Day 55 of 100

Volume 1, Chapter 28

BREACH EARTH, WAR QUARTER
(ARGUS designation)

STEIN LABS

Most of them who'd stayed behind were out there now, moving through the city and keeping their eyes open for any situations arising and needing to be dealt with. New attacks, new information on old attacks… and the two sides potentially hitting one another, as they suspected had been these attackers' intent. The whole city was getting to feel like a powder keg, the slightest spark and…

Then there was the rest of them, still down in Stein Labs. The neutralizer had been one thing, and it had saved a lot of lives, but it wasn't going to be enough in the end, they knew.

Evelyn and Carter were there with them now, with Doctor Stein, and Harrison Wells, and Laura Zeta, and Rene Ramirez. They had stayed to help their city, and as far as they were concerned, these people had been responsible for all those lives saved at the prison even more than they'd been in dispersing the neutralizer. They deeply believed that if something was going to happen, something to help War, it would start out of this place. So they did what they could to help.

"So you're a tech guy, huh?" Evelyn asked, watching Agent Ramirez as he paced about, staring at a tablet with a concentrated look on his face.

"Right," he told her distractedly. "More or less."

"Can't you make something so we could follow back where they prepared this weapon? Their base ops?" He looked up at her. She shrugged.

"Already looked. We haven't found any trace except where they hit." Evelyn looked to Carter, wondering if maybe… "Where are you going?" Rene called after the pair of them as they moved to head out.

"Maybe nowhere," Evelyn called back as she and Carter made to head out of Stein Labs.

Not five minutes later, they received word through ARGUS that enemy aligned forces were on the move, headed toward the resistance army base. At once, Laura had gotten in touch with M'gann and Slade, the only two of the Waverider's main crew still in War and presently leading the others through the city. They had already gotten the same warning, and they were making for the base. All they could hope for at this time, uncertain as it was that they'd reach the base in time, was that Ralph's words to the general would have made some effect, enough of it that they wouldn't play right into the attackers' hand.

X

BREACH EARTH, HAVEN QUARTER

ARGUS OUTPOST

Between the Waverider team, the ARGUS agents, and the cops – both of the city and of the relief out of Main led by Chase and Willis, the effort had been an ongoing one. The precinct had been cleared of its dead now, the bodies sent on to where they could be seen to, as families were advised. The news had broken out over the city, leaving its citizens in a state of panic and confusion. They wanted answers as to what had been the cause, and they wanted assurances that it wouldn't happen again. They had not told them of War, the attacks there. The last thing they needed was mass hysteria. But they also couldn't pretend as though there was no chance that this would happen again.

The shell had been found, as they had known to look for it now. They didn't know what they'd been hoping to find, but to find this object, identical to the ones they'd seen back in War, here in Haven now, was one more instance of their being left shaken, a voice at the back of their mind pleading… not here… not here, too.

"Have you heard from Lyla?" Supergirl had asked Guardian, landing to fall in step with him.

"She's with her kids, packing them up. She's taking them and the nanny down to the outpost. Not sure if she's decided yet if she's going to take them to another quarter or not, but that's probably the safest place for them right now."

"Right," she let out a breath, looking around. Tommy hesitated for a moment, the question having played at his mind about as long as he'd known about what she and her teammates had been here to do.

"Did you ever meet him? My father… before… out there," he gestured toward the sky, the stars beyond. She hesitated, too; she'd expected some questions like this, sooner or later.

"Not face to face, no," she shook her head. "But I'd heard of him. In my line of work, it was nearly impossible not to know about him, before he made a run for it. And once he did, the only question left was who would get called on to bring him back. I was called, my team… We were going to bring him back, put an end to his activities." She paused. And then they'd been caught up in that stasis, all those years, and he'd gone on to Earth. He'd gotten away. And now… now…

"Have you ever been to his… to our world?" he asked. Even after all these years, sometimes he still had to pause and remind himself he wasn't quite human.

"I have," Supergirl gave him an understanding smile. "Maybe one day you will, too. When we get him back, you could come with us, you could see it for yourself." He considered this. "You don't have to decide now," she told him, maybe sensing his indecision.

"Thanks," he told her.

Soon after, Ralph had called them all back. They were to return to the Waverider, to sail back to War and rejoin the others. Once they'd caught one another up on the situations in both quarters, they would need to figure out what to do next.

X

THE BREACH SHIP WAVERIDER

It had not been very long that they'd split up, half of them heading into Haven, but as the ship had landed back in War and those they'd left behind had come on to the bridge to join them, it felt like much more time had gone by, and now they were back, reunited, and they were glad. And there were newcomers to their gathering, too. A few introductions were made, as Tommy Merlyn, Felicity Smoak, Dinah Drake, and Detectives Garrick and Darhk now stood among them.

"Tommy Merlyn, meet Roy Harper and Rory Regan," Felicity had introduced the man to her crew, who'd been surprised to see her back here, even more so when they'd learned who this man was. The son of their target, the fugitive… "He's been helping me track down his father," Felicity told them.

"I want him to be brought to justice as much as you do," Tommy told the pair of them, and in time they looked to be accepting it.

"Where are Evelyn and Carter?" Kara was asking, as a look around the bridge showed that her friends were absent.

"They went off somewhere a while ago," Agent Ramirez had informed her. "Sounded like they thought of something."

Upon their return and their reunion with their teammates, Ralph, the Hawks, Winn and Catherine had learned from M'gann and Slade about the enemy aligned forces approaching the resistance army base. Ralph had asked at once about the status, and for once M'gann was able to give him good news.

As of yet there had been no fighting, no shots fired. As far as they'd been able to see, there actually seemed to be a conversation happening. They could hope that this would mean something good for their city in the long run, but they couldn't turn their backs all the same. Attempts had happened over the years, of course they had. Peace was something at the back of everyone's mind, but then so were a lot of things, and like the rest of those it was little more than a fancy, not something they ever saw happening, so if talks ever happened, they never led anywhere, never actually seemed to be intended to go anywhere.

Even now, there was no telling whether the potential for a cease in hostilities was anywhere on the table. But what would have to be on that table would be the fact that someone had been trying to stir them up and force them into confrontation. If the General and her soldiers could only prove it to their opposition, they might have a chance to – begrudgingly – join forces for the span of what time it would take to put an end to it all.

The development in War had been shared with the collected numbers on the bridge, with those who'd been back in Haven for the most part, only the fact that the conversation was still in progress being something that those in War had not been aware of. Ralph had sworn to the General that he and his crew would not intervene, not unless they were called to do so. This was their fight, and it needed to be their fight alone, for as long as possible. Things could well end up degenerating, as they had done so often before, but they had to try it anyway.

The situation in Haven had also been relayed to those who'd stayed behind. As in War there had been no footage of those who'd set off the grenade, though they had found the launch site. They were also told about the arrival of the cops from Main, lending support. The Danvers sisters were asked about their mother, and they both confirmed that she was alright, and that she had chosen to remain in her home for the time being. Seeker had gotten the Mist family down to the outpost, where she had seen to their – temporary – relocation down to a place designated Underground Quarter.

If they'd been to cross to that quarter, they would have found a desolate shell of a city, and they would have found not one living soul. But they would have come upon one structure, standing apart from the rest in that it looked newer. This was the outpost, or at least a part of it: it led to the true city. It had been built, long ago, when troubles had come along, promising the eradication of every life if they didn't find a solution. So they'd found one: they'd built a new city, under the ground. The top side of the outpost was the only way into the city.

However they may have been perceived in certain quarters, in Underground ARGUS were friends. They had helped to fortify the new city, helped it grow and thrive. And when the Mist family had been brought to them, they had welcomed the woman and her children at once. They would be safe there.

"The attack in Haven has left us with the need to consider the possibility other quarters may also be at risk," Ralph addressed the bridge. "So long as it was contained to War, it was one thing, but now it might be that this had been only the beginning. We can't be everywhere, in each of the many quarters. Now, if a new attack happens, in a third quarter, or a fourth, we will do what we can to help them as well, but for the time being the best thing we can do is ensure they have some way of protecting themselves."

"We have the specs for the adjusted masks," Winn carried on. "And we have the formula for the neutralizer and the weapon itself. We have contacts in each quarter, people who will be able to get the process going, to begin equipping their city with these tools. The hope is, at the same time, that some of them will have ideas to share, something we might not have thought about. Strength in numbers, you know?" he breathed out.

"Seeker, Jax, would you be willing to be our distribution team?" Ralph turned to the two. They both accepted with a silent nod. "Good. Then that leaves the rest of us. If you choose to stay in War, you will need to stay at the outpost or at Stein Labs, away from the base unless the General calls you in, understood?" he asked the others. Kara looked to Agent Ramirez even as he looked to her, both thinking about Evelyn and Carter out in the city, not knowing about what was possibly going down at the base. "The best we can do for the city now is to prevent any further attacks. Now in Haven…"

"There's no telling where they'll attack next," Detective Garrick spoke up. He'd been stood at the window looking down on War. This had been his home, once upon a time. Hearing everything that had been happening here, the attacks on the WQI, the prison, the school… Now that he was back here, it all seemed to affect him even more.

"No, but then that's where we come in. We don't have a lot to go on, all things considered, but whatever we have, it's yours," Ralph vowed, looking to the two detectives, who welcomed this declaration with appreciative nods. "Right…" he started again, then paused, finally noticing the absences. After what had happened with Mag, he'd been trying to keep as aware as possible of his team's comings and goings, not wanting any of them to get left behind or potentially taken. He looked across the faces, found Kara's. These were her friends after all. She looked back at him, understanding his intent, but she shrugged. She had no idea where they'd gone.

X

Enough time had gone by that the air had started to clear around the school, although not so much that the masks would have been unnecessary, so once again she had the mask over her face, the low sort of hum of the shield felt from head to toe, like it hugged every part of her. It was a strange feeling, the kind you told yourself you got used to after a while but that, the second you remembered that it was there, that you could feel it, then it was all you could think of. She'd been thinking about it since they'd crossed into the perimeter of the school.

She'd been trying to do what little she could, with the power granted to her by the red jewel around her throat, as she and Carter moved through the area. The bodies had been removed by now, and still the eerie feeling was there. There were no attacks here, not ever. It was off limits, and the fact that it was, that was the kind of thing that continued to give them hope from day to day. Like the WQI, like all the infirmaries, the schools were some of the most pristine looking buildings in War, for the very reason that they were off limits.

And now… even though the hit had not been one that brought destruction, it still left its mark. Evelyn had attended a school just like this one. Some of her best memories, if they hadn't happened at the Trades, had happened when she'd been in school. She really wanted to get her hands on whoever had been behind this.

As they'd been making their way over from Stein Labs, she'd told Carter about the thought she'd had. The test site, the school… There hadn't been children there at the time of the test, only adults. And there had been no trace of the Mist water, the weapon, anywhere in the city before this place. Maybe it was that they hadn't made it here, in War, but then where would they have made it? So what if they'd made it at the school? What if those people who'd died there had been the ones recruited to take the water and turn it to what they'd made, the weapon?

In the discoveries they'd been making, the efforts to put a stop to it all, no one had said anything about searching the school in any proper way. They'd come, they'd found the bodies, collected samples, but then what?

Evelyn led Carter along, into the school, and they searched, every room, every floor. It wasn't a big school, none of them were, barely a hundred students to every one. But it would have been the perfect place, especially if there were no classes in session. In their search through the building, they came to figure out a thing or two, like the fact that the school had been shut down, in the past two weeks, following the death of two teachers and a few students.

"I was right," Evelyn declared, no amount of satisfaction in her voice for the fact, as they came upon one room and discovered what could only have been the remnants of the manufacturing of several grenades. Carter picked up what appeared to be an empty and unbroken shell, and he showed it to her.

"We'll bring it back to the labs," she nodded, looking around. "Anything else?" she wondered.

They gathered up what they saw as potentially important, very careful not to damage a thing as they placed it all in Evelyn's bag. When there was nothing left for them to do, after checking the rest of the building – just in case – they had made their way back out of the school, sneaking out of the perimeter and starting for Stein Labs.

"The Waverider's back," Carter barely had time to say, as they both saw the ship in the distance, before they realized it was not flying in but flying out, and soon it had disappeared again, through the breach. Whether they were headed to Haven again or to some other quarter, they couldn't say. Evelyn looked down to her bag, bulging with their findings. She wished they could have had a chance to show them before they'd gone again. "We'll show the others for now," Carter told her, sensing her disappointment.

"Right, let's go," Evelyn nodded, and they marched on, unaware of eyes watching them as they went, of footsteps trailing behind them.


TO BE CONTINUED (tomorrow, in volume 2)