Lady Midnight smiled as she walked up to the Gotham City headquarters of the Justice Society, a gleaming tower of silver and chrome in the heart of the city. While the JSA had lost it's headquarters several times to violence or other things they always had rebuilt right here, honoring the legacy of the team. Dressed in a simple blue suit, matching fedora shading her eyes Lady Midnight looked like a figure that had stepped right out of the 1940s, exactly as the young lady had intended. But her simple clothes concealed a weave of microcircuitry, and the weapons she hid under her simple coat would come as quite a shock to any adversary. A hand pressed to the identification system read Lady Midnight's bio-readings and unique palm print even as other sensors went to work, then with a soft chime the doors opened. "Good morning," the older man looked up as cheerfully he polished one of the first floor display cases, ”you're early today, miss." "Any trouble, Mr. Kent?" Lady Midnight asked curiously. Brian Kent, the older man who had once been the hero Silent Knight, chuckled. "A few thieves tried to break in," he revealed, "but Catwoman stopped 'em before they even hit the security system Mr. Terrific installed." "Catwoman..." Lady Midnight thought of the skintight catsuit the heroine wore and smiled faintly, then shook that pleasant mental image away. "Hope you said thank you, at least," she asked, walking over to the Starman display, the golden aged hero dressed in green and red. A laugh, then Brian grinned, "O' course I did." He hesitated a bit, "Jade is here in residence, and I think she wants to talk to you about the re-activation." Lady Midnight straightened up visibly, tidying her suit reflexedly. "Uh oh," she murmured, "guess I knew that was coming." She took a steadying breath, "Is she usually an early riser, or is she still in bed asleep?" "I've seen her up and around early a few times," Brian offered. Much more gently he offered, "Don't look so worried, I just think she's a bit annoyed that she or none of the second generation were really consulted on it." "We did everything we could to contact them," Lady Midnight nodded, but she still looked a bit worried. "I'd better go take my medicine," she said wryly as she headed off. The elevator behind the main entry hall carried her up into the residences maintained in the tower. Most of the heroes of the silver and golden age had never really planned on retirement, so having this place as something of a safety net had been a relief to all of them. Sponsored in part by Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern's broadcasting fortune and in part by the Wayne foundation, they provided many services to heroes of earlier eras. Checking the on-line directory Lady Midnight confirmed that Jade was in her usual rooms and headed off down the hall. Taking a deep breath she knocked, answered by a crisp, "Come in." Lady Midnight walked into the stylishly decorated apartment, up the front hall into the living room. Just beyond in the kitchen Jade sat at her kitchen table, the green and silver haired woman drinking from a cup of coffee. Jennifer-Lynn Hayden had aged well, only the silver in her hair showing any signs of her advancing age. "Brian said you wanted to see me, Miss Hayden?" Lady Midnight asked, reaching up to take off her fedora respectfully to reveal short black hair. "I think, Miss Clark, that we've gotten to the point we can use first names," Jade said dryly. Lane Clark, the third hero to have adopted the Midnight alias, smiled a little wryly. "Sorry Jen," she said meekly, pulling up a seat and sitting down. "I assume I'm here because of the JSA has been reactivated?" "Something like that," Jen agreed. She took a drink of coffee then asked, "I guess why is my first question?" "You went out with all the other heroes when the Fortress was destroyed," Lane said quietly, "and I ended up pulling together a group of younger heroes and JSAers to defend the building from the old Injustice Society." The Icicle, a immortal sorceress called Nyola, Lady Flash, Mist III, Giganta and the criminal grandson of Bulletman had attacked JSA headquarters, attempting revenge for many defeats. They expected to win, especially with everyone scattered to stop the villains, but Lady Midnight had managed to beat them back. "I heard," Jade conceded, "but is that really a good reason to do this?" "The second JSA only came together because of an attack on the funeral of the original Sandman," Lane pointed out. She smiled grimly, "And I think the JSA can play a role in the world, with older heroes helping to mentor the younger generation." Jade actually smirked, "You've been rehearsing this, haven't you?" "Well, yes," Lane conceded. She grinned, "So how'd I do?" "Not bad," Jade admitted. She studied her a moment, "Got any recruits?" "Myself of course," Lane smiled, "Liberty Belle, Kid Atom, Wonder Girl and the third Star Spangled Kid as the younger generation. The second Ray, Mr. Terrific, Hawkwoman and Power Woman have signed on to be mentors." "All good choices," Jade nodded. "I was wondering if you'd...?" Lane trailed off. "I'm sorry," Jade shook her head, "I'm busy trying to find out what happened to my father, Alan Scott." A moment's pause and she looked faintly haunted, "Not to mention trying to reconnect with Kyla." "Kyla Scott and you aren't getting along?" Lane blinked. "I was pretty disapproving when she announced she wanted to follow in my and Kyle's footsteps as a Green Lantern," Jade explained, "we got into a fight about it and some.. pretty harsh words were said." "Maybe I could talk with her," Lane offered, "we had a thing going for awhile, maybe that would sway her." You and Kyla...?" Jade blinked then shook her head. "You've been as busy as some of the rumors said," she sounded faintly disapproving. "It's the suit," Lane smirked back, "chicks dig the suit." "Thankfully I'm immune to your charms," Jade said dryly. The soft chirp from her watch reminded Lane of the time and she rose reluctantly. "Sorry," she put her hat back on, "looks like I have to go." "Good luck," Jade waved as the younger woman left. The elevator took her down to the main hall and she paused before entering the main hall. Taking a deep breath she went inside, sweeping the younger heroes with her eyes. Kid Atom in black and red, the grandson of Ray Palmer and a man with things to prove, Wonder Girl, a unnamed daughter of Paradise Island, Star Spangled Kid aka Jake Thunder, and finally Liberty Belle, the great-granddaughter of the villainous Spider. Ray Terril, the second costumed hero called the Ray smiled warmly under her golden helm, "Lady Midnight, it's been awhile." Power Woman, the alternate universe Supergirl who called herself Karen Starr just nodded respectfully, while Hawkwoman looked on dourly. Shayera Hall had never been the warmest of women, and the death of Hawkman hadn't helped much. Mr. Terrific nodded in greeting, the genius former leader of the JSA outfitted in his stylized white, gray and black costume. Michael Holt studied her a moment then asked, "So what's on the agenda, Lady Midnight?" 'Can I do this?' Lane thought, but took a steadying breath. "Well, first we need to get everyone up to speed," she said crisply, "we have two major problems on our table." Kid Atom nodded grimly, his cowl hiding his face as he asked, "I assume you mean the Fortress breakout?" "That's one," Lady Midnight agreed, "and Oracle has requested our assistance in case of a possible alien invasion." "You don't think small," Power Woman smiled approvingly, her white costume clinging to a muscular body, "what can we do to help?" "I was hoping you'd say that," Lady Midnight smiled and began to lay out her plans. To be continued... Notes: 'The man called Midnight' was a minor pulp era hero, I'm just assuming he had kids. The Injustice Society has fought various incarnations of the JSA, as have the individuals I mentioned as team members. The young and older heroes are all connected to the various JSA lineups, picked for various reasons. Power Girl's origin is currently being revised by DC comics, so I went with 'Alternate Supergirl' as a description for her.
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