A/N: In keeping with the current trend, another one of my relatives passed away between updates. Shortly after Christmas my aunt passed away. She was the widow of my late uncle (my late father's twin). She was diabetic and had a slew of other heath issues. Her brother woke up and found her already gone. She was one of my favorite relatives so I really miss her :(

Chapter Dedication: This upload is in honor of Earth Day and this chapter is in honor of the nuclear arms treaty the US and Russia just signed on the 8 of this month (April) to replace the old treat that was signed on July 31st, 1991 between the US and the USSR. The old one recently expired and so they agreed to sign a new one to limit the amount of nuclear arms each country can test and have. Now that's something worth celebrating :) Happy Earth Day!

Disclaimer: "I don't own Captain Planet and the Planeteers or anything related to it for that matter. Ted Turner and TBS/Hana-barbara do as far as I know. This story is completely for the fun of writing and sharing."

italics means thoughts

Following Destiny

Chapter 8: The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

A tall man in a pristine white lab coat swiftly walked down a metallic hallway in an underground research facility. He had short hair that was blood red in color and sharp green eyes. As he neared the end of the long, narrow hallway, a thick door made of lead came into view along with a guard standing next to it.

"ID and authorization badge," the guard requested once the man in the lab coat reached him.

"Certainly," the man replied as he pulled out the requested information. As the guard verified his ID badge, the man said, "Seems the higher ups have decided to reprocess the spent fuel we placed in the cooling pond from the last reactor."

After critically eyeing the other man's identification card and authorization badge, the soldier handed them back and proceeded to unlock the heavy door behind them.

"Thank you," the red-head said as he stepped through the door.

As soon as he was past the guard a fiendish grin found its way to his face. It really was too easy. All he had to do was get the radioactive waste reprocessed and he could use the resulting plutonium for his own experiments back at his private lab. The US government didn't listen to him when he suggested the direction he wanted to take with nuclear waste. They called his ideas unethical and shot them down instantly. Well, he'd show them, he'd show the world! He found a foreign investor who was so intrigued by his ideas that he monetarily backed him instantly, as long as all the test results went back to his country. That was fine with him. He didn't care who took the results of his experiments or what they did with the data; as long as he got to run with his ideas and was paid for the results he had no problem with any of it.

Several hours later, he remerged from behind the door in need of a break.

"You were back there for a really long time," the guard commented as he began relocking the door.

"Yes well, it's a lengthy process," the redhead explained.

As he worked on the security clearance locks, he spoke. "It's a shame that the waste from reactors is so dangerous that we have to have all this security in place. If the US signs that arms treaty that's been in the news the amount of nuclear waste will be cut in half and we'll have less to worry about. That sure would be nice."

The man in the lab coat frowned. That certainly wouldn't do.

xXxXxXx

Linka stood silently at the edge of the shore, a small container in her hands. She took a deep breath and, without a word, she reached into the container and pulled out a handful of sooty ashes and threw them into the air.

She pointed her ring forward and softly said, "Wind."

The ashes swirled through the air as the gentle gust took them further out to sea. Linka watched as they slowly drifted down and disappeared into the rolling waves of the ocean.

"Good-bye, Boris. May your spirit rest in peace," she whispered.

She sat back down on the damp sand and pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of her shorts. She didn't have to look at it, she'd read it so many times since her Uncle Dmitri had sent it that she had it memorized.

She opened it and re-read it anyway.

My dearest Linka,

I am sending you some of Boris's ashes. Please scatter them for me near your new home. It sounded like such a lovely place that I thought it would be a nice place to lay a part of him to rest. I will scatter some here in Washington D.C. and the rest back home by Natasha's grave. I want you to know that I appreciate how much you and your friends tried to help him. Aside from scattering his ashes, I have one more request of you: stop blaming yourself. I know you feel responsible for Boris's death but nothing could be further from the truth. You did what you could, but in the end, the decision on what to do was ultimately Boris's. You cannot hold yourself accountable for his misguided decisions. Please do not forget that. Keep in touch, Linka.

Sending all my love,

Uncle Dmitri

Linka refolded the letter and placed it back in her pocket. She wanted to honor her uncle's request, but she found it incredibly difficult when she couldn't get Boris's final accusation out of her head. His words had been a slap in the face and now that he was gone there was nothing she could do to redeem herself in his eyes. He died bitter and angry with her and she could never change that.

It was a heavy burden to bear.

She lost track of time as she sat there reflecting on that thought, watching the gentle rise and fall of the ocean before her. Last week, she woke up in her room with no memory of how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was trying save Ma-Ti in China after Looten Plunder dropped his cage over a cliff. Realizing that she didn't know if Ma-Ti had been saved or not, she rushed from her room to find the others. She was immensely relieved to see Ma-Ti had indeed survived the fall without injury. The other four explained what had happened. She was shocked to find out that she had been asleep for three straight days. Gi informed her that, while she was recovering from her energy depletion, a package had arrived for her. It turned out to be a letter from her Uncle Dmitri along with a small container of her cousin's ashes. Apparently, they had found what was left of Boris's body after the warehouse fire and her uncle had him cremated. His ashes sat in her closet for a week before she was able to get up the nerve to scatter them out at sea.

From down the beach, Wheeler watched as Linka sat at the edge of the water staring out into the clear ocean, a gloomy frown marring her pretty face. With a heavy sigh he walked towards his blonde teammate. When he reached her he silently took a seat next to her. She glanced at him before turning her eyes back to the water. They sat in a companionable quiet, content to just keep each other company.

Suddenly Gaia's transparent face appeared in front of them, ending the moment.

"Gaia, what is the problem?" Linka asked.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you, Linka, but I need all of you at the crystal chamber," Gaia said before abruptly disappearing.

Wheeler rose first and held his hand out to Linka. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. Together they headed for the crystal chamber.

xXxXxXx

Once the five eco-teens were present Gaia began. "I called you all here to discuss an important world issue."

"What's up, Gaia?" Wheeler asked.

"As you know, nuclear weapons are of growing concern in today's world. Countries all over the world are developing deadly weapons with the notion that nuclear armament will protect them from other countries with weapons of mass destruction. The real truth though is that if every country that possesses nuclear arms decides to use them, whether offensively or defensively, there will be nothing left for any of us, "Gaia said solemnly.

"That is true, Gaia, but what do you want us to do about it?" Linka asked reasonably.

Gaia smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Linka. The United States and the Soviet Union are the leading countries in nuclear weapons development, holding about ninety percent of the world's nuclear weapons. Recently both countries have been discussing the possibility of an arms treaty, which would be largely beneficial to both countries and the world. It is called the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START for short, and its aim is to keep nuclear weapons development and testing in check in the USA and the USSR."

"That is wonderful news," Kwame stated.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it is only in the negotiation stages right now, and both countries are at a stalemate of sorts. Neither can seem to agree on the terms. I was hoping you could attend the conference in Geneva to help rally support for it. After all, the planeteers have a member from both countries on this team who help each other and work together everyday. What better proof that both countries can do great things if they work together?" Gaia finished.

Linka glanced at her American companion. He was staring back at her. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's worth a shot."

"Then we will ready the Geo-Cruiser and head out as soon as it's ready," Kwame announced as the five of them left the crystal chamber.

xXxXxXx

An hour later the team was ready to head out when Gaia approached them.

"I'm afraid we have an eco-emergency."

"Now?" Gi asked. "What about that conference?"

"I'm afraid it will have to wait. A brush fire has started in an old growth forest in California. The fire is spreading quickly and it's getting closer to a rural town. The town has a power gas plant there. If the fire reaches it, the explosion will level everything for miles. They need help."

"What terrible timing. We really needed to attend that conference," Linka said disappointedly.

"Well, why don't we just split up then?" Gi suggested. "Kwame, Ma-Ti and I will take the Geo-copter to the US while you and Wheeler take the Geo-Cruiser to Geneva to attend that meeting."

"Alright," Linka agreed. "Stay in touch through Ma-Ti and let us know when you have the situation under control."

"Will do," Gi said as she, Kwame, and Ma-Ti headed further down the beach to the Geo-copter.

"I wonder if it is really okay for us to split up," Linka said as she and Wheeler climbed into the Geo-Cruiser.

"Don't worry, Linka, they'll be fine. They certainly don't need my fire power, and your wind power would just make a big fire like that worse," Wheeler replied as he took a seat next to her. "

"That is true, but what if they need to call Captain Planet?"

"Well, if they need Cap then we'll just call him and see what happens. Either way, I'm sure they're gonna have a more exciting day than we are," he grumbled slightly.

"Perhaps, but in the grand scheme of things, preventing nuclear radiation from ruining the planet is bigger than stopping a wildfire," Linka countered.

"Yeah, that's true. Plus it's just the two of us. We haven't been alone together in a while. It's kinda nice."

A light blush arose on Linka's cheeks but she rolled her eyes none-the-less. "This is not a date, Yankee. This is serious business"

"Hey I didn't say it wasn't. I'm simply saying that if I'm stuck attending some stuff meeting there's no one else I'd rather be stuck with."

Linka eyed him critically. "Thanks, I think . . ."

xXxXxXx

Kwame circled the area, looking for a safe place to land the Geo-Copter. Ma-Ti stared at the raging wildfire below them.

"We have our work cut out for us today," he stated.

"We sure do," Gi agreed, "Look at how far it's gotten already. The town is only two miles from here. We're running out of time."

Kwame finally landed the Geo-Copter in a safe spot near the fire trucks that were already on the scene. Unfortunately the water they were spraying wasn't enough. The three teens exited their vehicle and headed for the firemen.

"What are you kids doing here?! You should be evacuating with the rest of the town," one of them yelled over the roar of the fire and the high powered hoses. "You need to leave this area immediately, it's very dangerous!"

"Please, we have come to help," Kwame replied.

"Help!? What on Earth can you do?!"

"More than you think," Gi said.

"We are the planeteers," Ma-Ti added.

The guy stared at the quizzically. "The planet-whats?"

"Look, we don't have time to argue with you!" Gi finally shouted.

"Gi is right," Kwame turned to the youngest. "Ma-Ti, use your heart power to help guide the animals in the area to safety."

"You can count on me," he said before heading off.

"Be careful!" Gi cried after him.

"We will move further out and dig a trench with our rings to act as a barrier between the town and the fire."

"It's going to have to be a pretty big trench," Gi said as she followed after Kwame.

Once they'd hiked a good distance away, Kwame pointed his ring at the ground. "Earth!" he commanded and watched as the dirt before him began to split apart.

xXxXxXx

Linka elbowed Wheeler in the side for the third time to jostle him out of his nap. He sat up straighter and pulled at the collar of his deep blue dress shirt. Linka sighed, exasperated by her teammates lack of interest, and crossed one leg over the other as she smoothed out her black knee length skirt. Wheeler found Linka's long, smooth, toned legs more interesting than the debate so he kept himself awake by focusing on those instead. They had been sitting in the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland listening to the US and the USSR go back and forth on conditions that would have to be met in order for the treaty to be signed and enforced for almost two hours. Wheeler knew it was important, and he wanted to help if he could, but he could only take so much.

Just when Wheeler thought he couldn't bare it any longer the mediator said, "We will now open the floor. Does anybody want to speak?"

Linka stood up and walked towards the podium in the middle of the room, Wheeler in tow. "We have something we would like to say."

The man in charge waved his hand at the podium. "The floor is yours."

Linka cleared her throat and adjusted the microphone attached to the podium. "My companion and I belong to the planeteers, a team of five ecologically conscious youths who are trying to protect our planet today so that we can all have a future tomorrow. We could not all be here today, so the two of us came because this issue pertains to us the most. You see I am from the Soviet Union, and my comrade is from the United States. We came today to support this treaty between our two nations and as proof that it is more beneficial for us all if we work together than against each other."

"Right, what she said," Wheeler interjected.

Linka rolled her eyes slightly at his lack of input then continued. "The US and the Soviet Union hold ninety percent of the world's nuclear weapons, and for what? If we really wage war with our nuclear arsenals over disagreements there will not be anything left to disagree over. The entire world will pay for it and it is unfair of us to involve other countries in our disputes. Even if we do not use them on each other, we still cause irreversible damage just from testing such devises in our atmosphere and in our oceans. Surely men of your intellectual level can see the long term ramifications nuclear testing will have on our planet. So please, we urge you to compromise and sign this treaty."

She quickly repeated the speech in her native tongue for the non-English speakers present. When she finished for the second time the room was completely silent for a moment before the entire place was filled with the sound of applause. Wheeler smiled at Linka, adoration shining in his eyes. Linka was the smartest person he had ever met, and he admired her for her intelligence, but it also made him feel like he'd never be good enough for her. When all the cards were laid out on the table, she was way out of his league . . .

Wheeler pulled himself from his depressing thoughts and gave Linka a light thump on the back. "Wait to go, babe, I think you really made an impression on them."

Linka smiled warmly at her American companion as the mediator walked back up to the podium. "Thank you, young lady. Your speech was very inspiring. We can all take a page from your book. Now, would anyone else like to speak concerning the matter at hand?"

"Yes, I would," a male voice spoke from within the audience of people.

Everyone turned to see a tall, Caucasian man with short red hair, darker in color than Wheeler's, and eyes of green standing in the back. He simply wore a pair of slacks and a white dress shirt.

The mediator motioned the man towards the podium. "Then you have the floor Mr . . ."

"Newcomb, Marmaduke Newcomb."

To be continued . . .

A/N: So, does anybody have a guess where this is going? Let me know in a review. I'm interested to see who's picked up on it. Basically I'm taking certain liberties with a character who will ultimately be the same. I know this one is shorter than my normal chapters but this was the best place to stop this chapter otherwise it'd be too long and I didn't know if I'd get it up in time for Earth Day. I'm not completely happy with it either so I may play around with it later. We'll see. Anyway the next chapter should be up soon. Happy Earth Day!

SakuraJade