CHAPTER NINE: HONORING CEREMONY

"Today marks a momentous day in human history. In our darkest hour, these superheroes donned their colorful costumes..."

Three days after the invasion, all eight heroes were assembled once more on the footsteps of the US Capitol as the President honored them for their efforts in defeating the enemy. There were heavy crowds present and people were in a celebratory mood. In a way, it resembled something right out of a Hollywood movie. And Alex had to say, it definitely felt like they were in a movie.

She was standing in between Hal and Barry, a calm expression on her face. Although, she wasn't showing the excitement she actually felt being here.

Next to her, Hal was grumbling, pouting almost at the speech. "Costumes? This is my uniform."

"Quiet," Batman told him, staring straight ahead.

"Oh, now you wanna bark orders," Hal said, sending Batman his classic annoyed glare. "After I did the heavy lifting and pulled everyone together?"

"You're referring to when you botched my very simple directives and Wonder Woman led the charge?" Batman stated bluntly.

"Cyborg showed you the video?"

"He emailed it to me."

Seeing the smirk on Batman's face, Alex snickered. When Hal turned to glare at her, she looked at him with an innocent smile. "What? I didn't say anything."

"I really hate you two," Hal said, frowning.

"I can't believe people are no longer afraid of us," Diana said, smiling as she looked out over the crowd.

"Or that they think we're a team. We're not a team. But I am pleased to meet some folks who get me," Superman added.

"Yes, it was good to walk among a pantheon again," Diana stated.

"How do you mean?" Superman asked.

Diana looked at the heroes, all standing in a line, staring straight ahead and smiled again. "Hades, Apollo, Athena, Hermes, Hephaestus, Zeus, each a good in their own right."

' Hold up. Did she just call me Athena? Me? Athena? As in goddess of wisdom, Athena?' Alex thought to herself, a giddy smile making its way to her face. If Wonder Woman was comparing her to the goddess of wisdom...well, she must be pretty smart then.

"These super-friends used their superpowers to protect us," The President continued with his speech.

"And we're not friends either," Hal muttered.

"We let them think we're both," Batman said.

"Why?"

"It'll keep Gotham P.D. off my back, and the Airforce off yours."

Alex had to agree with that. If the President himself was honoring them, then the hostility that New York City and parts of the NYPD had with her would potentially be reduced and at least, she would be able to save and help more people.

"I don't know, a team?" Shazam remarked in a slightly less-eager tone. "I've got a lot of responsibilities."

"As do I," Diana responded.

"Well, I have a whole universe to protect people, so there you go," Hal stated quickly, hands on his hips.

"Come on, we can do it together," Barry stated, smiling.

"Yeah?" Hal looked at him questioningly. "Can you fly into space?"

"I can," Superman said.

"Not my point. Look, we're not friends," Hal asserted strongly. "We're not a team."

"I don't agree, Hal," Barry replied. "I kind of liked being a part of something."

Alex nodded her head, agreeing with Barry. "Barry's right. Fighting alongside others felt so much better than fighting alone. Being part of a team felt really nice."

"Yeah, you two would," Hal said, rolling his eyes behind his mask. "Listen, this was just a one time deal, okay?"

"And what if something like this should happen again?" Batman stared at him, a questioning tone in his voice.

"Please," Hal said, scoffing. "What could possibly happen?"

"Can you not jinx things?" Alex muttered under her breath. In matters like these, she tended to be a little superstitious.

"That said, I'm very pleased to introduce to you," The President suddenly stopped speaking, covering the mic with his hand. He turned around, looking at the heroes. "Gee, I didn't even ask. Do you guys have a name?"

"Yes, we do," Shazam immediately said, grinning.

"We do?" Alex looked at him, a confused expression on his face. Cyborg also looked confused.

"That's right," Shazam nodded in excitement. "You can call us the....Super Seven."

The others collectively groaned. Alex facepalmed. That was definitely one of the silliest names she'd heard; and boy, she had seen a lot of them online in the past two days. But still...this team; they were going to be something. For sure.

The world needed them after all.

"Should I be concerned that you're following me, Lantern?"

Alex was back home, after that unnecessarily long ceremony in D.C. She'd been flying very fast, a golden streak in the bright blue sky, but the flash of green didn't escape her. She knew Hal was following her for whatever reason he had. He confused her. She didn't know if it was in a good way or a bad way.

Hovering in the sky above the skyscrapers that dotted the Manhattan skyline, Alex crossed her arms, waiting for an answer from the annoying brunette man who was simply grinning at her.

"Well?" She looked at him questioningly. "Am I getting my answer or should I expect you to follow me to my home? And do you expect me to welcome you inside?"

"You know what?" Hal stated, still grinning. "I wouldn't actually mind that."

"The answer will be no," Alex told him, rolling her eyes as she turned away. "So why don't you go back to Coast City and pilot something, Flyboy?"

"Flyboy? That's new. But anyways, I'm not following you because I want to see your home. Sure, it might be cool. I'm following you because of what you said, remember?"

"What did I say again?"

In a pale imitation of her voice, Hal said, "I'll show you how funny I can be. So then, show me."

"Oh my god," Alex groaned, facepalming herself. "First of all, I sound nothing like what you just said. Second of all, I was joking. Don't tell me you took it seriously."

Hal hovered closer to her, almost looking offended. "So you weren't flirting with me then?"

"No!" Alex immediately replied, shaking her head. "Why would I flirt with you?" 'Although it's not like I would mind doing it. Not after that moment we shared...'

"Huh, well, okay," Hal suddenly said, his grin softening into a smile. A cute smile that - goddamit! She wouldn't go there. Not with someone like him. (too bad that she was already in that place...)

"At least show me your face. You saw what I look like and it's only fair that I get to see you," He added.

Alex contemplated for a second. He was right about this. In their side-job, secret identities were important and she already knew his thanks to Batman. She'd even seen his face. He knew her name too, but he hadn't seen her face. So, technically, if Alex had to be fair and nice, then she'd show him her face too.

"Okay," She finally said, crossing her arms once more. "I'm ready to do that. But not here, not in the open sky where some stupid idiot with a camera can take a picture of me without my mask. That would put me in jeopardy."

"You don't have to worry about that," Hal held out his hand, and with his ring, constructed a sphere around them, that was almost tinted. It would hide them from view effectively, although it kinda stood out even in the afternoon sky of New York. But no one would be able to see inside.

Alex was well aware of Hal's stare on her and faltered as she reached to take her cowl off. But, with a deep breath, she removed it. As she did, her blonde hair scattered over her face. She pushed it back before meeting Hal's eyes.

"Well, this good enough for you?" Alex asked, feeling blood rush to her cheeks, as she held onto her cowl. "You saw my face now. Happy?"

"Oh, I'm very happy, gorgeous," Hal said flirtatiously, his lips curling up into a smirk. "Has anyone ever told you that you have really nice eyes? I..."

"Please don't finish that sentence," Alex immediately interrupted him, covering her face. "I swear to god, I'll punch your stupid face."

Hal dropped the sphere construct surrounding them, laughing. "You know what, you're hilarious."

"I'm guessing you're trying to tease me by saying that...but it's not working," Alex said, turning away from him. "Anyways, I'm sure you have things to do back home. So...bye, I guess."

"That eager to get rid of me?"

"No, I would love to spend time with you, but I really want to sleep today before I get back to work tomorrow," Alex stated, with only a minor tinge of sarcasm. Suddenly, she remembered. "Hold on a sec."

Her suit had two pockets; one where she kept her phone. That one was zipped shut. The other carried random stuff, but two things were a constant there; a small pocket-sized notebook and a pen. The last time she had used it for this purpose, in front of a hero like her, was when she had met Barry for the first time. Alex reached into the pocket and feeling for the notebook and pen, took them out. She opened up and quickly scribbled what she wanted to say, before tearing the page and handing it to Hal.

Alex tapped the torn page with the pen she was still holding. "Emergencies only. Don't call me too much or send me stupid stuff or land up at my house half-dead or something. You hear me, for emergencies only."

"Yeah, I got it," Hal said, a wide smirk suddenly covering his face. "Emergencies only."

"Why do I have a feeling you won't follow that?" Alex mumbled under her breath. She turned away once more, getting ready to fly in the direction of her home. "Anyway, see you around, Hal. But not too soon. Bye."

"Hey wait!"

Alex turned around, hearing Hal call after her. But what she doesn't anticipate is him leaning down a little and kissing her cheek. Her mouth formed a comically-wide 'o' and even as she tried to find words, nothing came out.

"See you around, Lexie," With that, Hal disappeared into the sky, flying away at an immense speed and leaving Alex stunned. She raised a trembling hand to her cheek.

"Did that just happen?"

We're finally at the nickname stage with these two hehe. This was anyways a short filler chapter, but I can promise you, there will be more moments like these to come. This was a comparatively short chapter but hey, writing Alex and Hal being cute is always fun.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments below!