Taipei;
September 7th;
19:15 NST
I can't believe I was actually doing this. There were a thousand other things I would rather be doing right now, but no. I'm here. Sitting in this stupid car with that stupid man and that stupid lady and that not-stupid lady. I should be making potions right now, not protecting diplomats.
Ugh….. how do I keep getting myself into these messes?
With my arms folded and my legs crossed, I glared at the bald man before me. He seemed to take joy in my bad attitude and even smirked at it. If we had been alone in the car, I would have thrown him out the window already.
The only thing that made this situation marginally acceptable was the fact I got to dress up for it. You can call me "girly" if you'd like, but I loved nothing more than to slip into a dress and do my hair and makeup. I blame my upbringing.
Right now, I wore a dress with a silky white bodice and a matching skirt of tulle. The branches of a tree with blue blossoms were embroidered around the skirt's hem and climbed up to the illusion collar. For once, I let my hair retain it's natural curl, even if the bouncing ringlets annoyed me as I walked. The look was finished off with natural makeup, and let me tell you, it is not easy to find a foundation in my color.
"Is it really necessary that I'm here?" I asked the blonde woman sitting next to me. She was the one person in the car that I didn't hate, and that was for many reasons. For one, she was Christina Rivers, Boston diplomat for the United Nations and the woman that I called Mom, even if she wasn't my biological mother.
She pulled her green eyes away from the phone she was typing on to give me a small smile. "We've heard news of assassination threats. I would have no one else protect me, and the arbitrator." Mom nodded her head towards Lex Luthor, who saw on the other side of the limo.
His smirk grew even smugger at the reminder. Who in Merlin's name chose him as the arbitrator? I knew Mom would never, ever, in a million years call on him, so it must have been Prime Minister Tseng and General Singh Mann Li. Merlin, were they idiots.
"It's a pleasure to be a part of something so… historic," Luthor said, his tone making me grit my teeth.
Mom put her hand on mine to calm me down, and I begrudgingly did. "We're thankful that you were available to help us, Mr. Luthor. You may be what we need to bring peace to both Rhelasia's."
"I will do what I can, but there's no guarantee this will work," Luthor shrugged, "Especially with these assassination threats."
"We'll have no need to worry about them." Mom smiled down at me since she was a grown woman, and I was a thirteen year old barely passing five feet. "We have Boston's own hero, Arctica, with us."
"Ah, yes, Boston's "hero". I've heard that other residents don't see her in the same light." Luthor looked at me, a slight malice to his eyes. Don't punch him, don't punch him, don't punch him.
"The people of Boston are stuck in old ways and the ancient traditions of burning witches at the stake. They fail to see what good she has brought to the city simply because she does not fit the mold of what kind of hero they want," Mom defended tartly. She was using her aggressive diplomat voice, and it looked like Luthor was shocked by it.
I had the best Mom ever.
The smirk still on my face, I leaned against the car door and looked out the window. The police escort that was following us really wouldn't be much good if someone from the League of Shadows were to attack; the best they could do was annoy them with their sirens.
We were nearing the building now, where the two Rhelasia leaders stood outside with armed guards and a news reporter, Cat Grant, I think, was reporting. I watched the other people gathered around carefully; if the Shadows wanted to attack, now would be the best time.
Oh, why do I always have to be right?
One of the stall workers looked familiar to me, and not the good kind of familiar. I watched as the worker disappeared deeper into the stall; that was more than a little suspicious. She didn't reappear in the stall at all, but rather on top of it, dressed in a green outfit, white and red cat mask, and a missile launcher. Cheshire.
I threw open the car door and jumped out without telling anyone what I was doing. Cheshire was taking aim and then spotted me running towards her. She fired quickly, but her shot was thrown off by… something that wasn't me. Judging by the fact that it was an arrow that knocked the missile off course, I was going to guess Green Arrow, Artemis, or Red Arrow. I knew which one I preferred.
People started screaming and running away. North and South Rhelasian guards surrounded their leaders and led them away to safety. Cheshire jumped off her stall and charged towards me, her sais in hand. Merlin, I hated those things. The last time I came face to face with them, I ended up with one stuck in my thigh. The week following was not fun.
"Hello again, chatte," I greeted her as I lifted the skirt of my dress and kicked her squarely in the chest with my blue high heels.
"Hey, kid, where's your twin?" Cheshire taunted, rubbing her chest gently. Good, that kick better have hurt.
"Having a much better time than me right now." I flipped onto the hood of Luthor's car to avoid her sais, then launched snowflake throwing stars that she avoided gracefully.
One guard was stupid enough to grab her from behind while she was distracted by me. Cheshire jumped up and kicked two more guards coming to restrain her and then slipped out of the grip of the first one, kicking him away.
She ran towards me, getting ready to finish the job she was hired for; killing Luthor. I was really tempted to just let her do it, but the peace of two countries was at stake. And Mom would be really mad if I messed up all her hard work of just getting the two countries to meet together.
Sighing, I armed myself with two ice blades and charged forward to meet her attack. Right about the same time a certain archer fired a net arrow. Guess where that net ended up? Around me.
I grunted as I hit the ground, tangled in the rope and trying to cut free. My swords did nothing to it, and I was starting to get really frustrated. What is this even made of?
"Ugh, son of a banshee…"
A redheaded man in a suit tackled Cheshire, and they went rolling across the ground while the missile she had fired landed on the stall she had previously been in. Paper scraps went everywhere and rained down on the crowd like snow.
The guards surrounded the three of us, their guns drawn and ready to fire. Perfect; just perfect.
"Don't move!" One shouted, and Cheshire was forced to surrender. Other guards surged forwards and grabbed the assassin, handcuffing her and holding her with strong grips.
The redhead got up and I groaned when I realized who it was; Roy. This day just kept getting better and better, didn't it?
A couple of guards helped me out of that blasted net just as Mom and Luthor stepped out of the car. There was a resounding gasp of shock from everyone there, and I can't say I blame them. Luthor would have been the last on my list too.
"Arctica, are you alright?" Mom was on me the second she stepped out of the car. She started reaching for me, then stopped halfway, a pained look on her face.
"I'm fine," I reassured her, but before I could say anything else, two of the guards roughly grabbed both of my arms and held them so tightly, my feet didn't even touch the ground.
"You will be needed for questioning," one explained briefly. I somehow got the feeling they didn't really like me all that much; not that I was surprised. It was a common occurrence.
"Arctica had nothing to do with this attack," Christina Rivers said indignantly, "I brought her here for my own and the arbitrator's protection. Now, let her go."
The two guards glanced at each other, uncertain, then finally released their tight grips. I could feel a bruise forming where they had grabbed me and I rubbed the sore spots in an attempt to soothe them. Really, there was no reason to be so rough.
"Thank you, Mrs. Rivers," I said politely. Merlin, it felt weird to call her that. I wish I could just call her mom, but I couldn't. It was for her safety, for my siblings' safety, for my dad's safety. I couldn't put them in danger.
"You wouldn't happen to know the young archer, would you, Arctica?" The irritating voice of Luthor cut into my wishful thinking, forcing me back to Taipei. The business tycoon approached me with his straight-haired assistant at his side, a smile on his face. Even Mom's expression turned sour at his appearance, but she quickly regained the look of politeness she used to deal with people like Luthor.
"Yes, unfortunately. He is an associate of Green Arrow. His previous partner, if you will. He may be crude with words, but," I paused, trying to remember what Robin had told me about him, "He fights for the good of the public."
"Then it would not be much 'public good' if he was locked away. Wouldn't you agree?" That sly, sinister smile of his slipped back onto his face and my urge to punch him strengthened.
I narrowed my eyes at the bald man, trying to determine what trick he had in store. "No, it would not."
"Then perhaps having the police release him would be a good thing." Luthor's weirdly blue-green eyes sparkled with something I didn't recognize; malice, maybe? That would make the most sense. He trotted off towards where officers were detaining Roy before I could get another word in.
I gave Mom an uncertain look, but she was busy talking to the police and news reporters, in an effort to calm everyone down and get things back on track. It looked pretty tiring.
Begrudgingly and mostly to make sure he didn't do anything evil, I tagged behind Luthor but kept my distance.
"We have confirmation," Luthor started, "This one's Green Arrow's pal, Speedy."
"It's Red Arrow now," Roy interrupted, sounding a lot like a pouty child. Not much has changed since we last saw each other, then.
"He must be questioned," one officer interjected, but Luthor would have none of it.
"Lex Luthor vouches for him, captain. Release the sidekick," Luthor said calmly. The police captain regarded him with annoyance, then turned to take the handcuffs off of Red Arrow.
"Ex-sidekick," he corrected, "And I don't need any favors from you."
"Not a favor from me. A favor from her." To my surprise, Luthor stepped aside to reveal me to Red Arrow. The archer's eyes widened considerably, and even I arched my eyebrow at Luthor. That sneaky son of a banshee; loading Roy's anger on me, that's just low.
He took quick steps to stand right in front of me, and he was much, much taller, even with my heels. He loomed over me, but I tried to keep my ground.
"I told Aqualad I don't want any help from the junior Justice League," Red Arrow growled quietly.
"Well, lucky for you, I am not here on the Team's behalf. I have other responsibilities to attend to, and you are making that very difficult." I made sure to seem as threatening as possible, but I probably looked like a small, fluffy dog with more bark than bite.
Red Arrow's jaw clenched and I took a frightened step away from him. His jaw relaxed, eyes wide and probably something rude at the tip of his tongue.
"Just stay out of my way," I muttered, then whipped around and got out of there as fast as possible.
I wanted to yell at myself for being so scared of someone who wouldn't hurt me, but I couldn't. I don't know why, I don't remember, I just couldn't. It was so hard to put into words, and even if I managed to, who would listen?
A throbbing pain took its place between my eyes, a piercing headache that I knew would last a while. "Mother of Merling, pourquoi est-ce que je me donne la peine d'être gentil avec les gens?"
"Are you okay?" Mom asked, noticing me massaging my temples and muttering in French. Both her and Dad grew up in France, that's where we all met each other, so I couldn't really get away with cursing in that language with them around.
"Fine. Small headache." I waved off her motherly concern and nodded my head to the police. "What did they say?"
"They'll take care of damage control, but they're still highly suspicious of you and the archer. I could barely convince them to let you into the summit. Who is he, anyway? A hero friend?" Although her tone was remarkably calm, she shot a murderous glance at Red Arrow, as if she wanted to strangle him for causing me any semblance of discomfort.
"I wouldn't call him a friend," I scoffed, "More like a friend of Robin's. He works on his own mostly, but we don't get along well. He's hot-headed and too stubborn for his own good."
Mom raised her eyebrow, a doubtful look on her face. "Maybe because you guys sound exactly alike."
"Alike? We are nothing alike!" I gasped, "He is the most pig-headed, rude, insolent young man I have ever met! I- we- ugh!" I threw my hands in the air in an exasperated manner and my mouth gaped open and close with nothing to say.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Mom put her hand on my shoulder to soothe me. "You two don't like each other and are complete opposites."
The smile on her face told me she didn't quite believe that, but it was time to enter the peace summit anyways. She had work to do to get the countries back on friendly terms, and I mustn't hold her up.
"I'll see you later." Mom's hand lingered on my shoulder for a moment longer, then she disappeared into the summit building. I waited a beat, mostly to glare at the guard that tried to take me in for questioning, then followed her inside.
To put it simply, Mom had her work cut out for her.
North and South Rhelasia were arguing, accusing each other of hiring the assassin while Mom stood between them, trying to talk over their shouting.
Luthor and Red Arrow followed me inside to watch the proceedings and joined my side, much to my annoyance. Don't they have anywhere else to be?
"Why should either side trust you?" RA asked Luthor tartly.
"Because Lexcorp is a company founded on peaceful enterprise for all humanity," Luthor answered easily. I kind of had the feeling he memorized that, with how many times that dragon crap came of his mouth.
"'Peaceful enterprise', yeah right. You're supplying weapons to both sides, Luthor. Your profiting off this war between them." I folded my arms and glared at the business tycoon, and he had the nerve to look unabashed. He even smirked, like he knew something I didn't.
"War income is pocket change compared to the billions to be made investing in a peaceful, united Rhelasia. And isn't it better to have peace, even if that scoundrel Lex Luthor profits from it?"
Luthor had a point, but that didn't mean I liked it. Ugh, why did politics have to be so troublesome?
"That scoundrel may not survive to profit. Cheshire failed, but the League of Shadows won't stop until the contract is fulfilled," RA said darkly.
"Which does beg the question, who hired the League?" Luthor voiced thoughtfully.
"And were you really the target?" I mumbled, turning my gaze to Mom and the Rhelasia leaders. Was someone actually trying to kill her? It wouldn't be the first time, but it still left a pit of dread and despair in the bottom of my stomach.
"Allow me to hire you two to find out."
RA and I both nearly pulled our heads off to look at Luthor in shock. Work together? Us? Was he crazy?
"Your money has blood on it, and I'm not here to make a buck," RA grumbled. Okay, so he didn't seem that adverse to working together. At least, not as much as me.
"I don't need your money," I growled, shrugging off the hand Luthor had placed on my shoulder.
He laughed, like I was an adorable kitten. "So you'll provide your services, but for free? I could live with that, heroes. Now, excuse me, I have a hemisphere to save."
Oh, I wanted to strangle him.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, shall we attempt some smiles for the camera?" Luthor said easily as he trotted up to the two leaders and Mom.
"So, what do you say?" Red Arrow asked after we spent a few minutes watching Luthor diffuse tension.
"About what?" I glanced at him, but I don't think my dumb act worked that well.
"About working together. It'd be faster."
"And easier if we were on the same page." I sighed, rubbing my forehead. I seemed to be doing that a lot whenever RA decided to bother me. "Fine. But only for one night."
"Deal." RA stuck out his hand, and I shook it, albeit reluctantly.
"We should start with talking to Cheshire in jail," I suggested. RA nodded, then left so he could change into his uniform. I lingered a moment longer, mostly to make sure Mom would be fine on her own, then disappeared into a side room to get changed. All it took was a muttered transmutation spell, and my clothes slowly morphed in my uniform. That little spell was inspired by Miss Martian's own powers; I'd have to thank her for that later.
Since it really didn't take me that long to get changed, I stood outside and waited for Red Arrow, playing with the rose bushes that decorated the exterior of the building. The rose vines curled around my finger, a thin layer of frost covering them as soon as they made contact. It didn't kill them; it helped them grow, in fact. I'd always liked plants, so full of life and usefulness.
"You shouldn't be playing with thorns," the voice of RA warned from behind me.
"My life is filled with a lot more danger than a thorny bush." I abandoned the rose bush and turned to face him head on. He was wearing his usual red uniform now and his bow and quiver were hanging off his back.
He frowned at my words, looking ever so slightly concerned. What does he have to be worried about? My life was none of his business.
"Come on. Let's go," I said before he could get a word in edgewise. I took off without waiting for an answer, not wanting to get into any argument. Not yet, at least. It was sure to happen later, but for now, being unproblematic would be nice.
As soon as we got to the police station, the officers were quick to tell us to leave. I may or may not have used a fey mesmer to get us in, but it wouldn't leave any permanent damage. Hopefully.
"I'll talk to her," RA announced immediately, blocking the door to Cheshire's cell.
"Hey, I thought we were supposed to be doing this together?" I protested, honestly kind of hurt. We shook on it and everything!
"You're thirteen, she'll play mind games with you. Let me handle it."
I raised my eyebrow at him; did he seriously think I hadn't dealt with this stuff before? For one thing, I had been doing this longer than him, almost as long as Robin. For another, I was older than him by at least a century.
"I'm more worried about you, Mr. High and Mighty. She's a member of the League of Shadows, and she's just your age. She knows what's going on in that dense head of yours better than anyone."
"Just-" He started to shout, but sighed and lowered his tone, "I'll talk to her first, then you can come in if I need it."
I huffed, but I don't think I would be getting a better deal. Physically, RA was bigger and stronger than me. I was small, even for a thirteen year old. I could use my magic, yes, but I don't think Robin or Aqualad would appreciate it if I roughed up their friend.
"Fine." I grumpily leaned against the wall and made sure he knew that I was the least bit happy about this. He looked relieved, like he didn't want me to get hurt or something. What was his problem? He had no right to look concerned about me; he barely even knew me.
"Stay here," he warned one final time, then slipped into Cheshire's cell.
I don't know how long he was in there, but I did know that I was immensely bored. There was nothing to do but scroll through my phone, one of the few electronic devices I had, but going through your personal social media with cameras watching wasn't advisable. They could figure out your identity, which wasn't something I wanted to deal with right now.
With my unexpected free time, I decided to give my aunt a call. I hadn't talked to her in a while, and she might have some information on that clone for me. Last time we had talked, she seemed reluctant to tell me anything. Maybe I could weasel some info out of her this time.
I pulled out my M3, a magical compact mirror that could contact anyone who had one. It was basically a phone, but without games and fun stuff.
"Rapunzel," I called into the mirror, since it was the only way to dial someone. Soon, the familiar silver haired girl appeared in the mirror. She looked more tired today than ever; a side effect of her visions. She could see the future, but it often left her sleep deprived. Just like me, actually. Must be a family thing.
"Hello, Fera," my aunt greeted, her young face curling up into a smile. Despite being twenty-six years older than me, she only looked sixteen. I would say it's a family thing again, but my family's youth was actually coincidental. For the most part. It's a long and strange tale; I'll tell it later.
"I know why you've called."
I couldn't help but smile; it was nice to experience something so familiar after years without it. "Of course you do."
"Then you should be happy to know that Lizabeth has located the Vorpal sword. The book tells us she is safe. She should be returning to EAS soon. Her Tale took a remarkably long time, but all seems to have gone well," Rapunzel reassured me. I was glad for the news, but it wasn't what I wanted.
"You know that's not what I wanted to hear," I reprimanded her.
Rapunzel sighed, avoiding my eyes and gazing at something beyond the mirror's field of vision. "The pages are still blank. I don't know why, neither does the Director. This hasn't happened before."
I scrunched up my eyebrows in thought; how were the pages of my Tale still blank? I've had it for what? A month now? I've had plenty of adventures since then, one of them had to have been entertaining enough to make it in the book. This was just… weird, even for me.
"There's something else too. There's been a new… development with Lizabeth's Tale." Rapunzel looked solemn and I knew whatever news I was about to receive wasn't good. "The Tale has named the White Queen."
Please not me, please not me, please not me…
"It's you."
Of course.
"I'm the White Queen? But- what- why? Ag nav go reen, al ko wen." My words were coming out as a garbled mess, mostly because I was speaking in Silvan, but I'm pretty sure she got my point. Panicked with a hint of terrified.
Rapunzel shook her head. "You know as well as I that the Tale's decisions are not to be questioned. You were declared the White Queen, so you are the White Queen."
"But I don't want to be the White Queen."
My aunt fixated me with her silver eyes, her expression mirroring the same look on my face whenever Wally said something stupid. "You don't have much of a choice, Fera. Tales happen whether we want them too or not; life is the same way. There is no point in fighting it, they-"
"Ugh, you're turning this into a lesson," I groaned, "This is why I stopped talking to you."
"I am just ensuring you are prepared. You have a destiny to fulfill, and you cannot run from it."
"You know, I've always grown up hearing about this great 'destiny,' but so far, I'm not impressed. Nothings happened. My Tale is still blank. I'm not a hero; I can't even get along with people that are heroes. Boston, Salem, and probably all of New England hate me. I'm beginning to think it's a lie."
Okay, so I didn't mean to bite at my aunt like that, but it's been a tough week. Well, tough couple of months. I haven't seen my family in almost a year, and I couldn't even talk to them like they were my family. Mr. Nelson was dead and I was never going to see him or talk to him or train with him ever again. My childhood best friend tried to make me kill my current friends. Said current friends had no idea what I was going through; they had no idea the pain I bore every single day. And now Rapunzel was being as cryptic and unhelpful as usual. I think I get to be a little snappy.
"Fera, I-"
Before another word left Rapunzel's mouth, the entire building shook. I heard a violent boom coming from Cheshire's cell, and I knew Red Arrow desperately needed help.
"I have to go." I snapped the M3 shut, stuffed it in my pocket, and burst through the door to Cheshire's cell.
There was a big, gaping hole in the middle of it, and no assassin in sight. I knew I shouldn't have let him go in on his own. RA groaned as he tried to stand up, glaring at the whole in the wall, which I assume Cheshire escaped out of.
"'Stay here, I'll talk to her,'" I mocked the fallen hero in a deep voice as I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "'You're thirteen, she'll mess with your mind. You can come in if I need help."
"Will you shut up?" Roy growled, collecting his bow and arrow and racing out of the room. I grinned at how annoyed he was, then quickly followed. I should mock these heroes more often; it was loads of fun.
We took the stairs two at a time, trying to catch up to the fleeing villains. The blaring of the alarms was beginning to make my ears ring, but I trudged on. You'd think they'd come up with silent alarms or something; these ones didn't do any favors for my sensitive ears.
"Stupid alarms," I grumbled, covering my ears as we ran. Sure, covering made me prone to tripping, but I'd take almost falling to being deaf any day.
Once we got to the top of the building, Roy unceremoniously kicked open the rooftop door and hurried out to the open sky. I joined him just in time to see Cheshire and Sportsmaster jumping between the building rooftops to reach a helicopter a block away. Ugh, there's two of them now? Great.
RA and I shared a look, and we somehow knew what the other was thinking. He took out an arrow with a wire attached to the end, gave me the loose end, and shot it at a building a few blocks away. As it was flying through the air, I tightly tied it to one of the poles sticking out of the roof. Once the arrow hit its mark, as it always did, Roy jumped off the roof, using his bow as a sort of zipline thing to whiz down to the running Cheshire and Sportsmaster.
I glanced apprehensively at the zip line; fear of heights and all that. You'd think I'd be over it by now, with how many times Miss M takes us up in the Bioship for a mission or what not, but nope; that deeply engraved fear still lived, and it was really such a hassle to deal with.
"Come on!" Red Arrow shouted, and I knew I really didn't have much of a choice.
"Here goes," I muttered, then made an ice beam shaped like Roy's bow. Taking a deep breath, I jumped off the building and swallowed my scream. There was nothing beneath me for at least one hundred feet, and I did not like the feeling of dangling in mid air.
Red Arrow's idea was pretty good though, and we soon caught up with Cheshire and Sportsmaster. If anything, Cheshire just looked annoyed to see us. I could say the same thing about seeing her.
"I admire persistence, but…" Cheshire trailed off, allowing her shurikens to do the talking. And by talking I mean cutting the rope.
This time, I did scream as the wire went limp and I started to fall. I thought I was dead for sure, but before I was anywhere near to going Splat! on the pavement far below, Red Arrow caught me in his arms. He paused for about one millisecond to put me down, then ran after Cheshire again. It took a bit longer for me to catch my breath before following, but at least I did it instead of puking over the side of the building.
Cheshire and Sportsmaster jumped into their helicopter and it started to lift into the air. RA shot another arrow with a rope at the copter, and it stuck. I just managed to grab the end of the rope before it was far out of my reach, and now I really regretted it.
I clung to the rope with all my might, trying my hardest not to scream. RA and I swung wildly in the wind as we climbed higher and higher, and farther and farther away from the safe ground
And that's when my biggest nightmare came true. Cheshire took out one of her sais and cut the rope. We were free falling now, nothing to catch us and nothing to hold onto. My brain seemed to stop as the wind whipped around me, and I couldn't even come up with a spell to save us, let alone use my wings.
Red Arrow wasn't as paralized as myself, however, and he was able to shoot an arrow that created a nice, foamy landing for the both of us. I landed first, screaming, of course, and Red Arrow just avoided landing on top of me.
Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my aching side. Although the foam had saved our lives, it still left me pretty sore. Next to me, Red Arrow took out some sort of device with a blinking red dot on it.
"Did you put a tracking device on them?" I asked while I struggled to my feet. Oh, ça va faire mal pendant longtemps.
Much to my surprise, the red-headed archer shot me a glare I didn't think I deserved. I had been perfectly pleasant to him all evening, except for being overly sarcastic, but really, he needs to get over that.
"Yeah, and I'm pursuing them by myself," RA growled as he climbed to his feet and gathered his bow.
"By yourself? Do you remember the last time that happened? Cheshire escaped, and blew a hole in the wall in the process," I pointed out. I supposed now was as good a time as any to get into an argument. I had lasted almost three hours without one, so I think I deserved it.
"I would have had them just now if you hadn't slowed me down!"
"It's not my fault you like to flirt with the enemy! If you just let me interrogate Cheshire with you, none of this would have happened!"
"Just stay here and stop getting in my way! I'm going after them, by myself."
RA turned and jumped off the roof. I stood there for a second in surprise, and then looked over the edge to see if he was okay. He was perfectly fine, climbing down one of the fire escapes on the side of the building.
"You can't avoid this conversation by running away! I yelled after him, but I don't think he heard me. "Quel idiot capricieux."
He was going to get himself killed if he went by himself. There was bound to be more members of the League of Shadows awaiting him. This could be the end for him, and he was too blind to see it. Of course, it was none of my business whether he lived or not. Not at all.
I mean, sure Robin, Wally, and Kaldur would probably be devastated at his passing, much like I was devastated at the passing of Mr. Nelson. They would miss him every single day of their lives, and every thought and memory of him would be filled with pain and sorrow. They might never leave their rooms again, they might be consumed with the guilt of not being there when it happened, of not being able to save him. And might hate me because I was here and I could save him.
Ugh… I really don't have much of a choice then, do I?
For the second time that day, I found myself doing something I really didn't want to. I had followed Roy from a distance, until we arrived at some strange building. Maybe a monastery, I don't know. Anyway, Roy was crouched on the roof and was using binoculars to see what was going on beyond the wall. I crouched in the bushes, peering through them to keep an eye on Roy.
There was some sort of moat between me and the building, so it would take me longer if Roy needed help but I would have plenty of water to use. Pros outweigh the cons, I suppose.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't watch him as closely as I should have. I was busy organizing my pockets, which was something I had been putting off for weeks. Needless to say, I didn't notice Roy being attacked until a big explosion knocked him into the moat.
"Holy tryvanka."
I dove into the moat without a second thought and swam my way to Roy. His eyes widened underwater as he saw me in the murky water. Behind him, I could see another rod spiraling towards him, so I quickly grabbed the superhero and surrounded the both of us in a sphere of ice. The rod exploded and we were pushed back to the shore. We hit it so forcefully that my ice sphere shattered on impact, but at least it wasn't our bones.
Roy's face was starting to look a little red, so I grabbed him from underneath his armpits and dragged us to the surface. Gasping and sputtering, we crawled onto the dry ground and layed there for awhile.
"You idiot!" I hissed at him, reaching over so I could punch him in the shoulder. "I told you not to go by yourself!"
"I know, I know, you were right," Roy groaned, rubbing his shoulder ruefully. We layed in silence for a long time after that, trying to catch our breath and recover from almost being blown up. "We can't finish this by ourselves, you know."
"Ugh… you may be right." I sat up and pulled my wet hair away from my eyes. "Call Aqualad."
Roy nodded and put his hand to his ear to turn on his comm. "It's me. We may… possibly, be in over our heads.
Kaldur arrived shortly via Zeta Tube, and was surprised to see me and Red Arrow, working together. We retreated to Mom's private hotel room, which she had volunteered for our use while she was working with the Rhelasian leaders, so we could come up with a plan.
After debating for almost an hour, we came up with something that would get the least amount of people killed. Red Arrow left to inform Lex Luthor of what we had in mind, and Mom returned just as he left.
When she turned the lock and opened her hotel room door, I'm sure Mrs. Rivers wasn't expecting two superheroes to be watching the news on the couch.
"Hello," I said cheerily, putting a hand on Kaldur's arm as he reached to take out his water bearers. "Glad to see you're safe."
"And you're soaking wet," she noted, putting her keys on the hotel desk. She frowned disapprovingly at the puddle of water at my feet and I blushed sheepishly. Kind of forgot about that.
"Sorry." I waved my hand and the water picked itself up and jumped into the sink. Kaldur looked between Mom and I, trying to figure out who on Earth she was. "Oh, right, introductions! Mrs. Rivers, this is Aqualad, a friend of mine. Aqualad, this is Christina Rivers, my adopted mother."
"A pleasure to meet you." Kaldur looked shocked for at least one second, then jumped up and stuck out his hand to shake. Mom took it without hesitation, not even sparing a second glance at his webbed hands. She had seen stranger things, after all.
"It's nice to meet you, as well. I've heard a lot about you and the others on theTeam." Mom did this sly winking think that made me groan and sink into the coach even more; and she wondered why I never introduced any of my friends to her.
Kaldur smiled at my embarrassment. "Really? I never thought her to be someone who gossiped."
"You guys are the worst," I grumbled, hiding my red face in my hands.
"Love you too." Mom pulled her long, dirty blonde hair out of her bun and let it frame her face. I always told her she looked beautiful with her hair down, since it accentuated her sharp features and high cheekbones. She would always smile like she thought otherwise and change the subject, but she knew I was right; I'm always right.
"I assume you have a plan?" she asked, massaging her scalp. Her face sagged with exhaustion, but her voice was bright and hopeful. I knew there was a lot riding on this peace summit for her, and I was going to do my best to make sure it went smoothly, even if I hated Luthor.
"We do," Kaldur confirmed.
"All you need to do is get ready for the summit. We'll take care of the rest," I told Mom, getting off the couch and stretching. My body still felt awful after falling off that helicopter, and I still couldn't believe I had done it. Everyone knows that heights and I don't get along.
"If you say so." She shrugged, but it wasn't enough to hide the apprehensive look on her face. Really, people needed to put more faith in me.
"Don't worry." I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled up at her. "We got this."
Roy and I now stood behind Luthor and my mother. The two Rhelasian leaders sat on either side of them and were trying to yell at each other over the pair. Luthor and Mom were professionals, of course, so they quietly diffused the tension. Rhelasian guards surrounded me, and I have to say, it didn't make me too comfortable.
So far, our plan has been successful, but we haven't even gotten to the hard part yet.
"The unification is unthinkable!" one Rhelasia leader shouted. North Rhelasia, maybe? I honestly couldn't tell them apart.
"Our peoples no longer have anything in common!" the other yelled.
"Gentlemen, this is mere rhetoric," Luthor intervened, his calming voice a stark contrast to all the yelling going on.
"Despite your differences, both your peoples enjoy the art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony, a ritual practiced in your countries for hundreds of years." Mom waved her hand at the end of her sentence and a woman with a painted face came forward with a tea tray on a cart.
We already knew it was Cheshire undercover. The Shadows wouldn't miss an opportunity such as this. Unfortunately for them, neither would we.
Kaldur was hidden in the crowd of people taking pictures and turned around as soon as Cheshire got close.
"That is far enough… Cheshire."
The crowd gasped and all pictures came to a sudden halt. The once smiling assassin frowned, her plan foiled. In one last desperate attempt to fulfill her plan, Cheshire pushed her heavy cart forward with a grunt.
Aqualad and I responded quickly, taking the water from cups, pitchers, and even from the air to create a wall of water to protect everyone there. Roy shot an arrow at the cart as the last whole in the water wall filled in. As soon as the arrow made contact, the cart exploded.
I grunted with the exertion it took to keep the water wall up, but it looked like Aqualad was taking the brunt of it. Finally, the last of the explosion faded away and we were left with a giant whole in the wall on the other side of the room. Cheshire seemed to really like making those.
Aqualad's jacket and pants were in shreds, and the decorative pillars lining the wall had been knocked over and broken. The entire room was in chaos, but at least no one was hurt. Including Cheshire. She groaned as she got up, her red and blue dress somehow still in one piece.
"Stay here," I ordered my mom, and she obediently listened. At least she knew when to listen to me, unlike a few people I knew.
Roy and I jumped over the fallen pillars and landed next to Kaldur, who was now in his uniform. I summoned my Sorcerer Supreme staff and tried to look as fearsome as possible next to two older people much taller than me.
"It's over, Cheshire," RA announced.
"You would think so," she said with a smirk and I felt my shoulders slump a little. The night had only just begun. That fact rang true when a helicopter full of assassins and one Sportsmaster pulled up to the giant whole in the wall.
I waited for our opponents to approach us before acting. The Rhelasians, however, didn't have that kind of patience. Someone shouted something in a language I didn't understand, and dozens of guards surged forwards to meet the assassins.
"Aqualad, Sportsmaster. Red Arrow, Cheshire. I'll take care of the cronies."
A small smirk graced my lips as the first black-clad assassin tried to land a hit on me. I dodged his kidney punch, then grabbed his extended arm and froze him to the spot. I allowed a little breathing room, of course. I'm cold, not heartless.
Another assassin took out a blade and charged towards me. I blocked his attack with my staff, then kicked his knee as hard as I could; a little trick I got from Cheshire. The assassin collapsed in pain and I knocked him out with a quick kick.
I watched as more assassins tried to converge on the two Rhelasian leaders, Luthor, and Mom. I needed to act fast, but there was no way I could reach them in time.
"Shielte velk!" I pointed my staff at the group of people and a dome of light blue magic surrounded them. One assassin ran into it head first, while the other was able to stop in time and bang on the shield, but it would not budge. Now that their targets were no longer attainable, each and every masked assassin turned their eyes on me.
Well, tryvanka.
I sprinted away, hoping a moving target would be harder to hit than a stationary one. I weaved between Sportsmaster and Kaldur's standoff, but carefully went around Cheshire and Roy's. I did not want to get involved with that.
As I was passing Sportsmaster with five assassins on my tale, I heard him say something that sent a horrible chill down my spine.
"Let's just say I have an inside source. Very inside."
What? Was he saying we had a traitor among us? But there was no way. I had-
An assassin managed to land a punch to my gut, so I decided now wasn't the best time to dwell on his words. I had other problems to attend to.
Gathering up the most magic I could muster, I suddenly stopped in my tracks and turned to the assassins, my staff extended.
"Franko!"
A wave of blue washed over the few that were chasing me and they froze. Not literally, they just stopped moving, dropped their weapons, and fell to the floor. The spell only worked on half of them, though, since my magic wasn't that powerful. I still had several to deal with, and the odds were not in my favor.
"Aqualad, Arctica, let's end this!" Red Arrow shouted, shooting an arrow to the ceiling. It exploded and set the sprinklers off.
Aqualad took the water and formed a giant sea serpent with it, and it looked particularly impressive. Using his water bearers, the atlantean guided it around the room, knocking my assailants right and left and eventually going after Sportsmaster.
At the last minute, Cheshire landed in front of him, slipped on her mask, and dropped a bomb. And let me tell you, it was not just some run-of-the-mill hand grenade. The blast sent me flying backwards, thankfully into the arms of my friends. We hacked on the smoke as it filled the room, and I couldn't do anything as an assassin launched himself out of the smoke and went to attack the innocent people.
My shield had fallen when I had used my freezing spell, so there was no protection for them. I let out a cry, reaching out for my mom as I saw her life so close to its end.
But I needn't have worried. Luthor had it covered, surprisingly. With one word, "Mercy," Luthor's assistant turned out to actually be a… robot? Her hand turned into a gun and shot the assassin, so I assumed so. Either that or a cyborg, but I hadn't heard her talk at all, so I'm going for robot.
Anyway, the Rhelasian leaders and Mom were safe, so I was happy. For the most part.
Since his assistant took out the last guy, Luthor got the praise of the Rhelasian leaders, and that really made my blood boil. He didn't even do anything! I'm the one who put up the shield and froze assassins, not him!
"Gives new meaning to the arms race, doesn't she?" Luthor commented.
The Rhelasian leaders looked relieved and came forward to shake Luthor's hand with gratitude.
"That technology is most impressive!"
"We owe you our lives, sir."
"They owe him their lives?" Roy voiced, his hands tightly clenched around his bow.
"I'm going to sock that son of a-"
"Language," Kaldur reminded me and I groaned.
"Ugh, not you too!"
"Yes, quite a coup for Lex Luthor and Christina Rivers," Cat Grant was saying as the peace summit came to a close. We were in the front entrance again, far away from the disaster of a room from earlier that night. "Under their leadership, North and South Rhelasia are signing a treaty, which could eventually lead to reunification. Who knew a diplomat and a businessman could work so well together?"
I watched Mom a little longer, relishing the few moments I had left before I needed to leave. My heart longed to tackle her with a hug, but my head told me no. So I listened.
Kaldur put a hand on my shoulder, indicating that it was time to leave. I sighted, then followed him and Red Arrow out the door.
"I can't believe we just did a solid for Lex Luthor," Roy grumbled as we left.
"Not just for Luthor, for Mrs. River's as well," I corrected him, the pain in my voice hard to disguise.
"And for peace." Kaldur put his hand on my shoulder again and I leaned against his side, sighing heavily. "Beyond that, if Ra's and the League of Shadows wanted to sabotage the summit, the signing of the treaty renders their contract moot."
I nodded, the weight on my heart tying my tongue. I didn't like it there and I wish it would just leave already. I shouldn't get this attached to people anyway; it was only dangerous for everyone. But I couldn't just not care about people. It was against my nature as a human, but my nature was also telling me to push everyone away. This is why being a hybrid sucks. Your mind, heart, and body are in constant conflict and you couldn't do a single thing about it. It was just so, so… frustrating!
"It is over," Kaldur said, breaking me out of my reverie. I looked up at him so he could see my small smile, but it was a total fake.
"Is it?"
Kaldur and I whipped our heads to look at Roy. I knew what he was talking about, we both did, but that didn't make it any better.
"I heard what Sportsmaster said. Do you really think there's a mole on your team, feeding him intel?"
"I cannot rule out the possibility," Kaldur sighed, looking down in thought.
"So we can't tell anyone else. If we do, it may tip off the mole and cause more problems. The Team might turn against each other at the mention of a traitor among them. It must be kept secret," I concluded. Both looked at me in surprise, and I was kind of offended that they thought I wasn't capable of coming up with such a devious plan. "What? It is the only logical course of action."
"I," Kaldur stopped himself, his expression softening, "We will investigate quietly."
"So you're really not going to tell them?" Roy asked skeptically.
"Arctica is right. I do not want the unit unraveling over baseless suspicions. And if there is a mole, I do not wish to tip him or her off."
"Good luck with that." Roy saluted Kaldur and began to walk away, and I was actually not super happy about it. I got to know him a little more tonight, and I didn't hate him right now. Ew, I think being around the Team was doing something to me. Making me more… friendly. Gross.
"One moment, my friend." RA stopped at Kaldur's words, and even I was a little confused. "Tonight you could have called Green Arrow for help, or the Justice League. Instead, your first instinct was to call the Cave."
"You're right," the red head admitted, turning towards us a little. "The Team deserves… has my respect. I'm still getting used to this solo act stuff, but if you need me, I'll be there."
He extended his hand to Kaldur and they had a nice, manly handshake. To my surprise, Roy stuck out his hand to me next, and I gladly took it, without any hostility at all. My, wouldn't Mom be proud?
"Goodnight," I told him earnestly, and he nodded in acknowledgement. He disappeared after that, and I didn't even mind the superhero disappearing act this time.
Kaldur gave me a strange look, as if he couldn't believe what he had just watched.
"What? I can be civil when I want to be!" I huffed and folded my arms in indignation. Kaldur tried to hide a small grin, but ultimately failed, so he ruffled my hair in a big brother kind of way.
"I'm proud of you, Fera. You did well tonight."
Even though I wanted to, I couldn't hide the smile growing on my face. What was this weird feeling in my chest? It felt… nice, but also foreign. It must be a human thing; I knew everything there is to being a fey, but being human was a whole other ball park.
"Thank you, Kaldur." I glanced up at the sky, seeing how high in the sky the moon was. It looked close to midnight, so that meant it was near noon back in the states. I had been up for two days with no sleep, but it wasn't like it was abnormal.
"Wait, Arctica!"
Kaldur and I turned back towards the summit building and I was surprised to see Mom running out to us. It was actually kind of comical to see her running in heels when she barely wore them at all. She looked like she might fall any moment.
Before I got the chance to respond, Mom tackled me in a giant hug. I was shocked for about two seconds, then I sunk into her warm embrace. Her warm, motherly embrace.
"Be safe, ma fille," Mom mumbled into my hair, planting a kiss on the top of my head.
"I will, Mama, I promise."
(Rough) Translations
Chatte - Cat
Pourquoi est-ce que je me donne la peine d'être gentil avec les gens? - Why do I bother to be nice to people?
Wakada- ag ono al fientea! (Silvan) - What- that's not fair!
Ça va faire mal pendant longtemps (French) - That's going to hurt for a while.
Quel idiot capricieux (French) - What a tempremental idiot.
Shielte velk! (Silvan) - Shield them!
Franko! (Silvan) - Freeze!
Ma fille (French) - My daughter