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Be Not Echoes	By : Isabelle_Jennings Category: DC Verse Comics > Justice League Views: 3674 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: this story is non-profit, I don't own Justice League or any DC Comics characters

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
PART 8: BAT-SHAPED PANCAKES?
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--- KAL (continued) ---
"Come to think of it, I suppose I haven't formally met Bruce Wayne yet, have I?" She asked.
"That's one way of looking at it." Bruce allowed.
"What's the other way?" She asked.
"Mm. Bruce Wayne is mostly an act, honestly." He admitted.
"And, Batman, he's your true self?" She asked back.
"More so. Or in part. But no, probably not." He admitted. "Behind the masks, I'm not sure I really know."
"Huh, a challenge then." She smiled.
"That's one way of looking at it." Bruce repeated with a hint of a smile.
She nudged him in the side with her shoulder a little. "Where to then?" She asked.
Bruce got up and offered her and hand up; she took it even though she obviously didn't need it.
"I could take you where I go whenever I need, whenever things start getting to me?" He offered.
"Okay." Kal nodded easily. "Who are you going as?" She teased gently.
"Wayne." He answered. "I'll have to change first." He allowed.
Kal went with him to an out of the way building that looked like it was condemned. Through a roof access they went, and Kal found herself in a room outfitted with everything a man would need to be Batman. "One of my safe-houses." He explained, taking off his cowl and going to change. "I'll just be a minute. Grab some shoes, okay?"
"Mm?" Kal looked down at her bare feet. "Oh, right." She smiled. Going over and getting some socks and shoes. The shoes were big on her though. "The shoes don't fit. I'll be right back." She called to him.
"What? Clark?" Bruce called, but she was gone. She moved at super-speed to a nearby women's shoe store, picked out a pair of stylish looking dress sandals, paid for them, and was back in around five minutes.
"I'm back." She informed.
Bruce walked into the room, putting on a white dress shirt. She had a view of his chest and had to stop herself from staring a little.
"Where did you..." He looked at her feet.
"Shoe shopping. My feet are smaller now. Why I wasn't wearing shoes." She explained.
"Right." Bruce conceded, meeting her eyes for a second then going about buttoning up his shirt.
"So, um, where's this place you're taking me?" Kal asked, sitting on a stool at what looked like a work bench where he put together his various crime-fighting gear.
"...The street my parents were killed." Bruce answered, grabbing a jacket and putting it on, looking at himself in the mirror briefly, then looking to her.
Their eyes met. "Why?" She asked.
"...You'll see." Was all he said. "Shall we go?" He asked, walking to her and offering his hand again.
She took it. "I guess I'll just have to trust you."
Bruce shook his head a little. "That's quite a statement, from you." He answered.
"What do you mean?" Kal asked.
Bruce smiled. "As powerless as you were against this... Artemiz? That's how helpless I, or any human, is compared to you, Clark--if you ever made that decision. I think, between us, I'm the one who'll always have to take more on trust, don't you think?" He asked.
Kal could tell Bruce was probably just saying that to gauge her reaction, but it still stung her a little. "I never would." She answered softly, looking down then looking back up to meet his eyes. "And in any case, as a matter of practicality, on a person to person basis, I'm not all that much more of a safety risk than a random person on the street when you come down to it... People, humans at least, are fragile Bruce. One to one, most regular people would be nearly as incapable of defending themselves against some as well trained and well equipped as you are as they would be against me, after all. And even between one regular person and another, all it takes is a kitchen knife or a rock from the side of a road... It's only our ethics and character that make the difference. And by now, on that count, I think you should know, you're safe from me. Always... well, assuming you never make that decision you spoke of either of course." She pointed out.
"Never." He smiled to her, seemingly satisfied, and a little thoughtful.
"Right... so, um, weren't you saying something about 'Shall we go?'" She asked, realizing she actually was flirting with him a little. Which, in general, he didn't have a problem with. Bruce was a very attractive man, after all, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him, as a man or a woman. And, as long as flirting was all she did, that would be fine. But... she wasn't exactly feeling all that in control of her emotions right now, after what Artemiz had done to her. She wasn't quite sure she trusted herself, trusted her ability to say no if Bruce happened to return her interest. True, she and Lois weren't... well, Lois was dating Erica Del Portenza while she was dating her, so it's not like she had any right to an exclusive claim on her, but she -wanted- to be exclusive with Lois... or at least she thought that's what she still wanted. The way she was feeling now, it was hard to tell even that for sure anymore. She was sure Bruce was her friend though, or she wanted him as a friend--she didn't want to mess that up. She just felt... safe with him somehow. Bruce, this part of the city, it had come to mean something to her. It had come to mean a lot to her, actually.
"Right you are." He conceded.
They left then. He had a nondescript car (among three other vehicles) stashed in the building; his garage letting out into an ally.
During the drive, Bruce told her about where they were going. A neighborhood clinic and community center he'd had built in honor of his parents. Kal was impressed, and looking forward to seeing it. He had five more of them in the city and was working on a sixth right now.
"Here we are." He parked in back and they got out. A young man waved to them.
"Bruce! Hey!" He called.
"Hey Jamie." The two met and shook hands. "This is El, a... friend." He introduced her. Bruce had asked her about a name to call her in front of other people in the car. She couldn't very well go around calling herself Clark Kent like this without it leading to a lot of questions potentially; and 'Kal', well, it was masculine sounding, though he didn't much care about that, per see--still, it could potentially connect her to Kal-El/Superman, which he wanted to avoid of course, so that was out too. So, she'd settled on El, which could easily be short for Ella, Elena, or Elisabeth, and wouldn't be likely to compromise her identities... assuming she ever got back to being a 'he', she supposed... It wasn't a sure thing, after all, and she didn't really know for sure that she wanted to be a man again--it mostly still felt... very confusing to her.
In any case, 'El' offered her hand and Jamie took it, shaking hands with her. "Nice to meet you." She greeted him.
"Likewise." Jamie replied.
Pleasantries taken care of, they offered to help Jamie, a nurse, with what he was doing--bringing in a shipment of medical and more general supplies that had been dropped off a minute or two before. Next, Bruce introduced her to Dr. Leslie Tompkins, who oversaw a network of clinics for him; not just the ones in his community centers. She was an old friend of his father's, and Kal really enjoyed meeting her and talking with her.
Later, Bruce took her to see the community center itself. It was a nice place, just opened up for the day a half-hour or so ago so it wasn't all that busy yet.
"This used to be called Crime Ally." Bruce told her softly, one ten-cent tour later, as he leaned against the railing on the second floor, Kal standing opposite him. "My parents and I, we were walking home from the theater. There was a mugger, he had a gun, and... well, the rest is obvious I suppose... I suppose you'd say that was my defining moment. It led to Batman, led to this. I... just couldn't stand to let this place stay as it was, stay a place where children could so easily lose their parents like I lost mine."
She stepped closer to him and took his hands, meeting his eyes. "They would have been proud of you." She spoke.
He smiled a little, and after a beat, he stopped leaning on the railing and let her hands go. "So, anyway, on with the tour?" He offered.
She nodded.
"I looked into you, you know. Into Clark Kent." Bruce admitted. "According to records, your parents died when you weren't that much older than me... Is that true?" He asked.
Kal nodded. "It's true. They, they weren't my biological parents, -they- died on Krypton when I was a baby; but the Kents found me, took me in." She explained softly. "No less a defining moment though, I suppose, when I lost them. Car accident. T-boned by a sleep-deprived trucker. Happened so fast I couldn't do anything. I survived, not a scratch, obviously... They weren't so lucky."
Bruce was quiet as they walked. "Seems like we're not as different as you seem to think. Species aside." Kal offered.
Bruce stopped and their eyes met, he smiled a little. "Give me more credit than that, okay?" He replied.
Kal smiled. "Okay." She agreed. "Um, game of basketball?" She asked, looking over the stairs to the indoor basketball court.
"Mm. Not that I'm afraid to lose badly mind you, but, for curiosity's sake, how exactly would that be even remotely fair?" Bruce asked.
Kal shrugged. "It just would be. I don't know how exactly I'm able to do it, but I can approximate human strength levels, no problem. Think about it, Bruce--if I couldn't do that, how could I even manage interact with people without hurting them by accident? When we play, you'll be playing the equivalent to a normal human woman. Well, one whose mind works a lot faster than yours, I can't change that, but somehow I don't think that'll make a whole lot of difference when it comes to you. You're unusually quick that way, for a human." She teased.
"Mm, thanks for the complement, I guess." Bruce answered doubtfully. "Alright, you're on."
It ended up being quite a competitive game, a lot of people came over to watch; Kal saw one woman taking a video with her iPhone, a few others took pictures. "Headline, Bruce Wayne slam-dunks on mystery brunette." Kal joked. "Is it a date, or is Wayne practicing for the NBA?" She stole the ball from him and danced away, fading back for a three-point shot.
"Not the NBA, obviously." Bruce joked of the stolen ball. The score was close though, Kal had just gotten ahead again with that shot in fact.
"We should stop soon; people might notice I'm not sweating." She offered with a little regret. "Next point wins?"
Bruce used some martial arts kinda move and got the point.
"Did you let me win?" He asked as they walked off the court.
"Nope. Like I said, just made it a fair contest." Kal answered. "You can thank that ninja stuff you pulled at the end for the win."
"Thank you, ninja stuff." Bruce replied, and Kal laughed.
"You made a joke?" She was surprised at that.
"I can make jokes you know." He answered.
"Can you cook?" She asked playfully, finding the mental image funny. Batman in the kitchen = Bat-shaped pancakes.
"Only a few things, necessities." He answered.
"Mm. What now?" She asked, nobly resisting the urge to make a joke about Bat-shaped pancakes. "Breakfast?" It was a bit after seven in the morning.
"Sounds good." He agreed.
--- J'ANN ---
Lois awoke to the sound of a door opening. "Erica." She smiled to herself, sensing Erica, as well as Margot and Aliki, entering the home. They soon entered the bedroom and Lois sat up and smiled to them. "Welcome back." She offered in greeting.
"Mm, obviously. Lucky me." Answered Erica, walking over to the bed, taking off her shoes and going over to Lois on the bed, kissing her. Margot and Aliki sitting down on opposite sides of her. "I'm so glad you're here, Spain was such a trial. You're just what I need to pick up my spirits."
"Mutual." Lois agreed.
Margot stroked her chin and turned her head towards her for a kiss. "For us too."
"We missed you." Aliki offered, turning her head the other way and kissing her too.
"Um, ladies, could I have a little time with Lois to myself? I think there are things we need to talk about." Erica asked.
"Mm," Margot looked to her sister who nodded. "We'll be in the shower then."
"Be good while we're gone, yes?" Aliki asked flirtingly which made Lois giggle just a little bit.
Lois met Erica's eyes and stayed on them until the door shut, then they came together for a longer kiss. Erica moved forward and lay Lois back on the bed, coming over her and continuing to kiss her, Lois working to unbutton Erica's shirt.
"Mm, I've missed you." Erica told, snuggling up on top of Lois and resting her head next to hers. "So, what brings you to my bed, hmm? And... why do I have the feeling it's not something pleasant, such as you simply wanting to be with me again as soon as possible?"
Lois smiled, holding her lover to her gratefully. "Actually... I had a, a really horrible day yesterday. One of the worst days of my life actually. Which, naturally, made me want to be with you again as soon as possible... So, here I am." Lois smiled, kissing Erica.
"Would you like to tell be about it?" Erica asked.
"Later, maybe." Lois answered softly, kissing her lover again. "For now..." She looked gratefully into Erica's ever mysterious but oh-so familiar, welcoming, and alluring eyes. "I just want to be with you."
Erica smiled and moved to kiss her. Lois just loved kissing this woman. "Mm, you need some fun, I think, yes?" She asked.
"Badly." Lois smiled.
"Let's go join them in the shower then, hmm?" Erica offered. "Besides, I probably smell like an airplane, don't I?"
"I hadn't noticed if you do." Lois told, kissing her again.
"Sweet talker, magic tongue." Erica answered, nipping at Lois's tongue playfully.
Lois giggled a little and kissed her, hugged her. "I'm so happy you're back." She spoke.
"Really, and what about this Kent person, hmm?" Erica inquired. "Don't look so surprised, I do have private investigators you know. I was surprised to find my competition a man though--not that there's anything wrong with that."
Lois shook her head a little. "I don't think things are going to work out with him." She answered honestly. And it seemed obvious to her now that they wouldn't. It was too complicated, too hard, too much had happened. Two people with so much tragedy in their pasts getting together? It was like asking to be hurt, wasn't it? She just wanted someone... someone she didn't have to try so hard for. Someone who wasn't so much... like her, like that part of her that was hurt. "I... want to try with you, seriously try. If you're willing?"
Erica smiled brilliantly. "You know, I think I just might be at that." She kissed her. "Now, come on, get wet with me?" She took Lois's hands and moved back, pulling a willing Lois along with her.
Lois laughed and went with her, getting Erica out of her shirt and pants on the way. They stepped through the door and... and everything in Lois felt like she'd had the breath stolen from her and had ice water thrown at her.
There was a man in the shower, a god, and he'd just cut Aliki's throat, murdered her. His eyes met hers and she took a step back, her hands, one over the other over her heart. She looked over and saw Margot on the floor, leg broken, holding a broken arm. Their eyes met; there was just... desolation there, lost hope, some anger, and tears... Her sister was dead, her lover, the one she loved most of all; even without being a telepath, Lois would know that feeling for what it was. With being a telepath? It was... torture, cruelty, all but the very last thing she'd ever wanted to be forced to feel again, and it was worse because Margot was, if not being someone she was in love with, someone she cared for intensely.
"My sister, Artemiz, sends her very kind regards, J'ann J'onzz. I am Kanto... She really hates you, you know? With an intensity I have rarely ever seen in my long and storied life." He told, dropping Aliki's body to the floor and stepping over it. "I've... never seen her like I saw her today. It was beautiful. What you must have done to her..." He shook his head and smiled, a little in wonder.
The more she looked at him, the more sheer fury she felt. He was just... talking to her, whipping off his knife, like he had nothing to fear and this, Aliki's death, was just... nothing to him. She felt walls closing in on her heart, fire burning in her in some arid place. Fear, hurt, trauma, and something else. Something dark and burning. She let it take her, and was at the assassin's throat before she could consciously think about it; knocking the knife from his hand, she sent thousands of needles into his mind, poured fire from her eyes into his, locked his mind down so he could not move. It was like time didn't matter; she felt him, felt his energy, knew it. Knew it intimately for what it was. The part of her that had become Artemiz, the part of her that had loved, still was very much in love with Lashina, the part that knew them, also knew this man, this god. And knew how to break him. And so she started to, tearing off parts of him, letting them float away. He screamed and she smiled and felt joy and made him scream that much louder. She had no words for this, no language, she just... just couldn't take this anymore. It was time for her to give some back.
So she did, she took her worst, the very, very worst thing in her, the death screams of her people, the deaths of billions that echoed in her mind every night; how it felt for her, the burning and terror and fear. And she poured it into him, even as tears fell from her eyes. It was too much, she threw him away from her. He was badly staggered.
"Blind... I'm blind; make it stop, please..." He held his head.
She felt like screaming herself, screaming until she couldn't scream anymore. But... she had to protect Erica and Margot, and at this point she didn't feel like she had much fight left in her. So she used her telekinesis to take the mother box from his waist, opened the window, told the mother box to open a BOOM tube out in the air, then forced him through it with her telekinesis and promptly fell to her knees and wept. Even with what she now knew she knew from Artemiz and Lashina's minds, much as she might viscerally want to in order to punish them for what they'd done, she wasn't at all sure she'd have the ability, or even the will in her, to actually kill a god or goddess. Besides which, she was pretty sure if she did manage it, unless she was very, very careful and very fast at it, there would probably be an explosion, maybe a very big one. Far better to send him away; and she'd kept his mother box--he was stranded in another star system a very long ways from here. He would find his way back, eventually, but, blind and damaged as he was, hopefully it would not be for a very long time indeed.
Someone put her arms around her in comfort, Erica, and Lois moved and clung to her as she cried.
She felt someone else though, Margot, and she got herself together enough to pull away from Erica and look. Margot had curled up next to her dead sister, closed her eyes, and was silently crying. She looked into her mind and realized she was in a deep state of shock. Lois looked into Erica's eyes then and saw so many things. She touched her face.
"Somehow, I... think there are some things you haven't told me about yourself." Erica spoke, tears falling from her eyes as well. She turned and looked at Margot and her sister. " I feel like... I'm stuck inside. There's... there's something in the air here." She told, sounding a little dazed. "I don't like it... She's really dead, isn't she...?" She sounded like she couldn't quite make herself accept that.
And it clicked into place, and Lois smiled softly. "That's it..." She whispered, letting go of Erica and crawling over to the sisters.
Margot looked at her blankly as Lois brought her hand to Aliki's hair, but then Margot lay her head down on her dead sister's shoulder again and stared blankly at nothing.
There were pieces of Kanto still floating here, pieces that she'd torn from him. Pieces of a god. Pieces she knew she could do things with, maybe even do the impossible.
They wouldn't last long, but while they were here, she might just be able to... "If I can just..." She grabbed hold of them with her mind and poured them into Aliki's body, willed them to rekindle the spark there, to go against their nature and heal instead of hurt. There wasn't much consciousness in them left, and what was there she was able to disperse; so she was able to do it, tired and raw as she felt. She put her hopes behind her efforts. There was a glow of radiance around them, and soon... Aliki opened her eyes, her eyes and skin glowing golden for a few seconds, then settling back to their normal color. "Fuck, I actually did it." She spoke, falling back, Erica catching her.
"Aliki? Sister? Is it you?" Margot stroked her sister's hair and looked into her eyes, both of them crying and smiling.
"It's me." Aliki answered softly.
"Oh, thank you, thank you." She exclaimed, kissing her sister over and over. "I felt like I had died too; oh my love, my beautiful one." She hugged her and Aliki hugged her back and Lois watched, a smile on her lips even as tears fell down her cheeks--but tears of happiness and relief this time.
Erica stroked her hair. "I am amazed... Completely amazed..." She told softly to her. "You... you truly brought her back from the dead." She spoke.
"Yeah, I guess I did." Lois answered.
"I... I had a son once... You, is it possible you might be..." Erica asked softly.
Lois was silent. "...I don't know. If I could rip apart pieces from another god near your son's grave, then... then maybe..." She finally answered.
Erica shook her head. They both watched the sisters, Margot was on top of her sister, just holding her and crying and kissing her reverently; Aliki holding her back and looking over at Lois in wonder a while, then looking up at the ceiling.
Lois got up and went over to them, putting her hand on Margot's back. "We... we should really see about.... you've been hurt, Mar."
Margot hugged her. "You saved her, you brought her back to me." She kissed her passionately, then looked her in the eyes. "I owe you my life too, as well as hers I think. If he had not killed me too, I... I surely would have died without her." She told, kissing her again. "Whatever sort of angel you are, thank you for blessing my sister with your light."
Aliki got up and hugged her sister from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder, her head leaning against her sister. Erica came over and touched their hair softly. "She... she's right; we need to take care of you, Margot." She looked into Aliki's eyes and cried a little more. "I'm so happy you're okay..." She told softly, reverently to her.
Aliki kissed her and Erica closed her eyes and let her.
Lois smiled at that. "Here, let me carry you." She offered Margot.
"No, I can..." Margot tried to get up but cried out in pain.
"It's no trouble." Lois assured, gently taking Margot in her arms and standing up as effortlessly as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Wow." Margot spoke softly.
Erica helped Aliki to her feet; Aliki was a little unsteady but seemed to be fine, not even a faint scar where she'd been cut. "What else can you do?" Erica asked.
Lois smiled softly. "Well, since you did ask." She floated off the ground a little and used her telekinesis to float Erica and Aliki as well.
Aliki laughed a little. "I can feel it, on my skin, just barely. Wonderful."
She smiled softly to Aliki and moved them all back to the bedroom and gently sat Margot down on the bed. "Is there a first aid kit?" She asked Erica.
Erica nodded. "I'll get it." She looked at the twins' wet hair. "And some towels for your hair." She added, going off to do that.
Aliki sat down next to her sister on the bed and caressed her and made cooing sounds over her, them both smiling to one another; Margot soaking up her sister's attentions greedily, like a starved woman who'd just found her oasis. Lois used her telekinesis to get a comb and sat down behind Margot, combing her tangled hair. "I'm so sorry this happened." She offered softly.
"Why did it happen?" Erica asked, handing Aliki the towels, sitting down on the bed next to Lois, and setting the first aid kit down before her.
Lois telepathically reached out to the nearest hospital and copied the medical skills of a doctor there, then set about treating Margot's injuries as best she could. "I made an enemy, and yesterday that enemy, Lashina, and her lover, Artemiz, attacked me. They were more powerful than me, and I wasn't alone, so I had to make one of them, Lashina, whose mind was the more vulnerable of the two, fall in love with me, and forget about her lover, in order to win... and so Artemiz, apparently sent her brother, Kanto the assassin, to make me suffer by killing the people I care about. She... Artemiz promised, she'd make me suffer like I've never suffered before. And, if you knew my past, you'd know... that is suffering on a scale I can barely conceive of..." She informed softly. "I didn't think... I didn't think this would happen so soon though..." She admitted softly. "I didn't think she would do it this way. I just... I guess I just didn't think..." She confessed, feeling very guilty. "Maybe I should go." She offered, looking to Erica. "I wouldn't blame you if you told me to go."
Erica smiled softly to her. "Well, that's not going to happen." She answered, dismissing the idea out of hand as though it had no sense at all to it. "I would like you to tell me... more about yourself though?" She asked. "You're, a meta-human? Or an alien, like Power Woman?" She asked further. "I knew there was -something- about you, I just could never get a sense for what it was. Not that it really mattered."
"Did you? Huh. And yes; an alien though, not meta-human." Lois explained.
"How does that work? I mean, Lois Lane has a family; you mentioned your sister at least?" Aliki asked.
Lois nodded. "You heard Kanto call me J'ann J'onzz? That's who I am." She explained. "Lois Lane was my best friend, and she disappeared." She looked at Erica. "This was before I met you, so you know." She smiled to her. "You've only ever been with me, not the real Lois Lane." She reassured her. Erica nodded, seeming a little relieved. "I searched for her, long and hard, but I couldn't find a trace of her..." She explained.
"Ah, so you took her place, hoping to draw her abductors, or murderers, out, yes?" Erica asked.
"Got it in one." Lois confirmed, smiling a little. "So far, no luck, and I've really blown my cover yesterday and today, but I'm still hopeful." Left unsaid was that she was suspecting more and more that the gods and goddesses of Apokolips where behind it; most likely at the behest of their human followers in Intergang. She still had no proof at all of course, but logic and her recent experiences were telling her they were prime suspects--after all, there was no one else that Lois Lane was investigating or could have made an enemy out of that she was aware of who would have the ability to do make her disappear and leave no trace whatsoever that she could find. Motive and means--they were the only ones she could find that definitely had both.
"So, you're a shape changer then?" Erica offered.
Lois nodded 'yes'.
"What do you really look like?" Margot asked as Lois set her leg.
Lois closed her eyes and shifted to her Martian form; female, bald, green, a little taller than Lois. She sighed. "It feels strange..." She admitted, looking down at herself. "I haven't been truly myself like this in what feels like such a long time." She smiled a little. The truth was, she hadn't been herself like this for a very, very long time actually. Female, in her Martian form. The first gender she'd chosen in her youth -had- been female, but years later she'd decided to switch to male in order to appeal more to the girl she liked at the time, who preferred males. It hadn't worked out with her in the end, but he'd gotten accustomed to being male so had stayed that way; ending up meeting M'Yri'ah and falling in love, marrying her. It wasn't uncommon for her people to switch as they aged though, as they grew and became different people. This was just her time, it seemed. She knew at least that she felt like a woman and had no desire to be otherwise. For now at least. Perhaps permanently. In her native Martian form, it felt even more right to her. Like closing one chapter in her life to start anew.
Erica smiled, appraising her apparently. "Mmm, you actually look very sexy like this... J'ann..."
J'ann smiled. "Well, thanks for that." She replied.
"...So, you said the word 'gods'?" Erica asked further, still looking at her with open interest and curiosity.
"Lashina, Artemiz, and Kanto, dark goddesses and gods from a world called Apokolips. From the same race as Gilotina from the S.C.U.." Lois supplied.
"And you made this Lashina fall in love with you and forget Artemiz, so now Artemiz wants you to suffer--is that about the size of things?" Margot asked, a little despair and fear slipping into her voice.
"More or less. I... had to make myself fall in love with her back for it to work though." She admitted quietly. "True, real love... Another reason why yesterday was so bad. And I do kind of feel bad, but it was life or death, you know? I didn't really have a choice."
"Have you been reading our minds then?" Aliki asked curious.
Lois looked to her. "Mostly just while making love for you and Margot. And not deeply or anything, just what you were thinking and feeling in the moment." She admitted softly. "I can't really help that, it's just natural for me. For Erica though, I can't read her mind at all, I just get these vague feelings and impressions." She explained, looking meaningfully into Erica's eyes. "So we were both keeping secrets." She smiled a little to her.
"She's a twenty-five hundred something year old sorceress." Aliki replied.
"Of only some minor talent." Erica amended modestly.
Lois smiled, looking at Erica and tilting her head a little. "Huh, we're about the same age then; only a few hundred years difference. Even more compatible than I thought."
Erica looked surprised. "Really?"
"Mm, my people don't die of natural aging; or, at least it's never been recorded if it's happened." She explained.
"That is a nice feature." Erica answered, looking at her with new eyes, then laying back on the bed and looking at the ceiling. "I've had so many loves, you know. Almost all are dead now. It would be nice not to have that misery and pain to look forward to for once." She admitted. "To know that, even if it doesn't turn into a happily ever after with you, that at least I won't have to watch you... die one day..."
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(to be continued)
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Be Not Echoes