"I'd know how to fix your heart if you told me how it became broken?"

"How…I'm shielding my mind and my feelings." Vivian gulped. "How did you know my heart is broken?" Luna and Agramon stopped talking and turned to look at Vivian with their chests welling up for her.

"You're heart is broken?! WHO THE HELL DID THAT?! TOADS! I'LL TURN HIS BALLS INTO TOADS!"

"No Luna calm down!" Agramon wrapped her arms and wings around the witch and wrestled to keep her contained.

"Perhaps you should take her back to her room? I think she's had enough excitement for one day." Gaia nodded up to Agramon and reached over the table to hold Vivian's timid little hands. "Don't worry. I've got Mystic X."

"Understood." Eve nodded and carried the hissing and sparking witch out of the canteen. Still surrounded by inappropriate sweets, the two remaining women ignored the melting frosted cock lollies and vagina macaroons. Their conversation was going to be far too serious to be distracted by the suggestive food.

"How did you know-"

"I'm not a telepath, and my empathic abilities are limited to intimacy dearie, but I'm actually a lot older than I look." She winked at Vivian and rubbed her thumbs over her knuckles. "I'm 22 at the moment, but I regenerate in the depths of the earth at the end of my lifecycle to start again. Like a spore, going dormant until I find favourable conditions to germinate."

"…wait…you're immortal?"

"Pretty much. But shhhh, that's one of my greatest secrets." Gaia whispered and winked at Vivian's shocked face. "Now in that time there are things you learn simply by being able to read people. Body language. Behaviour. Tone of voice. Yes dearie, you've locked your thoughts and feelings away, but they leak through in other ways. You've been hurting for a while now lass. Come on. Talk to me."

"I can't." Vivian pulled her hands back and put them on her lap.

"Why not?" Gaia sighed and reached for her, but Vivian stood.

"I can't confide in you Gaia. I can't talk to anyone about how I feel."

"Why not? Why go through this alone?"

"Because-because-I-" Vivian felt the tears welling in her brown eyes and she gulped down a sob. "Because even though I know you wouldn't tell anyone if I asked you not to, you might still give away everything we talked about…unintentionally…"

"Oh I see." Gaia sat back and frowned. "You mean you don't want the Martian Manhunter to know how you're feeling and thinking, so you dare not tell me. Because he might look into my mind and learn everything you're scared of him finding out?" Vivian held her elbows and nodded. "It's not healthy to bottle everything up lass. It sounds to me like you need to tell him how you feel."

"That's the problem…" Vivian started to walk away from the table, with Gaia hot on her heels. "…he already knows how I feel…he just doesn't care."

"Mystic X? How do you know he doesn't-" Vivian turned on her heels in the corridor and looked Gaia right in her eyes. Her pupils bled and her eyes turned completely black.

"Stop." Gaia jerked to a stop. Her face went blank and she stared deep into those fathomless eyes. Even as tears poured from them. "Please Gaia. Please don't ask me about J'onn anymore. It hurts too much." She blinked…and then recognised the look in Gaia's eyes. "Oh shit. N-no I didn't mean-Gaia snap out of it." She grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Gaia? Gaia come round! Damn it, no no no no don't do this." Vivian whimpered and held her friend's green cheeks. "No come out of it. Please don't do this. Shit. If you don't snap out of this I'll need to ask for his help. And then…shit." Mystic X closed her eyes and sniffled. She knew what she had to do. Licking the tears from her lips she looked down and retrieved her pager from her red belt. She paged J'onn.

"Martian Manhunter. This is Mystic X. I need your help. I've put Gaia into a trance and I can't snap her out of it. I'm going to take her to her room. Please meet us there." Her eyes were still pitch black as she put Gaia's arm over her shoulders and staggered with her towards her room. By the time she reached it J'onn was already stood outside of the door. He was stood in his black skin suit with a black X over his chest and his long billowing blue cape hugged his broad shoulders. "J'onn!" She called out to him as she reached him. "I didn't mean to! I-"

"Inside." His voice was stern and he pushed Gaia's door open, waving his hand for them to get inside quickly. "Sit her on the bed." Like a lifeless doll Gaia was easily manipulated to sit on her bed with a slight bounce against the mattress. Vivian ran her hands back through her ginger hair and took a deep breath. "Now tell me everything." J'onn stared down at Gaia with his arms folded. "Leave no detail out."

"…" Vivian cleared her throat and also folded her arms, but out of defence than posture. "…we were talking about something…and I got upset. I told her to stop asking me about it, and…this happened." Vivian shrugged, not willing to look up at the sceptical way J'onn was looking at her.

"…I said to leave no detail out, yet that was possibly the most vague thing you have ever said to me." J'onn's tone was stern, too stern in her opinion. What she didn't realise was he was angry that she'd page him, rather than risk establishing a mental connection with him. She detested him so much? After everything they had shared, she would text him rather than share even the smallest piece of her with him? "Explain."

"We were having a private conversation. I got upset, she pushed, and this happened." Vivian turned to look up at him with eyes of total darkness. "When this has happened before I've had to concentrate, and I could only keep it up for a few seconds at most." Mystic X thrust her finger towards her face, half angry and half scared. "Why the hell won't this stop?!"

"Your powers are now so advanced that this basic skill is effortless for you." J'onn turned to look down into her angry gaze, undeterred by the hue of her eyes or her dark mood. "You used to have to concentrate to use this skill?"

"Yes."

"Are you concentrating on using your powers now?" J'onn held his chin in thought, narrowing his orange eyes on her.

"No."

"…are you?"

"…" Vivian opened her mouth to protest…and then groaned. "…yes I am." Vivian walked away from Gaia's prone body on the bed and her testy mentor. "…you think that because I'm concentrating on using my mental defences that the same concentration is maintaining my hypnotic stare?"

"That would make sense." J'onn pursed his lips together and stared at her back. "Logically, you would need to do the opposite of what you are currently doing, to allow your abilities to cease."

"…how convenient…" Vivian pinched her brow and sighed. "All you've wanted for weeks is for me to drop my defences, and now I'll have no choice but to do exactly what you want." When Vivian turned she staggered back against the wall. When had J'onn gotten that close? "I mean I'll do it for Gaia's sake, of course."

"…" With her back pressed up against the wall like that, looking up with both rage and sadness, and her venomous tongue, J'onn wondered if he ever known her at all. How had such a beautiful and vibrant mind become so…this? The Martian didn't recognise the woman before him. "I have had enough." It was time to take a page out of her book. She wanted distance? He'd give it to her. J'onn had been patient long enough. This was just torture.

"…what?"

"I will of course continue to assist you in the eventuality that your abilities become out of control like this." J'onn stepped back and waved his green hand back towards Gaia. "But I will no longer be your mentor. I will have you reassigned by the morning."

"…what?"

"I am not capable of being your mentor any longer Vivian Harper." J'onn backed away from her and looked towards Gaia with far more concentration than was needed. "You have hurt me more deeply than I thought possible. I will say no more than that. Now lower your defences and return Miss Gaia to her senses. I will not enter your mind, as I wouldn't wish to experience what you must clearly feel for me. I will shield myself from you, and leave when the deed is done."

Vivian felt her heart turn to lead and drop to her stomach. His words ricocheted around her head. …he wouldn't want to experience what I must feel about him? That's what J'onn had said Martians did when they didn't welcome the feelings of another. They avoided them. So they didn't have to 'experience' their feelings. So he's no longer unaffected by me. He simply doesn't like me anymore.

"…ok." Vivian whispered and moved to stand in front of Gaia. Her black eyes streamed with tears, but J'onn was staring only at Gaia. He didn't dare look at her. "…actually…not ok." Vivian turned and glared up at her mentor, her soon to be ex mentor, and decided to let him have it. "I didn't realise it was so unreasonable to want to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself. I'm human J'onn. It's not natural to me to be read like a damn book all the time. I know it is for you, and I was trying to be more like you, t-to make you happy." She chocked on a sob and swallowed it. "But when I'm hurting I should have the right to lick my wounds and recover before being ready to share my mind again. All you've done these last few weeks is push me into something I'm not ready for. Forcing your mind onto me isn't fair."

"I have never-" J'onn rounded on her, scowling about outraged by the accusation, when he saw her. Vivian still had her emotions hidden behind her mental barrier, and her eyes were still black, but the distress was clear on her face. From the way she trembled and the rivers of tears dripping from her chin.

"I didn't tell you how I felt in the first place because I was scared you would throw me away. And here we are. In the very place I was scared of finding myself. You don't need to get me a new mentor. Because even if you did? I'd still be here wouldn't I?" Vivian sniffled and tried to wipe her tears on the back of her sleeve. Her resolve was weakening. Tendrils of pain and sadness were slithering out from her and burning his mind. J'onn took a step back, not wishing to experience such sorrow. "Forced to bump into you at work. I thought I could put myself back together and one day be ok enough to communicate on the same level as we did before. Without it hurting." J'onn's mouth opened as the torrent of emotion poured through the cracks of her crumbling walls. Is this how she was feeling? Lonely? Unloved? Pathetic? "B-but now I see that will never happen. You don't like how I feel about you, so you're distancing yourself from me. But having a new mentor won't stop us from being close to each other. It won't protect our minds from each other."

Vivian knew there was only one way she could stop the constant drain of having her guard up all the time, and protect herself from his rejection. "But this will." Vivian took her mask off and threw it to the ground. "I quit." A great weight lifted from her as she closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time in well over a month. All her defences came crashing down and she let it all out. "I was never cut out for this anyway." J'onn staggered back and collided with the far wall. The strength of all those thoughts and feelings, being restrained for so long were now released with such a force it sent him dizzy. He gasped, like he couldn't breathe, and trembled. There was so much to process. He couldn't fathom how one person could feel so much pain. He witnessed memories of their sweet interactions, the way her heart raced at the thought of him, how she insisted he was the best hero in the league, and how she dreamed of what it would be like to kiss his green lips…how she longed to feel that deep psychic intimacy, but feared his final rejection.

If anything he sensed she felt liberated, like the decision that loomed ahead of her had finally been made. But even more than that? J'onn finally understood why Vivian had shielded herself away from him in the first place. She loved him, he didn't return her feelings, and she was trying to get over her first love. Something he hadn't allowed her to do by poking and prodding at her mind. She thought he hated her, and she hated herself for falling in love with the first person to have ever shown her kindness. Vivian thought she'd ruined their relationship, by falling in love with him. Vivian sighed and opened her brown eyes to look at Gaia. She sagged to the bed, out cold and breathing softly. "At least I did one good thing before I left."

"…v…Vi…" the torrent of emotion was so strong it was like a current dragging him out to sea. It was too much. So overwhelmed, J'onn tried desperately to claw his way up the wall to stand. "Vivian…wa…wait…"

"No I'm done." Vivian sniffled and opened her chest of draws. She turned her back and unashamedly changed out of her costume. She pulled on her raggy jeans and jumper, sniffling as she felt the course material set back into place. Like she'd never left the streets. Like her life hadn't changed so dramatically. "It hurts too much. I knew this day would come. I knew I didn't belong here. I'm so sorry for wasting your time."

"No!" J'onn reached for her but a fresh wave of anguish knocked him down. "Vivian! Don't go!" The Martian held his head and winced in pain. "You don't need to leave! We can talk about this, however you want. Please don't go." He begged her through the pain. "Don't leave me!" Vivian turned in the doorway and looked down with sad brown eyes.

"…you left me first. A new mentor? Really? You thought that would fix this? You wanted to get rid of me. I'm just doing the job properly." Vivian closed her eyes and looked ahead. "Tell my friends I'm sorry, and not to look for me. No one will find me…where I'm going."

"VIVIAN!" J'onn reached for her ankle but she stepped out of his reach. Her pain was so great he couldn't find the strength to stand and chase her. "Vivian Harper I will find you." He heard her sob as she turned the corner. "YOU HEAR ME? I WILL FIND YOU AND BRING YOU HOME!" J'onn rolled onto his back and groaned as he held his chest. "No Vivian…I…thought I knew…but I really didn't. Vivian…" J'onn brought a shaking hand to his belt and pressed his distress button. "…I'm sorry…Vivian…"

"J'onn!" Wonder woman ran in first and lifted him to sit up. "J'onn what happened?"

"Lock…down…hurry…must...stop her..." Diana nodded and pressed her earbud.

"Batman? I'm with him now. Yes he's been attacked. Lock down the halls. Whoever did this will not escape my friend. Where are you injured?" Slowly J'onn raised his hand to his chest and closed his eyes as he winced in pain. Vivian likely didn't realise that she'd released psychic attack when she let her mental walls drop. His entire body spasmed with agony, and horrifying memories, some hers, some his, played behind his orange eyes. A lesser telepath would have been comatose under such an onslaught. J'onn however, was an elite for a reason. He held his head and sat up unsupported as Diana moved to check Gaia over. J'onn grunted as he moved to crawl over to the wall, using it to drag himself to his feet. "Wow, where do you think you're going? J'onn?"

"I have to stop her. She-she doesn't understand." He slid down to his knees in the corridor. Wonder Woman wrapped one of his arms across her shoulders and helped him up.

"Who doesn't understand? Who did this to you J'onn? Who attacked you?"

"…she didn't mean to." The pair staggered down the corridor to meet up with Batman and Superman. "Vivian was upset. She-she struggles to contain her powers when she's upset. I need to-"

"Mystic X? She attacked you?" Superman scowled and clenched his fists. "So she's attacked two of us now. I'm sorry J'onn, but that girl has gone too far this time. I barely agreed to let her stay after what she did to me. But if she's willing to attack her own mentor then there's no way she can avoid the proper consequences this time."

"I've got the halls on lock down." Batman spoke across Superman and looked directly at J'onn. "I'm doing a sweep of the base as we speak. If she moves near a camera, I'll get her."

"And then she needs to be apprehended and contained." Clark was firm in his conviction.

"No." J'onn groaned and swayed to stand on his own. "This isn't the same. She didn't mean to attack me."

"Like she didn't mean to make me witness my race's extinction?" Clark countered. "Enough is enough. Vivian Harper is dangerous."

"We always said that there was a risk that one of the recruits could go bad, not have what it takes, or simply be too dangerous. We have containment measures in place for this sort of occasion." Batman was typing commands into a small PDA and schooled his face to not give away his disappointment. Agramon will be devastated…

"This isn't her fault." J'onn shrugged Diana off when she tried to support him. "I won't let you do this." He stared through his blurred vision at Clark, right in his baby blues. "I will not allow you to apprehend her."

"I'm afraid we're past that point now." Batman interjected and sighed, seeing Vivian on his PDA. "Protocols are already in motion."

"What protocols?!" J'onn snapped.

"Attention all Justice League members and recruits." Batman's voice boomed out over the intercom. "We have a rouge entity within the halls of justice. Recruit *crackle* Mystic X *crackle* is now a person of interest. They are to be apprehended immediately and brought in for questioning."

"…no…" J'onn looked to Batman with utter horror written across his face. "Don't tell me you're-"

"Anyone who sees this recruit is to use any force necessary for their safe apprehension. Do not underestimate this recruit, as they have had specialist training from members of the Justice league. Incapacitate and apprehend. No fatal weapon use is permitted unless you deem your life to be in mortal danger. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. A profile of the recruit will now follow."

"Stop this! Stop this now!" J'onn reached for the PDA, but swooned, too weak from the mental attack. Superman held him, and restrained him. "She'll be hunted down like an animal! She'll never come back if you do this!"

"I'm sorry J'onn. It's already done." The dark night sighed, knowing that Agramon was listening to this somewhere.

"She is 5ft 7inches. Has ginger hair. brown eyes. A petite build and is likely dressed like a street person."

"NO!"

"Surely when brought before us Mystic X will be able to explain herself? If she truly didn't attack you?" Diana tried to console the trembling Martian. Batman turned to look at Superman, who transferred J'onn to the Amazonian after receiving the stern look.

"What is it B?"

"We should prepare for the likelihood that her friends may try to aid her escape." He kept his voice down, hoping the Martian Manhunter was too scrambled to listen in to their conversation.

"…Luna sure as hell will." Superman sighed. "As will Gaia. Hell, they all will."

"The log says Miss Swift is off site with Flash. Shade will tow the line. But Agramon is fiercely loyal. We should go on the worst case scenario that we have Agramon, Luna, Gaia and possibly Shade to content with to apprehend Mystic X." Batman walked over to a wall and pressed his hand to a side panel. It opened and revealed three surveillance screens. He swiped his PDA at each of them, showing Gaia asleep on her bed through the open door and the camera in the corridor.

"Oh good." Superman sighed with relief. On the second screen he saw Agramon trying to throw Shade and Sonicboom off her in the training room. "So no demoness as of yet…but where is-" A blur of red and silver past one of the cameras, and the screen went black.

"Hang on." Batman pressed a few commands into his PDA and then looked to the third screen again. It changed to a view of the canteen. Flying towards the camera at full speed with the most serious expression she'd ever worn, was Luna the Good witch. They saw her hand reach for the camera, fireballs launch forward, and then the screen went dark. "Alright we can assume that not only is Luna going to be an obstacle, but she's not fighting blindly. She has a plan."

"She's taking out the security cameras to limit our ability to track Mystic X. Clever." Superman groaned. "She's never this clever in training." The middle screen had sudden movement and they both looked to see the a ends of a pair of wings disappear through the training hall exit, and Shade and Sonicboom tied up in the middle of the hall. Superman raised a brow, surprised, and more surprised that Batman wasn't.

"She's been more than capable of dominating all of her fellow recruits for weeks now. Agramon's been holding back." Batman then rolled his eyes. "Probably for such of an occasion as this." He raised his hand to his ear bud in his cowl and pressed it. "With Luna and Agramon on the loose, we're going to need to coordinate our response. I'll patch Oracle into our coms. She can be our eyes on the floor plans and cameras so we can locate Mystic X."

"With as little violence as possible." Superman pleaded. "I'm not looking forward to seeing what a 'serious and clever' version of Luna looks like."

"Nor do we want her to team up with Agramon when she's not holding back." Batman agreed, and the turned to see J'onn was sat on the floor and holding his head. "Diana? Please get J'onn to the infirmary to be checked over. Then join the 3rd frequency and assist in Mystic X's apprehension."

"Yes Batman." The caped crusader and the man of steel set off at their own top speeds, and split up at the next junction.