18 years old - later that day - 12:31 pm
Garnet and Jason talked quietly off to the side in a recliner as Garnet sat in Jason's lap. Huddled into his warm side. They were in the living room with everyone. This was a family meeting with a couple extra special, not of this world, guests.
Clark Kent - Kal-El - and John Jones - J'onn.
Garnet's amber eyes kept glancing over to the Martian discretely; almost as if she were afraid of him, but her breathing and heart rate remained the same. The largest brother, held the redhead close and leaned his cheek against her shoulder, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist. His other draped across her lap.
Everyone except Bruce was here, and that was because he was running late form a meeting. Traffic.
Yet it was only another couple of minutes of Dick and Clark talking about random stuff, Tim clacking away on his computer - probably doing some project for Wayne Enterprises - and Garnet and Jason talking quietly, before Bruce appeared. Walking through the doorway in a fancy tux.
He was shrugging off his coat and yanking off his neck as he sat down in the other recliner, just a few feet away from the quiet couple. Alfred came in seconds after, a tray filled with snacks and a pitcher of water, several cups already on the coffee table. He put down the tray and Garnet moved from Jason's arms. Quickly getting a glass of water and a couple apple slices.
Selina grinned to herself as she besides Dick and the armrest, the second closet to the couple. She grabbed herself some grapes and slowly began to eat them as the chattering subsided.
Bruce stood up then, and looked around to the people gathered. "We all know why we're here. And there are some things that needed to be cleared up." He turned to Garnet who refused to look at him in the eye. Instead staring directly in the center of his forehead, the electricity flowing through the room, buzzing in the back of her head. "Garnet?" He prompts and Garnet looks down at her hands. The glass and apple slices still in them.
But her actual hands were so pale, and thin and had little spark-like scars all over them, spreading up her arms and covering all of her skin. The wide, even paler strips of scars around her wrists peeked above her hoodie. She had stolen it from Jason. It smelled just like him, even though she literally couldn't get any closer to him.
Said male, was rubbing soothing circles against her thigh and pressed a small, light kiss to her exposed throat. It did its job and calmed her down. She took a deep breath and looked up, locking eyes with J'onn.
"The Martian, poked his mind into places it shouldn't have been." She states and all eyes were now on J'onn as he frowned deeply at her.
"You had been missing for 19 months and had returned with unknown abilities. Along with your mind being heavily guarded and your aura almost being completely different. I had to make sure you were who you said you were." He explained and Garnet snarled at him, teeth bared, and sparks firing in her eyes.
Jason pulled Garnet closer whispering calmly into her ear. Placing calming kissing on her neck and rubbing soothing circles on her thigh. Garnet took a deep, breath, sounding a little harsh as she curled more into Jason's chest. Beginning to nibble on her apple slices. Giving her silence as a response.
Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. "What did see that had you begging to be brought back to Gotham in Dr. Snow's apartment?" He asked and it was silent for a long time, before Garnet looked Bruce in the eye for the first time since she was brought back to the States.
"You already know everything Detective." She deadpanned and then all eyes were on him. Bruce sighed again, this time in agitation.
"Anything you'd like to share with the class Old Man?" Jason asked, an underlying hiss in his low voice. His whole body tense, and suddenly Garnet was struggling to get out of his arms. He looked down at her panicked eye and clenched his jaw; he released her and she instantly jumped out of his embrace and pressed her back to the archway.
Her eyes going over everyone and looking for every exit way. She reminded them of a hurt and scared animal. Selina tightened her jaw and stood up slowly, Garnet's eyes were already on her, watching every movement she made as she inched her way over to her frightened kitten.
"Kitten?" Selina called out in a soft, soothing, motherly voice as she reached out a hand and brushed her fingertips against Garnet's arm. The redhead stayed very still, barely breathing, as her eyes flickered to Selina's hand and after a very tense moment, she rushed into the arms of her mother.
Selina sighed in relief and ran her fingers through her crimson hair and moved them back over to the couch, cradling her in her arms. All the while Jason watched with fisted hands as Garnet buried her face in Selina's neck as the mother puts the items in her hands on the table.
The second middle child forced himself to look away the mother-daughter duo, and other to his own father. Bruce, not for the first time, looked very exhausted and stressed out. His shoulders tense and tired eyes alert. Especially of the two aliens on his couch. They all were alert of the two aliens in the room.
"It's not my place to disclose it." Bruce explains, sighing again. He hasn't slept properly in the past 63 hours and it was starting to ware on him. "It's Garnet's choice." It was silent again, and surprisingly it was Kal who spoke up.
"Garnet?" He called out almost timidly. She was still cradled in her mother's arm barely two feet away from him. If he wanted to he could reach out his hand on touch her. But he wasn't going to, especially as Garnet's defeated eyes hesitantly met his. "Can you please tell us what happened to make you react like that?" He asked so gently and was sounded so concerned about her, so genuinely about it, that Garnet was tempted to cry as she forced her eyes about from Kal's big doe blue eyes.
"I umm... What the Martian had revealed was umm... was my true identity." She half-whispered. But it was otherwise completely silent so everyone heard her quiet confession with ease.
Kal's brows furrowed in confusion and his head tilted slightly to the side. "What is your true identity, if you don't mind me asking?" He inquired and Garnet looked over to Jason sadly, ashamed, embarrassed, guilty, defeated.
"I was never human. And the scientist who kidnapped me was a distant cousin. He had told me that I was sent here many, many years ago as a protector. I would only be released if the humans were brink of killing Terra. But I had been in hibernation for so long, that my powers had become dormant deep within my cells. So Novak had to revive them." She told, half sobbing by the end.
"What were you going to do, when you woke up and you had your powers?" Tim spoke up and Garnet tense, biting down hard on her lip, shaking her head. Suddenly the air was unimaginably heavy.
"You'd wipe humanity off of the face of the Earth." Dick slowly finished for Garnet and was met with a nod from Garnet.
"I'm so sorry." She sobbed and bolted out of there. Leaving everyone behind. Selina stood up to go after her, but Jason was faster and was standing in her way.
"Jason move." She commanded but he didn't move an inch. His face blank, completely unreadable.
Jason couldn't stand to look at Garnet, and Garnet would fall apart if she had to face Jason.
They shouldn't see each other for a little bit.