DISCLAIMER: I wish that I was gifted enough to have helped create a cartoon. Alas, it was not meant to be.

He walked quietly down the winding hall toward the wing that contained his room. It had a door, but one that was designed to keep others out since he could just phase through the wall. He did just that, hoping to obtain a few hours of rest before it was his turn to keep an eye on the Watchtower's surveillance system. He settled into the couch along the window and wondered if he should get a pet to keep him company. It wasn't as if the Justice League weren't his friends, but he needed something of a companion. He had been alone for far too long. And they were all so different to him. At least an animal he could understand. A cat, maybe a cat like the one that the Kent family had the day he visited for Christmas, was the answer. Morphing into his Martian exterior, he entered a sort of meditative state where he could rest without being bothered by the pestering feeling of loneliness.

His eyes scanned all the areas that normally posed problems for the League. Things seemed under control tonight. Not that he was inclined to step in anyway. He normally preferred his detached perch. And then that annoying ringtone, that Flash set his phone to whenever he got the chance, went off. He strolled over and picked it up with apprehension. He just had this gut feeling that his quick friend wasn't calling just because he wanted to some friendly conversation.

"How may I be of assistance?" He was proud of his polite response despite the annoying ringtone.

"Hey there green! I just picked up a friend, but I really need to get back to the bank robbery I was dealing with. Can you come babysit for a little while?"

"I thought you were inordinately fast. Can't he wait patiently the ten seconds it takes you to deal with the situation."

"Ohh, sarcasm Johnny? But no, she can't wait the several hours you know that it is going to take for the police to get all the information that they want whenever I mess with one of their cases. I tried to convince them to let me record a tape with everything I knew and have them play it in slow motion, but they won't let me. Makes me want to stop trying so hard to help them."

"That is not true. You love being a hero and the attention it brings. And you have a big heart, despite your exaggeration of the time the police take. Tell her I'll be there in about thirty seconds."

"Thanks man!"

He stepped onto the platform that would take him to the spot that Flash had dictated. His surroundings swirled into a dark, enclosed space, and right next to trembling woman. He thought she was terrified until he felt the chill air hit him. She was cold. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her and she stiffened. She had obviously had not been expecting him to appear out of nowhere.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself first. I should have known my young friend would not stick around long enough for such explanations. I am J'onn. Would you mind if we went somewhere warmer?"

She relaxed a bit. "I overheard part of the conversation, but I wasn't expecting you to show up so quickly. Slightly ironic considering I was just saved by the Flash. Yes please, take me somewhere warm. And I am truly sorry for making you babysit me."

He couldn't help but smile. There was something sweet about her. Innocent. The sort of person that made sure the League didn't lose its faith in humanity. He did a small scan of her emotions and intentions and feeling nothing negative pulled her back with him onto the clear platform used for return trips. It might nice to have someone new at the Watchtower.

He had made a mistake, he thought as they swirled into the Watchtower. She didn't know he was not human. It would only take an instant to take on his human form, but it was an instant he did not have. She was wrapped in his very green arms. She looked at them, giving off a confused aura. She tilted her head and looked at him from behind her curly red bangs with eyes as green as gems - straight into his red eyes. She immediately went slack in his arms. He was unsure what to do. He was supporting her, so he couldn't release her and have her hit the floor, but how could stand there and continue to terrify her? He was thinking on a solution to his predicament when she blew him away completely.

"J'onn? As in J'onn J'onzz? I didn't believe Flash when he said he knew you." She said it reverently, as if afraid he would vanish.

Seeing that she was no stranger to his identity he floated them over to a loveseat near the kitchen. After setting her down he offered her coffee. She declined, saying that she would rather be able to fall asleep. She had been up on coffee and adrenaline for far too long already. He sat next to her.

"I think you have quite a tale to tell, young one. But before you begin, what is your name?"

"Ah, right. Sorry. I'm Alina Faden. Pleased to meet you."

"Alina. So please tell me how you came to be rescued, as well as know my name."

"Well, to make the story really short, after my parents were murdered by the mafia I became a fugitive since I was a witness. I thought they had lost my trail until two days ago; I've been awake since then trying to stay out of their reach. They almost had me when Flash ran by and picked me up on his way to the bank. When I thanked him he beamed and told me he was a hero and saving people was what he did. So I asked him if he knew you. He seemed shocked that I knew about you since you rarely come to earth, and called to ask that you look after me. Honestly, I think he just wanted me to meet you; I was quite safe after his rescue. I'm grateful, though. I've wanted to meet you ever since I saw you morph into a dragon over the Wall of China. I was there on vacation with my parents years ago and became obsessed. I did all sorts of research, but your friends are very protective of you and I couldn't get much."

"Why me? As I recall there were several of us there fighting. Why were you interested in me?"

She blushed slightly. Anybody else might not have noticed. He did. "Well, you see, it was the way you treated that lady you were with before you ran off to save the world. It was so tender. The only time I've seen such tender care was when my father cared for my mother whenever she got sick."

He was taken aback. She was just full of surprises. And she was swaying from the strain of lack of sleep and fearfrom the previous days. He gathered her into his arms and walked into his hallway, settling her into the room next to his. She was asleep in his arms by the time he opened the door. He laid her down and pulled off her shoes and socks. He draped an extra blanket over her and walked back out to the main hub. He pulled up a screen of her room when he got back to his sentry duty. To make sure she wasn't a spy attempting to betray them. To make sure when she got up she wouldn't go wandering about the tower like a lost puppy. Or so he told himself as he kept glancing at the sleeping mound.

Full-on confrontations to all sorts of interesting villains he was almost used to. But this kind of underhanded plotting he could have never expected. Maybe Batman would have been skeptical, but J'onn still lacked that cunning edge despite centuries of death and betrayal. He had gone to an interview with Diana and they were offered champange, which he turned down. Then they had offered Chocos and he had been unable to resist. Two minutes later they looked at each other in understanding. They had been drugged. It was a trap and they were about to fall asleep. He had mentally called before falling down unconcious. Interestingly, he had focused all his remaining energy on contacting Alina. Despite knowing her for only a few hours it turned out to be a wise choice.

Enraged that her favorite hero was in danger she had sent up all sorts of alarms in the Watchtower and the uncouncious pair were carried out by Green Lantern not much later. Superman took care of the offenders. Green Lantern had just reached the Watchtower when alarms went off in several places. The available heros split into teams and headed out to the different locations. Shayera picked up Diana and carried her to her room before rushing off to join the others on Earth. J'onn lay on a hard chair that hardly looked comfortable. Having some self defense training due to her past she did not shy away from the idea of dragging him to his room. She drapped an arm over her shoulder and tried her best to lift him off the seat. To her surprise he stirred and mangaed to shift some weight to his feet and help share part of the burden as she half dragged him to his room.

He didn't know what they had given him and the world felt unbalanced. He leaned on something for support and when it moved recognized it as Alina. She somehow managed to drag him to his room. He tried to lighten his density so he wouldn't be too much of a burden, but his head was spinning and he wasn't sure it was working. She didn't complain, though, just asked him for the password to the door and tried to lay him on his bed. He collapsed into it, accidentally tangling his arms around her and bringing her down with him. He held on to her for dear life, something steady in the uneasy motion all around. She lay there quietly and began to hum, lulling him to sleep. Unable to face the wavering world any longer, he surrendered to the stillness behind his eyelids. He knew instinctively that he was safe around her. She had answered his call for help and was still trying to help. He had not slept so soundly in a long time.

It had been a few days since the drugged Chocos incident. Alina had been appalled that they had managed to lure him with cookies. He told her that it wouldn't happen again. He'd be giving up Chocos from now on. She laughed at that and asked him why she was letting them win. The redhead proceeded to stuff him full of the chocolate cookies until he admitted that he loved them and that he wouldn't give them up, just be careful in the future. The Flash had appeared only long enough to poke fun at him, saying he'd eat anything as long as it was her hand that was doing the feeding. She had blushed and excused herself.

"What is bothering you?" he had asked as he followed her to the kitchen, "Why did his comment cause you to become embarrassed."

"Because feeding someone cookies like that was rather intimate. I didn't think about it until he mentioned it. I guess since I've always dreamed to meeting you it comes naturally to try to please."

He was floored. She looked for ways to please him? "Your friendship is most pleasant and welcome. Do not let his words provoke you. Do as you wish, I saw nothing wrong with your actions." She smiled shyly up at him.

"Actually, that kind of brings up a topic that we need to discuss. I am very thankful that you brought me here to protect me, and that in turn I was able to alert the rest of the crew of your need, but how long will I be able to stay here?"

"You can stay as long as you like. You can leave whenever you please, you are not a prisoner here. Just let me know when and where you wish to go and I will see you there safely." She mumbled something intelligable. "I don't have Superman's hearing ability, Alina." She frowned but spoke up.

"Do you really mean I can stay as long as I like? What if I really like it here and don't want to leave?"

He felt his chest tighten with emotion. She wasn't going to leave as soon as he had thought. "You would not be lonely here, so far from Earth?"

"No. There are a lot of people running through the Watchtower at any given moment. Interesting people, too. I've made friends with many of them. And, I have you." It was true. They had spent a lot of time sitting around talking the past few days. He hadn't wanted her to go, finally having found a companion, but he had never thought she would actually want to stay.

"Then stay. We welcome your help around here. You seem to be the only one with time to wash dishes, since you don't rush off at every alarm that goes off." He said this with a smile. It was true, but he meant it as a joke. She wasn't going to be allowed to stay on the terms that she help clean, she would be allowed to remain because the rest of the Leauge got along really well with the mellow redhead (mellow redhead-go figure) and enjoyed her company. He enjoyed her company most of all. An alarm went off near the moon, which meant that someone not human would have to go. Seeing that he was the only one qualified at the moment he cast Alina an apologetic look as he stepped onto the appropriate platform. She wished him luck and on impulse stood on her toes and kissed his cheek before he transfered out. Shayera watched from a doorway and smiled to herself. It seemed like J'onn had found his match. Good for him.