Fic: Jones and Jones 2/2
Title: Jones and Jones
Author: second_batgirl
Fandom: DC/Marvel crossover
Character/Pairing: Cissie King-Jones, Jessica Jones (Tim/Cissie, Jessica/Luke)
Rating: R
Warning: Language
Summary: WHAT IF? Jessica Jones was Cissie King-Jones's aunt?
Notes: So many thanks to harmonyangel for holding my hand as I wrote this and for the beta. And thanks to likeadeuce and lady_sarai.
Artist: xenokattz made me this amazing art: Jessica and Cissie!
Part 1!
Chapter 3
When Jessica arrived at home after a really long case, she wasn't expecting to hear noises coming from the apartment. She thought that she had made it very clear to Cissie what was expected. She was really fucking bad at this whole guardian thing. She should have known better than to trust a teenager. At least it was good practice for the future in how to deal with irresponsible teenagers.
Of course, they both had enemies, and Cissie was pretty responsible. So it could be that someone was trying to get to Cissie...
Jessica did the only thing she could do - she kicked the damn door in.
"Jess!" Cissie said guiltily, as she looked up from where she was sitting with a bunch of other kids. "Um, you remember my team?"
Jessica sighed in relief. "Right, we met last week." She glared at each of them in turn.
"Right," the other girl said. "We were just leaving. See you around, Cissie?"
"Definitely," Cissie promised. She hesitated. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to Happy Harbor, but... I will try to be around."
"We're here for you," the boy who was sitting far too close to Cissie for Jessica's liking said. She didn't recognize him. Probably Robin.
"Hey, Robin?" Jessica said sweetly.
He glared at her, not confirming or denying anything.
"Say hi to your big brother for me. I haven't seen him since I quit being Knightress."
He and the others all left without comment, although she could hear Superboy snickering.
"You know Nightwing?" Cissie said as soon as the other members of Young Justice had left.
"We hooked up once," Jessica said with a shrug. "He and Arsenal are a lot of fun together." She paused. "As your guardian I'm probably supposed to tell you to not do anything like that, but I'm not very good at this sort of mentor bullshit. But you probably shouldn't do anything like that until you're older."
"I really didn't want to know that," Cissie said.
Jessica shrugged. "You asked."
There was awkward silence for a moment, and Jessica really didn't know what to say. She had probably just crossed some sort of line.
"So, um, how was your day?" Cissie asked.
Jessica sighed, and sat on the couch. She really wanted beer, but she was really trying not to drink so much, not while she had Cissie in the house, and the other changes in her life recently.
"I had a meeting with J Jonah Jameson," she said.
"The newspaper guy who hates superheroes?"
"Not all superheroes, just Spider-Man." Jessica paused, and reconsidered. "Well, mostly just Spider-Man. I saved his daughter's life once."
"Spider-Man has a daughter?"
"No, Jameson's daughter. I don't think Spider-Man has a kid. But Jameson offered me a job, as... well, a superhero correspondent. I guess it's really a gossip column for superheroes."
"Like Mad Mod's column?"
"What, Super Fashion or Super Freak? No, I've got no right to criticize anyone about their fashion sense," Jessica admitted. She hated his column anyway, and she had no idea why the Daily Planet actually paid him. "If I did this, mine would be more... commentary, maybe. Jameson asked me because I have connections." She hesitated. "It would probably be better for us. The money would be more stable, and it would be better work hours. And less danger for you."
"I can take care of myself," Cissie said automatically.
Jessica snorted. "I can barely take care of myself, and I'm a lot older than you are." She sighed. "The whole private eye thing wasn't working anyway. I'd probably have gone broke soon enough, or gotten the both of us killed." Jessica wasn't really sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Cissie.
"I think the job sounds great," Cissie told her. "It still could be kinda dangerous though." Jessica was sure that Cissie was thinking of Marcy Money.
"All jobs have an element of risk," Jessica said. "But at least this time if I end up getting involved with some sort of superhero conspiracy it'll be my own fault, and not because the wrong person hired me."
"What sort of superhero conspiracy did you get involved in?" Cissie asked curiously.
Jessica waved it away. "Really don't want to talk about it." She realized that Cissie had been distracting her with questions. "That isn't going to get you away from talking about your company," she said, in what she hoped was a stern voice.
Cissie started to giggle. "It was just the members of Young Justice," she said. "We really didn't do anything. I mean, it was really tame for us. And it wasn't like I could just turn them away once they showed up - they were all really worried about me and we all learned the hard way that it's really a lot better to keep Bart entertained. If he gets bored, he'll start looking for something to do, and then there's no telling what would happen."
"Mmmhmm," Jessica said, raising an eyebrow. She thought it was an effective technique, or at least she hoped it was.
Cissie blushed, and Jessica felt victorious.
"So what else happened?" she pressed.
"They don't all hate me?" Cissie said, her voice clearly showing that she was both amazed by this and still not entirely sure that it was true.
"Of course they don't hate you," Jessica said, leaning forward to take her niece's hand. "You made a mistake. Friends don't abandon you." Carol and Luke and Scott were still there, anyway. And she bet that if she called up the X-Men Jean Grey would take her phone call. Probably. "It's only when you abandon them that's the problem."
"Cassie wants me to come back as Arrowette again," Cissie said.
"Cassie?"
"Oh, Wonder Girl," Cissie said. "Sorry, I'm not always good with this identity thing. Well, I mean, I won't tell you Robin's real name, but I don't think that Cassie cares as much." She paused. "I wonder if I can get her to ditch that stupid wig. It looks really bad on her."
Jessica laughed. "If she gets featured on Super Fashion or Super Freak enough, she might end up changing it herself." Then some of what Cissie had also said kicked in. "You got Robin's real name out of him?" she said in surprise. "The Bats are all anal retentive obsessive freaks."
Cissie smiled. "I thought you just said you hooked up with one of them?"
"Yes, well, Nightwing is an anal retentive freak. But I don't know his name. And it was Arsenal's idea, anyway." She frowned. "Stop changing the subject."
"Yes, Robin told me his name. I guess Batman finally gave him permission." Cissie wasn't completely sure that "Alvin" was really Robin's name, but it was better than nothing.
Jessica laughed. "Permission for a name. Sometimes I forget what a fucked up world we live in."
*
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jess?" Luke demanded when he set foot in the apartment.
"Nice to see you too, Luke," Jessica said, ignoring his question. From the couch, Cissie was rolling her eyes and giggling behind her hands. Jessica guessed this was not the best first impression for her not-quite boyfriend to be making upon her niece.
"Working for Jameson?" Luke pressed. "Seriously?"
"It's better work," Jessica said with a shrug. "And I could use it. Considering my new responsibilities."
She saw Cissie stiffen, and get up.
"I'll just be in there," Cissie said, and Jessica winced. She hadn't meant it like that. She would have to talk to Cissie later.
"That the kid?" Luke asked.
"Yes, and what a great first impression you've made," Jessica snapped. "Look, I know that you've got Spider-Man on this wacky Avengers team of yours, but Jameson is paying me good money, and it isn't like I'm just going to write what he tells me. I don't do that, not for anyone."
Luke nodded, and sat down on the couch that Cissie had occupied until just before. "Right," he said. "But Jess, if you needed something, you know you could have asked me. Just because you've got a kid to deal with now, that doesn't really change anything."
Jessica steeled herseslf, and then finally just said it. "Two, actually," she said. "Well, it's going to be two anyway."
Luke's jaw dropped. "You're pregnant?" he asked her.
Jessica nodded.
"We're going to have a kid?" he said, sounding so hopeful that Jessica wondered if she had heard him wrong. This wasn't quite the reaction she had been expecting. Anger, maybe, or denial that it was his. Clearly she should have thought better of him. She nodded slowly.
Luke leaped up from the couch. "We're really going to have a baby?" he asked again.
"Yeah," Jessica told him. "We are."
He lifted her up and held her there for a moment. "That's.... wow," he said. "A baby."
"Yeah," Jessica said. "A baby. Our baby."
"And that's why you got the new job?" he asked, finally letting her go.
"Yeah," she said. "Better hours, less stress, except for Jameson's temper, and I can handle that. And it would be better on everyone, not just me. Plus, I really do think it would be better for Cissie to have me around."
"And you get benefits, right?"
Jessica stared at him. "When did you start fucking thinking about things like benefits?" she asked him.
"When you told me that we were going to have a baby," Luke said firmly. "Sweet Christmas, Jess, how long have you known?"
She shrugged. "I only found out yesterday."
"A baby," Luke said again. "You could move into Avengers Tower," he suggested. "Since we've got the new team running."
Jessica hesitated. "I don't know if I'm ready for that," she said. The disappointment coming off of Luke was overwhelming. "Besides, since I am working for the Bugle, do you really want me to be sharing space with Spider-Man? I'd have Jameson driving everyone crazy within minutes."
Luke still looked disappointed, but he looked like he understood her reasoning. "Well," he said. "I guess that works. But you want to make this more permanent?"
Jessica blinked. "Is that a proposal of some sort?" she asked. She hadn't thought that this was going to be how Luke would react. She hadn't thought he'd react badly, but... she hadn't thought he would offer to marry her. She hadn't really thought that a family was in her future either.
But... she already had a family. She'd had Cissie for months now. She'd been almost like a mom to her, and overall she hadn't been doing that bad a job. And Luke... he had helped. He'd been really good to her, and she cared for him. She loved him. With the baby....
She would be a fool to say no. She loved him. They weren't the same people they'd been when this relationship had started, not really. They could... actually be adults now. They could make this work.
"Because if it is..." Jessica said slowly. "I accept."
There was a squeal from the bedroom and Luke and Jessica both started to laugh.
"Cissie!" Jessica said sternly. "Stop ruining the mood."
The door to the bedroom opened, and Cissie stepped out. "Sorry," she said, not looking sorry at all. "But that was a really bad proposal. You should practice at it, try it again and be more romantic! And why didn't you tell me?" she said as she turned to Jessica. "I would have like, made dinner or something. Or at least ordered something healthy to eat. Or done something else that would have helped."
"You were going to be the second person I told," Jessica said. "I didn't think Luke would appreciate it if I told someone else first."
Cissie seemed to consider it for a moment, and then nodded. "I guess that makes sense," she said finally, with a shrug.
"I'm glad you approve, kid," Luke told her.
"Yeah, well, at least I get to meet you now," Cissie said. "And I guess you're not as much of a jerk as you sounded like when you first got here."
Luke looked offended, but Jessica smiled. She was glad to see that Cissie was willing to stand up for her.
"Why can't we move in with the Avengers?" Cissie said. "I mean, you just said that Jameson would be annoyed. But why does he have to know where we're living? You could always keep this apartment and we can go there and then I can have my own room."
"You've got a smart kid there," Luke observed.
"You're just saying that because I'm giving you what you want," Cissie said, but she looked pleased by the praise.
Chapter 4
Avengers Tower was interesting. Cissie had never been surrounded by this many superheroes, not even when she was with Young Justice. It was weird, being among them. Most of them knew her backstory, and they didn't seem to care. Captain America didn't seem to care. Cissie knew that she should still be feeling guilty for what she had done, that the acceptance from the heroes didn't mean that she was excused from what she had nearly done, but it was nice to know that people didn't hate her just because of it. She knew deep down that she would have had to have actually killed him for Young Justice to stop loving her, and even then, well, she wasn't too sure about it. She had the suspicion that they would love her anyway. Same with Jessica - Jessica was like the family she was supposed to have. Jessica had been there for her, and was doing her best to show that she would always be there for her.
But to hear the same thing from Spider-Man and Iron Man and Captain Freaking America, well... it was almost enough to make Cissie believe that she could get through this, and maybe come out a better person. Enough that she was starting to think about picking up a bow again. Not so much about doing the whole superhero thing - she still didn't really trust herself not to cross that line. But enough that she had started to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous archery range that was on one of the higher floors of the tower.
She wished that she'd been able to meet Hawkeye. She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask him, about being an archer super-hero, and about ethics. She thought that he would have been able to help her.
Cissie finally finished her practice and carefully put away her bow, before wandering downstairs towards the living quarters.
But the thing was, even with all of the super-heroes around, she was bored. Living in the tower meant that there were all sorts of extra security measures, and due to the stupid rivalry between the Avengers and the Justice League, it was considered bad form for the members of Young Justice to come visit, especially with all the identity restrictions. Cissie had been hoping to see Alvin again - she hadn't really gotten to talk to him about the kiss, and she really wanted to. But seeing him involved going to Young Justice meetings, and she just... wasn't ready to be Arrowette again.
She needed a quick distraction, something that would keep her from thinking. So she collapsed on the really awesome couch in front of the absolutely giant television, and turned it on. She hadn't meant to turn on the news, honestly she hadn't. Especially because the New York news always spent at least fifteen minutes on superhero news, sometimes more. It was understandable, considering how many teams were based in New York these days, and New York might actually hold the record for most times a city survived being blown up. Naturally, New York didn't seem too keen on taking that title; most of the people that Cissie had run into had claimed that a much better title would be "most likely to survive a supervillain attack." Nothing really seemed to faze New Yorkers, she had to give them credit for that anyway.
She was just about to change the channel when she saw Cassie's face on television. Cissie dropped the remote in shock. She knew that eventually Young Justice would get on television, she just hadn't expected to be watching them. Hopefully Bart wouldn't say anything really stupid.
"We have just as much right to be superheroes as anyone else does," Cassie was saying angrily. "Just because we're teenagers, it doesn't mean that we're irresponsible or reckless."
"But what about the complaints from Richard Pulilio about how he was assaulted and nearly killed by an archer?" the reporter was asking. Cissie recognized him - he was the same man who had been interviewing the senator the day that Marcy had died. This really did not bode well.
"Considering the man is a murderer, I really wouldn't take anything he said that seriously," Cassie said coldly. Cissie had never heard her that angry, but she knew why. Cassie was trying to protect her, protect all of them because of what Cissie had nearly done.
"But if one teenage archer went rogue," the reporter pressed, "then don't you think that you kids aren't responsible enough to be out there acting as heroes? Shouldn't you be licensed to use your powers?"
Cassie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Even Superman has gone rogue," she snapped. "And I've never heard anyone say that he needs to have a license. No hero is perfect all the time. But we do the best that we can, and I'm really not going to sit here and listen to you insult me and my team. Either hold everyone to the same standard, or don't bother bringing it up."
Cissie could not believe that she was hearing that. It had only been a few months since Cissie had worked up the courage to yell at Superman. Now here was Cassie, basically pointing out that Superman wasn't perfect. Had the world gone completely crazy?
"That kid has guts," Luke said from behind her. Cissie nearly jumped - she hadn't heard him come in. She really needed to start paying more attention. If her mother had been there, she would have criticized Cissie for letting Luke surprise her like that. But Bonnie wasn't here now.
"Yeah," Cissie agreed. "Honestly, I..." she trailed off, not really sure how to finish. She didn't really even know what to think. She agreed with Cassie, at least to a point. But Cassie hadn't been the one holding the bow that day. Cassie hadn't been the one losing control.
"You what?" Luke said, as he sat next to her on the couch. Cissie wasn't really sure why he was there - surely he had other places to be than watching really weird news reports with her.
"I'm surprised she had it in her," Cissie said finally. "I mean, don't get me wrong - Wonder Girl is like, my best friend. But I never really guess I thought of her as a leader? Robin was always in charge." She shrugged. "And then I guess Superboy kinda thought that he was in charge, except he really wasn't? And then maybe me, but I'm not really feeling all leadery right now."
"Is that bothering you?" Luke asked her gently.
Cissie stared at him. "No!" she protested quickly. "Why should it? I'm really glad for her, she totally deserves the chance to do the leader thing. And Robin can't do it, because Batman doesn't want anyone to actually know that he exists..." she stopped talking because Luke was laughing.
"Sweet Christmas," Luke muttered. "I'm never going to understand that Bat. He really seems to think that he can be a member of that stupid League and be an urban legend at the same time."
Cissie giggled. "Yeah," she said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, and it isn't really fair to Robin, especially because most people know that Nightwing was the leader of the Titans, and that Robin has been a Titan. But he still does what Batman tells him." Cissie wasn't really sure where all the resentment in her voice was coming from. She was frustrated that she hadn't really been able to see Robin or the other members of Young Justice since she had moved into Avengers Tower. It wasn't all Batman's fault, though. Just mostly his fault, with the crazy overprotective completely insane identity paranoia issues. But it was Batman's stupid rules that were keeping Robin away from her, and the reason she hadn't been able to talk with Alvin about the kiss.
"Are you okay with what's going on?" Luke pressed.
Cissie sighed. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I mean, this is all my fault that they're in this trouble. The reporter and everyone - they're totally right, I was really out of control."
"But your team stopped you," Luke said quietly.
"Yeah," Cissie agreed. "But if they hadn't been there, I would have crossed the line. I would have... I wanted to kill him," she said angrily. "For what he did to Marcy." She sighed. "Maybe they're right, and I am too reckless to be a hero. I just... I don't think that they should be taking it out on my friends as well. They didn't do anything." She paused. "No," she said. "The thing is, they did do something. They stopped me. They did the right thing, and they're being punished because of how badly I screwed up."
"You learned from your mistakes," Luke said.
"Yeah," said Cissie. "And they are paying for it. I just wish..." she looked away, not wanting to meet Luke's eyes. "I just wish that I could do something to help them, you know? But Jessica said that if I even thought of turning myself in for attempted murder, she would keep me locked in my room forever."
"Turning yourself in, in this case, really wouldn't help," Luke said. "You aren't being Arrowette now, right?" He waited for Cissie's nod. "Seems to me like you're trying to figure out what your boundaries are, and what you can and can't do. Heroes operate outside the law." He laughed suddenly. "I keep forgetting I'm an Avenger now, and technically part of the law. But my point still stands - we police ourselves. You try and cross the line again, and people will bring you in. Those people will probably be your friends, your family. If you think that there's any risk that you might end up doing that to Jessica, well, then, you should stay far away from the bow and arrow." He shrugged. "There's a reason she isn't Jewel anymore, she's still not ready. When she can trust herself again, then she'll come back. And when you can trust yourself again, well, you've got a whole big group of friends who would like to welcome you back. But they'll wait for you, because that's what your family should do."
There was a trace of bitterness to his voice, but Cissie knew better than to pry. "That was... probably the best advice I've heard yet," she told him. "So what should I do?"
"You ready to be a hero again?" Luke asked.
"I... I don't know," Cissie said. "I don't really know if I want to be."
"That's fair," Luke agreed. "You don't have to come back. It is your choice."
"I do miss doing archery," Cissie said. "I had a lot of fun practicing."
"So why not do something with that?" another voice asked, and Cissie and Luke both turned slightly to see that Jessica was standing in the doorway behind them.
"I couldn't help overhearing, but I might have a suggestion."
"What's up, Jess?"
"The Summer Games are having tryouts this week," Jessica said. "You could always try for it."
"For the Summer Games?" Cissie said. "Are you crazy?"
"You said you missed archery," Jessica replied calmly.
"I do," Cissie said. "I've never really done competition though."
"Think of it as a big practice run, without the danger," Jessica said. "Look, you love archery, right? I don't see how this can hurt."
"I guess so," Cissie agreed. She got up. "I'm going to go practice. You know, just in case."
"Sounds like a good idea," Jessica agreed, taking Cissie's seat on the couch, and curling up against Luke. "You go have fun."
Cissie left the room, but she paused right outside the door.
"That was a good idea you had there, Jess," Luke was saying.
"Too bad I really shouldn't take credit for it," Jessica answered. "I actually just got off the phone with Bonnie."
"Seriously? I thought she was crazy."
"She is, not that any of us could really talk," Jessica said. "But she told me a lot about Cissie when she was a baby. She knows she can't get back custody, but she's still trying to help. And I think that maybe the games, well... it may not be normal, but it might help her come back to herself a little more. I didn't know her before Elias, but there's something a little bit broken in Cissie, like something is missing. I don't want that for her. I want her to have a better chance, and maybe not end up as fucked up as I am. If I can't help her, then what chance do I have for our kid?"
"We'll make it work," Luke promised. "All of us. Including the baby."
Cissie's eyes teared up a little, and she headed back upstairs to the archery range.
Chapter 5
"This is insane," Jessica said, as she handed her daughter carefully to Cissie.
"Seriously, Jess, don't worry about it," Cissie said, as she cradled her little sister. "I've got plenty of experience taking care of babies, considering how often Anita has been calling me to babysit her parents.
"Sometimes I think your friends' lives might be even more complicated than mine," Jessica sighed. She turned to look in the mirror, inspecting every inch of the white costume. "Well?" she asked. "How do I look?"
Three-month-old Dani wrinkled her nose and began to cry. Cissie laughed. "I'm not so sure Dani likes it," Cissie said. "But I do." She paused. "Are you sure you really want to do this?"
Jessica didn't hesitate. "Yes," she said firmly. "I know that I can do this. And this is where I want to be, out there with my husband, protecting the city." She shrugged. "If I had said yes to the Avengers how many years ago, things could be different now."
"You could be married to Captain America or something," Cissie laughed.
Jessica laughed with her. "But now I am an Avenger," she said. "And now this is the chance for me to do something better with myself, become part of something greater. Maybe make up for some of the things I did before."
Cissie readjusted the way she was holding Dani, and moved over to kiss her aunt on the cheek. "I'd say you've already more than made up for anything that the Purple Man forced you to do," she said. "You helped me, now you get to help the rest of the world."
Jessica gave her a hug. "Now, you know what to do with Dani, right?"
"This isn't my first time babysitting her," Cissie pointed out. "I know where everything is. I know all the emergency numbers. And I know where to go in case Kang shows up or something." Jessica was about to protest, but Cissie plowed on. "I also know what to do in the case that we get sucked into another dimension, or sent through time. I have emergency frequencies for everyone, and I have my bow. Besides, Jarvis and Mrs. Parker are here also. So it's not like I'm all alone."
Jessica had the grace to look embarrassed. "I know that you're prepared for this."
"And you've let me watch Dani before. Now go! The Avengers are waiting."
"Right," Jessica said, stopping once more to kiss both of her girls. "Avengers Assemble!" She flew out, and Cissie rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Dani Girl," she said, as she carried the baby out of the room. "Time for your nap, I think." She laid Dani down in her crib and sat down in the really comfy chair that was near it. Her cell phone rang almost instantly.
"Hey," she said. "Do I even want to know how you manage to call exactly when Dani goes down for a nap?"
Her boyfriend laughed. "It's a Bat thing," he told her.
"Seriously, Tim," Cissie said, still pleased that she was able to use his real name. "I think your timing might be the freakiest thing about you, and that is saying something."
"I'm not that freaky," he protested, but he was still laughing as he did so.
"How's San Francisco?" Cissie asked. "And the Titans?"
There was a long pause, and for a minute Cissie thought that they'd been disconnected. She doubted it; Oracle had always made sure that the Bats had the best possible connections. If someone in the Bat clan lost a call, it was either intentional or the end of the world.
"It's interesting," he said finally. "We've... well, Green Arrow sent us a new archer."
"Oh," Cissie said. "Is that a yay?"
"She's okay," Tim said. "She's, well, she isn't you."
That was one of the sweeter things that Cissie had heard him say recently. Her boyfriend was not very good at the romance. This was also apparently a Bat thing.
"I don't mind, if that's what you're afraid of," Cissie told him. "All teams need archers. The Young Avengers have one, even. She's pretty cool. We've trained together a few times. But she keeps insisting that her team has the better name, even though Young Justice was way better than the Young Avengers."
She was sure that Tim was smiling on the other end. "So Young Justice is still your team?" he teased.
"Well, yeah," Cissie said, as she settled down more on the chair. "It was the only team I've ever really been on, unless you count the Summer Games team."
"You could be on the Titans, if you wanted."
"Nah, you really don't need two archers," Cissie said, deliberately misunderstanding what he was saying.
"You could come back," Tim said.
"So you can keep worrying about me?" Cissie said. "No, I don't need it anymore. I'm happy here. I've got the life I want. I've got a family in Jess and Luke and Dani, and I've got you, and I still have the rest of Young Justice. I still have archery. I'm even talking to my mom! She's been trying to be more of a mother than she's ever been before."
"I didn't mean to pressure you," Tim said.
"Yeah, you and everyone else," Cissie muttered. "Just because Jessica is back doing the hero thing, it doesn't mean I have to. I have a good thing, and I don't want to mess it up." She shrugged, even though she knew that Tim couldn't see it. "I mean, if you guys need me. If you really ever do need me, I will be there. I just... my life kinda sucked for a while, and I don't want to go back to that. I really can't, I just can't."
"Easy, Cissie," Tim said. "It's okay, nobody is going to force you."
"Could you tell Cassie that?" Cissie asked. "I finally got Luke to stop bugging me about it. I thought that Jessica had understood, but now that she's decided to do the hero thing I'm afraid that since she thinks she can come back, I should team up with her or something." She tried not to roll her eyes.
"Cassie just misses having her best friend around," Tim said.
"Yeah, but we can still do best friend stuff! Jessica and Carol weren't superheroes together, and they did plenty of stuff together." Some of what they had done included things that Tim would probably call poor life decisions, but nobody was perfect.
"Maybe you could come here for a weekend?"
"To see you, or to see Cassie?"
"Both?" Tim asked hopefully.
"I'll try to swing a weekend sometime," Cissie promised. "I'll get Jessica to fly me out or something. But you can always try and come out here."
"I would," Tim said. "It's just... you know how Batman is about the Avengers."
"Is he more important than seeing me?" Cissie said, a shred of jealousy flaring up.
"Of course not," Tim said quickly. "But if I do come, it's going to have to be as Alvin Draper."
"Alvin is better than nothing," Cissie told him. "Especially if it means spending time with you."
"I do miss you," Tim said again. "I wish..."
"Yeah," Cissie said. "So do I."
*
"Still on the phone?" Jessica said, as she walked into the nursery.
"Just hung up, actually," Cissie said. She was rocking Dani back and forth. "Robin wants me to come visit the Titans for a weekend."
"Still trying to get you to come back?" Jessica asked sympathetically.
"I'm kinda surprised that he is, actually," Cissie said. Her agitation must have been radiating through her arms or something, because Dani started to stir. "Shh, sweetie," Cissie said, as she rocked her gently, hoping that she would settle down. "I mean, all he does is worry about me, so I don't know why he thinks my putting a costume back on would improve things."
"He's trying to keep you safe," Jessica said. "Or at least keep you around. I don't really know, considering that you haven't introduced me to him since that time in my apartment."
"Batman's rules are weird," Cissie said, settling Dani back in her crib.
"Well, my rules are that you aren't going to go spend a weekend with him until he introduces himself to me. He can keep the mask on, if he wants to. Nightwing did, when I met him."
"I did not need to know that," Cissie said. "Thanks, Mom."
It was a good thing that she had just put Dani back in the crib, because Cissie's arms dropped to her side as she realized what she'd just said.
"Mom?" Jessica said. "Do you really mean that?"
Cissie took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said. "I mean, I'm getting along a lot better with my mother these days, but... you've kinda been like a mom to me for the last year or so. If you don't want me to call you that, I won't. I mean, you have Dani..."
"And I have you too," Jessica said. "C'mon," she said, grabbing the baby monitor and heading out of the room. "Hey, Tony?" she called.
"What?" Iron Man called from the couch where he was watching Grey's Anatomy with Captain America.
"I need a good lawyer."
"What did you do now, Jess?" Iron Man asked. Cissie giggled.
"I'm going to adopt Cissie," Jessica announced. "So go and fucking make this happen already, I know you know someone who can cut through all sorts of red tape." She glanced over at Cissie. "That is, if this is what you really want."
"Yes!" Cissie almost shouted. "That would be wonderful."
"Good," Jessica said. "Tony, why are you still on the couch?"
"I love it when she's bossy," Luke said.
Cissie couldn't stop smiling. One year ago had been the worst day of her life. And now here she was, with the family that she had chosen. She might not be a hero any longer, but she had everything that she'd ever really wanted.
Author: second_batgirl
Fandom: DC/Marvel crossover
Character/Pairing: Cissie King-Jones, Jessica Jones (Tim/Cissie, Jessica/Luke)
Rating: R
Warning: Language
Summary: WHAT IF? Jessica Jones was Cissie King-Jones's aunt?
Notes: So many thanks to harmonyangel for holding my hand as I wrote this and for the beta. And thanks to likeadeuce and lady_sarai.
Artist: xenokattz made me this amazing art: Jessica and Cissie!
Part 1!
Chapter 3
When Jessica arrived at home after a really long case, she wasn't expecting to hear noises coming from the apartment. She thought that she had made it very clear to Cissie what was expected. She was really fucking bad at this whole guardian thing. She should have known better than to trust a teenager. At least it was good practice for the future in how to deal with irresponsible teenagers.
Of course, they both had enemies, and Cissie was pretty responsible. So it could be that someone was trying to get to Cissie...
Jessica did the only thing she could do - she kicked the damn door in.
"Jess!" Cissie said guiltily, as she looked up from where she was sitting with a bunch of other kids. "Um, you remember my team?"
Jessica sighed in relief. "Right, we met last week." She glared at each of them in turn.
"Right," the other girl said. "We were just leaving. See you around, Cissie?"
"Definitely," Cissie promised. She hesitated. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to Happy Harbor, but... I will try to be around."
"We're here for you," the boy who was sitting far too close to Cissie for Jessica's liking said. She didn't recognize him. Probably Robin.
"Hey, Robin?" Jessica said sweetly.
He glared at her, not confirming or denying anything.
"Say hi to your big brother for me. I haven't seen him since I quit being Knightress."
He and the others all left without comment, although she could hear Superboy snickering.
"You know Nightwing?" Cissie said as soon as the other members of Young Justice had left.
"We hooked up once," Jessica said with a shrug. "He and Arsenal are a lot of fun together." She paused. "As your guardian I'm probably supposed to tell you to not do anything like that, but I'm not very good at this sort of mentor bullshit. But you probably shouldn't do anything like that until you're older."
"I really didn't want to know that," Cissie said.
Jessica shrugged. "You asked."
There was awkward silence for a moment, and Jessica really didn't know what to say. She had probably just crossed some sort of line.
"So, um, how was your day?" Cissie asked.
Jessica sighed, and sat on the couch. She really wanted beer, but she was really trying not to drink so much, not while she had Cissie in the house, and the other changes in her life recently.
"I had a meeting with J Jonah Jameson," she said.
"The newspaper guy who hates superheroes?"
"Not all superheroes, just Spider-Man." Jessica paused, and reconsidered. "Well, mostly just Spider-Man. I saved his daughter's life once."
"Spider-Man has a daughter?"
"No, Jameson's daughter. I don't think Spider-Man has a kid. But Jameson offered me a job, as... well, a superhero correspondent. I guess it's really a gossip column for superheroes."
"Like Mad Mod's column?"
"What, Super Fashion or Super Freak? No, I've got no right to criticize anyone about their fashion sense," Jessica admitted. She hated his column anyway, and she had no idea why the Daily Planet actually paid him. "If I did this, mine would be more... commentary, maybe. Jameson asked me because I have connections." She hesitated. "It would probably be better for us. The money would be more stable, and it would be better work hours. And less danger for you."
"I can take care of myself," Cissie said automatically.
Jessica snorted. "I can barely take care of myself, and I'm a lot older than you are." She sighed. "The whole private eye thing wasn't working anyway. I'd probably have gone broke soon enough, or gotten the both of us killed." Jessica wasn't really sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Cissie.
"I think the job sounds great," Cissie told her. "It still could be kinda dangerous though." Jessica was sure that Cissie was thinking of Marcy Money.
"All jobs have an element of risk," Jessica said. "But at least this time if I end up getting involved with some sort of superhero conspiracy it'll be my own fault, and not because the wrong person hired me."
"What sort of superhero conspiracy did you get involved in?" Cissie asked curiously.
Jessica waved it away. "Really don't want to talk about it." She realized that Cissie had been distracting her with questions. "That isn't going to get you away from talking about your company," she said, in what she hoped was a stern voice.
Cissie started to giggle. "It was just the members of Young Justice," she said. "We really didn't do anything. I mean, it was really tame for us. And it wasn't like I could just turn them away once they showed up - they were all really worried about me and we all learned the hard way that it's really a lot better to keep Bart entertained. If he gets bored, he'll start looking for something to do, and then there's no telling what would happen."
"Mmmhmm," Jessica said, raising an eyebrow. She thought it was an effective technique, or at least she hoped it was.
Cissie blushed, and Jessica felt victorious.
"So what else happened?" she pressed.
"They don't all hate me?" Cissie said, her voice clearly showing that she was both amazed by this and still not entirely sure that it was true.
"Of course they don't hate you," Jessica said, leaning forward to take her niece's hand. "You made a mistake. Friends don't abandon you." Carol and Luke and Scott were still there, anyway. And she bet that if she called up the X-Men Jean Grey would take her phone call. Probably. "It's only when you abandon them that's the problem."
"Cassie wants me to come back as Arrowette again," Cissie said.
"Cassie?"
"Oh, Wonder Girl," Cissie said. "Sorry, I'm not always good with this identity thing. Well, I mean, I won't tell you Robin's real name, but I don't think that Cassie cares as much." She paused. "I wonder if I can get her to ditch that stupid wig. It looks really bad on her."
Jessica laughed. "If she gets featured on Super Fashion or Super Freak enough, she might end up changing it herself." Then some of what Cissie had also said kicked in. "You got Robin's real name out of him?" she said in surprise. "The Bats are all anal retentive obsessive freaks."
Cissie smiled. "I thought you just said you hooked up with one of them?"
"Yes, well, Nightwing is an anal retentive freak. But I don't know his name. And it was Arsenal's idea, anyway." She frowned. "Stop changing the subject."
"Yes, Robin told me his name. I guess Batman finally gave him permission." Cissie wasn't completely sure that "Alvin" was really Robin's name, but it was better than nothing.
Jessica laughed. "Permission for a name. Sometimes I forget what a fucked up world we live in."
*
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jess?" Luke demanded when he set foot in the apartment.
"Nice to see you too, Luke," Jessica said, ignoring his question. From the couch, Cissie was rolling her eyes and giggling behind her hands. Jessica guessed this was not the best first impression for her not-quite boyfriend to be making upon her niece.
"Working for Jameson?" Luke pressed. "Seriously?"
"It's better work," Jessica said with a shrug. "And I could use it. Considering my new responsibilities."
She saw Cissie stiffen, and get up.
"I'll just be in there," Cissie said, and Jessica winced. She hadn't meant it like that. She would have to talk to Cissie later.
"That the kid?" Luke asked.
"Yes, and what a great first impression you've made," Jessica snapped. "Look, I know that you've got Spider-Man on this wacky Avengers team of yours, but Jameson is paying me good money, and it isn't like I'm just going to write what he tells me. I don't do that, not for anyone."
Luke nodded, and sat down on the couch that Cissie had occupied until just before. "Right," he said. "But Jess, if you needed something, you know you could have asked me. Just because you've got a kid to deal with now, that doesn't really change anything."
Jessica steeled herseslf, and then finally just said it. "Two, actually," she said. "Well, it's going to be two anyway."
Luke's jaw dropped. "You're pregnant?" he asked her.
Jessica nodded.
"We're going to have a kid?" he said, sounding so hopeful that Jessica wondered if she had heard him wrong. This wasn't quite the reaction she had been expecting. Anger, maybe, or denial that it was his. Clearly she should have thought better of him. She nodded slowly.
Luke leaped up from the couch. "We're really going to have a baby?" he asked again.
"Yeah," Jessica told him. "We are."
He lifted her up and held her there for a moment. "That's.... wow," he said. "A baby."
"Yeah," Jessica said. "A baby. Our baby."
"And that's why you got the new job?" he asked, finally letting her go.
"Yeah," she said. "Better hours, less stress, except for Jameson's temper, and I can handle that. And it would be better on everyone, not just me. Plus, I really do think it would be better for Cissie to have me around."
"And you get benefits, right?"
Jessica stared at him. "When did you start fucking thinking about things like benefits?" she asked him.
"When you told me that we were going to have a baby," Luke said firmly. "Sweet Christmas, Jess, how long have you known?"
She shrugged. "I only found out yesterday."
"A baby," Luke said again. "You could move into Avengers Tower," he suggested. "Since we've got the new team running."
Jessica hesitated. "I don't know if I'm ready for that," she said. The disappointment coming off of Luke was overwhelming. "Besides, since I am working for the Bugle, do you really want me to be sharing space with Spider-Man? I'd have Jameson driving everyone crazy within minutes."
Luke still looked disappointed, but he looked like he understood her reasoning. "Well," he said. "I guess that works. But you want to make this more permanent?"
Jessica blinked. "Is that a proposal of some sort?" she asked. She hadn't thought that this was going to be how Luke would react. She hadn't thought he'd react badly, but... she hadn't thought he would offer to marry her. She hadn't really thought that a family was in her future either.
But... she already had a family. She'd had Cissie for months now. She'd been almost like a mom to her, and overall she hadn't been doing that bad a job. And Luke... he had helped. He'd been really good to her, and she cared for him. She loved him. With the baby....
She would be a fool to say no. She loved him. They weren't the same people they'd been when this relationship had started, not really. They could... actually be adults now. They could make this work.
"Because if it is..." Jessica said slowly. "I accept."
There was a squeal from the bedroom and Luke and Jessica both started to laugh.
"Cissie!" Jessica said sternly. "Stop ruining the mood."
The door to the bedroom opened, and Cissie stepped out. "Sorry," she said, not looking sorry at all. "But that was a really bad proposal. You should practice at it, try it again and be more romantic! And why didn't you tell me?" she said as she turned to Jessica. "I would have like, made dinner or something. Or at least ordered something healthy to eat. Or done something else that would have helped."
"You were going to be the second person I told," Jessica said. "I didn't think Luke would appreciate it if I told someone else first."
Cissie seemed to consider it for a moment, and then nodded. "I guess that makes sense," she said finally, with a shrug.
"I'm glad you approve, kid," Luke told her.
"Yeah, well, at least I get to meet you now," Cissie said. "And I guess you're not as much of a jerk as you sounded like when you first got here."
Luke looked offended, but Jessica smiled. She was glad to see that Cissie was willing to stand up for her.
"Why can't we move in with the Avengers?" Cissie said. "I mean, you just said that Jameson would be annoyed. But why does he have to know where we're living? You could always keep this apartment and we can go there and then I can have my own room."
"You've got a smart kid there," Luke observed.
"You're just saying that because I'm giving you what you want," Cissie said, but she looked pleased by the praise.
Chapter 4
Avengers Tower was interesting. Cissie had never been surrounded by this many superheroes, not even when she was with Young Justice. It was weird, being among them. Most of them knew her backstory, and they didn't seem to care. Captain America didn't seem to care. Cissie knew that she should still be feeling guilty for what she had done, that the acceptance from the heroes didn't mean that she was excused from what she had nearly done, but it was nice to know that people didn't hate her just because of it. She knew deep down that she would have had to have actually killed him for Young Justice to stop loving her, and even then, well, she wasn't too sure about it. She had the suspicion that they would love her anyway. Same with Jessica - Jessica was like the family she was supposed to have. Jessica had been there for her, and was doing her best to show that she would always be there for her.
But to hear the same thing from Spider-Man and Iron Man and Captain Freaking America, well... it was almost enough to make Cissie believe that she could get through this, and maybe come out a better person. Enough that she was starting to think about picking up a bow again. Not so much about doing the whole superhero thing - she still didn't really trust herself not to cross that line. But enough that she had started to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous archery range that was on one of the higher floors of the tower.
She wished that she'd been able to meet Hawkeye. She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask him, about being an archer super-hero, and about ethics. She thought that he would have been able to help her.
Cissie finally finished her practice and carefully put away her bow, before wandering downstairs towards the living quarters.
But the thing was, even with all of the super-heroes around, she was bored. Living in the tower meant that there were all sorts of extra security measures, and due to the stupid rivalry between the Avengers and the Justice League, it was considered bad form for the members of Young Justice to come visit, especially with all the identity restrictions. Cissie had been hoping to see Alvin again - she hadn't really gotten to talk to him about the kiss, and she really wanted to. But seeing him involved going to Young Justice meetings, and she just... wasn't ready to be Arrowette again.
She needed a quick distraction, something that would keep her from thinking. So she collapsed on the really awesome couch in front of the absolutely giant television, and turned it on. She hadn't meant to turn on the news, honestly she hadn't. Especially because the New York news always spent at least fifteen minutes on superhero news, sometimes more. It was understandable, considering how many teams were based in New York these days, and New York might actually hold the record for most times a city survived being blown up. Naturally, New York didn't seem too keen on taking that title; most of the people that Cissie had run into had claimed that a much better title would be "most likely to survive a supervillain attack." Nothing really seemed to faze New Yorkers, she had to give them credit for that anyway.
She was just about to change the channel when she saw Cassie's face on television. Cissie dropped the remote in shock. She knew that eventually Young Justice would get on television, she just hadn't expected to be watching them. Hopefully Bart wouldn't say anything really stupid.
"We have just as much right to be superheroes as anyone else does," Cassie was saying angrily. "Just because we're teenagers, it doesn't mean that we're irresponsible or reckless."
"But what about the complaints from Richard Pulilio about how he was assaulted and nearly killed by an archer?" the reporter was asking. Cissie recognized him - he was the same man who had been interviewing the senator the day that Marcy had died. This really did not bode well.
"Considering the man is a murderer, I really wouldn't take anything he said that seriously," Cassie said coldly. Cissie had never heard her that angry, but she knew why. Cassie was trying to protect her, protect all of them because of what Cissie had nearly done.
"But if one teenage archer went rogue," the reporter pressed, "then don't you think that you kids aren't responsible enough to be out there acting as heroes? Shouldn't you be licensed to use your powers?"
Cassie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Even Superman has gone rogue," she snapped. "And I've never heard anyone say that he needs to have a license. No hero is perfect all the time. But we do the best that we can, and I'm really not going to sit here and listen to you insult me and my team. Either hold everyone to the same standard, or don't bother bringing it up."
Cissie could not believe that she was hearing that. It had only been a few months since Cissie had worked up the courage to yell at Superman. Now here was Cassie, basically pointing out that Superman wasn't perfect. Had the world gone completely crazy?
"That kid has guts," Luke said from behind her. Cissie nearly jumped - she hadn't heard him come in. She really needed to start paying more attention. If her mother had been there, she would have criticized Cissie for letting Luke surprise her like that. But Bonnie wasn't here now.
"Yeah," Cissie agreed. "Honestly, I..." she trailed off, not really sure how to finish. She didn't really even know what to think. She agreed with Cassie, at least to a point. But Cassie hadn't been the one holding the bow that day. Cassie hadn't been the one losing control.
"You what?" Luke said, as he sat next to her on the couch. Cissie wasn't really sure why he was there - surely he had other places to be than watching really weird news reports with her.
"I'm surprised she had it in her," Cissie said finally. "I mean, don't get me wrong - Wonder Girl is like, my best friend. But I never really guess I thought of her as a leader? Robin was always in charge." She shrugged. "And then I guess Superboy kinda thought that he was in charge, except he really wasn't? And then maybe me, but I'm not really feeling all leadery right now."
"Is that bothering you?" Luke asked her gently.
Cissie stared at him. "No!" she protested quickly. "Why should it? I'm really glad for her, she totally deserves the chance to do the leader thing. And Robin can't do it, because Batman doesn't want anyone to actually know that he exists..." she stopped talking because Luke was laughing.
"Sweet Christmas," Luke muttered. "I'm never going to understand that Bat. He really seems to think that he can be a member of that stupid League and be an urban legend at the same time."
Cissie giggled. "Yeah," she said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, and it isn't really fair to Robin, especially because most people know that Nightwing was the leader of the Titans, and that Robin has been a Titan. But he still does what Batman tells him." Cissie wasn't really sure where all the resentment in her voice was coming from. She was frustrated that she hadn't really been able to see Robin or the other members of Young Justice since she had moved into Avengers Tower. It wasn't all Batman's fault, though. Just mostly his fault, with the crazy overprotective completely insane identity paranoia issues. But it was Batman's stupid rules that were keeping Robin away from her, and the reason she hadn't been able to talk with Alvin about the kiss.
"Are you okay with what's going on?" Luke pressed.
Cissie sighed. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I mean, this is all my fault that they're in this trouble. The reporter and everyone - they're totally right, I was really out of control."
"But your team stopped you," Luke said quietly.
"Yeah," Cissie agreed. "But if they hadn't been there, I would have crossed the line. I would have... I wanted to kill him," she said angrily. "For what he did to Marcy." She sighed. "Maybe they're right, and I am too reckless to be a hero. I just... I don't think that they should be taking it out on my friends as well. They didn't do anything." She paused. "No," she said. "The thing is, they did do something. They stopped me. They did the right thing, and they're being punished because of how badly I screwed up."
"You learned from your mistakes," Luke said.
"Yeah," said Cissie. "And they are paying for it. I just wish..." she looked away, not wanting to meet Luke's eyes. "I just wish that I could do something to help them, you know? But Jessica said that if I even thought of turning myself in for attempted murder, she would keep me locked in my room forever."
"Turning yourself in, in this case, really wouldn't help," Luke said. "You aren't being Arrowette now, right?" He waited for Cissie's nod. "Seems to me like you're trying to figure out what your boundaries are, and what you can and can't do. Heroes operate outside the law." He laughed suddenly. "I keep forgetting I'm an Avenger now, and technically part of the law. But my point still stands - we police ourselves. You try and cross the line again, and people will bring you in. Those people will probably be your friends, your family. If you think that there's any risk that you might end up doing that to Jessica, well, then, you should stay far away from the bow and arrow." He shrugged. "There's a reason she isn't Jewel anymore, she's still not ready. When she can trust herself again, then she'll come back. And when you can trust yourself again, well, you've got a whole big group of friends who would like to welcome you back. But they'll wait for you, because that's what your family should do."
There was a trace of bitterness to his voice, but Cissie knew better than to pry. "That was... probably the best advice I've heard yet," she told him. "So what should I do?"
"You ready to be a hero again?" Luke asked.
"I... I don't know," Cissie said. "I don't really know if I want to be."
"That's fair," Luke agreed. "You don't have to come back. It is your choice."
"I do miss doing archery," Cissie said. "I had a lot of fun practicing."
"So why not do something with that?" another voice asked, and Cissie and Luke both turned slightly to see that Jessica was standing in the doorway behind them.
"I couldn't help overhearing, but I might have a suggestion."
"What's up, Jess?"
"The Summer Games are having tryouts this week," Jessica said. "You could always try for it."
"For the Summer Games?" Cissie said. "Are you crazy?"
"You said you missed archery," Jessica replied calmly.
"I do," Cissie said. "I've never really done competition though."
"Think of it as a big practice run, without the danger," Jessica said. "Look, you love archery, right? I don't see how this can hurt."
"I guess so," Cissie agreed. She got up. "I'm going to go practice. You know, just in case."
"Sounds like a good idea," Jessica agreed, taking Cissie's seat on the couch, and curling up against Luke. "You go have fun."
Cissie left the room, but she paused right outside the door.
"That was a good idea you had there, Jess," Luke was saying.
"Too bad I really shouldn't take credit for it," Jessica answered. "I actually just got off the phone with Bonnie."
"Seriously? I thought she was crazy."
"She is, not that any of us could really talk," Jessica said. "But she told me a lot about Cissie when she was a baby. She knows she can't get back custody, but she's still trying to help. And I think that maybe the games, well... it may not be normal, but it might help her come back to herself a little more. I didn't know her before Elias, but there's something a little bit broken in Cissie, like something is missing. I don't want that for her. I want her to have a better chance, and maybe not end up as fucked up as I am. If I can't help her, then what chance do I have for our kid?"
"We'll make it work," Luke promised. "All of us. Including the baby."
Cissie's eyes teared up a little, and she headed back upstairs to the archery range.
Chapter 5
"This is insane," Jessica said, as she handed her daughter carefully to Cissie.
"Seriously, Jess, don't worry about it," Cissie said, as she cradled her little sister. "I've got plenty of experience taking care of babies, considering how often Anita has been calling me to babysit her parents.
"Sometimes I think your friends' lives might be even more complicated than mine," Jessica sighed. She turned to look in the mirror, inspecting every inch of the white costume. "Well?" she asked. "How do I look?"
Three-month-old Dani wrinkled her nose and began to cry. Cissie laughed. "I'm not so sure Dani likes it," Cissie said. "But I do." She paused. "Are you sure you really want to do this?"
Jessica didn't hesitate. "Yes," she said firmly. "I know that I can do this. And this is where I want to be, out there with my husband, protecting the city." She shrugged. "If I had said yes to the Avengers how many years ago, things could be different now."
"You could be married to Captain America or something," Cissie laughed.
Jessica laughed with her. "But now I am an Avenger," she said. "And now this is the chance for me to do something better with myself, become part of something greater. Maybe make up for some of the things I did before."
Cissie readjusted the way she was holding Dani, and moved over to kiss her aunt on the cheek. "I'd say you've already more than made up for anything that the Purple Man forced you to do," she said. "You helped me, now you get to help the rest of the world."
Jessica gave her a hug. "Now, you know what to do with Dani, right?"
"This isn't my first time babysitting her," Cissie pointed out. "I know where everything is. I know all the emergency numbers. And I know where to go in case Kang shows up or something." Jessica was about to protest, but Cissie plowed on. "I also know what to do in the case that we get sucked into another dimension, or sent through time. I have emergency frequencies for everyone, and I have my bow. Besides, Jarvis and Mrs. Parker are here also. So it's not like I'm all alone."
Jessica had the grace to look embarrassed. "I know that you're prepared for this."
"And you've let me watch Dani before. Now go! The Avengers are waiting."
"Right," Jessica said, stopping once more to kiss both of her girls. "Avengers Assemble!" She flew out, and Cissie rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Dani Girl," she said, as she carried the baby out of the room. "Time for your nap, I think." She laid Dani down in her crib and sat down in the really comfy chair that was near it. Her cell phone rang almost instantly.
"Hey," she said. "Do I even want to know how you manage to call exactly when Dani goes down for a nap?"
Her boyfriend laughed. "It's a Bat thing," he told her.
"Seriously, Tim," Cissie said, still pleased that she was able to use his real name. "I think your timing might be the freakiest thing about you, and that is saying something."
"I'm not that freaky," he protested, but he was still laughing as he did so.
"How's San Francisco?" Cissie asked. "And the Titans?"
There was a long pause, and for a minute Cissie thought that they'd been disconnected. She doubted it; Oracle had always made sure that the Bats had the best possible connections. If someone in the Bat clan lost a call, it was either intentional or the end of the world.
"It's interesting," he said finally. "We've... well, Green Arrow sent us a new archer."
"Oh," Cissie said. "Is that a yay?"
"She's okay," Tim said. "She's, well, she isn't you."
That was one of the sweeter things that Cissie had heard him say recently. Her boyfriend was not very good at the romance. This was also apparently a Bat thing.
"I don't mind, if that's what you're afraid of," Cissie told him. "All teams need archers. The Young Avengers have one, even. She's pretty cool. We've trained together a few times. But she keeps insisting that her team has the better name, even though Young Justice was way better than the Young Avengers."
She was sure that Tim was smiling on the other end. "So Young Justice is still your team?" he teased.
"Well, yeah," Cissie said, as she settled down more on the chair. "It was the only team I've ever really been on, unless you count the Summer Games team."
"You could be on the Titans, if you wanted."
"Nah, you really don't need two archers," Cissie said, deliberately misunderstanding what he was saying.
"You could come back," Tim said.
"So you can keep worrying about me?" Cissie said. "No, I don't need it anymore. I'm happy here. I've got the life I want. I've got a family in Jess and Luke and Dani, and I've got you, and I still have the rest of Young Justice. I still have archery. I'm even talking to my mom! She's been trying to be more of a mother than she's ever been before."
"I didn't mean to pressure you," Tim said.
"Yeah, you and everyone else," Cissie muttered. "Just because Jessica is back doing the hero thing, it doesn't mean I have to. I have a good thing, and I don't want to mess it up." She shrugged, even though she knew that Tim couldn't see it. "I mean, if you guys need me. If you really ever do need me, I will be there. I just... my life kinda sucked for a while, and I don't want to go back to that. I really can't, I just can't."
"Easy, Cissie," Tim said. "It's okay, nobody is going to force you."
"Could you tell Cassie that?" Cissie asked. "I finally got Luke to stop bugging me about it. I thought that Jessica had understood, but now that she's decided to do the hero thing I'm afraid that since she thinks she can come back, I should team up with her or something." She tried not to roll her eyes.
"Cassie just misses having her best friend around," Tim said.
"Yeah, but we can still do best friend stuff! Jessica and Carol weren't superheroes together, and they did plenty of stuff together." Some of what they had done included things that Tim would probably call poor life decisions, but nobody was perfect.
"Maybe you could come here for a weekend?"
"To see you, or to see Cassie?"
"Both?" Tim asked hopefully.
"I'll try to swing a weekend sometime," Cissie promised. "I'll get Jessica to fly me out or something. But you can always try and come out here."
"I would," Tim said. "It's just... you know how Batman is about the Avengers."
"Is he more important than seeing me?" Cissie said, a shred of jealousy flaring up.
"Of course not," Tim said quickly. "But if I do come, it's going to have to be as Alvin Draper."
"Alvin is better than nothing," Cissie told him. "Especially if it means spending time with you."
"I do miss you," Tim said again. "I wish..."
"Yeah," Cissie said. "So do I."
*
"Still on the phone?" Jessica said, as she walked into the nursery.
"Just hung up, actually," Cissie said. She was rocking Dani back and forth. "Robin wants me to come visit the Titans for a weekend."
"Still trying to get you to come back?" Jessica asked sympathetically.
"I'm kinda surprised that he is, actually," Cissie said. Her agitation must have been radiating through her arms or something, because Dani started to stir. "Shh, sweetie," Cissie said, as she rocked her gently, hoping that she would settle down. "I mean, all he does is worry about me, so I don't know why he thinks my putting a costume back on would improve things."
"He's trying to keep you safe," Jessica said. "Or at least keep you around. I don't really know, considering that you haven't introduced me to him since that time in my apartment."
"Batman's rules are weird," Cissie said, settling Dani back in her crib.
"Well, my rules are that you aren't going to go spend a weekend with him until he introduces himself to me. He can keep the mask on, if he wants to. Nightwing did, when I met him."
"I did not need to know that," Cissie said. "Thanks, Mom."
It was a good thing that she had just put Dani back in the crib, because Cissie's arms dropped to her side as she realized what she'd just said.
"Mom?" Jessica said. "Do you really mean that?"
Cissie took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said. "I mean, I'm getting along a lot better with my mother these days, but... you've kinda been like a mom to me for the last year or so. If you don't want me to call you that, I won't. I mean, you have Dani..."
"And I have you too," Jessica said. "C'mon," she said, grabbing the baby monitor and heading out of the room. "Hey, Tony?" she called.
"What?" Iron Man called from the couch where he was watching Grey's Anatomy with Captain America.
"I need a good lawyer."
"What did you do now, Jess?" Iron Man asked. Cissie giggled.
"I'm going to adopt Cissie," Jessica announced. "So go and fucking make this happen already, I know you know someone who can cut through all sorts of red tape." She glanced over at Cissie. "That is, if this is what you really want."
"Yes!" Cissie almost shouted. "That would be wonderful."
"Good," Jessica said. "Tony, why are you still on the couch?"
"I love it when she's bossy," Luke said.
Cissie couldn't stop smiling. One year ago had been the worst day of her life. And now here she was, with the family that she had chosen. She might not be a hero any longer, but she had everything that she'd ever really wanted.