Wildwing lay back down on that blasted platform. Now she was dizzier than ever.

“Will you hold still?” Tanya yelled at her. “You’ve lost enough blood as it is, it’s going to take you days to recover. You know Puckworlders can only handle half the blood loss that humans can, even if we do heal faster!”

Wildwing bit back a retort as Tanya reapplied that stupid pad. After all, it had been her fault and no one else’s that the wound had started bleeding again. “I really blew it that time,” she muttered.

Tanya held the pad secure with one hand while with the other she fished around in her first-aid kit. She came up with a medicated med-patch that she reserved for wounds just such as these. “Did you mean by moving around constantly, or were you referring to the apology you just threw back in your brother’s face?” she asked dryly.

Wildwing closed her eyes and sighed. Tanya was not being rude or cruel, she had merely voiced what she knew was on Wildwing’s mind. Tanya could be tactful enough when she wanted to, but usually she just didn’t bother. It was the kind of freedom Wildwing wished she could have. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she admitted. “But he just drives me crazy sometimes.”

“He drives us all crazy,” Tanya said, gently covering Wildwing’s injury with the med-patch. The patch would hold the wound closed, stimulate the healing process, and kill most of the pain. The only catch was that Wildwing would have to avoid moving as much as possible until Tanya removed it. “It’s his nature.”

“I know,” Wildwing said. “I feel awful.”

“You’re just tired,” Tanya said, smiling. “We all know you love Nosedive. More important, Nosedive knows. He’ll get over it, and you’ll be buddy-buddy again before you know it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Wildwing said. “Maybe I should go apologize.” She started to get up.

Tanya held her down. “Then again, maybe you should lie down and go to sleep so that wound can heal right.”

“I told you, it’s just a scratch.”

“It is not a scratch. That bullet tore through at least three muscles and almost got one of your ribs. Lie down.”

“Can’t I at least go up to my quarters?”

“No.”

“But I can’t sleep on this hard thing!” Wildwing tried again.

Tanya produced two white pills and a glass of water. She’d obviously been anticipating an argument. “Take those and call me in the morning.”

Wildwing sighed and took the sedatives, admitting that she’d lost.

Nosedive climbed into his bunk and kicked off his shoes. He didn’t even bother getting out of his civvies. I just wanted to apologize, he thought. What’s so wrong about that?

Thoughts of resentment and unfairness floated randomly through his rapidly tiring mind, until there was nothing left of his anger. Only a dark empty guilt where it had been.

It was my fault she got hurt. I guess I can’t blame her for being mad at me. I’m not too happy with me, either.

He was getting tired. And hot. Without sitting up, he wrestled off his t-shirt and flung it to the floor. The cool air raised bumps on his skin. I’ll make up with her tomorrow, he promised himself. I’ll just walk up to her tell her I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for her to get hurt. I’ll say I love her more than anything, and from now on I’ll do my best to do what she asks of me. And then she’ll smile and say she’s sorry for brushing me off; she was just tired and hurting, and then everything will be alright.

And then he was unconscious.

Mallory strolled casually into Tanya’s lab in answer to the request she’d received over her comlink. Tanya was hard at work on some new gadget and didn’t notice her entry. “You called?” Mallory asked.

Tanya looked up from her work. “Yeah, thanks. I wanted to ask for a favor.”

“So shoot.” Mallory glanced over her shoulder to the adjacent room; the infirmary. Through the doorway she could see Wildwing sleeping heavily. “How’d you get her to go to sleep?”

“I hit her with a sledgehammer,” Tanya told her. “Here’s the favor I wanted to ask: Do you think you can get Nosedive out of our headquarters tomorrow? Just for a few hours.”

“Why?” asked Mallory, surprised. “Are they still mad at each other?”

Tanya shook her head. “Not really, but as soon as she wakes up, Wildwing’s going to start walking around searching for him and I’d just as soon tell her he’s out and won’t be back for a while so she can get some rest.” Tanya turned towards the sleeping hero in the next room. “She won’t be fit to walk around for at least another day, although she acts like she’s fine. You know how she is.”

Mallory nodded solemnly. “I see. So, basically you want me to remove her biggest motive for not resting.”

“At least until I’m sure those medicines are working properly,” Tanya replied. “And I can’t count on Nosedive to get out without prompting. Left alone, he’s liable to sit in his room and sulk.”

“And how do you propose I get the little monster out of the house?”

Tanya smiled at this none-too-flattering description of Nosedive. “I don’t know, invite him to a movie or something. You know he’s a sucker for those. Then just let him cruise around the mall. The teenage terror has a one-track mind when it comes to that. If I’m lucky, it’ll keep him out until after dark.”

“You realize that you’re going to owe me big after this,” Mallory said, eyes glistening. “Also, you and Wildwing are the only two people in the universe I would do this for.”

Tanya grinned. “I know. But my best friend wouldn’t let me down, would she?”

Mallory gave her a playful salute. “No, ma’am.” The two of them giggled insatiably. Then Mallory commented, “Shouldn’t you be in bed, too?”

Tanya shrugged. “I’m used to keeping late hours. Besides, someone’s got to keep an eye on Wildwing. I’m not really authorized to use sedatives on others. The Puckworld Drug Association would have a field day if they knew.”

“True, but there’s not much the PDA can do about it from here. Well, goodnight, Tanya.”

“Goodnight.”

Nosedive was awakened by a rapping at his door. He rolled off his bunk and landed on his feet like a cat. Was it morning already? “Who’s there?” he called.

“Mallory,” came the answer. “Is it okay to come in?”

“Uh... just a minute.” Nosedive grabbed the first t-shirt within reach; his favorite green one, and yanked it over his head. His arm didn’t hurt at all. “Okay, come in,” he said, just as he was pushing it through the sleeve.

The door opened and Mallory entered. “Hey Dive, there’s a good movie playing at the mall. You want to hit the matinee and then maybe do lunch together?”

Nosedive narrowed his eyes. Mallory never invited him anywhere. His right eyebrow raised of its own accord and his suspicious expression made him look not too unlike Wildwing. “Why are you...? Oh, I get it. Wildwing’s still mad at me, and you want to drag me out of the line of fire.”

The words must have come out more fiercely than he’d intended, because Mallory took a surprised step back. “No, that’s not it at all! Wildwing isn’t even up yet.”

Nosedive looked at his clock and scoffed. The clock read nine forty-five. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Wildwing’s been rising at dawn since her junior year in high school. I know, I shared a room with her back then, and I always woke up alone.”

“Really, Nosedive, she...”

“Save it,” Nosedive interrupted angrily. He brushed passed her and strode down the hallway without looking back. As he passed Wildwing’s room, he reached out and hit the control to open the door. As he suspected, the room was empty and everything was perfectly arranged. “Not even up yet.” Who does she think I am?

Nosedive headed towards the elevator, nearly running into Duke. “Whoa, kid,” he said. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out,” he growled.

Mallory watched him go with a less-than-peaceful mind. I wonder what set him off like that? she thought. I was telling the truth. If he had just stuck around long enough to hear it... She shrugged. Oh, well, he was out of the house, anyway.

Tanya glanced up at the sound of movement to her immediate left. “Oh, good, you’re awake. Now I can go have lunch.”

Wildwing yawned and started to stretch, apparently remembering the med-patch just in time. “Lunch? How long have I been out?” she asked.

“For the better part of the day,” Tanya replied.

“You and your sedatives,” Wildwing grumbled, doing her best to blink away the remaining drowsiness. “It would serve you right if I slept through the off-season.”

“Might do you some good, too,” Tanya shot back.

As Tanya had predicted to Mallory less than twelve hours before, Wildwing braced herself on the bed and started to get up. “Ow. Man, I’m going to have to go back to keeping 26 hour days; I cannot handle this Earth schedule. Where’s Nosedive?”

“He’s not here,” Tanya said quickly. “Lie down.”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s not here’? I can see that he’s not here. Where is he? I want to talk to him.” Wildwing winced and rubbed her eyelids groggily. “I have to talk to him. If I don’t, we’ll be in a rut for days.”

“You can stand to be in a rut for a few more hours. Mallory told me Nosedive went out this morning and probably won’t be back until then, anyway. Let me check that patch.”

“Tanya...”

“Lie down!”

Wildwing wisely did as she was told. Tanya sat down beside Wildwing and pulled up the med-scanner. After a few seconds, she nodded. “Okay, this seems to be working well. You should be yourself again in two days, which means you’ll drop from exhaustion in three.”

Wildwing rolled her eyes. “Tanya...”

“I’m kidding,” Tanya laughed. Somewhat, she added. “All in all, you’re doing even better than I expected.”

“So I can get up now?”

“No.”

“Tanya...”

“Don’t argue with me, you’re staying right there.”

Wildwing thumped a fist on the infirmary platform on which she was forced to lie. “This thing’s as hard as a rock. My back is going to give me hell. And besides, I’m starving.”

Tanya looked momentarily conflicted, and Wildwing could see that she had at least won a battle, even if the war was lost to begin with.

“Okay,” Tanya relented. “On the grounds that you stay in your quarters, you can get up. Otherwise, I march you right back down here. At gunpoint if I have to.”

“You’re serious.”

“Yes, I am. That’ll give you an idea of how obstinate you really are.”

“It must be hereditary,” Wing laughed. “Okay, you win. I’ll stay in my room like a good little girl.”

Tanya let Wildwing lean on her shoulder while she got up. The fact that Wildwing wasn’t making such childish protests as “I can do it myself” told Tanya volumes of how much pain the young leader was in. “I’ll walk you to your quarters, and then I’ll be back with some lunch.”

Wildwing cast Tanya a look. “When did you become Florence Nightingale all of a sudden?”

Tanya picked up Wildwing’s right arm and slung it around her own shoulders. “When it becomes a crime to be concerned for an injured friend, I’ll put down my hockey stick for good.”

Wildwing smiled at the old Puckworld expression. “Thanks, Tanya,” she said, monotone except for a barely perceptible trace of affection.

“You’re welcome.”

When Nosedive came home, Mallory took great care to make herself scarce, as did her other teammates. If the Flashblade issue was ever to be resolved, the two involved parties would have to make an end of it themselves, and no one wanted to impede the progress with their intrusive presence. Mallory even postponed the resolution to her own confrontation with Nosedive, pending his reconciliation with his sister. So when she saw Nosedive and Wildwing talking just outside Wildwing’s quarters, she’d turned immediately around and entered her own, where she’d stayed with the company of a magazine for a period of five minutes. Then she came out, fully expecting the two to be completely squared off.

The resounding slap that echoed down the hall took her entirely by surprise.

Mallory jogged around the corner and froze. Nosedive was leaning up against the wall, his hand on his face, his mouth half-open, his blue eyes wide in shock and fear. Wildwing reached over and grabbed him by his vest, pinning her brother to the wall. “I am getting darn tired of that smart mouth of yours,” she yelled, glaring daggers at him.

“Let go,” he pleaded, whatever attitude he may have been harboring before Mallory’s arrival now in no way visible.

“No! You’re not running off until I’m finished. This isn’t Puckworld, Nosedive. This isn’t the old days. You can’t be as thoughtless and irresponsible as you like and expect everyone around you to deal with it!”

“I know that!” Nosedive cried, struggling violently against the stronger Flashblade’s grasp.

“You hold still!” shouted Wildwing, raising her arm as if to backhand Nosedive across the face. “Or do you want another one?” Nosedive froze, cornered, his face the very portrayal of fear and pain. Still Wildwing did not relinquish her hold on his vest. “I didn’t bring you to Earth so you could get into trouble or do whatever you like. I brought you along because, due to some genetic accident, you’re my little brother and therefore my responsibility. And because you obviously can’t take care of yourself. And like it or not, you’re the sixth player now, and that means you play by the rules. Got that?”

Nosedive nodded. Wildwing let him go and disappeared into her quarters. Nosedive turned away to go to his.

“Nosedive?” Mallory called out.

Nosedive turned and looked at her like he’d never seen her before. The left side of his face was unnaturally red, and he continued touching it tenderly. His eyes glittered with unshed tears, and the expression in them was dark and upset.

Mallory approached him cautiously. “What happened, pal?”

Nosedive tried to laugh, but it came out more of a brief sob. “You saw what happened. The war still goes on.”

Mallory placed her hand gently on the left side of Nosedive’s face. The red area was warm, almost feverish. “She actually hit you?” she asked, as though unable to comprehend the meaning of her own words.

“I’m gonna have a heck of a bruise tomorrow,” Nosedive replied.

Mallory was silent for what seemed like many minutes, gently stroking the injured cheek. “I didn’t think she was capable of doing you harm,” she commented. “You two were always so close. I always thought if she tried she’d... I don’t know, implode or something.”

Nosedive laughed, not really cheered. Two tears slid down opposite sides of his face and Mallory brushed them gently away. “All is not well in paradise,” he told her.

“Tell me about it,” Mallory said.

Nosedive turned away and started to go to his quarters. But after only two steps he stopped, and began shaking violently. Mallory touched his shoulder, and realized with shock that he was crying! Not simply crying, but weeping bitterly. “She’s never hit me before,” he whispered.

Wildwing stayed in her quarters for the rest of the afternoon, and most of the evening. For all those hours she braced herself against the door, eyes closed, the bitter shame of what she’d just done burrowing itself into the very core of her being. Her right hand stung with the painful reminder. For the longest time she was tortured by a single thought.

Nosedive... I hit Nosedive. I struck my little brother.

For years, for the golden years of her life, there had been no crime more vile than doing harm to Nosedive. No criminal more detestable than the one who tried. She had beaten to tears no more than a few such criminals in her neighborhood for even the most trivial transgression of that rule before it became unwritten law. Even Canard had known better than to press the extents of their friendship on this point; not even her best and closest friend was exempt from this rule. No one so much as insulted Nosedive and got away with it. Even when Nosedive himself did not consider vengeance necessary, Wildwing always went out of her way to get it. Everyone who even knew Wildwing by reputation was aware of this presiding point of her character.

What had possessed her to take such complete leave of her personality? To consciously attack and injure he who had been the precious treasure no one could touch? She didn’t have an answer. The disagreement or misunderstanding that had occasioned the assault in the first place had already flown from Wildwing’s memory. He had said something to set her off, something in the crossfire of harsh words had caused her to snap, and Nosedive had fallen victim to this intense anger.

Nothing, nothing gave her either right or reason to slap Nosedive as she had. He’d shrunk from her in pain and fear, and little wonder. She had sought outlet to her rage in this manner simply because she had known that she should not. Shame was all that kept her from running to him and pleading forgiveness on her knees. By tomorrow, it would be all too obvious what she had done. Regret made her loath to face anyone.

I have to apologize sooner or later, she thought. I won’t be able to live seeing him look at me like that forever. I can’t live if he’s afraid of me.

But still she stayed where she was.