Chapter Two
Two months back on the team, and things almost feel normal again.
When he had gone on the mission, Kladur'ahm hadn't allowed himself to think much of the life he had left behind. It would have made it too difficult, to think of his friends, his loved ones, his team-mates, the ones who were making their way without him, thinking him a turn-coat. He dedicated himself to his part, that of the loyal son, one who felt nothing but anger and betrayed towards the Justice League.
He had forgotten how much he had missed this. The laughter and the openness and the spontaneity, even in the face of incredible danger. Sometime, in the first few weeks after he had returned, Kaldur had had to repress the urge to order everyone to be quiet, to behave. After over a year of military discipline, the Team's playfulness had seemed absurd, dangerous. It was not. Just because his comrades were easy showing joy did not mean they were not capable.
Finally, he has found himself settling back into the role he once had. To say that Atlantean public opinion of him is low would be an understatement in the extreme, but he has reconciled with both his King and Queen, who assure him they couldn't be prouder of his work. He has re-earned La'gann's respect, and the two of them have taken to sharing private training sessions to keep their underwater abilities sharp. The youngest heroes, the ones who only came to the team after his departure, had originally seemed split between mistrusting him and being in awe of them- but those feelings are finally fading, and they are coming to see him as merely another leader, like Superboy, Miss Martian and Nightwing.
As for those three, some of his oldest friends from the surface world...well. Though he has never said as much, Conner is more than happy to have him back- they often train together as well, or discuss tactics, or perhaps converse about books they have recently read. He has calmed a lot in the past year. Grown a lot.
M'gann...was harder. She was clearly relieved and thankful for his return, but otherwise things were tense. She put on a professional face in front of the Team, but in private he could nearly feel the guilt radiating off her. Eventually he had pulled her aside. "I forgive you," he had told her. "While I cannot condone some of your actions in this past year, what you did to my mind was a consequence of my own choices, and I bear the fault. We should have told you the truth."
"But I..." the Martian had began.
"Yes," the Atlanean had agreed. "You made a mistake. But you fixed it. And I still consider you my friend."
Things have been better since then.
As for Nightwing...well, he still has not returned to the team. Kaldur does not blame him. He carried a lot of weight, acting as leader in such a trying time. He deserves a chance to clear his head, focus on other duties. They still talk, occasionally. Last Kaldur heard, he's working on some cases in Bludhaven, taking down some of the major crime-bosses.
Kaldur hopes he will return soon. They started the team, Nightwing, Superboy and himself. It would be good to have the original three back together.
oOo
The first thing he does is run.
It's not even a choice; the first thing he's conscious of, besides the whiteness and the cold, is the movement of his legs, the pump of his arms, the blood in his ears. It feels amazing.
For some time- he's not sure how long- he simply savours that feeling, enjoying the sharpness of the air in his lung and rush of the world moving past. It's only after the initial euphoria is past he notices how...odd the situation is.
Point One: he's either somewhere very far north, or very far south, judging by the endless expanse of ice going in all directions, and the temperature. He suspects he would be freezing by now, if the running wasn't keeping him warm.
The running. That's Point Two. There's not a lot in the way of geographic markings out here, so it's difficult to tell, but he's pretty sure tat he's running at a really high speed. Really, really high. Beyond the capabilities of a normal human, kind of thing.
Why is he at a pole? How can he run so fast? He's not sure. And that realization leads him to another one- Point Three.
He doesn't know his name.
The discovery stuns him, to the point where he nearly trips and just narrowly avoids crashing, head first, onto the icy ground. Instead, he just barely manages to skid to a halt.
He doesn't know his own name.