9th April
17:27 GMT +1
I finish my walk around the statue then float upwards to try seeing it from an elevated position. Canis Minor must have come back at some point to finish it. I'm not usually one for art, but this… If it wasn't for all the horse poo it would be really nice.
Oh that's right. I'm an Orange Lantern.
One of the horses is scratching an itchy flank against the stone, and it snorts and takes a couple of steps away as the orange light takes hold of the excrement and spreads it out across the nearby grass. The Watchtower doesn't have flies, but the garden has a healthy worm population and the climate control systems make it rain every so often. When this place was converted for League use they brought in just enough plant and animal life to keep the oxygen flowing but no one was really interested in creating an ecosystem. I don't think anyone even takes honey from the bee hives.
"Good, isn't it?" I look around as Superman flies down to hover a little way from me. "We offered to take it down to Earth, but Canis Minor said that it belonged up here."
"The point was creation and commemoration, not
owning. Why put it somewhere other than where it should be?
" I glance back up at the window to the meeting room.
"Things going well up there, or..?
"
"We're taking a short break. It's.. not easy being told everything you're doing
wrong."
"Everyone on the Justice League has done so much for their fellow Earthlings already.
" That gets a small smile.
"I'm not trying to.. do the League down. You're all amazing; what you volunteer to do is amazing. I'm just trying to… Help you do more. And, y'know, keep you alive while you do it.
"
"I know." He nods. "Do you have time to make that radiation shield for me now, or should I come back later?"
"Now's fine, sir. On the..? Belt buckle?
"
"It's that small?"
"The version I gave Kon is. Really, it's a trade off in power and battery life, but since Kryptonite radiation is actually not.. very
strong, and you won't be using it all the
time, small works fine.
" I hold up my left hand and an orange strobe plays over his belt.
"If you actually wanted to go to the Rao system or something you'd want something a little heavier. Sir, I… Why do you-?
"
"Why do I have a belt?" He chuckles. "I remember what you and the Ophidian did to my trunks-."
"I'm
really sorry about that, sir.
"
"I've had worse critics before." The light playing over his belt cuts out. The 'buckle' unit has about twice the volume it did before, but the change isn't really that noticeable. "I realise
my costume isn't exactly 'cutting edge'-."
"No, no, the costume's
fine, sir. Solid colour, clearly visible logo. I don't really like capes, but you pull it off. The.. pants…
" I hold my hands out to the side, palms up.
"It was originally supposed to be a.. circus strong man sort of thing. The rest got added because I couldn't fly around in
just my trunks."
"And the belt?
"
"When I started out, they did sometimes get… Pulled down. Because of how fast I was flying." I look away, nodding. "Was that your honest assessment of what would happen if the League faced a group of warships?"
"That was the result of a lot of simulations. The exact result depends on your assumptions about what
they know, how they respond. Broadly, though? Yes.
"
"I suppose we've been lucky so far."
"This is a peaceful region. The chance of being attacked isn't all that high. The only real local power that might threaten Earth in that way is the
Black Circle, but they're criminals and raiders, not a navy. Their fleet assets aren't often used for attacking places that can fight back.
"
"So we don't need to arm up just yet. You had me worried for a minute there."
"Statistically… No. It probably isn't
necessary. It would help in some ways, hinder in others…
" I shrug.
"It's a path you could take.
"
Ring, anyone else around?
I get a clear impression of the Watchtower, and the locations of everyone on board. Looks like Nabu did leave.
"Sir, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.
"
"Oh? What is it?"
"You may want to sit down.
"
He looks at me curiously for a moment. "I prefer to take my bad news straight."
"It's not bad news sir, but alright. I was always a bit sceptical of the idea that starfaring species could have been rendered near-extinct by a single disaster-.
"
He looks down. "They can if they isolate themselves on their homeworld."
"Right, but
everyone? So… After I got Lantern Stewart's ring I had a look through the database. See if I could track down any Kryptonians who might have been elsewhere.
"
His face stills as he looks at me in shock. "
You found someone?"
Tracking down a single planet in a galaxy when you have no real idea where it is isn't very easy. I was rather lucky finding a specific reference to a '
Dax-Am' in the Corps' records on Kryptonian society itself. Then I tried comparing the faces of his followers to those on other humanoid inhabited worlds. That got me nothing. Looking for humanoid inhabited worlds orbiting a red giant narrowed it down a bit, looking for one colonised rather than indigenously inhabited narrowed it further, then it was a matter of looking at the records and finding the best fit.
"I found a colony. It's on the planet Daxam in Space Sector one seven six zero. The original colonists appear to have been.. Kryptonian Amish, effectively. According to Green Lantern Corps records-.
"
"What?!" His eyes widen. "That was on John's ring? Why didn't he tell me?"
"The Green Lantern Corps missed them because they've.. pretty much abandoned Kryptonian culture as it was then. Since Daxam orbits a red giant they don't have any of the signature Kryptonian superpowers… And they retained the Kryptonian habit of isolating themselves and doubled down on the xenophobia. The local Lantern just had time to confirm that there
was a settlement before they opened fire and chased her off. If I didn't know exactly what I was looking for I wouldn't have been able to find it.
"
He nods, his eyes shifting to the ground below us as he gets his thoughts in order. "
Sector one seven six zero. Where is that?" I wave my right hand and create a galaxy map, our position and Daxam's clearly marked. Quite a long way. "Ah."
"I can give you a lift in three months. Or you could probably arm twist Lantern Tomar-Re into giving you one now.
" He nods.
"I should warn you, they're probably not going to be friendlier to an outsider just because he happens to be from the same species as them.
"
"I.. better brush up on my Kryptonese." He smiles at me. "Shame you couldn't find someone closer." His smile disappears. "
You found someone closer?!"
"Um.
" Stupid… Super senses.
"Ssssort of?
"
"On Earth? Where?"
"Thing is, sir… They… Know you're here. I mean, you're not exactly subtle, you wear the sigil of House El on your chest...
"
"Why is that a problem?"
"The individual in question was a member of the Kryptonian navy who went AWOL when the Science Council took over. While Jor-El was opposed to isolationism, House El as a whole was in favour of it and several members of the Science Council-.
"
"And they blame
me for that?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Let me talk to them."
"I.. rather promised that I wouldn't, sir. They were… Percussively emphatic about not wanting anything to do with you.
" The muscles around his jaw tighten.
"I wouldn't tell them that you're Clark Kent; it's hardly fair to expect me to spill
their secrets.
"
"Maybe not. But
I certainly didn't promise that I wouldn't look-."
And then the alarms start blaring.
