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!

I'm not a self-help book; I'm just a fucked up kid,

I had to take my own advice and I did.

Now I'm waiting for it to sink in.

Expect me standing tall back against the wall,

'Cause what I learned was,

It's not about forcing happiness,

It's about not letting sadness win.

-Local Man Ruins Everything-

The Wonder Years

It was safe to say this was the weirdest couple of weeks she had experienced in a while; today being the most obscure. When she woke up this morning, she figured it was going to be a very uneventful day. That didn't seem to be the case at the moment. Her eyes glanced around the eerily quiet town. She half expected a tumbleweed to roll through the deserted street. Her shoes scoffed against the pavement as she searched for any signs of life.

"I don't think there are any kids in this area of town. Maybe the older kids already brought the younger kids to the high school." Looking over her shoulder, Kenna glanced at her companion. Robin wasn't but a few steps behind her, glancing inside the rolled down window to see if their were any children locked in the car. He sighed and let go of the the car door before turning to look at the blonde. Kenna shrugged her shoulders, looking down and alley. The girl shook her head, not being able to shake this strange feeling that happened to be because the boy wonder's presence. Things between the two had come to an unexpected turn, well at least for the short female. It had come out of absolutely nowhere. A few days after Halloween, Robin had bounded into the cave in search of the blonde. When he found her, the boy wonder had practically tackled her in a hug before he began to spew apology after apology about how he was sorry for not hanging out with her and ignoring her. Kenna had stood rigid with wide eyes and mouth agape, not knowing where this was coming from or how he could possibly know that he had hurt her feelings. And after she had accepted his apology, Robin had been glued to her.

In the short amount of time, the two had become inseparable once again. There friendship was slowly but surely getting back to what it once was… well with a few differences. He held her hand more and always tended to slung his arm over her shoulder, almost as if he needed to be in some form of contact with her. Another thing she found him doing was playing with her hair. Whenever they sat next to each other on the couch when they were watching a movie or something, his arms would always be resting on the back of the couch behind her head. She would use him like a pillow, resting her head on his shoulder while his long fingers twirled a strand of her hair. It's not like any of the new routines in their friendship bothered her, it just gave her this weird fluttering in her stomach. The other thing about it was he didn't seem to notice the extra things he was doing; the extra hugs, playing with her hair, the hand holding. All of it seemed unconscious, like it was a totally natural occurrence.

Sighing, Kenna gathered her ponytail and swept it over her shoulder. This was not something she need to think about right now. She could spend hours of her time analyzing her friendship when they figured out what happened to the adults. Robin and her were sent to sweep the east side of town for any stranded children who hadn't gotten the memo to gather at Happy Harbor High School. Well more like volunteered, actually Robin had immediately volunteered the both of them before pulling her out of the cave. Kenna hadn't actually understood what was going on and where he was taking her.

"I don't think anyone is here. How much more of the east side is there?" She asked, turning her body towards the black haired boy. He took a few steps towards her, pulling up his hologram. He gave no response, his fingers sliding over the virtual keys. Her eyes glanced around the area once more as she waited for him to answer. A shiver ran down her spin when a brisk breeze blew past her frail body. She rubbed her hands together in attempt to warms her cold hands. Kenna then placed them in the pocket of the hoodie she wore; actually it was Robin's, the green one he always wore under his black jacket. He had given it to her when the sun had started to set and the temperature had begun to drop. She cuddled further into its warmth, enjoying the leftover heat that had been trapped inside the fibers due to boy wonder's body temperature. Seriously, guys are personal heaters.

"There is not much left blondie. We have maybe four more blocks before we hit the west side and Wally and Artemis just got done over there." He spoke looking up from the screen to gaze at her. Kenna let out a puff of breath, nodding her head tiredly. Robin closed the holograph then took a couple of steps toward the blonde. He placed a hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her forwards. Kenna let the boy push her, knowing that she was in a sluggish and lazy mood. They walked another two blocks, a comfortable silence falling between them. A faint whimper caught her attention and Kenna stopped in her tracks. Robin stopped as well to look at the blonde. He watched her head turned to glance down what seemed like an empty alley.

"Kenna?" He inquired, trying to get a response from the girl. Kenna furrowed her brow then tunned her hearing to trying and find the sound again. Another soft whimper caught her attention and she acted. Grabbing the sleeve of his jacket, Kenna pulled the boy down the alley.

"I think I heard something." She spoke. Her feet carried her down the small opening, eyes scanning for what the whimper belonged to. The further they walked, the louder the sound got. Turning the corner of the back alley, Kenna came to an abrupt stop causing Robin to stumble into her her back. Both teens had found the source of the whimpers. A little girl no more than three or four sat on the ground with her back against the red brick. The two teens took small steps towards the small child in hopes of not startling the poor girl. Her sobs suddenly stopped and the little girl snapped her gaze to the right to see the teens. Kenna's eyes widened as she looked at the child. It was like she was looking at a miniature version of herself. The girl wore a pink long sleeved dress and black leggings. On her feet was an adorable pair of ballet flats. Kenna scanned her face, noticing her tear stained cheeks. She then looked up to her hair, paying attention to the length and color. She had long pale blonde hair with a black head band that had a bow weaved in her hair. Then her eyes fell to the stuffed bunny that the girl clutched to her chest before looking up to get lost in her big blue puppy dog eyes. Exact replica, well except for the eye color. The sniffled as she looked at the teens, clutching the bunny even closer to her chest.

A look of empathy crossed the older girls face and she took a step away from Robin to move closer to the girl.

"Hey sweetie, are you all alone?" She spoke softly, trying not to scare her. The little girl said nothing. Kenna felt a hand on her back and she looked over her shoulder to see Robin moving past her. He came about a foot away from the girl before kneeling down.

"Hey it's okay, we aren't going to hurt you. My names Robin and that's Kenna. What's your name?" He spoke with a smile on his face, looking over his shoulder at her when he introduced them. Kenna watched the little girl's eyes flicker between them before settling back on Robin.

"H-Halle." She spoke impishly, looking down to play with the ears of her bunny.

"That's a pretty name." Robin responded, giving the girl another warm smile. Kenna turned her attention from the girl to Robin, a soft smile falling on her lips as she watched him interact with the child. Who would have thought that he would be so good with kids.

"You wanna come with us? We can help find your mommy and daddy." The girl looked back up at Kenna as if asking if the black haired boy was speaking the truth. Kenna nodded her head, trying to reassure the girl with a smile. Halle turned to look at Robin as she bit her lip. She then brought her arms out indicating that she wanted to be picked up. Robin leaned forward and effortlessly picked up the small blonde before clamboring to his feet. He rested the Halle on his hip and turned towards Kenna. Halle clutched the bunny close to her with one hand as the other wrapped around his neck. She laid her cheek against his chest and looked at Kenna as the older girl walked closer to them. Kenna could feel the little girl analyzing her, blue orbs scanning her face.

"Pretty." She timidly said, looking straight into Kenna's eyes before burying her face into the crook of Robin.

"She's very pretty isn't she?" Robin asked, looking down to see Halle's response. Kenna felt her cheeks heat up at their words especially when Halle nodded her head. Robin gave a small chuckle as he looked at his friends tomato face.

"Come on blondie, lets get her to the high school." He said, holding out his hand for her to take. Avoiding eye contact, Kenna grabbed his hand and let him pull her them back to the open road. As they walked back to the high school, Kenna couldn't keep herself from glancing at the pair. Halle no longer looked uncomfortable; actually she looked very content to be in the black haired boy's arms. In all honesty the scene was heartwarming and dare she say cute.

"Kenna!" The blonde blinked rapidly, not expecting her name to so sound so little kiddish nor was she expecting the little girl to remember her name. Robin had stopped walking and Kenna glanced from him to the little girl. Halle was looking at her with those big eyes and holding her arms out towards her.

"I thinks she want you to carry her for a little while." Robin chuckled, watching the four year old squirm in his arms. When her brain finally caught up to her, Kenna nodded.

"Yeah okay, come here sweetheart." Kenna cooed, taking the small child from her friends arms. Adjusting the child onto her hip, Kenna softly smiled when Halle buried her face in her neck.

"She really seems to like you." Snapping her eyes up, Kenna looked at Robin with a puzzled look.

"Dude, she's like my own mini me. It's kind of disturbing." Robin only chuckled and shook his head.

"Come on blondie, we want to get her to the school before the sun fully sets."

This day just got weirder and weirder. Kenna felt as if she was living in a coo-coo clock. First all the adults across the world disappear without a trace, which she then found out that they had been sent to a parallel dimension. Then some random ten year old magically appears into the cave, claiming to be Captain Marvel. The mere thought that one of the most well known Justice League members was barely a fourth grader made her brain hurt. Seriously, she felt as if she was tripping through Alice and Wonderland. And that wasn't even the worse yet. Her body rolled across the ground as she dodged the bolt of black magic that came hurtling towards her head.

Currently, the team was in the midst of fighting Klarion the Witch Boy. The dickface and a bunch of other magicians decided that it would be super fun to teleport all the adults to another dimension. People had some sick and twisted ways of entertainment. Stumbling to her feet, Kenna glanced at the the large mystic circle in the center of the crossroads. Her eyes caught movement from every angle. Kid Flash, Aqualad and Superboy came running down each other road towards the witch boy. Concentrating her energy, Kenna disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. She had expected to hit Klarion, but instead of her phasewalk coming in contact with the witch boy her body hit a barrier and she was launched back. Her body tumbled across the ground and she hissed between her gritted teeth.

"Okay maybe that wasn't the smartest idea I have ever had." She groaned to herself. Her eyes scanned the area looking for any weaknesses. Her eyes fell on the orange tabby cat, watching as it licked it's paws. She could vaguely remember Wally saying something about the cat when he had been possed by Doctor Fate. Her eyes then sought out the ginger, stopping on his yellow suit. He was currently standing by Artemis.

"KF!" She yelled, causing the ginger to whip his head around to find her voice. When their eyes met, Kenna jerked her head towards the feline, trying not to draw any real attention to what she was planning. Wally nodded his head before whispering to the archer. Kenna watched the blonde notch and arrow in her bow before drawing the string back. With a vibrating sound, the string slapped the air, releasing the arrow. It sailed towards the cat and Kenna found herself crossing her fingers. Her dreams were soon shot down when Klarion smiled sadistically before turning the arrow into a ball of yarn. Are you serious?! Her eyes then widened when the cat grew from a small house pet to the size of a prehistoric saber tooth tiger. She watched Superboy run forwards to take it on only to get knocked back. She grimaced when his body collided with the ground. Struggling to her feet, Kenna took a deep breath. She had to figure out someway to help or they were toast. Gathering her energy, her eyes turned the familiar fluorescent purple and she concentrated on her target. The tiger was about to pounce on Superboy but let out a whimper when it was consumed into a sphere of purple and black. Taking a couple steps forward, Kenna flicked her wrist and the animal collided with the red barrier. The barrier shook, it's foundation beginning to crack. When the tiger collapsed on the ground, Klarion turned to stare at her in pure rage and hatred. She didn't even have time to react before her skin began to seer due to the lightning strike that shocked through her chest.

A blood curdling scream ripped past her throat as she flew back. Her skin felt as if it were on fire and she truly thought she was on fire. He apparently didn't appreciate her attack on pet. She barely had the strength to roll over and she opened her eyes but only a little. Her bones ached and she tried to will the pain away. Gritting her teeth, Kenna looked up to see her teammates scattered across the ground.

Don't shout, Billy. I've linked you telepathically to the others. Kenna heard M'ganns voice ring through her head. At least she knew the martian was okay.

That is so cool! I mean… it's the gem! At the center of the pentagram! Destroy it and we win! Well at least they had a plan. Kenna took a couple of deep breaths to try and numb the pain. Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn her head in the position of Zatanna. The black haired beauty held the Helmet of Fate in her hands. Kenna's eyes widened, Zatanna could be in real danger.

"ZATANNA DON'T DO IT!" She yelled in hopes of warning the girl. Kenna knew about the repercussions of the helmet. Wally had told her that if Mr. Nelson had not talked the spirit out of holding Wally hostage, the ginger would not have been able to take the helmet off. But the sad part was it was already too late, for Zatanna had already placed the helmet upon her head. In a matter of seconds Zatanna was no longer Zatanna but a female version of the Doctor Fate. Kenna closed her eyes, a pain stricken look upon her face. Even if Zatanna was the unconscious root to her problems, Kenna liked the girl. She was nothing but sweet and kind, always trying to make her friends smile. And although she was extremely jealous of the beauty, that didn't mean she thought ill of the girl. Now she was lost, the odds of Nabu letting her free was slim at best. They may have lost the girl.

Opening her eyes, the blonde helplessly watched the battle rage on between the two spiritual beings. Klarion taunted Doctor Fate as he landed a few hits. Kenna bit her lip worriedly. She hoped that Zatanna was okay and that she hadn't really taken any injuries. Doctor Fate casted a spell, the light cutting through the air and penetrating the barrier. Kenna had been so caught up in the fight that she hadn't noticed Wally and Kaldur had formulated a plan. As soon as the barrier fell, Wally made his move. Using his speed, Wally knocked his body into the man, sending Klarion to the ground. He then picked up the gem in the center of the circle.

"Fate, catch!" He yelled throwing the yellow crystal into the sky. Fate caught it with ease and began chanting. A blinding light filled the sky and Kenna placed brought her arm up to shield her eyes. Then as if it had never happened, the light dissipated. They had done it, they had stopped Klarions plan. When realizing what happened, Kenna frantically looked around for the lord of chaos finding him to be nowhere in sight. Damnit, he and his little pet had gotten away! Groaning once more, she pushed herself to her feet. The initial pain had subsided and all that was left was a dull throb. She slowly made her way towards the group. It seemed as if everyone had survived.

"Fate! Great Nabu, release my daughter." Kenna's head snapped to the side when she heard Zatara's voice. That's right, Zatanna was still still Doctor Fate. She felt a person behind her and she glanced over to her shoulder to see Robin standing next to her. He scanned her body for any visible injuries before finding her eyes. He silently asked if she was okay which she replied with a small nod before turning her attention up towards Zatanna. Unconsciously, she found her friend's hand and grabbed hold. Robin felt her squeeze his hand in anxiety. This was the moment, the team would soon know if they would be getting the magician back or if she would succumb to Fate. Kenna bit her lip as Robin squeezed her hand in a reassurance.

"No." Kenna let out a broken sigh, closing her eyes and dropping her head down. She felt a crushing weight on her heart. Dammit, couldn't things go well for them, just once? That was all she could ask, just once.

"The world needs Doctor Fate, and the girl's natural affinities for the mystic arts make her the perfect candidate." The spirit responded. Kenna felt rage bubble inside her small body. How could he do that? It was almost like he was bullying them into giving her up.

"You can't do that!" Artemis yelled, her voice slightly cracking.

"She has her own life to live!" Robin added, his voice hoarse and angry.

"You can't just take her away. She's a fourteen year old girl with friends and a family. Hell, you plan to take her body over and yet you don't even know what her name is. You are supposed to represent good and yet you plan to steal her life away just because it what you want! What kind of twisted justice is that?!" Kenna seethed, her voice loud and booming. Her face was the epitome of rage. She could feel her heart pound and the blood rush to her ears.

"Kent would never allow you…" Wally added, clamboring to his feet. His words were cut off by the spirit, and Kenna felt her blood begin to curdle.

"Kent Nelson did object, strenuously, so I released his spirit to the afterlife. He is gone." Mr. Nelson was… gone. The nice old man who had giving her back one of her closest friends? That bastard, how could he do that? Surely the adults had some objections. She looked over her shoulder to look at the adults wondering why they hadn't said a single thing on the matter.

"Take me, instead. My skills are already at their peak. My body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strength of you power." Zatara spoke up, making his way through the crowd. Kenna's eyes widened and she shook her head. No he can't do that, this isn't what Zatanna would want. If he did this, his daughter would never forgive herself. Kenna knew that feeling all too well. It was not something you can just forgive or forget.

"All true. But if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I that you will do it?" Seriously, jackass chivalry and honor haven't died off yet.

"My word." Zatara answer before speaking a phrase in latin. It was almost like a permanent stamp saying he could never go back on his word. It was agony, waiting for Fate to decide if he was going to take Zatara's offer. Then as if hours had past, Nabu slowly lowered Zatanna's body to the ground.

"Dad!" Zatanna gasped in happiness when the helmet came off and she was met with face of her father. The small family embraced, holding on to each other as if their life depended on it and little did Zatanna know it actually did. Kenna watched with sad eyes as Zatara leaned back and gave a sorrowful kiss on the forehead.

"Remember Zatanna, I love you very much." And just like that, Zatanna's world came crumbling down. Kenna watched as Zatanna's world crumbled before her eyes. As Zatara took her place as Doctor Fate, Zatanna collapse to the ground in anguish. And suddenly Kenna saw the girl in a whole new light. She no longer was the perfect girl that Kenna had put onto a pedestal. She was a normal person that could get hurt, that could feel heartbreak and despair. Now she truly understood the girl and any sort of animosity she had once held towards the girl disappeared. For guilt took it's place and she felt horrible for the jealousy she had previously held against the girl.

"Kenna?" She was broken out of her thoughts and she looked up to meet Robin's sunglasses. He was looking at her with a worried look on his face. He watched her follow the retreating forms of Halle and her parents. The two teens had felt an obligation to make sure the little girl found her parent. Kenna could remember the way her little face lit up when the two teens had entered the gym of the high school. She had bounded towards them, shouting their names. The two then had decided to try bringing her back to the area they had found her in in hope of finding the parents. As they had been walking down the street a woman had shouted Halle's name.

"Mommy!" Halle had yelled and soon the child was wiggling and squirming to get out of Robins hold. A blonde woman and black haired man ran towards the little girl and Robin had leaned down towards the pavement to let her go. The two teens watched the little girl sprint towards her parents.

"Oh my god Rick, she's okay!" The woman called, placing her hands on Halle's face to see if anything had happened to her. Tear ran down her face and she smothered the little girl with kisses. The black haired man kneeled down next to them and hugged the two to his chest.

"Mikaela, it's a miracle!" Rick responded, placing kisses on both his wife and daughters head. The man then looked up at the two and gave them a tearful smile.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for finding her." He graciously said. Robin and Kenna smiled at the man, nodding at his words. Mikaela picked up her daughter and stood to her feet. The family walked down the road towards their car. Both Robin and Kenna gave the little girl a wave as she looked over her mom's shoulder at them. Sighing, Kenna had leaned her back against the brick wall of the building behind her. That's how she had gotten to where they were now.

"Kenna you sure you're okay?" Robin asked, taking a step closer to her.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry." She spoke, eyes still watching the small family walk away. She then turned her head to look at him, her eyes widening when she realized how close he was to her. The familiar fluttering in her stomach returned and she felt her neck begin to heat up. He was analyzing her; something that she normally did to others. Her tongue shot out to moisten her lips. She didn't flinch when he brought up a hand to tuck some loose strands behind her ears.

"McKenna, I know you well enough to know when you are not fine. Hell, blondie I know you better then you know yourself. You're not okay, you haven't been okay in while. Is it the team? Is it because Zatanna is moving into the cave?" Kenna looked down, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze. It was true, she had been thinking about Zatanna. She hadn't really come to terms with how she felt about the girl. On one hand, she still held jealousy towards her but on the other, she knew she had no logical reason to feel jealousy. It honestly made her feel disgusted with herself, especially with what had just happened to the magician.

Robin watched her, waiting for a response. He knew something was up since they had gotten home. He knew that things would change for her once Zatanna was entirely moved in. Things had changed quite a bit since they had meet the black haired girl. Although he had been very clueless about the root to her depression, he had noticed a lot of things about her in general. Besides the few moments of doubts, Kenna normally was a pretty confident person. Now she reeked of self conscious and loathing thoughts. She seemed to have her demons following her in the shadows. She spent a lot of her time looking over her shoulders in apprehension. He couldn't blame her though, things had happened in the past couple of months that had definitely knocked her off her feet. There was still some evidence that she hadn't fully recovered from previous missions.

Sighing, Robin gently lifted her chin to make her look at him. All he wanted was for her to be okay, he needed her to be happy, to have light back in her lavender orbs.

"Come on Kenna, we both know you aren't okay. I just want you to be okay, so please can you stop being difficult and tell me how you feel? Just this once, can you not make me guess what's going on in that head of yours? And we both know how good I am at understanding females and their feelings." A grin broke out across his lips when she cracked, a small giggle escaping.

"You definitely are not as smooth as you think you are." She lightly teased, smiling softly at him. He always knew how to make her mood brighten. They fell into a comfortable silence as they gazed at each other. Then something occurred that neither of them had ever expected to happen in a million years.

In a matter of seconds, Robin had closed the space between them and kissed her pale pink lips.

Kenna had gone completely still against the wall he had trapped her against, mind trying to comprehend what she was actually experiencing. His lips felt were soft and warm and they felt odd against her cold. She could taste the mint of the toothpaste he used that morning as he stole her breath. When her mind finally caught up to her, Kenna tentatively curled her fingers in his the fabric of his hoodie as her eyes shut. Was she doing this right? In all honesty, she had seen others kiss but never had she been kissed herself. Her best friend was stealing her first kiss. She then felt him slide his arms around her waist and she let out a small squeak against his lips as he tugged her body flush against his. She could feel his heart pounding rapidly under the hand that was placed against his chest. The other hand shyly moved from her side to tangle in his in onyx locks. The kiss was nothing extravagant, they were both young and inexperienced in the art of intimacy but it held a sense of sweetness. The kind of sweetness that could only come from a first kiss. The two seemed trapped in a haze, caught up in the moment. Then much to her dismay, Robin broke away from her. Her eyes cracked open to look at his flushed face, taking in the much needed oxygen. Her brow furrowed in confusion when he recoiled from her as if touching her was burning his skin. He could only stare at her in shock, and at that moment she could feel her heart physically break. For her best friend, the boy that she had created an unbreakable bond, who had stole her first kiss was staring at her as if he had just committed a sin. He took a step back, his breathing staggered and uneven. She could see the obvious regret on his face and she bit her lip, tasting the familiar metallic tang of her blood. And just like that, Robin fled the scene leaving her in the middle of the empty street with no words or explanation. As she watched him leave, the blonde fell to her knees realizing that she had just lost the one person who meant the world to her. He had left her dangling on the edge of sanity, not once looking back at the mess behind him. What the fuck just happened?

Author's Note: Hey Guy's! Haha i'm not saying anything about what happened at the end of this chapter. All i'm going to say is it does not end well for either of them. I look forward to the rants that i'm going to get in the large amount of reviews i'm going to get ;) haha just kidding. I hope you guys realize that Kenna is truly coming to terms with how she feels about Zatanna and that situations. She doesn't hate her, not what so ever. She always thought so high of her because she seemed perfect but now she has come to terms that Zatanna is like her. I plan on them actually interacting soon so please don't think she hates her. I really do like Zatanna's character quite a bit. Man guy's there is not many more episode left in season one, which means not many more chapters for season one. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry that it's later than I normally update. I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter and I want to tell you guys that you are amazing. With the reviews and favorites, it makes me smile every time I get a notification from you guys. Seriously you guys are amazing. So review, favorite, follow and I will see you next week. Love you guys so very much:)