Here it is! The last full chapter in Banshee's POV! It's actually the last chapter with his POV for the rest of the fic too since the last two are very important in Siren's story. So I hope you enjoy! As far as I can tell with watching through the start of season 3, there may not be many chapters at all where it's only Banshee's POV. We'll still get his side of things since his and Siren's paths will branch off pretty early on, but I'll get a better idea once I really get time to focus on the third fic. Which will be soon! Okay, now I'll shut up so you can read lol.
~/~/~/~
Blüdhaven
May 30, 06:21 EDT
After being trapped on the Warworld, Banshee was more than happy to return to the dingy warehouse with the rest of his teammates. When the elevator from the underground hangar came to a stop, bringing the full room into view, he let out a silent sigh. Home sweet HQ.
"Copy that, Captain. We'll keep you updated."
Banshee rolled his neck to the side, feeling it crack from the slight change in pressure, while he watched his mentor step off the platform. She was on her comms and communicator nearly the entire flight home, so aside from their initial reunion, he hadn't gotten to really see her, much less speak with her.
But he needed to. And from the looks of it, Impulse was on the same boat. Which is why Banshee trailed after the speedster once he raced up to the team leaders.
"Look," Impulse started. "I know this missing key is important, but we need to focus on-"
Nightwing silently interrupted the kid by pressing a button on the computer.
"Blue Beetle!" Both teenagers looked up at the news broadcast, Banshee with a pinched expression particularly. Even though he wasn't in control, Blue's betrayal still stung…emotionally and physically.
"The so-called Reach hero has dominated this news cycle," the reporter continued to say, "with U.N. Secretary-General Tseng announcing his plan to present Beetle with the International Medal of Valor for saving the Earth from the Warworld."
Robin came up beside Banshee and scoffed. "That's a load of good press for a traitor."
Siren frowned disapprovingly. "Robin…"
"Hey!" Impulse jumped in. "Don't blame Blue. He's just as much a captive of the Reach as we were. We have to set him free."
He seemed to rethink his words, looking at the broadcast again. "…You know, before he conquers the Earth and enslaves all mankind."
Banshee nodded. "We need to find him and get him back to normal."
Siren shared a glance with Nightwing. "We're working on it."
Banshee made eye contact with Impulse before turning to his mentor. "How?" he asked quizzically.
~/~/~/~
Metropolis
June 13, 20:30 EDT
Two weeks had come and gone and Banshee hadn't been more anxious than during that time. He was barely able to even enjoy his birthday that had taken place the following week after being freed.
His family definitely noticed something was up, but it wasn't until Jenna dragged him out of the house and taken him to play laser tag that he could get his mind off things for a while. 'Call it training for your hand-eye coordination,' she had teased him, but he wouldn't have been surprised if she noticed his lack of a reaction.
He was worried about Blue. He didn't know if his friend had been conscious the whole time he'd been under the Reach's control or, if so, whether he was safe in there…wherever there was. I don't know if it would be better or worse anyway.
But Banshee knew that Blue Beetle wasn't himself. His actions and words were evidence enough. Banshee was able to witness such in person as he, Impulse, and Batgirl watched from on a billboard ledge, hidden from sight.
Blue had just taken down the Toymaker single-handedly, catching the attention of civilians and reporters alike. "Blue Beetle! Blue Beetle, a moment?"
Blue grinned. "For the famed Cat Grant? I'm at your service," he said with a sweeping bow.
Banshee had to stifle his groan. Jaime, you look like a douchebag.
"Heck, I'm at everyone's service! That's just how I roll," his teammate continued, turning back to wave at the people standing around him.
You have got to be kidding me. Banshee's eyes narrowed as he looked on, wondering what the hell the Reach did to the guy. He hadn't turned to gauge what Batgirl or Impulse were thinking, too focused on the sight of his blue-armored friend down below.
"So, you've been handling situations that—once upon a time—were a job for Superman," Cat mentioned.
"Hey, if the Justice League's too busy, I'm happy to pick up the slack."
Banshee frowned. Yeah, trying to clear their name on a whole other planet is 'too busy.' I wouldn't doubt it if the Reach knew that too.
"I am so honored by your kind attentions and so honored to be your hero," Blue called out to the crowd.
At that, Banshee actually did turn to look at Impulse, rolling his eyes in a silent comment. The speedster's grim expression said it all. We need to fix this.
But that's exactly why they were there.
"Uh…as your profile expands, do you worry about increased scrutiny?" Cat Grant asked, beginning to wrap up her interview.
"Nah," Blue Beetle waved off. "I welcome it. Let 'em watch."
And the three heroes who were watching exchanged looks before slipping away.
~/~/~/~
El Paso
June 13, 20:40 MDT
Banshee was nervous. A million things could go wrong tonight.
But Zatanna, Batgirl, and Siren had a plan. Something they had been working on for months. All they had to do was follow it to a T then, hopefully, Blue would be back to normal by the end of the night.
"He's coming your way," Banshee heard through his comms. "Be ready."
Banshee looked up at Batgirl, nodding determinedly. Both heroes readied their grappling hooks, crouching by some A/C units on the top of an apartment building to lay in wait.
Sure enough, the roar of thrusters began to draw near, indicating that Blue Beetle would be at their location any second. Once a shadow cast by moonlight passed over them, they both stood, firing the hooks onto Blue Beetle's ankles as he flew away. Before it went taut, Banshee looped his wire around a unit to brace himself better against the incoming pull.
Once it did, he lurched forward with a grunt. He slotted his foot between the unit and his body, pushing hard to keep himself from stumbling or letting go.
"Got it?" Batgirl called out.
"Got it!" Banshee answered.
"Batgirl? Banshee? What are you doing?" Blue Beetle cried out. "You know this won't hold us."
"Ah, don't worry, Blue," Banshee said with a strained voice.
"It'll hold for a couple of seconds," Batgirl assured. "And a couple of seconds-"
"-is more than I need!" Impulse dashed out from his hiding spot, running along the wires at top speed.
Banshee yelped when Blue Beetle suddenly turned around, his thrusters going off at top speed in Impulse's face. The wires suddenly snapped from the change in pressure, leaving the remaining pieces in their owners' hands to come flying back.
Banshee dropped his now ruined grappling hook, ducking to avoid getting smacked with the line as he vaulted down from the building's fire escape as quickly as he could. Because he knew what was going to be next.
Once he was on Blue Beetle's back, Impulse was supposed to use his super speed to jar the mechanics inside the thrusters, making it impossible to fly off. And by the time Banshee and Batgirl got over to where they landed, the job was done and Blue was on the ground.
"Sweet dreams, Blue," Batgirl said, holding up a smoke pellet. She tossed it onto the ground in front of him and it exploded, covering their teammate in knockout gas.
The thick smoke didn't go very far, but Banshee still crept closer since his mask had built-in filters. Not that his proximity would have mattered since it was impossible to see through the smoke. There was no telling whether he was unconscious yet or not.
Batgirl had also circled around, trying to see through to check on the teenage hero, but wasn't prepared to be launched backward by a staple shooting at her waist. She cried out in surprise, the staple embedding into a nearby tree trunk. Once she was trapped, a second staple flew out immediately after to cage her in even further.
Shit! Banshee rolled on the empty street, letting out a scream to knock the staple aimed at him off its trajectory. But in his movement, the sonic waves hadn't been totally aimed for the center of the projectile. Instead, it sent the staple spinning like a boomerang, striking Banshee across the face.
The force caused his mask to be ripped off, sending pain blooming across the same spot on his jaw again. Really? Again? He rubbed his face, straightening up to glare at his mind-controlled teammate. But something slammed into his chest, sending him flying into the brick wall behind him.
The heavy impact of his head hitting the side of the building made his head spin. Fuck… Banshee slumped but was unable to fall down as he was attached to the wall by the very thing that struck him.
He didn't know what else was going on, barely even able to open his eyes, until he felt something—maybe Impulse judging by the grunt—slam into the wall beside him. His eyes fluttered as he tried to force them open. Come on, come on!
Metallic footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the sound of something scraping against the pavement. Banshee didn't have to look to know that it couldn't have been good. But he slowly raised his head as best he could anyway.
Except something very sharp lifted it the rest of the way. A chill ran through his semi-conscious body, the fear coursing through him being enough for his eyes to crack open.
Blue Beetle looked down at him with an unfeeling expression from what Banshee could tell through his blurry vision. The sword dug under his chin before Blue pulled away, rearing back to strike.
Only to uselessly slash against a bubble that formed around him out of nowhere. Banshee smiled. Rocket.
Blue tried to escape, swinging his arm that had morphed into a mace against the force field. But that would never work. Not when Rocket's bubbles were only strengthened with kinetic energy.
Eventually, Blue, or whoever was controlling him, realized this. The mace changed to a sonic canon, aiming at the side of the bubble to destroy it.
"Ecrofnier s'tekcoR ecrof elbbub htiw ym skcigam!" Just in time, a purple field joined Rocket's, making Blue Beetle's attack ineffective.
Able to think clearer, Banshee looked up to find where the two Leaguers stood. It's about time.
"I've reinforced Rocket's force bubble with my magics," Zatanna called out. "Blue's not going anywhere."
She crossed her arms into an X formation, reciting another spell. It made the staple attached to Banshee's chest dissolve, causing him to hit the sidewalk with a pained grunt.
"Ugh, finally," he complained, rubbing his chest.
He shakily stood, retrieving his mask when he went to join the others. They all gathered around Blue Beetle's cage, watching him carefully. On to the next step.
The next step being a long Super-Cycle ride across the ocean. The wind whistled in Banshee's ears, making it difficult to hear much, but not enough to drown out Blue Beetle's never-ending threats the entire time.
"Enjoy your advantage while you can. The Reach track my every move," he cried out from inside his force bubble. "And when we're through with you, there won't be enough left for a DNA identification."
Banshee rolled his eyes from where he sat beside Impulse. "I know it's not him talking, but I still want to strangle him," he muttered.
"Tell me our destination. And I'll make your deaths painless," Blue sneered.
Well, that was original. Banshee sighed, not even bothering to look back at his friend.
Instead, he called back to Batgirl. "How long do we have?"
"Not far now," she answered.
Good, because I'm ready to get this over with.
Sure enough, it wasn't much longer until they finally reached Bialya, heading to the exact location of where Batgirl and Banshee, along with other members of the team, went to find boom tube hotspots. Right before everything became a disaster once the Reach reared its ugly head.
They found themselves at the cliff side where the hangar door was located, but it was closed off so Batgirl utilized the Super-Cycle's weaponry to blow it open. Before the smoke even cleared, they flew straight through the opening to reach the secret, underground temple.
"We've got company!" Banshee called out in warning as he saw a bunch of Bialyan soldiers rush forward.
"Well, I'm otherwise occupied maintaining this bubble around Blue," Rocket warned, rising into the air to focus on her shield.
"Chillax, Rock!" Impulse assured. "We're prepped for Queen Bee's tin soldiers."
He moved out of his seat, pressing his feet against the back as he prepared to launch forward to take the soldiers out.
"Mrasid!"
The soldiers' guns flew out of their hands, instantly halting the gunfire.
Impulse looked a little put out at the spell. "Hey! I was going to do that," he whined.
"You can still knock 'em out?" Zatanna suggested.
"Oh, yeah! Crash!" He took off, zipping around like he was a ball in a pinball machine. The soldiers were off their feet before they could even react. There was no stopping him.
Well…until something stopped him.
He slammed into something hard, flying back until that something grabbed his ankle.
Banshee gaped at the sight in front of him, moving up out of his seat. "Devastation!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, hey, hey, let go! Let go!" Impulse thrashed around, trying to fight her but it was useless.
Before the others could reach him to help, something heavy slammed into the Super-Cycle. Banshee went flying, slamming into the ground and coming to a rolling stop. He scrambled to his feet beside Rocket.
"Rocket! The force bubble!" Batgirl warned.
"Holding!" the Leaguer assured. "But I'm a sitting duck here!"
Banshee's fists tightened as he raised them in a defensive position. "We've got you covered, just don't let go."
A yell came from behind him, giving him just enough to turn to see Shimmer running toward them with glowing hands and eyes. He reacted quickly, grabbing the front of her shirt to redirect her landing away from the two of them.
"Maybe don't yell the next time you want to sneak up on someone," he called out.
Shimmer came skidding to a stop, her hand dragging across the floor. And as it did, the ground melted from underneath it.
Banshee's eyebrows raised. That's new.
He glanced over his shoulder at his caged teammate when Blue spoke. "You were fools to bring us here. Queen Bee is our ally, and her minions will destroy you."
Banshee shared a look with Rocket. "If only these bubbles were soundproof," she grumbled.
Shimmer jumped over the new hole, charging forward. Banshee ducked under her arms, quickly tackling her out of the way. With a back handspring to get clear from her touch, he landed on his feet, ready to fight back before she even stood.
Shimmer clearly only focused on using her newfound powers despite already having combat training. Banshee knew that was a mistake, recalling what Siren had taught him time and time again.
Having powers didn't always give the upper hand, even artificially made ones. Powers and superhuman abilities alike always came with a weakness. Hell, even Superman had weaknesses and he was indestructible.
Because of this, Siren drilled combat techniques into Banshee's head long before he gained the ability to use a sonic scream. And he could tell that Shimmer didn't have that kind of wisdom by the way she swung wildly, uncaring of keeping good defenses up.
Banshee ducked and dodged, keeping away from her wide swings until he could grasp both of her arms in a tight grip. Pulling both of her arms apart so she was left exposed, he slammed his forehead into hers, causing her to stumble back.
"Tcerider ym seimene tsniaga hcae rehto!"
Banshee glanced over Shimmer's shoulder to see Mammoth and Devastation collide with one another, flying toward the hole Shimmer created. He grinned, letting out a loud screech in his redheaded opponent's direction.
Shimmer flipped away, dodging the scream and the hole, but hand't noticed that her partners were quickly approaching until it was too late. She had just enough time to glance back before she was slammed into by two very heavy bad guys, getting knocked into the hole right alongside them.
Batgirl was quick to react, tossing a bomb into the hole. It went off, filling the said hole with polyurethane foam, effectively cutting off their escape.
"Girlfriend, someday you have to tell me how you figure out those backwards words so fast," Rocket told Zatanna with a grin, still levitating herself and Blue in the air.
"Maybe backwards is my native tongue," Zatanna said with a smug grin.
Banshee snorted.
"Seriously?" Rocket said with a deadpan tone.
"Come on, let's get to work," Batgirl interrupted, pulling them all back on track.
One last Super-Cycle ride later and they were in the temple. Nothing had changed, everything was still in ruins, but apparently, that was about to change.
Zatanna had been moving around the room, seeking out the levels of mystic energy in the room for where she needed to be to start her ritual. It didn't take long until she alerted the rest, "Here."
"You, uh, sure you've got the power for this?" Impulse asked warily as Banshee looked around the room. The last time he had been there, he promptly got knocked out and stuffed into a pod so it was nice getting to get a closer look a second time around.
"Me? No," Zatanna answered, approaching the small platform that was encircled by five pillars. "But I'll summon it from those who do."
Once Rocket had lowered Blue Beetle's bubble onto the platform, it was time to begin.
"Retne a ecnart ot eraperp rof eht lautir…"
Banshee briefly tore his eyes away from what was taking place to instead glance around. This is too easy… After all that they went through, they were going to finish saving Blue without any interference? Doubtful.
The uncomfortable feeling in his stomach grew when something caught his eye.
"They all die now!" Green Beetle cried out, flying out with his swords drawn.
Banshee took a step back toward the platform, muscles tensing up in preparation. He flinched subconsciously when Super-Cycle came to the rescue by slamming into Green Beetle and sending him sprawling, but it wasn't going to be over just like that.
"Guys, this is all on you," Rocket told the squad. "I still got my own Beetle to hold. And Zee's smacked in the middle of her mystic trance."
"Just keep doing what you're doing, Rock," Banshee said, raising his fists in defense. "We've got this."
"Oh, great. Not like our tushes haven't been kicked by one Beetle already," Impulse complained.
Batgirl ran up to join him. "But this Beetle comes with his own personal kryptonite. Go!" As she gave the order, she threw a bomb in Geen Beetle's direction.
"Gone!"
That he was. Impulse took off, beginning to circle Green Beetle just as the bomb exploded, making a fire spread. The constant stream of wind keeping it around Green quickly turned it into an inferno, trapping the Beetle in an instant.
Zipping back to join Banshee and Batgirl, Impulse laughed at the sigh of the weakened Reach slave. "Crash. Those Martians really can't take the heat."
"No, but stay alert. He has other skills to compensate," Batgirl advised.
But her words of wisdom didn't come fast enough. Not when all of a sudden, an invisible force slammed into Banshee's back. He cried out in surprise and pain from the ringing in his ears, falling to the ground not a moment later.
Banshee groaned, laying flat on his back. He slowly lifted a hand, pressing his comm. "Any day now," he said in a strained voice, the breath still knocked out of his lungs.
He tilted his head back, looking up at the upside-down sight of Green Beetle drawing his swords once again. But the Martian halted when something landed on his head. A green lizard to be precise. One that quickly morphed into a giant, green elephant.
The rest of his teammates came rushing in to bring Green Beetle down. After he had managed to throw a morphed Beast Boy off of him, Bumblebee grew from her microscopic size to blast him with her stingers. Then, Wonder Girl caught him in her lasso which gave Robin time to swing in.
"You can thank us later," the Boy Wonder told the Beetle as he kicked him square in the jaw, sending him to the ground.
Green Beetle fired his sonic canon at his captor, sending Wonder Girl–and Bumblebee–flying back. Beast Boy was able to hold out though at his massive size, but Banshee knew there wasn't going to be much time left to delay Green if they didn't hurry.
"How's it coming?" he called out to Zatanna and Rocket.
After a moment, Zatanna's eyes opened again, enshrouded in a bright glow. "Ho yhtgim sisI fo eht citsym baracs, evig em ruoy rewop."
Something small flew out, landing right on the magician's forehead. Banshee's jaw dropped when a woman appeared behind Zatanna, the size of her glowing body being entirely intimidating.
"Holy shit," Banshee muttered.
"Banshee, maneuver seven!" Robin called out.
The young siren scrambled to his feet, sprinting ahead of his teammate to plant his feet and thread his fingers together to provide a foothold. Once Robin's foot was slotted into the makeshift stirrup, Banshee used all his strength to launch the Boy Wonder up into the air. While mid-jump, Robin flung out some concussion bombs to throw Green Beetle away.
"Tcurtsnocer siht elpmet!"
Banshee scrambled back in surprise when parts of the rubble around him began to rise into the air, moving around to their respective origins. He paused in his fight, looking around in wonder as the entire temple was repairing itself. The giant beetle image on the wall melted into a vibrant blue, the exact same look as Blue Beetle's armor.
Hieroglyphics around the room began to glow similarly to Zatanna's eyes, making it incredibly difficult to see. Banshee shielded his eyes, squinting to try and continue watching as she called out another spell, one that forced Rocket to drop her bubble and move away.
"Fools!" Blue Beetle cried out, his hand morphing into a cannon.
Green Beetle did the same as he turned to face the center of the room. "You will all-"
"Die!" Both Beetle's weapons began to charge up.
"Esnaelc…eseht…snoipmahc!"
Things almost felt like they were moving in slow motion. As both Beetle's fired, Green was suddenly yanked off his feet by a blur pulling on Wonder Girl's lasso that was still around his waist.
As he was flung onto the platform, both his and Blue's shots slammed into his back. The resulting pulse of energy hit Blue, sending both Beetles to the ground. Just in time too as a stream of light shot out from the center of the platform, encasing both of them. As the light became too much to bear, forcing Banshee to close his eyes, he heard Blue scream out in pain.
Then the light dimmed just as quickly, the entire room returning to normal.
Banshee cracked his eyes open, slowly removing his mask in anticipation. Did it work?
Zatanna came out her trace, suddenly dropping to the ground, but Impulse was there to catch her in the blink of an eye.
"Zatanna, you okay?" he asked, allowing her to stand on her own two feet. "Did it work?"
All of the heroes slowly surrounded the two Beetles as both of them rose, groaning in discomfort.
"...Or are we back to square one? Who controls the Beetles?" Impulse wondered.
"Well, let's find out," Zatanna grunted, winded from the ritual. She lifted her hand, reciting a quick spell. In turn, the Beetles' armor peeled away to reveal both Martian and human.
Banshee's eyebrows raised as he stepped closer, hopeful.
"It worked," Zatanna said, easing his worries. "Jaime and B'arzz O'oomm are back in control of their own bodies."
"It's true. I can feel it!" Jaime said excitedly. "I'm free of the Reach. For real this time."
Batgirl's next words kept Banshee from rushing forward. "You're one hundred percent sure? Because we've been through this before."
"I am certain of it," the Leaguer said firmly.
As if to reassure himself, Robin pulled up his computer. "Reading no external signals since Zatanna worked her mojo. Neither Beetle is in contact with the Reach," he confirmed.
Banshee's entire body sagged in relief.
"Hey, hey, hey, hermano! Congrats!" Impulse cheered, terribly butchering Jaime's go-to nickname.
He had held up his hand for a high five, but Jaime was on a mission to hug Zatanna. "Thank you," he said gratefully.
He suddenly glanced away, looking only mildly irritated. "Oh, right. Like you're happy about this."
"I am!" Impulse said, unaware that Jaime wasn't addressing him. "I swear!"
Banshee snickered as he walked forward. He had a pretty good guess as to who Jaime was actually speaking to, but he didn't try to correct the team's speedster.
Jaime, not having paid attention to what Impulse was saying, suddenly smiled. "You know, I believe you," he said to his scarab.
"Of course you do," Impulse answered with a scoff, completely oblivious. "Up high!"
Jaime finally obliged, high-fiving his friend as Banshee walked up, throwing an arm around his neck. "You know you'll have to tell him at some point, right?" he said, leaning in closer to mutter in his friend's ear.
Jaime grinned at him. "One day," he assured.
Then his smile fell as his eyes dipped just under Banshee's gaze. "I'm sorry," he said apologetically.
Banshee subconsciously reached up with his other hand to touch the bruise on his jaw. It had been healing from its initial cause, but earlier that night had made it feel worse. He hadn't had the chance to take a look, but he wouldn't have been surprised if it was going to spread again.
Banshee knocked into Jaime's hip with his own, the arm still wrapped around his neck keeping him from moving. "Hey. That wasn't your fault," he scolded. "I'm okay."
He then offered a comforting smile. "I'm just glad you're back."
Jaime mirrored his expression. "Me too."
They stood there for a short moment until Banshee's eyes went wide upon realizing just how close their faces were. He quickly let go of Jaime, rubbing the back of his neck as he put some distance between them.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. What the hell was that?
"It has been so long…" B'arzz mused. "I had all but forgotten the sensation of controlling my own body…My gratitude knows no bounds."
"Uh, that's great, but Queen Bee's goons are waking up!" Bumblebee piped up.
"Which means it's time to go," Batgirl decided.
Banshee hurried over to the Super-Cycle, grabbing the side and vaulting into the closest available seat. "Don't gotta tell me twice!"
~/~/~/~
It was well into daylight by the time the squad got out of the temple and out of Bialya entirely. Soon, they were soaring across the ocean, wasting no time returning home. Those that had the ability to fly—or the ability to change into something that could fly—followed alongside the Super-Cycle as it went up in the clouds.
"So spill," Blue Beetle called out in curiosity. "How did you know how to cure us? That temple wasn't even in the Reach's database."
Banshee leaned backward, looking past Impulse. "We stumbled across it before," he explained, "Bumblebee, Batgirl, and I. Months ago on another mission."
"While we were there, I couldn't help noticing the blue scarab imagery and recorded a holographic file of the symbols in hieroglyphics," Batgirl continued. "Dr. Fate was able to translate the glyphs, which revealed a mystic ceremony the ancients had used to cleanse the scarab of Reach control."
That's when it dawned on Blue. "That's why my scarab was off-mode when I found it."
"Because the ritual used magic of human origin, Fate—a Lord of Order—could not perform it. So he prepped me instead," Zatanna added.
"Meanwhile, Batgirl and I got with the hacking per Siren's request," Robin said with a proud grin. "Starting with the computer files of the previous Blue Beetle, the late Ted Kord. Ted's files revealed that an archaeologist named Dan Garrett first discovered both the temple and the scarab in 1939. It fused with him the way it fused with you, but Dan assumed it was some kind of mystic artifact, and he used it to become the first Blue Beetle of modern times."
"So when Dan passed away, that's where his protégé, Kord, came in," Banshee mused.
"But Kord quickly realized the scarab was alien technology," Batgirl pointed out. "Since he wasn't about to let an alien device fuse to his spine, he locked the scarab away."
"But Garrett still inspired Ted to become the second Blue Beetle, even with no superpowers," Blue Beetle realized.
"Ah, I hear those are optional," Robin shrugged.
Banshee laughed. "Emphasis on the optional," he said, waving his mask in the air.
The Boy Wonder chuckled in response. "Anyway, Ted suspected the Light wanted the scarab back in play. He tried to stop them from stealing it and paid the ultimate price…"
"That's where you came in," Batgirl finished.
Banshee looked down at his lap with a frown. So many lives on their team lost all thanks to the Light. He had barely been around enough to get a complete idea of just how much damage the evil organization caused, but he witnessed their effects through Siren pretty often.
"Guess I wasn't exactly what the Light or Reach had in mind," Blue admitted. "But why keep all this from me?"
"Because it took months for me to learn the ritual," Zatanna said. "And not to mention, configure the ancient Bialyian incantations to work in concert with my magic."
"And you couldn't risk letting the Reach know the temple existed until you were ready," Blue surmised.
Blue Beetle suddenly flew around the Super-Cycle, hovering near Banshee. He looked at Impulse. "You managed to keep your mouth shut?" he asked the speedster in disbelief. "You?"
"Hey, making sure you stayed a hero was the main reason I came back to the past," Impulse reminded. "So I was motivated to take my mouth off mode."
He then smirked. "Don't you get used to it, now."
Banshee rolled his eyes. "Damn, and here I thought our prayers were answered," he drawled, laughing when Impulse shoved his shoulder.
When he looked back at Blue, his teammate was smiling gratefully. "Then I guess I have all of you to thank, not just Zee," he said, glancing back at all of the heroes. "So, thank you."
As Batgirl then proceeded to contact Nightwing to let him know of Blue and Green Beetle's liberation—Siren being busy for the past couple of weeks so everything had been filtering through the other team leader for a while—Banshee settled back into his seat to relax for the rest of the ride. From the corner of his eye, he watched Blue Beetle move slightly ahead to focus on the flight.
Banshee lightly smiled. Welcome back, Blue. His eyes slid shut, feeling like he could rest for the first time in weeks.
~/~/~/~
This episode is so cool so it was fun to rewatch. And it looks like something new is brewing *nudge nudge*. I realized that this chapter would be a perfect spot to start hinting at a future relationship for Sam. You won't get to really see it until the third fic, and it'll be more of a side relationship, but I think it'll still be cute.
Oh my god, we have two more chapters left! And they're the most intense too. Especially the last one :( God, I nearly started crying again when I had to actually put Wally's death into words. It just happens so fast!
Next chapter will kind of reveal how the third fic will be set up in terms of where Siren will be in her life. After all, this will finally be the moment where she reunites with Kaldur after finding out the big secret. If you want to know what goes down, you'll just have to wait until next week ;)
See you guys then!
