Scene 26 - Uncertainty: Part IV
Ember quietly crouched down against the wall just before the turn of the corridor to listen for any movements. When it was clear, she nodded her head back to Aqualad whom she was teamed up with for this mission to apprehend smugglers. The blonde took the lead as they swiftly covered the corridor. Each team was covering different floors and talked occasionally on their telepathic link.
First floor is clear. Robin's voice said. I hacked into security systems too. There's loads of activity underground, this building is just a white elephant. Re-group?
The pyro looked at the Atlantean as he planned his next move. Everyone will finish checking out their respective floors and re-group on the first floor in ten minutes. Robin and Zatanna, both of you will stay put and continue to observe. Aqualad out. The psychic connection was suddenly flurry with activity as the various team members acknowledged his instructions.
"I'll take the left, you'll take the right." Brianna whispered quietly when they reached the split in the corridor. Kaldur'ahm nodded and they took off in different directions, giving the place a quick look-see.
The place was deserted, dust was gathering in various corners and there was hardly any furniture around. Both teens met each other again in less than a minute and wordlessly, they headed downstairs.
Contact! Some of them left the basement, Zatanna's holding them off but we need back up!
Hearts racing, everyone rushed down as fast as they could to aid their teammates. It was just a handful of grunts but they were armed. Miss Martian immediately used her telekinesis to hold them in place while Zatanna bound them magically with their clothes and turn their weapons into useless stuffed animals.
There will be more down that access tunnel. Artemis and Aquagirl, stay here and guard the prisoners. The rest of you, with me. Aqualad gave out his orders once more and they followed after him while Artemis unsheathed a trick arrow and fired it at the captured men, encasing them in foam as insurance. Tula's tattoos glowed menacingly as a deterrent.
Half-way to their destination, alarms sounded and they were met by resistance. Shots rang out and Rocket immediately put a kinetic shield in front of them. Robin pulled out his smoke bombs, using the psychic link at the same time. Rocket. On three. Lower the shields and I'll throw the smoke. One. Two. Three!
The shield shrank and smoke filled the other side of the shield almost immediately. Waiting for a few seconds, the shield was completely gone and the Team went in to subdue the crooks. There was a lot of fighting as punches were traded and people were pinned against the wall by ice, knives, force, and magic.
Zatanna and Tempest, stand guard. The magician nodded an affirmative as she magically bound and gagged the criminals altogether. Garth created a sword from his water pack, holding it in a fierce stance. The heroes continued down the corridor and reached a huge storage area with white and brown crates stacked neatly all about.
"Kill them all." A threatening voice boomed over the speakers and the boxes began to rain down on them while M'gann stopped all of them telepathically but she was now open to attack. Conner managed to jump in front of her to intercept a bullet while the Team spread out to take down their enemy. Wally set out to grab the guns from the attackers' hands as Aqualad stunned them with electricity. Once Miss Martian moved all the boxes away, she and Superboy joined in the fray, taking all the mooks down.
Ember spun and cartwheeled to avoid punches as she surprised the guy she was fighting with a burst of fire. As he reeled back from the heat, she grabbed his arm and swung him towards the nearest pillar, knocking him out cold. She moved again to intercept a parry from another man but failed to notice a fallen guard who was pulling a gun from his boots and pointing it at her.
While Brianna ended the fight with a punch to the man's stomach, Aqualad was running towards as fast as he could, "No!" A deafening gunshot rang out and Kaldur'ahm crashed all his weight against the brunette, protecting her from the bullet. The blonde Atlantean groaned as he dropped to the floor and Ember regained her balance, eyes widening at his abdominal injury. She immediately ripped off a part of her suit to staunch the bleeding. The gunman received a blow to the head by Wally who stared down at him angrily.
"Kaldur, don't sleep," The pyro said shakily as she did her best not to cry.
"I… made my decision. I-" His words were cut off when Brianna interrupted him sharply, "Stop talking. You can tell me after we get through this!" Her voice was cracking slightly and footsteps ran towards them.
"Ember, I'm going to stop the bleeding with some magic. Please move away," Zatanna said soothingly and she chanted an incantation. His flesh moved weirdly and a temporary clot was formed on his skin.
"Aquagirl and I will head back to Atlantis right away to get help. We'll meet you back in the cave." Garth's words were shaking too and he had to pull himself away from his best friend to get the medical attention he required.
"Call Batman and the League. We need them to help put these thugs away," Superboy spoke as Rocket used her communicator to call her mentor. M'gann extended her arm and levitated Kaldur'ahm's body gently while Brianna flew beside him, grasping the Atlantean's hand tightly.
"Stay with me. Please…"
He kept slipping in and out of consciousness, unaware of everything around him. Kaldur'ahm swore he heard a familiar female voice pleading with him to stay awake but his thoughts were clouded by agony and darkness. It was all too much to bear and he slipped into sleep once more.
The Atlantean medics surrounded the table he was on while Aquaman had to gently pull Brianna away. "More haste, less speed, Ember. They will save him so please, do not impede their progress."
The girl nodded weakly as Zatanna supported her friend. There was some foreign chatter while Garth muttered something and soon the words sounded like English.
"Zatanna, they want to know if they can remove the clot."
"It'll be better if I do it but you should brace yourselves, blood might spurt out." The magician said wearily and the medics nodded, their unusual equipment glowing ominously.
"Evomer taht tloc!"
A paddle-like object was immediately placed over the wound, draining the excess blood and the paddle was removed before a cylindrical piece of equipment was injected into his skin just under the wound to stabilize him. The Atlantean's body convulsed from the chemicals and Brianna cried out, "What's wrong?!"
Tula immediately walked over, blocking the brunette's view of the proceedings. "They removed the excess blood and gave him something to stop the bleeding. It causes the body to tremor for a bit."
There was a wet sound in the background and the red-head turned around to check on the procedure. Brianna craned her head to see them slapping a slippery looking green material on his abdomen. "Is that seaweed?"
"Healing seaweed. We need to bring him back to Atlantis for further treatment." The medic attending to Kaldur'ahm said aloud and water began to curl around the blonde teen's body as it lifted him off the table and towards the Zeta tube.
The pyro could only stare in disbelief as her feet were rooted to the spot. Orin saw her distress and said, "Hold on. Let her talk to him."
Ember shot Aquaman a grateful look before heading towards Aqualad to hold his hand, giving it a light squeeze. She bent down to whisper into his ear, "You're strong, please come back to me." With a kiss on his forehead, she turned away reluctantly.
"He'll be alright. We'll contact you as soon as he wakes up," The red-headed Atlantean said reassuringly and gave her friend a big hug.
"Please take care of him," The brunette whispered in return while Garth and King Orin squeezed her shoulder in a comforting manner.
The wait was agonizing but after a day, her emblem rang and Brianna answered it eagerly. To her surprise, she saw Kaldur's face on the hologram. He looked exhausted but was conscious nonetheless, "Good afternoon, Brianna."
Smiling back, her voice soared with relief, "Hey, Kaldur. It's good to see you're okay. You scared me back there."
Returning the smile, Kaldur replied, "I wanted to say this earlier but, my love is you, Brianna. I am in love with you and I will risk my life to keep you safe. Tula is a beloved sister to me now."
There was a stunned silence but she responded back, "I love you too. Don't risk your life like that next time, okay? I wouldn't know how to answer your parents or how I'll live my life without you."
There was warmth radiating from his eyes and he smiled a little more fondly, "Let's just focus on the present now. I'll see you next week. How about going to that Italian place we read online?"
Brianna chuckled and wiped away the happy tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's a date."
Author's Note: Despite their break-up, Brianna was still in love with Kaldur and very obviously continued to care for him. She was just waiting for Kaldur to clear his head and give her answer but the bullet wound sped things up a bit. ;)
With that, the love triangle saga has been put to rest and we can continue to explore the time skip. Yay! ^_^
Onwards to replying to reviews!
To piggythelaw: Wow, I am flattered you found the chapter sweet! That makes me very happy to know that I induced happiness in you with words.
To Molly Grace 16: I PMed you that I will write about that and we'll see it in a few chapters. =D
To Eszra: Aww, I'm so sorry. *hugs* I hope this chapter made you feel better.
To murdercrowther: Thank you once again!
To LoveYourStory: Well, I'm sorry to say this chapter might look like she takes him back quite soon but I already explained in the author's note and I hope you understand. =)