The darkness of space was overbearing. It was hostile to all that transverse it, the ultimate equalizer.
The harsh vacuum did not pose a challenge to a power ring. Green auras bathed people of various shapes and sizes. All were emblazoned with the Green Lantern symbol on their chest, a green power ring on their middle fingers, or whatever appendage it best fit.
Katma Tui was one such Lantern. She and an entire brigade of Lanterns had staked out this location as one to confront the approaching Kalanorians. If their intel was correct, they would be arriving here any moment. Their mission: stop the Kalanorian forces and detain its re-emerged leader, Despero.
When Katma had first heard of the Destroyer's return, it seemed the entire universe had shuddered. He had been a conqueror the likes of which hadn't been witnessed before, or since. When he had fallen during his conquest of Earth, she had assumed that was the end of him. That was an assumption many had shared and now were eating those words.
There was a tension amongst her and her comrades. There was a sense of foreboding, one that they all clearly felt. With their profession, it was understood that any mission would be someone's last. Some were felt more keenly than others. This one…this one had the feel of one where many would not be returning.
With sharp, dark eyes that stared out from an attractive red-skinned face, Katma studied the dark expanse of space before her. The rest of her body was clothed in the traditional green and black body suits the power rings provided. She had all of the hallmarks of her home planet's people, Korugar, and she would not blame anyone for being surprised by her ancestry, especially in light of one of her brethren's actions.
"I see them!" one of her fellow Lantern's announced, a thin purple alien with purple skin and many branching tentacles for arms. This immediately heightened the tension they felt, the contingency of Green Lanterns calling upon their respective wills.
It wasn't until a sparkle of light appeared that Katma was able to detect the approaching force. It started as one, and then a second one, and then more and more appeared. Katma willed her ring to enhance her eyesight and she found her vision focusing greatly on the flashes of light.
Oh yes, those were Kalanorian vessels alright. Their intel had been accurate. Already she could identify space cruisers in the Konifer model. Those ships were wider than they were long, the front-facing side mounted with laser cannons. There were also the traditional Kalanorian-class cruisers, and…oh great, there were Psy-class destroyers. Those were literal flying plasma cannons, ones with barrels that took up most of the ship's face. Even from this distance, she could see hundreds of them powering up.
"Shields!" Katma ordered as she jerked her arm up and fired a green beam.
Her comrades were copying her actions as they fired beams, one that spread out to form a shield. Because of their proximity to each other, the shield constructs fused together, making a larger, stronger shield construct.
And then the Kalanorians fired.
Blasts of plasma rapidly flew through space until they collided with the Lantern shield. Katma felt the power behind the blasts, but she was not pushed back. The combined, indomitable will of the Lanterns were more than what these cannons were able to overcome.
"Counterattack!" Katma ordered.
Every other Green Lantern stopped adding their power to the shield construct, which increased the strain on the remaining Lanterns as they held off the plasma cannon blasts. This was to be expected, but Katma could feel herself applying her will more. However, the Lanterns that had withdrawn their assistance were powering up their rings before they simultaneously fired large energy blasts. The beams raced towards the shield, where holes automatically opened up. The blasts passed through, racing through space towards the Kalanorians.
A few moments passed before explosions suddenly erupted. Kalanorian ships exploding one after the other as they were struck by the barrage of blasts. The additional light revealed more and more of the Kalanorian fleet, including a much larger mothership—no doubt the one Despero was aboard.
"Katma!" the voice of Galius Zed cried out. He looked like a round ball with arms and legs sticking out, his face covering up most of his body. He was also an old curmudgeon when it came to battle. "We have incoming!"
Turning her head, Katma saw what Galius was shouting about. Off to the right of the Green Lantern force was a cavalry of Kalanorian ships, the same as the main force that was approaching them, but with fewer ships. More importantly, she saw destroyers there too and they were about to fire.
"Right flank!" she shouted. Immediately, the edge of the shield construct began to arch around them, providing additional cover. A moment later, the destroyers fired their cannons and their blasts slammed right into the shield.
Katma grimaced and grunted as she felt even more strain. They were going to need more Lanterns on the shield rather quickly. However, if there was a unit of Kalanorians to their right…
Turning her head left, the Korugorian spotted another Kalanorian unit approaching them. Damn it, they were attempting a pincer move. "All Lanterns!" she proclaimed. "Incoming plasma cannons! Hold off the initial attack and then scatter! Evasive maneuvers and counter!"
The Lanterns that had gone on the offensive resumed their support of the shield, while the left side of the construct wrapped around them much like the right had. The plasma cannons struck the shield an instant later, sending shocks through all of their systems.
The moment they weathered through the blasts, the shield construct fell apart as they released their wills. Each Lantern took off in seemingly random directions, but only a fool would have missed each Lantern joining with two others as they formed small tactical teams and went after the Kalanorian forces.
Soon, the area was filled with green blasts of Lantern power. Kalanorian ships were struck, many of the beams causing minimal damage. In response, the cruisers opened fire with their own cannons, sending the Lanterns into more evasive maneuvers.
One Lantern approached the side of one of the Konifer-class cruisers. Instead of blasting it, the Lantern formed a saw-like construct and began vibrating the saw-like teeth back and forth rapidly, to the point where they seemed to be standing still. They swung their saw construct down on the ship, slicing it apart and causing it to explode.
Unfortunately, that Lantern didn't last long as a destroyer appeared right next to them. From point blank range, it fired its cannon, the blast swallowing up the Lantern, and just like that they had lost one.
Katma dodged the firepower that was streaking all around her. Closing in on a cruiser, she formed a blade construct and flew right below the cannon turrets of the ship. With her construct, she sliced off the barrels, rendering the weapons useless. Nearby, another Kalanorian ship exploded, the work of another Lantern.
Suddenly, Galius darted by her, stopping behind her. He held up his ring and formed a shield, plasma blasts striking the construct a moment later. Not even waiting to thank him, Katma spun around and held her ring hand out at her side as far as she could stretch it. Green energy flowed from her ring until a very long tentacle construct formed. Swinging her arm across her body, she lashed out with her construct like a whip, the tentacle closing rapidly in on a cruiser, wrapping around the ship the moment it connected with it.
Gritting her teeth, she then yanked on the ship as hard as she could, pulling it through space. Spinning around in a circle, she continued to swing the ship until it crashed into a destroyer, the two exploding upon their collision.
"I must say, I thought there would be greater offensive capabilities," Galius remarked as he dropped his shield construct and began firing multiple green blasts. "The reports indicated as much."
"We've only just begun," Katma replied as she moved to keep her back to Galius', doing as he was doing and firing blast after blast of power. "We haven't seen their best yet."
"You mean Despero," the round alien surmised. "Then we need to cut through this riff-raff first."
Indeed. Katma spared a glance to the mothership, seeing it had continued in their direction, the same with the fleet. However, she couldn't help but notice that any firepower from the fleet had declined. In fact, it appeared as if they were stopping their barrage.
What was the cause for this?
She received her answer moments later. From one of the ships, Karma spotted several streaks rising up and below the vessel. They stretched outward until they curved, changing trajectory as they flew towards the Green Lantern Corp.
The closer they came, the more the Korugorian saw. She realized she saw people at the heads of the streaks, the actual streaks auras of blazing purple flame. The fins on top of their head and their purple skin identified them as Kalanorians, dressed in armor that Katma had only seen on a world in the 2814 sector. One of the Lanterns there had shown her a film in which warriors known as samurai fought each other with swords. This armor was just like those save for the helmets.
"We have incoming!" she announced, her surrounding Lanterns immediately focusing on these charging Kalanorians. There was something about their auras that felt wrong to Katma. She was aware of certain species being able to travel space without protection, or the need to breath. Kalanorians were not one of those species, so how were these doing so?
Many Lanterns fired energy beams at the approaching Kalanorians. Katma watched as the beams struck their targets. One such Kalanorian was not blasted away, however. He continued to charge forward, the green beam tearing itself apart until the Lantern firing it stopped its flow. Other Lanterns moved in and formed a shield construct, blocking this new foe's path. The Kalanorian came to a stop a short distance away from the shield construct, holding his hands above his head. It was like he was gathering some sort of power, or energy, but there was no visible sign of it.
Then the Kalanorian swung his arms down, pointing them right at the shield. A fiery blast surged from his hands and struck the shield. Then to Katma's horror, she watched as the blast pushed through the shield, not even slowing down. The shield didn't shatter either, instead bending backwards until the fiery attack simply passed through it. A Lantern was right in the path of the attack and they could not move in time to avoid it as they were hit.
The flames literally devoured the Lantern, who screamed as he became nothing more than a black silhouette, then vanished entirely. Once the purple flame was gone, there was nothing left of the Lantern.
"What sorcery is this?!" Galius exclaimed just as more of those approaching Kalanorian warriors arrived. Much like the first one, they unleashed those strange fiery blasts, each one passing through the shield and consuming a Green Lantern.
Shortly after, the shield construct failed, thinning at various places until holes formed. The holes grew larger until the entire construct broke apart. Instead of attacking, the Kalanorians just floated there before them, staring intently at the astonished Lanterns.
That was until one raised a hand and fired yet another blast. Immediately, the Green Lanterns went into action, avoiding the attack. Beside her, Galius drew an arm back before he thrust it forward, firing a beam that formed a large, clawed hand. The construct closed in on one of the Kalanorians, grabbing them as the fingers wrapped around their entire body. "Got ya," the round Lantern gloated.
However, the Kalanorian didn't seem all that perturbed by this. Instead, he began straining, pushing his arms out. Much to both Galius and Katma's shock, he pushed the fingers apart, freeing himself from the construct's grasp. His aura then raged around his body, causing the hand to shatter.
Two other Kalanorians drifted beside their comrade, each with a single arm held up. They fired their fiery blasts, each one for either Galius or Katma.
In response, Katma fired a beam from her ring, forming a ramp construct. Instead of forming it in the path of the blasts, she created it just below their path. Timing herself, she then raised it up, the ramp coming into contact with the underside of the approaching attacks. Thankfully, this maneuver worked, pushing the blasts upward and over the two Lanterns' heads.
Others weren't so lucky.
All around, she saw Lanterns trying various constructs to deflect or defeat the Kalanorians' attacks, only to fail. One by one, the Lanterns were struck down, their forces dwindling with every passing second.
Beside her, Galius began firing small, rapid-fire beams, none of which seemed to harm the Kalanorians. Each one that hit either fizzled upon contact, or bounced off harmlessly.
Enough of this. Katma called upon her will, charging up her ring with every last shred of power she had. Her aura expanded outward until it formed a circle around her. Green sparks danced over its surface.
And then she unleashed it. "Haaaaa!" she shouted as a large, flame-like blast fired, one very much like the ones the Kalanorians had been using. Her first beam flew right towards one of the warriors and stuck true, the Kalanorian crying out as he was pushed back.
Katma unleashed a second and soon after a third, each one hitting a Kalanorian and pushing them away.
And then they stopped. Even as she unleashed more of her will, her blasts were no longer pushing her foes back. Instead, the Kalanorians were holding their hands up, holding off her attack.
Next came their counterattack as they fired their blasts once more, this time Katma's beams being shoved backwards. Eyes wide with desperation, she tried to push back, but found that whatever source of power these warriors were using, it easily brushed aside her will. Closer and closer they drew, every passing second dread filling the Korugorian's gut.
Galius then shouted and an enormous blast struck the encroaching beams. An incredible explosion rang out and the force of it threw Katma backwards. Crying out, she released her gathered will, then immediately went into damage control, trying to restore her equilibrium and hold her ground.
As the smoke cleared, she saw the Kalanorians once more, their auras still blazing around them. They didn't seem too worse for wear.
Galius was suddenly at her side. Immediately, he formed a large wall between them. "You need to go," he ordered.
"I refuse to leave," Katma snarled. "And you need all the help you can get."
"This is a losing battle and someone needs to alert the Guardians," he argued. "That last attack drained a substantial amount of power from my ring. I'll never make it to Oa. You're the only one here that stands a chance at succeeding. The rest of us will hold them off as long as we can.
"Now go!"
Katma didn't like it, but she didn't see any other option. She wanted to stay, but all around her she could see the Green Lanterns were losing. Sometimes withdrawal was the only option available, living to fight another day preferable than complete annihilation.
Turning away, Katma launched herself away from the battle. She used every last bit of will she had to fly faster and faster. She only spared one look over her shoulder at the rest of her remaining Lanterns, seeing Galius' shield fail as he was consumed by purple fire.
It was like coming back to a home you hadn't been to in years. It had been years since Shayera had been in anything remotely Thanagarian.
And here she was, on one of the prized vessels of the Thanagarian fleet, the Screeching Raptor. Hro Talak was its captain and ran a tight ship. There was not a single man present that wasn't handpicked by him.
That included her.
Arriving on the bridge, the metal doors sliding open before her and then closing behind her, the redhead saw the command center a hive of activity. Crewmen manned terminals, some merely gazing at their screens as others were far more animated. The radar crewmen were an exception as they stared at their radar console for any approaching bogies and threats. There was no doubt that they were the first men to spot her arrival.
Standing on the dais at the center of the room was Hro. He was facing her, a cocky smirk on his face. "Lieutenant," he greeted her warmly. "Welcome aboard the Screeching Raptor."
Shayera stopped in her tracks as she raised a fist over her heart, bowing in recognition of his rank. "Commander," she responded.
"At ease." Immediately, she straightened out her posture and closed the remaining distance between them. "It has been some time, Shayera. I almost thought you were lost to us."
"And you should know better," she shot back playfully. "It takes more than an undercover mission to bring me down."
"Even for you, this has been a long one."
"It helps if I'm able to keep myself busy," she shrugged. "I'm guessing you'd like a debriefing."
"Of course."
Reaching behind her, Shayera brought out a book. It was her logbook, one in which she had detailed her every observation—even after it had fallen into the hands of a sadistic clown. "I'm not certain where to start considering you told the U.N. they were vulnerable in every way possible."
"Which we wouldn't have if it weren't for you," Hro reassured her. He tilted his head to one side for a moment. "Ah, Lieutenant Kragger, you are right on time."
Shayera glanced over her shoulder and spotted a fellow Thanagarian approaching her. Already she felt like she needed a bath. Kragger was a kiss ass through and through and he had found the perfect ass to kiss in Hro. He was thinner and shorter than the heroic-looking Hro, a goatee covering his chin and jaw. He had chosen a falcon helmet rather than the hawk for his headwear.
"I didn't want to miss Lieutenant Hol's report on the Earthlings, Sir," Kragger responded to their superior officer. "I hope I didn't miss anything."
"Not at all," Hro reassured him. Then he returned his attention to Shayera. "You may continue."
"Perhaps the greatest defense Earth has is the Justice League." There was no point in glossing anything over at this point. "It's an organization of the most powerful heroes on the planet and they have just recently expanded their ranks. I'll have a more detailed report later."
"Later?" Kragger repeated. "Why not now?"
"It has been rather chaotic as of late on Earth," Shayera replied snidely. "The arrival of the Thanagarian fleet and the recent battle with the Tamaraneans were time consuming."
"That's never stopped you before," Lieutenant Kiss Ass pressed.
The winged woman would have snarled, but she held her temper in check—for now. "Aside from foreign threats, there are plenty of domestic ones, each with their own power sets and motives." At this she pulled out a flashdrive from her belt, one containing files from the Justice League's database on the various rogues each hero had faced. "All of that information is right here. Some of them formed their own organization not too long ago and used a virtual reality headset to brainwash members of the Justice League, myself included."
"Brainwash?" Hro exclaimed with surprise. "And it was successful?"
"It was," she relented. That wasn't exactly a proud moment for her.
Hro shared a look with Kragger. "This is troubling, if not baffling. A species that has limited space travel capabilities, yet can develop technology capable of altering the mind of a Thanagarian—how backwards."
"It's almost hard to believe," Kragger added.
"Believe what you want, I can confirm it's legit," Shayera grounded out. "Which is why I don't have a full profile of the Justice League outside of their founding members."
"That's better than nothing, I suppose," the Lieutenant said.
"More than enough considering the circumstances," Hro responded, clearly sending a message to his lackey. Kragger heard it loud and clear, much to Shayera's delight. "What else can you tell us about the Earthlings?"
She considered this question before answering. "I strongly suggest not to underestimate them. Though they are backwards, they have rather brilliant, if not clever people amongst them. Just when you think you have them figured out, one proves you wrong and usually with disastrous results. Underestimate them at your peril."
"Consider us advised," Hro acknowledged. "Are there any locations we need to be aware of?"
"The Justice League's base, the Watchtower, is the most advanced structure in orbit. It was designed to be part of an early detection system following the Kalanorians' first invasion. Currently, it is damaged because of a battle between the League's founders, so its current capabilities are diminished. I'll be getting a status report on it once I return."
"Then we will wait for that report," Hro decided. He then held out his hand for her logbook, which Shayera placed in his grasp. "Kragger, see that this is reviewed and a comprehensive report is made. I want to know everything about these people. If we are to successfully handle this Despero situation, we cannot have any blind spots, even from a potential ally."
"At once, Sir." Kragger then reached a hand out and received the logbook, taking off to have it reviewed.
Shayera watched the man leave dispassionately before returning her attention back to Hro. "Is that all?"
"Related to the debriefing, yes." Hro then took a step towards her. "Would it be asking too much for a moment of your time?"
A coy smile appeared on her face. "Why not ask for two?"
"Unfortunately, I need to be returning to the Earthlings' U.N. soon. It seems they are very fond of meetings and if things are to proceed in our favor, I must abide by their protocols."
"Then you better get to it, Captain."
J'onn watched impassively as the U.N. delegates assumed their seats. This was just the latest in the talks between them, the Thanagarians, and the Green Lantern Corp.
Today's discussion involved the location of the Defense Shield Generator. No doubt this would be a long, tedious discussion, with many sides either wanting to be the home for such a structure, and others wanting nothing to do with it. It would most likely be several days before one location would be agreed upon. In the Martian's experience, humans lived for arguing, if nothing else.
J'onn stood at the back of the room, next to a set of doors. He was aware of Superman and Diana being present in the room, though they did not join him at his location. Their reputations allowed them to be at any place in this room, while he did not. He did not mind this in the least as he was a foreigner in this world and they lived in it their entire lives.
However, he could not help but consider alternatives to their current situation. J'onn had an inkling as to why Despero would be single-minded in his return to Earth. Like the Thanagarians had mentioned, this was the place of the tyrant's greatest defeat. However, the Martian was the reason for that defeat and men like Despero did not particularly care for such experiences.
It also may have something to do with what J'onn had done to him. Despero had crushed the minds of all whom he fought and the Martian had done the same to him in turn. It was rather concerning that the Kalanorian had managed to recover from that. The mind was rather delicate and he had not been gentle in his dismantling of so formidable of a mind.
This entire situation, from Despero's return, to the destruction of so many worlds—including Tamaran and the Citadel—stimmed from his failure to completely subdue the space tyrant. Fittingly, it should fall to him to correct it.
"There is no information on the ecological effects this generator will have," the Russian delegate was saying. "If we placed this monstrosity in Siberia, you could very well unfreeze the entire Arctic circle!"
Now he wants to discuss Climate Change, a voice muttered within J'onn's head. There were several such remarks he heard, fitting in light that Russia was a large producer of oil and had argued against climate legislation in the past.
"Perhaps northern or southern climates should be carefully considered," the Italian delegate responded. "If this generator produces an abnormal amount of heat, we could melt the ice caps at the poles."
"I can assure you such issues will not occur," Hro Talak spoke from his position at the front of the room. "There is little, if any, waste products created by the Defense Shield Generator, including heat."
"A large area will be needed," the Indian representative remarked. "Would a desert be more suitable?"
"There are limited water sources in the desert," the Jordanian delegate interjected. "This…thing…could destroy such precious resources in a harsh climate. You may think it is a good idea, but it will be the Arab people that suffer."
Old enmities were surfacing and would no doubt take over the conversation for the next few days. Such a situation was expected by the Martian, unfortunately. When the world needed to be united, it always fell into old habits.
Perhaps he needed to help mediate this situation.
Rising into the air, J'onn began to float over the heads of the dignitaries, causing many of them to tilt their heads up to gaze at him. This had the effect of quieting the debate, such as it was.
Hro Talak and Ganthet of the Green Lantern Corp looked right at him as he approached them. "The Martian Manhunter, I presume," the Thanagarian acknowledged.
J'onn came to land on the stand before the podium. "I am," he acknowledged. "I have a suggestion, if I may?"
Hro Talak stepped away from the podium, gesturing with one hand to it. He did not seem to mind the interruption. Moving to assume the podium, J'onn gazed out at the delegates. "Many of you know me as the Martian Manhunter, a member of the Justice League. Though an outsider to this world, Earth has done nothing but accept me while my own home world has crumbled into dust. For that, I can never thank the people of Earth enough.
"Today, I have observed the conflict that has filled this room and I have come to a decision. I was involved with the Kalanorian Invasion and even went into battle with the one called Despero. Because of this, I feel it is my responsibility to remedy the threat Despero presents."
"I admire your resolve," Hro Talak complimented him, drawing the green-skinned man's attention. "However, if defeating Despero only required a face-to-face encounter, then he would not be the threat that he is."
"Agreed," J'onn responded. "However, I have fought Despero and it is I that defeated him the last time. It is a reasonable suggestion that I go forth and do so again."
Despite the helmet on his head, Hro Talak's eyes widened in astonishment. Though J'onn could not hear the Thanagarian's thoughts, he could read his face and he knew the man was surprised. "You are the one that…" he trailed off.
"I highly encourage that Earth develops the Defense Shield Generator," J'onn continued, addressing the U.N. delegates. "If I am to go forth to face Despero once more, I would rather Earth was protected in the event that I fail. I have learned a saying from the humans here, one that I find quite appropriate for this situation: do not place all of your eggs in one basket. Despero is angry if the destruction he has created is any indication. He will not stop for some time, so it would be wise if we consider the development of a planet-wide defense system as well as a journey of my own to confront him. If all goes well, I will return with Despero in order to hand him to the Green Lantern Corp for judgment."
The blue cape he wore slid over his shoulders, enveloping him like his colleague in Gotham. "I will take my leave so that you can continue to debate the placement for the Defense Shield Generator. I will return to inform you all of when I depart."
As he prepared to leave, J'onn could not help but spare a glance to Hro Talak and Ganthet. While the smaller Green Lantern Guardian remained neutral, the same look of shock was still on Talak's face. It seemed he was not informed entirely of the Kalanorian Invasion.
Very curious.
The tower was theirs once more, but it came with a caveat. See, they had been fighting on a beach recently, and you know what that means, right? Sand, lots of sand, and you know what sand does? It gets everywhere, even into places you didn't know you had.
So other than that, what's the big problem? Well, imagine getting sand everywhere, right? Then have like thirty to forty people bring it along with them into a tower, let's say the Titans Tower. While there, the sand falls off of all these people through no fault of their own and because it's sand, it has the talent to stick to you then suddenly leave you while making a total mess of everything.
So there was a clean-up happening in the tower to get all that Godforsaken sand. It would probably take weeks to get every single granule and you could bet they were going to find it in places they didn't know existed yet. So, fun all around.
Still, that was the price to pay for getting the tower back while the adults went off to do their adult things like protecting the planet from another impending alien invasion.
It was nearly the middle of the day now, the sun high up in the sky and the long night over and done with. Red Robin found himself reclining on the couch, feeling tired beyond belief, but accomplished all the same.
That night had been so wild, now that he could reflect on it. You could say this was the real first time he had taken part in saving the world and all. It was definitely a far cry from running around like a chicken with its head cut off during the Kalanorian invasion. However, there was another feeling, sadness perhaps, because this time the invaders were none other than Kori's people.
While she hadn't talked about them too much, when she did, it was about homecoming and setting things right. That was something that would never happen now, and so the masked teen could more than overlook Kori's absence. If anyone needed time to themselves right now, it was her.
In the meantime—"Why am I still finding sand in my hair?"
"Occupational hazard," he quipped, glancing at Cassie who had taken post in the kitchen. She was leaning over the sink, combing fingers through her hair and still finding grainy treasure in there.
In the spirit of comfort, he had shed his Red Robin uniform, though his mask was left on out of pure habit. He could still feel sand digging into his skin somewhere, and you better believe it was so much worse wearing something skintight. Another shower was called for, but not right now.
At one end of the couch, Terra was picking at her fingernails, guess why. With a grumble, she slumped back into her seat and said aloud, "Anybody know where some nail clippers are? I swear, I'm gonna have to go real short to try and get this crap out."
"You control earth, right?" Cassie called back. "Can't you just use that to pull it all out?"
"Are you kidding? That was the first thing I tried," Terra replied. "I can hold who knows how many boulders up, but those things are big, like the size of your head big. This is small and it's like I only get it deeper instead. It's like there's a million of these tiny things, I swear."
"A million?" Red Robin commented, glancing at the slip of a blonde. When he got a disgruntled look in reply, he let his head fall back onto the couch cushion and remarked, "Sounds low."
"Man, I'm supposed to be tight as a seal. How am I still leaking sand out of my feet?" Victor grumbled. "I was barely out there!"
"Let's take a couple days, rest up, clean off…and out, then we can get back to business," the masked teen said. "Any time after something big goes down, everything gets quiet for a couple days. If anyone is planning something big, they're going to have to compete with what Blackfire just tried to pull. Any thoughts?"
"That sounds nice," Garfield sighed, stretched out on the backrest of the couch while in the form of a cat.
"Damn straight!" Cassie called out from the kitchen.
There were several other calls of agreement, each different and typical for each person. The only one who didn't promptly answer was Raven, the dark-haired girl currently in meditation. By now, it was nearly unanimous, and odds were good she would follow the majority. Even if she voiced dissent, it would probably go nowhere, and she wasn't the type to fight for truly lost causes.
There was only one other who hadn't cast a vote yet, and Red Robin had every intention of asking her when she returned. He figured that Kori would be willing to take a break, especially after everything. She had been through enough as it was, so the free time might help her. He needed to see how she was holding up first before he could say for certain, but so far it was six in agreement, a supermajority.
No sooner had he thought this that the doors to their living/rec room slid open—and speak of the Tamaranean devil herself. Upon seeing her, Red Robin found himself sitting up straighter. It was her posture, the expression on her face, and just the overall feeling of sadness that radiated from her that alerted the teen vigilante that something was majorly up with Kori.
Her gait was short, her pace slow, and the direction was towards the kitchen, kitchenette, whatever, but what was important was this was not normal Kori behavior. He was out of his seat, making his way after the Tamaranean, who by now had opened up the door to the refrigerator. Normally she was digging through the appliance, but not now.
"Oh, you're back," Cassie greeted, glancing at the taller female, then doing a double take. A few granules of sand fell out of her hair. "Whoa, what's up? You don't look so good."
"Is something wrong?" Red Robin asked, reaching the two. By now he could feel the gazes of the rest of the team.
Kori did not answer promptly, another sign something was wrong. She just stared ahead and at the contents of the fridge, but made no effort to grab anything.
"Kori?" the masked teen tried again. "Is everything okay?"
Her hand had not left the fridge's door handle, and so when her hand clenched, the material that looked like metal, but was probably for show, appeared to crumple under her strength. Red flags, alarms, everything was going off now.
Kori took a deep breath, slowly let it out. "My…apologies. No, I am not cor…I mean…I am the not okay."
That was the final straw. "What happened?" he asked softly.
Another deep breath, one that almost successfully hit what might have been a sob. "I do not wish to burden you further with this."
"Kori, you're not a burden." Garfield had left his perch on the couch backrest and had trotted over, resuming his human form. "You don't look okay. You look pretty bad."
"We're here if you need us," Victor supported, coming up from behind the shapeshifter. "You know you can tell us anything."
"We're all friends," Bart agreed, showing up as he always did to Red Robin's right.
Kori's shoulders shuddered, and the fridge's handle was a goner by now, but that was not the point. When she finally looked away and towards them, they could all see the tears flowing out from the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks. She was struggling to hold it together, that was plain and clear to see.
And they were there for her, just as she had always been for them.
Kori began to open her mouth.
A bright white light raced up the wall from the floor, high and growing as it began taking a very familiar shape. Now all of their attention was on it, their bodies tensing. As the light stopped growing, it took Red Robin a second to recall what shape it had taken.
Calling it a shape was doing a lot of disservice. No, it was more a symbol. More specifically, it was the symbol of an ankh.
There was another shape now, one that emerged from the ankh. The colors for this one was darker, thankfully, and realizing that this a person that had come through the light occurred literally a second later.
Blue covered most of their body, a gold cape draped over powerful shoulders, and lastly a helmet covered the person's head, a more reflective gold here, but one that drew all attention to it. It was a little hard to tell, but there was a discoloration where the eyes were, giving the impression that the helmet had, well, eyes.
Before everything with the World Engine went down, Red Robin had no idea who this was. After it, and after some chats to catch up with the old Gotham alumni, he had gotten a name. Other than knowing that this man had powerful magic and knew how to use, he knew very little about him. A shame, that, because he would really like to know what was happening.
He would like to know why Dr. Fate was paying them a house call.
To Guest: Eventually we'll get back to Batman. He's been the main driving force for the series thus far, so we'll be getting to him soon. Totally agree about J'onn.