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!
These are the lies, the things you never mention,
These are my past mistakes I'll stay away from,
This is the truth, the only time you'll hear it,
I write it down because it seems so hard to say it,
These are my thoughts written down on paper,
It's my only savior, from not saying what I want to say,
There are my thoughts that are on my mind,
Moments that haven't yet been defined,
And I don't know if you could ever understand,
These are the things I can't say when we're alone.
-Truth Of My Youth-
New Found Glory
Kenna was not normally one to to wish harm or even death on someone, but that moral philosophy did not apply to Lex Luthor. If you were to look up the insufferable prick in the dictionary there's a picture of Lex Luthor's big, fat, shiny bald head. If he were to somehow parrish in a suspicious fire, she would not lose a wink of shut eye.
Santa Prisca.
The name flashed across her mind as her stare bore into the control console of the bioship. She had been thinking about the island non stop since receiving the dreaded phone call that morning. Tonight, Lex Luthor would be escorting her to the island to meet the head members of the League of Shadows. Tonight she would be a marionette doll, subjected to her master's whim once again. It made her sick, just the thought of what he could have her do. He was going to unleash the monster she had so desperately worked to tie down, and the worst part is her friends had no clue.
As she sat on the bio ship, Kenna's eyes discretely swept across the members of the team. Artemis, Zatanna, Connor, Kaldur, M'gann, Wally, Robin…. Even the new girl who had joined the team this morning, Kenna would be betraying all of them. A bitter smile crept upon her lips. Roy was right, she was the mole. Shaking her head, Kenna tried to rid her mind of those thoughts. She couldn't focus on that right now. Feeling the familiar burn in her nose and throat, Kenna willed away the angry tears that threatened to spill down her sickly pale skin. No, she was not going to do this now. If she kept thinking these thoughts, she would surely make herself physically sick from anxiety or send her body into a full blown panic attack.
Kenna clamped her eyes shut and placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. She was pretty sure it was beating so fast that Connor could hear it on the other side of the ship. Taking a deep breath, Kenna opened her eyes and glanced at the holoscreen that had appeared in front of Artemis. Her eyes traced over the image on the screen.
"A-are you sure it's her? I mean, are you absolutely positive?" Kenna moved her gaze from the screen to the archer. The blondes body was stiff and her voice held this nervous quiver. What was she nervous about?
"See for yourself. This is the security footage from the Asheville Regional Airport. Facial recognition confirms that's Jade Nguyen.
But you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?" Robin commented, glancing over to get a reaction from the archer sitting next to him. Artemis' eyes never left the screen. Kenna furrowed her brow in thought. Chesire always seemed to catch the archer off guard. Every time they encountered each other, Chesire would throw the archer off balance.
"It's Jade, Cheshire." Although she could not see the expression upon the archer's face, Kenna knew what she was doing. Her body language screamed closer, meaning Artemis was reacting in a way to protect herself.
"Agreed, but focus on what she carries. Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? " Kenna's eyes flickered to the case that Cheshire was carrying. Her lavender eyes scanned the case, from the intricate locking system in the center to the biohazard symbol on the bottom left corner. No matter what was in that case, they sure as hell didn't want the shadows to have their grubby paws on it.
"OK. I'm guessing from the mug shot that this "Cheshire" is the bad guy, but what's so important about that case?" Kenna slightly jumped at the new voice, still not used to the newest team member. She pivoted her head to look at the new girl. Rocket had joined the team this morning and though Kenna did not get to talk to her long, she really liked the dark skinned female. She had this sassy wit that made her laugh. Kenna chose this moment to add in.
"Do you remember the Injustice League?" She asked, keeping her eyes focused on Rockets even though everyone turned to look at her. The small blonde had been quiet the entire trip, so they were not expecting for her to speak. The new girl nodded her head, eyebrows pinched together and a snarl upon her lips.
"And their giant evil plants? Uh yeah!" Rocket replied. Kenna nodded her head towards Robin and Rocket followed her movement towards the boy wonder. Her eyes were directed to the picture that Robin had pulled up.
"The Team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme. And whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans." Kaldur informed.
"We had the chance to grab it in New Orleans, but someone screwed up." And just like that, the ship became frigid. Kenna bit her tongue to keep from scolding the speedster. It made Kenna sad to know that two of her closest friends were back to hating each other; well at least it seemed as if Wally hated the archer. Artemis on the other hand just seem disappointed with the speedsters feelings towards her. They had been making good progress and now thanks to one situation it had blown up in their faces. Maybe they were never meant to be more than acquaintances.
"Approaching Cheshire's jet." Kenna's eyes widened in alarm at the sight before her. Rapidly closing eyes, Kenna fought back the immediate urge to puke. A plane crash is one of those horrific things you do not want to see up close.
"G-guy's do we really have to go down there? I mean, even if they are the bad guys they were still people. I-I don't know if I can handle seeing a bunch of corpses." Kenna stuttered, growing even more pale as she looked anywhere but the crash sight outside the window. She caught some of the teams sympathetic gazes.
"I am sorry my friend, but it would be in our best interests to search the wreckage for signs of the survivors and the case." Kaldur softly spoke. Kenna bit her lip and stiffly nodded her head. She closed her eyes and took a shaky but deep breath to attempt to calm her racing heart and keep her from regurgitating her breakfast. She could handle a few dead bodies; she had already seen her fair share. Her eye's snapped open when she felt a hand upon her shoulder and she glanced behind her. Kenna's eyes met Robin's masked ones and she gazed at him in surprise. Apparently everyone else had exited the ship and now the only two left were her and the boy wonder. She hadn't realize they had departed and she even missed the retraction of her seatbelt.
Robin had been one of the last members to stand from his chair and was about to exit the ship when he caught a glimpse of Kenna's rigid body still residing in her chair. Without putting much thought into his actions, Robin stepped towards the stiff female and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. He felt her body flinch at the contact and his masked gaze met her guarded orbs. With a gentle but firm squeeze, Robin tried to comfort the blonde as much as he could in this situation.
"Come on Blondie, just take a deep breath. We are all here for you when you need it." It took a couple seconds for Kenna to fully comprehend what was occurring before feebly nodding. It felt like forever since she had heard the annoying yet affectionate nickname fall from the boy's lips. A tiny smile pulled at the corner of her lips and she then felt the pressure leave her shoulder, but Robin did not leave. The boy wonder waited until she had rose from her chair and came to stand next to him. He gave her a quiet nod and turned on his heal knowing she would be one step behind him.
Kenna let a shiver wrack her body as she stepped into the cooler air. It was definitely warmer in the bioship, that was for sure. She took one more deep breath to calm her jumpy nerves before scanning the area. Each member of the team was scattered across the wreckage, analyzing the shredded and damaged material of the crash. Kenna made her way towards Zatanna, crouching down next to the magician in order to examine a piece of metal next to her. Her fingers skimmed the smooth material, eyes following the jagged edge. It appeared to be apart of the wing.
"How come Homeland Security and the NTSP aren't all over this?" Kenna looked over her shoulder see Wally emerge from the wreckage as he spoke. That was a good question.
"Cheshire's ID was a League alert. Authorities didn't pick it up and her jet didn't follow its flight plan. Flew under the radar, literally. But the Watchtower audited the jet and recorded the crash." The boy wonder responded, clamboring to his feet. Withdrawing her fingers from the metal, Kenna stood to her feet.
"Then why isn't the League here?" Rocket inquired, propping a hand on her hip. Kenna couldn't help snort at the female's words. A small chuckle escaped her lips. There was only one plausible answer as to why.
"Because our Boy Wonder has some mighty hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first." Zatanna answered, a soft smirk on her lips.
"He is disgustingly talented like that." Kenna lightly teased, glancing over her shoulder at the black haired boy. He gave her a small grin in return.
"And because Cheshire and that case represent our unfinished business." Kaldur added in, causing everyone to look at their leader.
"Where are the bodies?" Connor's question made alarms go off inside the blondes head. Her eyes began to frantically search the area. Where were the bodies? No one would have been able to survive that crash. It had been the thing she was worrying about in the first place, seeing dead bodies yet there was none in sight.
"Here's one, and it is stunning." The different voice caught them all off guard and they looked up the ridge to see Cheshire. She was no longer glad in civilian clothing, now in her Chesire garbs. Kenna's eyes scanned the villainess person. Her eyes fell on the case that she held in her hand. And as if the team needed more problems to add to their plate, another voice behind them echoed into the chasm.
"I am flora, not fauna. I am foliage, not trees. What am I?" Kenna's head whipped around and her eyes narrowed into a glare. It was a bloody trap. A trap that they had just walked into.
"Come on, you can get this! I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I?" The Riddler question, his henchman appearing among the rocks. Kenna felt her body stiffen and she slipped into a fighting stance.
"Ambushed." Robin growled.
No matter if you were doing something with good intentions, getting scolded never fails to make you feel shitty beyond belief. It also wasn't helping that Dinah was staring or for a better word, glaring her down. She was reprimanding the blonde with eye contact, something that Kenna had come to know is one of Dinah's go-to parental tactics. It never failed to make Kenna unnerved. In all honestly she liked Ollie's form of punishment over Dinah's. Ollie normally got angry and yelled at her for doing something stupid, but then he would be done. Dinah on the other held onto things with a death grip. The woman was good at bringing up past mistake on multiple occasions.
Kenna, wrapped her arms around her waist, casting her gaze towards her gaze to the floor to avoid the uncomfortable glare coming from her mother figure.
"Tell me if this sounds familiar. You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol and endangered your lives. And your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons, proving Warden Strange runs Belle Reve as a cover for criminal activity." Kenna couldn't help cringe as Batman spoke. He was right, the team tended to do stuff with out the League knowing off it. It was kind of their MO.
"Well done." Her gaze snapped up from her feet and she couldn't help but gaze at the dark knight in astonishment. Did he just compliment them? AND IS HE SMILING? What the hell? As if to ask if this was actually happening, Kenna snapped her gaze to Dinah. The short girl no longer met a glare but a soft gaze and a smirk from the older woman. Was she just messing with her about being angry? Seriously, what the hell was going on?
"And then, there's this. Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry." Batman spoke, walking towards the briefcase they had brought back. Inside were these red, glowing shards that look of alien descent. Batman turned to Icon, his gaze on the small shard in the other hero's hand.
"Though I am unfamiliar with the species, the bio-component is clearly not of Earth." Icon informed, placing the shard back into the case for Batman to close. With that, the two heroes turned and made their way to the zeta tubes. Kenna took this chance to talk to Dinah before the female would leave. The small girl sauntered towards her mentor, drawing her away from the other league members. She gave them to go ahead with a flick of her head before turning to look at the young girl.
"So is it safe to say that I'm not going to be punished?" Kenna sheepishly asked, giving the older woman a hopeful smile. Dinah raised an eyebrow in amusement before crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh you are so getting punished. You kids have a knack for getting into unwanted trouble." Dinah jested with a soft smirk on her lips. Kenna couldn't help the small smile that pulled at her lips. The girl shook her head and let out a chuckle. Dinah gave the girl a loving smile before uncrossing her arms to gently grab the back of Kenna's head and bring the young girl into a hug. Kenna melted against the older woman, burying her face into Dinah's stomach.
"I'm so proud of you McKenna. I'm sorry I haven't visited in awhile, things have been busy. I promise Oliver and I will make some more time for you." Kenna only nodded, her arms tightening around the woman. She felt a gentle kiss upon her head before she drew away from the older woman. Dinah brought her hands to Kenna's face, making sure the young girl was looking at her as she spoke.
"I have been meaning to ask, are you okay? Your brother called me a couple weeks ago. He has been worried about you, saying you have been acting different lately." Dinah asked, her brow slightly furrowing worry. Kenna glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of her friends. The smiles on their face said everything. Kenna let a small smile graced her lips as she craned her neck back to look at her mentor.
"I will be." She spoke, her tone soft and warm. Dinah spoke no words but intently looked into Kenna's lavender orbs for any signs that Kenna was hiding her feelings. When she found her no signs, Dinah leaned forward to give the girl one last kiss on the forehead before pulling her in for one last bear hug.
"I love you." Kenna spoke, her voice muffled.
"I love you too sweetie." And with that Dinah pulled away and made her way to the zeta tubes. Kenna waved to her mentor, watching as she disappeared in a flash of light.
"You realize we were set up." The smile fell from her face as soon as Dinah was no longer in sight. Robin's words made her turn around and she took steps towards the group of heroes.
"Yes, Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us." Kaldur agreed. At that moment Kenna could feel a groan escape her lips. Not this shit again. She wasn't the only one who was thinking the same thing.
"Not the mole thing again!" Artemis groaned, her fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. Hadn't they got passed this crap yet?
"Mole thing? Again?" Rocket inquired bring the team's attention to her. Her expression dropped of curiosity and confusion. Even Zatanna didn't fully understand what they were talking about. Sighing, Wally stepped forward to address the situation.
"We had intel that there was a traitor on the Team." Kenna took a step to the side when Connor gently pushed past her as he talked.
"Namely Artemis, M'gann, Kenna or me." He growled. At that moment Kenna shifted her gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She knew none of her friends tipped the bad guys off, nor did she but that didn't stop her from feeling like a traitor. In a matter of hours she would be considered a traitor.
"It is more complicated than that." Kaldur tried to console the clone by placing a hand on his shoulder but Connor would have none of it. He rudely pushed the atlantean's hand from his shoulder and turned to walk away. The team parted to let the brooding clone through but his feet came to a stop when Kaldur brought something to the light.
"But your recent behavior does concern me. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed." Now that he brought it up, Kenna had noticed the recent change in the clone. Granted it was very subtle, but being someone who spends most of her time analyzing people, Kenna had noticed. He became more secretive, even more short tempered. Plus there was the other stuff like the laser vision and not to mention the flying. Something was definitely going on with the clone. Kenna took this moment to glance up and look at the teen. She could not see his face but she could tell he was conflicted due to the stiff shoulders and rigid form. That is until he turned around.
"There's something I need to do. Something I need to tell you. Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus and found a few things out." Connor started, pausing to figure out the best way of saying what he wanted to say. Kenna's eyes widened at his statement. What could he have found out? Granted she had done some of her own digging on Cadmus but had only hit dead ends. Sadly the only answers she had obtained were from Luthor.
"When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human. That's why I don't have...will never have full Kryptonian powers." Connor sighed, stumbling over his words.
"You sure? Cause you sure seemed to have 'em today." Robin asked, a smirk plastered across his face. Kenna crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to look at the black haired boy beside her. He did have a point. Connor had been able to fly earlier in the day.
"I've been using these. Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat vision but I think I also get angry, well, angrier. I'm sorry." Connor spoke, lifting up his sleeve to reveal a black patch, almost like a nicotine patch but different. Once the clone spoke, Kenna snapped her gaze back to the clone.
"Where did you get those?" Kaldur asked. Connor closed his eyes, as if he would regret the next words that fell from his lips.
"From my human father, Lex Luthor." Kenna choked on her own saliva, her eyes popping out of her head.
"Um… What!" She choked out, not being able to keep the words from falling from her lips.
"Lex Luthor… is your dad!?" Robin screeched, flailing his arms. Kenna had to lean back to avoid getting hit in the face by the boy wonder. She was able to lean forward once more once Robin dropped his arms but that didn't stop the expression Kenna still had on her face. That's what he meant when he said Connor and her were closer than she thought.
"He's summoned me to Santa Prisca." At his words her blood ran cold. Santa Prisca, Luthor was bringing Connor as well? No this couldn't be happening.
"Uh Listen. Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA." Artemis sighed, walking away from the group towards the holographic keyboard. Kenna was not liking where this was going. As the archer typed across the keyboard, three people appeared; a man and two women.
"My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. Rest of my family Aren't even "ex-". My Dad's Sportsmaster, and he's sending my sister Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too." At that moment everything fell into place. Why she acted the way she did, why she was so guarded about people finding out about her family, why she knew so much about the shadows. This was the secret Kenna had somewhat stumbled upon that day where she caught Artemis at school.
"That's why you.." Wally started, only to be cut off by the blonde.
"Yeah. I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out." Artemis interrupted, her eyes casted towards the ceiling in shame. They snapped back down at Robin's next words.
"I knew." The simple sentence caused everyone to look at him appalled. Kenna opened and closed her mouth multiple times before actually speaking.
"Of course you knew." He turned to look at her with a guilty look before turning back to look at Artemis.
"Hey, I'm a detective! But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us." The archer smiled, a feeling of hope and acceptance washing over her. Wally moved towards the archer, resting his arm on her shoulder before giving her a dazzling smile.
"So who's next?" Wally joked. It's true, they were confessing like they were in a church.
"I am." The quiet declaration made everyone look at M'gann in shock. Not her. How could the sweet martian be holding a secret? The green skinned girl did not move her sad gaze from the ground. Wally put up both his hands in surrender, as if to pacify his words.
"I swear I was kidding."
"Queen Bee's been blackmailing me. She wants me in Santa Prisca, too." M'gann spoke, sinking deeper into herself. Seriously, what is it with these people and blackmail?
"Blackmailing, but how? Kaldur asked, his brow furrowed.
"She knows my true martian form." What? The bald form? Why would M'gann be worried about that? Then before her very eyes, M'gann grew into large white creature. Kenna could only step back in shock. That was not what she was expecting, not at all.
" I realized you would never accept me if you saw what I really am." M'gann spoke, wrapping her arms around herself in shame.
"M'gann, did we truly seem so shallow?" Kaldur asked, his tone held a sliver of hurt.
"I couldn't take a chance. Being a white martian among the green on mars I endured constant rejection." At that moment, Kenna had never felt closer to the older girl. To Kenna, M'gann had always been a shining ray of sunshine, although shy, she held confidence that Kenna wished she had. Now she was able to see the girl who was riddled with insecurities, much like her own. M'gann loved her for her insecurities and Kenna was no different when it came to her opinion of the martian. She watched Connor walk up and hold the martian's hand. They had a mental conversation and it seemed lighten the martians mood for she morphed back into her familiar green form. The martian then launched herself at her boyfriend, hugging him close to her body as tightly as she could. Once they let go, M'gann was blindsided by a small blonde. Kenna hugged the girl close to her, eyes clamped shut as he hugged the stunned redhead.
"M'gann you are perfect as you are. Please never change, I wouldn't be able to handle you not being a ball of optimistic sunshine." Kenna's words seemed to speak for everyone. M'gann sniffled and returned the blonde embrace.
"Thank you." Kenna nodded at the red heads words and stepped back from the hug. Kenna gave her a sympathetic smile, only to have it fall when she felt a stare burning holes into the back of her head. She slowly craned her neck to meet the knowing gaze of the archer. When she understood the stare, Kenna's heart plummeted into her stomach.
"You're going to make me say it…. aren't you." She asked the archer, her tone quiet and broken. Her words caught the attention of the team.
"You promised me McKenna." Eyes flickered between both blondes as they waited for Kenna's response. What were they talking about? Kenna dropped her gaze, her teeth sinking into the flesh of her lips. The familiar metallic tangle glided across her taste buds. Could she really do it? Could she really reveal the monster that she truly was? This was different than the others, her sins would not be forgiven. If she were to speak, she would lose the only real family she had ever had. She felt the familiar burn in her nose and at the back of her throat. Kenna didn't know if it was because she felt like she was going to break down and cry or if it was because she felt like she was going to hurl. Maybe it was a little from column A and a little from column B.
"I-I guess it's my turn. What I'm about to say isn't easy but it's the truth. It's also the only time you are going to hear it and it's something that will make you all think twice about what kind of person you think I am." She spoke, only looking up at them at the end of her sentence.
"The truth… the truth is complicated and holds a lot of bad memories, things I wish I could have done, things I wish I hadn't done. The best way to really start this is with Luthor." Her gaze shifted towards Connor, making sure he would understand her words. She gave a bitter laugh before she spoke her words, whiling the angry tears from falling from her eyes. Her fingers curled into fists as she spoke, her tone malicious and hateful.
"It seems that bad guys these days use blackmail as their go-to strategy. This morning I got a call from Lex Luthor. He's bringing me to Santa Prisca too. About a month ago, the asshole ambushed me at school. He threatened to hurt my brother and my friends Allison and Lydia if I didn't cooperate with his every term." Normally, if you were to speak about things like this, it would feel like a load of your shoulders. But to her, it felt like with each word, her heart clenched even more. It all felt suffocating, like she couldn't take a proper breath.
"What does he want from you?" Her eyes flickered over to Robin's. She couldn't quite meet his gaze, feeling ashamed of herself. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kenna licked her dry lips.
"To really answer that question, I have to start from the beginning. I got my powers when I was nine. Up until then I had a normal childhood. Both parent were absorbed into their work life; my mom being a scientist and my father an up and coming district attorney. My brother Tommy practically raised me when my parents had better things to do, bigger things to worry about then their children. The only person who knew about my powers was my brother. He was never afraid of me, never treated me any differently, to him I was just his little sister. Then when I was twelve, shit hit the fan. Up until then my parents still had no clue I had powers. I remember bits and pieces of that night. I can recall being stressed, I was angry and irrational. Tommy had told me he was considering going out of state for college. I was so angry and crying that I…. just let go." She hadn't paused at all during her speech, and when she did, Kenna glanced up to see if they were all still listening. Everyone was hang on to her everyone.
"I lost control. My powers unhinged and it caused me to knock out my brother. T-Tommy was put into a coma for six months." She spoke with a shaky breath. She let silence settle between her and her friends. No one spoke a word until and unexpected voice broke the silence.
"What does this have to do with Luthor?" Zatanna asked, her tone soft and timid. Kenna moved her gaze towards magician.
"That night my parents found out about the little secret Tommy and I had been keeping. They didn't understand what was happening, but they knew that their daughter was a freak of nature. Instead of doing what you think most parents would do when they find out that their child has powers, my parents were sought out by an evil, sadistic prick. My mom had told her boss that I had superpowers. He then got a hold of Lex Luthor. Luthor came to my house and negotiated a deal with my parents." She responded, her eyes casting down in a glare. Her parents, in her mind were horrible people.
"Negotiated?" Wally asked, his brow raised in confusion. Kenna couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"For someone so smart, you would think you would get the picture by now. My parents sold me. They sold me for a price, like a was an object not a person." She angrily spat. She wasn't mad at Wally, but this subject was to close to home.
"After that day I spent two years of my life being tortured in Cadmus. They did things to me in that place that still gives me nightmares. Scientists were fascinated with my powers, how they worked but most of all what they could do with them. When they weren't putting me through stressful situations to measure my power output, they would put electrodes into my brain. I still have the scars on my scalp." As she spoke, she felt a chill run down her spin. It was as if she could feel it all again. Closing her eyes, Kenna took a deep breath, she was almost there. Almost to the part that would inevitably crush her.
"The plan was to have Connor and I infiltrate the Justice League and take them down from the inside. Connor was there as a failsafe incase my powers didn't function the way they wanted them to. I didn't know about this until Luthor found me at school. He asked me if I have been able to tap into my mental mind link." She said, cracking open her eyes to look over at Connor once more. She gave him a sorry look, wishing that this wasn't the truth.
"Mental mind link?" Robin asked. She had another power? Kenna teeth gnawed on her lip once more before she answered.
"How my powers work is to trap someone in my phase lock, I have to sift through your mind. Basically, I tell your brain to stop sending messages to your muscles, leaving you immobilized while my powers attack your body. They figured that seeing as I can control your brain to stop certain functions, that I would be able to make you do other things." She let her words hang, waiting for everyone to catch on to what she was implying.
"They wanted you to take over the member of the Justice League." Kaldur finally added in. Kenna nodded towards him.
"Mainly the big ones; Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman. But I was never able to do that. Something… worse happens when I attempt it." She grimaced, her skin turning a sickly pale. Here it was, the most dreaded part of the story.
"W-What do you mean worse?" Artemis questioned, her voice hesitant.
"Cadmus turned me into a weapon, a monster that still haunts me to this day. The collateral damage done is un reversible and lead to… death." From this point forward, Kenna could no longer look at her friends. She didn't deserve them, not after all the things she had done.
"About twice a month, they would lock me in this white chamber. Then they would send in a person. My goal was to create a mind link and be able to control. If I didn't the person would kill me. I remember the crazy look in his eyes. They were cold, unforgiving eyes that were set on killing me. One second he was standing in front of me and the next he was headless, red splattered across the room and all over me. I was in shock. All I could remember was looking at the blood on my hands when I wiped it from my face. Turns out, I can make someone's head impload with my mind. After I realized what happened, all I could do was scream and cry." She did not look up to see their reactions. They finally knew what she was hiding. At the tender age of twelve, Kenna had killed someone. Nothing but a child and she had more blood on her hands than a psychopath.
"In two years, I was forced to kill more than twenty four people. It was only till about a month ago that I found out they were convicts on death row who had been given a deal. If they killed me, they would be cleared of all charges. They were criminals, but they were still people and I… I killed them in unspeakable ways. Up until now, only Batman, Black Canary, Superman and Green Arrow knew what actually happened at Cadmus." A tension fell upon them like a thick cloud. If she really wanted to, Kenna could cut it with a knife. Her arms wrapped around her waist in attempt to hold herself together.
"Told you you guy's would never see me the same ever again." She pathetically spoke. Closing her eyes to hold back her tears, Kenna waited for the rejection to make itself known. What she was not expecting was for her body to be pulled into an embrace.
"McKenna, no matter what has happened to you or what you have done is in the past, to us you are still the sarcastic, insecure, pain in the ass that we all love. Nothing is going to change how we see you. What happened at Cadmus is not your fault." Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears as Robin spoke. Her body was still in his arms but soon she gave in and hugged his neck, not expecting the words to be spoken. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced to the side as much as she could while she hugged Robin to see Kaldur. The dark skinned boy gazed at her with sympathy.
"Robin is right my friend. Do not blame yourself for things that were out of your control. If anyone is to blame it is Luthor. Do not let him win." The blonde let his words of wisdom sink into her being. Just to make sure, Kenna glanced around at her friends to see if they believed the same thing. Each person gave her a nod, some even a small smile. The dam finally broke and she let the tears cascade down her cheeks as she buried her face into the crook of the boy wonders neck.
"Thank you." She whispered. Robin only hugged her tighter in response. They had accepted her. They had accepted everything she had done with open arms. They loved her unconditionally and she would never take that for granted.
Kenna let the familiar feeling of her powers crackle between her fingers as she lifted her hand, locking a group of Bane's men into phase lock. She held them until an arrow sailed through the orb, sealing the guy's into a foam. She let her powers dissipate only to be punched in the face. Her body tumbled across the ground and she rolled onto her stomach. She glared at the group of militia guys who had caught her off guard. Glaring, Kenna spit out a little blood before pushing herself to her feet. The guards gave her amused smirks, not knowing that they had pissed off the small blonde. Clenching her fists, Kenna sprinted towards them, ducking under one of their punches before swiping both of their feet out. The one behind her, wrapped his arm around her neck in a choke hold. He picked her up and Kenna kicked her legs in a struggle. She then used her momentum to get her feet on the ground before throwing the guy holding her into the guy who was clamboring to his feet. Both men fell to the ground in a tangled mess. A gasp behind her caused her to turn around to see Zatanna and Robin being pummeled by Bane. Her feet moved on their own accord. Her eyes feel on Zatanna who was sprawled out on the ground. Robin was jumping and flipping to evade Bane's punches. Thinking quickly, Kenna brought her hand up and captured Bane inside her phase lock. Robin was caught off guard when the orb of purple and black captured his enemy. He glanced to the side to see Kenna gritting her teeth as she attempted to contain the muscled man.
"Z, now would be a good time to use one of your spells!" Kenna frantically spoke, sweat sliding down her brow. The black haired girl nodded before sticking out her hands and speaking a spell in latin. At the magicians words, several small tornadoes appeared and then vanished, leaving behind physical copies of the boy wonder.
"Gotta love an army of me!" Kenna would have face palmed if she could at the boy wonder's words. No longer being able to hold the man, Kenna let her powers dissipate to keep her powers from recoiling back at her. The Robins could handle this. Each one attacked Bane, distracting him until the real Robin was able to pull the tube with orange liquid from Bane's neck. When he landed on the ground, the boy wonder shot a cord towards Bane's opening before hitting a button that sent electricity coring through the muscle man. Bane collapsed to the ground, completely out cold. When the coast was clear, Kenna stuck out a hand to help Zatanna to her feet. The magician gave the blonde a smile as she grabbed Kenna's hand. Kenna hoisted her to her feet and let the black haired girl brush off the dirt from her clothing. They were then joined by the other members of the team.
"It is always like this!" Rocket spoke, a laugh falling from her lips. Zatanna chuckled as well before speaking.
"Told ya!" She responded. Kenna smiled at the girls nodding in agreement. A sudden pressure around her neck caused her to glance to the side. Robin had come to stand next to her before looping his arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, disaster averted. Feeling the "aster"." Robin spoke. Kenna snorted, wrapping her arm around his waist. Kaldur looked around the team, a smile plastered on his face.
"Agreed, this has been a good day."
Author's Note: Hey Guy's, I know it has been absolutely forever since I updated and I'm so sorry. A lot has happened to me in past few weeks. I graduated and started working at Macy's which is a place that is trying to steal my soul. To make up for the lack of update, i made this one pretty long. A lot is revealed about my baby. Now you all finally know what happened at Cadmus. Probably not expecting the imploding brain thing were you. I have a dark mind when I want to. Oh my gosh guy's, on more chapter of season one! I'm so excited for the stuff in season two! It's going to be a fun emotional roller coaster. I'm also excited for the next chapter. What do you guy's think will happen or hope to happen? I truly am curious for your guy's theories. So rambling, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and aren't to angry at me for not updating. So please don't forget to review, favorite and follow. I can't wait to hear from you guy's! Love you!3