Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from Justice League: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

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Author's Note:

First of all, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have read my small tales over the last three years. Secondly, this small offering is probably the most self-indulgent thing I done in the last 24 hours.

As some of you know everything I write starts out on a 5X8 card. But not everything I write ends up in a story or is ever published. So what you will read in the following pages is material (scenes and drabbles) that I deleted from various published stories for editorial and/ or technical reasons. Upon review, I decided that some of this unpublished work was good enough to share. Why? Because I liked the character inter-action or the turn of a phrase in a scene. (See? Self-indulgent.)

That said, I offer these pieces for what they are - scenes and drabbles written between July 2005 and November 2006. They are not stories although some with a little work could have been. None of this work has been betaed (so all the mistakes are mine) and should viewed as a rough snapshot into a character's world.

Again, my thanks to you for reading my previous stories. I hope you enjoy these snippets.

Bill

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The Pilgrimage

Oa - The Crypts of the Green Lanterns
(Sometime in the future)

Rex quietly played with his Batman action figure on the park bench in front of the building that Daddy called the Citadel. This toy was the one that Uncle Wally had given him and it was his favorite. He never went anywhere without it. He remembered how mad Mommy and Daddy were at Uncle Wally for giving him this toy, but Uncle Wally said that Batman was a legend that no one should forget, especially them. After that, they didn't say anything else to Uncle Wally about the toy again.

He, Mommy and Daddy had been traveling a long time in their space ship to get to this place. Daddy wore his green and black uniform and his special long green coat that allowed him to enter the building. Rex and Mommy had to stay outside.

Mommy didn't seem to mind being outside because she said that Green Lantern business always caused her problems. But she understood that Daddy had to come here because this is where Daddy worked.

Mommy never sat down when she and Rex traveled anywhere together. Even now, while Rex made Batman fly from one end of the bench to the other, Mommy stood in front of him looking at everybody who passed by. Mommy wore her black work clothes and her black mask. Most of time, she kept her big stick on her belt, but this time she was holding it in her hand and the big ball at the end was lighting up funny.

Daddy had been gone a long time. Rex turned to Mommy and said, "Is Daddy going to be much longer?"

Mommy looked down at him and smiled. Rex liked it when she smiled. Then she frowned like she was mad at everyone and started watching the people pass by again. "Not much longer," she said. "Do you remember coming here last year?"

Rex shook his head. Batman landed on the bench particularly hard this time. No had seen the real Batman in years, but everyone in preschool had told him that Batman couldn't fly. But Rex knew he could, he just didn't do it in front of the good guys.

"No," Rex answered. He didn't remember.

"Every year we come here so Daddy can remember his friends who died in a big battle many years ago," Mommy said. When it looked like someone was going to walk too close to the bench, Mommy would spread her wings and raise her stick. Mommy had very big wings and the passerby would hurriedly move away.

"Are all of Daddy's friends inside?" Rex asked.

"No, not all of his friends are here," Mommy answered. "And he's very sad about that. His teacher is here, but his student isn't." Mommy smiled again and turned her stick off. Then she pointed toward the door and said in the special language she'd taught him, "Look. Here comes your Daddy now."

Rex turned and saw Daddy walking toward them. He dropped his Batman action figure and ran to his father and jumped into his arms. "Daddy!" he squealed as he was lifted up. "Did you remember all of your friends?"

Daddy smiled and rubbed Rex's chin. "Yeah, I did," Daddy answered. He looked at Mommy. "Everything okay?"

Mommy nodded and moved so that Daddy was holding Rex between them. Daddy flashed a small smile. "Good. Let's- " Rex interrupted him. "No. I want to say it this time."

"Okay. You say it," Daddy answered as Mommy handed Batman back to Rex.

"Let's saddle up," Rex said pointing to their space ship.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Daddy grinned as the trio walked toward their ship.

Rex held Batman up so that the breeze caught his cape. He hugged his Dad a little harder and reached out to touch Mommy's wings. "Yup, that's what Batman would say too: let's saddle up."

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Drabble - Failing Results

I looked into Shayera's face after her plea for mercy for this planet, recalling my conversation with Kragger yesterday.

"Commander?"

"Yes?" I answered as I looked up from Dul's latest report.

"I hate to bother you with this, sir," Kragger said. "But there was a problem with the results of Lieutenant Hol's just completed physical. I'm sure there was an error. I've ordered the results retested."

"Spit it out, Lieutenant!"

"Lieutenant Hol is pregnant. Conception occurred before we arrived."

I answered Shayera by slamming my energized laser ax against her belly. There'd be no 'us' and there'd be no 'them.'

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Castles Made of Sand

(A year after the "deaths" of Shayera Hol and John Stewart at the hands of the Toyman)
(The Metrotower cafeteria)

John Irons put his fork down and looked up as Mari Macabe set her tray down at his table. Her smile was infectious and he couldn't help returning her grin with one of his own.

He didn't have to glance at her plate to know what she'd selected as her lunchtime meal. When Irons had first asked her about her diet, she explained that she had to keep her womanish figure in check and that the Green Lantern liked it when she ate small meals. Like a bird as Irons' Grandma would say. The fact that the Lantern had been dead for a year and Mari was still trying to please him was not lost on Irons or anyone else in the League.

No. He didn't have to look at her plate. But he did.

There were no surprises on Mari's tray. There was a small garden salad, with no dressing, crackers and water. If anything, Mari was predictable on that front.

What no one could have predicted was that she and Irons would have a brief affair after the death of the Green Lantern which would end as quietly and as quickly as it had began. It had been a mistake and they both recognized it as such at the same time; but decided not to penalize each other for it and had remained friends.

"How's Natasha?" she asked as she placed her napkin in her lap. She took a sip of her water, then sprinkled pepper on her salad.

"College is agreeing with her," Irons said, picking up his fork and poking at his meatloaf entree. The meatloaf was overcooked and dry and no amount of gravy was going to disguise that. Deciding that this meal was a lost cause, he picked up his drink. "I think we were all surprised by that," he added before taking a sip.

"I knew she was a smart girl. She'll do just fine. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. How are you?" he answered. As soon as he replied, the bells went off in his head and he realized that he'd opened the door for the long, self-pity discussion that he was sure would ensue.

She sighed and opened a package of crackers. "Well, there was no memorial service this week, so I guess I'm okay." She looked up and quickly added, "Sorry. You didn't deserve that." She took a bite of her cracker.

"What can I say," Irons sighed. "I mean we both know what it's like to suddenly lose someone." I just don't go around reminding everyone every thirty minutes.

Mari nodded and said softly, "Supergirl?"

Irons looked away for a moment before looking Mari in the eyes. He shoved his tray aside. "Yeah," he said trying to sound nonchalant. "I still miss her. I mean, like I told you before, there wasn't anything really going on between us and yet ... after more than a year, it's still tough to accept that's she's gone. I keep expecting her to bounce up to me any minute and say, 'Hey.'"

His sigh was long and loud. It was moments like this he wished that his heart, like his suit was made of steel. "I'm grateful that she did, at least, send a note back with Arrow and Lantern and ...." He stopped and looked into Mari's frowning face and shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up...."

Mari interrupted him. "Didn't mean to bring up Lantern? Why? Everyone knows that Lantern announced to the world that we were over and died before he could tell me in person. Don't worry about it. My heart's bulletproof now." She stood, picked up her tray and said, "Give Natasha my regards."

Irons stood and reached for her, but pulled his hand back. "Mari, wait. Don't go because I ... I ... Look. Don't take what I said the wrong way."

There was sadness in Mari's eyes as she said, "John, I'm not taking anything the wrong way. I'm leaving because you said the right thing and ...."

Her voice cracked and she stopped, set her tray back down on the table and plopped into her seat. "I'm just tired of acting like a damn widow around here when everyone knew I was never going to make it to the altar with John Stewart. Never!" She pounded the table and whispered, "It's just not fair."

Irons looked around the cafeteria. If any of the small crowd had noticed when Mari pounded the table, they weren't looking at them now. "You want to go somewhere else and talk about it?" he offered.

The look she gave him reminded him of the look Kara had given him when he'd made a similar statement to her. Mari flashed a flat smile before saying, "No, but thanks. All of my life, I've gotten the leftovers, the discards, the stuff others didn't want and I've tried to make the best of it. I've had to fight for everything I gotten, everything I've ever wanted."

She frowned and her stare became hard. "If it was a fair fight, I would win. When Darci Monroe disappeared and Lana Lang wasn't able to get a top model to wear her stuff, I stepped up and even took a pay cut to get the job. You know why? Because I was just starting out and really wanted to win and I wanted to show them that I am the best."

She folded her hands together and brought them to her lips. She smiled again, but this time wickedly as she smirked. "Lang took a chance on me and now the funny thing is, Lang's fashion house can't afford not to have me and will pay whatever rate I want."

Iron shook his head. "I'm ... I'm not sure I'm following you here."

Mari looked away and then back to Irons, shaking her head as she did. "I didn't think you would. Look, I wanted John even through I knew his heart was with that alien, even if he didn't admit it to me or to himself." She looked at her tray in front of her and shoved it aside in anger. Her voice lowered to a growl as she said, "I even challenged Shayera to take him away from me and you know what, she did. They died together professing their love for each other in an open microphone, and, again I got the leftovers. I now get to be the widow of a man who didn't give two damns about me."

She had an anger and a hurt in her voice that Irons knew he couldn't help her heal. "I don't think that true," he said. "I'm sure he loved you."

Mari narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips into a thin line. "Spoken like a man too blind to see that Supergirl loved you." She looked down into her hands. "John didn't love me. He was only using me."

Irons cleared his throat. He leaned forwarded. "What was that about Kara?" he snapped.

Mari raised an eyebrow and seemed taken back. "Come on, you must have known. Everybody else knew. Ever wonder why when she disappeared, Superman had you helping him look for her?" She paused and then added in a voice that dripped with sarcasm, "Oh, wait. You thought it was because of your brilliant mind, didn't you? She hung around you like fur on a kitten. Even Superman knew she had a crush on you. I can't believe you act like you didn't know."

Irons stood and picked up his hammer. "I know you're hurt and bitter and I've known it for over a year, but I never knew how much until this very moment. I've never seen this cruel streak in you before and frankly I don't like it. And I don't have to sit here and take it, either." He walked around the table and stood next to her. He tried to keep the tone of his voice flat. "You're wrong about me and you're probably wrong about the Green Lantern and Shayera. I doubt seriously they died just so they could inconvenience you. Here's a news flash for you, Vixen: You don't want to be the Green Lantern's widow, then stop acting like one, dammit!"

He turned and walked away without waiting for her response.

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(Steel's quarters in the Metrotower)

Irons made a mental note to himself that he'd later apologize to Mari for his outburst. Her acceptance or acknowledgement of his apology wasn't necessary. Her problem was that she relished the attention she got as the Green Lantern's widow, despite her protest to the contrary. And when someone, like him, offered her an escape from her self-built prison, she'd refuse to leave, instead moaning to anyone who would listen that John would have rather died with Shayera than live with her. Maybe Lantern was smarter than most people thought.

When he and Mari had been dating, he tried to point out to her the destructiveness of her attitude and the alienation it caused her with the other League members. He remembered that she would always try to change the subject. It was clear that she hated John Stewart now, but wasn't prepared to give up on his ghost.

Mari would have to deal with her own problems. Irons had ghosts of his own he had to deal with.

His shift was over and he could leave, but he needed to clear his mind and perform his daily ritual before he went home to Grandma and Natasha. He opened his closet and took out the holographic cube Green Arrow had given him a year before. He pulled out his desk chair, sat down, straddling it and placed the cube in front of him on the table.

Mari was right about one thing. He did know that Kara had a crush on him because she'd told him in her message to him.

He turned the cube on and watched as Kara's image appeared in front of him in the darkened room. She smiled the devilish grin he'd come to love over the last year and spoke the words he'd unintentionally memorized.

"John," she said as the ghostly image seemed to look him in the eyes. "Recording this one and the one to Clark are two of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My task is made easier knowing that you and you alone, would appreciate the irony of this. I can finally tell you how I feel about you without fear of rejection because you will have been dead almost a thousand years when I record this. I guess that puts me in the record books regarding long distance crush."

She gently moved her hair off her face with her fingertips, briefly frowned as if searching for the right words to say, and then suddenly smiled again. "I want to thank you," she continued, "for treating me as a woman in my own right, treating me as Kara In-Ze and not as some female extension of Clark and his family.

You'll never know how much I've enjoyed our talks. And even though we're separated by a thousand years, I can still hear your voice giving me guidance and confidence to do what is right."

She looked away, sniffled and then looked back at him. "There were times when I stood next to you, that I wished I didn't live under a yellow sun. I'll never forget you, John Irons. Never!"

The image faded and Irons sat in his room, staring where Kara's image had been only a moment before. He cleared his throat, but the lump refused to move as he brought his hands to his lips and whispered, "And I'll never forget you, either."

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Watchtower Cafeteria

Mari remained in the cafeteria for another ten minutes after Steel left. She reflected that at this moment she hated two men named John, but John Irons had been more right than the other one and had been telling her so for almost a year. Like her agent, Solomon Samuels had always said, "Mari, baby. If you want to keep on getting what you're getting, keep on doing what you're doing."

For a year, she'd been the unmarried widow to John Stewart because she'd been expected to be. And on some level she probably wanted the attention that brought, but no more... no longer. Her days of mourning were over. In the morning, she'd tell Diana and Superman she was quitting the League at the end of the month. She'd take charge of her life from this point on and not live in the shadow of ghosts.

"Yes," she said out loud as she stood. She had enough money to open a fashion house of her own, probably in Paris, which would rival Lang's. Her future was in front of her. All she had to do was walk toward it.

Suddenly she laughed out loud and more than one cafeteria patron turned and stared at her. She didn't care. She'd just realized that the journey of the thousand footsteps that she was about to embark on would begin by her dumping her salad in the trash bin and walking briskly out of the cafeteria.

She'd eaten her last meal without salad dressing.

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Drabble - Two of a Kind

Terry watched as the police loaded Melanie Walker into the paddy wagon.

"This kind of thing ever happen to you?" he asked Bruce after discovering Melanie was Ten in the Royal Flush Gang.

Bruce recalled his younger days and the $10,000 she'd pledged at the Animal Rights Celebrity Auction. He remembered the jade cat she stole from Roland Daggett and the day she saved him from the Joker.

She was the wind that made his flame dance and despite all she'd done, he could never let her go. Bruce smiled. "Let me tell you about a woman named Selina Kyle."

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The Return of Waters and Lion from Dark Dreams

Wally didn't like going to Los Angeles. There was something about the city that just didn't sit right with him. He didn't have anything against the people who called this city home, but the less time he spent here the better he'd felt. Los Angeles was too large and too glitzy. Central City was his speed - in more ways than one.

He ran down Century Boulevard, dodging cars that seemed to suddenly stop and go for no apparent reason. The congested traffic of this metropolitan area was unforgiving and penalized those who did not plan enough time to get to their intended destination. He raced down the street, finally stopping in front of the Baxter Building. He'd been here two weeks ago, but he looked at the business card he had in his hand again, making sure he had the right address.

He entered the building through the revolving doors making a conscious effort to go slower this time than his last visit. He didn't want to apologize again for breaking the door.

He didn't wait for the elevator, but instead zipped up the stairs, stopping on the eleventh floor. He found the suite he was looking for: eleven 'oh' two. On the outside of the frosted glass door was stenciled in block letters:

C. Waters Confidential Investigations

He knocked once on the door and entered. The receptionist, who was talking on the phone when he walked in, glanced up from her call, gave him a look of recognition, then signaled that he should sit down. He plopped down on the large leather couch in the reception area. Quickly surveying this outer office, with its large paintings and artificial potted palm trees, he came to the conclusion that he hated waiting regardless of how nice an office might be decorated.

The receptionist stood, placed her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and said, "Mister Flash. Mister Lion knows you're here and said he'd be with you in a minute." Without waiting for Wally to acknowledge her, she sat down again and resumed her phone conversation, turning her head so that she didn't look at him. Wally frowned. He hated waiting.

He was about to zip up to the woman and start flirting when out of a door on the left side of the room entered a small man about forty-five or early fifty, balding with dark hair and glasses. He was 5'5" and weighed about 125 pounds. Wally stood as the man approached. The man, Ronald Lion, extended his hand toward Wally, who grasped the hand and shook it.

"How are you?" Lion asked. Wally couldn't tell if Lion was really interested or was just being courteous. He decided it didn't matter.

"I'm fine. I got your message. You say you have something."

Lion nodded. "Right. Come on into Carolyn's office." He walked toward the door on the right side of the room, knocked once, but didn't enter right away. He turned to Wally. "She was a little upset that I accepted this assignment without consulting her, with her being the senior partner and all. She wants to see you." Then he whispered, "Don't worry. She's calmed down quite a bit in the last two weeks."

Lion opened the door and walked in. Wally followed him. Sitting behind a large mahogany desk was Carolyn Waters. Waters was a square-jawed woman in her late fifties with short gray hair. She stood about 5'7" and weighed about 200 pounds. She looked up and smiled at Wally as he entered. She hasn't change much since the last time I saw her.

She stood and offered her hand. "Hello Red. What's it been? Three or four years since that bad business in New Mexico? How's Wings?"

'Wings' was what Waters called Shayera, then known as Hawkgirl, when they worked on a missing boy case together in Red River, New Mexico years ago. Wally smiled. Shayera hated being called 'Wings' by Waters, and made a point of telling the older woman so. But Waters continued calling Shayera by that nickname and in the end, Shayera gave up trying to convince her to do otherwise.

"She's doing okay," Wally said as he shook her hand. "Sorry, I missed you a couple of weeks ago." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You guys called and said you had something, right?"

Lion pointed to a chair in front of Waters' desk and waved for Wally to sit down. Wally declined and indicated he would stand. Lion nodded his head in acknowledgment and sat on the edge of Waters' desk as Carolyn sat down behind her desk.

"Actually," Lion said, "we don't have anything. We did a first rate background check on this guy, Carter Hall, like you asked. He's fairly clean, some think he's a little eccentric, but beyond that, nothing illegal. We couldn't even find a parking ticket for the guy. Pays his bills on time, lives by himself, curator of a museum in Midway City, taught archeology at Metropolis University about eight years ago, has done some digs in South America and the Middle East that were funded by LexCorp. He's a real 'Indiana Jones' type. We can't find anybody who doesn't like him."

I can think of three.

Lion glanced at Waters who nodded as he gave Wally a stack of papers in a manila folder. "Here's our files," he said. "There are no other records. You have everything right there."

Wally flipped through the papers in the folder quickly and then tucked the folder under his arm. He sighed. "Thanks. What do I owe you guys?"

Waters and Lion glanced at each other, then looked at Wally.

"Well, Red," Waters said. "That's my problem. You see, we would charge the average Joe twelve to fifteen hundred bucks for this info, but lover here and I couldn't figure out why you came to us when you got all them whiz-bang computers up there in your little space house."

Wally arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Waters stood and walked around her desk so that she stood next to Lion.

"Then it dawned on Ronald here," she continued, "that you don't there to be a record up there of what you're asking us to get you down here. Maybe you don't want any one to know you're checking out the man who has been seen with Wings three times in the last ten days."

She shrugged her shoulders as she added, "Or maybe you don't want Wings to know you don't trust this guy and wanted him checked out."

Wally narrowed his eyes. "So? What are you going to charge me for this?"

"Just answer a question for me, sweetness. Does Wings know you asked for this?"

"No."

"Well, peel me a pineapple, honey," Waters exclaimed. "I didn't fall off the tuna boat yesterday! Is it 'no' you won't answer the question or 'no' she doesn't know?"

Wally frowned. "No. She doesn't know."

Waters smiled. "Thanks. Thanks for trusting us with that answer and trusting us, period. We suspected that, but weren't sure. The bill? The bill ... is one dollar ... in cash. Just mail the dollar to us in an envelope with no return address and we'll consider it payment in full."

Wally nodded. "Thanks." He walked to the door and as he opened Waters' office door, Lion called out after him, "Flash, may I ask you why are you doing this?"

Wally turned, shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the pair, "How far would you go for a friend?"

Lion nodded and said, "I see." Then he slowly smiled as he added, "That's like asking how far is forever, huh? Well, good luck to you ...and to her."

Wally smiled. "I'll pass that on," he said and closed the door behind him, then opened it again quickly, sticking his head back in. "Wait a minute. Why are you only charging me a dollar for this?"

Waters sat back down behind her desk again. Her smile was cat-like. "How far would you go for a friend?"

Wally grinned. "About fifteen hundred dollars worth?"

Waters nodded. "Exactly."

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