The New Adventures of Supergirl (part 30 of 42)

a Project A-ko fanfiction by Shanejayell

Back to Part 29
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.

Onwards to Part 31


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