Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

The Watchtower

"It's complete." Someone announced.

I jerked awake, trying to refocus my sleepy eyes. Dick stirred behind me, a low groan escaping his lips as he buried his head in the crook of my neck. 

"Five more minutes." He muttered against my skin. 

Normally my insides would have tied themselves into knots at the sound of his hoarse voice and the feeling of his arms around my body. But I was too preoccupied with the possibility of a cure. 

"Robin! Robin wake up!" I hissed, trying to untangle myself from his limbs. 

Most of the Team who had been napping were now snapping awake, rubbing sleep from their eyes or drool off their cheeks. Kaldur, at the news of a potential cure, hastily jogged over to the table where Queen Mera, Dr. Thompkins, Dr. Vulko, and Dr. Roquette had gathered. 

I got up, my body aching from sleeping on the hard floor. I seized Dick's forearm, practically yanking him to his feet so we could witness whatever miracle the scientists and magicians had whipped up for us. Kaldur's gentle eyes were now a stormy gray, his gaze fixated on the single silver chip that lay in front of us in a printing case. 

"An antidote, your majesty?" Our leader asked. 

Queen Mera was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen; with fiery red hair, a golden crown on her brow, and fierce emerald eyes. I swallowed unconsciously. Did I need to bow? Even though I was no Atlantean, I still wanted to be respectful. I observed her closer, the tingling sensation of my Metagene power catching my attention. 

I thought it was nothing. Maybe I was just hallucinating or going crazy, but I swear it was like something moved inside her. I sucked in a breath, my eyes zeroing in on the queen's abdomen. Though I couldn't be certain... could Queen Mera be pregnant? I wanted to snatch Kaldur's hand, drag him into a corner and demand if was true. Because if it was... could my Metapower really sense something as small as a fetus? I might have remained dumbstruck for hours if her voice had not snapped me out of it. 

"We believe so. Yes." The queen confirmed. 

A ripple of elation went through our team. Dr. Roquette adjusted her glasses, folding her hands in front of her. 

"By reverse engineering the Starro-Tech chip, we were able to determine an anti-virus that should be able to counter its effects." She told us. 

I wanted to leap for joy.

"But we'd like to test our prototype before we mass produce it." Dr. Vulko added. 

My joy deflated. 

In unison, everyone's eyes seemed to gather to Dinah, our perfectly infected Leaguer friend. My heart contorted painfully in my chest as doubts began to surface. What if the cure didn't work? What if it made her worse? I swallowed the thick lump in my throat. My mentor, forever programmed to kill me. I could feel all the eyes in the room shift to me. Dick slipped his hand into mine and gave it a squeeze. 

I can do it, he seemed to tell me. But I shook my head. This was something I needed to do. If something went south, I would be responsible for it, and no one else. Holding my hand out, Dr. Thompson gave me the cure. It was no bigger than an SD card, and it was warm to the touch. 

"You're sure this works?" I asked, looking the specialists in the eyes. 

I didn't want to poison Dinah's brain any more then it already had been. But instead of shrinking away with uncertainty, they held their ground. 

"We're certain." Queen Mera declared. 

I remembered that among the Justice League was her husband, Aquaman. And if I was correct, the father of her unborn child. Mera was just as desperate as the rest of us for this cure to work. She did all she could to make sure this antidote was the real deal. I clenched my fist to keep it from trembling.