Scene 38 - Aftermath
Brianna wished she had more time to grieve over the death of her friend but with the threat of the alien invasion looming over everyone's heads, life had to go on. Artemis will forever be a beloved and treasured friend in her heart. She sighed as she stood under the shower head and allowed the warm water wash all the suds away, hopefully the water would cleanse her of the pain she felt. Turning the faucet off, she stepped out of the shower stall to dry herself and donned her outfit for Raquel's bridal shower later. It was funny how a few years back, Rocket was smitten with Aqualad but she eventually found someone else who loved her wholeheartedly. Truthfully, Brianna was happy for her.
With a towel still in her hair, she flew back to the briefing room out of habit and heard Mal say, "I want his fish head on a platter for what he did to Artemis."
Still drying off her tresses, she replied darkly, "I'll deal with him personally on behalf of the team."
Nightwing looked at her worriedly, "Are you alright, Bri? Your bloodlust is… disturbing."
The pyro shrugged it off, "I'm not the only one who wants revenge, isn't it? He toyed with my heart, betrayed the team, and killed our friend. Of course I want to get my hands on him."
Dick raised an eyebrow, fearing for Kaldur's life momentarily, "We are not vigilantes, Ember. Justice will prevail. He will be charged for murder. Let the League and authorities handle it." He stepped forward to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
The brunette stared at her team leader and sighed, "At least give me the opportunity to slap him please?"
Nightwing chuckled, "Alright."
The brunette smiled, "I'm going to be more active in tracking down Aqualad and stopping the invasion from now on." With that, she flew off to M'gann's room to borrow her hair dryer.
Ember kept returning to Happy Harbor almost daily after the bridal shower, looking over the reconnaissance reports Nightwing had gathered and plotting their next strategy. Tonight however, was a special one as Happy Harbor High held a homecoming dinner for past graduates. Brianna went alone; open to making new friends and she spotted Cate who had her arms entwined with a man she had never met.
"Brianna! It's been so long. How are you? This is my fiancé, Simon." The brunette smiled and shook Simon's hand, "I've been good, and I got employed by a hospital back home. Congratulations on your engagement!"
The young adults spent the night chatting away merrily as they updated each other on their progress in life and where their classmates were. They even managed to get acquainted with the older alumnus, exchanging contacts and widening their social circle. It was quite a fun and enjoyable night where she listened to tales of the alumnus themselves pranking the teachers and the unusual little quirks each of the teaching staff had. Brianna wanted to stay a little longer but she already set a time with Nightwing to discuss the details about their next mission, they had intel that would possibly find the alien invaders.
Looking at the watch and faking a yawn, she said sleepily, "Oh look at the time, I need to get going, a friend of mine is picking me up. It has been nice meeting all of you. Hopefully we'll see each other again for the next homecoming?"
Her new friends murmured in agreement and felt a little sad to see her go… Brianna had been a joy as they all interacted with each other using the games the brunette suggested.
"Aw, alright. I'll invite you and our friends to the wedding. Look for an invite in the mail in the coming months! Take care, Brianna," Cate gave her friend a hug and bid her goodbye.
Walking out of the school compound, she made her way to Mount Justice, following the route she was so familiar with for the past few years. The night was young and people were still mingling around town, enjoying an evening dinner meal. This place was full of memories for her and she cautiously blocked out the moments where she spent with Kaldur. The brunette reminded herself that this place was not only for romance but for friendship too; she had fun in Happy Harbor with the rest of her teammates over the years and she wasn't going to let one person tarnish the feelings she had for her second home. Brianna snapped out of her day dream as she stopped in front of the mountain and stood on a worn patch of grass, waiting for the computer system to recognize her.
Oddly, her designation wasn't read and she called out, "Computer, this is Ember, Bee-Zero-Eight." There was silence and she pushed on the hidden entrance to the cave, hoping it would budge. It was a pity she did not have super strength and she pulled out her communications ear piece.
"Nightwing, this is Ember. I'm stuck outside Mount Justice, has there been an electrical malfunction?"
Something was wrong when he did not reply so Brianna flew towards the "back" of the mountain which faced the sea where she knew there was another entrance that would be easier to open. As she neared the path to the beach, she spotted Aqualad, an unknown female clad in orange and black, and Icicle Junior who was carrying Blue Beetle into a Manta flyer. What was going on here? She reached into her pocket to pull out the shades she received from Zatanna last month and began to fly over to the ship as it took off. Boy, was she glad to carry around the sunglasses and a pair of throwing knives in her civilian getup.
Ember reached out a hand and she managed to grab onto a part of the ship as it zoomed away. The wind was roaring in her face and it was a little difficult to hang out but the flyer slowed down a bit as it cruised through the air at a stable speed. She hovered just above the flyer and began to carefully burn out some critical points of the ship. The brunette barely started on her sabotage when the hatch opened to reveal her ex-boyfriend.
"Hello, Ember." The blonde Atlantean unsheathed his water swords and Brianna glared at him angrily.
"How dare you use the same weapon you used to kill Artemis against me?" Ember flew upwards slightly and crossed her arms, not wanting to make the first move.
"It's not the same water source though," The Atlantean replied coolly in return and added on, "You don't plan to fight me, do you? I have the Terror Twins, Icicle Junior, and Tigress on board. One against five isn't a smart move."
The brunette got into a fighting stance, "I'll take my chances." Both of them stared down at each other and Kaldur'ahm really did not want to fight her. If she got into the ship, she would be trapped and have her powers deactivated from an inhibitor collar before she got shipped off to the Partner. He could not risk seeing her in any more danger and the Atlantean swore to keep her out of the enemy's reach. The blonde had to do something now though, or else the rest of the villains on the ship would jump out and assist him.
"Very well," Kaldur said darkly as he threw water spikes at her and Brianna dodged them and sent a fiery knife in retaliation.
Aqualad swiped the projectile away with his sword and in doing so; Ember took the opportunity and flew up close, raining fire on his head. The Atlantean made a water shield to protect himself and most of the water evaporated away. No matter, he drew out a fresh supply of water from his pack as Brianna charged at him from the back. The girl dodged his water spouts and propelled herself from the roof, attempting to tackle him off the ship. Kaldur jumped to the side as she flew past and he threw up his sword accidentally which nicked her sleeve.
Brianna grunted from the cut and pressed a hand to her shoulder to stop the bleeding. She was pissed off but she had to plan her next move very carefully. At that moment, Kaldur decided that she had to leave for her own safety and spoke into his communications device, "Tigress, do it now."
He heard an uncertain reply from Artemis, "You sure?"
Looking back at Ember, he said quietly, "Do it." A split second later, an explosion erupted behind the brunette and the pyro turned around to see Mount Justice blown up and on fire.
"You really are a heartless bastard!" She cried out angrily as she sent her last knife towards Kaldur while he was descending down the hatch. The blade cut him on the cheek and he stared back at her, "You might want to rescue your friends."
With that, he dropped down into the control room and Icicle Junior pushed the throttle which sent the flyer sailing away quickly, leaving the brunette hero behind. Brianna turned back to the mountain and was at a lost on where to begin her search. If Nightwing was in the cave, would he have survived?
"Ember to Watchtower, Aqualad's cronies blew up Mount Justice. Request backup, Nightwing was in there and I'm unsure if there was anyone else."
Her mentor's voice rang out in her ear, "Brianna? Mal is at the scene, help him look for survivors. We're on our way. Be careful." As the girl flew closer to the shore, she saw a figure diving into the water and swimming his way towards something adrift nearby. It was Sphere, Nightwing, Wolf, and Superboy. Dick fell underwater and Brianna was about to speed up to reach them when Mal dived under to rescue their unconscious leader.
He surfaced with Nightwing and yelled, "Conner, Superboy, wake up!" Mal splashed water on Conner's face too and the half-Kryptonian woke up with a gasp.
"Questions later man, grab Wolf, the S-cycle's sinking!" Mal said frantically as Conner sat up, "Right, right…" The blue eyed boy then grabbed Wolf as Sphere sunk into the water.
Superboy swam next to Duncan as the latter asked, "Will Sphere be okay?"
Conner looked down into the water, "Err yeah, I think so. She folds up to heal. Can you make it to shore with Nightwing?"
Mal nodded, "Yeah, I got him." Both boys started paddling with one arm and it was a surprise they didn't notice her flying towards them at all.
"You guys need any help?" The brunette asked when she was close. The men looked up at her and Conner shook his head, "We'll manage. You take care of your shoulder." Brianna slowly followed them back to shore while they waited for the League to arrive.
After the debriefing with Nightwing and Captain Atom, Brianna walked back out into the lobby inside the Hall of Justice. Looking up at the statue of Aquaman, the brunette sighed. The monarch would be really disappointed now that not only his former protégé killed a friend; he also boldly kidnapped her teammates and blew up their home. Her hand was unconsciously placed on her bandaged shoulder and a voice behind her asked, "Does your shoulder still hurt?"
The brunette turned her head around and replied, "No, Conner. I guess I'm not used to having a bandage in this area." She rubbed her hand against the fabric and Superboy frowned, "It's not going to heal if you keep irritating it."
The girl dropped her hand, "Alright, dad." She teased him and the half-Kryptonian shrugged, "Looks like some of Pa Kent's nurturing personality rubbed off on me." Both of them then walked over to the pantry for an early morning snack where Conner decided to do everything himself since her arm was injured.
"Thanks Conner, but I'm really okay. It's just a shallow cut," Brianna said and sat at the table while she waited for Superboy to mix up their hot chocolate.
"No worries."
There was awkward silence after that and the brunette said, "I'm sorry Mount Justice was destroyed. It was your first home after all…"
Conner laid the mugs down on the table and sat beside her, "There was good times in the cave… I suppose change is good, we have to leave our attachments behind anyway. Plus, it's nice to move around and experience new surroundings." The boy in front of her had really matured over the years. His temper had quelled and he was almost exuding the same calm and quiet presence as Superman.
Ember sipped her cup as Superboy asked, "How you holding up?"
Brianna raised an eyebrow, "I said I'm fine. The wound is superficial."
Conner shook his head, "I mean whatever that has happened so far must have been hard on you. You did care for Kaldur once."
There was slight pause and the girl drank deeply before setting her mug down on the table, "You're taking psychology classes too, aren't you?"
He shrugged, "Even if I didn't, we lived together for years; it would be bad if I didn't know how my friend was feeling. We all understand each other."
His words rang a bell and he was right. They were friends after all and had helped each other out numerous times over the years. Brianna sighed, "I'm just really furious with him. Breaking up with me, leaving the Team to join his father, killing our friend, and now he has obliterated our sanctuary. I really want to teach him a lesson after all he has done to all of us. Since we were so close, I should be the one to do it." Her words were venomous and she could feel her rage boiling again but it was stopped when Conner suddenly pulled her into a hug.
"It's alright. I'm angry at him too but you're not alone, Brianna. We should work together to take him down," The Boy of Steel whispered and patted her back. The next moment was a blur but she recalled looking up into his blue eyes and as their faces drew closer to each other like magnets, they shared a soft but tender kiss before being interrupted by M'gann who was worried about them after hearing about the explosion.
The Martian's eyes were wide like saucers but she smiled softly, "Congrats? Anyway, Nightwing wants to hold a briefing for all Team members that are present."
Conner took her hand gently and together, they walked into the library. All of this was quite a surprise. Who knew the aftermath of death and destruction could bring two hearts together?
After meeting up with The Light, Kaldur'ahm headed to the infirmary and he sat on the medical bed as the doctor cleaned his wound. The good doc said that it would not scar and placed a bandage on his cheek. His father was not pleased that he was hurt and vowed revenge on the "fire witch" who did this to him. Thankfully, the Atlantean managed to placate him by saying he would be ruthless next time but deep down, his heart was hurting as he had to injure his beloved Brianna once more.
He got off the bed and walked to Artemis's room to talk but it gave Black Manta the impression that the couple were doing "something private together" and he was more than happy to give them space. Kaldur was pleased with that because it would give him a chance to really discuss their plans with the archer unhindered by any distractions. It was good that their rooms were not bugged but they did place some anti-spying devices around their rooms as a precaution.
"I passed the flash drive to Dick. I'm sure Wally will be relieved when he sees the file," The blonde Atlantean said as Artemis sharpened the blade of her katana, "Good. How's the wound? Brianna must really hate you."
Raising a hand to his face, he shrugged it off, "It's not serious."
The ex-archer frowned, "It's a good thing Wally retired. I don't think I would have the guts to harm him intentionally."
Kaldur could only sigh and he whispered, "It does pain me but the sacrifices are worth it. I am finally allowed to speak to the Partner which would aid the Team greatly. Just bear with it, Artemis. This is the time for us to stick together and take our enemies down from the inside. With your help, I will be able to finish this mission twice as fast."
Artemis contemplated on his words and nodded, "It's good to have you as a trusted friend, Kaldur."
The Atlantean replied, "Likewise." He then left her room to head back to his own for some much needed rest. One goal down, a few more to go and each successful step brought him much closer home to Brianna…
Author's Note: Season 2 episodes covered in this chapter, a bit of "Satisfaction" due to mentions of the bridal shower scene and latter part of "Darkest".
Cate is a background character I introduced Scene 11- Date. I brought her back briefly. =P I wanted her and Brianna to have a conversation about love and ex-boyfriends but I felt it would drag this chapter out too long and frankly, I don't think Brianna is that close to Cate to pour her relationship problems out to an acquaintance she hasn't met in years...
I thought very looong and hard on whether Brianna should be captured or not. I had ideas on what would happen when she was captured and I also had plans on what happens next if she wasn't captured. In the end, I do think Kaldur would not allow his loved one to be captured and tortured in front of him so he will specifically tell Dick that Brianna must not be at the cave at a specific time and date. He'd rather die than to see someone he loves get hurt.
Now, as for Brianna and Conner hooking up... I understand people will be disappointed as we don't see them interact much in the story but I'd like to point out that just because we don't see them interact "on screen", they do interact quite a bit off screen. They have been housemates for years, after all.
Relationships are funny things... I'd like to think that both of them are lonely and they just happen to be in the same place at the same time so they feel happy that their loneliness is somewhat fulfilled. Now, I know that's not the right way to start and continue a relationship but we all make mistakes when it comes to dating. Conner won't abuse her and neither will Brianna but eventually, they will learn they are not right for each other.
To Molly Grace 16: You'll see in due time. ;)
To murdercrowther: No worries! Glad to see your internet is back and running again!
To Eszra: Maybe you can ask a beta reader who is well versed with the YJ series and characters to help read the story for you and see if what you have in mind is good?
To piggythelaw: I'm happy the chapter pleased you. =P