Even A Man - part 5
Obloquy
CrossMyHeart And HopeToDie, StickANeedleInMyEye
- Location
- the Physical Realm
Life Ore Death
* December 2 [M'gann PoV]"Pull!" I called, because Artemis said it was traditional. I started moving the targets again, and Conner threw.
His snowball hit the edge of one target, puffing out into a spray of snow.
"Hold," Artemis called, and I set eased the targets down. I turned around and saw her fussing with Conner's stance.
"Yeah, I sorta wish she'd have her hands on me," Wally commiserated with a grin.
I jerked a little, guiltily. "I'm not jealous," I objected. Then, "Okay, maybe a little. Does she really have to keep touching him?" I demanded.
"Sad to say, but yes," Wally agreed. "Supey wants throwing practice after that thing in Qurac-," I flinched again, feeling so grateful Conner hadn't hurt anyone badly, the way I had hurt Garfield. "-and with his strength, proper form is a must for accuracy. I briefly tried to learn to throw things with super-speed, and I got a bunch of lessons from Rob and Uncle Barry. Ended up giving up, because I couldn't run and keep form for aiming," he admitted. "I'm thinking I'll try again, though, as long as we're all branching out. Always could be useful, right?"
"Right," I agreed half-heartedly. "I'd try the same thing, but accuracy practice with telekinesis is so different, it's not really worth trying. Well, not yet," I amended, because Hello, Megan, I didn't want to seem like a slacker. "Uncle J'onn says there's prerequisite training."
"Makes sense," Wally said to my relief. "I think they want you to start up again."
I checked back on them, then turned back around, so as to not see Conner's throw and move a target toward or away from it.
We kept up with the training for a while longer, with Wally doing drinks runs for hot chocolate when Artemis got too chilly, and when it was a little after the early sunset, (changed daylight and times with seasons was still so new to me,) I felt someone unexpected reach out to me.
[Hey, Megan? Am I right that you're somewhere around here?]
[Wendy! Wendy, how on the red plains-? I can't believe you reached out to link with me on your own,] I sent back. Then I saw red.
Wally waved his mittened hands in my face again, startling me. "Uh, hello, M'gann? You okay there? The targets have stopped."
[I know, I just had this feeling like when we did this in class,] she sent back, [and I decided to try feeling that same way, and, you know. Hey, you never answered us about where you were yesterday! Is it fine to come find you and hang out, catch up? I was just with Karen….]
"I- uh, yeah, one sec." Wally blinked at me as I let the targets drop. I opened a second link for speed.
[Wendy, one of my two school friends who knows Conner and I have powers, just opened up her own link with me for the first time,] I told them all. [Artemis, Wally, you briefly met her and Karen at the gym during the Disappearance Disaster. Remember? They saw Ferris and Dr. Fate recruit us, so they know, even if I didn't tell them who you two were. They don't know Conner and I are aliens, they think we're just humans with powers,] I added. [She's asking if she can come join us. Is it okay?]
[Wait, you mean I'm not the only one who got made by a classmate? Oh, thank everything,] Artemis sent with relief, and I suddenly felt much better about that, too, if someone as good at everything as Artemis was could still have her secret figured out.
[Wait, you got made by a classmate? Who?] Wally asked, zooming over. [Wait, is it that Grayson kid who is 'stalking you,' you said?]
[No, someone else. I'll tell you later,] Artemis assured him shortly, though I felt I twist of something behind her thoughts.
I briefly worried if things were okay between them, but for all that Wally felt nervous Artemis still seemed fond of him.
[The two from the Disappearance Disaster are here, and they say you can come. Karen too,] I added.
[Awesome! Let me lose Marvin and I'll grab her.]
I felt a little awkward-sad that she was going to be keeping this from everyone that much, but it was better than the other option.
[Just to be clear, they know you and Conner have super-powers, they don't know you're not human,] Wally listed, [and they know you were involved in the Disappearance Disaster, but they don't know about the Team, right?]
[That's about right,] I confirmed, [Though they did see they newscast about the ice fortresses. They… might recognize Artemis from it, but they didn't recognize either of us at that distance.] That had been an interesting talk to dance around having with them. [Oh, and they know my 'Uncle John' is the secret identity of the Justice League, but not that he's a Martian, and Batman knows they know.]
[They know about your telekinesis, but do they know about all your other powers?] Wally asked. ['Cause, mine are kind of a giveaway.]
[They know I'm tough and strong, but not the super-senses. They know M'gann has telepathy and telekinesis, and maybe something else, but she downplayed the telekinesis and is keeping secret the shape shifting. I hear them on the way,] Conner sent.
It was a few minutes later that Wendy and Karen crashed cheerfully through the trees and snow to see us.
"Hey, Megan! Conner! Shouldn't you guys be studying for our math test tomorrow?" Karen teased.
"I'm feeling pretty confident," I assured her.
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Conner agreed. "You guys remember these two?" [Wally, Artemis, which names are you going to use?]
"You're the two who know about Megan's uncle, right? I remember you from that time in the gym. I'm Artemis," she introduced.
A spray of snow and a gust of wind blew past as Wally raced over. I shrieked with a bit of laughter as it got in my hair.
"I'm Wally, by the way, but keep that on the down-low. Pleased to meet you, ladies," he greeted smarmily.
"Ooh, you're Kid Flash!"
[Names,] I reminded Wendy, and she glanced around, but we were alone so it didn't really matter. [Just be careful; it's a good habit.]
[I will, I will.] "And are you the same Artemis as the girl with Green Arrow?" she asked.
"That's me," she affirmed proudly.
"Girl, give me five," Karen invited enthusiastically. "I already told Conner and Megan, but you guys are real heroes, you know? Total inspirations to all of us. Especially you, kickin' ass and takin' names without any powers," she gushed eagerly. It was honestly a little like me when I'd met Marie Logan, except I don't think I came off as so charming like she did. "Any advice for a would-be sister in the fight?"
That alarmed me.
"Wait! Karen, are you serious?" I shot into the air and over before I'd really realized it, but the images of- [I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that she wants to, but if she just goes out alone she'll end up dead like we nearly did!] I sent to the others. "You aren't thinking of-?"
"Whoa, chill girl! You don't think I can do it? You know how much muscle it takes to cheerlead," she boasted.
"Muscle is not the number one thing you need, to start with," Artemis cut in. [Don't worry M'gann, I'll try to nip this in the bud.]
[Just don't get that whole, "I'm a teenager I can do it" rebellion thing going,] Wally advised, giving Artemis a nudge.
[Crud, that's a good point,] she admitted, and I could almost feel her mind working to deflect this to something safer. "To start with, you need years of training before you go out. At least a year of devoted training even if you've already got the groundwork," she insisted, "and, um…."
"That's true even with powers," Wally cut in his face more serious. "Flash still put me through all sorts of paces and exercises between when I got my speed, and when I first hit the streets. But the number one, absolutely most important thing is that we never go out alone. That's why we all got introduced to each other, you know; they think we're stupid kids who shouldn't be out alone, so they made sure we'd have friends to call on in case we ever got it in our heads to out without the League, so that we'd have back-up. It's saved my life," he asserted firmly.
Karen whistled, nodding slowly. "Yowza. Right, so, training and strength in numbers." She paused. "You know, this is all getting real now that I'm saying it, instead of some crazy dream in my head. Um… I don't suppose, if I ever end up doing this, Megan you'd go out with me? I mean out on the hunt for bad guys!" she added quickly. "That sounded less gay in my head, sorry."
"Only if you pass a test from Artemis," I answered. [Sorry to rope you into this, Artemis, but will you? We're just too close friends for her to listen to me seriously, and there's that, um, that 'teen rebellion' thing if I try to straight out stop her.]
[…Okay, but what'll you do if she does pass this?]
[Um, wait, is the test supposed to happen soon? You can say it'll take a day or two if she pushes,] I pointed out.
[Yeah, we've got time, and we can work something out or ask Batman for tips on discouraging or training her,] Wally agreed.
Artemis nodded briskly. "Yeah, I can probably whip up the type of thing my… trainer did when I was younger. And yes, younger, because I've been literally training since I could walk, and holding you to the same standard as me is unfair." [And too obviously difficult.]
[I hate to say it, but the feel of her mind and the look on her face suggests she's getting fra'al-skulled about this,] I warned them.
"And if this testing happens, it probably shouldn't be for a while," Wally input. "Even if you're going against muggers and petty crooks, a real fight is way different from exercise or a self-defense course. So yes, you could go out on the streets one day, but even if you drop out of school to work toward it you shouldn't expect to be out until late summer. Not until maybe this time next year, if you don't drop out. But if you really get that itch, Megan and Conner are in easy reach, and they can reach the rest of us. Just please don't go out alone," he added, sounding a touch desperate in ways that he didn't feel to me. "Robin has seen what's happened to half-a-dozen people who tried this."
"It's not pretty," Conner added. Then, "But you know, it will be cool if we do train you. Kind of like you're our shared sidekick."
[Judging from her face I'm going to say "crisis averted," and thank you guys. I knew she was enthusiastic, but I did not expect that.]
[I did. A girl I know will probably need to be talked out of doing the same thing sometime soon. Tell you more another day.]
[I'm sure we'll be happy to help out, Artemis,] I assured her.
Wendy and Karen fit in nicely with the rest of us, and we got to talking without too much focus on the hero thing – Wally even 'sneakily' pumped Karen for date ideas to 'surprise' Artemis with, despite her being able to hear and giving him a constant psychic commentary.
"Hey um… if it isn't too forward, do you think we could see your base?" Wendy asked meekly, but I could feel the thrumming excitement and hope in her. "I mean, you guys live in Mount Justice, right? Can we see? Please?"
[Um, quick vote? They already know about us, and it's sort of obvious where we live, and we've already been attacked by the Red Robots so it wouldn't really blow the secret… And this is really important to her, for some reason, if you don't mind,] I sort of pleaded.
[Eh, I'm not sure the League would be thrilled about it, but when has that ever stopped us? Go for it,] Artemis voted.
[I don't really care, as long as we're careful with identities. I'm with M'gann; let's let them.] I squeezed Conner's hand again.
[I'm not going to argue with that, but building off of what Conner said about identities, we should check that no one in the Mountain has a problem,] Wally suggested. [Zee, Kaldur, and Ferris are all also living there most of the time.]
[Good point.] "I don't mind," I said out loud, "but we aren't the only ones in the Mountain. Just let me… actually, Wally, could you run and check on them?" [I can't reach Ferris with telepathy, so you're faster.]
"Will do," he confirmed, racing off in a spray of snow.
We kept talking, and slowly walking toward the entrance to the Mountain, until Wally got back to me.
[Renka and Kaldur are both okay with it, and Zatanna is out of the Mountain because she wanted to dodge Dr. Fate, since he just visited.]
"Hey, we're good to go on the tour," I told my classmates out loud.
"Boo-yah!" Karen cheered, and I giggled because her bright joy was infectious.
I hadn't realized how much I needed some more bright in my life, with how down I still was about Garfield despite forgiveness from Marie Logan, and how glum Conner had been about the missile accident earlier. I felt lighter than I had in ages. Kaldur was a steady emotional rock, but he wasn't much for joy, and even if it was safe to touch her mind I knew Renka was dealing with a lot of seething frustration. Zatanna had lost her father, Jericho was still uncertain about his place with us, and recently Wally was a little worried about Artemis, while Gotham had left her and Robin with a permanent grimness etched into their underlying thoughts.
I hadn't been using my telepathy much in school, but I guessed maybe I should, to soak up some more of everything happy and good.
"Here," I commented, leading them to the physical door. [Hey, do we want to show them the passcode, just in case?]
[Not having it didn't stop the Red Robots,] Conner pointed out, stepping forward. "This is how you get in. Don't tell anyone."
"Just, you know, in case of emergencies," I added. "Not that we're not happy to have you visit, but we're not technically supposed to be showing you this."
"We're not going to get a midnight visit from Batman about this, are we?" Wendy asked suddenly, sharply stepping back.
"Or if we do, give us a head's up and I'll try to scandalize him for invading my privacy," Karen dared with a smirk.
"He knows you know," I cut in quickly, because I didn't think that was a good idea. "He said it was our business, as long as we took responsibility for whatever happened because of it. Just, no poking around for other members' identities."
"And while the idea of Batman breaking into a girl's room and getting an 'accidental' eyeful of embarrassment is amusing," Artemis added, "chances are he'd just confront you in the evening, or with your parents around. That's what he and Green Arrow did with me."
"Wait, confrontation? Uhh," Karen muttered as we walked in, "I don't wanna be rude, but a lot of the fan websites are guessing you're his kid. Green theme, blonde hair… Seems that's not the case?"
"No, though we said I was his niece for a while. I was basically one of the ones who tried going out alone, the Justice League caught me, and I impressed them enough that Green Arrow offered to take me on." She hesitated, and added, "Honestly, my dad is an international killer-for-hire, and I really didn't want to turn out like him. Again, if you don't have that type of training and background, don't go out alone to start."
"I got it, I got it," Karen complained. "Geez. I heard you the first time, girl, I'm not thick."
I could feel her irritation spike sharply. "Sorry, sorry," I said on Artemis's behalf. "You just caught us off-guard with the subject, and things."
"Eh. Always felt a bit embarrassed to say it before."
"I don't think I'd like to fight," Wendy said speculatively as we reached the end of a hall, "but there's always more to it, isn't there?"
"Totally," Wally agreed, having raced back over to rejoin us. "I had this talk once- how did it go…? Got it," he exclaimed snapping his fingers and putting an arm around Wendy's shoulders. "So, think of heroics and making the world a better place as like gardening. There's two parts to it: planting flowers, and pulling weeds. A lot of our crime fighting against villains is pulling weeds; we get the bad guys behind bars and stop them from hurting people, but that's only pulling weeds.
"There'll just be bare soil if someone doesn't get around to planting flowers and watering to help them grow," he continued. "That's why Wonder Woman works in diplomacy, lobbying, and so many charities. Flash and I do our best to make friends with the people of Central, and even get on good terms with our Rogues. You need teachers and bakers and candlestick makers to spread the light; tinkers and tailors with the soldiers and sailors, right?"
"Wow, that was a really good speech," I complimented, feeling all of our moods almost glowing.
"Thank you, thank you very much; I'm here all week," he announced with a bow.
"Really?" Artemis asked archly, around her grin. "I thought you said you had a surprise planned for me? Unless you're planning a double-date, in which case I've got to find a guy to lock arms with for Wendy." She glared significantly at his arm around her shoulders.
"Uhh… Whoops!" He blurred away, and Artemis suddenly squawked as he scooped her up and twirled her. "Sorry about that, babe."
"Wally! Put me down," she complained, but I wasn't sure if she was serious, since she was laughing.
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