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Nightstar filled into the airlock with the two other metas.
Her period had been kicking her ass all day. She muscled through it, helping with repairs to the watch tower. But the lack of gravity was not helping. They were breaking for lunch but honestly she just wanted to curl up in a ball. Or maybe puke.
She leaned again the wall of the airlock and tried not to barf as gravity suddenly grabbed hold of her. The other junior members wandered towards the cafeteria but the smell, even from this distance only made her feel more sick.
She turned in the opposite direction. Maybe she could curl up in uncle Vic's lab, in a dark quiet corner. The halls were mostly empty this high up. Most didn't have clearance for these levels. Perks of being related to the guy that built the building.
The lab was locked when she happened by. And a conference room nearby smelled like sandwhiches in a way that turned her stomach. She needed some painkillers that would work with her biology. And a nap.
Down the opposite end of the hall was the council chambers. The doors were open, john john and Barry talking outside.
Mari peaked inside. No one seemed to be tense. They were all relaxing and chatting. No planning or anything confidential seemed to be going on. Just a few higher ups getting together.
Only a handful of members were present anyways. Not even Supes or Diana. Wally was here though and smiled at her when he glanced over.
At the very head of the table was B. His mouth curled down in his 'dealing with the league scowl'. He was squinting at his tablet looking so much like an old man that had forgotten his glasses.
She shuffled into the room passing green arrow who raised his brow at her. B clearly saw her since grunted in acknowledgement as she approached. He was tapping at the screen with one finger, only minorly frustrated.
He didn't look up when she stopped at his side, always more focused on his screens.
Overwhelmed with a cramp Mari leaned over. Bracing herself with one hand on the back of his chair and resting her forehead on his shoulder. He tapped away at the screen several more times as she rode out the waves. When she'd relaxed a little, no longer squeezing her eyes shut against the pain he grunted out one word "sit" and kicked the adjacent chair out for her.
She sat. head resting on the table by his elbow. Jeez, would these cramps ever let up?
"Are you injured?"
wow a whole sentence, he does care. "No, just bleeding." She mumbled against the linoleum table top.
There was a pause. "Your monthly?"
"Yeah, do you have any of my painkillers?"
"hmm"
He tapped away at his screen again and though it could have been a dismissal, Mari knew it wasn't. B would take care of something this simple for her.
She dozed, or maybe just zoned out. The pain wouldn't really let her get near unconsciousness, but she zoned out enough for her breathing to even and her senses to relax around the edges.
It was warn in the space between her arm and the table. Her breath making her face flush. Or maybe she was developing a low grade fever.
She was brought back by the touch of a hand on her back. B's wide palm smoothing over the space between her shoulder blades.
She lifted her head and felt briefly embarrassed by the condensation that had accumulated on the table's surface and her cheek, from her warm breaths.
On the table beside her was a cup of water and a pill, the little star shape pressed into it told her that it was one of the ones specially formulated for her.
She pinched it between two fingers and popped it in her mouth, chasing it with the cup of water.
"Express meds delivery?" Wally commented. "Pampered princess."
Donna, who Mar'i only just realized was standing beside her chair giggled. "Bat privileges I guess."
Mar'i snorted through her nose and leaned her head back into B's side, his forearm turning and becoming a reasonably resting place as he twisted the angular parts of his armor away from her.
"Wait, she's a bat?" Ollie's tone was bewildered.
Mari shook her head and pointed to her chest where the eight pointed star spread wide. "I don't wear a bat." She mumbled into the table top.
Doesn't make you immune to the perks though does it?" Donna joked.
"ermmgh" mari hummed into the table top. Already bored of this conversation.
"Just how many damn bats are there now?" Hal groused.
"Like four right?" Wally guessed.
Donna hummed, "depends on what you count as a bat."
"What's the criteria for that? Wears a bat symbol? Was a Robin?" Dinah took a seat next to Ollie, joining the discussion.
"Well this one has way too high access for a recruit." Hawkman growled.
"How about allowed in Gotham, for the criteria?" Clark's smooth voice joined the others. He must have only arrived. He pulled a chair out on the other side of Mari, which gave her the impression that she might be in his seat.
She peaked an eye over her arm and Clark smiled warmly at her as he set down the tablet in his hand and adjusted his cape.
"Guess that disqualifies you huh?" Dinah jabbed.
"Anyone allowed in Gotham? What is he just picking them up off the street now?" Hal must have leaned back in his chair since it creak and scrapped in a way that made her head stink.
"Now??" Wally asked with an appropriate level of disbelief.
"I'm pretty sure that's his whole modus operandi," Dinah quipped.
"There appears to be a level of familiarity that the young heroes have with Batman that the elder do not, I have suspected this is a result of their familiarity with his side kicks." Jon Jon stated.
"That's because Batman is way better at keeping secrets that a couple of someones I know." Wally mused.
"Wait wait, so Batman and Robin, there's been a couple of them I think. And then there's a girl too right?" Ollie tried to piece things together.
"Don't try too hard to figure it out, He'll sabotage you on purpose. He's a private guy like that." Wally joked.
"This presents a serious security risk. We cannot have recruits and who know who else wandering around restricted areas of the watch tower." Hawkman asserted. "The authority must know who is allowed where to maintain the hierarchy."
"I am the authority." B spoke up for the first time, using his intimidating Batman voice. "I am the only authority that decides who is authorized where in my facility. My agents are permitted wherever I deem necessary. "
"Wait, I thought she was related to Starfire." Barry cut the silence that followed Batman's reprimand.
Wally sighed auidibly. "Nice observation there Bare. A few more and you might catch up to the rest of us."
"No one can keep up with the relationship drama in this place. People changing names and costumes as often as they do partners. How's he supposed to know whose kid is whose?" Donna jumped to Barry's defense.
"woah, kid? now i'm way lost," Barry said.
"Well don't think your gonna get any answers here, this whole batfamily thing is something you have to be brought into the fold about, and I doubt B's gonna bring you in," Wally laughed.
"So you get higher clearance?" Hawkman demanded, more angry than before, "You are the youngest initiate to the higher ranks!"
"It's not about rank," Donna defended, "It's about who you know."
"And you don't know," Wally finished.
"I have no idea what's going on." Barry said.
They probably could have gone on that way for days but Diana's arrival quieted everyone as she strode into the room.
"Are we all present?" She asked, heels clicking across the floor as the made her way the their side of the room. Her hand slid across Mari's back as she passed and Mari worried that maybe it was her seat that she'd taken.
She leaned in close to B and spoke quietly "Is she well?"
B grunted his affirmative grunt and Diana sounded like she sat down.
"Diana gets to know." Ollie complained under his breath.
Mari was starting to drift away for real this time. The medication, her temperature and general exhaustion lulling her. She didn't want to stay awake listening to them bicker anymore. She was tired.