Seoul

The Condor flew non-stop until it reached the city of Seoul in South Korea. The shining lights of the city against the night’s sky would’ve been a spectacular sight to behold, had the minds of everyone on that ship not been more preoccupied with saving the life of their teammate.

“We’re almost there.” The Watcher said over the intercom.

The two ships flew side-by-side until they reached the Medical Ops Center located in the city. This was part of a line consisting of the best hospitals in the world, more specifically dealing with the unique kind of injuries superheroes face. If there was any place that could save Phase from death, it’s this one.

The MOC, officially sponsored by the Protectors, were described as being “hospitals for heroes”. Factions like the Protectors face dangers that the normal don’t face, and need the most specialized doctors to help deal with those kinds of injuries and ailments. Protectors fight crime, supervillains, go to other worlds, and see things that many wouldn’t understand.

Once the tower came into view, it displayed itself as a beacon for help. It was tall, shining white, flashed red and white lights, and was marked by a hologram of the cross symbol in the center. On the top there were multiple landing pads for ships like theirs to land in. A ship like the Condor is what was expected for them to be seen.

The Watcher pressed a button on the ship’s internal computer, he was making a call of the Korean MOC, so they would expect their arrival.

“Attention Seoul MOC, this is The Watcher speaking. We are about to land, our teammate has sustained a severe injury on the field. Her name is Robyn Knight, or Phase. Do you read me?”

“Yes sir. We will anticipate you soon.” A female voice on the other end said.

The ships made their landing on the pad southwest atop the tower. The members of the team gathered together to rush Phase to the outside on a wheel bed, while still hooked to the machine that kept her heart in motion. She was barely hanging on at this point, and would need something to bring her back into health, whatever that was.

Blindshot pushed the table outside until they reached the doctors and nurses that marched outside to see their patient. At which point, they promptly took over by taking their patient inside. A woman, the head of the facility named Kae Tae-Ran, approached them. She was a young woman, relatively speaking, at thirty-five. She stood tall at five foot seven, and had her long black hair tied together in a bun.

She spoke to The Watcher, noticing that none of them were in their normal costumes. They were dressed in black, which seemed odd.

“You people look different.” Kae said.

“It’s a long story.” The Watcher said. “Just make sure our friend will come out alive.”

“You know I can’t guarantee that.” Kae said. “Just from looking at her, I could tell the extent of her injuries were severe. Doctors aren’t miracle workers.”

“You better make it happen.” Blindshot said. “She has a son and a daughter, they don’t have a dad around to take care of them. I don’t want to be the one to tell them their mother died because your staff wasn’t good enough.”

“But you have to understand that we can’t make the impossible happen.” Kae said. “If she dies, it’ll be because of her line of work.”

“You listen here!” Blindshot yelled as he moved closer. “A win at the expense of any hero isn’t a win at all! Now you better keep her alive, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

The Watcher placed his hand on Blindshot’s shoulder, attempting to calm him.

“There won’t be any ‘hell to pay’ if the inevitable happens.” The Watcher said. “Why don’t you go to the waiting room and relax? You could use it.”

“Whatever.”

Blindshot stormed into the tower, where he took a seat. He would fall asleep soon, out of exhaustion from the mission and the stress. The others stepped out of the ship, as did Team Bravo. Kae dismissed herself, retreating to the inside where she would see her patient. Red Revolver walked to The Watcher, curious about his teammate.

“It ain’t like him to be this upset.” Red Revolver said. “He’s usually so laidback, even in battle. Now he’s just got no humor to him.”

“He can’t stand the idea of losing a Protector.” The Watcher said. “It’s always been that way.”

“But doesn’t he know the inherent danger that comes with the job? He should expect this at some point.”

“He should, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Hey, can we continue this inside?” Cyber said. “It’s freezing up here.”

“Yeah we should go in.” The Watcher said.

The Protectors went inside. It was the crack of dawn, and the sun began to rise. This mission was going to ruin their sleep schedule for a while, but that was the least of their worries. They stood inside the sleek white room, attempting to make the time pass by. Several hours passed, and in was morning. The Watcher figured this would be the best time to explain that he was going to be later than he expected to his wife.

He took out his phone, and gave Kim a call. She would just be waking up at this point, and likely wanted him to be home soon. Sadly, that wouldn’t be the case.

“Byron?” Kim said. “Please don’t tell me you’re calling me for what I suspect it is.”

“Afraid so.” The Watcher said. “I’ll be home later than expected, and I know there’s no way around it. An emergency just came up, and we’re at the MOC because of it.”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, a teammate was. She might already be dying.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried about you. Do you seriously think I like it when you go on these missions? You know it only takes one mistake and you’ll be dead. You don’t want to leave me a widow and Adele an orphan, do you?”

“I promise you I won’t.”

“Then why don’t you retire? You’re not getting any younger, and it’s not like money is an issue. We could spend so much more time together as a family if you did. Why do you do this?”

“When something goes wrong, I just can’t help myself, dear.”

A sigh on the other end. They’ve had this talk many times over, and it always ends the same.

“Look, I’ll make it up to you.” The Watcher said. “We’ll go on a vacation to Ponta Delgada in the Azores soon. You, me, and Adele. I want us to be a family, not one separated but together. Even Brad has called me out for not having her respect, and it’s time I earned it.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that plan.”

“I’ll see you soon. Goodbye.”

Call ended. The Watcher took his seat on a chair, and let his eyes shut for a little bit. He would rest for several more hours, much like the others. They needed sleep after staying up so long during a mission. He woke up again, this time it was noon. The sun was shining over Seoul. Had the circumstances been different, he would’ve like to have seen what the city had to offer. That wasn’t the time, however.

Kae walked into the waiting room, looking visibly upset. That wasn’t what anyone wanted to see.

“I regret to inform you that she didn’t make it.”

“What…” Blindshot said, barely able to speak.

“The injuries were too severe. She flatlined after our attempts to surgically remove the spike, combined with the fact that she lost so much blood. I couldn’t believe she even lasted this long.”

“You idiots!” Blindshot yelled. “Some doctors you are! You can’t even save a single life!”

“It couldn’t be saved. She was already on death’s door when she arrived.”

“Goddammit! You people are worthless! I can’t believe you even have jobs!”

“That’s enough.” The Watcher said. “It’s as she said, they couldn’t make the impossible happen. Her death was inevitable the moment Riot attacked her. The best we can do is give her a proper send off. She’ll get her own holographic statue at the Protectors Conservatory, just like the others who had fallen in battle.”

“Yeah, because putting her on display to be seen is such a good sign of respect.”

“It’s the best we can do. Pay tribute to the ones who gave all in combat. That’s how we respect the fallen.”

“Fine…”

“I know what you’re going through. But right now, we have to be strong and continue forward. Mark my words, Mist will pay for what they’ve done. I won’t let the sacrifices of Phase or anyone else be in vain.”

“Well, I’m going to be the one to break the news to her kids. I don’t know who else can do it, and it certainly won’t be through a phone call.”

Swarm stood behind Blindshot and spoke.

“Remember that casualties are inevitable in the line of duty. What happened to Phase could’ve easily happened to anyone else.”

“You might be right, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Well, you think we can get going now?” Red Revolver asked. “We got to go home eventually.”

“Yes.” The Watcher said. “We should leave now.”

“We’ll take care of the body.” Kae said. “And when the time comes, we’ll give her back for her proper funeral.”

“Alright.” The Watcher said. “Thank you for your efforts.”

“Thanks for nothing.” Blindshot said.

“He’ll cool down eventually. For now, we’ve got to get going.”

The Watcher and the others besides Blindshot waved goodbye at Kae and the fellow doctors before departing in their ships. They flew off into the sky, with New York City as their destination. They would arrive in a matter of hours, but that was only the beginning.

Ten hours later…

Manhattan

The Watcher had made his announcement as soon as he got home that they lost a comrade in the line of duty. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be done.

“It is my sincerest regret to announce that Robyn Knight, better known as Phase, has fallen in the line of duty. She was a loving mother, a strong woman, a good friend, and a hero — one who gave all. Mourn her sacrifice, as she has given more than any of us.”

With that, Byron would be taking a vacation from the Protectors, even if only momentarily. He drove through the streets until he made it home, where he could finally be with his wife. Byron looked forward to going on his vacation to Ponta Delgada, it would be a nice and relaxing time for him and his family on the island of São Miguel, and he was sure Adele would appreciate it.

But the whole time, he had to think to himself about Phase. Riot already knew he lost and could’ve left there, but just had to kill her for no other reason than to give the Protectors a ‘parting gift’. That kind of sadistic behavior made him sick. Byron was sure he was going to bring him to justice for what he’s done.

He rode up the elevator until he reached the top floor of the penthouse. When the doors open, Kim was there patiently waiting for him. They kissed before he noticed someone else was behind her. It was Adele.

“Dad,” Adele said. “I heard the news. I’m so sorry for what happened on that mission. Losing a teammate is never easy, but it could’ve been you.”

Those were words he wasn’t expecting to hear from her. She hadn’t been there to comfort him in a long time. The lives lost on these missions have weighed on his conscience, but it was inevitable. That was what he would tell himself. Byron moved to Adele and hugged her tightly. He couldn’t describe how good it felt to do that after so long.

“Don’t worry about me.” Byron said. “I’m the one who should be worried for you, I’m the parent after all.”

“Well, I think you can be a dick sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

“I was hoping to fix the first part.”

“How so?”

“Well, is a vacation to Ponta Delgada in the Azores a good start?”

“That sounds wonderful!”

“We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I’m on vacation, I requested this after my mission was completed. I know you just finished your vacation, but don’t worry, I have all expenses paid. It helps when one of the people in charge is your dad.”

“Oh thank you!”

“And there will be absolutely no costumes.” Kim said. “So don’t even think about packing them.”

“I wasn’t planning to.” Adele said. “Him, I’m not so sure.”

Byron had a brief chuckle. He had to admit that he sometimes was more married to his work than his wife, but it shouldn’t be that way. Kim and Adele wouldn’t exactly be happy if they had to report his death to them. Just like how Brad had to report Robyn’s death to her children, it wasn’t an easy task.

“Mum, Dad… what do you say we go get some Mexican food?”

“Sure, I could eat.” Kim said.

“I’m alright with that.” Byron said.

Adele led the way as they left their home to go to her favorite Mexican restaurant in New York. Byron smiled, knowing this would be the start of mending his relationship with his one and only daughter. That was his biggest goal, more than taking down Mist. And now, it seems like he’s finally doing it.