Simple Revelations

"Is she going to be alright?" Lucy asked Jebediah who was cautiously examining Carol.

"I'm not sure. Someone hit her with a blast of cold," Jebediah said worriedly. "From what I know, she absorbs ambient heat at the moment to power up."

"It's why the kitchen never gets too warm when she and the others are making candy," Lucy remarked, nodding.

"I didn't know that," Rena said, kneeling next to Jebediah.

It didn't escape Lucy's notice that Rena was clutching a bit of Jebediah's shirt where she thought no one would notice in a tight white-fingered grasp.

"That's why she's out. Her system's been shocked," Jebediah said. On his shoulder Trolli squeaked, making him hunch over just a little bit more.

"Then we need to go even faster than we were," Lucy said, turning towards the stacks of metal plates.

Cassidy looked up from where she was leaning against Aarti. She'd managed to recover enough to half-stand instead of the weak leaning she'd managed at first. Cassidy still looked woozy, though.

"They hit me with some sort of tranquilizer, I think. It was all so fast. I saw Carol go down, and I was trying to get to her and boom! I don't even know who hit me. Not if it was the overlords or, uh, 'friendly' fire." Cassidy put a hand to her head, wincing. "Clearly, they weren't expecting my mini-barrier for all the good it did me."

"Mini-barrier, you say?" Jebediah asked, looking up with interest.

"Recovery and then research," Lucy prodded, rolling her eyes. "Carol's not going to die on us anytime soon, right?"

"No, she's just unconscious. Her body is starting to warm up even now." Jebediah glanced at Rena and then at Lucy.

"Then we're going. Cassidy isn't unconscious, so it'll still work. They probably wanted to stop the drones, following the expected train of thought." Lucy smiled a little. "At least that's following our plans. Now to continue them."

She looked at the little envelope in her hand. It was a little crumpled by now, but still sealed. Lucy gently pried open the envelope and shook out its contents.

They all fell silent, staring. Aarti looked away, her fists clenching. Jebediah put up an almost automatic hand to touch Trolli as his other grabbed Rena's who pressed closer to him, her face pale. Court's jaw worked silently before he closed his eyes and looked away. Cassidy bowed her head as she sank to the ground.

"It's not all bad," Lucy said softly. "We followed orders, and we're still here."

"But Lucy," Rena said, looking up at her. Pale clouds seemed to swirl in the depths of her eyes.

"We will take everyone out of here. Again. And no one is going to stop us," Lucy continued firmly. "Now, let's do this before anyone comes up with a way to stop us."

Lucy's fingers clenched. Then, she shook her head.

"Do I just do it?"

"I would think so?" Court answered. He gave her an encouraging smile. "Just think of it as another duty, only better?"

Lucy felt a wicked smile bloom and saw an answering one in Court. Then she shook her head again.

"Why am I worrying? That is so unlike me," Lucy said, eliciting laughs from her little coterie that eased something deep inside. She took a deep breath, slowing opening her palm. "Let's see."

"In the Darkness we fought

For the Light we all sought,

To avenge those who've gone before,

To tell the overlords nevermore,

To earn justice with all our might

This I so swear by Green Lantern's light!"

They all flinched at the sudden swell of green light. Lucy glanced towards the hole in the creche wall. They'd moved away from it in case something like this happened, but none of them expected the light to be so bright.

"I wonder if you have to wear it as a ring," Rena finally said.

"What?" Aarti glanced at her in confusion.

"Rings can be a bit bulky and ambiguous," Rena argued. "Plus, won't they be looking for a ring?"

"Maybe see if you can coax it to be something else like a bracelet?" Court ventured. Then he stopped and shook his head. "I can't believe I just said that about Kaylen's ring."

"Still, it might be possible," Jebediah mused, smiling just a little.

"It's not some fashion accessory!" Cassidy hissed, scandalized.

"No, it's our way out," Lucy said as she slipped it onto a finger. She followed up with a pair of fingerless gloves, hiding it from sight. "Let's see if we can't make it work if it's not visible, shall we?"

*****

"So, why are you trying to distract me," Niles asked, leaning against the lab wall, a slight smile on his face.

"Distract you?" San asked, looking up from his search of the file cabinet. It was an unusual thing to find in the labs. Usually the data was locked into a main database accessible only by datapads. "Why would I want to distract you? Don't even like you."

"Only you can get away with that," Niles said, pushing off from the wall. He frowned a little at the file cabinet. "What is in there, anyways? I've never been in this lab before."

San glanced at him from the corner of his eye, noting the faint hint of uneasiness. Niles was a twisty character even on the best of days, but the file cabinet was clearly a puzzle to them both. It was an unsettling thing that spoke of human involvement, a clear favored human at that.

The overlords held no interest in their bloodstock usually.

"There's a bunch of papers I can't understand," San admitted. He was trying his best to copy the information using his communicator, but it was more attuned to receiving reports than sending them out. "Maybe you understand more?"

San pulled out a file and held it out to Niles. Niles paused for a second before accepting it. San turned back to the rest of the paperwork inside the file cabinet, frowning at the unfamiliar words.

"Crap!" Niles snarled. "We need to go back," he told San. "No matter what my darling sister is planning, she's not ready for this."

San stopped his search.

"What are you talking about?" He asked Niles even as his eyes scanned the rest of the shadowy lab. It seemed just a bit darker than it'd been when they'd arrived.

And then Niles told him.

San had to agree. It wasn't something Lucy was going to see coming.