Chapter 10: Fate? It's me, Morgan..

She was running, always running. Like a siren, a loud wailing sound pierced her ears, disorienting her as she did her best to flee from the flames growing ever closer. Flashes of images blurred across her vision, too many and too fast to decipher. They made her stumble as she lost focus on where she was going. She looked behind her as the smoke manifested into a shape, its arms morphing into wickedly sharp knives. Before her was a wall of fire. To her sides, more flames. She was trapped.

The dark shadow loomed ever closer, circling her like a lion shrouded in darkness on a moonless night.

She turned her back to the flames, one hand clutching the bundle she was carrying close to her. The other arm stretched out towards the shadow, palm facing outwards, bidding the shadow stop. It did not. She tried to use her telekinesis, but it did not work.

The flames at her back were getting uncomfortably close, almost licking against her wings. She was trapped.

The figure broke free of the smoke, its own dark entity now. It was on her in a flash, and she recognized the sharp pain as it stabbed her all the way through her abdomen with its blade-like arms. She felt as if she was cut in half, and she let out a low, shocked gasp.

"Laever!" called a sudden voice, far off and muddled. She blinked in slow confusion. The words seemed to carry no effect for a short moment, but then the blackness that shrouded the figure in front of her melted slowly away, siphoning out through its feet and blending into the smoke around them.

Before her stood a known figure, tall, broad, and imposing. She was sure, if her guts hadn't been spilled onto the floor as she slowly bled out, her stomach would've clenched at the sight.

His evil face was split in half by a pleased smirk, but there was no mistaking him.

Black Beetle.

May 30th

Watchtower

Sparrow

Morgan leapt from the cot she had been laying on, shaking like a leaf. Her stomach roiled uncomfortably, and she felt nauseous. M'gann disconnected the mind link she'd established between Zatanna and Morgan and hurried to her. Zatanna sat and blinked in shock for a moment as she, too, woke up.

Morgan's shaky hand wiped at her sweaty brow. The image of Black Beetle, standing above her with that look on his face, the flames lighting up his evil face, was too much. What did it mean? What was happening to her? Didn't it matter that they'd changed the fate of the world – was she still destined to die by his hands?

Ignoring the two girls, she stumbled out of the room, fast. She knew it wouldn't change anything, but she needed to remove herself from the room where her nightmare had been uncovered. She had to get away, she just had to keep moving.

On uncertain legs, she moved down the hall, not taking any note of M'gann and Zatanna following close behind her, both attempting to calm her down and stop her frantic fleeing. Their pleas fell on deaf ears - she was lost in her panic.

Her stomach gave another loud gurgle and she realized she had seconds to find a bathroom.

Somehow, she'd know it was him all along, she just hadn't known that she knew. The image of him flashed across her mind once again and she let out a small whimper.

She didn't know how it was going to happen, or when, but to the very depth of her soul, she understood one thing:

Somehow, somewhere, Black Beetle was coming for her.

May 30th

Watchtower

Nightwing

Nightwing looked around the Watchtower in search of Impul- Kid Flash. Two years, and he somehow hadn't gotten used to calling the young boy by his new title. Dick was loath to admit it, but the mantle of Kid Flash would always be Wally's to him. It was nothing against Bart, he was a fine addition to the Team, and an eager, tireless worker.

"Bart!" He called, once he spotted the younger boy.

The teenager zipped up to him in a single second, already talking.

"Thank god you're here Nightwing, I reaaally need to talk to you about something super important," he began. Nightwing quickly held up a hand and Bart somehow managed it to snap his mouth shut.

"Let's find somewhere we can talk first, since it's that important," he said with a hint of humor to his voice.

The two of them walked down the hall, Bart practically shaking from Dick slow pace, heading for one of the smaller conference rooms. Then, a figure barraged past them, knocking into Dick's shoulder on their way.

Nightwing blinked as a grey wing pushed against his chest, separating him and Bart. The whiff of a well-known perfume instantly told him who it was.

He followed her figure with his eyes and realized she was in distress.

"Sparrow?" He hesitated to call out to her, but it was pure instinct. Bart looked at her in open confusion as well. Their eyes met, and he shrugged at Nightwing.

Next, around the corner came Zatanna and M'gann, both calling out to Morgan urgently.

"M'gann, what's going on?" he demanded to know. The alien halted briefly in her pursuit and silently motioned for him to follow.

He instantly shook his head. "I don't think I-"

"Just come!" she snapped.

He hesitated for a second more before following the three women at a brisk walk.

"But what about my urgent news?" Bart whined. Nightwing grabbed onto his shoulder and made the teenager follow along.

The small group of four was led by a stumbling Morgan, heading straight for the women's bathroom.

"Actually, it can probably wait." Bart attempted to make a quick getaway when it became obvious he was expected to follow. Nightwing tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder and led him on. Morgan burst through the door and into a stall where she proceeded to puke her guts out.

Dick felt his chest clench with sympathy – he knew she hated throwing up. In his mind's eye, he recalled a weekend she'd gotten food poisoning, and she'd spent all day with her head in the toilet. She'd been the most miserable he could recall he'd ever seen her, bar the week following her father's death, and he'd spent hours stroking her back and trying to coax food and drink into her.

The four of them stood clustered around in the bathroom, suddenly unsure now that their mad dash had ended. The atmosphere was awkward, punctured only by Morgan's wet heaving. Dick's hands twitched as he fought the instinct to go comfort her. M'gann rushed forward and placed a calming hand on Morgan's back, where Dick felt his should've been. Morgan coughed wetly once more, and then she sagged and leaned the side of her head against the flimsy wall of the stall, her breath slowly relaxing. Her back was facing them, her wings sagged and tired looking. They stood for a good minute without saying anything.

"Alright, is anyone going to explain what is going on?" Dick cut through the silence, swallowing any annoyance so it wasn't detectable in his tone. He hadn't exactly volunteered to be part of this little gathering and he was still struggling to figure out why M'gann had even asked him to follow.

Zatanna and M'gann shared a look but ultimately kept quiet. They cast their eyes back onto Morgan's miserable form. A visible shudder went through her, but she didn't move from her position on the floor.

"Black Beetle's back." Morgan's voice was nothing more than a hoarse mumble, but he heard her clearly. A shiver ran down his spine. She turned and leaned her back against the wall, her profile looking sweaty and sickly.

"What're you talking about?"

Zatanna cleared her throat, "Morgan has been having dreams-"

"Prophetic dreams," the girl in question corrected.

"We can't know that for sure." Zatanna frowned.

Morgan turned and looked at her, her eyes as sharp as ever despite her tired countenance.

"And how can't we know that for sure? How do you explain having the same dream over and over for weeks? I already had one nightmare that turned out to be prophetic, how do you know this one isn't too?"

"I just don't want you to reach the worst conclusion possible when we haven't looked into this for real yet."

Morgan got up off the floor quite suddenly. Dick felt like his head was spinning.

"I'm not trying to be dramatic here," she bit out, lightning in her eyes. "I know what I've been seeing, and I'm just trying to be realistic. Black Beetle is coming." She cast her eyes onto Dick for a second, acknowledging that the two boys were there as well. Bart stood ramrod straight, for once not fidgeting where he stood.

"He's coming for me." She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and looked down. Instantly, the bruises under her eyes seemed to deepen and her skin looked pale and gray. Her next words were only a whisper, clearly meant for her own ears. "I guess it's just my fate."

Icy water seemed to replace all blood in Dick's veins as he was starting to catch up. Terror gripped at his heart at the very thought of her words coming true.

"No, it's not," his mouth took on a life of its own as he found himself fiercely denying her self-appointed death sentence. Everyone turned to look at him and he willed himself to stop talking, but he currently possessed no control of his own voice. "I don't care whatever dreams you've been having; we're not allowing them to come true."

"We?" Zatanna mumbled, sharing a look with M'gann.

Dick ignored them, taking a step towards Morgan. His fingers itched with the want to grab her face or stroke her hands to calm her and encourage her. He spoke with an urgency and intensity that surprised even himself.

"That was your old fate, but we changed the timeline. He can't get to you anymore, we made sure of that."

Morgan looked doubtful but cast him a look of gratitude. Warmth pooled into his stomach, chasing away the ice, as they maintained eye contact.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Bart suddenly spoke up, having been uncharacteristically quiet. All eyes turned towards him. "I think something is wrong with our timeline!"

Nightwing squinted his eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

Bart looked so urgent he was all but vibrating. "I realized it on the day of your wedding," he indicated towards M'gann. "After the.. explosions-" everyone grimaced at the memory of the ruined wedding, "- I recalled something similar – no, identical – happening in the old timeline. Same with the attack of the Reach ship in Happy Harbor. Same with the fire at Arkham that killed the Joker. All of that happened in the old timeline, in the exact same way - almost as if someone is trying to mimic the old timeline!"

"This must be connected to the mystery women and the spell that sent us into the other dimension," Dick said thoughtfully. Morgan looked shocked but nodded.

Bart looked at Morgan.

"What exactly happens in your dream?"

Morgan cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable at having to recall it. Nightwing was about to protest on her behalf, but she started speaking, and her voice was strong, collected.

"I'm in a burning building, running from him. At some point, he corners me on the roof, and I can't get away. I think – I think my wing is broken, so I can't fly."

"Is there a baby with you?"

Morgan drew back and frowned at him.

"Is there a what?" she cast a quick look towards Dick, who pretended he didn't notice at all.

Bart groaned with impatience.

"Is. There. A baby. With. you."

"I-" She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm carrying something, but I haven't seen what it is yet." Her eyes widened. "Now that you mention it, there's a sound that's been in the background of every dream, I just haven't been able to place it before now. A baby. Crying."

She bit her lip. Dick scratched the back of his neck. Images of a young boy with black curls and gray wings popped up his mind. Had she seen Alex as a baby? M'gann and Zatanna looked between the three of them with increasing confusion and intensity.

Both Morgan and Dick clearly remembered exactly what little detail Bart had offered them about Morgan's death, and how she'd died trying to save her child.

Their child.

"That's exactly how you die in the other timeline." Bart fisted the hair at the top of his head, eyes wide and worried. "Guys, I have no idea what's going on, but this can't be a coincidence, right? Three incidents are a pattern, and then you're having dreams about stuff from the old timeline?"

Dick sighed. He really wished they hadn't had this conversation in the women's bathroom.

Zatanna cleared her throat and all eyes fell on her and M'gann, who had stood largely forgotten to the side.

"I think it's time we talk to Doctor Fate. My knowledge about stuff like this is limited, but since he's a God of Order, he should know more. I detected unknown magic at all those sites, but I haven't been able to do much with it. His magic works very different from mine; maybe he has more answers. And maybe he knows more about the spell that's been causing all of this."

"There might still be time to fix whatever this is, if we act fast," M'gann encouraged. "We've been quick to catch on, we can nip this in the bud before it turns into a crisis."

"When can we talk to Doctor Fate?" Morgan asked, looking slightly less gray in the face as they formulated a plan.

"As soon as possible. I'll contact him and explain everything no later than tonight," Zatanna sighed, looking resigned at having to talk to Nabu, who she so loathed.

"It's a deal, then." Nightwing spoke up again. As leader of the Team, he was used to having the last word during meetings. "Z, let me know as soon as Doctor Fate has anything."

"Let me know," Morgan quickly interjected, shooting him a quick look before taking a step forward so she stood closer to Zatanna. "This is my mess. I'll deal with it."

"This is everyone's mess if it's true that stuff from the old timeline is happening in ours," Nightwing quickly pointed out, "As leader of the Team, it's my responsibility to-"

"Are you seriously pulling rank with me right now? They're my dreams! And I'm the one under a spell! You're only here right now because you just happened to be walking down that specific corridor." Morgan pointed towards the door and the hall on the other side. She looked flustered but stubbornness was clearly seeping into her stance. "I'm not letting you sideline me when this is about my life and potential death."

"This is about all of us!" Nightwing pointed out with impatience. "You made it my problem too when you grabbed me, and a piece of that spell was passed onto me!"

"You grabbed onto me first!"

The three other people in the room exchanged looks.

"Here we go again," Bart mumbled.

"Alright, you two!" M'gann quickly cut between them, "How about we work together to solve this, hmm?"

Dick crossed his arms and huffed. Morgan blew a stray curl out of her eyes and looked stubbornly away from him.

"Fine." The two of them chorused.

May 31st

Gotham

Sparrow

A strong breeze had brought in an icy downpour over Gotham city and Morgan was miserable in her Sparrow suit. She sat hunched over a gargoyle on one of Gotham's older buildings, trying to catch some relief from the horrid weather. The streets were rapidly clearing, every shady character hurrying out of the rain. From her position above, she thought they looked like rats scuttling along. She wondered, however briefly, if she wouldn't do best to join them. If even Gotham's underbelly was smart enough to get out of this rain, what did that make her, when she chose to stay?

But alas, she had to stay put. Not every person on the street had chosen to get out of the rain, unfortunately. The cluster of four men she'd been shadowing for the past ten minutes were still walking along, unbothered, or undeterred, by the freezing rain. They hadn't done anything untoward.. yet. Sparrow supposed after living in Gotham all her life and working as a hero for a couple of years, she had gotten a sixth sense for this kind of thing. Something simply told her she needed to keep an eye on them, so, braving the cold weather and lack of sleep, she kept watch.

She pushed thoughts of her latest nightmare to the back of her mind. She hated to admit the toll they were taking on her. Especially now that she knew what they were about. Now that she knew.. Black Beetle was involved.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Bart's warning. Was she really doomed like this? Had all they'd done, all their fighting and planning to avoid the Reach invasion, been in vain? Was changing the fate of the world even possible?

Sparrow pushed soaked curls out of her face and gnawed on her bottom lip. The biggest question she was left with was: who was behind all this? Magic didn't happen on its own. Someone was causing this. Did the mystery women work alone, or was there someone else controlling events?

She scowled behind her mask. When she found out who it was, she was going to wring their neck, magic or no magic.

The four men rounded a corner and Sparrow propelled off her perch on the gargoyle, floating along and landing on the roof of the building above the street they were on. They were getting agitated, she could tell. Their voices were muffled by the rain, but she could hear that they sounded more aggressive, stressed even.

One of the men pulled out a shotgun, which had previously been hidden under his large trench coat. She swallowed down nerves. She hated when the thugs she fought had guns. Her suit was bulletproof, of course. Didn't mean it didn't leave a nasty bruise when she was hit, the few times it had happened.

The other men followed suit, pulling out their own firearms. Sparrow decided she probably needed to strike soon. She wasn't about to let four agitated and armed men run around on the streets.

"Well, nothing to it," she mumbled. She unfolded her wings and made to jump over the railing of the building when a firm hand grabbed onto her shoulder and held her back.

Acting on instinct, she grabbed onto the forearm of her attacker, took a step backwards to kick out their feet from under them, and vaulted them over her lowered back. The dark figure did not land on their back, as she had anticipated, but rolled and got on their feet with ease. It took Sparrow a second to gauge him properly through the heavy downpour, but the dark, foreboding presence of Batman was easy to identify. She realized she'd just tried to assault the Dark Knight.

Yikes.

"Uh," was all that dumbly came out. She stood frozen for a moment.

He motioned for her to be quiet and lay low. Robin's small form appeared beside him, and he shot her a look of disapproval.

Quickly, she crouched down and waited for further orders. The one person she'd wanted to avoid in Gotham, she had to meet. So far on the few patrols she'd gone on, she'd managed to avoid him, but now her luck had run out. Feebly, she tried to remember the encouraging words Karen had offered her when she'd assured Morgan that she had every right to patrol in Gotham as well, but it seemed they had drizzled out of her brain with the rain.

Something, something, she was a Gotham native, and she had every right. She attempted to muster up some of that defiance against authority figures that came with her unresolved daddy issues, but something about getting caught by Batman in his city rendered her meek. She hated being meek.

The four men below walked on and were soon out of sight.

Batman motioned with a flick of his head, and Robin caught the hint. The young boy went in pursuit of the gang, leaving Sparrow alone with his mentor.

"Sorry for interrupting you," he said, his voice less gruff than she felt like it usually sounded. "Your hunch that they were dangerous was correct. They're part of a new gang that's been cropping up. Robin and I have been shadowing them, hoping they'll lead us to one of their hideouts."

Sparrow's mouth had been left gaping open in shock at Batman apologizing to her.

"Oh!" she scrambled to gather her thoughts. "Then I'm sorry I got in your way."

She stood stiff as a board. Any second now, she expected him to tell her off, let her know in no uncertain terms that this was his city, and he didn't need help from a little girl like her.

"Good move, before," he said instead. "Quick reaction. Nightwing taught you well."

If possible, Sparrow got even more uncomfortable. She realized she'd much rather have him scold her for patrolling Gotham, than whatever subject he was trying to approach now.

"He always told me to never rely too much on my telekinesis," she neutrally answered.

Silence for a moment. Then, she decided she couldn't take it any longer. Besides, she had never exactly shied away from confrontation. She took a deep breath and breathed life into the defiant fire that always seemed ready to ignite in her.

"Are you going to tell me to stop patrolling in Gotham?"

He seemed to size her up for a moment and she met his eyes unflinchingly. Rain drizzled down her face in small rivulets, soaking into her collar and down her suit.

"No." His voice rumbled over the single word. Morgan released the breath she'd been holding.

"Good." Her voice was strong. She was sure he raised an eyebrow at her, though the cowl obscured the movement.

"Gotham's a troubled city, as you well know. It needs all the help it can get, especially now that a new, heavily armed gang is on the move," he explained. "If I recall correctly, you're born and raised here; this is your city as much as mine."

She wondered at her own words being thrown back at her. Had Batman somehow listened in on her conversation with Karen? She hoped not, because then he had probably also heard when they'd called him her superhero grandfather.

Morgan bit her lip and peered up at Batman through her dripping curls. Did Bruce dislike her for being Dick's ex? She had to wonder. Surely, he was above stuff like that, but Morgan knew he was protective of his adopted son, in his own way.

Studying the man before her, she also wondered if Dick ever told him that she knew his secret identity.

She wondered at the way darkness seemed to bend around him and towards him; his suit and presence were so dark, he seemed to be where the shadows originated from. Morgan blinked a few raindrops out of her lashes and came back from her musings. Batman was still studying her.

"Thank you," was all she could think to say.

A small, colorful shape materialized next to Batman. The new Robin regarded her with a superior look, and despite being at least a head shorter than Sparrow, she got the distinct feeling he was looking down at her. Morgan couldn't help but wonder where exactly Batman had found this new Robin. He was much pricklier than the earlier versions.

"I placed a tracker on their leader. They're headed for the Narrows."

"Good," Batman looked at Morgan again. "Good luck on the rest of your patrol."

A dismissal. Sparrow quickly bowed out.

"And good luck to you on taking down this gang."

She wasn't sure if her words were heard, as the dynamic duo had already moved across the rooftop and disappeared. Standing there for a moment longer, she realized her eyes were swimming – and not just because of the heavy rain. She was exhausted.

Deciding to go home wasn't a difficult decision. She knew the shady men were well taken care of, and she had no more energy to spend. With a tired sigh, she spread her wings and took to the murky skies, flying home sluggishly.

She spent a few minutes inside wringing water out of her soaked hair. In the end, she simply tied it up and placed a towel on her pillow. Her body all but absorbed into the warmth and comfort of her bed and she let out a long groan, stretching like a satisfied cat.

She was so exhausted that she slipped into a heavy, dreamless sleep for the rest of the night. No nightmares plagued her.

June 2nd

Watchtower

Nightwing

"Thank you all for being here," Kaldur's calm voice gathered the attention of all present. "I believe we are all aware of the purpose of this meeting, and so I will skip explanations."

Nightwing looked around at the colorful gathering, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate, Impul-Kid Flash, Zatanna, Sparrow and himself. This particular combination of heroes was an unusual one. Sparrow in particular shifted around in her seat, uncomfortable. He knew she wasn't used to being included in meetings like this. They were usually reserved for people with a leadership role.

To him, they were second nature by now.

Aquaman motioned for Wonder Woman to start her part of the tale.

"As we all know, Nightwing and Sparrow discovered portals between our timelines. Three separate women have been spotted by these portals, and their descriptions of these women align with that of the three Fates." Some eyes fell on either of the two heroes, sitting as far away from each other as the table allowed, "I have been traveling for a few weeks, first to Themyscira to inquire with my people, and then to Greece. There, I performed an ancient ritual to summon the three Fates."

Nightwing felt like, by now, he should've seen it all. And yet, a ritual to summon ancient Greek gods was news to him and made him blink in astonishment.

Wonder Woman continued, "The ritual was a failure. However, nobody has had dealings with the Fates for several hundred years."

She frowned thoughtfully and leaned her elbows on the table.

"There is a chance the Fates know I have tried to contact them and simply ignored me because of what they are planning. I am resolved to keep looking. There are several ways to reach the Greek deities."

"So, what now?" Bart quickly demanded. His feet were tapping on the floor, unused to sitting quietly for so long. How he got through a regular day at school was beyond Dick.

"Well, we know magic is involved," Zatanna supplied. "Sparrow, Doctor Fate and I have been running a few 'tests' and whatever Sparrow touched, she absorbed a small piece of magical energy into herself, some of which was passed on to Nightwing. As we all know."

Morgan slid further down in her seat, her cheeks reddening at her reckless behavior being put on display.

"But why the 'portals' are even appearing, we don't know. And why now?" Nightiwng wondered. It was one piece of the puzzle they still didn't have. If it was true that someone was creating the portals and using spells to pass through them, there had to be a reason – and was the reason bad news for them? Was this something they had to stop, or was their only issue how to get rid of the spell they were harboring? He was frustrated by the lack of answers, but he was used to investigations like this. He knew that, eventually, things tended to come to light. They just had to stay vigilant and be ready to act or react accordingly. Sometimes, the best of course of action was allowing things to unfold, for a time, before striking at the right moment.

"So far, we know the spell and the portals have to be connected. Someone is using them to pass between our realities. But the spell isn't just allowing Morgan to potentially travel between dimensions, it's also giving her strange dreams, some of which have predicted the future."

"Only one, really, so far," Morgan quickly added, when several eyes fell on her.

"We're not sure why. The magic's unfamiliar to me," Zatanna finished.

"It is not unfamiliar to me," Doctor Fate spoke up for the first time, his booming, echoing voice out of place in the small room. All attention was on him as he rose from his seat with an air of finality. Dick's stomach dropped with a feeling of foreboding. Fate positioned himself across the table from Morgan and began talking directly to her.

"I have conducted my own studies. What we are dealing with is the merging of timelines. These fogs you have described to me are the manifestation of rifts where the fabric separating our two timelines is at its thinnest. They have been growing steadily in strength and number, as the fabric slowly tears. Whatever will be behind this, I cannot say. One thing is clear; the reality Kid Flash diverted us from by traveling back in time, is seeping back into ours. Fate is shifting, and you-" he pointed directly at Morgan, "are now at the center of it."

The silence surrounding them was deafening. Dick looked around at the shocked heroes. Morgan's face was ashen.

Shit.

I FINISHED MY EXAMS TODAY AND I DID WAY BETTER THAN EXPECTED SO HAVE A CHAPTER.

This was a classic Jo (me) cliffhanger, so I hope you appreciated it.

Ok so a few things I think I should've cleared up before: This story obviously doesn't follow the third season of the YJ- Uhm, because I kinda hated it? Or I was pretty critical of it and a lot of the choices made.

I was, however, very on board with Kaldur being the new Aquaman and leader of the League, so that's what I'm going with here, because who the hell doesn't adore Kaldur and want him to lead the League? It makes sense why Dick would naturally step up and lead the Team, once Kaldur moves on to the League, too, so it fit nicely with my story.

A bit of a short chapter - the next one is pretty long tho and a new and a very exciting character is introduced! I'm going to do a bit of bribery and say if I get enough lovely reviews, I'll have the next chapter uploaded ASAP. It's a great one, I promise. We've got it all - world-ending drama, new antagonist drama, batman trying to talk about feelings drama, trying to text your ex and being awkward about it drama...

Hope you enjoyed!