Disclaimer: Sky High (2005) and any characters within the movie belong to Disney. Anything from the Superman, Batman or Justice League universes belongs to DC Comics. I own my original characters and my plot. I am not trying to pass any of these characters or copyrighted ideas off as my own and therefore it isn't plagiarism or copyright infringement.

Chapter Ten – The Martian Manhunter

You know that saying that hindsight is always 20/20? Yeah well, I've had enough time to think about my recent decisions to realize that I've been a complete and utter moron. I know funny thing to say about someone possessing super intellect, right? I was just too full of myself, overconfident, and stubborn and I am paying for my ignorance. I've been stuck in my bed for the past week, unable to move and have recovered enough to start writing again.

I'm sure you're wondering what happened when I went to SCUM HQ? Well, I got my ass handed to me on a plate with garnish and a bottle of wine. Bruce wasn't joking about Solomon Grundy and somehow I survived a dance with death incarnate. I've been floating in and out of consciousness for the past week and I haven't had to face Bruce's wrath…yet. I know he's pissed because he gets very quiet when he's mad. Crap, he just walked into my room, maybe I was better off with old Solomon. =(

Helena sighed as she placed the tablet on the nightstand and reluctantly made eye contact with Bruce, "I know. I really screwed up but I-."

"You more than screwed up. You betrayed my trust in you, put yourself in a situation way over your head, and nearly died. I've been too lenient with you and that ends now. You are grounded, you are not allowed out at night, and you cannot go anywhere without myself or an escort." His blue eyes seemed cold and emotionless no wonder he could scare any criminal.

"Grounded? Don't you think I'm a bit old for grounding? I know I messed up, but don't you think weeks in a bed and being in pain enough punishment?" Helena's bruised face grew slightly annoyed.

"You are reckless and until you learn how to control these impulses of yours you will be monitored 24-7. If you sneeze I will know it. By the way, I have backup systems for the surveillance and I saw what you did in the cave. You are banned until further notice, is that clear?"

"Banned? You can't do tha-"slowly sitting up she was cut off mid-sentence by Bruce's loud voice.

"Don't argue with me Helena! I won't lose you like the others-" Stopping, he cleared his throat but she could see his eyes glisten as if tears were about to form, "You almost died at the hands of that cold, heartless monster, remember that the next time you decide to take on a whole league of criminals." Turning to her bedroom door, he stopped with his left hand on the knob, "When you are healed you will have an escort that I can trust."

"Who might that be?" Helena slowly lay back down on the bed, the pain in her back was still strong even with the painkillers.

Opening the door Bruce looked back at her and just as he was to close the door, "Warren."

"What?" Quickly sitting up she grimaced then flopping back on the bed in pain, "Oh God my back!"

*Break*

Can this get any worse? I am in so much pain that the only thing I can do is sleep and I hate staying in one place for more than five minutes but this last week has been murder on me. To top it off I've got a pissed off Bruce on my hands and he's forcing me to submit to his choice in escort and he chooses freakin' Warren! Apparently he thinks it's a good idea even with all that has been happening between us.

One thing that I have been pondering, aside from all the pain, is what happened to me after I was thrown out the window by that giant zombie freak. I just remember seeing out of the corner of my eye dear ol' dad and Superman busting in the door and Sup's big fist hit that bleached out freak. I was bleeding pretty badly, how the hell did I survive? I'm sure something went down before I blacked out and I know I don't have healing abilities or indestructibility so what the hell? Also, why the hell did I hear so many damn cats meowing? I really hate having holes in my memories and gaps in my understanding.

Helena sighed and noticed a visitor which startled her, images soon flooded her mind and memories of seeing him over the past week between her bouts of unconsciousness calmed her a little. "Who are you?"

The green, muscular, bald man in blue tights and blue cap stood there with his arms crossed. Ruby red eyes fixated on her before responding in a deep voice. "I am the Manhunter but you can call me J'onn."

Crossing her arms and looking a bit skeptical, "Are you a friend of Bruce? What are you doing here?"

"I would ask you the same question but I already know the events that led to your current immobile state. I have been called here to oversee your recovery, but I have a feeling you are going to be as stubborn and challenging as your father. Seeing you like this reminds me of the time he was in full head to toe traction. He's a-challenging patient."

Helena smiled at the thought of Bruce being a difficult patient, "I am sure you have hundreds of stories, but answer me this. How long am I going to be in traction?"

"It takes six weeks for bones to heal, so at least that long. As I was saying, the Batman did not like being in a full body cast because he had crime to fight in Gotham. In his downtime he developed an exoskeleton suit that allowed him to fight crime while his bones healed. Since you are a hero in training there is no way we are allowing you to reproduce anything as reckless as that."

"What's broken? It's not my back is it?" Helena knew Bruce had his back broken once by Bane and she hoped not to follow in his footsteps.

"No, your back is not broken but you have a few bruised vertebrae. You also have a eight broken ribs, a bruised tailbone, and a broken ankle. The fact that you are able to talk and have amount of movement you do can only be attributed to your genetic make-up. "

"If you don't mind me asking, but it's obvious you aren't from around here, where did you come from?" Helena looked him over from head to toe.

"You are correct, I am Martian. Thousands of years ago I was transported into this time from Mars as the result of a teleportation ray experiment. When I realized what happened and where I was I knew my normal form would not allow me to move freely so I take on my current appearance. It has taken me some time but I feel as if I am a perfectly normal American, I even love Oreo cookies and baseball." he stared at her as if he was mentally probing her thoughts.

"Okay, so you're a Martian American that loves Oreo cookies and I'm the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. Great, don't we make a fabulous group of friends? Can you explain to me why I remember hearing cats? Did I really hear them or is it a side effect from the pain meds?"

Floating off the ground and hovering near her bed when an Oreo appeared from behind him, he twisted the top off the cookie and licked the white filling, "After flying through the window and hitting the ground you lost consciousness, it was then you were surrounded thirteen cats. I am still not sure exactly how it happened but it appears as if they surrendered their life force to save you. The action had a physiological effect on you as all of your internal bleeding stopped as well as your organ damage. If they had not showed up you would have died. I have been conducting a study of your DNA to try to determine how it happened. Initial results indicate a superior genetic code that may explain some of it."

Helen's green eyes widened and she looked sad, "I killed 13 cats?"

"I just informed you that you may have superior genetics and that is what you gathered from it?" J'onn shook his head condescendingly, "I thought you possessed superior intellect like your father."

Helena glared at J'onn and slowly sat up, "Don't even pretend you know anything about me, okay? Bruce was never in my life and I'm nothing like him so don't compare me to him when you don't even know me. You act as if you can read minds or something."

Narrowing his red eyes J'onn's voice boomed in her head, "The Martian race has always shared thoughts with other beings. I know that you grew up being left alone and responsible for raising your younger brother. This has given you a strong sense of self and independence. Your mother brought home unsavory characters including some of the males you went up against a week ago. Being exposed to the worst specimens of humanity has caused you to develop trust issues when dealing with males. Since your mother left you alone on many occasions, you've also developed abandonment issues. You feel betrayed and have a self-destructive streak which guides your actions, causes you to act recklessly. You are stubborn, overconfident, and blinded by revenge for your mother's incarceration. These are the same character traits you share with your father. However, he has had training and learned to control his lust for revenge learning long ago that revenge only eats away at the soul of the person harboring it." J'onn pulled his mind out of Helena's and ate another Oreo.

"What the hell was that? How did you do that?" Rubbing her temples in discomfort she glared up at him, "What kind of doctor are you?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Technically, I am not a doctor. My superior knowledge of human anatomy gives me the ability to exam, find cause, and repair any injury incurred by an individual."

Helena groaned, "J'onn, you're sounding like a walking computer."

J'onn picked up another Oreo cookie and offered it to her, "Do you want one?" Helen shook her head 'no.' "That is too bad because I find these are perfect for calming thoughts. I do not know why maybe it is the sugar."

Frustrated Helena abruptly extended her right arm. "Fine, if I accept one of your damn cookies but you answer a question, why is Warren with that twit Melissa?"

"Your reaction in not warranted but I will concede to your request," Floating the cookie over to her J'onn twisted the one in his hand. "If you must know, it is not too difficult to understand Warren and his motives. He developed feelings for you but your current hormonal condition forced you to keep him at arm's length." J'onn opened another Oreo before continuing, "That night when you and Warren made skin to skin contact he saw what you were planning and your unwillingness to ask for help However, after informing your father he decided to continue his mission with Melissa."

"What mission with Melissa?" Helena grimaced in pain as she grabbed her left side.

"The only reason he is with Melissa is so he could find out what she knows and gather information about her mother. He was hoping to explain that to you soon, but things as they are it did not allow him the opportunity. Did you not notice his eyes turn red whenever they were together? He was reading her every time they came into contact." J'onn replied.

"All this time and that were his motives?" she whispered to herself.

His eyes narrowed again, "Eat the cookie Helena, I think you need the sugar right now. Was there anything else you wanted to know before I leave? You know I have a life outside of caring for ungrateful teens."

Helena thought for a moment, "I remember what happened right before I was thrown through the window. Can you tell me what happened after?"

J'onn's eyes sparkled as they glowed brightly, "How about I show you?"

Helena stared into his red eyes and suddenly found herself back at SCUM's HQ. Helena stood in the sky next to J'onn overlooking the building and was watching the events of that night. The room appeared dark through the windows and to her left the door into the room slowly open. Helena saw herself quickly creep into the room and then hide behind the loveseat as the three SCUM members came in.

"Hey that's me! I look damn hot in that outfit, my butt looks good in those-"

"This is not why we are here Helena, be quiet and watch." J'onn interrupted her as he pointed to the window. Helena huffed as she crossed her arms and watch the scene play out before them.

Helena watched her discovery by Mind Molder and then the smoke bombs, her kicking and punching each member before hiding in the smoke. To the right she saw a large dark shape come to the office door and rip it off its hinges. Solomon Grundy roared as he attacked her, blow for blow, "Damn he's a big monster, did you see that? My baton broke on his thick head and it didn't faze him!"

"Quiet!" J'onn commanded.

Helena's heart began to race as Solomon Grundy grabbed her by the neck and smashed her into the wall repeatedly. Then from the left a blue, red, and black streak smashed into the room. Superman smashed his left hand into Solomon Grundy's face which caused him to spin and throw Helena out the window to the alley below. Helena watched as Batman took all three SCUM members at once and quickly knocked each out. She could see Superman repeatedly punching Solomon Grundy until he fell through the back wall unconscious

Helena looked down at her bloody body when out of the bushes came 13 cats which formed a circle around her. Each cat glowed with a white light that into her body until nothing remained. Each animal then slowly lay down and purred until they died. Looking back to the window she could see Bruce and Superman lean out as they looked at her body. J'onn stood above her body then looked at Bruce. "J'onn take her back to my place, I have equipment that can help you with stabilizing her. We will clean up this mess," Bruce's voice echoed in the alley. J'onn lifted her off the ground and flew in the direction of Wayne manor.

Within a blink of an eye Helena was back in her bed with J'onn eating another Oreo cookie, "So now you know what I mean when I mentioned the cats."

"Why did they glow like that? Did I steal their souls or something?" Helena had tears form as she felt horrible at the thought she caused the death of innocent animals.

"I do not know, but the feeling I got from them was they were happy to do it so you could live. I think we have answered enough questions, you need your rest. Sleep and I will be back soon to check on you."

"But I'm not tired-"Helena fell asleep instantly as J'onn sunk into the floor.

This is The Hubby, I changed a few things around but the feel should be the same. Of course review, review. review! Next chapter 11!