Tempest: Chapter Seventy-Six: Watchful Eyes
AN: The impact of Wally's parents' deaths is going to last for a while, particularly with him, but there's more to learn about that whole situation ;)
Dr. Karl Helfern was very good at picking out things that weren't quite right with patients and ones that wouldn't be missed too much. Meeting Lex Luthor had spurred his imagination in more ways than he could've possibly thought. He had very much been interested in the idea of sponsoring experimentation into creating a serum that could make human bones harden upon impact to prevent breakage, and still was, though Helfern had to agree with his reasons for putting it on the backburner so to speak.
A genetics paper had come out recently that alleged that metahumans contained a 'metagene', a gene that separated them from their normal human counterparts. It was a collaboration between Dr. Serling Roquette and a young girl named Amara Isley-Allen who had done a school project on the subject before Roquette had agreed to look over it and found that it was, for the most part, scientifically sound.
Metahumans had always interested Luthor and he'd toyed with the idea of creating them after Project Everyman, a project designed to give non-metahumans metahuman powers, but obviously he should've started from the foundation by finding people with the potential to become metahumans and then trigger the 'metagene' himself.
It wasn't too hard to perform research to find out that in the hub of metahuman heroes and villains, Central City, the activation of their abilities came through times of stress or electric shock. And paying Weather Wizard an exorbitant amount of money and upgrading his Wand got Luthor what he needed; a lightning strike.
Tracking the newly created metahumans after that was easy as pie.
But this was interesting.
Helfern had been on-call when a girl had been brought in during the chaos surrounding the Belle Reve breakout, a girl who had numerous broken bones, bruises, crush injuries and penetrating wounds, but the strangest thing was…her broken bones had healed in hours.
Even stranger was that her name was Amara Isley-Allen, the very same one that had been a part of the genetics paper that had started it all. The pieces had begun to fall into place and that accelerated healing factor of hers…that had potential…
"—So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand—"
It was too cold for it to rain, but the wind was icy cold where Amara stood, an arm looped through Wally's, his other occupied by Artemis. The tears had frozen on his cheeks and Amy's had been rubbed raw by her continuous wiping them away. The other members of the Team were scattered behind them, only Artemis and Amara remained at the front. It was out of respect, Amara guessed. None of them, barring Dick had actually met Wally's parents, but she was sure that he appreciated the gesture.
It was a small funeral. Just family and friends and they were far from the only funeral occurring that day. Amara could see three other ones in the distance of the cemetery and the thought dragged her down.
It was true that Central City wasn't the only city to be hit during the breakout, but it was the one with the most casualties and disappearances. The dead and the missing still occupied a good portion of the Oracle Cave as Amara had so coined it, but the numbers were dwindling down on one and gaining on the other. It was mind-numbing work, but it was better than falling apart.
Everything was better than falling apart.
Jade had only stuck around long enough to check on her mother and sister -and it seemed that her relationship with Artemis wasn't as strained as it had been, so at least one positive thing had come about- before disappearing again. She'd been more put-together than Amara had been when she'd figured out everything with Roy, but Jade was ever-professional. Amara could only see hints of her fear and worry in the tightness of her jaw and around her eyes.
She'd spent the night in Amara's room, as was tradition, though Amara had been confused, seeing as her sister and mother lived in Gotham too, but she didn't question when Jade passed out on her chaise.
Amara shook her head briefly, returning her thoughts to the two closed coffins in front of her. Amara had never been to a funeral before and she didn't want to go to another one as she walked up with Wally to lay the flowers on them. The coffins were hard and cold against her fingers. Amara didn't mind the cold too much, not with how cold it had been up on Mount Elbrus, but this cold seemed to sink into her skin and her bones.
Wally's hand was tight in hers and Amara steeled herself. It was true that she hadn't been as close to Mary or Rudy -Rudy more so than Mary simply because she knew he'd used her as an example as to why Wally shouldn't be a hero and Amara despised being used- but she'd endure anything for Wally, he was worth all the pain in the world.
It was just as hard to watch Iris, trembling and sobbing as she laid her own flower on the coffins. Iris might've been adopted, but she and Rudy had always gotten along much better than with their sister Charlotte. Amara gritted her teeth at the thought of Charlotte.
Her estranged aunt hadn't shown up but the day was still young and there was the funeral reception at a local restaurant where everyone was convening afterwards, so, maybe if they were lucky, they'd get away with not actually having to deal with her, but when were the West-Allens ever quite so lucky?
Charlotte was drunk and honestly Iris wasn't surprised, if her estranged sister wasn't downing some kind of alcohol then Iris would've had to question her own sanity. Charlotte had found rum at sixteen and hadn't looked back. It was a miracle she was still alive and married with a daughter, but they were both as horrible as Charlotte was, so maybe it wasn't much of a miracle.
"You know, he liked me better," Charlotte slurred all the words together and Iris gritted her teeth together, glancing over to where Wally was sitting just picking at his food. She'd seen Amy hand him a flask and him take a swig of it. She didn't know where her daughter had gotten the flask or even what was in it and had been about to head over and say something -reprimand quietly, undoubtedly- but Pamela beat her to it. Pamela strode forward and held out a hand and Amy's face soured, but she handed it over.
Then she took a swig, arching an eyebrow at Amy before shaking her head and tucking it into her pocket.
Wally was still in a bit of a daze, but Iris was so grateful to Pamela and Harley; they'd really been amazing these past few days when all Iris had been doing was falling apart. It seemed like nothing had been happening at the right moment; they'd only just bought the new house and then Rudy and Mary…Iris had just shut down and they'd stepped up to help get everything practically situated while she and Wally tried to figure out how to live without Rudy and Mary.
Wally was lost and Iris was struggling.
Pamela bent down to press a kiss to the top of Wally's head, speaking quietly with him and Iris saw him give a small nod. She knew that initially Wally had been rather on edge with Amy's biological mother, but in the time since they'd met, they'd actually gotten on rather well in recent weeks; Iris was glad for it and for Wally's friends, who were all clustered into the same booth, doing their best to distract him.
Amy and Barry were holding it together the best, to be perfectly honest, but even Amy was more distracted and quieter, though she and Wally were talking again, so that was good.
"Charlotte," Iris said carefully, "you're drunk and you're making a scene."
"I'm making a scene!" Charlotte's wine sloshed in her glass and out onto the floor. "You're making a scene!" She gestured her wineglass at Iris and Iris felt the wine stain her blouse as viscerally as she felt the attention of everyone else in the restaurant.
"Ma'am?" a cautious waitress had spoken to Iris. "Would you like me to call the police?"
Iris opened her mouth, not really sure if she totally liked the idea of having her sister jailed for disorderly conduct and public intoxication, not that she didn't deserve it, but for being a reporter, Iris didn't want the spotlight on her, she didn't want it to come down to her.
Luckily for her, Barry and Harley decided to take the reins in a surprisingly cohesive action just as a CCPD police car rolled into the parking lot.
Harley, barely attempting to be subtle walked up with her own glass of wine that Iris had seen her paying an exorbitant amount of money for behind Charlotte and it now dawned on her that it might be for the cleanup on top of the wine itself, tripped suddenly, splashing it down the front of Charlotte's dress.
"Oh, so sorry," Harley simpered in a voice that was so unlike her that Iris couldn't help but choke.
"You complete—" Charlotte screeched, her cheeks flooding with color and raising her hand, but it was caught by Barry -not even bothering with superspeed, which he did occasionally flaunt in public subtly when he knew he could get away with it- just in time to be seen by the police officers entering the restaurant.
Charlotte made an even bigger scene about leaving and Barry apologized to the pair of women who looked all too resigned to her behavior, undoubtedly having seen it too many times, but they waved him off, dragging his sister-in-law away in cuffs.
"Iris, are you all right?" Harley asked carefully, cupping her elbow slightly, concern furrowing her brow.
Iris gave herself a shake, wiping at her face and looking down to the wet stain on her shirt. "Fine, fine, everything's fine."
Harley's expression was doubtful but she held out a plastic bag to Iris, much to her surprise, and inside it was a fresh shirt. "Amy," she realized.
"Amy," Harley agreed with a grin that was more like a grimace given the current situation, but Iris appreciate it nonetheless. "She just thought there might be an incident if your sister showed up."
Iris huffed, shaking her head in fond amusement.
"I'll keep an eye on the troops while you change," Harley offered and Iris squeezed her shoulder gratefully before excusing herself to the bathroom.
The stains were clear to see, but that was what she got for wearing a white blouse. The one Amy had tucked away was a dark crimson that thankfully still went with her black slacks. Iris sighed, running her shaking hands under the water for no reason in particular, cupping the water in order to splash it against her face before opening her eyes.
She was a mess and she knew it. Dark circles accompanying green eyes in a way that she'd been more accustomed to seeing on Amy -sadly, her daughter was still prone to nightmares- than on herself, red ringing her eyes and skin raw from how much she'd been crying.
"Pull it together," she whispered to herself, but she was allowed to completely breakdown, she was allowed to sob her heart out about her brother and her sister-in-law. She smacked her cheeks lightly before wiping her face with a towel and heading out to face the masses once more.
"Babe?"
"Hm?" Barry hummed, turning around to see her, breaking off his conversation with Ralph Dibny to squeeze her waist. She hadn't seen Elongated Man out, not since the death of his wife Sue on their wedding anniversary. The hero had practically removed himself from society, all but retiring from the Justice League. She felt bad about intruding.
"Have you seen Amy?" she asked, looking around for Amy's tell-tale head of dark hair -she hadn't used the red-gemmed illusion earring that turned her hair red since the Cave blew up- but the only dark heads she could see were Dick's, Zatanna's, Raquel's, and Conner's.
"She ducked out to answer a call," Barry frowned, "I think it was Ch-Roy's girlfriend calling."
Iris could read between the lines. Amy had been saying for years that Cheshire had a thing for Roy, of course she'd called it fight-flirting ("You know, what Batman and Catwoman do? …Don't let him know that Richard told me that."), and Amy had had the assassin's number for longer than Iris liked to think about. She still remembered the scandal of Jade kissing Storm Chaser on camera before knocking her out.
Jade's call Amy would always take, Iris knew that. Her number was listed on her phone under 'girlfriend' followed by a cat emoji and a knife emoji which Iris was half-sure was to aggravate her father. No one's names were right on her phone. Pamela was 'Leaves from the Vine' with an ivy emoji, Harley was 'Black Diamonds' followed by a gun and mallet emoji, and Iris was 'Lightning Rod' with a camera and a microphone, which was most likely a joke because Barry occasionally called Iris his lightning rod.
If Jade was calling, she hoped she had news about Roy; Amy had been about going out of her mind with worry.
Iris gave her husband a kiss to the cheek before wandering off to speak with some people who hadn't been able to make it to the funeral. Jay and Joan made sure to stop her and give her a hug and promise -what felt like the millionth time- that if she or her family ever needed anything, all they had to do was ask.
Iris would appreciate that later, she knew.
"It's okay to take some time off and focus on your family."
Amara rubbed a hand against her eyes, looking up at the dark sky as the snow flurried down. "I appreciate that, Jade, but I've got a million things to worry about, and Roy's at the top of that list…tell me you have news."
There was silence on the other end and the back of Amara's neck prickled. She twisted around, looking out into the darkness but couldn't see anything. A frown marred her lips.
"Sorry, Storm, no dice," Jade replied tiredly, "not for lack of trying. We're back to square one again."
"Great," Amara grumbled to herself, pressing a hand to her face. "I have a new appreciation for every time someone else tried to find me but couldn't." She knew Hal had tried particularly hard for Barry, since they were best friends, but even he had never been able to quite find her.
Jade grunted predictably on the other end. "I'll call you if I find anything new."
"Same," Amara sighed before cutting off the call, stuffing the phone into her pocket, still feeling a sensation to unlike being watched. Amara didn't like the feeling, she'd never liked the feeling.
The distance between herself and her family and friends was suddenly painfully clear to her. She'd stepped out of the restaurant to answer the phone and moved steadily away from it as she'd talked with Jade, and in the short chat she'd put in quite a bit of distance.
Amara didn't like being out at night when she wasn't wearing Storm Chaser's uniform or even Masquerade's outfit. As just Amara Isley-Allen she always felt exposed, like a nerve, vulnerable to outside stimuli. Amara had helped too many victims of assault, sexual or otherwise, on BlackNet to be anything less than wary when she was on her own. Amara liked being alone -she wasn't much of a people person- but even she would admit when she felt like she was cornered.
She heard it before she saw it, and moving on instinct, Amara ducked in time for the dart to lodge in the brick wall, and that was when she started running, pelting forward. The restaurant was getting closer and closer when something sharp collided with her back.
Amara pitched forward and the door swung open as Zatanna left it, looking around briefly before smiling when she saw Amara. It was a bright and blinding smile and Amara's heart leapt in her chest. "Hey! There you—"
Amara collided with her, her ears buzzing, clutching desperately at the back of her jacket.
"Hey, what's—" Zatanna concern froze in realization.
"Help—" Amara rasped with difficulty, the world blurring around her and she could barely hear the murmur of a spell before she passed out completely.
"—I don't think she'd like that."
"Yeah, well, if someone shot my kid up with a tranquilizer, I'd want to know."
"We don't even know—"
"Guys, I think she's coming around."
Amara's senses felt dull and sluggish, like she was underwater and weighed down; Amara knew the feeling quite well now. It gave her a sudden spike of anxiety, but the ease at which she breathed relaxed her heart.
A hand ran through her hair.
"Amy?"
Amara finally, tiredly, pried her eyes open, wincing sharply in the light. Everything came into focus slowly and Amara took in the couches around her, knowing them from the living room of Cave 2.0, and there were a lot of faces peering down at her in concern.
Wally looked terribly concerned.
"Wazzgoing on?" Amara slurred out.
A few glances were shared. "Amy…" Dick was the most cautious he'd sounded since they'd found out Poison Ivy was her mother. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I was…" Amara furrowed her brow in thought, her eyes fluttering closed. She was so tired…couldn't she just go back to sleep? Her head was against a warm lap and there was the hand running through her hair… "Talking to Jade," she forced herself to recall, frowning with difficulty, her brow pinched, "about…Roy."
There was a sharp intake of breath but Amara's eyes were closed, she couldn't tell who it was from.
"I felt like I was being watched…but I couldn't see anything and then…I got hit with something?"
Her sight was still fuzzy when she opened them, but she could make out Dick without too much effort. "It was a tranq dart, pretty strong, too. You fainted on Zatanna and she got you out of there and we told the adults we'd all spend the night here with Wally, you know, in solidarity."
Amara's eyes flicked towards Wally. "You okay?"
"Fine," he muttered, and Amara would've squeezed his hand if she could.
"Do you…want us to tell Flash about this?" Artemis asked carefully.
"No," Amara groaned loudly. "He'll just freak out like he always does."
"Maybe he had a reason to," Kaldur pointed out. "Amy—"
"Kaldur." Amara was so tired that she didn't even have the energy to argue about not telling her father, let alone the Justice League.
There was a stilted silence and then Kaldur heaved a sigh. "I suppose it might be better to revisit in the morning."
"Love ya, Kelpie," Amara yawned and there were a few snorts, followed by a few 'good night's as everyone moved off to their respective rooms, leaving Amara with the lap she was laying on. She'd have to give it a few minutes for her cheeks to flush in embarrassment.
"I need to go to the bathroom," she mumbled, blinking harshly and moving sluggishly, the room spinning a little and wordlessly, Zatanna helped her sit up carefully before standing.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Zatanna's concern made Amara's chest feel warm and tight.
"Well, right now I have to pee," Amara decided as they came to a stop in front of the bathroom. "After that? I'll let you know."
Zatanna snorted and Amara swayed dangerously, but somehow made it into the bathroom, clarity finally reaching her.
Her shoulder ached over where the dart had lodged, but it could've been worse.
Amara sat on the toilet after washing her hands, rubbing at her eyes, trying to force her brain to work. When was the last someone had tried to have her sedated and kidnapped? Mardon had tried that months ago and Amara had just vanished with Jade for two months…but who was to say he wouldn't have tried again?
She trembled, running a hand through her hair, the other pressing over her chest where the fractal scarring lay. Amara knew she would always fear Mardon, that was an emotional trauma that would never heal. It was better when he was in prison, that way, at least, Amara knew where he was. When he was out…Amara just wanted to find a tower and barricade herself inside. Well, maybe not a tower, maybe an underground bunker.
"One," Amara whispered shakily, "two…three..four…" She struggled to regulate her breathing.
"Amy? Are you doing okay?" Amara couldn't even answer, still struggling.
"Amy?" this time Zatanna's voice was close and she could feel her soft hands against her knees. "Tell me what you need."
What Amara needed? She almost choked. She needed Roy, Roy was the one that knew how to calm her, Roy was the one that knew how to get her to regulate her breathing.
But Roy was gone and Amara was drowning.
"You can't just depend on Roy to be able to help you," Dinah had warned, "that's going to end up detrimental for you both. Co-dependency isn't good for either of you."
Amara held up a finger. "Gimme -a sec," she rasped out.
She breathed in sharply and breathed out through her nose, trying to focus. It seemed like hours before she felt like she could breathe again.
"Are you okay now?"
Amara blinked a few times and wow were Zatanna's eyes pretty, like Dick-level pretty blue, and it was incredibly distracting.
"Better," she decided before yawning again. "Ready to pass out."
"In your room or…?"
"Oracle Cave," Amara sighed, "I've got work to do when I wake up."
"Amy…do you ever think you work too much?" Zatanna asked her carefully as she helped her out of the bathroom.
Amara opened her mouth to disagree when she tripped and Zatanna moved quick to keep her upright and it was so jolting that she had to blink several times, but the next thing she knew, she'd locked her arm around Zatanna's shoulders and Zatanna had kept her from falling by trapping her against the doorway with her hands at Amara's hips.
That was when Amara's brain fucking quit.
"This is, um, nice," she managed to squeak out, her face flooding with heat. "You're, wow, you're super pretty."
Zatanna turned pink. "I think that's just the drug talking, Amy."
"What?" Amara blinked. "No! You've been pretty the whole time…I've flirted with you!"
"You flirt with everyone," Zatanna pointed out, lips twitching, but she didn't move.
"I—" Amara paused. "Okay, I'll give you that one."
Zatanna's hand curved up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, leaving a trail of fire.
"You're so pretty it's distracting," Amara lamented. And then "Oh, shit, that was out loud."
Zatanna smiled. She and Dick been broken up for a week or two now…but would it be in poor form to kiss her? Amara hoped not.
"You know why Robin and I broke up?" Zatanna asked her, still smiling, her fingers curling over the edge of Amara's cheek.
"Something about needing to figure yourselves out?" Amara whispered, they were so close now. "He's thinking he's demi, too, at this point and you're…you're…" Amara was getting distracted again; she was blaming it on touch with her tactile fixation.
"I think the word is bisexual," Zatanna teased before tilting Amara's chin up and sealing her lips against hers.
Amara's legs gave out under her and she clung tightly to Zatanna's shoulders and Zatanna almost lost her grip but somehow managed to instead swing Amara's legs up so she was holding her bridal style.
Zatanna broke away first. "Oh, God, that was so inappropriate," she muttered, "we just buried your aunt and uncle, it's not—"
"In this line of work, its never the right time," Amara swallowed thickly, "but I think…slow might be good for a little while, you know?"
She tensed cautiously, strung tight even in the safety of Zatanna's arms.
Zatanna kissed her cheek. "Slow works for me."
Amara ducked her head, her cheek warm where she kissed her.
AN: AHHHHH, the Zamara kiss. I don't think its entirely unrealistic for 13-14 year olds to jump from one relationship to the next in a matter of weeks, there was a lot of that going around in my high school and Dick and Z only dated two months and kind of fell apart (crushing on the same girl was probably an issue) and Amy and Z have had a few close moments that Z crushing on her is kinda a must. They're 13-14 though, so probably mostly just kisses and cuddles from this point.
As always: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
