stands_for_hope | The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

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house of am

The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

[continued from here]

Finishing his article, clearing everything with Keith, those things took time. That was why it took a few hours before Clark was ready to make his usual call to Lois that night. He had worried that he might not make the time window that she cleared every day to talk to him and the others, but he was proud to say that he'd left himself an even half an hour as long as everything was to schedule.

After the fifth time she didn't pick up (didn't so much as text or ping him), it became clear that things were very much off schedule.

Clark made his way back to the main floor where everyone seemed to congregate and headed straight for Tony, holding up the phone to him.

"I know we're all tired and we've certainly had a long day, but... can you find out where Lois's phone is from the number here?"

In all the madness of the day, all the fighting and the close calls and the weakness brought on by the proximity of kryptonite, he'd lost track of her heartbeat. Usually, it was simple enough to pick up over the phone once again, a steady pulse that he could find his way back to once the phonecall had ended.

He couldn't hear her. He couldn't tell where she was. And she wasn't answering her phone. She always answered her phone. He didn't want to think anything was wrong, but he wasn't naive enough to discount something like this. Not after today. Not after they'd pulled out kryptonite weapons.

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"Yeah... So far, me and Kitt... Let's see. I was buried in sand up to my neck and was about to be ran over with a heavy dune buggy, Kitt had an EMP focused into his hood. We were both shot off a cliff with a missile. I've been poisoned. ...You get the idea." It was an interesting life at the least. "So yeah, we do what we have to. Sometimes it's not pretty. Sometimes, it's... just pretty awesome."

He was eating between statements and had already shoveled in most of his meal - and it was good, though the sausage could've matched better. He'd like it better, he decided, with chicken or ground beef or that sausage he used to be able to find back in Henderson.

Sandy ate with the kind of dedication found only in the hungry and those who appreciated the value of a home-cooked meal.

"I know the feeling."

He finished what was on his plate and washed it down with the rest of the juice.

"So... where are we heading this time?"

Please say New York. I want to show you the brownstone and your new room and I am so glad I mentioned the garage to Ted.

"Well, let's see..."

He pulled out his phone again and started scrolling through emails. "Michael said 'not Denver', so that means none of my west coast jobs can be done. I have... two on this side of the world, and neither one are particularly high priority. I have one in Tennessee and one in New York state. And seeing as how you need to get home, well..."

Mike looked up from the phone screen with a slow grin.

"Then it sounds like all we need to do is check in with the rest of the team here, make sure we aren't needed, and get on the road."

He stood up then, heading towards the sink with his plate, pulling the pans used over to start getting the cleaning up done. Mike had cooked, after all.

He watched for a good few seconds before shaking his head in wonder. "You're making me all domestic. I like it." And he stood up to place his dishes within easy reach. "And... I plan to get used to it."

Another quick hug and a kiss and he nodded toward the bedroom. "I'm gonna pack up and then I'll be ready to go. Do you need anything while I'm in there?"

He shook his head.

"I travel light, only what can travel with me. It's all in the coat."

He patted his pocket.

"And the mask's..." he wasn't sure how to explain that one. "I've got my mask, so I'm all packed."

"Mask's part of the package," he nodded, understanding. "All right, I'll make it as quick as possible."

And, really, it didn't take him long. Toiletries, dirty clothes (which were tucked into their own plastic bag), and all were stuffed quickly into his duffel alongside what few clean clothes he had. He was going to have to do laundry soon, and maybe buy a few new shirts.

Sanderson didn't check his phone or read his book. Instead, he considered which places he wanted to bring Mike in New York, which little gifts or treats he could give him that wouldn't come off as pandering or overly-sentimental or ridiculous, and which members of the JSA should get introduced first (other than Ted and Tom, who were both tied in the lead which was fair enough, given that they were father and son).

And soon enough, finally with shoes on and his duffel thrown over his shoulder, phone occupying its spot in his pocket, he stepped out and offered his arm. "Ready when you are, after we make sure the situation's under control."

Sanderson took it without fail and led them over to the elevator before pressing the button to go up.

"I'm mostly concerned about 'Jim' and Lois, frankly. The man didn't look well before we left Bialya and Lois... well, you saw Lois, or so you said."

"Yeah," he sighed. "She had some breaks I couldn't do much about - I feel bad for her. They never went after my bones like they did hers. For me, it was mostly fingernails, foot slapping, and waterboarding. Breaks suck." He said it like he was saying 'Sunday afternoons are boring': as if it were pure matter of fact. "But she'll heal. Jim..."

It was hard for him to give much of a crap about Jim, but...

"He'll heal, too. As much as I might not like him, I've been in his headspace. It sucks, too."

Sandy had largely missed the tension between Mike and Jim and blinked a little at the mention of not liking him.

"It's... a little surreal for me, honestly. Bucky Barnes and Captain America were... well, they were heroes to me when I was just starting out. We never made it to the war front, Wesley or myself, but... it meant a lot having two Brooklyn boys out there."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's a little silly being starstruck over people like that, for me especially, but I can't deny that I am. The rest of them, even those who were around at the time, well, they're like family. Like they don't count that way."

"No, I get what you mean," Mike assured. "I just... I have memories of Firebrand from when he was the Winter Soldier. Faded and not quite sure, but I'm pretty sure me and him came off on opposite sides." But then he raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "...Or I worked beside him while he was Hydra. Either way, I'm... not too happy."

Sandy looked mildly blindsided by the information, shaking a little like a dog splashed with water as the elevator dinged.

"I had no idea. I understand how that can be."

There was a slight pause before the door opened.

"No issues with Captain America though?" He looked like he might be slightly distraught if he found out that the Captain had done something unsavory.

Mike paused, considering, and answered, "No, no issues with him. Just always thought they overstated how sexy he is, and now I know that nope, they didn't."

He tightened his arm around Sandy, though, and kissed his cheek to remind him - he was with him, not with anybody else.

When the elevator door opened, it was to see a relatively simple breakfast spread (clearly provided by Clark, who had taken over the feeding duties from Mike's father, apparently), most of the group other than Lois and Diana, and Captain America on the phone with someone who was apparently named 'Sam' who was also apparently trying to figure out--

Aha, Sandy now knew which one of the denizens of Stark Tower in New York had actually had the guts to ask out Kara.

"Morning," Sandy offered with a nod to the room.

"Hey guys," Mike greeted, lifting a hand in a wave. "How are things this morning?"

"Seems okay so far," Keith answered. "I'm still officially listed as missing, so so far so good as far as I'm concerned."

Clark's smile was brittle but warm enough as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Everyone seems to be accounted for, Lois seems better..." he turned specifically to Mike and gave him a grateful nod. "I can't thank you enough for yesterday, Mike. Really."

Sandy gave the both of them a quick nod of greeting.

"We were just checking in, though we were thinking of heading out in a few minutes if the coast was clear."

"I should give you all the official news, though," Mike said. "My father was pretty cheerful, but there are some serious things to keep an eye on. Number one, uh..." He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Tony, Kitt already gave Jarvis my info and my father's, but we've also told him very plainly that some of it isn't to be used except in emergencies, and he promised. AI-to-AI honour. Everybody else, Kitt has put my basic contact info in your phones for a reason."

Mike cleared his throat to go on. "Yesterday, after the UN attack, Hydra units in Europe mobilised against the one European safehouse. If Michael hadn't gotten there first, they would've been killed, but right now, they're staying in a FLAG safehouse here in the US. Denver, specifically. Things are starting to die down, but Senator Christian Ward has insisted on having custody of his younger brother, who... is ex-SHIELD in the bad way. He was Hydra on the inside. We don't have anyone in DC to keep an eye on that, but we think there's no real way it's going to end well.

"And finally, Hydra isn't really slowing down, but they are going in circles. Officially. They've added men to their contingent in South America, but it's..."

He shrugged, shaking his head, looking like he was on the verge of laughter. "They're seriously going in circles down there in the jungle. Big circles, but circles. They're looking for something, and so far all they're finding is their own asses."

Steve looked up from his phonecall and murmured a 'I'll tell you which restaurants have been there forever later, Sam' before pressing the button to hang up. Steve didn't exactly look like he was going to start laughing (it was HYDRA, it'd never be funny after what they'd done to Jim), but he did have a faint curl to the edge of his lips and he was clearly pleased that they were stymied.

"Do we know what they're looking for?"

Sandy looked over at Mike before turning to Steve.

"If we don't, it won't take me long to find out. Amazing how people don't take the ground into account when they worry about prying parties."

Sandy glanced over at Mike.

"And it shouldn't interrupt our plans much at all."

"If you want to, go for it," Mike said, "but let me say this first - what we know is that they have an artifact, and they're in the process of trying to figure out what culture it was a part of, if it was a culture at all. The only thing they could be looking for in that area is... Well, it's a little bit of a legend, like Atlantis."

There was a faint snort from Keith, and Mike shrugged. "I don't know either, but I know that they're probably looking for a city called Paititi. It's thought to be the capital of the ancient 'kingdom'," he included the air quotes, "called Animaria. A few scientists went out in the... eighties, early nineties? Disappeared down in the area where they're looking now."

"That was mentioned earlier," Steve remembered, shaking a finger, "though I'll be honest and admit I've never heard of anything like that, not from the SSR or anywhere in my SHIELD briefings."

"It's a kids' story," Keith said from where he was sitting. "You can probably get a copy of the book across the street or something. It's like..."

And at last he finished chewing.

"It's like, 'once upon a time, thousands of years ago, there was a vast kingdom that stretched from high in Canada to the wilds of the jungles in South America. It was a magical place where humans and animal spirits lived side by side, and they called it Animaria.' That kind of tripe - and if Hydra believes that, then they're the ones with problems, not us."

"I dunno, man," Tony mused. "A few years ago, we thought the same thing about Norse gods and look how that turned out."

Keith blinked slowly. "...Okay, point taken. And I guess they did send scientists out to check shit out..."

"Not to mention aliens" Clark said from his spot at the counter. "Or--"

Which was when his head tilted just a little and he glanced down the hallway. The expression on his face said that the discussion had turned... interesting.

"Problem?" Jim asked quietly, looking at Clark and then down the hall. Diana and Lois were still back in the bedroom, and that was fine - but Clark knew more than he did.

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