Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or anything referenced in this story. I only own my character and any other character I add to this story!
I'm nailing shards of hope together
to put something over my head
because you know here it's always raining
and it happened again. It happened again
She said, I let this slide when we were younger
You know you don't have to write like this
The whole world's full of losers
If you get a chance to win, take it
-Washington Square Park-
The Wonder Years
They were shocked. It was hard to comprehend what just happened. The seemingly fragile girl had just taken out ten plus enemies with the simple flick of her wrist. The abyss that was her eyes turned to stare at the doctor. He took a step back, sweat running down his face. Kid Flash raised an eyebrow as he glanced back at the stunned boy wonder. Robin looked at his best friend and shrugged his shoulders.
" You shouldn't have done that Doctor Desmond. Now there is nothing to protect you. I have spent years inside that cage waiting to be set free and you are not going to stand in the way of my freedom." She spoke, before raising her arm once more. She kept her palm facing the ground this time. The purple and black energy formed in her hand once again. The girl momentarily paused when she felt something grab her free hand. She looked over her shoulder to see Robin had grasped her hand. He gazed into her purple eyes trying to send her a message. She looked at him for a few seconds before giving a very small and subtle nod of her head. In return he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She turned back to gaze at the scientist that practically created her. Transformed her into this monster. Focusing one last time, the girl aimed at her target. Soon she could feel the energy leave her hand. The group watched as the ball of energy hot at the doctor. The energy took a different form than the last time she used it. Instead of a sphere shape the energy took the form of a swirling vortex with the center that looked like a black hole. It went hurtling towards it target with precision, but instead of hitting him full force the energy came in contact with ground near his feet. The blast sent the older man flying to the side, a groan escaped his lips as his body slapped against floor.
The blonde lowered her hand slowly, trying to process what had occurred. The group of sidekicks looked at the girl with shock evident on her face. Once her hand hung loosely at her side, her eyes fade back to their original color. Kid Flash was the first one to break the silence.
"That was…. awesome!" He cheered with a smile. Aqualad let a smile cross his face as he shifted his gaze towards her. She would be a suitable ally. The smile on his face soon dropped into a frown. He watched the internal battle that was raging inside as her body began to sway before falling backwards. Luckily Robin had seen the movement as well and had let go of her hand to catch her falling body. He braced her form against his chest to cushion her fall. She clenched her eyes shut and moved her hand to her forehead, feeling an intense migraine grip her brain. With almost a sixth sense, she could infer that the boy was looking at her with concern.
"I'm alright. I just haven't used that much of my power in a long time." She conveyed to silence his worry. She opened her eyes to look at him. She then did something she hadn't done in a long time. She let a small smile graced her lips. To be honest she figure she didn't remember how to smile for it had been so long. Finding her actions contagious, the boy smile back at her. The blonde began to try to stand, the migraine fading as if it had never happened.
"We must hurry. I have no doubt that Desmond summoned about every genomorph in this place and I would much rather not have to stay in this hell hole longer than I truly have to. " She spoke once she was steady on her feet. She then looked to who seemed to be the leader. Her purple orbs glanced in the direction of Aqualad. She had been speaking to all of them in general but mainly tried to get her point across to him. He looked back at her and nodded his head.
" We need to move now." He commanded, glancing at the rest of their companions. Both Kid Flash and Superboy nodded. Aqualad then began to sprint towards the gaping hole that once used to be a door. The rest of the group followed after the Atlantian. The blonde took one last look over her shoulder to see the room that had held her captive for years fade away. A smile broke out across her face, she had never felt so free in her life. The sound of her feet pounding echoed in her ears,it made her happy. It was as if this weight was lifted from her shoulders.
"We are still forty two levels below ground, but if we get to the elevator.." Aqualad sentence seemed to die in his throat when he slide to a stop. The group followed in his hault. The creme colored pouches on the red wall began to turn a bright red. Soon genomorphs in all shapes and sizes emerged from the wall. The blonde girl wrinkled her brow in disgusts.
"That just looks wrong." She complained. Her gaze looked at the end of the hallway to see multiple large genomorphs. Aqualad turned to look at his companions, while the genomorphs closed in on their location. With a loud roar, one of the giant genomorphs raised their fists above their heads. With in seconds the fist came crashing down. The group dived out of the way to avoid being turned into a pancake. Superboy glared before launching from his feet to punch the genomorph in the face. He then turned only to have another fist ascend upon him. In the midst of fighting, the rest of the group was dodging. The blonde girl was frantically hoping and rolling to avoid getting hit. She let out a surprised yelp when a fist came speeding towards her head. She quickly ducked and rolled between it's legs. She stumbled to her feet to stand between Robin and Kid Flash. They watched as Superboy punched another genomorph sending it crashing into the wall. The shock caused the hallway to shake. The girl and the sidekicks braced themselves.
"He's going to bring this place down on top of us." Kid Flash shouted over the loud sounds. Aqualad hastily looked at a the clone.
"Superboy! The point is to escape, not bury us!" Aqualad yelled. Feeling anger fuel with in him Superboy looked at the Atlantian.
"You want escape?" He scream back, a wild look in his blue eyes. He shifted to a large genomorph and grabbed his legs. With a little bit of trouble but not much, Super boy lifted the beast over his head and tossed it towards the large pack of genomorphs that had accumulated in the small area. The genomorph sailed slowly through the air due to its mass and collided with other large genomorphs. Sighing, Aqualad moved quickly to the elevator doors at the end of the hall. With no question, everyone followed. Once they came to the door Aqualad pride it open with all his strength. Kid Flash used his super speed to jump across the gap inside the shaft of the elevator. Robin's hands moved on their own accord as he fished out his grappling hook. His left hand shot out and grabbed the blonde's hand. With a quick tug, he tucked her body close to his. His arm locked securely around her waist.
"Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on." He spoke swiftly. With a quick nod of acknowledgement, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Before she could say a word, Robin had shot his grappling hook. They were pulled through the air, in mere seconds they were far enough away from the elevator doors. Robin stopped the mechanism in his gun, leaving them to hang in the air. She looked down to see Superboy grab Aqualad and hop up into the shafts. The blonde saw it before anyone else. Superboy had been under the conclusion that he would be able to fly, being Superman's clone, but he was wrong. After scaling a good bit of the elevator, it became clear that Superboy did not have that ability. Thinking quickly, the girl loosened one hand from around the boy wonders neck to fish through his utility belt. Her nimble fingers searched through one of the pouches in his belt. She gave a little aha moment when she found what she was looking for. Having seen the black haired boy use this contraption before, the girl threw the batarang with as much strength as she could muster. The batarang left her fingers and embedded into the wall just in time for Aqualad to grasp the small tool. Giving a sigh of relief, Robin peered down at the girl. They would have fallen if she hadn't come up with her own way of solving the problem.
"Good thinking." He praised her. The girl simply buried her head into his chest, nodding in acknowledgement. Robin shifted his gaze to his friends. Superboy's face looked crushed.
"Superman can fly. Why can't I fly?" He seemed to ask as he looked up at the brown skinned teenager. Aqualad looked down at the boy trying to find a way to comfort the clone. Kid Flash took the opportunity to add in.
"Don't know, but it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool!" He spoke with a smile. Robin took this time to survey the area. Seeing the ledge that Kid Flash had perched himself on made the black haired boy get an idea. With the idea developing in his head, Robin looked down at the mass of blonde hair. It seems she had the same idea that he had, for her purple orbs had been staring at the ledge.
"I'm going to swing us over there." He spoke, interrupting her thoughts.
"Okay." She replied. The two of them began swinging to increase their momentum. When they had a good swing going both teenagers jumped to the ledge. There feet hit the ledge with a thud. Robin then hit a button on the side of his grappling hook to retract the line. He then placed it into his belt and shut the pouch it belong in. The sound of Aqualad and Superboy's feet thudded against the ledge. Another sound caught their attention.
"Guy's this is going to have to be our exit." Robin hastily said, for the elevator was dropping on them at alarming rate. With quick reaction time, Superboy kicked opened the steel doors They landed on the ground in a mangled heap. The group then tumbled through the opening just as the elevator fell pass them. As if they couldn't get a break, straight ahead of them was an extensive amount of genomorphs filled the bright hallway. The group scurried to the right in attempts to lose the massive amount of creatures chasing them.
"Turn left brother." A voice rang through Superboy's head. He recognized that voice, it had been the voice that had lead them to the captive girl. Taking a second to think of his options, Superboy decided to follow the voice.
"Left." He called out before taking the left turn ahead of him.
"Turn right."
"Right." After following the stream of direction, the sidekicks came to a dead end hallway with a single vent in the wall. skidding to a stop, Kid Flash began to state the obvious.
"Oh great directions Supey. Are you trying to get us re-podded?" He complained. Super then looked down with a sorrowful look on his face.
"I'm sorry." He stated. The blonde, who had stopped with Aqualad and Robin looked around the hallway, searching for any means of escape. Robin moved forward and an enthusiastic smirk formed on his face. He began to laugh with glee as he spoke.
"Don't apologize, this is perfect!" Moving towards the vent, he grabbed Kid Flash by the arm.
"Give me a boost man." The boy wonder spoke. Kid Flash sighed before clamping his hands together to make a platform. Robin grabbed his shoulders and placed his foot on the makeshift platform. Kid Flash let out a puff of air as he lifted the boy up. Robin threw the vent grate on the floor before clambering into the vent. Kid Flash then soon jumped up to follow after the masked boy. The blonde moved towards the wall trying to figure out an effective way to get into the vent. A light tap against her shoulder cause her to swiftly turn her head. Aqualad stood or was rather crouched next her side with his hands clasped together much like Kid Flash had.
"Thank you." She spoke with a smile before copying Robin's movements. She clambered into the vent as fast as she could. Moments like this made her be thankful for the fact that she was so short in stature. She followed behind Kid Flash closely. The closer they were the safer they were. The group seemed to stop when Superboy stopped moving. They all looked over the shoulder to look at the clone.
"What's wrong?' She found herself whispering. Superboy shushed her before speaking.
"Listen." He spoke quietly. The pitter patter sound began to echo. Not wanting to find out what that sound was, the blonde turned and knudged Kid Flash. The ginger looked at the girl and gave her a dazzling smile. He turned back to see Robin had already begun moving again. Soon he came to an opening the let light seep through. He then pushed the vent grate out. He dropped the ground and scanned the area. When no threat made themselves present he turned to help his friends out of the vent. Kid Flash grabbed his hand and hopped out of the vent. Next was the blonde which Robin had decided to dub her as blondie, seeing as she hadn't told them her name yet. She stuck out her hand and grabbed the offered appendage. Robin gently pulled her free and helped her to the ground. Once her feet touched the ground, he released her. He then helped both Aqualad and Superboy. Once everyone was out, Robin brought up his holographic screen. His agile fingers scurried over the keyboard. The sidekicks then circled around the boy wonder to see what he was doing. Robin then looked over his shoulder with an accomplished his grin pulling at his lips.
"I hacked the motion sensors." He gloated. A smile broke out on everyone's face.
"Sweet!" Kid Flash cheered.
"There's not a lot between us and them though." Robin stated, standing up. Robin's comment didn't seem faze the speedster. Kid Flash placed the goggles that were on his head over his eyes.
"So? I finally have room to move." He declared before speeding off. Blondie watched as he zipped passed her,sending a breeze whipping through her hair. She then looked at the remaining members of their group. She raised her eyebrow in a puzzled expression.
"Does he expect us to follow him?" She questioned. When she got no answer she sighed. Rolling her eyes, the girl sprinted off in the direction Kid Flash had ran. She came to a door at the end of the corridor. The remaining boys turned to corner to witness the short girl raise her leg to kick the door open. An annoyed groan left her lips as she gaze at the extensive amount of stairs. They just seemed to lead into a never ending spiral. Aqualad and Superboy brush passed her. Robin ran up next to her pulling up his holograph.
"You coming?" He teased, before following after the other two. She took one look at the retreating back of the boy wonder before looking at the never ending spiral.
"Oooohhh,but all those staiirrss." She whined, sprinting up them, multiple steps at a time. She soon caught up to the rest of the group.
"MORE BEHIND US." Robin shouted looking behind him. Superboy stopped moving once all of his companions were ahead of him. Spinning around, Superboy lifted his leg and stomped it down with such force the the staircase snapped and plummeted to the ground, taking the unfortunate genomorphs with it.
Kid Flash continued up the stairs at inhuman speed. There came a point when there was no more stairs to climb. He sped through the opening, skidding to turn the corner. The once white and brown hallway was a deep shade of red. It seems like the Cadmus had finally risen the alarm. The hallway ahead of the speedster was going under lock down. The speedster was not quick enough to react because he slid into the door, causing him to tumble backwards with a groan. Gritting his teeth, Kid Flash looked up to see Aqualad and the rest of the group.
"We are cut off from the streets."Aqualad said, coming to a hault. Kid Flash leaned up, rubbing the forming bump on his head.
"Thanks, my head hadn't noticed." He snidely replied. Superboy moved passed them all to assault the door. The blonde took a couple of steps towards the fallen hero and stuck her hand out. Kid Flash looked up at her and grinned. He grabbed her hand and the short girl hoisted him to his feet.
"Thanks beautiful." He complimented. The poor girl just looked at him with a puzzled look, not knowing how to respond. The sound of loud thuds resonated through the air causing the girl to shift her gaze to Superboy. Aqualad went to help Superboy pry the door open.
"Can't hack this fast enough." Robin spoke with annoyance. Genomorphs were closing in on their position and he needed to think fast.
"This way!" He called as he swung his leg around to kick the door to his left. His hand shot out and grabbed a hold of the slender fingers of the girl. He pulled her along causing the girl to stumble through the opening. She quickly gained her coordination after taking a few steps. She then slammed into Robin's back for he had come to an abrupt stop. Her eyes widened in fear as she gazed at genomorphs ahead of her. There was barely any place to stand in this cramped hallway. The rest of the sidekicks slid to a stop, not having any other place to go. The girl was consumed with anguish. They couldn't fight all of these creatures. The blonde turned to see a giant genomorph had crept up behind them. She pressed herself closer to the masked boy in front of her. He dropped her hand to get into a fighting stance, much like the others.
She was scared. She didn't want to lose control. She shook her head vigorously trying to wipe that thought like that would cause her to panic. Panic would make her lose. She couldn't lose control. Losing control meant she might hurt the people who gave her a sliver of hope in humanity. She bit her lip when she felt familiar crackling feeling between fingers. Her fearful gaze shifted to the man with his arms crossed. He looked familiar to her, then it came flooding back to her. He was there. She could vaguely remember him being there during her physical training. He had protested against Desmond. Said that they shouldn't make her learn how to fight. Desmond of course rejected the man's complaint. In some weird way he had defended her. She moved a little to the side of Robin to look at the man. She concentrated on trying to convey her thoughts to him. She was hoping, begging for him to let them go. He glanced at her through his helmet, giving her a sorrowful glance. The next thing she knew her world went black.
It felt like she was drowning. She could see the surface but was never close enough to reach it. She couldn't give up, not when she was so freedom,but no matter how hard she kicked her legs she never got any closer. All of a sudden she broke the surface. Her head pulsed in pain as she opened her eyes. Slowly she stood up, being careful in her movements as to avoid dizziness. Her muddle mind began to focus when Aqualad spoke.
"Guardian?" He asked. His question was answered with a short statement.
"Go. I'll deal with Desmond." Guardian proclaimed.
"I think not." Another voice interrupted. All of the genomorphs parted like the red sea to reveal Dr. Desmond. The mans eyes were filled with rage. In his hand was a veil filled with a blue substance.
"Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus." With a flick of his thumb, the cork left the veil with a pop. He moved it to his lips and downed the liquid.
They all watched in horror as Desmond's body began to mutate. His body collapsed to the floor. His torso grew larger and his face contorted in pain before his skin ripped. The grotesque sight nearly made the blonde throw up. before them stood a grey monster with blood red eyes and black surrounding the iris. It was as if his inner demon was exposed to the light. He let out a screeching roar before smacking the approaching Guardian. Guardian's body sail through the air, his body soon impacting the wall. Superboy growled, lunging at the beast. A crunch could be heard as Superboy's fist met Desmond face. Desmond responded with a return punch at the clone. Superboy's body slid across the floor but he gained his composure back. He bounded into the air, only to have Desmond tackle him through the ceiling. Once the dust settled the remaining sidekicks moved to the stand under the massive hole.
"Well that's one way to bust through the ceiling." Robin quipped, removing his grappling gun. He wrapped his arm around the blondes waist once again. Knowing the drill, the girl wrapped her arms around his neck. Removing one arm she, grabbed onto Kid Flashes hand.
"Do you think he's planning this?" Kid Flash asked. As soon as the words left his mouth Robin shot the gun, launching them up through the hole. Their feet touched the ground and they let go of the boy wonder. Aqualad hopped up and landed right next to the three teenagers.
"I doubt he is planning anything anymore." Aqualad spoke looking at his companions. That probably was a bad thing to do seeing as in mere seconds, Superboy collided with the Atlantian. Their bodies rolled a few betters back. Robin and Kid Flash ran back to meet the fallen sidekicks. Aqualad gave a small groan before standing up. Superboy follow the actions the other teenagers. The all got into their fighting stances but stopped when they saw the beast charge at the blonde girl. Her back was to them but they could tell she was about to unleash her magic.
She quickly cartwheeled to right to avoid the blow. What she did next surprised them all. The girl ran at the monster, eyes shining the fluorescent purple. Right before their eyes, she disappeared in a mist of purple. A flash of purple made them focus behind the creature. A large eruption of energy sent the creature flying a few meters away. In the middle of the fading mist was the blonde. Her hand raised in the air, clearly aiming her power at it's target. She gave a heavy pant and lowered her arm but regretted it when a large piece of concrete came hurdling at her head. Reacting sluggishly nearly took her head as she rolled out of the way. She lifted her hand, sending a spiraling vortex in the monster's direction. Her legs pumped rapidly as she ran towards her companions.
A sense of accomplishment filled her when she heard the creature wail in pain. She skidded across the floor, nearly tripping over her feet when she stopped next to the boys. Once in a line, they all advanced. One by one they all attacked. It didn't end as they wanted. They were getting the shit kicked out of them. Desmond had rushed Superboy into a pillar. Aqualad had jumped up to hit the monster with his water mace but never hit his target. At the same time, Kid Flash had been attempting;and failing to scale the creature. With one large hand, Desmond grasped Kid Flashes head and hurtled him towards the Atlantian. The two went tumbling to the floor with painful thuds. Desmond raised his fist to punch Superboy when superboy was dropped to his feet. He landed on his knees with a groan. He looked up to see the girl standing of to the side, hand in fist. Desmond was locked in her purple and black sphere. While Desmond struggled to free himself, four explosive disks sailed passed her head. They passed through the sphere and embedded in the monsters hide. Flashing lights indicated that they were going to blow. When the smoke cleared there seemed to be no damage to the creature. With a roar, Desmond destroyed the sphere that had suspended him in the air. The implosion of energy cause the girl to fly backwards Her body tumbled and rolled across the floor.
"THIS IS GETTING US NO WHERE! WE NEED A PLAN! I CAN'T KEEP HIM IN MY PHASE LOCK!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet to avoid the raging monster. Raising her hand once more, she sent the vortex in the monsters way. It hit him square in the face causing him to scream in pain. Stumbling around the monster clumsily ran into a pillar, demolishing it. The ceiling began to shake causing the boy wonder to look at the ceiling.
"That's it." He said to himself. Pulling up the schematics of the building Robin began to form a plan.
"KF over here." The boy shouted. Kid Flash tried to knock some sense back into his head before getting up and running towards his friend. Robin began giving the detail of his plan. Nodding Kid Flash went to work. The young teenager then shifted his focus to the blonde haired girl who was shooting multiple blast of energy at the creature.
"Blondie get over here." He called to her. The girl stopped firing her energy and looked over her shoulder at that boy.
"Blondie? That's what you dubbed me as?" She called over the loud sounds of destruction. She did a back handspring to avoid another slab of concrete hurtling her way. Landing on her feet she sprinted towards the masked boy.
"Not my fault I don't know your name. I just can't call you girl can I?" He respond seriously. She rolled her eyes but looked at the map he was showing her. His plan was to make the ceiling concave and crush the monster. She understand how they were going to do it but was still confused as to how she was supposed to help.
"And how am I going to help?" She question cluelessly. He gaze up from the map to look at her. Her eyes were back to their normal lavender hue.
"I need you hold him in that phase lock sphere for as long as you can. We will do the rest." He spoke. Her eyebrows creased together. Doubt was displayed on her face.
"As long as you can. That's all I ask." He said reassuringly. She bit her lip, a sign that he had picked up on to show she was nervous but she nodded nun the less. His eyes shifted back down to the map.
"Kenna." Her voice caused him to look at her with a puzzled expression.
"Call me Kenna." She spoke before sprinting off to do her job. Letting a brief smile cross his his face, Robin moved to draw the X on the floor.
The girl known as Kenna took a deep breathe. Kid Flash was in the midst of telling Aqualad the plan. Superboy was distracting the monster. Raising her hand one last time, Kenna concentrated on her target. Repeating the same motion she had earlier, her sphere trapped the monster instantly. Little beads of sweat drip down the back of her neck, Mingling with the sweat on her back. Kenna let out a strangled breathe. She had never been able contain a foe this strong. She needed to hold him as long as she could. When he began to struggle even harder, Kenna moved her other hand to grasp the struggling wrist of her right arm. Aqualad moved to apply the water to the ground as Superboy got into position.
"NOW KENNA."Robin shouted at the girl. Feeling the energy leave her, the phase lock broke,setting the monster loose. Kid Flash took the opportunity to get Desmond's attention. He sped past him and skid across the water. He looked at the skin in his hand and decided to annoy the monster further.
"Um got your nose?" He said as more of a question than a creature growled and ran at the speedster. Superboy than sprang out of no wear punching the monster in the face. Desmond collapsed to the floor and Aqualad took his turn. The tattoos n his arm began to glow and he electrocuted the water,which in turn electrocuted Desmond. While this was occurring, Kenna had ran to Robin's side. Once Aqualad was done, Robin took his chance. He threw his exploding disk into the remaining disk exploded causing the ceiling to collapse. Before Kenna could move, Robin tackled her to the ground. Another weight fell on them nearly crushing the poor girl.
Kenna felt as if she was being crushed for eternity and then suddenly the weight was lifted from her. Aqualad and then Robin moved the rubble off of them. Finally she could breathe leaned up trying to cough up the dust that had gotten into her lungs. A smile crossed her face when she heard Robin and Kid Flashes conversation. She watched them high-five but only to cringe and grab their ribs. Her smile then turned to a sight of wonder as she gazed at the moon. It had been years since she had seen the wonderful sight. She could vaguely hear Kid Flashed comment about promises when a small speck in the middle of the moon came closer. Then before her eyes was Superman and not far behind them was the entire Justice League.
It was safe to say they were in deep shit.
Damn that chapter was long. I'm so excited that I no longer have to call my character the girl anymore. It was so much fun to write some of Robin's lines. Some of my favorite one-liners are in this episode. Anyway, Hope you enjoyed it and please don't forget to review!:)