Author's Note: All right I'm back with another chapter. It took me a little longer than expected to come up with a decent chapter. I want to thank Kichi Penn for helping me figure out what to do. Hope you guys like it. Actually this is going to be a bit of a break from the action so I hope you guys dont mind that much. Enjoy.
Teen Titans All Stars, Vol. 2
Chapter 21
The Path of the Angels
He didn't feel like talking to them, not after everything he'd been through. As Kyle looked back at the team searching for answers he found that he couldn't answer them.
"Sorry guys I cant. Maybe later." He said as he started to fly off.
"Wait!" Nightwing told him. The Green Lantern hovered a few feet off the ground.
"What is this all about? Why did he attack that guy? And what does Black Hand have to do with any of this?" he asked.
They had a right to know, they were part of it now. Green Lantern shook his head and took off like a bolt of lightning. Across town he arrived at his apartment through the window and tore off his mask and slid down against the wall behind him and covered his eyes in grief.
Later that night he lay in bed spending most of his time staring up at the ceiling. No matter what he couldn't erase the images from his mind, of his mother and the hell he'd been through the last several days. He sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed and looked out toward the bay window that had remained open since his return home. And saw his discarded Green Lantern costume lay crumpled on the floor in the corner with his ring on the nightstand. He got up and made his way towards the bay window in an undershirt and boxers and stood out on the ledge as the cool night air rushed over him.
The following morning was his mother's funeral. As he stood clad in a black suit while mourners passed by the coffin. They offered their condolences to him but he seemed almost immune to it. They didn't know his mother, didn't know how he felt. What he'd been through or how much he lost. The young Rayner just stood there next to the coffin. An older man placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. He looked up and saw a bespectacled man in his fifties that was bald with gray hair and a goatee. It was his old art teacher.
"I'm sorry for your loss Kyle." The old teacher said.
"Yeah…me too." He sighed.
"If you need anything you know where to find Me." he said gripping his shoulder.
"Yeah I appreciate that." a small smile formed as he patted the old man's shoulder in return.
The teacher patted his shoulder once more before leaving the room. His smile held as he watched his art teacher carry himself out with his cane infront of him. As he turned his attention back to the line of mourners he saw several women stand beside the coffin. To his surprise Troia was amongst the mourners.
"Tr…uh…" he cleared his throat to keep from blurting out her codename.
"How are you holding up?" she smiled softly.
"About as good as anyone in my situation I guess." He replied.
She made her way to the front of the line and looked down at his mother.
"She's beautiful." She said looking up at him.
"Thanks." He shrugged slightly.
"Would you excuse me for a moment?" he asked as he turned to leave.
"Sure." She said looking back down at the casket.
Kyle made his way out of the funeral parlor and walked briskly down a hallway past the multitude of guests. A minute later he stood over the bathroom sink leaning his weight against the counter. He sighed as he looked down at the sink. The door opened a second later as another guest came in.
"Oh I'm sorry I didn't think anyone was in here." He said.
"Its all right." he said to the man.
"You okay?" he asked as he came in.
"Yeah I just need a few minutes." He answered.
"I know it's not really my place right now. But I know what it's like to lose a parent." The man told him.
"Thanks." He said apathetically.
"Just give it some time, it wont go away completely. But it will get better in time. You just hang in there." he told him.
"Yeah." He said still looking down.
A few minutes later Kyle sat in a chair on the front deck of the funeral home. A collection of guys stood beside the stairs talking amongst themselves. Looking out at the traffic he caught sight of a man ascending the stairway next to him. He grit his teeth and stood up in the next instant.
"You got a lot of nerve showing up here old man." He growled. His father held out his hands infront of him.
"I know. And you have every right to be mad at Me." his father told him.
"You weren't even here when she died!" he yelled.
The men standing on the stairs looked back at them and decided to leave after he glared back at them.
"Kyle I loved your mother." he started.
"Then why weren't you here for us?! What about all those times I needed you? When she needed you?" the enraged young man grabbed his father by the collar of his suit inches away from his face.
His father grabbed his wrists and calmly looked back at his son.
"Your mother never told you this. But the reason I left was because I was involved in some field work." He said regrettably.
"What?" he said. His dad looked away before answering.
"I'm not Aaron Rayner…my real name is Gabriel Vasquez. I'm with the CIA." He said looking back at him.
Kyle slugged him across the face stunning several onlookers inside the funeral home.
"How could you do that to me? To us?" he yelled.
Gabriel staggered back a step or two and rubbed his nose across his sleeve.
"It was for your own good." He answered. Kyle grabbed him once again.
"Don't give me that shit! For my own good?! How the hell is abandoning us a benefit? Do you have any idea what we went through because of you?!" he yelled.
"There were people out there that would have hurt the both of you." answered Gabriel.
"Your freakin CIA! You could have taken out anyone that tried to hurt us!" he yelled.
"It doesn't work that way. I'm not that kind of agent." He told him.
"So now your saying your were afraid back then?" he yelled.
By that time the funeral director came out and broke up the fight.
"That's enough, both of you! You're making a scene out here. And if you don't stop then I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he said to Gabriel.
"Sir I'm the husband of the deceased." He said to him.
"I'm sorry sir, but the family has the right to refuse anyone they deem unfit inside the funeral home. And that includes other family members." the director told him.
"I just want to see my wife one last time." he said.
"I'm sorry Mr. Vasquez but that's his decision." he said motioning to Kyle.
His son glared at him and turned away. The director looked back at Vasquez as Kyle made his way inside.
"Give him a chair." He said surprising both men.
"Yes sir. You lucked out this time." he told Gabriel before returning inside.
"Put him at the back of the room." Kyle told him before going back to the parlor.
"As you wish." The director said before turning to the man in question.
"You may see your wife." He told him.
"Thank you." he said before going in.
As the rest of the funeral guests found their seats Gabriel made his way to the front and saw Maria lying in state. Kyle sat down in the sofa at the front of the funeral parlor while his father visited his wife. Rayner folded his arms and crossed his leg as he stared at his dad's back. Troia straightened out her skirt before sitting down next to him on the couch.
"Is it all right if I sit here?" she asked softly.
"Yeah." He said without looking at her.
"I'm real sorry about what happened." She said.
"It's all right." he muttered sinking into the couch.
Donna turned her attention to the man standing infront of the casket. It had been 17 years since he last saw Maria. She already knew who he was and what he did, even accepted him as 'Aaron Rayner'. And she knew that the line of work he was in was dangerous, but she never expected how soon he'd be taken from her. The two met when he was working on assignment in LA and had literally bumped into each other. She was carrying a sack of groceries and he accidentally walked into her, spilling her groceries. He offered to help pick them up their hands touched as they both reached for the broccoli. It was then they're eyes met for the first time and were captivated by each other. They both laughed and he handed her the vegetable.
"I'm sorry about that." he smiled.
"Its all right." she smiled back.
"I'm uh I'm Aaron Rayner." He said.
"Maria Garcia-Lopez." She replied.
"Hi." He smiled.
"Hi." She smiled back and laughed.
He chuckled and leant out his hand and helped her up.
"Well uh, I guess I better get going." He told her.
"Me too. It was nice meeting you." she said.
"You too." He said before turning to leave.
Gabriel ran his fingers across his wife's still arm and felt her cold, clammy skin. The funeral music had already started and Gabriel was still the only man up next to the casket as the crowd looked on in silence. The minister stood at the back with his bible in hand waiting to start the eulogy. A cough from the audience broke the awkward silence. Gabriel sighed as he turned and faced the audience.
"Many of you don't know me. But I was Mariah's husband. I've been out of her and Kyle's life for 17 years now. And I imagine your probably wondering why I picked now of all times to show myself. I know it seems like a sleazy thing to do, but I loved Mariah and would have done anything to come back to her and my son sooner. For some time now I've been off serving my country. And I missed a lot of things in those 15 years. I missed watching my son walk for the first time, birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. My son is practically a man now and God knows I missed them. I wish I could have been here for all the times he needed me, all the times she needed. For nights on end, I'd lie awake wondering how they were doing. Due to circumstances beyond my control I couldn't be with them, Lord knows how much I wanted to." He said sincerely.
Gabriel tried to maintain his composure though it was evident he couldn't. Kyle sat on the couch unimpressed by his father's speech.
"I'm sorry Kyle…" he turned to his wife behind him.
"I'm sorry Mariah…so sorry. I'll get out of your way now so we can start this thing proper. Thanks for coming out." he said as he took his seat in the back.
The minister came forward and patted him across the shoulder.
"Bless you man." He whispered to him.
The minister was an older man in his early 60s with short white hair and wore a white robe as he took his place next to the casket.
"First of all I would like to thank you all for coming out here this morning as we remember the life of Mariah Rayner. A young woman who was gone before her time." the minister began.
As he went on in the eulogy Donna wrapped her arms around Kyle's and held his hand. And looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw her reassuring smile. He smiled back as he squeezed her hand and she returned the gesture and turned their attention back to the preacher. At the back of the room Gabriel sat slouched over next to the doorway in a padded folding chair. A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach as he watched his wife's funeral. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he thought back to the day he left his family.
A few months prior to that he had been investigating a subsidiary of Lexcorp that'd been dealing under the table with terrorists. Gabriel had infiltrated the company as one of its workers. Unfortunately while he was out on the town, a higher up had recognized him as another person. It was then and there his cover was blown. Vasquez wasn't immediately aware of it at first until a Kasnian assassin killed his contact. Fearing for his family, Mariah and Gabriel collaborated with local police in falsifying a case of domestic abuse. Though it would continue to haunt him for years to come. Kyle had grown up to believe that his father had abused his mother and was on the run from the law. Never knowing until today that he was a federal agent.
A half hour later the funeral concluded. Guests took one final look at the deceased leaving Kyle and his dad alone in the room together.
"I don't understand what happened to her." Gabriel said.
"Nobody really did. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and the autopsy didn't yield any results. The best they could come up with was inconclusive. The worst part is they may actually exhume her later." Kyle said.
"I should have been here for both of you. If I had any clue she was dying…" his father said.
"Listen I want to apologize for earlier, if anything you should have slugged me. Cuz I haven't always been here for her either." He told him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Your not the only one with a secret." He answered and looked down at his ring.
His dad placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him surprised.
"You're a grown man now Kyle, you have a right to live your own life. You did a lot more for your mother than I ever could. I'm not going to hold it against you. I couldn't after what I've done." he said.
Kyle reached into the coffin and ran his hand across his mother's arm and gently squeezed her hand and bent over and hugged her body one last time as his father looked on. And a tear started to form in his right eye.
"I'm sorry mom." He said kissing her forehead.
"I love you." he told her saying his last goodbye to her.
As the funeral party waited outside a group of men dressed in suits approached the funeral home and made their way up the steps. The funeral director held out his arm infront of the men.
"I'm sorry you can't go in there right now. The bereaved are saying good-bye." He told them.
"We need to speak with Kyle." Said one man.
"Are you family?" the director asked.
"We're the only other family he has." Said a black man.
"All right." he said ushering them in.
"Thanks." Said a red haired guy and saluted him as he went in.
The doors to the funeral parlor opened a second later as Kyle and Gabriel exited. They stopped short seeing the three other men stand before them.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm sorry Kyle, but your needed on Oa." Hal told him.
"I can't go right now. They're about to bury mom." He said as John put a hand on his shoulder.
"Its out of our hands kid." He said. The youngest Lantern sighed.
"Just give me 15-20 minutes at most. I'll be with you in a bit." He said.
"We're sorry for your loss." John said.
"Yeah sure." Kyle said as he walked off.
His father looked up at the black man.
"So this is what he meant by keeping a secret." He said.
"You know who we are?" he asked. Gabe looked down at his ring and back up at him.
"I do now." he told him.
"We're awfully sorry for your loss." Hal said behind him.
Gabriel turned to him and nodded.
"Thanks." He replied.
"Don't worry we look after him like he's one of our own." Guy said giving him a thumbs up.
Author's Note: While I didnt have any problem writing this chapter. In truth I had trouble deciding what would come after this chapter. My friend Ali was right to say that this would not be an easy storyline to take on considering the sheer magnitude of it. And for a while I couldnt decide what direction I wanted to take this story in. And that can be a little frustrating at times. And sometimes it feels like I have no direction at all. If you guys have any suggestions. I'd be happy to hear them. Let me know how you liked it.
Please review,
Green Gallant.