Chapter 2: The Meet

Nine and a half years ago….

"All right Kori, I need you to give me one more push."

Panting heavily, sweating more than she had ever done in her life, she braced herself. Reaffirming the grip on the reinforced bars at the side of the bed, steadying her breath once more, in and out, in and out. One, two, three…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"That's good Kori! Now keep going! A little more, a little more!"

One last gasp punctuated the scream and it was replaced by the cries of a newborn baby. Kori collapsed, breathing like she had been fighting off suffocation; she could barely see, everything was a blur.

"What…what is…"

"Congratulations, it's a girl."

Wiping away the sweat and film that built up in her eyes, she was finally able to see. Being cleaned and swaddled by the nurses was a baby girl, pale-skinned and a few strands of dark, black hair sticking to her head.

The nurses handled her the bundle and she held it close to her chest, the cries replaced with soft whimpering as the familiar sound of her mother's heartbeat helped soothe her. Overwhelmed by everything, Koriand'r Grayson began to cry.

"Our daughter," she wept from happiness, sorrow, and pain. A nonsensical combination of all three. She looked up at her husband who was massaging her shoulders, not trying to hide his own tears either. "Our daughter."

"She's beautiful," he leaned down and kissed his wife's cheek. "She's perfect."

"Identity Confirmed. Welcome, Nightwing."

Nightwing stepped off the teleportation platform and entered the magnificent atrium of the Justice League's satellite, the Watchtower. He paused to look out through the observation dome, staring down at Earth and up at the vast heavens surrounding them.

He wasn't sure how long he was lost in thought but the computer voice of the Zeta platform jolted him back to reality.

"Identity Confirmed. Welcome, Flash."

Stepping off from the platform was Dick Grayson's comrade-in-arms and oldest friend, Wally West, the Flash.

"Hey Rob," Flash greeted him using his old nickname.

"Hey KF," Nightwing returned the nickname as the two pulled each other in for a bro hug. "So how are things?"

"Same old, same old," Flash sighed. "Iris and Jai are driving me and Linda up the wall."

"You know, they say that children's behavior is indicative of parents' behavior."

Flash rolled his eyes, "Oh give me a break. Not everyone's lucky enough to get a preconscious, little angel like Mar'i or Lian."

"Yep. Who would've thought that the best days with the Terror Twins would've been during their terrible twos?"

Flash groaned and rubbed his forehead as if dealing with a sudden headache. Then Barbara Gordon wheeled in to see the two friends.

"Hey guys, we're about ready to start if you want to join us. What's with the face Wally? You discussing the Terror Twins again?"

The red-clad hero groaned once more. "I really wish I didn't share that nickname with you guys."

Making their way through the hallways, the conversation shifted topics.

"Barely a crowd today," Barbara said, wheeling alongside the other two. "Bruce called this meeting so quick we're going to have to have another meeting just to catch everyone else up."

Nightwing nodded, "I was pretty surprised to get the message this morning, I was half expecting him to have a new lead he pulled out from some rat hole."

"What's more surprising is that he's bringing this to the League," Flash chimed in. "I know how much you Bats like to keep things like this close to the chest. If he's calling for outside help…well, things have to be serious."

This time it was Barbara's turn to rub her forehead, her face full of worry.

"You have no idea how right you are."

The meeting room for the League was simple yet still impressive. Cyborg always chalked that up to the majestic view out into space. What started as a simple round table in a closed-off room for the original seven members had turned into a miniature amphitheater as membership expanded. Standing at the front podium, he felt as if he was about ready to start giving a lecture to college students when he saw his three old comrades enter. Rapping his metallic knuckles on the podium, the assembled heroes quieted their chatter and directed their attention to him.

"Good morning, as the duly-elected head of the Justice League, I hereby call this meeting to order." He looked and scanned the room, less than half of the seats were filled. He directed his gaze over to two young men seated near the front. "I'd like to welcome Green Arrow and Aqualad of the Titans to the Watchtower, we look forward to your assistance. And in the meantime, thank you all for being able to come on such short notice. You know, in the history of the League, I don't think we've ever had a minutes taker. If anyone feels like taking notes, we can get the absentees up to speed. That way we don't have to do this whole thing again."

There were a few chuckles from the assembly; he turned his attention to Batman who was standing off to the side, "I'll now turn the chair over to Batman who has requested this meeting, Batman?"

Batman moved to the podium and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Thank you. I would like to bring your attention to Doctor Jonathon Crane, a former teacher at Gotham University and psychologist at Arkham Asylum. Until his use of fear-inducing hallucinogenic gasses in his experiments got him kicked out. Following that he took on the identity of the supervillain, Scarecrow."

Batman pressed a few buttons at the podium and a holographic screen appeared overhead, displaying a gangly, disgruntled-looking scientist, and next to him, an image of his macabre persona. Looking equal parts strawman and corpse.

"Scarecrow has used these 'fear gasses' to commit robberies, acts of terrorism and conduct his twisted form of research for decades. His methods and goals were gruesome but on the whole, predictable," Batman continued. "But all of that changed ten years ago during the Blackest Night. When Scarecrow was inducted into the Sinestro Corps."

Pressing another button, the two profile images disappeared and were replaced with another picture of Scarecrow. Dressed in a black and yellow bodysuit and long coat he cut a far more intimidating figure, especially with his mask as the eyes now glowed in an eerie yellow light.

"With his new ring, he has become exponentially more dangerous and unfortunately, far more elusive."

Nightwing and Barbara had moved to Batman's side where the former chimed in.

"He's only shown up here and there on occasion and rarely for very long and even with his new power, he's rarely engaged in any fight. Aside from a few encounters with the Green Lanterns," he nodded towards John Stewart who sat next to another Lantern who kept his whole face hidden underneath a mask; Nightwing still hadn't learned his name. "After the Blackest Night, he's basically been a ghost. That was until…" Nightwing sighed and Batman cued up another set of photos on the display.

"Until the King Theater Massacre three months ago."

The photos painted a horrific scene, all around the stage actors and audience members were strewn about. Most of them lying in pools of their own blood from self-laceration, the rigor mortis trapping what remained of their faces in looks of sheer terror. Several Leaguers inhaled sharply at the sight of it, Barbara heard Doctor Light whisper something that sounded like a prayer in her native Japanese.

"Witnesses say they heard screams coming from inside and saw gas leaking from the theater," Barbara said, removing her glasses to rub at her eyes. "By the time help had arrived, it was, it was too late."

"Make no mistake," Batman said, his tone grim. "This is without a doubt the most deadly hallucinogenic gas Crane has ever developed. And it seems he has no intention of keeping it to himself."

Barbara tapped a few buttons on a personal device and a new display cued up, one of an internet forum.

"Two weeks ago an article on the massacre popped up on the Dark Web titled 'Who Wants to Buy a Nightmare?' It wasn't long before interest started to pour in," Barbara explained. "And last night a new message popped up with the announcement of a sale, one week from today. Unfortunately, we ran into a problem, a location for the sale was not included. We believe that the initial message was to gauge interest and then contact potential buyers through more direct means."

"That's the first problem," Nightwing spoke up. "The second major problem is the gas itself." A new display popped up as well as smaller ones from the arms of the chairs the members sat at. Showing molecule chains and a list of chemicals and compounds.

"The gas is adaptive in a way we've never seen before, bonding to the victim's DNA even as cellular degeneration begins. Combine that with how frighteningly quick necrosis set in, well, synthesizing an antidote from the victims was impossible. Unless we can either figure out the missing ingredients or get a sample of the gas, if there's another attack, we're sunk."

"The raid conducted last night gave us an idea of what we're looking for," Batman said. "But most of what's listed we've dealt with before with Scarecrow's previous fear gasses. This is why we've hypothesized that there may be extraterrestrial components in this new…'Nightmare Gas.' So, I would like to propose from the League an extended investigation, to either find Scarecrow and his gas before it hits the black market or discover the missing ingredients so at the very least we can be prepared before the next attack. If we were to-"

The Dark Knight paused as his attention was drawn to Aqualad who was raising his hand to try and get the senior heroes' attention.

"Um, Aqualad," Cyborg said to the young Titan. "If there's something you'd like to say just stand up and say it."

"Please excuse me," Aqualad apologized. "I am unaware of the protocol. But with your permission, I'd like to bring up one compound on this list, 27-Br-DMT."

"Yes, the psychedelic found only in the Hillenburg Sea Sponge," Batman replied. "That one has been puzzling due to the species being critically endangered. He may have acquired samples from aquariums or marine institutes-"

"But that's just it," Aqualad interrupted. "The species may not be as endangered as it once was."

He paused when he noticed that everyone's attention was now squarely on him. Taking a moment to gather his courage again, he continued.

"Eight months ago, Aquaman and I were conducting a rescue mission in the Caribbean Sea; we noticed there were huge patches of endangered coral and sea sponges, including the Hillenburg Sponge."

Batman considered this, "Who else learned about this?"

"Aquaman thought it would be important to share this information with various marine institutions, he even had several Atlantean ecologists meet with their representatives."

"Like who?"

"Let me see," Aqualad furrowed his brow, trying to recall. "There were representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Miami…"

"And where did this rescue op occur?"

"It was about eight leagues south of Puerto Rico."

"About thirty miles," Cyborg said, doing the math in only a second. "Okay, I think I've got a plan going. John, I want any available Lanterns to do a regular patrol around the planet, if this creep is bringing in anything from outer space we need to know the moment it gets here."

"Yellow rings have a distinct energy signature," John said getting up. "We can program the Watchtower's sensors to pick it up the moment it approaches Earth."

"Good, I'll help you with that later. Batman, Atom, Doctor Light, Mr. Terrific," he addressed the four heroes. "You've guys got your fingers on the pulse of the science community, find out if anyone's showing more interest than usual on this sponge patch. And in the meantime, we pool our resources and see if we can figure out what goes into this gas. Now, we'll need to talk to Aquaman and a more exact point of this location and- yes Aqualad?"

Aqualad had raised this hand once more. "With the League's permission, I would like to lead a small contingency of Titans and scout out the area. If that's all right with everyone." He turned his attention to Green Arrow, looking at the senior Titan for permission.

The young man just nodded with a smile. "I wouldn't be much use out there. Arrows and the underwater don't mix."

"All in favor of having Aqualad lead a reconnaissance mission to the Caribbean?" Cyborg asked the assembled Leaguers. All hands rose. "Well, it looks like we're not going to get any opposition, so congratulations."

Aqualad smiled half-heartedly, obviously not prepared for the sudden amount of support.

"All right then, the rest of you, keep your ears open. See if we can find out any more details about this sale and where it's going down. 'Cuz God knows we don't want to know what will happen if it goes through. Now, is there any other new business? No? In that case, meeting adjourned."

As the Leaguers piled out of the room, Cyborg took a moment to think to himself. His train of thought was interrupted by Nightwing approaching him.

"Nice work Vic," he said in a congratulatory tone. "Could hardly tell you've only had this position for a couple of months."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Cyborg replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You sure know how to prop up a guy's self-esteem."

"No, no. I'm serious," Nightwing replied quickly. "You sounded like a real leader. Like, you were born for this position."

Cyborg considered this, taking a moment to look out at the stars before speaking.

"It still feels weird. I can still hardly believe I got the position much less that I accepted the nomination in the first place. I'm still just…trying to come to terms with the fact that if I make the wrong decision it's not just my life on the line."

Nightwing patted his old friend on his metallic shoulder, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown. But I know you're strong enough for this sort of thing. And I know you're dedicated enough to weather the tedium. Sorry, I wasn't taking any notes so you'll have to go through all this again with the absentees."

Cyborg sighed but smiled.

Outside the meeting room, Flash caught up to Aqualad who had just finished speaking with Green Arrow. The young hero had a striking look to him. Black eel tattoos wound down his arms, his hair was bright blonde and dreadlocked, and his eyes were an electric blue. Even if you didn't notice the webbing in-between his fingers there was an exoticness that could only be described as Atlantean

"So," the Flash said as nonchalantly as he could. "Think you're up to leading a mission like this?"

"I believe so," the young man responded. "In any case, my aquatic nature would be ideal should we encounter any submersive threats."

"Well, that's pretty practical, ambitious too."

"I beg your pardon?" Aqualad looked at the speedster with confusion.

"Oh don't tell me you haven't thought about it," Flash gestured over towards Green Arrow. "Connor said he wants to spend his time looking after Star City. And the Tornado Twins have pretty much settled in as Central City's protectors. So the Titans are going to need a new leader soon and if you're throwing your hat in the ring, well this is certainly-"

"No! It's not like that!" The Atlantean interjected with concern. "Please understand, I have no intention of trying to usurp any potential leadership. I merely suggest that I could-"

The older hero cut him off with a laugh, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "Take it easy, Aqualad. I was just joking with you."

"Right, a joke," Aqualad offered a weak smile as he tried to settle his nerves again. "Actually you can call me Kaldur'ahm or Kaldur if you like."

"Kaldur'ahm huh? I thought I read that your name was Jackson Hy-"

"I prefer Kaldur'ahm," Aqualad interrupted, his voice serious.

"Okay, whatever you like," Flash put his hands up. "Just be safe out there and best of luck to you, Kaldur."

Leaving the Titan behind, he caught up with Barbara and Nightwing who were in the midst of a conversation.

"Oh hey. Dick was just telling me about last night's little adventure. It seems lil' Miss Mar'i has already taken her first steps towards being a superhero," Barbara said, giving Nightwing a playful nudge.

"Which reminds me," Nightwing chimed in. "Mar'i wants to know when we can have another get-together. I think she wants a sleepover even bigger than the last one."

"If that's the case, we're going to have to do it at the manor. No way am I having that level of insanity at the house, again." Flash sighed at the thought of that many rambunctious kids in his house. "But I'll reach out to Roy; I imagine Lian will love a get-together too."

Nightwing had stopped and was staring out a window into space. When it became clear that wasn't paying attention, Flash spoke up.

"So," Flash said, hoping to snap his friend back to reality. "How did Miss Nightstar do on her first night? I understand she saw a bit of action."

Huh? Oh, yeah," Nightwing turned his attention back to his friends. "Needs a bit of work following orders but she's definitely got the enthusiasm. It feels like…like she was born for this."

Nightwing sighed and stared wistfully out the window again, his gaze fixed upon the stars. "Times like this, it reminds me of her mother."

Barbara and Flash looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing. He always gets like this at night or whenever he sees the stars.

"Rob," Flash said as gently as he could. "Maybe you should stop focusing on-"

"Do you think," Nightwing barely spoke above a whisper. "Do you think she'll come back?"

Neither one of them said anything for a minute. Conversations like this were never easy.

"Listen, we're your oldest friends and we want nothing but the best for you," Flash placed a comforting hand on Nightwing's shoulder. "But it's been nearly three years now and you need to stop spending every night agonizing over her."

"You need to start thinking about what's best for Mar'i. And right now that means putting Starfire and everything about her aside." Barbara gently held Nightwing's hand, her face showing nothing but concern. "I'm sorry the two of you couldn't work out your differences, I really am. But she had her own path to follow and you have yours. And even if she's still alive, her path doesn't involve you or Mar'i."

"She's still alive," Nightwing's voice was hard and firm.

"Maybe so," Flash said quickly, trying to diffuse the tension. "But she's had plenty of time to come back and she hasn't. Not since she took up that crusade with Jason."

"We know that she's not with him," Nightwing said hastily. "If we spoke to Jason he might-"

"Even if Jason wanted to talk with us, there's no guarantee it would point us in the right direction of where she is or give you any closure," Barbara said. "And besides, he has his own league to run. And we've hardly been on the best of terms with them."

Nightwing took a moment and sighed. "Yeah. I guess so. Sorry, I didn't mean to drag you guys into my problems. It's just…some days are easier than others, but I'm seeing fewer of those days."

The two of them said nothing, just took in his forlornness. But in less than a second, a cheery smile was back on Nighwing's face.

"Anyway; don't worry, Wally. I'm sure we can work something out. Make sure you don't end up looking after all those crazy kids again."

As Nightwing turned to walk away, he was stopped as Barbara gently held his wrist.

"Listen," she said. "If you ever need to talk or just, whatever. I'm-we're always here for you."

Nightwing looked down, smiled, and nodded before he walked away.

The moment he was out of earshot, Flash turned to his compatriot, "Do my ears deceive me, or did I hear you say something along the lines of 'I'm always here for you?'"

Barbara gave him a quizzical look. "And what do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Oh nothing," he replied, feigning innocence. "It's just that this isn't the first time you've made those special little pleas to him and-ooowww!"

Barbara cut him off with a quick twist of his little finger.

"Ok, listen up, dirtbag. Sam and I have been just fine this last year so there's no problem on my end. Secondly, me and Dick are strictly friends and have remained such even when Starfire left the picture. And third, if and only if, Dick decides to put his cards on the table, it will be his game, not yours. So, before you even start with your little... 'matchmaker' implications, I want you to know what kind of fire you're playing with."

"All right, all right," he said, grimacing in pain as she let his finger go. "You made your point. But don't think I haven't noticed those longing looks you've given him when he gets all mopey. And don't think I don't know what you mean by them."

Before she could say another thing, he had zoomed off, leaving her to consider what he said. She couldn't decide if Wally was worse when he was being obnoxious or whether he was worse when he was right and he knew it.

That afternoon, Flash raced across the streets and intersections of Keystone City. Dodging traffic with precision and ease, a truck here, an SUV there. Even passing by a luxurious white limousine. And taking extra care to make sure the neighbors didn't see him zoom to the back of the house, he arrived at the West family home in the suburbs.

"Hello hello!" He called as he walked through the backdoor, having changed back into civilian clothing in the blink of an eye. "Anybody home?"

His wife Linda greeted him with a smile and a kiss.

"Hey there, how was your day?"

"Oh, same old same old. More craziness from Gotham, threats of chemical weapons, Nightwing's still a mess. Pretty standard stuff."

"Wait, back up. What was that again?" Linda asked.

"Hmm? Well, Dick has been pinning for Starfire more and more often. And Barbara and I think it's going to affect his relationship with Mar'i, and Barbara obviously wants to make a move but she's-"

"No, before that," Linda cut him off. "What was that about chemical weapons?"

"Oh, uh. You remember that guy, Scarecrow?"

"The psychotic psychiatrist?"

"The very same. Anyway, word is that he's developed a brand-new fear gas and this one is the worst of the lot. And we've got track him or the gas down before he sells it on the black market in about a week."

"If I didn't know you, I'd be worried about your cavalier attitude towards all this."

"And if wasn't married to you, I would actually be worried."

After sharing another kiss, the two of them went into the living room where their twins were hanging out. Iris "Irey" West was currently working on homework, her pencil a scratching blur as she went page after page. Her brother, Jai West, was sprawled on the couch playing a videogame.

"Aaaand done!" Irey slapped the pencil down and crossed her arms in triumph.

"Faster doesn't mean it's accurate, young lady," her mother said, picking up the sheets of homework to look through them.

Wally went over to the couch and swiped the handheld console from his son's hands.

"Hey!" the young boy protested. "I was just about to finish the level!"

"You know the rules young man," his father chided. "No video games on weekdays until you get your grades up. Which reminds me, how is your current homework situation?"

"It's...mostly done."

"How much is 'mostly done?'"

With that, the young boy got up from the couch and headed to the table with a grumble.

"Hey, Dad. Can we go out on patrol?" Irey asked her father, her face beaming with anticipation. Elsewhere, Jai sniffed derisively.

"Maybe, as soon as we check over your homework and-"

Wally was cut off his daughter suddenly zoomed over to her mother and snatched the papers out of her hand, eliciting a surprised "Hey!" from Linda, and handed them over to her father.

"Sorry, you were taking too long," Irey apologized to her mother. Who responded with an indignant "Hey!" in return.

In the blink of an eye, Wally looked through her assignments and handed back two pages to her.

"You misspelled three words here and your multiplication is wrong on the last two problems on the 12 column."

The speedster snatched the papers back and raced to the table, scattering the homework sheets Jai had just laid out. A few quick scratches of her pencil and she raced back to her father, practically thrust the corrected pages into his hands, and then raced back to her room in a blur. In a few seconds, she raced back out, dressed in the off-yellow and red tracksuit of her other identity, Impulse.

"C'mon it'll be great!" she exclaimed with glee. "And I already took down a bad guy on the way home!"

"You wha? Irey, we have rules about this. No crime-fighting solo."

"It was just a bike thief! I knocked him down and then tied him up with the bike chain he just cut."

"Okay, that's pretty cool," her father conceded. "And points for karma too."

"Wally," his wife said in a scolding tone.

"Right, right," he quickly corrected. "Just remember that if you want to keep doing these patrols, you have to learn to follow orders."

"Fiiiine," Impulse sighed dramatically before dissolving into giggles. "So do we get to go out-"

Before she could finish, Wally had raced out and returned in full costume.

"Yeah, we're going out."

"WAHOO!" she jumped for joy and raced to the door, waiting on her father.

"Oh, before I forget," Flash said to both of his children. "Mar'i has expressed interest in having a little get-together this weekend at the Wayne's." Hearing that, Jai's interest piqued. "Now I'm pretty sure Lian is free but I'm going to check with Roy and see. Now if both of you have your homework done by then and stay out of trouble," he directed that last part towards Irey. "I'm sure we can work out a fun sleepover."

"Why are you inviting Jai?" Impulse asked. "It's just going to be girls that night."

"And Damian. I'm pretty sure he's going to be there. And I'm pretty sure Bats is going force him to start acting his age soon." Flash said, trailing off at the end.

"But it's going to be a sidekick night. What's Jai supposed to do?" Impulse asked, getting a dirty look from her brother.

"I don't know, stay up late playing games. Eat junk food. Whatever kids do these days," Flash shrugged.

"Do you think Avia and Marina will be there too?" Impulse asked as the two of them raced out the door and down the street.

"I doubt it," Flash replied. "One's living underwater and the other is in space. Kinda hard to get in touch with them."

Back in the house, Jai huffed and turned his attention back to his homework. Trying his hardest to keep his attention on his multiplication problems and not on the level he was forced to quit when dad took his game. And definitely not about the fact that he would be the least special person at that sleepover.

Chapter Two is here. A bit more exposition and a bit more world building, but the action will be back soon enough. In the meantime, hope you enjoy this look into the grownup side of super heroics.