I'd seen him from far off. It was obvious he was different. I'd never seen him look so...calm. Relaxed. There was no familiar movement within Rebel now, and it hurt me to remind myself that this was likely not Rebel; not any more.

    He saw me; it was hard not to. I'd worn a large and bright red sweater, the soft material spilling over skinny jeans that were held in place by knee high combat boots. I was a sight to behold in normal clothing, especially considering I still carried myself like someone dangerous.

    He wasn't any of that, though. Not any more. Even outside of the LASAR uniform, he usually had a dark edge about him, but not now. His green eyes were as intelligent as I'd remembered, but they'd lost their sharpness, and now looked more normal. I watched attentively as he crossed through the park toward me, making his way around other families and away from the people who he now stayed with. He ducked around a large tree, and I watched with a passive expression from my position in the clearing.

    He stopped before me, towering over me like he used to so many times before. But this time, it was different. There was nothing reassuring about his being there. My presence was heavier than his now; it held a tangibility that surpassed his own.

    I licked my lips and studied him. "Rebel."

    There was a pause before he spoke. It sent a pang through my chest. Rebel never would have hesitated, not unless he was playing someone. But this person... He didn't have that look of mischief about him. "My name's Kingston," he said, his voice quiet. Even the tone was different, softer, less certain of himself. "I was told someone was going to meet me today...from my old life."

    "That would be me," I said quickly. Despite my abrupt response, there was no eagerness to my voice. I was quickly losing hope that Rebel was still there.

    He nodded, green hues glancing over me before darting past his shoulder to the family he'd come here with. They were watching him with concern.

    I jerked my head towards them. "They adopt you?"

    "Something like that..." he mused hesitantly as he looked back at me. He paused again. "What's your name?"

    If it hadn't hurt before, to stand there and watch the person I grew up with be someone he was never supposed to be... That did. It hurt a lot. He didn't remember anything about me -- nothing. Boss had warned me about that, but it didn't lessen the sting.

    "Risk."

    There was surprise written plainly on his face. Normal emotion shown in a normal manner. "That's a name?"

    "It's my name," I agreed, my voice neutral now. I shifted my arms from my hips then, and waved one hand briefly to indicate he should follow me as I began to walk towards a sidewalk. "Come on. You can go back to your..." I tried before cutting off; "Them, when we're done."

    He hesitated again. I was beginning to get frustrated. Was any of Rebel even in there? Or was it just Kingston now? I was cursing everything about amnesia -- cursing the specialized bomb that had put my partner in this position.

--

FLASHBACK

    "Hold on, воин!" I said under my breath.

    Rebel was about to get us into a full-on showdown with team Charlie. For once, it wasn't me initiating the fight in the caf, which I think surprised everyone -- except for Gambler and Aim.

    Rebel looked like he was about to take Aim's head off, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he did. Super strength made that relatively easy for him, after all.

    But Gambler looked like she was about to ignite -- literally -- in order to defend her partner, and I didn't want Rebel to lose an eyebrow again.

    I reached up for his shoulder, and gingerly pulled him a few steps back from the devious duo. "It's not worth it," I murmured, looking into his eyes with careful precision. "He's just trying to get under your skin."

    I wasn't wrong there, but I also knew Rebel wasn't wrong in his behavior, either. Aim was pulling another hard ball, mocking Rebel for his every move. When we'd entered the caf, it had been snorted comments about his wrecked uniform. From there it had gone down hill, from everything to poking at his general appearance to slamming his most recent sniper scores.

    Rebel jerked out of my grip, and I turned to stand between him and Aim. He had a wicked sneer on his face, and without so much as a moment of hesitation, I slammed him backwards into Gambler with my telekinesis.

    They both flew into team Foxtrot's table, and the uproar ignited.

    "What happened to holding on?" I barely heard Rebel ask before I was deflecting a knife whizzing towards us.

    "I didn't want you to have all the fun."

--

PRESENT

    Even when he followed after me, scampering to catch up, I was holding in my anger.

    "What were we?" he asked.

    I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "Partners."

    "In what?"

    "Classified," I stated, voice flat. My defenses were going up, but it was too little, too late. This already hurt, more than any pain I'd ever experienced in training, or field work, or ever.

    "Are you a spy?"

    That brought my attention back over to him. He had innocence on his face, with a tinge of fear. I shook my head, and lied with all the ease that I'd gained from so many years of training. Training that I'd done with him-- "No. I am not."

    "Government, then," he said, clearly trying to figure me out, and failing.

    "Something like that," I said vaguely.

    "Why did you want to meet me?" he finally asked.

    We came to a stop before a bench. It wasn't quite out of visual range from his new family, but it was certainly further away than before. At a more comfortable distance for me, which meant it was probably more uncomfortable for him... I took a seat, gesturing that he should do the same, before leaning forward on my knees. He sat back.

    "I needed to see if you remembered anything," I said, my voice quieter.

    He made a soft scoffing noise. "I already told the people who came to our house that I don't. Surely they told you that."

    I gave him a sharp look then, amber eyes on the edge of warning. "I had to see for myself, Rebel."

    He fell quiet. "Kingston."

    "Whatever," I muttered, some of my bitterness leaking out before I could catch it. My gaze swept over the crowds again.

    "Did you love him?" he asked. There was a pause. I didn't look at him. "Who I was before."

    There were too many ways to answer that. Yes. No. In ways you can't understand. It was a different kind of relationship than that. "That's not important"

    That shut him up for a moment. "All right."

    It was in that moment that it hit me hardest that this was not Rebel. He would never have let me get away with saying something like that. With that realization, I felt my throat close up as hot tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I clamped down on that pain, and forced myself to maintain composure as I sat back. In that moment, this became just one more mission. There was no more Rebel to help me now. I would be doing this on my own. There was a sense of finality to that, and I pushed it away before it could settle too heavily on me.

    "They won't approach you after this," I stated, moving to work mode as though a switch had been flipped. "You'll be completely cut off from your old life. If you ever were to remember something--" Something I didn't want to think about, a chance I could no longer hope for, "--you would have to be eliminated." I said it very matter-of-factly. Too much so, given the circumstances. This was so much more than just one more mission. "It's in your best interest to remain naive now. Kingston."

    I could feel him watching me as I spoke, and it was only as I said his traitorous new name that I looked over at him.

    "What do I do now?" he asked. His voice was a little less fearful now, as if he was relieved that this was it. Except, then his brow furrowed, in something I knew to be concern. It was more present than I'd ever seen it on Rebel's face, though; one more reminder that this was not him. "What'll happen to you? Will I ever see you again?"

    There was no hesitation when I shook my head. "You will not. Never again. And if you do," I paused only for a second, a bitter chuckle on my tongue, "you should run." I knew that if he ever saw me again, be it as Kingston or as Rebel, it would mean that something bad had happened in LASAR. Something that meant the agency required he be out of the picture, and I was the only one in LASAR who could do that, no matter if he remembered his training or not. That was always how it had been, after all; I was the only one who could take him on with his super strength, and he was the only one who could withstand anything that happened with my telekinesis.

    He nodded, and watched me a moment longer. "Is this where you leave?"

    I glanced once more back at, an ache in my heart. This was just the confirmation I never wanted. I was alone. No Rebel, no safety or friendship that came with him, not ever again. I offered a hand to him, wishing for one last 'meet you later' handshake like when we were on assignments. Something he may not even remember, but if he did, it would be one last lie, one last lame attempt at closure.

    He -- Kingston, Rebel, I'm not sure -- took my hand. His touch was gentler, less certain than it used to be. All the same, I squeezed his hand and gave it a firm shake, refusing to cry now. I got to my feet then, and adjusted my sweater over the guns on my hips. "You don't worry about me. You don't worry about your old life at all," I said. I turned away before I could see him get up, and began walking. But my voice was still loud enough for him to catch my last words. "You hold on."

    And I was gone. I never looked back, and he never tried to stop me.

--

    Upon reentering LASAR headquarters, the first thing I did was scream. I could feel the sound echoing around me as I slammed a fist hard into the wall nearest to me, cold tears scorching my cheeks as I let broken sobs wrack my body.

    No one came to see what the noise was about. I know for a fact that Boss had that security footage from my meltdown deleted. But no one could delete the serious damage that I did to that hallway. Panels of the walls and chunks of tile were broken and ripped out, the result of my telekinesis going haywire as my meltdown claimed all my senses. I was mourning the loss of something not truly gone, something no one in that agency would ever really understand. Some of my fellow agents would sooner kill their partners than let what I had just witnessed happen. There was less of an emotional attachment, even for people our age. But that attachment had been what made Rebel and I the best. We were so in sync, so in touch... We were unstoppable.

    Not any more.

--

    It took LASAR no time at all to repair the damages that Risk had caused in one of the front hallways. The footage of the incident was wiped from the system, and no one in LASAR other than Boss and Gray were aware of just how torn apart Risk had become. She was dangerous like that, and the two men knew that very well. For though Rebel and Risk together had made up the Alpha team, there was only one of them left, and she was the most dangerous to have alone.

    So much control and precision were in her, after all. Even though her name perfectly described her, she often made split second and accurate calculations before doing any of her work. If she was angered, and tried to take down the organization, they all knew just too well she could do it. She could rip them right apart at the seams if she wanted to, because of how easily she could bring the agents together.

    Many conversations were had. An attempt was made to decide if Risk was a threat, or a liability, or still a functioning part of the team.

    Eventually, three months after the erased meltdown, a decision was made.

    Meanwhile, Risk had been throwing her all into her training. She practiced with teams Bravo and Foxtrot, sparred with members Jaguar and Nix, and listened more attentively when members Catatonic and Low were speaking. She actually seemed to get along better with the other agents of LASAR, be they individuals or teams.

    Except for team Charlie. There was no love lost there. Aim at one point merely approached her, and within seconds Risk had him flat on his back on the table, a weighty knife pressed against his jugular. "You speak to me," she had growled, "and I will kill you before you draw your next breath." She'd straightened then, and flipped her knife in her hand as her sharp yellow eyes watched him predatorily. "We clear?"

    Aim had merely nodded and backed off, plainly wary of her.

    LASAR was in a bad position in general. Risk was almost running the show, whether she realized it or not. She made nice with anyone who wasn't Charlie while they were in the headquarters, but she made no attempt to build a new partnership.

    They still had to bring one more member into the team as well. Several people were going through vigorous tests, but thus far no one had made it. They were all being tested as singles... Until Gray had an idea. He volunteered the thought that, perhaps, they should be looking for a replacement partner for Risk. Maybe, they should consider getting team Alpha back online.

    So they started testing subjects for compatibility with Risk. Anyone who didn't make the cut was, as protocol went, memory wiped.

    Risk was never made aware of these attempts.

    Not until one day, when they actually found someone.

--

I knew I was starting to make Boss nervous. Quite the feat in itself, but not something to necessarily brag about. So I did my best to keep my behavior neutral, and focused on my training. I had to prove I was't going to stir up trouble, so despite what I really wanted to do, I played by the rules. I think that surprised everyone above all else -- the troublemaker going by the book.

    I was going through a stimulation blindfolded and alone when it was abruptly interrupted by the doors sliding open. Everything came to a screeching halt, and I swung around, gun aimed at the intruder. I didn't immediately remove the blindfold, and my first thought was that if it was Aim or Gambler, I was just going to shoot them -- no questions asked.

    But it wasn't.

    I didn't recognize the voice that spoke, and for whatever reason, that caught my interest.

    "Whoa there." It was masculine, but unfamiliar. Not anyone from LASAR, not even Gray, or Boss. "I've got my hands up, just so you know." There was an edge of snark to his words. Something that, as of late, I'd only really heard from myself.

    I lowered my weapon, and ripped the cloth off my face. My hard amber eyes took in the male before me, ignoring the slight surprise as he took me in. His hair was a light blonde styled in something that I was pretty sure was called a 'quiff.' He was tall, well built, with broad shoulders and delicate fingers that fell to his side, seeming to consider himself safe without the weapon aimed at him.

    That both intrigued and irritated me. I knew how I looked, armed and in my uniform. The scene around me looked like a war zone, and I was the soldier. He was just a civilian intruder. Yet he looked somehow comfortable, and not the least bit deterred by any of it. I supposed he deserved props for that, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to give them to him yet.

    "Name," I ordered. I had a suspicion for why he was here, in the very edges of my mind.

    "Fire," he said, without a beat of contemplation or hesitation.

    "Fire," I repeated, watching him carefully. His relaxation seemed...familiar. My eyes narrowed slightly as I continued my assessment of him. He had a gun on one hip, but other than that appeared unarmed. "And what's my name?"

    "You don't know?" was the immediate retort. He quirked a brow in a way that suggested mischief.

    I gave him a look lacking in humor. But, I wouldn't deny, I appreciated that he was quick and sharp-witted. Too often I felt like I had to dumb myself down with the other agents... "Answer," I said coolly. "You won't like what happens if I have to answer for you." It was an empty threat at this point, but I did have a reputation to keep up.

    Fire gave a half-smile, a crooked gesture. It lifted both sides of his mouth, just one went higher than the other. Pale pink lips parted to reveal perfect teeth, and there was only a moment of lingering silence before he did answer. "Risk. Top agent of LASAR."

    The title wasn't necessary, and it drew a scowl to my lips, largely because of what the singular 'agent' implied. "Why're you here?"

    "Why do you think?"

    I watched him for another moment, hands resting on my hips now. "You're supposed to be my replacement partner."

    He didn't seem surprised by my guess. "As smart as they say."

    "They aren't fond of liars."

    "I'm still trying to figure out,"  Fire said, "if this banter somehow means you like me. Because they thought you'd put an arrow through my head the moment I walked through those doors," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and arching a brow inquisitively.

    I ignored that. "They also know I'm not going to restart team Alpha," I spoke louder. I knew what I was doing, and when I saw Fire's lips curve into a smile again, I knew two things.

    The first was that he was impressed, but much like myself, he wouldn't come out and say so. The second was that I was right. That fact was only more confirmed when Boss and Gray stepped out from behind the doors and into the training room with Fire and me.

    "We thought if you had a new teammate, you would reconsider," Gray said, his voice affable. The look in his eyes however, said that this was not a topic up for discussion.

    I stopped myself from rolling my eyes, and instead turned and waved a hand vacantly, calling a previously discarded gun to me with a thought. I was showing off to see how Fire reacted -- it was a test. "I said," I repeated, giving the gun a once over before jamming it back into its holster and looking straight at Boss, "I'm not restarting team Alpha." I could see Fire in my periphery, and I was intrigued to note that he wasn't surprised.

    "Risk..." Boss started, his own tone warning.

    I lifted a hand to silence him. "But," I said, still not looking at Fire, "I didn't say I wouldn't start a new team."

    That invoked silence. Gray and Boss exchanged looks, and I briefly looked over to Fire then. He looked curious; almost amused, too. As if he somehow knew what I was doing. That wasn't possible though, I told myself. But was it?

    Both Boss and Gray looked back to me then. "And?" Gray prompted.

    "Team Zulu," I stated. That was all I had to say on the matter. I pointed at Fire then, crooking a finger to indicate he should come with me. "No one's Alpha any more."

    "Alpha signifies that you're--" Gray started to say.

    I shot him a hard look. "The best? I know. But Alpha is also the name of something that's dead." The look in my eyes dared either of them to argue with me. When neither did, I turned away and strode from the room. "We're never using that codename again. Not if you want to keep me in LASAR."

    Without another word I left the room, Fire close behind

    I didn't miss Boss's shouted question, though. "Does this mean you're accepting Fire?!"

    I didn't answer him, though, I just kept walking. From the silence, apparently Fire came to his own conclusion, because I could see that smile on his face in my periphery.