Justice League Fan Fiction ❯ Speed of Lyght ❯ Elements ( Chapter 15 )

“Tabitha… you got a minute?” John asked as he entered the recreation room. She looked up from her movie and slightly smiled.

“Sure. What’s up?” she asked. He looked at what she was watching and smirked.

“You like black and white movies?”

“I love black and white movies! Actually… I love movies, period. Everything’s so simple in ‘em…”

“So… you’d rather believe in the unrealistic guy goes after girl, guy always gets the girl stuff?”

“Don’t forget that he’s always the hero as well!” she winked at him. It provoked a small laugh and a shake of the head from John.

“I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing a bit of training.” he informed her when he calmed down. She gave him a look.

“What type of training?”

“There’s a young man who has similar powers to yours. I want you to meet him.”

“Oh… you want me to train him! I don’t know… can’t say that I’m a good teacher.”

“Just tell him everything that you know.” he assured her. She thought about the idea and nodded. If it would benefit someone who was in her shoes four years ago, she was willing to help the guy out as much as she could.

Tabitha and John transported themselves to Dakota City, a place located near the border of Indiana and Ohio. The two were immediately greeted by Virgil Hawkins in full gear as Static. His blue with a yellow inside hooded coat flowed in the slight wind, revealing a white shirt with what looked like a black lightning bolt encased in a black circle. There was a broad yellow stripe on the left sleeve a couple of inches above his bicep and the blue sleeves came to large white cuffs that accentuated his grey and black gloves. Even wearing a white mask, Tabitha could see that the guy was actually a teenager. His jet black dreads were much shorter than her best friend’s; while hers were easily down her back, his barely covered his nape. She wondered at first the purpose behind the yellow goggles that sat on top of his head but she figured that they were there to keep his dreads out of his face. The rest of his outfit was simple: black pants and boots that matched his gloves.

He approached the two with a smile on his face, his brown eyes almost shone as he looked at Tabitha. That told her that he knew who she was.

“GL. Always good to see you.” he decided not to address her.

“I was wondering if you had a bit of free time for a little training.” John simply asked. Virgil switched glances from John to Tabitha.

“With Batman’s sidekick? Wow…”

“Guess you know who I am…” she winked at him.

“You’ve been missing from Gotham for a while.”

“Eh; been stuck on Watchtower.”

“You’re finally in the Justice League?” his eyes slightly widened. She could tell that there was a hint of jealousy; the kid must had always wanted to be a part of the faction. She kept her smile and nodded.

“”But, I’m fairly new. I don’t know what… GL had in mind as far as training goes so let’s just play this by ear!”

The two were led to what Virgil called the “Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude” (he smiled wider as Tabitha almost giggled uncontrollably at the name); a hideout for himself and his best friend/sidekick Richie Foley. Once inside, she felt more comfortable taking her mask off and listened to how Virgil and a handful of Dakota citizens came to be. She frowned at first when he mentioned his almost involvement with gang members but slightly understood; he was being “helped” trying to take care of an actual bully (she found it ironic that the bully was a member of an opposing gang). The potential gang fight between the two gangs by the docks were interrupted by the police and during the conflict, a shot was fired, releasing a deadly gas in the area; the accident was dubbed the Big Bang. A lot of people were killed from the exposure to the gas; it was designed as a deadly alternative to tear gas. The ones who did survive were forever mutated. After his story, she kindly shared a bit of her own.

“Wow! So, you’re going to teach Static some moves?” Richie asked. His eyes almost mesmerized her, being entirely black; they didn’t really matched his short blond hair. Tabitha smirked and shrugged.

“Not much to teach him, really. If anything, he’s better than me! I only have the basic powers of lightning. I want to learn what he has!” she smiled at Virgil.

“You’re upgrading Watchtower and I’m better? Maybe… we could learn from each other.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” she winked. Tabitha was about to say something else until she saw in the corner of her eye two people walking in. She immediately jumped to her feet and started to charge up but both Virgil and John stepped in front of her.

“Sorry; forgot to tell you that there are others who know about the hideout! They’re Bang Babies, too.” Virgil explained. She stopped charging up and looked at the two. They didn’t have on any special outfits of any kind and Tabitha concluded that they were there to just visit. A man and a woman; the man was a few inches taller than the woman, able to look almost eye-to-eye with Tabitha. He was slim and almost the same shade as Tabitha, with light chocolate eyes and dark brown hair cut very short. His facial features seemed familiar but Tabitha pushed that to the side as she went to study the woman. She was a bit shorter and full figured, her dark brown hair flowed as long as Tabitha’s own shoulder-length locks. She had some distinctive Hispanic features in her face and her eyes were a hazel-green mixture, almost like a cat’s.

“Bang Babies…?”

“It’s what the people who were affected by the gas are called.” Richie explained to Tabitha. She nodded as the two approached her.

“Blaze…” the guy introduced himself, sticking his hand out, “Hey, I know you. You’re… Batman’s sidekick; that lightning woman!” he smiled. She slightly blushed and shook his hand.

“Does everyone know about me around here?!”

“It’s not every day Batman gets a sidekick, let alone someone who’s similar to Static! I’m Reign.” the woman introduced herself. Tabitha tilted her head slightly and smiled.

“Blaze and Reign. Let me guess: your powers are fire and water…”

“Close enough. We like to call them Benders; they can manipulate water and fire elements.” Virgil explained. Almost on cue, Reign lifted her hands, focusing on a nearby cup. As her hands moved, so did the water in the cup. She made it swirl into loops around the area and finally froze it in its place. A second later, she made it liquid yet again and go back in the cup. Before Tabitha could be amazed that not a single drop of water was on the ground, Blaze took a meditative stance and immediately created a fire cyclone around himself. In the same manner that Reign had moved her hands, he manipulated the fire away from him and in the air above them, making it spell out his name. With a blink of an eye, the fire dissipated, leaving the lightning woman to gawk at the two.

“Whoa! That was… fucking amazing!”

“Not bad, huh?” Blaze smiled. She was about to return the smile until she studied his. She had seen him somewhere before, the thought rang in her head. Tabitha tried to think of exactly where and immediately thought of the pictures that were all around her best friend’s house.

“Blaze… you look so much like this guy in a picture my friend has. Do you know Jamila Lindsey?” she decided to simply ask. Both Blaze and Reign’s eyes widened a bit at the mention of the professor’s name.

“How… how do you know my sister?” he confirmed. It put a smile on her face; the professor had talked so much about the brother that was shown in the various pictures around the home: she never asked where he was. Studying him more, she realized that she should’ve known sooner; he had the same nose as Jamila, even the same shaped eyes and smile.

“She took me in a while back. She’s… my best friend, now. Does… she know where you’re at?”

“No. She doesn’t even know that I’m married or that we’re Bang Babies…”

“Wait… you two are married?!” her eyes widened. The two laughed a little.

“I know, I know; fire and water don’t mix! We’re an odd couple; kinda found it funny and ironic when we learned about our powers!” Reign laughed.

“How is she? My sister?”

“She’s good. How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

“It’s been a few years. I try to talk to her every week but after the Big Bang… I just never could call her.” Blaze explained. Tabitha nodded.

“I know how you feel. Took me four years to finally face my family. But I tell you what; it felt really good to see ‘em and talk to ‘em again. She’d understand… trust me…”

 

She came back from Dakota feeling important. While she and Static didn’t do much training, they learned more about each other’s abilities. Tabitha was amazed at his electromagnetic powers and was determined to learn them. She didn’t know how she would go about doing so but she knew that a talk with the professor could lead her somewhere.

Ramil and Ashley Jones, better known as Blaze and Reign; after talking to Tabitha, the two agreed to go and visit the professor. To make them feel better, just as J’onn and Jamila did, Tabitha went with them (it was also another excuse to go visit her best friend). Not a dry eye was in sight as the brother and sister were reunited with one another. The professor understood what happened to her younger brother and his wife and was actually just as amazed as Tabitha had been by their powers. As much as she knew that her brother and his wife wanted to help Virgil out in Dakota, she was pleased to hear that the two planned on moving in with her.

She couldn’t help talking about everything that happened with J’onn when she returned to Watchtower. He simply smiled as he listened to her enthusiastic banter, knowing that her attention was not on their long awaited “rematch”; he felt that the chess match was just an excuse for the two to seem to have a normal conversation.

“I am very happy to hear that things worked out for the best. I take it that there was no training sessions with Virgil?”

“Kinda. Honestly? I didn’t know what to teach the kid. He’s better than me, much better; and don’t tell me that I don’t give myself no credit!” she smiled at him. He crossed his arms and smirked at her.

“What did you think about him, overall?”

“He’s a special guy. I mean, he’s still a kid but… he makes the right decisions for the most part. I really like his powers…”

“Of course…” J’onn fought laughter. Tabitha sighed and made her move.

“I need to study up on electromagnetism.”

“… I could teach you.” his comment made her look up at him.

“You could…?”

“Yes. Well, it’s more like downloading information into your mind. I did it for Bruce so he was able to fly Martian aircraft.” he explained. She leaned back in her chair and slightly smiled.

“You know… after all this time, I don’t know much about you. What are your powers?”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging…” he slightly smiled, which made her laugh.

“Is it safe to say that you can do everything?”

“I wouldn’t say that. As you know, my main ability is telepathy. I could demonstrate the majority of my abilities but not all.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“I refuse to do a complete mind wipe, for one…”

“… Oh. So, pretty much, you can make the mind do whatever the hell you want it to do…”

“Yes… except for the insane.”

“So, let’s see: you can shape shift, mess with the mind, fly… pretty sure you got superhuman strength and hearing…” she started to count on her fingers.

“I will make sure to give you a demonstration soon…” he gave her a coy smile, “By the way, would you like for me to download the electromagnetism information into your mind?”

“Oh… no; that’s okay…”

“I wouldn’t mind…”

“I don’t wanna take the easy way out. It’s tempting, though… like something else…” she gave him a smile. He returned her smile, leaned in towards her and gave her a quick kiss which made her let out a quick sigh, “We’re still not letting anyone know about us?”

“Not right now. I don’t feel that anyone would be ready to face that now. Let’s give it time.”

 

Bruce was glad that he found her in one of her usual spots watching TV in the main recreation room. He knew that when she wasn’t doing any upgrades, she was watching a movie of some sort. There wasn’t a genre that she avoided when it came to movies and television; she enjoyed anything from comedy to horror.

She didn’t see him walk in, she was too engulfed into the movie, curled up slightly with a bag of popcorn in her lap. Even as she giggled and nearly choked on a piece of kernel, he still found her attractive. The thought only made him frown, as he remembered that she was taken. She finally noticed him, turned and smiled up at him.

“Hey; haven’t seen you in a while. Gotham got you busy?” she causally asked. He shrugged.

“You could say that.” he didn’t lie. The villains took notice that Nikki was no longer around and started to come out stronger than ever. He knew that it would be as simple as enlisting her help every now and then however he knew that the Martian probably didn’t like her out of his sight now that the two was dating. Bruce wanted to make it known that he had knew, that he had seen the two share a kiss but thought against it, “Glad I found you here. I need to know if you’re planning on keeping the apartment in town.” he wanted to know sincerely.

“Oh! Damn; completely forgot about it! My bad… renting it out to someone else?”

“A few people are interested so the landlord has told me. Think you have time to clean it out soon?”

“Yeah, I can clean it out now, actually.” she said, getting up.

“Only if you’re not going to keep it; I don’t want to pressure you or…”

“It’s okay; this is my home, now. I have to go to Gotham to clean out my old apartment; is that okay?” she sent her boyfriend the message.

“That is fine. You don’t need my permission to go to Earth. If you need any help, however, just let me know…”

“Need any help?” she had to laugh aloud that both thought she would need help, “What?”

“You forgot who you’re talking to; I ain’t no regular woman!”

“I know this!” Bruce said, almost dejectedly but eventually laughed along with her.

“Seriously; thanks but I got it. That goes to you, too. It shouldn’t take me but half the day to clean it and be done.” she kept her smile.

Her plan was to indeed get as much done before dark. She figured that it wouldn’t be a problem with the size of the apartment and how much little stuff she had in it as it was. All of the furniture came with the place so she was grateful that she didn’t have to deal with hauling it out. The only thing she really needed to do was get her belongings and clean.

Walking inside the apartment brought back a few memories, mainly those that involved Ethan Bennett. She tried to concentrate on all of the good memories which she admitted that there was really only one bad one. She sighed and looked around the apartment, making mental notes of what she needed to do. She decided to start in the simplest room first: the bedroom. She took her communicator out of her ear and clipped it to the side of her jeans pocket, replacing it with the earphones attached to her iPod; if J’onn wanted to reach her, he would have to use his telepathy.

It only took her thirty minutes to pack the rest of her clothes and belongings, clean up the bedroom and the bathroom before she danced out and into the living room. Seeing J’onn simply standing in the middle of the room startled her but made her smile. She took her earphones off and approached him.

“Holy shit, you scared me! Thought I told you that I’d let you know if I needed…” she was cut off when he embraced her and gave her a kiss. She was a bit surprised at his forwardness… as well as his roughness but figured that was due to how seldom they had moments like that. She smiled at first, about to kiss him back but suddenly knew that something was wrong. What they were doing… didn’t feel right. For one, she knew that he would have told her if he was coming down to help; he was not the one for spontaneity. Another thing that was bothering her was that… he was being rough with her. She immediately pulled away from the kiss and pushed him away, “… you’re not J’onn…” she realized. The accused imposter just smiled at her and transformed. His once humanoid head became elongated and sharp, his whole body became slender. His smile revealed sharp, almost monstrous teeth.

“Not bad for a human. I knew that you were pretty close to my brother; his stench is on you…” he growled. She was taken aback by numerous things, his words being one.

“… Brother…?” she mused. She knew that she didn’t know much about the Martian but she would have figured that he having a sibling would’ve been the first thing she would’ve found out. He grabbed her by the back of her head and yanked her towards him.

“Where is he? Take me to him!” he snarled at her. She had no time to dwell on J’onn not telling her a few things as she slightly smiled at his brother.

“You’re out your damn mind if you think I’m a tell you anything!” she thought. However, she saw that something wasn’t right. He continued to glare at her with his menacing red eyes and eventually jerked her towards him.

“What are you smiling about, human?! Tell me where he is!” he demanded. It was enough to make her come to her senses; she was going to have to defend herself. She charged up and shocked him, making him let go of her abruptly. She released enough energy to just startle him; she knew that she would have to release a higher voltage to keep him away from her. Just as she was about to do so, he grabbed her and flung her across the room. She crashed into the wall hard, nearly going through it and landing in the bedroom. As the Martian stalked her, she shook off her pain and did an immediate Lightning Cloud, appearing right behind him. She tried for a lightning-charged punch but he became transparent, sending her stumbling forward. She quickly looked around and realized in anger that he was invisible.

“Son-of-a-bitch…” she mumbled. Was this some sort of test, she asked herself. She quickly shook her head and tried to think of how to lure him back to visibility. No; J’onn wouldn’t do something this extreme to test her out, she answered herself. The only thing she came up with was to fill the entire room with lightning, scarring the walls and everything else in the living room. It made her growl out her frustrations when she saw that the move was in vain. The brother of J’onn proved that he had the same abilities… minus one, “What the hell do you want from me? Show yourself, you fucking coward!” she yelled and tried her attack once more.

“Such language and useless threats from a human woman…” he teased. A hard blow to the back of her head made her fall to the ground. She was suddenly lifted up by her throat and the Martian came into view in front of her, “For him to have fallen for you just shows his stupidity… or his sympathy for daft pests…” he emphasized the last word, squeezing around her neck harder, “Give me J’onn J’onzz, human! Make him come to you; I want to prove to him who is indeed the better Martian!”

“C-Call me… what you want… but… J’onn ain’t stupid…” she tried, “B-Better? You ain’t… better. Y-You can’t… even… read… minds…” she had no idea what possessed her to taunt the Martian; all she knew was that he had to hear it from her mouth. Her words made him snarl and slam her into another wall. His appearance changed yet again and it made her widen her eyes in terror. His facial features turned ghoulish, his red eyes glowing. He bared his teeth at her, which became even more sharp and elongated. She would’ve gasped had the monstrous Martian not had a tight grip around her throat. He laughed at the fear in her eyes.

“What happen to your words, human? Has J’onn never showed you his true form?!” he relished in the fact that she was too terrified to even produce her lightning, let alone speak once more. He knew that it didn’t matter if she told him where his brother was; killing her was definitely a sure way to bring J’onn out.

“Tabitha…” J’onn’s voice seemed to echo throughout the room. When his brother’s attention went towards her jeans pocket, she knew that it wasn’t just in her head. He located the communicator, snatching it from her side. His gruesome smile widened and a vile cackle erupted from his throat as he pressed the communicator.

“Why, hello brother…”

Bruce noticed that the Martian was frozen in place; had he been human, he would’ve been pale.

“What? What is it?”

“… Ma’alefa’ak…” was the only word he could mutter. It was enough to make Bruce’s eyes widen. The Martian had told the founding members the story of how his race was destroyed; his twin brother produced a virus that spread whenever anyone used their telepathy, engulfing the user in flames. When J’onn was transported accidently to Earth, he had figured that his brother had moved on to another planet, thinking that he was dead as well.

“Your brother? He’s alive? He… has Tabitha…” it angered and panicked Bruce at the same time.

“What have you done to…”

“Don’t worry; your pathetic human bug is alive… for now. It’s been far too long, my brother. I have a gift for you.” Ma’alefa’ak actually laughed as he pulled out a vial. He glared at Tabitha, holding the container inches away from her face, “Although… maybe she would appreciate it more than yourself! Tell me… have you wondered how the H’ronmeer’s Curse would affect a human…?”

“N-No! This doesn’t concern her! It’s me you want… not her!” his panicked voice only made his twin laugh.

“Then, find the human and come to me before it’s too late!” Ma’alefa’ak responded and ended transmission.

The two looked up at the apartment building and then slightly at each other.

“You sure this is it?” Ashley asked her husband. He took a map out, switching glances between it and the building.

“Yeah. We should be in the Financial District. The address is right…”

“No offense to her but… this looks too high priced for her…”

“Guess that’s why she’s moving…” Ramil said and the two snorted. They wanted to pay a visit with Tabitha but was told that she was in Gotham at the moment. The married couple never showed their gratitude for reuniting them with the professor and wanted to do so. As they approached her door, they thought nothing of it being slightly open; they knew that she was packing. However as Ashley pushed the door open wider, the two was caught by surprise at the sight in front of them; a green monster had the lightning woman pinned to the wall by her throat. Its grip was so tight, she could barely cough. A mix of relief and panic swept on her face when she put her eyes on the two. Ma’alefa’ak noticed and turned to see what had grabbed her attention but it was too late. Ashley saw a bucket on the floor and hoped that it was filled with water when she quickly raised her hands. She smiled as the water appeared and immediately threw it at the beast, turning it into a thin stinging whip. He dropped Tabitha and drew his attention towards the couple but before he could make a move, Ashley drew more water from the bucket and made it form a bubble around the Martian. Focusing hard, she made the water bubble form to ice, freezing the beast. Ramil immediately went to Tabitha’s aide as she coughed to catch her breath. She looked up wearily at the two.

“Ramil… Ashley…” she smiled.

“What the fuck was that?!”

“You okay?” Ashley asked the woman. She slowly nodded. As she started to glare at the Martian in the ice bubble, she saw J’onn appear at the door.

“J’onn…” she smiled out of relief. The cracking sound from the bubble made everyone stand still in their spots. Before they could blink, the bubble exploded, sending ice shards flying throughout the apartment. Transformed back to his first form, Ma’alefa’ak smiled at J’onn.

“Just as weak-hearted like the rest of your kind; did you come to save your human, J’onn? You should’ve died a long time ago however… I will enjoy watching you die in person…” he snarled and reached for something. The vial, Tabitha realized. She had no idea what it was but she knew that if it came into contact with J’onn, the effects would probably be deadly. She was glad that she saw it on the ground by Ma’alefa’ak’s feet and immediately picked it up, backing away from him.

“Looks like someone dropped something…” she taunted, drawing both Martians’ attention. Ma’alefa’ak growled at her and started towards her.

“Tabitha, no!”

“You incompetent human insect…” Ma’alefa’ak took a step towards her. However, she noticed that he simply stood in place, as if he was frozen. The only thing that moved were his gleaming, confused red eyes, “What’s… happening to me…” he wondered aloud. Tabitha shot a look over at J’onn but he shook his head. It was then that she noticed Ashley behind Ma’alefa’ak, a hand out as if she was controlling a force field between the Martian and Tabitha. When she extended her left arm out, Tabitha was amused that Ma’alefa’ak did the same.

“What… the fuck…” she couldn’t help it; her reaction only made Ashley smile.

“Who’s incompetent now? Give him the bottle, Tabitha.” she kept her smile and opened her hand. Tabitha continued to look as Ma’alefa’ak copied the move and a smile finally crept on her own face. She did as she was told and Ashley closed her hand slightly. With a quick clench of her fist, the vial burst in the Martian’s hand, blue liquid oozing out.

“No!!” he yelled out in anger. A streak of lightning hit his arm, making him yell out again as Tabitha glared at him.

“Told you… you ain’t better…” she said. Before J’onn could move, Ramil produced a large fireball. Tabitha noticed that J’onn did everything but physically run away from the young man as he threw the fireball at Ma’alefa’ak, turning it into a spiraling wave of fire. As it engulfed the Martian and his body started to melt into a large puddle of bubbling green liquid, Tabitha realized what J’onn’s other weakness was. As the fire and the green ooze that was once a Martian dissipated, J’onn immediately went to Tabitha’s side, hugging her tight and looking her over.

“Are you okay?” he asked sincerely. She was about to nod but took everything in perspective as to what happened.

“No; you got a lot of explaining to do!” she put her attention towards Ashley, “You, too; how the hell did you do what you did?!” she asked. Ashley smiled slightly.

“I call it blood bending. I can control anything liquid, not just water; blood is liquid.” she explained. J’onn looked at her.

“That is a very powerful ability…”

“I know… and I try not to use it unless it’s necessary… but seeing that Miss ‘Smart Ass’ was taunting him…”

“He called me daft! I don’t even know what the hell that means but I know it wasn’t a compliment!”

“Uh… you know what; never mind…” Ashley tried to keep her laughter in.

As soon as the two were safely in her room on Watchtower, J’onn embraced her and kissed her on the forehead.

“I am so relieved that you’re safe…”

“… You still got a lot of explaining to do…”

“I know.” he led her to the edge of the bed where they both sat down, “Yes; Ma’alefa’ak was my twin brother. By Martian standards, twins are uncommon so the two of us were unique from the start. However, he was born a mutant.”

“So, it’s just him that can’t read minds…”

“Correct. He was able to do any and everything else. A Martian’s telepathic mind is almost as important as breathing, itself; it is just that second nature. A Martian who can’t use telepathy is a true outcast… and my brother was the only one…”

“Wow… must’ve really sucked…” she mumbled. J’onn nodded.

“As we grew older, he started to resent the others. He didn’t take too kindly to being shunned; he created a virus that affected anyone who used their telepathy. It was… highly contagious…” he painfully remembered. She could only stare at him and wrap her arms around him, holding him as tight as she could. She then remembered the small conversation they had when he confessed his attraction to her; how he had lost his wife and child and couldn’t stop it.

“Oh, J’onn… your family…”

“How I was the only one out of our entire race strong enough to not use telepathy haunts me still.”

“I’m so sorry…” her eyes misted over. He took notice and gently wiped at them, “That stuff in the vial… that was the virus?” she asked. He slowly nodded, “You think it would’ve… killed me…”

“I have no idea… but I didn’t want to risk it. Tabitha… there was no way I was going to let him… or anyone else take you away from me.” he stressed. It warmed her that she meant that much to him and easily accepted his kiss. As the kiss got deeper, the Martian laid her on the bed. Her thoughts about what happened between herself and his twin brother started to disappear as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She no longer thought about the questions she wanted to ask him, learning more about the family he once had; her thoughts turned to a different subject as she actually felt the mood change suddenly. Her heart started to pound heavily as she noticed that his hands were on her waist, his cool lips traveled from her lips to her neck. She was on the verge of hyperventilating upon realizing the inevitable.

He couldn’t help that his passion for her had released so suddenly; that particular urge had been locked away for so long. Something stopped him however, as he felt her heart rate quicken, her trying to catch her breath. He looked up at her and saw something in her eyes: nervousness. It confused him at first; he was used to her being slightly awkward in his presence however that was when they were first getting used to each other. Once it dawned on him, the Martian couldn’t help but to slightly smile… as well as show a bit of surprise.

“Tabitha… are you… inexperienced…?” his question made her extremely flustered.

“You putting it that way makes me feel better about it…”

“How is this even possible?” he didn’t mean to offend her. However, he did as her eyes widened at him.

“Tryna say that I’m easy or something?!”

“N-No! It’s just that… your last relationship. Surely, you two…” he cut himself off as she turned away slightly, still blushing furiously.

“H-He… was fine waiting… until I was ready…” it embarrassed her to remember when Ethan had stumbled onto the fact as well.

“… I apologize for assuming… if it makes you feel better… I feel the same.” he started to lift off of her. J’onn J’onzz would have never guessed that Tabitha Lyght was a virgin, especially given her demeanor. He was told by Bruce that she had quickly jumped into the relationship with Ethan Bennett; he didn’t think that was how inexperienced women acted. He had to remind himself that not all humans acted the same… and that she was definitely a unique case.

Even as he attempted to get up, she kept her arms locked around his neck, her blush never leaving.

“J-J’onn…” it seemed as if it was the only thing that wanted to escape her mouth. He kept his red eyes on her, waiting on her to finish her sentence. He gave her a surprised look when she wouldn’t… but kept her embrace on him.

“Are you sure…?” he wanted to make sure. This was something not to take lightly and he wanted to make absolutely sure that she was indeed ready. She kept his gaze and nodded; she didn’t feel rushed and despite her nervousness she felt that she was ready: she had no doubt that she wanted to give herself to the Martian.

&nbs p;

He looked over at her and slightly smiled.

“… W-Wow…” she breathed, making him lightly chuckle.

“My thoughts exactly… I hope I was gentle enough…”

“…… wow…”

“And I believe that answered the second question I had in mind!” he slightly laughed and gently laid on top of her. She surprised him with a loving kiss, making him smile even more. As they looked into each other’s eyes, she tried to think of what to say or even talk about. The obvious was how she had felt at that moment however she had a feeling that he already knew; she had no regrets.

“… I hope you know that… Ramil didn’t mean to kill your brother…” she knew that it was sudden as well as a bit weird but it was the only other thing she could think about; the events from earlier that day. It only made J’onn nod slightly.

“I understand completely. How was he to know our weakness?” he confirmed. She nodded.

“So you were afraid of the fire…”

“Only because I know what it can do. I will admit that I’ve adapted a slight tolerance against it; the potency Ramil used was enough to make me powerless.” he explained, “While we’re on the subject, I have to know; how did he appear to you?”

“… ‘He’…?”

“My brother…”

“Oh! He was… you. To the tee… until he kissed me…” it made her blush to admit it, “I knew then something wasn’t right…”

“How could you tell?” he was curious. She gave him a smile and a light kiss.

“No one has the same kiss as someone else. They can mimic you all they want. But your kiss? That’s something no one can copy!” she explained and it made him warm up to the fact. She couldn’t help thinking about it now that they were on the subject and glanced at him, “J’onn… what’s your true form?”

“Only the other founding members have seen my true form…” he slightly smiled but immediately transformed. She had expected to see the monstrous form that had her paralyzed with fear but was relieved that he had transformed into the figure his brother had at the beginning of their encounter, “Do you prefer for me to stay in this form?” she paid close attention to his mouth and noticed that he didn’t have the razor sharp teeth as well.

“It’s… it’s up to you…”

“You’re not afraid of my true form, are you?”

“It’s not that. You ain’t holding back are you?” her question puzzled him slightly.

“Of course not. Did my brother say otherwise? He… frightened you…” he realized when her eyes flashed with fear. She knew that if she said nothing, he would only go through her mind and find out; instead, she slowly nodded.

“I… I’ve never been scared like that before…” she admitted. She took a deep breath, trying to swallow back her fear as he transformed back to his human form, “He said that it was your true form…”

“What did he show you? How did he look?” he asked, seriously. Of course, the image replayed over and over in her head however she couldn’t move her lips to describe it. When she slightly trembled, he knew that she was too afraid to tell him and automatically went through her mind. He saw the entire fight and immediately held her tight when he saw the form that had her frozen in horror. He kissed her forehead lovingly, “I’m sorry…” he whispered. The Martian felt that he had no other choice; he didn’t want that image haunting her for the rest of her life… for as long as they were together. He knew that even though she now knew that it wasn’t a Martian’s true form, it wouldn’t stop her from thinking that he had the prospect of transforming to that form; J’onn used his ability and wiped the horrible image from her mind. The fear that was in her eyes suddenly disappeared and she looked at him with a slightly blank stare, half smirking.

“… Sorry for what?”

“That you had to go through that ordeal.”