---

It was late afternoon, passing into evening and Vincent was in his room. Iron masses and clouds of carbon hung in the air above him, combining and separating or forming complex patterns as he thought about what to make. Images of hot dogs, pizza, and baked potatoes, among other things, appeared and disappeared before an idea that he liked finally came to mind. ”I could go for some curry,” he mused as he sat up. The carbon and iron recombined and returned to his implant as he stood and left his room to walk to the kitchen.

There was already a pot of something bubbling away on the stove. There were bowls of pre-cut vegetables neatly set in rows next to it. A heap of shredded chicken sat lonely on a plate, clearly intended to be added to the boiling broth. It was starting to get dry at this point. If you would lift up the lid you would find that the broth had nearly reduced to half the original amount.

The sleep deprived chef of the well intended chicken soup was hauled up on the sofa in the lounge. Daphne fell asleep with the cook book folded open on the floor next to her. Judging from the state of the kitchen she’d been asleep for at least an hour.

Vincent’s brow furrowed at the state of the kitchen, his kitchen, and was about ready to find whoever left it in such a state to tear into them until he saw Daphne asleep on the couch with a cookbook next to her. He felt his anger fade, replaced by mild irritation, and let out a sigh. First thing he did was turn the stove off, then he walked over to his teammate. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her as he said, ”Hey, Daph, wake up. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you were planning on serving dry chicken.”

Daphne startled awake bumping headfirst into Vincent’s forehead.

”Bah!” Vincent exclaimed at the sudden headbutt, more out of surprise than pain.

“Owh..”
She was pretty sure that was going to turn into a bump. Her finger touched the sore spot. Looking up to see Vincent she immediately went into apology mode.
“Sorry Vincent, I must have…..fallen asleep”
“Again….”

“Is your head okay?”
Her soup!

Without waiting for an answer she jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen. When she took off the lid from the pot she was disappointed to see nearly half of her stock had evaporated.
“This is fixable right? I’ll just add more water.” Daphne mumbled to herself.

Rubbing his forehead, Vincent followed Daphne into the kitchen. ”Yeah, that should be fine,” he said. ”It doesn’t look like you left it alone for too long, so it should still be salvageable. That chicken, too, so long as it hasn’t been more than a couple hours.”

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the counter as he watched Daphne for a few moments, then asked, ”I never pegged you as the kinda girl to take a nap in the middle of meal prep. Everything okay?”

Daphne added water to the pot until it was back to being two thirds of the way full of soup. She added the veggies and chicken, stirring the ingredients gently so they could spread out. Vincent saying it would be fine gave her more confidence. He was a talented cook and could also bake pretty well.

She stopped stirring the pot to look at Vincent, letting the spoon rest across the top of the pan.
“Yes I’m okay. I’ve just been having trouble sleeping this past week or so.”

Eager to change the subject to something less uncomfortable Daphne retrieved the cookbook from the lounge. She showed it to Vincent.
“I’ve tried a bunch of things from in here, some of them came out really good, others not so much”

Vincent couldn’t help but get the feeling that Daphne was hiding something, but he decided not to pursue it. He was still relatively new to the team, so he knew better than to expect people to be willing to open up to him, at least not so soon. Even he wasn’t as much of an open book as some might think.

Daphne started to clean up the counter to make space for Vincent.

“Or maybe that’s more me than the book…” She said with a chuckle.

Vincent walked over to the counter and set the cookbook down on the space Daphne cleared. He flipped through a few pages, noting the various marks, dogears, and annotations Daphne had made throughout. ”Nah, I don’t think you’re the problem,” he said. ”Even cookbooks aren’t perfect. Some recipes might call for an extra pinch of salt here, an unneeded splash of soy sauce there. That’s why I don’t use them.”

Daphne let that bit of cooking wisdom sink in. She added the tiniest pinch of salt. The soup was starting to come back to a boil. She lowered the heat so it could simmer.
“So…how did you get into cooking?”

Vincent was quiet for a moment as he cast his eyes upward in thought. After a few moments, he said, ”It was after I got to Bludhaven. The guy who took me under his wing told me I couldn’t mug people for money, anymore, actually told me I wasn’t allowed to fight on the streets at all, unless I couldn’t avoid it. He found me some work in a restaurant as a busboy and I did well enough that the manager let me work in the kitchens. At first, it was just a way to make some money and keep the Old Man off my back, but after a while, I fell in love with cooking.”

With his happy go lucky attitude it was easy to forget that Vincent’s past was rough. Daphne thought back on their picnic a while ago. There was probably so much more she didn’t know. She contemplated on asking him more about his past, the fighting, the old man.

“Who’s the old man? I think I remember you mentioning him before. He sounds like an important person in your life.”

Vincent had been stirring the soup, only to falter for a moment when Daphne asked her question. For the first time since they started talking, he seemed to hesitate, but quickly gathered himself. He resumed stirring as he said, ”He was. I never learned his actual name. Every time I asked him about himself, he’d make me go train or flat out ignore me, but he was the guy who made me into what I am today. He taught me how to fight, gave me tips on controlling my power.” He pulled the spoon out of the soup, then chuckled as he tapped it on the rim of the pot. ”If not for him, I’d probably be dead a hundred times over.”

Daphne flinched inwardly when she noticed Vincent’s subtle reaction to her question. Her heart sank when Vincent told her the man wasn’t alive anymore. She gave him a hug, standing on her tippy toes.
”Sorry….I don’t actually know how to react.”

He really didn’t deserve any of the bad things that had happened to him. It made her sad to know that he had to go through all that.

Vincent looked down, surprised at the sudden hug. In all honesty, he couldn’t remember the last time he was hugged. Usually, any time he had any physical contact with someone, save for that time he flew with Pei, it was during a fight, so he wasn’t entirely sure how to react, either. After a moment, he smiled and gave Daphne’s back a couple of pats and said, ”There’s, uh…nothing to apologize for. I appreciate it, though.”

Clearing his throat, he turned back toward the soup. ”So, uh, anyway, I think this is coming along pretty nicely,” he said. ”Wanna give it a taste?”

”Yes let’s!

---

It was close to midnight as the streetlamps began to flicker, eventually going out a Stormcaller walked down the docks of Gotham Harbor. She listened quietly for the sounds of anyone who might be following her, only to hear total silence. Good. She stared out at the dark waters, and back to the original location of their stakeout, recalling the events of the shootout. The thugs were yelling, and one fired a gun. Then all hell broke loose, but they couldn’t have kept their cool well enough to remember not to leave anything behind. She walked, rather than floated, over to their meeting spot, and used her powers to create an orb of crackling electricity to act as a lantern. Teal blue light revealed bullet holes in shipping containers, spent casings where shots were fired, and the sight of dried blood where those shots hit home.

The orb floated over Stormcallers’s shoulder, while she slid something over her hand. The repulsor glove she looted from the bank mission, and modified to work with her powers lit up, and she used it to steadily force a bullet-riddled crate out of her way, checking inside a container for any evidence left behind. Nothing.

“Surely they forgot something when they ran,” She muttered to herself.

“And let me guess...” Viktor's raised voice and the metallic bounce of a sphere that emitted a red glow into the immediate area broke any semblance of solitude Cora had. Her sudden departure from Mount Justice through Zeta Tube had not gone unnoticed. Viktor just wished it was just him who noticed it. Pei had come along as well. Initially, he hadn't been sure why Cora decided to venture to this location other than figuring out what happened to Ja previously but her concern lied with the crates. “You believe it would have been left here for anyone to find? Don't waste your time.”

“But maybe that mysterious stranger left some clues that can only be seen in the midnight moon.” Pei mused, hopping up beside Viktor.

“Orrr I’m just glad you’re okay. Hi, Cora! If I had known you were just coming back here I wouldn’t have bothered getting out of my pajamas, haha.” Pei said with a laugh, running a hand through her hair. “I wish you would have picked a nicer hour. It’s even spookier here without the criminals.”

Stormcaller might have jumped out of her skin, turned around, and vaporized both of them. But she wasn’t the least bit surprised that Viktor had found her, or that she couldn't hear his approach… Or Pei’s for that matter.

“…Yeah. Nice to see both of you too,” she joked. “Anyway, now that you’re here- Look, everyone’s tired, frustrated, or downright afraid of KJ right now. The best I could do was just talk to him. I want to help him, but I can’t. And I really don’t like not being able to do anything. So I thought I might be able to find something if I came back after all that was done. Those weapons we found at the bank- There might’ve been more, and I’m not convinced it isn’t connected to the Beast’s appearances.”

“KJ…haha, I like that.” Pei mused.

K-J… I don't think I like this alias. But it seems to be sticking. There was a very low grumble from Viktor but he kept quiet for the most part as Cora spoke.

She stepped out of the container, clearly not being able to find anything. “I just want to try and do something. Find evidence that those thugs were selling the same weapons, maybe figure out where they got them from if they were. I don’t think that’s wasting my time, Rain.”

He sighed before he began walking toward her.

“True but doing it alone is… It's not the best idea,” Viktor said as he carefully chose his words. “Besides, I-” Viktor stopped short and looked at Pei and then back to Cora contemplating his next words. “I don't believe the gang is responsible for the Red Beast's appearance. When Pei and I dispatched the remaining gang members, I got a look inside the crate… High-yield explosives are my best guess as to what they were trading.” Viktor didn't want his theory with Kassy to run too wildly so for now, he'd keep it to himself.

“Best guess? There’s gotta be a file somewhere, right? Or did we really leave in such a hurry all of us forgot to talk to the police?” Pei rubbed her temples. “What a disaster.”

“Not that I also think this has been a huge waste of time, because I’d never say that, but, is there anything to do here that isn’t a huge waste of time?” Pei asked, looking around the place and letting her hands slap lazily against her thighs. Viktor slightly turned toward Pei but didn't speak. Instead, he proceeded to look at his surroundings just as she did. She may have a point.

Behind her helmet, Stormcaller was rolling her eyes… Because even with her eyes being the way they were, she could roll them. “I don’t think it’s a waste of time. Am I crazy for thinking it's at least possible? I mean- You agreed with me when I said it was weird that robbers were carrying guns more expensive than the money they would’ve gotten from the bank. Just “best-guessing” that they had high-yield explosives doesn’t mean it was just dynamite or something. Maybe I’m just hyper-fixating on one weird, isolated incident, but even if it isn’t related to the Red Beast, I can’t do anything to help him right now. But I can’t sit still after taking those guns apart, either.”

“Sorry for not telling you guys where I went, but I didn’t really think anyone would miss me if I just slipped out for a while. “

Viktor's sigh betrayed his next couple of words. “It's fine.” He traced his fingertips over the top of an open crate beside him. “And you're not crazy. Just desperate.” He shrugged. “The weapons at the bank heist were indeed extraordinary but I believe you're trying to connect two events that aren't related. Batman likely… No, he definitely ensured everything at this scene was confiscated once we were dismissed. If there is a connection, it's being dealt with… But, there is something I want to take another look at since we're already here.”

“Like what? Bombs, or something?”

“The mysterious old man?”

“The mysterious homeless man, yes. I want to study the container. The presence of the Red Beast stole that opportunity from us. ” Viktor gave a curt nod before he turned around sharply and started walking in the direction of the shipping container Pei had secured him in.

“Hmm… Okay then.” Stormcaller floated her crackling lantern up over her head to better light the way and followed Rain.

“Oh, wow! Cool!” Pei followed behind Viktor. But she started talking to Cora. “This guy seemed normal at first. He scared me when he left though. Poor guy got shot. But vanishing without a trace? In retrospect, it makes him cool and mysterious. But, back in my heyday I could give buzzkills the slip, too, so maybe I’ve just lost my touch.” Pei said.

“Yeah, that’s suspicious.”

“It doesn't make sense. He was shot right outside the container he had been using as shelter. We placed him inside another container to shield him from harm. And then like Pei said, he vanished.” The trio was getting close to the very container Pei and Viktor placed the mysterious homeless man when Viktor stopped. “Be ready for anything. It's right around this corner. I'll take point.” With swift footing, Viktor rounded the corner with his hands up and slightly offset but there was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, everything would appear just as it had been left days ago.

Pei casually leaned around the corner, holding air in her cheeks. “Pfff…ayup. Nothin’ here.” She walked into the container and tapped a few things with her boot.

Stormcaller peeked around the corner, ready to blast whatever was there.

“Hmm… Whole ‘lotta nothing.”

“Hmm… It only makes things more interesting.” Viktor stepped inside the empty container that had been used as a home for the man. “He either permanently moved out or this was never his dwelling, to begin with.” Viktor slightly turned toward the two. “I think it's a high-frequency signal... The trigger for the Red Beast. However, this theory is… weak.”

“At the bank, I found a sound gun. I told you all about that when we were all talking. Remember? I even asked Ja about it, if he could remember being hit by it. Only Ja wasn’t there for it, Kila was. So maybe we could ask him if he feels like talking.”

“Yes, a single factor at the time but with everything else I've gathered, it's very likely the sound emitter was the culprit during that mission.” Viktor chimed in just before Pei spoke next.

“Oh, wait- did he live here?” She asked to which Viktor nodded curtly. “I guess it makes sense for him to come back and- sorry, we’re walking about KJ again.” She said.

“If it really is a high-frequency signal, would it be as easy as just giving him some earplugs?” Pei asked.

“Kinda depends on how high. If it’s dog-whistle high then maybe? If it’s higher, then I dunno.”

“And it's still not certain. Remember, Ja and Kila's switching of personas is still a mystery. If high-frequency sound is the trigger, it may not be the only one. Besides, stopping the Red Beast isn't the answer. It is as bad of an idea as Kassy's limiter.”

“Yeah. But what else can we do? The Beast doesn’t communicate with us, or try to reason. He just… Attacks. At least, as far as I’ve seen anyway. How do we know he can be reasoned with enough that we don’t need to stop him?”

“Ugh.” Pei let her head and shoulders drop. “Is this even our job? Can’t someone in a lab coat stick him in a brain scanner or something? I don’t know anything about brain science. Do you?” Pei asked.

“Hmm… So we can now return to base?” As if he'd been waiting for this moment the entire time, Viktor walked from the shipping container. He knew it was a tad bit rude so he turned around to face the two after taking a few steps.

“A solution will be found for our friend. Unfortunately, some solutions take longer than we desire and fall outside of our influence. The most important thing to do now is to support KJ. If all you can think of is talking to him, then do so.”

“I have been. But… I dunno. I just really wish I could do something else.”

There was a pause before she continued.

“I guess it was sort of dumb for me to come out here alone… Sorry.”

Pei strode up to Cora’s side and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, shaking her reassuringly. “D’aaah.” She said with a smile, like the noise she just made was perfectly clear in its meaning.

“It wasn't dumb. Just desperate. And feeling that way is not a bad thing. We just need to be patient. When the time comes for us to do more, we will.” Viktor

“Yeah. I guess so.” Cora looked out at the ocean, unsure of what to do.

If someone told her, a year ago, that she’d be here… Cora wouldn’t believe it.

“ Let’s get outta here.”

---

If he's not in his room then where could he be? Viktor was pondering where Ja might be as he ventured into the kitchen. He wanted to speak to him as he'd been so reclusive since the incident at the docks. His eyes scanned the kitchen, seeing no trace of the bushy-haired teen in what Viktor considered to be Ja's secondary dwelling.

Not finding him here meant he'd have to venture outside. Considering the task, Viktor made his way to the refrigerator to grab a leftover sandwich in plastic wrap Daphne had informed was his to take.

“Where did she put it?” Viktor thought out loud.

Within a few moments of looking, the enhanced young man surely picked up on the sounds of movement. It was very subtle, as though small items were being slid across a wooden surface. Suddenly, an upper cabinet door opened, nearest the fridge. Inside, a rather large bag of flour had been pushed aside, and in its place was a peculiarly familiar dark bush. A blink of an eye later, it grew the face of the very teammate he’d been looking for.

For a moment, his golden eyes regarded his slightly older teammate and friend. A small, somewhat somber smile was his offering. Viktor met his gaze, silently questioning his place in the upper cabinet.

“Mhoro, Vicky.” Ja carried his voice calmly, as opposed to his typically energetic delivery.

“There you are. Greetings, Ja.” Viktor shut the refrigerator door, opting to forget the sandwich he had been searching for. He took a step back to leave room for his friend to comfortably venture down if he chose. “You seem to be in better spirits. Did your meeting go well?” Viktor was curious, and so he would pry as he normally did.

A tip of his head to the side, almost like a shrug, was his first response. “I have learned more about the nature of my…well…nature…Why my abilities of the Red behave somewhat as they do…what I am destined to become…” His answer caused Viktor to raise an eyebrow.

“Destined to become…” He echoed. “So you have control of it?” His leading question was deliberate. “The Red Beast?” He specified further.

Ja shook his head, slithering out of the cabinet. It was oddly similar to a snake as his body appeared to spill out of a tunnel that seemed to go deep behind the cabinet wall. Once out, he slid the bag of flour back in front of his secret burrow.

Interesting.

“As I told Pei in the past, such a question is ignorant to how the wild interacts with humankind. Not everything can be controlled by people, nor should it be. It is a matter of learning how to coexist peacefully with it.” The nature boy was rather unusually serious, sliding past Viktor to look into the food preserver.

“If your question is; ‘Will the beast cause more problems?’ It…he…I shouldn't, at least not while we are home.”

“Apologies.” Viktor replied rather flatly but Ja would find the word a quite rare utterance from him. Viktor slightly leaned back onto one of the counters and crossed his arms. “Our last conversation about him wasn't the friendliest. I don't wish to repeat that. I come seeking understanding and… I also want to apologize for something else.” He blurted out the last bit as quickly as he could. A statement that made even Ja's gluttonous urge pause.

“For what, Vicky?”

“For not approaching you about your… division. Kila and Ja. The two aspects of yourself are something I never addressed out of concern for the mission rather than the concern for you.” Viktor sighed. “It was an abnormality that I ignored due to your capability and effectiveness. I failed you in a sense, especially with the surfacing of a third aspect of you… and I am sorry for that.”

Having pulled baked potatoes out of the fridge, Ja stared off into the distance for a moment. At first, his expression was clouded with confusion, looking down at the food in hand before looking back up at Viktor. Then, there was some clarity.

“The…side of me that is ‘not bad but different’…Like you told me before.” He slowly nodded. “I wasn’t sure what you meant before…but…there are…dreams that I’ve had— nightmares too. Dreams that I am not sure are simply stories of my sleeping mind…Stories that instead might be…memories…”

“Memories of the other two?” His question was rhetorical as he gave Ja a few curt nods. “Make sense to how I’ve thought about your relationship with them. One actor, two spectators. They see things play out from a limited perspective that is also manipulated by their biases and natures. For instance, if I berated you right now. You, Ja, might react to it with confusion and sadness that I could be so upset with you. Kila might be disagreeable and dismissive of my misplaced aggression. The Red Beast… He should have a different name by the way… he might see me as a possible threat or challenge. And I stand by what I said previously. You, Kilamanjaro, are not bad, and neither are your other two counterparts. I haven’t met the Red Beast… but I would like to, despite everything that’s happened.”

As Viktor rambled on, Ja seemed to lean back further and further. At first, he said there were two parts of him…which he could understand but now three and… “What are you talking about? I…yes, there is me, and when my instincts take control…But…you are saying other ‘two’…I have heard Kila before…but that is what BSF had been calling the Red Beast…The reports that they tried to hide from me…unless…”

Ja took a seat on a stool. “…my head has been broken worse than I thought…”

“I wouldn't say broken. A mind divided might be better. The transitions and memory syncing are almost seamless, especially if you don't know of Kila.” Viktor clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing in front of Ja as he continued. There was no point in him being surprised by Ja's ignorance of Kila. It simply made things more interesting for Viktor to explain.

“He was the one who defeated me in the outdoor training area. He is also the one who was initially grabbed by the squid, as well as went on the Vegas mission. His personality is more rigid, expressions more serious… but he doesn't seem to share your power of animal mimicry. I haven't figured out why but that'll come with time, I guess.” Viktor shrugged.

Sometime amidst his explanation, Ja took a bite of one of the potatoes, not even feeling the need to heat it. Things slowly started to connect, but it was as clear as the look on his face that it was a lot to take in.

Was he always like this? Did something happen when he was taken to Buredunia? Did he…divide, while there? As he’d learned later, most children weren’t raised to fight for their country as soldiers…That it wasn’t right. That it was too traumatic, especially for young ones. Ja had seen as much— wore the memories as eternal reminders on his body. The countless missions he’d been on flashed before his eyes. The pain…the suffering…

His head started to spin and the potato shook in his hand but a firm touch grasped his upper arms. The potato slowly steadied in Ja's hand as Viktor was now standing in front of him.

“Ja. Calm yourself. Focus,” Viktor coached, his expression slightly etched with concern. This is exactly what he didn't want to happen to Ja. To break his mind with such a revelation. However, the recent surfacing of the Red Beast forced his hand. “I can help you… talk to Kila if you want.”

Although he was brought back to the moment, the Prince of the Red frowned and his bottom lip wobbled. Talk to Kila? What would that even mean? What did you even say to…well…yourself but not you? His mind wanted to default to Iwisa’s training…but…did Iwisa know? She was the smartest person he knew. She had to have known…why didn’t she tell him? Or his Amai even…?

“He's… He's a good person, Ja. Different, yes but he's gotten along with the team just as well as you,” Viktor assured, though he had no idea what was going on through his friend's mind. All Viktor could do was try to support him but was he capable of such? “And if it means anything, I'm here to assist you. All three of you.”

For a moment longer, Ja stared into the distance of thought, but he looked back up to Viktor. Someone who was willing to tell this truth to him, even though it hurt his head to think about. That the team had all been trying to tell him subtly in their own ways. The bushbaby feared that things would be the same as they were before he’d joined the team. However, this team was different. Knowing that much brought a small smile to his face.

“Thank you, Vicky.”

Viktor gave him a nod and removed his hand.

“This is a difficult thing to come to terms with… and I'm not sure what the final solution between you three will be but I believe you all should at least know what you know now.” Viktor pulled out his phone and held it up. “With your own, you can leave a video message for Kila. Say whatever you want but let him know who you are. Who Ja is. Then tell him to find me. Simple?”

Although there was clearly still some hesitation on his part, Ja slowly nodded for his friend to start recording…

---

Wind whispered through the leaves of the oak trees communed at the mountain’s foot. Clouds were peppered across the sky, creating pockets of blue where the sun would at times peek down at the ground. In an opening between the trees, a training dummy was set in the middle of it set on a slow pivot to spin around. The eyes of a hunter watched it from the forest.

Although Ja was hesitant, Red Robot and Tenzi Dinah were adamant that even though he may not be out in the field for some time, his training should continue. This exercise was meant to be a stealth and speed based one. He was meant to sneak up on, knock to the ground, and hit the back of the head to deactivate it before it could fully turn to face him. It was a test Ja had done a thousand times in the past. However, today he struggled, having heard the loud buzzer and red lights of failure many times.

The problem wasn’t a matter of his speed, nor his ability to sneak up on the target. It was when it came time to hit it, that Ja found himself hesitating. It was today that the memories of the last mission decided to return to him fully. Whenever he got close to attacking the training dummy, he felt a flash of when the Red Beast had attacked Quiver or Vincent. He stopped just short every time he saw them. This was his sixth attempt now.

Ja readjusted his footing in the tree branch that he’d settled into. He relaxed his shoulders, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. He could do this; He had to. He needed to return his focus and control. He would not be kept away from missions forever, and his team needed him to be ready. His pack needed him to return.

Metamorph’s eyes shot open; the pupils of his golden eyes tightening to lock on the roving dummy. He calculated the timing of its rotation to sync his movements accordingly. Then, just when the shoulder turned, he dove into action. Literally diving downward out of the tree, arms extended, a leopard’s low rumble of a growl slipped through an exhale. The predator became a silenced blur running on all fours. On the last stride, he swung his body around on his hands to perform a double leg sweep just as the dummy turned shoulder. Falling face first into the dirt, Metamorph smoothly moved to the left, finessing out of the range of its vision. Just as he was bringing a paw down to hit its head though, a flash of darkness hit him.

It was only for a second, but Quiver…Talon’s body lay there, with the deeply blooded claw wound spilling to the ground beside him.

I didn’t mean it.

BLARE! BLARE! BLARE!

The loud buzzer of the dummy went off just below him, rousing him from the flashback. It…didn’t stop spinning because he didn’t deactivate it in time…He failed.

Ja fell backwards to sit on the ground with a deflated huff…

Further into the forest, Kass was doing her own training. The mission on the docks made her realize that she'd been putting off her physical prowess in favor of magic. Illusion couldn't solve every problem; sometimes strength was necessary. She refused to let herself fall behind. Not when KJ needed the more experienced members to keep the team safe until he recovered.

Her mind forced the phrase 'if he recovered' into her consciousness, and she brushed the doubt aside like an unwelcome pest. He would get better - she would help him, and wait as long as it took.

”Focus…“ She murmured aloud. Steadily, she warmed her muscles with push-ups and stretches, before getting into the bulk of the routine. Her wrestling skills had abated, so she'd started back with a new fervor. Both Viktor and Kila made a point of telling her that the truly dangerous fighters had their own unique methods. Non standard styles that gave them the element of surprise in battle. Days of research had found Kassy a style she liked, and so she attacked the heavy dummy again and again, trying to grapple and throw it with all her might.

At some point in the midst of her strength training, the bushbaby had appeared to be in the background. It was unclear how long he was there, but it surely wasn’t long. He sat on the ground Indian style, watching her go.

In the past couple of weeks, Ja had come to rely on her support as the others had grown distant. Of course, none of his teammates had treated him with hostility, at least not openly. Though, his paranoia and shame ultimately made him avoid Quiver and Vincent. Even his nature sister, Daffy-Knee, could never quite look at him directly.

While Cora’s compassion was appreciated, the only one that still treated him the same was Kassy. Knowing that made him feel…different, inside. His heart felt like jelly that wriggled in his chest when she was near. It made him feel warm, and was the closest semblance to security he had felt since the Beast’s wrath. Even now, when she was working out, these feelings radiated through him…and…well…sometimes… he couldn’t help but simply stare. Something about… the mixture of flexing muscle with gentle curves…

Her prey-sense warned Kassy of a predator's gaze, causing her to stop short. That ancient itch on the back of her neck was better than sonar. But what land creature could be a danger to her here?

She straightened up and looked around, before her gaze landed on Ja. Happily, she strode through the sparse grass and plopped beside him. "Hi. Have you been waiting long?“

His eyes aimed downward to watch the ants on the ground, realizing with her instinctive reaction that his eye may have been a bit much. Still, he didn’t hide a small smile, fangs peeking between closed lips.

“No…I just thought that watching someone else do well with their training would help me with focusing…It isn’t going so well.“

"Oh.“ There was a time where she would've said 'I'm sorry' in response to his woes. But she had a sense that it wouldn't help Ja this time. She tipped her water bottle up and drank thirstily before speaking again. "Maybe you should change it up. I need a sparring partner. Would you mind?“

Ja’s eyes opened widely in surprise and his smile disappeared. "A-ah…Are you sure that would be a good idea?“ The child of the wild tried to keep his cool. Moments ago, he had trouble fighting a stationary dummy…Much less a living person. Much less a teammate, since the Beast attacked two of them last mission. Much much less the person that he didn’t…

By that same token, Ja understood that he couldn’t live in fear of the Beast. He needed to maintain his composure…and knowing that it didn’t hurt Kassy during that mission gave him a little more confidence that…surely it wouldn’t overpower him this time…right?

All of these thoughts seemed to move through the motions of his eyes, before he looked back up at her. A corner of his lip upturned, a little more resolute.

"Okay. We can try.“

Kassy smiled gently at his courage. She couldn’t read minds, but it didn't take telepathy to know why he hesitated.

"Don't worry, Ja. I trust you.“ She squeezed his shoulder before taking her place on the edge of a makeshift circle.

The bushbaby crawled on over to the opposite edge of the circle, though he stood up. He resolved to himself that he would try to match her energy, nothing more. As a form of sparring etiquette as well as to indicate readiness, his right fist met his left palm; a kung fu salute.

In return, Kassy held her fist to her forehead and bowed. It was a gesture of utmost respect where she came from. Once that was done, she lowered into a sturdy stance. Her teeth flashed in an eager grin.

Ja wasted no time. He sprung forward as though to pounce on her, but tucked into a front flip at the last second to kick with both legs.

Months ago, Kassy would have flinched away from the incoming strike. But so much had changed. As Ja twisted in midair, she blocked out everything else. It was just him, and her, and her heartbeat rushing in her ears.

One beat. Two. Three.

There!

At the moment just before his kick hit home, she pressed herself forward and grasped for him. Her sturdy arms wrapped around his legs, holding him around the knees.

Just like that, Kilamanjaro felt his forward momentum shift suddenly toward the ground. Of course— she was a grappler, he just saw her training, why was he surprised?

Either way, gravity was making the journey short, so his body became as a snake; Flexibly contorting his back to bend backward. Using her momentum against her, his hands caught the dirt but he rolled them backwards as a whole. With the pin reversed, knees at her biceps, he used the opportunity to slip away.

She righted herself the second her back hit the ground, prepared for a defense that suddenly wasn't needed. Ja was widening the gap. "Alright.“ She stalked toward him, not at speed, but at a measured walk. It was quite obvious that she'd need him to move first. But she was a rather patient fighter. Her illusions often meant that she had to wait for the perfect moment to strike, and this was no different.

With her walking more towards the center of the circle, Ja had more room to work with. That timed snatch taught him that the likely counter to her preferred method was speed. If she couldn't grab him, it would be a matter of wearing her down… Well there was strength that he could tap into, but he’d never actually hit her before to know how durable she was…and he didn’t want to. But he agreed to spar with her in order to successfully complete some form of combat training. He just wouldn’t hit her head.

With that in mind, the wild child started again, a burst of blinding speed to contrast her slow walk. Except this time, he zoomed past her, digging his claws into the ground to make a sharp turn to charge her from behind. As she was turning, his hands were meant to plant into her shoulders to vault over her.

"Hey-“ She was surprised as he darted right by without touching her. His reversal was a little less surprising, though; there was a quick intake of breath just before she felt his hands on her. Instead of letting him use her as a springboard, she went prone. It was nearly identical to the drop-dive she did when swimming. If she had it right, Ja's timing would be ruined.

Her sudden drop left him fumbling to not fall onto her, quickly reshuffling his hands to catch the ground.

She didn't let up, her leg striking forward in a vicious kick. Usually, he ran circles (literally) around her. Being able to match him, even for a little, gave her courage.

Unable to brace for the sudden impact to his chest or even get stable, her kick knocked the wind out of him. Crashing onto his back, Ja sighed, quickly trying to regain his breath. He was slipping up more than normal; focus.

Swiftly spinning on his head and shoulders back to his feet, he bounced in place with a shifty rhythm. Hopping closer, he turned into what looked like a spinning hook kick for her head. Though instead of following through, he jumped, retracting his leg as a feign and extending for a back kick to the body.

She had just enough time to steel herself for the impact. Skidding backward slightly, she weathered his kick. Instead of bracing for more, however, she darted forward.

Again she grabbed for his outstretched leg. If she could just catch Ja once, the battle could turn in her favor. She was fast, but agility was his specialty. His leg was extended as bait, retracting as she reached for it.

Instead, he grasped around her arm and tugged to use her momentum against her. Using a barrel vault maneuver over her initially, his feet planted into her back to push off away. Using his own newfound momentum to back handspring away, he followed it up with a backflip to land on his four limbs. He had the posture and demeanor of a crouching tiger; keen senses attuned and ready to strike.

Kassy grunted softly as she nearly fell prone. Her recovery was faster than it had ever been, but she was frustrated with herself. It'd been silly for her to try and outspeed him. She didn't need to beat him at his game; she needed to do what she did best. As he took point, she did the same. Her bare heels dug into the earth, and she readied her hands in front of her.

"Well? Come and get me!“ Her taunt displayed far more courage than she felt. Within the span of her exhale, the wild child obliged, cartwheeling closer. Launching at her from his hands, it seemed his momentum was leading into a kick. Though, it was yet another feint, and the mistress of mirages could see through it. Before Ja could properly extend into an attempted attack, she leaned just far enough to throw her arms around his neck and head.

Lowered toward the ground to have less leverage, he found himself in a sudden arm triangle choke. His free arm grasped at her arms, but she adjusted accordingly, and he felt the pressure at his neck. His breaths were deepening as the blood flow to his head was blocked.

Ja miscalculated again. She caught him, again. He would fail again. Iwisa would have chewed him up by now; both physically and verbally. The thought made him grimace, more than any pain felt during this sparring session…Iwisa didn’t die for him to be a failure…His fangs bared, and a small breathy growl exhaled from him, though it was not animal inspired. It was his own.

He would make Iwisa proud.

Ja summoned strength from within that he wasn’t willing before. He took hold of Kassy’s choking arm while planting his feet onto the ground. In one motion, he stood up off the ground, lifting Kassy up with him upright. Unfolding her arm from around his neck, his other hand came from below to shove her back.

Though the space was brief, he decided to move on the offensive. With ferocity, he took a short hop into a superman punch aimed directly for her chest. Though as his momentum carried him forward, a flash of light overtook him.

The darkness of the docks again. The smell of water, but before him, a bright light. Kassy’s face glimmering beside it, coaxing with fear in her eyes. ’It’s just me…I’m…your friend.’

Ja’s breath caught in his throat.

And Kassandra's fist caught his chin a second later.

She was surprised at how hard her punch landed. There had been a moment of hesitation on Ja's part, and she capitalized on it without question. Usually, she would have been blocked or redirected, which is why she put more honest strength into fighting Viktor and KJ. They could handle it. Why hadn't he handled it?

"Ja- are you okay?!“ The panic in her voice was clear. The young man lied still for several moments, seemingly out cold. His head rolled on his neck with no particular pattern, eyes aimed to the sky.

All was quiet, albeit the natural sounds of the ocean a little ways off, and some birds chirping. Then, suddenly, violently, the boy’s body shook. When he did, the birds stopped, quickly emptying from the trees as though spooked by something. Woodland creatures and even the insects that crept in the woods nearby fled further into it. Yet just as quickly as it began, it ended.

The young meta’s eyes reopened, but instead of Ja’s golden hazel, a more infamous scarlet glow inhabited the irises. Quickly surveying his surroundings, his eyes locked onto Kass looming nearby.

Kass was near tears, torn between going for her comm and looking after KJ, when the forest went berserk. She felt it, suddenly. Her prey sense, usually just a tickle of forewarning, was suddenly a klaxon of gut watering fear. She looked at the treeline, wondering if a bear was nearby.

Then she heard Ja rousing subtly. "Oh, thank the Gods, I thought-“ Then she caught a look at those bold, red eyes. The words stalled on her lips, and it was only because she was too practiced at deception that she continued after a second's pause. "I thought I was going to have to carry you back. Can you stand, Ja?“

Rule number one: never show a predator fear.

His eyes scrutinized her, pupils shaping from circular to the vertical slits of a clouded leopard. It was as though in an instant, he had sat up and leaned forward onto his limbs. Although the air was calm, there was a quiet tension, and the hunter could sense it. He drew closer, with a closed lip groan resembling a tiger rumbled from him. When rather too close, he stood up bipedally. His posture was taut and the right side of his lip twitched.

"Good, you're standing. Are you bleeding anywhere?“ Her voice was light and sweet, but her muscles were taut. Kassandra's mind was racing. Her comm was about a minute away. Maybe if she ran… but no. That would violate -

Rule number two: never show a predator your back.

There were no words as a response, instead, he continued with his silent examination. Very subtly, the minute tendrils of his headbush extended toward Kass. The tiger groan rumbled into a growl, opening his lips for his fangs to show. In the blink of an eye, his jaw opened and his head lurched toward her neck.

Kassy's courage faltered momentarily, as she threw her forearm up in defense. "Ja? I'm going to need you to stop.“ She kept using his name despite that crimson stare. It wasn't Ja, but… if her and Viktor were correct, he might be able to hear her anyway.

It was enough to make him pause, and his head tipped to the side to look at her arm briefly. As he did, the pupils of his eyes widened until there was more red and black than white. Another low growl, taking her arm as a prompt and his jaw unhinged again, leaning for it.

"Tch!“ She snatched her arm back, mindful of his teeth, and struck back instinctively. Ironically enough, Kila had taught her the flat palmed strike. Now she used it to hit the Beast square in the torso.

In response, he had been forced to take two steps backward. Even though struck, he didn’t seem particularly aggressive, sinking back down on all fours. Still, the Beast circled, watched her movement and body position, then he ran directly at her.

Kassy's mind flew into overdrive as the Beast's advance seemed to slow. Was one minute so long, even at a full sprint? If she could just get the others, then…

Then what? Would the others attack him again? Treat him like something less than a thinking being? Like a stranger… or an enemy? Would they lock him up and throw away the key, just because he was born with a strength that scared others?

She wouldn't let that happen. Not to someone who didn't deserve it.

As time seemed to right itself, she turned her body toward the Beast. Just in time, as he had launched himself from his ‘back’ legs, with clear intent to pounce on and tackle her. This one was easy; catch and redirect. The moment he was close enough, she got a hold of his arm and shirt. His energy became hers as she shoved him sideways, taking point again for the next attack.

"What is your name?"

After contorting his body to land on his four limbs, he seemed ready to try again but he stopped. Kass' question appeared to confuse him, as made evident by the second time he’d tilted his head during their interaction.

“Nnn….mmmm…?” His voice was low while struggling with the word but afterwards he snorted in frustration.

At that, Kassy's eyes brightened. "Yes, your name! You know me. I'm Kassy." She couldn't help but smile. Maybe there was a way to get through to him after all.

At the sound of Kass’ name, he looked back up to her face; noticing the teeth in her smile. His own canines became visible again and his mane spread out around his head. Positioning his body with his hands beneath his chest, he waited a moment before he charged again. However, this time, he remained close to the ground to go for her legs. Kass responded by sinking low and sweeping her leg out. Clearly she was trying to catch his chin.

Although quick enough to react to her kicking leg initially, leaning his head above, she clipped one of his supporting limbs. Recovering quickly by rolling across the ground on his shoulders, he landed on his feet. Using his crouched stance as a springboard, he launched directly at her center mass, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Oof!" Flat on her back, Kassy put her forearm between her throat and the Beast's teeth. This was bad - her bones were hard to break, but it took less force to deal dangerous cuts to her body. If he got a deep enough bite in, it would take no time at all for her to bleed to death. But she refused to roll over and die. "You're… not… winning!"

Although he’d displayed rash herculean strength weeks ago, at the moment he seemed to use none of it. Slowly nudging against and around her forearm, he didn’t quite reach her. Instead, his fangs only managed to nip at her exposed right shoulder.

Kassandra was confused. The Beast had enough strength to toss the larger boys around like they were weightless guppies. She shouldn't be strong enough to deter him. It was almost as if he wasn't…

She managed to get enough leverage between them, pushing her knee upward to gain space. "I don't want to hurt you! Please!" With a desperate cry, she put full force into her legs and kicked upward.

Her blow contacted his lower abdomen, throwing him up and off of her. Crashing on his back side, he quickly sat up and shook his upper body, like a dog flicking off dirt. For a moment, he paused again, looking up at her.

Kass hurt Him…? The wild child confusedly looked down at where she kicked, patting his chest just so. When reassuring that he wasn’t in pain, his confused look came back up to Kass.

Kassandra panted with effort as she got up again. Her stamina was usually much better, but she suspected fear was sapping her strength. Despite her trying not to be a threat, KJ's eyes were still red. Her confusion gave way to frustration. This didn't have to be happening, at all! If this fangy Beast would just go, even for a moment… "Give me back my Ja!" The layer of protective anger in her voice couldn't be buried.

An anger that made the confusion worse. With her tone seeming to go beyond irritation to actual aggression, the maned young lion tensed. Then he looked around to see if there was someone who he hadn’t sensed. Though clearly there was no one else around. She was talking to Him.

Give me back my Ja……but…Him…Why Kass yelling? His eyes seemed to plead for understanding when his view returned to Kassy again.

”…me…?” His voice was a soft grumble.

"You, yes! You need to go back–" Kassy let out a frustrated growl, hands in her hair. It was too hard a concept to word simply. He just didn't speak her language. But maybe she could speak his.

Squaring her shoulders and standing up fully, she bared her sharp teeth at the Beast in the body of the boy she loved. Her orange eyes were lit with anger. Every part of her silently invited his challenge.

Her body language seemed to be understood instead of what she was trying to say. For but a moment, he shrunk back, brows forming a triangle as he’d appeared to be hurt. His headbush slowly lowered around his face and his body raised from the ground. Regarding her silently for a moment longer, his airborne form launched at her.

As Kilamanjaro's crimson gaze bore down on her, his dive bringing them closer, Kassy felt a sudden sense of surety. A shift in the current. A feeling that somehow, things would be okay. She would have to talk to KJ about it. After she taught him the rules.

Rule 3: Never bare your throat. To do so is to acquiesce, to offer blood and body.

Like snatching a salmon from the shallows, Kassy's body moved at just the right moment. The force of a dive that would have flattened her was suddenly redirected. She gripped KJ tight, and took the momentum from him. She drove him into the ground back first, in a suplex.

Before he had space to recover, she pinned him with the full weight of her knee square on his chest. She gripped a careful handful of the young lion's mane and tugged his head back. There she knelt, lowering her mouth to his exposed neck.

"Bare your fangs no more. Go back to sleep."

Through labored breaths, the Fanged Beast had shut his eyes as serrated teeth clamped on his neck. He struggled under her grasp. Kassy was just as careful not to hurt him as he had been with her. Despite his struggle, she didn't even break the skin. It was several long moments before it ended. However, when he eventually came to a stop, the sounds of forest creatures seemed to return.

Soon afterwards, the boy stirred. As he attempted to move his heavy body, he felt hair on his face, but for once it wasn’t his. The smell was familiar…though there was something else that made his eyes suddenly fly open. He felt her lips on his neck.

“Kassy…I…uh…is…everything alright?” Kila asked both warily and wearily.

There was a noise of pure surprise from Kassy as she pulled away. She, too, was exhausted. And she hadn't expected him to wake so quickly. "You're… you're up!" She scraped her well of courage and came up empty. "Good! Gotta go."

“But wait—“ She was gone, where she once was, there was nothing.

The young lion sat up, an action made easier now that she wasn’t on him. A situation that Kila…hadn’t thought he’d be in so soon. The soreness in his body felt almost like he’d been in a fight. Yet there was no bloodshed or any real internal injuries that he could feel. Surveying his surroundings, Kila was in the forest, one on the island of Mount Justice; home.

This was certainly no dream…A fact that only made Kassy’s position with him seem odd. A hand fell on where he’d felt her on his neck. His lack of memory from a few moments ago did him no favors. She seemed surprised that he was awake. She wouldn’t have ‘taken advantage’ of him while sleeping. Instead of that…maybe this was a result of her interacting with his Red-inspired side.

Though how would a potential fight lead to what just happened…? Or…dare he ask…was it even a fight to begin with?

He’d find no answer sitting here thinking to himself. However, something told him that…maybe he was closer to achieving a goal of his than he’d originally thought. Maybe if he…

---

For Always, Forever

_{The next day…}

---

Kassandra Keigwan had dealt with more than her share of difficulties in her life. Between losing her parents and being in prison twice, she liked to think she was well prepared for complications of all kinds. But as she clutched the paper in her hands and read it again, she knew that was completely untrue.

Kassy,

Don't feel too bad about the outcome of our training session. I'm still trying to understand these spells of unconsciousness. I do, however, need your help with something else. A task I can only trust you with. Please meet me on the beach at the furthest edge from the base this afternoon.

-- Kila

What was she going to do? Unfortunately, all of her courage had been spent battling the Red Beast. She hadn’t been able to look Kila in the eye afterwards, let alone talk to him. Not without her mind conjuring up memories. The warmth of him beneath her, the beat of his pulse just under her lips - even his scent, like a fresh summer storm, overwhelming her -

She'd put the temperature of her pool as cold as it would go, and it hadn’t helped at all.

A bolder girl would have simply moved her mouth two inches up and given Kila a proper kiss. But Kassandra was a coward. She knew the rest of the team had caught on to her feelings by now, so it was impossible that KJ was ignorant. The only explanation she could fathom for his silence was that he was too kind to hurt her feelings with a direct rejection.

She had made things uncomfortable between them. But instead of lashing out, he was going to let her down gently. No one else went to the beach this early, so they wouldn't be overheard. Even now, he chose kindness first. She couldn't insult him by not showing up.

Kassandra exhaled a sigh and began to dress. What did you wear to get your heart broken?

---

Kilamanjaro watched the waves of the sea ebb and flow, rise and fall.

Through its motion, one could see their power; overpoweringly tangible but something you could never hold in your hand. Emotions were like that, Kila had come to learn over the years. Much of his training was designed to dull or manipulate them to his will. For the most part, for most of them, he could. But there were these…waves that cycled within him, that drew strength over time.

Kila had done what he humanly could to weather it. First he’d built a wall, but the waves knocked it down with a single blow. He’d built a barrier with supports, but with a smile the waves trampled his defenses. He attempted to dig a channel, but that only delayed momentarily before the waves washed it away. Ultimately, his last resort, as with any person, was to go to higher ground.

Still, he knew that it was only a matter of time before they gained the power to reach him but by then, they would be too strong. The waves would overwhelm him and he’d drown. Humankind had only made one successful attempt to defend against the sea— One that wasn’t really a defense at all, but a mediator; a boat.

Kila long ago decided that in order to avoid disaster, he was to build a boat to navigate the waves. It was a risk, as not all vessels built would survive the journey into the deep, so he had made his best attempt to build a strong one. With this latest occurrence, he’d seen signs of the sea receding, preparing to climb the high ground.

Although his boat was prepared, the young lion stared out at the deep blue anxiously. He’d barely slept the night before. He’d done what he could to try to make the perfect ship. Though…would the method he chose be the right one in order to set sail? Would his ship sink? Would the waves crush the ship and him with it…?

A piece of paper was held in his hands, the words he’d memorized many times. They had to be executed just right…Although fear welled up in him, it would not paralyze him.

Kila stationed himself on a boulder a safe distance from where the literal oceanic waves decided to reach today. The sun was reclining on the mid-afternoon clouds. All that was left was to wait.

He wouldn't have to wait much longer. Soon enough, Kassandra's familiar footsteps would sound behind him.

"Hey." She tried to sound casual and calm, but her heart was beating so hard it hurt. She'd learned young how to anticipate pain and bear it. Knowing it was coming never once made it hurt less.

Kila smiled, relieved to some extent to see her there. Yet in his eyes, it was still clear to see that he was somewhat nervous.

"Hey, Kass…Did you sleep well?" He asked, pulling open the clamps of his guitar case. Inside was a red ochre colored acoustic guitar with a glossy finish. It was one that he didn’t display on the wall of his room, as it was more expensive. He’d been saving it for an occasion like this.

"Not particularly." She finally tore her gaze from the sand under her feet to look up at him. "I'm so so sorry, I know that's meaningless at this point, but…" Her train of thought jumped the tracks. "What… is with the guitar?"

Pulling it out, he gently tapped his nails against each string to assure it was tuned. When asked about the instrument, Kila looked back up at her. "Oh, this is what I needed your help with. Since performing with Zach in the music store that one day…I was curious about writing a song as I’ve never done it before. At least not one with words. So, I did…but I’m not sure about how good it is."

Kassandra stared at him a moment before recovering. "Did you want me to listen?" She was still tense, her body prepared for pain. Kila shuffled in place, noticing her tension.

"I am…actually hoping you’d sing it for me. I remember your singing for the crowd at the circus. As well as here on the beach even…You’re good. You innately know how to carry your voice and how lyrics should properly flow to music. I trust that side of you to pick up any flaws with what I wrote…"

Looking at the paper one more time, his lips pursed. He aimed it up for her to reach it. She plucked the paper from his fingertips, curious despite herself.

"I will play the tune in mind, and hum the singing melody initially, and…I’d guess that you can take it from there?"

| Written Lyrics —
There was starlight in her eyes.
My soul could feel their shine.
Tell me, how would you describe
Treasure you don’t search to find.
A type of girl you can’t define
by the way her clothes designed.
Still, deep running wa-ters
Is the story of her life.
Alluring any ho-ur
From morning through the night.
I have this funny fe-eling,
But it’s something that I like.

Maybe it’s my heart.
Maybe it’s my mind.
No matter where we go,
I’ll never waste your time.
The things we do toge-ther
These moments I’ll remember.
I want to be with you,
For always forever. |

Kassy swayed almost imperceptibly to the beat as he intermittently percussed the strings. She'd heard Kila picking at melodies before, but this was much better than it had been before. And the lyrics… they were simple, but the emotions behind them made her heart ache. Whoever this girl was, she was utterly lucky.

Without warning, she began to sing. There was a sort of pain in her voice that could only come from the heart. It wasn't her best performance by far. Her voice cracked on the last two lines. Suddenly she understood why he wanted her to look.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to- to ruin your poetry." Suddenly, the lines on the page began to blur. "It's okay, you know. I figured this would come sooner or later. Don't worry about me, I-"

"-I love the way you laugh." A voice picked up where her paper ended.

"I love the way you smile.~" He kept playing. His eyes were closed. His voice was initially shaky but gained strength the longer his fingers moved.

"The way you move your body
No lie, it drives me wild.~" He broke it down.

"I know your past can
bring you down
That some things
just ain’t right.~

But when you’re stuck inside the darkness
Would you let me be your light?

Maybe it’s your heart.
Maybe it’s your mind.
No matter where we go,
You’re never wasting time.
The things we do toge-ther
Are moments I’ll remember.
I want to be with you, girl
For always forever.

Maybe it’s your heart.
Maybe it’s my mind.
No matter where we go,
It’s never wasted time.
The things we do toge-ther
This love that I’ll remember.
I want to be with you,
For always forever."

He finally stopped playing, but dared not look up yet.

"If you’re mine then I’ll be yours…For always…" He looked past his curls, searching her expression.

"Forever…"

Kassy stood motionless before him. Twin trails of wet marked the path of her tears. His voice was rich and sweet, and she could have gladly listened until the tides turned twice.

"...It's beautiful. She will love it." She dabbed her eyes on the edge of her sleeve. "...she's lucky, to win your heart."

Kila paused, placing the instrument back into its open case, and he stood up himself. A small hopeful smile graced his expression. One of his hands took hold of hers and he brought it close to his chest. His pupils shook as he looked between her two sunburst dipped. "…But…what if…"

For once, his expression bore it all — The waves of unaddressed emotion that had built from the moment he’d laid eyes on the sea daughter. Although they hadn’t known each other longer than several months, it felt as though it had been years. Through their best and worst, they stuck together. Even when at odds with their other friends, they were the first to the other’s side. He couldn’t imagine where he would be now without her support. Probably hitting something, as a young warrior would…But now the young warrior’s defenses laid bare — he was vulnerable.

"‘She’ was you?"

Kila was met with silence in return, but the struggle on Kassandra's face was all too clear. She wasn't looking at him, but through him, her orange eyes had gone glassy. He would be able to feel her pulse racing out of control. "...Kila, what…" She shook her head slightly, as if jarring herself back to the present time.

"What are you saying? If this is some kind of… joke…" Her voice cracked, as she knew that was no explanation. Sure, he joked and teased, but the second it went too far, he stopped. Yet her mind would easily accept that explanation, instead of a truth that she couldn't quite accept as real.

"I always thought you loved Daphne. Everyone loves Daphne! She's pretty, and kind, and gentle. I thought that's why you called me out. To tell me to back off-" She shook her head, curls bouncing. "There is nothing about me that is worth loving." It was subtle, the way she spoke as if quoting someone else.

As her head spun, Kila’s hold on her hand became more firm, going so far as taking her other one too.

"I found enough to write about the girl in this song; you. Don’t misunderstand, I do love Daphne, she is family. I learned that when she was lost to her power. But I also realized during that time, that I couldn’t be without you. That sort of love is different…and I suspect you feel it too."

"You suspect?" A soft, incredulous laugh. "Kila, you're the cutest one on the team. And I've liked you since you let me do your hair for the circus. I thought it was obvious."

"The first thing is subjective…The second…well…I didn’t think it too charming to ‘tell you’ what you feel…" His head tipped some from side to side as he spoke, eyes falling down to their joined hands.

"I…suspect," Kila played with the word. "that with us admitting all of this…that things are going to be different now…?"

She, too, stared at their hands. And hers began to tremble. "I still don't get it. What you could possibly see in me." Her voice was quiet and cowed. "...are you sure I'm not deceiving you too?"

He took advantage of her distracted state, closing the distance between their faces. For but a moment, the world around them disappeared into darkness, lost in their combined mess of black and white curls. His firm but gentle lips pressed against her soft and nubile. The kiss sent shivers through him and his heart raced at double time, but he pulled away to take a breath.

"I think…the only one you are deceiving…is yourself."

Kassy stood still, eyes still closed. Savoring the warmth still lingering on her lips. His warmth. His love.

Oh…

This feeling, this indescribable light. Like a clean bath after a long swim. She would give everything, do anything to protect this feeling…

She opened her eyes slowly, a dying voice within her screaming that this was just a dream. But Kila's soft voice drowned out the last of it. "It's true, then. You love… me."

Kila smiled warmly, chuckling even. "There might be hope for you yet." He teased while his heart throbbed in his chest. "Yes. You have given me the courage to admit that."

"I have? How did I manage that? I barely have enough for myself." But she smiled up at him, with eyes as bright as the sun itself. Her body was close enough that she could lean on him, if she wanted to.

"Through your actions, instead of your words."

"My actions, huh?" She didn't quite understand his meaning. But questions could wait. She cupped his warm face in her soft, cool hands.

"I will act just like I want, then." She raised up on her toes and kissed him. Shy and sweet, the second kiss of countless others yet to come. There was nothing more she could say, so her body would have to speak for her— and Kila mirrored her sentiment.

Kila had finally reached his goal; his first love. The boat had been built and when introduced to the sea, it had managed to float and thrive. Although it was only one milestone on his journey of life, and the young sailor didn’t know what would come next, he looked forward unafraid. He was no longer alone. They would face whatever challenges that lay ahead, the same way they always had: Together.

---

The day had finally come, and Viktor was well prepared for what he was going to get ready to do. The team seemed to be in especially low spirits at the moment. Alisa had left the team, KJ had been benched, and Daphne was on her period… so it only seemed right to try to mend the bridge once burned with Zach. Things hadn't been right since the Last Vegas mission and this one-on-one was long overdue.

Viktor entered the lounge where he figured Zach might be. The magician had one of the couches to himself. Hell, he had the lounge to himself until Viktor walked in with a legal pad and two pens in hand.

“Greetings, Zach.” Viktor simply stood by the couch with his supplies in hand.

Zach was playing on his phone, and then he looked up and raised an eyebrow when Viktor spoke to him. “Oh, you’re actually talking to me outside of work? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well…” Viktor made a look of discomfort before he sat down beside him. He felt like his thought-out plans for this were already beginning to crumble. “Yes, I am. I want to… I need your help… and I want to make things right between us.” Viktor set the legal pad down on the coffee table. “We're both very different people but we're also on the same team. And being a team is more than just the missions we go on, yes?”

Zach nodded. “Absolutely!” Zach sighed. “Alright, I guess… I should say it first. I’m sorry about the Vegas thing…”

“Vegas…” Viktor averted his gaze, scowling at a spot on the ground. “Well… I am surprised you apologized for that. It's a good thing. It is but my issues with you stem from more than just the ‘Vegas thing.’” Viktor's eyes met Zach's again, his expression dull. “At times, I think you should be called ‘Iceburn,’ Zach. It's Pei's alias but it describes your nature.”

Zach raised an eyebrow “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Iceburn.” Viktor quickly looked around to ensure he didn't summon her. “Cold and hot. Sometimes you're dependable. Hot. Sometimes you're not. Cold. Why is this? Why can't you just be… consistent?” Viktor's tone was more curious rather than harsh. Even his face looked to be seeking an answer he himself hadn't come up with.

“Because I’m Zachary Zatara darling. You never know what you’re gonna get!” He replied in a sassy tone. “After all, I am a magician. Being an enigma is my specialty!” Zach laughed, but he could tell very quickly that Viktor wasn’t joking. “In all seriousness though. I wonder that all the time…

“Hmm… I can admit you've at least gotten better at being hot so-” Viktor sighed as he realized his choice of words. He knew using metaphor might be problematic sooner or later. He winced at first but then he chuckled.

“Apologies. I meant to say, maybe your relationship with Mateo isn't a bad thing.”

“Thank you! I like him a lot. I just wish I could bring him here. This long-distance thing is killing my vibe… Um… Anyway, what did you need help with?”

“I…” Viktor looked toward the legal pad. It seemed he expected Zach to have more pushback but perhaps Viktor didn't know the magician as well as he thought. “I wanted to plan a second Vegas trip as a getaway of sorts. And it has to be better to make up for what occurred last time. I figured the ‘Shock and Awe’ duo would be best suited.”

“Sounds fun. I’m in!”

“Perfect.” Viktor managed a rare smile at Zach. “Since we're not 21, we have two options. We break the law with fake identities or we make use of the attractions suited to us. There's plenty to do but… should this be another guys' night?”

Zach nodded. “Yes. Yes, it should. The girls have plenty of fun without us anyway.” Viktor had already begun to pen down notes but stopped upon hearing this.

“They do?” Viktor raised an eyebrow before writing “Girls” and striking an “X” through it.

“Of course. The whole reason I did the Vegas thing the first time was because they had a slumber party without us…”

“A slumber party? You mean the gathering they had in the lounge? Fun?” Viktor shrugged and dared not explain how he knew about the slumber party. “To each their own, I guess. Also, a smaller group might be better for this trip… Mateo could come as well. If you want him to.”

Zach’s eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh yes! I would love that! A trip to Vegas with my BF would be great.” But then he realized something. “Wouldn’t that be kind of awkward for you though? You’d be the third wheel…”

“Third wheel? Zach, I would be the sixth wheel since my intention is to invite Vincent, Kila, and… Will.” Viktor forced the final name out with aversion. “Despite that, thanks for the consideration… friend.” Viktor smiled warmly.

Zach grinned from ear to ear. “You’re welcome. And… neat, Young Justice Boys night! This will be great! Vegas won’t know what hit them!” Zach threw a hand up in the air and shouted. Ittefnoc! A bunch of colorful confetti came out of Zach’s hand and got everywhere while smiled, actually finding the spectacle amusing. The “Shock and Awe” of the team were finally back in sync.

---

There was the sound of cutlery being dropped on the floor and a muffled “Oh crap” coming from the outside of the infirmary. Daphne quietly entered the infirmary, carrying a tray with chicken soup and two pieces of bread. She balanced it carefully between her hands. The kitchen and the infirmary were not close to each other at all. She’d made it this far, now to just get it onto a table somewhere.

Daphne wasn’t too keen on placing it near any medical equipment and eventually reached Will’s bedside. There was a mostly empty side table sitting conveniently next to the bed. There was only a phone charger on there and a stack of books. Daphne moved the books out of the way to make room for the soup.

She glanced at Will. He looked like he was sleeping. His eyes were closed and his hands were resting at his sides.
“Hey…how are you feeling?” Her voice was soft.

Quiver opened one eye and peered out at his teammate.

“Rain sat with me all night holding my hand. I think his gentle touch will bring me a full recovery.”

He turned and looked Nymph in the eye.

“The sponge bath was a little much though.”

Daphne smiled and shook her head.
“Hah hah….very funny Will.”

He grimaced and held his side, trying to move himself into an upright position on the bed.

“I’ve spent too much time with Green Arrow. I can’t stop with the jokes sometimes. It’s starting to really annoy me. Is it presumptuous to hope that soup is for me?”

Quiver could smell the soup Daphne had made from down the hallway, but didn’t want to get his hopes up that it was for him. He was elated not just to see Daphne again, but the prospect of a home cooked meal.

“It is, but I’m going to help you eat it so hands off.”
Red Tornado advised Will not to strain or move unnecessarily . It would stress his stitches too much. Daphne definitely did not want that happening. That was going to turn their quality time into another bloodbath. Then he’d really need a sponge bath too.

Daphne put down a napkin over Will’s chest.
“Can you lean back a little bit?”

She turned and picked off a piece of bread dunking it into the soup. She labeled it up onto the spoon and held it up so it could cool.
“Okay so you have to be honest, because I fell asleep halfway through cooking this…”

Will smiled at Daph’s kindness. His return to the team was not without its complications, including the altercation that landed him here in critical care in the first place. But the trouble on Will’s mind wasn’t about Metamorph, or the mission. It was about Daphne.

He had heard from Green Arrow and Zatara that his “identity” so to speak has been revealed to the team in a debrief from their previous fiasco of a mission. But he wasn’t in a position to be able to explain himself to Daphne and his old friends. And now with just the two of them here, he knew it was the best chance to do so. But he could feel a hesitance within Daphne that he hadn’t felt before. Or was he projecting?

He winced as he tried to sit up a bit more and look at her. He didn’t want to look like a broken teammate. He wanted to show strength and good cheer. But he didn’t have a lot of either of those, not right just yet.

Will accepted the spoonful that Daphne had held out to him, and its warmth radiated throughout his whole body. And the taste was…

The taste was..

Well it tasted like warm water with a little salt, if we’re being generous.

Will was at an impasse. What was he supposed to say? His eyes met Daphne’s and he could see her eagerly looking on, expectantly. He could feel sweat breaking across his brow.

“Um. It’s uh….”

Shit

“……yummmmmmmy….?”

Daphne winced despite Will’s best attempts at being considerate of her feelings.
“That bad huh…?”

She stopped spoon feeding the watery soup to her teammate feeling embarrassed. Without the soup there was just a dry piece of bread, not too appetizing. Her honey brown eyes looked back up at Will, the embarrassment already fading. Their interactions had changed the least since the Team was put together. There was always this comfortable silence between them. No pressure, just two introverts enjoying each other’s company. She guessed she could call it a friendship by now.

Although now that she was mulling over their relationship in her mind, there was one thing that had changed. Whenever they made eye contact now, she could actually see his eyes. A deep shade of blue that shifted with the light, mysterious and watery. Losing the shades seemed to have brought out a different side of him.

“You probably imagined you coming back to us a lot differently.”

Will looked down at the end of the bed, unsure of how best to answer that question.

“Honestly, Daphne, I'm not sure I imagined coming back at all. After you went under…it was like when Casper left. I felt unmoored. When Green Arrow told me that you’d recovered - I just didn’t think I had it in me to see you. It’s hard to explain why.” His voice was searching, shy.

Will moved a book aside that he had in his bed, if only to give himself something physical to do while he worked out how he was feeling.

“I mean, I’m glad you were okay. But I didn’t know how you’d take it, knowing I left. Or how the others would feel if I just walked back onto the team. I thought I’d changed enough to make a difference here, I had more to offer. But things are going worse than I had even thought. Whatever is happening with Metamorph, I can’t help but feel bulldozed by the others. Or that I did something wrong by being wary of his current status on the team.”

Daphne’s contemplative look turned into an expression of compassion.
”You know… you’ve really changed.”
She gave him a small smile to let him know she was talking about a positive change.

”Viktor told me you left. That got through to me despite my state. My memories of my coma aren’t cohesive but I do remember you leaving, stirred something in me.”

Attempting to meet eyes with Daphne, Will continued on.

“I know he’s not doing these things on purpose, but I feel stupid. I’m stuck in the infirmary - maybe because of him - and I feel like maybe to the others, that it doesn’t matter.” Will put his head back, as if tired of the whole situation, or embarrassed about talking like this.

She took the book Will grabbed earlier and turned it over in her hands.
”We’re not really sure why Kila’s acting this way. I don’t think it has anything to do with you honestly.”

“It’s weird. I’m not really used to being so aware of my feelings. So I’m not sure what to do when they get hurt.”

”That must be hard…”
As someone used to experiencing the emotions of herself and others deeply, it was difficult to imagine being in Will’s position.

”Feeling incapable is difficult to deal with.”

She wasn’t sure what else to say.

Daphne’s attention was drawn to a deepening stain on Will’s gray t-shirt. She pointed to his chest.
“You’re bleeding through your shirt….”

She shot up from her seat like she was stung by a bee. Daphne rushed over to the medical supplies grabbing everything she thought they would need. With a slight look of apprehension she returned to Will’s side.

”I can help you change the bandages, just try not to move too much. Hold up your arms for a second if you can.”

Daphne's hands were shaking but she was acting surprisingly level headed. She peeled back Will’s shirt until she could pull it back over his head.

Will felt her fingertips on his stretched back, felt himself grow hot - either from the physical contact or from the reopening of his battle wound he couldn’t be sure. His torso was exposed entirely, old scars and all. He was suddenly intensely aware that all he had on were his briefs, and his teenage hormones were not to be trusted.

The pain in his wound however tempered any hot blooded engagement, and instead Will let Daphne ease him back onto his pillows. She moved deftly, cleaning the wound and applying the salve before the new bandage. He felt a sting briefly but it passed. All the while she worked, Will looked at her face. She looked serious, and was taking genuine care to be gentle with him. He could smell the flowery scent that always seemed to accompany her, and felt his body relax more. He looked past her, to the door frame as he let his mind wander.

“You called me Will. I like the way it sounds, coming from you. I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry I left. And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you that I left Talon behind. That’s something you’d tell your friends, and I didn’t. And now look at us.”

Daphne pulled off her gloves and washed her hands. Once she finished cleaning everything up she got Will a fresh shirt.
“It’s okay Will, I’m happy you came back when you did.”
She averted her eyes and let him get dressed. Her cheeks blushing slightly pink.

“You know there was a time where I also thought about leaving…..”
This was the first time she was telling this to someone and she felt embarrassed. After a short pause she continued.
“It was after the mission in La Hoya. I felt like I couldn’t pull my own weight. That I didn’t deserve to be here.”

Daphne bunched up the fabric of her skirt into her hands, balling it into her fists. Still she smiled whenever she felt Will looking in her direction.
“It was tough because I could either go back to a place where I didn’t want to be. Or stay where I wasn’t wanted. So I felt like I didn’t have anywhere to go.”

Will wasn’t totally surprised at the revelation. He knew a little about how Daphne was feeling about her place on the team. Was it possible that everyone on the team had felt this, at one point or another? He wondered if Metamorph was feeling this way right now, somewhere in the base. Even though he knew what she was feeling, he was glad she didn’t leave. She had a place on this team beyond just another capable superpowered person. Daphne was someone who the others could rally behind in her kindness. The others - himself included - had a propensity to have a hair trigger, or who at one point or another expressed genuine anger and frustration. Daphne seemed to be the only holdout. Will was sure she was capable of those feelings, but seemed to intuit that on the field they had no place. She had the coolest head of all of them. It’s what made him think she’d make the best leader on the team.

“I can’t imagine there being a place where you aren’t wanted, Daph.” Will said, pressing lightly on his new bandage.

Daphne smiled to herself hearing Will’s words. It was nice to be wanted. No matter what happened at home she would always have a place to go back to. Somewhere where she was safe, where people valued her for more than just her powers.

“Thank you, I really appreciate that.”

She hoped that despite the Team’s past and everything that was going on currently, they could move forward together.

_{Two Days Ago…}

Vincent slowly stretched his arms over his head, then lowered them, satisfied that, despite the dull ache that was still present, his ribs were more or less fully healed. Which meant that he could get back to training as hard as he normally did, something he was more than eager to get back to. He changed into his workout clothes and left his room, his favorite music playing through his headphones.

When he reached the gym, his step faltered when the first thing he saw was a familiar headbush. The harbor shot to the front of his mind, when he was on his back, powerless against the Beast, but he quickly shook his head, clearing it. The person in the room with him wasn’t…whatever that was, not now, at least.

He walked into the room and said with a wave, ”Hey, man. Which, um…which one am I talking to?”

Above was a set of color coded rings hanging from ropes and, between them, the headbush maneuvered like a monkey through branches. The bushbaby had been swinging between them whilst holding a bowl with water between his legs. The idea was to take different routes back and forth, using the differently colored rings. The catch was not to spill a drop of water; it was ‘lava’ or ‘radioactive waste’ and there were people below.

Ja had heard the footsteps approaching the training room, and initially thought that they were Viktor’s. Maybe he’d thought of something different from their last conversation. However, when they stopped at the doorway, Ja stopped swinging. His hand clutched the ring he was on and he had to contort his body slightly to stabilize the bowl— keeping from tipping it. The scent was different, more like that brown coin with the dead man’s face on it— a penny. Vincent? His greeting voice confirmed Ja’s suspicion, and golden globes aimed down toward him.

”…Mhoro, Vin.” His question made him think of what Viktor had told him prior. Did he go over it with the others perhaps? Had they all been talking about it without him? By no means did he feel betrayed, if they did…he…the Red Beast… ”Ja…I was just finishing anyway.”

He’d pursed his lips, letting go of the rung to spread his wings for a second, afterwards comfortably hovering. He then took the bowl from his legs and descended to the landing pads.

”No need to hurry on my account. There’s plenty of space here for the both of us,” Vincent replied as he dropped his headphones to his shoulders. He nodded at the bowl and asked, ”What kinda workout was that?”

As the flying squirrel landed, he himself looked at the bowl in his hold. ”Well…the idea, originally, of those rings was meant to test one’s coordination and agility. But…given my power, that would be too easy on its own…So, Tenzi Dinah said whenever I do it, I should hold the glass bowl. Then to increase the difficulty, add more and more water to it until it is full. Each time, I would have to be careful and more accurate with my movements. Otherwise, if I spilled it, ‘lava’ would hit a civilian below.”

”Ah, I see,” Vincent said with a nod. ”That sounds like a pretty good workout. I doubt I have the dexterity for it, though.” As he started his stretches, he thought about what Ja had said, the name sounding vaguely familiar to him. As he finished up, it hit him. ”You’re talking about Black Canary, right? She’s the one that came up with that exercise for you?”

The young lion nodded his head, taking a few steps away from it, but he paused. ”How are you healing?”

Vincent looked over his shoulder at Ja as he walked over to the weights. He turned to face his comrade and tapped his chest with his fist. ”Almost all healed up, already,” he answered with a grin. ”Still a bit sore and my ribs don’t like it if I twist a certain way, but I should be all good to go by the time the next mission rolls around.”

He turned away from Ja and picked up a dumbbell, but paused. He stood there for a moment, weighing what he wanted to say as if it were the dumbbell in his hand, then finally spoke. ”About that…I wanted to make sure you…and Kila…know that I don’t blame you guys for what happened.”

Ja smiled at first but he felt some sort of confusion build. He understood that Vincent, despite what had happened, was trying to make him feel a little better but…”…What do you mean?”

Vincent looked back at Ja mid-rep, then said, ”Just that. I don’t blame you or Kila. It might’ve used your body, but whatever that was, it wasn’t either of you. It doesn’t make sense to blame anyone except whatever it was that took over. And, hell, I’m not sure I’m even angry at him. Besides…”

He set the weight down and looked up toward the ceiling. For a moment, it looked like he was wrestling with something on his mind, but that moment quickly passed as, without looking at Ja, he continued, ”I got hurt because I wasn’t strong enough. No matter how hard I could hit, you – I mean it, him, whatever – didn’t even budge. It was my fault I got hurt, so I gotta work to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Ja watched him with furrowed brows, looking all around the room in thought before returning his gaze. ‘It used his body’…’whatever it was’…With what he’d recently learned about himself…such a statement wasn’t really true. The Red Beast…it wasn’t…he…wasn’t just some creature that inhabited his body. He was as much part of Ja as ‘Kila’ was…Despite his fear of what his counterpart was capable of, he had to learn how to understand himself.

Still…

”…I appreciate your words…I know that an apology doesn’t heal your injuries but I offer one anyway. And…if at any point you want help with your self improvement, whether it be your strength or otherwise, I offer my hand as well.”

Vincent turned to face Ja and grinned at his teammate. ”I’ll probably take you up on that sooner rather than later. I’m always on the lookout for more sparring partners.”

Deciding to move the conversation away from his failure, Vincent took a seat on a weight bench and asked, ”Anyway, enough about me. Other than wanting to make sure you knew I didn’t blame you, I wanted to see how you and Kila were holding up.”

The bushbaby seemed to struggle with the concept, even still. ”I have been doing okay…I suppose. I was only recently told by Vicky about this other side…so that is just another part of my life that I have to learn more about…on top of this business with the Red Beast and what may possibly be setting my instincts off while out in the field…” Ja caught himself mid ramble and looked instead at the bowl of water in his hands.

”Maybe…I am actually not okay… His lip twitched, and he chuckled somberly. ”But I have been told that time heals all…and since I’ll be stuck here…I suppose that is all I have.”

Vincent nodded and looked down at his hands as he laced his fingers together. He had never been good at knowing what to say when someone was going through a tough time, so he was quiet for a few long moments. Truthfully, he had a feeling that he didn't know Kila or Ja well enough for anything he could say to be truly helpful. However, he wasn't the kind of guy to not try.

"Well...maybe it's not all bad." he eventually said. "I won't pretend like I completely understand your situation. No offense, but just the fact that you've got three people in your head is making my head spin, but it's like you said: it's something else you gotta learn about. But think about what you'll be able to do once you've got a handle on everything you've got going on."

Ja gave Vincent’s words some thought. At first he was inclined to simply nod his head and thank him, but that last phrase reminded him of something Iwisa had taught him. ”‘There will be times that the only path forward is understanding where you are.’” He mumbled, slowly nodding after repeating her words in his memory and he looked back up at Vince. His teammate had a reputation for not being too clever, but today he’d shown insight. Even if it was, judging by his expression, by accident.

”I think I understand what you mean. Thank you, Vincent.”

”Ah, don’t mention it,” Vincent replied with a grin. ”I’m just glad it seemed to help.” With that, he laid back on the bench and curled his fingers around the barbell around him. Before he started on his bench presses, he asked Ja, ”Oh, by the way, mind spotting me?”

T H E E V E R G L A D E S

---

Dwell time between missions had finally come to a close. The League deployed the Team to a remote area in the swampy Everglades. Their objective was to locate a facility where Kobra was suspected to be working with different compounds for their experimental venom serum, a project the Team had spent months uncovering while thwarting its development on a small scale.

Batman himself managed to narrow down the location to a specific area, having provided coordinates from where a thorough on-the-ground search could begin. A search that was left to the Team, or more specifically, Daphne. It was her who now took point in leading the Team through the Everglades, using her ability to “speak” to its vast collection of vegetation.

Since waking up from her coma Daphne’s ability to communicate with plant life had vastly improved. It had gotten to a point where sometimes it overwhelmed her. When she initially acquired her powers, communication with a plant was typically hit or miss, requiring her to always be touching said plant. The “conversations” she had were usually one sided. She’d ask the plants for a favor they either granted or silently denied.

Now she could hear them from anywhere and once the Green sensed her presence it was challenging to shut out their voices. Their personalities were distinct, much like humans. The quiet voice of a trail of water lilies was trying to give her directions, but the white mildly sweet smelling flowers were being drowned out by fern plants that kept shouting for the Nymph’s attention.

Her struggle to communicate effectively caused the Team to have to change direction on the fly, passing by the same spots several times. No one was commenting on it yet, but Daphne was starting to doubt she could locate the facility successfully.

She strained to filter out the voices and covered her ears. For some reason the call of the green was much louder here than anywhere else.
“I just need a minute guys…”
“They’re all communicating at the same time..”

It looked like she was having some sort of headache and she could barely hear herself talk.

Eventually they reached a spot where the water was too shallow for the airboats to make it through. They were entering into a visibly different area of the swamp. There were clusters of tangled maple trees, forming small islands and thick carpets of broad leafed plants, resting on the surface of the barely visible water underneath. The airboat slowly came to a halt and Daphne glanced over her shoulder at the Team.

“We have to get of here, I’m just not really sure which direction to take.”
“Kobra is dumping their test compounds into the swamp waters. It’s disturbing the plant life. We should be close to the facility, because the pollution is getting stronger.”

Without the airboats traversing through the swamp would be a lot more challenging. The Team had their work cut out for them.

Kobra could have made their serum anywhere they wanted, and they chose the Everglades? They were already in Florida, why not just head to South Beach or something? Now here Zach was on an airboat through nasty swampy water. Ugh.

The plants weren’t giving Daphne much help. The boat turned and changed direction multiple times. And of course, Zach got no service out here, so he was bored out of his mind. Zach was sick of seeing the same swampy scenery over and over again.

Finally they came to a stop. The plants still didn’t give Daphne much useful information… Other than Kobra is dumping chemicals in the water…

“Greeeat…” Zach replied with a look of disgust on his face. He lifted his wand up. EtativeL.” He hovered in the air. “I am not touching the water. It’s disgusting, and if Kobra is dumping chemicals in there, we may turn into a mutant.”

Location: Somewhere in the Everglades
Interactions: The Team (minus Metamorph)
Mentions: Metamorph

---

Viktor found himself at the very rear of the airboat, taking sole responsibility in its operation while Daphne fed him directions… Many confusing directions. He grimaced under his visor but kept quiet since he didn't have many options for how he could lead the Team to the facility they were searching for. It was hard not to think of how valuable Ja’s tracking and zoolingualism abilities would be on this mission.

“No excuses. There's never an excuse. You failed your objective.” A remnant of the past reminded.

He and the rest of the Team would have to adjust and persist.

The boat had finally reached its limit, unable to traverse in waters many thick roots reached its surface. Daphne spoke up first, informing the Team that this was the end of the line for the airboat. There were limited options but Viktor's mind was already at work. Zach made quick use of his magic by levitating, and Viktor was quite sure Cora would accomplish the same. Then there was Vincent who possessed the ability to fly using his wings. That left Kassy, Daphne, Pei, Will, and himself. They could all take the plunge into the swampy waters but Viktor considered the risks. Crocodilians and exposure to chemical contaminants were at the forefront of his mind.

“Team!” He stood up in a jungle camo-patterned version of his usual mission gear. “If Zatara can't grant us his levitation, then I recommend having Stormcaller and Talos accompanied by Iceburn follow the river while scouting forward down this waterway. It's a path we haven't taken yet and the plants gave us a hint regarding the chemical dumping. Mirage, your staff may be of use. Can you raise stone platforms in the shallow waters for us to keep us mostly out of the water? Nymph, take a break from your abilities for now. If you can use your petal form to keep above water, I recommend it. Tal- rrgh Quiver, Mirage, and I would only have to focus on keeping our footing and remaining sharp to our surroundings. Zatara would be left to give us support from above.”

Viktor felt the desire to simply everyone around but fought against the urge. Leaving an opening for nuance was necessary. Even if KJ was absent, he was far from being out of mind.

“I should be able to use the sound emitter on my rifle to disturb any opportunistic threats in the water. Agitating them might have mixed results but we'll have their positions… Objections?” He said the last word with less enthusiasm than usual which most might have found impossible.

Location: A Fucking Swamp
Interactions: The Team

---

"Slow down! This is a boat, not a yet, it doesn't have breaks!"

"That's north, so turn about to here and go left."

"That's not how you steer right- Turn the stick left."

Cora knew how boats worked, and she did not shut the fuck up once while Viktor was the one driving. It felt nice to be at least in the same state as her family again, even if there was about 40 miles between them right now. Kobra was back on their shit, and decided they needed to do it here- That made sense, but they had to know that there was no way they'd be genuinely safe around here. Between the wildlife, and her team, Kobra wasn't walking away from this in one piece. While they went down the waterways, Cora occasionally dipped a few metal vials into the water, to collect some of it for later investigation. According to Daphne and all the trees, Kobra had been dumping chemicals into the water. What chemicals, she wasn't sure. But if they were doing experiments here, they had to have been doing something different- Maybe trying to refine the venom formula and make it stronger, or last longer, or have less side effects- And any information would be good information for tracking the punks down. The last thing they needed was to walk headfirst into a Kobra facility, and being surprised when the venomed-up goons started breathing fire or something. In total, Stormcaller filled six, each one from water about an hour closer to the facility, and she'd fill at least one or two more before they left, for research purposes.

Once they hit a shallow area, the boat had to be ditched. Immediately, Zatara's bored ass started flying and Rain piped up with a plan. "Mirage can probably keep the animals around here off of us. Poking them with a sound stick'll just piss 'em off. We don't want to fight the wildlife on top of Kobra. I've been getting faster at flying, so I can go up front ahead of us all to scout if we want," She lifted up off the boat, over the edge and out to where Zach was. In the downtime between last mission and now, Cora had picked up a bit of speed and more control, feeling more comfortable moving around in the air. "It might be better to save the sound emitter for later. They might be expecting us, so they could be looking for intruders right now."

"This is your mission, Nymph. What's the move?" Cora quietly hoped that Nymph would try to at least hang back and not charge forth herself, given how much she used her powers just trying to get them here. She also wanted to subtly hype Nymph up, since she had a habit of letting others take the wheel. It didn't help, in that regard, that Rain was already laying out a whole battle plan for them.

Location: Mosquito Hell
Interactions: The Team

---

SMACK!

"That's the tenth goddamn one in the last five minutes!" Vincent grumbled as he rubbed the crushed corpse of the latest mosquito against his pant leg. "How anyone can live with these buzzing vampires is beyond me." Sure, he knew he could cover himself in steel or even use his carbon armor, but the former sounded stifling and keeping up the latter for an extended period of time was too tiring. If it was only for five, ten, maybe even fifteen minutes, it would be no problem, but they had been in the swamps for hours, all thanks to the plants hounding Daphne like an army of excited kindergartners. Every time they made a wrong turn, doubled back, went in circles, or another mosquito decided Vincent's veins were an all-you-can-eat buffet, he felt his irritation rising higher and higher. He knew it wasn't Daphne's fault, but if they passed by that same rotting tree a seventh time, he was going to lose it.

Finally, Daphne steered the boat toward "dry" land and Vincent all but jumped to his feet. Hearing Zach comment on the chemicals in the water, Vincent replied, "If I could trade these damn mosquitoes for being a mutant, I'd fucking drink--" He was cut off by a sudden, almost violent coughing fit as a mosquito practically dive-bombed the back of his throat. Unclipping his water bottle from his belt, he swallowed a few mouthfuls, replaced the bottle, then closed his eyes and breathed. Between the humidity, the mosquitoes, and being lost for so long, he knew he was close to blowing his top, so he fell back on one of the first lessons the Old Man taught him: to control his anger. To use it and not let it use him.

Once he had calmed down, he listened to Viktor, then Cora as she offered to scout by herself. "Rain's got the right idea. If we're gonna do any scouting, it's best that we have more than one set of eyes up there, especially given how unnecessarily big these swamps are." He unfurled his wings and gave them a single flap before adding, "That good with you, Nymph?"

---

Once again, Iceburn's costume had changed to 'suit' the occasion. Her hair included. Oh did Pei love her temporary hair dye. Now the short cut ontop of her head was a vibrant shade of orange. Her outfit itself was back to the usual black and bold pink costume, though the most notable change was the extra thick waterproof boots. But her top was still a body-hugging sleeveless belly showing top made out of some durable-adjacent material. Orange hair, black and pink outfit, and showing plenty of her unusual light blue skin. "This," She would say if asked, "Is my Attack Hair."

Iceburn sat in the middle. Thankfully her hair was short enough that even as it was whipped around in the wind, it didn't get in her eyes. "You wanna stop backseat boating, Cora?" She asked, amused.

Iceburn leaned back, draping her arms onto the side of the boat and shut her eyes, listening to Daphne give confusing instructions to Viktor. Maybe it was because there was so much communication already, or maybe it was because of the weather, but Iceburn wasn't as talkative as usual. The only talking she did while she had her eyes closed and head tilted back was trying to sound out the word 'bug spray' backwards. "Yars...yar- yarps...yarps bug. Yarps gub. Pfft, hehe." Quietly to herself. "Sounds like someone Obi-Wan would order drinks from. Yarps Gub."

The heat wasn't exactly pleasant for someone who ran as cold as Iceburn did, but ironically the humidity did help. The water was thick in the air, it gave her more to draw from. As for the mosquitos that plagued Vincent so, well, Iceburn wasn't exactly suffering free either. But she was emitting a slight mist that seemed to drive the buggers off a little, and she was of course wearing bug spray. Still, Iceburn frowned as she looked on her left shoulder and saw a signature red bump.

"Well, I definitely like the plan that involves Talos and I flying way above all these bugs." Iceburn admitted with a grin. She did find it a little amusing that Vincent, and Stormcaller were trying to make sure that Nymph knew she was in charge. Even Viktor made sure to ask for objections. That struck Iceburn as something of a paradox, but a cute one. It was sweet of them. But Nymph didn't really strike Iceburn as the leader type. She was soft-spoken, timid, and probably didn't even want to be leader in the first place. But Iceburn was a team player, so she didn't voice these thoughts aloud and didn't make them obvious with her body language. Though every once in a while someone might catch her looking at the back of Daphne's head with a good-humored look of pity.

Iceburn leaned forward, focusing up."I'm ready to look as long as it takes. We have a few hours until sundown, after that we'll have to skedaddle on home. Hopefully it doesn't take that long. I can't believe they are dumping chemicals into the Everglades of all places. There's gotta be a corrupt park ranger somewhere letting this go under the radar. Maybe threatening to feed that guy to alligators is how Batman found the general location of this base in the first place." Pei said. Talking a lot. So much for that. But she did have a pretty good streak going, for a while.

"It's kind of weird to imagine Batman in Florida." Iceburn tapped her chin. "Where would he pose? Does Florida not have any local superheroes? Did they all get eaten by alligators? There's a small chance we run into a talking superhero alligator who defends the swamps from evil. These Captain Planet villain lookin' ass dumping chemicals into the Everglades. How low can you get?" Iceburn shook her head.

Then she cleared her throat. "A-anyway. Ready to fly when you are." She smacked Vincent lightly on the shoulder.

Location: The Everglades
Interactions: Talos, Stormcaller, Zatara, The Green

---

Daphne tried her best to not miss anything that was being said. Between the plants, Viktor at the ready with a battle plan and Vincent and Cora asking for her for a greenlight it was a lot. Her response was uncomfortably late, but nonetheless effective and cohesive.

“I agree with Rain’s division of the Team. Just make sure not to breach the top of the trees. They are using drones to patrol the sky, so best not to go up too high.”
She looked at Vincent, who’d already unfolded his wings eager to go airborne and a short glance at Cora and Zach who were already levitating.

“Use your comms to check in regularly, to share your positions but also test if it still works. We are very far into the swamp, there's barely any signal out here. If we’re unable to communicate, stay in one place and send out one of you to locate the other groups.”

With a plan set into motion Daphne felt the ever present concern for the safety of her friends come back to the surface.
“And please be careful guys, it’s dangerous out here.”

After the groups each went their separate ways her group started to look for a path ahead. Just before they started to climb up the roots of a maple tree Daphne confided to Viktor she wasn’t able to shut out the voices of the Green and as a result lacked the concentration needed to maintain her transformation.

The trees held together dirt and sod with their root system, creating small patches of land sturdy enough to support the weight of several people. They were spaced around the area unevenly and some too far apart to jump. Daphne was ascending the first one they climbed, keeping her eyes on her feet and always keeping one hand gripped firmly onto a root before moving.

Her face was twisted with a mixture of utter focus and a hint of fear. The brown water underneath her made her uncomfortable, not knowing what was hiding in there. She turned her body and pushed off grabbing onto a root on the next maple island. Daphne surprised herself with the speed she was able to reach the top, probably because she wanted to be as far away from the water as possible.

She brushed off some dirt on her costume. Daphne looked at Kassy, Viktor and Will figuring out how each would make it across. They shouldn’t have too much trouble, each of them were capable in diff….

Something heavy was moving over her boots.
It has scales…..

She whimpered quietly realizing what it was. Immediately her heart was up in her throat and when it started to coil around her leg she lost her cool and let out a high pitched shriek. Daphne stumbled backwards, managing to somehow disperse and reform in a matter of seconds, freeing herself from the reptile’s grip. But then she felt herself falling back into the open air. She screamed again which would have been followed by a splash, but right before she hit the water there was the groaning sound of roots dislodging themselves from the mud. The roots of the maple tree swept her up just in time. Only the ends of her hair tipped into the water before she was carried back to safety.

She had no time to recover from her fall being immediately assaulted by a chorus of the Green.

Watch out….

Your friends….

Danger…there’s danger

The water is moving

We will protect

In the distance multiple pairs of green slitted eyes were staring at the Team. Apart from the eyes and nostrils the rest of the reptile’s bodies were hidden below the waterline.

"Daphne!" Quiver called out in response to hearing her shout. He looked ahead to where she had climbed and hopped over to in time to see her almost gliding along a thick root. Quiver was relieved. He could sense a tension among the team, and Daphne's confidence as a team leader was something they were all independently aware of. The archer hoped that this mission would provide his friend a platform to prove herself further.

Honestly each of these missions was a platform in some capacity or another. The previous disaster at the docks was Quiver's first official "back to team" type event, and it ended almost as poorly as you could fear - Quiver being handed his own entrails - and by a teammate no less. In truth he was still healing up from those same injuries. Before the mission, Black Canary (against her own wishes) and Zatara had both helped tape up Will's ribs, and BC had given him strict orders to lean back into a distance-role as much as possible, or engage strictly at archer's range. Will had promised he would.

But he had made promises before.

The others making up the "ground team" were spread a small ways around each other, all keeping their balance on the platforms Mirage was able to conjure. Quiver was grateful. Of everyone on the team, he had a respect for Mirage that was different than the respect he held for the others. Her abilities were multi-faceted. It wasn't dissimilar for the feelings he had around Nymph or Zach. When you grow up knowing only fighting, the people who excel in care, or indirect combat were the folks you were jealous of.

Quiver thought he'd head onto higher ground himself as finding footing amongst all this wetland was not conducive. Quiver slung his bow and began to scale the thickest tree hide he was closest to. He began to pull himself upward, feeling the strain in his muscles from his previous fights, swung his leg up over a protruding branch, and quickly pulled himself into a sitting position. He inspected the mossy green that covered the tree, noted it's slick-ness. Not something he'd be as mobile in jumping from branch to branch.

He was still scrutinizing the lay of the land that he barely noticed the ripples in the water.

Location: Mosquito Hell
Interactions: The Team

---

Vincent raised an eyebrow when Daphne said not to go higher than the trees. He looked at the tree line, then back at his wings when he realized the trees were too close for him to properly fly. After a moment, an idea came to him as he withdrew his wings and gathered the steel around his torso, forearms, and shins. Now equipped with a vest, vambraces, and greaves of steel, Vincent focused and jumped from the boat, using his power to help him jump higher and farther than he otherwise could. He landed on a lower branch of a nearby tree and looked over his shoulder. "I'll go on ahead, then. Let you all know if I see anything." he said before jumping further into the swamp.

As he leapt from tree to tree, Vincent found himself glad to finally be moving around, again. If nothing else, it helped keep his mind off of the relentless itching from his nigh-on countless bug bites. Though, if he had to be honest, even being out among the mosquitoes and humidity was better than being stuck at the Sanctuary. At that, the thought of KJ crossed his mind and he had to tamp down a twinge of annoyance. By this point, he understood and accepted why the decision to leave him behind had been made, so he wasn't upset over that. What annoyed him was how much easier this mission could have gone if they -- Nope, none of that, he told himself as he took a seat on a branch and unwrapped a granola bar he had stashed away before the team made for Florida. What's done is done. Besides, we're doing alright, right now.

He took a bite and got ready to leap to the next tree, but the sound of voices nearby stopped him. His ears twitched as he worked out which direction they were coming from, a tough task for someone without enhanced hearing and surrounded by trees that acted like natural sound breaks. Eventually, he decided to just take a guess and picked a direction at random. It only took him two more leaps before the voices became clear. "What do you mean, 'private property?' This is nature, man, no one owns nature! People gotta know more about the elusive swamp elephant!"

Vincent turned his head to find three men standing on a wooden walkway. One of them was taller than the other two, well-muscled, bald, his eyes hidden by sunglasses, and equipped with a bulletproof vest and shotgun. Obviously a guard. The man standing next to him, his arms crossed, was a few inches shorter, a crown of dreadlocks on top of his head. No clue who this guy is. Both men were facing the third, who wore neon green leopard-print pants, a pink tank top with some kind of logo on the chest, and had short, blonde hair. "For the last time, sir, there's no such thing," the guard was saying, clearly exasperated. "And this land was purchased by a private group. If you don't leave now, I'll have to remove you by force."

Vincent took another bite of his granola bar and said to the rest of the team, "Talos, here. I've got an armed guard, some dude, and Florida Man bickering. I'll wait until Florida Man gets chased off and see where they go."

Just as he said that, Vincent watched as the man with dreadlocks nudged the guard and gave a slight nod toward Florida Man. He didn't outright say anything, but Vincent's instincts clued him in on the unspoken message.

"Change of plans. I'm going in." Without waiting for a response, Vincent, holding onto the last half of his granola bar in his mouth, leapt from the tree. Just as the guard raised his shotgun, Vincent landed between him and Florida Man, then grabbed the end of the gun's barrel. Softening the barrel, Vincent bent it backwards until it was facing the guard and wagged the index finger on his free hand. "I'm no expert, but I think you'll have a bad day if you pull that trigger," he said past the granola bar. He looked back at Florida Man and added, "You. Get out of here. Go chase your elephants somewhere else."

While Vincent was momentarily focused on the fleeing Florida Man, the guard let go of his shotgun and drew his combat knife. Vincent turned just in time to see the guard lunge forward, aiming for the young hero's stomach. There was a loud snap, followed by a splash as the knife's blade made contact with Vincent's carbon armor, snapped, and landed in the water. The guard, stunned, was too slow to react to Vincent's hand closing around one of the shoulder straps of his vest and even slower to react to the following hardened headbutt. He dropped the unconscious guard, then turned to Dreads. As steel encased his right hand, he asked, "Are you gonna behave or should I give you the same treatment?"

Location: Somewhere in the Everglades
Interactions: The Team (minus Metamorph)
Mentions: Metamorph

---

After making his suggestions to Daphne, Viktor stood by to listen to what her final decision would be. He might have had more faith in her but she seemed troubled while managing her communication with the Green. The way she winced every now and again before relaying a message from the flora concerned him some. It was indeed a reminder of the power these universal aspects had on those who tapped into them. The Red with Ja, the Green with Daphne, and the Black with Casper. As useful as such abilities were, they did not come lightly.

The team was quick to advance as Vincent and Cora took the sky while remaining low per Daphne's instructions. He'd have to compliment her on favoring overall stealth for better coverage and lay of the land. For now, he needed to move with the others.

Kassy had with much effort had managed to bring platforms of earth up above the surface of the swamp. They varied in quality due to the nature of the swamp. Few appeared to be made of solid stone, while most were soft or bumpy on the surface.

Daphne and Will took to the available trees and roots, which left Viktor, Kassy, and surprisingly Pei to the platforms at the lowest level above the water.

“I guess you're not flying, Iceburn.” Viktor commented with a shrug. “I’ll take point, you follow me, and Mirage can provide support from the rear.” Viktor instructed as he naturally formed a miniature squad of sorts with those left around him. Just before he got ready to take his first jump, he looked up at Zach. “Zatara, if you have any means to make our traversal easier, don't hold back.”

And with that, he jumped to the closest platform before immediately moving to the next.

"Talos, here. I've got an armed guard, some dude, and Florida Man bickering. I'll wait until Florida Man gets chased off and see where they go."

We’re close. Good. Viktor thought as he stopped on the third platform. At the same moment, Kassy made note of the alligators up ahead. Viktor figured the team might have been able to avoid the creatures but what she stated caused him to slightly tense up. She commented on the abnormality of them not only grouping up together but actively advancing toward their direction.

“... they're not pack hunters.”

“Let’s bank on them still being averse to cold. We could try to lead them away to reduce any attention to us-”

"Change of plans. I'm going in." Viktor winced while maintaining some shred of optimism but his thoughts on the situation regressed.

“Talos, Stormcaller. Fast and violent,” He directed coldly.

---

Iceburn was watching the rear, ready for Vincent to give her the word to start flying. So when he took off without her, she turned around and gaped. "H-hey!" She called out, far too late.

"Well, shit." She said, half-heartedly swatting away a mosquito. "So much for soaring above it all." Iceburn moped.

She followed behind, hopping from platform to platform. Mirage was being nice and helpful, so there was no reason for Iceburn to waste her own energy doing the same thing for herself. That was when it was revealed to them that they were being accosted by the local wildlife."Alligators? Crocodiles?" She looked around, peaking over to see around the people in front of her.

Iceburn made sure to watch their backs, turning around with a flinch, aware of the possiblity they might come up behind them.

Location: A Fucking Swamp
Interactions: The Team

---

Stormcaller took off like a bird, flying forward through the swampy trees and scanning the water for any sign of trouble. Talos was still dramatically faster than her, but she could likely control which direction she went in easier as a result. As the boat shrunk into the distance, Cora started making mental notes of where exactly she was, in case she got lost. It was just trees and rivers, until she caught up with Talos jumping through the trees. She didn't have time to get close to him before he took off like a bullet, onto what looked like a wooden dock where... Oh shit.

Guns were drawn- Those were guards down there, pointing them at some guy who looked like a highlighter with legs. Talos messed up their guns quick enough, and Stormcaller heard their chatter over the radio. Fast and violent. Just what they needed, a complete shift in gears the moment they actually found their objective. Stormcaller grimaced behind her helmet as she watched Talos rough the guards up, and surged herself full of her power to get over there quicker. Her skin started to prick and feel numb from the sudden overload, but she flew way quicker, and found herself flying straight over Talos and whoever the hell the big guy was. She... Probably should've brought her less-than-patented Fuck Off Glove for this. Stormcaller began to fall, quicker and quicker, while being just slow enough that she wouldn't get hurt as she landed on Vincent's opponent.

This was the closest thing to a subtle sneak attack she could manage with her powers. She landed on the guy's back like a brick against concrete, and flooded him with electricity to stun him into submission. Sparks raced outwards and crackled through the air, and Mr. Bad Guy Man dropped like a rock. He was intentionally not dead, and might've had an electrical burn or two, but he definitely wasn't moving anytime soon. Stormcaller stood up off of his limp body and looked around for a second. "We can't be too far, if there are guards patrolling around here..." Then she looked at Florida Man. "Get lost before someone isn't around to save you, okay?"

Tapping the side of her helmet, she opened up the comm channel again, "Stormcaller to team. Me and Talos got the guards, but there's some guy here. Talos found him, he's just... Hunting for elephants or something. I think we're near the compound. Can everyone still hear each other?"