Planet Earth #272

"Hey, you," Kara greeted as she landed in front of me, smiling as she went in for a hug, which I returned. "Are you ready to depart...?" She asked as she let go and stepped back.

"As ready as I'll ever be..." I replied with a nod. I spent the past twenty-four hours making calls to prepare for any eventualities in case something happened that would delay us off-world.

Naturally, ensuring the operation against the League went smoothly took precedence over everything else, so I contacted Harley and the others, Katherine Spencer, Deborah, and Agent Bundy, and arranged for everything to progress even if I wasn't there.

I had to lie through my teeth and make up a shit ton of excuses since I couldn't just go, like, yeah, I'm heading to space with a girl to a vacation planet, so do the heavy work while I'm having fun.

I still preferred to be here to oversee the operation personally, and that was the plan, but it never hurt to be over-prepared.

I also visited Richard and Benjamin to see how my teacher was adapting to his new arm, and he had nothing but positive things to say. I was already sure it would work like a charm since I did a lot of tests, but it was still good to see how happy he was about it.

My next stop was Tricorner island, where I visited Leah and her mother to let them know I'll be out of town for a while and to contact Selina or Deborah if they needed anything.

Finally, I stopped at the theatre and met with Crush since I didn't get the chance to talk to her since she returned to Gotham, nor did I have the time, busy as I was.

Subsequently, Crush told me how she took care of Ezekiel and asked me to stay in the theatre until she figured out what to do with her life now that she had her revenge. I agreed without hesitation.

"So, what do you prefer, princess carry or potato bag...?" Kara said, her tone teasing as she stepped toward me, spreading her hands. "Don't be shy now," She added with a chuckle.

"As much as I'd like to experience what it feels like to be a princess, I think I'll pass..." I replied, giving Kara a side glance. "I'll have you know that I'm perfectly capable of keeping up, even in space," I added as I raised my hand, equipping the Starheart power ring.

"So you're with the green lantern corp now...?" Kara asked, her eyes slightly widening as she looked at the ring. "Aren't you full of surprise..." She added, looking me up and down.

"What can I say? I'm a man of many mysteries..." I replied with a chuckle, shaking my head. "But no, I'm not with the corp. Hall Jordan invited me some time ago, but I don't work well with an entire species of hyper-intelligent alien bauble heads breathing down my neck..." I added with a shrug.

"This little thing is the Starheat power ring, the only one in existence..." I explained, feeling like some Long Island rapper flexing his jewelry. "It does everything a green power ring does, but better..." I concluded with a chuckle.

"That's even more surprising, somehow..." Kara said, clearly fed up as she shook her head. "Come on, let's go. We don't want to keep you away from your precious work too long now, do we?" She added with a faint smile as she levitated off the ground, extending her hand toward me.

"That we don't..." I said as I activated the ring and flew to her side, taking her hand into mine. "But go easy on me, will you? It's my first time, you know...?" I jokingly added.

"I won't make any promises..."

...

Elaine Marsh-Morton, better known as Lady Vic, couldn't help but frown, barely resisting the urge to walk away as she stood at the podium with a crowd of journalists clamoring to get her attention.

If only Elaine knew she had to be here straight after getting out of prison, she might have preferred to stay behind bars. Still, someone had to address the news-hungry journalists, and Harley was too crazy to do it, while Deadshot was too deadpan.

"You, the bloke in the funny jacket..." Elaine said as she pointed towards the closest journalist, gesturing for him to ask his question.

"Miss Marsh-Morton, everyone knows that Grayson Whitlock was a big part of the reason you were released," The journalist said as he briefly glanced at his notes. "He claimed that you were ready to change your ways and integrate back into society..." He added, trailing at the end of his sentence.

"My question is, how do you plan to do that exactly?" He asked.

"By using my considerable skills to help the lad achieve his fancy goals and filling my pockets with his money, of course," Elaine blankly replied with a shrug.

"The only reason I turned to crime was that I needed the quids to keep the estate my deadbeat ancestors left afloat..." Elaine explained before anyone could say anything.

"It's not like I want to spend my entire life dodging coppers like bloody Ronald Kray..." She concluded, pausing as she waited for the journalist to ask his next question.

"I see. However, can you give us any specifics as to Grayson's so-called plans...?" The journalist immediately asked without delay, fully intent on asking as many questions as possible before Elaine picked someone else.

"Afraid not, mate. I couldn't tell you what's going on inside the lad's mind even if it was cracked open," Elaine replied. "All I know is that he wants to do good things," She added, shaking her head.

"He went out of his way to give me a second chance at a decent living, even when he didn't have to," Elaine went on. "As long as the lad sticks to his word, that's enough for me to jump when he tells me to jump," She concluded.

"But doesn't that make him no better than Amanda Waller? He is using convicted criminals for the so called greater good as she did..." The journalist snidely remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's make one thing clear, mate. The lad and that old hag have nothing in common," Elaine said, scowling at the journalist. "That bitch had us in collars like bloody mutts, except we didn't get coddled like no damned lapdog," She added, her tone growing more heated as she spoke.

"We had bombs in our heads, you daft muppet," Elaine added, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "The lad might be using us, but that's just how society works," She went on as she let out a drawn breath and gathered her bearings.

"We get paid the top bucks as you Yanks say, we don't have to worry about the police, and we're free to walk out anytime we want..." Elaine continued. "It doesn't get better than that, for all I care..." She added, shooting the journalist a dirty look.

"That's enough questions for you," Elaine said as the journalist prepared to ask his next question.

"You there, the pretty redhead with the tits..."

...

I couldn't help but hold my breath as I floated in space, looking down on the gigantic sphere that looked like a blue marble with countless white swirls surrounding it.

I've seen it through pictures, videos, and even Martain Manhunter's eyes, but seeing it with my own felt vastly different.

I'd heard countless people talking about how beautiful our planet was and how we must protect it at any cost, but I dismissed it as nothing more than hipster nonsense, which it probably was for the most part.

However, now that I had seen it with my own eyes, I couldn't help but agree; our planet, Earth, was beautiful and worth all the effort needed to protect and preserve it.

'So this my home...' I mused, a genuine smile unconsciously tugging at my lips as I stared at the planet in a daze that didn't continue for long as Kara snapped me out of it.

"I know it's your first time in space, but you've been staring at the planet for thirty minutes now..." Kara said, shooting me an amused look, causing my smile to turn bitter.

"Now you've gone and ruined the moment," I said, rolling my eyes as I turned to Kara and flew towards her. "I hope you're happy, you friggen killjoy," I grumbled, shaking my head.

"You can come back and gawk anytime you want once we're back. Come on, let's get going..."

...

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