So a new chapter fresh out of my brain. I'm adding in a bit more with Sam and how she fits in along with some stuff about Impulse I hinted at before. I'll explain more below for those who may still have questions after reading the chapter. This one covers the events of Cornered.=^-^=

Ch. 10 - Conflictions

Taos – April 1

The teens sat in the hall as they awaited their turns to be called in. Black Canary was doing psychiatric evaluations on each of them to garner more of an idea of what happened while they were taken captive. Blu was trying hard not to look over towards his friend Tye since he wasn't supposed to know him as Blue Beetle. Tye on the other hand was watching him with agitation, a sentiment held by the other teens as well.

The oldest of the group, the darkly dressed Sam Manson was more annoyed by the speedster though as he won't stop taking glances at her. She let it go for about ten minutes before she stood up and approached him. "All right. What's your deal?" She demanded in irritation.

Bart was a bit short for words at the sudden approach. "I uh…. What do you mean?"

She cut her eyes. "I'm talking about how you keep looking at me! Cut it out!"

He raised his hand defensively. "I wasn't… I was just looking around." He wore a sheepish expression as the teen seemed to not believe a word of it. Tension was already high in the hall, and a few of the others seemed to be getting restless themselves.

"Whoa, hold on there." They all heard from the other end of the hall. Danny was walking towards them with a negotiating air about him. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, so why don't you sit down and take a breath."

Sam cut her eyes at him, quickly dismissing the young speedster in favor of someone she was even angrier at. "Oh right, your all about letting things go. Hopefully if you ignore it long enough, it'll just go away." She griped at him.

The conversation was cut short as Virgil exited the room and Black Canary walked out behind. She was able to see the tense situation clearly and so she called in the next teen. "Samantha? Could you come in next?" She gave the boy one last glare before turning to the Leaguer. Danny's expression was apologetic as he watched her practically stomp into the room, though the silence of it was quite a feat in her combat boots.

He let out a sigh as he decided to take a seat next to Blu. "What was that about ese?"

Danny leaned back with his head on the wall. "It was Karma coming back to haunt me."

Inside the office Sam sat with her arms crossed while tightly gripping the ends of her long sleeves and head turned towards the window. Black Canary was very prepared for the closed off emotions of the teens, but this one was slightly different. Sam seemed more angry than hurt or even traumatized though that could be hidden. "Are you going to start your questions now? I really would prefer not to spend all day in here."

There was venom in her tone but the blonde knew it wasn't for her. "Of course. We only want to try and understand what happened to you."

Sam raised an agitated brow as she turned to her. "I was abducted and used as an alien test subject. Next question."

Black Canary was more than a bit surprised at how blunt she was about it. The other teens didn't really seem to have a full handle of what it was that was happening. "Do you know why they picked you?"

Sam shrugged. "Don't know."

She remained silent after that prompting Black Canary to start the conversation again. "What were they doing? Do you remember?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "The same thing they did to everyone else. You've already talked to the others right? What's the point in asking me the same questions when you're going to get the same answers?"

The woman sighed as she weaved her fingers together. "We only want to make sure that you are all alright."

"I'm fine." The goth said quickly. "Now can I go? The last thing I want to do is sit here playing twenty questions with you and that damn camera." She stood up restlessly, but didn't move to the door.

"Hold on." Canary protested as she too stood. "Could we just sit and talk a little bit more? I know the trauma you've experienced is-"

Sam turned to her with a piercing gaze. "Know what? I really don't care about any of it!" She turned towards the door but didn't walk from her spot. "All I know is that I'm not a test subject anymore."

Black Canary took a seat against the front of her desk and faced Sam. "I understand you don't want to talk about it. Not many people would….." She then gave a pause. "What did they do to make you think it was some sort of test?"

Sam felt the psychological tug and let out an exasperated sigh. "Because.." She began with a roll of her eyes. "They were picking and choosing. All the people they brought in were tested, shocks, lights, whatever they could think of." She lowered her head. "And all through that, several of the people were taken away. Aliens or not, I could tell when they were disappointed. Anyone they took away…. Never came back." She then turned back to the young leaguer. "So why keep some of us? The answer is easy; we had what they wanted."

Black Canary raised a hand to her chin in thought. She found herself glancing over to her desk where a ball of paper clips lay statically stuck together. "Meta…. Meta-gene?"

Sam raised a brow. "What?"

Canary quickly dismissed the thought. "Oh… nothing. I just thought back to something a friend of mine mentioned."

Sam was annoyed by her keeping secrets and moved over to the door. "Well whatever, I'm out of here. I was on my way somewhere before those alien jerks grabbed me and I still plan to get there."

"Hold on." Black Canary requested as she intercepted the teen at the door. "We can't release you just yet."

"The heck you can't." Sam interjected as she reached around the woman.

"Please." The blonde reinforced as she grabbed her by the wrist. "We just need to know all the facts. We want to make sure you are all alright."

"I don't need anyone to watch out for me!" Sam responded as she ripped her arm away being careful to keep her sleeve down. Her temper had finally flared up with her verbal lash and Black Canary couldn't help but take a step back. Something didn't feel quite right just then, but it quickly passed as Sam's anger receded into surprise. She turned back towards the door. "I'll wait in the hall." She then quietly stepped out thinking to herself as Black Canary was left to her own thoughts.

"What was that?" She questioned as she turned back towards the desk. She couldn't really explain it herself, but she instinctively felt threatened somehow. As she walked back over to her desk she finally noticed the strangest thing she'd seen. Somehow, between Virgil leaving and Sam leaving, the camera's lens had cracked. She picked it off the tripod and inspected it carefully as she thought over what the teens had told her. Nightwing's report from the previous night then flashed through her mind and her eyes widened at the thought.

Back out in the hall all eyes were on Sam since most had heard the commotion inside the room. She simply ignored their looks though in favor of finding Danny again. Her irritation seemed to return when she realized he was nowhere to be seen. She took her seat back in the hall quietly and gazed across at the now empty seat just across from her. Blu and Impulse watched her curiously as if her gaze would suddenly burn through the chair. Meanwhile Danny sat invisibly in that very chair just trying to look at anything but her face. He'd turned invisible when he saw the door open much to everyone else's surprise, but when Blu asked him about it, he remained silent.

Later that night the other teens had been taken somewhere else while the team heroes waited to be interviewed next. Beast Boy was first followed by Impulse in much the way the kidnapped teens had earlier that day. When Impulse exited the office Black Canary called in Lagoon Boy next. Blu instantly jumped to Bart in worry and pulled him around the corner. "What'd you tell her ese?"

Bart looked a bit insulted as he answered. "About you betraying mankind and causing a Reach apocalypse." Blu's eyes widened a bit before the smirk on Bart's face revealed the deception. "Nada amigo. You see I don't really know what causes it to happen and for all I know it's the league finding out, so I say we say nothing to no one." He suggested as he pat Blu's shoulder in comfort.

"Is that really a wise policy?" The two of them turned to see Phantom leaning against the hall with a calculating expression. "How do you know that keeping it a secret won't make it happen?"

Impulse furrowed his brow at the question. "But what if it doesn't?"

"That's my point. Basing your theory on what if's won't get you anywhere. What exactly are you guys talking about anyway?... Something to do with the future maybe?" Danny was always suspicious of the speedster in how he acted from the second he arrived. His suspicions were increased the more he thought about Clockwork's mark. Clockwork doesn't let just anyone jump through time especially not a tourist.

Impulse walked a bit closer and sighed. "I guess you caught me then…. Yeah."

He didn't seem too broken up about it which surprised Blu. "What are you doing ese?"

He pat the armored teen's shoulder. "No worries hermano. Phantom is cool for sure. Right?" He asked the halfa as he turned back to him.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but explain a bit more. What exactly happens in your time?"

Impulse nodded and began to explain his story of how Blu somehow fell under the Reach's control and helped to enslave the human race. "That's why I came back. I knew if I could keep Blue Beetle from feelin the mode the Reach wouldn't take over."

Danny took a moment to understand the information as he was told, but it was a bit much for him. "So how exactly does that do anything? Do you know how the Reach takes over? How does Blu help them do it?"

"Yeah ese, what about the other heroes?" Blu added in with his own curiosity.

Bart scratched his head a bit. "From what I was told, most of them weren't even here."

"Rimbor…" Danny figured out quickly. "They were called to Rimbor for trial."

Bart nodded. "Yeah, and after that, the Reach didn't have much difficulty with the rest. I wasn't given a lot of details, but I was told about you Blu. That's why I believe you couldn't have done any of that without something big going down to cause it." He finished as he turned to his friend.

"Oh man…." He responded without much else.

"You're right about that I guess. I can't really imagine Jaime doing that…. But maybe the Scarab?"

Blu instantly shook his head. "No way ese. I know it sounds weird but the Scarab is just as against them as I am. It's like they can't control it or something. They talked about getting it back on mode on that ship."

Impulse turned to him in confusion. "So the Scarab's the one they want to get on mode?" Impulse asked as he looked over his shoulder at the blue pack. "Makes sense I guess. Maybe it's like mind control or something?"

Danny let out a sigh. "It would certainly help if we had some more answers. Considering you went as far as time travel, I wish you could've gotten a bit more to work with."

Impulse turned to him with a defensive expression. "Come on man, I wasn't even alive for most of it. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's you for not giving me more before I left… opps…." He regretted as he covered his mouth.

Danny's eyes widened. "What was that? I was there?"

Impulse groaned as he nodded. "He warned me about this too….." He then composed himself. "Alright yeah, but I can't tell you any more than that. Besides, it may not even be happening anymore."

"Why is that ese? I mean if all this other stuff is still going down, then why not Phantom's stuff?"

Bart crossed his arms in frustration. "I can't really explain it, but I know it's not a good idea. We should just keep all this between us. I don't want the league being the reason that Scarab gets moded."

Danny and Blu looked at him a moment before the halfa let out a sigh. "Fine, I won't say anything about it."

Impulse let out a breath of relief. "I knew you were cool man."

"But I really think Blu should be the one who decides what to do." He then turned to the young hero. "A wise ghost once told me your future isn't set in stone. Your choice matters Jaime." A strange tone then started as Danny reached down to his waist. "Sorry guys, but I have to take this. Just keep what I said in mind alright?" He requested as he started down the hall as he answered the phone. Jaime watched him in contemplation while Impulse looked towards him with an uneasy expression.

Bludhaven – April 1

Mal returned to the temporary HQ Nightwing had set up for them while the cave was under construction. Since his proposed arrangements with Bumble Bee had hit a wall he didn't really have much choice in the matter. He arrived just as several of the others were watching G. Gordan further flush the reputation of the league. "So where's Mg'ann?"

Nightwing gave a shrug as he explained. "She said it reminded her too much of a boy's dorm, and as much as she likes the smell of unwashed socks…." He trailed off as his point was made.

"Hmmm…." Mal then turned towards the lower area with the beds and spotted a familiar green pooch sleeping on one. "So Phantom around here too?"

Beast Boy gave a nod. "Yeah, he came by earlier after he heard about the Hall. I'm not really sure where he went though." He revealed with curiosity in his tone. As Gar headed down to the beds next to Mal, Cujo jumped to life on the bed. Wolf was next to become alert as both of then turned towards the door with expectant looks.

The knock came quickly after which preceded the door opening without waiting for a response. A man dressed in gold adornments stepped through. His most notable features included a toga, gold winged shoes and a gold winged helm to match. "My my, not really what I expected." He stated as he readjusted his bag which sat over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Nightwing asked in a calm yet defensive manner as he jumped down to meet their unexpected visitor. Wolf followed him down with a growl, but dared not get too close.

"Hmm? Oh yes, where are my manners? Hermes, courier of gods, but that's common knowledge no?" He then looked around a bit. "As for my business here….. I don't suppose one of you would be Phantom?"

Most of them traded glances about the room while Nightwing crossed his arms. If he was who he said he was, it easily explained how he knew to come here, but it still bothered the young vigilante. "He's not here right now."

The god seemed annoyed by that revelation as he rolled his eyes. "It would seem so. Honestly how does anyone expect me to deliver anything if they keeping moving around?" His complaints seemed to stem from many different experiences. "Do you know where I can find him now then?"

Nightwing gave it a bit of thought before turning towards Gar who was the last one to talk to him before he left. "He never told me, but he should come back eventually." He then pointed towards the bed where Cujo sat in attention.

"That will suffice then. I have wasted enough time looking, and I have many other deliveries to make." He pulled out a scroll and a box and handed them off to Nightwing rather hastily. "The scroll is from Pandora. She told me he'd requested it from her some time ago. The box is a little something I picked up on my way out of the Infinite Realms. Queen Dorathea seemed rather adamant he get it as soon as possible." He then began to readjust his bag. "Normally I don't take requests like that, but I can't turn down a party invitation now can I?" He mused to himself as he left seeming rather satisfied.

As soon as the door closed Gar ran up to Nightwing to get a look at what he was given. "So what is this stuff?"

Nightwing raised a brow as he looked over the scroll. "Not sure." He handed the box to Gar to hold so that he could try and open the scroll, but it seemed stuck. "I can't even open it."

"I'll get it open." Super Boy offered as he approached his teammate.

"Actually, I think we should just wait for Phantom. While I'm sure you could get it open, we don't need to."

Conner shrugged and accepted the response with no hesitance. "Whatever."

"Whoa…. Check this out." Gar called as he pulled a golden medallion from the box he'd been holding.

"Garfield!" Nightwing called as he watched the teen place it around his neck. "You need to put that back."

Garfield looked down at it in awe. "I was just looking Nightwing." He then pulled it off. "But you gotta wonder why some queen is sending something like this to Danny." He seemed mesmerized by the pattern on the amulet which seemed to resemble an eye.

Nightwing held the box under the amulet with a stern expression. "Yes, but you could have just waited. You don't know what it is."

Gar set the necklace back into the box gently with a sheepish expression. "Noted…."

Nightwing then proceeded to place both items on the bed next to Cujo. When he turned back towards the loft area where the news continued to play he found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. "What a night." Mal let out as he placed his box onto one of the beds.

"You planning on coming in sometime tonight?" Nightwing asked as he opened the door to the temporary base to find Phantom standing outside looking around the docks. He'd spotted Cujo pacing around the door impatiently, but given that Phantom had ordered him to stay inside, the dog didn't go out. Once the door was opened, however, he darted out happily and ran around the feet of his master.

"Maybe….." He sounded very distracted which is how he'd been when he first showed up at their temporary sleeping quarters. Once he found out everything was fine, all things considered, he'd left again soon after.

"What's up? I certainly hope it's not the smell. Mg'ann already used that one." He asked with obvious sarcasm.

"Considering I've spent several hours inside a gym locker on more than one occasion, I can't really complain about that. No, I was just thinking about something." He then turned to him. "So were you waiting for me or is it just a habit for you to be up all night?" He mostly meant that sarcastically since he already knew how often Nightwing was up all night.

"Both actually, but couldn't I say the same for you? It's two in the morning."

Danny walked over to the doorway as Nightwing gestured him inside. "Habits die hard I guess. So why were you waiting for me?"

The leader pointed to the bed Cujo had claimed hours before. "You got mail."

Danny wore a bewildered expression as he looked over to the bed. "I got what? I don't even know the address on this place."

"Hermes delivered it."

"Who?"

Nightwing raised a brow. "The messenger of the gods in Greek mythology."

Danny's lips formed an 'o' as he lifted the scroll of the bed. "Then this must be from Pandora. I'd almost forgotten I asked her to help me find something." Danny turned it over in his hands a few times before pulling the ball at each end and twisting them in opposite directions. The container opened easily after that and an aged scroll sat neatly inside.

"What exactly is this for?"

Danny pulled out the scroll along with a smaller note tucked inside. "You remember that mission in Biyalia where only girls could go? Bat Girl found some weird ruins and showed me some pictures. Pandora's a ghost I know with an extensive and ancient library so I told her I'd see if I couldn't get some more info on them." He then proceeded to look over the smaller note which seemed to be from Pandora concerning the scroll.

Nightwing took a look over his shoulder and was surprised to find it written in some Greek script. "What is that?"

Danny turned to him and raised a brow. "What the writing? I'm not really sure what it's called but it is some form of modern Greek." Nightwing couldn't help but chuckle at that. "What?"

"You don't know who Hermes is but you can read Greek?"

Danny wasn't as amused at the insinuation as he handed the scroll to him. "I learned it out of necessity actually. Her acropolis is pretty big and the only way to get around is to know how to read it. Otherwise you'll find yourself lost, and that's the best case scenario trust me. Anyway could you get this to Bat Girl? She'll probably have to translate it, but it should be helpful." He then paused a moment before continuing. "And I would appreciate it if she was careful with it…. It's really old and Pandora promised to feed me to her three headed dog if it gets damaged."

Nightwing seemed a bit surprised at the serious request, but gave a nod anyway. "No problem." He then pointed to the box. "What about that?"

Danny looked down at it curiously. "I don't really know…. Did Pandora send this too?"

Nightwing shook his head. "No, it was sent by-"

"Dora.." Danny finished for him as he pulled the amulet out of the box.

"Yeah, so you know her?"

Danny gave a nod as he looked at the amulet with a grave expression. "She's Queen of Eragon."

"And that's in this Infinite Realms place?" Nightwing inquired.

"Yeah, but it's more commonly called the Ghost Zone."

The conversation they had months before popped into his head at that. "So the dimension of ghosts?"

"Yeah, it's also called the Infinite Realms. It's endless and can lead you almost anywhere, but I wouldn't suggest testing that theory unless you have a few hundred years to waste being lost. Anyway, this is an Amulet of Aragon." He started as he held it up. "It's one of two which are worn by Dora and her brother. This one is probably his since she can't afford to just give hers up."

Nightwing seemed intrigued by the information before noticing the note scribbled into the lid of the box. "It's too dangerous to keep them together. I hope you will keep this one safe." He read aloud for Phantom to hear.

"I wonder what has her so worried. Only someone from their family can use the power properly."

"What kind of power exactly?"

Danny moved around the bed to find a thermos to keep the amulet in. "Well, it's enchanted. When the wearer becomes angry, they'll be transformed into one of two different dragons depending on which amulet they wear. Only Dora and her brother actually have any control over what they do when transformed though."

It was obvious Nightwing was slightly put off by that. "What?"

Danny then pulled out his phone. "Hold on, I have a picture." He then flashed the screen to him. "This Argon when he transforms. If this is his amulet, anyone who transforms with it will look like this." The large black dragon in the picture looked more than just angry and if the wearer had any control at all, it's not obvious. He was now really glad he'd kept Garfield from wearing it too long before. Danny then set it into the thermos and locked the lid in place. "As long as it's in here, you shouldn't have to worry about it causing problems."

Taos - April 2

Captain Atom had just finished going over the incident from the previous night with Black Canary and Nightwing. "I'm hoping you have some good news."

Black Canary gave a nod. "I believe so." She then looked over to Nightwing. "Based on what Phantom gathered, and how it lines up with what the kids told me, I believe we now know for sure what a meta-gene is. A genetic anomaly which allows certain individuals to develop super human abilities when exposed to trauma."

Nightwing raised a brow. "So his assumption of the idea it was an actual gene wasn't off. It makes perfect sense then. That's how they were going to weaponize it. That must be what brought both the Reach and the Kroloteans here to begin with. The Light sending the League out there like that must've been some kind of bait to get us in the Galactic spotlight."

Canary gave him a nod. "More than likely since they are now partnered." Their conversation was then interrupted by Blue Beetle as he entered the room with a serious expression. "Blue Beetle?" Canary questioned as the teen found his way to the center of the room.

"I'm sorry, but I've been hiding something. I just can't keep it, and I know this is the best way to handle it."

Impulse jumped into the room quickly as to stop him seconds later. "Oh Blu blu blu…. What happened to keep quiet?"

He gave a pause as the Scarab seemed to try and talk sense into him as well. "No." He finally said with resolution. "I think Phantom had a point. It's time for the truth ese." He then turned to the others. "Impulse says that sometime in the future I betray earth and bring on a Reach apocalypse. Whether it's the Scarab's doing, or my own, that's not a future I can live with, so whatever it takes, get this Scarab off me."

Hope I didn't let anyone down, but the issue with Danny and Sam will come up more later. Sorry if you were expecting it. Also, some of you may have already guess where I'm going with her but if you haven't I guess it's something to look forward too eh? Sam's backstory for this particular cross over has been given a bit of twist. (Sorry I'm a tease...)

I added quite a bit to Impulse's back story with the addition of Phantom, but I doubt anyone has really figured it out yet. Just keep it in mind as more comes up later. I plan to give that away soon, but I also might change my mind... I'm weird like that.

As of now, I'm not taking suggestions for future pieces of the plot (No pairings or added characters), but you never know what you might incite with a comment.

Please feel free to leave comments and questions in a Review. I appreciate all who take the time.=^-^=