Ablaze: Told Twice Book 2

The Girl Who Hoped He Wasn't a Gambler

The room was quiet. The eight of them sat around a table in a room with the President of the United States. The mood was somber and yet Sakura wasn't quite sure as to why that was. Maybe it was because she still felt slightly displaced in this world that was not yet her own.   Guards were scattered throughout the room presumably to protect the President from...them.  Sakura silently thought they were like the Hokage's ANBU in fuction, but that is where the similarity ended.

At her right hand side sat Batman.   His hands were laying on the table neatly clasped and watching the President steadily. Superman was on her left and when she glanced at him he somehow sensed that she was looking at him and smiled at her reassuringly.

She had been living with Superman since the Darkseid attack. She hadn't told Superman or Clark as she had come to know him, that she had been living in a perpetual state of dread ever since she had met the Chaos Bringer. She knew somehow that trouble lay in her future and she didn't want to bring that trouble to Clark's front door. She considered leaving and finding her way on her own, but something unidentifiable held her at Superman's side.

"I would like to start off once again by personally thank you all for protecting our planet. Now, I know relations between the government and metahumans have not been the best, but right now, today I'd like to start off by changing that—at least on American soil."

Metahumans. Clark had told her that these were people who possessed power that others did not. It could be strength, speed, agility, or any number of things that made them stand out from the human populace. Sakura supposed in their eyes she fell into that category but she couldn't help but think differently. There were ninja and there were civilians. She wouldn't even mention the samurai.

"I think it would best for this great nation to work together for our safety."

Batman spoke first, "Are you saying you're going to legalize vigilantism?"

There was brief hesitation that told Sakura that wasn't what he was saying at all. Sakura chuckled softly which caused Batman to give her a side glance that couldn't have meant anything from 'shut up' to 'yeah, I thought it was funny too.'

"I'm afraid not Batman. That would merely open a window for every person who feels they've been wronged to take the law into their own hands. I can't allow that to happen else we fall into complete and utter anarchy."

"Then what is it that you're saying Mr. President?" Flash asked.

"I'm saying that the eight of you have proven that you can be trusted in a great capacity. I'm saying that should threats like this occur again-and at this point we know they will I am giving you permission to act without repercussion from the government in order to protect the world."

Sakura thought about his wording for a second and then asked, "And what about on a smaller scale, Mr. President. We all know that several individuals in this room have their own city that they protect. Will they have to worry about the local authorities if they deal with crime there?"

"That will be up to the individual city Kunoichi. And since you've brought it up, Kunoichi what city do you protect?"

Sakura felt the eyes of all her new teammates with the exception of Superman on her in that moment. That being the case she felt it best to evade. "With all due respect Mr. President since I cannot expect protection from the government I'd rather keep my base of operations to myself-for my own safety."

Sakura saw Superman's lips quirk but said nothing further.

"That's understandable Kunoichi."

"Mr. President," Batman began drawing the attention off of Sakura, which she wondered whether or not it was on purpose. "Since you are entrusting us with the safety of the planet I'd like to make a proposal."

"What kind of proposal?"

"It is feasible that the Darkseid threat could have been prevented if we had some way of knowing that he was coming beforehand."

"Go on," the President urged.

"In Medieval times many castles were equipped with a Watchtower so that someone on guard could watch to see if attack was eminent and warn the people so that they could prepare for that attack."

"You're suggesting that we station someone in outer space so that we can watch for attacks from other worlds."

"Yes." Batman said succinctly.

"No one would volunteer for such a duty."

"I would." Cyborg's deep voice filled the room. He stared forward not looking anyone in the eye. Sakura suspected that this was so that no one would change his mind about the course he was about to take.

"Cyborg." Sakura said softly and his eyes fell on her.

"I don't fit here anymore Kunoichi. There's no way I can lead the life of a civilian. It would be best if I did what I could from there." Sakura narrowed her eyes. She didn't like his self-sacrificing attitude. She didn't like that he was willing to separate himself from everyone. No one could live alone. Everyone needed companionship and she wasn't about to let Cyborg go it alone. Besides, it wasn't like she really had a place in this world either.

"I'll volunteer as well."

Batman and Superman turned to her simultaneously and just as swiftly as they turned away. She saw Cyborg smiling at her and she sent a wink his way.

"We can all volunteer." Flash said obviously figuring out what Sakura had just done. "Do we all agree with that?"

There was a murmur of agreement as well as a bit of complaining from Green Lantern which everyone ignored.

"Well, then if we have volunteers we'll do what we can to make this happen."

Superman cleared his throat drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "And what about funding, Mr. President?"

Everyone turned and looked at the President and a few people looked discreetly at Batman who merely folded his arms across his chest. The President shifted in his chair awkwardly before saying, "I'll see what I can do."

Sakura didn't know much about the financial state of their government.  She just hoped he wasn't a gambler.