Braedey Martin: Unlimited

Ch 19: Mystery In Space

Watchtower

"And then, the crazy miner sets off all of his explosives, and we barely make it out alive!" Braedey finished his story to Shayera, who laughed. The two of them were sharing a shift on the observation deck, and since monitor-duty was boring, Ben was keeping both of them entertained by telling her about some of his adventures back in his universe.

"How you survived all those close calls is a miracle," Shayera commented, "ever tried going to Vegas with that kind of luck?"

Braedey shrugged. "I don't think it'd be fair to anyone else."

Shayera raised an eyebrow. "Since when is anything in Las Vegas 'fair'? I remember when we went to stop the Joker from blowing the whole city up, and when John tried to move one of the bombs away, Joker detonated it!"

"Speaking of John," said Braedey, "how are things between you and him?" He had been glad that those two had finally gotten back together, but he hadn't heard how their relationship was going.

"We've been taking things a little slower than, say, you and Kara," Braedey rolled his eyes at Shayera's comment, "but we've talked about moving in together at some point. It's not like I'd have a lot of stuff to move, since I live here on the Watchtower."

"I understand," Braedey said, "but still, I'm glad that you're together; I can tell you make each other happy."

Shayera gave a wry smile. "Glad you think so, but some other people..." she trailed off.

"Vixen?" Braedey had seen Vixen flirting with Green Lantern nearly every time those two had been in the same room; she must have been annoyed that John had been holding out for the Thanagarian for so long.

Shayera nodded. "She hasn't done anything, she's a complete professional during a mission; I just wish she'd stop wasting her time giving me dirty looks."

"You want me to talk to her?" Braedey offered. Since Shayera's return to the League, Braedey had been the unofficial peacemaker between her and the Leaguers who didn't trust her. Thankfully, when Wonder Woman had finally gotten over her own issues with Shayera, many of her naysayers had also followed suit. Sadly, there were still a few diehards, and Vixen was one of them, though she might have acted the way she did out of petty jealousy.

Shayera gave Braedey a glare, knocking him out of his musings. "Please, Braedey; if I could get upset from just a few dirty looks, I'd have broken down years ago."

Sometimes, Braedey forgot that Shayera was an accomplished soldier years before she became a superhero.

Before the conversation could go any further, they heard J'onn's voice above them.

"Shayera!"

Both Braedey and Shayera heard the urgency in J'onn's voice; Shayera spread her wings and flew up to the Martian's position, while Braedey, who was curious to see what was going on, followed on foot. He found the two in front of a communications screen, along with Green Lantern. On the screen was an alien, though Braedey couldn't identify the species or even the gender through the large helmet the alien wore.

"Shayera," said J'onn, pointing to a readout in front of them, "is that what I think it is?"

The Thanagarian looked at the data. "It's transuranic iron ore. Nth-metal, like my mace, but unrefined; what about it?"

"We're stranded on a rock that's pretty much made of the stuff." The voice of the alien sounded strange, no doubt due to the helmet worn on its head. "We're just miners; are we in any danger?"

From the alarmed look on Shayera's face, the answer was yes. "Sit tight; don't move and don't touch anything." She spun around and headed out. "Prep a Javelin for me; I'm on my way."