The Intervention

Taken

John Jones.

This house belonged to J'onn... The colors make sense. Nothing here is depressing, every color is calm and soothing. He gave me his home... Burying my face in the pillows allow me to detect the faintest scent of rain. It must've been a while since J'onn last used this place and so finally for the first time since everything that happened, I break down.

The fading scent of rain providing comfort to the silence in my head. Memories of my family, my two sisters permanently removed from my life. The loss of my parents don't weigh me as much as the loss of my siblings. The Martian scented pillows rapidly absorb my tears, muffling my heaving sobs. Its hard to breathe. Not only did I loose my family but I've lost J'onn as well.

Humans are insignificant playthings in the hands of super-powered aliens and gods. The sheer injustice of it all results in an echoing scream. It takes a few minutes before I'm aware of the damage I'm causing myself. My voice gone raw, nails digging bloody crescents into my palms and lungs burning for oxygen. Shutting down on my emotional response I try focusing on the things I have to sort out after the fire.

The Justice League has clearly cleared my name of any possible conviction from the police for setting a house on fire but there's so much else left to do. So many things to finalize, finances, savings, personal identifications documents, funeral services, work, college, apologies to Shen and Anji, and a haircut. Maybe I can start with the apologies and haircut...

It's a four days by the time I've settled into my new home, gotten all the family savings transferred under my name and arranged for the funeral service. Shen and Anji gave me a right proper scolding followed by bone crushing human hugs, with their help it was much easier to finalize all the documentations and arrangements.

"Come on! You need to get dressed! Shen will be here with the car."

"Anji, I'm tired.." I don't want to hold a funeral, I don't even want to go through with half my life.. J'onn is constantly on my mind along with my sisters. Thoughts of what I've lost circling tighter and tighter the closer I get to the black dress. It feels too much like an irreversible good bye.

Anji has been pushing me into getting ready since the day broke, pulling out my black dress, gloves, shoes and hat. She's laid it all out and has been glaring at me for the past ten minutes, demanding I man up, cursing my boyfriend for not being here for me. I have yet to tell my friends as about what happened with J'onn..

The door bell rings in quick succession, must be Shen, he's always tried to fry doorbells no matter where we go.

"Finally!" Anji huffs at me. "Go change or I'm sending Shen in to change you!"

Loud voices fill my living room, Shen and Anji handling last minute details. The black dress reminds me of Batman. Dark and melancholic, so beautifully representing sadness. The soft material slides over my body, wrapping me in shadows, pulling me away from happiness. The reflection in the mirror is reminiscent of the Dark Knight, my lips pressed into a firm scowl, eyes circled with lack of sleep, entire body radiating repressed anger and sorrow. Did the Batman loose someone precious to him before he became who he is now?

"WILL YOU HURRY UP WOMAN?!"

"Calm down Anji."

The door is shoved open before I can reach for it, Shen peeping over his girlfriend's shoulder. "You alright?"

"Been better. Lets get this over with.."

My stiff battle posture is momentarily broken when Shen pulls me into his chest. "You're not alone, alright?"

I want to tell him that I am alone, no family of my own nor my beloved, simply me. My friends can't stay with me forever, they have their own life to attend to, their own problems that consume them, so I nod into his shoulder, aching to be held in another's embrace. An embrace where I could never have my face buried in a shoulder, only in a chest.