Final Crisis (4/4) (END)

Jonah couldn’t remember how long he’d been awake. Around twenty hours of trekking around the western hemisphere had left him wholly depleted. He couldn’t think. Luckily, he couldn’t feel either. All emotion had been drained from him. He had burned all remaining reserves in his rage. Now all he could do was sit and wait.

It was dark outside. A single cloud passed over a crescent moon. It was peaceful. Kendra and Jonah decided months ago that they would find a new place to live. They settled on a lovely house in suburban Star City. It was an up-and-coming neighborhood with excellent schools and close proximity to several national parks. It was challenging for Jonah to secure a loan due to his nonexistent credit history. Luckily, however, Kendra’s smart finances and Jonah’s new job at Queen Industries R&D had prepared a nice nest egg for the down payment.

A three-bedroom, two-bath detached home in a cookie-cutter neighborhood. They had a large yard and a fence blocking out the neighbors. These were luxuries that Jonah was completely unaccustomed to. Even growing up in the American Southwest, where land is plentiful, Jonah never had so much room to himself. He felt as though he didn’t deserve it. But his family did. That was the important part.

In his home office, which would soon become a nursery, Jonah waited for a phone call. He sat in a cheap office chair and gazed up at a large window, looking out at the stars. Without the city’s light pollution, he could see Ursa Major dancing around the top of the sky.

His phone didn’t even reach the second tone before Jonah had it up to his ear. “How can I help you, Robin?”

“Amanda Waller is dead.”

“How did it happen?” Jonah sounded almost dispassionate.

“News will report it as a prison riot, but we both know that’s only partly true.”

“Looks like her task **** wasn’t on a tight enough leash after all.” A small smile crept its way onto Jonah’s mouth.

“Batman, the League, will want to debrief you on this.”

“You already know what to tell them. Good night, Robin.”

“… Good night, Porter.”

Jonah collapsed back into his chair once he hung up the phone. A great weight lifted from his shoulders, and his shoulders relaxed. The last part of the energy he was holding onto left all at once. It was then that he began to cry.

Kendra Saunders couldn’t sleep. Jonah wasn’t next to her when she woke up in the morning. It wasn’t until the next day that he shambled back. He looked so tired that he could have collapsed into her arms in the living room. But he didn’t. Instead, he told her about Nicaragua, about Crusader, and about DC. He said all he could to her, but she knew that it wasn’t everything. Kendra didn’t push the issue, she trusted him to tell her soon. But for now, she knew that he needed space. Jonah went into his office, and Kendra went to bed.

However, Kendra couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned in an empty bed. Her heart ached, mirroring her partner’s pain as best it could. Kendra carried her heavily pregnant body downstairs to rest on the living room couch. If late-night TV isn’t good for your sleep, then what is? Maybe a midnight snack would help.

It was on the local news channel that Kendra heard about the prison riot that killed Amanda Waller. Jonah didn’t mention anything of the sort, but she knew he must have had something to do with it. She followed the details emerging from rural Louisiana. A set of light footsteps creaked on the wooden flooring of the living room.

Jonah was standing behind Kendra. The lights were turned off, so he was lit only by the radiant blue glow of the flat-screen TV. He was silent, keeping his eyes fixed on the news broadcast.

“The League won’t like this,” Kendra said, concerned for him.

“I don’t care what they think.” Uneven shadows obscured Jonah’s handsome face. "All that matters is what you think.” Do you think I should have killed her?”

Kendra could hear the vulnerability hidden in his stoic delivery. “If you asked any of my other lives, they would have said yes.”

“Buy you?” Jonah placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, rubbing the fabric of her shirt as if it were a safety blanket. She loved that he always cared more for Kendra than Hawkgirl.

“I’m not sure.” Kendra held his hand and rubbed it softly. “I know this must have brought back so many awful memories. But we have a much higher standard now, my love. Both of us.”

Jonah let out a long sigh.

“Will you be ok?”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight. Ok, honey?”

“Ok.” Kendra let Jonah release his hand.

“How was the mother group?” Jonah asked as he stepped away into the chicken.

“It was good,” Kendra called behind her. “There was a large turnout. Stephanie was there.”

“How is she? I haven’t seen her since Spoiler ‘retired.’”

“It seems like she’s back on her feet. The baby is healthy. She doesn’t know who the father is, but Robin has really stepped up and helped her. Though I have a hard time imagining him showing up to Lamaze in full disguise,” Kendra laughed at the thought.

“He’s a good man like that.” Jonah returned from the kitchen with pickles and Nutella. A crazy combination any other day, but he had a sixth sense about predicting Kendra’s pregnancy cravings. After giving Kendra the food, he flicked on a table lamp and slowly rubbed her shoulders. “I can tell that he loves her a lot. He holds too much inside, but I can tell.”

“Linda was there, and Lois was there with Jonathan. He’s so good with the young kids.”

“Well, I guess when your dad is Superman, you get used to dealing with the little people.” Jonah quipped.

Kendra laughed. “I don’t think they see it that way.”

Without needing instruction, Jonah leaned over Kendra’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around her pregnant belly. He lifted gently, relieving some of the weight from Kendra. She let out a relaxed sigh.

“You want to work on my feet after this?” Kendra turned to Jonah and saw his face in the light. He was staring soulfully at her. “Are you listening to me?”

“You’re radiant.”

“Glad you noticed.” Kendra blushed and kissed him on the cheek. There was a slightly salty taste to his skin. She studied his face more closely; his eyes were red, and his cheeks were flushed. “Have you been crying?”

“I’m just happy, is all.” Jonah let Kendra trace her thumb underneath his puffy eyes.

“I love you Jonah.”

Jonah closed his eyes and nodded. “I would do anything for you. You know that, right?”

“Of course I know that.”

“You are my world.” Jonah looped around the couch and settled next to Kendra. He placed his hand on her round belly. “You and her.”

“Her?” Kendra questioned. “Do you know something that I don’t?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I can see the future.” He replied with a teasing smirk. “We’re going to have a daughter, and she’s going to be perfect. She’s going to look and be just like her mother.”

“I don’t know about all that.” Kendra placed her hand over his. “I think she’ll be a little misfit. Just like her father.”