Chapter Thirty Two
The Light's Partner
March 30th
Morgan was trying to figure out the least awkward way to ask Dick where she could wash her dirty underwear and leave them to dry.
So far, she'd kept them in a zipped up bag, hoping she'd move out before she ran out of fresh panties. Well, she was down to her second to last pair and was now forced to ask him.
On her mental list of things Morgan would rather like to avoid having to do, this had to be in the top five.
The girl realized with dark humor that she'd probably have felt absolutely no shame in asking him this kind of thing a few months ago when they were near-constantly at each other's throats.
But now that they were actually kind of friends, this particular question was kinda embarrassing.
Especially, especially, when she'd had a dream last night where he came in contact with her underwear – as he was taking them off her.
Morgan blushed at the absolutely mortifying memory of that particular dream and buried her face in her hands, hiding behind a wall of blonde curls.
Not that Dick could've seen her anyway. He wasn't even at the apartment, currently.
Two days ago, he'd mentioned that they'd rescue the kidnapped members of the Team today, so Morgan assumed he was working on that right now. Like, preparing for it and stuff. She certainly wished for his own sake that he hadn't launched the missions while she was stuck in his apartment thinking about dirty underwear because he'd promised her that she got to go with.
So maybe he was just, like, planning it out and mentally preparing himself or something.
Keys jingled in the lock and Morgan's head shot up as she looked at the door opening, revealing the same exact man that had been dominating her thoughts for the past ten minutes.
"Suit up." He ordered. "Mission briefing at the Hall of Justice in half an hour."
Morgan jumped off the couch, underwear-problem long forgotten as she grabbed the small duffle bag her suit was always in and stepping hastily into his bathroom.
After having finished changing, she waited just a minute longer to make sure her mentor was finished too, not wanting to walk in on him while he was only half dressed.
She'd done that once before and that was enough for her, thank you very much.
"Ready." She announced as she stepped out, mask slipped into place over her eyes.
She guessed her panties would have to wait.
That sounded so weird.
They slipped out of his window, the darkness of the early hours of night covering for them.
Arriving at the Hall, Morgan paused in her step as she took in the huge building. Having transported to the place via Zeta tube, they were already inside, but Morgan still took a moment to marvel at the place. The statues in the front hall were positively humongous and Morgan felt uncharacteristically humbled. After all, it was a shrine to superheroes and the deeds they'd done to secure the safety of Earth's inhabitants.
It was something she was proud to be a part of.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she shuffled after Nightwing. Most of the others were already gathered in the same room Nightwing and Wally had had their huge fight in a week earlier, some reclined in chairs around the long, grey table.
She wordlessly sat down herself, listening intently as Nightwing explained the mission.
In Blüdhaven at ten PM tonight, a new shipment of abducted civilians would be brought to the Light's partner. Batgirl and Robin, both dressed as civilians, along with a hidden Bumblebee, would hide in the group and let themselves get kidnapped, leading the rest of the Team to wherever the abductees were being taken. From then on, they'd infiltrate the Light's partner's secret base and rescue not only the abductees, but also the four missing Team members.
"After the last mission where we came into close contact with Manta's men, we managed to, uh, 'acquire' the uniform of one of his troopers. Superboy will don the armor and gain access to the ship with Batgirl, Robin and Bumblebee." Nightwing explained.
"Wonder Girl, Miss Martian, Sparrow and I will follow the shipment closely in a camouflaged bio ship, ready to take care of the rescued civilians and bring everyone to safety." Morgan felt partly annoyed that she'd probably end up stuck in the bio ship for the entire operation, but she also knew that Nightwing made the calls. And she also knew that he was the best strategist on their Team. If he made a plan, it was going to work. And it wasn't like she was the only one to stay in the Bio ship.
"Everyone needs to play out their part perfectly for this to work. The longer we stay, the bigger the risk of someone getting hurt." Nightwing reminded them, fixing his Team with a serious look. "We get in, we find the civilians and our missing Team members, and we get out."
Everyone split into their separate groups with practiced ease, Morgan and Wonder Girl following behind Nightwing as neither had any idea where the Bio ship actually was.
"I can't wait to get the others back." Wonder Girl excitedly told Morgan. "I haven't slept properly for days because I was so worried about them."
Morgan allowed a small smile. "Me neither. Since the Cave exploded.. I've been kind of thrown off balance."
"That's right, you used to live there." Cassie seemed to realize as they turned a corner, entering a garage, much like the one that had been in the Cave, the bio ship appearing in front of them prepped and ready for takeoff. "Where have you been sleeping for the last week?"
"Get on board and to your stations." Nightwing suddenly spoke up in front of them, cutting their conversation short.
To both his and Morgan's relief, she was sure.
Blinking away images of the last time she'd sat there, Morgan settled into the right station closest to the helm, directly behind her mentor. Wonder girl sat down by the left front station, parallel to Nightwing.
M'gann entered the ship a second later, taking the helm immediately.
The four of them were quiet as they flew towards Blüdhaven, Nightwing keeping close taps on the three undercover heroes' progress on the holographic screen in front of him.
Eventually, the invisible bio ship reached its destination, hovering silently in the air as they watched the humans below being placed in pods of black and red before being loaded onto a sleek, dark submarine.
The ship disappeared underwater a moment later and Batgirl activated the tracker Nightwing had given her, letting the bio ship track the submarines route.
Nightwing let out a relieved sigh. "Good." He spoke up. "They're leading us to Lagoon Boy and the others now."
Wonder Girl, ever the curious one, launched into a series of questions. "How can you be sure?"
"Wishful thinking?" He admitted, though Morgan knew different. This was all part of an elaborate plan Aqualad had made long ago, as explained on the flash drive.
Nightwing had admitted this to Morgan yesterday when she asked him about the mission.
So he knew the others would be at the place they were headed now.
In a way she was glad she knew all of this, glad that she didn't have to battle doubts like the others did. Glad that Nightwing hadn't cut her off because she knew but rather seemed to trust her and involve her instead.
On the other hand, she felt guilty for knowing about all the lies. In a way, now that she knew as well, she was also lying to the rest of the Team. Or withholding information. Either way, it made her feel like a lousy friend.
"And.. the abductee shipment at the docks. How'd you know about that?" Cassie prodded further, sounding slightly suspicious, like she herself was realizing that Nightwing almost knew too much.
"Aquaman came across the intel while searching for La'gaan." He answered straight-faced, not missing a beat. Morgan marveled at how good an actor he was, how absolutely bullet proof his lies were.
They were in the middle of the pacific ocean when M'gann steered the bio ship underwater, revealing a large, bug-like submarine. The smaller ship with the abductees was approaching it, docking a moment later.
"So this is the Light's secretive partner." Nightwing sounded pleased with finally getting somewhat of a visual on the previously unknown thorn in his eye.
He stood up to get a better visual on the ship, crossing his arms thoughtfully over his chest. "That ship shares the same alien design sensibility as the bombs that destroyed Malina island and Mount Justice." He exclaimed.
Morgan stood up too, her vision limited from the back of the ship, approaching the large front window, studying the ship herself. She'd very much like to get a proper look at this unknown enemy of theirs. Curiosity as well as slight anxiety churned in her stomach. She feared the'd enter the ship to find huge, unbeatable foes. She was worried by how absolutely little they knew about their enemy.
"Kinda reminds me of Blue's armor.." Wonder Girl added, sounding uncomfortable with the connection.
Morgan had to admit it did look like the same technology. "Well, the scarab did have unknown origins, right?" She pointed out. "It's possible that they come from the same place."
Nightwing nodded, looking thoughtful for a moment before springing into action. "You're up, Miss M." He ordered.
The Martian rose from her seat and transformed, giving herself gills and pulling up her hood before turning transparent, sinking out of the ship without a word.
Alpha squad, her voice entered Morgan's mind a moment later and the girl instinctively flinched, still not used to the strange mode of communication. I'm heading into the alien ship. Are you aboard?"
Affirmative, Batgirl answered. We're in some kind of docking bay. We have a visual on the new aliens, AKA the Kroloteans' competitor, AKA the Light's partner.
There was a small pause and then Batgirl suddenly spoke up again, sounding worried. And we've got other company. It's Aqualad. If he makes us.. we're over.
Morgan's initial reaction was of course to get worried, but then she remembered that Aqualad was actually on their side, and the twisting knot in her stomach disappeared. He wasn't going to out them, not when he was the one who had staged the rescue.
Stay whelmed, Nightwing spoke up and Morgan wondered what that even meant, he won't be looking for you. Just don't attract attention.
Morgan tugged at a curl as the three of them silently waited for further news, wishing she was doing something more useful than waiting around. Perhaps she wouldn't feel so anxious of she'd actually been doing something.
I found Gar and Bart! M'gann's excited voice broke through a few minutes later. Morgan let go of the curl and met Cassie's eyes excitedly, glad that at least two of their missing team mates had been found again. They're unconscious but alive. Miss Martian elaborated, sounding very relieved. But there's no sign of Jaime or La'gaan.
We've got eyes on Lagoon Boy, Batgirl informed them. And.. Shimmer? Uh, plus four civilians and all the teens we came with.
There was a short pause. Morgan saw Nightwing fidget slightly next to her, betraying how nervous he actually was.
We're unsupervised now, but Blue's still unaccounted for, Batgirl updated them. Morgan was glad that, even though she couldn't join the fray, she could at least know what was going on through the psychic link.
An escape could trigger response.. Batgirl reminded Nightwing of the risk. Do we wait?
Negative, Alpha, he immediately responded, his jaw clenched in determination, arms crossed over his chest. Make your move before you need rescuing too. You too Miss M. Get our boys out.
"And now we wait?" Morgan asked, looking to her mentor, arms crossed similarly over her own chest.
"We stand ready." He answered, which Morgan thought sounded a lot like waiting.
There was completely silence on the other side of the link until Superboy's serious voice broke through. Docking bay secured.
Nightwing took the helm immediately, steering the ship closer to the submarine, connecting to it immediately.
Docking now! He provided, opening the back of the Bio ship, revealing the interior of the alien ship.
"Wonder Girl, go meet up with the civilians. Sparrow, you stay here."
Even though her ribs gave a painful twitch at that specific moment, Morgan crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at being left behind. A moment later, she dropped her arms when the stance jostled her sprained wrist and she was unable to keep in the wince. Nightwing raised an eyebrow at her like she'd just proved his point involuntarily, which, she realized, she actually had.
She hadn't even vocally complained about being left behind, but he'd known she wanted to. And he'd used her own bodily reaction to her injuries to remind her why she was staying behind.
Somehow, Morgan had lost the argument before it had even begun.
Cassie ran out to meet the civilians to guide them to safety inside the bio ship. Morgan knew she was supposed to stay put until told otherwise, so she forced herself to stay where she was even though she was really curious about Cassie's progress.
"Let's move, people!" Morgan heard Wonder Girl order.
Upon opening the latch at the back of the bio ship, the noise of a foreign alarm reached her ears, the constant and panicked sound already grating on her nerves.
Knowing that the sound would also bring guards with it only made Morgan hate it even more.
Civilian teenagers started piling inside the ship and Morgan approached, trying to look friendly, in an attempt to calm them down.
Nightwing got out of his seat and met the civilians too, assuring them that they were safe now.
"The door!" Morgan suddenly exclaimed when behind them, the docking bay disappeared behind a steel door, trapping them inside the bio ship.
Nightwing paused for a moment, bringing a hand to his temple. "The link is down." He realized.
Morgan almost groaned out loud, but it would worry the civilians. Worry pooled into her stomach.
Guess they'd stumbled upon the hiccup in the plan. As usually, stuff went wrong.
The two heroes approached the sealed steel door, Nightwing placing a hand on it, inspecting how it worked.
"Is it too much to ask for to have one mission actually go according to plan?" Morgan complained, leaning a shoulder against the door as she spoke quietly, making sure none of the scared civilians could hear her.
"You obviously haven't been in the business very long." Nightwing responded and Morgan was unsure whether he was joking or not.
He stepped back from the door, craning his neck as he studied it from top to bottom. "Can you get it open?"
"I can certainly try." Morgan doubtfully muttered, taking a step back as she assessed the door, trying to spy its weak spot. She reached out both hands and focused on the middle of the door, throwing her arms to either side of her in an attempt to force the doors to retreat back into the walls they'd come from.
Nothing happened. Morgan tried again, straining her mental focus to the point where sweat erupted on her brow and her breathing quickened. The doors creaked and groaned ominously for a short moment, but didn't budge.
"It's no use." She puffed out, leaning forward, arms on her knees, feeling utterly spent by the unsuccessful attempt. "This is alien tech and it's too strong to budge. I doubt even Miss Martian could force these doors apart."
"We'll figure something out." Her mentor answered, approaching the door again, placing both hands on it.
Can't you at least get the link back up? Morgan heard Garfield's angry voice in her head suddenly. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that he was alright and apparently with M'gann, since he'd been talking about the psychic link.
Oh. Well, thanks. He continued once he realized that Miss Martian had gotten the link back up. Now come on! We're sealed out of the docking bay. He angrily went on. What's going on in there?
Don't know. Nightwing responded. Sparrow and I are cut off aboard the bio ship!
We're fighting Black Beetle and Shimmer. Wonder Girl spoke up, given the four of them an update. Lagoon Boy, Robin and Bumble Bee are already down and – Connor, look out! Her voice turned panicked and Nightwing slammed an angry fist against the door.
Morgan's heart started racing as she did her best to keep her fear off of her face, not wanting to scare the teenagers behind her. Who was Black Beetle even?
Superboy is down! It's just Batgirl and me now. Cassie finished, sounding worried.
Whoever they were fighting.. if they'd managed to knock out Superboy, they weren't to be trifled with.
Morgan's own fist slammed against the closed steel door, angry that their attempted rescue mission would most likely result in the rest of the Team being taken unless something new happened soon.
"The link is down again." Nightwing spoke up suddenly, sounding unbelievably frustrated.
Morgan punched the door in sheer anger once again, jumping back when it suddenly opened.
"I swear I didn't do anything." She held her hands up in defense.
"Doesn't matter." Nightwing sprang into action. "Let's go!"
Morgan turned to the civilians. "Stay here." She told them, trying to sound soothing - As soothing as Morgan could sound, that is – before she leapt after her mentor, legs pumping against the steel floor.
She caught up to him as Batgirl stopped the two of them in their tracks.
"Hold up!" She insisted, handing over a tiny, unconscious Bumblebee, gently placing her in Nightwing's gloved hands. "Blue is keeping Black Beetle busy. Impulse, Beast Boy and I will drag everyone else into the bio ship's hold. Once we're in, you need to be at the helm, ready to make a fast exit."
"Right." Nightwing replied. "Execute it."
Morgan watched as Batgirl ran back, unsure what she was supposed to do now. Nightwing handed her the small, unconscious Bumblebee.
"Take care of Bumblebee. Make sure you don't lose her." He told her before the two of them ran back to the ship.
Bumblebee was too small to leave lying around somewhere. The possibility of somebody crushing her was too big, so Morgan kept a gentle but secure grip on the small girl as she boarded the bio ship again, right behind her mentor.
Cold sea water suddenly started flowing inside as the others appeared, dragging the unconscious team members behind them. It quickly started to flood the ship, already reaching Morgan's calves.
"Everyone is aboard except Blue." Batgirl told Nightwing, who was seated at the helm as she'd told him to.
"Going back in for him!" Impulse immediately responded, running back in. He was stopped when a giant wave of water entered the ship, now coming up to Morgan's knees. The water trailed into her boats and soaked her feet, making Morgan shiver at the chill. She was starting to worry about the rest of them drowning if they didn't move out soon.
Beast Boy pulled the now unconscious speedster out of the water, making sure he wouldn't float away.
"Nightwing, seal the hatch!" Batgirl ordered firmly, her brow drawn into a serious line. "The docking bay is flooding our hold."
"Acknowledged!" Nightwing responded, pressing a button, the ship's hatch slowly closing.
Beast Boy voiced worries similar to Morgan's. "But what about Blue?" He protested.
"We can't help him if we're drowned or are crushed by the pressure at this depth." Batgirl firmly retorted, leaving no room for arguments.
The bio ship disconnected from the docking bay and floated away, quickly draining the hold from the water it had taken in, in the past few minutes.
Morgan clutched Bumblebee to her chest in her worry.
Eventually, the other girl woke up and grew back into her original size, looking disoriented and like she had one killer headache as Morgan set her down.
"You alright?" Morgan asked her, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder.
"I'll live." She responded tiredly.
Morgan approached the windows of the bio ship's side, her eyes trailing over the watery world outside. She spotted the other ship and watched with worry as it released volley after volley at them. She frowned when she thought she saw something else leave the alien ship behind them.
"Guys!" She pointed at a small figure in the water. "It's Blue!"
The alien ship kept firing a thick wall of laser beams at them, Nightwing expertly maneuvering the camouflaged bio ship around the yellow shots.
"Lagoon Boy!" Nightwing barked. "Go get him!"
They headed towards the unconscious hero in the water, Lagoon Boy already securing a rope to the interior of the ship, tying the other end around his hand before ducking out through the floor. He trailed behind them by the rope, catching his armor-clad team mate.
Somehow, the two of them managed to not get hit by a single beam as they shot through the water. Morgan's heart was beating furiously with nerves as she waited, prayed, for the two of them to arrive unscathed at any moment. The floor opened up next to her and the two boys, surrounded by a bubble of water, floated into the ship, landing with a small splash as they touched down on the floor.
The two of them were pulled up by their team mates, Impulse strapping the unconscious Blue Beetle into a seat for his own safety.
The bio ship, now full of superheroes and rescued civilians, left the huge alien ship in the dust, erupting from the water a moment later. They wasted no time in blasting into the sky and away from the scene as quickly as possible.
Silence passed for several minutes as everyone found their seats, privately rejoicing a mission well done.
Impulse stood in front of Blue, anxiously waiting for him to wake up. Morgan had settled back into her usual seat, which happened to be right next to the unconscious hero. She wondered when the two of them had become such close friends for Impulse to refuse to leave Blue's side until he was awake.
Five minutes later, the dark-haired teenager suddenly flinched in his seat before his armor peeled back. "It's me, it's me!" He repeated urgently.
"'Course it is." Impulse raised an eyebrow at him like he hadn't expected any different.
Morgan had no idea what was going on. Had Blue Beetle ever been anyone but himself?
"Mission Accomplished everyone." Nightwing announced with relief, as if he'd also been waiting for Blue to wake up before speaking. "Well done."
He stood up from his seat and faced the Martian seated by his left in her boyfriends embrace. "Care to take the controls, Miss M?"
M'gann didn't react to the question at all. Morgan furrowed her brow and studied the girl as she stared off into space, wondering why she was acting like that.
"Uh, I think she'd still basking in the glow of victory." Beast Boy answered for her when she continued to stare out of the window, eyes trained on the scenery they passed. "She totally nailed Aqualad!" He enthusiastically explained. "You should have seen it! Well, actually it didn't look like much.. But I'm sure it was very cool inside their heads!"
Morgan tuned out the rest of the conversation and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she started dreaming about her bed – well, couch, currently – and a good night's rest.
March 31st
Dick returned to his apartment with a sigh, slamming the door louder than necessary.
Of course, just as they'd discovered the Light's new partner, the aliens decided to go public and announce themselves as friends of earth.
He was tired of being played by the bad guys, absolutely sick of always being one step behind. It was like he managed to take one step and was then promptly forced to take two backwards.
They were being played like a fiddle. And he didn't like it.
Morgan looked up at him from her seat at the kitchen table, her grey eyes analyzing the scowl he was undoubtedly sporting. "What's up?" She pried.
"You haven't heard the news?" Dick shot back in disbelief. It was the only thing that had been playing on the news all day.
Morgan frowned at him. "I've been in school all day. The only news I've been hearing is about is how Kate Johnson and Jackie Williams were found making out in a broom closet on the fourth floor."
He threw off his jacket and approached his fridge, serving himself a large glass of orange juice.
"The Light's partner, AKA The Reach, just went public today. They introduced themselves as a peaceful organization, only interested in creating friendship with Earth's inhabitants." He leaned against the counter and watched what she was doing. Papers and a text book were spread around her, covering the entire surface of the table. A pencil was tucked behind her ear and Dick thought she might've forgotten about it because she was holding another in her hand.
Judging by the complicated diagrams and formulas scribbled into her notebook, and the calculator in front of her, he figured she was doing her math homework.
Morgan fiddled with the pencil in her hand and gazed worriedly at him. "So before we can out them as enemies of Earth, they announce themselves, claiming to be peaceful?"
Dick nodded.
"Gotta admit that's a smart move." She sighed as she turned her eyes back towards her homework, typing in an equation on her calculator before writing the result down.
Dick sighed. "Unfortunately."
Morgan stood up from her bent position over her papers and shut her text book, stretching her back, moaning slightly as he heard it pop several times.
"Come on." She said, facing him. "Let's spar."
Dick frowned. "Why?"
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Because we haven't trained in eleven days. I'm starting to fall behind on it. And you need something to take your mind off of this."
"Morgan, you're not allowed to train for the next two weeks. You know that. We can't risk you causing yourself permanent internal damage because you're impatient."
"Please," Morgan frowned slight at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "If that's how you really feel, why on earth was I on that mission yesterday?"
"You were there as a last resort." Dick told her firmly, a stern look on his face.
Morgan's own features transformed into a partly angry and partly hurt look. "So that's all I am? A backup plan in case the better heroes fail?"
Dick sighed and ran a hand over his face, so not in the mood for a fight with her right now. "That's not what I meant and you know it." He said tiredly. "As long as you're still injured, yes, you're a last resort. But once you've healed up, you're just as important a member of this team as anyone else."
He took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance, aware that her anger was really stemmed in insecurity about her place and significance on the Team. "Stop doubting yourself." He softly ordered, smiling reassuringly at her.
He watched her eyes as they flickered between his, studying his face thoroughly as she chewed on his words.
"You should pack your things." He said once Morgan had relented and given him a small smile in return. "All of them."
She took a step back as she shuffled her papers together and stuffed them all into her textbook. "Why?"
"Because tomorrow, you and the others will be moving into a new location here in Blüdhaven. I've finally found somewhere suitable for the time being."
"Oh, which reminds me." Morgan suddenly spoke up, her cheeks heating slightly as she looked at her hands, clasped in front of her. "Does this building have a washing machine? I really need to borrow it."
"Uh, sure." He replied. "But you might as well wait until you move into this new place. It'd be much easier."
Morgan bit her bottom lip and tugged at a curl. "I know, but it's kinda urgent. I'm running out of a.. specific piece of clothing."
Dick's eyes widened with clarity. "Oh! Of course." He stood up from his leaned position against the kitchen counter and walked towards his front door. "I'll show you the washing room."
Morgan shuffled after him, pausing to pick up a small bag from the bathroom which Dick figured contained the 'specific pieces of clothing'.
To be honest, it was moments like this that made Dick relieved that Morgan was moving into the warehouse tomorrow. He was so not ready to live permanently with a female yet.
Happy New Year! (For those of you that celebrate News Year tonight)
So, moving into the Warehouse next chapter. Exciting! Definitely the half of the story where stuff really starts to happen. And we finally found out who the Light's partner is!
I kind of feel like this was one of my weaker action scenes/chapters, but Morgan can't really fight with her injuries, so, yeah.. Yup.
I'm finally done selling fireworks, which means I finally have the time to start writing on this story again. It was super frustrating because I'm probably a couple thousand words away from actually finishing it, so I just really wanted to write the ending, you know? But I didn't have to time and I was just like "GODDAMMIT LET ME WRIIIITE!"
Fun fact: Before Morgan got her wings and swore off bird-meat, her favourite dish was actually chicken.