Chapter Four - MIB
1992 ; eleven
"To be known is to be cared for so hide yourself away because we all know you're undeserving of such a fate."
There was a diner on the corner of East Sixty-first and First avenue in New York City. It was tiny but they had amazing spinach artichoke dip and buffalo wings.
Arley sat in the far off booth, towards the tiny bathroom in her civvies as she worked through her coursework for the semester. Being eleven meant she should be in the seventh grade which meant the paper in front of her had algebra on it and though Arley loved learning— she spent so much time in the Library on Oa Kilowog knew if she wasn't training she would be there —she hated math.
History and culture and— while science and math went very hand in hand —geology and forensic science and biology were all Arleys cup of tea. Fractions and long division were not.
Which is why she didn't mind the man in a black suit and thick shaded glasses sliding into the booth across from her. Any excuse not to push through the assignment on the table was welcome.
The government suit— because it was obvious from the way his hair was combed to the way he dressed that he was from some branch of government —had the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Arley Gluck?" It was rhetorical. Carol had Ashley's face everywhere, everyone knew who she was.
"Yeah, you are?" All the government agencies—from the United Nation to the ones that weren't out to the public as of yet like the NSA —had a handler for her to talk to when she needed.
The man in front of her wasn't one of those handlers which piqued the girls curiosity.
"Agent K, ma'am." Arley smiled at the suit. She pushed the math homework away.
"Just Arley works or Lantern, sir."
"No need for that Lantern, Agent works just fine," the man smiled back.
"That's cool," Arley nodded. "How can I help you Agent?"
"You can come with me."
"Oh can I?" Arley leaned back in her seat amused. She was used to world governments calling on her at all times of the day whenever she was planet-side but usually they sent someone she knew so it felt more like a work thing than a kidnapping in progress. Her half bitten nails tapped the tabletop. "To where?"
She already told the Secretary of Defense she wouldn't name Batman or the kid he had— just very recently —started taking with him on patrol.
She didn't care what the government liked to threaten her with; somehow after a Yellow Lantern an old man in an outdated military uniform— no matter how loud he threatened to shoot her out of sky —wasn't scary, in the slightest.
"MIB headquarters kiddo."
Arleys eyes narrowed, half at the fact she had never heard of MIB and she had been a Lantern for nearly three years at that point and half at the fact the Agent across from her had called her Kiddo.
"And where," Arley leaned over the table, pushing her dip away, "Is that?"
"Battery tunnel ventilation tower," the Agent said easily. The left corner of his lips was turned upwards. He was having fun.
"Alright just let me pay."
"Most celebrities get their meals comped, you know."
Arleys brows shot up as she flagged down the waitress Mary. "Carol gives me an allowance, it'd be pretty shitty not to use it, you know?"
In the tiny, East side diner, Mary Hunt was probably the waitress Arley adored the most. She was a middle aged mother of two who never stopped talking about how proud she was of her eldest daughter.
Amy Hunt was fifteen and aiming for a pre-law degree John Jay so that she could start what— Mary said she knew —would be a long, successful legal career.
"Twelve-fifty sweetie," Mary said, setting down the check with a rose-colored smile. "Is there anything you or your friend would like me to wrap up?"
Arley looked at the plates she had, for the most part, picked clean.
"No thanks Mary." She then set down thirty dollars. Some of it was tip but the rest was for— "Tell your youngest to have fun at the Natural History's museum."
"No," Mary shook her head, "Lantern you don't—"
"—Course I do," Arley quipped as she and the Agent rose from their places in the booth, "—You guys here never rat me out to the press when I stop in, that's worth something, you know?"
Mary's shoulders sagged with a smile.
"Thank you sweetheart."
Arley beamed, "No problem Ms. Hunt! And serious tell Mark to have fun! I went there last week for the first time and thought it was amazing."
"No kidding?" Agent K wondered in what sounded like disbelief, "You've been zipping around the galaxy for three years now and you've only just been to the Natural History museum?"
Arley looked up at the man; she wanted to assume he was middle aged but with all her years around other species and her general lack of age— she was only eleven after all —Arley had realized as of recently she didn't know just what was considered an adult.
She knew she was considered a kid even though she wasn't— she hadn't been in a long time —but without a birth year tattooed across the forehead of the person she was talking to Arley wasn't quite sure where said person fell on the sliding scale of humanity.
"I—" Arley licked her lips, "—I haven't really had the time you know. If something here isn't happening here it's happening on one of the other planets I'm in charge of, you know?"
The Agent frowned deeply before suddenly beaming down at her.
"Ever drive a car?" Mary Hunt seemed to choke on the breath of air she was trying to take in.
"No." Arley felt herself start to grin. Once— and only that one time —Bruce had let her in the Batmobile and when she had asked to drive he had said he and Alfred would need to be dead and buried before that ever happened.
"You won't be today either."
"Dude!" The Agent chuckled. Mary Hunt failed to hide her giggle behind her hand.
"Come on Lantern we have things to do and not enough time in the day."
"Okay," Arley rolled her eyes. She waved at Mary as she followed the Agent out the door and onto the New York City street.
Arley loved busy streets. She loved being small and seemingly swallowed up by the sea of people who just wanted to do the next thing on the list of daily tasks. Even without her sweatshirts hood up no one was recognizing her because with her head tilted down she was still just small enough to stay out of everyone's line of sight.
"So the last guy never told you about us?" Agent K asked as he led Arley to a black mustang that was parked on the street.
"Nah, but he didn't super fill me in on anything before he was shipped Reach-side."
Agent K stopped short of the open mustang door, his hands braced the frame of the car, "He's in Frontier Space? Who the hell sent that cowboy to the Wild West?"
Arley chuckled, her right eyebrow rose at the Agents' exasperated tone. She and Hal didn't talk— the only time he contacted her via the ring was to talk to Carol —but from what she knew of the man, cowboy was more than just an apt term for him.
Best to sling the ring was another; it was why the Guardians had sent him on the mission to Frontier Space. Someone needed to train the Lanterns out there— and with the Reach, an age old enemy of the Corp and both the Red Lanterns and Star Sapphires getting more and more restless in the wake of the Corps on going war with the Yellows —someone who could be trusted to sew only the best seeds could be trusted with such a task.
Hence Hal Jordan being sent to the front lines of space and Arley Gluck being picked to replace him.
"Our bosses. Someone needs to take charge out there and well the last guy is the best to sling the ring so I guess they figured why not, you know?"
"Please giving Hal Jordan—" so he was for real; he knew Hal. "—Free range to do what he wants may save the universe but by god will it be someone's bureaucratic nightmare."
"Probably but I'm active so that's someone else's problem," Arley said with a shrug as she watched Agent K weave in and out Manhattan traffic.
Driving was weird.
Before the ring Arley couldn't remember being in a car; having a car in the Bowery was a luxury only King Pins had. No one was stupid enough to try to steal the tires off one of the Falcons cars. And it wasn't like there was a bus to school, like all the other kids in the Alicent Kane's Elementary school Arley had either had to walk the several blocks when she missed the public bus.
And after the ring; she never needed to travel by car. She could fly at the speed of light after all.
"I suppose that's fair," Agent K said as they turned left, heading towards the Battery Tunnel. "What else haven't you gotten to do?"
"What?"
"Before in the diner," K said, eyes locked on the road, "You said you'd only just gotten to go to the museum; what else haven't you gotten to do?"
Arley shrugged in her seat. There was a lot she didn't have time for. Some days she was zipping around her sector; she forgot to eat only to realize when she would get home to California and see the dinner her and Carol's housekeeper Whitney had left on the kitchen island for her.
Being a Lantern was a full time, twenty-four-seven type of job.
Instead of saying all of that though, Arley said, "See the Great Wall. I saw the Parthenon when I was helping evacuate people during that last major fire."
"You should go, you're young. You should see everything as soon as you can."
Arley looked at the Agent. He had known Hal, he probably knew the statistics. Ice ran up Arleys spine at the thought; Carol didn't know the life expectancy of a Lantern once they got their ring. Neither did Bruce or Alfred.
None of them knew that Arley was only expected to live four years, three months, one day, thirteen hours and seven minutes.
That her time was most probably, almost up.
Arleys palms became slick with sweat.
None of them knew but Agent K— this random government agent —he knew.
Arleys stomach churned.
"Why are you here now?" Arley asked stiffly as they pulled into a garage. "I got the ring years ago."
It was May of ninety-two, she got her ring December of eighty-nine. Arley wasn't the best at math but she knew how much time she had left on the clock.
"Because we like you kid, there's a spark in you." A light.
Arley turned in her seat to the agent who was already looking at her.
"Don't bullshit me. That's a nice answer but why?"
"We didn't reach out to Hal until after a while too, we had to make sure bringing him on was worth it." You're worth it.
All Arley ever wanted to hear people say was that she was worth it and yet, her eyes narrowed.
"What the hell does that mean?"
A ghost of a smile danced on the agent's lips. "My boss will explain, come on." And with that the agent left the car, Arley followed after.
She followed Agent K down a hallway and then another; an older, dark skinned man reading the New York Post sat next to the elevator. He too wore a suit.
"Francis," Agent K nodded, "What's your horoscope today?"
"I shouldn't be walking under any ladders for one," the older man chuckled. His eyes flickered to Arley. "Ma'am."
"Sir," Arley nodded back as the elevator opened up. She and the agent stepped in. Slowly the elevator doors shut; neither her or the agent turned to one another to speak as the elevator beeped with each passing floor.
Arleys brows shot up when the doors opened up; she and the agent stepped into a landing outside of the elevator and Arley felt her heart leap into her throat.
Aliens; some humanoid and some not. Some were at a desk, waiting in line to talk to the female receptionist while several aliens were being pushed forward by men and woman in suits, all of them cuffed and grumbling.
Dozens of desks littered the grand hall Arley looked out upon.
"What is this?" Arley asked with wide eyes.
"This? This right here is the Men in Black headquarters. We have a few different locations all over the world but this is the only location we have on the East coast so any aliens coming and going on this side of the country come and leave through here."
Arleys brows knitted themselves together as the platform she and the agent were on lowered itself.
Several pairs of eyes turned to them and then several more. Slowly, as Arley and the agent were lowered to the ground level the giant hall quieted itself as each and every eye in the place landed on the Lantern.
Arley felt her face heat up at the attention; almost three years since her ring and she could still barely stand multiple people looking at her.
A man with a dark goatee and thick brown hair smiled at Arley and the agent when they stepped off the landing.
"Lantern Gluck," the man greeted, his hand outstretched, "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Zed, Chief Officer here at Men In Black."
"Nice to meet you sir," the question of what the fuck Men in Black was at on the top of Arleys tongue. Sure it had something to do with alien customs but the explanation Agent K had given her wasn't really an explanation at all.
"Lantern!" Arleys head snapped, her brows raised at the sight of the Manitoba, Neeble, pushing through the crowd of aliens and humans that had gathered to gawk.
The worm-like alien only reached Arleys hip.
"Neebs? What the hell are you doing here?" Arley was sure she had seen the last of the worm-like aliens months ago when she had stopped an assassination attempt on the alien emperor.
Neeble and his friends, all who had worked lowly jobs in the emperor's palace had helped Arley navigate the tunnels under the golden structure so that she could surprise Lobo, the hit-man, and save Grank the Manitoba leader from being shot execution style.
"Girly we left!" Neeble said with an almost manic cackle, "The emperor awarded us what we needed to leave Annelid after we helped you and we live like kings here! Coffee every day!"
Arley smiled.
"That's great Neeble," she said earnestly. "You have to give me your address, I'll come by to visit sometime." She's being coffee cake.
"Damn right!"
Arley laughed at the aliens' excitement; she watched with a smile as the worm-like alien disappeared into the crowd in search of a pen and paper for her. Once more Arley turned to the Men In Blacks Chris Officer, Zed.
"Sir?" He was smiling at her like what he had just watched was the warmest scene he had ever been able to lay his eyes upon.
"Come on Lantern, I'll show you to my office then perhaps Agent K can give you a tour."
"I'd be honored," Agent K added on with a nod.
"Come on." It wasn't exactly an order but still, when Zed turned on his heel and began to lead Arley to a clear tube that led to an Oval Office that looked over the great hall they were in, Arley found herself following without question.
They stopped in a black and white office. The walls and flooring were white but the desk and chairs in the room were all black; or at least in the case of the desk a deep mahogany that could easily be mistaken for black.
The chairs were leather. Arley practically sunk in her seat.
"Lantern Gluck," Zed said, still standing, "It's a pleasure, truly. The MIB has been working with Lanterns since we were founded in the forties."
Arleys eyes narrowed. The forties; that was far before even Abin Sur wore the ring.
"Why haven't I heard of you?"
"Because we didn't want you to," Zed said earnestly. "Men In Black deals with alien based incidents planet side but more importantly we deal with immigration, visa's and so on."
"Okay and?"
Zed smiled. His hands folded on top of one another.
"Most of the government doesn't know we exist Lantern and the officials that do, even they don't know exactly what we do."
"But why!" Arley had teetered to the edge of her seat.
"Human beings can be nothing more than scared, mouth breathing animals in their worst moments. A war breaks out here on Earth and thousands of refugees need to flee for their lives and the neighboring country would sooner send them back to certain death then allocate more resources to help their fellow human in need. What," Zed leaned forward, "Do you think world leaders would do if alien refugees were very much that, alien refugees?"
Arley frowned. Zed was right; despite her age her years with the ring had taught her that much.
"So why approach me now?" Arley asked slowly. Zed's small smile grew. Teeth leaked out from behind his lips.
"Because you're not going to sell us out to the tabloids now."
Arleys brow arched. "Oh?"
"You don't recognize me, do you Lantern?"
"No?"
Zed chuckled. His right hand waved itself in the air. "Last month there the Secretary of Defense wanted the Batman's identity, he was sure you knew it."
Arley smiled at the memory of the last White House meeting she'd been to. She had confirmed that she knew Batman— and Robins —identities when the Secretary of Defense had asked her.
"You told the man to kiss your ass you weren't telling."
Arley had confessed that she knew Batman and Robins identities because she didn't see the need to lie about not knowing who was behind those masks when she knew she'd sooner die than tell anyone that it was Bruce Wayne and his ward. She'd made a promise to the vigilante and she wasn't going to break it, no matter what.
"And you want me to tell him that same thing if he asks about this place."
"Yeah," Zed said softly. "No one should ask about this place but you're in the limelight, aliens are becoming more and more open about who they are and with them part of MIB will be moving into the light as well."
"But not all of it?" Arley asked knowingly. Zed shook his head.
"No. We'll be here to help those in need but the tourists, those moving here for jobs or whatever else, as well as our criminal justice branch will all be acting in adhering to the rules and regulations of the Bureau of Terra Travels and Accordance."
"B-T-T-A?"
Zed shrugged,
"We're working on a name to go public with."
Arley crossed her arms over her chest; she had never thought of what being public meant. Never thought that the lives of the aliens Arley knew had to be on Earth would change because of her and Carol.
"Aliens that need help, you're sure they'll still get the help they need?" Had she ruined something good?
Had she messed up and caused others to suffer because of her? Had, in trying to help Carol, she screwed thousands of innocent lives?
Fear prickled at her heart.
"Yes," Zed hadn't even hesitated in answering her.
Weight that had settled in Arleys shoulders hadn't moved at the Chief Officers declaration; it was her job to do what was best for her sector and if her very own home planet was hiding this from her, what were the other planets hiding from her?
Who was she failing and just how badly was she failing them?
Had the Guardians known she'd been in the dark and laughed at her, or had they assumed— that going through boot camp had made her capable Lantern —that she knew about the MIB.
"Good," Arley replied, her mind racing a mile a minute.
She hadn't ruined anything but she hadn't known what not to ruin. Her time left was tick-tick-ticking; she wasn't like Hal or Kilowog, she wouldn't live decades in the ring.
She wasn't as good as them.
She had to be good though; had to do her job the best she could and not let those under her watch down. There was no failing, not with the ring on her finger.
Not with the weight she had on her shoulders and the lives that hung in the balance. She couldn't fail.
She wouldn't.
"Come on," Zed said. Arleys eyes snapped up from where they had zoned and locked into on Zed's desk; "I'll bring you to K's desk and have him show you around."
"Awesome!" Arley smiled; it was the same kind of smile she would give to the reporters Carol had her speak to or the camera magazine editors put her in front of. Fake but believable; exactly what she needed to plaster on while she thought.
And as Arley was led out of the office by a chuckling Zed, all she could think of was not failing. How much failing those in her charge terrified her, and how if she was scared then she was already failing and how she had to fix— how she had to become a better Lantern —that.