Chapter Text
Assembly
A/N: YEAH, YEAH I KNOW THE QUEEN IS DEAD BUT ALESSIA IS AN AVID SEX PISTOLS FAN AND PUNK AT HEART, SHE'S NOT GONNA MAKE THE DIFFERIENTATION BETWEEN ANY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. THEY'RE ALL THE SAME TO HER! Also this kinda takes place in 2018
She was walking out of her private school slightly charred. No, she did not want to explain it nor did she want to tell her teachers that there was a minor demon in the girls' toilet. It was fine, she could rid it tomorrow at lunch time.
"Apollo! See you tomorrow!" Her homeroom teacher waved.
She smiled reluctantly, trudging off to the highest tree she could find, right off the Fowl Estate.
She breathed in and closed her eyes. "Take me back to where I belong." She muttered, letting her magic grab hold of her.
Blue sparks enveloped her, forming a glowing cocoon. She felt her insides turn inside out as it normally did with these trips. Her eyes opened to find the bright forest be replaced by a dingy set of apartments in front of her, stacked on top of each other. Apartments was a generous word.It was like those American motels that Green's dad used to put him in.
She waved to one on the top, third from the right, hoping that he would see her. The blinds opened up briefly before shutting again.
"I tried." She sighed.
She stalked off to the train station, adjusting her dirty white jean jacket. Her Sex Pistols shirt was crumpled, she needed to iron that. Her flared jeans could've started to stink, she couldn't tell. She could never tell.
When she arrived, it was dead cold. No one was moving but the signs were still turned on and flashing. She breathed out the cool air, letting it condensate onto the ticket counter glass. The attendant behind it was smiling, frozen in time. She walked over to the electronic ticket machine, looking for the next train to London. She pressed it, glass too cool to the touch. Next one in 15 minutes. Great.
She could've just teleported in all honesty but she didn't feel like it, and her power would've shortened out, placing her in some dimension. But at this rate, the moisture in the air and the forecasted heavy rain was going to screw up her hearing aids, so a lose-lose situation all-in-all.
The train stopped briefly, letting her on. It was empty, at least her carriage was. She heard her phone ring and promptly stop. She looked at the caller ID.
"Damian Wayne, what are you getting me into now?" She dropped onto one of the train chairs.
This was a nice train ride, if not for the constantly creeping fear running down her back. She wasn't really afraid of anything, much less rain. She lived in England for Christ's sake, no point in being scared of the rain.
"I wanna play Ticket to Ride." She absentmindedly said to no one in particular.
It was gonna be a while to Paddington. She knew the time. 2 hours and about 30 minutes on average. Hers right now was about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Sometimes much, much longer. She can't afford to go to New Jersey right now. She liked her long train rides, they were soothing, relaxing, everything a young magician needed to rest.
But they were stupidly expensive. 70 pounds each trip. She guessed that there were reasons because obviously there were. Everything had a reason. Like that certain moment when the train doors opened, nowhere near a station and still moving. She got up the moment she heard the whispers.
"Alessia, Alessia." The soft darkness repeated.
"What do you bloody want?" She yelled.
"You are not the Magician you think you are." The voice was deeper now but still soft.
"Ah, at least we're being coherent." She grumbled.
She slumped back onto the chair, waiting for the ticket master to come and approve her ticket. There was always concern surrounding her whenever she went on these long train rides and airplane trips alone. Trains: could've been a runaway but planes, planes some batted an eye but some didn't. She mentally noted that down, and physically because she couldn't remember anything for shite: 'You are not the Magician you think you are.'
Real blow to the already crumbling self-esteem, the half-angel thought to herself.
The train doors slammed shut as the ticket master came by. She tiredly handed him her ticket and he walked off after verifying it. She shut her eyes tight and prayed that no one would even try and talk to her.
Meanwhile, in Central City, Missouri, Henry Allen could not get a wink of sleep whatsoever. It was 2 in the morning at his cousin's house and he was not asleep. Wally was asleep as far as he knew and Jonah(his cousin's boyfriend) was in the kitchen, cooking something after his late shift at the museum. He screamed into his pillow out of pure and utter frustration.
Jonah opened his door softly as he knocked. He leaned against the doorframe, still in his work clothes.
"You okay?" He asked, his voice becoming low and almost solemn.
"Yeah, I guess."
"'I guess?' What is that supposed to mean?"
Henry shot upright to face Jonah. There were no words to convey what he was feeling. A good loud scream was the only way to properly do it. But he courteously smiled, breathed in and rested his head against Jonah's chest. In response, the older ruffled Henry's hair.
"You don't need to talk." Jonah assured him.
Suddenly, a loud BANG reverberated throughout Central City, an explosion flashing on the horizon. A cloud of smoke rose into the air, raining down debris along with it. A chill went through every nerve in his body, a bad sign for a speedster.
Henry's phone let out a ringing noise, followed by Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy in the U.K'. Alessia Chalondra, maybe the only kid his age he constantly interacted with. Jonah hummed along with the song, careful to not wake Wally up. Henry crawled over to his phone, unsure whether to pick it up or not. He sighed, giving in to the bright green button.
Somewhere else, a bit farther away, Jon Kent stayed up texting another character you will be more than associated with, Aubrey Stark. His black hair fell into his face, his phone lighting up his equally bright smile.
He wasn't supposed to be up this late. But Aubrey just meant...not everything, but a lot to him. Enough for him to dare facing his mother's wrath. Her soft hazel eyes and slightly off-auburn hair. Powerful yet delicate.
A deafening ringing started screaming in his head, giving him an instant migraine. He couldn't tell what it was but he wanted it to stop right now. His windows were slamming open and shut without any wind powering it.
Without warning, his phone started vibrating with a call. A call from Henry Allen, the current Mercury. Which was odd. Sure, Henry was known for calling at odd hours of the night but this didn't feel right. Jon picked up anyway, because Jon is that kind of kid.
A bit too kind for his own good.
Damian and Aaira Wayne were swinging through the skies of Gotham City, out on patrol much later than any sensible kid should be awake. It was a cool, breezy night. Colder than most nights but nothing they weren't prepared for. It was peaceful in Gotham actually. No little kerfuffles going on, no bank robberies.
"Suspiciously peaceful tonight, isn't it, brother mine?" Aaira pointed out as they rested on a rooftop.
Damian somewhat tutted at his sister. She never listened to Grayson. The moment you said it was quiet, Gotham would explode with chaos.
And sometimes quite literally explode.
The twins witnessed a mushroom cloud erupt on the horizon, leaving a loud ringing noise in their ears. Arms picked them up by their armpits.
"Todd!" Damian screeched.
"Hey, Steph." Aaira yawned.
"Sorry, Bruce's orders." Stephanie swung gracefully while Jason looked like a robot frog due to his bulk.
Which would bring us to the first pivotal moment in Liraz's assembly.
As impromptu as it could get, the Justice League and their multiple shoot-offs(Young Justice, the Teen Titans and the heroes' respective teams)were somewhat forced to assemble in Wayne Manor, which meant that their children had to as well.
Alfred had locked all aforementioned children into a room. They were shortly joined by Green Lantern's daughter, Zoe. Damian was less than pleased to have so many extroverted sidekicks with him in that moment.
"I wish I wasn't here." Aaira groaned, leaning on the wall.
"Yeah, well none of us are your fairy godmothers." Henry retorted grumpily.
The OG 8 of Young Justice walked into the room, all geared up. All the kids jumped up, eager to finally know what was going on.
"None of you are allowed to follow us." Dixie stopped Damian with her hand outstretched.
"You're going to trap us here?" Zoe glanced up to meet Kaldur's eyes.
The older team nodded.
"Damn." Aaira swore.
As they shut the door, Dick called out to them. "Oh, and Alfred knows none of you are supposed to get out."
"Fuck." Aaira swore.
Damian was swirling what Henry had said around in his mind. Fairy godmothers, huh? He couldn't get one of those, but he could get something very close to it.
A certain superhero named Mage.
Alternatively known to the general public as Alessia Chalondra. Unless your dwellings were in LA, Earth-666 then you would know her as the largely protective daughter of the owner of the club Lux, Desdemona Morningstar. Or you lived in a world where many supernatural characters ran rampant and two brothers, who owned an old Impala, would save the world by fighting these creatures, then you would know her as the benevolent niece of the guy in the trenchcoat they dragged around(and sometimes the common sense of the team), Kendra Avivit.
We could be here all day long about her multiple aliases, but for simplicity, this is Alessia Chalondra, the loyal Mage to the Queen. Oliver Queen, that is. She'd rather kill herself than serve the actual Queen.
Which would lead us back to the train scene we started on.
This would be the next pivotal moment in our little adventure: the fact that Alessia even bothered trying to call Damian back, in spite of her tiredness. Oh, and the fact she didn't call Arsenal first. Or Speedy. Or Artemis. Or Apollo. Or Oliver. Or Felicity. Or Diggle. Or Dinah. Or Laurel. Or Sara. Or anyone who she trusted even a tiny fingertip more than Damian.
Which was everyone else.
"Hello?" Alessia spoke first.
"Chalondra." Damian replied.
"Ah, Wayne, what are you doing talking to a British girl with a Sex Pistols shirt on?"
"What are you doing having a billionaire's son's number saved?"
"Trying to get that inheritance, that's what." She joked.
Damian nearly let a chuckle slip out. It was actually quite funny but not quite enough.
"Get to Wayne Manor, now. Climb in through my window." Damian ordered, quickly masking his look of amusement.
"You're not my grandfather." She huffed. "Also I'm in England, are you bloody joking me?"
"TELEPORT!" Henry yelled.
Alessia held her ears as static buzzed into them. Hearing aids+English weather=Not the best combination. She hated it actually.
"Tell West-Allen to shut the FUCK up." She shouted back.
Zoe punched Henry in the shoulder. Aaira shoved him away when he backed into her.
"Are the rest there?" Alessia asked.
"Yes." Damian said brusquely.
She contemplated it for a second. I mean, she had nothing better to do. Doing this would just...prove him wrong. Prove those voices wrong. Go against everything she was told she would be
"I could be there quicker." Alessia stood up, preparing to jump out.
"Could you?" Zoe inched up to the phone.
"Yeah." Her jacket snagged on the table. "Cibai for goodness fucking sake!"
She stamped on the ground like a child having a tantrum. She had saved the world so many times, so many times she had died, so many fucking times she had fucking stood by Oliver's fucking side and the world still gave her these minor nuisances. She hated it. She didn't deserve the world but God knew her! He could at least spare her that.
She stabilised her hands on the window frame, carefully balancing her right foot onto the very small, very unstable table. Her right foot was still on the floor. The ticket master came waltzing back into the carriage. His eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights as he rushed across the length of the carriage to try and catch Alessia by the legs.
"Miss, there's many better ways to die." He persuaded, not actually knowing what the girl was about to do.
"A jump from a train won't kill me." She pounced out, wings unfolding to take her into the night sky.
The ticket master promptly fainted.
She tapped on her hearing aid. "Gideon, can anyone hear me?"
"Here." Henry replied, winking at Damian.
"Bedroom is in the left wing, facing Northeast, right?"
"Southeast, you're getting rusty, Chalondra." Damian teased, although it came off much more hostile than childish teasing.
"Tell Dames I thank him for his love, I'll see you bloody lot in five." She smirked before hanging up.
"Dames?" Was everyone's first thought. "Love?" Was everyone's second one.
Except for Damian, who knew Alessia like the back of his hand. "Five what?"
A gust of wind entered through the previously closed window, a blue-ish patterned mass hurtling towards the oak door. Gasps echoed throughout the room. Alessia stood up and acted as if there wasn't a huge bruise blossoming on her palms. She adjusted her mask that covered her mouth
"Tt, don't you know how to land?" Damian judged.
"A punch or a date?" Alessia towered over the Robin, a challenge gleaming in her eyes.
He rolled his eyes, wanting to immediately get to the point. When Jon's phone started ringing.
"Kent, can't you silence your phone?"
"Wait, it's Aubrey. Aubrey Stark."
"Infinitia Aubrey Stark?" Alessia questioned.
"Yeah, how do you know?"
She chuckled, waving the question away. Her dad and Stephen Strange had met a few times over and they didn't go well. Besides, Stark and Wayne and Queen. She was bound to learn about Infinitia. Infinitia of all people, the shining star of New York City.
Damian, Aaira and Alessia stood around Jon, listening in to his conversation. There was a hint of romance flitting in between the two.
"You can't come here, Aubrey. You know that." He smiled.
"If this was the bloody eighties, he'd be twirling the phone cord and leaning against the damn wall." Alessia whispered into Zoe's ear.
Zoe giggled, not really paying attention. She was staring at Damian.
"And you would be twiddling your thumbs, leaning on a locker." Alessia rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the daybed by the window.
"I'm at Wayne Manor, why do you wanna know?"
A flash of light echoed throughout the room. A brunette stepped out, smiling and waving. She wore a long, dark sleeveless dress with a sash around the waist. A silver necklace sat around her neck, shining.
"Who do you think you are? The bloody Queen? That looks like something she would've stolen anyways." Alessia pulled her jacket over her eyes.
"And who's the pessimist?" Aubrey pointed to the daybed.
"Stark." Damian rolled his eyes.
"Wayne." Came the reply.
"Queen!" She yelled from under the jacket.
"What do you have against the queen?" Henry asked.
Alessia sat up slowly, the room slowly turning into a mirage of heat as she did so. Air seemed to come down in slow waves, visible now. She grinned that weird grin, almost Cheshire Cat-like.
"So much, Henry Allen, it's not funny."
Aubrey smiled a content smile. That was not the feeling in the room.
"Why aren't we allowed to follow?" Henry asked again.
"Well, the window's open and if Master and Miss Wayne would very kindly disable the alarm systems, we can join them." Alessia smiled.
"Not join them." Zoe mused. "We have to find another thing."
"Why?" Henry asked. "Shouldn't we just stay here?"
"What do you live for, Henry Allen? If not for the anarchism of life?" Alessia stared down at him, eyes narrowing in judgement.
"You're weird, Alessia."
"I've gotten worse. My-" She paused, considering her words. "friend has called me "virtually unable to be palatable to a wider audience." And I asked "what's the original audience?" and she replied "kids who found out they were gay because they fell in love with a band who was either on Warped Tour or a member of Gorillaz. And she's not wrong."
Aubrey cocked her head to the side. "What kind of friend makes that type of comment?"
"Mine."
Silence reverberated around the room.
"Come on, let's find something else we can ruin." Mage grumbled quietly.
"Fix." Zoe "corrected".
"You say tomato, I say 'to-mah-to'." Alessia grinned, doing a weirdly good Christian Slater impression.
There were varying degrees of horror across their faces.
"Anyways, who wants to blow up a couple of buildings?"
"Preferably not." Aaira's forehead creased.
Mage let out a short burst of a laugh. "Maybe when I'm your sister-in-law, you'll loosen up just a tad bit."
"Well, there's a facility my dad and I have been meaning to check out. Let's go there." Henry suggested.
Alessia shut up a little bit. Her smile seemed to fade while everyone else's grew just a tiny bit larger. Except Damian. He never smiled. They all glanced around at each other, kids who barely knew each other at the beginning of the night, would soon find out everything about each other by dawn.