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Speed of Lyght	By : JLinz Category: DC Verse Cartoons > Justice League Views: 6137 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics, Marvel, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited nor any of the characters from either series. I do not make any monetary value from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
She was surprised that the repairs were going as smoothly and quickly as possible. Tabitha had become accustomed to being the only one who knew their way around the wires; she had always felt that no one else would be able to do her job better. While she appreciated the help, she still looked over everyone’s work, going over and making their repairs indestructible.
John raised an eyebrow at her as she made changes to his repair job.
“OCD…?”
“When you can do what I can do with the wires… then you can say something!” she turned over her shoulder and smirked at him, “I can’t help that I like messing with wires and stuff…”
“Or that you’re a perfectionist…” Captain Atom joined in.
“When you do things yourself, they get done right…”
“… Close enough…” J’onn smiled as the two men laughed.
“Will you miss it? Making repairs and upgrades, that is.” John asked. Tabitha eyed him strangely.
“Being Monitor ain’t gonna stop me from doing upgrades!”
“Maybe not but… it guarantees more missions for you…” John smiled at her. She stopped working and cracked a slight smile; that was something that hadn’t dawn on her. She had seen J’onn assign himself to missions plenty of times; once she was appointed Monitor of Metro Tower, there would be no stopping her from assigning herself!
He knew that the concept would come up; her going on more missions. She had told the Martian herself that she had become more comfortable staying aboard Watchtower. However, he knew that the thrill of adventure was still embedded in her; instead of assigning other members to help with the battle against Luthor/Brainiac, she volunteered herself.
J’onn’s thoughts along with everyone else’s were interrupted by a small tremor followed by the blaring of a warning alarm.
“What the…” Tabitha was up and alongside the other three as they made their way to the control room. She immediately looked at the monitors and gave the others a shocked look, “An explosion in the reactor room…” she held her breath.
“Order an immediate evacuation; I’ll go and assess the damage.”
“The reactor room? Let me; that’s more of my expertise…” Captain Atom volunteered for J’onn. He nodded as the man left and Tabitha announced the evacuation.
“You’ll need to leave as well. Don’t worry; John and I can handle things…” he looked at her as she opened her mouth. He didn’t give her a chance to respond as John and himself left to help with evacuations. She pressed her communicator; she needed to tell her best friend that she was on her way there.
“Doc…” she tried. She was surprised that there was no answer, “Doc!” she tried yet again; maybe the professor didn’t have the communicator in her ear. There was still no answer and that made Tabitha worry. Another click on the communicator and Jamila’s cellphone rang. Still no answer. She tried the home phone and almost stopped breathing as that, too went to voicemail. Something was definitely wrong; either the professor or her husband would had at least answered the home phone. Tabitha turned back to the control panel and was about to try to locate Jamila’s communicator.
“Tabitha!” J’onn’s voice echoed throughout the room, “I told you to evacuate!”
“… Something’s wrong with doc; she ain’t answering her communicator…”
“Go check on her. Regardless of how you feel… I don’t give these orders to be mean to you…”
“That explosion wasn’t an accident, J’onn…” both Tabitha and J’onn heard through their communicators. She gave J’onn a worried look.
“Who… who would set off something like that on purpose?!”
“Someone with a deadly objective… or… someone trying to create a diver…”
“Security breach in the storage room!” John’s panicked voice entered their ears. J’onn looked at his girlfriend.
“This is going to get out of hand; get out of here and check on Jamila.” he told her. He was caught off guard as Tabitha folded her arms and shook her head.
“Gonna have to disobey that order, sir! Only way outta here is through this room; whoever’s stealing is gonna have to go through you… and I’m your backup!” she declared. He simply looked at her and gave her a slight smile.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Cocked, locked and ready to rock!”
“Make sure you keep up, then…”
“… Smart ass…”
The two didn’t have to wait long; they heard a commotion in the hallway leading towards the control room: whoever the intruders were had encountered three Justice League members. As the fight found its way into the room, J’onn made himself invisible.
“Huh… whoever they are, they’re taking care of things…”
“They’ll be sadly mistaken if they think we’re going down that easily…” he assured her. The intruders consisted of four men and a woman: Colonel Rick Flagg, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Clock King and Plastique; the five took care of the three Justice League members, Vigilante, Atom Smasher and Shining Knight, but looked in shock as Tabitha slowly clapped.
“Oh… that was good; that was real good! Now… I bet you’re wondering who’s this broad standing in your way and why she’s here by herself…”
“You would be correct, ma’am…” Rick mentioned. She took notice of his demeanor and the way he stood in the room and smiled.
“Oh… military. Been a while since I’ve kicked some military ass! Anyway; I ain’t gotta tell you who I am but I’m pleased to tell ya that… I ain’t alone!” she smiled wider as the Martian appeared in front of them. He looked at the five.
“Ask yourselves: is being in here with me what you truly desire…?^{^[1]}”
“And he has backup? Boy… you picked the wrong damn day to come up in here!” Tabitha slowly shook her head but continued to smile. The group tried to escape however was stopped short as she did a Lightning Cloud, appearing in front of Rick. He widened his eyes at her.
“Seriously… who are you…?”
“Kinda hurt that you don’t know me! Eh; don’t matter: I’m someone you really don’t wanna fuck with right about now!” she said and started to charge up.
“Wait…”
“What?”
“No abilities; they have no powers…”
“Aw, seriously?!” she heavily sighed and rolled her eyes. Tabitha stopped charging up and simply hit Rick in his jaw, sending him stumbling back. Captain Boomerang took out one of his patented weapons, about to throw it towards the lightning woman. He was stopped short as J’onn materialized behind him and caught his wrist, making him drop his boomerang. Tabitha saw that Plastique was going after the Martian and did a Lightning Cloud in front of her. With ease, she threw the woman away, making her crash into Rick and Clock King, “You came up in here with no fighting skills? This ain’t gonna end well for you!” she slightly taunted. As the two teamed up, she was glad that they were making easy work of the intruders. Tabitha had to admit that J’onn and she were really a well matched pair when it came to fighting alongside each other.
As Tabitha was taking care of Clock King, she became distracted by a sound that came from the hallway; whatever was approaching the room sounded large and metallic. Her eyes widened as the Annihilator battlesuit made its way into the room.
“Oh, holy hell… I think I know what they tryna steal, now!” she looked over at J’onn. When she did, all she could do was stand and look on in horror; the Martian transformed into a translucent monstrous form, terrorizing Plastique. Tabitha couldn’t move; she knew that he was a shape shifter but never did she think that he would turn into something like that! His eyes glowed a blood red as he snarled at her, exposing elongated, razor sharp teeth; his hands were replaced with claws. When he wrapped his body around her and she screamed… Tabitha wanted to do the same. The sight made her immobile however as terrified as she was… Tabitha really wanted to know why that form was so familiar to her. As she thought about it, she admitted that it reminded her so much of when she was attacked by Ma’alefa’ak; she had the exact same feeling then as she did at that moment…
She gasped as it finally hit her. The reason why it seemed so familiar was because she had seen it before… when she was alone with the Martian’s twin: Ma’alefa’ak had shifted into the exact same being. Tabitha knew the reason as to why someone would block that out of their mind; she wondered why she had only blocked out that image… and not the entire fight as a whole. She had remembered everything else from that fight; how tight he had her pinned to the wall, how hard he had thrown her across the room… she even remembered him talking about a Martian’s true form. A flood of emotions engulfed her as she finally put two and two together: the reason why she had forgotten about the image… was because J’onn had made her forget.
Becoming active by the fighting, the Annihilator suddenly grabbed J’onn and lifted him over its head. Without warning, it pulled and easily ripped him in half. Watching the scene, everything in Tabitha’s body went numb as his scream echoed throughout the room. She collapsed to her knees, shaking her head in disbelief.
“No… J’ONN!!!!!!” her body wouldn’t let her move, let alone breathe right. Tears immediately flowed down her cheeks as she could only stare at his lifeless upper body. She willed herself to look at the Annihilator, the only thing going through her mind was attacking it. She stopped herself from getting up to do so, remembering what the future Ramil and Ashley had told her; she had no choice but to stay put.
It wasn’t fair, she angrily and sadly thought. She covered her mouth and shook from trying to keep the sobs in; the last emotion she had for him was anger. More tears streamed down to her cheeks as she realized that… she never got the chance to tell him how much he really meant to her: she loved him.
She didn’t feel like fighting anymore as she somberly watched the group make their way to the teleportation pads with the Annihilator. What was the point, she thought. Fighting would only set off the battlesuit which would risk going through the same fate as the Martian had. Maybe… it would be the right way to die, she sadly thought. She knew that it wouldn’t feel right being without him; the two had been by each other’s side for years. Would there be anyone else out there for her?
Just when she made up her mind to attack, she looked on in shock as she witnessed J’onn attacking the battlesuit.
“…J-J… J’onn…?” she half whispered. It couldn’t be, she mused and looked where she had just seen his body torn in two on the ground; he was just there… dead! Her mind was still numb however she still made her way towards the group and continued the fight. Captain Atom and John finally made their way into the room and were about to join in on the attack until Plastique picked up an unconscious Atom Smasher. She held up a slender white disc against his throat, making the League members stop their attack.
“Stop where you are or it’s going to get really messy in here…” she threatened. Tabitha glared at her.
“You ain’t got the balls…” she mentioned. The group was bold enough to sneak aboard Watchtower and even take on a few Justice League members; if they were going to injure or kill anyone, the intruders would had done so by now.
“You really want to test your theory out? Go ahead and attack!” Plastique smiled at the woman.
“Hmph…” Tabitha narrowed her eyes at her; a Lightning Cloud should solve all this, she thought. Before she could make a move, J’onn held her back. He looked at her and shook his head, slightly sighing.
“… Let them go…” he reluctantly agreed, putting his arm down. He knew that there was a possibility that his girlfriend would be able to apprehend the woman; he didn’t want to risk anyone’s safety. Tabitha slightly backed down but quickly glanced over at Captain Atom; he was just as antsy as the lightning woman was. He saw that she looked at him and darted her eyes towards Plastique before looking back at him. When he gave her an almost unnoticeable nod, Tabitha knew that he got the meaning; she was not going to let Plastique and her crew get away with anything!
Tabitha did a quick Lightning Cloud and appeared behind Plastique just as Captain Atom rushed over to grab Atom Smasher. The Martian widened his eyes and made his way towards them.
“Tabitha, no!!” he tried but it was too late. Tabitha gave Plastique a small shock, making the woman drop her explosive. From the teleportation pads, Deadshot raised his pistol and shot at the disc. Before it could explode, J’onn tackled Tabitha and covered her from the explosion with his cape. She couldn’t help but to stare at him; a few moments ago, he was dead; torn into two. When he felt it was safe, he lifted her up, feeling a mix of anger and relief at the same time, “Are you okay?” if anything, he wanted to make sure about her safety.
She couldn’t say anything; she could only continue to stare at him, looking him over with misty eyes. She saw nothing that showed that he had even been harmed around his waistline. Tabitha bit her lip to keep herself from crying but it was no use as a tear made its way down her cheek. The way he looked at her, she knew that he was highly upset with her antics… he had every right to be.
“You… y-y-y-you were…” she couldn’t form the words without letting sobs escape.
“I’m fine; regeneration…” he tried to assure her. As the smoke cleared the room, they saw that the intruders, along with the Annihilator were gone. The Martian rushed up to the control panel and tried to trace their coordinates however he was stopped short as it started to smoke and blew up, “… They thought of everything…[2]” he sadly realized. Tabitha tried not to think about anything else as she looked at the damage in the room, cringing when her eyes landed on the badly battered bodies of Plastique and Atom Smasher. She quickly wiped at her eyes and looked away.
“Get these two to the infirmary now!” she sternly announced to anyone who was listening. It was all her fault, she realized. She was only trying to save the League member and stop the intruders before they escaped. How was she to know that one of the intruders had a gun on them? She should have listened to J’onn; she should have never tried to play the hero.
Tabitha made her way towards the console and immediately went to work on it. The Martian wanted to talk to her about her actions however he noticed that she was still clearly shaken from everything as her hands trembled while she worked. He sighed and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder only for her to shake it off, not bothering to even look at him.
“Tabitha…”
“I-I… I know what you’re gonna say; this is my fault…” her voice quivered. More tears formed at the thought, making J’onn shake his head slightly and attempt to wipe at her tears.
“… I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay…” he told her. He saw that it wasn’t the right time to point fingers and lecture; he needed her to calm down. His voice and the genuine concern behind it was enough for more tears to roll down her cheeks.
“N-N-No. I just… j-just… give me a minute… okay?” it bothered him that she still didn’t look at him. The only thing he could do was nod and look over at John.
“… I want to know who they were… and how they were able to get aboard…” he told him calmly.
“I’ll ask around.” John volunteered and left the area. J’onn was going to check on things in the infirmary but was stopped as he heard Tabitha sobbing. He turned to look at her and saw that tears flowed out of her eyes. She continued to work although she could barely see through her tear-stained eyes. He couldn’t take it any longer and finally made her stop, forcing her to hug him. Tabitha shook as she sobbed, burying her head in his chest.
“Everything will be fine. You made a mistake; it happens. You were only trying to do the right thing…” he tried to comfort her; he knew that her heart was in the right place.
“You… you were dead. I-I-I watched you… die…” her muffled voice still quivered. His supposedly death was still fresh in her mind and she held him tight as she continued to cry.
“Oh, Tabitha… I’m so sorry. I meant to tell you about that ability…” he slightly whispered. The Martian was able to regenerate his entire body from a very small fragment of his skin; being torn into two, while painful was nothing for him to recover from.
She was starting to calm down from everything, especially seeing that it seemed as though he was no longer in the mood to attempt to lecture her. He understood her motive for what she had done and was simply grateful that she wasn’t harmed in the process. It was a bit selfish on his part; there were others who he needed to worry about. However, Tabitha Lyght was human… and the one that he loved.
He stopped hugging her and made her look at him, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks and eyes. She took a deep breath and simply looked at him… and was reminded of what he had done. She cleared her throat and let go of him.
“J’onn… we gotta…”
“J’onn, I believe that he has some information to share with you.” John interrupted, escorting a civilian worker over to the two. Tabitha looked at the older man, recognizing him as one of the control room crew members.
“What do you know?” J’onn stared blankly at him.
“Oh, dear God; please don’t say you had a hand in this…” she thought that she had mumbled it however the older man dropped his head slightly and sighed.
“They’ll… they’ll do something to me if I say anything…” he weakly responded. It was enough for Tabitha to glare at him.
“Really? You’re scared of what a bunch of normal folks will do to you? You better be afraid of what I’ll do to you if ya don’t start talking!” she took a step towards him. J’onn held her back but kept his eyes on the man.
“Her emotions are high… however she is right… and my patience is quickly wearing thin…”
“I… I gave some… information to the group… about when to… sneak aboard…” he finally admitted.
“You’re joking… right? Please tell me you’re joking!” Tabitha’s anger made the man tremble.
“Who… were they?”
“A-All I know is that they call themselves… Task Force X…”
“And, how were they even able to get up here?” J’onn narrowed his eyes at the older man. He took a hard swallow, switching glances from the Martian to the lightning woman and back to the ground.
“I… I used to work with this guy… h-his wife… can make fake IDs…” he admitted. Tabitha’s eyes widened; it was too much of a coincidence...
“… N-No…” she shook her head. Before anyone could stop her, Tabitha grabbed the man by his shirt, glaring at him, “You better tell me you’re lying or I’m a beat the living shit outta you and make you into a fucking example!!” she told him. John grabbed her away from the elderly man.
“Get him out of my sight…” J’onn glared at the man as two guards escorted him away.
“And, you’re fired! You’re so fucking fired!!”
“Tabitha!” John tried to calm her down, “Mind filling me in on why what he said has got you so riled up?”
“… Jamila can make fake IDs…” J’onn answered for her. John widened his eyes.
“… She would betray us like this…”
“No; no way in hell doc would do something like that without being pressured into it!”
“J’onn…?” John looked at the Martian. He slowly shook his head, still angry that one of their civilian workers would do such a thing.
“I think… I should erase his entire mind!”
“Yes; great fucking idea! And, while we’re at it, go ahead and fire the whole lot of ‘em!”
“Now, hold on you two! Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?!”
“What is harsh is the fact that he gave out sensitive information…”
“It would be pointless to erase his mind, J’onn! He’s told us everything.”
“It’ll make me sleep better at night knowing he don’t know nothing. Can’t trust him to hold water, now!” Tabitha crossed her arms.
“Do you really thing that we can trust any of the staff after this? So, what; J’onn erases everyone’s minds?!”
“I would have to erase Jamila’s mind as well; she…” Tabitha glared at J’onn before he could finish his sentence.
“Doc ain’t no traitor; how could you even think of accusing her of it?!”
“Tabitha…” he was surprised that she snapped at him. He put that thought in the back of his mind, “The only way we’ll know is by asking her, ourselves. How long will it take you to fix the console?”
“A few minutes…” she huffed and immediately went back to work.

The remaining members of Task Force X brought the Annihilator battlesuit into the abandoned warehouse where the plan was originally concocted. They were slightly surprised by the blond haired, blue eyed man that met them inside.
“Hmm… it took you longer than I had expected…” he tried to reprimand.
“Never intended on taking on Martian Manhunter… or for him to have some help…” Rick eyed the man. He looked the group over and tilted his head.
“You’re missing a member…”
“… Blown up…” Deadshot vaguely mentioned. The man shrugged and patted the battlesuit.
“Hmm… oh, well; not my problem. I got what I wanted. You’ll find the rest of your money in that suitcase there…” the man pointed towards a suitcase in the middle of the room. He performed a small chant and the Annihilator came back to life, following him.
“W-Wait! Who are you? And… what about those kids you took?” Captain Boomerang asked. The man looked back and gave him an evil smile.
“Let’s just stick with Mr. Sera. And, as for those children… you can release them if you want… but they’re a long way from home…” he laughed as he teleported himself and the battlesuit.

The three teleported themselves in front of Jamila’s home. Tabitha took notice of the yard; both cars were there. She looked at the two men.
“When I tried to contact her earlier… she didn’t answer her communicator, her cell or her house phone…”
“Hmm… something isn’t right…” John agreed. He used the power of his ring to scan the home and the surrounding area. After a few moments, he quickly looked at J’onn and Tabitha, “Her house… it’s bugged.” he confirmed. Tabitha’s heart raced as she looked at J’onn.
“Can you… feel her and the trips in there…?” she quietly asked. The Martian simply looked at the house.
“… All I sense are Jamila and her husband…”
“Fuck my life… I should’ve came down here to protect her and the kids…” she breathed out as the three made their way onto the porch. J’onn shifted to a human form as he knocked on the door.
“What’s done is done; let’s see if we can remedy it… without mentioning what just happened on Watchtower.” J’onn said and the two agreed. Moments later, they heard the rattling of the chain and the deadbolt being unlocked. The door slowly opened, giving the three a half view of Jamila’s face. Her bloodshot eyes widened for a second but then went back to normal. She cleared her throat and put on an obvious fake smile.
“T-Tabs… it’s… it’s nice to… see you…” she tried her best to sound normal. Tabitha’s heart ached for her best friend as she noticed that the professor would not move away from the door, let alone even open it wide enough for them to see her fully.
“Doc! Let us in, will ya? Didn’t come all this way just to talk to you from out here!” she put on her best fake smile. Jamila quickly scanned the area outside before reluctantly letting the three in.
“S-So… um… how you been…? H-Haven’t seen you in a while…”
“Been busy. You?”
“O-Oh… the same. W-Who’s your… friend…?” Jamila glanced at J’onn as they made their way into the kitchen.
“This… is… Joe. Old friend from high school. He’s got an interest in physics and I told him about you. He’s thinking about transferring here…”
“Oh. Well… maybe it’ll be best for him. J’onn; oh, my God: I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t have any other choice! You must’ve filled his head with all kinds of tall tales about me…” she said and sat down.
“She talks about you constantly; I wanted to meet the legend in person! Where are your children? Tell me exactly what happened.”
“Oh… I’m no legend; just an ordinary professor. I don’t know where they are! He took my babies!! H-H-He told me that… if I didn’t make copies of my ID… I wouldn’t see them, again! He said he’d release them after the job was done b-b-but… I haven’t heard from anyone in hours! If you don’t want anything to do with me… I’ll understand. But, please… I beg you… just find my babies!” tears streamed down her face as she stared at J’onn.
“We will find them; I promise. Well, I’m willing to learn more from an ordinary professor that my friend can’t stop talking about!” he responded. Jamila wiped at her tears and nodded.
“… We’ll have to talk some more at the campus. He took my communicator and bugged my phones and the entire house!”
“I figured as much. Your husband…?”
“The semester is almost over but… I’d rather for you to go ahead and get… all the paperwork out the way. He’s fine… physically.”
“Thank you, Dr. Lindsey. Don’t worry about me being upset with you… you’re forgiven…” J’onn looked dead at Jamila. She let out a shaky sigh and nodded. J’onn glanced at Tabitha and John, “Whoever organized Task Force X took the children hostage to make sure that Jamila made the IDs. I’m sorry that I accused her…” he eyed Tabitha more. She bit her tongue and nodded, “Well, I hate to cut our visit short but I have to get going…”
“It’s… okay…” the professor nodded as the three started to leave. Tabitha immediately embraced her friend, giving her a tight squeeze.
“… I’ll see you later, doc…”
“… Stay out of trouble, Tabs.” she looked dead at Tabitha. The lightning woman could do nothing but nod as the three left. As they left the yard, the three looked at each other.
“I… I can’t even imagine what she’s going through…” John shook his head. Tabitha shook her head angrily and wiped at the tears that finally came.
“I gotta find the trips… and get those damn bugs out the house…”
“You are not handling this alone; you don’t know what you’re getting into…”
“Oh… so, you know? You know who did this? Who’d kidnap innocent children just so that they can get on Watchtower?!”
“Tabitha…” J’onn eyed her strangely as she directed her anger towards him.
“You don’t know! You don’t know the Lindseys like I do; this got nothing to do with you, with either of you!” she glared at both League members.
“Tabitha! You will not do this alone, regardless of how much longer you’ve known the Lindseys; I have been a Justice League member longer than that!” J’onn returned the glare, “We’re returning back to Watchtower and you will track down Jamila’s communicator.” he commanded. She huffed and looked the other way.
“Fine…”
She could barely concentrate on her objective, she was extremely upset with the Martian. Tabitha managed to track down Jamila’s lost communicator and looked at the coordinates strangely.
“Huh… it’s in Metropolis…” she mumbled and quickly made her way towards the teleportation pads. J’onn appeared beside her, grabbing her by the elbow.
“I meant what I said, Tabitha. I am coming with you, whether you like it or not. I understand that you’re worried about the children. But, I will not allow you to play hero by yourself; you would only make this out into a suicide mission. I sense that something else is wrong… but we’ll talk about it once the children are safe.” he told her. She narrowed her eyes at him, snatching her elbow away from his grasp.
“You read minds… maybe you can figure it out sooner than that!”
The two made their way to the abandoned warehouse and checked out the perimeters.
“Something ain’t right… there’s no guards… or henchmen… or anything…” she noticed. J’onn nodded.
“We’ll still stay alert. If the children are here… save them; I will handle everything else…” he told her and became invisible. Tabitha did a quick and quiet Lightning Cloud towards the building, sneaking inside through an ajar door. She found herself disappointed as she looked around and saw that it was empty. Her attention went to a dust and cobweb-covered table and she approached it.
“… Doc’s communicator…” she whispered as she picked it up, “Clear in the main area… found doc’s communicator, though…”
“I found the children. There should be a staircase to your left leading down.” J’onn told her. her heart raced as she made her way down the stairs; he didn’t tell her if they were okay or not. She covered her mouth and held her tears in as she saw J’onn untying the children from the chairs.
“Miss Tabitha!!” Jamil couldn’t hold in his excitement. Tabitha helped J’onn untie Solonia and A.C., removing the duct tape carefully from their mouths. The three immediately hugged her.
“Trips! You guys okay? Are you hurt?” she hurriedly asked, tears forming in her eyes.
“We’re fine. We’re hungry…”
“I knew you’d come to save us!” A.C. told her.
“What took you so long?!” Solonia asked, making Tabitha laugh.
“We had to take care of a few bad guys. Did you guys see who took you?”
“… He had powers…” A.C. mentioned.
“Powers? What kind of powers?”
“He did like this…” Jamil extended his arm out, “… And he made you stay put. And, he could teleport…”
“Like us?”
“Yep. He was always talking about weapons and war and stuff…” Solonia told Tabitha. The lightning woman looked over at J’onn.
“… Ares…” he confirmed, “It makes sense, now…”
“… Ares…? The god of war, Ares?!” she widened her eyes. Tabitha shook her head and looked at the triplets, “You know what… let’s just get them home…”
The five didn’t have to approach the yard before the door swung open and both parents rushed to greet their children. Jamila was finally able to let her sobs out; sobs that had been building up since she first discovered the children were gone. She kissed and hugged all three tightly.
“Oh… my babies! I’m sorry; mommy’s so sorry!!” the mother and children collapsed in the grass, “Thank you; thank you so much! I’m so sorry! I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again! I… I owe you so much, Tabs… I… I don’t know what…”
“Don’t, doc. It’s okay. They’re safe; that’s good enough for me…”
“Let’s remove the devices from the house… and then we talk…” J’onn told her and the two went inside. It took them almost thirty minutes to clear the home and their search ended in the guest bedroom. He sighed as she crossed her arms and looked around the room, “Tabitha…”
“You know what; we do need to talk!”
“… If this is about me not telling you about my regenera…”
“This ain’t got nothing to do with that! How many times have you tampered with my mind?” she figured that the only way to handle things would be to just blurt out her questions.
“Tabitha…”
“Cuz, I can count at least twice since we’ve known each other! I understood making me sleep through an alarm but… why in the hell would you erase a memory from me?!” she glared at him. For the first time in his existence, the Martian cursed at himself; how could he have been so careless as to shift into the very beast that he had wiped from her memory?
“… I only did it for your protection…”
“My protection? If you wanted to protect me… you should’ve erased the whole gaddamn fight!! Why didn’t you tell me before, like when I lost my memory?! You had a whole fucking month to confess to everything then!”
“I never intended for you to get a glimpse of…”
“Just like you never intended on telling me about my new DNA, just like you never intended on telling anyone about us!”
“That isn’t fair to bring that up…”
“Oh, but mind raping me is fair?! You sure as hell didn’t give me a choice to forget!”
“I felt that it was the right thing to do at the time…”
“So… without telling me, without even giving me so much as a damn warning, you thought it was the right thing to erase a memory…? I must be on the list of the humans that you don’t trust!”
“That isn’t true!”
“Being with you… I don’t know what’s true! You made me sleep through an alarm, instead of just telling me no like you always do; you erased a memory… what’s stopped you from doing more?! Did you trick me to fall in love with you?!”
“… How could you even think that? I would never manipulate you to do something like that!”
“But, how would I know?! If I didn’t see you turn into that monster… I would have never known! Let’s face it: you’ll never tell me if you’ve fucked with my mind more than what I know about! You said you can’t trust most humans. But, tell me this: how the hell can anyone trust you knowing what you can do?!” a hot tear rolled down her cheek. She stopped looking at him; she couldn’t do it anymore, especially after what she thought next.
“… What are you saying…?” he was actually afraid of the answer. Another tear rolled down her face as she shook her head and looked at him.
“I… I don’t think I can trust you, J’onn. And… if I can’t trust you… and you can’t trust me to make my own decisions… why are we with each other…? I… m-maybe we need a break from each other… until you can show me that I can trust you…” she almost couldn’t get the words out, the lump in her throat nearly preventing her to do so. She turned to leave only to be stopped by the Martian grabbing her arms.
“Tabitha!” he tried. She looked at him.
“… Can I trust you…?”
“Of course, you can! You should know this…”
“… Can I trust you not to use your ability on me? Can I even trust you to… to tell everyone… about us…?” she asked. He had an answer for the first part of her question; it was the second question that made him simply look at her. He still wasn’t ready to let the other League members know about the two; he still felt that they wouldn’t be ready.
His silence was all that she needed to hear. Her eyes misted over yet again as she slowly shook her head and snatched away from his grasp.
“… Goodbye, J’onn…” was all she could say before leaving the room. He just stared at the closed door, wondering how everything had changed so quickly. She didn’t want to listen to him; she didn’t let him try to fully explain everything.
“… But… I love you…”

[1]-[2] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Task Force X”
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Speed of Lyght