Without a second thought, Clark shot straight up and flew toward the Kryptonian ship.
But when he arrived outside the ship, he didn't see Cyborg behind him...
He thought for a moment, then turned back and glanced toward Cyborg's house.
Ah. Right. Cyborg still couldn't control his flight very well yet. He was flying all jerky and clumsy, and he'd even taken a tumble...
Seeing that, Clark circled back, grabbed Cyborg, and hauled him along straight to the base.
Meanwhile, inside the ship, the Flash was messing around with the robots like a total goofball—until he looked up in surprise at the open dome above the conference room...
Superman and Cyborg hovered side by side against the sky, giving the Flash a long, meaningful look.
Under their stares, the Flash awkwardly set the little robot in his arms down on the floor, then clasped both hands behind his back.
"Uh, hey there, I'm the Flash!
So... there's no rule that says you can't play with the robots, right? I seriously wasn't trying to take them apart!"
"Ahem!"
Hearing that audacious idea of dismantling Kryptonian robots, Clark gave a gentle cough, then descended to the floor with Cyborg.
He walked right up to the Flash and greeted him.
"Buddy, I'm Clark, and that's Victor. Nice to meet you!"
"Hmm, I thought we were all supposed to go by code names.
But I guess it makes sense. Before now, I didn't know who you were, but you both knew who I am. That's not fair.
Now that you've introduced yourselves, I know who you are, Mr. Clark.
So I should reintroduce myself too, right?"
At that, he whipped off his mask, revealing his face to Clark and Victor.
Then, in a flash, he pulled the mask back on and simultaneously grabbed both Clark's and Victor's right hands with his own right hand!
"I'm Barry Allen. Just call me Barry. But maybe don't call me that in front of outsiders—I don't want everyone knowing I'm that kid from Central City!"
"So fast!!!"
Cyborg stared at his own right hand in shock. He could clearly feel the physical contact, but looking at it, Barry was somehow shaking his hand right in front of him while also, at the same time, shaking Superman's hand over to the side!
In that instant, Cyborg suddenly felt a surge of confidence in the Justice League.
Even this ridiculously chatty and seemingly green member had such incredible abilities!
Hearing Victor's exclamation, the Flash immediately flashed a bashful grin.
"Eh, it's nothing special. Speed might be my only real strong suit. Not like you!"
As he spoke, the Flash gazed enviously at Cyborg's face and body.
He kept staring until Cyborg was practically bristling with irritation, and then the Flash said, full of longing:
"Dude, you are so cool. You're like a Power Ranger! A Transformer! G.I. Joe! Bumblebee!!!"
He even reached out to touch him as he said it.
The gesture made Cyborg step back, startled.
Though it was sudden, the Flash's genuine enthusiasm actually made Cyborg feel a lot more at ease.
When you're playing among monsters, you naturally become ordinary. You stop being a monster yourself...
Seeing Cyborg and the Flash getting along well, Clark nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Now that you've met, if you don't have anything else on hand, how about helping me fix up the base first?
Also, if something comes up on my end, as long as you can keep up, you're welcome to handle it with me.
And one more thing...!"
Clark paused, giving the Flash a very pointed look before issuing a stern warning.
"Try not to piss off the Old Ancestor. He may seem super genial, but he definitely has a temper!"
With that, Clark spread his hands in a helpless shrug.
"Like just a little while ago—you already got a taste of that, right..."
"Okay, I'll do my best. I know I talk way too much. I'll try to keep it in check.
Seriously, I've always been trying to hold back. It's just that sometimes I can't help thinking too much, and then I can't help wanting to say everything I'm thinking.
Like right now—I just wanted to prove I can control my mouth, but I still ended up talking way more than I needed to.
I'll fix it!"
"Heh, that's probably an occupational hazard for speedsters. When I was younger, I couldn't perfectly control my abilities either.
Back then, because I was faster than everyone else, stronger than them, I loved being active, and I talked just as much as you.
After all, in our eyes, everything in the world can slow way down, right?"
Clark gently explained to the Flash while hoisting a nearby water pipe and getting to work.
"But I found a method. If you want to quiet yourself down, just find something to do—like I'm doing now.
Keep doing one thing continuously, keep thinking about one thing continuously. That helps you focus better."
"Got it!"
The three of them got busy. Though they'd only just met, they fell into a surprisingly natural rhythm with each other.
After all, people like them—the extraordinary ones—were the true kindred spirits in this painfully ordinary world...
...
Meanwhile.
...
Cape Carmine, Maine.
In front of the harbor, a thoroughly bewildered Arthur Curry turned back around, looking exasperated.
"That's Batman?"
He muttered to himself.
"Best case, he came to the wrong place. Otherwise, an asshole like him always brings trouble."
He strode back into the bar and plopped down into his seat.
Beside him, his dad raised his glass in a little toast.
"So, what was it? Outside there?"
"It's that mutated bat from Gotham. Pfft."
"Oh? That so-called Bat-Man?"
"Yep."
Arthur frowned and downed a huge mug of beer, not even caring that his big beard was getting soaked.
He set the mug down and let out a sigh.
Hearing that sigh, his dad laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You little brat, stop sighing. If he's some kind of so-called superhero, then so are you. No need to be jealous just because he showed up!"
"What? Me, jealous of that freak show?"
Arthur shook his head vehemently, but his dad just kept snickering.
After a while, when the old man seemed to have laughed enough, he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder and said softly:
"I know you too well, kid. You are jealous of him. Jealous that he gets to enjoy the title of hero.
But you can have that too, son. You'll always be the hero of Amnesty Bay, the hero to every fisherman out on the sea."
Hearing his father's words, Arthur frowned and shook his head as if he didn't care.
"Forget it. I've got no interest in playing hero. Heh."
"But some things don't go the way you want, kid.
I can feel it. Lately, this world's been crawling with more and more monsters.
That alien a while back scared the hell out of me. I really wished you could've stepped in to help back then.
But then Superman showed up.
And after Superman came, the trouble didn't get any less—it just got more and more frequent.
That Doomsday thing a few days ago, tsk, it was all over the news for ages.
And as if Superman wasn't enough, then a god popped up out of nowhere!
The sunlight from that night... I still can't forget it."
"Tch, all that stuff's useless. Who the hell knows if he's really a god?
You know as well as I do, to regular folks, I can be called a Sea God too. But you and I both know what I really am."
Arthur cracked a wide grin and shook his head.
"I don't care what's going on in the outside world. As long as I'm here, nothing's gonna go wrong in Cape Carmine.
No ghosts, no demons, no superheroes—nobody's gonna run wild on my turf!"
Whoosh!!!
Just as he finished speaking, a flash of rainbow light streaked past the window again.
The entire bar fell silent.
Then, all the patrons turned to look at Arthur. They'd all heard what he'd just said.
And Arthur...
He set his glass down, wiped his mouth with his right hand.
Then he shot to his feet and strode aggressively toward where Batman stood in the fading glow of the rainbow light!
He shoved open the bar door, then broke into a jog—until the Batman opposite him raised his right hand in greeting.
"Arthur Curry, I'm Batman, I—?!!"
CRASH!!!
Before Batman could even finish, Arthur launched himself forward and slammed him hard into the ground.
"Fuck you, asshole!
Coming and going from Amnesty Bay with that so-called rainbow—you think this is your Gotham? You think you can just waltz in and out as you please?
Batman!!!"
BAM!
A vicious punch to Batman's face. Before Bruce could even fight back, he was dazed and reeling from the sudden assault.
He struggled to shake off the dizziness and was about to zap Arthur with a taser.
But then Arthur abruptly let go of him.
"Come inside the bar and talk, you bastard!"
"You—"
"You what?!"
Scrape...
Arthur actually grabbed Batman by the chest plate, hoisted him with one hand, and dragged him into the bar.
Under the stunned, bewildered stares of every patron, Arthur slammed Batman against the wall and wrapped his right hand around Bruce's throat.
"Now. Tell me why you're here."
"Cough! Cough!!!"
Bruce coughed violently. He'd imagined many possible scenarios, but he never in a million years expected a welcome like this.
Arthur Curry was way more unstable than he'd anticipated!
Or rather—impulsive enough to be that much easier to manipulate!
Batman reached up and patted the hand clamped around his throat.
"Let go. Kind of hard to talk like this."
Arthur glanced at his father across the room. His dad furrowed his brow and gave a nod.
Thud!!!
Arthur let go, and Batman dropped to the floor.
A moment later, Bruce got to his feet. He casually set the case he'd brought down beside him, straightened his chest armor, and said to Arthur:
"You know what happened a few days ago, right?"
"Of course. Monsters showed up, Kryptonians stepped up, a god appeared, the sky lit up. So what?"
"So, unfortunately, that Sun God brought some bad news.
Our Earth is facing a threat from something stronger, more numerous, and far more evil!"
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"Because you've been chosen, Arthur!
Superman, Wonder Woman, and I—together with the Sun God—we're forming a team.
A Justice League that will fight for the survival of Earth!"
CRASH!!!
Mid-sentence, Bruce was once again grabbed and hurled to the side.
He barely managed to scramble up before finding Arthur standing right over him, staring down into his eyes.
"You don't come in front of a father and ask his son to walk onto the most dangerous battlefield!
And you don't come into Amnesty Bay and suggest I fight for everyone else!
Because you know I can't refuse your request—and that's because I can't sit back and watch my father and the people who make their living here face the kind of danger you're talking about!"
Arthur jabbed a finger at Bruce's chest plate.
"That's what you were thinking, isn't it? Heh. But you're wrong!
I don't give a damn about Earth, and I don't give a damn about you people. I've got no interest in getting mixed up in your bullshit!
Now, get lost!"
"Are you sure? The case I brought has three million dollars in it. And that's just payment for coming to meet the Sun God once."
"Wait!"
Arthur froze. He looked around at this run-down old bar, then at his dad's worn-out clothes, and then he thought about the twenty-two-year-old pickup they'd driven here in...
...
A long silence.
Then Arthur asked quietly:
"Three million?"
"Three million. And there can be more."
"Fuck."
Arthur grinned.
"When do we leave? Not that I'm doing it for the money, like I just said. I can't sit by while my dad and my neighbors are in danger."
"Of course. I understand. We can leave right now."
Bruce smiled, satisfied, and extended his right hand.
"Sun God, I've completed the recruitment. Bring me back!"
The moment he said that, even Arthur tensed up—let alone everyone else in the bar.
So that rainbow light really was the work of a god?
Arthur hurriedly tossed the case Batman had brought over to his father, then nervously waited for the Bifrost to descend...
And then...
Bruce stood there in silence for a moment, then lowered his hand and raised it again.
"Heisenberg?!"
...
A long while later.
Bruce, his face dark, turned to Arthur and said quietly:
"Plan B. Let's sit down and have a chat. I'll call in a plane to pick us up."
/-\
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