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Chapter 301: Regular Meeting
“Orin Vale? Orin Vale, are you there?”
Kara leaned halfway across the table, waving a small hand in front of Orin Vale’s face.
Orin Vale snapped out of it. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
To be more precise, he was handling other matters.
After all, while he appeared to be sitting in the Cafe talking to her, he was also simultaneously out in the universe. At that very moment, his avatar had just finished packing up the spoils from Almerac and was heading back with the warship.
Multitasking was gradually becoming his specialty, though he sometimes still tended to invest too much energy into one task. When his focus shifted to one thing while the other was relatively idle, he would occasionally zone out for a moment.
It was like staring at the blackboard in class, with the teacher's voice going in one ear and out the other, and forty minutes would pass with his mind still a complete blank.
“Eh? Do you have trouble concentrating, too?” Kara tilted her head. “I remember hearing Old Wizard say he had a similar problem. I think he was taking some kind of medicine... Kidney-something-or-other.”
“Nonsense, utter nonsense!” the Old Wizard shouted, popping up from out of nowhere.
Hal swirled his coffee cup and said with a grin, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a common problem for many people these days. Not even the greatest wizard is immune.”
The Old Wizard shot him a glare and grunted twice in displeasure.
“Why are you all here again? Don’t you have your own base or something?”
The Old Wizard’s gaze swept over the world’s strongest heroes, a colorful assembly of various uniforms, and he puffed out his beard.
The members of the Justice League exchanged glances.
“Superman is the chairman of The League. He decided to move the regular meeting here,” Barry said.
Superman said earnestly, “The coffee here is really good.”
Diana added, “And they have the best ice cream.”
Batman said coolly, “In fact, Superman and I are currently tied in votes. We haven't decided who the chairman is yet.”
“That’s because Big Blue abstained,” Hal said.
Superman thought for a moment. “Actually, I’m starting to think my decision was a bit hasty. Maybe I should have voted for Batman.”
“Take back that dangerous thought immediately,” Hal yelled. On the issue of the chairmanship, he was a staunch anti-Batman supporter, which was likely related to Batman previously threatening to extinguish his ring.
Even Superman had once complained that “Batman is probably the most unlikable superhero on the planet,” but of everyone in The League at present, Hal was the one who got along with Batman the least.
Coffee was one thing, but the regular meeting still had to be held. Each person stood up to give a report, detailing the cases they had been handling and the supervillains they had encountered. They shared information on the superpowers, personalities, backgrounds, and counter-strategies for any new faces.
Among them, Batman and The Flash had even prepared serious PowerPoint presentations. Although Hal hadn't prepared one, his ring could directly project images from his mind, and the effect was much the same.
During this time, it seemed that all the members of The League had handled many problems in their respective domains, but there were no threats they couldn't control. If anyone had experienced a major life change, it would have to be Hal.
When he mentioned a villain named "Star Sapphire" who had recently appeared in Coast City, Barry couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "Carol Ferris... Wait, isn't she your...?"
“Ex-girlfriend,” Hal said, his face fallen.
“Ex... you two broke up?” Barry asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Some damn purple stone possessed her, twisted Carol’s mind, and turned her into a villain. I subdued her and managed to separate her from the stone,” Hal said sullenly. “But she thinks maybe we’re not right for each other, that maybe the two of us just can’t... make things work. We’re both people who can’t stop, always busy. And our life paths are just drifting further and further apart... so that’s that.”
Orin Vale understood immediately. The thing called "Star Sapphire" was actually the violet light of love from the Emotional Spectrum. But unlike the relatively gentle spectrums like green and blue, the Star Sapphire's was one that severely distorted and influenced the user's mind, making it extremely difficult to master.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Hal,” Barry said.
“It’s fine. That was a week ago,” Hal let out a long sigh, then something seemed to occur to him. “By the way, you never talk to me about your life, Flash. Come on, tell me, do you think you’ve met your soulmate yet?”
He leaned on Barry’s shoulder, waggling his eyebrows.
“Uh, let’s not,” Barry said with a look of disgust. “The last time I brought a date to dinner with you, you started hitting on her within two minutes.”
Barry was already a socially awkward bookworm, with an EQ that wasn't even a fraction of his IQ. That day, they had barely sat down at the restaurant when, within three sentences, the girl was laughing and joking with Hal. By the end of the night, Barry had the startling realization that *he* was the third wheel.
He had learned his lesson since then. As the saying goes: guard against fire, guard against thieves, and guard against a Green Lantern. In any case, he would definitely avoid this guy in green on future dates.
“Haha, ahaha... did that really happen?” Hal laughed dryly.
Superman said with a straight face, “That’s not good, Lantern. It's wrong to hit on your friend’s girlfriend.”
“Alright, I know. I’d just had a bit too much to drink,” Hal grumbled.
Superman said, “And watch your language. Cursing is also wrong.”
Hal shut his mouth and raised his hands in surrender, indicating he would stay quiet.
Orin Vale recorded everyone’s report. On one hand, it was to keep up with firsthand intelligence on the emergence of supernatural energy and the awakening of superpowers on Earth. On the other, it was also to fulfill his duties as the Justice League's liaison under his cover identity.
After all, he couldn't wait until it was time to report only to find that Agent Mike knew nothing about what the Justice League had been up to, right?
“Speaking of which, A.R.G.U.S. wanted me to pass along a question,” Orin Vale said. “They want to know if you've considered recruiting new members... In fact, they’d like to recommend a few candidates.”
“So Waller can plant her pawns among us? No, thank you,” Batman said coldly. “Why don’t you take a message to Waller for me instead? I’ve noticed her little pet project, her so-called ‘Suicide Squad.’ It’s a complete mess. Tell her to shut that project down, or I’ll handle it myself.”
Orin Vale leaned back in his chair and smiled.
“You could very well go to her office and discuss this with her in person. I’m sure that wouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?”
Batman snorted and said nothing more.
“There have been some strange things happening in Metropolis recently,” Superman said after a moment of thought.
“I’ve caught some remnants of Intergang... Yes, I also thought they were finished, but it turns out they’re still around. They mentioned that no one knows the identity of their current leader, but he seems to be a shriveled, ugly fellow in a hood, with a withered and gaunt body. There are rumors he's an alien, but he could also be a mutated metahuman. I’m still trying to locate him…”
“Wait, say that again?”
Orin Vale frowned.
“Desaad is still on Earth?”
“De-who?”
Superman was taken aback.
“Who’s that?”
(end of chapter)
“Orin Vale? Orin Vale, are you there?”
Kara leaned halfway across the table, waving a small hand in front of Orin Vale’s face.
Orin Vale snapped out of it. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
To be more precise, he was handling other matters.
After all, while he appeared to be sitting in the Cafe talking to her, he was also simultaneously out in the universe. At that very moment, his avatar had just finished packing up the spoils from Almerac and was heading back with the warship.
Multitasking was gradually becoming his specialty, though he sometimes still tended to invest too much energy into one task. When his focus shifted to one thing while the other was relatively idle, he would occasionally zone out for a moment.
It was like staring at the blackboard in class, with the teacher's voice going in one ear and out the other, and forty minutes would pass with his mind still a complete blank.
“Eh? Do you have trouble concentrating, too?” Kara tilted her head. “I remember hearing Old Wizard say he had a similar problem. I think he was taking some kind of medicine... Kidney-something-or-other.”
“Nonsense, utter nonsense!” the Old Wizard shouted, popping up from out of nowhere.
Hal swirled his coffee cup and said with a grin, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a common problem for many people these days. Not even the greatest wizard is immune.”
The Old Wizard shot him a glare and grunted twice in displeasure.
“Why are you all here again? Don’t you have your own base or something?”
The Old Wizard’s gaze swept over the world’s strongest heroes, a colorful assembly of various uniforms, and he puffed out his beard.
The members of the Justice League exchanged glances.
“Superman is the chairman of The League. He decided to move the regular meeting here,” Barry said.
Superman said earnestly, “The coffee here is really good.”
Diana added, “And they have the best ice cream.”
Batman said coolly, “In fact, Superman and I are currently tied in votes. We haven't decided who the chairman is yet.”
“That’s because Big Blue abstained,” Hal said.
Superman thought for a moment. “Actually, I’m starting to think my decision was a bit hasty. Maybe I should have voted for Batman.”
“Take back that dangerous thought immediately,” Hal yelled. On the issue of the chairmanship, he was a staunch anti-Batman supporter, which was likely related to Batman previously threatening to extinguish his ring.
Even Superman had once complained that “Batman is probably the most unlikable superhero on the planet,” but of everyone in The League at present, Hal was the one who got along with Batman the least.
Coffee was one thing, but the regular meeting still had to be held. Each person stood up to give a report, detailing the cases they had been handling and the supervillains they had encountered. They shared information on the superpowers, personalities, backgrounds, and counter-strategies for any new faces.
Among them, Batman and The Flash had even prepared serious PowerPoint presentations. Although Hal hadn't prepared one, his ring could directly project images from his mind, and the effect was much the same.
During this time, it seemed that all the members of The League had handled many problems in their respective domains, but there were no threats they couldn't control. If anyone had experienced a major life change, it would have to be Hal.
When he mentioned a villain named "Star Sapphire" who had recently appeared in Coast City, Barry couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "Carol Ferris... Wait, isn't she your...?"
“Ex-girlfriend,” Hal said, his face fallen.
“Ex... you two broke up?” Barry asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Some damn purple stone possessed her, twisted Carol’s mind, and turned her into a villain. I subdued her and managed to separate her from the stone,” Hal said sullenly. “But she thinks maybe we’re not right for each other, that maybe the two of us just can’t... make things work. We’re both people who can’t stop, always busy. And our life paths are just drifting further and further apart... so that’s that.”
Orin Vale understood immediately. The thing called "Star Sapphire" was actually the violet light of love from the Emotional Spectrum. But unlike the relatively gentle spectrums like green and blue, the Star Sapphire's was one that severely distorted and influenced the user's mind, making it extremely difficult to master.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Hal,” Barry said.
“It’s fine. That was a week ago,” Hal let out a long sigh, then something seemed to occur to him. “By the way, you never talk to me about your life, Flash. Come on, tell me, do you think you’ve met your soulmate yet?”
He leaned on Barry’s shoulder, waggling his eyebrows.
“Uh, let’s not,” Barry said with a look of disgust. “The last time I brought a date to dinner with you, you started hitting on her within two minutes.”
Barry was already a socially awkward bookworm, with an EQ that wasn't even a fraction of his IQ. That day, they had barely sat down at the restaurant when, within three sentences, the girl was laughing and joking with Hal. By the end of the night, Barry had the startling realization that *he* was the third wheel.
He had learned his lesson since then. As the saying goes: guard against fire, guard against thieves, and guard against a Green Lantern. In any case, he would definitely avoid this guy in green on future dates.
“Haha, ahaha... did that really happen?” Hal laughed dryly.
Superman said with a straight face, “That’s not good, Lantern. It's wrong to hit on your friend’s girlfriend.”
“Alright, I know. I’d just had a bit too much to drink,” Hal grumbled.
Superman said, “And watch your language. Cursing is also wrong.”
Hal shut his mouth and raised his hands in surrender, indicating he would stay quiet.
Orin Vale recorded everyone’s report. On one hand, it was to keep up with firsthand intelligence on the emergence of supernatural energy and the awakening of superpowers on Earth. On the other, it was also to fulfill his duties as the Justice League's liaison under his cover identity.
After all, he couldn't wait until it was time to report only to find that Agent Mike knew nothing about what the Justice League had been up to, right?
“Speaking of which, A.R.G.U.S. wanted me to pass along a question,” Orin Vale said. “They want to know if you've considered recruiting new members... In fact, they’d like to recommend a few candidates.”
“So Waller can plant her pawns among us? No, thank you,” Batman said coldly. “Why don’t you take a message to Waller for me instead? I’ve noticed her little pet project, her so-called ‘Suicide Squad.’ It’s a complete mess. Tell her to shut that project down, or I’ll handle it myself.”
Orin Vale leaned back in his chair and smiled.
“You could very well go to her office and discuss this with her in person. I’m sure that wouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?”
Batman snorted and said nothing more.
“There have been some strange things happening in Metropolis recently,” Superman said after a moment of thought.
“I’ve caught some remnants of Intergang... Yes, I also thought they were finished, but it turns out they’re still around. They mentioned that no one knows the identity of their current leader, but he seems to be a shriveled, ugly fellow in a hood, with a withered and gaunt body. There are rumors he's an alien, but he could also be a mutated metahuman. I’m still trying to locate him…”
“Wait, say that again?”
Orin Vale frowned.
“Desaad is still on Earth?”
“De-who?”
Superman was taken aback.
“Who’s that?”
(end of chapter)
