A Dragon's Love (Young Justice)

Running Through The Hallways And... Going To Rhelasia?

Not ten seconds after I leave, I hear footsteps following me down the hallway, to the kitchen and living room. I already know who it is, and my heart pounds harder in my chest with each step I take. Without realizing it, my pace quickens along with my heart, and before I know it, I'm running to my destination, the footsteps behind me following at the same pace.

Running, faster and faster; before I know it, I get to the living room, but I don't stop; grabbing Phyrix from my shoulder, I set him onto the couch as quickly as I can, before I'm gone running again. I go faster, and faster, passed the kitchen, and through the door, leading to another hallway, with turns left and right. I can hear Phyrix's yips as he chases after me as well as my pursuer. Left turn, right, left, right, straight, right; the footsteps come closer and closer with each step, with each stride of my legs. Before I know it, I enter into the training room, the feeling of the person right behind me, breathing down my neck, almost.

Finally, just when I've reached the middle of the training arena, I feel a hand grip onto my upper arm, and spinning me around. This does no good however, as I end up tripping over my own feet, bringing us both down to the ground. I close my eyes as my back hits the floor, the person landing on top of me, but not hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

I open my eyes to see those of Kaldur's grey ones looking into mine. We're both panting, trying to catch our breath. As we both start to calm down, I start noticing the position we're in. I'm pinned under him as he leans over me, with both his hands pinning me to the floor. Our faces are awfully close, making my cheeks turn a pale rose red as we breathe the same air.

"Esmeralda." Kaldur gasps. My blush darkens. "Y-yes?" I stutter, my heart slamming against my rib cage. I can hear his heart as his grey eyes stare into mine. It's running the same pace as mine, but it's gotta be for different reasons. There's no way he could possibly like me that way.

Before he can say anything else through another pant, a hologram of Red Arrow shows up on screen, and he begins with, "It's me. I may... possibly be in over my head." He says, hesitating. We stare at the picture of him, even if he can't see us right now. Slowly, gently, Kaldur lets me go, leaning to get up to answer the call. I sit up, watching him talk to Red Arrow while I calm my breathing, when Phyrix comes over and sits on my lap.

"Are you requiring backup?" Kaldur questions. "Yes." Red answers, sounding as though he really didn't want to admit it. "Backup will be there as soon as possible. Aqualad out." He tells Red, ending the call. He turns toward me, a look of seriousness across his face. "Come, Dracona. We need to go help Red Arrow." He tells me, staring at me. I nod, not saying a word as I stand up, setting Phyrix down to follow Kaldur to the bioship.

It's silent between us as we walk down the hallways, with barely a glance at each other from time to time, and the only sound being our footsteps. Once we actually get on the ship however, Kaldur clears his throat. I glance at him, before looking back out the window. "We'll be heading to Taipei to help Red Arrow to protect Lex Luthor while the peace treaty between both North and South Rhelasia is being discussed." He tells me.

"Lex Luthor. He's one of Superman's enemies, isn't he?" I ask. "He and Superman don't get along very well?" "No, they don't." He answers me. Silence once again, silence that stays for the rest of the ride to Taipei. I can tell that he wants to say something, but he just won't for some reason. He's not the only one, but what would I even say?

Finally, we land in Taipei, meet up with Red, devise a plan, and get into our disguises. I'm wearing a dress that reaches to my ankles, with my hair hidden underneath a black wig, and sunglasses to hide my eyes. We stand behind the whole crowd of photographers, I think that's what they're called, while Red is in front, behind Lex Luthor.

"The unification is unthinkable! Our peoples no longer have anything in common." One of the leaders state. "Gentlemen, this is mere rhetoric. Despite your differences you still share an appreciation for many things, such as the exquisite art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony." Luthor states. "Hmmph!" I mutter. Kaldur glances at me. "Wonder what he'd do if he were assigned to help the two kingdoms of the dragon realm create a peace treaty. No doubt, he'd end up being eaten by one of the generals."

Suddenly, Kaldur turns around, me following in pursuit as he says, "That is far enough, Cheshire." The smile on the girl's face falls into a frown, before she smirks, pushing the cart forward. Before I have a chance to react, a ball of flame hits me in the chest, the force knocking me onto the floor.

An arrow flies passed us from behind just before Kaldur creates a barrier of water to shield the civilians, and just as it covers everyone, the arrow hits the cart, making it explode. However, the barrier's not strong enough to hold all of it. Jumping to my feet, I stand in front of Kaldur, as the explosion hits me, instead of him, ripping my dress, and not getting him as much. My hair falls free from the wig, and I hide my eyes behind the strands as I take the sunglasses off, replacing them with my mask.

I look back up to see Cheshire standing up, Dragon Master walking up next to her. I growl. "It's over, Cheshire." Red states. "You would think so." She states, standing up, a helicopter rising up in the hole in the wall behind her, revealing Sportsmaster and a bunch of minions.