Disclaimer: You know the drill. I do not, in any way shape or form, own Young Justice. Or the Random people who walk into this story.

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Whistle: I was wondering how long until you wanted to kill your disclaimer. You're arguing about writing them more than usual.

Mist: They're annoying, they just take up space.

Whistle: Whatever. Don't you have an announcement to make?

Mist: Oh, right. Actually, I have two.

Whistle: Well hurry up and make them then.

Mist: Ok. First, I'm going camping for the next four (I think) days, so I won't be able to type another chapter for a while. And second, I'm going to be starting a second story soon. It's called 'Make Believe', and once again the main character will be Wally. PM me if you want to know more.

Whistle: For now, we'll get back to work on this one.

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Chapter 14: Hartley, you're starting to scare me.

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{Four days after previous chapter}

(Wally/Blitz's POV)

*Twang*

I grinned to myself as the dart hit the center of the board.

"You're getting good at this!" James told me, lining up his own dart.

*Twang*

"You're not bad yourself," I laughed.

His dart had also landed in the center.

We were the only two playing, as most of the older Rogues were away or working on stuff upstairs. That meant that we had the whole games room to ourselves, which was always fun.

I began to line up my dart, grinning wider. I can't believe that I always used to refuse to play darts with James before all this. This is fun! Oh well, I'm playing now.

"There you two are!" Hartley's voice interrupted our game. "I've been looking all over for you!"

I lowered my dart and looked over at him. To my confusion I found that he was in his Pied Piper costume, and he looked like he was getting ready for a fight. "Hey, Hartley. Are you going somewhere?" I asked him curiously.

Pied Piper grinned at me. "I'm going to go get some stuff from Star Labs," He told me, "I just can't seem to complete my newest weapons, and I know for a fact that they have something that will complete it."

"Can we come with you?" James asked excitedly.

Pied Piper nodded at him, a wide grin on his face. "Why do you think I've been looking for you two?" He laughed. "I'm going to need both of yours help to pull this off. Breaking into Star Labs isn't exactly a walk in the park."

"Yet you seem confident that the three of us can pull it off," I pointed out.

Pied Piper grinned at me. "The Flash is out of town," He explained, "Dealing with something in Italy I believe. So who's gonna stop us?"

I saw where this was going. "I don't think it's fair to take advantage of the fact that Flash is out of town," I objected.

Pied Piper rolled his eyes at me. "Get over it," He told me. "We're Rogues, remember? We don't play fair."

I sighed in defeat. "If you say so…"

Doesn't make it any easier…

I looked down for a moment and when I looked up again I found that Pied Piper was staring at me. His narrowed eyes held that dangerous glint in them that I haven't seen for quite awhile. He looked angry.

I shifted nervously where I stood, finding myself growing afraid of my friend. "Di- did I say something wrong?" I asked carefully, not wanting to set him off.

He ignored me. "James, leave the room for a minute," He said, "I need to have a little 'talk' with Wally."

James looked reluctant to leave, but nodded and ran out of the room anyways.

I gulped as I looked up at Pied Piper.

"You aren't still having doubts about your loyalties, are you Wally?" He growled at me.

I didn't respond, instead I lowered my head again so I wouldn't have to look at his angry expression.

"This won't do," He told me, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the couch and throwing me on it. "Can't have you breaking free after all this work we've put into you."

His words confused me. "What are you talking about?" I asked him.

I tried to stand up, but he pushed me back down.

"Stay," He ordered me.

I shrank back.

"Good boy," He told me, patting me head. But despite his calm tone his eyes still looked deadly.

I pulled away from him. "You're scaring me, Hartley," I barely managed to say.

He glared slightly at me. "You've been trying to think for yourself again, haven't you?" He growled at me.

"N-no…" I lied.

"And now you're lying to me," He shook his head at me. "Not good, not good at all."

Ok, now I really wish that James hadn't left. Hartley's really starting to freak me out! I've never seen this side of him before. Yet I can't help but think that this isn't the first time we've had this fight…

I felt my head begin to hurt and clenched it in my hands.

I was trying to calm my head when suddenly Hartley grabbed me by my hair and forced me to look up at him.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" He growled at me. "That's why you shouldn't think. You're not good at it. It's not like a single intelligent thought has ever crossed your mind before."

I shrank back.

He released me again and began pacing in front of me. "You just keep fighting back," He muttered, "Why can't you just be a good boy like James? Do you think I like having to hurt you all the time?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, "This is the first time you've done this!"

Or, is it?

Pied Piper turned to face me again and smirked. "Well, at least something's working," He muttered. "I had hoped I wouldn't have to use the stronger stuff on you. There's always the chance that your mind will simply break."

I shrank back further at his words, not for the first time wishing that someone would walk in so I wouldn't be alone with an angry/psychotic Pied Piper.

"Why so quiet?" He asked me, "You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

It took all of my courage to answer him. "There'd be something wrong with me if I wasn't!"

Pied Piper narrowed his eyes at me. "You should choose your words more carefully," He growled at me.

Something told me that I had chosen the wrong words to say to him….

He raised his hand and I clenched my eyes shut, silently afraid that he was going to hit me. Instead, to my surprise, I felt his hand gently ruffle my hair. I felt myself relax at the familiar contact.

"See?" He said, his voice much more gentle than it was before, "There's no reason to be afraid of me. I'm not gonna hurt you."

I opened my eye and looked up at him. The dangerous glint in his eyes was gone, and he was grinning again.

"I'm sorry I said the wrong thing," I apologized quietly.

Pied Piper chuckled at me. "It's ok," He told me, "You're having troubles understanding how things work around here. It's normal."

I allowed myself to relax fully at that; convinced that the danger had passed. "That's good to hear," I sighed in relief. "I really didn't mean to make you mad, honestly."

"I know you didn't," Pied Piper chuckled again, sitting down beside me. "But next time you feel like arguing with me, don't. You're not going to win, and frankly, there's no reason for you to fight. You're a kid, you don't know anything."

I nodded in agreement with him. He was right, I don't know anything.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Pied Piper smirking, but when I lifted my head to look at him the smirk was gone. Replaced with a gentle smile.

It must have been a trick of the light.

Or the angle just looked funny.

Or something wasn't right here…

I stopped trying to think about it when it began to hurt.

"Is something wrong?" Pied Piper asked me.

I shook my head. "It's nothing," I told him.

Pied Piper didn't look convinced. "You were trying to think again," He accused. "Well stop trying. You aren't made for thinking; all you'll wind up doing is hurting your head. All you need to do is listen to me."

"Ok…" I sighed in defeat.

Pied Piper rolled his eyes at me and ruffled my hair. "No need to be like that," He told me, "If you just give in, you'll find you can be very happy here. All you need to do is do as I tell you."

I looked up at him, his expression was encouraging, but I caught a small glint of annoyance cross through his features. I felt panic raise up in me and forced my own features into a carefree grin. "Ok," I told him, sounding more cheerful than I felt.

Pied Piper grinned at me, apparently having been fooled by my act. "That's a good boy," He told me, ruffling my hair. "But just to make sure you're telling the truth…"

I felt myself panic even more, worried that he had seen through my act. What if he was going to hurt me?

I squirmed around where I sat as I watched Pied Piper pull out one of his many instruments. "Stay still," He ordered me, no longer acting friendly.

I stopped squirming.

"Good boy," He smirked, bringing the instrument up to his lips.

I felt my mind and body go numb as the music began to play. My bones felt like jelly. I was no longer able to support my own weight and soon found myself falling to the side in Pied Pipers lap. I tried to move, but my body no longer seemed to be in control of itself. Instead I lied there and did nothing. I soon felt my ability to think coherently leave. Instead my thoughts became slower and slower…

Then everything went dark.

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Mist: Hell of a cliffhanger to leave you all on, huh?

Whistle: But we do hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Mist: Also, for the record. I was FREAKING out as I was typing this chapter! I was like 'OMG Wally! Run away!' which was awkward since I'm writing this in class.

Whistle: An interesting chapter though. And ya, I was freaking out as I read this over her shoulder. Hartley you creep!

Mist: He was being creepy, wasn't he?

Whistle: Which will make writing 'Make Believe' funny. If not a little hard. I might have to help you with it.

Mist: YAY!

Both: Please review!