Author's Notes:

I am very sorry this one took so long to post. My lengthy explanation will take place at the end of the chapter. Please R&R and enjoy...

Superman, Warhawk, Batman and Batgirl arrived at the JLU Tower three minutes after Superman and Batgirl's fight on the roof. Upon their arrival, they promptly had Coba put on a short yet long roll-around table with an oxygen mask over her face and asked Aquagirl to take care of her wounds. Following the wounded girl's previous instructions, Batman carefully dumped the starfish-like creature into a twenty-gallon tank half full of water with a large rock inside for the creature to surface at any time and covered the top with a very heavy lid that was mostly made of wire mesh to allow air to flow into the tank. The entire team gathered in the same room they had been in earlier when Superman announced the arrival of the two Bats.

"How did you survive the blast?" Barda inquired Warhawk.

Warhawk's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't in the armor. I was operating it by remote. That's the only reason I'm not dust right now."

"Very shrewd," Kai-Ro remarked, "not like you."

"You're right, it's not like me." The metal-clad hero grinned, softened his gaze, and gestured to Coba, who was still sitting on the table, recovering from her wounds. "It's more like this young warrior sitting right in front of us."

"This runt," Barda said in disbelief: "a warrior? I don't buy it."

"She proved that she's more of a warrior than any of us are, Barda, including you," Warhawk said spitefully, his eyes narrowing once more in agitation. "And don't talk about her that way. She saved all of us tonight, and was nearly killed in doing so."

Barda snorted. "Her being nearly killed was her own doing! If she's so smart, she should've known it was suicide to try to face Superman."

"She did know," Warhawk spat, "but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was willing to die if it meant buying time for us to regroup." He glared icily at Barda. "I've never seen or heard of you doing that for any of us—or for anyone, for that matter."

Although the large woman was fuming with rage, she bowed her head and closed her eyes in defeat. She knew Stewart was right.

"Tell me something," Batman said. "Not to be disrespectful to my own sister, but what made you decide to listen to her and get out of the armor?"

"The emergency call," Warhawk answered, "and Batgirl and me being the only ones who got it. With everything that had been happening around here I got suspicious, Batgirl especially. I told them both—" he getured to Terry and Coba— "not to tag along, but they disobeyed." He grinned fondly. "I like that."

All of the League members, including Barda, grinned with approval at the two Bats. Terry was too stunned by the metal-clad hero's words to respond, but Coba remained composed despite her own shock. Oh hey, another way to make friends! she thought, stifling a smile.

Warhawk turned to Superman. "The floor's yours, Kal-El," he said quietly.

"Thank you," Superman said respectfully. He glanced at each of the members of the League. "As you all may know," he informed them, "I have not been myself lately—or for quite a few years. In my fight with Batgirl, she managed to defeat me and remove that creature—" he gestured to the tank containing the starfish-like being— "from my chest. I don't know much about what it's been doing with me, but here's what I do know about it.

"In my earlier days, I was once captured by the Preserver, who collected lifeforms from all over the galaxy. I managed to escape from my cell and fought him until the door for the ship's loading deck opened up, sucking him out into space. There were many creatures aboard the ship. After returning as many creatures as I could to their home planets, there was still a great number of them that had no where to go, including the starfish creature that I call Starro. I decided to keep them at the Fortress of Solitude. Although it's not a very free life, it's much better than the containers they had been kept in aboard the Collector's ship.

"Years later, I was in Starro's 'environment,' giving him food as I had every morning, when he suddenly jumped at me. He grabbed a hold of my head. I tried to pull him off, but my mind suddenly went blank, and I now recall feeling something slither down to my chest. He's been controlling me for about seven years. Because of how powerful I am, I suppose."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "But why would he wait until now to act out about it?" he inquired.

Superman was about to respond when Coba suddenly removed her oxygen mask and answered for him. "Starro's been using him to help reproduce more creatures of his species over those years. He's been planning to take over the world with them, and just recently his plan has become ready to act upon."

"How do you even know that?" Barda asked suspiciously.

Batgirl coolly pulled out a small device from her right glove. "Indestructible animal communicator," she explained. "I've been talking to Starro quietly in his native tongue for the past half-hour, asking him about his plans. His language turns out to not be too different from a weak person talking through an oxygen mask."

"It's true," Marina confirmed. "I over heard part of the conversation myself while I was cleaning her wounds. She had the mask on the entire time she spoke with him."

Kal looked at Coba curiously. "Where exactly in the Fortress did he say his offspring are?" he interrogated.

"In a cave he had you create with your laser vision," Coba answered. "It's at the end of the main corridor."

"Thanks." Superman turned to the rest of the League. "We move out now," he said urgently. "There's no telling when we may be too late." He noticed Brooklyn trying to stand up, but she fell back painfully. He softened his gaze considerably, feeling sympathetic for her. "Batgirl, I think it will be best if you and Batman stay here."

"You'll have to take at least one of us," Coba said quickly in an urgent tone, trying to hide her pain. "We're the only ones with an electric field built into our suits."

Barda raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, that is the main way to stop them from attacking and trying to control us," Coba explained solemnly. "You're right to try to leave me here: I'll only slow you down with my condition. But you have to take Batman, otherwise..." She shuddered at the sudden feeling that overwhelmed her senses. "Otherwise your mission would be for nothing." Knowing she was done talking for a little while, she placed the oxygen mask back over her face to help catch her breath.

Superman knew Batgirl was not trying to guilt-trip him, but that she was really just stating the grim facts. However, there was something she did not catch on to. "Your health's not the only reason I want you to stay behind," he said gravely. "Earlier I had attempted to kill you and Warhawk twice, and you placed your life on the line to save him and the rest of the team. I deeply admire your courage, for it is as great as that of the first Batman, but the trouble I've put you through is more than enough. I'd hate to put your brother through the same."

"Actually," Terry piped up, "it would be best if you did." All of the League members looked at him in surprise. "I'm serious. For one thing, the way she just shuddered indicated that she had just foreseen something that can endanger your lives. For another, it'll help me and her to better understand each other if we've been through similar things." Like losing a parent, being captured by Inque to get yourself and those you love killed...

"Alright, it's settled then." The Man of Steel looked at each member. "Batman's coming with us," he announced. "We leave in five minutes."

"And we're leaving that creature here too, right?" Barda inquired, pointing at Starro.

"Exactly," Superman replied icily. "That thing has caused enough trouble already."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "Are we seriously going to leave Batgirl here by herself?" he asked in an agitated voice.

"Micron's here with her," Barda said matter-of-factually.

"Yeah, except he's in a coma," Terry snapped.

"I'll be fine on my own, really," Coba tried to reassure her half-brother, pulling off the oxygen mask as she did.

"I'll stay with her."

All eyes shifted to Warhawk, who had just spoken. The warrior spoke again. "I know what you all may be thinking: why would a tough guy like Warhawk want to stay and watch over a sick or injured person? Truth be told, this isn't the first time I have."

Terry looked at Coba pleadingly. "I don't want you here by yourself when you're so weak," his eyes seemed to say. Something else came out of his mouth instead. "Can he be trusted?"

Barda shot an icy glare at McGinnis. "Of course he can!" she snapped. "Why do you think he's in the League?"

Brooklyn held up her hands to stop the argument before it could truly start. "She's right, brother," she said calmly. What do you know? The pig-head's right for once. "Warhawk's not in the League just because of his brute strength or his metal suit."

"Do what you want, Warhawk," Superman said solemnly, a slight hint of disdain in his voice. Why would he choose to watch over Batgirl instead of helping the League, of which he is a member of? Then again, she did just stop me from killing everyone. Still, I don't think it's very noble of him to guard a lame* girl who's the result of an affair. He turned to the rest of the team. "Let's get going!"

Barda pulled out a booming device and pressed a button. A portal opened up, revealing the entrance cave to the Fortress. Superman led the team through the portal. Batman cast a worried glance at Coba, seeing the shameful look on her face that said she had just read Kent's mind, before following after them. While the other members landed gracefully on their feet, Terry face-planted on the hard, stone floor with a pained yell. He stood back up and rubbed his head painfully. "So much for the element of surprise," he muttered, following his teammates through the large corridor.

~!~

Back in the Tower, Coba sat on the table, still shocked about what Superman had just mentally stated about her, fighting back tears of rage. Warhawk could only look at her sympathetically, lost in his own troubled thoughts as well. After not speaking for a few minutes, the large man finally broke the silence. "You didn't have to do it, you know."

Coba jumped in surprise, as if just noticing him. She summed up a tough composure as she looked at him. "I'm sorry?"

"You didn't have to do it," Warhawk repeated. "Save my life from that missile, I mean."

"I know," Coba said gently, "but I wouldn't allow myself to let you die if I could've done something, especially since we're a team, now."

Warhawk let her words sink in for a moment. "Well, thanks," he replied.

"You're welcome." Brooklyn was silent for a brief moment. "Um... Warhawk?" she said awkwardly.

"Yeah, kid?"

"Why didn't you leave me behind to die in the streets earlier, even though I was weak and had told you to do so?" Coba asked, her voice clearly expressing her confused tone.

It dawned on Stewart that Coba was troubled about something having to do with the nature her question, although he had not figured out exactly what it was. "Now that you bring it up, I'm not completely sure," he replied solemnly. "Maybe it had to do with how you had saved Marina, Kai-Ro and me, but I don't think that's it. Maybe—" He stopped himself before swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat. "Maybe it had to do with your eyes," he said quietly.

Coba looked at Warhawk curiously. "What do you mean?"

Warhawk looked at the girl gravely. "There was a level of defiance in them that I had not seen for about fourteen years, since my early days as a surgeon."

I was just a year old then, battling neuroblastoma, Coba thought distractedly. Realization struck her like a lightning bolt. Wait a minute, his early days as a surgeon? I think I vaguely recall someone being a new surgeon when I was brought in. She looked at him curiously. "You mean you saw it in the eyes of the patient back then?"

"Yeah," Warhawk replied, nodding. "Would you like to hear about it?"

Brooklyn simply nodded.

Warhawk looked into Coba's eyes solemnly so she knew he was telling the truth. "I was twenty-six, having just graduated from medical school, when I was assigned to my first patient: a little girl. I had not known anything about neuroblastoma until then, and I was terrified. A young life was in my inexperienced hands: one false action would have killed her.

"I was unsure about operating on her, but I saw by the look in her eyes as well as her mother's that neither of them were ready or willing to give up, and I knew then that I wasn't, either. I also realized that by helping them, my life would change forever. And once I had successfully operated on her, I decided to stop being a doctor."

"Why's that?" Coba could not help but ask.

Stewart looked into Brooklyn's eyes more solemnly than ever. "I lost control of my emotions after the girl had been successfully treated. Even though I managed to regain control of them, I knew that it would be too much for my psyche if I returned to the field."

Coba was able to guess the rest on her own. "And after you saved a woman in an alley who was being mugged, you turned to being a vigilante—to being Warhawk, I mean. After a few months, Superman offered you a spot in the Justice League and you took it after some consideration, although you were mostly considering the fact that your parents were in it."

"How the heck did you know that?" Warhawk asked, completely surprised.

"A mix of research, mind-reading, and guesswork," Coba answered with a small grin. Her face became grim once more. "There's something I should tell you. Or, more accurately, show you."

Warhawk looked at her suspiciously. "What might that be?"

To the vigilante's surprise, Batgirl swiftly removed the mask covering her face. He only needed to study her face for a split second before he recognized her. "Coba Brooklyn?!" he exclaimed.

The unmasked girl nodded sagely. "Yes," she confirmed in a quiet voice.

The metal-clad warrior could not speak for a few moments. The girl I saved so many years ago is standing right in front of me, he thought in shock, and she just saved my life two—no, three—times this evening. But why is she a vigilante? "Why are you Batgirl?" his voice finally rasped out.

Brooklyn looked into her campanion's eyes sadly. "My parents were killed by the same man: first he killed my mother four years ago, then my father two years later. I was taken in by Bruce Wayne—the first Batman, though I can tell you already knew that—after Dad died. I studied the high-tech Batsuit and copied it, although I added in the camouflage feature into mine before Bruce himself could think of it."

"Have you been a genius your whole life?" Warhawk inquired with interest.

"I guess so, but I have always struggled with a learning disability."

The large vigilante smirked. "That's hard to believe."

"I know," Coba said solemnly. "It's because of the early discovery of it, my strong will and my mother's unending support that I learned how to master it." She looked down sadly, suddenly fighting back tears. "But until the point I did, I was bullied by everyone at school, even the adults, because of it and my crippled leg." A tear defeated her efforts to conceal it and rolled down her cheek. "They'd all call me 'slow-poke' and 'dummy,' sometimes even telling me that I never should have been born. Sometimes..." She hesitated, knowing that what she would say next would negatively affect the man who had saved her life during infancy. "Somtimes I'd wonder if it was worth surviving all of the battles I've won, and... I still do."

"How could you say that?" Warhawk asked in astonishment. "Of course it was worth it."

"No it wasn't!" Coba exploded. "Don't you get it?! They were right! I never should have been born. I was the result of an affair that shouldn't have even taken place! Ask Superman: he feels the same way they do!" Tears were falling freely down her cheeks now, blurring her vision. She looked down shamefully. "I-I'm sorry," she choked. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Instead of feeling enraged at Coba's behavior like he normally would have, Rex was instead sympathetic towards her. "Don't be," he said, placing his left hand reassuringly on the girl's right shoulder. "I know it's tough." His expression hardened. "Don't ever think life is not worth fighting for," he said sternly. "You've got people who need you, whether you know it or not. I can tell that many of them have been fighting to keep you alive as well, including Bruce and your half-brother. Your mother and father would want you to keep going: they have fought for you as well."

Coba's heart wrenched at the memories of how Natalie Brooklyn had been killed by a gang of Jokerz to save her, how Warren McGinnis gave up his marriage with Terry's mother so he could give her a home, how Bruce Wayne took her in after Warren was murdered and saved her from Fix in a cemetery, how Terry overcame his inner demons to rescue her from Inque, and how Dick Grayson—her grandfather—faced two gang members trying to kill her, despite having a verbal fight with him moments before. Not only that, but it took every ounce of emotional energy Warhawk had to help rid her body of cancer. How could I have been so selfish? she thought angrily. How could I think about being dead when so many have been helping me fight it away? It was then that she completely gave into her shame. She broke into guilty sobs, her body shaking with each sob.

Warhawk somehow knew exactly how Coba was feeling. He softened his facial expression before he gently hugged her. "It's alright, kid," he murmured comfortingly, disregarding the fact that it was usually frowned upon for a "big tough guy" like him to do so. "It's alright."

They stood like that for two full minutes of silence, with the exception of Coba's decreasing number of sobs. Coba finally looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks, Rex," she said gratefully in a quiet voice. "For everything."

The large warrior nodded sagely and grinned as a sign of acknowledgement and acception, although he hid some shock. How the heck did she know my name?

"While you pathetic animal-posing humans are just standing around, your much more pathetic friends are walking straight into the traps I set up for them."

Neither of the two heroes remembered Starro's prescence until he just spoke. Coba pushed herself away from Warhawk and looked through the tank urgently. "What do you mean?" she asked in Starro's native tongue.

Starro glared at her, only to receive a much more violent one in return. "I'm serious, Starro!"she snarled, tracting out her claws dangerously. "What do you mean?!"

The creature gave in, now knowing for sure that it was not a good idea to mess with the young Bat. "I knew they would show up one day, so I set up two traps for them. One is that there are six robotic replicas of Superman: a set of three for them, a set of three for any other intruders. The other is that there are several of my offspring waiting to spring at them."

"Is there any sort of plan that you have having to do with controlling them?" Batgirl inquired.

"Yes," Starro confirmed. "There is a large door submerged in water in the cave I described earlier. I told my offspring to use Aquagirl to open it and to have the others stand guard."

"What's going on?" Warhawk asked urgently. "What is he saying?"

Coba turned to her friend, pulling her mask back on as she did. She quickly explained what Starro had said. "I'm going after them," she concluded.

"Are you crazy?" Warhawk exclaimed. "You're still recovering from that last battle you had with Superman. You'll get killed!"

The girl looked at him gravely. "They're our teammates, Warhawk. Besides, one of them is my half-brother. I can't turn my back on them."

Warhawk thought deeply for a moment. She's got a point, but she can't do it alone. "Fine," he gave in. He grinned grimly. "But you'll have to deal with the fact that I'm going with you."

Coba grinned appreciatively at him once more. "Not going to be very hard."

Something dawned on Warhawk. "I don't know where the Fortress is."

"Neither do I," Coba confessed. "But I know someone who does. Come on!"

Starro watched from his tank as the two vigilantes left. Normally I don't feel any remorse for humans, he thought, but that young one's got spirit. I've never come across someone who could take Superman down single-handedly without Kryptonite, let alone be already crippled by pain, and still rise up to a much greater challenge beyond their abilities. If there's one human I'll miss, it's Batgirl.

Author's Notes:

*= (original meaning of the word "lame" is meant (which is meant to describe someone with a weak body part that limits the amount of movement one can make))

Well, that does it for my longest chapter ever! Again, I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter written and posted. It took me a long time to figure out what all I wanted to cover, and an even longer time to reveal a shocking truth having to do with Coba's past. Of course, this chapter was a bit personal for me as well: as a little kid, I was called a slow-poke because of my brace, and a dummy because of the learning disability I literally have (although, like Coba, I've learned how to master it for the most part). I'm not saying all of this to have you all feel bad for me, I'm just stating where the inspiration for Coba's rough past originated from. There are some major differences between me and her, though: I'm not the result of an affair; I've never lost my memory of my entire past; I'm not a vigilante; both my parents are still alive; and I have a 'full' brother instead of a half-brother.

Yep, I'm adding in my own idea of Warhawk's back-story (well, at least what was going on before he joined the League), and showing that he's opening up to Coba since she proved to be worthy of his trust after saving him. A lot like what happened with Marina in an earlier chapter, eh?

Please leave a review in the box below. Who knows? Some reviews might help me write the next one faster. And don't worry: Chapter 7 will be much more exciting than this one. See ya next time!

P.S: I wish I could say "Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel," but I can only say "Same Bat-channel" because I have no idea when I'll get Chapter 7 written and posted.

7/23/2013: Chapter 7 is in progress, but it is taking much longer to get it finished than I had hoped. To my dedicated readers, thank you for your patience.