Chapter 29: The Moirai

October 12th

Watchtower

Sparrow

A knot had settled in her stomach hours ago, and it had yet to ease even the tiniest bit. Morgan stood staring at the map Nightwing had blown up until it was giant and covering at least a quarter of the airspace in the Watchtower mission room.

The room was full; every sorcerer and scientist the League knew, who had been able to show up on such short notice, had gathered. The most senior members of the League were there, standing with Nightwing at the front. He had only just finished explaining the rift-phenomenon to everyone there, the mix of science and magic that it was. Now, the people gathered had split into smaller groups, all discussing theories and ideas on how to deal with the rifts before their reality was torn asunder.

And then there was her. Morgan had placed herself off to the side, wishing to avoid any eyes on her. She'd had to explain her involvement briefly and she had to admit; she didn't much enjoy public speaking. It didn't make her nervous per see, it just made her uncomfortable with all those eyes on her.

She couldn't help but feel like this was all a waste of time – if they couldn't figure out what was causing these rifts, then what was the point? Her experience with the rift in Alaska had shown her one thing; the rifts weren't random, and whoever was creating them had some kind of vested interest in her. For reasons she couldn't fathom, someone had chosen her as the centerpiece to this whole thing.

What was she supposed to do, then? She was still unclear on that part. Nightwing, Batman and Zatanna seemed adamant to keep going as they had – seal the rifts faster than more could appear. And she would happily contribute, but she couldn't help but feel like it was pointless.

"Sparrow." Her head snapped up as Nightwing called her to attention. Batman and Zatanna were watching her too, as she approached the three of them.

"What do you think?" Nightwing asked.

"Uhm," she said.

Dick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You weren't listening."

"I wasn't listening because this is a waste of time," she said, her voice taking on an edge of warning. The frustration she had tried to keep under wraps threatened to burst to the surface.

"A waste of time?" he challenged her statement. "Do you have a better idea?"

"I- maybe? I'm not entirely sure, I just know this isn't going to fix anything. So far, the only people who have been able to seal these rifts are us, correct?

"Yeah," he sighed.

"And if it's true that I'm the sole carrier now, then it's just me who can seal them."

"Exactly."

"And by now, there are hundreds of rifts across the entire planet, correct?"

"I- yeah," he seemed to realize what she was getting at.

"Okay, so how in the hell am I supposed to travel across the entire globe and seal up all of them before it's too late?"

"I know we can't seal them all – that's why everyone here is working on figuring out a way to stop them another way. You and I just need to do what we can to buy them as much time as possible."

"If you really want to stop this – then stop treating the symptoms and go after the source."

"How? We don't know what the source is!"

"We know Diana is close to finding the Fates in Greece!" she reminded him. "Why don't we go there and help her track them down and confront them? Zatanna-" Morgan turned to their friend and the sorceress snapped to attention, "you did something similar when Blue Beetle was cleansed. Do you think this is a viable option?"

"Uhm," Zatanna looked at Dick quickly, who didn't appear pleased. "Yes. I think it's a good idea."

Dick sighed.

"You're outvoted," Batman said, not without a tiny bit of humor.

"You too?" Nightwing looked at his former mentor with an air of exasperation. Batman nodded.

"Sparrow is right. We need to go after the root cause."

"If we take the bioship, we could be there tomorrow morning," Morgan suggested.

Dick deliberated her case for a moment, but he didn't take long to become convinced.

"Let's go then," he said, nodding resolutely. "Batman, keep me updated on any solutions you guys cook up."

He grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly and Morgan smiled at him, grateful that he hadn't rejected her idea. Butterflies erupted in her stomach at the touch and she was reminded of the kiss they had almost shared only hours ago.

"It's a long trip. Better pack for an overnight flight."

"I'll bring the snacks, and you pick the movie" she joked trying to wipe the worried look off his face, even as she battled with her own. Dick snorted at the bad joke before heading off to loan the bioship from M'gann.

She watched him leave, the knot in her stomach still holding tight. She felt that they were approaching the endgame of this rift-phenomenon. For better or worse, something was coming to a head.

"I found the book," Zatanna revealed, pulling out a heavy tome from the bag she had slung over her shoulder.

"The one the other Zatanna had?" Morgan realized, recognizing the ornate, purple cover. She set aside the leftover wrapper of her dinner and leaned over to get a better look at the book. The language was still unintelligible to her.

"Can you read it?"

Zatanna grimaced and nodded slowly, which didn't instill confidence.

"It's slow progress. The writing is magical so it's less about learning how to read it than it's learning how to access it. So far, it seems to be about magical travel and summoning."

Morgan drank from her water bottle and nodded to show she understood.

"I'll need time to decipher the rest. And quiet, to concentrate." Zatanna explained. "I figured I would use the trip to decipher the rest of it. I'm going to enter a state of magical meditation, so you guys won't be able to contact me."

Morgan saw several issues with that. What if they were attacked? What if the ship was shot down?

She was about to voice her worries, but Zatanna spoke over her before she got the chance to; "I'll break out of it if anything dangerous happens."

"Okay," Morgan shrugged, getting off the floor at the back of the ship. "I'll leave you to it."

She grabbed another sandwich from the bag of provisions they'd packed and headed for the bridge. On her way, she took one of the sleeping bags they'd brought, since they were scheduled to fly all night.

Nightwing came into view, sitting in the captain's seat. His hair stuck in all directions, and she assumed he had been running worried hands through it a number of times. He had his computer screen blown up in size, showing a map with hundreds of red dots flashing.

The sight of it made her heart sink and she tried to swallow down the worry that threatened to take over her thoughts. She knew they both struggled to accept that there was nothing to be done for the next several hours. Evidently, he was having an even harder time than her - not a surprise, since he viewed every problem as his to fix.

"Stop torturing yourself," she murmured as she went to stand beside his chair. Impulsively, she reached over and tucked some hair behind his ear. Dick sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept her focus on the matter at hand.

"Barbara called. Dozens of the sites have Reach showing up now. The Beetles were spotted too. We've got every hero on alert, trying to keep them contained for now, just in case. So far, they're only there for a few seconds at a time before disappearing for hours, but that might change quickly. Superman is in contact with the army." He sounded exhausted and he ran a hand through his hair again, untucking the lock she had just moved.

"What if we're making a mistake?" he sounded truly unsure, "What if someone else could have found the Fates while we seal portals?"

"You know it has to be us." Morgan wasn't used to seeing him this uncertain, and it almost made her waiver in their plan. "We're the only one's that's even seen them. Diana's been looking for months without luck. It has to be us."

"Eat." She pressed a button on his wrist, and the screen shut down. Then, she offered him the sandwich she was holding. "I know you skipped dinner."

He accepted the sandwich as she walked to the middle of the bridge and opened the sleeping bag. She lay down on it, shifting around a bit. It was certainly less comfortable than a bed, but better than some other places she'd had to sleep in the past year.

"Where's Zatanna?"

"In a trance. She's studying up on the summoning ritual for tomorrow."

Dick watched her and she deliberately kept her gaze on the ceiling of the ship, her eyes taking in the purple material. Then, he got up and headed for the back of the ship, probably to verify her statement.

He came back out a moment later, carrying his own sleeping bag. Approaching the captain's seat, Dick pressed a few buttons. Morgan let out a little gasp as the lights in the ship dimmed to near complete darkness, and the top of the hull grew translucent, giving her a brilliant view of the stars.

In the dark, she could see Dick's outline approach, and he set down his own sleeping bag beside hers. She swallowed thickly when he lay down, close enough that she could reach out and touch him if she wished to, but not so close that she could feel his warmth.

The stars were beautiful. Being in the middle of the ocean, they were miles and miles away from any light source, and it showed.

"I thought the stars in Alaska were pretty but this," she whispered, not sure why she felt the need to lower her voice. "This is something else."

Dick didn't answer, other than an agreeing hum.

They lay in silence for a while and Morgan felt her worries creep up. There was nothing to distract her, save for the beautiful view – but it could hardly work forever.

"What happens if we go to Greece and the Fates can't be found – or worse, they won't cooperate?" she whispered.

They both knew the answer – that's why neither had dared to pose the question before now.

Morgan picked at her fingernails in the dark.

"Then I guess we come up with some other plan. We have the advantage of knowing what's in store, unlike the other us did," Dick said, failing to sound confident.

They grew quiet again. Several times, she could hear Dick gear up to say something – he would open his mouth, think better of it, breathe a deep breath, and then close his mouth again.

"Black Beetle's in Gotham," he said. Morgan felt her blood turn to ice in her veins, but she didn't answer. "At the Watchtower, Nabu told me that the veil between our two realities is ready to rip apart completely at any moment. There's.. There's a chance we can't stop this."

"Then we accept that we can't stop it, and we find another way to defeat the Reach," Morgan said, stubbornness seeping into her tone. Impulsively, she reached over and grabbed his hand. Dick's fingers laced with hers, and he squeezed her hand tightly.

The stars really were beautiful.

"I could look at this view for hours," Morgan whispered.

"My dad used to tell me about the stars," Dick responded, his voice far off as he revisited memories. "He loved space. He would tell me stories about the constellations."

Morgan felt her heart flood with warmth.

"Do you remember any?"

"He told me about Cassiopeia," he revealed. "The night before they died."

She had no idea what to say to that. Morgan kept quiet, searching for the right words.

"Did your dad really leave the same night my parents died?" Dick asked, when they'd both been quiet for a while. His warm hand was still in hers, and it kept her grounded.

"Apparently," she said.

"It's almost freaky," he mused. "What are the odds?"

"Some might call it.. fate," she mumbled, and the scoff he immediately let out made her quirk a tiny smile.

"It's just math. We could calculate the statistical probability-"

"Actually, I'd rather Black Beetle just kill me now," Morgan interrupted him quickly.

"Don't joke about that," he said, and while she couldn't see his face in the dark, the raw emotion in his voice was easy to hear.

"Sorry," she said. She knew how heavily it weighed on him - clearly, he wasn't ready for her to make jokes.

"It's late," Dick responded. "We should try to sleep. Who knows when we'll get another chance to."

Morgan nodded, even though he wouldn't see it in the dark.

"Goodnight." She closed her eyes and tried to think of nice things. Eventually, she settled for the warmth in her hand and the feeling of a thumb gently drawing circles along the back of it.

October 13th

Corinth, Greece

Nightwing

Apparently, Diana had been spending her time digging up information about the different cults of the Fates, though she claimed information had been sparse. Then, she'd used said information to visit the different places where the cults had been located, hoping to sense their presence so she would know where to summon them. She had been unsuccessful so far.

Which brought them, now, to Corinth. The last known place of a temple dedicated to the Fates. If this wasn't it, then they would have to start their search over.

"I always wanted to go to Greece," Morgan mumbled, looking out across the rocky landscape that stretched out before them. She looked tired, but he knew why – she had had another nightmare during their trip. He'd woken her up in the night and pulled his sleeping bag closer to her, so he could stroke her hair as she tried to fall asleep again. Neither had gotten any more rest after that.

Behind them was the bioship, docked and camouflaged on top of the hill they were currently on. Ahead lay the landscape of Peloponnese, with modern day Corinth behind them. They weren't visiting modern day Corinth, however. They were purely there for the ancient city.

"When this is all over, I'll take you," he offered easily, earning him a small smile.

"I want to travel by boat," she revealed. "Sail from island to island. Hope you have a license."

"As a matter of fact-"

"Of course, you do," she laughed, not sounding surprised in the least.

"I don't!" he revealed. "But how hard could it be to get?"

"Probably harder than getting the boat."

She closed her eyes and turned her face upwards, soaking up the sun.

"Did you bring sunscreen?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Morgan peeked a single eye open and looked at him.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."

She did, however, move into the shade of a tree.

Dick grinned at the stubborn girl and looked out across the landscape. A small figure was heading towards them and the glint of a sword revealed their identity.

"Diana's here," he said, pointing in her direction. Morgan's gaze followed his pointer finger, shading her eyes under her hand.

"I'll go wake up Zatanna." Morgan headed for the Bioship to wake up their friend. Zatanna had emerged from her trance in the late hours of the morning and had gone straight to sleep. By now, she'd had a few hours of sleep, but that was all she would get, unfortunately. They had to get moving.

Diana met them on the hilltop just as the two younger women exited the bioship, Zatanna looking groggy.

"Welcome to Greece," she said, her face serious but her voice pleasant. "I have found the remains of the temple we're visiting. I hope your presence may help bring them out of hiding."

"We'll do our best," Morgan nodded. Zatanna hiked her bag further up on her shoulder, her face resolute.

"The temple is just down this hill – which is why I requested we meet here."

Their trek was short – but hot. Though it was October, the sun was still warm, and the terrain wasn't easy to pass over. Dick fared without issue, but Morgan was looking a little red in the face by the time they hit upon a naturally occurring outcropping on the hill. The first thing Dick noticed was a fallen pillar, the individual blocks laying in a row like dominos. Other pillars still jutted up, though they were all broken close to the base, and the stone lay scattered across the ground.

"This is it?" Morgan asked.

Diana nodded. "There is not much left. The temple was abandoned, and nature has laid claim to it."

Dick pulled up his computer and started scanning the area.

"It's the right place," Morgan said. "I recognize it," she sent Dick a look. "From one of my dreams."

He nodded seriously. "Then let's find the Fates."

Their group spread out and started looking across the sanctuary grounds. Zatanna and Diana both went through the trees, following the remains of an ancient road. Morgan studied the upturned pillar, her face carefully blank.

Dick went to the center of what had once been the temple, based on the placement of the pillars around them.

The broken leftovers of what may once have been a temple floor, was now overgrown and crumbling after millennia of being exposed to the elements. In the middle, the floor had given way to a naturally occurring hole in the bedrock. As he approached it, Dick peeked down and found the hole much larger than he had expected. It wasn't a hole - it appeared to be a tunnel. Perhaps it lead to a larger cave?

Slabs of what had once been the floor of the temple lay scattered across the mouth of the opening, but beneath these, he recognized roughly hewn stairs. The tunnel had been in use, then. Perhaps well before the temple had even been built.

"Guys," he said, to catch the others' attention, as he scanned the tunnel. "I think we should have a look at this."

Diana reached him first, and she appeared to see what he saw.

"Diana, can you remove the rocks covering the entrance?" he asked, and the Amazon jumped down to do exactly that. Zatanna and Morgan reached the two of them as Diana held up a slab of rock for Dick to grab and move away.

A minute later, the entrance was cleared.

The three younger heroes watched as Diana crouched down to peer into the darkness that awaited them.

"The passage is free," she told them, looking up briefly, her blue eyes blazing with determination.

One by one, the three of them stepped into the tunnel, waiting for the previous person to walk down far enough to allow the next space.

Morgan had gone down as the last, and she seemed to hover by the entrance.

"Will I fit?" she asked. Dick understood she wasn't wild about going underground – and he had to admit he wasn't sure if she would. Her wings had gotten her stuck before.

"There is a snug passage here, but the tunnel opens up ahead. You will fit." Diana was furthest ahead and had the best read on the tunnel.

Morgan shuffled her feet for a moment, but then she joined them further down.

The tunnel stretched on for only a minute or two, and the further down they went, the less damaged and more pronounced the staircase became. The rock wall appeared naturally formed, a rough tunnel snaking down into the bedrock with the width and height of the tunnel changing as they went on.

Dick saw animal bones scattered about, white in the light of his flashlight. White bones meant they had been burned and he realized they may have been sacrifices. Further down, pottery started mingling with the bones and he could tell from the decorations that they were very old – at least three thousand years.

"This place is very old," Diana's voice was muffled in the tight tunnel, "perhaps from the Greek bronze age."

Dick was very grateful that Diana was there – if there was one person, he would want to explore an ancient, Greek cult-site with, it was her.

The tunnel opened into a larger cave, as he had predicted. The cave carried more signs of human activity. Small figurines, pottery and animal bones were scattered along the edges of the room. The floor in the middle had been flattened out, hewn with ancient tools into a flat surface to walk on.

A little stream at one end of the cave bubbled forth into a pool of clear water, before disappearing through another crack in the bedrock, continuing down – how far he could only guess.

"This place must be the reason a temple was built on this site," Diana said.

"I can sense.. something." Zatanna sounded hesitant to pinpoint what, exactly, she could sense. "I think this is the place."

"So, what do we do now?" Morgan asked. Dick looked back at her and noticed that she looked white as a ghost – a pallor that wasn't helped by the cool light from his torch.

"I'll have to feel out this energy," Zatanna said. "Give me a moment."

Zatanna sat down in the middle of the floor and her eyes started to glow as she channeled into whatever she was sensing.

Morgan tugged at her braid absentmindedly, and Dick resisted the urge to pull her under his arm, where he could reassure her that she would be okay even though they were underground. He was aware that Diana's watchful eye was on him - on them.

This wasn't the time, anyway.

Zatanna woke up only minutes later.

"This is the place," she said confidently, sharp eyes falling on her two friends. "Time to activate the spell."

Getting up, she pulled out the tome from her bag. Riffling through it, she must've found the right page, because she read through it and then started digging through her bag, pulling out item upon item.

"What are those?" Morgan asked.

Zatanna held out a coin to her, and upon it were etched symbols, not unlike the ones they had used to close the portals. She grabbed Morgan with one hand, and Dick with the other, and guided the two of them to the middle of the cave.

"This summoning ritual is more about opening a door to their world – these coins are sort of the cousin to the coins you've been using to close portals."

"Only these open a portal to wherever the Fates are," Dick realized.

"Exactly," Zatanna nodded. "Once I've placed them in the correct order, you'll use the spell to activate them, and the Fates should appear."

Zatanna, while talking, had placed the coins around her two friends in a specific pattern. Now, she stepped back and observed her handywork, nodding with satisfaction.

"The Moirai may be tricky to talk to," Diana said ominously. "Be prepared. Fate is usually never clear, and neither are they."

Dick looked at Morgan, who stood before him. It had been a while since they'd last activated a spell together, and now she would have to do it alone. He still offered her his hand – perhaps it could help in some other way.

"Ready for answers?" he asked, and anticipation made his heart quicken. After months, they might finally get answers. They might finally stop what was happening.

Morgan's tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip, and he could see her swallow nervously. But she nodded and placed her hand in his. He quickly grabbed her other hand as well, squeezing them tightly. Her fingers were cold, but he hardly minded. She closed her eyes and stood still for a moment. Then, he got to see as the spell came over her.

Morgan's eyes blazed gold when she opened them again. He felt the energy crackle along his hands, but that was it – he didn't feel the hum go through his body, didn't feel his mind grow hazy. He saw the golden tendrils erupt from their hands. Unlike the first time, when they had snaked aimlessly around them, each tendril now reached out and touched one of the coins on the floor. The coins shone gold as well, and rose off the ground, spinning in the air. The whole room became illuminated in a warm hue.

Then, a shudder went through Morgan's body, and when she opened her mouth, a foreign voice began to speak.

It rang as if three spoke as one, and it was in a language Dick had never heard before. The voice echoed unnaturally in the small room, and he kept his grip tight on her hands. Morgan's feet rose from the ground and she hovered a foot in the air, her hair moving as if underwater. He didn't let her hands go, irrationally scared that she would simply disappear if he did. The energy of the spell stung his hands, but he kept his grip tight.

He was both awed and terrified. Awed that he was clearly in the presence of ancient, powerful beings. Terrified because they had possessed Morgan, and he was scared that it was hurting her.

By the time his mind caught up to him, he realized he should have been recording the encounter. Whatever the Fates were saying was lost to him, as he didn't understand a word of it.

But it was too late. As quickly as the foreign voice had taken over Morgan, it let her go again, and she slumped, her hands slipping from his. The spell was broken, and Dick caught Morgan before she hit the ground.

Zatanna looked shocked. Diana looked utterly serious.

"Did you hear it?" he asked desperately, hoping someone had understood. He clutched Morgan tightly to him.

"We did," Zatanna said. "I didn't understand."

"I did." Diana said, and her grave voice spelled out bad news.

Morgan stirred, her eyes blinking open. The golden film was gone.

"What happened?" she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes, allowing Dick to help her to her feet. His hand hovered by the small of her back, protectiveness rearing its stubborn head at what he had just witnessed. Was she okay? Had the possession done any damage?

"The Moirai spoke through you," Diana told them.

Morgan closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. "What did they say?"

"They said they are not responsible for the rifts." Diana's cool eyes remained on Morgan, and Dick felt a weight settle in his stomach. A dead end. They'd wasted all this time coming here, when they should've been out closing the rifts.

"What else did they say? Do they know who's behind all this?"

"They did not care to explain why someone has been taking their form." Diana shook her head. "They did, however, offer us a warning. They said that we have a month before the events unfolding will become irreversible. And-"

Diana halted with a furrowed brow, as if unsure how to parse the information she had been given.

"And they said her time is approaching."

Dick felt his insides freeze as he looked at the grave, yet sympathetic look on Diana's face.

"Whose time is approaching?" Morgan asked, though the dead sound of her voice told him she already knew. They all knew.

No.

Diana looked more serious than Dick had ever seen the Amazon. She didn't waver as she kept her gaze on Morgan, which only revealed the truth all the more. The truth he already knew he was going to deny.

"Yours," she said with a heavy voice. "When the fabric between realities is torn asunder, you will be lost."

This is by far the shortest chapter in the entire story but, by god, I needed that cliffhanger in my life. I promise I'll have the next chapter out soon, to make up for it!

My own interests are on FULL blast in this chapter. I had to physically restrain myself from being like "Nightwing saw a skyphos lying on the ground and from the pendent, semi circle motif, he could tell immediately that it was of Euboean make, probably early geometric." because unlike myself, I know that he has not written, nor does he ever plan to write a master thesis on Iron Age/Protogeometric Attic and Euboean ceramics soooo.

I have to admit the stuff with the cave beneath a temple is pure fiction - while there was a sanctuary dedicated to the fates in Corinth, I was unable to find pictures of the remains. And while there are examples of natural sanctuaries - caves or specific creaks and such - those are usually for more nature-y deities like Pan or Asclepius. I figured I was allowed to make something up since this is just fanfiction and not, in fact, my thesis.

It was inspired sort of by these natural sanctuaries, and the stories of underground gases leaking up to make the Oracle of Apollo high as a kite when they did their prophesies. I figured it would make sense for a super ancient site, imbued with the presence of the deities, to become a place of worship for many centuries, and as a result, a temple would be built on top of it, probably in the archaic or classical period.

But look at that, I got to combine my two main interests! There's a reason I keep using greek deities in these fics. I can't help it.

So anyway.. Looks like Morgan is about to have a bad time. Boo!

As usual I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you have a great weekend!