The New Generation: Earth-53

"I always did like mac and cheese," Zatanna said, with a small grin. "Though I think I'd prefer if I never got the chance to try it. Because that would mean you had a bad day." She gives him a little wink, and sits up straighter as their food arrives. She begins to dig into her calzone, mouth already watering with anticipation. These calzones really can't be beat. Like, at all. "Well, you know I think you have a lot of potential. Black canary thinks the same way about Rose, though that girl is giving her a handful in the attitude department. Batman's got his eyes on both of you, but don't take it personally. His eyes are on everyone. Most of the others think you have potential, too, but you're rough around the edges. Which is only natural since you're still new. Power Girl, though, she's pretty confident in you. Rose, not so much. She doesn't doubt the girl's ability, no, but again with the attitude... could cause some friction on the team. But we're giving her a chance." After taking another bite, she washes it down with some more water and asks her next question. "Okay, here's one. Would you rather take a full force punch by Power Girl, or get stripped searched at the airport by a bald guy named Bubba?"

Neal smiled as Zatanna mentioned that she hoped to never try it. It was a sweet and endearing comment, the kind of statement that made Neal want to prove to Zatanna that he wouldn't let her down for anything. As their food arrived Neal quickly dug in to his own. Just smelling them being prepared had made his mouth water. This thing might have just made its way in to Neal's top five foods. They certainly didn't go small on the meat which Neal greatly appreciated. As Zatanna explained what everyone thought about them, Neal was glad that there wasn't anyone that had serious doubts about him. Apparently Power Girl was the most nervous about Rose, and Neal couldn't help but take a bit of pride that the leader believed in him more than she believed in Rose.

As the next question was poised Neal thought about it as he chewed a particularly large bite of his calzone. "Well, assuming that I get to live I would definitely have to take the punch from Power Girl. The name Bubba just sounds........creepy all of a sudden" Neal admitted as a small shudder went up his back.

"Now, ever thought about fully going lesbian?"

At Neal's next question, Zatanna coughed up the gulp of water she'd been sipping, spraying it back out on the table in front of her and coughing. "Have I- what? What makes you think I ever... okay, I can't say that with a straight face. To answer your question, no. A person can't just 'go full lesbian'. It doesn't work that way. If you are one, then you are one. You don't just pick and choose. As for me, I play with both teams and I'm damn happy with that. Guess you could call me pretty open." Of course, being open doesn't make a damn bit of difference when she still hasn't been involved with anyone in over eight months, but hey... her job keeps her busy. "I'd ask something similar next, but I get the feeling I already know how that answer would go. So, how often do you watch porn? And, you know, enjoy it." Oh yeah, the gloves were off now.

Neal nearly jumped as Zatanna reacted to his next question with complete shock. She clearly hadn't been expecting something that blunt to come from Neal's mouth while they were eating.
"I see, it's strange because a few of the girls at school talked about it like it was a choice. Ah well, I'm sure that you know way more than they do. Besides you are like a thousand times cooler, if not more," he added before continuing to eat his meal. At the next question Neal decided to just be blunt and honest. "About once or twice a week, it normally depends on what's going on. I normally only do it when Jordan and my Dad are gone from the house. Don't wanna get caught after all ya know?" he asked before sipping his own water once again.

"So how often do you use your magic for.......less than honorable purposes?" Neal asked as he smiled up at Zatanna. She could interpret the question however way she wanted, but Neal was very curious to the answer.

"You already know I know," Zatanna mused, in response to his not wanting to get caught comment. She had just explained a whole story about herself getting caught, after all. "And yeah, I know I'm awesome. This is a well known fact." She smirked a bit, finishing off the last few bites of her calzone. Somehow, she knew what his next question would be, and of course it ended up being exactly what she thought, just about. Letting out a small sigh, she simply leaned to the side, holding her head up with her hand and answered, "Kid, I haven't been laid in eight months. What do you think?" Apparently bluntness was the new theme at the table.

"Oh......I didn't realize," Neal admitted as he heard Zatanna say rather bluntly that she hadn't had sex in over eight months. Give how Zatanna acted Neal was amazed that this was true. Who wouldn't want to be with her after all? Apparently she was just too busy or guys were too intimidated by her. She was a superhero after all, and one that could come up with some very creative ways to get vengeance should anything happen. "You probably use your magic all the time in that case. Of course, considering I haven't ever been laid it's a bit harder for me to feel bad for you," he said jokingly. "I'm sure you'll find someone soon. You're you after all"

"Yeah, well, two simple words makes it all better, in any case," Zatanna added with a small chuckle. "Best part is, I can repeated them as many times as I want... as many times as I want..." She appeared to fall into a daze for a few moments, before suddenly snapping out of it and straightening herself out. "And don't worry, kid, I'm sure you'll get some eventually. Just, you know, don't pull a Red Arrow or I'll give you hives for a month, too. Hives in a very particular area." As the waited came with the check, Zatanna reached into her pocket to pull ot her wallet, giving the man her card to go charge. "So, all things considered, how was lunch?"

Neal just shook his head and held a smile as Zatanna went in to another one of her famous dazes. He was beginning to think she had one of those every day. Whenever they were together it seemed like she said something that caused it. "Well thanks, and don't worry I think cheating is dumb. Just be with who you want to be you know? Why be with two and ruin everything just because.........well whatever his reason was," Neal said as he thought about the consequences that Red Arrow and Huntress received.

"Lunch was great, both the food and the company were fantastic," Neal said as Zatanna paid for their lunch. "We should do it again sometime, I'll buy next time too"

"Damn straight we were," Zatanna declared with a nod, in regards to the food, and of course herself being fantastic. Of course, she already knew that. After the waiter returned her credit card to her, she gave Neal another odd look. "Right, like I'm going to let the kid with no job pay for lunch. I appreciate the thoughts, but let's let the one with an income handle things with money, alright? Anyway, time to get back to the cave. Ekat su emoh."

In the blink of an eye, they both instantly reappeared at the Cave of Mount Justice. They were in the living room right now, which was completely empty except for Miss Martian, who was sitting cross legged and floating in mid air, while staring intently at the television, watching an episode of 'The Walking Dead'. She also happened to be about two feet from the screen.

"No, look out behind you!" she shrieked in genuine horror, bringing her hands up to her chest in nervousness.

"Hmm... I'll leave this one to you," Zatanna said, giving him a wave. "Later."

"Just trying to be nice, after all we both know that you've done plenty for me already," Neal said in reference to his training. He just really wished that he could do something nice for Zatanna, but right now it seemed like working for the team and succeeding was the best way to make that happen. If that's what it took then Neal would make sure that it happened.

As they arrived back home Neal immediately saw that Miss Martian was watching an episode of 'The Walking Dead'. God that was one good show, he had no idea that she was a fan of it. Of course at the rate she was yelling at the television it didn't seem like she was enjoying it too much. "Catch you soon Zatanna," he said as she gave him a wave before leaving the area.

"You know that they can't hear ya right?" Neal asked as he walked to Miss Martian's side and looked at the screen with her. "I wasn't aware that you liked this show," Neal admitted as he looked towards Megan.

"Waahh!" Megan shouted, suddenly collapsing out of the air and landing with a thud on the floor. She instantly recovered, though, popping back up to her feet. "O-oh, hi again, Neal. I didn't hear you... Uh, they can't hear me, right. I know. I just get... really into the show sometimes. I mean, it's such a cruel concept!" Glancing back at the television, she looks close again in fright. "They hire all those camera crews to follow these people while they're forced to fight zombies in an alternate dimension, but no one will help them! Why on earth would anyone ever agree to that? Or allow it to be shown on television? If I knew where they were, I'd save them..." So, Megan might be under the impression that The Walking Dead was a reality program.

Man, Neal really needed to find a better way to approach Megan without scaring her every time he walked in to the room. It would be helpful if she was facing his direction every now and than. It seemed like anytime he said hello to her she freaked out, but perhaps that was just because she was really in to the show today. As Megan went on to say her thoughts on the show, Neal crossed his arms. Oh boy, he was going to have to do some explaining. "M'gann, it isn't actually happening. It's all fake, just a bunch of make up to make it look like they're really dead," Neal explained. "I know we have some questionable television shows, but we'd never show something like this actually happening for our own amusement," he explained.

"Huh?" she said, blinking back at the television screen. She absolutely couldn't believe that this show was really fake! It looked so real... "Oh, I... but Wally told me it was a 'reality program.' Why would he do that?" Before she could contemplate that thought for too long, she suddenly realized something and turned back to him, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Hey, you called me by my real name. You've never done that before." Normally he called her Megan or Miss Martian. She might have even heard a couple "MM's" in there, too. She'd never heard him use her actual Martian name before, though.

"Yeah well, you know Wally and his jokes. He just does things like that on occasion to see how people react," Neal marked as he glanced down the hallway to where the guy's room was. He might have to take a minute to talk to Wally about that. M'gann was trying her hardest to fit in, they didn't need to make it any harder on her.

As she questioned Neal about why he called her by her real name, Neal just gave a shrug. "I guess I just figured that you'd prefer to be called by your real name. I know that if I was on a different planet from my own one I'd still want people to call me Neal rather than someone else," he added. "Besides we're friends after all, least I could do is try to learn a bit about you and help you to adjust," Neal said before taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about what Mars is like?" he suggested.

It was true that Wall liked his jokes, and given how naive and gullible Megan was, she tended to be an easy target. Realizing that she had once again been fooled by him, she let out a frustrated groan and folded her arms. "Next time I should just read his mind and see if he's telling the truth." And she probably would, too, if she wasn't actually against using her powers that invasively. It was pretty much a huge invasion of privacy, and she didn't like doing that since, well, it wasn't a good way to get on someone's good side.

When Neal asked her about Mars, though, she suddenly took on a look of surprise. "You want to... know about Mars?" she asked, almost in disbelief. "None of the others have ever asked me about..." Was she blushing? Well, if Martians could blush, then she probably was. "Well, there isn't much to tell, really. I mean, it really is a beautiful place. For us. I imagine you'd find it dull and barren, but I guess that's because you're not used to it. We don't have things like television or cars or hamburgers, or anything like that. Actually, things are pretty simple up there for the most part. As advanced as our technology is, we prefer when things are... simple. You wouldn't catch anything like an iPod on Mars in a million years. Literally. As long as we can live peacefully with our families, we're happy."

Neal listened casually as M'gann went to speak in detail about Mars, her home planet. It was nice to find her so calm. Talking about her home planet it seemed like she was happy, as if she was finally saying something that she had wanted to say for years. It was good to see her like this. "You make it sound lovely, wish I could visit it some time," Neal added as M'gann talked about how peaceful and happy it was up there. It wasn't like Earth at all, no wonder she was so confused by so many things. "Out of curiosity, what made you want to come to Earth? I mean, you make Mars sound so nice. What made you want to come here?

At Neal's question on why she had come to Earth, Megan's smiling demeanor suddenly shifted and sunk a little. She blinked back at him, wringing her hands together slightly and bowing her head. "Oh, uh... no big reason or anything," she insisted, then lifting her head again and giving what looked like a very forced smile. "I just... well, when Uncle J'onn sent back recordings of his time on Earth, it just seemed like such a wonderful place to visit, and I wanted to see it for myself. So, I came, and here I am. And even though it's so much different from my home, it's really interesting and I like it. And the people are really nice, too."

Almost on cue, who should walk right by the living room on her way to the kitchen but Rose herself. She pays them no mind, not even glancing in their direction as she begins to rummage through the pantry for a power bar. "Well... most of them anyway."

Neal sensed like he may have touched a nerve with his question. M'gann tried to look like she was okay, but out of everything she was being a good liar wasn't among them. He almost wanted to ask if she wanted to talk about what the reason really was, but if she was going to lie about it than it must have been big. Neal didn't think that she was the kind of girl to hide things from her friends often. Neal decided that this was something he'd let go for the time being.

As M'gann made the comment right as Rose approached, Neal could barely stifle his laugh. The timing of it was just so perfect after all. He almost wondered if M'gann had heard about what happened. Neal wouldn't be surprised if Rose had bad mouthed him the entire time that he was gone. He'd have to do some damage control later. If he and Rose were going to work together, they'd have to get past this sooner or later.

"So M'gann I was curious about something," Neal said before pausing a moment to collect his thoughts. "What are you doing tonight?"

Miss Martian watched Rose for another couple of moments, until forcing herself to look away. She still couldn't figure out why Rose rejected every attempt at peace that she made. She honestly hadn't meant to make her mad in the first place. Oh well, at least almost everyone else seemed to agree that Rose was being mean. She didn't quite feel so lost or alone in that case. When Neal asked her what she was doing that night, she simply gave him a curious look and scratched her cheek. "Uh... well, the only thing I had planned was some late night meditation and maybe watching on of your Earth movies. Wally... uh, I mean, Kid Flash... suggested something called... Got Milf? I think. He was very vague on what it was about."

Neal shook his head for a moment as he heard what movie Kid Flash had suggested. "Yeah I would definitely try to avoid that one if I were you. He's trying to pull another prank," Neal said and just left it at that. He really didn't feel like going in to detail about how he knew what Kid Flash was trying to do. "So, his real name is Wally huh?" Neal asked curiously. "You know, somehow I find that name really fits him. Can't say why though, but he does look like a Wally," he remarked to himself.

"Well if you're going to watch a movie, any chance I could join you?" Neal asked.

"Another prank... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point," Megan said, letting out a long breath. Was she really such an easy target? Shifting nervously, she lifted one hand and grabbed onto her other arm, just giving Neal a curious look when he asked if he could watch a movie with her. Almost instantly, she started to go invisible again. Martian blushing at its finest. "Uh, y-yes, that would be... I would like that," she affirmed, giving him a nod. Not that he'd really be able to see it at this point. "Maybe you could pick out a better one?"

As Rose walked back the two of them again, heading out of the room, she finally acknowledged them, looking over and narrowing her eyes for a second. To herself, she whispered under her breath, "Well isn't that just adorable? Like a water logged corpse in a sewer." And on that note, she finally exited the immediate vicinity, munching on her power bar.

"You should take everything that guy says cautiously, going off of the most recent patterns at least," Neal commented as he saw that twice today already M'gann had nearly fallen for his pranks. He waited for her to answer his question, seeing that she was starting to turn invisible once again. It seemed like she did that a lot when he talked to her directly. "Well I think I can definitely pick a better one that Wally suggested," Neal said with a laugh. "By the way, you're doing that thing again. You know, the one where you almost completely disappear"

Megan blinked in surprise suddenly, as Neal informed her that she was going camouflaged again. Instantly, she closed her eyes and concentrated, slowly beginning to reappear. She at last she was visible again, she let out a tiny laugh and bowed her head in embarrassment. "Sorry... I didn't even realize I was doing it. I guess I should work on that." She smiled slightly, holding her cloak closer around herself.

It was at that moment that the red alert alarm suddenly went off. They all knew what that meant: there was a mission. Of course, most of the Justice League was already working on other things, and it was a small alert anyway. That meant it would be the younger heroes on the job. "Oh, that's our call," Megan said, staring up at the alarm. "We should hurry to the briefing room."

Neal was about to say something after M'gann became visible once again, but he was suddenly cut off by the alarm that went off. At first Neal just stared in confusion, hardly even reacting to what was going on. It was only when M'gann said that the call was for them that Neal realized what was going to come next. It was time for their first mission, time for Neal to see if he was really cut out for this stuff or not. He took in a deep breath as he felt his heart already beginning to race.

"Kayles a Trine" Neal said under his breath. The smoke covered his body before revealing the uniform that he had shown the Justice League earlier today. If this really was a mission than he might as well get fully in to costume. "Let's get going," Neal said before waiting for M'gann to lead the way to the briefing room. He would move alongside her until they reached it.

When they made it to the briefing room, almost everyone was there. The only one missing was Rose, who, even though they'd just seen her, was nowhere to be found at the moment. They couldn't really afford to wait for her, though, considering there was an issue that needed taking care of. As the young heroes gathered, Martian Manhunter greeted them, as he would be giving them their briefing. Reaching forward on the panel in front of him, he pressed a few buttons that caused the large holo map in front of them to spring to life.

"We have just received reports from Metropolis claiming that a wild animal has somehow found its way into the city. While animal control and the local authorities have been trying to find and bring it in, so far they have been unsuccessful. In fact, there have been a total of thirty-seven reported fatalities already. The few witnesses available claimed that the animal appeared to be some kind of large cat, though we have no more details than that. It is entirely possible that this big cat is something else, something requiring our skills. In that case, I am sending you to track the animal and subdue it. The Cave teleporters will take you to the proper destination, so you can all head there-"

Just then, the door bursts open. Rose enters in a run, taking in a few deep breaths as she arrives, hands on her hips. "Alright, I'm here. Sorry I'm late, I couldn't figure out how to put on half of this ridiculous costume. I mean seriously, why are there so many different pieces to it?"