Her lip curled up in disgust as she saw the boy fall to the floor.
Too easy.
She shifted her feet, nervously, waiting for the boy to get up.
He didn't.
There is something wrong here, she thought as she stood over the fallen boy.
Blood sprinkled the floor, and the girl knew it wasn't her own.
The boy hadn't moved.
The girl bent down to inspect the boy. She sat on her toes, ready to jump back if needed.
It was needed.
But she wasn't quick enough and before she realized it, she was pinned beneath the boy. He smiled, the place where his tooth once was obvious.
And before she knew it, he backhanded her in the face.
Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her hand fell limply to her side, revealing the yellow W embellishing her shirt.
The boy smiled, wiping the blood that trickled from his mouth, his red gloves soaking in the stain. He looked down at the girl, taking in his victory.
Then he turned and walked out of the warehouse, the moonlight glinting on his golden earring. A few seconds later he was gone, his red, blue and black clad form, a speck in the clouds.
The next morning, Cassie opened her eyes.
And she screamed.
Her voice reverberated through Happy Harbor's halls, bouncing off of the outcroppings in the walls, and the empty chairs in the main room.
Her head fell back on the pillow, her body exhausted. She turned to the side, spotting the figure sitting beside her bed.
Robin.
His costume was in tatters, his face a mess. His lip was split and he looked like he had gone to hell and back.
Maybe he had.
She propped herself up with one elbow, whispering, "Robin."
He didn't answer. Silently he stood up and checked her vitals on the computer beside the bed. He grunted with approval then whispered, "Good."
His voice was scratchy, as if he hadn't used it for a while. His arm was wrapped in bandages and Cassie noticed the cuts on his legs.
He sat back down, his blue eyes staring at her from beneath the mask.
Cassie looked around, and then almost screamed again when she noticed the other beds beside her.
Impulse had two broken legs. He was badly bruised and Cassie couldn't tell if he was breathing. But his heart monitor said that he was still alive. Barely.
Arrowette was pale, her still body clothed in a hospital gown. Her hair seemed limp and all her fingers were broken.
Cassie turned to Robin, "Is she…?"
He shook his head.
Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. There was just one person missing.
"Where is Secret?"
Robin didn't answer.
"Where is Secret?" She asked again, dreading the answer.
Barely audible, Robin replied, "Inert."
"What?" Cassie said, disbelieving.
"He rendered her…inert." Robin choked on the last word, and a tear slipped from under his torn green mask.
Cassie sat there, unable to grasp what Robin was saying.
"Inert?"
He nodded, another tear splashing on the floor.
Cassie began to cry, wrenching sobs from deep within her chest. Her shoulders heave, and she clung on to Robin for support.
But he couldn't provide it.
For the last 24 hours, Robin had been tending over his fallen teammates, and finally the realization that one wasn't coming back had finally hit him. The stress and the pain finally took its toll. He had to get out of there, had to get out of the room.
Robin spun on his heel. He left the room, leaving Cassie by herself, crying.
Alone.
Cassie limped into the main room, where Robin was. He was seated at the main table. Where Kon's chair had been was nothing but shattered wood. Kon's chair lay in the corner, a twisted heap.
Robin had his head down, in his arms, and for the first time, Cassie heard him cry.
Sobs wracked his body, and finally Cassie knew that they had been defeated.
She hobbled to the chair next to him, and sat gingerly on the seat. She patted his back, making soothing noises, trying to stop Robin's crying, and as quickly as it came, it stopped. Robin pushed her hand off, and whispered, "Don't touch me."
Cassie pulled her hand back, "Sorry."
Robin spun away from her and stood, brooding in the corner.
"Why is he doing this? He asked.
"Kon wouldn't have done this." She pointed to the smoking wreckage of the computer screen, of her friends, "He wouldn't have hurt us, any of us…He wouldn't have killed Secret."
"Maybe it's Match." Robin thought out loud, "He was able to do this before."
"Maybe. I hope so."
Robin was silent.
"Robin?" Cassie spoke, "Do you know something?"
"It's not Match."
"Why not?"
"When I found you in that ware house, I found these on the floor, and they don't belong to you." He held out in his palm two teeth.
"So? That doesn't tell us it's not Match, they both have the genetic structure."
"Yes, but this morning there was a broadcast from Hawaii, Match was on the loose again, and the showed a picture of him."
"That still doesn't tell us it IS Kon."
"He had all his teeth."
Cassie was said nothing. Then, barely above a whisper, "No."
She started shaking, sliding against the wall to the floor, "No." Her head started wing back and forth, "No, no, no, no, NO!!!"
She pushed away from the wall, running to Robin, pounding his chest, "NO!!!"
"I'm sorry."
She stopped, looking at him with wide eyes, "Why are you sorry?"
"Because I couldn't stop him."
"What?"
"I couldn't stop him, he was too fast, too strong, too agile."
He paused, "I wasn't good enough….I'm sorry."
Cassie looked at him in shock, "It wasn't your fault. You are human! You had as much of a chance to standing up to him as you have against Superman. You had no powers. He does. You couldn't do anything."
"I know. But I should have thought of something."
Cassie shook her head, "NO. I couldn't stand up to him, Impulse couldn't stand up to him, Arrowette couldn't have…nor could Secret, and neither could you."
Robin said nothing, then shook his head, "There must've been something I could have done."
Cassie sighed, realizing there was no getting through to him, "Well then, let's solve this problem, and see what you can do."
Robin nodded, "I haven't had time to check the security camera's recoding since all this started. But I have them right here." He waved the micro tapes that the Cave used to record what goes on.
He sat at an undamaged terminal, bringing up the cameras from the night before.
Cassie cringed just thinking of the moment where everything began to f*ck up.
***
Cassie pulled at her pigtails. It was weird getting used to a new hairstyle. The pigtails bothered her, although she didn't know why. I guess it takes a while to get used to. She thought. The midriff shirt wasn't helping either.
Arrowette had finally come back, and everything was settling back to normal. Robin, or Alvin Draper, was reviewing the budget report, and Impulse was zipping back and forth, bringing in various foods from around the world. It was the third Saturday of the month, and that was pizza night. While pretty much everyone else ate pizza, Bart loved to zip around the world brining weird and unusual foods for all of us to try.
Robin had resigned to checking the budget reports himself, and working out the schedule, since it was close to impossible to get everyone's attention these days.
Kon had been late.
In fact, Kon hadn't shown up until the end, when everyone was about to leave. Impulse was the first to go. He had waved goodbye and had sped out the door.
But he came back. Him and Kon were fighting, at super speed it was hard to make out the separate figures, but when Impulse fell to the ground, the crunch of his broken legs very evident, we knew we were screwed.
Impulse was out of the running, so to speak, almost immediately.
Next was Arrowette. Superboy was so fast. So damn fast. Before Arrowette could pull out an arrow from her quiver, she lay on the floor grasping her fingers in pain. And Kon kept hitting. His fists were a blur, but Cassie had tackled him before Arrowette was hurt too much.
But what he did next was worse.
He backhanded Cassie and she flew against the main computer screen.
It shattered, raining the occupants of the room in a hail of glass.
Cassie was not unaffected; She fell to the floor like a rock.
It shattered, raining the occupants of the room in a hail of glass. Cassie was not unaffected; She fell to the floor like a rock.
Robin and Secret were left to face off Kon.
Before Robin could even react, Kon pulled out a canister. Robin shot out his batarang, but it was too late.
Potassium Chloride diffused in the air.
And Secret screamed.
Robin covered his ears, but it was no use. The scream permeated the air.
Robin screamed along with her.
Kon tackled Robin, hitting him with a flurry of fast punches and jabs. It wasn't a faire fight.
Kon was just too fast, too strong.
And Robin was holding back.He couldn't bring himself to ever striking Kon a fatal blow. Kon was his friend, his team-mate. He couldn't do it.
And that brought Robin down.
He was knocked out cold. He fell to the ground, his bruised and shattered body a bloody heap.
Everyone was beaten.
Kon stood in the middle of the destroyed room. His breathing was hard, and sweat dotted his forehead.
And then something happened.
Kon began to scream. Tears streamed down his face. He fell to his knees, clutching his head, as if in agony.
He began to whisper, his low voice bouncing off the walls.
"Stop it."
He was shaking, his whole body vibrating.
"Stop it."
His voice grew louder, deafening,
"STOP IT!!!!STOP IT!! STOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!!!!!!"
His words slurred together as he said them faster, increasingly loud.
Suddenly he stopped. His body shivered and Kon faced the camera. His eyes lit up, and a grin came to his face. A sadistic grin.
He reached up and yanked the camera out of the wall.
The tape turned to static.
***
Robin and Cassie sat there in shock.
Understanding dawned.
They both were silent.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Robin asked.
"Kon was never in control of his own actions. Something else is controlling him."
Robin turned to Cassie , "After that, you woke up, right?"
Cassie nodded, "He was about to leave, and I followed him. He must have known I was following him, because he led me right into that warehouse. And that's were you found me."
Cassie stopped a moment, "How did you find me?"
"I hid a tracer in everyone's uniform. It helps keep track of everyone."
Cassie didn't know whether to be offended, or grateful, "It's okay, I understand."
The room was silent.
There was no Impulse to zip around asking questions, no Arrowette to make some offhand remark. No Kon.
"What do we do now?"
Robin sighed, "I don't know Cassie," He looked at her, his eyes betraying his feelings, "I just don't know."
Cassie thought for a moment, then spoke, "One thing I do know is that we have to find Kon. Fast."
Robin nodded and began to work on the computer, "I can see if the tracer on his costume is working." He typed quickly, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
Robin sighed in futility, "It's either malfunctioning or fell off during the fight."
"So what do we do?"
They were silent.
Something crashed in the infirmary.
The two turned, with wide eyes, not even breathing.
Robin and Cassie glanced at each other, confirming each other's suspicions.
Kon.
Cassie made a move towards the infirmary but Robin's hand shot out and stopped here. He shook his head, "I'll go first."
He swept across the floor, and peered through the cracked door into the infirmary.
He didn't move.
"Robin, is it him?"
He shook he' s head, "No."
"Then who is it?
"Cissie's awake."
Cassie let out a sigh of relief, "That's great!" she bounded past Robin to see her friend, she was about to enter the room when Robin held out his hand.
"Don't."
Cassie looked at him quizzically, and then looked in.
She saw why Robin wouldn't want her to go in.
Cissie was crying.
It wasn't a sob or a wail, she wasn't even making a sound, she was cradling her hands to her chest, and slowly rocking back and forth.
Robin moved towards Cissie, putting his arm around her, comforting her.
"Shh…" He whispered, trying to calm Cissie.
"Why?"
She held up her bandaged, mangled fingers, "I don't understand." She stared at them in shock, "Why?"
"I don't know why, but we'll find out." Robin looked Cassie, "We'll find out."
Cissie nodded, allowing Robin to lower her back down on the bed.
Cassie turned away from the room, waiting for Robin to come out.
When he did, she turned to him, "We have to do something now."
He nodded, agreeing, "We should tell the JLA."
Cassie sighed, shaking her head, "That's exactly what I don't want to do. I don't want them involved."
Robin was about to answer, but she stuck her hand out, "I know what you're going to say. I said, I don't want them involved, but I know damn well that they should be." She looked at him, "Only problem is, who are we going to tell first?"
Kon's breathing was ragged as he slipped into the forest surrounding Happy Harbor. His head was mixed up, hurting, bleeding, painfully pounding. His vision swam and he felt the temperature raise.
Ohgodohgodohgodohgod….
His eyes, dark, were wide with shock as he stumbled, tripped, fell to the ground. He landed on the sharp needles that piled under the treas. His hands were bloody, his face was scratched, bruised. Throbbing.
Ohgodohgodohgodohgod…
He scrambled unto his feet, running, thrashing, pushing his way through the woods, desperately trying to escape whatever was coming after him. He stumbled again, falling, tripping…
Hurting.
Wet, hot tears streamed down his face, and he couldn't wipe them away, his hands were bloody.
Bloody.
His vision swam again as he comprehended what he had done.
Bloody.
He crumpled:
Cassiehitpunchkick*kill*punchkickthrow*kill*hurt*kill*killkillkillkillBarttrippunch*rip*slashhurthurthurt*kill*RobinhatepainhatkillhatekillhatekillkillkillkillkillCissiebreakbreakbreakkillkillkillkill*kill*
Tears came, unbidden. He grabbed his legs, curling into a fetal position. He shut his eyes, trying to wash away the events that kept flashing in his mind.
Nonononononononononono….
Yes.
He felt, almost without noticing, another voice in his mind. It was back.
Kon grabbed his head, trying to block the voices, unable to because they were coming from inside him.
From around him, from everywhere.
Suddenly he stopped moving, stopped the chattering of his teeth, the trembling and spasms of his muscles, the pain, the pain, thepainthepainthepain… He was trapped, trapped in himself, in his mind, in a nightmare he couldn't break free of.
You liked it.
Kon's eyes didn't blink. He was frozen, staring into space, complete lack of control over his body, over his actions. Over his thoughts.
You hurt them.
Kon didn't move, didn't speak.
You liked it, it was *fun*
Kon wanted to shake his head, to scream out no! But he couldn't, he had no control.
Robin was a prick, he kept one-upping you.
If Kon had control over his body he would run, he would shut his eyes, shake his head, scream at the voice to shut up. Shutupshutupshutupshutup…
You liked to kick him, to break bone. To *hurt* him.
Stop it! He was screaming in his head, STOP IT!!! No good, the voice kept whispereing, kept speaking, prodding, priding.
You liked to hear the bones crack in pretty Arrowette's fingers, to hear them *break*
He gave up, letting the voices come un compromised, unable to put up a fight to what the voice was telling him.
And Secret, You enjoyed that very much, you liked killing her, to hear her shriek as she was rendered inert, dead. You *liked* it.
If Kon had control over his body, his eyes would widen as he caught on, as he realized who, *what* the voice was.
Took you long enough. The voice laughed, But I didn't do anything, nothing at all.
You hit, kicked, bashed, hurt, *harmed* your friends, You killed one of them.
And you liked it.
It was *fun*.
Now, an image popped up, unbidden in Kon's helpless mind, of a smile, sickening, Let's say we do some more…Harm….
***
Cassie sighed, her left hand rubbing her temple, trying to clear the crowded thoughts. She couldn't think, didn't want to think of their next actions, "Who the hell we going to tell first?"
Robin looked at her, "Batman."
She shook her head, "I don't think so," She thought for a moment, "Superman, he's the leader of the JLA and he's, sorta, kinda the next of kin."
Robin gave a small smile at the leader remark, "Either way, we have to tell them."
Cassie shook her head, "I can't help feeling that we should leave them out of this, that it would just make things more complicated…"
"We can't act like teenagers in this situation, this is the only sensible route."
Cassie sighed again. "Yeah, I know, but this is going to be damn hard to explain." She pushed a fallen beam aside, "I guess we'll tell them," slowly she made her way to the still sizzling main computer that occupied one wall of the Happy Harbor cave, "If we find something that works." She ignored the blood that pooled in the indents of the floor, of the red that streaked the walls, of the distinct smell of fear and pain in the room.
Both Cassie and Robin began to search for an unbroken terminal. It took a few minutes, but Cassie let out a whoop of victory as she pushed aside a fallen beam, "I found one!" she shouted, and Robin hobbled to her side.
Cassie stared for a second, then quickly hid her pity before Robin noticed. But he had noticed and felt sick at what had happened. Why the hell was he alive? Kon could have killed him in two seconds, snapped his neck, break his back, crush his skull… the list went on, and yet Robin still could not figure out why he was still able to walk. He dismissed this and concentrated on reaching the JLA satillite.
The tiny screen in front of them sputtered to life and they were greeted with the sleepy, unshaven face of Green Lantern.
Kyle rubbed his eyes, and the figures on the tiny monitor screen where he was stationed came into focus. He could make out the faces of Robin and Wondergirl. "Hey! It's…" Then he noticed.
The quip of JLA jr. died at his lips, and his eyes widened in shock and surprise, and a glimmer of disgust, "…shit." He whispered as he saw the blood streaked walls, of the condition of the two in front of him, of the shattered room.
"Green Lantern, we need to speak to Superman." Cassie pleaded, ignoring the expletive that had left GL's lips.
GL's eyes narrowed, and he spoke, this time louder, "What the hell happened there?"
Robin spoke up, his voice horse, scratched, "Just get Superman."
GL was hit with the urgency in Robin's ruined voice, and he nodded numbly as he fingered Superman's call signal.
Superman's voice came on the line, "What is it? I'm kind of stuck in something here..." His voice was low, and classical music drifted in the background.
"It's about Kon." Robin whispered again, noticing, clinically, that something was wrong with is voice, he was feeling light headed…
"Robin?" Superman asked, shocked by the condition of the voice on the line, "What's wrong with Kon, did something happen? Is he hurt? Is he ok?" His words came in a flurry."
"It think you better get here." Robin's voice was getting lower now, and he felt his eyelid's drift close, "Just get here…" He fell to the ground.
"Oh god, Robin!" She cradled his head, before it could crack against the ground, Christ, how could I not notice? She lowered him to the ground, "GL we need doctors over here, we have injured."
"What happened? Is he alright?"
Cassie reached for a pulse, panicking when she didn't find one. She realized she was placing her fingers on the wrong spot of the neck, and let out a sigh of relief when she found it beating strong, "He's fine."
Superman's voice floated through the connection, "I'm getting over there right now, don't move."
GL nodded, "I'll hurry," Just as the line closed, Cassie could hear his whispered voice, "damn…"
She closed her eyes fighting a headache coming on. She looked around her once more, suddenly noticing that she was the only one still awake, still conscious. "Damn is right." She whispered to herself as she knelt next to Robin's prone body. She took in the cuts, the bruises, the obvious breaks, and the rushed bandages. She realized that Robin hadn't dealt with his injuries at all, compared to what he had done for the rest of them. Now he was gone to. She felt for a pulse, reassuring herself that yes, he was alive, and yes, he would recover.
She felt alone.
She hung her head, trying to block the pulses of pain that she felt behind her eyes. Maybe she should check on the others, she thought to herself, Before she could decide, she felt a breeze.
Superman had arrived.
He stood in the center of what had once been Young Justice's headquarters. His red cape lay limply on his shoulders, and the bright colors of his costume contrasted to the dark, smoky interior of the recently wrecked Happy Harbor.
"What happened here?" He asked, his voice low, humbled by the carnage.
Cassie stood up, slowly, allowing her slow muscles to work, she turned to him, her voice dull and flat, "It's about Kon."
He didn't seem to grasp what she was telling him, "What? Where is he? Is he all right?"
Cassie nodded slowly, "I think he is, but that's not why we called you."
Superman didn't seem to hear her words, rather, stepping over fallen beams and broken chairs, looked for Kon, "Where is he?" He asked again, his voice on an edge, "What happened here?" He looked her straight in the eye. "Who did this?"
Cassie stuttered for a moment, "I- I think you should see something…"
Superman was losing his patience, "Who did this? Why aren't you answering my questions?"
Cassie's voice became stronger, "Sir, *Kon* did this."
Superman faltered, "What? What do you mean?" Cassie didn't answer, starting the tape, letting Superman see for himself.
As it started, GL and a few medics appeared courtesy of the JLA's transporter, Cassie spoke with them, showing them where Cissie, Bart, and Robin where. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of the medics Superman stood transfixed, watching the violence unfold on the small screen.
The type was finally reduced to static. Superman slowly turned to Cassie, his voice low, "He killed someone?" He asked, dreading the answer.
Cassie was almost afraid to nod, but she did, her eyes never leaving his. He sighed partially in disgust, and lost hope, his voice barely above a whisper, he asked, "Who?"
"Secret, her name was Secret." Cassie tried to keep the tears from spilling over, but she couldn't, and one dripped and splashed on the cement below. She wiped the rest with her hand, smearing a little blood on her cheek, "I know Kon is not himself, but we don't know what to do," She looked at Robin, he lay on a stretcher, "I know that Kon is trying to fight this, otherwise we would be dead, Rob would be dead, but," She wiped away smudge that was on Robin's prone face, "I- we need to get him back."
Superman nodded, his demeanor strengthening once more, "There is nothing else you or anyone in Young Justice can do now, Go home, get some sleep, and we'll contact you."
"But-"
He pointed to her, his voice serious, "Young Justice is out of commission until this over. Under no circumstances will you or anyone from Young Justice be involved in this any longer." His eyes softened, "Its to protect you and your friends," His hands were open, "I'm sorry, I know you feel its your responsibility, but it's the only thing you can do now."
Cassie nodded, and was about to say something when Robin groaned, grasping his head with one hand, "Damn…" He pushed away orderlies that rushed to his side, "I'm fine, leave me alone," He winced as waves of pain buffeted his head, "Cassie, what happened?"
Cassie rushed to his side, "You lost consciences."
He propped himself up, "Well, how did they react?"
Cassie gave a small smile, "We can go home, there's nothing we can do now."
He stood shakily up, "So, no more Young Justice?"
She shook her head sadly, "I don't think so, were the only two that are functional, and I don't think we can do much in the state were in."
"No more Young Justice." He noticed that Superman had been watching the exchange, he turned to the older man, "Sir, please, just make sure he's all right."
His eye gleamed from unshed tears, and he nodded, "I will son, I will." And he left, his cape billowing behind him.
Robin rubbed his temples with his hands, and when he felt strong enough he began to make his way to where the car was parked, Cassie placed a hand on his shoulder, "Wait up." They walked together to the car, silent, letting the last remaining medics pass by, soon Happy Harbor was empty, save Cassie and Robin.
"We can't just leave this." Cassie spoke to Robin's back.
"What else are we going to do." He turned his head slightly, looking at her.
"We have to do something!"
He turned to her, his blazing, "We can't do anything! He's the strongest one in the group, and he beat us without wasting a breath, there is nothing we can do!" He pushed open the door to the Red Bird.
Cassie was angry, "You of all people know that brute force isn't the only way!" She shouted, "Just because we can't beat him with our hands doesn't mean we can't with our minds!"
He shook his head, "I don't think so, and anyway," He started the engine, "You heard what Superman said, were not allowed."
Cassie laughed bitterly, "That didn't stop you with Secret."
He glared at her, "That was different."
She shook her head, "No it wasn't'. He's our friend, we have to help him."
He paused, his face blank, betraying no emotion or thought, "You're right," he said dully, then his voice grew softer, "You're right." He allowed the engine to stand idle, "I'll contact you, see what I can do."
Cassie nodded, "Ok," she pushed aside a strand of blond hair that fell over her face, "Get some sleep Rob."
He gave small, tight smile, "I will, Cassie, same to you." And he drove away, Cassie followed the car outside, and let the door seal the Young Justice cave.
It was cold, and the sun had already set. She shivered slightly, and prepared to take off.
Something grabbed her arm, holding her to the ground with force. She stared at the red gloved hand that gripped her.
Ohshitohshitohshit…
Her breathing came out in short gasps as it dawned on her exactly what was happening. She didn't move, didn't speak, just breathed.
"Hello Cassie."
The voice was soft, but harsh, just above a breathy whisper.
She knew instantly who it belonged to.
Whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido….
"Remember me?" His voice was near her ear, and she could feel his breath, "I didn't finish what I started…" His other hand grabbed her other wrist, and Cassie had it.
She kicked back, catching Kon in the groin, and sent him flying. He slammed into a tree, and stood up, unfazed, "You shouldn't have done that."
She ignored him, and began to back away, "I don't know who you are, but you're not Kon."
He shook his head, advancing closer, "I am Kon, just not the one you know." He smiled, and it froze Cassie's blood, he rushed her tackling her to the ground. He lay there, pining her with his hands, "I will kill you," he promised, "Lets see if I make it on the first try?" He smiled again, cocking his head to the side.
Cassie wasn't the type that would let him try, she kicked up again, twisted her wrists out of his grasp and landing a double punch.
Blood flowed through Kon's nose, and still he smiled. He picked himself off the ground, wiping dust from his jacket, "I like this coat," and he grinned, "Last time I checked, so did you."
She backed away, He's trying to get me angry, I have to run, get Robin, get someone, she turned away from him and sprinted into the woods. She knew she couldn't take off into the air, it was too open, he would catch up, the only choice left was to lose him in the woods, and take off before he realized where she had gone.
She heard his footsteps behind her, crunching leaves, so close. Oh god, oh god, oh god…
"You should have seen it Cassie," He used her name and she winced, but didn't stop, "Little prissy Arrowette's fingers, they popped like popcorn," He laughed gleefully, "They just crushed, I didn't even have to do much," His voice was closer, and Cassie came up to a clearing.
WheredoIgoWheredoIgo…
"Just my thumb and forefinger, Crunch." Another laugh bubbled from his throat, "You should have heard it, like stepping on cockroaches."
She scrambled up a tree, hiding behind the leaves. Kon slipped into the clearing. Keep running, keep running, keep running, she prayed. Her communicator emitted a beep. It was Robin.
"Hey Cass, I have an idea…" Robin stopped, hearing her heavy breathing, "Cass, is something wrong?" Cassie fumbled for the control, desperately looking for away to turn it off. Nonononononono.
Kon stopped.
His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist that dangled on a tree limb, with his hand, he crushed the communicator, in the process twisting her wrist.
He looked up, straight into her eyes, "Hello Cassie."
Shit.
She yanked her wrist from his grasp, shooting into the air. She landed on her feet, running.
"Did you ever try tripping Bart as he was running full speed?" He called out after her, already giving chase.
Keep running, don't look back, don't listen…
"Both legs break, they just crack in two."
Don't listen…
"Ever see Bart cry?"
dontlistendontlisten…
"Ever hear Secret scream?"
That's it.
"I know you can hear me Cassie!" Kon called out, "Come on Cassie! I've got more stories!"
Cassie stopped running, stopped moving. She turned around her eyes blazing, her fist shot out, catching him the face, and sending him flying away from her, "Shut up."
He screamed something at her and charged at her with a speed she didn't know he could reach, he let out a flurry of punches, each one forcing her closer and closer to the ground.
"Bastard." She whispered, spitting in his face.
Kon glared at her, pulling one hand away to wipe the spittle, "Bitch." He pulled back to punch her, and she yanked her wrist out of his grasp, rolling away.
"Ever see me angry Kon?"
She kicked out, catching him in the ribs.
She began to pummel him, to beat him to the ground. They fought, furiously, faster then the eye could follow. She tossed him into a tree, he flipped her on her back. She brought him to his knees, he kicked her in the ribs. Finally, they came to a standstill.
Blood was flowing profusely from Kon's nose, and Cassie's hair was matted with blood.
Face off. Both were breathing heavily, the air coming out in short gasps.
Kon was still smiling.
"I will beat you." Kon said, "Sooner or later, I will kill you," he came closer, Cassie not moving, "I'm stronger, faster, maybe even a little smarter," he wiped the blood from his nose, "You can't beat me."
"You're not Kon."
He laughed, "But I am!" He spun around, as if modeling something, "It's your dear little Kon, in the, what did you say," he grinned wider, "Baywatch-hot-flesh?"
"Shut up. Just shut up!"
"Cassie, you couldn't hurt me if you tried," He sneered, moving even closer, " 'cause you like me."
"SHUT UP!" She threw a punch, catching him in the face, throwing him into a tree, "YOU ARE NOT KON!!!!"
Kon's body slid down the tree, his face was battered, and the precursors of a black eye were forming, "I am Kon, chickie." He gave a ragged laugh, "I will kill you."
Cassie leaned in, her face serious, grabbing Kon by his costume, she yanked him up bye one hand, the other one poised for a punch, growling, "You are not Kon."
"Give me a kiss?"
Cassie rammed her fist, knocking his head back against the tree. Kon's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his body went limp.
Cassie slid to the floor, beside Kon's unconscious body, suddenly tired, "I will get you back."
A hand touched her shoulder.
She span around, tense, "What the hell-" She relaxed, "Rob."
Robin stood there, staring at what Cassie had accomplished, "I saw what happened, sorry I came to late."
Cassie shrugged her shoulders, "You wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway."
Robin nodded, probably more to himself, then to her, "You did it."
Cassie smiled tiredly, "God, I'm tired…" She lay her head against the tree, "Let's just get him to the cave." She yanked Kon, lifting him easily with one hand, carrying him toward the cave, "I just want to get this over with…"
***
A force field sizzled and sparked as it came up around Kon's prone body.
Both Cassie and Robin knew that it wouldn't hold Kon for long, But they were reluctant to call in the JLA. This time it was Robin that expressed his reservations of the JLA:
"I don't want to give him to the JLA."
Cassie who had been watching Kon, turned to him in shock, "But you said so yourself, we can't be teenagers about this."
He shook his head, "I know what I said, but I'm thinking that we have to handle this ourselves. If the JLA handle this, sure they may have more resources available, but they don't know Kon."
"But what can we do?" She pointed to Kon's prone body, "Now that we have him, what the hell do we do?"
"Talk to him. We know that something is controlling him, we just have to find out what."
"Who do we know that has the power to control someone?"
Robin was silent for a moment, "Harm…"
Cassie looked at him, "Harm?"
"Secret can get into peoples minds, right?"
"Could." Cassie replied, breaking Robin's train of thought.
"What?"
"She's dead."
"Oh…right." Robin was silent again, then picked up this time his voice softer, "We never found out what happened to Harm after DEO grabbed Secret, right?"
Cassie nodded, "Right, but how did he get to Kon?"
Robin steepled his fingers, "That's what I'm trying to figure out. Last time we saw Harm in gas form, wouldn't it be possible that he was accidentally incorporated into Secret, that he's become like Secret?" He paused for a second, "Harm wasn't really alive the last time we saw him, what if he became like Secret?"
"But you're just guessing, you don't know for sure."
Robin sighed, "I know, but the last time we saw him, just before the thing with Secret and DEO." He paused for a moment, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have a hunch….that this is Harm."
Cassie followed what he was saying, "Wait, so then…" She shook her head, "No, that doesn't make sense, He realized that stuff that killed Secret, wouldn't he die along with her?"
"Well we know that he didn't, so either he's not exactly like Secret, or…"
Realization dawned on the both of them, "Secret's not dead!"
"So what's happening, are Harm and Secret fighting for control?"
Robin shook his head, "We can't be sure of anything right now, we shouldn't get out hopes up…"
"That's right, you shouldn't."
Both Robin and Cassie turned to the force field.
It was Kon.
"Hello Kiddies."
Robin just stared at him, not betraying any emotion.
Cassie on the other hand, was seething with emotion, "We know it's you Harm, so just drop the fucking joke."
"Why? You don't think its funny?" He shrugged, "Hmm, Kon sure does." Kon's regular blue eyes were dark, an inky blank, "This fucking force field isn't going to hold me long, kiddies."
"Long enough." Robin spoke, quietly, "We will get Kon back, if you want to make it harder," He shrugged, "Be my guest."
Kon slammed into the force field with violent force, blood trickled down his nose, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the room, "You can't. I have complete control."
"No you don't." Robin intoned, "You think you have control, and for the time being you probably do, but we know that Kon can still fight you."
"What the *fuck* are you talking about?"
Cassie caught on to what Robin was doing, "Come on Secret…give a little push?"
And that did it.
Harm-Kon's face crumpled, as if he was in pain, and he slid slowly to the ground, as his knees touched the ground, he looked up. It was if witnessing someone pulling off a mask.
His eyes were blue again, and the malice that seemed to have composed his face, had melted away.
Kon was back.
"Thank god," He breathed, "I just…want to say…sorry…" he smiled, "Secret's fine…guys, she's just resting," He stood up, "He's in my head, and I can't get him out. I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions. Secret and Harm are battling it out" He gulped in a mouthful of air, "I don't know how the hell he got into my head, but you have to get him out." His eyes softened, and he leaned in close to the field, "Cass, I'm sorry he's toying you around like that, god, it's scary." He sighed, "I don't know what to tell you, but you have to get him out…please, just get him out of my head…" his breath rattled in his throat, "He's coming back guys…"
It was as if the light had dimmed, his face was getting darker, and Harm came back.
"Miss me? He smiled again, banging his fist into the field, "I will kill this body if you don't let me out."
"We can't do that." replied Cassie, "We wont give up Kon."
"And watch his body die?"
"Oh, he wont die," spoke Robin, who had been working on the computer, "I can't speak the same for you though…"
"What?" sneered Kon, "Little noble Robbie is gonna kill someone?" He leant in closer to the field, and Kon's hair began to sizzle, "I didn't even kill someone…" He pulled back smiling, "And that's what it is going to take, kill me, get Kon, " he paused, " and you wont kill me."
"I wont kill you, but I said you might die."
Cassie pulled Robin away, whispering, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Listen, Cass, Secret is gas, but she's held together by electric bonds of her molecules, we can assume the same holds true for Harm. Both can grab control of a person because they basically impose their electrical wave-lengths on a persons brain.
"Unfortunately, the only way I can figure out to allow Kon to get control is if I send and electrical current through his body, and that would basically…"
"Electrocute Harm."
"Exactly."
"And Kon, and Secret, Rob that could kill the both of them!"
"Yeah."
"Dammit, Robin, its worthless."
"But it's the only option we've got."
"Robin, I think its time to get the JLA."
"I don't know…" Robin said uncertainly, the first time that Cassie ever heard him sound like that.
She softened her tone, "We can get Martian Man hunter, he's psychic, he can probably figure out something…"
"It wouldn't work. Harm would just jump ship, latch onto Manhunter, and that wouldn't be good."
Cassie nodded, "Better to take the risk then risk everything."
"Exactly."
"Fine, lets do it." She thought for a moment, "Uh, how are we going to do it?"
"Well, the hardest part is subduing him."
Kon slammed into the force field, a small spreading on his bloody face, "I think I heard something break kiddies!" He shouted.
"And we can do that how?"
"You're going to have to knock him out again," he pulled out a hypodermic needle, "With this."
"He'll break it before it even comes within two feet of him!"
"You're going to have to figure out something."
Cassie groaned, "Let's get this over with. When I give the thumbs up, drop the field, once I'm in bring it back up. Ok?" He nodded, "I really don't want to do this…"
They walked back to the force field, which Harm- Kon had been throwing himself into for the length of their conversation.
Kon was bloody, but he still grinned. It was discerning.
Cassie leaned in close to the sizzling field, a smile forming on her lips, "Kon, I have something to show you…" She motioned with her finger. His bloody face was directly opposite of hers, the force field the only thing separating, his black, swirling eyes boring into her blue. she held up her thumb behind her back, still smiling.
Robin dropped the field.
Cassie's fist shot out, knocking Kon to the floor. She stepped within the circle, and Robin brought the field back up.
It was just Kon and Cassie again. Before he got up, she stabbed the needle in his arm, where the costume was torn. Before he slipped to the ground, she noticed something that scared her, Kon's eyes were blue.
She shivered, but put her emotions aside as she hefted the body up, "Drop it Robin, I gotta get out of here," Robin dropped the field, "Tha-"
Kon's hand shot out, grabbing her throat, yanking her to the ground, the hand squeezed, cutting off Cassie's air. She lay their gasping as the hand increased pressure.
hisawakehisawakehisawakehisawakehisawake…
She felt faint, she kicked, thrashed under the hand, barely aware of movement within her decreasing field of vision. But she saw Kon's smiling face, his black eyes boring into her, god, why is he smiling, black spots appeared in her eyes, and she heard ringing in her ears.
cantbreathecanbreathecantbreathcantbreathe…
Suddenly air rushed through her bruised throat into her lungs. Her head hurt from the suddenness of it, and her vision swam. She sat up, quickly, trying to get her bearings.
On the other side of where the force field should have been, Robin lay, breathing heavily, in his hand was a bent metal pipe, beside him the still form of Kon, face down, eyes closed, she looked at Robin fearfully, the question apparent in her eyes, "Is he…"
Robin shook his head, too tired to speak. He let his head rest against a burnt out a computer, his breathing was heavy, and his chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath.
Cassie closed her eyes and let her head rest against the cold cement, she tried not to think of what had just happened, and concentrated on regulating her breathing. Finally she looked up, watching as Robin swung Kon's body on an observation table. He struggled, not because of Kon's dead weight, but because of the broken ribs and sprained arm.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry Rob…"
He cut her off, as he fastened straps that wouldn't hold Kon down, "It wasn't your fault, Cass, we both thought he was out." He was preparing Kon's body for the electric current that was going to be frying him in a few minutes.
Cassie shivered.
She noticed Rob struggling to even stand and she rushed to his side when she noticed he was about to fall. She lowered him gently to the ground, for the second time that day, "Dammit, Rob, you're hurt, what the hell did he do to you?"
He smiled, but his smile turn to a wince as he felt one of his broken ribs, "Just broke a few, ribs, I'll be fine in a second."
"Just broke a few ribs?" She admonished sarcastically, "That's nothing, just a scratch, " Cassie helped him sit up, "Jesus Rob, do you have a death wish?"
"Why the hell you think I wear Kevlar lined spandex?" He grinned, then turned serious, "We have to help Kon." He pointed to the sensors, that lay on the table haphazardly, "Place one each temple, one above his heart, an inch below the clavicle, and," After Cassie had done what he told her, "Do you know how to do an IV?"
Cassie shook her head, and Robin sighed, "I'm going to have to teach you later," He pulled himself up, and Cassie rushed over to help him, throwing one of his arms around her should and supporting him at the chest, "Thanks."
Cassie smiled, "Come on, teach me how to do an IV."
Robin slipped in the needle on the backside of Kon's right hand, finding the vein easily. A minute later, the clear white solution dripped into Kon's sluggish blood stream.
"Okay, now comes the hard part," he gasped for air, "When I figured out what we had to do," He spoke as he messed with a piece of machinery, "I had to find a controllable source of an electrical current," He connected the sensors to the machine, "What better source for electricity then a battery?" He connected the battery to a functioning computer station, "I'm going to have to control it manually, and hope to god I can turn it off before Kon's fried."
"Or Secret." Cassie whispered.
Robin didn't answer, "He's going to have to be awake for this though, so we at least know if its working, and were not frying him uselessly." He brought out another hypodermic needle from his bottomless bag, "When I tell you, slip this in the IV drip, right," he pointed to a small clasp that hung on the cord, "Here. Just press down on the drip."
Cassie nodded, memorizing every step.
"Fine, lets get started." He smiled, "I feel like Dr. Frankenstein,"
"No, I'm the Doctor, your Igor," Cassie quipped, they both smiled, "Let's get Kon back."
Robin gave her the signal, and she slipped the syringe into the IV. The effect took a few seconds, but when it did, it was obvious. Kon's body surged foreword, pulling against the bonds, and taking all of Cassie's super-strength to plant the body firmly on the cot. Kon was screaming, shouting obscenities at her.
It's not kon, It's not kon….
Robin threw the switch.
The light in the Cave darkened for a second, and the quick flashes that passed between the sensors and Kon's body lit the room like a firecracker. Kon's screaming became incoherent, a mix between a fear and pain. Cassie wanted to put her hands to her ears, but kept them on restraining Kon's bucking body.
Please work…
Suddenly, as quickly as it began, it stopped.
The sparks stopped jumping between Kon and the diodes, and the room was silent, pitch black.
The lights came on in quick succession, slowly lighting the cave with a smoky light.
Something was burning.
Cassie glanced frantically around, when she suddenly realized it were the lights, one was sputtering on.
It wasn't Kon. She let out the breathe she didn't know she was holding.
Please let it have worked…
She turned desperately to Robin, "Did it…"
Robin shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me… anything different?"
She looked back at Kon's body, "He stopped screaming."
"Maybe that's a bad thing." Robin limped to the cot. He yanked off his glove, placing two fingers on Kon's throat, "He's got a pulse, the current didn't disrupt his heart's pace-maker." He frowned, "His breathing is normal, and he doesn't appear to be to singed." He frowned slightly, checking the computer beside the bed, "He's in a coma, there are very little brain waves, all below the alpha range." He settled on the chair that lay beside the cot, "We'll just have to wait."
"You don't have an instant-wake-from-a-coma syringe from that bottomless pit of a belt of yours?"
He shrugged, "Sorry."
Cassie looked at the body and back to Robin again, "How long do we have to wait?"
"I don't kn-" His words were cut off by a groan that came from Kon's body.
His eyes flicked back and forth behind his closed eyelids, "God…" he wheezed, and his mouth went slack.
"Is he alright?" Cassie asked as she rushed to Kon's side.
Robin was typing furiously on the computer, "Yeah, he's coming out of it…" he smiled, "He's sleeping now."
"And Secret, what about Secret?"
"I- I don't know." His fingers blurred as he typed, "Wait, yes, she's there, she's not influencing Kon anymore, and it seems like Harm's completely gone."
"He's not there at all?"
Robin shook his head, "I can't tell you if he's dead, but he's not in Kon anymore, and from what I can tell, not in Secret either." He had a puzzeled expression on his face, "I can't understand why Secret wasn't affected, but Harm was." He paused, "Maybe it was because Harm was directly influencing Kon's brain waves, that he was in control, and since Secret wasn't in control she really wasn't affected by the electricity..." He stopped, noticing that Cassie was watching him, "Ok, I'm overanalyzing this." He let out a sigh, "God I'm tired," His eyes were getting droopy, and furiously rubbed them trying to keep them open, but it was no use, "I'm just going to rest my eyes…a….little…." His head fell gently against the wall behind him. He was gone, a gentle snore escaping from his lips.
Cassie smiled, Robin deserved some sleep.
Semi- transparent gas slipped out from Kon's nostrils and mouth, it twisted and formed into the familiar form of Secret.
"Were back." Her voice was tired, but swelling with happiness.
Cassie grinned, "That's great!" She cried, and Secret solidified for the moment it took for Cassie to give her a hug, "Is Kon all right, will he be all right?"
Secret nodded, "Yes, he's just resting," she smiled, "He told me to tell you Thank You," her face shined, "And I want to say the same, Cassie, Thank you for saving us." She turned to Robin, "Thank you both-"
Her eyes were wide with shock as she met Cassie's own, "Is he- is he alright?" She asked, as she pointed to Robin's sleeping form.
Cassie nodded, "Yeah, he's just tired, that's all, tired." She paused for a second, "What about Harm, is he, is he gone?"
Secret floated down to the ground, "I really don't know, but I do know he's not in Kon anymore, and he's not in me." She shuddered, "I didn't even notice he was with me," a small tear floated from her cheek, "I caused all this," Her voice was small, but angry, "God, I can't believe I brought this on all of us," She turned her eyes to Cassie's, "I'm sorry, so sorry." She shivered, "What he did to us, I can't think of any way to say I'm sorry enough."
Cassie shook her head, "It's not your fault. The fault lays purely on Harm, he did this to us, not you, not Kon. Please, don't let him destroy you to."
Cassie walked to were Robin had dozed off, gently lifting him from the seat, easily, "Let me just," she snickered, "tuck Rob in, watch Kon for me, Ok?"
Secret nodded, and Cassie slipped out of the cavern with Robin. She laid Robin under the covers of one of the unused medical beds in the infirmary. She pulled off his cape, boots, belt, and gloves. She set them on the bed next to him, and turned down the lights.
It was finally over. Secret was alive and well, Bart and Cissie would be alright. Kon would recover, and Robin would be his stony self.
Eventually.
But it was going to take time. It was going to take time for the trust to come back, to look at Kon the same way, to get over the shock of having a close friend, become something…else. It was going to take time for the healing to begin, for things to come back to something resembling normal. None of them had remained the same, Bart wouldn't be his laughing, naive self, Cissie wouldn't flirt with Kon as she used to. Robin would act the same, but Cassie knew that something had changed.
As for Cassie, she didn't know what she had become, but she felt different somehow, more mature.
As for Young Justice. That remained to be seen. Would Cissie and Bart want to come back? Would there be a Young Justice again?
She smiled. Things would be all right.
And now Robin was sleeping. His face had taken on a peaceful quality that wasn't there when he was awake. For now he was just a boy, just a kid like the rest of them.
That was comforting.
She kissed her fingers and let them rest on Robin's cheek, "Thank you for saving us all," she leant in, and pressed her lips to his forehead, "for saving Kon," and she pressed her lips to his own, "for saving me." And she slipped out of the room, "Thank you."
-FINIS-