Tempest: Chapter Ninety-Four: Son of Savage

AN: Amy's going to protect Ollie, even if he can handle himself just fine. I'm so glad everyone's still loving this, because Amy's journey is far from over.

"You don't seem surprised."

Nabu's eyes flicked towards the archer. It was often difficult to gauge who was in charge among the Team when Aqualad wasn't around. Rarely was Storm Chaser in charge, he'd come to realize, though, not for lack of experience as he'd first thought. Her experience was level with Robin and Red Arrow, she had contingencies for if missions went sideways, feasibly she could be quite an effective leader.

Now Nabu realized that it was choice, to operate in the shadows rather than bark out commands.

There was no mistaking it now, though. The way she was standing with her bo-staff drilling a hole into the floor, eyes icy behind her black mask, clearly she was the one calling all the shots. Artemis was back up, if she ever needed it. Somehow Nabu doubted she would.

"Somehow Oracle, the certifiable expert in uncovering secrets, uncovering mine would be very hard to be surprised about," Nabu's tone was just a touch dry.

Storm Chaser, Oracle, whichever she was going by these days, narrowed her eyes slightly, but didn't preen at the compliment. She was starting to remind Nabu of Batman, and he thought she wouldn't appreciate that; the girl seemed to prefer comparisons to the Flash, but she was doing a spot on Batman impression, so who could blame Nabu?

Her friend was obviously the muscle, and Nabu could see them plainly in her exposed arms, one holding her bow in a would-be casual way.

"So you are Vandal Savage's son?" Storm Chaser had to be certain, it seemed.

"I am."

"How did you end up as Doctor Fate, then?"

Nabu shifted uncomfortably for the first time. "That's difficult to explain…and complicated. I'm not fully sure you'd grasp the complex equations—"

Storm Chaser and Artemis shared a look that Nabu took to mean "Ugh, men."

Some days, Nabu could understand the sentiment.

Storm Chaser cleared her throat. "So you know a great deal about him, being his son."

Nabu considered her. "More than some, less than others."

"Ooh, cryptic." Artemis rolled her eyes and Storm Chaser's mouth twitched faintly in amusement.

"I've come across a term that I've heard whispered in relation to Vandal Savage," Storm Chaser continued, barreling on, "I was hoping you might…put it into context for me."

Her grip was tight on that bo-staff of hers, Nabu could see how white her knuckles were. Whatever had brought her to him was incredibly important to her and he could guess what. It was rather well-known within the League how close Storm Chaser and Red Arrow were and Nabu had heard the stories, how far they'd gone to ascertain each other's safety. And he knew the events around the Cave's destruction and Red Arrow's subsequent disappearance, so he understood where she coming from; she just wanted her partner back.

"What term?" he asked cautiously.

"The Light."

Nabu blinked a few times. "Well, initially it was what the Mesopotamian people called him and my sister Ishtar—"

"I know that bit," Storm Chaser cut him off. "I mean currently, what does The Light mean right now?"

"It's a belief he has about…the evolution of mankind."

"Since when has Vandal Savage cared about evolution?" Artemis asked dubiously.

"Perhaps since he was the progenitor of the modern meta-human," Nabu said flatly, turning his attention to Storm Chaser. "I read your article on the 'Meta-gene' it was a fascinating read and you were right about meta-gene activation on many counts."

"Thanks," Storm Chaser said flatly.

"However, there was instance where you were wrong…meta-humans are not a modern response to stressors in an environment plagued by alien forces, though from the tone of that argument, I gather you doubted it very much as well."

Storm Chaser shrugged one shoulder. "It's a popular online theory," she said, faintly amused. "Do you want to get back to the Light?"

"My apologies," Nabu said smoothly and Artemis rolled her eyes obviously. "The Light is…I suppose you could say it is everything that opposes heroes and what they stand for."

He couldn't see it, but he could guess by the way Storm Chaser tilted her head that she was arching an eyebrow.

"Truth?" Artemis offered helpfully. "Honor? Justice?"

"All of that," Nabu agreed. "They wish to everyone…see the light, so to speak, see how the evolution of humankind is being hindered by the heroes that protect it from the needed factors to evolve."

"That's an…odd view to take," Storm Chaser said at long last, blinking a few times, bringing a hand up to cup her chin thoughtfully. It was a very…Flash look. Clearly daughter like father; Nabu figured she'd appreciate that comparison far better than how much she was like Batman.

"What d'you mean?" Artemis frowned at her friend.

"I mean heroes haven't been around all that long, not like they are now," Storm Chaser pointed out, "we've only been around a few hundred years."

"Think he's lying?"

Nabu might as well not've even been in the room.

"I think he definitely believes in that," Storm Chaser disagreed, not bothering to acknowledge Nabu's presence, either. "I just think there's more to it. He dropped the Cave on me, but I'm also the League's information center, cripple that and you effectively cripple the League -fortunately for me I've got more Oracles to pass information as needed- but he also kidnapped Steve Trevor because he was related to him and Wonder Woman was the one who explained how consuming the organs of his relatives to extend his life."

Artemis gagged.

"He's also believed to be the person who invented cannibalism," Nabu offered helpfully.

Artemis' disgust grew. "Thanks for that, I had no idea."

"The meteorite that gave him super-strength…" Storm Chaser turned back on Nabu. "It didn't give him immortality."

It wasn't really a question. "No."

"So, how'd he figure out how to get it?" Artemis asked.

"Eh." Storm Chaser made a gesture with her hand. "Maybe he Heracles'd the shit out of it and happened to figure it out."

"Huh?" Artemis, surprisingly, turned to Nabu for an explanation.

"Madness," he offered helpfully.

"Ah." She shot her friend a look. "Why don't you talk like a normal person?"

"Robin doesn't have an issue with how I talk."

"Yeah, that's because he's—"

Nabu cleared his throat loudly and both girls abruptly silenced.

"My father is not nearly as difficult as some believe to find," he told Storm Chaser, "search for corruption and he is not far behind, but I fear you might be out of luck with Roy Harper."

Her eyes narrowed behind her mask. "And why's that?"

"I have not sensed his presence on earth in months. Your brother is dead."

Artemis inhaled sharply, eyes flicking to Storm Chaser who moved forward slowly and carefully, the tip of her bo-staff pointed under his chin. "You're lying," she said wrathfully.

"I have no need to lie," he countered.

Storm Chaser's mouth curled into a sneer. "So, you say." But she was far less imposing without any of her usual lightning prowess. She gave him one last glare before sweeping out of the room and Artemis gave one of her own before following suit.

Children these days…

"Heard you went to see Doctor Fate." Dinah's arms were crossed as she got a look at her old protégé. Amara had forgone her outfit, but the bo-staff was still held in her grasp, resting comfortably against her shoulder, like she was wary of another attack. "How'd it go?"

"Cryptic answers, harsh statements," Amara muttered, eyes fixed on the tree line, like there was something beyond she was trying to find. "He says Roy's dead."

Dinah's heart stuttered briefly. It was true that she often had to play the devil's advocate, something that didn't quite endear herself to Ollie or Amara, but there was no doubt that she loved the boy who was in many ways her step-son (the irony of her only being six years older than him had been remarked on several time, usually by Roy gagging when he saw her locking lips with his father). "Do you believe that?"

"Hell, no," Amara said sourly. "Roy's tough as they come. No way is he dead." Maybe not as whole as he once had been…but Amara would take that over…gone.

"Then we'll keep looking," Dinah promised.

Amara stood suddenly, tightening her grip on the bo-staff, flicking it out to collide loudly against a pair of sais.

She couldn't see Jade's smirk behind that mask of hers. "Oh, good, your reflexes haven't dulled," she purred and Amara couldn't help but growl, twisting the bo-staff so that it split into the twin batons she was used to, aiming the next strike at Jade's head, but she just backflipped out of the way. "Come on, Storm," she goaded. "You've gotta do better than that…how're you supposed to last without those powers of yours?"

Anger rolled through Amara, but then the ground was crumbling beneath her feet and she yelped as she went tumbling down a snowy mountain path.

Jade stepped easily down the mountain path that Amara had once nearly fell off. "Scream for help, Storm, you've been needing it for months, but there's no one to help you this time, is there?"

Amara fell through the free air, screaming with nothing to brace her fall.

But when she opened her eyes, she was back in the Temple of Perun, in the room that had been her home for two weeks.

"There's more to not wanting any help, isn't there?" Jade's ghostly voice murmured in her ear as Amara rolled out of the bed to stumble into an unfamiliar hall. "Who've you disappointed?"

The wind picked up around her dragging her into a room at the end of the long hall, her knees colliding painfully with the ground.

"You know, Ama," came the heavy Russian accent, "your biggest problem is you think asking for help makes you weak, you think bottling everything up inside to maintain the peace is the right thing to do…but you're wrong."

There were a pair of feet before Amara, not even touching the ground, just hovering a few inches above the floor. Her control over air had always been so absolute.

Amara couldn't lift her head, but this time she didn't need to, Katya sinking down to her eye level, legs crossed and resting a cheek against a fist. Her hair was a slate grey afro, like Amara's was, partially shaved, an amused smile bright against dark lips.

"What? Nothing to say to your old mentor?" she quirked a light eyebrow.

"Katya," Amara whispered the name.

Katya reached a hand out to cup Amara's cheek. "You look tired, Ama. You should rest…carrying the weight of the world can be exhausting."

Her hand was cool against Amara's cheek, it felt so real and Amara could feel the tears welling up in her eyes long before she threw her arms around Katya, shaking terribly. Katya was a lot like Jade, tossing you into the deep end to see if you'd drown, only providing help when needed. She wasn't remotely maternal, but this Katya held her comfortably, hanging in the air like it was nothing.

"Katya," Amara whispered, "I need help."

"Then ask, lightning bug," Katya hummed, leaning her head against Amara's, and Amara huffed the faintest laugh into her shoulder at the endearment.

"But I…I went against your teachings," Amara whispered, "you told me to never fight angry and that's all I've done."

"Oh, Ama." Katya sighed heavily. "That is not proof of failure, that is proof of heart."

She leaned back, parting from Amara to swipe her tears away. "It is easy to give into anger, anger can make you strong, especially when you need that extra boost. But anger burns away, vengeance will not make you happy, it never has. When your powers are tied to your emotions, as yours are, it is harder to push through to go beyond controlling them to becoming them. The only reason we never got to that point was because your brother came for you."

Katya squeezed Amara's hands. "Call me, lightning bug, I will not turn you away."

Amara's eyes shot open and she breathed in deeply, pain radiating from her spine down her legs and she squeezed her eyes shut and started to count.

She made it to eighty-three before the pain dulled.

They were getting longer and Amara wasn't sure what to do, but the chances were pretty low that she was going to tell anyone she was having problems.

Her moms would just worry, her dad would blame himself, Wally would keep an annoyingly close eye on her, and Ariel would get a wrinkle between her eyebrows before offering her The Little Mermaid to help her feel better, and Dick…Dick would get that look in his eye, fond and exasperated and knowing her all too well. It was a good look on him, like when he told her she smelled like flowers and Amara's stomach twisted like it had with Zatanna.

Amara was sure it was nothing, probably indigestion.

But Dick had figured it out, he was always good at figuring her out, he'd felt her pain during their body-swap. She'd shut him down before, but that wouldn't work for long.

She sat up in bed, flicking her light on to get a look at herself in the mirror where the worn bandage was loose against her skin. Amara peeled off the bandage to get a look at her neck where she'd been bit.

A pair of marks remained, scarred against her skin and Amara's face soured at the sight of them. She touched them lightly and tried not to remember how it felt when those fangs had gone in and how it had felt to lose control and feeling in her entire body from the venom.

"Zatanna, stop! What've you done!"

Amara pressed a hand to her face, trying to get the echoes of Conner's voice out of her head. She sighed loudly, her shoulders sagging as she shut all the lights off, trying to get back to sleep.

But she still woke up screaming his name an hour later.

"Fuck, Barry, maybe I should've tried to come back sooner," Hal's voice came over Barry's phone which had, apparently, at some point been wired into Hal's communicator and his best friend had neglected to inform him about it.

"Aren't you really far into space dealing with Manhunters?" Barry asked dubiously.

Finding the Manhunter propaganda with Rudy's things had been enough for Hal, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner, the other Green Lanterns of Earth, to investigate the planet, finding close to one hundred functioning Manhanters integrating with the power systems across the world. They'd given their findings both to their bosses, the Guardians -ironically, the same guys that had invented the Manhunters in the first place- and Batman, despite Guy not technically being a part of the League.

Barry wasn't sure how they got out propaganda in the first place when they were so malfunctioning but Batman was under the impression that their black and white views were something that could benefit the League's enemies, especially Vandal Savage, who always enjoyed bringing discord wherever he went.

As it was, the Green Lantern Corps were working double time, wading through their sectors to make sure there weren't any Manhunters left. Iolande had been seriously injured protecting her partner, Soranik Natu, so the rest of the corps was taking it very seriously.

"I mean…yeah," Hal conceded, sighing loudly, "man, it's gonna take us months upon months to clear our sectors of this filth. Savage is really laying it on thick."

"Yeah," Barry said dryly, thinking of the recording in the old Cave of Savage breaking his little girl's arm and leg, "he does that."

"…right, sore subject, sorry…how bad is it, for the Team I mean?"

"The Team's been disbanded, temporarily," Barry wiped one of the plates he'd just washed carefully, his phone perched precariously on his shoulder as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure Wally wasn't listening in. "It was Aqualad's idea, but I don't think any of them were really against it…they all need some time to cope."

"I'll bet," Hal muttered on the other end, "but how bad was it for your girl?"

"Well…Conner's in suspended animation and it could be years before he comes out of it and he's like that because he tried to help out Amy, so you can imagine how she feels."

"Survivor's guilt," Hal understood that all too well. "It'll get better, with time…how is she about how she and Zatanna ended up?"

"She was going to break up with her, apparently things were worse off than she let on," Barry sighed. His daughter was the queen of keeping things to herself. "Zatanna thought part of the reason she liked Amy was her pheromones."

"Ooh, yikes." Barry could practically see his friend's wince. "I'm guessing she didn't handle it well."

"I'm pretty sure she immediately called Robin to ask him if he thought they were friends because of those pheromones," Barry couldn't help the grim snort rising up. "And Robin's about as fiery as her, so I can imagine the response."

They were friends, good friends, and Dick had always been a steadying hand through Amy's raging tempest, now more-so than before. Dick always seemed to understand her best outside of Roy and Wally, and Barry knew that there'd always been more to it than that. How he had no problem holding her hand, offering his first when she was having difficulties with touch, being the first to see the signs, how there was a smile reserved just for her, how they could talk each other's ears off and not get bored.

It reminded Barry of when he and Iris had just been roommates, him just out of his disastrous relationship with Leonard Snart and her still in her equally disastrous relationship with a painfully awful boyfriend.

Hal snorted as well. "Didn't she try to kill him a few months ago?"

Barry's mouth twitched. "Not actually."

"That's what they all say." Hal cleared his throat. "But they think Superboy's gonna make it?"

"That's the belief," Barry nodded even though Hal couldn't see it, "and this is Superman's pod that made it all the way from Krypton without him aging a day, so the chances of him aging while in suspended animation are pretty low."

"That's gotta suck…having a friend nearly die and then knowing that you're going to be years older before they open their eyes again…does it make you think of Ralph?"

Barry sighed. "Sometimes…but Conner's a bit more lucky than Ralph was. He actually is still alive." Ralph hadn't been quite so lucky.

"True." Hal sighed. "Helluva world our kids are inheriting, huh?"

Barry hummed in agreement, only starting in surprise when Iris took his phone from him, speaking into it. "Hal," she said, "are you trying to steal my husband again?"

Barry turned pink.

"We'd make a helluva poly, Iris!" Hal's voice could be clearly heard and Iris grinned.

"Damn straight," she said, eyes glittering as Barry's face burned bright red.

"You two enable each other too much!" He stole back his phone.

"Oh, come on, Bar—" Hal turned up the flirty tone of voice. "We all know that I'm your type."

"Hal, shut up!"

Hal laughed on the other end.

"Aren't you supposed to be at GA's?"

There were a pair of binoculars glued to Robin's eyes as he looked over the edge of the building towards the warehouses that lay beyond. He hadn't seen Amy coming, but he knew her footsteps as she landed lightly on his roof.

Even without her powers, she was still light on her feet; it was incredibly irksome.

"I have a hard time sleeping now," Storm Chaser said, propping herself up against the side of the edge of the roof, cupping her hands behind her head. "I'll be back in Gotham tomorrow, anyways."

Robin arched an eyebrow, which couldn't really be seen behind his mask, but it rippled just enough for Storm Chaser to catch the movement. "You don't really seem that happy about going back to your moms'."

Storm Chaser sighed. "I love them and Ariel…it's just…the room."

"You mean your room," Robin didn't phrase it like a question, because it really wasn't.

"I asked Dinah to tell my mom to put a sheet over my desk," Storm Chaser muttered quietly, "and a rug…you know."

Robin did know.

"Can you, um…" Storm Chaser bit her lip and twisted her fingers uncomfortably; she always did that when she was nervous. "Can you check it, for me?"

"Of course," Robin said easily and quickly, maybe too quickly, but she was nothing except relieved. "Everything's going to be okay, you know that right? Conner's going to get better."

"I know," Storm Chaser said, her eyes distant, "but we probably won't even be the same people when he comes out of his coma…I'm not even the same person I was three years ago."

She sounded really down about that fact.

Robin offered her his hand and she took it, gloved as they both were. "There's nothing wrong with a little change."

"There is if you don't like what it turns you into," Storm Chaser said heavily, still frowning. "I had a dream about killing Jade the other day."

Robin paused. "Well, she did nearly drown you…I think that's kinda fair."

Her mouth twitched. "You're sweet on me."

"Oh, you have no idea," Robin muttered under his breath.

"Hm?"

"I said 'yeah right'!" Robin said loudly, ineffectively hiding his blush.

By some miracle, Storm Chaser didn't notice. "I'm just so tired…tired of losing, tired of being weak, maybe even tired of being a hero."

Robin knew her well enough to know that it wasn't a new feeling. She hadn't even been on the active roster in months. At first he'd thought the whole not using her atmokinesis was to not put Wally off, since that was how his parents died, which was the sort of thing she would do, but there was more to it.

There'd always been more to Amy.

But Robin didn't really know what he could do to make her not feel like that. "I could show you some elaborate flips at that gym of yours," he offered helpfully and Storm Chaser smiled, just for him.

"See you tomorrow, pretty blues," she said, standing up and Robin stared for a moment.

"What happened to little bird?" he asked in surprised.

Storm Chaser gave a one-armed shrug. "It's kinda redundant to call someone little when they're slightly taller than you now. You've been upgraded."

Robin shook his head in exasperation, returning his attention to his stake out as she leapt over rooftops.

The next day there would be articles in Gotham about Storm Chaser and theorizing what her appearance could mean to Batman, notorious for not liking other heroes in his city.

Only one reporter got close enough to ask.

"Storm Chaser does good work," was all the Dark Knight would say about her.

"Does that mean you'd endorse her entrance into the Justice League?" the young reporter had probed, noticing how the Boy Wonder shot his partner a look.

"Storm Chaser's a bit young for the Justice League," Batman replied, faintly amused. "Only time will tell."

"She's not going to know what to say to that," Robin snorted when the reporter had gone.

Batman gave a conceding hum of agreement, which was probably part of the reason he had.

"Hey, Pamela!" Ariel called, peering out the window to see a boy on a motorcycle driving up with a familiar girl riding behind him. "Does Amy know anyone with a motorcycle?"

"That's probably her friend Dick Grayson," Pamela called back from the kitchen. "She said he was giving her a ride back."

Ariel supposed he was cute, not that she would know, when he pulled off his helmet, ruffling his dark hair, his sunglasses staying on by some miracle. He said something to Amy that Ariel couldn't hear, but it made her smile, handing her duffle bag over with a bit of exasperation as she hopped off the back.

Ariel didn't even wait for her to pull out her keys to open the door. She threw it open with a loud "Amy!" and threw her arms around her foster sister's middle.

"Oh," Amy said in surprise, reaching down to tighten her own around Ariel's back. "Missed me?"

Ariel nodded against her stomach.

"Hi, Dick," Pamela called from the kitchen, poking her head out and Dick gave a small wave, "thanks for picking up our girl."

"No problem," he said easily and Ariel scrutinized him, "I'm just gonna drop your stuff off in your room, okay?" He turned slightly towards Amy and she nodded in affirmation and he headed off towards where her dropdown ladder was.

"What kinda name is Dick?" Ariel asked with a frown once he'd gone.

Amy actually laughed. "You sound like me when he told me the first time."

By the time Dick returned, Ariel had parted from Amy and Dick assured her "Your room's clear, don't worry…there's a rug and a sheet where you wanted them to be."

Amy sighed slightly, her shoulders relaxing. "Thanks, Dick," she said, giving him a tight hug.

"No problem," he smiled when they separated. "Talk later?"

"Yeah, of course." Amy ran a hand through her hair. "Your dad needs to stop saying nice things about me to the press."

Dick actually laughed. "I'll let him know." He gave one last wave before he was out the door.

Pamela came out of the kitchen once his revving engine had disappeared into the distance. "Sweetheart." She took Amy's hands. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Amy admitted, "I'm not sleeping well."

"That's understandable." Pamela kissed her forehead. "But how about some food?"

She didn't look very hungry, Ariel thought, but her stomach gurgled loudly.

"Maybe a little," Amy agreed, allowing herself to be pulled into the kitchen and later when she fell asleep halfway through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, leaning her chin on Ariel's head, it would be the best sleep she'd had in a week.

AN: Savage actually got his immortality from the meteorite in the comics, I'm just tweaking things, as I do, to suit the narrative. Hal is a highlight and one day Amy will apologize to him for always being a brat and he'll cry when she calls him uncle, but it's gonna be a bit lol