Russian Base

The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are, and not who people think you are. ~Goldie Hawn

"I'm so glad I finally got that cast off!" Mia said happily as she jumped on Brandon's back, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Actually, I'm really happy in general," Mia exclaimed, leaning forward so she could get a better view of the living room as Brandon exited the kitchen and into the living room.

"And why is that?" Jack asked from the couch, his feet on the coffee table in front of him as he was watching a program on the television. His eyes left the screen, and he smirked when he saw the two. "Aw, ain't you two a couple of cuties?" Jack asked in a southern accent, putting his hand under his chin with an adorable smile.

"Well, it just seems that everything's going really good lately. We all seem happier, Avon and Luna got really close and Rosalyn has been really nice lately," Mia noticed. She jumped off of Brandon's back. "We should go and celebrate!"

"I don't know Mia, that's kind of like asking for something bad to happen," Brandon muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He watched as Mia sat down next to Jack, crossing her arms over her chest and slightly pouting.

"Why did I fall in love with such a pessimist?" Jack asked with a chuckle. Brandon just rolled his eyes and sat next to him on the couch. " I think that would be great, actually. What did you have in mind?" Jack asked as he turned to Mia, who had instantly perked up.

"I actually don't know. We could always go to like a…" Mia trailed off, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "I… just don't know. We could go and watch a movie, maybe go to a fair…" Mia stated.

"That is so cliché. We should go blow up an elementary school," Jack insisted. Rosalyn and Leilani entered the living room just as Jack was finishing up his statement and Rosalyn perked up with a smile.

"I agree with whatever we are talking about," Rosalyn stated. Jack slightly smiled, moving his hand to cover it as Leilani sneered.

"You agree with whatever this psychopath says Rosy. Honestly you can do better than him," Leilani stated as she crossed her arms with a glare. Jack instantly frowned.

"Leave him alone. Honestly you're just fucking bitter that no one likes you. If you would actually try to get along with somebody, maybe you wouldn't be so helplessly single," Brandon snapped at her. Leilani's eyes widened as the room went silent, until Jack stated giggling like a maniac.

"Shut up reject. At least my mentor didn't throw me away," Leilani sneered. Jack stopped laughing instantly, and he glared at Leilani as Brandon took a step forward.

"Woah woah woah, his mentor didn't throw him away, alright bitch? Yours didn't even trust you enough to not bring you a babysitter!" Jack growled. Leilani shoved past him with an eye roll.

"Oh yeah, about you.. let's see what I heard. Oh that's right, daddy abused his precious little son while mommy watched doing nothing. Let's not forget the time that your mom left to stay with Ivy, leaving you all alone with your daddy. Face it Jack, you were about as shitty as a son as Brandon was," Leilani said with a hand on her hip. Both boys just stood there emotionless. "Yeah, surprising that I can snap too."

"Leilani, please, let's just be nice to one-" Mia started, reaching out to put a hand on Leilani's shoulder.

"Don't touch me. I don't need your help Mia. You act like such a happy princess all the time but I know what really goes on in your head. I wonder what it's like never being good enough for daddy," Leilani sneered. "Speaking of all of this talk of sadness, it's not like anybody asked me how I felt after Hannah's death. I missed her too damn it, and everybody always blaming me for it could drive someone up the wall!" Leilani yelled. Avon and Luna ran into the living room with wide eyes.

"Hey what's going on in here?" Avon asked in a concerned tone as he scanned the area.

"Lei, we couldn't have known.. you never said anything," Mia said quietly.

"Nobody cared to even ask. Forget I said anything," Leilani muttered, looking down at the floor before trying to move back in the direction of her room.

"Leilani, I promise that if you ever say something like that to me, Brandon or Mia again, I will personally kick your ass," Jack threatened, grabbing Leilani as she tried to shuffle past him. Tears started to escape her eyes slightly, and she furiously tried to wipe them away as she broke free from Jack's grip.

"I'll keep it in mind Jack, I'm sorry I really didn't mean to say all that stuff about your family," Leilani apologized. "And Brandon you aren't a reject, you're really good at your job. Just make sure you take care of Mia, she really likes you," Leilani said with a small smile.

"It's okay," Jack whispered to her, pulling her into a short hug. "You're right, no one asked if you were okay or not, I know that wasn't easy," Jack whispered. Avon and Luna looked confused at the scenario, eyebrows raised while frowning.

"What happened?" Brett growled as he came out from the Zeta-Tubes, his hands covered in blood as he carried a book bag. He threw it towards the side as he moved towards the others.

"Nothing happened Brett," Avon stated, speaking up as the others were still dumbstruck. Brett didn't look convinced, and he pushed Avon to the side, knocking him into Luna and she fell down onto the floor harshly. Avon's eyes flickered red as his hair started turning white. "Wrong. Move. Asshole," Avon, or should I say Nova barked as he tackled Brett to the ground.

"Hey!" Jack screamed, trying to rip Avon off of Brett. "What the hell Avon?! Let go, you're going to kill him!" Jack yelled as Avon rapidly hit him in the face. Jack grabbed a hold of Avon's arm for only a split second before Avon punched him in the face.

"IS IT THAT HARD TO BE CIVILTO ONE ANOTHER?!" Mia screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes shut tight and her hands balled up to her sides. When she opened up her eyes, everybody, save her and Rosalyn, were crumbled to the ground in a heap.

"Damn, tell them how you really feel," Rosalyn said as she looked down at everybody, kicking Avon off of Brett as she walked by them. She smirked as she glanced at Mia, who was checking Brett's pulse.

Mount Justice

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space. ~Johnny Cash

"I love you Tomi. I'm sorry we couldn't be together as long as I wanted," AJ said with a small smile as tears escaped her eyes. She held onto Tomi's hand, squeezing it tightly. "It's been a really rough year, and I know that it'll only go downhill from here. But please remember me when I was healthy and happy… not like this," AJ started to struggle to breathe.

"I'm sorry AJ. I'm going to kill Scarecrow," Tomi sneered as he smiled down towards AJ. He frowned as she started loosening her grip on his hand. "I love you AJ. Just wait for me up there, okay?" Tomi whispered. He bent down and kissed her lips just as the machine that was moderating her life line started beeping flat.

Tomi woke up screaming on the top of his lungs, sweat dribbling down his face. Tears were coming out of his eyes involuntarily, and his breathing was raged. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry AJ," Tomi muttered. His door fluttered open and Phoebe was standing there fully dressed in her costume. She looked sad, and she was rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

"I heard you screaming again… we just got a mission again if you're up for it," Phoebe muttered quietly. "I know AJ's death has been tough on you… Sio really misses her too. She cries in her sleep like you do," Phoebe added. "It's okay to asked for help, you know that, right?"

"Phoebe, get out of my room now," Tomi growled. She stood there for an extra second before sighing.

"I'll just tell Elaine you aren't fully recovered," Phoebe muttered. "By the way, I attempted to make you breakfast. It's in the fridge if you want it while we're gone," Phoebe said with a soft smile. Just as she was closing the door to Tomi's room, he stopped her.

"What's the mission?" Tomi whispered as he started to get out of his bed. He took off his stained red shirt and replaced it with the top of his costume. Phoebe tried to hide her smile.

"Um, we've received a tip of where the team of young villains are going to be tonight," Phoebe said with a giant smile. "So does that mean you're coming?" Phoebe asked. Tomi turned around, wiping his face with his hand.

"Let's go and throw these pieces of shit in prison where they belong," Tomi muttered, cracking his knuckles as he exited the room.

"Alright, all of us save for Linda have fought these guys before, and we know their strategy. That's why our priority is to make Siobhan as lethal as possible. They've added two new members since we last saw them, so be careful of them," Elaine said quietly from their position. They were all leaning against a hill, looking down towards the warehouse district.

"Are you sure they're going to be here?" Linda asked nervously.

"Positive. Lex is getting a shipment tonight and it's mega important to his company. And by now we know that that team is his bitch," Alayna said. She took out a pair of binoculars and glanced down towards the roves. "Nothing yet though."

"So do we have more of a game plan other than make Siobhan look powerful?" Tomi asked. Siobhan glanced up towards Elaine with a serious face.

"Because Linda is the most trained, she'll go for their leader," Elaine started. Linda's heart clenched quickly, and bile rose in her throat. All she wanted to do was vomit at her words. "I'll go for the next lethal one, which is the assassin girl. Alayna will go after the magic girl. Tomi, you should go after the Sniper since you're invincible," She paused for a second.

"Good, I'm going to burn his head off," Tomi muttered as heat started coming out of his hands. Before Linda could protest, Elaine continued.

"Phoebe should plan an attack against the two new comers, and Siobhan should go after the one that controls emotions. Everybody know who we're striking?" Elaine asked. Everybody nodded stiffly, eyes still on perimeter.

"Well, here they come," Phoebe stated with a frown. They watched as the group made a short walk from one building onto the middle of the district, where they started talking. Elaine gave Tomi a look, who briefly nodded before jumping over the hill, bounding down in a silent rush.

"Alright, we wait until Tomi is distracting the Sniper until we go down after him," Elaine muttered.

"Brandy, you look so handsome in uniform," Jack cooed as Brandon started assembling his rifle. Mia gave a playful glare towards Jack. "What? You should have beat me to the compliment," Jack said with a smirk. Jack was clad in black skinny jeans, purple converse, and white button up shirt with a half black and half red jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Rosalyn muttered as she glanced towards the hills. I know exactly what's going to happen though… Rosalyn glared towards the hills one last time, before making a move towards Jack and Mia. She had her own separate mission that the others didn't really know about and she knew more things than the others.

Just then, Tomi had sneaked up behind the others and he grabbed Brandon and forced him into a headlock.

"Hey, that's my nerd, drop him!" Jack yelled, rushing over to try and help him. Brandon ended up shoving his rifle into Tomi's armpit roughly, forcing him to let go. Both boys stumbled to the side, mimicking the other's actions.

"We've got company…" Avon said in a small smile, taking all the attention. He glanced towards Luna.

"Ready beautiful?" He asked as he grabbed her arm and helped her onto his knees. She gave a brief nod, before Avon threw her with all his might towards Elaine, where Luna had kicked her in the face. Hannah moved around both girls and made a short run towards Brett, who looked like he was expecting her. The two had talked about fights like this, so both were prepared for what was about to go down. Hannah ran past Avon, twisting her body around with ease. He tried grabbing her, but he missed.

Hannah, or by her new name of Linda, spun around on her heels and brought her leg up, before kicking Brett in the back with her foot. It didn't faze him however, as Hannah didn't mean to hurt him. It was like a video game, in other words, it was fake. As Brett pretended to double over slightly, Hannah's foot remained locked on his shoulder, before she twisted her hips and Brett fell down to the floor. Hannah bent down with a smirk, before pinning Brett onto the ground.

"It looks like you are in a sticky position." Hannah teased, and she leaned in closer to Brett's face, which had begun to glow an exotic red. He struggled under her grasp, digging his way out.

"Oh drop it and get off of me." He hissed in a quiet tone so no one but Hannah would hear herself. Hannah's smirk grew in size, and she chuckled lightly, her newly formed blue eyes closing.

"Make me." She said with a triumphing voice. Brett smirked for only a second, before he radiated just the tiniest bit of heat, which would be making it highly uncomfortable to be holding him pinned. Hannah winced, but refused to let go. "You will have to try harder than that, Hell Boy. I am still as strong as ever." Hannah stated in a cracking voice, but she was true to her word. When she would be going back to the mountain with the heroes, she was going to consider the heat retardant gloves. Hannah glanced up at a cracking sound, and her eyes widened.

Avon held Siobhan by her hair, and brought her head down to his knee, shattering her nose. The young girl yelped, and her eyes traveled towards somebody who might have been able to assist her.

"Brett, let me go," Hannah muttered, struggling to get lose from his grip. Brett glanced up towards the battle ground and shook his head. "Brett, seriously, Avon is going to try and kill her," Hannah muttered.

"It's not worth losing your cover over," he whispered down towards her. Hannah bit her lip as she continued to watch on in interest and concern. Her eyes widened as Avon pulled out a sword, and Hannah immediately looked at her harness.

"That son of a bitch! He stole my fucking sword!" Hannah snapped. She watched as Brandon quickly shot Tomi in the knee, before turning around to see the situation. Hannah noticed that all the heroes were preoccupied.

"We don't kill children, put the damn sword down." Brandon said, authority in his voice Hannah didn't know he had. Avon's eyes glowed red for a split second, before it came at a rushing pace. Siobhan stood behind Brandon's outstretched hand, worry in her own eyes. Hannah glanced up at Brett.

"Brett.." Hannah said in a frantic warning tone. Brett shook his head.

"It's just a disagreement, they have them all the time. It will be fine." He whispered the next part into her ear. "It isn't worth something to risk you losing your cover and your life." He said in an almost snappy tone. Hannah looked over once more, and Jack was now in her face. Brett had moved on to Elaine, and wasn't paying her any attention.

"Hey beautiful," Jack said as he winked at her. Hannah's eyes were still on Siobhan, Avon and Brandon while Jack was talking. "You know, you have some brilliant blue eyes," Jack said. Hannah made a move to punch him, but he ducked his head and grabbed her arm, twisting her around.

"Damnit kid, let go of me," Hannah yelled. She forced the back of her head towards Jack's face and he stumbled a bit, but still held onto her.

"You should never let the pretty ones go. They never come back," Jack whispered in her ear. Rosalyn's eyes stopped on Jack's and she frowned, and Hannah could tell that there were tears in her eyes. Jack apparently saw them too, and he immediately stopped flirting with her.

"Move out of my way, or you will be sorry." Avon said in a demonic voice that Hannah knew didn't belong to Avon at all, but to Nova. Avon gripped the sword with one hand, but Brandon didn't move. Siobhan kept glancing between the two, but she felt as if she couldn't move, that it would not only risk herself but also her defender. Hannah squirmed, and she was getting slightly antsy. She noticed the seriousness in Avon's red and cold eyes.

Rosalyn stepped in between the two. "Calm down, now. You're making a big mistake Avon," Rosalyn said. She side stepped him, and gave one last glance towards Jack. Avon smirked momentarily, before raising Hannah's sword to his side. Brandon turned to shield Siobhan, ducking slightly, as Rosalyn tried pushing them away.

"ROSALYN!" Jack screamed. He instantly let go of Hannah, rushing forward towards them. Hannah looked dumb founded, before she realized that Rosalyn wasn't the only one bleeding to her death. Hey eyes widened, and tears threatened to spill.

"Brandon…" She yelled, but not to Jack's extent. She ran forward as well, and it was just then did everybody else take a glance towards that way. Siobhan's eye brows raised in realization, and she dropped to the ground next to the boy who had saved her life for the third time in a row.

"Hannah?" Asked Brandon in confusion as the young woman fell to her knees. Hannah looked towards his wound, which was bleeding out from his upper ribcage and lower shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, looking at Brandon, eyeing Hannah wearily.

"I'm fine, is she-?" Brandon started through a pained expression. Leilani had somehow made her way across the field after drop kicking Elaine, and she had her fingers pressed to Rosalyn's neck as if the gaping hole in the middle of the young girl's chest didn't signify death. Leilani bit her bottom lip for a split second, before gasping for breath.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jack growled angrily towards Avon. The male with white hair and red eyes chuckled, looking at the sword in his hands in wonder. Jack stood up, before laughing like a maniac. "Oh you messed up big time, motherfucker," Jack snapped. Hannah stood up as well, eyeing the heroes with a sad expression.

"She's one of them…" Siobhan noticed quietly, biting her lip as she had ran off in the direction of Tomi. For the mean time, it appeared as if he had replaced AJ's soothing and motherly side, and the young adult took her in his arms, checking for injuries as Siobhan broke down sobbing. "I'm okay… I'm okay… I'm okay…" She kept muttering. At the moment, it seemed like her Asperger's realized it's situation and didn't force her to freak out as Tomi stroked her hair.

"Avon, I want Nova to leave you completely and disintegrate," Hannah growled. It wasn't normal that she would use her power, but her attention was now on another death she caused. Jack was being held back by Mia, screaming as tears escaped his eyes. Hannah grabbed Avon's shoulders and the demon part of him laughed.

"Silly little Hannah, you really think your powers are to any match to me?" Nova chuckled. Hannah's eyes squinted, and she felt somebody walk next to her.

"Try me," Chase growled, his bow raised and pointed straight at Avon's heart. "I might not be able to control you, but I sure as hell can control the future," Chase snapped. He smirked lightly, winking towards Hannah. Mia stood up as well, as Leilani had taken the task of holding Jack.

"And I can control your thoughts and emotions," Mia said proudly. All three of them looked at one another. "And I say, Nova, go to hell."