What If The Storm Ends...? Part 2

"Where am I?"

"It feels so familiar…"

"I can't see anything…"

It was so bright. Like flashlights had been probed into her eye sockets. It made her head pound with confusion and pain. So disorienting. All at once she could see around her, and what she saw was nothingness. There she stood with no sign of direction. Like she was standing upon a blank canvas. Her stomach swirled and gurgled like she was going to purge from the lack of logic in her surroundings. There wasn't even a ground, so how was she standing? Nothing but bright white was around her.

Bright white…

"Hello," Chelsea heard a voice, "my child…" when she blinked, he stood over her. She tried to get her body to move, but was paralyzed by the sight of him. He flickered a grin at her and started to walk along the nothing ground. He moved with such familiarity, as if accustomed to this strange realm, "Come with me, and you'll be…" he started to sing in a haunting tone, "in a world of pure imagination…" he paused and turned back to her sharply, "Take a look and you'll see… into your imagination." Chelsea swallowed, listening to him bring new meaning to such a classic song. He was certainly no Gene Wilder, "We'll begin… with a spin. Traveling in the world of my creation." He brought his hands together and clapped. Her body started to fall back. She was falling…

Falling…

Into nothingness…

The rest of the Justice League was gathered around Chelsea's body. They had her resting on the meeting table. J'onn was running tests on her. His hands hovered above her body. He wore his usual saddened expression, "I cannot find her. It is as if she is neither in the realm of unconscious or subconscious…"

"What do you mean?" asked Wally with concern.

"Her soul is severely damaged… I can barely feel its presence… it's flickering… much like a candle in a hurricane…" His fingers waved and then all at once straightened. His eyes grew and then squeezed shut as he fought back the urge to cry out. Her pain was being filtered onto his body. A bolt of light sprang from her body and threw the Manhunter back.

"J'onn!" yelled Superman, coming to his aid.

As he sat himself up, he rubbed his head. His hands were charred like they had been severely burned, "He lingers inside her…" he murmured.

Batman knew the instant he saw J'onn's hands what had occurred. The culprit had made himself known. No wonder they couldn't find him. He had made himself a new dimension inside the very girl he wished to destroy. Brilliant… and yet sinister. Destroying her literally from the inside out, nestled in the comfort that he would not be found.

"There is a darkness growing… spreading." The Martian Manhunter informed, forcing himself to stand up and approach the girl once again, "Nothing we do out here will save her. He did what he could to ensure there wouldn't be interference."

Batman was reluctant to ask, but they had to do something, "Can you find them? This dimension he has created? Can it be opened?"

J'onn knew that there was a possibility, but it might come with great cost. The fact that just trying to find her consciousness was enough for her body to repel him made him uneasy, "Chelsea is a dear friend… I will try my best to make a gateway. I cannot promise it will be open for long…" he flashed a look of worry to all of his friends, "and… I cannot be sure we will ever be able to escape once inside."

"I'll go instead." said Bruce.

"What?" asked Diana, "but Bruce… you can't do this alone."

"She's right," agreed Clark, "we all care about Chelsea."

"Be that as it may," Bruce defended, "if there is a chance of never coming back, what's to stop Dr. XYZ from destroying the planet. We take a chance on him capturing us for eternity as we sit and watch the world burn. It's too great a risk."
"I'll go." announced Wally, "I have to go." he corrected.

"Out of the question." Bruce protested, "This isn't volunteer work. The less we sacrifice now, the greater chance we have in emergency."

"Uh hello!?" barked Wally, "This is an emergency! Come on Bats! Don't you care about her at all?"

"Why do you think I'm going?" retorted Bruce.

"Who made you the one to say what we can and can't do?" Wally fired back, "She matters to all of us!"

"I have to agree with Wally," Superman said, crossing his arms, "I know that you and Wally have grown especially close to her, but that doesn't deviate from the fact that she's all our friend and teammate. No man left behind. None of us are sitting this one out. If we succeed together, we don't need a plan B…" planting his palms on the table, he reflected on each and every one of his team members, "Let's bring our friend home."

J'onn contemplated for several hours on what the best way would be to probe the girl's brain and allow them entry. He knew the more time cycled by the more dangerous and threatening the situation became for their friend. When he stood up, everyone else did right along with him, "I have decided the safest course of action is to act as the gateway myself. This means I cannot go with you." he informed them. His deep voice left no room for nothing less of seriousness, "Once inside, you must understand that you will be in an environment that can change and reform with just the thought of doing so. You will be in Chelsea's mind. Her fears become your fears. Stay alert." He placed his large green hand over Chelsea's eyes.

"Everyone ready?" asked Superman. Each member gave a nod or sign of approval, "You're on J'onn." He instructed, "Hold down the fort for us until we get back."

J'onn was not looking forward to this transition. It would be mighty painful to allow six other souls pass through his body, "Come back safe friends." He told them. He turned transparent and pushed his hand downward, forcing it into the girl's head. From this sprang a bright light. The light pulled each member in. They were gone just like that. It took great effort for him to free his hand. When he pulled it back there he stood alone with a body that could only be described as nearly a corpse. A corpse that now housed many souls.

"Are we in the right place?" asked Flash looking at their surroundings. They were in a suburban neighborhood.

Batman identified the street signs almost instantly, "This is a neighborhood on the outer limits of Gotham City."

"Or a memory attached to this place." Superman guessed.

"Is this where Chelsea grew up?" wondered Hawkgirl.

"It must be." Green Lantern replied.

"I've got a bad feeling…" Wonder Woman murmured.

"You feel that too?" asked Flash.

"We all do…" corrected Superman.

They turned toward something that felt as if it was fastly approaching. A stream of light shot through the group and landed a blow on Superman hurling him into one of the houses, "Superman!" cried Diana.

"That looked just like…" Wally gasped.

"It was." confirmed Bruce.

When the dust cleared to reveal Superman embedded in a brick wall, above him hovered the familiar figure of long strawberry blonde hair, hour-glass in stature, and glowing eyes. Chelsea stared down at him as if she didn't recognize him, "Chelsea it's me!" he tried to reason. She picked him up in one fluid motion and threw him into another building. She slowly turned to face her other teammates. Her expression was hollow. There was no light left in her lifeless stare.

"Chelsea it's us! We're here to save you!" Wally stepped up, trying to talk her down. She raised her fist out toward him and it started to glow. He was shocked by this display. Chelsea wouldn't attack him would she? She lowered herself to the ground and her hand stopped glowing, "That's right. It's your friends…" he said softly. He approached her with far too much trust. Her hand glowed once more and plunged itself into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and hurling him back. Quick to land on his feet Wally hit the ground, but instantly fell to one knee, "What's going on? I don't get it." he grunted.

"He has a hold on her." Hawkgirl said, "If we don't try to knock some sense into her she'll take turns beating on us."

Batman watched the display closely as Chelsea took turns bullying each of her friends into submission. When it was his turn, instead of waiting for her to attack him, he grabbed her foot with his grappling hook and yanked her out of the sky. She hit the ground hard, but it barely stunned her. Jumping back to her feet he took a swing at her, but she grabbed his hand and flipped him over her back. He caught himself and spun to brace for her next attack. That's when she fired a bolt of light at him that forced him to roll a couple times. His arms shook weakly as he pried himself from the ground. She was already standing over him. As she went to reach for him she was slammed through a picket fence and into someone's back yard. Wally was the one to land such a quick strike. Helping Bruce to his feet, there was a look exchanged between them, before Chelsea reappeared with both of her hands blazing with her tainted light.

Wally stood in front of Bruce, "What're you doing Wally?" barked Bruce.

"If she hurts you… or worse… she'll never forgive herself once this is all over." Wally yelled back, "She… she loves you!" he looked back at the man he had envied for so long. It was hard for him to say those words aloud, but he knew them to be true.

Bruce's jaw locked as he saw her light growing. She was about to unleash a devastating blow, "You love her…" Bruce said back, "Don't be so damn selfish!" Bruce growled, "If something happened to you she'd never be the same."

"Maybe that needs to happen… to get her back!" Wally told him, "Great things come from great sacrifice right?" he raised his eyebrow and forced a giant goofy smile, "Do me a favor will ya…?" he turned toward the girl and took a step, "Take care of her for me…" he told him almost inaudibly as he ran straight into the brunt of Chelsea's beam.

"Don't-!" cried Bruce. He was instantly blinded by the light and forced back with its might.

When he could finally see again he had landed inside a house, knocking down part of a wall. He guessed he had been knocked unconscious for a while. His body ached. It took him a minute to realize what had happened. Wally! What did that idiot do!? He stood to his feet and started to walk out of the house when a picture sitting on a coffee table caught his eye. He looked about the room. There were furniture and pictures everywhere. He had noticed before that all the houses were empty like they were ready to be sold. Why was this house different? That's when he got a better look at the image held inside the frame he was fixated on. That face… it was of a child, but much older it might…

"Batman?" asked a small voice.

Bruce slowly turned toward the sound. The same child in the photo was staring up at him, half concealed behind a wall, like she was frightened. Her big green eyes melted his heart. Lowering himself to the ground he held his hand out to her. She gasped, a bit taken off guard, but the curious heart of the child beating in her chest would not allow her to run, "It's alright…" he assured, his voice soft like that of Bruce Wayne.

She made herself completely visible as she separated herself from the wall. Cautiously she took a couple steps forward and looked up into his eyes, "Are you here to save me from the bad man?"

"Bad man?" he wondered. She must have been talking about Dr. XYZ, "The man with the lab coat?"

"No… my daddy…" she told him, "he turns into a monster sometimes and scares me…"

Bruce's heart fell. He softly pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest, "Chelsea… do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?"

Her eyes widened, "Bruce..?" she asked.

He felt himself smile, "So…" he looked down at her once more, "this is where you've been all along."

The rest of the league had escaped the enraged blonde's clutches momentarily. They were patrolling the area, trying to find their lost members. Flash was last seen disappearing into a wave of light. Batman was still missing as well. They called out to their friends, fearing that the enemy would soon be closing in on their location.

"Where could they be?" asked Diana to the rest.

"I'm really worried about Flash. What if he's-" Hawkgirl winced.

"-He's fine." Superman assured, though he was quite unsure himself.

"What's the plan?" wondered Green Lantern.

As the four stood together contemplating their next move, a blinding light appeared before them. Chelsea was back. She hovered above them, ready to strike once more. As they stood together, striking defensive stances, a voice shouted, "Wait!" Everyone, including the mind-warped girl above them, turned their attention to the voice. Batman approached them slowly and stopped a couple feet away, "I found something." he told them vaguely. From behind his cape appeared the little girl. She looked up to her friends and then the much older image of herself floating in the sky.

Her face churned into a look of rage as she started to approach the look-alike. As she walked, her body started to change, "I will say this only once," she warned. She was starting to age, "get out of my head…" her eyes glowed a radiant light while her voice returned to normal, as did the rest of herself. The young woman was now the age her friends were accustomed to. For the first time ever, she wore a costume. It was white with a red star falling vertically down the front. She had long sleeves and boy shorts as bottoms, but the costume was in one piece. She stood between her friends and the doppelganger overhead. Her eyes never moved from her evil reflection, "Where's J'onn and Wally?" she asked into the open air.

"J'onn's back home." Superman replied, "And Flash… he's missing… we can't find him."

Chelsea's eyes stopped glowing.

"I killed him too." said the doppelganger, its voice morphing into two: Chelsea's and Dr. XYZ's, "technically, we killed him." Her arms opened.

Chelsea gritted her teeth, "No!" She barked, "I would never do that! You're lying! Where is he?! Where did you take him!"

"I sent him to a different dimension." explained the doctor, looking over his fingernails, "With a snap of my fingers… I can destroy it." he prepared to snap.

Chelsea tried to move in to smash into him, when she felt a pulse of realization surge through her body.

"What's the matter child?" he asked, "Are you just now realizing your powers have been stripped from you?" laughter erupted from his throat, "When I became one with your mind… I took them for myself in this dimension. You're defenseless." He held out his hand as it glowed black and shot at her. The blast sent her spiraling back, rolling her across the pavement. XYZ didn't hesitate. Crashing down on top of her, he grabbed her by the throat and held her off of the ground, "What will you do now?"

Chelsea hacked and choked. A batarang hit her double's hand, causing him to release her. She attempted to kick him away, but he grabbed her leg and threw her back. She hit the ground hard. As she was slow to get up, Batman rushed to her side to help her to her feet. XYZ tried to close the gap once more, so Chelsea stepped in front of Bruce. It clicked in Chelsea's head. She caught XYZ's hand as he tried to land another strike, "When you entered my head you became one with my body. If you took my powers, I should be able to take them back!" she squeezed his wrist, using her willpower to try to draw the energy back to her body. It surged through her arm as her eyes started to glow once more, "This one's for my mom…" she punched the man and sent him flying back.

Chelsea was now returning fire, hitting him with bolts of light, "And this," She exclaimed, rearing her fist back, "is going to be your end if you do not return Wally to me right now!" Her fist phased through the doppelganger's head. More power flowed into her body. As his body was shot backward, a light portal opened, forcing Flash outward and crashing into Chelsea. She was lying on the ground with him on top of her.

"Chels!" he beamed. Looking her up and down, "You finally made a uniform."

She chuckled at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Thank god…" she sighed, tears rushing to her eyes, "Not him too." she thought.

Dr. XYZ's Chelsea form started to disjoint and dissolve. As he stood up, he transitioned from her, to the form they were familiar with, to something else. Something Chelsea would recognize. Something that hit incredibly close to home.

When Chelsea stood up and saw what stood before them, her shoulders lowered in disbelief. She was choking on words that were failing her.

Images of the past started to pass through her head:

"I should have saved my mom…" she quietly sobbed to herself, "but I let her down. She was all alone…"

"Sometimes, the biggest demons are the ones who walk among us every day. We don't see it… because they matter to us."

"You're home, big sister."

"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."

"Ah, my first child."

"He's going to come back. It will probably be far worse than it was before…"

Will grinned, "Dr. XYZ sends his love."

Flipping through the rest of the pages like a mad woman were documents of Chelsea's medical files, her mother's medical files, her father's court papers, and old love letters she wrote in high school. He had been following her for so long.

Her mother had not died.

She was murdered.

"No… my daddy…" she told him, "he turns into a monster sometimes and scares me…"

The new figure before her tilted his head and smiled, "What's the matter? Got nothing to say to your dear old dad?" he questioned.

Author's Notes: So I'm sorry I'm updating a little later than usual. I wanted to give you guys something to read. I had originally planned for this chapter to extend past the discovery at the end, but decided this was a good stopping point. I've been busy, busy with college work. Thanks for your patience. Leave me some feedback and I'll see ya guys at the next chapter.