"What's station WHIZ?" Jay asks. "And how can we watch it? I don't think the platform has electricity."

"There's a small television next to the generator, WHIZ is a television channel, I doubt Billy was talking about normal programming so we'll check in an hour when the news is scheduled to come on." Courtney says, looking over at the generator as she runs a hand over the titles of the schoolbooks on the desk. Meanwhile, Rick is looking around the walls of the platform, mentally comparing it to other subway stations he's seen. Crawling behind the a pile of boxes, he sees the hatch he'd been looking for.

"We could get electricity, the platform has an access panel here but since it was never completed they didn't put up walls, lay wires, or install outlets." Rick looks over his shoulder at the others. "We'd be tapping into the city's power supply grid, just like any other consumer."

"That . .. is illegal." Jay says quietly. "And how do you know what would have to be done?"

"I studied electrical engineering as a hobby." Rick says. "One of my fraternity buddies was in the program, I read his texts when he wasn't using them and helped him with a project."

"Why didn't you go into the program?" Courtney asks.

"Too much math needed." Rick says.

"What would be needed to get electricity down here? I doubt you can just open up a panel and start plugging things in?" Pietr asks.

"No, it's 220 voltage at the panel, you'd need a converter to bring it down to 110 and run lines to whatever you wanted to run." Rick says, shutting the hatch and brushing off his clothes.

"How would you get a converter?" Pietr asks. Jay looks at them stunned. "Stealing electricity is still illegal."

"Not stealing if you pay for it." Rick says. "The building over us is empty, somebody could buy it and hook up to their meter. That way what electricity used would be accounted for."

"What type of converter would be needed?" Pietr asks.

"A fuse box like in any building." Rick says. "It would take a lot of work to rig this place up for electricity, time, effort, and money." He looks around the platform. "They don't make stations like this anymore, I remember reading about the lost subway stations in history class."

"Lost subway stations."

"Yeah, the city had made plans to extend the subway out towards the suburbs, a few stations were even built. But then the War happened and plans were put on hold. By the time the war was over, the reports of where the stations were dug was lost and the city decided to run trains instead."

Rick walks to the edge of the platform and onto the bridge across to the other side. He looks at the neat stacks of papers, bags of bottles, flattened cans, various metals, piles of wood neatly stacked for winter, a couple of old wood stoves sitting in the corner, and what looks like walls leaning against the wall. This area isn't as neat as Billy's living area, but still clean.

A couple hours later they turn to the small television as the news should be coming on. As expected, the first story is about the alien invasion. Everybody blinks when the anchor cuts to a broadcast from the field and the reporter turns out to be Billy.

They watch the news and turn the television off when the news is over, looking at each other while Pietr dishes up the food and they begin to eat. A makeshift ice box holds the leftovers and Pieter marvels at how Billy has arranged things for himself on the platform. Standing up, he walks over to the desk, studying the work assignments Billy had been given.

Billy shows up a couple of hours after the news is off, night has fallen. "Sorry if I worried anybody, I didn't want anybody following me."

"How is it out there?"

"The aliens are declaring martial law, putting the news media under their control to spread propaganda or shutting down those that refuse to cooperate. My station was one that refuses to cooperate so I'm off until this is over. The vehicles are already beginning to break up, I'm going to go back out and scout for parts."

"I'll go with you." Rick and Kara say automatically.

"Eat first." Pietr orders, pulling the bowl from the icebox, handing it over to Billy and pushing him onto a crate that doubles as a seat.

Twenty minutes later Billy finishes his bowl of stew, changing into his oldest clothes as Pietr takes the bowl, going over to the washbowl that passes as a sink and cleans it before putting it away in the box that passes as a cupboard as Billy runs across the bridge, returning with three large canvas bags.

The others follow him down the tracks to another stairway, heading up on another street and looking around. They're in a street of small shops that closed a couple of hours ago. He ducks around the back, opening boxes behind the buildings.

"I have an agreement with the shopowners, I take everything recyclable, in return they save money on their garbage." Billy sorts the recyclables out between all three of their bags as they walk down the street. Rick looks up as small items begin falling from the sky, Billy picking them up and stuffing them in his bag before they head back to the station.

"Do you do the same street every night?" Kara asks as they walk over to the other platform, putting their finds with the other recyclables.

"No, I do a different street every night." Billy looks at his piles of recyclables. "I'd better take some of this in tomorrow, make more room in case I pick up something big. A lot of the homeless are going to be scrounging alien debris, trying to make a quick buck. I'll put my stuff away until after the glut is over, that way I can get more money for it."

"Billy, how long have you been. . .how long ago did your parents die?" Jay asks after a couple of false starts as he tries to find the right words to say. It's not everyday you find out the young man you were worried about paying attention to a young girl in your charge is actually a young orphan boy living on the streets.

"My parents died when I was eight, I lived with a great uncle for a couple of years until he died of a stroke, I was on the streets when I was ten. I found this place when I was eleven, that's when the old wizard picked me to be Captain Marvel, I got my job at WHIZ when I was twelve, I'll be fourteen in a few weeks." Billy says. 

Pietr and Jay finally settle back on their cots, Pietr listening to the breathing of the others before he finally falls asleep.

Jay is the first one awake the next morning but Billy sits up before his alarm would have went off, walking over to the pitcher and bowl, pouring water to wash his face and hands.

Looking at the others sleeping, he heads across the bridge of boards, deciding which would be easier to carry to the recycling center. Paper is taking up the most space, but it would get him the least money. Paper and metal it is, flattened he can get a lot of cans in a bag.

An hours worth of work has two stuffed bags he lowers by rope onto the floor of the subway tunnel before walking back over to the 'living' area. Grabbing a washcloth and bar of soap from the sink, he pours water into the bowl and pulls a curtain around a corner. Movements seen
through the curtain tells Jay he's washing up, the curtain in pulled five minutes later and Billy walks back out. The dirty water is poured into a pail, Billy lowers it to the tunnel, he'll take it to the 'garden' later for watering the plants.

"Billy, where are you going?"

"There's a junk dealer that buys scrap metal and other recyclables from people, he in turn sells it to the big recyclers. It opens in about an hour, if I leave now I can be there when he opens."

"How are you planning on going?" Pietr asks.

"I'll catch a local bus until I can get a train." Billy says. "I'll take some today and some tomorrow unless the aliens start declaring martial law."

"Wouldn't it be easier to drive?" Jay asks.

"I don't think they'd believe I'm old enough to
drive if I got pulled over." Billy says with a small chuckle.

"You do have access to a vehicle then?" Pieter asks.

"Yes, an old clunker of a truck. It's older than I am, but it runs good."

"Where is it?" Jay asks.

"In one of the abandoned buildings over us, I brought most of them from the city for back taxes using a second identity. The identity is supposed to be a recluse, I'm a 'neighborhood kid' who runs 'errands' for him." Billy holds his fingers up in midair, making quotation
marks around neighborhood kid and errands.

"Could you be able to get all your scrap to the dealer if one of us drove you?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't get as good a price for it if I did that." Billy says. Jay shakes his head, Billy's too young to have to think of things like this.

Billy checks his clothes one last time, walking over to the table with his school books and slides a folder into his messenger bag before dropping over the side of the platform onto the tunnel floor. "I'll try to pick up a couple of papers on the way back." he calls behind him as he heads for the stairs he, Rick, and Kara had used the previous night.

Ducking out into the predawn light, he heads for the bus stop a few blocks away. The driver nods at the monthly rail pass he shows him and he settles in a seat. It's too early for the usual morning rush so he's the only one on the bus for most of the ride.

The train arrives a couple minutes after he gets off the bus and he heads into the city, finally seeing the signs of alien presence in checkpoints at major intersections as the train goes by. When he gets off the train, he has to pass through a checkpoint and his bags inspected before he's allowed to leave the station and get on another bus.

The junk dealer is open when he arrives and they start haggling over the price of Billy's scrap. They soon come to an equitable bargain, Billy taking the bags and folding them into the messenger bag on his shoulder before accepting them money and hopping on the bus again.

He stops at the school, running in and dropping off his assignments. picking up his graded work and taking a couple of tests while the teacher comes up with new assignments for him. Three long hours later, he finally heads down the stairs to the station. Everybody sighs in relief when they see him enter, they'd been worried.

"How is it out there?" Jay asks as Pietr pushes a plate of food in Billy's direction. He hadn't eaten breakfast before he'd left and it was after lunch now.

"The aliens have checkpoints set up at major intersections going into and out of the city." Billy says, the others look shocked. "There's one at the train station, probably one at the airport as well." Billy waves at his bag. "There's a couple of papers in there." he eats quickly and walks over to his cot, dropping onto it and quickly falling asleep.

Pietr pulls a blanket up over him, fingers lingering quickly on his neck as he covers him. Jay pulls the newspapers out of the bag, handing over Billy's folder from school that the other man puts on the table and the folded bags that Courtney runs across to the other platform. The handful of money is left in the bag as it's put on the table, the others taking pieces of the papers to read as Billy sleeps.

The next day after breakfast Billy settles at his desk working on the assignments that he'd been given for a few hours. There's a wooden bookcase filled with second hand fiction and non-fiction books and Jay settles down with a book to read. Courtney is busy sweeping up the platform while Kara and Pietr clean everything up from breakfast.

"Billy, how do you charge the generator?" Rick asks, looking it over.

"Foot power, there's a set of pedals in the corner there I hook up to the generator. A few minutes pedaling at a time several times a day usually has the generator fully charged. I'd thought of getting a larger one but I'd be looked at for buying gasoline unless I'm filling the truck."

"Yes, the police tend to take notice of teens buying gas."

"Not to mention they tell you not to use generators in enclosed spaces. There's usually a story on the news about a generator in the garage attached to a house gassing the people inside." Courtney says. The others nod. "Unless you left the garage door cracked open enough to get air but not enough for anybody to get inside. . ."

"And I don't have enough stuff that needs the power beyond the television, the campstove takes care of most of my food needs. During the winter I generally have a pot of soup or stew on the wood stoves as well as water." Pietr nods in satisfaction.

"Do you have lights?"

"Yes, I have several lanterns that I use in the fall and winter when the days start getting shorter as well as candles." Billy points to a couple boxes. "I haven't put them out yet since we got enough lights after dark but with the crackdown. . ."

"Can you see the light from outside?"

"No, the ventilation windows are too far up. I lighted them one night then went outside to look." Pietr walks over and looks at the lanterns and jugs of lamp fuel. He looks over at Billy. "I buy them at hardware stores, supposedly I'm picking them up for my boss. Who is having an outdoor party."

"Billy, is this woodworking equipment?" Jay asks, inspecting the building over the tunnel.

"Yes, I brought it from a local furniture maker that was going out of business due to health problems. I worked with the Amish on and off on their homes or making furniture and want to work on the buildings in the future."

After lunch Billy takes the empty water containers down the tunnel to be filled while Rick empties the compost toilet tank since it's getting full. There's a couple sets of bins in the garden room and Rick dumps it in a bin separate from the others.

"Where do you get your plants?"

"The Amish, they usually have extras they start to sell at farm markets and pass some along to me along with seeds and 'extra food that will just go to waste'. I also buy seeds at dollar stores and order them online. I don't grow much at a time, but I can grow all through the winter. It supplements what I can get in the store."

It's beginning to grow dark when Billy brings out the candles. They don't put out much light but they don't need to see much beyond washing up and settling on cots or camp chairs, making sure the candles are far enough away they won't get knocked over by a careless elbow. Billy goes up the stairs, cracking the door to get a little fresh air into the tunnel.

"How is it out there?" Courtney asks, coming up behind him.

"Dead, there's no lights anywhere but the street lights." He slips out the door and walks out into the street with a bag, picking up stuff that goes in another building and coming back in the door. The bag goes back beside the door.

"Have you thought about putting in a garden outside?" Courtney asks when they lock the door and go back down the stairs.

"I have in the past. It's easier to grow them down here though, at one or two plants nothing goes to waste."

The next day Jay comes up behind Billy who's standing listening at the door. Billy holds up a hand and he nods, he can hear the sound now. A movement at the door has Billy reaching down, petting a cat who walks down the stairs. They listen through the cracked doorway, shutting it and locking it from the inside. Going down the stairs they find the others waiting. "Groups of the aliens are patrolling the streets, gathering up people."

Billy puts some cat food down in a bowl and water in another one, petting the cat as she eats.

"Friend of yours?"

"Tawky Tawny, she's a good friend and she's a link to the wizard that gave me my powers."

"Yes, and you need to pay attention to the others. Stay inside." She says, lifting her head from the food. The others don't even blink, they've seen weirder than a talking cat. "If you do, don't go much further than the buildings. Go over the plans you made to join them for workrooms and whatnot. It's not safe to even be out during the day, like you saw they're gathering up people who don't seem to have a reason to be out. Expect stores to be closing too."

"Shit." Jay moans.

"Hipdeep." Tawky says sourly. "With the checkpoints supplies are already being delayed getting to stores, I don't doubt the aliens are trying to starve out people before they have to leave."

Pietr quickly looks over at the supplies. Sighing with relief when Billy points to boxes of biscuit mix, peas, beans, lentils, soup mixes, rice. . . anything dried that will last for a while. "How long do you expect it to be?"

"No more than three more days. You can last that long. The fourth day you can start venturing out." She jumps onto a pillow and starts washing herself. Billy opens a bag of soup mix and starts it soaking for dinner that night.

"How are we on supplies?" Jay asks when Rick, Billy, and Courtney head out to fill the water containers or check on the plants.

"Good, we might run low on fresh fruits and vegetables but we have enough beans and other dried foods for two weeks easily. If the aliens weren't shutting everything down we could have brought them at the store."

Pietr goes down the ladder and checks out the room under the platform Billy thought he might use for a cool room. As Billy had said it was meant to be used for storage and so it already had shelves in place. Billy comes up behind him. "The only problem using that is there's no place for the water to drain. Even with the sawdust the ice will eventually melt. I could use a broom and mop to get the water out here though."

"Dry ice?"

"Too expensive. Yes, you saw bags in stores but it was for a cooler, not a room." Pietr nods

"Billy?" Jay asks quietly as he goes to the stairs.

"I'm grabbing some of the seed catalogs I get in my other name. There's some seeds you can't find in the stores and the Amish generally grow only one or two varieties." He says as he rummages through a box against the wall, bringing out the seed catalogs and starting a list of what he wants to grow if he grows outside again. Rick grabs another piece of scratch paper and starts sketching out a greenhouse. "Plastic sheeting is cheap, it's not a permanent greenhouse and you'd have to take it down come winter before it got damaged."

"Yes, I'd been looking into them. PVC piping is cheap enough to put together and take apart. The problem is if I put one up the plants don't get rainwater."

"No running water in the other buildings?"

"No."

"How do you get light into the other room?"

"A series of mirrors stuck up on the walls and ceiling to bounce the light around. I read about it years ago and found a book at the library sale again that showed me what to do."

Billy stands at the doorway later that night, Jay standing behind him as they look out the doorway. With the only light streetlights it's spooky out and Billy goes out to gather the small items falling around them. Jay looks up at the sky as Billy fills the bag three times and dumps it in another building then hurries back to the door when they hear vehicles, watching through the doorway cracked open as they see vehicles going up the street. Parts are falling off even now and they shut and lock the door.

"I've never seen it so quiet out. Even in the middle of the night." Billy shudders.

"It was this quiet during the war, people were living under blackout conditions." Jay says. Sometimes he feels so old as he looks at the younger JSA members. Courtney turns off the radio. "More alien propaganda."

"Had to expect it, that's why underground radio stations got the real news to people in occupied areas during WWII."

Jay sits bolt upright later that night, he'd heard something. Dim light from the stairs is a candle. Walking up he finds Billy and Pietr listening.

"More aliens?"

"Yes, I don't know what's going on." Billy says. "Everything around us is already shut down and there's nobody on the streets, why are they patrolling?"

"They're looking for something. . .or somebody."

"What about the others?"

"Safe either hiding in their secret identities or hiding in the Justice League satellite." Jay says as a vehicle comes back up the street.

The sound of loud crashing has them hurriedly locking the door and heading back downstairs, finding Rick, Kara, and Courtney awake. The light coming from the windows vanishes and Billy quickly blows out the candle.

"What's going on?" Courtney asks quietly.

"I think they're breaking the streetlights." Rick says just as quietly.

"Sounds like it." It's only exhaustion that sends everybody back to their cots. It's almost noon when they wake again and Billy sneaks up to the door, looking around. "Yeah, they broke all the streetlights." He can see them laying in the street.

"Why? They already have everybody off the streets."

"Because they could." Jay says. "I'm sure this caused massive power outages too."

"Which is probably their intention. If they are out on the streets getting in supplies they can grab them. If there are any stores open." Rick says quietly. The others nod.

It seems to grow dark impossibly early everybody thinks as Billy bypasses the candles and brings out a lantern, filling it with oil and lighting it as Pietr starts working on dinner. Everybody forces themself to eat and lay back down, sleep taking a long time to come. The next morning Billy hangs up a blanket allowing Kara and Courtney some privacy to do a quick wash up, the others replacing them when they're done. The dirty water is put in the growing room and they refill the containers with clean water. Everybody is tired that night, forcing themselves again to eat dinner though sleep comes quickly.

"Today?" Pietr asks the next morning.

"I'd wait until tomorrow." Kara says. Billy and Jay nod. "Keep listening and if we don't hear anything in 24 hours we can go to the door and look around." The others nod. After breakfast Billy settles at desk to work some more on his assignments. Kara is winding the radio and they listen to it at the top of the hours a couple times, turning it off when they find nothing new.

"Gods, it's so quiet." Courtney says as she, Billy, and Rick come out of the tunnel after Jay, Pietr, and Kara have looked around and given them the all clear. Kara dresses in her costume in a building and takes to the air to see what is going on. Billy says his magic word and heads off in another direction.

"Rick?" Courtney asks when he comes out of the tunnel with a bag.

"I'm picking up some of this stuff for Billy. He's going to be busy for a while." Courtney nods and grabs a second bag. They split up and start picking up stuff, emptying the bags in one of the buildings that Pietr and Jay are going through. They can see the work Billy has done on them, even as rudimentary as it is.

"Pat?"

"Can make anything mechanical sit up and beg but I don't know how good he is at plumbing and electrical work." Pietr says quietly.

"And I don't know if there's anybody in the Justice League that could do the work."

"Is anybody answering at Headquarters yet?"

"No, I left a message that the six of us were safe and making our way back to Headquarters. Your wife?"

"Safe at home. Rick?"

"Called home, Mom and Dad are fine, they're checking on the neighbors. A lot of people were taken, not just around here. And we don't know if they're still alive." Jay and Pietr sigh.

"Flash, this is Superman." Jay's communicator crackles. "Are you and your fellow Society members safe?"

"Yes, we came out from where we were hiding. Power Girl and Captain Marvel are seeing if anybody needs help before we return to Headquarters."

"Who all is with you?"

"Stargirl. . .who had better be calling her family." Jay says firmly, looking over at her. She grins and waggles her phone. "Hourman is nearby, as is Dr. Mid-Nite. Only the six of us were at Headquarters when Spectre alerted us to the problem. I have no idea where the others are, I've sent out the alert to contact Headquarters to let us know they are safe."

"Stay where you can if at all possible, we don't know if this is the end of it or not." Superman says.

"We can stay sheltered until you give us the all clear." Rick goes down to the tunnel and comes back with the truck keys since Billy hadn't locked them up the last time they'd been out in case they had to leave unexpectedly. "Get me a list of groceries, I'll see if I can get anything to the store. I remember where it was." Jay nods. Pietr rattles off a list and Rick writes it down, nodding and getting behind the wheel. Some of the roads are covered in debris and he puts it in the back, tying it down with the tarp. The grocery store is open and the clerk sighs as he comes in. "Think it's over?"

"No idea, but I had to get out to buy some groceries while they don't seem to be around." He shakes his head as he gets what he can, paying for his food and putting it in the truck. Billy gets in the passenger seat, having seen the truck heading to the grocery store as he came back from looking around the area, and they stop to pick up debris on the trip back, putting the bigger stuff in a building before going down into the tunnel.

"Were you able to get in contact with your families?" Billy asks.

"Yes, Mom and Dad are checking on the neighbors. A lot of people were taken, Superman and the League is trying to find them."

"There was nobody on the streets as I went to the grocery store."

"No, not after the aliens continually sweeping through picking up anybody on the street. Whether they were going someplace or not." Kara says, cutting up vegetables for the stew pot. "Somebody wind the radio, see if anything besides propaganda is on."

Courtney winds the radio, turning it up when she catches a news bulletin that the aliens are still declaring martial law and that they can see everything you're doing. Expect more roundups.

"Morons, they're going to have their asses handed to them." Kara dumps the vegetables and mushrooms in the pot along with the veggie stock and sets it to simmer.

"Yes, after the war ended. . .oppressed people took their vengeance on those who sided with the oppressors for one reason or another. If it was to keep them or their families safe they generally were spared, if it was just for the money or power. . ."

"They were dealt with. Yes, if this had lasted longer I can see something like this happening."

That night Billy finishes making out his order.

"How will you pay for this?"

"Money order at the store. They have a mail drop off there. The package would be dropped in one of the boxes setup by the buildings, packages can go in but not come out without a key." He makes a note. "When this is over, I gotta pick up a few more bags of potting soil for the garden. And more lighters, matches, and candles. It might take a while for things to get back to normal." The others nod.

The next day Billy goes out with Rick, Courtney, and Kara. . .each carrying a bag and picking up debris both on the street and in the roads. A police car comes up but the officer just taps his horn in thanks as he sees them clearing the road.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" The rookie in the passenger seat asks, turning to look back at them as a truck comes up and they start moving stuff into the back.

"Why? Cleaning the roads so a driver doesn't lose a tire or do damage to their car? Nope, they're doing a public service. If they're taking this crap, more power to them. This is nothing more than cleaning up after a storm or other natural disaster."

The police car pulls up to a local firehouse, firefighters have the doors open to air the building out and are putting the flag up. "How's everything going?"

"Good, hopefully things will be quiet for a couple days. There's a pile of debris by the firehouse and the truck that had been picking it up pulls up. A young man looks at the fire captain and he waves and nods. "And take the recycling if you want it, it's stacking up." The debris and recycling are taken and the now full truck drives off. "Chet, bathroom duty. Marco, kitchen. See what we need in the way of supplies. I have the feeling we're going to be on call for a while. Johnny, Roy, check your gear then clean the equipment bay. Mike, check the engine. I'll be on conference call to the brass. See how many more stations are reporting in."

The man called Marco starts making a list of what is needed. Grabbing the station card and a set of keys he hurries off, stopping at various stores to get everything. "Oh good," Captain Stanley says when he pulls in back and taps on the horn, the others coming out and grabbing bags and boxes. "Okay, now everybody's here. We are all getting paid for the time we were on lockdown . . .that's the good news."

"And the bad news Cap?" Chet asks.

"We are stuck here for at least another week. I see Marco brought double what we normally would."

"Yeah, I had the sinking feeling we're it for a while Cap, that's why I brought extra. The other stations?"

"We're it for the duration, none of the others around us have reported in. The police are going to be checking them but. . . it doesn't look good."

True to his words police are sent out to the other fire stations and find them empty, damaged, or both. At City Hall the mayor's face grows longer and longer as he frantically tries to call in off-duty police and firefighters only to find there aren't any. And there's no extras he can beg, borrow, or steal from other communities. Because he can't keep the crew he has, they're from California here for a station exchange to see how other facilities handle things before going their separate ways since all of them had received promotions. Their captain was going to move up in the ranks to battalion chief while the other remaining crew members were moving to other stations as their new captains.

Kara lifts the broken street lights into the back of the truck, removing them when they return to the buildings. Grabbing a bag she lifts off into the air again once she's back in her costume and finishes clearing the area as Rick drives himself, Jay, Pietr, and Courtney to Headquarters, Billy flying in and driving the truck back to the tunnel. Kara grins at him as he arrives and waves before she flies off.

Jay calls his wife when they arrive at Headquarters and heads off, Rick getting in his car and driving to check on his parents and then his apartment while Courtney gets in her costume and flies off with the cosmic staff. Pietr checks on the computer and heads to his home by one of the jets. Everybody who has family at home is hugged fervently and cried on in the case of wives or mothers.

"Where were you hiding?" Pat asks when he pulls away from her.

"With Jay, Dr. Mid-Nite, Rick, Kara, and Captain Marvel in an area he knew. We were in an out of the way area but the aliens were still sweeping people off the streets and breaking light posts. . .because they could."

"Yeah, I've heard rumors that police departments, fire departments, hospitals. . .a lot of places were targeted." Mike says.

"How it is here?"

"Quiet, Nebraska isn't a major area for superheroes so we were somewhat safe." Courtney's mom says. "Are you hungry?"

"No, Dr. Mid-Nite made sure we ate. I more want a hot shower and clean clothes." Barbara follows her into the bathroom, making she she wasn't hiding anything and nodding in satisfaction. "Anything special for dinner?"

"Anything is good mom, I've been basically eating whatever was handed to me."

Pat looks at her as she sighs when he turns on the light by the couch. "Where we were lost our outside lights when the aliens took out street lights, we've been living by candlelight for over a week once the sun went down. I never realized until now just all we take for granted.

Billy heads downstairs before it gets too dark, with no streetlights he'll have to light a candle earlier. Why does the tunnel feel so empty now? It never had before when he was here alone. Lighting a candle he puts it in a hurricane lamp for extra light as he winds the radio. This time he hears announcements of massive power outages thanks to the damage from the aliens. The next morning he reports to the station, getting equipment and an assignment. One of the other employees grins as he waves him to a company van.

A car pulls up by the fire station, the woman inside tapping on the horn until the smaller door opens. "Oh good, I brought more supplies for you. Thankfully all your sizes were on file so I got you winter uniforms, winter boots, warm coats, hats, and gloves." The boxes are hauled inside and Hank is happy to see each man's name on a box. "Now, how are you on supplies for the weather?" She goes over everything with the crew and leaves at the end of the day satisfied.

"Where the hell have you been?" A man bellows when she returns to City Hall.

"Getting the crew we do have winter gear and making sure they have enough supplies. Including leading them through filling the snowblowers, plow truck, and arranging to have the tanks at the station filled since they're gonna be here longer than a month. Are the tanks at the damaged stations being pumped? Have the supplies been brought out? Have they been inspected to see if they can be fixed or need to be torn down? The vehicles? Are they totaled or can they be fixed?" The man who'd been complaining rushes off. "Asshole, try doing your job instead of complaining I'm doing mine." She glares at a coworker about to open her mouth and the fool woman scuttles off. "Morons, I'm surrounded by fucking morons." A man laughs behind her. "I got people looking for enough off duty personnel who didn't get taken to try to have at least one undamaged station open."

"I don't see that happening, most off duty personnel have other jobs."

"Yeah, unless it was something like retail where they can be easily replaced they're needed at their other workplaces."

The mayor whines when he gets the final reports a week later. The stations that were damaged have had their tanks of fuel for the vehicles pumped so it can be used elsewhere. Utilities had been shut off at all the other stations until personnel could take them over again. All salvageable supplies had been moved to storage and he whimpers as the total of destroyed vehicles is put in front of him. "Could none of them have been salvaged, even with using the others for parts?"

"Nope, it's the same all over. We're just worse off since we had less vehicles to start with. The Justice League sent out a notice to bring all totaled city vehicles to a central area and Green Lanterns would pick them up and bring them elsewhere to be torn apart for recycling instead of just letting them sit there. Only city, state, or county vehicles, not private ones. Unless they're something like ambulances or other private services contracted by the city, county, or state."

"Why not private ones?" He wails.

"Because they most likely weren't damaged by the aliens, if they were they have insurance to handle it. If they don't. . .too bad, so sad." The woman who'd gone out to the station snaps, slapping a hand on the table. "We are talking thousands of vehicles, if not hundreds of thousands around the world. A lot of communities are going to be in a world of hurt even with insurance because it won't cover everything. We are talking thousands of dollars before we start getting into supplies." He whines deep in his throat again.

"Let alone the wait time in getting new vehicles since everybody needs them." Somebody else says. The others nod.

Billy looks at the buildings, all full of debris from the vehicles and other ships that he'd and the others have picked up in the area. Station WHIZ is due to reopen the next day and Billy had been busy for the last three days interviewing people for the station. He'd got his money order and dropped the order in the mailbox on the way back from the store. Shelves are still empty but he was able to pick up a few things. The school was shut down but he'd slid the envelope with his work in the after hours slot and he walks outside, leaving the door open a crack to get some air in the tunnel.

He walks past protests at the stations that had been working with the aliens, picking up a newspaper on the way to WHIZ. He showers and puts his clothes in the bag to wash on the way home before settling in the newsroom, reading the paper and talking to the other reporters.

"Oh that miserable fool is dead? I'm not surprised, the whole neighborhood hated her because she's got a damn list of rules and regulations only she knows and destroys other people's property if it doesn't pass inspection. Bitch has been arrested three dozen times and told the next arrest would see her in prison for five years. Damn fool probably sided with the aliens in the hope everybody would kiss her ass."

"Billy, did you see the aliens?" One of the reporters asks.

"Yeah, I was picking up groceries one night and they were going around shutting down places because they didn't want people out after dark. The next day they started picking up people off the street." Everybody is quiet, they still don't know what happened to the people the aliens had taken and rumors were rampant, everything from they were being indoctrinated to join the aliens, the aliens had eaten them, and that the aliens were using them to fuel their ships were the most common.

Homelessness over most of the country was a thing of the past, they'd almost seemed to be a target of the aliens.

After work he does his laundry, turning the wheel on the line to hang everything up as a pot of soup simmers on the campstove. The school should reopen next week, he'll give them a week to grade his assignments and make up another batch of schoolwork for him. The building wasn't labeled a school so it didn't get damaged like others had thanks to the aliens. Courtney's school was fine since there was little alien activity in Nebraska but many in New York had been heavily damaged and might not be able to reopen this year. Those fools who hadn't been killed as alien sympathizers were being forced to work ten to twelve hour shifts weekends to repair the damage done by the aliens.

A meeting is called at the Justice Society a couple days later and he comes in for a landing.

"Heya kid," Wildcat says as he comes into Headquarters. "I see you survived being stuck with the others for a few days."

"Where were you?"

"Stuck on the satellite with the League and their sidekicks, the Titans. I spent the whole week teaching some of them how to fight. Some of them were too complacent on their abilities and being unable to use them they were useless. I spent a lot of time wanting to kick whiny brat's asses. And not just the kids either."

Rick slaps Marvel playfully on the arm as they walk into the meeting. "Things getting back to normal?"

"Some places haven't reopened yet, damage from the aliens. That fire station where we stopped?" Rick nods as the others look at him. "Is the only station in the area that is open, the others were either damaged or there's nobody to operate them. The mayor and city council are frantically trying to get in more firefighters to see if any of the other stations can be reopened. Because that crew? They're not from around here. They were part of an exchange between fire stations, they're originally from California for a month to see how fire stations ran differently in other areas. They got the assignment because all of them were just promoted so their shift is being replaced, their captain was going to be a battalion chief while the rest were heading to new stations. They have families back in California. Luckily none of their families were hurt but their old station is heavily damaged. And like here they're scrambling to repair the damage and find new people. Every major city got hit. They're talking about National Guard to come in and take them and police stations over until new graduates can be hired. And that's not the only problems. They seemed to have a hatred for street lights, several blocks around where we were have to have them replaced, they didn't just bust the bulbs, they broke the light poles. The local government is already bleating that they don't have the money to replace them. But businesses are demanding that they be replaced before they reopen while the local government wants the businesses reopened before they replace them."

"Sounds about right." Pat snorts as he comes in from the garage.

"Yeah, they did a lot of that all over." Sand says as he settles into a seat. "Come to the med unit after the meeting." Dr. Mid-Nite says quietly in Marvel's ear. "Did you have many sympathizers?"

"Yes, a number of news media outlets chose to placate the aliens, there was a lot of protesters after the aliens left. They are. . .under new management."

"Sounds about right."

"Deaths?" Alan asks quietly.

"I heard of one, I don't know if it was because they were a sympathizer or if it was because she was a miserable excuse for a human being who hated everybody who wasn't her." Marvel says slowly.

"Ahhh, one of those miserable bitches somebody would have killed sooner or later." Kara drawls.

"Exactly."

"Any other deaths?"

"Not that I've heard of that can be directly tied to the aliens. There's a lot of missing people. . ." Everybody nods. "The most problems seem to be the loss of the street lights, power outages from those poles, and damages to buildings that were recognizable as schools, police departments, fire stations, and hospitals."

"Why schools?"

"Shut them all down and the citizens are reliant on the aliens? Same with the others."

"Sounds about right."

"Okay, any other problems we need to deal with?"

"Supplies? Do they need those of us with super-strength and flight to deliver supplies? Or the Green Lanterns? Even now there's not many trucks getting to affected areas."

"Yes, the government's looking into it. The League will contact us if they need our help to deliver supplies."

"I hate to ask, but sanitation and clean water? Did the aliens destroy any of those facilities? Garbage?"

Alan sighs. "Something else the government is going to have to look into. If nothing else some of the Lanterns can fly around, gather it up and deliver it to landfills." Then he looks at Marvel. "That fire station, how did. . .?"

"It not receive damage? It's an older one that is. . .or should I say was unofficially decommissioned when a newer, larger one was built. The crew was each going to other stations in the area to observe them at work. There was nothing to tell the aliens that that was a fire station. Yes, they had equipment but only went out if it was a major fire. Now they are on call 24/7 until somebody else can come in and take over another station."

"Is there anything else we can send out to you?" Pietr asks as he puts down the notes on his latest patient. He already passed along boxes of nutrition drinks and bars. Billy isn't bad off since he has regular access to food but he can stand to put some height and weight on him.

"Nothing you'd have here. I gotta stock up on candles or flashlights and batteries for after dark thanks to the streetlights being out. With Headquarters having its own power source you don't have stocks of the former."

"And the flashlights are all in emergency supplies or toolboxes." Pietr sighs. "How is your recycling coming along?"

"The restaurants and other businesses I pick up from won't be open until next week and closing early thanks to the street lights being out. I made a trip out to the person I sell to, he was happy to see me since so many of his usual people . . .vanished during the invasion. Big manufacturers are running low on raw materials, in turn they're leaning on recycling drop off centers. If they don't have the materials, they can't pass it along. And if the big manufacturers don't have the raw materials, they can't make what we need."

Pietr shakes his head. "They might have looked like they were doing nothing, but they did a lot of damage."

Marvel sighs and nods.

Billy gets in the line of people picking up supplies being delivered by National Guard trucks. Several boxes go in the back of his truck and he drives off, the truck being put away after he takes everything inside. Among the supplies are candles and matches along with flashlights and batteries since he'd said his home was without power along with food and other essential supplies and he sighs as he puts everything away.

Billy walks into the school, the woman behind the desk smiling.

"Oh good. With the alien invasion we qualified for some extra grants. After you get your graded work and take your tests, come back here."

Billy briefly wonders what the grants are but his usual teacher comes up to him and takes him off. They enter a classroom and he accepts the envelope he'd dropped off, looking over his schoolwork and accepting the tests, settling in to work. After he accepts the envelope of his next assignments he heads back to the front of the building.

He's led into a room and fills a backpack with food, a second one with school supplies, and a third one with clothing. "I'd like to see a grant that would allow us to offer computers and internet access but there's just not enough money."

Billy slumps down at his desk in the tunnel, at least all the food had been ready to eat or was something that didn't need to be refrigerated. . .or microwaved. His school supplies are in the desk while his new clothes are in the boxes. This meant he was able to weed out some of his more worn clothes that can be used to start fires now. Even with just using it for hard work like planting a garden or cutting trees with the Amish it needed replacing.

"Jay, Pietr, what are you doing here?" He asks, opening the door he'd checked when he heard knocking.

"Bringing you some supplies to help you out this winter." Pietr says as they walk down the stairs. They each have several cloth bags on their arms and start unloading them.

"Billy, you need some new clothes." Jay says as he looks through the boxes of clothing. "Some of this is just worn out."

"That's going to be put in the stove this fall." Billy says, looking over his shoulder from where he's filling bags on the other platform, seeing which boxes Jay is opening. "Being gone most of the day I have to worry about the stove going out before I get home. I've learned to bank it well but. . ." Billy shakes his head. "A strip or two of cloth twisted together can be used to start a fire with kindling. With having to buy more candles I scrape up some of the melted wax to start fires with too." He fills the last bag with flattened cans and lowers the bags to the cart.

Pietr and Jay shake their heads. A boy his age shouldn't have to worry about having to start a fire to stay warm.

"How are you on candles?"

"I've been buying them by the case when I can. Tealights are next to useless, they don't put out enough light and go out too soon. Bigger candles with multiple wicks throw out more light but they're also more expensive."

"Hurricane glass?"

"Yes, I have a couple I use with the candles. Along with the lamps."

"Billy, how do you handle being paid by the station?"

Billy chuckles. "Mr. Morris puts my pay on one of those prepaid cards. Since it is all electronic there's no actual paper checks to cash or a monthly fee and when I'm old enough I can open an associated bank account. It also helps establish my credit."

"What's the latest on police and fire stations?" Mr. Morris asks a couple days later.

"They had to move all the police to the least damaged building and patrols are either cut in half or gone entirely." One of the other reporters says. "A quarter to nearly half of all their vehicles were totaled by the aliens. A couple of the other stations might have to be torn down, they're still trying to see which would be cheaper since there's still a shortage of building supplies."

"There is one fire station still open in the area and they are a crew from California that was supposed to have gone home last week out here on a month exchange to see how different stations handled different climates, in our case snow. The only reason they got the job is their entire crew had just got promotions and their whole shift was being replaced at their station." Billy says. Mr. Morris looks at him. "I read the news release when they first came out. The mayor is frantically trying to find off duty firefighters to take over one of the undamaged stations at least one day a week to give them a break. Thank whoever you will that things are quiet because like I said they're the only crew available right now. A good half of the other stations. . . including the new one they built to replace that one were severely damaged and like Mark said, it would be cheaper to tear them down than fix them."

"Hospitals are hurting, there's very limited ambulance service thanks to so many of them being destroyed by the aliens." Another reporter says. "You only call 911 if it's a true emergency and you can't get to the hospital on your own."

"Did any of the hospitals have to shut down?"

"Thank god no, but the list of damages means a crew might work in one area of one hospital, finish that work, go to a different hospital, work on something there. . ." the reporter waves a hand in a and so on and so on gesture as everybody nods. "Instead of working one place, getting everything done, and going to another one. There is a long list for most home work. Unless it is something major that needs to be done."

"Gas, water, electric, sewer. . ."

"Yep. My dad's a retired plumber and my brother is an electrician, they are both working ten to twelve hour days trying to get stuff done."

Billy walks into the second hand store, checking the sizes on jeans and other meant to be used and abused clothing. Unless it's something nice that he'll wear on camera he buys most of his clothing at second hand stores. They try to weed out the more worn out stuff. That generally just leaves him socks, underwear, and shoes that he has to buy new. Warmer clothes are beginning to appear on the racks and he grabs a coat that looks like it will keep him warm. Pulling it on over his clothes he nods in satisfaction.

A bag is at the door of the tunnel when he returns home and he opens it carefully, finding a note from Courtney.

/Ma Hunkel has been knitting for a while to have a stockpiles on hand for headquarters. Enclosed is three scarves, four hats, three pair of gloves, and several pair of socks. All are woolease, all you have to do is throw them in a washing machine and hang them up to dry./

Billy looks at the piles of wood on the other platform, everybody says this is going to be a bad winter. He'd been working weekends as part of the woodcutting crews and in addition to the wood he had a nice bundle of cash in his lockbox. He's stopped to an army surplus store and picked up more wool blankets and amazingly enough boxes of candles. Billy starts taking his schoolwork to the station, working on it during lull times. His boss nods in satisfaction and lets him work. "Billy, any damage where you live?"

"Yeah, the aliens broke all the street lights for blocks around. The businesses in the area are suing the city council to force them to replace them before they reopen. Meanwhile the city council. . ."

"Is saying no you reopen first, then we'll replace them. Not thinking. . .hey, if there's no damn lights there's no fucking way for people to drive to that area at night." A reporter snorts.

"Exactly. They don't want to have to pay out the money without the businesses reopening but without the streetlights. . ."

"The businesses aren't going to be reopening."

"Exactly."

Billy sighs as the sun sets, leaving the area so dark without the street lights. Taking the candle by the door he lights it with a lighter, he's brought a few packages of cheap lighters at the dollar store, and goes downstairs. The tunnel is dark and the candle doesn't put out much light until the hurricane lamp is put over it. It's enough to eat and clean up. It's early, but he'll have to put up the walls soon, this way the light from the candles or lamps aren't trying to light up too big an area.

The next weekend the walls go up along with the stove being brought over and set up. He'll open the ventilation window in a couple weeks when he has to keep a fire going. It's already turning cooler at night and he'll have to start using the kerosene heaters to warm the room up for a hour or so before bed. The containers for kerosene go into the back of the truck and he fills them that weekend when he gets gas.

The first time he walks out of the building to see snow he shakes his head. Thankfully he was able to get a good pair of winter boots that are a little bit big but with a second pair of socks he can wear them. Better too big than too small, he can wear them longer.

"Does anybody think this is because of the aliens?" One of the reporters asks when he walks into the newsroom. Putting his cap, scarf, and coat on the coat rack by his desk he sits down.

"Not directly no, the Justice League believes this is a by-product of whatever their ships were doing in the atmosphere that caused them to break up." One of the meteorologists says. "It's going to snow early, snow often, and be wet, heavy shit."

The first day he starts a fire, he uses a wrapper from a local fast food restaurant that he'd picked out of the garbage for that very use. The fire is going well when he goes around the walls and uses a long pole to crack open the ventilation window, hurrying back in the room and adding green wood to the fire to keep it going.

Billy settles in a seat with his food at the WHIZ cafeteria Thanksgiving. Anybody who doesn't have family is covering shifts for people who do so the room is about half-full. Mr. Morris walks in with the crew from the fire station and everybody stands up and claps, the men ducking their heads. "Fill your trays and there's plenty more gentlemen. No need for you to eat at the station when we have plenty of room. I know those of you with families are missing them and I would like you to have been home with them."

The first snowstorm he jumps in his truck with the snow blower and shovels and goes around a local neighborhood, clearing driveways and paths for older people who can't do it themselves. The extra money is put in the lockbox when he gets home. He'd grabbed his laundry bag with him and the clean, dry clothes. . .he can't hang them up to dry in the winter since if they didn't freeze the smoke from the stove would settle on the wet clothes are put in the boxes. Stoking up the fire he checks the ashes, dumping them in the pail by the stove for that and adds another log to the fire and stirring the stew on the stove. Tasting it he wrinkles his nose and adds some salt and other spices, nodding in satisfaction and sitting at the table.

"Billy, thank you for volunteering to cover the desk Christmas." Mr. Morris says as he hands Billy an envelope. "A little Christmas bonus beyond what we already gave you. And please, enjoy the time off until after the first."

Billy shivers in the tunnel until the kerosene heater and fire he'd started warm up the room. Stirring the soup that had been on the stove he makes a face and adds some salt and other spices, thankfully the fire hadn't been out too long so it was still warm. He looks around the room and sighs. Damn it, he's lived there for years. . .why does it seem so empty now. Wiping out his bowl he puts it in the box with the rest of the dishes and turns his attention to finishing the assignment in his double set of classwork he'd been given last week to last him until after the first of the year. The next morning he opens the envelope Mr. Morris had given him and smiles, putting the money in his lockbox. After filling the containers with water he digs out an old pot and puts hardware, baking soda, and water in it, working on removing old paint while he's not working on his schoolwork.

The crew shivers in the engine bay as they check everything over after returning from WHIZ for Christmas dinner. It seems to be a little indulgent to be taking holiday meals at a local television station but everybody in the area is taking care of them instead of the other way around. They're lucky in that they haven't had to deal with very many calls and more than once have found locals already on the scene helping out.

"Everybody listen up." Hank says as he comes out of the office one morning in mid February. "I just got a call, they government called in the Justice League. We got a Green Lantern coming out tomorrow to take us home." The others cheer. "So clean up the station, pack up the food that we won't eat before we leave, and do our laundry. And yes Chet, we're taking the cats with us." He says as Chet starts to open his mouth as Momma cat looks over at him from where she's laying with her babies. "Marco got carriers for them the last time he got pet food and other supplies." The cat had came in one day and they'd babied her ever since.

"Why now Cap?" A good question, they'd been there for nearly four months after the aliens had left.

"The mayor called begging for them to be sent home since there's more firefighters in LA county than there are here. They need them here. And they got family here too. So LA county contacted the Justice League and asked for a transfer of personnel since there was a desperate need. We're off for two weeks when we get home," He looks at the calendar and says a date. The others nod. "We might be moving around with so many damaged stations instead of going to our new stations." The others nod again.

Chet snorts. "I wonder if they only requested help now is because we've been getting double-time ever since the aliens invaded since we are the only fire station."

"Probably." Mike chuckles. "They give us a time?"

"Noon."

The next day a bubble arrives at the station and discharges the crew that had gone to LA who gratefully look around. Their vehicles had been left at the station and the others had been starting them every day or so to keep the batteries charged. Green Lantern John Stewart grins as they take off and gathers everybody and everything around the LA crew, the six of them enjoying the long flight because they are going home. The bubble lands and crying women and children hug their husbands and fathers as the others whimper at the damage to the station they'd worked at for so long. Chet, Marco, and Johnny start filling back seats and trunks, the others releasing their families and filling cars before they head to their homes.

Johnny Gage sighs as he walks into his house, dropping his bags at the door and falling into a bar stool at the kitchen counter. The door across the kitchen opens and the wife of his ranch foreman smiles as she walks in. "Good afternoon Mr. Gage, welcome home."

"Good afternoon Elsa, it is so damn good to be home. I never expected to be gone nearly five months." a resounding yowl has Johnny looking down and patting his lap. "Yes, I'm home munchkin. I see you didn't lose too much weight with Elsa taking care of you." Elsa chuckles as the cat jumps onto a bar stool, walks across Johnny's lap, and settles on the island counter to wash his face.

The next day brings Chet and Marco to the ranch to pick up their pets that had been boarded there, the dogs jumping on them and the cats deigning to greet them. "Everything okay at your homes?"

"Yeah, thank god we had housekeeping services come out every other week to make sure we didn't drown in dust when we got home." Chet sighs. "We gotta stop and get groceries and then veg for a few days."

A couple days later Johnny looks up from his desk as Roy leans in his home office. "I need to bum some stuff off you, the shelves are empty." Johnny leads him out to a barn, opening a trap door disclosing a set of stairs. He turns on the light, revealing rows of shelving units filled with supplies. Everybody buys extra supplies, they're all firefighters and know if there's an earthquake or other natural disaster. . .or alien overlords, things are going to be in short supply for a long time. Johnny's the only one who has the room to stock up on supplies like they want. Johnny writes everything down as Roy fills a bag and they talk a few minutes before he heads off.

Billy sighs when he drives past the empty fire station on his way to get kerosene and other supplies, he's glad they are home after living out of the station for so long but this means nobody is in the area 24/7. With the streetlights still out, the neighborhood vanishes as soon as the sun starts to go down.

"Did the fire station get home?" Courtney asks when Marvel arrives at Headquarters for a meeting a couple weeks later.

"Yes, the city council played it up as a humanitarian gesture, there were more firefighters in LA county than there were here so they were needed back home. . .especially by their families. Cynics say if that was the case, they would have requested them after the aliens left, not nearly four months later." Everybody in earshot snort and nod. "There's also the fact that at paying them double-time. . ."

"Their budget was bleeding from the throat, they didn't have the money for the streetlights and they couldn't just do away with the police and fire without causing a major fuss." Pat sighs.

"Yes, rumor has it they also want to break up the crew and put them in separate stations but there's not enough stations that aren't damaged and there's not enough other firemen to build crews. They can't just give them on the job training and two of them manned the rescue squad."

"National Guard or military?"

"They have been looking into it but everybody is in such dire straits somebody is going to have to bite the bullet. Fire academies are frantically trying to fill slots but with so much need for employees, there's just not enough applicants. Even if they waive the fees until after they are hired. . .there's just not the applicants. Those who have finished their training are already working."

"Yeah, not many people can devote six months to full-time training. Not unless they have very understanding families who will support them. Just like the police academy and med school." Nods from the others.

The governor of the state kicks in the door during a council meeting. He glares at all the members of the city council. "Replace.The.Damn.Streetlights.NOW!" he says through clenched teeth. "Before somebody is killed in a traffic accident because there's not enough lighting. I don't care about your damn budget." He says at the first opening mouth. "Businesses won't reopen at night without the lights operational. Do it and do it now or be arrested for creating a public nuisance."

"Fucking idiots, six fucking months blubbering that businesses had to reopen first. What, were they going to fucking use tax revenue to replace the lights? That's what the damn slush funds are for. Other areas had just as much damage but they're not dragging their feet." He says as his driver heads to the airport. Billy drives around the city taking the poles as city workers start dismantling them, driving to the recycling center and selling them directly to the government guy handling recyclables. The money is put in the lockbox when he gets home and he sighs when light starts coming through the windows after the sun goes down. Maybe things will finally start feeling like normal now.

"Six months?" Rick asks in disgust. "It took the city council over six months to replace the damn street lights?" That must have been some damn long nights in the tunnel. Just the couple of days they were there while waiting for the all clear had seemed like an eternity.

Marvel snorts. "If the governor hadn't put his foot down the broken poles would still be sitting there. The city council was. . .ohhhh, we'll replace them. . .eventually. Once the money from your taxes start coming in. Needless to say, there's more than a few federal buildings that were never fixed . . .including a couple schools. The schools feel that they shouldn't have to pass millages to fix the damages."

"No, no they shouldn't have to." Superman says as he comes up behind them. "We have the final list of building we're going to be deconstructing to help communities."

"Are we clearing out buildings that have been vacant for years?" There's more than a few in the area he'd been looking at to buy in the future if needed.

"No, we're only cleaning out buildings that were severely damaged by the aliens. Communities will have to clear up their own condemned buildings."

"Not that they would." Rick snorts. "How are you holding out?"

"I'm using more kerosene since it has been such a cold winter. Even with the walls up to make it a smaller area to heat."

"Yeah, thanks to the aliens this has been a cold, long winter." Rick's voice trails off. At least they're alive, so many people had vanished while the aliens had been there. And they had never been found. Marvel is busy the next couple of days helping to deconstruct buildings, putting anything salvageable on trucks that head off.

It finally begins warming up and Billy starts moving the walls, stoves, and heaters back to the other platform. He looks around in satisfaction, things are finally getting back to normal.

Billy comes back to the tunnel to find piles of supplies from the buildings that had been torn down in the buildings. A note is on the door. "Thought you'd be able to use some of this in the buildings." he reads in Jay's handwriting. Unloading his bags of groceries. . .store shelves are finally beginning to restock he looks around in satisfaction.

"Wha?" Billy asks, finding another package a couple weeks later. Opening the box he finds battery powered hand tools that can be charged with a larger generator, one that can be charged with the solar panel that's set up to be moved inside and outside as needed. Thankfully the best spot for it isn't one that can be seen from the street so nobody will come steal it and everything else.

"Jay?" He asks a few weeks after that in mid summer when he finds a truck on the grounds.

"This is a group that works with the Justice League, they're seeing what it takes to rewire and replumb the buildings. Now, have you thought about putting up a hand pump out here for the garden?"

"It would freeze unless we were able to put something around it." One of the workers nods. "Back in the old days they had pumphouses to keep food cold during the summer and keep the pump from freezing in the winter before electricity was common."

"Insulation?"

"You'd want a shelter of some kind around it. Back in the Little House days they'd have a covered well with a pail instead of a pump. It was deep enough the water didn't freeze with the cover. My grandparents had a hand pump, they had it next to the house protected by a lean-to."

"Billy?" Jay asks, seeing the boxes and bags of screws and other hardware in the building.

"From the buildings that were torn down. Most of it is paint-covered and I worked on them for the scrap metal dealer over the winter when I have the stove going. I have a pot I can't use for cooking that I put the hardware and baking soda in. On a low boil for fifteen minutes and a wire brush usually cleans it up. The scrap metal dealer sells it to crafters or the resale stores like habitat for humanity or the larger recyclers. He also picks up stocks of painted hardware for cheap, passes it along to me to clean, and resells it. Even with buying it and paying me he still makes a profit. He's hurting, a lot of the street people who supplied him with recycling were lost to the aliens."

"Is your recycling trips back to normal?"

"Now that the city council got told off by the governor and was made to replace all the destroyed street lights rather than wait for the businesses to reopen at night before replacing the lights."

"Which needed the streetlights before they could reopen at night. Idiots." Jay sighs.

"Yes, we're just lucky nobody was killed thanks to the lack of streetlights."

"Your schoolwork?"

"I'm keeping on top of it. With the streetlights out I took it to the station to work on during the day when I wasn't busy. I'm still behind but not as much as I was."

"Congratulations Billy, unless you've seriously failed these last tests you just finished the seventh grade." His teacher says. "Let me grade these and next time you come you can bring back your old textbooks and pick up the ones for the next grade as well as your first packet of assignments."

After eating dinner he goes out to collect the recycling. He'd picked up more streets in the area and is sorting everything out in one of the other buildings before going to bed. He can sleep in tomorrow morning since it's the weekend. He knows Pietr is worried he doesn't sleep enough but between a full-time job during the day and picking up recycling at night, being a superhero, and working on schoolwork something has to give.

The next day there's a summons to JSA headquarters. Dr. Cross greets him when he lands.

"How is everything?"

"I took my final tests yesterday, if I didn't totally tank them I'll be starting the eighth grade next week. When I go back in I'll take my old textbooks back and pick up next year's."

"Does your school offer graduation?"

"Yes, though most of the students opt for their GEDS."

"I'd rather you graduate, it looks better on college applications."

"I can barely keep up with my schoolwork and work a full-time job, there's no way I could attend even a community college." Marvel holds up a hand. "Yes, there are online classes. . ." Pietr nods. "Mr. Morris offers tuition reimbursement to his employees. But. . ." Marvel's eyes grow dark. "The life of the wizard's champion is often short. The life of a homeless kid on the streets is just as short. Even now they're cutting back on programs to help since they don't see the need for it."

"Of course, then when they realize they did need it they whine about their precious budgets." Rick snorts.

The other two men nod as they head to the meeting room.

"Are you still taking in the recycling more often?"

"Yes, the need is still great. It's good money especially since I picked up more streets."

Pietr shakes his head. "It's got to be done. The demand is still high." Pietr nods.

Billy sighs as he settles in a chair at the place to pay your taxes, getting up when it's his turn and handing over the receipts and payments, getting them stamped paid and putting them in his receipts. He'll take them to a semi-legit tax person and have them added to his taxes when it's time to get them done. Yeah, it's not technically on the up and up but all the other heroes do it for identities they use, so do the villains. He's just the only one who pays it in person instead of electronically.

Billy grins as he walks into the school with his bags of books. The woman behind the desk marks them off on the list in his folder and brings him to another room, checking the new list and filling the bags then handing him three envelopes of assignments.

"Billy, do you have room for more books? The books are going to be changing and we're getting rid of a lot of these books."

"Not right now, but if you box them up and put them out back I can pick them up later tonight."

"Thank you." She says in relief. "Oh, and you can keep those books too, they're part of the ones that are being switched out."

That night Billy picks up fifteen boxes of books as he picks up recycling, shaking his head as he sees all the books they had to get rid of. He knows to keep their funding they have to change out textbooks more often then public schools, in fact some of the textbooks have the names of public schools around the area in them. He puts them in a building for now and sorts out the recycling to take in the next day since the dropoff will be closed the 4th.

The scrap metal dealer sighs in relief as he lets the truck in the yard, they sort out the recycling and he hands him the money and a little extra before Billy drives off. The money goes in the lockbox and he settles at his desk to start reading his new assignments. The next day he heads to WHIZ where they're having a cookout in the parking lot and he eats his full at everybody's urging. Walking out at the end of the day he grabs a bag of extra food and is handed more. Shaking his head he walks back to the subway tunnel and gets everything put away, eating a chicken sandwich as he lights a candle. The next day he drives off to cut wood with the Amish, putting his on the other platform when he gets back.

What a difference nearly a year makes Billy thinks the next morning as he gets a shower at the station. A good half the police and fire stations in the area had to be torn down and the firefighters had moved to one of the other fire stations instead of the one a few blocks from the tunnel. He can understand the reasoning, they need to be in a central location to help as many people as possible. He walks past buildings that are still damaged since all the contractors are busy with more important repairs. They're still working on getting local hospitals repaired.

The tunnel is essentially the same but he's got more supplies including camp chairs, cots, and dishes. While not all of the JSA members know his real identity, some do. He's finished the seventh grade and was now in the eighth grade. But for the good, there's bad too. A good many schools had to be torn down because of damages and every grade had lost at least some of their students. There was a long waiting list for police cars, fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and ambulances.