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[controlledvariable]

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[quackery]

Oh, jeez... That's horrible. [And it's said sincerely, if not with the same amount of shock it would've been several months ago.] Is she alright? I mean, I guess you can never really be okay with something like that, but still.

Still, it must be hard. I bet you'll see her when you go back, though!

[controlledvariable]

Yeah, it's... complicated. There were other Kryptonians still around, but they sort of got into a war with Earth and things were pretty bad for a while there, but Kara's tough.

[She's been through a lot and she still tries to see the best in the world, which is a trait Steph admires.]

I better, she owes me flowers.

[makes sense]

[quackery]

A war with Earth? Over what?

[She blinks.]

Er, flowers?

[controlledvariable]

Because a lot of humans were scared of them.

[There's more to it than that, but it's complicated and in the end, fear is what it boiled down to. Fear and xenophobia.]

Mmhm, that's what you do when someone's in hospital. [she holds up a hand to cut off the concern she knows is coming.] I was fine, I just needed a blood transfusion.

[quackery]

That's sad.

[And, predictably, a look of concern crosses her face, not fading completely even after Steph's amendment.]

You lost a lot of blood?

[controlledvariable]

Yeah.

[People suck.

But she shakes her head.]

Nah, I just inhaled something that could've been dangerous if it stayed in my system too long, so they flushed it out.

[quackery]

Oh, was that when the UE sent the virus or whatever?

[controlledvariable]

This was back at home, just before I got here. Kara and me were working together against a supervillain.

[That supervillain being her dad, but she won't mention that.]

[quackery]

Oh! I got it. Did you beat him or her?

[controlledvariable]

If all went to plan, then he should be in jail. I didn't have a chance to double check before the Initiative decided to bring me here.

[quackery]

Good!

[She almost says that she hopes Steph gets to find out soon, but realizes she doesn't know as of this moment whether she really wants to go home, and so she lets it go.]

And you were safe in the hospital and everything?

[controlledvariable]

Yup, my mom was keeping an eye on me, which was kind of awkward since she hadn't known about the whole Batgirl thing, but luckily she wasn't mad.

[what a good mom]

[quackery]

Even though it was dangerous?

[controlledvariable]

[Steph shrugs.]

She worries, but she knows that it's what I need to be doing, and she trusts me to stay safe.

[quackery]

[There's a pause; she still feels weird saying this when so much is different now, but she doubts Steph will pick up on the significance of it. There's a small laugh.]

My father would've just about killed me if he found out I was doing something like that!

[controlledvariable]

[And Steph, apparently, finds that so hilarious she can't talk, since she's too busy covering her mouth with a hand in the interest of not waking up the rest of the houeshold.

One moment, please.]

[quackery]

[She pauses, confused, and then starts to awkwardly laugh along even though she has no idea what happened.]

Um, did I say something?

[controlledvariable]

Sorry, sorry.

[Okay she's good. Maybe.]

My dad's a supervillain, so. I can understand that.

[He nearly threw acid in her face.

Good times with the Brown family.]

[quackery]

[Behind the concern that immediately comes, there's respect for how easily Steph can admit things like that. She knows if it were her, she'd be terrified to tell anybody something like that, even close friends.

Still, there's worry in her voice when she speaks.]

W-What happened? I mean, um, unless it's too personal, and then you can tell me, like, don't ask stuff like that!

[controlledvariable]

[She still finds this kind of funny, but she can hear the concern, so she waves a hand to dismiss it.]

Well he doesn't approve of my career choice, that's for sure.

[Maybe one day she'll stop using humour as a defense mechanism, but it's not happening any time soon.]

[quackery]

[The worry lingers even after the attempt at humor.]

T-That's not funny! Is he... I mean, did you, are you okay? I mean, did he ever hurt you? What did he do? What about your mother?

[controlledvariable]

[Oh, duckling. Steph didn't mean to make her worry, she does really think it's funny, just like her and Cass thought it was hilarious when they compared their dads.]

Hey.

[Steph catches Ahiru's hands in her own, giving them a light squeeze as she tries to catch her gaze and offer a reassuring smile.]

He's a loser who's in prison where he belongs, I'm fine. He wasn't a very good supervillain.

[quackery]

[That does steady her, at least, and she takes a breath.]

Okay. Still, I'm sorry you had a father like that. It doesn't sound easy.

[controlledvariable]

Life's not easy, it could've been worse.

[Speaking of Cass..

But more importantly:]

Don't think I didn't miss you mentioning your father.

[And she has a feeling Ahiru didn't mean her duck dad.]

[quackery]

It's okay to be upset about it, you know?

[She looks down, considering carefully before she speaks. When she does, it's as casual as she can make it; if humor is Steph's defense mechanism, hers is pretending things like this don't really bother her.]

Well, we met in the last world I was in, and we were both there for a long time, enough to get pretty close. Close enough for adoption and stuff. I'd never had a family before, so it was pretty nice.