A Siren's Echo [Young Justice]

Satisfaction

Just so you're aware, this one is going to feel more like a filler chapter. Since the corresponding episode focused on the original Roy, it's going to bounce around a little bit. But I still wanted to focus on Jenna's overall mood/routine so soon after she believes her best friend was murdered by her ex, so just bear with me :)

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Star City

March 21, 09:05 PDT

Jenna was in a daze. Like she was on autopilot. She was living through hell on Earth but she couldn't even acknowledge it.

She hadn't stepped foot into the Cave since that night; not that she would have had a reason to. No one was going to be ready to go on missions for a long time.

It felt selfish of her, but she almost wondered if she could get away with letting Nightwing lead on his own for a while once everyone started to return to the Cave again. After all, he was the one who willingly agreed to help her lead after...her previous co-leader left.

And she just didn't think she could face her team yet. Not after she failed.

Jenna had been avoiding calling Wally too. She knew that, eventually, she would have to. Her friend was going to be mourning too, suffering over the loss of his girlfriend. But she wasn't sure how he would react. I doubt it'll be any good, not that I'd blame him.

Guilt had been eating her up. She didn't know if she could ever forgive herself for Artemis dying under her leadership. Boy, doesn't this feel familiar? Except this time, it isn't a messed-up training simulation.

A knock on her apartment door broke Jenna out of her stupor, making her realize that the tea kettle on the stove in front of her was whistling, and her cat, Amp, was rubbing up against her calves.

She dropped her hand from where she was fiddling with her necklace to turn the burner off. After moving the kettle to the side to cool, she stepped over Amp as she went to answer the door. She wasn't prepared for any company so she wasn't really sure who to expect.

"Oh, hi." Roy, her Roy, was standing in the doorway. It was still nice to see him looking better than before: clean-shaven, hair cut, gaining some pounds again. It made Jenna relieved to see the old Roy Harper beginning to return.

He offered her a gentle smile. "How are you?"

Jenna shrugged as she stepped aside to let him in. "I've been better," she said, closing the door behind him. "Want some tea? It just finished brewing."

"Sure."

Roy followed her into the small kitchen. He took a seat at the little table, big enough for a few people to sit at once, while Jenna moved around to gather mugs to pour their drinks in.

"Have you been able to get much sleep?" Roy spoke up after a prolonged silence.

Jenna let out a sigh as she set his mug in front of him. "Not really," she admitted. "I didn't get home yesterday until six in the morning so I crashed, but not for long."

She sat down across from him, tucking a foot underneath her. "Nightmares woke me back up so often that I just gave up trying to sleep. Same thing with last night."

She awkwardly fumbled with her mug, having to remember to not use her hand that was in a brace. It sucked that it happened to be her left hand, that being her dominant hand. It made even the most basic tasks a pain.

Roy seemed to notice it too. "How's the wrist? And the..." He gestured to his own nose.

Jenna held her hand up, wiggling her fingers carefully. "Annoying as hell," she said before a small smile curved upon her lips. "Though the nose reminds me of that time when Artemis was teaching me some techniques on the bow and-"