Five

After lunch, Emma and J'onn left the Bluewater Café and took a walk on the pier.

"We have a bit of a problem," Emma said to him as she looked out at the water.

"What's that?"

"My mom. Now that she knows I went on a date with a guy, she's going to expect to meet you at some point."

"That's not a problem. I'll walk you home today and she can meet me then."

"Yeah. So we can lie even more to her, right?" Emma scoffed. "I hate lying."

"Me too. But do we really have a choice?"

"We could always tell her the truth and if she freaks out you can wipe her memory."

"I don't like doing that even more than I don't like lying. Invading a person's mind like that is… traumatizing to both parties."

"So why – wait, why are we talking out loud about this?" She switched to telepathy. So why is it okay to do this? Why are we speaking in our minds to each other at all if that's a violation of a person's mind?

That is different. It's mutual.

Like sex?

Actually, yes. Consider what we are doing now as… consenting mind-sex. If I invaded your mother's mind and stole her memory…

It would be like mind-rape.

Yes.

You were considering doing that to me once. In fact, I think you almost did the first time I saw you. Everything went foggy for a moment until I realized who you were and called your name.

Yes. And the entire time I was doing it, I felt unclean. It makes me nauseous, messing with a person's mind like that. In the process of erasing a single memory, I have to go through every memory a person has to make sure I do not overstep the boundaries and erase more than is necessary.

So… you literally have to learn everything about a person before you can erase even something small.

Yes.

Oh shit. Does that mean you know… everything about me?

You are paradoxical. You told me it was all right for me to know everything about you.

Well, yeah, but that was after you tried erasing my memory.

Don't worry. In those few seconds, I mostly learned trivial things. Like what you had for breakfast that morning.

That must be so tedious. Having to go through every single memory a person has.

It is. I hate it. And I do not use the word hate lightly.

You sound like my mom. Any time I say I hate something, she says, "Hate's a strong word, honey. What you should say is 'you really don't like it'."

J'onn chuckled. The sound came from his chest, almost like a purr. Your mother is a wise woman.

You can tell that just from what I told you now?

Among other things. I have examined a few of the fleeting memories you think of during the day, and through those, I have begun to piece together an image of your mother's personality. She reminds me much of my own mother.

I guess some things never change. A mother is a mother, no matter what species she is.

So true.

They were silent for a while, looking out at the ocean, and then J'onn said, I have a question for you.

Yes?

Now that Batman has made interdimensional travel easy for me, would you like to come back with me one day to the Watchtower?

What, you mean like… back to your dimension?

Yes.

Isn't that something you should talk to the Justice League about first? I mean, I don't know if they'd appreciate some girl coming in and talking to them. Do they even know about me yet? I would think Batman has to know because I don't think he'd offer his help with the portal lightly. But the others…?

The others know of you. I have made it clear that I am in a relationship with you, and that you are not from my dimension. They know that you are almost twenty years old and that where you come from, they don't exist. Other than that, I have told them nothing.

Well, at least they know the most important things. Was anyone opposed to it?

They all were, at first. Diana was the first one to lighten up, as she and I have always been close friends. After that, everyone seemed to warm up to the idea. All except –

Batman.

Yes. He is the only one who harbors any real doubt. Which is odd, since he is the one who helped me make the device that will carry me freely between dimensions. He does not trust you, since he knows that you know who we all are.

Oh. Is he worried I'm going to tell someone that he's actually Bruce Wayne? Because in this dimension, everybody knows that. Just like everybody know that Superman is Clark Kent and Flash is Wally West.

He's worried you'll tell someone from my dimension.

I don't even know anyone from your dimension! But I can't really say that I'm surprised. I mean, it is Batman. He's the epitome of mistrusting.

I think he just resents the fact that you know a lot of things about him that he considers personal.

What? That his parents were murdered in front of him and that's why he became Batman? I don't even care about that. I just wish he would learn to be a little less… cold. Of course, you were cold, too, in the beginning. But you got over it.

Yes, after nearly eight-hundred years.

Emma turned and stared at him. So, you really are like… a thousand years old.

He smiled. Almost. Closer to nine-hundred.

Still. Jesus. And I told my mother you were only twenty, and not an old man.

He laughed. In this body, I am only twenty.

Yeah, but in your head, you're still really old. Not that that bothers me or anything.

Are you sure about that?

… I think so. Emma turned and faced the water again. Here's the next problem. Shouldn't the fact that you don't exist here make it impossible for you to exist here now? I mean, why aren't you disappearing or something? You literally don't exist here outside of comic books.

I'm… not sure why that is. You make a good point, one that I have thought of myself. Perhaps a version of me does exist here, and is only hiding in plain sight, which would explain how this version of me is able to exist here.

Well, that's interesting. But having two J'onn J'onzz's in the same dimension… Shouldn't that… I don't know, make the universe implode on itself?

J'onn laughed. I think you are thinking too hard about this.

You're probably right. But… I can't just leave and not tell anyone. What excuse am I supposed to give to my mother? We've already ruled out telling her the truth, which I still think is the best option. Of course, then you might have to mind-rape her and we don't want that.

I'm not saying you have to come live with me. I just meant it might be nice for you to visit sometimes. We could do it at night, when you're 'asleep'. The only problem with that is if someone comes into your room in an emergency and you're not there.

I could always tell her I'm going on a trip with some friends or something. But then she'll ask who I'm going with and then I'll have to lie again and she'll probably figure that out. Also, even if I do go with you, what happens if, while I'm there, you guys have to go off and fight a bad guy?

That part is easy. I'll leave you with a few returning devices. All you have to do is press the button and you'll be returned to whatever place you were in last before you left, give or take a few feet.

Is there any chance I'll end up lodged in a piece of furniture?

No. The device finds the most convenient place to put you before it teleports.

Will it explode once it's used, like yours did the first time?

Batman fixed that. That was never supposed to happen in the first place. It was a malfunction in technology that happened because the man who originally built the device was in a hurry; otherwise he might have caught the mistake himself.

Okay, so I won't die. But that still leaves the convincing-my-mother part.

You could just tell her that you are an adult now and you want to go spend an afternoon or an evening with your boyfriend somewhere.

Emma looked at J'onn with an expression that said, "You're joking, right?"

Or not, he thought to her.

About an hour later, the two of them were walking down the sidewalk towards Emma's house. The sun was setting in the sky, turning the clouds pink. It was quite beautiful. But all Emma could think about was her mother's reaction to J'onn.

Relax, Emma, he said, squeezing her hand. Worrying about it will do no good.

She sighed. I know. But I keep getting this feeling that she's going to figure out that we're hiding something from her.

She very well might.

What'll we do then?

We may end up having to tell her the truth.

And then comes the mind-rape.

I don't like it either.

You could just not come in. And leave before we get to the door.

That would be rude.

Emma sighed again. Ever the gentleman.

Of course.

Well, at this point it doesn't matter because we're here.

Breathe, Emma.

Emma stuck her house key into the lock, turned it, took a hold of the doorknob, twisted, and pushed the door open, dreading every second. With her most cheerful voice, she called out, "I'm home!"

There was no response.

"Mom?" Emma called.

Nothing.

Emma turned and looked at J'onn. "Maybe she's out somewhere. She did tell me to be home by ten. I'm going to call her and –

"Don't bother," J'onn said.

"Why?" Suddenly, she was scared. His tone was serious. "What's wrong?"

"I've done a scan of the house. There's a note on your mother's bed that is addressed to both of us."

"What – I don't understand."

"It says, 'J'onn, you shouldn't leave doors unlocked. You never know what might come through them. Emma, sorry about your mother.' It is signed C. C."

"C. C.?"

"Cosmic Clock. He's the man who created the portal."

"So… what? He stole my mother? I thought you… put him in prison!"

"I did. He must have escaped."

Emma sank to the floor. "Fuck…" She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them. She didn't know what to do. She was in shock. The fact that her mother was gone was still processing, and in the meantime, she was beginning to get a headache. A bad one. "This would never have happened if we hadn't started seeing each other," she mumbled, not lifting her head.

Slowly, J'onn got onto his knees and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She immediately yanked away, glaring up at him through her hair, which had gone into her face. "Don't touch me. And get out of my head. Bring my mother back."

"Emma…" His voice sounded reproachful, like he was scolding her, and it made her angry.

"Don't Emma me. I should never have even talked to you. I should have let you wipe my memory. How could I be so stupid? This always happens! Anytime the bad guy knows that the good guy has family, he always uses it against him! He probably tried to go after me first, but once he realized I was with you, he went after my mother instead."

"That is probably true."

"Well, go get her!"

"Emma, I cannot leave you here by yourself. What if he comes back?"

"I don't care. Go save my mother."

"I am sorry, but I have to take you with me to the Watchtower."

"If you touch me –

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

She eyed him nervously. "What's the hard way?"

"I knock you out."

She scoffed. "You wouldn't lay a finger on me."

In his mind, he said, Must I remind you that I do not have to touch you to make you unconscious?

She glared at him. "Fine. I'll come with you. But then you and the rest of the Justice League are going to bring back my mother."

"I am in full agreement with you. Now, take my hand." He held it out for her.

She hesitated for a moment, and then took it.

From his pocket, J'onn took a small device that looked like a TV remote with only one button. He pressed it. And the world began to spin.