Chapter Nine

Making an Effort

December 23rd

"Wait, so you usually open your presents on Christmas Eve?" asked Garfield, offering Morgan a strange look.

The girl shrugged from her position on the floor. She was lying on her back with a pillow under her head, her legs slung over the arm rest of the couch.

"It's a Danish thing. My dad introduced it, and my mom and I didn't stop doing it even after he left. It became a family tradition."

"So no Christmas morning?"

"No Christmas morning." Morgan agreed, nodding solemnly.

"Tell us about Danish Christmas." Morgan had to admit, M'gann's absolute fascination with Earth cultures was a bit flattering. The Martian was standing in the kitchen, kneading cookie dough. There were already a finished batch on the table, and another one was cooking in the oven.

"Well, you know, it's a lot like the American kind. We eat a nice dinner, we sing Christmas songs around the Christmas tree, and then we open our presents together afterwards. Then, a few hours later, we go to bed, and that's that."

"Try these." M'gann requested, levitating two cookies from the finished batch into the air and towards the two teens lounging in the living room.

"But why?" Garfield asked Morgan, looking like he was having a very hard time understanding why they'd open their presents the twenty fourth instead of twenty fifth. When a cookie appeared right in front of his face, he immediately grabbed it and finished it in one bite.

Morgan shrugged again, plucking the other cookie out of the air. "I dunno. That's how they do it in Denmark. My dad's from Denmark, so that's how he did it. I'm not sure why they do it on the twenty fourth."

"Well, tomorrow night you can only open one present." M'gann decided firmly. "We'll all open one on the twenty fourth, and then the rest on Christmas morning."

Seeing the looks of protest on both Morgan and Garfield's face's, M'gann quickly said. "Cave rules. And I'm oldest, so what I say goes."

"Fine." The two grumbled simultaneously.

"This is delicious, M'gann." praised Morgan after finishing her cookie. "But we already have so many cookies. Why are you making more?"

"Because Wally and Artemis are coming over to exchange gifts." She said simply, like that explained everything.

"Aaaah.." Garfield sounded like that did in fact explain everything.

Morgan was confused. She didn't even know who those two were. "I don't get it." she admitted. She felt a small prodding at her heart when she realized that, despite the fact that she was supposed to be a part of this team, and that she'd been here for a month and a half now, she still wasn't really part of the group. She didn't understand all the inside jokes, she wasn't part of any of their crazy stories, and she didn't know a lot of her team mates that well, to be honest.

"That's okay." M'gann giggled. "They were before your time."

Yeah, way to rub it in, Morgan thought, feeling that small squeeze in her heart again. She realized now that she, more than anything, wanted to become an active and accepted part of the group. She found that she actually wanted to start joining them on all of those missions Nightwing and Mal sent them on. She wanted to stop feeling like an outsider in what was supposed to be her home.

After that night of patrolling with Nightwing and Robin, she'd changed her entire outlook on the business.

Fighting that guy – minus the shooting part because that had been, like, so not cool – had made her feel more alive than she'd felt in years, and she was finally starting to understand why the others got excited with a new mission. That adrenalin kick, plus the feeling of doing something good, something for the benefit of others, had made her eager to get out again. Nightwing had promised to take her with him on patrol once again between Christmas and New Years Eve, and Morgan couldn't wait.

"Anyway," M'gann started, shaking Morgan of her thoughts. "Remember Kid Flash?"

"That red-headed kid in the red and yellow suit from a couple of years back? Yeah, I remember him."

"That's him alright. Anyway, he eats like no one you've ever seen before. I think it's due to his faster metabolism. He explained it once."

Morgan shifted her position so she could look at M'gann, though the image was upside down. "So what you're saying is that this guy literally eats so much that you have to bake extra cookies whenever he's over?"

"Yeah."

Morgan made an impressed noise and settled down again, staring at the ceiling.

Somewhere in the Cave, a Zeta tube blared to life, announcing the arrival of Artemis and Kid Flash.

"They're here!" M'gaan cheered and set down the jar she'd been piling cookies into, flying out of the kitchen in a hurry.

Garfield hopped off the couch and Morgan slipped her feet off of the armrest, sitting up.

"Come on, Morgan, We'll introduce you to them." He told her, as if reading her mind. Morgan had been wondering whether she was supposed to go and greet the two visitors too or if she'd only get in the way of 'old friends bonding'.

Standing up, she followed behind the energetic, animalistic boy.

M'gann was hugging a tall, slim, young woman with tan skin, dark eyes and long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. Beside her stood a slightly taller, freckled, red-headed guy with a pair of sparkling, friendly eyes and an easy smile on his lips.

"Garfield, hey!" He greeted cheerfully, high fiving the short boy.

"Merry Christmas Wally!" The boy instantly replied. Morgan found the man's eyes landing on her, studying her wings for a second before meeting her eyes. Morgan briefly wished she'd worn her necklace, but ignored the urge.

"This is Morgan." Garfield announced. "She joined the Team a month ago."

"Cool!" The red head shook her hand. "The world can always use more heroes."

Why then, Morgan wondered, had he decided to quit the business?

"Hi," The blonde woman caught Morgan's attention next. "I'm Artemis."

"Morgan." She shortly replied, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"So, are you related to Hawkgirl?" Wally questioned next.

Morgan shook her head. "No. I'm just me. No connection to any superheroes."

"Oh," The two looked surprised, like this was something unheard of.

Morgan sighed inwardly before briefly explaining her story, how Nightwing spotted her by a coincidence and then brought her to the Team and started training her.

She stayed long enough to greet the two guests – it was the only polite thing to do – but after that, she quickly slipped away. Somehow, they made her uncomfortable. She didn't think they were doing it on purpose, but they spoke in this way that sounded condescending to her. Like their choice to quit the life had been the only right thing to do and that the rest of them would do the same at some point.

Morgan knew the problem was most likely her and not them. She was too sensitive and reading things between the lines that weren't actually there. Paranoid was probably a good word for it. Besides, they'd been talking to M'gann and not her at the time. This caused a certain level of familiarity that allowed them to talk more freely, which was what made Morgan feel like they were coming on a bit too strong about leaving the life behind. And since she was only just entering the hero life, she couldn't understand why they'd leave it.

So, she made some excuse about training and disappeared from the room.

In a way, she was glad that they'd seen her wings. At least they marked her as someone special, someone who belonged on the Team. Surrounded by all of these tall and muscular people, some of them sporting very distinct characteristics, like green skin, scales or blue armor, she'd have looked far too small and human if she hadn't had wings.

Morgan stopped short when she realized that she'd just considered someone not seeing her wings bothersome.

Huh, she thought, I guess I really am getting better at accepting them.

She'd said she was going to go train, so, Morgan figured, she might as well.

Stepping into the gym, she pulled her hoodie off – which was always a bit difficult because she had to get her wings through their holes – revealing a Green Lantern t-shirt, and punched a command into the computer. Nightwing had taught her how to change the layout of the room to meet her specific training needs, so in a matter of seconds, the room was the perfect obstacle course for flying.

A small smile spread on her face when she only needed a single powerful beat to rise from the floor. Another beat found her a foot in the air, and then another left her in the middle of the room. She really was getting better at a pretty fast rate.

Half an hour later she had to call it quits. She'd already trained earlier that day, so her wings were getting tired. Nightwing had taken the next few days off because of Christmas, but given her lots of instructions on what to train and for how long.

"And don't skip out. I'll know if you skip out." He'd warned ominously. Morgan figured he had the entire Mount Justice under surveillance and sat cooped up in his home, watching everybody's movements like a creepy, stalker hawk.

Morgan hadn't even known that you could take a few days off in this business. Still, watching Mal dish out missions was an improvement to watching Nightwing do it. Mal was a lot nicer and like to stay and chat with her a bit afterwards. Nightwing was an all work and no play kind of guy. At least, that was Morgan's experience of him.

Morgan slipped into her room, eager to take a shower. It was bothersome to wash and dry her wings afterwards, but she didn't mind doing it. She considered it 'bonding time' with them. She took good care of her wings and gave them a lot of attention, figuring that it would make her like them better. When you spend a lot of positive energy on something, you're bound to grow attached to it.

She pulled her clothes off, thanking the stars for the hundredth time that every room had its own private bathroom. Just like her hoodie, her t-shirt was tricky to get off. She'd cut slits into all of her shirts from the neck to the middle of the back, and added buttons on them so she could close the hole around her wings, avoiding pieces of cloth hanging loose. It required a lot of work, but in the end it was worth it.

Morgan stepped into her bathroom in nothing but her underwear. She stood in front of the mirror and studied herself. Her wings had grown unnaturally fast in the last month and a half. Morgan stretched them out as far as they could go, and did the same with her arms, noting that the wings were several inches longer. They weren't quite finished growing – don't ask her how she knew that, she just did. Instinct, probably – but they'd nearly doubled in size since she'd arrived. She'd been eating enough for two anyway, so it made sense.

While most of the energy from that food seemed to go straight into her wings, her body had changed a lot too. Morgan had never been particularly gifted in the chest area, but she'd gone from an A-cup to a B, bordering on a C, since she'd arrived.

Still, she noted, she had a rather pear shaped body. Her small boobs were not that impressive, but she had a set of fairly wide hips that – if she did say so herself – gave her gait a certain sway that she knew guys found attractive. All her training also made her legs, arms and stomach – not to mention her butt which looked absolutely amazing now – toned, for which she was eternally grateful. If nothing else, at least all of Nightwing's nagging had graced her with a good and healthy looking body.

Morgan pulled her wild curls out of the tight bun they had been in, letting them fall around her shoulders. After having her mentor yank on her hair one too many times during training, she'd went and gotten it cut. Not too much, because she secretly loved having long hair, but now it fell a few inches below her shoulders instead of reaching down her back.

The haircut had had a positive outcome too. With some of the weight gone, her curls were now bigger and bouncier, making her hair look even wilder than before.

Morgan was glad for her wide hips and wild hair – they balanced her big wings out nicely, overall making her look more harmonious.

Stepping into the blessedly warm shower, Morgan soon forgot her bodily scrutiny and started working on washing her wings and tired body instead.

December 27th

Nightwing strode into the Cave's living room, looking for one particular curly-haired, winged girl.

He found not only Morgan, but also Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, and Batgirl lounging around, playing cards. Seeing the teen heroes sitting down and doing something relaxing was such a rare sight that Nightwing found himself stopping in his tracks and taking in the scene with surprise. The four of them were staring at their cards with more intensity than a game of Uno honestly called for.

They were all sitting around the small coffee table in the living room, Cassie and Barbara on pillows on the floor, and Blue Beetle and Morgan on the couch. Blue Beetle was sitting normally, but Morgan had her knees bent and tucked up to her chin, balancing on the soles of her feet. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, holding the cards in front of them. With the wings on her back, the intensely focused look on her face and her strange position, she looked like an owl and the thought almost made a smile twitch on his lips.

Almost.

"Morgan." He spoke up, making the four teenagers look up at him.

"What's up?" Morgan was the first to look back down on her cards, and she made her move, causing Jaime to groan loudly. "You're skipping me again? I have more cards than you three combined!"

Nightwing sensed that getting her to come with him while she was having a good time with the three other heroes would probably cause her to be less compliant than she usually was – which wasn't much to begin with. He also didn't want to interrupt them when they were enjoying a quiet moment.

"Just.." He cleared his throat. "Come to the main room when you're done."

"Aye aye, captain." She saluted him absentmindedly, eyes still on her cards.

Nightwing nodded and stepped around the corner into the kitchen instead, filling a glass with water.

"You really should treat him better." Nightwing heard Barbara say. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but since they spoke in an open area, with other people around, he assumed the conversation wasn't private.

Besides, they were speaking about him, so that practically gave him the right to eavesdrop. Nightwing knew he had a habit of walking without a sound, the result of years of training, so he knew Barbara probably thought he'd already left.

"Oh?" Morgan answered, allowing for Barbara to elaborate.

"Well.. Nightwing's the leader of the Team and that means a lot of responsibility lies on his shoulders. And a lot of work. Taking care of this team is almost a full-time job, and training you just adds a lot to that stress. Not to mention he has school on the side."

He heard Barbara sigh. "What I'm trying to say is.. He's doing his best. And I think if you'd let him, he can teach you a lot of useful things.. not just fighting."

There was a long pause, in which Nightwing decided that he'd better leave them alone. He strode, just as silently as before, towards the main area of the Cave.

"I'll give it a try." He heard Morgan's answer just as he walked out of earshot.

Nightwing decided that, if she was going to try and get along, he'd do the same. Honestly, he figured training her would be a lot more pleasant if she dropped that attitude.

Then again.. Nightwing wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't exhibited quite a bit of attitude too.

Maybe it really did take two to tango.

Though, and he'd argue this to until the day he died, she totally started it.

Five minutes later, Morgan came out.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." She neutrally greeted.

Huh. She apologized. Maybe she really was trying to get along with him.

"It's fine." He assured her, motioning for her to step closer to the computer he was working at.

"After the first time we patrolled, and the one last night, I thought you might need something other than a black hoodie and sweatpants to fight in, if you want to start making a regular appearance in the streets as a crime fighter." Nightwing said. "So I think it's time we designed your costume."

"Oh." Morgan looked surprised, and then excited. "Sure would be a lot cooler than what I'm wearing now."

"If you'd please take a step back." Nightwing asked rather than ordered. He eyed her clothes. Her jeans were tight enough, but she'd have to lose the baggy sweatshirt for this to work. "And take off your sweatshirt."

"Why?" She questioned, even as she did as asked. She was wearing a formfitting tank-top underneath, which was what he'd hoped for. He bristled in quiet annoyance at the Batman-symbol on the tank-top. The computer sent out a blue light, scanning her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

"Turn to the side." He requested next. "The computer is measuring your size. The costume needs to fit you perfectly, and this will make the design cater to your specific body type."

The computer scanned her from all four sides. Morgan whistled, impressed. "That's so smart. I'd pay good money to get shirts that can actually fit around my hips without being too loose everywhere else."

Nightwing wisely chose to not comment on that.

"It's ready." He announced. Morgan came up next to him, pulling her sweatshirt over her head again, her wings squirming through the holes she'd cut in the back.

"So, where should we start?" Morgan asked. "You obviously know more about this than I do, so I trust your judgment."

"Okay, uhm.." Nightwing paused, considering. He hadn't done this for some time and needed a moment to remember how he used to do it. "Well, I suppose the actual design should be the first thing. With your fighting style and abilities, heavy armor won't be necessary, as you won't be taking a lot of direct hits. I'd recommend something that gives you a lot of flexibility and allows you to move."

"So, like, spandex?" Morgan declared, sounding doubtful, some of her sarcasm fighting its way through.

"No," Nightwing responded, a small amount of sarcasm in his voice too. "More like something along the lines of Batgirl's outfit. Not quite as revealing and thin as spandex."

Morgan shrugged. "Sure."

"You still have that mask I gave you?" Nightwing asked. Morgan nodded.

"Good. Do you want another one or will it do?"

"It's fine. I like it."

Nightwing nodded. "Good. We'll skip the mask part then." He concentrated back onto the design they were working on.

"Skirt or pants?" Nightwing asked, his hand hovering over the controls.

Morgan grimaced. "Pants. Definitely."

"Short or long?"

"Why don't you just teach me how to work the controls myself?" Morgan suggested. "I'm pretty sure we'll both be fed up with this soon."

"Okay, come here." Nightwing requested. Morgan stepped up and he showed her how they worked. "It's actually a lot like a dress up game, I suppose. You can see your work so far on this." He pointed at a small screen that showed a slowly rotating picture of the suit so far.

Morgan nodded and set to work. "Would it be smartest to wear gloves or not?" She questioned.

"For a normal human, it's probably smartest to wear gloves for protection. Will they affect your abilities?"

Morgan shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't tried them out with gloves on."

"Well, add them and if they do affect your abilities, you can just leave them out when the suit arrives."

Morgan did.

A few minutes later, the design was finished.

"Now I just have to decide the most difficult thing." Morgan groaned.

"Which is?"

"Color. I refuse to wear anything neon-y."

"Well, what about black? It's good for stealth." Nightwing suggested, drawing from his own experience.

"I'm leaning more towards a very dark blue."

"Alright." Nightwing leaned over and pressed a command, revealing a color chooser. "If you press on the blue, you can adjust the tone and brightness here." He pressed on the blue color and a new set of controls appeared, allowing for Morgan to darken the blue until it was practically a black.

"I've heard that dark blue is actually better if you want to hide in shadows. Black is too dark." Morgan added.

She looked at the design for a moment, placing a hand on her chin. She tapped her index-finger against her jaw thoughtfully. "It's missing something."

Nightwing shrugged. "How about a symbol?"

"Hm?"

"You want to be remembered, right? So, a symbol on the chest is a good idea. Most of us have one."

Morgan's eyes fell to the blue bird on his chest.

"I'm pretty sure the wings on my back will stick in people's memories just fine. But you're probably right. The suit would look less dull with something there. Only, what should it be?" She looked at him with a small smirk on her face. "All the good bird-related symbols are taken."

Nightwing allowed a small smile to tease the right corner of his mouth. "What about a pair of wings, then? You said it yourself; they are the most memorable part."

"That.. is actually a good idea." Morgan smiled slightly.

Soon, a pair of light grey wings – the exact same color as her wings, even with the darker grey tips – stretched from the middle of the chest and to the end of her shoulders.

"Done!" Morgan announced.

"Almost." Nightwing said, ignoring her groan and muttered 'party pooper'. "You haven't decided footwear."

"Ah, yeah, probably a good idea to have that too."

"I'd recommend some boots. They provide better support than normal shoes, and better protection."

"I'll trust your judgment." Morgan decided and found a pair that she liked. "Are these okay?"

Nightwing eyed the flat-soled, mid-calf, black boots. "They'll do nicely."

Morgan changed the color of her gloves to be black too, claiming it would look stupid if only the boots were black.

"So what now?" Morgan took a step away from the controls and looked at Nightwing.

"I'll send this to the Batcave's computer. Batman will take care of the rest."

Morgan nodded. "This was fun, actually. And I bet I'm going to love my outfit. Thank you."

Nightwing inclined his head to show he acknowledged her gratitude. Morgan left the room and, after sending Batman the design, so did Nightwing, thinking that interacting with the girl when neither of them were annoyed with the other had been surprisingly.. nice.

So not much happened, but, that's only because the next few chapters are action packed! This is the last chapter before we enter the plot of the second season of the show, so from now on, there'll be action and drama and all the good stuff.

Fun fact: Morgan has a complete disregard of how to properly use furniture. She used to do it to annoy her mom, who couldn't stand when the girl had her feet on the couch or sat on the table, but now it's become a habit, and seeing Morgan sit properly on a chair is a rare sight.