Chapter 41: …Concealed Light
"Kaldur, what were you thinking…" I say to myself as I look up to Kaldur/Fate as he fights Wotan. If he's able to get that helmet off him, he'll be lucky…
"AHHHHHH!"
Out of nowhere, I hear screams coming from ahead. From a voice I know too well. KYLE!
I run toward him and find him lying on the floor. Shaking uncontrollably and screaming as if he's in pain. Standing above him as if he were the grim reaper is Scarecrow. Fear gas… Kyle…
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" My turn to scream. But out of anger.
I tackle Scarecrow to the ground, dropping his scythe further away. I start punching him in the face repeatedly, Scarecrow too stunned to fight back. Or maybe he's just too happy to care, in his sick mind.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" I scream at the psycho as I keep beating him to a pulp.
But all he does is laugh at me. "I gave him a dose of fear, making him live his worst nightmare. The one thing a Green Lantern can't function with. At the rate he's going, his heart will give out in five minutes. He'll be dead." No! "But not before I get that ring of his." NOOOO!
"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HIM!" I scream at him again.
"You won't be too concerned with anything once I—" As Scarecrow raises his right hand towards me, I know what he's going for. Not this time.
I jump behind him, raise him up and bring his right arm back far enough to the point where it almost breaks. Where we both can hear the bones cracking. "You won't do it. You're too good to actually hurt—" Snap.
Scarecrow screams in agonizing pain. Still pinning him down, he thrashes about in the swamp water. "You bitch! Now he'll die and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"
"We'll see about that", I say to the ragged reject.
I toss the broken Scarecrow past me and rush towards Kyle. He's still shaking and now muttering to himself. "No, please don't kill her! Take me! Take me instead, please!" Oh god, Kyle…
Scanning the area, I find Robin to my right fighting off Joker. I hope he has more than batarangs in that belt of his.
"ROBIN!" I scream at the Boy Wonder. He turns to me kneeling over Kyle's body. The look on his face fills with horror just as mine did. "I need an antidote for fear gas now!"
Robin ducks from another of Joker's knife attacks. He digs into his utility belt as he avoids getting cut. Robin leaps off and side-kicks Joker right in the face. He falls face first into the swamp for a moment.
A moment to himself finally, Robin pulls out an intradermal injection device and a vial of what I pray is fear gas antidote. Robin runs over to me, placing the vial into the slot on top of the injection device.
Before he makes it to us, Black Adam blocks Robin from reaching me. Robin leaps above Adam as he lunges forward. Adam, however, turns around quickly and grabs a hold of Robin by his leg. Knowing he won't make it to me, Robin does what he can only do now.
"Canary!" He throws the device to me. Standing back up, I step forward and catch it. I make sure the vial is safe and secure in the device. Please let this work.
I run back and kneel to Kyle. Still muttering to himself, he goes from pleading to spare another's life to crying, guilt ridden about this tragedy. This pain, it seems too much for him to go on. Seeing Kyle like this, it breaks my heart.
Kyle is still shaking as before, but not as violently. I scan his body for an entry point. But because his suit is still on, I'm worried the device won't enter his bloodstream. The only visible part I see that I know I can inject the antidote is his neck. But his head is moving too much for me to inject him without anything going wrong. I can't lose him…
The device in my right hand, I place my free left hand on his face. As soon as touch his skin, he immediately slows down, but is still shaking to the point that I can't inject him. I need to calm him down, make him feel at ease with me.
Then he looks right at me. His eyes are dilated from the gas. But the green in them are still as bright as he is. Don't let your light die…
I slide my left hand to the back of his head, holding his neck firmly in hand. "Kyle, I can't imagine what you're seeing right now. But I want you to know it's not real. None of what you're seeing is real."
"Yes, it is. I would see her in my dreams, long before now. How wonderfully kind she was. So much life in her. And because of me, and because of this", he raises his ring up to me, glowing intensely bright, "she's dead. If I never told Alex about this, she would still be alive." Tears roll down his face as he talks about this girl he loved. Tears from my eyes drop down to his face as well. I don't need to be a Martian to know that Kyle lost someone and blames himself. I'd probably feel the same if it were me. But we both know it's not true.
"Listen to me. If Alex were here right now, she would tell you that she doesn't blame you for what happens. She would want you to be happy. Just knowing that and the fact that you still remember her would make Alex so happy."
"You… you don't know that."
"But I do. And if I know you, you think the same thing might happen to me too one day. Am I right?"
"Yes…" Kyle continues to sob more so. "I know you're not her, but if anything were to happen to you because of me, I couldn't live with myself."
Tears continue to roll down my face. "I know. I feel the same if something were to happen to you on my watch. But that's not gonna happen. You know why?"
"Why?"
"Because as long as we have each other's backs, nothing can tear us apart."
"You promise?"
Having somehow calmed him down further while in the middle of a freaking battlefield, I place the device at his nek, injecting him with the antidote. Weakly without breaking, I smile at the man I'm falling for. Tears still dropping to his face. "I promise, my brave Lantern."
Kyle smiles weakly back to me as he passes out from the antidote. With his life out of danger now, I let go of the device, shut my eyes tight and my head on his chest. I silently weep into his body as the battle still rages on.
"Hey, are you okay?" A voice says to me as I feel a hand placed on my shoulder. I look up to find my sister comforting me.
"Dinah…" I say. I'm sure my eyes look extremely red now that I'm done crying. I look around to see that she didn't come alone. Batman, Green Arrow, Zatara, Hal… almost the entire Justice League to back us up. Surrounding the defeated Injustice League. Thank god it's over.
"It's over", Batman says.
Vertigo, along with his fellow Injustice Leaguers, raise their hands in surrender. "There will be another day." All but one.
"Another day? Another day! There won't be another day! Not for any of us", Joker says as he laughs maniacally. He raises his hands high and maneuvers his fingers as if he's marionetting. Suddenly, a last batch of vines rise from below the water. This time though, multiple spores grow and break open. Releasing another gaseous attack. Joker gas…
"Joker venom spores. Don't breathe", Batman says as he punches out Joker. But it's too late. All the spores release too much Joker venom for us to not be affected eventually.
"Fear not", Kaldur/Fate says as he rises into the air. A magical Egyptian life symbol appears before him. Fate sucks up all the venom into the magic symbol, vacating it from the entire area. The symbol disappears, saving us all. "Fate has intervened."
"In more than one way…" I weakly say. Dinah kneels to me too. She looks to Kyle, still unconscious.
"Lantern!" Calling Hal to us, he rushes to his young protégé's side.
"What happened to him?" He asks me.
"Scarecrow. Fear toxin. But Robin had an antidote. Hopefully he should—"
"…Be waking up right now." Hearing his voice makes me feel so much better now. Slowly, his eyes open to see me, Dinah and Hal looking to him. "Did we lose anyone?"
Of course, he's concerned about everyone else besides himself. That makes me laugh a bit. Hal too. "No, we didn't lose anyone. And more importantly, I didn't lose you." Kyle's hand takes a hold of mine. Holding each other, watching out for one another. I'm right here, Kyle.
Once the battle with the Injustice League ended, I started to feel a bit better. Robin says I shouldn't move too fast right away. My body will take not too long to get back in motion, but not as fast as I'd like to be.
The Justice League took the Injustice Leaguers to their respective prisons. Joker and Ivy will most likely head back to Arkham. Adam, Skull and Humanite, possibly Belle Reve or another maximum-security facility. Vertigo and Wotan, I'm not too sure. Only because I wouldn't know where to put Vertigo, and Wotan would have to be put somewhere where his magic could be contained. Maybe a dimension where he's forced to put on magic shows for children.
Though apparently, no one saw where Scarecrow limped off too. After Sara gave him the beating of a lifetime (thank you for that, Sara), he apparently disappeared. Hal scanned the entire area. No sign of Scarecrow.
After exposing me to fear gas and him getting away, that really pisses me off. Batman and the League should be able to find him soon enough and throw him back to Arkham. He just better hope Sara doesn't find him first.
But let me say, being high on fear gas… Not something I wanna experience again. I kept seeing different nightmares play one after the other. The Team is dead as I'm too late to save them… My mom getting killed because an enemy discovered who I am… Me pleading with whomever to spare them and take my life instead…
But there were two nightmares that stayed constant. Playing over and over back and forth. One was the day I found Alexandra dead at the hands of Major Force. I was filled with so much fury and anguish and hopelessness… Part of me will always blame myself for what happened to her. I know better after all these years, but her death still stays with me at times.
The second was Sara and I fighting against an enemy. Something comes at me. Something that will kill me. I don't see it. But Sara does. She pushes me out of the way. And she dies in my arms. She dies because I can't even see what's coming at me so she has to save me. That's what I'm truly afraid of. Having Sara die because of me or my feelings for her. It has held me back for so long and I feel if I listen to it, it won't come true.
But when I was under the influence of the gas, I could hear her talk to me. Her voice helped me speak to her. Bring me back to reality. Bring me back from my fears. I remember what we talked about, for the most part. Including Alex. At least I won't have to explain that down the road. I want to tell her the entirety of that story. But she never judged or blamed me for what I thought was my fault. She's never judged me. Ever.
And I think I'm falling in love with her. Oa I need help.
My mind is still racing with so much with everyone still here. Sara hasn't left my side since I woke up. She has me leaning on her, holding her hand so I don't let go and possibly fall to the ground. I would make myself a chair construct, but I don't want to let go of Sara either.
To our left are the remaining Leaguers that stayed behind. Batman, Captain Marvel, Zatara, Black Canary and Hal Jordan. Hal wouldn't leave until I felt better to the point where I could stand. He still won't leave.
To our right is our team. Artemis, M'gann, Robin and Superboy are standing back as Wally, who's wearing a ripped piece of Vertigo's cape as an arm sling, lashes out. Wally is furious, shocked, and devastated that Kaldur put on the Helmet of Fate. Whom, by the way, is still wearing the helmet. If Nabu won't release Kaldur, what's going to happen?
"What were you thinking?" Wally yells at Kaldur/Fate. "How could you let him put on the helmet? Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Doctor Fate forever."
After a minute of silence and sorrow, Kaldur/Fate removes the helmet from his head. Fate back in the helmet for now, Kaldur returns to normal.
Wally walks up to Kaldur. "Nabu let you go?"
"He almost did not. But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello." Kaldur's message from Kent puts a smile on Wally's face. And Sara's too.
"We're done here. The Super-Villain Secret Society has been neutralized", Batman tells us. "As for your performance, it was satisfactory." We all look to each other, proud of how we did today as a team. We stopped a covert organized society of criminals from dominating the world. We did awesome today. More or less.
As the Team heads for the Bioship, I motion Sara to stay put. "Hey guys", grabbing their attention. "I need to talk to Sara. You all go on ahead."
"Are you sure?" M'gann asks, concerned for my wellbeing.
"Yeah, how're you gonna get back?" Wally asks.
"I should have enough juice to make it home for the both of us. I promise guys, I'm fine."
"Very well. But we will wait in the Bioship in the air. Whenever you are ready to leave", Kaldur says, compromising with me.
"Okay", I say with a smile. "See you back home."
The Team heads inside the Bioship. Sara and I look to Dinah and Hal, who are both getting ready to leave with the other Leaguers.
"I've got him, don't worry guys", Sara says. "I'm not letting him out of my sight."
"That I have no doubt", Hal says to Sara. Hal walks up to us. He wraps his arms around Sara, having her hug him back. "Thank you for saving him."
"Always", Sara says back to Hal.
"We'll let you know when we get back to Mount Justice", I say to our parental figures.
"You better", Dinah says with concern.
Hal levitates Dinah as Zatara magically does the same with Batman and Marvel flies off with them. Looking back to the Bioship, we see it floating up in the air at a distance from us. Not leaving until we're ready. I'd do the same probably.
"So, what did you want t—"
Sara is unable to finish her sentence due to me planting my lips on hers. My hands holding her face in place. Hers holding onto my waist. As soon as we kiss, a heat rises throughout my body. Sara kisses back, pressing her lips against mine with passion. We continue kissing for another minute, but it feels like an hour to me.
I break from our first kiss. Giving the both of us air. And clarity to think and talk.
"Where did that come from?"
"You know where, Sara. No more debating. No more hiding behind excuses. No more being afraid."
"If this is about the gas—"
"It is and isn't. Sara, I've been feeling this in my gut since I met you. We know there's a risk. But we also know that it wouldn't be fair to either of us if we didn't give this a real shot. And I want this to work. Badly."
"I do too, Kyle. I won't lie to you. I've been in love before. But you…" She places her hand on my face. "You are unlike anyone I've ever met. I don't think I could find another you."
"Same goes for you. And you know about Alex, and I will tell you everything about her and what happened. But you're not her. A part of me will always love Alex. But like you said, she would want me to be happy. And you make me really happy." That last sentence makes both of us smile.
"So, we're really doing this? All in, no going back?"
"I won't turn back if you don't", I say to her.
"How long do you think we keep this from the others?"
"I don't know." I look up to the Bioship, seeing three figures looking through one of the windows. "How long do you think they've been watching us?"
Sara turns around to look up at the ship. Soon as she does, the others hide from her glare. But she laughs instead. "Let's be real. They saw this happening a long time ago."
"Probably." I take her hands into mine. "You ready to go home?"
"With you? Always." She closes the distance between our faces. The kiss continues as we fly up into the air. We stop midair as I feel the moonlight hitting us perfectly. Breaking the kiss off, we stare into each other's eyes. She sees emerald green. I see moonlit blue. And under this actual moonlight, our eyes shine even brighter to one another. If only we could stay in this moment forever…
"Impressive. The plant creatures have proven their usefulness as potential weapons. More importantly, the so-called heroes now believe our secret society has been revealed and crushed. With the Injustice League serving as our proxies we are once again free to operate with impunity."
Making his way towards the monitors, Vandal Savage walks center stage. Behind him follows his compatriots – Queen Bee, Ocean-Master, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Klarion the Witch Boy, Sinestro, and the Brain.
"And shadows still conceal our Light."
Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope all you readers and fellow writers are doing well in these trying times. Again, I want to thank everyone for reading, favoriting and sharing this story. It really does mean the world to know that so many people like this so much. I want to give a quick shout out to a few fans, Greendogg and Nova Spider. Thank you both for the continuous support and conversations that help with creating Beginnings. Feel free to message me again soon, any of you actually who want to talk about anything really. Be it the story or just wanna talk shop about the show we all love.
I did want to bring up two matters that come up in this latest chapter. First off, at the very end where the Light reveal themselves. We have one more board member: Sinestro. I chose Sinestro as a member of the Light because like Ra's al Ghul and Lex Luthor, fans of YJ and DC instantly know who this character is and like the GLs, I've always wanted to see Sinestro in YJ. Originally, I was going to have Sinestro appear in the 'Terrors' chapters to give you the readers a chance to see him before 'Revelations', as the Team comes across almost all of the Light before this as well. But I just couldn't find an organic way to fit him in it. But you should be seeing Sinestro sooner rather than later. Fear will continue to be a big part of the continuing story, as well as Kyle and Sinestro's journeys throughout it. And keep an eye out for Scarecrow too...
Secondly, I wanted to bring up the now budding relationship between Kyle Rayner and Sara Lance. I've been building their relationship to this very point where they have to confront the idea of them being together like M'gann and Conner. I had a different idea of them having their first kiss later on and in a much more dire situation, but clearly I went in a different direction. I didn't want to wait too long such as Wally and Artemis at the finale (about damn time all of us thought), so I hope I didn't make you guys wait too long to see them come together finally. And I hope you all are still enjoying them as characters and seeing the story through the eyes. From the reviews and comments I've received so far, you like how I've brought their characters out here.
I hope everyone enjoys this latest chapter with more to come soon hopefully. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the continuing story itself, characters, or anything else, feel free to PM me at any time and I'll do my best to respond as soon as I can. Enjoy the good read and keep up the fight with the Light!