I just saw the newest episode of YJ: Invasion. It was MIND-BLOWING! First of all, Timmy actually talks in the episode (XD) but Impulse comes from the future, saves Flash's life, and Wally gets back into costume! Ok, I'll stop hyperventilating now…

shikaxtema foreva, thank you ^^.

The February Rose, that's definitely true. And anyway, if superheroes had no friends then that would mean 1) no justice league, and 2) no sidekicks! Which would be a great tragedy.

tdyn0, you have nothing to fear, the next chapter is here! (Ok, wow, that was a really, really bad rhyme… Just ignore it ^^II)

STicker55, lol, true. And I tried to make the Angel-is-not-alone thing as sweet as possible.


As the sky got darker, apprehension began to fill Angel. Night may have meant rest, but rest meant nightmares.

So she tried to stay up as long as possible, working with Nightwing to find any leads on Rogue and Grim Reaper, along with where they might be hiding.

But eventually, Dick saw how tired she looked, and told her to go to bed.

She protested, trying to keep her panic and fear at bay as she argued with the older hero.

"I want to help," She said, looking up pleadingly.

"Yea, but I want you to get some rest." Nightwing retorted.

Angel resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And since when do I listen to you?"

"Since you joined this team. Now, go sleep. I'll handle the research for now."

Angel scowled at him, but seeing that there was no way she could convince him to let her stay up, she turned and stalked out of the room, her feathers ruffled in agitation.

After changing into some comfortable PJ's, she curled up on her side, staring at the blank wall.

She tightened her wings around her in a way that covered her just as well as any blanket, and tried to stay distracted.

First she tried thinking up a short story, which often kept her awake. But no inspiration suddenly popped out of nowhere and caused a brain storm. She considered turning on the light, but that would just alert Nightwing that she was awake.

She sighed.

What I would give for an iPod with very loud music on it. She groaned inwardly.

But despite her best efforts to stay awake, she caught herself more than once with her eyes slipping closed.

And after a while, they didn't open again as she fell into the depths of sleep.


Blood, everywhere blood.

"Do you really think that telling your friends about us will stop me?" The Grim Reaper said, amused as he showed her her now nightly and expected tortures.

Artemis and Miss Martian fighting side by side as villains surged forward to bring them down.

Beast Boy's cry as a pitch black wave engulfed him, his hand clawing desperately at the air before that was submerged as well.

Aqualad and Lagoon Boy writhing on the ground, choking as a fiery figure stalked towards them, flames encircling them.

Nightwing and Kid Flash lying on the ground, unmoving.

And Robin. Over and over and over again. The Joker with a knife to his throat, a masked figure causing to edge closer and closer to the edge of a precipice, lying down on his back, hands loosely holding onto a birdarang…

Angel tried to look away, but she knew it was futile. In this world, she had no control.

"This wouldn't happen if you just let go… If you simply joined us…" Grim Reaper whispered.

"No." Angel said, unable to speak more than one syllable, so transfixed by the horrors that were unfolding in front of her.

He let out a hiss of displeasure, the sound causing shivers to run down Angel's spine.

"Very well."

She flinched, expecting to feel pain pierce her arms.

And there was pain. But on her wings.

She let out a shriek as agony flashed through her right wing, then the left. Looking down, she could see bloodied feathers lying at her feet.

She didn't have the time to process the shock of someone trying to hurt her wings before another streak of pain caused her to bend over, tears fighting to fall from the feeling.

"Stop!" She screamed.

And strangely enough, it did.

No, it wasn't gone. There was still a throb, but it became more distant by the second. It was only then she realized that her surroundings were doing the same.

It became darker, as if someone was throwing a cloak over the whole thing, until it faded to non-existence. Exhaustion filled her and she slumped to the floor, peace flooding through her for the first time in a while.

She didn't know what had happened. But she was grateful.


In the waking world, M'gann, Nightwing, Zatanna and Robin all let out identically sighs of relief as Angel's breathing slowed to a regular rhythm and tears stopped falling from her eyes.

M'gann didn't remove her hands from the girl's head, knowing that to do so would be to have Grim Reaper reinvade her mind.

"But why can you enter her mind now?" Zatanna queried.

M'gann shrugged. "I'm guessing it's either because I've been in her mind so many times I can get past her defenses or that since she's told us what happened and therefore has no subconscious obligation to keep me out."

"Whatever the reason, it's a good thing that you can keep this new villain at bay, right?" Robin asked, anxiety entering his voice.

The Martian smiled at him. "Yes. It'll help her sleep, and maybe even give us possible leads."

The Boy Wonder nodded, satisfied.

"But what about you, M'gann?" Zatanna asked, worry creasing her brow. "If you're up all night making sure no villain gets into Angel's mind, how will you cope with it as well as missions?"

But Miss M just shook her head. "I'll nap as often as I can during the day for now while I think up a better solution. One would be to train Angel so she would be able to resist such mental attacks, but that'll take some time."

"But it looks like our only option." Nightwing said with a frown.

"Don't worry." M'gann said, a wry smile touching her lips. "As a friend of mine once said, I'll manage."

Nightwing gave her a rueful grin.


The next morning, Angel woke up feeling better than she had in ages.

She stretched in her bed, and felt a small dent in the mattress. She opened her eyes to see M'gann, looking extremely tired as her long fingers touched the sides of Angel's temple.

"Good, you're awake." The Martian said, trying to give her a smile.

Angel sat up, shocked. "Have you been awake all night?"

M'gann grimaced. "Well, at least it was for a good purpose. No nightmares?"

A sense of wonderment came over Angel as she remembered last night's dream and how the vision and Grim Reaper had faded away into soothing darkness.

"Oh my God, thank you M'gann!" She exclaimed before hugging the Martian, gratitude making her eyes prick with tears.

M'gann hugged her back. "It's nothing. Oh, and Robin was here too, but he had to leave before you woke up."

"Oh." Angel really hoped she wasn't blushing. But from the look M'gann gave her after pulling away, she guessed she was.

"Well, I think you should get dressed. I need to go make breakfast; the boys have been awake for hours.

Hours? Angel thought in confusion.

She glanced at the newest part of the room; a little digital clock next to the lamp.

10:16 am, it read.

Angel's eyes widened. Wow. She really had slept well.

Finally managing to get herself out of the bed, Angel quickly pulled on a pair of comfy black jeans, lace up boots and a plain black shirt made out of a loose and light material with long sleeves.

Looking in the mirror, she started. She practically didn't recognize herself. Her green eyes were sparkling, her skin had a healthy look to it and she looked… Well, more regal in a way. She realized that she had started to hold herself in a straighter manor which showed off her elegant neck and slim figure. She had also become more fit since she had last properly looked, and her sort of tall and willowy figure looked less gangly.

She inspected herself for a few more moments, her wings still and statuesque for once. After getting over her initial shock, Angel closely looked at her feathers. Nothing seemed wrong, except they had the usual, rumpled look that she saw when she got out of bed. But besides that, there was nothing to see. No patches of missing feathers, no blood.

Just a dream. She told herself firmly before starting to brush out the tangles in her bronze-colored hair.


After a few minutes, she found herself in the dining room and sat down next to Zatanna.

Connor and Beast Boy both greeted her, which she replied to with smiles.

A couple of moments later, M'gann came out of the kitchen with a plate piled high with bacon and quickly returned to the kitchen to get the rest of her load.

The rest of breakfast went by quickly as conversation flowed easily and everyone dug into the delicious food.

Now that Angel wasn't as held back by her dreams, she felt more at ease, more willing to open up.

Once the meal was over, she helped M'gann and Zatanna clean up the dishes while the boys went to 'fix the motorcycles' since they had apparently not been working properly for the past few days.

The girls had rolled their eyes at the excuse, but didn't say anything.

And as Angel laughed and chatted with M'gann and Zatanna, she felt more free than ever.


Once all the chores were done, were homework finished and her flying, power and combat lessons declared done by Shayera, Angel eventually wandered into the music room.

Angel slid her hands over the slightly dusty piano, a feeling of regret washed over her as she greeted the instrument in her own way.

Forming a gentle breeze, she quickly dispelled all the dist from the room and sat down on the piano seat.

She opened the lid and stared down at the clean, blindingly white piano keys before placing her long fingers on them.

She was unsure what to play, and eventually settled on 'Hello' by Evanescence. It was a sad song, but Angel loved the lyrics and the music.

Soon, her fingers were flying over the piano, playing the sad melody beautifully as she hummed along, eventually starting to sing quietly as was her habit.

Once the piece was over, a sense of nostalgia and sadness descended upon her, but she embraced it rather than push it away.

It didn't really matter that her life was still really messed up. Because for now, in this room, Angel felt at peace.


So yea, relatively happy ending to this chapter ^^. Oh, I almost forgot to say that I was thinking of making a sequel to this fan fiction once it's over. I find that I've become really attached to this storyline XD. I'll also be making a special edition cross over… With YJ and Angel in it. More info to come later ;).