by HarveyKent
Back at Zatanna’s apartment, the heroines told Madame Xanadu what had transpired.
“The one you call Mirror Mistress played a card not usually in her deck,” Madame Xanadu said. “It remains to be seen what path she will take from here.”
“Madame, thank you,” Zatanna said earnestly. “If not for you — well, you know what.”
“I did very little tonight, Zatanna Zatara,” Madame Xanadu said. “It was you — all of you — who made the difference. I am honored to have been a part of that.” The mysterious sorceress turned to Batwoman and Katana. “I must return whence I came,” she said. “I can return you to where I found you, as well.”
“Sure, thanks,” Batwoman said. “Be a long hike from here to Gotham City.” Katana nodded as well.
“Um, I’ll stay behind for a while,” Mera said. “Maybe catch a JLA teleporter back to Atlantis, if that’s all right.” Black Canary and Hawkwoman glanced at each other, then assured Mera that it was.
“Then fare thee well, sisters,” Madame Xanadu said. “And again, my thanks.” The shadows around Madame Xanadu, Batwoman, and Katana deepened, and when they lifted, the three women were gone.
Mera strode up to Wonder Woman. “Er, Nubia,” she began. “I’d like to… apologize.”
“You would?” the warrior asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s not easy for me,” Mera said. “I usually don’t have to in my position. But I was out of line before. I hope you can forgive me… Wonder Woman.”
Nubia smiled a little. “You are forgiven… Your Highness,” she said. “But, there is another deserving of your apology.”
Mera sighed. “I know.” Swallowing her pride, Mera walked over to the couch where Sue Dibny sat with her stocking feet tucked under her, working at her shoes with a polishing cloth. The muck of the swamp and the sandy plain of Bahrain had not been kind to the Moroccan leather.
“Sue?” Mera said, haltingly. Sue stopped polishing and looked up. “I just want to — that is — I wanted to say–”
Sue smiled and placed her hand over Mera’s. “I know,” Sue said. “It’s all right.”
Mera exhaled, relieved. “Thank you… for not making me crawl,” she said. “I do apologize. I hope you realize I was under a great deal of pressure tonight.”
“We all were,” Sue acknowledged. “I mean, the end of male life on Earth! Sure, we all might have said things we didn’t mean.”
“I was terrified,” Mera said. “I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time, but I was. To lose Arthur… for our daughter to grow up without a father…”
“You have a daughter?” Sue asked, delighted.
“Oh, yes,” Mera said. “We… lost our son a few years ago, but we have a beautiful baby daughter now. Nautica.”
“Ralph and I have a little girl, too,” Sue said. “She’s our joy.”
Mera smiled. “Then we share another bond, Sue. Motherhood.”
“Do you have any pictures?”
***
“Rhoda, Lou Grant, Phyllis, and The Betty White Show,” Hawkman said.
“Dang!” Green Arrow exclaimed. “That’s all four spinoffs of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, all right! And that wins you the game!”
Hawkman smiled. “You’d be surprised how much culture an alien can absorb from television.”
“Sadly, I wouldn’t,” Green Arrow said, rising from his chair. “I think I’ll call Dinah. The party’s probably broken up by now.”
***
“Hello? Ollie!” Dinah said into the phone. “How are you?”
“Doing fine, doing fine,” Green Arrow said. “Katar whupped me on Trivial Pursuit, is all. How’d the party go?”
“Oh… great,” Dinah said. “A few people showed up whom we weren’t expecting.”
“Yeah? Well, the more the merrier, right?”
“Right,” Dinah said, looking over at the couch, where Mera was displaying a holographic image of Nautica from a jewel in her bracelet.
“Oh, she’s adorable!” Sue cooed. “Just look at those eyes!”
“Her father’s,” Mera said with pride. “I think your daughter has your eyes, Sue.”
“Do you really?” Sue said. “She has her father’s nose, unfortunately!” And both women laughed.
“Yes, it was a great party,” Dinah said into the phone. “I’ll tell you all about it… sometime.”
Continued in Green Arrow and Black Canary: Let No Man Put Asunder