The mission had concluded but the feelings of defeat remained with the members of the Team who were quieter than usual aboard the team jet. The jet was set to autopilot, returning to HQ, allowing Viktor to sink into his thoughts on what he could have done to prevent the loss of KJ. Arms crossed and scowling, Viktor appeared to have regressed into the same person he was after their first mission. Contrary to his stillness, activity stirred behind him as well as other means of coping…
Stabilize Cora. Make sure her head and neck are secure and stable. Hook up blood pressure and oxygen meters. Tuck in. Don't think about Kila. Assist Daphne, if needed, with bathing, washing hair. Bag gasoline-soaked clothing and put it in a secure container. Offer tea or a sandwich. Don't think about Ja.
Daphne appreciated Kassy’s help with the washing and detangling of her hair. It gave them both something to concentrate on. It was better to keep their hands busy so their minds wouldn’t wander. They worked quietly until Daphne was refreshed. She sat in one of the chairs facing Cora’s direction, most of her body disappearing into an oversized black hoodie with her hair brushed back.
Cora was still out cold, and she looked like shit. Under her gear, her skin smoked as if she were a human chimney, and the earpiece she wore to communicate with the team was in a hundred different pieces, some of which had been embedded in her neck like shrapnel. She’d live, but it would suck for a bit.
A bit away from Cora sat Zach. Compared to Cora’s state, he appeared unscathed but he was not unaffected by what occurred.
Normally, Zach would have tried to cheer everyone up with some magic tricks, but even he was not in the mood for that. He whipped out his phone, and started typing out a text to Mateo.
Hey babe, you would not believe the day I had. I would kill to have you here right now. 💕💋
”Where we are
I dunno where we are
But it’ll be okay” Pei hummed the lyrics quietly to herself. She was tending to Cora with Kass, using gel on Cora’s burns while Kass set up the equipment.
Vincent sat away from everyone else, or at least as much as he could in the confines of the jet, arms crossed and leg bouncing. He was angry at that one-eyed bastard for using such a cheap trick, sure, but he was also angry at himself. If he had just done a better job of keeping Daphne safe, then things would have been different.
Would they, though? They’d have just used Cora, instead, he told himself. He let out a heavy sigh.
I’m sick and tired of losing.Pei raised her eyes, glancing over to Daphne. She wasn’t sure if her ice would help her with her gasoline problem. Probably not. She glanced up at Kass.
“The first time I had to treat a burn victim,” Pei began.
“I totally freaked out.” She rubbed some gel on Cora’s arm.
“Like, you think, ice goes on a burn, right? That’s what I thought. I used to treat my friends like that when I was younger. But, uh, it doesn’t work, though I didn’t know that at the time. Anyway they taught me that, and I knew all my first aid stuff, but when I was actually looking at some poor grandma with a burn on her arm I freaked out and went to go put snow on it anyway.” She said.
“Romero pulled my arm away and gave me a smack upside the head. He’s funny.” Pei smiled lightly.
”So, I’m, uh, glad you got the gel, Kass.” Pei said. She wasn't the only one to break the silence.
It took Kassy several moments to respond, as if she were processing Pei's words slowly.
"You know… I thought the same thing. Burns aren't exactly common where I come from. So it made logical sense-"The first signs of life out of Cora were a nasty, dry, wheezing cough as she jerked up. Like Frankenstein's monster being electrocuted and twitching all over the place. Her head swiveled around this way and that way, thinking she was still in a swamp.
“What the fuuuck.”Kassy gently held Cora from rolling off the bed.
"Easy. Easy…"“You’re finally awake,” Vincent said, though he didn’t look toward Cora.
“Great. At least today wasn’t completely fucked.”“Those two good back there?” Viktor asked sternly while slightly looking over his shoulder.
“I think Cora’s gonna be okay. You’re okay, Cora.” Pei answered and assuaged Cora, holding her shoulder. Viktor's shoulders dropped slightly, feeling some semblance of relief. Even then it was difficult to simply relax. No one had mentioned KJ since the exchange. Acknowledging his absence was a topic they aimed to avoid.
”Fuc-“ Cora’s whole throat and her lungs throbbed in one big muscle spasm. She coughed up bits of blood.
”Whahappenn,” she wheezed, trying to ask
What happened?However, the topic was unavoidable.
“...We got you out. You should probably get some rest,” Pei answered, not wanting to trouble the injured Cora with bad news. She moved to set a cool hand on her forehead.
Vincent, however, had no such qualms.
“KJ’s been taken,” he simply said.
“Guy with an orange and black mask showed up, took Daphne hostage, KJ went with them.” He glared up at the back of Viktor’s head and added,
“Someone made a pretty big fucking group decision for the rest of us.”Kassy let Cora go, as her hands had started to shake.
"...someone did." Breathe. Breathe. Viktor remained silent despite yearning to reply.
"It's okay, rudo. Just breathe." "And he was correct to do so."Hearing this, Cora slipped backwards and fell flat, not making any attempts to sit upright.
She stared at the roof of the jet and let herself think for a moment.
“…We- We’ll get… Himbacksoon.”“That’s right,” Pei said, making sure Cora didn’t fall too hard.
“Now just, no more talking. It’s horrible to listen to and you should save your strength,” Pei teased lightly.
“At least someone knows what they're talking about.” Vitkor barbed at Vincent.
“We will see him returned to us…. It'll just take time and planning. That's why we're going home.”“And how much time do you think he has?” Vincent barked.
“Sure, they didn’t wanna hurt him in the swamp, but what if that changes now that they’ve got him? At the very least, I should be out there, tailing them! How else are we supposed to figure out where they went?”“I’m not happy about this either. Zach replied, looking up from his phone.
“But I don’t think you playing solo hero is going to do either of us any good…”“And he's accomplished enough already.” Viktor unnecessarily added.
“All you'd do is make matters worse. We don't need to lose another teammate due to your short-sightedness.”Vincent slowly rose to his feet, his anger like a hot ball of iron sitting in his chest.
“Go ahead, say it straight,” he growled.
“Say it’s my fault because I wouldn’t just let them cart off a teammate like you did.”“What else were we both supposed to do? Hm?” Viktor shook his head.
“Pointing fingers won't change anything. I was merely showing you just that. That mission was a trap designed by a mercenary who keeps even our mentors on their toes. We didn't stand a chance. Kila, Daphne, Cora, you… someone wouldn't have made it back on this jet. I chose the option where that person isn't dead…” Viktor swiveled his seat around to face Vincent squarely, his eyebrows furrowed.
“I hated resorting to doing that.”“In case you didn’t notice, someone didn’t make it back!” Vincent fired back.
“He might have been alive when we last saw him, but how do you know that didn’t change once they were out of sight? You trusted the enemy over what your own team could have done and now we may never see KJ again!”"Vincent." Kassy's soft voice managed to cut through the loud argument like a sharp knife through bone. She had both hands pressed against her head.
The moment he heard Kassy’s voice, Vincent turned toward her and knew he screwed up.
“Kass...” Viktor faced her now, understanding what that tone of hers meant.
She held up a fist in a single, commanding motion that Viktor would know. A military single to stop.
"Vincent. What would you have done? If we did not let KJ go, Daphne would have been killed. If we somehow managed to get her away, Cora was already injured and easily the next target. So, what's your plan, again?"Vincent didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Despite everything he had said, he had been there. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to come up with a better plan and it went far beyond him not being an ideas guy. He looked down at the seat in front of him, the headrest of which, up until that moment, he had been gripping tightly. He felt the molten ball of anger vanish altogether and sat heavily in his seat.
”I’m sorry,” he simply said, not looking up.
“All of you.” "You're not the one who should be sorry. We got outclassed, again, and it shouldn't have been so easy. How did they get into our communications? How long have we been on the wrong trail? We received this from the League, were told that Kobra was present. By the people who are supposed to be better than us!" It wasn't louder, but her voice seemed to fill the space.
Pei made a quiet, displeased noise, but barely managed to keep her mouth shut.
“Oran- Orangeguy,” Cora rasped.
“Planned?”“Deathstroke,” Pei clarified for Cora.
“And it seems that way. Metamorph wasn’t even supposed to be here, which is the stupid thing.” She said.
“I don’t know if him being here was lucky or unlucky.” She thought aloud, putting her curled fist against her forehead.
She picked her head up sharply, her gaze darkening with every breath.
"Luck doesn't matter when the winner is already set. We have been toys. Batted around like a dolphin with a dead catch. The League has to answer for this. They will answer us for their lack of judgment."Pei’s mouth worked to the side. What was that supposed to mean?
”It’s not the League’s fault that Metamorph followed us by himself.” She said, trying to hide her defensiveness.
”And we coulda played the mission out better, too.” She added.
"Oh? Then enlighten me, Pei. How would you have saved all of our lives?"“Hmm.” Viktor finally turned back to the controls but continued to listen. Both had made some valid points that had bothered him since the exchange.
“Let’s try to not beat the dead horse,” Vincent spoke up, having already learned his lesson from when he argued the same thing.
”Honestly, Kass made a pretty good point. I’m not gonna pretend to know more than I do, but if this Deathstroke guy is such a problem, why didn’t they know he’d be there?”“Because-” Pei made a frustrated noise.
”Look, I don’t know what happened out there, but Daphne shouldn’t have been in a position to get snatched in the first place. We gotta work on our- on our awareness.” Pei said.
It stung each time her name was mentioned while the others were talking. She already felt guilty for getting captured and basically forcing everyone to serve up Kila on a silver plate just to keep her safe. Daphne pulled up her knees to her chest almost completely swallowed up by the hoodie. This wasn’t the first time she sat on the jet in this condition.
“And again, it’s not the League’s fault Metamorph showed up by himself. If he was so sure it was a trap, which he somehow was, he shoulda said somethin’. Instead, he- it’s just like the bank and just like the docks.” Pei vented as she started to wrap a cool bandage around Cora’s arm.
“You know actually Pei, you’re not being completely fair.” Daphne swallowed back her anxiety. She looked at Pei with a mixture of fear and determination.
Not saying anything is a sign of compliance Daphne….She remembered Black Canary’s words.
“Deathstroke captured me because he’s a master assassin. I pushed myself too hard by navigating the swamp and fighting all of the enemies outside. I couldn’t use my powers to escape.”Pei didn’t meet Daphne’s gaze, focused on tending to Cora.
”Sounds like he captured you because of factors you can work on. We can all work on. He snagged you, dragged you away, covered you in gasoline, and moved to a great negotiating spot. If we had interrupted any of those steps, Deathstroke wouldn’t have had his hostage.” Pei said.
”So yeah, we coulda played that better. Of course we could’ve. But even as things went, if Metamorph-” She sighed and shut herself up.
Meanwhile, as Zach sat there and watched the rest of the group argue amongst themselves, something caught his attention. Something magical.
“Guys, am I the only one that smells burning mana?” He didn’t expect anyone to answer. Following his instincts, led him to Kassy. Specifically, that bracelet. It was unraveling.
“Uh… Kass… I don't know what's up, but your bracelet is overloaded with magical energy. You might wanna… watch that.Daphne swiveled to Kassy, a worried look on her face. She finally got up from her seat and approached her teammate.
”Past doesn-“ COUGH. ”…Matter.”“What did I say about talking?” Pei said, though the teasing was gone.
”And I wouldn’t exactly call any of this ‘the past’.”Instead of talking, Cora just gave Pei an unamused
You know what I meant look.
Pei worked her mouth to the side again, briefly meeting Cora’s eyes.
“What? I’m serious. All of us can do better. Fuckin’-- example: I gave Metamorph a pass for that stunt at the bank, but I shouldn’t have. He gave me some crap about how ‘only he understands the nature of his struggle’ or whatever and I backed off.” She scoffed.
”Well he clearly doesn’t, because he turned on us at the docks right after. And if he had a little less faith in himself and a little more faith in the League, he would have brought one of them with him to ‘save us’ and we’d all be fine right now.” Pei said, practically blurting out her words at the end there.
Kassy squeezed her fists so hard her knuckles popped.
"Do you think before you speak, Pei, or are you being a bitch on purpose? Did you blame the people you rescued for having to rescue them too?”"He came to rescue us because we were in trouble. He came because he is a hero, and that's what we are supposed to do! What the fuck do you think this job is? It's not about your stupid puns or cutesy fucking slogans! It's about doing what is right, what should be done! Not because you can, but because you must. He came for us because he loves us.”Pei was angry, her teeth grit and bared. Kass had such the wrong idea, Pei thought, that she didn’t even know where to begin.
“I- you don’t- you think I don’t-?” She sputtered.
Viktor shook his head at Kassy’s comments. He didn't want to point fingers anymore and there was still so much he had not confirmed about the situation but he found himself agreeing with Pei.
“Kass. You may not like what she's saying but Pei isn't wrong. Kila had the right intentions but we can't ignore his lack of judgement in coming to aid us. Whether our foes wanted him or not, his presence there alone wouldn't have helped us. And because they wanted him, him being there played us right into their hands. He should have contacted the League.” Viktor spoke without turning around.
Pei looked to where Viktor was sitting, and she shook her head rapidly.
“This isn’t about- it’s not- we all—” She wanted to say something about common ground and shared responsibility. Being a teamplayer. But instead she turned back to Kass and pointed at her, not able to let the accusation go unanswered.
“I know what being a hero is about!”It was impossible to tell, but Cora was rolling her eyes.
Kassy tossed her head, lips peeling back in a sneer. Her ears were ringing, every muscle in her body hurt, and her head felt ready to burst. The others may have been right, but all she could see right now was an opponent.
"Oh, sure, suuuure. Please teach us, oh Incredible Iceburn. Maybe we all get childish things to yell before we attack our foes. I'll go first!"Pei shot to her feet, her cheeks flushed dark blue.
“Shut up!”"Make me."“Sit down!” Viktor ordered.
“We're preparing to land… fasten your seatbelts too.”Kassy's mouth worked silently, before she stormed towards her seat in the back and strapped in.
Pei stared at Kass, bewildered.
“Tch,” Then she responded to Viktor’s order. She leaned down to pull a belt over Cora so she wouldn’t fall out and then shoved her own self back down into her seat, clasping the seatbelt over her lap. She crossed her arms and found a corner to stare at, tapping her foot.
The dashboard of the jet was flickering. Like a tv during a thunderstorm. All the little lights and diodes that shouldn’t have been blinking
were blinking, as if someone had damaged the internals that were just fine five minutes ago.
Pei glanced at Cora briefly but said nothing. Just a flicker.
“Fuck… I can manage it. I will manage it.” Viktor grumbled to himself.
“Pei, ensure Cora isn't having a seizure or something. I can still control the craft but I am not in the mood to test how bad she can make things.” Viktor began descending the jet despite the annoyance of the flickering lights.
Cora raised a shaky, jittery hand and gave a half-assed thumbs up.
“She’s fine,” Pei said tersely. Then she sighed, her expression softening as she looked at Cora.
“You’re fine, right? She’s fine,” She called out again.
“We’re countin’ on you not to kill us all, captain! No pressure!” Daphne felt the knots in her stomach grow tighter. Even though she wasn’t the one arguing and raising her voice, it affected her like it was directed at her personally. She glanced worriedly at Kassy, Pei and Cora. Between the three of them Cora definitely looked the worst. The buckles of her seatbelt went limp, as the body they were supposed to hold dispersed into petals. Daphne reformed into a somewhat humanoid shape, floating above Cora. She placed her hands on either side of Cora’s head, compressing her calming scent to soothe her.
It was hard to really feel
calm in Cora’s situation. Metamorph was gone, which sucked. Her friends were fighting, which sucked too. But she was also probably going to have to sit in a damn hospital bed for days, unable to stand up and walk, and she had aching burns
everywhere. The only reason Cora’s leg wasn’t bouncing like a jackhammer was because she lacked the energy.
It helped that Daphne’s powers eased the pain. It was nice, relaxing even. Daphne was
really cool like this.
Cora blinked. Slowly, like a cat.
”…Thanks.”The jet landed shakier than usual but it safely came to a stop in front of the open hangar beside the HQ. Viktor swiveled his chair around from the controls to face the others.
“Flight’s over. Is the fight over too?”“There’s no fight,” Pei unbuckled her belt, embarrassed.
Vincent said nothing as he stood up from his seat. Having been appropriately admonished by Kassy, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at his teammates, anymore, yet he still felt the smouldering cinders of his anger deep within his chest. No, he was still angry. At Deathstroke. At the men he worked with, the ones who helped take KJ away.
At himself.
Vincent walked over to the jet’s exit and opened it. Once the stairs were lowered, he stepped out of the jet and made his way inside without a word.
Kassy made sure that Cora was safely strapped into a wheelchair.
"Please take Cora inside. I need a moment."”Ughhhhhhh.”“Sure,” Pei said, taking the handles of the chair. Pei often found the best way to move on from an argument was to pretend they never happened. It’s not like she was actually angry at Kass, she just got mad for a second. Sticks and stones, right?
Zach sighed. He was relieved they didn’t have a magical explosion, but the mood was still tense. Vincent took off, Kassy was no doubt going to have a breakdown, Cora was hurt, and everyone was upset. It sucked, everything sucked right now.
“Well that was fun. Just another day in the glamorous life of a superhero, right?” He quipped.
“Look, I know this sucks, big time. But we’re not gonna fix anything by brooding and snapping at each other. Yeah, today was awful, but KJ’s counting on us. So, we’re gonna do what we always do, and figure shit out, and bring him home. Because if anyone can pull off a miracle it’s us.”Zach twirled his hat in his hands, then placed it back on his head.
“Now, can we do something before I start feeling like a motivational speaker? That is not my vibe.”"Zach." Kassy's voice was unsteady as the jet emptied more and more. Tasks and arguments and rage had given her something besides the pain to focus on. But now that it was over, she could barely hold back the tears.
"Can I ask for a favor?" She held up her braceleted wrist.
"Magical duct tape? I feel it now, you're right. It's definitely weaker, and it hurts. The League will have enough to deal with without my problems."Zach nodded.
“Alright, I can reinforce it, but it won’t be a permanent fix. It’ll hold, but eventually you’re gonna need a replacement or something else…” He held his free hand over the bracelet, and closed his eyes to focus.
“Pu siht hctap!” he chanted, and a faint purple glow surrounded the bracelet. The energy tightened and stabilized, smoothing out the frayed edges.
“There we go. Magical duct tape, as requested.”"...thank you. I… appreciate it." She managed a wobbly smile.
"I'll be at the briefing. I just… need a second."Viktor was in his way off the jet following Zach but stopped briefly.
“I recommend someplace with a view of the ocean. You won't find peace in here, Kass. We’ll talk later.”Kassy could do nothing but nod in response. She didn't trust herself not to start sobbing at Viktor's kindness.
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