"So, what'cha doing, Rob?" I asked Robin, trying to imitate Wally, watching him as he was reading something on the holographic screen of his glove.
"Researching Droughtstorm, but I can't find anything more on him... It's like he doesn't exist!" he replied, tapping on the screen and sighing in disappointment.
"Oh, okay... Well, I don't know if it'll help, but I know a few things about him that I didn't tell you before? I thought they were useless things, so I kept them to myself." I was just casually smiling at him like nothing mattered at that moment, but he didn't seem to feel the same.
"Tem-," he started, before I corrected him.
"Bup, bup, bup! It's Shanelle." Robin just stared at me, not wanting to have this conversation.
"'Shanelle'... What did you not tell us?"
"I didn't think you'd want to know."
"We NEED to know whatever we can about Droughtstorm and as soon as we can!" It was obvious that Robin was getting annoyed, but I was having too much fun playing with him.
"Do you NEED to know that he has to live off of the wills of others in order to survive? Or did you NEED to know that his weakness is merely determination?... Or that his favourite colour is blue." With a chuckle, Robin looked back down at his screen.
"Right, so we'll need Wally, an A+ on a test and a blue stone to bring him down. Well, that's turbing."
"I'll look for the stone! And what's turbing is how much free time you have to think about that kind of thing!" I joked, running out of the room.
"Wow, slow down, rocket! You seem excited today," Wally pointed out as I ran into him, almost knocking us both over.
"It's ironic that you're telling ME to slow down. And yeah, I guess I am excited today. I don't know why, I'm just in a good mood!"
"Well, you know what they say, -."
"After the high comes the low! Wait... Oh my God... No, I don't want a low! I want to stay on my high!" I ran up to a wall and rested my head against it, being followed by Wally.
"Uh, I was just gonna say that what goes around comes around, so your happiness is going to put everyone else in a bright mood too." With a reassuring hand on my shoulder and a slightly confused look on his face, Wally walked into the kitchen. Even though I couldn't see him, I could hear the sound of him munching away on something.
I walked into the lounge, sitting down and thinking about whatever I could think about, really. I didn't know what there was to contemplate; so basically, I just sat down, staring at the lounge in front of me.
"Uh, Shanelle, can I talk to you about something for a second?" Leonne's voice rang from the doorway as he stepped into the room, looking more than a little concerned.
"Hey, is everything alright?!" I asked a little too excitedly.
"Not exactly... You remember how you said that Droughtstorm seemed familiar, but you didn't know why?" I nodded. What did that have to do with anything? "Um... I think I know why he's familiar." It was easy to tell that Leonne was uncomfortable with the topic, so I tried not to press it as much as I could.
"Oh... Okay... W-why is that?" I tried to keep my voice comforting and soft, but it didn't seem to be working too well.
"I think I'd better show you..." With that, he grabbed my hand and I felt him enter my mind. Since when could he do that?!
Suddenly, everything went dark before it became light again. I saw Leonne next to me, a partial smile on his face, but he looked different. He looked younger – a lot younger.
The ground was completely dry and I could feel myself in need of water. My lips were cracked and my head was dizzy. What was going on?
"Nelly! Nelly! Look what I found!" a little boy came running up to me, a strange device in his hand. Then it hit me.
He was my little brother, Malin.
"Hey, champ! What have you got there?" I asked, taking it from his hands and fiddling with the weird... whatever it was.
"I don't know, but it looks cool!" he squealed, very excited by his findings.
That's when everything started going downhill. Without even realising it, I had accidentally pulled a trigger, which sent a homing beacon to Droughtstorm. The sky quickly became very dark and I found myself huddled up against Leonne and Malin.
"Nelle, what's happening?" Malin asked, his face frozen in fear.
"I'm not sure..." I responded. The next thing I knew, an airship was flying overhead, a beam from it connecting with my little brother. I couldn't let him go, but the beam was too strong.
In a second, he was gone. And that's when I came back to reality.
"Was that..." I started, looking sadly at Leonne.
"That was your little brother. He was taken by Droughtstorm and that's why you remember him so well. Droughtstorm, I mean."
I didn't even remember having a little brother and I definitely didn't remember anything about him being taken away by Droughtstorm. Well, I didn't remember anything about it until now.
"I have to find him. I have no know what happened to him," I stated, trying to push past Leonne, but he just stopped me like I was a feather.
"There's nothing you can do for him now. That was years ago... Remember what I told you about the parasites..." I was definitely starting to feel the low now.
"But..." I could hardly say anything. I mean, what was I supposed to say? "Wow, I didn't even know I had a brother!"? Suddenly I felt myself being pulled into Leonne, who was stroking my back comfortingly.
After a few minute, I pulled back and looked at him.
"But Leonne... I can't lose the two of you!" With a smile, he kissed me on the cheek and led me out to the others. I was staring at the ground, everything running through my head. Malin... My little brother... Even though I couldn't remember him, I felt a chunk of my heart missing.
"Hey-hey! They're back!" Wally called, smiling at myself and Leonne as we entered the room.
"Yes. We're back," Leonne replied. I saw him trying to flash me a smile out the corner of my eye, but I was less than interested. Everything was happening so quickly and I was terrified. It had been over a month since Leonne and I had first come to Mount Justice and properly met the team, and now, I was being told that I had lost my little brother, who I had no recollection of, and now, I was losing Leonne as well.
It seemed like my life was falling apart.
"Hey, Nelle, are you alright?" Dick asked. I clenched my free fist and felt myself fall against Leonne in frustration and sadness. Suddenly, all the memories were flooding back. The memories of myself and Malin going Christmas shopping, the memories of the times we spent together as I took him to the park, the memories of us spending time with the family...
It broke my heart to know that those memories were all gone.
Then came the flashbacks of myself and Leonne; the major times we spent together. But there was one in particular that was rather detailed and caught my attention. I was staring into a mirror, admiring my reflection; I looked absolutely stunning. My hair was all pulled to the top of my head and there were beads throughout it. I was wearing a strapless, lavender dress that reached all the way down to the ground and my neck was adorned in pearls. Make-up corrected my facial flaws and I actually felt truly beautiful for once in my life.
I turned around to see Leonne behind me, his bright grin lighting up my life.
"You look amazing..." I muttered under my breath. He was wearing a black tuxedo, his hair combed back. Walking forward, he handed me a corsage and I happily agreed. Tonight was going to be one of the best nights of our lives.
"Trust me, you definitely look better than me," he replied with a slight chuckle. I followed with a giggle and he took my arm, leading me out onto the dance floor. People were sitting, standing, dancing, kissing and eating all throughout the room, but I felt eyes following me as I walked with Leonne. For a cute nerd, he definitely looked pretty hot tonight.
"Shall we dance?" he asked, placing one hand on my waist and the other gripping my hand.
"We shall." Letting him lead, we waltzed around the floor until the music stopped, followed by a slow song.
"Do you want to sit down for this?" I asked, releasing his hand and starting to make my way to the side of the room. His hand grabbed onto mine and I felt him pull my back over to him.
"Hey, we've both been looking forward to this night since the day we first met each other! You have to dance; I think I have enough left in me for one more round," Leonne whispered, pulling me up close to him. He wrapped his hands around my back and I did the same around his neck, slightly hoping my dress wouldn't fall down. But no, that wasn't the case.
A quarter of the way through the song, I started relaxing a little, resting my head on Leonne's shoulder.
"Shanelle... I want to ask you something..." Leonne started saying, his chin resting on my head. That's when my night was ruin. Some idiot wanting some laughs came running up to me pulled my dress down, noticing I wasn't paying attention. As soon as it reached my hips, he ran off laughing, high-fiving his mates as he sat back down.
Embarrassed? That word didn't even start to cover it. Tonight was supposed to be my big night, and some douche came along and ruined it.
I tried walking backward out of the room, covering my chest, but found myself tripping over my dress. By now, I looked like absolute crap because I was half dressed, my make-up was running and my hair was falling out of the style it was in. All in all, it had quickly become one of the worst nights of my life. Leonne was just staring at me, unsure what to do, before he walked off, out of my sight. What a fantastic date. And even if he wanted to help me, he was too weak to even assist me in standing. He could barely pick me up last time we had a joke about it.
Wriggling backwards, my dress continued to make its way down my legs. I heard everyone laughing at me, taking in my pain, until I couldn't handle it anymore. Tears ran down my face and I sat on the floor, covering my half-naked body. That's when I felt someone covering me, picking me up and taking me outside. My eyes were closed because of how terrible I was feeling, so I didn't know who it was.
I was placed onto the ground and immediately, I readjusted my dress, turning away from my rescuer as I did so.
"Th-thank you..." I muttered. It was probably the guy who dacked me feeling bad about what he did. That usually seemed to happen. Or it could have been a teacher. Or even the principal. I knew who it definitely wouldn't be.
"Hey, you know I wouldn't leave you hanging in there like that! That would be too whelming if I did." Whelming... Now why did that sound familiar? Turning around, I was greeted by a blushing boy who was standing there, in the cold of the night, without his jacket. At that moment, I started blushing as well, realising that I was wearing it.
"Leonne? How-?" I was smiling like a loony but I didn't care.
"Well, when I realised I couldn't even pick you up, I decided to do some weight training... Apparently it's been working, though I haven't noticed any major differences... Well, apart from tonight." He was looking up to the starry night sky, a 'thinking' look on his face.
"Well, don't hurt yourself," I joked, smirking at him before a look of sadness and disappointment took its place. "I'm sorry, Lee... I didn't want any of this to happen... You wanted to enjoy tonight. I kinda messed it up..." I started to leave before Lee looked at me, confused.
"Wait, where are you going? You can't leave yet!"
"I'm heading home. We aren't allowed back in once we go outside, remember? School hall rules? Oh, and here's your jacket back..." I pulled off the jacket, about to hand it back, but Leonne was alright right up in front of me, his smiling still bright.
"Who says we need to be in there to make tonight special? We can still hear the music! So... would you like to dance?" With that, he bowed to me and reached for my hand again, before pulling me in closer.
"Lee, really?" I asked, backing away a little, but he only came closer.
"Like I said, we've both been waiting a long time for tonight... And it's finally here. So, let's make the most out of it!" Looking up at the stars, I realised just how romantic the setting was. With 'Fall For You – Secondhand Serenade' playing in the background, the lights only dim and Leonne being the only person with me, I agreed to dance with him, beaming like the sun.
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked, as he twirled me around slowly.
"Did I ever tell you just how cliché that is? Not to mention that you're dancing with a person who looks like rubbish."
"...I don't see your point." I knew he was trying to be romantic, so I just went with it.
"Thank you, Leonne. Thank you. Oh, didn't you want to ask me something?" Only just remembering, I looked at him, intrigued, as he continued to dance with me.
"Well, we've been best friends for a long time now... We've always been there for each other, through the good and the bad. You've seen me at my best," he started, referring to his outfit, "and my worst and I've seen you at your best and your worst. So... what I wanted to ask was... Will you be my girlfriend?"
I smiled at him and felt him spin me around before bringing me up only a few centimetres from his face.
"Yes, I will."
"Are you sure?" At that moment, he had the style of a young James Bond, and I liked it.
"Yes, I am very sure. Especially right now." He leaned down and planted his lips on mine; I could feel myself flushing bright red and a smile making its way onto my face.
And then I regained consciousness again.
"Um, am I the only one who noticed just how red she went then?" Wally asked confusedly, looking around at everyone else. When I opened my eyes, I found I was biting my lip and started looking at Leonne, who was smiling at me the same way he had been.
"I thought you'd want to know..." he whispered, leaning down to my ear.
"Can someone please tell us what we're missing here?" Robin asked, looking at Wally, who just shrugged.
"Just how we'll always be here for each other, no matter what happens." I leaned against Leonne's chest and smiled. So much had been explained in the past few days, all thanks to him.
"Yeah... Right. That's true," Artemis stated, looking a little confused, like everyone else in the group.
Wally raised his hand, looking at us all. "Uh, I just have one question... When can we eat?"
~~~.~~~
All of us sitting in the lounge room again, I explained that we needed to find Droughtstorm, that I needed to find Droughtstorm.
"I will be going, whether you are all for it or not. So, if you want to help, say something now." I ordered, holding onto Lee's hand, praying for him that we'd find a way out of his trouble.
"I am definitely for it. This is a team and we must act like one," Kaldur spoke, looking very assertive. Eventually, everyone was agreeing to it, except for Leonne.
"Aren't you going to come with us? We might find your cure!" I insisted, but Leonne was firm with his decision.
"If there is a cure, then return it to me here. I have a feeling that I will only be in your way with the control that Droughtstorm has over me. I'm sorry..." I gave him a comforting smile before we made our way outside the mountain.
Everyone was all set to go, but I had to make sure that Leonne would be alright to stay at the headquarters.
"Hey, handsome... You feeling okay?" I asked, walking up to him with a sad smile on my face.
"Honestly? I feel terrible... But it's okay... You're with me, so I'll be fine. I can get through this, don't worry. I'll be here when you get back with the cure, ready, willing and able. I bet Batman could probably help me out a little bit too," he replied, giving me a hug which lasted for about a minute.
"You'll be... You'll be alright. I don't want to leave you, though..." I was shaky, hoping that he really would be alright.
"Hey, it's fine, remember? Now, you go out there and kick some mind-controlling butt, alright? For me!" I nodded and started to leave, before he pulled me back, kissing me immediately. Once he released me, I started at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What was that for?"
"In case something goes wrong and I can't tell you after... I love you." I smiled and giggled at him.
"Nothing will go wrong and I can't tell you still, how cliché that is... But I love you too... Nothing will go wrong!" And I finally left the mountain behind me.