Kara was warm, and she felt very comfortable. It was one of the reasons why she was annoyed when an insistent grip on her shoulder tightened as a female voice called from far away, "Supergirl! Supergirl, wake up!"
"Nnno." She turned away from the voice, and then felt herself be shaken as another hand gripped her other shoulder.
"You must awaken." The voice was firm and brooked no argument. "The League has been waiting for you."
Kara allowed her eyes to slit open as she mumbled, "The League …? Why?"
"Supergirl, you fell asleep, and the entire League is waiting for you."
Kara sat up straight as finally she recognized the voice. "Wonder Woman?" Memories came crashing back into her head all at once, and she met the Amazonian's gaze with wide eyes. "I- what happened?"
"Clark said that you were tired, but I didn't think you would fall asleep." Wonder Woman, in all of her feminine glory, stood before Supergirl. Kara looked down to see that she was still in her dirty uniform, and an uncomfortable position on the bed.
"I … I didn't think I was that tired …"
"Kara, are you all right?" Diana sat down next to her on the bed, her eyes filled with concern.
"I- … yeah. I'm fine." Supergirl found herself saying the words calmly, even though she was freaking out internally. The last thing she could remember was coming to change, and then … nothing. "I guess I was just … way more exhausted than I thought."
"Well, if you're awake, I suggest you change quickly. The League is waiting on you."
"Oh, crap. The League!" Kara stumbled to her feet swiftly, ignoring the feeling that all of her limbs were made of lead. She ran to the closet, momentarily ignoring Wonder Woman in favor of speed changing.
When she turned back around, the Amazonian was giving her a strange look.
"What?" She looked down at her new uniform nervously, "Is it stained or something?"
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"I'm totally fine!" Kara could feel her nerves firing. "I just … feel embarrassed for making everyone wait."
"We will try to keep the meeting short." Diana gave her a beautiful smile, and Kara felt herself glow in the princess's humor.
Wonder Woman was probably the coolest superhero ever.
"I'm ready."
"Good." The smile never left the Amazon's face as she walked through the door. "Let's go then, shall we?"
Supergirl quickly followed the large woman out, asking as she went, "Why didn't Kal come to get me? He normally would."
To her surprise, Wonder Woman threw her head back then, a hearty laugh erupting from her. "You certainly know your cousin, Supergirl. He wanted to come, but I told him to let me do it." Her deep blue eyes twinkled when she looked at Kara, "What if you had only been half-dressed?"
Supergirl laughed as well at the thought of Kal's reaction to that possibility. Really, her cousin was very proper, and she could imagine his face turning red as Diana confronted him with the scenario. "I guess he would have been pretty mortified."
"I imagine that he would also have been quite worried to find you asleep." Wonder Woman was giving her a knowing look now, and Kara felt her own face turn red.
"I really am just tired. It's been a long day, I guess."
"Just be careful." The Amazonian warned right as the door opened to the meeting hall, allowing them to step through.
"Kara? Is everything okay?" Kal started to get out of his seat at the head of the table, but was stopped by a look and a whispered word from Batman, who sat at his left.
"I'm fine, Kal." Supergirl said, right as Wonder Woman chimed in.
"I think she could use some rest when this is all over, Superman. Let's try not to let this meeting run too long."
"You an' me both, kid." Green Lantern spoke from his seat at the table, resting his chin on one of his hands. "All I can think about is bed."
Several of the other Leaguers exchanged looks at his comment, though Kara saw it as the diversion that it was, turning the focus point away from her and her embarrassment. She smiled at the Lantern in gratitude even as Flash spoke,
"The Guardian guys keepin' ya busy?"
"Interplanetary war, busting a slave trafficking crime ring, aaaand trying to help with peace treaties between the Ren-anem and the Wylonins, who have been fighting a different war for the past 3 decades." Green Lantern nodded good-naturedly. "You name it, and I've dealt with it in the last week." He seemed to ignore the looks that he was getting from the rest of his team as he turned to face Entropy, who sat across from him. "But now it seems like we're facing the end of the world?"
"I'd like to hear what this is all about, too." Aquaman spoke for the first time as Kara sat down next to Entropy, who seemed to be doing his level best to blend in with his chair.
Supergirl sympathized. It was a little intimidating to be in front of the whole League. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Arrow and Flash. Eight powerful individuals, all in one room.
"Superman and Flash have already explained to us that you cannot tell for the secrecy of your people. We thank you for choosing to trust us." Martian Manhunter's voice was deep and smooth. Kara remembered hearing once that he always spoke telepathically to his teammates, and she idly wondered if one day she would get that honor.
"Yeah. We're all together now, so you can tell us." Superman was going to great efforts to keep his voice friendly, firm and non-threatening, but Kara could see that he was getting tense.
Entropy was far tenser, however, and his voice cracked a little on his first word. "Well … eh, …" He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, then seemed to resolve himself. "I told you before that I felt that the world was going to end. Now I will explain."
Kara heard Flash basically whisper the word, "Aaaand?"
Green Arrow heard it too, and elbowed the speedster discreetly, making Kara smile despite herself. Green Lantern didn't react on Flash's other side, however, merely continuing to rest his chin on the palms of his hands, elbows on the table.
"My real name is Leonard Askin."
Supergirl was immediately paying attention. She hadn't expected him to start out that way, just as she hadn't expected him to have that name.
"As a child, they found out that I held psychic powers and I was taken from my family to be inducted into a clan of people like me. The Psy-kins."
"Totally thought he was gonna say psy-chos." Arrow murmured, getting a grin from Flash and a glare from Superman. Kara stifled a chuckle, glad that she was one of the only ones with super-hearing in the room.
"I know the name is ridiculous, but it comes from the idea that all those who hold psychic powers are related in some way. We're kin." Entropy sighed. "I have been learning to use my powers ever since."
"What are they?" Batman's voice surprised everyone in the room, and Kara could have sworn she saw Green Lantern flinch slightly, as though he'd been startled.
"I …" Entropy seemed reluctant to share, and she found him meeting her eyes for a moment before he continued. "I can create portals, as you saw on the television, though they cost me a lot of energy."
Inspiration struck Kara then, and it seemed to hit Kal at the same time. "Does it take energy from anyone who goes through it?"
"I-" Entropy's eyes went wide, "I don't know. I've never done that before today."
Superman gave Kara a significant look then, while Aquaman leaned in. "And your other powers?"
"I … if I've touched someone, I can hear their loudest thoughts."
"Can you do so indefinitely, or does it wear off?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"And can you speak to people telepathically?" Wonder Woman seemed intrigued.
"I- well, so far I can't speak back to people, but the closer I get to someone after I've touched them, the easier it is for me to hear their thoughts." Entropy shrugged. "And I can alter emotions, or amplify them, but … I have no idea how to control it."
"Why do you think the world is going to end?" Batman's voice was harsh, and his question was blunt. Kara saw Green Lantern twitch again, and Flash seemed to have noticed it this time as well.
"Sometimes … I can see parts of the future. It's like a vision, and sometimes it comes in a dream …" Entropy seemed less nervous than he had been before, but Supergirl could see that he was still far from comfortable. "And lately, in my dreams … I keep seeing the same thing over and over again. The world is burning. Everything is destroyed …" He seemed to be getting emotional.
"What were you doing in that alley then?" Superman asked. "You said that you were searching for answers."
"I was." Entropy nodded. Kara still couldn't believe that his real name was Leonard. "My powers are … not very reliable all the time, and when I told the clan about my dreams, they dismissed it. I have reason to believe that they are choosing to ignore the oncoming threat on purpose, and so I found one of their counselors."
"The guy in alley?" Supergirl asked.
"Yeah." Entropy curled his lip. "He's supposed to be really good at dream-walking, but he said he wouldn't do it for me."
"Dream-walking?" Wonder Woman's eyebrow went up, and Kara appreciated how shapely it was.
"The ability to enter another person's dream." J'onn J'onnz answered while Leonard nodded.
"The council believes that my powers are destroying me slowly, and that I'm going crazy, so they refuse to help."
"Well, now your name makes more sense." Kal said, and Supergirl rolled her eyes.
"Your clan gave you your name, too?" Green Arrow's mask bent with his eyebrows as they both went up. "Your people are terrible at naming things."
"And that's coming from the guy who named himself Green Arrow?" Flash grinned, receiving another elbow from his friend.
"Why do the Psy-kins believe that your powers are consuming you?" Aquaman asked.
"They are difficult for me to control, … and when I get too emotional I … lose control of them completely sometimes."
"Sounds like any other teenager." Arrow shrugged, getting an elbow in the ribs from Flash this time, while the rest of the League merely glared.
"Why did you not come to the Justice League sooner?" J'onnz was sitting up straight in his seat, and now he brought his hands together, pressing his fingers against one another. "It is our job to prevent the end of the world."
"Because … We are not allowed to tell anyone outside of the clan about the Psy-kins. Breaking this rule brings consequences." Entropy's voice was filled with emotion once more, and Kara leaned forward a little in her seat, attempting to see his whole face.
"What consequences?" Superman's tone had become firm once again, and he sounded every bit the hero that he was.
"They will wipe your memories of me and them, and then punish me accordingly."
"You say it like it's already happened." Batman observed.
"That's because it has!" It was the first time that the young man had risen his voice, and Kara didn't like it. Emotion cracked it on the last word, and there was a moment of tense silence before he continued. "I worked for an entire month with your Teen Titans. They will never remember me though, because I told them about the clan!"
Supergirl was completely blindsided by this news, and so was everyone else, judging by their expressions.
"Then why are you telling us now?" Batman asked. "Why tell us when you know they'll come and wipe our memories?"
"Because the world will end if I don't! The world will end, and you'll- … you'll all die …"
"What?" Arrow asked very eloquently.
"Every time I fall asleep, I have the vision." Entropy's voice was shaking slightly. "And every time, I watch you all fight. I see you fighting, I see you failing, and I see you dying." His eyes met Kara's as he finished. "I see you dead."
For a long moment, there was no sound in the meeting room, no one quite knowing how to respond to that declaration.
Then a light snore came from Green Lantern, whose head had drooped heavily onto his hands that still miraculously held it up.
"Wait, did he fall asleep?" Arrow asked.
So, I was having serious writer's block on this chapter, and I'm sorry for the delay, really. :) I hope that you enjoyed it, and seriously, if you did, consider dropping a review in the box for me.
Even a one-liner would be better than nothing, because the more reviews I get, the more inspiration that I have.
Thanks for tuning in!
-Al