A/N: To the lovely reviewer of the last chapter, yes, this does take place around season 2, but unlike the story before this one, I won't be writing it word for word just adding the OC in, as… I dunno, it was very tedious. I'll do my best to keep it as close, but it won't be the exact same as season 2 because she's there. Future apocalypse world Kal-el won't appear properly until the next chapter though I think, lots to get cleared up in this one!

Also i drew her, so you guys can get a better idea of what this chick looks like, you can find a link to it on my profile, this site sucks with photos and links :/


Chapter 4

It was all a lot easier to breath from that moment on, anxiety dissipating almost immediately after she managed to get through the speech and return to her room, which surprisingly hadn't been touched, aside from the odd clean here and there to rid it of any dust or cobwebs, the room had remained the same and boy did it need a rejuvenation. She found her old uniform amongst other outfits, immediately deciding that it also needed a slight update here and there, certain areas of her body that would no longer fit within the skin-tight uniform. She'd take it to the tailor later but for now she simply changed into something a little less… wedding, and a little more… pyjama apparently. It wasn't like she had casual clothes to wear, she'd trekked halfway across the galaxy in her wedding dress, she hadn't brought other clothes with her she'd not brought anything with her besides herself and her flight ring, that was it; and unfortunately the only things in her closet that'd fit her new appearance were pyjama shorts that hung low on her hips to allow her fins to flow over the waistband and a spaghetti strapped vest shirt to not get in the way of the arm fins! She needed help… at least someone who could get her something other than slightly too small pyjamas to wear, because there were clearly children present if that small Durlan was anything to go by and she was not waltzing around the tower in what could only be described as low riding booty shorts.

Nope, not happening.

"Hm, not exactly what I'd call a uniform" honestly? She nearly screamed as the voice sounded off behind her, a very familiar and almost amused voice belonging to an android she didn't even remotely hear come in whatever the hell happened to knocking?! She used to have access to telepathy for Mora's sake! He never got the drop on her damnit. She still hadn't explained the stunning reduction in power since she'd left two years prior, having left the lounge straight away to get changed… or at least attempt to get changed. "You appear surprised, didn't sense me coming?" Brainiac 5 questioned, a… brow? Raised? Gosh she was so out of touch with her Brainy, she needed more bonding time clearly, his facial expressions had changed so much with these physical changes

So many new… upgrades… to get used to. Damn those were some upgrades…

"Uh… no, no I didn't, but regardless of that you could have knocked, or at least y'know… asked through the intercom or something, I could have been naked in here!" As If that mattered to him, he was a 12th level intellect, he knew what a Zoranian looked like without their clothing, hell… Zoranians rarely wore clothing anyway! Too constricting to swim in heavy fabrics, they preferred to just go natural, Roxanne just knew that wouldn't really be an okay thing to do in amongst other species though, also slightly more dangerous to do that outside of her city…

"Hm, well then, Aqua Lass, you'll be pleased to know that Saturn Girl has gone out into the city to find you something to wear, given your… growth I doubt you'd fit into your own uniform as I'm sure you've already realised" She tried not to take offense she really did but… it was all so clear cut, not even a hint of familiarity or warmth, she was used to the rare warmth in Brainiac 5's voice being directed at her, she longed for that warmth, for that familiarity to return to her… preferably sooner rather than later.

"I wanna ask what that pause was before 'growth' but I know you'll flatly refuse to elaborate on what you're insinuating" did he mean her physical changes? The fins? Or was he referencing how certain aspects had filled out a little more in the two years she'd been away? Nobody would ever know she was sure of it.

"Seems you're a little rusty on what I will and won't do because for your information, I was referencing the fins, nothing we have here would accommodate them, I don't… think they were there before were they?" Oh sweet Mora, she really was out of touch… he'd never explain himself… at least he wouldn't before, had he changed as well? So much for how sure she was. The last time someone had questioned him in front of her he'd simply shut them down spouting the 12th level intellect bullshit as if any other species actually registered intellect by level. Damn Coluans and their oddities. "Perhaps we ought to partner up on a mission at some time, get to know each other again since it seems we're both a little out of touch" it was like he was reading her mind, and actually taking that first step to making it happen, boy was braver than she'd ever gave him credit for.

"No… the fins weren't there before, they grew out when my halves merged" body settling on Zoranian rather than remaining in constant conflict between her Human and Zoranian halves, the aquatic side to her seemed to be stronger, strong enough to completely overshadow the human appearance she could conjure before, now she'd need her Shimmer tech to even remotely appear human again. "Listen Brainy I… I should probably explain something before we or… anyone goes out on a mission with me I-"

"You no longer have all of your powers" He cut her off, tone matter of fact like he'd known all along somehow and honestly that just irritated her and amused her greatly at the same time. It was a strange feeling, on the one hand she'd longed to be cut off by his smartassery one more time after leaving, but on the other it was just as infuriating as it was before she'd left. "I figured as much when you walked here, rather than just teleported… as far as I remember you only waste time on dancing around feelings, never anything else" well… he wasn't wrong, but she still flinched at the comment. It still stung, even though it was entirely warranted, she'd left him, no doubt she'd hurt him. Oh, how she wished they could hash this out when she wasn't wearing such flimsy attire, she felt all too exposed under his gaze whether cold or not, and it wasn't… she still felt very small because of it.

"I deserve that…" she uttered, expression falling… maybe it wasn't the best idea to come back here after everything, she'd left him, hurt him and he had every right to be cruel, she hadn't expected this though

"No, you don't… Roxanne where has it all gone?" her confusion evidently written all over her face as he countered his own words, distress laced through his tone of voice as if he knew something was wrong here, it wasn't just her powers that had vanished, something else had as well

"My powers bala-"

"Not those, I don't care about your powers Roxanne I never have, something else is missing here I cant believe you just let me speak to you like that without even a fight, you had a damn good reason to go, yes it was incredibly ill timed and it confused and upset me enough to leave me sour and difficult for a few months but I'm not angry at you for going to protect your home, I'd be a monster if I was angry about that" She… didn't quite understand what was happening right now and it seemed evident enough on her face as he continued "you appear to have lost your spirit in your absence Roxanne… that's what I cared about, you fought every stupid thing I did, you argued with me when you knew you were right and I was wrong, you always felt justified in your actions even if you WERE wrong so much so that that was infuriating, I've never once seen you just lay down and take a verbal beating like this, and even now you're just standing there listening to me rant like you deserve to be told off"

"What do you want me to do, Querl?" If he was going to use her name rather the one she'd just chosen in front of everyone then she'd use his, if he wanted fire and fury, she'd give it to him "I've spent two years re-learning how to act, how to behave, I've spent two years being pushed and pulled around, forced into a personality that doesn't belong to me to make some planet invading psychopath's douchebag of a son happy, expecting to be forced into making an heir for their crusade, I barely even remember what I used to be like, Querl… all I wanted coming back here was to see your stupid face again and here you are demanding I be the exact same as I used to be not even remotely thinking that maybe SOMETHING might have happened in the two years I was away while I'm standing here in nothing but a skimpy shirt and what can only be described as booty shorts do you have any idea of the concept of TIME AND PLACE?!" He didn't seem angry at her outburst, nor did he seem… as passive as he had before, in fact the smallest of smiles graced his lips, like that very outburst had been exactly what he'd hoped for.

"There she is" and it seemed it was "-almost believed we'd lost you forever" he took a step toward her, she didn't know whether to take another step back in response to his movement, she settled for staying put, confusion plaguing her mind, uncertainty keeping her rooted in place "You're right, this is neither the time nor place, but neither was the cruiser after a fight with a Sun Eater, which I will stop bringing up I swear, you should tell the others about your powers though, I don't think they've made the connection…"stopping just close enough to reach out and touch if he wanted, if she allowed, he'd make no further move, deeming it her turn to make a decision on what to do next.

Get close? Or remain at a safe distance.

"Remember when it was all really easy? We'd just try out-sassing each other? I'd try and outsmart you and you'd just prove me wrong and then the sarcasm wars… but then you had to go all loopy and prove everyone else right…" they'd all said it, teased them about how cute they were together, trying to gently nudge them together every now and then but she'd not been entirely certain until that day he'd gone absolutely bananas and complimented her at every opportunity it'd been… both embarrassing and eye opening and honestly she did keep the recordings just to watch them when she'd felt particularly lonesome on Nanguala. She took that step into his personal space, pitching forward just a little to rest her forehead on his shoulder, the comfort his proximity gave her helping to settle her nearly fried nerves, it'd been such a long day and while his new appearance was still foreign to her, his presence wasn't.

"Yes I remember" gently placing a cool hand on her shoulder, slowly running it up and down the length of her bicep back to shoulder again doing his very best to not overstep any unforeseen boundaries that may have been put into place during their time apart, she did mention being forced into a lot of difficult situations, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable and thankfully it didn't seem like she was "most of it anyway, the uhm… loopy part, is still unclear, you'll have to show me those recordings sometime, I know you weren't joking about having them" She would have answered, she was actually opening her mouth to confirm that yes, she definitely still had the recordings when the alarm system sounded off throughout the tower

Warning! Unidentified spatial anomaly detected on Level 3!

"Awh rats, I don't even have a uniform! I'm not fighting evil in skimpy pyjamas!" She huffed, stepping away from the barely there embrace they'd been standing in to yell at the disembodied voice of computo over the alarm systems "You go on ahead Brainy, I'll… wait for Saturn Girl to bring me my clothes, I doubt I'd be much use anyway, I haven't trained in… two years? I'll probably slow you guys down" with a nod he took off, focus shifting entirely to the potential threat now apparently lurking near the sim chambers, their conversation would be tabled for a later time, now all she had to do was wait until Saturn Girl returned with a uniform she could actually wear in public.

What was the worst that could happen while she waited?