Don't Let this Miracle End in Tragedy
Preface

A young woman stared at an elderly couple as they spoke in soft voices to one another, seemingly lost in their own world. And what a world it was as both were thoroughly engaged in nothing else but each other, captured by sheer respect and awe they had for the one seated across them. Her gaze pierced through the inky dark night and burned right into both of them, like fire catching cotton fibers, in sheer disdain. Had she the ability to issue venom with merely her eyes, she would - anything to destroy the disgustingly pleasant sight. "I don't like him." She stated stiffly, and in a low hiss, as she folded her arms over her chest and turned her dark scowl on her companion.

"Yes, you've made that perfectly clear since the day he arrived. You can find no man or woman on this stretch of land who would mistake your feelings for anything but hate." Answered a calm voice that belonged to her tall, willowy counterpart. His voice was deep and, where her eyes couldn't be willed away from them, he hadn't even looked up to the couple. Instead, he opted to offer them privacy as it was clearly an intimate discussion they shared. "You're too harsh, Rui. Let her have her pleasure, while she still can."

The woman hesitated, as if considering his request - not because she accepted the notion, but because she was willing to first consider any of his ideas out of an innate respect for his opinion. However, she scowled a moment later as she absolutely dismissed the suggestion. "Mother could have her pleasure with just us - her family - Shen. If you do recall, she spent more than enough time relying on us to glean any sort of completion. He is not family."

"The law sees it differently. He is her husband. True, he is not our father, but he is family, both hers and ours. You would do well to remember that little one, before unnecessarily causing rifts that could otherwise be avoided. Its nothing but unfair pain for mother and certainly a headache for the rest of us." The uncharacteristically tall and lean Chinese man warned his little sister before placing a hand lightly on her shoulder. She immediately shrugged his hand off and took a full step away from him to prove her point; she didn't want to be touched. It didn't phase the man though as he seemed used to his sister's less than receptive personality.

"It feels like he's staring through me sometimes. Like he can see right into my soul. It's unnerving; like he's attached to something more powerful than we could possibly fathom." Just then, the squat Asian man glanced over at the both of them and it made Rui's body stiffen further and a chill passed her. "See what I mean? I know he can hear me, he's all the way over there. Yet it somehow seems as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking, in this case saying. I don't like you." She waved a hand at the two of them boldly, but pointed her clear and concise disdain at the man who was in her mother's company. Her tilted eyes narrowed slightly, hoping he had heard that much as she hardly veiled her contempt for their step-father.

"Rui." Shen spoke firmly, as if scolding her by use of her name. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead where a line of trimmed black bangs sat like a thin skin in and of itself. It was affection of his own, offering comfort to his sister as he had always done so and knew no other way to treat her. She was his responsibility and if her head and heart were frazzled, he was there to soothe it - but not without reminding her that the reason for her unease was not at all justified.

"It should only be unnerving should you have something to hide; should your soul be in need of disguising. If he could see into the depth of your very being, would it be so alarming? It would not be you that should worry, but him for looking in the first place at a destination he should not be witnessing. A private place. It is for you to keep and share with whom you choose, but the point remains that if you have nothing to hide then you aren't the one in the wrong. That is, should he actually be looking passed your flesh and into your very essence, it would be he who is the villain. If he were capable of doing so that is. But he wouldn't Rui, I promise - he's a good man."

Rui didn't like her old brother's answer for many reasons, chief among them was the fact that she had nothing but a feeling that drove her dislike for him. In fact, she despised her brother momentarily for even thinking of siding with the man who'd stolen their mother from them. He was awkwardly Chinese, at least he was when they met him, and Rui was sure he was from one of the derelict provinces where their children weren't educated but worked in the rice fields from early adolescence. Shen had defended him then too, claiming his difference, his social peculiarity, was something to embrace and understand. Shen had said he was very smart in ways they couldn't see and they should consider him a boon to their family as they could learn from him. Rui thought Shen was the stupid one then too.

Her eyes narrowed to little slits as she watched Shen slip in the direction of the couple, of her mother and the outsider she would never accept. She reasoned that she was an adult, albeit a young one, but plenty old enough to choose whom she liked and who she didn't. Where her brother was dead set on making every life experience a lesson well learned, Rui did the same without the rose-colored glasses that seemed to sit upon the brim of his or her mother's nose. Or so she believed as the notion that her pessimism being misplaced was something Rui refused to consider.

"Zhan." Shen offered a polite little bow to the couple, but addressed the man directly. He held up a book to the man who was well shorter than he was, though the difference did not diminish Shen's respect for him. A small smile pulled at the corners of the man's thin lips, creating the slightest wrinkle around his eyes. It was the same sort of smile he always bore when he attempted a grin. Never did Zhan, as Shen called him because he found it difficult to pronounce the first letter as a J and the vowel as the O in Western culture, show all of his teeth when he offered a smile. He had introduced himself as 'John', but the locals mistook his name for Zhan, a traditional Chinese name, as he'd arrived in the trappings of an authentic China native.

"You only like him because he teaches you English." Rui brushed passed them, making no indication of the fact that her mother and J'onn were right there. The stout, little Chinese woman stifled the look of shock that crossed her face for her daughter's blatant disregard for respecting her elders. She hurried after the young woman scolding her, in a soft hiss, as she went.

"I already speak English." Shen told J'onn in his native tongue, as it was easier to speak that way quickly. "Please disregard her. She means no harm, truly. Beyond that I'm not using your skills for my own ends. I enjoy the time we spend together. It's true you assist me in perfecting the art of language. We are simple people." J'onn knew this already as they lived and worked on land of their own. It was on the outskirts of the Chinese rice fields on one side and mountains on the other that situated the land owned by J'onn's wife, having inherited it from her former dead husband. Never had he considered any of them as not having worth. On the contrary they all, even Rui, mattered to him. "But that has little to do with why I enjoy learning from you."

"I know." J'onn answered simply. He had long ago adapted to the culture and the family in which he was part of now. Where he arrived when he was still considerably an outsider, at this time, few would be able to tell he wasn't born and raised in this very village. "I believe," J'onn said as he accepted the book from the other man, "we were last working on perfecting the use of T and H together, yes? You were almost there. Three." He offered, instigating Shen to echo him.

"Shree." Shen immediately responded, his soft dialect making his voice sound songish on the word foreign to his tongue. It was beautiful in a poetic way, but certainly not the word Shen had meant to say as the intricateness of the languages clashed.

"Three." J'onn said patiently, giving a small nod of his head to encourage Shen to try again. J'onn had no accent when he spoke, at least not in English and even most times, he could mask his tone in Chinese as well. He simply had studied for so long, out of respect for these people, to perfect that which they held dear in their native tongue.

Shen paused, thinking about the word and it's parts. "S'ree." A heavy frown crossed his lips as he realized he'd taken a step backward by trying too hard and having lost the 'H' sound all together.

"Do not be frazzled by it - you will get there, I will help you. Three." J'onn gave the example again.

Shen, unwilling to yield, squared his shoulders as if he was ready to attack the very word J'onn was offering. A worthy adversary, one of great difficulty and therefore must be conquered efficiently. It was Shen's calm demeanor, his drive for excellence and his perseverance to try until he got it right, that kept him from backing down against this particular foe. He opted for a different approach this time. "Free."

"Watch my tongue when I speak; it just barely grazes the surface of my teeth before the air passes through. Three." He watched Shen consider the word further.

"Thssree." Shen hesitated and then said, definitively. "I will one day own this word."

J'onn smiled at Shen's determination as it was meant in spirit rather than villainy. "Indeed." He almost chuckled his response at the much younger man.

Author's Note :: I thought Jackie was going to flip her lid with the summary requirement on this site. It was rather entertaining. Perhaps you lovely folks will earn an appropriate summary at the start of Chapter 1, where this story truly begins. Now, it seems we're fixated on J'onn. And really...I am. It's all Mandy's fault. However we think there will be other hero appearances in this story and we've been toying with a Flash story in which we share as I do enjoy writing Wally. Either way, yes we are once again exploring J'onn and those around him. This story is meant to take place in the LJA/LJU animated series, after the point in which J'onn leaves the league to better understand humanity. As we always do, the story title is a borrowed Alkaline Trio Lyric. We don't own it. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. We would appreciate any feedback you might have. V/R :: Mandy and Jackie