From Mars, With Love - Commentary - Pt.3
Jan. 26th, 2007 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieContinued from Part Two...
Part Four: A Different Perspective
First of all, this chapter wasn’t like this, once upon a time.
In the alternate version, Despero attacks J’onn, and leaves him, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Batman contacts Wally, who already knows something just happened because of the severed link, and he sees the pretty mangled body, but never thinks him dead, and is able to contact him.
The story is about the time he spends being separated while J’onn recovers, spending a great deal of time staying with him in the med bay because he could still feel him there.
It was angsty, and tragic, and not actually that bad at all. But I really wanted to take it down a notch.
So I re-wrote it, keeping a lot of the original ideas; how they recover at the very end, as witnessed by Bruce, and having their ‘revenge’ taken away by the Lanterns. Bruce’s involvement is about the same all the way through, actually.
I like this better.
It’s difficult, but it’s a situation that allows them to experiment more, and grow, the whole basis of their relationship. It also allowed the interaction with Bruce in later parts to be more light-hearted.
But, most importantly, it allowed me to write a scene in which Wally is getting hot and heavy with himself in a literal sense, and that’s just awesome. XD
Watching people had always been something Batman did; sitting back, merely observing their behaviour. The commissary was excellent for it, as well as being the place that was generally suggested to hold discussions, his present reason for being there.
Having this actually be, in part, from Batman’s perspective was new; but given the situation, it would have been impossible to do this next sequence of events from either J’onn or Wally’s perspective with any measure of clarity; but clarity, and an outsider’s viewpoint in Bruce’s objective but still somehow subjective way of looking at things.
And, as I mentioned before, he was constantly pushing to be more involved.
I was playing with the idea of deepening the relationship between the three during this, and changed my mind, beyond the trust and bonding stuff. Needed more time to develop.
Occasionally sipping at a glass of water, waiting for Clark to finish deciding what he wanted for dessert. Betting on the cake. Vixen and Lantern were talking in a corner, their eyes seductively conspiratorial for each other, being watched in turn by Diana in an apparently less than enthralling conversation with Booster Gold and Vigilante. By their wild hand gestures, they were discussing golf; Vigilante had recently learned to play, but Booster didn't seem to think much of the game.
Bringing Bruce’s perspective in also made it so I had to bring in his attention to detail, as best I can. It was fun, setting out all the details of this seemingly simple, and yet, somehow complex scene.
Clark finally settled on the dubious rice pudding and came over with his tray, sitting down across the table with an ironic smile he knew to be amusement that Batman never ate here. "I think we should start by expanding some of our civilian staff," he continued from a discussion earlier in the day. "Planet-side clerical positions.”
Describing the pudding as ‘dubious’ was a hint to Bruce’s true reasons for not eating in the commissary; regardless of how good it is, he can’t bring himself to eat cafeteria food.
I also wanted this to be as completely and utterly normal as possible when it began; everyone doing things they would at their ease, in spare moments without hugely pressing matters.
"Hiring more employees won't guarantee the work being done any better, if the nepotistic traditions continue," he replied, a bit disgruntled by it. "A review of the managerial..." A red blur, a gust of air.
"Hey guys!" Flash appeared with a tray that had a mountain of spaghetti looking as if it was about to slide onto the floor. "This a private party?”
I wanted to make Wally’s entrance as big a contrast to everything else as possible, and really convey how it interrupted everything in Bruce’s head. But I also wanted to leave the reasons for why he was so distracting ambiguous; there’s a lot of options on that list.
Batman wasn't going to say anything, but silently willed him away. He was a distraction.
"Not at all, have a seat," Clark said, and Flash was sitting, finished with a the first plate of food in the pause between his sentences. "We're discussing the staff."
"Aahhhhhh." Flash nodded, as if that was disappointing, and began twirling noodles on his fork. "I think we should have casual Fridays. I mean, I don't mind my uniform, and I guess it really wouldn't work for the superheroes... well, most of them. And it's not like we can't wear whatever we want anyway, right? I mean, some people walk around half-naked around this place. Not that I'm complaining. But I'd think that the tech guys might like it, you know? Do you really need to be wearing a uniform to fix a computer or... check things... all that stuff they do.”
Not really knowing what else to say, Wally still wants to be involved, and rambles. And of course, Clark listens.
"It's worth considering," Clark replied.
After a moment's thought, something at the end of Flash's statement was... off. In tone, and then in his body language, suddenly tense.
At first, he ignored it.
Bruce is listening, too, but for more sneaky reasons. He’s continuing his people-watching, and has just focused that attention on Wally. Thusly, he sees the first signs of something being ‘off.’
"As I was saying. Managerial positions."
"I can't believe you guys talk about this stuff."
"The council has final say on every..."
"I know, I've been here a while, remember?"
Clark coughed, tried to smooth away the sudden tension, a fist over his mouth discreetly. A very Clark thing to do. And West certainly had his own predictability; hardly the first time he'd shifted from his eternally bubbly self to unveiled rage, and these were the early symptoms. At such times, he was known to adopt Batman's own tactics at work, and little patience in anything else.
Curious.
Since he'd returned from the moon, a miracle had occurred and the Devil was shivering in Hell; the Flash had learned patience. And could, at times, appear serene, for a complete lack of any better word. As such, Batman was suspicious, and began watching him more carefully. Which he appeared to notice with unveiled irritation. It was easy to forget how much Flash could see when he was looking. "Don't even say it," he said snippily.
And, of course, Bruce continues analyzing the situation to death. In a matter of a couple lines, he’s pulling together long and detailed predictions and possibilities. I like thinking up his thought patterns like that, so analytical and insightful.
"Flash..." Clark again interjected, apparently not seeing the same dynamic he was. Perhaps he was unaware of the current state of council dynamics. There was something to be said for what could be learned through the pastime of League gossip, although Batman never directly participated on principal. "Flash?”
Writing Clark as overly careful of the privacy of others came easy; after all, he’s one guy with a lot to lose if his own secrets get out. And as a reporter, he knows the danger and value of information to have it or not. He’s an authority figure in an organization where secrets are part of the structural integrity; some things should be discovered, others left alone.
Flash didn't reply, and was... staring off into space. Clark waved his hand in front of his face without a response, then sat back and looked at Batman with an arched eyebrow. Waiting for him to offer some sort of input, and apparently he could see enough to tell Batman knew something.
J'onn was, to his knowledge, meditating on the moon. Had planned on it for the bulk of the day. Without his com-link, which he'd been sure to mention when explaining why he'd be unavailable, barring a dire emergency.
Batman tried to ping him on the telepathic link used for League communication, and, like Flash, found no reply. He hadn't heard him, but there were a variety of reasons that may be.
"Just... give it a minute.”
Bruce is also, in his way, respectful of others. He might need to know everything there is to know, but he’s more than capable of having information without using it.
Clark was deeply suspicious.
It was only about fifteen more seconds before Flash began... grimacing. Leaned forward on the table as if he had a sudden migraine. His mouth was moving, like he was attempting to speak, but nothing came out.
The situation had moved from curious to alarming.
"Flash!" he yelled, trying to pull him back from... whatever was happening. But he didn't seem to even register that they were there. "Clark, find J'onn on the moon."
"J'onn..?" he asked, already out of his seat.
"Later, go."
It had become a spectacle as Clark flew out and was gone, leaving Batman to pull Flash up, turn the chair around and try to get him to look at him, focus. "Flash!" He was... in pain, by any indication, growing more intense as he began grinding his teeth.
Bruce’s reaction isn’t driven by emotions in anything but it’s urgency, as he is. Doing what needs to be done, first and foremost.
Diana was at his side, and a good thing; Flash suddenly leapt out of the chair, screaming in what he recognized as Martian, and she caught him just as he was about to launch into disjointed assault, his arms intermittent blurs before he just collapsed in her grip and went limp.
Trying to describe how someone would be in the Flash’s body without knowing it; disoriented, moving way too fast. The world just stops and changes, and that’s quite a shift, especially with everything else in that shift…
Without hesitation, she picked him up in her arms. "I'm bringing him to the medical bay. What happened?"
They rushed through the halls, and he had to run to keep up with her haste. "I can only assume something's happened to J'onn."
"J'onn?"
So she didn't know, either.
Diana also doesn’t seem like the gossipy type. More stoic than that, usually.
"They've formed some kind of latent telepathic link. He reacted negatively to it's removal before, but not this dramatically. I can only assume there's good reason." He reviewed possible solutions, and stopped, turned around as he opened up a channel and headed for the nearest elevator.
And this is exactly why Bruce does what he does…
It didn't take long to retrieve one of Solivar's mental shields out of the 'trophy room' and rejoin them in Medroom 3, where the bewildered doctors were getting readings, but couldn't find a cause for his rapidly fluctuating body chemistry.
He'd never seen seratonin levels rise and fall so dramatically in the space of seconds.
Diana watched with him, for some effect of the thin headband... but whatever had happened was over. Flash had already begun to stabilize, and was awake only moments later.
He opened his eyes slowly, looking around disoriented, as if trying to recall where he was, and Batman swiftly leaned over him. "Flash."
Flash looked at him as if trying to figure him out.
"Icn't fnd hm," he said, frowning. "Dn't ndrstnd."
Batman grabbed his shoulders firmly, and looked him in the eye. "Flash. What happened?"
"Why..?" he trailed off, raised his hand and looked at it as blankly, then closed his eyes, and laid back with something like resignation. "Ddn't rlze." He took a deep breath before he looked back up at Batman. "I'm not the Flash."
It was going to be one of those days.
With the crazy going on in that place, I can’t imagine much surprising Bruce anymore…
"J'onn?" Diana asked, and he nodded, moving just too fast, then froze.
"Mongul attacked me, Flash is defenseless. I can't..."
"Superman is on his way."
"I'm following him," Diana said, and took off.
J'onn still looked disoriented in Flash's body. Hardly surprising, considering the extreme differences between the two; operating with an entirely different set of perceptions. The doctors all looked to Batman for some sort of guidance, but there was little to give. Flash was nearly impossible to sedate for more than the shortest periods of time, without some extreme measure.
"The transition..."
"It isn't the reversal, but the loss," he said, and Batman was only reasonably certain he knew exactly what that meant. "I'll manage." He closed his eyes and didn't sleep. Perhaps attempting to center himself in unfamiliar trappings, and Batman left him to it silently.
In situations like Divided We Fall and Foreign Bodies, where J’onn’s telepathy and perceptions were abruptly taken away, it’s like he’s been struck blind and deaf; even with his willpower, it’s a very difficult transition.
It was only when Superman called from the Javelin that he left, to answer it in the hall after the door slid shut. "What did you find?"
"We have him... but..." Cohesion, he thought, as Superman paused. "I had to... catch him inside my cape. Diana has it now, we're almost back. She filled me in. No sign of Mongul, anywhere, but there was definitely some kind of struggle."
"I'll meet you in the hanger. Batman out."
He walked there briskly, and waited, as the long silver ship approached through the wide windows, waited for the bay to decompress and met them as the hatch opened; Diana was holding the cape, indeed full and heavy with an amorphous green substance of J'onn's body without his ability to control it, and he could feel Flash trying to reach out, at the edges of his mind, scattered and incoherent.
This is also inspired by Foreign Bodies; specifically, the difficulty Kyle has in controlling J’onn’s body at first.
"How's J'onn?" Superman asked, strange to see him in just the sleek uniform without the cape. It made him look somehow more formidable to him for reasons he would dwell on at another time.
This comes out of playing Justice League Heroes, with Superman in the ‘Recovery Suit’; just simple black and silver, no cape, doing crazy damage. It made him look smaller, while at the same time accentuating his physique and making everything he did look just that more amazing.
So I threw it in.
It would also make him look more naked…
"Awake." He felt reasonably confidant that J'onn would be able to somehow stabilize him. Their first priority.
The second was to find a solution.
"Superman, take Diana, find Mongul. I'll take care of Flash for now, J'onn should be able to assist."
"Where do we... look?"
Mongul would be set on revenge.
This conclusion I made intentionally logical, but wrong; at least in this case.
"Start back on the moon. Go from there. I'll contact you with any further information."
He took the amorphous bundle from Diana and they left; it was surprisingly light, a little over a hundred and ten pounds. Still moving, and occasionally it was as if a hand were trying to reach out in vain.
J’onn can alter his density to be heavier or lighter; in his Manhunter form, he’s 300lbs. I imagined his body would be lighter, just amorphous and uncontrolled like that.
Unsettling.
Nothing, of course, compared to how Flash must be feeling. Something struck him as irresponsible about the whole thing, enough that he now believed strongly that it should be discussed.
The doctors were gone, and J'onn sat up, still wearing Flash's uniform but having removed the headband, looking better than before. Adjusting quickly, then, which would make the interim go more smoothly. His assistance would make finding Mongul go more quickly; he'd seen the inside of his mind, even if he wasn't capable of it at the moment.
"Put him here," he said, gestured at the bed in front of him, and Batman set the cape down, the green pooling on the blanket.
Batman then stepped back, to allow J'onn to focus. He touched the green, gently, almost caressing it. "Beloved," he whispered, "can you hear me?”
I considered, a lot, if J’onn would actually call Wally ‘beloved’ in the presence of someone else. I decided that he would, given he knows Bruce’s aware of the situation, and they’ve got a lot of history. If he would feel comfortable with anyone being around this relationship, it’d be Bruce.
It felt like an intrusion, but he felt it necessary to ensure the situation was under control. And to see proof that J'onn had found someone to love... if he could, despite the many things the two of them had spoken of over the years, perhaps there was hope for the rest of them. Even if he didn't like to admit the occasional regret he had or so many missed chances at his own loves.
J’onn is deeply feeling; and Bruce is, too. Right now, I placed him at the point where J’onn used to be, seeing how J’onn is now, and reflected that.
"There you are," J'onn said, and smiled. "You already know what you must do, Wally. Remember. Envision yourself, flesh and bone, blood and skin. Remember how I saw you, how you see yourself. Will it."
Wally’s familiar with this; he’s felt J’onn do it enough. Thus, I made it easier for him to learn how to do it himself, with help. Their relationship makes the whole situation much easier for both of them than it would have been without it.
The green hand now made it, became solid and reached for J'onn's. He held it as the green took shape, became vaguely humanoid. Slow minutes and he grew more distinct, a stylistic vision of a human that grew hair as he touched his own body on the arm, held onto it for support.
J'onn pressed their foreheads together, coaching him silently, until he could see eyes squeezed shut in concentration, and the green gave way to red.
There were two Flashes, holding each other up on the bed.
"Exactly," Flash said, and nodded. J'onn smiled, but it was a bit strained. His senses had been taken away, and that was almost certainly a tremendous stress.
They were silent then, faces moving as if they were speaking for some time. He wished they would speak aloud at the same time he thought to leave and give them privacy, but he would wait for J'onn.
Another quarter of an hour, without a report from Clark and Diana, with little movement and no sound in the room.
Wally and J’onn are, of course, communicating telepathically.
"We're going to be fine," J'onn finally said, and they both sat on the edge of the bed in tandem.
"I..." Flash croaked, coughed, and tried again. "I think I can handle this for now."
"Good. Diana and Superman are back at the moon now. J'onn, do you have anything to add?"
"Mongul has a new weapon, to more directly attack the mind. I felt his presence on the moon, and when I investigated I was hit. It created some kind of feedback... and that's all I recall."
"Must have left me for dead. Heh. There's a great way to get lunch interrupted."
"Where would he go on Earth?"
"He wouldn't go to Earth. He would come to us... or perhaps, have us come to him."
"Hn." There was work to do. "Both of you, get some rest, stay in communication. I'll keep you informed."
He wanted to offer them something more than that, but there seemed to be little he could do to assist. They nodded, both still looking a bit scattered, and he left them to be alone.
* * *
Wally would be falling apart if not for J'onn. Literally.
He taught him, reminded him of memories, and he kept himself together. And... there was two of him.
Once he got a handle on the senses he could barely understand, and a general handle on things, J'onn taught him how to set up a telepathic link, and he became more than just faint words being projected at him. J'onn's incredible willpower came with him to keep it going. To keep him going.
He looked at people and saw them like wholes, where before they were parts. Rounded edges of character and self that was only the tip of the iceberg. There were Martian words for the other senses, but their definitions did little to help him grasp them. Feeling the texture of air, almost. Like, if he knew what it meant, could read it, he could take in what it was made of.
Strange things, that he'd only experienced second-hand, and now was vivid and left him in something of a shock. But J'onn was still there, wanting as much of the extra senses of gibberish as he could give him as they propped each other up.
Envisioning what it would be like to suddenly have nine senses (I think J’onn has nine senses… it’s a lot…) was an interesting exercise.
Before, Wally’s perceptions had been translated by his own mind, so he never could retain what he’d never been quite able to understand, beyond feeling what it was like for J’onn to experience them. If that makes sense. And knowing Martian, he would be able to identify these knew things through that language. Maybe even understand it better.
They decided to return to Earth, and wait. Neither would be of much help.
Two Flashes walking through the Watchtower got double-takes, but strange things were the norm up here, and they transported to Wally's old apartment, and stripped naked. Or, J'onn did, then Wally copied him.
Two Wallys, who were very tired.
They went to bed immediately, and curled up together.
This crazy kind of mirror image was just… too appealing not to play with. It’s like how some people are into identical twins, except they’re lovers, not brothers, so it isn’t all weird incest. It’s just a pretty image.
Suddenly J'onn's desire for him filtered through his mind, and it felt almost like having the hots for himself. Because that was him, smiling at him in the dark, radiating love.
Wally’s pretty into himself, self-esteem issues and all. Fueled by feeling J’onn’s attraction for him in their link, I could easily see him going for this.
Wally pushed over, the sheets rustling ever so quietly, and he knew everything about J'onn, returned his love, and kissed him. The jolt of a million things rushing into his head at the same time was overwhelming, but J'onn helped him keep his shape. Coaching him in the back of Wally's mind as he rose up over him, ran his fingers over his chest and along Wally's arms as he leaned down for another kiss.
I wanted to show Wally’s influx of telepathic knowledge without describing the actual content; there’s so much he can’t process it.
We can do this.
J'onn was feeling less numb at the loss of his Martian perceptions, and Wally was managing to keep a lid on them, for the most part.
Light was fascinating.
Even in a passionate moment, the same perceptions that are enhancing that are enhancing everything else… and it’s just so distracting. Hee. Wally’s taking in more than he can handle, and it’s not all a bad thing…
And it all was, at the same time it was overwhelming, familiar. Wally's world was a slow one, which J'onn was experiencing with a similar sense of wonder, his vast memory fitting strangely in the whirlwind.
They focused on each other, and it was easier. He wanted to try shifting into J'onn, but didn't quite trust himself to try, and this was... weird, but not... entirely in a bad way. He was used to feeling himself, seeing himself through J'onn's eyes.
And now, J'onn was feeling firsthand what it was for a human to be achingly aroused. He loved this, even with the sense of deviancy, being so completely surrounded by his lover. Inside him and outside him.
Even though this situation has taken away his Martian-ness, it hasn’t in his head, where he can identify the situation to blending together. Even if they aren’t, it has the same feel to it.
Wally fought to keep together as he felt every molecule humming with warm, spreading pleasure. He closed his eyes, but it didn't stop his sense of J'onn. J'onn pushing his thighs apart slightly, touching them, feeling warm skin and soft little red hairs further down his legs, lifted up one leg to lick his ankles. His nerves were all shifting around in spite of himself, chasing J'onn's attention, and it felt... amazing.
This was inspired by the Bruce/J’onn in Chicago’s J’onnverse. That J’onn’s nerves can run around and chase sensation with a mind of their own; it made sense to me, especially given Wally’s tentative hold on the shape.
Tongue along his instep, up over his soles and lips around his toes, then back down, over the top of his foot, his calves, the soft inside of his knee. His leg felt it all with sensations a leg shouldn't be able to produce. Not that he was going to complain.
If you’re thinking here that Wally’s leg is just one big phallic here, you’re totally right.
J'onn sucked at the hollows of Wally's hips, and the sight of it being himself causing that kind of feeling might stay with him forever. Licking his way up over his hips, along the lines of his muscles until he found his way at his navel, crawling and tonguing up the center of him. Obscenely good all through him, and J'onn knew it did, reverberating in the shared sensations.
It could only stave off their mutual source of stress and they were soon just laying forehead to forehead. J'onn helped him make a stronger link, until he was inside his mind and outside it, taking over the things he understood, and it was a relief. To J'onn, too.
Wally slept, and dreamed he was a cheetah, until he woke up and saw that he was. Curled up next to J'onn, grinning with his face.
As mentioned before, J’onn doesn’t actually sleep and dream; he meditates. And that’s what Wally’s actually doing here, unintentionally focusing his imagination into form.
This could be entertaining, if not for the circumstances. He still looked worn out, but he'd had enough in him to nudge his own body, remotely, into the dream-shape.
He curled up and let the simple form of the big cat brain make him pleasantly comforted by a scratch behind the ears.
Perhaps it was the senses of the form, or J'onn's, but he felt an intruder through a shift in the air, the smell of something new, and Wally leapt off the bed, bounded a few strides into the livingroom, and jumped powerfully into the intruder. A dark figure that was... Batman.
Having Wally attack Bruce in cheetah-form was just… well, it’s just fun.
His interaction with J’onn is just… loving. They’re both used to the idea of form being something that can change, and just embrace it. Picking a cheetah was because it just suits him so well.
Wally jumped off him and J'onn helped him back into himself, dressed in a red shirt to J'onn's green, to keep things straight.
"I see you've become more familiar with J'onn's powers," he commented. "Mongul stole the technology from Earth. You didn't find him on his way to attack, but on his way out."
"From who?" J'onn asked.
"Grodd."
"You can't be serious," Wally said, snorting. "One of mine?"
"He used to be. He's a bigger problem now, but this... setback... of his works in our favour. The Guardians have made it clear their people will deal with the problem, however, Lantern has been delayed. Should we be able to fix this problem, and you would want to go in his direction, I may have a solution.”
Batman’s all business, of course. But he could have said all that over the com-links…
Zatanna, Wally realized, seeing an image of her blink over from Batman. Only she was younger...
He was distracted by it, and they continued talking without him. She would meet them, and if he was up to it, J'onn would follow GL and make sure Mongul never enslaved another planet.
Wally couldn't do anything but get back into his body and out of the way. Batman's thoughts about him were hidden, and he didn't pry, but he knew they weren't mission-oriented. He felt the bitterness J'onn had felt before, and it was... more than one thing. Something about work, things he couldn't unravel. Important things.
Batman glared at him again, and Wally backed off. He got too carried away. Maybe it was good he wasn't the telepathic half. He could feel brain-snapping power he couldn't properly control, and it was scary.
Wally’s starting to get a hold on the telepathic ability, so he’s still having trouble knowing how to restrain his curiosity; and Bruce has enough control of his mind to know that he’s doing it, and tells him to back off, as he would. He doesn’t trust that new dynamic so much, and he’s always big on privacy.
Almost lost his shape, lost in his thoughts, but J'onn nudged him into keeping it together.
"We'll follow you shortly," J'onn said, and Batman teleported away.
Are you ready?
I was born ready.
And they were two Flashes. J'onn kissed him and grinned, then signaled for their own appearance on the teleporter pad. J'onn looked his stoic self again, and Wally was more than ready to play the foil.
Wally has one last chance to have fun with this, and of course, takes advantage of it. Being Wally, and always finding the fun. :D
Wally freaked out the Blue Beetle by making his hands into hand puppets and made fun of him, startled Diana with a similar performance about her and Batman. She turned red and laughed uncomfortably, until she just sighed. "I wish." Not quite the reaction he'd been going for, not that he'd thought that part through at all.
J'onn finally used his speed to snatch him back to why they were there, finding Zatanna waiting in her quarters, poofing up pillows for them to sit on. She adjusted her snug costume and did the same, lowering the lights.
"Now," she said, "for the spell to work, you have to be two separate entities. Right now, it's a little fuzzy in the middle, and that could just cause trouble."
Wally's cue, and he broke off as best he could, cold and uncomfortable, until she thought it was enough.
Ever theatrical, she waved her hands about and they glittered with bright energy, backward-talking her spell and... he felt something tugging on him.
Something familiar. He let go, and blacked out.
J'onn, J'onn looking like himself was looking at him when he woke up. It was the form he had for others, because Zatanna was still there, but still... it felt wonderful.
He went for a run, and came back. "Zee, perfect, thank you. So much.”
Of course, the first thing he does is run; that’s his lifeblood, after all. And he can do it so quickly he doesn’t even miss a beat.
"I can do parties, too," she said with a wink.
It occurred to him later that might have been hinting at something, but J'onn was thinking about something very different.
Zee totally knows what’s up with these two.
They went up to the observation deck, and J'onn let himself wash all over Wally; he had to go, was drawn by the duty. It wasn't revenge, but justice, and... J'onn was so noble.
Both were one, for a while, to piece together each other's scattered fragments, and J'onn noted that it had been, perhaps, short-sighted to once think bonding with a human wouldn't be satisfying enough. Rich enough to be the support and fullness of it. It wasn't the same, but he didn't regret it.
Revisiting the idea, from the start, about bonding with a human being different. They’re a little shaken up, they’re leaning on each other, and working out a few of the kinks so they can take care of business.
Wally wasn't ready to settle down, to have everything J'onn wanted. But he was long-lived and patient.
Eventually they pulled apart, and J'onn kissed him again reverently.
I can't delay any longer.
I know. Beat 'im up for me.
Another touch, and he was gone.
Wally stayed on the Watchtower, adjusted to being himself again, did a lot of running. It was so... satisfying.
So was the feeling, when eventually, Wally felt Mongul's defeat as J'onn did. An unpleasant feeling that still meant the good guys won.
As a telepath, J’onn feels his opponent’s sense of defeat rather acutely in a fight; a thing I don’t think anyone would get used to.
Wally’s feeling all of this second-hand; even though he’s been messed with by this, too, participating in J’onn’s taking care of it has to do.
He watched them coming back through the feeds outside the Watchtower, John glowing green and J'onn gliding beside him, cape moving from his motion through airless space.
I'm quite ready to go to Earth and take some leave. That's quite enough excitement for one week.
Wally laughed, and they walked back to the teleporter and Wally's apartment.
He clung onto J'onn's mind happily, and they became one, all twisted in each other for the sake of it, for the peace and understanding and longing for it.
They'd been scattered, but everything was clear now, and done. Mongul was in Lantern custody, and hopefully... wouldn't be a threat again, not to anyone.
And they were right, and together.
* * *
Batman came back to the small apartment not sure what to expect; J'onn had left suddenly, and he was... concerned. He would satisfy his concern, then leave.
And back to Bruce. It started with him, and only made sense to end the chapter with him, seeking closure to events.
Immediately, he announced his presence to J'onn over the telepathic link, and expect only him to greet him.
It was Flash, but it wasn't. In a fuzzy blue robe, yawning sleepily, his body language close but... off.
Fun fact; J’onn’s body is the robe.
"Flash?"
"Sort-of. You picked an interesting time to visit," he replied, walking past him into the kitchen, where Flash flicked on a buzzing halogen light and began preparing coffee.
Batman followed him, and stood in the doorway.
"I wanted to speak with J'onn."
Flash just turned and grinned, tapping his head with the right index finger, then went back to filling the appliance with water. "I realize the position you're in. Your relationship with J'onn is very different from that with Wally, and you're reconciling the sharing of information. Didn't have to read your mind.”
It was tricky, making dialogue that was a mixture of both Wally and J’onn. It ended up flowing around from one to the other and pretty much working.
"J'onn is trusted with a great deal of sensitive information," Batman replied, attempting to respond in kind to the apparent design of the conversation. "Flash is not known for discretion."
"You've learned to trust him."
Batman was quiet, drank the black coffee offered him, and set the mug on the counter.
"It is a possible weakness within the core of the League."
"Neither of us are swayed by your cynicism," he said, grinning again. Truly familiar as bits of both, as he knew them.
"I prefer to think of it as preventative realism," Batman replied dryly. "I have pressing matters."
"Perpetually. I assume you know the way out by now. And you could call ahead next time."
"Good night."
Batman did trust the Flash. But it was a disparity he was grappling to understand.
He trusted J'onn better than himself at times, and there were few comparisons to that. But on the matter of trust... they seemed to trust each other more than he could imagine.
Batman wondered what that felt like.
Yup; a story all about trust and understanding. And love. :)
I haven’t even gotten to having Wally having a loss of privacy crisis, or any of the other potential problems. So I can go nuts, and make them very lovey-dovey and cute, because it’s also a relationship with enough inherent problems to be interesting. But I like that I haven’t even had to bring them in to do a lot with them, because they’ve got so much room to explore. :)
I love this pairing, I love this pairing, I love this pairing.
It was unexpected, and continues to be. Along with outright bizzare sometimes; but that's part of the charm. :)
Part Four: A Different Perspective
First of all, this chapter wasn’t like this, once upon a time.
In the alternate version, Despero attacks J’onn, and leaves him, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Batman contacts Wally, who already knows something just happened because of the severed link, and he sees the pretty mangled body, but never thinks him dead, and is able to contact him.
The story is about the time he spends being separated while J’onn recovers, spending a great deal of time staying with him in the med bay because he could still feel him there.
It was angsty, and tragic, and not actually that bad at all. But I really wanted to take it down a notch.
So I re-wrote it, keeping a lot of the original ideas; how they recover at the very end, as witnessed by Bruce, and having their ‘revenge’ taken away by the Lanterns. Bruce’s involvement is about the same all the way through, actually.
I like this better.
It’s difficult, but it’s a situation that allows them to experiment more, and grow, the whole basis of their relationship. It also allowed the interaction with Bruce in later parts to be more light-hearted.
But, most importantly, it allowed me to write a scene in which Wally is getting hot and heavy with himself in a literal sense, and that’s just awesome. XD
Watching people had always been something Batman did; sitting back, merely observing their behaviour. The commissary was excellent for it, as well as being the place that was generally suggested to hold discussions, his present reason for being there.
Having this actually be, in part, from Batman’s perspective was new; but given the situation, it would have been impossible to do this next sequence of events from either J’onn or Wally’s perspective with any measure of clarity; but clarity, and an outsider’s viewpoint in Bruce’s objective but still somehow subjective way of looking at things.
And, as I mentioned before, he was constantly pushing to be more involved.
I was playing with the idea of deepening the relationship between the three during this, and changed my mind, beyond the trust and bonding stuff. Needed more time to develop.
Occasionally sipping at a glass of water, waiting for Clark to finish deciding what he wanted for dessert. Betting on the cake. Vixen and Lantern were talking in a corner, their eyes seductively conspiratorial for each other, being watched in turn by Diana in an apparently less than enthralling conversation with Booster Gold and Vigilante. By their wild hand gestures, they were discussing golf; Vigilante had recently learned to play, but Booster didn't seem to think much of the game.
Bringing Bruce’s perspective in also made it so I had to bring in his attention to detail, as best I can. It was fun, setting out all the details of this seemingly simple, and yet, somehow complex scene.
Clark finally settled on the dubious rice pudding and came over with his tray, sitting down across the table with an ironic smile he knew to be amusement that Batman never ate here. "I think we should start by expanding some of our civilian staff," he continued from a discussion earlier in the day. "Planet-side clerical positions.”
Describing the pudding as ‘dubious’ was a hint to Bruce’s true reasons for not eating in the commissary; regardless of how good it is, he can’t bring himself to eat cafeteria food.
I also wanted this to be as completely and utterly normal as possible when it began; everyone doing things they would at their ease, in spare moments without hugely pressing matters.
"Hiring more employees won't guarantee the work being done any better, if the nepotistic traditions continue," he replied, a bit disgruntled by it. "A review of the managerial..." A red blur, a gust of air.
"Hey guys!" Flash appeared with a tray that had a mountain of spaghetti looking as if it was about to slide onto the floor. "This a private party?”
I wanted to make Wally’s entrance as big a contrast to everything else as possible, and really convey how it interrupted everything in Bruce’s head. But I also wanted to leave the reasons for why he was so distracting ambiguous; there’s a lot of options on that list.
Batman wasn't going to say anything, but silently willed him away. He was a distraction.
"Not at all, have a seat," Clark said, and Flash was sitting, finished with a the first plate of food in the pause between his sentences. "We're discussing the staff."
"Aahhhhhh." Flash nodded, as if that was disappointing, and began twirling noodles on his fork. "I think we should have casual Fridays. I mean, I don't mind my uniform, and I guess it really wouldn't work for the superheroes... well, most of them. And it's not like we can't wear whatever we want anyway, right? I mean, some people walk around half-naked around this place. Not that I'm complaining. But I'd think that the tech guys might like it, you know? Do you really need to be wearing a uniform to fix a computer or... check things... all that stuff they do.”
Not really knowing what else to say, Wally still wants to be involved, and rambles. And of course, Clark listens.
"It's worth considering," Clark replied.
After a moment's thought, something at the end of Flash's statement was... off. In tone, and then in his body language, suddenly tense.
At first, he ignored it.
Bruce is listening, too, but for more sneaky reasons. He’s continuing his people-watching, and has just focused that attention on Wally. Thusly, he sees the first signs of something being ‘off.’
"As I was saying. Managerial positions."
"I can't believe you guys talk about this stuff."
"The council has final say on every..."
"I know, I've been here a while, remember?"
Clark coughed, tried to smooth away the sudden tension, a fist over his mouth discreetly. A very Clark thing to do. And West certainly had his own predictability; hardly the first time he'd shifted from his eternally bubbly self to unveiled rage, and these were the early symptoms. At such times, he was known to adopt Batman's own tactics at work, and little patience in anything else.
Curious.
Since he'd returned from the moon, a miracle had occurred and the Devil was shivering in Hell; the Flash had learned patience. And could, at times, appear serene, for a complete lack of any better word. As such, Batman was suspicious, and began watching him more carefully. Which he appeared to notice with unveiled irritation. It was easy to forget how much Flash could see when he was looking. "Don't even say it," he said snippily.
And, of course, Bruce continues analyzing the situation to death. In a matter of a couple lines, he’s pulling together long and detailed predictions and possibilities. I like thinking up his thought patterns like that, so analytical and insightful.
"Flash..." Clark again interjected, apparently not seeing the same dynamic he was. Perhaps he was unaware of the current state of council dynamics. There was something to be said for what could be learned through the pastime of League gossip, although Batman never directly participated on principal. "Flash?”
Writing Clark as overly careful of the privacy of others came easy; after all, he’s one guy with a lot to lose if his own secrets get out. And as a reporter, he knows the danger and value of information to have it or not. He’s an authority figure in an organization where secrets are part of the structural integrity; some things should be discovered, others left alone.
Flash didn't reply, and was... staring off into space. Clark waved his hand in front of his face without a response, then sat back and looked at Batman with an arched eyebrow. Waiting for him to offer some sort of input, and apparently he could see enough to tell Batman knew something.
J'onn was, to his knowledge, meditating on the moon. Had planned on it for the bulk of the day. Without his com-link, which he'd been sure to mention when explaining why he'd be unavailable, barring a dire emergency.
Batman tried to ping him on the telepathic link used for League communication, and, like Flash, found no reply. He hadn't heard him, but there were a variety of reasons that may be.
"Just... give it a minute.”
Bruce is also, in his way, respectful of others. He might need to know everything there is to know, but he’s more than capable of having information without using it.
Clark was deeply suspicious.
It was only about fifteen more seconds before Flash began... grimacing. Leaned forward on the table as if he had a sudden migraine. His mouth was moving, like he was attempting to speak, but nothing came out.
The situation had moved from curious to alarming.
"Flash!" he yelled, trying to pull him back from... whatever was happening. But he didn't seem to even register that they were there. "Clark, find J'onn on the moon."
"J'onn..?" he asked, already out of his seat.
"Later, go."
It had become a spectacle as Clark flew out and was gone, leaving Batman to pull Flash up, turn the chair around and try to get him to look at him, focus. "Flash!" He was... in pain, by any indication, growing more intense as he began grinding his teeth.
Bruce’s reaction isn’t driven by emotions in anything but it’s urgency, as he is. Doing what needs to be done, first and foremost.
Diana was at his side, and a good thing; Flash suddenly leapt out of the chair, screaming in what he recognized as Martian, and she caught him just as he was about to launch into disjointed assault, his arms intermittent blurs before he just collapsed in her grip and went limp.
Trying to describe how someone would be in the Flash’s body without knowing it; disoriented, moving way too fast. The world just stops and changes, and that’s quite a shift, especially with everything else in that shift…
Without hesitation, she picked him up in her arms. "I'm bringing him to the medical bay. What happened?"
They rushed through the halls, and he had to run to keep up with her haste. "I can only assume something's happened to J'onn."
"J'onn?"
So she didn't know, either.
Diana also doesn’t seem like the gossipy type. More stoic than that, usually.
"They've formed some kind of latent telepathic link. He reacted negatively to it's removal before, but not this dramatically. I can only assume there's good reason." He reviewed possible solutions, and stopped, turned around as he opened up a channel and headed for the nearest elevator.
And this is exactly why Bruce does what he does…
It didn't take long to retrieve one of Solivar's mental shields out of the 'trophy room' and rejoin them in Medroom 3, where the bewildered doctors were getting readings, but couldn't find a cause for his rapidly fluctuating body chemistry.
He'd never seen seratonin levels rise and fall so dramatically in the space of seconds.
Diana watched with him, for some effect of the thin headband... but whatever had happened was over. Flash had already begun to stabilize, and was awake only moments later.
He opened his eyes slowly, looking around disoriented, as if trying to recall where he was, and Batman swiftly leaned over him. "Flash."
Flash looked at him as if trying to figure him out.
"Icn't fnd hm," he said, frowning. "Dn't ndrstnd."
Batman grabbed his shoulders firmly, and looked him in the eye. "Flash. What happened?"
"Why..?" he trailed off, raised his hand and looked at it as blankly, then closed his eyes, and laid back with something like resignation. "Ddn't rlze." He took a deep breath before he looked back up at Batman. "I'm not the Flash."
It was going to be one of those days.
With the crazy going on in that place, I can’t imagine much surprising Bruce anymore…
"J'onn?" Diana asked, and he nodded, moving just too fast, then froze.
"Mongul attacked me, Flash is defenseless. I can't..."
"Superman is on his way."
"I'm following him," Diana said, and took off.
J'onn still looked disoriented in Flash's body. Hardly surprising, considering the extreme differences between the two; operating with an entirely different set of perceptions. The doctors all looked to Batman for some sort of guidance, but there was little to give. Flash was nearly impossible to sedate for more than the shortest periods of time, without some extreme measure.
"The transition..."
"It isn't the reversal, but the loss," he said, and Batman was only reasonably certain he knew exactly what that meant. "I'll manage." He closed his eyes and didn't sleep. Perhaps attempting to center himself in unfamiliar trappings, and Batman left him to it silently.
In situations like Divided We Fall and Foreign Bodies, where J’onn’s telepathy and perceptions were abruptly taken away, it’s like he’s been struck blind and deaf; even with his willpower, it’s a very difficult transition.
It was only when Superman called from the Javelin that he left, to answer it in the hall after the door slid shut. "What did you find?"
"We have him... but..." Cohesion, he thought, as Superman paused. "I had to... catch him inside my cape. Diana has it now, we're almost back. She filled me in. No sign of Mongul, anywhere, but there was definitely some kind of struggle."
"I'll meet you in the hanger. Batman out."
He walked there briskly, and waited, as the long silver ship approached through the wide windows, waited for the bay to decompress and met them as the hatch opened; Diana was holding the cape, indeed full and heavy with an amorphous green substance of J'onn's body without his ability to control it, and he could feel Flash trying to reach out, at the edges of his mind, scattered and incoherent.
This is also inspired by Foreign Bodies; specifically, the difficulty Kyle has in controlling J’onn’s body at first.
"How's J'onn?" Superman asked, strange to see him in just the sleek uniform without the cape. It made him look somehow more formidable to him for reasons he would dwell on at another time.
This comes out of playing Justice League Heroes, with Superman in the ‘Recovery Suit’; just simple black and silver, no cape, doing crazy damage. It made him look smaller, while at the same time accentuating his physique and making everything he did look just that more amazing.
So I threw it in.
It would also make him look more naked…
"Awake." He felt reasonably confidant that J'onn would be able to somehow stabilize him. Their first priority.
The second was to find a solution.
"Superman, take Diana, find Mongul. I'll take care of Flash for now, J'onn should be able to assist."
"Where do we... look?"
Mongul would be set on revenge.
This conclusion I made intentionally logical, but wrong; at least in this case.
"Start back on the moon. Go from there. I'll contact you with any further information."
He took the amorphous bundle from Diana and they left; it was surprisingly light, a little over a hundred and ten pounds. Still moving, and occasionally it was as if a hand were trying to reach out in vain.
J’onn can alter his density to be heavier or lighter; in his Manhunter form, he’s 300lbs. I imagined his body would be lighter, just amorphous and uncontrolled like that.
Unsettling.
Nothing, of course, compared to how Flash must be feeling. Something struck him as irresponsible about the whole thing, enough that he now believed strongly that it should be discussed.
The doctors were gone, and J'onn sat up, still wearing Flash's uniform but having removed the headband, looking better than before. Adjusting quickly, then, which would make the interim go more smoothly. His assistance would make finding Mongul go more quickly; he'd seen the inside of his mind, even if he wasn't capable of it at the moment.
"Put him here," he said, gestured at the bed in front of him, and Batman set the cape down, the green pooling on the blanket.
Batman then stepped back, to allow J'onn to focus. He touched the green, gently, almost caressing it. "Beloved," he whispered, "can you hear me?”
I considered, a lot, if J’onn would actually call Wally ‘beloved’ in the presence of someone else. I decided that he would, given he knows Bruce’s aware of the situation, and they’ve got a lot of history. If he would feel comfortable with anyone being around this relationship, it’d be Bruce.
It felt like an intrusion, but he felt it necessary to ensure the situation was under control. And to see proof that J'onn had found someone to love... if he could, despite the many things the two of them had spoken of over the years, perhaps there was hope for the rest of them. Even if he didn't like to admit the occasional regret he had or so many missed chances at his own loves.
J’onn is deeply feeling; and Bruce is, too. Right now, I placed him at the point where J’onn used to be, seeing how J’onn is now, and reflected that.
"There you are," J'onn said, and smiled. "You already know what you must do, Wally. Remember. Envision yourself, flesh and bone, blood and skin. Remember how I saw you, how you see yourself. Will it."
Wally’s familiar with this; he’s felt J’onn do it enough. Thus, I made it easier for him to learn how to do it himself, with help. Their relationship makes the whole situation much easier for both of them than it would have been without it.
The green hand now made it, became solid and reached for J'onn's. He held it as the green took shape, became vaguely humanoid. Slow minutes and he grew more distinct, a stylistic vision of a human that grew hair as he touched his own body on the arm, held onto it for support.
J'onn pressed their foreheads together, coaching him silently, until he could see eyes squeezed shut in concentration, and the green gave way to red.
There were two Flashes, holding each other up on the bed.
"Exactly," Flash said, and nodded. J'onn smiled, but it was a bit strained. His senses had been taken away, and that was almost certainly a tremendous stress.
They were silent then, faces moving as if they were speaking for some time. He wished they would speak aloud at the same time he thought to leave and give them privacy, but he would wait for J'onn.
Another quarter of an hour, without a report from Clark and Diana, with little movement and no sound in the room.
Wally and J’onn are, of course, communicating telepathically.
"We're going to be fine," J'onn finally said, and they both sat on the edge of the bed in tandem.
"I..." Flash croaked, coughed, and tried again. "I think I can handle this for now."
"Good. Diana and Superman are back at the moon now. J'onn, do you have anything to add?"
"Mongul has a new weapon, to more directly attack the mind. I felt his presence on the moon, and when I investigated I was hit. It created some kind of feedback... and that's all I recall."
"Must have left me for dead. Heh. There's a great way to get lunch interrupted."
"Where would he go on Earth?"
"He wouldn't go to Earth. He would come to us... or perhaps, have us come to him."
"Hn." There was work to do. "Both of you, get some rest, stay in communication. I'll keep you informed."
He wanted to offer them something more than that, but there seemed to be little he could do to assist. They nodded, both still looking a bit scattered, and he left them to be alone.
Wally would be falling apart if not for J'onn. Literally.
He taught him, reminded him of memories, and he kept himself together. And... there was two of him.
Once he got a handle on the senses he could barely understand, and a general handle on things, J'onn taught him how to set up a telepathic link, and he became more than just faint words being projected at him. J'onn's incredible willpower came with him to keep it going. To keep him going.
He looked at people and saw them like wholes, where before they were parts. Rounded edges of character and self that was only the tip of the iceberg. There were Martian words for the other senses, but their definitions did little to help him grasp them. Feeling the texture of air, almost. Like, if he knew what it meant, could read it, he could take in what it was made of.
Strange things, that he'd only experienced second-hand, and now was vivid and left him in something of a shock. But J'onn was still there, wanting as much of the extra senses of gibberish as he could give him as they propped each other up.
Envisioning what it would be like to suddenly have nine senses (I think J’onn has nine senses… it’s a lot…) was an interesting exercise.
Before, Wally’s perceptions had been translated by his own mind, so he never could retain what he’d never been quite able to understand, beyond feeling what it was like for J’onn to experience them. If that makes sense. And knowing Martian, he would be able to identify these knew things through that language. Maybe even understand it better.
They decided to return to Earth, and wait. Neither would be of much help.
Two Flashes walking through the Watchtower got double-takes, but strange things were the norm up here, and they transported to Wally's old apartment, and stripped naked. Or, J'onn did, then Wally copied him.
Two Wallys, who were very tired.
They went to bed immediately, and curled up together.
This crazy kind of mirror image was just… too appealing not to play with. It’s like how some people are into identical twins, except they’re lovers, not brothers, so it isn’t all weird incest. It’s just a pretty image.
Suddenly J'onn's desire for him filtered through his mind, and it felt almost like having the hots for himself. Because that was him, smiling at him in the dark, radiating love.
Wally’s pretty into himself, self-esteem issues and all. Fueled by feeling J’onn’s attraction for him in their link, I could easily see him going for this.
Wally pushed over, the sheets rustling ever so quietly, and he knew everything about J'onn, returned his love, and kissed him. The jolt of a million things rushing into his head at the same time was overwhelming, but J'onn helped him keep his shape. Coaching him in the back of Wally's mind as he rose up over him, ran his fingers over his chest and along Wally's arms as he leaned down for another kiss.
I wanted to show Wally’s influx of telepathic knowledge without describing the actual content; there’s so much he can’t process it.
We can do this.
J'onn was feeling less numb at the loss of his Martian perceptions, and Wally was managing to keep a lid on them, for the most part.
Light was fascinating.
Even in a passionate moment, the same perceptions that are enhancing that are enhancing everything else… and it’s just so distracting. Hee. Wally’s taking in more than he can handle, and it’s not all a bad thing…
And it all was, at the same time it was overwhelming, familiar. Wally's world was a slow one, which J'onn was experiencing with a similar sense of wonder, his vast memory fitting strangely in the whirlwind.
They focused on each other, and it was easier. He wanted to try shifting into J'onn, but didn't quite trust himself to try, and this was... weird, but not... entirely in a bad way. He was used to feeling himself, seeing himself through J'onn's eyes.
And now, J'onn was feeling firsthand what it was for a human to be achingly aroused. He loved this, even with the sense of deviancy, being so completely surrounded by his lover. Inside him and outside him.
Even though this situation has taken away his Martian-ness, it hasn’t in his head, where he can identify the situation to blending together. Even if they aren’t, it has the same feel to it.
Wally fought to keep together as he felt every molecule humming with warm, spreading pleasure. He closed his eyes, but it didn't stop his sense of J'onn. J'onn pushing his thighs apart slightly, touching them, feeling warm skin and soft little red hairs further down his legs, lifted up one leg to lick his ankles. His nerves were all shifting around in spite of himself, chasing J'onn's attention, and it felt... amazing.
This was inspired by the Bruce/J’onn in Chicago’s J’onnverse. That J’onn’s nerves can run around and chase sensation with a mind of their own; it made sense to me, especially given Wally’s tentative hold on the shape.
Tongue along his instep, up over his soles and lips around his toes, then back down, over the top of his foot, his calves, the soft inside of his knee. His leg felt it all with sensations a leg shouldn't be able to produce. Not that he was going to complain.
If you’re thinking here that Wally’s leg is just one big phallic here, you’re totally right.
J'onn sucked at the hollows of Wally's hips, and the sight of it being himself causing that kind of feeling might stay with him forever. Licking his way up over his hips, along the lines of his muscles until he found his way at his navel, crawling and tonguing up the center of him. Obscenely good all through him, and J'onn knew it did, reverberating in the shared sensations.
It could only stave off their mutual source of stress and they were soon just laying forehead to forehead. J'onn helped him make a stronger link, until he was inside his mind and outside it, taking over the things he understood, and it was a relief. To J'onn, too.
Wally slept, and dreamed he was a cheetah, until he woke up and saw that he was. Curled up next to J'onn, grinning with his face.
As mentioned before, J’onn doesn’t actually sleep and dream; he meditates. And that’s what Wally’s actually doing here, unintentionally focusing his imagination into form.
This could be entertaining, if not for the circumstances. He still looked worn out, but he'd had enough in him to nudge his own body, remotely, into the dream-shape.
He curled up and let the simple form of the big cat brain make him pleasantly comforted by a scratch behind the ears.
Perhaps it was the senses of the form, or J'onn's, but he felt an intruder through a shift in the air, the smell of something new, and Wally leapt off the bed, bounded a few strides into the livingroom, and jumped powerfully into the intruder. A dark figure that was... Batman.
Having Wally attack Bruce in cheetah-form was just… well, it’s just fun.
His interaction with J’onn is just… loving. They’re both used to the idea of form being something that can change, and just embrace it. Picking a cheetah was because it just suits him so well.
Wally jumped off him and J'onn helped him back into himself, dressed in a red shirt to J'onn's green, to keep things straight.
"I see you've become more familiar with J'onn's powers," he commented. "Mongul stole the technology from Earth. You didn't find him on his way to attack, but on his way out."
"From who?" J'onn asked.
"Grodd."
"You can't be serious," Wally said, snorting. "One of mine?"
"He used to be. He's a bigger problem now, but this... setback... of his works in our favour. The Guardians have made it clear their people will deal with the problem, however, Lantern has been delayed. Should we be able to fix this problem, and you would want to go in his direction, I may have a solution.”
Batman’s all business, of course. But he could have said all that over the com-links…
Zatanna, Wally realized, seeing an image of her blink over from Batman. Only she was younger...
He was distracted by it, and they continued talking without him. She would meet them, and if he was up to it, J'onn would follow GL and make sure Mongul never enslaved another planet.
Wally couldn't do anything but get back into his body and out of the way. Batman's thoughts about him were hidden, and he didn't pry, but he knew they weren't mission-oriented. He felt the bitterness J'onn had felt before, and it was... more than one thing. Something about work, things he couldn't unravel. Important things.
Batman glared at him again, and Wally backed off. He got too carried away. Maybe it was good he wasn't the telepathic half. He could feel brain-snapping power he couldn't properly control, and it was scary.
Wally’s starting to get a hold on the telepathic ability, so he’s still having trouble knowing how to restrain his curiosity; and Bruce has enough control of his mind to know that he’s doing it, and tells him to back off, as he would. He doesn’t trust that new dynamic so much, and he’s always big on privacy.
Almost lost his shape, lost in his thoughts, but J'onn nudged him into keeping it together.
"We'll follow you shortly," J'onn said, and Batman teleported away.
Are you ready?
I was born ready.
And they were two Flashes. J'onn kissed him and grinned, then signaled for their own appearance on the teleporter pad. J'onn looked his stoic self again, and Wally was more than ready to play the foil.
Wally has one last chance to have fun with this, and of course, takes advantage of it. Being Wally, and always finding the fun. :D
Wally freaked out the Blue Beetle by making his hands into hand puppets and made fun of him, startled Diana with a similar performance about her and Batman. She turned red and laughed uncomfortably, until she just sighed. "I wish." Not quite the reaction he'd been going for, not that he'd thought that part through at all.
J'onn finally used his speed to snatch him back to why they were there, finding Zatanna waiting in her quarters, poofing up pillows for them to sit on. She adjusted her snug costume and did the same, lowering the lights.
"Now," she said, "for the spell to work, you have to be two separate entities. Right now, it's a little fuzzy in the middle, and that could just cause trouble."
Wally's cue, and he broke off as best he could, cold and uncomfortable, until she thought it was enough.
Ever theatrical, she waved her hands about and they glittered with bright energy, backward-talking her spell and... he felt something tugging on him.
Something familiar. He let go, and blacked out.
J'onn, J'onn looking like himself was looking at him when he woke up. It was the form he had for others, because Zatanna was still there, but still... it felt wonderful.
He went for a run, and came back. "Zee, perfect, thank you. So much.”
Of course, the first thing he does is run; that’s his lifeblood, after all. And he can do it so quickly he doesn’t even miss a beat.
"I can do parties, too," she said with a wink.
It occurred to him later that might have been hinting at something, but J'onn was thinking about something very different.
Zee totally knows what’s up with these two.
They went up to the observation deck, and J'onn let himself wash all over Wally; he had to go, was drawn by the duty. It wasn't revenge, but justice, and... J'onn was so noble.
Both were one, for a while, to piece together each other's scattered fragments, and J'onn noted that it had been, perhaps, short-sighted to once think bonding with a human wouldn't be satisfying enough. Rich enough to be the support and fullness of it. It wasn't the same, but he didn't regret it.
Revisiting the idea, from the start, about bonding with a human being different. They’re a little shaken up, they’re leaning on each other, and working out a few of the kinks so they can take care of business.
Wally wasn't ready to settle down, to have everything J'onn wanted. But he was long-lived and patient.
Eventually they pulled apart, and J'onn kissed him again reverently.
I can't delay any longer.
I know. Beat 'im up for me.
Another touch, and he was gone.
Wally stayed on the Watchtower, adjusted to being himself again, did a lot of running. It was so... satisfying.
So was the feeling, when eventually, Wally felt Mongul's defeat as J'onn did. An unpleasant feeling that still meant the good guys won.
As a telepath, J’onn feels his opponent’s sense of defeat rather acutely in a fight; a thing I don’t think anyone would get used to.
Wally’s feeling all of this second-hand; even though he’s been messed with by this, too, participating in J’onn’s taking care of it has to do.
He watched them coming back through the feeds outside the Watchtower, John glowing green and J'onn gliding beside him, cape moving from his motion through airless space.
I'm quite ready to go to Earth and take some leave. That's quite enough excitement for one week.
Wally laughed, and they walked back to the teleporter and Wally's apartment.
He clung onto J'onn's mind happily, and they became one, all twisted in each other for the sake of it, for the peace and understanding and longing for it.
They'd been scattered, but everything was clear now, and done. Mongul was in Lantern custody, and hopefully... wouldn't be a threat again, not to anyone.
And they were right, and together.
Batman came back to the small apartment not sure what to expect; J'onn had left suddenly, and he was... concerned. He would satisfy his concern, then leave.
And back to Bruce. It started with him, and only made sense to end the chapter with him, seeking closure to events.
Immediately, he announced his presence to J'onn over the telepathic link, and expect only him to greet him.
It was Flash, but it wasn't. In a fuzzy blue robe, yawning sleepily, his body language close but... off.
Fun fact; J’onn’s body is the robe.
"Flash?"
"Sort-of. You picked an interesting time to visit," he replied, walking past him into the kitchen, where Flash flicked on a buzzing halogen light and began preparing coffee.
Batman followed him, and stood in the doorway.
"I wanted to speak with J'onn."
Flash just turned and grinned, tapping his head with the right index finger, then went back to filling the appliance with water. "I realize the position you're in. Your relationship with J'onn is very different from that with Wally, and you're reconciling the sharing of information. Didn't have to read your mind.”
It was tricky, making dialogue that was a mixture of both Wally and J’onn. It ended up flowing around from one to the other and pretty much working.
"J'onn is trusted with a great deal of sensitive information," Batman replied, attempting to respond in kind to the apparent design of the conversation. "Flash is not known for discretion."
"You've learned to trust him."
Batman was quiet, drank the black coffee offered him, and set the mug on the counter.
"It is a possible weakness within the core of the League."
"Neither of us are swayed by your cynicism," he said, grinning again. Truly familiar as bits of both, as he knew them.
"I prefer to think of it as preventative realism," Batman replied dryly. "I have pressing matters."
"Perpetually. I assume you know the way out by now. And you could call ahead next time."
"Good night."
Batman did trust the Flash. But it was a disparity he was grappling to understand.
He trusted J'onn better than himself at times, and there were few comparisons to that. But on the matter of trust... they seemed to trust each other more than he could imagine.
Batman wondered what that felt like.
Yup; a story all about trust and understanding. And love. :)
I haven’t even gotten to having Wally having a loss of privacy crisis, or any of the other potential problems. So I can go nuts, and make them very lovey-dovey and cute, because it’s also a relationship with enough inherent problems to be interesting. But I like that I haven’t even had to bring them in to do a lot with them, because they’ve got so much room to explore. :)
I love this pairing, I love this pairing, I love this pairing.
It was unexpected, and continues to be. Along with outright bizzare sometimes; but that's part of the charm. :)
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on 2007-01-27 08:47 pm (UTC)Read all three commentaries. And you know what? If your dove is alone, he'll begin to court you. Our dove was like that until we found her a mate; then she started to shun us in favor of him. Talk to him. Love him up, and he'll be your guy, give you twigs and bow to you and shit.
J'onn love is better than tenatcle love, oh yeah.
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on 2007-01-27 08:53 pm (UTC)I would never be able to pull off tentacle porn. XD
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on 2007-01-30 02:14 am (UTC)It's great because in reading the commentary, almost everything you touched on in regards to why you did it that way or whatever was stuff I had already picked up on, except for how I was never exactly clear on WHY I loved it. Reading your reasoning and thoughts gave me so many, "Oh yeah, THAT'S why the moment was so poignant/funny/other emotion" moments. Your writing is so very deliberate that I can't imagine you having moments like I do, where someone will say that they got x out of whatever story I wrote and I wrote it thinking I was getting y across. Does that make sense? I think it's very cool.
I love the backstage pass to the writing of this story. You did a great job with it. And also, you have a dove? That's very cool.
PS:
XP
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on 2007-01-30 11:57 am (UTC)It's awesome that it's all fitting like that; you know, being on the inside, it can be hard for me to see how others are getting it all. I'm glad you liked this. :)
But, I've definitely definitely definitely had people misread my work in a big big way. Like, in that "Wow, I'm never reading your work again, you horrible person!" way. ::laughs:: So, yeah, I'm not immune, not by a longshot.
That drawing is mad awesome. :D
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on 2007-01-30 04:45 am (UTC)I love seeing how your mind works behind the scenes. You have such an awesome hand for detail, the kind that really catches your mind eye and makes you picture things so sharply. You build amazing big pictures through smaller details, making them so rich!
I think that the problems of such a close relationship are so many, that is easier to imagine than the great, awesome happy sey things that could happen. Or maybe it is that I tend to see thing very tragically, lol, but I love the lovey dovey stuff, it's just the right amound of lovey dovey, if you ask me. So full of awesome :)
Lol, and it's hilarious that Bruce keeps intruding in your plots X) That man needs to get a hobby or something, I can't keep him out of anything either :P Thank you for making the commentary! *huuuuugs* fannish delight!
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on 2007-01-30 12:16 pm (UTC)When I first started writing, my work was pretty much plot-free description. ::laughs:: I'm glad to have found that balance, that I can get those pictures right. And that the cerebral level is, too, because that's the best place for this to be. I think.
There are soooo many potential problems on the 'to use maybe' list for this story. ::laughs:: But, you know, it's still early in their relationship, so I didn't feel pressed to work with actual relationship troubles yet. You know. And I have so much fun writing something that's really happy and fluffy 99% of the time. XD
And... it is Batman's business to be in everyone's business, heh. It's a good thing I know his weakness for chocolate chip cookies... ::laughs::
I'm glad that was good for you. XD