Thanatos

Chapter 19

The Chariot was the flagship transport of the Supermen team. A large, custom-made Boeing 747, the three-leveled airplane was an Olympus away from Olympus for the team. It accommodated everything from a state-of-the-art battlestation, to a fully equipped armoury, a medical lab-cum-infirmary, and even a sizeable garage housing vehicles of various classes, sizes, and functions as might be needed.

Megan had had a reason or two to be on every level and area on the Chariot during her first employment; but for the present ride, she chose the infirmary. She wasn't hurt, at least not physically as would warrant a treatment by the attending doctor who stood watching by the side since she arrived. She just felt a certain solace, sitting in a chair next to the Jay's bed and letting the rhythmic beep from his monitor accompany her thoughts.

Her mind went back to earlier that night before they departed Chihuahua.

"Next time you guys have a problem, Miss Months, don't call me," Sammy had said to her as he arrived in his Jeep alongside the others at the airfield reserved by Olympus for the mission, "and this time, I mean it." He didn't wait for a response before turning the vehicle and speeding off into the night, almost reminiscent of their last parting.

To be honest, the reaction didn't bother Megan. She had expected it from the start.

I mean, there's only so much testing a man's tolerance can take, she thought. 

The last time had really tested Sammy's tolerance for the team. This time, it was only because Ricardo compelled him that he got involved. Next time, she hoped they wouldn't need his help at all.

But that aside, there was one person that Megan really wanted to reach then: Ricardo; and he stood behind the group with a neutral expression on his face. Perhaps it was because the excitement of the mission had faded on the ride to the airfield but he somehow looked more drained than the others in her eyes; and perhaps more disappointed too.

"You're leaving," he said when she arrived in front of him through the bustle of activities that was the plane loading happening around them.

"Yes," she replied, managing a small smile. "You can come with, if you want."

"No, I can't," he returned, giving her a smile of his own, albeit a sad one.

"All ready to go now, Miss Months," an operative cut into the conversation just then.

"I'm ready too," Megan replied and turned to start her walk back to the plane.

She knew there was more to be said; she certainly had more to say. But silence looked like the only viable option in that moment and she took it. Apparently, he felt the same way too.

Megan took her seat by the window just as the Chariot took off, looking out to see Ricardo still standing there even as the rain – though subsided then – poured down on him. She couldn't see his face or feel his vibe from where she was, but somehow, she was sure it was a mirror of her own.

The doors of the infirmary slid open just then and Megan snapped out of her thoughts, turning to see Kei roll in on a wheelchair with Adolf behind her.

Despite how it looked, the teenage speedster's injury wasn't a bad one. The doctor had confirmed with a scan that her ankle was indeed dislocated; but the moment the joint was reset, her speed healing had kicked in and she was soon to be fine. The wheelchair was only a precautionary measure to keep her off her feet for a couple of days in order to fully recuperate.

And one Kei seems to be seriously delighted with, Megan deduced from the glee on her face as she rolled around the infirmary for a few seconds before coming to a stop next to her chair.

"How are you holding up, Meg?" she asked as she reached. "I'm guessing it's been a while since the last time you experienced such intense action."

"It's been a while for everyone who isn't sneaking off the mountain, Kei," Adolf returned beside her, but all he got was an eyeroll.

Megan didn't answer the jibe, or the curiosity that was the mysterious event that was Kei's "one-time" escapade. Her mind was on a more pressing matter.

"Can someone finally explain to me what in the world happened out there with Jay?" she asked with her eyes back to the sleeping teenager on the bed.

A collective sigh emanated from Kei and Adolf. They looked at one another, seemly debating who to go.

Finally, Adolf was it.

"Megan, what you saw was the aftermath of the events of last time," he began.

As it turned out, unlike Kei and Adolf, Jay wasn't yet cured of the injuries he suffered in the explosion the team suffered on their last mission; at least, not cured enough to be considered back to his original fitness. The energy misalignment – that was the official term the medical team gave to it – which his body suffered in the event had damaged his cells' capability to contain his superpower so much that any slight overexertion would lead to the meltdown state they witnessed in the car park.

"In order for Jay to be able to return to the field again, a measure was put in place to counteract his meltdown," he explained further. "That measure was the Sundown Protocol..."

Apparently, Jay's bracelet was an AI technology made as an integral part of the Sundown Protocol to monitor his energy in relation to other energies around him. The bracelet was able to store, interpret, and balance the interactions between these energies and the cells in his body, effectively keeping him and his power alright for daily functions.

However, in extreme cases, the bracelet was designed to be triggered to act like a fuse through a voice command; a protected electrical energy embedded in the lines of the device delivered directly to Jay's brain with enough shock to knock him out for the AI technology to take over and set things back to baseline again before waking him up.

"D. gave Kei the authorization to activate that command," he finally concluded, "but apparently, it was shifted to you when you returned."

Megan took some time to consider what she had heard. The issues of the recovering teenager, the recovering team, and even her recovering self all continuously turned in her mind.

It was starting to dawn on her that perhaps that was the major reason why Dennis had promoted her to Superteam leader right on her return. Things were on a different level from last time: the stakes were high, the risks higher, and the responsibilities even higher; and she had inadvertently accepted to take it all on.

Good job, Megan, her mind said to her as she gently massaged her temple as an ache began to form at the side of her head.

Just then, the doors slid open again and an operative entered. "The interrogation room is ready for you, Miss Months," he said.

"Thanks, Todd," she replied with a smile. "I'll be right behind you now."

"Need any assistance?" Adolf asked just as she stood.

"No," she patted him on the shoulder, "I can take this one all by myself."

Megan smoothed out her clothes and adjusted herself. I can mope about Olympus later, she thought, exiting the infirmary behind her escort. Now, it's all about Thanatos.