THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH SOTL HAS 1K VOTES NOW AND IT WON THE GREEN LANTERN CATEGORY IN THE DC WATTY AWARDS*throws a dance party*
"Does anyone even believe this guy?" Jaina asked in disbelief.
She could hardly stand to listen to a second more, and Mal wisely turned off the TV before another superhero could explode.
"Join the club," Connor grunted.
Jaina sighed and tossed her hair back. "You guys ready for tonight?" She grinned, "I checked with Rob already, he got reservations and he'll meet us there with Artemis, Wally, Zee and Raquel."
"Do I have to wear a tie?" Connor grumbled, the offending red object hanging around his neck.
Jaina looked him up and down. "Nah, you look fine."
Connor shoved his hands in his pockets. "I never really learned how to tie it, M'gann always helped me with it."
Jaina patted his shoulder, trying to make him feel better. "If it makes you feel any better, I have no idea how to tie that thing either."
Connor rewarded her with a small smile.
"Where are M'gann and La'gaan? I thought they were walking with us?" Mal said, looking around the mission room.
"M'gann said to go on without them, they had to get a glamour charm from Zatanna for La'gaan." Connor tossed his tie to the side.
"Oh yeah," Jaina said, "I forget Earth's slightly xenophobic."
Mal looked at her. "Just because we don't have many aliens doesn't mean we're xenophobic, Jay."
Jaina nodded. "Yeah, I'm not saying that you in particular are xenophobic, but the aliens who live on Earth have to hide their alien identity and abilities and are forced to pretend to be normal like the rest of you. See? It's a xenophbic culture."
Mal laughed, turning slightly red, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Come on, let's just go." Connor sighed.
Jaina linked her arms through Connor's and Mal's.
"Look out Happy Harbor, here we come!"
-------
As the three of them walked around the corner, still laughing and talking, a stampede headed down the street towards them.
"Jaina!" Lisa Anderson screamed. The tiny woman shoved Connor and Mal- two men twice her size- out fo the way and threw her arms around Jaina.
"Lisa! Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you again! What are you doing here?" Jaina asked.
Lisa grinned. "I told you you'd come back sooner or later."
"Jaina!" Marvin and Wendy were right behind Lisa.
"It's so good to see you guys again!" Wendy hugged Connor and Marvin fist-bumped Mal.
"Where's Karen?" Wendy asked.
"Working," Mal sighed. "Is M'gann here yet?"
Wendy tried to hide the face she impulsively made. "Just met her new boyfriend." She looked at Connor. "I didn't know you two broke up."
"Anyway!" Jaina interrupted. "Let's head on in. I assume everyone else is here?"
"Yeah, but only them!" Marvin chuckled, holding open the door for the restaurant Nightwing had reserved. Jaina understood Marvin's little joke a second later, realizing that only one big table in the middle of the room was occupied. He'd reserved the entire place.
"Hey guys!" She waved.
"Jaina!" The third and final hug attack approached. Artemis squeezed Jaina almost as strong as Connor would have, if he actually gave hugs.
"It's so good to see you again!" Artemis said.
"It's good to see you too." Jaina sighed. "Nightwing says you're living with Wally now that you're retired?"
"A little before we retired from the super-biz, but yeah." Wally walked up, putting his arm around his girlfriend.
"Hey Wally."
"Hey Jay," Wally put his arms around her, big and strong. Jaina immediately relaxed into the embrace, just about to cry.
"Hey, are we gonna eat or something? I'm starving!" La'gaan shouted from the table where everyone else sat. His glamour charm from Zatanna worked perfectly. Sitting next to Zatanna was a man with tan Caribbean skin-tone, shades, and long black hair in a ponytail, with a few tattoos in the design of his Atlantean fins.
Wally smiled and put his arms around Jaina and Artemis, walking back over to the table. "I may not be Kid Flash anymore, but I'm still not one to turn down free food."
"Sit down and order whatever want," Nightwing- in shades and civvies- assured the Happy Harbor local residents. "Batman's paying for it all."
"He truly is a hero," Marvin remarked, handing a menu to Wendy as everyone sat down at the cluster of tables pushed together so all of them could sit.
Faint music started up, almost out of range of Jaina's hearing, and she looked up at one of the TV's over the bar on the other side of the room.
"What's that?" She asked, watching a two men and a woman in ancient-looking clothing energetically dancing around a large house. The woman, to Jaina, looked very familiar, almost like her mother. Two seats over, Nightwing looked up and studied the screen for a moment.
"Oh I love that movie!" He said, his face brightening. "That's "Singin' in the Rain,' it's an old musical-type film set in the fourties, almost eighty years ago. I used to love watching that with my mom."
"What's a musical?" Jaina asked.
"Oh you know, a play or a show or a movie where everyone just bursts into song and dance along with music from no discernible source. Like Hamilton." Wally said, marking which entrees in the menu he wanted.
Connor groaned. "Hamilton?" Jaina asked.
"I am not throwin' away my shot!" Lisa shouted from the other end of the table. Zatanna and Raquel started rapping about a guy who was killing a whole bunch of people, with Wally shouting "LAFAYETTE!" at various intervals, when Mal took pity on Jaina.
"I don't keep up with pop culture too much, but it's a musical that came out recently and got really popular pretty fast. It's about the founding of America. I think it really could have helped you with your American History homework the last time you were here."
The food came pretty quickly, much to the satisfaction of everyone at the table. They talked with mouths full and ignored their food as they caught up with each other.
Wendy and Marvin were dating, duh, and Wendy had an internship at a retail store in the mall about half an hour from the harbor, the one Jaina's friends had brought her to when she first arrived on Earth. Marvin was an IT guy for Schott Industries, a toymaking company. Mal was taking online college classes and hoped to make it in the music industry like Lisa, who had also brought Jaina's guitar to play. Jaina promised she'd play if she remembered later. Nightwing was working at the company Batman owned, though he wouldn't tell anyone what company that was. Megan and Connor were trying to focus on hero life, while Artemis and Wally were going to college and focusing on civilian life.
"Why the sudden turnaround?" Jaina asked, sipping her red wine. "Last time I met you guys, alll you two wanted was to be heroes. Wally, because of his uncle and you because...." Jaina looked at Artemis. "You know."
Artemis and Wally looked at each other sadly. Nightwing, Mal, Megan, La'gaan, and Connor all started fidgiting uncomfortably, and Jaina knew immediately it had something to do with Kaldur.
"We just realized how short life was." Artemis said.
Wally nodded, rubbing Artemis's back. "And we wanted to spend it together."
With an ache in her heart, Jaina thought of Tenel Ka and her brother.
"Okay Jay," Artemis set her fork down on her empty plate. "It's your turn. What have you been up to these past four years?"
Just like that, the light in Jaina's eyes completely shut off and the delicious pork chop and mashed potatoes in her mouth suddenly tasted like wood shavings. She would know, one time, that was all she had to eat.
"Well, I became a full-fledged Jedi Knight, and I got my A-wing upgraded to an X-wing like my uncle had, I got a niece, apparently."
"Join the club," Artemis raised her glass to toast with a grin.
Jaina was quiet, trying to think of what else she could tell them that didn't require too much in-depth explanation.
"I fought off another race of aliens, got tempted by the dark side, and saved the galaxy from civil war. again." She took another long drink from her glass, and everyone continued to stare at her expecting for more.
"My aunt, two of my brothers, my Wookie, and three of my friends are dead. That about sums it up." She snapped, tired of their curiosity. She ran past the TV, playing "Singin' in the Rain's" Happily Ever After, and out into the bitter night chill of Happy Harbor.
Jaina didn't feel it though. She didn't feel anything, just numb.
"Hey," Wally quietly stepped out of the restaurant after her, waving for everyone to sit back down.
Jaina tried to stay calm, ignoring the use of the force. She didn't want to use it, not now, not ever. Not after all it made her do. It made her forget her entire life, took her from her friends and family, it made her the stupid Sword of the Jedi with all its impossible responsibilities, it made her an emotionless witch.
It made her kill her brother.
"Last time I was here I couldn't remember anything but my name. I wish it's happened again this time, but I guess it'd my rotten side of the Solo luck." She grinned helplessly.
Wally wrapped his arms around her, and this time Jaina was able to stay in the hug this time, hiding from everything else.
"It's okay, Jay," Wally whispered. "You don't have to talk. not if you don't want to."
And Jaina didn't.
Honestly, I do not approve of consuming alcohol or drugs unless they are specifically prescribed by doctors for medicinal purposes, but Jaina is definitely a drinker and she does do it responsibly.
Most of the time.