Hey, guys, suckiest. News. Ever. They changed the schedule, again, so YJ probably won't be back in February like I thought. Whats this mean exactly? Well...

A) I need to find a new site to get the YJ episode air dates (again)

B.) Thundercats probably won't be back either, so no thundercat family drama for me. ):

C.) the fandom will explode with anger over lack of YJ and take it out on each other.

Yeah, ship wars really suck. One day I will watch a show where we can all just watch it and get along, but clearly YJ is not that show. Neither is Thundercats. Or Generator Rex. Or Star Wars. Or pretty much everything that Cartoon network has or will produce.

Am I crazy? Yeah, probably.

Who in their right mind would talk the Flash into talking to Green Lantern into talking to Superman into talking to Batman about letting us launch an investigation? What kind of lunatic would willingly go to a Shadows' base in the first place? Unless you were one nervous breakdown from hopping on the bus to Arkham, Why would you even try to outsmart the Batman?

I didn't know the answer to any of these questions, I just know that I did. There was another little incident that had me questioning my sanity: The kiss. (Cue dramatic music and the sound of high-pitched girly screaming.)

Now, I know my brains were all screwed up because of the power core, but Batman said that the suit couldn't make me do anything that some part of my heart didn't want me to do anyway, unless I was given an order.

Did any of you hear someone tell me to smooch the Batboy? No? Me neither.

So what's that mean? Well, for starters it means I have weird taste in boys. Also, it means I may have to consider why I wanted to kiss him. Aside from the obvious reason, seriously, have you seen him, there are a lot of likable things about much as I hate to admit it, he's extremely intelligent and actually pretty funny. On the other hand, he has a tendency to flaunt his intelligence to the point where you just want to slap the fuck out of him. He'll often use his wit to hurt, not humor, or maybe it's just me he does that to. And I'm sure he's got all the stuffy, stuck-up girls at whatever stuffy, stuck-up school he goes to drooling over his little black batboots.

See, for every good trait he possesses, he has a bad trait that completely ruins it.

Maybe it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. Think about it: I was bleeding out, I thought I was going to die (and I have a sneaking suspicion my funeral would be pathetically small.) Who wouldn't want to die kissing a cute boy? Even if he was out cold? I know plenty of girls who would kill to have the chance to kiss Robin, no matter what state of consciousness he happened to be in. Hell, the boy could be cold, dead, and stinking and they'd still go for it. Only problem with that theory is, I kissed him and...

And I wanted to kiss him again.

I know, I know, I have more important things to worry about. Sammy's missing, Batman's mad at me, I'm about to go charging into a base that may or may not contain Ivory Bones who may or may not know where Avery is who may or may not be able to help me find Sammy.

That's not a plan! That's barely an idea. But, hey, I have a knack for coming up with plans so bad they're practically laughable and by some miracle end up somewhat working out kind of how I wanted, so keep your fingers crossed.

The bio-ship touched down, and I pressed the small button hidden on my dragon clasp. My cloak darkened into a deep purple, and the gold trim around my mask turned a dark shade of cobalt. The golden dragon dulled into a bronze, the emerald orbs that served as its eyes blinked into sparkling chips of sapphire. I smiled, nothing like wearing dark clothes and sneaking around the jungle to make you feel like a badass.

We stepped out of the ship, instantly fanning out and melting into the shadows. We regrouped in a small clearing when we were past the thickest part of the jungle, every one of us swatting at Mosquitos. The Shadows may not know we're here yet, but the little bloodsuckers of the Amazon sure did. I was glad that Batman had made us get vaccinated before the trip, otherwise we'd probably be dead from all the bug bites we'd already sustained.

"Man..." I slapped at a bug on my cheek. "We're gonna be itching for weeks."

"Hey, you're the one that brought this on us..." Robin muttered.

I blushed fiercely, my bug bite throbbed. "Shut up, bird boy!"

"Commando..." Aqualad sighed, because he knew that I'd done something bad again.

"What's he talking about?"

I groaned, figuring I better confess before Robin got the chance to tell the others a horror story. That, and I don't see any way I can lie my way out of this one and I really don't have the time or the patience to try.

"Okay, so I might've talked Wally's mentor into sending us on a mission to the Amazon, so what?"

"You lied to him, and you lied to us." Robin scowled.

"I didn't lie! I just took the truth and altered it slightly to suit my needs." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Wait a minute, What?" Wally frowned, clearly confused.

"The guy who runs the place is her friend Avery's dad." Robask answered for me.

"Excuse me, the boy was talking to me." I glared.

"I'm a boy?" Wally scowled.

"Barely." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Stow it, Blondie!" he snapped back.

"Enough, you two." Aqualad rebuked.

"I hate bugs..." Conner growled.

"Aw..." Megan gushed.

"Guys!" I rubbed my temples. "We don't have time for this, we have to..."

"Who died and made you leader?" Robin sniffed.

"You if you don't shut up..." I took a moment to glare.

And that's when the Shadows attacked.

Three masked ninja men launched themselves at us, effectively slipping our group in half. Robin and I on one side, and every one else on the other. Conner bellowed in rage, tackling one of the guys. Two more ninjas joined us, pressing me against a line of tropical spiky trees I don't know the names of. Wally was dodging flying ninja stars, Artemis notched arrow after arrow and started picking them out of the sky. For the hundredth time I thought they'd make an awesome duo if only they'd get along.

Ninjerk #1 threw himself at me, wielding a sword. I grabbed his wrist and tried to disarm him. But then his buddy joined in and came at me. I shoved the first guy away, pivoting on my foot an kicking the second in the throat, made a full circle, and locked arms willl the swordsman again. I couldn't grab my guns to help protect myself without letting the ninja go. If my arms so much as trembled the man would turn me into cute little Commando bits.

The other ninja caught his breath and came towards me again, whipping a dagger from its sheath on his waist. I couldn't defend myself or get I'd get skewered, if I didn't defend myself I'd get stabbed. I wonder whmore would be worse, the sword or the dagger? I'm willing to bet that either one is going to hurt like hell.

A wave of water crashed down on the ninjas, slamming them against the trees and knocking them out. Before I could thank Kaldur, someone threw a smoke bomb and turned the clearing a milky white. Panicked, I groped around for something to guide me through th smoke. I felt Megan try to set up a phychic link, but with everyone confused and disoriented it was impossible.

I rammed into something big and soft, I bounced off and landed on my butt in a patch of thorns.

"YOUCH!" I leaped straight up and scrambled madly onto softer ground, picking thorns out of my pants.

Someone above me cleared their throat, and I craned my neck upward to look a him-expecting Kaldur, or maybe even Conner.

I recognized him immediately, because he looked so much like his daughter.

It was Ivory Bones.

I could tell by his expression he recognized me, even though we'd only met twice. And, like most of the supervillains I know, he doesn't like me. At all.

I didn't even have time to be embarrassed by the whole thorn routine, I was too busy stammering and trying to find something, anything, to say. I'd expected to find him, but not like this. Not with me so vulnerable.

His lips parted as if to speak, but he was interrupted by a ear-splitting battle cry. A leather glad figure appeared out of the smoke, brandishing two small throwing knives. The ends were tinged green and glowed gently in the darkness. He pulled back his arm and let it fly.

I leaped to the right, but the knife brushed by my arm and sent a trickle of warm blood running down to my elbow. At first I thought how lucky I was to escape the attack without serious injury; but then my arm started to tingle, then went completely numb.

I got dizzy, not your usual light-headed dizzy, but the kind that makes the ground buckle and roll under your feet and trees crash down around your ears. A sudden wave of weakness came over me and I crumbled to the ground, letting out a low moan of agony.

Poison...The thought sprang out from somewhere in the back of my fogged mind. The dagger was poisoned...

Surprised, Bones looked over at the ninja and began forming a word in his lips. I'm not sure what he said, all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears, but he never finished the sentence. A batarang soared through the air and nailed the ninja in the head before he could throw the other knife. I twisted my head to the left, looking for Bones. He was gone, having the good sense to disappear as soon as Batboy showed himself.

Robin hurried over to me, kneeling by my side and gently took my arm in his hands. He couldn't examine the wound very well with his gloves on, so he pulled them off and quickly grabbed my injured limb again. I yanked it away just as fast.

"Rob, no!" I grit my teeth against the hiss of pain that shot up my arm when it scraped against the rough material of Robin's uniform.

"The wound has poison in it, you can't get it on your skin!"

I knew my warning had come to late when Robin clutched his head and fell backwards beside me. I groaned in a mixture of pain and frustration, Batman should seriously start hiding Robin from me because bad things happen to him when I'm around.

My head connected with the soft undergrowth under my head when I could no longer hold my head upright. The Amazon was alive with the sound of fighting as well as the soft murmer of animals. The jungle was abundant with beautiful plants and trees that I've never seen before. If you could ignore the Mosquitos, it wasn't that bad of a place.

Not a bad place to die.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Bones's scowling face above me. His mouth was moving, but I only caught a few words.

"Because of her...remember, this isn't for you.."

I'm a cuddler.

I can't help it, it just happens. If you share a bed with me, I'll end up stealing all your blankets and snuggled up against you by the time you wake up. No matter who you are, my subconscious does not discriminate.

Robin was clearly no exception.

We were lying on an air mattress, a thick quilt laying over us. When we had arrive at the jungle it had been dusk, but now the sun was down and the once unbearable heat had taken a dramatic plunge. I opened my eyes, someone had made a lean-to amongst a cluster of fat trees. A fire blazed a few feet away from where we were laying, close enough for us to enjoy the warmth but far enough away so the blanket, and us, wouldn't catch fire. My rescuer had taken care to use wood that would give off plenty of heat, but not a lot of smoke. The set-up seems familiar, and then I realized why. When the Highwaykids and I camped out in the woods, by choice or otherwise, I'd always asked one particular person to help me set up...

"Avery..." I croaked, uncurling my arms from Robin's waist and moving his arm out from under my head where I'd been using it as a pillow.

"Close..." someone muttered.

I sat straight up, making my head throb, and turned toward the speaker. Bones sat by the fire, poking it gently with a stick. Robin was out cold, so I rose from the mattress and gently covered Robin back up with the quilt. I walked over to the campfire and knelt beside Bones.

"So..." I touched my bandaged arm gingerly. "Thanks."

"I figured Avery'd be pissed if she found out I let you die." He answered gruffly.

"And Robin?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I figured you'd be pissed if I let your boyfriend die." He shrugged.

I glared. "He's. Not. My. Boyfriend."

That got Bones to look over at me, a slightly amused smile on his face. He breifly glanced over at Robin who lay sleeping peacefully under the lean-to, then turned his attention back to me.

"Really? Could've fooled me."

"He's not!"

"That's funny, I thought all teenage girls were gaga over the Boy Blunder."

"Cause you know so much about teenage girls, right?"

"I have a daughter."

"My point."

That struck a nerve, he threw the stick into the flames and stood, brushing off his hands on his pants.

"Knew I should've let you die..." He muttered.

"Then why didn't you?" I retorted. "It's not like Av will ever find out."

A hand clamped down on my good shoulder, I screamed a little in shock which earned me another hand over my mouth.

"Quiet! You want to alert the whole base?" The owner of the hands snapped.

Once I'd calmed down the hands slipped from my body and the rest of the person appeared before me. Avery nodded her head in greeting then went over to sit by her father, I followed her and nestled myself onto the soft grass.

"Gotta say, you recovered quickly. Not like the birdie over there." Bones jerked his thumb in Robin's direction.

I shrugged. "That's what happens when you get stabbed by an assassin for the Shadows at age ten, and again at twelve. You build up an immunity to the toxins."

"By who?" he asked.

"Cheshire. First time was in the left leg, up high. The second was my other shoulder. Someone hired her to kill me when I was ten, I paid her twice as much to not and tell everyone she did. When I was twelve...well, she was in a bad mood and I brought up a few family issues of hers that made her a bit touchy."

"Ah." Bones nodded. "Still, you would've died if I hadn't given you the antidote."

I rolled my eyes. "So what do you want, a medal?"

He scowled.

"Well, you two are getting along as well as I thought you would." Avery interjected. "But could we please skip the socializing and get to the matter at hand?"

In the light of the fire, her pale skin looked like alabaster. Her dark hair and matching eyes were as black as the sky. I nodded my consent, scooting closer to the fire.

"First of all, why are you here? Last I heard you and your dad weren't exactly 'simbotico' lt the moment." I asked Avery, purposely ignoring Bones.

"Things are getting...hectic, in the villian community." Avery glared into the flames.

"But after Isabella died..." I frowned.

"Yes, my mother's death drove me from my father, but he's not the whole reason why I'm here."

"What is?" I narrows my eyes in curiosity.

"You don't know?" she looked up, surprise flickering over her usually scowling expression.

"Know what?" I felt like I was with Batman, and he was doing that super annoying thing where he'd beat around the bush so much its all you can do not to clobber him.

"Sammy." She said. "They're holding him inside." she pointed vaguely into the jungle.

My heart soared. We could rescue him this time, I know we could! With Avery and Bones helping my team, we could...

"My team!" My eyes widened. "Where are they? Are they okay?"

Avery's hand wrapped around my wrist. "Calm down, they're fine. After you and Robin were jumped, they finished off the rest of the ninjas and searched for you two for awhile. I wanted to deliver you two to them at once, but my father insisted you were too ill."

I couldn't stop the words that popped out of my mouth next. "And you believed him? He's an idiot!"

Bones reached for his gun, Avery froze him with a look.

"Well, he is..." I grumbled under my breath.

"Anyway, they gave up after awhile and went back into their ship. They didn't leave, they just put the ship in camouflage mode. Probably planning on spending the night in the jungle and restart the search tomorrow. And we'll make sure your their to find." Avery turned back to the fire as if everything had already been decided and their was no point arguing.

Aw, Avery, you know me better than that. I'll always argue, its when I sit back and just let things happen to me is when you really need to worry. Because I'm either deathly sick, or I'm silently plotting your downfall.

"And what about Sammy?"

Avery looked at me closely, as if she was deciding what to tell me and what to keep to herself.

"I'll take care of him, you need to go home." She looked up at the sky. "And soon..."

"Sammy's my friend too, I want to help him." I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Look..." she pinched the bridge of her nose in aggravation. "It'd be a bad idea for the Shadows to know where you are."

I pointed at Bones. "Little too late for that, Aaron may be a moron, but he is a Shadow. At least, he is now."

"Did you just call me Aaron?" Bones narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, Dad, she knows who you are..." Avery sighed in annoyance.

"Speaking of knowing things, how'd you know I'd be here?" Bones glared at me.

I shrugged. "Kinda easy when you have an ice-meta supervillian on speed dial. The rest was just a matter of planning and mapping, so I have a pretty good guess of where the base is. Or at least, I have an idea of where to start looking."

Avery stood. "No, Commando. It's too risky."

"Why?" I sprang to my feet. "Why is it risky? What aren't you telling me?"

Avery stared off into space. "Don't...Don't get too held up in this, but...I think the Shadows are after you."

I nearly toppled over into the campfire. "And your telling me this with your Shadow father sitting right there because...?"

"It's the heavy-hitters that're after you, not me." Bones growled. "I could care less what happens to you."

"And he won't tell them either..." Avery shot him a pointed glance. "He's promised to look the other way so I can grab Sammy, but his 'helping' ends there. I'll have to fight my way through a couple dozens

I looked back and forth between the pair, clearly there'd been quite a bit of hostility between the Lake family before I'd gotten here.

"i can't just let you go in alone." I pulled myself back into the conversation.

"Yes, you can, and you will." She scowled at me.

"What makes you think that?" I scowled back.

Avery's hand lashed out and she gave me a shove. In my weakened state, I was easily knocked flat on my back and got the wind knocked out of me. Avery stood over me, a smug expression on her face. And I'm telling you, she's good as smugness, because with her emotionless mask she slips on all the time you need to pay close attention in order to pick up on it.

Angry, I scrambled to my feet. "Okay, I see your point, but you can give me back to the team all you want, but you know that I'll just keep coming back. Like a rash." I grinned.

Avery quirked an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on keeping them here in the Amazon? You're clearly in bad shape. They're going to want to get you some medical help."

"I think we've established I'm a good faker." I smirked. "And if they still don't buy it I'll just, you know, smooth-talk them. Unless Megs reads my mind, which won't happen, they won't find out."

Avery blinked. "You're really not going to give up on this?"

"Nope." I beamed.

"Fine." Avery closed her eyes, whether it was in defeat or irritation I wasn't sure.

"Great." I said, rolling my shoulders to get rid of the tension. "Now all I have to do is stretch a bit and hope my muscles don't freeze up when we're fighting.

"So..." Avery looked over at Robin. "Are we bringing your boyfriend or..."

"Not you too!" I groaned

Hey, guys, how you all holding up during the hiatus? :D

Random: Is it just me, or does Zatanna look almost exactly like Barbara Gordon except a tiny bit taller and with dark hair? Watch Homefront, and then Humanity. Its seriously freaky. O_O