Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Naturally he still couldn’t afford to dawdle. Sooner or later someone in security was bound to catch on and then things would go south. Working as quickly and quietly as he could, Loren eased the locks on the desk drawers open, rewarded when several small clicks sounded at once. Perhaps it was a lack of funding or blind confidence coupled with a lack of incidents, but he was a bit surprised S.T.A.R. thought a few common locks were sufficient to safeguard the personal effects of its scientists. He couldn’t complain in the end though, as it made things easier for him. Now a handprint or retina scanner, that would have given him problems.
With the same thread of conscious thought he eased the drawers open. It was so tempting to yank on them physically and quickly rifle through the belongings therein, but the less prints he left the more it would slow any pursuers down. Papers, copies of basic faxes, general office supplies, and discs of generic computer software greeted him. Loren bit back a frustrated growl. It figured. Idly misplacing or leaving important things anywhere other than home wasn’t exactly a flaw his twin was known for. Replacing what he found and shutting the drawers, Loren focused on psychically resetting the locks.
Idiot! he chided himself. I should have thought about that sooner! I’ve come here and practically wasted my time for nothing!
With a slight snarl he shut the last drawer on a slam, and it was accompanied by a wooden clunk as a hidden cabinet under the desk suddenly flung its door wide open. He jumped back, forcing down a yelp, and then crouched to see what he’d found. The lighting in the office was poorly angled to really bring the details into view, but there appeared to be a small crate tucked away in the catch behind the door.
Loren’s breath caught in his throat and his heart began to hammer in excitement. Now this was more like it! Gingerly he tugged the box free and coaxed it into his hands, shutting the hidden compartment’s door again with a thought. Not quite a crate after all, but definitely a metal lockbox with quite a hefty weight to it. Turning it over, he found something that made his discovery all the more rewarding: an elegant symbol like twisting ivy and thorns was branded into the side of the metal.
“Paydirt,” he mumbled, unable to keep a dark smile from his face. How did the saying go? “Ask and ye shall receive”, wasn’t it? If this was the case, then he had a feeling what he needed had all but been gift-wrapped for him in this lockbox. Getting to his feet, Loren fought to keep his face a neutral mask as he wrapped up his little deception and formally left S.T.A.R. Labs in silent triumph. Their records would eventually flag a problem, but he intended to have vanished and put his plans into motion by then.
Heaven help anyone who tried to stop him.
“And Voelith’r is the baby,” Príya recounted cautiously as she watched Hyi’en color in his siblings. Two days had already flown by since the two had met, and the first order of business they had decided on for their playdate was familiarizing one another with their respective families. And as Príya had plenty of paper and crayons to work with, once Hyi’en got used to them, the two began illustrating their siblings in charts to give to one another.
“Yeah,” Hyi said excitedly, pointing to the tiniest little Tamaranean he had drawn. “You’re getting better at pronouncing names. A lot of people take forever.”
“You still have so many to remember!” Príya shook her head. “I thought I had a hard time with my sisters!”
“Yeah, but at least I have Linnie and Voe, whereas you’re the youngest and everyone gets to boss you around?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” she agreed. “But it makes me upset. I am the youngest so I always get called the baby. Even Mama calls me her baby and acts like I can’t do things. I know I still have a lot to learn and I’m not grown-up yet, but I’m not a baby either. Do you ever get treated that way by your brothers and sisters?”
The Tamaranean boy heaved a great sigh, leaning back as though seeking answers from the clouds. “All the time! Especially after—” he paused to jab a bit at the scarred left half of his face for emphasis. “After this. Tann’is and Nathyio treat me like I’m breakable. Nath still acts like I don’t understand anything.”
“Ugh, we’re ten years old!” Príya let out a groan as she laid her head against the table. “We are going to grow up soon.”
“Príya,” Hanin called in a somewhat snappy tone from just inside the living room. “Don’t put your head on the table, it’s dirty out there! Aunt Jinan said she doesn’t clean the deck that often!”
The younger girl lifted her head a fraction to look through the closed screen door and glower at her eldest sister. She didn’t dare maintain the look for too long however lest Hanin go on a lecturing tirade, and instead exchanged a flat look with her new friend. Hyi’en gave an exasperated shake of his head. The two of them were spending their playdate so far on Jinan’s apartment deck in order to be sort of outside without getting in trouble. Most of the older teenagers had left to play something called paintball, but Hanin had volunteered to stay behind and watch the two, not having interest in the activity herself. When Hyi’en and Príya had asked if they could tag along, they were met with disappointment in the answer of “you have to be twelve years old or you’re not allowed on the field”. Like it or not, they were stuck with the wet blanket sister as their only other company while everyone else was gone.
“It doesn’t look that dirty,” Hyi remarked, swiping a finger across the table’s surface. He examined his finger a second and then showed it to Príya, revealing it looked no different.
“No, it’s not,” she agreed, rolling her eyes. “Hanin just loves to have something to complain about. It’s her hobby.”
“Well that’s boring and dumb,” he declared simply, resuming his work on coloring his chart. Príya gave an enthusiastic nod of agreement, her head of wavy dark hair bobbing to and fro. She liked having Hyi as a friend. They’d barely known each other for three days and already they had realized they could relate to one another very well, despite how different they were. In fact, Príya was beginning to feel like Hyi might very well be the only other sensible person around, given how teenagers could be.
“So what are you going to do now?” she asked. “About being here. I mean, you came to Earth looking for Ilo, right? So now what?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “I dunno. I wasn’t even sure I was going to find him. Earth has way more cities than Tamaran, and it kind of got overwhelming. Now I’m not sure. I’m probably going to have to talk with Ilo about it.”
“But doesn’t he work here? Kind of?”
“Yeah, that’s what he told me.”
They fell quiet, unsure how to fill the awkward pause. There was something utterly ominous about the unspoken thought that soon they might both have to leave. Between the Basir family having to return from their trip go to back to Bialya and Hyi not even sure if he would stay or go back to his home planet, neither felt like entertaining the idea they might never see each other again. It was too sad to consider having to lose a friend you just made.
Abruptly there was a solid knock at the apartment door, and the two looked over in time to see Hanin jump visibly where she sat. Fighting back giggles, they watched her cast a suspicious look in the door’s direction. There was the chance one of Jinan’s dance students was dropping by to talk or ask Jinan question, not knowing she was unavailable, but all three of them doubted it. Nuriyah had called shortly after the group left to give Hanin a heads-up that another one of the boy’s from Ilo’s posse would be coming over. G-906—Hanin had been certain initially that name was some kind of prank—had declined the offer to go paintballing with everyone else, but made a comment that he would be willing to hang out whenever the rest came back. This meant he would be showing up at Jinan’s apartment sooner or later to wait around for the others, which likely meant the Genomorph boy was the one knocking. Letting out a grumble that was more like a growl, Hanin got to her feet, marched to the door and pulled it open.
“Yes?” she said irritably, and Príya and Hyi’en snuck the screen door open to get a better look.
“Is this the Basir residence?” The guest spoke calmly and coolly. He looked like a gangly teenager once you paid close enough attention, but the blue skin, crimson markings and red eyes were more than enough to differentiate him from any human. The thick pair of horns curving up and back above his brow, and his long, pointed ears that flared out to the sides of his head only cemented the fact he was extranormal.
“It is,” Hanin admitted begrudgingly, looking like she’d been forced to eat something bitter as she stood aside to let him in. G-906’s expression remained impassive as he entered, boredly taking in his surroundings as he made a beeline for the couch.
“You are the sister the Blue Lantern mentioned, Hanin.” It was uncertain whether he was making a statement or an inquiry. The elder Basir sister scowled a bit as she shut the door again.
“Yes,” she replied, making her way back to her seat on the couch, giving him a quick side-eye. “And I take it you are Gee…”
“G-906,” he rattled off the number as he dropped into one of the chairs. “That is correct.”
Hanin’s scowl deepened as she settled back onto the couch, reaching for the television remote. “Listen, G-906. Let us make something clear right now: I don’t like you.”
The Genomorph had already picked up a magazine from a nearby pile and started thumbing through it. “I feel apathetic towards you,” he responded vaguely, not even bothering to look up as he addressed her. Hyi’en and Príya exchanged a wince and a shrug. The atmosphere in the living room was officially uncomfortable, but at least G-9’s indifference to Hanin’s attitude probably meant they wouldn’t get in a fight. Quietly, the two shut the screen door and sliding glass door and returned to their table.
“Your sister really isn’t the most friendly person, is she?” Hyi’en said with another wince. Príya shook her head.
“I don’t think she wanted to come to America to visit in the first place,” she remarked. “She’s always been strict and tries to act very grown-up, but ever since Nuriyah moved here after becoming a Blue Lantern, Hanin seems to get grumpy a lot more. I don’t know why either.” The petite girl let out a sigh and went over to the deck railing, folding her arms on it with a sigh as she looked out at the neighborhood street. “This place is really exciting and there’s so much to do!”
Hyi half-vaulted on the railing, using his hands to balance himself as she leaned out for a look too. “You’re telling me! It’s a lot like Kerua, back home in Varyia, but it’s also different.”
“Kerua? Varyia?” she echoed curiously. “Are those cities in Tamaran?”
“Varyia’s a province of Tamaran,” he explained patiently. “Kerua’s its capital city. That’s where my family lives. Earth is a lot like it in some ways, but different too, so I don’t feel so homesick.”
“Hey, kind of like us, right?” Príya said, turning to look at him. “We’re pretty different, but we’re also kind of the same! We both know more than one language, we play a lot of the same games, we both have big siblings that left home and became heroes…”
“You bet we are!” Hyi’en answered enthusiastically. After a second, he glanced toward the park, a pensive expression on his face. “Hmm. Do you think we could ask them to take us over there?”
Príya followed his gaze, easily spotting the playground equipment from there. She frowned sullenly. “We could probably ask but Hanin will probably say no, even if G-906 came along too.” But as she looked out at the parke, a thought began to creep into her mind. She and Baheera—and even Nuriyah at times—had snuck out on occasion to visit their father where he worked at the Qurac-Bialyan border and catch a glimpse of the soldiers. But the park was much closer to Aunt Jinan’s apartment than the border was to their family’s home, and it was a lot less dangerous than an armed patrol…
She looked at Hyi’en, wavy curls bouncing on her shoulders as she turned. “What if we sneak out and go play anyway?” she whispered conspiratorially. She watched as his green eyes went wide, hoping he would be up for it.
“Sneak out?” he echoed, casting a quick glance back to the sliding door and the room beyond. “Do you think we’d get back before they notice?”
“I don’t know, but I want to try anyway,” Príya whispered, excitedly snatching up all of their work and quickly stuffing it back into her tote bag. Hyi grinned as he jumped in to help.
“We aren’t going that far, so if Hanin freaks out, she shouldn’t have much to worry about,” he remarked. “She shouldn’t get in big trouble.”
“She won’t, Baheera and I sneak out all the time at home. My parents will know it wasn’t all her fault. Can you carry me down to the ground?”
He nodded, grasping her forearms tightly. “Hold on, okay?”
She nodded back, gripping his forearms in response with as much strength as she had. The two exchanged grins of excitement as he lifted into the air, silent as he could, pulling Príya along. She had to force down a giggle as they went over the deck railing, and she pulled her legs up under her as they floated down to the ground below. But once they’d carefully landed, the two caught each other’s eyes and the laughter started up. Fearing they’d be heard even from the ground, they proceeded to shush one another, which almost wound up starting yet more giggles. Bursting with excitement, they raced off to go play, unaware their lives were about to change forever.
~
Panic wasn’t something you could outrace or avoid forever. And Loren’s paranoia was beginning to creep up on him. It wasn’t going to be long before someone—anyone—caught up to him and then he was really going to be in for it.
I can’t, he desperately kept telling himself. I can’t fail. If I fall now, I’ll never free myself. They’re not going to take me back to The Pipeline. Not without a fight. No, I’m going to win this, whatever it takes.
Perhaps it was a direct result of that paranoia, perhaps it was simple bad luck, but once he got into Philadelphia, Loren began to get the feeling of eyes on his back. It was on a bus ride that he finally noticed the man with the snowy hair. He looked close to Loren’s own age and aside from the stark-white locks, there wasn’t anything necessarily that stood out about him. That is, at least to those who paid little attention to their surroundings. No, he seemed to always just be looking away whenever Loren would glance at him; the more he observed the man, the more Loren realized he’d not advanced a single page in the book he should have been reading. And then there was the clear earpiece with its wire disappearing into the man’s shirt collar.
Cool it, Loren, he told himself, constantly taking deep, steadying breaths. So the guy is most likely a fed. Doesn’t mean he’s after you. I can probably ditch him at the next stop.
But the fed with the white hair didn’t leave at the next stop or the stop after that. As he boarded the third bus, Loren’s tension was reaching its peak. Watching the guy board right behind him and pick a seat two rows back only confirmed his suspicions. This fed was following him. He was probably eyeing the duffel bag Loren had with him too.
Figures! he thought irritably. Didn’t matter how good he was or how carefully he covered his tracks; S.T.A.R. labs had found out anyway.
Okay, keep cool, don’t panic. So he’s a fed, and he’s tailing me. This sucks but if he doesn’t know that I know, I can play this to my advantage.
Roughly five minutes passed before the man with the white hair made his move. The bus was coasting along when Loren caught movement in the rearview mirror in his peripheral, seeing the man leaving his seat and edging forward. He made his way to Loren’s row, reseating himself on the opposite side of the aisle. It took Loren a tremendous amount of willpower to keep from clenching his jaw as he continued to face forward, only sparing the guy a quick glance that he hoped would be seen as nonchalant. Thankfully he’d learned a thing or two from his time at Iron Heights, and his once-over revealed the man wasn’t carrying a weapon. Not an easily accessible one, at least.
“Public transport systems are a hassle, aren’t they?” the man said abruptly. Loren paused for a moment before responding. A talker. Why did they always talk when they first approached you?
Probably to see if you lower your guard, some part of his mind remarked. Either that, or he thinks he’s here to negotiate me out of doing something drastic.
“Yeah, they can be,” he answered, trying to give off an air of disinterest.
“Never seem to get you where you want to go,” the man said without missing a beat. He apparently took even that minimal response as a cue to go on. His intense gaze shifted, locking onto the metahuman. Loren looked up, deciding to smile thinly just to antagonize.“Really?” he prompted. “What makes you say that?”
All pretense at friendliness vanished from the fed’s face in a wave of cool determination. “Can’t help but notice we’ve been on the same bus a couple of times. And you seem like you’re a little tense. Missed opportunity?”
Loren fought to keep his expression neutral and in the process, he noticed they were coming up on a tight turn ahead.
“Actually,” he replied, managing a small, confident smirk, “I’m one of those idiots who believes in making my own opportunities.”
The man’s eyes barely had enough time to widen before Loren acted, throwing his powers out as the bus turned. With resounding bangs that jolted the entire vehicle into a swerve, the rest of the passengers were rocked violently and began screaming as they were thrown about in their seats. The man let out a cry of alarm and the driver fought to gain control. But as he was trying to turn into the spin, Loren shifted his mental focus, wrenching the steering wheel just enough to the side. Glass shattered and screams renewed as the metal arm of a pole broke through a window, and the bus teetered violently at an angle, threatening to go down on its side.
Now or never! Loren gripped the back of his seat and the one in front of him to steady himself, throwing his attention to the emergency exit and forcing it open with a thought.
“Always knew I picked the window seats for a reason,” he muttered, launching his duffel bag out the opening and following closely behind it. The bus was still leaning at an angle, all of its left-side wheels off the ground. Trying to keep his balance for a moment would prove tricky.
“Hey!” the fed roared at him. “Stop!”
Loren glanced down at him through the emergency exit and shook his head. He wasn’t sure why the guy thought that would just work. “Ciao!” Twisting about, he slid down and dropped to the ground. Several cars had come screeching to a halt all around, and a good number of people were getting out of their cars.
“Tires blew out,” he barked to those nearest. “Someone call 911 now!”
Cell phones were rapidly whipped out as onlookers hastened to assist, and the bus gave a metallic creak. Loren looked around wildly. He needed a way to disappear. Catching the eye of a small group of construction workers who stood staring, he trotted in their direction, waving to get their attention.
“Hey! My buddy in there’s going to start getting people out through the emergency exits! We need to help him, now!”
The claim had the desired effect. Camaraderie and a sense of helping to get people to safety could spur most into action in a dire situation. The construction workers rushed forward, shouting for others to come to the aid of the passengers on the bus. Loren lingered only for a few moments to ensure the flash mob was going into effect, then he started to slip away. The duffel bag containing the laptop and lockbox had been left near the scene with him, but once everyone nearby was set on helping his “buddy” get the other passengers to safety, he was able to stretch out his awareness and latch onto the bag, willing it back to him. Once he had it in his hands again he took off, moving as swiftly as he dared without attracting attention. It would take a moment for his snowy-haired pursuer to come after him, and he planned to use every second to his advantage. He was not going to be caught, not without a fight.
~
The sense that not all was right hit Hanin Basir without warning. She had actually managed to relax somewhat, at least for a short while. One of her aunt’s many luxuries was cable television, and while Hanin had a great many reservations about the sort of things America aired to its public, she had come very quickly to enjoy shows on the Food Network. Something about competitive cooking had just hooked her and it was rapidly becoming a de-stressor.
She’d gotten through a few episodes of one particularly vicious show when her thoughts wandered back to Nuriyah. Irritation threatened to rear its ugly head once more. Nuriyah had always been rather respectful and had a good sense of responsibility, but she was able to get away with too much, in Hanin’s opinion. And ever since becoming a Lantern—whatever it was that really meant—and moving to America, Nuriyah was becoming increasingly liberal in her views and attitudes. Hanin didn’t know why for sure that bothered her, but bother her it did. This was only then compounded by the fact their two younger sisters had begun hero-worshiping Nuriyah in the process. For heaven’s sake, Nuriyah was just allowed to go play this “paintball” game with a bunch of boys her age, unsupervised, and they’d even taken Baheera along with them! It was just asking for trouble, and setting a very poor example for Baheera.
Right on the heels of that thought, she suddenly felt something was off. It took her a second, but then she realized what it was.
“It’s too quiet,” she murmured, shooting to her feet. G-906 glanced up from a puzzle book he had been poking at, but if he was planning to say anything, she didn’t stop to find out. Crossing the room in a few swift strides, she all but threw herself at the deck doors and yanked them open. “Príya?”
The apartment deck was empty. Looking around, she saw no trace of her youngest sister or the exotic alien boy Príya had befriended. Even the paper and coloring supplies they had been drawing with earlier were completely gone. Hanin’s heart rate jumped as she started to freak out, dashing to the railing to look around.
“Príya! Hyi’en?! Príya!”
“You don’t need to panic,” a dispassionate voice spoke behind her. Whirling around, she was mildly surprised G-906 had moved from the chair he’d commandeered earlier. His red eyes blinked almost lazily as he regarded her. Her annoyance at the inhuman boy and his indifferent attitude spiked.
“Perhaps you do not care,” she snapped. “But I was responsible for watching the two of them and now I cannot find them! Why should I be calm?!”
“They went to the park nearby to play,” he declared plainly, and Hanin was relieved for a moment. But then her annoyance burned through it.
“And you did not think to mention that to me before?!”
“Why are you getting aggravated with me?” he asked, not concerned or confused so much as vaguely curious. “I did nothing aside from telling you just now where they went.”
“You could have told me sooner! And how did you know where they went anyway?!” she demanded. “Did you see them leave?”
“I read their minds,” he answered, as casual as if he’d been pointing out an interestingly-shaped cloud. Hanin stared at him for a second, her mouth falling open as she attempted to process the obviously ludicrous statement that had just left his mouth. After a second, she decided it wasn’t worth wasting the time or energy on and just shook her head.“Whatever!” she snapped, storming past him and snatching the keys off the keyrack on the wall.
“You’re going to go find them and bring them back here,” G-906 said plainly. As she glanced back over her shoulder to squint at him, he added with a bit of a sigh, “And you’re going to insist I come too, because you feel obligated not to leave a stranger alone in your aunt’s home.”
She raised an eyebrow skeptically. Maybe he could read minds.
“I already told you I can.”
Hanin scowled. “Will you please just come along?” she groaned in exasperation.
“Technically, I suppose since you stated that as a question with proper etiquette,” he replied, flipping the hood of his jacket over his head as he strode out the door first. Hanin took a deep breath, counted to ten, and let it out slowly.
I am going to be so happy when we can all just go home and forget about coming to America and then move on with our lives.
Locking the apartment behind them, she hastened to leave for the park, not bothering to see if the Genomorph actually followed her. She was livid and she intended to get a lecture of her own in with Príya and Hyi’en before the parents came home. In fact, if she could swing it, she wanted to have a few words with Nuriyah as well. Yes, this mess was a result of Nuriyah setting a poor example and if no one else was going to say it, then Hanin would!
By the time she made it to the park she was nearly sprinting, though she slowed down momentarily to look for the two kids. After a second she spotted them, climbing on and in a net-like metal dome and giggling loudly. Fuming, Hanin started stomping her way over to them.
“Príya!” she bellowed, and the petite ten-year-old froze, dangling by her hands from one of the metal bars. The alien boy also froze, hanging upside-down with his knees hooked through the top of the dome. The smiles slid off their laughing faces and Príya grumbled in disappointment.
“Príya, you are in so much trouble—”
{Hanin Basir, wait!}
The sound of G-906’s voice echoed in her mind and startled her so badly she almost stumbled on the spot. Spinning on her heel, she looked about wildly. The Genomorph, previously only following along at a leisurely pace, was sprinting toward them. He appeared, to her shock, to actually be somewhat alarmed.{We shouldn’t be here! We all need to leave, now!}
She hesitated, caught off-guard by such a drastic change in his demeanor. Tensing a little, she chose to address him. “What do you mean, we shouldn’t—”
The earth erupted under their feet and Hanin was flung into the air, tumbling over and over for an eternity that lasted in the blink of her eyes before she slammed against the ground and was sent rolling. She heard the Genomorph’s wordless shout and she struggled to breathe, the shock of impact sending waves of pain through her ribcage. The gasps of fear and awe from the two children reached her as well, and she fought to roll over and face them. Barely propping herself up on her elbows, Hanin couldn’t fully believe the scene that was unfolding before her.
Men in suits with guns were chasing another man. He appeared almost impossibly tall, with a wild look about him that was undeniably dangerous. Clutched to his chest in one hand was a bag, and the first thing that came to Hanin’s mind was he had to be some sort of thief. But then, a common thief surely wouldn’t be pursued by men who looked like political protection detail, would he? The severity of the situation abruptly made breathing even harder, and Hanin tried to cry out a warning to her little sister and her playmate, but all she managed was a weak groan.
Thankfully there was a small measure of comfort. The men in the suits began to slow down at the sight of civilians and called out, ordering the man they were chasing to stop. Good, they didn’t want to endanger anyone else. Hanin relaxed a fraction, her muscles beginning to feel weak as she trembled.
But that relief was short-lived. Someone shouted an order for the man to surrender whatever weapon he had stolen. All around the men in suits the ground suddenly burst into more eruptions as the man with the bag slowed to a halt with a snarl, lifting his other hand to reveal he was carrying some small device. Strange, it didn’t look quite like a weapon. In fact, if Hanin had to relate it to anything, it looked the most like a compass.
A humming shockwave shot out of the device in a pulse like a heartbeat. In a single moment, Hanin watched the wave slam into Príya and Hyi’en, and then a second later it also hit G-906. Nobody else seemed touched or affected by the strange energy, and when it washed over Hanin, she barely felt a tingle in her nerves. But whatever it was, it had a powerful effect, for both Príya and Hyi’en crumpled to the ground, unconscious and unmoving. G-9 also collapsed, though he still appeared semi-conscious. Hanin looked from him to the children in horror, her mind screaming against what was happening.
Suddenly the wild-looking man turned, going still as a predator spotting wounded prey as his wide-eyed gaze fell upon the two tiny forms inside the metal dome. And then unmistakably he began to advance in that direction.
“Stop!” Hanin managed a hoarse scream, finally finding her voice at this threat. “Don’t!”
He slowed his advance long enough to look her way, and all she caught was a glimpse of those eyes turning purple, glowing and crackling with energy right before a violent wind kicked up. It grew, rapidly becoming a cyclone wall around the man and the dome, ripping up more of the ground around them. In a few seconds, everything was obscured from view. She might have been back in Bialya, witnessing a freak sandstorm that came out of nowhere. Desperate, she screamed out again.
“Wait! Príya! Hyi’en! Príya!”
Slowly the cyclone died down, but when the dust settled there was no trace of the man or the two children, save for the newly inflicted wounds in the earth like battle scars. And Hanin, the eldest Basir sister who had spent all of her life trying to prove how strong she was, felt tears start to pour out of her eyes as dread overwhelmed her.She had failed.
That being said, it was interesting to write the final segment of this chapter following Hanin's point of view. I feel like she's technically the one Basir sister I've fleshed out the least, so this is some character development for her. I'll also leave you all to ponder on the implications of the device Loren stole affecting G-906 in addition to the two kiddos. 
Also, that "white-haired fed"? Technically a canon character. Apparently Agent Faraday decided to invite himself into Brave Shine to help balance a few things out, and quite frankly I'm not complaining. This will actually work out nicely (and it may eventually spur me to do something with him for the DC Headcanon Project, who knows.)
For those of you curious to know about the plethora of characters Zura has contributed, I leave you this link: android-zura.deviantart.com/ga…
Part one: fav.me/d9rn2c2
Part two: fav.me/d9unvk5
Part three: [You are here!]
Part four: fav.me/da60cpa
Part five: fav.me/dbbgvxd
Part six: [coming soon!]
Fic playlist: 8tracks.com/yoru-the-rogue/shi…
Korugarans, The Reach, Tamaraneans, Bialya, Metahumans, Iron Heights Penetentiary and The Pipeline, The Flash, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice and all related titles and elements are all © to DC Comics and Warner Bros. Productions, respectively.
The Basir family is © to me
Hyi'en, Ilokin'r, G-906, Rymir Sen, Extend, and Sam "Squall" Falton are all © to
Preview image used is © to
BG: shinefam IF YOU STEAL MY WRITING, YOU WILL BE HUNTED DOWN AND REPORTED
