Adventure of Melissa and the Superfriends

by Aquaformer

I do not own the Superheroes, they are owned by DC Comics. These are very long chapters, but i felt like posting them in one story

1. Chapter 1

SuperFriends versus the Age Thief

(The Characters in this imaginative tale are from the cartoons of the 1970's Super Friends – the costumes, imagery, voices, and the like are all from that time period and cartoons.

The cheerful, carefree yet boring Saturday morning started out just like any other so-called normal sunny spring day on the planet Earth, as several of the Super Friends, also known as several of the members of the Justice League of America (also known as the JLA), gathered for a weekly morning conference at the Hall of Justice. The Hall itself was a sophisticated technological marvel and the HQ of the SuperFriends (on Earth as the Justice League satellite that was in space was for other threats as well as JLA meetings). It was at an anonymous location known to only those who are part of the SuperFriends and constructed to protect the SuperFriends while inside the hall as well as to train new junior and honorary members.

The Hall had been built particularly so that the SuperFriends could use it as a location to prepare and educate junior members and to have a ground center of operations on Earth that the SuperFriends could meet in, in addition to being a storage place for Superfriends trophies from cases they had solved or villains they had fought. The hall even had lead shielding built in to protect Superman, should it be necessary, from outside sources of Red, Gold, Blue and Green Kryptonite (as well as any other type of Kryptonite that could affect Superman. However should Kryptonite be smuggled into the hall concealed in lead it would not be able to be detected unless it was a lot of Kryptonite). (This ability [and weakness in the armor] to sneak minute amounts of Kryptonite in would later be exposed in a most interesting technique.).

Hence, the Hall was an essential formidable fortress for our superheroes. It had fortifications for all the Justice League members' weaknesses (such as protection from certain yellow rays (excluding the sun) for Green Lantern or fire retardant for Martian Manhunter) as well as having a protective force field to be doubly sure that members at meetings were well protected. The Justice League Satellite was not used to train junior members as it was in space (22,300 miles above Earth's surface) and was used for strictly for JLA meetings. However, a secondary use was to monitor the galaxy (to safeguard Earth from intergalactic and interplanetary menaces such as Bizzaro and Brainiac, two of Superman's many notorious adversaries from other galaxies that relentlessly terrorize Earth because of Superman). The satellite could also come in handy should the Superfriends/JLA ever need to escape the earth in order to make a plan to save the earth.

(In fact, the hall was protected so that anyone who was not cleared to enter would set off an alarm way before he or she could get too close to the Hall). (This alarm was also in place to protect all the specialized technological equipment the SuperFriends hid in the Hall, as well as other precious possessions such as the Museum of Justice where memorials stood to show that no threat ever withstood the Superfriends – these items rotated.) (Certain authority figures had a special clearance after going through rigorous screenings by the Superfriends, in fact the only people who set off the alarms were people that were known to be dangerous, such as those villains who held membership in the Legion of Doom).

Additionally, The Hall of Justice was always safeguarded/monitored by a senior member or junior member pair of the Superfriends whether they stayed and slept in the hall (which happened more when some were away on a mission, and usually the Junior members, such as the Wonder Twins, were in the hall at this time), or someone who monitored from somewhere further away (such as the Bat-cave, Aqua-cave, or the Fortress of Solitude. Rarely, it was monitored from the surreptitious mountain headquarters of the Teen Titans – mostly when Robin had to monitor it and help the Teen Titans at the same time). When Wonder Woman was on watch, she could monitor it from Paradise Island if there or she could monitor by telepathy as long as she was somewhere in the vicinity (in the 48 contiguous United States).

This particular spring morning was bright, breezy, and sunny without a cloud in the clear blue sky and there was not much was happening in the world that the SuperFriends needed to handle. All appeared calm and serene, exactly like the peaceful calm before an unforeseen, undetected, unidentified threatening thunderstorm that is gradually but indisputably brewing on the extremely outlying horizon. (It has not completely formed yet, but is starting to gather its own tremendous potency). It was just one of those eerily beautiful and eerily silent days where the deceitful beautiful weather gives no hint as to what fury lies hidden beneath.

Present in the Hall of Justice on this excellent spring morning were the SuperFriends Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, and their young protégés. The young ones included the Exxorian Wonder twins Zan and Jayna with their mischievous pet, a blue space monkey (with an elastic tail) from Exxor named Gleek, as well as Marvin and Wendy with Marvin's dog, named Wonder, in honor of Wonder Woman (Marvin has always been awed with Wonder Woman and her capabilities – yeah). All the junior members were enthusiastic to start learning what the Superfriends wanted to teach them. The meeting started as normal as possible, with almost no one the wiser as to what the day would bring.

Other SuperFriends' members, or JLA-ers as they were sometimes designated, were far out in the many reaches of the galaxy completing other vital missions, light years away from Earth. The closest member (who could be contacted in an extreme emergency) was the Green Lantern (also known as Test Pilot Hal Jordan in his everyday civilian identity – which is only known to a select minority) handling a situation on Mars with his Venetian collaborator Kyro. Green Lantern had been sent there to help the Guardians recapture an escaped criminal.

Several super-associates were on still located on Earth, but they were unavailable for emergencies for one rationale or another. Green Arrow (with his ward Speedy) could not be contacted even though he was on Earth as he was in Antarctica during a time of year that would prohibit patent communication from that particular classified locality. Members of the Teen Titans, such as Aqualad, Wonder girl, and Kid Flash were busy (however, Kid Flash was actually not on Earth) with training and obligations in their own respective domains.

Aqualad had patrol and babysitting duties, due to Aquaman's absence to attend the Superfriends' assembly and Mera (Aquaman's wife) needed to run some errands and finish some household chores. Arthur, Jr., could be quite a handful – just like his father – and could get into plenty of mischief if left unattended (as Aqualad found out one time, providentially Aquaman came to save the day speedily). Wonder Girl was in the core of her Amazon training and learning more about her resilient, robust, stalwart, durable, powerful feminine heritage on Paradise Island, and Kid Flash was with Flash (whose surreptitious identity was Police Scientist Barry Allen) on his secret mission, along with Hawkman and Hawkgirl on the remote planet Thanagar (Hawkman and Hawkgirl's home world). (Hawkman and Hawkgirl were married and known as the married couple Scientists Carter and Shayera Hall in their everyday civilian identities on Earth.)

The day appeared so incredibly tranquil (and innocent), blasé, and languid that even the SuperFriends had taken it easy to get to the hall for the morning conference. Superman was the initial member to arrive at the hall (of course), flying in even at a relaxed velocity after visiting his Fortress of Solitude in the frigid Artic after a recent expedition into outer space to complete an imperative mission on a faraway world. He started setting up for all the day's training sessions and activities as well as checking out all the instruments in the Hall used to locate trouble, as those were the responsibilities of the first to arrive at the hall.

The purpose Superman went to his Fortress was threefold. The Man of Steel had to drop something off and pick something up to bring from his fortress to help teach the young protégés (a.k.a. the Junior Members of the SuperFriends). In addition, before he could go to the meeting he had to do a few chores up at the Fortress such as check on the shrunken city of Kandor, which he promptly finished and headed off to the morning meeting. Clark Kent was on vacation from his job at the Daily Planet, so no one would really being missing him. However, if Clark could get a first-rate account on Superman, the Superfriends or JLA, the Daily Planet would certainly appreciate it, at least that was what Perry White told the docile, klutzy, mild-mannered, geeky reporter Clark Kent before he left for vacation.

Batman and Robin arrived soon after The Man of Tomorrow (Superman), after taking the elongated, picturesque itinerary and driving through the hushed countryside from Gotham City in the Bat-multicraft, as the Batmobile needed a rest and was low on gasoline at the time-being and the Bat-jet and Bat-Copter just needed a break. (The Bat Rocket was at this point being stored at the Hall of Justice in case of space emergencies). The Dynamic Duo brought with them spare sets of some of their paraphernalia for the junior members to scrutinize and practice with so that they could become acclimatized with techniques to distinguish, scrutinize, and fight crime (as well as learn how to accumulate, unearth, and process evidence from the finest, most minute particulars.) The Caped Crusaders were the best detectives to learn how to process evidence in the minutest detail as they often found details unnoticed by others.

Robin was looking forward to teaching the junior Superfriend members tricks he had learned while he was a circus star. (Robin also liked that he was no longer the youngest, and that he now had people looking up to him for guidance). Batman was hoping the meeting would be as uneventful as the day appeared and that they would have time to teach what they wanted to teach the junior members, but he knew from experience that tranquil days usually lead to extraordinarily crazy adventures that demand immediate and full attention. (You see, such occurrences happened more often than not, particularly to the Superfriends).

Wonder Woman and Aquaman arrived last because the Amazing Amazon had flown in from Paradise Island after visiting her mom, who was Queen of the Island. In addition, she had to collect the King of the Seven Seas (after he kissed his wife and son goodbye and left Aqualad in charge of his patrol) on her way to the Hall. Even they came in flying leisurely in on Wonder Woman's invisible jet. Wonder Woman and Aquaman each brought something from their respective realms to help teach the junior members. In fact, Aquaman needed to bring a little extra water on the plane because they flew in so leisurely.

Wendy and Marvin arrived just ahead of Wonder Woman and Aquaman after riding their bikes to the hall, bringing with them Wonder Dog, the Wonder Twins, and Gleek. It had taken Wendy and Marvin awhile, but they finally taught the Twins how to ride bikes and ride them safely (Zan had tried to showoff and ended up with several small lacerations on his hands, arms, and legs but not on his head thanks to a helmet that he had reluctantly agreed – was forced – to wear). When all finally arrived, the training sessions and meeting began. It was going to be a morning meeting (and an experience) that no one would soon forget as well as a chance for the young ones to put their new training and skills to use.

The young trainees were first taught about trapeze ability and agility from Robin, as well as Batman (more so from Robin as he was an ex-circus star who had worked on the trapeze). This went better for Wendy and Jayna, as they were more flexible (patient and teachable) than Marvin and Zan, both of whom had a tendency to whine when things became even a little bit complicated or complex. Gleek even tried to get on the trapeze and did decent, but had more of a tendency to get in the way than be helpful. Wonder Dog, who could not climb at all, tried to help the boys, but only succeeded in causing Zan and Marvin to become tangled up in the rope to slide down on. It was quite a sight to see, and both Wendy and Jayna laughed. Zan quickly righted himself, and he griped about it being too arduous a skill to master. Marvin, on the other hand, just hung there for a minute and even made a pun that rivaled one of Robin's famous puns, as Marvin always tried to be optimistic no matter what happened. Robin had to make a comment regarding Marvin's choice of words (that they rivaled Robin's) and all laughed heartily before Marvin fell safely into the safety net below. Shortly after Marvin reached the net, the rest of the group started coming down from the trapeze, including Robin, who was still laughing heartily.

After the trapeze exercises, Batman and Robin also taught and helped all four to practice punching and fighting opponents (in this case, large punching bags filled with sand). Batman and Robin immediately noticed that Zan, Jayna, Wendy, and Marvin were not punching with their full potential and Batman told them to step aside while Robin demonstrated how to strike with the most force behind it. Robin, punching his best with his full weight (and more) behind the punch, broke the container in half and sand promptly came spilling out onto the floor of the gymnasium. The four trainees were extremely astonished and incredibly impressed while Batman (while smiling) explained that was how Robin was capable of tackling and taking down people bigger than twice his size (not to mention that Robin, as Dick Grayson, works out frequently with Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne – known to only the other members of the SuperFriends/JLA).

After receiving the lengthy instruction (and attempting the multiple additional skills) from Batman and Robin, it was Wonder Woman and Aquaman's turn to teach the young members. Wonder Woman had a little trouble training Marvin and Zan this morning as she was doing some Amazon training that was made more for Jayna and Wendy than Zan and Marvin, but she made it work. Marvin tried his best and did ok, but Zan, still overconfident, failed more than once (but, as was mentioned, this was a preparatory session). All needed a respite after Wonder Woman's instruction, and so the young members took a short breather before heading off to their next tutorial.

After finally catching their breath, it was Aquaman's turn to educate the adolescents. Aquaman brought them all into the pool at the far end of the Hall and was practicing with them how to hold their breath for short amounts of time if they absolutely needed to. He also demonstrated how to interpret certain water indications to find protected places and sunken hideaways, especially those that would have trapped air inside. He also taught them specified aquatic communications in case they required help. All this training was accomplished without using one superpower or ability (including Aquaman who did not stay underwater longer than a real human did, except that he had to talk underwater to his trainees.) It was important to the Superfriends that the young trainees learn to use their intelligence and not solely rely on gadgets and powers, as they would not always be accessible or available.

Last, but not least, it was Superman's turn to educate the adolescents. Now while the young trainees were obviously not indestructible and lacked the powers that Superman possessed (as none of the protégés were Kryptonian, even though Jayna could turn into a Kryptonian animal, but only if Zan was near), Superman focused more about how essential brainpower was in crime solving as well as developing keen senses and consciousness. He displayed photographs and educated them in how to catch certain non-obvious clues as well as looking at how people act rather than just what they say as well as using other senses to gain vital, imperative, essential information. The Kryptonian Crusader then stepped out of the room for a moment while the trainees looked at the photos he had given them and wrote down what they thought were clues, and Superman returned with Batman and Robin a short time later.

Marvin and Wendy were slightly quicker at picking things up as they were used to Earth things and could overlook the obvious versus the new-to-Earth Wonder Twins. Wendy and Marvin also pitched in to show how to ignore certain average objects, however, Superman reminded Wendy and Marvin that sometimes possessions that we get used to overlooking is the very evidence we need. Superman mentioned this after Zan and Jayna found a clue that Superman had put in a photo that normally would be overlooked by regular Earthlings like Marvin and Wendy, but would be easily picked up by someone new to Earth such as the Wonder Twins (or someone who lived on Earth but was from another planet – like Superman). Wendy and Marvin took the instruction in stride, learning the lesson that even material that appears to be normal can be the biggest lead, something that Batman had been trying to teach them as well. The tutorial taught that the biggest clue is not always hidden, sometimes the biggest and best clue can be standing in plain sight right in front of you in an ordinary everyday object that seems in place (hiding in plain sight) and unless you pay close attention, you will overlook it.

Superman also taught about how to be patient and not immediately jump into something or jump to conclusions without looking for all the explanations, evidence, and reasons (a good lesson considering what was going to happen later that day). Treating people as innocent until proven guilty was stressed for the young ones as well. He even had Batman and Robin teach a small snippet, to show that brainpower is truly more superior to just brute strength. (It was shown that Batman and Robin could take down Superman with the smallest bit of Green Kryptonite – hence brain over brawn).

The Green Kryptonite was promptly put away so Superman did not endure any ill effects. This also demonstrated knowing the weakness or weaknesses of your opponent is essential, as well as knowing ones own weakness or weaknesses. In fact, the truth was revealed when Batman removed his cowl, and the kids found that it was Superman in Batman's uniform and vice versa. After putting the Green K away and switching back to their customary garments, Superman showed that he had a lead-filled garb on to illustrate that he knew and understood his own weaknesses and limitations. This demonstration was extraordinarily effectual in getting the point across – although not everyone has as obvious or as well known weakness as Superman – Batman explained.)

The significance of these training sessions was so that if anything ever happened where the junior members got into a predicament (and the twins were powerless to activate their shape shifting powers), the young ones could actually fight back and help the SuperFriends. This was especially true if the Superfriends were unable to get to the situation right away or if the young heroes needed to rescue the senior members. The junior members were also given reading material to study to work hand in hand with their physical training sessions, compliments of Batman who emphasized that in order to capture criminals, one has to understand how they operate and ruminate. The young protégés were especially worn out after all the training and took a short respite before starting up a jovial basketball game. It was an extended weekend from school for the young ones and they had all their homework for school completed prior to this meeting.

Things, at first, appeared to reveal that it would be a pretty leisurely and calm day. No major or minor disasters were being reported anywhere in Earth's vicinity. The trouble alert was silent, the hotline from Washington D.C. was still, and the CDQ (a high priority alert) box from the SDI (Secret Department of Investigation) was eerily silent. Even the international emergency frequency was soundless. The local authorities were handling any petty transgression that was happening (wherever the crime took place); hence, the services of the Superfriends were neither required nor requested as the authorities had it all under control. The kids (a.k.a. the Jr. SuperFriends) were playing an intensely rousing game of girls versus boys basketball with the animals (after already going through the lessons the Superfriends were planning to teach them this day) while the most of the senior members of the SuperFriends were watching their assigned positions to monitor the Trouble Alert.

Wendy and Jayna had made blueberry muffins and some biscuits and gravy (to be washed down with orange juice or skim milk) for the heroes and protégés to have at the meeting since no one had eaten breakfast before they came. In fact, Batman and Robin had literally just come from solving another one of their famous cases and only had time to change transportation vehicles because the Batmobile was low on gas. Everyone enjoyed the food (even though Superman could go days without food) and then the monitoring began for the senior members.

After taking the junior members through their specified training sessions for the week, the senior members got down to business of monitoring the Earth for any threats (locally, nationally, internationally and interplanetary) while letting the junior members hang around to practice the new skills they learned as well as have some fun. The junior members decided to play a rousing game of basketball as a way of getting to know each other better since the Wonder Twins were still new to Earth and thrilled to discover things about Earth, particularly American customs since they resided in America. Zan was always incredibly overconfident, but his cockiness was what got him in trouble. No one was exactly sure how to teach Zan to be a little more humble, but they did try. They did not want him to lose his personality; just modulate the cockiness (although cockiness is exceptionally American, lamentably).

Moreover, Wendy and Marvin planned to instruct them as much as they could and pass on knowledge they gained from Snapper Carr (as well as the Super Heroes) who formerly was the initial honorary member of the Justice League of America. Snapper helped train Wendy and Marvin, and then went on to school and became a detective who rarely helped now because he had many cases on his own to handle. However, one thing that Marvin and Wendy knew that Snapper did not was the clandestine identities of the SuperFriends as well as several other members of the Justice League (but not all the members of the JLA).

While the boisterous basketball game was going on, the senior members set out to their assigned posts. Superman, the Action Ace, was sitting by the hotline daydreaming after his latest escapade in outer space of which he had just put his memento of in his fortress. Superman knew the people of that world would now be protected for some time to come. Aquaman was monitoring the Trouble alert while watching the time to make sure he could refresh himself with water in time and Wonder Woman was reading an anecdote (in which the protagonist and heroine was a robust, resilient, muscular woman) while watching the CDQ box. Each, although somewhat distracted, would be ready in an instant should one of the alert sirens resound.

On the other side of the monitoring room, Batman and Robin were playing a "leisurely" but exceptionally competitive game of table tennis, while listening for the international and interplanetary emergency frequency, which had its apparatus near the ping-pong table. Robin seemed to be having the upper hand, although Batman was making various interesting and elaborate shots, sending Robin running and diving after the ball every time. Just who would prevail was still up in the air. Other than the table tennis tournament (with banter and Robin's infamous "clever" puns) and the basketball exhibition competition (with banter) in the gym area adjacent to the trouble alert room (but the door was closed between the two rooms), there was not a sound in the hall. It seemed like it was all they could do to try to stay awake during the monotonous lull, which was bizarre and rare.

Marvin and Zan were showing off their basketball skills as they were shooting hoops versus Jayna and Wendy. Marvin had taught Zan to play, and Zan was a little overconfident about his limited skills (like always). Wendy taught Jayna, and did better as Wendy is better than Marvin is at certain things like basketball. Wonder dog and Gleek were helping the girls because the boys were better and because they wanted to. In fact, Gleek blocked one of Zan's fancy fade-away jump shots with his extensive elastic tail, hitting the ball to Wonder Dog who knocked the ball over to Wendy who passed it to Jayna, who shot the game-winning and game-ending point for the girls which went through the hoop with a swish – nothing but net.

After Jayna scored the winning point making the score 10 to 9, Zan had to gripe about the whole thing. For we all know that Zan does not shut up very easily, especially when he feels that he has something legitimate to whine, gripe, and mope about. Marvin just shrugged his shoulders at Zan, figuring that Zan had to find some way to blow off steam. Never mind the fact that Marvin had tried to get Zan to pass him the ball, as he was wide open under the basket, but Zan wanted to show off. Marvin was deliberately left wide open under the basket because Jayna knew that Zan would try to make the game ending shot so he could take all the glory. In essence, Jayna had told Wendy to leave Marvin wide open. Marvin and Zan had no idea that it had been set up like that. Oh well, all is fair in war and basketball.

"It's not fair," whined Zan "You always win."

"Well," responded Jayna laughing, "with Gleek around it makes things fairer. Besides, you're just irritated because you let me have the ball and the winning basket."

And with that, Jayna promptly tossed the ball to Wendy who also laughed as she caught the ball, along with Marvin, Gleek, and Wonder dog as they sauntered back into the main room in the Hall. Zan just showed a pout-y face, and then laughed as well, joining the others and walking to the main room. Even Robin had to chuckle at that one, distracting him and forcing him to give up an effortless point to Batman. Then all of the sudden, something made everyone jump and Wendy dropped the ball, which rolled inaudibly into the nearby corner. The table tennis game went silent after Batman hit the ball and it went wide of table. What could that be? What finally broke the monotony of this tranquil, quiet, unassuming day?

Unexpectedly, the Trouble Alert went off, blaring deafeningly, as it often does when it seems the most peaceful and the once entertaining and playful mood takes on a much more somber atmosphere, one equipped for (and anticipating) action and adventure (as well as peril). It was not a huge emergency, just something that Superman could handle, as he could get there the fastest and Aquaman had stepped out for a moment to get refreshed in water, as his hour was almost up. The alert was a minute, supposedly trivial matter, which involved one supposedly small human being in a quandary. Little did any suspect that this was the origin of the predicament soon to plague the Superfriends.

What Superman (or any of the other SuperFriends) did not know was that this particular emergency related to a new innovative alien villain, Ybab Zero. He was so new (at least to Earth) that incredibly few people knew of his existence including the mighty Man of Steel. A vast majority of the people who did know about Ybab and his caper were dead (when Krypton blew up in a chain reaction) or lived on Nanaton, a distant planet unknown to Earth scientists. (However, it was known to Superman, thanks to his biological father, Jor El, who had loaded knowledge of the universe into little Kal El's escape rocket and taught it to Superman in the Fortress of Solitude).

However, just for the audience to know, he (Ybab) wanted to regress a majority of the world into babies and toddlers so that he could raise them with hypnotized adults. He desired it this way so that he could have his way and rule the Earth with no chance of having a rebellion from his "subjects", who would have no idea that things were not as they should be. (After his first successful take over, he would go further to take over the universe, but for now, he needed the first planet to fall so he could establish a base and an army of troops to help him).

His first attempt to overtake a planet had failed piteously and he swore that this time he would not fail, no matter what the cost. This time no one would be able to impede him. Moreover, he swore that neither the so-called SuperFriends nor The Justice League of America would be able to thwart him from achieving his ultimate aspiration – domination of the cosmos. Moreover, to add more fuel to the hatred fire, Ybab had discovered that Kal El, the only son of Jor El and now known as Superman, dwelled on the planet Earth. He felt it helped his cause that Earth was completely oblivious of him and the ominous menace he presented. (Unknown to all parties involved there was a woman on Earth who was well aware of what was going to happen. How you may ask? Well you will just have to continue reading and find out.)

He came from the planet Nanaton, a planet in the same solar system as Krypton that was slightly larger than Krypton. Therefore, as you could imagine, he was almost as physically powerful, indestructible, and solid as Superman was, especially with Earth's yellow sun, (not the same as Nanaton was further away from the Red Sun and the gravity was slightly less heavy than Krypton's gravity was). However, Ybab's weakness was the white Kryptonite even though White Kryptonite usually only affected plants, (helpful microorganisms that grew in the Nanatonian to help them survive and thrive were so plentiful and related to plants, and it was such a rare recessive peculiarity that most Nanatonians knew exceptionally little to nothing about it).

(White Kryptonite is about the only known variety of Kryptonite that has absolutely no effect on Superman at all – unlike Red, Blue, Gold or Green. The SuperFriends were always on the look out for Gold Kryptonite because it could deprive Superman of all his magnificent powers and they would be unable to be restored). A minute quantity of white Kryptonite would return Ybab Zero to his banishment place in the ninth dimension for 365 days, an entire Earth year. (No one, including Ybab, realized that Ybab was extremely susceptible to White Kryptonite, as he had only heard about it in historic teachings but there was not that much in there about it anyways).

Part of the rationale they (rare Nantonians, and rare recessive traits would counteract traits from Kryptonian heritage) were affected by this Kryptonite was due to the history where people from Krypton had come to Nanaton and had inter mingled with the native Nanatonians, thus most of the people had some Kryptonian and Nanatonian genetics in them. However, due to different planetary conditions, the people had a mutation that caused a weakness that the original Kryptonians and Nantonians did not have, and the people did not have the weaknesses of the originals. Although, it needs to be said that some who had not intermingled had their original weaknesses, or a mutated version of the weakness.

While these rare unmixed people had the original weaknesses, it had somewhat mutated a little as well. Ybab was one who was part Nanatonian and part Kryptonian; hence, he had the mixed mutated weakness (however it was rare to be as sensitive to it as Ybab was), not the weakness to Red Kryptonite (which was like Green K to Superman) like the rare Kryptonians or Gray Nanite like the rare true breed Nanatonian. However, it also needs to be stated that most were not even aware of a weakness since they dwelled on Nanaton, and those who had severe weaknesses were only seen to have allergies by Nanatonian physicians. Moreover, it was more common, on Nanaton for a citizen of mixed heritage to be reactive to a number of different things. (Superman had somehow been able to make contact at some point and picked up some info that would be valuable later on – as he had resumed monitoring Ybab after learning of his failed attempt to overtake Krypton, but Superman had been busy recently and unable to monitor Ybab).

Superman could carry this particular form of Kryptonite (White Kryptonite) without harming himself or anyone else on Earth as long as he did not make the White Kryptonite explode. If the White Kryptonite exploded, it would kill all the plants on Earth (normally it would not affect Earth's plants, as they were not Kryptonian), thus killing all the people for there would be no living thing to produce enough oxygen, so vital to existence on Earth. (Only Superman knew about this).

White Kryptonite is also an exceedingly delicate and light weight (as the Superfriends were to find out later) variety of Kryptonite found only in one remote place in the universe (as everywhere else had gotten rid of the minute amount that they had in this one sector since the largest quantity was found on this particular planetoid). Therefore, Ybab figured he had extremely little to fret about as far as he was concerned, or so he assumed. He figured that no one knew where it could be located (nor wanted to go near the place even if he or she found out). However, he never thought that Earth computers could find things with a minimal amount of information from a distant planet that blew up long ago (nor did he think there was anyone brave or bold enough to go get the White Kryptonite). He thought he would be able to succeed without a hindrance.

Ybab was a well-known master of disguise (at least in his own galaxy), something that aided him in escaping the 9th dimension (and the fact that there were few guards to make sure he could not escape as no one had tried to escape before and succeeded). He was vengefully determined to get revenge on Kal El, the son of Jor El of Krypton who had foiled Ybab's original take-over plans. Even though he was a master of disguise, he was not quite as magically powerful as Superman's cosmic-joking nemesis from the fifth dimensional world of Zrff, Mr. Mxyzptlk, as the ninth dimension lacked magic. (Nanatonians possessed a small amount of magic but not much, which was in response to the little helpful microorganisms growing in their body), which means the only way to get rid of him was through the White Kryptonite. Additionally, while his disguises deceived most people, experienced detectives if they knew what to look for could tell the camouflage was just that --- a masquerade (detectives like the famed Batman (the dark knight) and Robin (the boy/teen wonder) also known as the Dynamic Duo and Caped Crusaders--- if only they knew). Anyway, back to the story.

Superman hurriedly took off with a immense sense of urgency, flying at super sonic speed to rescue the small baby floating in a miniature, dilapidated wooden crate in the middle of Lake Decatur, which at this time of the year was known to have tornados ravaging through the area, as it was April. April was a month known to the locals as "tornado season" especially in this section of the country known as "Tornado Alley". The upsurges were getting more intense and violent; and it was feared the babe might be lost in the murky waters. It did not look promising for the tiny tot unless Superman got there immediately and saved the little one. Superman knew he needed to get there speedily before the little one was lost in the violent, filthy lake.

Superman flew swiftly out to the wee child and carefully picked him up just as a mammoth swell crashed over the small wooden crate, smashing it to bits. He flew to the nearest shoreline with the child, which happened to be a forested area of Decatur, Illinois. With his primary concern about saving the child running through his brain, he failed to realize that this baby was not like any he had met, seen, or carried before on Earth. He had failed to read the first warning signs that this "child" might not be all that he was expected to be. Superman had no idea the revelation he was in for once he placed that little "child" onshore.

All of the sudden, once ashore, the infant started to change right in front of Superman's startled eyes and exposed Superman to what might seem to be a small amount Red Kryptonite, which turned him (just his body) this time into a small child, a toddler to be more precise. While the effects of Red Kryptonite are variable every time on Superman, this particular exposure made him younger as well as helped the effect of the other weapon the Ybab had to use on Superman. (However, for the audience to know the particular effect of Red Kryptonite only works for one exposure – and after once, that piece does not effect Superman again –, hence it changes each time). As for all his mighty powers, he still retained those, though they were proportionate to his stature and ability at the time he originally was that size.

Fortuitously, for Superman though, a friendly someone had been monitoring the circumstances the entire time (and he did not completely lose all his adult memory – which was also a curse), someone who had not been changed by Ybab, somehow managing to escape and attempting to thwart all of his attempts of completing his mission. A woman named Melissa ran out to steal the "child" before Ybab Zero could change him too much. It was a judicious save for the Last Son of Krypton, who was so shocked at the time that he let himself be whisked away by this now much larger human female.

For Superman to have this much exposure to Red Kryptonite, he would change for a much longer period of time. The exposure itself was limited thanks to the woman; however, the consequences were going to linger for quite some time, as was previously mentioned. For in addition to the Red Kryptonite was a special shaft made by Ybab that would change Superman's age because it contained small fragments of a red sun, which saps some Superman's superpowers, such as invulnerability. Once the beam was turned off or not aimed at Superman, he regained his powers, but since he had been somewhat regressed, he no longer had the mastery over all of his powers and was unable to fly off (since it was one of the last powers he learned to control). Hence, it was easy for Melissa to spirit little Superman away to safety, although he was a slight bit heavier than she expected (due to his Kryptonian body and heritage – and the fact that he could not really fly at least with any sort of control).

For you see, Ybab Zero at this point was more concerned about how to get Superman and the other SuperFriends out of his way. If he could get the Superfriends out of his way or better yet change them so he influenced them, then he could go ahead with his dastardly plan to take over the entire Earth and possibly even get the Superfriends to help him succeed where before he alone had failed. No one would be left to stop him.

Ybab knew that the regular inhabitants of this bizarre planet called "Earth" (as he learned it was called from the first agents he added to his army) were exceedingly fragile and feeble compared to him. The only ones that could possibly stop him were the SuperFriends, but he figured that he would take care of them easily, particularly now with the strongest affiliate, Superman, being taken out of the way. Now he would finally be able to exact his revenge on Kal El, now known as Superman on Earth (or reporter Clark Kent --- Superman's secret identity that very few knew about and Ybab was not one of them --- when not on patrol or alert). A malevolent smile now slowly crossed Ybab's sinister countenance.

He had left Superman alone in the chance that it would get rid of him and/or hoped that a slave that was hypnotized by Ybab would come pick Superman up. You see, it was Superman's biological (Kryptonian) father, Jor-El, who had been instrumental in sending Ybab Zero to the ninth dimension as punishment for his disastrous and dastardly crime committed against Krypton and the Kryptonian people. (Ybab could tell that whatever superpowers that Superman had, Superman was not able to correctly control now and so Ybab figured Super "baby" would be easy pickings for one of his henchman – especially since he would be unable to fly away Ybab noticed). Ybab had been out of the loop for so long, he did not realize that Green Kryptonite was what made Superman weak and could kill him if exposed for too long to a moderate to large amount. (Tiny amounts would weaken Superman, but not physically harm him otherwise unless he was stabbed or scraped with it). (Additionally, Ybab did not know for sure, although he had an inkling that Kryptonians from Krypton reacted differently, to Red K than the descendants of Kryptonians on Nanaton).

However, you see, Ybab did not want to kill Superman, because that, he thought, was too good and too effortless for revenge, and then Superman would not suffer, at least not in the way Ybab wanted him to suffer. Ybab wanted Superman to suffer just as Ybab had been forced to endure under Superman's father and in the ninth dimension, which is partially why Ybab let Superman keep a small part of his adult memory and mind, to be well aware of what was going on but be able to do absolutely nothing about it. Ybab was not expecting the discord that was going to conceal itself in the form of an "commonplace" (no superpowers or super-abilities or famousness) Earth woman who decided to protect the Earth and secretly, silently revolt against Ybab, as she knew that brazen action would bring an immediate failure of stopping him and his horrific plan for her world. She would do her small part on her own, which she did not know at the time would ultimately lead to saving the entire world.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, the remaining Super Friends were starting to become concerned that Superman had been gone for so long and that he had not reported in nor had they even been informed that the child had been saved or lost in the turbulent, dirty lake. It was extremely unusual that Superman would not report in within four hours unless in deep space and that is because of interference. All they knew was that Superman was off to rescue the child in peril who was floating in a stormy lake somewhere in Central Illinois, an area with which no one was too familiar. The only member who had been there once before was now way out in space, the speedster Flash.

(Aquaman was informed of the situation just after Superman left after having renewed himself after his hour out of water.) In addition, Superman could not be located as the apparatus that he used to correspond and be traced by had been destroyed somehow in the water or by being tampered with, or so they thought as strange as it seemed. Little did any of them suspect what the truth actually was, a quiet, small, underground insurgency and insurrection started by a single woman not ready to give up the fight for her abode, her brainpower, her rights, or her independence.

Therefore, the remaining Super Friends left the kids and the animals (Twins, Marvin, Wendy, Wonder Dog and Gleek) to monitor the Hall of Justice while the other senior members of the Super Friends searched desperately for Superman. Batman told the kids that they were to keep a sharp eye on the monitor in case they received any word about Superman or anything else peculiar and to relay it to the other members of the SuperFriends immediately. The Twins stood by the Earth monitor with Gleek while Wendy and Marvin did their best to monitor all the remaining Superfriends. Wonder Dog took a peaceful siesta, or at least as peaceful as he could considering the circumstances. (You see, Marvin and Wendy were helping train Zan and Jayna, too, along with the Super Friends.)

About an hour after the remaining Superfriends left, Marvin and Wonder dog were watching the monitor (as it was their turn) while Wendy helped Zan and Jayna practice their inherited Exxorian transformation powers. Gleek stayed out of the way, in a cage, so he could not cause trouble, especially with his elastic tail, and was happily occupied eating bananas, a relatively new food to Gleek's nutritional regime (that he thoroughly enjoyed) since planet Exxor had no bananas. Gleek always tended to be hungry, but as long as food kept him occupied, at least he could not get into mischief like always when he was distracted.

While Marvin was at the monitor, Wendy worked with the Wonder Twins. Zan and Jayna touched hands and said, "Wonder Twin powers Activate" in response to a scenario that Wendy gave them to respond to. Jayna changed into a Kangaroo while Zan changed into ice cubes. (Jayna has the power to turn into any animal while her Twin brother Zan has the power to take water in any shape or form). It was ok, in Wendy's eyes, but she gently corrected them and gave them tips Batman and Robin had given her and Marvin when they were first starting out. Immediately, Jayna changed into a fly and Zan into a mist. It was better, thought Wendy, at least for the scenario that she had presented them.

Nevertheless, Wendy had to admit that the Twins were getting better by the day and would soon pass up her and Marvin as they lacked any genuine superpowers (other than somehow always managing to get in the middle of the situation or trouble). However, the Twins still looked up to Wendy and Marvin because they had been first, had befriended when they first came to Earth and saved them in a previous adventure, and were more than willing to help the Twins get better. Wendy decided at this point, should it ever come up that she and Marvin would have to leave, she would give her Superfriends charm bracelet (which could call any member or all members depending on which charm was pushed) to Jayna after explaining about how to use it. Although the Wonder Twins power changes were better, it was still up to Wendy and Marvin (as well as the others) to help the Twins get used to the English lingo on Earth (particularly in America).

In the meantime, the remaining Superfriends headed to Decatur, Illinois since that was the last known destination of Superman, specifically the area around Lake Decatur, an artificial, foul lake in the middle of nowhere-ville Illinois. Batman was searching the sky around Lake Decatur in the Bat-Multicraft, after dropping off Robin, while Wonder Woman was flying around the area in her invisible jet, after dropping off Aquaman into the lake. Both were in contact with each other as well as with the two others on the ground and in the lake.

Robin was searching and examining the ground around the lake toward a more forested-type area in search of clues to the disappearance, and Aquaman was searching the great, sullied lake knowing that Superman could be submerged trying to save the baby or possibly Superman could be trapped in the polluted, murky, dangerous waters. Even though Aquaman knew that Superman did not need to breathe underwater, there still could be some problems for him, and that is what Aquaman was determined to find out, as he knew not all the Kryptonite that had fallen to Earth had been located. (Aquaman knew this because he had found large fragments in the oceans and had managed to push them into deep craters where no one would be able to reach them.)

Suddenly, Aquaman found what appeared to be a small drowning child not too far from where Aquaman was searching. He raced to save the youngster as he and Robin were the only ones around that were close enough to be able to rescue the child and the child was too far out in the lake for Robin to reach safely. Using his aquatic telepathy, Aquaman hastily got fish in the lake to hurriedly help take the child to shore where Robin helped the child upon to the beach, which was also near the forested area that Robin had been searching in for clues (just as Ybab had anticipated).

Robin had found shoe impressions in the dirt (which were barely visible) but could not tell exactly how long ago they had been left there because there were so many shoe prints in the area, at least that he could detect. One exceptionally distinct track led to a spot where it stopped, stood, ran toward the Lake and then walked quickly back, definitely heavier than before. It puzzled Robin a bit, but he did not have time to check further due to the "rescued child." Aquaman came out of the water to check on the child because Aquaman really felt a need to check on the child after the child came so close to drowning. Robin was there to help make sure that the child was breathing independently. Maybe this child could give them some information about Superman's disappearance, but the question was: did he see anything and would he tell if he had?

All of the sudden, Robin and Aquaman found themselves getting smaller as well as younger and the child changing, growing older. The "child" introduced himself as Ybab Zero, an escapee from the 9th dimension, who planned to rule Earth by changing people to babies and children or hypnotized parents to raise the children exactly how he wanted them to be raised. As Robin and Aquaman tried to resist regressing, they kept getting smaller and younger maintaining a little of their adult mentality, but still becoming extraordinarily vulnerable and easily influenced. Ybab was exceedingly pleased and even pleasantly surprised that getting to the SuperFriends appeared to be so effortless and that his plan was working so favorably, or so it would appear to him. No one seemed to notice Robin's utility belt sliding off as he shrank, other than a clever onlooker who was waiting for just the right moment to rescue the regressed Superheroes from Ybab's malevolent grasp.

While Ybab Zero was babbling on (with his back toward the regressed heroes) about his age-regressing and hypnotizing mission; bragging about his genuine surreptitious mission; and how no one would be able to stop him; a soft, warm, strong arm wrapped itself around both Aquaman and Robin's small bodies, picking them up with ease and with little resistance from the two young SuperFriends, who, as startled as they were, did not let out a peep. They turned to see a mysterious woman instructing them to be quiet and saving them from the torment of being changed into an actual infant instead of a toddler. She inaudibly led them away from the area into the woods, away from Ybab, after hastily and silently retrieving Robin's utility belt and speedily placing it around her own waist so she could carry the two little ones. She knew that leaving obvious clues behind would bring a swift downfall of the world (or at least to Batman and Robin's crime fighting career in this instance).

They quietly went, as they were too small to resist, although the woman had to put a pacifier into Robin and Aquaman's mouths, specifically Robin's, as he was almost infantile and was scared of what had happened to him and Aquaman, almost to the point of crying. The woman could tell Robin was terrified by the fact that he clung to her so tight that she knew she was going to have a bruise in that particular area, but she knew things would be worse if she did not get the two little SuperFriends out of the situation. Melissa, as we now know her name to be, prayed in her heart that they would make it out of there in time and that the young ones would not be too boisterous when she placed them in their car seats in her Beetle. She held out hope that she could make it safely out of these without Ybab discovering her and her quiet rebellion. Her Christian faith being her only ally (and her strength) at this point, she relied on it quite heavily. She did not know one person who had not been changed by Ybab, at least that was close enough to help her.

It did perk up little Robin and Aquaman quite a bit when they saw a disguised Superman in the car, even though he was regressed (wearing Osh Kosh B'Gosh® clothing) and in a car seat. Superman even perked up a bit at seeing them, though Melissa could perceive in his questioning eyes that he was extremely saddened that they met a similar fate he did. Superman knew well enough not to attempt to break out of the car seat as Melissa had talked to him about a few things prior to coming back here to save the others. The fact that Melissa was carrying them told Superman all he desired (but did not want) to know. She could tell that Superman desperately wished he had been able to preclude the perpetrator before anyone else met the same fate he did, but with the inability to master and control all his outstanding powers at his regressed age and state, he also felt somewhat helpless, vulnerable, and trapped. His more adult mind struggled with his limited childlike body. Rarely had Superman ever felt this helpless, as he gazed directly into Melissa's eyes, as if asking her what was going to happen next and seeking her for the answers that she could not give. Melissa had never felt so alone or determined as she did at this moment, especially in realizing those who typically save the day were now looking up to her to save the day, an enormous responsibility to shoulder, particularly for a young woman who lacked any superpowers or training.

Little Superman could tell that Ybab had left very little of Robin or Aquaman's adult mentality intact, and that saddened him even more. Melissa could tell by Superman's piercing deep blue eyes, which seemed to pierce her to her very core, that she had a lot of work and struggles ahead of her. Her biggest challenge would be trying to explain to the regressed superheroes what was going on, hoping and praying that they would understand. The young ones inaudibly settled in the back seat as Melissa readied the car so that she would be able to escape from Ybab. She had no idea what she was going to do, but she had to try to save these precious heroes. She could only pray that God would give her answers to all of her crucial, significant, urgent questions, including the ones unspoken by her regressed superheroes, especially one who was at the stage where he could barely talk.

They, meaning Aquaman and Robin, recognized Superman instantly, but they did not say anything because Melissa strongly discouraged it to prevent Ybab finding out, since he was still too close for comfort. Robin and Aquaman did not let out a peep, but silently sat in car seats next to the disguised Superman and were happy to be reunited, although the lingering thought between the three of them was how to get themselves back to normal, (hence the elation did not last long). Melissa had lots to think about as she quietly drove toward her quaint apartment while attempting to not get noticed with the three "little ones" all strapped in and hoping she had the means and guts to help them and the world (in her own small way).

This time, though, Ybab Zero noticed that they were gone, but he could not find them, for you see Melissa had done something that could not be traced (she got rid of the things that would lead the others to her "kids" and also since it was a forested area that was dry there were no footprints left to follow unless you were an excellent detective, like Robin. Ybab is not a detective in any sense of the word – hence he left lots of evidence of his delinquencies.)

Ybab's anger raged and burned completely out of control, who on Earth could be doing this to him, he wondered. Is it one of his agents too swiftly on the ball or is it someone rebelling against him? However, Ybab swiftly remembered that if it were an agent of his he or she would have told him and shown him or herself. It must be a rebel! Who dared defy him and his mission!?! Who had avoided his influence? He stormed off to his vessel in order to search for the rebel who dared defy him, but first he had to go check on the progress of his agents. He had been so infuriated that he did not hear a distant car motor start up, as Melissa had figured. Ybab seemed a little less energetic when she was there, but she noticed he just shook it off as if it were a feeling of sleepiness. He had no idea the reason why, but she smiled to herself knowing full well exactly what the reason was. After experiencing this "sleepiness" twice, Ybab figured something was wrong with the contaminated lake and left the area, vowing never to return.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, the kids received a message both from Batman and Wonder Woman that nothing had been found and the kids told Batman and Wonder Woman that Aquaman and Robin had just now disappeared and could not be located, and some other weird things were happening such as people being zombies or becoming toddlers and babies that were snatched up by the zombies. As for Aquaman and Robin, all that the monitor had shown was Aquaman and Robin rescuing the supposed child and bringing the child ashore. Batman was extremely concerned about the news, especially now that Robin had disappeared.

When all of the sudden, Ybab Zero somehow came on the screen in the Hall, in Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, and in the Bat Multi-craft (as well as every form of media in the United States and around the world) telling of his plan to rule the world. He also told of his taking care of the Super Friends and mentioned that he is searching for the one or ones who stole Superman, Robin and Aquaman from him, and that he is out to get any other SuperFriend who tries to stop him or gets in his way. (He would have never have done this if he had the other Superfriends until he had all of them leaving no chance left to save the world. He had not anticipated that someone would be able to resist him nor did he know he had tapped into the screens telling the remaining Superfriends of his plans). This new threat brought a great sense of urgency to Batman and Wonder Woman, as they knew they could be the next target as well as their young protégés. Unfortunately, most of the world that saw this message was already under Ybab's control and happily cheered in response. (For the normal/regular people of Earth, they had no adult mentality intact when they were regressed).

Batman and Wonder Woman flew hastily back to The Hall of Justice to find out more about this new and creative villain, a kind of villain they had never dealt with before. They knew that if Ybab did not have their friends and was only searching for them, there was still a chance that they were free somewhere on Earth (hopefully), but where? And what had happened to them? Why could they not be located? Moreover, if Ybab carried out his plan, would they be able to find their comrades in time? Would Batman and Wonder Woman as well as the kids be able to stop the villain and rescue their friends before they were caught by Ybab? Or would this be then end of the world as we know it?

Meanwhile, in Melissa's cozy little apartment, Aquaman, Superman, and Robin found themselves in a shared crib, not a huge one but large enough to hold the three of them. Moreover, while Aquaman and Superman were toddlers, Robin was almost an infant, being regressed to an approximate age of 12 months, although he could walk, run and verbalize a few words. It was a very interesting situation, especially with Melissa never having had any kids of her own (yet). However, with the way the world was, it was not usual to see people who never had kids before handling and raising children.

In fact, Little Robin often had to have a pacifier so that he could not inadvertently attempt to blow their cover by practicing certain "new" words, and she had to take away his utility belt (which had fallen off while he regressed) to make sure he did not hurt himself or anyone else. She also to be sure that it would not be stolen and fall into the wrong hands as it also contained many secrets about Batman and Robin that might end their careers if the secrets escaped. Melissa had to regretfully keep them all inside as much as possible so that they would not attract too much attention because if she left them outside too long, they might accidentally use one of their superpowers, be captured by one of Ybab's agents, and be corrupted (leading to the downfall of everything – as that one would give away where the others are).

Melissa needed to deal with their superpowers as well as their multihued costumes, including (and especially) Robin's mask, which she would have to explain using a white lie and/or hide it all together. She knew what to do, cover up their super outfits and attempt to hide their non-conformities, like the fins on the back of little Aquaman's calves. She needed to explain this to the age regressed heroes and hoped that they understood the necessity of the measures and the solemnity of the circumstances, something that almost seemed impossible. With a profound sigh, a vexed heart, and a mystified mind, she hesitantly opened the door that led to the "kids'" room whispering a silent prayer in her trembling heart that she could get the message across and that she could keep these regressed superheroes safe, in essence helping to save the world, someday hopefully.

Aquaman and Superman just looked at her with their large, bright, wondering, questioning eyes as she softly came into the room, wondering what exactly had gone on; why they were the way they were; and where they were. Melissa told them who she was and what she was doing with them; why they were the way they were; and where they were in terms she hoped and prayed that they would comprehend. Moreover, she told them she could do nothing to change them back to their regular ages, but she could hide them if they agreed. Even though they were young, somehow they understood the extremely intricate and bizarre situation, which was dreadfully grave, and were grateful that this person would prohibit them from becoming brainwashed by that malicious tyrant who wanted to rule the whole world. (Superman having the most adult mentality agreed and the other two little ones followed suit since Superman was the unofficial leader of the trio). Robin could not understand quite as well, so he just went along with whatever the older two said.

Melissa told them that neither she nor they would be able to contact their friends and why – Ybab had taken over all communication medium. They were not exactly thrilled with that announcement, but understood the necessity of ceasing contact for now. Melissa felt terrible that she had to tell them to cut off contact, but she told them and knew it was for their own good. Even though they understood, that did not make them happy; in fact, the littlest one became very distraught at that news.

Robin cried quite a bit, as he missed Batman (a father figure to the young Robin) and was terrified of what might happen next. Melissa gently picked Robin up, tenderly cradling him in her warm, gentle, caring arms, and soothingly rocked him, softly reassuring him that they would see their friends again and they would return the proper ages (although she had no idea how, she had to hold out hope for everything – that it would all work out). Robin slowly quieted down, feeling reassured in her warm, comforting arms, comforted by her deep, soothing, resonating, steady voice, and by her sincere warmth and fell into a peaceful sleep curled up and leaning against her sturdy chest wall while Melissa kept explaining to Superman and Aquaman the situation. She reminded them that communication from them could be intercepted and then all might be lost for the world as well as for the age regressed SuperFriends. Additionally, Melissa told them how they needed to act in public to not arouse any suspicion. They (Superman and Aquaman, as Robin was so young that the rules for him were not quite as stringent) behaved as very well behaved children to fit in with how Ybab would run things during the times that they were outdoors and in public, which was rare.

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice, Batman, Wonder Woman and the kids tried to figure out exactly what is going on and who this strange new fugitive was that was trying to take over Earth. Batman was particularly worried about Robin since Batman had cared for Robin ever since Robin lost his real parents to a murderous mob. In essence, Batman became like Robin's father, and Robin like Batman's son. (Bruce Wayne was awarded legal custody of Dick Grayson after Batman brought The Grayson murder perpetrators to justice. Adoption was deemed not possible by the ruling judge, as Bruce Wayne was a Bachelor). All Batman could do was hope that Robin was safe, wherever he be.

Somehow, the Justice League Computer had one little bit on Ybab Zero. Maybe it came from something that had traveled with little Kal El to Earth, a piece of Kryptonian history that Superman had secretly entered into the computer, thinking it would never be needed but there just in case. The computer spoke of his creative caper against Krypton and his interesting punishment that followed. It shed a completely new light on the current circumstances that was much graver than the remaining Superfriends and their protégés realized.

The crime that Ybab committed was turning most of the Science Counsel members of Krypton (the Counsel that ran Krypton's government so that Ybab could take over the planet) into babies, except Jor El, who saw the whole thing, and managed to escape before Ybab could get to him. Jor El witnessed the regression (that had been caught on DVD for evidence) and then restored the counsel members. (Krypton's science was much more advanced than anything was on Earth). Jor El even left the plans for the mechanism that he built for rescuing the counsel members in Kal El's rocket in case it would be needed in the future – it was simply a Kryptonian Age Changer Machine). After being shown the evidence, they punished Ybab to the ninth dimension, a dimension that was desolate, except for what was barely needed for a prisoner to survive (unless you were a guard, then you had all you needed and more), for 35 years. At 35 years, he would be able to parole out of it, but only if Nanaton agreed to release the prisoner.

(The Kryptonians did not believe in giving the death penalty for any crime, but when Jor El found the phantom zone, most of the dangerous and deadly Kryptonian criminals ended up in there. He also found the ninth dimension, where he, with permission of the invaders home worlds as well as those in the ninth dimension, sent invaders from other worlds.) The intergalactic police had issued a new warrant for Ybab after learning of his reappearance in our dimension and that he was not granted parole from Nanaton, which in fact had just renewed his punishment as he was seen as a serious threat to their society as well as any other society. They had no idea that Ybab had decided to go to the Milky Way Galaxy and wreak havoc on unsuspecting worlds. (Nanaton were also trying to honor Krypton's demise – as they were sister planets – by banning the man who tried to take over both planets, primarily trying to take over Krypton.)

He was not sent to the Phantom Zone because he was not a native Kryptonian, but Nanaton did not want Ybab back and had suggested that he be sent to another dimension to prevent him from the take over of either planet. (Krypton and Nanaton were friendly planets and had a good relationship between them, in fact, Jor El played as the prime minister and communicator between the two planets). Ybab had wanted to rule over Krypton, but the only person smart enough to save the last son of Krypton foiled his despicable plans. (This did not include the shrunken city of Kandor, which is in a bottle in Superman's Fortress of Solitude or the piece that broke off in which Supergirl came from). Hence, his bitterness and hatefulness of Superman and his single-minded goal of taking over the planet where Kal-El lives while changing Kal-El to serve Ybab, which was poetic justice in Ybab's eyes.

(It made an evil smile cross Ybab's face when he thought about the fact that his greatest enemy's son would soon be looking up to him, literally and figuratively. This idea and vision quelled some of his burning rage at being unable to find his quarry. His sinister laugh began as he could tell the world was falling under his control, too easily in his mind, but he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.)

During his time in the ninth dimension, Krypton exploded, destroying all life on the planet, and Nanaton was partially wiped-out, but not completely destroyed due to its atmosphere having some anti-matter in it (and Nanatonians were not affected by green Kryptonite that Krypton exploded into. Only the few fragments of white that came out of the explosion but they were dealt with almost immediately and not mentioned as part of the history of the blast). Even though Krypton was destroyed, Ybab had somehow learned that Kal El, the only son of Jor El who imprisoned him, had survived the explosion of Krypton (maybe from one of the prisoners who had been sent – or resent – to the phantom zone by Superman). Ybab vowed revenge on the small planet third from its yellow sun, which is where Ybab found out little Kal-El had ended up and grew up. (Ybab was completely unaware that the yellow sun gave him certain "superpowers" and so he did not know that he had x-ray vision and stuff like Superman, hence he did not use them nor did he try to use them).

They all then knew why Ybab chose to come to Earth. The two reasons were dreadfully and painfully obvious, to get revenge on Superman and to rule the Earth since Ybab's plan had been foiled on Krypton before. The reason for choosing Earth first obviously had to do with the fact that Superman lived on that planet. And with the knowledge that the yellow sun would give him more power like Superman, they knew if they did nothing Ybab would easily take over the world. Moreover, they knew that if he were anywhere near as strong as Superman was, they would not be able to face this villain without a secret weapon that really would affect Ybab. They knew Superman's weakness, but did this new villain have a weakness? How could they stop this new villain? Batman and Wonder Woman and the kids knew they had to stop Ybab before he could rule Earth, but how and would they be able to do so in time?

Then the computer told them about the one and only weakness he had, White Kryptonite (of all the luck) and he was extremely sensitive to it. A huge sense of relief came over the worried faces of the remaining SuperFriends as they found this criminal mastermind had a true weakness. However, the relief was only temporary as they learned that the only place in the universe to get this particular type Kryptonite was on a prisoner planetoid near Exxor and that the only people who could go there were criminals or Exxorians that had special permission such as for research or exploration for science and medicine. Exxorians could bring others if it was to protect them or part of their team, but that was it, foreigners were not allowed on the planetoid solo unless they were criminals on Exxor.

Therefore, it was decided that Ybab Zero should be taken care of first to save the world (greatest good to the greatest amount of people) and then find the others to prevent any more Super Friends from becoming babies or toddlers or, even worse, drones made to take care of the kids (and trapped). Therefore, Wonder Woman, Batman and the Twins (and Gleek) left for that distant planetoid while Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were left to guard the Hall. They hurriedly took off for the distant Nova 12 galaxy, where Exxor was located, as fast as they could to prevent Earth from being completely over run by Ybab. They knew time was of the essence. Especially since almost all of Earth was under the influence of Ybab, a dangerous quandary.

Soon, after the others had left on their imperative mission in the Bat-rocket, the trouble alert came on with no picture, and a disguised, computerized voice with a secretly tricky coded message. The only thing the disguised voice said was "ibwf tvqfsnbo, brvbnbo, boe spcjo – Deck, ILL." This message thoroughly confused and mystified Marvin and Wonder Dog, but Wendy was starting to figure it out and how. She told Marvin to get a piece of paper and pen to write down the mystery code. Instead of writing down, Marvin had the computer print out the code to make sure that he did not misspell any of it, as that could be critical to deciphering the desired message. Marvin then printed it out, and Wendy told him to look at the letters.

Marvin looked at the printout and was completely stumped as the mumbled message made even less sense looking at it on paper, but Wendy told him to solve the first part by replacing the given letters with the letter before, maybe it would make sense that way, since they had tried the letters afterward and had no success of decoding the message. As you see, Batman and Robin's training had paid off, at least in the case of Wendy, who also happened to be the niece of the detective who gave Batman his first job as a detective (which is when Batman actually wore a Robin Costume, but that is another story). Wendy was always the one to figure things out (between Marvin and Wendy) and she pointed out what the note said to Marvin and Wonder dog, both of whom looked on with extreme curiosity.

Then the three elatedly realized that the obscure, cryptic message revealed "Have Superman, Aquaman, and Robin." The last portion was a bit more complicated, as it made little sense. However, Wendy realized it must be Decatur, IL, a small municipality that most people could not find in the heart of the middle of nowhere Illinois. Moreover, since Superman's last known destination (as well as Aquaman and Robin's) was Lake Decatur (the solitary manmade lake in Decatur, IL or anywhere near it), it was the closest thing that they could guess. Additionally, they hoped that in this place they would find the missing SuperFriends (and hopefully unharmed) as well as the anonymous person or persons who had secretly contacted them with the confounding, enigmatic message. The looming question on their brains was, just who was this anonymous person, what did they want with the SuperFriends, and how were they going to find this person in the middle of nowhere Illinois? Little did they know what was going to happen next as they decided to head to Decatur, Illinois.

They all then took off excitedly in a plane and flew speedily there because they knew they were the only ones who could attempt to locate the missing SuperFriends, as everyone else was gone on missions of their own to save the Earth. They knew that they had to locate the missing SuperFriends before the villain did, especially with the possibility that the three missing SuperFriends might have been age regressed or hypnotized, or worse yet, captured and unable to escape. As they walked around the medium-sized Midwestern municipality, they found a woman caring for three small children almost plow into them (the three kids were the Superfriends dressed like children so as to not arouse any suspicion). The woman, holding Robin (not known to anyone else) in a sling across her chest, as he refused to walk and was sound asleep curled up against her soft, warm body, and Superman and Aquaman walking beside her, their hands in hers, (Aquaman was holding a little tippy cup that contained water), asked if they were lost and they said they were. (It is easy for one to be disoriented in a town of 90,000 especially if one has not been there before and is unfamiliar with the area.)

The woman questioned the two about who they were and their names, and they replied Marvin and Wendy and introduced Wonder Dog (the woman knew who they were, but wanted verification before proceeding), and then she asked them to help her with the kids she had in her charge. Melissa carefully, gently, and slowly handed Little Robin to Marvin, who did not recognize him in the royal blue blanket with a hat and sunglasses on, Little Superman to Wendy, who also did not recognize him since he was small and wore pants and without glasses, while Melissa carried Little Aquaman, who was afraid to let go of her and wore baggy pants to hide the fins on the back of his calves. It was an interesting scene to say nonetheless, but it still looked appropriate considering what was going on around the world.

The kids, Marvin and Wendy, failed to notice that the Superfriends were reaching out to them in recognition without giving themselves away; even Wonder Dog did not recognize the little ones (Melissa had altered the scents of the kids a little bit). For we all know that toddlers reach for all kinds of things, so it fit. Little Robin even laughed when held by Marvin, but Marvin just thought the kid liked him, as Little Robin had woken up when he felt the movement of moving between Melissa's warm, soft, strong arms and body to Marvin's bony, wiry arms. Robin was soon fast asleep again against Marvin's warm body (although judging by the amount of fidgeting, little Robin liked Melissa's body better as it was warmer and softer and Melissa's steady heartbeat was more soothing – a more maternal type figure. Additionally, Melissa's low-pitched talking voice, when resonating in her chest, was also more soothing compared to Marvin's high-pitched "squeaky" pubescent voice). Wendy, Wonder Dog and Melissa had a good laugh at that one too. Wonder dog got a little surprise when little Aquaman said "big doggy." All had a good laugh at that one, even the Super "kids."

Melissa led them back to her inviting apartment after making sure that they had no way to be traced or followed and after making sure to fake out all the hypnotized agents (she explained things quickly to Wendy and Marvin so that they behaved well so that they would not be caught on the way back to the apartment. The agents had no idea what Marvin and Wendy looked like, only Ybab did, thankfully). She knew, though, that it was only a matter of time before certain things would not add up and people would start thinking something was wrong with her (according to the standards set by Ybab). Although, Ybab left Decatur and swore not to visit again after he nearly had problems (feeling very weird and strange) near Lake Decatur twice (so Melissa knew she still had a little time).

She invited them into her homey apartment and told them to lock the doors and close all the blinds immediately because she had a secret or two to show them. They quickly closed the shades and did everything to hide from the outside world. First things first though, she checked the Super "Kids" to see if any needed to be changed. Little Robin did and Melissa asked Wendy and Marvin to help her. They were more than willing, although Marvin was slightly hesitant. They noticed a glance of Robin's costume, but thought someone must be playing a trick on them. Little Superman tried to show them who he was by wrestling (as he was told not to fly because he could not control it) with Marvin, but they still thought they were being fooled, even though Marvin knew no baby or toddler could actually be that strong.

Then Melissa finally told them, quietly, whom she really was and what she was doing, particularly with the "children" that she was "caring" for. At first Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog did not believe her as she and the "kids" looked like a single parent headed family, a fairly common occurrence now, even with what they had seen. However, after Melissa demonstrated placing her child in the bath water, and he was breathing being gently submerged without drowning, Wendy started to believe Melissa. For everyone knew that only two people could do that: Superman and Aquaman. To let Marvin and Wendy know who, Melissa put a fish in with the child and looked at the boy to give him the look for him to tell the fish to do something a fish would not do unless commanded. Little Aquaman did, and then the real truth was out.

After the demonstration, though, Little Aquaman wanted to be held by Melissa because he trusted her like she was his mother and he was very shy even though he remembered Wendy and Marvin, barely, but did recognize them. Melissa mentioned that she let little Aquaman take naps and sleep in the tub since he did not remember his hour limit. Melissa also mentioned that sometimes she found little Superman and Little Aquaman sleeping in the tub. Robin was too young and too little to climb out of the crib and so he would cry until Little Superman brought him to join the party and kept him afloat in the water with his friends. Occasionally, though, Melissa would bring little Robin into her room to soothe him as he was always very wary and anxious about all that was going on. Melissa even had a playpen for the occasion when she had to have Robin in her room because he was having a fit of some kind, which tended to happen quite often. Little Robin desired her soothing attention more than the other two, even though Little Aquaman tended to need to be carried often, but not as much as little Robin.

The final thing that made all believe was that Melissa took off the clothes she gave the kids and showed the uniforms that they had on. Little Robin had black face mark where his mask usually sat, which became more obvious after removing the sunglasses and hat. Melissa told them that whenever she went out, she explained that the littlest one would not go anywhere without his mask on and no one asked any questions after Melissa mentioned that he had medical reasons to wear it, besides she put him in sunglasses and a hat usually too along with a pacifier in his mouth.

In fact, Marvin even mentioned that he had been fooled when Melissa handed little Robin to him, the royal blue blanket made Robin look more like a baby boy with a birthmark than Robin. Melissa even went to get something and returned to show them Robin's regular utility belt that was still the size Robin should be and had fallen off when he regressed and shrank and she hid it. She told them she hid it for two reasons: to prevent discovery of the kids and so that the "kids" would not be hurt.(FYI, when the SuperFriends were age regressed, their clothing and outfits shrunk with them and if they ever get bigger, the outfits will grow with them, but will they ever return to their grown up ages???). Melissa quickly ran out of the room again to hide the belt before rejoining her company.

Wendy and Marvin were worried because Melissa told then what happened and that she was very careful. She also told them to stay put because if they were seen leaving here, they could give everything away and then the "babies" would be in the hands of someone who would corrupt them, as well as Wendy and Marvin would be taken. You see, she told them, they were made to go down to a very influential stage where they look up to those who care for them as to how they are supposed to act. She explained that Ybab wanted to take over by making changes in the way people grew up so that he could become the leader without having problems, as those who were raised in Ybab's way would never know that things were not the way they should be nor would they know they have freewill to choose. Marvin and Wendy as well as Wonder Dog stayed put, not wanting to risk the tiny Super Friends' lives, their lives, nor the lives of those on Earth. Melissa had told them that they were fortunate that Ybab had not found them yet even though he knew they were close friends of the Superfriends.

Marvin and Wendy did not mention the fact that Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Twins were off on a mission to stop Ybab to make sure to protect them because Melissa mentioned that even the walls have ears. In addition, they wondered how Melissa knew so much about the plans if few knew about this new villain and if this was not a trap. However, after seeing how she interacted with the young SuperFriends, they decided that she was not conspiring with Ybab, but were still confused about how she knew the plans, but they dare not ask in order to protect the Super Friends, Melissa, and themselves.

Therefore, Marvin and Wonder Dog got a chance to play with the Super "kids" since that was what little Robin and Superman wanted to do. Little Superman had been told not to fly around too much and not to lift heavy things because that would give him away (as well as some of his other powers and because he could not control them very well at his regressed age), at least not to do that in public. Aquaman had been told not to talk to fish too much because that would give him away, at least in the sense of making them do something out of the ordinary. Both agreed, although they really wished they could use their powers and stop what was going on.

Little Robin did not have much to say, although Melissa had quite a time trying to explain that this "kid's" first word was "Holy". Melissa's explanation had to do with the fact the young one had gone to church with her for a while and had picked it up. It was a breath of fresh air though that Robin could not say any of his "wonderful" puns. Wendy and Melissa talked while little Aquaman sat in Melissa's lap. Melissa told Wendy that Ybab Zero did not change all the people to babies because he had to have some adults to raise them, but those adults were hypnotized to raise the babies exactly how Ybab wanted them to be raised. For you see while he wanted to raise them a certain way, he did not want to have all the responsibilities of caring for his regressed prisoners, so he got help from hypnotized agents. Although, while chatting with Wendy, Melissa realized that little Aquaman wanted down and little Robin had crawled over, bawling and wanting to be held and comforted. Therefore, Melissa set little Aquaman down, and as he ran off, she picked up little Robin and quickly soothed him. Little Robin, feeling safe and secure in her arms, quickly calmed down and started to settle down. Little Robin leaned against Melissa's warm, soft chest and fell asleep quickly in her strong yet gentle arms.

Meanwhile, Ybab had no idea about Melissa, the insurgent woman, or her taking of the Super "Babies." He looked all over the globe but still could not find the Super babies he had created. It filled him with a boiling rage, especially when he had found out that neither he nor any of his hypnotized henchmen had Superman, the very crux of his plan. He could not believe that neither Superman nor any of his regressed friends could be located! It just could not be!!! He went over the Earth repeatedly, but still no sign of the (what he called) "Super Brats." Where in the world could they be? And how could they hide so well? (Ybab had no idea that the Superfriends had secret identities. He thought they wore there hero outfits all the time and stood out all the time.)

However, Melissa knew when things were safe and how to fake out other people and had the children behave in public exactly like they were supposed to. Ybab never thought that an innocent inhabitant would be able to defy his powers, do anything about him, and he figured that all would be easily taken over by him, but Melissa had something inside her that blocked his effects on her, it was her Christian faith and hope that made her immune. Plus some special concoction made by Melissa's friend, which was not any type of magic, but a special protection juice that was made on the planet of Nanaton that would block any powers that a person coming from there to Earth would have.

In fact, it had to be placed in a lead glass as the person bringing it to Melissa had a severe weakness to White Kryptonite, which was the biggest ingredient in the concoction. (In consumption, it took many weeks to digest. Since it is harmless to Superman, no one knew it was there and it would stay in the blood stream until it had all digested and been fully excreted which took at least 5 weeks (minimum in a human, less time in a Kryptonian), if not longer, and it would not harm any normal flora and fauna from Earth). It could affect a little of the helpful flora and fauna in Superman's body if swallowed, but no real damage (if he would take it, the benefits outweighed the cons). Since she had saved a little extra, she gave some to the Super "kids" as well as Wendy and Marvin. She convinced them that is was something that they needed to drink without having to tell any of them anything.

She knew it would not hurt Superman either, although she could tell he suspected something by the challenging and questioning look etched on his small, puzzled, inquisitive face. She took Superman aside from the others and, in private, gently explained a few things to him before she gave him the juice as it might have a not so nice affect on him. (Remember, Superman was left with more of his adult thought process intact than Aquaman or Robin). He reluctantly agreed to take it, knowing it could affect his body a little, but it was better than the alternative (which was to be under Ybab's influence). Now Melissa was at least sure that it would be much more difficult to fight her if Ybab found her. She had even saved enough of the solution that should he approach her, she could use the amount she always kept in a lead cross necklace hung around her neck to stop him.

However, another thing that was unknown to the members of the SuperFriends was that Melissa had sworn to her friend that gave her the concoction, who was the sister of Ybab, who had flown to Earth after hearing her brother's crazy scheme, which Melissa would try to stop Ybab as best she could. Melissa had befriended the sister when the sister had gotten lost in Decatur after crashing her ship and Melissa stated that she would do what it takes to put a stop to Ybab's sinister plans. Ybab's sister gave Melissa the concoction just before the sister was supposed to head back to Nanaton.

Ybab's sister never made it back to her home planet as she died on her way back to her secret ship after revealing the whole scope of Ybab's plan to Melissa. She had been killed by someone who supposedly mistook her for a stalker, or maybe it was one of Ybab's henchmen, no one knew although Melissa had a suspicion. Melissa solemnly buried her new friend in a place the friend really loved by keeping her ashes in a small brightly-colored urn kept on her shelf which reminded Melissa of how much Ybab's sister loved the bluish-green waters of Earth.

Meanwhile, The Twins, Batman and Wonder Woman were granted special permission to land on the Special prison planetoid near Exxor, named Enron (it was five light years away from Exxor, too far for criminals to reach). There, they had to be careful as it was not always easy to tell the criminals from the trustworthy guards. Batman and Wonder Woman were attacked as Zan, Jayna and Gleek set off to go find the white Kryptonite. They found it, but as they were reaching for it, a giant creature showed up. Zan and Jayna used there powers to fight it as Gleek slowly slid down and retrieved a piece of white Kryptonite, which for some reason was an extraordinarily light weight Kryptonite (as was mentioned previously) and Gleek had grabbed a bigger piece than they had planned by accident, though no one knew it at the time.

The Twins eventually beat the horrendous beast and headed back to help save Batman and Wonder Woman from their attackers. As the twins arrived, they noticed that Batman and Wonder Woman had been brainwashed and were being held captive by criminals that the Twins had sent to this prison planetoid themselves. It was eerie for the twins to see the vacant stares of the two heroes they looked up to, but the twins knew what they had to do. The Twins came up with a plan to rescue the captured Superfriends, as they knew the heroes were required to get back to Earth and help save the world. Gleek distracted the criminal "guards" while the Twins rescued the others, shook them out of their trance, and then they headed back for Earth as fast as they could in the Bat-rocket.

As they reached the Hall of Justice, they found the other set of kids mysteriously gone and the coded message paper lying on the floor upside-down, obviously blown down by someone leaving in a major, excited rush. Batman and Wonder Woman swiftly decoded the message and still were a little befuddled, but they knew that the first thing they had to do was send Ybab Zero back to where he belonged, in the ninth dimension. Therefore, Wonder Woman and Batman took off for the White House, where Ybab Zero had set himself up as Emperor of the World after changing many people to babies or his helpers to corrupt them (raise them in the way Ybab wanted things to be run). Unknown to Batman and Wonder Woman, The Twins went to the capital as well, to back up the other two. Moreover, since Batman had easily split the White Kryptonite in half, the Twins had a chunk to save the day in case the others failed. The Twins were the last hope, should they fail after Batman and Wonder Woman – the Earth would be doomed.

Once at the Capital, Batman and Wonder Woman attempted to sneak into the White House, both acting like the hypnotized agents they had observed on their way over to the White House. However, the attempt did not deceive Ybab at all, and he immediately regressed the two heroes and protectors of justice. When Batman and Wonder Woman wound up as toddlers, they were saved by Gleek and the Wonder Twins. The Wonder Twins (who just happened to be one set of "Super Friends" that Ybab did not know about, hence they were the "wrench" thrown in his plans) then came in and saved the day by exposing Ybab Zero to a huge chunk of white Kryptonite. (It was too big to just send him back, it was big enough to exile him from Earth forever as well as deplete most of his power). In fact, the chunk made Ybab acutely ill, as he was highly sensitive to the White K, unlike most Nantonians, even those who had intermingled with the Kryptonians).

It was an extremely advantageous scheme that the Twins followed along to save the day. As Ybab Zero vanished, The Wonder Twins had a whole world of babies to deal with, as getting rid of Ybab did not get rid of the spell he had placed on the people as the science that was used was beyond what was on Earth except for a few machines that Superman had built in the Hall of Justice. They picked up little Batman and little Wonder Woman who were falling asleep (as it was naptime for most kids at this time) and went to the Hall of Justice, Zan carrying the young and sleeping Batman and Wonder Woman while Jayna provided the means of transportation with Gleek tagging along beside Zan on Jayna's back so that they would able to restore Batman and Wonder Woman quickly. Although, it was not quick enough to avoid one of Zan's "Robin-esque" comments on the situation, to which the youthened Superfriends actually laughed at.

Swiftly, The Twins reached the Hall of Justice. Once in the Hall, both Batman and Wonder Woman were gently placed on a special device that returned them to their normal ages. (A machine that had been built by Superman for use in case they needed to change their ages for some reason). Both heroes suddenly woke with a quick jerk, not noticing the fact that they had just "re-grown up". As they rose, the twins told Batman and Wonder Woman what had happened, but they did not believe the Wonder Twins when told that they were regressed. However, the Justice League's Computer recorder confirmed Zan and Jayna's story by showing Batman and Wonder Woman that they were just carried in by Zan and Jayna as sleeping toddlers and being placed on the portable age rejuvenator. (This machine returned them to their normal ages but would not work on Superman or Aquaman due to their special powers especially not outside the Hall of Justice, at least not without some help). After that, Batman and Wonder Woman believed the Twins. Then it was time to find the others, after saving the rest of the world by returning people to normal.

While Batman and Wonder Woman set out with the Wonder Twins to reset the ages of people and to shake trances, Melissa, Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog were still under the impression that Ybab Zero was still out there remaining at large and so they remained in hiding. When Batman and Wonder Woman finished returning the world to normal, they met the Twins at the Hall of Justice to figure the note out left by the other set of kids. While the kids had not left exactly where they were going, Batman figured out the clues easily (once he had an opportunity to scrutinize the message), he realized where the kids must be, and he figured that they might be in considerable danger, especially in a town known in Illinois to be a not so great city, and it was kind of dumpy too. Then they headed to Decatur, Illinois and split up, but how were they supposed to find the kids and the person who sent the coded message in a town that was so remote yet fairly large?

Heading into the heart Central Illinois (farmland and flatland USA), Wonder Woman searched from the sky in her transparent plane, while Batman and the twins drove around the town in the Bat-Multi-craft. Little did they realize just how close they were to finding the others, and not just Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog, but the rest of the age-regressed SuperFriends and the mysterious person responsible for the coded communication. The person responsible for saving the Superfriends, as well as upsetting Ybab's plans by keeping the regressed Superfriends causing Ybab to disclose his campaign in an attempt to ferret out who had taken his age-regressed captives.

Melissa heard a car outside and told all the kids to scramble and hide while she looked out to see exactly what was going on around the building. No one questioned her, and all went to hiding. The Super "kids" went to where they always hid and showed Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog where the special "spot" was. When Melissa saw Batman and the Twins cruising around in the Bat multi-craft, she told Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog to go out and investigate things to make sure that things were secure while she protected the "kids" and to make sure that this was not a trap or a decoy.

Wendy and Marvin did not talk back, but did what they were told. Melissa showed them the secret way out of her place. She sent them because if necessary, she knew that they could lead the imposters away (if this was a ruse) and get away unharmed. In a few minutes, the kids (Wendy and Marvin) were flagging the Bat multi-craft down near the apartment complex. Batman questioned the kids to see if they were telling the truth and the kids asked the questions Melissa had told them to ask to make sure things were safe and that this was the true Batman and not just a hoax.

After exchanging third degrees, Batman and the twins parked the Batmulti-craft and headed toward the small, welcoming residence. Melissa let them in after Marvin and Wendy confidently reassured her that everything was safe and sound. In addition, after Batman and the Twins reassured her that Ybab was gone for good. Melissa gradually opened the door, while holding little Aquaman in her arms.

Little Superman and Little Robin were fast asleep in the playpen on the floor. Batman and the Wonder Twins even failed to recognize their friends until Melissa let them peak under the "kids' " clothes and see the costumes of the Superfriends. Batman was still unsure and he wanted to test little Aquaman and Superman to see if this was true. To Batman's great surprise, Melissa was right as little Superman flew up to see what was going on (a little shaky, but a good attempt) and little Aquaman was asking for water and appeared a little drowsy. Robin woke up, screaming and so Melissa quickly set little Aquaman down and rushed to scoop up little Robin to reassure him. After she calmed Robin down, she set him down on the floor and went to pick up little Aquaman again.

Batman asked how Melissa had done all this and why (to protect the Superfriends and to do her small part to save the world). She told them and they were proud of her, but Batman was a little upset that she would take such a substantial risk and not tell the Superfriends anything. Batman, you see, is especially protective of Robin. Wendy and Marvin told them to give Melissa the benefit of the doubt, as she had done it to protect Robin as well as the other two.

Clear communication between them and the SuperFriends might have been intercepted as Ybab had control of all the communication medium and all might have been lost Melissa said, and Batman relented, and was happy to see that other than regression to an infantile state and size, his ward had been completely unharmed, and had been very well taken care of. In fact, Batman could not help but laugh looking at little Robin asleep on the rug, almost like a father looking at his new infant son. As Robin had never been that young when Batman met him, Batman had a tear in his eye as he remembered Robin's real parents and how much they must have loved him. It was one of the few times that Batman poignantly remembered the calamity that brought Robin into Batman's life, a magnificent blessing out of a dire tragedy.

Zan and Jayna, on the other hand, just stood there, mouths agape. They were absolutely shocked at seeing the three Superheroes who they looked up to looking up at them. The heroes that they were so used to looking up to were now small enough to look up to the Wonder Twins, although all could tell that Superman was a bit more with it than the other two. (Little did anyone realize at this time that Melissa would do things that had severe risks without asking for help even if she really needed it.)

Melissa was absolutely elated to hear that Ybab plans were foiled yet again and that he was gone, sent back to the prison world where he belonged, with one change. Now Ybab would have several guards with him to make sure that he does not escape again (and his powers were severely weakened by the exposure to the White Kryptonite). Melissa, in response, smiled over at a special place and knew in her heart that Ybab's sister would be proud of her and the Superfriends. "But," she said, she wanted to get a picture with the little Superfriends before they grew up.

Batman told her that was fine, as Wonder Woman had to get Blue Kryptonite in order to change Superman, something from the sea for Aquaman, and something precious for Robin in order to get them back to normal. (Since they were Super Heroes, they could not be changed by normal means and they were not in the hall of Justice). Additionally, Batman said that Melissa would need proof for the three SuperFriends, as none would believe the story 100 percent without proof. Melissa had Wendy and Marvin take several pictures of her with the Superfriends, individually and with the group, even one of her holding little Robin.

While Melissa chatted with Batman and company, Gleek found that he was being climbed on by little Robin. In addition, little Superman flew up to Batman's height for a "better" view of the cowl-ed man. Little Aquaman kind of just stood around (near Melissa) and watched the excitement, not quite sure how to respond to the company and increase of excitement and not realizing that his energy was starting to decrease as his hour limit was rapidly approaching, although Melissa knew and was waiting for just the right time.

After returning from her extensive trips, Wonder Woman hastily came to the apartment after being contacted by Batman that the others had been found and where. She had to walk a ways, as she could not land her invisible jet near the apartment building due to the much-forested nature of the area. She saw the little ones and how Melissa had cared for them. It seemed that she carried Aquaman a lot, but the reply Melissa gave them was that he wanted to be held the most. The others wanted to explore. After giving them a demonstration, they saw it was true. Although (they did not know this) it did not hurt that Aquaman was Melissa's favorite Superfriend due to his blond hair and blue eyes (although Melissa hated swimming especially since she looked horrible in a swimsuit, hence she did not own one).

However, the time came when the regressed SuperFriends needed to be returned to normal size and age. Gleek was trying to escape little Superman and finally just jumped into Zan's arms, hoping to be left alone, although with Superman's capability to fly, it was not as easy to be left alone as it was with Robin, although as previously mentioned, Superman did not have as much control over his flight power as he usually did. As much as little Aquaman did not want to be set down, Melissa placed him on the floor next to the sleeping little Robin who had tired after unsuccessfully trying to crawl on top of Gleek, and finally little Superman flew over to the others after receiving correction on flying over from Melissa and Batman.

Therefore, Melissa hugged the kids one last time before Wonder Woman exposed them all to the small amount of blue Kryptonite as well as the other objects to get all three of them back to normal age, or at least provided means so that the age machine could bring the regressed heroes back to normal. It was now or never to see if the machine would return them to normal. Everyone held his or her breath as the machine was turned on and anxiously waited to see the results.

Slowly but surely, Robin, Aquaman, and finally Superman came back to their regular ages, still dressed in the childhood clothing that Melissa had placed on them that morning not knowing that this is what the day would bring. Melissa just smiled as a tear welled up in her eye. Superman and Aquaman looked down at themselves and asked "How did we get into these? (Curious as to how they had gotten into Osh Kosh B'Gosh® clothing)." Robin, who still had the pacifier in his mouth and was asleep on the floor with a Teddy Bear, woke up and spit out the pacifier and threw the stuffed animal across the room, wondering what exactly had happened. Robin's mask became more of a mask and less of a birthmark as he was returned to his normal age.

"Holy Age Regression, What happened?" inquired Robin.

Therefore, Melissa told the entire story in detail to all of the Super Friends, including the all the junior SuperFriends. Before telling the story, though, she ran to the other secret spot, brought out Robin's utility belt, and returned it to him (it had been hidden under her clothes the whole time although no one knew since she was slightly overweight). Robin gave her a strange look (hoping and praying that she had not gone through it), but she said that she would explain in story why she had his utility belt. Robin, as well as all the others, learned at this time that Melissa was only in her early to mid twenties, although she acted much older (and with quite a maternal, protective instinct, which Batman thought was an exceptionally beneficial feature especially considering what had happened).

As the SuperFriends listened attentively, they were amazed and astonished at the risks she took, and they were proud that there were people like that out in the world, especially someone who had no superpowers of any kind other than a heart and willingness to protect others and her world. However, Superman, Aquaman, and Robin did not believe that it had happened to them even to the point of denying and refusing to believe it. Superman and Aquaman remembered some of the things that happened when they were young, like the crib and the bathtub, but not much else. They were all in true denial that the whole thing really happened.

Superman thought the situation was mostly Red Kryptonite- induced dream state that he was in. Robin thought Melissa was just plain nuts and that she was just making the story up. Aquaman, however, was not really sure what to make of it. Melissa excused herself for a second to get rid of the rest of the White Kryptonite juice/concoction that was in her necklace and did not want to do it in front of Superman due to something else she safely kept in her necklace in case of emergencies. (Melissa even mentioned about the drinking of White Kryptonite and that it would take a little while to be excreted, but would not stay forever. Superman said that he felt a little funny and attributed to the fact that even he drank the White Kryptonite).

All wanted proof of what Melissa was telling them and hearing it from the others was not enough, especially not for Robin and Aquaman. Superman, however, was a little more inclined to believe the story as he was the one who still had quite a bit of his adult mind trapped in the childish body. Melissa was smart in the fact that she had lots of digital pictures and video to show them as proof.

Aquaman finally said, "So, Super Friends, do you think she could make a good Ally?"

And, Superman responded, "If she accepts it." Melissa responded with an incredibly enthusiastic, sincere, and grateful yes.

After the rest of the Super Friends and junior SuperFriends left the apartment and headed back to the Hall of Justice, Aquaman stayed behind as he wanted to see all the evidence Melissa had collected of this strange and unnatural happening, all of it no matter how trivial or embarrassing it seemed. He needed concrete proof of this unnatural and unnerving situation. He would not leave until he saw what happened, as the story sounded so fantastic. He was just that hard headed and stubborn that he would not and could not wait to see all the proof to find out exactly what had happened. Besides, he felt a bit too weak to leave just yet and was not sure as to why he felt weak and getting weaker by the moment.

The first thing to do though, Melissa knew, was throw water on Aquaman and temperature did not matter, because he was unaware that his hour of being away from water was nearly up, as he had just changed back into his adult self and was still unsure of his actual strength and adjusting to the change. Melissa ran to get a large glass of cold water and threw it at Aquaman who looked at her weirdly at first and then realized his body was regaining its genuine normal strength, and Aquaman thanked Melissa for throwing the water at him, even though it was a bit cold, even for his taste. Amidst all the commotion that had just happened, he had not realized how close he was to his hour limit out of water. Of course, after coming back from a time when Melissa was watching the time, it was not too surprising.

Melissa was more than willing to show him all the proof he needed, although she was not exactly sure he wanted to see himself be as dependent on her as he was when he was regressed to his young age. Melissa gave him a big friendly hug, and Aquaman responded in kind, holding back some so he did not crush her, as he now remembered his full strength and potential. Additionally, remembering that she was only human and could be easily hurt by his strength that had been gained by swimming at depths that would kill a human as well as fighting all kinds of currents. He was not King of the Seven Seas for no reason.

Melissa and Aquaman became good friends; even though Aquaman knew about how he acted during the time he had been regressed. He was just glad that she had prevented him from being corrupted by Ybab or one of his hypnotized henchmen. Aquaman also knew that even though Robin and Superman were not willing to blatantly admit it, Melissa took a severe personal risk by taking the regressed Superfriends in and caring for them to prevent them from being corrupted as well. In addition, the surprising thing, at least to Aquaman, Superman, and Robin, was that she never asked for anything in return, but she did form lasting friendships out of the ordeal with the SuperFriends and the junior SuperFriends.

Aquaman and Melissa continued to tease each other about this adventure (as well as others) and even Robin and Superman joined in the act after those two had seen what went on, and all had a hearty laugh session to the point where it was hard to tell if it all was laughter or crying. The jokes do not stop even to this day as the three Superfriends all have helped Melissa out of trouble (Robin with and without the help of Batman and/or the Teen Titans) as well as vice versa. Robin gave Melissa the hardest time, but Melissa had things to tease him with and it was a fun time. Robin and Melissa were actually about the same age, and Melissa did not know that Robin liked Melissa now, nor did either know that the feelings were mutual.

Melissa rescued Robin once when she found him unconscious after being left for dead after attempting to fight a villain, who was later caught by Batman and Superman. She revived him with her excellent nursing skills and informed Batman of what had happened (as well as the Teen Titans because she did not know at the time which one he was on the case with). Robin was very grateful of Melissa's quick actions that saved his life (and was even more grateful that she did not reveal anything about him that she knew. She proved herself by not revealing any secrets that she knew, including his identity. In fact, she prevented the EMTs from removing his mask and rode with him in the ambulance to make sure that nothing happened.) When Robin woke up in hospital, Melissa let him know what happened and what she did and that he would be all right. Robin was very grateful and liked Melissa all the more. (These feelings had started ever since Melissa took Robin and Aquaman in when they were regressed). Melissa was starting to like Robin at this point, though she was not sure exactly how he felt, so she kept her feelings to herself.

Robin saved Melissa after Melissa accidentally saw a crime committed, and she was one of two witnesses that required special protection. Robin came to her rescue when the bad guys kidnapped her and would most certainly have done her in if not for Robin's quick thinking. (Batman protected the other witness). Robin told Batman about everything and eventually, Melissa testified and Robin, in his secret identity, came to the proceedings to make sure all went well. It was a good thing too, because Melissa was almost attacked on her way out of the courthouse.

In fact, Melissa was given a special watch alarm since she was an honorary junior SuperFriend, kind of like Jimmy Olsen's watch, except that this watch had three switches: one for Superfriends meetings, one for emergency meetings, and one for emergencies. The reason she was given a watch as opposed to charms like the other kids is that Melissa lived much farther away from the hall and the Superfriends in general. Melissa wanted to make sure that she earned the title of honorary Junior SuperFriend and so she helped in every way possible and went through training with the other protégés. Her tests came in many forms, and she passed with flying colors, so far. Unknown to Melissa, the watch also had a tracking device that could be activated be the Superfriends, should it be necessary. Little did the SuperFriends (and the JLA) know how necessary that tracking device would wind up being, nor how grateful they would be to have that put in the watch.

Aquaman and Melissa went on a few adventures together and Aquaman managed to save Melissa quite a few times as well as vice versa, although it was hard for Melissa to lift Aquaman back into the sea when he needed it, so sometimes she would just take a pail of water and dump it on him. Aquaman never seemed to mind getting drenched by Melissa; after all, he had a 1-hour limit to be out of the water.

It seemed that Melissa got in more trouble more often than the other way around (figures, doesn't it?). Melissa occasionally had to contact Aqualad and Mera, Aquaman's wife, for help with Aquaman when it was Melissa rescuing Aquaman (or occasionally the SuperFriends). Aquaman and Mera even let Melissa be their babysitter for Arthur Junior, when Aqualad was busy. It took a bit of finagling as Aquaman and Mera lived underwater and Melissa could not live underwater, but it worked out the times it needed to which made Aqualad incredibly joyful as now he could more often go on call with the Teen Titans or do things with his friends.

Superman and Melissa helped each other out a few times as well. In fact, Melissa saved Superman once when she spotted that someone was going to shoot Kryptonite ray gun at him. She grabbed some nearby lead and threw it to Superman. In addition, another time when Melissa found Superman down on the ground and two feet away was Green Kryptonite, Melissa took it and hauled away as fast and as far as she could before it could kill Superman. Superman recovered in time to catch the bad guys but did not know that it was Melissa who got rid of the Kryptonite until later as no one was in sight when Superman recovered and thereby caught the escapees. He only knew because Melissa had been injured by carrying the heavy rock. Melissa always kept a small piece of Green K in a necklace in a lead cross necklace that she wore all the time, just in case it would ever be necessary. (The SuperFriends were not made aware of this until Melissa guarded Superman when he lost his memory after exposure to Red Kryptonite – which the Superfriends found out about after it happened).

In addition, Melissa was there a few times when Superman made some thoroughly bizarre changes from Red Kryptonite. In fact, one of those times, Superman lost his memory of who he was completely but fortunately, Melissa was right there as it happened and before anyone else realized it, she flew with Superman (after talking to him privately and taking 10 minutes to convince him that he could fly) to the Hall of Justice sickbay and stayed with him for 72 hours until the crippling effect finally wore off. She even had to pin him down with a small amount of Green K that she had in a necklace to make sure he would not disappear or leave when she occasionally slept. She would never have done this if it was not absolutely necessary. She knew it would be worse and more dangerous should the wrong people discover his memory loss and use his power to do awful, terrible things or get a hold of his secret identity and take care of the people he cared for most.

Superman was very thankful to say the least, (after she released him from the Green Kryptonite – a small piece in a necklace – and got rid of it). She even had the confused Superman call his Clark Kent robot (who obeyed readily and fortunately did not get in any trouble) into service to protect Superman's other secret identity. (Eventually, Superman had to wake Melissa up by stumbling over to her and almost collapsed on her to get her to take off the green k as she had put it on a special way, which she gladly and swiftly took off once he proved the effects of the Red k wore off. Once it wore off, Superman sent his robot a message to go back to the fortress now that Superman was back).

A different time, Superman was changed into Melissa's twin (a twin who had superpowers) and Melissa had to hide him for a few days. At least these things could only happen once, and Superman was very grateful for that. He knew that he could allow her to help him when he needed it. Melissa told Superman that she knew who he was and promised that she would never reveal the secret. (She had figured it out when she had him call his robot when he lost his memory.) Superman was grateful for that, too. She had proven herself with Robin, so Superman knew that she would not reveal his secret. Once when one of Superman's foes captured Melissa, she refused to tell the secrets she knew – she played dumb. In fact, the enemy did not even know that Melissa knew anything of the Superfriends other than she was associated with them.

Once Melissa goofed and accidentally made Superman too strong by changing the yellow sunlight over head to blue over Superman with a light filter, although it helped Superman defeat the enemy he was fighting (although a little too well). Nevertheless, as was mentioned before, Superman helped Melissa out of a jam more often than vice versa, especially the one time a criminal shoved Melissa out of a 10th floor window and she almost died. She had been on an assignment that the SuperFriends did not know about yet in Decatur and the only reason that Superman came to save her is that she activated her honorary SuperFriend emergency button on her watch. Batman, Superman, and even her friend Aquaman (heck, even Robin bugged her about it because he did not want to see her get hurt or killed) gave her a stern talking to after that scary escapade, but Melissa did get information that led to the capture of the culprits by the SuperFriends.

Melissa later apologized and said that she would attempt to not put herself in danger as much next time, but once the SuperFriends dropped Melissa home; they had a serious discussion regarding Melissa's curiosity amongst themselves. While she was a great asset and she helped them catch a number of criminals and such, her curiosity and eagerness to help often put her in situations (some of them quite dangerous) that she should never have tried to tackle alone. Even Robin, Marvin, Zan, and Wonder dog knew when to call for back up, although Marvin was slightly better than Melissa was when it came to this. Then with Marvin, Wendy and Wonder dog always accompanied him.

With the discussion that ensued, they decided that from that point on (and completely without Melissa's knowledge or approval), the SuperFriends and the JLA would watch her a little more closely as they finally noticed that she had a bad habit of tackling things without asking for help until she was in too deep and way over her head, or not realizing she was getting into such trouble. Even Robin, Zan, and Marvin could not believe how much trouble Melissa's curiosity got her into in her daily life, when she let her curiosity get the best of her. (She did not, however, create as much trouble as Gleek, but being human, Melissa knew better than to do that.) The SuperFriends and the Justice League of America were constantly monitoring her when nothing else took up there time. It also surprised them how much she blended into the background in her everyday surroundings. She seemed invisible to most people. In fact, had they not met her and knew what she looked like, they might have lost her while attempting to monitor her.

Even the Twins, Wendy, and Marvin (along with the animals) watched over her. Marvin and Zan (along with Gleek and Wonder Dog) even saved her one time, but that is another story. Melissa slowly got better about not getting into situations that put her life in terrible danger where the only thing that could save her was reluctantly calling the SuperFriends, but she is still working on it. Last that was heard of her was that Green Lantern and Aquaman had to rescue her from a very bizarre and twisted situation, but that is an entirely different story, and not her fault. And in another story (that will not be told here), it took all the Superfriends and the JLA to rescue her, but that was not Melissa's fault as she was taken from her own apartment by the Legion of Doom one night unexpectedly, one of Lex Luthor's oh-so-brilliant ideas to put an end to the Superfriends and the JLA. All I can say is that Lex and the Legion of Doom failed – for truth and justice will always overcome evil and injustice.

Aquaman and Robin eventually introduced Melissa to the rest of the SuperFriends (Justice League of America) such as the Atom, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, The Flash, Plasticman, Elongated Man, The other Teen Titans (Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Wonder girl), Supergirl, as well as a few others, the mighty heroes of justice. Mera, Aquaman's wife, was not threatened by Melissa nor her presence as Melissa made it clear that she was not going to come between them (besides, Melissa told Mera that Aquaman was too old for her and that Aquaman's love for Mera was plainly obvious and Melissa was not one to step in between two true loves). In fact, Melissa told Mera that Melissa did not like to swim much but she would be willing to help if needed. Additionally, Melissa told Mera that Melissa thought that Robin might like her and she might like him. In addition, to this day, Melissa helps the all Superfriends at times, and so ends the tale of the age regression thief.