FIC: JLA: "Necessary Force" - Part 13 "Parley" (3rd Third)
Avast, me hearties! The last 'third' of this Part, "Parley" is here -- THANKS so much for your patience and wonderful support, my friends! (It's been a true trial for me with both my new job AND LJ this week! Arrgghh!)
And Ahoy, - Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day today! Shiver me timbers, I finally got this whole part posted! (and boy, what an appropos title for the occasion on this Part - sheer coincidence, me mateys!)
Piratey Pax ;-)
Title: JLA: Necessary Force - Part 13: "Parley" (3rd 'third')
Author: Paxwolf
Fandom: JLA/Justice League
Rating: PG-13 (R in parts)
Warnings: Mature Situations, Language, Violence
Disclaimer: The JLA and its characters are owned by DC Comics and their parent company. Mine are owned by me. ;-)
Summary: When a powerful terrorist threatens the safety of the planet, the Justice League must go to extremes to stop him, and Superman and Batman may have to make the biggest sacrifice of all.
Summary of This Part: Wherein the League attempts to open negotiations with the enemy, a fierce verbal fencing match commmences, Green Lantern frets, Flash jokes, Batman plans, Superman makes a sort-of appearance by T-link, and J'onn polishes his skills in method acting.
JLA
"NF"
(AKA "The Heroes Brave and the Curse of the Evil Fiend Most Foul")
Stolen By Pax the Pirate
Part the Thirteenth
"Parley"
(C)
Batman looked at J’onn in sudden concern. “Were you able to pick up anything from those two, telepathically? Or get any sense of Ayestrom himself from behind them?”
J’onn allowed himself to sink into a chair, looking wearied. “It does help to actually be in the same physical space as another to get a clear reading,” he said. “But I am sufficiently powerful to go beyond what most telepaths are capable.” Everyone nodded.
“But …” Batman prompted.
“They were enveloped in a shield. Completely protected from any sort of telepathic probing.” He sighed. “This was doubtless to prevent me from doing just such a thing. And I dared not push too far lest whoever had erected that shield might sense from where exactly the power was coming. I could not risk them realizing that Superman was not exactly … himself."
“That’s too bad,” the Atom said, looking a little dejected. “We might have learned a few things.”
“Did you at least get a sense of how sincere their threats were?” Batman pressed. “Or anything else of value?”
“I could determine they were both in this city, in Amsterdam, and not being projected from another location or base.” J’onn looked at him grimly. “I can tell you that the both of them were absolutely convinced that the words they spoke were true, and directly of Ayestrom’s conscious will. And another thing. They were each …”
“One hundred percent bedazzled by that ubermonk malarkey?” Wally zipped in.
“That is certainly one way to put it,” J’onn sighed. Then he frowned. “Although …”
“What is it?” Batman asked sharply.
“I had the most fleet of impressions that the woman, Marcella, began to actually … listen to me towards the end. Or rather, to Superman. As if his words had begun to have an effect on her.”
“Interesting,” Ray said, rubbing his chin. “The theory that Ayestrom has some sort of psychic or psychological hold on most of his people could be verified a bit more by this. We all saw how that kid Etienne was starting to shake off his absolute belief in Ayestrom, right? Maybe we just witnessed a tiny shaking of that power again, when she was drawn in by the strength of your words, J’onn.”
“By Superman’s words,” J’onn corrected. “And his own passion and belief in delivering them.”
“What?” At least two others echoed Kyle’s startled question.
J’onn smiled. “I myself could not have responded the way that Superman would have to their statements. Not to the degree that was necessary. I tapped into a very deep layer of consciousness within Kal-El himself to be able to play the part as convincingly as I hope I managed.”
“Oh, you were convincing, all right,” Kyle muttered.
“How …?”
J’onn waved off the questions. “It is complicated, and would take time and more energy than I presently have to be able to explain properly. And it is of a complex telepathic technique of which none of you would be able to truly comprehend regardless. Suffice to say that I was able to interact the exact same way Superman himself would have had he been here instead. And no, Batman,” he said as Batman’s mouth opened, “I did not have to be in direct contact with Kal-El in order to accomplish the feat. He is still undetected, and I have breached no more walls. But I shall need some time to recover, as exacting that level of concentration, connection, and power has drained much of my own mental reserves.”
“So, there’s a chance that Marcella might be starting to see reason,” Diana said slowly.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. I could get no clearer sense than that,” J’onn said with a sigh.
“She did try to … to sort of warn you, there at the end,” Kyle said, thinking back. “Like she wanted you to surrender to Ayestrom not so much because that was what he wanted, but so that you, uh, Superman, whoever, wouldn’t be so badly punished by him later on or something.”
“Yeah, that was kind of weird,” Flash said, frowning.
“I think she liked him,” Black Canary said suddenly. “Superman, I mean.” When everyone turned to look at her, Dinah shrugged. “Didn’t any of the rest of you see it? I thought it was obvious. And it was equally obvious that she hadn’t expected to feel that. And was trying her damnedest to cover it up.”
The men looked at her as if she was crazy, but Diana’s gaze turned inwards and she nodded thoughtfully.
“I got the same impression, Dinah,” Oracle's voice said out of thin air. “And I’ve just reviewed the tape of the exchange. Maybe Atom is right. We’ve just seen an inkling that Ayestrom’s power can be wavered.”
“Thanks, Barbara,” Canary grinned. “The guys here were starting to think I was insane.”
“Just starting?”
She swatted at Wally and he zipped out of the way. "Men are so clueless."
“I dunno,” Wally said, after bow in her direction and once he became still again. “Think of some of the things she was saying.” He shuddered. “If that’s evidence of a crush, then I’d hate to think of that lady in real love.”
“I said she liked him, dumbbrain, I wouldn’t go that far.”
Kyle glanced over at Batman, who had gone all withdrawn and moody again. He wondered what he was thinking about.
“Too bad it wasn’t Ayestrom himself who spoke with us,” Arthur hissed, still staring out of the hole he had made in the pre-fabbed wall. “I would have liked to seen what the snake looks like.”
“He’s just a little self-conscious, because, you know, he’s prolly ugly as sin," Wally started. "As monstrous looking as he is inside, a freakishly hideous sonuva …”
“The great and powerful Oz,” Steel suddenly put in. He shrugged as the others looked at him. “Maybe he’s just a short, balding, pudgy or skinny little wimp, or something. Overcompensating for obvious shortcomings. The wizard behind the curtain.”
There were some thoughtful nods.
"Or maybe he's the one who's really an alien, and not the kind that can pass as an Earthling," Wally suggested. "Like, I dunno, a Horta-type, or maybe a gelatinous, gooey, sentient messy sort of creature from outer space, you know? Only, more of the "Kill" rather than "No Kill" philosophy, right?"
Diana frowned. "What is a 'Horta'?"
“Or another reason he didn’t appear?” Kyle blurted. “Maybe he’s the dark, stalky, “I Love A Mystery” type. He wants us to speculate about him exactly like this, and fear that one bit of extra unknown.”
"A valid theory," Atom said thoughtfully, making Kyle blush. It wasn't too often a professor complimented his brain work.
“Dark and stalky, eh? Mystery-lover? Makes you long for those odd, sporadic visits from the Phantom Stranger, doesn’t it?” Wally said whimsically. “Right after he finishes spouting his usual long speech on the immorality of despotism, he could just magically teleport both Superman and all the hostages right back here, or better yet, straight up to the Watchtower. Mysterious men in black can really be quite handy sometimes.”
Kyle looked quickly at Batman, who seemed to be ignoring Flash completely.
“Ayestrom may not have revealed himself to us,” their own man in black said now. “But we do have a better idea now of how his command structure works.”
“We do?”
“We just had a fairly lengthy, detailed, real conversation with two of his most trusted lieutenants.”
Flash raised his own brows. “How do you deduce that, O master detective? They could have been any old lackeys of his, told to tell us exactly zilch. Which is, oh wait, just what they did.”
Batman began to glower his impatience and Diana stepped betwen them. “Batman is right. Their very words and attitude have told us a great deal.”
“And we now know that there are only four members of his little regime in whom he trusts more than this Marcella and Reynard.”
Kyle looked at Batman in surprise. “Four? How on earth do you figure that?”
“They gave us the surnames of ‘Quintus’ and ‘Sextus’, Green Lantern,” he said, in what was almost a patient voice for him. “Not exactly common names, nor did they look remotely related.”
Others were nodding, but Kyle just looked over at Wally, who looked as blankly right back at him.
“Soooo … I take it that Marcella didn’t squint at us, and Reynard isn’t all about sex with us?” Flash asked cluelessly, lifting his hands into the air.
Canary reached over and smacked Wally upside the head. Even he had not seen her move fast enough avoid her strike.
“Grow up a bit, why don’t you.”
“Ow. Hey!”
“So,” Diana said quietly. “They were his fifth and sixth in command. Fairly high ranked for an organization so great in number.”
Batman nodded. “And they are more than mere spokespersons. I think that they are amongst his top advisors and commanders.” At Steel’s gesture for him to continue, he sighed. How tired he was of having to explain himself all the time! If Clark were here … angrily he shook off the thought. Clark wasn’t here. And that was part of the problem. “She said they were called those names, not “I am”, or “my name is”. ‘ Reynard’ is Old German for ‘counsel’ and ‘hard’, and also from the Old French for ‘fox’. ‘Marcella’ is a female form of ‘Marcellus’, a Roman general whose name derived from Mars, the god of war.” He turned to look at the laptop, then spoke into the air. “Oracle…”
“Already on it, Batman,” the information guru replied instantly. “I’ve scanned both images into the database. Hopefully we'll get a rundown on their true identities before the day is out.”
Batman grunted. Kyle wondered if he ever hated being second-guessed, or was secretly pleased another of his entourage was as on the ball as he was. He wondered if Oracle ever got exasperated with the level of 'encouragement' that Batman was famous for. Or if Nightwing and Robin ever got fed up with dealing with an emotional rock. He himself would never suss out the way Batman’s mind worked, that was for sure.
“So, I guess we’re back to the waiting game,” John Henry was saying, studying the computer’s screen.
“Oh no,” Flash groaned. “Don’t even say it, man.”
“How long has it been?” Dinah asked quietly.
“Since the transmission ended?” Wally asked, puzzled.
“Since we lost touch with Superman,” she said, looking at him. He looked down.
“Since the comm lost contact,” Oracles said clearly, “Five hours, thirty six minutes. Since J’onn broke their mindlink, less than two hours.”
“What?”
“What mindlink?”
Everyone but Batman, Wonder Woman, and Kyle turned to stare at J’onn.
Diana waved a tired hand. “You may as well bring everyone up to speed, J’onn. The rest of the League will want to know too.”
Kyle tuned out J’onn’s carefully worded explanation, knowing he would likely sugarcoat the worst of the details that he himself had heard through the wall. Instead, he was watching Batman, who was suddenly exhibiting a new calculating expression on his usually impassive face.
“He froze himself over?” Wally was asking in disbelief. “You mean, like a big Kryptonian popsicle?” He evaded another Canary slap. “What? It’s not like I did it to him!”
“I wish we could get to him,” Steel said in frustration. “Damnation. I hate this sitting around.”
“Tell me about it,” Flash said, sitting in every chair in sight in two seconds flat. For those two seconds, a dozen Flashes seemed to be inside the room with them.
“I suppose all we can do right now is not lose our hope,” Dinah said, pulling her legs up into her chair, and resting her chin on her knees.
“Not true. We can certainly do more than that.”
The others all looked at Batman. Everyone was experiencing various degrees of weariness, anxiety, frustration, and depression, but at Batman’s firm tone, Kyle himself was not quite able to suppress the sizzle of hope that now flared anew in his own chest.
“What do you …” Arthur began.
“We are the Justice League of America,” the Dark Knight growled almost challengingly. “The greatest team of meta-powered heroes ever assembled. And it’s past time we started acting like it.” He looked at them all, drawing them up in his gaze. Kyle could feel his heart beginning to beat harder. “It’s time to earn that title.”
“But how?” Kyle burst out before he could stop himself.
Batman smiled slowly. “I’m working on it,” he said, enigmatic as ever. “You’ll have to trust me. In the meantime, let us … hope that Superman is indeed encountering better luck than are we.”
Kyle breathed deeply, and then nodded, meeting Batman’s gaze for the first time. He tucked his little ray of hope deep in his heart, and looking around at his teammates, and knew he wasn’t alone.
“Okay,” he said, too softly for anyone but Batman to hear. “Okay.”
He thought of Janey and Sarah, and hoped that Batman’s plan would work. He hoped that Superman would come through okay. He hoped that the League would succeed in bringing Ayestrom down.
We've got to!
For the sake of the hostages. For the sake of the world. For Superman. For Janey. And yes, deep down inside himself, for his own sake too. As much as his own rage and hatred at Ayestrom and his forces had terrified him, even more so had the threat he held over all Kyle loved and held dear. And he knew he would do whatever he could to put an end to that threat.
No matter what it took.
---
To Be Continued of course! :-)
(and I'll respond to all messages and comments (I have to run as the alarm is about to be put on- thanks, everyone!!!!!) and put in all links to previous parts, contents page, and to the comms as soon as I possibly can!)
Oh, wait, let me try at least to post the link to the Main Page for this Fic: Hmm... How about right HERE, ye scurvy swabs! *g*
And Ahoy, - Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day today! Shiver me timbers, I finally got this whole part posted! (and boy, what an appropos title for the occasion on this Part - sheer coincidence, me mateys!)
Piratey Pax ;-)
Title: JLA: Necessary Force - Part 13: "Parley" (3rd 'third')
Author: Paxwolf
Fandom: JLA/Justice League
Rating: PG-13 (R in parts)
Warnings: Mature Situations, Language, Violence
Disclaimer: The JLA and its characters are owned by DC Comics and their parent company. Mine are owned by me. ;-)
Summary: When a powerful terrorist threatens the safety of the planet, the Justice League must go to extremes to stop him, and Superman and Batman may have to make the biggest sacrifice of all.
Summary of This Part: Wherein the League attempts to open negotiations with the enemy, a fierce verbal fencing match commmences, Green Lantern frets, Flash jokes, Batman plans, Superman makes a sort-of appearance by T-link, and J'onn polishes his skills in method acting.
JLA
"NF"
(AKA "The Heroes Brave and the Curse of the Evil Fiend Most Foul")
Stolen By Pax the Pirate
Part the Thirteenth
"Parley"
(C)
Batman looked at J’onn in sudden concern. “Were you able to pick up anything from those two, telepathically? Or get any sense of Ayestrom himself from behind them?”
J’onn allowed himself to sink into a chair, looking wearied. “It does help to actually be in the same physical space as another to get a clear reading,” he said. “But I am sufficiently powerful to go beyond what most telepaths are capable.” Everyone nodded.
“But …” Batman prompted.
“They were enveloped in a shield. Completely protected from any sort of telepathic probing.” He sighed. “This was doubtless to prevent me from doing just such a thing. And I dared not push too far lest whoever had erected that shield might sense from where exactly the power was coming. I could not risk them realizing that Superman was not exactly … himself."
“That’s too bad,” the Atom said, looking a little dejected. “We might have learned a few things.”
“Did you at least get a sense of how sincere their threats were?” Batman pressed. “Or anything else of value?”
“I could determine they were both in this city, in Amsterdam, and not being projected from another location or base.” J’onn looked at him grimly. “I can tell you that the both of them were absolutely convinced that the words they spoke were true, and directly of Ayestrom’s conscious will. And another thing. They were each …”
“One hundred percent bedazzled by that ubermonk malarkey?” Wally zipped in.
“That is certainly one way to put it,” J’onn sighed. Then he frowned. “Although …”
“What is it?” Batman asked sharply.
“I had the most fleet of impressions that the woman, Marcella, began to actually … listen to me towards the end. Or rather, to Superman. As if his words had begun to have an effect on her.”
“Interesting,” Ray said, rubbing his chin. “The theory that Ayestrom has some sort of psychic or psychological hold on most of his people could be verified a bit more by this. We all saw how that kid Etienne was starting to shake off his absolute belief in Ayestrom, right? Maybe we just witnessed a tiny shaking of that power again, when she was drawn in by the strength of your words, J’onn.”
“By Superman’s words,” J’onn corrected. “And his own passion and belief in delivering them.”
“What?” At least two others echoed Kyle’s startled question.
J’onn smiled. “I myself could not have responded the way that Superman would have to their statements. Not to the degree that was necessary. I tapped into a very deep layer of consciousness within Kal-El himself to be able to play the part as convincingly as I hope I managed.”
“Oh, you were convincing, all right,” Kyle muttered.
“How …?”
J’onn waved off the questions. “It is complicated, and would take time and more energy than I presently have to be able to explain properly. And it is of a complex telepathic technique of which none of you would be able to truly comprehend regardless. Suffice to say that I was able to interact the exact same way Superman himself would have had he been here instead. And no, Batman,” he said as Batman’s mouth opened, “I did not have to be in direct contact with Kal-El in order to accomplish the feat. He is still undetected, and I have breached no more walls. But I shall need some time to recover, as exacting that level of concentration, connection, and power has drained much of my own mental reserves.”
“So, there’s a chance that Marcella might be starting to see reason,” Diana said slowly.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. I could get no clearer sense than that,” J’onn said with a sigh.
“She did try to … to sort of warn you, there at the end,” Kyle said, thinking back. “Like she wanted you to surrender to Ayestrom not so much because that was what he wanted, but so that you, uh, Superman, whoever, wouldn’t be so badly punished by him later on or something.”
“Yeah, that was kind of weird,” Flash said, frowning.
“I think she liked him,” Black Canary said suddenly. “Superman, I mean.” When everyone turned to look at her, Dinah shrugged. “Didn’t any of the rest of you see it? I thought it was obvious. And it was equally obvious that she hadn’t expected to feel that. And was trying her damnedest to cover it up.”
The men looked at her as if she was crazy, but Diana’s gaze turned inwards and she nodded thoughtfully.
“I got the same impression, Dinah,” Oracle's voice said out of thin air. “And I’ve just reviewed the tape of the exchange. Maybe Atom is right. We’ve just seen an inkling that Ayestrom’s power can be wavered.”
“Thanks, Barbara,” Canary grinned. “The guys here were starting to think I was insane.”
“Just starting?”
She swatted at Wally and he zipped out of the way. "Men are so clueless."
“I dunno,” Wally said, after bow in her direction and once he became still again. “Think of some of the things she was saying.” He shuddered. “If that’s evidence of a crush, then I’d hate to think of that lady in real love.”
“I said she liked him, dumbbrain, I wouldn’t go that far.”
Kyle glanced over at Batman, who had gone all withdrawn and moody again. He wondered what he was thinking about.
“Too bad it wasn’t Ayestrom himself who spoke with us,” Arthur hissed, still staring out of the hole he had made in the pre-fabbed wall. “I would have liked to seen what the snake looks like.”
“He’s just a little self-conscious, because, you know, he’s prolly ugly as sin," Wally started. "As monstrous looking as he is inside, a freakishly hideous sonuva …”
“The great and powerful Oz,” Steel suddenly put in. He shrugged as the others looked at him. “Maybe he’s just a short, balding, pudgy or skinny little wimp, or something. Overcompensating for obvious shortcomings. The wizard behind the curtain.”
There were some thoughtful nods.
"Or maybe he's the one who's really an alien, and not the kind that can pass as an Earthling," Wally suggested. "Like, I dunno, a Horta-type, or maybe a gelatinous, gooey, sentient messy sort of creature from outer space, you know? Only, more of the "Kill" rather than "No Kill" philosophy, right?"
Diana frowned. "What is a 'Horta'?"
“Or another reason he didn’t appear?” Kyle blurted. “Maybe he’s the dark, stalky, “I Love A Mystery” type. He wants us to speculate about him exactly like this, and fear that one bit of extra unknown.”
"A valid theory," Atom said thoughtfully, making Kyle blush. It wasn't too often a professor complimented his brain work.
“Dark and stalky, eh? Mystery-lover? Makes you long for those odd, sporadic visits from the Phantom Stranger, doesn’t it?” Wally said whimsically. “Right after he finishes spouting his usual long speech on the immorality of despotism, he could just magically teleport both Superman and all the hostages right back here, or better yet, straight up to the Watchtower. Mysterious men in black can really be quite handy sometimes.”
Kyle looked quickly at Batman, who seemed to be ignoring Flash completely.
“Ayestrom may not have revealed himself to us,” their own man in black said now. “But we do have a better idea now of how his command structure works.”
“We do?”
“We just had a fairly lengthy, detailed, real conversation with two of his most trusted lieutenants.”
Flash raised his own brows. “How do you deduce that, O master detective? They could have been any old lackeys of his, told to tell us exactly zilch. Which is, oh wait, just what they did.”
Batman began to glower his impatience and Diana stepped betwen them. “Batman is right. Their very words and attitude have told us a great deal.”
“And we now know that there are only four members of his little regime in whom he trusts more than this Marcella and Reynard.”
Kyle looked at Batman in surprise. “Four? How on earth do you figure that?”
“They gave us the surnames of ‘Quintus’ and ‘Sextus’, Green Lantern,” he said, in what was almost a patient voice for him. “Not exactly common names, nor did they look remotely related.”
Others were nodding, but Kyle just looked over at Wally, who looked as blankly right back at him.
“Soooo … I take it that Marcella didn’t squint at us, and Reynard isn’t all about sex with us?” Flash asked cluelessly, lifting his hands into the air.
Canary reached over and smacked Wally upside the head. Even he had not seen her move fast enough avoid her strike.
“Grow up a bit, why don’t you.”
“Ow. Hey!”
“So,” Diana said quietly. “They were his fifth and sixth in command. Fairly high ranked for an organization so great in number.”
Batman nodded. “And they are more than mere spokespersons. I think that they are amongst his top advisors and commanders.” At Steel’s gesture for him to continue, he sighed. How tired he was of having to explain himself all the time! If Clark were here … angrily he shook off the thought. Clark wasn’t here. And that was part of the problem. “She said they were called those names, not “I am”, or “my name is”. ‘ Reynard’ is Old German for ‘counsel’ and ‘hard’, and also from the Old French for ‘fox’. ‘Marcella’ is a female form of ‘Marcellus’, a Roman general whose name derived from Mars, the god of war.” He turned to look at the laptop, then spoke into the air. “Oracle…”
“Already on it, Batman,” the information guru replied instantly. “I’ve scanned both images into the database. Hopefully we'll get a rundown on their true identities before the day is out.”
Batman grunted. Kyle wondered if he ever hated being second-guessed, or was secretly pleased another of his entourage was as on the ball as he was. He wondered if Oracle ever got exasperated with the level of 'encouragement' that Batman was famous for. Or if Nightwing and Robin ever got fed up with dealing with an emotional rock. He himself would never suss out the way Batman’s mind worked, that was for sure.
“So, I guess we’re back to the waiting game,” John Henry was saying, studying the computer’s screen.
“Oh no,” Flash groaned. “Don’t even say it, man.”
“How long has it been?” Dinah asked quietly.
“Since the transmission ended?” Wally asked, puzzled.
“Since we lost touch with Superman,” she said, looking at him. He looked down.
“Since the comm lost contact,” Oracles said clearly, “Five hours, thirty six minutes. Since J’onn broke their mindlink, less than two hours.”
“What?”
“What mindlink?”
Everyone but Batman, Wonder Woman, and Kyle turned to stare at J’onn.
Diana waved a tired hand. “You may as well bring everyone up to speed, J’onn. The rest of the League will want to know too.”
Kyle tuned out J’onn’s carefully worded explanation, knowing he would likely sugarcoat the worst of the details that he himself had heard through the wall. Instead, he was watching Batman, who was suddenly exhibiting a new calculating expression on his usually impassive face.
“He froze himself over?” Wally was asking in disbelief. “You mean, like a big Kryptonian popsicle?” He evaded another Canary slap. “What? It’s not like I did it to him!”
“I wish we could get to him,” Steel said in frustration. “Damnation. I hate this sitting around.”
“Tell me about it,” Flash said, sitting in every chair in sight in two seconds flat. For those two seconds, a dozen Flashes seemed to be inside the room with them.
“I suppose all we can do right now is not lose our hope,” Dinah said, pulling her legs up into her chair, and resting her chin on her knees.
“Not true. We can certainly do more than that.”
The others all looked at Batman. Everyone was experiencing various degrees of weariness, anxiety, frustration, and depression, but at Batman’s firm tone, Kyle himself was not quite able to suppress the sizzle of hope that now flared anew in his own chest.
“What do you …” Arthur began.
“We are the Justice League of America,” the Dark Knight growled almost challengingly. “The greatest team of meta-powered heroes ever assembled. And it’s past time we started acting like it.” He looked at them all, drawing them up in his gaze. Kyle could feel his heart beginning to beat harder. “It’s time to earn that title.”
“But how?” Kyle burst out before he could stop himself.
Batman smiled slowly. “I’m working on it,” he said, enigmatic as ever. “You’ll have to trust me. In the meantime, let us … hope that Superman is indeed encountering better luck than are we.”
Kyle breathed deeply, and then nodded, meeting Batman’s gaze for the first time. He tucked his little ray of hope deep in his heart, and looking around at his teammates, and knew he wasn’t alone.
“Okay,” he said, too softly for anyone but Batman to hear. “Okay.”
He thought of Janey and Sarah, and hoped that Batman’s plan would work. He hoped that Superman would come through okay. He hoped that the League would succeed in bringing Ayestrom down.
We've got to!
For the sake of the hostages. For the sake of the world. For Superman. For Janey. And yes, deep down inside himself, for his own sake too. As much as his own rage and hatred at Ayestrom and his forces had terrified him, even more so had the threat he held over all Kyle loved and held dear. And he knew he would do whatever he could to put an end to that threat.
No matter what it took.
---
To Be Continued of course! :-)
(and I'll respond to all messages and comments (I have to run as the alarm is about to be put on- thanks, everyone!!!!!) and put in all links to previous parts, contents page, and to the comms as soon as I possibly can!)
Oh, wait, let me try at least to post the link to the Main Page for this Fic: Hmm... How about right HERE, ye scurvy swabs! *g*