The leaguers shared a brief look, followed by a nod from Wonder Woman, who gestured at me to let go of her lasso. "That is an admirable goal, and by no means an easy one."
I chuckled, fully aware of the mountain I'd decided to climb. "If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing."
"Well said," Captain Atom lauded.
"Take this," Batman handed me a phone. "This will be your point of contact with me. I'll send you the details for your integration into the team and your access to the zeta tubes. Welcome to the Justice League."
Unable to hold back a smile, I looked at the phone and slowly grabbed it. When I looked up again, I found Wonder Woman and Captain Atom smiling at me. Manhunter's expression was still stoic, but laced a hint of detectable approval.
"Thank you," I said and focused on Batman, who might as well have looked like the giant stone statues in Night of the Museum. He nodded, turned slightly in Captain Atom's direction and started to speak again.
"Captain Atom will be your handler and point of contact for any league related matters when I'm not available. That will be all," he finished and turned to leave, but not before nodding at the others.
Manhunter tipped his head at me and followed after him. Wonder Woman did the same but left these words too. "I am very much interested in hearing more about this… SHIELD, though I'm afraid we have to cut this short. See you later, young man."
"Later ma'am."
My new babysitter and I watched Wonder Woman leave before facing each other. "So," I said, breaking the ice. "Handler huh. Does that make me your sidekick? Wait, do you have one?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Captain Atom said, his bright yellow eyes somehow conveying his amusement.
"Uh I don't," I shake my head, thinking of something other than 'you weren't in the show much' to say. "If you had one, then I don't remember them at all."
"Relax, I don't. And you're not a sidekick. You're more like… a new employee and I'm your work buddy. Though I prefer mentor, if you don't mind."
"Mentor sounds perfect. Work buddy is… forget it," I shook my head and changed the topic. "I'm gonna need help moving stuff, you know when Batman gets back to me."
Captain Atom crossed his silver arms. "What stuff? To where?"
"My bike, my tools, and my computer. They're in Reno. That's where I went to cover my tracks."
"Reno?" He sounded genuinely surprised. "That's on the other side of the map."
I scratched the back of my head, aware of how sheepish I looked. "I really didn't want to be found."
"Why? Why not come to us in the first place? You know that letter could've easily gotten lost, or worse."
"I know, that's why I used FedLex," I quickly justified. "But that's not what you're asking," I said and exhaled, unsure of how to say this.
"Well, first, I was angry about the whole trick thing. Two, you guys would've wanted an explanation on how I got here and how I knew what I knew, and telling someone the truth felt like too much of a hassle. Thankfully, that part's over now."
Silence sat between us for a while before Captain Atom spoke up. "I'm just glad you came so I could thank you properly."
"I'm glad I could help," I smiled and nodded. "Though I'm confused. What am I supposed to do now? Am I supposed to follow or you follow me?"
Captain Atom shook his head. "Nothing like that. Batman will send you the location soon. So you can," he looked around the gym, "stay and continue your workout or–I'm assuming you have a motel in town?"
"Yeah, in Gotham."
"I'm sure Batman has given you access to the Zeta tubes, but if he hasn't, I'll do it. Come," he turned around and headed for the door. "It won't take long."
Shooting up to my feet, I looked around for where to drop the datapad and decided to keep it with me. Its contents were too precious and dangerous to leave lying around.
Trailing behind my mentor like a shadow, we stepped into the library and I looked up in alarm. I sighed in relief when I saw the giant observation window had been tinted.
If he sensed my panic, Captain Atom showed no hint that he did. We arrived at the Zeta tube shortly and he summoned a hologram. "Looks like you're already in the system. Batman works fast. It's your real name that's here though. Thought of a hero name yet?"
"Actually, yes," I said, thinking of the SHIELD theme I wanted to follow. "Specialist."
"Someone who's an expert in their field. Good choice," my mentor looked at me and said before stepping away from the holopad, making a head tilt toward it. "Go on. You have access now."
A chuckle of disbelief mixed elation left my lips as I looked away from him toward the hologram. I stepped forward and reached for it, letting Tech-Adapting guide me to change my name in the system.
"Recognized: Elliot Rath B-05."
"Computer, Specialist B-05. Update."
.
.
.
.
When I first set out to Gotham, I didn't think about how things would end if the league really accepted me. The only fallback I had was to find a way to Infinity Island and join the League of Assassins.
I figured if I showed them my powers and explained how I tracked them down through Black Spider, they'd accept me into their ranks. I know, I know. But my plan was to profit off of them.
While they made me stronger, I'd scope them out for the duration of the training and then betray them once I got what I wanted. Of course, such a plan was filled with so many holes a blind man could see through it, but it was something certain, something tangible I could attempt, even if I was unlikely to achieve it.
Thankfully, I'd been saved from that perilous path.
The Justice League now counted me as one of them—a probationary member, true—but the benefits that came with that was something that made me immensely glad I'd listened to Mike.
"Who d'you think they're gonna send?" I asked him.
"They can't trust you fully yet, so someone who can ascertain that your items don't have any harmful, subversive, and eavesdropping components," said Mike. "There are only two leaguers who fit the bill."
"The lanterns."
"Yes. Care to wager which of them it'll be?"
"It'll be Hal," I said quickly to nip this in the bud. "And since when do you suggest bets? I don't like to gamble, with anything."
"..."
"And you chose to live close to a city famed for gambling. You do realise the irony right?"
"Shut up. Smartass."
"Glad you know."
"Hm."
Bringing the van I was driving to a stop, I stared past the chain link fence blocking my path to the tiny warehouse-esque building it encircled. The people I was supposed to meet were waiting for me there.
I brought my attention back to the fence and saw that the padlock and chain supposed to keep it locked were nowhere to be found. Nodding at that piece of extra confirmation, I drove the car forward and slowly pushed the fence door aside.
Once I was fully inside the compound, the shutter door on the building rolled up with the sound of screaming metal. Hal Jordan and a blonde man in regular clothes were revealed, making me super confused.
Captain Atom was supposed to be with hi—ohhh, I understood now. Waving at them and getting down from the van, I closed the wide open chain link gate and got back in the car.
With a wave of his hand, the captain waved me forward and I drove slowly into the building, the sound of the shutters closing drowning out the already mouse-quiet engine.
"Good evening," I greeted after getting down. They returned the greeting and I went straight for the elephant in the room. "You're here to make sure I don't bring anything dangerous right?"
"You know it," Hal said.
"This way then," I gestured to the back of the van before going straight for the doors. I threw them wide open just in time for the sharp rays of green light emanating from GL's ring to slice through the car.
There was no damage of course, just a thorough examination of the vehicle's parts and construction.
"Van barely made a sound. You build it yourself?" GL asked.
I grabbed the bike with both hands and lifted/dragged it out. "Yeah."
"Apart from the obvious souped up engine, which is not a bad thing, everything else is clean," GL said and the lines of green retracted into his ring. "What's next?"
"This," I lowered the bike and patted it. "I built it for hero stuff so… don't get freaked out about some of the things you find."
"I'm a Green Lantern. I don't freak out," Hal said and pointed his clenched fist at the tiny beast. The familiar scanning resumed, and though he showed no major facial reactions, the minor ones were too easy to pick up.
"This thing… is not road worthy."
"Hero stuff, remember?"
"Wait… it can go up vertical surfaces? Top speed… 600 miles per hour?" GL looked at me like a kid who had done something wrong. I, of course, ignored the stare and gushed about my baby.
"I could've made it faster, but you know, physics and all that. I also wanted to stuff tiny rockets in there and make it fly, but… fuel constraints, so I settled for riding on walls."
The two older heroes looked at me with deadpan gazes. I crossed my arms and stood my ground. "What? Both of you can fly. You can't judge me for wanting to do the same."
Silence reigned for a good minute before GL reeled back his fist and looked at me. "Done. Anything else?"
Packed into a single hard box the size of a large military crate and made by yours truly, the supercomputer, my tools, and the 3D printer all got the green light from GL. That left the real reason I was summoned here today.
"It's time to meet the rest of the team," Captain Atom said before moving to a storage locker. He opened it to reveal a Zeta tube and went to work prepping our destination.
Hal, or GL1 as I'd be referring to him from now on, enveloped the box with a construct and picked it off the floor while I pushed the bike into the tube, joined him and my mentors.
"Recognized: Green Lantern 05. Captain Atom 012. Specialist B-05."
And just like that, we crossed over 2000 miles, moving from Reno, Nevada to Happy Harbor in Rhode Island in the span of a second. What a life.
"I don't think I'll ever grow tired of this."
"It is easy to see the appeal," Mike responded.
"Woah ho! What is that?" A voice that could only belong to one person exclaimed.
A burst of wind hit me and the red haired perpetrator revealed himself, his searching eyes fixed squarely upon my bike while he moved his head from side to side.
"Team," Batman addressed KF, Robin, and Aqualad. "This is your new member, Specialist. He will be joining you on missions."
As if he hadn't given the world's shortest introduction, the dark knight shifted his attention to GL1 after that and they moved farther away to converse, my mentor trailing them.
Great. Now I had to properly introduce myself to these kids.
"Hi—"
"We've heard a great deal about you," Kid Flash said, finally done ogling my baby. "Rob here says you're the reason we got this sweet ass gig," he waved his arms about.
"What was in that letter?" Someone didn't know about subtlety at all. Though considering he was Batman's sidekick, I'd say the true case was he just didn't care.
Ever the voice of reason, Kaldur stepped forward and put a hand on Rob's shoulder. "Perhaps we should give our teammate a chance to—"
"Naah. Don't worry. I'll answer all your questions—"I had Batman's blessing"—if you help me find a place to set up shop."
"You got it. I know the perfect place," Kid Flash said before zipping over to the box. "Finally. All that time exploring this place counts for something."
"DON'T," I raised my voice a little, afraid of the damage this impulsive kid would do to my tools. "The stuff in there is delicate and hard to replace. I'll handle them myself. You lead the way."
"Uhh, okay then."
"Great job, man," Robin teased, earning a groan from the teenage speedster.
"Dude!" the teenage speedster whined.
We spent the next few minutes walking, going past the kitchen, the living area, and the gym. The first major stop we made was the hangar, where I left my bike. The second was a large and empty storage room which I immediately fell in love with.
"This place is perfect. I just need some tables, a chair or two and then I'll be in business," I said to the others and lowered the box.
"And what business is that exactly?" Robin said, asking the question on my teammates' minds.
"One of my powers makes me good at building stuff," I said and dipped an arm into the box, retrieving a particular, handheld tool. "It also allows me to make devices that mimic powers, like these boots," I twisted my foot to show them.
"They allow me to stick to things," I said and leapt upward, curling into myself and then flipping to plant my feet against the ceiling. "Like this."
"Nice moves. But if you can scan powers, whose did you use to make these?" Robin said from the ground while looking up. "I don't know of any bad guy with such a power, and trust me, I would know. Batman's a real taskmaster."
"Relax," I canceled the boot's effects and dropped with a thump. "It's me. My other power gives me the abilities of a spider," I said and leapt straight up a second time, index finger pointed straight up.
"I can stick to things," I said from up there, hanging from the tiny contact between my finger and the ceiling.
"Got any more powers you wanna share?" Kid Flash asked.
"Later," I smiled and canceled the sticking effect.
"This makes the boots seem unnecessary," Kaldur lent his two cents. "Though I assume there's a reason."
"There is. The adhesive effect can penetrate a surface but not by much. Wearing gloves is fine, but using it through my feet would require me to wear shoes with thin soles. And I hate shoes like that."
"Hmm, that makes sense. What other—"
Robin's question was stopped in its tracks by the loud vibration of my Batman issued phone. I pulled it out to check what was happening and then put it back.
"The bosses are calling. Let's go see what they want."
"Fine. But we are so not done," Kid Flash felt the need to tell me.
Somewhat aware of what this meeting was about, I held on to the scanner and dived into the box again. When I came, I held a drinking glass with an empty magazine clinking in it. I smiled at my confused audience and started moving.
"Let's go."
"Dude, what the hell?" Kid Flash said, referring to the things I was bringing along.
"You'll see," I responded and kept moving.
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I had intended originally to post these chaps at 3 or maybe 4 pm, one after the other on today, tomorrow and Friday. But I forgot to change the schedule date. Now, I want to do this from next week but I want to ask: should I keep this update format and time or do I change it to the one I described?
Anyway, while you're here, I have a patreon where you can 2 chapters ahead for $1, or ten for $5.
If you're interested, please, subscribe here: www.patreon.com/MasterReigen. Your support is greatly appreciated.