Heroes and Heart Ache

 Nikita: J'onn, I have more reason to love Jeremiah Danvers and more reason to pity Hank Henshaw than you have to respect or fear either of them.

J'onn J'onzz: I hope one day you'll tell me more about him.

Nikita: If you don't mind a lot of gushing, I can do so now. But I'm worried your attitude toward Henshaw will be colored. I mean, if I didn't hate him, I don't think anyone should. But I know you have no reason to respect the man. I am pretty scared that you'll accuse me of 'softening his image'. Or something like that.

J'onn J'onzz: You don't think he was an asshole?!

Nikita: I think he was blind, driven, single-minded and didn't exactly use kid gloves on me. But I was an alien who refused to answer his questions, I was an illegal immigrant he didn't know how to make heads or tails of. And it was literally his job to expect to have to deal with the worst of us at any given moment. He was so consumed with duty he didn't see reality. But everything he did was to defend the planet he called his home from people he honestly saw as the enemy. I feel sad for him and I regret the result. But it was something beyond either of our controls. Considering I had absolutely no legal rights at the time, which means he could have done literally anything to me and never did anything for the express purpose of hurting me or making me miserable. Hell even I thought you were a threat at first!”

J'onn J'onzz: how do you mean?

Nikita: you're a little bit of a beast all the time. In your natural form it is glaringly obvious you are a formidable warrior and a powerful alien. Without my empathic powers I would have been scared stiff of you, literally held in place by my fear of you when we first met. And Hank knew you were a Martian. We all did. But the behavioral and chemical profile I gave him, what you were capable of and how you would use it was based on WHITE Martians. Armed only with that, is it really surprising he went in on full alert and ready to shoot anything that moved?

J'onn Jo'nzz: No...I guess not.

“Kara, I know we don't know each other well, I just want to say, I'm sorry about your father.”

“Okay, you're going to have to explain that one.” Kara Danvers said uncertainly.

“Jeremiah Danvers, he was your father wasn't he?”

“Yeah he is. Why are you using the past tense?”

“Yesterday Winn introduced me to a friend of his; a young blonde woman who's an alien in both senses of the word but you would not know it to look at her. She's lived either a very sheltered or a very restricted life the last 7 years. She spoke of a man named Jeremiah as the most patient, morally conscious and stubbornly good human she's ever met. A description that reminded me of you before I made the connection. She said this man was her only friend at the DEO, had joined under compulsion for the sake of his daughters. Winn apologized for the 'bad timing' of our visit as she was clearly missing an old friend of hers. When she called him Jeremiah Danvers Winn's face when slack from shock. She thinks your father died 4 years ago today.”

“Winn has some serious explaining to do.” Kara breathed. “And I am getting her out of there.”

“Kara, it's not like that. Nikita doesn't live at the DEO. She has a sublet or 'off site' apartment that IS entirely her own. Winn took me with him to see her just to see a friend. As it turned out he wanted to make sure that she liked me. Her opinion of people carries a-lot of weight. From what I understand her people are low-level empaths and can tell within 2 minutes if someone in the room is a good person. But you are right, she does need to see you...even if she doesn't make the connection right away.”

“This is the best news I've had all year. Jeremiah will be over the moon!” Kara paused at the look of confusion Lena gave. “When Jeremiah was there 'for the sake of his daughters' he was referring to my sister and I. Alex is my adopted sister, her parents, Jeremiah and Eliza took me in after my birth parents died...in a fire. Officially I suppose he would be considered dead. It's the only way he could be free from the DEO's influence, if they think he's passed on. From what little he's said since coming back, he lost a second adopted daughter to the DEO. The one regret he has for leaving them as he did, is not knowing what happened to her.”

“Then...maybe Jeremiah would like to know that...Jean is director now. Nikita says he is doing everything he can to live up to the example that your father set for him.”

“...This is all at once the single most messed up, and most beautiful thing I've ever heard!”.

Nikita: I never thought of it like this before. Always every-time I remember that day, I think of how much Joe was like Jeremiah in my life. Until now I never considered that if Joe hadn't met that one farmer outside of Smallville, he would have given me a VERY different report and advice on what humanity is like in the first place.
Elias Danvers: I do not understand.
Nikita: If I hadn't met the angel that is Jeremiah Danvers in the pit of demons that was the DEO, I would never have known there were Earth humans like him. The only other person like him I ever met was an alien himself. But Joe, Jor-el to use his native name, had a human like that in his brief time on Earth as well: The farmer Hiram Kent and his wife. If it wasn't for that man, we wouldn't have Superman in our ranks at all. Kal would never have been sent to a 'primitive planet' like earth if his father had not similarly met a star in the ashes exception to your people!

Note: She might not know it but she is talking to superman/Kal-el. Nikita is referring to Jor-el who called himself 'Joe' when he showed up in Smallville 40 years ago. This is actually STRIAGHT out of season 3 of the show Smallville. A scene in which Jor-el visited Earth as a young man, and while being wanted for murder, met a farmer Hiram Kent and his wife.

A 23 year old woman tells a US General why constantly harassing her and her guests is bad tactics:

"You ever hear the expression 'a man's castle is his home'. My home is a sanctuary of Peace as much as it is of life; I made Sure of that. If you continue to violate that sanctuary I guarantee you will be unpleasantly surprised at how thoroughly even a pacifist can KICK YOUR ASS."

General Elling leaves. She turns to the 'alien menace' she is 'harboring' in her house.

“That wasn't posturing you know, I was serious. I trust you a lot more than I trust him. He is breaking our laws coming into a private residence without permission, trying to search my home without probable cause, without a reason to think something illegal is going on. Even so, I know enough about you to trust you. You are a guest in my house and are my responsibility. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. And no one with a brain in their skull insults a friend of mine in my house."

Darhk, a guest in her house, has volunteered to stand and defend her when this creep shows up again

Elana Morris: When he comes back, you stay out of his way. If he attacks you, this creature won't hurt you, it will USE you and that won't be good for anyone, trust me.

Damien Darhk: Why what...specifically, will happen?

Elana Morris: It will suck worse than 'sitting court side for the thinker show when he hijacks your body' And given how bad THAT sounds!

Damian Darhk: You mean he won't torture me, he'll use me to torture you: his words out of my mouth. And that will be worse for you. (firm nod) Point made, advice headed...reluctantly.

Keeping a running record of Random ideas for stories.

Super-hero Earth Prime. Where Daredevil could meet Batman, the Flash could meet the X-men and no one would think anything of it.

LGBT-friendly Lord of the Rings.

Merlin and Gwaine reading Sasha's journal about all the places she and her sisters have been. Then asking her to tell them THOSE stories.

Batman and Robin an actual couple in Wayne Manor.

Earth-42 Wells comes back after 3 years and helps defeat the recurring rival Edward Clariss. For once not following Gideon's script, but because he needed closure and all but tripped over the Rouge-Captain's scheme.

Lenard Snart of Earth-27 is a good man with a problem. He needs AA type help. Martin Stien and Harrison Wells adopt Elana Morris. Obviously they can't have kids.

Earth-9: Elana is the other half of Firestorm. She convinces J'onn to visit the DEO. Says that Henshaw really has changed and that at least one of them need closure. In the standard cliché J'onn obviously doesn't think so. Jeremiah tells him what Henshaw is really like. “He did what he thought was necessary to protect civilians, all of Earth really from people he honestly believed were our enemies. I can't fault him for that. And if this is coming from the mouth of an alien, then you can believe it's at least possible.”

“What's the real reason you want to go?”

Jeremiah looked mildly shocked. “I can read your mind pretty well by now. It's almost natural to hear what's on the surface. You don't want to see him, at least not for any personal reason. And you believe without proof he has changed. Which means there's another reason you want to go back. What is it? Why are you so certain he has changed?”

“Nikita. She was a dear friend of mine. Well, she was a dear soul and an innocent one. For the first time in the six years I served under Henshaw I couldn't stand by and watch her get interrogated for information she didn't have, or for being a threat she didn't actually pose. I broke her out of the DEO. According to Firestorm over there, she's back at the DEO, but as an officer, an aide-de-camp to the man I thought had the thickest skull on the face of the planet. I need to see if it's true, if she believes he has changed or is simply following orders, and paying along. If she is with him willingly, without reserve, I will have all the...closure I need. I can say goodbye and finally move on with my life.”

“Jeremiah. You don't need to stay with me.” The human scientist started. “I'll miss you sure but I wouldn't keep you here against your will.”

“I swore I would stand with you J'onn. I swore never to leave your side. From what I understand that was a 'til death do us part' oath of loyalty...and Brotherhood.”

“The oath is invalid if you're staying here just out of obligation and duty, do you not see? We will always be brothers, Jeremiah. You don't have to live under my roof for that. If you have somewhere else to be, someone in this life who needs you, I would never knowingly keep you from them. That's part of what brotherhood means!”

Earth 27 is the setting of the DEO story I first wrote and put quite a bit of thought into. Nikita was an inmate at the DEO. She saw the best and worst of humanity side by side with each-other. Hank Henshaw and Jeremiah Danvers. Eventually she went from being an enemy alien to more an asset or a confidential informant. she is a pretty big expert in the field. Not only was she raised on another planet, her people weren't living in their own corner of the galaxy. So she had knowledge and reputations of a lot of species that we don't. What really helps though is that her people are low level empaths. What a person thinks is their own business and not something she could read if she wanted. What she does, sometimes without trying, is sense the essence of who they are; what they are feeling, what comes most naturally to them, their inclinations and intentions.

It's a 'do not mistake composure for ease' situation. Henshaw is a 'creechta'. Nikita's swear-word for an ignorant arrogant asshole who's blindness and aggression pour from him.

"I saw Nikita shortly after your last mission together. She actually stayed at my house for a couple of days. I would have been happy if she'd stayed longer but instead she willingly went back to the DEO with a man I thought was Director Henshaw. A few hours later I burst into the base focused only on prying her from the jaws of that shark-face. I was quite firmly told to cool my jets. Nikita herself vouched for the director's honor and integrity. We promptly flew to the roof to sort things out away from other eyes and ears. J'onn explained how he had stepped up and took the reins of the DEO. Nikita declared her intent to stay at the DEO as a permanent, free resident. It was both intoxicating and refreshing, if I'm to be honest.”
“You're telling me J'onn Jo'nzz is the director of the DEO and Nikita is his left-hand person. 

How can that...even be true?”
Superman decreased his velocity upon final approach. “You'll see Henshaw's face when we land.

 It will be J'onn to greet you. Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“...Green Martians are shape-shifters. J'onn is wearing Hank's face. When Henshaw died, J'onn assumed his identity in order to reform the DEO. Nikita helped keep his cover...without slipping too far into what people expected. Being the only person he could trust who knew what things had been like, her input was as invaluable to him as her loyalty and trust.” 
“Exactly that.” Superman replied, smiling softly.

 Around 3 pm in the afternoon Jeremiah Danvers rested comfortably in the arms of Superman. Clark was holding him loosely but firmly as they moved through the air toward DEO headquarters. “Are you alright?”

“I never thought I'd be back here again. I'm not sure what to expect.”

“There's nothing I could say that could sufficiently prepare you for this place, so I won't even try.” Kal replied. “If I'm going to help at all I should say that J'onn will probably be the first person you see and you will be welcomed here by him; he's director now.”

“Okay an alien in charge of the DEO when did that happen. More accurately: how?”

“Martians are shape-shifters...he looks human now.”

“That would explain it.”

They touched down on the balcony on the next to highest floor. They clearly were not expected. A young agent, the equivalent in experience to a Air Force lieutenant walked up with his hand on his gun. A dark haired, pale-faced young man standing beside him simply smiled and waved with his left hand. “Superman, good to see you again. Who's your friend?”

“Winn, find director J'onzz have him meet us in the conference room.”

“That won't be necessary.” Came the smooth calm voice that resonated from a man known to most as Director J'onn J'onzz. “I think I...” His gaze met that of Jeremiah Danvers. J'onn did not say anything more for several seconds; neither did anyone else.

“J'onn, is that you?” Jeremiah finally breathed.

“I think we need to go up to the conference room. We have A-Lot to talk about.”

Kal-el, J'onn J'onzz Nikita and Jeremiah Danvers all gathered in the situation room overlooking the main operations center of the building. For a moment no one said anything.

“Someone should say something before even Kal ages.” Nikita prompted.

“Jeremiah...I never thought I'd see you again...I thought you were dead.”

“Apparently you're a little too good at wearing his skin. I let people think I died...so Hank Henshaw wouldn't come after me. I have an apology to make you, Nikita...not sure how to start.”

“For believing I was dead? We're both guilty on that one.”

“For assuming you were better off believing I was dead. For assuming you were out there alone and wandering, better off than you would be with me...for never telling anyone you existed.”

“If you didn't know I was here why come back?” Understanding flickered across her face. “Clark overheard the two of us talking and brought you back here to clear things up. You didn't know where I was until today...and you thought Henshaw was still in charge of this place.”

“I have to admit I'm more than a little confused right now.” J'onn said blankly.

“No less than I am about all this.” Superman quipped.

“I experienced the best and worst of humanity for 11 months the first time I was here.” Nikita said automatically, almost mechanically. “Both of them were with me when I met you, J'onn in the mountains that day. I learned all I needed to know about you to trust you as soon as I saw you shake hands. I knew you were the one picking me up from Clark's house, because you weren't being an ignorant arrogant asshole and still recognized Jeremiah's name. I've never met anyone on Earth like Jeremiah before...no one else who was born here. And now that explanations and easily-remedied mistakes are cleared up, can we get to the actual reunion part? I also never thought I'd see you again...I never thought get a chance to talk with you both at the same time...we need to find a patio bar and a place that serves cuba libre's.”

“I'm sorry, what?” Kal-el said blankly.

J'onn J'onzz stepped up. “Kal, Jeremiah, Nikita and I saved each-other from Hank Henshaw. That's actually how any of us met, including you and her. Until now at least some of us thought the others died that night. THIS meeting of old friends deserves some alcohol.”