Well, here we are. The last chapter of the third Team Dynamo story. I think it's only fair to tell all of you that I'll be giving Violet, Tony, Mia, Sam, and Tim a break for awhile. No, I'm not going to stop writing fan fiction, just going to take a break from these characters. (I'll still be around this section though, don't worry.) Thanks to Inspector Brown, Shaded-Sky, The Star Swordsman, and RubyVulpix for being such devoted readers and reviewers, and I hope you won't all think this chapter is too cheesy (it was incredibly hard to figure out how to end this story).
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Chapter 10: In Dreams
In his dreams, Tim was walking through a forest at night. This would not have been unusual - he loved walking at night - except that there was no light at all, save one lone star in the sky, and no sounds except for his soft steps on the dark soil. He fixed his gaze on the single bright star and though it seemed impossible, he was able to navigate through the forest without stumbling even though he did not look at the ground.
Suddenly the star began growing larger and brighter. Tim felt himself stop so he could watch it grow. Aside from being increasingly larger and more luminous, the star also appeared to be dropping out of the sky. Faster and faster it fell downward, until finally the boy realized it was headed straight for the spot he stood. He knew he should run, but he found he could not; his feet seemed to be fixed in place.
As the star neared the ground, it slowed down and eventually landed in front of Tim. Then it began to change into the shape of a girl, one with a gentle smile and sparkling green eyes. "Hello, Tim."
"Brittany!" Tim wanted to ask her a thousand questions and say a thousand things. "You...You're..."
"Ssh." She placed a finger on his lips. "I know. Please don't grieve for me, Tim."
Tears sprang to the boy's eyes. "Why? I miss you so much, Brittany. Why did you give yourself to them like that?"
"It was not your time to go, Tim," Brittany said. "When your mom and sister began beating you, I heard the voice of an angel telling me not to be afraid, to give myself up so that you and the others to live. And I listened to it."
"But..." Choking back a sob, Tim continued, "You were special. You shouldn't have died because of me."
Brittany smiled. "I'm not sorry I did. In time you will recover from your grief. Besides, I'll never truly be dead to you if you keep the memory of me alive." She hugged him and whispered, "Goodbye...for now."
When she released him Brittany smiled one last time, and her eyes were full of gentleness and love. As she began to fade she whispered again, "Don't forget..."
"I won't," answered Tim. "I won't." Strangely, he felt a sense of peace envelop him after Brittany was gone.
The next thing he knew Tony was shaking him awake and saying, "Hey, woah, dude, you okay? You were crying and talking in your sleep!"
"I'm just fine," murmured Tim, smiling slightly. "Just fine."
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The next morning there was a front-page headline in the Metroville Journal proclaiming SUPERS CATCH TEAM OF VILLAINS ON SECRET ISLAND!
"I guess they did it," said Tony proudly to Violet. He and Tim had come over to the Parr's house that morning, along with Mia, Sam, and Sam's younger brother Andy.
Smiling, Violet replied, "Yeah, we shouldn't have to worry about the Elements anymore." She turned to Tim and asked gently, "How do you feel about all this, Tim?"
"Relieved more than anything." To everyone's surprise he seemed much more cheerful than he'd been the day before, even cracking jokes.
Finally Mia couldn't stand it anymore. "What happened to you? You were all depressed yesterday and now you're all happy Mr. Sunshine! What gives?"
Tim had to laugh a bit at his friend's comment. "Well...let's just say I'm not going to be moping around anymore. I'll still miss Brittany and think of her, but I know now that I shouldn't just lie around not caring about anything just because she's gone."
Nodding, Violet smiled. "That's good. Who wants to watch a movie?"
Their parents came home later that afternoon and told them the story of the Elements' capture. Apparently they had been lounging around in their lair dozing, drinking, and stuffing themselves on gourmet food, clearly exhausted from beating Brittany to a pulp. None of them were in any shape to put up much of a fight when the supers and the police arrived.
Of course they were all sentenced to jail for life, on grounds of murder, child abuse, and other serious crimes (and the authorities made sure the villains could not break out of their cells). Veronica and Trinity ended up in juvenile hall. There was a widely attended funeral service for Brittany, the brave girl who had given herself up to save others. Violet and the others were there to pay their respects to their lost friend, but Tim was the only one of the group who did not say anything about Brittany. What he had to say he could not share in front of others.
One evening a few days later Tim stopped by her gravesite to say a proper thank-you. "Hey, Britt," he whispered to her marker. "I just wanted to stop by and say thanks again. I promise I won't ever forget you." As he left the graveyard he thought he heard faint laughter floating on the breeze.
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It's kind of an odd ending, I know, but it's what I ended up with. Thanks for sticking with me through this, guys. :)
