Blackened Heart {Rose Wilson}

Sixteen

Awwwe, didya miss me???

"I don't like her," Drake seethed immaturely, straddling the mess hall chair with his chin resting on its back as he glared across the mess hall, where the Light's new recruit was eating, alone, for now.

"You don't even know her," Adam whacked his brother on the head with his spoon, sending oatmeal flying everywhere.

"I like her," Michael spoke up, though no one had asked him, "She likes my coffee."

"Everyone likes your coffee," Drake sighed, eyeing Adam pointedly, "No matter how we brew it or what we put in it, it never comes out as creamy or as perky as yours does." Drake rubbed the back of his head and returned to his oatmeal.

Rose stared down at her own bowl of oatmeal. By now she'd stirred and added so much to it in an attempt to find something appetizing it had become some sort of sludge. If the guys were surprised that she was sitting with them, they didn't show it. Then again, Tigress had surprised them all by making it to the mess hall before even the early morning shift, effectively claiming the table that Rose and Kaldur usually sat at. Alone.

Everyone had noticed the change in the air.

"Heads up, girl, it's your man," Michael nudged her gently, sending Rose's arm flying out from underneath her face, which fell into her bowl of oatmeal.

Drake nabbed the napkins off the trays of several passing troopers, and Adam deftly removed the clumps of oats, cinnamon, and applesauce from her hair in an effort to make her look presentable.

"Wow, Rose, your eyes are really cool! They've got like green and blue and gold in with the gray!" Drake said, wiping the sludge from her face when Rose displayed no energy to do so for herself.

"Hey Kaldur! Over here!" Michael hollered, scooting over and dusting some crumbs off the table to make room for Kaldur to sit next to Rose.

For a moment, it looked like Kaldur might have heard them, but when he caught sight of Tigress sitting alone in Rose's usual spot, he immediately took the seat next to her.

Adam took a second to pick his jaw up off the floor. "Did...did that just happen?"

"Rose, are you okay? I mean, I wasn't complaining when you sat next to us, but I didn't know that Kaldur was going to sit next to-" Drake scrambled for a word, "-her."

"Guys, it's fine, I was gonna break up with him anyway." Rose blurted out, the first thing that she could think of that could get them to shut up.

From the deadpan looks on their faces, it wouldn't last for long. Rose rolled her eyes and grabbed her bowl, dumping what was once oatmeal into the incinerator and loading her dishes into the sink.

She'd made it out into the hall and past the three breakfastime stragglers before she got caught.

"Rose?" Kaldur, inexplicably stealthy in his giant metal suit, grasped her hand before she could realize someone was there, let alone him.

She shook her hair out of her eyes and squared her shoulders before turning around, focusing on the ceiling rather than on his dreamy green-gray eyes. "What's up, boss?" She forced a smile so bright it made Kaldur take a step back.

"Is everything alright? I noticed that you did not eat very much of your breakfast."

She shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Oatmeal's not much of my thing."

"Oh." Kaldur said softly, and she could tell he didn't believe her, "Would you like me to prepare you some eggs? I believe there are a few cartons left."

A sneer was ripped out of her before she could stop it. "Why don't you offer some to Tigress? I mean, she is new, after all. And didn't you say she was an old friend?"

She felt guilty for an instant at the heartbreak that etched onto his face. How badly she wanted to go back to just the other day when they were holding each other in bed and all she wanted was to hold onto his scent.

"Kaldur'ahm, Ravager." Her arms folded tightly, she slowly, deliberately turned from Kaldur to face his father.

"Meet me in my cabin."

-------

Kaldur did not attempt to whisper or sneak a sidelong glance at her in front of his father, determined to play the part of the perfect son. That was fine with her. Rose let him stand in front of Manta's desk, while she leaned against the wall, playing with a loose thread from an African tapestry.

Manta seemed more interested in his son rather than her anyway. "Kaldur'ahm, did you ever have the chance to meet the Blue Beetle before you left the Justice League?"

"No, though regrettably I heard that he was killed several months ago."

With a sharpness as if her father's dagger had slipped in between her ribs, Rose recalled that very night. A cool winter evening at the end of November.

"Your sources prove correct once again, Kaldur'ahm," Manta hummed proudly.

"However, the legacy of the Blue Beetle did not end there as we had hoped. A young teenager apparently got his hands on some of the Blue Beetle's technology, and has been noticed parading about with the Justice League's covert operations team as the new Blue Beetle."

"Intriguing," Kaldur murmured.

"Let me guess," Rose drawled, "You want us to kill him?"

"Absolutely not." Manta said firmly, surprising her, "Our new partner will be taking care of that."

Both Kaldur and Rose were surprised at this revelation. Of course the Light wouldn't be as foolish as to completely destroy the asset they had in the Kroloteans without a backup.

"The Light has another partner?" Kaldur asked.

"Patience, Kaldur'ahm," his father said, calmly and soothingly, unlike the scathing tone he'd taken with Rose, "All will be revealed in time."