Scene 55 - Undercover: Part IV
Ember and Aqualad stood protectively in front of Prince Leon and Princess Ada and the red-headed royal responded eloquently, "There are more pressing matters at hand, Duchess Vespa. We can talk after we are safely off this mountain."
The Bialyan waved her hand dismissively, "I am sure you can do that easily with Princess Brianna's flight. Are you related to the Amazons, Brianna? I believe Atlanteans do not possess this power and aliens like the Martians and Kryptonians would not be allowed to lay claim to a throne on Earth."
The brunette frowned. She was quite certain no one was around when she used her powers. It seemed the Duchess only caught sight of her flying and did not witness her fire. Brianna did not respond to Vespa's question and the latter gave a small huff, "How rude. I believe manners dictate that you should answer a question when you are asked about it. Anyway, that is not my concern. All three of you should leave now. I only have issues with Leon."
Brianna and Kaldur exchanged looks and the pyro nodded at him, signalling him to get off the mountain with Ada. The Atlantean quickly guided the green eyed royal down the mountain side while Ember stood her ground in front of Leon. "Do you not understand English, Brianna? Get off this mountain! Your little flying ability is no match for my guards," Vespa said with annoyance and the brunette replied, "Prince Leon is my benefactor and therefore, I have sworn loyalty to him. I will not abandon him after he has helped me come this far." The pyro was stalling for time with conversation as she knew Aqualad would be back soon.
Meanwhile, Kaldur had safely lead Ada to the pine forest. Handing his intercom over to the princess, he whispered urgently, "Head straight and press this button to call for the Justice League on your way there. The reception should be better as you head closer to civilization. I have to go back to help both Brianna and Leon. Whatever you do, do not come back for us! You are our only hope for help." Ada looked torn but nodded as she ran away from Aqualad who returned back to the mountainside.
"It seems you really want to sacrifice yourself for this man. Alright then, guards, kill her!" The Duchess's voice dripped with venom and all five of her burly protectors began to charge for Brianna. Ember was already tugging on Leon's arm as she began to fly down the mountain but the sound of bullets made her return back to the ground quickly. She looked back and saw the men still running after her but after a split second, a sheet of ice formed under their feet and they slipped. Turning her head forward, she saw Kaldur with his arms extended with his water bearer.
Vespa frowned some more and continued to taunt, "Why am I not surprised that you have a superpowered guard? An Atlantean too, how lucky of you. I wonder how many students Aquaman trains and sacrifices." Two of her guards were knocked out by the fall but the remaining three extended their hands out to grip onto some snow to slow their descent. Aqualad used the snow as a little platform to propel him upwards so he was now in between Ember and the guards.
"C'mon, Leon!" Brianna said fervently as they resumed their run down the mountain. She really hated to leave Kaldur'ahm behind but she had to stick to her duty of protecting Leon which was now the highest priority. With their guns buried by the snow, the guards attempted to charge for the Atlantean but he threw one deftly down the mountain and encased the other two in ice. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
When Kaldur looked up to see Vespa still smiling down at the scene, he whipped his head around to see the guard he pushed down was pulling a gun from his coat pocket and aiming it at Brianna. It felt like a bad case of déjà vu from years ago at the warehouse and he immediately used the snow to push him downwards to intercept the bullet. He cried out in pain when the projectile made contact with his thigh and he fell down on the snow. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a dart and not a bullet. Aqualad tried to pull it out but felt all his muscles freezing up. He was paralyzed.
Brianna looked back to see her friend fallen on the snow and deliberating between two choices, she muttered an apology before pushing Leon down the mountain and the royal tumbled into the forest. Ember immediately flew to Kaldur and while she found a pulse, the brunette was shocked that he his entire body was locked in place. At least it was not the same as the last time he took the bullet for her. "What did you do?!" The pyro yelled angrily at the Duchess.
Vespa just shrugged and walked a little closer to the couple. The last bodyguard followed suit and unsheathed another dart as the Bialyan royal began to gloat, "It is designed for human use only. Since your precious guard is not one hundred per cent Homo sapiens, he is experiencing an adverse reaction. We had no idea that the side effect would be total paralysis so thanks for being the first one to tell us, little Atlantean man. Soon his lungs would stop respiring and his heart will cease beating."
Brianna knew she was surrounded and she cradled Kaldur's body protectively. If she was going to die, she will do so with pride and honour alongside her beloved teammate. Tears welled up in her eyes and she whispered to the Atlantean, "I'm sorry, Kal." As if saying goodbye for the last time, she pressed a kiss on his cold forehead.
Closing her eyes and waiting for the finishing blow, she felt a sharp object puncturing her back and a burning sensation soon after. Something warm and wet trickled down her body and she realized that her own blood was streaming out quickly.
"When used on humans, it causes uncontrollable bleeding. I will have fun watching you haemorrhage to death while my guard catches your precious friend Leon," There was a sadistic grin on Vespa's face now and Ember slowly felt herself losing control on reality. Before she blacked out, she saw the Duchess being levitated and encased in a blue shield.
"Brianna!" Ada screamed when she arrived with the League. Leon just fell to his knees in despair.
Artemis and Miss Martian were on the current shift to watch over their frail friend. The brunette's life kept hovering on the edge of death for the past few days. When everyone thought the bleeding had stopped, it would start again. The various scientists in the League were scrambling for a cure and when they finally found a magical element in the poison dart, they enlisted both Dr. Fate and Zatanna to conjure a remedy that was infused with mystical ingredients. So far, it appeared that it was working and Ember's vitals had stabilized.
For the umpteen time in her superhero career, Brianna woke up in a medical bed and found her arms attached to various drips. "Ugh…" She groaned hoarsely and her friends immediately rushed to her bedside.
"Brianna, you're awake. How are you feeling?" M'gann asked quietly and Ember coughed, "Thirsty… How long was I out?"
Artemis offered a cup of water with a straw attached and the brunette sipped the precious liquid eagerly. "Five days," Tigress replied and Brianna made a small hmm sound.
The Martian added on, "You have received quite a lot of transfusions and all sorts of drips the past few days. The doctor has ordered bed rest for you until you have recovered your strength."
Ember nodded and her thoughts fell on a certain Atlantean, "How's Kaldur?" The younger heroes traded a look with each other and Brianna got a little annoyed, "Please, just tell me."
"He's currently in an induced coma in the intensive care room. The poison worked on him very differently from you and the Atlantean healers were researching round the clock to provide a cure. He was too weak to be transported to Atlantis. They just administered the antidote a few hours ago and so far, all seems well," Artemis replied slowly and Brianna let out a sigh of relief, "That's good…" Her eyes fluttered close from fatigue and her friends continued to watch over her.
After a week of healing, Brianna was almost good as new and was allowed to walk around the tower without an escort. During her recuperation, she had learned that Duchess Vespa was thrown out of the royal charity circle for attempting to take Brianna's life and all personnel from Bialya have been banned from taking part in any events that involved civilians. Needless to say, Queen Bee was furious and sent her niece into exile in the harshest part of the Bialyan desert. The brunette almost felt sorry for Vespa.
She also learned that Kaldur was recently transferred into a normal medical ward but still remained in his coma. Feeling a little worried and guilty for having him be a human shield for her again, she decided to pay him a visit even if he wasn't awake. Stepping into his room, Aquaman and Lagoon Boy greeted her fondly and left to give Brianna some privacy.
Ember stepped closer to the bed and found Kaldur with an odd looking respirator on his mouth and droppers near his gills. As if answering her question, the dropper squeezed water on the Atlantean's fish-like gills and Brianna knew it was automated and used to prevent him from getting dehydration. Other than the various apparatus hooked onto his dark skinned body, Aqualad looked quite healthy. Brianna sighed and sat down beside him.
"You're so stubborn… I told you before that you are not expendable and you still had to jump in front of me to take the dart. It didn't matter anyway; I got hurt too saving your butt. Why must you keep doing this to me? Every time I think I am over you, you just have to keep sauntering back into my life with sweet gestures." She ranted with frustration and reached over to grab his hand, "Is it because I gave you the breath of life about eight years ago? We're even now, Kaldur. You don't have to keep saving mine. We're not keeping score of anything…!"
Her voice almost cracked and she inhaled a deep breath, "You know just after the avalanche, I was terrified that you were dead. Why must you make me feel this way? Leon might be right… I still have feelings for you."
To her surprise, Kaldur's fingers gripped hers tightly and she turned to see that he was awake and smiling under the respirator, "I… love you… Brianna. I always had."
There was nothing left to hide now that he had heard her confession, "Well, you have a weird way of showing it, Kaldur'ahm."
There was a short pause and he replied, "I will… make it up to you…"
Brianna responded coyly, "Since when were we together again?"
The Atlantean chuckled under the mask, "Do I… have to ask you…?"
The brunette squeezed his fingers, "Of all the things you have put me through, the least you can do is treat me like a proper lady."
Kaldur coughed and gathered his courage, "Will you… marry me?" Brianna was about to say yes when he asked the first half of his question but was taken quite aback by his proposal. She sat in stunned silence and Aqualad gave her all the time she needed and gently caressed her hand with his thumb.
"As long as you are honest with me in whatever you do. No more faking breakups or deaths any more unless you run it by me first." The brunette replied softly and Kaldur nodded, "I give… you my… word."
Brianna kissed his hand and finally said the word he was waiting for, "Yes."
Author's Note: By the way, the Young Justice: Legacy was released this week which covers Team Year 5 (aka year 2015) so chapters 30 to 34 are now considered my own canon. If the game came out earlier, I would have wrote about it but I'm long past that point so I took creative liberties with the time skip. Hope you don't mind. :P
It is now late February-early March in 2018. In case you forgot, Kaldur was wearing a glamour charm so Vespa only saw him in disguise and didn't recognize him as Aqualad. Homo sapiens is the scientific name for humans. The blue shield belonged to Rocket. ;)
Poor Vespa, even Queen Bee shows no mercy to her family members...
Man, dramatic things always brings Kaldur & Brianna together doesn't it? A little bit of danger to knock some sense into each other's heads. ;)
Personally, Brianna has always loved Kaldur but she was too hurt and bitter to acknowledge or act on her feelings. Now that Leon and the incident opened her eyes, she finally realizes that the Atlantean is worth having a second chance.
Three more chapters till this story ends. :)
To murdercrowther: I have no idea either. Maybe 'cos he was an original character created specifically for the show and the writers had no idea who to pair him up with?
To Molly Grace 16: Leon will get a girl eventually. ;)
To piggythelaw: No worries, all the best for your studies! :D
To Eszra: Aww, I'm really humbled you think the chapter could have been an episode. That makes he happy. :)