A long sleep

Jonah awoke alone.

He was still naked but now he was tucked into bed. The lights in his dorm were off. His body ached and his eyes grew tired again. Traveling universes had given him the mother of all jet lag. He went back to sleep without a thought of what would happen next or what had happened so far.

Jonah awoke again far later, after a long sleep. He was still naked but now his room was dimly lit by a thin strip of light along the ceiling. With no windows or another other context there was no way to tell what time it was, or more accurately what time the space station was pretending it was.

Jonah lay in bed for some time thinking. He felt strangely listless. He couldn’t think of the last time he had a lie in. He was so used to having to look over his shoulder all the time that he didn’t know what to do with himself now. Years of his life had been stolen from him by the endless pursuit of money, the hope that one day he would escape the hole he was in. Now, not only had he escaped the hole, but he wasn’t even standing on the same ground anymore. Jonah could have stayed in bed for hours if it weren’t for his bodily functions. First, he went to the attached bathroom, which had a simple shower as well. Second, he was extremely hungry.

Near his bed a pile of clothes was waiting for him. Socks, underwear, joggers, sweatshirt, and a t-shirt, all gray and emblazoned with the Justice League logo. These guys must be legit if they have their own merchandise. Laying on top of the clothes was a note.

Hope you sleep well! These clothes are for you, I hope they are the right size. If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know
- Koriand’r

Jonah briefly wondered what she meant by ‘anything’ as he put on the branded clothes. They fit well, if only a bit tight around his new muscles. Thank you superstrength.

After asking nearby workers Jonah was able to navigate the labyrinth of hallways from his room to the cafeteria. He awkwardly waited in what seemed to be a traditional cafeteria line and got himself a meal of a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. Food tray in hand he sat at an empty table next to a large window.

The eatery was sporadically filled with costumed heroes and uniformed employees. Jonah wouldn’t know what to talk to them about even if he wanted to. He just simply sat and ate his sandwich, thanking his lucky stars that the food was provided. Capitalism hadn’t reached space just yet. Though the people here were probably paid by somebody.

Jonah’s silent chewing was interrupted by two female superheroes walking up to him.

“May we join you?” The first one said.

“Uh sure, go ahead.” Jonah replied, pointing to the empty chairs in front of him.

They sat. Jonah guessed that the two women were acolytes of Batman and Wonder Woman respectfully. The first was older, ginger, and had a bat themed costume of black, purple, and yellow. The other was younger, blonde, visibly fitter, and wore a costume of red and black which could have passed for regular athletic gear were it not for her metal bracers. She had a tomboyish charm where the other carried herself with a air of professionalism.

“Hi, I’m Wonder Girl. Its nice to meet you.” The second one abruptly but with friendly intentions.

“Its nice to meet you too.” Jonah wanted to shake her hand but his hands were dirtied by barbeque sauce “My name is-”

“Jonah Richardson” the first one answered for him.

“Let me guess. You’re Batwoman.” Jonah said with a playful smile.

“Actually, that’s somebody else. I’m Batgirl.”

“Well, its nice to meet you too Batgirl. I imagine your speaking to me isn’t a coincidence.”

“We just wanted to welcome you to our universe!” Wonder Girl said.

“-and to scope you out.” Batgirl continued.

“I appreciate the honesty.”

“Then let’s get straight to business. I’m more trusting than Batman but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have my suspicious.”

“We were wondering.” Wonder Girl’s tone had shifted to something much more serious “you were with Sideways when he died.”

“I was.” Jonah responded carefully “were you close with him.”

“He was my teammate. But he was new. We didn’t really get a chance to get to know him you know.” Wonder Girl head was low as she talked. As if she felt guilty about his ****.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I truly am, nobody should die that young. If it’s any conciliator he was brave a fought well.”

“It’s not.” Batgirl stated.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what were his final moments like?”

“He didn’t suffer long if that’s what you’re asking. In his last moments he thought about his family. He asked me to tell his father that, he was sorry. He gave me this.” Jonah pulled out the JL badge that Sideways gave him.

Wonder Girl covered her face, hiding her intimate emotions away from others. She thought that she could handle this conversation. That she had cried enough in the past day, but she was wrong. Batgirl carefully took the badge and inspected it carefully.

“We’ll take good care of this.”

“Thank you, for uh, being there with him. I’m glad he wasn’t alone.” Wonder Girl said through held back tears.

“We’ll relay the message to his father.” Batgirl turned to Wonder Girl “I’m sure that Robin would like to come along. Sideways was originally from Gotham so I think that Batman will join us, he doesn’t show it, but he feels responsible for us.”

Wonder Girl nodded weakly.

The girls left quickly after that. There was no recovering from a conversation like that. But Jonah was sure that he had earned their respect with the way he had handled the conversation. It was good to have allies where you could get them.