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“Your brother called.” M’gann said as Jason answered the call.
“Terrifying way to start a conversation.” He smirked, leaning back against his motorcycle and watching Roy emerge from the gas station with an already opened bag of chips.
“Baby.” M’gann teased. “But he sent something our way. There was a seismic event of unknown origins and a strange reading on some atmosphere radars.” She explained.
“So we’re thinking what? Crash landing?” He asks, peaking Roy’s interest.
“No idea, but maybe. You’re closest to the site, wanna check it out?” Jason can’t help but chuckle. M’gann was still getting the hang of handing out orders to the team, despite being nominated leader of the team unanimously.
“Send the coordinates and consider us on it.”
Jason and Roy pull up to the location less than an hour later and find themselves on the lip of a crater.
“Definitely thinking it’s a crash.” Roy mumbles, eyeing the line of the indent in the ground. It looks like a trail, like something crashed and skidded nearly a mile.
“Taking a closer look.” Jason informs M’gann, jumping into the crater, followed by Roy.
“Be careful. Kyle is on his way to meet you.” Jason can’t say he isn’t relieved to hear their resident Green Lantern was coming. If this was an alien, he’d have a much better time of intervening.
“Ship is intact.” Roy notes when they reach the large object that seemed to cause the damage. “No sign of a breech.”
Their cautious steps are halted when, as if it heard them, the ship shudders and a panel in the side slides open. A body falls from the hold, dropping heavily to the ground. Jason slips his gun from the holster on his hip, raising it in front of him and keeping it trained on the body as he carefully steps closer.
It looks like a woman, long blonde hair falling all around her. Roy stays behind him, holding his bow at the ready. Jason slowly kneels down, carefully reaching out a hand towards her.
A hand reaches out and grabs his arm, yanking him closer to the girl. She raises her head, eyes glowing red beneath her golden locks and a sneer twists her delicate features.
Jason curses as she tosses him like a rag doll. He grunts as he collides with the thick dirt wall of the crater, sliding to his knees as the air leaves his body. Roy lets loose an arrow, but the girl catches it, snapping it between her fingers as she rises to her feet. Then she’s floating in the air, which seems to surprise her just as much as it does Jason and Roy. She seems to panic, then drops hard back into the dirt.
Jason slowly makes his way back onto his feet, then takes tentative steps in the violent blonde’s direction. Roy reaches out to try to stop him, but Jason shrugs him off. The girl is on her hands and knees, panting heavily and Jason tries once again to kneel in front of her, slowly reaching out a hand. His fingers brush against her shoulder and the girl flinches, throwing her body back and away from him.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re not here to hurt you.” He says it softly, but as soon as the words leave his lips her eyes widen. Eyes that Jason notices are actually a bright, clear blue, just before he recognizes the panic. Suddenly, she screams, the sound pained and shrill as it erupts from her chest. She reaches up, grabbing at her head as she doubles over.
“What the hell is happening now?” Roy asks, his bow still at the ready and looking like he’s debating shooting her to put her out of her misery.
“I don’t know!” Jason shouts back. All of his caution leaves his body as he lunges forward, grasping her shoulders and pulling her closer. “What’s wrong? Tell me how to help you!” He pleads with her, desperate to wipe that look of fear and pain from her face.
“Jason! Move!” A voice calls from above them and he looks up to see Kyle finally arrived. Jason jumps back, giving Kyle room to create a dome with the green light from his ring that encased the girl. She finally seemed to calm down, hesitantly releasing her head and looking up. Her eyes meet Jason’s through the dome and she places a hand against the barrier. Jason doesn’t know why he does it, but without thinking places his palm over hers. She looked so sad, and scared. Jason’s heart throbbed.
“So what’s the deal?” He can hear Roy asking behind him.
“I’m not sure. We need to do more research, but…” Kyle trails off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
“But, what?” Jason asks, stepping away from the dome and approaching his friends. The girl tries to reach out to him as he leaves, blocked by the barrier from Kyle’s ring.
“The initial reading. I asked the ring to identify her and it said she was Kryptonian.” Jason and Roy both stare at Kyle, both at a loss for words or how to react.
“That’s impossible.” Roy says finally, though he doesn’t sound any kind of convinced.
“Until it isn’t.” Jason sighs, glancing back at the imprisoned girl behind them.
When Kara woke up, the first thing she noticed was that everything hurt. The second thing she noticed was that she didn’t know where she was. She was laying in a bed and as she cracked her eyes open she could see…white. The walls, the ceiling, the blankets, her clothes.
Her clothes. Kara threw the blankets off to inspect herself, she was in a unitard suit of some kind, but she didn’t remember putting it on. She didn’t remember coming here at all.
She remembered the ship. She remembered waking up on the ship to alarms and flashing red lights. She remembered she’d crashed. But where?
“Hey.” She could tell by the gentle tone of the voice it was meant to be soft, but it echoed in her ears causing her to flinch. But it was familiar and Kara spun around quickly. She remembered those eyes.
Jason stood just inside the room, the door slipping closed behind him. He’d elected to come in alone, despite being warned of the dangers. After all, he knew the risks better than anyone else, she had nearly thrown him through the earth. He frowned at her reaction, guilt twisting in his stomach. But then he blinked as she was right in front of him, nose to nose.
Kara didn’t know how she’d done it, she hadn’t meant to, but she was levitating off the ground again and had flown,
flown
, right to him. All she was thinking was if she’d ever seen a shade of green that color before.
“You seem to be doing better.” Jason mumbled, swallowing hard past the sudden nerves.
He was saying something, Kara watched his lips move with fascination, but she had no idea what it was. Her brow pinched in curiosity, and Jason matched as he realized she couldn’t understand a word he said.
“Jason.” His shoulders tensed, rising slightly as Batman spoke behind him.
“
Jason
.” She repeats the word, testing it out on her tongue. He brightens, a sudden pleased grin breaking out across his face. Kara’s cheeks heat and her heart pounds. She was certain she’d never seen a smile like
that
before.
“I’ll be back.” He says and she nods along despite still being unable to understand the words. Jason chuckles, reaching out and patting her lightly on the head before turning and leaving. Kara watches him, stunned.
Jason joins Batman where he stands next to Superman, both observing the girl through two way glass with unreadable expressions.
“You’re sure.” Superman asks, voice tight.
“Yes, sir.” Kyle answers from behind them. Roy had gone back to regroup with the rest of the team, but Jason had insisted on staying with the girl. “As sure as we can be. It’s as tough to take a blood sample from her as it is for you.” Superman doesn’t say anything else and Kyle shrugs at Jason.
“So what’s next?” Jason asks, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“We run some more tests. We make sure. Then we figure out what she wants.” Batman answers and Jason frowns.
“She just seems like a girl.” He’s not sure why he’s saying this, but he can’t stop himself. “She seems scared. She probably doesn’t know what’s going on anymore than we do.” Batman turns, fully facing Jason and suddenly he feels like a fifteen year old kid all over again.
“We make. Sure.” There’s no use arguing, Bruce leaves no room for discussion. Jason just nods, turning to watch the girl on the other side of the glass.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“How’s she doing?” Jason asks when he enters the hospital room. Kyle smiles, glancing over his shoulder back at the Kryptonian girl who was currently sitting on a hospital bed with M’gann.
“She’s good. We’ve been talking.” Something twists in Jason’s chest and his fist clenches involuntarily at his side.
“Talking?” He asks, trying to keep his tone vaguely curious.
“Yeah, the ring.” Kyle grins as he holds up his hand, indicating the Green Lantern ring on his finger. “It can translate languages. Luckily Kryptonian was still on file.” It was always strange to Jason the way Kyle spoke about the Green Lantern Corps, like it was just another police precinct.
“So what’ve you been talking about?” Jason prods, trying to be subtle as his gaze wanders to the blonde.
“Her name is Kara Zor-El. She’s apparently Superman’s cousin. His
older
cousin, if you can believe it.” Kyle chuckles and Jason raises an eyebrow curiously. “They’re investigating her ship, seeing if there’s any evidence of where she came from, or what happened to her. But we thought M’gann might be able to read her thoughts, see what happened.”
“And how does she feel about that? Did you ask her?” He snaps, a cocktail of alarm and protectiveness surging in his veins. Jason had nothing against M’gann, but he had what one might call a sensitivity to matters of invading the mind.
“She’s nervous, but open to it.”
“She wanted to wait for you.” M’gann says, inserting herself into the conversation. Jason feels heat creeping into his cheeks as M’gann’s knowing gaze met his. She promised she didn’t read minds without permission, but Jason always wondered if things slipped through. And he didn’t always have the most
appropriate
thoughts. “She wants to know what you think.”
Jason turns to look at Kara, finding a pair of wide blue eyes watching him. His heart pounded hard and he nodded slowly. M’gann knew what she was doing, she was skilled and he knew she’d handle this with care. His initial concern aside, he did actually trust his tem. Plus, he was there if anything went wrong. He was there if she needed him. Jason sat beside Kara on the bed on the opposite side of M’gann. Kyle stood at the foot of the bed, smiling warmly in encouragement.
M’gann reaches out and touches Kara’s forehead, just as Kara’s fingers twist around Jason’s.
“We’re here Kara. It’ll be okay.” Jason whispered, but she heard him.
And Kara understood him.
There was a strange sensation, it felt like she was falling, and then she was home.
“This is Krypton?” A voice asks softly and Kara turns to find M’gann standing beside her.
“This is…it’s a memory?” Kara asks, her heart racing.
“Yes. This is the day you left.” M’gann answers softly, then places her hand on Kara’s shoulder.
“Knock, knock.” Zatanna sing-songs as she and Eddie enter the room. “We brought clothes!”
“Are we interrupting?” Eddie asks, glancing nervously at M'gann and Kara who are both lying still, eyes closed, and breathing softly.
“M’gann is in Kara’s memory.” Kyle explains simply.
“Thanks for bringing the clothes.” Jason says softly. Zatanna gives him a soft smile and pats his head affectionately. Jason frowns, but doesn’t pull away.
“Of course! No girl should have to be stuck in hospital wear.”
“Do you think she’s okay?” Eddie asks, frowning with concern. Jason’s gut bottoms out.
“It’s probably some pretty tough memories she’s wading through.” Zatanna muses sadly, and Jason’s shoulders slump as his grip on Kara’s hand tightens. “But she’s strong. She’ll get through it.”
“And she has M’gann with her. She’s in good hands.” Kyle sounds like he’s saying it to himself as much as the others.
“So how long does this usually take?” Eddie asks, tail swishing curiously. Eddie was a demon. Not a born demon, he’d made a deal with a demon and became one himself. His appearance may have been a bit off putting at first (the red skin, the tail, the horns), but he was a genuinely caring person who did a lot of good.
“It depends on a lot of things. There’s no set time for these things. They may not even get through all of it at once.” Zatanna explains and Jason’s chest tightens.
“Kara, I’m so sorry.” M’gann finally speaks three hours later when they both wake up. She reaches out and embraces Kara, hugging her close as tears stream down both of their cheeks.
“It was rough.” M’gann told the others. They’d gathered outside of the room, (joined by Roy who’d finally made it) allowing Kara to get some rest. She’d been through a lot and the trauma was still raw for her. “She saw it. Her ship almost didn’t make it out of the blast when the planet-” M’gann struggles, taking a sky breath. “The cryofreeze hadn’t taken effect until after that. She woke up after she entered Earth’s atmosphere. And, well, you know the rest.”
They all stay silent, sitting with the weight of it all. They’d all been through something horrible. Their collective trauma was what drove them to be heroes, and what brought them together as a team. Each of them understood the hurt, the loss, the loneliness Kara must’ve been feeling.
“She’s one of us now.” Zatanna breaks the silence first, smiling as she meets each other their eyes.
“And we take care of our own.” Roy nods, fist bumping Zee and offering an encouraging smile to Jason.
“We take care of our own.” Jason echoes, relief and gratitude easing the pain in his chest. The whole team agrees and while Kara slept, tears still stained across her cheeks, she became a part of a team. A part of a new family.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kara had been in the hospital for four months now and hadn’t seen a single other patient in the facility. Every day she had therapies, lessons, and tests. She had a detailed schedule including exercise and meals. Her days were long and boring, except when she had visitors.
“
You’ve got it.
” Kyle smiles encouragingly as he holds her hand, supporting her as they both slowly levitated off the ground. Kyle was a Green Lantern, she’d heard of them back on Krypton, they were like galactic peace keepers. The power rings they wore that gave them their powers chose the members of the Green Lantern Corps when they showed incredible bravery. He’d been a great help to Kara, helping her grow more comfortable and confident with her new abilities, and using his ring to translate so he and the others could talk with her.
“
You’re doing great!
” M’Gann grins, her hands clasping together excitedly as she floats in the air in front of them. M’Gann was a Martian, her telepic abilities were incredible, though also potentially intrusive, though Kara had gotten used to the gentle touch inside her mind.
The whole team had been a bright spot in the otherwise bleak situation Kara found herself in. Eddie had a comforting presence and kind disposition. Zatanna brought her books that helped her understand humans and the planet she was now supposed to call her home. Roy was quiet, but a steady protective presence. He didn’t open up much, but Kara appreciated that silence sometimes.
And then there was Jason. He stood below the three flying figures, arms crossed and quietly contemplative. Kara could always feel his eyes on her, even when she couldn’t see him she knew he was watching her. His expression never gave anything away, but Kara knew he was studying her for something. At first she’d been worried he thought she was a threat, not that she’d blame him after their initial encounter, but he was, for reasons beyond her comprehension, the person she trusted most in this new world. After a while, Kara grew to enjoy the feeling of his eyes on her, even began to find comfort in it.
As they float back down to earth, Jason holds his hand up towards Kara. Without thinking she releases Kyle’s gentle grip and grasps Jason’s fingers. He guides her towards him, taking her other hand in his and helping her land on her feet. When she touches down successfully, she smiles brightly up at him. “Good girl.” He whispers, leaning his face incredibly close to hers. His nose barely brushes against her own and she nearly stops breathing. She still didn’t know much English, communicating was difficult, but that phrase was one that only Jason used, and it always managed to send her nerves skittering.
Suddenly, he straightened, stepping away and releasing her hands in one fluid motion. That’s how Jason always was, one moment he’s there, tangible, close. But the moment she thinks she can take a hold of him, he slips away like a puff of smoke, putting as much physical distance between them as he can manage without leaving her immediate vicinity. Kyle and M’Gann wear expressions that Kara couldn’t decipher. It was hard to pick up on social cues when you couldn’t understand the conversation.
“
Is Jason like that with everyone?
” Kara asks M’Gann when they’re alone in her room. The only thing that makes it hers is that she consistently spends time within the walls, but it’s all she has really.
M’Gann takes a few moments to answer, another mysterious expression on her delicate green features. “
No…he’s not like that with anyone.
” There’s hesitancy in her thoughts and Kara knows she can sense her curiosity, but M’Gann chooses then to leave for the day.
“
I know you’re there.
” Kara says when the silence threatens to become maddening. Despite not being able to understand her Kryptonian, Jason slips inside the open window and stands at the foot of her bed with an expression Kara could almost think was affection.
“
I think this behavior is as unusual as it would be where I’m from.
” Kara says, emboldened by the barrier between them.
“I wish I could understand a word of what you were saying.” Jason sighed, dropping onto the edge of her bed, hanging his head in defeat. “Maybe you can teach me some Kryptonian sometime.” He chuckles, the sound sadder than Kara expected. What could he be saying that was making him feel that way? Kara crawled carefully closer to him, slowly kneeling beside him.
Jason’s breath stopped when he felt the soft touch of fingers against his face. His head snaps up and he melts into her soft sapphire gaze. Her touch caressed his face gently, the feeling aggressively shredding his willpower.
“
I’m glad you’re here.
” Kara mumbles softly, and Jason’s eyes snag on the movement of her lips.
“I
really
fucking wish I knew what you saying.” Jason laughs, brighter this time, bringing a triumphant smile to Kara’s face. He reaches out, gently brushing her hair from her cheek. “You’re safe with me.” He doesn’t know why he says it. Kara doesn’t understand the words, but the sincerity in his voice, the near desperation in his gaze, she thinks she understands his meaning.
“Thank you, Jason.” Kara slowly forms the words the way she’d practiced for weeks. It was the first thing she wanted to know how to say in English, and she’d wanted him to be the first to hear her say it. But it had taken her a while, even after learning how to speak the words, to get the nerve to actually tell him.
Jason isn’t sure what the throbbing in his chest means, but his instincts are to terminate the moment and pull away. Maybe that was why everyone warned him to keep his distance from her, Why Bruce and Clark had decided he was “potentially compromised” when it came to her, or why his team watched him so closely when he openly interacted with her. Or maybe they suspected the same thing he had since the first moment she’d reached her hand out to him, that she was important. And he was a risk, a liability, a dirty little secret. But Kara saw something else when she looked at him, something he suspected wasn’t nearly as disappointing as the truth, but something he still wanted to be. She’d put her trust in him that day, and he was going to be damned sure he was worthy of it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You need to start thinking about what to do with her.” Dick is trying to explain, but his words make Jason uneasy.
“I’m not rehoming a pet.” He grits out, trying to keep his temper in check.
“She’s not ready for field work and you know it.” Dick’s argument is reasonable, but Jason can’t help but be defiant.
“Bruce sent you here to talk to me.” He avoids the question, knowing it won’t work for long, but desperate for any time before having this confrontation.
“He knows I’m your favorite.” Dick responds smugly.
“Damian is obviously my favorite.” Jason’s smirk is triumphant as Dick frowns, shoulders sagging in disappointment. “She just needs field experience.”
“Jay, she needs time. Your team operates covertly, she can’t manage that right now. That makes her a liability. She could get hurt, or…” He doesn’t finish that statement, but Jason’s clear on the implication.
“This is why you’re not my favorite.” He sighs, deflating as he realizes it’s unavoidable. As bad as they may want Kara to be a part of their team, the truth is it wouldn’t be right. Their missions were too dangerous for her to use for training, which meant she’d just be stuck at headquarters, not much better off than the hospital she’d been stuck in for nearly a year now. The only alternative that’d been suggested was for her to go to Smallville, stay with her cousin’s family, pretending to be human and hiding who she is. She’d have to hide her abilities, who she was, and where she came from. She’d have to suppress everything about herself that was overtly Kryptonian. Jason couldn’t let that happen, he could never allow her to lose her home all over again like that.
“Let me figure it out.” He concedes enough for Dick to let the subject drop.
“We’re not babysitters, Jason.” Babs huffed on the other side of the call and Jason sighed.
“I know that. That’s why I’m asking
you
.” Barbara had been running a team out of Gotham, the Birds of Prey, ever since she’d hung up her Batgirl cowl, and that team was the only answer Jason could find.
“I’ll run it by the girls. No promises.” She agrees. Jason’s filled with hope that only barely manages to seep past his despair.
“I want to show you something.” Kyle tells her, holding Kara’s hands and urging her to fly with him. They go up, slowly at first, picking up speed steadily as they rise. Kara grips his hands tighter as her anxiety raises, and Kyle pulls her close, holding tight to her until they break through the atmosphere. Kara’s eyes are squeezed shut, head buried into Kyle’s chest. He clears his throat and it echoes against her ear.
Kara slowly opens her eyes, hesitantly raising her head to take in her surroundings. God, she missed the stars, she realized as the sudden yearning ached in her chest.
“The world isn’t so big.” Kyle said, urging her to look at the Earth floating before them. “No matter where we are, we’re not that far away.” The news that the team was leaving her was tough for her to take, though she had tried her best to mask her emotions, she’s sure now she’d completely failed.
“Thank you.” She smiled softly, tears pricking her eyes as she hugged him close. When they returned to earth, Jason and Roy were waiting by the car. Kara shyly gathered her bags, which had been packed by Zatanna and M’gann, who’d dropped them off with Eddie before her flight with Kyle. It had been an emotional day and Kara nodded off in the backseat of the car as soon as they got onto the highway.
“This was a good call.” Roy expressed to Jason, voice quiet but urging. “For now it’s what she needs.”
Jason’s grip on the steering wheel tightens, but he says nothing.
Kara wakes up when they reach the Gotham city limits and stares curiously out the window. Jason felt a faint wave of shame, like he was exposing a part of himself, one he wasn’t at all proud of. But Gotham was as much a part of him as anything, it was important to him, but he knew it wasn’t beautiful or inspiring the way Metropolis was.
“Wow.” Kara breathes in wonderment and Jason nearly swerves off the road. Roy stares at him in silent alarm, but Jason refuses to take his eyes off the road in front of him. When they arrived at the Birds of Prey’s home, Jason didn’t turn the car off right away. The three of them sat in silence, waiting for him to move, but he remained perfectly still for a minute. Then another. Finally he pulled into the garage and turned off the car. The first to greet them in the large loft when they came off the elevator was Dinah. The perky, muscular blonde bounced towards them and immediately pounced on Kara. Jason watched on as Kara’s widened in alarm, then softened into care as she wrapped her arms around her attacker.
“I’m so excited you’re here!” Dinah cheers, pulling back to stare at Kara with the sincerest care. Kara blinks back her surprise and smiles softly, giving Dinah’s hands a soft squeeze.
“Thank you.” She responds sweetly, and Jason’s chest swells.
“Helena!” Dinah turns and waves to the dark haired girl who was hanging back in the shadows. Jason and Roy share a look, snickering quietly together.
“Welcome aboard.” Helena greets, her intensity palpable. It intimidated Kara, who stood a little taller under her gaze. It only made the struggle harder for the boys to keep their laughter at bay. Helena shot them a sharp, knowing look and they swallowed their giggles. Dinah laughed softly, turning to hug Roy warmly.
“Hey.” Shayera joined them and Kara’s face filled with amazement as she took in the wide white wings growing from the red headed warrior’s back. She was a Thanagarian who'd also come to call Earth her home.
“Welcome, Kara.” Barabara greeted, emerging from behind her computer with a confident smile. “We can take it from here.” She says, directing her attention to the boys. Jason’s jaw worked as he bit back his sarcastic response. This was a favor, he had to at least be polite. Roy frowned, glancing subtly at Dinah. They caught each other’s eyes and both seemed to sigh simultaneously. Helena rolled her eyes, nudging Dinah in the side. Barbara continued to watch on expectantly.
Kara untangled herself from Dinah’s embrace and threw herself at Jason. They wrapped themselves around each other, clinging tightly for a long moment. “I’ll be back. Soon.” He whispers the promise against her ear, feeling her body shudder lightly in his embrace, before gently releasing her. Roy embraces her gently and briefly, and then they’re gone, and Kara is left with her new team.
Helena scoffs in amusement and Kara glances back to catch Shayera biting back her own laugh, and DInah giggling lightly behind her hand. Even Barbara’s schooled demeanor seems to crack with an entertained smile. Kara doesn’t quite understand their reactions, but her cheeks heat with embarrassment, assuming this had something to do with her goodbye to Jason.
Back on the road, Roy chanced a glance at Jason every few minutes, but never dared to speak. Jason seemed to seethe in his seat as he drove and showed no signs of calming anytime soon.
“After this mission, you’ll feel better.” Roy tried to console him, but when Jason didn’t respond, he fell back into silence.