The balcony door slid open and Jor walked into the apartment. He'd managed to fend off some Intergang bank robbers, but felt like he'd been hit by a truck. The new suit was doing its job to the best of its ability, but there was only so much damage the suit could soak up. The Boy of Steel removed his cape and shed the costume on his bedroom floor before wandering into the bathroom. Zoey wouldn't be home for a bit longer, he thought. So, Jor would take time to soak the minor aches and pains away.

The water in the shower came on, temperature set slightly below surface of the sun, and Jor paused to at the few bruises and scrapes on his body. The whole mortality thing was something that he was still getting used to. It took a little bit for him to realize that without his powers, he would need to take more precautions. He still managed to heal quicker than a normal human or a Kryptonian in red sunlight, but that seemed to be the only trace left of his powers.

He climbed in the shower and stood under the water, just soaking in it. Since bringing Zoey into "the World of Men" as she called it, the two of them had to make some adjustments. Jor brought her into his apartment and she had been concerned about his lack of furniture. Which, at the time made sense to him, because he didn't really need much in the apartment. He used the stipend from the Titans and they went shopping and bought some necessities for the apartment. Various pieces of furniture and new bookshelves for her books. In the beginning, it seemed rather odd, but now that his powers were gone and fatigue was a thing, Jor was thankful for the bed he had in his room and the comfy sofa. She also ate more frequently than he used to, so he had to make a conscious effort to make sure that they had food stocks and dishes and things. Now, he needed food more often, so it had become second nature. Things were good for both of them now, the young scientist thought.

Opening his eyes, he tapped a small data pad stuck to the wall. The pad started showing Kryptonian letters and figures. The Fortress was almost complete. A few more days and it would be completely operational. Then Jor could download David out of the probe core and work on healing him. And maybe figure out the root of his own issues. He smiled as he read the progress Kelex and the other robots were making on rebuilding the old base of the Eradicator. Soon, he would have a second home away from home with Kryptonian technology.

Jor stepped out of the shower and moved over to the counter, grabbing a towel and drying off. He fumbled in the cabinet for some aspirin. He knew that there were better medicines on the planet, but these seemed to do the trick when he needed relief for aches and pains. Jor heard the front door click and smiled. His Amazonian roommate must have come home early, he thought to himself.

Having her father's helm of darkness came in quite handy for Zoey. It let her walk out into the world completely unseen and just let her observe people. They were definitely interesting to watch, lots of things happening, their comings and goings, and interactions with each other. It was definitely something fascinating to her. The helm looked like a simple headband in her hair when she was visible, and let her float around above everyone when she wasn't. She had been sitting on top of a stop light, watching all the activity in the intersection for the last little while, but she had decided she needed to get back to the apartment.

Ever since Jor had been captured by those dopplegangers and she had not been there to help, she did not like to spend too much time away, leaving him by himself. The only reason she went out at all was because he did. He had felt like patrolling while she simply wanted to observe for today. She wouldn't actively go in search of trouble, but if it had happened to find her, she would step in. Luckily, today, at least for her, had been rather quiet.

She decided to wander back home after stopping off at the grocery store. Jor had started eating more like her and other humans lately, and at first she thought it was just his idle curiosity, but it was consistent. Like he was actually hungry. So she bought more food, took mental notes on what he ate more readily than others and tried to make edible meals for the two of them. She would admit she was no great cook, especially after tasting some of Sebastian's cooking, but things were passable, after she got the hang of it.

She headed home, I suppose it is home now, with all it's creature comforts. Even some new ones... smiling to herself, arms laden with groceries as she walked to the apartment door. Hopefully she could not burn lunch today and set off the fire alarm. Carefully unlocking the door, she made her way inside, using every bit of balance and strength she had to make sure she didn't drop everything before she made it to the counter.

"Jor, I have brought more food." She said as she turned around, nudging the door closed behind her while she looked around for her friend. She spotted him after a moment, the bathroom door having been open all the balance, grace and poise left her in a hurry. All of the groceries tumbled out of her hands and arms as she saw a very naked Jor. Very naked and also apparently bruised. She disregarded the food strewn all over the floor, stepping over it in his direction, her shock being overridden by concern.

"Jor...you...you are...ahem..." Of course finding her words was a bit harder as she stopped short, averting her eyes to the wall just beside the door. "You are injured...and unclothed. Um...are you alright?" This was just another in the growing list of things that concerned her about Jor, ever since he had come back. She did not like that it was a growing list, and now she was determined to find out what was going on.

Looking at his injuries in the mirror, Jor decided that they were not too bad considering the circumstances. With Superman otherwise occupied, Jor showed up in Metropolis every so often to remind the people that someone wearing the 'S' shield was watching over them. That was the reason he had redesigned his technological costume with the colors of Kal-El's costume. It brought reassurance to the masses of the city and the world. He enjoyed meeting War Machine, but regretted attacking that armored man so foolishly.

The adjustments weren't just to his living situation, but also to his decreasing powers. Jor still rushed in without thinking sometimes. He'd become too reliant on his invulnerability since then. The suit still had several adjustments to be made to it. Jor's face lit up at the sound of Zoey's voice, but then she dropped the groceries and he turned suddenly, reacting to the sound. He paused, remembering that he left his uniform strewn on the floor of the bedroom. She couldn't have been too shocked that he'd made a mess.

Zoey's words reached his ears and Jor noticed that her face was slightly flushed and she wasn't making eye contact. This concerned Jor greatly. He walked closer to her and tilted his head. "Yes, I am okay. I just had an encounter with a man in Metropolis who had some very powerful armor. They are slight injuries, and will go away." He paused for a second trying to comprehend the second statement as he started picking up the food. "I was in the shower, cleaning myself off. Does my lack of clothing bother you? I have seen you walk around unclothed several times and I know that you sometimes sleep that way. I know that I have been more diligent about wearing clothing, but I was not aware that it made you uncomfortable."

Jor's discomfort was growing slightly now. He knew some humans had taboos about nudity, but since Zoey occasionally paraded around their apartment naked, he did not think that she was one of them. Jor grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. "I am sorry. I have made you uncomfortable. I did not mean to offend you." He offered a weak smile.

Zoey took an involuntary step back as Jor stepped closer then stopped herself, realizing where he was going. He seemed to be fine, except for the bruising and scrapes, but she only allowed herself simple, quick glances before going over and helping him pick up all the food that had scattered all over the floor. She had never seen an actual male figure before. Sure, there were statues she had seen, looked at objectively and fell no such reason to feel embarrassed about seeing it. But Jor was, well he was quite a bit more alive than a hunk of marble.

"You are right," she said as she hurriedly picked up rollaway oranges. "I have walked around unclothed before as I am rather comfortable doing so. It is how things are on Themyscira. We are all women. And...I am apparently comfortable enough living here to carry on that tradition." She shoved the fruit back in the bag and quickly stood up, fighting the temptation of her curiosity to stare. Picking up a few bags, she wandered over to the kitchen and put them down on the counter. He sounded slightly saddened by her reaction and when she turned around to apologize, he had already found a towel to put around his waist.

"I am...well it is not uncomfortable, just..." she swore softly in Greek, trying to find the right words. "I have never seen a living man naked before. I have only been surrounded by women most of my life. Besides my father. My tutors were dead philosophers so they did not have corporeal bodies so...I...am unsure of...well...seeing a drawing or a statue is much different and I feel it rude to stare." She went back to helping pick up the groceries, starting to put things away, still flustered, almost forgetting what she was going to try and make for lunch. She didn't trust herself to try and cook at the moment, instead reaching for the bread for simple sandwiches. Such a seasoned warrior you are, Zoey, to be brought to such unsureness by such a simple thing. She shook her head and laid out the ingredients, going slower than normal.

"You say you fought a man in powerful armor? You must be hungry after such an exertion. Sit. Eat. Let me see for myself if they are simple scrapes. And...perhaps become comfortable with you just wearing a towel."

As Zoey's words came out, Jor mentally rebuked himself. He had assumed that Zoey's advanced age meant that she had seen almost everything. Now, the simple presence of him without clothing had made her uncomfortable. He wished he had his uniform to activate. He had made an assumption based on the information that he had. Normally, that would be reason to be upset, but he rarely assumed. It was a very organic thing to do. "I am sorry. I made an assumption, which appears to bode well for my organic development, but not our living together."

Jor put all the food stuffs that he gathered up on the table. He noticed that Zoey had gotten some of his favorite things. She was very considerate when it came to his preferences for food. He smiled at that. "I understand. Being a program first and foremost, I tend to look at things from a very clinical point of view. But I will admit that your form, sometimes creates interesting hormonal reactions within this body that I believe are connected to my emotional matrix. It is not a displeasing sensation." There was a pause. "That was probably not something you wanted to know. I'm sorry. I'm still learning how to process some of these sensations."

While Zoey made the sandwiches, she asked questions. Jor responded with a nod. "Yes, I assisted War Machine with capturing some bank robbers. He seemed concerned about the powered armor the one was wearing." He gave her another nod. "I am very hungry. I will do as you ask. If you still feel bothered by this, I can go put clothing on. Your comfort is important to me. This is your home too now and I want to make you as comfortable as possible."

A small smile formed on her face as Zoey made lunch, listening to his spontaneous confession. She was slightly flattered, to say the least, and she could not deny that the same type of feelings were absent within her. Especially not after what she had just come home to. But she needed to think on what all of that meant before she said anything, so as to be articulate and not confuse him. Or herself.

"You are...adjusting. That is understandable. I suppose it is better to do with me or someone like Lydia, as we would be understanding." She put the sandwiches together, guessing he'd be more hungry than normal, making him two just in case. Nodding along to his story about fighting bank robbers and power armored men, she figured he got closer than he would have liked, judging by his bruises. She put the sandwiches on a plate and brought them over to where he was sitting while giving him a more analytical once over.

"No, this is fine. I am more or less comfortable now, it was just...a surprise. But I thank you for your concern." She frowned at some of the scrapes and bruises, wondering just how strong the suit of armor was. "I am...concerned...about your well-being. You are eating, at regular intervals. And sleeping. You did not used to do those things before. And now...you are being injured." Gingerly she touched one of the scrapes on his torso, visually inspecting it as she did so. It looked, were he a normal human, like he had been hurt a few days ago. So, at least he was still healing at an accelerated rate. But she was still concerned that he needed to heal at all.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. I believe adjusting is a good way to put that."

The Kryptonian scientist had been compiling a list of all the emotional changes going on within his body in an attempt to better understand them. He was slowly discovering that logic could not be applied to emotion, but he was at least able to categorize what emotions he was feeling and then he could learn how to deal with them according to whatever research he could find. "Apparently, it is a very common thing for teenage humans. And apparently Kryptonians and their simulations."

"I don't believe I would mention that to Lydia. While she has been very helpful and understanding in my integration into the world, I believe that it would make several factions jealous and I do not wish to enter any more drama into that situation."

Zoey's concern was evident in her voice. She brought up several concerns that she had noticed while they were living together. Jor listened and then nodded thanked her for the sandwiches. Her touch felt nice, but made him wince as the scrape was still painful. "I have been holding back some information. Mostly, because I am unsure of what is occurring. Since my capture, my powers have been in some sort of flux. I thought perhaps it was due to the red solar exposure or Kryptonite poisoning and then Marty sending me up into space to restore my powers, but I have noticed that my powers have been diminishing over time. I barely have any powers left at all. I am on par with a normal human who exercises regularly. I still have some increased durability, healing and limited, though painful access to some of my non-Kryptonian powers, but I am completely normal."

Jor looked up at Zoey and offered a smile. "I have not mentioned this to anyone, because I am not sure what is causing it and it is a bit scary to me. I have modified a uniform to simulate most of my powers, until the Fortress is complete and I can run more tests. It should be finished in a matter of days. I didn't want you to worry. And Lydia would... Well, she would remove me from active duty on the team."

As Jor confessed all of the problems he'd been having, Zoey's face became like stone. She put her sandwich down carefully, slowly, trying not to do anything hastily. She let him finish talking, finish telling her what had happened, what was happening. She was getting upset with every word. A fact she would wonder about later, but right then, she was simply trying to keep her newfound emotions under control.

He said he was scared, so she was attempting to not add to that fear. Though, for once in her life, she was not very good at it. He had been reckless, was being reckless, as was evidenced by his current condition. Using his...his suit to emulate his powers, to fool everyone. Trying to fight people while pretending he was still at his peak? It incensed her.

She looked away from him, down at her uneaten sandwich instead. "Perhaps Lydia would be right." Her voice had an edge to it that she tried to hide, and failed miserably. "And perhaps you should let people worry instead of lying to them!" She snapped at him, unable to control her anger. Then she settled back in her seat, reigning in her anger.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to yell at you...But...I am worried. And I may have been able to help you if you had confided sooner. But, you hid your problems. You did not trust me to know." Zoey sighed, puzzling out her own emotions as she spoke. She was also scared. Scared she would lose her friend, because he did not trust her enough to tell her he was unwell.

"You said that your Fortress is almost done. Perhaps you could wait until you run your tests before going back out to save people?"

The body language Zoey was exhibiting told Jor that she was displeased. He knew that she would not be happy about this, but he didn't realize that it would upset her so much. The edge to her voice was a new thing. He had never seen this before. Then Zoey snapped at Jor for lying to her. He paused and thought about it. He did technically lie to her, but he wasn't sure why. He decided to puzzle that out while speaking to her.

"No, do not be sorry. I did deserve that. A lie of omission is still a lie. I lied to our team and most importantly you. I trust you more than any other being on this world and I broke that trust by keeping something from you." He leaned back against the couch. "I had hoped that it was only temporary. That my powers would return and there would be nothing to worry about. I saw how shaken everyone was after the events of the invasion. I didn't wish to add my burdens to theirs. I thought perhaps they had enough to worry about."

Jor stared at the sandwiches on the plate before him. The puzzle pieces finally connecting in a way that felt strange to him. "And I didn't wish to tell you because... I felt that without my powers, I was weak. And I do not wish to be weak and vulnerable. You are a powerful warrior and I admire you greatly. I didn't... want to be less. Didn't want you to think I was incapable of protecting myself."

There was a quiet, uncomfortable pause for him, his fingers playing with the edge of the towel while he thought. "It seems rather silly now. Very driven by my emotional matrix. I know that you would not think any less of me, but there was that sensation that some how you would, no matter how irrational." The question about the Fortress was a logical one. "I can abide by your request. I owe you that much. If you wish me to cease my heroic duties for a few days, I will do so."

Zoey was silent for a time, absorbing everything from what Jor said. He had been right, though, she had sensed no one had been the same after the invasion. Everyone had become somber and reserved, recovering, or trying to, in their own way. Hence why she had spent most of her time here, in Star City, with Jor. Everyone else seemed to have people to lean on, to help them, and while she had noticed the Titans were like her community back on Themyscira, holding each other up to make sure no one fell on their own. But Jor, he was her first friend, her best friend, and she would see to it that he would be ok. And she had more than enough strength to help shoulder his burdens.

After a few awkward moments of silence, she reached across and covered his fidgeting hand with her own, squeezing slightly. "It is ok to feel weak, Jor. That is why we make bonds, make friends. So that they can be strong for us when we are weak. We Amazons call it philia. There's no direct translation for it in English, but it is a deep friendship. It's about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them. Sharing helps. It makes it ok to be weak and vulnerable and know that you don't have to protect yourself because we can do it for you.It is not silly, but perhaps it is a side effect of your lost powers."

She pulled her hand back and reached for her food, thinking it was probably a good idea to eat than waste it. "I would prefer it," she said in between bites. "At least until we can figure out what is going on, so we know what you can do, what your new limits are, and if it will worsen or not." That was an idea she did not want to entertain; him getting worse, and still trying to pretend he was the same. They would cross over that bridge when they saw it.

Jor was still trying to comprehend his actions. For reasons that were still somewhat murky, he had lied to his best friend. The Titans had drawn closer together and yet, Jor had willing decided only to tell Walter about his predicament. The speedster had not been able to help him fix his problem and so, he trusted the man not to tell anyone. Jor was very confused about his actions during this entire situation. The calculations and thoughts quieted once Zoey took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

The Kryptonian gave a small squeeze back and looked at her. This philia she described sounded very pleasant. Jor listened intently as she described it. It certainly sounded like something the boy wanted to share in. Flashes of other events played in Jor's mind. Their attempts at integration into high school together and several other things. Jor realized that perhaps the two of them already had this between them.

"I like this concept. I will permit myself to open to you. You deserve that much and more." He smiled and squeezed her hand. "I admit that in studying warrior cultures, I thought that this would make me less of a warrior. I did not want to appear less... desirable. I am still attempting to understand this all. You humans have the benefit of growing up with these emotions and learning to understand them. I have been in operation for six decades without them. It is an interesting challenge to integrate."

Jor's stomach growled as he looked at Zoey eating. He picked up one of his own sandwiches and bit into it. Between the bites, he nodded and replied. "I will comply with your wish. I will see if Kelex can get the scientific systems online faster. So, that we may get an answer to this issue sooner. What will we do if the Titans need my assistance?"

"Well, you may ask as many questions as you wish and I will try and answer them. As for helping the Titans, I am sure they will be able to manage on their own. I think you are entitled to taking time for yourself. The world will not fall apart without you." Zoey finished her sandwich and gave Jor a look over once more, seeing that his scrapes were already healing and she didn't have to drag out the first aide kit. It would still be there, unused, for now. She hoped it remained that way.

She cleared away the remnants of their lunch, making herself busy in the kitchen, giving Jor, and herself a few moments. For him to ask questions or to dress, or not, as he wanted. The next few days were what Zoey could only describe as interesting. There were awkward moments, of course, but she also found herself more aware of her actions around him; what she wore, or didn't, what she said or how she phrased it. She answered all of his questions, while trying to not cause confusion. It was an interesting exercise for her, let her see things differently herself as she explained things to Jor, at least what she could.

But then it was her turn for questions when they finally made their way to his Fortress. She looked around in wonder at the snow, having only heard of it in books, never having the pleasure of seeing it herself. She didn't feel the cold, but the little white puffs of breath that came out from between her lips told her it was rather cold. She picked up her long skirt and walked over it, feeling the crunch of it under her feet.

"This...this is snow!" She crouched down to grab a handful of it, watching as it formed in her hands. She was far more interested in the snow than the structure in the distance, at least for the moment."I have heard so much about snow, but I have never seen it."

"I imagine that I will have many numerous questions as the time goes on."

He finished both his sandwiches and moved on to the chips. The statement was true. The Titans had functioned well enough without him, before he'd come along. But there were so many new issues. Jor was beginning to doubt that they'd be able to function as a cohesive unit so soon. But he knew Zoey was wise and that Blue Bat and Captain America would put the team back together. He let his Amazonian roommate look him over once again and smiled as she touched his already healing wounds.

After he cleared his plate, Zoey moved to put things away. Jor took a few moments to process all the things they had spoken about. His mind was abuzz with new concepts and ideas. There was much he wanted to ask, but this didn't feel like the right time or the right place. He grasped his towel and stood up, setting the plate next to the sink, before going to put some clothing on.

The next few days were full of awkward moments, but they were also full of new discovery. Jor let Zoey help guide him through lessons on human emotions and other subjects. He used his contemporaries on the Titans as examples for some of the questions they had. That had lead to some laughter as well as some rather interesting views into their teammates humanity.

A message appeared a few days later on his tablet in Kryptonian. Jor checked the update. He'd been informed that the Fortress science systems were complete and the rest of the fortress would be finished later that day. After suiting up in his Superboy costume, he teleported himself and Zoey to the Antarctic fortress. Though she could fly, his own lack of powers meant that his means of flight were much slower these days. Teleportation was the fastest way for him to cover the globe.

A smile crossed the Boy of Steel's face as he watched Zoey's light up with wonder. She was marveling at the snow and her own breath puffing. Jor could feel the cold through his suit, but the protective force field, kept the brunt of it from his skin. "I did not know you had never seen it before." The boy reached down and balled some up in his hands, throwing a small snowball at her, gently.

"This is how Krypton was. Or at least my memories of it. This is probably the reason that the Eradicator chose this site for the Fortress."

The small snowball broke apart instantly as soon as it hit Zoey on the arm. She was instantly amused. The entire area became a battlefield, full of potential ammunition and buildable cover. "I had not. Themsycria is temperate year round and Hades is...well I suppose it could snow there but it never has."

She could see the fortress, now that she was looking around, and it was just another thing to marvel at for her. She'd seen crystal formations in some of the caves growing up but nothing that massive. She didn't even know they grew so big. She flew up a little to look at it, seeing the crystal structures up close. now very curious what it looked like inside. She floated back down, her trench warfare plans temporarily forgotten.

"This is what your planet looked like? All snow and giant crystal structures? It must have been very beautiful in the sun."

"I seem to recall some anecdotes about it snowing in Hades."

It made sense to Jor. He knew where Themsycria was. The location of the island made it very unlikely that snow could happen there without some kind of freak event. He'd studied enough of the climate of this world to know how the weather patterns worked.

He watched Zoey look at the Fortress in wonder. A smile crossed the Kryptonian boy's face as she asked about Krypton. His memories weren't very numerous, but he had enough. "Admittedly, I do not have very many memories. They are limited to test flights over the planet and other data gather by my siblings and I. The planet was mostly snow and ice, though there were some spots where we'd terraformed vegetation. The Kryptonians lived in structures made of Sunstone Crystal. That's what the fortress and I am made of. Or at least my core is made of, anyway."

Jor went on telling her about Krypton for a few minutes, as he walked to the wall and pushed a crystal in. Crystals retracted and an opening formed and Jor gestured her to follow. "I'll have to see if I can find you a picture of the firefalls. They're very pretty. Just flowing lava and crystal everywhere. It's an astonishing sight."

A floating droid approached Jor and he spoke to it briefly in Kryptonese. He turned to Zoey. "This is Kelex. This droid was created by Superman's father, Jor-El, to assist him on this world. This entire fortress was created by my predecessor, the Eradicator. It was his attempt to preserve Kryptonian culture and knowledge after the fall of Krypton. Superman left it after it was destroyed and moved to the opposite pole. I decided to rebuild it and make it my own home."

The boy walked down a hallway into a vast room. Inside the room were two statues, a man and a woman in traditional Kryptonian garb, holding up a vast globe of the planet Krypton. "Jor-El and Lara. My creator and his mate." Jor smiled at Zoey and moved to a console, tapping some buttons and pressing down protruding crystals. "This place contains the sum of all the scientific knowledge of Krypton. And some of the last surviving historical records of the Kryptonian culture."

"If there is anywhere in the universe that I can find answers, it will be here."