beloved sister.

It was a bit thrilling to meet someone who was, as far as Tinya could see, ‘like them’. If not from Bgztl, Greta had the same abilities and seemed like a sweetheart. It made Tinya feel a little bad about yanking her around the building, but they were blessedly greeted by an outdoor breeze soon enough, “Yes, I think it’s rather fun being an ‘alien’. In my timeline, we sort of just consider everyone an alien because, well, you rarely ever stay on your home planet for long,” The brunette shrugged, “You are not from space though, I take it?”

greta took in the breeze; grateful for the change of scenery from the humdrum, monotone vibes of the headquarters.  while surprising, the ghoul took it surprisingly well.  it had been a while since they’ve last done something so youthful.  at their question,  greta just shook their head.  “ nope! just earth. but i would love to go to space.  i bet it’s real nice out there. “

“i can relate to not having a home away from work,” kyle says, attempting a lighthearted tone, but sometimes it hits him how long it had been since he’d lived on earth full time. oa was alright, but it couldn’t compare to new york, or to los angeles. at least on earth he could catch a break every once in a while. he imagines the other had it worse off, though. “you bake? that’s pretty cool. i’m helpless in the kitchen. actually, i don’t have much time now to do anything but draw. it’s more like my job than a hobby.” he grins wryly, absently flipping through his sketchbook. he misses when drawing was fun, but approaching deadlines just made it stressful. maybe he should find a new hobby, something he doesn’t have to worry so much about. not like he had the time, though, between being an artist and a green lantern. changing the subject, he asks, “you said you’re on a team? who do you work with? anyone i’d know?”

greta nods, appreciative that they had met someone else who might just get it. some may call it workaholism, but the ghoul just knew that there was just no line between their personal life and work. the venn diagram was one, lone circle. the ghoul listens on as he flips through his sketchbook, momentarily thinking that they could possibly take that on as a hobby alongside the baking. though they barely remember drawing anything beyond the occasional sceneries they’ve made in class as a child. at the other’s question, greta grins.  “ young justice! well, we’re just us. um .. we have quite a few members. a long way from humble beginnings. “  there was a tinge of pride in their voice; the team was definitely something greta would take with them forever.

·.·★  𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬  𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧  𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫  at  every  turn ,    not  that  for  a  second  cassie  doubted  greta’s  ability  to  keep  up  ,  but  there  was  a  looming  concern  the  hero  just  couldn’t  shake /  that  if  she  looked  away  the  mist  that  made  up  her  friend  would  dissipate.   cassie  was  smart  ,   but  she  wasn’t  too  conceited  to  admit  when  they  were  out  of  their  depth  –  unfortunately  ,     they  were  just  image  -  focused  enough  to  be  unable  to  state  that  fact  aloud.   moments  before  pausing  in  front  of  an  open  window  ,   cassie  offered  a  response  to  the  question  –  glad  it  was  one  that  she  could  answer.   “  no   ,  i’m  currently  living  with  cissie,   “   statement  alone  brought  a  smile  to  the  warriors  face  ,  “   i  doubt  she’ll  be  home  right  now  ,   it’s  not  as  if  she’d  mind  –  “     knowing  her  girlfriend  ,  it’s  more  likely  that  cissie’ll be  mad  she  a)  used  the  window  and  not  the  front  door,  and  b)  didn’t  give  her  the  heads  up  the  girl  squad  was  almost  fully  back  together.     “  we  –  uh  –  bumped  into  each  other  at  the  lunar  new  year  thing.  “ 

the ghoul blinked , a tinge of hope swelling up in their hollow chest as cissie was mentioned . that cassie & cissie had seen each other .. lived with each other . it was forming a picture that greta felt very , very warm about . soon enough , they’d hope that kon was nearby . and with him , bart & tim . maybe even anita .. traya .. that the things they knew didn’t slip away as easily as it did when they went through the portal . that things were just like they were when greta last remembered them . a child - like hope that greta will defend to their end ... as if cassie didn’t just mention young justice breaking up .

cissie shakes their head “ come on, greta, you are never frumpy. thank you ! ” she exclaims at the other takes a look into the mirror, a smile taking over her features “ see, beautiful, good. wait what you mean you felt it would turn out to be ? ”

a warm smile appears upon the ghoul’s face , taking in the compliment . though a blink or two later and they had put up two hands in slight embarrassment .  “ i don’t know , just .. maybe it wouldn’t look on good on me at all ? like .. it’s so silly & forgettable . just me being insecure , really ! “  and what was new , honestly .  “ i should really ask you to help me prepare for dates and stuff . once i get one ! “ 

Being “from Earth” but not actualy this Earth was becoming more and more common these days, it sort of seemed like half the people Tinya met were some level of displaced from their worlds, “Oh, superhero backstories are never boring. I mean, we’re superheroes!” They shrugged, pulling Greta through the next few adjacent walls, “My planet exists on a different dimension than Earth, but occupies the same physical space, so it’s sort of the same, but not? And most of the time, humans didn’t think of us as anything differnt than ghosts until the 24th century!”

greta smiled at tinya’s exclamation ; it touched upon greta’s long - held admiration for their own occupation . who didn’t want to be a superhero when they grew up ? sure , once they actually did young justice stuff , it wasn’t the easiest and sometimes made them wish of an even easier existence but greta still liked the work regardless .  “ well , that’s a doozy .  i think they’d rather just call us ghosts or aliens . they meaning the ones that we probably usually save . “ the ghoul noted . 

·.·★  𝐀  𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄  𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐀  𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑   in  her  confidence  ,   was  it  bad  that  she  still  so  easily  got  lost  in  this  city  –  ?    blue  eyes  dropped  to  her  phone  gripped  loosely  ,  swiping  over  to  the  map  application  just  to  double  check  what  she  thought  she  already  knew  /  as  if  the  world  might  once  again  change  completely  under  her  feet.   “  three  blocks  north,   two  streets  over  ?  “   she  replied  ,  a  hint  of  uncertainty  in  her  tone  – the  small  cracks  of  vulnerability  soon  hidden  with  false  bravado  as  the  demigod  hovered  slowly  upwards,   “    like  a   two  minute  flight  –  “  she  waited  for greta’s  confirmation  before  leading  the  way  through  the  tall  red  bricked  buildings  of  the  new  york  skyline. 

wordlessly , greta nods & follows their teammate  (  former teammate ?  )  through the skies . while their long - flowing dress stayed the same , greta did finally let themselves go back to a semi - solid form . something inside them seemed to infer that they would need that energy for later ; for whatever would occur as greta tries to get answers . it was amusing , albeit darkly , as greta did have questions , yet new ones sprouted up just as soon as one of them was answered . they had found cassie , had found a dear old friend , but with them came something that was rather .. unexpected . maybe even unwelcome .

oops. he’s doing a great job keeping his own identity a secret. his smile turns sheepish, unsure how to respond. is there any point in hiding it now? “yeah, i’ve got some experience in hiding secret identities, even if i’m doing a poor job of it right now,” he says with a slight laugh, deciding that admittance was harmless enough, changing the subject quickly. “so, if you don’t have a civilian identity, are you always in your hero identity? what do you do when there’s no bad guys to fight?”

“ oh , that’s okay . i won’t tell . scout’s honor ! “ then they quickly add ,  “ i’m not a scout , but same difference . i don’t have a lot of people to blab to anyway . “  greta tilts their head , trying to figure out how to answer the question .  the ghoul brings up their own right hand , looks around to see if anyone is close enough to see what they were about to demonstrate , and then focuses enough to let their hand turn almost transparent - their actual , regular form - then let it dissipate into smoke before going back to how it was : a solid - ish form .  “ well , i have a real name . my friends - slash - teammates know it . we’re all friends ! and also , i don’t really have a home outside of our headquarters . “  one of the main reasons greta took up with s.w.o.r.d. right after arriving instead of floating around aimlessly . they were just used to that kind of structure ; can’t be blamed if that was one thing they took on after being displaced .  “ i bake sometimes . and a bunch of non - hero stuff that still requires my powers . what do you do ? besides drawing , that is ? “