chapter five: check this [] box if you're not feeling the aster

It's crazy all the little things you take for granted without realizing it. Like, for example, toilets and indoor plumbing, or when your lips aren't chapped and dry, or, you know, your own universe (Piper honestly can't believe that last one has now made her list). Although it seems that aside from superpowered teenagers who wear interesting costumes and live in a mountain, this new world isn't really that terrible and the heroes genuinely seem like good people; they've already provided the demigods with answers to a ton of their questions, food, and a place to stay until this whole disaster can get sorted out.

Please let this be an easy fix, Piper thinks as she reaches across the ottoman and snags a napkin from the pile in the center, wiping her fingers on it to get rid of some chip crumbs.

After talking with him and Kaldur for a little while longer, they had followed the heroes out and into another open living space (Piper is incredibly curious to know where or who supplies all the money to support the operation of this cave- it's big, with some sleek looking appliances and extremely comfortable couches). Robin and Kaldur had shown them a few of the different rooms and after Leo asked about seeing the rest of the cave, said they'd get to that after Miss M arrived, whoever that was.

Despite being carved into the side of a mountain, the living room they're in is cool and brightly lit, an entrance to one side that leads into the room and another corridor off to the other that opens up to a hallway. Apparently, for some of the heroes this cave is their home as well as their headquarters, according to Robin.

Shortly afterwards, other teens and costumed heroes had transported back into the cave (which that whole 'beam-me-up-Scotty thing is insanely cool, even Piper can tell) and it was crazy witnessing the way all the heroes interacted; it really was like a strange family. The vibe is similar to the one at her home that not for the first time since waking up here, Piper desperately wishes to be back in her own world.

Hanging around the room with them are some of the other Young Justice heroes; Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, a girl in a purple costume who had introduced herself as Spoiler, 'enemy of those who hate the color purple and spoiler of crime!', sitting next to Robin. The other guy who had come in with him, Superboy, had disappeared earlier, and there were a few other heroes that had shown up briefly; Blue Beetle, an archer, Arrowette, and dude with dreads, Static, both of whom hadn't stayed long, leaving a few minutes after meeting the demi-gods.

Piper tries to relax into the couch next as much as possible, but she still feels so disoriented, and not just emotionally. Everything feels off, like sneakers that are suddenly too tight around the toes. Her internal clock is also totally jumbled, because a few hours ago it was the early evening and now it's after eight thirty in the evening and apparently, Tuesday.

(Robin had gently explained that in most of their past experiences dealing with the multiverse time had flowed differently, and so there's actually no way to tell if any time is going to pass between the moment they were dumped here and when they get back. (When, not if, when.))

"Okay, so you're all demi-gods," Wonder Girl says slowly like she's trying out the words. "I mean, how does that happen in your world? And who are your parents?"

They're seated on the couches and chairs situated around the room; Piper, Nico, and Leo on one of the couches, Annabeth, Jason and Percy on another. The more relaxed atmosphere gives Piper a moment to check in on her friends unobtrusively as they attempt to regain their bearings and process the whole, 'you're in another universe, we're superheroes, and someone who is most likely really bad is after Percy' thing. (So, Piper might just be jumping to conclusions but she has a sinking feeling she's actually not. From the way Annabeth keeps glancing at Percy worriedly, Piper knows she's not the only one; despite Percy's best efforts, he still looks like he's in pain and slighter paler than normal.)

Leo snorts and taps his fingers on his thighs, his knees bouncing up and down. He keeps looking all around the room, his eyes darting from one thing to another. He seems to be taking in everything the best out of all of them but Piper knows that he's also incredibly good at distracting himself, immersing himself in something and pushing all other thoughts and concerns to the back of his head to just not think about it.

Nico shoots Leo an irritated look, his small body bouncing up and down slightly due to Leo's jittering. He Looks tired, and grouchier than normal, (which is also something Piper knows is more a defense mechanism than anything else.)

Jason is looking at Wonder Girl like he isn't sure how to talk with her just yet. For him, meeting another child of Zeus, even in a different world, must be slightly off-putting. Knowing her boyfriend, Jason isn't letting himself really feel anything about their situation yet, most likely too concerned with acting strong and dependable for the rest of them than allowing himself the time to process and experience his emotions. Piper loves the guy, seriously, but sometimes he can be a little too good at the whole 'a leader must act strong never show emotions' thing.

Spread out on the ottoman and side tables accenting the couches are bottles of water, juice, and snacks, provided by Kid Flash who seems to be doing enough eating for all them combined. There's no way any normal human would be able to eat as much as he does and still look so small, but then again, normal humans don't move as fast as Hazel's horse. Or faster, Piper isn't sure.

"Uh, right." Jason responds. He pauses and frowns. "I'm assuming it happens the same way it happens here in your world…?"

Robin chokes on a laugh and Wonder Girl throws one of the pillows at him. He dodges it easily and it hits Spoiler.

Beast Boy frowns. He's perched on the armrest on Robin's other side, and Piper has to remind herself not to stare. She's seen Frank transform into animals' multiple times but afterwards he always looks fully human. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, BB." Spoiler responds, shoving the pillow in Robin's face. Wonder Girl shoots her a thumbs up.

"Wait, so who are your parents?" Kid Flash interjects excitedly.

"Uh, well, some of them are Roman and some of them are Greek." Jason replies.

Annabeth scrubs her eyes with the heel of her palm. "Sometimes you forget how insane our lives are until you hear it out loud."

Spoiler shoves Robin's feet off the ottoman and lazily crosses her ankles over each other. "Are your parents responsible for most of your childhood misery and severe trauma too?" She asks cheerfully. Robin immediately kicks his feet back up and rests them on Spoiler's shins.

Nico snorts and Leo openly laughs. "Actually, pretty much."

Percy smiles and Piper can tell that even though he's not doing well, it's genuine.

"So, there's two different kinds of deities in your universe?" Robin frowns. "How does that work?"

"Well, actually there are three, at least that we know of. I've met an Egyptian demi-god." Percy comments.

Uh, what, Piper thinks.

"Uh, what," Leo says, practically reading her thoughts.

Wonder Girl rubs a finger across the golden lasso tied at her hip. "That matches up pretty closely here; Wonder Woman's mentioned some of the Amazons, like those of Bana-Mighdal, listen to Egyptian gods and goddesses." She makes an expression, like 'dang, they're impressive but scary.' "They're known to be pretty gnarly."

"Or," Robin says under his breath, offhandedly, "as an Outlaw."

Wonder Girl shares a knowing look with Robin as Percy, who misses Piper and Nico's surprised expressions, nods slowly.

"Wait," Piper says before Percy has a chance to continue the conversation. "You have?" She turns to Annabeth. "Why haven't we heard about this?"

Percy blinks. "I didn't tell you about that?"

"Uh, no man." Jason shakes his head.

Annabeth uncaps a water bottle and hands it to Percy. It's the third one she's given him. "I think we should table that story and save it for another time." She turns back to Robin, clarifying. "It's like a person who has a split personality disorder. So sometimes the gods are Greek, like Zeus and Poseidon, other times they're Jupiter and Neptune."

"Wow," Spoiler comments. "That sounds...confusing."

"You have no idea," Jason shakes his head.

"Especially when they're at war with themselves." Leo grumbles. "Like, here we are trying to save the world and all, and of course it's then that they decide to-"

"Anyways," Piper cuts in before Leo can start ranting, giving him a look. "I'm the daughter of Aphrodite, and Leo's already mentioned he's the son of Hephaestus."

Leo nods. "It's pretty sick, but the popular ones are those three," he motions to Percy, Jason and Nico.

Nico rolls his eyes and simply says, "Son of Hades."

Kid Flash makes a 'huh' face. "That must be some dad." He looks over at Robin.

"You have no idea." Nico says as Robin snorts.

"Dude, Bis not Hades, man. He's like, the world's biggest caring-"

"Sure, Rob. Sure."

Spoiler laughs. "I'm going to tell him that when he gets back."

Wonder Girl rolls her eyes. "Ignore them, what about the rest of your guys?"

"Poseidon," Percy adds. He nudges Annabeth who says, "daughter of Athena."

Wonder Girl raises an eyebrow. "Wait, your mom's Athena? She has kids where you come from?"

Percy waves his hand casually, in a 'story for another time' manner. "It's complicated."

Annabeth gives him a grateful look.

Wonder Girl looks slightly disappointed, but doesn't push the issue.

Piper catches Jason's eye and he clears his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. "And I'm the son of Jupiter."

Spoiler and Beast Boy look over at Jason and Wonder Girl, who are both staring at each other. "So, you're like Wonder Girl's step brother once removed or something?"

Jason rubs the back of his neck. "I don't know, man, bloodlines with the gods is really confusing."

Robin frowns thoughtfully. "Probably not at all, considering as far as we know the gods are limited to their universe. Although it doesn't totally make sense-"

"Okay but what kind of powers do you guys have?" Kid Flash asks excitedly, steamrolling over Robin's musings. (The black-haired teen grabs a bag of chips and throws it at him, but Kid Flash simply catches it and starts opening it).

"Yeah," Beast Boy adds, interestedly. "Are your special powers from your parents? Like Wonder Girl's?"

"Well, sorta, yeah," Percy answers, shrugging. "I mean, thankfully, otherwise we'd all have died at like, thirteen."

"Yee haw." Leo says sarcastically.

"Okay so flight," Wonder Girl says pointing to Jason. "And lighting?"

"And thunderstorms," Piper grins at him.

"And you can control water," Wonder Girl motions to Percy, who nods. "And a son of Hephaestus...so a whiz with like, engineering?"

Leo grins, "to keep a long list of talents really, really short."

(Spoiler leans over to Robin and mutters, "wait, which one's Hephaestus again? Like, god of what?"

Robin shrugs. "I basically slept through our entire semester of AP Lit, not gonna lie."

"Your dearest older brother must be so disappointed."

Robin grins, slightly mischievously. "He almost started crying when I told him.")

"But what about you guys?" Piper asks, leaning forward looking at the heroes. She doesn't particularly care to go into the whole 'love is a powerful weapon' thing and Nico doesn't really look like he wants to talk about himself, either. And besides, is more interested in learning about the other superpowered teens in the room. "You're clearly not all demigods so how do you have powers?"

Annabeth nods. "And some of you guys don't even have powers, right? So why are you all part of, uh, this?"

The Young Justice members look at each other before Kid Flash shrugs a shoulder. "Time travel, born into, signed up for it, forced your way into it, a product of horrible circumstances...it kinda varies."

"Time travel," Nico says. "Sure, why not."

"But like, why do you do this?" Jason questions. "It's not like some non-profit or like you're getting paid, right? Couldn't you just live normal lives, even with your powers?"

There's another quiet moment before Wonder Girl breaks it. She looks slightly sad, bittersweet. "Have you ever experienced something bad? Like really bad. Or maybe woke up one day and realized you have freaky but awesome powers?"

They're all looking at her now, even the members of Young Justice. Robin has a blank look on his face and Beast Boy is gazing at the floor.

Percy nods and Piper says, "yes," quietly to both questions. She knows without looking at them that her friends are also remembering everything they've somehow lived through, everything that's happened to them.

"Well, most of us here have had one or the other, some both." Wonder Girl continues, her voice soft. "Some of us have lost our families because of random acts of violence, some of us have just been blessed and cursed with powers. And others have different origins. But anyways, we use them, the skills we have, the pain we've experienced, to save lives, even if it means we might lose our own…" She trails off and Kid Flash has gone perfectly still, his eyes wide and blank.

Just like us, Piper thinks. It's crazy how similar they are to each other; a group of teenagers, kids, really, who live and train together, use their powers to save the world even if it means they may not survive. They've all barely just met and still don't trust each other fully, but that feels secondary now because Piper knows they can relate, they know what it's like.

"Oh," Jason says, almost soft enough to not be heard in the silence of the room.

Spoiler clears her throat, jostling Robin in a 'hey bro!' kind of way. "But we also have super cool costumes and can kick some serious butt. So, you know, there's a plus side to it too!" She sounds cheerful, but Piper can tell it's forced. It does the trick though, because Wonder Girl nods vigorously and Robin smiles slightly. "And we're like a family too."

"You know that's right," Beast Boy cheers, noticeably trying to lighten the mood as well.

"What about Kaldur?" Percy asks, moving the conversation back towards less angsty topics. "He can also control water, right?"

"Yeah," Kid Flash says, looking like himself again. "He's from Atlantis, so he's got like, super cool hair and water bending abilities."

"Hold up," Percy stares. "Atlantis? That's real?"

"I thought it was a myth?" Jason frowns, looking at Percy.

Robin cocks his head to one side. "Well, not in this universe. Their king, Aquaman, is still an honorary member of the Justice League."

"No way," Percy says, grinning. He looks more engaged now than he has the rest of the conversation, and Piper hopes that means he's feeling better. "Okay, that, I've got to see. Seriously."

("Don't tell me," Leo says. "Dinosaurs are real here, too,"

Beast Boy looks at him. "Oh, actually there's an island full of them."

"Weirdly," Nico comments easily, "I'm not as surprised as I think I should be.")

Annabeth smiles, looking slightly more relaxed at Percy's honest grin. "I could stand a field trip to Atlantis."

Wonder Girl laughs, "Kal might be able to swing something. Where is he, anyways?"

"He said he had to go 'check on some things'," Kid Flash replies. "Anyways I wanna hear about your world, what's it like over there? Where do you guys live? Does everyone know demi-gods exist? What about-"

"KF, dude," Spoiler says. "Maybe one question at a time so they can, you know, actually hear you?"

"Oh right, heh. Sorry."

Piper shoots him a grin; he reminds her a lot of Leo, kind of all over the place and endearing. "It's actually not all that different from you guys," she answers. "The rest of the normal world doesn't have any clue that we exist, and we live in places that are protected, sanctuaries for demigods, if you will."

Wonder Girl leans forward, interested, her eyes wide.

Beast Boy looks at her excitedly. "That's so crash!"

"But apparently we have different expressions." Nico comments warily.

Jason nods. "We also don't have the same cities and your technology seems a lot more advanced than ours, but I think other things are similar."

"Like ways of telling time, speaking in English, the gods," Annabeth supplies.

Leo looks at them curiously, reaching over to grab some carrots that Kid Flash had brought out. "Do you guys have big time celebrities or dramas? Like Keeping up with the Kardashians or Steve Jobs?"

"Who?" Wonder Girl and Kid Flash ask at the same time.

(Nico leans over to Piper. "That's the one about the family that's part Armenian, right?"

She nods and grins. "Right. See, you are starting to get pop culture references.")

"The Kardashians, it's a reality t.v. series that focuses on like, a family and their work and all the drama in their lives." Leo explains, waving a carrot stick around.

"Oh," Beast Boy responds, tapping his chin. "We don't have those people but I think everyone here keeps up with the Waynes-they're a super-rich family in Gotham. Bruce Wayne, he's like, the CEO of one of the biggest companies in America."

Robin, who had been taking a sip of water as Beast Boy started replying, chokes on it, leaning forward and spluttering. Spoiler hits him on the back, and both Wonder Girl and Kid Flash are laughing.

"What?" Beast Boy and Leo say at the same time, then look at each other in confusion.

"Nothing, nothing." Robin says, coughing. He clears his throat and sets his water bottle down. "Anyways, who's Steve Jobs?"

(\M/)

\/

Barbra tosses Dick a protein bar (one of the good ones that Alfred approves of) and flops down on the couch in the meeting room. She's tired, her hip bruised from a recent mission, and desperately wants to treat herself to a mani-pedi (maybe she can drag Steph to go with her) but thanks to an amazingly awful schedule, hasn't had the chance. Across from her are two chairs-La-Z-boys that Mal had installed for Karen during her second trimester-occupied by Kaldur in one and Artemis in the other.

Barbra knows that Wally's death months ago is still an open wound in her friend's heart just like it is Dick's, a loss so deep she knows it will never fully heal. But even so, Artemis looks okay, the time spent away from the team to give Barry and Iris a hand with the twins seems to have helped wonders. Her grey eyes are steady and she'd given Barbra an honest, real smile when she'd arrived in the Cave a few minutes ago.

Kaldur rests his elbows on his knees, supporting his chin as he leans forward, brow furrowed.

Conner is leaning on the side of the couch, arms crossed over his chest, watching Dick as he paces back forth, waiting for M'gann to arrive.

"What are the chances that the voice wasn't referring to Bruce?" Artemis asks, breaking the silence.

"My gut feeling?" Kaldur says looking at her. "Not very low."

Dick runs a hand through his hair, the other sill holding the unopened bar. Barbra looks at him then it, pointedly. "Honestly, 'symbol in the night'? That basically describes the Bat-symbol."

"Yeah, but how would they even know about it?" Conner frowns. "Or, the voice, I guess. You have no idea who it might be?"

Barbra shakes her head. She makes a mental note to text her dad and let him know she isn't going to be able to swing by the store today and he's going to need to pick up the groceries. Knowing her father, she'll need to text him twice. "That's why we called M'gann."

"And Zee." Dick adds, turning on his heel and walking back to the other side. "Miss M said she'd be able to get over here soon but I have no idea about Zee; I wasn't able to reach her."

Artemis pushes her ponytail over one shoulder. "She might still be out of the physical realm with Anita. Have you been able to get in contact with Bruce, though?"

Dick shakes his head this time, and Barbra can tell he's worried. It's not the first time Bruce has left for an off-world mission with the League without a way to contact him, but it doesn't make Dick or the rest of the family worry any less. Barbra can understand; she feels the same way whenever her dad leaves to respond to whatever insane crime is happening in Gotham.

"I was able to get in touch with Jason Blood though," Dick says. "But only briefly. He wasn't able to tell me much of anything because the connection was poor, but he said he'd try to get back to me soon."

"Well," Artemis sighs. "That is something, at least."

Conner snorts. "Figures that when we have an actual situation involving magic, none of the magic users are here."

Barbra purses her lips. "What about Constantine? I can and see if I can contact him."

Dick raises an eyebrow. "Worth a shot. If we don't hear back from Zatanna before then he might be able to."

"Look, regardless," Conner interjects. "We've still got a bunch of demigods in the cave that we need to figure out what to do with."

Kaldur looks up and nods. "And on top of that, there is a strong possibility that we will need to deal with whatever brought them here in the first place."

Artemis grins tiredly. "At this point we should just assume we will- our track record with these types of situations is pretty horribly consistent."

Dick grins back and easily flips over the side table and onto the seat next to Barbra. He sits crisscross applesauce, his knee touching her thigh. "I swear this happens every time B leaves."

Barbra nudges him and rolls her eyes. "Stop complaining," she teases, grateful for the lightened mood. Dick's been through more than enough recently and Barbra knows that Tim's also been concerned for him. It's not that either of them don't think he can handle everything-Dick is one of the most capable people either of them knows. But he's unfortunately learned from the best how to shoulder everything by himself, regardless of if he needs to.

Barbra reaches over and grabs the bar from him and tears open, shoving it back in his hand. She knows he's rolling his eyes under the mask but he pointedly takes a bite out of it anyways. Barbra looks over to the others in time to see Artemis give her an approving nod and Kaldur a knowing smile.

Conner cocks his head to one side. "M'gann is here. You sure about this?"

Kaldur nods and stands up. "Yes."

Barbra squeezes Dick knee before standing up herself and stretching. She's got a pile of C++ homework that's due in two days, research for a case that she'd promised Selina she'd help out with while Bruce is away, updates to make in the Batcave's system, and a birthday gift for her dad she needs to order. But all of that is just going to have to continue waiting for a while longer.

Artemis pulls her hair loose out of its ponytail then starts retying it. "Well, hopefully we'll be able to get a few answers."

"Yeah, for us and them," Conner adds.

Dick crumples up the bar's wrapper and tosses it with a flick of his wrist into the trash bin across the room. He gets to his feet in one fluid motion and despite all her years of training and practice, Barbra is still jealous she's never managed to make herself look that graceful. Dick smirks at her, most likely knowing exactly what she's thinking and Barbra just rolls her eyes.

"Okay guys," Dick says, rolling his shoulders a few times to lessen the tension that's been building there- Barbra can see the tension in his shoulders loosen. "Stay whelmed. Let's get this party started."

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(Lagoon Boy, btw, had to return to Atlantis for comic book reasons (and not at all that I FORGOT ABOUT HIM? no, no sir :)) also thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! i really really appreciate your comments, and the time used to write them. each and everyone of them means a lot! xoxo)