Young Writers Society

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him a little closer, "Are there any caves nearby? Closer than the doors?"

He was reminding her a lot of Eddie, but she shoved that down. There was no way in any version of hell Eddie would ever be like him. That Eddie would ever be a fighter. Not if Megara had anything to say about it.

He looked around them.

Everything was white and cold. But if he peered just enough down the mountainside, he could make out an opening. There was a conveniently placed ledge like the one they were on. If they went down the mountainside again with a little more guidance than before, they could easily land on it.

"Right there," he said, lifting a shivering finger and pointing at the cave. "I think we can get there if we-we go down the mountainside."

The sobbing was beginning to fade. A cave was better than the great outdoors, and was easier to find, too. They weren't going to die like he worried they would!

Megara looked where he was pointing, nodding slowly. "Okay...Okay." She shifted to her knees, getting her feet beneath her. Now crouched, she kept an arm around Damian for warmth. Slowly, slowly, she eased down the mountainside, making sure she and Damian moved together so neither could slide too quickly, and one could catch the other if they slipped.

Despite their slow pace, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination. Damian was much smaller than Ninny was, but he still helped her get inside of the cave - it just seemed like the right thing to do after she had done all the leading.

The cave felt warm compared to the outdoors. Cold air still pushed through the opening, but warm air came from the back. If Damian was more used to caves, that might have made something click. And if he had bothered to investigate the darkness to the back of the cave, he might have realized that it was some kind of tunnel leading into the mountainside.

But he didn't.

He plopped down a significant distance away from the cave's opening, holding his arms close to his body as he tried to warm up.

Megara took a moment to shake the snow off of her the moment she was in the cave. She was about to ask Damian if he was alright, but she paused, staring into the dark. She stepped deeper in, knowing she was still perfectly visible thanks to that bright hair of hers. This wasn't just a cave.

"Are there tunnels leading away from the...whatever you call it?"

He blinked and looked up.

"I...I don't think so?" he uncertainly said. He got to his feet - still shivering and keeping his arms close to his chest - and peered down into the darkness. He wasn't sure what made her think that, but-

He paused mid-thought.

"The whatever you call it?" he repeated.

Megara waved off the question, already walking toward the heat, "Come on." She glanced back, slowing her pace to wave him after her. There was no way she was leaving him here, especially if there was a better place to be.

Though he started following her, he had no intentions of letting the conversation end.

"You're not from here, are you?" he asked when he reached her side. He glanced up at her face and studied it. "If you were, you would have known where we are."

She glanced at him, mildly upset that her cover had been blown. She briefly scrolled through the list of increasingly weak excuses that came to mind, then decided against using any of them. Any excuse she gave now would just prompt more questions she didn't have an answer to. Eventually, she'd run out of excuses anyway.

"You got me," she said, lacing her fingers behind her neck.

He gave her a long, hard look.

"I don't think you're Justice League," he said. "Someone would have mentioned someone like you. But you're skilled, and I recognize you..."

He tilted his head ever so slightly to the side.

"...I know Ninny's not your real name," he said. "So what is it?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She could hardly see him in the dark. "I recognize you as well." She thought for a moment, "You wouldn't happen to be one of Skull's friends, would you? They are so many kinds of forgettable."

She was ignoring his request for her name. She wasn't ready to give it just yet.

Skull?

...That was a weird name.

"The only Skull I know is the Red Skull," Damian nonchalantly said. Different universe and different Skull than she was talking about, but it was still the first thing that came to mind. It made him want to smile at a joke only he got - like when Jason was an idiot back when they first met and said his name was Peter Parker.

"You never said your name," he pointed out, just before he saw an eerie glowing light coming from the end of the tunnel.

Without giving "Ninny" a chance to answer, he darted off towards the end of the tunnel. He had to come to a skidding halt to avoid tumbling into the pit of eerie, glowing green water right in front of him.

"So that's how Mom mysteriously appears at the Lazarus Pit," Damian offhandedly commented. There was an amused tone as he looked between the tunnel and the Lazarus Pit. "I've thought it was a random magic artifact for years."

Megara appeared at his side a moment later, staring into the pit. "Lazarus...." she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "You wouldn't happen to be one of the black-haired Wayne kids, would you?" she asked.

He was familiar, and Jason had been the one to mention the Lazarus pit to her once or twice. That might explain why the kid was so familiar, and why he seemed to recognize her as well.

The words took a moment to register.

The realization that followed did, too.

Damian slowly turned to look up at the girl beside him. He was an idiot for not recognizing her face soon. Maybe he should have been offended that she didn't recognize him until she heard the name of the pit, but that was the least of the reasons to be irritated with her.

No, irritation wasn't the right word.

Damian was angry. Furious. Memories flickered back through his mind of a night he had walked into the Batcave and found Jason sobbing on the sofa. Jason hadn't said anything at first - he had just kept crying and crying and crying.

"Yeah," Damian said, his voice cold in a way that didn't fit someone who looked so young. "I am. I'm also the one who knows about what you did to my brother."

Megara froze.

That was...not good.

She intended to get back to Jason. To make things right and apologize and apologize until every sun burnt out and every star vanished, but she hadn't. She hadn't, and she didn't have an excuse.

Her gaze fell to the floor. "Is Jason alright?"