King Matt peered over the edge of the airship. "Is that all of them?"

"I don't see any more of them moving," answered Bethany.

Septroy's voice crackled over Matt's PencilComm, "Brinn-human and Jaccie-human have been rescued, sir."

"Good. Are they alright?"

"Vital signs are good, sir, but they are non-responsive."

While the other Leaguers (and Bethany) exchanged the neccesary worried looks, King Matt heaved a sigh and replied, "Alright. We'll be right over."

Christy didn't see the point in driving, well, flying, the two-hundred feet to the area where Septroy was waiting with Jaccie and Brinn. "Couldn't we have just walked? I imagine the fuel for this iAirship is pretty expensive..."

"Well, if we run out of gas, you can make some sort of fuel processing device out of your shoes or something," said Bethany, almost effortlessly manuevering the iAirship.

The O looked uncertain and King Matt quickly responded, "There's a medical facility onboard. You probably saw Bethany taking Jesse in there. If Brinn and Jaccie's conditions are anything like his, they're going to need help as soon as possible."

"But didn't Septroy say their vital signs--" began Sarah Kay.

"Yes, but if they've been injected like Jesse has, I'd rather have them monitored closely until we can figure out what they were injected with."

"That makes sense." Bethany slowed the engines a bit to make dodging between fallen trees a bit easier (it was getting darker by the minute, so she had to fly low to keep from missing Septroy and the fallen Leaguers). "Wouldn't you say so, Christy dear?"

Huddled almost emo-tastically in the back corner of the ship, Christy gave no indication that she'd heard anything.

Bethany glanced over her shoulder. "Christy?"

"Are you alright?" asked Sarah Kay.

From all appearances, Miss O was anything but alright. Her eyes were tightly shut, droplets of sweat clung to her tense forehead and she'd gone ghostly pale. When she spoke, her voice was shaky. "Think... I think we need to get out of here."

Raising an eyebrow, the King turned to face Christy. "Why do you say that?"

Suddenly, the shape-shifter was out of her seat, her eyes wide with panic. "WE NEED TO GET OUT, NOW!"

Matt was about to object when he realized the apholstry on his seat had turned to wood. He tried to get up, but his seatbelt was suddenly gnarled and stiff, holding him tightly against his seat. The steering device broke off in her hands when Bethany tried vainly to move it.

"Matt!" Sarah Kay was on her feet, burning off everyone's seatbelts as fast as she could manage. "I think the ship's turning back into a tree!"

*****

The Dark Seven's final member and esteemed leader, Pride, had a trademark of brazenly entering the enemy's headquarters through the front door. Well, actually, he hadn't been in any sort of wartime situation before, so he couldn't have a trademark yet, but, as he stepped boldly into the foyer of the League of Dorkdom HQ, he decided that someday, that was what he'd be known for. Well, that and his striking good looks. And his amazing intellect. And his uncanny sense of fashion. Oh, and his incredible comedic timing...

After thoroughly inspecting his purple-clad, goggled reflection in the foyer's tile floor (Septroy had found the time to wax it that morning), Pride took a moment to observe his surroundings. No sounds, no signs of moments--not even the distant echo of footsteps. From all indications (by Pride's standards, at least) the building was completely empty. Pride smiled, this was hardly a surprise. The buildings inhabitants, that Dork Seven or whatever they called themselves, were problably being taken care of by the other DSers. He didn't know this for certain, having slipped away from the battle after capturing Brinn (he figured he'd done his part, not to mention the snazzy crease in his custom-tailored purple pants was in serious need of ironing), but he assumed everything was going well. No one stood a chance against the Dark Seven, especially considering they were under his brilliant leadership. Pride, indulging himself in another smug smile, was about to continue his exploration of the enemy's sprawling abode when he noticed Avarice's discarded loot bag sitting in a doorway at the far side of the foyer. Once there, he changed his mind about inspecting its contents. Such a task was hardly worth his time; afterall, he already knew it was full of useless trinkets that Avarice didn't particularly want, let alone need. It struck him as somewhat odd, however, that she would have left those things behind. What possibly could have happened that would make her drop the bag? And where had she gone?

Suddenly, a flash of gold caught his eye. He glanced up to see Avarice standing at the far end of a hallway, her back turned to him as she looked out the window.

"Ah. There you are, Rissy." Pride congratulated himself for coming up with such a clever nickname as he approached her. "Is anyone else here?"

Avarice utterly failed to turn around or acknowledge him in any way, but Pride figured she was paralyzed by her love for him and continued, "That was good thinking, sneaking into the base while everyone was distracted. I could have thought of something better, of course, but still, it was a good plan."

Once more, Avarice didn't move. Bored with the lack of attention, Pride turned his back to the strangely quiet DSer and wandered down the hallway to look around. He peered into a doorway; a kitchen, from all appearances. Pride rolled his eyes, hardly an exciting find. There was little chance he'd find any weapons, secret battle plans or decently reflective surfaces in there.

"Do you know what just occurred to me?" asked Pride, fiddling with the stylish sword-cane he always carried with him. "Since we captured all of the Nullifier's little superpowered Earth enemies, this is ours now. By right, you know. Isn't that something? This place isn't anything too grand, but it will do as my temporary base of operations. You and the rest can stay here as well, I'm generous enough for that, but I'll get the first choice of rooms. I'll need at least one for sleeping, another for my clothes, an office--" He heard Avarice turn, no doubt in objection. "Oh, well, I know you're somewhat above-average cunning also helped in the capture, so you'll rewarded. Yes. This is very generous of me, but since you're obviously so smitten with me, I could probably give you a kiss on the cheek or someth--"

Shtunk!

Pride was about to express his annoyance. Whatever that obnoxious, and unusual, sound was, it was interrupting his self-importance speech. Then he realized what it was.

The sound of two blades moving effortlessly through flesh.

He sunk to the ground, unable to tear his eyes from the glittering knives that were suddenly protruding from his chest.

*****

Fortunately for everyone aboard the iAirship, Bethany's foresight to fly low to the ground allowed them an amazingly smooth landing, especially considering the fact that she could no longer steer. Even before they'd come to a stop, however, the ship had begun writhing and twisting on its own accord, struggling to regain its former shape. The deck of the airship was already lost in a sea of spiky foliage, and the once spacious interior was quickly closing in on itself, its walls glistening with sap.

Thick, root-like growths were popping up everywhere, snaking around the Leaguers' feet and intertwining into a solid, woody mass. Hurriedly, King Matt sliced away as many as he could with his Holy Pocky Sword and motioned towards the exit. "Sarah Kay, Christy, get out as quickly as you can. Don't use fire, if that tree resin catches, we'll fry. Bethany, I need you to--"

"Get Jesse? Already done." In an amazing show of ninja-tasticity, Bethany leapt over Matt's head and landed in front of him, Jesse's unconcious form slung over her shoulder.

In spite of the situation, King Matt smiled. "Good. Now hurry!"

Without a second thought the group made a dash for the exit; a short, quickly narrowing tunnel at the back of the ship. Sarah Kay was about to cross over the threshold onto solid, safe ground when a wall of flame shot up in front of her, blocking everyone's way out. Christy, feeling strangely dizzy, was about to ask Sarah Kay about it when a red clad woman strode into view, just beyond the flames. Her facial expression was filled with an unnerving intensity and in the dark her whole body seemed to be glowing faintly.

"Well now," she said, her lips twisting into a sneer. "You must be the rest of League of Losers."

King Matt readied his Pocky Sword. "We--"

Suddenly, the floor beneath him gave a violent jolt, sending him flying headfirst into the tunnel wall. Wide-eyed, he tried to get back to his feet. The floor bucked again, throwing him against the ceiling and back onto the ground with a sickening crack. The Pocky Sword fell from his limp hands.

"Having some ship trouble, are we?" Wrath seriously considered setting the rest of the ship on fire and having herself a little League barbecue, but she was finding their dire situation more than amusing. In her mirth she didn't notice, but the wall of flame had diminished somewhat in size.

The iAirship was moving almost non-stop now. Underneath their feet, the floor writhed and buckled, giving the Leaguers no chance to regain their balance. Thinking quickly, Bethany drove her katanas into the ceiling and pulled herself up so her feet dangled just above the ground. This hurt her arms quite a bit, and she was still being jolted around by movement in the ceiling, but at least she wasn't being thrown mercilessly against the walls any longer. She'd had no choice but to let Jesse, a dangerous deadweight, down onto the ground. He didn't seem to notice the beating he was taking, nor how dangerously close he was to the roaring flames. Christy had managed to grab the Holy Pocky sword and, following Bethany's example, thrust it up into the ceiling and pulled herself upward. The treeship fell still mid-jolt.

"What happened? Did we hurt it or something?" asked Bethany.

"No," answered Christy. "Without all the being thrown everywhere business, I can concentrate my energy into stopping the ship from transforming any further."

Bethany was very much tempted to ask what had started the ship's transformation, but she knew there wasn't much time. Dropping back onto the uneven ground, she checked to see if King Matt was alright. He wasn't anywhere near being conscious and his sword arm was obviously broken, but other than that, he was surprisingly intact.

"No more killer ship-thing?" the spiky-haired woman asked patronizingly. "That's no fun. Now I have to finish you off myself. How irritating."

As if on cue, the flames roared back to their former strength.

A smile darted across the woman's lips. "Now, did the Boss say I was supposed to maim you or destroy you? I forget. You see, if it doesn't piss me off, I have a hard time rememb--"

Suddenly, wall of flame darted from its position in front of the tree-ship and leapt onto the red-clad adversary, completely enveloping her in the inferno and drowning her screams of surprise.

Trying to ignore a bloody nose and an aching head, Sarah Kay got to her feet. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get pretty sick of all the villian monologues we have to sit through."

"Go Sarah Kay!" cheered Christy.

Bethany was about to heartily agree when she noticed the red woman's screams of pain sounded more like screams of rage.

"ARGHHHH!" The fireball enveloping the DSer roared and sparked. "I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE INTERRUPT ME! HATE IT!!! DO YOU HEAR--"

"That doesn't sound good," observed Bethany lightly.

"ARGH! STOP THE INTERR--"

Bethany laughed. "Alright girls, time to get out of here. Sarah Kay, wanna move aside that wall of fire for us?"

"ARGH!" The fireball was throwing out some good-sized flames now, but not moving. So, despite the dramatic effect (which was rather reminiscent of the opening sequence in RENT), the Leaguers didn't feel all that threatened.

"Oh sure! Why didn't I think about that earlier?" Realizing she was wasting time, the pyrokinetic Leaguer waved her hands in front of the fiery obstacle, causing it to disappate.

"I didn't know you could do that! Nice job. Now let's get out of here."

"But, Bethany," began Christy, "what about--"

"Jesse and Matt? Already taken care of." And because Bethany is a ninja rockstar, and because repetition is a very good storytelling technique, her Ninjesty backflipped over Christy's head and out of the tree-ish airship-like object, hefting Jesse, King Matt and her katanas.

Being the smart people they were, Sarah Kay and The O quickly followed Bethany's example--well, minus the flipping and the hefting and all that. And the fireball continued to be unimportant and flamey. Until, that is...

"Alright, lady," said Bethany after she'd set down Matt and Jesse. "I'm assuming we have to get through you to get to Jaccie and Brinn. So why don't we cut to the chase and start fighting? I mean, it's been a long day for all of us."

"YOU THINK I'LL LISTEN TO YOU?! I AM WRATH, THE EMBODIMENT OF EMOTION UNTAMED--"

"And rampant capitalization," muttered Christy.

"--I CHOOSE WHEN I SPEAK AND WHEN I FIGHT! AND NOW--since I really am in a mood to kill you--YOU WILL BURN IN THE FIRES OF MY UNBRIDLED FURY!"

"Or at least gag in the flurries of your cliche villian lines," added Bethany, unsheathing her rockstar katanas. "Alright, Wrath, let's do this."

*****

"DID YOU SEE WHAT SHE JU--"

Eyes wide with urgency, Michael reached over and covered Jake's mouth. The two, who had taken advantage of miniscule amount of time Avarice took to recover from her injuries and ran, were crouched behind the kitchen door in a pitiful (though somehow succesful) attempt at hiding. From their last-second vantage point, they could see everything that was going on.

Pride felt a strong, narrow finger lift his heavy chin, forcing him to look into a pair of distinctly golden eyes. "Rissy? Ava... ri... ri..."

"That's not my name anymore," she replied, sliding out the daggers and wiping them unceremoniously on Pride's suit-jacket before concealing them once more in her gown. "I'm no longer confined to that limited, stereotypical mindset."

Most likely due to an immense amount of pain and internal bleeding, Pride could barely bring himself to speak. "I... What..."

She smiled at him and petted his head. "Hush now, darling. You're work is done. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your last moments in freedom."

Smiling warmly at Pride, the former DSer took a long, white knife from her bodice and carefully, almost lovingly, cut the purple goggles from his face. Pride couldn't help but gasp in fear and delight as a world of brilliant color and limitless potential met his weakening eyes.

Tearing his eyes from the disturbing spectacle, Jake glanced over at Michael, who nodded in understanding. This seemed like as good a moment as any to make a run for it. They were just about to get up and book it when Avarice glanced up from her dying love and looked straight at them.

"Hello, boys," she purred.

*****

Not giving Wrath another moment to think or attack or say anything else obnoxious and overdone, Bethany leapt forward, planning on stunning the fiery lady with a good kick to the temple. It wasn't until too late that she realized physical combat wasn't the best choice when fighting a person engulfed in flame. Bethany found herself coming into contact, not with a villianous head, but with some sort of wicked hard flame shield Wrath had covered herself with. She cried out in pain as she was thrown to the ground, bright flames racing up and down her burned legs. With a cry of surprise and hardly a thought, Sarah Kay raced to Bethany's side and dispelled the flames.

Wrath, completely obscured by her fiery shield, made a sound that sounded like the combination of an overzealous laugh and a screech of fury. "LIKE TO PLAY WITH FIRE, LITTLE ONE?! HERE, HAVE SOME MORE TO PLAY WITH!" Suddenly, the fireball burst with energy, the ground scorched and many of the nearby trees caught fire, the heat was overpowering. Christy, standing on the sidelines and still wielding King Matt's sword, threw herself to the ground, trying to find some way to shield herself from the heat. All around her, the trees crackled and groaned. She was certain she was mistaken, but some of the nearby trees almost seemed to be moaning...

Bethany and Sarah Kay weren't faring much better than Christy. Having been closest the Wrath, they were directly hit by the heat and flame of her inferno. Or, rather, they would have been, if Sarah Kay hadn't miraculously deflected the flame using a combination of interesting hand waves and quick-thinking. This seemed to irritate Wrath all the more.

"GRRRR!! STOP THAT AND LET ME KILL YOU!" Giving another screech of fury, Wrath peppered the two with a barrage of flames shaped like darts.

"Sarah Kay!" Bethany pointed towards the spot where they'd left Jesse and Matt; over their heads, a flaming tree branch threatened to come crashing on top of them.

"What do you want me to do?!" She'd been a trooper the entire day, but having to constantly use her powers was starting to takes it's toll on Sarah Kay.

Realizing it was up to her, Bethany took a running start and leapt. A well-placed kick sent the heavy branch flying directly into Wrath, destroying her shield and pinning her to the ground with a scream. She was down, but not for long.

"Sarah Kay," said Bethany quickly, "you need to stay close to Matt and Jesse and make sure nothing happens to them." She took a look around. They were a few possible escape routes, including one that ran past the fallen airship, which was still frozen in mid-jolt. "Christy, you don't have to concentrate on the ship anymore, focus your energy on making something to douse the--Christy?!"

"I don't see her!" said Sarah Kay.

Bethany groaned. "This is a bad time to disappear."

"THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO DIE!" Having finally mustered up enough rage, Wrath broke free of the branch, which was quickly devoured by flames. A massive club, made entirely of fire, appeared in her hands. She swung at Bethany, missing only by the tiniest margin. This only seemed to irritate her more, causing the club to grow in size and intensity. She swung again. A tree fell, overcome by fire in a matter of seconds. Another fell, adding more heat, more noise, less room to run. All Bethany's hopes of escape were quickly fading. Smoke and sweat obscured her vision as she ran. Her main goal was to get Wrath away from Sarah Kay and the others. Then, if she could just find some water...

Bethany, long since clear of the demolished trees, was barely keeping ahead of Wrath. The club swung again, clipping one of her katanas and sending shards of white-hot metal flying into into the Guardian's side and back. Her back arched in pain and in that moment her foot hooked itself around an exposed tree root, throwing her to the ground. Wrath gave a scream of delight and readied her club for another swing...

Then everything started happening at once.

There was a yell, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, MA'AM!"

Something icy collided with Wrath's back. Her concentration broke. The club disappated mid-swing. More icy liquid, fired by a spiky little robot with pistols. She fell to her knees, and in an instant, all the surrounding flames dwindled down to sparks.

Septroy helped Bethany to her feet. "Are you hurt, ma'am?"

Bethany smiled with relief and shook her head. "Septroy, where would we be without--"

Her comment was interrupted by Wrath thrashing and making pitiful sounds of objection. "What have-- Why can't I--?!"

"Super-cooled Septronite, ma'am. Readings indicate it has significantly lowered your core body temperature. You will not be able to achieve normal mobility for two-point-five-to-five hours." Septroy turned to Bethany, "Sarah Kay-human is with Jesse and King Matt-humans, ma'am. She had requested I look for you. That area is still on fire, but some Septron units have been deployed to douse the..."

Her eyes narrowed venomously, Wrath didn't look away from the little robot as he rattled off his report to Bethany. Everything about him, his tiny size, his precious appearance, his intelligence, grated on her nerves. He had interrupted her fight. He had taken away her fire. Disgraced the Dark Seven... She gritted her teeth, clenched and unclenched her fists, concentrating only on that obnoxious hunk of metal. So worthlessly small, so irritatingly loyal...

"Alright," Bethany sheathed her one intact katana, "so what about Brinn and Jaccie?"

"Still unconscious, ma'am, but safe. I didn't leave their side until Christy-human arrived to relieve me--"

"Christy's with them?!"

"Yes, ma'am. She has been ordered to remain with them until further notice and has The Holy Pocky Sword, though her skill with the weapon is undenia--"

Septroy was interrupted by a sizeable fireball colliding with his tiny chest.

Wrath was suddenly back on her feet, her eyes blazing. "YOU WILL SUFFER MY WRATH, CREATURE!"

Fire spewed from Wrath's hands. Septroy curled into a ball and rolled past Wrath, causing her to turn and sprint after him, leaving Bethany alone. She quickly raced after them as it occured to her just where he was headed...

*****

Gluttony staggered through the front entrance of the HQ, wiping the last traces of blood from his orange goggles. He couldn't exactly say whose blood it was... he'd landed face first, breaking his nose in the process and knowing with no uncertainty the fate of his little brother. His head was still spinning as the reality of it dawned on him. Gluttony didn't love anything. He worshipped food, of course, but he was well-aware of the fact that it was his enemy, not his friend. He hated his massive girth, felt chained to the over-eating that had created it, and cared for Sloth. He was still having trouble working out how all those things, added together, equaled the death of his brother. Just as he was pondering this, Jake (holding a rather mortified-looking Michael) sped past him and out the door. He glanced up in the direction they'd come from to see Avarice running after them, knives in both of her hands.

"Avarice?" Gluttony stood in front of her, a little unnerved. "What happened to your goggles?"

The golden lady in question groaned. Gluttony was doing a perfect job of obscuring the door. She'd kill him for getting in her way. Or, well, she didn't really have a reason to kill him. She could tell him to move, but that didn't seem as enjoyable. Those goggles she was forced to wear had made her incapable of even considering killing or hurting another member of the Dark Seven. Now she couldn't get enough of the newfound priveledge. But, really, she didn't need to kill Gluttony like she'd needed to kill Pride. Her obsession with him was kept in check with the obedience-enhancing goggles, but now that she was free, she knew she wouldn't be able to think properly until he was out of the picture. Gluttony, though, he was harmless... and unable to be harmed, she suddenly remembered, on account of his bulk. She was about to check her speed and order the mammoth male to move when a new idea occured to her. Leaping nimbly over Gluttony's head, she raced out the door. But not before driving one of her knives between his teary eyes.

*****

Jake was far from being a comfortable distance from their knife-wielding pursuer, but Michael urged him to stop, pointing towards the western side of the building. "Is that smoke over there?"

It wasn't until they heard screaming that they decided to investigate. Several footfalls--but only a few seconds--later, Jake and Michael were standing by the airship and listening to Sarah Kay as she hurriedly explained the situation.

"--and then Septroy took off. That's all that's happened."

"So Wrath is the only person you've run into?" Michael asked.

Sarah Kay nodded.

"That's good. Maybe there aren't that many. We ran into two at the HQ. Avarice, one was named, but there was this other guy--"

"And there was a blue one earlier," added Jake.

"Septroy said there are seven of them," remembered Sarah Kay..

Both Michael and Jake's eyes went wide.

"But!" Sarah Kay reassured them quickly. "He said that there weren't many left and that I should concentrate on finding Christy, Jaccie and Brinn--they're somewhere nearby--and then find you two."

"Well, you've got the second one," observed Michael. "So let's find the others--"

"But what about the crazy lady?!" exclaimed Jake.

Michael shrugged. "We'll worry about her when she gets here."

"What about King Matt and Jesse?" asked Sarah Kay, motioning towards their unconscious forms.

"Well," said Michael, "what's wrong with them?"

"They've been injected with something."

Everyone turned to see Christy striding up behind them, sword in hand.

"Christy?!" Sarah Kay's hands had caught fire from her surprise, but she quickly doused them. "Where did you go?"

"Jaccie and Brinn were left in a clearing that edges up against the building. I found them. And there's this ship over there, I think that's probably what these crazies arrived in."

That didn't answer the question, but Jake asked, "How far away are they?"

The Holy Pocky Sword was getting a bit heavy, so Christy set it down. "Not far away at all. Like, seriously, only ten feet or so. The tricky part, though, is getting through the fallen trees."

"Especially considering we've got to lug these two along." Jake nudged still-snoozing Jesse with his foot.

"Actually," said Michael, looking at his hands, "I don't think that'll be a problem."

*****

Closely pursued by Wrath's flaming inferno, Septroy burst into the clearing where the half-turned iAirship and a forgotten Pocky Sword still lay. He stopped and uncurled himself in front of it, readying his pistols and waiting. He didn't have to wait long; with a burst of flame that instantly reduced many of the fallen trees to ash, Wrath was standing in front of him, her whole body shaking and sparking from rage and exertion.

"Now," she said, in a soft voice that seemed to boil with underlying intensity, "you DIE!"

She lunged towards him. Septroy fired off a couple shots of icy Septronite, but they no longer seemed to phase her. Realizing this, he put away the pistols and curled back into a ball.

Bethany and Christy (who suddenly remembered Matt's sword) arrived at the clearing in the same instant, just in time to see Septroy roll into the mangled airship. Just beyond the threshold, he uncurled himself, took out his pistols and said, "I'm right here, ma'am."

"I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!" screeched Wrath, unable to see anything except the aggravating robot standing in front of her. Her fury burning at its fullest, blindest intensity, Wrath leapt for the robot.

Septroy's eyes seemed to twinkle as he threw the two onlookers his final, precious salute before Wrath collided with him, clutching her close to her flaming body as they tumbled deep into the misshapen airship. Christy let out a gasp, her concentration slipped beyond recovery, and the ship collapsed, an implosion of momentum, metal, wood and flame.

Crunch.

*****

King Matt, surrounded by six Leaguers and two Guardians, sat calmly with his sword in his lap. They were outside, gathered in the grassy center of Jake's outdoor running track. After Michael had brought him back to consciousness and a teary Christy had given him back his sword, he'd immediately made a run for the HQ. There he'd found signs of an attempted burglary, and two bodies, both gruesomely murdered. It was then that he decided the Leaguers were not to enter the building until the Septrons had removed the mangled DSers and cleared out the wreckage surrounding the building. Until then, everyone was camping out in the middle of the track. Overall, it was a cozy little campsite; a ring of sleeping bags that surrounding a cluster of flashlights and electric lanterns. They would have been able to rig up an actual campfire, but, not surprisingly, Sarah Kay and Bethany weren't too keen on that idea.

Everyone was silent, perched on purple Septron-issued sleeping bags and half listening to Matt as they sifted through their own thoughts.

"The Septrons have managed to uncover the remains of five individuals. They're still investigating the pinetree we used for an airship, but they predict this will take some time. Oh, speaking of that area... the Septrons have located at least three other ships like the one you found, Christy."

"What about Avarice?" asked Jake.

"No trace of her," answered the King. "But it's still tentative at this point. Brinn, how's your throat doing?"

The psychic shrugged and gave a so-so gesture with his hand. His throat had started hurting almost immediately after Michael (and his amazing powers of healing) brought him back to consciousness. This was enough to put him in a somewhat sour mood, and then he'd heard the news about Septroy.

"So, I still don't get this," said Bethany, turning to Sarah Kay. "What happened after I left? I was only away for ten minutes at the most, but by the time I got back to the clearing, you were gone!"

"Jake and Michael found them," answered Jesse. "And then Christy found them, and then Michael remembered he was all Dr. Mike and whatnot and woke us up and then Sarah Kay and Jake cleared away all the rubble in our way and we went to find Brinn and Jaccie."

"All in five minutes?" asked Bethany skeptically.

"Two, actually," said Jake, looking around at the two or three incredulous stares. "What? I'm fast!"

"Yeah you are, quickie boy," retorted Jesse.

Christy rolled her eyes. Brinn groaned. Then Christy screamed.

"Brinn! Brinn! Did you hear that?!"

Raising an eyebrow, Brinn glanced over at her.

"What are you freaking out about?" asked Jake.

But Jaccie knew. "He made a noise!"

The response was a collective "What?!"

Jaccie rolled eyes (both robotic and non, it was a new trick she'd learned) and clarified, "A vocal noise!"

"Did he?" asked Bethany.

"I don't remember that," said King Matt.

"Well, here, I have it recorded in my memory banks, I'll just replay it for you." Jaccie pressed a button on her arm.

"--quickie boy."

Brinn groaned. Then Christy screamed.

Jaccie stopped the recording, and then everyone else went crazy.

"That was Brinn?"

"Had to be!"

"But can you do that with severed vocal chords?!"

"Yes?"

"No!"

"But that would--"

"Brinn's better!"

"How?"

The silent psychic didn't take part in the rapid-fire (and confusing) discussion taking place, even though it centered around him. A million questions flew through his mind. Could he really speak again? When did this happen? Did groaning really take vocal chords? Was that why his throat hurt?

But there was one question that stood above the rest, one question so pressing that it finally bubbled up out of him, his first spoken word in weeks, "How?"

After the obvious response of cheering and relative chaos, King Matt provided an answer. "I'll bet it was Michael. When he used his abilities to eliminate the poison that was keeping you unconscious, he must have somehow caused your vocal chords to heal. Perhaps the pain you were feeling was from them repairing themselves."

"Are you sure?" asked Michael.

Christy looked notably skeptical. "I don't know... that sounds a little... Well, has he ever done that before? Went in to heal one thing and then accidentally healed another?"

"No," came the Guardian of Heart's reply.

"Actually," responded the other Guardian, "you did. You healed Matt's arm."

"My arm was never--" began Matt.

"It was broken," interrupted Bethany. "You wouldn't remember. The whole time you were unconscious it was twisted at an impossible angle. But when you woke up--"

The chattering discussion started up again.

"It wasn't! I remember! I saw it!"

"I saw it too!"

"So then--"

"I don't remember--"

"Well of course--"

"How gross!"

"--is to thank."

"Brinn, say thankyou to Michael."

"...Therrrnkyou."

"Whoa! Elly man redux!"

"Oh hush, his vocal chords are just a little rusty."

"Yeah, be nice!"

King Matt sighed. As much as he wished the pandemonium would cease and he could get some sleep, it was refreshing to see that, less than two hours after the most devastating battle of their lives, his Leaguers were in good spirits.

*****

She could see the distant flicker of the lanterns, hear the talk and laughter of the people around them. Good, she thought to herself, taking a moment to pull the ragged train of her gold gown out of some clawing treebranches, they would never notice. Just as she was about to wonder how much farther it would be, the ship, a cheap, though spacious contraption emblazoned with a stylized "M", loomed in front of her. The pale fingers felt in the darkness for the row of buttons by the door, then almost thoughtlessly entered the access code. The door slipped open, the woman entered. Moments later, there was a faint whirring sound, then the faintest click-pop and the whole ship was gone.

And the pair of Septronite-blue eyes saw it all.