"Okay fine we're going by Jimmy's suggestion, but I must warn all of you that except for the chief you're all going to be signing paperwork for safety reasons"

"She's serious by the way guys, you legitimately need to sign this paperwork for your own safety, I had to sign it when she first joined, and by the way Kerenai you and Lane have a retrieval story"

"You mean..."

"Yep, I know that you need this for personal reasons"

"Right, now then, someone start the fire and you'll learn just what needs you to sign paperwork"

The fire is started and then the group as a whole discovers just what Katherine had been keeping secret from them the entire time

"Arranyan shields"

Suddenly they notice that the fire wasn't getting much bigger but they also noticed that the smoke was also still leaving the shield that they could barely detect, however when the sprinklers started they soon found that the fire wasn't going out, that the shield was protecting the pretty small fire

"Okay, time for phase two of the plan, I need to stay here but we still need a hacker for the outside world and unfortunately I'm the best hacker there is"

"Hey I'm pretty sure I could do the hacking"

"Jimmy, no offense, but I could hack the Pentagon, with permission as one of the security testers, by the time I was ten, I was hacking the EDC on a regular basis for security testing by the time I was eight, if you could beat that record than I'm afraid that you can't beat me in hacking skills"

"Which means we need to modify our plans"

"Not too greatly, we will have company in about three minutes if my estimation is correct and these guys are dangerous"

"Okay, maybe if we can do things from here..."

"Nope, sorry chief but I...kinda did a thing with the computers on this level the second day I was officially in the office, I won't get into the specifics of what I did but I essentially made this room hack proof, and when I say hack proof I mean that not only can no one hack these computers but no one can use these computers to hack anyone else either. I did this in case this scenario ever came up so that there was at least one level where our computers couldn't be used against the government"

"Wait, are you saying that you made sure that if something like this happened and you were on this level no matter how much threatening was done no one could hack a computer from this level?"

"Exactly chief"

"Good girl,might want to do that for every computer"

"Wrong again chief, the ability to hack from at least one computer is always going to be a necessity for situations like this"

"Well that's all well and good, but we still need a way to get word to the outside"

"I know...and we're about to have a harder time of doing so"

"We're out of time aren't we?"

"Oh yeah"

"Can you put out the fire by cutting out oxygen?"

"Nope, there are reasons behind that but that will be for another time and even then...we might not be able to hide the evidence anyways depending on the enemy"

The enemy was finally truly visible and Katherine gave a small gulp at seeing who they were up against knowing that things weren't going to end well if even one wrong move was taken, and for the enemy a wrong move could be simply walking around being taken for an aggressive action

"Well, well, well, Katherine Kerenai, we weren't expecting to see you here, I think it's safe to assume you remember the last time we met?"

"I remember, you still have yet to pay for those lives lost and you know it"

"We'll get away again"

"We'll see"

Once the group was in a single room with a guard outside the chief spoke up

"Okay, this is a sound-proof room, what's going on Kerenai?"

(Sighs) "Okay first thing you need to know is that any sudden moves, even if it's just you walking across the room to take care of personal business can be construed as an aggressive act against them, second thing is that while they're not necessarily telepathic they are extremely well versed in reading body language, it comes from the fact that about half of that race tends to be deaf from birth or loses their hearing within the first five years of their lives. They're not necessarily allies but they're also not exactly enemies either, the group that have captured us would be considered terrorists on their home world with a shoot on sight order if deemed necessary and are automatically to be imprisoned if possible"

"How do you know all of this? I mean we know you have powers but..."

(Sighs) "I don't know if even this situation allows me to explain what's behind my knowledge, but once I know I'll let you guys know, in the meantime this means that we're going to have to modify our plans to get word to the outside"

"No kidding, they don't look like they'll let us leave the floor"

"They won't"

"So...what now?"

"That's what's going to be tricky, we need to come up with a new part two"

"And do it without getting ourselves killed"

"Okay...this is going to take time, for now though we need to be careful about any movements that we make so that no one gets killed"

"This is going to make things complicated isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, the fire department would have been called most likely and then shot at too if my guess is correct about what we heard a few moments ago"

"Which means police involvement"

"Not...not necessarily because the department may not have recognized it as being shot at"

"Great, we definitely need a new plan"

Everyone thought and then Katherine spoke up

"I think I got it, but it's going to take very careful timing and a bit of slight of hand due to the fact that the hacking plan is now unable to be handled"

"Hey I think I could hack if given access to a computer on another floor"

"Again I don't think so, but for a very different reason this time"

"What reason could that be?"

"The enemy won't let us access computers, period, my original reasons still stand against other enemies though but for this situation it's because we won't have access to the computers"

"Great, so what's the plan for communicating with the outside world?"

"That's what I need help with, I can open the window with the excuse of fresh air but I want a note to slip out as well, but I can't be the one to write the note and the enemy can't see me throw it either, thus the timing and slight of hand in where the note is passed to me discreetly"

"Right, let's try and figure things out"

Fortunately they did manage to enact the plan pretty much flawlessly, Lois of course managed to cover for one of the other workers who had moved just a tiny bit too fast towards the desk for allergy medicine that they legitimately needed (the worker had deliberately forgotten to take his medicine at the correct time when he realized that the building had been taken over by enemy forces and that a distraction might be needed and his severe seasonal allergies were a great distraction in his mind) and the message was sent out the window without any suspicions placed on anyone. Once that was done everyone was put back into the room because while there were no suspicions about a message being sent it was deemed easier to keep everyone in one location unless absolutely necessary and even then only one person at a time was allowed to use the bathroom

"Well?"

"Done, now it's only a matter of time before we find out if we succeeded or not"

"But the message..."

"May not be understood by the police and there's also the possibility that it won't even be taken to the police if a civilian picks it up and thinks it's just a random piece of paper"

"Wait are you saying..."

"That it could potentially be thrown away? I most definitely am"

"That's not going to end well ultimately"

"No kidding, if that happens we're going to have to think of a plan C and further I think"

What Katherine and everyone else at the Planet didn't know at the moment was that the note had been picked up by a firefighter, but not just any firefighter but one that had been raised by parents in the EDC and as such understood the message being sent and therefore actually told his Captain that he needed to visit the EDC base for a couple of hours for security reasons that he couldn't get into at the moment

"Three hours mister, that's all I can give you with you being so mysterious, good thing the department developed procedures for such things though or you wouldn't be able to leave for that long"

"No kidding"

The firefighter goes to the base and demands to see the commanding officer of the base and is granted his request due to the fact that the base knew he wouldn't be acting like this without very good reason

"What's wrong?"

"We've got a problem"

"Oh?"

"Yes, a very serious problem, and that problem is this"

The firefighter slams the note that was crumpled down on the desk and as soon as the base commander read the message they sucked in their breath and then nodded

"Right, you give us what information you have and then get back to work, I know you're on a time limit in regards to being gone from your post"

"Right, so here's what I know so far about the situation"

And so the firefighter explained everything he knew about the situation so far and then the base commander made the only decision they could

"Right, we're taking over the situation"

Once the EDC arrived Katherine received an alert through a very unique means. Back when she had been in England for almost a year for safety reasons her family had realized that Katherine needed to know when EDC officers were on scene at a crises where she was at but for whatever reason couldn't really act against and with her help she was implanted with a unique tracker where her family could find her location in an instant if they needed to but the tracker would also warm up for a few moments as a signal that there were EDC officers ready to take action where she couldn't. When her right shoulder heated up for a brief moment she knew that the situation was almost over with and they were about to be rescued

"Right, this ordeal is about to be over with, there's going to be a lot of activity in a few moments so I need everyone to remain calm and in this room, it's the safest option"

"How do you know this?"

"That's...related to what I am unsure if I can reveal or not"

Three hours later and everyone was at the EDC base being debriefed, and Katherine had a private phone call where it was decided that her job needed to know who had raised her since it had been discovered that the criminals had deliberately targeted the Daily Planet because of her working there

"Right, I'll let them know then, oh and if Superman comes by the base tell him...tell him that Clark Kent is now allowed to know the same thing as Superman regarding Kerenai's family"

Katherine gets off the phone and goes outside since she was using the Chief's office for privacy

"Okay everyone, you have paperwork to sign naturally but I have been given permission to tell you guys everything regarding today"

"Wait when you say everything do you mean?..."

"Yes Chief, I am cleared to reveal my entire self"

And so once the paperwork had been signed Katherine revealed everything about herself, from her powers to the fact that the Cybertronians had raised her from a baby

"Wait, so that's why you knew so much about the enemy"

"Yes, we've met them before, like I said the people today were rogues even on their own planet, generally we're not allies but we're not enemies either with that race, we're actually still developing our formal relationship with them in all honesty even after five years of talks with them"

"Five years?"

"Yep, sometimes these things take that long, or longer depending on several factors"

"So...why is your past sealed anyways? I mean besides the obvious risk you are at for abduction"

(Sighs) "I'm afraid that it's pretty complicated, part of it was the abduction risk, even normal EDC kids have a higher risk of being abducted than regular kids in high ranking situations because we are the linchpins of our families and unfortunately my family who is willing to risk everything to safely get the child back, part of it is what happened today, generally speaking people are safer if they don't know my background simply because of the fact that depending on their occupation they aren't that heavily involved with the EDC or me, there are also other reasons behind my past being sealed that I am not comfortable explaining to you guys at the moment primarily because we're still getting used to each other, and even once I am here longer I may never be comfortable explaining the other factors being my records being sealed, we'll just have to take things as they go"

"Understood Kerenai, now that we're aware of your family you can call them openly and speak openly about what you are discussing unless it must be classified within EDC circles"

"And I am very glad about that, by the way I am going to be leaving soon for EDC business"

"Oh?"

"Jazz, we're retrieving him soon alongside the Justice League and I want to be there"

"Granted you deserve that right"

"Indeed, I think only the Cybertronians would trump her right to be there"

"Not...exactly, if I was only known to them through my parents that may possibly be the case but...that might not be the case depending on if they had still changed their chain of command even with my parents alive, we just don't know"

"Basically various factors affect how much of a right you would have to be there"

"Exactly, being their adoptive daughter I have every right to be there, but if I hadn't been...well then my family would definitely trump me in being there for the recovery"

"In any case, you have a week beyond the date of his recovery for this"

"Sir..."

"No Kerenai, there's a reason beyond them being family that I am giving you this time"

"Sir?"

"There are...reports from people higher up than me that many reporters from around the world are beginning to experiment with extra leave after something major to their family or their country happens, seeing if taking longer helps the healing process any or not in regards to how they handle similar situations in the future, they never push things too far but I want your input for here, thus the reason you're being given a week once Jazz has been recovered despite how long it's been since his loss already"

A day later and the team had finally arrived at the last known location of Jazz, it would take another three days before his remains were found, surprisingly intact despite the explosion but definitely deceased (as far as everyone knew anyways)

"We've found him at last"

"Yes...would you like Supergirl and I to...to take his remains to the nearest EDC base?"

"No...no we want him taken to the watchtower first"

"What for Galvatron?"

"Easy Kathy, while the rescue mission may have failed, I know for a fact that not every member of the League mission that tried to rescue our members is here, but that they are on the watchtower, they deserve the chance to say goodbye and apologize in private before a public funeral is held"

"That is...agreeable, we'll make the necessary arrangements to get him there safely and then take him home once the time comes"

And so Jazz was taken to the watchtower and Katherine came up as herself, something that was very rare for a League member, however Katherine was unique because of her status as the adoptive child of the Cybertronians, it had been decided that if something happened in her League identity that required her family to be on the watchtower she could decide if she would see them in the watchtower as her normal self or as her League identity, this time everyone knew that it would be Katherine herself and not Power Woman who would be at the tower, even if she wasn't necessarily saying her goodbyes yet she needed time to actually mourn and not be stoic as was expected of her

"Could someone put me on Jazz's chest? I always felt closest and their aura best there, according to my family that's how they calmed me down almost every time when I was a baby"

"Of course Kerenai"

Shaeyera grabbed Katherine by the arms and then gently put her on Jazz's chest near where they knew the spark had been, once on the chest Katherine layed herself down flat with one ear down as if she would be able to hear the spark beating again

"Oh Jazz, you'll be missed"

She starts crying soon after and the League gives her the time she needs for her tears to dry out because she also shouted herself hoarse which they knew was part of the grieving process. Finally though they knew it was time to take Jazz's body to Earth and that meant that Katherine had to be taken off of his chest first and Superman was the one to volunteer for that duty