chapter thirty.
( questions and answers. )

The Bioship re-enters Earth's atmosphere over the Bialyan border, camouflaged as it speeds over the sandy plains of the desert below. "Investigating the origin of the alien bomb that destroyed the Krolotean invasion force is still a high priority," Nightwing states. "We suspect the bomb may have been smuggled to Earth via boom-tube. Watchtower sensor scans of Bialya have recorded an uptick in boom-tube activity."

Batgirl sits at the front of the ship, her eyes trained on the screen portraying their leader's face. Wonder Girl was to her right, with Bumblebee on her left, while Miss Martian pilots the Bioship from the back of the cockpit. Flamebird stands silently at the martian's side as the all-female team listens to the debriefing.

"Alpha Squad, your mission is–"

"Sneak behind enemy lines!" Wonder Girl grins, excitedly cutting their leader off, "Recon known boom-tube hotspots, and find alien tech matching the bomb. Oh, and don't get caught or create an international incident, right?"

Flamebird can't help but smile softly at the younger girl's enthusiasm. Once upon a time, she had shared that same childlike excitement over missions like this, but it has been over five years since the team was created to be the Justice League's undercover operatives. Time has worn her down and, with Nightwing's plan burning into her soul, she realised she hated working undercover these days.

Nightwing nods, "That about covers it."

"What about Psimon?" Miss Martian questions, her lips pressing together in a thin line.

"We have confirmation that Bialya's telepathic enforcer's still catatonic in a Quraci hospital after his last encounter with you," Nightwing informs them. "But Bialya's dictator, Queen Bee, is another story. Her ability to control the minds of men is why Alpha is an all-female squad for this mission."

Batgirl smirks, then crosses her arms over her chest as she stares up at him. "Oh, really? Would you have felt the need to justify an all-male squad for a given mission?"

While Wonder Girl and Bumblebee glare up at Nightwing, Flamebird and Miss Martian share a look of amusement behind them. They knew Batgirl well enough to know she was teasing the boy; after all, they had gone to school together when they were young and were, still, in an on-and-off again relationship.

Right now, they're off again.

"Uh... There- There's no right answer for that, is there?" He clears his throat awkwardly. "So... Nightwing out."

As the screen fades to black and disappears to show the desert surrounding them as they fly into Bialya, Batgirl turns her seat around to face the other women with an accomplished grin. "Queen Bee isn't the only woman who can mess with a man's mind." Laughter spills through the cockpit.

Moments like this were going to be what she missed most, Flamebird thought to herself as her eyes scan over the faces surrounding her. If she were to accept Dick's mission, if she were to go undercover with Kaldur, there was no telling if the team would ever forgive them.

But how could she ever live with herself if she let Artemis take her place? Or Dick? Or Barbara? After Jason died two years ago, she vowed at his grave to never let her family die alone and afraid like he did. If she were to send them off on an undercover mission, wouldn't that be the same thing?

Miss Martian's voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "Approaching the drop zone."

It had taken just over an hour to investigate the boom-tube locations scattered through Bialya, each one emptier than the last. Now, Flamebird crouches in the sandy tundra surrounding the lesser-known boom-tube coordinates given to them by Nightwing. With her binoculars raised, she glances over the rather busy warehouses with furrowed brows.

Compared to the other bases, there seemed to be something big going on.

"The other boom-tube hot spots have all been busts," Batgirl spoke up. "But-"

"This much security must be guarding some big deal alien stuff, right?" Wonder Girl cuts her off.

Lowering her binoculars into her utility belt, Flamebird nods her head. "It could be nothing, but it's our job to find out," she says. "Batgirl, I want you to take the North hangar. Miss Martian, the south. Bee and I can handle the middle. Wonder Girl, hold position."

"What?" Wonder Girl's eyes widened. "Wait, why can't I go in?"

The saddened tone of her voice is almost enough for Flamebird to break her facade and allow the younger girl to join them. It was her first proper Alpha Squad mission, and Flamebird remembered all too well what it was like to want to prove herself. It felt like only yesterday when she and her team snuck into Cadmus against orders to prove to the League that they were capable of more.

But she wasn't a child anymore.

On missions like this, there's no room for any risks. The League, and the team by extension, were already on thin ice when it came to crossing the Bialyan border. She wanted to get in, get the information they needed, and safely escort her team back home.

"Cause you're Wonder Girl, honey." Bumblebee speaks up to fill Flamebird's silence. "Not Stealth-er Girl."

Wonder Girl frowns, "I can do this."

"No one's knocking your enthusiasm, Cass, and if we were in a fire fight, there's no one I would rather have beside me," Batgirl reassures the girl.

"But we're trying to avoid a fight, and we need a lookout," Miss Martian states.

With a sigh, Flamebird knocks her hand against the emblem of her suit, watching black bleed into the red and gold before she shuffles closer to Wonder Girl and gently rests her hand on her shoulder. "There will be other missions. I'll talk to Nightwing, I promise," she offers. "But we're not throwing you into the deep end, Cassie."

"Fine." Wonder Girl frowns, crossing her arms over her chest as she sadly turns away from the team.

"Thanks. Now," Flamebird faces the other women, "The Bialyan's can intercept our radios so we're sticking to the psychic link, alright? Complete radio silence otherwise. If anything goes wrong, we scatter and meet at the rendezvous point. Clear?"

"Clear." Miss Martian, Batgirl, and Bumblebee answer in unison.

Wonder Girl nods her head. "Clear," she sighs aloud, before her hand shoots up to cover her mouth as she gasps. "I mean, clear." As she glances to her left, the other members of the team had already scattered to complete their missions.

The mind-link was down.

It could only mean one of two things: Miss Martian was in danger in the Southernmost hangar, or another psychic had appeared on-site and was acting as a link-blocker. The latter option wouldn't be too surprising, even if there was only one other psychic she could think of that was even close to being on M'gann's level.

But Psimon was lying in a hospital bed thousands of miles away. It couldn't possibly be him.

An alarm blares through the warehouse and, as dozens of soldiers' rush into the building, Flamebird stealthily slips into a floor vent. She needed to get to the rendezvous point and figure out what happened. Sliding further down the vent system, she lands in the shafts below with a quiet thud.

"Flamebird!" A whispered-gasp echoes through the vents. Flamebird's head whips around, her shoulders relaxing as the familiar sight of a peanut-sized Bumblebee flies in her direction. "Why's the mind-link down?" She lands in the palm of Flamebird's gloved hand, her arms crossed over her yellow-and-black suit. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Flamebird answers with a shake of her head, continuing to crawl forward through the vents as her gaze flickers down to Bumblebee. "I haven't seen or heard a signal from Miss Martian, or any of the others."

Bumblebee frowns, her hands falling to rest on her hips as she surveys the vent system surrounding them from where she stands in Flamebird's hand. "We should head to the rendezvous point. Maybe they got out first."

Flamebird's crawling slows to a stop, her lips twisting into a grin as she spots a familiar red-haired girl trapped within the confines of a narrow vent above them. "Batgirl?" She asks, lifting herself up onto her knees as she uses her free hand to smother her laughter. "You good up there?"

Batgirl lets out a groan, her head falling forward in embarrassment as her two friends giggle amongst themselves. "Couldn't be any better," she huffs out, one of her hands pressing against the metal wall as she attempts to push herself out of the narrow vent once more.

"Girl," Bumblebee giggles, shooting up and out of Flamebird's hand to fly around Batgirl. "You look like Turkey Stuffing on Thanksgiving."

Batgirl rolls her eyes but stays silent as Flamebird speaks up from below, "Was that your escape route?" She reaches up to take Batgirl's hand, carefully tugging in an attempt to pull her down into the larger vent below. She snickers, "You just had to take the narrowest one."

"No, I was already here when the alarm sounded, and the psychic link went down." A quiet grunt falls from her red lips as she slides out of the small vent and falls onto Flamebird. "Sorry." Her eyes flicker between the two heroines, "What happened up there?"

"No idea," Bumblebee shakes her head. "We're headed back to the rendezvous point to find out. But not back through the hangars, they're sealed up tight."

"I've scanned the airshafts," Batgirl directs their attention to her glove as a small screen projects the blueprints of the vents, "They connect all three hangars, but they also lead to a larger chamber twenty meters below."

Flamebird raises a brow, glancing over her friend's shoulder for a better look. "Large enough to house alien tech, you think?"

"Definitely large enough for a better look before we leave," Batgirl smirks, "And anyways, there's nowhere else to go except down."

As Batgirl and Bumblebee begin to follow the blueprints to their destination, Flamebird can't help but grin. "You know," she starts. "This reminds me a lot of the time that Nightwing, Artemis and I had to fight off Red Tornado's evil siblings in the Cave. But that was a lot less fun."

Bumblebee slows down to hover by Flamebird's face as the latter crawls behind Batgirl. "Excuse me? Did you just say Red Tornado has siblings?"

"It was before either of you joined the team," Flamebird laughs, only to fall silent a second later as they near the opening for the chamber below the warehouses. "Bee, recon." She nods her head down toward the vent-covering.

With a nod of agreement, Bumblebee sinks through the gaps in the opening and takes off into the chamber. Batgirl carefully peels the vent-covering open and drops down a second later. Holding onto the edge of the airshaft, Flamebird swings into the chamber below. Stealthily moving through the guarded area, she crouches behind a row of stone pillars as she takes in the surrounding area with widened eyes.

The chamber was less modern than the warehouses above. It seemed to be an ancient temple of sorts, with rows of stone pillars and glyphs covering the walls. Queen Bee's soldiers had set up various computers throughout the chamber.

This has to be the boom-tube location, she thinks to herself.

"Can you say temple of doom?" Bumblebee whispers, rising further into the air for a better look over the containers she and Batgirl had been hiding behind. "This place must be thousands of years old. What do you think–" Glancing back in the direction of the two gothamites, she realises they're gone. "Guys?!"

Flamebird and Batgirl, while Bumblebee observed her surroundings, moved out of the open and behind a pile of rocks near the group of soldiers. Without a mindlink, it was easier to fall into the role Batman taught them, working fast and silent to investigate. Staying low, Flamebird tiptoes toward the edge of the platform they stood on. The cliffside was overlooking an airstrip, an entire second floor to an already hidden base beneath the three warehouses. She pulls her grapple-gun out of her utility belt, shoots it into the nearby rocks, and swings down into the area below with practised ease.

Her boots hit the concrete ground of the airstrip with a thud and, as she tucks her grapple hook back into her belt, she ducks down and dashes under the plane. She continues walking until red meets her vision.

An entire row of red-tinted pods are lined up against the wall beside the plane, each one of them housing an unconscious teenager. Flamebird's heart falls to her chest as she gazes over each and every face in front of her, each one seemingly younger than the last, yet none of them older than the younger members of the team.

Her eyes linger on a young girl, with bruises littered across her pale skin, dirt clinging to her clothes, and heavy bags under her eyes. The situation clicks in Flamebird's mind. Queen Bee was abducting homeless kids, runaways, but why? No, she thought. It was the Light. But what did either of them need with a group of runaways? Of kids?

Swallowing the lump forming in the back of her throat, Flamebird's hand shoots out to unlock the pod. Her fingers brush against the button but before she can press it, pain shoots through her entire body. With a loud cry, she falls to her knees and clutches her head. Her vision grows spotted and blurry as she hits the ground.

Briefly, she catches a glimpse of three figures walking her way. The unfamiliar, careless presence rooting around in her mind causes her heart to race with fear before her vision bleeds black.

Flamebird awakes with a jolt, her left boob stinging to match the pounding migraine in her head as her eyes widen. Blinking a few times, her eyes refocus and land on Bumblebee's miniaturised masked face grinning back at her. Realisation washes over her, and she lifts her hand to rest just above her chest. "Did you just-?!"

"Sorry, girl," Bumblebee shrugs. "But we've got a plane full of abductees here, and Batgirl sure could use a co-pilot while we handle the rest of those guys out there. Which is ironic, since you're the only two on Alpha who can't fly."

Nodding her head, Flamebird steps out of the pod. "Miss Martian and Wonder Girl?" She wonders aloud as she rubs the side of her forehead with two fingers. "Are they-?"

"They're safe," Bumblebee reassures her. Before another word could be said, an alarm sounded through the large chamber. She grins, "That would be Miss Martian. Don't worry, girl, we can handle it out here."

"I know," Flamebird nods and takes off running toward the plane. She trusted Bumblebee, Miss Martian and Wonder Girl with her life, and so she knew without a doubt that they'd be able to take on whoever attacked her while she helped Batgirl save the runaways. She steps into the cockpit a few seconds later, her hands taking hold of the back of Batgirl's seat as she asks, "How's it looking in here?"

"Not so great!" Batgirl's eyes widen as the plane shakes roughly, a loud bang echoing from the roof above their heads. "If they break into the plane before take-off, this mission is over."

Flamebird's masked eyes flicker from Batgirl to the road ahead. "Uh, I think we have bigger problems!" She points toward the hangar doors as they slowly begin to slide shut. The jet shakes roughly and Flamebird glances up at the ceiling as a tanned fist breaks through the steel. If the doors shut, they would be trapped in here, but if they kept going then Devastation would break into the plane before they even had the chance to take off.

"We could use some help here!" Flamebird calls out to the rest of the team through the comms-device in her ear. She ducks under Devastation's hand, while Batgirl sinks further into her seat, as the brawler grabs at the air above them. "One more hit from Devastation and this plane isn't making it off the ground."

Wonder Girl responds, "I'm on my way!"

With her own bare hands, Devastation rips the hole further open and growls down at the two heroes inside the cockpit. "Batgirl, cover your eyes," Flamebird orders and, with the press of a button, a bright light emits from the lenses of her mask. Above them, Devastation stumbles away from the open hole in stunned surprise.

Wonder Girl breaks through the hangar doors, her fists extended in front of her as she flies in the plane's direction. "Devastation!" She shouts angrily. With the momentum of her flight, she punches the brawler and sends her flying back to the end of the plane.

Devastation's hand digs into the right wing, barely holding herself up as Mammoth leaps onto the roof at her side. "Do you really think you stand a chance, Blondie?" Devastation pulls herself back up onto the plane and glares at Wonder Girl. "I've gone toe-to-toe with the actual Wonder Woman."

As she leaps toward Wonder Girl, the floating girl tosses her lasso. "Yeah," she smirks, "But you've never trained with her." The lasso wraps around Devastation and, with a twirl and a tug, Wonder Girl throws Devastation toward Mammoth. The two super-strengthened fighters knock into one another and tumble off the plane.

"Yes! We did it!" Wonder Girl cheers as Bumblebee and Miss Martian catch up to the plane, the three flying heroes hovering above the aircraft while Batgirl and Flamebird pilot it from within.

Flamebird falls into the passenger seat in relief, a smile tugging at her lips as she watches the exit grow nearer. In just a few more seconds they'd be home free. But her relief doesn't last for long– the grin is wiped off her face and her eyes widen as something strikes the side of the plane, tearing the right wing off its hinges. Taken by surprise, Batgirl loses grip of the controls and the plane swerves toward the rocky wall.

"No!" Flamebird throws herself forward and grabs hold of the yoke in an attempt to steer the plane back on track, but she isn't fast enough. Their collision with the wall rips the left wing off and the flightless cargo plane slides out of the hangar into the open canyon below.

Wonder Girl flies down to the front of the plane, zooming past the window in front of Batgirl and Flamebird, as she presses up against the plane's tip and focuses her strength into slowing its descent. "It's too... heavy!" Her strained voice emits from the comms.

"For me too!" Miss Martian responds, slowing herself down as she calls out, "It's time for plan b!"

Trapped in the passenger seat from the pressure of the plane falling, Flamebird can only watch as the ground moves closer. Right before the plane nosedives into the rocky dirt below, the Bioship wraps a hook around it. Carefully, the Bioship steers the cargo plane away from the crash site where the wings hit the ground in a fiery explosion behind them.

Still pressed against the front of the ship, Wonder Girl's laughter fills the night air.

"Psimon planted mental suggestions in the minds of his doctors and nurses," Dick sighs. "They've been tending to an empty hospital bed for months. I'm sorry."

The near-death experience, though as horrifying as it was, felt like nothing in comparison to the fear Yue felt when Psimon's mind invaded her own with enough carelessness to knock her out cold. Ever since their first meeting with the psychic villain in Bialya six years ago, M'gann had warned them what he was capable of. It wasn't until tonight that Yue finally saw what she meant.

M'gann shakes her head, "It had to happen eventually."

"So, no sign of any alien tech?" Dick questions the team, his arms crossing over his black and blue suit as he glances between the five women.

"None," Karen answers. "But what we found was strange enough."

"It was clear in Shimmer's mind that Queen Bee was acting as a middleman, delivering abducted humans to an unknown partner," M'gann explains.

Standing across from them, Dick's eyes widened at the news. "Are you saying-?"

"We questioned the kids we found," Yue answers, her lips curling into a frown. The more she thought about the situation, the more disgusted she felt by The Light. The sooner they figured out the end goal, the better. "Most of them were runaways. But one thing was extremely clear, they were all abducted after the destruction of Malina Island. The Kroloteans had no part in this."

Dick falls silent in thought, his eyes flicking down to the tiles beneath his feet. "So if the Bialyans weren't kidnapping humans for the Kroloteans, then who is this partner?"

"We'll find out," Yue assures the team. "We always do."

Cassie let out a quiet groan, her arms falling to her sides dejectedly. "Another unanswered question."

"New questions keep the investigation moving forward," Dick tells her. "You saved lives, and got each other home safe. It's a successful mission in my book." The four women each turn to Cassie with enthusiastic glances. "Good work, Alpha."

Barbara throws an arm around Cassie's shoulders, a proud smile tugging at her lips. "You have some time before curfew, right?" She asks. "Ice cream's on me."

While Cassie lights up at the offer, M'gann glances over her shoulder to meet Yue's eyes. The Gotham hero stands across the room, her arms crossed and her head seemingly stuck in the clouds. "You coming, Yue?" She calls out softly.

"Huh?" Snapped out of her thoughts by M'gann question, Yue shakes her head with a polite smile. "Oh, Wally's probably worried sick back home. Maybe next time." With one last look her way, the group leaves the room.

In the newfound silence, Dick turns to face his sister. "If The Light is working with a partner, that's–"

"All the more reason to stick to the plan, right?" She glances at him, her frown deepening as he nods his head. Frustratedly, she runs a hand down her face and sighs. "For every step we take, they're already five steps ahead of us. It just– It all feels so pointless sometimes."

His brows furrow, "What are you saying, Yue?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing," she answers a second later, her hands falling back to her sides as she takes a step toward the zeta-tubes with a sigh. "I'm just tired, Dick. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." She steps into the zeta-tube and turns around, sadly smiling toward her brother who stares back at her like he's able to see right through her.

As the white light of the zeta teleportation fills her vision, she decides the weight of her words could be a problem for another day. With the mission looming over her head, she had much bigger things to worry about than the never-ending exhaustion weighing her down.

AUTHOR'S NOTES.

   ✶     Every chapter without Wally West feels like something I'm cursed to do, but unfortunately it's necessary to progress the story even though it hurts that this fic can't be a slice of life, domestic fluff fic about Yue and Wally in every chapter.

   ✶     The good news on this front is that the next chapter is almost completely focused on Yue and Wally. Originally it was posted on Valentine's Day, Yue's birthday, as a gift to all my readers. Obviously since I've edited and rewritten parts of act two since then, I can no longer post the chapter on Valentine's Day but that doesn't take away from the chapter. It is still a gift to thank all of you who vote and comment as you read.

   ✶     As of writing this author's note, I am finishing off the last two chapters of act two — it's been a long journey to get this far into Yue's story, and everybody who comments on this book has helped me so much with keeping my motivation for it.

   ✶     I'm honestly not quite too sure that more than one or two people are even reading my author's notes, I do like to ramble a lot in them so it's understandable. But for those who do, how would we feel about oneshots set in the time skip? And if we're excited for that, what would everyone like to see? I have a few ideas in mind already but as always, I love hearing everyone's thoughts!