Original (Roy Harper x OC)

Chapter Thirteen - Rescue

When I woke up after passing out I wandered through the halls, weak, but able to hold my invisible form. As I did I heard a voice up ahead, it was Arsenal typing on a keypad.

"Just give me an outside line to the Watch Tower, the Warehouse, anywhere!"

He punched the keypad and it electrocuted him. He jumped away from it, growling angrily. Up ahead a door opened and I could heard guards about to walk through.

I ran over as fast as I could to Arsenal, turning myself visible long enough to cover his mouth with one hand and wrap my other arm around him to keep him from attacking. I pulled him back a couple steps towards the wall, where it'd be harder for the guards to hear us. Then I went invisible again, him turning invisible with me.

Arsenal remained quiet as they walked past. When they were gone I let go of him, the both of us turning visible as I crumbled to the ground.

"Rou," he said quickly but quietly, kneeling in front of me to help me sit up. "I'm so glad to see your face"

"Same here. This place is huge, I got lost too many times to count. I never expected to run into you," I winced as I spoke.

"Your stomach..."

"Blue got me with a laser. I haven't had the opportunity to properly bandage it up"

He picked me up in his arms and started running, not stopping until he found a room that would be safe enough to hide in for now. He set me down on the ground and bandaged my wound.

"Stay here, you're not strong enough to fight. I'll come back to get you once it's over"

"You're going to get yourself hurt, I just know it. So, before you go, there's something I need to get off my chest"

"What is it?"

"When, uh, when Red Arrow..."

"What?"

"When he kissed me, it didn't feel right. So, can I... can I kiss you? To see if, you know, it's not the same?"

His eyes widened underneath his mask and I could see a very small bit of blush not hidden by his mask. He looked away from me, crossing his arms.

"Why do you want to do that?" He asks.

"I like Roy Harper. When I thought you were the clone, the kiss made me realize I didn't like him, but now that you're here, it might just be that I didn't like him... I want to know if you're the one I'm meant to be with. You know, the spark, the magical feeling when you-"

As I was talking he sighed and moved closer to me, cutting me off with a kiss. The butterflies in my stomach remained, but as he held my face in his hands I knew I didn't want him to let me go.

I let my eyes shut as our lips moved in sync, perfectly fitting together. But then my lips got cold and I opened my eyes to find Arsenal staring at me.

"So?" He asks.

I smiled nervously, not knowing what to tell him. "Everything I could've ever imagined"

He didn't know what to say next, so he just stood up and ran off. I waited, and waited, until I decided I couldn't just sit around. I needed to try to find the others.

I limped towards the sounds of fighting, grumbling angrily underneath my breath. I was angry I couldn't fight, angry at myself for getting hurt even though I knew it wasn't my fault. I stopped at the end of the hallway, finally making it back to the others who were once again at the docking bay, watching Arsenal talk with Nightwing.

"We need to talk about Blue Beetle," Arsenal said to Nightwing. "He betrayed us"

"Look who's talking," Bumblebee said, not sounding very happy. "Last thing I remember is you blowing an airlock without warning. Nearly got us all killed and absolutely guaranteed our capture!"

"Hey! After 8 years in ice, there's no way I was getting grabbed again. And in case you hadn't noticed, my escape resulted in you being free now to stand here and complain. So how about a thank you?"

"You're right, Arsenal," Nightwing told him. "Thank you. And after we get back to Earth, you're off the team"

"Well, wait a minute!" The boy with long hair stepped in.

"If it wasn't for Arsenal, we wouldn't have rescued anyone," the boy in the blue hat adds.

"That may be. But this isn't the first time he's pulled this kind of stunt. Intentionally endangering the lives of teammates in order to further his own agenda or guard against his own personal demons. It's unacceptable. So until you prove yourself a team player, you have no place on this team"

"I need to go find Mastera," Arsenal said, not arguing with Nightwing.

I cleared my throat, leaning against the wall since I could no longer stand on my own. Everyone looked over at me, shocked at my sudden appearance.

"You weren't there, Nightwing. Now, I'm not saying your decision is wrong, we all know Arsenal isn't the best at teamwork, and opening the airlock wasn't the best choice, but..."

"Rou," Arsenal says, coming over to me. He put an arm around my waist, holding me up. "It's fine"

"No. I ran off too, ran off and got shot by Blue. But there was no other choice. If we had stayed, we would've been captured as well, or even killed. Arsenal would not have been able to free the others, with the help of those four. And by the time you would have shown up, it would've been too late. They would've won"

Nightwing sighed. "Let's get aboard and get out of here. We can discuss this further when we're not behind enemy lines"

"Sounds like there's nothing left to discuss," the boy with a helmet on his head says.

"See, we don't need your help getting back to Earth," the boy with the blue hat says. "Or your offer to join the Team. We have our own way of doing things"

"What do you say, bro? Want to ride with us?" The boy with long hair asks.

"Sounds like a plan," Arsenal tells him.

Then he helped me limp over towards the door of the ship, passing me over to Nightwing. I was now leaning against Nightwing, him keeping me steady as we watched Arsenal walk back over to the others.

"You take care of Rou," Arsenal told him.

The girl pulled a box out of her pocket and said two words. "Home please"

It beeped and then a golden portal opened up underneath of them. Nightwing tried to stop them, seemingly recognizing the tech. I groaned, my side starting to feel worse, and Nightwing picked up, carrying me into the ship.

"We need to get you back"