Skived

25th July 14:37 GMT -5

I don't think I'll ever quite get used to the way technology works around here. Not the user interfaces, which are either completely straightforward or completely incomprehensible -unmarked keyboards ahoy-, but the fact that it all works at all. Back when I first met Alan his intercom had completely clear sound, and it's all like that. Computers just don't crash during regular use. This base is full of machines that are just waiting to go wrong, and they never do. I remember reading Hyperion, where at the end the Shrike Church get trapped in their mountain fortress when the wormhole network collapses, because that was the only entrance. Our exits are giant blast doors and zeta tubes and they always work. I have the ring scan them every time before I use them. Nothing goes wrong. Coming from a place where the trains don't run on time if it rains -or if it doesn't- it takes a bit of getting used to.

I've paired my dark grey jeans with an orange shirt today. I doubt Alan or Diana would mind if I showed up in my usual vest but I feel I should make an effort. This will be the first time I've spent much time in both of their company in a casual setting since the team was founded. Plus, the orange colouration means that the Lantern sigil doesn't really show; Vietnamese colour matching at its finest.

I'm on pudding duty, so I'm bringing a few hundred grams of chocolate with me in subspace. I ended up getting a chocolate pudding recipe online after M'gann found me in the kitchen swearing at one of the ones we have here which expresses all quantities in volume rather than mass. I don't mind ounces or grams, but whoever thought that a 'cup' was a sensible measure of anything solid needs to be slapped around the face. Also, not American 'chocolate'. I know some mainland European connoisseurs get snooty about British chocolate, but the US stuff is frankly hydrogenated vegetable oil filled swill. The chocolate I'll be using comes from Belgium.

Cadbury exists here, and it doesn't look like anyone is planning to take it over. If that situation changes I will seriously consider buying as much of it as I need to in order to prevent that from happening. Fucking Kraft.

"Hey, nice shirt."

Wallace is standing next to the main computer console in casuals. Robin is working a case with Batman and M'gann's taken Superboy out shopping so instead of hanging around with them he's looking at the initial reports on Venom Buster. I vaguely knew that his Justice League Unlimited incarnation was a police chemist but until last Tuesday I hadn't realised that this version shared that skill set. Apparently he copied Jay Garrick's speed formula in his own bedroom with some fairly basic materials.

Given that the formula is three for three with no serious adverse effects, I wonder why it isn't more widely used? I can understand about not making it public, but any baseline Human in 'the community' could benefit. Heck, Wallace's eating disorder is probably a product of amateur level equipment, rather than a problem with the formula itself.

I wonder if he could fix it by repeating the process with better materials? Or would doubling up make matters worse? Is there some common element between the Garrick Formula and the Danner Formula? Not sure what happens when you use a magic formula on someone who's already had a magic formula. Besides, the Danner Formula needs to be used in vitro. I… might want to look at getting a copy of each…

"Thanks. You ever need a suit, I'll introduce you to my tailor."

"Heading out early, aren't you?"

"I'm doing pudding. Besides, Diana's bringing a plus one and I want to find out who it is. On my parallel, someone like Wonder Woman dating would be bigger news."

He stops typing, and looks at me in confusion. "Did she actually say she was bringing a date?"

"Urp, no, Alan just said a plus one. That means date, right?"

He goes back to work. "Maybe. But she's probably just bringing Troia along."

The word forms even as I remember who she is. "Who?"

He looks incredulous. "Are you serious? You didn't know about Wonder Woman's other student?"

Donna Troy, the woman with the most messed-about-with back story in DC. I know that she's got the same abilities as Wonder Woman, but even though I've never had any interest in the character I can remember three distinct versions of where her powers come from. Right, right, Diana already said that she doesn't have any sisters, so that's out. So, that leaves being given the powers by the Greek gods on Themyscira or inheriting them from Titanic ancestors. Or something else. Can't remember anything about her personality.

"Diana never.. mentioned.. her?"

She didn't. And I looked up 'Wonder Girl' on the League's database and found no matches. Maybe I should have looked up Donna Troy as well, but that might have shown that I know real names when I shouldn't. I thought she started calling herself Troia as an adult. I mean, what does Troia even mean, anyway?

"You really didn't know?"

"Does this look like my 'I know what's going on' face?"

"N-no? Whaw. Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Huh. Kinda assumed that you'd met her by now."

"Nope."

Is she going to think I stole her mentor? I haven't been spending that much time with Diana. Have I? I certainly haven't been monopolising her. But maybe there's only so many trainee-appropriate missions?

"Wonder if she wants to join us?"

"I don't know! I never heard of her until just now."

And then he's standing next to me with an arm around my shoulder. "You should totally talk to her about it. She's pretty hot."

"I'll be sure to mention it."

"'Cause if she did join, we'd have a Bat, a Flash, a Super, a Martian, an Atlantean, an Amazon and a Lantern. That's the founding League right there."

"I'm sure the subject will come up."

"Make sure it does. I don't wanna start feeling bad about hogging all the female attention around here."

Yea-ah.

"I will endeavour to ensure that that doesn't happen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a walk ahead of me."

"You know New York has cabs, right?"

Sigh.

"I can't carry conventional currency without destroying it. Some cab drivers would believe that a person would pay them in gold, but most would tell me to get lost, or call the police. I don't want to draw attention to Alan's house by flying there while glowing orange so I either have to get the zeta tube to Upper Manhattan and walk, take one to Metropolis and walk further, or take the one to Washington and travel underwater, which is incredibly boring."

"Yeah, I feel so sorry for you having to have dinner with Alan Scott and two of the hottest women on the planet."

He releases me and walks back to the computer at normal speed. I walk over to the entrance to Zeta Tube A, and look at it for a moment.

"Ring, just… just check it's working properly."

"Operations within defined parameters."

"Are you still worried about that?"

"I am justifiably cautious."

He sniggers. "Whatever."

Fine. I enter my destination, straighten my posture, and march in.

"Recognised, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

Ugh.

"It's Orange Lantern two eight-"

one four. Never mind."

I wonder how the Green Lanterns handle that? Must get confusing up in the Watchtower if they have the same handle as each other.

The zeta tube in Upper Manhattan is on the roof of the main office building in the Kord Industries complex. It looks like a second roof access, except it doesn't go anywhere and the fob reader on the outside won't open to staff fobs. Most League members have civilian identities which would explain why they were passing through the building, and can get away with taking the elevator down. I don't, so I take the external fire escape.

The building's five storys tall, and the views are only good if you like grey buildings. I think they tried to do a bit of landscaping -there's a few flower beds and a small group of trees- but it was a bit of a losing battle. You can just about see the river from the uppermost floor, but there are too many buildings in the way to get a look at anything interesting. There are also a couple of warehouses and a manufacturing plant on the site, though I'm not sure what it is they actually make here.

Ted Kord is active… Ish… As Blue Beetle, and his company is one of the League's suppliers. I guess Wayne Enterprises can't make everything without it looking really suspicious. He isn't a League member yet, but might well end up as one. No Booster Gold, which is a bit of a shame.

The way out -assuming that I want to avoid the front gate, which I do- is through a section of fence at the rear of the complex which drops into the ground when an authorised person touches it. That takes me to an alleyway, which leads out onto a path which takes me to Amsterdam Avenue. Completely straight roads are another thing I've found strange about America, along with the lack of roundabouts. Sure, British motorways are usually straight, but town roads go all over the place.

This grid thing might be convenient for drivers, but it really takes the fun out of being a pedestrian. If there's anything interesting, you can see it from miles away and be bored of it before you reach it. Especially in my case with my ring-improved vision. Remembering a route? Just walk forwards, and try not to bump into people. Not many people around, so really it's just a matter of stopping at intersections and waiting for the lights to change.

Ring, tell me about Donna Troy.

An image forms in my mind of a woman wearing a red unitard with silver star decoration, silver bracers and a silver belt with a lasso hanging off it. She looks… The obvious reference point is Diana, but that's not quite it. She's a bit shorter. The muscle is there, but her face and figure are a bit more rounded, maybe the result of growing up on an American diet rather than a Mediterranean one.

Donna Troy, also known as 'Troia'-.

Hold on a second. What does that word mean?

There are several possible meanings, depending on language and era. The most likely origin is the Latin name for the city-state of Troy.

She uses her surname as her codename?

That is the most likely explanation.

No mask and she uses her name in public. If Diana gives me any trouble about working this one out…

Resume.

Donna Troy, also known as 'Troia'. Born, fifteenth of April, nineteen ninety three. Name of natural parents unknown. Adopted parents Carl and Fay Stacey.

Stacey? So where does 'Troy' come from?

Earliest records indicate that her name was Donna Troy prior to her adoption.

Wouldn't her adopted parents have changed her surname to match theirs?

Unable to speculate.

No, wait, Richard Grayson. Maybe that's just not how things work here? Fine, resume.

New York resident. In her civilian identity attends the Eleanor Roosevelt High School. No data available on first manifestation of powers. First public appearance in heroic persona twelfth of July two thousand seven. Powers demonstrated in public include potence, fortitude and unassisted flight. Source of powers unrecorded. Standard equipment includes bracers and lasso. Usually seen operating in the company of Princess Diana of Themyscira.

Might have been nice to know that a week ago… Anything on her personality?

No interviews on public record.

Pffff. Any idea what she likes to eat?

Scanning Stacey residence. Genetic and food residue suggest that she likes cereal brand 'Lucky Charms'. Unable to specifically link other foodstuffs at the residence to the subject.

Did the ring just..? I just did a detailed scan on a private residence because I was curious about her eating habits. I… I need to avoid getting in the habit of doing that.

In an attempt to avoid boredom and random ring-snooping, I turn left towards Fort Washington Park. I see it in the distance.

Then, I see it a bit closer.

Then a bit closer.

Finally, I get to it and for a moment I feel the voices of my ancestors telling me to capture it for King George.

Heh, maybe later.

I've never actually walked this route before, though it's not like I can get lost with the ring's mapping feature and the fact that there isn't all that much space to get lost in. Last time I walked around Manhattan prior to my first meeting with Alan I stuck to the east side of the island, and I flew whenever I thought I could risk it. The park runs along the east bank of the Hudson River on the west side of the island, and is mostly open grassland with the occasional tree. It merges in the north with Fort Tryon Park and then Inwood Hill Park, which Alan's house borders. Not really sure why they're separate entities. In a place like Manhattan, wouldn't they be controlled by the same authority?

There are a few people picnicking and I think I can smell a barbecue somewhere. Not really one for barbecued food myself, though I've only ever really had it prepared by inexperienced amateurs. Children and dogs also in evidence, and I'm not really a fan of either. I actually learned to create the dog-away sonic device in construct form to use against guard dogs, but it occurs to me that it has other uses. Wonder if there's a frequency which repels children?

Alan didn't say what he was cooking for us. One of the many useful mundane functions of the ring is that it renders me immune to both heat and chemical burning caused by food. I remember once when I ordered pasta with chilli sauce in a restaurant at the Eastbourne Marina. A slight pleasant heat until I bit into a piece of chilli and ended up downing the table's water jug. Not fun.

I was planning to bring up the idea of training Superboy in super strength brawling with Diana, but now I'm not sure that it's practical. True, I actually can't learn that from her. We tried a couple of times but I haven't yet got the knack of increasing my physical strength while using my armour construct, not to the extent I'd need to in order to make a decent sparring partner for her at any rate. Plus, I really prefer making ranged attacks. Or maybe it's because I don't want to attack her? Not sure.

Superboy could spar on a more physically even basis, but unlike me he'd end up directly competing with Donna for the same type of tuition. Maybe I could suggest that she take part in our team's training as an additional teacher? I'm really more of a remedial case where fisticuffs are concerned.

I wonder exactly how enhanced Kaldur's strength is? I know that he's stronger than his mass suggests, and I know that Superboy is far stronger than him from the reports of their fight at Cadmus. Is there an actual super strength martial art? I remember wondering when watching the Justice League Unlimited cartoon why someone like Supergirl would bother hitting someone with a car when her flesh was far tougher than the metal of its body. Same with concrete or tarmac; slam a regular person into it and they get hurt. If Superman hit Solomon Grundy into either surface it would cushion his fall, compared to what would happen if he held onto the back of his head and kneed him in the face.

I turn from the parkland into the residential area. Alan actually gave me an electronic key for the gate and front door. Not sure how common those are here. I scanned it with the ring and I've used that every time since. Speaking of rings, I haven't seen him wear his since dropping me off at the mountain. I suppose he wants to conserve power, which is a sensible thing to do. After he finished talking to Lantern Jordan I asked him about the possibility of one of them letting him charge from their personal lanterns in an emergency and apparently the Guardians have made it clear to them that is not allowed. The local Corps members respect him, but he isn't part of the Corps and isn't permitted to use Corps equipment. At least they haven't tried to take his gear back. Wonder if they regret that decision now due to me?

None of the Green Lantern Corps members have said anything to me. I'm not complaining about them not hounding me, but the lack of any contact is making me a little nervous that they might just be biding their time. I think it's more likely that the Guardians are quietly panicking about the possibility that Larfleeze is on the move, and trying to pretend that nothing is wrong. If that is their concern, they might have ordered 'hands off' where I am concerned. I suppose, if I really want to know, there's nothing to stop me approaching one of them and just asking. If I decide to do that, Guy's the best bet. Something to think about.

Making most things is easy when you have a power ring. But most things I make aren't much easier to make, Kon's inner ear being the obvious exception. When I bake, a construct whisk is a little better than an electric whisk, but the main advantage is that you can hold a conversation at the same time due to the lack of noise, not that the whisking gets done any faster.

Making ice cream on the other hand becomes ridiculously easy. Though the first stage is the same as doing it the normal way, the cooling and freezing is much faster when you can play around with thermodynamics without having to wait for a comparatively inefficient freezer to do the cooling. The gooseberry ice cream that we'll be having with the chocolate pudding later is floating in a freezer construct in the middle of the kitchen, simultaneously being solidified and whisked.

Turns out that as a long time bachelor… No, that isn't right, he was married… Widower? Does it count if the marriage was annulled? Whatever, a single man. As a long time single man Alan is quite a good cook, and has many years' barbecue experience. The main course today is a selection of marinated chicken parts, sweet corn and vegetable skewers. I think that the last part is a concession to me, given my distaste for salad. He's in the back garden now setting it up.

I can't put the chocolate pudding together until it's cooking time plus fifteen minutes before we want to eat it. A strobe of orange light has already cleaned the surfaces and the few physical utensils I've used. Really cuts down on washing up duty. Sticking a lid on things that you're whisking is pretty useful as well. Alan told me that he'd never thought to use his ring for such mundane matters, but that having seen me do it he could see the benefit.

Ding dong.

"I'll get it!"

I deposit the frozen ice cream into a large bowl, cover it with cling film and put it in the freezer section of the kitchen fridge. Then I walk to the door and open it. Diana's wearing a pale cream blouse and dark blue trousers. A flicker of OrangeVision reveals that she's wearing her armoured bustier underneath and has her bracers and tiara in her handbag. Standing just behind her, wearing blue jeans and a red t-shirt with some sort of gold-coloured bird across the chest, is Troia. I smile. Need to thank Wallace for cluing me in.

"Hello! Come on in, Alan's just setting up."

"Thank you, Paul." I step back into the hallway and she steps forwards across the threshold. My eyes flick to Donna's and I smile a little more. "Paul, this is-."

"Donna Troy, aka 'Troia'." I extend my left hand as she comes into the house. After a momentary pause she takes it. "Orange Lantern two eight one four. You already know my name."

She isn't wearing her -I presume armoured- costume.

"Hello." Her face is in neutral. Not sure whether she's making an effort to be reasonable, or if Diana gave her enough notice for the shock to have worn off.

Might as well ask… "When'd you find out about me?"

Her eyes move to Diana for a moment. "Yesterday."

She doesn't sound happy about it.

"If it's any consolation I only found out about you a few hours ago."

"What?"

And suddenly I can't move my hand. Super strength demonstrated at close quarters in this way is alarming in the same way Wallace's bursts of speed are. You're forced to confront the fact that you are dealing with someone who isn't playing by the same rules as you. I noticeably outmuscle her, but unless I use the ring my hand is not moving.

"You haven't seen any of the news footage of all the times Diana and I fought together?"

"I've been here three weeks, and I've mostly been researching supervillains, not heroes. Did a quick search to see if there was a Wonder Girl, but, um…"

She releases my hand. Her eyes move to the side, her hands on her hips. Alright, so she's clearly not okay with me. "The Ares-worshipping cult in Utah?"

I shrug. "Sorry."

"The Sirens off the coast of Michigan?"

"Um, look, I've been-"

"What about the time Doctor Psycho took the entirety of Staten Island hostage?"

Doctor Edgar Cizko is a scary little man. I've actually read up on that mission, but I think she was listed as 'other League assets'. Probably not the best angle to take.

"Have you heard of Accomplished Perfect Physician? Or John Constantine?"

She pauses for a moment, brow furrowing slightly. "No. Who are they?"

"The first is a super… Well, in China they call them super-functionaries. You've never heard of him because China doesn't like people with super powers and independent turns of mind. The second is a notable member of London's magic scene. I think Mister Zatara knows him. Knows of him, anyway."

"Your point being?"

"I'm very new at this. There's a lot of things I don't know. You, are one of those things, and I'm not saying-." She goes to interrupt but I plough on, hands making the praying gesture. "I'm not saying what you've done isn't important. It is. I'm just saying, it's a big world with lots of stuff in it and you're one of the things I haven't got round to finding out about yet."

Her arms cross at her chest, weight shifted back. "… Fine."

Diana tries to ease the tension. "Paul, is Alan in the garden?"

"Er, yes, he's setting up the barbecue. Said something about using the right types of wood?"

"Very well. Donna, shall we?"

She holds out an arm and waits until a slightly hesitant Donna walks past her down the hallway towards the back door. I guess she's been here before. Diana waits for a moment. "Paul, I didn't tell you about her because-."

"You wanted to be sure I could be trusted before introducing me to your apprentice. I'm not offended. It's a perfectly sensible thing to do."

"That was part of it, to start with, but… Really, I assumed that you'd have found out by now. After all…" She makes circles with her hands and raises them to her eyes. "She doesn't even wear a tiny mask."

She lowers her hands, and with a smile in my direction follows Donna out the back. I stand stock-still. I'm not surprised that the mountain has cameras. I'm not even all that surprised that she saw the recording of me talking to Wallace. What I can't quite get my head around, is…

Did I just get trolled by Wonder Woman?