20: Skye's First Mission

10:13 November 7th

"Yes, sir, Miss Prince will be there. I'm not sure if she will be there as Wonder Woman. Yes, sir, I will let her know you said that."

Skye touched the bluetooth in her ear and shook her head, glancing back into Diana's office to see her writing furiously. She had just given Diana a handful fan letters from children to Wonder Woman, and Diana insisted on writing them back in her own handwriting. It was one of the things she loved about Diana.

Skye stood from her desk, smoothing out her gray skirt that matched her blazer, and walked into Diana's office. The woman looked up, wearing a red blazer and skirt herself, matching it with a white blouse under the jacket.

"David Lawson from Child's Play Association says thank you for the new playground and has invited you to visit with the children sometime soon. Should I make a time?"

"Yes, of course. I particularly love meeting with children in this programs," Diana said with a happy smile. She placed a letter on top of a stack of others, then opened another envelope with a child's messy handwriting.

"I'll put it on your calendar, then," Skye said. Diana nodded with a smile and went back to writing.

The last week had been busy, being the one who makes sure Diana is where she needs to be and making appointments for future appearances. She was also taking calls from the media. Diana had told her to be as honest as possible when speaking to the press.

Dick Grayson

Morning, gorgeous.

Skye Lovett

It's almost noon.

Dick Grayson

Morning for me.

I did as you suggested last week and took Artemis out for lunch.

Skye Lovett

Good! How is she?

Dick Grayson

Same as always, but she seemed a bit happier. More talkative.

I'll be able to come to D.C. tomorrow night. Up to it?

Skye Lovett

Totally. I have to go, Diana seems concerned.

Dick Grayson

Talk to you later.

Diana was waving her in while she was standing, Skye hurried in and frowned.

"What is it?"

"Superman called."

"Oh." It was her first time anything happened connected to the Justice League. "What do you need me to do?"

"Clear my schedule this afternoon and tomorrow morning on the way to the Hall of Justice."

Skye followed the hurried Diana, stopping outside her personal bathroom for a moment. When she came out, it was Wonder Woman. Skye's eyes widened. It was the first time she had seen Diana as this amazing Amazon.

"Come," Diana said firmly. "I need you to stay at the hall with some of the younger Team members. This will show you what is happening, so you will be prepared in case something more serious happens."

"Yes, ma'am," Skye answered, following Diana to her window. She watched as the window slide open, the wind blowing their hair all over. Up this high, it was cold and windy. A jet appeared, leveling off at the window and allowing a little walkway to be unfolded at the window sill. Wonder Woman could fly, but walked across the walkway for Skye's sake. Skye took her heels off, holding them as she gulped.

"Take my hand, you'll be fine." Diana smiled at her reassuringly. Skye did as she was told and quickly made her way into the jet. It was big enough that she had a few feet above her head until the ceiling. She saw Miss Martian, Zantanna, and Black Canary.

"You should take a seat and buckle up," Black Canary said with a calm smile. Diana helped her figure it out, the belt actually automatically clicking.

Miss Martian was driving the jet.

"How are you, Skye?" Miss Martian said smiling at her. Diana had found her place on the jet, sitting comfortable.

"A little overwhelmed - wait, you know me, don't I know you?" Miss Martian flushed and cleared her throat. "Nevermind," Skye said. "I learned from Nightwing not to ask - I'll be told if it's relevant."

Dick had been called to D.C. by Batman just after he stopped texting Skye. They were dealing with the same thing. There seemed to be an unusual storm in the Atlantic Ocean, which would hit the D.C. area in three hours. For some reason, it was only projected to hit D.C., which was why the Justice League were checking it out.

Nightwing was called to hand out orders to the younger team members, some of his old friends, while Batman and the other League Members handled the unusual storm. The Team would be handling dealing with the safety issues in D.C.

He was picked up by a Batjet, all suited up, hurrying to D.C. in record time. When he saw who was in the main room where they would send out orders, he froze for a moment. Skye was sitting on a chair, watching the flutter of superheroes around her with amazing calm. She saw him and grinned.

"Hey!" She called out, waving. He hurried to her when Batman gesture for him to do so.

"What are you doing here?"

"She asked me to come, so I can get a taste if something worse happened." Skye nodded toward Wonder Woman, who was talking to Wonder Girl. "Honestly, I feel out of place."

"You'll be safe here if the storms hit," Dick explained. "That's part of the reason. Plus, she's right. We've had worse incidents than this."

"Nightwing!" Robin shouted. Dick winked at Skye and rushed over to the group.

He would be watching over Robin, Miss Martian, Wonder Girl, Zantanna, and Aqualad as they made sure the city was safe from the storm coming in. That would mean making barriers, getting the word to civilians about the potential threat, and being a second string of protection if the storm-causing villain came onto land.

With Batman and the League, there was Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Superman. Dick glanced back to Skye, sitting patiently with Rocket, who was going to stay here with her. Yeah, she'd be safe, but still able to see what was happening on the large screens that came up.

After going over the plan with his team, Nightwing turned his focus to the screen where he would be keeping an eye on things. They wouldn't be the first line of defense with the storm, but they were doing an important job, keeping people safe. His group left quickly. The league members left right after, and Batman stood next to him, watching his own screens, which were focused on the storm.

"This would be incredibly easy of the storm was man made," Nightwing told him. "Any idea who is behind this?"

"Weather Wizard seems to be the culprit."

Nightwing watched the screen as the League came upon the large storm, winds raging and rain falling. He turned back to his own screen and saw his team making sure the barriers for flooding were working correctly. Aqualad was dealing with this.

Miss Martian and Zantanna were going through the city, speaking to people on the streets. Most thanked them and ran to shelters, while others ignored them. Wonder Girl and Robin were messing with electronics at the local television station to spread the news through that route.

Nightwing felt Skye come up to him, and turned to her.

"Wow, you guys are like a well-oiled machine." She watched the screen, chewing on her lip with worry as she looked at the storm.

"You look so weird in that professional outfit," Nightwing commented.

"Shut up, aren't you supposed to be doing something?" He saw a grin on her face, despite the harsh words.

Dick grinned, but kept his eyes on the screens.

Skye stayed by Rocket as Dick.. er, Nightwing and Batman talked to the other members of their respective teams. After a few moments, Rocket sighed, clearly bored. Skye felt bad for having Rocket babysit her - she was sure the girl wanted to go out and kick ass as well.

"I'm sorry you have to be stuck with me," Skye said to the woman. "i'm sure you want to go out and deal with the bad guys."

"Yeah, but at least it's you and not some snotty kid," Rocket laughed.

"So what else is there to see down here?" Skye looked around the brightly lit area. It was a cave, but modernized to include the latest technology, sitting areas, and stairs to another part of the area that was through a couple of doors.

"It's like a large mansion underground," Rocket explained, standing from her spot next to her. "Come on, I'll show you."

Skye took one more glance at Nightwing and Batman, standing tall and looking serious as they barked orders and questions.

"Yeah, it's pretty intense in here."

Skye followed Rocket up the stairs and through the doors. It led to a living room area, with three couches and three chairs, a large television with video game consoles attached. Openly connected to the living room was a fully stocked kitchen, shiny and new. Skye must have gasped, because Rocket laughed.

"It's amazing, isn't it? Some of the newer Team members live here, as they don't really have anywhere else to live. I lived here for a while before I became a League member myself. Well, not here but the other headquarters…" Rocket trailed off, presumably thinking of good times.

"It's like a family," Skye murmured as they walked through the living room and kitchen. It made her remember the little amount of good times with her parents. Her mother had taken her to the park a few times, pushing her on the swings and playing tag. Her father had been a fan of camping, and in her younger years Skye enjoyed going out for a weekend in the woods.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Rocket quipped, leading her down the hall where doors led to different bedrooms. Some were obviously not used, some were obviously used.

"No, no, it just reminds me I don't have many family memories that I'd like to keep around."

"Ah, I'm sorry I brought that up," she apologized, stopping in the middle of the hallway and turning around to face Skye.

"It's fine! I'm in a good place after everything I've gone through, and Nightwing is…" Skye stopped and cleared her throat, blushing.

"You two are adorable," she said with a laugh. "Here's a bathroom if you need it. Are you uncomfortable? The clothes, I mean. I can probably find a pair of jeans and a tshirt for you to change into while we settle this thing with the storm."

"Really?" Skye would love that.

"Yeah, give me a minute."

After only a few moments, Rocket came back and offered Skye an outfit exactly as she said - jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Skye changed in the bathroom and held her clothes in her arm when she came out. Her heels would have to do for the moment.

"Thanks, I appreciate it, Rocket."

"You know what…" Rocket thought for a moment. "You know Nightwing is Dick Grayson, right?"

"I've known for a few weeks," Skye admitted.

"He trusts you. I trust him - we've been through a lot." Rocket pulled off the part of her costume that hid her features. Skye blinked taking a moment.

"Raquel. Huh." Skye grinned and laughed at herself. "I'm an idiot. I assume I know the rest of the gang but don't realize it?"

"Most likely, but it's not my place to gossip," she replied with a shrug and a grin. Skye winked at her and they walked back through the kitchen, living room, and down to the control room. Nightwing and Batman looked more stressed than before.

"What is it?" Rocket asked, fixing her costume.

"It's Weather Wizard, wanting to make a name for himself? What's his game?" Batman frowned. Skye looking over his build, and thought about the different people she had met with that certain one.

"Skye, you alright?" Dick was suddenly next to her. He had caught her staring at Batman.

"Ah, yeah, just thinking."

"That look on your face meant it was intense." He went back to his screens.

"You said you don't know his game?" Skye asked. The two men looked back to her. "What if it isn't his game? What if he's a part of some other … person's game?"

"She's right, any evidence of another person behind this?" Nightwing asked.

Batman sent the question to the Leaguers who were in the storm. Nightwing sent it to his own team, wondering if they saw anything interesting as they were dealing with civilians. The storm was an hour and a half out. The wind was already picking up and it was dark from the clouds.

Apparently, the League members hadn't seen anything besides a machine making the storm, and had spent the last forty five minutes beating the crap out of it. Only some damage had been done to it, which made them think it was reinforced with some sort of power or magic.

"Zatanna, head out to the storm and see if you can since any magical power around the machine," Dick ordered. He turned around to look at her. "You changed."

"Yeah, you even looked at me a few moments ago like this."

They waited a few moments for Zantanna to get to the machine. Skye watched, chewing her lip. Rocket crossed her arms and focused intensly at the screens.

"There is a magic field around the machine," Nightwing confirmed.

"Magic around the machine. We need to break through the shield before we can do any major damage. We have forty five minutes." Batman turned to Rocket. "Join the team making sure the city is safe. We need to make sure everyone is in some sort of safety zone."

Rocket nodded and took off. Skye saw her lift off the ground, surrounded by a purple light of sorts. She disappeared through a small opening in the roof.

"I'm sure it's someone who has a grudge against D.C. Which would be a lot of people," Skye commented, mostly thinking to herself.

"Not many skilled in magic," Batman replied. "Felix Faust, Klarion… a few others."

"They have different magics, though." Nightwing told Zatanna through his communications to search for distinctive feelings for the magic around the machine. After a moment, he spoke again. "It feels like Klarion to her."

"Klarion?" Skye hadn't heard of that villain before. Batman was speaking orders again. The rain was pounding D.C., along with lightening and hail. The wind was too high for people to be outside.

"A demon. He's a bit of a brat." Nightwing explain, looking over his screens. The roads were deserted in the city, which was what his team was meant to do.

"I wonder what he promised Weather Wizard," Batman murmured. The screen in front of him showed the rest of the League finally getting through the barrier - with Zatanna's help - and they started to bash the machine with different powers.

"A demon - if the stories are true, he'd be promising something he isn't going to give. Is that how this demon is?" Skye thought out loud.

"Yep," Nightwing answered.

"He's after the Justice League. Why D.C., though? Aren't you guys spread out unless you're called together?"

"Yes," Batman answered, turning to her. "You're right, Skye. Good point."

"A distraction or a trap. For what?" Nightwing started to flip through views on the screen. Suddenly, he started yelling. "Miss Martian, Robin, Wonder Girl, head to the Hall of Justice entrance!"