Sorry this update took so long everybody. I had trouble making this chapter come out the way I wanted it to, it just never quite felt right to me.

This chapter is meant to elaborate on the bonds forming among the group, and delve a little deeper into the character's personality developments. We get back into the action next chapter, but this one is a bit slower. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: Stars

"Everything's happening so fast all the sudden. I finally know the truth about me… and I kind of wish I didn't. I don't know what I'm supposed to think about all this. I mean, I wasn't just born, I was created. And now all the sudden I'm expected to be a leader, and to bring a downfall to Apokolips? It's just too much at once. I can't be a leader! How am I supposed to be in charge of a team when it seems like every decision I make is the wrong one? I got Dinah killed, I pulled Flo and Jesse into this mess, I got all of us captured, and now Allie's off in some brainwashing camp being tortured. Not to mention I screwed up on Warworld and got an entire planet destroyed! I can't seem to do anything right, and now they expect me to be their leader… and I have never been so afraid before." Tommy sighed and closed his eyes.

"Oh, and on top of everything else, I apparently have a brother now. Troy Prince… he seems like an alright guy, and that's what bothers me. The last thing I want to do is get him killed. Now we've teamed up with him and this Ethan kid, who I just flat out don't trust. Ricochet, or… Alex I guess, he wants us to meet up with another League Kid today, in what used to be Coast City. Then we're going on another suicide mission into The Hole. Ethan says there's a Superman kid there, but none of us believe him. It specifically in all the recordings of the invasion that Superman only had one child, and he was executed. I guess I just don't know what to think right now… about anything. This is Tommy… uh, Tommy Grayson. Signing out on October 20th, 9:04 p.m."

Tommy turned off the video journal and slid it back into his pocket. He let out a deep sigh and looked off into the faint sliver that was the setting sun. He had found a low cliff-like area, and was sitting in the grass with his feet dangling off the edge.

It was the first time he had seen grass still living, still green. There was almost no vegetation of any kind left on Earth. "Nervous, huh?" A feminine voice said behind him. Flo.

"You were listening?"

"No. I can just tell." She smiled and sat next to him. "Talk to me."

"You shouldn't be here Flo."

"Huh?"

"I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I'm sorry. You managed to stay under the radar your whole life, and I ruined that for you." He looked at her seriously. "You should go."

"Go?"

"Yeah, we can manage without you. You shouldn't risk your life anymore for this. This isn't your fight."

"Tommy, if I had any intention of leaving, you don't think I would have by now?"

"Well-"

"Listen Grayson, I'm here for a reason. And I have no intention of walking out now. And by the way, don't pretend that you could manage without me. I have a ride, I can heal wounds, I'm immune to poisons, and I'm the only person here with any common sense. You people need me."

"I guess." Tommy looked off into the distance.

"So back to the point, what's bothering you?"

"Everything."

"Could you maybe be more specific?"

"Not really. Just five days ago, I was still in the cave, whining that I never got to leave. Now the cave's been destroyed, Dinah is dead, I found out I'm a freak of nature, and I have a brother, and you people all expect me to lead. I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore, Flo."

"Wow… you're position really sucks."

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"I guess Allie's better at that, isn't she? She can insult you and it's still encouraging."

"That's just how Allie is." A faint smile flashed across Tommy's face, before disappearing into his grim expression. "She understands everyone. She always knows how we feel… that's just her. And now she's off God-knows-where being turned into a soulless killing machine."

"You two must be really close." Flo looked away. "Maybe even… romantically close?"

"Me and Allie? No. We lived together for sixteen years. She's like a sister to me."

"Oh." Flo said immediately. "Well, that could help avoid some conflict."

"How so?"

"Well, you know Jesse has a thing for her."

"Jesse has a thing for anyone with breasts."

"Hah, good point." Flo laughed. "Hey, what about Troy?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he's like your brother Tommy."

"So?"

"So you've hardly spoken to him!"

"There's nothing to say."

"I understand that it's a weird situation Tommy but that doesn't mean you should run from it."

"Who's running? All I'm saying is that it doesn't matter right now."

"Yes it does." A powerful voice suddenly barked. Tommy and Flo turned around to see Alex leaned against a tree, looking almost angry.

"What's that supposed to mean, Alex?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"Huh… let's take a walk, Tommy." He said distantly.

Tommy and Flo stood up. "Just Tommy." Alex stressed.

"Fine." Flo sighed irritably, turning and heading back toward the camp they had thrown together.

Tommy and Alex started walking along the ridge. "What do you want?" Tommy asked cautiously.

"I just think you and I need to talk. I know we didn't get off to the best start."

"Ugh-huh." Tommy nodded suspiciously.

"I know you don't like how little information I give. So… ask. I'm open to almost any question right now."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen… maybe twenty. I lost track somewhere in there."

"How long have you been surviving on your own?"

"Heh, probably about as long as you've been alive. My dad bailed on me first chance he got, and my mom… she was never around very much. She always wanted to get away from him."

"Ok, just one more question. How about a last name?"

"That is one of the few questions that I won't answer."

"Why not?"

"If you knew the answer, then you would understand."

"Fine." Tommy grumbled. "Hey, this buddy of yours, you said he's a League Kid?"

"Yup. His father was the Martian Manhunter, and his mother was human."

"Right. And you said he escaped from The Hole?"

"Yup. Only person who's ever made it out. I just hope he'll be willing to help us get back in."

"Speaking of help… I think we should ditch that Ethan kid."

"Why?"

"I don't trust him. He's violent, and on a full charge he could kill us all without much of a problem."

"You seem to have some trust issues Tommy."

"Whatever."

It had gotten dark now, the sliver of sun no longer visible. The two came to a large pond, the water glistening under the stars. Stars, the one thing in nature that Apokolips couldn't corrupt. They could kill all plant life, they could pollute the sky, they could taint the water, but they couldn't extinguish the stars. Tommy often looked to the stars as a sign of a hope, a sign that Apokolips wasn't invincible. A sign that something could always shine through the darkness.

"Alex… you didn't bring me out here just to play 20 Questions. What's the deal?"

"I- I heard you a Flo talking." A sad look drifted into Alex's eyes, and he stared down into the water. "When she brought up Troy… you said it didn't matter. Please don't say that Tommy."

"What?"

"He's your brother. That's important, no matter what the situation is. It's always important, you got that Tommy?"

"Alex what's your deal? You sound like you're going to cry or something."

"I have a little sister, ok? She would have been thirteen in August. But… well long story short, Apokoliptian forces found us. I escaped, but…"

"They took her?" Tommy guessed.

"Yeah. I went back to the area later, searched for hours, but I couldn't find a trace. I've dedicated the rest of my life to breaking into different orphanages, trying to find her. But I don't even know if she's still alive." Alex shook his head.

"That's the real reason you suggested we go to the memory core, isn't it? You wanted to try and get information on her."

"Yeah. But things worked against us there, I never got the chance." Alex sighed. "Sorry I lied about it so long."

"I would have done the same thing." Tommy grinned. "Maybe you and I aren't so different."

"More than you know." Alex said quietly, almost in a whisper. "But seriously Tommy, don't take Troy for granted. Please."

"I'll do my best." Tommy said distantly. Do my best? Well what if my best isn't good enough? He thought, still hung up on the leadership role.

"Let's head back to camp; we all need to get some sleep."

"Go on ahead. I'll catch up later." Tommy responded.

(Back at the Camp – Same Time)

Flo came wandering back and rejoined the rest of the group. They had a low fire going, just enough to keep them warm, but not enough to draw attention to the area. They had submerged the Aquaship in the small pond nearby, so that it wasn't seen by sky patrollers.

"Where are Tommy and Alex?" Troy asked, leaning against a tree with his arms folded behind his head. His dark eyes shimmered in the firelight, showing with wisdom beyond his years.

"They're off having some sort of guy talk." Flo shrugged, sitting near the fire.

"Doesn't it seem weird to you guys that we haven't been attacked yet? I mean, there are patrollers all over Earth, constantly surveying everything. It seems like we would have been caught by now." Jesse said worriedly.

"Jesse, it seems weird that we're alive as it is. Think about it… after we got caught, we were sent to Warworld. Why?" Flo responded in a distant tone.

"Would you have rather been landed in a prison?"

"No, of course not. But like, wouldn't it be easier to just execute us? If Darkseid thinks we're such a problem, then why send us to Warworld at all?"

"Because he underestimates you." Troy grinned. "He didn't expect you guys to ever get out. He probably thought you'd all die in Warworld on day one anyway."

"No." Ethan chimed in strongly. Everyone looked at him. "Darkseid doesn't underestimate. I should know, I worked as his damn battery for most of my life. He's brilliant, and above all he's manipulative. If we got sent to Warworld, there's some other reasoning behind it. A reason we don't understand yet."

"So the rage-tank Duracell Lad is suddenly a genius? That's wonderful." Jesse rolled his eyes.

"What did you just call me, West?" Ethan got to his feet and walked forward.

"Um… I don't remember." The speedster grinned sheepishly.

Ethan grabbed Jesse by the collar of his orange T-shirt and jerked him upwards. "Did you really call me 'Duracell Lad?'?"

"That's enough Pierce!" Alex's voice suddenly broke in. Ethan looked over and saw the sandy-browned haired vigilante staring him down.

"You're not the boss of me, pretty boy. I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

"Really? You want to put that to the test?" Alex cocked and eyebrow and cracked his knuckles.

"Whatever…" Ethan muttered after a moment's hesitation, and released Jesse before walking away.

"And Jesse, give Ethan his watch back." Alex said scoldingly

"What makes you think I have his watch?"

"I know you."

"Fine." Jesse pulled out the gray watch and tossed it back to Ethan. "It's cheap anyway."

"What happened to the geeky kid?" Troy asked, realizing that Quinton wasn't present among the group. "Did he get lost or something?"

"No, he just does that." Jesse shrugged.

"I wish he'd get back." Flo sighed. "I wanted to ask him about the whole Superman-kid thing. I don't know if it's possible that there really is a Kryptonian at The Hole."

"Did Superman even have kids?" Troy asked skeptically. "I got to here a lot of gossip growing up on Warworld, and I never heard anything about that."

"As far as I know, all known records say that Superman only had one child, a daughter, and she was killed in the Invasion." Flo nodded.

"Tell that to Captain AAA, he's the one who made it up." Jesse muttered, glaring to Ethan.

"That's it, he's dead!" Ethan turned around and swung a punch at Jesse. The speedster spun out of the way and started to punch back, before both he and Ethan were jerked in opposite directions by a powerful force. Both of them slammed against tree trunks on opposite sides of the clearing.

"Time out." Alex said sternly, using his powers of magnetism to keep them apart.

"Seriously? I'm not four!" Jesse protested.

"Act your age Jesse, not your IQ." Troy shouted.

"Hey new guy, shut up." Jesse grumbled, feeling the magnetism release. He stumbled forward and straightened his red and yellow sports jacket.

"Since we're all so excitable… Jesse, how about you go and find Quinton?" Alex suggested.

"Why me?"

"Because it isn't smart for us to get separated right now, and you can tour this entire forest in a couple of seconds." Alex reasoned.

"Fine, I'll get him." Jesse sighed, glaring at Ethan again. "I actually like Quinton better than him."

Ethan growled, and Jesse zoomed off. Troy stood up and started walking in the other direction.

"Where are you headed?" Flo asked.

"To find my new brother. Like Alex said, we shouldn't get separated right now." Troy decided, heading out toward the pond.

(The Hole – Torture Chambers – Same Time)

Allie fell to the floor again, her strength fleeing. She spat blood onto the concrete floor and slowly crawled to her feet. Another sharp whip cracked into her bare back, sending a wave of splitting pain through her body. She bit her lip to fight back a scream.

"You still continue to struggle, hmm?" Black Mask mused. "I must say, I am impressed at your resilience. Most would have succumbed to the pain by now."

"Wha- what the hell do you plan to accomplish… by beating me?" Allie huffed.

"Simple, my dear. Pain triggers a natural sense to stop resisting. And once you stop resisting, your will is weakened. And once your will is weakened, it is much easier to correct your mind."

"Correct? That's what you call it?" Allie laughed through the pain. "I think you mean control."

"I'll admit, you are a relatively strong willed little bitch." Black Mask lifted her up again. "But no one withstands forever. I'll just have to ramp up the pain." He threw her against a wall and pressed a button his wrist computer, causing the collar around her neck to send a painful surge through her.

A gruesome guard stepped in and grabbed Allie by the shoulders. "Take her to Level B, where I keep my more… creative torture devices." Black Mask said sadistically.

"My pleasure." The guard turned and started forcing Allie to walk forward.

"Come on, you don't really want to take me to Level B, do you?" Allie pleaded, all the while trying to muster a sonic scream.

"'Fraid so, sweetheart." The guard laughed, reaching the end of the room.

"Are you sure…?" Allie had to buy time, gathering all the energy she could.

"Y- yes…" The guard said, though for some reason he sounded confused.

"You don't really like working for Black Mask do you? The guy's a jerk… wouldn't you like helping me a whole lot better?"

"I…." A blank stare drifted into the guard's eyes. "Yes."

What? Allie thought. Is this really working? I wonder…

"What are you standing around for, idiot?" Black Mask shouted to the guard.

"See? He doesn't respect you." Allie continued. "Even though a big strong guy like you could probably take him down in a heartbeat, he treats you like dirt."

"Yeah…" The guard muttered, his voice seeming distant.

"Tell you what big guy, why don't you smash him for me? Then we can escape together."

"Yeah!" The guard turned and charged toward Black Mask, fists clenched.

"What the hell?" Black Mask gaped, dodging out of the way of a powerful strike. The guard spun around and struck him in the chest, sending the twisted doctor flailing into the opposite wall.

Black Mask stood up slowly and spat blood from behind his mask. The guard charged again, and the villain grabbed a syringe from a shelf on the wall, jamming into the guard's neck.

Instantly the guard dropped to the ground, shrieking. His veins bulged all over his body, and it appeared that his blood was boiling! Within seconds, the guard was dead.

"Stupid mongrel." Black Mask muttered. Then he looked to Allie with an amused glare. "Fascinating…"

Allie tried to release a sonic scream, but Black Mask reacted quickly and shocked her again. She fell to her knees, and he walked toward her laughing. "It seems you are a lot more powerful than we first thought, my dear."

"I've always been charming like that." Allie grinned defiantly.

"I knew you could manipulate your sonics, little birdie, but I had no idea to what extent."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Allie demanded.

"That guard, you don't really think you charmed him into attacking me, do you? You manipulated him… or rather, you manipulated your voice. You were able to make your voice trigger certain receptors in his brain, making it nearly impossible to not obey."

"You mean I controlled his mind?" Allie asked cynically.

"No, not control. But influenced it. You were able to influence his very thought process, meaning that you had great power of his actions. An impressive ability, I must admit. One that your mother certainly never possessed. Then again, your mother didn't have half the sonic abilities that you do… dampening sound, altering your voice, influencing others, it's all done by altering your sonic scream, and weaving it into your voice. The possibilities are limitless… with the right training, you could become one of the most powerful beings in the universe."

"Sorry, not interested." Allie responded quickly.

"Well I'm afraid it isn't your choice to make, little birdie. Granny wants a new Fury, and what Granny wants, Granny gets." Black Mask signaled for more guards to enter into the room. "Take her to Level B quickly. And keep her quiet too."

(Wooded Area – Several Minutes Later)

Jesse found Quinton sitting against a fallen tree, scribbling in his black notebook.

"Again with the notebook? Dude, we need to stick together right now ok?" Jesse groaned.

"You're one to talk." Quinton retorted plainly.

"How so?"

"You're the most untrustworthy person here. Alex won't even tell us his last name, and I trust him more than you. Don't lecture me on sticking together, when we both know you would ditch us all in a heartbeat."

"I won't argue." Jesse shrugged. "I'm a conman at heart."

Quinton was silent for a long time, so Jesse continued speaking to fill the void. "So what are you so pissy about anyway Q?"

"Things."

"Specific as always, I see." Jesse grinned. "Really though, I'm supposed to bring you back to the camp."

"I'll get there when I'm good and ready."

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Stuff."

Jesse sighed and then broke into a super-fast sprint. He zoomed by and grabbed the notebook from Quinton's hands, immediately looking over the contents.

"Give that back!" Quinton demanded, trying in vain to catch the speedster.

Jesse quickly found that the notebook was filled with drawings. Very detailed, skillful drawings. "Holy crap Q, you're one hell of an artist."

Many of the drawings were bizarre, abstract type pictures that didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. Then Jesse reached a few of the more recent drawings, and his eyes opened wide.

In the last several pages of the notebook, there were drawings of Flo. The first was a close up of her face, done with masterful shading and perfect dimension. Quinton had obviously spent a lot of time on this picture. Jesse flipped to the next page, and found a full-body sketch of her, surrounded by a large heart.

Jesse smiled brightly. "Aw, aren't you cute?" He mocked.

"Shut up Jesse!" Quinton shouted, his face turning red with anger.

"So the faceless wonder has a crush on the fish chick, that's certainly original." Jesse laughed, throwing the notebook back to Quinton.

"Don't tell anybody about this, ok?"

"No promises. I can see why you'd be shy about telling her though."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I don't really think you and are… compatible."

"And why not?"

"Because Flo is upbeat, down to Earth, and full of life. And you're full of, well…" Jesse grinned. "I'm not really sure what the hell you're full of, Q."

"That's simple. The human body is composed of mostly of water and-"

"Quinton, not what I meant, ok?"

"I know." Quinton sighed. "I don't know how to describe it, alright? She just makes me feel… dumber."

"And… that's a good thing?" Jesse raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Usually I feel intellectually superior to everyone, and it makes it hard for me to enjoy pretty much anything. But Flo seems to make things, I don't know, easier."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean." Jesse shrugged.

"Well from what I've observed, it is a lot like how you feel around Allie, except not dumber… just, more important."

"Huh?"

"From my observations I find that with Allie, you're self confidence issues diminish and-"

"What self confidence issues? I'm perfectly confident!"

"Not according to every psychology book I ever read. And I read approximately eighty-two of them."

"Whatever man." Jesse turned, shaking his head. "Let's hurry up and get back to the camp. We all need some sleep."

"Wait a minute Jesse…"

"What?"

"Do you think maybe- well, maybe you could-"

"Whoa! Stop right there!" Jesse put up his hands. "If you're going ask me to help you hook up with Flo, it's not happening. I'm not frickin' cupid, alright?"

"Right. Sorry."

"Ok good. But if you want my advice…"

"I really don't."

"Just talk to her, bro. That seems to be the crucial step that you refuse to take."

"You just said that Flo and I were incompatible, and now you're telling me to talk to her?"

"Oh yeah, you're totally incompatible. I just think it'll be funny to see you get shot down a couple times." Jesse laughed, before his stomach erupted in a low growl. "Ok, I really need to get to camp and eat something. But I mean it Q, just talk."

(Lake – Same Time)

"This is going to be awkward isn't it?" Troy inquired.

"Definitely." Tommy nodded.

"So, what are we exactly? I mean, we're clearly related somehow, but what the hell would you call it?"

"Let's just say we're brothers for now. It's a lot easier than trying to figure out some freakish family tree."

"Yeah, I agree." Troy sighed and leaned against a tree, sliding his hands into his pockets. "So this Allie chick we're going to save… what's she like?"

"Allie? She's special."

"Special how?"

"Well for one, she could sarcasm you to death without even trying. She has a great sense of humor, and she's always smiling no matter how bad things get. She's beautiful, but she could break a guy's arms and legs in a couple of seconds if she had to. And above all, she's probably the nicest person in the world. She's always understanding of everything."

"Wow, that was a lovesick puppy rant if I've ever heard one." Troy chuckled.

"Why does everyone always assume that? There is nothing between me and Allie. In all honesty, I consider her my sister. We grew up together, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. I really do." Troy looked up into the sky. "So do you really think you can make a difference? In the world, I mean. Do you think we can actually take down Apokolips?"

"To be honest, no. I don't."

"Then why even try? If we know it's a suicide mission, then why do we keep digging ourselves deeper?"

"Because if we die, at least we'll have died for something." Tommy skipped a rock across the water. "We won't just be more mindless slaves to Apokolips, we'll have died trying to make a difference. Trying to make things better. And to me, that makes it all worth while."

"I wish I could see things like you do." Troy frowned. "In all honesty, I just want to die."

"What?"

"Yeah. I don't want to live like this anymore, you know? I spent the majority of my life in an arena, being forced to kill for sport. When you live like that, you lose all sense of self worth Tommy. The desire to live goes right out the window, and you're left an empty shell, who doesn't even know what he's fighting for." Troy shook his head. "I don't want to live in this world anymore Tommy. All the violence, the sadness, the hate… I just want to get away from it all."

"I don't blame you." Tommy sighed. "I've had that same thought a few times."

"Then again, maybe death brings you somewhere worse. I don't know. What do you think happens when you die?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. Growing up in the cave, Dinah always told us about Heaven and Hell. She told us about a benevolent God, a loving God. But I look around at the world today, and I just don't know. I guess I'm not sure what I believe, about anything really."

"Me either man." Troy was still looking into the sky. "I don't know a whole lot, but I know I can believe in stars."

"Stars…" Tommy looked up too. "The one thing they couldn't take away from us. They took humanity's freedom, happiness, and love. But they couldn't take the stars."

"Proof that there's some beauty even in hell." Troy smiled. "It's funny. I remember looking up at the stars as a kid, before I was found by Warworld Scouters. It's so stupid, but…"

"But what?"

"I remember I would always look up at the stars, and imagine that one of them was my mom, or my dad, looking down on me, you know? Watching over me."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"I was listening to Quinton talking earlier, about how the Amazons just disappeared during the invasion…"

"Yeah."

"My mom was Wonder Woman, yours was Donna Troy. They were both Amazons, right?"

"Yes."

"So, do you think maybe when the Amazons disappeared, our moms went with them? Do you think there's some chance that our mother's are still alive somewhere?"

"No." Tommy shook his head. "When the Amazons left, Diana and Donna chose to stay behind. They had to renounce their status among the Amazons in order to stay, they became completely mortal."

"Oh." Troy said, sounding disappointed. "That turned out to be a pretty crappy decision, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it did."

Suddenly Tommy noticed a bright orange glow off in the distance, swiftly becoming larger and more visible. Soon a series of hellish cries could be heard.

"Hellhounds." Tommy grimaced. "A whole pack of them."

"Looks like a big one too." Troy said as he looked off into the distance.

"They're coming this way, no doubt about that." Tommy groaned. "We need to head back to camp now, and warn the others."