New chapter of Space Oddity AU!
Link to Chapter 4:
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 1 · Post by @myblissfulignorance · Space Oddity Chapter 4 Next chapter my loves! Hope you enjoy Link to Chapter 3: Post by
Chapter 5
“Do you understand me?” the green alien said.
Dick sighed, “I think I’ve finally cracked, but it’s nice to hear English again.”
“Indeed. My name is J’onn J’onzz and I welcome you on to the ship.” his left hand came to rest on his chest and he tilted in a small bow. Dick copied the motion and introduced himself.
J’onn ‘s face and voice were neutral, almost emotionless, however Dick felt the brush of his telepathy in his mind with the subtlety of a spring breeze. His eyes had no pupils and were solid red, contrasting against his deep green skin. J’onn was wearing clothing similar to the others Dick had seen on the ship so far, skin tight jumpsuit with tasteful panels of color. Though unlike most he was also wearing a cape.
Kal-El was still holding his hand, which Dick appreciated, but he didn’t seem to be following the conversation. J’onn must not have given him the language as well. Shame. He didn’t let his gaze flicker to him for more than a moment before turning back to J’onn.
“Would you mind telling me where I am? And what this place is?” Jason. “Will Robin be alright?”
“Come, let us sit, you are exhausted and we have much to say.”
Dick let himself be led to the seat, Dr. Eggchair as Dick had named it, and J’onn ‘sat’ criss cross floating in the air as Kal sat on the ground, the top of his head sitting just above Dick’s shoulder. He shimmed the blanket out from under himself and wrapped it around his back, tucking his legs close to his chest. He ignored the chain swaying over the edge.
Might as well get comfortable.
“You are new aboard a Kryptonian explorers vessel modified to house a large population.” he paused to sift through his thoughts. “I suppose you could say it is similar to Noah’s Ark in the Bible. As for where, somewhere in the Cal-Than system as how it is known to the Kryptonians.”
“And Robin?” The monitors surrounding Jason’s pod are still the same as when he checked two minutes ago.
J’onn asked Kal about his brother and Dick watched as he brightened, quite literally with his eyes, and made eye contact with Dick as J’onn translated.
“The doctors say he will be ok, Robin will be waking up soon.” Dick took a moment to bask in relief.
“Are you..?” J’onn paused. “I feel I may know your species. Do you happen to know of a planet called Mars?”
He felt his heart skip a beat and he looked at J’onn closer. “Mars? Like the fourth planet from the sun?” he leaned forward. “Are you a real Martian?”
J’onn nodded. “It would be safe to assume you are from Earth, yes? A human.”
“Yep. Yes. Very human.” Dick was trying to remind himself that this couldn’t be the weirdest thing to ever happen. Surely fighting a literal man-bat was worse? Pick it up and move on, Grayson, this is not the time to question your life. “How did you end up here? Do you know the way home?”
“Regrettably, no, I do not. There was an incident involving a black hole and I ended up near Krypton. This was shortly before its destruction.” Dick sank in his seat as he digested the information.
“I have been working with the vessel's engineers so the ship can handle rapid space travel, but politics have been counterproductive as of late.
However, that is better spoken about with someone else some other time. You need to recover and your companion is beginning to stir.”
Dick tripped over himself as he ran over to the pod. Jason was twitching in the tinted liquid. Twitching turned to thrashing as Jason began to wake up, beating his fists against the window of the pod. The two doctors overseeing him scrambled to open it faster, seeing Dick and their patient begin to panic. The walls of the pod rapidly dissolved and the liquid drained through the grates in the floor surrounding it. Jason’s legs buckled and Dick caught him before he fell.
Jason was still wearing his torn up Robin uniform and just about coughing up a lung. Dick put him into a recovery position as he rubbed his back and cooed gently to him. After he caught his breath, Jason leaned in to Dick and squinted up at him.
“Why does my mouth taste like cucumbers?” he croaked.
Dick’s giggle was choked by the lump in his throat. He hugged his brother into his chest and hid his tears in Jason’s hair. They were both sticky and disgusting and Dick couldn’t find it in himself to care one bit.
Dick remembered the audience of aliens after hearing Kal speak from behind him. He felt Jason freeze and pause to look around the room.
“Who the fuck is that.” he looked at Dick’s forehead. “And what the hell is on your face?”
“Ah, well..” Dick turned them around. “This is Kal and J’onn. Kal and who I think is his dad have been showing me around the ship. They’re both Kryptonian. J’onn is a psychic. And also a Martian.”
“We were found by aliens.”
“Yep.”
“In space.”
“Uh huh.”
“Martians are real-”
“-And they’re telepaths.” Dick said.
Jason tapped the metal device on his forehead. “That doesn’t explain this though.”
“We haven’t gotten to that quite yet.” He turned to J’onn with a raised brow. J’onn floated closer, still floating on air with his cape flowing behind.
“That is a Mind Link, an invention of my people.” the devices glowed as J’onn brushed against his mind. “It was originally used as a prosthetic for Martians who have gone through trauma or have a weak connection to the Collective. It helps regulate their consciousness, so the technology was developed. I recreated it once I found myself here, because some individuals find telepathy invasive and uncomfortable.”
Dick glanced at Kal and the alien smiled. “I thought I was feeling someone's emotions. There are some people with similar powers back on Earth.”
J’onn nodded. “Yes, I am not surprised. Humanity has always been an adaptive species, while also a bit self destructive.”
“Wait, so you’re saying that Kal can influence his emotions?” Jason crossed his arms and looked down his nose. Kal handed Dick a bottle. He cracked the seal and tasted it before handing it to his brother.
“There is no need to worry. From what I have seen, the device has more of an effect on Kal than him.” Jason sank back and sipped his water. “I believe that it has to do with the structure of your brain. Your forehead seems to be the emotional center of your mind and I have found Kryptonians as a whole very susceptible to psychic influences.”
“Like an emotional handshake?” Dick asked. Jason looked at him incredulously.
J’onn hummed. “If you were a grown man holding the hand of a child. Capable of hurting but unconsciously gentle. However, I believe when you become overwhelmed the Link turns into a negative feedback loop. Similar to when you first wore the Link. Kal accessed traumatic memories when you were already stressed and it caused you to faint.
I told them to wait until I could supervise.”
Dick swore he almost looked annoyed, it was extremely hard to read an expressionless face. But he worked with the Bat, Dick was a professional.
“I do appreciate all that you have done for us so far. I noticed you learned English after using your telepathy, would you be able to do the same to us? So we can communicate with the others on the ship.” Definitely not one in particular.
“Yes, I already have for you and Kal, though because you are not Martian, it will take longer for you to acclimate to the implanted knowledge. I could do the same to your brother as well.”
Jason agreed and reluctantly leaned toward J’onn’s outstretched hand and let him into his mind. Jason looked dazed for a moment afterwards and Dick pulled him back into a hug. He looked too small, Bruce should feed him more.
“I believe now is a good time to clean up and rest. You both have been through a great deal, and answers can wait until later.”
He turned to Kal. Bath.. they.. rest…
“Can you show them to a bath? They both need some rest.”
Dick turned the sentence over in his mind. The translation was slow, but as long as it wasn’t spoken too fast the language was easy to understand.
As much as Dick wanted to protest against sleep, he wasn't going to leave Jason on his own. Kal led them through the halls, the area looking more and more populated as they walked. Dick whispered everything that had happened to Jason, holding him close and steering away from the few guards they passed in the halls.
Despite the Kryptonians not knowing anything about their origins, Dick did not get the sense that they were under suspicion. There were no guards following them into what looked like the main living area of the ship. It was odd but Dick wasn’t going to complain about good hospitality. Now that Jason was awake, Dick could feel the exhaustion from the past few days take hold. His head hurt, the mask was beginning to irritate his face, and the less said about his boots, the better.
“Here is your room.” Kal said in slow English. Dick had to hold back a coo at his accent and Jason scoffed as Dick shuffled him inside.
Kal made a concerned noise, “You can have your own room if you like. There is plenty of room.”
“No,” Dick’s smile was thin. “I’d like to stay with him.”
“Of course, you’re free to stay with Rob-in! He is your filo, I would not keep you apart.” he said nervously.
Dick opened his mouth to say, It’s fine, when the word translated in his brain.
“Wait, filo? Robin isn’t my son, he’s my little brother.” he sputtered as Jason laughed hysterically behind him.
“Ha! ‘Wing, even aliens think you’re old!”
Dick grappled Jason into a headlock to give him a noogie. “Maybe you just have a baby face! First time I saw you in the Manor, I thought you were eight!”
Jay squawked and pushed him away. “No you did not!”
Before Dick could retort, J’onn interrupted them with a polite cough. Dick smiled, sheepish, as he apologised. Kal looked strangely nervous and Dick filed it away to think about later. He thanked them both and they left quickly after showing the brothers how to work the different technology in the suite.
The room was modest. Two doors, one leading to a bathroom, the other to a small closet. There was a screen on the wall by the door to adjust the lights and a vent in the far left corner of the ceiling. The bed was in an inset nook on the left wall and sat at hip height. Jay went to check the bathroom for recognisable cameras or listening devices while Dick checked the rest of the suite.
Five minutes later, Jason was finished washing the healing sludge from his hair and clothes.
Twelve minutes pass. Dick is cleaned and dressed, teasing Jason about his oversized pajamas.
Two minutes later, they’re both asleep.
