A\N: Heyyyy, guess who's back with an update? :)

"The winner from last chapter is Anime hotty lover 18." Congratulations, you win virtual sweets! =^_^=

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my original characters ;-;

|WASHINGTON DC

|February 13, 21:06

Tugging the jacket closer, she fished out a smartphone from her pocket, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as the time shone back to her in digits. She sighed, her breath coming out as white clouds in the cold as the person beside her peeked at her phone, masked eyes sweeping over the shining screen as she slid her thumb across the phone's lock.

"Gotta busy schedule?" Nightwing inquired as they trudged down the empty street.

Fingers typing in a quick text, Death pocketed the phone away. "Something like that," she answered, clasping her hands behind her back as she peered around the empty street. "Zatanna's hosting her first ever magic show in New York tonight. She wants me and Zach to be there."

The dark clouds in the sky blocked away the moon, street lights showering dim light over the side walk. "I wouldn't have dragged you along but we need to be there," The former boy wonder frowned, "Roy needs our help."

"To be very honest," Death began, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think firecrotch is gonna appreciate me being there. And anyway," she stopped, propping her fists on her hips. "You can always tell him about Lia—"

A breeze brushed past Nightwing, a grin pulling the ends of his lips upwards as the dark magi blinked repeatedly, startled as arms snaked around her waist, pulling her up in the air as a familiar laugh echoed in the chilly atmosphere. It took a few moments for her to understand what was happening, and then she laughed heartily as well, throwing her arms around the ginger's neck.

"Wally!" She squealed excitedly, squeezing the speedster's torso.

Grin threatening to reach his ears, Wally stepped back, hands coming down to rest on her hips. "How's my favorite magician doing?" He smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead briefly.

Her smile bright, Death nudged him in the arm playfully, a smirk curling the corners of her lips upwards. "I'm good. How're you, speed racer?"

"I'm good too," Wally grinned toothily, shifting his weight onto his left foot, mossy green eyes meeting pure white lenses. His grin morphed into a smirk, "Dick, my man!" He held his fist out, Nightwing smiling as he bumped his fist with the redhead's. "Nice to see you too, KF."

Silver eyes glittering, Death parted her lips, ready to ask whether Artemis was here too when another voice spoke up, catching her attention instantly.

"What? No love for us?" Green Arrow asked jokingly, stepping into the light of the street. Black Canary stood beside him, smirking knowingly as Death grinned widely beneath her face mask, jogging up to them swiftly.

"Ollie! Dinah!" She laughed, tackling her ex mentor into a hug. With a roll of her blue eyes, Black Canary returned her embrace, smiling. "It's nice to see you, Life." She said softly, watching with great interest as Death pulled back, then clasped her arms around Green Arrow's torso, hugging him tightly.

The blond man chuckled happily, patting the young woman's back with affection.

Observing them from a distance, Wally stuffed his hands into the pockets of his brown coat, glancing at Nightwing questionably. "Did you tell her?" He inquired silently.

Nightwing kept his gaze fixed on the dark magi as she chatted amiably with her old mentors.

"Not yet," he answered easily, then fixed his best friend with a knowing look. "I don't think she'll be willing to listen if I told her. But," he grimaced, the lenses of his domino mask narrowing into slits.

"I'm sure she will, if you get Artemis to talk to her about it."

|MOUNT JUSTICE

|February 13, 21:49 EST

Dropping her pencil, Cynthia gathered the scattered papers, but blinked as she heard someone whisper near her. She cocked her head up, unamused as Garfield offered her a weak smile through the hologram of his homework as she sat across him on the table.

"Pssst, Cynthia, pssst!" He called out to her in which what he considered a very silent tone, ignoring the dumb look she was awarding him with. "Psssttt!"

"What do you want, Logan?" She asked, irritated, placing her paperwork neatly inside a file as he gave her a pleading look.

"Can you tell me what's the name of—"

Mal's voice cut in instantly, "Gar's cheating." He announced, Garfield flinching in his seat as Professor Carr, his tutor appointed by Mg'ann, shot him a look.

"My homework's done," Cynthia declared, slamming her book shut as she began placing her school items in her bag.

Professor Carr raised his brows in question, strolling from Garfield's side towards her, peering down at her work. "Your report for Shakespeare's novel is complete?"

"Yeah," the blonde girl nodded, barely listening to him as she zipped up her bag. "Romeo and Juliet is the suckiest novel in the history of what I've read in my whole fourteen year old life."

"Really?" Megan looked over her shoulder, her hand clasped with Lg'ann's as she smiled gently. "I really liked it, except for the end— "

She was interrupted as the holographic screen infront of them all showed the face of Adam Strange who spoke up, "we're ready," he told them, "zeta shield relay satellites are all in place. We are now activating satellites."

The screen showed the emptiness of space, a number of satellites fixed around earth before they all shifted on, covering the whole planet with a bright golden shield from all sides.

"Congratulations!" Adam gave them a tight smile, "the zeta shield is now operational!"

His arm drooped around Megan's shoulders, Lg'ann smiled victoriously. "Absolutely historic," he glanced back at Garfield and his teacher, a playful smirk on his face. "Professor Carr! You should have your cave-school pupil write a term paper about this."

Garfield glared angrily, doing a slitting neck motion with his hand at his sister's beau.

Lg'ann took no notice, still admiring the new zeta shields around the earth. "With the zeta shields in place, no alien can teleport to our planet from off world." He smiled down at the martian girl in his arms, paying no attention as Superboy walked by them, the clone scowling while the atlantean continued.

"Even your friend, Strange, won't be able to zeta to and from Rann without prior approval."

Standing near to Mal, Superboy crossed his arms over his well built chest. "Shield's great and all," he snorted, "but it still won't stop a space ship or a boom tube."

Cynthia acted as if they weren't there at all, standing up from her seat before she stretched her arms over her head. "Anyone seen Cassie?"

Garfield kept his green eyes on his homework, mumbling loudly in answer. "She's out with Wonder Woman."

"Oh," Cynthia frowned, then quirked a brow as Jaime began loudly, arguing with himself. "Not compatible?! Not compatible with what?!" He snapped angrily, folding his arms across his chest. "I swear I don't understand half the things you say!"

Mal have him an amused look, "you're not the only one."

She stared as the hispanic boy flushed in embarrassment, lowering his gaze to avoid the puzzled looks being directed at him. She pushed her chair back, making her way over to them all as Superboy started, "Where's Nightwing?" His eyes searched for Batman's ex protégé.

"Taking the night off, personal business." Mal responded, perplexed as Superboy hummed in approval, eyes still darting around the room. "Okay. Where's Life then?"

"Took the night off too," Mal replied again, Superboy raising a brow. "Both of them?"

Mal gave a firm nod, a coy smirk curling the ends of his lips upwards. "Yeah, both of them." He then gave a quizzical look to the kryptonian, "but hey, didn't they break up or something?"

His question falling on deaf ears, Superboy inspected all of his teammates slowly, gaze sweeping Cynthia who walked over to Jaime's side, the boy busy in grumbling something to himself like he did most of the time.

"Hey, Blue Beetle." She started, snapping him back to reality as he spun to face her, hiding his hands behind his back as if he were about to attack her.

He tossed a friendly smile, "Oh, hey, Cyn!"

"-thia," she replied, Jaime blinking confusion. "Uh, what?"

"Thia. It's Cynthia." She elaborated the way to say her name, ignoring how raised he brows in amusement as she continued, "are you free tonight?"

It took a second or two for her question to absorb in, and Jaime quickly jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "uh, yeah. I'm totally free," he answered coolly, trying to act all nonchalant as Garfield rolled his eyes in the background.

Brown eyes shining, Jaime rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Y-you wanna hang out?"

"Actually," Cynthia began, ignoring how Lg'ann and Megan were brushing their noses together lovingly behind them all. "I wanted to ask abou—"

She was rudely interrupted as Superboy stepped in between them, clenching the collar's of Jaime's sweatshirt, the boy gasping in surprise as he was forcefully yanked ahead by the clone. "Tag. You're it." Superboy growled, dragging him away while Mal stared, frowning. "Woah, Con! What're yo—

"Taking the night off," The kryptonian responded gruffly, continuing to pull Jaime. "Personal business."

Mal opened his mouth to protest more, but paused as Cynthia stormed after the two, jaw clenching as she caught up to them. "Hey!" She glowered, reaching out to grab the back of Jaime's shirt. "I was talking to him!"

A scowl gracing his features, Superboy tightened his grip on the boy's collar as he glared down at Death's protégé. "Jaime," he said calmly, "tell your girlfriend here, she can't have you for tonight."

Heat crawled up the said boy's neck as Cynthia's eyes shone dangerously, "I am not his girlfriend," she bit out through gritted teeth, "and I have something to talk about with him!"

Unfazed by her seething form, Superboy stared flatly, then released Jaime, allowing him to stumble back a bit. "Fine," the clone grabbed Cynthia's arm, the blonde clenching her jaw as she was dragged forward without permission.

"You can come too," Superboy said monotonously, ignoring how she tried to dig her heels in the tiled floor, her glare promising cruel murder.

Jaime stared at their backs, the Scarab speaking in his mind. 'Body temperature is lowering to normal now. Suggestion: To keep hormones and temperature at optimum level, avoid all contact with the human female known as Mystica.'

He scowled, armor covering his body. "No one asked for that information, ese." He snorted to himself, following his teammates as they all made their way towards the cave's hangar.

"So, uh, you can do magic, right?"

Green eyes moved upwards, narrowing upon meeting yellow ones. "Yeah, so what?" Mystica questioned as she sat in the genosphere, Superboy guiding Sphere through the night air of Washington.

Blue Beetle smiled softly, leaning back in his seat as he attempted to break the icy silence between them all. "I've never actually seen you use it so I was curious."

"I don't need magic to do anything," she snorted, folding her arms over her chest.

'There is a mystic aura around her, Jaime Reyes.' The Scarab began, 'but it fails to reach the higher level which her mentor possesses. However, I warn you to be wary of her still. Her sword is quite powerful. Not to mention, her ability to upset your primitive emoti—'

"Shut up!" Blue Beetle hissed, then quickly flinched as Mystica shot him a frosty glare. "No!" He began apologetically, "I-I wasn't talking to y—"

"Where are you taking us anyway?" She demanded from Superboy who sat in the front seat, completely ignoring how Blue Beetle deflated, gaze settling on the clone as well.

Shifting in the pilot seat, Superboy faced them, blue eyes flicking from Mystica to Blue Beetle. "Don't you wanna know what we're doing too, Blue?"

The boy blinked his pale eyes, then nodded slowly, "Yeah, look. I know you only picked me because Gar was studying and L'gann and M'gann were—whatevering," he took a quick glance from the blonde girl seated beside him, "And Cyn...thia got dragged in as well, but we want to help you, ese."

"Yeah," Mystica leaned forward, "so tell us what's going on?"

Pondering on the question, Superboy nodded slowly, clicking a few keys on Sphere. A holographic blue screen lit up infront of the two young heroes. It replayed the explosion in Melina island from a few weeks ago as Superman's clone began explaining, "the bomb Aqualad used last month to destroy Melina island was clearly of alien origin. Obviously the kroloteans that perished there didn't know anything about it."

Superboy straightened in his seat, grimacing. "We need to find out where it came from."

"Alright, ese. I get this," Blue Beetle nodded in acknowledgment. Mystica snorted loudly, folding her arms over the board facing her seat as she dropped her chin on her palm, "how are we even going to find out anything when we don't know where to look for it?"

"Actually, I do know where to look." Superboy jerked his chin downwards, motioning towards a white truck that drove far away beneath them all in the streets of Washington. "The criminal organization Intergang has a history of trafficking alien tech, smuggled to earth through boom tubes. So,"

Mystica cocked a blonde eyebrow as the screen hovering infront of them flickered up with the face a beautiful redheaded woman, along with an ugly looking man.

"I've been keeping tabs on Whisper A'Daire," Superboy told them the name of the woman, "one of Intergangs top agents. Tonight; her boss, Bruno-ugly-Mannheim," he said the man's name with great disgust, "crawled out of hiding to meet up with her."

The screen disappeared as Superboy guided Sphere further up in the sky, following the truck driving quickly on the street. "Looks like they're headed for," the clone squinted his eyes in thought, then frowned upon seeing the building they were nearing.

"The Hall of Justice."

Blue Beetle shared a perplexed look with Mystica. "What could they want from the Hall?"

"I'm not sure," Superboy scowled, pausing Sphere in the air as the white truck halted beside the Hall of Justice. His jaw clenched as Whisper and Bruno slid out from the tuck, looking around cautiously before they began stalking towards the back of the building, carrying a suitcase.

"But I'm sure they're about to do something real ugly," Superboy growled, attention shifting to Blue Beetle. "Can you scan that case?"

Nodding in answer, Blue Beetle converted his right hand into a strange device, its light shining dimly as he attempted to scan the suitcase. 'Unrecognized object.' The scarab replied. 'Not compatible.'

"Not compatible?" The boy echoed, irritated, Mystica ducking away from him as he began swaying his arm in the air angrily. "What does that even mean?!"

Before she could slap his arm away, Superboy broke in, fixing the teen with a puzzled look. "Blue, what do you even mean?"

"Yeah!" Mystica pushed his hand away, "what's up with the whole crazy talking to yourself all the time?"

His shoulders drooping, Blue Beetle slumped in his seat, "It's the Scarab," he groaned, pointing to his back. "The thing stuck to my spine that gives me my armor, the powers. It's like an artificial intelligence created by Ted Kord," He sighed, frowning. "The previous Blue Beetle."

Mystica cocked her head to the side, not completely sure who this Ted Kord was as Superboy looked away sadly, "Yeah, he was a good man."

"So I heard." Blue Beetle mumbled, crestfallen. "Guess he was a super genius or something. Captain Atom figures the Scarab was Kord's ultimate invention, but the Light killed him before he even had a chance to use it." He frowned, looking down sadly before his gaze flicked up to Superboy. "The Scarab advises me but," he cracked a weak smile, "think Jiminy Cricket just with a really bad attitude."

Not even knowing what a Jiminy Cricket was, Mystica spared the boy beside her an amused look. "Good to know that you're not crazy though," she muttered under her breath, unfazed by the glare Superboy directed at her.

"Alright," The kryptonian nodded, not paying much attention to Mystica's comment. "Can it scan the Hall?" He inquired, peering downwards. "Ugly maybe about to launch an attack against whoever's inside and it's shielded from my infrared vision—"

Blue Beetle cut in quickly, "Scan complete!" He announced, "the place is deserted."

"But if no one's inside, what're they doing?" Mystica peeked down from Sphere, the ends of her lips pulling downwards as Whisper and Bruno paused behind the building, placing the suitcase down before clicking it open.

It revealed an absurd and complex machinery from the inside, and Mystica blinked, surprised as Sphere jerked them in the air slightly, whistling noisily upon seeing the insides of the suitcase.

She clenched the dashboard, as Blue Beetle's hidden brows knitted together, "what is that thing?" He asked about the suitcase.

"Dunno," Superboy answered honestly, inspecting the open suitcase from away very closely through his supervision. "But by the way Sphere's reacting, it's definitely apokoliptian."

Finally, that was a term she actually remembered reading in those big books Death had given her in the starting of her hero career. Blue Beetle, however, was still quite perplexed. "An apoko-whata?"

"Apokoliptian?" She reminded him, rolling her eyes when he offered a dumb look. "It was in that big green book in the second terms syllabus, remember?"

He still stared, when Superboy stood up from his seat, "you two can discuss studies later, but we need to go now!" And with that, he pushed off Sphere along with Wolf, both of them landing right infront of the villains below them.

Impatiently waiting for Sphere to reach the ground, Mystica found her muscles stiffening as an arm wrapped around her waist, but before she could hiss or pull away, Blue Beetle hopped off the genosphere, and she relaxed when their feet touched the grass safely.

She quickly stepped away from the blue armored male, drawing out her sword from its sheathe as Whisper narrowed her eyes at them all, "Too late, heroes." She snarled, smirking proudly as Bruno clicked on the wiring inside the suitcase.

And suddenly, crimson red circular ripples began to invade the air, going wider and wider before they hit Blue Beetle. For some reason, he cupped his ears, gasping out in pain while stumbling backwards.

Shooting him a surprised look, Mystica quickly brought her attention back to the duo standing before her and Superboy. The kryptonian scowled deeply, hands balling into his fists. "Game's over, ugly!" He yelled furiously, referring to Bruno. "Time to hand the device over!"

Mystica's grip tightened on the sword's handle as Bruno scoffed, not looking frightened at all. "You're half right. The game's half over."

Wolf bared his teeth, Mystica throwing an unimpressed look. "Not is he only ugly," she scowled, "but he's stupid too."

And all of a sudden, the Hall's wall broke through, the blonde girl beside Superboy staring widely, shocked as a monster stepped out, made from rock and wood, crystals sticking out from its hideous form as Bruno shouted loudly.

"Attack!"

Releasing a blood chilling roar, the elemental monster threw out a humongous fist, Mystica sprinting backwards along with Superboy and Wolf, skidding over the grass as the creature screeched furiously, stomping towards them. With a forceful push to the ground, Superboy leaped into the air, catching onto the monster's arm, and slamming his fists into the crystal popping out from the monster's body.

Jerking around vigorously, the monster threw the kryptonian off. With a battle cry, Mystica raced forward, swiping the sword across the elemental monster's leg. The blade cut halfway through, and she smirked victoriously, but let out a gasp as the creature kicked ahead, its humongous half-torn foot crashing into her.

As she was sent flying back, the blonde groaned painfully as she hit Sphere, sprawled in the genosphere's pilot seat, teeth grinding together as the monster's foot grew intact again. Getting up, Mystica winced upon hearing an audible pop come out of her back. But before she could get out of Sphere, Blue Beetle flew over her head, his hands morphed into a sonic blaster.

Her heart skipped a beat, her shout out for him to stop going mute because of the noisy sound of the sonic waves he blasted at the creature.

Instead of recoiling, the monster's crystals flashed a dark colour of blue, before it reacted, sending waves of a strong sonic blast back at them all.

Mystica hissed as the sonic collided with her, throwing her away before her back hit the bark of a tree and her body slid down to lay on the ground. Stars spun in her blurry vision as she heard the heavy steps of the monster fade away into the distance. Her ears were still blaring, when something wet pressed against her forehead. Green eyes peered upwards, a scowl gracing her features as she found Wolf's pale eyes staring down at her, his moist snout touching her forehead.

"Ugh, get away from me, you stupid mutt!" She snapped, pushing the beast's face away as she sat upright.

She wiped the wetness off her forehead with her hand, Wolf growling as he lifted his head up in annoyance, stuttering off to Superboy who stood beside Sphere, patting the canine's head. Blue armored feet came into her vision, Blue Beetle offering her a soft smile, "you okay?" He held a hand towards her.

Glancing at his hand, Mystica pushed herself off the ground, getting to her feet as she stalked towards Sphere, grumbling death threats under her breath.

'It will be wise to stay away from her.' The Scarab advised, Blue Beetle frowning as he walked behind Death's protégé.

|Arlington

|February 13, 22:45 EST

Pale eyes swept over the blonde sitting beside him, then shifted over to the ebony seated in the front of the genosphere. Chewing the insides of his cheeks, Blue Beetle finally decided to speak up. "Uh, how're the ears?" He inquired, referring to Superboy's ears since the clone had pretty strong superhearing.

Chin resting on top of her fist, Mystica frowned as Superboy craned his head back, gaze resting on Blue Beetle. "Fine!" He yelled loudly, the blonde girl wincing because of his shout. The kryptonian pursed his lips quickly, nodding slowly. "Fine, but," his brows furrowed, "what were you thinking using sonics against an Appellaxian?"

Confusion written all over his face, Blue Beetle raised his eyebrows questionably, "dude, never heard of an—" he paused, testing the word on his tongue to speak it correctly when Mystica sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat as she shot him an amused look.

"Appellaxian," she repeated the word for him, "it was in that big green book you were supposed to read too."

Yellow eyes peeking at her, Blue Beetle rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've never heard of uh, that, before tonight."

Superboy rolled his eyes, sighing. "You freshmen never do the homework—"

"I did my homework," Mystica cut in, eyes narrowing as the clone kept on going as if he had never been interrupted by her.

"—haven't you read the case file on the League's first mission? Haven't you taken the guided tour of the Hall?"

Blue Beetle scratched the back of his head, "those are rhetorical questions, right?"

Mystica released a snort, her golden curls tickling her cheeks as the wind teased through them as Superboy shook his head, yet another sigh left his lips. "The Appellaxian's were an alien race of energy beings that attacked earth twelve years ago. They inhabited elemental host bodies including one made of crystal that could absorb and redirect a sonic attack." He elaborated.

"So what were they doing inside the Hall?"

"The League took them in as souvenirs," Mystica responded, crossing her arms, not noticing Superboy gazing at her from the front seat as she continued, "the original seven members of the Justice League drove the energy beings off world. The empty husks the aliens left behind became the first, you can say, trophies of the League?" She offered with a shrug, "so they were put in the Hall of Justice."

"Absolutely correct," Superboy complimented, Mystica blinking as his eyes softened, the ends of his lips tugging upwards slightly. "Good to know at least someone takes their homework seriously."

A rare smile touched the girl's lips upon the small praise, and Blue Beetle rolled his eyes from beside her. "But how'd the husks come back to life?"

"Ugly's device must've reactivated the husks, combining somehow into a creature he could control." Superboy deducted, "Sphere is tracking the device's Apokoliptik energy readings."

Sphere whistled loudly, flashing blue lights as she tracked the signal, hovering down from the sky, taking them into a small forest where Whisper and Bruno stood, the elemental creature right beside them.

Bruno grinned wickedly, dark eyes gleaming dangerously. "With this, I can increase the Intergang's reach exponentially."

"Wow," Superboy began loudly, the villain's snapping their heads up as Sphere neared the ground gradually, "Five syllables," he mocked, appearing amused. "I didn't know you knew anymore than two."

Bruno glowered, "hilarious," he snarled, clicking a few keys of the Apokoliptian weapon. "But we'll see who's laughing when I—"

Superboy instantly cut in, "New Genisphere, jam all Apokoliptian signals in the area."

Sphere obliged, shooting out a bright red beam, hitting the weapon which let out sparks, falling out of Bruno's hands and falling to the snow covered ground. But the great monster behind them—the golem— roared, stepping on to the device, stomping it down as it dangerously loomed over them all.

Mystica gazed up at the golem, green eyes sharpening and muscles tensing as it went wild, ferociously swinging its heavy arms around, throwing Whisper and Bruno to the side. She quickly leapt out of Sphere along with the others, thanking her luck as the golem whirled a hand in Sphere's direction, causing it to hit the ground forcefully.

Releasing a blood chilling roar, the golem stomped about viciously, creating somewhat of a small scale snowstorm. His jaw tightening, Superboy leapt towards the rummaging monster in a fit of fury, Wolf not far behind. But the creature struck them with his hand, throwing them back with ease. Green eyes narrowed, Mystica growled furiously, darting forward as she swung the sword with all her force, but the golem stepped aside, letting her run beneath his foot and she skidded over the snow, coming to a quick halt before she whirled around.

Ice seeped through her veins as her gaze came across the rocky sole of the creature's foot, coming closer, and closer with each passing second. She didn't have time to bolt out of the way, her body freezing as she braced herself, not quite willing to accept her approaching death. But a body collided with her, hurling her far away as the golem's foot hit her previous standing spot. The golem growled, leaving them all there and making its way towards a nearby nuclear reactor.

.

Blue Beetle was sure that if he hadn't tackled Mystica out of the way of golem's attacking foot, she would have been a squished into a spat out chewing gum, sticking to the creature's feet as it reigned terror. So he was more than relieved when he got her out safe in the last second, for now she lay beneath him, back pressed to the ground and her fast breaths coming out as white clouds in the chilly atmosphere.

And in that moment, he came to know a few things about her; like how green her eyes were. They were wide open irises, unblinking, dark forest green orbs peering upwards into his pale ones. He noticed the dust of freckles across her cheekbones as she lay frozen, still in shock, sunny locks spread over the white snow.

The Scarab started in his mind, disapproving the sudden rush of emotions he was experiencing.

'This is not the time, nor the place to choose a mate, Jaime Reyes.'

A soft blush exploding across his cheeks, Blue Beetle coughed, rolling off the blonde, more than thankful for the armor that hid his flushed face. "A-are you okay?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

She swallowed, nodding as she staggered up. "That was so close," she shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself, glancing around.

Her gaze met Superboy, the clone's face scrunched up into a scowl as he pinned Whisper and Bruno to a tree, holding them by the front of their collars.

"You freed the beast, superbrat!" Bruno snarled in a fit of fury, clawing at the kryptonian's strong hold. "Now no one's controlling the monster!"

Superboy's scowl deepened, "Blue," he looked over his shoulder, "lock them down."

With a firm nod, Blue Beetle stapled both the villains in the tree's bark, the Scarab chiding him again.

'That tactic would be more effective if you fired through the bone.'

"Eww, no." Blue Beetle commented in disgust, Mystica sparing him a wry look while Superboy shouted from behind them, running towards Sphere.

"Blue, Mystica, let's go! You can fight your inner demons later!"

Blue Beetle frowned, casting a glance to the blonde as she ran after Superboy, climbing in Sphere. "Demon. Singular; one's enough, believe me." He sighed heavily.

There was only one thing that she had deducted during her previous fights with the golem. Her sword had no effect on it. She glanced at the blade in her clenched fist, Blue Beetle and Superboy already leaping at the rummaging elemental monster. Green eyes glanced around her surroundings as she slid the sword back into its sheathe, gaze resting on the man and woman dressed up as security guards, firing at the golem making its way closer to the nuclear reactor.

Mystica chewed her bottom lip, searching for any spell that she knew in the back of her mind. Surprisingly, she couldn't think up of any incantation that would aid them in situation. "Who needs magic?" She growled, then bolted forward, skidding beside the man and woman.

She set her fists on her hips, frowning as they turned their guns towards her, but blinked quickly, lowering their weapons.

"That thing!" The woman pointed a finger at the golem as Blue Beetle swept its feet off the ground, "should not get close to the nuclear reactor!"

"I know," she responded, jabbing a thumb towards the exit of the fence they were inside. "But you two need to get out of here right now!"

They stared before nodding slowly, swiftly heading towards the exit, the man calling out to her from behind. "Good luck to you and your friends, Sword Girl!"

"Sword Girl?" She echoed, eyes flashing in anger when Superboy's shout hit her ears. With a curse, she ran forward, stepping aside as the kryptonian slid across the concrete beneath them, creating a small tunnel because of the forceful hit he had got from the golem.

"Focus on the mission!" He snapped, hopping to his feet. Mystica shot him an icy glare, "I was getting the civilians to safety!"

Superboy scowled, parting his lips to scold when he caught onto the sight of something, and ran forward, Mystica frowning but following him still. However, she paused, staring as Blue Beetle sat on the ground, arm shifted into a canon as he fired at the golem.

"You knows sonics aren't gonna work!" She hissed, Superboy grasping the canon and yanking at it. "Break off, Blue! Whatever you're doing, break it off before it kills you!"

Blue Beetle shook his head in disapproval, "No!" He managed through clenched teeth, "It's not attacking. It's communicating!"

They stared flatly, surprised when the boy turned to them, golden eyes replaced with dark orange ones as he spoke, conveying the golem's message.

"Where is the stillness of wood, of stone, of crystal, of metal?" Blue Beetle spoke the words of the golem, "All this noise, all this life is pain. We sense the power in this place." He pointed in the direction of the nuclear reactor. "The power enough to destroy us! To end the pain. To be still again."

Gradually adjusting to the new information, Mystica's gaze swept over the golem, a frown pulling the ends of her lips downwards upon hearing its miserable words.

Superboy's shoulders slumped, "I can relate." He stiffened as green eyes stared at him in surprise, before he quickly steeled his emotions, nodding at the golem. "I mean, we can help you. We will help you." He spoke with determination.

"What do you suggest?" Mystica inquired, "should we call the Leag—"

Her sentence was cut short as a black bleam darted out from somewhere in the darkness of the night, her breath hitching as the beam struck the golem, destroying it in mere seconds. Blue Beetle cried out in sheer pain, collapsing backwards, Superboy catching him in his arms. Mystica watched, horror creeping over her face as nothing but ashes and debris was left of the golem, tiny red sparks flying in the cold air, fading into nothing quickly.

The sound of footsteps neared them, the man and woman from before smiling broadly. "Don't know who you guys are but you took that thing down!" They grinned gleefully, "probably saved the whole east coast!"

Their praise fell on deaf ears as Blue Beetle stared blindly into the air, hand reaching out, fingers curling around a flying spark. "It was alive," he said softly, "And now it's gone." His jaw clenched in anger, "but who attacked? Who killed it?"

Mystica kept staring into the air, watching the sparks fade into nothingness before a scowl graced her features.

"Someone ugly," Superboy answered Blue Beetle bitterly, blinking as the blonde drew out her sword, shifting her murderous glare to them.

"They're gonna get even more ugly when I'm through with them!" She growled, pivoting on her heel and darting back, ignoring how Superboy shouted for her to wait.

Her jaw tight, and blood boiling, she stormed inside the forest, sword ready to strike, but she paused, staring with wide eyes upon seeing their captives still pinned to the tree's bark with Blue Beetle's staples.

She pushed the sword back into its sheath, walking forward cautiously, green eyes tracing how Whisper and Bruno lay limp, drool trickling down their chins and eyes glazed over.

|HAPPY HARBOUR

|February 13, 23:49 EST

Sphere soared through the night sky, cold miserable silence descending upon her passengers. Tugging a strand of blonde hair away from her eyes, Mystica's gaze remained fixed on the back of Superboy's head, the clone glaring straight ahead, before she peeked over to the boy beside her from the corners of her eyes.

His jaw set, Blue Beetle sat awfully silent, arms crossed over his chest and pale eyes staring into space, lost in thought.

A few seconds of silence ticked by, and she cleared her throat, scowling slightly as no one paid her any attention. Pursing her lips, she hesitantly reached out, Blue Beetle blinking once, then twice as her hand landed on his shoulder. He shifted in his seat, golden eyes coming across deep green irises as she spoke, her voice surprisingly soft.

"I'm not quite good at this," she mumbled loudly, then smiled. "But thanks for saving my life back there." She thanked, pulling her hand back, before folding her hands onto her lap, green eyes softening as she continued, "and thanks for saving my life too, when I—y'know? Fell off that hotel in Geneva."

'Level of oxytocin in blood rising up to three percent.' The Scarab informed, Blue Beetle brushing off the AI's comment as he grinned faintly. "You're welcome."

She offered a small smile back, turning to face ahead again when he quickly began, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, just so you know, I'm free tomorrow's night too," he smiled, "so if you wanna hang ou—"

"Oh, right!" Mystica's eyes flashed with realization, and she focused her attention solely on him, "I wanted to ask you what your parents said about me babysitting your little sister."

He stared flatly, silent for a second, then started. "You wanted to ask me that?"

"Well, yeah," she bounced her shoulders, "I thought maybe I could meet your parents tonight to discuss the pay and everything." She raised a brow, suspicion sneaking in her voice. "What were you thinking?"

Superboy coughed, the ends of his mouth twitching upwards slightly as Blue Beetle let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

"Nothing, hermana. Nothing."

|GOTHAM CITY

|February 14, 00:39 EST

"Why are you so interested in my husband suddenly?"

With a roll of her silver eyes, Life scoffed, "I'm just concerned for Roy." She pulled open her closet, reaching out for a dark violet colored dress, laying it neatly over her disheveled bed.

"Of course, you are," Jade's amused voice mused through the phone, "but I'm more interested in how you got my number?"

"Artemis," Life answered, phone tucked between her ear and shoulder as she pulled open her drawers, searching for something. "Look, firecrotch is in a pretty horrible condition. He looks like a hobo for crying out loud so if you can ju—"

Gray eyes blinked upon hearing that the call had ended, Jade hanging up from the other side of the line. Muttering a curse in her mother tongue while chucking the phone onto the mattress, she turned her attention to the mirror of her dressing table, contemplating.

Exhaling, she held her arms in the air, the spell rolling off her tongue easily.

"Sserd em pu."

Black smoke swirled out from the floor, enveloping her from all sides and Life grinned at her reflection, pleased as she blew at a stray curl falling over her eyes. Her phone buzzed over the mattress and she quickly picked it up, reading the new text as she clutched onto a purse, making her way out the door, heels clicking against the floor.

Show's starting in 15 minutes. Where are you?

"I'm coming, Zach." She mumbled, softly closing the door behind.

Entering the living room, she came to a sudden halt, muscles tensing instantly as she whirled around, striking her fist outwards. Thin fingers caught her wrist, and silver eyes flared up with surprise as Artemis cocked a blonde brow, the corners of her lips pulled upwards into a smirk.

"Wow," she released the younger's wrist, "don't we look pretty today?"

"Artemis!"

And the archer smiled broadly as her sibling threw her arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. She nodded, patting her back with affection.

"It's nice to see you, Life." Artemis smiled, observing how the other's height was slightly taller because of the heels.

Life stepped back, eyes shining. "How'd you get in here?"

"Artemis had the keys to the backdoor," Wally responded, catching the dark magi's attention as he appeared beside the pretty blonde. He grinned toothily, green eyes sparkling as he held something out from behind his back.

Steely eyes blinked once, then twice, meeting a bouquet of snowy white roses, tied together neatly by a crimson bow.

"Happy Valentine's day," the speedster smiled softly, Artemis grinning faintly as Life reached out, taking the bouquet, startled before she sniffed them, sighing blissfully as the fresh scent of flowers wrapped around her.

Her eyes glittered, and she held the bouquet tight, flashing a tight smile. "Thanks, guys."

Wally chuckled, Artemis giving a curt nod, peering around the room. "Where's mom?"

"Sleeping," Life tilted her head slightly, humor in her gaze. "Like normal people should at this time."

Artemis gave a smug smirk, but quirked a brow as the phone in Life's hand rang noisily, the dark haired woman sliding her thumb across its flickering screen, pressing it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Life," Zachary's voice echoed out, "the show's started. Where are you?"

Not noticing how Wally and Artemis shared a look, Life shook her head, black curls bouncing as she sighed, "I'll be right there, Zach. Don't worry. Bye." She hung up instantly, awarding her friends with an apologetic smile.

"I'm so sorry, but there's somewhere I really need to go. So can we talk la—"

"Life," Artemis interrupted, hands setting on her hips, tone suddenly serious. "We need to talk."

The younger woman blinked, "sure, but I'm running late at the mo—"

Artemis cut her off again, an unamused expression spreading on her features. "Don't tell me you're ditching us 'cause of Zachary." She frowned, crossing her arms as Life arched a brow, staring flatly. "I'm not ditching anyone," The dark haired woman said coolly, "I just said we can talk later."

"Do you know how this'll effect Dick?" Artemis demanded, unfazed how her sibling's eyes sharpened, a scowl gracing her features. "Please don't tell me you're here to lecture me about it again."

Wally glanced between both of them, starting calmly, "Actually, me and Artemis came here to talk about something pretty serious."

No attention was paid to the redhead, and a frown marred his face as Artemis scowled, "What happened wasn't his fau—"

"Of course, it wasn't." Life sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Nothing is ever is fault. Heck, I'm pretty sure Kaldur going rogue has nothing to do with him too."

Wally stiffened slightly, Artemis's stormy eyes narrowing dangerously. "What we're here to tell you is very important." Her jaw clenched when Life held her hand up, signalling her to stop.

"Artemis, please don't." She scowled, observing them keenly. "I can tell by the looks on your faces that Dick's set you guys up on something."

Wally took a step forward, the tension in the room gradually growing suffocating. "Actually—"

"Well, I don't wanna hear it!" Life snapped, "go tell him that whatever his amazing plan is this time, I am not interested in it. At all." She propped a hand onto her hip, grip tight around the bouquet in the other one. "The only things his plans are good for is getting people killed. And I am not going to experience it again."

"Life, will you just listen?" Wally frowned, glancing to his side when Artemis tugged the sleeve of his brown coat, cold steely eyes never leaving her sibling. "Let's go, Wally." She growled, and Wally's red brows furrowed together.

"Babe," he began incredulously, "we need to te—" he paused as those cold silver irises shot him a frosty glare, before Artemis turned, long golden pony tail swishing behind her as she made her way towards the backdoor.

Tongue trapped between his teeth, Wally glanced back, finding Life gazing up at him, that cold but strangely similar to Artemis's stare focused on him. He rubbed the back of his neck gingerly, green eyes lowering towards the floor as he mumbled a small farewell, then sped behind Artemis.

The sound of the backdoor slamming shut felt like someone had struck her, something cold pressing into the back of her head as Life's scowl deepened, the phone in her grasp ringing loudly. She quickly picked up the call, already retreating to her room, heels hitting the floor a bit more harshly than before.

"Tell Zatanna I'm sorry. I'll make it up to her later."

And before Zachary could inquire about the sudden hostility in her tone, she had hung up, closing the door behind her softly as she kicked off the heels, dropping on the foot of her messy bed. Her teeth gritted together, but she exhaled loudly, determined in keeping her swirling emotions in check. But gray eyes swept across the bouquet lying beside her, and she touched the fragile roses, bitter memories coming back suddenly.

Something warm slid down her cheeks suddenly, and she squeezed her eyes shut, the hot tears mixing with the eyeliner, dripping down her face like black streams. She propped her elbows on top of her knees, cupped her face with both of her hands, and sobbed into her palms for the rest of the hour.

A\N: Yes, I know I didn't add the part where they talk to Roy, but hey, this chapter would've gone too long if I added that in. But thankfully, we have Jade (and Lian) to Red Arrow's rescue~ (but seriously, Roy just needed a haircut.)

Hope you guys enjoyed~

EDIT: 14/03/18. Due to the lack of response I'm getting in this fandom these days, I'm putting all of my YJ fics on temporary hiatus. I already have the next three chapters of this fic ready to be posted, but you guys have to wait a little now. I hope you all understand! :) Until then, try checking out my other works instead~

See you all soon! :D