Tempest: Chapter Thirteen: Out of the Blue
"Mm…babe?"
"Yeah?" Oliver rolled over to face his girlfriend, who had just awoken from her slumber at the sound of a revving engine.
"I think your adoptive son is leaving the mansion," Dinah said dryly and Oliver sat up in bed, startled, tripping out of bed to stumble to the window.
"Roy!" he yelled out of it as he saw a familiar red motorbike make its way out of the courtyard and into the street. "Where're you going?!"
But the figure was too far away to have heard him anyways.
Oliver swore, shrugging on a robe as Dinah sat up in bed, yawning for good measure. "You're going to go after him?"
"No, I'm going to wait for him to come back and give him a lecture," Oliver grumbled to himself, rubbing at his face. "What am I going to do with that boy?"
Things had always been a bit tense between the two archers; sometimes Oliver was too easy on Roy, sometimes too hard, sometimes Roy found his adoptive father grating to his nerves, sometimes not. Dinah thought a bit of his anger at Oliver revolved around Amara's attack at Queen Industries. It probably didn't help that she had been shot off that building in particular, but if he and Oliver hadn't been away that weekend… Dinah supposed Roy blamed himself for his partner losing most of her ability to function below the waist.
"He's a teenager, Ollie," she said, pulling herself out of his bed to come to his side, carding her hand through his hair. "Give him some space, you're practically strangling the boy."
Oliver's jaw tensed, his memory bringing the image of Amara in that hospital bed, too pale and too still…what if that had been Roy?
Dinah leaned up to press a kiss at the edge of his jaw, close to his ear, and his skin tingled from the contact. "I'll be in the kitchen, brewing some coffee."
She cast him a significant look, looking him up and down before giving him a smirk and murmuring in his ear. "Come down when you've actually got some pants on."
Oliver looked down, flushing faintly before he searched the room in the dark for said boxers while his girlfriend laughed –already dressed in the sleepwear she left at his place–, making her way to the door and disappearing through it before he could offer any kind of reply (though he doubted it would be a good one, Dinah had a habit of tongue-tying him).
And Oliver could only grumble in complaint, following her swiftly once he'd done as requested.
Amara realized too late that her earring had fallen out in the zeta-tube and her grey hair was clear as day…but that still didn't explain how he'd managed to find her so fast.
The arrow flew through the air to lodge in the bench directly beside her, flashing briefly before it exploded and Amara only had enough time to throw her arms protectively over her head before it detonated, the explosion sending her flying.
It was as jolting as being hit with a car, with enough force to leave bruises on her skin as well as a few burns. And Amara could feel the burns as she groaned, trying to pull herself upright where she'd landed in the middle of the street.
But her efforts were stalled by a sharp fist to her face, sending her reeling before she was yanked upright.
The hand on her neck held her above the ground and Amara couldn't help but glower from where she was, her hands tugging at the grip on her neck that wasn't yet tight enough to strangle the breath from her lungs.
"You," Merlyn seethed, "nearly got me killed!"
Amara's head was spinning enough from his explosion arrow and the punch without his fingers squeezing tightly around her throat –experimenting, it seemed, on whether or not she could handle the loss of oxygen–
"I could say the same thing," she snarled in return, her nails digging into his skin as she glared venomously at him. "But you've forgotten one important thing."
"What's that?"
Her lips curled into a smirk. "Did you really think I needed my legs to use my powers?" Amara's eyes glowed white with electricity that made her hair frizz and with that smirk on her lips, Merlyn wasn't quite sure he'd seen someone so terrifying, and that was including the girl's mother.
"Think again."
Electricity sparked off her skin, making it seem like she was surrounded by a shield of electric charge, sparking faintly before it rippled off her, shooting towards him in a sudden burst of blinding, arching lightning.
He screamed as it burned through him, shooting him back, far away from Amara, who was released so suddenly from his grip that she fell to the ground with a small yelp, her legs –per the usual– failing to hold her up.
Amara had the absolute worst king of luck, that was to be certain.
Thankfully, the purring of an approaching engine distracted her and she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the headlights as the motorbike pulled up next to her, the figure astride it pulling their helmet off to reveal startled blue eyes.
"What the hell, Storm Warning?" he demanded, looking from her to the fallen form of Merlyn that was still unmoving.
"This," Amara said, pointing off in the direction of Merlyn, stabbing her finger aggressively towards the archer-assassin, "is not my fault."
"Is he even alive?" From the sound of his voice, he wasn't quite sure if he cared if Merlyn was alive or dead, and Amara was with him in that sentiment.
"Dunno." Amara didn't look all too concerned either, but Roy still shut off his motorbike, making his way over to Merlyn's side. "Is he alive?"
"Yeah," Roy sighed, leaning back with a wince. "He's going to have a hell of a scar…were you trying to kill him?"
"Well," Amara wheedled as he made his way back towards her, "I wasn't not trying to kill him."
Roy knelt beside her, grimacing as he took in her injuries, lightly touching the bruising on her cheek. "Well," he said finally, "he should have known better than to try to take on our Storm Chaser."
A flush of pleasure spread across her cheeks at how he said 'our' reminding Amara how she had found a home amongst the Star City heroes. Then she grimaced. "I'm not Storm Chaser anymore, you know."
"Your retirement is only temporary," Roy reminded her, heaving her body off the ground with an exaggerated groan that made Amara tug sharply at his ear, unimpressed. "Besides, Storm Chaser is more impressive than Oracle."
"Thanks, Arrowhead," Amara said dryly, "now I've got buckets of self-confidence."
"It's what I'm here for."
Amara could only sigh as he helped situate her on the back of the bike, hooking her unresponsive legs against the side.
"Thanks for coming to get me," she added, "I know it's a little late—"
Roy snorted, handing her a helmet. "You do know that Central City is three hours ahead of Star City, right? I mean, I know you've been out of the game for a bit, but I can't imagine that you've forgotten that already, it's not that hard to remember…ow!" He rubbed at his arm where she had punched him while Amara gave him a glare that disappeared under his helmet.
"Don't be a jerk, Arrowhead," she muttered before quickly adding, "your girlfriend says hi, by the way."
Roy gaped at her. "Cheshire was here?"
"I knew it!" Amara pointed at him eagerly. "You do have a thing for her!"
And the red-head couldn't manage to stop the splash of crimson across his cheeks, embarrassment and denial flooding his face as he knelt down to grab up his helmet.
"I do not! And she is not my girlfriend!" he hissed.
"But you like her," Amara sang, "and I think she's got a thing for you too! Talk about a pair of star-crossed lov—"
Roy shoved the helmet on her head in an attempt to silence her, forgetting, of course, that the helmets had microphones installed within them.
"Well, I think it's cute," she said shortly.
"You would," Roy snorted, revving the engine. "Go find a boy to make your googly eyes at."
"Maybe I would if I'd decided if I liked girls or boys."
Roy arched an eyebrow. He was no stranger to same-sex relationships; there was a lot of diversity in sexual orientation both for heroes and for villains. Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn had something going on that Dinah swore was romantic but Ollie was set on platonic, and he was sure that at least two of the Green Lanterns he'd met before were gay. And Wonder Woman was from a society of women where same-sex relationships and marriages were the norm.
"I'll worry about it later," Amara decided.
"You'll worry about it later?" Roy repeated dubiously.
"I'm twelve, Roy, you really think I care all that much about that kind of stuff when there are villains running around?"
Only Amara would procrastinate what sexuality she identified with…though Roy wasn't too surprised. She made a habit of ignoring things until she couldn't ignore them anymore (for example, refusing to admit she needed a wheelchair until she had to haul herself around by her arms).
"But there is this one where it's you have to have an emotional attachment to a person before you become a thing," Amara pondered behind him, "what was that called? Demo –Demisexual! That was it! I think that's what I might be!"
"Isn't that normal?" Roy asked, arching an eyebrow that she couldn't see.
"Depends on the person, I think," Amara hummed thoughtfully, the motorbike's wheels quickening over the road, "but I always felt that it wasn't very particular on gender…don't worry about it, Roy, one day the demisexuals will rule the world."
"Something to look forward to," Roy said with a snort.
Oliver was in 'disappointed father mode' when he heard the sound the garage shutting behind his adoptive son's motorcycle.
"You could have just called your dad to come pick you up," he heard Roy's voice faintly through the door, but he couldn't make out the grumbled response before the door opened and he opened his mouth to berate him, only to pause and stare.
Nestled in his arms was Amara looking more than a little bruised up with an arm wrapped securely around her partner's neck as she yawned widely.
Then the pair became uncomfortably aware that Oliver and Dinah were staring at them and Amara gave a discreet cough.
"Weren't you two asleep?" Roy asked, staring at them blankly.
"A motorcycle makes a lot of noise, Roy," Dinah mentioned lightly and Roy flushed slightly in embarrassment. "I want an explanation, and I'm not too particular who gives it to me." But her eyes fixed on Amara, who couldn't help but shrink into the safety of Roy's arms.
In a short amount of time, Amara was situated in one of the high chairs in the kitchen with a reheated bowl of Oliver's famous chili in front of her ("I don't even know why we keep so much of it," Roy complained, the steam making his eyes water, "you and Ollie are the only ones that even like this stuff!" "What about Batman?" "Batman is an outlier and shouldn't be counted." Amara snorted.) while Oliver dabbed at her burns and cuts, earning him a wince every so often.
"I was on my way home from the Cave –yes, I know it was late it probably would have been better just to stay there, but consider this, my bed is way more comfortable–"
Oliver snorted, Roy rolled his eyes, and Dinah smiled.
"So, I was rolling down the sidewalk when Cheshire shows up out of nowhere, demanding my assistance for my life, nice assassin, so I find Sportsmaster for her before she makes me use the zeta-tube to get from Central City to Star City, drops me on the nearest bench and disappears."
Oliver was faintly amused by the animated way in which she had spoken; it had been awhile since any of them had seen her anything more than snarky.
"I'm guessing Cheshire wasn't the result of your injuries," Dinah said with just a hint of dryness.
"Nah, Cheshire was too in a hurry to beat me up," Amara gave a careless gave of her hand. "Merlyn showed up, pissed off at me."
"Merlyn?" Oliver choked on the name, goggling at the ex-sidekick. "How did he find you so fast?"
It was startling, Amara couldn't have been in Star City very long…how could Merlyn have managed to track her down so fast? Not even Oliver or Dinah had known she was in Star City!
"Dunno," Amara shrugged with a frown, "but I wasn't waiting around for Roy very long when he showed up." Then she gave a devilish grin as she sniggered. "Guess who's in worse shape?"
"Justice, Amy, not revenge," Dinah reminded her protégé with a sigh, covering her eyes with her hand. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with Amara's chaos.
"Well, he's still alive, isn't he?" Amara said, swallowing the last of her chili, arching an eyebrow, "I could've blown him up with a lightning bolt, but he'll live…with a healthy fear of tempestuous girls who can shoot lightning bolts out of their eyes!" She waggled her fingers for emphasis, her eyes blown wide.
"You cannot shoot lightning bolts out of your eyes," Roy snorted.
"I so can!"
"Cannot!"
"Can too!"
Really, it was like they were two squabbling siblings and Oliver wasn't quite sure how his life had devolved to this.
"Can it, you two!"
They both paused, looking in Oliver's direction and he stifled a snort at the two of them, Amara with a finger hooked in Roy's mouth, dragging his cheek to the side, while he was pinching at her face; none of it looked very pleasant.
Roy seemed faintly surprised that Oliver had raised his voice, as he was more mellow than anything else.
"Roy, take Amy upstairs to her room," Dinah suggested, yawning so wide that everyone in the room automatically threw their hands over their ears. There had been a time that she'd once yawned so wide that she'd released a sharp sonic cry in doing so, and it wasn't an experience that Amara would like to repeat.
"I need a wheelchair," Amara complained as Roy hefted her without difficulty towards the room that she stayed in when her patrols proved too tiresome to zeta her way back to Central City. "And I can float up the damn stairs on my own!" she called over her shoulder.
"Your daughter has a habit of getting into trouble."
There was a sigh from the other end and Oliver could just imagine Barry pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to fight off the headache his child was giving him. "She was an adrenaline junkie before the accident, and nothing's changed, so I can't really say I'm surprised…she is all right, though, isn't she?"
"I think it's all superficial," Oliver said, padding lightly through the dimly light hallway, careful to keep his voice down –voices tended to carry in his home. "A couple of burns and cuts and bruises…I'm sure most of it will be healed in the morning."
"How did Merlyn find her so fast?" Barry asked aggrieved.
"Does she have a tracer on her?" Oliver knew that her goggles that went with her Storm Chaser uniform had a tracer after the debacle when she'd gone AWOL for two weeks searching for Roy. "Something he could have used to find her location?"
"No," Barry sighed. "I didn't really think there was a need given…her current condition. I didn't think it would be likely that she'd need a tracer if she wasn't really going anywhere…though now that I think about it, it's probably a good idea."
"I wonder how Amy'll feel about that," Oliver chuckled.
"Well, she'd never been a fan of having a tracer in the first place," Barry grumbled, "she compared it to be tagged like a dog."
"There are certain similarities," Oliver couldn't deny. "But what do you think led Merlyn to her?"
"It's possible that when he attacked her, his arrows left some kind of residual way to track her down inside her body…that's something we'd never be able to pick up on…" Barry considered in a thoughtful manner. "I'm going to take her to S.T.A.R. Labs first thing and have them run some tests."
Oliver couldn't help but grimace, glancing towards Amara's room. She'd always been rather vocal about hating being dragged to the laboratory to have tests done on her, one time she'd been so irritated about it that she stayed in Star City with Oliver, Dinah, and Roy for a weekend until Barry promised to limit the number of times they ran tests on her, so instead of every month, she only went twice a year.
Oliver wasn't quite sure what he was hoping to find with all those tests he was having them do, but he wasn't quite sure if it was in his place to ask.
"Thanks, Ollie, for keeping an eye on my girl," Barry added and Oliver could hear the relief in his voice.
"It's no problem, I mean, she's practically my niece—"
Barry chuckled. "She's practically Roy's sister."
"That too," Oliver agreed, clearing his throat. "So, I'll expect you to show up for her around lunchtime?"
"Yeah," Barry said, expelling a sharp breath, "something like that. See you in a few hours, Ollie, and, by the way, did SCPD manage to collar Merlyn?"
"No, he was long gone by the time the police showed up," Oliver said with a small groan. Merlyn had always been a bit more than a thorn in his side, just as much as Oliver had been a thorn in Merlyn's. "We'll get him next time," he promised.
Barry said nothing to that, and a moment later the connection cut out and Oliver was left standing there with a crease between his eyebrows. He didn't even want to think what would happen if Merlyn ever crossed paths with the Flash.
Oliver wasn't entirely sure that his old friend had the same kind of restraint as his daughter.
"I hate S.T.A.R. Labs."
"No, you don't, you just hate having to come here for all those tests," Barry said without looking up from his phone, messaging his wife –who had to work into the weekend– who hadn't had a chance to see Amara after the little incident in Star City and was constantly texting him for updates.
Amara looked rather well, considering how she'd been the last time she'd had a run in with Merlyn. Her burns were nonexistent though a residual soreness remained, and she still had a blooming bruise on her cheek that was much smaller than it had been earlier.
The atmokinetic glowered at her father, who she knew was well aware of her aggravation and still chose to ignore it.
Amara released a sharp breath, relaxing in the tilted patient seat, staring blankly at the ceiling. Normally, she'd be pitching more of a fit –she'd already had her checkup for the first six months of the year!– but even she knew how dangerous it was for an assassin to know how to find her anywhere in the world.
Merlyn could have been able to find out where she lived, where Mount Justice was…in fact, he probably already knew that…so why had he waited so long to attack her? It had been more than a month since he'd partially paralyzed her, surely he'd had more than enough opportunity to strike, and Amara certainly had been more vulnerable when she'd just come out of the hospital.
"Must be location-specific," Amara muttered to herself, frowning in thought.
"What was that, Amy?"
Amara tilted her head up to look at her father, who's attention was now focused on her, his brow furrowed.
"The tracer must be location-specific," she said sitting up and grabbing her phone and hitting the speed dial.
"I didn't think that was possible," Barry uttered, leaning back in surprise.
"Well, the only ones capable of making it work for Wayne Tech," she told him shortly before the call was answered, "Hey, Richard, I need to talk to your dad."
There was a long-suffering sigh heard on the other end. "How many times do I have to say it, Amy? Everybody calls me 'Dick'!"
"I can't imagine why you'd want to be called a penis," Amara retorted and Barry suffered from an acute coughing fit.
There was silence on the other end and Amara imagined that Robin had smacked a hand to his face, over his eyes, as he shook his head in exasperation.
"One day you're going to call me it, I swear," he grumbled under his breath.
"That's likely," Amara said with a smirk, "now, can I talk to your dad?"
There was a pause and Amara was sure he was looking to see where he was. "He's in a meeting right now, is it important?"
"Would you consider Merlyn having the ability to track me down important?" Amara asked him wryly. "I'm looking for information on a piece of tech that Wayne Tech is currently developing."
Barry gave her a look. "Are you really interrogating Robin?" he hissed in a low voice towards her and Amara held a finger to her lips, her eyes glittering.
"I can probably help with that, I know about as much about Wayne Tech as Bruce," Amara imagined that Robin was rolling his eyes. "What piece of tech in particular are you looking for?"
"A location-specific subcutaneous micro-tracker," Amara said, pursing her lips.
There was silence on the other end and Amara wasn't sure if he was looking up the information or if he was gaping at his phone.
"Okay, first of all, how did you even know we were developing those?" he demanded, "they've only been in development for the past three months!"
"Hi," Amara said in a sickeningly sweet tone that had Barry snorting, "I'm not sure we've met, I'm Oracle, hacker extraordinaire."
"I would reach through this phone and smack you if I could."
"My talents are whelming, I'm sure, but can you just tell me if you've lost any?" Amara asked, her eyes drifting to the door that she was sure the doctor would walk through sooner or later to say that there wasn't anything in the X-rays.
"There was a small shipment sent to S.T.A.R. Labs for testing," Robin said after a few moments, "but the shipment never arrived…its designed to remain in the system for six months, Amy."
"I'm not wandering around with transmitters inside me for six months," Amara squawked in indignation. "Wayne Tech has a way to cause the transmitters to cease functioning, right?"
"Yes, but we're still working out the kinks…most likely you'll get a fever from taking it—"
"I'll take a fever over an assassin being able to track me," Amara promised.
"Gimme a few hours and I'll drop by your place with it."
Amara turned off the phone. "Good news," she said brightly, "there's a way to counteract the transmitters on the micro-trackers inside me, and I didn't even need a doctor to tell me that."
Barry could only give her a look of fond exasperation.
