Chapter 4

"Here!" cried Element Lad, bringing the others running to him. After weaving their way through innumerable corridors, countless robotic guards, members of the Fatal Five and the Legion of Supervillains, and at least ten empty rooms, they'd finally managed to locate the room where Saturn Girl was being held – and that was only because there was such a ruckus coming from inside that it masked (fortunately) Element Lad's rather loud call. But it didn't hide the unmistakable cry that was Saturn Girl's voice.

Cosmic Boy didn't even think – he simply lifted the metal door off its hinges, revealing a confusing chaos.

Inside, Saturn Girl was strapped to a table, her wrists and ankles bound with metal links. Her eyes were barely open, and her body was tense. Surrounding her was what appeared to be a transparent, glowing bubble, which was pushing Esper, Tyr, Tharok, Mano, and Emerald Empress away, and diverting their attention from the Legionnaires, whose exclamations of surprise, anger, amazement, and shock mingled with the shouts of the villains.

Then the bubble, which they recognized as a force field, flickered and vanished as Saturn Girl went limp.

Fear and anger coursed through Lightning Lad as he fired a bolt of lightning toward the group of villains. Around him, he saw his teammates attacking as well. Bouncing Boy, Element Lad, and Dream Girl were fighting Tyr; Phantom Girl and Timber Wolf were battling Tharok as Cosmic Boy and Matter-Eater Lad confronted Emerald Empress; Chameleon Boy was tackling Mano – and Lightning Lad's electric bolt hit Esper square in the chest.

It was a quick battle – it was over as quickly as it had started. The villains, taken by surprise and outnumbered two to one, were overcome quickly. The Legionnaires might have provided a one-way ticket back to Takron Galtose for the five supervillains there and then, had it not been for the deficient condition of Saturn Girl, who was not responding to anything the Legionnaires did.

"We've got to get her to sick bay", Cosmic Boy said, trying in vain to revive his co-founder.

"What about them?" Matter-Eater Lad asked, glancing toward the floor where the five villains lay unconscious.

"Forget them, Saturn Girl's condition isn't good", said Dream Girl, checking the telepath's vitals. "Help me out here", she said to Lightning Lad and Timber Wolf. Timber Wolf immediately prepared to support Saturn Girl, but Lightning Lad got there first, lifting her up bridal style.

"You got her?" asked Timber Wolf.

"Yeah, I got her. Now let's get out of here!"

"Was it just me", began Chameleon Boy, as they hurried out the way they came, "or was Saturn Girl generating a force field when we came in?"

"Not the time, Cham!" Phantom Girl cried. She kicked one of the robot guards as she rushed past him. "We've got to get out of here before we're surrounded by bad guys", she said.

"Hearing you loud and clear", agreed Bouncing Boy.

They forced their way back to their two cruisers, battling robots in the winding corridors. As they finally made it out the front door, there were at least fifty robots hot on their trail.

"Let's hope they can't fly", said Timber Wolf, as he and the others rose through the air. Fortunately, they couldn't. The robots remained on the ground, staring up at the airborne Legionnaires. Then they turned abruptly and disappeared back into the building. The Legionnaires thought this was a bad sign, but they didn't have time to think on that; Saturn Girl was barely breathing.

"We've got to get her stabilized", Dream Girl declared, rushing about the sick bay on the cruiser Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Phantom Girl, and Timber Wolf had come on.

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Lightning Lad demanded.

"Exhaustion", Dream Girl replied, hooking Saturn Girl up to a heart monitor. "That force field she was generating when we got to her took almost all the energy she had left. She barely has enough to stay alive."

"What did they do to her?" Phantom Girl wanted to know. "What could have forced her to create a force field?"

"It doesn't matter", said Dream Girl. "She needs rest if she's going to recover."

"If?" Lightning Lad repeated.

"She'll be out of it for a while, but she should make a full recovery" - Dream Girl paused – "physically. Mentally, I can't really tell. There are no marks on her, so whatever the Eye was doing, it was doing it to her mind. That might have been what triggered the force field. It could have been an attempt by Saturn Girl's mind to protect itself."

"You don't happen to have had any dreams about this, do you?" asked Lightning Lad.

Dream Girl was silent for a while before she answered quietly, "One."

"And what was in it?" inquired Lightning Lad, who was trying to keep his temper from rising until he heard the whole story. It was hard, though, seeing as it concerned Saturn Girl.

"I – I dreamed about the kidnapping…" Dream Girl began.

"And you didn't give us any warning?" bellowed Lightning Lad.

"…right before you called to say she was missing." Dream Girl looked up. "About an hour before, to be exact. There was no one at Legion HQ, and I couldn't get your signal rings."

Lightning Lad forced himself to calm down. "Okay. Sorry", he apologized. "So…" he glanced at Saturn Girl's still form. "How long until she wakes up?"

"I can't tell", said Dream Girl. "I'm not exactly sure how much energy she'll need before she can regain consciousness. A day, at the very least. For now, let her sleep. She needs it."

Lightning Lad and Dream Girl moved Saturn Girl to the sick bay in Legion HQ, where it was safer – if only slightly. Then Cosmic Boy assigned Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy, Star Boy, Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, and Matter-Eater Lad into two teams to gather as much information as they could about the Fatal Five's and the LSV's actions while he, Lightning Lad, Timber Wolf, Dream Girl, Bouncing Boy, and Element Lad remained behind as a home defense.

Once the others had left, Cosmic Boy sat down on a couch and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's with the big sigh, Cos?" inquired Lightning Lad.

"I'm glad we got to Rawl before it was too late", Cosmic Boy answered, after a brief hesitation.

"Yeah, me too." Lightning Lad felt a bit awkward. He and Cosmic Boy had their differences, but they were still best friends, and their tie as founders kept them together. And Saturn Girl was one of the few things they had in common. They both cared deeply for her.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"Now", said Cosmic Boy grimly, "We get the person who's behind this and put him, the Fatal Five, and the LSV in Takron Galtose for good."

The voices floated in her mind as she processed what they were saying. She wondered why she hadn't been able to hear them before. Usually she heard everything.

"…can't find anything", a voice she recognized as Chameleon Boy's answered. "…looked everywhere…"

The sentences were fragmented; she only heard bits and pieces. She was only sure of a warm hand enveloping hers.

"…been three days…sure she's…no idea…behind this all…"

Different voices, different words. Yet all familiar, and all with the same urgency. What's going on? she wondered.

"…call you back later…"

Well, there was only one way to find out. Telepathy could only get you so far. Saturn Girl opened her eyes. She was in the sick bay, but she was stationary, which meant she was not in a cruiser. In the room were Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl…and Lightning Lad, who, though his eyes were focused on Cosmic Boy, was holding her hand.

"…got nothing to work with except –"

Saturn Girl gave Lightning Lad's fingers a little squeeze and interrupted him mid-sentence.

With a startled yelp, the Winathian looked down and, seeing she was awake, broke into a wide smile.

"Finally", he said. "Welcome back, Saturn Girl."

"Feeling better?" Cosmic Boy asked as he scooted over. She smiled and nodded, and tried to get up, but Lightning Lad held her down, shaking his head.

"Nuh-uh", he said. "Wait a bit before you get up, okay?"

"It's about time", Dream Girl said. "I was beginning to get a bit worried. Move over, Lightning Lad", she added, pushing him away. "I need to check her." Lightning Lad obeyed, but still remained close.

After a complete physical evaluation, Dream Girl declared, "You're fine. Feel all right?"

"Yes", Saturn Girl replied, not missing the way Lightning Lad beamed as he heard her voice. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days", answered Cosmic Boy.

"Three days?" Saturn Girl exclaimed, attempting to sit up again but being restrained by Lightning Lad once more.

"Yes, three days", he said. "And if you don't stop trying to get up, you'll be in here longer. Just lie down for a while, will you? You've been through a lot."

"Saturn Girl", began Cosmic Boy warily, "I hate to have to ask this, but…what exactly happened?"

"Not now, Cos", Lightning Lad said firmly. "Can't you see she's just –" He stopped as he saw Saturn Girl frown. "Saturn Girl? What's wrong?"

"What happened?" Cosmic Boy repeated his question, evicting a glare from Lightning Lad.

Saturn Girl looked at him seriously. "I – I don't know. I can't remember."

A/N: Yet another cliffy! Well, I did warn you. Thanks to The Violet Rose, xXKazaneXx, and Lillywhitecherub for reviewing on the last chapter. As for the rest of you who're reading this, all you have to do is click that button below and write a few words. It's a great way to put in your own two cents. Starting today, I'm accepting any ideas you guys might have for the sequel to The Threat of the Ruby, and putting them in a review is also an excellent means of getting it to me.

Disclaimer: Arghh! This is only the fourth time and I'm already getting fed up with this. Here's great way to know I don't own this: If I did, I wouldn't be getting annoyed with the necessity for disclaimer because I wouldn't need one!