I was awoken by voices talking, presumably in the hallway, since they were somewhat muffled. Only hearing snatches of the conversation, I was understandably confused. But what I could discern was exactly who was talking. Batman and Superman.
"Clark . . . down . . . she . . . can't . . . mad . . . forever."
"Of . . . Bruce . . . send . . . to . . . planet . . . parents?"
I stopped listening after I heard Superman say parents. I was surprised that my heart kept beating. My parents. What would they say? I mean, these parents (I had assumed since the world was different, I also had parents who differed from the old ones) seemed oblivious to everything around them, but were they really that dense?
My eyes opened and I stared at the ceiling. The voices stopped; I heard footsteps leading away from the medical bay. I sighed and sat up. Who knew Superman would get so worked up from my outburst? It's not like I insulted his family or anything. I hoped he wouldn't be too mad at me when I next saw him. Pulling back the covers of the hospitable bed (someone must have put me under them); I swung my feet onto the floor and tested them. Walkable. Is that a word? I smiled at my silliness, then froze. That wasn't my thought voice.
J'onn? Why are you in my mind?
In your current situation, I think I am the only member of the Justice League you want to talk to. No, wait, that is not true. There is always Flash.
Did the Martian just make a joke?
Did the human just deal with a confrontation in the wrong way?
I hung my head, a melancholy mood overcoming my being.
Where are you, anyway? I inquired, trying to change the topic.
"Behind you," he spoke aloud, and I jumped, literally, off the bed to turn around and face him.
"How long have you been there?"
" . . . Long enough to know that you were awake long before your eyes opened."
My eyes narrowed.
"Which is how long, exactly?"
He looked like he didn't want to admit something.
" . . . Ever since you fell asleep."
My eyes narrowed further.
"Let me guess. You got stuck with guard duty to make sure the 'threat to the Justice League' didn't try and escape."
He shook his head.
"No, Batman is guarding the hanger and Green Lantern is outside the door. I wanted to make sure that the girl with the tough exterior didn't have a crumbling interior to match."
"Why do you care about me? I could shut down the whole Justice League and then you wouldn't have anywhere to go."
He hesitated.
"It . . . it has been a while since I have come into such close contact with someone of your age. I feel . . . obligated to help you. The last time I saw someone of your generation . . . it has been a while." He ended by repeating what he said in the first place. I realized he was talking about his children, and looked down to give him a moment of silence for his loved ones.
Scuffing my dark black tennishoe lightly on the tile floor, I tucked my hands behind my back. A single bang fell in front of my face; I blew at it. It fell back; I frowned and blew at it again. The bang just wouldn't stay put. Finally, I gave up and reached into my pocket to get my navy blue hair scrunchie. I put my hair in a ponytail, but that one bang was just short enough that it fell in front of my face, refusing to be captured. I sighed, silently knowing that I would never get it. There was a chuckle from J'onn. I looked up to see him studying me, and suspected that he had seen the whole thing. Rolling my eyes, I sat back down on the bed, knowing that if I set one foot out the door, I would be back in faster than I could say Gotham.
"So . . ." I mumbled, anxious to break the silence, "is Cl--, Superman coming to talk to me?"
"I don't know; he might need some time. After all, he just found out that you would have revealed his identity to the world. That may take some getting used to."
"What was I supposed to do? Be happy and excited and perky that I'm living in a world that doesn't exist? Pfft. Yeah, right."
Though deep inside, I knew that I wasn't really going to reveal their identities to the world, I still felt the need to defend my actions. After all, what would you have done? I sighed. Maybe it is real after all. Besides, I feel emotions, and the people here don't seem to be emotionless either. Maybe . . . just maybe I can get used to this. It could be an alternate Earth or something like that anyway.
"You could have tried to contact us. I'm sure we would have done something. And, I'm also sure that your trip up here would have been more comfortable and . . . prepared."
I smiled, taking in his words. J'onn made me feel better, like the brother that I never had. If the brother that I never had was a green, Martian, shape-shifter who fights crime for a living.
* * * * *
It was two days after the whole 'Superman' episode. He still wasn't talking to me, even though I kept seeking him out. Personally, I thought he was acting more like a kid at my school (new or old) than a superhero.
At the moment, I was sitting in the kitchen of the Watchtower, staring out into space, thinking. They hadn't allowed me to go back to Earth, but they had put one of the Justice League guarding the docking bay at all times, as I found out one of the nights I tried to sneak away. No trust built up between me and the JLA as Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Superman thought I was lying, Batman and J'onn thought I was telling the truth, and Flash wouldn't stop flirting with me. I hadn't let my age slip yet, but I suspected he would stop if he knew I didn't even have a driver's license. Then again, I sort of enjoyed the attention. He was the only one who didn't have a side in the whole 'she's lying/telling the truth' feud we had going on.
I heard footsteps come into the kitchen, and then stop behind me. Wondering what they were doing (all of the electronics were on the left side of the room, not the back wall), I turned around . . . and saw a big red S.
He started to back out, but I looked him in the eye and he froze.
"We need to talk, Clark."
Clark nodded almost imperceptibly, pulled out a chair to my right, and sat down. I didn't break my gaze for a while, and I was stunned by what I saw there. There were tears. From what, I wasn't sure. Anger, sadness, frustration, something that I was sure had to do with me. Behind the tears, however, were a whole slew of emotions. Emotions so jumbled I couldn't tell what was what. Then I had to look away. At the ceiling, at the floor, just anywhere else. Because when I looked Clark in the eye, I had a revelation. This was real. This was all real.
Before of course, I thought it couldn't be true. That was why I went to the news. I didn't think it would have any effect; I wasn't thinking of them as real people. Now I saw. They were as real as me.
Clark was still silent, obviously noticing that I was thinking. I looked back up at him.
"I'm sorry."
The tears rolled down his cheeks; I dropped my head into my arms, starting to cry myself. For about five minutes, there was nothing but the sound of us crying. Then I felt a hand on my arm. Looking up, I saw that he was smiling. Well, at least his facial expression changed.
"I'm sorry too." At my startled reaction, he evaluated. "I was being stubborn by not talking to you, and that just made the situation worse. Can you forgive me?"
I nodded, still stunned, then muttered,
"Can you forgive me?"
He nodded, continuing to smile. I smiled as well, and put my hand on top of his.
"Uh, am I interrupting something?"
We turned our heads toward the door to see Flash standing there, looking confused. I rolled my eyes and picked up a coaster from the table, chucking it at him very swiftly but still missing (he is 'The Flash').
"Yes, Streak, you are in fact interrupting a very emotional moment."
"I told you not to call me that!"
"And you think I listened? When you talk to me, this is what it sounds like. Blah, blah, blah, chicks, blah, blah, blah, fastest man alive, blah, blah, blah, food. Got it?"
He frowned and I giggled a little bit. Clark had taken his hand off my arm and was now leaning his head onto it, watching Flash and I, looking exasperated. I looked at him expectantly.
"Hey, Supes, we're cool now, right?"
He grinned, genuinely.
"Yeah, we're cool."
* * * * *
Oh yes, you have to say it now, I actually listen to your cries for more Justice League. But for those of you who are still waiting for the Tsunami sequel, you'll be waiting a while. I'm not too sure where I'm going to go with it, so if you don't feel like waiting, go read some other story. If you do feel like waiting, then sit tight and hold on. That goes for this story too. Not the 'I don't know where I'm going' part, but the 'it's going to be a while' part. Auf Wiedersehen! (I love my German class.)