"Strange..."
Harper Row stood on a stool just to get her head above the enormous desk. Frowning, she glanced up at Starfire, then unfastened the blood pressure cuff from her arm.
"Is something wrong?"
Harleen sat in a chair nearby, studying the orange-skinned girl with interest.
"Her blood pressure is about thirty millimeters of mercury above normal. I'm not sure whether it's a health issue or a species thing. Ow!"
Harleen rubbed Harper's face and hair into a mess. Before she could protest, a lollipop had already been stuffed into her mouth.
"Too much candy causes cavities," Harper mumbled, though she had no intention of spitting it out. "Good thing I'm losing my baby teeth."
"All right, off you go, little head nurse. Let me talk to her." Harleen gently patted Harper's back. The eight-year-old nodded and picked up the blood pressure monitor with some difficulty. "Mm-hmm. I'm going to improve this thing."
"Okay."
She listened as the little girl's footsteps faded down the hallway, then turned back to find Starfire also staring blankly after this young specimen from her new planet.
"Hey, are you feeling anxious?"
"Huh? Yes... no, not at all."
Starfire snapped out of her daze. She had changed into a loose gray hoodie and sweatpants. Though the outfit looked poorly coordinated, it hadn't come cheap.
"Don't worry. Everyone feels a little uneasy in a new environment."
Harleen smiled. "I knew someone who moved from Metropolis to Gotham. On his first day, someone stole his wallet. On the second, his landlord scammed him out of his deposit. On the third, a gang nearly beat him to death in the street."
"Guess what happened to him afterward?" Harleen asked.
Starfire shook her head.
"Ha! He ran."
Harleen laughed. "Packed his bags and fled back to Metropolis overnight. Before