So I realize that this miiight be a little out of character... but I had the idea and wanted to explore it. Hopefully, I did an okay job. Let me know what you think, and the same goes for any of the other ficlets :)

Family Dynamics

Brin felt fear grip his body as he realized that he couldn't move. He was helpless to do anything except watch his father pull a lever on his machine. Immediately, Brin's veins were on fire. He could feel his body changing in response to whatever sick procedure his father had started. Fur started growing at an accelerated rate from head to toe, and his nails hardened into claws. Everything hurt and the control he regained over his limbs resulted in his thrashing violently against his restraints, tearing the flesh at his wrists as he fought the transformation. He screamed in pain, trying to get away – to free himself.

"Brin! Don't fight it! Let the serum do its work! Brin! Stop!"

His father's voice was barely discernable over the screaming that turned to howling as Brin's humanity was consumed by the serum. Strong arms finally broke free of the restraints and lashed out—

"Brin, wake up!"

His eyes snapped open to see Tinya grasping his arm. He recoiled when he realized that he had almost hit her with it. Pulling away, he sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes in an effort to fully wake himself up.

"Are you alright?" Tinya asked as she sat across from him on his bed. She had come to check on him like she did almost every night and found him with his sheets tangled up while he thrashed in his sleep. Most nights, he was fine. Sure the nightmares had been a problem when he'd first come to the Legion, but he had been improving so much since then that they hardly ever bothered him much anymore. Still, she checked on him, because some nights were like this one.

"Yeah, I'm fine." His voice sounded tired. "Did I wake anyone?"

She shook her head.

"Good." Brin glanced at her and saw the concern in her eyes. "Seriously, Tinya, I'm fine."

No one ever talked about his nightmares. He wasn't even sure if anyone besides Tinya knew he still had them. She was always the one who was there to wake him up. The first time she had helped him, he hadn't even been aware of her presence. His only reason for knowing that she'd been in his room was the lingering scent of jasmine the next morning. At the time, they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms do to a misunderstanding, but after they'd cleared things up between them, she would often come to check on him because as she'd said, "That's what friends do."

"What do you want to talk about?" Tinya asked, pulling her knees up in front of her and wrapping her arms around her legs as she waited for an answer. It had become somewhat of a pattern for them. Whenever he had a hard time sleeping, it was left up to him if he wanted to talk about what was bothering him or if he wanted to talk about something else to get his mind off of it. He rarely ever wanted to talk about his nightmares, so they mostly talked about their likes and dislikes, their teammates, or their latest missions. Sometimes he would pick the topic, sometimes she would. Tonight, it was his turn.

"Tell me about your family," he requested.

Tinya didn't say anything at first. Of all the things they had ever talked about, family had never been one of them. She never discussed that subject with any of her friends and teammates. The most anyone knew was that she was related to President Wazzo, and that was it. End of story, and no more questions asked. As far as she was concerned—

"The Legion is my family," she said.

"That's not what I meant." Brin furrowed his brow. There was something off about Tinya. He could feel it. Confusing as she could sometimes be, his ability to sense emotions came in handy when trying to figure her out. It told him when she was happy, angry, upset, or hiding something. The hard part was figuring out the reasons attached to whatever emotion he was picking up from her. He watched for her reaction as he said, "I meant your real family. Other than your mother being President, I don't know anything about them. What are they like?"

He saw her shoulders tense and waited silently for her answer without adding any pressure. What she was willing to share was up to her. Through trial and error, they had developed an unspoken understanding of what subjects were acceptable, sensitive, or off-limits. That was how this whatever-it-was between them worked. 'Family' was a grey area that had never been brought up before by either of them.

After a slight hesitation, she said, "My relationship with my mother is strained at best, but it's the only real 'family' relationship I have." She paused, her eyes focusing on a point somewhere on the wall. She seemed lost in thought as she told him, "I never knew my father. He left soon after I was born." She shook her head, a cynical attempt at a smile on her face as she looked back at Brin. "Apparently, he was a drifter who wasn't cut out for fatherhood."

She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Brin knew that it affected her more than she let on. Looking to get her mind off her estranged parents, he asked, "So, what do you think is the family dynamic within the Legion?"

The question caught Tinya off-guard. She had thought of the Legion as her family for a long time, but she had never considered who fit what role. She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I guess Imra would be like the mother. When she speaks, people listen, and she genuinely wants to help whenever she can. Rokk would definitely be the straight-laced, overly serious father who has impossibly high standards, travels all the time, and is all work and no play." She snorted. "He's the type to have an early mid-life crisis or nervous breakdown unless he learns to loosen up a bit."

Inwardly, Brin agreed.

"Garth and Lourno are like the brother and sister I never had," Tinya continued, "and Clark, Brainy, and Chuck are kind of like close cousins that I get to see all the time." She paused, mentally running through the other Legionnaires. The ones she had named were all ones that she had known the longest and knew the best out of her teammates.

"Where do I fit in?" Brin asked. When he saw the mischievous look in her eyes, he knew he had inadvertently given her an opening to tease him.

Sure enough, she said, "The family pet, of course," with a wicked smirk.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he reached next to himself and grabbed the corner of a pillow. He gave her a grin when she saw what he was doing and made the connection. "You wouldn't dare—"

The pillow swung through the air, barely giving her time to phase through it. Lunging forward, she snatched an extra pillow from behind him, and a pillow fight broke out. Dodging hits and taking swings at each other, they were more like children than superheroes, but neither of them cared. Sometimes it was good to forget and enjoy a moment of fun.

Finally, Brin was able to score a lucky shot and managed to get Tinya to surrender. She plopped down on his bed, holding her sides, and amidst peals of laughter, she gasped out, "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I take it back."

Brin lowered his pillow. Moving to sit on the other side, he said, "You should probably get going before someone comes to find out what all the noise was about."

"You're right." She got to her feet, tossing the pillow she'd been using back on the bed. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she headed for the wall that separated their rooms.

Once she disappeared into her own room, Brin rearranged his bed. As he slid back underneath the covers, he realized that she hadn't answered his question. Guess I know what to ask about next time, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.