M O U N T J U S T I C E
October 23, 17:05 EDT
Rhysalin Queen was a quiet person by nature.
Most people who didn't know her, and even some people who did, would classify her as more than a little bit shy, and she was generally distrustful of new people.
But, when you did get to know her, you'd realize that there was a lot more to Reese than met the eye. Yeah, she was still a bit quiet and didn't generally want to speak unless she wanted to, and really only spoke to people she really trusted, but she was more outgoing than she was during a first meeting.
As of right now though, six days after the training simulation that turned out to be far more disastrous than Batman had meant, Reese had been sitting in front of Dinah in the room where Black Canary was doing her "assessments" (i.e. seeing how thoroughly traumatized the Team was) for the last fifteen minutes, and she hadn't said a word.
Reese hadn't spoken much during the last week in general, not willing to talk about what had happened, even though she had "died" before the full brunt of the Team's grief had hit her, since she had been the second person to get disintegrated after Artemis.
She and Dick had been joined at the hip ever since they had all woken up, not willing to part if only to make sure the other was still there. Dick had even stayed over in Star City the past couple of nights, and Oliver hadn't been able to find it in himself to complain about it.
"Baby bird..." Dinah's soft voice made Reese glance up at her. "We need to talk about what happened,"
But, Reese only shook her head, bringing her knees up to her chin and sinking deeper into the armchair across from Dinah.
She was the first one to "talk" to Black Canary, mostly because Reese had wanted to get it over with, rather than letting the experiences of what had happened stew inside until they finally exploded.
Now she wished she had waited. Dick and the others were outside in the common room, waiting for their turns, and right now, Reese wished she was out there, rather than in here, with every fiber of her being.
"Fine then," Dinah continued, as Reese's fingers began to tap against the arm of the chair in rapid succession. She wished Dick were here with her. "If you won't talk, I will. Reese, you haven't been sleeping. I've noticed it, your Dad's noticed it, and I'm pretty sure Dick's noticed it too since the two of you always end up pacing the living room around midnight,"
Not a lie, but Reese couldn't stand to sleep. All she saw whenever she closed her eyes were Green Arrow and Black Canary getting disintegrated by that alien cannon in Taipei, and then Artemis in the arctic, and there hadn't been anything for Silverbird to do.
She hadn't been able to save them.
So, instead of facing her nightmares head-on and potentially getting rid of them, Reese did the opposite. She ran away from them, staying awake as long as she could without making herself sick, and had used up another thirty-five pages of her sketchbook trying to distract herself.
Her recent drawings had been pretty morbid, and Reese was planning on burning them when this was all over, so she'd need a new sketchbook before long.
Maybe for her birthday...
"Reese!" Dinah's voice made the twelve-year-old glance up at her and judging from the look on the blonde's face, she had been trying to get her attention for a while.
"What?" she asked finally, and Dinah gave a small smile, seemingly pleased that she had finally gotten the brunette to speak, even though it was only a single word.
"You know, Reese," Black Canary began, leaning forward and bracing her elbows on her knees. "That I can't fully fathom what you and the others went through, but it's never a good idea to keep all that grief, all those feelings, bottled up inside. When it all comes out, it won't be good,"
"I have enough grief for one person," Reese muttered, leaning her cheek against her knee as she glanced towards the sliding doors that led back into the corridors of Mount Justice, and if she listened, she was able to hear the somber heartbeats of the rest of her friends.
Wally's heartbeat had always run a little fast since he was a speedster, and they generally moved faster than the usual human being, but this time, Dick's heartbeat was almost as fast, though why that was, Reese wasn't entirely sure.
Worry, she suddenly realized. Dick was worried about something and, much like she was, was tapping his fingers against the arm of the couch to a tune that Reese couldn't place, and a minute later, his footsteps sounded as he stood up, beginning to pace in front of the coffee table.
"Dude," Reese heard Wally mutter morosely from where he had been sitting at the kitchen island before Reese had joined Dinah, his tone so unlike the exuberance the speedster usually possessed. "Chill. Reese'll be back in a few minutes,"
He was worried about her, Reese realized, feeling her face turn warm. That was sweet. Dick was sweet.
Suddenly, Reese turned back to Dinah, seeing the blonde staring at her, sympathy brimming in her blue eyes.
"No one your age should ever have to go through what you have," Canary began. "But, the fact that you have gone through what you have, and risen above it, shows just how strong you really are, Reese,"
"I think strong is the wrong word to use," Reese muttered. "I mean, I found out two months ago that my biological father did something to my DNA that made me have my powers, and his research made Mark Desmond mad enough that he was willing to kill for it. I only survived because Green Arrow saved me,"
"Aren't you glad he saved you?" Dinah asked, and Reese glanced up to see that one of the blonde's eyebrows was raised.
"Of course," she answered. "But, I can't help but think, if my DNA wasn't...whatever it is, then Desmond never would've had to kill Lauren or my parents for it,"
"But he didn't get it," Dinah added. "You survived, and Reese, your DNA doesn't make you weird, or an abomination, or a freak, it makes you special. You've honored Derrick Michaels's work by becoming Silverbird and becoming a hero. There will always be people who oppose you, or who belittle you, but by showing them that their words don't affect you, you'll affect them,"
Reese glanced to the side again, wondering if maybe Dinah was right. Ever since Silverbird had first come onto the Star City scene as Green Arrow's newest protege, there had always been some corners of the media that attacked her. Verbally, that is.
Mainly because of how young she was, or the fact that they thought a girl wasn't strong enough to keep up with Green Arrow or Red Arrow and make a big difference.
Of course, the last time someone had said something like the latter, Oliver took their company out of business, wiping the floor with them as Oliver Queen, rather than his alter-ego.
"This was different, Dinah," Reese said softly, sitting cross-legged on the chair as she finally met the blonde's gaze. "I thought my world was ending the day my parents died. But this--this was a million times worse,"
Dinah's face fell, and she sat back in her chair, patiently waiting for Reese to continue, now that she was finally opening up.
"I knew it was a simulation," she began. "You know, at first. But, I saw you and Dad die, and I-I didn't know if Red Arrow was still alive; I didn't know where he was. And then--and then Artemis died at the Fortress of Solitude, and suddenly it was real. You and Dad were really dead, and because I hadn't heard from him, I began to think that Roy wasn't coming back either,"
Subconsciously, Reese pressed her hand to her side, where a jagged icicle had scratched her after Artemis died. There wasn't even a scratch there now, there never really had been one in the first place, but Reese still felt the pain from it.
"That was why I couldn't let Dick die too," her voice was so quiet, Dinah almost didn't catch it, but she did, and when she heard what Reese had said, Black Canary swore she almost started crying herself.
"Tell me about that," Dinah said after a moment, not wanting to spook Reese enough that she stopped talking again. "Why did you sacrifice yourself to save Robin at the Hall of Justice?"
"Are you kidding?" Reese responded, her eyes widening. "I had already lost you and Dad, and I had no idea where Roy was, or even if he was still alive. So, when I knew that a cannon was pointing at Dick, that he might be the next person to--to die, I just...I moved. I couldn't lose someone else that I love,"
There were so many things that Dinah could unpack from that explanation, but there were a few things that stood out to her, so she tilted her head to the side.
"You said you knew that a cannon was pointing at Robin," she said first, more than a little bit confused. "How? How did you know that?"
But, Reese only shrugged. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "It was as if I just...sensed that he was in danger, and I needed to stop it from happening,"
"Has this happened before?" Dinah asked, and Reese shrugged again.
"Once or twice," she said. "Since the Injustice League, I think is when it started. Dick said that when I was wearing the Helmet, he could feel when Wotan would shoot Nabu, but at first, we just thought that was a side effect of Fate's magic,"
"Now you don't think so?" Dinah asked, cueing another shrug from the young brunette in front of her.
"I don't know what to think," she said. "Kent Nelson died before he could fully explain a lot of things to me, and he wasn't much help either when I put the Helmet on. Except for--"
Reese abruptly cut herself off, glancing to the side as she bit her lip, and Dinah settled back in her chair.
"Except for what?" she asked, and Reese turned back to her.
"Before I took off the Helmet of Fate," she began slowly. "Kent told me some more about the golden arrowheads he gave me in August. He said...he said that, if either Dick or I were to die, then the arrowheads would turn to lead, and we'd turn numb,"
"You think the danger-sense had something to do with that?" Dinah asked, and Reese shrugged again.
"I have no idea," she said before her eyes widened. "You can't tell Batman about this!" she exclaimed. "He's suspicious enough about the magic we have as it is, and I really don't need him to freak out at me even more,"
"Nothing we say in here will leave this room," Dinah answered, before narrowing her eyes. "But, Reese, how do you know Dick hasn't already told Bruce about what the two of you found out?"
"He hasn't," Reese said, her tone brokering no argument, but Dinah wasn't swayed.
"How do you know?" she asked, only for Reese to send her a dry look.
"Because he told me," she answered simply, and Dinah settled back in her chair, suddenly reminded of the second point she needed to address about this whole situation.
"Reese..." she began slowly. "Earlier, when you explained why you saved Robin at the Hall, you said that you couldn't lose anyone else that you love. You obviously love your father, and Roy, because they are like your family, but what about Dick? Do you love him?"
"Of course I do," Reese answered, though judging from the way her face turned beet-red, Dinah knew it wasn't as simple as that.
"I mean," she corrected herself. "Do you love Dick as your brother, like you do Roy?"
Reese's nose wrinkled as if she had just smelled something sour, though Dinah had been expecting that reaction.
As long as Dick and Reese had known each other, and as long as Dinah had known them, their relationship had never really been one between siblings. They just never saw each other that way.
"What I'm asking, Reese," she continued. "Is not if you love Dick. I know you do. What I'm asking is if you are in love with him. Trust me, there is a difference,"
For a few seconds, Reese shuffled in her seat, bringing her hands up into the sleeves of her hoodie. Ironically, the sweatshirt had once belonged to Dick, but Reese had stolen it months ago.
Finally, the brunette sighed, looked at Dinah, and gave a small nod.
Dinah was surprised. Reese was a pretty private person in general, and getting her to admit to something as complex and complicated as her feelings usually took a lot more work. But, it seemed as if, once Reese got talking about what happened during the simulation, she was just admitting everything.
Reese, on the other hand, felt...at peace. She had known that the rest of the Team had all thought that she and Dick were dating for a while, regardless of what the two told them, and maybe these feelings had always been inside her, and maybe she had been too scared to realize that, but she hadn't been 100% sure of them until today.
Now, all she had to do was tell Dick.
No pressure.
"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" she whispered, and Dinah's face softened before she answered.
"Baby bird, Dick adores you. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think," Quite the opposite, in fact, if Dinah was being honest. She was pretty sure the only person who didn't know that Dick was in love with Reese was Reese herself.
"But what if it is?" Reese asked. "If I tell Dick, and he doesn't feel the same way, it will ruin our friendship. I can't do that,"
"Reese..." Dinah said slowly, reaching forward and setting a hand on the younger girl's knee. Reese tensed up at the physical contact, but she didn't move away. "You won't know unless you try. But, you don't have to do it right away. Wait until you're ready,"
The pre-teen brunette bit her bottom lip, and gave a small nod, before she glanced up at Dinah again, fingering the arrowhead around her neck.
"Are we done?" Reese asked quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper, and Dinah sat back in her chair, knowing that Reese had said all she was going to. It wasn't worth keeping her if she wasn't going to speak.
"You can go," the blonde answered, and as Reese neared the door, Dinah called after her. "Send Conner in next, please,"
Reese nodded again before the automatic doors slid open, and she walked out. In the hallway, Reese leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath and clenching her eyes shut.
She figured she was reaching her quota for the number of days spent without sleeping. Reese knew that sleep deprivation couldn't directly kill you, but after a week, you start hallucinating, and she was nearing the seven-day mark.
She wished there was a way that she could get a good night's sleep without the nightmares. But, every time she closed her eyes, those memories would be there, and she couldn't do anything about it.
Everyone turned to look at her when Reese entered the common room again, and though she knew they were all feeling the same way--morose and slightly traumatized--it was still a bit creepy.
"Superboy," she said quietly, glancing towards the genomorph who had been sitting on the couch, staring listlessly at the TV static. "Your turn,"
Without a word, Conner stood up and went in the direction Reese had just come from, and after a moment, the brunette walked across the room to where Dick was sitting and sat down next to him.
"You okay?" Dick's voice was quiet, barely more than a breath, but Reese heard him anyway, and she glanced over. Robin's eyes were glimmering behind his sunglasses, and the--the pain that Reese saw there made her heart twist into knots.
"No," she answered honestly because she wasn't. None of them were okay, not really. "But, I'm better,"
Reese knew it would take a long, long time before any of them were really okay, maybe they never would be, but the most they could do, aside from talking with Black Canary, was lean on each other, because they all had gone through the same thing, and were really the only ones who knew what the other was feeling.
"That's good," Dick tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, so Reese knew that he was acting more for her benefit, than for his own.
She stared at him for a moment, before she remembered what Dinah had said. There was no way that Reese was planning on telling Dick her feelings anytime soon because A) right now was a terrible time to do so, and B) unless she was blatantly put on the spot, she wouldn't say anything.
Reese was definitely not confident enough to make the first move.
As if he could see the wheels turning inside her head, Dick scrunched his eyebrows together and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, Conner stormed into the common room, and judging from the thunderous scowl on his face, his session with Dinah had not gone well.
Superboy stalked right through the room and out the other door, towards the main cave, without saying a word to anybody, though whether or not anyone would have responded to the genomorph if he had spoken, Reese wasn't sure.
Briefly, Reese wondered if she should stay in the common room, and let Conner blow off some steam himself, but then she mentally kicked herself.
It didn't matter. Superboy was her friend, and Reese wanted to make sure he was okay. Though, the definition of the word 'okay' in this situation seemed to vary wildly.
She just wanted to make sure Conner didn't do anything dumb.
Quickly, and before she could chicken out of it, Reese kissed Dick's cheek, stood up from her spot, and walked out after Superboy.
She found both Conner and Wolf by the former's motorcycle, and it looked like they were getting ready to leave, though where they were going, Reese wasn't sure.
"Going somewhere?" Reese asked, standing a ways behind Superboy and the genetically engineered canine, and she was able to see the precise moment that Conner's entire body tensed.
"Yeah," he snapped. "Out," Then, Conner revved the engine of his bike, before nearing the ramp that led outside. "Red Tornado, hangar door,"
The door opened, and while Reese knew that Red Tornado (obviously), Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and likely Batman, at this point, were all in Mount Justice along with Black Canary, the brunette was surprised that none of the older Leaguers had stopped him from leaving.
Of course, that was until Sphere rolled in front of Conner, beeping wildly.
"Sphere!" Conner exclaimed, waving an arm as Reese walked up next to Wolf. "Out of the way,"
But, the sentient alien ball that Superboy had brought home from Bialya didn't listen, instead, it only began to beep more wildly, before it...unfurled, from it's, uh, sphere-form and became some sort of large, super high-tech alien motorcycle-ship.
It was kind of hard to describe, but judging from the look on Conner's face, Reese figured he hadn't known that Sphere could do this either.
"You, uh," Conner's voice made Reese glance over, to see the genomorph rubbing the back of his neck and looking sheepish as he glanced at her. "You wanna come with?"
Reese blinked for a few seconds because it was only a moment or two before Superboy had bitten her head off for asking what he was doing.
But, at least he was making an effort to be nicer.
"Sure," Reese answered quietly, before pulling her phone out of her pocket and sending a quick text to Dick.
To: Flying Grayson
Sphere went through some sort of metamorphosis
Conner's going for a spin
Be back soon
<3
Hopefully, that text, though it was pretty vague, wouldn't give the Boy Wonder a nervous breakdown, because that was the last thing that Reese wanted right now.
But, a second later, her phone buzzed again.
From: Flying Grayson
???
Be safe
Hoping that Dick's text was code for "I'm not having an aneurysm because you disappeared", Reese put her phone back in her pocket, before joining Conner in the new Sphere-Cycle.
"You ready?" Superboy asked, and Reese took a deep breath, before glancing over her shoulder at him.
"Yep," No.
Maybe she had jumped the gun a bit when saying she wanted to come with. I mean, this was an alien motorcycle, who knew what it could do?
But, before Reese could back out and jump to the ground, Conner revved the engine, before the three of them (since Wolf had decided to come along as well) rocketed off into the sky.
This...might have been a bad idea, Reese realized to herself as she, Wolf, and Conner flew higher up into the sky.
But, it was too late to back off now, and Silverbird knew that Conner still needed to wind down from whatever he and Black Canary had talked about, so she was pretty much just along for the ride.
Hopefully, this didn't end badly.
E A S T E R N S E A B O A R D
October 23, 18:04 EDT
Reese loved the ocean.
Star City was on the West Coast, and every summer, before Roy had left, Oliver would take the three of them to the beach, and they would spend hours just messing around.
It had been, was still, even though Roy obviously didn't come with anymore, one of Reese's favorite things to do.
Now though, she, Conner, and Wolf were flying over the Atlantic, and Reese closed her eyes as she felt the spray of the salty ocean water hit her face.
It was...calming, almost, to be next to the water. Reese knew that water as a whole was generally a great stress-reliever, and after her therapy session with Dinah, Reese had desperately needed this, to get away for a while, she just hadn't known it at the time.
"Let's see what our boy can do!" Conner exclaimed from behind her, and Wolf let out an almost agreeing-sounding bark.
Superboy revved the engine again, and Sphere suddenly went in a loop, prompting Reese to let out a high-pitched squeak.
"Sorry!" Conner said hurriedly as he straightened out again. "I forgot about the whole heights thing,"
"It's alright," Reese answered, using one hand to brush her hair away from where it had blown in her face from the wind. "Don't stop on my--whoa!"
At Reese's shout, Superboy jerked the alien motorcycle to a stop when suddenly, a...yep, that was a flying car, suddenly appeared in their path, and Conner had to jerk the handles to the side to avoid running into it.
The occupants of the flying car looked human-ish, but judging from the fact that they had a flying car, Reese figured they were aliens. They were all dressed in vibrant colors too, leading Reese further to think that these people weren't from Earth.
One of the aliens, a man with dark brown skin and wearing teal-and-neon-green armor, was the first to speak.
"Return the New Genesphere," the man began sternly, making Reese quirk an eyebrow. "And the other technology you have stolen from New Genesis, humans,"
"Who are you?" Reese called out. She had no idea what this 'New Genesphere' was, but she knew she was no thief. "What do you--"
"Let's keep this simple," another one of the newcomers, a massive man with a fur vest and lavender tattoos interrupted Reese and suddenly pointed a finger towards her, Wolf, and Conner. No, not towards them, Reese realized after a moment, but towards Sphere. "That belongs to us. Give it back,"
Reese's eyes widened as the three other aliens stood up, reading for a fight, but Sphere buzzed for several seconds, before the small box-shaped object the dark-skinned man was holding dinged, and he stood up again, holding his hands out to stop his companions.
"Forever People, stand down!" he called out, as Reese glanced over her shoulder at Conner, mouthing 'Forever People?' to which the genomorph just shrugged. "These two did not steal the New Genesphere. They saved it from the real thieves!"
"We did?" Reese echoed, just as the fur-vest guy suddenly smiled, his whole demeanor changing from the belligerence it had been five seconds earlier.
"Apologies!" he exclaimed. "The Forever People embrace you as friends, allies, and worthy warriors,"
"You're kidding, right?" Conner asked, thoroughly not convinced, and Reese couldn't blame him, she was pretty skeptical about these newcomers herself.
Wolf even let out a disbelieving sounding whine but as the "Forever People" started to fly/drive away, Conner used the "New Genesphere", since apparently, that's what Sphere really was, to follow them.
"Forever People?" Reese asked after a moment, glancing towards the aliens from her spot, and the guy with the lavender tattoos began to explain.
"We're young gods," he began. "New Gods,"
"Right..." Reese said slowly because even though she knew that this guy, whoever he was, was telling the truth, it was still a bit hard to believe. When Conner glanced at her, the brunette gave a small nod.
"They call me Serifan," One of the Forever People began, though why he spoke with an accent as if he were from the Old West, Reese had no idea.
"I'm Dreamer," a black-haired woman dressed in pink said, before gesturing to the others. "That's Moonrider, and our leader, Vykin,"
"Hmm," the guy with the lavender tattoos hummed after everyone else had been introduced. "I am named after an animal that does not exist on this world. But you may call me...Wolf,"
Reese tilted her head to the side as Conner gestured to Wolf (the dog, not the alien).
"This is Wolf," the genomorph corrected as the canine let out a small growl, and Wolf (the alien, not the dog), held a finger up in the air.
"Ah," he said simply. "Bear, then. Bear is even better,"
"I'm Con--" Conner cut himself off before he could say his name, making Reese glance back at him. "Superboy,"
"Silverbird," Reese answered simply when everyone turned to look at her.
If Superboy wasn't going to give away his identity, she wouldn't either, regardless of whether or not these Forever People were harmless.
After a moment, Vykin held up the small rectangular box-shaped that he was holding.
"This," he began. "is Motherbox. The living computer," Motherbox dinged again, and Reese's brain was swimming from the whole 'living computer' part as Vykin continued with his explanation. "She has tracked technology stolen from our homeworld, New Genesis. She has found our rescue drill...there,"
Reese looked up to where Vykin pointed, and her eyes widened.
Metropolis.
The Forever People's flying car circled above a construction site in the center of the city, and Reese, from her spot still inside Sphere, was able to see a massive hole in the ground.
"It is beneath us," Vykin said simply after Motherbox dinged again. "Eighteen meters underground,"
"That's a construction site," Superboy said, after he had studied the location for a moment, and glanced towards Reese. "That's a perfect cover for drilling,"
Reese nodded, jerking her head to the side as she noticed something else. "Especially since the Metropolis Federal Reserve is right across the street,"
Conner, even though he was technically only a few months old, knew what a Federal Reserve was, but the Forever People, on the other hand, looked totally confused.
"It's one of the places where the government stores their money," Reese explained after a moment, and Serifan suddenly stood up in his seat, twirling his blasters around as if he were some sort of sharpshooter.
"It's a heist," the god said as if he had just come to some sort of mind-blowing observation. "Come on partners. Let's ride in there, guns a' blazin' and round up them outlaws!"
Reese raised an eyebrow, wondering if Serifan was trapped in some sort of time warp, just as Dreamer turned to face her and Conner.
"He's watched a lot of Earth Westerns," she explained, and Reese gave a small nod.
Well, that explained that.
"Look," she added after a moment. "There's a time to go in 'guns a' blazin' ', but there are also other times, where you have to go in with a plan. This is one of those times,"
"It is yours and Superboy's world, Silverbird," Vykin responded calmly. "We will follow your lead,"
Reese blinked, a bit surprised, before turning to Superboy, who looked as shocked as she did.
Neither of them were used to being in charge, ever, and to have five literal gods say they'd follow their lead?
And Reese thought admitting her feelings to Dick would be difficult.
"Uh...okay," she said after a moment. "Do any of you have any superpowers?"
Again, Dreamer was the one who gave explanations, only this time, instead of introductions, she told Conner and Reese exactly what abilities the Forever People possessed.
"I am able to create illusions and possess telepathy," the dark-haired woman began. "Moonrider can control energy, Vykin holds power over magnetism, while Serafin is an expert sharpshooter. Bear is also stronger than both New Gods and humans,"
"We'll need to go in stealthy," Conner piped up. "Dreamer, could you use your illusion power?"
The goddess nodded before Superboy landed Sphere out of sight of the few guards that Reese was able to see guarding the hole going underground, the Forever People landing their flying car a few feet away.
Then, Dreamer's form shimmered for a moment, before she looked like an older, middle-aged woman with dark hair. That, Reese decided, was really trippy.
"Norman!" the shifted Dreamer called out, prompting the three thugs guarding the hole to spin around and point their guns at her. "I brought you a jacket,"
"Mom?" one of the thugs asked as he lowered his gun, and Reese assumed he was the older lady's son. "What are you doing here?"
Before Dreamer answered, Moonrider shocked the two other guards, knocking them away and making Norman spin around and point his gun at the newcomer.
"Mom, get down!" Norman shouted. "It's not..." he trailed off, because just then, Dreamer shifted back into her regular form, and in Norman's confusion, Vykin hit him in the face with his own gun a few times.
Two seconds later, Norman joined his buddies on the ground, unconscious.
Suddenly very glad that she had remembered to grab her bow and quiver before leaving the cave, Reese used a rappelling arrow to shimmy down the sheer sides of the hole, joining Wolf, Bear, and Conner a few seconds later, more guards unconscious at the others' feet.
Running forward, Reese crouched behind a nearby pile of dirt and, noticing that the massive hole led into a tunnel a few feet away, turned over her shoulder to the Forever People and held a finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet.
The tunnel was surprisingly long, given that it was only, at most, two hundred feet between the construction site, and the federal reserve.
But, after a few minutes, Reese rounded a corner, only to skid to a stop and back up a few feet, poking her head around the corner again to see what she assumed was the Forever People's rescue drill, having already broken through the basement of the reserve, with more criminals loading hovering carts full of gold bars into the back of the drill.
Towards the makeshift entrance of the reserve, Reese's eyes locked onto two people standing off to the side, and she grumbled under her breath.
So much for not giving Dick a nervous breakdown. Going up against Intergang was bound to make Robin lose some sleep. Even more than usual, that is.
"What did you see?" Conner whispered from where he stood against the wall next to her, and Reese glanced up at the genomorph.
"Nothing good," she answered, just as Vykin bypassed them both, and stepped out into the open. "Wait!" Reese hissed, but the god ignored her.
"Guess we decided on the direct approach after all," Conner muttered, and Reese hissed a breath out from between her teeth before she and Superboy followed him.
As they went, Silverbird pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt, covering her face.
Because she hadn't been planning on going up against a ring of international arms traffickers when she'd left Mount Justice earlier, the brunette hadn't thought to bring an extra domino mask, and as such, her identity was currently at risk.
She seriously needed her own utility belt. Note to self: ask Dick for one for her birthday.
...Or Christmas.
But considering Reese's birthday did indeed fall on Christmas Eve, Dick, for some reason, always gave her twice as many presents.
Vykin finally stopped a few meters away from the Intergang squad, making the world-renowned criminals stop and stare at him.
"That drill and these carts are the property of New Genesis," Vykin said sternly. "You will return them now,"
"Gold goes back too," Conner added as he and Reese paused behind Vykin, and Whisper A'Daire, one of the Intergang members, started to walk towards them.
"Interfere," the red-haired woman hissed. "And things get ugly,"
"I'm Ugly," her companion added, before the blaster on his chest expanded, and several red disks flew out towards the heroes.
Raising his hand, Vykin made a wall of earth appear, and it blocked a few of the disks. Vykin then pushed Conner and Reese backward out of the way, just as more of the disks surrounded him, trapping the New God in a net of red electricity, and judging from Vykin's reaction, it was very, very painful.
After a few seconds, Vykin collapsed to the ground, and the disks started flying towards the others again.
Conner and Reese dove out of the way, just before Silverbird jumped into a crouch, drawing back her bowstring and letting three arrows fly at once, knocking a few of the disks away from where they flying through the air, just as Serafin took out his blasters and shot a few more where they had been hovering above Bear.
Moonrider tried to get Vykin free, but a disk hit him in the back, just before Vykin made a sphere of dirt surround him.
Then, Whisper took out two small batons from behind her back, and flicked them, making twin whips made of red fire appear out of thin air.
What weapons was New Genesis making?
But, as it turns out from Dreamer's statement a few seconds later, these weapons weren't from New Genesis. They were from someplace different. Someplace...worse.
"These weapons aren't from New Genesis," Dreamer began as both Reese and Conner stared at the Intergang agents in shock and horror. "They are of...the enemy,"
"What enemy?" Conner asked, and Dreamer turned to face him and Reese.
"The enemy," the other woman corrected. "The gods of Anti-Life. These weapons are of Apokolips,"
A planet with a name meaning the end of the world.
...Great.
As Vykin continued to write in pain on the ground, still trapped by those red disks, Bear ran forward, intent on defeating (or destroying) Intergang, but two of the agents, whose hands were covered by some sort of ball, suddenly slammed them to the ground, and where they hit, the packed dirt turned to liquid mud, and Bear was caught right in the middle of it.
He sank to his chest in a matter of milliseconds, just as Serifan shot the disks above Vykin, freeing the Forever People's leader.
Vykin joined the others as Conner struggled to get Bear out of the mud, just as Whisper leaped over the heads of her colleagues, lashing her whips through the tunnel, and Vykin was only just able to block them with a wall of dirt.
"The confines of this tunnel favor their weapons," he said simply, just as Conner heaved, managing to pull Bear out of the mud. "We must bring this battle out in the open,"
After Bear was freed, Conner turned towards the sphere of dirt, and dug away at it, freeing Moonrider, before all eight of them sprinted towards the bottom of the hole.
"There's more room at the top!" Bear shouted as he vaulted everyone to the top of the hole.
Reese was one of the last to go, Wolf being launched just before her, and as she entered the bottom of the hole, she heard a rushing sound, and turned back to see two ropes of fire heading straight towards her.
She froze. Reese froze, and she wasn't able to move out of the way before they hit her. It was just...the flames.
Before the brunette got roasted alive, Conner leaped in front of Reese, crossing his arms and taking the blow meant for her.
"...Thanks," Reese said quietly, feeling her heart pound, and Conner sent her a small smile before they both ran over to where Bear was still waiting.
Bear made a brace with his hands, and Reese put her boot in it, just as she was launched into the air, landing in a roll on the surface again, just as Bear and Conner joined her, both of them using their own super-jumps to reach the surface.
"I have no wish to prolong this battle," Vykin said once Superboy had joined them, just as the ground behind him rumbled, and they all stumbled back as the rescue drill appeared from underground.
"Finish them," Ugly muttered, and as Reese backed away, she thought to herself: Yes, he is very ugly.
"Do not worry," Vykin piped up again. "She will protect us?"
"Excuse me?" Reese asked, staring over her shoulder, as Conner's eyes flicked between her and the Forever People.
"Who, Dreamer?" the genomorph asked.
"The New Genesphere," Vykin answered instead, just as Conner's flying alien motorcycle appeared in the air, shooting blasts of blue energy towards Intergang.
"Cool," Conner breathed before he realized what Vykin had said. "Wait, Sphere's a she?"
"Apparently," Reese added, content to stand back and watch as Sphere absolutely decimated the Intergang thugs.
"It is time," Vykin spoke up again, and Conner and Reese exchanged a glance before Superboy turned towards the Forever People.
"Time for what?" he asked, sounding remarkably impatient, though that wasn't anything new, and this time, Reese felt the same way. The two of them needed answers. Now.
But, Vykin didn't answer, again. Instead, he only held his Motherbox up in the air, and the rest of the Forever People held a fist in the air.
They all shouted in unison, "Taru!" before then...merging. The light was so bright, Reese had to shield her eyes, but when it dissipated, in the place of the Forever People stood a massive yellow and blue robot.
"Okay..." Conner began quietly as the robot-like...thing began to walk heavily towards Intergang. "That's new,"
When the criminals noticed it, they made the dirt turn to mud again, but the Forever People-robot just hovered above it, before shooting literal lasers out of its eyes and disintegrating the mud-making weapons in a second.
Ugly and another Intergan member, along with Whisper, ran forward, but when Ugly and the other guy shot more of the red disks towards the robot, it made them disappear in a flash with one hand, while with the other hand, it sent a sonic blast that made all of them fly backward.
Reese had to admit, she was jealous.
Whisper tried to wrap her whips around the robot, but it caught the twin ropes of flame in either hand, before shooting more lasers out of its eyes and disintegrating them as a whole. Another sonic blast and Whisper was knocked across the construction yard.
Reese narrowed her eyes as she saw Ugly and the others who had been knocked down from the first sonic blast suddenly stand to their feet.
Ugly held something up in his hand, which dinged, much like Motherbox did, only this was lower in pitch, just as a big yellow...something opened up, and Ugly and the others walked through it, disappearing.
Whisper tried to follow, but she was tied up when the Forever People-robot locked a bola around her waist, trapping her arms against her sides and stopping her from moving very far.
Then, with a wave of its hand, the robot made the rescue drill disappear in the same sort of yellow portal thing that Ugly had just used to transport him and his men.
To say that Reese was thoroughly confused would be a gross understatement.
Then, the robot glowed again, before it disappeared, and the five Forever People were in its place once more, walking back towards Reese and Conner.
Superboy was the first to speak.
"What was that?" the genomorph asked, and Reese was surprised that he had waited this long before starting his barrage of questions.
"Infinity Man," Dreamer answered simply, though really, that didn't clear up much. "We merged to become one with the Source, and greater than the sum of our parts,"
Well, Reese thought to herself as she crossed her arms. That makes absolutely zero sense.
"Glad our team's not that close," Conner muttered to her, and Reese huffed out a breath.
"No kidding," she answered. She loved her teammates, really, but Reese also valued her own privacy.
As it were, Bear heard what Conner said anyway.
"Lower beings tend to fear intimacy," the muscled god piped up, making Reese quirk an eyebrow at him before Vykin spoke again.
"None of this makes any sense," he began, bracing his fingers against his chin. "How are these humans acquiring technology from both New Genesis and Apokolips?"
"Well," Reese said slowly, poking her head around the Forever People to where Whisper still sat on the ground. "One of them didn't get away,"
As they walked up to the redhead, the woman sent them all a scathing glare.
"I'm not talking," she muttered, but Dreamer just steepled her fingers against her forehead.
"You were not asked," the goddess said simply, and after a moment, along with a wince of pain from Whisper, a wisp of smoke appeared out of her head, eventually forming into a smoky version of someone a lot uglier than the guy actually named Ugly. "Desaad," Dreamer muttered before Superboy finally lost his patience.
"Look," the genomorph began. "I've been remarkably patient. You know, for me? What is going on? Silverbird and I deserve some answers, don't you think?"
As the Forever People glanced at each other, Reese thought that maybe, she and Conner wouldn't get told anything, before finally, after a nod from Vykin, Dreamer sighed, and braced her fingers against her temples, making another mental image appear out in the open, this one of two planets circling each other.
One of them looked a lot similar to Earth, and judging from the Forever People, Reese assumed this one was New Genesis. That meant the other one, the planet that looked like the sun, had to be Apokolips.
It even looked apocalyptic.
"The New Gods come from two worlds at war," Dreamer began. "Those of us from New Genesis are gods of life, freedom, and the Source. Our enemies from Apokolips are gods of anti-life, slavery, and degradation. This," Dreamer turned to where the smoky image of this Desaad character still hovered. "is Desaad, god-scientist, and chief torture of Apokolips. His experiments are pure evil, his works: abominations, and his master..."
"Unspeakable," the Desaad illusion murmured, before cackling in a way that made Reese's entire body shudder.
Dreamer waved her hand, and the smoke dissipated, as Whisper stared over her shoulder at where it used to be, a split second before the Intergang agent spoke.
"He is seriously creepy,"
➳➳➳
"Hurting?" Dick whispered as he sat across from Dinah in Mount Justice. "Try traumatized. I--I finally become Leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their deaths. I--I know I did what I had to, but I hated it. When we started this team, I was desperate to be in charge. But, not anymore. And..." the Boy Wonder trailed off for a moment, before looking back up towards Black Canary. "You can't tell Batman about this,"
"Nothing leaves this room," Dinah answered simply, and Dick stared down at his shoes as he continued.
"I always wanted...expected to grow up and--and become him. And the hero bit?" the black-haired boy added, glancing up for a second. "I'm still all in. But that thing? Inside of him? The thing that-that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission? That's not me. I don't want to be the Batman anymore,"
For a moment, Black Canary thought that Robin was done talking, because, like Reese, though he was normally exuberant and full of energy, when Dick Grayson shut down, he shut down.
Curling up in on himself and erecting metaphorical walls to protect himself from the outside world.
"What did she say?" Dick's voice was quiet, and Dinah almost didn't hear him. But she did, and Black Canary didn't need to ask to know who he was talking about. "When you talked to her,"
"Dick..." Dinah said slowly. "You know I can't tell you that,"
"I know," he said quietly, staring down at her shoes. "But, I just want to know what Reese was thinking when she..." Dick trailed off, and Dinah almost thought he wouldn't continue when he suddenly shot up from his chair. "What was she thinking?"
Dick was angry. But not at Reese, not entirely. He was angry at the fact that she had sacrificed herself for him, and that she had done it without a second thought.
"Dick," Dinah said again. "You know I can't tell you everything that Reese said, but I can tell you this. She didn't want to lose you,"
"Doesn't she get it though?" Dick asked, his voice bordering on a shout as he began to pace in front of his chair. "She didn't lose me! I lost her! I lost her and I couldn't--I couldn't save her, or tell her anything,"
It was a few seconds before Dinah realized that Dick's entire body was shaking, and he slumped back down in his chair, bringing his knees up to his chin and burying his head between them, in a pose eerily similar to the one Reese had been in a few hours earlier.
"I couldn't tell her..."
➳➳➳
Vykin and Motherbox had tracked Ugly and his goons to an airfield, and now Reese, Wolf, and Conner stood with the rest of the Forever People outside one of the hangars.
"Motherbox says there is a large cache of Apokoliptan technology inside," Vykin whispered, nodding his head towards the hangar, and Conner, Wolf, and Reese all turned to face that general direction.
"Infrared vision shows no heat signatures," Superboy said after a moment, and Silverbird assumed he had tried to see inside. "Even so..."
"You have a bad feeling?" Reese asked, but Conner just shrugged.
"I don't know," he answered simply. "But, we should still check it out. Wouldn't want those Apoko-whatevers falling into the wrong hands,"
"Dreamer," Reese asked, glancing over her shoulder at the Forever People. "Can you disguise us?"
The goddess gave a nod, before waving her hand. Assuming that the eight of them were now relatively hidden, the two Team members, Wolf, and the Forever People walked towards the hangar.
The lofty building was dark, and even Reese was barely able to see anything. She stuck close to Superboy as Conner started to move through the hangar, but after a few seconds, the genomorph stopped.
"Still no heat signatures," he muttered, before glancing towards Dreamer. "The place is definitely deserted,"
But, it seemed as if Conner had spoken too soon, because just then, right after Dreamer dropped the illusion surrounding them, the lights inside the hangar flickered on, revealing Ugly and a lot more thugs than before standing in front of them, and all of them were holding the same Apokoliptan weapons as before.
This was an ambush. And Reese and Conner...had walked right into it.
"Though I could be wrong," Superboy muttered as he stared at the gathered criminals, and Reese drew an arrow, ready to fight, if necessary.
"This tech masks heat signatures," Ugly explained as he walked forward, pointing to the small flat scope mounted to the blaster on his chest. "Visor filters out illusions. We gotcha,"
Then, everything exploded. Not literally, but Ugly shot a disk towards the intruders, and while everyone managed to dodge, the disk hit a crate behind where Reese had been standing, and that exploded.
Reese let go of her arrow once she had rolled out of the way, and it flew through the air, hitting one of the mechanisms of another Intergang's thug's blaster, and making the weapon explode in his face.
Conner jabbed at a thug holding a spear, bending it in two, and then hitting the criminal with it, making him fly backward, deeper into the warehouse.
Deciding that inside this warehouse, though it was large enough, wasn't really the best place for her bow, Reese took out her staff instead, and split it in two, and spun around, lifting her foot in the air and kicking a thug in the temple, and making him drop like a rock.
"These weapons resist my magnetic power," Vykin muttered a few feet away from Reese, as he struggled to rip Intergang's weapons from their hands. "We will soon be overrun. It is time,"
The Forever People ran to regroup, and Bear glanced towards Silverbird and Superboy, just as Reese flipped a thug over from where he was aiming at Conner.
Sure, the Kryptonian genomorph was indestructible, but if these Apokoliptan weapons could hurt a god, then what else could they do?
"This won't take long!" Bear shouted, and Conner glanced over at him.
"Go!" Conner shouted before he punched another thug in the face. "Silverbird and I got this!"
With that, Bear ran to join his comrades, just as Vykin held Motherbox up in the air. With another one of their unified shouts, the Forever People again turned into a golden light.
But, just before Infinity Man was fully formed, something...went wrong. Instead of the massive blue-and-gold robot, instead, the gold turned to an angry-looking red, and the blue turned to a dark, smoke-like gray.
Whatever had just happened, Reese knew that it was not good.
Then, something else happened. Not with Infinity Man, though he still looked like he wanted to squash Reese and Conner as if they were bugs.
No, this time something happened with Reese herself.
She was staring up as Infinity Man bore down on her and Superboy, when suddenly, Reese's vision split.
It wasn't like double vision when you stare at something for a long time and then you see two of it. It was more like, one side was the warehouse, where she was with Conner and the two of them were currently about to get stepped on, and the other side (and feel free to call Reese crazy when this is all over) was the common room, back in the cave, though everything on that side seemed to be tinted a few shades darker than normal.
For a moment, all Reese could do was blink in shock, because she was thoroughly freaked out, before, on the Mount Justice side of her vision, Wally appeared, looking a bit skittish.
"Hey, Rob," the speedster began, setting off a metaphorical explosion inside Reese's head. "You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost,"
Holy actual crap, she was looking through Dick's eyes.
How this was happening, Reese had no sane clue, and she might have started to hyperventilate a bit as Dick spoke, sounding as if he were right next to her, not hours away in Happy Harbor.
"I'm fine," Robin said simply, though Reese noticed that his voice sounded a bit strangled, and she figured he was having the same difficulties she was in trying to figure out what was going on.
Then, Reese turned towards Superboy, who had turned to face her at the same time, nodding his head towards the color-inverted Infinity Man.
"That can't be good," the genomorph muttered before he focused his gaze on Reese's face, and his eyes widened. "Reese..." he began slowly. "Your eyes...they're gold,"
"Look," Dick began again, but judging from Conner's reaction, he couldn't hear him. "I don't know what's going on, but you and SB need to get out of there right now. Right now, Rhysalin!"
"We have to move!" Reese exclaimed, looking back towards Conner, and the genomorph sent her a dry look.
"Yeah, no kidding," he retorted, but before either of them could move, Infinity Man's hand was flying towards them.
It grabbed both Reese and Conner and threw them out the hangar's door. Reese screamed, and her vision snapped back to normal, whatever way she had been seeing through Dick's eyes...it suddenly disappeared.
"Conner!" she shouted as they neared the ground, and Superboy grabbed her, the genomorph taking the brunt of the impact when they hit the ground, close to where the New Genesphere was parked, along with the Forever People's flying car.
If he hadn't shielded her, Reese likely would've been killed. Because unlike him, she wasn't invincible.
As she looked back towards the hangar, Reese's vision split again, and this time, the other side showed that Dick was sprinting through the cave. After a second, the Boy Wonder ran into the room he used at the cave whenever he needed to stay the night and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
He had been wearing his sunglasses the first time, Reese realized. That was why it had seemed darker. Now though, she was able to see Dick's eyes fully, since he was facing his reflection, and what the brunette saw was uber-weird.
Now she knew what Conner meant when he said her eyes had turned gold.
Dick's irises weren't navy blue anymore. Now, his eyes seemed to be colored like molten metal, and they almost seemed to glow under the bathroom's fluorescent lighting.
This was both super cool, and really creepy.
"Where are you?" Dick asked, staring at himself in the mirror, and Reese pushed herself off of Conner and onto the ground, taking a deep breath before she spoke.
"Out--Outside Metropolis," she said quietly, and judging from the way Dick's eyes widened after she spoke, he was able to hear her. Thank God.
A tap on her shoulder made Reese turn around, to see Conner standing behind her, the genomorph pulling himself to his feet and bracing against Sphere, just as Wolf leaped out of the hangar.
The three of them turned towards the hangar again, just as the evil Infinity Man crumpled the sliding doors as if they were nothing more than flimsy toothpicks.
"And that thing?"
"Evil alien robot," Reese answered simply, just as Conner glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"Who are you talking to?" he asked, and Reese blinked, wondering, for a few seconds, what she should say.
But, before she could say anything, Sphere, from where she was still parked behind the three of them, made a whirring noise, and Conner looked over his shoulder.
"We'll take him down together," the genomorph said, getting into a ready stance, and Reese sent him a look.
"You're not seriously thinking of taking that thing down alone, are you?" she asked, and Conner stared at her.
"You have a better idea?" he retorted, and Reese glanced over at where Sphere suddenly turned back into a sphere and subsequently rolled away.
"Yeah," she answered simply. "Run!"
Before any of them could move, Reese, Conner, and Wolf had to dodge, just before Infinity Man's fist landed heavily on the cement, where they had been standing mere seconds before.
They really should've called for backup, and because Reese's vision had stopped going double again (this thing was really fickle), it looked like she, Superboy, and Wolf were on their own.
Reese had also decided, not for the first time, that, as Conner got thrown into the tail of a nearby airplane, she really, really hated to fly.
The petite brunette ran over to the genomorph as Conner pushed Wolf off of him since the enhanced canine had been thrown into a few seconds before.
Conner took the end of one of the airplane's wings and ripped it off, throwing it towards Infinity Man as Reese let out a scream, the Canary Cry giving the wing a boost, and shooting it towards the alien robot even faster.
But, Infinity Man only had to shoot a single laser blast out of his eyes before the wing was destroyed, and then, Infinity Man held up a hand, making it glow.
There was a rumble from behind her, and Reese turned around, eyes wide, to see that the airplane was levitating up in the air, a faint colored aura around it.
Superboy dove on top of Reese, shielding her again, just before the airplane was slammed down on top of them.
Then, when the airplane was thrown to the side, Reese and Conner were picked up in one of Infinity Man's hands, and when he squeezed, Reese heard one of her ribs crack.
Wolf tried to leap at Infinity Man, but the contaminated robot just flung him aside, before slamming Reese and Conner into the ground again.
How she was still alive, Reese wasn't sure. But, through the haze of pain that came from having multiple broken ribs and getting slammed into cement, she saw Sphere jump up into the air, turn into a bug, and slam her tail into the base of Infinity Man's head.
Miraculously, the red and dark gray started to bleed out, as they were overtaken, once more, by blue and gold.
Conner stumbled to his feet, watching as Sphere cleansed Infinity Man.
"Sphere, you're beautiful!" Superboy exclaimed before he leaped into the air and onto the back of the Sphere-bug.
Then, grabbing the handles that had appeared on top of Sphere's head, and using them to effectively steer Infinity Man, using him to defeat the few Intergang thugs that were left.
Ugly and his goons ended up in their underpants, and Desaad, who actually had been there, rather than a smoky illusion, then threw something towards Conner and Infinity Man.
Infinity blocked it with some eye lasers, but the object, which had to be some sort of bomb, suddenly detonated, the blast so massive that it made Infinity Man turn back into the Forever People.
Reese was sure she must have blacked out at some point because when she blinked her eyes open again, the Forever People were back, looking a bit dazed, but Sphere...Sphere was the one in the most trouble.
The pillbug was crumpled, and black oil, almost like blood, oozed out from between the broken plating.
"She's...hurt," Conner began as he lay a hand on Sphere's surface, and Reese frowned as Vykin walked up to them, his face grave.
"The damage may be beyond repair," the god said slowly, before holding up the Motherbox. "But, Motherbox will try,"
Setting the Motherbox down on one of the red plates covering Sphere's "body", Vykin stepped back, just before Sphere rolled up again, turning back into a ball.
"The healing process has begun," Vykin said after a moment. "And will be completed on New Genesis,"
Conner whipped his head towards Vykin, eyes wide, and even Reese was feeling a little bit shocked at the moment.
"Sorry, what?" the genomorph asked, turning around, but Vykin's expression didn't change, as the rest of the Forever People walked up.
"We thank you for your help, Superboy, Silverbird," Dreamer began. "But, we must take the New Genesphere home now,"
"No," Conner answered, still standing in front of Sphere. "No way,"
"Superboy's right," Reese added, wincing as she held her ribs. "Sphere's staying with us,"
"Why should we leave her with you two?" Serifan snapped from his spot beside Bear. "To us, she lives. To you, she's merely technology,"
"No!" Superboy retorted, "It's not like that--"
"Then what is it like?" Bear asked gruffly, crossing his arms, and this is when Conner finally snapped.
"We bonded okay?" he shouted, but instead of getting angry, the Forever People relaxed.
"In fact," Vykin began, tilting his head to the side and giving a small smile, "It is. You may keep her,"
Then Vykin reached forward, and clasped forearms with first Conner, and then Reese. But, before the Forever People left, Dreamer stopped in front of Reese.
"I am a telepath," the goddess began softly, staring down at the brunette. "But I can also heal you. If you will allow me,"
Reese was a bit wary, but she didn't want to be put on bed rest again for the next month, so she gave a small nod, before Dreamer gently set a hand on Reese's forehead.
A wave of warmth spread throughout Reese's entire body, and when it dissipated, her ribs didn't hurt anymore.
"Thank you," Reese said quietly, and Dreamer sent the girl a small smile, before stepping back again.
Now, it was time to go home.
➳➳➳
Robin was waiting when Superboy flew Sphere into the cave and judging from the way Dick skidded to a stop as soon as Conner did, Reese had a feeling he had been pacing.
Dick blinked at Sphere's new motorcycle form for a few seconds before he wrapped Reese up in a hug so tight that he threatened to squeeze all the breath out of her.
"Don't ever do that to me again, pretty bird," he whispered in her ear, and Reese gave a small smile as she wrapped her arms around Dick's shoulders, hugging him back with every ounce of her strength.
When they finally stepped away from each other, Superboy was staring at Robin with a skeptical look on his face.
"Please don't hug me," he muttered, and Reese couldn't help but let out a small laugh, her first real laugh in over a week.
A second later, Wally sped in, and his eyes widened as he took in Conner's new motorcycle.
"Whoa!" the redhead exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers. "What is that?"
"That," Reese began from her spot next to Robin as the rest of the Team walked in. "Is Sphere,"
Kid Flash sent her a dry look. "You're kidding," he muttered, but Reese only shook her head.
"Nope," she answered simply. "I'm serious,"
As Wally began to run around Sphere, inspecting every inch of her and pronouncing that "Sphere is now the Super-Cycle, FYI", Dick leaned down towards Reese again.
"What happened to you two?" he asked quietly, and Reese glanced at him, sighing.
"It is a long, long story," she began, and Dick sent her a small smile. This time, it did reach his eyes.
"I have time, pretty bird," he told her, and Reese gave a small nod.
"Okay," she said quietly, before meeting his eyes behind his sunglasses, the irises back to their usual navy blue. "Hot chocolate at my house? You can tell Batman everything that happened later,"
Dick gave a small nod, and as everyone else crowded around Conner, Wolf, and the "Super-Cycle", Dick and Reese backed up, stealing through the Zeta tube before anyone could notice their sudden absence.
Recognized Robin B-0-1, Silverbird B-0-3
Both of them were still healing from the effects of the training simulation, and they also needed to figure out what had gone on with the whole 'looking through each other's eyes' thing earlier.
But, as Dick slipped his hand into hers as the two of them made their way down the sidewalk in the twilight of Star City, Reese decided that, for now, she was just glad to have Dick by her side.
-----
Stan Conner Kent, our half-Kryptonian bean.
Because I like torturing all of you, there will mutual pining from here up until ch. 23. You're welcome. But, I love my adorable idiot birds anyway.
I'm also planning on writing several chapters in my one-shot book for what happens during the five-year gap, and some of them I am so excited for, you have no idea.
They provide backgrounds for new characters (including Reese's own protege), along with some necessary character development and key events, so stay tuned. I hope to finish writing Season 1 by New Years', so then I can get started on Invasion.
~Matia~