We just reached the 100.000 words mark. Heh ^^. And now that ff.net's review function actually works again, I might even get some reviews this time *g* (what? I didn't think it was nice to let you wait for a new chapter just because the review-button didn't work, you know.)

A/N 1: As in the previous chapters – ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net. Don't worry, I don't bite *smirk*

A/N 2: Ageless: Chica, need I remind you that a good part of the inspiration for that alley-scene came from you? *smirk*. Just wait...I'll bring you back on the right side again, and this time for good ;)

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

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Chapter Forty-Three: A Time for Comfort

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The drive back had felt painfully long to Kyle - every siren, every flashing light had send his nervousness into overdrive, keeping him on constant alert. To make things worse Deirdre had regained consciousness only minutes after they'd left the alley, and had now slipped into a shock-like state. West had been crying silently by the time they'd reached the cabin, his eyes red and swollen, and Kyle had helped the two teenagers into one of the rooms, hoping that they might be able to get some rest.

Then he'd left in search of Diana - Ryan and Ben were in no condition to do anything just now, and Suzuka had enough in her own bad memories. That left him and Diana to comfort to their two teammates, and he himself had never been good at dealing with emotions - his own, or others'.

As he'd expected, he found Diana in Ryan's room, watching over the man. Kyle stopped in the doorway, observing his two teammates silently. Diana was sitting on the edge of Ryan's bed, watching the sleeping man with a concerned expression, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. She looked tired, though, and Kyle really couldn't blame her. He didn't know how much sleep she'd gotten recently, but it couldn't have been much.

But despite the tiredness in her eyes, the scene still looked remarkably peaceful, and Kyle wished that he didn't have to ruin it by bringing bad news. He took a moment to strengthen his mental shields to spare Diana the ordeal of having to feel his grief and misery, then stepped into the room.

"Kyle?" Diana looked up questioningly, noticing his presence for the first time. Kyle nodded tiredly, and Diana frowned as she saw his weary expression.

Kyle offered no explanation, though, but merely motioned for her to join him in the hallway. Diana sent him a worried look, but got up and followed her teammate out of the room.

"Kyle? What's wrong?" she asked, but Kyle just shook his head and closed the door to the room.

"Deirdre and Prue...went downtown to get something to eat and get away from it all," he began, a bit hesitant.

Diana frowned.

"Did anything happen to them?" she asked worried.

Kyle sighed.

"They...I don't know how it happened, but they had a run-in with the Shadow Alliance. We found Deirdre unconscious, but otherwise unharmed, but..." he trailed off.

"What about Prue?" Diana asked, a sense of dread entering her body. Kyle's expression, the faint hum of his emotions that resided just beyond her mental shields...something was wrong. "Is she okay? What happened?"

Kyle closed his eyes.

"She's...it was already too late. They'd...there was nothing we could do, they..."

"Kyle? What happened?" Diana repeated.

"She's dead," Kyle whispered. "They killed her."

Diana's eyes widened in shock.

"No..." she denied. She didn't want to believe him, desperately wanted to dismiss it as a cruel joke, but the look on Kyle's face...

"It wasn't even a real fight, Diana," Kyle continued in a voice shaking from suppressed emotions. "It was cold-blooded murder...they didn't even give her a chance."

A wave of sadness, anger, and disbelief engulfed Diana's mind as Kyle's mental shields finally broke down, revealing the true pain he felt. Diana felt her eyes burn with unshed tears, then hugged Kyle tightly, longing for a safe harbor in the hurricane of emotions. Kyle didn't hesitate but hugged her back, just as desperate as she was for something to comfort him, someone to say that it was all a bad dream, and that everything would be okay.

Kyle could feel Diana tremble in his arm, and then her tears soaking through the fabric of his shirt. He held her closer, drawing on the comfort of their friendship, just like she did. Finally he felt the tears subside, and the trembling stop, and Diana looked up and dried her eyes.

"Does West...?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't need to finish the sentence; they were both well aware of what she meant.

Kyle sighed and let go of Diana, almost regretfully.

"Yeah...he was with me downtown when we discovered it. He's with Deirdre right now. He's not...he's taking it pretty bad, and the same thing is the case with Deirdre," he admitted. "I was hoping..."

Diana sighed, then nodded. Her two teammates needed someone to comfort them, and while Diana felt far from ready to do that, she knew that she would be able to handle it better than Kyle.

"I'll talk to them...and see what I can do," she replied. "I can't promise anything, but I'll give it a try."

Kyle smiled weakly.

"Thank you." He paused, then continued. "How's Ryan doing?"

Diana made a small, helpless gesture.

"I'm not sure. His fever is down a bit, but his temperature is still high. When he woke up earlier, he was delirious, but he fell asleep again. Hopefully Ben will be able to help when he's regained his strength," she replied, then paused. "What about Suzuka?"

"She's starting to act like herself," Kyle said. "I don't think she's anywhere near over her ordeal yet, but I think she's starting to deal with it her own way. She'll be alright...in time."

Diana nodded.

"That's good news, at least," she admitted. "Could you keep an eye on Ryan for me? I'll-I'll go talk to West and Deirdre."

Kyle nodded and headed into the room, then pulled out a chair and sat down heavily next to the bed. He could hear Diana walk down the hallway and sighed softly, thankful that he didn't have Diana's powers. Unused to dealing with emotions as he was, comforting West and Deirdre was the last thing he was ready to do.

So you put that burden on the shoulders of a sixteen-year-old girl instead, his conscience remarked nastily, and Kyle winced imperceptibly.

Shut up! he ordered with more confidence than he felt. She's the one who's best suited for something like this - she can comfort them better than I ever could.

Sure, his conscience mocked, but Kyle pointed ignored it. He'd made the best decision he could during the given circumstances, he knew that.

But the guilt still lingered.

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Diana paused in the doorway, silently watching the two people in the room. She wasn't surprised to find that West was already asleep in one of the beds, his eyes red and swollen from crying. Despite what Kyle thought, it was limited how long you could cry before you feel asleep from the exhaustion. Diana had been fairly certain that West would already be asleep - her main priority right now would be Deirdre.

Diana stepped into the room and silently made her way to Deirdre's bed.

"'Dre?" she asked softly and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Deirdre?"

The girl moved slightly and opened her eyes. Like West's, they were red from crying and Diana could feel the sadness radiate in heavy waves from the younger mutant.

"Diana?"

The reply was faint; barely a whisper, but Diana nodded and forced herself to smile comfortingly.

"Yes, it's me. You're home now...you're safe."

Deirdre sat up weakly, pulling the blankets around her body.

"It doesn't feel safe," she replied bitterly.

Diana winced slightly, but forced herself not to argue with the harsh statement. Deirdre needed her support now, not an argument. The girl had just seen her friend get killed...no wonder she didn't feel safe.

Deirdre fell silent, and Diana realized that she would have to make the first move. Deirdre needed to talk about what had happened, get it out of her system, but she obviously wasn't going to do it without someone asking her to.

"Tell me what happened," Diana said softly, but Deirdre didn't reply. "'Dre, it helps to talk...it's not easy, I know, but it'll help, I promise," she continued with as much conviction as she could muster.

"They killed her...what else is left to say?" Deirdre replied bitterly and hugged the covers closer like a safety blanket. Her eyes started to burn with unshed tears again, but she fought them back. She would not be weak, not now.

"Deirdre..." Diana tried and reached out to put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but Deirdre pushed it away.

"No! They killed her, and Jhonen led them to us!" she snapped, still fighting the tears. "He waited until we were most vulnerable, and then he led them to us!"

"*Jhonen* led them to you?" Diana repeated, disbelieving. "He wouldn't-"

"Well, he did!" Deirdre interrupted angrily. "He's their little pet now...he doesn't care about us, he never did!"

Jhonen? Oh, God...

Up until that moment Diana had never really believed that Jhonen would betray them - yes, he'd left them and sided with the Shadow Alliance instead, and it had hurt, but Diana had been willing to give him the benefit of doubt. None of them knew why he'd left, and despite what Suzuka thought, Jhonen might not have changed sides voluntarily. Blade could have manipulated - or maybe even threatened - the boy to leave the Guardians, but this...there was no longer any way to defend Jhonen's behavior. He'd betrayed them and been the direct cause of Prue's death.

Traitor! Diana thought bitterly, but remained silent. Deirdre needed someone to talk to, and Diana's angry thoughts would have to wait.

"What happened?" Diana repeated quietly, and this time Deirdre seemed to consider the question instead of just dismissing it.

"We...we wanted to get away from all and relax a bit," Deirdre began quietly with a faraway look in her eyes, as if she was watching some inner movie that only she could see. "We were in the diner, when...when Jhonen showed up. I asked him what he was doing there, and..." Deirdre trailed off and pulled the covers closer.

"And?" Diana asked, encouraging the girl to go on.

"He told me he was looking for us," she whispered. "Then Nike showed up. I tried to blind her, but she-she took control of my mind and I could feel myself obey her orders, and I couldn't do anything to stop it," she sobbed, the tears started to fall again.

Diana sent her a sympathetic look, and Deirdre took a moment to calm down before she continued.

"Prue tried to get away, but Blade stopped her. One of the waitresses asked what was going on, but Melee convinced her that everything was okay, and she left again," Deirdre explained quietly. The sobbing had almost stopped, but her eyes were still red and puffy from the tears.

Diana remained silent, patiently waiting for the younger girl to continue.

"They forced us into the alley. I-I tried to fight Nike, in my mind, you know, I really tried but she...she was too strong. Prue started to argue with them, and I tried to warn her, but I couldn't. Then-then Blade told Melee to chose who of us should die, and she picked Prue."

The tears slowly started again, but Deirdre continued, seemingly oblivious to the teardrops that ran down her cheeks.

"Nike drew her knife, and...and I managed to get loose, but when I tried to use my powers, Jhonen...he warned her! He warned her, and she knocked me out, and-" finally Deirdre couldn't hold back the suppressed emotions anymore. The tears returned with renewed strength and Diana hugged the girl, feeling the body in her arms tremble as Deirdre cried.

"He killed her, Dee," Deirdre sobbed and curled up in Diana's embrace. "He might not have held the knife, but he killed her!"

Diana held Deirdre tightly as the girl surrendered to the tears once more, crying herself into an exhausted, but mercifully dreamless sleep. Diana stayed with the girl, watching over both her and West as they slept. But to herself, tired and exhausted as she was, sleep still remained elusive.

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Coming up: Things have changed between the core members of the Shadow Alliance, but not everyone likes what's going on. And just when things are starting to calm down a bit, someone from Laetitia's past contacts the team: Blade has a debt to pay, and the price could very well be his and Jordane's lives.