Chapter 4: Perpetual Estrangement

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Metropolis

Nightwing

The two of them were like shadows creeping down the hill, taking cover behind rocks and trees. Ahead, skyscrapers cut across the sky like a mouth of crooked teeth, filling Nightwing with a sense of foreboding. They could hear fires roaring, causing windows to shatter and buildings to fall. Eerily, no sirens mingled with the sound, telling them there was no fire department fighting against the flames. They heard no shouting or screaming either – the city appeared to be abandoned.

Once they reached the outskirts of Metropolis, they realized it wasn't altogether abandoned; patrols of Reach soldiers were everywhere.

Dick motioned for a tall fence which they dove behind. He peeked over the side, watching the back of a patrol disappear behind a building up ahead.

"Let's go." He ran ahead, Morgan close on his heels.

"What exactly are we looking for?" she asked when they'd hid behind a dumpster, nestled against an apartment building. One half of the building had been leveled, rubble lying in large piles across the street. Smoke was still rising from the ruined center.

"We're trying to figure out what's going on here." He looked over the top of the dumpster, crouching down when six Reach soldiers passed by. Motioning for her to stay quiet, they sat with bated breath, waiting for the aliens to go away. "We need to capture one of those soldiers to interrogate."

"How are we going to interrogate them when they speak in that clicky, alien language?" Morgan whispered, also peeking over the top of the dumpster. Her wings were poking up a great deal and he quickly pushed her back down onto her butt.

"I have translation software on my computer," he revealed. "I worked on it with Blue Beetle after the invasion. In case something like this happened."

"Always the man with a plan," Morgan mumbled, leaning against the dumpster with crossed arms. "So, let's grab one of them. Only problem is they come in packs."

"We shadow a patrol until an opportunity presents itself," he sat down too. "Maybe we can find one that's traveling alone."

"Shouldn't we get up high for a better vantagepoint?"

He shook his head. "Negative. We need to stay hidden and close by so we can strike quickly."

He saw her roll her eyes. "S'not like I can fly and have telekinetic powers…" she mumbled to herself.

Dick rolled his eyes as well. Couldn't she understand that they needed to stick close to the ground to stay safe and hidden? Besides, if they got up high, he wouldn't be able to capture any of the Reach soldiers as quickly because of the added distance.

It was typical Morgan to be difficult for no reason. She just didn't like sitting and waiting. He knew he was being overly cautious, but the entire situation left him uneasy, and he would much rather they move slowly forward as long as they had no idea what they were dealing with.

They sat waiting for a long while, but no other soldiers passed them by. Soot was falling through the air like black snowflakes, settling on their heads and in her wings. Dick combed his hands through his hair to get rid of it.

He could tell Morgan was getting increasingly fidgety and impatient. The longer they waited, the more pissed off she became.

"You know what, I'm tired of wasting my time here with you." She got up and dusted off her suit. "How about you just sit tight and wait all day for another Reach soldier to pass by, and then I'll go out and look for one from above."

"We shouldn't get separated-" he began his protest, but she waved him off.

"Then stay put and I'll come find you later."

He wanted to hiss at her to get back down, but she shot off with a mighty beat of her powerful wings. His bangs tousled about from the wind she had stirred up, settling over his eyes. He sat frozen, jaw clenched, hand futilely stretched out before him, staring at the spot she'd just been in.

"Typical!" he huffed. Pulling out his escrima sticks, he merged them into a large pole. With his grapple hook in one hand, and his pole in the other, he shot at the top of the building and zipped away. He needed to keep an eye on her before she got herself captured.

Nightwing grappled and pole-vaulted across buildings as fast as he could, trying to keep up with the flying girl ahead. She stuck to the shadows, avoiding flying into any light from below, which comforted him somewhat. It made it harder to follow her, however, and more than once he was sure he'd lost her. Eventually, he saw her settle in a ruined building. The floors were all exposed, two of the four outer walls stripped away as if they'd been nothing but cardboard. All the windows were smashed in, and she landed by one of them, looking down below. He sprinted across the roof he was on, jumping across and landing in a roll on the floor above hers.

Grabbing onto the edge and vaulting himself down onto the floor she was on, he landed in an effortless crouch. Looking up, he realized she was gone again. He ran for the window to try and spot her, but the instant he reached it, she came crashing through it once again. He jumped back, unwilling to admit the fright she'd given him from her sudden appearance.

With outstretched hands, she guided her floating prize through the window as well, an unconscious Reach soldier. She let him fall in a heap at Dick's feet, flipping her braid over her shoulder, and turning her nose up at him. He was sure the haughty expression would've worked better if she hadn't had black soot peppered across her nose and cheeks.

"Next time, you should try believing in me just a tiny bit," she said with acid in her voice.

He was at a loss for words, not wanting to admit she'd showed him up and had been right to disobey his orders. He was searching for something, anything, he could criticize her on, but he came up short, and so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he bent down and produced two pairs of handcuffs he used to cuff the hands and feet of the alien.

"We should find a more private place to interrogate him." He hoisted the alien onto his shoulder and started walking away. Morgan wore a proud smirk, clearly enjoying her victory, and he staunchly ignored it as she fell in step beside him.

The private place they found was the kitchen of a dark, abandoned restaurant. Dick was tying the unconscious alien to a chair, while Morgan's curiosity had led her to look through the giant freezers and pantries.

"Best before May twenty-twenty-two?" she mumbled, looking at a pack of once-frozen green beans. "No way they last that long."

"Morgan, focus," Dick said irritably, watching as the alien began twitching and moving. "He's waking up."

The soldier's eyes blinked open, and upon seeing them, he started talking rapidly in the language of the Reach, straining against his bonds. Morgan came over, watching him neutrally with crossed arms. Her lips curled with distaste.

"Okay, do your translation-thing then." she said dismissively.

Pulling up his computer, Nightwing tried to activate the program. After a few seconds, the screen turned bright red, an error sound blaring out.

"I've got no connection." He frowned and tried again, with the same result.

"You what?" Morgan said, "You didn't think to check that before I kidnapped someone?"

"This has never happened before!" he shot back, his teeth grinding with irritation. "Just shut up and let me figure it out."

The alien had grown steadily more agitated, letting out a series of loud, piercing trills. Morgan jumped forward and punched him across the face, knocking him out cold again.

"Someone will have heard that," she said, anxiously looking towards the doors leading to the rest of the restaurant. "We should get moving."

No sooner than the words had left her mouth, did the sound of shuffling feet and agitated clicking reach their ears. They'd been found.

"Agreed," Dick closed his malfunctioning computer and pointed towards the back door. "That way."

The two of them ran for it, the sound of their assailants growing ever closer. Over his shoulder, Dick saw them burst through the entrance to the kitchen, just as Morgan used her telekinesis to blast open the back doors. They aimed their stun-staffs at the two heroes.

"Time to go!" he shouted, pushing her forward and out the door. They ended up in a dingy little alley, overflowing with trash and brown leaves. They wasted no time running off, taking a left turn onto the main road. Nightwings eyes scanned the area for any place to hide, routinely looking over his shoulders to make sure the aliens hadn't found them.

A blast whistled past his head, and he realized they'd been found. "Run!"

"What – do you – think – I'm doing!" Morgan bit out between heavy breaths, doing her best to keep pace with him on her short legs.

They ran in and out of small alleyways, past larger roads, through ruined buildings. Still, the aliens seemed right behind them. Dick turned a corner and cursed loudly when they found themselves at a dead end. Gigantic skyscrapers locked them in on all sides. They were made of glass, which his grapplehook would only shatter if he tried using. What now?

"You can yell at me later," Morgan said behind him, pushing her hands towards him. In an instant, he felt a tug at his torso, like an invisible rope, and he was sent flying – more like violently thrown – upwards. He reached just high enough to grab onto a hole in the building where a window had fallen out of its panel. He pulled himself up and jumped through it, landing in what had once been an office. Morgan flew in right behind him.

"Ow!" he barked, his abdomen throbbing in pain from the harsh tug she'd used.

"Yeah, yeah," she kept running past him, "I meant yell at me when we're out of danger."

The two of them could hear the clicking voices of the alien patrol, but it was further away now, their altitude gaining them a good head start.

"We should head back to the forest," Dick decided, looking out across the city to determine their location. "We're close. This way!"

And off they went once more. For the next ten minutes they ran and hid, ran and hid. No more patrols detected them, though it was a close call several times. Like two shadows, they slinked across the empty, ravished streets of the once lively city. They said nothing, their ears and eyes on pinpricks to keep tabs on their enemy. At last, they broke through the city and back up the hill they had come from a few hours ago.

With a sigh of relief, Nightwing reached the tree line. Finally, they were under cover once more. He looked down the hill but saw no one following them. Beside him, Morgan was catching her breath, leaning against a tree.

"C'mon, let's go further in before we rest," he sighed, walking away from the open space behind them.

A few minutes later, he halted and pulled up his computer, attempting once more to connect. Morgan sat down on a fallen log and studied their surroundings.

"I can't connect," he sighed after another failed attempt. "Which means either the satellite connected to the Batcave is destroyed.. Or the server at the Batcave is."

Morgan bit into her bottom lip, looking nervous. "I'm guessing that's bad."

Nightwing tapped at a few keys, trying to reroute his connection, but the error screen appeared a third time. He sighed and closed his eyes, standing stock still. He didn't know where or when they were. But it was obvious they weren't where they'd been before the appearance of the fog and their tumble through it.

All because Morgan had touched something she shouldn't. He felt his initial worry turn into frustration. It frustrated him that even now, after they weren't in a relationship anymore, he still had to save her from her own reckless behavior. He was still getting dragged into her messes, still having to babysit. He opened his eyes and they flashed with anger as he turned to her.

"What did you think you were doing touching the obviously magical item," his voice was thick with that usual disapproving tone, the one he knew she hated. "This is so typical you, Morgan! Of course, you go and touch the weird thing without a second thought – and look what happened!"

"I was investigating!" she protested.

"No, you were being careless!" he lectured, his voice hard.

She looked truly hurt at his words and she seemed for a second to draw into herself, angling away from him. He felt regret at the harshness, wondering why, once again, he seemed to go straight to accusatory anger.

Her wings fluttered in agitation, and she snapped towards him, her braid swinging around and settling on her shoulder. He saw a fire in her eyes that was so familiar.

"You barely trusted me when the fog appeared the first time," she spit out venomously. "We could've studied it then, but you were too busy shouting at me for doing my job! If we'd gotten the chance to study it that day, maybe we would know where we are now and we could've avoided this whole thing!"

She tugged at her braid like she always did when she was fighting that coil of emotions in her stomach.

"The only typical thing here is you giving me the blame for something before knowing for sure if I even caused it." She gritted her teeth and looked down, face thunderous, thoughts clearly whirring. "You decided the moment we met that I was reckless and stupid, and you haven't changed that opinion since." Her voice was intense, but she wasn't shouting. It was low and full of poison.

She might as well have slapped him. So, this was how she really felt? He stared at her in astonishment. A small part of him wondered if she was speaking the truth, but his hurt squashed it down.

"Of course, you're somehow finding a way to blame me again." He barked out an incredulous, singular laugh that tasted bitter in his mouth. His legs twitched with the want to start pacing, and he raked a stiff hand through his hair. "You go and do something you shouldn't have and instead of admitting you screwed up, you somehow twist it to be my fault!"

He was matching her poison drop for drop. He felt as if they were standing on the precipice of an endless fall and pushing each other over was as easy and inevitable as breathing.

"Because everything is my fault, right?" She shot back. Vaguely, Dick realized they weren't talking about the investigation anymore. "Surely, the great Dick Grayson could have no part in the blame. After all, you're perfect and I'm just a hot mess on the side of the road that was lucky enough to get picked up by you." Her voice was dripping with nasty sarcasm. And yet beneath the thick sarcasm, there was a clear note of hurt. He would've missed it if he didn't know her so well.

Perhaps he would've done well to listen to the meaning behind her words, but Dick was too hurt, too angry. Now, several months after she had broken up with him, he still wasn't sure he knew why, and he'd spent those months feeling confused, cast aside, and grasping for any kind of sense in the decision. The open wound in his heart had festered and turned his hurt into anger. Now, all that anger and hurt was being let out, and it was almost a relief, like an abscess that was being drained.

"Well, weren't you?" he challenged, his voice low and dark. Was she saying she hadn't been a hot mess that night he and Batman had picked her up and taken her to the Cave? Was she saying she didn't owe her whole life, as it currently was, to him finding her and convincing Batman to let the Team take her in?

Morgan looked like she was ready to throw hands, and she opened her mouth, about to shower him in every curse and colorful insult she could think of. Then, a change came over her. She closed her mouth and her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Her hands were clenched at her sides, but with her long exhale, she relaxed them. Opening her eyes again, she looked down, away from him. She slumped down onto the leftovers of a fallen tree, her body heavy and tired. He studied her profile, feeling rooted to his spot. Her wings fell limp against her back and she looked defeated. He couldn't identify what he was feeling inside, some strange mass of emotions so intense he felt his fingers tremble.

"I can't believe I thought we'd be able to work together. Clearly, it's still too soon.. if we'll ever be ready." Her voice was soft now, sad and resigned. All fight was gone.

He felt wretched. Every word out of his mouth for the past couple of minutes, he regretted. They were like a thousand small needles worming their way into his chest. Morgan looked at him again and the distance between them felt larger than ever.

She looked around at the clearing, and then towards the destroyed city beyond.

"We don't know where or when we are. And right now, we're all we've got," Her words were deliberately calm and soft, but they came out thick like her throat was trying to cut off her voice. "I suggest we try and work together, for now."

Dick worked to calm the pounding of his heart, trying to squash down the rush of adrenalin the fight had brought with it. It had felt both good and terrible to finally give voice to the myriad of frustrations and hurts he'd been wrangling inside of him for so long. But he was also deeply disappointed in himself, knowing such a show of weakness, of immature emotion, was supposed to be below him. He knew for sure Bruce would disapprove greatly if he'd borne witness to Dick's fit.

He tried to connect his computer for the last time, not exactly because he believed it would work, but because his shame was so great; he couldn't look at her.

"You're right," he sighed, closing his eyes, and leaning his head back in resignation when the inevitable error screen put a stop to his attempt. A second, long sigh blew past his lips. "We need to figure out what happened, and to do that, we need my computer to work."

Morgan nodded. She seemed cautious, like she was worried they'd start fighting again if she spoke too much.

"So, I'm guessing we should get to the Batcave."

A low rumble made the very ground vibrate and the two of them dove beneath the trees again as another battalion of Reach ships took over the skies. In silence they watched them pass by. Once the tail of the last ship had been out of view for a solid minute, they dared to move again.

Nightwing got on his feet and offered Morgan a hand up, but she didn't take it. He understood – it was still too raw, so soon after the terrible things they'd said.

He met her eyes, obscured behind her mask, as were his. A feeling of trepidation settled around them.

"Batcave it is."

In silence they walked, their first task getting out of the forest they were currently in. Dick could recognize the clearing as the same they'd been in during the wedding only hours before, but the forest had changed drastically. Many trees bore signs of fire, others had been razed to the ground, creating a frustrating path through the undergrowth. Big, ugly grooves had been cut into the ground, as if a battle had taken place there, which, he reasoned, it may very well have.

After twenty minutes, Morgan grumbled that she was sure this was taking much longer than it had getting to the clearing in the first place. The forest was wild, the trees growing so close together, she was unable to use her wings, and her short legs were struggling with all the fallen logs in their path. She was red in the face, her bangs even wilder and curlier than usual from the sweat on her brow.

Dick worked to keep his face neutral, resisting the urge to smile at her grumbling and struggling. He'd always found her the funniest when it was unintentional.

"We're not trying to follow the same path as the one we entered from for the wedding," he mumbled, pushing low-hanging branches out of his face. After his earlier surge of emotions, he now felt void and empty, his mind idly focusing on the task ahead of them. It was almost peaceful.

"And why not?" she huffed.

"Because we're trying to steer clear of Metropolis, since it's overrun by Reach," he shot back. "We're heading for Gotham, aren't we?"

Morgan didn't answer and they went on in silence. Not for the first time since their.. arrival, Dick wondered what was going on. Now that they weren't being chased by Reach in Metropolis, but rather walking somewhat peacefully, he had time to think. The sudden appearance of entire armadas of Reach Ships, and the destruction they had wreaked, confirmed that something was not as it should be. There were two possibilities, neither of which he liked. Either the two of them had traveled in time, or they were in another dimension. Perhaps even both.

He resisted the urge to try connecting his computer, knowing it was a waste of time. He hated when it didn't work, he used it constantly when he was on missions. Being without it made him feel like he had lost a vital limb. He comforted himself with the fact that they had a plan, at least. A plan that would hopefully get his computer back up and running.

A small sigh blew past his lips as he threw a discreet look behind him. Morgan was keeping a tight focus on her feet, grabbing onto a low-hanging branch to help her climb across a large log. She looked thunderous and he was pretty sure it wasn't just because of her difficulty walking.

Looking ahead and refocusing on the path he was trying to follow; he hoped his sense of direction wasn't failing him and they really were heading for Gotham.

He heard a branch snap behind him and a string of colorful curses. He couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Out of all possible scenarios to be stuck in.. why this. Why her. Why an unknown time or place, with nobody else there but the two of them. He was convinced some version of fate had it out for him. He was sure Morgan felt the same. Not that he believed in fate.

Another hour passed by and still they forged a path through the thick forest. Morgan yawned behind him. He had to admit, his eyes were burning as well. They'd both taken their masks off some time ago and he rubbed at his face. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew it had been just past midnight when they had encountered the fog in the forest that had started all of this. And he guessed their unsuccessful stint in Metropolis had taken them about two hours. Dick was loath to reach the conclusion he had, but he needed to accept the inevitable – they were going to have to stay the night in the woods. He decided to keep an eye out for any place they could catch a few hours of sleep. A patch of soft moss or thick grass, preferably hidden from the sky and any watchful eyes.

He found such a spot ten minutes later, nestled beneath a giant, ancient oak. Another large tree had fallen beside it, creating a little private nook where they wouldn't get spotted easily.

"We should camp out for the rest of the night," he halted and pointed towards the spot. "That's a good place to hide. We won't be seen." He started walking towards the oak, but Morgan didn't follow. Turning, he saw the doubt on her face.

"We should keep going," she said, hand already wrapped in her thick braid. A telltale sign she was nervous.

"It's probably almost four AM and we're both exhausted," he said. "You can keep going if you want, but I'm going to rest for a few hours." He walked resolutely towards the hiding spot and sat down on the moss-covered ground. It was surprisingly soft, and he was sure he could fall asleep there without issue, with how tired he was. He probably shouldn't have stayed up the night before to work, but he hadn't known then that he would be stuck in a forest now.

Morgan continued to hover for a minute. She was looking between the hiding spot and the path they'd been following, as if unsure if she should stay or go. She seemed to become aware of her nervous fidgeting with her braid, and dropped it, biting into her bottom lip in contemplation. Moonlight broke through the treetops and hit her face, her blonde hair glowing like silver in the cool light. She shot him a look and he made no attempt to avert his eyes as he waited for her to come to a decision.

She sighed in defeat eventually and marched towards the hiding spot. Halting by his side, she looked up at the tall oak. Holding her hands out by her sides, she started hovering, calmly floating upwards.

"What are you doing?" he got up from his seated position, grabbing onto her wrist before it got out of reach. "If you move out of the cover of the trees, you could get spotted."

She looked down at him and he was secretly impressed that she was able to keep her focus on her telekinesis even as she spoke.

"I'm just going to take a quick peek to see how far away Gotham is."

He could see the logic in that, so he let go of her wrist, wondering why she hadn't just said so. Back in the day, she'd have included him in her thought process, but he supposed it didn't feel natural to her anymore.

"Just be quick. Don't leave the tree."

She shot him an irritated look.

"Stop bossing me around," she said, some strangled emotion lending a strange cadence to her voice.

He stepped away from her quickly and turned his face to the side, hiding it in shadows as to better cover the expression he was wearing. He was sure he looked part hurt, part furious, but he said nothing. After all, he was neither her teammate, her mentor, or her boyfriend anymore. He wasn't even a friend. He had no authority, or even influence, over her or her decisions. Not anymore.

He sat, leaning against the oak with his arms crossed in front of him, staring into the dark woods with a gloomy look on his face. He wanted to say he wasn't brooding but he'd be lying. He'd seen Batman sit in the cave and brood every night since he was nine years old, he knew exactly what brooding looked like, and this was it.

Not even a friend..

Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

The line from his mother's favorite book came unbidden to him as he sat beneath the oak, contemplating their situation.

She'd read Persuasion to him when he was young, though he'd been too little to understand much of it. Then, when he'd turned thirteen, he'd tried to read it himself, trying to grasp at anything that could keep his dead parents close. Becoming a teenager had reminded him that he was changing, growing up, and every day he was becoming less and less the boy his parents had known. The line had hit him so profoundly then, perfectly encapsulating his confused feelings, even though he'd known it was about two estranged lovers and not the eternal estrangement of a child growing up separate from his parents. He'd stopped reading after that, but the line had haunted him for a month afterwards. Now, he supposed he understood what it had really been about.

Dick closed his eyes and threw his head back, resisting the urge to groan loudly, lest Morgan should hear, and instead just rubbed at his tired eyes. They were embarrassing, the thoughts he were having, given their current situation. There were so many other more important things for him to be worrying about. Metropolis was destroyed and no superhero had apparently been there to stop it. The Reach was back on Earth with formidable numbers – surely any of these things were worse than him and Morgan being forced to work together for a couple of days.

In fact, it really did worry him that Metropolis had been destroyed. Everyone knew that Metropolis was under Superman's protection.

What did it mean that Superman hadn't protected Metropolis? Was he off-world? Unable to stop it? Dead?

The rustling of leaves alerted him to the winged girl lowering herself from the branches above. She jumped off the lowest-hanging branch and slowed her fall with her telekinesis, landing softly.

"Yeah, you were right," she sighed,rolling from her crouch into sitting down, placing her crossed arms on her knees . "It'll take us hours to reach Gotham. It's probably best to call it a night."

He propped up one knee and rested his arm on it, watching her briefly. She sat ramrod straight, her eyes shifting around them restlessly. He could tell she was uncomfortable that they were stuck here together, that they had to spend the night in the forest. He was sure, if Gotham had been even slightly closer, that she would've kept walking. She looked scared as well, and he understood why. They hadn't really talked about their situation, what was going on, where they were. It weighed heavily on his mind too, but he hadn't tried to bring it up. Talking to her felt like trying to swim in tar; awkward and difficult.

Fiddling with a twig he had picked up, he searched for something to say. "How far off, do you think?"

She shrugged, staring straight ahead. "We're maybe a third of the way there."

He nodded, not looking forward to the long hike that awaited them in the morning.

They sat in silence for a minute. The surrounding forest had been cloaked in darkness since they arrived, but for the past ten minutes, birds had started waking up, welcoming the approaching dawn with their song. Dick knew the cover that darkness afforded them would be gone in a few hours, so if they wanted to sleep, they had to do it now.

"We should try to get a few hours of sleep before daylight," he said, pushing himself off the tree and lying down beneath it. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms, willing himself to fall asleep quickly. He was so tired; he was sure he could sleep no problem.

Morgan sat for another extended moment, but eventually he heard her shift and lie down. He peaked one eye open and saw her place herself strategically, so a large branch lay between them. Her large wings wrapped around her, obscuring her small body. She looked like a bird, burrowing into its nest.

Dick closed his eyes and let his mind wander, willing his taut body to relax. His thoughts muddled and he felt himself drift off into blissful nothingness.

You guys almost made me cry yesterday with your incredibly nice reviews! After being gone for this long, I wasn't sure what to except, but hearing that there are still people here who've been here since the beginning is so sweet and I love every single one of you!

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask - I'd love to answer them!

For this chapter, we got the first of several confrontations about their relationship. As you can tell, it's going to take them some time to really sift through all of the hurt and confusion. They're barely at a place where they can work together. Which is why I thought it was the best thing, in terms of narrative and drama, to stick them in an unknown situation and force them to work together!

I hope you enjoyed it! As usual, let me know what you think, I love hearing what you guys have to say!