Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"What is it?"

Jennifer Lance stood in the living room, staring at the man standing across from her, unable to ignore the churning in her stomach due to anxiety for unknown reasons.

It had started as any other day for the past month. Working as a civilian, as a hero, and as a trainer for the younger heroes was Jenna's everyday routine.

Life was good.

Jenna and her partner, Kaldur, were steady as ever after finally reconciling the year before, with Kaldur splitting his time between the surface world and Atlantis. On the surface, he would stay at Jenna's apartment. In Atlantis, he would stay at Wyynde's home in Poseidonis.

Star City was its usual but nothing its heroes couldn't handle. Sam was very recognizable as Banshee since the founding of the Outsiders, as was Jenna since joining the League and going by a new name only a few months prior. Now, she was the White Canary. They were both moving up in the hero world.

For once, it felt like things were looking up.

Until it didn't.

She had been sitting at home that night, reading a new book in her collection as she waited up for Kaldur to get back from a League mission. A small one, so not many Leaguers were needed, but an extensive one nonetheless.

When she glanced over the top of her book from where she stretched out on the couch–a subconscious smile already crossing her face as she watched the front door swing open–at first she thought the sag in his shoulders was just due to tiredness.

But the look in his eyes said otherwise.

So there she stood, having just asked the question since she knew something had to be wrong. Her concern didn't alleviate from the way Kaldur had approached her, bringing his hands up to gently grasp her arms in a way to comfort her prematurely. Or maybe to keep her standing.

She could only recall one other time when she felt so sick to her stomach, that she felt like her world was about to come crashing down around her.

Jenna's hands shook, having abandoned her book on the couch, as they grasped Kaldur's forearms where she clung to him. Maybe it was a way to brace herself, or maybe it was a way to comfort him too from the devastation she could see in his downcast gaze.

She was almost afraid to ask again, knowing she wouldn't like what he was going to say. "Kaldur...what happened?"

"Conner was a long-time friend of mine. When referring to any of us who were on the team in that first year, he would say he knew us his whole life. And honestly? I feel like I knew him my whole life too."

They told Will first. Then Dick when he eventually arrived. But they had to wait for Artemis to have the full discussion. It would have taken less out of them all only to have to hear it or tell it once.

Jenna clung to Kaldur's hand when she saw the kitchen door open. Her grip tightened when she saw her best friend's smiling face fall when she spotted the unexpected guests and the looks on their faces.

"Dick...Jenna...Kaldur...what is it?"

Jenna's throat closed up. No one said anything.

Artemis knew right away what the problem was. "Who?" she questioned.

Then, Will turned toward her. "It's Conner," he said with a sigh.

Artemis closed her eyes. "How?" she whispered.

Since Kaldur was the first to find out, he was the one to explain. In the process, one way or another, they all ended up seated at the kitchen table while he gave every bit of information he could about the engagement trip that M'gann and Conner took to Mars with J'onn and Garfield.

The beginning was all familiar so it needed no explanation. Conner and M'gann were going to be married. There was going to be one wedding on Mars and one wedding on Earth. So they left a month prior to take the said-month-long journey. It was just supposed to be a short time spent at Mars to prepare for the wedding there, then they would fly back and arrive in a month to get ready for the second wedding.

But there was a bomb threat at a celebration for the Martian prince. One designed to kill all Green and Red Martians, planted by M'gann's White Martian brother, M'comm. It was the same brother she and the team encountered on New Genesis almost a year ago, which led to Forager coming to Earth.

Conner found the bomb with hardly any time to spare. So, he took it further underground, where a river of lava flowed, in an attempt to destroy it before it detonated. The problem was, since he had been underground for a few days, he couldn't get access to sunlight. Which meant his invincibility had weakened.

Still, that wouldn't have been enough to kill him. Only one thing could. And that viral-bomb had that one thing in it.

It was a miracle that Martian Manhunter and Superman–who had gone to help via Javelin travel–hadn't gotten there yet because Superman might have died too. It was his weakness upon rushing to the scene that revealed the bomb contained Kryptonite...meaning it was meant for Conner too.

He was truly gone.

"M'gann..." Artemis had spoken up, her voice thick with emotion. "Is she still on Mars? And Garfield?"

"For the time being, yes," Kaldur said. The muscles in his arm where Jenna had placed her hand were tense, but otherwise, he didn't give away much emotion. "I imagine it will take some time for her or him to feel well enough to travel."

The five friends fell silent, mulling over the news and trying to process their grief at the same time.

Then Jenna spoke softly. "Wally...now Conner...how much longer until another one of us is next?"

She could hear Will sigh. "Jen-"

"I'm sorry," she quickly said. "But why does this have to happen to us? It's not just those of us who were a part of the team in that first year, it's too many team members to begin with."

She looked up from the table, glancing around. "I- I get that's what we signed up for. Hell, it's what I signed up for again not four months ago!" She released Kaldur's arm to throw her hand up in a frustrated gesture.

Then she dropped it back onto the table, being mindful not to make too much noise so as not to wake Lian in the other room. Her hand curled into a fist as she closed her eyes to hold back the tears.

"Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be either of them?"

She didn't open her eyes when a hand closed over her fist, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

The silence that followed was broken by Dick's question. "So what's next?"

"It's almost been ten years ago when Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I made the decision to check out a lab that Batman had been suspicious about...there, we met one of the most important people in my life."

What came next made it feel like a wound was being reopened over and over again.

Conner's family mourned in private for some time. The Outsiders and team, along with the rest of the Justice League, were alerted as well. So in just a short amount of time, they all learned about what had happened. It devastated everyone who knew Conner, but especially those who were his teammates.

Then, of course, the news was released to the public, seeing as how Conner was part of the Outsiders. Since he had been on the squad for a year, he had become very recognizable after his actions that led to the resignation of Lex Luthor as Secretary-General. Citizens around the world were mourning the loss too, just like his friends and teammates were.

So, there were memorial services. There were quite a few. Some public, and some in private—limited to those who truly knew the man. Jenna mostly stuck to the private ones but had gone to one in public while in civilian clothing to see what was happening on the other side.

What finally sealed the deal was the new hologram placed in the Watchtower's grotto. The number was increasing and it made Jenna sick. It was something she knew was inevitable, but it didn't make it any easier.

Jenna's shoulders moved from a sigh that wasn't her own. She pulled away from Kaldur's side enough to peek at him from the corner of her eye.

"You okay?" That came from Dick who was standing next to the couple.

"It is hard," Kaldur admitted. "We have done our duty. Notified Conner's friends and family, attended multiple memorial services, and the lighting of this hologram."

His hand slipped from Jenna's waist as he stepped closer to it. "...Yet, it still does not seem real," he said softly.

It probably won't for a while. Not until M'gann returns alone. Jenna closed her eyes with a slow breath, leaning her head back on the tree trunk behind her. She wished more than anything to be able to talk to her friend. God knew she needed all the comfort she could get when she got back.

"Maybe you need to take a moment to process," Dick suggested. "You know, when Tula died, you never had time to mourn."

Jenna's brow softened as she looked up at the woman's hologram. She had become good friends with both Tula and Garth when they joined the team so long ago. Even though once upon a time when Kaldur had feelings for Tula, Jenna knew then how much the both of them meant to him as friends. Losing Tula might have been the beginning of a long chain of events that ruined Jenna's life for a while, but it finally felt like her death could be processed.

If only Kaldur would do the same.

"Instead," Dick continued, "you immediately went undercover with Black Manta. And when Wally died, I was a total jerk and dumped the whole team on you, not thinking about your grief at all."

Jenna pushed off the tree, stepping closer to her friend. "In case you forgot, I was the one to dump the team on you because I was angry," she pointed out. "You can't blame yourself for doing the same for something that's hardly worse."

"She is right," Kaldur added, glancing back at them. "I understood."

Dick wasn't finished. "Aquaman resigned, and you not only took up his mantle but led the Justice League through some of its darkest hours. And now Conner?" His voice slightly broke. "Kaldur, you've always been the leader, the adult, the rock we all lean on. Both you and Jen."

Dick reached out to rest a hand on Kaldur's shoulder. "But maybe you need to take a break. Before all this breaks you."

There was a pause as Kaldur looked back up at the hologram.

"No. I will be fine," he said decidedly. "I have to be."

He looked back at Dick and Jenna frowned at his expression. "Thank you for your concern," he told their friend, "but I have a conference tomorrow in Poseidonis which I must prepare for."

He walked away, leaving Jenna and Dick behind.

The former sighed. "And I have to open my shop in the morning. I've been pushing off new orders for too long," she grumbled.

But rather than leave so suddenly like Kaldur did, she glanced over at Dick. "Don't be a stranger. Come by whenever you feel like it, alright?"

She wrapped her arm around Dick's shoulders to pull him into a brief, but tight hug. But she could only enjoy the warmth for a moment since she knew Kaldur would be waiting for her.

"It was an honor to watch him grow from a hot-headed, sixteen-week-old boy who only saw himself as a clone, to a man with great leadership skills, with a desire to do good so much that he finally stepped out of the shadows and joined the Outsiders, with no shame or fear of judgment for who he was."

Since Conner's death, it had gotten difficult to sleep. Most nights had her tossing and turning. Sometimes she managed to get a few hours or so, and even that was being generous. So it wasn't a surprise that in the night, she began to stir, subconsciously reaching out to pull herself closer to Kaldur to find...nothing.

Brow furrowing before she even opened her eyes, Jenna squinted to try and see better in the dark bedroom. The side that Kaldur normally slept on was empty. With a glance over her shoulder to the bedside table where an alarm clock sat, she saw that it was a few hours past midnight...hardly any decent time to be up and about.

Jenna rubbed her eye tiredly as she got up, padding into the living room. As she expected, a lone figure paced the floor, seemingly lost in thought. She sighed quietly, coming up behind her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his waist. He went still, allowing her to lean against his back.

"Come to bed," she mumbled. "You'll be in no shape for the conference tomorrow if you're exhausted."

"There are some topics that I still need to go over."

Jenna raised her head to try and get a look at his face. "Which can wait until you have a clearer mind," she pointed out.

She didn't have to make much effort though as Kaldur slowly turned around, drawing her into his familiar embrace. It gave Jenna a chance to really view him. She didn't like what she saw.

"It's been a long few weeks. They've been hard on all of us. Like Dick said, you need a break. We all do."

Kaldur frowned. "I am fine."

Jenna eyed him hard even in her weary state. "I had my break three years ago. You never did. Just like you should have a year before that. And you especially need it now," she said firmly.

Her expression softened as she examined his body language. "Don't deprive yourself of this, Kaldur. Or you will break down."

Kaldur leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on Jenna's forehead. "I won't be much longer." He pulled away.

Jenna's jaw tightened in annoyance as she watched him turn his back to her. Frustrated, she went back to the bedroom since she was too tired to try anything else.

"Conner died to protect others. He died doing what we all fight for every day. Wherever Conner is, I hope he's finally at peace."

Chapter Text

The Watchtower

April 13, 13:23 EDT

Jenna blinked the spots out of her eyes when the Zeta Tube’s light faded, following the computer’s announcement of her arrival. “Recognized: White Canary, three-seven.” Despite being there with a purpose, Jenna opted out of wearing her new all-white garb. She was sure no one would mind, seeing as she had an excuse.

“Welcome back.”

Jenna had her arms crossed as she stopped in front of Oracle and Black Lightning. “The break helped,” she admitted. “I figured it was time to get back into things. You said you had something for me?” If anything, she just wanted to get out of her empty apartment.

With the press of a holographic button, Lightning pulled up a computer screen. “Meet Nicole Divine.”

Shown was an image of a woman in a suit appearing to give a presentation of sorts. Everything about her screamed ‘rich do-gooder’. But looks can always be deceiving.

“Who is she?” Jenna wondered, a puzzled frown on her face.

“A multibillionaire,” Oracle butted in. “Calls herself ‘an entrepreneurial guru’. She’s flamboyant and a showman, but she does some good.”

Proof of that was shown from photos of her with important figures and people in poverty alike. Jenna was never a fan when things like that were so clearly staged but she ignored the feeling for the time being.

She sighed. “Well, I guess there are worse people out there.”

“She’s been dealing with some bad luck in the past year or so,” Oracle continued, turning to pull up some more footage. “Remember the refinery explosion in Rheelasia seven months ago? Where Singh Manh Lee almost died?”

Jenna’s eyebrows went high. “Damn. The chemical leaks, fires, even floods? Yeah.”

Oracle nodded. “That’s only one of them. Any Devine project turns out similarly.”

“So, what, do we need to start figuring out who did this?”

Lightning stepped back in. “No,” he said. “We already know who’s behind it.”

The screen changed, revealing a group of masked individuals in green suits. The only bit of skin visible was around the eyes and mouth.

“They call themselves the Green Brotherhood,” Lightning explained. “They’re an eco-terror group, striking anything they see as environmental threats around the world.”

“Ivy should join,” Jenna mumbled.

“They’ve been destroying Devine’s projects and inciting fringe groups in the various countries around the world where Devine has a big impact. We need you to get close to Devine and try to find out who the Green Brotherhood are…and why they have it out for Devine personally.”

Jenna gave a deadpan look. “By ‘close’ you mean…?” She made a face as she eyed a photo where Devine had an attractive woman on her arm.

Oracle chuckled. “Nicole is known for her open sexuality, so yes, to an extent,” she said. “Anyway, I’ll help you out from here. There’s a Gotham event in a couple of weeks where she’ll be present. It’ll be a good place to get close without drawing suspicions.”

Jenna nodded slowly, examining the information as she tried to soak it all in. “Alright,” she agreed.

Then she ran a hand through her hair, glancing up at the fading blonde strands with a sigh. “I’ve been putting off redying my hair anyway.”

Oracle turned to her. “About that…how do you feel about changing it up? I need you to be a bit more under the radar than normal. After all, your face is all over the news now.”

Jenna raised an eyebrow at the redhead’s smile.

~/~/~/~

Gotham City

April 18, 19:01 EDT

Honestly? I missed my natural color. Jenna smoothed down some stray strands, forcing the black waves to settle at her bare shoulders. She nodded politely at the man opening the door of the hotel for her, eyes training on the space ahead.

“I know we tested it out already, but make some noise if you can hear me, Jen.”

Jenna hummed quietly. The speaker in her ear was significantly smaller, meant to blend in behind her hair. The necklace at her throat contained a microphone, providing a much more subtle way to keep in touch with Oracle as opposed to her comms. It felt weird to keep to the shadows in a way ever since officially being inducted into the League five months prior.

Jenna heard the whispers once she made it into the room. As much as it felt weird to have eyes on her, to be in this sort of setting that was entirely out of her element, she knew that was the least of her concerns that night. Her real problem was about how well she would be able to infiltrate. But it wasn’t the first time she was forced to act, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, so she knew to keep her cool. Still, she grabbed a flute of champagne as a waiter passed, taking a sip to steel her nerves.

“Ten o’clock.”

Jenna’s eyes trailed over the glass rim, not even questioning Oracle’s knowledge since the woman would be keeping her attention on the small camera embedded in Jenna’s glasses. The darkwear contacts would have been too noticeable. A small group was nearby, two people splitting off to leave two others alone: a woman with a man standing a couple of paces behind her. Bingo.

“You’re Nicole Devine…aren’t you?”

The woman turned, eyes instantly raking over Jenna’s body which was clothed in a skin-tight dress complete with a thigh-high slit. Topped off with her newly dyed hair and long gloves that concealed the abundance of tattoos, she was a vision.

Nicole’s eyes finally met hers as she lightly smiled. “Are you another banker looking to invest in overseas interests?”

Jenna chuckled. “I’m afraid not. Sorry to disappoint,” she said lightly.

“No need to apologize,” Nicole waved off. “Between you and me, I don’t need to hear the same spiel all over again for the fifth time tonight.”

Jenna shrugged with one shoulder, glancing around the room as if looking for someone. “Well, I was here with friends, but they disappeared two minutes into getting drinks. Of course, this is strictly business for them, so I suppose they needed to have some fun where they could.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow. “So this isn’t business for you?”

Jenna hummed. “No. Quite the opposite actually, or so I was hoping.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “Turns out the more money a man has, the bigger his ego grows.”

The corner of Nicole’s lips quirked up. “I completely understand. If you wanted, we could-”

“Miss Devine.”

Jenna eyed the man who had approached her with a carefully schooled expression. What’s General M’Barra doing here? God only hoped that the new change would keep her from being so noticeable.

“Our meeting?” he reminded.

“Ah yes,” Nicole said with a vague look of realization on her face. “I was distracted.”

She turned to Jenna, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry. I really need to-”

Hell no. Jenna wasn’t going to let her slip by so easily. So she thought fast, making the glance over her shoulder obvious.

“Please take me with you,” she said with a hint of urgency. “This old guy was bothering me earlier so I’m afraid that he’ll start circling like a vulture soon. I won’t be in the way, I swear.”

Nicole seemed to hesitate at first, but between Jenna’s pleading gaze and close proximity–one hand trailing up her arm, either she felt like she couldn’t deny or she didn’t want to. “Well, we can’t let that happen. Let’s go.”

The elevator ride up to one of the suites wasn’t long, but enough that allowed Jenna to fill the time up with idle chatter. For two reasons mainly, to get a feel of Nicole Devine and what kind of person she was, and to keep suspicions about Jenna herself low.

That’s what she was hoping for anyway.

Once the elevator doors slid open, Nicole guided Jenna into the main room. “Make yourself comfortable. We shouldn’t be long.”

Jenna smiled in her direction, about to respond when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

The man standing next to the couch tilted his head. “Trying to replace me, Nikki?” he asked, staring straight at Jenna.

Nicole’s brow furrowed, looking between Jenna and the man she was slowly starting to recognize. Although she still had a smile, it had become confused upon seeing Jenna’s had fallen. So much for keeping lowkey. “I don’t understand,” Nicole said with a tense laugh.

The man smirked. “This is Jenna Lance.”

Every part of Jenna’s body turned to ice.

“Florist by day, master combatant by night. And much more gorgeous than images portray,” the man finished, looking like a cat that caught a canary. Literally.

Any sort of persona Jenna had been holding onto was gone. She wished her gaze could truly bear holes into the man’s head. “Lynx…right? Son of one of Gotham’s mafia bosses?” she said with a dry tone.

Her already tense muscles only tightened further when she heard Oracle’s voice in her ear. “Jen.”

Nicole’s eyes were wide, looking between the two adults that were squaring off. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Do you two know each other?”

“By reputation,” Lynx said with a wide grin. He doesn’t mean…

“I hired Lynx and his father’s Ghost Dragons as personal security during my stay here,” Nicole explained.

“Lovely,” Jenna said dryly.

“Jen, heads up, there’s someone breaching the-”

The windows surrounding them shattered. Several members of the Green Brotherhood burst into the room from outside, instantly firing crossbow bolts at the various security in the room. Jenna grabbed General M’Barra’s shoulder, shoving him down behind a chair as a shot just barely missed his head.

“And I really liked this dress too,” Jenna grumbled as she grasped the fabric on each side of the tight leg opening. There was a loud rip as she tore the dress to fall mid-thigh, giving her more mobility with her legs. She pulled the torn fabric taut, looping it around an attacker’s neck to swing his head down into the coffee table. She then pivoted to swing her heel into the head of another enemy.

Lynx was hard at work on his third enemy, busy choking out the man while glancing over at Jenna. “Your fighting is even more impressive in person,” he called out, muscles tensing until his victim collapsed. “I’m having trouble placing your kick style though.”

Jenna huffed. “I’ll slow down so you can take notes,” she said sarcastically, grabbing the garote that a man had flung out at her.

She tugged hard, spinning around to use the motion to her advantage and slam the man into the nearest wall. He crumbled easily. Well, that seems to be all of them.

Something latched onto Jenna’s foot. barely giving her time to react verbally before her lower body was pulled out from under her. As she was dragged to the open window, she caught a glimpse of a chair at the end of the garote, tipping off the edge.

“No!” she gasped, catching the wicked grin of the one responsible by the window. Something on his arm set off an alarm in her mind, but it was too preoccupied in the meantime.

Seeing as she didn’t want to die from falling out of a skyscraper, Jenna grabbed the first thing she could get a hold of, that being a curtain panel gently blowing in the wind due to the gaping hole. Her attempts were unlikely to work, since she still had a heavy weight pulling her down, and it felt like she was just going to continue to fall until something–maybe the curtain rod–hit the wall. Jenna’s body jolted as it came to a stop.

For a moment all she could hear was the traffic below and her own labored breathing. Shit, shit, shit!

Craning her head back to glance up at the window, her eyes only widened further when she saw one of the attackers look down at her. He smirked, gripping the curtain with one hand and raising a crossbow to aim at Jenna’s face.

Panic shot through her like a bullet. Please, not like this! Not this soon! All she could think about was Conner.

Surprisingly, she didn’t have to fret. Because the attacker got a sudden stab to the neck, causing him to tilt out of the window and fall past Jenna to the streets below. Jenna wisely chose to keep looking up, her expression of fear turning to a glare.

“Are you going to help me up or not?” she yelled out to be heard.

Lynx’s smirk was starting to become irritating as he peeked down at her, crouching comfortably near the window besides wearing slacks. He glanced down at the curtain as it began to rip. Then back to Jenna as her gaze never wavered.

After what felt like an excruciating amount of time, he sighed, letting one of his throwing knives fall toward Jenna. Luckily, she was quick enough to catch it, and even quicker in slicing through the ankle strap of her heel to let the shoe, and the weight attached to it, fall.

Just one thing left to worry about. But it seemed Lynx had that covered too. He grabbed the curtain just before it ripped completely off, tugging hard to haul Jenna up to his waiting hand. He seized her arm, pulling her back to solid ground.

Jenna propped her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath now that her life wasn’t in grave danger. She glanced up at Lynx who was still standing over her.

“Thank you,” she said, meaning it greatly. “I owe you. Times three.”

Lynx’s grin was back. “I’m sure I have a few ideas,” he said, unashamed as he stared at her bare legs, lingering on the floral tattoo that rested high on one of her thighs.

She scowled. “Back off,” she warned.

He was suddenly closer, leaning down to speak in her ear. “Careful, birdy. I know more than others would,” he practically hissed.

Her glare was heated. “You wouldn’t dare,” she said lowly.

He just leaned back, looking smug. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

For now. The underlying threat made her uncomfortable, but still, Jenna turned away, scanning the room. Nicole and M’Barra seemed okay, despite the General’s guards being dead. The room was a disaster as expected, and all of the Brotherhood were gone.

Nicole let out a low whistle. “Damn. Look at this place,” she commented.

Lynx adjusted the sleeves of his leather jacket. “It was the Green Brotherhood, Miss Devine. I’m afraid that you and the General were their targets,” he explained simply.

Jenna held back her scoff. No shit.

“Unfortunately,” Lynx continued, making eye contact with Jenna, “all of the attackers have fled.”

Jenna’s eyes narrowed. “I bet they have,” she said.

Lynx’s brow furrowed as he opened his mouth, ready to retort or otherwise before Nicole interrupted the silent squabble.

“Well, I know a good thing when I see it,” she declared, sounding rather chirpy for just having her life threatened. She had wandered off to the mini bar at the side of the room, making a couple of drinks. “I’ll just double my coverage. You want a job, Miss Lance?”

Jenna’s eyebrow raised. Immediately, alarms went off in her head. Nicole Devine seemed to have little care for Jenna aside from having a fun night, but the moment she saw what Jenna could do, she was more interested. Jenna just hoped that Nicole didn’t really know who she was.

A tiny voice spoke in her ear. “Do it, Jen. Something else is going on here and I want to find out what.”

Internally, Jenna sighed. Externally, she mulled the thought over. “Call me Jenna. If we’re going to work together, we should be comfortable with each other.”

She then smiled brightly. “You can never have too many people watching your butt, Miss Devine,” she teased, making a point to glance downward. She ignored Oracle’s groan.

Nicole smirked as she handed one of the drinks she made over to General M’Barra, sipping from her own. “Call me Nikki.”

~/~/~/~

Star City

April 18, 20:32 PDT

Overall, it went fine. Jenna got a number directly from Nikki and she managed to get out before Lynx decided he wanted to spill all of her secrets that she wasn’t even sure how he got ahold of. It was a start.

“She’ll give me a call when she needs me to start,” she was explaining to Oracle on the way home. “She’s going to be doing an overseas tour.”

“I never expected you to get that close.”

Jenna snorted. “Neither did I. But with my suspicions of her and Lynx? It’s a good thing.” She frowned. “Do you know anything about him anyway? All I know is his family came from Hong Kong and his dad’s a mafia boss.”

“His dad ousted King Snake and took over the Gotham Asian Underworld. His family is very well known and very secretive at the same time,” Oracle recalled. “There’s got to be more to this for him and his family than just a bodyguard gig.”

Jenna turned into the parking garage of her apartment complex, sighing. “Well, at least we have that in common. It just bugs me how he could see right through me. How I have no idea what all he knows,” she said.

Oracle made a sound like humming. “We’ll need to stay on our toes. I know he said that he wouldn’t reveal anything, but that only means that he’s going to use it for-”

“-blackmail, yeah.” Jenna frowned as her car came to a stop. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Jenna shut off the comms and the ignition of her car, slumping back in her seat as she rubbed her face with a heavy sigh. Home sweet home. She should have been happy to finally get some rest, but knowing that she would walk into an empty apartment began to bug her again despite being distracted from it all day.

It wasn’t anything new to have the apartment to herself, but Kaldur was refusing to take a break. He kept pushing himself with work in Atlantis, hardly coming to the surface unless needed, and it had Jenna worried. She had spoken to Wyynde a few days ago after finding out Kaldur was going to remain in Poseidonis; it worried her to find that the conference was put on hold after an attack from Ocean Master. Wyynde was just as concerned, so it helped Jenna feel a little bit better even if she couldn’t be there in person.

With her eyes closed, Jenna had missed seeing the figures that walked up to her window, but the shadow that crossed over her closed eyelids was enough. As was the sound of a knock on her window. She might not have had Sam’s powers, but it was easy to tell before she opened her eyes that a gun was being pointed at her.

Tonight? Seriously? The only complaint she really had was that she was back in civvies. And that she was really tired and just wanted to go into her apartment and collapse.

Really though, she might not have had to worry. With one press of a button on her phone, an ‘SOS’ would shoot out to the five people closest to her who also lived in city limits. She knew for a fact that at least three of them were out beginning their patrols. But that would leave her to fend for herself for at most five minutes.

And with everything that had happened in the last few months, her patience had been running thin. So sue her for wanting to bash a few skulls in.

Jenna cracked her window. Just enough to hear what they had to say without giving them any opportunity to grab her. “Gentlemen,” she greeted dryly. “Lady.”

“Get out,” the one in front snapped, gesturing with his pistol.

Jenna raised an eyebrow. “A bit late for a carjacking, isn’t it?”

“I said, get out. Open the door.”

A tiny smile curved the corner of Jenna’s mouth. She slowly reached for her phone, swiping to the main screen and pressing on one of the apps. A small, constant ring began to emit from the device. “If you say so.”

As her hand pulled the door handle, she pulled one knee to her chest and kicked it out to slam the door into the gunman’s gut. “I’ve been needing to cool down, anyway,” she added.

Grabbing the side of the door with both hands, she swung her lower body out of the car, kicking both of his associates back. As they stumbled or fell, she slammed her heel into the temple of the first man, putting him out of his aching misery temporarily.

As one of his friends staggered to his feet, grasping his nose that gushed with blood, Jenna yanked that hand away, opting to use her forehead to bash his nose in even further. The pain was enough to send him crumpling.

“You bitch!”

Jenna turned to the last one standing, quickly closing the space between the two women. “That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” she questioned.

Before the other woman even had time to lift her gun, Jenna grabbed both sides of her head, bringing it down to her knee. Then she let go, allowing the third and final body to fall limp.

Finally, Jenna was able to shut her phone’s ‘alarm system’ off, seeing an incoming call as expected.

“I’m almost there!”

Jenna chuckled. “I’m fine, kiddo. Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she quickly soothed.

Too late, a pair of feet landed next to the parking garage barrier. She turned around, catching a glimpse of black and hints of yellow before meeting the disgruntled gaze of Banshee. She just smiled fondly, a rare, genuine one as of late, as he crossed over to where she stood.

“Didn’t hold back with the headshots I see,” he commented, eyeing the blood covering the ground.

Jenna shrugged. “I could have done worse,” she pointed out.

“I know.”

For once, she was glad he didn’t push it. It was easy to see her attentive, caring traits in the almost twenty-one-year-old man. After almost ten years of knowing one another, it was expected. So it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had tried to gently press for the reason behind her actions, but it also wasn’t surprising that he knew when not to.

So Jenna began to gather her things from her car, turning back to watch Banshee finish restraining her attackers when she was locking up the car.

“I imagine you have it well beyond covered, but give me a call if you need anything,” she reminded, never able to break the mentality of being a mentor.

Banshee noticed as much, the corners of his eyes wrinkling above his redesigned mask—one to match his updated getup since becoming a public hero.

“Sure thing, Jen. See you later.”

“See you.”

She opened her car, gathered her things, and locked it behind her as she walked into the apartment complex, knowing that no one would be waiting for her in her home.

Chapter Text

Star City

April 18, 18:05 PDT

The library was extra quiet with it being nearly empty for once. So no one heard his sigh as Samuel Hendricks dropped his backpack onto a table. He would have very much rather been in his dorms watching a movie or playing a new video game he got the week before, but unfortunately, there was a midterm essay due by the end of the weekend. So instead, he was forced to find somewhere secluded to work in peace.

“Hi, Sam.”

“Working on the creative writing midterm?”

Sam smiled up at the couple that walked past. “Hey. Yeah, I am. You?” he asked.

The guy groaned. “Not when I have Crock’s to worry about. Her rubric is so strict. I’m so afraid of failing so I’ve been working my ass off.”

Sam fought back a grin. On top of seeking a degree in English studies, he had begun to find an added interest in linguistics, so as part of that, he decided to explore more languages. It wasn’t unusual to see Artemis on campus, but it was strange to see how different she was outside of being former teammates.

“Good luck,” he said with a light laugh, waving at them as they left.

Once he was bathed in silence again, a light shone from his phone as the screen turned on. For a moment, Sam was distracted from whatever notification had come through thanks to the photo displayed on his lock screen. A small frown crossed his face.

It was a picture of his team, the Outsiders, all crowded together after an intense mission that ended successfully. Beast Boy was determined to get a group picture since it wasn’t often that all of the members were present at the same time. But that one mission in particular called for it.

Everyone was huddled together. On one side, Banshee stood with an arm around Blue Beetle. And just behind them stood Superboy with both hands resting on their shoulders.

Sam’s jaw tensed. God. He averted his gaze, too afraid that looking for too long would hurt too much. Just like it always did.

Death wasn’t uncommon in their line of work. Jason, Tula, Wally…all of them left a scar on every hero, whether they personally knew them or not. Sam himself never got to meet Jason or Tula, and Wally was retired for the entire beginning of Sam’s career, only to come back one last time to help save the world.

But Conner…he was just getting started. Thrust into the hero's life moments after he was created, working with peers to operate in the shadows to keep his true lineage a secret only for that lineage to come to light when Conner finally stepped into the limelight, revealing who and what he was then joining the Outsiders.

He was where he belonged, flourishing as a public hero and as a mentor to the younger heroes. He and Jenna were certainly kindred spirits in that regard. Sam could only imagine how Jenna and the rest of the team from year zero were coping.

And speaking of. Sam’s frown turned to confusion when suddenly the phone screen was invaded by an incoming phone call.

“Wow, a personal call from a professor,” Sam said teasingly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Are you on campus?”

Sam felt unsettled. “Yeah…I’m at the library,” he said slowly.

“Good. Should I even ask if you have your stuff?”

Sam quickly glanced around, his powers confirming he was still alone as he began to reach for his bag. “No need. What’s going on?” he asked.

Artemis sighed. “I’m being followed and I need backup. Arrowette and Arsenal are almost to your location and I’ll be there soon,” she explained. Her voice sounded tight, almost as if she had been crying moments before calling him. He chose wisely not to say anything. “Can you suit up?”

“Of course. Lead them to the basement and we’ll ambush, no problem.”

“Thanks, Sam. See you in a bit.”

He sprang up from his seat, snatching up his backpack by its strap as he made his way to the basement restroom. By the time he quickly changed and masked up, after doing a quick sweep to ensure the lower level was empty, two others suddenly arrived to find Banshee idly waiting.

“That was quick,” Arsenal remarked.

Arrowette scoffed. “He was already here,” she pointed out.

Banshee tapped the space where his nose was hidden. “Bingo. Tigress should be here soon.”

Arrowette frowned. “Should you even be suited up, Mister Public Hero?” she asked.

Banshee shrugged, leaning against one of the shelves. “Maybe not. But she called and I was here, so I’m going to trust her decision,” he decided. “Besides, you two will ambush, I’m just going to hang back until or unless you need me.”

Arsenal blew a raspberry. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

Banshee’s vision lit up, a message coming through his darkwear lens. Judging by the way the other two fell silent, so had theirs. “I’m trusting you on that, Arsenal. Get ready for the ambush.” He slipped between some bookshelves further into the room. He was provided with a snug little corner to huddle against, leaning his back against the edge of the bookshelf as he blended into the shadows like his mentor taught him oh-so-long ago.

The room had fallen silent, the only sign of time moving coming from the almost inaudible ticks from a clock somewhere on a wall. Banshee steadied his breathing, using well-practiced techniques to keep it as quiet as possible. Then came a new noise: the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

Banshee ducked his head, peering in between books toward the entrance. Just as she stepped into the row beside him, he caught a glimpse of Artemis. Her demeanor seemed calm, almost unaware, if he hadn’t made direct eye contact with her and saw her expression harden. They both ignored the sudden yells indicating her shadow had been found by her team members.

It’s a good thing we were here when we were. Banshee’s hands moved quickly and deliberately, signing the words where she could see. He didn’t want to risk their conversation being heard by whoever had been trailing her.

Artemis frowned, pausing in her suiting up to respond. Which is why I made sure to get people who would be on campus right now. I was just lucky that you were here at the library at all.

Banshee smirked, turning away to move to the end of the row while she finished changing. He pressed himself against the wooden structure, looking around the corner to gauge how the fight was going. Involuntarily, his muscles went rigid, his body moving backward almost before his mind had time to catch up to what it had seen. Seconds later, the bookshelf came crashing down. Banshee leaped over it, dropping behind Arsenal and Arrowette from where they had moved to a new position to avoid being crushed under the bookcase.

“We may need to take her more seriously,” Arrowette mentioned.

“You weren’t already?” Banshee scolded.

“Noted,” Arsenal grumbled, yanking out a katana from the hilt strapped to his back. He rushed in, going toe to toe with the masked attacker.

As their swords clashed, Arrowette reached behind her shoulder to find her quiver, an arrow ejecting out from its compartment. She fired it at the assailant, who easily deflected it, but it gave Arsenal the chance to move in. The attacker swung her whip out at him again, yet since he was ready for it, he was able to catch it and send a strong voltage back to the woman’s body. She jolted all over, crying out in pain until it made her fall unconscious. She fell back, landing on the ground in a heap.

“That won’t hold long,” Arsenal mentioned, releasing the whip.

“Good. It doesn’t need to,” Banshee said. He walked over to the unconscious woman, crouching to look her over. “What we need are answers.”

His hand that was reaching for the mask came to a halt when Tigress called out. “Which we’ll get when she wakes up.”

Banshee looked over at her as she approached. “Should we tie her up?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

Banshee stood, crossing his arms. “Any idea why she was following you?” he asked.

Tigress glared down at the woman. “No. But she followed me from home,” she said tensely.

Banshee’s heart dropped to his stomach. “So she knows who you are. Potentially.”

“That’s what I want to find out.”

A soft groan from the floor put the four heroes into action. Arrowette immediately aimed her bow at the woman beginning to stir as Banshee crouched again.

“No sudden moves,” he warned when the unknown assailant’s eyes fluttered open.

Tigress stalked forward, her glare sharp and dangerous. “You followed me from my home. My home,” she said darkly. She stretched out the hand holding her bo staff, tugging down the woman’s mask with the edge. “You broke the rules. Makes me wanna break some too.”

With her face fully revealed, the woman looked more like a girl. Her eyes were wide as she stared down Tigress’ weapon, wincing when it forced her chin to raise.

“Spill,” Tigress demanded.

“I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to, um…frighten you?” the girl said slowly.

Arrowette scoffed. “Oh, like you could ever-”

Tigress interrupted. “Let her talk.”

“I- I wasn't following you to attack,” the girl said, glancing at her and then the two that flanked her, “And I thought these two were working for the Shadows.”

Her gaze temporarily rested on Banshee. “If I wasn’t aware of who you were, I might have thought the same about you.” He raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

She landed back on Tigress’ face. “My name is Onyx. Onyx Adams. And I need your help. Plus, I have help to offer in exchange.”

“What kind of help?”

“I've defected from the League of Shadows,” Onyx continued. “Specifically to warn you. Look, can I stand up?”

Tigress’ tone was still sharp. “No. But I'm listening.”

“Okay, fine.” Onyx sighed, taking a moment before jumping into her story. “Cassandra Savage is on her way here. She'll claim she defected and she'll pretend to need your help, but her true intent is to become a mole on your team.”

Banshee rolled his eyes, rising to his feet. Cassandra Savage? Yeah right.

“I think I've heard this one already,” Arsenal grumbled.

Arrowettes scoffed. “About Red Arrow? Or Terra?”

“About Onyx, like two seconds ago!”

Arrowette lowered her bow, crouching beside Onyx’s head. “So you want us to believe that Vandal Savage's daughter would believe that we would believe that she'd ever in fifty-thousand years betray her father?” she demanded to know.

“Hell would have to freeze over,” Arsenal added.

“Well, as a matter of fact…”

Banshee had a couple of throwing stars in his palm instantly, having ejected out of a compartment in his gloves as he spun around to face the shadows. He inched closer to Arsenal who had his prosthetic at the ready.

Who else stepped into the light but Cassandra Savage herself? “You might want to break out your mittens,” she said dryly, the scar across her face and the lack of a left arm being clear as day. “I'll only need the one, thanks.”

Arsenal moved away from Banshee’s side and Tigress took his place as she quit holding Onyx at staff-point. “So this is true?” the team’s leader questioned. “You've ‘defected’?”

“Yes. And I'm asking for your protection,” said Cassandra.

Onyx groaned from where she moved beside the group as Arsenal had already pulled her to her feet and kept her arms pinned behind her back. “I told you that's what she'd say!” she exclaimed. “But I swear she's lying. I overheard her plotting with Lady Shiva. That is why I came!”

“That's the lie,” Cassandra shot back. “After I escaped, the Shadows must have sent Onyx to sabotage my reception with you. But if you turn me away, you're signing my death warrant.”

Tigress’ glare never wavered, but she never gave away who she believed more. “Our intel is that you're loyal to your father. Fiercely loyal,” she said to Cassandra.

Cassandra’s face fell. “I was,” she admitted. “Until my father killed my sister, Olympia, right in front of my eyes. It's…been eating me up inside. Eventually, I- I realized I couldn't stay.”

“Oh, tell me you're not buying this,” Onyx grumbled.

Ignoring the girl, Cassandra went on. “I tried to escape once before and failed. I thought he'd kill me, but Vandal Savage doesn't believe in wasting a potential asset.”

She looked down at her missing arm. “So instead, he did this to teach me a lesson. He gave me a choice between the Shadows and death,” she continued. “So I went back to Santa Prisca where Deathstroke and Shiva watched my every move. I had to bide my time before I could escape again.”

“There was no ‘first escape attempt’!” Onyx snapped. “She lost that arm on a failed mission to recruit Killer Croc!”

Tigress turned to her. “You witnessed that?” she interrogated.

Onyx faltered. “No, but-”

“Once a Shadow, always a Shadow,” Tigress said. “Or so I've heard.”

Banshee huffed, his arms crossed tightly. No surprise of who from.

“Neither of your stories is particularly convincing,” the leader added.

“But shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt?” Arrowette piped up. “I mean, how can we be sure?”

Arsenal hummed. “We may some need help working this out.”

Banshee tilted his head, eyeing Tigress. “What are you thinking, boss?”

~/~/~/~

Is this such a good idea? Banshee glanced in the side mirror, catching a glimpse of Cassandra in the backseat of Tigress’ car before looking behind the vehicle to see one of Bowhunter Security’s vans following closely.

They quickly contacted Will to get some help with transporting both potential moles. One vehicle wasn’t enough and they certainly didn’t want both women to be in the same one.

The air was filled with tense silence as Tigress drove through Star City. The destination was Green Arrow’s Vault, the very same that Arsenal blew up the day he found out he lost seven years of his life. An appropriate reaction where Arsenal was concerned.

The group had few resources though. With their track record, places such as the Premiere Building or the Watchtower were out of the question. There had been too many compromises in the past to risk that again. Luckily, GA wouldn’t have much loss if something happened to the Vault.

The silence was broken. “I know you're Sportsmaster's daughter,” Cassandra said to Tigress. “You should understand my position.”

Banshee peeked over at the woman beside him as she began to slow down at an intersection. He mirrored her frown, turning his attention back to the otherwise quiet street.

“Look out!”

Banshee jolted when there was a sound of glass breaking. He whipped his head around, finding Arrowette had shoved Cassandra toward the window and now had a dart sticking out of her arm.

“Arrowette!” Tigress exclaimed.

The girl grunted, tugging the dart out of her shoulder. “I’m hit…Tranq dart…” She slumped over, falling against Cassandra’s arm.

“This is helpful,” the woman said dryly.

“Tigress, watch out!” Banshee snapped, eyes trained on the road ahead. The food truck they had been following for a block spun out, cutting them off.

Tigress hit the brakes, leaning over the steering wheel as the top of the food truck opened, revealing several League of Shadows assassins. Great. Banshee shoved his door open, using it as cover from the gunfire.

Four Shadows dropped in front of him, brandishing their swords. Banshee lifted his hand, flicking a subtle switch along his jaw. The mask he wore powered on, so he took a breath and let out a scream.

Two Shadows went flying back, slamming against the brick wall of the building behind them. While their remaining friends were distracted, Banshee planted his palms against the asphalt and kicked his feet against their knees to make them buckle. They crumpled, allowing him to grab them by the helmets and slam their heads together.

“Always wear protection, kids,” Banshee mumbled.

His eyes slid closed on their own. His skin tingled as, within his mind, he saw a missile whip past before he even turned to see it for himself. He certainly saw the explosion though, flinching as the excess sensations around him made his muscles ache.

He whirled around as noodles rained everywhere. Seriously, they had food on board? “Give a guy a warning next time!” he called out to Arsenal.

“Spoilsport!”

Tigress jumped onto the hood of her car, dropping beside Banshee as two Shadows crept up on him while his senses were still trying to recalibrate. She went after them with her own sword, giving Banshee the opportunity to go after some of the gunmen. As he pounced on one, Will had thrown off the aim of another by smacking them around with his clipboard.

Banshee dashed toward the truck, vaulting over the hood as one Shadow stumbled away from the destruction, miraculously still alive despite Arsenal’s excessive efforts. But he was put out of his misery as soon as Banshee slammed his knee into his face, sending his head bouncing off the side of the truck. “Sweet dreams.”

A yelp came from Tigress, quickly followed by a series of gasps. Banshee found her still by her car, being choked out by a Shadow with a garrote. “Tigress!” he yelled out.

He moved to sprint to her aid but stumbled in his run when Cassandra came out of nowhere, free from her handcuffs, and chopped the Shadow’s neck to knock his breath and consciousness out from him. With a cautious glance when the sound of remaining gunfire ended, he saw that Onyx was also free and had choked out the last Shadow.

Banshee sighed. So much for staying put. He approached Onyx, eyeing her warily, but she made no attempt to run or fight even as the others reconvened.

“So, basically, both of you could have freed yourselves at any time,” Arsenal said.

“Basically.”

“Of course.”

Arsenal raised his eyebrow. “And escaped, too?”

“Basically.”

“Of course.”

Any other question or reply was cut off by the sound of quickly approaching sirens.

“Time to go. Back in the cars,” Tigress said, her tone showing there was no room for arguments. Although granted, no one wanted to stick around for the police to find their mess. Whether they initially caused it or not.

They resumed their trip to the Vault, luckily with no other interruptions along the way. Banshee and Arsenal ushered the two women into temporary cells, rejoining their friends–along with the additions of Terra, Spoiler, and Orphan–while Tigress stepped in to begin interrogations.

Some time had passed while the group waited for Tigress to come back out. When she did, it was clear that she learned very little.

“Terra, you knew them both when you were a Shadow,” she said, approaching the girl as the cells were automatically secured from any escape attempt. “What do you think?”

“Onyx had talent. But she wasn't bloodthirsty enough for Slade's tastes. He never thought she'd make the cut. Which would explain why she might run,” Terra assumed. “But Cassandra was always a true believer. She worshiped her father. Hard to believe she'd ever betray him, the Light or the Shadows. In that world, she'd be quite the scandal.”

“Um, yeah, no.” Banshee turned to Spoiler as she spoke up. “If I learned anything from Cluemaster, it's that no matter how hard it is to admit your dear old dad's one of the bad guys, sooner or later, you have to walk away.” She looked at Tigress. “You know what I'm talking about.”

“Some walk away,” Red Arrow agreed. “But some definitely follow in dear old dad's footsteps. Icicle, Jr. Cheshire.” He trailed off.

Terra tapped her chin. “Yes, what is that expression? The falling apple does not bounce far from one's head?”

Arsenal chuckled. “I think you're conflating genetics with gravity,” he said. “But, yeah. As the tree is bent, so grows the twig.”

“Sometimes the apple doesn't even fall. It just sits on the branch and turns rotten,” Red Arrow added.

Banshee shrugged. “Clearly, if it does, some of them don’t get hit in the head hard enough.”

Arrowette gave the three men a look. “Are we still talking about Cassandra and Onyx?” she asked. “Cause all this apple stuff has made me very confused and kinda hungry.”

“You’re telling me,” Banshee said to her. “I was going to eat after writing my paper…so much for that.”

To bring the conversation back on topic, Tigress turned to the last person in their group. “Orphan, you were a Shadow, too. Should we trust Cassandra?”

Orphan shook her head.

“Onyx?”

Another head shake.

Red Arrow sighed, leaning closer to the surveillance cameras. “They could both be moles,” he pointed out.

“And he's a former mole, so he'd know,” Arsenal teased, letting out an ‘ow!’ when his brother elbowed him.

“It's an old Cold War strategy,” Red Arrow continued, “the bad guys send us two options and don't really care which one we trust.”

Arrowette gestured at the screen. “But wait, if they're both equally untrustworthy, doesn't that make them both equally trustworthy?”

“Could be,” Banshee shrugged, leaning against the console.

“True,” Spoiler mulled over. “Both could be legit, but the Shadows got them to mistrust each other.”

“Geez, kick 'em both loose and let the Shadows sort 'em out,” Arsenal groaned.

“No.” Banshee’s voice overlapped with Tigress’, but she continued speaking. “If there's even a chance one of them–or both–is telling the truth, we have to protect her…or them.”

She sighed. “You get the idea. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption.”

Banshee turned back to the screen, examining both women sitting in their respective cells. Just how were they going to figure that out though?

Three alarms went off simultaneously, breaking the silence and Banshee’s focus. He quickly grabbed his communicator just as Tigress and Red Arrow checked their own. “It’s Jen,” he said out loud, seeing the SOS call come through.

He began to head for the Zeta-Tube, turning back to the group one last time. “Keep me updated, let me know if you need further help.”

Tigress nodded. “Go.”

Banshee teleported across the city, rushing to his mentor’s aid.

Chapter Text

Gotham City

May 14, 05:25 EDT

“So, I haven’t had time to ask…how’d the turf war go?”

The man across from Jenna sighed as he sagged into the other side of the couch. Jenna paused in her typing long enough to peek around the laptop she had balancing on her knees. She watched as Dick stretched out against the cushions, the rest of his body covering what hers didn’t. “Don’t ask if you’re not ready to sit here for three hours.”

Jenna giggled, opening her mouth to say she had nothing better to do, but Barbara spoke up from where she was working at her computer.

“You’re sure you saw this on the guy who fell to his death at Devine’s suite?”

Jenna nudged Dick’s leg off her foot so she could stand. She put her laptop on the coffee table and then walked around the couch to the kitchen. Upon standing behind Barbara, she could see the work she had pulled up on her computer. She had been looking through various police reports and images of a winged dragon with a curved tail–all similar but none identical to the tattoo Jenna managed to catch a glimpse of before falling out of a window and nearly falling to her death if it hadn’t been for Lynx.

“I’m sure,” she confirmed.

“Weird.”

Jenna tilted her head in confusion. “Why?”

“No body was recovered by the police. No evidence that there had even been an attack. It’s clear shadowplay,” Barbara murmured. “I wonder...is Lynx tied to the Green Brotherhood? He works under his father and he’s not the type to have a cause unless there’s money or power in it.”

“That’s his father though,” Jenna pointed out. “The question is if that’s the same for him.”

“He could be playing both sides. Which means he could know more about the Brotherhood than I do.”

The corner of Jenna’s lip twitched. “A mystery, huh?” she said teasingly at her friend’s miffed tone.

“Total. They had a core membership of devoted fanatics, many of whom were killed in a bomb incident two years ago. Their current leadership is unknown. Aside from following Devine around and destroying her facilities, they don’t have much of an agenda.

“There has to be something in Devine’s past.” Barbara began searching on another screen for more information on the woman. “Either that or she’s getting taken advantage of. Could it be as simple as a protection racket?”

Jenna began to move back to the couch, rolling her eyes at Dick who was now taking up the entire space. “That’s the Ghost Dragons’ usual, right?” she asked as she nudged the man again, sighing when he didn’t budge.

“Then why doesn’t Devine pay for that? Why does it keep on like this, year after year?”

A loud beep in Jenna’s ear interrupted her train of thought. “Hold on a sec,” she told Barbara, bringing her hand to her comm. “White Canary.”

“It’s Lightning. We’ve got a situation on our hands.”

Jenna frowned, dashing to the bathroom with a quick apology to Barbara and Dick. “Go on.”

“Natural disasters are cropping up everywhere around the world. More than just a few can handle. We need all Leaguers and Outsiders to get to the Watchtower and be ready to go as we call out teams.”

“Copy that. Be there in ten.”

After a more than quick change, Canary left the bathroom. She stashed her things near her laptop, making for the door. “I’ll be back later to figure out our next steps with Devine and Lynx before I have to meet them tomorrow, right now, we have a major problem that all Leaguers are being called in for.”

“Good luck,” Dick called after her.

Canary smiled lightly as she looked over her shoulder, but as she turned to reach for the door handle, she hesitated. Her mouth dropped back into a frown. She couldn’t look away from the picture frame near the door.

~8~8~8~

The day had finally arrived. Red Arrow would be joining the Justice League as an official member. No secrets or hidden bases anymore. Just a membership card with his name on it that would be handed to him in front of hundreds of people.

“How does it feel, my friend?” Kaldur asked, having stepped up beside Jenna.

“Like it's about time.”

Looking back on the last day they were all in the Hall of Justice, they were able to find humor in it considering how different things had become. It was even a little bittersweet. Jenna was already having to hold back her tears.

“Roy? We're about to begin.” Black Canary had popped her head inside the library, where all of the team would be watching news coverage from. A downside of being part of a co-ops team.

Jenna spun around to face her sister. “Can you take a photo of us all real quick? I want a memory of the team while Roy is technically still a part of it.”

She shot a teasing grin in his direction. “And to think, six months ago, you wouldn't have been caught dead being involved with us.”

Roy rolled his eyes, removing his mask momentarily for the photo and also pulling the hoodie he had arrived in back on to hide his 'Red Arrow' garb. It made sense, seeing as the other young heroes were dressed in civilian clothing, not wasting their time being suited up since they weren't going to be seen publicly.

The group piled over by the seats, forcing Roy in the middle with the others surrounding him. Jenna quickly handed over her phone to Canary, rushing over to slip into the space in front of Artemis. She shared a smile with Raquel as she settled in place.

“Everyone ready?” Canary inquired.

Jenna fixed her eyes on the camera lens, smiling brightly. It only seemed to grow–if that was even possible–when she felt Kaldur's warm hand rest casually on her shoulder.

“Three, two, one…”

~8~8~8~

White Canary blinked back at the sting in her eyes. The nostalgia coupled with knowing that the friend group was now down two was too much. The concern she had for the man at her side in the photo didn’t help either, especially when he still spent most of this time in Poseidonis. The tightness in her chest seized when she felt a different hand grasp her shoulder.

“You okay?” Dick asked quietly, the raspiness in his voice revealing he knew what she was thinking about.

“Yeah,” Canary said after a long pause. “I better go.”

The hand squeezed lightly before letting go. Canary didn't look back as she fled.

~/~/~/~

Gotham City

June 3, 09:01 EDT

Jenna’s hands tensed around the steering wheel of her rental, rubbing her palms against it in increments to keep her mind focused and her heartbeat calm. She had finally received a call a few days after the League emergency; it was Nicole Divine requesting that Jenna accompany her to Bwunda in a couple of weeks after she wrapped up some business in Gotham. It left Jenna suspicious, wondering what Devine was doing that would take so long, but after the natural disasters all around the globe, she was left to assume those were part of the delay.

Besides another quick briefing with Oracle the day before, Jenna would mostly be on her own. While her friend would constantly be in her ear to gather information or should she need backup, Jenna needed to keep things on the down low.

With Lynx already alluding to knowing exactly who she was, she couldn’t risk others finding out, which meant resorting to a handy Glamor charm crafted by Zatanna while dressed as White Canary. When Black Canary once relied on wigs in her early years before committing to blonde hair dye, Jenna found magic much more reliable, especially since the smaller the charm, the more subtle the jewelry could be. Jenna and White Canary were both known to wear an abundance of earrings anyway, so one more added to the collection was no problem.

As her rental rolled to a stop in front of the private hanger, she could feel the metaphorical weight of the multiple gazes on her when she began to step out. The only one she trusted was Oracle’s. It was comforting, even if little assistance could be received should she need it. Not that she felt she would.

To both hide from the sun’s glare and Lynx’s inquisitive glance, Jenna slipped on a pair of sunglasses before striding over to the little group milling about nearby. “Good morning, General. Nikki,” she greeted with an easy smile before eyeing the third individual. “Glad to see I followed the dress code, Lynx.”

Like her, he was clad in leather pants, coupled with a plain black shirt that fit snugly against his muscled torso. The shirt also revealed several tattoos that expanded over his arms and neck, however–whether unfortunately or fortunately–Jenna failed to see any similar tattoo to the one she saw during the ambush. As for her, any tattoos on her arm were covered up by a matching leather jacket and she wanted to keep it that way.

“Well, I certainly won’t complain for my bodyguards to be matching,” Nikki said with a bright smile. “Especially not when they both look so eye-catching.”

Jenna rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses, a wide smile stretching over her face for the others to see instead. “I’m flattered,” she said easily. “Are we ready to leave?”

The trip was guaranteed to be lengthy, despite the ability to fly straight there on a private plane versus commercially. It made Jenna all the more grateful for Zeta Tubes, but even more so for the book collection that she had back home that she could rely on for long trips. She was more than ready to settle into the story to help the time pass, although her hackles didn’t lower entirely when a body slumped into the seat across from her.

“Pick anything fun to read?”

Jenna let out a noncommittal hum, relaxing against the cushiony leather chair. She flipped the page to the first chapter, eyes flitting over words so familiar she could probably quote them from memory.

“What’re you into? Mystery? Romance? I prefer a good erotica myself.”

Jenna’s gaze trailed to the next page in silence.

Leather squeaked as there was movement. From the top of the book, a hand reached out, the grip closing over the corner and beginning to pull away. Jenna’s reflexes were quicker, snapping the book shut as her other hand grabbed Lynx’s wrist like a vice. Her glare was a warning, but judging by his amused grin, he wasn’t too bothered.

Still, he pulled away. “You’re no fun,” he sighed, leaving Jenna to her own devices again as he got up to hunt down the minibar.

The book had its wear from Jenna’s years of ownership, but she still smoothed a hand over the crumpled pages. Part of her knew she should have brought a less sentimental book with her, but after the conversation she had while preparing for the trip, it was on her mind and her grasp before she could do anything.

~8~8~8~

“This is unbelievable,” Jenna said with an incredulous laugh. She tossed a couple of shirts into her duffel before turning to her computer screen with a hand on her hip. “It’s been weeks since you’ve been home, Kaldur!”

“I understand, Jenna. But King Orin has entrusted me with this mission. I am the only one he can rely on right now.”

“We both know that’s not true,” Jenna snapped back. “Orin would agree to let anyone you suggested take on this mission. You don’t have to shoulder this just because of your title. What happened to taking a break?”

“I am fine. Since I have recruited Wyynde and La’gaan to join this mission, they will see to that.”

Another voice came from off-screen. “Only because I believe you should have taken a break weeks ago as well.”

Jenna threw a hand in the air after dropping a book into her bag. “See? It’s not just me. Wyynde thinks so too. Should I give La’gaan a call and get a third opinion? His wife is about to have a baby! I doubt she and their husband are okay with this either.”

“Which is why we will make haste,” Kaldur said firmly. “So that La’gaan can be here and that I can return to you.”

Jenna huffed as she glanced down at her bag. “That better be true. Or so help me, I will drag Raquel and M’gann into a mission of our own,” she grumbled before speaking louder. “Wyynde, you had all better come back in one piece, understand?”

“I swear, Jenna.”

She looked up at the computer again, her brow softening slightly. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Before Kaldur ended the call, she drank in every bit of his features as much as she could.

~8~8~8~

Jenna was pulled away from her attempts at reading, so lost in thought that it took up more time than she would have expected. Before she knew it, they were close to the end of their journey. Knowing there was no time left to read, she stashed her book away and moved closer to where Nikki and General M’Barra were chatting.

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” she said as she slid into an available seat.

Nikki smiled lightly. “Not at all,” she assured.

Jenna tilted her head inquisitively as she looked over at the general. “Where exactly are we landing?” she questioned.

“M’Barraville. The capital of Bwunda,” he informed her.

Jenna’as eyebrow raised. “Named after your family, I presume?”

“Named after me, Miss Lance.”

Egotistical much? Though Jenna said nothing, opting to look out the window as the ground grew closer and closer.

Upon landing at a comfortably sized hanger, the small group quickly piled out of the plane and stepped into the stifling summer heat. Jenna began to regret all of the leather but pushed her discomfort aside to keep an eye on Nikki’s movements.

“Looks like you’ve got some good soldiers, general,” Miss Devine called out to the man.

“My nephews,” the general introduced. “All of my bodyguards are family.” He looked to one of the younger-looking men. “We will tour the dam site. Is my helicopter prepared?”

The man saluteed. “Yes, uncle- er, el presidente!”

General M’Barra nodded approvingly. “Very good, Victor.”

As the group traded one transportation for another, Jenna glanced over at Lynx while they waited for their turn to board. “It’s hot here, huh?”

Lynx scoffed, adjusting his shades. “A killing heat,” he agreed. “It creeps up on you and you’re dead before you know it.”

Jenna’s smirk turned into a sneer as she watched him climb into the helicopter. “Good to know,” she muttered, following suit.

The second flight was much shorter as they flew to the main attraction of the day. “This dam will make all the difference to your people, general,” Nikki spoke through the headset they had all been provided. “Your country already offers affordable labor and ample natural resources, but when this dam starts churning out cheap energy, factories and plants will flock here.”

Jenna’s eyes narrowed in thought. “How does a country with the weak tax base of Bwunda afford a project like this?”

Nikki glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t pay the big overheads, Jenna. I’m a financing wizard as the media likes to call me,” she said breezily. “I know how to control costs and I’m tough enough to not get gouged. And the World Bank loves me. I’m their ‘feel good’ client. Don’t worry your pretty head about the business end and just get back to watching my rear end.”

“What a cow,” said a small voice in Jenna’s ear. She hid a smile as she examined the view below.

The helicopter soared over houses and the families they contained below. Although Jenna had been around the richer parts of the country once Secretary-General Troia dropped Luthor’s prior obstruction of League assistance to other countries, she could see just as much life blooming in this area.

“This eyesore will be a metropolis in a few years,” Nikki added, making Jenna turn toward her sharply. “There’ll be a mall on every corner and a statue of General M’Barra in every square.”

Jenna was almost afraid to ask what would become of the citizens living there currently. She knew she wouldn’t like the answer regardless so she held her tongue.

“I am concerned about the Independence Front showing up at the dam-opening ceremonies,” the general admitted. “Their attacks have been more frequent.”

Attacks I’m all too familiar with. Jenna’s lips thinned.

Nikki chuckled. “Those knuckleheads aren’t worth worrying about. When the cash flows in, they’ll all be lining up for jobs. Then we’ll see them for the frauds they really are.”

Jenna took one last look before they turned back.

After the little tour, the group was left to settle into the rooms they had been provided during their stay. Jenna was grateful to get some privacy, albeit how small it was since she knew both Nikki and Lynx wouldn’t be too far away. Still, she was more than happy to relax for a couple of hours before she snuck out to get an idea of what’s been going on. And to catch up with Oracle.

“How’re the accommodations?”

“Four stars all the way,” she said, head resting back on her hands as she stared up at the ceiling. “I feel like there’s a private joke going around and I’m the only one who’s not in on it.”

“There’s a missing piece here,” Oracle agreed.

Jenna sighed. “So what’s our next move?”

“You’ve got the Green Brotherhood and then you’ve got M’Barra’s homegrown enemies. Both of which we’ve dealt with before in some shape or form. For now, I’m not too concerned about the BIF since they’re just determined to toss M’Barra out. But we still know nothing about the current Green Brotherhood and that bothers me.”

“Spill,” Jenna requested as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Every one of these fringe groups has ties to other outfits just like them. But not the Green Brotherhood. Since the death of their core leaders, they’ve cut all ties to other wacko clubs,” Oracle explained. “I can’t get a line on their personnel, power source, chain of command, or funding. It’s like they’ve gone deep underground. Either they’re real good or real small.”

Jenna stood up, pacing the room. “So the dam is where I find answers,” she determined.

“How so?”

“It’s a magnet for trouble. The only core element we have here,” Jenna said. “In almost every case, a Nicole Devine project has been sabotaged. If we want to find something, we need to start there.”

Oracle let out a thoughtful hum. “Then let’s drop the ‘why’ and concentrate on protecting that current project. If it gets destroyed, we’ll be back at square one.”

Jenna moved to her duffel, pulling out her gear. “Then let’s keep that from happening.”

Chapter Text

Bwunda

June 4, 00:01 CAT

The area was silent aside from nocturnal wildlife and Jenna’s barely detectable breathing. Years and years of training to be as quiet as humanly possible became vital to her work as a hero. Even when she was starting out as Siren. Especially then. There had been more than a time or two where, if it wasn’t for her sister’s guidance, she would have caused them more problems than they needed.

Jenna shook her head, pushing away the subconscious grimace that had curled her lip. She refocused on the scene below her, knowing that anything she was seeing, was being viewed by Oracle through her dark-wear lens. On top of the dam, a truck was sitting idly, while a couple masculine figures dressed in green paced nearby. All were armed.

Be careful.

A light smile flickered across Jenna’s face at Oracle’s cautious warning. Her gaze fell to the thigh she rested an arm on, moving to flash a thumbs up to acknowledge her friend. She rose up from the brush she had settled in, ready to make her presence known.

The two ‘Brothers’ had no time to react before Jenna was on them, swiftly disposing of them by knocking them out and hauling them back to their truck. She peeked inside, noticing that no one was waiting inside. But where there’s two, there’s bound to be more.

Jenna’s gaze flitted to the dam behind her. She crept closer to the edge where ropes dangled and looked down to a landing ten feet below. Bingo. But her frown deepened upon further inspection.

There were indeed a couple more members of the Brotherhood–thankfully unsuspecting of Jenna’s presence–and what they were setting up worried her. Explosives. Lots of them.

Go get ‘em.

Jenna scowled, snatching up one of the ropes and loosening it from its anchor. Then she dropped in.

Hearing a new sound, the men glanced up to find a shadowy figure haloed by the moon was descending upon them. A heel slammed into the back of one neck, sending the man’s unconscious body flying a few feet behind his comrade. The last member quickly whipped out a knife from a holster on his back, swiping it blindly at the assailant. The woman slammed the back of her hand into his wrist, causing him to lose grip as she elbowed him in the nose. As he staggered, she drove her knee up between his legs, bringing him to his knees.

“Now,” Jenna said calmly, “we’re going to play a little game of twenty questions. Except there’s only one question and I had better get the answer, or I’m going to start getting impatient.”

She crouched down, yanking the mask off the man crumpled in agony and glaring at his bloodied face. “Who really runs the Green Brotherhood? I know none of you are smart enough to be doing this alone.”

The man just let out a groan, fighting to get air back into his lungs.

“Well? I’m waiting.”

The sound of a gun cocking broke the tension. “Isn’t this a sight?”

Jenna craned her neck to look to the top of the dam. There, she was met with a pistol aimed at her. Behind it was a cocky grin. So she scoffed.

“I didn’t take you for an eco-warrior, Lynx,” she called out.

The man shrugged. “You’d be right. After all, I’m just here to do a job,” he said. “The one you’re looking for? She’s waiting back at the hotel.”

Jenna was cornered. She knew that any move meant potentially getting ran through with a bullet. She didn’t have time to clamber back up to the top, nor did she have any way of surviving a drop off the dam. But if she just had some time…

“So what’s the deal, then?” she asked. “You’re really willing to sell yourself no matter what? No matter what lives might be sacrificed in the process?” Her fingers inched towards the hem of her jacket, slowly reaching for a pocket where she kept some smoke pellets.

“Money is money,” Lynx answered. “To my father, anyway. What he says goes, so I go.”

Jenna barked out a laugh. “That’s right,” she realized. “Your crew preys on rich people who are too scared to admit what they do is wrong, which means you’re willing to accept dirty money so that their own hands don’t turn out the same.”

Lynx smirked. “I didn’t say it was morally right. The rich live in fear, and we take advantage of it. Simple as that,” he said.

Jenna tilted her head, smiling lightly. “So what now? Am I just going to be another body in a long list of Devine’s?”

Then she choked.

Her hands flew up, grasping at the elbow wrapped around her throat. A body loomed behind her, yanking her back toward the edge. “I got her, boss!” Of course he was lying-

“What the hell?” But when Jenna looked back at Lynx, she wasn’t expecting the shock on his face. “What are you doing here?!”

Before the conversation could continue, Jenna jabbed her elbow into her captor’s stomach. The grip loosened, so she broke free and sprinted for the nearest rope before Lynx could break out of his stupor.

“Jenna! Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Jenna grunted her answer to Oracle. “I’m almost done here.”

By the time she clamored up to the top of the dam, Lynx had shaken himself free from his surprise. He met Jenna’s gaze with wide eyes, still aiming down below. She watched as they flashed, his brow wrinkling in contemplation.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Lynx,” Jenna said slowly. She didn’t know why he was hesitating, but she wasn’t going to pass the opportunity up to try to talk him down.

Lynx looked away, staring at the lower ledge in silence. Jenna could feel the tension rising, but knew that too quick movements could go wrong. So she slowly took a step closer, hoping that she could get to him and wrestle the gun away before he had time to aim it at her.

Then he took in a sharp inhale, as if his consciousness snapped back into his body all at once. Jenna’s heart lurched just as she tried to lunge, knowing the slow attempt would be futile. But he didn’t swivel, instead keeping his aim true.

“No! Stop!” Jenna cried out.

A myriad of shots rang out as Lynx fired.

The bullets went through the men down below, scattering across the ledge, where the explosives still waited to be set off. The pair up top were flung back as a blast destroyed the area, causing the center of the dam to break. Water gushed out, washing the evidence and bodies away.

Jenna could only watch in horror as the massive stream continued on its path. The village! Aching with the knowledge she couldn’t do anything immediately, she turned on Lynx, knocking the gun from his grasp before she slammed him down. The structure trembled beneath them.

“Tell me what the fuck this was all for! Now!” she snarled.

Lynx reacted quicker this time, now that his task was accomplished. Still, Jenna had no idea what it was for, seeing him turn on what was clearly his own men. A boot slammed into her chest, sending her flying back. She landed roughly, bruising her elbow as she tried to catch herself. Then she was back on her feet.

“What was that all about then, huh? Trying to pull some change-of-heart stunt?” she demanded, even as she watched with repulsion as he finished the job on the two men near the truck.

Lynx let out a scoff, turning to glare at her. “You want to know Devine’s plan, Canary? Figure it out yourself. We were both just pretty faces to her,” he pointed out. “As for these traitors? That’s my own business.”

Traitors? Jenna’s mind spun with confusion and panic. She barely had time to think, much less interrogate him any further, before the ground between them began to crack. In order to prevent herself from being counted in the casualties, she had no choice but to retreat.

So she ran, hightailing it off the dam before it could entirely collapse. Once she was on solid ground, she looked back at the chaos. Although entirely dissatisfied with how things went, Jenna was still relieved to see the small figure of Lynx making his escape before it was too late.

With a sigh, Jenna lifted her hand to her ear. “White Canary to Watchtower.”

“This is Black Lightning. What’s going on, Canary?”

Jenna watched the village below. She couldn’t see much, but there was enough devastation in the aftermath to get a good grasp from her vantage point. “I’m calling with a major request. I’m going to need lots of hands on deck.”

After a brief, detailed overview, the call ended, so Jenna began her trek to the village. She knew she was going to be here for a while.

The next week or so was busy with various Leaguers helping fix the destruction of the village as best they could. It shattered Jenna’s heart every time she found another body floating in the water. And with every heart break came white-hot fury.

At one point, when she could finally take a small break, she started to plan her next step.

“Hey, Oracle? I need your help.”

“Of course. What do you need?” Oracle’s voice was sympathetic, having seen everything from that night on through the woman’s eyes.

Jenna stood out of the way, watching as her friends and co-Leaguers cleared away what seemed like endless rubble and assisted anyone living to safety. Her expression was hard. “I want her,” she said tightly.

“Want who, exactly?”

“Devine. She’s our missing piece. The center of this all,” Jenna growled. “Find her for me. Wherever she is.”

~/~/~/~

London

July 1, 14:32 BST

It had taken a few weeks of searching, but Jenna never doubted once that Oracle couldn’t do the job. So once Jenna had returned from Bwunda, she knew where to go next.

The heroine was on a warpath. As she made her way into the fancy headquarters where Oracle said Nicole Devine was having another meeting, she didn’t let anything or anyone stand in her way. She stepped over the unconscious security guards that had been blocking the door to a conference room. It was easy to assume who would be on the other side.

“-We’ll cut your refinery and extraction costs in half with this facility. That’ll put you in with the high rollers in the oil trade. How do you gentlemen feel about that?”

“Why don’t you tell them the whole story, Nikki?”

All heads in the room whipped around to stare at the doorway. Jenna rubbed at her knuckles, glaring through her eyelashes at the woman sitting at the very end. “Tell them how you’ll be using inferior building materials and inexperienced labor. Tell them you’ll pocket up to sixty percent of the budget in kickbacks and hide it in the books as legit expenses.”

Everything she recited was what Oracle had finally managed to dig up while searching for Devine. All of it was extremely incriminating evidence. There was no coming back from this for Miss Nicole Devine. Her business partners understood this, as they scrambled to flee the room.

“Tell them how you’ll cover the whole thing up by having your pet terrorists destroy the project so no one will ever know the scam you pulled,” Jenna continued, stalking into the room even while the security inside began to draw their weapons. “Tell them how you’ve become the woman you are today by stepping over countless graves.”

The guards rushed at Jenna, yelling out warnings as they surrounded her. But Jenna wasn’t in the mood to mess around. Dispatching the guards was quick work, as she hauled one into the door and launched the other across the table to land at Devine’s feet.

“What’s the matter, Nikki?” Jenna asked with a slight smile. “Got nothing to say?”

For once, all of Nicole’s suaveness was gone. “Who do you think you are?” she demanded. “Lynx, do your job.” She took a step back to let her bodyguard take over.

Only there was a deep laugh from behind her. Jenna glanced over to see Lynx leaning against a couch, his hands shoved into his pockets. A lazy grin spread across his face as he made eye contact with Jenna. At that moment, she knew they had come to some sort of truce.

“Sorry, Nikki. That’s not my job anymore,” he said, “considering how I quit my last job.”

Jenna’s eyebrows raised. Huh. Did he really not know the Ghost Dragons were part of the Brotherhood? Wonder what that conversation between him and his father was like.

Nikki scoffed, her face twisted like she had bitten into a lemon. “Fine. I can hold my own,” she declared. She turned around, already moving to raise her fists.

Jenna grabbed one of her hands, yanking it out from their bodies. She reached out with her other hand to latch it around the other woman’s throat. “Is that so?” She hauled Nicole back against the table, cornering her.

“Did that village hold their own?” she asked, her eyes starting to water in anger. “All those people. All those innocents. You held hope out to people who had none. And then you killed their children. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t throw you to the street via window.”

“She’s not worth it, Jen.”

Jenna’s scowl deepened at Oracle’s words in her ear. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the bodies. Lying in the mud as far as I could see.”

“I know. But you’ve stopped her. This evidence we’ve dug up will have her doing life in half a dozen countries. Right now, the police are coming to pick her up.”

“That’s not enough.” Jenna’s voice slightly wavered.

“I’m sorry.”

Jenna looked down at Nicole, whose face had been turning red. “Me too,” she sighed before pulling Nicole up just enough to slam her head back into the table and letting her slump over into unconsciousness.

Jenna stood still, staring down at the woman, even though she knew she had to make herself scarce soon. As she contemplated the events of last month, she felt a presence move beside her.

“So,” she said calmly. “You left the Ghost Dragons. What’s the story there?”

Jenna looked up at Lynx. He was also examining Nicole before he let his gaze flicker off to the side.

“Nothing that you need to know, Canary.”

Jenna chuckled. “Can’t blame me for trying.” She watched as he stepped away. “Gonna at least give me a hint where you’re going next? I gotta stay on my toes around you, after all.”

Lynx paused at the doorway and turned to grin at her. “I hear Star City’s a pretty nice place to be this time of year.”

Oh boy… Jenna rolled her eyes, causing one last laugh from Lynx before he was gone. So, she decided it was time to leave too.

“Are you okay?” Came her friend’s voice once Jenna had left the building. She had ducked away from where authorities were starting to swarm, wanting to prevent any sort of confrontation.

“Not really,” Jenna admitted as she walked down the sidewalk. “I’m glad all this is over, but it’s just been a way to distract myself from everything else. Right now, I just really need a strong drink.”

“Come over to my place? I’ll get everything ready, and we can have a girl’s night.”

Jenna smiled at that. “Deal.”

~/~/~/~

Star City

July 5, 10:44 PDT

Coming home was something Jenna desperately needed. After being busy with the Devine ordeal, she knew she needed a chance to breathe. Reality was still waiting for her, and she wasn’t thrilled to address it.

Although, pretty shortly after returning to Star City after the debrief she had with Black Lightning, she received a call with some good news. Kaldur was coming home.

His own extensive mission had finally come to an end. Arion’s crown was found. Only to find out that the man appearing to be the long-lost Arion was actually a fraud. In some strange turn of events that Jenna didn’t quite understand, Mera was now the ruler of Atlantis.

Regardless, waiting for Kaldur to return had Jenna feeling antsy all morning. Despite being frustrated that he went on the mission in the first place and feeling concerned when the mission began to stretch out over weeks, she just missed him and wanted to feel him and kiss him again.

Especially once she saw the beard he was sporting through the video call they had.

Jenna had been spending the morning cleaning up around her apartment to try to expel some of the impatient energy she had been putting up with since the night before. She knew that it wouldn’t be long, going off of what Kaldur had told her. He was going to see his parents to reassure their own worries and inform them that he was going to be taking a break from Aquaman duties for a while, then he would return the next day. And there was a Zeta-Tube only a couple of blocks down from her apartment, but Jenna just couldn’t wait any longer.

When she was in the laundry room—finally getting her gear washed from the work she and the League did in Bwunda—she almost missed hearing the front door open when the washer started. She did hear it shut, though, and a big grin split her face.

She poked her head out of the bathroom, eyes lighting up when they laid on the love of her life. When he met her gaze, she was sure her expression matched his.

“The beard looks even better in person,” Jenna teased as she met him halfway.

Rather than respond, Kaldur ducked his head to kiss her deeply.

It was like Jenna had melted, her body molding with his as she wound her arms around his neck. Everywhere that Kaldur touched was tingling. From her hips to her back to her face as he cradled it gently.

“Someone missed me,” Jenna chuckled, having to pull back to breathe.

The look in Kaldur’s eyes made her heart thump. “More than you could know,” he whispered.

Jenna raised a challenging eyebrow. “Then show me.”

Kaldur’s gaze became heated before he suddenly wrapped an arm around her and lifted her. Jenna couldn’t help the giggles that escaped as she latched her legs around his waist so she wouldn’t fall. Not that his grip would ever falter.

Jenna paid attention to Kaldur’s lips and only Kaldur’s lips while he carried her down the hall and to their bedroom, the door clicking shut behind them.

Chapter Text

New Genesis

August 26, 20:16 UTC

White Canary walked down the corridor of the Javelin, focused on her path to the lounge in search of members of her group. She poked her head through the door and smiled, luckily correct in her assumption.

“Come up to the cockpit. We’re landing in a few minutes,” she requested of both Forager and Flash, the latter being Jay Garrick and not Barry Allen.

Leaving them to follow, Canary quickly returned to where Rocket was busy piloting. She took her seat nearby, working out the preparations for landing.

“Lost in space?” Flash asked their pilot, noticing that the other woman had hardly acknowledged the appearance of the two Leaguers and Outsider.

Canary watched as Rocket turned her head quickly, but hardly gave off any emotion in response to the teasing. “Hm? No, we're right on course,” she easily assured.

Flash chuckled. “I can see that,” he said, moving on from the fact that he hadn’t meant it literally to instead take his seat next to White Canary. “And frankly, after being cooped up on the Javelin for two days, I'm ready to stretch my legs.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Canary laughed. She was all too aware of what it was like for speedsters to be confined to one space for too long. A fond smile grew in memory of a mishap where she and the original Kid Flash had gotten trapped during a mission. Even with the half hour it took to get their teammates to come to their aid, she had been all too ready to get out after putting up with Kid’s anxious wiggling around in the tiny space.

Forager joined them in the cockpit, clicking excitedly. “Is Flash ready to stretch Flash's legs for Flash's first mission as a Justice Leaguer?” he wondered.

“Yes, nice being the new kid for a change.”

Forager then perked up. “Oh, Forager can see Forager's old Forest Hive from here.”

“Well, you'll have to give me a tour when we get down there,” Flash added.

Rocket, though, brought them back on track. “This isn't a pleasure cruise,” she reminded them. “We're here to represent Earth at the Summit. Get a treaty signed if we can.”

Canary hummed. The last thing we need is another intergalactic war on our hands.

“Well yeah. Justice League meets the New Gods meets the Green Lantern Corps,” Flash rattled off what they had all learned during Canary’s debrief. “Big old Hero Summit. A sure-fire hoot.”

“Hoot?” Rocket echoed, sharing a grin with her old teammate and now co-Leaguer.

“You heard me.”

Canary snickered in response as Rocket turned to Forager. “Any last minute advice on navigating New Genesis?” she asked him.

Forager looked away, looking troubled. “Forager is unsure what to tell Rocket,” he admitted. “Forager has not been to Forager's home world in over a year. And Forager has never been to Supertown before. Forager is unsure how useful Forager will be.”

Canary was ready to reassure the bug when an alert sounded. “Heads up,” she said instead, pressing a button to see who was calling in.

When a screen spread out in front of their faces, the one looking back at them was unfamiliar. A man with a helmet covering half his face was standing in what was clearly Supertown. As he spoke, he was briefly untranslatable until the Motherbox in his hand pinged.

“The New Gods welcome the Justice League to New Genesis,” he spoke in what they heard as English.

“Thank you,” Rocket answered, trusting her words to be translated back.

“Technically, Forager is an Outsider,” the only non-Leaguer meekly answered, reminding Canary of how often Banshee would correct others if they claimed he was part of the League.

Canary moved her hand to a panel, hand poised to type. “Awaiting landing coordinates,” she said.

Her fingers paused midair when the man responded. “Coordinates will not be necessary. Simply follow the Lightray.”

The what? Then the screen shut off, revealing a figure knocking on the glass. Canary was surprised at the new presence of a young man flying in the air, but as he waved and began to lead them away, there was little else to do. Rocket quickly guided the Javelin to follow, breaking through the planet’s atmosphere as they trailed after the yellow beam of light.

Banshee had once told White Canary about the little experience he had from being on New Genesis a year prior. But nothing prepared her for the sheer wonder of the planet below, especially when arriving to the vast city of Supertown. It was filled with futuristic and neon structures, making Canary feel like she had just stepped into the future. There was always talk about what Earth would look like, but one could only imagine it when there were planets that had already advanced that far ahead. This is never going to get old.

The Javelin landed and its occupants exited. Waiting for them was the Lightray, along with the man who welcomed them through satellite communication, and a man and woman in expensive-looking attire.

“Welcome, honored guests,” said their guide. “I am Solis, called Lightray. Allow me to introduce

Highfather Iyaza: the Inheritor, Highmother Avia: the Wisdom-Bringer, and their son Orion: Dog of War.”

“Dog of War?” Rocket mumbled quietly.

Canary stepped forward. “Thank you for allowing us to be here,” she said gratefully. “I am White Canary. This is Rocket and the Flash”–she gestured as she spoke–“and this is Forager of the Outsiders.”

Forager tentatively drew closer, clasping his hands together. “Forager is honored to meet Highfather,” he said.

“Welcome to Supertown!” the Highfather said boldly. “The first Bug to be so welcomed, and…” He cleared his throat somewhat uncomfortably, “High time, too.”

The Highmother had a gentle smile, something that eased Canary without her even realizing she was stressed to begin with. “Please, allow us to show you Supertown.” She gestured to the side where some hover pads waited.

Canary’s crew boarded one pad–consisting solely of a white, holographic platform and some simple controls on one end–which Orin chose to pilot. The Highfather and Highmother stepped onto the other pad, piloted by Lightray.

With easy maneuvering, they were off.

Canary examined the surrounding city, mostly keeping quiet as their hosts told them information about Supertown and New Genesis itself. Most was general, nothing too detailed or that required a lot of backstory. Canary spoke up where it felt appropriate, interested in knowing more, but wisely keeping it to a minimum until the treaty began the next day.

Still, Canary had wished either of her guys had been able to join the trip. Sam was busy handling a new semester of college, so even if he had had the same clearance that Forager had to join despite not being a Leaguer, his free time was almost nonexistent. As for Kaldur, it was just a relief that he was taking a much-needed break in Poseidonis with Wyynde while Canary was away–while also doing some therapy sessions with her sister to work on moving past Conner’s death.

Canary’s heart suddenly clenched painfully. Would have liked to have you here, too, Con.

“The representatives from the Green Lantern Corps will arrive tomorrow,” Orion suddenly spoke, interrupting where Canary’s train of thought was going. “In the meantime, I will escort you to your quarters.”

A loud, familiar ping sounded, and Canary’s gaze fell from where she was examining how the hoer pad was controlled. She watched Orion lifted a Motherbox from where it rested on his belt, before glancing over his shoulder toward the Leaguers. Specifically, Rocket. “This is unknown technology. It should be confiscated for study,” he said.

Canary looked down at Rocket’s belt, the thing that provided every bit of her powers, before frowning and looking back up at Orion. Rocket didn’t like the idea either as she glared in his direction, hand propped on her hip.

“Kid, you're going to want to rethink that policy,” Flash said beside the two annoyed women.

Lightray leveled their hover pad to Orion’s, allowing the Highmother to speak up. “My son, Rocket is our honored guest,” she reminded.

Orion grunted after brief hesitation. “Fine, request withdrawn.”

They fell into silence once more, albeit being a bit awkward. That was interrupted by another ping.

“How unusual.”

Canary refrained from rolling her eyes. What now?

“A thief has broken into our secured warehouse,” Orion continued.

At that, Canary perked up in interest. When she saw Orion press a button that created a personal hoverboard after a flash of yellow light, she shared a look with Rocket. At her nod, Rocket quickly flew up into the air herself.

“I can help,” she offered.

Orion turned back around. “That's not protocol.”

Rocket scoffed. “Come on,” she argued lightly, gesturing to her belt. “It'll give you a chance to see my unknown technology in action.”

However, Orion was refusing to budge. “My priorities do not include-”

The Highmother cleared her throat loudly and deliberately, forcing Orion to look down at her. He grunted again, seemingly acquiescing. “Help would be appreciated,” he then admitted.

He raised his hand holding the Motherbox and a boom tube appeared out of thin air. Both he and Rocket flew inside before it closed.

After some more tense silence, White Canary coughed into her fist before stepping toward the controls. “Shall we go somewhere to wait for them?” she offered with a smile toward Lightray.

~/~/~/~

“-then the thief got away.”

White Canary stared up at the projection in between her group and those from Supertown. “Well, it’s not like they could have gone far,” she mused as she examined the still image of the Bug, captured from inside the robbed warehouse.

Forager clicked. “A capable female,” he said approvingly.

Flash looked over at where Forager stood between Rocket and Canary. He had a puzzled frown. “How do you know she's female?”

Forager’s look in return was deadpan. “Is not the Bug's gender obvious?”

Canary bit back a smile as she moved her gaze back to the footage. She chose not to answer Forager, surmising she couldn’t just straight up assume when they both looked almost identical aside from shell color.

Her eyes dropped to judge the expressions of Orion and Lightray as the latter tilted his head. “Why is a Bug privy to this meeting?”

Canary smiled, although it was a tense one. “Because Forager is a part of our group. Which means he stays with us,” she said tightly, sympathizing with Forager’s groan. She had been worried he would face issues like this by coming along.

To her surprise though, Orion spoke up on Forager’s behalf. “This is not the Bug that committed the crime. And this Bug may be able to help us catch that Bug.”

“Do we know what exactly was stolen?” the Highfather asked.

“A Radion-powered Ruction Cell,” answered Lightray.

“It must be ancient. Five or six thousand years old at least,” the Highmother said. “No wonder it was warehoused. It's both obsolete and dangerous.”

Flash waved his hand toward the projection. “Does the other Bug know that?”

Canary let out a hum of denial. “Unlikely,” she said. “Not when it could put a whole hive at risk.”

“We must retrieve this Cell before someone gets hurt,” the Highmother finished.

The top of Orion’s fist tapped his chin in thought, deciding, “We must search the hive near the lake.”

“No.” Forager pointed at the other Bug. “Notice the Bug's markings. This Bug is of the mountain hive.”

Orion hummed. “I thought you might be useful,” he said, causing Forager’s shoulders to tense and Canary’s eyes to narrow.

Rocket laid a hand on Forager’s shoulder to comfort him. “We can all be useful,” she reminded.

Canary’s hand fell to her hip. “Then let’s go, because we don’t have time to waste.”

~/~/~/~

Mountain Hive

August 26, 21:58 UTC

White Canary looked up at the large mountain that stood before her and her group. Carved into its side was what resembled a wasp’s nest of sorts, many small tunnels burrowed deep within the side of the earth that lead who knew where.

“Motherbox is Radion-blocked,” Orion confirmed her suspicions as the device itself pinged. “The Ruction Cell must be in the vicinity.”

“Don't suppose Motherbox is blocked in any particular direction?” Rocket questioned.

“Even so, it would take too much time to search,” Canary added, turning to glance over her shoulder. “Flash, could you…”

As always, she was thankful for a speedster’s reaction time–something they even possessed internally. He knew exactly what she was thinking before she had to voice it. “I could check all those tunnels pretty quick. Not Barry-Allen-quick, but still.”

Lightray smiled, although it was a confused one. “‘Barry Allen’ does not translate, yet I get the gist and I am with you.”

“No.” Orion’s tone was firm. “Highfather has a rule against entering Bug Hives without permission.”

“A wise rule indeed.”

Canary was surprised to see a group of Bugs exit out of one of the closest tunnels. One that at the very least resembled their suspect led the front, but there was no confirmation that Canary could make just yet.

“Bugs of the Mountain Hive, Orion has come to retrieve the Ruction Cell stolen from the New Gods,” the man informed them.

A taller Bug, one with yellow armor, spoke up. “Bugs know not of any Ruction Cell.”

“Ruction Cell?”

“What's a Ruction Cell?”

“Can Bugs eat Ruction Cell?”

The murmurs of the group were hard to determine as honesty, still, White Canary scanned the group for any more concrete evidence.

“There is no point in feigning ignorance,” Orion said. “We know one of this Hive's Foragers stole our property.”

The yellow Bug raised its arms. “But do not all Foragers look alike to New Gods? How can New Gods know that a Forager of the Mountain Hive stole the New God's important Cell?”

Canary stepped forward, raising her own hands in a placating manner. “We don’t want to make any hard accusations here. We’re just asking if you have any knowledge you could share with us.”

“Please listen,” Rocket added. “Your safety is at risk. The Ruction Cell is dangerous. Lives could be at risk if it isn’t found and properly taken care of.”

Orion grunted. “Highfather has a rule against entering Bug Hives without permission. But an exception can be made to protect life.”

“If New Gods even break faith with New God rules, Bugs will defend Hive!”

The purple armored Bug stepped up and it was then that Canary realized that their Forager had been having a conversation off to the side. “Forager will bring New Gods to the Cell,” she said.

“He will?” Flash asked.

“Forager will not,” he answered. “But Forager will.”

Flash stared at him for a moment then smiled. “No, this isn't going to get confusing at all.”

“Come,” the female Forager said, waving them into the tunnels.

Yet they hadn’t gone far before Forager came to a sudden halt. “Forager left the Ruction Cell here with Larvae. But Larvae and the Ruction Cell are now gone.”

“Then we need to find them,” Canary said quickly. “Let’s head back outside so we can find a starting point to search.”

Her group, plus the female Forager rushed out of the hive. The other Bugs stayed behind, their disdain for New Gods meaning they had no interest in aiding them. No matter. We can do this ourselves.

“Many exits emerge from the Hive,” the female Forager informed them once they had come to a stop at a hill a short distance away from the hive. “Larvae could have taken any one, making Larvae's current trajectory hard to predict.”

“I'll run a search pattern.” The Flash took off.

“Good idea. I'll fly one.” So was Lightray.

“Around Forest Hive, Larvae favor common Larvae trails,” Forager said. “Where would Mountain Larvae go?”

His counterpart tapped her chin in thought. “Follow Forager.” With that, she began to lead the way to an unknown location.

The group maneuvered through the trees, moving at a speed just short of jogging. The situation was already tense, but the thought of children in particular being in danger worried Canary even further. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt out of carelessness.

Following the other Forager proved to be wise as after a short period of trailing after her, all of their attention was snagged by the sight of electricity shooting out past the tree tops. It was wild and unpredictable, and Canary was almost certain she knew what it was.

“Let’s move!” she ordered over the gasps of the two Foragers. She took off into a sprint.

The others used their own means of travel, meaning they rushed to the danger zone quicker than she did. By the time Canary caught up, the chaos had ramped up even more. The Ruction Cell was reacting on its own, the two Larvae holding it away from themselves but refusing to let go. Canary jogged to a stop where Rocket had a shield protecting them, dropping to her knee beside Orion who had been clearly knocked to the ground.

“Larvae, stop! That device is dangerous to Larvae and the Hive!” the female Forager cried out.

The Larvae were crying out in fear, freezing in panic as neither knew what to do without getting put in harm’s way.

“Drop it and run!” Rocket ordered. “I'll put a Force-Bubble around it!”

Orion jerked up, knocking back Canary who fell with a yelp. He leapt with superhuman ability, arcing over Rocket’s shield and slamming his arm into the two Larvae. They both flew a few feet away, but had released the Ruction Cell. Rocket immediately covered it with a dome which became overwhelmed with electricity bouncing off its walls.

“This is New God honor? Violence against Larvae?” the female Forager snapped.

Rocket grunted, her voice sounding strained as she spoke. “I don't know how long we have. My tech won't bottle that type of energy long-”

Orion let out a roar as he dropped on top of the bubble. His fists began to beat into it, trying to break the device, but once he realized that the bubble was in the way, he turned onto the woman controlling it. He didn’t get far though as a new bubble surrounded him as well.

Canary stared with wide eyes as she watched the man delve into unnatural anger. His eyes glowed an angry red as he let out a scream while slamming his fists into the bubble.

“That’ll hold him, but not that Cell,” Canary said, feeling Flash zip to a stop beside her. “We need to protect the Larvae!”

“Flash, get those kids to safety!” Rocket ordered.

“Roger that!” The speedster took off, snatching up the kids on his way.

Lightray ran up to the remaining women, clutching the Motherbox in his hand. “Rocket, release him!”

Canary’s head swiveled to the side, eyes wide.

“Are you serious?” Rocket asked. “Look at him!”

Lightray’s brow was tight with panic. “Please, he's claustrophobic. You must release him before you do irreparable damage.”

Canary swallowed thickly. “I trust you know what’s best,” she mused. “Rocket, do it.”

Her teammate didn’t even have time to decide before the Ruction Cell itself exploded. The energy shattered the Force-Bubble, slamming into all of them as well. Canary fell to the ground, grunting as she skidded into the dirt. Her groan was soon interrupted by a loud yell instead.

Canary moved to kneel instead, in the process of standing over Rocket to shield her from Orion charging for them. A bright glow moved in front of them both as Lightray slammed a hand into Orion’s chest and shoved the pinging Motherbox in front of his face. While helping her friend to stand, Canary watched as the soothing tones of the device began to soothe Orion himself. His breathing began to steady before he finally came back to himself.

Orion sighed, his eyes back to normal as he turned away from them. “Apologies,” he murmured while walking away.

The whole group soon returned to the city with the quiet Ruction Cell in hand. It was soon taken care of, but White Canary was happy for others to see to it as she checked on her team.

“It seems the Ruction Cell is dormant now but still dangerous,” Flash said when he returned from delivering the Cell. “Metron, over there, is supposed to take it to his…Interdimensional Vault for safekeeping.”

“I’m just glad it isn’t our problem for once,” Canary said with a sigh.

Flash turned to Forager. “By the way, kid, good job. Without your insight, we never would have found the Cell in time,” he added.

Rocket rejoined them, having come from where Orion and the Highmother stood. “You both did great,” she assured. “I wish I had done as well. I totally froze up in the clutch.”

“Except without you, the explosion wouldn’t have been as contained,” Canary pointed out.

“Don't be so hard on yourself. Everyone's safe after all,” Flash agreed.

Rocket frowned. “That doesn't cut it. I've got to lead negotiations tomorrow… And I'll be negotiating with a monster.”

Canary followed her gaze to Orion. The man stood alone now so she examined him in thought. I knew we’d be going in blind with these people. Just how much, exactly?

Chapter Text

New Genesis

August 27, 11:53 UTC

Meetings always made White Canary a little nervous. Leading for so many years to various capacities meant the superhero part of her brain had to be top-notch. All business and no nonsense even when her teammates might have been laid back and casual. She didn’t possess the solemn and often wise leadership of her partner, but she tried to take pride in how she had grown over the years.

But to be involved in an intergalactic summit as an official member of the Justice League made the word ‘nervous’ an understatement.

“New Genesis officially welcomes the Justice League to the summit.”

Orion’s words caused Canary to snap out of her racing thoughts and reach out with a profession smile on her lips. “Thank you, Orion,” she said as she shook his hand after Rocket.

“Greetings, Rocket!”

Rocket nearly broke the link the other two had made if they hadn’t quickly done it themselves. Canary’s smile faltered with a sharpness in her gaze as she watched Rocket greet their friend with a much kinder attitude. “Vykin! Good to see a friendly face.”

Canary smiled at Orion once more before going to greet the man herself. “It’s been a while,” she agreed, embracing him after Rocket did.

“Were you short on friendly faces here?” Vykin wondered, glancing between the two women.

Rocket sighed. “I admit I was dreading negotiations with the Dog of War over there,” she said.

“Then you must not understand him.”

Rocket raised an eyebrow. “No? He's Darkseid's son, right?”

Vykin narrowed his eyes. “Orion is the son of Highmother and Highfather. You need to take a closer look, my friend.”

Canary rested a gentle hand on Rocket’s arm. “I understand the urge to be alert, Rock. But we’re among peers here. Good people. Or did you happen to forget who Black Manta’s son is?” she reminded.

“No, Canary, but that’s different.”

Canary hummed. “Not as much as you think,” she said, stepping away to greet the other arrivals.

There were only a few involved in this summit. Tomar-Re and Kilowog of the Green Lantern Corps, Orion and Vykin of the New Gods, and White Canary, Rocket, and the Flash of the Justice League. Forager, despite traveling with them, wasn’t needed for the summit and so had went to explore the city with his new Forager friend.

When Kilowog who was taking a little longer to arrive finally did, all seven adults took a seat at the table in the center of the room. Ironically, it took the shape of a triangle, making it easy for all three groups to sit on one side together. Brief introductions went around since many were at least acquainted, then the floor was open to begin.

“The evidence of Darkseid's agents infiltrating and exploiting the Earth is undeniable,” Rocket stated, getting straight to the point of this meeting. “What do Highfather's New Gods intend to do about it?”

“Nothing.”

Canary was somehow startled by Orion’s abrupt answer. “What?”

“Excuse me?” Rocket’s voice overlapped with hers.

“We will not — cannot — help battle Apokoliptan forces,” Vykin said firmly.

Rocket leaned forward. “But that's why we need you. That's why we're here.”

“The truce between New Genesis and Apokolips came at a heavy cost. New Genesis will not be
the first to break that truce.”

“You’re afraid of a fight?” Rocket snapped.

“You should all be afraid of that fight,” said Orion.

Canary spread her hands out. “A fight that’s inevitable. If not from you, then from them.”

“What is needed is a neutral mediator,” Vykin supplied. “The Green Lantern Corps is uniquely qualified for such a role.”

“If even they have the stomach to defy Apokolips,” Orion added. “They released Darkseid's Furies and Mantis only six months after the Anti-Life event at the Orphanage.”

Kilowog piped up. “They were poozers. The big bad, Granny Goodness, got away.” He scoffed. “Thanks to you Earthlings.”

Canary scowled, but Rocket beat her to the punch. “Earthlings, including the three Green Lanterns on the scene?”

“Why are there so many Green Lanterns from Earth?” Orion wondered.

Canary’s gaze shot over to him. “Are you claiming there’s bias?” she asked.

“It's, uh, hard to find qualified GLs,” Kilowog jumped back in. “You know, somehow the screwy conditions on Earth produce a lot of potential candidates.”

“But each green ring's A.I. chooses its own Lantern based on a subject's love of justice and ability to overcome fear with willpower,” Tomar-Re said.

“Meanwhile, Earth's bleeding meta-humans,” Rocket continued. “The League is trying to stop the hemorrhaging, but we need the Corps and the New Gods to do more to shut down off-world trafficking.”

“Your petition has been noted.”

Canary grit her teeth. “We still have children and teenagers unaccounted for and it’s just noted,” she hissed.

“You have our sympathy,” Tomar-Re added, “but we have an entire galaxy to police. Finding your lost strays is not our sole priority.”

Rocket had begun to protest but a vibrating noise stopped her. It was her phone, and when she looked at the caller ID, she grunted and excused herself.

But Canary wasn’t done. “They’re not strays. They’re people with families who are far from home due to the actions of Granny Goodness. None of them deserve to continue to suffer while those who could be saved them are just sitting around waiting for a petition to go through.”

“Petitions are required to go through proper channels before any action is made. Unless you want a repeat trial of Justice League members for attacking other planets such as they did years ago.”

Canary frowned. “That was not of their own volition and you know it. I’m appalled you’d even suggest otherwise.”

Tomar-Re sighed. “Apologizes, White Canary. That is not what I was trying to-”

A deep rumble shook through the room, catching all of them off guard. Canary was among the first to stand, rushing to the door, worried that somehow Rocket was involved.

But it wasn’t Rocket. Outside the giant floor-to-ceiling windows was fire and smoke. Something, whatever it was, was streaking through the sky and slamming into buildings, causing them to crumble.

“That calls for a recess,” Canary decided. “Flash?” Without another word, he had scooped her up and dashed to the nearest exit.

In moments, they came to an abrupt stop. Canary opened her eyes which had fallen shut to protect against the wind and her feet were lowered to the ground. She quickly took in their surroundings, noting the rubble and her heart dropped as she saw the figures all too close to it. The two Foragers. One hovering over the other as the other lay unconscious or worse.

“What happened?” Vykin wondered as the others attending the summit arrived shortly after Canary and the Flash.

“I-I'm honestly not sure,” Rocket admitted, already outside as she would have been the first to see the sudden attack.

“All I know is Razer was gonna talk to some poozer named Metron,” Kilowog piped up.

Canary bit back a groan at the familiar name, but she didn’t recognize the first. Who’s Razer?

Another figure came from high above them, a man wearing what resembled the Green Lantern attire but half red and half blue. He lowered to the ground, eyes never straying from the hurt Forager as Canary’s Forager fretted over the body.

Rocket tensed, as if ready to attack him for what might have been damage he caused, but Kilowog stopped her. “It's okay. He's one of the good guys. Kinda.”

Forager looked up at the group, eyes wide and panicked. “Forager is injured.”

Still remaining silent, the newcomer, Razer, glanced down at the ring on his hand before aiming it at the unconscious Forager. A pale blue aura engulfed her for a few seconds before fading. Then after a few more, she let out a rattled gasp. Canary’s shoulders sagged in relief.

“Forager…”

“Forager!” He pulled her to stand, looking back up at the Lantern. “Forager thanks Red and Blue Lantern for helping Forager.”

The Lantern frowned. “She would not have required help, if not for me. Please accept my apologies and my thanks for reminding me how to hope again,” he said softly.

“Foragers are not sure how Foragers reminded Red and Blue Lantern. But Foragers are happy to be of service.”

The Lantern looked around at the disaster. “It seems I have more to atone for,” he admitted, raising his ring again. The rubble around them began to melt down, becoming malleable as he reshaped it into the statues that stood there before. Except where it was just the Highfather and Highmother before, now it had two Bugs standing with them. Maybe that's how it should have always been.

“That is not how it was before,” Orion mumbled.

“But it will serve,” Vykin quickly added. “Thank you, Razer.”

Razer looked back at them. “I was prepared to give up the blue ring, convinced it would find someone more suitable than I,” he said to Kilowog.

“I dunno, Red,” Kilowog answered. “Looks like you're still the blue ring's top choice.”

“I believe so. It seems I am equal parts hope and rage. Anger is a part of who I am, but it is no longer all that I am. At least, I'm hopeful it doesn't have to be.”

Canary watched as Kilowog flew up to continue speaking to Razer, and she absentmindedly leaned over to Flash with a whisper. “Am I supposed to know what’s going on?” she muttered.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m not the only one confused,” he whispered back, making her laugh quietly.