26th December 2004
20:54 GMT -6
I ignore the sound of military jets overhead. That isn't the first time they've flown over the town, and other warplanes have
also been flying a search pattern around my entry point.
Someone definitely picked up on my entry, though they didn't spot
me specifically. I…
Could pick a fight. I doubt that they've got radion weapons-.
Lantern Grayven, I've warned you about that sort of thinking before.
Alright, but
statistically. And I've got
you. I
could grab a pilot or two, follow the trail up the chain of command…
The waitress puts a mango milkshake down next to me.
"Thank you."
I pick up the cup and suck on the straw as I locate the local Wikipedia-analogue and start reading. I'm having a
little difficulty with the keyboard as my glamour doesn't
actually alter my size. But if I hold my hands close and have Sinestro
trigger the keys, it should pass muster.
Lords, Lords…
Ooh, lots of citations needed. Looks like there's been a bit of an edit war here. Ugh. No, the information presented here is worse than what they let me copy from their database. Maybe if I look at their individual pages? Kal-El… Is believed to still be in his Fortress. Batman hasn't been seen-. Ah, apparently he managed to avoid detection by any member of the public last year. John
didn't, and there are a few possible sightings…
I open a superhero fansite I remember from my last visit. Confirmed sightings… Most of the ones listed for him have a note saying that it could also be Rayner, which… Yeah, okay, their constructs are the same colour and John's got enough sense not to let people confirm that it's him. One alleged sighting of Diana since the Lords' break up… Possible. Nothing on Shayera, J'onn is almost certainly still on Mars-. Important point
is, they haven't been captured or killed.
Stormwatch… Ah, Kara
In-Ze has switched to a black and yellow costume, the 'S' of House El replaced with what looks like an
inverted 'A'. In kryptonian society, yellow meant 'synergy' or 'cooperation', while black meant 'it doesn't show the dirt'. I…
Assume that she's trying to separate herself from Kal-El's 'brand'. I've got no idea what House Ze's emblem is. I suppose there's no reason why it
couldn't be an inverted 'A'. Apparently, she's making her home in Metropolis these days, though it's been a little while since anyone's seen her out and about. Huh. Maybe she went with Scott to wherever he went?
Actually, the colour scheme puts me in mind of Adom.
The others seem more or less the same. I'm not going to risk looking up William Batson on a public computer, but-.
Oh.
They kept the youths.
Stretch, Brute, Char and… Metallica. Lynne's fellow inmates are now… Sidekicks? Wards? Of Stormwatch. I'd be curious to know whether they have civilian identities. Thinking.. about it, I suppose that they're not much younger than Kara. Certainly, they're older than William. I… Honestly haven't given them a thought since…
Hm.
Do.. I.. look up mys-
oh who am I kidding?
Ah, some good pictures. Little bit of video… Sound quality's a bit patchy. Maybe I should see about taking public speaking lessons? Nothing public about another version of me or any more recent sightings, so my alter-ego isn't on Earth yet. Scott and Barda said that they went to meet him… But they don't have the same formal relationship with Earth's governments that the League back home do. At least, they didn't when I
left. They certainly wouldn't be obliged to report a rampaging Apokoliptian warlord to the general public.
Thanagar, what do people know about
them? Do people know-? Hm, several sites mention that the device which was going to destroy the Earth was intended to transport their fleet, but there doesn't appear to be anything concrete about exactly what happened to them afterwards. Or the people they were attacking or being attacked by.
I suck down more of my milkshake. It's so nice to have proper plastic straws and not those
weird paper ones.
Ugh. Getting in contact with Stormwatch would be so
easy. Ring-to-ring communication with Rayner, ultra-high frequency message to get Kara's attention… I've got Thanagarian communication protocols which should let me communicate directly with their ship. But it's
still a sub-par option. My disguise will
not stand up to examination by Scott, Barda, or Zatanna.
Find the Lords…
Richard could probably get me back in touch. And I suspect -quick search, yes, he's still around- that Timothy could as well. Richard…
Might buy 'I want to make sure that my brother is alright', but it's probably best not to risk it. Alfred Pennyworth-. Oh. He's dead. Shiera didn't really
have human friends outside of her team mates, John spent a decade off Earth as a Lantern and rather fell out of contact…
Themyscira or Mars? I did give J'onn some long ranged communication equipment when we last spoke, but there's no guarantee that the Lords will be responding promptly. On the other hand, Themyscira doesn't even have
that. But at this point Diana 50 will have either gone totally mental or she'll have sorted herself out. And if she's wigged out completely, that's probably worth knowing about as well. Not that I think it would come as a surprise to
Batman, but
I don't want to get blindsided by a desperate demigoddess.
Al.. right. Nearly time to get moving. Does Stormwatch have an e-mail address? Well, there's the name of a press agency. It's better than nothing, I suppose.
Dear Stormwatch, nice to see that you're all doing well. Thought I'd stop by to make sure that my alter-ego wasn't making a nuisance of himself. You know how to get hold of me. Yours faithfully, Grayven 16.
Yes, that should do it. I down the rest of my milkshake, pay at the desk, and step outside. Using a boom tube out in the open risks blowing my disguise since it can't be reconfigured on the fly. But there's a convenient alleyway, and a
quick construct will prevent the security camera from reporting my presence. Around the back, no one looking-.
Lantern Grayven, an… Alternative, has arisen.
Oh yes, what's that?
A mining ship called the Hockalint is broadcasting a distress call not far from this system. They appear to have tripped over a vein of unrefined Nth metal.
That's worth grabbing, but I'm not sure how it helps.
It seems that the Lords are trying to regain their humanitarian credentials. They answered. The source is a dumb drone, but the transmission appears to be recent.
Heh. Teach me not to over think things. I take off my ward.
Fine, open a boom tube to wherever the Hockalint ended up. I'll lend a hand, if the Lords aren't already finished.
Very well.
Boom!
Arms confidently folded behind my back, I stride through the portal-
-and jerk my head back as a powerful white-blue plasma bolt burns past my face!
Armour and
what? I rise into the air as some sort of mobile anti-air platform opens fire at a target above me.
It's..
Shayera, who's ducking and weaving-.
The fusion cannon on my right arm fires, blasting through the force field and armour protecting the AA emplacement and incinerating both the gun and the crew. I shoot upwards on my aero discs, a
construct shield soaking a smattering of plasma bolts fired by the attacking infantry.
Shayera slows her movements as I approach.
"Grayven?"
"Hey there. Feels like it's been
months. Who are-?"
A flight of thanagarian soldiers rises up out of the jungle.