Dear Genetic Donors,

I'm leaving. I can't do this. I'm going to take the test and graduate early and get out of here before I forget what I'm doing. This just became my senior year. They'll object of course because I'm only sixteen and I'll have to remind them that age isn't a technical requirement for graduation, all you need is the intellect. Age is more of a 'best practice' and it's not like I'm going to have trouble with the test. I just need to go.

It started off innocently enough, Jay phoned me up out of the blue and asked if I'd be his prom date. Just as friends of course, apparently his girlfriend just dumped him, the dance was in a week and he couldn't bear to go alone. We email sometimes so it's not like we never talk and on a whim I said yes, that's the kind of person I have to be at school now and it bled over. I didn't think it through until I'd committed - he was expecting Sarah Donnell. I hadn't been her in years. I hadn't wanted to be. But it was too late to back out, I just, I just couldn't bring myself to disappoint Jay. He's been miles away yes, but at this point he's kept in contact longest. I haven't seen him face to face in years, how sad is that? And his girlfriend dumped him a week before prom, I mean come on that's harsh, any decent person wouldn't back out on him too. And I can still be a decent person sometimes. I don't know, I guess I told myself it would all be okay. Wrong-o… see right there. I said wrong-o, I don't say wrong-o. That's exactly why I've got to go.

I actually got permission from the 'home', hopped on a train and headed over. Jay said he'd come pick me up which I guess was sort of sweet but I shot him down, it's impractical for him to waste time like that. Jay met me at the station, it took me a minute to pick him out of the crowd. He's got that same shaggy mop of red hair but beside that he looks pretty different. I guess I do to; he didn't seem to pick me out either but six years will do a lot. I've lost the glasses and well 'filled-out' I guess. Jay looks 18 now; he's taller than I am, actually has a little muscle and although I will never say so again, is just a little handsome. I wove through the crowd and punched him the arm, his surprise was totally worth the trip. And he went from weird semi-hot Jay to just plain old Jay in a second, wrapping me a hug and telling me a joke to make me laugh. We just hung out for the afternoon, grabbed some ice cream, played at the park like we were 8 again, and Jay took me to some lame old car museum that he was really excited about. It was fun in an old school sort of way, Jay was still Jay and for a second I thought that maybe I could still be me.

We went back to his place and I got ready for the 'prom' in the spare bedroom. I don't get nervous but if I did that would have been the moment. Mrs West was still really nice, she gave me one of those suffocating mom hugs that I hadn't gotten in years the second I walked through the door. Then told me 'how grown up I looked' and that 'she couldn't believe I was the same little Sarah'. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I wasn't, not really. I flipped into this bright blue dress that I'd bought the last time my 'friends' had dragged me out to the mall. It was the kind of dress that 8 year old Sarah would have loved, Mrs West came in from where she'd been helping Iris and did my hair up in this half bun thing. I don't know how she did it but I'm thankful, I'm awful with hair. She lent me one of Iris's necklaces and then dragged me out of the room. I laughed as soon as I saw Jay, he was in a suit. I'd never seen him in a suit and the whole idea was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help it. He had shiny shoes and a black tie, he'd even brushed his hair back properly. He pretended to look offended at my laughter but I know he didn't care. Iris and her date were there too, some guy named John – black hair, brown eyes, broad shoulders, big round glasses that didn't really fit his appearance. They both looked classy; Iris had gone for the little black dress. The four of us headed out the door with Mrs. West laughing and taking photos and making us do those cliché poses that are secretly kind of fun. Mr. West apparently had to work, I was okay with that.

It was fun in a corny sort a way. A bunch of us went out for dinner at some fancy joint, Jay insisted on paying which was flattering. I mean I saw Mrs West give him the fifty, but still. Then we went to the dance which was full of low lighting and looked flat out of some cheesy high school romance movie. We posed for those corny photos and hit the dance floor. I will say this, I can dance. I've always had a very intuitive way of knowing where and how to move, practically it comes in handy in fights but it also means that there's no-one better on the dance floor. Jay was pretty good too, he tripped a few times but he's always game and seems to move fast enough to keep up. There were a couple slow songs which could have been awkward but Jay just laughed got down on one knee and asked me to dance in a manner akin to knights of old. He's always keeping me laughing. I just mussed his hair out of that perfectly gelled coif and let him glide me around the dance floor. Iris of course was Prom Queen, some things never change. We finished out the night then Jay got on the train with me to 'keep me safe on my way home'. I wanted to laugh at him; it takes a lot to make me not safe. I've got a mean uppercut. Still it was sweet, we chatted until we reached my station. I gathered up my stuff and then Jay stood up and grabbed my arm. There was this one moment when I thought that he was going to kiss me, but then he paused and just pulled me in a hug. Then the night was over and I was back at the 'home'.

See that's the problem right there. I can't be having a good time, he made me forget everything. The Flash, Rodger, Aaron, Superman, my Mom, my anger, what my last name was, who I was trying to be, Jay made me forget it all. I even kind of wanted him to kiss me. I can't have that. I need to focus. They need to be taught a lesson and I can't forget that I need to do that. I can't see Jay again. I can't have this kind of life. I just can't. I'm going to disappear again, check in on Aaron as always and then peace out. Go somewhere where I can figure things out. Somewhere where I remember, where life makes sense, where I forget those moments when I feel like a Princess.

Sarah

"If I could go and paint the sky or merely change it to suit my eye, I'd make sure the sun and moon could fly, to finally take their place side by side instead of being trapped in eternal goodbye." The JLJ communicator was never silent as Iris felt the need to sing whenever she hit high speeds claiming the beat helped keep her focused. This week's melody had primarily been from the pop band 'Pauper or Princess', still Robin wasn't about to complain. FazeFlash did her job properly and efficiently, he'd allow a quirk or two.

He'd put her on vaccines so he really couldn't complain, Iris hated pus, guts and puke but had gone anyway. About half an hour ago Mister Terrific had come up with a compound to reverse whatever disease was hitting the larger half of Metropolis; Iris was zipping around and injecting it into everyone she could find. It was conducive to her powers, for reasons still unknown when she reached higher speeds she couldn't help but go intangible. Walls mattered little to FazeFlash, she could go anywhere. Jay on the other hand had a different manifestation at high speeds, he let off explosions. Thus he was on unconscious bodies; FlashBomb couldn't be allowed to hit top speeds. It was bad enough when he hit medium high. Unlike Iris's patients Jay's weren't in need of immediate assistance, Jay could take his time and move at a lower speed.

Speedy and Blue Lantern were on tag and bag. It was simple. They spotted a bear, Speedy tranquilized from a distance and BL scooped it up.

Jack grinned and when he'd caught sight of Superboy, "How's the wrangling going Supes?"

He got a glare in return, "why don't we trade?" Jack shook his head and gestured for John to continue as he turned back to his computer analysis.

"Someone's got to figure out what's going on here." Jack said calmly.

Robin had put Superboy on dealing with the snakes. Despite Superman's farm boy childhood John Kent was more like his mother, a born and bred city slicker. He didn't like snakes. However it was the best bet, even the most venomous snake wasn't a threat if their fangs couldn't break the target's skin. Superboy was attempted to corral them all without touching them.

That left Mar'i and Rex. He'd given them the task of dealing with any 'undesirables' that ventured too close to their sector. The League was dealing with the body of the attack. Upon arrival they'd quickly cleared an area then moved on to deal with the more dangerous Annihilators and the accompanying army. The JLJ was holding a central area where the League was dumping any civilians they found. If anything from the large reptiles to the undead soldiers ventured into their perimeter Nightstar and Warhawk threw them back.

He didn't envy the League, he could hear the crashes from here. They needed aggression to fight the army which just made the Annihilators stronger. But at the same time they couldn't relax to stop the machines and let the army run free. It was a lose lose situation.

Aaron dropped down beside him, "Shouldn't you be with Speedy?" Robin asked as he tried to profile where this attack had come from.

"I thought you'd want a better view." Blue Lantern said. Jack raised an eyebrow under mask wondering what Aaron wanted to show him but couldn't say. He nodded. The blue bubble expanded to include Robin and the two rose up to the top spire. Jack tried to look nonchalant, Aaron had only been given the ring a year and a half ago – he still dropped things sometimes. The two boys landed on about five floors up beside Olivia.

"Check it out," she said, "two floors down on your four."

"Count" he breathed holding in the desire to swear. An appearance from 'The Count' was never a good sign, she only showed up when everything was about to go straight to hell. In fact they rarely saw her until she was dumping some civilian that they'd missed into their laps, the fact that they'd spotted her beforehand… she was antsy. For the first time Robin got a good look at her, a solid pair of boots, cargo pants, black long sleeve top, molded gloves, a mask that wrapped all the way around her head leaving only a pony tail hanging out a hole in the back, her fingers tapping an impatient beat on the concrete as she watched the League. He was surprised to note a small quiver of arrows on her back with a bow. He elbowed Speedy, "how many shots would that hold?"

She appraised, "With a bow? Three maybe four. That few won't do her much good, ever seen her shoot?" He shook his head, "me neither." Speedy continued, "It's the cane that gives me the creeps. I mean come on, The Count has a pretentious cane, I bet she's some rich snob out for a joyride."

She'd called it right. The cane was the interesting part and Jack's fingers itched to examine it. It was black with a simple silver cap on the top but so far he'd seen it shoot blinding light, black powder, a grappling line and projectiles. It also contained at least one knife. He wondered if she'd designed it herself or obtained it elsewhere

Their attention was diverted when Wonder Woman and Hercules crashed into the base of a building just outside the JLJ's boundary. There was clearly the sound of a slugfest inside. In moments the majority of the League and their opponents were fighting in the area, all apparently following the center of the battle. Nightstar made an executive decision from wherever she was watching from, "We're going in."

Although Nightstar was the leader Robin called tactics, "Faze, Bomb, finish up asap and join us at the northeast edge. Everyone else stay tight, stick to formation delta and for Pete's sake nobody and nothing approaches Hercules or the Annihilators. If one comes towards you run, that's an order people. We're not losing anyone today." The team moved out and Robin spared one glance backwards, Count hadn't moved.

Batman didn't believe in luck, but if he did today would be the day he believed that his was bad. After four hours the League, the reserves and the JLJ had finally contained the attack, the battle was over. Batman stalked through the group knowing that his was just beginning. There was still no why, no reason as to why this had happened and there was only one person capable of telling him, Hercules. Never mind that what he really wanted to do was look for the daughter he was finally allowed to contact, he forced himself to focus. She'd still be around in twenty four hours.

As Batman moved through the crowd he took inventory. No-one had died and he hadn't heard of any life threatening injuries although injuries from bruises to bones abounded. There was just one clump of opponents holding out on the first floor of a building, he was concerned about that. It was one of the buildings that Diana and Hercules had gone barreling through, it couldn't have been structurally sound. Although he was confident J'onn and his team could handle it, Batman altered his course in that direction knowing it never hurt to check.

It was a tall building, at least ten stories, Batman walked up to find J'onn and Superman standing at its base, a team of six heroes with them surrounding the building.

Superman acknowledged Batman, "We're waiting for them to come out on their own, the building looks a little shaky. Plus annihilator, it doesn't make sense to go barging in."

"Is there anyone inside?" Batman asked diligently.

J'onn shook his head, "I sense no life inside but those we are waiting to flush out. However," the Martian paused, "the annihilator has been known to throw off my telepathy."

"Lead paint," Superman added, "but this building was cleared hours ago Batman. I don't think we should send a league member into that building without proof. I mean if J'onn doesn't sense anyone…"

Batman nodded sharply, "It's fine." He turned on his heel and headed off to where his wife had Hercules tied up in her lasso, both looked disheveled and exhausted. Diana was sitting on a piece of rubble her hand loosely holding the rope, Hercules was making no attempt to escape as he sat slumped on the ground beside her. Batman's eyes flashed over her, "Let me pop that shoulder back in."

She looked up, "It's fine, really, I'll just do it myself."

He didn't give her the option; she didn't look fit to pick up a pebble. Moving behind her Batman gave her shoulder a slight twist and hit with the heel of his hand, Diana groaned then sighed, "Thanks."

He nodded and turned to the demi-god huffing on the ground, "Explain." He rumbled.

Hercules looked up, "I owed a debt, my debt has now been paid in full. Although I regret the necessity of my actions Hercules always honors a debt."

Batman looked down at the demi-god, "To whom did you owe the debt."

Hercules winced and said, "To a goddess who has hidden beneath herself." Batman looked to press him further, "I can say no more Man of Bats," Hercules continued, "I gave my word to the goddess, even the lasso of truth cannot pry it from my tongue."

"Why here, why this?" Batman pressed on.

Hercules met the cowled eyes, "I regret to inform you this entire afternoon has been but a distraction, indeed by now it is broaching on too late."

The building collapsed. Its rumbling was almost drowning out by the scrambling of heroes as they tried to minimize the damage, to get their former opponents clear and to keep rubble from falling on anyone. Flashs moved, Lanterns built walls, the chaos was organized.

The rubble settled, the building was decimated, the heroes began congratulating each other on a job well done. Then J'onn's voice settled in the original seven's heads, "Superman you need to move the large pac man shaped boulder now. John keep the debris from filling in the space." His mental voice sounded urgent.

Superman moved to do as requested even as he mentally asked, "What's the problem J'onn."

"The annihilator did block my telepathy from properly scanning the building," J'onn explained as Superman began to lift the rock, "there are two people trapped underneath."

All seven members paled growing quiet in the mass of celebrating heroes. Superman gingerly lifted the rock, trying not to crush anything beneath it. His sensitive hearing picked up a cough from beneath the rocks just before a laser sliced the air beneath him.

Count crawled from the rubble cane first, dragging a thirtyish year old woman behind her. Superman moved to help her and had the woman thrust at him, "Here," the girl said, "try not to screw up next time." She cradled an obviously bleeding side.

She observed the scene before her. Despite the general dislike of the Count, Superman was still Superman, "Here let's get you both down and someone can look at that side."

"No." Count said smoothly, "I'm fine thankyou."

"Let us help you," Superman said, "we're all heroes here."

She dragged herself to her feet, "I'm not," she leaned heavily on the cane, "I'm just here until you stop needing me."

Batman's voice blasted through the cowl, "Tell her I insist, she needs medical attention Kent and I need to have a word with this Count. She's rescued individuals that we've missed far too often for it to be a coincidence."

Count quirked her head like she'd heard and slammed her cane against the ground, disappearing in a blinding blaze of light that even Superman couldn't track.

"Guys," Dick's voice cut through the feed, "Diana, you need to come see this now."

"Not now," Batman snapped.

Nightwing gave the tone back, "Yes now, unless a half dead goddess stumbling out of the sky doesn't merit attention." There was a mumble in the background then Dick's voice returned, "My apologies, the goddess Artemis on behalf of Athena who needs to talk to Princess Diana and her husband now because of course," Nightwing's voice was dry, "the fate of the world depends on it."

And here we go, things are going to start happening in the real world just as our letters start getting vague. After all Sarah doesn't know who is going to be getting these things so she's not going to say too much! Also good new I'm back into a routine so we shouldn't be dealing with this infrequent update crap that I'm going to subtly apologize for without actually saying that I'm apologizing. Thanks for sticking with me!