A Siren's Echo [Young Justice]

Darkest

This chapter's a bit on the short and fast-paced side. Hopefully, it's still easy to follow though! Let me know what you think! Jenna's got a lot to deal with in this chapter, poor thing :(

~/~/~/~

Star City

March 23, 17:23 PDT

When Siren dropped onto a familiar rooftop, she wasn't surprised to see Banshee already there and waiting. She mimicked his position–sitting on the edge with her legs dangling off–before placing the pizza box between them.

He glanced down at the object, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we were training."

His mentor shrugged. "I figured we could make an exception for this week. You're not going to forget all you learned if we skip one session."

Banshee followed her lead in taking a slice of pizza as he removed his mask. No one was going to notice them from where they sat.

Since they were both busy easting, it had grown silent for a few minutes until Siren let out a sigh.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I feel like I should be asking you that," he said, making her tear her eyes away from the setting sun.

She didn't hold his gaze for long, pulling one leg up to tuck up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knee, glancing down at the brace on her wrist.

"It...depends on the day," she admitted. "This is the first time we lost a team member since you joined...are you holding up alright?"

Banshee slowly nodded. "It's weird. It feels like we should be invincible. I know that's not true, but it's hard to remember that we don't really know when it's our turn."

Siren huffed out a breath from her nose. Her eyes slid shut as she got hit with an almost sickening wave of déjà vu. Everything's reminding me of Kaldur too. Or rather, a moment with him when she once felt invincible too.

"You're not alone in that. I've felt that way too," she confessed, though she glared at the pink and orange sky.

She pursed her lips. "It's because we don't know when our time is up that we have to live life to the fullest. I don't regret becoming Siren"—she looked over at Banshee—"but sometimes you have to decide whether it's worth it."

The teenager frowned, spurring her on. "You have no obligation to stay in the game if things get too overwhelming," she promised.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and her cold, exposed fingertips eagerly absorbed his body heat. "I've told you from day one that this is all your choice. If you feel like things are getting too intense to stick around, it's okay if you want to leave. Whether that's indefinite or definite."

She wasn't really prepared for his counter-question. "Would you?"

Siren dropped her hand, looking out over the streets. If she was being honest, things were becoming immensely stressful for her. And since Artemis' death, it felt like she was constantly on the verge of breaking. But would that warrant giving up the life?

"No," she finally managed in a raspy tone when she realized she had yet to answer her protégé.

Banshee narrowed his eyes, looking like he was about to say something else, but their communicators went off simultaneously. Both heroes were quick to pull them out, reading the new robbery alert.

"Duty calls," Siren said, rising to her feet.

She grabbed the nearly empty pizza box, glancing down to the alley below before tossing it down to the dumpster that leaned against the opposite building. Her aim was on point with the cardboard box smoothly landing inside.