*Luigi's voice* I am BAAAAACK! I swear to god school is killing me but I have finally managed to finish and translate this chapter! I don't have much to tell, except that I really loved writing it :) My studies are taking a lot of my time so the next upload will not probably come very early (let's say it'll be slow and it's an euphemism), sorry. But I hope you will like this chapter! With more heroes coming, the story takes place before the last one.
Enjoy!

Did you see them?

No, I didn't because my family and I have been hiding in the cellar, hoping those things wouldn't find us.

They bursted out of nowhere, damn it…

Screams, people running everywhere, something sounding like dreadful roars, I didn't understand what was going on and yet the moment after I was fleeing, carrying my son…

These creatures attacked the civilians and within a few seconds all hell broke loose.

Panic ruled.

The monster exploded the door as if cutting through butter.

We were driving and then suddenly something hurtled towards us like a rhino, Mommy had yelled and twisted the wheel but it still rammed into us, thankfully Mommy always told me to buckle my seat belt or else I would have flied, I didn't fly but everything spun and it hurt so much… And then I saw it, the monster, leaning above the shattered glass.

The most terrifying part was their eyeless face, they just had two gaping pits. With their huge nostrils they sniffled the air around, following our tracks, like one of them. I was hiding behind the counter of my bar and it found me almost immediately. And it might sound crazy but I swear it was staring at me with its holes, as if I was going to be sucked into them… I had the jitters of my life.

I was running and running, I didn't know where to go, I just wanted to run away from all the howling and I was, not knowing where to. Then someone brutally pulled my arm, an old lady, she had led me into an alley and it's a good thing she did so because at the corner of the other street, there was a monster coming by, without this woman I would have ended in its fangs. But then… it found us when we were trying to escape.

I was watching this thing, this… chimaera holding my sister's arm between their jaws, my sister was crying for help but I was paralyzed, I wasn't able to move, I was watching all this red flowing and I was still frozen, my sister kept screaming, pain filling her voice, screaming while it began to rip her arm off, screaming that she didn't want to die, didn't want to die…

And then –

Boom.

Exactly

Fallen from the sky.

He crashed onto the monster like a meteor.

To be honest I didn't like black people before. But this one, as I was going to be eaten up, he showed up and bye bye critter. He helped me to get on my feet and escorted me to a safe zone. I swear to you I've never seen a guy so polite and comforting, not even among white people.

You're going to find it stupid but… as he was kneeling to ask me if I was alright, the only thing I thought was that he had really pretty eyes. A deep blue like the ocean. Very beautiful, on a man stunning like the sun.

And the others?

What do you mean?

I didn't see a sun but a being rising from the shadows.

Ah it happened to you too?

Trapped in the alley I thought it was the end for us. The old woman stood between the monster and I, she was going to be eaten up, she told me it didn't matter, she was old, the monster would be busy with her so I could flee, of course I wanted to live but for god's sake I wasn't able to watch someone die by my fault… And then we heard a voice, sounding like a demon's, guttural and deep, and this… thing comes out of nowhere, as dark as the night, it jumps onto the monster's back, which starts snorting and jumping everywhere but the other doesn't let go, before sinking something in the monster's neck and it drops dead.

I asked the shadow being if they were a jinn, a minion of the Devil, or an angel sent by Allah. They didn't respond, but led us, the young man and I, to a shelter where we would be safe until the situation was settled. It's enough of an answer for me.

A jinn? Seriously, what next! It was a guy in green, a normal human who helped me. I dunno if you heard about him, he's from Starlight City, a bowman… I must admit I laughed the first time I heard of him, a bowman, a modern Robin Hood, it sounded ridiculous… Surely I wasn't snickering anymore behind my counter, I thought I was gonna croak and then fsh ! Arrows fall upon the beast, some of them blow up, the thing brutally contorts until it doesn't move anymore… I stand up from behind the counter and I see this guy taking care of the customers, checking their health, giving some bandages and painkillers… He has stayed with us until everything was steady. Oh, it was a woman? I didn't notice…

The sun, the night, the bowman, I didn't see any of it. It's a lioness who stopped the flowing red. She knocked in the monster, her blade slaughtered it while her battle cry woke me up. I ran to my sister's side, her arm was shredded but still intact. The lioness showed me how to make a pad with a piece of fabric, thanks to her advice I stopped the bleeding… Without her my sister would be dead, and I am deeply grateful for that. That's why I cut my hair short like her, like this wonderful woman's.

The monster was going to eat me, Mommy was crying, the monster had his mouth wide open and then he became green. Right after he wasn't here anymore, gone, then I flied, I really flied, I was green like the monster and the green gently pulled me out of the car, it did the same for Mommy next. A miss was standing in front of us, made of emerald green. She looked like Moana. Moana took us to a place where the beasts wouldn't find us. Green Moana came, a princess saved me.

It was… strange, to put it simply. The second before I was running and the next moment I felt two strong arms gently pulling me up, and then we cut across the city at lightning speed. When my feet made contact with the ground again, I could just catch the glimpse of a bright smile, then he left before coming back almost immediately, carrying another person.

More and more people were coming.

Then… Nothing.

For a moment it was just… quietness.

I could have believed that none of this happened, if there weren't wounded people around me.

Silence.

As if time had been put on hold.

From time to time, the one running fast dropped by, checking if we were alright.

Of course we were still anxious, we feared the monsters might show up again, but at the same time…

There was this feeling that… the storm was going to end.

One hour, or one minute which elapsed?

Then the sirens.

Support had arrived.

One by one, we got out, we organized groups for the first aids, those who were in worst shape were taken care of first, blankets and bottles of water were dispensed… All of this quickly and calmly.

I was exhausted. Exhausted but relieved. Who wouldn't be? I am still alive.

Sometimes I was able to spot these… persons who came to rescue, and they were still acting so, they moved into the crowd, gave a hand to the medics, soothed panicked people…

The bowman was looking out for us, like a watchman.

The lioness came to see me while my sister was taken to the hospital, she put her hand on my shoulder and her stare told more encouraging things than a voice could do.

Sometimes we could see the lightning passing by.

I didn't see the lightning again, nor the sun nor the emerald nor the shadow people were talking about. I noticed the others from far away but I wasn't able to greet them.

I just wish I could tell them…

If they can hear us…

Thank you.

O*O*O*O*O*O

Night had fallen. A few stars were timidly shining between the ink-coloured clouds.

Lost in the middle of a deep forest, a cliff rose her sharp profile in the dark sky. No one could have guessed that, in one of the cavities crafted by centuries of erosion, a group of uncommon people were resting. After the attack of the chimaeras, or rather genetic mutations as they had found out not so long after their arrival, this hideout in the middle of nowhere gave a more than welcome asylum to them. Even if most of them weren't similar to 'normal' humans, they were still living beings, with their limits. Here, at least, they were allowed to catch their breath.

"If I keep lying down for another second, I will go crazy!"

Even if someone still had enough breath to whine.

"Lantern, stop wriggling, will you? You have a sprained ankle, you should better not aggravate your injury."

The woman in question grumbled something unintelligible and rolled onto her side in order to face Green Arrow, sitting on the bed next to hers.

"Well excuse me if I am fed up of laying here and doing nothing. I'm bored."

An emphatic smile spread on the bowman's face, like a mother's would do when watching their child pouting.

"I am bored too. But we can't do anything in such state, except staying still. Moreover, if you continue fussing your wound will worsen and you will have to stay here longer."

Before Green Lantern could reply anything, Arrow suddenly raised her index, meaning she had got an idea.

"In order to occupy ourselves, I can braid your hair if you want to."

Her counterpart arched a doubtful eyebrow. The bowman simply patted the mattress, an invitation to come next to her.

"At least it will give you some distraction. What do you do when you're bored?"

"…Why do you want to know?"

"Hey, we are teammates now, we should get to know each other. After all, managing to survive a bunch of monstrosities is not really a proper introduction. And the meeting some weeks ago was mostly professional."

"Ah, that explains why I fell asleep at some point – I'm kidding!" she added with a snicker when Green Arrow shot her an outraged look. "You really think I would take a nap when I was meeting Superman for the first time?"

"Speaking of Superman… Even the Man of Steel has been injured by these creatures."

Lantern's smile dropped.

"No need to remind me. Today – sigh – today was an exhausting day, wasn't it? We team up for the first time and that's a bit… harsh. Business risks when you're a hero, nothing new here."

A short but heavy silence. Then Green Lantern rose and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What kind of hairstyle can you do?"

Green Arrow's face brightened.

"Almost everything," she cheerfully answered, "but I really enjoy making braided pigtails."

Her excited behaviour made the other woman grin. Hopping quickly, she joined the bowman and settled on the bed in such a way that her partner could comfortably work without worsening her cracked rib. She immediately got to work, her callous but careful fingers gently sliding between the dark and thick locks.

"You're doing well," noted Lantern.

"Thank you. I learnt from my tribe's elders, they were very kind and patient with me. My mother was very happy when I began braiding her hair. This activity brought me closer to my maternal family, which I'm glad."

Green Arrow, her real name being Holly Poloma Queen, was born from the union between Robert Queen, a businessman from Starlight City, and Nashoba Cole, a descendent from a Choctaw tribe. Whoever had heard of the billionaire could easily know (and it included the members of the Justice League) that she had spent the major part of her youth in Starlight City, then joined her mother in the Southeastern Oklahoma after her adolescence. But no one knew the reason why she became Green Arrow. Truth to be told, who could pretend to know what pushed the others to be vigilantes? What made them the way they were now, they didn't tell. Not yet. The Justice League had just been founded and no one really knew how to behave with each other. They could be seen as fellow office clerks that had just been hired at the same time and were trying to get used to each other. They had trained together and the attack of the genetic mutations had given them the possibility to test together their aptitudes in the field, a bit violently to be honest. But thanks to this experience they had learnt what were their strengths and weaknesses in a teamwork. Because they had wisely and calmly communicated, they were able to help more people than if they had been alone. And now that they had fought together, faced difficulties together, some sort of invisible barrier had been shattered and the pieces blown away.

So Green Lantern, alias Erena Jordan from Mo'orea, was quite touched and happy that Queen had decided to take the first step by telling a bit of her own story.

"Was your mother good at hairdressing?"

"Absolutely not!" Poloma guffawed. "She sucked at this, that's why she had been so pleased when I decided to groom her hair. She is better at hunting – she is gifted. During contests she beats everyone at the blowgun. You would see her coming forward, nobly yet humbly, then she inhales and you never catch a glimpse of the dart being blown away, you just hear the sound of air and then the dart has already hit the center of the target. I was so impressed by her skills!"

"Is she the one who motivated you to practice the bow?"

Poloma nodded with a bright smile.

"I wanted to do like her. But above all it was a good way to spend time together, to share a passion. I didn't see her a lot when I was a child… So yeah, we hunted together a lot, and that's how I discovered that I love to use the bow. Mom told me that maybe I was predestined."

"How so?"

"Poloma means 'bow' in the Choctaw language."

Erena bursted out laughing.

"Okay that's just perfect! Was your mother a medium or something?"

Poloma pretended to be offended and poked the back of Erena's head.

"Don't make fun of my name!" she exclaimed with a tone that failed to be serious. "It's a shaman who advised my mother when she was searching for a name. What does yours mean?"

"It's the polynesian version of Helena, which means 'brightness of the sun', or 'warmth'."

A third voice filled the room.

"Isn't it Greek?"

The two women brutally turned their head. Superman was standing next to them, holding a steaming mug in each hand. As silent as a cat, he had come to their side without being noticed. He wasn't wearing his costume anymore, but a slightly oversized grey sweater, with a deep blue sirwal covering his legs. He greeted them with a nod and seemed a bit awkward.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Of course not, but I will forgive you," Erena replied with a smirk, "if these mugs are actually for us."

The blue-eyed black winked and held out the vessels.

"Rooibos mixed with yogi. I thought it would help you relax."

Erena grabbed the mug with an "Oh thank you so much!" powerful enough to resonate within the room. Poloma, however, couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

"That's very nice of you Superman, but what about you? You didn't prepared tea for yourself too."

He made no response. Instead he gestured at the bedside table, where a teapot was sitting, while some seconds ago the surface was still bare. Poloma shot him an amazed look.

"Make a third mug appear out of thin air and I swear I'll nominate you for best magician ever."

He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Actually mine is still in the kitchen, I was going to go look for it."

Poloma snorted.

"You just killed a stupid dream, so that's okay. Too bad, it would have been fun to have a magician in the team."

"Hey!" Erena objected. "I am kind of a magician, since I can make my willingness a reality!"

To prove her point, a green ray shined from the ring of her middle finger, before materializing into a mug.

"Tada!" she exclaimed proudly, then poured tea into the vessel and held it out to Clark.

"Well, thank you!" Then he slightly frowned, a thought coming into his mind. "Huh… Can you promise me it won't disappear while I'm drinking?"

Erena rolled her eyes.

"Ye of little faith. Alright we don't really know each other so let me assure you that, firstly, my will is strong enough to let the mug last, what, a whole day? Secondly, I'm not the kind of brat who likes to do stupid pranks. I may be the youngest of the group but that doesn't stop me from being grateful when someone's nice to me."

Clark's lips stretched into a soft smile. The honesty of the Polynesian was much appreciated.

"So, Superman, how are you?" Poloma gently asked while the man sat next to the two vigilantes. "Are you still feeling dizzy?"

"Not anymore, but thanks for asking, Poloma – can I call you Poloma? And please call me Clark. The bite mark has disappeared and I feel better now."

In order to stop the genetic mutations from hurting people, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batwoman had had the idea to lure them out of the city, while the rest of the team was tasked with gathering and protecting the civilians. A double-edged decision, for the creatures had indeed followed them, leaving the inhabitants alone, but then Clark, Lily and Diana had quickly been overwhelmed by the numerical superiority. When they killed one monster, two took its place. One surprising – and terrifying – thing was that one of them had been able to sink its teeth into Superman's arm, while he believed his skin to be undamageable. Then he had begun to feel dizzy, and it had been more and more difficult to fight.

So Batwoman had asked the Amazon to bring Superman out of the creatures' reach, while she stayed close to them as a bait. She had led them into a rock depression that looked like a canyon, and once Diana had blocked the only way out, the three heroes joined their forces to wipe out every last one of them.

"Batwoman is still examining the corpses of the creatures to find out what could have possibly weakened me."

He had a hypothesis similar to Lily's about this.

"And still no idea of what or who could have created such monstrosities?" Erena asked.

Clark shook his head.

"Batwoman is also comparing the collected DNA to the ones different geneticists had theorised. Which is not an easy task," he added with a sigh.

Poloma decided to speak to prevent an awkward silence to settle.

"So I guess the bat is still working at the computer room. How about the other two?"

"Wonder Woman is giving Batwoman a hand. As for Flash, I brought him back to Australia: he has to resolve a quarrel between several Indigenous people and the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. The latter has recommended that some company should be allowed to expand its zinc and lead mine, located next to a river somewhere in the Northern area of the country. Yet the mine has been poisoning the river for six years already."

"And I guess the EPA pretends there is no contamination."

Poloma had almost coughed out the sentence, not hiding her spite towards the Australian authority. Her own tribe had also been confronted to this kind of situation, and this multiple times.

"Yes, and the tension is growing. As the spokesperson of the Aborigens, it is Flash's duty to appease his fellows Indigenous and make the government listen to reason."

"Then I wish him good luck, because he's got a long way to go through. But if he ever needs help, I will be ready to come by his side."

"I'm sure he would appreciate your support."

"I fully agree. Now, how about we drink that tea?" Erena asked, desirous to drop the heavy subject when they were supposed to rest.

The other two nodded, and for a comfortable and quiet moment they sipped the drink together. But Poloma couldn't help but dwell on her memories, remembering that it wasn't the first time that powerful industries destroyed the world around them to satisfy an unrestrained desire for profit. She hated that kind of people, that kind of human, and the worst part was that her father was connected to them. Not directly, fortunately: the foundation of his wealth wasn't made of blood. But he, and she by extension, evolved in a world regulated by money, a rotten and corrupted and suffocating world.

A world she had sworn to destroy.

Erena's question stopped her trail of thoughts:

"Clark, how do you know the origin of my name? Are you an onomatology fan?"

"Huh, no, actually I just searched on the Internet."

It took all Poloma willpower not to cackle loudly at Erena's disappointed look, and she almost choked herself in the process. Goodness, the girl looked like a child being told that the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist, but she was clearly exaggerating it. Her expression was just priceless.

"And here I hoped I had found a partner in the study of proper names!" she dramatically yet comically exclaimed. "I'm so alone in this life!"

Superman softly chuckled.

"Since you have some knowledge about names, can you tell me what mine means?"

Erena smirked with shining eyes.

"Well that's easy, Clark is the derivation of cleric. It comes from the Latin clericus, which designates the members of the clergy. Hey, maybe your parents wanted you to become a priest?"

"I… don't think so, but I will ask my mother about that. And when you name your child you don't necessarily know the hidden meaning."

"You've got a point. Okay then, Diana comes from the same name as the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon. The name probably derived from an Indo-European root word referring to 'the divine', but deriving from latin it can also mean 'the luminous'."

"It fits well our shiny girl," Poloma grinned.

Clark nodded in agreement. Warm and open-minded and bright were the first words that came into his mind whenever he was thinking of Diana. Even if the tall woman was an immortal warrior used to fighting and killing, her nature never stopped her from being the most human person the man had ever seen. She was always the first one to bring comfort, to worry about anyone who sought help.

He admired her for that.

"That's it," Erena enthusiastically exclaimed, "I'm going to call her 'shiny girl' from now on. It fits her very well."

"Shouldn't you inquire for her opinion before nicknaming her?" Poloma politely pointed.

"Oh come on, you're the one who dubbed her like that in the first place!"

"Wha– it was just a paraphrase! I didn't mean…"

"Well isn't it a synonym of a nickname?" Erena retorted.

Poloma groaned and buried her face into her hands, preferring to give up than to continue this childish quarrel. She expected the Polynesian to taunt her (actually she was about to apologize for bothering her) but another voice rose instead.

"To be honest I wouldn't mind being called like that."

The Choctaw brutally raised her head to meet an onyx stare. The woman of wonder, smiling at the three people, was standing in the sickbay's entrance, next to Batwoman who still had her face covered by her emotionless mask. Erena wondered if she ever took it off when the action was over. Wasn't it uncomfortable to wear her cowl all the time? Maybe she would actually ask when she would feel less spooked by the vigilante.

"Greetings", the Bat politely yet dauntingly said.

Speaking of spooky, Erena internally shuddered. She still wasn't used to the modified voice. She knew that this was part of the bat's identity: as the monster of the night, the woman had to be frightening in front of her enemies. But with her recent teammates, couldn't she drop the act and in that case, the mask? Maybe she liked to be creepy, who knows.

Then Erena remembered that, during their first meeting all together, Batwoman and Flash had made clear that they didn't want to reveal their identity. Everyone had had the choice to keep their alter ego secret or not. Four of them, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Arrow and Green Lantern, had decided to take the mask off. They all respected the other two's decision about not doing the same. Any vigilantes didn't need, want an explanation from the others for their choice. Everyone wanted to show that they trusted the other's opinion and cared about it by not questioning their action.

An unspoken rule that settled by itself and dissipated tensions typical to first meeting. At least, that was Erena's point of view.

Little did she know that everyone in this room felt the same way.

"How about you, Green Arrow?"

The question coming from Diana snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Wh-what?"

"You weren't listening, were you," Batwoman stated.

There was no blame in her tone, but that didn't stop shame from rising in Erena's gut. She sputtered a "sorry".

"It's fine, Erena," Wonder Woman soothed her with a gentle smile. "I was just asking if you recovered enough or if you needed more rest before debriefing about what happened today."

"Oh hell no, there is no way I'm going to lie down again or else the god of boredom will surely take my soul."

Everyone chuckled at her over dramatic tone.

The three convalescents were headed towards the computer room, and settled in front of a large screen. Diana turned on what looked like a phone, and Flash's face appeared, ready to listen as were the others three.

"We found several things," the Bat began. "First, I analysed the composition of the teeth of the genetic mutations." She turned towards Clark. "Your suspicion was correct: it contains kryptonite."

"What's that?" Poloma asked, confused.

"Some sort of gem from my planet," Superman explained. "To put it simply, any contact with this stone annihilates my powers and weaken me."

Poloma furrowed her brow, not understanding what he meant by "his" planet. Why was he using possessiveness about a common thing ? Then she realized that he was talking about Krypton. One could easily forget that the man didn't come from Earth. After all, he hadn't got tentacles or wings, his skin wasn't of an unusual colour such as green or purple, he clearly didn't look like an 'alien' as humans imagined them.

"Only a few people know about this weakness," Batwoman added.

Erena rose her voice, intrigued.

"But if they wanted to harm Superman, why did they used such beasts? Why not, I don't know, a spear or a missile made of kryptonite instead?"

"Whoever had this idea doesn't want to be known," Batwoman said. "For now they just want to see."

To clear her speech she handed something to the three people. It looked like a tiny drone, broken but sophisticated, the kind that seemed very expensive.

"It was spying on us during our fight out of the city. A camera was registering all our actions. We followed the signal and ended up in a radio station."

"Unfortunately there was nobody left when we got here," Wonder Woman added.

"But you found some clues, right?" Erena anxiously asked.

Batwoman gave a curt nod.

"Only one. I could trace from the computers' activity that someone was monitoring the video signal from the station, then directing it to specific locations. I looked at the different coordinates, and here's what I found."

Several pictures appeared on the screen. Superman immediately tensed when he recognised Lex Luthor's office in satellite view in one of them. He could sense that Erena and Poloma had become uncomfortable too.

Batwoman's gloomy voice didn't help them to relax.

"People were watching, powerful and dangerous people. All of them have a bone to pick with us."

"Such as Luthor," Superman grumbled through gritted teeth.

Why was he not surprised? The man was seriously obsessed with striking him down.

"Yes, but not only. Several viewers were part of transnational firms whose public image and benefices had been messed up by our actions."

"I know gas industries were pissed off when I stole their database in order to stop the expansion of their pipelines, the ones that contaminated the soil of several states," Poloma clicked her tongue in annoyance. She had had no choice to do otherwise because the companies refused to negotiate. She had threatened them she would sell their confidential informations to their competitors if they didn't respect the environment and the inhabitants that were suffering from their foolish greed. "I suppose this is the outcome of my actions"

"Don't be ashamed," Erena exclaimed, "I would have done the same thing! Fishing moguls weren't happy either when I arrested their boats that were fishing in protected areas before handing them to local authorities. They don't care about rules and then accuse me of acting like an outlaw, can you believe that?"

"Some heads of the military from different countries were watching too," Wonder Woman said. "I guess I didn't make a lot of friends when I was acting in warzones."

"Of course you didn't, and that's not a problem!" Erena's voice was harsher. "You saved a lot of people by interfering, and that is the most important."

Diana shot her a grateful smile. If only everyone thought the same way…

"The thing is," Batwoman spoke again, "we have a lot of foes. And they would love to see us erased, not standing anymore in front of them. Then there is someone who knows our weaknesses, who knows we will show up as soon as people are in danger, who has enough resources to craft those monstrosities who destroy everything on their way, and they make sure that those hating us (and don't forget that they have got a lot of money) get a place for the show."

For all the listeners, the pieces began to click into place.

"Those creatures…" Superman said. "They are weapons, aren't they?"

"That is the most valuable hypothesis, yes. And the one controlling them knows they are a threat for us and can make a lot of damages at the same time."

"But," Diana added with a frustrated sigh, "we still don't know who's behind all of this. We have suspects, of course, but no crucial clue that could help us to stop them before they strike again."

"Isn't Poloma the head of a big company too?" Flash spoke for the first time since the beginning of the briefing, voice deep and calm as he looked at the Choctaw from the other side of the screen.

Lily internally slapped herself. Why didn't she think of it sooner!

Green Arrow's jaw was on the floor. She understood what Flash had meant too.

"Is there a way I can contact my secretary, like, right now?" she began to rise but sat down again, without stopping talking. "No forget it, I mean it's the middle of the night I can't do that it will raise suspicions… oh maybe if I check my mails hold on a sec…"

She got up again and headed toward the computer, wincing because of her cracked rib. Clark followed her and offered his shoulder to rest on, which she refused. She quickly began tipping and logged in her mail account. Among several business messages she didn't care about, she found one simply titled "Gattaca". Poloma hesitated.

"If it is what I think it is, should I open it here? Because it's Holly Poloma Queen having a break from work in her beach suite who is supposed to read it, not Green Arrow with a broken rib hiding in the wild."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Erena exclaimed. "I wouldn't mind seeing the sea again. Kind of missed it."

Within a few minutes the three human women were settled in the bat's jet, Clark and Diana flying close. The trip was quick and wordless. Even if he was outside of the plane, Superman could notice Batwoman's hands clenching the joysticks.

He didn't make any comment. Just sighed.

A moment after they landed next to a prestigious villa in front of the sea, surrounded by sand. The five people quickly made their way inside, not giving attention to the quiet landscape.

Peacefulness was not their top priority right now.

When Poloma opened her laptop and clicked on the mail, almost everyone held their breath while reading.

Later, the bowman would not exactly remember the message's content. Maybe because it wasn't worth memorizing its details, maybe because she was too tense to do so, she didn't know. But the offer was still ringing into her head as she finished, the polite words threateningly dancing before her eyes. This person, because Green Arrow and Superman had damaged some factories of Queen Industries (that was an accident, but at least thanks to that no one would suspect her wandering around with a costume), had proposed some entertainment to her.

Entertainment. She just wanted to throw up. This sicko had filmed them fighting the monsters as if it was some sort of act then offered to their enemies the possibility of seeing them being cornered and hurt. Surely some of those people were sadistically smiling while the vigilantes were struggling to survive, and without doubt that was what the one pulling the strings wanted. She remembered the words work in progress. And she immediately knew that it wasn't over, that the attack had been just a foretaste.

They offered to show more, to provoke more strikes against the vigilantes. If they had been able to wound the Man of Steel only with their own resources, then the reader could easily imagine what they could do with a little financial nudge.

If Poloma, and the others recipients were interested, they just had to contact them.

And of course they were anonymous.

A few Choctaw curses flowed from her mouth.

Bloody bastard. You sneaky son of a b–

"Black Mask."

The gloomy voice stopped her train of insults. She twisted her neck in order to see Batwoman tipping on her own laptop.

"What did you say?"

"I say that Black Mask was the one who sent those emails."

She turned her screen toward the others, pointing a signal that was coming from the criminal quarters and spreading all around the country.

"He's the one who tried to sell the android Amazo, isn't he?" Superman bitterly asked, though he didn't need an answer. "Guess the mob boss found another weapon to offer."

During some seconds, everyone were silent. Then Erena parted her lips:

"Alright, we know who's behind it, great. Before going to kick his butt, how about we get some rest?"

The others stared at her with wide eyes, clearly flabbergasted, not by the suggestion, but by the fact that it was Green Lantern who proposed it. She rolled her eyes at their reaction.

"Oh come on, I may have – okay I definitely have – a childish behaviour, but I'm not stupid, guys. Look at us, we are exhausted as hell, that information was truly shocking which doesn't really help, Green Arrow and I are injured and Flash is busy on the other side of the planet (and no offense to you but I can see through the webcam that you've got huge dark circles under your eyes and surely that's not a good sign). If my parents taught me anything important it's that you can't work efficiently when your body is pushed off limits. So I suggest we get a full night of sleep, then tomorrow we think with a cool head of a strategy to kick his butt, how does that sound?"

That's it, I adore her, Diana thought with delight. She hadn't had the time to properly get to know the Polynesian and the latter had just proved that people were not what they could seem at first impression. The Amazon had seen so many horrors during the last century that she had forgot the ambiguity of mankind, always full of surprises.

Not always dark, not always dark.

The five people agreed to Erena's recommendation. Flash gave her a warm smile before hanging up. The woman asked Poloma if she could sleep here, and when the bowman answered with a kind tone that she didn't mind at all to open the villa to them, Erena exaggeratedly yamned and wished a good night to everyone, before heading to the first room coming into view. Poloma shook her head with a smile at her attitude, then waved at the three left before disappearing from their sight.

"I'm going back to Gotham," Batwoman finally said after a moment.

Diana frowned.

"Wouldn't it be more convenient to sleep here?"

"It's not about rest. I still have patrols to do."

"Wait, what?" Diana was dumbfounded. "Don't be ridiculous, you can't just keep going after an exhausting day like that."

"I have a duty regarding my city, Wonder Woman. I would be indeed a fool if I didn't take care of it."

Diana crossed her arms in front of her chest, still frowning. Then she softly sighed, and let her hands fall at her sides.

"I know. I know you're devoted to saving your home. Sorry if I… Listen, I won't force you to stay. Just… I hope you will get some sleep after your patrol."

Batwoman remained impassive as she left the house. Soon the sound of engines could be heard, and it became more and more distant until it completely faded.

"It's not only that."

Clark's voice took her by surprise.

"What?"

He turned her head toward her, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"If she's leaving, it's not only because of her duty. Yes, she is dedicated to her city, but right now she is going to bury herself in work until body and spirit go numb."

"How do you know that?" Diana asked with a worried voice.

"I've known her for eight years. During all this time, I learned to decipher every twitch of her body, every variation of her voice. She is disappointed with herself, I guess she's blaming herself for not finding out about Poloma's email."

Wonder Woman's mouth was hanging open.

"Alright I never expected the both of you to know each other for that long."

He offered her a tired smile.

"Well if we don't look like friends, it's because we are not. Don't feel bad about it," he added when he saw her biting her lip. "We didn't make any effort to really know each other, except for our heroic persona. I was curious about her point of view about justice, as she was about mine, but being friends? It never crossed our mind. We are too different for that."

He arched an eyebrow, confused, when she glared at him.

"What is that look for?"

"Forgive my language but you guys are oxymorons. And yes that was a pun. But joke aside, opposites don't stop people from growing close. This excuse you're giving me? Pardon me if I think it's very lame."

"Believe me when I say that I tried to be more than the neighbour that says hello from time to time. But she made clear that she didn't want to. And to be honest I am not the kind of guy who loves to make new buddies every single day. I have few friends but they are close to me. But I can't be friends with someone who towers over me, who sees the world with eyes that I admire but cannot follow. I deeply respect Batwoman, and so does she with me. That's enough for us."

Wonder Woman tilted her head to the side. She had never imagined that this was the kind of relationship the two shared. Superman was kind and polite toward everyone, and he was no different with Lily. The woman was distant, that was a part of her personality nobody wasn't aware of. But if Lily was cold, she wasn't haughty. Her own politeness was stern, but when she was speaking to the team her attitude was respectful.

Was it how Clark and Lily interacted when it was only the two of them? Diana couldn't help but feel saddened at the thought that they didn't share a more amiable bond. Especially if they were working together now.

But who was she to judge? She didn't really know them. Like Erena proved earlier, people were more complex than they seemed to be.

She put her hand on Clark's shoulder, gently squeezing it while smiling.

"Sorry if I have been offensive. You have both a point of view that I don't understand yet, but I want to remedy to that. I want to learn more about all of you."

He seemed a little surprised by her declaration, but then his expression brightened.

Definitely a shiny girl.

"Then I will look forward to our little talks."

They both said goodnight in unison, and parted, silence filling the house.

Peacefulness finally reached the vigilantes, and they welcomed it with open arms.

Reviews are very appreciated :) See you!