Story: Dragons, Demons, and Other Wonders of the Heart (chapter 9)

Authors: Allaine

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Chapter 9

Chapter 9

        "You seem quiet tonight," J'onn observed.

        Talia twirled a piece of broccoli idly with her chopsticks before letting it fall back onto her plate. "I was thinking recently," she said.

        "Yes?"

        "About how these meetings allowed me to take my mind off of problems. Problems you helped cause, by the way," she pointed out.

        "If you're discussing your changed feelings for Bruce, I fail to see what more I can say on the - "

        "No, no," she said dismissively, waving him off. "It was a silly remark. The point I was trying to make was that, in a way, this relationship is one other thing for me to work out. J'onn, what is our relationship?"

        He looked at her for a moment. "I consider you a friend, Talia."

        "Nothing more?"

        "What are you suggesting?"

        "That night in my hotel room - I felt your arousal, J'onn. I apologize if this is a sensitive subject," she said as his eyes widened, "but either you are an extremely good actor, or you were genuinely attracted to me that night."

        J'onn put his own chopsticks down. "I'm not sure I understand why we're talking about this. I . . . you are a very beautiful woman, Talia. Most men would be attracted to you."

        Her cheeks colored slightly, but she wasn't satisfied with that. "You are not most men, J'onn. I would observe that there are no more men like you. Right?"

        He nodded soberly. "I am the last of my kind."

        "Did you expect to be attracted to a human? To be able to?"

        J'onn coughed into his napkin. "Talia, what is this? You're not - are you proposing that we should become romantically involved?"

        From the way she drew back, he knew this was a bit too direct for her liking. "I'm not saying that!" she said defensively. "I'm just . . . trying to find out what your feelings are for me."

        "I like you, Talia, but I'm married."

        "I thought you said your family was - dead."

        "They are."

        "Oh," Talia said. She seemed unsure of how to continue.

        "If you're asking where our relationship is going . . . " J'onn hesitantly said, giving voice to a concern of his own.

        "Yes?"

        "Whether it continues much longer or not, it depends on you."

        Talia frowned. "That sounds a bit like an ultimatum."

        "If I sound like Bruce, I apologize. But a fundamental problem exists, Talia. I am a member of the Justice League. Whereas you - "

        "Whereas my father's organization is an avowed enemy of your League," Talia sighed. "So what, you're saying I must leave my father if I am to be your friend? J'onn, Bruce asked that from me more than once, and as we know, it was not a choice I was ready to make."

        "That was a choice between your father and your love," J'onn said. "I'm not asking you to choose between your father and I. I'm asking you to make this choice for yourself."

        "I don't understand," she confessed.

        "Talia, do you know the difference between right and wrong?"

        She glared at him. "Do you take me for a sociopath now?"

        He shook his head. "All those times you made a conscious decision to either aid your father or Bruce - was it ever about right and wrong? I mean, did you ever take a stand for what you believed to be right, or was your decision based on what you thought Ra's or Bruce believed to be right?"

        Talia's ire faded. "I - there were times where I felt my father had gone too far," she admitted.

        "I've read your files, Talia. There was a time when you believed your father had died. You were the new head of DEMON. Did you continue your father's work?"

        "I worked to preserve this planet from man's greed and rapacity. My father and I share the same goals," she said with conviction.

        "Protecting the Earth's environment is a worthy cause," he agreed. "Protecting it by exterminating billions of human from the planet's surface and ruling the survivors like an Oriental potentate - that is something else. Which goal is yours?"

        She didn't answer.

        "You employed a more gradual approach, didn't you? Perhaps not within the boundaries of the law, but nothing like what your father has done. Talia, do you follow him because he's right or because he's your father?" He paused. "Do you remember the virus last year that affected only men?"

        "Of course. It was that fool Amazon woman who took her people's beliefs too far. Aresia." She smiled at his reaction. "You forget, we used to have access to your communications."

        "I did forget. What did you think of her scheme?"

        "Considering it nearly killed the two most important people in my life - at that time - I wasn't very keen on the idea."

        "But if your father had been the one behind it, and if he had promised you that Bruce would not be harmed, would you have helped him?"

        Talia looked away for a moment. "Probably," she acknowledged.

        "Because it was a good idea, or because he asked you to?"

        "Is filial duty so alien - I'm sorry, poor choice of words - so foreign to you?"

        "So it's a question of duty," he said, oddly relieved. "If you had really believed that such a crime against humanity was acceptable . . . I didn't think you had it in you."

        She scowled. "Bruce does."

        "It's human nature to be loyal to one's parents, Talia. But there must be a limit to a daughter's devotion. You are your own person. You have the right to make your own way."

        "I owe him too much."

        "What?"

        Talia folded her arms. "How old would you say I am?"

        "Thirty-five?" He looked at her. "Why do I have the feeling this is a trick question."

        "Ninety-seven."

        "The Lazarus Pits," J'onn realized an instant later.

        "I was born in 1907. I died of natural causes when I was eighty. My father lowered my body into the Lazarus Pit, and I came out an eighteen year-old girl. They say - you're not quite sane after you've been dipped into the Pit. Maybe if I'd met Bruce before I died . . . things would have worked out differently. Maybe I would have been smarter." She chuckled bitterly. "Yes, a decrepit old woman. How he would have loved me then."

        "Talia, your age doesn't matter."

        "It matters! I would be dead if it wasn't for him. He gave me life - once when I was born, and once when I died. And I was brought up in the early twentieth-century. Women, especially women in that part of the world, were brought up to do as they're told. I spent my life serving my father. J'onn, I died a virgin because my father asked me to save myself for a worthy husband who never came! How can I betray him after all he's given me?"

        J'onn thought for a moment. "You mean, after all he's taken from you."

        "That's not what I said, J'onn."

        "He didn't give you life, Talia. Your life was his from the moment you were born. You were brought up to be an extension of himself. You sacrificed your entire life to his needs. You lived and died alone. And now you're telling yourself that to leave him now would mean that everything you've given up already would be wasted."

        Her chopsticks, still clutched in one hand, snapped. "I don't have to listen to this," she said icily as she rose from her seat.

        "You're clinging to your father because you think he's all you have left," he said urgently as he stood as well.

        "Like you're clinging to your family?!" she hissed.

        J'onn reared back as if she'd slapped him. "This has nothing to do with me."

        "Really? What you describe sounds a lot like your own lot, J'onn. You wanted me that night, but you couldn't do it. It wasn't because you were coercing me. It was because you're afraid to let go of your family's memory. You're the one sacrificing himself for an ideal, J'onn!"

        "How dare you speak of my pain that way?" he asked, losing his patience, infinite as it was.

        "You're the one 'living and dying alone'."

        "And you're the one selling her soul for some outmoded belief that you are to remain obedient to your father's whims until marriage or death!"

        "You're just like Bruce. The hero. Always wanting to save me."

        "I want you to save YOURSELF!"

        "For WHAT?!" she screamed. They had reserved a private room, but even if there had been other customers, they would have forgotten. "What am I to do? Where am I to go? I was never meant to lead. I was a girl! I was taught to follow, not to lead. I taught to fight. I was taught to kill! Not because it was considered proper for a woman, but because it was believed there were few other ways I could contribute until I produced an heir! Oh, I saved myself. I saved myself for seventy YEARS, long past the point where it even mattered, because I was the future mother of the Demon's Head. And now the man I waited for spits on me! I was given my role to fulfill, my father told me it would come to pass fifty times over, and all I did was chase him away! My father is all I have left, J'onn. And so you and I shall do what we have already decided for ourselves. Live - and die - alone."

        J'onn just looked at her. "It's amazing," he said at last.

        "What?"

        "We're a mess, aren't we?"

        "Excuse me?"

        He sat down heavily. "We gave our hearts to someone," he explained. "And now that they're gone, we react as if they took our hearts with them. I - love my wife dearly, but that doesn't alter the fact that I'm alone."

        Talia shrugged. "I loved Bruce completely, but that couldn't make him love me. So we're alike."

        "Perhaps that is why I - responded to you that night in your hotel room. Perhaps I sensed a connection."

        "J'onn, I realize your mind has quite the reputation, and it's a brilliant mind, but sometimes you read too much into things. Maybe it was just a physical attraction. After all, you did say I was beautiful earlier," she reminded him, smiling for the first time in a while.

        J'onn stared at her. "Yes," he said. "You look nothing like anyone I knew on Mars, but I find you beautiful."

        Her cheeks reddened.

        "Perhaps I'm reading too much into that as well, but . . ."

        "But what?"

        J'onn suddenly vanished into the floor.

        Talia started, then looked about. "J'onn?" she asked, worried.

        She whirled around when she sensed him emerge behind her, but she couldn't stop him from kissing her.

        It lasted a few seconds before Talia broke it off, pulling back. "What the hell was that?"

        "I - I don't know," he said, his head swimming. "I thought - maybe if I kissed you like I did that first night, I might understand better why I felt the way I did."

        She rubbed her lips. "And?"

        "I still do not know. But I felt something. And my - my wife was far from my thoughts."

        Talia laughed helplessly. "Oh, hell, J'onn. Why do you only make my life more difficult? So what is this? Taking Bruce's place? Must I now choose between YOU and my father?"

        "I would consider you, at the least, a friend no matter what you decided," J'onn told her calmly. "But as a friend, I think it's time you stopped selling yourself short, and made a life of your own. No matter what you think of me. Before you can give yourself to any man, you need to own yourself."

        She looked into his eyes. "But if I did 'own' myself, then this is something you'd like to - explore further?" She laid a hand on his chest.

        He felt a tremor running up his back, but he nodded slowly. "If only to understand what I'm feeling, yes."

        "Then perhaps you should see me to my car?"

        "Of course."

        He had taken only a few steps when he felt her hand slip inside his arm. J'onn stopped and looked at her, surprised.

        "What?" she asked innocently. "It's an Earth custom. You're the one looking for understanding, J'onn. Every bit of information helps."

        J'onn couldn't tell how serious she was. "I invited this, didn't I?"

        "You almost invited a sound beating earlier. Still, I had a lovely evening. Didn't you?"

        He considered the kiss and allowed that he had.
        When the silence lasted a whole three seconds, Raven glanced up at the taller man. "Should I respond to that?" she asked.

        "Huh?" Flash replied.

        "That," she said calmly, "is the longest you've gone without talking so far. Did you want my input now, or are you just stopping for breath?"

        He grinned at her. "I didn't realize you had a sense of humor."

        "What?"

        "That sounded suspiciously like a joke just now."

        "I - do not joke. I was raised to suppress my emotional responses to - "

        "I know, I know, but it's good to be able to joke around now and then. That's my motto. Besides, being able to laugh at something is a human trait, not a demonic one."

        Raven thought about it and nodded. "I suppose I should also laugh when someone says something amusing?"

        Flash chuckled. "You might want to work on that before you start making smart remarks of your own. Otherwise people will think - "

        "I know, that I don't have a sense of humor."

        "Got it in one."

        She looked into the sky. "By Azarath, it is late. How long have we been walking?"

        He glanced at his watch. "Over an hour," he realized. "Time goes quickly when I'm around, I guess."

        "You are the Flash."

        "And you're a good listener. Most people leave the room after a while."

        "Perhaps you should moderate your remarks."

        "If you tried talking more, I guess it would be rude if I didn't talk less."

        Raven thought for a moment. "Should I be concerned about Koriand'r working for this woman?"

        "I don't know," he admitted. "Mercy Graves was Luthor's main henchwoman in a lot of his schemes before he went to prison. According to Supes, though, Lexcorp isn't the constant thorn in his side that it was when Luthor was in charge. Apparently Mercy's goal is just to make money."

        "Isn't that the idea of going into business? To make money?"

        "Luthor went beyond that. He wanted power. And if Luthor is trying to kill her, she can't be all bad. Still," he cautioned her, "Luthor's mind works in strange ways. It could be a set-up."

        "A set-up?"

        "Like Luthor and Mercy are still working together, and he faked the attempt on her life so nobody would think they were still allies." Flash shrugged. "Bats probably thinks that. He suspects everyone of something."

        "Maybe I should warn her," Raven murmured. "She doesn't know enough about this world. Nor do I, and I was conceived here."

        "Trust me, Superman has probably told Koriand'r all about Luthor," Flash assured her. "That's his city, after all."

        Raven nodded. "I guess this city is mine. Its library is the first place I visited on Earth. I wonder if Koriand'r will like Metropolis more than New York. Maybe she will move there permanently." She looked down.

        "You're best friends. I'm sure you'll keep in touch no matter what."

        "I suppose. I don't quite understand it. I was alone for years. Why does it bother me now that I am alone again?"

        "Because you found out what it was like being with someone," Flash said. "Not, uh, with someone like WITH someone. Just, you know, with someone."

        She looked up at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Wally."

        "Yeah, I get that a lot. How about this? Are you alone right now?"

        " . . . No."

        "Well, there you go."

        "Go where?"

        Flash rubbed his eyes.

        Then he felt her small hand slip into his.

        "Thank you," she whispered.

        He was actually embarrassed. "Oh, sure. You're, um, welcome."

        There was silence for much longer than three seconds. A new record, to be sure.
        Mercy looked up from her papers. "What are you reading?"

        Starfire raised her eyes from the book she was reading. "The Idiot's Guide to American History," she said. "The salesperson assured me that having this book did not make me an idiot, however." The alien woman spent much of her time near Mercy, continuing her acclimatization to Earth society. She was dressed conservatively, although not in the chauffeur's uniform Lex had once made her wear much of the time. Although Starfire, Mercy thought ruefully, would look better in it than she had.

        "I hate history," Mercy muttered.

        "What do you mean?"

        "History is the past, and I don't exactly enjoy remembering my past," Mercy said, thinking of her life before Luthor found her. She didn't have many fond memories of Lex these days either. "Henry Ford was right. History is bunk."

        "Yes, I saw that. Maybe he could have used an Idiot's Guide as well."

        "Ms. Graves?"

        "Yes, Candace?" Mercy said into the intercom.

        "Um, you have a visitor."

        "My day is filled, Candace. You know that. Have them make an appointment."

        The door swung inward with a noise, and Starfire was instantly on her feet.

        "I thought your door would always be open, Mercy," Lex Luthor said urbanely.

        Mercy rose slowly from her seat, tense. "Lex," she replied. "Won't you come in?" she added sarcastically.

        He casually closed the door behind him. "So you must be 'Starfire'," he said, turning to offer her his hand. "I've read all about you in the Planet."

        She looked at his hand coldly. "How nice."

        "You had more manners when I sat behind that desk, Mercy."

        "You'll have to forgive her. She was there when you hired that rat Lytner to murder me," Mercy said wintrily.

        "I had nothing to do with that," he replied uninterestedly. "Luminus is a criminal. He lies."

        "You're a politician, Lex. You lie too."

        Lex laughed out loud. "Touché, Mercy. Of course, CEOs haven't exactly been the pillars of honesty, have they?"

        "We're digging ourselves out of the hole you put us in."

        Luthor just smiled at her. "Such warmth. I expected as much from a woman who seems hell-bent on backing the incumbent in this year's mayoral race. Or backing the loser, I should say."

        "What the hell do you want, Lex? I have a company to run. My company."

        "It's still my name on the building."

        "Surprisingly enough, our market analysts determined that your name still has goodwill value."

        "Unlike the Chauffeur CEO," he murmured, and she bristled.

        "Did you come to trade insults?" Starfire asked quietly.

        Luthor nodded to the Tamaranean. "Thank you, Starfire, for getting the conversation back on topic. I see now why she hired you. Mercy, I'm here to enlist Lexcorp for a series of fundraisers - "

        "No."

        "And a sizable donation from you, of course."

        "What part of 'no' don't you understand? The 'n' or the 'o'?"

        "Mercy, if you don't help me, you're going to regret it."

        "Am I going to be attacked by more light shows if I don't?"

        Luthor gave her a predatory smile. "I told you, I had nothing to do with that, Mercy. I'm speaking of Lexcorp. Do you really want to be the only firm in Metropolis without access to city contracts?"

        "You're not going to win, Lex."

        "Why don't you ask my campaign manager? I'm polling in the mid-twenties in private research, and since I'm running as an independent, I don't need a majority. I just need more votes than the two clowns I'm running against. And, for a convicted felon, I'd say mid-twenties are damn good numbers - for a start."

        "You're lying."

        "I am a politician, as you astutely pointed out," Luthor admitted. "But Lexcorp has always made a habit of picking winners, Mercy. If you side with my competitors, after I'm elected people will say you opposed me for personal reasons. And because you made it personal, you cost the company millions in city revenues. And then they'll have you fired."

        Mercy was shaking with rage. "You arrogant, manipulative bastard!"

        "I thank you for the compliment. Mercy, I'm willing to forgive your intransigence until now. But if you continue to deny me, I won't forgive that. And if you go so far as to actively support one of my opponents, I won't forgive OR forget." He adjusted his tie and turned to leave.

        "Lex."

        He looked back, mildly curious.

        "You got played by the Ultra-Humanite. I hardly think City Hall has anything to worry about from you."

        Lex frowned and approached her. Starfire took a step forward but Mercy stopped her.

        He rested his palms on Mercy's desk and leaned forward. "And when they fire you," he whispered coldly, "you won't be able to afford such pretty around-the-clock protection. I hope Lytner doesn't come looking for you then."

        The look in his eyes chilled her, and she said nothing as he straightened and walked out.

        "Mercy?" Starfire asked.

        The executive looked down at the materials on her desk. "Give him five minutes," she said. Her voice was wavery, and she willed herself to sound like a normal person, not a frightened child. "Then call my driver. I think my afternoon is shot."

        Starfire nodded uncertainly. "What shall I do? It's only two in the afternoon."

        Mercy smoothed her hair back. "Maybe if you could - accompany me home for a little while," she suggested. "I'd pay you extra. I just - I'm not used to being on the receiving end of Lex Luthor."

        "I can stay as long as you need," Starfire instantly replied.

        "Good," Mercy said, sitting down. Suddenly she didn't like sitting with her back to the window. "That's . . . good."

        To be continued . . .

[End notes: We learned in the B:TAS episode "Avatar" that Talia briefly succeeded her father after his "death".]

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