Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or anything referenced in this story. I only own Kenna and any other character I add to this story!
Trees don't grow straight,
They branch out in a million different ways.
You said you hate what you see in me,
But you won't cut me down before the leaves burn all around me.
-Bones-
Last Call
She desperately tried to keep her eyes open, but it was proving to be a very difficult task. You would think sleeping with her uniform on would be uncomfortable, but apparently not. Kenna was currently laying against Wolf, the large animal curling around the young girl. Through drowsy eyes, her hand came up to stroke the tail that was wrapped around her waist almost protectively. Sighing, she buried herself deeper into the cocoon of warmth that was emitting from her furry friend.
"How's the arm doing, Wally?" Cracking her eyes open, Kenna glanced up to look at Wally. The speedster was currently lounging back in a chair with his legs propped up. She raised an eyebrow as she watched Captain Marvel skip away to go get Wally some nachos. Shaking her head, Kenna turned to look at the rest of her team.
A lot events had occurred over the past couple of weeks. About two weeks ago, the team had dealt with the "mole" problem. They had gone on a mission to go see what was going on with the jungle animals in India while not necessarily being on the best of terms. What was more comically about the situation was they ended up bring home a pet. Wolf was like an overgrown puppy who just happened to hold the capability of ripping your innards to shreds. Irony at it's finest, ladies and gentlemen. Then there was the Injustice League incident last week. The team had to take down a group of supervillains who had an elaborate plan to cause mayhem with Joker gas plants and the midst of the battle, Wally had broken his arm. Kenna was broken out of her thoughts due to the loud slurping sound coming from the speedster. Yeah, he's really broken up about the ordeal.
Kenna leaned up slightly when she felt her backrest move. Lavender eyes peered down to see Wolf move his head closer to her body. Smiling softly, Kenna leaned back against the animal and affectionately pet his head. So this is what it felt like to bond with a pet. As a child, Kenna had been deprived of the well known child experience. She had never had any pets growing up, not even a goldfish. Her parents had forbid any sort of animal in there home. Of course this disappointed both the female and her brother Tommy. But now things had changed. The blonde had not expected to bond with the large animal. Now if he was not following Connor, Wolf would be found in the presence of the quiet teen.
A groan drew her from her thoughts, causing her to train her attention on the person in front of her. Robin's body tumbled across the ground and stopped a foot away from her. Kenna let a smirk pull at her lips, eyes watching as the boy wonder rolled onto his stomach and attempted to get to his feet. The boy had just got his ass handed to him by the blonde archer. Kenna glanced up to meet Artemis' eyes and gave her a thumbs up, who smirked in return. She then could feel some one glaring into her soul. Glancing back down, she met the annoyed gaze of her best friend. She gave the raven haired boy a smug grin, not being able to keep look hidden. Robin childishly stuck out his tongue causing a giggle to escape the blonde. She watched him clamber to his feet and stuck out her hand for him to help her up. Robin grasped her hand and yanked her to her feet. Kenna stumbled to find her balance before turning her attention back to Wolf. He had raised his head to look at her, his look questioning why she had gotten up. Smiling, she bent down slightly to rub his ears. The animal, turned his head into her hand, enjoying the display of affection before placing his head back down on the ground.
"Good work, everyone. In fact, it's been a very productive week." The familiar voice drew Kenna's attention. Pivoting around, Kenna faced Black Canary. Kenna then glanced to the side to see Artemis come to stand next to her, one hand on her hip.
"Yeah, for everyone except kid malingerer." Artemis teased, a playful smirk displayed on her lips. Kenna snorted at the archer's words, glancing over her shoulder to look at the culprit. Wally opened his eyes and glared, still looking ridiculous with the straw in his mouth. As if to make get his point across, the speedster brought up his injured arm as he gave a sassy reply.
"Hey! Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here." Yup, poor defenseless Wally. Kenna had to keep herself from snickering at the ginger, he was just so sassy.
"I've really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week." Black Canary spoke, drawing the attention back to her. Kenna watched as a soft smile pulled at the older woman's lips. Canary had been here the entire week and it was safe to say that Kenna had been inexplicably enthralled. She had spent the week hanging out with her mentor, learning and applying new skills, but what she had enjoyed the most was the school aspect. Each day, Dinah would accompany her on the way to school and help her with her homework later at night. She had even met the young girl's school friends, which was an amusing ordeal in it's own way. Dinah had laughed when Kenna got tackled by a brunette on a happiness high. All in all it was a fun week but now it was coming to a bittersweet end. Kenna had enjoyed the time spent with the older woman but was sad that she would bring back to her life. All Kenna could look forward to was the next time Dinah was the team's den mother, that and when it became Oliver's turn to look over the team.
"Recognized, Zatara, 11." The familiar robotic voice announced. Kenna's eyes snapped to the zeta tube, tracing the figure that emerged from the bright light. A tall male stepped from the light sporting a magician's apparel complete with a cane and top hat. She raised an eyebrow as he gave no greeting to the team. He just marched to the control panel next to the tubes and began typing.
"Access , Zatanna Zatara. A-03. Authorization: Zatara, 11." The tube light once more but instead of a man exiting, a girl emerged. A beautiful, petite girl around Kenna's age took a few steps closer to the team. Crossing her arms, Kenna took a second to analyze the newcomer. She had long raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. She came to a stop next to the magician. Her posture screamed awkward, almost like she didn't know how to hold herself. Her arms dangled at her sides, much like she didn't know if she should cross them or place them on her hips. As her fingers played with the hem of her navy skirt, the girl glanced around the cave before focusing her attention on the group of teens. Kenna caught a glimpse of Dinah moving out of the corner of her eye. The older blonde moved towards the man, a soft smile on her face.
"Zatanna, this is the team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna." Kenna felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as she was practically shoved out of the way. Stumbling to the side, Kenna grabbed her shoulder and scrunched her eyebrows together, her eye's slightly glaring at the back of Robin's head. The boy wonder had scrambled past her; unaware that he hit her hard in the shoulder. Her mouth slightly ajar, Kenna rubbed her arm trying to sooth the ache. What was his problem?
"Hi, i'm.." M'gann had moved closer to the raven haired girl but was immediately, and rudely, interrupted.
"Robin!" Said boy cleared his throat as if it would make him not sound so eager; which he was totally failing at.
"I mean, I'm Robin. Heh, she's M'gann, and that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, and Conner. Welcome to the Cave." Kenna bit her tongue in a drastic attempt to keep from snapping, but that didn't mean she could keep the "bitch face" from her visage. Was she fucking invisible now?
"Thanks." Zatanna barely got the word out before Robin spoke once more.
"So, uh, are you joining the team?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is strictly a visit, but I am sorry we missed the training. It's something from which Zatanna could benefit." Zatara interrupted, directing his words towards Dinah. Kenna couldn't help but roll her eyes at the adults words. So his big plan was going to have her train with them but not join, because you know, logic.
Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara? Kenna heard the words echo in her head. At first she had not been very fond the telepathic group chat but now she was learning to appreciate its usefulness. M'gann had spoken the words through the chat, causing the small blonde to train her eyes on the martian's offended expression.
It's not just Zatara. They all act like we are incompetent, like it was all out fault. Kenna added, her hands moving as she spoke, even if it was not out loud. Her eye's found Connors and he nodded at the girl in agreement.
Yeah, it's not just him. I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around? Connor question, gesturing towards the childlike man. Of course Wally had to come to his defense which would end up biting him in the butt.
Because we like having him around. Kenna snorted softly, shaking her head. Of course the ginger liked having him around. The man was like an annoying sibling who was always seeking approval.
You like having him around 'cause he waits on you hand and foot. Artemis teased, giving the ginger a knowing look. Wally just looked at her, stumped by the blondes words.
And your point is? Kenna had to resist face palming, Wally truly was a piece of work.
It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor. Kaldur spoke. As angry as she was with the Tornado situation, Kenna would willingly admit that she did missed their den mother. He had been the perfect den mother for the team.
Yeah, at least he trusted us. Robin added, turning his attention from the new girl to his friends. Still miffed at the boy wonder, Kenna avoided eye contact. Her eyes flicked back to Connor, watching as he scrunched his face in anger, almost hatred.
If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him! He was a traitor. That machine nearly got all of us killed. The clone did have a point, that was not a fond memory any of the team carried to remember.
"Are you guys having a psychic conversation? 'Cause I can't decide if that's cool or really rude." Kenna's stared at the new girl, her posture standoffish and annoyed. So what if they were? Kenna wanted to voice her opinion but held her tongue. She did not want to come off rude or bitchy but it was none of the raven haired girl's business. They should be aloud to have a conversation about their situation without someone giving their two cents. They were all entitled to their privacy and if that so happened to be discussed in a psychic conversation then no one should be aloud to be angry or offended. Dinah glanced over at Kenna, giving the short girl a pointed look. All Kenna did was shrug her shoulders defensively. It was obvious that Dinah could see her annoyance, it was rolling of the blonde in waves.
"All right, fine. We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us anything." Connor grumbled, answering Zatanna's question. Guess the cat was out of the bag. Connor had turned to glare at Canary, shifting the blame towards the only present leaguers. Dinah gave the team a sympathetic look, letting out a small sigh.
"The League is searching for Tornado, as well as the other androids that invaded the Cave and their creator, T. . Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority." Kenna rolled her eyes, highest priority their ass. It had been weeks and they still hadn't found anything.
"But you've found none of the above." Robin challenged, stepping forward to make get his point across. Kenna watched Dinah's expression, knowing the woman's next words. She was now switching to serious mode, which meant orders were meant to be followed from here on out.
"Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League. The team is not to pursue this." Normally, Kenna would follow her mentor's order's. The older woman had more experience and usually knew what was best, but not this time. It had already been decided, if the Justice League wasn't going to truly pursue the Reds then the team would take it into their own hands. The only thing that seemed to get in the way was Zatanna. What were they supposed to do with her?
"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a, uh, a tour of the Cave?" Zatara awkwardly added, attempting to break the thick cloud of tension.
"You're giving a tour? Cool!" Kenna took a sharp intake, her eye's widening in alarm. She placed a hand on her rapidly beating heart and glanced over her shoulder to see who had startled her. Captain Marvel stood behind her with a plate full of overly cheesy nachos. God did she want to strangle him at that moment, but sadly her baby sized hands couldn't fit around his neck. She felt something soft brush by her hand and she glanced down to see Wolf gazing hungrily at the plate.
"Actually, I was hoping you'd take wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few." Connor suggested. Kenna smirked at the clone, he was quick on his feet. Captain Marvel excitedly agreed, complete oblivous to the real reason Connor wanted him to take Wolf out. Now that they had that factor out of the way it was time to go take Zatanna on the "tour".
She couldn't tell what this feeling was, but it made her chest ache. Kenna had been the last one to step onto the bioship, with every extension to sit in the seat that she in occupied on every mission. But there seemed to be one problem; Zatanna was already perched in that seat. Kenna could feel that ache, deep inside her heart as she watched Zatanna spin around to chat with Robin. It was evident that the boy wonder had told the girl to sit in that seat, completely disregarding how the lavender eyed girl would feel about the sudden change. Although she would never openly admit it, the action hurt. Why was he ignoring her? Had she done something wrong? Apparently, Robin wasn't the only one who hadn't acknowledged her presence. The ship began to rise and speed through the open whole of the mountain. Kenna grasped the door way in a feeble attempt to maintain her balance.
"I guess I'll just go sit in the med bay." Her voice came small and quiet but it was not quiet enough. She had been closer to M'gann than she had originally thought for the green skinned girl turn to look at her. Her pleasant smile turned into a guilty frown.
"Hello Megan! Oh my gosh, McKenna i'm sorry. I saw someone in your seat so I just assumed it was you." Kenna moved her gaze to the floor, her body tensing at the massive group of eyes burning hole into her head. She glanced up to see a new seat grow out of the floor, right between Artemis and Zatanna. Kenna moved her eyes to glance at Robin, see the boy wonder looking at her with a slightly guilt ridden expression. She only shook her head in his direction and moved her gaze to the new chair. Her feet lightly padded against the floor and she spun the chair around before sitting in it. She could feel the seatbelt grow over her and she lightly kicked her feet to spin the chair around once more. Kenna could feel eyes peering at the back of her head but she didn't dare turn around. She wasn't ready to forgive him, not yet any way. His actions in the past half an hour had really hurt her feelings. With a small flick of her head, Kenna whipped her pony tail around to rest on her shoulder. Her nimble finger came up to play with the end of the long tresses, eyes drooping to gaze at her lap in disinterest.
"M'gann, the bioship wasn't authorized for departure." She faintly heard Dinah's voice, but at this point she didn't care.
"We're kidnapping Zatanna to show her happy harbor. Be back soon!" Who would have thought M'gann would have turned out to be quite the little liar.
"Roger that, have fun." The was a hint of suspicion to the older woman's tone but she dropped connection none the less. Now they were completely free to move forward with the plan.
"Where are we going?" Wally asked, breaking the silence. They had been flying around aimlessly, probably waiting for someone to come up with an idea. Normally Robin was in charge of that task, which he did not fail to provide.
"Batman is the world's greatest detective, and he searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're going to do better, we need an illogical solution. A truly dumb idea." Kenna could help but snort at that idea, turning her chair to look at the one person who could meet that criteria; Wally West. She wasn't the only one to come to the same conclusion. Every member of the team pivoted to look at the speedster, even the new girl. Wally looked around, coming to the conclusion that this was on his shoulder's now.
"As a matter of fact…"
Her arms came up to block her face but that didn't stop her hair from whipping around or her eye's from watering. Through squinting eyes, Kenna could make out red figure causing the large gust of wind; Red Tornado. Soon the gust of wind became too strong and Kenna found herself being swept up and flung backwards. Her body rolled and tumbled across the dirt, coming to a stop at an area that was far enough away from the robot. She struggled to get to her feet, the wind still blowing in her face.
"Why, Tornado? Why are you doing this?" Miss M shouted. Kenna frantically looked around, watching as multiple tornados sprung from the ground, boxing the teens in. Panic began to flood her veins, what were they to do? Then she saw it, the message buried in the sand.
Play dead.
Message received. Although she could make eye contact with the martian, she understood the plan. They had to make this scene look credible.
"Who cares why? Nail him!" Superboy shouted, using his super jump to lunge at the robot. That set everything in motion. The team began attacking, but not fully putting everything into their attacks. Aqualad got thrown into Superboy, knocking the two males out. Artemis, jumped to the side to avoid an oncoming tornado, drawing her bow. She notched two explosive arrows and fired them, but she was not anticipating for Tornado to blow them back at her. Robin had run up to help the blonde but ended up getting in the crossfire.
"GUY'S LOOK OUT!" Kenna yelled, watching as the arrows collided with the ground at the teens feet. Now it was her turn to attack. Breaking into a sprint, Kenna raised an arm and concentrated her power. The familiar feeling ran through her body, energy crackling between her fingers. A barrage of vortexes shot from her hand, hurtling towards their target. Tornado looked at her, arms still crossed over his chest. Without even moving, the vortexes exploded against the miniature tornadoes that Red Tornado made to defend himself. Kenna growled, realizing that her attack had not worked. Guess it was time for a different tactic. Sliding to a stop, Kenna began to focus on her target once again, but in the midst of summoning her phase lock she had failed to notice the tornado approaching from behind. A scream ripped from her throat as she was consumed by the element. Her body constantly whirled around inside the gust of wind before being spit out of the top. Her body landed with a harsh thud on the ground. She knew she was playing dead, but that had actually hurt like a bitch. Groaning she crack open one of her eyes, catching a glimpse of the body next to her. Robin did not move but he was looking at her, watching her eye's search his face. They hadn't talked about the incident in the cave or on the bioship, but he did feel sorry. He had seen the hurt expression on her face and how she masked it with anger. When this was over they had to talk about it so he could apologize, but this was not the time for it.
"Quite a performance, brother, but we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories, Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do." Kenna sucked a breath in to keep her body still, this was it. The voice had a metallic tone to it's words; another android, but this one seemed almost human like.
"Blowing a message into the sand?" The voice scuffed. Shit, they had been found out. Finding no point in pretending to be dead, Kenna sat up to see who the enemy was. He stood on a tall rock, confidence in his stance. Oh just bloody perfect, another Red. Pushing herself to her feet, Kenna advanced towards her friends. They had to come up with some kind of plan and quick. It had only taken a small glance to determine this android's powers. They had water, fire and air covered which means that earth was the only element left. Yelping, Kenna somersaulted out of the way, nearly missing the large rock that had been hurtling her way. She lightly thumped her head to try and fix her disorientation. Movement in the air caused Kenna to look up, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Red Tornado's getting away. Zatanna announced.
Where is he going? Kenna found herself asking, watching the android disappear behind the mountain. How could he be leaving at a time like this? A time when they needed him.
Is he abandoning us?
I don't believe that. Kenna didn't want to believe it either but it may be the truth. Clamboring to her feet, the blonde glanced at her friends and then at the enemy. Her brain frantically worked to find a plan, a weakness, anything that could help them win. The ground began to shake under feet as she ran toward him. She stumbled in her steps but managed to stay on her feet. Sliding to a stop, she concentrated her power once more.
"If you think i'm going to let you use that pesky sphere little girl then you are sadly mistaken." Before her reflexes could kick in, a large boulder collided with her small body. It broke into little pieces sending pain through her body. Every pain receptor in her brain lit up, sending the signals through the rest of her body. When her body came in contact with the ground, she tried to move but it hurt to much. Gritting her teeth in pain, Kenna was able to lean up, but only a little.
"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move." Seriously! Couldn't they get a break? Just this once? The ground began to shake once more and Kenna placed her hands on the ground to stable her body. Her eye's widen as they caught a glimpse of the mountain ahead of them. They were on a Volcano!
"ARE YOU SHITING ME?" She cried, flaring her nostrils in anger. Swallowing her pain, Kenna got to her feet and moved back towards the fight. Now the battle was taking place by a boiling pit of molten lava. Kid Flash hopped from rock to rock to avoid the flaming debris being thrown at him. He said the words that Kenna feared, as he slid on solid ground.
He's activating a stage two eruption. It gets to stage three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye. The smoke was quickly rising from the volcano, covering the sky in a thick cloud of ash. They needed to end this and they need to end it now. Lucky, Red Tornado came to the rescue, but not just him but his siblings as well. A large stream of water knocked Red Volcano into the magma. Kenna turned her head to see Red Torpedo emerge out of nowhere. He continued to drown Red Volcano, pushing him back into the pit. When he tried to use the rock to escape, Red Tornado destroyed it. All three Red's attacked at once, Red Inferno and Red Torpedo jumping in to hold Volcano under the lava. Red Tornado descended, using his legs to keep Volcano under the lava. He began to melt like the others but Connor hauled hit out of the lava just in time. He did however lose his legs, but to every one's relief their den mother was okay. Now all they had left to deal with was a stage three volcano.
Kenna pulled one of her legs up towards her body, resting her chin on the bent knee. They had managed to stop the stop the volcano, fixed Red Tornado and now they were on their way home, which was something Kenna was not looking forward to. The awaiting lecture was something she enjoyed. A soft giggle caused Kenna to look over her shoulder. Her eye's watched Zatanna and Robin smile at each other, completely engrossed in each other's presence.
"So, good kidnapping?" Robin asked, his words receiving another giggle from the blue eyed girl.
"Actually, yeah. Best ever." Feeling that familiar ache, like her heart was constricting, Kenna turned her attention back out the window. She did everything she could to block out their cheery conversation. Kenna placed one of her hands by her heart, hoping the pressure would make it stop hurting. Earlier she hadn't been able to place what she was feeling but now it came crashing down on her. Jealousy. She was jealous of Zatanna. A jealousy that burned through her veins and left a sour taste in her mouth. For what, she hadn't really pinpointed but she knew what she was feeling. She felt a collaboration of emotions; hatred, confusion and hurt. She hated how perfect the raven haired girl was. She had control of her magic, using it with grace and beauty. She was confident and headstrong. Someone who didn't let fears and insecurities run her life; everything Kenna wasn't and wished she could be. She resembled everything Kenna wanted to be and she hated it, hated her.
Kenna's eye's widened at her thoughts, and suddenly she felt like a horrible and pitiful person. Hate? How could she hate Zatanna? The girl was nothing but a sweetheart, in both mind and soul. To hate someone like her was ludicrous and Kenna felt her heart fill with shame. Kenna had no right to be jealous of the magician. She did not want to feel this way, but after watching Robin completely ignore her, Kenna couldn't fight it. She knew the answer to her question. Her biggest fear began to surface; her fear of abandonment. It was irrational, but she knew it was the root of her jealousy. She was afraid to be replaced, to no longer be cared for by her friends. And that did not exclude Robin. With the appearance of Zatanna and Robin's quick infatuation with the raven haired girl, Kenna felt the destructive feeling of her thoughts. Robin, her best friend may end up replacing her, and little did she know that her most crippling fear would soon become a harsh reality.
Author's Note: Hey guy's! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was kind of hard to write because I didn't quite know how I was going to have Kenna deal with Zatanna, but all in all I think it turned out decent. Now I know that Kenna being jealous of Zatanna is cliche because of her being a love interest for Robin, but that is not entirely why Kenna is jealous. Zatanna has a lot of the traits that Kenna wishes she could have. Basically Zatanna is the better version of herself and it brings on more self loathing than actual jealousy. Plus Kenna knows and admits that her jealousy is irrational and childish which is another reason she is angry with herself. Please don't get me wrong, I truly like Zatanna and her character, shes the perfect mix between my favorite character's personalities, but that mean's i'm going to be using her a lot to exploit Kenna's flaws. Oh and all i'm going to say is this is the starting point for a large character development I am going to do with her till the end of season one. I'm not telling what happen's obviously, but I will say it is going to be agnsty and depressing as shit. Haha, okay it's now time for the author to stop rambling and go play Fallout till 3 in the morning. So review, favorite, follow and all that jazz. See you guy's next time. Love you! :)