The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Mar. 1st, 2006 09:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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jla_watchtower"Next mission off world," thinks Ray Palmer, "I'm bringing my iPod."
He sighs, and continues going over The Justice Underground's files. The eerie parallels and differences between these worlds fascinate him, as does the implications of it.
"A world where good is evil and vice versa," he mutters. "Unbelievable." Really, it's as much a question for Zauriel as it is for a scientist, how something like this could come to be. He couldn't pretend to understand it at all.
But here he is, lost in his studies while they wait for their moment. Oddly, it occurrs to him that he may well be the only optimist on this entire planet. Surely, his colleagues were on the cynical side. Dependable, sure, but cynical.
Ray's not. Even with all that's happened to him. He's not stupid, but he knows they're going to find a way through this. They always do. It's what the League does. Even Huntress and Hawkgirl know that. It wasn't that long ago since Huntress, during her short time in the League, figured out how to beat Vandal Savage and the living sun Solaris one million months into the future. And Hawkgirl was on the JLA team with him that helped bring Arthur and Atlantis back from being trapped in the past.
They know the score. And Ray knows the JLA. Forecasting how the clockwork falls is just like unravelling physics. By now, either Clark or Wally have gotten impatient. Probably Wally. They're figuring out how to get here. If they're smart, it'll be some sort of diversion. That'll be the moment to hit. Hopefully, they're too smart to try a full-scale invasion. No. Someone'll put that idea down.
And by now, Batman's made some small progress, won some small victory. Ray recalls the alternate future Wally and Kyle viisted, where Desaad of Apokolips tortured Batman for months, and as bad as these Crime Syndicate guys are, they're not Darkseid.
This is how we do it. Across time, across dimensions -- it doesn't matter. Trust each other. Know each other's capabilities. Work as a team.
That's the bit the Syndicate doesn't get.
He sighs, and continues going over The Justice Underground's files. The eerie parallels and differences between these worlds fascinate him, as does the implications of it.
"A world where good is evil and vice versa," he mutters. "Unbelievable." Really, it's as much a question for Zauriel as it is for a scientist, how something like this could come to be. He couldn't pretend to understand it at all.
But here he is, lost in his studies while they wait for their moment. Oddly, it occurrs to him that he may well be the only optimist on this entire planet. Surely, his colleagues were on the cynical side. Dependable, sure, but cynical.
Ray's not. Even with all that's happened to him. He's not stupid, but he knows they're going to find a way through this. They always do. It's what the League does. Even Huntress and Hawkgirl know that. It wasn't that long ago since Huntress, during her short time in the League, figured out how to beat Vandal Savage and the living sun Solaris one million months into the future. And Hawkgirl was on the JLA team with him that helped bring Arthur and Atlantis back from being trapped in the past.
They know the score. And Ray knows the JLA. Forecasting how the clockwork falls is just like unravelling physics. By now, either Clark or Wally have gotten impatient. Probably Wally. They're figuring out how to get here. If they're smart, it'll be some sort of diversion. That'll be the moment to hit. Hopefully, they're too smart to try a full-scale invasion. No. Someone'll put that idea down.
And by now, Batman's made some small progress, won some small victory. Ray recalls the alternate future Wally and Kyle viisted, where Desaad of Apokolips tortured Batman for months, and as bad as these Crime Syndicate guys are, they're not Darkseid.
This is how we do it. Across time, across dimensions -- it doesn't matter. Trust each other. Know each other's capabilities. Work as a team.
That's the bit the Syndicate doesn't get.
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:04 pm (UTC)Here. I encoded our files for you. I figure they'll have some use in your world. Research, maybe.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:10 pm (UTC)"Thanks. You can never have enough information."
He looks up. So much like Arthur, in some ways. But he's not. Ocean Master? Yeah. That would be the analog.
"Hey. We were never properly introduced. I'm Ray. The Atom."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:15 pm (UTC)A pause.
I've got to ask, sorry - what's it like over there on your world? I couldn't believe my luck, getting the short straw for that mission.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:21 pm (UTC)"Hard to say. It's the only world I've ever known. It definitely doesn't seem as hard as this world, but it's still a constant struggle. A couple times, I've just retreated entirely from it. But I think that's just life. Once in awhile, you get room to breathe, and that keeps you going."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:29 pm (UTC)"Yep. They're called French Fries. Except in England, where they're called chips. And in the Congressional cafeteria, where they're called Freedom Fries. Don't ask."
He relaxes a bit. He likes this guy, and he wants to be straight with him.
"There is freedom and hope, at least in some of the world, but we do have to fight for it. Every day. That's what the Justice League is for, to protect the world so normal people can go about their lives. To hopefully make it a better place. It's a never-ending battle."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:31 pm (UTC)That sounds nice.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:37 pm (UTC)"There's still famine and plagues and stuff."
Then he shakes it off.
"I've been reading the files. The things your team's been up against. And you keep on fighting. You have no idea how much in awe I am of you guys' courage."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:41 pm (UTC)Once you start down this path, there's no turning back. Both morally and practically. You're marked anyway, so give them hell until they get you. That's how I look at it.
Luthor's the only one who seems to think there's a greater purpose to it. I'm just stubborn.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:46 pm (UTC)"Stubborn's not bad. Stubborn gets things done. Me, I'm just a scientist, really. I solve problems. Being in the JLA lets me solve really big problems. But Luthor's on the right track. I gotta admit, the guy got under my skin on the other Earth, but if anyone can pull it off here, it's him."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:52 pm (UTC)Aye, Luthor's one to get under people's skins, that's for sure. But a better man I've never known. The rest of us are mostly just irritants to the Syndicate, or we would have been on our own. They're scared of him. I don't think there's a one of us wouldn't die to keep him alive.
Anyway. I'd best go check my gear once more. Good to have met you, Ray.
He walks off quickly.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 07:53 pm (UTC)Thank you for chatting with him. He was quite disappointed when he drew the short straw.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 12:59 pm (UTC)"He's a good man. These are all good people."
no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 01:29 pm (UTC)They deserve better than what they have, all of them. I aim to give them that. A chance to make their sacrifice meaningful. A chance for a legacy.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 01:40 pm (UTC)