Diana shivered. "Why do I feel so… unnerved as that man looks at me so?"

"That guy Kal actually warned me about, since he can sniff us out even when we're disguised." Kara deadpanned as they looked at the purple man grinning up at them as the civilian he was holding became more and more pale. "His name's Parasite. He touches you, he drains your powers and can use them himself. Then he'll drag you to his lair to be his meal for the rest of eternity… apparently Kryptonians are a sort of… delicacy to him."

"Come on down, ladies!" The villain cackled. "I wanna know how good you can make me feel when I suck you dry!"

"...So he is a violator of the body…" Diana glared as she reached for her sword. "Taking what is sacred from the innocent for his own pleasure and benefit …. we shall castrate him for all of his evil deeds!"

"Yeah, love the energy." Zee placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I completely agree with that last part… but do you have anything to make sure he doesn't … you know, drain your powers on contact and make all of us fight an essentially evil version of one of the strongest people on the team?"

"Wait, hold up. I need a refresher course on Super Baddies." Barbara raised her hand. "Does he suck powers, suck energy, or suck stamina?"

"Answer's E." Kara frowned. "All of the above, plus memories, AND skills."

"Dang it, I was hoping for some kind of immunity here." Barbara muttered.

"So this is a case where punching him WON'T be the answer… I approve." Jessica grinned.

"That's not a good thing, the longer he's left on his own, the stronger he's going to get." Kara grumbled.

"Very well. If we can't assault him directly, we'll have to detain him from long range." Diana nodded as she took out her lasso. "Everyone with long distance capabilities, surround this perverted monster and keep him detained."

"I can do that." Jessica created green chains and wrapped them around the guy. "As long he's bound, we don't need to—"

"Thanks for the meal, babe!" The monster shouted, as the chains began to dim, his own body glowing with green energy as he broke out, the green energy focusing on his legs as he leapt to them. "Now give me seconds!"

"What did I JUST say!?" Kara shouted in irritation. "He absorbs energy! Weird Lantern stuff too!"

"Batgirl's the only one with physical projectile weaponry!" Karen shouted out.

"That's why you gotta hit him like this!" Kara shouted as she grabbed a streetlamp, and slammed it against the man's chest … where a barrier of green covered his body.

"Oooh, this stuff's fun!" He shouted, grinning ghastly. "Congrats greenie, you're my second favorite course of the day." The monster licked his lips as he leapt after Jessica.

"Are you on a list, you creep!?" Jessica shouted as she shot out her ring… and got nothing. "What the—" The scoundrel grabbed her face.

"Ooooh, spicy!" He grinned as green energy left Jessica's body, her suit fading as her skin started to lose color. "I'll keep you for later once I take all these gals… Jessica."

"He knows!?" Karen called out as the violator sent a fly swatter into her direction, smacking her against a wall.

"I absorb everything. That included the electrical impulses that process brain power, including memories, Karen." He cackled, tossing away the fallen lantern like she was nothing more than trash. "And where you gals live… and who to break to get your attention."

"Sorry, Parasite, but I don't break easily!" Kara shouted in anger, grabbed a car and smacking it against the fiend, slamming him through the pavement. "You can create as many shields as you want, I'm still going to smack right through them before you can blink!"

"Zatanna!" Diana shouted, grabbing a lamppost to use as a weapon. "Move Green Lantern to safety! Batgirl, with me!" She rushed forward and jammed into this living parasite like a spear. "Bumblebee, try and find a weakness!"

"He has Green Lantern's powers, so what weaknesses does she have?" Karen asked as she avoided a swat of another swatter.

"Fear, unwillingness to fight, a hatred of eating meat and anyone that eats meat..." Barbara spoke out as she threw a batarang into the man's head.

"That... that's … that's not a ... weakness…" Jessica weakly coughed out.

"Correct… cause unfortunately for you, chumps, I got NONE of those weaknesses!" The Parasite shouted, creating a 'machine gun' as Diana recalled, and began firing at her and Supergirl. "All I need to do is find that girl's lantern battery thing and I can go green twenty four seven. Of course, I'll need a few snacks for the road!" The parasite created a pack with jets upon its back, and shot forward at Zatanna.

"Evila mih yrub sllehs dna sllaw etercnoc!" The walls around them came undone as the rock and mortar began bombarding into the purple parasite. "That's not going to hold for long! How does Superman beat him!?"

"Wearing him down from a distance and knocking him out with a car." Kara explained as she covered the stone in ice. "I'm going to throw him into space now."

"You can't just throw people into space, Kara." Barbara pointed out.

"Relax, he'll have the lantern energy, and then by the time he gets back to Earth, he'll hopefully have burned it all through." She waved off. "Unless anyone else has any other bright ideas."

"Yeah, you can give up!" Five drills came out from the icy rock, before they grabbed ahold of Supergirl, pulling her downward as the rock broke.

"No-!" They all cried out. With Green Lantern's powers alone they were formidable. Combined with Kara's, they might be unstoppable—

Baaaaarooooooooooooooon

The sound of a bell rang in the air as a familiar mysterious blue figure descended from the air kicking the parasite behind the back, sending him into a wall before he could make contact with Supergirl. "I think I'd make a decent meal." Spoke Bluebell, landing on the ground as their scarf billowed. "Problem is I might eat you first."

"Bluebell, you've come to lend your aid?" Diana inquired.

"You're already down one member. Figured you needed someone to help." He responded, pulling back on his bow and firing a volley of arrows. "Try absorbing some iron tip arrows for your new diet." The figure noted as he launched several into the creature's chest.

"Agggh, so you're the new guy on the block, eh?" Parasite snarled as he pulled them out. "Well, let me be the first to tell you that here in Metropolis, if you can't lift a car over your head, you might as well roll over and die now!" The fiend launched himself at the figure with green buzzsaws at hand.

"I'm not more powerful than a locomotive, but I can leap tall buildings in a single bound." They spoke, doing that very task as he threw his bow, letting it whirl past the villain's head.

"Did you seriously just throw a bow at me? What kind of moron-ow!" The Parasite exclaimed in pain as it flew back like a boomerang.

"I hear Green Lanterns are limited only by willpower and creativity." The hero spoke as he caught his weapon. "Seems pretty clear you don't have either in spades."

"Oh yeah, how's this for clever!?" He created a strange looking cannon that rested upon his shoulder. "Here's a bazooka to the face!"

"I don't know what this bazooka is, but it is no match for Amazonian strength!" Diana charged ahead as he brought her bracelets upwards, and deflected the blast.

"The absolute hell!? The small surface area doesn't even make sense-!" Another car was thrown into his head.

"Starting to get overwhelmed, huh Parasite?" Kara snickered as she twirled a tire on her finger. "Or should I call you Rudy?"

"... his name is Rudy?" Batgirl snickered.

"Yeah, what of it!?" The monster shouted defensively.

"Nothing, it's just.. so unintimidating ... pffft."

"Oh yeah, this coming from the girl who fangirls over a man dressed like a bat who's probably more of a dad than her actual one?!"

"Yeah, but at least his name isn't Rudy!" Batgirl fell to the ground. "Ooh, beware of Rudy, look out! Rudy's out to get you! Stay away or else Rudy will touch you to death, bwaaasshahahahah!" She laughed.

"Okay, you're the next to die!" The man shouted as he created a giant sword to come down on the girl.

Diana clashed against it. "Bluebell, you need to let him hit you!"

"Wait what!?" Karen shouted .

"Got it, Wonder Woman." Bluebell nodded as he launched himself forward with another tuning of a bell, striking the man across the face.

"Oh, everyone's just annoying today, aren't they!?" The man shouted, creating a car construct. "How about I hit you guys with one of these!?" And slammed it into Bluebell… which did nothing. "What!?" He screamed in astonishment, smacking it into the hero over and over.

"He's… he's not getting drained?" Karen blinked in shock.

"No, just as I had planned." Diana grinned. Bluebell absorbed kinetic energy. Parasite only had a limited amount of power drained from others. He may have memories, but in rage and hunger he forgets to check for weaknesses and abilities of those around him.

"You're just some guy in a lower ranged suit, you can't do anything!" The parasite shouted in rage as he sent out a bulldozer… which instantly faded away with a small glitch into the air. "What!?"

"Looks like someone can't get it up." The hero stated, taking out what looked like a little handle. "Now, surrender, or futile struggle?"

"You think a stick is enough to defeat me-!" the handle extended into a bowstaff.. which began glowing and vibrating as brightly and loudly as Bluebell's scarf. Parasite slowly blinked. "... oh shit-"

Baroooooooooooooong

And slammed him into a wall, the villain slumping to the ground. "Okay, I think he's down for the count …"

"Very good, Bluebell. We shall now commence with his castration promptly." Diana nodded as she raised her sword.

"No no no no!" The girls held her back.

"We're not legally allowed to do that!" Karen shouted.

"But he has dishonored Green Lantern and countless others. There is no other fitting punishment to commence proper justice." Diana argued.

"And normally I'd be on your side, but the accident that caused his powers already did the job for us." Kara responded. "He doesn't exactly wear clothes."

"Really? He has already lost his manhood?" She blinked.

"It's more disturbing than it sounds." Bluebell spoke up, looking the monster over. "He looks like a disfigured barbie doll."

"I was thinking of a more creepy version of Grimace." Barbara tilted her head as they stared at the pathetic parasite.

"Good point… so, Zatanna, you tie him down. The rest of us will carry the victims to the hospital." Bluebell spoke, as he walked to a drained civilian.

"Really, you're sticking around for this one?" Kara asked. "I thought you were more of a 'disappeared when it's over' type of hero."

"People need help this time around." He responded. "Plus, Green Lantern is still drained, so that's one hero who prioritizes safety and medical aid down."

"I guess that makes sense." Karen nodded as she helped a civilian. "Wonder Woman, how did you know Parasite wouldn't be able to absorb Bluebell's attack?"

"Supergirl said he stole energy and stamina. If he couldn't stop a car, then kinetic energy, inertia, and motion must be beyond his control." She explained.

"You've been here for a month and you're already acing physics." Zee noted as she moved metal and stone to bind the fiend.

"Simple mathematics were a priority study on Themyscira. Mother wanted to be thorough in all the precise ways to mutilate a man." A study that applied very well given the recent battle. "Speaking of, he knows the secret identities of most of us, so wouldn't it be prudent to at the very least cut out his tongue so he cannot speak of this information?"

"Nah, don't worry about that." Kara waved off. "Once he loses his energy, the memories go too. He'll forget everything about this fight besides the pain, humiliation, and …" She shivered. "Lantern's 'taste'."

"I fail to see how cutting off his tongue wouldn't be beneficial for everyone." Diana was starting to suspect man's laws actually made it HARDER to enforce peace.

"Well, it'll save you a ton of policemen and federal agents being on your back for being too violent. At least trust us on that." Barbara patted her back in assurance. "How about we focus on getting Lantern to a hospital first, then we talk about what you can and can't do with a criminal."

"Very well." It seemed needlessly complicated, but Diana trusted her fellow sisters in arms, before turning to the stranger. "Bluebell, it seems you have made it a habit of providing aid to us in time of need."

"Actually, not really." The man corrected. "You all are really competent at your jobs for the most part. It's usually when you're overwhelmed by an enemy you're unprepared for, but that's lack of experience, not lack of trying."

"You're saying you're more trained than us?" Barbara raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." The man simply nodded as he lifted a civilian to an ambulance.

"Uh huh…" Kara scoffed in disbelief. "Have you ever lifted a meteor into space before?"

"No, but I have swam to the bottom of the Pacific ocean to jam a trident into a demigod's eye." The man answered. "Broke fifty bones and got my liver crushed due to the water pressure. Not an experience I'd like to repeat if I can help it."

"Still though, we are grateful for the help." Diana nodded. "And if you'd like, perhaps we can—"

"No." They responded simply, already grabbing another civilian.

"You didn't let me finish."

"You were going to ask something that was in between offering me a place on the team or establishing some kind of contact. And my answer is no."

"Too good to play on a team?" Zee asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll help whenever I can, but I'm not the type of hero who's on the clock twenty four seven." They said firmly. "I'd rather not have someone rely on me being there at any time. So if it looks like you have the situation handled, I'll tend to go for something else." Bluebell explained as he patted the back of the ambulance. "Alright, that seems to be everyone off the streets that isn't being carried by the people with flight/super strength, so that's my cue to leave." The boy nodded as he began twirling his bowstaff, striking it on the ground and propelling himself upwards with another ringing of a bell. A shame… a soul who seeked to focus on the larger aspects rather than the souls in front of them. Diana was reminded of the burdens of queenhood and leadership at just the thought.

"Pfft, moody." Barbara scoffed. "Who does he think he is, Batman?" … They all stared at the girl in the bat costume. She blinked. "What?"

"I think a certain pot needs to meet a kettle." Zatanna smirked. "So what if he's a little cute?"

"I never said he was cute." Now they were all staring at Zatanna. "How could you even tell that?" Barbara asked with doubt. "They have a filtered voice with no visible skin or hair. At best, you can make a guess about their height."

"And we don't even know if Bluebell's a he." Karen pointed out. "It could be a Samus situation."

"A what now?" Diana asked, feeling confused. "I am unfamiliar with this Samus person."

"It's a video game." Karen explained. "You play as a warrior everyone thinks is a guy, only for the helmet to come off and reveal it's a woman at the end."

"That's ridiculous. Who would be so dense that they wouldn't know a man from a woman right in front of them?" Now for some reason they were all staring at her. Diana blinked. "What?"

"Nothing." Kara shook her head, picking up Jessica. "I'll let Green Lantern de-suit and get her a doctor." And with a swoosh, the two were gone.

"Though I am glad we were victorious this day, it still leaves a rather unpleasant taste in my mouth." Diana shivered.

"I didn't even touch him and I need seven showers." Karen agreed, as she shuddered. "I forgot that villains could be… well… creepy as heck."

"Believe me, even Gotham's worst would find that repulsive." Barbara shivered. "How about we forget all that and drown the memories with some victory burritos?"

"Sounds good to me." Zee nodded.

"…" Diana looked off in the direction of the hero that fled.

"Still thinking about how he didn't want to join our team?" Karen asked.

"I mean it would be nice to have someone else to hang around and have fun with but then a boy would ruin the girl name we have for our team and then we'd have to get into branding cause personally I was liking Justice League but everyone keeps saying no-" And Barbara went into one of her tangents.

"Hm? No." She waved off. "It's just … he rarely shows up all that often when we fight." Diana mused. "Is it because he truly has that much faith in us… or because more people need help elsewhere?"

"Well, it is a big city." Karen pointed out. "And there are a surprising number of super heroes even when you discard Superman and us."

"Really?" Barbara asked. "Besides Superman and us, I can barely find anything in the newspaper. I mean, other than the new Flash who I saw a few weeks ago, and that Aqualad person Jessica mentioned, and the other green lantern, and rumors of a giant hawk man flying the sky-Okay I see your point." She nodded.

"A city of heroes." It sounded like a dream… which was why she was out here in man's world to begin with.

Garth Bernstein had a lot of dreams in his life. Experience life as a normal boy. Be Aquaman's sidekick. Reach level 100 and become the Dreadlock Emperor in Medieval combat legends. Help Tula get over her prejudice of humans so they could have a date on the surface. Unfortunately, so far only one of those goals had been achieved, and only after many grueling hours of being shoved into his locker.

Luckily, he now had a path to help him with the sidekick one. See, when Garth first heard about heroes, he assumed that was referring to great warriors… but the truth was SO MUCH COOLER! They were like knights, but stronger, more stylish, and even more popular! It was the perfect avenue he needed to impress Aquaman with all his stuff! The best part about it was that there was freedom to do whatever he wanted, so Garth didn't have to hold back on showing just how cool he really was.

You know, as long as he kept his secret identity. But Garth's disguise was absolutely, one hundred percent… flawless. His super suit was a darker shade of red and his shorts were slightly lighter blue! And it worked, because absolutely no one recognized him. "Do not worry, citizens, for Aqualad is here to save the day!"

"...Who?" A lady that was in the middle of running for her life from a razor sharp leaf asked.

"The hero who will save you all!" He declared. "Now, where is this super villain seeking mayhem and destruction!?"

"Right over there." A man pointed to the fifty foot giant stalk of grass and weeds currently ripping apart the buildings all over as a woman with red hair, green skin, and pointy ears laughed maniacally.

"Flee you filthy parasites, flee in terror as nature reclaims its territory! This city monument to the genocide of forests and plantlife will now answers for it's crimes!" The girl shouted. "So says Poison Ivy, the defender of the green!"

Okay Garth, this was your first supervillain. Go in big, tough, and show her who's boss. "And you won't be hurting anyone else!" He shouted, pulling out his bottle. "So says I, Aqualad!"

"...Who?" The girl raised an eyebrow.

"An atlantean, a hero, and your defeat!" He narrated, levitating the water as a threat. "So how about you surrender before this gets real?"

"Hold on hold on hold on …your name is AQUAlad, and you're going to attack me with water?" Poison Ivy asked.

"Yeah, it takes up 70% of the planet! Tidal waves, Tsunamis, all the power within my hands!" Okay, that was a bluff, but he was still pretty skilled with hydrokinesis, enough to cause a concussion at least.

She and the flowers all tilted to look at each other in confusion for a moment …before shrugging. "Fine then, 'Aqualad'. Give me your worst." Okay, bluff was called … eh, could still cause some damage.

"Then behold a light attack for a new villain!" He shouted, firing off a ball of water at her… which was eaten by a fly trap. He blinked in surprise. "Aaahh…"

"Ohh nooo, that totally showed me." The lady mocked. "I'm SOOOO scared now, please don't send any more water my way."

"You're going to eat those words!" Garth shouted as he used up more of his own water, forming them into spikes as he sent them into the plant monster's gut … which just absorbed it all in. "... Three out of five?" He grinned nervously.

"How about I cut you up five ways like a piece of fish and serve you to three of my babies?" Poison Ivy cackled as she petted the plants like a dog. "Is that what you want? You want a little fish snack? Yes you do, yes you do cause you want to grow big and strong just like your mama."

Now a part of him wanted to be eaten just to avoid hearing this disturbing conversation. Okay, maybe more rain … or- "Get down!"

BOOOOOONNNNNNNG

What sounded like a giant church bell ringing out in the air fired off, knocking the plant monster back and sending Garth flying, until he was grabbed by a blue gloved hand. "Wha-who are you?!" Garth shouted as his ears were still ringing.

"Bluebell, and we need to run." The masked guy spoke, holding him by the collar as they bolted down the street.

"No way, I got it now! I'll make it rain, maybe add a little hail, and THEN I'll begin wearing her down."

"… You plan to feed a giant plant monster water… half of what it needs to grow stronger?" The guy asked blankly.

….Garth had immediately forgotten for a second that he was on the surface, and plants required a little more than what the kept and coral needed below the seas. "... So…" Maybe this wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Either call in someone else or yank the water out of its body." The guy leapt into the air as a vine impaled the street. "My arsenal isn't equipped for giant plant monsters."

"I can take it out?"

"You control water don't you? Plants are mostly water." The figure told him as a viney wall blocked their path. "Ivy, you don't have to do this—"

"That's POISON Ivy to you, interloper." The villainess glared down as vines broke through the concrete. "And don't tell me what I don't have to do. Everything I do is for the benefit of those TRULY worth giving protection to!"

Garth blinked, looking back and forth between them. "... Is this an ex-girlfriend situation …?"

"What-no! Not at all." If Garth could see behind those black lenses, he was sure he would find a couple of raised eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"

"Don't insult me, fish breath, I've never even met this masked fool before in my life."

"Sorry, it's just, well, you guys feel like you have some sort of familiarity between you." Garth shook his head. "Or maybe that's just because of what happened between Star Sapphire and Ha-Green lantern a few weeks ago." Probably that.

The guy looked like he was about to say something, before rolling out of the way of another vine. "That water draining would be lovely yesterday, Aqualad!"

"Right, right!" Just had to do something he's never done before and save the day, yep, that's all he needed to do, no pressure.

"There's no stopping me now! Gotham is a lost cause for now, but I still have time to save Metropolis, I still have time to plant my Garden of Eden!" Poison Ivy shouted as Bluebell dodge thorn after thorn after thorn. "And once I do, I can finally create the perfect utopia with my Adam!"

"Are you certain that HE'S okay with that, you know, instead of you pushing your own ideas onto him?"

The villain blinked. "How would you … are you SPYING ON ME!?" The plants grew more vicious, larger, and began surrounding them. "YOU WILL NOT IMPEDE ON OUR PERFECT UNION!"

"Me and my big mouth!" Bluebell took out a bo staff and whacked away a vine, only to get pushed back. "Aqualad, seriously, drain the water or we're both going to become mulch!"

"Sorry, I haven't worked with many surface world plants before, excuse me if I'm not exactly an expert on this!" Garth screamed back as he ducked under a thorn. "Okay… water obeys my rule, water obeys my rule… I control water… I control ALL water… " He took in a deep breath. "I am Aqualad… I AM AQUALAD!!" Pull away the water, pull away the water, PULL AWAY THE FREAKING WATER!

Riiiiiip

… He looked at the water literally torn away from hundreds of plants. "... Hey, I did it." He grinned. "Not bad–"

"YOU MURDERER!" The villain screamed in rage. "CAN'T YOU HEAR THEIR CRIES!?"

"...Ah... not really?" Bluebell tackled him as a thorn was thrown at his head.

"Not the time for glib remarks, she's not in the mood!"

"You killed them... You took out their blood and made them die screaming in agony…" Ivy held onto one of the withered roots, grieving. "They were so beautiful…. They had such beautiful voices…"

"They tried murdering us!" Garth shouted.

"They were wiping out the biggest threat to their kind!" She shouted. "As long as humans populate the planet for profit and convenience, trees and flowers will never be able to bloom!" Ivy screamed. "WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SEE HUMANS NEED TO BE WIPED OUT BEFORE THEY DO MORE DAMAGE!?"

Suddenly, Garth was being hit with a whiplash of deja vu. "You know, as an atlantean, I know a thing or two about not exactly LIKING humans, half of them on the daily are always advocating to flood the Earth Noah's Ark style." It was disturbing that the first parade he ever attended was celebrating omnicide.

"Right. You know a solution too?"

"Eh, mostly tell them not to, and if they don't listen, punch the idiocy out of them." Garth shrugged. It's what Aquaman did with his brother all the time.

"...Then you're a species of cowards and morons…" Poison Ivy growled as she grabbed what looked like a seed from her pocket. "And that makes you… PART OF THE PROBLEM-"

FWOOOSSSSH

Garth had used all the water he had collected from the plants to force the villain back… and ended up launching her across the sky. "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF ME, YOU MONSTER! I WILL BE BACK TO CHOP OFF YOU HEAD AND USE YOUR BLOOD AS FERTILIZERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" The villainess screamed as she faded into the air.

"... Should I worry about that?" He asked.

"About her surviving, no, she's resourceful enough to find a way to land. About her coming back for revenge, yeah probably." Bluebell nodded. "Like they say, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… literally, hell is nothing compared to that."

"Weird, that's the second time someone wearing blue has ever told me that." Garth thought about it for a second. "...Guess it's just universal whether on the surface or Atlantis."

"Guess so." They shrugged, tossing him to the ground. "Anyway, gotta run, see ya."

"Wait, don't you want to hang out? We did kick butt together, and well, there's a lot of villains around-"

"You'll be fine, Aqualad. Aside from one lapse in judgment, you handled it pretty well. Just remember for the future… grass types are strong against water types."

Garth blinked. "...Did you just quote Pokemon?"

"Are you going to tell me that wasn't an appropriate lesson to take in from this?"

"… Touché." Maybe he needed to play more video games to be a better hero.

"My name… Is Oliver Queen." He announced to the world behind the shadows he loomed in. "After one year in hell…" On an island LITERALLY named purgatory. "I have come back with only one goal… to save my city." Well technically he wasn't IN his city, mom thought he needed a new change of scenery after the boat crash. "But to do so, I can't be the man I once was." A shameless playboy who only looked out for himself. "I must become someone else… I must become… something else." A playboy on the surface, but a seeker of righteousness and anti corruption underneath the mask. A man who would use his vast wealth and resources to fix the problems of the world, and get TRUE justice.

"I am… the Green Arrow." And he would be vigilant for any crime, any villain, any suffering, and right it before the event ever got serious! "The Green Arrow stalks the night, hunting down his prey in this concrete jungle of danger and corruption." And tonight would mark a big step in ending that corruption.

Interpol... the most elite and advanced terrorist organization on the planet, and they had decided to plant a base right in the middle of Metropolis. It took a year to track them down, and now Oliver's going to get some answers… some real ones. Finally listening into their organized-

"Hey, Boss, why the fuck are we in Metropolis?" One goon asked.

"… To do illegal shit, idiot."

"Yeah but like… why Metropolis specifically?" He clarified. "I mean Superman aside, this town gets attacked by giant monsters and alien invasions daily. Honestly it's a dice roll if we get blown up or not."

"That's exactly the point. There's so much super crime that anything else that doesn't shoot lasers or grow fifty feet tall goes under everyone's noses. This ain't like Gotham where the dark knight has his nose on every single jaywalker."

"Yeah, but Lex Luthor is the king of not super crime, and the Arch Nemesis of said Superman."

"Who do you think's been hiring us to unload these radioactive power cores? He keeps his image clean so to speak and we get a quarter of the load." … Okay, Ollie may have overestimated their intelligence… so to speak.

Still, this was a chance to take a hit on the biggest criminal gang in the city. Okay, first, take out the lights; they were more a hindrance given how well you've trained to see in the dark. Then, dramatic speech. "Hit the lights just like you've trained to."

Oh, this was so satisfying. After a long day of being the best in school and having to bear the rigid directing of Zee Zatara and her bland and overdramatic tone of voice, it was nice to blow off some steam by targeting those that sought to do harm to the weak.

Keep your feet, pull against the force of the string, but not too hard for something this close, steady… steady… and fire. The shock arrow flew into the power box, where the discharge overloaded the machine.

Zzzzzt

And created darkness. "Who turned out the lights!?"

"That would be the Green Arrow, scum!" He announced, firing off arrows into three guns. "Surrendering is in your best interest, or this will get… hairy!"

"...'Hairy', really?" One of the goons asked, unimpressed as his fellow crooks. "Says the dweeb in the Robin Hood tights with barely any hair."

"Hey, I have a goatee and it's perfectly distinguished and mature!" He shot back, firing off a boxing arrow into the man's face.

"...That should not work at all." One of the other goons pointed out. "A boxing glove arrow should throw the aim off terribly."

"It's called refinement in skill." He accused. "Now, tell me where your boss is and I'll be inclined to use something much safer on the rest of you hooligans."

"She's right here." A kick in the back hit him right in the back, sending him into a metal crate.

"Gaah..." He growled, getting his arrow ready and aimed as he faced the asian woman with white hair. "China White, how lovely it is to see you again."

"I can say the same to you, Arrow boy. Although green doesn't suit your complexion at all …" She pulled out her blade. "Red would be quite dashing… blood red that is."

"I'll have to take a number, your cell number once I send you behind bars!" Oliver fired as she split his arrows in half. "What are you doing with Interpol anyways? You run the triads."

She scoffed. "You've seen these idiots, they hardly have a brain steering the ship as it is, it was easy to absorb them into my group."

"Hurtful!"

"You all lost your guns to arrows!" China White called out. "The LEAST effective way to kill someone!"

"You know, simply aiming to kill limits your options." He shot out another arrow, which exploded into itching powder on contact with her blade. "I, on the other hand, can get quite creative!"

"Gaah, are you an archer or a trickster?!" Her expression twisted in discomfort.

"I'm whatever the situation requires." He proceeded to punch her in the face. The perfect line for the perfect time. "And the audience goes wild."

"Yes, wild while they applaud at your death!" China White called out as she pressed a button she took out of her pocket. "I hope you can dodge machine guns that fire 400 bullets a minute!" The walls began to rotate.

"I took out the power!"

"It's called backup generators, genius!" China White cackled. So this is how he died. Shot down by a crazy Asian… somehow he always knew this was how it would end. Although, before he thought it was after he spent the night at said crazy Asian's house… don't judge him, he was a different person back then.

Ollie stared down the guns … as someone got in his way, a blue figure with a mask. He blinked in shock/ "Wait Wha-"

Ratatatatatatatatata

The blue figure looked at him as his scarf revved with blue energy, not even flinching as it took the blunt of all the bullets, looking at him. "Nice mask."

Ollie stared, caught off guard. "Oh… ah… thank you." Finally, some appreciation for his style! He coughed with a fist. "Right back at you."

"Oh, who are you supposed to be?! Blue arrow!?" One of the goons shouted.

"No, Bluebell." China White growled. "Thought you were in the super crimes exclusive business?"

"I'm in the exclusive 'stop people from hurting others' business, which includes triads and gangs that work for Lex Luthor." They shot back as the bullets died down to nothing. "You focus on the crazy girl, I've got the goons running for their guns." The new figure nodded as he took out his own bow and arrow. "Have you ever done the thirty two shoot down tactic?"

"What self respecting archer hasn't?" Ollie nodded with a smirk. "First to thirty two buys the other lunch?"

"Sure, since you're offering. Be warned, I WILL put a dent in your wallet."

"Confidence, I like it." He pulled out a magnet arrow and fired it at China, drawing in her blade and any other hidden tools the woman had on hand. "Let's see how well you do without your blades."

"Like I need them to take down a punk dressed like Peter Pan!"

"Peter Pan fought with a knife, not arrows." The figure shouted as he shot five arrows into five goons, knocking them out. Okay, looks like Ollie needed to step up or else he'll lose the bet.

He pulled out a ricochet arrow, letting it whiz past her, as it bounced around the room, before hitting the back of her head. She roared. "Gahh, you have WAY too much money on your hands!"

"And you clearly don't spend it where you need it." Ollie grinned. "I mean if you're gonna be stupid and kill people for a few coins, you could probably put them to your blades…" He drew a fire arrow and shot her. "And not a jacuzzi."

"Seriously, a hot bath works just as well." Bluebell nodded as he fired off ten arrows, five shooting into the handguns of the goons, another five knocking them in the head. "That's twenty five for me."

"Okay, I came into this warehouse seeing four of you and I know only China's a ninja. Where were the rest of you hiding?" Ollie questioned.

One goon shrugged. "Backroom. There's a pinball machine and a fully stocked fridge. We were on our lunch break."

"Oh sweet, looks like Green Arrow won't be wasting his money on me after all." Bluebell commented, shooting another arrow as he used his bow to knock out a guy sneaking up on him. "Then again, this is working up a big appetite."

"We shall see about that, my blue friend!" Oliver chuckled as he got a taser arrow and shocked it into the metal ground, electrocuting three more men on the spot. "Hah! Nothing beats a good taser arrow!"

"Nothing but the pleasure from your broken bones!" The crazy woman screamed as she ripped her sword free from the magnet arrow, coming after him.

"I have to ask, were your parents deliberately calling you China White?" Bluebell asked as he shot an arrow into the woman's knees, making her stumble. "That would be like an American couple calling their kid Caucasian Man."

"Don't you mean American Caucasian?" Green Arrow asked as he leapt back, firing a boxing arrow into her face. "Caucasian Man would be an unoriginal superhero name for someone named American Caucasian."

"Names are almost as weird as hair color sometimes." The guy commented as he fired off another arrow into a goon.

"AH FUCK!" The man screamed in agony. "IT WENT RIGHT THROUGH!"

"... You ARE using blunt arrows, right?"

"Not all of us have a large budget. It was either all sharp or all dull." The figure shrugged. "Don't worry, it only went through your shoulder. Nothing five months of jail and physical therapy can't fix."

"What did I do to deserve this!?"

"I'll tell you what you did." Oliver reeled back his arrow. "You… have FAILED this city!" He fired off another arrow into the man's head, knocking him out. "Okay… I'm at twelve." He grinned.

"Thirty one." The masked figure raised his hand. "Just need one more-where's China White?"

"Far away from you assholes!" The woman got on a motorbike and began speeding off.

"Wow, it's like she hasn't been watching the entire fight." Oliver smirked. "First shot takes all?"

"Sure." They responded, firing off an arrow before he even pulled on the drawstring.

Ping

"Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" The woman shouted as she crashed into a wall.

"...You're a fast shooter." Oliver muttered. Well, now he had an inferiority complex. Lovely.

"I've learned to shoot fast or risk death, something I think you're pretty familiar with." Bluebell nodded. "So, need help tying them up for the cops?"

"Tying yes, but hold back on the cops. I need some information." He explained. "If this goes all the way to Luthor, I need details on every part of their operation."

The masked man stared blankly at him. "... I'd get some friends to help you out … other than that… you're up there among the best heroes in this city, Green Arrow."

Oliver blinked in surprise. "...Oh…well… thank you." Part of being a hero WAS for the accumulation, not going to lie, but getting complimented for his deeds was actually pretty rare, especially given the figure before he was able to outshoot him in terms of speed. "It's just.. all in a day's work, nothing too spectacular or anything."

The stranger nodded, walking over and grabbing some rope. "Just keep it up…and maybe add a hoodie. Your identity is pretty noticeable with that goatee."

"..." He looked in a reflection. "... Touche." It was simply too handsome to shave otherwise.

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind." Hal waved to the crowd as he saved the day yet again.

"I love you, Green Lantern!"

"And I love you, random civilian!" Hal was pretty used to fame and glory as a star quarterback for his school. He worked hard, played hard, and everyone loved him for it! He was perfect. Then, an alien crashed to Earth and due to how awesome and brave he was, Hal was chosen to be his successor as a part of the greatest and awesomest force in the universe ever and became even MORE perfect.

Thus, Earth was graced with the one and only, Green Lantern! … Okay, maybe not ONLY. But John spent most of his time in space and Jessica didn't like fighting, so he was definitely the most popular Green Lantern-!

"Wait, I thought Green Lantern was a woman?"

"I thought Green Lantern was hispanic."

"Wait, you mean Green Lantern isn't black?"

"No no no." He shook his head. "You're all thinking of…" Well they couldn't ALL be Green Lantern. Maybe they should change names. "First Lantern and Green Girl."

"...Those names suck."

"Yeah, that's what I told them, but they INSISTED on me taking Green Lantern." If no one was around to object then it MUST be true.

"... I mean, it's less confusing this way." A woman shrugged.

"Exactly, and in the end, isn't that what matters?" Hal nodded, doing his perfect handsome smile. "The point is that whenever you see this symbol, you'll think specifically of Green Lantern, aka me, cause I'm always going to be here to save the day, no matter the time or place." Not like he was scared of anything ... unless it was Carol, but she's actually left him alone for some strange reason the past few weeks, so he actually did have nothing to fear.

"Help!" A man shouted. "My grandmother's stuck in a burning building!"

Hal smirked. "Never fear, for Green lantern is here!" A burning building, ha, child's play. Kilowog had him punch flaming meteors as training practice. He was practically desensitized to it. "Okay, so what can I do? Giant water gun? Giant fan? Giant vacuum cleaner, giant ball of mashed potatoes… ooh, what if I added gravy… oh what, that might burn it, what if I made ice cream… ooh ice cream sounds good right now-"

BOOOOONNNG

What sounded like a bell going off rang inside the building, as a blue buff dude came out of the flames, resting an old lady on the ground. "You okay, ma'am? Is your breathing alright?" They asked in some super deep voice.

"Why yes… yes I am… " The lady spoke slowly.

"Good." He placed her down, before running back inside.

"Wow, what a super heroic and super selfless hero!" Someone from the crowd cheered. "Let's all clap and cheer him on while he saves more people!"

"I'm down for cheering for a complete new guy and leaving the old ones in the dust!"

"I heard he called himself Bluebell!"

"Bluebell! Bluebell! Bluebell!"

He twitched. Well, looks like the moment to be in the spotlight was slipping… unless. "Well, he DID learn everything from me. After all, he's on MY super hero team."

"Wait, Bluebell's the leader of a superhero team?!"

"What, no, I'm the leader, cause I'm the most experienced!" Actually going by experience, Carter was the one with the most of it, but he'd liked stayin' quiet, which wasn't good for giving out orders.

"What's it called?" Someone asked.

"Eh, it's unclear at the moment. But our top pick… the Avengers!"

"... I feel like that's copyrighted somewhere?"

"Plus isn't getting revenge not heroic?"

"Good point… what about… the Outsiders?"

"Would you have to be misfits or something?"

"What about-"

A window was shattered as the guy leapt out of it … with a dog. "Hey Lantern, aren't you going to put out the flames or something!?" The blue guy shouted. "A fan, anything really before the rest of the people inside get cooked alive!?"

"Wow, look at him taking charge of the team!"

"Way to step up as leader, Bluebell!"

"What the heck are they talking-"

"One giant fan, coming up, just like I planned!" Hal summoned a giant fan and turned it on the fire instantly, and in seconds, the flames were taken out. He chuckled. "Bam, problem solved."

"... Good. I'm going to go check on anyone trapped inside." The guy said, walking back inside.

"Whew, wow, way to go Bluebell! You and your sidekick were awesome!"

"Hey, I'm not a sidekick!/I don't have a sidekick."

"...The Green Lantern LIED to us!" One spectator yelled angrily.

"Hey, I told you I was the leader!" Hal shouted, panicking. "Of course I'm not his sidekick!"

"He's trying to cover his butt!"

"Let's boo him for all his lying!"

"Let's throw rotten vegetables at him!"

"Hold on!" Bluebell held his hands in the air. "Save those vegetables, they can be turned into mulch. Just focus on making sure there's enough room for the ambulance to park." The guy said as he went inside the burnt building.

"He's so thoughtful AND environmentally conscious."

"He's way better than that green boy!"

"Oh come on! It's Green Lantern-hey!" A rolled up newspaper was thrown at him.

"Just get out of here and let the pros do their jobs already, Flashy!"

"Flash is someone else!"

"So you're trying to steal TWO heroes' shticks?! For shame! Boo him! Boo him forever!"

"Gaah." Hal slumped in defeat. Well this didn't go at ALL how he wanted it to. Which was weird, usually everything went exactly according to plan. He flew down inside next to the blue guy. He frowned. "Hey, you totally stole my thunder."

"Pretty sure that's more of a Livewire thing." They said without paying attention, lifting up some broken wood. "Nothing under here…"

"No, no, not that, you completely upstaged me!" Hal shouted in an annoyed tone.

"But there is no stage." The guy shot back. "Oh, looks like someone left a cat." They picked it up. "There's nothing to fear now, the fire's gone."

"Mew." The cat licked at the mask.

"Friendly one, aren't you?"

"I mean you stole all the credit! I had the crowd's attention and everything!" He waved his arms hysterically.

The guy and the cat stared at him like he grew a second head. "Who cares about the credit? Take mine if you want. As long as people are safe, I couldn't care less."

"Well you should've said that earlier, cause now the crowd thinks I'm a lying glory hog stealing liar!"

"Then don't tell a lie." The guy shrugged, walking around. "Is anyone still here!? Can you speak!?"

Hal's eyes narrowed. "There's only one way we can fix this."

"Prove your capabilities as a hero through genuine honest actions when the right time comes up?"

"No, we have to team up and pal around until your good cred begins to rub off on mine!"

"Meow."

"I agree, that's a terrible idea." The blue guy glared. "And I don't do team ups. I assist when I'm needed, but no teams."

"That seems lonely." He deadpanned.

"I can focus on my friends when I'm not on the clock. I don't need to get bogged down when lives are on the line." The guy pointed out. "Being a hero and being a civilian are two parts of my life I would love to keep separate."

"Don't be like that." Hal insisted, using his ring to pull him in close. "What you need is a good old fashion bro hang."

"I already had lunch with Green Arrow and only because he offered. I don't like being casual when the mask is on." They stated.

"Jeeze, are you even human?" Hal asked. "Or a robot." He gasped. "Are you a robot trying to look good to take over the world?"

"… You know, I'm starting to see why the other green lantern doesn't respect you all that much." The dude said bluntly. "Can we wrap up this conversation already?"

"Come on, don't be like that. It'll be fun. We team up. You can even be my sidekick."

"… no-that's a terrible idea." The kid glared from behind that helmet. "For one, we have vastly different skills and abilities. It's one thing to be on a team where you can cover the full spectrum, but with just the two of us there's little common ground. And two, you get called to space more often than not."

"Oh don't worry about that. Two other Lanterns are doing that for us." He waved off. "In their words, me and… Green Girl." Still couldn't use names. "Are 'vastly underqualified for a space mission'."

"Yeah, I can see why in your case." The blue guy muttered. "And I'm going to be anywhere that isn't here now."

"You know I can just follow you until you say yes." If there was anything Carol taught him. It was that peer pressure always won out in the end.

"How will you keep up if you don't have this?" The blue guy held up… His ring!?

Hal's eyes went wide. "Wha the-" He was instantly taken out of costume. "How did you do that!? You're not supposed to—"

"Take it off? Actually, you can, it depends on the concentration of the wearer… And you don't concentrate." He tossed it back. "Make sure you don't lose it a second time. I'm not as nice as a couple of others around the block. Keep that in mind for the future, Hal."

"What?!"

"Seriously, anyone else in here!?" The guy shouted as he lifted more broken rubble.

"You know who I am!?"

"Your mask only covers your eyes and you glow green. There's literally nothing hiding your identity beyond that." They deadpanned.

"Not cool, dude." He pouted.

"I'm only doing it to get you to back off, and we're alone right now, so be happy about that." He said. "Now either find some civilians or help the people outside with ambulances."

"The people outside are knobs and not my biggest fans right now-"

"Suck it up. Heroes are here to help, not get adulation." The dude responded gruffly.

"But they DO get it."

"That's not the—just go away before I take your ring again."

"Like you can—" and instantly it was off. "Oh come on!" He groaned with his foot stomped.

"I believe it's three strikes until you're out." The dude tossed it back again. "Don't let it get to three."

"... Freakin'." He shook his head before he flew off into the air. Seriously, what kind of hero bro was that guy?

Bluebell quickly shoved the food under his mask, before latching it back on. "Gah … eating is so hard with this thing on." This is why he left the eating to Iruma. Was it weird that he was referring to himself in the third person?… yes, but also no.

On Lian Yu, he was told to become someone else... to become something else. It looked like Oliver played more of an acting role when using that advice in practice. But for Iruma... he literally needed to become someone else in order to feel like he was ready for this.

Barbara called it a split personality, which meant he probably needed to look into it more seriously in the near future, but for right now... it felt right. He felt more like Bluebell than Iruma, and Bluebell helped people whenever they needed it.

"Hmmm." Spoke the latest hero he just helped, Hawkman, as they finished their own meal.

"I mean I now understand the benefits of leaving the mouth exposed, but that's just a risk I'm not willing to take. Too much identity exposure if my voice isn't different." His life needed to be secure and people meant to be saved. Those were Bluebell's two main concerns in life. "You're lucky you can get away with not talking much, it's super hard to figure out who you are."

"Hmm."

"It's not that I try to figure out who people are. Most of the time, they're just really bad at keeping it secret. Like Aqualad. The only thing different about his costume is that he wears gloves and a belt buckle. Everything else is just his regular clothes."

"Hmm."

"I get that he's Atlantean and fear of exposing himself isn't really an issue, but still." He shrugged. "Like, Green Lantern acted surprised that I knew who he was."

"Hmmmm."

"Really? Do eye masks actually fool people? But it's all the same face, hair, he doesn't even change his voice." The guy said. "The only thing worse is Superman and Supergirl. They don't wear masks at ALL."

"Hmm."

"People don't think they have identities? Why?"

"Hrrrmmm."

"Why would power matter? They're still people, alien or not."

"Hrrmmm."

"Living away from others in isolated locations …" Bluebell processed that. "Yeah, I could buy it." He pondered for a bit. "Is it weird that I end up having to save guys more than girls?" He asked the man. "Or is it that so many people have read the 'damsel in distress' trope that they switched it up?"

"Hrrrrrm." Hawkman grunted.

"I guess that's a fair point. There's been superhumans since world war two. That would put in enough time for complacency." The hero nodded. "Surprised the police aren't showing up by now to take in the Coin."

"VENGEANCE!" Said tied up villain shouted.

"Busy day?"

"Hmm."

"Isn't it irresponsible to just assume a villain isn't worth the effort of at least one policeman?" He was starting to understand Diana's confusion on how the law worked. "What do they expect us to do, play judge and jury and just toss them in a cell?"

"Hmmm."

"... Don't tell Batgirl I said this, but I think Batman sets a bad example." Which Iruma believed in even before he left for seven years. He had three years to see all the broken arms and concussions he gave even simple bank robbers.

"Hmm." Huh… never thought of it as 'specifically crime ridden Gotham maniacs' instead of just 'all criminals'.

"You know, you're really easy to talk to." Somehow even better than his friends weirdly enough. No judgements or biases.

"Hmmmm."

"Awww shucks, you're making me blush." He chuckled. "Well thanks for lunch, Hawkman. I'll see if we can make this a regular thing."

"Hrrmm." Yep, definitely one of the more relatable heroes. Focused on the job and keeping things professional. The girls could probably learn a thing or two from him.