Peace of the Jedi [Sequel to Sword of the Lanterns]

Chapter Twenty-Four- Dread

"I'll pass it on to Captain Atom, but the League's credibility is at an all-time low, we'll probably have to bide our time." Nightwing grit his teeth unhappily.

"Good work everyone, meeting adjourned."

Arsenal sprinted to the zeta-tubes, and Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy left soon after him. Bart, however, was eager to spend a little bit more time with his best buddies Blue Beetle and Power Ring. But Blue was too tired for his friend, and Jessica was still overwhelmed and just wanted to get back to Coast City.

"Jessica, wait," Jaina reached out to brush Jessica's shoulder, but thought better of it.

"What?" Jessica asked, tiredness and bitterness etched into her voice.

"I was just wondering..." Jaina looked aorund the pristine white room. Robin was hanging behind as Nightwing talked with Green Beetle, and Doctor Adam Strange, zeta-tube specialist, was discussing the Reach bottles and additive with Doctor Wilcox, a metagene specialist.

"Maybe we could talk to some of the scientists here. Maybe they can find a way to get your ring off." She said lamely.

Jessica shrugged. "Sure, whatever you think's best." She was still sticking to her philosophy from last night.

"Excuse me, Doctor Wilcox?"

"Oh my goodness, you're Jaina Solo!" Doctor Strange interrupted fanboyishly. If Jaina's stomach hadn't been filled with dread a moment ago, it was now. She often met fans of the Jedi Order as she travelled about the galaxy for missions and keeping the peace, and by now it was annoying.

"I have so many questiosn for you! Are you really from another planet? How are you a human being then? Martian Manhunter said you travelled via lightspeed. How have your people accomplished that?"

"One moment, please, Doctor, I'd be happy to explain eeverything to you momentarily," Jaina held on finger in the air. Her smile didn't spread as smoothly or as sweetly as her mother's, but she tried, she really did. "However, I need to ask Doctor Wilcox a few questions."

"Of course, of course," Strange apologized.

"What do you need, Miss...Solo?" Wilcox took a moment to remember what Strange had called her.

"Call me Sword. That's my current hero name." She didn't give them a chance to ask what her former hero name was.

"I don't know if Captain Atom or Black Canary told you, but Jessica here, my apprentice,  has a symbiote attached to her arm." Jaina pulled Jessica forward. She gave her the chance to explain, but the words caught in Jessica's throat.

"It calls itself the ring of Volthoom. It feeds of her fear and anxiety, and often tries to control her body. We've tried to control it, but that hasn't worked. Could you perhaps take a look at it and see if there's anything you could do to help get it removed?"

"I can try," Wilcox nodded proudly. "If you'll follow me, I can introduce you to my other patients with a similar problem of an unstable metagene."

"The kids we rescued from the Reach?"

Wilcox nodded, and Jaina felt Jessica grip her arm.

"Don't worry, Jess," Jaina tried to use the force to soothe her padawan, but Jessica's emotions were in so much turmoil they might just have been made worse.

"I'll be-"

"Jaina!" Nightwing shouted, running back into the room, Superboy running by out in the hall.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy, they're under attack at the Chicago 'tubes."

Jaina swallowed at the difficult choice.

"Do you think you can go without me?" She asked Jessica.

Jessica nodded. "I'll be fine." She said in a monotone. Jaina watched her follow after Wilcox for only a moment, before sprinting after Superboy herself.

-------

"Let go of me! I've gotta save M'gann!" La'gaan screamed. He kicked out at Jaina with his bum leg, hitting it on the bedrest and shouting in pain.

"La'gaan, there's nothing you can do for her in your case!" Nightwing reminded him.

"You're just making things worse for yourself!" Jaina shouted above his grunts of resistance.

La'gaan grit his teeth, turning on Connor. "Then what about him?" he spat, "Why isn't he rescuing her?"

"I know you dumped her, but do you really hate her that much?"

Jaina pushed Connor across the room with the force before the Kryptonian clone could launch himslef at the Atlantean.

"You have no idea what I feel for her!" Connor screamed. Jaina wanted to scream too. When this team become all about relationship drama?

"You're right," La'gaan panted, gasping for breath as he finally stopped fighting againt those who were trying to keep him in the hospital bed. "I would never abandon her to Kaldur and his flunkies!"

Jaina's blood ran cold at the mention of Aqualad, and the bad feeling that had been sitting in her stomach doubled in size.

"Because that's who took her; Aqua-traitor's personal ninja-cow Tigress!" 

"Enough!" Nightwing's voice and glare silenced the room, and Jaina thought that Batman had just walked in and switched places with his partner.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," Nightwing said, his voice suddenly quiet, "to tell anyone. But Aqualad is not a traitor."

The room returned to silence for a moment before Jaina took her turn to scream.

"I KNEW IT!"

Ahh....I love my smol Strange bby. 

I can't believe myself I have rewritten Season Two word-for-word so many times now I just used "Sparks Fly" as a reference for all the dialogue straight from the show I am pathetic.