Dream a Good One Tonight
Chapter 12

When J'onn started to come to, he could tell he was laying down. He wasn't comfortable, nor was it quiet. In fact, he could still feel the sensation of the LexCorp's building heat radiating out from it. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, but he suspected it wasn't very long as chaos still ensued. "Joey - where's Joey?" He asked to the grayish, mostly human shaped, blob that was hovering over him. She was his one responsibility in the exit and he'd failed in that, having crashed himself - not just losing her. He couldn't discern who it was right away as the face was cast in the shadow from the LexCorp building still being eaten by the explosions and a variety of flames licking the frame as it was nearly the only thing left to consume. His mind was tired from worry and fear; therefore, he hadn't even the energy to try to telepathically recognize the person above him.

"Whoa chill big guy." It was Murphy's voice and J'onn tensed up, on reflex, for the fact that his last interaction with Murphy had been particularly devastating to him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "You took quite a spill. Good thing you're not the only one that can fly huh? We keep around the winged beasts for something more than shock value. I'm teasing! Don't hit me please." Murphy joked before plopping down next to J'onn. "She's over there. Shiki caught her. I'm rather enjoying the fireworks, even with the ash and soot everywhere. This is our victory parade. It's spectacular." There was a note of genuine relief in the dreamy smile that was situated on Murphy's face. His face looked much younger as the orange light danced off the contours of his features. In fact, J'onn wondered then how old Murphy actually was. It was the first time that he considered that the man, aged by experience, might actually not be nearly as old as he seemed. Even so, he had child-like inspiration as he stared, truly lost in their victory.

"You don't have to be afraid." Murphy glanced over at J'onn who, in turn, looked up to him. And when he said it, J'onn realized that he was being manipulated by Murphy yet again. This time it was something much less evasive as the fear he shouldfeel was completely eliminated. He felt oddly serene, naturally and yet unnaturally at the same time. It was comfortable, but with the sheer amount of fire around him, roaring even, he should be terrified. Apparently Murphy anticipated it, both his fear in Joey's health as she wasn't present and in the fact that Murphy had witnessed his actions earlier to fire, and thus offered J'onn the calmness that he was experiencing right then.

"We need to get out of here." Batman bent down next to J'onn, surprising J'onn as he was so caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't anticipate his friend's voice. But he gave a small nod a moment later, letting Batman's presence distract him over his own musings. "Joey needs medical attention and this isn't the place to recover. For any of you - come on."

J'onn didn't think of arguing, he trusted his friend's judgement, but Murphy seemed surprised to suddenly see Batman there. "I know the perfect place." He said helpfully, hopping up swiftly with a youthful bounce. He placed his circled index finger and thumb in his mouth, giving a loud whistle with the passage of air over his teeth. It got the attention of his friends. "You know the place."

J'onn had gotten to his feet, having been looking for Joey. He spotted her not far from where he was, though it was hard to see through the air thick with ash and sparks of ember. Both Shiki and Payton were leaned over her as they shielded her from further harm. "Let me." Shiki said, reaching forward to touch Joey's face, but Payton opened his mouth to protest. "Your medicine is meant for animals only. I understand both. I amboth." Shiki explained to Payton whose eyebrows furrowed in thought at Shiki's statement. J'onn, however, leaned down between the two of them and scooped her up before either could actually protest. He had no intention of acknowledging their opposition if they did as she was his responsibility. Her limp, dead weight against the muscle of his forearms made her seem much smaller than she normally was. Even in comparison to his size. Her face was laced with burns and scorches and her skin was blackened in many patches.

"She's my responsibility. Let me." J'onn said, holding her close to his chest as he cradled her in his arms. "Please, lead the way." Shiki hesitated for a short moment, as if he was contemplating telling J'onn it was a bad idea, before he simply nodded his head in agreement and took to the skies with J'onn not far behind.

The place they arrived at was not one J'onn expected; the white lab, perhaps. Maybe even the farm house or the park they had originally met in. Instead, it was a home - an actual house standing on green grass with a paved drive way and a bird house seated out in the yard. However, inside it seemed like no one had been there in months. There was a thick layer of dust on the furniture and cobwebs lined the corners. "Are you out of your mind? We can't be here." J'onn heard Ash hiss at Murphy, having snatched him up by the arm when they were all inside.

"No one would follow us here. There's no time to argue, lay her on the couch. Payton, fetch towels and a warm bowl of water. I suppose you'll know where they are. Daichi, find me something that can make fire and a knife." Shiki instructed, brushing past J'onn, but waving him forward to lay Joey down. "She's inhaled too much. She's much more fragile than she lets on, though I'm sure she'd bite my head off for letting that secret out. The toxins content per volume was too much. We'll need to bleed her some or else she's going to be running on nothing but tainted blood until it will eventually seized all of her organs and...no more Joey. I know it sounds archaic, but it's the only way to get the poison out and let her body regenerate healthy blood. Please...I know I don't deserve it, but if you could trust me." Shiki said the last part softly, bowing his head a little bit in silent apology - which J'onn was quick to hear - along with a soft plea for some measure of trust so that he might help Joey.

"Thank you." J'onn told the bird healer after a moment, having carefully lain Joey down. He wanted to trust all of these people and though he had seen what Daichi and Shiki did, he knew too that it was something more that drove them to act as they had. He could understand, better than anyone, how love could be such a deciding factor in anything. Therefore he believed Shiki, as best he could, that he would honestly look after Joey. J'onn himself knew some about medicine, but he was in no proper state of mind to be of assistance. He fully backed up, for as large as he was, even compared to the Asian visiugo with their massive wings, he was graceful. Shiki had looked up to him, a small bow was offered to J'onn. Instinctively, J'onn took a few more steps back, giving Shiki room to work. Payton had bustled forward with the items requested and Daichi wasn't far behind with a knife and lighter.

J'onn slowly turned to let them work, unable to watch the knife pierce her skin. His eyes were taking in the house and it's presence instead. Furthermore, for as safe as he'd felt near the burning building, he was uncomfortable with the idea that the lighter might be lit. And that such a flame was held so close to Joey's otherwise compromised body - he squirmed at the idea.

"Cozy, ain't it?" Murphy leaned over and lifted his chin triumphantly at J'onn.

"Indeed." J'onn said softly; the house did feel like a home, in some way, even without its occupants. "To whom does it belong?"

"Joey." Murphy responded swiftly. "Just like grandma's house - she always was a stickler for knitted pillows and cookies." There was a teasing grin on Murphy's face that made it hard to tell if he was serious or not.

J'onn seemed suddenly struck by that concept. His eyes drifted back to the couch to where she lay - her couch. A soft orange glow lit his irises momentarily and he felt a soft smile pull at the corner of his lips. It was the tiniest upturn, but one more thing that pointed to how complex she turned out to be. He hadn't, in the short time he'd truly gotten to know her, suspected she was the home owner sort. A domestic - instead, she seemed to be a floater in society. The sort to live out of suitcases or the trunk of a car. Murphy, however, seemed to sense what J'onn was thinking simply because it was what everyone thought of Joey.

"It was another lifetime ago. She was different then, when she lived here. Sort of different, I mean. I don't think she's ever been anything but coarse. It's kinda her M.O. But she smiled more back then, even laughed big from time to time." Murphy himself smiled at the memory. "She misses him...she misses them a lot. Its one of the reasons why she stopped coming back here. It wasn't the same anymore, she wasn't the same."

J'onn felt the ridges over his eyes dip down in confusion and he looked back at Murphy swiftly. "Whom?"

"Layton, of course." Murphy chuckled, but J'onn remained confused as he had yet to learn of a Layton in Joey's life. In fact, he found himself learning so much so quickly, he was intrigued even more by the young woman that was still a stranger. "And Keagan. You know, her family."

J'onn was quiet for a moment, struck by the idea that she had a family at one point. He was sad for her simply because she was sad in the first place; she deserved so much more than despair for all she gave without asking anything in return. "She certainly is full of surprises."

"You can say that again. Layton, he's those Lionel boys' cousin. That's how we met them." Murphy explained. "That was back when I was just Dexter. Wow, it's been a long time since anyone called me Dex." He marveled at the concept as if it were something foreign to hear out loud. "After everything changed, when Layton and Keagan were killed, she started calling me Murph...Dexter Murphy, you see...what with my first name sounding too much like the one responsible for Layton's death. Dex...Lex, tomato - tuh-m-ah-to. Plus, to be honest, I didn't like it much either. She's a Lionel too. Just through marriage. Layton was a fox, one of the original pack that came forward to expose themselves against the Japanese ravens who were giving visiugo a bad name. The Corax. Shiki and Diachi came to us that way, they were the ambassadors who wanted peace. That's how Payton knew about the visiugo too, what with having one in the family. Its crazy how this war turned everyone into what they weren't - all of us became something else. Back then, Joey and Layton saved people, from a band of bug visiugo who had a superiority complex and were kidnapping humans, 'Mundanes' as we call everyday people, as food. That's how Keagan was killed. He was...five or so. They took him, not as food, but to prove a point to Joey and Layton, his parents, who were interrupting their way of life. All before Lex even showed up - they were always in a war against their own species of varying sorts, he just manipulated that. Add in humanity and their judgment and it just...went down hill from there. You can see them over there." He pointed to the wall where a picture was framed and hanging.

Layton was a beautiful man who clearly believed in his natural form as he was shoeless and shirtless with long, wavy blond locks. Joey looked much the same, attempting the same faux disapproving smile as the handsome man chucked their son up in the air. She looked happy though, he could see it on her face. The candid photo caught just the right moment as the little boy reached his peak in mid air. J'onn smiled softly at the idea of such a time when there was a carefree happiness to be had for the otherwise jaded woman. He, in that moment, realized that perhaps they had more in common than he could have ever anticipated. He too lost family in war, through tragedy and found himself lost without them most days. Others, however, he felt content with where his life was now and he felt that same contentment from Joey. That as sad as she was, she wasn't sad enough to stop trying to give to those that needed her. Just as J'onn did everything in his power to serve those who were in a bad way.

"Maybe now we can go back to our lives. I could be Dex again...though I kinda like Murph too." Murphy said wistfully, slipping up behind J'onn as he looked at the picture. "It seems...surreal." J'onn could feel that Murphy was at ease, but lost all at once from the way he spoke, the way his mind seemed confused by all the possibilities. These people had grown up in war, they lived nothing but for so long that it was hard to subtract from it. At least he remembered a time on Mars where there was absolute peace and prosperity.

"Perhaps." He said simply. It was the first time, since his arrival, that he considered his own home and returning to it. He couldn't, however, leave - or even suggest it - until he could speak with her. He felt compelled to say goodbye; to let her know that though she had lost everything, she did good in giving everything back to those who still had something to gain. And in it, she had his respect and his admiration. He had never been so smitten by someone's bravery and self-sacrifice before, nor had he felt so connected to another as he was to Joey in that moment.

"She'll be alright. She's a fighter and she'll be damned if she gets to the light at the end of the tunnel any time soon. She's not done yet, there's more to do. After all...you're still here. And Joey never leaves a job unfinished." Murphy clapped J'onn on the shoulder. "You don't belong here." He added with a small, sad little shrug before loping off. He paused, however, before disappearing into one of the nearby rooms. "Thanks J'onn. We couldn't have done it without you. You're really a hero, helping a bunch of strangers for no reason other than they needed it."

"I'm glad I could help." J'onn said in his unwavering stoic voice.

J'onn didn't need sleep, but the others did and they all peeled off for their own brand of rest. The two Corax took to their raven familiar forms and cuddled with their feathers puffed up, perching as birds on a high sill over the front window. Batman had taken his leave, assuring them he would return the next day. Murphy had remained in the room he'd slipped off too. Payton fell asleep in the chair across from the couch Joey was situated on, as he offered to care for her should she wake up in the night, and Ash slipped into the back bedroom that once belonged to a little boy.

"Ugh...you're still here?" J'onn heard Joey's sleepy voice before the sun came up. He was standing by the window sill, watching outside as the grass was speckled with droplets of water that reflected in the soon approaching sunlight. She was quiet, clearly cautious of others in the house. Though it wasn't clear on her face, when he turned to look, he could hear the recognition she had for the room they were in. "I was sort of hoping the whole thing had been a really bad dream, but the crazy ass stiffness would suggest otherwise." She said, groaning as she lifted herself up to sit lazily on the couch.

"You really should be resting." J'onn warned her softly, sympathetically and in gentle compassion. He meant it too. He was, in his own way, still taken with her. Perhaps now more curious than he had been before. "We can talk, if you like, but please...you should be resting while we do. Seventh grade, I believe you said..."

"You know that I'm not going to lay back down, no matter how many times you repeat it. I just need to shake it off. I'll be peachy in two minutes." She grinned again, a lopsided little smirk. He could tell, by her voice, that she was both tired and weak, but she wasn't going to show it if she could avoid it. The brief smile seemed to turn to scorn as it slipped from her face. "Life sucks. Then you die. There's very little in there to look forward to. So it wasn't seventh grade, but it still didn't end well. The middle parts...they were good though. Who was it that told you? Murphy and his big mouth, I'm sure - he's such a girl when it comes to gossip." She scoffed, giving a light roll of her eyes. "I just," she paused and shook her head, "The last thing I said to him - it wasn't I love you, which I did. It wasn't be careful, which I should have said. No. It was 'don't do this, you're an idiot'. I've played that day over and over again in my head and every time, I think of what I could have said or should have...and how much of an idiot I actually am. What if he didn't know? What if he didn't know I loved him before he died..." She had to stop as she momentarily choked on her words, the memory of that day flashing through her thoughts as J'onn quietly listened. "I don't even know why I'm saying this to you. The Martian...from the Justice League. It's...ridiculous." She said the final word firmly, with conviction in her voice as if she was trying to convince herself of how dumb it was to care anymore.

"Is it? It seems to me that you need to tell someone. Or you may not be saying it at all." He explained as his eyes glowed from the emotion he too felt. "He knew you loved him, that I am sure of...his death was not in vain, nor was your defense against it afterwards. My family, they too died and I have to believe they knew how I loved them. Or else, I might go crazy with doubt...the only thing that keeps me going is knowing I am honoring their memory, that I loved them and they me and therefore I need to be the good person they believed in when they were alive. Your family is no different; they knew, more than anyone, how much you loved them." He said with his own measure of strength as he meant to convince them both of such a statements.

She shook her head a little. "Maybe." She brushed at her face and centered herself, squaring her shoulders. It was clear to J'onn that she didn't want to talk about it any longer, and he had no intention of pushing her to. He had said what he had to say and she had listened; what she did with it, he hoped, would be of a benefit to her. "Did we win?" She asked with a bit of biting snark in her voice, clearing having arrogantly anticipated the answer.

"We did." He said with a small nod.

"Good. I was sort of counting on you." She stood up and J'onn did the same. She watched him rise before she snorted in disbelief. "You gonna tell me I need to lay back down again, aren't you? It's a waste of your breath, J'onn. You might as well just stop." She snapped before taking a step toward the door. "Or are you going to follow me and make sure I'm okay?" She challenged him as she exited straight out in the front yard, not waiting for an answer as she left him in the living room. She looked out across the front street where the sun was just peeking up over the horizon.

"I love the shadows at this hour. They're fresh still." She explained in awe, taking in a deep breath of the crisp morning air. Her eyes had flicked down to where his shadow was on the ground for a moment before a smile fluttered on her face. "New."

He couldn't possibly understand what she was saying in actuality as he had no way to experience it, but in theory he got her point. Her abilities were raw nearest to dawn in the way that a person was best rested when the sun came up. There was still a tiny bit of chill in the air. They were quite a while, just standing on the porch as they watched the world around them; it was peaceful and serene, the sort of state nature was meant to be in. Even chirping birds could be heard from a nearby tree and he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a small lizard scurry across the driveway. "I wonder if there are visiugo hidden on my world." He marveled aloud to himself as he thought of the beauty just in the front yard of her home. How, if they were creatures born from nature, they must be the ones responsible for this beauty. She shrugged a little, unsure herself.

"I bet you miss your friends. I would miss mine no matter how much of a pain in the ass they are." She still seemed weak to J'onn, her voice was certainly not as sharp as it normally was and there was a certain air of sadness about her that he couldn't quite place. "Have you thought about them? About your home?" She asked him. He opened his mouth to respond, but she reached out and lightly touched his forearm. "No no...don't tell me. Just do it - think about them." She said to him and her head dipped down to look at the ground. His dark shadow seemed to draw her attention, though he saw nothing but an elongated version of himself.

She chuckled and in a second, as if she was leaping from a diving board into a pool, went head first into his shadow. J'onn tried not to move, though he instantly wanted to reach out for her. A second later, he saw her hand appear in the center. Her fingers wiggled for his attention and J'onn reached forward; taking her hand. He felt his head swim as he was jerked forward into his own shadow and his stomach lurched. It was like he was falling and flying at the same moment, the rushing sensation of wind consuming him but without the presence of. This time he landed on his feet and the sun, bright and warm, washed over his green skin. It was not the same hour of the day, but instead mid afternoon as the sun was high in the sky. The grass was green and the sky painted bright blue with a smattering of white, puffy clouds like cotton balls pasted on construction paper. He glanced over his shoulder. The forest, in which he'd lost himself in, was standing unchanged. The park was sprawled out before him and people, laughing and enjoying one another, was a welcomed view. It was as if no time had passed, even though it felt like a lifetime for J'onn. "Wow...if I were you, I wouldn't have helped. Not with this sort of paradise." She told him glancing up at him. "This place...no wonder there's a whole gay league of justice. No offense to Shiki and Daichi or anything." She waved a hand. "Seems sort of stupidly unreal with all that picturesque view. Like a Norman Rockwell painting, only he never got the green Martian part down right."

J'onn frowned, unsure of what she meant but he long ago accepted that he simply wouldn't understand some of the things Joey said. Instead, he focused on the fact that they were there at all - so easily. "How did you - "

She cut him off though. "Ah Murph might have found you, but I've always been the lure. I was the one that led you over there. I was the shadow on the ground...remember? I had to be your guide back though, you couldn't go through the Dreaming all by yourself. But to bring you physically, I had to come first. You're the anchor to this world and needed to be thinking about it to lead me where we needed to go. What with being the hero and all that nonsense. Heroes are meant to have happy endings." She told him, her eyes set on his face.

"You knew all along how to return me to my proper home?" He asked, astonished as he spent so much time worrying too about how he would return.

She nodded and shrugged. "Something like that."

He smiled, the same mild grin that he did whenever he was amused or contented by something. However, his smile faded and a serious expression was turned her way. "And now you will return?" It struck him so suddenly that though he was now home, she wasn't and therefore it would be time to truly say the goodbye he meant to. Only now, he was unprepared for it.

Her expression melted into a more stoic look of sympathy that surprised J'onn. "It's not that easy for me...more than one of you can exist, but not me. There'll always be a Joey, but none like me here...with this spirit. With my power...that spirit only lives inside one of me, it only exists in one place. My spirit, what makes me understand shadows, came from the Dreaming - that subconscious place that connects everyone and everything - including all those worlds. There's only one Dreaming, just like there's only one Joey in this fashion. But ah well, I was thinking I needed a change of scenery anyhow." She said in a light, passing and dismissive way. J'onn could feel her - he could see it on her face - she was sad. He could hear it in her mind no matter what her words said she was the conflicting woman he knew her to be.

"You can't return." He stated simply, his eyes widened a little in surprised by how much she had done just to get him home. "You can't and you knew you wouldn't be able to. Even before you took me...before you brought me to your world, you know you'd always have to take me back." His voice wasn't accusatory, but sincere. He was touched by her dedication, in awe of her sacrifice. "You didn't even want to say goodbye to them? Your friends?"

"I've said enough goodbyes in my life, J'onn. I may not have gone this time if I had to say goodbye again." She gave him a little shrug. Of course I knew. I knew I had to do what needed to be done. I knew that when my physical body stepped in this world, I'd be trapped here with no anchor and no way to return to my world. "Well I wasn't going to make you stay there. That wouldn't be much of a heroic ending for the hero now would it? Heroes need to catch a break sometimes." She sniffed, folding her arms over her chest as there was a hint of tease in her voice.

"I'm no more a hero than you. What about your ending?" He asked her in soft concern. "For as much as you claim you don't care and you are unhelpful, that you'd let people die or you won't save them again, you've given yourself for your whole world. For your friends, your family, for me. It's quite contradictory. I believe what you call cowardice, most would call that a martyr."

"I believe you have to die to be a martyr. It's in the rules. I don't plan on dying anytime soon." She added lazily, but her mind was on fire with thoughts. He could tell she was gritting her teeth slightly. Who said I didn't do it for me?J'onn found himself confused by such a thought and therefore distracted by her unwilling confession to him. Her eyes were on him, and his on her, just as a Frisbee wheeled between them. Joey took a step back as a handsome, shirtless man slipped between them.

"Thanks." He said as J'onn picked up the Frisbee and handed it over to him. "J'onn J'onzz, right? Part of the league responsible for all this?" He beamed brightly at the Martian as if in greeting and thanks for the park itself. J'onn nodded, having found himself awed by the man standing there before him. The man wheeled around to look at Joey and he smiled brightly at her, but J'onn watched her shrink a little in her spot. There was fear in her, a sort of panic that swept across her mind though it didn't show fully on her face.

"Are you one too? Have we met?" He asked her and she shook her head swiftly.

Yes.

"No. I just have one of those faces." She nodded at him, gesturing to herself. "It's Joey. I'm Joey."

"Layton." He said pointed at himself and looking between them. "Well, it was nice meeting you both. Have fun in the park, I know I am. Thanks again too, these pesky little things get away from me easy. Have a good one!" He said cheerfully and waved them off with a flick of his wrist as if in a salute. Silence settled around them for a moment as they watched Layton run off to get back to his game.

"Why did you lie?" J'onn finally asked and Joey looked up to him, her nostrils flared a little at the question. "Perhaps, this was your chance to earn your hero's ending. The happy ending you had before."

"That was a different life in which such an ending would matter to me. I had it once, I don't want it again. Besides, I'm not meant for it and neither is he...but I'm sure visiugo live on your planet." She watched after Layton for a moment and sort of laughed in a bitter way. "Besides, what would I say without sounding completely off my rocker? Remember me? The woman you loved in another world - if he's anything like the Layton I knew, he'll think I'm crazy." She arched an eyebrow at him, but J'onn seemed disappointed and she frowned in return.

"Then when do you catch your break?" He asked, oddly on his tongue, as he used her verbiage.

She snorted and shook her head. "Are you that retarded?" She asked sharply, but her face softened and she seemed to regret what she'd said. "What makes you think I didn't catch a break of my own? A second chance...?" She glanced down at his hand before she reached forward and took it lightly in hers. "To make it right this time? For the sake of sounding like some campy romantic comedy, I'll offer it, just because I'm not ready to make the same mistake twice. I love you, J'onn. For all your noble, unrealistic altruism and helpfulness in the face of all things dangerous. I just thought you should know. Maybe I learned something and I'm not going to screw it up again and not say what should be said when it needs to be. See? I do know about all things precious; and if my break isn't going to come looking for me, I'm more than happy to go ahead and make it myself. You should do the same."

His hand closed around hers, holding her smaller hand tightly.

"Perhaps."


Author's Note: Forgive the length of this chapter, it sort of ran away with us. There was a small part of us that was sad this was over. We left it, intentionally up to the reader's interpretation. We hope you don't mind. If you want our input on what we think happened we'd be glad to share. However this story, for all intents and purposes, ends here. ^_^ We hope you enjoyed it. We had fun writing it and we truly hope you liked the conclusion. Please, we'd be delighted to hear what you think. Again, thank you for reading.

Anahnee: Again, thank you so much for all you have offered us to by way of this story. From your constant reassurance that we are maintaining a quality with our characters (and the occasional reminder when we deviate), to your unique understanding of our world and dedication to reviewing, we are truly grateful for you. Thank so much! We hope that this end finds you well and we have continued to produce something you can enjoy.