It was all happening again. 'No,' she thought as she heard the anguished scream. 'No, please, it can't--' Her stomach felt weak, her heart was beating wildly in her throat, and every breath hurt so badly she wished she could stop breathing all together. Her senses were suddenly sharper as her body flooded with adrenaline, the acrid smell of smoke and blood nearly choking her, the flash of laser bolts blindingly bright as they seemed to move in slow motion around her.

Her cousin's second scream shattered the moment of terrible clarity, spurring time back to its normal speed, and beyond. Lila felt as if she were moving through water as she ran across the battlefield. She vaguely sensed Duke running beside her, keeping her covered as she flew with a speed born of fear and desperation. She fell to her knees at the side of her fallen leader, praying for strength as she tried desperately not to be sick. Through sheer force of will she kept her hands from shaking as she frantically tried to stop the flow of life from Wildwing's side. He cried out and tried to curl up, still conscious. "Dive..." he gasped. "No...I can't..." He made a choked sound of pain. Lila pressed the cloth against his side and slipped the other arm around his neck, whispering to him as soothingly as she could. Barely coherant, he managed to uncurl, giving her as clear a look as possible at his wound.

"NO!" Lila whirled, looking up into the wide, hysterical blue eyes. "Bro!" Nosedive through himself down beside his older brother, shoving Tanya roughly out of the way. "Lila, help him! DO SOMETHING!" He screamed at her, grabbing Wildwing's arm. Lila didn't bother to respond. 'I have to stop it...please don't let him die right here in my hands...please...not him...'

Somewhere there was a huge crash, and she felt the sidewalk vibrate beneath her, but she didn't even look up, her whispered prayer as constant as her work as she tried to shut out the chaos and the fear.

"They're gone," Duke panted, running up with Mallory at his side. "Sweet mother of ducks," he swore, looking down over her shoulder. "Dive, SHUT UP." He grabbed the younger duck's beak, forcing him eye to eye. "Let her work. I know you're scared, but he can NOT afford to have you lose it yet!" He released Dive and turned to the others. "We got to get him back, let's go! Find something to him carry with, call an ambulance, and STAY OUT OF HER WAY!" They scattered quickly, except for Nosedive, who was still on the verge of hysterics but now hovering silently instead of demanding action.

Lila wasn't aware of any of it until whirling lights and sirens approached. The medics poured out of the ambulance, one of them stopping for a heartbeat with a startled curse at the destruction. Duke promptly shoved him aside, taking hold of the gurney himself.

Lila went with them in the ambulance; the rest followed in the Migrator. It took some discussion but with help from Duke's saber they were able to convince the humans to take them back to the Pond, where Lila's equipment would be better able to handle the injuries.