I don't own Young Justice.

A/N: I'm back. Sorry about the sporadic updates. I reallyhave been trying, but life just gets busy. School, church, etcetera. Then writer's block. It's all so frustrating. Here is this update. I made it longer to hopefully make it up.

Read. Review. Enjoy.

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The figure nearly landed on Alex, missing him only by the last minute side step of my brother. He turned around swiftly, poised to attack.

His name was Gerald. He was a friend of ours, who had gone missing on an escape attempt, and was supposed to be dead. The story goes that he had been chopped up in the air ducts and they didn't try to remove his pieces.

He didn't say anything, only looked at us. He had a cybernetic eye and robotic left forearm. He crouched, ready to pounce. We prepared, and soon he was on top of us.

Alex knocked him out of the air with a shot to his stomach. Gerald recovered quickly, running at Alex. Again my brother prepared himself, and braced up as an on flux of punches came upon him. He grabbed both of Gerald's arms to stop him, being the stronger of the two. I could hear Gerald whimper as Alex crushed his wrists.

Somehow, Gerald found a way to free his hands, using his advantage to freeze my brother's face and throwing him off balance.

"This is all your fault," he mumbled under his breath.

He went in to charge before I intervened with a blast of my own. It wasn't enough to really hurt him, more to annoy him. He turned his attention toward me, as I wanted. Running towards me, I braced myself for my next move. As he swung his cybernetic hand down at me, I waited until the last second to slide under his legs. He was unable to turn around quick enough, so I jumped on his shoulders and flipped him over using our momentum, landing him flat on his back.

I jumped in the air to give my hit more force. As I came toward him, he used his legs to propel me off course and landing me against a nearby tree. I sat there stunned, knowing that he would not hesitate. He was doing pretty good for a dead man. I tensed up as I saw the attack coming. When I looked back up, Alex had charged Gerald and they had again engaged in combat.

I watched as hits were passed between the two, Alex dodging most. He then began to throw his own punches, repeatedly attacking his face, leaving his abdomen wide open. Using his energy, he shot Gerald in the stomach, sending him back cringing. Alex then swept his legs from underneath him. As Gerald laid on his back he narrowly avoided the crushing blow Alex was sending to his head.

Gerald stood quickly, jumping on my brother's back and placing him in a chokehold.

"This is all your fault," he repeated over and over again. I could see Alex frantically searching for a way out before he passed out from lack of air. He reached around him grabbing on to Gerald's shirt. Pulling up, he flipped his attacker over his back.

Unable to attack due to lack of air, Gerald exploited my brother's weakness, and froze him to the ground.

"This is all your fault," he repeated again, "Now you get what you deserve."

He was going to kill my brother, and I couldn't sit around and let that happen. I balanced myself on the tree to let the dizziness pass. With a flick of my wrist, the energy passed through my body and hit Gerald directly in the head. As I watched the scene transpire before me, I was reminded of the last scene at the cave. When Artemis had tried to save me.

As the memory flashed through my head, excrutiating pain stemming from my neck spread its way through my entire body. The cloud that shrouded my thinking was lifted once again as the scene repeatedly played in my head. I gripped the tree behind me as I got my bearings. As I looked up, I saw Alex on top of Gerald. The tables had turned and he was going to kill him.

"It is not my fault you weren't adequate enough to escape. But its too bad that they didn't kill you. Looks like now I have to finish the job," Alex told him.

His hand launched to Gerald's throat, ready to smash the trachea. I don't know how I was able to get over there so fast, but I had, and it saved Gerald's life.

Alex looked at me clearly confused. His hand caught in mine right before he could injure his prey.

"What are you doing?" he yelled.

"You can't kill him."

"Watch me."

He yanked his arm from my grip and threw me to the other side of the room. By this time, Gerald had recovered and was able to stand up for himself again.

I didn't know what to do. The chip in my neck was obviously causing me to struggle for my own thoughts, and the one in Alex's neck was causing him to think irrationally. I watched again as my brother went back and forth with Gerald when I heard a creaking noise above me. I moved to avoid the wall that was crashing to the ground that could clearly crush me.

As I looked to see what was going on a whooshing sound passed my ear. Instinctively, I touched my ear and as I examined my fingers I realized this thing in the wall grazed my ear and probably could've killed me if this was the intent. Which left me with a paralyzing thougt: I wasn't alone, and someone here was trying to kill me.

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THIRD PERSON POV

The Light sat in their meeting room on the opposite side of the compound. They all watched as the girl was separated from her brother. Currently she was being beaten by those who occupied the same space.

"She's not as strong as we first believed, is she Martian?" Vandal Savage asked.

Silence ensued from B'rnazz. He knew what Savage was trying to do and wouldn't fall for it. But a second calling of his name forced his hand.

"Martian?"

"It doesn't seem so, but she's fighting two people." he answered reluctantly.

"And what does that have to do with personal strength?"

Again B'rnazz was silent.

"Answer when spoken to Ingrate," Ra's Al Ghul growled.

With a sideways glance, B'rnazz answered. "No one is able to fight at full capacity when fighting two people. It is extremely difficult to win when you're on defense the whole time."

"But not impossible. Never have I let two people defeat me in a stand off. The fact she can't isn't her fault, but a reflection of her teaching."

Ra's was eyeing B'rnazz, letting his response resonate.

"Perhaps you should have taught her then if it is so simple for a master such as yourself. However even a master such as yourself cannot admit that defeating an adversary can be done if you must defend yourself the entire fight. Don't deny it, I have seen even you struggle when the odds aren't in your favor. Isn't that right Ra's?"

B'rnazz responded. He knew he was angering his superior, but he didn't care.

"Don't you dare patro-" Ra's began.

"Ra's." Vandal Savage was stern. This childish feud wasn't important. They had further business to attend to.

"Suppose everything you have said to this point is true Martian. Then why did the two not kill G-571?" Queen Bee wondered.

B'rnazz knew he was in the hot seat. But he couldn't avoid it.

"Faulty technology."

"Lächerlich, this technology was foolproof. I designed it myself. It is not my fault that you're too much of an incapable incompetent bottom feeder to complete your task," Dr. Wellsworth intervened. B'rnazz eyed the doctor down.

"Don't become to bold Doctor. My previous statement still holds true."

"Lay a finger on him, and I will finish what I started," Ra's jumped in. It had been he who had taken B'rnazz's eye, and demanded him back while recapturing the siblings. He held his tongue, bidding his time until he could exact his revenge.

"It is impossible that the equipment failed. It's Lex Corp; state of the art. It CAN'T fail," Luthor stated, clearly upset that someone would suggest his work inadequate.

"Even state of the art can malfunction Luthor,"

"This still doesn't excuse the fact that these children have been unable to kill their target even under our control," Queen Bee was growing tired of this Martian beating around the bush. She and all the others knew that he was hiding something.

"Yeah," Klarion began. "The only reason Teekl and I came was to see some death. But I don't think these test subjects know how."

"I have taught Alex and Vanessa everything I was instructed to teach. However, these children want to naturally do good. No matter how much I teach them what to do, if their will power is stronger, no mind control will hold them back."

"I believe there is more to it than that. There are no emotions clouding your judgement are there Martian?" Wellsworth jumped in.

"The doctor has a point. You wouldn't happen to care for these weapons would you?" Savage asked.

"Absolutely not!" he answered a little too quickly. "They have and will always be a job. I could care less for their well being. However, if you don't wish to lose one, I suggest the good doctor turn his control off."

They all looked at the screen as Vanessa was about to have her life ended.

"Turn the kill code off Doctor," Savage asked, growing tired of the Martian charade.

"Have you taught these children to kill?" Luthor asked point blank.

"As I said, I have taught them everything I was instructed to teach."

"Then why haven't they killed anyone yet?" Ra's was losing his patience.

"Their good natured will won't allow them to do so."

"And that's the problem. A will can only be broken with fear, something you have clearly failed to instill. Even the youngest and least skilled of my assassins knows not to cross me; afraid of even a wrong look. Even they who are clearly incapable of killing would have slaughtered these subjects in a matter of minutes."

"Then perhaps they should have trained the two. Or maybe that slave you call daughter could have if they are as good as you say."

"Have the two seen you kill someone?" Savage intervened.

A pause came before B'rnazz answered. "No."

Ra's could hold back no more.

"Then that is our mistake. We trusted an incompetent wench to do a simple job, but it seems even he couldn't do that correctly. These children have no experience because their teacher has no experience."

"Then maybe I should get sone first hand."

"Oh please try me."

"Ra's!" Savage tried to bring him back, but this was long coming. The tension had been broken and the two were brawling.

B'rnazz delivered most of the punches, molding himself into serpents and dragons to gain the upperhand in this battle of wills. He grabbed the Demon several times, but each resulted in a stunning blow to some weak part of his body. Ra's was never shaken, pulling out his sword striking the Martian in many vulnerable places.

B'rnazz wrapped his arms around Ra's neck, constricting until he could hear the hampered breath of his adversary.

"Is this experience enough for you?" he growled out.

Without a word, Ra's sent his legs into B'rnazz abdomen in an effort to regain his breath.

B'rnazz tumbled backwards. Ra's took the opportunity to finish him off, throwing his ever ready blade at B'rnazz's head. Had the Martian not looked up in time, it would have cost him his head. The sword landed to the right side of his chest, barely missing the heart.

B'rnazz cringed at the pain, unable to recover quick enough to defend himself against Ra's next attack. Ra's ran and used his foot to lodge the sword into the Martian's body until it broke through on the other side. The alien shuddered as he looked at the projectile sticking out his chest. But his look of fear was followed by maniacle laughter. He allowed the sword to clang on the ground as he became intangible.

"What's the matter Ra's? Can't defeat a wretch like me? And you call yourself a master."

B'rnazz ran to try and finish his enemy, but found himself restricted by the combined efforts of Ra's Al Ghul's friends. He struggled to break free, but each was using their special ability to retain him.

Ra's stood before him, grinning.

"No one defeats me."

He moved out the way in order to allow Queen Bee through. She caressed his face.

"Why don't you stop fighting us and do as we say."

B'rnazz knew she was trying to control him with her pheremones.

"That's not going to work on me. I'm not those simple minded men you overwhelm. Allow me to show you why."

B'rnazz entered her mind. A shriek followed, and Queen Bee laid unconscious on the floor. He then turned to Ra's with an evil smile. Soon he was in the mind of the one of the most feared men on the planet.

"You're on my plane now. Let me show you what I can do."

Projectiles flew toward the master, each carefully dodged. But B'rnazz was relentless, not letting up until he saw Ra's surrender or defeated. Ra's knew this too, and while he was quite able to control his mind, he knew this battle was out of his element, and after too long, he would be defeated. But the Demon was nothing without a plan of attack.

Before Queen Bee had tried to subdue the Martian, Ra's had told Psimon to be ready. He knew B'rnazz would try and attack his mind especially with his success over his pathetic colleague. Now as B'rnazz was especially focused on him Psimon struck, seeming to tear his mind apart.

In the physical realm, B'rnazz cried out as he fell to the ground at Ra's feet, unresponsive. Ra's looked from him to his fellow members of the Light, each in a slight state of shock.

"Psimon you imbecile! We still need him," Savage roared as he grabbed him by his neck, lifting him off the ground.

Ra's spoke up. "He's not dead, and he's not catatonic. I had Psimon to reset his mind. Whatever feelings he had for those children are gone and his moral values are once again aligned with ours."

Ra's helped Queen Bee to her seat. As she sat down B'rnazz began to stir from the floor.

"Katchhhhaa, s'nomoth… K'azzar B'rnazz? N'da M'arzz," he mumbled in his native tongue, clutching his head.

"B'rnazz."

He looked up at the sound of his name, a brief look of terror as he realized who had called it. The Demon helped B'rnazz up.

"Are you alright?" Savage asked.

"K'azzar," he started before correcting himself. "Yes, but what happened?"

Ra's took over. "You were reading the girl's mind when you became unconscious. But now that you are capable again, apprehend her and her brother."

B'rnazz stared at the screen, a sudden sense of hate bubbling over.

"And if you fail, know, punishment will follow."

"Yes sir," he answered, his voice wavering slightly.

He was going to find these kids and they were going to pay for his suffering.

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VANESSA POV (FIRST PERSON)

I quickly ducked, more sharp objects coming at me with deadly accurate precision. I ran into the forest, hoping it would provide me with extra cover. Finding a crevice that provided good protection, I sat and let my mind analyze what was going on.

Someone was trying to kill me. Their motive was unknown. Maybe someone knew that I knew the identities of the Team. It was possible, but unlikely. Perhaps they just wanted my unbridled power. That was a more plausible cause, but I still couldn't figure out what the purpose behind that would be. It didn't matter. Whoever it was was trying to eliminate me and had the marksman skills of an archer. No one I had seen before had precision like that except... Artemis.

My mind went back to the moment she was stabbed. The look on her face not just horror, but shock at the betrayal, and it was all my fault.

I was forced to push the guilt out of my head as another projectile came flying by my face, taking some of the skin with it. I tried to run the opposite way when I ran square into my attacker. It was the same face that had comforted me several days ago. It was Sierra.

"Sierra, it's me. Keep the fight going. Remember? Gave me that rock?"

None of this was seeming to ring any bells. She stared down at me without a word, a cold glare sending a chill running down my back. She reached for the tree branch that hung by her head. It morphed into a sharp, javelin like weapon. She pulled her arm back ready to throw it at me. I began to run. She had to be under some kind of mind control like Alex was. At least, that's what I hoped.

The javelin caught my shirt in the wind and pinned me to a tree. I ripped it in order to get away, and not two seconds later, another javelin came hurling toward the spot my head had been located.

I ran back into the open area. At least there, I would be a harder target to hit. I looked behind to make sure I wasn't followed, and sure enough, there was no sign of Sierra. But I knew that she could still get to me if she needed to. I kept running though as this was my best option. Suddenly, my feet were seemingly stuck in place causing me to almost fall over. I tried to lift them, but the weight had increased tremendously on them.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see both Derek and Sierra approaching me from the brush. I was a goner because there was no place for me to run.

"Please don't do this guys. We're friends remember?"

Again, nothing was registering in either of them. Derek changed my body density again, and I was lying flat on the ground. Sierra came in front of me and grabbed a blade of grass, morphing it into a dagger. She raised her arm ready to kill me, intensity in her eyes. I waited as I silently accepted my fate, but the blade never came. I looked up, and it was as if some invisible force was keeping her from killing me.

I had to get out of this. I concentrated my energy on Derek. An explosion violently ripped from my body and landed in full fury on Derek. He was down quickly, releasing the crushing hold that pinned me to the ground.

Sierra was stunned. She lunged at me, and the surprise caused me to release more energy at the wall. It ricocheted, hitting the large tree limb above us, amputating it from the trunk. Gravity took its course, and the limb landed right on Sierra's back. She was out instantly.

I sighed in relief as I saw both threats unconscious. But my work was far from done. I had to get Alex out, and we had to find our way back to the Team. Derek began coming to as I planned my escape.

He looked around clearly confused. When he laid eyes on Sierra though, he changed quickly from dazed to alert.

"Derek, what's wrong?" I asked.

"The tree could have broke the rod in her back and killed her. Help me move it."

I quickly rushed over to his side as we rolled the tree branch off Sierra's back. She too began to stir.

She looked around, confused at first, but soon became satisfied with what she saw. She tried to sit up, but cried out in pain. Derek immediately helped. Sierra waved him off as she readjusted herself so she could get up.

"Nice shot kid," was all she said. She stood up, but quickly tumbled only remaining standing only because of Derek's help."My left leg. I can't move it. No worries to you Van, but it might have been that branch you used to stop me. Probably knocked something off landing square on my back like that."

She smiled to try and ease my guilt, but it didn't work. She tried again to move it and put weight on it, but with the same results.

She looked at my downtrodden face. "No need to pout about it. I've had worse. Now how are we getting out of here?"

"I hadn't exactly gotten that far."

"Great. I think I can help you. Derek, make that wall less dense. Vanessa, I want you to make a boundary around these." She turned more plant matter into weapons and flung then at the wall, creating a guideline for me.

Derek and I both did as instructed, and in no time the "door" was created. Well at least the threshold.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Yeah. Are we gonna kick it down, or wait, abracadabra and it's gonna magically open right?" Derek stated, sarcasm clearly laced throughout.

Sierra ignored his tomfoolery and began to hobble her way to the "door" we just created. As she approached, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was then Derek realized what she was going to do.

"Sierra. I was kidding about kicking it down. You can't do this. Especially with your leg the way it is."

"Just get ready to help me when I'm finished." She suddenly became angry. "I can do it fine on two legs, and if she could do it with her life running down her leg, then what excuse do I have?"

She again stood before the door, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she reopened them after several seconds, she focused on the door.

"Deandra," she whispered.

Derek nudged me. I hadn't even realized she had spoken. "What?" I asked.

"Deandra. That was my roommate's name. You asked who she was at the table, but I wasn't ready to... overcome my grief yet." She glanced sideways at me and I nodded. I knew how much it meant for her to tell me, so I was grateful.

She returned her focus back to the door. And without warning, she jumped straight into the air with her right leg, extended, and pushed the door, sending her momentum backwards. She would've come crahsing down if it hadn't been for Derek. After she had recovered we ran through.

What we found on the other side were the two boys still going at it, but it seemed they were both tiring out.

"Gerald?" Derek asked in surprise. "He's dead isn't he?"

"I'm not surprised. The scientist here aren't keen on ethics. Now we need to get Alex and get you two out of here." Sierra commanded.

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Go find your brother. Derek and I will find a way out. When you get Alex, come back here."

I nodded and took off. It didn't take long to find them. All I had to do was follow the sound of the struggle. As they fought, Alex began firing at Gerald, with Gerald firing back. Steam was created, growing thicker with each passing moment. Soon I couldn't see Alex and resorted to shouting his name.

"Alex!" I shouted.

No response. I called it again, and this time I was met with a fully charged blast in my face.

"You again."

"Alex, we need to get out of here."

"No. Not until I kill Gerald."

"You can't."

"And why not?"

"This isn't you."

"No! Why can't I kill him? Every time I get close, I can't end his life."

"Because you're good. You're letting those big bad bozos control you. You have never let anyone do that since we've been here. And if you let them start now, I truly have lost my hero. You know this is wrong. That's why you can't kill Gerald. Now let's just get out of here before something else goes wrong."

It took him a while to register all I had said. At first, it looked as if he was going to blow me off and just walk away. But to my surprise, he nodded as if he understood, but as we started running, Alex went down, clutching his neck. It was the device. Soon he was met with a slab of ice connecting him to the tree directly behind us. I personally was tired of Gerald. I went to fight him. I knew I wasn't as good a fighter as Alex, but he would still have a hard time with me.

As we engaged in battle, Alex remained frozen to the tree. But unbeknownst to me, he had grown angry, at what, I don't know. But soon I heard a loud snap behind me. Both Gerald and I looked back to see what it was. He pushed past me. He was radiating a lot of heat and was still glowing, so I know he used his super strength to get out.

He went straight for Gerald, pushing me clear out the way.

"Alex, don't kill him."

He turned and looked at me with a knowing look. He then glanced up. Before I could react, the tree had landed on him and Gerald.

"Alex!" I yelled.

I ran over to him and tried my best to use my healing powers to wake him back up, but to no avail. I resorted to slapping him, softly at first, but with no response, I began going harder. Derek came over looking for us. Apparently he and Sierra had finished.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Help me get this tree up."

He used his powers to lighten it. I tried to pick it up, but not being as strong as Alex was putting me at a disadvantage. That's when I heard rustling. I nearly dropped the tree. But as I turned to face the noise, I saw it coming from underneath me.

Alex had started to stir. Derek gave me the signal to release the tree. I knelt down beside my brother.

"You saved me. I thought you were going to kill Gerald, but..."

He put his hand up to stop me. He glanced in Derek's direction, gesturing in my direction before giving him a nod of approval. He turned back to look at me.

"You need to go with them."

I guess the tree hadn't knocked all the sense into him.

"I'm not leaving you. Never, and especially not now."

"Vanessa, you need to go. You have to get out of here."

I really didn't want to leave him, especially not now. If I escaped on my own the guilt alone would kill me, not to mention the fact I couldn't survive on my own. No, he needed to come with me.

"I will be behind you. Vanessa, go, please." He was pleading with me, and as much as I didn't like what he was telling me, I had to listen. I stepped over him and started toward where Sierra was when a chill ran down my back.

"Leaving so soon? You haven't gotten your punishment yet. And trust me, it is long overdue."

I turned around, but I didn't have to to know it was B'rnazz. I ran. I couldn't let him catch me, but I was stopped. Frozen in place, but just as suddenly as I was frozen, I was unfrozen. I turned back yet again to see what had happened. Derek had started fighting him, breaking his concentration on me.

"Out of my-" I heard B'rnazz begin to growl. He had been cut off by Sierra and her expert marksmen skills. They were all the distraction Alex and I needed. Somehow, he had managed to work his way from under the tree, and he was now trying to sneak away. With B'rnazz still engaged with our friends we were going to get away again. And this time for good.

Sierra and Derek had made a hole in the wall for us to escape from. I was about to jump through when a loud cry broke out from behind me.

"That's it!" B'rnazz yelled. He threw Sierra and Derek off of him. I knew if didn't make a move now, it would be too late.

I jumped for, it hoping Alex was behind me, but not looking to check. Underneath me was a giant body of water. I looked for something to try and make a raft from on my way down, but nothing was accessible. I was nearly in diving range when a sharp pain came through my head. I could barely concentrate enough to dive correctly. As I hit the water, some of the wind was knocked out of me. Water rushed into my body as the pain in my head increased.

I wasn't supposed to go out like this, but at least the nightmare was over. I closed my eyes in pain for the last time.