Justice League Unlimited The Serpent

Lunch with New Friends

I did promise that the next chapter would be softer. Enjoy!

"You can't stay in here forever, Nate. Why don't you come have lunch with us in the cafeteria?" Dove had been trying, he really had been, but his friend was stubborn.

"I don't feel comfortable around others yet, Don. Maybe I won't be comfortable with others ever again, but you don't have to worry about leaving me for the afternoon. I'm not going anywhere." the brunette answered, sitting in the window of her room, gazing out onto the Earth.

"And that's the problem, Nate. You don't go anywhere!" Hawk backed up his brother in persuading their friend to join them, but he was having similar luck. As in, none at all. Nate groaned.

"I know, because I'm too dangerous to be around others. You saw what happened at the exercise the other day!"

"But you don't have to worry about most of the people on the WATCHTOWER, because they know how to protect themselves from far worse threats than you." Hawk reasoned, but Nate just scoffed and said, "So did the guys at Cadmus, and what I did to them was far worse than what I did to those droids."

"That's different, Nate." Don broke in gently, walking over and settling a hand on her shoulder, removing his cowl in the process.

"Those guys at Cadmus, they saw you as just another experiment. They followed orders. And I know what you're thinking," he added when Nate shot him a look.

"But I'm not going to defend them, because what they did to you is inexcusable. But Nate, you can't stay cooped up in here. Ok? You can't let what happened to you define who you can be, or what you can do." her friend spoke softly, sitting next to her.

"And the only way to do that is to socialize. We'll work to other things if you feel you need it, but you have to be open with what you're feeling, and besides, everyone here can help you. We've all had trauma happen to us at one time or another, and most of us have gotten past whatever it was." Feeling like he'd said enough, Dove stood and began to walk away, Hawk following his brother's example.

"If you want to join us, just ask for directions, k?" Seeing Nate nod, the Agents of Order and Chaos exited the room, causing the door to slide shut again.

Nate laid her head on her crossed arms and thought for a moment. After quite a while, she made her decision.

[_-_]

"Ya really think she'll join us?" Vixen asked from her spot sitting in between Hawk and Vigilante, waiting for Nate.

"A'm sure she'll come 'round when she feels like it. Little lady's capable a' carin' for herself." Greg told the table at large before returning to taunting Green Arrow.

Dove wondered if he had pushed Nate to refuse their invite when Shining Knight entered the cafeteria with Nate in tow.

"I found this fair young maiden wandering the halls, she asked for directions to here." the Artherarian knight informed them as Nate looked around, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

A few people looked up from their meals and conversations to be nosy about the newcomer, but they put their heads down after Vigilante gave them a look.

A look that told them to leave Nate in peace.

"Thank ya kindly, Sir Justin." Greg told his partner, who bowed briefly before leaving them to return to his room. Dove scooted over to make room for his friend, who sat down carefully.

"I'm glad you could join us, Nate." said Dove, excited for his friend. Hawk nodded and waved a hand to the others at the table.

"These are Vixen," the dark-skinned woman nodded to Nate with a smile.

"Vigilante," the cowboy tilted his hat politely, his dark eyes glittering.

"And Green Arrow." the blonde archer smiled. "Welcome to the WATCHTOWER." he said, causing Nate to smile softly.

"Thank you, sir." Hank left the table at that moment and returned a few minutes later with a plate of food.

"Here, why don't you eat, Nate?" he touched her shoulder before returning to his seat, the chatter resuming amongst their tablemates. After a while, Green Arrow looked over his shoulder to see Fire and Ice sitting at the bar, talking and laughing.

"Hey, guys," the others looked up from their conversations to look at him. "Who do you think is hotter? Fire or Ice?" Hawk tilted his head.

"Do you mean figuratively or literally?"

"Well, if I meant literally, then that's Fire, we know this. I meant figuratively." the blonde man responded, sounding annoyed. Nate was confused.

"What is he talking about?" she whispered to Dove, who answered, "Fire and Ice are those two ladies over there. They've been with the League for longer than Hank and me."

Nate tilted her head to see past Hawk's head and caught sight of a pair of women, one clad in a green two-piece suit consisting of a bikini top and leggings, had mint-green hair and dark green lipstick, and the other was slightly darker skinned than her friend, with very short white hair and a full white-and-blue bodysuit. They were both very lovely, but Nate's mind went elsewhere.

The others argued about their opinions, except for Vigilante and Dove, and the general consensus was that Fire was hotter (figuratively speaking).

When Green Arrow noticed that Nate was looking for an opening in the conversation, he asked, "What do you think, Miss Nate?"

Her eyes narrow, Nate considered her answer before asking, "If Fire is hotter than Ice, then does that mean that Ice is cooler than Fire?"

Hawk did a spit-take of his lemonade, while the others just looked surprised. The shocked silence lasted for a few seconds before Vigilante's brain managed to catch up to him and he burst out laughing, gaining the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.

"Hoo-wee!" Greg laughed til his tears began to wet his red bandana, and at such time he tried to get himself under control.

Vixen laughed as well, leaning over to rest her hand on top of Nate's. "I like you, girl."

Nate gave her a stilted smile, a little startled by Greg's laughter, and the sudden attention of the entire cafeteria, but she still managed to chuckle.

The conversation continued from there, and Nate felt good.

Maybe she could still heal.

You guys have no idea how long I've been wanting to make that joke! Anyways, keep an eye out for updates, leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.