The observation deck of the Watch Tower was located at the top most floor of the floating station, used to observe the world below. The large hall-like room was surrounded by a large transparent glass from three sides. Inside the glass, a sanctuary of sorts was created to hold many animals and plants to provide the members of the league a feeling of harmony and peace away from home.
The dazzlingly blue glow of the planet below combined with the peace and tranquility provided by the birds and plants created a very heartwarming and serene environment.
Haru was standing in front of the glass with a peaceful smile on his face, a multitude of birds were sitting on his shoulders and hands while small animals like squirrels were lying around his feet as he gazed at the peacefully spinning globe below.
Being an entity of Nature itself, everything whether animals, plants or birds were connected with him. That connection was not just some ordinary connection, no; he could understand their every thought and move as if it was conveyed through words.
"So this is where you have been hiding." A teasing voice said from behind him.
Haru turned around with a small smile and came face to face with the black haired heroine known as Wonderwoman.
"Is that a crime?"
"Hiding your face from us is as good a crime as any."
"I'll try to be careful next time, Your Highness."
She stepped forward and stood beside him with one hand on her hip as she gazed at the world below. It has been 2 months since Haru had joined the League and things have been pretty much the same. The members had taken a liking to him as soon as they had seen him, especially the females.
His friendly and comforting aura had proven too hard to resist by any of the members of the League. His constant serene smile and calm nature give confidence and new light to those around him.
The past two months, never once had he ever looked down on any of the less powerful members even though he possessed power beyond her and Superman's capability. Quite the opposite in fact, he had offered friendly spars and training methods for them to improve their skills.
The males saw him as a worthy companion and friend they could rely on should they face any hard times while the females saw him as a big brother always there for them should they need advice, even those older than him, herself included.
Everyone except Batman of course, much to her chagrin. He was still of the opinion that Haru was nothing but an actor trying to conceal his "evil" ways and waiting for a chance to take down the league. Speaking of the ever paranoid Batman, he was having his hands full on earth with giving the three Sidekicks a tour of the Hall of Justice.
The way animals and plants loved and adored him was utterly shocking and endearing. At first they had dismissed it as trick of their imagination to see a seemingly motionless plant suddenly wrap around him as if hugging him, but slowly and surely they had come to realize the deep love the animals and plants had for him.
Now seeing him surrounded by birds and animals as well as plants was a common but welcoming sight.
"Something wrong Diana?" the redhead asked out of the blue. Her head twisted around so quickly he feared she might have broken her neck as her eyes widened in surprise. Haru had this disturbing habit of reading and analyzing your every thought and move no matter how much you try to conceal it.
"Why would you think something is wrong?" she asked innocently while Haru smiled softly. Children trying to hide away their emotions from him? Amusing.
"Well, for one, you're futilely trying to give the impression of contentment… yet the smile and happiness is not quite reaching your eyes. Second is the slight paleness of your normally vibrant olive skin. Combining the two signs, I would say you are homesick." the redhead explained calmly without turning around and thus missed the complete look of shock and amazement of Diana's face.
He was able to figure all that out within a few minutes of my arrival!
She had to admit being impressed beyond belief. The sheer analytical power of his piercing blue eyes was mind-numbing. She had been indeed homesick for some time now; being away from home for so long does that to you. The reason why she had approached Haru was to talk with him and maybe forget about her home for some time, but it seemed he knew before she even had the time to explain.
"Hiding things from you is turning out to be impossible. Just how are you able to figure out such things anyway?" she asked fondly.
"It's a skill you learn with the passage of time, Diana." Haru stated mysteriously, causing her to give him a puzzled look. "Nevertheless, I believe taking some time away from your duties and visiting your mother and sisters would do you some good."
"I know. I'm trying to take my leave when there is no crisis, but unfortunately, it's turning out to be far more difficult than I had imagined." She sighed.
Haru placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture and offered a small smile. "I'm sure that opportunity will present itself soon. But can you do me a favor?"
"Of course."
"When you do take your leave, can you at least introduce me to your mother?"
The black haired heroine shot him a surprised look. "You mean you want to accompany me to my home?"
"Indeed"
She didn't want to break his trust in her or give him false promise. While their crisis at the hands of Hercules had ended before he and his men could take the honor and dignity of her mother and sisters, they still resented and abhorred men except the one man who had saved them.
She had not been told of his name nor his identity, only the stories and legends surrounding his name, the legends of how he had single handedly destroyed Hercules and his army without moving a muscle, the stories of how he had bestowed them with immortality and had given them the bracelets to signify their independence and freedom from any man's authority and power.
It was the exact same reason why she had asked about the bracelets wrapped around Haru's hands.
"I hate to say this … but my mother and sisters are not exactly friendly towards men in general. I will never forgive myself if they hurt you in my presence and in my home." She explained apologetically.
It was depressing to hear a favor from him of all people yet lack the power to see it through seeing as he had not even asked for a glass of water from anyone in the League, let alone a favor.
"I'm sure it'll be quite an interesting experience to see a horde of females trying to kill me." the redhead stated jokingly as Diana gave a small chuckle.
"Haru, I'm not sure if that's a good idea, they could seriously hur..."
"No need to worry, I can take care of myself." He assured firmly with a smile.
"Well … if you say so"
Incoming Transmission!
Haru and Wonderwoman looked up as a screen showcased an image of the Magic user of the League
"Zatara to Justice League, The sorcerer Wotan is using the 'Amulet of Aten' to blot out the sun, requesting full league response!"
"Duty calls." Haru voiced out and gently released the birds from his shoulders and hands as he walked away followed by the black haired heroine.
"Aren't you coming Haru, Batman says it will intimidate the Sidekicks to see all Justice League members come to see their not so secret mission failure." Dinah aka Black Canary said encouragingly while she stood in front of the seated Haru.
They had just stopped Wotan from blotting out the sun. The other members were restricted by severe handicaps due to the nature of the mission. Not every member could breathe in space.
Superman had once again proven his vulnerability to magic, but he had no such weakness. It seems Wotan had expected him to lose unconsciousness by directing almost one third of the energy of the sun at him.
However, he had soon learned that Destiny had no weakness to begin with.
They had just returned from their mission and had found out that their systems had been hacked by Robin to see the files about Project Cadmus. The Three Sidekicks had taken it upon themselves to investigate the facility and had apparently destroyed the whole building.
Dinah was here to convince him to come with them to the earth and confront the Sidekicks. If the thoughts swarming around Batman's head were any indication, he had a feeling he would be seeing them a lot. Apparently Batman still thought of him as a secret agent of the enemy, no surprise there.
"I'm certain it would be a waste of time," Haru replied with a smile.
"Come on, I think it would be quite fun to see the look on their face." Dinah said encouragingly.
"No promises but I shall try to be there."