Fate/Heroes - Chapter 33

Gray watched as a wave of unhidden whisper and discussion coursed throughout the room. He anticipated for something like this.

In the several years since the Justice League became the main defenders of Earth, many new aliens had come to this planet in refuge, seeing the Justice League as a shield of the people, who defended anybody, not just their own race.

Their strongest hero, Superman was a Kryptonian after all. And Martian Manhunter was not a native to Earth either. Even Hawkman and Hawkgirl were Thanagarians, not humans.

Although less than one percent of the total population of Earth was not human, it was a number growing by the day since laws in many countries around the world granted safe passage for aliens onto Earth. None were allowed a position of power, but their descendants, the ones who were born on Earth….

Whose to say that their claim to a presidency would be lesser than a humans?

It was a notion that was both inspiring some people and anger in others. It was a new form of xenophobia that was directed specifically at anything that wasn’t human. A racism so to speak.

In a democratic city such as New York, many people supported alien rights in the area, and aliens weren’t discriminated against publicly like in other states. This is a reasons why Gray wanted to move to New York. After he got rid of the Empty Coffin Gang, he wouldn’t need to worry about his ties to Talia or the League of Assassins.

Although Assassin did seem to not want to let go of such a connection so easily…..

A young girl in the crowd, probably only sixteen or seventeen put her hand up, and the entire room was drawn in by her ċhėstnut blonde hair and sky blue eyes. The slit in the side of her dress also drew the eyes of many male guests at Gray’s party, as well as a few female ones.

“Gray- Graham, what sparked this dėsɨrė to create a school that promotes equality between all forms of life? And how do you propose this school system to be governed? And how will students be measured if different species are more innately intelligent that others? Will that affect how they obtain a job and enter the work force? Or will it-“.

“Woah, Miss Kent, please one at a time”.

Gray held up his hands as numerous chuckles echoed throughout the room. Kara not fazed in the slightest by their whispers, only paying attention to Gray’s response.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

“The reason I want to make this school system a reality is because I’ve met several different aliens. All of them came to Earth to escape war, poverty, famine, disease. Earth is lucky as we have the Justice League, however not every planet is as lucky as our own. As for the questions regarding the school, I am well aware of the concerns some humans have when comparing their child to say a Thanagarian. They are a race far superior to our own in regards to technological advancements, as well as more biologically and physically stronger and faster.

He gave the sixteen year old Kryptonian a gentle looking smile.

“But honestly speaking, I don’t really see the problem. Already on Earth we have individuals with skill and intellect far superior to the modern man. Men like Lex Luthor and Ray Palmer are geniuses in their own right, far exceeding even the technologically advanced Thanagarians, yet we do not envy their intellect even though they are human? Saying that it’s different because Lex Luthor is a criminal is hypocritical!”.

Gray gazed out into the crowd, his gaze lingering on the familiar looking members of the Team that tried to capture him several weeks ago.

“If you dėsɨrė something so badly, even if you have to fight an alien to get it, than you better be sure that you put the effort in. Cruising around hoping for the best doesn’t cut it. It takes discipline and hard work to out perform our peers. If you want to be a doctor, who have to study hard. If you want to be a politician, you have to get to know the people. If you want to be a Hero….”.

Several members of the audience took a deep breath during Gray’s slight pause. The twenty year old received several different answers in a single second, and he tried to think of the best way to put them all together.

He sighed.

“If you want to be a Hero, you have to put others before yourselves. No compromising you beliefs just because your faced with an impossible situation. Because the moment you do…. is the moment that you become something less than what you wanted to become”.

The entire crowd became silent at the words of the twenty year old.

They were all New York upper class socialites you lived in the eyes of the media. Their lives wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of controversy.

They wanted to laugh in the face of such an idea, a school that catered to all forms of intelligent life? Not the press, but the people would be up in arms at such an idea! It was ridiculous. An incomprehensible notion.

But they weren’t laughing. None of them were. If such a twenty year old succeeded, it would be the birth of a new age, not for humanity, but for all Earthlings everywhere.

Gray took a deep breath and relaxed slightly at the thoughtful looks everyone in the room had. Their expressions conflicted, and only needed a little bit more to push them over the edge.

‘If I push to hard I may discourage them. If I let them decide on their own, it’ll weed out those you don’t want to, and those who believe this will take off….’.

Gray clapped his hands, snapped everyone out of their daze, the lights turned back on and a light music started to play in the background.

“Please! Everyone help yourselves! This is my party after all, I don’t want to be rude to my guests”.

The Pseudo-Servant watched as the upper class of New York dispersed across the room, leaving only a small contingent of teenagers standing in the center. All of their eyes staring directly at the man that wiped the floor with them several weeks ago.

Superboy, wearing glasses extended his hand towards Gray in a respectable fashion.

“It’s an honor sir. What I think you’re doing, it’s incredible”.

Gray smiled at the clone of Superman before faking a surprised expression.

“Quite the grip there. And thank you, I see that you’re acquainted with these three ladies, can you introduce me Mareena?”.

The princess of Atlantis seemed more at home in the world of the upper class than a fish in water. With a gentle grace she gestured towards Kid Flash, Artemis, Superboy and Miss Martian before speaking,

“Graham, these are our friends. The redhead is Wally West, the blonde is Artemis Crock, the other redhead is Meagan Morse and the boy in the glasses is Conner Kent”.

Gray turned his head from Mareena to Kara, raising an eyebrow as a response. The last daughter of Krypton nodded before placing a hand on Conner’s shoulder.

“Conner and I are cousins. We just met a few months ago after custody of him was placed under my…. father. That’s why we share the same last name”.

The look of distaste in Kara’s mouth when she referred to Clark Kent as her father was evident and the amusement of Cassie and Mareena. The other members had never met Superman in his secret identity so they only looked on in confusion.

“It seems like you have quite the range of Superfriends Kara”.

“Yeah I- I mean no! What would make you think that!”.

The sixteen year old shook her head violently, denying her previous statement with a vigorous head shake. Wally, Artemis, M’gann and Conner all looked at Gray in surprise, before a voice from across the room called out towards Gray, causing him to nod at the Team.

“I think we’ll be seeing each other a lot more in the future. Kara, Mareena, Cassie, keep your Superfriends out of trouble, this is private property after all. Good day”.

They watched as the twenty year old straightened his tie before walking off to another corner of the room, welcoming another wealthy potential sponsor for his school.

Wally blinked with a speed quicker than what the normal human eye allowed.

“What just happened?”.

Cassie dismissed the speedsters worries before sighing and looking at the black haired black eyed man who was already talking to another group of people.

“Don’t worry about him, he just likes messing with people”.