Lightning sat across from his brother in a white room with a white table and white chairs. Neither brother appreciated this colour scheme. It hurt their eyes a little. Neither was in their uniforms. Thunder was in a hospital gown and Lightning wore a green shirt and black jeans, his arm in a heavy-looking sling. He had been told he might have nerve damage and torn muscle tissues and warned to keep it still and undisturbed. The arm was inside the shirt, nestled against his sallow skin.
"Brother, you know we only wish to help you. You know!"
"I do not wish for your help, Tavis." Came the snarled reply.
To his credit, the yellow elemental didn't even flinch. "You could have killed us all, Gan. Does that not mean anything to you? Does it not mean anything that you hurt your own brother?"
Thunder crossed his arms and looked away. "All I care about is that Kid Flash cut my leg off, and I am certainly not happy with that."
"You said before-"
"Shut up!"
This time he flinched. He looked at his twin with wide, terrified eyes. "...Brother..."
"Be gone. You insist on trying to 'assist' me. There are people who need your assistance more than I."
"What has the old one done to you...?"
Thunder slammed his hands down flat on the table. "Perhaps I simply made a choice, Tavis! Perhaps Slade did nothing! Perhaps I decided I wanted more recognition, more appreciation and companionship more worth my time! I do not care about Kid Flash, or Jinx, or Jericho, and I certainly do not care about you any more! You are nothing but a fool. I tried my best to protect you all and you kept coming! Kept picking fights! If you lot are truly that stupid, I shan't hold myself responsible for your problems, injuries or upsets!"
Lightning bowed his head, trying to control his temper. Instead, tears of both sorrow and frustration broke free of his eyes. "What changed?"
The blue elemental looked away, offering no reply.
"At least pretend you are still on side..."
"Why? To give you false hope? You are my brother, I cannot make things worse by making you think everything will just go back to normal. It does not work that way, Tavis." Lightning stood as his brother spoke. "It does not work that way, no matter how much you want it to."
Lightning left the room in low spirits, not willing to talk to any of the team when he re-joined them. Kid Flash enquired as to how things were going with Thunder, but Lightning just turned away, in a bit of a mood.
"Badly, then?"
No reply. The speedster turned to Jinx instead. "Any link on the Titans yet?"
"Not even the slightest." She sighed, stepping away from all the tech before her. She wasn't the best at that sort of thing, but looking at Lightning, she realised she clearly wasn't the worst either.
That was when the phone went off. Just a normal phone, belonging specifically to them. No-one was supposed to have that number. Maybe it was given to that girl Lightning had been out with when Thunder had betrayed them. Kid Flash answered, sounding wary. Naturally, their trust was a little low.
"Hello?"
"Hello."
"Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"Who I am isn't important." The voice was male. "Secondly, I have my ways. Thirdly, I have some information you might find...intriguing."
The speedster frowned. "What kind of information?"
There was a hesitation, and a very distant chatter, as though the mystery man was talking to someone beside him. "I think I know some things that mean you can find your little Titan bosses."
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