I'm not sure if I want to carry this story, at the minute I'm just testing the water so don't get your hopes up for it.

Chapter 1 - Therapy

The Afghanistan war was something that couldn't really be explained by anyone, the politicians hid so many secrets that even they didn't know what was happening. One thing's for certain, the soldiers though that it was their duty and didn't question anything they were told to do. One such person was Jason White, a young man who had been living only with the idea of killing his father to avenge his mother for the past 3 years. He was promised help with his goal, should he assassinate a VIP in a terrorist stronghold to scare the terror cell into surrendering. He completed his mission, but not without loss. He was helped by his squad to a safe zone guarded by UN, unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it once seemed. An IED destroyed the Humvee and killed the soldiers that J worked along side.

Of course, being the only survivor he had to wait weeks before he could get back into the US seeing as his involvement was supposed to be kept a secret from everyone. As he got back to the US, he had begun to suffer from PTSD and severe depression. It was only when the US government realised that his usefulness hadn't run out just yet, they told the JLA about him. They pressed the JLA to try and use Jason as a solider for their use. The problem was that Jason's mental state was pushing him to the edge of suicide, it was hard to get anything out of him in relation to his feelings and what was causing them.

This is the story of what happened.

Black Canary.

I was being led into a hospital by Batman. A boy called Jason White had peaked Batman's interest. From what I gathered, Jason had been effected badly by something that had happened overseas, possibly causing PTSD. Batman had faith in my ability, he believed that I could break Jason's trance. Something I didn't think was possible. He opened the door for me where I could see a cell, this is what this boy had been reduced to. He had done so much in his life, his home town of Tsun was on the brink of a gang war, he stopped it himself with barely any support.

"He's a violent person, remember that when you talk to him." Bruce warned me as he opened the door to the padded cell.

Seeing Jason for the first time was almost like discovering a lost world, nothing about him was typical. When you looked at him, you knew that he had seem some bad things. Of all the things that could have indicated his troubled past, it was the bags under his eyes and the distant look in his eyes that told the more depressing story, he was suffering with a thousand yard stare.

Jason was lying on the bed, his wrists kept to the bed with steel bonds. The moment my heel clicked against the cold floor, Jason's head snapped towards me, his eyes darted between Batman and I, suggesting he wasn't expecting us.

"Sorry, I'd shake your hands but as you can see..." He began and rattled his bonds. "...I'm a little stuck at the moment." He kept his eyes on us, darting between us.

Batman was the first person to say anything to him, he walked over to Jason's bed and put a hand on his arm. Jason flinched as he did this, but his eyes were still darting between the both of us.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, as he walked towards the bed.

Batman put his hand on Jason's wrist, something that shocked me as he knew full well that Jason was suffering. Quickly I took Bruce's hand off of Jason's arm and moved him away from the bed, Jason would likely have reacted better with me as I was in casual clothes whereas Batman was dressed head to toe in armor.

"We're just here to talk to you, see if we can help. Would you like that?" I asked, being the appropriate thing to do.

Jason took a moment to think before he spoke, he really wasn't in the best of moods seeing as he was clipped in place. I had the ability to release him, something I should have done the second I got close to the bed. He could well have been afraid of hurting us, knowing his mental profile.

"Could you get me out of these things? They're rubbing like hell." He smiled weakly, now diverting his eyes from us.

As quick as he asked, I unlocked him from the bed with the key the nurse had given me. Batman tensed up as though Jason would jump out of his bed and attack us. Instead he moved himself to a sitting position and clicked his neck before rubbing his wrists, showing the scarred skin underneath his hand.

"They keep asking me if I feel like doing it again... Treating me like I'm some sort of self destructive idiot." He explained as he crossed his legs.

"I have some questions about your time in Afghanistan, we want to help you out of this mess you're in." Batman began, leading into the discussion.

Jason sighed, he ran his hand through his shaved head before looking back at us with his bright blue orbs.

"Mess?" Instantly his voice lowered.

Jason looked at Batman with tired eyes.

"My brother is dead, you know? That's not a mess... It's a disaster." He sighed.

I could tell he wasn't happy about talking about his time, but he put up with it seeing as I'd done him a favour.

"What do you mean, disaster?" I pressed.

He looked away.

"I didn't have to go to Afghanistan, I was promised information about Angel White. That's when I found out, just before that convoy got hit with an IED." He spoke, clearly trying to keep his voice from warbling.

"You blame yourself, but there was nothing that you could have done." I tried, but that line never worked. All it ever did was get people riled up.

"I could have said no. Stayed at home, made the money I was making... I was greedy, we didn't need that money, but those damned suits are so persuasive. They promised me information and they got me. Hook line and sinker." He sighed.

Bruce just looked on at him, not really showing any pity for him. He knew Jason's past well, I couldn't see why he had no remorse for him. It was well known within the government that Jason had murdered several people under the influence of a mind altering drug, which didn't help him seeing as he was suffering from amnesia which had cleared up over time. This was what he was talking about, the murders.

"Would you have done that for us if we promised you information?" I asked concerned.

Jason looked down into the bed, suddenly he put his head in his hands. A loud groaning noise came from him.

"I know! I'm a fucking idiot!" He cried.

From where I was stood, I could tell he was crying even though he sounded like he was angry. Tears were welling in his eyes and rolling down his face as I put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"That's not what I meant. You were looking for your father with good intentions, it's not your fault they lied to you. There's no reason to keep blaming yourself." I began, but realised I went too far by saying the wrong thing.

"That's not the point..." he quietened down.

"I was trying to kill him" He was barely audible as the lump in his throat was about to choke him to death.

Something was off, his change of emotion in the space of time that he had done was strange. It was as quick as I could snap my fingers, he wasn't faking, far from it. This was the kind of thing that I was expecting from him.

"Are you OK?" I asked, knowing full well that the answer would be no.

He shook his head, looking down into the sheets that covered his legs. I looked at Batman who hadn't moved, in fact he looked kind of angry. Jason wanted to kill his father, something Batman would never have allowed. Of course, it wasn't up to I looked again, Jason was rubbing his eyes, wiping away the tears that were leaking from his eyes.

"Do you like it here?" I tried my hand at persuading him, placing my hands on the rail of his bed.

Jason shook his head.

"The hallucinations come back sometimes and they don't let me outside. They don't let me wear normal clothes either." He explained, still looking at the sheets.

"Would you like to come with us? We can help you, give you work, let you breath fresh air again." I pressed, putting a hand on his bare back, feeling the faded scars and wing tattoos.

It seemed as though he'd lightened up slightly as he looked up, still not making eye contact with any of us.

"Out of this place? If you could do that for me I don't know how I could repay you." He began to smile slightly.

"Yes, you'll have to pull your weight, you'd have to help us in our cause. We can give you the training and the equipment you'd need to aid us. In return we can give you psychiatric help and aid your investigations." Batman interrupted.

"I'm sure you know I've had dealings with crime-fighters like you before. You should know I don't need training." He began to try and get out of bed as he explained his situation.

He pulled himself out and had to hold on to the bed for stability, it looked as if his wounds from his service hadn't healed correctly. The hospital gown he was draped in was dangerously loose. Suddenly, his pain was evident as he grabbed his head with his offhand, he began to sway on his feet. Quickly Batman jumped into action and helped Jason straighten up, surprisingly he wasn't as heavy handed as I would have expected him to be.

"What's wrong?" He tried.

"I... I haven't stood up for a while, this sucks." Jason began to look pale, more so than he usually did.

Unsurprisingly, his carers had had the initiative to account for this by adding a wheelchair to his room. Quickly, I wheeled it around to him which Batman helped him into.

"This should help, we'll get you sedated and take you to our hideout. You'll meet a lot of people who are special, like you." I promised him as I reached into my coat and retrieved a syringe.

"Like me? You mean, Tiwinoku right?" Jason began to murmur.

I took the plastic cap off of the syringe and jabbed Jason in the jugular with it.

"Not necessarily, but special none the less," I spoke.

"Count down from 10" Batman ordered.

Slowly, Jason began to count backwards, however he barely got to seven before he blacked out. Our orders were to retrieve him either way, whether he wanted to or not. Thankfully we were able to put less strain on him mentally by using my methods, all we had to do was get him out of the hospital and into the care of the young justice league.

Jason

As soon as the blonde woman jabbed me with that syringe, I fell into a deep sleep. That hospital was awful, being locked up all day and all night like some sort of dangerous animal made me feel as if any day the doctors would be coming to put me down. Thankfully that hadn't happened. Unfortunately, dropping into deep sleep always lead to a nightmare.

One that I'd be stuck in until the drugs wore off.

The first thing that I noticed was that I started off in an interrogation room, cuffed to a chair and across from me was a small suited man. His face was covered by a fedora so I could barely see his face.

"Where were you at the time of your brother's death?" He asked, retrieving his notebook from inside his blazer.

"Afghanistan. How many times? I've talked to you before!" I raged, knowing full well how this dream ended.

"Have you now, that's interesting. Tell me, what happens next?" He asked intuitively.

"You're my brother and Dad's behind that window. He breaks it and beats me until I wake up screaming. Just get it over with." I sighed.

This dream had happened more than enough times, however this time it was cut short. My head was slammed into the desk and then a pistol was placed against my head. My father was holding it, his finger on the trigger.

"Avenge me, father," Luke said simply as he took off his fedora.

Bang

My eyes opened, sweat wasn't covering my body anymore as I was so used to the nightmares. It was when I had the dreams about the firefight, that was when I had the really bad reactions to them. That dream was just something that I had so many times that it had no effect on me at all. I knew what it meant. I sat up, realising that the bed I was in wasn't any medical bed that I'd seen before. A bedroom surrounded me, finally I'd seen something normal for once in my life, a normal bedroom. Or so I thought, as soon as I realised that I was away from the hospital I realised that there was something that made the room look as if it were completely false.

The door didn't have a handle on it, it wasn't a normal door with a lock and handle. It was an electronic door that only opened when there was an emergency, unless you had the code of course.

"Damn." I groaned as I pulled myself out of bed.

I noticed that there was something else, a set of clothes had been placed on the back of a chair near the desk. Quickly I ditched my old hospital scrubs and pulled on the clean comfortable clothes. Canvas slacks were far too big for me, but they felt comfortable none the less. A white long sleeved t-shirt was another thing that I'd put on. Soon, I began to feel normal again even though I was suppressing memories of the war.

"How are you feeling?" A voice came from the other side of the door.

A familiar voice from years before.

"Robin." I sighed, recognizing his voice from a while back.

All the way back from jump city, something that I'd rather forget.

"I'm guessing you're still way too sore for that right?" he asked.

"Still the cocky son of a bitch? We've had this conversation before, remember?" I leaned against the bars, my back against the metal.

"I'll take that as a yes. Look, I've already apologized for what I did. You can't keep living in the past. Move on J." He tried to convince me as he opened the actual door rather than the bars.

"Let me tell you something, I agree with you. Jump city is behind me. What isn't behind me is what happened to Luke. Why wouldn't I be upset about that?" I spoke lowly, keeping my head away from Robin.

"Vengeance isn't going to help." He tried convincing me, it wasn't working.

"No, but it will make me feel better. In fact." I turned to face him.

He hadn't changed, but instead of wearing that stupid mask, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. Even in civilian clothes he still looked like Robin to me. That stupid idiot who close to ruined my life by releasing to the press that the murders in jump was the work of two kids like a fucking idiot.

"It won't bring him back. In my culture, if someone kills a member of your family before he comes of age, the murderer is thrown off of a mountain. An eye for an eye in a sense, besides. I don't even know who it was who killed him, he might even have just died naturally. I don't know." There I was, rambling again.

Just talking about Luke was bringing up memories of him, I began to remember the time when I had to spend all night calming him down because of the sound of the trees in the wind. He'd never heard that kind of noise before, a lot of things he'd never heard before. Robin began to see I was getting upset, he backed off slightly, knowing to give me space.

"He didn't deserve to die, I wasn't there to help him. Do you have any idea as to what that feels like?" I asked, genuinely wanting an answer.

"My parents died in a trapeze act, I blamed myself for years for it. Later I realized that there was nothing that I could have done, but someone was responsible for their deaths. Batman helped me find them and bring them to justice, he was the same way." Robin began to confide in me.

"They aren't dead? Don't you feel that they should pay for it? Life in prison for 2 dead people doesn't seem like the correct exchange." I couldn't wrap my head around his logic.

"Prison can be worse than death," Robin stated blankly.

"Ever been locked up? Take it from me, if you're a murderer, you don't dwell on the lives you take. All you think about is what you get from it, you should know that just being around me." I rested my forehead on the bars, feeling the cold nurse my slight head ache.

Robin stared at me blankly, being exposed to the truth of murder was not something he'd felt before.

"Sorry, shouldn't have said that." I apologized, realizing that I'd made his day worse.

"No. it's just... I thought you'd say something like that, but not in that way. You know full well. The thing is, what if he wasn't murdered?" Robin tried again.

"...I'd still be blaming myself, what makes you think I wouldn't?" I sighed.

He looked at me, pity on his face. I hated it, the feeling that people were feeling sorry for you. It's nothing that I wanted, nor was it what I needed. Help is what I needed not just taking pity. It's like putting a band-aid on a broken bone, it does nothing and doesn't really comfort people at all. Robin left as soon as he realised that he wasn't making things any better. However, being locked in a room was worse than him staring at me for a while.

I gave a half hearted tug on the bars only to find that they were locked tighter than a nun's... well. Anyhow, I was stuck in that room and without an out there was no real point to standing at the bars hoping for them to magically disappear. Whenever I tell people about this time of my life they always ask me the same thing 'well you can create ice out of the moisture in the air right? Why didn't you just form a key?' well let me tell you. Not only was that room hot as hell, it was the bars themselves that caused me problems. They joined together in the center and halfs retracted into the roof and into the floor, not a single keyhole in sight.

Taking a look around the room, I realised that the thing had been pretty much tailored for me. Items on the walls were similar to what I had at home, books lined the shelves behind the desk which already had several tomes on it already. One book in particular thing caught my attention, a scroll was open on the desk, what some would call a fighting manual, I'd call a valuable tutorial to a trick. This trick in particular was a chi performance, this performance allowed a Tiwinoku to gain 'energy' from the environment that they are in. For an ice Tiwinoku like myself, this was strictly forbidden, taking moisture out of the air was dangerous not only to the Tiwinoku in question but also to the people around them, it was fatal as there was no possible way to stop this consumption until the Tiwinoku had their fill, that could be anything really.

Whoever put that scroll on the desk wouldn't fully understand what it was that was in the scroll in question was mentioning. A cloaked figure was at the end of the scroll, that symbol always meant that what ever was happening prior to that symbol would be threatening to life, for the person or those around them. It certainly wasn't a non-lethal way of dispatching people who were going to be a problem.

Suddenly, the bars split open, allowing me to take a peek into the corridor. No-one was around, so I decided to take a walk around the base but no-one was around even though Robin had been talking to me not long ago. The building was extremely clean and the windows were angled in a particular way, it seemed as though the place had been styled from a 60s Bond villain.

Outside the windows, I saw the densest forest I'd seen in a while. Something you could get lost in just by looking at it, with a thousand yard stare cursing you every now and again, the forest was something that was beautiful compared to the world I was used to. My staring was disrupted by a gentle hand placed on my shoulder, it was Robin again.

"How does it feel to be free again?" He asked.

I didn't answer, all I could think was to do was come up with something.

"I... I feel as if I...I don't know." I couldn't take my eyes away from the forest.

"Trust me, it's not as big as it looks. It is a wild place though, so if you ever think of busting out of here. Think twice because that forest is more like a jungle, believe me on that." Robin joked lightly.

"You sound like you're preparing me for 'Nam. I don't have any intention of running." I turned to face him.

"I'm sure you don't. Just keep it in mind alright." He patted my shoulder lightly.

"Feel like sparing? Getting back in a fighting mood?" He added with a coy smile.

Batman

With nothing but J on my mind, I decided to keep a close eye on him by using the security cameras and hidden microphones. All of this was necessary should someone or something try to break into the base. Of course that wasn't my biggest concern, my concern was what Robin was doing to J in the training hall.

Robin had J in a choke-hold, something that I'd taught him early on. His technique was excellent but J always managed to snake and fight his way out every time Robin got him in the position, eventually Robin gave up.

"How do you do that? I mean it should be impossible." Robin asked exasperated that someone could beat him at something.

"Your technique is fine, however, the move itself lacks something. Let me show you something." J invited Robin to throw a punch.

J used Robin's momentum to throw him to the ground, then used his own weight to pin Robin to the floor. As I zoomed into the action, I could see why Robin hadn't thrown J off of him. He was afraid of what would happen.

"This is the Ranger choke-hold. My sensei taught it to me in school, with a little bit of pressure, I bust your windpipe. Now notice something, you're pinned with only about 85 pounds of weight on top of you and yet you aren't fighting, that's what's wrong with your choke-hold. There's no fear of it." J let go of Robin's throat and helped him up.

"You're sure you can't kill me with that?" Robin breathed.

"I never said I couldn't, with only a little bit of water -maybe your sweat- I could form claws and rip your throat out. Although if I work for you I can imagine that you'd take a dim view of that to say the least." J began to change slightly, he didn't seem depressed anymore.

He seemed as though he was showing off his intelligence.

"How so?" Robin asked.

"They way that you were looking at me a second ago told me everything I needed to know. Your eyes were darting between my face and my arm, you were afraid of death because you've never experienced what it's like to take a life from someone. I on the other hand can remain focused when in a position of pain and possible death, it's one of the reasons that I can fight my way out of your choke-hold. You've never wanted to take a life, sure you've felt vengeful bu-" J was rolling information off of his tounge.

"Tell me about Glock," Robin spoke simply.

Something had changed, J froze and stared at Robin for a moment before he spoke again.

"Glock, a firearms manufacturer hailing from Austria, well known for it's pistols rather than anything else they've made. They are well renowned for their reliability, design, ease of use and overall comfort. In school I shot an IPSC tournament with a customised Glock 34 with red dot sight, polished feed ramp, bull barrel and thumb rest. A very modular pistol that is easy to modify to suit any person's needs." J stumbled over a few words but managed to say this so quick that I barely recognised it as English.

"Alright smart-alec, what would you do if you had to take down multiple targets?" Robin pressed.

"Preferably for me and for your moral code, I would use a 12 gauge shotgun with rubber buckshot in order to deliver non-lethal force at close to medium range. With this I'd be able to take down 4 targets in an average of 3 seconds. I wont use my powers if I can help it, trust me, ice to the face 'aint the nicest thing to feel and now I'm rambling again." He found himself speaking like a machine gun before he halted for a minute.

"You got a kitchen?" He came out of nowhere with that one. He even caught me off guard.

20 minutes later

I went down to the base myself to see what it was they were doing. I didn't enjoy spying on them for longer than I had to, so when I got inside the main room of the base I saw almost every young member of the JLA in the kitchen, each and every single one of them was looking at the stove. That was where J was stood, it seemed as though he was wrestling with a frying pan.

"See? You use enough oil, you only need about 2 minutes in the pan." He was explaining how to cook something, as there were so many people in the room it was hard to see what it was.

"Sure it's done?" Robin pressed.

"Mother-fucker I've been cooking this shit right here for about 6 goddamn years, I know when this bitch is done. Let me take this off the heat real quick." J was getting agitated as there were so many people around him.

Whatever it was, it certainly smelled good. As soon as they saw me standing around, they moved out of the way a little so I could see what was going on.

"I'm just saying if you were out of it a while, you might have forgotten." Robin pressed further.

J stared at Robin for a second before pulling out a fork from the drawer and giving it to Robin.

"Try it then." He challenged Robin.

Robin stood there for a second before actually trying the food. He looked surprised as he walked back from the stove.

"Wow... That's good."

"What did I tell you? I know how to cook, or do I know how to cook?" J stood at the stove just staring at Robin.

He put the pan back on the heat and began frying something, I caught a glimpse of the food as he tossed it I found that it was stir fry of some description, something that takes some time and effort into making. Something that J would have had plenty of. Everyone split to let me through to the main kitchen where J acknowledged I was there with a nod towards me.

"As I say, thanks for getting me out of that place. I owe you a lot, but I gotta make something clear to you." He began talking to me, but focusing on the food.

"Which is?" I asked as J splashed the food with more oil.

"I don't work with anyone until they sign a contract that we make up together. This means the I follow your rules as long as you follow mine, now don't worry I don't have that much on my side of the contract, it's up to you what it is that goes on your side, but my terms are non-negotiable." He looked at me on the last part, to make sure that I got it.

"What is on there that I'd want to negotiate?" I pressed.

"Well, there's the thing about loyalty and honor. Whilst I'm in your service, I'll sacrifice myself in order to complete my objective or save a team-mate. You may have a problem with me being so reckless, but that isn't the point. The kind of loyalty that I will show you, I don't expect it in return, if I'm captured or my life is in danger, I'll handle it. You shouldn't need to worry about me." He explained this to me, making me feel like an idiot. I'd taken a suicidal solider and put him at the forefront of a war.

"Alright, if that's what you want. I'll put my terms down now then shall I?" I said, imagining this to be some sort of physiological thing for J. It wasn't.

"You can tell me what they are, but your word don't mean shit until I'm honor bound to believe it's otherwise. Tell me something though, you'd expect me to do nothing illegal right? Even the slightest thing, if it could aid our mission." HE was trying to convince me of something.

"Listen, your mafia days are over. Stick to abiding the law." I tried to threaten him.

It didn't work. Visibly he tensed up, placed the wok back down on the stove and turned the heat off.

"You listen to me, I bet anything that you committed crimes in order to get something done. Well that's what I'm like, I get shit done no matter the technique. Lethal or non-lethal, you tell me. These criminals broke the law, we have to fall through the cracks and down there with them to drag them out. Sometimes you have to put a little pressure on people, get them to look the other way. What we're doing right now, is more illegal than being a member of the mafia let me tell you that." He moved away from the stove and leaned against the counter.

He had a point, years ago most of us would have been considered just as bad as the criminals we were stopping. It wasn't as if I'd been clean all these years either, even the Batman had to break a few laws to get the job done.

"Alright, but we need to be specific as to what laws you can break." I began but was interrupted by Wally.

"Would you two just shut up and eat?" He spoke with his mouth full.

Both J and I looked at Wally disapprovingly until he walked away a second later.

"Specific? I know where the line is, it's right between bodily harm and murder. Think again if you think I'd endanger civilian lives, think again. Let me rephrase this for you, as soon as you sign that contract, I am honor bound to do anything that you want me to do, I will do anything you want me to do. Understand? I am being very literal when I say that, if you tell me to jump off of a building after you've signed that contract I will do it." He explained this to me with sadness in his voice, it was almost as if he didn't want to.

"So you won't have any free will?" I asked.

"What? No, I'll have free will. When I was growing up, Dad used to do this... thing to me. He managed to get me to freeze up and obey commands with a small phrase. It's a one word thing, I thought I could use it to my benefit but it looks like that prospect is bleak to say the least." He explained again, now showing clear signs of bad memories rising to the surface.

"So if I guess this phrase correctly, you'd do what I say?" I asked, knowing full well what this phrase was.

"I doubt you'll guess it." J chuckled.

"Sutaimi" I grinned.

Instantly he froze in place. His body straightened up and his eyes weren't looking at me, he was just staring past me at the wall.

"Wow..." Robin circled around him, trying to get his attention.

"You have to do as I say now right?" I pressed.

"My wish is your command" J's voice had changed, his voice echoed but was also angelic at the same time.

"You're going on a covert op with the team tonight. No killing. Follow Robin's orders." I ordered.

J turned to Robin, waiting for orders.

"I await your command."

Let's see where I can take this, hopefully it doesn't fail like the one that I was planning before. Let me just warn you now, in THIS universe I created, the Heros you know and love wont have the powers you expect them too, just be warned the Super-familly wont be stopping asteroids by looking at them. So be warned.