Everything that had happened before was merely a prologue to the events that were about to unfold, and I can confidently say that none of us were prepared for any of them, let alone me. There was a small period of time, probably about a week or so, where it had seemed that things were going to be settling down and getting back to the closest thing to normal we could all expect. Kamal kept his vigil of Gotham, doing whatever it was that Batman did at night in Gotham; he even succeeded in saving the city from someone who became known as the Gentleman Ghost, claiming he owned the city or some other such nonsense. It was a pretty good combination of detective work and sheer ability to kick ass, though I hear he made a big mess out of the MCC agents who had been sent in...well, both times. Allo had dropped off the fifth piece of the Pentana at home, leaving it for the MCC with an explanation. I figure he went back home to his dimension or something, which is all the better- I would have kicked his little munchkin ass if I had ever seen him again. And me, I was the newest MCC agent in training, so I guess I couldn't be too upset that it ended up someplace safe, even though he couldn't possibly have known that he could trust them at the time. I was in training during that time, under the tutelage of Agent Todd and an Agent West...Aidan, as I came to know him, and he was Wally's son, as I had suspected. That relationship (and that night) changed my life, certainly. However, that wasn't the biggest change. The biggest change, an earth-shaking one, was occurring not only on the other side of the country, but thousands of years in the future. Uncle Hal had been taken to the future, where there was a civil war between no more than a handful of survivors and a great empire trying to take over earth. As was usual, he weighed his options, and in the end made the right decisions; decisions that made the Guardians stand up and make their intentions known. They wanted him to become a Green Lantern again, but Hal refused. He was happy working on his own, and when he found out that the survivors had access to time travel, he asked that they send him back 25 years before his own time, to Gotham. There, he went to the alley where the entire mess happened.

Unfortunately, Uncle Hal of 25 years ago was warned by the Corp of an impending time rift, and went to stop this chronal intruder with the two heroes who were currently running in Gotham: Batman and Black Canary. Polaris tried to convince Green Lantern of the good he was doing, but GL was having none of it; so Polaris grabbed the gunmen and took off with them, thinking that it would prevent the murders. Black Canary was the only one left following, but Mom was always smart; she called for backup, and the League made certain to help. That only left Green Lantern and Batman unaccounted for.

But they had other plans. Green Lantern picked up the gun and waited. Batman made his way back to the alley, trying to stop the murders, but he was too late; to protect the time stream, Green Lantern killed Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and left only one witness- Batman .There's only one other piece I can't fill it on my own, as follows:

Oa was exactly as Hal remembered it, as he was called forth to answer for his crime of trespassing through time. He was angry, angry that he had literally stopped himself from changing things for the better, and even angrier that the Guardians were so short-sighted that they could not see the twenty five years of suffering that he had already seen, and the many more years that were to come. He had a vested interest in seeing that the time stream be set right, not only for himself; his niece deserved a chance to live in a world without a broken home, as did everyone else's nieces and nephews, sons and daughters and cousins.

He stood before the Guardians in full costume, helmet and all, defiant. "Hal Jordan," one said, his voice booming over the floor. "You have purposely entered the time stream with the intention of changing the events of the past. Such transgression cannot and will not be forgiven."

"You haven't seen what their deaths have culminated in," Hal argued. "Panic, paranoia, danger and death. The heroes of that world are going to be destroyed, their lives shattered, millions of lives shattered. I cannot accept that you would not want to right this wrong!"

"You were wrong to go into the past in the first place." Off to his left, Hal heard his own voice, and felt a very odd mixture of nostalgia, disgust and déjà vu as he looked over at himself, twenty five years younger, as a proud Green Lantern. "I made certain you didn't ruin the time stream."

"It would have made the future better."

"You couldn't promise me that in the alley, and I know you can't promise them that now," Green Lantern said, gesturing to the Guardians.

"The only thing left for us to do is to judge your punishment."

Hal stared at them. He knew exactly what they wanted, and he wasn't about to give it to them. "I won't apologize for my actions," he said.

"Then we have no choice. We must banish you from this dimension, where you can do no harm."

Another Guardian spoke up. "We cannot leave two Hal Jordans to occupy the same time," he said. "To do so runs a great risk of a paradox forming."

The other Guardian nodded absently. "As long as he remains in this dimension, yes. The matter will need debate. In the meantime," he said, turning his attention back to Hal, "we order you to surrender your ring and be taken to a place to wait for judgment."

Hal looked over at himself, standing on the side with his arms crossed, and then to the Guardians. He pulled the ring off his finger deliberately, throwing it down onto the ground in front of him and crushing it under his boot. The small explosion of Qwardian energy did little more than send a violent shock through him, as off to his right, a swirling vortex opened. Green Lantern stepped forward.

"I don't need an escort," Hal growled, glaring at himself once more. He looked at the Guardians, then turned, marching proudly into the vortex. It shut behind him.

At this point, it is important to note that the time stream had, in fact, been slightly changed due to the actions of Polaris. Hal Jordan remained a steadfast member of the Green Lantern Corps, never leaving them. He was never corrupted as Parallax, nor was he ever inhabited by the Spectre; Polaris never came to be, though any actions he had taken were instead done by Green Lantern. Bruce Wayne made certain to remember that it was Hal Jordan who had caused the murder of Lane and Olsen, and thus caused the backlash that was still being felt twenty five years later. These were the only events altered by this specific incursion into time.

The rest of the crisis can be summed up easily enough by myself, though I suspect a few parts here and there may be missing. Just remember that it's not really that important; you'll understand why when I'm finished.

I can start the day of the meeting. I woke up that morning, and was glad that I had ended up collapsing on the outer side of the bed; Aidan was still asleep next to me, and from what I could tell, it looked like he had not moved all night. I can't say I had been really paying attention once I closed my eyes, though. I got out of bed quietly, trying not to wake him yet, and went to find my clothes- or, more accurately, what I had been wearing when I had gone to visit him the night before. I had been down at the pool, relaxing after a successful test of the new weapon in Phoenix, when he had come back. He was bruised and bloodied and had a nasty black eye from a run-in with Kamal at the stadium. Todd was severely pissed, but I understood what he had been up against; I had, after all, teamed up with the billionaire more than once, and I knew what inhuman things he was actually capable of.

I put the bikini and t-shirt on and sat down next to him on the bed. Yeah, he was probably still exhausted, but I had a feeling he'd be hungry, too. I reached over and pushed on his right shoulder, the one that wasn't swollen and bruised. His head tilted to the side, before he managed to force his eyes open. He looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, Beautiful."

I smiled back. "Good morning," was all I said, as he sat up and kissed my cheek. I wasn't used to that kind of morning-after attention, and if anything, it just put me in a better mood. He moved his sore shoulder, trying to loosen it a bit, as I stood up. "I thought you'd like to go grab some breakfast."

"You going to the cafeteria in that?" he asked, and I looked down at the t-shirt I wore. It was pretty sheer, showing the bikini underneath, especially where it was blue.

I smiled at him, somewhat mischievously. "You're right," I said. "We'll have to stop by my room first."

He got the implications, and it took about two hours until we finally made our way down to the cafeteria. He was in one of his usual suits, tie and all, and I really didn't have much else besides suits anymore, either. We were quiet for the most part, but not the uncomfortable silence I usually got; no, this was more along the lines of we're-both-tired-and-we-know-it quiet. It was….nice.

"West. Queen." I looked over to see Todd standing at the end of the table, looking down at the both of us. I tried not to flush, and I tried to look innocent, though that was probably making me seem less so. As if the bags under our eyes and our jumpiness weren't obvious, we both tried to play her off. "Yes?" he answered, the same time I did. Our eyes met for a moment, and he looked just as nervous as I felt. I couldn't remember the last time I was embarrassed by it.

If Todd noted our odd behavior, she ignored it. "Get ready, both of you. We're leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Why?" I asked, still trying to play nonchalant.

"We've got a meeting with the Chief."

I felt something inside bubble a little bit when she said that. I knew that Todd had no idea who the Chief was, and neither did Aidan. "Damn," I breathed. "I can understand him wanting to see the two of you, I mean, you guys are important. But he wants to see me?"

"You're the one who handles the weapon," Todd said. "And, you've only got fourteen minutes left." She turned and walked away, leaving me and Aidan to stare at each other. Finally, we snapped out of it, making our way back up to the surface. Except for the test, I hadn't seen the sun in almost a week. It felt good to be in it again, but my stomach soon dropped as I realized that we'd be taking air transportation to see the Chief. Now, I'm no expert on aircraft, and there's no reason I'd really want to become one, but the helicopter that was waiting for us outside looked very much like the ones I had dodged on the roof of Gotham Mercy Hospital. It felt like ages ago, but I still was berating myself for it.

To make matters worse, the inside was only a bench- nothing for me to grab on to. I set my jaw and tried hard not to look too frightened, as the helicopter lumbered its way into the sky. I couldn't help but grab the bench tightly, until I felt a hand over mine- Aidan's. He was looking at me, and ran his thumb over my hand. I forced a sickly smile onto my face and tried not to crush his fingers when I took them, relieved and still confused. What exactly had last night meant to him? More importantly, what did it mean to me? I wasn't really sure, and it was enough to get my mind off the fifteen-minute jaunt through the sky. That is, until another thought took its place.

"You know, the Chief's never met me before," she said. "He may not be too thrilled to find out you recruited a high school dropout to use his precious weapon."

"The Chief has your file," was all Todd said in reply. I only felt more nervous.

It wasn't long before the helicopter finally landed on solid ground, and I was quick to get out, the blades making my hair fly into my face. In front of us was a large, grassy hill, and a single, gnarled tree. Todd went over and touched a part of it, only to have it slide away, revealing a long, descending ramp. The helicopter lifted off again and flew away, I figured back to Valley Forge. I never got a chance to find out.

I was the last one down the ramp, and into a long subterranean tunnel. It smelled of moisture and dirt and old moss, which was pretty much what the walls and floor were made out of. We all walked down them, until we reached a wooden door. I was mildly surprised when, instead of swinging in or out, the door slid sideways, into the earthen wall. Beyond that was a hallway, made entirely of a silver metal. Our shoes rang against the flooring as we walked down, until we finally reached an elevator. Heading down for thirty seconds (I was counting), the doors finally opened, and we went down another hall. Finally, we came to a large room, where a huge bank of sophisticated computers lined the far wall and the left wall. To the right, seemingly out of place, was empty space and a single, wide spiral staircase. There was one chair in front of the computers, facing us.

"So, this is where we're supposed to meet the Chief?" I asked, taking a step forward, towards the computers.

"Yes," I heard a man's voice coming from my right, and then footsteps coming down the staircase. He was old, using a cane, wearing an expensive-looking suit. When I finally saw his face, he looked just about the same age as my father, but that age was much harsher to him; he was stooped over, his face drawn in, losing most of his gray hair. He leaned heavily on the cane as he got down to the floor, and looked over at us. He only glanced at Todd and Aidan, but he eyed me with a cold intensity I found disturbing at the time.

"I'm glad that the three of you could make it," he said, as he sat down in front of the computers, still facing us. "With my team finally assembled, I've no doubt that we can bring this crisis under control and finally make the man who's responsible for it pay." He looked over each of us as he spoke. "Agent West, your speed has been a great asset in the past. Agent Todd, though I know that is not your real name, you have been my most trusted of associates." Though his eyes weren't friendly when he had looked at them, it seemed like the old man saved his particularly withering glare for me.

"Agent in Training Queen, I have to admit, you're not precisely what I expected. Then again, appearances can be deceiving. I have been watching you for a very long time," he said. "You have shown great promise."

"How long?" I challenged.

He didn't even smile, as he said, "From the day your mother and father brought you home from the hospital. I had been hoping that you would be a little more even-tempered, but that can be rectified."

"I like how I am, thanks," I retorted.

"It would have made telling you this somewhat easier, but I suspect you'd still have trouble believing me. Just know that I'm telling you the truth, no matter what you might think."

I stared at him, but his eyes were still cold and emotionless. I was starting to get a distinct chill looking at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Twenty five years ago, two murders changed the world, as you well know," he explained. "However, I alone know that the newspapers lied, and that Lane and Olsen were not killed by random thugs in an alley. They were killed by Hal Jordan."

It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. The first thing my mind told me was that Uncle Hal had killed the thugs, but I think that might have been a delaying mechanism, while I tried to wrap my brain around what he said. I felt the air leave my body in one word. "What?" I managed to gasp for air again, shaking my head. I knew it was wrong; Uncle Hal was a Green Lantern. More importantly, he was a good man. He was my father's best friend, and it was pretty difficult to get my father's respect, let alone his friendship. "No, you're wrong," I managed to finally say. "Uncle Hal would never…"

The old man cut me off with a gentle wave of his hand. "I watched him pull the trigger myself. Twice. I tried to stop him, but I failed. Now, with the three of you, we can make him pay for his crimes."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In fact, it was hard to hear at all. I wanted to sit down, but there was no place to sit, and somehow through the haze, I knew not to fall to my knees in front of this man, this man who managed to silence me with a simple motion. Not even Superman had been able to do that. These thoughts, however, came from hindsight. At the time, I was just shocked. "There is no way my uncle…"

"Your uncle was confronted by a man named Polaris," the old man said. "He happened to also be Hal Jordan, one from the future. Polaris told Green Lantern what his purpose was, but Lantern would not allow him to change the time stream, even for good. So, when Polaris removed the murderers from the scene, he took their place, and he killed Lane and Olsen. By his own hand."

I was having difficulty understanding what he was trying to say, but I managed to get a little bit of it, it seemed. I managed to put a question into words, difficult as that was at the moment. "How could he not want to change the time stream?" I asked, thinking back on my own life, my own family. "Look at the suffering that was caused, twenty five years of fear and anger and hatred. Why couldn't he see that?" I was asking myself the last part; the part before it, I was relating to my own family. They were suddenly in my mind first and foremost; they were the only important thing at the moment. I wasn't concerned with matters of worldwide importance; I was a selfish teenage girl who wanted to have a better childhood.

"Precisely what I thought, Agent Queen."

Finally, I managed to realize that I had no idea who this man was. "And who the hell are you, anyway?

He paused, looking right at me with the same cold eyes. This time, however, there was a slight hint of cruel amusement in them. I wanted to look away, but something inside me told me that I had to keep his gaze, the same way it told me that I couldn't fall down just then. Finally, he gave me an answer. "I am Batman."

I was about to argue him, to tell him that I knew who Batman was, when suddenly, it clicked; he was as old as my father. He was the original Batman, Kamal's father. "Bruce Wayne?" I finally managed to whisper. "You're Bruce Wayne?"

"I am," was all he said in response, his eyes still cold and mocking.

"But, you're crazy," I managed to argue, finally getting my head back in order enough to form a complete sentence. "You're at Arkham, Kamal told me himself.

"Yes, well, my son has made quite a nuisance of himself recently."

That was what made my blood run cold; the casual dismissal of his own son. Now, I may have been a little innocent to that kind of emotional detachment, seeing as I came from an extremely emotional household, but it was still chilling to hear a father all but disowning his son. I couldn't even imagine my father doing the same for me. If anything, I'd just end up getting choked by his over protectiveness. That line of thought led me directly to my mother's actions, how she had tried to kill me and my father to get to the Pentana. It all started to fall into place; she was in Gotham, she saw what had happened, and she had gone there to fight with Pop and the rest of the League. After that, she had lost her cry, and Pop had lost his arm. After she lost her voice to cancer, she had never really smiled again, and I finally realized that she regretted not having been able to help Polaris in his mission. It made me feel somewhat sick. She didn't want me in this world, and she was willing to kill me here to change time then. To give me a better chance.

That was Mom; she always cared about her child, first and foremost.

"Then my mother," I finally said, just to think out loud, to hear my thoughts as solid words, "she was planning on finding the Pentana of Time to stop Uncle Hal. She wanted to finish what Polaris had started." My voice sounded weak and unsteady. I realized there were tears in my eyes and tried to force them away, but they refused to go. I was having enough trouble keeping them in my eyes and off my cheeks as it was.

"She was there on that day," Bruce repeated. "Green Lantern had gotten a tip from the Corps that there was going to be a time rift in Gotham. He called on your mother and me, two Leaguers working in Gotham at the time, to assist in investigating this time rift. Your mother wasn't there for the murders, however. I had asked her to continue to chase Polaris. She was a smart woman then, too; she called in for backup immediately while I went to go find Green Lantern. Unfortunately, that distracted the rest of the League from what Jordan was doing. Still, she wouldn't have survived if she hadn't."

I had to look away, dropping my head. Two tears managed to break free, but they were thankfully caught in my hair instead of falling to the ground, or tracing along my face where they could be seen. "No," was all I could say. "No, I don't believe you. I can't believe you."

"Ask your mother," he challenged. I felt like he had torn into my chest with that, and I glanced up finally, red eyes and all, and saw that he was taking a certain perverted pleasure in pressing my buttons the way he was. "She can't corroborate the exact details, but you'll find our stories are similar, if not identical." I reacted exactly as he had expected; I could see it in his eyes. That gave me enough anger to swallow my despair, get my head back together, and steel my voice again.

"I'd like to talk to her myself," I said. Bruce gestured to the handset sitting in the console, and I walked over, hoping that my legs weren't as shaky as they felt. I picked up the handset and put it to my ear quickly, to hide my shaking hands, and dialed home. After two rings, I heard the metallic, distorted imitation of my mother's voice through the Atlantean voice box.

"Hello?"

"Mom? It's Olivia."

"Olivia! I wasn't expecting you to call again so soon. But, it's good to hear your voice. Are you all right? You sound upset."

I couldn't help but smile somewhat; finally, a friendly voice, a friendly word. I needed it. "You remember how you told me to call if I was ever in trouble?"

Carefully, she answered, "Yes."

"Well…I think I got myself into some big trouble."

I had to rephrase my question three times before I could stutter it out, and it took her nearly an hour to explain to me what had happened that day, according to her. I felt sick by the time she was done, and I was leaning heavily on the console to prevent my knees from buckling. I finally said good-bye to her, making certain that I told her I loved her, and hung up. Bruce was still sitting there, staring at me, his eyes cold. I wished I hadn't hung up; I needed her support again. "I….I still can't believe it," I managed to whisper.

"You have to."

For some reason, I grew angry. I wasn't exactly sure why, at the time, but the words just started to pour out in a fit of rage I'd rarely felt in myself. "Do I?" I all but shouted.

"It's the truth. Hal Jordan must be brought to justice for the crimes he has committed."

"You have a pretty narrow definition of a 'crime'," I growled. "You're guilty of a crime, too. You're a traitor. Why the hell do you think I should do anything for you, huh? I know what happened six years ago; my father asked you for your help, to save my mother's voice. You had the technology, and you had her voice prints. Hell, you've been watching me for nineteen years now? But you didn't help, you let her lose her larynx, and you didn't do anything to stop it. A week after her surgery, you were in Arkham." I folded my arms and glared at him. "So, tell me, Brucey boy, why should I do a damn thing for you?"

"Because it is the right thing to do." I hadn't exactly expected an apology from him, but the least he could have done was explain why he had refused to help her. That response did nothing but make me even angrier, and that anger was starting to be tinged by sadness. I set my jaw and glared at him. He glared right back, unimpressed. "I thought you would be up to the task," he finally said. "I can see I was wrong."

"You can't let me go now," I challenged. "I'm your sharpshooter, remember?"

"You're useless if you won't accept your target. Whether he is your godfather or not, Hal Jordan has to be brought to justice."

"He's not my godfather," was the only reply I could think of at the time. "I wasn't baptized."

"That's your father's fault for that," Bruce said. "Maybe if your father had raised you with a few morals…"

I leveled my finger at him. "You keep my father out of this!" I shouted. "He was a better father than you ever were to your son."

"Oracle was wrong. You're not up for this kind of mission."

He pressed a button, and the door behind me slid open. I turned, and finally remembered that Todd and Aidan were in the chamber, as well. Todd looked somewhat uncomfortable; Aidan looked almost panicked. "You're free to go, Olivia."

"You can't let me go," I argued. "I'm your sharpshooter, remember?"

"I've had my eye on others," he said. "They'll be trained in your place."

I looked at him, then back at the open doorway, trying to sort out what was going on in my own head. I thought back to everything I had gone through, from Metropolis to Themyscira, Gotham to Canada, and everything in between. I thought of nearly losing my father, of the panic in knowing that my mother had run off alone, of nearly losing my own life because of an old Australian clock. Then, I thought of the reason I had done all those things, and it all started with a few typed words and a laptop. I knew the only question that would decide if I took the walk or not.

"I was told that if I was the one to wield your weapon, then the Meta-humans wouldn't have to live in fear anymore. My whole reason to be here is to get their rights back. Is that true, or was it just another move in your game to get me here in the first place?"

There was a long pause, as he looked at me. "They can get their rights back," he said.

I hated the response; I knew that if he told me it was a lie, I could have walked out of that chamber and never had a second thought. But, knowing that I was turning my back on the cause I had risked my freedom for, it was a choice I didn't want to have to regret the rest of my life. Not that shooting my uncle with a Neutralizer was going to make me feel any better inside.

I nodded. "Fine," I said. "I'll do it. We have to find Unc- Green Lantern and confront him about these murders."

Bruce stood up, leaning heavily on his cane. I wasn't surprised; he had taken a hell of a beating in his time, so I was told. "I'm glad you came to your senses," he said, as he walked over to me. "One more thing, though."

I could barely register his movement, he was so fast. Before I had a chance to even take a breath, he had turned me around, holding my back tight against his chest, the handle of his cane pressing painfully into my trachea. I reached up and tried to pull on his arms, trying to get the cane away from my throat, but his muscles were like wound cable. It was definitely more strength than my bow, and I'd managed to pull that back to 202 pounds of pressure every time I used it. "Don't ever call me Brucey boy again." I couldn't move or say anything, though I was ready to tell him I wouldn't, especially after he moved that fast. He finally let go, pushing me away as I was left on my knees, coughing as I struggled to gasp. It hurt. A minute later Aidan was kneeling next to me, his hand on my back, silent. He was afraid to cross Batman, as well, but not too afraid to see how I was. Again, there was confusion.

"The next phase begins in one week," he said, as he disappeared up the spiral staircase, and I managed to get to my feet, with Aidan's help. "Be ready."

The three of us made our way back out of the halls and tunnels, and into the afternoon light. It was cool even for October, and I was glad that I had on a suit jacket as well as the shirt. The wind was calm, though, and I was thankful for at least that. Still, I had a lot on my mind, the foremost of which was how my father was doing. I knew he was home, but I hadn't seen him since Zatanna had taken him for emergency surgery. I needed to know how he was doing.

A limo took us back to Valley Forge, where I spent the rest of the day in the gym, working out my frustrations on a punching bag. It felt good; I was sweating and my knuckles stung where they had been cut, and by the time I was finished my arms felt like I could barely lift them. It was early evening by that time, and I was looking forward to a nice hot shower and a little downtime before going to bed. As I was riding up in the elevator, though, Aidan got in, looking a bit surprised to see me.

"You look like a drowned rat," he said with a smile.

"I was venting," I replied.

"Yeah, I'd say. Does venting include bleeding?"

I looked down at my hands, to find that the blood had soaked through the wraps and was showing. "Oh, I, uh…must have been a little too rough. I wasn't really thinking about it."

"What were you thinking about?" he asked quietly, as we both got off the elevator. I looked over at him, and saw that he was serious.

"My family."

"You miss them."

"I haven't seen my father since before surgery," I told him, trying to keep the sad tone out of my voice. "It must be so hard on Mom, knowing that she's the reason why he's the way he is. I wish I could see them. Maybe seeing their daughter will brighten their spirits a little, you know?"

"I'd imagine it would," he said. "You want to go see them tonight?"

I waved my hand. "By the time I got there, it'd be three AM. Besides, I don't think that the Chief is going to appreciate his loose cannon running off like that."

"You won't be loose," Aidan replied. "You'd be with me. And I can get you there in twenty minutes."

I looked over at him as we stopped in the hallway, raising my eyebrow. I knew he was a speedster; I had been trying to hit him for the past week, and he'd managed to dodge every shot I made. I just never figured he'd be playing taxi for the new recruit. "Twenty minutes?"

"Fifteen, if I push it." He smiled. "You want to go?"

"Of course!"

I was glad when we finally came to a stop on the outskirts of the city. The trip there was somewhat harrowing, to say the least; I couldn't see a damn thing, as I had my face hidden in his shoulder the entire time. After I had watched him phase us through a building, I really didn't want to watch the rest of the journey. Oddly enough, though, I had very little trouble breathing, when I actually remembered to.

His shoes were smoking as he finally skidded to a stop, putting me down as I looked around. I recognized the area, knew exactly where we were. He was looking around with curiosity, and I suspected he had never been to Seattle before.

"Is there someplace we could grab something to eat?" he asked, somewhat embarrassed. "That takes a lot out of me."

"There are a few places," I replied.

"Something sweet'd be good."

I smiled and told him to follow me, as we made our way through the city. The traffic was pretty light, as it was nearly eight. Finally, we made our way to the Creamery, one of the only shops in town that didn't serve coffee. It was a little establishment, designed like an old fashioned ice cream stand from nearly a hundred years ago, but that was about the only thing lost in time. The patrons were definitely locals, and the industrial band playing through the speakers didn't fit the look of the place. Aidan went up to the front counter and looked up at the menu board.

"I need two of the triple fudge sundaes, a banana split, a coconut sundae, and a walnut fudge swirl." Finally, he turned to me. "What'll you have?"

I raised an eyebrow at him; I had seen him eat before, but never like this. "Just a vanilla cone."

It was only a few minutes later that we were struggling to balance everything as we made our way to one of the tables, and we started eating. Aidan apologized between giant spoonfuls, and was done his five dishes before I had even managed to finish one cone. That was fine; it looked like running that distance worked up an appetite, and as he was nice enough not only to get me out of Valley Forge, but get me here this quickly, I wasn't about to say anything. I waved off his apologies every time, and told him not to worry about it.

"So, you come to this place often?" he asked, looking around.

"Not really," I replied. "It's not exactly my scene here. Or my music, for that matter."

He made a wry face. "I'm kinda glad to hear it," he said. "So, where do you like to stay around here? I mean, as long as you're home, might as well enjoy it, right?"

I nodded, looking at him again. I couldn't tell what exactly he was getting at, or why he was acting so…nice was the only way to put it. "There are a couple places," I said carefully. "There's a park by the bay, that's always nice but I haven't been there in a while. I used to go all the time when I was little, more recently I just walk past it."

Aidan stood up. "You want to check it out, then?"

I shrugged. "Only if we move at a reasonable speed." Thankfully, he accepted the condition, and we walked over to the park. The lights were on, and they were sparkling out on the bay, though I had a feeling they were reflecting off the sheen of sludge that sat overtop of the water. Still, walking through it as we were, it was kind of…well, it was relaxing, and almost romantic.

"Not a bad place here," he finally said, breaking the silence.

"No, not at all. I used to volunteer on the other side of the park."

"Salvation Army, I know." I turned to ask, when he held up his hand. "Chief had me look over parts of your file before Todd brought you in."

I shook my head, a bit annoyed. "I don't like being spied on," I said. I looked at my watch; it was getting close to ten. "I had better get home, before my parents go to sleep." We walked across the park, then down the small side streets, until I finally saw the house. It looked exactly as I remembered it, and there were a few lights still on; more importantly, they were on downstairs. I smiled somewhat, though I had a slightly queasy feeling in my stomach. It wasn't going to be easy explaining what had happened over the past week, and it was going to be even more difficult to explain my relationship to Aidan. However, I figured if Pop wasn't aware enough to ask, then Mom would be okay with whatever answers I would give. She was always level-headed.

I took out the key and was relieved to find that it still fit in the lock, and opened the door. The living room was cleaned up again, almost exactly as I had remembered it. The space between the furniture was a bit wider, but other than that, it was home.

"Who the hell- Oh." Pop came in from the kitchen, wheeling himself in with an old-fashioned wheelchair. I was partially impressed and partially exasperated; he never wanted to admit the damn handicap. I was more surprised, however, with how good he looked. There were barely any scars, and the only thing that I could see wrong with him was a cast on his left leg. "Olivia. Where the hell've you been?" His eyes then went to Aidan, and narrowed. "And who's this?"

"Pop, this is Aidan West."

"Wally's kid, I guess?"

Aidan nodded. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Queen," he stuttered.

"I'm sure it is." Pop's voice was sour, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes; he had been like that with every boy I had ever brought home, and even some that I didn't.

"What's all the commotion? Oh, Olivia." Mom came in from the kitchen, and I frowned. There was still a scar on her neck from the surgery, but she was no longer wearing the voice box I had heard only this morning. "I didn't expect you to be here. Where have you been?"

"Valley Forge," I said. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. The more questions that they asked, the more likely it would be that I would have to lie, and I really didn't want to lie to them.

"So, what are you doing with him?" Pop asked.

"He's taking care of me while I'm in Valley Forge," I said, wincing somewhat. I could tell by how deep his frown was growing that Pop didn't like what he was hearing.

"I work for the government," Aidan said. I shook my head; wrong thing to tell him.

"Oh?"

"He works at the historical society there," I improvised. His eyes never left Aidan. I tried to get his attention, but it was useless. I looked up at Mom; she only shrugged. She knew there wasn't going to be much getting Pop's mind off of Aidan and his anger at him being near me. Like I said, I came from an emotional household.

Pop forced a yawn. "Well, it's late. I'm tired." He wheeled over to the door and opened it. "Bye." He was staring right at Aidan. We exchanged a glance, and he said good-bye before leaving. Pop slammed the door after him. I tried hard not to flinch, then not to look guilty when he leveled his glare at me. "And what the hell have you been getting into? I tell you, I let you out of this house for one week- one week!- and I don't even know what you're doing anymore."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Mom put her hand on my shoulder. "Why don't we have a talk?" she asked. "Up in your room."

I tried not to look relieved as I nodded, and we went upstairs. I could hear Pop, grumbling at the bottom of the steps while we went up and into my room. I would have been lying if I said that nothing had been moved since I had left for Canada, seeing as it was cleaned thoroughly, all my possessions put back into place. "You didn't have to do that, Mom," I said, as I sat down on the bed, her next to me.

"It was a mess," she said, turning to look at me. "Now, what's been going on? You're father's been worried sick, and so have I."

I looked around the room; I knew that there were listening devices around, but I also knew there was no way in hell I was going to be able to find them if Batman had planted them, more than likely himself. It explained who trashed the house.

"I don't think we should talk here," I said, somewhat nervously. "I just…don't feel comfortable. You want to get some fresh air or something?"

Mom looked at me for a moment, then nodded carefully. I could see worry growing deeper into her face, and it hurt. It was the last thing I had wanted; I just wanted her back home, and safe. That was what the last couple weeks had been about. I had my priorities straight. We stood up and went back downstairs. "We'll be back, Ollie."

The two of us slipped out quickly, walking the block and a half to the nearest Starbucks. I had ordered my double mocha latte, one shot of caramel syrup and extra whipped cream. Mom just had tea. I sipped at it a little bit, looking around. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to see, but I had the distinct sense that I was being followed. I chalked it up to paranoia.

"Now, what's this about, Olivia?"

I winced. "Please, you have to promise not to tell Pop. He'll have a heart attack."

She gave me a patient look. "I'll decide whether or not to tell your father. What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath and looked down at the table. "The reason the house was trashed was because the MCC was trying to get my attention. They wanted me to join them…and I kinda did. That's where I met Aidan."

"You're right," she said. "We don't tell your father."

I nodded, somewhat relieved. One less reason for him to try and keep me locked up in the house (and I knew he would try the first chance he got). "They've got this new weapon, some kind of rifle that drains Meta-humans of their powers. If I had it, I could prevent Gotham again. The Meta-humans could have their rights back."

The cynical look on my mother's face seemed horribly out of place. "No, instead you take their powers and they just become normal people, is that it?" she demanded.

"No, not at all! I just protect the people from the dangerous Meta-humans."

"You mean, the vigilantes."

"No. I mean the ones who destroy Gotham." She was silent for a minute, thinking. "By the way, when did you get your throat fixed?"

She frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

It was my turn to frown; she was genuinely confused, as was I. "Your voice box. The one you got in Atlantis."

"Olivia, I've never been to Atlantis."

Her words shocked me, and for a few moments, I couldn't do much but stare. "But, the cancer…and the surgery…"

"Yes?"

"And you lost your voice!"

She shook her head. "No. I had the surgery in time. Olivia, are you feeling all right?"

I definitely wasn't. My head was starting to spin, as I tried to get an idea of what exactly was going on. "Mom, when was the last time you went to Las Vegas?"

"Las Vegas?" I could see that she wasn't following my line of questioning. "Not since before you were born."

"Then, what happened to Pop?"

"The car accident." She reached over and put her hand on my forehead, then looked at my eyes. I couldn't meet her gaze; I was too confused. Somewhat glad, but still confused. "I think we better get you back home, honey. You look a little pale."

"I feel a little pale," I said. "I was in Las Vegas just last week, looking for you. You went to Atlantis to get your voice back, and Pop and I tracked you there. And…"

She stood up and put her hands on my shoulders, helping me to my feet. "Come on, Olivia, let's go home. I think you might need to lie down for a little bit, get something hot to eat."

It sounded like a good idea, especially since my head was swimming. As we walked home, I started to think that maybe I had lost my mind. I was muttering to myself for a little while, until I could get out a rational sentence. "The house was trashed. The MCC did that, you remember that, right?"

"Yes, but it wasn't the first time. This neighborhood has its bad times."

I frowned again; the puzzle was getting more and more complex. "When?"

"The day your father and I brought you home from the hospital." She opened the door and led me inside. Pop was sitting in the living room, and looked over when we came in the door.

"About time you girls got back," he grumbled. He must have seen the dazed look on my face. "Olivia, what's wrong?"

I looked up; the pieces fit a little too well. His injuries were consistent with a car accident, not a sonic screech at point blank range. And he and Mom were both home, and she hadn't seemed guilty. I was simultaneously relieved and worried. My family was staying together, but only because something had happened; someone had changed the past.

"I…I don't think I feel very well," I managed to say. "I thought…I mean Mom lost her voice…and you…in Gotham…"

"I haven't been to Gotham for years," Pop said, with a sour look on his face. "Before you were born."

"I-I think I'm gonna go lie down," I said. Slowly, I managed to get up the stairs and to my room, where I collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Time had changed; I knew it had. I remembered clearly seeing Mom in Atlantis, and in Las Vegas. I remember the panic and guilt I felt in Gotham, and then again in Las Vegas. I remembered Zatanna, and going through her room. Still, they seemed to remember nothing of it. It could have been that they blocked out the memories, fabricating new ones to take their places, but that didn't explain Pop's miraculous recovery, or Mom's ability to speak again.

Thoroughly confused, I rolled over. It was then that I realized that I was definitely in another time. Hanging on the wall in a frame was my high school diploma that I never received. Closing my eyes tightly, I wished that everything would right itself, and managed to finally get to sleep.

I woke up late the next morning, and had an odd sense of being out of place when I did. I felt a couple years younger, as light was streaming in through the casement window onto the wall. I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I looked around my room. Again, my eyes fell on the diploma, and I knew that I had to find out who was behind this sudden change in time, and why they were doing it. I got dressed, glad to be in jeans and a t-shirt again, and made my way downstairs. Pop was already in the living room, Mom in the kitchen. I said good morning and sat down at the table, as she handed me a plate of pancakes.

There really is nothing like coming home to a good home-cooked meal, and after a week of eating the excuse for food that the MCC had, it was an incredible way to wake up. I was helping Mom with the dishes when I suddenly heard Pop say from the other room, "Oh, shit."

I frowned, walking into the living room. The TV was on, and a news splash screen was showing a large explosion. The anchor was stuttering, as he tried to explain something about New York. I squinted, and tried to make out anything I could, but the entire screen was a haze of clouds. It was then that I heard it; New York had been struck by an ICBM, and it was presumed that it was a nuclear attack. I felt my stomach twist over on itself.

"This shouldn't have happened," I said. "This is all wrong." I knew that the house was wired; and I sure as hell knew that someone was watching. "Chief, I know you're there," I said, as Mom and Pop both looked at me. They glanced at each other; they thought I had lost my mind. "Don't play around, this is serious, you know how to get in touch with me!" I waited, and sighed when there was no answer, no phone call. Then, another thought hit me. When Todd had first told me she had been spying on me, she said that she wasn't the one there. But I knew someone who could be there and not seen. "Aidan!"

He made me wait a moment before he suddenly appeared, slowing down enough for me to see him. "All right, you caught me," he said, then backed up a step as Pop turned around. "Oh, shit." He saw the TV.

"This isn't right," I said. "Someone's changed the time stream."

"Someone's bombed New York!" he exclaimed. "I'm not really all that good at handling pressure like this."

I shook my head. "Aidan, don't you understand!" I demanded. "Someone changed the time stream. New York wasn't supposed to be blown up! If we can figure out what's happening with the time stream, we can fix this and it'll never happen."

Aidan was still staring at the TV. "It's been blown up," he said.

"Aidan!"

He blinked, then looked at me. "Huh?"

"Get me back to Valley Forge," I demanded, not caring how rude I was being. "I have to find out what's happening. I need to talk to Oracle; she'll have the answers."

"What answers?"

"The time stream! Mom and Pop never went to Las Vegas."

He frowned. "But they did…" Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Oh." My parents were staring at the both of us.

"I'm sorry to have to run out like this," I told them. I gave them both a quick hug. "I have to find out what's happening. Your lives were changed, and I have to find out why mine didn't. I love you." I turned to Aidan. "Ready?"

He nodded, picking me up again as we sped back to Valley Forge. I kept my eyes closed the entire way there; I didn't want to see what he was doing this time. Fifteen minutes later, we were back in Valley Forge, and Aidan got me access into the lowest levels of MCC headquarters, which was understandably empty. He ran up to get something to eat (apologizing for it again) while I entered the large, dome-like chamber. Todd was sitting down at the single chair in the middle of the room, and I walked up behind her.

"I need to talk to Oracle," I said.

"I am here, Agent Queen."

"Oracle, what the hell is going on with time?" I demanded.

"I do not understand."

"I know someone's been changing it," I told it. "My parents don't remember anything about Las Vegas, or Atlantis, or anything. Their memories were changed!"

"Their memories coincide with my database," the feminine voice said. "Your parents have not been to Las Vegas in twenty seven years. And they were never in Atlantis."

I took a step back, and was somewhat surprised when Aidan took my shoulders. I realized then that I had started to fall. Through all this, Todd was motionless and silent. "I don't believe it," I said. "I can't. This is wrong! Aidan, you remember, right?"

"Yeah," he said carefully.

"Oracle, when was I last in Las Vegas?" I asked.

"You have never been there. It would be in your file if you had."

"Can I see my file?"

"There are no physical copies," Oracle responded.

I felt sick. Someone was messing with my head, and Aidan's. "Something changed," I said, just to say something. I looked up, at Aidan. "You think something might have happened when we phased through those buildings?"

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know," he said. "I think we should be worried about New York right now, though."

I sighed and turned. "Aidan, I think that what happened is horrible, but going to New York right now isn't going to do much good except turn my skin purple."

Oracle's synthesized voice broke in. "Agent Queen, the Chief wishes to speak with you."

There was a slight pause. "Queen?"

"I'm here," I managed to say.

"You still have the weapon?"

"Yeah."

"Now's your chance." The computer showed an image of what had once been New York City. The entire vicinity was surrounded by a green glow, and hovering above it was Uncle Hal, looking strained as he struggled to keep the bubble intact. "Get to New York City and take him down. It's time to make him pay for his crimes."

I could only stare for a few moments more, until Aidan squeezed my shoulder. "He's expecting you to give him an answer," he said softly.

I had difficulty answering. Yes, I needed to do it; I had told him that I would, and if Uncle Hal had been the murderer twenty five years ago, I certainly wanted to make certain that things were set straight. Still, he was trying to save people, I could see that. I also knew that if I didn't do it, someone else would. "All right," I said. Aidan disappeared for a moment, reappearing with the rifle. I took it from him and hefted it. "We'll be there shortly. Get me an outside phone line."

"You have one."

"Dial Kamal."

There was a pause. I waited as Minshi answered. "Wayne Residence."

"I need to speak with Batman." I said. Behind me, I heard Aidan take in a sharp breath. I winced. There were only a few moments of dead air, until Kamal answered.

"Who is this?"

"It's Olivia." I paused, waiting to see what kind of reaction I would get.

"Olivia. What do you want?" His voice was cold. Very cold.

"You have planes, right?" I asked. "Can I borrow one? I need to get to New York."

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"No need," I said, as I felt Aidan grabbing me again. I grinned at him for a moment. "You are enjoying all this manhandling far too much," I said.

He only smiled, and we took off, arriving in Wayne Manor only a few moments later. Once I was down, however, Kamal and Aidan glanced at each other, then squared off. I had forgotten; they had already fought once before.

"You boys play nice," I said. "I have something I have to get done. I need a plane."

Kamal turned to me, glaring daggers. I glared back; I didn't have time for whatever petty anger he might have been nursing at the moment. "You expect me to help you?"

"Actually, yeah, I do." He led us down into the Batcave, threatening Aidan with physical nightmares if he so much as touched anything. He promptly removed himself from the scene. There was a new person, however, a kid even younger than me, with the kind of creepy calm you see on a madman's face. He looked at me, and I shivered slightly. "I have an important mission, and I need your help. It'll help the Meta-humans get their rights back, if it succeeds."

"You want to shoot Green Lantern," the boy said, his voice eerily calm and quiet. I glared at him, and I knew why he looked the way he did; he was a mind reader, and he had read my mind. Now, I'm not exactly a patient person to begin with, and I dislike being spied on, but having someone in my mind is something I absolutely despise.

I leveled a finger at him. "You stay out of my head, freak," I said. I tried not to blush, as I added, "Especially anything before yesterday."

"You should have used protection."

I was about to defend myself, when I realized that he had done it again. "Damn it, out of my head!" I felt the floor shake, and I looked over as a large platform came up from the cave floor. On it was a very sleek-looking winged vehicle.

"There's room for three," he said, and I jumped in, knowing that I had no other real options open to me. I also knew that Kamal would try and stop me when I tried to make my move. All I had to do was move when he was busy. The wing flew out of the cave at barely subsonic speeds, and we were over New York in just under three minutes. Kamal pulled the wing up next to Uncle Hal, and popped the top.

"Lantern!" he shouted, and Uncle Hal turned. I leveled the gun. Kamal glared at me. "Don't you dare pull that trigger, Olivia. You do that, and the radiation he's been containing will spread over the entire country. You'll be killing millions."

I kept my aim, but I couldn't bring myself to fire; Kamal was right. I watched as Hal closed his eyes, forcing the dome to form into a sphere, taking the contaminated air up, out of the atmosphere and into space. It wasn't long until he came back, and I saw my chance; he was exhausted. Setting my teeth and ignoring the queasiness in my stomach, I aimed and fired.

Unfortunately, the wing moved, disrupting my aim. I looked over as Kamal pulled back on the stick. I knew that I'd never be able to get a clear shot while he was in control, and I didn't want to fire on him. He wasn't my target. Looking at my uncle, I realized that there was very little choice. He had gone back in time, and now time was starting to change. At that point, my life was inconsequential; if I succeeded, then time would go back the way it was, and I would be alive again. Much the same way Mom had not worried about our deaths when she had been going after the Pentana of Time. Without so much as a glance, I leapt out of the wing, falling down towards the ground. I aimed and fired again, but not before Kamal had gotten in the way; comparatively, it didn't take much to drain his will, and he was left dangling at the end of his line, looking down at the ground below. Hal saw this, and went down to grab him. I was still falling, and I aimed for another shot, when I felt a sudden jolt, and stopped dead in midair. Looking up, I saw the kid sitting in the wing, staring at me. I glared.

"You must stop this," he said, his voice still calm. I was starting to get really creeped out by him. "You cannot continue, or you will be losing more than one life today."

"Uncle Hal won't die from this," I said, aiming again, as he got Kamal back into the wing.

"I was not talking about another life apart from your own," he said. "You have two minds, one in your head and one in your womb. If you do this, you will kill your child."

That was the last thing I had been expecting him to say. I stopped short, staring at him, forgetting about what was going on around me- hell, I forgot I was dangling in midair. "I'm pregnant?" was all I could manage to whisper. "No. When? How?"

"Two nights ago," he said. "I told you."

"There is no way in hell you would know that quickly," I replied, as I felt my heart beating faster. I was wondering if he was right. If it was true. I was wondering how Aidan would handle it.

"I have seen it. You have to stop."

By then, Uncle Hal had noted me, and saw the paled look on my face. "Olivia?" He eyed the cannon.

I looked up at him, still in a daze. I was pregnant. "You have to leave," I said. "Please, Uncle Hal, you have to go, get out of here, stay out of sight for a while."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I sighed. I couldn't lie to him; I couldn't do much of anything at that point. I was too scared, in almost complete shock. "I was sent here by the MCC to bring you in for your part in the murders in Gotham," I told him, though I barely remember the words coming from me. "Bruce Wayne sent me to find you."

His eyes narrowed, and he took off, towards Gotham. I couldn't feel enough to regret what I had said, or to understand what I had done. I was in shock. I looked up to find the wing gone; the kid and I were the only ones left, dangling in midair. I didn't care. "I need to get back to Valley Forge. Aidan will be there."

It was only a few moments later that I was on the ground again, and I was starting to recover from the news. I had my wits again, at least, to look around before heading down into the base. "Aidan?"

His eyes appeared over one of the small wooden fences. "Yeah?"

"We have a very, very big problem," I said, walking towards him.

"Is Batman here?" he asked.

"No." With that, he stood up entirely, as I reached him. "Look, Aidan, we have a problem." I really didn't know what to say; I knew he wasn't going to be expecting what I was about to tell him, and I didn't have a really nice way of saying it, either. "You and I are going to be parents."

There was a blank look on his face, replaced by shock. "You're pregnant?"

I nodded. Before I could say anything else, though, the kid had disappeared. I looked around, but I couldn't see him. "That creepy kid who brought me here told me. He's got some kind of weird see-the-future powers or something."

"Wait," Aidan said, his voice still ghostly. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes!" I was growing exasperated, until I realized just what I was saying- again. I put my arms over my stomach and looked down. It was only two days, but I suddenly felt sick, like there was something there that shouldn't be. Then maternal instinct took over. "We've gotta find out what's going on with the time disturbance. Our baby isn't going to grow up in the wrong time."

"Our baby?" He was tasting the words for the first time, and I started to see panic in his face. I started to feel sick, as I thought that maybe, he'd run off. There would be no chance I'd be able to catch him, either. If he wanted to leave me alone, there wasn't going to be much I could do to stop him. His eyes glazed over for a moment, then snapped back. "Are you sure you're pregnant?"

"We'll find out for certain once this is done," I told him. Just then, both of our cell phones rang. I frowned, as did he, and we looked down at the caller ID.

"It's Kamal," I said, at the same time he said, "It's the Chief."

We both answered simultaneously, and we were both greeted by the same terse order. "Get to Gotham, now!" Both lines hung up. We looked at each other, somewhat confused, slightly amused. Aidan picked me up again, much more carefully than he had any of the other times, and we were once again taking the trip for Valley Forge to Gotham. By the time we had found the Waynes, they were facing off on the banks of the Gotham River, Uncle Hal lying unconscious in a mass of what looked like yellow cellophane.

Kamal turned to me. "You said there was a time disturbance?" he asked. I nodded.

"There's only one man who knows what this is all about," Bruce said, as he looked down at Uncle Hal.

"Chief, there's something-" Aidan was cut off by a stare from Bruce, a stare that kept him in place while the older man stalked forward.

"You have a problem, West?" he asked.

I was about to jump in, when Kamal put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't," he said, as Aidan finally took off. I could understand why; he had nearly choked me the day before, and there was no way he wanted to get on the wrong side of that.

I looked up at Kamal. His eyes were somewhat wild, and there was anger still in them as he looked at me. "Don't do that to him," I told Bruce. "He's had a really hard day so far. He's still in shock that he's going to be a father."

Kamal looked stunned. "You're pregnant?" he asked.

"According to Creepy Boy." I completely ignored the fact that he had assumed I was the mother.

"We don't have time for this," Bruce said. "We need to get him someplace safe where we can question him. Queen, cover him. Kamal, help me get him inside."

I held the rifle up again, as both men lifted my uncle and dragged him into the asylum, past dilapidated metal doors and debris in the halls. Finally, they brought him to a padded cell, and put him into a straight jacket. I just held the rifle pointed at him, though I wasn't sure any longer if I'd be able to actually fire. I was feeling very alone and was starting to feel very afraid. Kamal knelt down next to him, frowning. "I wouldn't wake him yet," he said. "He seems to be in some sort of deep REM cycle."

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

Kamal turned to look at me. "I think he's in some kind of dream state."

"Okay, not good."

Bruce only grunted. "Keep an eye on him."

I nodded, but my mind was anywhere but there. I was still thinking about my baby. I had to remind myself a couple times that I might not be pregnant at all, though for some reason, I highly doubted it. The creepy people were usually right. My mind started to turn to the more practical; I would need a place to live, a steady, safe job that would give me a chance to be with my child. I needed to make certain that Aidan wouldn't run off. The last fear was starting to melt away slowly, however. The way he had acted towards me the past three days, I felt that he wasn't about to run off. He cared.

Suddenly, Uncle Hal began to shudder, then convulse. I aimed the rifle, but I didn't know what exactly I was going to do with it. "What's happening?"

Neither man was paying attention to me. "Get him to the infirmary," Bruce ordered, as they lifted him, straight jacket and all, and carried him out past me. I followed, not being able to do much else. It wasn't very far to the infirmary, as Bruce held him down and Kamal started to search through the medicine cabinets. Finally, he came back with a bottle and a syringe. I closed my eyes, and felt Kamal touch my shoulder. He had his cape over my face, and finally pulled it back when his father had tossed away the syringe. "That ought to work."

Uncle Hal was lying on his side, still in the straight jacket and still wound in yellow, drooling as his eyes moved under his eyelids. Seeing that was all I could take. I don't remember much of what happened, just that I dropped the rifle and put my hands over my face, trembling horribly. My head was swimming, and I think I was muttering, though I don't remember much of what I said except that I was very desperate for God to step in and do something.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

I looked up, right into Bruce's face, and felt my worried turning into full-blown fear. My mind jump started again, as I took a step back. "Go down the hall, three doors to your right, and find some water. Bring it back to the cell."

I nodded, picked up the rifle from the floor, made my way quickly down the hall. I sat down inside the door for a moment to catch my breath and try to get my head back on straight. It took a minute or so, but I managed to calm down enough to think again, and I grabbed a dusty bag and filled it with sealed bottles of water. I finally made my way back, where Bruce had finally woken Hal. He was in the process of removing the restraints when Uncle Hal's eyes went wide.

"Oa's in trouble," he said.

"Oa?"

There was suddenly a movement from the shadows, and the creepy kid walked out of them. I shuddered, and turned the rifle on him. I wasn't sure what exactly I was gonna do with it, but I was an archer, and it felt good to point something dangerous at someone. "Oa is in need of your help. If you do not go, then the battery will crack. The universe itself is in jeopardy."

Hal looked around, as did I. Kamal was still there, but Bruce had disappeared. I shook my head to myself; all his talk, and he could do little but pick on a teenage girl and a guy in a straight jacket. Coward. Uncle Hal looked at us. "I can't ask you to follow me."

"If there's trouble, I'm with you," Kamal said.

I nodded. "If the universe is in danger, it really doesn't give my baby much of a chance, does it?" I got a surprised look from Hal, before he encased us all in one of his green bubbles, and we were off into space. Mind you, not only had I never been in space before, but we were going really fast. I hid my eyes again, waiting for the journey to be over.

Finally, it was, and I was standing on what could only be described as a large, rocky moon. Lording over the planetoid was a giant citadel, made entirely of gold. There was a main cannon at the top that was peeled back, as though someone had reached in and pulled. As we had come in, there was a ring of dead bodies surrounding the planetoid, all wearing the same outfits of the Green Lantern Corps.

Uncle Hal went up to the main door, looking at it. "Locked," he said. Kamal had started to scale the wall, so I went over and looked at the lock. It was a pretty complex thing, electronic of course.

"Don't use that panel," the kid said. "Use the one beneath it."

I frowned, looking down. There was a smaller door, with another panel, this one with fewer switches. I took a couple steps back and pulled out my bow, sending a charged arrow bolt right into it. The electronics fried under the barrage, and the door slid open obediently. I smiled and followed behind Uncle Hal, as we started to sprint down the empty golden halls.

Finally, we came to a fork in the hall. Two hallways branched off from the main one that kept us going straight ahead. "Left would take us to the main chambers," Hal said. "We want to go straight. That's where the main power battery is."

I was about to step forward, when I suddenly heard something, and saw a flash of motion out of the corner of my eye. There were constructs there, robotic looking things that came for us. I pulled and fired quickly, letting loose more electricity. The arrows affected them, and Kamal's usual array of unique weapons managed to destroy one, but the other fired straight at me. The shot seemed to be fired in slow motion, as I was suddenly very aware that my life was linked to my baby's- anything that happened to me would happen to it, too. I moved out of the way quickly, the blast merely singing my clothes just above my chest. I let another arrow fly, managing to destroy it.

"Damn it, they'd have to be yellow," Hal said.

"Olivia, what can you do with that bow?" Kamal asked.

I shrugged. "Pretty much anything I want to," I said.

"Can you make them a different color?"

I thought for a moment, looking at the bow. "I think so, I should be able to make some sort of dye compound that'll explode on impact, would that work?"

"As long as it doesn't make them more yellow, yeah," Uncle Hal said. I smiled, and we made our way down the central hall. I turned to find Kamal gone. The three of us were sprinting now, the kid having followed, walking calmly, flipping a coin in his hand. I rolled my eyes; the least he could do would be help. It would be nice if he stopped being so damn creepy, too.

As we got to the door of the main battery's chamber, there were two more of the energy beings waiting. I didn't give them a chance to fire first, as I pulled back, creating two arrows, firing simultaneously. Obediently, they hit their marks, and the dyes spread out over them. Uncle Hal did the rest, slicing them in half with the energy from his ring. I did the same for the door, though it took considerably more than one shot to overcome the color.

I turned as Uncle Hal went to work on the door, and just barely dodged another blast from one of the constructs. I knew that Uncle Hal was out of this one- it was gonna be me against them, and I wasn't about to lose. I fired warheads at them, watched as one exploded instantaneously, the other being a bit more stubborn before it, too, was taken care of. By then, Uncle Hal had gotten the door opened, and we ran inside.

The main power battery's cavern was massive, the entire height of the citadel, with catwalks all over. The battery itself was almost blinding as it pulsed in the center. The color wasn't uniform, though; it was shifting from green to blue and back again.

"Yellow energy is being drained from the battery," Uncle Hal said, his voice sounded disturbed.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"No. It means someone is draining all the yellow energy."

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Jordan."

We both turned, when we heard the voice. Coming around from the other side of the battery was my uncle…sort of. He was much older and worse for wear. He wore the costume of a Green Lantern, but it was all yellow. I frowned. Again, my head was spinning. "Uncle Hal?"

"Olivia."

"You look terrible."

He smiled, just slightly, and before my eyes, his appearance shifted. He was much younger. "Is this better?"

I floundered. "Uh, I guess so…"

"Good. Now, go on. You don't need to be here to see this."

I knew what was about to happen, and I knew that there wasn't much I could have done. I didn't want to see either one of them die, and I had the distinct feeling that was what this fight was going to come to. I let loose an arrow at the floor between them, blinding everyone in the area, including myself. Unfortunately, it was a stupid move, as when I looked back, two identical Green Lanterns were standing there.

"Olivia, get out of here, before you get hurt!" one cried to me.

"Yes. You have to go."

I looked between them, my aim wavering. I needed to tell who was who, to know which one was the uncle I had known for the past nineteen years. "Why?" I demanded, looking at them both.

"He'll kill you," one said.

The other didn't even bother to look at me. "Because you're pregnant. It's too dangerous to be here."

I knew who was who. The easiest way, in my mind, to separate the real from the fake was to have an arrow sticking out of the fake. I let one shot go, quickly, and watched as one stumbled back, clutching the wound in pain. The illusion faded, as he glared at me angrily. I had no chance to move out of the way, as I was suddenly enveloped in a burst of yellow light.

The next thing I realized, I was sitting in an old style courthouse, but it was completely bizarre and surreal. I was in the audience, as was Kamal, and my mother and father, both looking young and healthy. Bruce was also there, in the Batman costume, and Uncle Hal, seated at a desk in the front. On the other side was another desk, with a man in green robes. At the judge's bench, and in every seat on the jury, was the kid. In fact, he was in every other role in the court, as well. The man in green stood up. Kamal leaned over to me. "The Spectre," he whispered.

"Gentlemen of the court," he said, his voice hollow and echoing in the small room. "We are here today to judge the guilt of one man: Hal Jordan. The charges are murder, slaughter, and crimes against not only creation, but against the Creator." I looked over at Uncle Hal. He seemed genuinely surprised, and somewhat annoyed. "The prosecution would like to call it's first witness, Mr. Bruce Wayne."

I watched as the procession began, as Bruce recounted his story of what had happened that day in Gotham. Uncle Hal tried to explain, but the kid kept cutting him off. He even threatened to kick him out at one point and appoint someone else to represent him. I rolled my eyes and tried to stay awake, but it was difficult. After Bruce was done, Mom was called to the stand, and she told her side of the story. Pop was next, even though he wasn't there at the time; the Spectre just asked him questions about his friendship to Uncle Hal, and I was silently happy that he was giving the robed freak a hard time.

The next witness he called made me feel sick. She walked in from the back, a single, well-placed shot in the middle of her forehead, the back of her head blown out. Lois sat down, as the Spectre explained what he wanted out of her. She lowered her eyes, and I had to look away. I was going to be sick. Uncle Hal was in true form; he demanded that the court just say he killed them so that they (I was guessing that Jimmy Olsen was there, somewhere, as well) wouldn't have to testify. Not that the copies of one person were any clue, but having a dead woman walk in and having my mother without a scar and my father with his right arm intact made the whole place seem just shy of crazy.

The next thing I knew, my name was being called. I made my way up to the stand and sit down, as the Spectre glided over to me. It was then that I finally found out why everything was surreal; I'm dead. That was about as far as I got; I was dead, my baby was dead. Understandably, I was upset. I think they had to carry me back to the seats, and I think I remember Kamal being dragged out when I was up on the stand. I was surprised; I would have thought, after shooting him, that he would hate me, but it turned out, he didn't. He even apologized for anything he may have done to me while I- we­- had been alive.

The trial lasted for days, most of which were taken up by one witness, some little blue munchkin known as Ganthet as he tried to explain the specifics of chronal mechanics. I really didn't pay much attention. Finally, when he had finished his explanation, and had been questioned by both sides a couple times, the kid called a recess of the jury.

"Come on," Kamal said, taking my arm. "Let's get some fresh air."

"Why?" I demanded, even though I still got up and followed him. As we went out of the single door, we were standing on a long set of marble steps, with large columns disappearing into a blue fog above us. The ground was made of marble, stretching out into the blue fog.

"Are you all right?"

"Do I seem all right to you?" I demanded. "My baby…"

"I know." He looked around. "But there might be someone who knows what's going on, and what's going to happen after this." I followed his eyes, and saw that he was looking at one of the copies of the kid, in a bailiff's uniform. We both walked up to him, cornering him against one of the pillars.

"You're going to answer some questions for us," I said, leaning in close. He looked at me, and I could see confusion in his face. Good. "Now, where the hell are we?"

"I'm not sure," he replied.

"What's going to happen after this?" Kamal said, stepping forward just a little. I bristled somewhat, but waited.

"Well, there are a few things that could happen, depending on what the jury's verdict is."

"You are the jury," I pointed out, crossing my arms.

"I'm not!" the boy insisted. "But, there are quite a few things that could happen, depending on how badly the time stream was changed and what the defendant might or might not be found guilty of…"

I had heard enough. I grabbed him by the collar, lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the column. He winced as his skull hit the marble, and I shook him once to get his attention back on me. "Listen, I'm going to make this perfectly clear; I want my baby to live. Now, you're either going to tell me the loophole in this whole mess that is going to make that happen, or I'm going to break every bone in your body until I find it!"

"Olivia," Kamal said, putting his hand on my arm, but I shrugged him off. I was glaring at the kid, making damn certain he knew I wasn't kidding around. I would tear him apart. Before I had a chance to get started, however, there was a loud, ringing bell sound from inside.

"The jury's reached a verdict," he said. I glared at him for a moment longer, then let him drop to the ground. Kamal was next to me, and I could see he was somewhat surprised. I was a little pissed at that too; he didn't think I had it in me. He shouldn't have doubted.

Inside, I sat back down, watching angrily. The jury came back with a verdict of guilty to five counts of murder (including my child), mass slaughter, and trying to tamper with creation. The kid went on some long, lengthy speech that I didn't pay attention to; I was too shocked. Uncle Hal looked utterly defeated, standing there with his head down, leaning against the table. The kid went over to the Spectre, reached up, and removed his cloak. Underneath was a plain man, wearing a suit.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, trying to stand up. Kamal stopped me.

"This is a matter out of mortal hands," he said. "Just be quiet."

"That's my uncle!"

"Not anymore."

I watched helplessly as the kid carried the cloak over and faced Uncle Hal, declaring that this was his punishment. He put the cloak over, and there was a sudden howling, as he disappeared in the cloak. I felt a fingernail break as I grasped the back of the chair in front of me too tightly, but I didn't care; I was dead, after all.

"That's it?" I demanded, standing up too quickly for Kamal to stop me. "You bring us here and now you just expect us to move on, after you've deigned our deaths wrong? I'm not going to accept that."

The kid looked at me, still calm. Still damn creepy. "The Multiverse has been irreversibly altered," he said. "The only solution I can see is for it to be restarted; the criminal will be removed and will not be able to affect the time stream as he did." As he finished speaking, there was a flash of light as the room shook, the ceiling opening up. A large hand came down from the fog, in a fist, then turned upwards. When it opened, sand started to pour out from it, forming into stars, and there was another flash of light when the hand was empty. That was it. The Multiverse had been remade, and our universe had been removed, which means that everything we did, never happened. I never even existed. Instead, there was another world, another time, another place, another hero, and another crisis. It turns out, there's always a crisis, whether major or minor. As long as there is a crisis to avert, there will always be heroes.