Don't Tell Me Not to Fly - Interlude: Safety and Freedom
Title: Don't Tell Me Not to Fly
Fandom(s): DC Comics
Character(s): Lian Harper.
Rating: PG-13 for some creepiness.
Summary: Lian Harper came back to life in a world where heroes and villains never seem to stay dead. Now old enough to hold her own as a hero, Lian searches out the undisputed master of non-powered heroes in an age of superpowers. But Lian might not be the only one that has come back to life...
Acknowledgments:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
draconic_voices was the most fantastic beta ever, putting up with my absolute writer insanity. All remaining mistakes are completely mine. And thanks to iceshade, who shoved me back on track when I plateaued.
Complement:bliumchik put together an amazing mix to go along with this fic. It can be found here.
Flight Masterpost
Chapter Five
Interlude: Safety and Freedom
Lian turned 11 yesterday, according to the candles on her birthday cake. She wasn’t sure if Dad had it totally right – she had lost a little less than four years, and now they should probably sit down and choose a new birthday around a new set of 365 days. But she liked her birthday, it was familiar and on her birth certificate. So they kept it, and pretended that it was totally accurate.
Lian stuck out a lot on the reservation, and it wasn’t just for her wrong-birthday. Her hair and eyes were from her mom, and her pale skin was from her dad, and she didn’t match all of her friends at school, who were all legally recognized members of the Navajo nation. Daddy said looks didn’t matter, but it was hard when you were all alone.
That wasn’t the only way that Lian was different, though. Lian was different because she used to be dead and now she wasn’t. Daddy didn’t like to talk about it, and everyone at school pretended it never happened. Most people didn’t talk about it. There was a whole group of devout Navajo that pretended Lian didn’t exist. Mike told her so at school last year, and Lian paid attention now; some elders just didn’t look at her ever.
It was very bad to bring someone back from the dead, Mike had explained. And now lots of people didn’t like Lian because of it. It wasn’t Lian’s fault, but according to the books she studied sometimes during recess, the Dine worked very hard to keep dead people dead, and Lian had come back.
But it wasn’t her fault, Lian knew. It was Daddy’s fault, and that’s why a lot of people treated him differently. Lian asked him why they stayed in Arizona if people didn’t like him here. Uncle Ollie had invited them to Seattle, and Uncle Connor invited them to Star City and Aunt Donna offered to take Lian anywhere at all. But Daddy said no, it was safe at the reservation. Then he offered to take her out for ice cream, and Lian knew the subject was closed.
Not everyone treated them differently on the reservation. Lian had a proper birthday party, with cake and friends. They played some silly games and Billy’s mom came over to help because Dad was really bad at this sort of stuff. Billy’s mom didn’t let them play any shooting games, because Lian would win too easily.
But today there was no school or parties, so when Lian watched the car coming up the drive, kicking up a cloud of dust, she yelled back into the house.
“Daa-aad! Someone’s coming!”
And then Dad was right next to her, one arm on her shoulder and the other one holding a handgun. Daddy always wore long sleeves these days to try and hide his metal arm, but it was way too hot in Arizona for gloves. Lian didn’t mind the glint of the sun, but Dad did.
“They’re early.” Dad said, shading his eyes with the barrel of the gun. Aunt Dinah didn’t like that there were so many guns in the house, but Lian knew how to shoot all of them, and she wasn’t an idiot.
Lian watched Uncle Dick, Uncle Wally and Aunt Donna get out of the car. Uncle Garth was still missing; it had said ‘presumed dead’ in his file that Daddy looked up last year. Uncle Wally looked a little car-sick, and Lian wondered how often he took cars cross-country these days. Probably never. They all gave her big hugs.
“Did Iris and Jai come to visit?” Lian asked hopefully, looking back at the car.
“Not this time.” Uncle Wally said. “But I’ll bring them at some point, I promise.”
Lian sighed. That meant that they were all going to talk about grown-up stuff and she was going to be bored anyway.
But they brought birthday presents, and she tore them open while mostly ignoring the conversation in the other room.
“You’re running away, Roy. We still don’t know exactly what happened, and no one has been able to get a clear answer from you.” Uncle Dick was frustrated, but the box he had brought her was huge. Lian tore it open happily to find a set of uneven parallel bars that Dad was going to have to build and the absolute largest stuffed elephant she had ever seen. Lian didn’t like stuffed animals much, but a four-foot tall elephant would definitely make her room look more interesting.
Aunt Donna was trying to quietly convince Daddy about something, and Dad was arguing with her. Lian put down the envelope (another bond) from the bottom of the box, and sat down next to the door. Aunt Donna died too, years ago, but she didn’t talk to Lian about it last time she was here. Lian knew better than to ask that question in front of Daddy, but it was sometimes hard to get away.
“Robert might be getting off the island soon. Dick is helping me argue that he’ll reach his age of majority soon because a sixteen-year-old can still declare legal emancipation in the United States.”
“It should work.”
Oh, they were talking about Aunt Donna’s baby who grew up. He was dead too, but Lian had never met him. She wondered what they thought about coming back to life on Themyscira. Probably weren’t as mean as they were here.
“I don’t want to leave.” Daddy said. He sounded tired.
“You have to let Lian experience the world she was born into, Roy. You’re cutting yourself off from everything here. Let us help you, at least.”
Lian looked down at her hands, then back at the giant elephant. Maybe she would name it something funny so Daddy could laugh.
Later they went outside and Daddy made a BBQ and they ate leftover chocolate cake from the party. Lian showed everyone Two-doe’s terrible attempt at a handstand, and everyone asked how school was going.
Uncle Wally had to leave early to take care of something, but he said that Aunt Linda invited everyone for a party on President’s Day weekend. Daddy didn’t say anything, and Aunt Donna went with Daddy to wash up the dishes after Uncle Wally left.
Lian showed Uncle Dick her favorite rock, where you get a perfect view of the sunset if you sit down on it. She curled up next to him and they watched the sky turn pink.
“Lian, do you like living here?” Uncle Dick said, very casually so she knew it was an important question. Lian though for a minute.
“I like it here sometimes. But I would like to leave more.”
“Why?”
“It’s boring here. I like living at the tower, or with Uncle Ollie. And we never get to visit anyone, because we’re so far away.”
Uncle Dick was quiet.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Lian?”
“A superhero.” She answered promptly. That was a silly question, she already knew how to fight and shoot. She just had to get better.
Uncle Dick was quiet again, and he switched topics back.
“Won’t you miss your friends?”
Lian thought about it. She didn’t like school so much, but she liked her friends. The ones that treated her normally were lots of fun.
“Yes. But I miss everyone else more.”
“Everyone else?”
“You and Aunt Donna and Uncle Wally and Uncle Ollie and Uncle Conner and Aunt Dinah and Iris and Jai and Mia and-”
“Why are they different?” Uncle Dick asked.
Lian blinked at him, because it was a silly question. She thought about how to answer. “Because here it’s just friends and me and Daddy. But everyone else is not friends. Everyone else is, um, family.” She wasn’t sure if that was the right word. But it felt right.
Uncle Dick put his arm around her shoulders. “Okay, then,” he said, and they watched the sun set together.
Chapter Six
Fandom(s): DC Comics
Character(s): Lian Harper.
Rating: PG-13 for some creepiness.
Summary: Lian Harper came back to life in a world where heroes and villains never seem to stay dead. Now old enough to hold her own as a hero, Lian searches out the undisputed master of non-powered heroes in an age of superpowers. But Lian might not be the only one that has come back to life...
Acknowledgments:
draconic_voices was the most fantastic beta ever, putting up with my absolute writer insanity. All remaining mistakes are completely mine. And thanks to iceshade, who shoved me back on track when I plateaued.Complement:
bliumchik put together an amazing mix to go along with this fic. It can be found here. Flight Masterpost
Chapter Five
Interlude: Safety and Freedom
Lian turned 11 yesterday, according to the candles on her birthday cake. She wasn’t sure if Dad had it totally right – she had lost a little less than four years, and now they should probably sit down and choose a new birthday around a new set of 365 days. But she liked her birthday, it was familiar and on her birth certificate. So they kept it, and pretended that it was totally accurate.
Lian stuck out a lot on the reservation, and it wasn’t just for her wrong-birthday. Her hair and eyes were from her mom, and her pale skin was from her dad, and she didn’t match all of her friends at school, who were all legally recognized members of the Navajo nation. Daddy said looks didn’t matter, but it was hard when you were all alone.
That wasn’t the only way that Lian was different, though. Lian was different because she used to be dead and now she wasn’t. Daddy didn’t like to talk about it, and everyone at school pretended it never happened. Most people didn’t talk about it. There was a whole group of devout Navajo that pretended Lian didn’t exist. Mike told her so at school last year, and Lian paid attention now; some elders just didn’t look at her ever.
It was very bad to bring someone back from the dead, Mike had explained. And now lots of people didn’t like Lian because of it. It wasn’t Lian’s fault, but according to the books she studied sometimes during recess, the Dine worked very hard to keep dead people dead, and Lian had come back.
But it wasn’t her fault, Lian knew. It was Daddy’s fault, and that’s why a lot of people treated him differently. Lian asked him why they stayed in Arizona if people didn’t like him here. Uncle Ollie had invited them to Seattle, and Uncle Connor invited them to Star City and Aunt Donna offered to take Lian anywhere at all. But Daddy said no, it was safe at the reservation. Then he offered to take her out for ice cream, and Lian knew the subject was closed.
Not everyone treated them differently on the reservation. Lian had a proper birthday party, with cake and friends. They played some silly games and Billy’s mom came over to help because Dad was really bad at this sort of stuff. Billy’s mom didn’t let them play any shooting games, because Lian would win too easily.
But today there was no school or parties, so when Lian watched the car coming up the drive, kicking up a cloud of dust, she yelled back into the house.
“Daa-aad! Someone’s coming!”
And then Dad was right next to her, one arm on her shoulder and the other one holding a handgun. Daddy always wore long sleeves these days to try and hide his metal arm, but it was way too hot in Arizona for gloves. Lian didn’t mind the glint of the sun, but Dad did.
“They’re early.” Dad said, shading his eyes with the barrel of the gun. Aunt Dinah didn’t like that there were so many guns in the house, but Lian knew how to shoot all of them, and she wasn’t an idiot.
Lian watched Uncle Dick, Uncle Wally and Aunt Donna get out of the car. Uncle Garth was still missing; it had said ‘presumed dead’ in his file that Daddy looked up last year. Uncle Wally looked a little car-sick, and Lian wondered how often he took cars cross-country these days. Probably never. They all gave her big hugs.
“Did Iris and Jai come to visit?” Lian asked hopefully, looking back at the car.
“Not this time.” Uncle Wally said. “But I’ll bring them at some point, I promise.”
Lian sighed. That meant that they were all going to talk about grown-up stuff and she was going to be bored anyway.
But they brought birthday presents, and she tore them open while mostly ignoring the conversation in the other room.
“You’re running away, Roy. We still don’t know exactly what happened, and no one has been able to get a clear answer from you.” Uncle Dick was frustrated, but the box he had brought her was huge. Lian tore it open happily to find a set of uneven parallel bars that Dad was going to have to build and the absolute largest stuffed elephant she had ever seen. Lian didn’t like stuffed animals much, but a four-foot tall elephant would definitely make her room look more interesting.
Aunt Donna was trying to quietly convince Daddy about something, and Dad was arguing with her. Lian put down the envelope (another bond) from the bottom of the box, and sat down next to the door. Aunt Donna died too, years ago, but she didn’t talk to Lian about it last time she was here. Lian knew better than to ask that question in front of Daddy, but it was sometimes hard to get away.
“Robert might be getting off the island soon. Dick is helping me argue that he’ll reach his age of majority soon because a sixteen-year-old can still declare legal emancipation in the United States.”
“It should work.”
Oh, they were talking about Aunt Donna’s baby who grew up. He was dead too, but Lian had never met him. She wondered what they thought about coming back to life on Themyscira. Probably weren’t as mean as they were here.
“I don’t want to leave.” Daddy said. He sounded tired.
“You have to let Lian experience the world she was born into, Roy. You’re cutting yourself off from everything here. Let us help you, at least.”
Lian looked down at her hands, then back at the giant elephant. Maybe she would name it something funny so Daddy could laugh.
Later they went outside and Daddy made a BBQ and they ate leftover chocolate cake from the party. Lian showed everyone Two-doe’s terrible attempt at a handstand, and everyone asked how school was going.
Uncle Wally had to leave early to take care of something, but he said that Aunt Linda invited everyone for a party on President’s Day weekend. Daddy didn’t say anything, and Aunt Donna went with Daddy to wash up the dishes after Uncle Wally left.
Lian showed Uncle Dick her favorite rock, where you get a perfect view of the sunset if you sit down on it. She curled up next to him and they watched the sky turn pink.
“Lian, do you like living here?” Uncle Dick said, very casually so she knew it was an important question. Lian though for a minute.
“I like it here sometimes. But I would like to leave more.”
“Why?”
“It’s boring here. I like living at the tower, or with Uncle Ollie. And we never get to visit anyone, because we’re so far away.”
Uncle Dick was quiet.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Lian?”
“A superhero.” She answered promptly. That was a silly question, she already knew how to fight and shoot. She just had to get better.
Uncle Dick was quiet again, and he switched topics back.
“Won’t you miss your friends?”
Lian thought about it. She didn’t like school so much, but she liked her friends. The ones that treated her normally were lots of fun.
“Yes. But I miss everyone else more.”
“Everyone else?”
“You and Aunt Donna and Uncle Wally and Uncle Ollie and Uncle Conner and Aunt Dinah and Iris and Jai and Mia and-”
“Why are they different?” Uncle Dick asked.
Lian blinked at him, because it was a silly question. She thought about how to answer. “Because here it’s just friends and me and Daddy. But everyone else is not friends. Everyone else is, um, family.” She wasn’t sure if that was the right word. But it felt right.
Uncle Dick put his arm around her shoulders. “Okay, then,” he said, and they watched the sun set together.
Chapter Six