The Man:
"How in the world did we get here before any of the others," I say, walking down the final steps. My foot landing on the stone pavement, I look around and all I can see is my empty workshop. There is no one else here.
"How can you tell," Kara asks, still on my back. "I can't see anything."
"I can see in the dark," I reply, "And what I can see right now is my ship, the wood and metals I used to build her, and my tools."
"Woods," Kara repeats, the sound of an elevator's ding grabbing our attention. Quickly getting off my back, Karak and I look to see the elevator's doors slide open and the rest of the Insurgency all inside.
"You beat us here," Leonard yells, "How? I thought you said you would take the stairs."
"We did," I yell back, "And we beat you here. Haha, slowpoke."
"So where is this spaceship of yours," Barry asks, walking out of the elevator and looking around. "I don't see anything."
"That's because the lights are off. Give me a second."
Clapping my hands together, the sound echoing throughout the entire hanger, all the lights then simultaneously come on, revealing my ship, the mighty Rusted.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Barry yells, the sound of his 'fingernails against a chalkboard voice echoing throughout the hanger. "This is your spaceship? This?"
"Yes," I reply. "This is my spaceship. The Rusted."
The Rusted, my spaceship, upon first look, is a refashioned pirate ship, complete with everything from the crow's nest at the very top to the hull, the belly of the ship. She comes equipped with three main masts, the sails already down and a figurehead I handcrafted years ago.
"You really put the 'ship' is spaceship uh," Cold jokes.
You got to be kidding," Jason joins, walking up to the Rusted. "This is a boat, not a spaceship. How is it supposed to take us to Oa? How?"
"Okay, first thing first. This is a ship, a ship, not a boat. Second of all, despite what you may be thinking, it is more than capable of taking us, all of us, to Oa."
Walking up and gently patting her, I look toward Jason.
"I made some upgrades since the last time she helped me. For example, despite being made from cedar and oak, the Rusted herself is heavily reinforced."
"Herself," Jason repeats.
"Yes Millennial. We old people like to refer to our precious cars, boats, and planes as 'her' and 'she'. After all, they have a special place in our hearts."
I nod my head as I look at the Rusted again.
"Also, you see the sails up there?"
Jason looking behind and up at the sails turns back to me.
"Yeah."
"They're made from an aluminum-like alloy, flat, smooth, and with a reflective coating that sunlight can push. Have you ever heard of something called solar sails?"
"I have," Professor Stein interrupts, stepping up. "Thought, I've never heard of someone building a pirate ship with solar sails."
"Wait, wait, wait," Barry says, shaking his hands left and right. "Are you saying this is for real? This thing--"
In less than a second, I pull off my shoe and throw it at Barry.
"Ship," I say, "This ship."
Rubbing his head as he looks at me, his eye twitching as he does, he looks back at Professor Stein.
"Are you saying this ship could actually take us all the way to Oa?"
"Possibly," Professor Stein replies, looking at the Rusted. "I remember reading something about solar sails many years ago. They do work, but there are some disadvantages to using them."
"But assuming that the sails do work," Barry says, "There are still a few things I'm worried about."
"That's funny," I whisper, picking up my shoe and putting it back on. "One of the few things that I'm worried about is you."
"I don't see a cover," Barry starts, "How are we going to breathe in space? What if we freeze out there? Also, this is huge. How are we supposed to get it out of here?"
"Inside of the Rusted, there is something I built. I called it an atmosphere generator."
"An atmosphere generator," Professor Stein repeats.
"It generates an atmosphere, a breathable one, one where even crops can grow."
"Crops," Jason repeats. "There's a farm in there?"
"Yes, but one person's questions at a time. Besides generating a breathable atmosphere, the generator will also act as a sort of jacket for the Rusted and her crew, making sure the temperature stays constant. Finally, there's a portal built into the wall that will teleport the ship to Earth's mesosphere."
I see some question marks appear over a few heads and quickly explain.
"It's the layer of Earth's atmosphere before the thermosphere. There, people can still breathe, but it is cold. About 50 miles straight up, the temperature is a near-constant of -120 degrees."
The question marks slowly fade away, Harleen is the first to make a move.
"Okay, so it's decided," she says, "We're going to Oa. I might, we have the transportation."
Walking up to the Rusted, she turns to face everyone else.
"What about Gotham City," Jaime asks, "And the Lords of Order? And their army of fake Dr. Fates? Are we really going to leave all of them?"
"Of course, we're not," Jason yells. "We're not abandoning Gotham."
"So what are we going to do," Selina says. "Stay here?"
"We can't stay here," Harleen says, "You heard the message. The Green Lanterns need us."
"All of us," I add, "So we can't split up either. It's either we all stay in Gotham or we all go to Oa. The decision is yours."
Everyone staring at each other, looking from one Insurgent to the next, waiting for one of them to make the first move, I roll my eyes and make the first move.
"Let's settle this diplomacy," I say, "Shall we? Everyone who thinks we should leave for Oa, get on this side. Everyone who thinks we should stay here, get on that side."
Once again, everyone looks at each other before slowly taking sides. Standing near the Rusted are Oliver, Dinah, Harleen, Leonard, Cheetah, and Reverse-Flash. Standing near the elevator are Barry, Jason, Jaime, and Selina. Meanwhile, Professor Stein, Supergirl, Swamp Thing, the Doc, and Iris who is still carrying Kent Nelson are still in the middle.
"Five versus four," I note, counting to make sure. "I get we're going to Oa."
"No, no, no," Barry says, stepping forward and waving his arms. "There are still some that haven't chosen yet."
Pointing toward the four that haven't, I walk toward them.
"You know it's rude to point," I say, getting in between him and the four. Barry lowering his finger, I turn to the four.
"Swamp Thing," I start," I imagine that both choices you really don't care about. All you want is to back go to your swamp."
"That is correct," Swamp Thing says, nodding his head.
"The Doc can help with that."
Stepping aside, I let the Doc bring Swamp Thing home. A portal opens up, Swamp Thing steps through and vanishes, the portal closing seconds later.
"If Swamp Thing is going back to Slaughter Swamp," Jason says, "then it means we're staying."
"No," I reply. "We're going to Oa. We settled this diplomacy. Remember? At least, most of us are."
I walk up to Iris and Kent.
"I want the two of you to stay here. Take care of the base while we're away."
"Two," the Doc repeats, putting the teleporter back in his pocket. "Wait, what do you mean by two? Not three?"
"No Doc. Not three. You're coming with us to Oa."