Ipod Challenge

Newgrange

Artist: Celtic Woman

Album: A New Journey

Kaldur slowly wandered the halls of Mount Justice. The sheer complexity of the hidden base was staggering, not to mention the enormous amounts of security and safety precautions. He quickly reached parts of the complex which went unused by Young Justice, that being the majority of the mountain. He sighed and his hand brushed against a wall and a layer of dust was brushed away with it. Once the entire Justice League had lived here. Now no one remembered.

Once Upon a December

Artist: Liz Callaway

Album: Anastasia (Music from the Motion Picture)

Artemis took a deep breath. This was it. Her life would change today, for better or for worse she didn't know, but as surely as Green Arrow stood on one side of her and Batman on another, it was changing. She couldn't keep the vague hope from her heart that maybe, for the first time in her life, she would find… friends, a place to belong. Anything that would make whether she lived or died matter.

GA tapped her shoulder gently, telling her the beam was ready. She stepped on the pad. This was it. Change, at last.

Gives You Hell

Artist: Lea Michelle

Album: Gives You Hell (Glee Cast Version), single

Superboy smiled to himself and gazed out the window of his new apartment. Today was his day. He was telling the team about his new moniker, he was leaving the shadow of Superman.

Appropriately the Happy Harbour news team began a story which leaked through his screen door and into the open air around him.

"In other news, Superman faced some serious trouble last night. Half of Metropolis is in ruins and some wonder what would have happened if the League had not stepped in-"

Conner purposefully tuned out the television. Maybe the old Man of Steel would one day realize all he had given up when he had rejected the young clone, Conner just smiled. He couldn't bring himself to care.

Airmail Special

Artist: Nikki Yanofsky

Album: Nikki (Bonus Track Version)

M'gann smiled and almost literally bubbled with happiness. She bounced from one room to another. Bedroom, bathroom, bedroom again. Feet never touching the floor. Down the hallway, into the kitched. Refrigerator to stove to counter. She hummed and whistled and floated from place to place. Hi, Robin! Hello Kal. Morning wally! Hey Artemis. H-hello Conner…

She smiled to herself the whole time. She loved this earth thing. It was so different and it made her feel so happy, she couldn't stay on the ground. What was the word in English?

Routine.

She sighed again, it was so… refreshing.

Training. School. Mission. Homework. Sleep.

Everyday. It was sooooo wonderful!

I'll Keep Your Secrets

Artist: Tran-Siberian Orchestra

Album: Beethoven's Last Night

The room had fallen silent, the noise of a show no one was watching barely filling the blank space left by the unused vocal chords. It had been one of those missions. The ones that showed just how disconnected they were as a team. All because of secrets.

Conner sighed, frustrated, as he closely inspected his teammates. He didn't have any secrets, he didn't understand. Wally, with his false bravado. Artemis and her shady past. Robin and his mask. Kaldur and the home he refuses to talk about. Megan and… and that thing that creeps into his stomach every time she nears him which she refuses to explain.

He glares at them all, and even if they don't acknowledge it, he knows they saw it. Finally, he broke the silence, and in a gruff voice said. "I don't have any secrets. I don't have anything. You are all I have. If you say anything here. I, for one, am not going anywhere."

Still Hurting

Artist: Sherie Renee Scott

Album: The Last Five Years

That was it then. They would all leave, just like that. It hurt, even if that went unsaid. Who were they to make that decision? Who said things were so very terrible? Things hadn't been that bad. This was not their fault. It was theirs. What about the years gone by? All the times they had stood together? "Thanks, it was great, but it didn't mean anything. We get to call it off now."

Well, fine, if they wanted to run away, to just give up like that, if they wanted to try and find something better, then that was their problem. Not that it made it right. Not at all. Things were not over. Just look back once and they'd see how wrong they were. Things could be fixed. Things could always be fixed. They would regret this decision.

And as the Justice League raced away from Mount Justice, they knew none of this would change the fact that theirs sidekicks, their partners were gone and they weren't coming back.

Only Love

Artist: Christine Andreas

Album: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Artemis tried to pull away, to relieve the tension. Their lips were much too close, their

breaths mingling. It couldn't happen. It just couldn't.

She turned, but Wally pulled her back. "Artemis," he said, "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not-" she began, then stopped, knowing she couldn't deny the truth.

He gave her a small, genuine smile, the kind she thought might be reserved for her alone. "Artemis," he said softly, "Don't look back. It's only a touch. Only your freedom. It's only love."

Her breath hitched and her whole body went limp when he said that word. Love. It couldn't be possible, but-

He took the opportunity to steal her breath by capturing her lips in his and as the kiss slowly deepened and the moon rose behind them over the mountain, she thought maybe he was right. Don't be afraid. It's only love.

According to You

Artist: Orianthi

Album: Believe

Superboy rolled his eyes, Bats was still trying to convince Superman to take him in. well, that was all very thoughtful of the Dark Knight, but did he really just forget that Conner had super hearing? So, the Man of Steel thought he was dangerous and uncontrollable and… less than human.

So what? Conner thought, a bit smugly, Canary says I'm improving in leaps and bounds. I saved Robin when that building collapsed last week. And M'gann said I am a much better at conversation now. My team accepts me, my real mentors accept me. Who needs a clone?

Hello

Artist: Jonathan Groff, Lea Michelle

Album: Hello (Glee Cast Version), single

A shadow passed over Wally's body, blocking the sunlight from his closed eyes and suddenly he felt a presence beside him. But ti wasn't just a presence, it was the presence. The girl he dreamed about sometimes. The one who was always just out of reach. He couldn't have said how he knew, but he was absolutely sure every time she was there. His eyes remained closed as his mind wandered over the possibilities. She could be anyone, look any way and he knew he wouldn't care, he just knew he had to get her.

His eyes opened and as he saw a flash of blonde and green the "ehloo" caught in his throat.

Dueling Guitars

Artist: Douglas Smith & Heitor Pereira

Album: August Rush (Music from the Motion Picture)

Robin flicked the batarang hard, and it stuck perfectly, piercing the thug's jacket and pinning him to the wall. In the blink of an eye the man was free of all weapons and neatly tied in the corner with the others. Something whizzed passed Robin's ear and he heard someone behind him fall with a 'thud'.

He tossed a "thanks" over his shoulder and without pausing to think, opened the doors and they were through.

He smiled smugly. He only ever worked this well with Batman. And now he had a whole team.

Ohmigosh, that was hard. I will admit, I skipped two songs, but one was a 34 second fight scene from Chess and I could have maybe typed "Shut up!" before the song ended… so, yeah. The other one was a Cantata by Bach from one of his German operas, not that I don't love it, but I wasn't familiar enough with that particular song to write a drabble that actually matched it, if it had been from Mozart's The Magic Flute, I would have done it, but I just couldn't, I apologize. As it is, the hardest was definitely "Airmail Special" because the entire song is scatting… literally. How do you connect that to a story? I did the "happy Megan bouncing around the base" because the song is just light and flippant and fun and I felt it suited M'gann (Youtube it, Airmail Special, Nikki Yanofsky- she's amaaazing!). Then I have a tie for either Dueling Guitars (again, no words, and the idea is that the song is improvised so there isn't even a central melody to follow) and Hello (just 'cuz I don't know the song very well…).

Oh, and I realize that part of the Ipod challenge is to put the rules in the author's note, but if you don't know what it is by now you're a darn fool. Just search "ipod challenge" and you'll get half a million hits… just sayin'.

A-bee-bluh-lee-uh-th-that's all folks!