revenge of the DCAU ficathon!
Here's my entry for the ficathon; hope it turned okay.
Ava Cabot
Pariah
A Justice League fic
A/N: For Lena Wayne’s request: “After ‘Destroyer, J’onn introduces his wife to the ‘Big Seven’.” Also, I did watch Destroyer about twenty times, trying to figure what accents J’onn and his wife had. Eventually I gave up, and decided they were Japanese.
Disclaimer: Just borrowing the League for the ficathon.
-----
It wouldn’t be truthful to say that J’onn had broken all ties with the League. He didn’t just vanish into the bowels of the human world, only to re-appear a few months later exactly where a battle was taking place.
J’onn allowed himself a small smile as Diana engulfed him in a hug on the steps of the Metro Tower. He had been keeping a fairly close eye on his friends since taking a sabbactical from the hero life. But it had been as a civilian, a married one at that.
An image of his wife came to mind. He could picture her small frame perfectly, complete with gray hair, deep brown eyes, and a modest smile.
She had a patient and gentle nature, one that resonated an inner sense of beauty.
He also loved Kaede in a different way than My’ri’ah. When he met the lovely Martian thousands of years ago, he was young and full of vitality. Now he was older, and slightly jaded from all the destruction he had seen in his life. His first wife, children, and homeworld were gone. For a long time, J’onn thought he would never learn to care for another being as he had for My’ri’ah.
And then he met Kaede one afternoon, while reading quietly in a Metropolis library.
“So, who’s your lady friend?” asked Superman, clapping J’onn hard on the back. “We heard about her from Diana.”
Wally dashed over, his grin becoming even wider. “Who would’ve thought that good ol’ J’onn was a player?”
J’onn looked down. “Her name is Kaede. It means-”
“It’s ‘maple’ in Japanese,” said Batman, stepping forward. “Did you meet her in Japan?”
“No. Actually, we met in Metropolis. It’s really an interesting story.” J’onn put his cell phone away, glancing up towards the sky. “Would you like to join the rest of the League in chasing the Legion of Doom, or come back to my house and meet Kaede?”
Wally cast a pleading look at Superman. “Can we go see J’onn’s woman? Pretty please?”
J’onn laughed. “You are most welcome, Wally, if you stop calling her my ‘woman’.”
Superman shrugged. “We might as well. After today, I definitely feel like doing something other than fighting criminals.”
“Shayera? John? Are you interested in coming?”
Both heroes glanced warily at each other. “Yeah, I’m there,” said Shayera tiredly.
John scowled slightly. “I’d love to meet your wife, J’onn.”
Wally grimaced. “Boy, is there tension between you guys or what?”
“Shut up, Wally.”
Everyone laughed at their synchronized insult. J’onn shook his head as he hovered in mid-air. “I don’t live too far from the Metro Tower, actually. It should be a ten minute flight, unless we run into some trouble. Let’s get going.”
All seven heroes took flight, with Wally and Batman encased in a bright green enclosure provided by John.
“So, spill it J’onn. How’d you meet this lovely woman?” asked Diana. “We want to hear everything.”
“It’s a pretty long story.”
“We’ve got plenty of time,” said Batman. “So talk.”
“And to think I missed this man’s charming demeanor,” smirked J’onn.
“Wow, J’onn’s got a sense of sarcasm,” Wally said, completely awe. “Someone pinch me-OW! Thanks, Bruce. That was a rhetorical statement!”
Batman shot a withering glance at Wally, who immediately stopped talking and began to massage his arm.
Superman nodded to J’onn. “Let’s start from the beginning. What have you been doing for the last few months?”
J’onn smiled again. ‘Where do I begin?’, he thought. ‘So much has happened since I left the League.’
His first steps as an anonymous human began in an alleyway. The glimmering after-effects from his teleportion had faded, and he stood alone in a cold side-street. Various odors, including decaying garbage, stale perfume, and frying foods filtered through his new human nostrils.
The smell was exhilarating.
He held up two pale, peach-colored hands to his face, rubbing his cheeks gently. He was human, normal looking and everything. A million thoughts began to course through his mind, and miracously, they were his own. The mental worries of the surrounding populace no longer penetrated his cranium. If he wanted, his head could be as blank as…well, Wally’s.
There are many things J’onn instantly wants to do, things that would probably seem trivial to his human friends. Immediately though, he vows to mentally stop referring to his League companions as his ‘human friends’. After all, he is technically one of them. With the exception of Shayera, the other local alien, of course.
Shayera! He wondered what she was doing at that moment. What was everyone doing? Were they in the cafeteria? Fighting some villain in Hong Kong? Glaring at John as he walked hand in hand with Mari?
He felt like a small child in a large, new city, experiencing so many feelings and sensations all at the same time. However, he quickly made up his mind and decided what to do as his first official human act: proceed to the deli down the street and buy a package of Oreo cookies.
Five minutes later, J’onn exited the shop happily munching on a cookie. The store clerk waved and shouted a cheerful good-bye. J’onn raised his free arm and moved it back and forth, imitating the clerk’s wave. He also said goodbye, although quietly.
It was strange. He wasn’t afraid to clobber an immensely powerful villain, and yet these ordinary human actions seemed powerfully overwhelming. He felt accomplished after only ten minutes of being a human.
There was so much he had to learn.
The next priority, he realized, was to fulfill his new basic needs. Back on Mars, he had been more than capable of surviving a few nights without shelter or food. But his rumbling human stomach and aching head told him otherwise. His soft skin was delicate and sensitive to the cool night air, and J’onn didn’t want to end up ill with…what was it? Oh, the human common cold.
There was a blessed sense of anomynity that came with his new identity. He was free to roam the streets without people staring at his green skin and phospherent eyes. Soon he became accustomed to the ordinary lifestyle of a human. It lacked the constant turmoil and upheaval that came with being a hero, and J'onn's day-to-day living became simple and predictable.
There were a few times he could have gone back to his old ways of fighting crime, but he chose not to pursue the opportunities unless he or another person were in direct danger. In fact, he'd used his powers only twice within the last few months. Most recently in China to help Diana, of course.
Wally’s cheerful voice interrupted J’onn’s reflection. “Is this your house?” he asked, pointing to the small stucco property below them. A woman sat on the front steps, and began to wave as she saw the approaching heroes.
J’onn nodded. “Yes, this is my home. And my wife is the woman waving to us.”
They landed quickly on the front lawn. J’onn shifted back to his human form, now appearing as a grinning, older Asian man. “Welcome to John and Kaede Jones’ home, my friends.” His voice, no longer the grave tenor of J’onn J’onzz, was spirited and slightly tinged with an accent.
He took Kaede’s hand in his, a motion that seemed to be second nature for him now. “Everyone,” he said, “I would like you to meet my wife, Kaede.”
“It is a pleasure,” Kaede said softly, extending her hand. “An absolute honor to meet all of you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” said Superman, shaking hers firmly. “I’m sure you’ve seen the rest of J’onn’s friends fighting one villain or another.”
Kaede smiled. “I hope I can remember all your names. Of course, you are Superman, and Batman of Gotham City, the Flash, Green Lantern, Shayera Hol of Thanagar, and Wonder Woman, who I saw fighting in China earlier. John has told me so much about all of you.”
“Really?” said Shayera, amused. “J’onn, I never realized you were into gossip.”
John grinned. “I just told her your secret identities, addresses, and social security numbers. Nothing too personal.”
“He’s got a classic sense of humor for a Martian,” beamed Wally.
Kaede motioned to the open front door. “Please, come inside.”
They filed inside, stepping into the brightly lit living rooms. Antique lamps decorated the end tables, with a squishy leather couch and small TV occupying the walls.
“Nice digs,” whispered Wally, as they squeezed onto the couch or sat on the floor. Kaede shuffled to the kitchen, opening cupboards for food. Shayera followed her, deciding that making the drinks was a better option than taking the last spot on the couch next to John.
Wally began inhaling Oreos, quickly shoveling in five or six cookies at a time. The rest of the League stared, as he sheepishly gave them a cookie-stained smile. “Fast metabolism means I gotta eat a lot,” he said, offering that as an explanation.
In the kitchen, Shayera handed a box of tea bags to Kaede and smiled. “So, Kaede, how did you meet J’onn?”
Kaede set a teapot on the stove, turning a switch and igniting a small flame underneath the pot. “It was many months ago, at a library here in Metropolis.”
Shayera laughed. “You met J’onn at a library?”
Kaede chuckled. "Yes. You see, I work at a small library in the middle of Metropolis. I was shelving books one day, and the ladder I was standing on began to shake. It wasn't very sturdy, and I hadn't realized that until I slipped off and began to fall. John caught me."
"That's an interesting way to meet a man."
"It is. He always suprises me with new things about himself every day. I remember the first time he turned into a dragon. It was when we were visiting a museum here in Metropolis. A man was trying to steal an artifact from the museum, and in the process of his escape, the roof collapsed on all of the spectators. John told me to get to safety, but I was too afraid to move. Just as a piece of concrete was about to hit us, he transformed into a spectacular red dragon."
"And you weren't afraid that your husband was transforming into different creatures?"
"Never. John is a very kind and caring man, and I would love him no matter what he turned into."
"That's why I love her so much, Shayera," said J'onn, speaking from behind them. "Kaede has helped me understand humans in a way that I couldn't before." He hugged Kaede tightly. "I'm happier with life, which is something I haven't been able to say for many years."
He looked to the living room, where his friends were talking quietly. For the longest time, he'd felt like an outsider on Earth. Now, he was able to call this strange planet his home. It was a reassuring feeling, one that erased his self-imposed title of a stranger in a strange land.
-----
Ava Cabot
Pariah
A Justice League fic
A/N: For Lena Wayne’s request: “After ‘Destroyer, J’onn introduces his wife to the ‘Big Seven’.” Also, I did watch Destroyer about twenty times, trying to figure what accents J’onn and his wife had. Eventually I gave up, and decided they were Japanese.
Disclaimer: Just borrowing the League for the ficathon.
-----
It wouldn’t be truthful to say that J’onn had broken all ties with the League. He didn’t just vanish into the bowels of the human world, only to re-appear a few months later exactly where a battle was taking place.
J’onn allowed himself a small smile as Diana engulfed him in a hug on the steps of the Metro Tower. He had been keeping a fairly close eye on his friends since taking a sabbactical from the hero life. But it had been as a civilian, a married one at that.
An image of his wife came to mind. He could picture her small frame perfectly, complete with gray hair, deep brown eyes, and a modest smile.
She had a patient and gentle nature, one that resonated an inner sense of beauty.
He also loved Kaede in a different way than My’ri’ah. When he met the lovely Martian thousands of years ago, he was young and full of vitality. Now he was older, and slightly jaded from all the destruction he had seen in his life. His first wife, children, and homeworld were gone. For a long time, J’onn thought he would never learn to care for another being as he had for My’ri’ah.
And then he met Kaede one afternoon, while reading quietly in a Metropolis library.
“So, who’s your lady friend?” asked Superman, clapping J’onn hard on the back. “We heard about her from Diana.”
Wally dashed over, his grin becoming even wider. “Who would’ve thought that good ol’ J’onn was a player?”
J’onn looked down. “Her name is Kaede. It means-”
“It’s ‘maple’ in Japanese,” said Batman, stepping forward. “Did you meet her in Japan?”
“No. Actually, we met in Metropolis. It’s really an interesting story.” J’onn put his cell phone away, glancing up towards the sky. “Would you like to join the rest of the League in chasing the Legion of Doom, or come back to my house and meet Kaede?”
Wally cast a pleading look at Superman. “Can we go see J’onn’s woman? Pretty please?”
J’onn laughed. “You are most welcome, Wally, if you stop calling her my ‘woman’.”
Superman shrugged. “We might as well. After today, I definitely feel like doing something other than fighting criminals.”
“Shayera? John? Are you interested in coming?”
Both heroes glanced warily at each other. “Yeah, I’m there,” said Shayera tiredly.
John scowled slightly. “I’d love to meet your wife, J’onn.”
Wally grimaced. “Boy, is there tension between you guys or what?”
“Shut up, Wally.”
Everyone laughed at their synchronized insult. J’onn shook his head as he hovered in mid-air. “I don’t live too far from the Metro Tower, actually. It should be a ten minute flight, unless we run into some trouble. Let’s get going.”
All seven heroes took flight, with Wally and Batman encased in a bright green enclosure provided by John.
“So, spill it J’onn. How’d you meet this lovely woman?” asked Diana. “We want to hear everything.”
“It’s a pretty long story.”
“We’ve got plenty of time,” said Batman. “So talk.”
“And to think I missed this man’s charming demeanor,” smirked J’onn.
“Wow, J’onn’s got a sense of sarcasm,” Wally said, completely awe. “Someone pinch me-OW! Thanks, Bruce. That was a rhetorical statement!”
Batman shot a withering glance at Wally, who immediately stopped talking and began to massage his arm.
Superman nodded to J’onn. “Let’s start from the beginning. What have you been doing for the last few months?”
J’onn smiled again. ‘Where do I begin?’, he thought. ‘So much has happened since I left the League.’
His first steps as an anonymous human began in an alleyway. The glimmering after-effects from his teleportion had faded, and he stood alone in a cold side-street. Various odors, including decaying garbage, stale perfume, and frying foods filtered through his new human nostrils.
The smell was exhilarating.
He held up two pale, peach-colored hands to his face, rubbing his cheeks gently. He was human, normal looking and everything. A million thoughts began to course through his mind, and miracously, they were his own. The mental worries of the surrounding populace no longer penetrated his cranium. If he wanted, his head could be as blank as…well, Wally’s.
There are many things J’onn instantly wants to do, things that would probably seem trivial to his human friends. Immediately though, he vows to mentally stop referring to his League companions as his ‘human friends’. After all, he is technically one of them. With the exception of Shayera, the other local alien, of course.
Shayera! He wondered what she was doing at that moment. What was everyone doing? Were they in the cafeteria? Fighting some villain in Hong Kong? Glaring at John as he walked hand in hand with Mari?
He felt like a small child in a large, new city, experiencing so many feelings and sensations all at the same time. However, he quickly made up his mind and decided what to do as his first official human act: proceed to the deli down the street and buy a package of Oreo cookies.
Five minutes later, J’onn exited the shop happily munching on a cookie. The store clerk waved and shouted a cheerful good-bye. J’onn raised his free arm and moved it back and forth, imitating the clerk’s wave. He also said goodbye, although quietly.
It was strange. He wasn’t afraid to clobber an immensely powerful villain, and yet these ordinary human actions seemed powerfully overwhelming. He felt accomplished after only ten minutes of being a human.
There was so much he had to learn.
The next priority, he realized, was to fulfill his new basic needs. Back on Mars, he had been more than capable of surviving a few nights without shelter or food. But his rumbling human stomach and aching head told him otherwise. His soft skin was delicate and sensitive to the cool night air, and J’onn didn’t want to end up ill with…what was it? Oh, the human common cold.
There was a blessed sense of anomynity that came with his new identity. He was free to roam the streets without people staring at his green skin and phospherent eyes. Soon he became accustomed to the ordinary lifestyle of a human. It lacked the constant turmoil and upheaval that came with being a hero, and J'onn's day-to-day living became simple and predictable.
There were a few times he could have gone back to his old ways of fighting crime, but he chose not to pursue the opportunities unless he or another person were in direct danger. In fact, he'd used his powers only twice within the last few months. Most recently in China to help Diana, of course.
Wally’s cheerful voice interrupted J’onn’s reflection. “Is this your house?” he asked, pointing to the small stucco property below them. A woman sat on the front steps, and began to wave as she saw the approaching heroes.
J’onn nodded. “Yes, this is my home. And my wife is the woman waving to us.”
They landed quickly on the front lawn. J’onn shifted back to his human form, now appearing as a grinning, older Asian man. “Welcome to John and Kaede Jones’ home, my friends.” His voice, no longer the grave tenor of J’onn J’onzz, was spirited and slightly tinged with an accent.
He took Kaede’s hand in his, a motion that seemed to be second nature for him now. “Everyone,” he said, “I would like you to meet my wife, Kaede.”
“It is a pleasure,” Kaede said softly, extending her hand. “An absolute honor to meet all of you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” said Superman, shaking hers firmly. “I’m sure you’ve seen the rest of J’onn’s friends fighting one villain or another.”
Kaede smiled. “I hope I can remember all your names. Of course, you are Superman, and Batman of Gotham City, the Flash, Green Lantern, Shayera Hol of Thanagar, and Wonder Woman, who I saw fighting in China earlier. John has told me so much about all of you.”
“Really?” said Shayera, amused. “J’onn, I never realized you were into gossip.”
John grinned. “I just told her your secret identities, addresses, and social security numbers. Nothing too personal.”
“He’s got a classic sense of humor for a Martian,” beamed Wally.
Kaede motioned to the open front door. “Please, come inside.”
They filed inside, stepping into the brightly lit living rooms. Antique lamps decorated the end tables, with a squishy leather couch and small TV occupying the walls.
“Nice digs,” whispered Wally, as they squeezed onto the couch or sat on the floor. Kaede shuffled to the kitchen, opening cupboards for food. Shayera followed her, deciding that making the drinks was a better option than taking the last spot on the couch next to John.
Wally began inhaling Oreos, quickly shoveling in five or six cookies at a time. The rest of the League stared, as he sheepishly gave them a cookie-stained smile. “Fast metabolism means I gotta eat a lot,” he said, offering that as an explanation.
In the kitchen, Shayera handed a box of tea bags to Kaede and smiled. “So, Kaede, how did you meet J’onn?”
Kaede set a teapot on the stove, turning a switch and igniting a small flame underneath the pot. “It was many months ago, at a library here in Metropolis.”
Shayera laughed. “You met J’onn at a library?”
Kaede chuckled. "Yes. You see, I work at a small library in the middle of Metropolis. I was shelving books one day, and the ladder I was standing on began to shake. It wasn't very sturdy, and I hadn't realized that until I slipped off and began to fall. John caught me."
"That's an interesting way to meet a man."
"It is. He always suprises me with new things about himself every day. I remember the first time he turned into a dragon. It was when we were visiting a museum here in Metropolis. A man was trying to steal an artifact from the museum, and in the process of his escape, the roof collapsed on all of the spectators. John told me to get to safety, but I was too afraid to move. Just as a piece of concrete was about to hit us, he transformed into a spectacular red dragon."
"And you weren't afraid that your husband was transforming into different creatures?"
"Never. John is a very kind and caring man, and I would love him no matter what he turned into."
"That's why I love her so much, Shayera," said J'onn, speaking from behind them. "Kaede has helped me understand humans in a way that I couldn't before." He hugged Kaede tightly. "I'm happier with life, which is something I haven't been able to say for many years."
He looked to the living room, where his friends were talking quietly. For the longest time, he'd felt like an outsider on Earth. Now, he was able to call this strange planet his home. It was a reassuring feeling, one that erased his self-imposed title of a stranger in a strange land.
-----