The Graceful Willow [End]

[che]

Players: Cheshire, Speedy
Location(s): Roy Harper's apartment
Plot Summary: Jade breaks into Roy's apartment. Mia is there to disrupt her search for a certain special item.

Dressed in all black, she took extra precaution to stay in the natural shadows of the building. The lack of moonlight and the flickering street light below concealed the intruder's figure as she crept along the walls. Moving from window sills to fire escapes, Jade made her way up to the apartment of Roy Harper. The last time she saw him, she told him she'd never forgive him for....It didn't matter right now. There was only one thing on her mind and that was breaking in. If she thought too much of any cursory subjects, she was afraid she'd compromise the entire plan. Go in and come out. It was simple. Nothing should cloud her judgement. Nothing.

Finally reaching the window of the living room, Jade found herself facing a bit of luck. It was open. That meant someone was home or at least in the apartment building. Could it be Roy? It must be. Jade stayed outside the window observing, listening. There was absolutely no movement or sound coming from the apartment. The tv wasn't even on, nor were any lights. But then why would the window be open?

Jade slowly slipped into the apartment and landed in a crouched position. Her green eyes, the only part of her that stood out from the shadows, scanned her surroundings. No one. With delicate steps like that of a cat, she made it across the living room and into the hallway. Now came to the obstacle of figuring out where she could find the item she came here for. The bathroom door was open, but all other rooms were closed. She examined the three remaining rooms. One obviously led into the closet, leaving two rooms. With a steady hand hovering over the kunai attached to her thigh, she opened the bedroom door and turned on the light. It was the master bedroom, Roy's room, and fortunately he wasn't inside. She walked up to the nightstand to see a picture frame tucked behind the lamp. She picked it up and turned it over. It was Lian. Her eyes were shut, but her smile stretched from ear to ear as she waved to the camera. Jade blinked several times staring at the photo before putting it back. She considered taking it and leaving, but it was right next to Roy's bed. That meant it was important to him. She couldn't bring herself to take that away. Not today.

There was his closet she wanted to go through next, but she was curious about the last room. After a moment's hesitation, she left the master bedroom (turning the light off as she left) and walked down the hall toward the closed door. She opened it, expecting to find a guest room, but when she turned on the light, she saw that it wasn't. It was Lian's room, or rather, it was her stuff set-up to make it look like her room. The place they were living before was destroyed, so that meant Roy salvaged what he could and remade her room here in this new apartment. Jade walked in and felt like she was swimming through molasses. Her breath was short, her movements were slow. She made her way to the small bed and sat down to take a long look at the room. It was too much. This was a mistake. It was a mistake to come here. "Lian," she exhaled.

[Speedy]

Mia sighed as she was finishing up her patrol for the night. It had been a rough night. IT figured that the bad guys would decide to come out and pull stuff on her the day she had a Trig exam. First,, the idiots with guns trying to rob a toy store. Yeah, she saw no logic there. Then, it had been wave after wave of stupid is as stupid does. There wasn’t even a full moon out tonight, so what was going on? IT was just a bad day in general for Mia Dearden both in and out of costume.

She had parked her yellow motorcycle nearby Roy’s apartment and was heading back to get it. No one in their right mind, heck not even out of their mind, would try and steal that motorcycle. She would literally ensure they met face to face with the pavement beneath them. That bike was her baby. It was also a labor of love, getting that thing put together in the first place. It had been so worth it though.

As she walked over to her bike and its golden colored paint job. She noticed that the window to Roy’s apartment was open. That was odd. He wasn’t in Star City. There were lights on inside either. The thought of going in the front door went through her mind.

Nah. That takes all of the fun out of it.[/b]

Mia made her way carefully and quietly up the fire escape and to the window. Getting in through the window had been so easy, it was scary. Roy really needed better security. Of course, it was snot liked he lived here anymore. That was obvious from the layer of dust on pretty much everything. Mia made sure to take notice of everything. The dust on the floor had been disturbed though. Someone was here.

Mia pulled an arrow from her quiver and notched it in her bow and was ready to fire as she walked down the hallway. The door to Roy’s room was ajar. She pushed it was her foor, bow at the ready. No one there, she was being paranoid. As Mia spotted the other open door, her breath caught in her throat.

No. She couldn’t, that was the door to Lian’s room. Mia could feel herself stiffen up. She had no clue if tis was trick. It would be a terrible trick if was. The pain and guilt filled Mia’s entire being. She had to push past it. There was someone here. Having this place locked up had given Mia some peace of mind for a while now. It had been disturbed though. The one place in Star that Mia could enjoy the fantasy of Lian still being here had been shattered the moment whoever it was had crept into this apartment.

She stepped into the doorway of the room. Her bow string was pulled back, arrow ready to fly at whoever it was who had disturbed this peaceful place. She was just pissed now. Who the hell would come in here? Then, she heard the one name that her the most for her to hear.

”Lian.”[/b]

Mia lowered her bow and let the arrow fall into her palm as she looked at the woman on the bed before her. The woman was dressed in all the black. Mia knew who it was though. That knowledge scared Mia as well. Did she know what Mia had done? How Mia had left Lian all alone?

The words seemed to just tear themselves away from her lips.

”Jade, I’m sorry. I thought that-. I’ll leave you alone.”[/b]

Mia’s voice came out initially with a sharp edge, due to the pain of seeing Lian’s mother there.. It had gotten softer and more careful as if saying too much would break whatever semblance of peace was left in that room.

[che]

This room was bleak, contrary to the bright colors and toys. The layer of dust and the exact arrangement of everything made it seem like it had been empty for decades, but that was merely how she perceived it. She had done such a good job pushing back the suffering from Lian's death that this felt like an entirely new blow. It was easy doing it too actually. Jade convinced herself she could get her daughter back. So many people died and miraculously returned, why not Lian? She was just a child; it would be easy to get her back. She died far too young. It was unfair. She deserved a second chance. There were a ton of reasons why she could come back....She just never did.

Jade's throat tightened and her chest shook from uneven breathing. The dam broke. She dropped her head into her hands and sobbed. She had never experienced so much sadness and anger at once. It made her entire body shake and it was actually frightening how it felt like her emotions controlled her. Even as she willed herself to stop, she couldn't. Thinking about her daughter in her final moments, the thoughts that ran through her head, the fear she must have felt. Jade could hear Lian crying for help. Crying and crying.

Then there was another voice, one that pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the moment. Jade's head turned quickly to see Speedy standing in the doorway. While she didn't particularly know that much information about the girl, she knew she was a vigilante that worked with the rest of those Arrow-themed people. Speedy was so close to them that she took Roy's old moniker. Did that mean she knew Lian? "I..." Jade whispered, only to be surprised by what Speedy had to say. She did know Lian, otherwise this meeting would be very different. She understood why Jade was there, even without saying a word.

Jade wiped the tears from her face and looked back at the room toward Lian's possessions. "N-no. I'll leave," she managed to say. She stood up and fought her instincts to sob again. She could do so in privacy, but not here. Not anymore. Jade walked toward the window but stopped before opening it. She turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at Speedy. She had to know. "You know who I am, and because of that, you might think," she cleared her throat, "I don't deserve to ask you anything. But I'm still going to try. Do you know how it happened? No one will tell me." Jade paused. "Please."

[Speedy]

”Please.”[/b]

Mia gripped her bow tighter as if it would make this any easier. How could she tell Jade no? She was Lian’s mother. She deserved to know what happened to her little girl. Was it right to tell her that her baby was crushed to death? How Lian most likely was not killed by the building falling onto her. That it had been the loss of blood. That Lian most likely was having seriously trouble breathing, due to being trapped? How the sweet little girl whose were broken and possibly crushed, had been most likely crying out for her mother, her father. How Lian would have been using up that air calling out for someone to come save her and how Mia could have prevented it all.

The bow fell to the ground. The quiver of arrows went by it. Mia looked up at the poor woman. No mother should ever have to bury their child. It just wasn’t right. This was the least she could do for the mother of the beautiful little girl she had called her niece. The little angel who Mia had not been able to save, she had failed to protect that little girl. As such, Mia decided she deserved to right to protect herself from what would happen after she told Jade what happened to her daughter.

Mia tried so hard to not have her voice break too much. The tears fell anyways. The images of her nightmares came to the forefront of her mind as she spoke.

”There was a villain, called himself the Electrocutioner. He had been setting bombs up all around Star. He’d said.. That they would send Star City to another dimension. I was supposed to be watching Lian. I told her to stay there, I went to help. I gave her a communicator. In case something happened. And.. “[/b]

She had to stop to take in a breath and wipe the tears away from her face. She swallowed it all and continued.

”And.. We got to him before he set up all the bombs but.. The bombs were nothing special. They were huge though and I didn’t know that he had.. IF I had known that she was in the… The bombs went off.. The parts of the city where the bombs were went to rubble. And all I could hear was the building falling on her. She cried for you and for Roy.. But then I lost the signal during the fight.. The communicator had been damaged.“[/b]

Mia stood up as best she could and looked Jade in the eyes. Her own blue eyes were filled with tears as the memory of Lian’s screams had filled her ear. Mia had not been able to respond to her after being thrown against a wall. The young woman also known as Speedy swallowed hard as she looked into the heartbroken eyes of the niece who she had listened to die.

”I don’t know if you will ever be able to forgive me. I understand that because I don’t know if I ever will be able to forgive myself either. I’ll never get her out of my head. It’s my fault that Lian isn’t here with you right now. Whatever you do from here to me, I wont be angry at you for. Because, I’ll have deserved it. I didn’t protect her when she needed me the most. There is no reason I should protect myself from you. I’m so sorry. I am so sorry.”[/b]

Mia did not hang her head or fall to her knees. She did however, cry. It hurt so much to know she had caused so many people so much pain. All because she had not done her job. She knew jade would be angry and might even kill her. Mia didn’t care at that point. She had made her bed and now had to lay in it.

There was no amount of repentance that could ever wash the pain of Lian’s death away. And, it was all Mia’s fault.

[che]

It was a sort of new feeling overcoming Jade as the young girl began the story of Lian's death. Not of immediate sadness, or heartbreak, or anger. It was something else entirely, something indescribable. It was a million things at once. Jade was out of breath. She was thirsty. She could vomit. She was light-headed. She could scream. She was numb. She felt adrenaline rush through her. She was furious. She was ready to pass out. She couldn't think. She was at a loss for words. She wanted to die.

...
"AHHH! No!" Jade screamed as the contractions were getting worse. Her midwife patted the sweat from her forehead with a warm cloth. "<She is coming,>" the elderly Vietnamese woman nodded. "<How do you know it's a she?>" Jade exhaled before gritting her teeth. The midwife rubbed the pregnant stomach gently. "<I know. The pain will get worse. Bite down on this,>" she offered Jade a root with exotic leaves on it. She had never seen it before, nor was she ready to put it in her mouth. In fact, she was losing patience with the elderly woman for being so calm about her excruciating pain. Jade's head fell backward as she attempted to control her breathing. A girl. It's going to a girl. "<I can't do this.>" A tear fell quickly from the corner of her eye. "<Many women have gone through childbirth before and survived. So will you.>" "<It's not that! You don't know who I am. I'm not suppose to be a mother!>" her head shot up as she screamed at the woman. "<I shouldn't be responsible for someone else, especially not a child. This shouldn't have happened. She's...she's going to...she's going to suffer because of me. My baby's going to die because of me!>" she cried. The midwife slapped Jade cross the face as hard as she could. "<You will have this baby. She will be strong. She will be wise. Now bring her here.>" Jade screamed through her teeth as she bit down on the root for the following twenty minutes until at last someone else was there screaming with her. The pink baby wiggled and cried in the midwife's arms until she was cleaned up. Jade couldn't take her eyes off her, especially not when she was finally handed to her. "<She is healthy. You are a mother whether you want to be or not.>" Jade raised her up close to her face and stared at her child through blurry eyes. "<What is her name?>" the midwife asked. "<Lian,>" she whispered. "<Ah. The Graceful Willow. It is a good name.>"

...
Roy crossed his arms after he set Lian down. It had been only a year since Jade had seen her, but she looked so much bigger. Lian rushed into her mother's arms and was wrapped up entirely by Jade's body. They stayed there, eyes shut, escaping together from the dank prison cell. Roy cleared his throat, waking Jade up from the peacefulness of her daughter's breathing. "This color doesn't show how pretty you are," Lian smiled and so did Jade. Her little fingers pinched the fabric of the orange jumpsuit. "Maybe I can ask for a pink one." "No, a green one, to match your eyes." "A green one then," she said. "Tell me how you've been doing. Are you getting along with everyone?" "Yes I am!" Roy cleared his throat again. Lian lowered her head. "Okay. I'm not. But it's not my fault! Mia was sad so I was asking everyone what was wrong and no one would tell me so I had to find out by myself. I went through Conner's room looking for clues and he didn't like that. Now he's mad at me." "I'm sure he's not mad," Jade responded. She looked up at Roy who had his head turned away. "But you can't go looking through people's rooms. Did you apologize?" Lian nodded. "Then he forgave you, you just think he hasn't because you feel guilty." She nodded again. "No one can stay mad at you, okay? But you need to understand," Jade paused. There were tears in her eyes, but she kept on smiling to fight ward them off. "When grown ups don't tell you something, it's to protect you. The people around you love you...so much. They do everything they can to keep you safe. Trust them." Lian stared at her mother. "Mommy, when will I see you again?" The prison guard with them interrupted. "Time's up." Roy looked to him, ready to plead for a few more minutes, but the guard shook his head. "Court order." Roy could do nothing. "C'mon Lian. We have to go." "I don't want to go." "We have to." "Mommy!" she hugged Jade again. "You're strong, baby. You're so strong." Jade lifted her up, still embraced, and handed her to Roy. Their eyes met for the first time that visit; his eyes were red. "I love you, Lian." The cell door was shut.

...
"You were suppose to be watching her that day?" Jade finally said. She sat there quietly throughout the story of her daughter's death, and what felt like ages passed after the story was complete, she finally awoke. "Y-you?" she choked. "She..." Jade felt faint. "She was just a little girl. How could...?" Jade felt sick. "How could you leave her alone?!" She stood up and faced her. Everything left her body except one surging emotion: rage. As quick as a snake strike, Jade grabbed her hidden sais from behind and threw it toward Mia's shoulder, pinning her against the wall. "That was my baby. My little girl. HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE?! How can you stand there and tell me you cared for her?!" Jade screamed. She shook all over and rushed toward the sais to dig it in as far as she could.

[Speedy]

A loud hiss came from Mia’s mouth as the sais went into her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. The body armor took the brunt of the damage dealt by the sais. Mia would have cuts though. Those cuts were bleeding. All Mia could do was lift her head to look at the woman before her. The angry, distraught mother of the little girl who she was supposed to have protected. The blonde saw the woman’s body shake with anger, pain, and most of all, rage. How could anyone blame Jade for attacking Mia?

The tears kept falling from the blonde’s face even though her mind had gone numb. There was no way Mia could take on Jade when they were both at their peak condition. Mia would not fight against her when Jade was in such an emotional state. There was a mother standing in front of her, a mother trained in the art of killing. Mia had caused this mother to lose her only child. There was no way she was getting out of this without being that much closer to her breaking point.

Jade had every right to be angry at Speedy, at Mia. Mia could not imagine the pain that Jade was going through. Mia did not plan on ever having children. It was not to say that she did not like kids. She adored them. The risks and dangers she would be putting any children of hers in, it was too much. The risk of passing on her disease. The danger of having a mother who was or might still be a hero. That choice had been made about two years ago. Mia’s inability to protect Lian, it had sealed it.

As Mia looked at the woman rushing towards her, she opened her mouth to speak. The black hair flying wildly behind a face that had been the last thing many people had seen, it was almost surreal. The anger in Jade’s voice, was huge. It was the ocean of pain in her green eyes that made Mia open her mouth. If only to try and keep herself from drowning in that ocean of pain along with Jade.

A hiss of pain escaped Mia’s lips as she felt her ribs crack. Mia was not entirely sure what Jade had done to her. All of Speedy’s focus was on getting the words from her mouth out into the air. They were the only thing that could possibly protect her from death. The words could be the life preserver that would keep her from the terrible fate Jade was currently suffering. ”I had to go help protect the city. I wanted to take Lian with me but you know that a battle is no place for a child! She would have been in more danger if I had taken her! She was supposed to be safe at the apartment!”[/b] There was a tone of newscast to push the words into the air.

This was not Mia’s first time close to death. It wouldn’t be her first time dying. She had been stabbed before. The blonde had been shot with rays of light, arrows, and bullets. Mia had been through hell before. Hell had never had a face that would forever haunt her though. The face of an angel which should be nowhere near hell. As Jade was about to plunge the sais as hard as she could into the black and yellow clad archer, Mia opened her mouth again. ”I couldn’t take her with me into battle and let her risk being killed! If I had known, If I had known the building was in the blast radius, I would have taken Lian and run. I would have run with her to somewhere where she would never be able to be hurt. Star City would not have needed me for their hero! They had Green Arrow! I would have taken her as far away as possible from all of this! But I didn’t, because I had no idea any of this would happen.”[/b]

The walls Mia had built to hold back the pain and tears was cracking more and more now. She would not let it break yet though. She could not let herself fall apart now. Her blue eyes set themselves on Jade’s emerald ones. ”Go ahead and kill me, Jade. It’s not going to bring her back! This city needs a hero now more then ever. Killing me may make you feel better. Hell, it may make me feel better. But there won’t be anyone to save other mother’s babies! And that.. That isn’t what Lian would want!”[/b]

[che]

"Don't tell me what Lian would have wanted!" she screamed. Her trembling hands still gripped the handle of the sais as she stared at Mia with burning eyes. She pulled the blade out quickly and punched the girl across the face as hard as she could. "If you had done what you were suppose to do, she'd still be here. How could you be so utterly stupid?!" Jade said. She kicked Mia's ribs. "The city didn't need you. Lian needed you. Would you have left your own child behind like that? You should have stayed by her side, get her somewhere safe if the city was in danger!" Jade kicked her again. "And just who the hell are you? Why would Roy trust my daughter with you? Does he know how irresponsible you are? How HEARTLESS you are?!" Jade kicked her again making sure she heard something crack.

...
"Roy, I know this puts you in an awkward position," Jade finally said, breaking the silence. He had just seen his daughter for the first time and now he was in a state of shock. They sat in the room adjacent to Lian's while she slept. He couldn't help but stare at the door, almost as if he could see right through it and to his napping daughter. "You'll have to trust me when I say I didn't plan this, or even expect it. But you're here so I have to ask..." Roy blinked (finally) and looked at Jade. "What is your intention now?" They stared at each other. Roy hoped to read some sort of indication off her expression, but Jade did stoic far too well. He parted his lips but closed them right after. "I don't have an intention, or any plan, or a next move. I'm her father, and that's that." Jade sighed. "You can walk away. You have your Titans. If you want, you can-" "No, I can't, Jade. You talk about me being put in an awkward position, it's just as awkward for you. We weren't trying to be parents, but we are now. There's no choice to it, no other plans. I'm her dad, your her mom. That's it." A tear fell from Jade's eyes. Roy stood up and sat next to her. They had not seen each other for almost a year now, so he wasn't quick to put his arm around her. That is, until she grabbed his hand. Roy wrapped her in a hug and they sat there quietly until Lian woke up crying.

...
"You can cry all you want Jade, but that doesn't change anything." "Are you kidding me? You think I'm trying to manipulate you with fake tears? I am capable of feelings, you know?" "Really? REALLY? That's...yeah, that's about the least convincing thing I've heard of." "Don't pretend to know me, Roy. You-" "Wow. You're really going to commit to this, aren't you?" "Commit to what?" "To this bullshit victim persona." "What?!" "You know you can get Lian back if you stopped living like you do. Just drop out of it. She needs you. I can give her everything she wants, except you. You don't have any idea what it's like to lie to her. No wait, of course you do because that's all you do!" Jade pulled her arm back and with her entire body, she punched Roy across the face. He stumbled backward until he fell on the couch, gripping his cheek. "No, Roy! No! You don't know how much it kills me to lie to her. You have no idea how it eats at me to think that one day, she's going to find out what a horrible person I am. Even if I dropped out of everything, it won't make up for what I've done. If I stopped and came to live nearby so I can see her, how long will it be until the police find me? Which one of your friends will rat me out? I can never have what you have. NEVER. I will always be a criminal and all Lian will do is question herself about it. 'Will I end up like her?' 'Will I have the same fate?' It's questions like that I had of my mother that made me become who I am, and look where I am now. I'm begging you to take care of Lian for me and continue to lie. I can't stop. I don't have any other option. I messed up," Jade said. She sat down on the coffee table and buried her face in her hands.

...
While Mia was on the floor writhing in pain, Jade stared at the wall where her blade had left a hole. "Do you know what it's like to make a lifetime of mistakes?" she asked, far more calmer than she had been for the past ten minutes. "Lian was so smart. Maybe too smart for her own good. She was creative and brave. She had a great sense of humor for her age. And she had the biggest heart of anyone I know, although I've never known that many good people. My point is, Lian was my greatest accomplishment. She was going to go on and do great things, things I never could. She was my baby, and now she's gone," Jade whispered. She sniffled and walked back toward the window she had used to enter the apartment. "It's over now." Jade crawled out the window and left Mia in the dark lonely apartment.

[Exit Cheshire]

[Speedy]

Mia simply stood there is silence as Jade angrily yelled at her. The fist connected with the left side of Mia’s face. It made a loud smack as the blonde’s head turned to the right as the force of the punch forced her head that way. There was no doubt that there would a large bruise on her face soon. Mia ended up falling onto her knees as the kicks started coming.

This was not the first time Mia had been beaten. Heck it was not even the first time she might die due to angering someone which resulted in her getting beaten up. Her father if she could even call him that, had done that plenty of times. This was different though. The archer felt that she deserved this beating. That she might even deserve to die. She had failed to protect her niece. How much more could she fail so easily?

---
”Hey there. I‘m Mia. I‘m here to take you home to your daddy.”[/b] Mia kneeled in front of the little raven haired girl in front of her. The blonde had been told to come get Lian from the Titans Tower. Roy had something that came up and made it so he couldn’t pick his own daughter up. He had promised to be at the Queen household when they got there though. ”I’m Lian. Daddy says that I have to ask people the safety code before they can take me anywhere. Do you know it?”[/b] Mia smiled as she spoke the odd phrase. ”Purple puppies are Pinkie Pie’s favorite sort of party guest.”[/b] Lian clapped her hands and jumped up and down before Mia picked her up and took her home. When they had finally reached the house and Mia had taken Lian’s helmet, she watches as her niece ran towards Roy. ”DADDY! I missed you.””Lian. I missed you too. Did you say thank you to Mia?”[/color]”Thank you Auntie Mia!”[/b] Mia could not help but smile as she watched Roy scoop Lian into his arms and have her wrap her tiny arms around his neck. She gave them both a smile and a two fingered salute. ”No problem. I would gladly pick you up anytime, Lian. After all, you are my favorite niece.”[“I’m your only niece!””You are also her smartest niece too. Now, let’s go get ready for dinner.”[“Ok Daddy! See you later Auntie Mia!”[/b] Mia watched as Roy took Lian into the house to get ready for dinner. There was no doubt in Mia’s mind at that moment that she would do whatever she could to protect that little girl.

---

The blonde stared at her phone for a second. The call she had just received was one of a dire emergency. She was needed to help the city. Some guy had apparently planted bombs all around Star City that would send it into another dimension. Her uniform, bow, quiver, and belt were there, just in case. She was not sure if she should leave though. She was watching Lian. Mia couldn’t leave her niece alone. Ollie said there did not seem to be any bombs near them though. Lian was nowhere in the blast zone. Lian could not come with her to fight. That was too dangerous. Mia knew it would be safer for her wonderful niece in her own home.

Mia smiled and got a communicator out of her utility belt. She knelt before the dark haired child before her. Lian was coloring a picture in her coloring book while watching My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic. The blonde too in a deep breath. ”Lian, I need to go. There is a bad guy who says he is going to hurt a lot of people in Star City.””You aren’t going to take me with you are you? Cause I could get hurt, right?”[/b] Mia sighed. Lian was smart. The blonde wondered how much she knew that she had learned due to having a family that fought to protect all of the Earth. It was unfair. ”Just come back ok? Be safe and save people! That’s what I tell Daddy! You can do it, Auntie Mia! When you come back, we can watch TV together and make cookies!”[/b] Lian seemed so cheerful. The worry was plain as the nose on her face though. It was not fair that Lian had to worry if her family members would come home or not all the time. No child should ever have to worry about that. ”Ok! I’ll even paint your nails purple. If your dad says it is ok. Now I want you to have this. IF you need me, just press the button and you will be able to talk to me, ok?””Ok, Auntie Mia! Be safe!”[/b] Lian nodded in understanding. Mia quickly got into her uniform and placed the earpiece in her right ear so she could talk with Lian. She hugged her niece tightly.”Auntie Mia! You have to Pinkie Pie promise to come back!”[/b] Mia sighed, reciting the silly promise and doing the hand motions with it. ”I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye. See you later Lian. Remember to use the communicator if you need me.””Ok! See you later Auntie Mia! Be careful!”[/b] Then, Mia walked out the door to go save Star City.

---
As Mia lay on the floor, she groaned in pain. The blonde was pretty sure her ribs were at least cracked, if not broken. There was an open wound that was bleeding at her shoulder where the sais had pierced her. Her face felt like it had been made into ground beef. Jade’s voice seemed to fade in and out. The woman punched a whole in the wall before leaving. ”It’s over now.”[/b] Then, Jade left through the window they had both come in. The words “It’s over now” repeated themselves in Mia’s head. Was she dying? No, not yet. She just was really badly injured. Mia managed to pull herself over to her belt and grabbed down on the emergency signal. Connor should be getting her coordinates and be headed there right now. Mia tried her best to stay awake. She was not sure if Connor coming in through the window was a dream or real. His voice sounded distant. The words came out softly filled with pain. ”I told her the truth. This is my form of apology to her. For letting her baby die. But, it’s too late to apologize.”[/b]

Then everything went fuzzy and black as Mia’s body went limp. She let herself fall into the darkness to soothe the pain for just a while.

[Exit Mia]