Author's notes: A little background - The "Justice League of America" in my story is based solely on the live-action TV pilot and in it, J'onn J'onnz (aka The Martian Manhunter) was played by David Ogden Stiers. JLA fans, if I've gotten people, places, etc. totally out of whack, my apologies, I'm going by just the TV show. Thanks!

The spring weather had been really calm and beautiful in Honolulu, making the plane ride to Los Angeles quite enjoyable for Margaret Houlihan. She spent the time reviewing her notes for the speech she would be giving at the New Metro City Hospital's Conference Chamber. If that was all she had to do in this never-before-heard-of city. Her audience was to be made up of medical nurses, male and female alike, from the hospital and the various surrounding clinics. The subject being the importance of nursing in emergency care. This was old hat to Margaret, and she would be handling it with ease, she knew this not from conceit, but from experience and results and just a little bit of pride. Another thing she knew from experience would be her time there. It was only temporary. She planned to be staying in New Metro just a little over a month. After initial speechmaking, Margaret was to settle in as actual emergency care administrator in the hospital until someone under her training could sufficiently take over.

In her intense, but quick briefing back in Hawaii, with her good family friend, Dr. Robert Harwell --"Uncle Bob," it was explained to her that the previous emergency care director had up and left, quite suddenly. The nurses there thought they could handle it on their own, but soon realized someone else, someone with the precise experience of Margaret was desperately needed.

Three-fourths into the journey, gray clouds began to gather. Neither the pilots, nor the flight attendants broadcasted any immediate concern in the weather. Although, the ominous clouds continued to grow more dense as the aircraft was nearing the coast. Other passengers were growing a bit puzzled, LA wasn't known for it's rainfall. But they began breathing sighs of relief when the Captain finally came over the intercom to announce all was clear in the city, no rain or hail or anything else from the sudden overcast. Margaret took it in stride, not paying too much attention to the weather outside, but more to the documents in front of her, although she knew them by heart. It was due to her strive for total professionalism.

The landing at the Los Angeles International airport was rather smooth, despite the continued darkening of the sky. Margaret gathered up her gear and after disembarking, went in search of the Dr. Horton who, along with Robert Harwell, had set this all up for her.

"All right," Margaret sighed, looking around. "Uncle Bob said Horton'd be right here. Now, where is.. "

"Margaret Houlihan? Hello, so sorry about the delay. Did you have a good flight?" Dr. Horton began after their quick greetings. He seemed to be in some sort of a hurry, so he and Margaret rushed along the terminal. "Here you go," he handed her yet another document packet. "You'll need to meet with a Mrs. Scofield first thing. She's the hospital administrator and also the nurse in charge of one of the New Metro's clinics, and the one who got this whole conference thing off the ground."

"Yeah, my Uncle.. I mean, Dr. Harwell has already mentioned her to me," Margaret managed to say as she kept up pace with Horton.

"She'll be at the hospital, and be able to get you started and brief you on all the immediate concerns." He pulled up short, breathing a bit heavy from the long trek through the airport, and out into the inclement-looking weather. Margaret was becoming a little winded herself. "Okay, this is Corporal Tate, and he's your driver for the trip to New Metro."

"A Corporal? Is this a military installation?" Margaret gasped as the young man took the bags from Dr. Horton and put them in back of the vehicle. A jeep, a closed jeep, but one nonetheless.

"Mrs. Scofield has your housing arrangements. My apologies Ms. Houlihan for my haste, but I must be returning to Fort Irwin." Horton began to jaunt across the parking lot. "And no, New Metro City has no military facilities. But they do have that Justice League... uh, good luck."

"The what?" Margaret turned to the Corporal. "The Just.. Leege? What did he say?"

"Oh, ma'am. It's the Justice League." Tate hopped into the driver's seat beside Margaret. "I don't know much about it, but they're based in New Metro, so I guess you'll be seeing for yourself."

"I guess so," she replied, shirking off the idea. Watching the Corporal maneuver the jeep out of the busy airport parking lot and finally get onto the highway, a thought suddenly dawned on Margaret. "Uh, Tate, is it? Well, why wasn't I able to get a flight from the airport to New Metro? Surely they have an airport, with planes and the like?"

"Yep, they do, but according to Dr. Horton, it's shut down for some industrial reason. Some guy is stirring up trouble. That's all I really know."

"Oh, okay, thanks," Margaret set back against the seat, and thought what in the world had she gotten herself into? She didn't take to much time to ponder those thoughts, because as soon as they reached the Los Angeles city limits, the nearly solid black clouds above suddenly crackled with thunder, and lightning began zapping from them. Still, no rain, though. Margaret shuddered, put the weather at the back of her mind, and got out the folder Horton had given her in the airport. It was detailed personnel files on the nurses of the hospital and the clinics, and their routines and how emergency care was being handled at the present time. Margaret guessed this Mrs. Scofield had given Horton this information for her, so she could bone up before her arrival at the hospital. "She probably had to hand it to him on the run," she murmured.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Nothing, just thinking out loud. All right, now where exactly is this New Metro City? I've noticed we've been heading north, but as I know of the California cities like Sacramento, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, never have I heard of New Metro."

"I believe it's relatively new," Tate chuckled. "Though, I don't know exactly how long it's been around."

"That's fine, I suppose I will be finding out all I need to know soon enough."

"I'm sure you will, ma'am."

The jeep continued to speed along its way, and they turned on a narrow, two-lane highway, that the Corporal announced to be the last leg of the journey to New Metro. Margaret was very grateful. All she wanted to do was stop all this movement, this traveling, and get somewhere and settle in. At least for a little while. She hoped Mrs. Scofield wasn't expecting a meeting with her first thing. If that was the case, she'd just have to wait. 'But,' Margaret groaned silently, 'I'll have to see her for my housing arrangements. Oh well, still I'm not going to get together for any discussions until after a much needed bath and some rest.'

The thunderclaps built to deafening pitches, and the lightning grew more and more frequent. Now, Margaret was beginning to become a little concerned.

"Corporal Tate, I am not liking the sound of this, should we turn... ah, no I guess we're closer to the city than anyplace else. I'm just afraid that we're headed for trouble in this storm."

"I wouldn't worry too much." His voice had a hesitance Margaret didn't like. "I am originally from Washington state, and we have storms such as these quite a bit. But this one seems a bit different."

"Different? How different?"

"Well, the lack of rain for one thing, and it doesn't seem like the right feel for tornadoes to form, and it's not a hurricane, for the slowness of the wind."

"Goodness, what could it be?"

Just then, a burst of the brightest light Margaret had ever seen, came right at the jeep and seemed to swallow it whole. "What was that?' She started to relay her concern to the Corporal, but Tate was no longer in the driver's seat. In fact the whole jeep was gone. What was happening?

Margaret came to, ever so slowly began to move her arms, legs, and finally her head, thankfully finding no pain or numbness in any of it. So just as gently, she struggled to stand up from the grassy ridge where she had lain.

Stretching this way and that, she was grateful nothing seemed to be broken. No bad scrapes or cuts, with the exception of her hip being slightly sore from where she had landed on the ground. Though, she was especially appreciative of the apparent absence of any head trauma, just dusty from being on the ground. As far as she could deduce, a huge bolt of lightning had struck the jeep. The jeep. Corporal Tate. Scanning the area around her, Margaret finally spotted the vehicle about fifty yards away. It was overturned onto its side.

She hurried, as stiffly as she could to it. But to her surprise and initial panic, the Corporal was gone, and he didn't seem to be anywhere in the vicinity. Could he be underneath? Oh, no. But a quick look on both sides told her that Tate was not beneath the jeep. Another thing to be thankful for. But where was he?

"Corporal?!" She shouted, again scanning the horizon around her. No answer, no movement of any kind. "Corporal Tate!!" Still nothing. Could he be somewhere else as she was, and perhaps even injured? Margaret walked outwards from the jeep into the fields straddling the road around it, in a few directions, calling, frantically scanning. Not a sign of anything.

She returned to the vehicle to contemplate her next move. Her luggage was still intact. She reached in to retrieve one of the bags with one hand and the other habitually pushed back her loosened hair so she could see what she was doing. A strange light source suddenly lit the interior of the vehicle. Startled, Margaret pulled back without getting the case, and as quick as it came the light was gone.

"Not more lightning, that's all I need," Margaret muttered aloud. But the heavy, dark clouds had dissipated somewhat. No thunder, and no lightning could be accounted for. She stepped back for a moment to get her priorities in order. She chose the one bag she'd need the most and slowly fetched it from the back seat, this time with no odd light.

'All right,' she sighed, looking up and down the roadway, and finding no traffic. 'Strange. But there was hardly any traffic earlier, either. Well, I guess more walking.' Margaret thought her best bet would be to continue on north, toward New Metro City.

She didn't know how far she had trekked when she saw in the distance up ahead a vehicle was coming. This has to be help. Surely it was for it had its sirens blaring. Margaret slowed her pace, coming to a complete halt as the ambulance drew along side of her.

"Ms. Houlihan?" The medic on the passenger side was jumping out and hurrying up to her.

"Yes, I.. How do you know who I am?"

"Are you all right?" He took the bag from her. "Your driver was picked up earlier by a passing motorist, but they didn't see you at the time, so took they him on to the hospital," he continued to explain, "and he told us there about you saving him."

"I.. I saved him?" Margaret stepped up in the back of the ambulance, and took a seat on the gurney.

"Well, yes, I guess, that's what he was saying as he was brought in." The medic began examining Margaret as he recollected the story Corporal Tate had obviously told them at the hospital. It seemed to the Corporal that Margaret had pushed him clear from the jeep before it lurched violently from the lightning's impact. His last vision before blacking out was to see her being thrown out herself, a ways away.

"That must have been where I landed."

"Speaking of that, it looks like you're going to be just fine, perhaps a bit sore from all you've experienced. Not a very positive way to come into a new city, is it?"