Chapter 41 – Schooled Pt. 7

August 4, 2010 - Happy Harbor, RI

Mt. Justice

01:06:17

“The Toyman is in custody, but the gynoid managed to escape with the teleporter ‘toy box’. Superboy confirmed the gynoid is sapient and was operating under duress from Toyman, which was broken when his ‘Clockwork-Heart’ controller was broken. He was unable to stop her escape. But as Toyman originated the tech, or most of it, he is the greater prize. In addition, he let slip details that he may have had something to do with Professor Ivo’s disappearance.” Aqualass finished, her summary of the night’s mission complete. She spoke confidently; not making excuses but

The team stood opposite their Guild counterparts in the Hall: Aquawoman, Batwoman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Jesse Quick, and Martian Manhunter being present. The Queen of Atlantis gave a single approving nod to her protege, as all turned to Batwoman for the Guild’s evaluation of their performance.

Its hard to remember that she’s the Guild Chair and Batwoman is just our handler. Not that ‘just’ ever describes the Dark Knight. Considering her busy schedule, its amazing she has time for us. Superboy thought, the idea lightly tinged with bitterness.

“As you have no doubt learned, success in missions is rarely so easily quantified. Sometimes, like tonight, you have a partial win. Rarely do we ever have a complete win. Real life is not like scripted training scenarios. There are always complications, but your ability to handle those complications as they arise has impressed the Guild.” Batwoman stated simply.

The team were all smiles, except for Superboy, who crossed his arms and glanced to the side.

“The whole Guild?” He asked, emphasizing the totality but not daring to let himself hope.

Batwoman turned to him with an evaluating look.

“Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads.” She answered vaguely. But even that was enough to send a thrill through him.

Superwoman doesn’t think I’m a complete fuck up? …I’ll take it. He thought as he tried and failed to keep a grin off his face while looking off to the side. But as he did, Wonder Woman caught his eye and gave him a knowing and beatific smile in return.

“Of course,” Batwoman continued. “There’s no shame in asking for help. That’s why the Guild exists in the first place. Because there’s some problems that even we can’t handle individually.”

Superboy winced, recalling his own intransigence to the idea of calling in the Guild for help when the robot monkeys had stolen Darci back for Toyman.

How much better would this have gone if I had stumped for it, instead?

Robin stepped forward, and she gave him a reassuring look as he did so, before turning to confront her mentor.

“IF we needed help, we’d never even get the chance to ask. Does this look familiar?” She said as she drew the gold fletched arrow from behind her back, holding it up in accusation to Batwoman’s cowled face.

There had been a good deal of discussion after Darci had made her escape and they awaited a pickup for Toyman. Ms. Martian and Aqualass had arrived only minutes after the action had died down, disappointed they had missed it and left the other three to handle the whole issue. Nobody had any idea who Superboy had been talking about, and after a very confused conversation, they had confirmed Green Arrow didn’t have a sidekick or protege. At all. That had truly confused Superboy.

No Speedy means no Red Arrow or Arsenal. That’s the first time there hasn’t been some kind of doppelganger for a character I know. What does that mean? And if there isn’t, who was our mysterious back up archer? He thought, as Robin laid down her accusation.

Robin and Kid had been insistent that the golden arrow was just a bit of misdirection on the Guild’s part. Green Arrow with a back up quiver of different colored arrows to provide plausible deniability to their helicopter heroing.

“You were following us! Babysitting! You still don’t trust us!” The GIrl Wonder spat, handing the arrow to Batwoman, who examined it as Green Arrow approached and took it from her. He examined it closely, specifically the shaft and head.

“We didn’t follow you.” Batwoman quietly insisted, turning to Green Arrow as the Emerald Archer drew one of his arrows from the quiver on his back to compare the two side by side.

“This isn’t one of mine.” He said definitively, and Robin’s mouth fell open as she saw what he meant. They all could; the two arrows were very different. The green fletched arrows had black, carbon fiber shafts and heads shaped like one triangle piling into another. The golden arrow had an aluminum shaft and a diamond shaped head. More than that, the quality of materials was vastly different.

“This one is a Henry Hill Targeteer. They sell these in every sporting goods store with an archery section.” He said as he stroked his goatee. Turning back to Robin, he tossed her the golden arrow, which she caught. “Do you think I buy my arrows at retail prices?”

Robin held the arrow, examining the differences between what she held and what Green Arrow did, then her jaw clicked shut.

“Then… that’s not your arrow.” She admitted. “But then whose is it?”

Green Arrow and Batwoman shared a long look, before they turned back to the team.

“Investigating who your ally tonight was will be a Guild priority.” Batwoman said in a tone that brooked no argument.

“Okay… well, souvenir then!” Kid declared as she snatched the arrow back, holding it up in triumph.

With that mystery yet unsolved, the meeting broke up. Each of the team members pulled aside their mentors for private conversations; Aqualass receiving some kind of commendation from her queen, Ms. Martian animatedly describing her moves to her aunt’s quiet bemusement, Jesse and Kid laughing at some joke, and Robin seeming to be asking for something from Batwoman while throwing glances over her shoulder at him. Green Arrow headed for the Zeta-Tubes, tugging his beard thoughtfully. Superboy tuned his hearing away from his friends’ conversations, finding it good practice for training his super hearing to not eavesdrop on every discussion around him.

“Have you given any thought to my offer, Connor?” Wonder Woman’s angelic voice interrupted him.

He spun to face her, surprise writ on his face. She wore a gentle, teasing smile which made him flush. He wasn’t sure how she had snuck up on him like that.

“Uh, your offer?” He asked numbly, desperately trying not to get lost in her baby blue eyes again. It was a struggle.

“About training you. I spoke with Batwoman earlier, about your lack of a mentor among the Guild.” She explained with carefully schooled concern.

His face fell at the mention of his ‘lack’.

“Yeah, I… hadn’t thought about it yet. Its been a busy night.” He answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I understand, but I think it would be good for you. You clearly need instruction in the use of your powers, the consideration of when and how to use them, along with combat training. I would be happy to provide all three.” She replied confidently, putting her hands on her hips which only emphasized her curves and the powerful muscles in her shoulders. Connor felt himself staring a little too long as he digested her words.

I can’t actually argue with those points. It’s just…

He deflated slightly and tore his gaze away before he steadied himself with a breath and replied.

“I appreciate the offer, I really do. You’re right, I do need a lot of training. But…” He trailed off, too embarrassed to finish the thought.

“But what?” Wonder Woman asked, staring at him quite intently, letting the pause in the conversation hang an uncomfortably long time while she waited for his answer.

She’s not letting this go. Oy vey…

He glanced over his shoulder and jerked his head toward the rest of the team, still spread out around the room in consultation or just conversation with their mentors. Jesse and Kid remained boisterous and animated, and Manhunter smiled indulgently at Ms. Martian’s play by play of her battle with the robot monkeys. Aqualass and Robin’s interactions with their respective mentors were much more subdued in contrast, though Robin still appeared to be campaigning for something. Batwoman’s tiny nod of assent and her fist pump appeared to indicate her success, and she flashed Connor a wide grin before his attention returned to Wonder Woman.

“I really hoped… Superwoman would be my mentor. Like them.” Then, realizing what he had said, he threw up his hands and stammered out an apology. “Sorry! I mean, I meant-”

“It’s all right, Connor.” Wonder Woman said warmly as she put her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up into her beauteous face. Her eyes were soft with concern. “You had a difficult journey to come to us, and you wanted the person you felt the most connected to, to want to forge that connection.”

His head hung low as the weight of this morning’s disappointment descended back down upon his shoulders. After a beat, he replied to her softly.

“Back home, Superman was my favorite superhero. He was always good, always kind to people. I know she’s not him, but she’s just like him. It… hurts to come so far and see so many amazing things. But the person I want to… acknowledge me the most, doesn’t want anything to do with me.” He said, the floodgates opening now.

I’ve tried not to think about it because it just drives me crazy. All of this impossible stuff has happened, a dream come true… but Superwoman wants nothing to do with me. I get that it's weird for her, but did I screw up that much in Metropolis? Is it just me, in general? I’m ‘wrong’?

Wonder Woman brought her forehead down close to his, her tiara an inch from his head as she locked eyes on him. This close, his nose was full of her scent and he found it impossibly distracting. She stared deeply into his eyes like she was boring a tunnel into his soul, and he was entranced.

“Listen to me, Connor. You are not unworthy of Superwoman’s attention. You are a young man, gifted with incredible power, unmoored from everything you knew. You passed through Tartarus to come to us, and the first thing you thought to do with your power, in an awful situation, was to do good with it. To protect others. That is the stuff of which heroes are made.”

She said it with utter sincerity and truthfulness, and he read nothing mocking or satirical in her eyes, expression or voice. It frightened him, her intensity, but it also made him shed some of his callow doubts about himself. He straightened his back, raised his head and met her gaze. His heart filled with pride that Wonder Woman acknowledged him, that she saw him and thought him worthy. It buoyed him more than he could ever describe. He nodded, and she smiled, still as close as ever.

“Kala-El will come around in time. She has her own burdens to confront about this situation. Please do not think too harshly of her. Batwoman has already spoken to her on this matter, and we are confident that she can move past it. But we were speaking of you, and your future.” She said and then drew back to her full height. He was suddenly thankful for her physical distance as his flush receded slightly.

“You are without a mentor, and I find myself without a mentee. I would very much like to sponsor you in the Guild, and provide instruction in everything you lack. You are not from our world, and you come from one quite different to ours.” She stated authoritatively. “I think it would be beneficial to you to have someone instructing you who is more familiar with the kind of culture you told us you come from.”

“The kind of culture…?” He trailed off, not sure what she meant.

“A patriarchy.” She answered tersely, and he froze at the disapproving set of her perfect mouth, afraid he had somehow done something to offend her. Realization dawned on him what she was talking about, and he shook off his sudden and inexplicable guilt.

“Oh, yeah. It is pretty different here. I wondered if there was a course or a book I could read, like ‘So You’ve Found Yourself In Another Universe’, but no such luck.” He said, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck again.

“Thankfully, it is not something so common that we have an instructional course on it.” She said with a dainty, bell-like laugh. “There are, frankly, infinite things you do not know or think you know but do not that we should be teaching you. You have done very well to adjust so far on your own, and with the help of your comrades. It is good that you lean on them, but this will be your home from now on, so you should take efforts to educate yourself on our Terra and our history. Along with the more active portions, I would like to educate you on these topics as well.” Wonder Woman said, seriously this time, that strange intensity back that he could not place.

“I was gonna borrow some history textbooks and get cracking on those, since I don’t have a lot else going on…” He began, but she firmly shook her head at the suggestion.

“I have many issues with the state of public education in the world, but I would prefer you take instruction from me, as someone who understands your situation. Texts such as that are written to educate students who already have some idea of world history. I would not want you… to get the wrong ideas.” She finished, staring intently at him again.

She’s very… insistent on this. He thought, trying to puzzle out what was motivating Wonder Woman so much, but as she continued to stare, he reached for an answer so as not to make it any more awkward.

“Um, okay?”

She arched one flawless eyebrow at him in question, and he blushed like the schoolteacher had caught him sleeping in class. Clearing his throat, he tried again.

“I would be honored if you would be my mentor.” He answered, finally, this time meeting her gaze and keeping his voice steady. Or at least, he thought it was steady.

“Excellent.” She said with a nod, smiling. The subtle intensity in her gaze was back more than ever. “I will send you a training schedule in the morning. I have many duties, to Themiscyra, the Guild, and to the team, but I will make time for you. I am very glad you have accepted my instruction.” Wonder Woman finished, taking up his hands in hers, smiling brightly at him.

“Thank you, I really do appreciate it.”

Connor found himself smiling too.

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