Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love of Young Justice, although I do take ownership over the new characters i.e. The majority of the Team's children

A/N: Don't forget to review!

Chapter 09 – Lola Allen-Reyes

"Nightgirl, what do we do?" I asked, unable to pull my eyes away from the Project Genomorph tube. "This guy is alive…"

"I can see that, Stealth! And it's Nightstar!" Nightstar snapped at me like a little terrier dog. "We need to get out of here. The last thing we need is for my dad and Miss Martian to know that we were here snooping."

The guy's amber eyes looked back at me with a curious inquisition. He tilted his head to one side as he watched me closely. He had a scar that went through his right eyebrow making it look a little broken.

"We can't leave him here," I protested. "He's a kid- just like you and me. It's not fair for him to be held up in here like a test subject."

"And what if he's important? Like some kind of weapon in case the Light strikes us again?" Nightstar fired off random theories at me as I stood frozen to the spot. "Stealth we have to get out of here now!"

The guy in the tube lifted his hand up to the glass and flexed out his fingers.

"What is he doing, Lola? Lola- get away from the glass. Come on!" Nightstar grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away.

Then I saw a hairline fracture break out on the surface of the glass. Within seconds, it had spread across the front of the tube, and it broke under the pressure.

I was hit by a wave of the goo that was in the tube. It flicked onto Nightstar's clothes and washed over the floor, causing various computers and their trailing wires to spark.

"Oh my god, we have to get out of here right now!" Nightstar went into a panic. She spun around like a maniac, surveying the room. "Oh god, I can't believe I'm about to do this."

Before I had time to ask what she was about to do, Nightstar grabbed my wrist and the guy's as he stepped down from the broken tube shell. She flew through the air, dragging us with her as she slammed into the wall with such a force that it broke apart. We burst out into the midnight skies over Gotham.

"You need to go to my house. Head towards Star City and stop over the border of Gotham City. That's where I live!" I yelled over the rushing winds.

The guy remained silent as he hung from Nightstar's grip.

-o-

Once Nightstar found her way to my house, I was grateful that Bart and Jaime were on their weekly date night. Even if it had been commandeered by the Wayne Enterprise event. It did allow me to sneak Nightstar and the tube guy into the house. Fortunately the speed of Nightstar's flying meant that my suit was now dry from the tube goop. It did make it feel a little dirty and crusty at the shoulders, but it was nothing a good whizz in the washing machine would solve.

"What about him?" Nightstar gestured at the guy. "What do we do with him?"

"We hide him." I smiled nervously. "He can hide in my room. My dads' will never know – I don't allow them into my room ever. You better go home before they return."

"If you're sure…" Nightstar whispered, pulling me away from him and going into the next room. "We don't even know his name…"

"Ky-El…" a voice said calmly from the next room.

Nightstar and I exchanged a quizzical look before walking back into the kitchen.

"Did he just say Kyle?" I asked her. "Is your name Kyle?" I added, opening my mouth wide to enunciate every syllable and word.

"Ky-El," he repeated.

"Well I'm going to call you Kyle," I replied. "Quick Nightstar, you have to get out of here. I'll be fine and I'll take care of Kyle."

"But what about Jester?"

"What about him?" I opened the door for her. "He may be my boyfriend, but me harbouring Kyle in secrecy doesn't change my relationship status."

Nightstar left and flew off into the night, closely watched by Kyle as he leaned forwards awkwardly to look out of the window. I admired his curiosity.

"Come on," I murmured. "You need to hide upstairs. In my room."

"Room?" Kyle replied in an intrigued tone. "Upstairs?"

"Yes, come on…" I pulled on his arm and led him upstairs.

Kyle looked up at the photos and portraits of me and my dads that were dotted up the stairs. He seemed to smile until I pushed open my bedroom door.

In my room there was a big double bed with pink swirly patterned sheets on with an array of pillows set on it in an elaborate display. The bookcase on the left as you walked into my bedroom was full of ballet trophies and athletics medals which suddenly made me feel unsure about letting Kyle into my room. I didn't want it to come across as boastful.

Kyle froze in the doorway. "Yours?"

"Yes silly, this is my room…" I ushered him in before quietly closing the door behind me and speeding over to the window to shut the curtains before any of our nosey neighbours could notice and snitch on me to DA02.

Yes, my two dads have their own designations in my eyes. DA01 is Impulse, and DA02 is Blue Beetle. Ordinarily, you would think that two superhero parents was a good thing, but it isn't. If anything, they have tried to push me away from hero life – to protect me.

Forcing Kyle to face the corner, I changed into silky pyjamas and threw the pillows onto the floor in a clump for him to sleep on, but he seemed unsure.

"Kyle, it's time to go to bed." I pointed at the pillow clump lined up next to my bed just in case either of my parents decided to peek in on me whilst I was asleep.

"I sleep?"

"Yes." I nodded enthusiastically, pulling my cover around me.

Kyle lay down on top of the pillows as if he was a stiff plank of wood. The moonlight shone through a gap in the curtains and I could see his eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling.

He seems nice… whoever or whatever he is.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

I assumed that he was thanking me for, so I said, "You're welcome. Goodnight Kyle."

As I went to sleep, I was thankful that it was the weekend and I wouldn't have to manage school and Kyle because that would have been a disaster.

-o-

I wasn't so thankful in the morning.

Kyle had disappeared.

"Oh my god…" I sighed, flopping back down onto my pillows and then bolting upright.

The window was open. Kyle was loose in the town and had no idea where he was. I didn't know either, but that could change. I felt like I could teach him about the world around him and hoped that he would become this incredibly talented individual…

"Kyle?" I whispered before getting out of bed and leaning out the window to see if there was any sign of him, but there was nothing.

A knock at the door made me jump and pull the window to. "Lola? Would you like some breakfast? I'm making waffles!"

"Not today DA02. I'm meeting friends for brunch," I responded hastily, grabbing an outfit from my wardrobe. "I won't be home until this evening."

Scurrying down the stairs, DA02 sped past me and blocked the front door.

"Hey," I protested. "I thought we agreed no speeding in the house!"

It was true. Ever since I can remember, my other dad, DA01, had put a house rule in prohibiting any speedsters from speeding around the house. Sometimes we could get away with it, but DA02 loved the challenge of not being caught.

"I believe that we are still yet to meet this amazing boyfriend of yours." DA02 flashed a bright smile at me.

"Come on Dad- flash off... You'll meet him when you meet him..." I edged around him and shouted bye as I slammed the front door shut. "Right, where are you Kyle?"

I started to walk away from the house, taking in the fresh floral smells that our lovely elderly neighbours had been cultivating in their front gardens. It all seemed very daunting – I had no idea who or what Kyle was and why Miss Martian had been keeping him a secret. The fact that another super Nightstar called Kitty was guarding Kyle meant that he was incredibly important. Otherwise he wouldn't have been guarded. But the way he broke the glass. With a finger. That was insane and defied logic. However, a world full of supers meant that logic went out of the window ninety nine per cent of the time.

"Hello."

Alert. I was suddenly alert and wide eyed as I turned around. I felt my body drop and relax when I saw Kyle standing there. His eyes were an amber, gold colour and his hair was short and black. When I smiled, he smiled and I noticed the faintest little dimples that made me melt inside.

"Oh my god, Kyle, I'm so glad I found you!" I threw my arms over his shoulders and flinched when I saw Ryan further down the street.

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked slowly, not even moving his hands from his side.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, pulling away.

"You flinched…"

"What? No, I didn't." I brushed my hair behind my ear, sighing slightly. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

"We are though."

I stifled a laugh. "Alright smart arse…"

Ryan was beside us before we could even turn away. "New friend, Lola?" he asked very pointedly, shaking his head to flick his hair over.

I blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what to say. "He's-"

"Foreign exchange student. From Cheznekova," Kyle interrupted in perfect English with a slight twinge of a forced accent. "Lola has been- how do you say – showing me the ropes?"

My boyfriend smiled at me, trying to hide his doubt, but I could see straight through him. Ryan had some interesting tells. The odd facial twitch and flex of his muscles. Other people might miss them, but I couldn't. His hand darted for me, squeezing it gently. "Well I think it's only fair that I join you. Can't have my girl showing a prettyboy around the city… He might start to get ideas."

Kyle stood up straight. "What kind of ideas might a prettyboy get?"

"Oh…" Ryan paused, leaning into me and towards Kyle. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

The tension between the two boys was so frustrating that I wriggled forwards, pulling them with me. "Come on guys, let's go to the Gotham Art Gallery. There's a new exhibit on by Hayden Kennedy-Dallas that I've been dying to go and see!"

"Great idea babe," Ryan added, putting his arm around my waist so that we were almost hip to hip.

-o-

The Gotham Art Gallery was a magnificent building on the inside. It was a pristine white interior, including the floors. Cleaners were constantly passing through in black outfits to clean up any scuff marks made by anyone's shoes. There were lots of exhibits going on, and art was one of my hidden passions. Ryan was never into art and history – if it were up to him, all of our dates would have been to the race tracks outside of the city or some rock concert where you just end up being battered in a 'mosh pit'. Most people questioned us being together, but there was just something about him that I like – other than his looks. Sure, Ryan had his downfalls… I just saw the good in him come out when we were together.

"So this is Hayden Kennedy-Dallas' artwork?" Kyle asked, pointing up at one of the portraits whilst Ryan slumped down on one of the benches to take a selfie and no doubt upload it to social media. "It's beautiful."

The portrait Kyle was indicating was called 'Sleeping Baby' and it depicted exactly that. A woven basinet from an aerial view, with a little newborn baby snuggled up with a blanket and a small toy monkey. I had always felt a special connection with this one. A connection that I couldn't explain.

"It certainly is, Kyle."

His eyes looked over at the next painting - the Intimate Kiss and seemed to study it closely as if he was taking in every detail of the artwork.

Someone came up to my right side and as I turned to look at them, I practically flipped out with excitement. There, standing right beside us, was Hayden Kennedy-Dallas. She was even more beautiful in real life. I could remember seeing her photograph on the front cover of magazines and thinking how amazing she looked. She had long dark blond hair that had been tied back in a ponytail with two wispy strands coming down either side of her face. Perched on her nose were these crescent moon shaped glasses that when she tilted her head upwards, she was able to investigate the painting more closely.

"I see you like my 'Sleeping Baby' painting. I did this nearly sixteen years ago and it is still my personal favourite to date." Hayden smiled. "Most people tend to prefer the Frolicking Lovers, Intimate Kiss or Doting Siblings, but they don't speak to me in the same way." Her bright sea blue eyes glanced over at me and Kyle. "You two make a very cute couple…"

Before I could correct her, Ryan was by my side. "Actually lady, I'm the boyfriend. He's just a foreign exchange student."

Completely unimpressed with my actual boyfriend, Hayden cocked her head to one side as if to say 'really?' and then marched away. There was a clanging sound ringing in my head as my mouth hit the floor.

"Ryan…" I moaned exasperatedly. "Why don't you just go home? It's so obvious you don't want to be here."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on babe, don't be like that."

"Be like what?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down, despite the fact that people were already turning to look. "You're making a sense Ryan- just leave."

Ryan's phone pinged in his hand, forcing the gallery assistant to loudly shush him and point to the 'No phones' sign beside him. "Fine!"

Ryan strutted away, catching the attention of a woman wearing a skimpy red dress. He looked at her and continued walking out, pretty sure of himself.

Angered, I looked away and flinched when Kyle was standing right there with his hand extended out to me. "I'm sorry about this Kyle. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I mean, how was I to know that Ryan would appear like that at my house and-"

"Shhhhh…" Kyle whispered, pressing a finger to his lips like he had seen the gallery assistant do not moments before.

We walked slowly around the gallery, interspersed with my own tour guide moments where I described the paints Hayden Kennedy-Dallas had commissioned in her time. Eventually, I decided that we should sneak up onto the roof of the gallery. From there, you could get a great view of the city and watch the sun setting.

Kyle held his hand up to a locked door and I watched in amazement as I heard the lock click. "Ladies first." He opened the door, gesturing for me to lead the way.

I followed up the spiralling staircase that was lit by the odd hanging lightbulb that would buzz uncontrollably. It seemed eerie, but I knew that it wasn't far until we would reach the roof. Fortunately, it was just a single sliding bolt to open the door onto the roof.

Out on the roof, there was a couple of wooden pallets that had been abandoned, along with an old ragged red blanket. Kyle walked towards the edge of the roof and scanned the horizon, taking in the city of Gotham below us.

"Ryan took me up here on our first date," I mumbled slowly.

"Don't like him."

"Excuse me but he is my boyfriend." I went to punch his arm, but he flicked his hand up and a force compressed my hand. "Ow! What are you doing?"

"Sorry," he responded, dropping his hand and releasing my hand from the metaphysical force. Kyle's emotion dropped and he sat on the edge of the roof, dangling his legs over the edge.

I cautiously joined him, careful about the placement of my skirt.

"Why Ryan?" Kyle asked, looking at me.

My eyes drew away from him and I looked at the sunset, counting the colours I could see and trying to name all the different shades and hues. "Because he loves me, and I think I love him…" I replied weakly. "And I don't want to hear what you don't like about him. I've heard it all before, but he's different."

Leaning back a little, I placed my hands down on the wall and felt something incredibly cold on my right. Kyle's hand was cold. He noticed me looking down at his hand and he pulled it out from underneath mine.

"Sorry," I said quickly, nervously looking away.

"Don't…"

"What?" I looked back and our eyes locked onto each other's – I couldn't help but drop my gaze down to his lips and I realised that we were a few centimetres apart, feeling each other's breath on our face. My heart was racing and I had no idea why.

People screaming from inside the gallery caught me off guard, forcing me to stand up immediately. I ran towards the door and grabbed the cloth blanket, ripping a strip of it off and wrapping it around my head as if it were a makeshift balaclava, exposing my eyes and lips.

"Stay here, Kyle. Okay?"

"Oh. Yes…" Kyle seemed confused, but stood there looking helpless.

The makeshift balaclava was itchy and scratching my brows, but I had to protect my identity if I were to help the terrified public in the gallery. They had screamed for a reason, and I was about to know what it was.

As I came down the stairs in a matter of seconds, I could hear someone shouting from the other side of the door. "Search the building – that mutant is here, find it!"

"Mutant?" I mumbled, nudging the door open to peer through the gap.

I counted three soldiers, all clad in uniform black, surrounding the civilians. Including Hayden Kennedy-Dallas. The leader who had called out was nowhere to be seen. I could hear hollow footsteps coming towards the door and I decided that I would burst out and find a safe hiding place.

"Hey!" a fourth soldier shouted as I burst out, slamming the door into him.

As I skidded through the gallery, I stopped when I found an empty room of the gallery. "God!" I hissed through my teeth when I noticed my pumps were burnt through from the friction. Knowing the soldiers would be looking for me, I hid the destroyed shoes behind a Greek god's statue.

"They went this way!"

I readjusted my balaclava scarf and prepared to engage in a fight. This was like my first solo mission, I had to show the Justice League that the Justice Squad were the new kids on the block and even though we were kids, we came to play.

"I can't find them!"

Here we go.

Something caught my eye as I prepared to dart out, causing me to do a false start and slip. Up above me, looking down at me from the glass domed ceiling, was Kyle. His eyes wide with anticipation and then suddenly fear.

"Hello darlin'." A hand grabbed me around the throat, lifting me effortlessly off the floor.

The air was almost sucked from my lungs as my legs kicked. My suffocator was a man wearing a dark outfit and a silver helmet that exposed his mouth, but shielded his eyes with a visor. At first, I clawed at the hand that was clamped around my neck – even with my speedy legs, I couldn't kick him so I stopped, spluttered and went limp.

Play dead.

"Such strength… What a waste." He dropped me, laughing maniacally. "Let's move on!"

The sound of breaking glass rang out through the room and I couldn't help but bring my arms up to protect my head and curl up as glass shards fell to the ground around me. Without looking, I heard the sound of a fight and soldiers running through the gallery to investigate what was going on.

"Boss- let's get out of-" one soldier called out, but their sentence was cut off.

More screams followed, but they came from the soldiers. It was not a jump scare scream, but a blood curdling scream of pain.

I blinked slowly, feeling weakened and literally shaking. As I brought myself up to my feet, I cupped my hands over my mouth.

Kyle was floating, just a few feet above the floor with his hands held up in front of him. His eyes were glowing red and his expression looked so dark. The soldiers around him were unconscious apart from the leader who was also in the air and choking.

"No Kyle!" I shouted helplessly. "Don't!" I ripped off the cloth, pulling it down from above my eyes.

His head jerked in my direction with a spiteful expression slapped across his face. In a split moment, when he realised it was me, the red eyes disappeared and the leader dropped to the floor. Kyle glided down to the floor and came towards me, treading over the broken glass, but I backed away, falling over my own feet and landing on the white marble floor. I was terrified at what he had just done – like he had turned into a monster – and scrambled away.

"Lola?" Kyle whispered sadly.

"Hey! Get away from her!"

A metal rectangle spun through the air and sliced Kyle's cheek.

Jester rushed into the room and picked me up off the floor with one hand. "Are you alright, Miss?" It was Ryan in his hero suit – a short sleeved suit which was black on one side and white on the other. His hazel eyes were hidden behind a sleek, black mask.

"It's not Kyle's fault," I stammered.

"I'm not taking any chances." Jester pulled out a snare gun, firing it quickly at Kyle. The snare lashed itself around Kyle, shocking him and dragging him to his knees. "Let's get him to base for an interrogation."

"No- you don't understand," I protested, tugging on Jester's muscular arm.

-o-

Back at the Justice Squad's HQ, Kyle was marched off by Green Canary and Angel. They seemed confused by Jester's decision to bring the boy in.

Diana was there too, wearing her gladiator inspired outfit. "Nightwing wants to have a discussion with you, Stealth. He's in the main control room."

A discussion was putting it loosely.

"Stealth- explain yourself!" Nightwing shouted, slamming the desk he was stood behind.

Miss Martian's voice echoed from a telecommunications device nearby. "Nightwing- what's happened?"

"Project K-M has been compromised…" Nightwing leaned forwards, waiting for a reply.

"W- what do you mean?" Miss Martian's voice was shaky on the other end. "Stealth, it's Miss Martian. What did you do?"

I remained silent, having no idea what to do or say.

"This is supposed to be your chance to explain your side of things."

"I helped Kyle escape. He was trapped in that tube like some sort of experiment."

"Trapped? You think he was trapped?! Nightwing, I cannot listen to this. I need to return home now. Explain to her what she's done…"

The line beeped and Nightwing walked me out of the control room and down the corridor, passing Finn and Diana who looked confused by the scenario. The members of the Justice Team were already mad at me, so I refused to open my mouth. He pushed me towards the holding cells' observation room.

On the other side of the two way mirror, Jester and Green Canary were stood opposite Kyle who was secured to a chair. I looked over at Nightwing, who narrowed his eyes at me.

"Is he a weapon, Nightwing?" I asked slowly, seeing if my suspicion was correct.

"Project KM was created in case of an emergency. Rumours of an invasion coming have made their way back to the Watchtower. Project KM has a mixture of Martian, Human and Kryptonian skills, but we have no way of knowing how powerful he is. You waking him up could have a catastrophic backlash. What happened at the gallery will not go unnoticed."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise." Nightwing folded his arms. "I have my own suspicions that I'd like to confirm. You see, Project KM seems to have had an accelerated skillset- right down to his handle on language and that… is because of you."

"Me?" I turned towards the glass again. "Nightwing, all I did was show him a small pocket of the world. That doesn't mean anything."

"Are you willing to let me test that?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Wrong answer." Nightwing pressed a small batarang to my neck. "One move and you'll be dead."

Panicked, I froze. Inside, I was screaming for help. Someone help me! I thought, shutting my eyes tightly. A loud bang startled me and the batarang was dropped, clattering to the floor.

"See?" Nightwing asked me.

When I opened my eyes, Kyle was standing next to the glass, free from the chair. His eyes red and glowing. Jester was nursing a red mark on his cheek and helping Green Canary to her feet. Kyle lifted his hand up to the glass and I pressed my hand against it knowing he was going to break it. A hairline fracture appeared on the glass.

"You can hear my thoughts, can't you?" I said out loud, realising he couldn't hear me completely.

Kyle- I'm okay. Relax.

Kyle shut his eyes, shuddered and opened them to show the amber orbs I remembered.

"What does this mean, Nightwing?" I asked.

"It means that to him, you are untouchable. You brought him life and showed him the world… No one can bring you to harm whilst he is nearby. Just as I thought, but it won't end well."

Great. Better watch what I'm thinking about now…

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Oh hot damn! I cannot tell you how much I enjoy writing this story. So what are your thoughts so far?