25th July 16:49 GMT -5

I'm somewhat curious, what made you choose the Latin version of your surname as your code name?"

"You introduced yourself as Orange Lantern. You can't be worried about secrecy."

I shrug. "Out and proud. Plus, I can't say my actual name without choking. Robin had to print it on business cards, makes me look like a complete ponce when I hand them out. I thought.. secrecy was the name of the game around here?"

I planned to stay in the kitchen for ten minutes or so while Diana and Donna said hello to Alan. Give Donna a chance to calm down a bit. But from what I could see Diana said something to her and, after standing still for a moment, she came back inside and I had to pretend that I'd been doing something about pudding so I wouldn't have to explain why I hadn't followed them out. At the moment she's leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, arms still crossed.

"I'm not that recognizable. Apparently."

"Yeah, but all it would take would be a tourist with a camera posting a picture online. Then, someone uses some facial recognition software…"

"Most fights Diana and I get into are either too far away from people for it to be a problem, or I'm moving too fast to give them a good picture. Besides, have you any idea how dangerous it is to fight that close to people?"

Ah!

"Yes, actually. My first supervillain fight in Happy Harbour-."

"Which I've never heard of."

Touché.

"Right, well. We're fighting a robot that can throw tornados, and he's decided to level the seafront. By the time we got there, he was throwing boats around and he'd crushed a couple of houses. Was a big wake up call for me."

"Wait. Tornado robot? Like Red Tornado?"

"Same tech, different guy. We checked."

"And who's 'we'?"

I pause for a moment. This is Donna Troy. I know I can trust her, and it sounded like Wallace knows her, but I should probably stick to code names. "Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and myself."

She looks puzzled. "No Speedy?"

"Kid Flash told me that he wasn't keen on joining the kiddy team."

"And you are?"

"I need the training too much to be precious about it."

She looks off to the side again. "I didn't even know that Superman had a sidekick."

"He… Doesn't. He has a partial clone that Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash broke out of a lab. Oh, and they really hate the 'S' word."

She looks back at me, one eye squinting. "What do they call themselves, then?"

"Apprentices. Students. Partners."

"And you're okay with being Diana's sidekick?"

"Well.. I.. I.. would be, but I'm not." I gesture towards her. "You are. I've only been on actual combat missions with her a couple of times, and she hasn't really let me do anything. I think she's mostly leaving my training to the team, and whoever the League assigns to us."

"Oh. I'd assumed you were…"

"What? No! No. I mean, she might start taking me out on missions once the school term starts and the team can't get together on missions as often."

"Planning on skipping school?"

Huh?

"I've finished full time education. Also-" I raise my left hand palm forwards and point to the ring. "-I have a job."

"What's the pay like?"

I make a finger clicking gesture with my right hand and call a gold coin forth from subspace. "'S alright. Benefits are pretty good too."

"The Orange Lantern Corps pays you in gold?"

"No, but outside work I can use the ring for whatever I want. And what I want includes enough asteroid mining that I never have to worry about money again."

"And this is what you want out of life?" She stands up and paces a circuit of her side of the room. "You actually want to be a full time superhero. All the things you could do and that's what you picked?"

Hm. Interesting point, actually. Once I knew I could charge the ring I just sort of assumed that this is what I'd do. I intend to do things a little differently from the norm once I get enough experience to know what I'm doing, but I never questioned that ring equals superhero. I wouldn't have a problem with some theoretical future member of my Corps using their ring solely for engineering or chirurgery, but I never considered that for myself. Have I been memetically programmed by years of comic books and cartoons?

Answer honestly.

"It's what I want to do at the moment. Once my year's up, then there might be something else I want to pursue."

She stops and looks at me again. "Why a year?"

Oh. Haven't actually told anyone about that.

"The only way I could think of to get Diana to take me on was to swear an oath to Gaea that I'd do what I was told. And if I hadn't, Alan probably wouldn't have given me his lantern. The oath lasts a year, so any other plans I might have are on hold until then."

"Oh." A frown. "You didn't have your own lantern?"

"Nope. I brought the ring, though."

"What do your parents think about this?"

I'm not sure what they'd think. Mum said that she'd disown me if I joined the army. Not sure this counts. After three weeks she'd probably be too relieved to hear from me to care.

"Didn't Diana say? I come from a parallel universe. I have no way to contact my parents."

"A parallel universe?"

Warding gesture. "If my story didn't check out, I'd've been truth lassoed by now."

Her eyes drop. "Oh. I'm… I'm sorry to hear that. About your parents, I mean."

"I prefer to think of this as an opportunity. No point dwelling on things I can't change."

"No, I suppose not."

with my last year of high school coming up, I haven't been able to spend as much time with Diana as I'd have liked."

We're out in the garden. Alan had a wooden trestle table in his garage and I gave it a ring clean before we sat down. Dinner was good, and pudding is in the oven. I nearly made a bit of a faux pas when I completely ignored the dip stuff Alan had prepared, but I spotted it in time. Only ended up putting a teaspoon's worth of each on my plate, and I tasted them very gingerly. When they noticed, Donna laughed out loud and Diana was covering her smile with her left hand.

"That's a commendably far-sighted attitude, Donna. I didn't start as Green Lantern until I was in my twen'ies."

Alan opened a bottle of wine for himself and Diana. Donna's having coke -I didn't recognise the brand- and I'm drinking milk. Their choice of tipple prompted a brief discussion about the differences in alcohol consumption laws in Britain and the US. I don't think they believed me when I said that the youngest age it's legal to drink in Britain is five. I have trouble believing that it's twenty one in the US, and Alan admitted that it doesn't make much sense. Also, I was surprised to learn that squash is basically unknown in the US. Must remember to check whether Ribena here still uses the gloriously sugar filled recipe that they used in my childhood, or the bland one they use now.

"Well, my parents pretty much insisted. But I do think they're right."

So, no Troia on the team until at least the end of the next school year, which if memory serves correctly is in May or June. Maybe I could persuade her to spend some time on the base before the school year starts?

"Do you have any plans for what you want to do when you finish high school?"

I'm a bit surprised that Diana hasn't talked about that with her before.

"College, I guess. I haven't really thought much about it."

I can't think of any obvious ways to make money using her power set. Boxing, maybe? Cargo transportation? I hesitate to suggest modelling, though I suppose she could. Strength and toughness just aren't very haxable powers. I certainly don't remember what she did employment-wise in the comics. Maybe she could try actual law enforcement? There must be some sort of Federal agency that hires metahumans for that sort of work.

"What about you, Paul? Any plans for your future?"

I've been quiet for too long and Alan's spotted it.

I raise my left hand, and point to the ring with my right index finger. "I'm a Sector Lantern. As far as I'm concerned, that's a full time job. I haven't even been to Mars yet, let alone any of the other inhabited worlds in this sector. I'm not going to bother trying to create a cover identity and I'm certainly not interested in mundane employment."

"The League could set up a cover identity for you."

"Diana, I appreciate the offer, but it wouldn't work. I mean, I think I was careful on the way over here but there's no way I could live like that full time. All respect to the two of you-" I wave at Donna and Alan. "-for being able to do it, but I'd be climbing the walls."

I fork some courgette and a small piece of chicken, dab it into the.. yellow.. goo.. stuff, and then put it in my mouth. I'm not sure whether to credit Alan's skill as a chef or the ring for augmenting my sense of taste, but this is great stuff.

Diana and Alan share a glance. Oh dear.

"Alan tells me that he offered you the chance to move in here full time."

My mouth is full, but I nod.

"Would you mind telling me why you turned him down? Mount Justice isn't exactly homey."

I wave a fork for a moment, then swallow. "I am grateful for the offer. But, fact is, I'm an Orange Lantern. My ability to assist my team mates in combat is directly proportional to my, um, my level of emotional engagement with them. The orange ring runs on selfishness, so I've been training myself to want what they want, to identify success for the team with success for me. If I spend more time away from them, it hinders that."

"I was impressed when I read the report of you healing Superboy's ears."

Donna looks interested. Ohhhhh… "What happened to Superboy's ears?"

"During the fight with Mister Twister -that robot I mentioned?- I used a sonic weapon construct. Those… Really don't mix well with super hearing." Donna winces, and Alan looks concerned. "When we got back, I read up on Kryptonian physiology, and I was able to rebuild the parts of his inner ear which I'd destroyed. I could do that because it was my fault, and I really wanted to undo my mistake. I can't just pop down to the local hospital and start healing people."

"He's alright now?"

I look at Donna. "Yeah. Better, actually. The only Kryptonian whose details were on record was Superman, so Kon's hearing is now exactly as good as his."

"Kon?"

"Oh, right. Superboy didn't have a name when Kaldur and co. broke him out of Cadmus. He picked Kon-El last week."

Diana sits back, and blinks heavily twice.

"I was meaning to ask, actually. I know you can't commit to the team full time, but is there any chance you could pop by before the end of the school summer holiday? I'm sure Kon would appreciate having someone in his own weight class to spar with."

"You're not in his class?"

"Not in his weight class, no. I can block his attacks okay, but I'm a ranged fighter. And, completely unskilled at hand to hand combat. He just finds sparring with me annoying."

She looks to Diana for approval. After a moment she gets a small nod, and looks back to me. "I.. still.. don't know when I'll be able to make it. But thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. Kon punches like a speeding locomotive."

"I'll manage." She's smiling at me for the first time since we met. If I'd have known that offering her a sparring match would brighten up her day I'd have volunteered myself.

"Anyone else want that last skewer?"

I think the ring can cope with transmuting whatever I eat. I'm not sure that I even need a digestive system any more, as long as I wear it. But if I stuff myself full of things I think of as unhealthy my self concept might change. Pretty sure barbecue vegetable skewers are safe, though. I get three negatives and put it on my plate. Donna's smile turns into a smirk.

"You know you said that your ring only helps people you care about?"

I hastily swallow a bit of pepper. "Yes?"

"If you could rebuild his entire ear, you must care about Kon a lot."

!Kon is mine!

"I do. He's quite important to me."

"I think you've spent more time talking about him than your other team mates combined."

I shrug. "I've spent more time with him and M'gann than the others. Living in the mountain, and with Kaldur spending time off with King Orin."

She's smiling more. Should I be worried?

"You haven't been talking about M'gann as much."

"She's more… Self sufficient? She finds Earth society fascinating. Kon… Needs me more. He doesn't have much social experience, hasn't seen much of the world for himself. He thinks of himself as a weapon, and mopes if he goes too long without a mission or mission related task. Even more than the others do. He idolises Superman, who won't give him the time of day… I guess.. I.. like being needed. He just gets so frustrated sometimes… I want to help him become a fully functional person, make him happy. I've been trying to find things for us to do together… That reminds me, what's happening with those plant samples we got from Swamp Thing's place?"

Diana pauses a moment. "Batman.. has.. people working on it."

There's a 'ping' from the kitchen. "Oh, excuse me, I have to go and check on that."

As I leave the garden I hear Donna say: "I guess that explains why he was staring at your armor when you first met."

"Donna, that's not helpful."