Past meets the Present

Deaf Conversation

When the team came back from the mission the past heroes saw that Andie, who was leaning on Josh, looking around because that was the first time since she joined that she lost her hearing during a League mission. "You okay Andie?" Rex asked as Andie looked him in the eye. 'Am okay just can't hear so there's that,' Andie signed to her brother with Terry translated. Rex had been trying to learn sign language both American and the version that the Batfamily use but for now he was glad for Terry for translating. "The four of us are going to the med-bay and we are going to make sure that Andie stays there," Jaime said before heading to the door. Andie looked at him with spite but knew that he was right though at this point she gave up on trying to leave the med bay. She allowed herself to lean on Josh on the way to the med bay because she was still too weak to walk on her own. Bruce saw that Andie had the most underrated and rare Thanagarian abilities not seen with Shayera or her brothers. "Andie has issues with her hearing?" Wally asked looking at Terry. "Not really but she has frequency-based hearing which she learned about the hard way when she was 16 during her early days as a lantern," Terry said. 

Terry remembered when Andie learned about her frequency-based hearing during a mission which caused her to learn sign language. On the other hand, her sight is something that people including herself don't mention because she has always been able to see like a hawk though it is her default on the other hand she can see like a human when she wants to. That gave her a shock and somewhat a headache because she had been used to the bright colors and UV light with her natural sight. Those two abilities were something that both Rex and James didn't have though it didn't bother them because they have more common Thanagarian abilities like flight and strength. On the other hand, Andie does have slight Thanagarian strength and durability but it wasn't on the same level as her brothers. "That is a rare ability among Thanagarians including how she sees the world and eye color," Shayera said knowing that Andie would stay in the Med-bay for at best an hour though she was going to wear her headphones till she could hear again. She had to explain what she meant by that and they understood. 

"Wait how long has she been a hero because there is no way that she just has five years," Dinah said looking at the group. The current hero knew that Andie had been a hero since she was 12 so she'd been doing this for 9 years at that point. "Andie's been doing this for the past 9 years but it will be ten years in June," Terry said. The past heroes were shocked that Andie had been a hero for the past 9 years and they could see it in how she acts during fights. "Wait she was 12 when she started," Wally said before looking towards the door. They all realized that most of the younger heroes from their time were in their late teens or early 20s when they joined the Leage so Andie having joined the League at 21 makes sense but they still have a question. "How did Andie become a hero in the first place?" John asked before realizing that Andie had to start somewhere as a hero. "Andie started as Robin a role that she shared with my younger brother Matt till they were 16," Terry replied. He also explained that for those 4 years where they split the role, the pair made everyone in Gotham and the League that they were the same person. 

Rex left the room during the conversation to head to Med Bay to check on Andie knowing that she was drained by Parisate during the fight. John looked at him after catching him leaving the room but knew that he had to deal with getting sent forward in time again though this time round it wasn't to a world-ending timeline but for now, he was going to wait and see. Rex arrived at the Med Bay where he ran into Mandy who was signing with Andie who was looking better than she had when she came back. Andie looked up to see her oldest brother and gave him a smile after seeing him from the corner of her eye so she grabbed her phone to communicate with her brother. "How are you feeling sis?" Rex asked sitting next to Andie on the bed. 'Better but I can't hear so there's that,' Andie wrote before showing the note to Rex. He smiled at his sister which she returned and Rex knew that she could read his body language to know what to say to him. "I know that the two of you don't like being in here but Rex don't let Andie leave," Mandy said looking at the Lantern. The siblings looked at her and Andie knew that she would try to find a way to leave Med Bay.

"Got double-tapped during the fight?" Rex asked with a smile trying to cheer up Andie. 'Yeah got double-tapped by both Parasite and Shriek just laugh at my pain,' Andie wrote while snugging into her brother's side. He put his arm around his sister knowing that a side hug around the shoulders was a way for them to hug after the incident. It was something that they loved because they still figuring out how to be siblings after years apart. "I smiled but I ain't laughing because I've been the receiving end of both of them before," Rex said not wanting to let her go. Andie knew that was true because she had seen the footage from those fights though Rex always went after Parasite. The siblings lay on the bed watching a movie with subtitles because Andie couldn't hear though she was wearing headphones for when her hearing returned so the sound wouldn't overstimulate her.

"Still trying to figure out a place here in the league?" Rex asked. Andie closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder knowing that he was right. 'I'm trying but you know that with lantern, work, and bat stuff it's hard to find a place here,' Andie wrote. Rex knew that was right but knew that she currently has Jaime, Josh, and Raquel to help though being a bat has created some habits that die hard. "Just talk to him and trust me he wants to build that relationship," Rex said with a smile. 'You got a point āchcāuhtli,' Andie wrote before closing her eyes and falling asleep against her brother. Rex put his head on Andie's falling asleep with her with a smile on his face knowing that their relationship is getting better considering where it was when they first met 6 years ago but much more since they met up again over Christmas.