her hands.

"No," Matthew replied flatly. "She could have helped me now instead of whenever Arkham managed to get it into her schedule." The woman opened her mouth but he continued over her. "And don't you go defending her; I know how close you two were back in the day."

"Matthew," another man interjected. He was tall and muscular with short, dark hair and he was wearing jeans, a short-sleeved brick red shirt with the legend, "I joined the Suicide Squad and all I got was this lousy shirt," and the twinkle in one's eyes of someone in on the joke. "You can't expect her do drop whatever she's doing whenever a sick person is nearby. If she did, then people would be constantly harassing her for help even more than they already do. Even Superman needs time to himself," the man explained before switching to a more conciliatory tone, "She'll get to you when she can."

Matthew shook his head and let out a long, wet sigh. "I know, Ethan. It's just that I'm tired of waiting for that while…this…" he gestured at himself, "gets slowly worse. Even if I can't stay normal, she could at least fix most of my… issues."

"And she will," the woman assured him. "Until then, we're here for you Matthew." Murmurs of agreement came from all of the members of the circle.

"Thanks, Doc, everyone," Matthew said.

The woman straightened and grinned. "No problem, honey. So," she said, shifting gears, "why don't we talk about something else, okay?"

Matthew shrugged. "Sure, like what?"

"Weellllll," the woman drawled, drawing the word out with a smile on her face, "I heard you got back into acting." She finished the statement with a singsong tone.

Matthew's mouth twitched up at its corners. "Yeah, it's for this cop procedural called The Black and The Blue," Matthew explained, "the directors and producers decided that they wanted the effects to look as realistic as possible, so I get to play most of the stranger characters they run into, like the time they got Croc to let them use his likeness."

"How'd they do that?" Ethan asked, his head tilted to the side.

Matthew shrugged. "Well, they got a cow carcass and took it down to him. They told him if he agreed, then they'd bring down another for him. He's not that picky these days and when he agreed, Arkham okayed it too. The royalties probably helped."

Ethan hummed and nodded. "Makes sense. Maybe they're hoping to make a killing using Waylon's likeness."

"No," a slightly electronic voice denied, "I've had enough of your terrible puns and 'jokes' to last a lifetime." The voice belonged to a bulky figure seated a reinforced metal chair. He wore a metal-plated suit was reminiscent of a space suit with armor and gadgets added to it. The clear visor was covered in condensation before a blue line swept across it and the condensation disappeared. The head inside the suit was a pale, icy blue and hairless. His eyes were further covered by silver goggles with red lenses.

"Sorry, Victor," Ethan replied with a smug grin, not sounding the least bit regretful.

Victor shook his head. "I still can't believe they let you join the Justice League."

"Maybe I didn't, and this is all just an elaborate prank on you, Vicky," Ethan replied with the mocking smile that was at home on his face.

Victor scowled, but couldn't keep a wry grin from creeping up on him. "I remember swearing that I'd freeze you solid if you ever called me that again. Unfortunately, they didn't let me bring any of my weapons here."

Ethan pouted. "Don't give me the cold shoulder like that, Victor. Remember all the good times we had? Going out to ice skate together? Building snowmen? Getting ice cream? I thought we were closer."

"All those times were you messing around while I was paying you," Victor rebutted.

"And look how much fun we had!" Ethan continued. He turned to Matthew and said, "But anyway, I heard that you asked Victor to help you with something? Anything fun?"

Matthew paused to do what may or may not have been a roll of his eyes. "Not anything I imagine you'd enjoy, no. I recommended him for some special effects for the show."

"I normally wouldn't do something like that at a price they would be willing to pay," Victor added, "but they asked nicely and it was a favor to Matthew."

"He also got a guest appearance," Matthew interjected. "I think he enjoys the recognition."

"And what about you?" the woman asked Matthew.

"Of course I do," Matthew replied, "otherwise I wouldn't have become an actor in the first place. It's…nice to be an actor again. I mean, at first most of them just saw…this," he gestured at his face, "but they're starting to warm up to me. Like I'm not some monster, just a guy they work with."

The woman smiled. "That's wonderful to hear, Matthew! It's good to know that things have been working out for you."

"Heh, thanks Doc."

"Any time, Matthew," replied before turning to Victor. "And what about you? How have things been going?"

"It's been… productive," Victor stated. "I completed the Air Force's subzero suits with Kord Industries, and both Toybox and WayneCorp have been interested enough in my work to make offers for me to join them."

"I'm glad to hear your professional life has been working out for you," the woman told him. "But what about your personal life? How is that going? Made any friends?"

"I have had cordial relationships with my coworkers while working with Kord Industries on the contract," Victor replied.

"You should try to get out more and meet people," the woman cajoled him.

He merely raised an eyebrow. "People tend to avoid me outside of work. They find me intimidating."

"Same here, but I manage," Matthew replied.

Victor grunted and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, Victor, need to relax and have some fun," another member prompted. He was wearing a mellow blue shirt, gray-green slacks and yellow and red sneakers. His blond hair was unkempt, but he looked at Victor with clear blue eyes. "Why don't you come meet me and the guys sometime? Shoot some pool?"

"Shoot pool?" Victor asked incredulously.

"You need to get out there and have fun with other people," the man explained. "You're a workaholic, so take an evening off and shoot some pool with us, maybe throw some darts too. Darts are my favorite." He perked up. "Oh! And Jay said he'd be there! You'll love him, he's great!"

Victor sighed. "Fine. When is it?"

"Next Friday," the man replied. "I'll see you there, at eight."

"Where is this, James?" the woman asked. "I imagine Victor'll need to know where to go."

"Oh, right," James acknowledged. "It's called Mac's and it's on Dresden and Wizard. Great food, awesome beer." He looked back at Victor. "But you'll have trouble with that, huh?"

"Yes, I will," Victor agreed with a flat tone.

"Great!" James exclaimed. "Doc, you should come too!"

The woman smiled. "I'd love too. It sounds like fun." She tilted her head to the side. "So how have you been, James?"

"Good," James told her. "I like being able to walk around the city, and Flash comes by to say hi all the time."

"That's nice," the woman agreed amicably. "You've been taking your medicine, right?"

James sighed. "Yes, doc. I know. Flash and Ethan keep telling me too."

"Taking your meds is important, James," Ethan chided from where he sat.

"I know, I know," James replied.

"We don't want you to get into trouble again, James," the woman told him.

"Yeah, okay," James agreed. "Anyone else want to come by the bar for a game?"

"I might be able to make it," Matthew replied.

"Puppy and I tend to by busy on Fridays," Ethan informed him with a smug grin.

"I might be able to make it," another man offered. He had dark hair, a dark goatee and dark eyes. "My parole officer and therapist say I should 'socialize' more."

"Yeah, I'd rather not have to deal with another lightshow at 3 AM any time soon," Ethan remarked dryly. "Where'd you get the speakers anyway? Leet, right?"

The man huffed. "What? I couldn't make them myself?"

Ethan just silently raised an eyebrow and met the other man's eyes.

The dark-eyed man shuffled his feet, shifted position in his chair slightly and looked away. "Okay, fine. I did." Then he muttered on the edge of the others' hearing, "He gives me a discount."

"Arthur, you're not making any illegal sales are you?" the woman asked, chiding him.

"No!" the dark-eyed man objected. "I filled out the paperwork with Toybox last week!"

"Good," Ethan said, "I'd rather not deal with the paperwork."

Arthur glared at him, but withered under Ethan's level stare.

"Perhaps you could work with me," Victor offered. "If you're looking for work, I would find another Tinker useful in my labs." He paused. "We could collaborate."

Arthur stroked his goatee. "I suppose I could share my genius with you."

"Hey!" the woman interrupted with sharp tone of voice. "What have I said about thinking that you're superior to everyone else?"

Arthur looked down at the carpet again. "That I'm just as good as anyone else…"

"If you're ever thinking that you're invincible or unstoppable, just remember all of the times you've been beaten over the years," Ethan solemnly offered.

Arthur, the woman and the last person, a bald man with blue eyes, all glared reproachfully at Ethan. Matthew and Victor were also disapproving.

Ethan held up his hands. "I know it sounds harsh, but it's a good way to remember that you aren't infallible. Or at least it is in my opinion, since I try to keep in mind my mistakes in our mutual career so I don't make them again."

Arthur frowned in silence before he nodded. He looked up at Ethan's eyes. "So… what do you regret?"

Ethan smiled and leaned back and shrugged. "Being stupid, some of the more shortsighted decisions I made back then. But…" he tilted his head to the side. "Getting caught was not one of them." He held up a hand and wiggled it in a 'so-so' gesture. "Well, technically I failed to escape, but I don't regret that." He gestured at the room. "This might suck at times, but trust me, I like the direction my life's taken this past decade and change. Wouldn't change it for the world. Keep at it, buddy."

Arthur grunted. "Alright, alright. The great – er – I will continue with this."

"Uh huh."

"Good enough!" the woman said brightly. "How about you, Mick?"

The last member, the bald man with blue eyes, shrugged. "The shrinks 're letting me out in the gardens again, so that's nice. Not really much else to say."

"Nothing?" she asked. "Come oooonnn, there has to be something."

"Well, they talked about lettin' Mimi and me see each other again," Mick offered.

"My new fire suppression systems needed to be tested sometime," Victor muttered.

Mick glared at him. "Hey, we're not that bad!"

"What about Steel and Dragon?" Ethan interrupted. "They said they'd get in touch with you."

Mick turned away from his incipient argument with Victor and said, "Oh, yeah. Dragon offered to work with me on a few of her projects. Said she'd need to set up a proper workshop here, and Doctor Arkham said he'd look into clearing out a room for it instead of the shed he lets me work in so I don't go crazy."

"That's wonderful news, Mick!" the woman exclaimed.

Mick grinned back at her. "Yeah, it'll be nice to put my Tinkering to use… well, for something other than burning buildings down."

"Sometimes that's what cha need ta do," James offered.

"True," Ethan agreed, "but it's usually not, and is generally frowned upon. Can't imagine why people wouldn't want their buildings set on fire."

"Uh, yeah," Mick agreed, chuckling in embarrassment.

Ethan sat up straight and clapped his hands, causing Arthur and Mick to jump in their seats slightly. "Well, this has been fun, huh? What time is it?"

"Oh, you need to get going soon?" the woman asked. "That's a shame Ethan."

"Yeah, Doc," Ethan agreed with a mischievous smile, "but I've got time if you'd like to talk with me like you did with the others."

The woman waved his concerns away, "No, no, it's fine, Ethan. You're free to go if you need to."

"Well," Ethan drawled as his smile managed to widen, "technically I have to stay till the end, remember? Official policy and all that. So maybe we should talk, Harleen."

"I've never been one to stand in the way of standing on policy at the expense of people," the woman, Harleen, objected, holding up her right hand.

Ethan's left eyebrow rose up his forehead. "Really? Care to talk about that? I'm not just in charge of this group because I'm a hero now. I am an accredited psychologist, and I'd like to give you a chance to talk to the group about you since you've so graciously been asking after the others' wellbeing on what is normally your turn to talk about yourself."

"Ah…" Harleen pulled at her collar. "Well, ya see… I haven't really been up to anything interesting."

Ethan's smile didn't relent, and neither did he. "Don't be down on yourself, Harleen. I imagine you had something interesting happen since last session. After all, I can't imagine Amelia would turn down a chance to see you again."

Arthur perked up at that and James muttered, "I remember her…" He shuddered.

"Yeah, we talked…" Harleen agreed, her face a bit red. "We talked about old times, I got to meet her hubby."

"Oh?" Ethan prompted, letting the syllable and his knowing smile convey the message.

"No!" Harleen objected. "I know what you're implying bub, so shut it!"

"I didn't say anything," Ethan replied, holding up his hands in a placating gesture.

Harleen huffed and turned her head away. "I knew what you were thinking."

"I'm sorry if you got a negative impression of my thoughts about you," Ethan replied, but his clear amusement put lie to that.

"You're a terrible psychologist," Harleen shot back. "You're not supposed to aggravate your patients!"

"Two things," Ethan countered, "one, I'm not your psychologist, I'm just the guy that hosts these meetings and it is in fact not my profession; two, pot," he pointed at her, "kettle," he pointed at himself.

"Ah!" Harleen cried out in exasperation. "You're intolerable! I can't believe I ever liked you!"

Ethan shrugged. "Everyone makes bad decisions." He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Wait-"

"Some worse than others," Victor interjected. "But then again, there's no accounting for taste."

"Ouch!" Ethan exclaimed, clutching his heart at the same time Harleen shouted, "Hey! Are you sayin' I don't have taste!?"

"So you actually met with Panacea?" Matthew interrupted them. He had shifted in his seat so that he loomed towards her.

Harleen opened and closed her mouth before nodding. "Yeah, we met for dinner but she had to get on a flight almost as soon as we sat down ta eat." She perked up. "I did mention you to her though! But, uh, like we said earlier, there's a wait for that." She poked her index fingers together and laughed nervously under Matthew's glare.

Matthew continued silently glaring at her, the tension rapidly building in the air. Then he let out a wet sigh and leaned back. "Not worth the hassle."

"That's the spirt!" Ethan agreed. "And don't worry. Like I said, she'll get to you soon enough."

"Yeah, yeah," Matthew replied, waving him off.

Ethan turned back to Harleen. "So, Harleen, anything else you'd like to share?"

Harleen sighed. "I was just thinking about old times…"

Ethan gave her a disapproving look. "He was a manipulative psychopath." He pursed his lips. "Or was it sociopath? Damn it, I should remember this."

Harleen waved the comment away and replied, "No, not Mista Jay – er, the Joker. Well, not exactly. It's just, with Batman coming back just a few days ago, it's got me thinking about old times. Ya know?"

Ethan shrugged. "I always tried to avoid tangling with the big guns, but I ran into Batman a time or two." He turned to Victor. "You remember that time you hired me to bust out Killer Frost? Wasn't that just a year or two before you ran off to Toybox's pocket dimension for a while?"

"Yes, you could say that dealing with you as an underling put me off being a villain," Victor flatly stated.

"Good to know I helped even when I was on the wrong side of the law."

"If you want to call it that," Victor replied in the same flat tone.

"I think I do," Ethan agreed before he settled back in his chair.

There was a brief moment of quiet.

"I've been meaning to ask," Mick said, "but did they actually give you that shirt?" He pointed to Ethan's "I joined the Suicide Squad and all I got was this lousy shirt" shirt.

Ethan pulled at his shirt and looked down at it. "Oh, this old thing? Nah, I had it custom made. If they had given me one, it'd be pretty old by now. I mean, Cadmus's been using those new fibers that Kord's developed for clothes, but I imagine that the coloring would have faded at least a little over the last nine years since I switched to probation in the League."

"What was it like in the Suicide Squad?" Mick asked. "Flash wanted me to come here instead of join them."

Ethan shrugged. "They equipped me with some of their more experimental armor and sent us on the really high risk missions. Fought the Nine once, but the most exciting mission was during that whole clusterfuck with Luthor as president. I got to throw down with Wonder Woman, and we leveled a few blocks. She couldn't land a solid hit on me and I couldn't do more than knock her around and annoy her until I got the orders to stand down. I think she still carries a grudge, but that might just because I'm prettier." He turned his head to Harleen. "What about you? You joined after I left."

"It was pretty crazy," Harleen admitted. "I mean, they call it the Suicide Squad for a reason. I'm just glad I got out of that outfit." She saw Ethan raise an eyebrow and she slapped him. "You're just doing that to annoy me, so cut it out!"

"They were going to give me the option to join too," Matthew rumbled, "but they had trouble coming up with a way to make sure I didn't pull a runner. Back then, my condition wasn't as bad so they didn't have much of a hold on me. I hear they considered poison, but they probably discarded it because it wouldn't stop me from running to people with the pull to get an antitoxin, like the Society or Intergang."

"But you did join," Arthur stated. "I remember hearing that."

Matthew shrugged and his face rippled. "Yeah, when they realized that I was deteriorating, they said they'd cover all the treatments if I did my time in the Squad." His misshapen mouth pulled down in a scowl. "Turns out I finished my tour before I was cured. It was not pleasant."

"At least you're out and don't have to worry about heroes attacking you when you walk down the street," Harleen offered. "I always consider that a plus."

"Perhaps you should have taken more advantage your ability to take your costume off," Victor suggested with a hard voice. His mouth was pulled up slightly at its corners. "Or perhaps left your hyenas at home more often."

"Yeah, well…" Harleen said, trailing off before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Ah, your trademark maturity and restraint," Victor remarked.

"Why are you so cold to her, Vicky?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, what's what the hostility? You really need to chill out," Harleen added.

"I know where you work, both of you," Victor replied levelly.

"What cha gonna do, bub?" Harleen asked, a teasing tone in her voice. "Gonna 'put us on ice?'"

Matthew groaned and Arthur winced at the same time. "That was awful, both of you," Matthew told the two jokesters. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, if you were capable of it."

Ethan's smirk waxed. "I may regret some things, but I am never ashamed. Makes things more interesting."

"In the Chinese sense?" Matthew asked.

"Interesting is good," James added. "Well, sometimes they don't like interesting."

"Either way Matty," Ethan said, "James has got a point."

"I still find it hard to believe the public considers you a hero in good standing by now," Matthew muttered in reply.

"I did my time, got new costume and name, and I've been a model hero since," Ethan explained.

"Somehow, I don't believe you," Harleen said.

"What? You don't trust me?" Ethan asked, grinning as he assumed an offended posture.

"Nope," she replied immediately, followed shortly by all of the others except James saying, "No," as well.

"I think maybe you guys should work on your obvious trust issues," Ethan suggested politely.

"I think maybe you should work on not telling obvious lies," Harleen retorted.

"Fine, fine," Ethan relented. "It's because I'm so charming." He grinned at them, showing his practically sparkling teeth.

Victor scoffed.

"Anyway, didn't you have to get going soon?" Harleen asked.

Ethan glanced down at his wristwatch. "Huh, yeah actually. I'm going to have to call it quits early today. Apparently we've got something going on down at the HQ. Didn't really listen to what." He looked up at the others. "I mean, they didn't go into detail."

"Uh huh," Harleen grunted.

"Hey, why don't you lot come over to the HQ some time? We're running a game of Exalted next Wednesday." Ethan offered. "It'll be fu-un!" he sang.

"Never heard of it," Matthew replied.

"It's a game where you play heroes power by gods," Ethan explained. "And it includes opium-peeing T-Rexes!"

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Sounds fun!" James exclaimed. "I wanna ride one! Will we have to get Panacea to make one for us or can we tame one in the wilds?"

"When she comes to heal me, I'll let you ask for one," Matthew offered as he stood. "Send me the time and I'll see if I can make it. There's a CSI: Gotham audition that day and I plan on trying out for it."

"Cool, it's at seven, and we'll be ordering pizza," Ethan replied as they all stood.

Matthew grunted. "I'll be late."

"Will Armsmaster be there?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, Halbeard'll make a showing," Ethan confirmed.

"Then I'll attend. I've been meaning to talk to him," Victor replied.

"Aww, you're gonna spend all night talking Tinker, aren't you?" Ethan asked.

"If I can possibly help it, yes."

"Talk Tinker with you and Armsmaster?" Mick asked. "Sounds interesting." He looked at Ethan as they started walking towards the doors as a group. "Can I make a character that's a pyromancer?"

Ethan grinned. "Yes, yes you can. Well, basically, anyway. With the right charms anything's possible."

"Cool."

"What about you two," Ethan asked Arthur and Harleen, who were lagging behind slightly.

"Sure, I haven't had a chance to tell Battery all your embarrassing stories, yet have I?" Harleen asked with a predatory grin.

Ethan paused. "Nope, don't think so."

Harleen's grin widened. "That's great! I'll be there at seven sharp!" She turned to Arthur. "What about you?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I've got to finish this project." Seeing Ethan's look, Arthur held up his hands. "Perfectly legal."

"Alright, then. See you next time!" Ethan told him with a wave.

"Buh-bye!"

"See you later."

"Good bye."

"Alvederzay! Did I get that right? No? Aloha!"

"Bye."