Where In The World Are The Killers?

Welcome Back, Lars!

The sound of wheels rolling on asphalt serenaded Lars as he approached Astra, dragging his suitcase behind him. He had returned from Australia a couple of hours ago and finally collected his luggage from the baggage claim. Now all he needed to do was climb aboard Astra, and he could reunite with the team. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face them, but he needed to help them take down SOMBRA. He wouldn't watch from the sidelines after everything his wifey- after everything Angela had done.

Lars stops at the base of Astra's stairs, looking up at the open door. To think, just weeks ago, they were all still happy and trusting towards each other. Then Angela killed Lavinia, which revealed her dark secret... Now, his wife was in jail for the rest of her life, and his daughters no longer had their mother. He was still waiting for this to turn out to be a nightmare he could wake up from, but deep down, he knew this was his life now...

He was thankful for his family and friends. His parents held him as he mourned the loss of his wife, his mother playing with his hair like she used to when he was little; his father whispered words of comfort to him to soothe his tears. But it would take more than hugs and talking to heal his broken heart... He wanted his old life back; he wanted the woman he loved back. But she was gone, replaced by a SOMBRA monster he didn't recognize.

"Lars?"

The named man looks up, spotting his little brother at the top of the stairs. Lars avoided making eye contact with Oberon, not wanting to see the concern in his matching green eyes. So he takes in his brother's new outfit. Fitted black pants, black boots with purple laces, a light gray shirt, and a dark purple leather jacket with a Bureau badge pinned to the left side. Seeing the wedding band on Oberon's finger made Lars unconsciously fiddle with his own ring, not ready to part with it. He was happy that his brother had his husband back, Nathan was a great man, and the two were perfect together.

Unlike him and Angela...

"Lars?" Oberon repeats, now standing in front of his brother.

Lars frowns; when had Oberon moved?

"Hey, Ronnie," Lars tries to smile. But judging by the frown on the younger's face, it wasn't convincing.

Oberon hugs his brother, resting his cheek against Lars's head. Lars returns the gesture, holding the younger, yet annoyingly taller, man. The two maintained the embrace for a few moments before letting go.

"I missed you," Oberon smiles.

"I missed you too, Ronnie," Lars replies, softly smiling and meaning it, "Mum, Dad, and the girls say hi! The girls said Australia's not the same without you!"

He laughs, "nice to know I'm missed! I'll try to video call them later; seeing those little ankle biters will be nice!"

That got Lars to chuckle, "yeah... How is everyone?"

"Good, especially considering we just froze our asses off in Antarctica!" he rolls his eyes, "we got to meet Ingrid's cousin Anna; you would have liked her boyfriend, Chris; he loved making corny puns! Oh! We also met Carman's sister Camila! Her daughter is adorable! And we ran into Adalet and Nathan's old teammate, Grace!"

"Sounds like I missed a lot," he commented.

Oberon shrugged, "eh, you avoided a couple murder investigations... Nathan will be happy to have you take over the forensic work again!"

"I bet," Lars replies, "is the rest of the team already aboard?"

He nods, "yup! They're putting the last of their things away! We're flying to Argentina in a few hours!"

"Then I better put my suitcase away," he says, grabbing the handle.

Oberon leads the way into the plane and raises the stairs after they are onboard. He pulls the door closed and pats his brother's shoulder before excusing himself to prepare the aircraft for takeoff. Lars finds himself standing alone in the hallway and decides to take the long way to his room, walking towards the back staircase of the plane.