A/N: Warning for a short description of burn injuries.

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It was two hours after S.M.A.U.G. attacked and Red Team still hadn't made it back to Erebor Tower. Two hours where the waiting members of the Company paced and fretted and worried about their missing friends.

Ori curled into the corner of a blue plaid couch with his knees pulled up to his chest. He stared off in space, oblivious to everything until Dwalin sat down beside him.

"Ya doing okay, lad?" He moved to awkwardly pat Ori's shoulder and suddenly found himself with his arms full. "Oh. There, there...?"

Ori burrowed his face into Dwalin's chest, not crying, but clearly seeking comfort. "Dori's out there. And the others."

"They'll be okay. Yer brother is tough, there ain't much that could stop Dori Rill."

Nodding, Ori looked up and blushed as he suddenly realized whose arms he was in. "You're right. I just hate being stuck here and not knowing."

Dwalin glanced around to see if anyone was watching, then gently stroked a finger over the younger man's cheek. "They'll be fine."

Ori nuzzled against Dwalin's hand and smiled shyly. "I know, but it's always so difficult not to worry when you're all out there fighting and all I can do is sit and wait."

"Ya do more than sit and wait. Ya write those articles for the newspaper that tell people the truth. That's just as important as what we do."

"I guess you're right..." Ori looked down at his gloves and sighed.

Dwalin tucked the younger man under his arm and pulled him close. "Of course I'm right."

...

Across the room, Bofur paced back and forth, his wings twitching in frustration. "I should go out an' look for them.

"If S.M.A.U.G. is attacking Supers, you'd be another target." Nori ducked Bofur's wings as the he turned sharply. "And you'd be helpless against it's flame breath. I don't wanna be the one to tell your brother you got cooked like a roast chicken."

Bofur sighed. "Yer right. But it's my family out there."

"Hey, my brother is with them. You don't think I'm worried?"

"Honestly? I don't think yeh worry about much of anything other than yerself." Bofur clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!"

Nori schooled his features into an impassive look. "Yeah, whatever. I'm going for a walk."

"But S.M.A.U.G. is out there!"

"I ain't a Super." Nori turned and briefly met Bofur's eyes. "Don't worry, I can look out for myself. It's what I'm good at, right?"

As the elevator door shut behind Nori, Bofur sunk to the ground and wrapped his wings around himself like a cocoon.

…

"There has to be something else we can do," Thorin fumed. "We can't just sit here and hope they make it back."

Dís kept her gaze on the computer in front of her. "Their coms are dead. I'm trying to patch into other security cameras to find them, but I'm not having any luck."

Thorin leveled a glare across the room at Bilbo. "Why did his information have to be correct..."

"We know how it happened and when it began. At least we've got that. It gives us a place to start or defenses and is better than going in blind."

"I can go out and try to find the others," Kíli suggested, drumming his fingers against the table top. "S.M.A.U.G. isn't tracking NPs."

"Absolutely not." Thorin and Dís said in harsh unison.

"It was just a thought..." He pouted, but let Fíli drag him away.

…

Bilbo sat at the oversized table with Oín and Balin and tried not to feel overwhelmed. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city began to light up in response to the dark. It was beautiful the way everything glimmered and glowed. "I've never seen the city lit from this high before."

"Hmm?" Balin looked up. "Oh, it's rather pretty isn't it? Sometimes I forget that we even have that view. We're all usually so caught up in whatever heroics are needed at the moment."

"You sound like you don't enjoy being a Super." Bilbo traced a finger along a deep gouge in the tabletop.

"It's not the life I would have chosen." Balin frowned, considering his thoughts for a moment. "Most Supers inherit their powers- develop them around the same time puberty sets in. I was 27 years old with a wife an' a baby on the way. The jeweler I worked for bought an unusual gemstone from overseas an' it was my job to cut an' polish it, so that it could be turned into jewelry an' sold. The second I began to cut into the stone it exploded, embedding particles into my arms." He pushed up the sleeve of his robe to show the tiny pocked scars. "Whatever the stone was, it gave me the ability to control earth."

"What happened to your family?" Bilbo asked softly.

"She couldn't stand the thought of being with a Super. There are a lot of people who still think powers are unnatural." He sighed, rubbing at his ring finger absently. "She left me. I have a child out there somewhere that I've never met."

"I'm so sorry." Bilbo didn't know what else to say.

"It's not your fault, lad. A lot of us have sad origins. Powers aren't always the gifts people think they are." He frowned. "The world outside can be harsh when you're different. It's better now than when we were young, but there's still a long way to go before they accept us in the real world."

"But you're Supers! You save people! You're in the newspapers every day doing heroic things..."

"An' people are fine with us when they need heroics. But the rest of the time they treat us like second rate citizens."

Oín nodded is agreement. "I got my powers young, but never realized them for what they were. It wasn't until I was a third year med student that someone questioned how I was able to heal so many patients that should have died. The minute the school found out I was a Super, they took away my scholarship and wouldn't allow me to finish my degree. Apparently it's perfectly fine for me to heal with my powers during a battle, but it's morally unjust to use them to help people in everyday life."

Bilbo frowned. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"I've come to learn that not much in life does."

…

After another excruciating hour the elevator bell finally chimed and the door opened.

"Oín! We need you NOW!" Dori shouted as he rushed into the room, Bifur unconscious in his arms.

"What happened?" Bofur struggled to his cousin's side, gasping at the burns that coated the right half of his body.

"S.M.A.U.G. turned on us," Bombur explained. "One minute patrols were fine, the next..."

Gloín cradled his wife close and punched the wall with one of his extra fists. "Bifur was downstream trying to find The Gollum. Loni was linked to him when S.M.A.U.G. attacked. She's been out cold ever since."

"We need to get Bifur taken care of before anything else." Thorin pushed the few dishes off the table and motioned for Dori to lay the injured man down. "Oín? What can we do to help?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." He regarded the wounds with some degree of curiosity. "Trying to wake Loni would be useful, since Bifur here might not be able to sign to tell us what hurts."

The burns on Bifur's side were blistered and cracked, the torn edges of skin blackened at the tips. Oín used a pair of scissors to cut away the black-and-white jumpsuit and frowned slightly. The fabric was melted into the flesh and pulled against the wound as it was exposed. "This is not going to be pleasant- you'd best hold him still. I'll try to keep him unconscious, but it would probably be a good idea to stay away from his face, just in case he uses his powers on accident."

Bombur nodded solemnly and he and Bofur moved to hold their cousin in place.

Oín studied his patient for a long moment before flexing his hands. A soft blue light danced along his fingertips, flickering and pulsing as if it were alive. With surgeon-like precision, he focused his attention on the burnt edge of the wound. As Oín ran a finger along the skin the black edges cauterized and fell away, leaving new pink flesh underneath. The healer took his time, working his way slowly down Bifur's arm, then over his hip and torso. It was well over an hour before every damaged inch was inspected and repaired- skin regrown and nerves reattached.

While Oín worked, Gloín looked after his unconscious wife, pressing a cool compress to her forehead. Loni stirred, her eyes staring up in loose focus. "Gloín?"

"I'm here, baby." He smoothed back her long blond hair.

"Bifur is hurting. S.M.A.U.G..." She struggled to sit up, leaning heavily on one of her husband's arms.

"Oín is with him. We escaped," Gloín said soothingly. "Can you hear Bifur?"

"Yes." Loni's blue eyes filled with tears. "He hurts so much. He wants to scream, but knows he can't."

Gloín steadied his wife as she wavered. "It's okay, baby. Take it easy."

"I was linked with Bifur when S.M.A.U.G. attacked. He was so confused. So scared. I felt the pain along with him." Her voice quaked. "S.M.A.U.G. wants us dead, Gloín. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Loni." He pulled her close. "For now, I guess we patch ourselves up and hope for the best."

Oín's brow was speckled with sweat as he carefully used his powers to speed the regrowth of new skin over Bifur's wounds. Most of the Company watched for the safe distance of the couches, trying to give the healer some space. The elevator door chimed and Nori slipped back into the room, unnoticed by everyone except Dori, who looked relieved.

Bifur shifted in pain and struggled for consciousness, his cousins putting their weight into holding him down. While Bombur did most of the restraining, Bofur whispered lilting words into his cousin's ear "Easy, Bif. It's all right. Bombur an' I are here. We won't leave yeh." His voice was soft and thick with emotion. "Don't try t' talk. Just rest an' heal. Please, Bif. We need yeh to be okay... I need yeh..."

"He hears you," Loni said, as Bifur stopped struggling. "He says he's not going anywhere."

Bofur's shoulders sagged in relief and he briefly pressed his forehead against his cousin's. "Rest, Bif. We'll be here when yeh wake up."

…

The Company convened on the plaid couches to plan their next move.

"It seems like Mister Baggin's information was unfortunately correct," Thorin growled. He scowled at Bilbo as if it were his fault the information rang true. "Red Team, this is Bilbo Baggins. He works for G-Tech."

The others nodded their mute greetings and Bombur leaned back into the cushions with a heavy sigh. "We've seen it first hand now. S.M.A.U.G. is most definitely rogue."

"The question is what do we do?" Balin asked, rubbing a tired hand over his eyes.

From a dark corner near the window, Nori spoke up. "I ran into Elrond while I was out. The White Council wants a meeting."

Every head in the room swiveled towards the shadows. Bilbo racked his brain as to why the name sounded familiar. "The White Council?"

"Another group of Supers," Ori supplied. "They normally keep to themselves and work under the radar. Most people don't even know they exist."

"Which is why it's surprising they want to meet." Thorin glared into the distance. "I don't trust them. They're meddlesome at best."

"But we're going to aren't we, Uncle Thorin?" Fíli half-asked. "Because they might know something we don't."

"And we have to do something," Kíli finished for his brother.

"S.M.A.U.G. is comin' after us. It hurt Bifur. We have t' take any help we can get t' end this." Bofur's lilting voice was uncharacteristically hard.

"That's why I hurried back after I talked to Elrond." Nori sat down beside Bofur and offered him an apologetic half-smile. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Thorin cursed under his breath. "I don't like it, but you're right. When is this meeting, Nori?"

"6 AM at the gazebo in Rivendell Park."

"Then it's settled. Blue Team will go to the meeting." Thorin pondered a moment. "We'll take Nori as well. It might be advantageous to have someone observing from the shadows."

"All right, you lot. I think it's time everyone gets some sleep." Dís pulled her youngest son to his feet. "It's been a rough night and tomorrow might not be any better."

Bilbo stood and fretted his hands together. "What should I do?"

Thorin blinked at the smaller man, as if he'd forgotten Bilbo was even there.

"You should go home. This life ain't for someone who can neither fight nor fend for himself," Dwalin said with a shrug.

Ori huffed, his eyes flashing. "You let me stay!"

"Yes, but you..." Dwalin trailed off, looking atypically abashed.

"If S.M.A.U.G. is going after people with powers, Bilbo would be safer here with us than on his own. Erebor Tower is shielded against just about everything."

"I think Ori is right," Thorin said after a moment. "You should stay here, at least for tonight. After we talk to the White Council we can decide what would be best for you."

Bilbo sighed in resignation. "I do suppose you're right. I don't fancy walking home when an evil robot dragon might be waiting in the darkness to eat me."

Ori grinned. "I'll show you to the guest room and get you settled." He grabbed Bilbo's arm and led him down the hall, neither noticing the dark looks they received from Dwalin.

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A/N: I hope you guys liked the new chapter! Our first 'ship is starting to set sail and you've now officially met everyone in the Company.

Stay tuned Thursday to find out about the origins of Thorin's powers and how the Company was formed.

And please leave me some favorites/feedback/follows to let me know if you liked the chapter. And if you didn't, let me know why- I'm always looking to improve. :)