If you want to read up to 20 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy!
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[David Lance POV]
It had been two weeks since the encounter with Amazo, and my broken bones and injured body had finally healed.
Leaving nothing but the memory of the battle and how the combined efforts of Rachel and I had been the key to victory.
I smiled at the memory.
Sure, it had been one hell of a fight, where I had taken more damage than ever before, with the stakes being higher than I would've liked.
But.
It had also been our first in the big leagues, at least together, and yet, we had worked together flawlessly, using our skills and knowledge in synchrony to take down the enemy.
In the end, it was our teamwork that made that victory possible.
Without Rachel, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Amazo.
"Your sister wants to see you," Rachel said, opening the door of my room as she held a book in her hands.
~On my way,~ I replied, trying to peek out the title of the book. Something that Rachel quickly noted and, in turn, cheekily hid the book under her purple sweater.
I smiled, deciding to find out what book she was reading later; I might just ask her; I mean, more often than not, she caves with a few answers when it comes to literature.
Taking a deep breath, I finished what I was doing, and I grabbed my phone before making my way out of my room toward Dinah and Oliver's room, with Rachel on my side.
I didn't like seeing her bedridden. It was a picture that, no matter how good things were in terms of her recovery, didn't settle all too well for me. It pained me, seeing her like that, looking so fragile.
I guess at times; I just forget how fragile we humans are.
Not that I belong to that group anymore, which simply made her look all the more fragile in my mind. These thoughts infuriated me because I knew that my sister was by no means fragile.
But no matter how much I told myself that, that she was strong, skilled, and more. A small part of my mind would put her on a pedestal of fragility that made her no honor, a pedestal that brought with itself a semblance of guilt.
A part of me wanted to believe this was my fault.
The thing was, I knew this was a stupid thought. This, by no means, had been my fault; I mean, in this universe, shit just happens, and Amazo happens to enter that category.
I knew my self-deprecating thoughts had no base, that they made no sense.
But when does the mind ever make sense?
I honestly believe in the saying that says we are our own worst enemy.
"Do I need to hit you with the [I'm being stupid stick]?" Rachel asked, getting a read of my emotions.
~No, and the hell do you mean by the [I'm being stupid stick]?~ I replied, giving her an odd look, wondering if I should be concerned about that… stick.
"It's something I came up with," Rachel replied, nodding proudly, almost as if puffing up like a bird at her own idea.
~I see…~ Did… did Rachel ever hit her teammates when they were being stupid? Is… is that canon? I feel it's not, but… it kind of fits with her personality, yet at the same time… it doesn't.
"This house is too big," Rachel said, changing the subject.
I blinked, nodding. ~Rich people, more in Oliver's case, love big houses. I see the attractive, but honestly, sometimes is just a chore to get stuff around like; there was one time I had to walk for ten minutes to get a water bottle because my fridge had ran out of them.~
"With your speed, you could've gotten the water in a matter of seconds," Rachel replied, quirking an eyebrow.
I huffed, crossing my arms in indignation. ~Yes, I could've, but I had just woken up, and I didn't feel like sprinting to the kitchen on the third level…~
"Fair enough," Rachel nodded.
~Not everyone can open a portal with a sway of their hand,~ I added, arms still crossed.
"Well, it's not that simple, but yeah, I can do that," Rachel smiled at me cockily.
I smiled, rolling my eyes at her. ~So, how has been fighting crime all alone in Star City?~
"Pretty uneventful," Rachel replied as we neared the turn that led to the hallway that led to Dinah's room. "The only villain that has tried to do anything was someone called Catman; he wasn't happy I made a comment of him copying Catwoman."
Catman? Well shit, that's new.
~Was he hard to deal with?~ I asked.
"No, we didn't even fight. I just… kind of levitated him off the ground and threw him in prison," Rachel replied. "He wasn't happy about that either."
I imagine, of all possible defeats, having someone take you out without a fight is quite humiliating in the villain world. ~He will probably hold a grudge against you. With that humiliating defeat, you might have gotten yourself a nemesis…~
Rachel froze, her eyes snapping. "I would prefer if the villain that will make their whole life purpose destroying me, not to be a man with an unhealthy fixation on cats…"
~You can choose your friends, but like family, you can't choose your nemesis,~ I shrugged with a smile.
"But I can choose to cripple him," Rachel muttered darkly.
~Where's that stick you spoke of? The [I'm being stupid stick]?~ I asked, getting a soft chuckle from her.
"Fair enough," Rachel sighed, a small groan escaping her lips. "I really hope that guy doesn't make it his life purpose to defeat me…"
I smiled, patting her on the back. ~Cheer up; chances are that once he tries again and sees he can't even fight you, he will give up that silly dream/grudge of his. The title of Nemesis requires both parties to stand on a similar ground, and obviously, he lacks the juice for that kind of title.~
Rachel chuckled. "He does lack the juice, and the taste, like why cats of all animals?"
~Hey, cats can be scary. Besides, the cat theme usually fits better on a female, like catwoman,~ I replied with two short nods.
"Are you saying that because you find Catwoman attractive?" Rachel asked, with an eat-shitting grin or the closest equivalent she could produce.
Me? Find her attractive! I would nev… okay I do. But I will never admit it!
~I do not,~ I replied without looking at her.
"Sure, you don't," Rachel snorted at my answer but didn't press on.
~I don't,~ I nodded.
"Yeah," Rachel replied.
~I truly don't,~ I nodded again.
"I believe you," Rachel replied.
I narrowed my eyes.
She smiled.
~Fine, you win, you emotion-reading cheater,~ I sighed. ~But honestly, doesn't the cat theme fit females better?~
"I suppose from an aesthetic point of view, it does," Rachel nodded.
I nodded.
"Before we reach your sister, please don't look at her like you feel like it's your fault," Rachel said, changing the subject.
Easier said than done; that woman can see through my acts, even if I act like everything is fine. Kind of hard to hide shit from someone that saw you grow.
"If she sees you feeling guilty, she will feel guilty, and that spiral just grows endlessly," Rachel sighed.
~I know,~ I nodded.
It was honestly hard to control one subconscious when it came to natural reactions. It was like trying to kiss someone you found disgusting on every level without showing any disgust, it was nearly impossible, and the deeper the connection of that reaction was, the harder it was to hide it.
I could hide many things; I could even fool someone to think I found them attractive if the opportunity ever required it. I had trained for it, part of Batman's training; unfortunately, I hadn't trained for pretending I didn't feel like shit for seeing my loved ones hurt.
The thing was, I knew that Dinah was still in pain, both physically and emotionally, for not having been able to help me during the fight.
"Dinah, we are here," Rachel said as she knocked at the door.
"Come in!" Dinah replied, and moments after, Rachel was opening the door.
~What bus hit ya? Did you get the number?~ I said, needless to say, the first thing that came to my mind. Fucking panic humor, I swear.
Dinah snorted before breaking into a short-lived fit of laughter that came to an end because it hurt her to laugh. "Damn it, don't make me laugh."
"That was a good one, kiddo," Oliver said with a proud grin, coming out of the bathroom, limping toward his bed. They were using separate beds because Dinah's condition at the moment required her to have her own sleeping area.
~Hey, how's the leg doing?~ I asked Oliver as I walked toward my sister.
"Well, it's seen better days, like… what was the day before Amazo?" Oliver asked, pressing his lips together in pondering.
I smiled.
"Good to see you back to full," Dinah smiled, reaching for my hand with loving warmth, before suddenly pulling a stick out of nowhere, bonking me in the head.
.
..
…
….
…..
The… I'm being stupid stick.
I should've seen it coming.
"Hahaha! Yes!" Oliver cheered with a grin. "It pleased my mustache seeing that!" At this, Dinah threw the stick at Oliver, seeing as he was out of reach. "Damn it; I've been betrayed!"
If you want to read up to 20 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy!
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Dinah Lance POV]
Recovery can sometimes feel like a never-ending process. For me, this was the case, and how couldn't it feel this way when your little brother could heal most wounds exponentially faster than you or any other human being without powers.
My broken bones and injured body slowly healed, or rather healed at a human rate with the best technology available; I honestly couldn't complain. With each day that passed, I felt a little bit stronger, a bit better.
But even though my physical injuries had healed, I was still left with the bitter memory of what had happened, or rather what hadn't happened.
I had left my baby brother to fight that thing alone.
Once again, he had to face another challenge without me to help him.
I knew it was silly to think this, but even though I was aware of how foolish I was being, my mind couldn't help but wonder in the world of what ifs.
What if I had been there?
What if Amazo hadn't knocked me out cold?
Had I been there, could I have prevented my brother's wounds?
These thoughts were exhausting because I knew the entire situation had gotten out of my hands, out of Oliver's hands, and David had simply taken control of the ship, saving me, Oliver, and the city when we couldn't.
But as Oliver said, don't focus on the dark shadows of a fully lighted room. As much as the situation had gotten out of control, David had managed to come on top.
I needed to see the bright side of the events in order to finally put the whole ordeal behind me.
He had won, Rachel and him had defeated the impossible, broken bones or not, and they both had survived, that's all that mattered, and that's all I should be focusing on.
I guess doubt and self-inflicted guilt runs in the family deeper than I thought, which is why I had to show my baby brother we couldn't let these faults eat us.
"You have that look that says, I will be a successful kick-ass woman today," Oliver said as he limped toward his bed.
I chuckled, tilting my head to the side. "Don't I always have that look?"
Oliver pressed his mouth into a tiny dot as he blinked rapidly. "Ehmm… I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it may incriminate me down the line."
I rolled my eyes; I was about to marry such a dork. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
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[David Lance POV]
It had been a little over a week since I had recovered from the aftermath of my fight with Amazo. When Batman contacted me, asking to meet and discuss the battle, I agreed.
Taking a Zeta tube, I met Batman at the designated location, and it became quickly apparent that he had done his homework, even having on display on his screen the strategy I had used to defeat him.
~Hi,~ I waved, taking a seat.
"Black Bolt, I'm glad you came," Batman said, turning his attention toward me.
~Well, you called me,~ I replied.
"I did," Batman nodded. "I wanted to see if I had everything that happened in the battle in an accurate manner."
~Ask away?~ I nodded. Lesson 6 of Batman's method, always triple check all data at least ten times.
"Very well," Batman replied, taking a seat in front of me.
For the next following minutes, Batman asked me a series of questions, and answered each one honestly and directly, giving him all the information he wanted.
When the questions were done, we talked, exchanging information and ideas as to how we thought Amazo operated and united we came away with a greater understanding of Amazo.
"Thanks for your assistance," Batman said, our talk coming to an end.
~It's nothing; had you not called me, I would've come here to talk about Amazo anyway,~ I replied with a sigh. ~I still think the idea of keeping the android will bite us in the back sooner or later.~
"I know," Batman replied. "I fully understand your concerns, and the truth is, you are right. Chances are Amazo will be used against us again, sooner or later…"
In short, meaning that he wanted to study the thing for as long as possible before that happened.
~I know what your goals are with Amazo, but you are playing a risky game there,~ I sighed, running my hands down my hair.
"I know. But, Amazo is a threat that we weren't prepared to deal with, as Amazo itself wasn't prepared to deal with you, had we engaged with the android, we would've had a much more difficult time than you had."
I had my theories about why Amazo hadn't made quick work of me, my theory being because I was a total unknown, and so was Raven, for that matter, meaning that Amazo's programming only had countermeasures against the core members of the League.
Based on the strength of the Android, whoever had programmed it, had simply deemed any other possible encounters as inconsequential for Amazo, deeming the machine's ability to copy powers, as well as the ability it already had in store to be more than enough to deal with any extras.
~Fair enough,~ I sighed.
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. The next, when a threat like Amazo comes around, the League will be ready," Batman replied, his tone carrying total confidence about what he was saying.
~I will hold you up to that,~ I replied as I stood from my chair. ~Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do, so I'll take my leave.~
"Wait," Batman said, his body language changing for the briefest of moments before he composed himself, showing during this brief break of character an emotion one only sees in a father concerned for his child.
Seeing Batman didn't see me as a son, I had my answer as to why his body language had changed. Whatever he was about to say, or ask, was about Richard Grayson.
~You know he's the one that ghosted me, right?~ I asked, going straight to the point.
Batman said nothing, and I had to admit, it felt good leaving the Dark Knight speechless for once, using his own weapon of choice, deduction. "I am aware, but you two need to talk."
I raised an eyebrow at that. ~About what, it's clear he doesn't want to talk to me, and I won't force him.~
"About what happened during the Joker incident," Batman replied after a moment of silence.
About the Joker incident… It's been a while since I had a talk about that. Now, what exactly do I have to talk with Richard that Batman feels we need to talk about?
I had long ago concluded Richard blamed himself for what happened that day, so… did Batman want me to tell Richard not to blame himself for what happened?
No.
That didn't fit Batman's way of thinking.
If it was such a simple thing as dealing with unwarranted guilt, he wouldn't have asked me to talk with Richard just now. No, this was about something else.
But what?
…
Unless…
The guilt Richard was feeling wasn't one without merit.
I froze in shock, giving Batman a look, seeing his back, quickly connecting the dots, finally getting the entire picture of what had happened and why Robin had ghosted me.
Batman had never sent us to that facility.
It was all… Robin's doing.
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