"You're a fast learner Kerenai"
"Thanks, I kind of have to be a fast learner because of my situation, so how far behind did I fall?"
"Surprisingly not that far behind and...you're ready for your pilot's test actually, you have the required hours and you know everything I can teach you"
"I see, I need to talk to a few people first before I take the test"
"Understood"
Linda talks to her family about being ready for the test and also alerts the League to that fact seeing as how they were her protectors whenever she was far enough from the EDC's protection that they took over in their civilian identities and soon scheduled her test, but before that test happened an incident would arise that would temporarily delay the test due to emotional compromise
"Linda, besides the whole Superman thing why are you heading to Metropolis again?"
"I have my reasons Smokescreen and the Primes and Galvatron know and understand those reasons"
Two days later and Linda was in Metropolis simply relaxing for the moment when that relaxing came to a complete halt due to an attack and threat that the League and EDC had to respond to and an attack she also responded too very discreetly since she couldn't reveal herself to the civilians if it could be helped and this time it could due to the League but then there was a bomb that couldn't safely be dealt with on the ground and so Hawkman speaks up
"I'll take that bomb"
Suddenly Starscream lands and speaks up having heard Hawkman's decision
"No, I'll take it"
"But..."
Starscream interrupts Hawkman though
"Listen I can handle that explosion, even if it manages to do anything to me from what scans I've done the worst I can get is scratches"
"But..."
"Listen to him Hawkman he knows what he's talking about, by the way I did a scan of the area and doing some scouting ahead and you're not going to like where you have to take that thing"
"Oh?"
"Yep, you have to take it to at least the ozone layer if not higher 'Scream, the explosion if you don't..."
"I see, don't worry Kerenai like I said the explosion won't do much if any harm to me, but you're also right about the location, let's just hope this doesn't do any more damage to the ozone than what's already been done"
"No kidding"
With that Starscream goes high up into the air to the point that he couldn't even hear the whisper of Kerenai
"I hope you're right regarding the amount of damage the explosion will do to you"
The group sees the explosion and waits for Starscream to come back down unharmed, but the longer they didn't see him the more anxious Kerenai got and it was obvious too finally though Supergirl speaks up while pointing in a direction in the sky
"I see him!"
Kerenai looks as well and when she doesn't see him activates special contacts and as soon as she sees what Supergirl sees speaks up again
"No...no, no, no, no, no...pull up Starscream, pull up!"
But Starscream never pulls up and as soon as he hits the water Kerenai has her phone out and pressing speed dial since she had several numbers on speed dial as a precaution
"This is Kerenai authorization beta 2 delta 5 zeta, zeta, 15 barktree I need a rescue team immediately for Starscream in the bay of Metropolis, I repeat Starscream is in the bay of Metropolis and needs immediate rescue"
Once the call was made all Kerenai could do was wait anxiously with several League members waiting with her, not knowing why it was so important that she be there when Starscream was rescued but understanding that it was important to her (this was due to the fact that only the founding members of the League were aware of Kerenai's relationship to the Cybertronians)
"Kerenai...I'm not going to pry too deeply but, what are his chances considering what I saw?"
"I saw what you saw Supergirl, and considering the fact that he was unconscious when he hit the water...I don't know, it's not as good as if he had been conscious when he hit but it could be nothing serious, I just don't know since we don't know what happened after the explosion, or even before if something happened to him high enough in the sky"
Half an hour later and the group knew that the EDC had finally retrieved Starscream since they saw him being brought up, and with it being known that Kerenai was at the docks the EDC officers brought him to where she was instead of their base and as soon as she saw their facial expressions she knew it wasn't good
"How bad Lt.?"
"I...that is I have to...I mean that..."
"Lt.?"
The Lt. takes a deep breath to calm himself and then speaks up again after giving out a very deep and heavy sigh
"I guess this is something that should be done here with both sides to hear it"
The Lt. dials a number that Kerenai recognizes and then puts his phone on speaker
"This is Ratchet go ahead"
"Ratchet it's Lt. Frost with Metropolis EDC, I have Kerenai here with me, are the Primes or Galvatron with you?"
"All three of them actually, why?"
"It is my solemn duty to inform you that Starscream, leader of your flight squadron and fourth in command under normal circumstances...has passed away from injuries sustained in an explosion that shouldn't have killed him but did"
Kerenai is the one who chokes out the question first
"How?"
"It turns out that the bomb was a double trap, one meant for both the Justice League and the EDC, more specifically the Cybertronians, Starscream...Starscream was exposed to lethal amounts of a specific type of radiation that is known to kill you guys, he was dead before he hit the water"
"But...but the treatments..."
Ratchet is the one who speaks up this time
"Aren't meant for after we've been exposed to water, and even if he had landed on dry land there's a time limit for the treatments to be fully effective, there could have been permanent brain damage in human terms even if he was successfully revived and treated, I'm betting that Starscream had various shrapnel wounds as well instead of just scratches Lt.?"
"Yes, including...including one dangerously close to his spark chamber, though not necessarily lethal if handled correctly"
"I see...take his remains to the Metropolis base, we'll retrieve him at a later date"
"Ratchet, no"
"Kerenai?"
"Starscream gave me specific instructions not that long ago regarding his remains in the event that this happened, specifically his death in either Gotham or Metropolis, he never said anything to the Primes or Galvatron for reasons that I'm unaware of, all he said was that only I was to know his plans and never actually explained why, said I didn't need to know"
"You have to honor his wishes"
"Yes Hawkman, I have to honor his wishes, Optimus, Rodimus, Galvatron do you trust me to do so?"
"Yes, he came to you because of your true authority, we trust you to act in that authority to carry out his wishes"
"Thanks, I'll take it from here then, but...tell Cybertron, hold a ceremony there"
"Understood"
The call is ended and everyone looks to Kerenai
"Now what?"
"Now...now I obey his wishes, but first I need to say goodbye my way, and allow the League to say goodbye as well"
"I'll alert the rest of the League, we'll find a place for them to gather and go from there"
"Thanks, tell them they have to be gathered by sunset"
"Understood"
And so the entire League was gathered and said their goodbyes to Starscream, though they wondered why he was basically on a pyre, and then Kerenai spoke up after the rest of the League had said what they were going to say
"I never thought that this day would come, that I would have to do this since I fully expected Starscream to outlive me, but I must do as he asked, even if it's one of the hardest things I ever have to do, the funeral of a family member, even though I don't know why he asked me to do what I must I will obey his wishes though it pains me to do so. I have already said my goodbye's in private and now I make them public, Starscream I will miss you so very much, and even if you were the officially recognized co-fourth in command we both know the truth, that I was truly the one who was to take command if the Primes and Galvatron were killed with you and Ultra Magnus both as my second, but it will just be Ultra Magnus instead of you both if something happens to the leaders. Is the Energon ready?"
Two EDC officers came forward with three barrels
"It's ready, but I still don't see why we need this much Energon since no Cybertronians are here, well no living Cybertronian"
"That's just the thing, this Energon isn't for consumption, Supergirl, Superman, Green Lantern open the barrels and poor them over Starscream, but be careful I don't know what exposure to Energon will do to Kryptonians"
The three do as asked and then Hawkman asks the obvious question
"Now what?"
"Now...now I do this"
Kerenai lights a stick to make it a torch and then trows it into the pyre
"Hey, wait...you're..."
"Following Starscream's instructions, he was to be burned of a funeral pyre if he was killed in Metropolis or Gotham as a symbol of how far he would be willing to go to protect that city and the world in the stead of it's protectors, I wasn't too happy with his instructions but I understood him in a way and so agreed to follow through with his request, as for the Energon that's the only thing that will burn hot enough and long enough to completely destroy his body and spark"
"So you're going to stay here until there's nothing left?"
"Exactly"
"Then we'll stand vigil with you"
"Thanks"
And so the League and Kerenai stand a long vigil while Starscream's remains burned but eventually the pyre was finished
"Come on, it's over"
"Yeah, it's over alright, and yet at the same time it's just beginning because we have to find out who created that weapon and why"
"We'll help you since it wasn't just your family they were after"
"I'll pass that on and they'll probably accept the help, because if they can create a weapon that can fool Cybertronian scanners..."
"I get it, our scanners will definitely be tricked"
"Exactly"
"Then let's get to work, but tomorrow will be soon enough I think"
"Agreed"
The group didn't know it at the time but the search for the one's who created the bomb that had fooled Cybertronian scanners would lead them to a discovery no one expected due to sheer circumstances surrounding said discovery but in the meantime Linda had to talk to the people she had recently scheduled her pilot's test with seeing as how it was supposed to be the next day
"I have to go talk to some people, reschedule the test I was supposed to take tomorrow because I'm not...I'm not mentally able to take it at the moment"
Thus Linda informs the people that were supposed to give her her pilot's test the circumstances and the test was rescheduled for two weeks later to giver her time the chance to properly mourn her loss
"I'll be ready by then I promise"
"Okay, two weeks from today it is then"
While waiting Linda does truly begin the mourning process with the rest of her family and a week after the initial funeral for Starscream that the League witness, while that had been a private event the League knew that it had been risky and thus arranged for a completely private memorial service for the League so that they could tell stories of their encounters with Starscream and let Linda hear stories that she probably hadn't even heard because of school
"Wait...he did what?"
"Yeah, he nose dived an enemy and at the last minute pulled out and blasted said enemy with a powerful attack while spinning I might add, it almost caused him serious harm"
"No wonder Ratchet, Wheeljack, the Primes, Galvatron and his trine mates were so mad at him that day, plus if I recall correctly the rest of the fliers got in on the action a little later too"
"Say, what about you Kerenai? I bet you have stories to tell also that we've never heard"
"True, but...I am curious about another incident first"
"Oh?"
"Yes, you see they don't...exactly tell me about the early days of the alliance seeing as how it was before I was even born"
"And by the time you were old enough to understand that there was an alliance with us it had become normal enough for both groups that we didn't really reminince about the past"
"Exactly, the stories you're telling now, some of them I know because they told me or I was witness to it, except for that one in a way but the early days are a mystery to me"
"I see, so what exactly are you curious about?"
"Well I've listened to the recordings of the first ever alliance between you guys and my family but according to what I've been told Starscream was alone on the second every alliance and they didn't tell me why and whenever I ask Starscream he doesn't like to talk about it"
"Then let's tell you that story"
And so they tell Linda the story she was curious about and in turn Linda tells a few of her own stories regarding Starscream, including a time where they thought he was dead but in fact had been abducted by an enemy long forgotten by the Cybertronians
"So, how long did you guys think he was dead?"
"Six months, it took us six months to find out the truth"
"At least he turned out to be alive"
"True, but we didn't let him out of our sites for the next two and a half years afterwords, this was when I was seven by the way"
"So it's been a few years but still, to lose him now..."
"Yeah, not easy in the slightest"
"In any case we both have our memories of him which will help, now then you said something about a test next week?"
"Yeah, my pilot's test"
"You nervous?"
"A little yeah, but I think I can handle it ultimately"
"I'm sure you can, you're telling us for a reason though aren't you?"
"Yeah, the League can protect me when my family can't so..."
"Understood, we'll have a discreet patrol on your plane when you give us the signal"
"Will do"
A week later and Linda's pilot test goes smoothly and she quickly finds that she passes for light aircraft certification which was what she was going for
"So you relieved to finally be a pilot?"
"Yes, maybe in the future I'll apply for a job with an airliner and need that kind of certification, but this one will do for now, even if something happens on a commercial airliner"
"True enough, a pilot is a pilot no matter how small or big the plane"
"Still, just why are you doing this since you have family that can fly you any where's you want?"
"We have our reasons for doing this I promise"
"Very well"
And so Linda lets her family know she was now a licensed pilot not knowing that her flying skills would save lives soon enough but in the meantime she and her family managed to gather a few League members and celebrate her status as a licensed pilot
"You know, I think Starscream would be proud of your accomplishment"
"He would have been Flash, especially since he'd been trying to convince the government that it was for the best for the past three years"
"Wait what?"
"Yes, he was the one to initialize the talks that allowed you to get your pilots license when you have"
"I see, I wish he was here to have seen his wish fulfilled"
"So do we all Linda, so do we all"
"In any case though, you're now a licensed pilot and can help the airliners at need"
"Indeed, which is what's needed quite frankly"
"In the meantime though I do have to wonder how you managed to get all of us League members here in secrecy all things considered, and just how much argument there was for these specific members"
"That we're not actually sure of, we let the founding members make that decision in regards to the specific members, as for secrecy well...we have our ways"
Three days later and it was summer vacation and Linda was going to England to help the EDC base with some problems when suddenly over Canada there was a problem with both pilots which forced Linda to take control of the plane