Disclaimer: I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.
Psychotic
Arguments
"I simply have a headache Flash. There is no need for all this concern." J'onn growled in a low monotone, closing his eyes against the light, which was only making this grandmother of a headache worse.
"Are you sure? What did she do to you? Is she going to attack the rest of us?" Flash shot the questions at J'onn as he uselessly zipped around the room, bringing J'onn a glass of water, a cloth, and a bucket of ice water with his sincerest expression of worry.
"Please hold still Flash. You are making it worse." J'onn groaned. Flash halted abruptly, still frowning over J'onn.
"What happened, though?" Flash repeated.
"She simply expelled me from her mind." J'onn replied, hoping against hope that this answer would satisfy Flash. He should be so lucky.
"Can she do that?" Flash shouted, adding whole worlds of pain to J'onn's already sore head.
"Clearly." J'onn mumbled.
"But, how? No-one's ever done that!" Flash exclaimed, still in a voice designed to make a headache worse.
"She has multiple personalities. The one thing they are definitely good at is keeping each other out of their minds." J'onn whispered. Maybe if Flash wouldn't shut up he'd lower his voice if J'onn lowered his?
By some miracle, this reply shut Flash up. J'onn reveled in the glorious silence for the whole of a minute.
Flash reflected on J'onn's last sentence. "I so don't get that."
J'onn moaned piteously and implemented all his considerable self control to prevent himself from crying. "Please Flash. I will answer your questions later, but for now, please, can you be silent?"
"J'onn?" Jay's voice reverberated through the wall separating the observation bay, where J'onn sat nursing his head, and Jay's infirmary room, where she was still tied down to the bed. It was loud and confident, and went through J'onn's head like a sledgehammer.
Flash frowned over J'onn as the martian's features contorted into a grimace of pain. "I'll take this one, shall I?" Flash offered. He was gone before J'onn could protest.
The quiet left behind was the most wonderful thing J'onn had felt for a long time. He knew he should probably go answer Jay, but for now, he just wanted to rest his head and relax. He'd just shut his eyes for a minute…
Within seconds he'd fallen into a blissful, pain free sleep.
---
Jay looked up as the door to her room slid open with an expensive 'swish'. But it wasn't J'onn that walked in. Flash sidled cautiously into the room.
"Where's J'onn?" Jay asked, her voice made aggressive by the warring emotions Flash caused in her.
Him! I hate him.
How can you hate him? He is SO hot.
Hot? Because he is 'hot' you would forgive him everything?
Well not everything
Please would you both shut up?
'Sensible self' Jay managed to focus in on the end of Flash's sentence.
"- indisposed." Flash was answering cautiously, clearly forcing himself not to react to Jay's aggression.
"Pardon me?" Jay said, confused.
Once again, Flash's reply was drowned out by the voices arguing in her head.
There must be some way to differentiate between you.
Hey, we can tell who's who no problem!
But surely you see how difficult it could get?
Both of you, shut up!
"Are you alright?" Flash had inched marginally closer to Jay, though he still kept a safe distance.
Jay shook her head trying to shake out voices that were impossible to get rid of. With a great effort, Jay forced herself to ignore the background discussion.
"I'm fine, thank you." Jay mumbled, concentrating hard on blanking out the other two.
It's only difficult if you make it. We're in the same head, how difficult is it to direct your thoughts one direction or the other?
"Do you want a drink or something?" Flash asked politely.
The whole point of names is to identify every individual. The system fails if you refuse to take different names!
"No, thank you. I wanted to speak to J'onn." Jay spoke hesitantly, frowning into the middle distance, and unable to focus on Flash. Which was probably a good thing considering how little she liked him. And especially considering that Psychotic didn't seem to like him much either.
It's our name! You can't just waltz in here and change our name!
"J'onn's… not feeling very well right now." Flash explained.
I do not waltz anywhere.
"Oh. It wasn't my fault, was it?" Jay's voice gained a note of concern as she remembered what Psychotic had done to J'onn. She really liked J'onn.
Don't change the subject just because you're losing the argument! And anyway, look what you did to poor J'onn!
"Well, I'm sure there's a lawyer somewhere who could argue it wasn't your fault." Flash quipped with a tentative smile. Jay suppressed a smile. The man was mildly amusing.
He amuses you? Interesting.
Why should her amusement be interesting?
Look you, don't you start! You're already in enough trouble about J'onn!
"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him. We just… never expected to see him in there. It's a pretty crowded head. We get pretty territorial." Jay explained. Flash grinned uncomfortably. There was a short pause.
He should not have been in there to begin with. I simply did what you did not have the courage to do!
Not have the courage? Are you calling me chicken?
No, I am calling you a coward. Why would I want to call you a chicken?
Well, excuse me! It just so happens that I am capable of attempting a little diplomacy first!
He would have left if we had asked?
If I had eyes right now, I would so be glaring at you.
"Um. Is there anything I could do?" Flash broke into the argument Jay was listening to, morbidly fascinated by what sounded like some misbegotten comedy track written by an idiot.
"Uh… well, I just wanted to ask J'onn to untie me. I'm ok now. But I guess he won't be able to make sure of that until he's better?" Jay explained hopefully.
"I think it's a good idea to wait for J'onn." Flash agreed, although he softened enough to look at Jay apologetically as he said it. "He shouldn't be too long. I'll come by to check up on you in a bit, alright?"
Jay suppressed a grimace, and settled in for a long wait as Flash left the room. At least she had her own entertainment.
He would really have just left?
You don't trust very well do you?