chapter 12!

disclaimer: i do not own Young Justice or any DC comics characters

rated T for violence, minor language, and some sensuality

enjoy and R&R


Gotham Academy, Connecticut, September 22, 2011, 8:30 am...

Artemis struggled to pull the the bottom of her uniform skirt down. "Artemis?"

She glanced to her right. A tall, dark auburn-haired, Latina girl with blue eyes approached her, smiling kindly. "Artemis Crock, right? I'm Roxanne Vega, your new student liaison, but you can call me Roxy. Welcome to Gotham Academy."

"Oh, I'm Artemis," she laughed nervously. "But you knew that...heh."

A handsome boy with blue eyes walked over and quickly hugged Artemis, "We'll laugh about this someday."

He snapped a picture. Artemis grunted from the flash, blinking until she could see clearly again only to find the boy gone. "Uh, who was that?"

Roxy ceased her glaring at the walkway, turning to Artemis with a half-smile, "Just a freshman. Ignore him. I do. Let's go. I'll give you a tour."

Mount Justice, September 22, 2011, 6:43 pm...

Jeline dug a wrench out out of the tool box and held it out. She yelped in surprise as Conner took her in his arms, leaning her against the bike. Jeline smiled and kissed him, placing her hands around the back of his neck. The alien sphere beeped, rolling around to them. Conner got up, pulling Jeline to her feet with him, "Huh, someone's jealous."

"Maybe," Jeline glanced at Conner with concern. "But-"

Wally munched loudly on his sandwich, walking up the steps, "You two sure do spend a lot of time on that bike. Obviously, you need to Wall-man's expert help."

"Yes, cause you're skills are so legendary," Jeline teased, patting the alien sphere.

"They sure are, babe," Wally winked at her, walking around the sphere to the bike.

He got to work, still munching on his sandwich, "Hey, could you get me the torch wrench?"

Jeline fished out the tool and tossed it to him. "Thanks, babe."

"Shut up, Wally."

Kaldur walked over, clearing his throat to catch their attention, "I have been meaning to ask...any problems juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"

"No," Conner replied.

"Never had any struggle," Jeline shrugged.

"What about your choir stuff?" Wally raised a brow.

"The concert's not till spring, Wally. Besides, I'm still the top singer so no matter what I have a guaranteed spot," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Say, isn't Megan still at school?"

"Was at school!" Megan corrected, flying into the hanger in her civilian form."Don't worry, Aqualad. My loyalty is always to this team."

Wall peeked from the top of the bike, "Juggling is just one of my many talents. Socket wrench!"

Megan telekinetically grabbed a wrench from the toolbox. Wally snatched it up and winked at her, "Thanks, green cheeks."

"Artemis starts school today. Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?" Kaldur asked.

"Nah, she'll manage all right," Wally reassured him, standing up. "I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can you get-!"

Suddenly the right hanger exploded then the water rose up, splashing down on the team. Megan and Kaldur flew towards the entrance to the rest of the Cave to escape the heat with Jeline behind them. Conner and Wally dove into the water, engaging an unknown figure. Jeline stopped at the top of the stairs, "Guys, stop!"

"Why?" Megan glanced back at her when a red, female android blasted them with flames.

The flames circled Kaldur and Megan, forming a cage of flame around them. Jeline got to her feet, her body steaming as her wounds healed. She yelled, charging the monster. A woman ducked around from behind the android, grabbing Jeline's head. Jeline went rigid as she fell unconscious the floor, hearing the fading sounds of explosions and splashing.

Souvenir room...

Jeanne stood in front of the shelves, staring unblinkingly at the Helmet of Fate. She stepped closer, hesitating before reaching out to the golden thing. Jeanne cried out as she felt a searing hot pain in her mind. She clutched her head, feeling a strong presence trying to force her unconscious. No! Jeanne mentally built up a wall to the attacker, shielding her mind. She slowly got to her feet, feeling the blood trickle down one nostril, "Who...?"

She heard the clanking of footsteps, similar to Red Tornado but not swift like he was wearing a cape. Jeanne quickly ran into the hallway, heading for the library. When she reached it, she locked the doors and turned the back lights off. She slipped behind the stairs, curling up as she tried to calm herself, okay...we got robot invaders and one of them can attack telepaths? This is bad. But...it's not a telepath. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, its like someone was trying to turn my powers off...this isn't good...if they can cancel out powers then...! She cocked her ear up, hearing faint whispers of new minds. Is that...Robin and Artemis! Then they'll be okay! They don't have powers, they can't be-

She braced herself against the stairs as the Cave rumbled from explosions. Robin's distractions. Silly boy will destroy this Cave. And he calls himself Batman's protege. Ha. She stopped; hearing the thoughts grow louder above her. She got up and ran behind the bookshelves, making sure in case it was a trick. She heard the soft thuds as Robin then Artemis fell onto the balcony, running down the stairs. "There's a secret passage behind one of the books cases."

"Seriously?" Artemis groaned, running after him. "Cliche much?"

"You should see the Bat Cave."

Robin flinched as a pair of hands reached out from behind him; Artemis drew an arrow as Robin turned around, ready to toss a batarang. He stopped, recognizing the owner of the hands, "Jeanne?"

Jeanne held a finger to her lips, "They're here."

"What? Who's here?" Artemis demanded.

Robin tilted his head, hearing faint footsteps. He pulled Artemis behind him, crouching. Jeanne closed her eyes, I can't hear any thoughts. Inorganic.

Robin exchanged glances with Artemis, Inorganic? Then...could it be-

"Artemis. Robin."

"It's Red Tornado!" Artemis ran out to meet him.

A red android with three arrows pointing down on his chest reached out to her. Robin tackled her, rolling under the table, "Yes to the red, no to the tornado. Jeanne!"

They ran towards the exit as the female red android appeared, her fingers igniting with flame. Jeanne ran out in front of Robin and Artemis, holding her hand up. She strained, struggling to hold by the flames telekinetically. "Find the way out!"

Robin noticed the sprinklers turning on, "Let go! Jeanne, let go!"

"Can't!" she brought up her other hand, still struggling.

Robin gritted his teeth as the Red Tornado look alike began manipulating the water. Robin hooked his arm around Jeanne's waist and hopped up on top of the book cases, Artemis hopping after him. Robin dropped down to the wall and set Jeanne down, pulling down a red book, revealing the hidden passage. The female android knocked one book case over, causing a domino effect. Artemis dove after Robin and Jeanne, the hidden passage closing just as the books toppled over. Robin took the lead, holding Jeanne's hand as he ran through the hallway while Artemis followed, "Did you know Red Tornado had...siblings?"

"No," Robin replied, reached a T intersection.

"Wait," Artemis gestured for him to stop. "So what now? Red Tornado's one of the power houses of the League. How are we supposed to take out two of him?"

"They do seem pretty user unfriendly," Robin smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't joke!"

"Jeanne, are you getting anything from the others?" Robin asked. "Can you hear them?"

Jeanne opened her eyes, having uncovered her ears, "Well, aside from Artemis's panicked mind and your calm one...yes, I can hear them."

"Are they okay?" Artemis demanded.

Jeanne concentrated, her eyes glowing a faint golden color, "I...they're alive, but...I think they're trapped."

"What do you mean trapped?"

"It's hard to say. There's something-someone blocking my sight. I'm only getting fuzzy images. I...I think they have someone who can turn superpowers off," Jeanne's glowing eyes faded.

"Someone who can turn superpowers off? Do you know how insane that sounds?" Artemis raised her voice. "I mean, to even-"

The intercom beeped, catching their attention, "Attention Robin. Attention Artemis. You have ten minutes to surrender your telepath or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished."

Hanger...

Kaldur held an unconscious Megan in his hands as the red female android's eyes glowed red, intensifying the heat of the flame prison. Conner and Wally struggled against the melted metal that bound them to the ground. The male red android rose from the water, rising the waves up to Conner and Wally's chest, "Nine minutes and forty-eight seconds."

"Hey, we don't need a countdown!" a woman in a black dress complained. She knelt over Jeline, her hands hovering over the heroine's head. Jeline stared into space, her eyes faded as if she were dead. The female android glanced at the woman, "And you promised us an easy victory and capture of the young telepath."

"I can't affect people with no powers and I need to keep this one down. She's the most dangerous of all," the woman wiped a drip of sweat on her shoulder. "My ability to manipulate memory is like a giant bubble around me, however, if I concentrate, I can render their minds nearly unusable. That's what I did with this one here. I simply...what am I doing? Talking to a robot."

The female android glanced away, focusing her heat on the cage while the woman went back to concentrating on Jeline. The male android's eyes glowed red, raising the water level on Conner and Wally. The woman raised her head, "The telepath is close."

Her eyes glowed green as she reached out to Jeanne, aiming to turn her power off.

Secret passage...

"We need to move," Robin grabbed Jeanne's hand, leading her down the hall with Artemis. "We can access the hanger from here."

"Wait," Jeanne wiggled out of Robin's grip and turned around. She yelled as she used her telekinesis to hold the large wave of water back. She screamed, struggling as the pressure pushed her back. Jeanne suddenly cried out in pain and the water over took them as she clutched her head. Robin grabbed a mouth breather and gave one to Artemis before taking a big breath of oxygen. Robin kept the air in his mouth; he swam to Jeanne and pressed his lips to hers, blowing the oxygen into her mouth.

Artemis yelped as the male android grabbed her ankle. Jeanne broke away from Robin and aimed the loose arrows at the android, stabbing him in the eye. Robin activated several explosive batarangs as he grabbed Artemis and Jeanne wrapped her arms around him; he shot a batarang at the far wall and clicked the reel-in of the rope. The batarangs exploded, blowing the android back.

Hanger...

The woman jolted her head up, "They're here!"

The female android glanced to the water as the three heroes emerged, gasping for air. Wally noticed them first, "Look out!"

Jeanne waved her arm, pushing the fireball away. Robin and Artemis swam towards Wally and Conner. "You guys all right?"

"Help Jeline!" they shouted in unison. Wally exchanged shocked glances with Conner then glanced back at Robin, "And Megan!"

"Aqualad! Are they okay?" Artemis shouted.

"Not for long," the woman in the black dress glared down at them, her eyes glowing green.

Jeanne shouted as she burst out of the water, flying up into the air as she pushed the flames back. The male android caught Jeanne in a water sphere, giving the female android a chance to attack Robin and Artemis who swam away to the stairs near where the alien sphere was stuck in the wall. Jeanne screamed in triumph as she released a wave of telekinetic energy, blasting the water away. She flew around, seeing the woman still holding Jeline prisoner. She glanced directly down, watching as Artemis and Robin faced the two androids. Artemis shot a explosive arrow at the female and Robin threw two batarangs at the male which bounced off harmlessly, one embedding itself near Wally's head. Jeanne flew down, grabbing their collars as she dove into the water. She kept hold of them, flying through the water until they reached a water tunnel. Jeanne narrowed her eyes and the bars split open, allowing them passage. Jeanne brought up through another tunnel, reaching another tunnel. "Ah! Ah!"

Artemis scrambled out of her hold, clawing her way onto the tunnel. Robin allowed Jeanne to bring him up into the tunnel, giving them time to rest. "You can fly?"

"No," Jeanne tried to catch her breath, unfazed by Artemis's paranoid tone. "Telekinesis. I use it to levitate me. It's different from flying."

"But who was that woman?"

"I don't know. I couldn't read her mind."

"But-!

"Six minutes," the male android's voice announced.

Artemis groaned in frustration, "What do we do now?"

"We save them. That's how it works," Robin stated, glancing at Jeanne. See if you can reach any of them without tipping that woman off.

On it, Jeanne closed her eyes.

"Well, maybe that's how its supposed to work!" Artemis frowned at him. "But those robots and that freaky lady already took our five super-powered friends!"

"You seem distraught," Robin smirked.

"Distraught! Jeline is dead, Kaldur and M'gann are already on their way, we no powers and a inexperienced telepath who they want to kidnap, and I'm down to my last arrow," she pulled out her last explosive arrow. "Of course I'm distraught!"

"Well get traught or get dead!" Robin snapped.

Artemis put her arrow away, "How can you be so calm?"

"Practice. I've been doing this since I was nine," Robin grabbed Jeanne's arm. "Come on, we gotta keep moving."

"Why? What chance do we got against unrelenting machines?" Artemis demanded as the they started crawling.

"Oh, duh!" Robin stopped, smiling at Jeanne. "They're machines! And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range."

"Great! Except you better have a EMP emitter in your utility belt because I know I don't have one in my quiver," Artemis scolded him.

"I'm fresh out, but I'm betting we can make one," Robin turned his smile back to Jeanne. "Reach anyone?"

Jeanne opened her eyes, "Yeah, Wally."

"Patch me in."

KF? Robin narrowed his eyes.

Oh, hey, Rob. How's the saving us thing going? Wally teased.

Working on it. Say...think we can make a EMP emitter to short-circuit the robots?

Totally!

"Five minutes," the android announced.

You know...if we had more time.

Med Lab...

Robin pushed the panel open and crawled out. He glanced around, "Which one?"

Jeanne ran her fingers through her hair, "X-ray machine."

"Wait, how do you know which one to use?" Artemis asked.

"I can see the picture in Wally's mind."

"That can't be too bright."

"Actually, he's mind isn't that bad. Quite peaceful," she replied as they followed Robin to the X-ray machine.

Robin took off the panel to the generator of the machine, following Jeanne's instructions. "You'll find a small vacuum tube called a vercator that converges high energy pulses. Reprogram the microwave conversions from x-rays to EMPs with the cascading vector directed outwards."

Robin pulled the battery out, "A ripple effect...like dropping a stone in a pond."

"A stone with a ten to the twelfth power wattage," Jeanne blinked a moment. "Uh, sorry. Wally was speaking through me for a second."

Robin brought up his computer, "So I'll need to hook it up to the Cave's main generator."

"Yeah."

"Which is where?" Artemis asked.

Hanger...

"Four minutes."

Robin opened the panel to a tunnel above the generator. Jeanne and Artemis swiftly followed. Robin peered down, seeking the robots and the woman still by Jeline and the fiery cage. He nodded to Jeanne and she closed her eyes, Make with the distraction.

"Hey, Red Tomato!" Wally shouted, catching the robots attention. "Who's your girlfriend? Red Onion?"

"Yeah," Conner agreed. "And by the way, worst death trap ever! We can escape anytime we want!"

The female android glanced at the woman. She shrugged, "I can't tell if they're lying. Ignore them, they're probably just messing with you-"

"Like hell, lady!" Wally laughed. "I can vibrate my molecules outta here before your binary brains can count to two!"

Robin whispered to Jeanne, "Don't use your powers. Artemis, cover me."

He swung towards the generator as Artemis drew her last arrow. Jeanne sunk to her knees, watching intently as Conner kept with the distractions, "You can't drown a Krpytonian. We don't breathe air!"

Wally laughed forcefully, "And Warbird! I can't believe you're buying her act!"

"Yeah! Her sister is a telepath! She can shield her mind from you!"

"Oh, shut up!" the woman barked at them. "Her mind is dead and I'm keeping her that way!"

"Are you sure?" Conner smirked up at her.

Robin hooked the battery to the generator and synced his computer, "Rerouting power. It's not working. The circuit's incomplete. I need something conductible. A piece of metal or-"

"ROBIN, LOOK OUT!" Jeanne jolted to her feet as a wall of water rose above Robin.

Jeanne prepared to use her powers when the woman's eyes glowed green. She screamed as her mind whirled with memories. Artemis aimed an arrow when the female android threw a fireball, making her loose aim. Jeanne stumbled around, "Artemis, run!"

"No, it's you they-AH!" she ran father back to avoid another fireball.

"Go now-!" Jeanne's head snapped back like someone flicked her in the forehead. Blood oozed down her nose as she fell over the edge; the male android rode the waves up, catching Jeanne in his arms. He rose up higher, peering down the tunnel to find Artemis gone. He turned around and rode the water back down to his sister android, laying Jeanne down beside her sister.

The woman glanced up at him, "Where's the bird?"

He raised his hand, bringing a drowned Robin up in a column of water. The woman studied Robin as the android dropped him next to the sisters, "Yup, he's out. Good job. We got the telepath, the Amazo-girl, and now all we need is the Helmet."

"We still need the other to surrender," the female android reminded.

"True. She's still a threat," the woman agreed, placing her hand over Jeanne's head.

"Three minutes," the male android announced. "One minute..."

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened. Artemis walked out, holding her bow upside down in both hands, "I surrender. Stop the countdown."

"See? Was that so hard?" the woman smirked as the red androids walked over to her.

The male android held his hand out. Artemis held her bow up, hesitating for a moment. Then she hopped up on his hand, kicking his face up. The female android raised her palm to blast the blond archer, but Artemis stepped on her face, using the robot as leverage to flip backwards. She grabbed her simple arrow and quickly fired it at the generator, embedding it under the EMP battery. The battery crackled to life, unleashing a large wave of EMP power. The androids crumpled as power left their robotic bodies. "NO!" the woman shouted.

Artemis yelled as she slammed the blunt side of her bow against the woman's head, knocking her out instantly. Immediately, the fiery cage wisped out of life and the water fell back to it's normal level. Wally gasped in relief from the fresh air in his lungs. Artemis crawled over to Jeanne, shaking her shoulder, "Hey, hey! Jeanne, wake up!"

"AH!" Jeanne jolted up, nearly smacking her head on Artemis's.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Jeanne!" Conner called. "How is Jeline?"

"Is Megan okay?" Wally asked.

Kaldur sat up, wiping the sweat off his brow, "...she breathes."

"But Jeline! How is she?" Conner demanded.

Jeanne immediately placed her hand on Jeline's forehead, resting her mind, "She'll be fine. Her brain was overloaded. Kaldur, are you all right. Your injuries...?"

"I...I will recover," Kaldur sat up, shaking Megan awake. "What of Robin?"

Artemis crawled over to him, her hands hovering over his motionless body. Robin coughed, sputtering water out of his mouth. Artemis beamed with relief, "He's breathing, too!"

"Watch out!" Jeline jolted up, reaching her hand out. "Don't-! Huh? What-where-who-"

"Jeline, calm down," Jeanne placed her hand on her sister's forehead, calming her mind. "It's okay. We're safe."

A little later...

Kaldur stood with Megan, helping her walk as Jeline set the female android down next to the male one and the unconscious woman. She joined the team by Wally and Conner. Robin finished his explanation for nearly drowning, "Figured my only shot was to 'surrender'. Pretend to drown before I actually did. Blacked out, though."

"Jeline," Conner reached his hand out.

She took his hand, smiling at him, "Don't worry. I'm fine."

"I was a little worried," Jeanne furred her brows. "Your mind did go blank. At least that's what I got before she knocked me out."

Robin shrugged, "Guess I blacked out before then. And who is she anyway?"

"I have no idea," Jeanne glanced at the woman. "But she has this...'bubble' around her. It turns off superpowers. And she can manipulate memories. She's difficult to read too."

"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked.

"She has this dirty gray aura around her. All of her."

"What aura? I don't see anything?" Conner glanced at the woman, seeing nothing around her.

"Conner, Jeanne can read the aura of someone's aura. Its purely soul-related," Jeline explained.

Robin glanced at Jeanne, "You can read auras?"

"No, I can see them. It took me awhile before I actually figured out what they meant," she corrected. Jeanne blinked, seeing the blue colors swirl around Robin's form. She glanced at the others, catching all the colors that swirled over everyone that fit their personalities. Except for Artemis. She narrowed her eyes in concern; dark blue and green colors swirled around the girl, jutting out from her heart. "Your aura displays the truth. That's why I'm better than a polygraph test."

"Really?" Artemis absently messed with a heat ray gun.

Wally frowned at her, "Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?"

"It's not working, genius," Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. "EMP shuts down all machines, remember?"

"All machines present at the time."

Red Tornado flew down from one of the tunnels. "What has occurred?"

"Had a little visit from your family," Robin explained.

"Your extremely nasty family!" Artemis added.

"I wasn't aware I had relations," he replied.

"Where have you been?" Jeanne frowned at him, disliking the lack of an aura around the robot.

"Monitor duty on the Watchtower," he marched over to the other androids. "When it became clear that Cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate. But your Zeta tubes were also nonfunctional. So I teleported to Providence and came here. Who is this woman?"

"Don't know," Jeline replied, still holding Conner's hand. "But she can turn superpowers off."

"Strange."

The alien sphere beeped as it broke out of the wall, landing beside Jeline. "Hey, boy."

Artemis yelped as she accidentally set off her heat ray gun. Wally and Robin gasped in unison, "The pulse has worn off!"

Jeanne turned to Tornado as he reached out to the female android, "Red Tornado, don't-"

A red spark of electricity passed between them. Red Tornado summed a tornado around his legs and turned towards the team, creating two funnels around his arms. Kaldur dropped Megan, feeling the air escape from his lungs. The others did the same, passing out from lack of air.

...

Jeline gasped as air forced its way back in to her mouth. She coughed as someone helped her to her feet. "She's okay."

Jeline opened her eyes; Nova and Jeanne stood over her, eyes full of concern. Nova helped her to her feet; Jeline glanced around. Kaldur stood with Aquaman, Robin with Batman, Artemis with Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter held his still unconscious niece in his arms. Black Canary stood by Flash and Captain Atom who worked on cutting through the metal to free Wally and Conner. Superman walked over to them, "What happened here?"

"Red Tornado," Jeline wheezed slightly. "He and his...wait, where are they?"

"They're gone," Black Canary explained. "But they left this one here."

The woman sat on her knees, bound with some mechanical cuffs, a electric collar, and a special blind fold. Jeanne walked over, "Is her powers disabled?"

"Yes. Check her for information," Black Canary ordered.

"Go ahead. You won't get anything out of me," the woman smirked. "And if you wanted to know my name, all you had to do was ask?"

"What's your name?" Jeanne asked, kneeling down in front of her.

"Heidi Adel."

"Never heard of you."

Heidi smirked, "After the next ten minutes...you're gonna wish you hadn't."

"What?"

She rolled her jaw and held a green looking tooth on the edge of her tongue. Jeanne narrowed her eyes, "It's a locator! She has a tracker on her!"

The other heroes stared for a moment in confusion when the wall exploded. Jeanne used her telekinesis, creating a shield around them all. Her face fell as a figure stepped out of the smoke, "You."

"Yeah," Penny stepped into view. "Me."

She wore a blue, long-sleeved one-piece with a big S symbol on her chest, red knee-high boots, and a red scarf flowing loosely around her neck. Her blue eyes shone with triumph and hatred, free of a mask as her black hair whipped around in the wind. Nova stepped in front of Jeanne, "Penny...what're you doing?"

"What do you think, Roxy?" she smirked as she blasted Nova with heat vision. Nova cried out as she slammed into Superman, sending them both tumbling into the water. Penny cracked her knuckles, "Next?"

Aquaman lunged at her, aiming his punches at her head; Penny brushed his fist aside and kneed him in the gut. She grabbed him by the hair and tossed him at Kaldur, knocking him over. Black Canary took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a Cry. Penny zoomed down to her, poking her in the throat. Canary doubled over in pain, clutching her neck as Green Arrow aimed his bow. Penny grabbed the arrows mid-flight, she tossed two back and the other at Captain Atom, blowing them also into the water. Penny noticed Flash running around behind her as Batman was reaching to one of his many pouches on his utility belt. She slid her leg out, tripping Flash. He yelled as he flipped over her, crashing into Batman. Robin slyly grabbed something from Batman and ran towards Penny, tossing several batarangs. Penny ducked her head, smirking as the Artemis used her bow to deflect the batarangs, "Robin, watch it!"

Penny ran, grabbing Robin's fist and keeping it closed. She slapped him across the cheek, knocking him unconscious. She grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him over her head. Artemis's eyes grew wide and she dropped her bow just in time to catch Robin. Penny dropped to the floor, dodging Manunter's blow just in time. She noticed his intangible shape and she lunged, grabbing Megan. The martian jolted awake, weakly grabbing at Penny's hold. "Stop! Wait-!"

"Turn solid!" Penny ordered.

Martian Manhunter hesitated. Penny raised a brow, "Think I'm bluffing?"

She grabbed Megan's forearm and bent it into a V. Megan screamed in pain as Manhunter solidified, "M'gann, no!"

Penny tossed Megan at her uncle, knocking them both against the wall. Penny smirked turned to face where Jeline stood protectively over Jeanne. "What's this? Protecting your precious little sister? Highly overrated."

"Why are you doing this?" Jeline demanded, absently pushing Jeanne behind Wally and Conner. "What do you want with Jeanne?"

"Jeanne? I don't want Jeanne. I came for her," she pointed to Heidi. "She's more valuable than your sister."

Jeline raised a confused brow, "Then why attack us?"

"Easy. Gotta make myself known," she gestured to the S symbol on her chest. "I had to have a little fun getting this woman back."

"Penny!"

Nova slowly flew out of the water, holding Superman, "You put Krpytonite in the water."

"I sure did. And not just that. I have a feeling Captain Atom's gonna be stuck in time for awhile and the others? Don't even get me started," she smiled, stretching her fingers.

Nova set Superman down on the platform; she got up, clearly unfazed from the Krpytonite. "Stop this childish facade. If you give up now, the League will over look the initial crime-"

Penny threw her head back and laughed, "You've got to be kidding me! You think I'm doing this for attention. Honey, you have no idea. You really don't cause otherwise you'd seen this coming. Am I right...sister?"

Nova narrowed her eyes, "If this is about me being chosen then-"

Penny blasted her again with heat vision, sending her back into the water. Penny lifted her chin, "...now I'm pissed."

Superman groaned, rolling over to his hands and knees. He furred his brows at Penny, "...stop this, Penny. You need to-"

"No," she replied casually and ripped the blindfold off of Heidi along with the collar.

Heidi shook her head, "Oh my, that feels good. Felt like I was being smothered with cotton."

Penny snorted and glanced back at Superman, "I'm going to take this woman. And I'm going to become the hero you could never be. I'll be free of rules and laws...I'll be unstoppable."

"You can't...I won't let you," he rose to his feet. "I'll stop you."

"No, you won't," Penny lunged, grabbing Jeline by the throat.

"JELINE!" Conner shouted in panic, fighting against the metal to no avail.

"Penny, Penny, stop!" Superman held his hands up, gesturing for her calm down.

Jeline choked, receiving no air as Penny kept a good, firm grip on her neck. Penny stared blankly as Superman took a few cautious steps forward, "Penny. Please. Let her go. You know a hostage has no value to you with the situation you're in."

Penny brought her lips to Jeline's ears, "You know, I finally figured out your weakness. You're practically unbeatable...that is unless you're experiencing physical pain. Let's see how you heal from this."

"Penny, no!"

"Jeline!"

Penny tossed her into the air; she curled her fists and dug them into Jeline's ribs on either side. Several snaps of bone echoed through the room; Superman and Conner stared in shock as Jeline fell to the ground, frozen with pain. Penny reached down and torn Heidi's handcuffs in half, freeing her. The Justice League began to rise from the water, surrounding Penny and Heidi as Jeline began to choke from her own blood. Superman prepared to lunge and Heidi's eyes glowed, causing all the superpowered heroes to fall. Batman, Green Arrow, Robin, and Artemis charged, unaffected. "Heidi, get the wannabes, too."

"Yes, ma'am," Heidi joked as she held her hand out. The four heroes cried out as they clutched their heads in pain. "Have fun with those swirling bad memories."

Jeline coughed one final time then went silent, her eyes fading. Penny glanced down at her with disdain, "Time to go."

"You...you can't," Nova got up on her elbows. "You can't...can't use your powers either."

Penny raised a brow and kicked the alien sphere across the room. Heidi giggled, "Sorry, my powers aren't like a 'bubble' like I said. I can manipulate my range any way I want."

"Pe-Penny! Stop, please!" Superman begged, glaring at her. "You don't...you don't have to do this."

"Sorry, Daddy," Penny spat bitterly. "But this world needs a new superhero. And I'm just the right girl to it."

She wrapped her arm around Heidi's waist and flew out at super sonic speed, leaving the heroes to turn to their wounded.


end of chapter 12 (how was it?)

please review :)