Cliffhanger chapter! All disclaimers apply.
Illustrations for this story can be found on Deviantart by Asanthi. (Each image is labeled Intervention) This site is not allowing me to put up links..
Chapter Thirteen
The Mending
"Look at me."
This time it is easy to refuse his cajoling whisper, my eyes stubbornly stay focused on his chest. His fingers tilt my face up, my eyes look through him. I am being difficult. I know its not helping me to resist a founding member but I'm far too angry at J'onn to yield.
"I understand that you are grieving but you have to talk to me."
Grieving? He thinks I'm grieving. Angry, I tug my face away from him fingers, my emotionless voice correcting him.
"I am not grieving."
Grieving is the last thing I am doing, everything in my head is merely anger and hatred. There is no space left for the sorrow of loss. The mere presence of the Martian is enough to irritate me, the beautiful memories with him serving only to highlight the contrast in his demeanor. Warm red eyes are now cold, soothing voice now merely clinical and the once tender touches now detached.
His hands fall to his sides as he regards me with his stock still posture, his voice softening for once.
"Then what are you feeling?"
"Anger." My spiteful eyes cause the alien red ones to momentarily widen.
The large green fingers capture my hand, delicately pressing my palm to a broad green chest. His alien heart beats against its cage, each throb transferring to my palm.
"It is my turn to apologize. It was not my intention to abandon you in your time of need."
"I understand," I pull my hand away from his beating pulse. "I don't know who I am anymore either."
Tears fight their way through my defenses, only to be caught by green fingers before they fall. Refusing to find solace in his arms I pull away from him, glaring at him without the previous heat.
"What do you want J'onn?"
"Answers. How did you start the fire?"
"J'onn, I can't make you believe what you don't want to, what I told you before is the truth. I don't know how any of it happened. I didn't have a reason to set fire to anything. I have never wanted to set fire to anything in the first place. None of this is me. I'm equally, if not more confused than you are."
We consider each other for a silent minute before J'onn voices one of my concerns.
"How did you build your mind defense?"
"I just built it... I felt betrayed and abandoned when you blocked my thoughts and it just happened.."
He carefully takes my face in his hands, wiping away the nearly dried tear tracks. Red eyes start glowing as he tries once more to read my mind. It hurts. My mind protests heavily, temples pulsing in pain, my nails dig into his wrists to pry his hands away but he doesn't budge. Both of us in equal pain as he tries to force himself into my mind. My soft whimper snaps him out his assault, his features softening into an apologetic, regretful mask before he abruptly stands, phasing out of my room without so much as a word.
Everything feels raw, my mind screaming in pain, I collapse onto the bed. I need to sleep, his attempt at invasion having resulted in a massive headache. I need pain medicine. There's no way this headache will allow me to fall asleep.
Its difficult to retrace my steps to the med bay I was first laying in. Each twist and turn takes me to different corridors and rooms. Doesn't anyone keep watch over this place? And why isn't Mr. Dark and Broody not stopping me? Surely his cameras have picked up on me walking about like a shepherd-less sheep in his precious watchtower. Isn't he the least bit concerned that I might blow this pile of metal up? If none of these superheroes bother to turn up I'm going to smash whatever is smash-able with my human strength!
Bless the lord! Flash! Finally someone noticed me.
"Heyya so you're J'onn's girl!"
One dark glare stops his trail of thoughts.
"Or the Bat's girl. Sheesh." I pretend to not hear his muttered words, choosing instead to state my need.
"I need pain meds."
"Oh, sure I'll get them for you!" And he's gone- back? "Here you go!"
Its unnerving how fast he moves. His bright smile is uncomfortable, when all the other superheroes are being aloof, this red clad man is being too friendly.
"Thank you. If you could lead me back to my room?"
"Sure babe! Follow me." And he's zipped again. I don't think this speedster realizes that us mere humans can't follow him at that speed. Oh he's back.
"Sorry, forgot." He starts walking at a human pace.
"Hmm."
"You sure you're not related to Bats?"
Looks like my glares don't really affect him enough to silence him permanently. Its really not helping me to make enemies here so I retort.
"If I were, you wouldn't be standing here."
He stops to stare wide eyed at me. He's so expressive.
"True! I'm Flash by the way, but you already knew that."
"Yes, I already did. Thank you for escorting me, I was getting ready to blow this place up before you zipped in."
"Oh, umm Superman sent me. Bats was about to come but Supes figured it should be me."
"Right, well I'm glad you came. Thank you." I give him a brief tight-lipped smile before slipping into my room.
Two pills of Advil later, sleep is still not forthcoming nor has my headache improved, if anything it has simply gotten worse. A new tray of food is followed by Superman through my door. What is he, the steward of this place?
He stops to take in my disheveled state, head buried in my hands, hair sticking up at every conceivable angle from my frustration. It irritates me to see his concern for some reason.
"Did the Advil not help?"
"No, it didn't. Have you got anything stronger?"
"Nothing safe to dose out."
"I don't really care if it fries me. This is killing me." My desperation knows no bounds, the constant pounding having frayed my nerves.
"I'll get Batman." Superman leaves the tray and flies off, giving me no time to respond.
The Dark Knight sweeps into the room with a scowl on his face, my pain does not hinder me from giving him an answering scowl.
"Have you got oxycodone infused ibuprofen?"
If he's surprised, he doesn't show it instead he turns to Superman with a growled "Medbay."
Superman lifts me up ignoring my protests, carrying me off to where I first woke up in this watchtower. He eases me onto a bed, moving aside as Batman approaches with a liquid filled injection.
"What is that?"
"What you asked for." Batman's reply is gruff, he pushes the sleeve of his t shirt up my arm to jab the needle into me.
Black gauntlets push me to lay down, the medicine taking its time to kick in. I know the effects my requested concoction will have on me. Oxycodone is an opioid which when combined with ibuprofen will cause drowsiness, I can finally get some pain free sleep. I stare up at the ceiling of the Medbay, the door closing behind the two superheroes one of them turning off the lights, leaving me in blissful darkness. Fuzziness settles into my brain after twenty minutes, finally numbing the skull splitting pain, tears of relief wind a path down my cheeks. Thank you whatever deity that took pity on me!
A sharp rectangle of light cuts through the darkened room. J'onn J'onzz stands in the doorway of the medbay, his impressive height and width making it easy to identify his silhouette. My eyes lazily track him as he approaches the bed I'm laying on, the sharp white light from the hallway vanishing as the door shuts. A green arm shooting overhead to flick on a dim orange light, instantly throwing light over me. He startles to see me staring at him with tear stained eyes, hand instinctively cupping my cheek.
Too tired to fight him, I lean into his touch drawing the comfort he unguardedly offers. A feather light touch wipes away the tears from my face.
"Why are you here?" My whisper snaps him out of the moment.
"Your bandages need to be changed." His hand pulls away from my face, walking to cupboards in the corner for the cold cream and fresh bandages.
My struggle to sit upright is arrested by him easily propping me up against the pillows. He drags a swivel chair to the side of the bed, taking my hand as he sits down, undoing the twisted bandages. I quietly regard him, feeling at a loss for what to say. The anger in my mind has calmed under the influence of the drugs, making me want to curl up against the green chest in front of me.
The bandages fall away to reveal healing first degree burns and pink second degree ones. J'onn opens a tube of lidocaine and cold cream, gently applying it across the first degree burns. It immediately soothes the burning sensation. The blistering burns get a Hydrogel dressing, instant moisture and pain relief follow, he wraps the gauze bandage lightly over the dressing, releases my arm and pulls down the covers to expose my bandaged legs. My mind follows his actions, not really registering the damage. Some of those will leave a scar, the first degree ones will heal fully with no issues but the blisters are another story entirely.
In the silence that surrounds us as J'onn works on me, my mind plays back memories of other times spent with him in darkness. More tender times.
"J'onn, who rescued me?"
He looks up from his careful tending to my leg. "Superman put out the fire."
"I see." The Martian has always been afraid of fire, I didn't really expect him to fly into flames and pull me out. "How long will I be kept here?"
"The league has not yet decided."
That is absolutely nonsense. There has never been any media report of any survivor of any fire in any country having ever been taken up by the Justice League. The only reason I'm up here is because of J'onn, he is also the only reason the superheroes have tolerated my less than friendly glares. I halt my Martian's hands as they work on my leg.
"J'onn, be honest with me. I'm only here because of you. We both know I would otherwise be in a hospital, probably swarmed by police officers, likely to be thrown into prison for killing people the moment I'm released from medical care." I give his hand a squeeze, catching his impassive eyes. "So I ask again, how long will I be here?"
Red eyes flash with controlled anger. "As long as it takes to find out what happened."
What does that mean?! I release his hand, he immediately goes back to working on my burns. As long as it takes to find out what happened? But I already told him all that happened. Doesn't he believe me?
"J'onn.. Its not rocket science what happened. I set fire to the house. There's no other explanation."
He doesn't grace me with a reply, focusing instead on wrapping my leg in gauze. My left arm is quickly covered in cold cream before he wipes his hands and cups my face, his eyes loosing their anger.
"You didn't."
"What?" What is going on. Why is he suddenly on my side when even I am not on my side.
"Your mind block, it is far beyond human capabilities. This is not you. You do not remember everything that happened, I can not read your mind-"
My fingers press against his mouth, "J'onn, I built it. You could've read my mind any time before you blocked my thoughts."
"Perhaps I could have."
"You definitely could have J'onn."
"Would you take it down?" His eyes gently plead with mine, silently requesting access into me.
It is amazing how quickly the anger inside me has vanished, replaced by aching numbness to sorrow. Just knowing that J'onn believes I would not have killed my sisters is enough to make me want to give him access to find all the proof he needs to either absolve me of my guilt or hand me over for my justly deserved punishment for manslaughter.
"I don't know how. I don't even know how I built it."
Warm thumbs glide over my cheekbones, fingers threading through my hair.
"Let us try, do not resist me. I will be gentle."
His glowing eyes come with a prod to my mind, true to his word, J'onn is gentle with me. I try my best to allow him access, going so far as to will my indestructible wall into pieces. Nothing works. Its clear he'll have to be forceful to pry information from me, something neither of us look forward to experiencing.
"J'onn, I'm jacked up on pain meds, if there's any time that's good for pain, now would be it. Looks like you'll have to hurt me after all."
His hands drop from my face at my words, his aquiline face twisted in anguish. Both of us aware of the pain we'll cause each other. The door opens to admit Diana, her questioning eyes focused on J'onn.
"What is it J'onn?"
"I am going to read her mind," J'onn turns to the princess, detailing out how its going to hurt us both. "separate us if she tries to push me away."
For the first time since I met her, Wonder Woman doesn't eye me coldly. Her hand on J'onn's shoulder conveys her acquiescence.
A whispering baritone requests my forgiveness before J'onn firmly splays his fingers over the sides of my head. I latch onto his wrists, ready to push him away if I can't take the pain he inflicts and give him a nod. His eyes glow a bright yellow, pain assaulting me, scratches spontaneously bursting on his body. Long sharp lines cutting into his skin, the princess gasping in shock.
Whatever he is doing to break into my mind feels like a drill boring into a wall. One constant point of growing pain as my mental shield protests, my eyes scrunch shut, hands flying to land on his chest trying desperately to not push him away. Pained screeches mingle with harsh groans in a heart wrenching melody that only Diana is an audience to.
The wall breaks. Every repressed emotion, thought and memory rush out of the crack J'onn has made, flooding his mind instantly. The assault dies abruptly, my eyes crack open to witness J'onn stumbling away, his hands gripping his head, into the Amazon's bracing arms.
The mind link we established in the park reasserts itself tentatively, pain feeding pain till the strain blacks me out.
Ice blue eyes peer into my disoriented brown ones, Wonder Woman easing me up.
"J'onn?"
Diana moves aside, letting me catch sight of the alien in question. J'onn looks drained, his head clasped in his hands, eyes shut with a pained grimace on his face. He doesn't seem to hear my call.
"Wonder Woman, what's wrong with him?"
"He's been like that for the past five minutes. I wasn't certain if I should disturb him."
One thing I'll give Diana, she doesn't baby a woman. My woozy attempts at standing are aided by a strong lean arm, allowing me to stand before J'onn. Gripping his wrists, I pull them away from his head carefully using our link to see his thoughts. Nothing good is being relived, he's going backwards through all my memories from this very moment, relieving all my anger, pain and betrayal from waking up to find his cold eyes, to my confusion in the med bay and the fire in my house.
His hands clutch my shoulders unconsciously pushing me down, I kneel between his straining thighs, wincing at the pressure he's exerting. Martians and fire don't blend well together, my bruising shoulders can attest to that. Cupping his face I try my best to send him soothing thoughts to pull him out of my nightmarish experience.
It is confusing to see what you experienced through another's eyes, and watching J'onn do this is both painful and confusing. His expression twists into one of confusion as he too tries to follow my sudden craving for a drink in the kitchen, his brows furrowing more as he goes through my thoughts when I felt his gentle brush of mind just before I started cooking.
Red eyes snap open.
The princess calls his name, it pulls him out of his trance. His eyes focus on us, slipping down to take in my kneeled position. I can see the minute realization crosses his mind. His hands release my tender shoulders as if he's been burnt, urgently raising me off the floor and into bed.
His concerned baritone surrounding us. "Are you hurt?"
"No, J'onn I'm fine."
Diana gives his shoulder a squeeze, "J'onn what did you learn?"
The chocolate voice is resigned as he replies. "Nothing good. Ma'alefa'ak."
"Who?"
"My twin brother."
