The Story of Us

by meluvblue

Not much was revealed about Wolf during Young Justice, but what if her story had been told? How would the story have changed if her secrets had been uncovered by the team? When wolf suddenly becomes human, no one could have anticipated just how drastically their lives - and the universe - would change. Tags: AU, rated M primarily for language/adult themes, slash & occasionally OOC.

5. Terrors

WARNING:

The first few paragraphs may be disturbing in nature, as they depict murder and the aftermath of torture. The rest of the story is as usual, but you've been warned.

Otherwise, hi guys! Happy Fourth of July for those of you with me in the U.S., and thank you to all my readers across the world for your continued interest in this story. I know my writing can be rough at times, but this story has already been a huge help in working to improve that.

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The entire room reeked of the smell of blood, human waste, and rotting flesh. Hearing a strange sound near a corner of the room, I briefly considered turning back. I knew no good could come of investigating whatever poor creature was currently "resting" after the brain-machine's latest experiments. Still, I couldn't stop myself from investigating. The brain-machine had been strangely….benevolent to the animals the last few days, and I needed to know what had left him in such a good mood.

I should have known…..

Walking deeper into the concrete room, I tried to ignore the various machinery and instruments neatly put away in all corners of the room. No matter how big a mess it made, the brain-machine was always meticulous about caring for his….toys.

I made my way over to the table in the center and paused, my body freezing in shock. It took a moment for my brain to catch up with the horrific image I was seeing, and when the understanding hit me the nausea followed as well. Unable to stop myself, I turned my head and threw up on the floor, gagging until there was nothing left in my stomach to expel.

Hearing the strange rasping sound again, my head reluctantly turned to look at the woman on the table; her eye lids fluttering as she tried to focus on me. Her mouth moved slowly as if trying to form words but I knew the lack of teeth in her mouth would make it difficult.

Trying not to look at the rotting, infected remains of the melted flesh and muscle her body had been reduced to, I swallowed the rising bile in my throat and stepped closer.

"– die," she breathed, her voice so hoarse that the words wouldn't have been heard by anyone without enhanced hearing.

"Kill…..kill…..me."

Without even thinking about it, I stepped forward to do as she asked. Realizing what I had done, I paused and looked down at the dying creature in front of me.

Had I already become so used to following such awful requests?

Seeing this woman's condition, I could immediately tell there was no coming back from what had been done to her. Even if I didn't do anything, I doubted this human would live more than a few more minutes.

The woman must have felt the tears dripping from my fur to her face as I hesitated over her neck, because her eyes fluttered again, the lids opening with what had to have been enormous effort.

I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to kill her, or sink my teeth into the raw tissue of her neck. I didn't want to see the flickering light in her hazel eyes shut down completely, her empty stare haunting me in my sleep even years later.

We stared at each other for what felt like forever, until a tickling sensation on the neck of my fur caught my attention. Jerking my head back, I fought not to show my disgust at the falling maggot that must have crawled from the others moving underneath the charred remains of her bra. Gingerly placing my teeth over her jugular, I barely heard the " – ank….ou…" before snapping down my jaws, the sudden taste of septic blood in my mouth a final souvenir of what I was doing…..of what I'd become.

A murderer.

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Mount Justice – Personal Quarters

Day 1

With a sharp gasp, Connor jolted up and tore the sheet off his body; his quick footsteps leading him straight to the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him, but with my heightened hearing I could still clearly hear the sound of his retching into the toilet. After a minute of gagging, the toilet flushed and the sink began to run as he rinsed out his mouth to get rid of the lingering taste.

It had been two weeks since the mission to Bialya, and my human was still having nightmares. He hated talking about them, but I could almost always figure out what he'd seen. How could I not? They were my memories.

"What did you see?" I asked when he came back to bed, not wanting to look up at him and see the exhaustion in his face.

"…."

"What did you see, Connor?" I asked more forcefully, needing to know what new hell I was putting my human through.

"The – the woman," he quietly admitted. I paused, trying to bring to mind the person he was talking about, but I had no idea who it was. There'd been too many.

"Which one?" I reluctantly had to ask.

"There's more than one?" Closing his eyes, he shook his head with a sound of disbelief. "Of course there's more than one. The one I saw was the one with….with the hazel eyes."

"Shit," I cursed. "That's a bad one. One of the worst, actually."

"Yeah," Connor agreed shortly, his blue eyes dark with the emotions he was working through. "Who was she?"

Sighing, I patted the spot next to me in silent invitation and waited while my human made his way over and joined me, the Kryptonian immediately tugging the blankets around him like armor.

"I don't know her name. It might be somewhere in all that stuff that was brought over after you rescued us from the brain-machine's compound. But hazel eyes was…..I was pretty messed up after that. I mean, I saw and heard some of what he did, but actually seeing the end result like that was something else entirely. She was also my first kill."

Blue eyes shot up to stare at me, and I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the gaze.

"First kill?"

"Yeah," I confirmed quietly. "The first human being I'd ever….killed. And my hum – Connor, you shouldn't have that in your head. You shouldn't know what's it's like to do that to another person."

I watched as he frowned and opened his mouth for the usual retort, but I was getting tired of having to stand by and watch my memories eat away at him the way they had been.

"Look, I know you can handle it – I'm asking you not to."

"It's …..it's not easy, but I'll be – "

"Fine?" I interrupted again with a scowl. "Because my hu– Connor, you're not fine. You aren't sleeping or eating, and when you talk to the others you've been angry and turning aggressive at the slightest thing anyone says." Shifting to stare at him, I couldn't stop the sadness from leaking into my voice.

"Connor, you're acting the way I did when I was still with the brain-machine. Nobody should know what it was like there. I wouldn't wish my memories on the brain-machine himself; let alone the person I –" I cut off suddenly, unsure of what I was about to say.

"Please," I quietly asked. "I don't want you to have those memories anymore; I don't want you turning into who I had to be in order to survive the compound. I don't want you to be…..me."

"But I like who you are," he replied halfheartedly, the feeble attempt at a joke only making us more aware of how messed up the situation was. Falling silent though, minutes passed by slowly as my human – Connor, I had to remind myself again as he hated it when I called him human, considered what I'd said.

"Alright," he eventually agreed. "After we're done with the mission I'll ask Martian Manhunter to get rid of them….But I think you should talk to Canary about your memories."

Grimacing, I shook my head emphatically. My time there was over and done with, it was hard enough revisiting those nightmare-inducing moments with my human; I would not do it with someone I barely knew. I respected her position as Connor's…..whatever she was. But the woman had been ruffling my fur the wrong way since she and the other adult heroes had found out about my human side with her frustrating persistence in trying to get me to open up.

The psych and physical evaluations she and the others had done on me had sucked big time. Hours of testing, annoying questions answered under the scrutiny of the entire team of adult heroes and uncomfortable examinations had left me with a bad taste in mouth every time I saw her stupid face.

"I'm not saying you should try erasing them yourself – I know better than anyone how important the memories you make are, even if they're bad." Connor hesitated a moment before glancing back over at me, his face troubled."You still have nightmares too."

Not wanting to talk about it anymore, I compromised. "I'll think about it."

And I would. I couldn't refute that I'd woken upmore than once in a cold sweat overmemories replaying themselves in my head while I slept, and having to relive them with Connor definitely hadn't helped.

Sighing, I decided to change the subject."I'm still surprised he was willing to let me join you so soon, and on such an important mission at that."

"I don't know if locking you up in a maximum security prison surrounded by killers is trust exactly, but he's willing to give it a try. That's still a good sign," Connor replied dryly.

"I know Green-girl wanted to do it," I mentioned hesitantly. "And with her psychic and shape shifting abilities it probably makes more sense, her powers are more suited to this than mine."

Watching me speculatively, Conner unexpectedly reached forward and wrapped an arm around me, bringing us flush together; his reddening cheeks an endearing accompaniment to the embarrassed scent he was exuding.

"Maybe M'gann would be better," the soothing rumble of his voice agreedin a slightly discomfited tone. "But there's no one I trust more than you to have my back in there."

"I don't like the idea of not being in there with you, but she was right; my instincts around people are still really rough," I reluctantly rebutted. "I'm more likely to attack one of the inmates than buddy up with them."

"That's exactly what we need though." His features furrowed and he paused, a clear sign he was trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say without being hurtful. "M'gann can look and talk exactly like Tuppence, but I think she'd struggle with acting the part of the inmate. You, on the other hand….."

"Acting like a blood-thirsty killer is unfortunately a very accessible skill for me," I cut in, still not sure how I felt about it being public knowledge among the adult heroes. I'd been pardoned for the things I'd had to do there, but it sure as hell hadn't made any of this easier to live with.

Glancing at me cautiously, he nodded. "I'll admit it – as bad as it was for you when you were kidnapped by the Brain, it's going to come in handy when we're in Belle Reve. But Wolf, I have some of your memories." He tapped his temple with the hand not wrapped around me. "And in every single one where you had to hurt or…kill…somebody it was because the Brain forced you to one way or another. Besides," he continued wryly, "I might not have always known there was person inside the wolf I've spent seventeen to twenty-four hours a day with since we rescued you, but all that time together still means you know me better than anyone."

I felt a small twinge of guilt over the past deception, but as always Connor showed no anger over my lies. It was out of character for him, and I couldn't help but find a part of myself always waiting for a sign that he wasn't as okay as he seemed.

Unaware of my thoughts, Connor lifted his arm from my shoulders and ran it through the white-blond hair on his head as he stood up. "We should start gettin' ready," he drawled in a heavy southern accent, a small smirk lifting corner of his mouth. "Do ya still need help from Artemis with the makeup stuff?"

I shook my head. "No, Ah' practiced a lot so Ah'll be fine. There might be a few changes we need to make once we've got the twins and can see 'em face to face, but overall Ah think we're good," I replied in the same accent, appreciating the extra bit of practice before we had to leave for the mission.

Standing up myself, I waited until my human had entered the bathroom before slipping off the shorts and oversized shirt he let me keep under the bed for the times when I forgot to change into a human before coming to his room. I felt my cheeks heat up at the awkward memory of the first few times I'd tried being human around him when my ability to change was still a secret from the rest of the to the concept of needing clothes again, I'd embarrassed him more than once until we eventually figured out a system for preserving my new need for modesty.

"Ah'm going to go change and get ready," I called out quietly before getting down on my knees and changing into my wolf form. Pushing down on the door handle with a swipe of my paws, I padded out as silently as I could. Glancing at the video camera watching the hall, I figured Underwear-man no doubt knew I'd broken his rule again by sneaking back to my human's room last night, but with the mission and our separation at hand, I wanted all the contact with him that I could get.

I quickly went over to the elevator and pressed the button to take me up, hoping no one would be in there when the doors opened. I really didn't want to make things more awkward with the team than they already were by running into anyone.

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New Orleans, Louisiana – Historic French Quarter

Day 1

Connor and I stood ready inside a large warehouse, waiting for the signal to move. I'd expected a call or maybe a telepathic command, but instead we found ourselves dodging debris as our two targets crashed through the roof and destroyed several parade floats being stored inside.

Before I could barely blink away the dust, I was impressed to see Robot-man and Sea-boy tackle our prisoners and smoothly snap metal power-inhibiting collars around their necks.

"Ugh. Ah' don't feel right," the male teen in front of me groaned sluggishly as he unsuccessfully tried to jerk away from his Atlantean captor. "Mah strength…." He raised his voice in disorientedalarm when he barely budged. "But Ah' done jus' gone toe to toe with Superman!"

"Congratulations," Connor cheered sarcastically as we came forward to meet the par. "It's certainly more quality time than he's ever given me." Deciding now was not the time to comment on his issues with the Kryptonian my partner had been cloned from, I lightly bumped into him; catching his attention.

"Hold still and I'll compare you to see if we need to change anything," I quietly a small nod he stood and silently watched as I studied the two teens carefully, double checking that he'd gotten all the details right and wouldlook as similar to the confused boy next to him as possible.

"His shirt's got a tear on the right side under his arm and obviously he has a few ear piercings you don't," I pointed out. "Otherwise it's pretty uncanny how closely you look alike." Lifting his arm, Connor silently let me make the tear before glancing between me and my silently glaring counterpart.

"Her shorts are rolled up higher and the lipstick is a dark blue, not black like we originally thought," he noted with a frown. "Hand me some scissors and I'll make the holes in your leggings."

Shrugging, I grabbed the makeup bag on the floor and rifled through it before finding the scissors and a shade of lipstick that better matched the girl's own navy hue. Looking at how high she'd rolled up her black shorts, I shook my head and decided not to make that particular change.

"My thighs are too scarred to get away with rolling my shorts up any higher," I murmured, sliding the blue stick over my lips. "It shouldn't matter much while we're in prison, but until we get there my thighs are more likely to tip someone off than the length of the shorts."

I handed the scissors over and carefully fixed the new lipstick while Connor dropped down to his knees and with surprising speed and accuracy began ripping and cutting the black thigh-high leggings I was wearing.

"Somebody tell me what in the hell is goin' on here!" The muscled blond watching us barked; a constipated look of confusion on his face as he glanced between the two of us before looking back at his equally as baffled twin sister.

"It's simple," a familiar voice replied behind me from the shadows. "They're under arrest."

Shuddering at the sound of the clinking metal in his hands; I held myself still, gritting my teeth to keep from growling when I felt the unpleasantly familiar sensation of a metal collar lock into place around my neck. My human shot me a sympathetic gaze and grabbed my hand, lightly squeezing it to show his support. Appreciating the gesture, I squeezed back before letting go; prepared to get down to business.

"Superman and Manhunter are waiting out back to take you into custody, where they'll then take you to the police." Underwear-man glanced over us carefully, his sharp eyes not missing a detail as he went over the plan one last time. "A transport vehicle is scheduled to transfer Icicle Junior and Mister Freeze to Belle Reve tomorrow at four A.M., and if all goes as planned you'll be on it as well. If however something goes wrong and you are not transported tomorrow, then another vehicle will be scheduled to bring you to the prison three days from now. Needless to say, it's important that you leave for Belle Reve sooner rather than later."

Glancing between us and the brother-sister duo standing a few feet away, Underwear-man nodded at the two of us in approval before turning and leading us to our captors.

Following behind, Connor and I quickly made our way into the next section of the warehouse where I saw two familiar adult heroes waiting for us. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at Connor one last time before preparing to be knocked unconscious and sent to prison.

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Mount Justice – Briefing Room

One week earlier

"This past fourth of July there were simultaneous attacks from Mister Freeze, Icicle Junior, Killer Frost, and Captain Cold; all of which were easily apprehended." Pausing, Underwear man shot us a significant look. "Perhaps too easily. Cold and Frost were immediately sent to Belle Reve penitentiary; a federal prison designed to house super criminals. Seventeen year-old Icicle Junior was sent to a juvenile facility and Mister Freeze to his usual cell in Arkham Asylum." Turning toward the screen, the dark crusader brought up police photos of the two men for the team in front of him to see.

"Several weeks ago Mister Freeze petitioned the court to be declared legally sane while Junior sued to be tried as an adult, and as a result both now await transport to Belle Reve; something the League currently believes was the real goal all along."

Glancing over the team, he chose who would participate in the mission."Connor and Wolf; I'm sending the two of you in undercover to find out why."

Stunned, I glanced over at my equally surprised human; the two of us quickly looking back over at the man questioningly. Behind me, Green-girl spoke up.

"Um, Batman? Not to question your judgment, but maybe it would be better if another member of the team accompanied Connor?" Glancing at me apologetically, the nervous Martian continued. "Wolf hasn't been on a many missions, and her people skills now that she's human are still a little…." She trailed off hesitantly, clearly not wanting to offend me by saying what we were all thinking.

"A plan is in place to capture a pair of brother and sister criminals, of which Connor and Wolf in her human form pass a resemblance to," our mentor calmly relied. "Once the criminals have been captured, Wolf and Connor will be sent to Belle Reve in their place to conduct the investigation."

"But–"

"My decision is final," Underwear-man stated conclusively, stopping any further protests from the worried girl.

"Who inside the prison will know of their true identities?" Sea-boy asked cautiously, smelling of worry.

"No one," the dark knight replied. "We can't be certain the prison staff isn't compromised. Connor and Wolf will live, act, and be treated just like any other criminal in the facility."

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New Orleans Parish Sherriff's Office – Holding Cell 3

Day 1

Sighing, I stared up at the grey ceiling and wished we could get going already. Being cooped up in a small cell like this was making me antsy, and while I understood being sent to a maximum security prison wouldn't be much better I still wanted to get a move on with the assignment.

"Hey, baby sis?" A familiar voice called out from the cell next to mine. Glancing over at the stone wall, I stood up and leaned against it, hoping to feel closer to the person it separated me from.

"We're twins," I retorted, playing along. "How many times do ah' have to tell you that ah'm not your 'baby' anythin'?"

A low chuckle rang out, and I knew it was from the brief moment of amusement my human allowed himself over our situation before we had to completely settle into our roles as hardened criminals.

"Ah' was born first by three minutes; if that ain't older then Ah' don't know what is."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "What did'ja want?"

"Do you know what 'Belle Reve' means?" He asked curiously.

Smirking, I nodded my head even though I knew he wouldn't see the gesture. "Yeah, Tom-Tom. It means 'sweet dreams' in French."

"Tom-Tom? An' since when does mah baby sis know French?"

"Ah' don't, stupid," I insulted, enjoying playing the part of annoyed sister a little too much. "Ah' looked it up a while back when Ah' firs' heard 'bout it. As fo' Tom-Tom….well; I'll stop calling you that when you stop lordin' those damn three minutes over me every chance you get."

I heard him chuckle again and I relaxed a bit more, reflecting on my bizarre issue with people's names. It was strange, but names and sometimes new words just weren't memorable to others used it I could understand who they were talking about, but the second I tried to save the information in my head all I could think of was the nickname I'd instinctually chosen for them based on a key trait I'd picked up on.

Green-girl's uncle had taken a look into my mind to see what was wrong and theorized that it was a result of my wolf, and it certainly seemed plausible enough. As an animal there isn't any use for names, we just don't think that way. Instead we recognize and associate by sound, smell, and sight. Unfortunately my brain had rewired;, either when I gained the ability to shift or as a result of living as an animal for so long. Either way the end result was the same, leaving me with the strongly animalistic way of thinking I currently had.

After several sessions with Martian-man, we figured out that the stronger my emotional connection and placement of importance on a person's name; the more likely I am to remember it. With Connor the person I was closest to in our group, it only made sense that his was the first name my brain finally started registering.

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Belle Reve Parish – Prisoner Transport Vehicle

October 23 – Night of Day 1

"Dude," the lanky, white-haired teen sitting across from us stage-whispered. "Dude! Your sister is seriously sweet,"he flirted, turning to look at me and wiggle his eyebrows suggestively. "How's about you– Ugh!" he grunted painfully, the guard watching us having stepped up and slammed him back against the wall with the butt of his rifle.

"Sit down and shut up," the large man barked with a glare at all of us before walking back to the end of van. I glanced at the tag on the guard's uniform, reading the name 'Wilcox'. Letting out a small huff of amusement I nudged my human and whispered under my breath.

"Look at his tag." Glancing over at the guard, Connor read the name and looked back at me with an expression that clearly stated so what?

"It's a fittin' name," I whispered under my breath, knowing it would still be loud enough for the teen sitting across from us to overhear. "Since he seems like kind of a dick."

Connor glanced between me and the guard, looking confused.

"Dude, seriously?" Ice-boy's voice cut in again. "The last part of his name is cox. As in, you know, dick?"

"One more word out of you inmate, and I'll shut you up the hard way," the guard commanded, raising his gun threateningly. The teen in front of us immediately shut his mouth with a click and sighed through his nose, looking distinctly annoyed.

Feeling tired, I leaned back and stared glanced at the two prisoners in front of us, mentally reviewing their files in my head.

The names Icicle Junior and Mister Freeze briefly flashed through my head before disappearing again, leaving me frustrated over how hard it still was to remember their names long enough to even try saying them out loud. Two weeks of painful attempts at memorization, and could only recall their names for all of one fucking second?

Seeming to sense my frustration in that strangely attuned way of his, Connor shifted a little closer to my side and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. Unable to talk, I gave a small shrug to let him know I was fine and let my eyes drift to look up at the polished metal surface of the van unseeingly, trying not to think of all the uncomfortable things we'd have to face once we arrived at our destination. I felt my lips twitch into a small smirk when I remembered how badly I'd wanted to get a move on earlier.

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Belle Reve Penitentiary– Prisoner Check-in

Night of Day 1

We were led into a large, nearly empty room; every visible inch of the walls and ceiling made out of grey concrete. The only variation in color came in the form of three black doors on the far side of the wall across from the entrance. The wall in front of us had a balcony cut into the grey stone, in it a portly black woman in a charcoal pantsuit and white shirt, her ebony hair locked severely in a tight bun above her neck. Cold brown eyes met mine, and I felt a small shiver of unease as I recognized the woman from the personnel files I'd had to review for the mission.

"Welcome to Belle Reve," she greetedcoolly, glancing over each of the gathered prisoners in turn. "In this penitentiary I am the law of last resort. My name is Amanda Waller and I am not your mother, your maiden aunt, or friend. I am your warden; and you….." she trailed off dangerously, "Are to be my prisoners. Some for the next fifteen to twenty-five years; others for life."

Holding up a small remote control, she made sure we all saw it before continuing. "The proprietary collars you wear are custom designed to inhibit your specific Meta strength," she nodded at Connor and me, "And no ice," she turned her attention to the two ice wielders next to us.

"In addition, the collars can and will be used to discipline inmates. A convict who breaks the rules gets one warning." Pressing the button once, the unsympathetic woman watched dispassionately as electricity shot through our collars. Not expecting the current, we all let out yelps of pain at the excruciating attack; breathing heavily when the voltage let up after a few seconds. Glancing over at my human worriedly, I saw him rub at his throat uncomfortably and meet my gaze with a small nod to let me know he was okay.

"Now," the bitch continued. "If order has not been restored after the first shock, the next jolt will render the offender unconscious."

We all tensed for a moment, waiting to see if the woman would activate the collars again. Smirking at our reactions, she continued speaking instead.

"At the slightest hint of trouble this facility goes into lockdown and the weapon systems will activate to eliminate any unauthorized attempts to leave the facility through the exits. If you think you can take a page out of Shawshank Redemption and break through the walls, then think again jailbirds; becauseBelle Reve's walls are thick enough to hold Superman. We know, because we checked."

The warden stared down at us for a beat and I fought to keep from scowling at the threat. Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to hold still when her gaze locked onto mine for a second before moving to Connor.

"Understand this inmates," she stated darkly. "No one has ever escaped Belle Reve. No one ever will."

Falling silent, the warden seemed done with her speech when someone hidden in the shadows behind her cleared their throat pointedly.

"Oh, yes. This," she introduced, "is Professor Hugo Strange. He is your maiden aunt."

I glanced over at Connor uncertainly. What the hell was a maiden aunt?

"Actually," a bespectacled man cut in with a chuckle as he stepped forward; "I'm the prison psychiatrist, and I do promise a sincere attempt at rehabilitation." The man looked to be in his forties, with a tall and lanky frame supporting the black turtle neck shirt and forest green jacket covering him. Smiling in a way that instantly put me on guard, he quickly stepped back to allow our warden to speak again.

"Oh yes, thank you doctor," she replied sarcastically, obviously not impressed with the doctor's earnest vow. "Because as we know, their type is all about wanting to become decent, rule-abiding citizens."

And just as suddenly as it had begun, our orientation seemed to be finished. Two guards quickly marched up to us, carrying orange jump suits in their arms. "Men to the east wall," one of the guards barked. "Women to the west. Face the wall and disrobe down to your underwear. Once you've stripped, place your hands against the wall and spread your legs, we're conducting a pat-down before you change into your new prison suits."

"What about Tuppence?" Connor asked incredulously. "Because she sure ain't changin' in the room with us."

"Oh, shut up," the guard grunted rudely. "I don't care if she's your sister, your girlfriend, whatever. Inmates get no special treatment unless they earn it the hard way," he sneered. "Now get moving!"

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The process of checking into a maximum security prison built for Meta humans turned out to be uncomfortable and vaguely humiliating. The guards had everyone strip down to their underwear as they'd ordered earlier; what little cloth still covering us getting patted down for weapons. I'd chosen to wear a thong that morning because it seemed like the type of underwear the girl I was pretending to be would don, but now found myself deeply regretting that decision.

It didn't seem to matter to the guard, who'd taken one look at the scars covering my body and briefly paused before silently and somewhat more respectfully continuing with the inspection. After the pat down my bra was taken away for having an underwire in it, and from the furious snarl Connor let out at the other end of the room it was no surprise to realize he'd heard the demand for the piece of clothing.

Staying silent through the experience and feeling surprisingly calm, I quickly changed into my uniform. Within a few short minutes everyone was clothed and made to converge into a line for processing in the next room. As soon as I got close to the men, Connor reached out and grabbed my shoulder roughly, pulling me to him with a glare at everyone else. Mister Freeze seemed somewhat amused by the behavior, while Freeze Junior smelt of a strange mixture of both pity and mild arousal.

We had our pictures taken and a fresh set of fingerprints entered into their database before being separated through the two doors, the men to the left while I entered through the right for the next phase of processing. I briefly mourned not being able to say goodbye to Connor before the separation, but shook it off quickly so I could focus.

When I walked into the room I was met by a surprisingly kind and patient female doctor, who had me undress again before measuring my height and weight and running a few other tests, making sure to collect samples of my skin, hair, and blood.

At one point I had to stand with my arms out and my legs slightly spread while she took pictures of my scars before settling a thick lead poncho-like cover over me to have x-rays of my teeth taken with a device in the corner of the room. Finding myself reluctantly impressed over how in depth the entire process seemed to be, I almost missed her next requirement for the exam.

"What?" I asked, hoping I'd misheard her the first time. Not unkindly, the doctor repeated her instructions.

"I need to check your cavities for foreign objects. Please remove your underwear and bend over the exam table."

---

Feeling violated and emotionally raw, I was finally allowed to dress and leave the room fifteen minutes later. Following a new guard, I was led down a long line of cell blocks to what would be my new home until the mission was complete.

"Wolf, can you hear me?" Green-girl's soft voice cautiously echoed in my head. Having known beforehand this would happen around now, I barely twitched at the sudden intrusion.

"Yes," I answered back, feeling reassured over the knowledge that she and Sea-boy were camping out in Green-girl's spaceship outside the prison.

"Good, Connor's here with us too."

"Wolf, are you okay?" Connor asked.

Resisting the urge to nod, I continued to walk behind the guard with a scowl pasted on my face. "I'm fine, Connor. The examination was a bit…..uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle. How about you? Are you alright?"

There was a pause before I felt a faint wave of deeply uncomfortable disgust roll through the link. I was surprised at being able to sense the emotion; from what I knew Connor would have had to feel it intensely for it to travel to me like that. Understanding what might have caused the feeling, I wished not for the first time since we'd been separated that I could see him again.

"They did the cavity search on you too, huh?"

"Cavity search?" Green-girl asked curiously.

"You don't want to know." Connor and I replied at the same time.

"Hold on" I silently asked the pair when the guard in front of me stopped. "I just reached my cell and I need to be focused when I meet my new roommate."

"You only just got there?" Connor asked in confusion. "Just how long was your examination?"

"Way too fucking long," I thought quickly as I was unceremoniously shoved into the small room, the barred door behind me closing with a loud clang.

"You're cutting into my beauty sleep little girl, and if I don't get my eight hours I'm a real killer," A woman's voice threatened above me. I looked up and saw a pretty woman with violet hair glower at me from the top bunk of the bed, her cold blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

Knowing posturing when I saw it, I shot her my brightest, most friendly smile. "That's good," I chuckled conspiratorially, "because Ah've heard opposites attract. Yah see," I continued, the smile dropping from my face as I shot her a glare, "Ah' have a hard time getting a full night's rest unless Ah've ripped someone's spine outta their still-breathin' body so Ah' can sleep with it like a teddy bear."

"Woah," Green-girl's shocked voice murmured in my head.

"She's doing fine," Connor defended.

The deathly pale woman stared at me for a moment, her gaze calculating as she no doubt tried to asses whether I had what it took to back up my words. After several seconds she leaned over, reaching her hand out with a sinister smirk.

"Guys, you need to be quiet. If I don't do this right I risk being relegated to omega in the prison hierarchy here," I warned my invisible companions, reaching over the bed's railing to meet my new cellmate's hand in a firm handshake.

"Wait, what does 'omega' mean?"Green-girl asked curiously.

"Shut up!"

"The name's Killer Frost, but most people just call me Frost."

"Nobody uses their real name here anyways," I casually shrugged. "So jus' call me Terror."

Lifting an eyebrow, the ice-wielder looked at me with a dry expression. "Not the overly imaginative type, are you?"

"It's sure is nice to meet yah, Pot. Ah'm Kettle," I retorted with an eye roll. "Wait, wait. Don't tell me," I pretended to concentrate for a moment before dramatically widening my eyes in surprise and snapping my fingers in an 'ah-a' moment. "Now ah'm jus' guessin' here, but I believe you may have powers related to somethin'….cold. Frost, or even ice maybe?"

Shaking my head, I frowned and looked up at the ceiling speculatively. "Naw, that can't be it. Must be over thinkin' it."

Snorting, Ice-woman shook her head before lying back on the bed. "I do believe this may just be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Terror."

"You might not be sayin' that when Ah start lookin' for mah new teddy bear."

Hearing a muffled chuckle, I figured I'd managed to be convincing as the sister half of the Terror twins. Sauntering over to my bunk on the bottom, I slid in feeling vaguely confident that I'd past the first test and fit in as a believable inmate.

I let out a nearly inaudible sigh, my body tense as I was all too aware of the murderous villain sleeping above me. Fuck, this was stressful.

"Hey, you still there?" I questioned silently. After waiting a minute without hearing anything back, I mentally shrugged and decided to try getting some sleep. I wasn't used to the new place or the lack of my usual sleeping partner, but making sure I was rested enough to stay at the top of my game was important.

My life, and Connor's, would depend on it.

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Belle Reve Penitentiary – Prison Cell 13F

DAY 2

The next morning Ice-woman and I woke up to an annoyingly loud alarm ringing from the speaker system installed throughout the prison. It would seem loud enough to wake the dead to a normal person, but with my heightened hearing I found myself deaf and trying not to let my eyes tear up from the pain it was causing my poor eardrums. Forcing myself to get out of bed, I realized the mistake I'd made too late when I saw my bunkmate was still in bed and watching me with a smirk.

I'd gotten out of bed first, which meant I was also first in line to use the small toilet located in a corner of the cell.

I'd lived like a wild animal for several years, so using the bathroom when others were near didn't really bother me. Trying to pee with someone three feet away and staring at you in an effort to purposely try to make you uncomfortable, well…that was another matter entirely.

Still in the middle of establishing my place in the hierarchy though, I sucked it up and stoically met my roommate's gaze head on as I went about my business, returning the favor when it was her turn. Not my favorite part of the morning by any stretch of the imagination, but the willingness to engage in the power play paid off when Ice-woman shot an approving nod my way before we set off to the mess hall for breakfast.

I was relieved to see us walking side by side, as it meant my new 'friend' considered us to be on tentatively equal terms.

Once we'd gotten our food and sat down, we were soon joined by a large, pale woman with thick muscles and thorn tattoos covering her towering form. Deciding to introduce us, my new purple-haired friend jerked her chin over at the new woman as she lifted a spoon of cold oatmeal to her lips.

"Terror, this is Devastation."

Said woman nodded with a grunt before biting into a biscuit. "Dev's basically the anti-Wonder woman and one of the strongest people I know. The chick with the half-shaved head we passed by in the cell next to us – the one with the evil eye and a nasty attitude is Shimmer. She doesn't have powers, but her brother Mammoth is here too and he more than makes up for it by having both powers and a temper to match. Shim's got decent skills in some sorta martial arts to beat you down if you try anything, but piss off her bro and he'll tear you to pieces. Literally."

Nodding, I swallowed the rubbery, overcooked eggs on my tray and outwardly maintained a look of a lazy, almost bored curiosity. Showing too much interest would only make me look inexperienced and eager to please, or worse; nervous.

I joined in idle conversation with the women as they finished their meal until we eventually stood up and made our way to the rec room, where a long glass wall kept the men and women separated from each other but still in view. Seeing a flash of blond hair in a shade exactly like the one I was currently sporting I forced myself to wander over to the glass at a languid pace, hoping once I was there he'd be able to see me. Two men leaning against the glass a few feet away stopped their conversation when they saw me to stare; eventually coming over to hover by and start making crude gestures. Ignoring their antics, I waited impatiently for my human to notice –

And suddenly, there he was. Walking away from the Ice-boy that we'd initially arrived to the prison with, Connor scowled at the men standing in his way and pushed them aside, one even falling over and hitting the floor. It was an excessive use of force Connor wouldn't have normally engaged, but it was quickly becoming obvious that in Belle Reve it couldn't be done in any other way without being seen as a pushover.

I felt both oddly proud at how my human was handling himself and worried over how he was coping with the things he'd have to do to fit in. Feeling better now that he was nearby even if I couldn't touch him, I stared at my 'brother' for a minute, trying to find any sign of injury or discomfort. Glancing up at his face, I watched him check over me with the same worry and couldn't stop a smile from peeking out.

Satisfied that we were both physically no worse for wear, we tried to communicate.

You okay? I mouthed silently. Nodding he pointed at me questioningly.Yeah. You?

Maybe it was because he couldn't hear me. It could've been the personality I'd had to adopt here influencing me, but for a moment I felt bold.

I miss you.

His cheeks reddening, Connor rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture and nodded, hesitating before answering back.

…..Me too.

Deciding to ease the awkward discomfort that began settling over us after the briefly emotional exchange, I tapped my temple.

When's Green-girl getting in contact?

Understanding the silent question, he held up two fingers and made a swooping motion with his hand.

Two o'clock tomorrow.

I wanted to talk to him more, but what I saw behind my human made me think it was time for us to resume our roles and separate.

Look behind you, I pointed. Turning, he glanced back only to run off and pull his cellmate out of a fight where he'd been getting the shit beat out of him by a man with a strange helmet on his head. Helmet-man convulsed in a motion I recognized from when our collars had electrocuted us the night before just as his target was taken from him, but as soon as the punishment let up he moved to attack Ice-boy again. As Connor turned around, ready to start fighting back on Ice-boy's behalf the helmet man shudderedagain, his limbs jerking more wildly this time before going still, his body passed out on the ground.

Several of the inmates around them laughed, but outside of that everyone quickly ignored the unconscious man on the ground as they went on with their business. Conner wrapped an arm around the bloody teen beside him, shooting one last glance my way before walking with Ice-boy out of the rec room.

"That your boy?" a voice asked behind me. Startled and more than a little confused over how she'd managed to sneak up on me without hearing her, I stared back at Devastation warily and nodded my head; unsure of how else to answer.

"A little close for brother and sister ain't ya?" she asked with an unreadable look on her face. Sniffing the Amazonian surreptitiously, I was surprised to find there weren't any scents indicating emotion coming from her.

"Mah brother and ah'….well, we done been through some hard times," I begrudgingly admitted. "We're all we each got in this shitty world; hard not tah be close under circumstances like that," I reasoned. Inwardly I mentally frowned, trying to figure out what it was about my interaction with Connor that would have seemed unusually close.

"I heard about your scars. Your brother do that to you?" Offended, I glared at the strange woman, my lips raised in a half-snarl.

"He'd never do anythin' like tha' tah me," I bit back, offended. Simply nodding, Devastation put a gentle hand on my shoulder and regarded me with a surprisingly kind expression.

"The world might not understand it, but we do. Sometimes the love and comfort we need can only be found in the arms of the one person society doesn't think we should be with. If you ever need to talk, you'd be surprised at the number of women here with a similar story and an open ear. Out there in the real world it's a harsh place, but here in Belle Reve we're the last ones that'll ever judge another for wanting – needing something the so-called 'good guys' only judge and keep us from."

Completely confused by the turn the conversation had taken; I nodded dumbly and glanced out at my side of the rec room to see afew sympathetic and evaluating stares being sent my way.

What the hell?

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Belle Reve Penitentiary – Prison Cell 13F

DAY 3

At exactly two pm the next day, I heard Green-girl's voice in my head once again.

"Hello, Wolf?"

"Hi Green-girl," I sighed unenthusiastically.

"Wolf? What's wrong?" Conner asked with concern. "Did something happen?"

"No. Well, sort of. Nothing that should affect the – " I paused, realizing that if the rumors circulating the women's side of the penitentiary managed to reach the men, then yes – rumors of our "illicit relationship" could very well affect my human's ability to do his job. Groaning, I turned over on the mattress to face the wall, feigning sleep in case another woman wanting to gossip or oh so subtly evaluate my worth just happened to walk by my cell.

"Look, Connor…." I began awkwardly. "Some of the women in here saw us, uh, talking. When we were in the rec room."

"Have you been compromised?!" Green-girl asked, sounding alarmed.

"Um, well…..not exactly."

"Then what's the problem?" My human asked uncertainly.

"My side of the jail seems to think we're romantically involved," I muttered. Grimacing at the silence that followed the disclosure, I waited for my human to speak.

"….But we're undercover as brother and sister. Right? I mean, we look really similar and we're called the Terror Twins. I'm not sure how we could have made it more obvious."

"Oh, they totally believe we're siblings. They just seem to think we're a LOT closer than the average family."

"Oh. OH! Wow, that's – um. Ew,"Green-girl remarked once she understood what I was talking about. "I mean, it's not frowned upon for cousins to occasionally intermarry on Mars – although it's not encouraged. But siblings? Is that a common practice on earth?"

"No," I stated firmly. Then I frowned, suddenly aware of how little I really knew about the world. "Actually….I'm not sure. My initial instinct was to say no, but I actually don't remember whether it's common here. Wolf from the same litter will occasionally mate if there aren't any other worthy suitors. From the way one of the women talked, it sounded like it's at least generally frowned upon outside the prison for humans to do it though. Connor, do you know?"

"I didn't think so, but I actually don't know for sure either," My human reluctantly admitted."But it's something we should know. M'gann, find out Aqualad what knows."

"On it," she replied. After a minute her voice came back. "Aqualad says that on most of Earth, incest is frowned upon and generally illegal."

"This is turning into a very strange conversation," I thought wryly. "But at any rate, having everyone think we're together has weirdly made things a lot easier on my side. I'm being hounded by sympathetic well-wishers and a horrifying number of women who want to swap stories about their own experiences; I've actually made more progress with the inmates in the last 24 hours with them thinking I'm some incestuous star-crossed lover than if I'd gone with the original plan of sneaking around or trying to work my way into our target's group over the next few days."

"You've found something?" Connor asked in a disturbed voice, obviously trying to stay on track but struggling with the new information I'd provided so far.

"Yeah. It sounds like Ice-girl and the others –"

"Wait, who's Ice-girl?"

"Wolf's name for Killer Frost," Conner explained to the Martian.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I worked on memorizing names, but I'm still having trouble remembering them long term. F-frost and the others are planning a breakout in thirteen days," I continued hesitantly, forcing myself to concentrate on the name. "I don't know specifics yet, but it sounds like they have a plan for taking the collars offline so they can use their powers to bust out of here."

"Understood. I'm updating Kaldur on the situation now; it's time to pull you out of there now that we know what's happening."

"Hold that thought M'gann," Connor cut in. "We know when they're planning the breakout but not how. Until we find that out we need to stay."

"It sucks, but I agree. We need to learn how they plan to escape or they'll just try again," I added.

After a moment Green-girl responded. "I don't like it but I understand and Kaldur agrees too. I'll contact you tomorrow at the same time for an update. Until then, hang in there you two."

"We will."

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Belle Reve Penitentiary

DAY 10 – Prison Infirmary

"–ust Fuck. Fuck my life, fuck this bed, fuck this mission, fuck that presumptuous, self-righteous quack that calls herself a fucking doctor, and fuck that stupid racist bitch and her disgusting– "

"Uh, Wolf?" Green-girl's hesitant voice popped into my head. Startled, I stopped my internal rant and glared at the clock ticking away in the corner. Fuck, was it two already?

"Green-girl," I muttered. "It's good to hear from you again; it's proof that I'm not going to be trapped here forever," I glowered down at the infirmary bed nastily, suppressing the urge to start cursing again.

"It sounds like I got you at a bad time. What's wrong?"

"I pissed off the wrong person."

"…Who?"

"Andrea Von fucking Strucker, that's who!" I silently snarled.

"You remember her name?" Green-girl asked, sounding surprised.

"I'll never forget it," I vowed darkly. "Apparently a twin, and apparently 'also' in a fucking relationship with her brother," I hissed with loathing. "She's the leader of a white supremacy faction in the prison and fucking clinically insane."

"What happened? Were you hurt?" The Martian asked worriedly. Her concern both surprised and warmed me enough to help me calm down.

"It's – she tried…..never mind. It's not important," I lied, trying to reign in my fury.

"Wait, what? Wolf, have you been compromised? Are you in danger?"

"No. I got on her bad side so my stay here isn't going to be pleasant, but my life and cover aren't in danger. It's nothing too serious, and it actually helped me find out some more information about the jailbreak."

"…..Alright. If you're sure…?"

"I am," I firmly replied. "Have you gotten in contact with Connor yet?" I asked, aware that he was missing from the conversation.

"No, I connected to your mind first today because I've been thinking and I – well, I wanted to know if….are you two – do you….?"

"Do I what?" I asked, not sure what she was trying to say.

"I – never mind. This isn't the time; I'm going to get in contact with Connor," she rushed out suddenly.

"Okay?" After a second I felt the small pressure in my head increase.

"Hello, Connor? Can you hear me?" I heard Green-girl ask.

"I'm here M'gann," my human's voice reassured, sounding tired.

"Good. Wolf's here too, and it sounds like she has some new information about the breakout the inmates are planning. Go ahead, Wolf."

"Most of the breakout will be happening on the men's side of the prison; although I don't know the specifics," I started, getting straight down to business."And from the way some of the inmates have been talking, it sounds like Underwear-man was right to be wary of telling anyone in the prison about us. When they break out I think they're gonna get help from some of the prison staff – probably guards."

"Any idea who?"

"Not yet."

"I found out some things too," Connor added. "It's been spreading between the prisoners that a shipment of new uniforms are coming in for us tomorrow, and when they do we need to wear them if we want to survive past next week. I don't know what day yet."

"I'll try talking to Ice-girl some more," I sighed reluctantly. "But she's been tightlipped about the whole thing – she won't even talk about info that's already been leaked to the other prisoners. I get the feeling she's the backup in this plan, not one of the leaders."

"You're doing well guys," Green-girl encouraged. "Anything else?"

"The new uniforms are probably modified somehow to protect the inmates from whatever they're planning," I theorized.

"Is there a way we can get you a sample for analysis?" Connor wondered.

"No, not unless Kaldur or I sneak into the prison ourselves," the Martian responded thoughtfully.

"Not necessary!" I thought back forcefully, worried she might consider trying it. "It would take too long to plan, and the risk is too high when we're this close to the breakout. If you're caught then at best it'll put the inmates on guard; the breakout might even get rescheduled, which means staying lot longer."

"We really don't want to do that," Connor muttered. Grimacing in silent agreement, I decided to change the subject.

"If the guards are compromised then it's possible, even likely that weapons or a means of disabling the collars will be smuggled in too. Any idea when that might happen?"

"I checked the schedule and there aren't any other shipments coming into the prison until after the break is supposed to go down. Whatever they're smuggling is either already here or it's coming in with the uniforms," My human answered back, smoothly rolling with the conversation's change in direction.

"We've got good info, but I don't think we should leave yet," I admitted reluctantly, disliking myself for prolonging the stay. "We're missing something. If they already have their weapons or whatever they might use to undo the collars, then where's the stash located? Even after the shipment arrives, it'll be a few days before the breakout's attempted, which just increases the chances of the plan being found out before they can try anything, so we need to find out why they're waiting."

"What if they have outside help?" Green-girl offered. "There may not be any shipments, but there ARE other services that come into contact with the prison."

"Smart," I complimented. "Also, this prison was built to make it nearly impossible to escape even with powers. How are they going to break through the walls?"

"We'll stick around a little longer to find out," Connor agreed. ""M'gann? Did you get all that?"

"I did," the Martian confirmed. "I'll update Kaldur again and we'll run a check on any vendors or services that make contact with Belle Reve. We should also start start checking in more frequently now that we're getting closer to the wire. What times work best?"

"Probably morning, afternoon, and sometime in the evening…." I suggested after giving it some thought. "With how soon the breakout's planned for, we'll need to update you on any changes or new information as soon as possible. Maybe ten, two, and six?"

"That works," my human agreed. "Oh, and Wolf; we're scheduled for an appointment with the prison psychiatrist in an hour. Freeze Junior let me know after his session this morning."

"It's not another psych evaluation is it?" I grumbled unhappily.

"No idea," came his amused response."But at least we'll see each other again." A slightly embarrassed pause came after that, and it became obvious he hadn't meant to let that slip.

"Alright, well, it sounds like there isn't anything else you need to talk about. Right?" Green-girl jumped in suddenly.

"Uh. Well, I guess not…." Connor trailed off, taken aback by the Martian's abruptness.

"Good, I'll contact you again in six hours. Good luck!"

The connection cut off so suddenly, I couldn't stop a wince at the tug of pain in my head. I shifted back on the bed and sighed, feeling melancholy. The daily 2pm check in between Connor, Green-girl and I usually left me feeling invigorated and less stressed, but today all I felt was mentally exhausted.

Five days in this hell-hole, and it was taking its toll. I had no privacy or freedom, and with the new enemy I'd made today I'd have to watch my back a lot more carefully until I got out of here. I raised my hand and gingerly prodded a cut on my cheek, feeling my lips curl into a silent snarl over the stinging reminder it provided of the woman that had given it to me.

xXx

---

xXx

Ninety minutes later, I was halfway through a stressful therapy session with the prison psychiatrist. Connor and I had to sit and play along while the doctor continued his misguided attempts to connect with and help the troubled teens we were playing.

"Here's my concern;" the man began after a short, evaluating pause following the latest string of questions he'd tried asking. "Your antisocial tendencies are a roadblock to rehabilitation. It may feel more comfortable to strictly rely on each other for all the interpersonal needs you may have, but that mindset can quickly become dangerously unhealthy for the both of you and severely limit your ability to cope, let alone enjoy experiencing the world around you when separated."

"Then don't separate us!" I snapped back petulantly, playing the part of the codependent sister.

"Now, now, Tuppence." He tutted, the patronizing gesture sending a real flash of irritation through me. "I've observed some footage of the two of you since you've arrived, and I'm relieved to say you've both shown a surprising ability to adapt to your separation from each other. There were some minor setbacks of course, such as the small skirmish you had with miss Von Strucker, but – "

"Wait, what 'skirmish'?" my brother interrupted, turning to me. "What happened?"

I shrugged, forcing myself to glance away rather than meet his gaze directly. "It's nothin', just some racist idiot that got too big fo' her britches."

"Ah didn't say anythin' earlier 'cause of him," Connor motioned to the doctor with a jerk of his head, otherwise ignoring the man. "But you got a black eye and a split lip Tup, and Ah'm askin' now. Who the hell did this to ya?"

"Now Tommy, like I said this was no doubt simply due to a small misunderstanding," the doctor stepped in, glancing at me with a conspiratorial flicker in his eyes. Intellectually I knew he wasn't a bad guy, just a well-meaning doctor trying to establish a connection of trust with me, but once again I felt something off about him. Not sure what my instincts were trying to tell me, I pushed forward and grabbed on to the opportunity to move on that he'd provided.

"…He's right," I reassured, looking back at Connor with a nod. "Just some idiot shootin' her mouth off and pissin' me off is all; nothin' Ah can't handle."

Connor looked unconvinced, but the psychiatrist watching us took the cue and redirected the conversation back to the therapy session.

"Now," he began. "I'd like to talk a bit more about the relationship you two have with the rest of your family. Antisocial behavior and the lack of regard for authority figures you've shown in the past can often be traced to a history of growing up in conflict with a parental figure. What was your relationship like with your parents?"

"Neither one of us reallyhas a connection to our parents," I revealed, glancing at my 'brother' warily.

"Interesting," the doctor commented consideringly. "Please, expand on that."

"Or don't," Connor huffed in annoyance.

"Healing requires open dialog, Tommy," the doctor gently chastised. "Go on, my dear."

I shrugged uncomfortably, not sure how deeply I was supposed to delve into the past of the teen I was impersonating. "Not much else to say. Ah' got no idea who Ma and Pa really are."

"Of course ya don't," Connor suddenly piped in with a frown. Turning to look at the doctor, the blond crossed his arms. "Tuppence got kidnapped a while back, and her memories 'fore then ain't really there," he explained. I shot him a glare, not appreciating that he was bringing real-world issues into this, but the blue-eyed Kryptonian was steadfastly refusing to look my way. "What she does remember is mostly from the six months she was gone and – well, it ain't pleasant."

I turned to stare at Connor, feeling an unpleasant mixture of surprise and panic. What the hell was he doing, going off-script like this?

"Oh?" the doctor asked in a surprised tone, glancing between the two of us. "I had no idea; I'm so sorry that happened, Tuppence. If you're experiencing memory loss, then from the sound of it your mind may have blocked off your other memories as a survival tactic to keep from overwhelming you until you could feel safe enough to begin processing what you a traumatic an event like that, it isn't unusual for the mind to protect itself by blocking out all but the necessary memories and thoughts needed for immediate survival. When did this incident occur?"

Grimacing, I clenched my jaw and looked away, ignoring the two of them.

"It happened eight or nine months ago," Connor supplied lowly. I felt his gaze on me, but I wasn't sure it was a good idea to meet it just then. "Tuppence was gone six months before Ah' rescued ….man that took 'er kidnapped others too." Swallowing, Connor finally glanced over at me before saying, "He tortured and experimented on 'em. Made her do things that she had no control over, and sure ain't her fault, but Tuppence still has nightmares an' won't talk to nobody about what that monster did to her."

"Damnit Tommy!" I snarled furiously, standing up. "You know what, maybe Ah' just refuse to live in a fantasy world where every problem's solved in half an hour – you ever think of that?! Ah' survived, didn't I? Ah've made peace with the fact that Ah' can't undo the things Ah' saw and did, and talking about it with a damn stranger sure ain't gonna bring back what that bastard took from me!"

"What did he take, Tuppence?" the doctor asked. Spinning to face him, I sneered at him and slammed my hands on the desk angrily.

"He took everythin'," I hissed. "Mah' memories, mah body, mah goddamned free will. There ain't a damn day that goes by that Ah' don't look in a mirror and see the monster he made me into. So fuck you," turning around, I flipped my nosy human the bird. "And fuck you too."

"Tuppence – "

"Don't wanna hear it."

Marching over to the door, I tried turning the handle only to find it locked.

"Let me outta here 'fore Ah' rip both your throats out!" I threatened.

"I know this wasn't easy for either one of you, but I truly believe we've made a real breakthrough today," the prison psychiatrist murmured, not bothering to try talking me down. I heard a rustle and a small beeping sound indicating the doctor had turned on his radio. "Mister Wilcox, please unlock the door and escort Tommy and Tuppence back to their cells."

xXx

---

xXx

"Wolf?"

Stripping off my prison uniform and underwear, I shoved the clothing into a locker before walking over to the showers.

"Hey. Is Connor here?" Turning the nozzle, a cold spray of water hit my skin and my mind briefly flashed back to a small waterfall I'd loved in India.

"No, I contacted you first again."

"Connect him," I requested. "We really need to talk."Almost immediately I felt the small pull in the back of my mind that indicated another person had joined the telepathic link.

"Connor?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," I apologized quietly. Leaning forward, I braced my hand against the cool tile on the wall while the water soaked my hair and ran down my back.

"I know," he replied. "Me too. I shouldn't have talked to Dr. Strange like that."

"You were just worried about me and I didn't handle the situation very well. I wasn't really that mad, I was just trying to play my part. Towards the end though….well. It just hit a little too close to home; I hope I didn't overplay it." Rubbing a bar of soap between my hands, I gingerly rubbed the suds over my bruised skin, wincing when I pressed too hard over a cut on my stomach.

"You guys are in an incredibly stressful situation. I don't know what happened exactly, but it's important to remember you need to rely on each other to make this work," Green-girl commented quietly, sounding troubled.

The sound of several people coming towards the shower room reached my ears and I tensed.

"You were fine Wolf, Strange didn't look like he thought you were acting. M'gann's right too; we only have to stick around a few more days," Connor tried to reassure; his subdued voice making the words less comforting than they should have been.

"You guys ARE okay, right?"

"I don't know," I quietly thought, immediately cursing myself for the slip up. "It's fine," I quickly backtracked. "Prison's just more intense than tv makes it out to be," I joked ruefully, thinking about the shows Fast-boy had made Connor and I watch the week before.

Outside the shower room I heard more movement, reminding me to map out the room in my head in case I had to fight my way out.

"Sorry to cut this short but I need to go to the bathroom and it's weird if I'm talking to you while I use the toilet," I quickly tossed out when a tall Asian woman walked into the room, her eyes immediately zeroing in on me with an unsettling gleam. I subtly tested the floor with my feet, trying to see how careful I'd need to be of slipping.

"Oh, uh…..okay…." Green-girl slowly agreed, obviously thrown off by my statement. "Any updates on the breakout?"

The woman took her time stripping down, revealing the tattoos covering her arms and torso while she continued to keep me in her sights. A black dragon on her right bicep flashed at me, the image similar to one I'd seen on multiple women in the prison.

"Nothing since this morning," Connor replied distractedly."I have to go too, something came up."

The woman carefully folded her suit and pushed it into one of the lockers before coming over, a small blue plastic bottle clutched firmly in her hands.

"Okay. Um, Wolf? Any updates before you…go?"

"Nope. Bye."

Green-girl seemed to hesitate a moment before shutting down the connection without another word. I felt a brief flash of regret over treating her so rudely, but quickly brushed it off to focus on what was happening now.

"You that new girl? The one that pissed off bat-shit Strucker?" the woman casually asked in a light Louisiana accent as she walked over, her movements fluid and smooth.

"Whos' askin'?" I replied, shooting her the most intimidating scowl I could muster. Snorting, the woman bent over and placed the bottle on the ground before turning on the shower next to me.

"Someone impressed by the rumors about you," she lightly replied. "My boss's been here about two years now, and she says she's rarely heard so much in so little time about one inmate before. She had me come down and find you – maybe invite you to meet with her."

Stepping under the water, the woman dipped her head back and let the water cascade down her face for a moment, her eyes closed as she let the water soak her hair.

It seemed innocuous enough, but I got the message. By closing her eyes and showing so much vulnerability, she was letting me know how powerful her boss was, and how stupid it would be for me to try taking advantage of her current weakness.

"What does she want?" I asked, pushing my hair back. The woman wiped her eyes and glanced back at me consideringly.

"What all the bosses here want; power and information. The way you handled that crazy bitch's lackeys shows you got power, and being all friendly-like with that roommate of yours means you got info. My boss thinks you've got potential, but you gotta meet with her before she decides to invest. Catch my drift?"

"Yeah, but what's in it fer me? Sounds like yer boss knows Ah can handle mahself jus' fine," I pointed out, scrubbing soap into my hair. The woman snorted and ran a pointed looked down the injuries on my body with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe you can handle yourself," she agreed amiably. "But no one survives here alone. You may have lucked out by making friendly with someone like Killer Frost, but you ain't allied with her group yet. You got nobody to watch yer back, and with the kind of heat yer gettin', it's only a matter of time before you get worn down and make a mistake."

She stooped over and grabbed the bottle from earlier, pouring a small amount of lilac-scented shampoo into her hands before running it through her hair. I glanced at the bottle's label curiously, noticing it wasn't the standard-issue soap given to us by the prison.

"There's perks to bein' in my boss's group," the woman commented idly while she rubbed the flowery bubbles into her skin. "You can sleep, eat, and shower without one eye open for one thing. You can live the next twenty years of your life here with a family that'll back you up no matter what shit goes down, and you can live with luxuries you wouldn't otherwise get in this shithole." Smirking slyly, she chuckled and watched me out of the corner of her eye. "She can arrange for you to have the occasional visit with that fine brother of yours too….completely uninterrupted by pryin' eyes, of course."

I felt my cheeks heat up at the implication, and used the excuse of rinsing out my hair to avoid having to look at her, though I couldn't escape the scent of her amusement, or of my own embarrassment and discomfort.

"If she wants information, it ain't gonna be fer free," I eventually spoke.

"Naturally," my shower partner agreed. "It depends on what you've got for us of course, but my boss is known for bein' fair."

I shut off the water. "What's she want with mah cellmate?"

"That ice gang's planning a breakout but not leaking any info on just how they plan to do that. See, folks have tried breaking out before but it always fails and leaves the guards feelin' particularly pissy with the inmates for a long while after. We need to know how that ice bitch thinks she's gettin' outta here so we know what side to be on when the time comes."

"You'd sabotage 'em?" I asked, genuinely surprised. My companion shut her own water off and turned to look at me seriously, all playfulness from earlier gone.

"Usually the prisoners and prison staff have an understanding, but life is hell here if the guards are reminded we'd all kill 'em in a second on even a snowball's chance in hell of escape. Inmates that show they ain't gonna cause trouble, maybe even help the guards stop it if others start actin' up…..well, it ain't no coincidence if those inmates don't have to worry about the backlash of the latest failure in escapin' the prison."

We walked back to the lockers and grabbed towels to dry off. "Ah understand it makes life easier here with the guards, but the other prisoners can't like you fer that," I commented.

"Only small fry that can't see the bigger picture. Until now even that ice gang was smart enough to know how things work around here, which is why this sudden plan for breaking out has half the prison believin' they'll actually manage it. If that group's goin' around saying they'll get everyone free, people expect them to fuckin' mean it."

"Yer boss ain't so sure though," I commented. "Why else would ya come to me tryin' to find out more? Maybe instead of getting' everyone free, they just want to use the others as a distraction," I idly pointed out, slipping into my jumpsuit. The other woman paused and looked at me sharply before smiling viciously.

"I knew you'd be a smart little cookie, Terror. It ain't my place to tell you what she thinks about it though; I'm just here to bring you to the boss so she can get a read on you herself."

"Right now?" I questioned, suddenly wishing I'd let Connor or Green-girl in on the exchange.

"Why waste time?" She asked offhandedly, finished with getting dressed herself.

Fuck.

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Belle Reve Penitentiary – Prison Cell 13F

DAY 11

The next morning I found myself awake before the morning alarm rang through the prison, having barely slept the night before. Trudging through the usual morning routine with my cellmate, I struggled to hide the exhaustion weighing me down while my usual breakfast companions accompanied me down to the cafeteria.

Sleepily nibbling on my oatmeal, I almost fell over at the chaos that quickly followed.

Alarms suddenly screamed over the speakers and I covered my ears, my eyes watering in pain over how loud sound was; the sound of my spoon clattering to the floor completely overrun when the other prisoners started cheering and hollering as exits slammed closed and the prison guards scrambled around us.

"What's goin' on?!" I shouted at the table over the noise. I felt a shiver of dread shoot down my spine at the wicked smiles my table-mates were now sporting and felt the air around my cellmate suddenly drop by several degrees.

Ice-woman reached up and touched her collar, the metal quickly covered in tiny shards of ice before cracking. Arctic eyes met mine, and I understood the message.

The breakout had begun.

xXx

---

xXx

"What's the plan here, exactly?" I asked loudly over the still-blaring sound echoing through the prison as we walked down the hall towards the rec room.

"It's simple, Terror. When water freezes, it expands about nine percent past its original mass," Ice-woman explained, her demeanor turning cheerful when we passed by what appeared to be the dead body of a badly beaten prison-guard. I resisted the urge to grimace and glanced away; desperately listening for any sign of breathing or a pulse as we distanced ourselves.

I didn't hear one.

"When water freezes on concrete, the water expansion cracks and decreases its stability. That's where someone like you or Devastation comes in. My group weakens the walls with our ice; making it easier for people with strength like you guys to come in and punch through it much more easily."

"That's….genius actually," I had to admit as we rounded a corner, only to come across a guard slowly backing away with a rifle pointed at us.

Damn it.

"Well, look at what we have here?" My cellmate asked with a smirk.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" The guard shakily threatened, the gun in her hands faintly trembling.

Ice-woman lazily pointed a finger, shooting a stream of freezing ice over the tip of the barrel. "I wouldn't recommend shooting, or you'll just blow your hands off. Actually," she amended with a considering look, "Go ahead and try. I'm in the mood for a little amusement while we wait for the boys to finish breaking through."

The guard glanced down at her now-useless weapon before throwing it at us and immediately running away at a dead sprint.

Snorting when the weapon missed hitting anyone, our leader waved her hand lazily. "Be a dear and grab her for me, won't you Dev?" she asked the large woman standing behind me.

"I got it," I quickly volunteered, running after the poor woman and tackling her to the ground. Figuring the most painless way to get her out of the way would be to make her pass out, I wrapped an arm around her throat and squeezed.

"Not so fast, Terror. I have a couple questions for little miss hide-and-seek here," Ice-woman cut in sharply as the group walked up behind me.

"Oh god," the woman in my arms sobbed, her nails digging into my arm as she clutched at me furiously. "Please, I don't know anything – I just started three days ago!"

What a hell of a welcome, I thought with an internal wince.

Cackling, my cellmate punched the guard in the stomach, the force of it ripping the gasping woman from my hold and sending her to the ground before she turned and puked on the floor, coughing harshly.

"Please," the guard raggedlybeggedagain, her face dripping with sweat and tears. "You don't have to do this. I have a family, a little girl…."

Smirking, my cellmate formed a ball of ice over her fist with sharp, deadly spikes growing out of it. "Mmm, beg me some more. It's much sweeter that way," she taunted with perverse pleasure, smelling of legitimate delight.

Feeling cold inside, I looked down at the pleading woman with a terrifying smile and stepped forward, grabbing the front of her uniform. The woman screamed and tried to get away again, forcing me to drag the terrified guard up on her feet myself and shove her up against a wall.

"Maybe ya shoulda thought of yer pathetic family before decidin' to work in a prison!" I snarled, slamming her head into the wall and knocking her out. I held her away from the wall before dropping her, the angle making her landing a little softer and less likely to make her hit her head again.

"Why didn't you kill her?" Ice-woman asked in disappointed curiosity, her weaponized ice crumbling away.

I shrugged."Hostage in case somethin' goes wrong." Chuckling, I sent a dark smile at the other women and cracked my knuckles for effect. "A toy we can play with later if everythin' goes as it should. There's plenty of fun to have 'round here and the way she cries and begs like a little bitch…."

I widened my smile until my teeth showed and looked down at my unconscious victim hungrily. "Ah think Ah'd like to save this one fer dessert….So long as you don't mind o' course," I added in more respectful tone, glancing back at the group.

Grinning widely, Ice-woman wrapped a cold arm over my shoulder. "Why Terror, I find I'm only liking you more and more as time goes on." Turning her head, she whispered into my ear. "You and that cute brother of yours should think about joining us. My organization can use an inspired individual such as yourself, and I'd love the opportunity to get the Terror Twins alone and show them just how persuasive I can be."

Glad she didn't have a sense of smell strong enough to pick up the disgust I felt, I wrapped an arm around her waist and bared my teeth in a vicious smirk.

"Mah dear friend, Ah can't think of anything Ah'd like more."

xXx

---

xXx

After the incident with the guard, we quickly finished making our way over to the rec room, where the glass dividing the men from the women was already shattered. My nose twitched at the scent of sex in the air, and I glanced around, my eyes landing on a couple intertwined under one of the tables.

"That's one way to keep busy till we're out," I commented, nudging Devastation to grab her attention. The larger woman glanced at the couple and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"There's a time and a place. Now's not the time, and this definitely isn't the place," she grumbled, her beefy arms crossing disapprovingly.

"Oh lighten up Dev; we could all use a little fun after this is over," Ice-woman piped in playfully. The larger woman's frown deepened and she shook her head. "Yes, after we've broken out. Not during."

I opened my mouth to reply, only for a familiar voice to interrupt us on the other side of the wall.

"Tuppence, that you?"

Feeling mixed emotions, I turned to look over at my surprised human watching us warily, obviously taking in the situation and trying to decide how much danger we were in. Very aware of the women's gazes around me, I plastered on a smile and ran forward to hug him delightedly. Glad he was following along, I felt him wrap his arms around my waste; his head dropping down until his lips touched the top of my ear.

"Hope you've got a plan," he muttered under his breath. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed his cheek before whispering back.

"Play along."

Letting go, I wrapped myself around one of his arms and turned towards the smirking women in front of us. "Guys," I began proudly, "This is mah brother, the other half of the Terror Twins and dang it if he ain't the best partner in crime a gal could have."

"Aw shucks, Tup," Connor rubbed the back of his neck with feigned embarrassment before dropping his arm and flashing the group a friendly smile."Mah name's Tommy; it's nice tah meet ya'll."

Glancing up at ice-woman, I batted my eyes flirtatiously. "Ah' know we're in the middle of a breakout and all, but Ah think Ah need to take Tommy here down the hall and properly showed him just how nice it is to see him again."

From the sharp scent of embarrassment emanating from the man next to me, I knew the bright red flush creeping up my human's cheeks was in no way faked.

"Oh go on," Ice-woman allowed with an amused roll of her eyes. "If everything's on track my counterparts on the other side of the prison should be able to break us out within an hour and half." Smirking as I dragged my 'brother' past the group, ice-woman called out again as we passed her by. "Just don't take too long or I might have to come back and check in on you."

"Promises, promises!" I called back with a smirk as we turned a corner. The second we were out of sight I stopped and dropped my silent partner's arm, sighing heavily and leaning against the wall.

"What the hell are we going to do?" I whispered, fully aware of how fucking screwed we were. Turning to face me, the half-Kryptonian scrubbed his face, equally stressed out over our predicament.

"I don't know. We can't fight off every single inmate of Belle Reve on our own, and M'gann isn't due to check in for another two hours; the inmates will have long since broken out before we could warn the others. If there's any hope of us stopping this, we have to get the collars back online. Speaking of which," he pointed to the powered down hunk of metal around my neck. "Want me to –?"

I tugged at the collar uncomfortably, but otherwise shook my head. "Gives me some plausible deniability if we get in a situation where someone expects me to use super-strength when I obviously can't."

"The collars are offline," he pointed out.

"Still, just in case. I can try saying mine's still somehow active." I shrugged helplessly.

Nodding, the blond watched me carefully for a moment; his face pale and the deep bruising under his eyes revealing just how much this experience had taken its toll on him.

"Look," I continued quietly, "Some of them have managed to take their collars off, but the majority hasn't. The collars are still the best chance we have of shutting this down in time – we can hold off the ones without collars if everyone else is out of commission. Still, if we can't get the collars back on then we need to have contingency plan."

"What contingency?"

"Ice-woman invited us to join whatever organization she's a part of. It wasn't in the initial mission parameters, but if we can't stop the breakout then maybe we should pretend to join until we can figure something else out."

"Find out more about whoever is helping them from the inside," Connor surmised. I nodded, biting my lip anxiously.

"It's really risky. The Terror Twin's files showed they really are very antisocial and pretty much kept to themselves, but I doubt they managed to avoid running into other villains completely. There's still a chance someone will figure out we aren't who we say we are."

"There's also our powers," the Kryptonian pointed out. "I have Tommy's strength, but while you're definitely stronger than the average human, you're stats aren't going to match up."

"True." I frowned. "But your guy was the flashier of the two; cameras never really caught Tuppence doing too much of the heavy-lifting. We might be able to get away with me using as much of my abilities as I can and maybe just say that I'm the smarts while you're the brawn of our team."

"I'm not stupid," he bit out with a scowl. I smiled and tilted my head at the cute reaction, feeling oddly refreshed.

"I agree; I think you're incredibly smart and your ability to improvise has impressed me on more than one occasion."

"Then –"

"But right now you aren't my hu – Connor," I interrupted. "Right now you're….."

"Tommy."

"Yeah, that guy," I waved off. Taking the amused twitch of his lips as a sign that he'd gotten over the perceived insult to his intelligence, I watched him seriously.

"So, what do you think?"

"You're right," he agreed with a sigh. "If the worst case scenario happens and we can't stop the breakout then we should try to at least find out who's helping them. Just," he let out a deep breath and shook his head. "Let's do everything we can to stop it from getting that far."

"Right," I nodded.

"If most of the concentration's on the main wall, then the control room shouldn't be too heavily guarded. If we can convince Junior to lead us there then we should be able to fight our way into the room and turn the collars back on."

"No powers means they can't break through the wall," I agreed. "But how're we going to get Ice-boy to lead us there?It'll look suspicious if we go by ourselves. I don't want to even contemplate trying to fight our way through the whole prison if we're found out, let alone manage to get there in time to keep everyone from escaping. I hate to admit it, but without him we're screwed."

Connor considered the problem for a moment. "Knowing him, we might just be able to –"

He cut off and we tensed at the sound of footsteps echoing down the prison. It was still a ways off, but we both knew not to take any chances. Reaching forward, I grabbed his uniform and tugged.

"Get over here," I whispered. Looking uncertain, he took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of me stiffly. Rolling my eyes, I tugged at the fabric again.

"They think we're, you know, together. Wrap your arms around me and put your face in my neck." Feeling slightly awkward myself, I wrapped an arm around his back, bringing the other one up to the back of his head while he followed my directions. We stayed there for a few seconds only to have the footsteps stop and start going back in the direction they'd come from. Tilting his head back up, we both looked down the hall apprehensively.

"They must not have come for us," Connor commented lowly, twisting his head to look at me. Copying the movement I looked back at him only to find myself swept away in the intensity of his gaze, distantly noting that I could look directly into his eyes without my wolf considering it a challenge. Feeling a soothing surge of warmth in my chest, my eyelids dropped until I was looking at him from beneath my eyelashes, his own darkening cobalt orbs following the movement with a fixated gleam. Off in the distance I heard the sound of footsteps coming back towards us, but instead of distracting from the moment it actually seemed to ignite what was happening between us.

Holding me tighter against him, Connor leaned down and firmly pressed his lips against mine, the kiss surprisingly soft and sweet. Clutching the rough orange cloth of his uniform, I pushed closer until our bodies were completely flushed together and tilted my head up; the motion smoothly deepening the exchange. For a long moment our lips moved against each other carefully until, in a move that both delighted and vaguely surprised me I felt is tongue dart forward and swipe against my own. Granting the access immediately, I couldn't stop a low moan from sliding out of me at the hypnotizing feeling of his tongue sliding over my own.

The footsteps finally reached us, the person behind them inhaling sharply.

"Whoa," we heard a male's voice exclaim loudly. "Dude,that's your sister!"

Breaking apart and breathing heavily, we both turned to look at the surprised Ice-boy gaping at us.

".…Hey buddy," Connor muttered awkwardly, shifting away from me. "We were, uh, just about to come look for ya."

xXx

---

xXx

"–So when my dad got a heads up that someone might try stopping the breakout form the inside, he decided to beef up security around the warden's office; even staying in the room himself for insurance," Ice-boy finished explaining as we made our way through the prison; the previous awkwardness from earlier gone after the teen's initial shock over finding us.

"Wait, your pa seriously thinks someone's gonna try stopping this?" I asked, giving him a confused look. "I thought all the guards were locked up or, you know….dead. Who the hell does he think's gonna stop us this late in the game?"

Glancing at me conspiratorially, Ice-boy leaned in to answer. "My dad got word that one of the prisoners on the women's side is some kind of mole; that she's got a deal going with the warden in exchange for a shorter sentence or something. Crazy, right?"

I felt my blood go cold and fought to keep the horror I was feeling from showing on my face.

"Yeah," I laughed it off, almost choking from how tight my throat felt. "That's gotta jus' be some kinda prison myth. Warden's too much of an uptight bitch to ever do somethin' like that."

Except, as I found out last night, she wasn't. Last night I'd been….shall we say strongly advised to join a program created by the governmentand implemented by the warden herself to try reducing the high rate of prison breakout attempts and inter-inmate murders. In exchange for a shorter sentence for 'Tommy' and me, I'd be her spy and foot soldier in the prison; working as part of a small group of female prisoners to keep her updated and the prison a little safer.

It was made clear pretty quickly that refusing her offer hadn't been an option.

"Ah can't believe your pa took a rumor like that seriously," Connor commented, casually pumping the teen for information. "Just how many guys does he have guardin' the office?"

"Thirty," Ice-boy answered with a roll of his eyes. "And it's seriously slowed down the time it'll take to break through the walls, too. It's going to take another half hour, which really puts us under the wire."

Mentally I reeled at the number, feeling my hope for a relatively injury-free day die completely. Seeing Connor's own expression of disbelief and knowing it was going to be nearly impossible to get to the control room now even with Ice-boy unknowingly helping us, I went with the first half-baked idea that came to me.

I caught Connor's eye, mouthing play along. Grabbing his hand, I put it on my arm and squeezed the hand around it meaningfully. His eyes widened when he figured out what I wanted to do and he minutely shook his head.

Please, I silently mouthed. I need to cry.

Glancing back at the teen in front of us, he grimaced unpleasantly and nodded. Say when.

Then he squeezed; his grip quickly growing tighter. I found myself wincing when he got close to breaking it, but despite the pain my eyes stayed dry. Seeing this, Connor let go and swallowed, looking down at my wrist miserably.

More? He mouthed, looking ill.

I nodded and he drew his arm back, his hand closed into a fist.

I'm sorry, I apologized; knowing how hard this was for him. Forcing myself not to let anything but a gasp out when his fist met my stomach, I felt tears immediately come to my eyes. It was a hard hit, one that left me wheezing and dropping to my knees as I cradled my stomach painfully.

"Tup?" I heard my human croak out, a powerful hit of self-loathing hitting my nose. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Is she alright?" I heard Ice-boy ask. Breathing shallowly, I looked up with a miserable face I didn't need to fake and sniffed.

"God, Ah – Ah'm so sorry….I never wanted to do it, but she made me!" I cried, looking up at the two of them. "Ah can't lie anymore, not to you; and especially not to mah own brother. The mole you were talking about, it – it's me."

"Wait, you're actually a mole?" Ice-boy asked in disbelief. "That was just supposed to be a rumor!"

"Ah'm sorry….Ah'm so, so sorry," I sobbed.

"Tuppence…." Connor trailed off, sounding shocked. "She would never do this on her own!" Connor defended, playing the protective brother. "What happened? Who made you do this?!"

"It – it was this woman and her gang," I confessed, hiccupping. "She found me last night in the showers; she made me join them – said she'd have me and mah brother killed if I didn't. I was doin' it to save you, I swear!" I cried, clutching at Connor's leg pleadingly.

"Whoa, hey; calm down!" Ice-boy tried soothing, crouching down to put a surprisingly gentle hand on my shoulder. "They threatened your brother, right? I would've done the same thing if they threatened my family."

I looked up in genuine surprise at his kindness, feeling an honest flash of guilt shoot through me at the forgiving expression on his face.

"Really?" I asked, suddenly wondering if my plan was going to fail because I'd underestimated how good a person the criminal in front of me was.

"Really," he confirmed with a nod. "I have to take you to my dad so he can find out what you know, but he's not a totally unreasonable guy. If you explain what happened and give him all the info you've got, I'll personally help protect you and your brother; even if it's from dad himself."

"Wow…." I breathed in awe. "Thank you. Ah promise, I'll tell him everythin' as soon as we get there." Looking around uncertainly, I leaned in. "Ah don't know who, but there's supposed to be another mole somewhere working to stop the breakout. If we don't hurry…." I trailed off nervously.

Connor and Ice-boy glanced at each other, nodding in determination.

"Let's go."

xXx

---

xXx

It ended up being a good plan, if I do say so myself. It might've worked too, if one of the patrolling prisoners Connor had helped incarcerate hadn't recognized him, forcing us to knock both him and Ice-boy out just around the corner from our goal.

Panting and feeling desperate at the scant few minutes we had left, if was my human's turn to come up with a reckless idea.

"I'll run and push through them with you on my back," he started. "And once you're in the room I'll fight them off while you reactivate the collars."

I stared at him, not sure if this idea had any real chance of working. "You're not the only one with strength, what if one of them stops you?"

"If we can push through deep enough I'll throw you the rest of the way."

"You're insane." I stared at him a moment, trying to comprehend what it was he wanted to do. There were too many people in there with too many unknown powers, and as much as I trusted Connor, I wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to throw me that far without breaking anything important like the computer we'd need to turn the collars on. Or my bones.

I thought for a minute, but unable to come up with anything that work in the time we had left, I sighed and mentally worked out the obstacles I'd face if I managed to make it to the room in one piece. "This might be one of the least-thought out ideas we've ever had. It's completely psycho that we're actually doing this, but I trust you."

We looked at each other for a second, knowing how dangerous, possibly even downright stupid this would be.

"Ready?" I asked, a part of me almost hoping he'd say no or somehow come up with another plan. Connor swallowed and jerked his head in a hard nod, his eyes revealing the uncertainty he refused to show otherwise.

"Let's do this."

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Author's Note

I really appreciate your support guys, thank you! It took me forever to upload this, sorry about that .

I really had to power through this one. I liked the ideas behind it, but man was it long and had a lot going on in a short period of time. I also have a tendency to jump around the story a lot, where I write chunks of story in different chapters as I get ideas or want hammer out details for the story; so I have stuff written in bits and pieces both in this season, the second season, and even a little bit for a third season of my own creation. Unfortunately this makes it that much harder to make myself sit down and write out one complete chapter, because I'm so used to a more ADD-style type of writing lol.

On the bright side, I already have half of the next chapter done because I wrote that out instead of working on this one :p

Some of you may have detected that I'm starting to change the timeline episode-wise and people's relationships more noticeably. This was done on purpose; I love YJ and I love the fanfics people have written about it but this is definitely an AU story, with timeline and character deviations becoming a LOT more noticeable as time goes on. Is it super necessary to switch "episodes" around like this so much? Maybe not, but it's a lot of fun for me and hopefully makes this a more memorable story for you.

After all, I want what any Fanfic writer wants; to share a different version of a beloved show and hope others like and remember the ideas put forth. I want to relive the joy I got from watching Young Justice that first time around by creating a new version of it for us all to explore.

This AN ran a little long, but thank you for sticking with me so far. I refuse to leave this story unfinished, and hope you'll stick around to see what else I have in store for some of our favorite teen superheroes.