Discovery

Even though Chelsea had to get going and meet back up with her friends, she felt that she owed Bruce for letting her stay the night. She prepared him breakfast which he did not expect, and after they ate decided it was time to go. He walked her to the door. She took note that he had been exceptionally quiet all morning, "Thanks again for letting me stay. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you."

He smiled at her, "It's no big deal," he assured her.

She hesitated, and then wrapped her arms around him. He melted a little, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I'll come by again in a couple of days to check on you." she winked at him. She decided to go the safe route and kiss his cheek, "Have a good day at work." she waved, as she started down the steps to leave.

Bruce closed the door after she left and stood there quietly, collecting his thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, "You knew, didn't you?"

Alfred came out from behind a corner, drying a glass they had used earlier that morning, "Knew what, sir?" he asked. Bruce looked him in the eyes and he knew exactly what he was referring to, "A long time ago." admitted Alfred.

Bruce started to walk past him.

Alfred couldn't help but be curious, "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," Bruce replied simply.

"Nothing?" Alfred furrowed his eyebrows, "But Master Bruce you're so happy when she-"

"I know!" Bruce huffed, "but it changes nothing." he took the entrance to the batcave without hearing another word.

Chelsea arrived at the Watch Tower some time later. When she entered the monitor room no one was around except J'onn. She walked up to greet him, "Hello J'onn. How're you?"

He turned to her and smiled, "I am adequate, yourself?"

"I'm doing surprisingly well today," she nodded, "Where is everyone?"

"Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are off investigating a distress signal. Hawkgirl is off on private business. Flash is…"

"Right here!" Flash appeared beside Chelsea.

"Hey you," Chelsea grinned.

Wally took her hands in his, "I missed you." He was so open about it, "How was college and all that?"

"Just fine. I got some work done." Chelsea thought it might hurt him to bring up staying the night at Wayne Manor. It's not like anything happened between them. Heck, they didn't even kiss this time.

The landing bay door opened and Batman walked in. He saw Chelsea and Flash standing there beside J'onn and started to walk into the other door to enter into the hallway.

"Good morning, Batman." Chelsea said to him.

He ignored her greeting completely and went into the next room.

"What's his problem?" Wally asked confused.

"I don't know," Chelsea frowned, "he's never been that way toward me before." She started after him, "I'll be back. I've got to make sure he's okay."

A tinge of jealousy eclipsed Wally's judgment. She always dropped everything when it came to Batman. What was it about distant, grumpy, and dark girls seemed to flock to? It didn't make any sense to him.

"Batman," Chelsea called out to him. He took a couple more steps and stopped, but didn't turn to her, "Hey are you alright?"

"Peachy," he replied.

He always said that when things were absolutely not alright, "Batman, talk to me."

He looked at her with a cold, distant stare. Bruce decided the best course of action would be to be cold toward her. Maybe if she didn't stay close to him, he would learn to fall out of love with her. It worked for everyone else. They kept their distance and left him be. The siren started to go off.

Chelsea turned back to go into the monitor room with Flash and J'onn. Batman followed closely behind her, "What's going on?" she asked J'onn.

"Some warehouse has some unusual activity taking place." J'onn informed them.

"Maybe you should stay and wait for the others," Flash told J'onn, "The three of us can handle it."

Just what Bruce wanted to hear. He'd have to work on a mission with Chelsea and now Wally who he had already been slightly irritated with anyway.

When they arrived at the warehouse, the silence was suffocating. Finally, Wally couldn't take it anymore, "Alright Bats! What is your problem!? Chelsea didn't do anything to you and she doesn't deserve the cold shoulder you give everyone else!"

"Wally," Chelsea murmured.

Bruce's jaw tightened, "I will say this one time," he glared, "back off."

Chelsea stepped between them and pushed them away from each other, "Stop it, both of you. We're here on business. Lets get it taken care of and go home." the idea that Batman was angry with her caused a lot more internal damage than she could ever expect.

When they walked in a spotlight came down on a man dressed in a magician's costume. Flash and Batman didn't recognize him. Perhaps he was another victim of the science that made Chelsea who she was, "Welcome, ladies and gentleman. Boys and girls of all ages! I am the great and powerful Ringleader!" he blew kisses to the crowd, i.e. the three that stood before him.

"Are you two seeing some wack job with a circus suit on?" asked Chelsea. They both nodded, "Okay, just making sure."

"Wack job?" barked the Ringleader, "ladies and gents it appears we have a non-believer on our hands." he hit a button on his magic wand and boo's came out of the speakers around them, "We have some special guests tonight folks. Batman, Flash, and some big mouth…" he struck a pose, "For my first trick I will need a volunteer!" he waved his wand and before Wally knew it, he was beside the Ringleader, "An eager one, isn't he?" applause erupted from the speakers, "Hocus, pocus," he waved his wand and a cheetah appeared. It licked its chops at Wally.

"Wuh-oh," Wally took a step back.

"Witness Flash's most dazzling race yet! Flash v. the cheetah!" Ringleader pointed his wand at Wally and the cheetah instantly started after him. Wally could still outrun the cat, but he'd be pre-occupied for a while.

Ringleader turned back to Chelsea and Batman. Chelsea looked worried, while Batman was examining their surroundings, trying to figure out how he made a cheetah appear out of thin air, "Woah," exclaimed Ringleader coming off of his stage, "I sense some intense hostility between you two! A lover's spat perhaps?" laughter erupted from his throat as he shot a fireball out of his magic wand.

Chelsea jumped in front of Batman to block the attack with her force field, but was dumbstruck when it wouldn't appear. The force blew her back against Batman and sent them spiralling into a wall. Chelsea looked at her hands, confused. She stood up and tried to shoot light bolts but nothing was happening. She turned back to Batman and helped him to his feet, "What's going on?" he asked her.

"I can't summon my light…" Chelsea looked desperate.

Ringleader started to chant a spell, "Bonds can break, bonds can split. Look through the eyes of the other, until the bond is fixed!" a bolt of light struck Batman and Chelsea hard, knocking them out cold.

Sometime passed, Chelsea heard a far off voice. Who was that? It was so familiar. It was Wally's voice. He sounded so worried. She didn't want him to worry. She slowly forced herself to sit up. She had been lying on her belly. Still a little whoosy she watched Wally shake her furiously. Was she having an out of body experience? She looked down at her hands to see a pair of black gloves, "Wally..?" she asked, her voice sounding sultry and confused. She covered her mouth the instant it happened.

"Bats!" Wally looked to Batman, "Chelsea won't wake up." he turned back to Chelsea only to be clobbered in the face by her fist. Batman sat up and looked around. When he made eye contact with a mirror reflection of himself he stared confused, "What-?" his voice was a woman's. He looked down to see a pair of dainty hands and what's more, a pair of other things he knew for a fact he did not have.

"What did I do to deserve that?" barked Wally, holding his cheek.

"Wally, it's me." Chelsea stood up, making it clear: her and Batman had switched bodies.

Wally stared at her dumbfounded, "Chelsea?" he looked her up and down, "but how?"

Batman got to his feet and examined the room, "Where did the Ringleader go? He has to be around here somewhere!" he barked.

"At one point the cheetah just vanished. I came back to help you guys, but when I returned you were both unconscious on the ground." Wally informed, starting to freak out the girl he was in love with was now trapped in a man's body.

"We need to search for clues," Batman reached for his belt out of habit, but it was no longer there. He walked over to Chelsea and started to sift through a pocket in his belt.

"Do you remember anything?" asked Wally.

Chelsea tried to think, "it's really fuzzy. I remember I couldn't use my powers. It freaked me out… and then it goes blank."

Batman had his grappling hook in his hand, and aimed it toward a rafter, "Hold it…" Wally said, "Can't you fly?"

Batman sighed, "I don't know the first thing when it comes to how her abilities work. If they're malfunctioning for their owner do you really think I," his eyes started to glow with frustration, "can do it!" his hand started to glow, melting his hook some. He tossed it quickly to the ground to keep from destroying it.

"Bruce," Chelsea spoke to him, "My powers work off of my emotions. When you get angry, the power becomes more ferocious. You have to relax…"

Batman was starting to figure it out in his head. He only ever felt irritable or serious, "What helps you fly?"

"Hope," Chelsea told him, "trust in my body and it will trust you as its guide."

Batman stared at her in disbelief and reached for his grappling hook again that had fallen to the ground. He pushed the button, settling the hook to the rafter above and being guided up there to look around.

Chelsea turned to Wally looking saddened, "Are you alright in there?" he asked her.

"I'm just fine," she assured.

"Don't let him get to you, Chels. He's like that with everyone." Wally felt weird speaking to Batman this way.

"Not with me…" Chelsea shook her head, "I just wish I knew what I did to upset him."

"You've got his brain, right?" Wally asked, "try to figure it out."

"No," Chelsea disagreed, "I can't go sifting through his thoughts. They're his business. He should talk to me when he is ready."

"But what if this is permanent?" wondered Wally, "Do you really want to be Batman forever?"

Batman stepped on a worn out couple of boards and they snapped. He grabbed onto the board just before he fell, dropping his grappling hook. Chelsea started to run in his direction, "Batman!"

Wally was there in an instant below him, "Just drop. I'll catch you." He didn't want anything to happen to Chelsea's beautiful body while under the care of Batman.

"Bruce listen to me," Chelsea started speaking to him, "believe in yourself. Flight is second nature to me. I know you can do-" she watched as Batman let go and closed his eyes, focusing. When he opened them, he was hovering above the ground. Chelsea smiled, "See? You did it!"

Bruce lowered himself to the ground and walked over to grab his grappling hook. He tossed it over to Chelsea, "You'll need that." he informed her, "pocket third from the left." she reached inside and pulled out a device. Bruce walked over to her and sprinkled some sparkles he found up on the rafter, "That's him alright," he confirmed, "he hasn't gotten far."

"He hasn't moved…" Chelsea corrected, staring at the screen of the device.

Wally found a top hat center stage, "Check this out." he pointed to it. Instantly Ringleader sprung from the hat and placed it back atop his head.

"Show me what you've got!" he declared, raising his magic wand and thrusting large wooden boxes at them through telekinesis.

Batman tried to summon light bolts, but they simply would not ignite in his palms. Chelsea jumped in front of him and Wally and threw three explosive batarangs. They struck the boxes and exploded.

"Woah," Wally breathed, "How did you know where his batarangs were?"

"When it comes to combat, I know how everyone functions. I had to, to be able to challenge you all." She reminded him, readying another batarang.

Ringleader waved his wand again and changed the readied batarang into a real live bat. Chelsea threw it in surprise and it escaped into the darkness, "Wally, can you get his wand?" she asked, backing up so she was beside the other two.

"Ah, ah, ah," Ringleader protested, waving his wand and striking Wally with a blast of smoke. When it dissolved a turtle was in his place.

"Wally!" cried Chelsea. Her and Batman were then thrown back by a gust of magic that hurled them into the wall. Chelsea caught turtle Wally mid-air and shielded him in her cape.

"How do I use your light bolts?!" barked Bruce.

"You have to want to. You've got to believe in my power or it will not work!" Chelsea replied.

"I don't know how to believe any harder!" he growled, his eyes glowing.

Chelsea ran up and tackled him out of the way of flying debris. She hid Wally under a broken box, "I'll come back for you. I promise." she assured him, then stood up and turned back to the madman, "If you do not believe in me, fine." Chelsea told Batman, "but ever since I was young I've done nothing, but believe in you." Ringleader enchanted a couple of chairs, turning them into wooden soldiers who were coming toward them. Chelsea took them out with batarangs. A spell was then cast on the rafter above her, causing it to crumble.

Pulling out the grappling hook she hooked onto the Ringmaster and pulled him in, then rolled off to the side so the rubble would instead land on him. She stood in front of Bruce, as he stared at her in amazement. Every movement she made, mirrored something he would do. She had it down to a beat.

Small fireworks were suddenly at their feet, popping and exploding. When the dust cleared, Bruce had managed to create a forcefield around them. He kept his guard up, "I should have trusted you more." he admitted.

"Save the apology," Chelsea told him, "let's get this guy."

Ringleader floated up into the air, casting spell after spell. The two started dodging the attacks. Batman took flight with such a velocity he knocked the clown clean out of the air and then blasted him with a bolt of light. Chelsea used the grappling hook to try to dodge the guy plummeting to the ground. With a flick of the magician's wrist, her grappling hook turned into a snake. Chelsea managed to make contact with the beam she was aiming for and get a hand on it. When the man came charging through the air toward her, she did a somersault over the beam and used both of her legs to kick to guy, sending him spiralling into his small, round stage. Chelsea glided to the ground with Batman's cape and landed beside her longtime hero. The two exchanged a smile and readied themselves for the next attack.

When the Ringleader sprang from the boards he tried to cast another spell, only to notice that his wand was gone, "Looking for this?" asked Bruce, tossing the wand into the air and blasting it with a bolt of light.

"No!" cried the Ringleader as he started to melt. All that was left was the top hat.

"Maybe it was an enchanted magician's hat all along…" Chelsea murmured, glancing over to Batman. She ran over to the broken box from before, and there Wally laid, unconscious.

"He'll be alright." Batman reassured her, coming up behind her.

The worry was all over Chelsea's face as she reached for Batman's cape, "Will we? The spell didn't break."

Bruce knew why, "You couldn't use your light bolts because you were so consumed with worry." he told her, "I made you worry by being so cold to you. I'm the reason your powers weren't working." he sighed, "I… I apologize for how I was acting. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd say Wally was right. You do not deserve that kind of attitude from anyone."

A light sprang from both of their bodies, swirled around one another and then entered the other body. In moments, Chelsea looked down to see her own hands again. She then looked up to see Batman coming toward her. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in close. Her face turned as red as Flash's suit. Was he about to kiss her? He pulled away last minute, and then just pulled her close to him, wrapped in an embrace. Batman had never held her this way before. It felt so familiar.

Wally woke up at the wrong time. He saw Batman holding her and his heart sank a little, "What happened?" he asked.

Chelsea turned to Wally and ran over to help him to his feet.

"Chels?" he asked.

"In the flesh," she joked.

Wally picked her up and spun her around, "I'm so glad." he sighed with relief, pulling her into a bear hug.

Bruce couldn't believe the jealousy he felt toward Wally. Flash of all people? Why Flash? He turned away from the two, "We should get back." he said aloud.

Chelsea grabbed onto Wally's hand and pulled him forward. She then linked her free arm around Batman's, "Let's go home." she told them.

The two looked at each other with irritated stares, "Right." they said in unison.

As the exited the warehouse, something felt strange to Chelsea. She stopped walking to look back. Flash and Batman paused as well, "What's up?" asked Wally.

"Something doesn't feel right." Chelsea murmured. From her shadow sprang a hand. It grabbed her left arm and pulled her down into the shadow.

"Chelsea!" exclaimed Batman.

Flash grabbed onto her hand, pulling her back from out of her shadow in the ground, but he couldn't get her to budge. Batman grabbed onto her arm too and they both started to pull. With one snap motion, she was gone, "Pulled into her own shadow…?" Wally touched the ground with his palm, "What was that?" he cried, looking back at Batman.

"I don't know." he looked down at his hand. He had her. Why couldn't they pull her back?

"How are we going to find her? Do you think that magician is still around?" Wally was full of questions. Questions Bruce couldn't answer and that frustrated him.

"Quiet!" Batman instructed. He didn't even know where to begin. He had never seen something like that before. It was at a time like this he had wished he was still in her body. At least then it would be him and not her.

Chelsea opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room. She was strapped to a table. She tried to break loose, but was so scared she couldn't focus, "Batman! Flash!" she exclaimed, "Superman! Anybody!" she shook with fear as a door opened and Batman stepped in. He looked her over quietly.

"You're alright," he assured her, "You took a blow to the head. We found you unconscious with some device on you, J'onn identified it as a mind-control weapon. We had to restrain you in the event that removing the device didn't stop the effects."

Chelsea stared at him bewildered. This person wasn't Batman. She knew the moment he walked in. Everything about him was wrong. She knew her Batman and this wasn't him, "Can I please have a glass of water?" Chelsea motioned toward the sink in the room with her chin.

Batman removed her restraints on her arms and filled up a glass for her. He handed it to her and she took a drink, watching him the whole time. After she was satisfied, she smashed the glass into his skull and started to unstrap her legs from the bed. She then grabbed the fake and slammed him into a wall, "Who the hell are you and where am I?" she growled, "Tell me now!"

The red herring smiled at her and revealed his true face. It was a boy about her age, "You're home, big sister." he told her.

"What?" Chelsea said, dropping him.

"Father wanted me to fetch you. So I did. He's taught me and the others such valuable things. My twin sister and I can change our appearances," he changed from Batman again, to The Flash, and then Bruce Wayne, "I can look into your deepest desires and materialize what you truly want." He pushed her back on the bed and applied his weight to her. He used Bruce's voice, "Show me what you wish to do with me…" he said, moving in for a kiss. Chelsea kneed him in the crotch and broke herself free from his hold, slamming him into a wall.

"Are you the bastard that brought me here?" Chelsea barked.

"No, that would be Shadow…" he grinned.

Her shadow lifted off the ground and became a person. Chelsea stared at the figure nervous. He lifted up the mask to reveal his face. Another young man about her age, "We've been waiting such a long time for your return. Father has big plans for us. Starting with your friends, The Justice League… you will lead us to victory." The Shadow boy told her, "You will help us kill them."

Chelsea leapt behind the bed and kicked it, slamming it into the Shadow boy, but he disappeared into the wall and came out of her shadow. He stood behind her and strangled her, "If you refuse… father will not be happy."

A man entered the room. He was much older. He was in a lab coat and had glasses perched on his nose. His blonde hair was slicked back with too much gel. His name tag had the name "XYZ" printed on it, "Ah, my first child." he walked up to Chelsea, gesturing for the Shadow kid to let her breathe, "Its been so long my dear. I never thought I'd find you again… but then you started working with that awful excuse for a group of heroes…" he grabbed her by the jaw, and pulled her close, "you even started to fall in love…" he chuckled at her silliness, "Grodd had to have told you… what your purpose is for… You're suppose to kill Batman," he started laughing again, "and instead you fell in love with him." He ran his fingers through her hair and looked her over, "but then again, you also love that fast man, Flash, don't you?" he shook his finger at her, "you can't have it both ways… so why decide… when your fate is to destroy them all?"

He slapped her across the face hard and she hit the ground. She rubbed her cheek, feeling the stinging pain that she now shared with her mother. Suddenly, she was up on her feet and blasting a light bolt at him. She made contact, but he was only forced back a little bit. He smiled, "I'm happy to see you're progressing."

That's when Chelsea felt it. Something was gripping her wrist. She heard a familiar voice, "Chelsea… Where are you? I'm here." J'onn's voice whispered to her, "I've come to take you back." A hole opened up and J'onn pulled her back through the void. When she opened up her eyes, she was surrounded by all of her friends. They looked at her with worry, "Are you unharmed?" asked J'onn with concern.

Chelsea was trembling, "I met him," she spoke aloud, "I met the man who made me this way. He has a bunch of other people just like me working for him. A kid that can bend shadows, a set of twins that can shapeshift, and he had some power I didn't get to witness… but he's so confident…"

Superman helped her to her feet, "Someone once told me that confidence can be your downfall." he flashed her a smile.

Chelsea squeezed his shoulder, "He told me something I want to warn you all about, because I care about you." she sighed, "He plans to have me destroy the Justice League."

"But, you'd never do something like that," Wally said with worry.

"From this moment on someone will always be with you," Clark said, looking back to the rest of the members, "We won't leave you alone, just to be safe."

"That doesn't solve anything," Batman interjected, "Flash and I were there the first time and there was nothing we could do to help her."

"Sounds like we're a bit in over our heads," Wonder Woman said with a frown.

"Landmarks," Batman spoke, "surroundings. Anything that could give away their location?"

"No," Chelsea shook her head, "I was in a plain white room, strapped to a bed. No windows. It was dimly lit."

"That's more significant than you know," Batman said, rubbing his chin, "Where else have we heard of white rooms?"

"Nick and Sam," Chelsea gasped, "Do you think..?"

"Wherever this doctor is stationed, he's still in the same place." Batman nodded.

"If I may," J'onn interjected, "it took a lot of strength for me to find your location. I don't think where this man hides is of this Earth."

"A different planet?" asked John Stewart.

"A separate dimension entirely sounds more accurate. I am lucky to have been able to recover her. There were strict restraints on this dimension." J'onn informed.

"Can you relocate it?" Bruce asked.

"I can try, but make no promises," J'onn revealed his arm to show that it had been badly burned in his attempt to pull her back.