It's been a week since his aunt decided to become Supergirl. A week since he was able to sleep for more than five hours a night. A full week if his mother questioning and watching him like a hawk, one bloody week since he came home and he wanted tonight more than to go back to Gotham. No one expected so much from him there, mainly because no one was better trained than him, but Selina would kill him.
She'd keep in touch with Joshua and encouraged him just as much as she teased him about how whiny he became in such a short time. Truth be told, it wasn't his fault - Kara had no training and Hank put most of his trust in him when in came to Supergirl things. He never complained, though, not about helping his aunt and mother - he loved that everything was out in the open about the DEO and he more than adored working alongside his family. They were currently working on getting a better grab onto the kryptonian's abilities.
"I think I might actually have a handle on this."
Joshua rolled his eyes as he wanted Kara fly around, but kept quite. He didn't want to bring his aunt down - they had Hank for that anyway.
"Is that the fastest you can go?"
He heard Kara sigh "Are these tests mandatory for everyone or just because I'm a-"
"Aunt, the DEO requires rigorous physical and psychological evaluation for all its prospective field operatives. It's not because you're a woman or an alien. If you're not in full control of your powers a lot of people could get hurt."
"A novice superhero could be a liability and very dangerous in a field, just as Special Agent Danvers just explained."
They fired one last time at Kara before she came down smiling "So, did I pass?"
Hank shared a look with the young man and, as he walked away, he replied "I see you share your cousin's appetite for wanton destruction, Miss Danvers."
Kara pout "He knows that I am starting to answer to Supergirl, right?" before smiling brightly at her sister "I'm ready, Alex, for all of it. Is all of this really necessary?"
"Believe it or not aunt Kara, he's just looking out for you. All of us are."
"Please, kid. I had a full year of training before he even let me in the field, he let you wander from your first day here."
Joshua smirked "Some are better than others..." Alex glared at him "Seriously, though, I had my ass kicked for over a year before he even let me join. But I'm really glad that you're here."
"I am too, I hated keeping this whole part of my life from you."
He needed a drink - preferably two or more. Hank had almost talked his ears off about Kara's last epic failure as a hero. She was in training for God's sake, she's suppose to make mistakes; Superman made plenty in his first years., but Hank has been adamant about speeding up the training sessions with them - him and his mother, sessions that were scheduled a month from now.
Joshua sighed lazily as his dog sat next to him on the couch. He was bored out of his mind and didn't have a single clue about what to do. Going to his mother's or to Kara's was an option, but he wanted more action. A nearby bar would offer some kind of entertainment as there must be at least drunk people doing stupid things, but it was too early for drinking. So he settled for doing what he always did after a long day - freaking sleep; he just hoped he could do so for more than five bloody hours...
Joshua always thought it was inhuman to wake someone up before seven, especially if that someone is your boss. Luckily, he was one of those people that liked to exercise in the morning - 2 hours of running, from five to seven, was how he properly woke up almost every day. Hank never had the 'pleasure' of waking him up yet. Alas, here he was - at seven fifty in the morning, looking at a dead body.
Him, Hank and his mother were just arriving when Kara made her appearance. Hank's eyes narrowed as he looked at the blonde "What is she doing here?"
The young man replied before his mother could "It doesn't matter. We hunt aliens. She's an alien. It's a resource we didn't have before, might as well use it."
It didn't take long for Kara to prove Joshua was right and in less than two hours they knew what they were up against - a Hellgrammite.
"You guys track him down, and I'll take him out, just like we did with Vartox."
Hank nodded "Sure thing, Miss Danvers. If you can prove to us you can handle yourself without getting killed."
And that's Kara ended up in the training room. Joshua felt a shiver run up his spine as he remembered the hours he spent here with Hank - he'd never been so sore before.
"What are we doing in here?"
Alex took a deep breath before turning to face her sister "When I joined the DEO, I spent 12 hours a day for five straight months in this room."
"We need to know that you, as much as everyone else, is prepared for everything out there." Joshua continued "And all that is going to happen here."
"You also spent 12 hours a day here?" Kara joked before Alex punched her, sending her a good few feet again.
He winched, but began to laugh as soon as he saw Kara's shocked expression. He stopped when Alex glared at him.
"How did you do that?"
Joshua smirked lazily "Kryptonite emitters. They are not strong enough to permanently harm you, but they're enough to weaken you. Make this a fair fight."
He watched the two fight. Alex was winning, barely, but Kara was not as bad as he expected - inexperience, awkward and sloppy, but she had potential. He groaned, his mother was holding back too much.
"OK, enough. Mom, how about you let me have a go?" he asked sweetly.
Alex caught onto what he wanted and was reluctant to agree, but nodded "Sure."
Kara seemed to be in better spirits probably thinking she could win against him since he was still recovering, but her mood fell drastically when Joshua had her pressed against a wall and unable to escape.
"All right, all right, enough." she started as she struggled to break free "You made your point." she sighed "Maybe I'm not DEO material after all.I think I know why my cousin prefers to work alone."
They didn't say anything as Kara walked away. Maybe coming now back wasn't the best idea, not with dozens of escapees from Fort Rozz running around...
He growled as he punched the nearest wall "You told me you had enough men with you to catch the Hellgrammite. Enough men doesn't bloody mean one fucking car!"
Instead of punching something else or someone, Joshua began to walk around hoping it would calm him down even a little; the walking only made things worse...
"I understand you're angry, Joshua. But this won't help your mother."
Joshua turned to face Hank, seconds away from breaking his neck "You better fucking hope she's alright, or Kara coming after you will be the last of your bloody problems..."
With that the stormed out, he was going to find his mother without the DEO and Supergirl. It was time to start taking matters into his own hands - consequences be damned.
With a little tip from one of the underground informers he had, Joshua managed to find very easely where Alex was took - an old, abandoned warehouse. The aliens, whoever they were, had no regards whether others knew here they were.
"Please tell me again why you dragged me here from Gotham?"
"Cat, keep your voice down." Selina rolled her eyes and urged the man to continue "Because my mother is in danger and I need help."
"Wolfy, you're more than capable to rescue Alex on your own."
He glared at Selina, but choose to ignore the obvious challenge. They moved closer to where his mother and another woman - Astra, if he heard correctly - were talking. He heard their whole conversation and couldn't help but scoff when the alien spoke about saving the humans. They watched as Supergirl arrived, freeze upon seeing the hostile and then being overpowered. Joshua groaned - he realy needed to teach her how to fight properly.
"Wanna help the little superhero? Or should we focus on getting your mother out of there?"
He shook his head "Stay watch, tell me when the DEO arrives and then meet me back at my place."
Josh contemplated on what to do, but all thoughts were forgotten when the Hellgrammite attacked Alex. He moved as fast as he could and, in a swift move, broke the aliens neck.
"What the heck are you doing here?"
He rolled his eyes "Be angry later, I have to get you out of here."
"No, I can manage. Help Kara."
He groaned, again, but at least he brought the portable kryptonite emitter "Don't you dare move."
With the help of the emitter Joshua succeeded in catching Astra off-guard, despise the discomfort he still felt in his side. Kara watched as her nephew fought her aunt. It was clear that he was the better fighter, faster and more technical than Astra, but her aunt had probably fought bigger and stronger. She felt her heart stop when Astra crushed the emitter, but breathed in relief when the DEO arrived and Astra retreated. She felt both proud and useless - Joshua almost beat her aunt, but he held back when they fought, even when he was injured. She needed to get stronger as fast as she could.