January 6, 2012. 09:58.
STAR Labs.
~~Willow~~
"Are you sure it was a good idea to send Miss M and Superboy on the same mission?" Nightingale asked Nightwing, both of us slightly glaring at him. I was kind of upset that my almost-boyfriend had been sent on a mission with his ex without me. It wasn't that I didn't trust M'gann or Connor, but it probably was that I was jealous, according to Karen.
Nightwing sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I sent Rachel and Gar as a buffer. And besides, those two are the only two "aliens" on the team. They had the best chance at not triggering an attack."
"Hate to say it, Em, but it makes sense," I said as I walked into work. I showed the desk manager my pass, "Lance here to see Doctor Dorado," I told her. She cleared us for passage on the elevator. Using my adoptive name doesn't feel right, and using my old last name just hurts, reminding me of my parents and my brother all over again. So I just use Dinah's maiden name. I admit I grew kind of attached to it when I used it for school.
We headed for the zeta labs, where Doctor Dorado, a close friend of my teacher, Doctor Strange, waited with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Captain Adam.
"Willow," Dorado nodded at me with a kind smile as I put on my lab coat and hurried over to the computers.
"We've received the Raanian signal," I said almost immediately.
"Good," Dorado turned to Nightingale and the others, "They should be arriving now.
As if on cue, the tubes lit up with their familiar golden glow, “Recognize: Adam Strange, A11. Superboy, B04. Miss Martian, B05. Beast Girl, B18. Beast Boy, B19.”
I smiled at Connor, who smiled back. I so badly wanted to go and hug him. He looked at M'gann with a mixture of anger and disappointment. What had happened on Raan?
“Guys! Check out my super-cool alien souvenir!” Gar exclaimed, running in front of M'gann and Strange while proudly holding up a krolotean wrap that was used to designate their officers.
His sister elbowed him harshly, and M'gann put a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Zeta squad, report." Nightwing said, business as usual.
M'gann spoke up first, "Our mission to neutralize the krolotean zeta-platforms on Raan was a sucess."
Strange stepped forward, "I’ve also brought back specs to create a zeta sheild that will prevent any other aliens from beaming to earth." Yes! A new project! What can I say? I love science!
"How will that affect our own zeta capabilities?" Captain Atom asked doubtfully.
Strange pulled up a holographic image of the earth, "It won’t. The zeta-shield will activate above the watchtower’s orbit. League zeta-tubes will still function normally." He pointed to the icon representing the Watchtower well below the zeta-shield.
I took the schematics from him, "I can get to work on them right away," I said, giving Connor's hand a quick squeeze before heading for my office. But Beast Girl's voice stopped me.
"Tell them about Rimbor!" Rachel tugged on M'gann's cape.
"Tell them about the sixteen hours!" Beast Boy added. Wonder Woman and Green Lantern were instantly more alert, giving zeta squad some surprised looks.
"It may be easier to show you..." M'gann said, putting her hand to her head. I just let myself relax as I felt the familiar presence in my mind and M'gann began to tell their story.
Kroloteans had stolen Sardath's technology, and used it to zeta between earth and a ship hidden in the Raanian jungle. Once they had landed a similar ship in New Orleans- the one that they blew up -they began abducting and replacing humans.
"Perhaps it’s part of an invasion strategy," M'gann said uncertainly, "Though that part’s still unclear."
"What does any of this have to do with the sixteen hours?" Wonder Woman asked impatiently
"Well, as you know..." M'gann repeated the same story that we all knew very well. The senior team members took it upon themselves to tell the story of Savage gaining control of the League every time we got a new member. The story where we saved the Justice League, and six of it's most prominent members went missing for sixteen hours.
"It turns out that you were teleported to a planet called Rimbor, where you spent sixteen hours on a rampage, attacking everyone and everything in sight, and announcing in several alien languages that you were the Justice League of Earth, and that the rest of the galaxy should beware."
I saw the look of shock on Emma's face. Sure her mentors were tough, but it was hard for he- for any of us -to comprehend them doing such an act of terrorism.
"I don't understand," Wonder Wman said at last, "I have no memory of this."
"Don't blame yourself. Blame Savage, and his Light," Captain Atom said with distaste.
"You okay?" Superboy whispered to me. I just nodded a hurried "Yes" to say I was fine, but I wasn't.
The words Atom said to Wonder Woman, those were the same words my teammates used to say to me all the time.
The only thing was, I was never sure if they were true.
-------
"You guys didn't have to come along," M'gann said as Superboy and I followed her into the interrogation room at the Hall of Justice.
"I think I did..." Superboy muttered. Something had made him mad, and I'm not one to press or pry people for details, but I wanted to know what was going on between the two of them.
"Is this the krolotean captured by Robin, Beetle and Lagoon Boy?" Miss Martian asked Batman, the only one in the room. On the other side of a two-way mirror, her uncle sat interrogating our captured krolotean.
"Your uncle has been interrogating him for days, but even establishing basic communication has been difficult," Batman affirmed without looking up. The krolotean looked over at the window, as if he could tell we were here.
"Captain Atom thought that after your success on Raan, you might be able to-"
"The kroloteans have a secret base, and orders to evacuate there," M'gann interrupted Batman. For some reason, this made Connor more mad, and I saw the krolotean slump over in his seat in the other room, but M'gann didn't stop.
"A base inside a volcano on Malina Island." She stated proudly.
-------
"Me?" Finch asked in barely a whisper when Nightingale broke the news to her.
Emma just grinned, "Shut your mouth, you'll catch flies like that! It's just a mission!"
Robin rolled his eyes, "A mission alongside Batman and nearly every powerhouse of the League," he joked good-naturedly.
"We leave at 1900 hours!" Emma yelled after them as Finch ran after her brother, squealing at the top of her lungs.
"Piano?" I asked Nightingale.
She nodded, "Piano."
Even though I didn't need lessons anymore, the piano room was still an important place for Emma and I to hang out. We'd talk, play duets, sing, and often some of the other team members would join us.
Emma sat down at the piano and immediately began to play, leaving me to him along until I figured out what song it was.
I figured it out pretty quickly. It was a song that had been on her mind a lot lately.
"Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
'Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
'Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile..."
"Hmm..." I mused aloud, "Taylor Swift, Piano music, green eyes, are you thinking about Kaldur again?"
She stopped, her finger slipping on a sour key.
"Don't try to hide it from me, Emma, I'm your friend. There's no reason to hide it anyway." I said reasonably.
Instead of blushing and admitting I was right, like she usually did, Emma started full-on crying.
"I-I miss him so much, Will!" She sobbed as I put an arm around her gently, "I just thought he'd be back by now!"
"Hey, hey," I whispered soothingly, trying to stay calm and be the rational one, "Kaldur loves you. He said it and showed it to us for four years. He'll come back for you. Who knows, you may see him sooner than you think."
Vaht is dis? Three chapters in one day? I must love you guys a lot! XD Sorry for not updating. You know how it is. School, the works, yuck. Once I finish up my history project I can probably get my mom off my back and update some more.
Lots of Love!
~Lizardgurl