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Speed of Lyght	By : JLinz Category: DC Verse Cartoons > Justice League Views: 6137 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics, Marvel, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited nor any of the characters from either series. I do not make any monetary value from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Chapter Twenty-Two: Task Force
As Kara and Tabitha assessed the damage to the space station, they discussed a few things. The Ultimen were a group of five superheroes who were genetically conceived by Cadmus who were to be absolutely loyal to the government. However, their genetic codes were flawed and the five succumbed to massive cellular degradation. No one knew that they were a Cadmus project until the attack aboard Watchtower. Another thing that bothered Tabitha was Kara learned that Galatea’s mission was to outright destroy Watchtower, in retaliation of the laser firing. She knew that the President would not had ordered such an attack and wanted to speak to him, as well as check on the founding members.
“You’re the one I spoke with over the phone?”
“Yes, sir…” old habits died hard; she actually saluted. The President smirked, saluting her back.
“Prior service…”
“That’s right. Sir, I have some information that, well… I would also like the founding members to hear as well…”
“I knew that sooner or later someone would want to speak with them…” he nodded slowly and motioned for the others to appear; the only member missing was Bruce.
“Tabitha. Where’s Kara?” Clark immediately asked.
“She’s fine… I ordered her to rest. We were attacked. Twelve missiles bored into the hull, releasing a bunch of Ultimen clones… and Galatea, Supergirl’s clone.”
“Is everyone alright?”
“For the most part.” she told Clark; Tabitha couldn’t help but to notice that the President’s face looked almost drained of color.
“Who… ordered the attack?” the President finally found his voice.
“We’re going by what the clone said, sir. She said that she was sent to destroy the Watchtower base in retaliation of the laser going off. We can only assume that it was a Cadmus order…”
“I see. The director called me, wanting me to issue the attack. I told her to stand down…” he gritted through his teeth. Tabitha stopped holding her breath; so the President didn’t order the attack, “Is Batman with you?”
“No, sir. He’s investigating the hack on our system.”
“Any suspects?” he asked. She knew that Bruce didn’t outright say who was responsible… however, with all the information before them, they both knew who really was.
“… Lex Luthor. We also have information that he’s a huge benefactor for Cadmus. If it makes you feel better, I’ve deactivated the cannon. The only way someone can activate it… is from this very panel, now…” Tabitha announced. She received surprised looks from everyone and slightly blushed.
“I want to apologize for my harshness earlier…”
“Very understandable, sir.”
“The founding members are released. I’m assuming that they’re needed to help track down Luthor and end this mess. Tabitha, is it?”
“Yes, sir?”
“… A job well done.” he smiled and let the founding members take over the screen.
“Tabitha, how many members are available to help out?” J’onn asked.
“Not too many. We’re assessing all the damage now and tending to the wounded. There’s no official count yet…”
“Continue to tend to them and the repairs, then.”
“I’ll get in contact with Batman and let him know that you’re coming to help. Should I send members as needed?”
“… It’s your call. We’ll keep you posted.”
“Thank you… sir…” she gave the Martian a smile and a half salute before ending the transmission. When she turned around, she was looking into the blue eyes of Kara’s, “Holy hell; don’t sneak up on me like that! You should be resting…”
“I’ll be fine. So… what’s the verdict?”
“They’re being released so they can help Bruce track down Luthor.” she said. Before even thinking about, Tabitha contacted Bruce to let him know of the situation. Afterwards, she made an announcement for all members to report to the control room. She was glad to see that not too many were missing or even hurt, “We’re gonna need three teams: one to help tend to the wounded, one to help with repairs and one to relieve the team that’s still on rescue. Those helping the wounded, stay with Kara; those helping with repairs, report to me. The others, standby. If you’re wounded, I don’t care how small; get checked out before you do anything.” she nodded at the group. The one thing that warmed her heart was that the group complied. Kara looked at her and smiled.

“You know… I modeled my outfit in honor of my mentor; maybe it’s high time you did the same…”

An hour passed as the groups worked together. She tried to make herself busy, switching between completing repairs and checking with the wounded. However, Tabitha couldn’t help but to notice that she had heard no word from J’onn or any of the founding members. She was tempted to contact them herself but figured that they were just as busy as Watchtower was.
“Ma’am!” one of the civilian guards quickly approached her, “There’s something on the news you may want to see!” he informed her. She nodded and followed the guard back to the control room where Kara had the news station broadcasting on one of the monitors. There was live coverage of what was happening near the LexCorp building in Metropolis; the seven founding members were battling someone who looked like Lex Luthor.
“What’s that he’s wearing…?” Tabitha squinted at the screen; he looked as though he was wearing a full gold armored body suit. His head was blue with three circular orbs glowing in the form of a V almost around his head. Kara noticed the symbol and gasped.
“Brainiac!”
“… Who…?”
“He’s an alien android. He fuses with anything that he can just so that he can absorb all of its knowledge and then destroys it.”
“So… he’s fused with Luthor… and he’s gonna destroy him…?”
“It’s not that simple. Brainiac has the power to absorb a whole planet’s knowledge…” she looked at Tabitha. The lightning woman widened her eyes.
“Well… that ain’t good!”
“Exactly!”
“We gotta go help…”
“We can’t; they’re counting on us to hold down the home front…”
“Which we’ve already done. Kara, we can’t let ‘em fight that thing alone! Look; they’re getting their asses whipped!” she pointed towards the screen, “You’re Clark’s cousin; you have the same powers as he does! I got lightning to back me up! Let’s… go…” she pleaded. After three years, the founding seven had become her dear friends; it was killing her to watch them slowly fall one by one… especially her boyfriend.
“… Are you doing this to save our mentors… or are you doing this so that you can get a few licks in on Luthor…?” Kara asked sincerely. Tabitha smirked.
“Okay… I ain’t gonna lie and say that the thought didn’t cross my mind…”
“Tabitha…”
“I ain’t gonna kill him! I do owe him an ass whooping, though! It’s being filmed; why would I risk killing him on national TV? Wait a sec… J’onn said that it’s my call to teleport members. So, I’m making the call; we’re going!
“You are certainly a risk taker…”
“One of the best!”
The two teleported just in time as the Luthor/Brainiac fusion created android replicas of the Justice Lord to stave off the attack from the others. The hybrid glanced Kara and Tabitha’s way and created an android Galatea to face off against Kara. Each Justice Lord was pitted against their normal counterpart, trying to goad and taunt them about their weaknesses and fears. Tabitha froze as she watched the Justice Lord J’onn approach his replica. The Martian smirked.
“My weaknesses are your weaknesses; there is nothing you can do to make me doubt myself…” he said. Justice Lord J’onn smirked back at him and with rapid speed, appeared right in front of Tabitha. Just like in her nightmare, the Justice Lord grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up in the air.
“Looks like I found your weakness… she’s definitely not mine!”
“Tabitha!” J’onn panicked. The Justice Lord just evilly smiled at Tabitha.
“Do you remember what I said to you? That you would pay with your life for your defiance?” he continued to smile cruelly at her. Her mind was reeling; the scene was playing out almost exactly as it had in her dream. There wasn’t anything that she could do; he was indeed stronger and she didn’t have her powers to defend herself…
That thought made her stop struggling and return the sadistic smile.
“Yeah… I remember. But… that was a dream and this…” she started to charge up, “This is reality! Oh, and if I’m not mistaken… you’re just a robot…” she released all of her energy, electrocuting the android. J’onn approached her and embraced her tightly.
“… What are you doing here…?”
“Helping out. And, don’t tell me to go back; you said to send members and that’s what I did!”
“He could’ve killed you…”
“Nah… that’s what you’re here for, right…?” she winked at him. He gave her a smirk before looking around for the others. They had easily defeated their doppelgangers as well and were approaching the machine the hybrid had created to absorb, destroy and recreate the universe, “That’s our real target?”
“You can say that…”
“Done deal…” she did a Lightning Cloud towards it and began to destroy it alongside the other members.
“Tabby! How fast can you go…?” Wally switched glances from the hybrid to his friend. She shrugged.
“Never clocked myself…”
“Remember when you trained with J’onn?” he winked. She slightly perked up and looked over at the hybrid.
“My pleasure!” she said and both took off quickly. She didn’t have time to worry about why Wally went the opposite direction, away from the Luthor/Brainiac hybrid; she did the same moves as she did when she trained with J’onn, hitting the hybrid as hard and fast as she could using Lightning Cloud. A few seconds later, she saw a red streak coming towards the two from the opposite direction and moved out of the way. She blinked as he hit the hybrid hard enough to tear off a chunk of its armor and realized what just happened; Wally had encircled the globe. She smiled when she figured out the plan; she would weaken and distract the hybrid while Wally made his trek around the globe.
The two played out this plan several times, with Wally appearing in a shorter time than the last. Tabitha finally succumbed to exhaustion as she dropped to her knees and watched as Wally’s finally trek only took him a mere second. She knew that something was wrong; energy from his speed flowed all over his body, making noticeable crackling sounds and his hands were vibrating. He placed his hands on what remained of the armor and destroyed it completely, leaving Luthor in a small crater.
“W-Wally…” Tabitha mustered as much strength as she could to make it over to her friend, who wobbled as he stood. Before she could make it over to him, he suddenly disappeared from sight, “F-FLASH!!!!” her eyes widened. Adrenaline kicking in, she quickly looked around for any signs of him. Her search was interrupted by the slight and exhausted laughter coming from the crater.
“Well, what do you know; I did end up killing him![1]” Luthor mused. Anger filled her veins as she glared down at him.
“You… you… you son-of-a-bitch…” she didn’t care that her vision started to blur; she had fully welcomed the loss of control. Before she could reach him, Clark immediately grabbed him, enraged himself. Breathing erratically, his eyes began to glow red, a sign that he was about to use his heat vision. Tabitha’s breathing matched his as sparks and waves of electricity flowed over her clenched fists. J’onn and Diana prepared to intervene however Bruce stopped both of them.
“No… let them decide on their own…[2]” he told both of them.
“She’s blacking out!”
“She knows how to control it; give her a chance!” Bruce growled back at J’onn, “She knows what she needs to do…” he actually had to reassure himself. He was there when she confessed how she really felt about the ordeal Luthor had put her through; he had hoped that she would not let those feelings consume her.
Clark finally closed his eyes, still angry and threw Luthor to the ground, shaking his head.
“I’m nothing like the Justice Lord version… I will not stoop to his… or your level!” he declared and walked away. Tabitha, on the other hand still slightly glowed from the lightning that flowed over her body. She slowly but angrily walked over to Luthor.
“Tabitha… no…” Shayera whispered.
“You… invaded my dreams. You held me hostage in my own fucking body... you… killed… my friend; why should I let you live?!?!” she raged, the life leaving her brown eyes. Luthor stared up at her in horror as more electricity started to quiver around her body. Before she let the rage blind her, she thought about everything Luthor had put her through as well as other members of the Justice League. Just when she was about to unleash all of the power that was building up inside of her, one more thought came to her mind: Justice League members did not kill. She then remembered that everything that was going on… was being broadcasted live. She couldn’t let herself kill him, no matter what he had done, especially in front of a live audience… and her fellow Justice League comrades. She started to control her breathing and crouched down into a ball, immediately stopping her flow of lightning. Her tears followed as her vision returned fully, shaking her head. She glared at Luthor, who was still shaking in fear. The other members held their breaths as she approached and roughly grabbed him. She got closer to his ear, “On second thought… I’d rather see you suffer through J’onn’s hands!” she dropped him and wearily made her way towards her friends. J’onn had heard what she told him and kept his smile to himself; something else had caught his attention: he could still feel Wally. He looked in the direction where he sensed him the most.
“J’onn…?” John looked at him.
“He’s… still alive; I can sense him.” he walked in the direction where he sensed him, “Here…”
“W-What’s… there…?” Tabitha asked.
“He tapped into the Speed Force…” J’onn tried to explain. Without warning, Shayera took her mace and slashed it in the air where J’onn pointed. As she slashed the air, a portal opened. She didn’t wait for Shayera to make a move; Tabitha rushed towards it and threw her arm into the portal.
“Flash!!”
“Tabitha, no!” Shayera panicked as she saw that the force inside the portal was trying to pull her inside. She quickly grabbed her hand however she felt that she was being pulled as well. The members formed a chain to keep the two from being sucked into the Speed Force.
“… I got him!” Tabitha yelled; the group helped her pull him out of the portal. As he fell into her lap, she immediately hugged him as tight as she could, “Wally…”
“Tabby… don’t let me go that fast again. If I do… I don’t think I’m coming back…[3]”
“I won’t. That’s a promise. I can’t lose you…” she planted a small kiss on his forehead.
“Heh…”
“What…?”
“… I finally beat you…” he slightly smiled. She smirked and pinched him on his arm.

Every single Justice League member and the civilian crew from Watchtower gathered in Metropolis along with the media and other citizens for a press conference from the founding members. Tabitha took her spot beside Green Arrow and the two looked on as Clark stepped up.
“Formal apology?” he asked. Outside the Justice League, he was known as Oliver Queen. Tabitha was surprised to have learned that Bruce suggested him to join the League however once she saw how good of a marksman he was with his trick arrows, she knew that he had made a wise choice.
“Looks like it…” she quieted down to hear Clark. He cleared his throat and looked into the sea of people.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say… I’m guilty. We’re guilty of the sin of hubris. We had the best intentions to be Earth’s guardians, to keep you safe but… we failed you. We look down at the world from our tower in the sky and let our power and responsibility separate us from the very people we were supposed to protect. No one should ever be afraid of us. For that reason… we’re decommissioning Watchtower. We’re taking down the station. There’s more. We want to thank the members of the Justice League for your courageous service but in the future… you’ll have to act as independent agents. We’re not going to be an army anymore. As of right now… we’re disbanding the Justice League. This is the end.[4]” he announced to a shocked crowd. As the seven members turned to leave, Tabitha and Oliver stepped forward.
“Hold up! Now… I had my little worry when you said that you were taking down the station; that’s been my home for three years, now! I’ve fixed and upgraded a lot of stuff up there and I take pride in that! But… I don’t agree with disbanding the entire League! Look… you ain’t never been in the military; you’ve never been a part of a unit. But… that’s what we are. Actually… we’re more than that. We’re no army; an army only looks at individuals. We’re a team, we’re a… family. Someone in an army can’t tell you what someone else’s favorite color is. But… Flash knows mine; you all do. We know each other’s birthdays, we know that one little thing to do to brighten each other’s day… we know that someone’s favorite flower is a daisy!” she slightly smiled as laughter came from the crowd; she controlled her laughter as J’onn slightly glared at her.
“You remember what we did yesterday? We saved the world… again. You don’t think that has any value? Well, think again, pal! The Justice League goes on, with or without you. Look; nobody can question your service or commitment to making things better. If you’re quitting because you think you’ve already done your fair share, fine; we’ll throw you a parade! But if you’re quitting because it’s easier than continuing the fight then, you’re not the heroes we all thought you were. The world needs the Justice League…[5]” Oliver continued for Tabitha. The crowd erupted in a cheer and for the first time, Tabitha saw Clark blush.
“You can apologize for us acting like we’re higher than others. But to flat out quit? That ain’t the way we do things; at least that’s what I’ve learned being a member! Not to say that we’ll be better off without the seven of ya, but we’ll go on as a team without ya if we have to!” she finished. She was glad that she heard the approval murmurs from not only the other Justice League members but the crowd of civilians as well, “If you quit, you’re letting all the villains win… including the one from yesterday. We’re the good guys, remember? Good prevails over evil… always!”
“Hmm… quis custodiet ipsos custodies?[6]” Bruce almost mumbled. Tabitha arched her eyebrows at him as Oliver smiled.
“‘Who guards the guardians’?” he asked him and immediately threw his arm over Tabitha’s shoulder, motioning towards the group of superheroes, “We’ve got it covered…[7]”
“Yep!” she gave the seven a wide smile.
“A compromise may be in order, then…” J’onn thought aloud.
“Okay. How ‘bout… Watchtower stays, serves as a lookout in the sky… and we can build something down here on Earth…” Tabitha suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea. To remain in touch with the people, the Justice League will set up an embassy on Earth.” Clark smiled, more at Tabitha.
For his crimes, Lex Luthor was placed in prison without the chance of parole, something Tabitha was definitely glad of. The Cadmus group was disbanded as well however the League members knew that there would always be slight doubt and fear if any of them went rogue. They had hoped that the establishment of an Earth embassy would deter that fear; it would improve the relations between civilians and super humans. After much thought, the group decided that Metropolis would be the ideal place to open up the embassy, dubbing it Metro Tower.

“For your upcoming quiz, review chapters five and six. And, remember; tomorrow, I need you guys to turn in your topics for your assignment so that I can approve them. That assignment is twenty percent of your total grade! Now… get out of here and watch the roads!” the professor dismissed her class. As the students headed out, another professor entered her classroom.
“Dr. Lindsey, someone dropped this off for you…” the woman handed her an envelope. She shrugged and looked at it.
“Oh… okay… thanks…” she wondered where it was dropped off at; she had a mailbox for such things. When she opened it and read it, her heart dropped.
We have your children. If you want to see them again, follow these instructions. Do not inform the authorities or the Justice League. When you receive this, go to your home immediately.
“H-Hey, who dropped this… off…” Jamila looked up but saw that she was alone. Was this someone’s idea of a joke, she angrily thought as she packed up her things. It wouldn’t be very funny once she found out who was behind it, she thought as she made her way out of the building. If it wasn’t a prank, she remembered that the letter stated for her not to call the police or the Justice League… it said nothing about contacting her husband. She was about to call him until her cellphone rang; a private number. She usually ignored those but thought that it was too much of a coincidence, “Dr. Lindsey…” she cleared her throat.
“Did you get the note…?” the garbled voice asked. She stopped walking.
“Who’s this?” she demanded.
“You will do as instructed or you will never see your children, again!”
“This ain’t funny, whoever this is! I find out you’re playing with me…”
“Go home and check on your children, Dr. Lindsey; if you think this is a joke!” the voice threatened and immediately hung up. She ran to her car and rushed home; she couldn’t take the chance that this wasn’t a joke. She sighed out as she saw her husband’s car in the driveway; if someone had taken their children, he would’ve been the first to call her. When she opened the door, however, her heart sank lower into the ground as she saw that someone had ransacked the place. She dropped everything and ran upstairs to the children’s rooms.
“A.C.? Solonia? Jamil?!” she panicked. She had swung open both doors but found no children. A lump formed in her throat as she started to hyperventilate; someone actually did take her children. She ran into her room and immediately covered her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud; she found her husband beaten up, lying in the middle of the floor. She dropped to the ground and quickly gathered him in her arms, thankful that he was still breathing, “Oh, my God; Albert!! W-W-W-What happened?!”
“Now… do you believe that this is serious, Dr. Lindsey?” a man’s voice startled her. She looked up and saw a tall blond man in the doorway with piercing, almost inhuman blue eyes. She glared at him.
“Where are my children?!” she demanded. The man simply chuckled and threw his arm out, sending her body towards the wall. He slowly approached her with his hand still up, using some sort of magical force to keep her pinned to the wall.
“They’re safe… for now. Once the mission is complete, your children will be returned to you…” he told her calmly. More tears streamed down to her cheeks as she sobbed.
“If you hurt my babies…”
“You are in no position to issue any threats to me! Now… you will do as you are told and your children will remain safe. First things first… your communicator…” he held his other hand out. She slightly widened her eyes at him; how did he know about her communicator? She saw that he had released enough pressure away from her in order for her to do so. She reluctantly took it out of her ear and handed it to him. He placed it in his pocket and released the rest of his hold on her, making her drop to the ground, “Now… duplicate this five times…” he threw a badge at her. The professor looked at the badge and shot a look at the man.
“M-M-My… Watchtower ID… y-you’re gonna sneak aboard Watchtower?!”
“If any Justice League member is notified… including the Martian… you will never see your children again!”

After the announcement of establishing Metro Tower, there was a constant bustle aboard Watchtower; quite a few members volunteered to move down to Earth. Tabitha hadn’t made her decision yet however she helped the others move things back and forth between the two stations.
“Tabitha…” she stopped what she was doing at the sound of J’onn’s voice. He approached her, “I need to speak with you.” he simply told her. Overhearing, Diana came by and took the box from her.
“I’ll take over from here.” she volunteered as the two made their way to Tabitha’s room. No sooner had the door closed, J’onn embraced her and gave her a kiss. She sighed happily.
“Good to have things slightly back to normal…”
“I agree. I’m really proud of you for how you handled things.”
“Kara did all the work…”
“She didn’t. It was you who got everything back to running. You contacted Bruce and Wally. And… you saved him. You risked being sucked into the Speed Force to do so…” he pointed out. She gave him a shy smile and shrugged.
“I just… reacted. Kinda foolish…”
“In a way. However… I know that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to save a friend. It was very brave of you.” he kissed her on the forehead. J’onn remembered the real reason for his visit and smiled, “Will you be moving to Metro Tower?” he looked at her. His question made her think about her plan however she shrugged.
“I’m going wherever you’re going; you know that!”
“For the moment, it will be here. Who is to say if that should change in the near future?”
“Forgot; you’re a mind reader not a psychic!” she laughed, “Why you ask?”
“Call me curious. I know that being back on Earth is something that you miss…”
“A bit. Gotten so used to being up here… with you. If I make the decision to leave here… a nice place outside of Metro Tower would be nice…” she gave him a smirk. He only nodded, a bit disappointed.
“I would miss having you around me. However, if that’s what you want…”
“J’onn!” she almost laughed, “Really? That went over your head?!”
“… I’m confused…” he gave her a puzzled look. She sighed heavily.
“That was an invitation for you to move in with me, Martian! You know, have our own place together?” she confessed. It was enough for him to give her a surprised look; what he wanted to talk about could wait!
“Tabitha…”
“What? If you’re thinking it’s too soon, you can erase that thought right now! We’ve been together for two years. Hell; doc married Albert a year after they met!”
“Are you suggesting that we get mar…”
“W-What? No! I…” she stammered; she really hadn’t thought about marriage. She seriously was taking things one day at a time with the Martian, regardless of what she learned from her mission into the future. As far as she was concerned, nothing was ever truly set in stone, “I just want us to live together… wait… unless you’re truly uncomfortable with that…”
“I’ve grown quite accustomed to human ways. Is this what you truly want?”
“I don’t see the problem with it; we’re around each other twenty-four/seven as it is… might as well have a house together!” she explained. The idea had been in her head for quite some time. She admitted that she had an ulterior motive for her suggestion; for the two to live together, it was possible that they would have to finally tell everyone about their relationship: someone else would pick up on the fact that the two would be leaving Watchtower or Metro Tower together.
Having their own home; the thought actually warmed the Martian. While he had acquired a few places that he could call his own, he never had a home that he shared with anyone, not since he lived on Mars. He didn’t see it as a huge step; it wasn’t like he didn’t know the lightning woman, inside and out! He knew every single thing about her: her strengths, her weaknesses, her fears, her faults and her quirks. What she displayed aboard Watchtower would be what he would expect to see in the privacy of their own home.
Would this move force him into letting the others know how much he loved Tabitha, he wondered. While he considered a handful of League members friends, they still did not know the Martian as well as they thought. When he wasn’t assigning missions, he seldom spoke to anyone else; he tried to keep himself as isolated as possible. No one knew what he did “afterhours” or even during downtime; he somehow doubted that anyone would find out that the two were living together.
“That is something I would like very much…”

As everyone made themselves busy traveling back and forth between the two stations, no one noticed the unfamiliar civilians among the new shift coming aboard Watchtower. J’onn and Tabitha had made themselves busy over the main control panel, with Tabitha slightly rolling her eyes as the Martian spoke. He looked at her.
“Is this boring you…?”
“I just don’t get why you keep going over the same thing over and over again!”
“I just want to make sure that you comprehend…”
“Why you tryna beat this into my head? You know… you could save us both a headache if you’d just download the stuff in my brain!”
“I have offered to teach you several things and you have always declined; I’ve long since stopped trying. You can either take all of my offers or none; you can’t have the best of both worlds!” he eyed her. She gave him a smirk and opened her mouth, “Any condescending remarks you have, I am able to retaliate against now… I’ve been around you far too long…” he returned her smirk.
“You and your big words…” she mumbled.
“Would you like for me to download more vocabulary into your brain…?” he surprised her. She gawked at him.
“Wow… that… you’re really being a true smart ass today!” she had no other choice but to laugh; she actually enjoyed when the Martian acted that way, “So, how many folks moving to Metro Tower?”
“I’m not sure right now. Many are moving there temporarily, at least until Watchtower is completed of repairs. How much longer will that be?”
“I gotta make another check and then I can tell you. Those holes in the hull are gonna take a while; a week, maybe? I got some minor repairs that could take only a couple of hours.”
“Captain Atom and John could be made available; would that speed things up?”
“… It would. You know… you’ve been tryna rush me into these repairs; what’s going on?” she narrowed her eyes at him. She knew that he wasn’t an impatient person. He simply gave her a warm smile.
“Metro Tower needs a Monitor; I wanted to make sure that things were in order here before that happened.”
“… Oh; that’s understandable. Yeah… Metro Tower would need a few upgrades… maybe if I could just do the simple repairs and get a team to get to those holes, I could…” her train of thought was interrupted by J’onn’s laughter, “W-What…?”
“I find you quite charming when you’re oblivious! I would like to assign you as Monitor of Metro Tower.” he fully explained. She stared at him with widened eyes.
“Y-You’re… asking me to be Monitor?!”
“Yes. Kara told us how well you handled everything. You did not doubt any of the decisions that you made and for the most part, they were all sound ones. When I assigned you as temp Monitor, I never doubted your skills over the controls; that was the easy part. I wondered how you would handle the mental part of the job. You did very well… and you will do well at Metro Tower.”
“… It’s a big step…”
“One that I’m sure you’ll be able to handle. You’re willing to take the step for us to live together… but not to become Monitor…?”
“… Greater chance for me to screw up being a Monitor…”
“You will do just fine. You handled the President with… well, with better ease the second time around! For Watchtower to go through an attack as massive as it was… Kara and you made sure that everyone remained safe…”
“Then… why ain’t Kara being offered the job…?”
“I didn’t train her… I trained you. Have you not realized that I will be available if you need any help?” he asked her. Tabitha simply thought about his words. When she became a member of the League, she had never thought that she would be in any position of authority; as far as she was concerned, the founding seven were all that was needed. She was content just being a part of the team.
What made her look at him and smile was the fact that she knew he was impressed by how much she had learned and how calm she actually stayed under pressure. She also realized that he was right; J’onn hadn’t said anything about stepping down as Monitor of Watchtower: she would always be in contact with him if she needed help or even advice. Tabitha had nothing to worry about.
“Alright… I’ll accept.”

[1]-[7] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Divided We Fall”
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Speed of Lyght