Hero of another Earth

 TWO WORLDS ONE HERO

Nikita as she introduced herself sat on the medical examine table. She spoke freely, her tone showed more curiosity than either caution or fear. That is until J'onn came into the room and her whole demeanor changed, violently.

“What the crap!” She said, jumping off of the table. She backed into the medical cabinet with a look of complete shock on her face. “What in the name of all thing rational and sane is going on?”

“That is, pretty much what I'm wondering right now.' I said mildly. By 'mildly' I mean in a voice squeakier than mickey mouse.

“I have a better question, what is happening at all?” J'onn said to the rest of the room.

“I don't...why am I not sensing any-thing from you that's like before? I...J'onn...is that you?”

“Okay, do you know me and if so, how?” J'onn asked the stranger.

“I, I know someone named J'onn Jo'nzz yes. But no, I don't think you and I have ever met.” I think J'onn found this as difficult a concept to wrap his mind around as I did. But I never got a chance to ask. “Sad thing, after five full years my first reaction at seeing Henshaw's face is to totally and completely freak out. I...I am sorry for my over-reaction.”

“If you knew the original Hank Henshaw, I wouldn't call that an over-reaction. Well, not from what I've heard anyway.” I said aloud.

“That's the thing, where I'm from for the past 2 years Henshaw's been doing what he can to be different, to be better than he was before. I was an 'enemy alien' here 5 years ago. And when his world changed to go upside down, he changed ours to correct it.”

“Okay, slow down please. Start with where you are from.”

“ 'Simultaneous realities in parallel places'.” She said as if quoting a lecture. “Think alternate timelines that co-exist rather than replace each-other.”

“Parallel universes.” I quipped.

“Exactly.”

“And in your world Henshaw became a force for good? I'm sorry, I don't see it.”

'J'onn, where did you first meet Henshaw? You must have done in order to have his face. You assumed his identity...where did you first encounter their agents? Was it in Peru, Guatemala?”

“The Canadian Rockies actually.”

“In my world Henshaw led a five man team into a remote location in Peru. He was the only one to make it out alive. But he told of a revelatory experience he had, learning he had been so completely wrong about one of his lefftenants..”

“..Jeremiah Danvers.” J'onn said in an echoy voice.

“He talked about how Jeremiah stood up for him like a mouse to a lion. When you first met, you fought and he lost. Jeremiah defended him...to you. 'I might not like him but he's still my commanding officer'. And 'there are rules even in war he's no threat leave him be', sort of thing. No one blames you. They were on a mission to kill you. No one knows where J'onn Jo'nzz is, they leave him alone and they leave anyone who isn't actively trying to hurt other people alone. As far as Henshaw knows, Jeremiah died saving his life. Which is why he's so cautious now about who he deems an enemy and where he sees 'dangerous threats'. He doesn't want to underestimate or rather misjudge anyone as badly as he did Jeremiah Danvers...or fail him a second time by seeing foes where there are only friends.”

“Wow, that...is a lot to process.” I whispered.

“You're a lot alike Winn, tis why I didn't notice right away.” She smiled. I smiled back. “Winn works at the DEO on my world also. I may be a half-breed but I have enough of my mother's gift to tell if someone has a suspicious vs. a trusting mind, a hopeful or an aggressive one.”

“You're an empath?” J'onn interposed.

“My mother's people were. My father was a human scientist. I was born in Salida Colorado. I'd say it's time for introductions. My native name is Saran. Most people call me 'Sasha'.”

“Understandable.” I said quickly. She started rubbing the side of her head. “What's wrong?”

“I, I don't want to be rude, but can I claim a room as my own? I need to lie down.”

“Oh God of course.” J'onn said shaken. “Winn, will you take her to basic quarters please.”

I put her arm over my shoulder as I guided her out of the infirmary. When we got to at least her temporary quarters she slid into the cot and laid herself back against the wall. “I hope you'll be comfortable here.” I told her. I honestly couldn't think of anything to say.

“Thank you.” She whispered. “Thank you for your kindness.”

Something super cool but pretty intense just happened in my head and I'm trying to figure out how to work it into a story.

So a friendly visitor in my head was here for the first time, one of the redeemed bad-guys in the Arrow-verse. The words "Crishnaka-Sajente' rolled off my tongue, but not in reference to him. Sajente is my word for anyone in a position of authority and respect who isn't very good at using that authority or who hadn't earned and usually does not deserve your respect as an individual. There is a word my alien or non English characters use sometimes: crechta. Which has actually been established as meaning 'ignorant arrogant asshole'. The word Crishnaka has rarely come up at all in either my own off the cuff speech or just thinking aloud. By interpretation of the word, from the relatively few times it's come up, Crishnaka = Demon.

So, I am being warned that someone who matches the description of an loudmouth demon is coming and Damien Darhk wholeheartedly volunteers to fight for me if it manifests. It had been established seconds earlier that he was a guest in my house, hospitality goes along with that no matter what, and I kind of like him anyway. Literally those exact words were the last thing I'd said before those other words directed at someone else rolled off my lips, so it made sense he'd want to defend both this place where he was accepted and his kindhearted host.

"Don't worry, if anything comes here, I'll defend you, I promise.

"If it comes, you will stay on the sidelines, out of the line of fire. This thing will come after you but it won't hurt you, it will use you and that's worse, for both of us."

"Why, what will it be like..."

"It will suck worse than 'sitting court-side for the thinker show when he hijacked your body'. And given how bad THAT sounds?!"

"Point made...and advice reluctantly heeded.”

Thing is, later this same day my mom went on one of her more aggressive and hurt-filled rants over Facebook. She was hurt, literally that I wasn't saying things in a way she could understand. But couldn't listen to how shaming, passive aggressive and blind her words were. I had to finally tell her I was tired of beating my head against the wall trying to get her to understand what I was saying. Her not listening was not my fault. The conversations she and I have had recently made it clear she was living in her own little world and was pretty incapable of understanding what she was sounding like...any more than of listening to me instead of what she thought I meant or even preferred to hear.

Sajente is my word for the permentant resident I used to have in my head. More than any physical being he knows exactly what's going on and is a HUGE part of my life...But, no matter how much he claims to be the only one to understand things, he doesn't learn from what's going on and doesn't understand any of it. He talked down to me so much for a long time; it was useless to fight him in the end. He has the experience and is in a position of respect, but should not have the authority and is not the kind of person I could respect. Crishnaka was how I described my mom when she went full beast-mode in high school. Or was too busy demanding explanations to realize I was giving them. I haven't used that word in a LONG time. Mom was like that the last day she was here during Christmas. Tears were streaming down my face and in my mind I was back in the bad days. Over the past few months mom was mistakenly thinking that 'aside from that last day the trip went pretty well'. Which is why she and I tried so hard to make it work these last few months. 

Literally 3 hours after my word for her demon self rolled off my lips and a visitor I'd never met showed up to help me, whose name is Latin for Demon, mom went beast-mode on me again and I had no one to help me through it.