Joining Young Justice

Chapter Fourteen: The Idea

"Chelsey?"

Nightwing had crouched down next to where I was sitting in a heap, my eyes glassy and mind spinning painfully slowly. I felt sick. Incredibly sick.

"I know what happened," I whispered. Somehow, that felt appropriate. "Ned went to the Inquisitors on Coruscant. He offered an exchange. Weapons for an opportunity to kill me. He brought the Blood Carver back with him. He's scheduled to open another portal soon."

"How soon? Because if there's no one going back to Coruscant, there could be things coming through to Earth," Nightwing reasoned, his voice low but urgent.

"I can't...I'm still processing," I said slowly. "Get M'gann. She has full permission to root around until she finds it."

He seemed hesitant, but when I couldn't form any more sentences or answer his questions, he stood up and made a call. While we waited, he cut the silence by repeatedly asking if I was sure I wanted to do this. I just nodded absently and stared at the disgusting weapons in the crate.

"Chelsey!" M'gann's voice cut through my absent wandering.

When I didn't respond, Nightwing filled her in on the situation. I barely listened. My limbs were excruciatingly heavy and it felt like I'd swallowed a fifteen pound bowling ball. M'gann asked for my consent once more and when I gave her a monosyllabic response, her eyes flashed green and I could feel a strange, unfamiliar pressure in my mind. Finally, her eyes reverted back to their usual state, although they were a little wider than usual.

"Today. We have three hours. The portal will open above the Pacific Ocean off the Canadian Coast," M'gann reported.

"We'll be there," Nightwing said determinately. He stood up and pulled me to my feet. "I'll run the files to Batman at the Batcave and see what he's found about this safehouse Ned might be staying at. You get Chelsey back to the Cave and get the entire Team there. We need to strategize."

That was how I ended up back at the Cave. M'gann walked me to my room where I slumped down on the bed, holding my head in my hands as I tried to think.

The man that had saved me tried to kill me. The Galaxy that was once my home wanted to murder me. The Republic was now the Empire.

Things were so wrong and...and twisted.

I had to do something crazy and drastic.

My mind was made up the second the idea occurred to me. I stood up and found the black kyber crystal and examined the lightsaber parts I'd scavenged. I needed a diatium battery, a regulator, an emitter, and a stabilization magnet, which I pulled form the Inquisitor's blade--they were made more recently. I chose bits and pieces from the found lightsaber and the remnants of the Inquisitor's blade and cobbled them together into my second lightsaber.

I grabbed the remaining red crystal and strung it on my necklace where my kyber crystal had once hung. The darkness flowing off it was sickening, but it would make a nice distraction.

Clipping my new and old lightsaber to my belt and shrugging on my leather jacket again, I looked around at my room. There was a chance I wasn't coming back, I realized as I slipped off my domino mask and tossed it on the edge of the neatly made bed. I pulled off my watch as well and tugged my phone out of my pocket, placing these on the nightstand. With one final look over my shoulder, I exited the space and trudged down the hall.

The rest of the Team was being brief with the information we'd uncovered today and they all stopped when I entered the room. Nightwing had been talking, but his voice trailed off at the determination set on my face.

"Chelsey," he finally said. "Feeling ready?"

"Something like that," I said slowly. "Can you summon Hal Jordan? I have a plan. And, before you say anything, my mind is made up, and there is no talking me out of this."