Lost Youth

by Archer83

When a mission to a Star Lab research base goes horribly wrong, the Young Justice team is separated and presumed dead. But the truth is far more complicated than anyone could ever guess as certain team members find themselves in an entirely new version of reality. (AU, rated M to be safe.)

10. All For One

Chapter 10; All For One.

SSV Diligence

April 4th, 2178

09:17 GST

Thirty Minutes Out From Akuze...

"You're gonna be fine kid. I always get nervous before a big fight, and it doesn't take a mind reader to see you're having issues." M'gann looked up and saw Ashley had sat down on the bunk next to her. "Just remember who you're fighting for."

"It's not the fight I know that's coming that's made me so nervous Ms. Williams...Ash. It's what I might have to do just to get inside that worries me." She didn't know how to explain to someone that hadn't met a martian before, let alone to someone that was at least somewhat familiar with one, what it meant to use their telepathic abilities as a weapon. That was exactly what was bothering M'gann, the thought of having to hurt someone using her natural gifts that were in most cases used for communication only.

"You've never had to kill, have you?" M'gann looked up in shock when Ashley read her like an open book. It was more or less at the heart of her worry and Ashley only nodded her understanding, letting the young girl talk about it before saying anything further.

"Fighting I understand, having worked alongside my friends for so long, but my people are peaceful by nature and life is considered sacred no matter the form. I've never had to end the life of another being before, and I know that's what I might have to do if we're to succeed." Even against Kobra and his cultists, she had avoided harming anyone, although part of that had been because she had been knocked out for most of the fight at the time. Artemis had been the one to handle the dirty work when they had been hijacked. Dick had simply incapacitated everyone he fought, but today...there would be no holding back and it weighed on all of their minds. M'gann however, felt it the most keenly. She always envied Kaldur, he would simply do whatever had to be done, never regretting his actions because he had fought the longest out of all of them. The only regret she knew he had was that he had to fight at all.

She could almost hear the old speech now. "I fight because I am given no choice in the matter when it comes to those I care about. My own safety is secondary, so long as my friends and loved ones remain free and safe from those that would see them hurt." She agreed with him, but M'gann couldn't so easily dismiss taking another being's life even for that noblest of reasons.

"Ashley...if I falter in my assigned tasks, if I can't-" The marine just held up a hand to quiet the nervous girl and then lightly grabbed her shoulders.

"That isn't going to happen, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for Megan. Besides, I already promised Commander Anderson I'd be watching your back, I don't plan on disappointing him anytime soon." M'gann could only nod, starting to calm down thanks to the woman in front of her. There was...another problem though.

"There's more to it than that Ashley. I think I know who's holding her. There's only one person that has abilities that are similar to my own, and he took his to a dark place years ago. There's an old Earth saying that...fits. 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.'" M'gann had started to see parts of her 'dream' during the flight out to Akuze and one face in particular, while blurry and too close for comfort, kept reappearing anytime she tried to recall the nightmare. It had given her an all too familiar feeling of dread. Psimon, Queen Bee's psychic enforcer had been the cause of many horrible events back home and despite the chances of his surviving the years in this reality, it seemed he had somehow managed to do just that.

"You're worried you might end up like this 'Psimon'? Don't look so shocked, I do have ears you know. Kind of hard to sleep when your bunk mate is muttering the same name over and over again. And anyway, there's a fat chance of that happening Megan. You can't even tell a white lie without blushing. I mean, the first thing you did when you met me was spill your guts." Ashley smirked at the embarrassed look on the alien girl's face as she finished preparing the weapons Anderson had insisted on bringing. Williams had needed something to do and she had started putting together and running final checks on the team's more modern equipment while she talked to the martian.

"Thank you Ashley...for hearing me out." M'gann said as she met the marine's gaze and smiled gratefully to Williams. "And if you're curious as to why I 'spilled my guts' to you, it's because you kinda remind me of my uncle J'onn." Standing from her bunk, M'gann 'pulled' her own light armor over towards her and manipulated the pieces around herself until they were assembled on her small frame. She'd have to remove it later, hence why she had chosen a simple rebreather mask and O2 pack instead of a full helmet for when that time came.

"How's it going back here? I want everyone ready to go in ten minutes; this isn't a pleasure cruise." David's gruff voice belied the tense concern M'gann knew he was feeling at the moment. "You look downright intimidating Megan, it's a good look on you. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but it's the best chance we have. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He had overheard some of the conversation between the two women and was having second thoughts about her role. He knew from her memories and from the stories the others had shared that M'gann was the least violent of their number, and that alone had made him uneasy about suggesting the plan. Now, David was faced with moral implications as well and it sickened him to ask her to continue now.

"Ashley's right...I'll do whatever I have to to save Anna, David. I've done this before, you know that, but this is...different." He didn't have to have her tell him that, but Anderson still nodded and sighed, hating to have to put any of them in this situation for his daughter.

"That's what worries me child, but I don't have to tell you how much it means to me to have your help in this." It was M'gann's turn to nod solemnly as she changed her green skin to a more Earth norm shade, knowing she'd be changing her appearance before too long if everything went well.

"Wow...that armor is really...snug, Ashley." Dick knew those words were a mistake before he even got to her name. He didn't have anything to fear from the smirking marine though, it was the icy glare he could just feel burrowing into his back that had him terrified. "Hmm...it looks very protective and sturdy. Just have to grab a couple things."

"Word of advice...don't stare at a marine's ass when talking about their armor. Kind of gives you away. Corporal, please keep any beatings to a minimum on the way back." Anderson just started to whistle as he finished prepping his gear, as Richard stared at the marine with a look of utter betrayal and guilt on his face.

"I um...I should...go." Having two women stare at him at the same time wasn't as great as Dick thought it would be. He beat a hasty retreat before he wound up smeared on the wall between the archer and the no nonsense marine.

Ashley just shook her head at the brazen little bastard and spoke up before Artemis could say a word. "Don't even start, I know that look kid. He's thirteen friggin' years old, what the hell would I do with him, read him a bedtime story? Your friend Kaldur might be another story though...that boy has skills."

Artemis just grinned as Kaldur started walking into the room and immediately headed back out, his face having turned an adorable darker shade before he got out of their line of sight. "I'd take that as a compliment Kaldur!" Artemis shouted, knowing he had heard her when they heard a loud clang as if he had stubbed his toe in his bid to escape. "Ash..." She hated talking about Kaldur's past without his permission, but it was only fair that the marine knew how much they cared for the Atlantean. Ashley knew she needed to listen as all the humor left Artemis's face. "He did have someone, once. I don't know how far along their relationship was, I just know that he lost her...badly. Keep that in mind, alright?"

"Damn...I would have kept my mouth shut if you had told me that sooner. Poor kid, he's too damn nice to have something like that happen to him." Ashley had to wonder at how cruel life could be as she realized that every single one of her 'crewmates' had their own tragic little story. "All the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players."

"A marine that quotes William Shakespeare? Now I've seen everything." Artemis was starting to like Ashley quite a bit, but at the slightly surprised look on Ashley's face, the archer blushed a little as she found her voice again. "Heh...my mentor, Oliver Queen. His family's mansion has a small library. I got bored sometimes." Artemis's face scrunched up for a moment as she tried to recall a line. "Cry havoc and let slip the wolves of war!"

"Dogs." Ashley corrected without needing to think about it.

"Huh?" Artemis blinked, having sworn she had gotten it right the first time.

"It's 'Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.', god I hate it when people screw up perfectly good Shakespeare." Ashley was only poking fun at the young archer, but the fact it got a rise out of her didn't hurt either.

"Know it all wiseass." Artemis growled under her breath as she slipped on the last sections of her armor. Slinging her bow and upgraded tech quiver, courtesy of Richard's handiwork, the irritated girl stomped out of the room and whacked Richard with the quiver on her way out.

Richard looked over his shoulder and back towards Artemis, confusion stamped on his face at what had gotten up her butt this time. "What's her problem? Did I do something wrong? I mean...something else wrong?" Making sure the clamps held tight to his new armored outfit, Dick just shook his head as he made sure his utility belt was stocked with everything and anything from smoke pellets to every batarang type he and Bruce had ever thrown as he made for the cargo ramp.

Ashley and M'gann just stared at Dick for a moment before shaking their heads and ignoring him. "I see he's not as dense as your average teen after all." Ashley said as she and the martian headed for the cargo ramp, ready to get this mess over with as quickly as possible.

"Kaldur. Time to come out of hiding behind that wall buddy, we're set to go." Given what they would be dealing with in a matter of minutes, there wasn't much humor left in Artemis as Kaldur did his best to avoid eye contact with Ashley. Despite his embarrassment, it didn't take long for the Atlantean to get his head back in the game as his normally stoic expression returned to his face after donning the helmet to his own armored suit.

"Williams, help me get everyone strapped in. We're taking the shuttle down to the planet." David said as he took the lead. He couldn't count the number of times he had done so in the past, and despite what they were likely going into, it felt good to be in the field again. The only complaint Anderson had as he jumped in the pilot's chair was that the armor he wore seemed heavier than he remembered it being when he was younger. "Getting too old for this shit."

Ashley grinned at the seasoned marine, only to realize how new she was to this type of communication a few seconds later. "Once a marine, always a marine; isn't that the saying sir? Even if some are a little slower than others...shit! Sir...I will say this is many times better than radio silence, could have used this trick a few times myself."

"Nice try, but I still caught that smart ass remark Williams. You forgot old as dirt, by the way." David was quick to reply, relieving some of the tension that had started to form in the shuttle even if he was slightly annoyed with the Corporal.

"I can't keep the mental connection established if Psimon is on the planet. He'll find us a lot quicker if I do." Megan said a moment before she pulled the metaphorical plug on the link she had with everyone around her. Dick, Kaldur, and Artemis didn't have to have her explain that as they automatically made sure their suit radios were synced up on Richard's heavily encrypted frequency.

"I will say one thing about you Dick, you know your tech. I don't think some of our weaker military grade hacking programs could punch through this firewall." Ashley said as she pulled up the frequency on her omni-tool, impressed by the kid's handiwork. She wasn't a code jockey by any means, but it looked pretty heavy duty to her as she closed it down a moment later.

Joker's eternally sarcastic voice burst out of the shuttle's comm system. "Lowering cargo ramp now. You guys ready for the express elevator to hell? I don't suggest taking your sweet ass time, and fly as low to the deck as you can Commander. I'd hate to watch you guys get blasted out of the sky before you even get close."

"Let us hope that does not happen Mr. Moreau." Kaldur said to the pilot in agreement, but he had faith in Anderson as he nodded towards the seasoned marine from the seat next to him.

"Hey...you know what I just realized? I could fly this baby back home right now and you couldn't do shit to stop me. Toodles!" Everyone just stared at each other for a moment as the comm link went silent.

Not too surprisingly, Artemis was the first to blow her stack. "Why that weasely little mother-"

A sudden fit of laughter distracted the enraged young archer. "Just kidding. Artemis...let's not use unladylike language shall we? Good luck guys, I'll meet you at the rendezvous coordinates. Bring her out of there alive, and watch your asses while you're at it please. I'd rather not be alone up here more than I have to be. Or be the one who gets to explain all of this at my trial." While he had sounded amused to begin with, Joker was dead serious by the time he stopped speaking and cut the channel.

As soon as they were in the clear once they had broken atmo above Akuze, David had already pushed the shuttle into a steep dive. Even Ashley was beginning to wonder when the hell he'd start pulling up as he dropped them to five thousand meters before rapidly leveling off their descent. By the time they stopped dropping, dust was being kicked up by the terrain skimming craft. "Very impressive flying Commander Anderson." Kaldur nodded his approval, his faith in the man only increasing by the minute. He hadn't been worried in the least, despite having a front row seat to the fast approaching ground until David had pulled them out of their dive.

Dick, on the other hand, was still trying to slow his heart rate as Artemis was nearly breaking his fingers, having grabbed his hand half way down. Ashley grinned next to them as the archer ripped her hand away from Dick's. As he rubbed his sore fingers, he was in mild awe to see that M'gann was meditating and had missed the whole thing. "Having a nice nap M'gann?"

"No, I wasn't napping." M'gann managed a small smile as she opened one eye and looked right at him before explaining what she had been doing. "I was simply meditating. If not for Ashley getting my...worries straightened out, I might not have been able to relax enough to do it. I am glad Richard's presence helped calm you Artemis."

Artemis jerked her gaze away and tried to act like M'gann didn't know what she was talking about while Ashley chuckled at the two love birds before turning her head towards the martian. "Don't mention it kid. As I said, I got your back out there so if you get into trouble, I'll bring the pain."

"I'm flying us less than ten meters over a desert and you four are really starting to annoy me. Some silence would be appreciated." Anderson tried not to smirk as M'gann made a 'locking her mouth and throwing away the key' gesture.

Ashley's eyes lit up at the martian's sense of humor, she hadn't seen any of her sisters do that in years. "I'm pretty sure you're gonna want that back kid." She acted like she had 'caught the key' in question and 'tossed it back', getting a light hearted giggle from M'gann in the process. "I'm sure you 'read it' in my head already, but my three sisters used to do that when they were younger. Looks like we're almost there. Saddle up!"

"Yes ma'am." Dick saluted with every bit of sarcasm he could muster, as Artemis punched him in the arm.

"I want a nice clean deployment, I don't care if you only had an hour to practice it earlier." Putting the shuttle several hundred meters away from the closer of the two beacons, hiding the craft behind a large outcropping of rocks and boulders, David was surprised but impressed as everyone exited the vehicle better than most trained units of marines he had seen in his time. He hadn't expected his practice drills to be picked up so quickly, but he couldn't have been happier as he followed suit before taking the lead.

"Switching to stealth." Richard said as he touched a control pad on his belt and his armor immediately changed its coloring to match the ground they were walking on. He didn't want to drain his power supply by using his cloak too soon. M'gann simply phased out of existence while the rest of the team followed Dick's example. He did have to wonder why anyone would make a colony out here though, but his thought was interrupted when Artemis opened her mouth.

"Much better than walking around in a white and pink giant target, right Ash?" Artemis smirked at the glare she received while slowly moving towards the top of the nearby ridge. With two moons in the sky and a desolate wasteland in front of them, even Kaldur was a little taken aback by how alien this planet was to what they were used to.

"What exactly do you mean by giant? If we weren't on an unauthorized rescue mission, I'd gladly push you off of this ridge blondie." Ashley quickly pulled out her assault rifle as she crawled next to the girl and scoped out the base in front of them. "I count two guards out front, a hangar bay to the far west of the complex. Sniper nests every five hundred feet on the outer wall, but most are empty. Either it's a shift change or they're understaffed. Okay Megan, time for you to work your-" Ashley couldn't help smiling as one of the guards suddenly slumped over and then vanished into thin air. The other one slumped over as if stricken by a seizure before an invisible 'hand' dragged him out of sight as well. "That's my girl."

"If I can have some silence please, it would be much appreciated." Megan replied over the radio before taking a steadying breath and putting her hands on both sides of the guard's head. She was going to regret this later as she forcibly pulled every passcode, every security measure, and anything else they'd need right out of his head. The rush of information almost made the martian faint, but she held onto the hope that Anna would still be alive and pushed the encroaching darkness away before opening the comm line again. "I have access, I'm opening the door now. Give me ten minutes once I'm inside."

Ashley confirmed Megan had taken the guard's place as she saw the same man's armor on the martian as the 'guard' walked out of the place she had taken the real guards for safe keeping. "I got you in my sights Megan, good luck."

"Going silent." Now they just had to wait and pray that nothing went wrong in the meantime.

Psimon's Mental Realm...

"Oh what a shame...not even going to try this time? Jessica and Janice are counting on you to save them." Closing her eyes, all Anna could do at this point was try and block his taunts out as she held her legs tight against her body and shook violently. But the screams, so many endless screams, those she couldn't ignore.

She had tried quite valiantly for a while, she had even surprised Psimon a few times with her resourcefulness, but eventually he had started winning as hopelessness set in for Shepard. "You're beginning to bore me Annabell." Psimon sighed as he slit the throats of Anna's younger twin sisters yet again. It had taken some forceful digging in her brain, but he had found the sure fire way to break her. Visiting Mindoir repeatedly had done the job faster than he thought possible. The downward spiral had truly begun when he had let her get her siblings on a shuttle before it exploded.

"Surely you're willing to help little Jake here." He quickly knelt next to the terrified crying six year old boy. "You want to know a secret Jake, you were always your older sister's favorite." Psimon gently tousled the boy's brown hair, as he suddenly thought of a new angle he hadn't tried before. "Well...if you're just going to sit there shaking in your own filth, I'll just have to entertain myself some other way." With a sigh, he started breaking each of the boy's fingers, all the while grinning at the rage starting to build in Anna's eyes as the boy screamed in pain.

She had tried to fight him before and couldn't get close usually, let alone land a hit even when she did, but that didn't stop her from trying as Anna jumped at Psimon like a wild beast. She simply ended up passing right through him for her trouble, or so she thought until she noticed that her shirt was missing. He was going for this song and dance again. Anna didn't know what was worse, his sick twisted humor as he butchered her family over and over again, or the fact he took the term 'mental rape' to a whole new and twisted level. "You know...I've already enjoyed your 'body' so many times even that has lost its appeal. I think I have a new idea."

The scene reset and they were back at the family farm on the edge of the colony, but Anna wasn't in control of her body anymore, Psimon having hijacked her directly. "I think I'll let you torture yourself for a change by starting with your youngest sibling." Anna watched in horror as 'she' raised a pistol and aimed at her brother. "Ah, ah, ah...I see you trying to aim between his eyes, let's start with the knees shall we?"

Somehow she was able to fight for control of fher mouth just long enough to yell one word to her siblings, even though she knew it'd be useless. "RUN!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt herself pull the trigger multiple times, the ear rattling agony filled screams were the only sound she could hear after that.

"I didn't think you had in in you to resist me at all Annabell. Maybe you have some fight left in you after all?" Psimon's praise fell on deaf ears as Shepard's psyche finally imploded on itself. Having to execute your own siblings against your will would do that to an already mentally exhausted person though. "Or not. That is too bad really, you've been the most fun I've had in ages. Now though...I might as well be torturing a corpse for all the fun you'll be to me. But, let's give it a try! What do you say Annabell?"

The vacant, dead look in Anna's sea green eyes spoke for itself as he let her collapse to the ground in an unceremonious heap. A moment later, the memories followed suit as cracks started to appear in the mental landscape. "I must bid you farewell before I'm lost in the dark with you my dear. Oh...look! You're annoying martian cub has brought friends! Too bad you broke more quickly than I had hoped, you could have had some quality time watching me torture them. And not even a twitch. I told you you wouldn't remember a thing." With an evil smirk on his face, Psimon disappeared from what was left of Annabell Shepard's destroyed mind. She was no good to anyone now, save as a hood ornament perhaps or a toy for the guards.

Back in the real world...

"Hey Daniels, another long shift huh?" M'gann had to stop herself from yelping in surprise as she turned her head and only grunted at the guard she had passed by. "Sheesh, you could at least pretend to be sociable asshole."

Luckily, she had made it a point to steal some of Daniels' memories as well as she stopped on her heel and turned to look at the man. "You want to run that by me again jackass? You do realize I have a bigger boomstick than you right?" Said 'boomstick' was the shotgun she had taken along with the man's armor, although her sidearm was still within easy reach. She was very tempted to use it too from what she had 'seen' inside Daniels' head, but she needed to find Anna before she went on a rampage. Thankfully the man she had threatened backed off before she forgot what she was there for, letting the martian cool off when the hallway became silent once more.

She knew Anna was being held in the 'Special Projects' section of the complex. That was two floors down and the elevator required special access just to get there. She'd pry the doors open by hand if she had to, but that would raise the alarm immediately. She was stunned when the guard at the checkpoint simply waved her through and she stepped in the lift. She knew it wouldn't let her down to the level she wanted, but she needed to disable security anyway for the rest of the team. They'd assault Special Projects together, that was the plan anyway.

The doors quickly opened to Sub Level 1 as she found herself at an intersection. The left led towards the living quarters and the armory for this section of the complex. The path in front of her led to the labs and the specimen holding tanks, where this guard was normally stationed when he wasn't at the front door every other weekend. He wasn't expected back until the morning so she didn't have to go that way. The right however led to this level's control room. She just had to upload Dick's viral software into their network and he would handle the rest. Normally it'd require that a team take all three floors simultaneously but Richard had assured everyone his program would handle the job. All other areas, except the path M'gann wanted to leave open for them, would be sealed off, trapping most of the personnel behind their own security measures and blast doors.

"And I'm telling you 'Chief', your power draw in the lab needs to be dialed down before I come down there and shut your pet project down myself. Do I make myself clear?" The uniformed man in the control room just sighed as M'gann entered. "These fucking egg heads are going to short out our whole power grid. How's it going Daniels?"

"Same shit, different day, James. How's the wife and kids?" James was one of the few people this 'Daniels' actually liked, and he appeared to be one of the few decent people who worked here. If it was possible to call anyone here decent. "Just thought I'd stop in before I got some time in the sack. Working door duty and then taking a shift tonight in the lab is gonna kill me."

"I hear ya buddy. Ever since we got some new alien DNA samples or some shit, the eggheads have been tempting a total system shutdown by running the power grid to its limit day and night with their experiments." Plopping herself down in the chair next to him, M'gann subtly looked around her to make sure one one would see her disable the two men in the room. The other guy was too focused on the systems check he was running to notice anything around him. "Would you believe it if I told you they say it's similar to that old hero from back in the twenty-first the boss supposedly killed? What was his name? He had this nickname, Man of Iron...damn that's not it...Steel! Man of Steel, takes longer to remember shit at my age. Don't get old kid, ain't what it's cracked up to be."

It took every shred of willpower M'gann had not to jump out of her chair, disable both men in the room, and rip the information out of James' mind then and there at the implication that these people had Connor. "I think his name was Superman, had a thing against the guy didn't he?" Her voice remained cordial but if James looked to her hands, he'd notice they were clenched into tight fists on the arms of the chair. If not for the gloves she was wearing, her fingernails would have dug into the skin of her hands by then.

"Superman! Yeah that's it, thanks buddy. Yup, Luthor always had this grudge against him. Stupid if you ask me, the guy did a lot of good, for a lot of people. Don't let anybody know, but I sometimes wonder why The Man himself would hire a guy like that in the first place. Hell, I wonder why he'd even let that freak downstairs live in that jar 'he' has to himself, but there's no way I'd challenge that fuckstick. I've seen some pretty scary shit, but nothing compares to what that guy is now, let alone what he does to people that cross him." He had seen more than one guard become a drooling vegetable when that 'thing' was done with them. Anyone that was dragged into Special Projects never came out under their own steam.

"I'll keep that in mind, now, dream about your family." M'gann had already stood from her chair, and even behind the helmet's visor, a pale green light could be seen as she started to knock the man out.

"Huh?" James' head hit his desk console before he even realized anything was wrong. The technician only had time to look confused at his snoring commander before he too was unconscious. If not for James talking her down without realizing it, both men would have wound up dead instead, a thought that scared M'gann now that she wasn't seeing red anymore as she put her hands on the edge of the console and took a moment to calm down. Several deep breaths later and she was at least able to continue on the mission as she pulled out the data drive and inserted it into the console in front of her. Pulling up the holographic keyboard, M'gann's fingers flew over the keys as she set up the remote access to Dick's omni-tool.

"I'm in. Connecting you to their local network now. Download complete, the virus is installed. You now have admin access Nightwing." She didn't have to see the little artwork he had attached to the virus on every monitor to know they had succeeded with the first phase of the plan. Dick's programming made that abundantly clear in spades as Nightwing's new symbol appeared across the complex's entire computer network.

"This is Nightwing, copy that Miss M, the Light Brigade is coming to you. We'll meet you at Sector Gamma in five." Sector Gamma ment the front lobby, just as planned. Sometimes simple worked best and was the last thing an enemy expected you to do. "Watch your head in there, the troops will no doubt be on high alert now that we've seized control of their network."

"Copy Nightwing, and I have confirmation Psimon is here. If you see him, do not engage." Her warning had been more for David and Ashley than her friends since they had dealt with the psychotic psychic many times before. Only M'gann stood any chance against him, which made her a valuable asset more than ever now.

"Roger that Miss M., going comm silent." Kaldur knew that Richard was having second thoughts with leaving M'gann alone in there with him, but he surprised him when Nightwing stood and nodded to David to lead the assault. He was only letting the marine lead because of his years of experience in full on combat in this reality, that much the Atlantean could tell from the determined look on his friend's face as they fell in behind Anderson a moment later.

M'gann dashed back towards the elevator, only to see her path blocked by two armed men. Unfortunately for them, M'gann knew from Daniels' memories that the duo had a habit of going behind their commander's back and enjoying themselves with any of Psimon's still breathing female leftovers. She ripped the helmet off of her enraged face so they could see their doom coming for them as she sent a telekinetic pulse into their midst, hard enough to leave considerable sized dents in the metallic walls. Before either man could even start to fall, she blasted them again on her way by, smashing the life out of them for good. As much as she wanted to turn them into red smears, she knew she had to get up to the first floor in a hurry.

"Did you guys feel the ground shake just now?" Artemis asked as she stumbled slightly at the sudden shift under her armored boots.

"Keep moving! Nightwing, left! Aqualad, right! Artemis, you're with me. Corporal, cover the rear." David shouted, wanting every angle covered as they stormed the front lobby. There were six guards that had gotten trapped, two of which were on a second floor balcony, when the doors had sealed themselves shut.

They didn't have time to react as one of their members took an arrow right through his transparent faceplate before his partner bit the dust when that same arrow exploded. Aqualad took an extra moment to hit his first target squarely in the heart, causing the man to die almost instantaneously as he pulled his sword free only to form another one in his other hand as he ducked the stun rod wielder that had been next to the first. Blocking an overhead swipe only to turn the weapon around in his hand, Kaldur disarmed the soldier and removed his head a split second later.

David and Ashley hit the two on the balcony simultaneously as the men's shields failed from sustained fire and fell to the lobby below. Richard hadn't been idle as he cloaked and ran for the elevator, making sure his virus held as he ran a check on its progress. "Looks good folks. Thanks for clearing the room by the way." The doors opened a moment later and he was glad to see M'gann, even if he wasn't going to ask about the blood on her armor. They knew what they would most likely have to do today, but he had hoped M'gann would have avoided her first kill a little longer.

"Everyone in now! Sub Level two if you would, Nightwing." Anderson had already raced over and held the door as the others filled the small compartment seconds later. "I take it this Psimon is bad news? Since all of you obviously know more about him than we do, this is your show. The Corporal and I will cover you four."

"I have to fight him on his plane, but if he hasn't let his powers go to waste, he'll be a lot stronger than we're used to. I'll need all the help I can get, and as much as I'd suggest you just shoot him while I keep him busy, a suggestion he'd likely and happily try against me, I don't know what he might be doing to Anna so I can't risk him dying too quickly."

"When you pit two psychics against each other, destroying their physical bodies destroys their minds since one can't live without the other. If you kill Psimon and he's linked with anyone else, you'll kill them as well." Richard was quick to explain to the two marines.

"So if you see someone aiming at Psimon, stop them before they can pull the trigger until we say otherwise. Knowing him as well as we do, he would rather take as many people down with him as he can if he can't escape and he knows he's about to be defeated." Kaldur added as the doors opened to another set of hallways. Unfortunately, Dick's virus hadn't sealed this place down as the sound of boots could be heard quickly approaching their position, and that wasn't the only problem.

It became quickly apparent that Psimon was aware of their presence as his 'voice' echoed in their minds. "Come to play with me I see. Welcome to my humble abode dear guests. It has been such a long time hasn't it? The boy who thinks himself the hero, the fish that thinks himself honorable while his father's a traitor to the king he serves, the annoying little martian outcast who pretends she's human, and the archer who denies what she really is. What's this? You're not of this reality? Oh today has just gotten so much better!"

"What the hell?! I'm not the only one hearing this right?!" Ashley said as Richard threw several knockout gas pellets down the hallway. That would take care of the guards at least as they foolishly ran into the main corridor only to realize too late that they had fallen into Nightwing's trap.

"Oh...what have we here? Another Shepard? No...you're the famous David Anderson, 'hero' of the First Contact War. Your darling wife couldn't handle being all alone could she? Did she at least wait until after you failed as a Spectre candidate before finding another man, oh sorry, that was an asari she found. I wonder how many times she had 'embraced eternity' before she sent you the divorce papers?"

Anderson's grip on his assault rifle got noticeably tighter as he did his best to block out the most unwelcome mental intrusion. "You just hope I don't get to you first Psimon, especially if you've done anything to my daughter."

"Too late for that Anderson. The better question is, what haven't I done? And if it isn't the infamous Ashley Williams. I look forward to stripping you of every dignity, Ashley. What's this?! Virgin eh? Well I will fix that for you dear. Tell me, did your grandfather scream like a stuck pig when the turians captured him and his men when he surrendered Shanxi?"

There were still more men to worry about, but Ashley shot a Concussive Round into their midst when she rounded a corner before hosing them down with her rifle. "You know, I am really looking forward to putting you down like the dog you are Psimon. No one insults my family and gets away with it." She had never wanted to kill someone as badly as she wanted to kill this Psimon freak.

"Good! The more fight you put up, the more I'll enjoy breaking you. Though I doubt you'll be half as strong as Annabell...she was the strongest person I've ever had the sheer pleasure of totally destroying. She screamed you know, as I made her execute her own family during the events of Mindoir. I'm sure you'll be proud to know she also screamed for each of you to help her as I did...well let's just say ungentlemanly things to her. Or should I say, all of you did. Repeatedly."

He had posed as them...he had posed as them and made Anna think that her own friends had hurt her in whatever twisted methods Psimon could come up with. When the words sunk in, the door in front of them didn't get a chance to open as M'gann blasted it off of its track, her eyes glowing the brightest green any of her friends had ever seen. The very air around her seemed to distort from the power that was radiating off of her, fueled by her explosive rage. Despite his own shock and rage at hearing what Psimon had done to his daughter, David didn't have to be told to stay clear of the martian as she led the way deeper into the bottom floor of the complex.

Richard was about to reach for a batarang when a cloaked enemy appeared in front of M'gann, but the trooper didn't get a chance to pull her sword as she was lifted off of the ground and was quickly compressed into a soccer ball sized mess of armor, blood, and bone. "You're next Psimon." M'gann growled in the back of her throat, knowing he had 'seen' the whole thing.

"I'm impressed child! I didn't think you had such fire in your mind! It feels good doesn't it, to simply let go and use your natural gifts to their fullest. If you weren't so obsessed with petty morality, I could teach you so much. You truly remind me of my younger days-"

"I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" The telekinetic shockwave that came out of her was enough to warp and twist the hallway as doors came crashing off of their tracks and the walls buckled and splintered. Several startled screams could be heard as more troops were also torn apart in the process. "And I will never be like you." By this point, even her close friends were shocked at the sheer rage radiating off the young woman. Artemis tried to touch her shoulder, but one flash of the martian's glowing eyes showed her that was not going to be happening anytime soon.

"How do you think I got my start 'Miss Martian?' The path to Hell is paved with good intentions, and my intentions were the purest. Until I was ridiculed, revolted, and reviled in every form imaginable. The sad part is, you'll find that out on your own eventually, most likely sooner than you think, if I let you leave here alive that is."

"Don't listen to him M'gann!" David shouted, the only one not terrified of her in her present state. He could still only see the compassionate young woman he had always known since the first day he had met her. "He wouldn't know kindness if it came up and bit him in the ass! He hurt Annabell, and he intends to do the same to us if given the chance." His words weren't just for her as he looked over his shoulder towards those that should have been standing beside her instead of twenty feet back like damn cowards.

M'gann's distortive effect started to die down as she regained control of herself. She still wanted to tear Psimon apart at his most basic level, but she would do it with a clear mind. Anything less and she'd lose all control over her actions. "You're right. Psimon just wants me distracted so he has a chance of defeating me. I should have known better..."

"No, we should have stuck by your side M'gann." Ashley said as she quickly jogged over to the martian girl. "I told you I had your back, and I intend to keep that promise. Sure you freaked me out with your glowing eye trick, but hey, details. Besides, if I were you right now, this base would probably be a smoking crater." Anderson nodded to his fellow marine since he had just been going say something similar to the girl. Only he realized he would have never been able to contain his rage half as well as the young woman in front of him.

Looking to her closest friends, M'gann had to wipe at her eyes as their fear of her only moments ago started to disappear, giving her their own encouragement after they had caught up with them. Dick paused a moment before speaking up. "I feel like an ass because you have every right to be pissed M'gann. Psimon needs to die, plain and simple. Let's finish this." Bruce might not agree, but as far as he was concerned, Psimon had become far too dangerous to let be a moment longer.

"I'm with Dick on this one M'gann. You just point me in the right direction." Artemis was quick to add in as Kaldur offered one of his customary determined nods. There was only one door left at the end of the hall, and it had somehow escaped being blasted off of its frame. It didn't escape twice as M'gann cleared the way and was the first to set eyes on Anna Shepard.

Physically she only had a few cuts and bruises under the clothing she had been allowed after her capture. It was the completely hollow look in her eyes, those same eyes that conveyed so much more than her words always did, that had M'gann terrified for her. It wasn't until she looked to the back of the room where a clear tank full of liquid was set up, a brain floating within it, did they figure out how Psimon had survived the years. "If I wasn't ready to completely destroy you the same way you killed so many Psimon, I'd almost pity you. I don't feel his presence in her mind anymore. He's all yours David. We'll help Anna."

"You don't have it in you to harm me. Why don't you do us all a favor and turn that gun on yourself?" M'gann had anticipated such a ploy and had already established a mental shield around everyone when she had regained control of herself. Psimon was completely defenseless now, trapped in a mound of gray matter in the physical world. He knew true fear as David raised his rifle and rained down Hell on the tech which sustained him.

Only when his gun overheated did Anderson stop pulling the trigger before walking up to the shattered glass tank and glowered down at the brain, which was all that was left of Psimon. "Mercy?"

"Is for the weak. Isn't that what you believe?" Anderson was tempted to simply smash what was left of Psimon's physical body under his boot, but like M'gann, he didn't feel he was worth the effort any longer. Then he remembered Psimon's cheerful gloating at the delight he had hurting Anna. A cold fury gathered in his heart at the thought that Psimon had used him against his daughter and did who knew what while wearing his face that finally set Anderson off. Raising his pistol at the mass before him, Anderson all but growled in rage. "I'm inclined to agree with you." A desperate mental scream was the last anyone ever heard from Psimon as David pulled the trigger on his sidearm and unloaded on the remains of the psychic enforcer until his pistol overheated. When he was done, there wasn't a piece big enough left to fill a thimble.

"Let's get her off of this table, easy does it." Ashley and Kaldur gently lowered the ragdoll that was currently Anna off of the metal operating table after M'gann snapped the metallic clamps off of her hands and feet. Artemis had found her personal belongings in a corner of the room but was far more concerned with Shepard herself. Those blank eyes would probably haunt the archer to her death bed, but she couldn't focus on that now as she made sure everything was still present and accounted for. When M'gann got her back together, Anna would want it all back. Dick rushed over to the opposite side of the room and grabbed the gurney they must have used to bring Anna there. They quickly transferred her onto it and started towards the elevator.

M'gann had to levitate the bed part of the way due to the damage she had wrought on their way in, but when they got past the debris filled part of the hall, there was still one obstacle in their way. It seemed that most of the remaining guards had managed to override the security system in the meantime. Their commander, who M'gann recognized as James, took one look at the woman on the gurney and felt ready to throw up. Everyone behind him seemed to have a similar line of thought, having either heard the rumors of what went on down on this level or having known someone that was 'terminated' by Psimon. Even with David and those that followed pointing their weapons at them, James lowered his own first.

"Lower your weapons, they're free to go. It's over for us here." Anderson just nodded to the man as they passed each other. M'gann found herself slowing down and looking over her shoulder towards James who beckoned her out the door. "Go on get out of here! Psimon wasn't the only freak Luthor had in the base, and thanks to you our security systems are down." As if on cue, the horrendous sound of tortured metal as it was ripped away from the ceiling somewhere in the maze of passages they had just come out of could be heard. James, even behind the helmet he now wore, looked petrified as his men started to fall back slowly down the same path M'gann and her friends had taken. "Form up into firing teams! We'll buy you some time!"

It was obvious that they wouldn't be alive to wait for the elevator to return, but the men knew they were as good as dead anyway. As they formed up, Anderson lifted Anna off the gurney, pushing it out of the way and handed her over to Kaldur. Then he crammed in the rest of the team, and as many of the men that they could fit into the compartment as possible. "Move, move, move!" James nodded to the man before he snapped off the quick salute, that David returned as the doors started to close. Just as the elevator started to rise, the sound of gunfire could be heard moments before terrified, and then agonized, screams followed. They didn't get halfway up the shaft before the battle below stopped, making everyone wonder what it was that was after them this time.

"Can't this damn thing go any faster?!" Artemis had simply been the first to shout exactly what every single person crammed around her was thinking.

"I didn't think we would be running for our lives, otherwise I'd have made the damn elevator go faster, alright?!" Richard shouted back right before the bottom shook violently as something smashed against the elevator. "Oh that's just whelming!" One of the men they had saved just gave the boy a blank look. "Nevermind."

A few terrifying seconds later, the doors finally opened to the ground floor as Anderson activated his comm. "Joker! Change of plans, get your ass here on the double!"

"Oh crap...best laid plans of mice and marines huh? I'm already en route, ETA two minutes. You can thank your green buddy for giving me a heads up." Anderson could only grin at M'gann as the group ran towards the front exit. Before they got halfway through the lobby however, the elevator floor was ripped open as a partially cybernetic giant hand dug its claws into the floor before pulling the rest of the beast through. It was a tight fit, your average elevator wasn't exactly meant to carry a full sized Yahg. The monster compensated for this by widening the doorway with its augmented strength by ripping great chunks out of the walls on either side. Due to the cybernetic parts it had grafted into its body, it looked to be a far more dangerous opponent than a normal one, and Yahgs weren't the easiest enemies to take down to begin with.

The group had already scattered, not about to give the thing an easy target. One of the men towards the rear of the group wasn't so lucky as he was ripped in half by the enraged alien before he could even get a shot off. "Get outside, move it!" The lobby was too cramped for Anderson's liking as he fired blindly with his rifle, following his own advice. M'gann slowed the Yahg down, but it was too strong and too big to stop completely as she tried to slam it back with pulse after pulse from her mind. Kaldur hadn't hesitated in getting Anna out of the area, having the foresight to put a rebreather over her face before they left the base right ahead of Anderson.

"Joker to Team Insanity, I can see the base and...is that a fucking Yahg?! I guess a base full of armed guards wasn't challenging enough?" The pilot just sighed at the scene before him and proceeded to land at triple the recommended speed.

"JOKER! SHUT UP!" Artemis shouted as she covered Anderson's retreat, her hands a blur as she did her part in slowing the monstrous beast down with arrow after arrow in her tech quiver. Explosions followed electrical surges, but all it did was take out small chunks of its armored hide and flesh and overall pissed it off even more. M'gann wasn't able to keep her attacks going either as she felt exhaustion creeping over her senses until she fell out of the sky, right into Richard's arms who had seen her start to lag behind. Artemis didn't bother to keep firing as she did her best to help him carry the martian out of the danger zone, knowing they wouldn't get far at this rate.

If not for the fact it had to tear the front doors off of the base, the Yahg would have torn Artemis, Richard, and M'gann apart. "Yo crazy people! WE ARE LEAVING!" Joker frantically waved at them from just outside the hatch, before aiming a rifle and firing a short burst at their pursuer as Kaldur carried Anna passed him. The remaining guards, along with Ashley and David weren't far behind him as the two marines helped lay down cover fire as well. Richard had the foresight to drop a detonation charge behind him which the Yahg triggered once it was free of the doors, blasting part of its right hand away, but it still kept coming as it limped towards them and roared in fury.

"The three of them didn't need to be told twice as they made a mad dash for the hatch, with Ashley and David falling in behind them. David instantly noticed that the pilot was still firing to distract the massive wounded alien as he backed towards the airlock and stumbled at the last second. Before the marine could take a step, the beast reached forward to grab the injured man, and suddenly howled in rage as it lost its left hand as well to a pair of glowing blades. A moment later, as it reared back in surprised pain, Kaldur jumped out of the ship and onto its neck and chest. The same glowing blades were plunged into its head as it let out a surprised yelp of fear and fell on its back, Kaldur kneeling on its chest as he removed his swords after riding the Yahg down to the ground. With a flourish of his wrists, Kaldur dispelled his blades before turning his back to the downed creature and made his way back to the Diligence without a word, taking a moment to help Joker back to his feet.

"Damn...that was...really creative, Kaldur. " David just sighed in relief before smirking at the awed look on Ashley's face as she watched the Atlantean pass by just as she grabbed onto Joker before he fell again.

"Not bad for a bunch of kids, huh Corporal? I'll go check on everyone, you help our incredibly lucky/clumsy wise ass pilot here." As David quickly ran aft, Joker flipped him the bird from behind as Ashley carefully helped him over to the pilot seat. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he had more than a few broken bones after taking that hit.

"Haha, clumsy, that's so hilarious...but remind me to never get on Kaldur's bad side. That dude seriously scares the piss out of me now. Thank god he's on our side." Jeff grunted in pain as he sat down, but made no other complaint as he got them the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible.

"Head for the closest medical facilities Joker, we've got wounded. The Commander plans to call an orbital strike on that base as soon as we get through the relay and reconnected to the comm network." Williams had been surprised to find out that Admiral Hackett, of all people, needed to be filled in on their progress.

"Ah yeah, I know. My ass is one of the casualties." The pilot winced as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. Quickly grabbing a few painkillers out of the cockpit first aid kit under his seat, he settled in for the flight. Elysium was only three hours out at top speed once they reached the nearest relay.

"And your neck is about to join it." Artemis growled from the back of the cockpit, she and Richard having needed a moment to catch their breaths after making the run to the ship with M'gann between them. The martian was still out cold, but she was much more worried about Anna than her unconscious friend or any of her own minor injuries for that matter. She swatted the pilot in the back of the head, much lighter than she usually would though. "Nice flying wise ass, we owe you one."

"Hmm...when do you turn eighteen exactly? Just kidding! Not the face!" Joker opened his eyes to see that Artemis's fist had stopped an inch from him as she lowered her arm and glared before starting to carry M'gann back to the crew area.

"You talk like that to her again and I'll be the one breaking your neck. And thanks for pulling our butts out of the fire Jok...still so creepy...Jeff." Richard nodded his thanks as he turned and caught up with the archer, helping her move their unconscious friend.

"I'm surprised she likes you so much Joker." Ashley grinned at the 'Are you kidding me?!' expression on the pilot's face. "Notice how you're not bleeding right now? Trust me, she's only nice to people she gives a damn about. Call it a gut feeling."

"If that's her being 'nice' I'd hate to see what she does when she's pissed. I am never saying a damn word to her again, just to be safe."

"Or you could just be less of an ass around her...hmm, better go with the no talking thing." The corporal gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before heading back as well.

Things were understandably tense inside the ship. David hadn't left Anna's side after they had gotten her tucked away in the small med bay near the back, and until M'gann woke up, there was no real way to tell just how bad the damage was for sure. Richard was no telepath but he would have guessed it was pretty bad in there. She was breathing but that was about it, and Artemis wasn't the only one freaked by the look on Anna's face. It was worse than the laughing gas grin by far, as far as Nightwing was concerned anyway.

Walking towards the small med bay, Kaldur stopped when he saw Richard looking worriedly at the door. "Is it as bad as we feared?" The Atlantean asked as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Jerking his shoulder free of Kaldur's gentle grip, Richard started pacing back and forth the corridor. "Worse. And this waiting is going to drive me nuts. I want to be doing something for her, for David...just sitting here is gonna be the end of me though."

"And how do you think David is feeling right now about this? That is his daughter in there Richard. Don't think for a moment that he wouldn't rather be helping her right now instead of sitting by her bed, unable to do anything." Kaldur rarely showed anger, but when he did, people listened as Richard was listening now as he met his friend's stern gaze. He was right, and Dick knew he was right as he tried to calm down.

A quiet melody reached their ears a moment later as they suddenly realized David had started softly singing to his daughter. Everyone around him tried their best not to be obvious about it as they listened to his gentle voice.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,

When he nothing shines upon,

Then you show your little light,

Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,

Thanks you for your tiny spark,

He could not see which way to go,

If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,

And often through my curtains peep,

For you never shut your eye,

'Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,

Lights the traveller in the dark.

Though I know not what you are,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

How I wonder what you are.

How I wonder what you are."

"If you're going to talk, at least keep your voices down." David grumbled without ever looking back to see that Richard and Kaldur were within earshot. They didn't have to see his face to know that tears were falling from his eyes unchecked.

Artemis sat next to Anderson and rested her head against the wall before closing her eyes. "She's lucky to have a father like you David."

Four Hours Later...

Joker had gotten them to Elysium even faster than his estimated time and the authorities had quickly gotten the crew an emergency transport to the main medical center in the capital. Their prisoners were loaded off in another shuttle, and no one really cared if anyone were to ask where they came from, and the group on the Diligence didn't care where they wound up. Oddly enough, arrest warrants that had been placed on the five of them were rescinded not long after going out. The local marine garrison had taken one look at who was leading them and decided to ignore the warrant anyway, glad at the sudden change from the monotony that had become their lot on the peaceful planet. David could have done without the escort to the hospital though, he and his charges didn't need any extra attention right now.

Any other day, they might have enjoyed the view Elysium offered out the window of Anna's private room, but everyone by Shepard's bed was too concerned with her or their own thoughts at that moment to care. The shuttle ride out to the hospital had been silent as the grave, and things hadn't improved once they had gotten inside and settled. Artemis had her knees pulled up to her chin as she looked down at the floor from the chair she had taken while David had situated himself unsurprisingly by his daughter's bedside again. Dick had gone to get something to eat for M'gann, Artemis, Kaldur, and himself.

"Physically she's fine Commander, some malnourishment and dehydration mostly. It's her brain scans that worry us. I hate to be the one to bring you bad news, but she's in a very deep coma. There is still a little bit of brain activity, but it's so miniscule that it might as well be nonexistent." The elderly woman said as she checked on Anna's vitals, nodding her head at that bit of good news at least.

"It'll be enough." Megan said as she stood up, drawing everyone's gaze to her a moment later. "Thank you Dr. Chakwas." Karin gave the young girl a strange look but didn't comment on what she had said. Chakwas had a feeling that she was better off not knowing what had happened to Lt. Shepard.

"I just wish I could do more for her. Time will tell if she improves or not. Usually if there is no recovery within the first week or two it's unknown how long a coma such as this will last. Many of my colleagues would disagree with me...but I am a firm believer that physical contact and speaking to her may help. Just have one of the nurses comm me if you need anything." The veteran doctor had a sad look in her eyes as she quietly left the room.

"It seems some things never change." Richard said as he walked in, having been listening at the door as he balanced the two heavy trays of food for his friends. "They used to say the same thing back home, and we were part of the 21st century rather than the 22nd. I guess they still haven't found a way to cure a coma." He knew this was not your average coma, but it still felt a little ironic to say it all the same as he handed out the food, starting with Artemis. It didn't take a mind reader to know they wouldn't get any enjoyment out of eating, but they needed to anyway to keep their strength up.

The sound of someone clearing their throat got Richard's attention as he mostly stared at his cold slice of pizza. "You know what I could go for right now? A hamburger. Not vat-grown. An actual honest to god dead cow. With horseradish."

"Fine...I'll be right back." Richard paused for a moment on his way out the door. "Wait...vat-grown? Do I even want to know?"

"Not really." Jeff made a shrugging motion as Dick walked out into the hall, and headed back to the cafeteria. Jeff earned a dirty look from Artemis, but she didn't say anything as she turned back to her food.

"Have you tried to look at her thoughts M'gann?" David asked, his hand already around Anna's own as he ran his thumb across the front of her wrist. The martian shook her head solemnly to his question. "It is probably best you don't until you're ready to go in there. Who knows what you'll find."

"I have to try...she would never give up on any of us, and I'm not about to give up on her." M'gann said, a determined look in her eyes as she gazed down at Shepard from the opposite side of the bed. "I might need help in order to begin fixing all of Psimon's damage. Being inside a shattered mind is extremely dangerous. The best example I can think of that comes close to what we might find left will be chaos. Pure, unfettered, uncontrollable images, sounds, smells, touch; a void with flashes of her life and very soul scattered across an endless landscape. That's the scale."

"How can you even begin to fix that?" Anderson was finally beginning to understand what had truly been done to Anna.

"By hoping there's a tiny spark of Annabell Shepard still in there, somewhere. Deep within the void. As hard as Psimon tried, martians believe that you cannot erase a person completely. The brain is hardwired into remembering everything, it just takes the right spark to tap into the hidden memories."

"I'm going with you." Everyone looked up to see the Richard had returned again as he set a tray down by Joker, and then walked over towards the bed as he gazed down at Anna. "Sorry, no horseradish." Jeff shrugged and was happy to have the hamburger at all.

If she was being honest with herself, Ashley had no idea what M'gann was talking about. That didn't stop her from understanding that the girl needed another volunteer to help. "I promised I'd have your back Megan, and I'm not going to let the fact that I have no idea how to fight the 'enemy' you're facing change that. They didn't exactly cover mental ops in Basic, but that won't stop me from storming the gates with you though."

M'gann wanted to dissuade the marine, but the look in Ashley's eyes brooked no argument. "Ashley...thank you. We can use all the help we can get. Having someone that doesn't know her like we do will keep us on the path at hand. As long as we keep believing that nothing there can hurt us, that it's all just in Anna's mind, whatever she might instinctively throw at us can't harm us. I can't say the same for anything Psimon might have left behind because he was a telepath as well, but we can deal with his tampering. Just as long as we believe we can."

"No one is going anywhere until you eat." David sternly said as he looked up from gazing at Anna to the rest of them. "I have no idea what you're facing, but something tells me low blood sugar and mental combat don't mix. I would jump at the chance to go with you as well...but I know I'm too close to her. You'll need everyone to be objective to survive in there."

"I will do everything that I can to bring her back David, I promise." M'gann all but whispered as she hugged the old marine.

"How come nobody asked if I wanted to volunteer?" Everyone just stared at the corner of the room where Joker was sitting in a large patient seat, and wolfing down the last of his hamburger. "Well don't everyone ask at once."

"Because as much as we enjoy your company glass ass, they need to be serious in the mental Hell a psychopathic psychic has left behind in her brain." Artemis growled as she jerked her head at the pilot. "You seriously wouldn't volunteer if you had any idea what they were heading into." Artemis could already hear in her mind what her father would have had to say if he was there at that moment. Just like you're not baby girl. All that bluster and no backbone.

"How about you get that stick out of your ass Artemis." Joker snapped back, surprising everyone as he all but glared at the equally stunned young woman. "I might not know precisely how screwed we could end up, but I don't give a rat's ass. You need a quick thinker and someone insane enough to do anything to win. I volunteer." Artemis had no snappy comeback ready, no means to counter Joker's willingness to risk his life for someone he barely knew. It made her both happy to know he was brave enough to try when she wasn't and angry at herself for the same reason. I always knew you were weak baby girl.

The four quickly ate what they had left, and drank a sizable amount of water on M'gann's warning that they might be dehydrated by the time she could get them safely back out of Anna's mind. M'gann meditated, preparing her mind for the coming task while Joker quietly talked with Ashley and the spoke up. "You cannot let anyone interrupt us David, no matter what happens. Any distraction on our part can be bad. We might become lost ourselves, or worse, if the connection is broken too suddenly we could very well die." David didn't hesitate as he locked the door right before Richard shorted out the control circuits for good measure. Only a battering ram or a blowtorch could open it now.

Joker was first of the two less experienced volunteers to speak up as Ashley elbowed him gently. "Um...so do we all hold hands and chant or something? How exactly does this work M'gann?"

"Just relax and get comfortable, try to keep your mind on the task at hand." M'gann said as she followed her own advice by pulling up the last remaining chair to the other side of Anna's bed. Resting her right hand on her forehead, M'gann's eyes started to glow a soft green. Joker, Ashley, and Richard felt a gentle but insistent pull on their psyches before they fell into what looked like a deep sleep a moment later.

"For the record, if this takes us a long ass time and you guys have to resort to cannibalism...eat Artemis first." He hadn't caught onto the fact that the transition had already been made until he started looking around. "Who turned out the lights? Um guys? Guys? Please tell me I'm not stuck in the ass end of Shepard's brain already."

"Good thing Artemis didn't hear you Joker; you do know you're completely defenseless in the physical world now right? Oops, maybe we missed telling you that part in the five minute course while we were eating."

The pilot 'jumped' when an ear rattling scream echoed throughout the dark void around him and Ashley, who suddenly appeared next to him. The fact that it sounded eerily like Shepard was not lost on Joker. A large creature of some sort seemed to be approaching them out of the blackness, and as it got closer, it got bigger, and bigger, and bigger. "What the hell is that? You seeing this Williams? Williams?"

"Get out of there idiot!" Ashley shouted, having already 'jumped' elsewhere at the first sign of trouble, unsure whatever was coming at Joker was one of the harmless things M'gann had told them about, or one of Psimon's.

"Not real, not real, not real, not real! Oh...SHIT!" Joker was 'ran over' by the thresher maw, but other than give him an eerie sensation across his astral form, he was as far as he could tell, in one piece as he 'passed through' the creature from head to tail. Blinking stupidly a couple times as he checked himself over, Joker's shocked expression turned into a triumphant if relieved grin. "I totally knew that thing wasn't real, this is gonna be a piece of cake! Why so serious Williams?" Ashley just gaped at that particularly insane event she had just witnessed before quickly composing herself.

"I see you already figured out the difference Joker." M"gann and Richard having joined them a moment later, floating over to the two. "Did you get the maw's licence plate while you were passing through its ass?"

"Sorry Dick, I missed it." Joker put on his best scowl as the boy grinned at him in amusement. "Any luck finding some good news in this dump? It reminds me of my academy dorm room, minus the thresher maws. The random screaming in the dark is familiar though...shutting up."

"So where should we get started ma'am err Megan? Sorry force of habit." Ashley at least resisted the urge to stand at attention in front of the martian, otherwise M'gann might have blushed as she shrugged the formality off.

"If it helps you to focus, then call me what you have to Ashley. If you need any gear or equipment, just imagine it and it should form around you or in your hands." M'gann demonstrated by closing her eyes and concentrating as a pistol appeared in her hand, which she tossed to Ashley.

"Mine is bigger than yours Williams." Joker smirked as what could only be described as a BFG appeared in his hands.

"Show off." Ashley grumbled as she 'upgraded' her pistol for her normal assault rifle, going for something more familiar than flashy like some people.

"I see that the two of you understand that lesson, so let's move on. We need to find whatever is left of Anna's psyche before we can begin to help her. Everyone, close your eyes and concentrate on her presence. Ashley, try to imagine her as best you can and think only of us finding her." Everyone had their idea of the woman, and while Ashley had only their stories to work with she had heard on their way to Akuze, she still found it easy to imagine the strong willed woman that had instilled such incredible loyalty in these people around her.

Richard was the one that 'found' her first as he heard a distant call for help. "Did anyone else hear that?! I think...everyone follow me!" He suddenly saw a faint flickering object in the distance as he took some inspiration from one of his mentors and started flying towards it, his right arm extended in front of him. So this is what it felt like for Clark? He looked over his shoulder to see the others copying him and quickly catching up. Joker looked downright ecstatic before he started to frown as they neared the figure Richard had spotted.

"Jesus...what did he do to her?" Ashley had been willing to accept some pretty crazy things in the last twenty four hours, but what was in front of her shouldn't have been alive. The sea green eyes were the only thing recognizable out of the torn and battered form that didn't even resemble a human being at that moment. It resembled someone's sick attempt at playing doctor by sticking random organs, veins, and muscles haphazardly around the whole. A distorted, writhing mound of flesh would have been closer to what they were in front of. "Oh I think I'm gonna be sick. I'm never eating red meat again if we get out of here."

"What the shit?! This is Shepard?!" Joker asked as he reached out to touch the mass of living tissue but Richard slapped his hand down before he get close. "How do you turn someone into this?!"

"By being incredibly twisted. David did the galaxy a favor by putting Psimon down." Richard growled, as he knelt by M'gann's side, getting a closer look. Other than her face, which even then was distorted and twisted into a gruesome parody of its former self, he couldn't tell where one part of her started and the other ended. "Is there anything we can do for her M'gann?"

"This is worse than I expected, but I already promised David I'd help her and I am not about to back out now. There's something I forgot to tell you. My uncle once put us through a mental exercise as a safe way for the team to train in an extremely dangerous situation. Close to a day passed in reality, but we were in there a lot longer. Psimon had grown stronger in some ways and weaker in others, but this level of damage doesn't account for the relatively short time she was missing. I think she was in here for weeks, maybe months. Psimon purposely dragged this out for who knows how long." Ashley let out a long string of curses while everyone else looked stunned at what M'gann had told them.

Things were just getting worse by the second and they hadn't even started. "So you're telling me we could be stuck in here for months?! Cool." Everyone gave the now smiling Joker very odd looks for a moment. If anyone had been paying attention to her, they might have noticed a brief look in Anna's eyes as well, but it would have disappeared far too quickly even if someone had been looking to most likely notice. "What? Oh yeah, it's so odd that the guy with creaky legs actually likes being able to walk around, not to mention actually getting to fly! Okay, happy moment over, let's fix what this bastard did to you friend."

"I'm not able to stretch out our time here nearly that far. Even if I could, I wouldn't. Time dilation is going to be a factor however. An hour outside will be two in here. I'm going to try and stabilize her at least. If anything tries to stop me, take care of it. I have a feeling the moment I make a connection, we'll be swarmed." It wouldn't surprise M'gann in the least if a giant armada appeared in here in an attempt to stop them from helping her.

Seeing armor appear on Ashley, Dick and Joker followed suit. Of course, Joker had to try and top her by going for something that looked like it was right out of a comic book. "What? Is the red and gold too tacky? Does it repulse you? Sorry, that last one was just lame." Dick only shrugged and had an idea of his own. If he wanted to be creative, then two people could play that game.

"I always wanted to try my hand at being a GL. Since I can't get the real deal, here's my chance to imagine it at least." Dick grinned as a green glowing power battery in the form of an old fashion lantern appeared in front of him. A small green ring appeared on his right hand a moment later. "What was the oath? Oh yeah." Holding his closed fist towards the power battery, Dick closed his eyes and lowered his head. "In brightest day, in blackest night. No Evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship Evil's might. Beware my power, Green Lantern's LIGHT!" Upon completion of the Green Lantern oath, Richard had snapped his eyes open and looked up as the battery in front of him burst into radiant green light. His suit changed instantaneously as the power all Green Lanterns carried surged through him, infusing Richard with the ability to put his will into physical form. "Oh yeah, this is so epic!"

"And you just had to go and ruin the moment by geeking out kid." Despite her sarcasm, Ashley had to whistle her approval at the change. "You still have your bat on your chest by the way. Green suits you though. Screw it...time for something less boring." Ashley's armor transformed into a massive hulking set of armor, green as well, but much darker than Richard's with a golden visor on the helmet. Joker had to grin when Ashley held out her hand and a small blue holographic figure appeared there. "Ready to party Cortana?"

"For you Chief Williams, I'm always ready." Ashley just grinned all the wider behind the spartan armor's helmet as she closed her hand around the butt of a familiar looking assualt rifle. A rocket launcher appeared in it's place on her back as she raised the rifle to eye level. "I could so get used to this."

"Just remember, it doesn't matter if you're using a pistol or a toothpick, it's your mental willpower that's important. And just like the real world, the mind can become exhausted if overused. We won't be able to repair the damage overnight, and things are bound to get bad in here before they get better. Are you sure you want to do this?" The solemn nods she received from everyone around her, even the strange hologram, confirmed their willingness to take the chance they might not get out of here if things went south. "Alright, be prepared for anything." Slowly reaching out her hands to what passed for Shepard's head at that moment, M'gann took a steadying breath before quickly reaching out and grabbing hold. Her eyes immediately turned green about the same time something stirred in the void.

"Enemy contacts are closing in! They don't show up on infrared." "Normal rules don't apply in here Cortana, haven't you figured that out yet?" "Well excuse me for being slow on the uptake. You do realize you're talking to yourself right? I'm nothing more than a part of your subscious." "Did I just insult myself?" "Yes. Get ready chief! Switching to alternate sensors." The distinct sound of the motion tracker from the film Aliens filled the air.

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me! Really?! I'm having a serious talk with her subconscious when we're done!" Joker was glad he had picked a more mobile set of armor, at least until he saw that the enemy was coming at them from all six directions. The normal laws of physics didn't apply in this realm, a fact he had already forgotten as he could see hundreds of xenomorphs climbing right up underneath them as well as from above.

"Keep them off of M'gann!" Richard shouted as he led the charge, really regretting his decision to play that prank on Garrus now that he was facing down a literal army of the things. Someone was having a good laugh at his expense he was sure as Dick formed his first construct from his new ring. "Let's see how you like this!" Grabbing hold of the twin curved swords he had created, he made sure his energy shield was up around himself as he closed ranks with the first of the aliens in front of him. He'd rather not find out that these aliens' acid for blood still worked as he sliced one in two right down the middle before removing the head from a second on his way by.

"Time to get some!" Ashley shouted as she mowed down anything that got within fifty meters of M'gann, before pulling the launcher off her back and knocking out a dozen more of the swarming creatures with one shot. "Why the hell am I using this thing?" Ashley tossed the rifle aside completely as a crate of launchers appeared next to her a second later. "Now you're talking."

"Our situation is looking a little...stark...damn, that still sounded lame." Joker grumbled, but he couldn't have had a bigger grin on his face as he grabbed a xeno by the tail and dragged it behind him before using the alien as an improvised club, sending several of its fellows flying into the distance.

"You forgot to play the Who song at the end Joker." Richard said as he fired a concentrated beam of green energy at a group that had gotten a little too close for comfort to M'gann before a giant missile launcher appeared on his back. "Fire in the hole boys!" A dozen construct missiles shot out of the launcher Dick had formed, seeking out anything that was trying to eat them before exploding upon contact. Dozens of xenomorphs fell, giving the team room to breath for a few minutes at least. Unfortunately for Richard, that last attack had cost him as he felt sluggish when the smoke cleared. "That...might have been overdoing it a bit."

"Remember what Megan said Dick, we need to pace ourselves." "Like a good lover." "Shut up Cortana!" It was a shame that Joker and Richard missed the rare opportunity to see Ashley embarrassed as she blushed under her helmet. Her attention was quickly focused on the larger alien approaching them, a Queen. "You know you want to say it Chief." "Stop bothering me Cortana!" "Then say it Chief." Ashley just sighed, and a battle cry roared out of her throat a moment later. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!" "I knew you had it in you." Ashley ignored her as she charged the Queen down, planning to use her augmented strength the Mjolnir armor afforded her as she slammed her shoulder into a xeno that got too close before jumping into the air.

The Queen was a split second too slow as her tail tried to smash into the 'Chief' while she was airborne, and instead wound up with Ashley on her back before her fists started to pummel into the creature's head while her legs clamped down on her sides. "Come on, come on!" No matter how wildly the Queen bucked, Ashley held on as yellow 'blood' flew in all directions as she literally bashed the Queen's brains in with her armored fists. Once she was sufficiently weakened, Ashley made a plasma sword appear in her hands before driving the weapon through the Queen's neck and out the front, severing her head from her body.

Only after the creature had fallen did Ashley notice her armor was full of holes from the same acid that had been flying everywhere. It instantly disappeared around her as did Cortana, leaving Ashley weakened significantly due to her own stupidity. "Damn...shouldn't have gotten lost in the moment."

"Don't worry guys, I got us covered. Also, you chose a friggin plasma sword over a lightsaber...I just can't understand you at all Williams." Joker said as he hovered directly above and a few feet behind M'gann as he fired one repulsor blast after another until too many enemy contacts closed ranks on them. "Great, guess I gotta bring out the big guns. Everybody down!" A bright red beam shot out of each of Joker's armored hands as he swept them over the onrushing horde of enemies. Everything they touched was sliced down in a blink of an eye, their cuts cauterized instantly and thus, there was no fountains of acid to worry about as Joker lost his armor before taking a knee from using his big finish. "I'm finished here guys, let's hope M'gann has some good news."

"I need more time!" M'gann shouted back, making Joker wish he hadn't opened his big mouth immediately.

"Damn...I wanted good news M'gann. Well we're boned. It's been fun guys. Wait a minute...idea! Ashley, remember that book you wouldn't shut up about when I kicked your ass at chess? We need that crazy ass weapon they gave that little kid...Finisher."

"You liked a book about giving children weapons?" Dick looked a little nonplussed by the odd looks Ashley and Joker shot him as he swept his ring's beam over more of the enemies until he too was forced to power down. "Point taken." He said as he figured out how ironic his situation was, let alone his life before this.

"The kid's name was Ender, and he didn't know he was using actual weapons." Both of them just gave her a blank stare as she threw her arms in the air. "Did neither of you ever read any classic sci-fi novels?!" Ashley closed her eyes and a moment later, a large turret looking weapon appeared next to her. "God I hope this works. Fire in the hole!" She quickly hit the big obvious red button she had imagined and an arcing blue energy blast hit a section of the tightly packed enemies a moment later.

"Well that wasn't very whelming at all..." In Richard's opinion, Ashley had made a glorified bug lamp, but he was about to be blown away if the grin on Williams' face was anything to go by.

"Wait for it." As the smug looking marine crossed her arms, Joker just shook his head in disappointment. His eyes snapped up as the energy blast Ashley had fired started to spread throughout the enemy, arcing from one to the next even while it obliterated them. Soon, all they could hear were dying alien screams as the field of destructive energy grew and grew, finally encompassing the entire sphere of aliens around them and then ceasing to be shortly thereafter. "Say hello to the Doctor Device, otherwise known as the MD, the Molecular Disruptor if you want to get technical." Right after she said that, Ashley collapsed to her hands and knees, sweat falling from her forehead in buckets from that last attack. "I got nothing left. This...mental shit is...worse than my days...in Basic."

"We're heading back, so you won't have to worry Ashley." M'gann said as she slowly stood to her feet, also showing clear signs of exhaustion as she wobbled but managed to stay standing before she made her way to her friends. "She might not look like it, but Shepard is a little better than stable now."

Suddenly, the dark void around them changed into a picturesque green field with gently rolling hills and a small farm nearby. The sky was cloudy and looked like it could start raining at any second, but it was a far sight better than what it had been before. Anything would have beaten the endless void it had replaced. "M...gann. Ri...chard. Tha...thank...you." The horrible looking mass managed to say, looking a fair sight better than she had before, but she still had a long way to go before she was ever normal again. "Still...hurts...but better...now." Despite how hard it obviously was for her to speak, she persisted in trying. It looked as if it brought her physical pain to use her mouth, given the way she paused and chose her words, and it hurt just to hear her, let alone to look at how hard she tried to make herself understood.

"It's good to see you Anna." Richard said, near tears at seeing what had been done to her as he knelt beside her, his green lantern outfit disappearing as he gently touched her tear stained face.

"Li...ar." Anna replied, a hint of amusement breaking through as she pulled away from Richard's hand. "I...don't need...a mirror...to know I...look...like shit."

He looked down at the grass, hating seeing her so miserable, but it gave him a reason to keep fighting. A plan was starting to form in Richard's head as he looked up again. "We'll come back Anna. Just hold on a little longer."

"Not going...anywhere." The tiny hint of humor in her eyes gave them more hope than destroying an entire army of mental constructs had. "Sorry for...alien...infest...station...Psi...mon...humor ...for you."

"Ssssshhhh, rest now Anna. You're going to need it." M'gann whispered as she wiped at her own tear stained eyes with her arm. "As long as we don't try to help her further, nothing can hurt her in here. I made sure of that while I was fixing the damage. But we can't stop coming here on a regular basis or my blocks won't hold under the pressure. The more we manage to repair, the longer the breaks we can take. I give this place two days, real time, at best before we have to start from square one."

"Then we go in shifts, for as long as it takes." Richard stated in a tone of voice that no one had it in them to argue with. Besides, he had almost sounded like Anna in a way, making them want to follow him even if he did end up leading them into Hell. "And just so you know, I plan to stay. Don't even think about arguing with me M'gann."

"You...stealing...my thunder...Bird Boy?" Anna asked, getting a sad little smile from Richard as he nodded. "You've...grown up...gotten...so strong. I know...you can...do it."

"Damn right Anna." Dick managed a grin as he looked over his shoulder. "And it's not Bird Boy anymore, it's Nightwing."

M'gann wasn't going to even try, but she did have to warn him of the dangers. "You can rest in this space I've shielded Richard, but leaving this area will expose you to whatever's outside. I'll try to keep an 'open line' to you if things start to fall apart, but don't try to do anything on your own. Also, any memories you see can't be changed, no matter how much you might want to try. You'll just end up tiring yourself otherwise." Richard nodded and was about to say something when M'gann beat him to it. "Try to keep giving Anna hope; talk to her, anything you can do to keep her focused on what we're doing for her and not...what happened."

"I'm...right here...you know. I...can still hear...just fine." None of them remembered later who started laughing first as the teary eyed group said their goodbyes before M'gann pulled Ashley, Joker, and herself out of the area, leaving Anna and Richard behind. Sitting down beside Anna's still heavily distorted and tortured form, Richard laid back in the grass and hoped Anna was right about him having the strength to save her. As if reading his mind for a change, he looked over his shoulder towards the farmhouse and saw who he could only assume were Shepard's siblings, waving cheerfully at him. He couldn't make out any details because they were faded out almost like they were barely there, but her effort wasn't lost on him or her intent for that matter. "You're...not alone...Richard."

Dick was astounded at the fact Anna was trying to comfort him, but a sly grin came over his face a moment later. "That's my line Anna. Who's stealing whose thunder again?"

"Richard? Shut up." She managed a weak smile as the sun broke through the stormy sky. Things were looking up already.

Closing notes; Vergil1989; I think I have a much better respect for the power of the mind after this messed up chapter...

Archer83; I think I have something in my eye...why did I chop onions while we wrote this again?

Vergil; Please, I got teary eyed by the time we finished and I'm able to admit it, unlike some people here.

Archer83; Onions. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. We hope you enjoyed this dark and twisted chapter. I assure you, things WILL get better. Now you know why we skipped ahead to 2182 for chapter 8. No point in torturing you after all, more than we have already anyway.

Vergil; The storm has only arrived, but it will pass. We just have to get through the worst of this before we can see the path again. The 'burning forest' will make an early appearance, minus the star brat of course. In the meantime, please review, favorite, follow, and send us suggestions guys and gals.