Author Note: I do NOT own Young Justice or anything having to do with the DC Universe. I DO own Hayden Thorp, though.

Young Justice Warfare

One never expects to live through a war - it was always something that happened in the past or happened somewhere else. You grow up learning about things like the Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War and they're just stories. Unless you lived through them, it didn't really effect you. In the mind of a child, it was a distant event that never seemed real and one could never truly appreciate a war unless they lived through one.

That was true for Hayden.

Growing up, Hayden Thorp never cared much about wars or history. It was never a topic that interested her and so she always passed it over. It didn't surprise anyone that history was her worst subject, considering how she would sleep through most of her classes. Being the energetic and impatient young girl that she was, she found it hard to sit through all that information of past events. To her it was over and done with. She believed that people should focus on the moment, rather then worry about the past.

Part of her wished she had payed more attention in her history classes.

Waking up on the morning in question, Hayden didn't expect her life to be turned upside down the way it would. It was just like any other Saturday morning for her. She woke up and jumped out of bed, readying herself for a day of fun. No school. No homework. Just her and her friends spending quality time together. After throwing on some clothes, brushing her teeth and quickly running a comb through her short, blond hair, she practically skipped down the stairs. Her black skirt fluttered as she jumped down the last few steps, her converse squeaking on the wood floor. There was a bounce in her step as she strode into the living room.

"Hey familia, what's going... on...?"

Her family paid her no mind as she walked in. They sat silently in the living room, their eyes fixed on the television. Her mother clutched her father's hand as her older sister sat forward on the couch with her hands over her mouth. It didn't take long to figure out why.

The scene on the television screen was nothing short of horrifying. It was midtown Manhattan and it looked like a war zone. The street was littered with rubble and what looked like the remains of cars. Scraps of metal and glass were thrown about like confetti. The worst part was the people. Not much could be seen with the response teams spread around, but every once in a while they would move the right way, revealing a charred carcass laying in a pool of blood. Hayden couldn't believe what she was seeing. She sank to the couch next to her sister and listened intently to the voice over of the news caster.

"Earlier this morning in New York City there was an explosion. It was thought to be the work of terrorists until word came in on an incident involving metahumans. According to eyewitness accounts, a caped vigilante was attempting to apprehend a metahuman villain after a hold-up at a liquor store. The fight escalated into an all-out brawl in the middle of the morning rush-hour traffic. It ended in an explosion apparently caused by the meta, killing the caped vigilante - who has yet to be identified. The metahuman was seen fleeing the scene shortly after. We-"

The screen blacked out. Hayden's mother, Hannah set the remote down on the coffee table. She seemed to be torn between anger and sadness. Pacing a little, she rubbed her temples, her black heels clicking with every step she took.

"These metahumans are monsters. How can they just mindlessly kill people like that?" She seemed to say to herself.

"... They're not all bad, mom. Some of them are good... look at the Justice League." Hayden said, a little meekly.

"The Justice League? What good are they? Look at all the damage they cause and how are we supposed to hold them accountable if we don't know who they are? They're just as bad as the villains they fight!" Hannah practically screamed.

Hayden was taken aback. She never knew her mother disliked the Justice League so much. Her hatred of metahumans was more then Hayden could have imagined. She could feel her stomach start to knot up as her soul sank, the young girls heart seemed ready to break out of her chest as her mother continued to rant about the 'metahuman menace'. Hayden nearly burst into tears, saved only by her ringing phone. Quickly, she jumped to her feet and sped out of the living room. Her shaking hand brought her phone up to her ear.

"Y-yeah?"

"Tora, it's Rob, are you home?" the voice sounded a little frantic.

"Yeah, why?"

"Get to the base now."

Hayden hung up, clutching her phone in her still shaking hand. Taking a deep breath, her eyelids slipped over her baby blues as her forehead rested against the terracotta wall. Her heart was starting to slow back to it's normal pace. This day was not turning out the way she hoped. With another deep breath, she grabbed for the doorknob.

"Hayden, where are you going?"

For some reason, her heart skipped a beat and she jumped a little at the sound of her sisters voice. Spinning on her heel, she turned to face Helena. The older girl tucked her light brown hair behind her ear.

"Are you going out?" Helena asked.

"Uh... yeah, I'm going to hang out with some friends."

"... Alright, just be careful out there, ok?"

Hayden nodded as her sister retreated back into the living room. Clutching the knob, she flung the door open. Carefully closing it behind her, she rested her back against the warm wood. Part of her wanted to run away from the house and never go back - But what would a thirteen-year-old girl do without her family? With a sigh, her eyes fell to her upturned palms. She lifted them up in front of her chest as light blue sparks of electricity danced across her fingertips.

What would her mother say if she found out her daughter was a metahuman?