Brotherly concern

John Stewart couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of space. While normally not a sentimental man, he sometimes felt the urge to take a step back from his responsibilities and simply bask in the glow of the universe. He’d visited dozens of star systems and read about hundreds more, but he hadn’t even scratched the surface of just how many there were throughout the cosmos. The reminder would have made most people feel small or even frightened, but to John it only emphasized the importance of his responsibility to ensure that all of it kept running and that the innocent were protected.

The lonely blue orb of his homeworld lingered beneath him as he approached the Watchtower. The gray-white station’s name perfectly suited its purpose. From it, the Justice League observed Earth and could react in minutes to threats anywhere on the planet.

It’s too bad Mari doesn’t like space. She’ll travel to the Watchtower when she has to, but she’ll only ever use the Boom Tubes.

The thought of his girlfriend brought a small smile to his face. He didn’t think it would be possible to trust someone so intimately after Shayera’s betrayal. He’d thrown himself into his work, and it was only a chance meeting with the newest members of the League that the two of them had been introduced to each other. Now, they saw each other at least twice a week and she’d already started dropping hints that she’d like to move in together.

Seems like we met a lifetime ago, even though it’s only been a few months.

He opened a commlink to the Watchtower.

“This is Green Lantern approaching Hangar Bay 2. Requesting permission to board.”

The link crackled for a moment before another voice answered.

“Permission granted,” the cold, stoic voice of Batman spoke back. “You realize Boom Tube is working just fine.”

The hangar bay doors opened along their middle, revealing a fully pressurized space beyond where Javelins, other craft, and their assigned maintenance crews stood protected by an unseen **** field.

John’s lips twitched upward slightly.

“I know,” he replied simply. Idly he wondered if Bruce ever imagined what it would be like to fly from Earth to the Watchtower with nothing but a Green Lantern ring to protect him. He vastly preferred that experience to teleportation, even if he had to respect the Boom Tubes’ ability to deploy him instantly to wherever he needed to be.

If Batman were irritated by his two-word answer he made no note of it.

“Meet me in Observation as soon as you can. There’s something we need to talk about. It involves Hawkgirl.”

John’s good mood evaporated instantly.

“What?”

Shayera, what have you done now?

An image of another Thanagarian fleet orbiting Earth popped into his head. Grimacing, he floated into the hangar bay. The doors closed behind him with a metallic thud. A few of the maintenance workers stopped what they were doing to look at him, but this was hardly the first time he’d come aboard through those doors.

He flew past them before they could engage him in conversation, the gray doors to the turbolift opening automatically for him. It took him less than a minute to reach the “highest” deck of the Watchtower.

The doors opened with a swish, revealing an expansive room beyond. The area was shaped like a trapezoid, the smallest side being the one that faced the station’s spinal column and where the turbolift shafts were. Computers and other sensitive equipment lined the room. Usually the entire area would be bustling with activity as the Justice League’s staff utilized the peerless processing power offered by the Watchtower to monitor developing situations across the globe.

The far side of the room was easily the largest. It was dominated by a window that always faced Earth. A relatively small desk sat in front of the window. A familiar black-costumed figure occupied the seat.

“John.” Batman addressed him without turning around. He typed away at a keyboard. The room echoed with the clicking of keys.

John hovered towards Batman. He set his feet on the floor behind his chair.

“What’s going on, Bruce? You said Shayera was involved in something. Do I have to let the Corps know the Thanagarians are sending another invasion fleet?”

“No,” Batman replied flatly. “Shayera hasn’t made any calls offworld and none of our extrasolar sensor stations have reported signs of an incoming fleet.”

“Than what the hell is this about?” John clenched his fists. He respected Batman, but sometimes he absolutely hated how aloof the man could be, especially towards matters that concerned the team.

Rather than answering, Batman typed a few commands on the keyboard. The screen he’d been looking at projected itself over the window showing Earth.

It looked like a recording taken from what looked like a restaurant security camera. The footage was rather grainy, but John could make out patrons dining at tables, servers delivering food, and the flash of headlights through the restaurant windows.

John opened his mouth to speak.

“Watch,” Batman interrupted him.

John glared at the back of Batman’s head for a moment before refocusing his attention on the footage displayed above.

Movement from the restaurant doors caught his attention. A young man smiled as he held the door open for a woman. He’d recognize her anywhere. She looked beautiful even through the grain of the restaurant camera. Her bright red hair mesmerized him like it always had, and drew his eyes to the beautiful face it framed like a picture. Her intelligent emerald eyes glowed through the camera footage. She wore plunging red dress beneath a trench coat she politely refused to take off when prompted by a diminutive blonde restaurant hostess.

Then the young man who’d held the door open for her entered the restaurant and pulled her into a kiss.

John wanted to look away, but he couldn’t.

I moved on. Shayera isn’t a part of my life anymore. She lied to me. She betrayed me and the entire planet.

Why did he feel so angry?

John remembered their first night together. She’d been worried that humans and Thanagarians weren’t compatible. That he’d reject her because of her wings. Seeing her so worried, so nervous, was such a stark contrast against the disciplined warrior he’d known and grown to love.

“I love you, John.”

He remembered the night he’d ended everything. It was the same day she’d quit the League to spare them from having to vote on her expulsion. Even after she’d burned bridges with the two worlds she’d called home, she was still thinking about others before herself. He’d been too angry, too hurt to realize it then. He’d hated the tears that shimmered in her eyes but never fell.

He stared at the video of her, the woman who would have been the love of his life. She and her new lover broke their kiss, and he finally saw her smile for the first time in months. It seemed warmer than any of the smiles she’d shown him. The realization was like a stab wound to the chest.

“Why are you showing me this? It’s not my business anymore who Shayera decides to date.”

For the first time, Batman looked back at him, and the coldness was absent from his blue eyes.

“Are you sure, John?”

The Green Lantern glared at him.

“Why do you even care? Shouldn’t you be happy she’s dating someone instead of plotting another invasion of Earth?”

He thought he saw Bruce’s expression soften for a moment, but it was more likely his eyes were just playing tricks on him.

“I don’t trust Shayera, but the two of you loved each other. Seeing you break up didn’t make me happy,” Bruce said. Then he turned to face the screen again.

The young man had taken Shayera’s hand and led her to a table near the window. The eyes of the other patrons were on them, as if sensing the affection brewing between them.

“Who is he?” John glared at the young man in the footage. He was dark-haired and handsome. A little on the young side, probably in his early twenties. He didn’t think Shayera liked younger men. How had he gotten her attention?

“Jason Hall. Nineteen years old. He’s a student at Gotham University,” Batman replied immediately, seemingly unsurprised by his question. He typed a few commands into his keyboard. The window screen shifted to show what looked like a student ID photograph of the boy in question. “No criminal or disciplinary record.”

John stared at the boy, for that was what he was. He hated him immediately, especially his smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

How could Shayera date a college student not even in his twenties? How could she just let him lead her to their table like that?

Something hot churned within his chest. Was it jealousy? Was it the knowledge that he, who prided himself on his masculinity, had been replaced with someone over ten years younger and not even nearly as strong? Whatever it was, he couldn’t ignore it.

“Thank you for letting me know about this, Bruce.”

Batman looked back at him again, cold blue eyes searching his. A few seconds passed before Bruce nodded. He typed another set of commands into his keyboard, and the camera footage as well as the picture of Jason Hall disappeared from the window.

He turned and left without saying goodbye. Bruce wasn’t the sort to care about such formalities. The fact that he’d invited him here was all the concern he’d ever show openly. John felt his respect for the man grow, even as the smirking face of Jason Hall taunted him from behind his eyelids.