Finally, the story is revealed! Find out what happened to Aflima and his team and the next steps to be taken!*****
Analisa gingerly held her daughter's hand as they walked to the makeshift conference room in an old building not far from Charlotte, North Carolina. It had been three days since the explosion of the Springflower, and Rosa had no major injuries of note - shock and exhaustion were the main concerns of the medical team. As for her colleagues, Rosa was surprised that each of her teammates were not only safe and sound, but carried no significant injury of their own. Aflima was the worst-looking of the lot, but still carried a grin on his face and he gave Macaia and her daughter a wink of greeting.
On seeing Turian, the large man beat a fist to his chest and chuckled, "Will take more than a bomb to dent me, youngster."
Flashbulb punched Turian. "If I didn't catch you after saving Rosa, the ground would have had something to say about it, big guy."
They both laughed, then took a seat. Rosa gave a small smile to her godfather, who looked relieved yet deep in thought. She then sat down herself, and tried to relax. After all, she was in the presence of her nearest and dearest friends.
Her godfather's next words shook her.
"We need to split up," said Tri-blade, looking towards the table instead of his teammates.
Nobody spoke.
"Sorry to throw everyone for a loop," he continued. "Director Nova of BADGE reached out to us not too long after the incident and after giving him the briefing of everything that occurred, we agreed on one particular thing.
"World Corps have continuously held an advantage over BADGE, and by proxy, over all the individual leagues. The situation with Torfield has added another factor to the equation. Torfield may not have been able to destroy us, but we don't know if she was able to infiltrate our own intelligence networks or any key data during her time with us."
Rosa's mouth dropped.
"Until the World Corps is rooted out and former Agent Torfield apprehended, it's in our best interest to disperse for the time being," Tri-blade continued.
"Why, though?" asked Aflima. Another voice spoke up, and everybody turned to look at the screen behind Tri-blade, where Ability Mage appeared, alongside Aflima's fiancée, Devra. "Before this incident, it was thought that we were in a position where we needed to disperse anyway, to create the appearance of being disparate from BADGE while helping to investigate World Corps' activity," he said in a monotone.
"This situation, while tragic for Agent Janice and her loved ones, might have expedited the process. If BADGE thinks the Realm Defenders is no more, then we may be able to operate independently without arousing attention from World Corps.
Tri-blade added, "Nobody's obligated to venture out on their own, of course. There's been some word of a future tournament of a bigger scale, and one where we each could make additional alliances while at the same time tapping into any leads into World Corps - or any other threats that may be out there.
"Guys," he continued. "This is not the end, or anything approaching it. Please keep your heads up even as you mourn Janice Rollin. We are here to protect and defend. Feel the love within you and from each of us. Let it spur you to keep pressing on."
He got to his feet, just in time to meet a rushing Rosa, arms out, tears falling down her face. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his upper chest.
"I don't,... know where to go," she cried quietly.
Tri-blade brushed Rosa's hair softly. "I got you. There's a good group of eager guys known as the Freaks leagues, I think you'll fit in well. I'm also recommending spots for some of the other folks. Don't worry, Rosa. Aflima and I will be just as accessible as ever... especially when something wild goes down."
"Like every two months," chuckled Rosa as she wiped her eyes.
"Yeah," Tri-blade smiled. "Your mom will help too, you know. Go to her."
Rosa gave a last squeeze, then walked away, miserably failing at trying to look calm and collected. She left the room just as Aflima was asking Devra why she didn't fly to meet him while Rosa's mother did. Rosa smiled briefly, glad to know her embarrassing moment was about to be eclipsed for the time being.
ID: 10898 (Forum post by ID: 10890)
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