Ignite [Book Three In The "Fire And Lightning" Series]

Chapter Eighteen- You'll See

IKNOWTHISISAWILOWCHAPTERBUTTHISCONCERNSEMMAANDIT'SPRETTYBIG:

Sooooo, do you remember the locket necklace that Kaldur gave Emma at the beginning of the book?

Star-Wars_SkyGurl, remember your question about when Kaldur was going to propose?

Weeeeeeeell, I'm not saying anything, but I read in a fanfic that Atlanteans give necklaces instead of rings when they propose and I've kind of accepted it as a headcannon even if it's not officially canon (idk if it really is or not)....

Yeah...I'll just leave this here......

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January 2, 2017. 10:19
S.T.A.R. Labs, Taos.
~~Willow~~

"Happy late birthday Willow!" Smiling brightly, Doctor Strange set a small purple gift bag on the desk next to my laptop.

"What are you thinking about?" Strange asked as I blankly tapped the keys on my laptop.

"The team," I said without a second thought. I shut my laptop and took a long sip of coffee. The cheap stuff from the Lab's coffee store was bland, but it did the trick. I had hardly slept in the two weeks since I told the Graces about my past. The guilt was off my chest, but it was what Mrs. Grace had told me afterwards that frightened me.

"You're very spirited. Just like your mother."

What had my mother done? Had she worked closely with Luthor? Well, close enough that he would have heard of her spirited nature, at least.

Then there was the scariest thought that haunted me.

What if my mother had a hand in creating the technology that tortured me? That "device" that completely wiped my mind? No woman would do that to her own daughter, but had she done it without knowing what it was truly for.

"Are you thinking of going back to them?" I jerked back as Strange interrupted my train of thought.

"Maybe." I shut my laptop, standing up nervously stacking blueprints with my ideas for upgrades to Arsenal's robotic arm and the zeta tubes.

Taking that for his answer, Strange walked back to Dorado, who was examining a fluctuation in the zeta shield at the computer.

"I told Connor and his parents about my past." I said suddenly.

Strange and Dorado looked at me with horrifically shocked expressions. Wide eyes and slackened jaws.

Then, Strange composed himself, looking more proud than surprised. "What made you decide to do that?" He casually leaned against his desk.

Sighing, I slumped back into my office chair and rubbed my temples with my first two fingers.

"Well, Nightingale showed up. She wanted to check on me, make sure I was okay, but she ended up letting it slip that I was a superhero. I explained it to Connor and his parents that night." I told them, crossing my arms.

I could tell Dorado and Strange wanted to ask more, but the phone began to ring.

"Doctor Strange," he pressed the button to answer it on speaker.

"Pardon the interruption, Doctor, but the vigilante Arsenal is here on an unscheduled visit. He says he's broken his arm and require help for repairs." I recognized the formal voice of the clerk at the front desk.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head at Doctor Strange. I was thinking about it, but I didn't want to see the team just yet.

Strange nodded. "Can you have him wait there for a moment? Doctor Dorado and I need to...clean up a bit." He improvised.