Scene 36 - Irritation
The whole Team were seated at the portable chairs and tables lined up neatly in rows of five in the briefing room. Nightwing was up front, standing in front of a few holographic screens with a laser pointer in hand. Most of the senior members sat in front and as usual, La'gaan cuddled up to M'gann and held her hand while Brianna sat near the corner of the first row with Superboy on her left who was right smack at the corner itself. It seemed he was using her and Barbara as a shield to block his view of his alien ex-girlfriend. The red headed girl on her right had a notepad on the table.
Nightwing began his lecture, "Pay attention, everyone. As you know, Earth has been invaded. The Kroloteans may have been… unfortunately neutralized but we have to be on the alert for other alien species who might be targeting Earth, no thanks to the Light who highlighted our position back on Rimbor. Right now, we have noted a second alien strain on Earth and we have no idea who they are or what they even look like. The only clue of their identity is this bomb. We also noted the Light had kidnapped teenagers too, as evidenced by the squad who went to Bialya."
One of the holographic screens switched to an image of Aqualad standing in front of the black backpack-shaped device and another screen pulled up an image of the containment pods in a Bialyan cave.
There was some unrest amongst the team members and Brianna folded her arms dismissively. She could hear Jaime talking to himself though.
"Blue Beetle, is there something you would like to say?" Dick asked as he singled the boy out.
"No sir. Just… hungry," The teen replied sheepishly and Nightwing raised an eyebrow before he was interrupted by Lagoon Boy. "Why don't we capture Aqualad and have my angelfish interrogate him? It's obvious he is contact with this second alien race."
Dick sighed, "If only it was that easy, La'gaan. He is quite a formidable opponent. We will look for another way."
The Atlantean wasn't satisfied by the answer and turned towards Brianna, "Maybe Ember would be able to know his whereabouts. Or at least, his modus operandi."
The brunette's eyes flashed with anger briefly, "He's on the run with Black Manta and his troopers. Who knows which body of water he is hiding at now on this planet? Besides, his M.O. might have changed after serving Manta. We can only predict his fight moves but I don't know what he's thinking. I'm not a mind reader, Lagoon Boy."
La'gaan made a tsk noise, "You've been together for about four to five years and you don't know? No wonder he left you and-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the brunette flew out of her chair and physically lifted the fish boy by his neck before flying to the other side of the cave to pin him against the wall.
"Do not insult me. You have tested my patience far too many times," Brianna growled as her hands heated up.
"Ember stand down!" Nightwing said sternly and the rest of the Team stood up in their seats, preparing for the next move.
The pyro raised her other fiery hand towards everyone else, "Stay where you are! I have to teach Lagoon Boy some manners."
She turned her attention back to the Atlantean, "In case you have forgotten, La'gaan, you flirted with me when you first joined the team. Do you remember how you used to put your arm around my shoulders and hit on me? If I'm that 'dirty' La'gaan, why did you make a move on me? I'm sure you found me somewhat attractive back then."
Lagoon Boy was choking and M'gann cried out, "Please Bri, you're hurting him!"
Brianna lowered herself and her hostage down to the floor and released her hold on his neck but she still pinned his chest with her arm, "As much as you irk me, I don't go around insulting and defaming you. If you're angry at Kaldur'ahm, I would suggest you direct your rage at him and not me because I will defend myself. Also, you ought to learn to respect others. We humans might not be able to breathe underwater but that doesn't mean you can go around demeaning us. Don't forget Atlanteans are evolved from humans."
The brunette turned her head and looked into Miss Martian's eyes, "M'gann, on behalf of our friendship, please keep your boyfriend in line. He is not privileged to be rude and abrasive to people. After all, he is nice towards you so why the double standard?"
The girl let him go and she flew towards Dick Grayson, "Nightwing, as team leader, please make sure all team members are respected by one another. Such unnecessary conflict breaks the team dynamics." With her final words, she flew to the library to be alone.
Sitting down on the couch, she was astonished at what she had done. Standing up to the fool was quite a feat but at the same time, she was hurt by his words and tears did start to form in her eyes. "Brianna?" Conner's voice rang out and she quickly wiped away the salty trails on her cheek.
"What is it?" She asked quietly and he sat down on the sofa next to her.
"That was a quite an awesome and brave feat you did there. Most of the Team is rather happy that you stood up to that jerk. He had it coming. " He flashed a boyish grin and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Thanks, Conner," The brunette said earnestly and he patted her back soothingly, "Are you gonna be okay?"
Brianna nodded, "I will be. I need some time to compose myself." She looked up and noticed that their faces were quite close to each other with their breaths almost touching.
Ember quickly pulled away and stood up, thinking that it was probably the heat of the moment, "I think we ought to head back to the briefing room. Nightwing hasn't finished his presentation yet."
Without a glance back, she flew back to the briefing room to take her seat and not a word was exchanged as Conner sat beside her. Her irritation slowly melted away to a quiet calm. This was a feeling she had not experienced for a long time… Maybe she was content that something she bottled up for so long was finally lifted off her shoulders.
Author's Note: A chapter between the episodes "Beneath" and "Bloodlines" so Bart has not made an appearance yet. I won't be writing a chapter about him though since it doesn't contribute to this story but he will be given a mention in future chapters.
If it isn't obvious enough, I'm giving Brianna a romantic interest. Don't worry, this story still ships Kaldur and Brianna but I'm sure we all date a few people before setting on The One. ;)
To piggythelaw: Thanks! You can implement Singles Appreciation Day with your fellow single friends too. :D
To Molly Grace 16: Thanks and you'll see when we get to that chapter. :)
To Eszra: You'll have to start out your story in point form and then slowly string the sentences together. I'm sure you can do it!
To murdercrowther: Thank you once again! ^_^