Chapter 17: Quit Being So Fucking Stupid

"Saracon, please" Nyssa sighed tiredly and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the bars of the cell.

The man sitting against the wall completely ignored her in favor of staring at the opposite wall.

"I can tend to your wounds, allow me" she tried one more time.

Still silence.

Sara sighed and pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on behind the brunette woman "Well, now we know stubbornness runs on your mom's side" she pointed out smirking "Are you ready to do things my way? It's been like an hour and I would like to go get a shower sometime soon"

Nyssa sighed defeated and moved away from the cell "Go ahead"

"Thank you" she rested her right shoulder on the bars and looked at the man, her arms crossed "Not that I'm looking forward to letting you out or let her in to help you after you fucking knocked me out…" she shouted those words "...but you are still bleeding and cleaning that floor will be a pain in the ass" she turned her head to look at Nyssa "I'm not cleaning it, by the way, he's your brother"

The brunette smiled sadly and Sara mouthed the word 'relax' with a wink.

She turned back to the man inside the cell "Oh, by the way, speaking of weird family members: your mom's alive"

His head snapped in her direction, but he remained completely silent.

"Well, at least now we know you're not deaf after the Canary Cry" she smirked and raised one eyebrow "You did hear me, right?"

"That's impossible" he said stoically.

"Nothing really is, trust me"

"My mother died in front of me"

"Death tends not to stick when I'm around" she said shrugging "Look, bat-freak, you can stay there and bleed out, or you can let us help you. It's your choice. I'm just saying, Lourdes is gonna be pissed if we let you die"

He jumped to his feet and rushed to the gate growling, grabbing the bars tightly "Keep my mother's name out of your filthy mouth!"

"Oh, you have no idea how filthy this mouth can get" the blonde smirked and took a step back "Lourdes, Lourdes, Lourdes, Lourdes, Lourdes. Whatcha gonna do, anyway? You are locked in a cell 'cause you are too stubborn to let your sister help you"

"She is not my sister!" he shouted angrily, pointing at the brunette.

"Yes, she is, dumbass" Sara stated annoyed and frustrated, rolling her eyes "What's gonna take for you to believe us?"

"Proof. I want to see my mother with my own eyes"

"Fair enough" she shrugged and reached inside her coat pocket for her cellphone "Will you quit being so fucking stupid in the meantime?"

The man scoffed indignantly but nodded anyway.

"What are you doing?" Nyssa asked when the woman started typing on her phone.

"Getting your mom here"

"Sara, any flight will take longer than it would take him to bleed out"

The blonde smirked and looked at her "Relax, I know some people. Give him some gauze and disinfectant to at least slow it down"

"What people?"

"Nyssa, focus" she said sternly "Stop his bleeding first"

The brunette huffed, but reached inside the first aid kit to hand her brother some disinfectant and a large amount of gauze. She looked at his pierced hand and arm frowning "You need stitches"

Saracon shook his head accepting the items and sat down on the cold stone floor again to clean his wounds "I have accelerated healing. It should stop bleeding soon"

"Then you're cleaning the floor" Sara stated pocketing her phone.

The man looked up curiously and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly before he shook his head and focused on bandaging his hand.

"They'll be here in four hours; give or take a few minutes, dependending on how long it takes them to find Lourdes"

"Sara, who are your bringing to Nanda Parbat?" the brunette asked frowning disapprovingly.

"Pft! Don't worry, they've all been here before"

"It's so good to see you again, Nyssa. You look good; as scary and beautiful as ever"

The woman smirked over her mother's shoulder while hugging her "Says the man with the A.T.O.M. suit"

"Ah, but you are still deadlier than I could ever be!" Ray chuckled.

"I believe it is your friendly demeanor" she observed, as Lourdes stepped away from the hug, watching them interact.

He agreed with a huge, goofy grin, and she couldn't help but grin back "You look happy, this whole smiling thing suits you. I don't think I've ever seen you smile before"

Nyssa turned to look at Sara, who was hugging a woman she didn't recognize "I have a reason to smile now"

The blonde let go of the woman she was hugging and glanced at her fiancée, who was looking back at her. Nyssa raised one eyebrow questioningly, adding a half smirk.

Sara smirked back and shook her head, then moved to hug the tall man standing next to them. She laughed at something he said and punched his arm, taking a step back.

"Babe…" she walked to her fiancée and stood next to her, placing a hand on her lower back "...these are Amaya and Nate" she introduced them, then addressed her friends "Guys, this is Nyssa"

The woman, Amaya, reached out and shook her hand, smiling politely "Pleased to meet you"

"Likewise"

Nate reached out after Amaya and shook Nyssa's hand smiling "Hi, nice to meet you, Nyssa. It's good to finally see you live"

The former assassin frowned confused after shaking his hand "Beg your pardon?"

He stood back grinning, shoving his hands inside his pockets and shrugged "Sara would stare at your pictures for hours. So we all kinda knew who you were"

Nyssa turned to look at the blonde arching one eyebrow.

"What?" Sara asked shrugging "I told you, I've missed you"

"A lot" Ray added smiling "It was pretty adorable"

The brunette smiled at him before focusing on Sara again "You were not supposed to show people my pictures, beloved"

"Not those pictures, Nyssa! Jeez!"

The woman rubbed her forehead and sighed, then said embarrassingly in a low voice "I was not referring to those. We agreed to never mention that again"

"Oh... Um, guess I should let you know I never really deleted 'em…?" the blonde whispered back.

"Please, Sara, I knew from the beginning you were lying. You never intended to do it, we both know that" she cleared her throat and stood up straighter "What I meant was that my identity was supposed to be highly classified"

"Well, I missed you. Sue me"

"Um, sorry to interrupt…" Ray said taking a step forward "...but wasn't there a reason for us to bring Mrs. Raatko here? I mean, other than traumatizing her with allusions of what are obviously nudes of her daughter"

"Oh my God, Ray!"

The man held his hands up "Just saying!"

"Don't, you huge dork!" Sara glared at him.

"I think it's better if you take your mother away from this whole thing" Amaya suggested looking at Nyssa, but pointing at Sara, Ray and a laughing Nate.

"Yes, yes it is" Nyssa responded and looked at her mother "Are you ready to see him?"

"I've been ready for over a year, dear" Lourdes smiled sadly "Lead the way"

"I'll give the three of you some space" Sara said looking at her fiancée "Call me if you need me, okay?"

"Of course" the brunette nodded smiling, then addressed the rest of the group "Thank you for being here in such short notice. Please, feel at home and make yourselves comfortable. We have plenty of available chambers for you to occupy and rest; I'm positive Sara is eager to show you around"

"Go, babe, I've got this"

"Impossible" Saracon whispered to himself as he stood up "What kind of sorcery is this?" he asked looking at Nyssa.

"No sorcery, my son, I'm alive and well" Lourdes answered smiling sadly.

"How? Mother, I saw you die"

"That is a story for another moment, dear. I am alive, I've been looking for you for the past year"

"I cannot believe this" the man took a few steps closer to the gate and reached out, a few tears running down his cheeks.

His mother took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly "They told me what happened, Saracon. Why wouldn't you believe them? You should have let them help you sooner"

"I came here looking for that scum and found them, instead. I assumed they were his assassins, mother. He is Ra's al Ghul now, after all. Their abilities…" he frowned and shook his head "...all three of them, they are extraordinary"

Nyssa smirked when Lourdes looked at her and took a step forward "I can assure you, I do not take orders from the usurper, or anyone else, for that matter"

"Except Sara" her mother added with a smirk of her own.

"Not without a fight"

"That's my baby" the woman laughed and caressed her daughter's cheek. She turned to look at the man again "I know you are not well; the power surging through you must be too much at times and your memories can get distorted. But I know you remember Nyssa. You have to. She is your little sister, Saracon"

He looked at the younger woman in the eye for a long minute. She held his gaze, hoping it would help him find his sister, his friend, in her eyes "Nyssa?"

"Yes, brother" she nodded, smiling softly.

"But…" he shook his head and looked at his mother "...Nyssa never knew, mother. We weren't allowed to tell her. The League might still kill her if they find out, we must protect her"

"There is no League anymore, my boy" Lourdes patted his hand when his expression changed to a confused one "Nyssa and her friends, they finally confronted Merlyn a few months ago and she took her rightful place as Ra's al Ghul"

"So you are Ra's al Ghul now? Not that traitor?" Saracon asked, looking at his sister.

Nyssa shook her head "As mother told you, there is no more League. I witnessed and suffered the destruction my father's League caused from the outside. He had lost his mind, caring for nothing and no one but himself and his League of Assassins"

"Did he hurt you?" he asked clenching his jaw and growling.

"Not in a way you should worry about" she shook her head again "I disbanded the League, brother. No innocent shall suffer because of its ways anymore, and, as I once assured a friend: no one will be held prisoner by my father any longer"

"And Merlyn? Is he dead?"

"We believe he went into hiding" she motioned for her mother to take a step back and carefully unlocked the gate, leaving it open.

The man gave her a short nod and took a careful step forward "Merlyn is mine" he announced.

Nyssa snorted "You will have to get in line, brother. The list of people wanting revenge is quite long. So far, Sara is at the top of said list. I am a close second"

"The little, mouthy, blonde one?"

"Yes" she reached for his hand carefully, and the man let her examine his wound.

"Why?"

"He killed her"

"Oh" he frowned "How—"

"The pit"

"But the one here is destroyed"

"That was my doing" she explained removing the improvised bandages on his hand, arm and leg "I would rather see it destroyed than in the wrong hands"

Lourdes smiled proudly, and so did Saracon "Thank you for protecting the waters of my Gods, sister"

"Follow me" she instructed, walking down the long corridor "I did it because of what the waters did to Sara"

Her mother and brother started following her as she lead them to the infirmary at a slow pace "How long was she dead before she got resurrected?"

"A year" she answered pushing the doors open.

"A year?!" Saracon asked alarmed "That was incredibly dangerous!"

"It was. Sit down" she instructed signaling one of the beds "What it did to Sara…" she shook her head "...no one should be brought back to become that"

"She seems mostly alright now" Saracon observed feeling his split lip with his tongue.

"That is another very long story" Nyssa said sitting down in front of him with a first aid kit "But yes, she got her soul back"

"Who got her soul back?" the blonde in question asked entering the infirmary. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Saracon in the eye, holding her hand up "We cool?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up in amusement and he nodded "Yes"

"Nyssa was telling Saracon about your resurrection and why is it that you lead the the list of people wanting to kill Malcolm Merlyn" Lourdes explained, taking a seat by the window.

"Oh, yeah, I have dibs for eternity; and totally got my soul back" she nodded and moved to sit on the other bed.

"Can I at least come second on that list?" the man asked, making his sister smile as she patched his wounded leg and moved to clean and disinfect his arm.

"Why should you?" Sara asked sitting on the opposite bed.

"Well, biologically, I am his son"

The woman snorted "You are in for some exciting couple of days if you think that makes you special and second in line" he was about to say something, but she kept talking, tilting her head to the side and swinging her legs casually back and forth "So, what's the deal with the bats?"

He tried to hide an amused smile before saying "I can communicate with other species"

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief, looking first at Nyssa, then at Lourdes. They both nodded, and she focused on the man again "How?"

"I got bit by snow leopards shortly after Saracon was conceived" Lourdes explained.

"It was a gift from the Gods" the man added proudly "When I was three I could already control the League's horses"

Nyssa smiled fondly and glanced up at him while applying the final bandage to his hand "He was able to control birds by the time he was seven years old" she got up and moved to stand next to her fiancée, smiling at her "I would be careful if I were you"

Sara laughed and shook her head "Like anyone could control me"

Nyssa smiled and stared at her brother again to warn him "This bird is off limits"

He looked at her frowning "Bird?"

"Ta-er al-Asfer was my league name" the blonde explained smiling.

Saracon smiled softly and nodded his understanding "The canary. Pretty; it suits you"

Lourdes chuckled almost in disbelief and Nyssa arched one eyebrow, looking at him again "Off limits, Saracon" she repeated sitting next to the blonde, her voice cold and menacing.

He frowned confused "Wha—" then noticed the way Sara's hand was casually moving up and down his sister's thigh "Oh… Oh! Got it!"

Sara chuckled and and moved a hand to Nyssa's cheek, turning her head to kiss her softly "It's really hot when you get all possessive" she whispered against her lips.

"Um, I heard that" the man said blushing slightly "Not that I tried!" he added in a rush when his sister glared at him "My senses got... enhanced last year. I'm pointing it out because I wouldn't want to intrude in the future"

"Then you might wanna sleep far, far away from our chambers tonight, bat whisperer" the blonde suggested smirking, while Nyssa blushed and Lourdes laughed again.

He smiled and nodded "Thanks for the head's up"

Sara shrugged "Thought it would fair to warn you, since you are not familiar with… everything yet"

"Sara, please? My mother is here, too" Nyssa pleaded and her fiancée shrugged again.

"You do realize she is my little sister, don't you?" the man asked half smiling and raising one eyebrow.

"Stop it. You and Nyssa have extremely similar expressions and it's freaking me out" she shook her head "You also have the same 'I'm gonna kill you' crazy look"

"Crazy look?" both siblings asked at the same time, and the blonde had to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, last night, with the glare and bloody smile" she explained "I've seen Nyssa do that before and I've seen her in you just then"

"I do not have a 'crazy look', beloved, don't be ridiculous" the brunette woman stated frowning.

"Um, yeah, you do. And it's scary as hell" Sara said nodding "Hot as hell too, you know, if one's not on the dying end of your arrows" she explained.

"Again" Saracon said "You do realize she is my little sister, who I just got back after over twenty years, don't you?"

"Look, dude, if we're gonna be cool, you're gonna have to get used to me saying this kinda crap. I'm marrying your little sister, so get over it and just be happy she has a healthy sex life. You're not gonna survive a week around us if you don't"

"You are getting married?" Lourdes asked looking at them with a big smile on her face.

Sara flinched when her fiancée glared at her "Sorry!" she whispered.

Nyssa chuckled and kissed her softly, unable to resist her expression, then turned to address her mother "We are to wed, yes"

Saracon looked at Sara as his mother got up to hug both women "Do I need to have the big brother talk with you?"

"If you're gonna tell me you'll kill me if I hurt her, save it. We already know I can kick your ass" she said smiling over Lourdes' shoulder.

He chuckled and looked at his sister again "For what is worth, I like her"

Lourdes laughed and moved back to her chair "I do, too"

"Of course you do! I'm a delight!"

"Far from it, actually" Nyssa objected, trying not to smile when she heard her fiancée gasp indignantly.