Tempest: Chapter Seventy-Three: Settling

AN: Big Sis Amy is a mood, but it'll be a little while before you actually see her getting siblings :) And Dick questioning his own sexuality was a new idea but one I really like.


Not knowing was worse, Amara had long-since discovered. Not knowing where Roy was, what his condition was, if he was even alive…those things had always mattered to Amara, and she wasn't about to stop caring now, even though the memory of his hands around her throat made her choke in fear.

Amara shook it off, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, pulling her jacket up over her arms and pulling her boots onto her feet. She'd only just been discharged but she wasn't spending any time longer than she had to in a hospital, thank you very much.

Everything was still basically a hot mess, but it was less of a hot mess than it been yesterday, which Amara thought was an improvement.

Bruce had come to see her again and Amara had filled him in on her idea for the Cave. After the destruction of it the League had had to make some changes. The Cave had served as both a hangout and living area but also as an HQ, compromising it had also led to the homelessness of several members of the Team; separating the living space and the HQ seemed like the safest option.

Amara had gotten the feeling from the look in Bruce's eyes that he didn't want to know where or how she'd found an adequate place for the Team to live and hangout, but at least he didn't say anything about it.

Her phone remained silent even as she picked it up. Roy hadn't called, and she hadn't called him, but she knew that Ollie and Dinah had made several attempts.

She smoothed her fingers over the phone before steeling her nerves and hitting the speed dial for 'Arrowhead'.

She waited but she hadn't been expecting him to pick up, if it was her, she would've left her phone behind. Phones were the easiest thing to track, it was why she'd left hers behind she she'd high-tailed for Russia.

There was a sharp beep and Amara cleared her throat. "Hey, its me," her voice still came off a bit weak. She hoped that it wasn't obvious. Her throat had recovered and the swelling had abated but the memory of it weakened her voice. "I-I don't know if you're actually going to get this, or if you threw your phone away, which is a good idea. I know the battery's dead, though, because the first thing I'd do would be leave my phone behind or off or dead…" Amara sighed, not noticing how the door had opened behind her. "Look, Roy, I know everything's confusing and seriously fucked up, but…I love you, you're my partner, you're my brother, and that's not gonna change. What happened wasn't your fault, and I want you to know that, I want you to know that I don't blame you, I could never blame you. I just want you to come home, I want to know you're okay."

Amara ended the call, running her hands to knot in her hair, wincing her eyes shut.

"Brother still missing?"

She twisted around on the bed to see Sabine standing there, her face honest and understanding. "He'll turn up," Amara spoke decisively, turning back around to drop her feet to the ground and pull herself off the bed.

It had been a long while since she'd felt it, but the sharp pain that radiated from the base of her spine down her legs was more familiar to her than breathing air. Her legs gave out under her like they had once done so despite her stubbornly forcing them to perform at act outside their scope: walking. Roy had been there, then, to help her up. He'd been there listen to her sobs, squeezing her hand and hugging her when that didn't help.

Amara went down and Sabine rushed around the bed to kneel at Amara's side. "Hey, what happened? Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?"

"I'm fine." She could still feel a painful tingling from her spine down to her legs, but the sharpness had dulled into an ache. "No worse than after I was shot off Queen Industries." It was actually a great deal better than that; Amara could still walk and the pain was abating.

She honestly didn't have any idea where it had come from, the pain. Sure, her injuries from the Cave were a bit substantial, but her bones had knit back together, her wounds had been stitched, and her swelling had abated. It was true that occasionally Amara felt pain in her spine and at her legs, sometimes it was numbing, sometimes it was something deep and visceral, but she still classified it as mild in her book, and given how many times Amara had been injured, her opinion counted the best.

Sabine did a double take as Amara felt at her spine, but the pain was fading fast. "Sorry," she apologized, "I just keep forgetting that you're, you know, the most famous girl hero out there."

"For which part? Dealing with storms or being out as demisexual?"

Sabine considered her briefly. "Probably the second…who doesn't love heroes that aren't straight?"

Amara laughed, pushing herself up into a standing position. "I think G. Gordon Godfrey wouldn't agree with you."

"Eh, fuck him." Sabine was grinning widely at her, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Can you come talk? The girls and I've got some questions."

Amara had been expecting that, given everything that had been happening in the past few days. "Can we rain check for a few hours?" Amara asked instead. "Some of my friends are literally homeless right now and I'm trying to see if they're all right with this place I've got."

"Is that why Aqualad and Superboy have been crashing on Sofia's couches? I mean, apart from Aqualad tripping over himself when Nadira's around." Her eyes were glowing with mirth.

Amara thought it was adorable, but she was wary. Kaldur had already been rejected once and she knew that his love for Tula had run deep. She didn't want him to get hurt, but, at the same time, Nadira was also a good friend of hers.

"Does she like him?" Amara asked, straightening her jacket and tucking the new laptop Dick had gotten her -through Bruce, she had no doubt, but that fact didn't annoy her as much as it had before- into her bag and hoisting it up onto her shoulder.

"I think she does, I've never seen her so flustered by attention before." Sabine shrugged. "Think your guy is genuine?"

"Kaldur's a pretty graceful guy…him tripping over himself isn't something that happens a lot…unless Wally's kicking out a foot at superspeed," Amara had to concede, but then she pushed her way through the room's door. "I've gotta go, M'gann's waiting for me to grab a key at my place…I'll call you when I'm done and we can all talk, okay?"

"Uh, sure," was all Sabine managed to get out before Amara was dashing off, just barely making it to the elevator in time.

Amara didn't think the talk was going to go terribly, they kind of already knew the biggest thing, which was that Amara was Storm Chaser, there wasn't any getting around that, but what more they could want to know, Amara wasn't sure, and she got the feeling that she wasn't going to like it.


"Where are we?" Conner asked loudly, looking out the window.

The bioship currently looked like a very large red car, which was for the best.

Amara was settled in the passenger seat, her phone in her hands, half directing M'gann and half texting Jade, when her phone started to buzz.

"Georgia," she said before answering with an "Anything?"

"No dice, looks like our boy's completely in the wind," Jade said, her annoyed tone clear to hear, even if it was a bit distorted. Wally and Dick were having an argument -not a real one, obviously, they weren't really the type to not speak to each other over what they were complaining about- behind her and M'gann. Raquel was teasing Kaldur goodnaturedly with Zatanna and Artemis, and Conner was looking out the window without interest. "He learned too much from us…I'm not sure if I'm more proud or annoyed."

Amara's lips curved into a smirk. "Same." She knew that feeling all too well. She'd gotten very good at dropping into hiding without a moments notice. No one had been able to find her when she'd gone after Roy when she was ten. No one had been able to find her when she went into hiding after Mardon had tried to have her kidnapped. And the only reason Roy had even found her in Russia was because Jade had given him a tip-off. "Are you still out of the country?"

"Unfortunately, but there's no trail for him that I can find…so either he's still in the States, or he's doing an exceptionally good job hiding. Have you checked his apartment yet?"

"No, but its on my list," Amara admitted. "I'm seeing if the Team is okay with this place I've got being the new Cave."

There was a long silence on the other end, so long, in fact, that Amara almost thought that their not-so-great connection had finally severed. "You sure you're all right? What happened sounded…serious."

Amara's lips thinned into a line, trying not to remember the feeling of being crushed by debris, or Roy's hands tight around her throat, or the arrow shot through her (an unfortunately quite familiar feeling at this point), or the inhibitor collar snapped into place making it feel like her body was weaker, heavier…she'd rather not think about any of it, to be perfectly honest, but not dealing with trauma had been her problem when she was younger and it was still her problem now.

She had an appointment with Dinah when things settled down.

"It's nothing I can't handle," Amara glanced back to where Artemis was laughing with Wally. "Your sister's okay too, by the way."

"I wasn't worried," Jade countered.

"Yeah, you were, you liar." Amara rolled her eyes. "I'll check out the apartment and let you know what I find, all right?" She didn't bother waiting to hear Jade's answer before ending the call and shoving the phone back into her pocket briefly before remembering she was actually using it to direct M'gann.

"Amy? Are you doing okay?" M'gann's eyes were steadfast on the road -Amara doubted she'd mastered driving on winding roads on Earth as well as she did cruising in the sky-, curving the disguised bioship with more grace than probably Amara was capable on her motorcycle.

"I'm fine, that was just Roy's girlfriend." Amara was really starting to hate how everyone was walking on eggshells around her since the destruction of the Cave. She wasn't delicate. Her injuries had healed. (She thought briefly of the sudden spike of pain she'd felt in the hospital and shoved it down deep; it was an anomaly and she'd probably just hit something) "She can't find any trace of him outside the States, so either he's still here, or he's hiding exceptionally well…which is annoying, because usually I'm the only one that good."

Amara wasn't bitter about it, not at all.

"You'll find him," M'gann said with certainty as the sunlight bore down on them. Amara thought it was far too bright given her mood, but the only weather that seemed to obey her were storms, and barely at that, mostly when she was in the throes of a dark nightmare. "That's what you do, isn't it? Find people? Fix people's problems?"

As Oracle, yes, but as Amara Isley-Allen she was just as lost as she'd always been. "Hard to fix something like this."

The feel of Roy's hands around her throat terrified her, even now. She'd awoken early that morning to the very same choking sensation and she hated the fear that now accompanied thoughts of Roy. Roy who guarded her back, who had defended her countless times, who had sewn her up when she'd been utterly reckless, who had trusted her first before anyone else…Amara didn't know what to do now.

She thumbed through her phone trying to keep M'gann from glancing over and seeing how her hands were shaking. Amara hated feeling weak.

"I should apologize for something," M'gann said quietly beside Amara, so much so that Amara almost missed it.

"Apologize?" she asked in confusion. "What for?"

M'gann's face twisted regretfully. Trees dappled the bioship with shadows as it drove under them. "Back when we weren't sure what happened to you, I was ready to look into your mind."

Amara froze, her stunned surprise clear on her face, something cold settling in her stomach at the thought of someone, even someone she trusted, a friend, rummaging around in her head while she was unconscious.

"I always forget that things are different on Earth," M'gann admitted, her words quickening. "I mean, you're so at ease with the psychic link…Wally was very defensive—"

"I think, actually, he was ready to deck you," Conner said, leaning forward to put his head between their seats. His voice was quiet but he'd evidently been listening with his super-hearing.

Amara blinked in surprise, startled at the prospect. Sure, everyone knew Wally was sweet on her, he was her cousin and in both civilian and hero life she was seen as the easy target, small and unassuming. Wally would defend her to hell and back, even if he knew that she could handle herself. He and Roy were the same in that respect.

But Wally had been head over heels for M'gann at one point. The idea that he would be prepared to deck her in the face drew her short.

"Thank you for not," Amara said, still in a haze of confusion, "looking in my mind, I mean, I really don't like the idea of anyone being up in there when I can't tell."

M'gann looked like she wanted to question further, after all, Amara had to be open-minded in order for the psychic link to work and she had allowed M'gann to sift through her memories when they'd been suppressed in Bialya. But she also knew that Amara was an intensely private person who was still dealing with the repercussions of trauma, that was why she had all those sessions with Amara that Conner was forbidden from listening in on, so it also made sense.

"Take the next left," Amara said, drawing M'gann out of her thoughts.

"And how far away are we?" Conner piped up, his head still between theirs, not fazed in the slightest. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" He directed the words towards Amara, not M'gann, because although M'gann was driving, Amara was the one directing her.

"Of course," Amara said without a doubt.

"This place just seems…kinda remote."

"Rich people like privacy," Amara shrugged.

"Like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn's place?" Conner probed. He was one of the few people that had actually been to Amara's house, either of them, but everyone knew her address when she stayed with the Allens, Conner was just the one awkward enough to track her phone to come and talk with her when he had needed it.

Amara opened her mouth, shut it, and frowned. "Compared to this place, our house is pretty small."

Conner's eyebrows rose high. Speaking modestly, the house was very nice and spacious, but compared to the one Amara was taking them to, it paled in comparison in size.

"The driveway on your right, that's it."

M'gann blinked, stopping just short of driving in. "That is a very long driveway," she said finally.

"Yup," Amara popped the 'p', not concerned in the slightest, seeming not to notice that M'gann was giving her a look before driving up the long driveway to park in front of the house…if you could call it that.

"Holy shit, Amy!" Raquel was gaping out the window. "Just how much money do you have?"

"Like she'd ever tell!" Dick was snorting as everyone piled out of the disguised Bioship. "Nice, Amy!"

It was a very nice two-leveled mansion -because there was no way that it could be considered a house, that was too simple a term for it- crossing somewhere between Victorian and modern with a rustic feel to it. When you thought of mansions you didn't think of wood paneling and brick, you thought of marble and pillars, and this mansion was distinctly warmer.

"Are you gonna just stand around gawking?" Amara asked, having already made it to the door, twisting the key into place. "Or are you gonna come check out this place? Some of you are crashing on random people's couches, remember?"

There was a shout of laughter at that.

Amara pushed open the door, flicked on the lights and left them all to explore in awe.

It was even better inside. There was a large living room with couches and a TV mounted on the wall. There was a rather questionable moose head mounted on the wall, but that could be easily removed. M'gann had quite literally floated to kitchen and was squealing with glee. Kaldur had gone out the back door when he realized they were on the oceanfront and had dived off the dock into the water with a level of glee that only an Atlantean could showcase. Zatanna had apparently gone and claimed the biggest room for herself and Conner was trying to figure out how much furniture they'd have to move for a sparring area until Amara pointed out the basement. Raquel had long since shot off with a shout that she was going to investigate every inch of this place, holy shit, Amy! Artemis and Wally were just lounging in the living room, looking around with intrigue while Dick looked for the highest spot to give him the best view.

"What did you exactly have to do to get a place like this?" Artemis asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Amara tapped a finger to her lips and winked.

"Can we keep it?" M'gann asked loudly from the kitchen and Amara couldn't help but laugh.


Amara had the key to get into Roy's apartment. That was usually the kind of thing you'd give your romantic partner, not your fighting partner, but Jade tended to break in if she needed to get into Roy's place, which Amara could probably do too, if she'd had the inclination, but she was politer. Mostly.

Amara was a very visual person so she liked to have patterns on her keys. She'd had to give back the one to Bouquet Boutique when she quit and that one had been obvious with its pattern of roses. Roy's key had tiny bows patterned on it, which made it easy to figure out which door it went to, if you were looking really hard.

The door clicked open and she flicked the light on, bathing the apartment in light. She'd spent a lot of time in Roy's apartment, mostly checking up on him when he was utterly allergic to his phone ("What're you, my mom?" Roy scoffed. "If I was your mother you'd have a curfew."). It was normal for people in Star City to see Oliver Queen's adoptive son eating out with a small girl with green eyes, when asked he always said she was his sister, though everyone knew that Oliver only had one kid.

His apartment looked untouched, like he hadn't been back. Of course, it was just a little bit of a mess, one where Amara could tell he hadn't cared the last time he'd been there, probably flopping down onto the couch to pass out after patrol. You would never know that a superhero actually lived here, though, Roy was smart enough to leave no trace of mesh under armor or quivers full of red fletched arrows.

Roy had searched her room before when she'd gone missing, so she didn't feel bad about rooting through his apartment.

He hadn't taken much time to decorate it, she'd noticed, even with Jade coming over occasionally, but that just went to show how little he cared about that kind of thing.

"All right, let's see if you left anything behind, Arrowhead," Amara muttered to herself before entering Roy's room, flicking on the light. There was a picture at his bedside, which Amara didn't quite expect, he wasn't a really sentimental guy.

It was the pair of them, arm in arm. It was the day that he'd taken her to go shooting. They'd practiced with a crossbow and Roy's actual bow.

"Look," he'd said seriously, "your powers are great and you can obviously handle yourself—"

"Aw, babe, that's so sweet!" Amara had pressed a hand to her chest and blinked furiously like she was holding tears at bay.

"I will hit you," he promised in a growl. "All I'm saying is that one day you might need to know how to use a bow."

Amara had never appreciated just how much strength went into pulling back the drawstring until that day…but it had been a really fun day. Her and Roy shooting and making jokes and eating some very haphazardly made sandwiches. Amara was so used to trying to do everything that relaxing was still kind of a new concept for her, but that day had been the most relaxed she'd been in a while. Her smile was wide and beaming in the sunlight, one hand holding the crossbow up close to her head, the other arm wound around Roy's waist. He was smiling too, his arm hooked around her, the other hand gripping his bow.

It was nice back when things were simpler.

Had their life ever been simple, though? Amara doubted it. Maybe before Roy had disappeared investigating LexCorps, maybe before Mardon had found out where Amara lived or where she'd worked -briefly- or was filled with the desire to either kill her or do her serious harm.

Amara set the picture back down and checked the time.

The zeta-tubes were still malfunctioning, so until they were fixed, Amara was flying everywhere and if she left now, she'd make it back to Gotham in record time to meet the girls and attempt to explain everything about her life that wasn't explainable.

That definitely wasn't going to be pleasant, but Amara did owe it to them, they were the ones that had gotten her the hospital when her friends had to go in all separate directions to look after their respective cities. Amara felt bad about it, about not being able to help, but Dinah had shut her down.

"Listen, what you did, giving Batman the warning about Belle Reve is the reason everything isn't as bad as it could've been, and that was because of you," Dinah had said earnestly. "Ollie and I can handle the Star City front, you just concentrate on you."

But it was hard not to think of what could've been averted if she'd acted just a bit quicker.


There was a sharp knock at the door and Nadira looked through the hole before sliding it open to admit Amy.

"Let's talk," Amy said.


AN: Hm, I wonder what that spike of pain could mean? Cave 2.0 is very nice and the Team is going to enjoy the hell out of it. Amy's about to have a very awkward talk with her friends and Roy's still in the wind…don't worry though, most of the loose ends will be tied up before book 3 begins…whenever that happens :)

As always: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!