Demeanour
18th April
08:06 GMT -5
I slump slightly on the settee, staring blankly at the television screen. I think I'm watching one of those long running American situation comedies, the ones that aren't actually funny but use so much canned laughter they sometimes trick you into forgetting. The Earth 16 version of Two and a Half Men or Everyone Loves Raymond. Or whatever.
"Hey guysssss." The air displacement from Wallace's arrival blows past me. Huh. I'm a little surprised that he's here this early. "Ahh, is Oh El still moping?"
The noise generated by the movement of Kon's pen across his homework momentarily pauses. "Uh huh."
"Oh-kay." Kon's pen resumes its motion as Wallace walks past the kitchen table and into the living area. I don't turn around as he plops himself down in the armchair to my right. "Hey."
"Good morning Wallace."
"What're you watchin'?"
"Whatever this is."
Out of the corner of my eye I see him carefully watching my face, trying to gauge my mood. "Still bummed out about Luthor, huh?"
"Mm."
"You don't think you were being… Kinda optimistic there?"
I sigh. "If only he'd been a little more avaricious."
"I thought Lex Luthor was all about avarice."
"No, he… Isn't."
He leans forwards slightly. "So.. what is it based on?"
"He's… Red, yellow and.. green. The base is red. He's… His core personality was formed in anger. "
"Doesn't seem very angry to me. I've seen pictures… You know, after Superman stopped him doing whatever he was trying to do… He always looks calm, or… A bit angry, but I've seen Uncle Barry's rogues after they get taken down. They get.. seriously angry. Luthor always looks like he's just shrugging it off."
"No, I mean-. He's not angry. I mean, the way he thinks is.. defined by anger. Some time… When he was young, something made him so angry that he's never stopped thinking like that."
"Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
"In his case… Yeah." I shuffle slightly on my seat. "He picked a fight with Superman when he first arrived in Metropolis because he literally can't stand the idea of there being someone he can't take down. It's like, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The Ugliest Man. He can't stand the idea of there being someone looking down on him and judging him."
Kon's pen stops again. "Didn't the Ugliest Man kill God for doing that?"
Wallace blinks. "Huh?"
"In 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche, The Ugliest Man is a nihilist who hasn't learned how to create values or ideals for himself, but has genuinely rejected the ones normal in his society. 'Killing God' is.. probably a metaphor for rejecting the idea of revealed truth. For him, the morality of the church is at best one man's opinion and at worst an active attempt to deceive. But, without it, he can't really function."
"So you're saying… Luthor didn't take your offer because… You're too powerful?"
"I'm not sure. It could be that, it could be because he just can't accept something that good happening. Just.. instinctively suspicious. Or.. it might be that he's genuinely committed to the Light and is just taking the things he doesn't like them doing in his stride." I sag. "I just.. really hoped he would. At this point he's seen enough of what I'm doing to know-. In his head, to know that I mean what I say. He knows that the people I've brought together are producing genuinely revolutionary technology and are actually doing things with it. I should embody the things he likes about the Light better than they do, and without the baggage. It just.. didn't happen."
"What you gunna do now?"
"Nothing I can do. I can't make a stronger pitch than I did yesterday. I'll just… Keep doing what I'm doing and hope he comes around. Which he won't."
"I'm not really seeing how 'less Luthor' is a bad thing."
"He knows how international business works. He's a great organiser and he's genuinely committed to bettering the lot of the Human species. He'd have.. been a great help. But it's not going to happen." I raise my left hand slightly, unnecessarily pointing the ring at the television to turn it off. "So… Yeah. You..? Still on for tomorrow?"
"Psh, ye-ah. You really think my healing potions are something that can… You know, go all the way? I mean, they get a lot less effective if they're a couple of days old. They're not really something you can store."
"Sephtian can probably come up with some sort of enchanted bottle that can get around that. Prevent them losing their potency. Or…" Huh. "We could try seeing what happens when old potions are exposed to the purple healing ray?" I slump. "Sorry, I'm not really feeling the… Uplift revolution at the moment."
"You got a spare one of those purple ray things in your workshop, right?"
"Yeah. Um. All yours. Just.. don't try it on yourself without someone else being there."
"Obviously." He turns to his left, looking at the table where our team mates are hard at work. "You two looking forward to visiting Mars?"
"Um. Kinda… Nervous, actually. Meeting M'gann's family for the first time… Plus I.. can't actually breathe the air on Mars."
"Conner. I'm sure my parents will love you. I'm.. just.. not sure how they're going to feel about me."
Wallace looks puzzled. "Why? Because you haven't seen them for nearly a year?"
"I didn't exactly tell them I was leaving. Uncle J'onn checked with them after he found out I was on his ship, but…"
I half turn on the sofa so that I can actually see them as Kon reaches out with his right hand, laying it on M'gann's left. "They'll be fine. If they were really upset, they'd have said so when he told them."
"I'm…" Her head droops a little. "I'm not sure that them not being worried at all really makes me any happier. When you've got as many brothers and sisters as I have it's easy to get lost in the shuffle."
Wallace turns back to me. "You just dropping them off and coming back..?"
"No. I think… As a Sector Lantern, I should introduce myself to the Martian government. See if there's anything they want me to do for them. And I need to hear officially what they want to do about the whole 'Burning Martian' thing. And, it'll be my first time interacting with an alien civilisation in their own territory. Um, do you have any plans for spring break?"
"You bet I do! Once my homework's done I'm gunna hit the streets of Central City with Uncle Barry. He even said that if things are quiet I can handle it on my own!"
"Shame Artemis, Richard and Zatanna aren't off until next week."
"Yeah. Well." He shrugs. "It was the same last year. Y'know, for Rob."
"Geography done." Kon's pen clatters as he drops it on the table. "I'm free for the rest of the week."
Wallace looks around, frowning. "Seriously?"
Kon shrugs. "What can I say? The Genomorphs were pretty thorough."
"You know, they were looking for Human volunteers for knowledge implantation. If you're interested..?"
"Aaaaaaah…. Think I'll pass."
