Sparks Beneath the Surface.

ＦＩＶＥ- Familiar Foes.

"Alright, is everyone in position?" Eli asks through his earpiece.

"Clarke and I are in position, Kiyo?" Kamari responds.

"We're here, no sign of movement on our end. Delilah, do you see anything?" She asks.

"No, just a lot of false alarms that are really just leaves in the wind." Delilah sighs as she adjusts her coat. We can see her inside the van from the cameras we set up in the park.

"Excited?" Ivy asks as she sits down next to me, drinking her tea.

"I am, just really nervous," I say, twiddling with my fingers, "you think everything is gonna be okay?"

Ivy sets her mug down and looks at me sympathetically, "I could tell you that, but knowing the people we're dealing with, that'd be a lie. You can't always expect missions to turn out the way you hope they will, you have to stay vigilant."

I nod and wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans, why am I so fucking nervous? I'm surrounded by professionals who are really strong, and powerful, and fast. I guess it's because it's only really hitting me that right now, in this very moment, I'm on a mission with the Divine fucking Defenders. And because it's a mission, they're all in their actual costumes, so they look like how I see them in the news and photos, only this time they're literally all around me and next to me. It's so fucking surreal. To have seen them both as regular people, as they truly are. And now? As how the rest of the world, and I used to see them all the fucking time. Honestly, I think seeing them in costume is more comforting.

Just then, Benji zooms into the van and sits down behind us, the lightning bolt emblem on his green suit seems to glow brighter under the lights of the van.

"Secured the perimeter, I didn't see or hear anything suspicious but let's remember to keep our eyes peeled. This is Octurna." He says as he grabs Ivy's mug and has some of her tea.

"Ah-hey! Have we forgotten our P's and Q's?" She asks him.

He opens his mouth in protest, "That was a lot of running I just did, come on, Ive, it was just a sip." 

"You aren't even panting," I point out. 

Benji looks around the room trying to change the subject which makes both me and Ivy giggle.

"Hey, Dani, how was your training with Elian the oday?" Ivy asks me.

I feel butterflies flutter around my stomach when she says his name and I remember how close we got, the way I reacted to his hands guiding my body into different fighting stances, the way he was so kind and understanding with me, and the way that we just laughed the entire time. I feel like she wouldn't want to know all those details though, so I keep my answer brief, "Oh, uh- yeah, it was great, he's a really good teacher."

"Movement coming from the left side of the park, be ready for anything," Elian instructs and at that, we all sit up. I press a button that gives us the view of a camera that's facing the left side of the park and zoom in on where I can see a figure coming out of the woods surrounding us. It's David, looking around visibly nervous. He's got a black hoodie on and is walking with a sense of urgency, his hands in his hoodie pockets.

"Remember, Lilah, go easy. It was probably really tough for him to come forward, don't freeze him out," Elian reminds her, a small smirk evident in his voice.

Lilah rolls her eyes and sits up as David comes closer. I switch the camera angles to one that gives us a clear and full view of the bench Delilah is sitting on. David sits down next to her and looks around nervously.

"David, I'm so glad you could make it. Again, thank you for coming to speak with me today. I know how much you're putting on the line by doing this, so thank you," Delilah greets him, they shake hands and he sighs.