Okay we're nearing the end of tedious set-up. Y'all rock for putting up with this exposition! Only three chapters left of that, I think, and then we'll jump forward. Also, I'm sorry it took so long to get out. I knew exactly how I wanted this but it would not work. I honestly don't think it did, tbh.

Guest: Thanks for your review! Her problems with English will be explained soon. I will say it's a combination of many things. The influencing is actually going to be explained next chapter.

IsAbElA M CuLlEn: I totally agree. Alfred is the only reason they function and they dam n well better not forget it.

FangirlingIsAnAddiction: Oh my god, you made me so happy. Thank you so much! ;n; Now I'm worried about this chapter. It's not as good, in my opinion.

: Aw, thank you. I do feel kinda bad for what I'm about to do to Kori…oh well. Barry!hugs will dull the trauma. Batman better watch out, or the whole League will know he's a giant orphan-collecting softie!

IMPORTANT: I made an oopsie while rearranging sentences in the last chapter. Blackfire IS older than Starfire. This story is AU, but that's still the same. I corrected it after a reviewer mentioned it, but just in case you read it before it was fixed.

In the end, it was only several strokes of luck that allowed Robin and Kid Flash to see Koriand'r again. Wally would have been allowed sooner if not for stuff that kept happening on both his and the League's sides, but Robin had been G-R-O-U-N-D-E-D. Forever. He honestly didn't know if he'd ever get the opportunity to talk to her again with the way Batman had been acting.

Thankfully, something happened off-world mid-mission that required Batman and Superman. He was passed off to Flash for supervision, due to the rest of the League being so incredibly busy. There was an emergency almost immediately, and so he was taken to Mount Justice (Central just isn't safe) for GL to watch him. Wally tagged along because he was 'too awesome' to help out his uncle. Then Hal announced that he needed to go check something in such a convoluted way that it included the access codes to Koriand'r's room.

So, really, it wasn't so much luck as it was everyone else disagreeing with Batman; that was a glorious first he was proud to be in the center of.

He'd take it.

"Dude, stop dawdling," Wally said, a wide smile stretching across his face as he turned back around from his place a good few feet ahead. Robin thought his pace was a little unfair, considering the fact that he didn't have powers. "I've tried to be patient and wait to talk to her, but you're just too slow,"

Without pausing for that particular news to process, Kid Flash picked him up bridal style and sped across the mountain. Once they stopped in front of an intimidating metal door, he didn't leap from his friend's arms like he usually did. Instead he took his time, mind still reeling.

"You could've seen her before,"

"Well, yeah. I wasn't the one grounded for being right,"

"But you didn't,"

"Of course not. You're my best friend, and we found her together. I wasn't going to cheat. I want her to like me more fair and square,"

Wally's voice was a little confused, as if he really didn't understand why this was a big deal. Robin socked him in the shoulder for his stupidity. His brilliant stupidity.

You're still adjusting to your powers, he wanted to say. Time moves too slowly for you. You waited two weeks to talk to a potential friend. Wallace West, you jump at any chance to make any sort of acquaintance. She's an alien. You waited to make an alien friend because you thought of me.

"As if, Kid Nerd," was what came out. "She only kissed you because you were dumb enough to walk towards her,"

"That really stings," Wally said, gasping dramatically and clutching his chest. "I'm smart and actually initiate conversations? No!"

"Oh, shut up,"

Wally was actually vibrating in anticipation, fingers drumming against his thighs, as Robin entered the code. He considered pretending to forget it just to mess with the speedster, but said loser spoke before he could decide. In any case, he paused with four numbers left to go.

"She had a rough few days, but she's calmed down a lot,"

"What?"

Batman hadn't told Robin anything. He had no clue what Koriand'r had gone through besides getting somethinged to Earth, but now that he thought about it, she had been injured. What could've happened? Now he was really curious.

"I didn't talk to her or anything, but she's grown kinda attached to Flash. GL, too,"

"Is that cheating by proxy? I think it is,"

"Not my fault you picked the mean, scary mentor,"

Too late to get revenge, he finished typing. The access code was accepted, the keypad glowing green, and the metal door opened. Robin had a second of panic— what if she was changing— that turned out to be completely unfounded. He gave Wally a pleading look, previous teasing forgotten.

"If I'm ever this paranoid, just put me out of my misery,"

The speedster barked out a laugh, one full of so much genuine amusement that he had to laugh himself. There was another door, this one kept shut with numerous steel beams held magically— Zatara's work— in place. Robin could see this being useful for enemies, but not Koriand'r. Unless something really serious had happened, she was no different than any of the aliens in the Justice League.

Before either of the boys could do anything, the beams began to glow softly and float out of the way. Wally frowned at them, and Robin almost made a comment about their magical nature just to mess with him. He figured, however, that he deserved a break just this once.

"GL probably 'accidentally' unlocked it while he was doing the thing he said he needed to do,"

"Great deduction, Boy Detective," Wally snorted, but Robin was too busy gaping at the sight in front of them. This exceeded paranoia. This was just…

There was another door. Another one. Three doors now.

"Don't worry, this is the last one,"

"Three doors," he said in disbelief. Bruce, what the heck. Why. Why was this happening. "Three. Three,"

Green Lantern had told her that Robin and Kid Flash were going to be visiting her today if everything went according to plan, and Koriand'r thought this was the most excited she'd been since coming to Earth. Originally, she'd wanted to thank them for their kindness and apologize for the distress she'd caused them. She thought that they'd accept both and move on; they were doing their jobs as the guardians of this planet. She wasn't anything special.

Green Arrow in particular seemed to think differently.

He had spent most of the time in her presence talking about the two sidekicks, explaining their personalities and abilities (never in too much depth, though) and recounting some of their more entertaining exploits.

Kid Flash and Robin sounded fun. And nice.

The former was easy for her to see, but the latter took some convincing. How could Robin as described by Green Arrow be underneath the rule of Batman? She'd been assured that it was more complicated than that, but Koriand'r couldn't shake the memory of the one and only time she'd met Batman.

The League had been trying to get information, and she couldn't blame them. They wanted to know about Tamaran, her sister, how she'd gotten to their planet, and her powers. The procedure for this was different depending on who was asking, but so far the only truly unpleasant experience she'd had was when Batman decided it was his turn.

Flash held her hand and spoke gently, never pressing too hard. He was the one who explained the masks, about how everyone she'd met was a hero. She was worried, at first, that they were some sort of cult trying to take over their planet. Flash had laughed and ruffled her hair. She decided she didn't mind much even if that turned out to be the case.

Green Lantern offered a cool trick with his ring for every answer she gave him, even if she didn't have one. In contrast to their first meeting, however, his eyes were always covered by white lenses. When she asked, he winked and said that it was their little secret. He called her princess without any of the stiff formality she was accustomed to.

Martian Manhunter touched her temple, exuding calm, and blurred her perception of the images he was drawing from her mind. He praised her each time for her bravery and cooperation. He too was an alien, though his home was a lot closer than her own. Once he said that he could shapeshift, they'd gotten on a tangent about skin color. Earth was fascinating to her in that regard. Tamaran had no diversity in comparison. Every time she saw him thereafter, he was a different ethnicity.

Wonder Woman let her braid her long, black hair as she talked, offering few words in return. This was who she talked to most about Komand'r. Perhaps it was the fact that she was also a princess, or maybe because she looked so similar to girl Koriand'r remembered instead of the half-mad traitor she'd turned into. The older woman had been livid at her sister's betrayal, and it comforted her to know that someone else didn't understand the reasoning behind her planet's destruction.

Green Arrow made conversation, often talking about his 'pretty bird' and asking advice on how to woo her when Koriand'r got teary. There was also someone called Speedy, but, like Green Lantern's eyes, she wasn't supposed to talk about him to anyone else. It made her happy to be trusted and included in those little things.

Superman told her stories of Krypton, or, at least, what he thought Krypton was like. She found it difficult to talk to a man who knew nothing of his culture about hers. He smiled kindly, though, and tried to make her feel welcome. He also apologized for Batman, which she thought was sweet.

Hawkman and Hawkwoman had only spoken to her once, but it had been nice. They explained Earth from an outsider's point of view. It sounded awfully complicated and harsh. Too many countries, leaders, room for political disaster, and people like her sister. But it had its good things, too, Hawkman had said. Lots of open sky in the country, the League in America, music, food, and the languages. There were too many to list.

She'd believed all of them. She thought that the League was a collection of nice, if not cautious, heroes who wanted the world to be a better place.

Until Batman had interrogated her. Cold apathy and thinly concealed anger laced every sound and movement he made. When she didn't know something, he glared and told her to try harder. He wanted to know her powers, her weaknesses, who had attacked, how she could influence three separate people when that wasn't something she'd been able to do before, and a host of other questions that nearly had her in tears. By the end of it, she was speaking in broken sentences, Tamaranian slipping out of her lips before she could stop it.

Robin, she'd been told soothingly, was nothing like that. No one else in the League, either.

She kept that thought in the forefront of her mind as voices, both young and male, filtered through her door. It was the only one of the three that she had any control of, and so she wasted no time sprinting to the door from her bed and flinging it open.

Kid Flash greeted her with an honest smile, and Robin with an almost distraught look.

"I apologize for Batman," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I told him to lay off, but, well…"

Relief flooded through her veins, and, for the first time since meeting Batman two days previous, her feet lifted from the ground.

"No, friend Robin," she said, laying her hand on his shoulder like Flash did to her. "It is I who is sorry,"

"For what?"

"What I did to you, both of you and Flash, after you showed me such kindness, is inexcusable,"

To her delight, they looked at each other and laughed. She loved human laughter more than anything else she'd been shown or told about. On principle, Tamaranians weren't humorless; she believed her royal upbringing prevented her from seeing as much joy as she could have. Certainly not the uproarious, carefree sounds that caused eyes to tear and shoulders to shake. Even so, she didn't see the humor in this situation.

"Don't worry about it," Kid Flash said. As the corners of his eyes crinkled, she noticed for the first time that they shared more in common than hair color. Something in her chest lightened. She wasn't too strange in appearance compared to humans, Superman had said, but Kid Flash was the first she'd seen with even some of her coloring. Hawkwoman did have orange hair, though.

"Seriously. Batman's superpower is making people feel bad for ridiculous things,"

"Like breathing," Kid Flash agreed cheerfully.

Their banter, as Green Arrow promised, was delightful. They grinned and poked fun and laughed and exchanged small touches easily. Their bond was palpable enough that Koriand'r could almost see phantom strings binding them together. In her mind, she pictured the strings yellow and red and tangled so completely that they merged into a glowing orange.

"Anyway, can we come in?"

Nodding excitedly, Koriand'r flew behind the boys in order to place her other hand on Kid Flash's shoulder. Still hovering, she squeezed softly to indicate that they should move forwards. The complied and, at her insistence, sat down on her bed while she floated sitting crisscrossed in front of them. Kid Flash grinned at her, a brilliant expression of contentment often mirrored by his uncle, and Robin's head tilted slightly to his left contemplatively. She returned the gesture, and his lips curved upward as well.

"Your hair looks different,"

"Oh yeah! It looks a lot better. Not," Kid Flash added hastily, not even waiting for Robin's elbow to make contact, "that it looked bad before! It's just, uh, cleaner?"

She giggled, and he looked relieved that she hadn't taken offense. "Much thanks. Miss Wonder Woman used the scissors to make it look more… neat,"

"You got a haircut from Wonder Woman? Awesome!"

"How many Leaguers have you met?"

These questions were nice, she decided. They weren't looking for anything other than honest answers. They wanted to know her, not her story. They cared differently than the adults did. They wanted to be her friend.

Koriand'r smiled and imagined a thin strip of purple string intertwining with the orange.

He really liked Koriand'r. She laughed at all his jokes, even the ones that weren't funny, and agreed to help pin down Robin while he tickled him. Turned out that she's freakishly strong, too. That tallied up to: nice, good sense of humor, total kick-butt potential, pretty, and utterly perfect.

Wally decided that he was going to marry her one day.

He and Robin had been talking to Koriand'r for only around an hour when someone came in through the door that had apparently never been closed. Whoops.

Hal raised an eyebrow at Robin and Koriand'r. The Boy Wonder was balancing on his hands, in the middle of some show-off trick. His cape had been discarded at some point, which was why Wally was currently wearing it as he jumped on his future wife's bed. Who, speaking of, was floating upside down next to his best bro, legs still crisscrossed, her shiny red hair framing her beautiful orange face, laughing loudly as said bro bent one leg and poked her side with it.

Bros don't mess with other bros' girls. That's not how it worked.

"Kid Flash!" she shouted, distracting him from Hal and screeching with joy as Robin did a fancy flip/cartwheel/bendy thingy that landed him sitting crisscrossed on top of her. "Come join us in the act of roughhousing!"

With a battle cry, Wally packed some speed into his next jump and catapulted forward. He was right on target, ramming into Robin and simultaneously grabbing onto him (because he would pretzel-bend his way out of it otherwise, he was sure) and taking them both to the floor. By some feat of Batman training and natural Robin-ness, Wally landed with roughly four feet of ninja on top of him.

"You underestimate my abilities," Robin grinned, cheeks flushed, hair sticking up wildly, and completely out of breath. Wally blew air into his smug little face and, in an act of final defiance, jammed his index fingers into his sides. Squealing, Robin hugged himself and toppled off of the speedster, coughing falsely, "Koriand'r, avenge me!"

"Friend Robin!" she wailed through laughter, flying to take his place on Wally's now unoccupied stomach. "I shall do as you request!"

"Not if you're…too…slow!"

Koriand'r got the same treatment as Robin, who also got a repeat performance because Wally was just cruel like that. Both were nearly in tears by the time he let up, smirking.

"You underestimate my legit awesomeness,"

He didn't notice Hal behind him until it was too late.

-that night-

"Sounds stupid,"

"What? No, Roy, it was hysterical. I don't think you understood what I said. Green Lantern, intergalactic space cop, spent his afternoon being beaten repeatedly by three children,"

"Like I said. Stupid. Dumb. Boring,"

"But you're a kid,"

"Does that mean I can have ice cream?

"After you tackle Green Lantern to the ground, sure,"

"Okay,"

"Wait. No, wait. Seriously. Roy. Roy, I was kidd—get away from the zeta tubes!"

This took way too much time for its quality and content, I'm afraid. In my defense, I just discovered paganpunk2's Spark in the Dark series. It's an amazing, heartbreaking Robin origin story. Go read it now. Sell your soul. (of course I'm probably late to the party, it is like two years old)

Thanks for reading! Prepare yourself for Kori backstory!