A/N: Chapter Two. See Author's Note at the end for important information.
Roy stood at the open window, letting the cold wind clear his head. After the argument came screeching to a halt, Roy had offered to let Megan use his shower. He didn't know why; it seemed like a good idea. That was where she was now.
The cool mist of the early morning slowly drifted into the apartment, settling on the windows and furniture. In the bedroom, the draft reached the child. Megan had not been neglectful, and, in the seven months of Rene's life, Megan had hardly ever left the child alone. However, there were some times where leaving the baby was unavoidable, such as now, with Megan in the shower.
Since the child was half Martian, Megan had established somewhat of a permanent mental link with her from the beginning. Somehow, the feelings of anger and betrayal had become normal for the child, considering that's usually what Megan was feeling. Now, however, new emotions flowed off of her. Megan was filled with the usual anger and betrayal, but, stronger than that were the feelings of regret, hurt, and heartbreak. These kinds of feelings had been suppressed by the Martian since the child was born.
Now, these emotions raced freely through the mental link, shocking the baby. She cried out.
Roy heard the crying. While part of him told him not to get attached to the child, he had generally learned how to say "fuck off" to that part of him, so he raced to the bedroom. There, on the bed, lay the baby. Her face was red and tear streaked.
Roy slowly reached for the child. He remembered what Megan had said, the part about the baby clawing off the doctor's arm. However, as soon as he touched her, she began to quiet. When Roy realized he wasn't about to become an amputee, he slowly gathered the child into his arms, rocking her back and forth.
Rene was still an infant. She was nowhere near beginning to control her abilities. With the exception of Megan, who had already established a mental link, Rene could not send thoughts, only receive them. Not to mention that a Martian infant's range had barely four yard radius. Rene was half human, and that range was cut in half. Still, Roy was definitely in her range, and Rene felt from him what she had only ever felt from Megan. Warmth.
In the bathroom, Megan turned the water off. She dried off with one of the towels, and then wrapped it around herself.
Feeling like she needed to go to her child, she walked to the bedroom.
Her eyes widened at what she saw. Roy was sitting on the bed, Rene in his arms. The baby was quiet, eyes closed, sleeping.
Megan couldn't help but smile. She had been worried about Roy's reaction to the child, a worry that seemed so pointless now. Roy was watching the child with eyes full of caring and… something else.
Suddenly, Megan balked. This was Roy. This was the bastard that got her into this mess. This was the guy that dropped her at the cave and walked off.
The familiar anger filled her.
"What are you doing?" she shouted.
Roy stopped rocking Rene and looked at Megan. "What do you mean?"
Megan walked over to Roy. Gently, she took Rene from his arms. As soon as the baby was safely with her again, she pushed Roy.
"What was that for?" Roy's normal reaction would have been more violent, but he reigned himself in.
"Why were you holding her?" Megan glared.
"As her father, I believe I have a right to hold her!" Roy silently cursed himself the moment the words left his mouth.
"Her father? Roy, you may be her biological father, but it stops there. I have been raising her for the past seven months, and, all the while, you have been sitting around doing nothing!"
"How was I supposed to know? You never even told me you were pregnant!" Roy tried to explain.
"Oh, sure, and have you join in the fight to end my daughter's life?" Megan was near tears.
"Our daughter," Roy quieted, keeping his voice even, "And, Megan," he reached forward, resting his hand on the side of her face, "I wouldn't do that."
The two stood like that, Roy's hand on Megan, their eyes on each others', neither speaking.
The silence was broken by Rene's cry. Both of them looked down at the child in Megan's arms. Roy reached out a hand.
Megan glared at him before spinning around and stalking off to the living room.
Roy sighed. Whatever moment they had shared, it was gone now.
The sky was lightening; morning was coming. Roy slowly rose out of bed. His mind was foggy from the lack of sleep, and his body started the normal routine. It wasn't until he came out of the bathroom that he remembered the events of the past night.
Quietly, he walked into the living room. Megan was sleeping on the sofa, Rene in her arms. Megan had taken a shirt and some shorts from Roy's closet. Her face was calm, not the mask of anger that she had worn so often last night. The fabric of the sofa was wet from her hair, which was still damp from her shower.
Roy settled on the arm of the sofa. Gently, he stroked her hair. Unconsciously, she softly sighed. Roy smiled. Right now, she was the Megan he knew. The Megan that cheerfully greeted him when he came to the Cave. The Megan who tried so hard to cook things for her teammates. The Megan who fought hard for her teammates, her family. Now that they had betrayed her, she had no one.
Roy gritted his teeth as he tried to push down the negative thoughts. As his eyes wandered, they fell on the clothes.
Megan's clothes, when she had come in last night, had been soaked through. It was obvious that she hadn't been able to get many different clothes. Roy didn't think she had any others with her last night.
He stood up. He had time to run this one errand before work.
When Megan woke up, less than an hour later, the first thing she saw was the brand-new sets of clothes on the coffee table.
Two days later, Megan was still at Roy's. Seeing as her presence was something that would require some attention, he took a few days off of work.
Megan stood up abruptly from the sofa. Roy, who was sitting on the other end, started. Rene was in Megan's arms, as per usual, and the baby's empty bowl of special food was on the table. This seemed to be the cause of Megan's discomfort.
"What's wrong?" Roy asked.
"Rene's out of food. We're going to the store." Megan started to the door.
"Wait, you and her? Isn't that dangerous, taking her out in public?" Roy raised an eyebrow.
"I know what I'm doing. I just have to suppress her senses until we're out of a highly public area." Megan rolled her eyes.
"Let me go. You need to rest."
Megan turned fully to Roy. "I've rested for two days. I'm fine."
Roy shook his head. "You can't honestly tell me that suppressing Rene's senses isn't tiring."
"It's okay. I can do it."
Roy stood. "Just leave her here with me. She's familiar enough with me that she won't try to hurt me."
Megan was silent for a while. She seemed to be at war with herself, one half saying no, the other, yes.
Finally, she placed Rene in Roy's arms. Without another word, she left.
A force rocked the market. Megan whirled, searching for the source. People were running up the street, the opposite direction from where she came.
Megan rushed outside. There were flames and smoke coming from the direction of Roy's apartment.
The groceries hit the ground as she took off running.
As she had feared, the apartment was on fire. Bits of flaming debris constantly bombarded the street below. Megan's eyes filled with tears as she realized the weight of the situation.
Rene was gone. Roy was gone.
The only two people in the world that weren't out to get her. Gone.
She fell to her knees in the burning rubble. Sparks caught at her arms and legs and even face, burning marks that drew blood.
She wanted to curl up and die, right there in the street.
Before she could make any decision, someone grabbed her from behind. She was pulled into an alley off to the side.
As soon as she was on her feet, she whirled, ready to take on the rapist or mugger who dared attack her in a time of grief.
Instead of a criminal, she saw-
"-Roy!" Megan rushed to him. Rene was safe in his arms. She quickly took the child, making sure she was still okay, then turned to Roy. The archer was covered in burns and cuts, one particularly deep in his temple. Megan slipped off the cardigan she had worn that day and held the soft fabric to Roy's cut.
"How did you escape?" Megan's voice cracked.
Roy smiled. "Thank the kid. She was getting fussy, so I took her on the balcony to get some air. While we were outside, the kitchen blew up. I dove off the balcony to the awnings on the first floor right as the rest of the apartment went up."
"But… who? Who did this?"
Roy sighed. "The League. I know it."
Megan gasped. "No! I know that they're after me, but you were in there, too! I can't believe Green Arrow would let them blow up your apartment, especially not with you in it!"
"I don't think they knew I was there." Roy mumbled.
Megan cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not even supposed to be in town this week. They probably thought that blowing up the apartment while you were away would be a convenient way to… take care of her." They both looked at Rene, who had somehow slept through the whole thing.
"Roy. You have to go. Tell the League what happened." She couldn't meet his eyes.
"What, just leave? You want me to walk away?"
Megan sighed. "Yes."
Roy reached up and held Megan's wrist. "No. I'm coming with you."
"It's dangerous!" Megan finally met his eyes.
"Exactly! So you need help!"
"I'm fine! I can do this on my own!"
"You can't!" Roy sighed, calming himself. He had gotten good at that lately. "I'm coming. The League blew up my apartment and is after yo- our child." Roy smiled. "You got more than you bargained for, coming here. Like it or not, now I'm your partner."
A/N: For you Indiana Jones fans, that last line was kind of like homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Anyway, a side note about Rene. I understand, she's an OC. Totally breaks my rule about hating OCs. But:
1. She will not develop extreme powers.
2. She will not miraculously save the day.
3. She will not develop a potential romance with another character/OC.
4. She will not be a mastermind of computer, mental powers, or anything else.
5. In fact, she won't really have distinguishable thoughts of her own.
6. She is a baby, and will stay a baby for the duration of the story. I don't think she'll even turn one in this story.
I hope that clears thing up.
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K.