This chapter's a little late but hey, I'm currently grounded from everything that plugs in. I'm kind of sneaking this online so shhhh. Next chap should be longer. I hope you guys watched the latest ep because I didn't. To all of you who've started reading OFAS, thanks. I will be updating as soon as my sentence is over. –IFW

YJ

Chapter 16

Kaldur'ahm was not having the best of days. He had not had contact with any of his team mates for quite some time and now...now he could really use someone to lean on.

'No secrets right?' He hoped and prayed that their previous pact still held strong. After his discussion with the other world's Orin, he'd been feeling more drained than ever.

Black Manta. His king's greatest foe. He was the son of a monster.

The Orin in his world had always treated him with compassion. Kaldur had gratefully served as his partner out of a reverence for his king. Still, there were moments when he felt as if Orin was holding him at a distance.

Well, now he certainly understood why. Perhaps Orin was waiting for him to turn out like his father.

What was that saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? What about the sons of your enemies? What were you supposed to do about them?

Kaldur knew in his head that he didn't have it in himself to do wrong. Yes, there were times when he went against orders, when he disobeyed. But those instances were only for the good of others. Kaldur only had the best intentions at heart. He never wanted to hurt anyone.

King Orin was perplexed by the young man that he has once hoped to call a friend. To say Kaldur'ahm was devastated by the news he had received was an understatement. He was the son of a villain. His parents were traitors. He could barely hold in his anguish.

Why had his king not told him? Why had he deceived him so?

"Kaldur'ahm, I must apologize. I had figured you were not aware of your familial ties. I'm sorry." Orin said quietly. "We should head to the surface soon. I imagine you will want to see your friends." Kaldur nodded solemnly. He did not have time to weep. He was still a leader and he could not-he would not- fail his team.

The team obediently followed his king to the zeta beam transport.

"Queen Mera?" Kaldur asked quietly.

"She will not be joining us. I believed it would make you uncomfortable. Was I wrong to assume?" Kaldur did not respond. He just rubbed his temples lightly. He could feel a migraine developing.

YJ

"Kaldur!" M'gann cried. "We're so happy to see you! Wally's gotten so bad that we thought you wouldn't get to see him."

Kaldur's eyebrows flew up in alarm. "What's happened to Wally?"

M'gann's lip quivered. "There's something in his head. It's like his mind is trying to eat itself alive. He can only barely recognise Robin now. We think it's because he's known him the longest." M'gann had changed out of her uniform and into civilian clothes. Her red hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her bangs pinned back. It was clear who had been working as Wally's nurse maid. She led the older teen to the hospital ward.

Kaldur was surprised to see that Wally had been physically restrained. There were deep scratch marks covering the exposed flesh of his arms. Robin was changing his bandages. Wally's head lolled back and forth and he kept babbling about things being real and not real.

"Kaldur! You're finally here." Robin greeted. "He's gotten worse." M'gann said sadly. She brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"M'gann has informed me of the situation. There is nothing more that can be done for him?" Aqualad asked edgily.

"No. And the Batman from our world says more kids are turning up this way. It's getting worse, much worse. At first it was just one girl. Now they're turning up in dozens. And every time a new kid pops up, another one goes missing. It's a vicious cycle."

Aqualad forlornly shook his head.

"This cannot be happening. Are we sure that Wally is the only one suffering?"

"They're running test now, comparing everyone's brain waves to Wally's. Your memory will also have to be tested. Wally can't seem to remember much. We're lucky M'gann was able to get to Roy when she did. She might have just saved his sanity." Robin sighed deeply.

Kaldur contemplated the younger boy's words. Yes, luck had been on their side that day. It had been sheer luck that had spared Roy's sanity. Apparently Wally would not have the same luck. "We will find a solution to save Wally and the others. All that matters now is that we do not give up on him. It is only when we give up that we lose him. There are several villains who have the mental abilities to do this. Did you tell the League about Psimon?"

"Yeah. They're looking into him and a few others. They still aren't sure though. Zatarra's going over spell books to see if there's anything Klarion might have done to cause this. So far, nothing. I can't lose Wally, Kal. He's like my brother. He's one of the few people that I look at like family. I can't lose any more family members. I just can't." Robin squeezed his eyes shut in agony. At that moment, Robin looked a heck of a lot older than his 13 years. Aqualad knew he had failed his team.

He rubbed his temples again, that migraine persisted.

"You okay?" Robin asked warily. He noted the sweat decorating the other teen's brow. Kaldur had clearly been through an ordeal of his own down in Atlantis.

"Yes. Just a mild headache."

"Headache? You need to get checked out Kal, we can't take any chances. We don't need a second member strapped to a gurney. If there's anything you want to talk about..." Robin stood and led him to one of the examination tables. "I'll go get M'gann. She'll check to make sure everything's the way it should be." Kaldur glanced around the room. He had not noticed the Martian girl's absence. The young acrobat stood up and stretched his limbs. He waved goodbye and left him with Wally.

Kaldur was not happy to be left alone with the babbling teen. Seeing the redhead in that state served only to remind him of his failure. It was just another reminder of his failure to be good. Was his father's DNA that powerful? Was he destined to be as wicked as his father?

Wally had somewhat quieted in Robin's absence. He set his unfocused eyes on Kaldur's face and shook his head back and forth.

"They're...using us..." He suddenly said groggily. Kaldur's eyebrows shot up.

"Kid Flash?" Kaldur asked quietly. He approached the boy's bed slowly.

"They've figured it out and they're going to use us..." Wally's head lolled back to the side. He'd lost his single moment of clarity. The moment he'd snatched a piece of his mind back, they'd stolen it away. Deep inside, he hoped it would be enough for his friends to understand. They'd save him and the others. They wouldn't fail him.

Kaldur didn't quite understand what Wally meant but he knew it wasn't the aimless drivel he'd been spewing for the last hour. That was real. That meant something. Wally was trying to communicate with him.

"Robin!" He cried. "Wally said something coherent!"

"What?" He could hear more than just Robin coming his way. Red Arrow, Artemis, and Robin came rushing through the door. Superman lingered in th doorway with Conner next to him. Somewhere in the back of Kaldur's mind, he wondered if the two of them had separated. They looked even closer than before.

"What did he say? Is he alright?" He wasn't sure which one in the group had said it.

"He said something about being used. That someone was using him and the other children." Roy's brow furrowed at that.

"Funny...I remember something like that." Roy said darkly. He watched Wally's face warily.

"You didn't mention something like that before." Artemis said.

"I only just remembered. The thought just came back to me." Roy said. Kaldur tried to remember how Roy had looked when they'd first brought him in. He'd been distracted by all of the blood and open wounds that cover Roy's body that he had barely noticed the dark circles under his eyes or his hollow cheeks. Sure, he was doing much better but Kaldur was struggling to remove the previous images from his mind.

"Kal? You haven't looked quite right since you got here. Maybe you should sit down again." Robin said.

"I am fine. I am just not having the best of days." Kaldur admitted.

"No secrets, Kal." Artemis reminded him. Kaldur nodded and looked from face to face.

"I...I don't know how to explain."

"Just start from the beginning. We're here. We'll listen." Artemis said gently as she sat down next to him.

"If you say so."

YJ

"So we have another team member that's the child of a bad guy. Wow. Who would've guessed?" Roy said sarcastically.

"I can't believe this." Robin said. "And Mera just threw it all on you? That's not like her at all."

"That was not my queen. She is merely another illusion of this world." Kaldur spat.

"Not everything here is an illusion." Conner countered snappily.

"Conner." Superman said sternly. "Be nice." Conner sulked quietly before nodding.

"Right. Sorry." He said curtly.

"You are still deciding to stay in this world, Superboy?" Aqualad inquired.

"Yeah. Better than home anyway. I'm staying here whether you all like it or not." Superboy snapped back.

"We're not stopping you. There's no point now. With this pandemic, it might be safer for all of us to stay here." Robin said honestly.

"What, and end up like Wally? Is that how you want this to end? We have to go home!" Artemis jumped up.

"Rob's right. Those kids back home are dropping like dominoes. So far, we've only lost one. I get the feeling that this is really for the best. Until we get this sorted that is." Roy sighed deeply. It was something he hated to admit.

Superman appraised each youth slowly. "You're not going to be able to do anything for Wally tonight. It's best that we all get some rest and take this up tomorrow. Do you all want to stay top side or head back to your living quarters?"

"I think I pissed Batman off. Probably best to stay up here." Robin replied.

"It's up to you Artemis. I really don't care." Roy said.

"We'll stay here. In case something new develops." She said.

"I would also like to stay. My experience in Atlantis was...less than favorable." Kaldur added.

"So I heard. I'll talk to Orin about that." Superman promised.

"Are you staying here?" Robin asked the man.

"No. We've still got kids to find."

"I'll go with you." Superboy suggested.

"You should stay back with your friends, Conner. We need at least one Kryptonian here and Kara's on Earth. You never know when one of these guys might need you. Besides, if I find something, I'll tell J'onn to send you down." Clark clapped him on the shoulder.

Conner just nodded his head, slightly disappointed.

"Bye Conner. I'll be back soon." Superman waved and left the room.

After a few moments of silence, Kaldur asked, "Where is Miss Martian?"

"She's with J'onn. They're searching for the kids using their powers." Robin answered. "Picked up nothing yet."

Kaldur wanted to groan and pound his head against a wall. It was like every turn they took led them to a dead end. There was no resolution in sight.

'Failure. You're a failure.' His mind told him. Kaldur rubbed his forehead. His migraine was intensifying.