Well after having three action-packed chapters, I think I'm going to take it a little slow before turning things up again…

*Disclaimer: I do not own JL, maybe just the teens in this fanfic

O~O~O

Chapter Twenty-three: Aftermath

The plasma screen television blared to life, animated with the previous recordings of today's news. Blue and white lights were cast around the dimly lit room. Evangelia and her friends were in her room, comfortably sitting on her sofa watching the news from an outside perspective.

"Trinity Union High School today was the epicenter for a dangerous and mysterious attack. It was under siege by what witnesses call, 'a strange, maleficent force.'"

"All I saw were these three creatures appear out of thin air," Penelope tells the reporter. "It started out like a vicious storm, but apparently these things came out of tornadoes."

"Many of the students and faculty managed to evacuate the school, except for a handful of students who were left behind. Police and firefighters were unable to enter into the school campus due to what seemed to be a barrier."

Scenes from of police officers and firefighters attempting to break the barrier were shown.

"No one was able to enter the barrier until members of the Justice League arrived. After what had seemed like hours, waiting for them to retrieve the missing students, they all emerge unharmed and safe. When asked about the entire ordeal, Superman had this to say…"

"There was no need for this commotion. The entire thing could've been avoided. The students were perfectly capable of walking away from this. However, for some reason they've decided to stay behind. I hope these teenagers realized that in situations like these aren't the sort to gamble with."

"Police Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham City Police Dept. arrived later on the scene to disperse the crowd and to investigate the details."

A clip of a press conference with Commissioner Gordon appears.

"Right now, there aren't any leads as to what may be the cause of this. We do not know who the suspects are nor do we know their motives. We are going to have to work closely with the Justice League to determine the details."

A short segment of an interview with the principal was shown.

"Principal Halloway had this to say on the matter…"

"I'm just glad that everyone managed to survive this incident and come out unharmed. When something unpredictable like this happens, that's all you can hope for."

The aftermath of the damage around the school was shown. A few piles of bricks were strewn across the campus and there were some broken windows. Some of the branches of the trees broke off due to the ferocity of the storm. Other than that, the school was in a decent condition. The field on the other hand was a different story. It was damaged beyond recognition.

"The school will be shut down for the next two weeks and classes will resume after spring break. I'm Fiona Creed and this is MKG Tri-City News with the evening report."

Evangelia immediately shuts off the television, refusing to hear any more of what other people had to say. The rest of the group remained silent, reflecting on what had just occurred to them.

"I hated the way Superman made us sound," Ophelia says, breaking the silence. "He made us seem like a bunch of foolish, attention-seeking kids."

"Yeah, y'know he didn't even thank Val, T-Rex, or me for saving his sorry behind," Billy stated matter-of-factly.

As the group conversation continued to buzz, Evangelia noticed that Valen was missing. She turned her head, sensing that he was outside on her balcony. Quietly slipping out, she makes her way towards her sulking friend. Feeling her presence, he ignores her at first and continues to stare out into the Gotham City skyline in the distance. She remains silent and stares at the city as well, knowing that he would eventually cave and tell her what was wrong.

Sighing, the boy finally speaks up. "What a day we had…"

"Mmm-hmm," Evangelia agrees, hoping that he would continue to open up.

An awkward silence fills between them as Evangelia mentally kicks herself for assuming that he would be willing to talk about his feelings. After all, he was male and from her experiences they don't tend to be as open as woman. Deciding that it was best to seize control of the "pep talk," she veers into sensitive territory, hoping that she could gently "nudge" him to talk rather than have to pry into his business.

"Val, what's wrong?" she asks in a firm yet submissive voice.

"Everything I do isn't good enough!" he blurts out.

She was a bit surprise that it didn't take much "nudging" or prying to get him to open up. Placing her hand on his, she was willing to listen intently on what he had to say.

"My father is a highly respectable man," Valen continues. "I don't know what he does to get it but a lot of people look up to him. When I was younger, I always wanted to be like him. He is a Good Samaritan, always helping others in the community when they needed it. As I grew older, I began to realize that in reality all I was doing was chasing the shadow of man whom I can never please, whose standards were too high for me to fulfill."

"Oh Val…" she sighs, her heart going out to her dear friend.

"I thought that if I got good grades, became editor-and-chief of the school newspaper and the student body president, he would finally take the time out to look at me and be proud. I also thought that by putting others first he would think of me as a hero. But instead he thinks I'm a reckless teen who puts the ones closest to him in danger. When Superman confirmed what my father said, I thought that I would never be good enough in anyone's eyes."

Hearing his confession, Evangelia's heart broke. She turned to look at his face, only to see tears slick down his face. She pulls him into a tight embrace despite the fact that he was a lot bigger than she was.

"Val, your dad is proud of you and he always will be. It doesn't take stellar grades or an impressive high school resumes doing that. It doesn't matter what your father or even what Superman says, Val you are a hero. But you shouldn't risk putting your life in danger just to be called one or to make anyone proud. Do it to protect those you love," she concludes, hoping her words would bring some comfort.

Wrapping her in a tighter embrace, he whispers into her ear, "Thanks Ange. You always know what to say."

"Uh, Val…" Evangelia says in a strained voice.

"Yeah, Angie…"

"Umm, you're hugging me too tight. Can't breathe…"

"Oh sorry," he apologizes, realizing how hard he was hugging her. He gives her a sheepish grin as she inhales a lungful of air.

"C'mon, let's go back inside," she says as she offers him her hand. He gladly takes it and the two make their way back inside into the warm comfort of their friends.

O~O~O

Awww…a sweet moment between Valen and Evangelia ;)

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