Be Trusting
"So, I'm confused. He was on that water planet for like three minutes, but it felt like twenty-three years for the guy on the space station. How does that work?" asked Conner as the team was leaving the movie theater.
"Well, Supey, time is relative. Everything is based on how fast a planet spins on its axis and how fast it completes its orbit. The water planet they were on moved very slowly so a minute down there felt like years in orbit," Wally explained.
"Again, how can you understand all that, but can't figure out the symbolism in 'The Great Gatsby'?"
"Well excuuuuuse me, Arty, but science is just that much more interesting."
"My boyfriend ladies and gents. Can recite the theory of relativity from memory but can't remember what Rhett said to Scarlett at the end of 'Gone with the Wind'."
"Oh lighten up, Artemis. Everyone's got their own interests."
"Uh huh. And what about YOUR interests, 'Tanna? Did you even watch the movie?"
"What? Of course, I did!"
"Uh huh," chimed in Raquel, "so who was behind the bookcase sending Morse code through the watch?"
"Uhhhh….Matt Damon?"
"Ooooooo, we got you red handed, Zatanna!" exclaimed M'gann, "You didn't see a single minute. You were busy…..gettin' busy with Dick!"
"Was not!" shouted Dick and Zatanna.
"Oh yea? How come you were sitting and moaning in his lap the whole time? Kinda hard to watch a movie with your back turned. You weren't even facing the screen!"
"Well….I mean….that's…..that's because…We were just cuddling ok!"
"My friends. Why don't we let them be? As Zatanna said, everyone has their own interests."
"Clearly, Zatanna was more INTERESTED in making out with Dick the whole movie."
"Oh shut it Arty!"
"Speaking of Matt Damon," Dick interrupted trying to change the subject, "Why is he always needing to be retrieved? They needed to rescue him in 'Saving Private Ryan.' Then again in 'The Martian.' This is literally his third movie of needing to be saved."
"Wait…guys look!"
Before anyone could really answer, Conner pointed out a massive great ball of fire hurling towards the center of downtown.
"Well, that doesn't look good."
"Agreed. Let us investigate. Zatanna, suit us up…Zatanna?"
"Wait…..where's Dick?" asked Raquel
The team looked around but the magician and ninja were nowhere to be found.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me! I thought we outgrew this whole disappearing act! But now Zatanna's doing it too!?" exclaimed Artemis.
"Well, they are inseparable…"
"No time to argue, let us make our way to the battlefield quickly."
In the town square, a huge crater had formed from the collision of the comet-like object. People on the balcony of the pizza shop behind it crowded the railing to get a better look at whatever landed from space. From the smoke, green eyes lit up followed by a humanoid figure. A young teenage girl with fiery red hair and slightly orange skin emerged from the crater. She wore a head crown around her face along with black and silver body armor. Her hands were bound and trapped within giant steel cuffs that covered her hand. Hurriedly, she looked around with her glowing eyes.
"SLUG FOR ENEORMAN. SLUGNART!"
She wildly swing her bound arms around spewing out some gibberish language that no one understood.
"Ugshort. Ugshort Garoon!"
The crowd simply kept staring in confusion at his new mystery alien. Then, one bystander took out his phone and snapped a picture of her using bright flash. The light blinded her slightly but also enraged her. She began bashing her cuffs onto all the surfaces around her. She slammed them onto the street causing a crack. She swung them towards a taxi sending it flying. Looking behind her, she noticed the pizza restaurant's column and swung her cuffs at it hoping to free her hands. Instead, she shattered the concrete and bent the metal rod causing the restaurant balcony to fail. Just as she was about to add a finishing blow to the column, a bright red birdarang flew towards her face, knocking her crown off. Angrily, she turned to identify her assailant.
Robin, now fully uniformed thanks to Zatanna's magic, proudly stood atop a car.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Rrraahhhggg!"
Without hesitation, the alien leaped from her spot and slammed her heavy cuffs onto the street forcing Robin to flip backwards. Relentlessly, the alien chased Robin down wildly swinging her only weapon of choice. Robin, to his credit, had enough speed and agility to dodge every attack and more importantly lure her away from the civilians. Zatanna meanwhile, silently flew towards the pizza restaurant.
"Elbbur emoceb esacriats" (Rubble become staircase)
The debris gathered together and formed a neat staircase that the civilians slowly climbed off of. Once everyone was safe, Zatanna turned around to check on her boyfriend. Just as he threw a flashbang at the alien, the rest of the team arrived.
"Zatanna! Seriously! This whole disappearing into the shadows and catch-up routine got old three years ago!"
"Artemis is right. We need to move as a team."
"Sorry, Kal. Robin and I….we just got excited and moved instinctively. Here, tius enoyreve pu!" (Suit everyone up).
"Speaking of Robin, we need to help him!" exclaimed Raquel as she saw the alien pick up a car with her foot and fling it towards Robin.
"Huh…..well she seems stronger than she looks," Robin noticed as he dodged the flying car.
Unfortunately, he didn't react quick enough before the alien leaped forward and slammed her cuffs across Robin's face.
"Ahhh!"
"Robin!"
"I'm fine! Run attack plan omega!"
The team surrounded the strange alien in a circle. Conner ran forward first and punched her in the face knocking her towards Kaldur. Kal swung his mace and pushed the alien towards Rocket who used her kinetic energy belt to slam the alien towards M'gann. M'gann's eyes glowed green and she was about to knock out the alien via a psychic blast, but suddenly, M'gann could feel all the emotions emanating from the alien. All at once, M'gann felt fear, confusion, anger, loss, abandonment. Her eyes stopped glowing, but the alien found her footing and knocked M'gann back.
"M'gann!"
Superboy broke formation and blindly charged at the alien hoping to protect his girlfriend. With her boundless strength, she swung and knocked back Superboy across the plaza. The team was in total disarray. Before Rocket could put up a force field, the alien jumped up and smashed the ground sending Kaldur and Rocket flying back and cracking the tips of the cuffs and revealing her hands. With her hands free, she suddenly aimed at Zatanna. Her hands glowed green and green laser bolts shot out of them. Zatanna ducked and rolled avoiding the explosive attacks. The alien started firing these lasers all over the place.
"Quantum arrow, bird brain?"
"No. I feel like we can slow her down," answered Robin as he pulled out a staff.
"Sword and shield technique, Artemis!"
Quickly, Artemis fired a barrage of arrows. The alien got hit a few times but began dodging and making her way towards Artemis. Robin stepped forward and swung his staff at the alien. She couldn't dodge both the arrows and Robin's attacks. Robin landed some hard hits with his staff, but the final straw was an explosive arrow to the alien's face. After that, she kicked Robin in the stomach sending him flying back to Artemis. Unbeknownst to her though, Robin got close to enough to place a sticky grenade on her stomach. After a few seconds, it exploded knocking her back into a building. Robin got up and was about to begin the next attack when M'gann connected everyone's minds together.
"EVERYONE STOP!"
The team froze and just looked at M'gann.
"M'gann? What do you mean stop?"
"Guys, I can feel her emotions. She's afraid. She doesn't know where she is and is only lashing out because she feels threatened."
"Ok then. Team, back off. I'm going to approach her diplomatically. We don't want to corner her and cause trouble," Robin ordered.
The rest of the team kept their distance as Robin slowly stepped forward. He stowed away his staff and put his hands up. The alien stood up but eyed him suspiciously. Her eyes and hands glowed bright green.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help."
"Zenotech blastich."
"I…..I don't know what that means. But I can try to get those cuffs off you."
He reached into his belt causing the alien to get into a battle stance. He pulled out a lock picking tool but still kept his arms raised.
"See. Not a weapon."
Relaxing a little, the alien stopped glowing allowing Robin to see her green eyes. He reached out and grabbed her cuffs. With his tool, he began prying open the cuffs' locks. With a click and a hiss, the cuffs opened freeing the alien's hands. They dropped with a thud and caused a mini crater in the street. Gratefully, the alien rubbed her wrists and began eyeing the colorful hero up and down.
"There. Now maybe we can….ummmph"
Quickly, the alien grabbed Robin by his neck and pulled him towards her. Forcefully, she pressed her lips onto his. He wouldn't call it a kiss, but there was definite lip contact. Unfortunately, to everyone else, it looked like a really hot kiss. Everyone just froze and stared in awe…..except for a certain raven haired magician. Zatanna's eyes glowed blue and lightning began sparking from her body.
"OH HEEEELLLLLLL NO" she screamed pulling her boyfriend away from the clutches of that alien skank.
"How dare you invade our planet and KISS MY BOYFRIEND!"
The alien just squinted her eyes and glared at Zatanna. To the surprise of everyone, she no longer spoke gibberish.
"If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone!"
With that bombshell of suddenly being able to speak English, the alien flew up and zoomed away from the city center. Zatanna held onto Robin tightly and possessively.
"Robin, baby, please visit me in prison."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because….. I AM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER THAT BITCH!"
"Ok ok let's calm down and regroup what just happened here," Robin tried to cool her off.
"M'gann, you told us to stop our assault. What exactly is your reasoning?" Kaldur asked.
"I just…..I felt so much pain coming from her. When I entered her mind, she was so confused and scared. It almost felt like she was just trying to survive. I think…..I think she was running away from something."
"We'll have to track her. We can't just let her run amok like that," Robin suggested.
"Why? So you can kiss her again?" Zatanna snapped a little too harshly.
"Zee, c'mon it wasn't like that. She grabbed me."
"That man-stealing whore…"
"Alright, let's take a chill pill for a second," Wally said, "Should we call in the League?"
"No. Let us keep the circle small. If what M'gann is saying is true, then we simply have a lost soul looking for her home. No need to call the League and blow this out of proportion."
"Uhhh Kal, in case you forgot, she's got super strength and laser hands! This is getting out of proportion!"
"No Rocket. Kaldur's right. It's best if we split up and look for her, " Artemis chimed in.
"Agreed. KF you…."
"City limits perimeter. Got it!" Wally saluted as he zoomed off.
"M'gann, Rocket, bird's eye view. Everyone else, pair up and scour the streets," Robin ordered.
Instinctively, Zatanna grabbed Robin's arm and held him extremely close.
"Wah. Zee?"
"Robin and I will take the east. She seemed headed in that direction anyway. Etativel!"
Quickly, Zatanna flew up with Robin and was gone.
"…You think they're gonna be ok?"
"Honestly, Conner, I'm more worried for the alien."
After a bit of flying, Zatanna touched down onto the street, but still held Robin's arm tightly.
"Hey, uh Zee. You ok?"
"Hmmph."
"Zee, c'mon. You know I'd never kiss anyone but you."
"….Did you enjoy it?"
"What? NO! Never! In fact…I'd hardly call it a kiss."
"What do you mean?"
"Well uh she didn't really move that much. She kinda just placed her lips on mine and uh…..left them there. She didn't even try to stick her ton….."
"NOPE NUH UH I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT!"
"Sorry Sorry. Look I'll make it up to you?"
"You better…."
After wandering around a little longer, Robin and Zatanna noticed some rustling at an old comic book store. Peeking inside, they found their alien target. She was rummaging through various bags of chips when Zatanna accidentally kicked a pebble. The alien was alerted and blasted a laser bolt at a cardboard cutout of Arthur the Armadillo.
"Well….we found the man-stealer."
"C'mon, Zee!"
"I'm just saying!"
Robin got up and held his hands in the air. The alien glared at him and aimed her lasers.
"Easy easy! We just want to talk."
"You want to talk….I want to rip her head off," mumbled Zatanna.
Robin quickly glared at her before looking back at the alien.
"My friend back there, Miss Martian, she says that you're feeling scared and out of place. Is that true?"
"I am not scared! I am a warrior. A princess of Tamaran! I have nothing to fear!"
"Ok Ok. That's fine. But can you tell us what you're doing here on Earth?"
Just as the alien was about to answer, a large spaceship appeared in the sky. A large holoscreen materialized showing the face of a lizard like creature.
"People of Earth! We are the Gordanians. We have come to hunt down a dangerous fugitive. We know she is hiding among you. She is to be considered highly dangerous. Stay out of our way and allow us to capture her peacefully. If we find that you are aiding and abetting this fugitive, we will not be responsible for our actions."
The holoscreen vanished and the spaceship opened its ports allowing hundreds of these Gordanians to fly down and scour the city.
"Robin…."
"Yea…this just got serious."
"LIES!"
Robin and Zee turned back to the alien surprised by her outburst.
"I am not a fugitive! I….I was taken from my home."
"What do you mean?" asked Robin.
"My…my name is Koriand'r. I…..I was princess of my home world of Tamaran until the Gordanians invaded. They ravaged our once beautiful city, slaughtered so many of our fine warriors. Women and children were captured and sent all across the galaxy to become slaves. I, myself, was supposed to go to their Citadel capital and eternally serve their king. I…..I was fortunate enough to make my escape but I landed here, on…..Earth was it?"
"Yes. Ok. Let me call some friends and we'll help you deal with this mess."
"Uhhh, Robin, a word please?"
Zatanna pulled Robin aside and out of earshot of Koriand'r who continued to munch on the snacks she found.
"How can you be so trusting? Did you not hear the big announcement? What if she's lying?"
"Zee, chill. The Gordanians are actually on the League database," Robin reassured her as he pulled up his wrist's holocomputer, "According to this, they're a warrior race that goes around conquering other planets building their lizard empire. They've been known to wipe out the male population and enslave women and children, just as Koriand'r said. In fact, they're sworn enemies of the Thanagarians."
"Soooo, they're enemies of Hawkman and Hawkgirl?"
"Exactly. Considering all that, I think it's safe to assume we should help this girl."
"…..Ugh fine…..You're cute when you make sense."
She kissed him quickly before the two returned to Koriand'r.
"Ok. We're going to help you," Zatanna said.
"I told you. If you wished not to be destroyed, you should leave me alone. I only bring pain and despair."
"We've got a whole team of heroes. This isn't the first alien invasion we've dealt with. Let us help," reassured Robin.
"…I thank you for your kindness…uh?"
"Robin. I'm Robin."
"Thank you, Robin."
Bashfully, Koriand'r approached Robin and gently grazed his arm.
"I must say, Robin. You are quite the warrior. You presented a hefty challenge in our battle earlier."
"Oh….uh…thank you?"
"OK THAT'S ENOUGH! Hands off the merchandise, lady!" Zatanna snapped as she swatted away Koriand'r's hands.
"Merchandise? I do not understand this term. Is Robin some sort of commodity?"
"What?! NO! He's my….."
*RING*
Just then, Robin's communicator went off.
"Robin, Zatanna, status report."
"We found her, Kaldur. Meet us at our location."
"Affirmative."
Within seconds, Wally zoomed into the comic store.
"Whoa nice! You guys found her. Man, looking at you up close…you're pretty hot!"
"Hot? You must be mistaken? I find the current temperature to be quite tolerable," Koriand'r said perplexed.
"Huh? No. What I was trying to say was….."
"KF, don't dig the hole any deeper."
"Why are we digging holes?"
Eventually, the rest of the team arrived with Kaldur entering last.
"I have just spoken to Captain Atom. According to UN bylaws, the League's hands are tied."
"You've got to be kidding! There's an alien spaceship out there threatening to destroy our planet and they can't do anything about it?"
"Unfortunately, Raquel, the Gordanians clearly stated their terms. In the eyes of the UN and the public, they are simply looking for an escaped fugitive and will peacefully leave once they retrieve her."
"Well, we can't let that happen!"
"M'gann is right. There's got to be a way."
"No. I have caused this planet enough trouble. I will turn myself in to avoid conflict," the former princess declared.
As she walked off, Robin grabbed her arm to stop her.
"No. We're not going to let you become a slave to this tyrannical race. The League may officially be on the sidelines…..but we're a covert team. We aren't bound by the same bylaws…officially anyway."
"I cannot ask you to fight this war for me."
"We're not fighting a war…we're saving a life."
At this last remark, Koriand'r couldn't help but blush. It was the first time someone had shown her so much kindness in so long. She looked around and saw that the whole team was in agreement. There was a strong look of determination in their eyes. She had never felt any safer with these heroes.
"Thank you. I am truly grateful for your help."
"If you're going to be a part of this team, you're going to need to learn some names. For now, we'll stick to code names," Robin said.
"I understand…..I think."
"I'm Robin. That's Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Rocket, Artemis, Kid Flash, and this is…."
"Oh! You are Zee, correct? I heard Robin call you that earlier."
"Zatanna," she answered tersely.
"Pardon?"
"My name is Zatanna. Only Robin gets to call me Zee."
"Oh…..I see. Well, my name is Koriand'r, Princess of Tamaran…..well former princess anyway."
"Koriand'r….seems kinda long. How about we shorten it!" exclaimed KF.
"Uhh but why?"
"Well. Sometimes shorter names are catchy. Like when we're in the heat of battle or something. We call Artemis Arty sometimes. I'm KF according to Rob or Robin haha. Superboy is SB. Miss Martian is Ms. M. The list goes on."
"Oh ok….then what shall I be called?"
"How about Kory?" asked Robin.
"Hmmm Kory…..I like this. Thank you er…..Rob!"
Zatanna glared daggers at Kory absolutely furious at how easily her boyfriend charmed the alien. She tried to keep her cool for the sake of the mission, but it was growing more difficult by the second.
"Well, now that introductions are done," Conner said, "we still need a plan."
"According to the League database, the Gordanian's primary weapon is a positron canon. We'll need to board their ship and get that canon offline," Robin said looking through his holocomputer.
"And what's the plan for making sure they leave?" asked Raquel.
"We'll have to split into two teams. Alpha will go for the canon and beta will head to the control room and try to commandeer the ship," Kaldur suggested.
"Agreed. Kaldur, Artemis, KF, Ms. M, and Zee will be alpha. Beta will comprise of me, SB, Rocket, and Kory. We need our heavy hitters on the top deck. Who knows what we'll face up there and I need as much time as possible to hack into the controls."
"I'm going with you."
"Huh? But, Zee."
"I. Am. Going. With. You."
"….Ok. Kaldur, you've got alpha. Take out that cannon any way possible."
"You have my word. Miss Martian, summon Bioship. We will begin our assault immediately."
Before boarding, Robin pulled Zee back away from the group.
"Hey, Zee. You ok?"
"This is….this is a big fight we've got up ahead. I just…..I want to protect you."
"…..I understand. But you've gotta trust me. Remember? I'll always come back to you. Besides, I've got this my side."
Robin reached into his collar and pulled out her father's enchanted Roman coin.
"With this, I'll be just fine."
"Remember, there are limits to that spell."
"Of course. I'll be careful."
"You're damn right you are. I'll be right beside you!"
"Haha. Ok. C'mon, we need to get going."
"Wait!"
Quickly, Zatanna pulled Robin into a deep, passionate kiss. Almost as if she were marking her territory, she wrapped her tongue around his and bit his lips a few times.
"Wow…..now THAT was a kiss, Zee."
"You bet your cute butt it was. Now let's go. Don't want to be late!"
The team snuck onto the Gordanian ship easily. Alpha followed the path along the engine room towards the positron canon. Beta got into the elevator to ride up to the command deck.
"So, do we have a plan of attack?"
"I have a plan…." Kory answered as the elevator stopped and opened its doors, "ATTACK!"
Without hesitation, she flew off and starting blasting.
"Seriously?" exasperated Conner
"She did NOT just Leroy Jenkins us!" cried Raquel
"Doesn't matter. Controlled chaos. Rocket, pinball a path to the console. Zee, with me. SB….smash"
Controlled chaos indeed reigned in the command deck. Left and right, Kory flew around firing her laser bolts at every Gordanian in sight. Rocket rammed the aliens creating a path for Robin to reach the main controls. Many of the Gordanians held up their tridents ready to attack.
"Zee, expelliarmus!"
"Snopaew nrut ot sgnidnib!" (Weapons turn to bindings)
The Gordanian tridents suddenly became malleable and wrapped around the aliens rendering them trapped. Finally, Robin reached the ship controls.
"Ok. Looks like alpha is working on that canon. It's at 66% charge and dropping. Rocket, Zee, cover me!"
Rocket and Zatanna stood behind Robin. Rocket put up her kinetic force field, and Zatanna set up a fire perimeter around them. Suddenly from the captain's quarters, a tall, ten-foot Gordanian emerged. Enraged at how easily a group of young heroes attacked his ship, he charged straight towards Robin. Kory, however, saw this and intercepted him. She punched him in the face, but her strength was no match for the giant. He knocked her away and slammed her into the wall. He moved to smash his fist down on her. Kory curled up preparing for the blow, but it never came.
"Dleihs!" (Shield)
Standing between Kory and the giant was Zatanna who was straining to hold the brute back. Angered, the giant continued smashing Zee's shield causing it to crack. Just before the shield shattered, Superboy wrapped his arms around the giant's waist, lifted him up backwards, and suplexed him into the deck. He then punched the Gordanian in the face and they continued to brawl elsewhere.
"You….you saved me," Kory exclaimed stunned.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"
"I…..I just assumed you…disliked me."
"Hey…..it's like Robin said. We're not fighting a war. We're saving a life,"
Zatanna extended a hand and pulled Kory back on her feet. Meanwhile Conner was really giving the big Gordanian the business. Right hook. Left jab. Left hook. Uppercut.
"ENOUGH!" the big alien screamed.
Everyone stopped and just stared at the brute.
"I am Lord Trogaar. You humans are beneath me! To you I am a God and I will…RAAGHAGH"
In an instant, Conner slammed into Lord Trogaar, picked him up by his legs, and smashed his face all over the command deck floor. At the end, the only thing heard from Lord Trogaar was a barely audible wheezing sound.
"Pft. Puny God."
Conner was about to walk away but he came back to kick Trogaar in the side.
"And I'm half Kryptonian!"
Robin successfully hacked into the ship and disarmed all the weapons. The positron canon was completely offline, and alpha joined beta on the command deck. The Gordanians were at the mercy of the team.
"Alright, Lord Trogaar," Robin scowled as he approached the defeated lizard, "You're going to make another announcement. In it, you're going to cease all search activities and renounce Koriand'r's status as a fugitive giving her back her freedom. Then, you will leave this planet and NEVER come back. Deal?"
"Sigh….pesky Earthlings."
Lord Trogaar did as he was told, and the Gordanians left Earth in peace. Kory was introduced to the League and they graciously allowed her to stay on Earth. She moved into the cave and M'gann and Artemis offered to take her shopping for new clothes.
Back at the manor, Dick and Zee cuddled in bed wrapped up in a warm burrito.
"Hey…..that was really cool what you did for Kory. You really do have to play the hero all the time don't you? Haha"
"Of course, Zee. It's what we do….Hey uh. You're…not still mad about…..y'know."
"Admittedly, I'm still ticked off. But I know you would never leave me like that. I love you and I trust you. Besides, you're stuck with me, Boy Wonder," she cooed fidgeting with his promise ring.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Haha, I hope you mean it."
"I do….let me show you."
"Huh?"
Dick got up, crawled to the foot of the bed, and removed the covers. Zee immediately shivered since she wasn't wearing any pants. He opened her bare legs and buried his face between her thighs.
"Dick! What are you….oh…..ah….OHHHHH MY GGGGOD"
"I told you I'd make it up to you….."
The next day, Zatanna arrived at the cave wobbling due to last nights antics with Dick. In the kitchen she found Kory sitting at the bar with a bowl of cereal. Kory was still in her pajamas which was basically an oversized t-shirt with the words "Bad Bitch" on the front.
"Good morning, Kory!"
"Hello, Zatanna! It's nice to see you."
"Likewise. Did you settle in ok?"
"Yes. M'gann and Artemis have been very helpful. We went to purchase clothes and well…while I don't really understand the phrase on this shirt, it is comfortable. And Artemis insisted that somehow, Bad Bitch is a….compliment?"
"Haha, in a way, yes, it is."
Zatanna sat down a few stools away. The girls sat in an awkward silence really just waiting for the other to make the first move.
"Zatanna…."
"Yes?"
"I feel I must….apologize."
"Oh? What for?"
"Well, as I understand it, you and Richard are…mates?"
"Huh? Excuse me?"
"Mates…..as in lovers? As in, you two have chosen one another to procreate and continue your respective lineages?"
"I uhhhh well….whoa ok ok that's uhh well."
"…Am I incorrect? Have I overstepped?"
Zatanna blushed beet red and just didn't know how to respond. After a moment of deep breaths to cool her down, she finally regained her composure and addressed the issue.
"Well no. Not really hehe. Yes, Richard and I are indeed uh….lovers. It's just….here on Earth there are a lot of steps to take in a relationship. There's meeting, and dating, and then living together. There are many phases and stages and well…..I love him so so much. Right now, we're in a happy stage and we haven't reached that um…procreating family stage, yet. That's all."
"I see. Well, either way, I must apologize for our first meeting. You see, in my culture, lip contact is solely done for educational purposes. We Tamaraneans are able to learn entire languages solely through lip contact. That night, I realized I needed a way to communicate and well, Richard was the closest Earthling at the time."
"Ohhh. I see."
"Yes. M'gann explained that lip contact here on Earth is a more…..intimate gesture…..between mates and lovers. As such, I hope you understand I did not mean for that interaction to be intimate in any way whatsoever. It was solely educational for the purposes of learning the English language. While Richard is a wonderful man and a great warrior, I have no intention of pursuing him as a mate, especially when he is betrothed to you."
"Wow…ok then. Thank you, Kory. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry too if I came off as harsh early on. I just…..I didn't know what to think when you kissed him. I'm…very protective of him. But, thank you for helping me understand things better. Why don't we start over? Friends?"
"I like that. Friends!"
The girls shook hands and seemingly closed this chapter of their newfound friendship.
"Zatanna, now that we're friends. I do have something to ask."
"Ok. What's on your mind?"
"Well, you see, when you pulled Richard away from me, I did not have enough time to fully absorb the English language. As such, my knowledge is rather limited and lacking. I was hoping…..with your permission of course…..if I may…..continue a brief session of lip contact with Richard? So that I may fully learn the English language?"
"…..ABSOLUTELY NOT!"