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—
Metropolis
Beckett Residence
"What are we doing now?" Claire handed over a bottle of pomegranate molasses to Miles, having been chosen as the kitchen assistant.
"Barbecue." Miles took the bottle, pouring it into a dish with some other ingredients.
She held out the chopped black garlic. "Why?"
"Exhaustion doesn't come crashing down on you like a sledgehammer but worms its way in like a parasite. I learned that in Hong Kong. I'd been working for days on end, trying to recover a portion of my father's investments, which included a diplomat with a fondness for pricey gifts and a womanizing portfolio manager." Miles explained, not letting the words stop him from preparing the sauce.
"Each day was a game of deceit. One day, I woke up, looked in the mirror of my hotel room, and couldn't remember what web of lies I was supposed to weave." Now, he added the spices, and Claire got the gist of the story.
Orange zest and crushed coriander finished the sauce. "But I pushed on, too persistent to consider resting."
"What happened?"
"I felt I was drowning and left the table. The deal was over, and the sheikh bought my father's investments, a nice little vineyard in Douro Valley, Portugal." It wasn't because of any sentimentality towards his father, but Miles genuinely enjoyed the serenity of the little vineyard.
"You don't like alcohol."
Miles finished mixing and tasted the sauce, nodding in appreciation for the taste. "It wasn't about alcohol; it was about history. Douro Valley is ancient, with stories of smugglers, explorers, and monks carving vineyards into the cliffs, and I lost it to an oil-rich fool with no appreciation for beauty, all because I burnt myself out."
"Point taken, and it's not like I'll say no to barbecue, especially if you know what you are doing."
"Take a seat and wait."
—
"Hey Miles." The smell of the grilling meat made Baraka's mouth water.
Miles took the offered soda. "Baraka. How are your studies proceeding?" The hero business was too time-consuming, and while Miles made sure to have time for his charges, it wasn't always possible.
"Good, good. Stephanie says I am a genius when it comes to engineering."
"Now that I have some time, I already let your tutors come tomorrow to see how you two are doing, and if the day comes when they have nothing else to teach you, I know a once-in-a-millennium roboticist." Then again, there was also Ivo, but Miles didn't even know where to look for him.
"Who?"
"Do you remember the androids that came to rescue Gotham?"
Baraka's eyes shined. He, just like most of the people in front of the TV, had watched the androids mop the floor with Joker's lackeys, "Yeah, they were really cool."
Miles smiled. "Their creator is working for me."
—
"It smells good." Raven commented. The young girl had been a bit of a recluse, preferring to keep to herself, but agreed to join the barbecue party.
"Take a seat, Raven; it will be ready in a moment." Miles was already piling up the plates, and the side dishes were ready with the drinks.
"Sure."
He had no idea what Raven liked and gave her a diverse plate. "Getting used to your room?"
"Yeah, it's way better than sleeping in abandoned places I found." In a foreign world, with no identification, Raven's life wasn't easy.
"I already started the process for your citizenship. Papers and ID should arrive in a couple of days." Rachel Roth was Raven's civilian name, and he had the papers filled out as such.
"Don't I need to be there in person?" The young sorceress asked, and Miles smirked.
"Raven, I am a professional."
—
The household dived into the barbecue with gusto, enjoying the rich, flavorful, and smoky sauce on lamb skewers, ribs, hamburgers, and eggplants. They had even sent several plates to neighbors, as the diverse amount was too much for them to eat in one sitting, and appearing as good neighbors dispersed suspicion.
Beckett Residence was too quiet and withdrawn; it's best to break it now with a mouthwatering bribe.
—
Claire leaned on her chair, rubbing her stomach.
She had eaten too much, but Miles had outdone himself, and the American in her could not say no to barbecue.
Zalika and Baraka did not fare any better, but Raven and Miles had eaten in moderation.
"We should do this every once in a while." Zalika sighed in contentment. The sauce was really good, if a bit spicy, but in her opinion, the chance to be family was the greatest pleasure.
"My thinking as well. Time spent on ourselves is time well spent."
—
Next Day
Zalika and Baraka's results were exemplary.
Logan and Daniel were baffled by Zalika's comprehension capability and speed, but she hadn't shown much interest in engineering, so Stephanie only taught Baraka.
Baraka, in contrast to his sister, was more talented in engineering and had developed a keen interest in robotics, able to easily visualize any mechanical creation down to its smallest parts.
Either he was a budding genius, or he had a less apparent meta-human power.
The tutors even suggested she consider attending college, but Miles would not put Zalika and Baraka in the spotlight unless they wanted the experience, fully aware of the dangers exposure would bring on geniuses.
—
After the tutors left with glowing recommendations, Miles had a curious guest.
Shayera Hol.
She wanted to speak about the war and Thanagar's plan to utilize hyperspace generators.
—
"I have broken my connection with Hro and resigned from my position." Shayera came out with the truth, but Miles wasn't surprised in the least.
He told the heroine as much. "Honestly? I expected it to happen."
Shayera's dry look told him the Thanagarian did not appreciate it. "Keeping an eye on my relationship, Miles?"
"No such thing. It was simply inevitable. You two had one common point, and it was the war. With it over, the differences in how you and General Talak conducted war would lead to clashes." In addition, Shayera was also not quite willing to go as far as Hro Talak was in an effort to win the war, and it was bound to create friction in their relationship.
"I still can't believe they had planned to destroy so many worlds." Earth was just another link in the chain, with several inhabited planets already having the hyperspace bypass generators hanging over their heads.
Ones that Thanagar was dismantling right now.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Not that I would let it succeed in the first place." The Justice League, as the foremost defenders of Earth, would not let Thanagarians just walk over, and there were the Guardians in addition.
"I want to tell the League, but I am not sure." The usually confident Hawkgirl seemed so indecisive now.
"By being honest. The League will understand your conundrum, and they will appreciate hearing the truth from you. Though, you should definitely keep my involvement out of the equation. Gordonians are almost extinct; it won't sit well with them." Invasive aliens or not, the Justice League would not take it well.
"Sure." Shayera agreed. It was the least she could do.
—
Watchtower
The League had gathered in the Watchtower when Shayera had called, saying she had something extremely important to share. The members sat around the table, waiting for Shayera to start.
"As you know, I was sent to Earth by Thanagar Military Command to defend this planet against a possible Gordonian invasion."
"Yeah, how is that going by the way?" Flash was still shaken by Trigon's arrival, and an alien invasion was the last thing he needed.
"I have recently resigned from Thanagar's military after learning the real reason why they had assigned me to Earth." Shayera explained how she had learned the truth of Thanagar's plans to use a hyperspace bypass generator to strike the heart of the Gordonians, which would have destroyed Earth along with many plans.
Batman, who suspected foul play in regard to Thanagar's benevolence, was not as surprised as the others.
John broke the stunned silence. He didn't know if the League alone could push back an invasion from Thanagarians. "What about the Gordonians then? Did Thanagar just give up?"
Shayera shook her head. "No. The war with the Gordonians is over in Thanagar's victory."
"How did that happen if your military had to resort to such a desperate plan?" Once again, the galaxy had proven to be a ruthless place, and it weighed down on Clark Kent's soul.
"The Gordonians attempted to steal an orange power ring and paid the price for it."
"Orange power ring?" All the eyes turned to John, who raised his hands, just as clueless. He knew about the Star Sapphire Corps and the Blue Lantern Corps, but the orange was news to him. "I don't know anything about that."
Miles stepped in since he was the only one who knew all the details. "Because the Guardians keep it a secret, and they have an accord with Larfleeze, the sole member of the Orange Lantern Corps."
"How could it be a corps if it has only one member?" The Martian Manhunter asked. If Larfleeze was dangerous enough to bring down an interstellar empire, he had to be monitored, if possible.
"Each color on the emotional spectrum represents a different aspect of it with varying side effects. Green is the color of will and the most balanced one, as it has no side effects, but orange is the color of avarice, and it makes the wearer desire in its most primal form." Which was also the reason why the Green Lanterns were the strongest corps overall, because they did not suffer the destructive side effects that the others did.
Except for the weakness to the color yellow, but then again, almost everyone in the League had a glaring weakness, and Miles wasn't one to judge.
"Larfleeze killed the rest, didn't he?" Her people had many stories of how greed could ruin lives, and to Diana, this sounded eerily similar.
"Yes. He keeps the rings as a part of his hoard and summons the dead wearers as constructs. Larfleeze is one of the strongest entities in the galaxy, and defeating him proved to be an arduous task. So the Guardians reached an accord with him. Larfleeze would not leave Okaara, and the Green Lanterns would not enter the Vega system." This was ancient history, one that would lead people to seek out Larfleeze if the knowledge of it spread.
"If Larfleeze is so dangerous, why would the Gordonians go after him?" It was illogical to go after such a dangerous enemy when victory seemed so close for the aliens.
Batman was, once again, suspected of something underhanded but could simply not prove it.
"Because Gordonians are pawns, used by the Citadelians, who were created by the psions through genetic experiments, who, in turn, were the abandoned experiments of the Guardians." And rather than clean up their mess, they had let it fester, and Miles had to step in.
"Damn." John grumbled. His bosses were looking less and less impressive with each deed revealed.
"Citadelians wanted a weapon that could stand against the Guardians, and what better than power rings?" The Dark Knight did not give any indicators whether he bought it or not, but Miles didn't expect any less.
"Thank you, Shayera, for sharing the truth with us. What do you plan to do now?" Clark asked. He truly appreciated hearing the truth from Shayera rather than from a secondary source.
It showed that she was sincere.
"Stay on Earth and continue to be a member of the Justice League, if you allow it." Because she didn't want to return to Thanagar and had already begun to like Earth.
Flash looked at the other members and spoke. members, and "I think I speak for all of us when I say, we are happy to have you with us."
"Thank you." Shayera's face lit up. She would have understood if they had refused but was glad it did not come to that.
"Since we are all gathered here, I would like to make a suggestion." J'onn said. The Martian had been looking for new recruits for the League, and there were already several people who had proven to be heroes.
"Go ahead."
"The androids that joined Batman in Gotham against Joker, and Question, who was vital in tracking Trigon's cult. I believe they would make worthy additions to the League. Trigon, even in his weakened form, caused the death of over a thousand people. More hands on deck could reduce future casualties." While J'onn did not go down to Earth much, if at all, he still researched better methods and techniques to respond to emergencies.
One problem the League had was numbers. Seven people, eight if Miles' network were to be counted, were not enough for the whole world.
There were discussions among the members for some time, but the idea itself made sense.
"I won't say no to having more heroes around." Even the fastest man in the world could not be in dozens of places at once.
"Miles, could you contact them?" Since he was the one who called the androids in the first place, Superman was sure he could do so again.
"Torpedo, Inferno, and Tornado will most likely be willing to join. I can't say the same for Question. He is paranoid; perhaps Batman would be able to strike an accord with him." The Dark Knight's interpersonal skills may be lacking, but he still knew how to convince people.
By giving them a good reason.
Like the Green Arrow and the Canary.
"Send me his address. I'll talk to him."
"He doesn't have an address or a phone, but I am sure Question will show up if he knows we are looking."
—
Beckett Residence
"Miles, come quick." Zalika sounded worried, and since they were at home, it made Miles tense.
"What is it?"
"Someone is going through our trash."
His tense shoulders relaxed; Miles knew this was inevitable. "Of course he is."
"You know him?" Was he helping some homeless person or something?
"Yes. It's nothing for you to worry about." He left the young woman to her devices, quickly stepping out of the kitchen door to find Question standing in front of the trash can.
"Question, we were just talking about you in our clubhouse." Miles leaned on the wall, crossing his arms to watch the detective, who didn't even turn around.
"Hmm, anything interesting?"
"They thought you might make a good addition to the League, or if not, we could keep a line of communication open to cooperate." Batman was supposed to handle this, so Miles would just give his business number to Question.
Victor wrote down something in his notebook. "Let's go slow first and see how things work out."
"Understood. Now, could you please stop going through our trash?" Miles requested. During the entire conversation, Question did not even stop for one second, trying to decipher some great secret through the remains of yesterday's barbecue.
"Who are the kids?" Question asked, having finally stopped.
Miles would need to update his already strict security measures, but nothing short of an energy field would keep Victor Sage out.
"My charges. I would love to explain the tragic story behind it, but I am sure you have other matters to be suspicious of."
"I'll see what you are planning yet, Miles Beckett." Question turned around, ready to leave, but faltered for one second with Miles' parting words.
"I am an open book, Victor Sage."