Raymond Terrill, better known as the Ray, at least in his hometown, was amazed by the size of the Hall of Justice. The grandeur of the structure instilled a sense of importance about the Justice League to Raymond, telling him that these heroes were serious business. He still couldn’t believe that he was invited here, the building where the world’s greatest heroes gathered. Or at least they used to, as Raymond had been informed that they had moved into a satellite orbiting the Earth. But the fact remained that these were hallowed grounds, and Raymond was just glad to walk them.

Like the old man that he was, Raymond’s father Langford had insisted on coming early. Raymond only agreed to the early arrival because he thought that it would give him a chance to meet some League members before the gala started. However he wasn’t even allowed into the Hall early, instead waiting on a nearby lawn with the press. Though he was in his superhero garb, not one journalist tried to interview Raymond. Apparently the hero of Vanity, Oregon was too obscure for the big press to care about.

Like most of the other gathered people, Raymond tried his best to spot any superheroes coming and going from the Hall of Justice. However, all he saw was support staff who were changing the Hall from a museum into a gala. And thus Raymond just waited outside for several hours, not really listening to his father’s tale of how the last time he was in the capital was when the government forced the Justice Society to disband. It was a story he had heard several times since learning about the legacy of the Ray.

Eventually the doors opened, and people began to stream in. Raymond and his father were some of the first in as they had special League passes. Once the initial smattering of heroes were inside the Hall, the other special guests began to enter. Raymond and his father took a seat at one of the tables, close enough to see the celebrities entering the Hall. Raymond’s eyes were immediately drawn to the very striking Lady Gaga. While his super-sheltered upbringing meant he didn’t know a lot of celebrities, Raymond did love Lady Gaga’s music.

As Raymond’s eyes were fixated on her, Langford noticed and told him to go mingle and have fun. Not needing anymore permission, Raymond rose to his feet and began to walk over to the pop star. He had a million things he wanted to say to her, but found that he couldn’t formulate the words in his head. But before he could make a fool of himself, Raymond saw Lady Gaga ushered away, talking to another celebrity he wasn’t familiar with.

Left by himself, Raymond would look around for someone to talk to. As he wasn’t too good at interacting with others, due to lack of experience, he thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to perfect the skill. So he wandered over to the first group of superheroes, recognizing several of them from online videos.

[color=#FCF523]“Hey guys, I’m the Ray,”[/color] said Raymond, feeling immediately awkward, [color=#FCF523]“I don’t know if you’ve heard of me. I’m kind of a big deal in Vanity. Uh..that’s a city in Oregon.”[/color]

Raymond nervously rubbed the back of his helmet. He wondered if the other heroes would write him off like the media did. But he was trying to stay positive and put himself out there.

[hr]

This was not Natasha’s first time at the Hall of Justice. Back when she used to live in Washington D.C. she would visit all the time. Of course that mostly stopped when the Justice League transitioned to the Watchtower base. After that it was mostly just a museum of things she had seen before.

As such she decided to arrive fashionably late. Instead of waiting outside the Hall of Justice with the large crowd, Natasha took to the skies. With a fully charged Steel suit, Natasha could of circled the capital for days. However, she was going to keep it brief this time, maybe about an half hour. So she had BORIS send her flight path to the FAA, as most responsible flying heroes did. While she could get away with zooming across the sky in Metropolis, here in Washington, they were a little more cautious of who was in the sky.

So Natasha zipped through the clouds, the sky darkening as she did so, telling her that it was getting closer to the start of the gala. Still, Natasha decided to remain late, as she didn’t want to run into her uncle. While she loved the man, John Henry and her had been in a tiff lately. Natasha wanted out from under the shadow of the original Steel, considering changing her codename and leaving Metropolis. John Henry on the other hand wanted things to stay the same way.

Natasha considered stopping at the Lincoln Memorial for guidance, as so many people do, but decided against it as she saw the time in her suit’s HUD. While she wanted to arrive late, she didn’t want to be that late. So she turned around in mid air, her thrusters taking her back to the Hall of Justice.

Landing among the various stretch limos, Natasha tried to sneak in, avoiding the paparazzi. Luckily for her, Snoop Dogg was entering around the same time, drawing all the press’s attention. With as little noise as possible while wearing a metal suit, Natasha crept into the gala. Based on the time in her HUD, she knew that Superman would be speaking very soon.

However, as she had a few minutes before that, Natasha felt like hanging out with someone she knew. As she looked around the Hall, she spotted her uncle, who she still didn’t feel like talking to. Instead she went over to the three super-kids, as she called them. They were standing with Nightwing, Kid Flash, and some heroes that Natasha didn’t recognize.

[color=#DECAED]“So some party,”[/color] said Natasha as she rested her Kinetic Hammer on the floor.

But before she could continue with small talk, she noticed the dark figure of Batman approaching.

[hr]

The Caped Crusader cut both Raymond and Natasha’s attempt at conversing short as he motioned for the assembled heroes to follow him. They exited the main gala area through a utility hallway and entered the main security room. While Natasha had seen this room before when her uncle was stationed here, it was all new to Raymond.

As Batman handed the assembled heroes earpieces, he stated that apparently they were Junior Squad. Natasha groaned on the inside, as she did remember Superman saying Batman might do something like this when she was being invited to this event. Raymond on the other hand was just happy to be involved, this Junior Squad being his first team up experience.

The Caped Crusader then asked if anyone had questions, and as Raymond did, he asked, [color=#FCF523]“So are we expecting trouble? I mean who would try anything? We’ve got the whole Justice League here, plus almost every other hero.”[/color]

Natasha decided to remain silent. She thought that in all likelihood, Batman was just being over cautious. From what she had heard from other heroes, he had plans within plans, always prepared for the worst. Yet he was ever vigilant, a trait that Natasha couldn’t disagree with.