We're Rich

"Rachel! We're rich!"

After fighting the urge to roast Oliver Queen, Shane came back with a bank card and some cash for everyday expenses.

As for why he wanted to roast Oliver Queen...

The man's whole persona seemed to overlap with Batman's, only for Batman to outshine him at every turn. Yet this show-off apparently had no intention of seriously hiding his identity.

His disguise was just a mask and a hood. Both identities sported the same little blond goatee, and even his eyes were exactly the same color.

Drawing on every ounce of self-control he had, Shane followed the masked-hero routine to the letter. In a reception room at Queen Industries, he told Oliver, the famous local billionaire, that Green Arrow had sent him to collect some money.

Oliver looked as though everything had suddenly clicked.

"I see. You're a friend of Green Arrow's."

Then Oliver clasped his hands behind his back, strode to the floor-to-ceiling window, and spent nearly half an hour holding forth on Green Arrow and the profound bond between them, as though they were kindred spirits who wished they'd met sooner.

He lavished praise on the masked vigilante who silently protected Star City under cover of night, expressing the deepest admiration for him.

His language was so ornate that Shakespeare himself might have risen from the grave to deliver it.

Even Shane nearly lost patience. He had half a mind to pin Oliver to his desk and pluck out that blond goatee, which bobbed every time the man opened his mouth.

At first, Rachel merely glanced at the few rolls of bills Shane had brought back and gave a dismissive snort.

Only when Shane pulled out two newly bought phones and the bank card did she sense that something was different.

She took the phone he handed her and turned it over and over in her hands.

For Rachel, who had grown up in the Sacred Realm with nothing but magic, it was a fascinating novelty.

After playing with it for a few minutes and getting a rough grasp of its functions, Rachel fixed her gaze on the bank card.

"How much money is on it?"

"Both phones are linked to the card. You can check for yourself."

Five minutes later, Rachel's startled cry rang out from the Escape Pod on the sea cliff.

She still wore her usual blank, deadpan expression, but her eyes had begun to shine.

Shane quietly watched as Rachel tapped at the phone's keyboard, murmuring plans for the two of them to head to Metropolis first thing tomorrow morning and go on a wild shopping spree.

"First, we'll buy two beds big enough for us. Then we won't have to keep sleeping in sleeping bags."

"Then we'll get some clothes. Magic can clean us up, but those few outfits of yours are too old. Aside from your combat suit, I can't even be bothered to repair them with magic."

"So we'll need a wardrobe, too!"

"A deep fryer, a frying pan, a stove, and some seasonings from the human world. Then we can make fish in different flavors..."

"The Escape Pod maintains its own temperature, so we won't need to buy anything for that."

Rachel suddenly looked at Shane with caution.

"Can I buy a dryer, too? I don't want to keep using magic to dry things."

Shane spread his hands.

"Whatever you want. You can buy a washing machine, too. I'm not completely helpless, you know. I didn't get much classroom time back then, but I can handle some basic mechanical modifications."

Shane looked around the Escape Pod.

"I can modify it to separate out a seawater purification system. Its power source should last a long time if I convert the output to electricity, too."

He had no idea how Bruce had managed it. Bruce had not only repaired the Escape Pod but also topped up its energy reserves.

Shane interrupted Rachel, who was still lost in her plans, and pointed at the Escape Pod's ceiling.

"But if we buy all that, there won't be enough room in here."

Rachel fell silent for a few seconds. Then her eyes lit up, and she began clumsily typing another list into her phone.

"Then we'll buy some lumber, steel, adhesive, glass..."

Shane stared at her, baffled.

"What do we need those for?"

Rachel rolled her eyes as if the answer were obvious.

"I can use magic, you have superpowers, and you're even good with your hands. There's an open stretch of beach right beside us. We can build a house ourselves!"

Rachel went on happily tapping away at her phone. As she grew more familiar with this piece of human technology, her fingers moved faster and faster.

A full half minute passed before Rachel realized it had grown strangely quiet beside her.

She looked up at Shane, who stood as still as a block of wood.

"Why did you suddenly go quiet?"

Shane stared blankly at Rachel as she held the phone.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, her pale legs showing faint hints of unusual color. Her gray hood hung loosely down her back, and her cloak lay spread across the floor behind her.

Her pale blue eyes sparkled. A few short strands of silver-gray hair fell across her forehead.

Shane suddenly jolted back to his senses.

He rose a little awkwardly, turned, and opened the Escape Pod's door.

"I'm going out to move around. If I'm back late, go to sleep without me."

He leaped out, and Rachel heard a splash.

Shane's sudden change struck her as odd. But tomorrow they could shop to their hearts' content, and with that much money, she could finally experience the human world beyond the dark corners of Gotham she had known. Soon, ideas crowded out every other thought.

She lowered her head and went back to typing them in.

The Escape Pod's door remained open, its light spilling out over the rippling sea.

Shane sped through the dark water, going nowhere in particular.

In truth, Shane had barely gone swimming in either of his lives. Even underwater, he got around mainly by activating his ability to fly.

Water was denser than air, though, and offered more resistance.

Lost in thought, he moved faster and faster, unwittingly plunging into ever-deeper water.

A powerful current churned beside and behind him, scattering innocent fish in every direction.

"Damn it. I was single for thirty years in my last life. Why does it suddenly feel like I'm about to start a family?"

"This is so wrong. Rachel's only fourteen!"

Before he knew it, a dazzling spread of colors appeared ahead of him.

The sight snapped him back to his senses.

He moved another few hundred meters forward, and a city shimmering with colors beyond description came into view.

"Is that Atlantis? Where the hell did I swim to?"

He glanced upward. He was so deep that he could no longer see any starlight reflected on the surface.

The massive undercurrent Shane had stirred up along the way had already alerted the Atlantis people, who were keenly sensitive to disturbances in the water.

Two guards wielding silver spears swam out through the bubble surrounding Atlantis and approached him, their faces tense with suspicion.

Shane narrowed his eyes. He suddenly remembered the two pearls Aquaman had tossed him earlier.

A moment later, Shane charged into Atlantis's magical bubble, carrying the two terrified, screaming guards as easily as chicks.

The heavy, salty air rushed into his nostrils again. Shane casually tossed the guards aside.

"Where's Aquaman? Tell him to come out and see me!"