22nd September 2012
07:21 GMT -5
"He-
ey!" Holly smiles brightly at Jade as we stroll through Robinson Park. "You back for long?"
"No. But now that I've got some time off, I thought I should visit."
Jade does
have a quantum entanglement communicator which she
could use to stay in touch with Paula and Artemis, but I haven't checked that she
is using it for that.
Her apartment is
much nicer to live in when she's there than when she's not.
"How's the war against those evil Reach aliens going?"
"It's going as well as it could. We're keeping infiltration to a minimum, and that's what they usually do in order to win."
Holly nods. "I can't imagine what that would be like, fighting someone who can just control everyone's minds like that. Not being able to trust anyone, or knowing if what people were telling you to do was actually part of some alien master plan."
Jade nods. "It could make you paranoid. But right now, that's not my problem."
"How long d'you get off?"
"A month."
Holly frowns in surprise. "A whole month?"
"I haven't taken any time off since I started. Commander Aeoleton-" A pleasant humanoid with a pale-skinned head like something out of Lovecraft. "-has been on at me to get some relaxation for a while. And since Paul's agreed to stop working for a month, now seems like a good time."
Holly looks at me. "You're going to stop working. Isn't that a bit… Dangerous? I mean, for other people."
"I'm not the only superhero on the planet. And there are times… Particularly recently, when I could have left it to other people but jumped in myself instead. I haven't had a holiday since I arrived on this planet.
"
"I thought you liked being a superhero."
"I do, but… I want to be able to appreciate the improvements I'm making to the world, and… Not get so caught up in the moment that I start missing the bigger picture. Plus, Jade and I don't get to spend much time together, so…
"
"So you're not doing
anything?"
"World-ending emergencies only. The other Lanterns can contact me.
"
Jade looks Holly over as she stretches. "You've been keeping up with the exercise regime."
"Yeah. You know, trying to make something of myself." Holly takes a pose, and… While she doesn't have Jade's definition, she definitely looks like she's in better shape than he was when I first met her. "Healthy eating and clean living."
"You kept up with my diet plan as well?" Jade raises her eyebrows. "I'm a little impressed."
Holly mock-simpers. "Just a
little, mistress?"
I-.
Jade's eyes are already on me. "I gave her and Karon a few self-defense lessons."
I nod.
"Healthy eating and clean living.
"
Holly shrugs. "I mean, I wouldn't have
minded…"
Jade's eyes flick away for a second before she
forces her body language back into neutral. "Anything interesting happening in Gotham?"
"The Alliance opened a new training centre. Some guy called
Orpheus is running it."
Jade frowns. "'Alliance'?
"Remember when you told me that the League of Shadows used to murder neophyte superheroes?
" She nods.
"The Alliance of the Just is what happened as a result of that
stopping. Thousands of rookie would-be superheroes with no real idea what they're doing, and a handful of senior heroes led by a repentant gangster trying to train them.
"
"
Orpheus knows what he's doing. I don't think you can even
buy crack in Gotham any more."
"Well, good for him. I'm a little concerned that this sort of thing is going to make normal policing even
more difficult-.
"
"But that would be work."
I nod at Jade's observation.
"But that would be work. If it's a problem, I'm sure that Batman or Blue Lantern can deal with it.
"
"Hey, are you voting in the election?"
"Ah, the Presidential Election?
" Holly nods.
"I'm not a US citizen. Jade?
"
"Not registered. Also, I'm a convicted felon."
"Yes, but this is Connecticut.
" Jade gives me a slightly blank look.
"They let you vote again once you get out of prison.
"
"Oh." She frowns. "Did they let Horne run again?"
"Uh-huh." Holly shrugs. "I don't know why. It's not like he really
does anything. Hey, you-" She looks at me. "-know Senator Knight, right?"
"I've met him a few times. We're not friends or anything. He seemed to be on board with the idea of bringing magic into the mainstream, which is most of what I wanted out of him.
" I frown.
"They
really let Horne run again?
"
Holly shrugs. "I didn't get the impression there was much competition. Wasn't that why he got the nomination the first time?"
"Yes, but that's because the Democratic front-runners thought it was unwinnable. This time… Okay, the Sheeda weren't.. really his fault, but people might associate it with him. And while Knight's personal life isn't
quite as clean as Horne's, he isn't the type to have a romp with a couple of teenaged prostitutes.
"
Holly's eyes narrow slightly. "How do you
know how clean his personal life is?"
"Given.. what happened with the former Vice President, I felt that looking into him a little more closely than usual was a good idea before I had dealings with him.
"
"Wait." Holly frowns. "Do you do that with a lot of people?"
I frown back.
"Yes. Did..? You not realise that?
"
"So you can just go around and know which of them are honest and which ones aren't?"
"You don't need to be an empath to know which of them are honest. And it wouldn't matter, anyway. Horne's honest, almost… Completely, actually. But if he's not saying anything anyone is interested in hearing, if he doesn't have what it takes to come up with an agenda for the government to.. deal with the post-Sheeda world and the adoption of magic into the mainstream… Why does it matter?
"
"So… Vote Knight?"
"With political leaders, their mannerisms matter as much as their actual ideas.
" I shrug.
"Knight isn't a miracle worker, but he can probably convince people that he might be better than Horne. That will calm down the financial markets somewhat, and a government program of some sort will calm them the rest of the way.
"
"What sort of program?"
"It doesn't matter.
" / "It doesn't matter."
Jade and I look at each other, and
smile.
"Unless they print a truly stupid amount of money -and I don't think he would- all he has to do is convince people that the government has things in hand, and then whether or not his actions would improve things by themselves, normalcy will return because people will convince themselves that it is returning. Knight won't be a
great President, but he would actually
do President stuff, and sometimes a placeholder is all that's required.
"
