Exile (Short MCSM Fanfic)

Prologue

"You did it! You actually did it!" Lukas threw his arms around Jesse and Petra, the three of them falling into a group hug.

"Did you really doubt us?" Petra joked, even though there was obviously relief in her voice as well.

"Where's Romeo?" Lukas asked as he pulled away from them His smile faltered slightly. "Did he... did he not make it?"

"I'm afraid we couldn't save everybody." Jesse replied, rubbing her arm. "We're lucky to be standing here right now."

"You did the best you can." Jack replied, giving Jesse a half-hearted slap on the shoulder from behind.

"What Jack said." Petra added, nudging Jesse. "After all, did he really deserve to see the daylight again after what he did?"

"Point taken." Jesse replied softly, smiling. She still didn't look completely convinced.

"Come on." Lukas said, putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder and mustering a cheerful smile. "I'm sure the three of you are absolutely beat after this battle. Let's head home."

Nobody objected, faces lighting up as they started walking down the levels of the floating tower together.

"I think I'm going to bed, and not getting up for a week." Jesse joked, pretending to yawn.

"An entire week? I thought we were hitting the road after this!" Petra replied playfully.

"Yeah, after some well deserved rest." Jesse deadpanned, trying to hide her grin. "We've had enough adventure for now. Once we wound down a bit, you and me can go look for more trouble."

"Did you have to state it like that?" Petra gave Jesse a playful shove.

"So, the two of you aren't done fighting yet, huh?" Lukas asked curiously. "No settling down after this?"

"Nope." Petra replied matter-of-factly. "I'm not settling down for at least another decade."

"And as always, I'm getting dragged along." Jesse added, winking.

Everybody chuckled, even Jack. Jesse had to admit, it felt nice to have the unbearable weight of pressure off her shoulders. She knew it wasn't over yet, Romeo had left Beacontown in an awful, traumatized state.

She knew there was a lot of recovery in the town's future. It probably wasn't the best idea to leave, and Jesse had considered staying behind to keep an eye on things. But a promise was a promise, and she wasn't about to let her best friend go off alone.

Jesse smiled to herself. Why was she so worried? Radar would still be there to look after the town. She trusted that he wouldn't let her down.

Alas, Jesse was just looking forward to taking a break. Even if it was only a few days before Petra dragged out out of town again, Jesse just wanted to relax. She hasn't had a proper night's sleep since the battle with Romeo, too many thoughts and fears weighing her down. Now she could finally take things slow again.

"Jesse!"

All of a sudden something flew up to them like a bullet, crashing straight into Jesse. She staggered a few feet back to stop both her and Radar from tumbling to the ground.

"Easy there, buddy." Jesse laughed, returning the hug. "It's all good, the battle is over."

"I knew you could do it, Jesse!" Radar squealed, wrapping his arms around her and nearly squeezing all the oxygen out of Jesse. "I knew you'd beat Romeo!"

"Thanks for having faith in me." Jesse said, ruffling her intern's black hair. "But you know it wasn't just me. Petra and Jack were in there with me."