Beckoning Lyght

A Fresh Start

Chapter Two: A Fresh Start

“Tabitha… a word with you?” John approached her at her new control station. It had been two months since she was appointed Monitor of Metro Tower and she was glad that it wasn’t as complicated as she thought it would be. She had help from two people; Clark and the new Monitor of Watchtower, Mr. Terrific however it was rare that she asked for assistance. Clark and the other founding members showed no disdain towards her decisions so Tabitha figured that she was doing a good job. She was also glad that Metro Tower was almost half the size of Watchtower; it allowed for her to switch from assigning missions to making upgrades.

What surprised her wasn’t the formality of the Green Lantern’s tone; she knew that he was a former Marine and therefore his demeanor was embedded into him. It was the fact that he was in Metro Tower to begin with; he was hardly ever there. She turned and slightly smiled at him regardless.

“Sure. What’s up?” she asked. When he sighed and gently pulled her away from the console, it made her worry; something was wrong for him not to come out and say anything. She waited for him to speak however he showed her a newspaper instead, the Daily Bugle to be exact. She was confused at the gesture until she noticed who was on the front page: herself and Peter. As quickly as she had settled into her promotion, Tabitha was also moonlighting alongside Peter in New York. She didn’t do it often however she couldn’t hide the thrill she received from being back in crime fighting action; she told herself that she wouldn’t abuse her power as Monitor and constantly assign herself to missions.

“Care to explain this?” he looked at her. She shrugged, still slightly confused at how John was trying to treat the matter.

“Nothing really to explain. Is there a story…?” she grabbed the paper and flipped it open.

“This is no time to be a smart ass! Are you with another group, now?”

“W-What? No! I just help P out every now and then; what the hell is wrong with that?”

“Plenty… especially seeing that you’re not hiding your face, anymore.”

“Huh; this coming from someone who don’t hide his! You’re making something outta nothing. Have I slacked off here in Metro Tower?”

“That’s not the point. Just be glad Clark hasn’t seen this…”

“What the hell does Clark gotta do with this?! Damn; you make it sound like I teamed up with Luthor or some shit! This is my friend we’re talking about…”

“Who’s a superhero in another faction…”

“Actually, he works alone; well, with me. As does Tee…”

“We don’t go outside of the Justice League, Tabitha.”

“Really? Well… last time I checked, I’m grown so I can help whoever the hell I please!” she retaliated. John simply looked at her.

“You really want to do things your way? Fine. But so you know; you make that decision… and you step down as Monitor.”

“… What?! First off, you don’t get to boss me around! I was named Monitor for a reason!” she warned him.

“Let me remind you that I’m a founding member… and you’re not. And… the last time I checked… you’re not J’onn…” his green eyes glared at her. Her jaw twitched at the mention of the Martian’s name and she found herself glaring back. Her hands automatically clenched into fists and she was mere seconds from charging up, attacking him. John raised an eyebrow at her, not flinching, “You’re going to strike me, now?” it truly surprised him. Once again, too many emotions flooded her; it really angered her that the Green Lantern was standing there arguing with her over something so petty, throwing his weight around. The mere mention of J’onn’s name saddened her but the fact that John even tried to compare her to him infuriated her. Of course she knew she wasn’t J’onn; she was nowhere even close so she definitely didn’t need anyone to tell her that, let alone even make her think about him when she was trying not to. One of the main reasons why she volunteered her services to Peter was to keep herself from thinking about the absent Martian; she was a bit pleased that it seemed to work.