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

Chapter Twenty-Three- Happy Reunion?

I am very sorry for the lateness! I had almost run out of inspiration for all my stories :3 I hope now I'm back on writing-mode!

May 21, 2018. 01:19.

Watchtower.
~~Emma~~

Alpha squad and Beta squad managed to return to the Watchtower around the  same time. Since it was after midnight, Aqualad and I agreed to let the junior members- Blue Beetle and everyone younger than him -shower off and head home. Tammy and Rachel had burns and smoke inhalation that were to be treated aboard the Watchtower by Martian Manhunter, and Garfield and Terra followed them, while they waited for Miss M.  The rest of us gathered a pot of coffee and hot chocolate and congregated around the computer for a debrief.

"Beta squad, report." Bumblebee and Guardian stepped forward, looking a lot worse for wear than we did. Mal had taken off the heavy bulletproof vest and guardian helmet, but was still hunched over, as if carrying a weight meant for Connor. Karen had pulled her hood off to breathe easier, and I could see the imprints of the goggles around her eyes.

"Lexcorp is not being allowed to use their Xeno-gas."

Those of us who had been on Alpha squad and gone to the warehouse breathed a sigh of relief.

"However-" Of course, there's always that big "but". "-They were allowed to test their gas on a small town in the north midwest."

"Why were they testing it if they weren't allowed to use it?"

"It was a trial run." Mal spoke up. "And the it went wrong."

"What happened?" Aqualad asked, now on edge.

"One of the buildings in the town blew up. They can't prove it was connected with the Xeno-gas, but the UN didn't want to take any risks."

"Any casualties?" Nightwing asked.

"Several. they're all being treated at the local hospital now. No deaths reported as of yet."

"What was the name of the town?" I asked quietly. Everyone looked at me, then at Karen, who looked at the files Robin and Finch had hacked.

"It doesn't say."

Even though it didn't say, a twisted feeling in my gut made me feel that I knew what town Luthor had chosen. It was in a north-midwest state, and it had a target Luthor had tried to get many times before.

I forced myself to relaxed before Kaldur or Richard noticed, offering a quick prayer that I was wrong.

Mal, thankfully, didn't seem to notice. He mimicked Kaldur's "leader-pose"; hands on hips, standing up tall, feet planted shoulder-width apart.  

"Alpha squad, report." He said in a failed imitation of Kaldur's "leader-voice," giving all of us a much-needed laugh after a long night. Even Kaldur smiled for a moment, but it disappeared when the topic returned to our mission.

Nightwing hung his head, Batgirl looked disappointed, and Miss Martian tried to keep Artemis from crying as they told Mal and Karen what they'd told us on the bioship.

"We were so close. They did have information on what happened to Wally, but there was a bomb. It went off before we could get to the files." Richard whispered. An heavy silence wove between all of us.

"So don't we try again?" La'gaan asked stupidly.

"They'll probably move their base now. More than likely they'll know it was us." Barbra crossed her arms before she voiced our thoughts. "We'll never find him now."

All of us stared at the floor, mourning our friend.

The secret burned inside me. The ring. 

The ring he left behind in the arctic that I kept in my back belt pocket with only one other object, one reminder not to go too far...