Author: Bastille Kain
Title: Come As You Are
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters of any show or other medium; comics, movies, and books that are unfortunate enough to be used here all belong to other people. Again I own nothing and make no profit from these writings.
Spoilers: Anything and everything.
Summary: Buffy/NetFlix Marvel Universe/Marvel Movie Universe Crossover. Starts a few days prior to NetFlix's Defenders. Patricia Walker discovers a young girl, 15 to 17 years old, just outside her apartment who has suffered a severe neck injury. Accompanies her to the hospital. When she wakes up it is discovered she is suffering from amnesia.
Pairings:
Rating: MA-18. Just to play it safe. Eventually there is going to be adult themed subject matter, gratuitous violence and explicit sexual scenes not to mention strong language.
Feedback: Is always appreciated.
Archive: If you like it that much, sure. Just be sure to let me know where it's going, and give me the credit, good or bad, for my work.
Musical Note: I like to use song titles or lyrics for story names and chapter titles. Come as You Are: Nirvana. All American Girl: Melissa Etheridge
Author Note: Not a big fan of author notes.
Enjoy the Story,
Kain
Come as You Are
Chapter One: All American Girl
Trish took a sip of her coffee from the cardboard cup while she sat in the waiting room of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. So far she hadn't received any word concerning the young girl she had come in with a little more than an hour ago. She had given the police her statement, finding the tiny blonde in the hall outside her apartment, lying crumpled on the floor with what appeared to be a serious throat wound. It almost looked like some animal had tried to rip the girl's throat open but there wasn't any sort of blood splatter expected with that sort of wound.
"What the hell?"
Trish smiled at the voice of her best friend. "Hey," she said with a smile turning toward Jessica.
The brunette's scowl would have given a grown man pause. "Don't hey me," she warned her adopted sister and very nearly only friend as she entered the waiting room. "You send me a text saying you're in the hospital…"
"Sorry," Trish said with something close to contrition. "I've been sitting here filling out paperwork for someone I know absolutely nothing about." Jessica frowned at her and Trish exhaled. "I found a girl in the hall outside my apartment. Her throat had been slashed, or torn open by some animal, nobody's really told me anything since I arrived."
Jessica sat down next to Trish. "Somebody cut her throat and that didn't kill her?" Trish shrugged in response to the question. "So what you just volunteered to stick around? Be her guardian angel?"
"I don't know?" Trish replied. "I wouldn't want to wake up all alone in a hospital."
"At least tell me you're not picking up the tab on this?" Jessica asked after a moment of prolonged silence.
Trish gave her friend's question a mild snort before asking, "Do you really think I'm that altruistic?"
The glare Jessica directed at her best friend was about all the answer Trish needed, but the brunette said, "You took me in," reminding the blonde radio host of their connection.
"Girl wakes up, tells people who she is, what happened. They contact her parents, legal guardian. Whoever –"
"Patricia Walker?"
The soft, but unmistakably masculine voice drew a pair of eyes, one light one dark. "I'm Trish Walker," Trish answered as she stood.
Jessica following suit as she took in the doctor; average height with dark hair, three days worth of stubble and deep set brown eyes. Hindu American descent if she had to hazard a guess. He was wearing tan slacks with a soft aqua blue button shirt and comfortable looking sneakers. "How's the girl?" She asked.
Kaleb glanced at the brunette, she looked familiar but he couldn't place the where. Before he could inquire Trish said, "This is Jessica Jones. My sister," she added quickly before the doctor could raise any objections. She also made a point of ignoring the look Jessica cast in her direction. While technically Jessica had been officially adopted after the car accident that claimed Jessica's family, Trish had always considered the brunette her sister.
"Physically she appears to be fine. The wound in her neck is only a superficial laceration," Kaleb answered.
"But," Jessica supplied. She could practically see the word hanging in the air.
Kaleb took a breath, "There does appear to be a complication," he said. "Retrograde amnesia. Skills, language all appear to be intact. When she started waking up…" Something that shouldn't have happened while being heavily sedated, the thought bubbled along the surface of his mind. "…I was the first person she saw and she started speaking, I believe Hindi. When I didn't respond she switched to Farsi and finally to Mandarin." It had been one of the oddest things he had ever seen and he had been attending Columbia University when the Avengers drove off an alien invasion. "One of the nurses is fluent in Mandarin and told her where she was and she started speaking English with something of a California valley girl accent."
"But she doesn't remember who she is?" Jessica asked. "No name, family, friends… Where she grew up?"
"It doesn't mean she's never going to regain her memories," Kaleb informed the pair. "They could come back in an hour, a day, a week –"
"Or never," Jessica said into the pause.
Kaleb nodded, "Or never," he agreed. "The only thing she can recall is an almost phobic fear of hospitals. She's positive that someone close to her, a cousin or sibling died in a hospital. The police left an officer on her door and CPS is going to be here in a few hours, but I was hoping a friendly face, somebody that might be willing to talk with her, would help keep her calm until CPS shows up?"
/ / /
Jessica watched with a slight scowl as Trish signed the forms Henry Jaspers, the CPS agent had printed out after Trish inquired what was going to become of the girl, a fate she would have lived if not for the blonde and her mother, the foster system and group homes. Couples that were looking to adopt wanted children, the younger the better. What they didn't want was to be dealing with someone else's rejects.
If Trish wasn't who she was none of this would be happening right now. As a teenager she starred in a television show, managed to keep most of her troubles out of the public eye. She had gotten a good education and was now the host of her very own Radio Show. Trish Talk. Jasper's younger sister had been a big fan of her show and even he admitted to listening to her talk show from time to time, normally when the sports shows weren't worth listening to and since he was a fan of not just the Mets and Knicks but the Jets as well, that happened with some regularity.
The only blemish, if anybody ever discovered it would be Trish's connection to her; an alcoholic PI with a few anger issues and some questionable life choices.
Jessica could have predicted, with near absolute certainty, the eventual outcome the moment they laid eyes on the pixie like blonde laying upon the hospital bed. Trish had a heart three times too big.
Jaspers was going over what Trish could expect over the next several months to a year or more all depending on how long their Jane Doe remained with her; a visit from Child Welfare Services, home and school inspection, several random visitations, mandatory counseling while Jane, as everyone had taken to calling the teenager, was residing with her. Fingerprints and DNA were going to be needed to aid in tracking down the girl's family, those would only help if the girl was in the system. A lab tech would be able to collect the DNA sample but they'd probably have to visit one of New York's precincts to run her finger prints. He also provided a list of independent facilities that could be used, which ever they found most convenient just as long as it was done within a week.
/ / /
Jane, she tested the name in her head for about the hundredth time and decided she still didn't care for it. The name was just so… Blah; plain and simple. No matter what else she has forgotten she wasn't plain or simple. Unfortunately she wasn't sure what she was; refined and sophisticated like an Illyana or Elizabeth or more regal like a Katherine or Alexandria, or was she more of a sultry Angelina or maybe a slutty Trixie or an enticing Desirae. Maybe something more whimsical; a Cat or a Buffy.
There was every possibility her real name wasn't even English. She appeared to be fluent in several languages. It was going to take time learn how many.
She felt eyes on her and shifted her position on the bed slightly, folding her feet under her and returned Jessica Jones suspicious dark eye stare with a level gaze. An aroma drifted to her. It was faint, but easily recognizable. Whiskey, and it was wafting up out of the brunette's coffee. "If you don't need me for anything, I'm going to go get changed," she said swinging her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down in one smooth motion. At the moment she wanted nothing more than to get out of the room… Out of the hospital. The anxiety medication the doctor gave her had worn off some time ago and while not in full on panic mode it was taking some effort to maintain her composure. Her first step in her grand scheme was to change her clothes, a task with no other purpose than to keep her busy for a few minutes, and changing was nothing more complicated than removing the hospital provided robe and too large paper-pants and slipping on a pair of ultra petite scrubs one of the nurses provided her; dark violet pants and a white top with a green and blue floral pattern.
"We're pretty much done here," Jaspers said as he handed Trish copies of the forms she's been filling out along with his business card. "If there are any problems or if you think of any questions, call this number." He removed several sheaves of paper and passed them over to Trish as well. "These are the numbers for several trauma counselors, support groups and a few psychiatrist. Sometimes, it helps to have a safe place to talk about the things that are bothering you."
Jane rolled her eyes at Jaspers. "Aside from being here, with no memories… Everything's rainbows and sprinkles," she informed the dark haired social worker before disappearing into the bathroom.
Jessica couldn't help but flash Trish an almost, I told you so, grin at the little blonde's comment. The girl had spunk and sass only a teenager could pull off. She was probably going to need it all things being equal.
The social worker exhaled slightly as he shifted his attention from the bathroom door to Trish. "Again, if there are any problems don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you," Trish said into the silence.
With a sharp, quick nod Jaspers snapped his briefcase close. "Have a good day Ms Walker," he said. With another nod he exited the room.
Jessica watched the door for a second before turning her attention back to Trish. In a hard whisper she demanded, "Are you insane? You can't just go adopting every stray puppy that stumbles over your stoop."
"I just couldn't –" Trish started in a soft voice before shooting a glance at the bathroom door. "You didn't see her Jess," she said a voice barely above a whisper.
/ / /
Jane heard the social worker leave despite the nearly silent quality of the man's tread, it didn't really surprise her anymore, not like when she first woke up. Then it had sounded like everyone was shouting and it took several desperate minutes to calm herself. Now she listened to Jessica and Trish's conversation as if she were in the room with them. They were keeping their voices pitched low, as if afraid of being overheard.
Maybe she should have told them she had super powers, well one set of super powers; listening to the nurses and doctors through a closed door as they discussed patients; their treatments and upcoming procedures. Being able to overhear the conversations between patients and their loved ones were a bit… Disconcerting, leaving her with a sort of slimy feeling; like a demented voyeur. She suspected her eyesight and olfactory senses were equally acute and far superior to ordinary people.
Taking a breath she centered herself, a bit of improvised meditation never hurt anyone and a calm place came to her easily; as if achieving a tranquil state was second nature to her. Again she considered the type of person she must have been, the training she must have received growing up.
Jessica was clearly the more cynical one of the pair. She suspected the brunette had gone through some extremely hard times during her life and probably possessed the psychological scars to prove it. Trish had gone through her own share of trauma but managed the after effects better, had a more stable coping mechanism.
Trish wanted to take her shopping; pick up a few changes of clothes, some shoes and a pair of sneakers and grab a bit to eat because no one deserved to eat hospital food. Maybe they could even decide on a name. She couldn't agree more with that. Nobody wanted to go through life as Jane Doe. The thought of shopping was nearly as comforting as meditation and even though she had no desire to take advantage of her benefactor she would love to eat something she didn't feel was prescribed by a doctor with some ulterior motive.
She balled her hospital clothes and exited the bathroom to a room that fell into silence the moment the door was cracked open. Stepping into the quite on bare feet she looked between the two older women. "You don't have to stop talking on my account," she told them.
"We weren't –" Trish started until Jane arched a rather pointed eyebrow at her and she sighed softly. "Jessica has some concerns," Trish said.
"What kind of best friend sister would she be if she didn't?" Jane said.
"Even I do," she admitted after a brief pause.
She flashed them a thin smile. "So don't I," she said in a small voice. "I know as much about myself as you do. Maybe less," she finished. "I don't…" She paused gathering her thoughts. "Someone tried to kill me, or made it look that way. Maybe they're trying to get to you or Jess considering how tight you two are and they're using me. I could be a part of it, faking the whole amnesia thing to gain your sympathy." Sitting on the bed Jane focused her attention inward wondering where those thoughts and ideas came from. She hadn't thought of herself as any sort of strategist but what she just said scared her, that she could even think of something like that.
Jessica shot Trish a significant look but before she can say anything Jane murmured questioningly, "What sort of person can even think of something like that?"
Trish moved to stand in front of the tiny blonde. Taking hold of her hands she squatted easily forcing the troubled teen to look her in the eyes. "None of this makes any sense," she said in her most serious voice. "But I promise we're going to figure it out."
The teen looked up, her lighter crystalline emerald eyes meeting darker jade hue orbs. They were open, full of concern for the young girl sitting in front of her. For her. Jane exhaled took a breath, no matter what she didn't want some overly emotion display. It might be the one thing she couldn't handle right now. "So, what do you have planned?"
"Well," Trish began having given her agenda very little thought over the last several hours. "I do need to go into work, put my show together go over a number of things with my crew."
"Cool," Jane enthused a bit of a sparkle in her eyes. "Do I get to watch?"
"If you wanted to," Trish started as she looked Jane over. "But I was sort of hoping I could talk Jess into doing me a favor and taking you to get some clothes?" She said with a hopeful pleading note in her voice.
"Trish…"
Jessica started but paused as Jane said, "Um – I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but I don't think Ms. Broody likes me very much?"
"Ms. Broody," Jessica frowns around the word.
"Jess doesn't not like you," Trish said. "She doesn't know you and she doesn't really trust what she doesn't know," she explained.
"I'm not that bad," Jessica complained.
/ / /
Jessica glared at the back of the tiny blonde's head while taking a swig of her special blend coffee. She was wearing the pants the hospital provided her but discarded the floral print scrub shirt and was wearing a teal blouse with wide cuff sleeves. The cheap sneakers she purchased were now in one of the bags she carried; she had taken them off after wearing them for a few blocks and she now padded down the sidewalk on bare feet claiming it felt more natural.
The girl was a dynamo with no off switch. In little more than two hours of shopping they visited five different stores and purchased a decent number of clothes but nowhere near what she had expected. A few pairs of jeans; boot cut, low riding, hip huggers – Not that Jane actually had hips to hug. A couple pairs of cargo pants as well as a few lounge pants and few shapeless night clothes along with a dozen blouses in various styles, five tank tops and an equal number of plain tee-shirts in several different colors, some functional undergarments and sports bras, a pair of cheap sneakers and a pair of platform sandals.
With the number of stores and the amount of time they had spent Jessica would have thought there should have been a bigger haul and to have spent four, maybe even five times as much but Jane certainly knew how to shop on a budget and frugal to boot. She bypassed the high end designer stuff and hit up the bargain bins except for her strappy platform sandals. Those cost as much as everything else combined… Maybe more.
Probably more.
According to Jane it was encoded in every woman, possibly on a genetic level, like branded into their DNA itself. The teenager had sounded almost scandalized that Jessica seemed to lack that same instinctual knowledge.
"Do you mind that I call you Jess?" She asked as Jessica took another draw from her coffee.
"Why the fuck would I care?" Jessica answered. For someone with amnesia the girl could definitely talk and on nearly any subject. She had an opinion about everything. It had been almost non-stop since they left the hospital; and way too bubbly as far as Jessica was concerned.
Jane shrugged as she said, "Cause some people can be prickly."
"Prickly?" Jessica mumbled with an edge of hostility dripping into her voice. "First I'm Ms. Moody, now I'm prickly. What the fuck am I, a moody thorn bush?"
"I didn't say you were prickly," Jane countered. "Just that some people are. I don't know you well enough to know what kind of person you are," she said then gave the cup of coffee in Jessica's hand a pointed look.
Jessica continued to glare at the blonde but even she had to admit she could be a little short with people, especially those she didn't know well and for whatever reason Jane just pushed her buttons. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, or offer something vaguely like one, Jane's expression went blank, her head cocked to the side.
"There's…" She started in a distant voice. "Take these," she said shoving the bags holding her purchases at the brunette before she took off running back the way they just came on bare feet. Jane darted down the first alley she came to and disappeared.
"Fucker," Jessica snarled as she chased after the tiny little blonde. Who would have suspected such a little thing could move so quickly, especially on bare feet. She raced down the alley without seeing any sign Jane had even gone this way. Turning left she stopped after only a few feet when she spotted a heavy steel door hanging ajar. It looked as if it had been kicked it in by a forklift, or somebody like… Like her.
If Jane was like her and had some kind of power. For some people that would be reason enough to want her dead. Why was she outside Trish's apartment? Was she a message, or was she looking for help.
From somewhere inside she could just make out the sounds of fighting. "What the fuck are you doing girl?" Jessica mumbled under her breath as she took the stairs two at a time unsure if she meant Jane or herself.
The third floor opened up, wooden post were placed evenly throughout the space and had probably been some sort of sweatshop before it had fallen on hard times. There was garbage strewn all over the area; broken bottles, pieces of concrete and cement, rusted piping, steel drums used for burning trash to provide heat or to cook a meal.
A young girl; who couldn't be much beyond thirteen, if that, had her hands bound to one of the wooden post. Her clothes were little more than tattered rags. Her face and body bore the bruises of numerous beatings.
There was a skuzzy looking man, with his pants around his knees, unconscious on the floor only a few feet away. A dozen feet beyond that Jane was engaged with five other scum of society men while two others were already down for the count.
Jessica could feel her eyes going wide. Jane fought like Jet Li amped up on whatever combat drug Simpson had been taking. She moved with a preternatural grace and contorted her body in impossible ways as she wove through her five playmates, avoiding punches, kicks and every other attack they launched at her.
A rough looking man with greasy brown hair swung a heavy right hand at her head. Jane caught the punch, stopping it cold, her tiny hand grabbing his wrist. She twisted it violently in a tight circle as she glided under the limb. He left his feet, flipping forward just until Jane's rising heel slammed into his chest and sent him back the way he came. He sailed twenty feet through the air, only stopping when he crashed into the outer wall with bone crushing force and dropped to the ground in a heap.
Before the first man even hit the wall Jane was already taking down the next man; her right forearm colliding with his right hip. He cried out as the force of the blow dislocated the joint. Jane gave a solid jerk with her left hand on his right ankle pulling the limb out from under him causing him to collapse backwards onto his back. She did some kind of flip and her right calf connected with his forehead a moment before the back of his head connected with the floor.
She did a quick handspring back to her feet; her left leg rising in a sharp backward arch even before her right foot touched the floor and her heel slammed into the crotch of a man with long, dirty red hair and a twisted hook of a nose. There was a sickening squishing sound and he dropped to the floor with a soundless whine.
The last two men came at Jane together and she meant them head on; deflecting their attacks, twisting them around and lashing out, her fist and feet delivered powerful punches and kicks with impunity making short work of the two men and they hit the floor at almost the same moment.
Jessica kept her eyes focused on Jane as she set the bags down. The entire fight, if it could actually be described as a fight, had lasted only seconds. Ten tops. Jane wasn't even breathing hard, as if she hadn't exerted any effort at all.
"We need to get her to a hospital," Jane said in a rush as she turned to face Jessica. There was concern in her eyes and perhaps a bit of apprehension.
Jessica gave her head a slight shake. She possessed super strength, tough as nails, and hard to hurt but she wasn't invulnerable. Her enhanced strength didn't provide extra speed or reflexes and while she was confident she'd beat Princess Barbie in a straight up tractor pull Jane could easily out fight her. The level of skill the teenager just displayed involved years of intense training, probably from the time the girl had started walking. Still… "No we don't," she responded in a stern I'm the adult kind of voice.
Jane's face hardened; her green eyes, normally so bright and filled with a boundless sort of exuberance turned hard and deadly. Her voice became a death filled whisper. "They were –"
"I know exactly what they were doing," Jessica responded with anger equal to or greater then Jane's. She had suffered her own personal hell at the hands of Kilgrave. "You need to be smart, think things through. How are you going to explain this? The Door? Hell how did even know this was happening?"
Jane fumed silently for several seconds before she finally dropped her eyes and murmured, "I just sort of heard it."
"You heard," Jessica repeated. "Grab their cell," she ordered as she moved into the room. "And make sure none of them are dead." She went through the area gathering up pieces of useful junk and scrape. "When we get through here, me and you, we're going to have ourselves a talk and then we're telling Trish everything."
/ / /
Fifteen minutes later and not even half a block away Jessica and Jane took a table at a small open air bistro and waited for their server to arrive as a pair of cruisers drove past. After securing the men with the few items she had found at the scene Jessica made sure everything they might have touched was wiped down and then used one of their phones to dial nine-one-one with a small rusted nail.
An attractive girl with long auburn hair that fell to the middle of her back and striking blue eyes wearing a white tee with the restaurant's name emblazoned above the her left breast pocket and black shorts. She kept her hair tied back with a deep green elastic band exposing a long and slender neck. Jessica didn't think the girl could have been more than twenty and this was a part time gig to put a bit of spending money in her pocket while attending college. She introduced herself as Claire and would be their server. Jessica kept a neutral expression as Jane ordered several items; a ham, bacon, egg and cheese croissant along with a fruit salad and a large cup of coffee with cream and sweetener on the side as well as cup of chi-tea. Jessica simply ordered a large black coffee.
"I'm hungry," Jane told the brunette, "and since I don't really know what I like I figure go for variety."
Jessica ignore Jane and the fact teenagers could eat just about anything and not worry about the consequences. She waited until Claire was several steps away before demanding, "How the hell did you hear something… I don't know, more than a city block away?"
"I don't –" Jane started then stopped, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. She glanced across the street, Jessica following her gaze. "See that guy?" She inquired with a nod towards a business man just getting out of a taxi. He was carrying a briefcase in one hand and his phone pressed to his ear.
"What about him?"
There was a look of concentration on Jane's face as her gaze followed him. "He's talking to his wife, telling her he has to work late tonight. Asking her to apologize to Hannah about having to miss her recital but its business and he can't get out of it."
Jessica smirked lightly at Jane. "Yeah, good one. There's…"
"He's lying," Jane went on as if Jessica hadn't spoken. "His respiration increased and his pulse spiked bit."
"There is no way you could hear that," Jessica all but snarled at the younger girl. She had to lying. But what if she isn't? A little voice nagged at the back of her head. There are aliens and mutants in the world, a guy that turns into a giant green muscle with the communication skills of a pissed off badger. Hell they thawed out Captain Fucking America and Tony Stark built a suit of high-tech battle armor. There was even some nut-job that claimed to be Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.
Jane simply smiled at her. There was something almost predatory about it. "Want something a little closer to home?" Jane asked. There was a pleading, don't make me do this, quality to her tone. "How much whiskey do you put in your coffee? At first, when you and Trish came into my room I didn't know what that aroma was, where it was coming from but it didn't take long to figure it out." For a moment she seemed to focus inward. "I think, maybe someone I knew was an alcoholic," she said after a moment. "At least I get that feeling."
Jessica glanced around and took a shallow breath. She would have to do some research about amnesia. Maybe talk to a doctor or two. "What about the door? The fighting? How do you explain–"
"I don't know," Jane gripped in clear exasperation as she cut Jessica off. "It's like with the languages," she said.
Jessica cocked an expressive eyebrow at the teen. "Do I even want to know?"
"When I came to in the ER, I was asking questions in several different languages… Hindi, Mandarin, Farsi."
"Right," Jessica said with a bit of smirk. The Doctor had made the same claim, but she hadn't believed him either thinking that Jane had simply been rambling incoherently, a not unheard of occurrence for somebody waking up in a strange place after a traumatic event.
Jane returned Jessica's smile. She looked up as Claire approached with their drinks and her food. "Ca sent le délicieux," she said in what Jessica thought was French.
Claire arched a questioning eyebrow at the tiny blonde as she set her food and drinks on the table. "Tu parle Français?"
"Oui," Jane answered with a, I told you so, smirk in her eyes. "Si ça ne te dérange pas de demander, votre accent est étrange?"
"Ma grand-mère ne parle pas beaucoup Anglais," Claire answered. "Comment saviez-vous que je parlais Français?"
Jane shrugged as she said, "Je vous ai entendu parler à une femme dans la cuisine, votre grand-mère, Je suppose." She noticed Claire looking back in the direction of the kitchen. "J'ai beaucoup d'oreilles," she added with a bit of a smile.
Claire returned the smile. "Dit le loup."
Taking a bite of her sandwich Jane closed her eyes and simply savored the taste, allowing the vast array of flavors to flood her mouth as she took several moments to quickly swallow the small sample she had taken. "C'est fantastique. Mes félicitations au chef."
"Je vais les transmettre," Claire said. She noticed another costumer settle into a chair. "Je devrais vraiment rentrer au travail."
"Bien sûr. Je vous remercie," Jane said and received a polite nod before Claire moved away. Jane returned her attention back to Jessica as she took a larger bite of her sandwich. "So?"
Jessica's scowl didn't soften, if anything her eyes seemed darker than before. "Fine, so you can speak few different languages," she finally admitted if somewhat grudgingly. "It still doesn't explain the fighting or the door?"
"This is really good," Jane said as she swallowed having devoured more than half her sandwich in just a matter of seconds. She exhaled taking in the look on Jessica's face. "I don't know Jessica," she said in an exacerbated huff. "To fight like that, the years of training I would have to have received…" She gave her head a slight shake. "You're talking years and years and even more years. Then be able to mold them, move seamlessly from one style to the other," she looked Jessica in the eyes. "I'd have to older then you," Jane finished with something of a glint in her green eyes.
"I'm not that old," Jessica grumbled.
"Twenty five," Jane guessed. Her grin grew a bit as she popped a grape into her mouth. "My god, what were the dinosaurs like?"
"You're a pain in the ass," Jessica informed the teenager.
Jane popped another bit of food into her mouth. "I don't think Trish would want you to use that sort of language around me. You know, me being an impressionable young mind and all."
"Hurry up," Jessica said as she reached across the table and plucked a strawberry out of the fruit salad. Seeing the teenager glare at her Jessica smiled. "We're running late and Trish'll be waiting for us."
/ / /
"Fuck," Trish mumbled as she came to a stop in front of the island counter separating her kitchen from her living room. They could figure a way around this. It wasn't like she didn't have experience in dealing with super powered teenagers.
Jessica shot Jane a knowing smirk were the teenager sat on the arm of the sofa. Jane simply shrugged in return. It wasn't like she'd never heard an adult swear before, actually as she thought it over she hasn't ever heard an adult swear in front of her.
"And you just let her?" Trish asked Jessica without any anger accusation in her voice that the brunette could hear.
"Hey," Jane cut in. "Don't go blaming the Grumpy Old Brunette Brigade. It isn't like she could've stopped me. I'm like way faster, stronger to. Plus I know how to fight… I mean really know how to fight."
Trish's gaze went from Jane to Jessica, and then back again. "Really?"
Jessica had a curious look in her eyes. "Faster," she said softly, "probably and she does know how to fight, better than anyone I've ever seen before." She walked over towards the island counter. "Come on over here short stuff."
Jane looked slightly confused as she slid off her seat but she padded over to where Jessica indicated. "Jess, I don't think this is a good idea," she said softly; though to her ears it sounded more of a plea.
"What makes you think you're stronger than me?" Jessica asked. She almost sounded innocent.
"You said I kicked in a steel door," she reminded Jessica. "Then there was that guy I kicked across that room. What was that, like twenty feet?"
Jessica pulled out a stool and indicated one on the other side of the counter as she said, "Something like that," as she sat and set her elbow on the counter.
Jane sat on the stool and took hold of the brunette's hand. "Whenever you're ready," she said.
"Jess," Trish said concern coloring her tone.
"Its fine Trish," Jessica assured her.
"I promise not to hurt her," Jane told the older blonde.
Trish rolled her eyes. For two people so dissimilar they couldn't be more alike. "Fine," she said mildly aggravated by the pair. "Whenever you're ready, go."
For a moment nothing happened, then strain appeared on Jessica's face. She glanced down at the counter. Jane's arm hadn't budged. After another moment Jane's arm started moving backward, her knuckles inching closer to the countertop but there was a hint of effort on Jessica's brow with the strength she was exerting in forcing Jane's arm toward the counter top. Jane's arm stopped moving as she exerted more strength in an attempt to force her arm upward, but it stayed where it was until Jessica started forcing her arm down. Several seconds later her knuckles touched the countertop.
"Jess?"
"She's really that strong," Jessica said as she gave her arm a slight shake.
Jane frowned as she studied Jessica. She felt normal, looked normal. "You're stronger than I thought," Jane said after a moment. "How are you so strong?"
"How are you?" Jessica countered.
"I…" Jane started but her voice trailed off. There was something there, just at the edge but as she reached out it just seemed to slither through her grasp.
Trish gave her head a slight shake as she said, "Jess is strong, like insanely strong. Pick up a car strong, strong."
Jane looked at Jessica. "Really?"
Jessica shrugged slightly as she answered, "I don't know about pick up a car…?"
"Please," Trish said. "You can so pick up a car and you know it."
Jessica rolled her eyes as Jane asked, "So how strong do you think I am?"
"I don't know," Jessica answered.
"Do you think I could pick up a car too?" Jessica scowled at her. Trish smiled at her friend as Jane asked, "A cute guy?"
"O'kay, I'm out of here," Jessica said standing up. She grabbed her coat and scarf. "You two bond or whatever your suppose to do," she suggested heading for the door.
"What about the DNA profile and fingerprints," Trish asked.
"You've got the paperwork Jaspers gave you," she stopped by the door and looked back at Trish. "I'd hold off on doing the DNA for right now, but any precinct can run the fingerprints. Of course you could always go to any private lab and have them run the test. I could probably get a list of reputable labs for you."
"Thanks Jess."
Jessica nodded as she opened the door. "I'll give you a call later," she said and slipped out the door leaving the two blondes alone inside the apartment.
After a moment Trish turned towards Jane and took a breath. "Let me show you around. Living room, kitchen," she said pointing to the two areas they were in. They moved to the hallway, it wasn't very long at a dozen feet. "My room's at the end of the hall. Bathroom and my study are on the right. The spare room, which we'll convert to your room over the next few days, and my home gym are on the left."
"There's no need to rush anything," Jane said. "I mean we don't even know if we like each other. I could slurp milk out of the bowl or you might leave wet towels on the bathroom floor or toenail clippings on the kitchen counter, I could like anchovies and Canadian bacon on my pizza…"
"Or you could be a kind, caring person who had something terrible happen to them," Trish countered.
"Or Jess could be right about me," Jane said. She sat down on the stool, her bare feet resting on the cool metal. "Could we maybe do one thing before anything else?"
"What would that be?"
"Find me a real name…" She pleaded.