Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. If I did, the Rogues would appear way more often.

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Mist: I'm almost afraid to type this chapter…

Whistle: With good reason, as you are all about to see. Or rather, read.

Mist: And sorry for taking so long everyone. I got sick and missed two days of school. But I'm well enough to write again now!

Whistle: You get sick too easily.

Mist: It's because of all this stress lately. Bullies, exams, moms more than sick…

Whistle: Try to stay whelmed.

Mist: *Laughs*

Whistle: Just don't expect any more quoting in the near future coming from me.

Mist: Now, on with the story.

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Chapter 22 Dark special 1: Pleasant Surprise

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(Third Person POV following Hartley)

Hartley was mad. No, mad was an extreme understatement.

He was furious!

He was just starting to get the boy to submit completely to his will, and those brat sidekicks went and ruined everything!

Didn't those losers understand that Wally had been happier with Hartley? What's a little mind control and a few bumps and bruises along the way? It wasn't like Hartley hit the younger boy all that much, just that one time, and it was more of a gentle tap on the head than anything else.

He had taken such wonderful care of the little boy. He had taught his so many things. The child trusted him.

He read the little boy bedtime stories. Took him for walks. Taught him to steal. Comforted him when he had a nightmare that the Flash had taken him away. (Mist: Hi! Me again, once again. This could become a written mini chapter along with the others if you want) He even resisted the urge to completely beat the child into submission every time he'd whisper that he missed his family or friends.

Still, in the end those stupid sidekicks had managed to steal his prize right from under his nose!

But truth be told, Hartley did have one thing he couldn't complain about. At least the brats hadn't managed to steal his other prize from him. He couldn't be held accountable for what he would have done. But no, his little Wally had protected little James. Sacrificing himself in the process.

Hartley found a twinge of amusement at that thought. Little Wally didn't understand what he had done in leaving little James behind.

It shouldn't be long now before those morons make a second attempt at invading the hideout to retrieve James.

Retrieving James though, would be a waste of time on their part. The little clown had long ago given up all hope of ever escaping and had handed control of his mind over to Hartley. It won't take long for the bratty sidekicks to realise that and return him.

Wally on the other hand…

He was not happy about losing him. It had taken a very long time to get everything in order so he could take control of the small boy. Wally was not as easily lulled into security as James was. But then again, James had been eight when he had started while Wally was 15 already. Still, Hartley had full confidence that his manipulation powers would be enough to get close to the child, and then pull him into his control.

It had worked, too.

Taking small, baby steps Hartley had pulled the boy closer to him while battling. That and his, secret weapon he was previously using on the boy. Then he had waited patiently for something to happen to drive Wally into his arms.

What had happened was better than anything he could have ever fabricated.

That fight Wally had with the Flash had driven a wedge between the duo, leaving Wally angry, confused, and vulnerable.

Seeing his opportunity he had grabbed James and dragged him off to see Wally, knowing that the little clown would act as a perfect lure. After all, who could ever be afraid of Trickster?

Sure, the child had resisted mentally a bit, but he didn't try to start a physical fight. The resistance also lasted for a mere few minutes. Then the small child had 'willingly' agreed to go with them without a fight.

Hartley was actually a little surprised at first by how quickly the boy had fallen. But quickly learned that it came with a price.

Little Wally agreed to join them, told them his name, and didn't try to run.

But he argued and fought back against the control. The little idiot kept on thinking about his friends and his uncle –as if they were important now!

The Rogues were Wally's family now.

And those brat sidekicks stole him!

Hartley growled and sat up in his bed. "I'll get him back," he hissed under his breath. "He's mine, not theirs! They should have kept a better hold on him… like I am. I'll bring him back here, by force if necessary, then I will bend his mind to my will…"

Or break it, whatever came first.

With a sly smirk Hartley rolled out of his bed and walked down the hall a bit to go to James' room. His little clown was quite upset over the loss of the baby. Hartley needed to make sure he was ok.

He opened the door to James' room and saw the blond hair boy bawling his eyes out on the floor.

Hartley's brotherly instincts took over as he rushed over and held the smaller boy. "There, there…" he said comfortingly, stroking the child's hair, "No need to cry… We'll get Wally back…."

James looked up at him with his tear-filled eyes. "But it's all my fault," he whined. "If I had been more focused on escaping, he wouldn't have had to get captured!"

Hartley shook his head at him. "It is NOT your fault," he objected, "I should have been keeping a better eye on the two of you. I knew those monsters would come to take Wally away, but I never expected them to find the base.

James sniffled and buried his head in Hartley's chest. "You don't think… they're hurting him, right?" He asked in a soft, terrified voice.

"They better not be," Hartley growled, allowing his anger to slip past, "Or there will be hell to pay."

James nodded in agreement and continued to cry.

This continued for about an hour until the little boy finally fell asleep. Hartley then lifted up his young prize and tucked him into bed, being careful not to wake him. After that he silently left the room, shutting the door behind him without a sound.

He looked down the hall and saw Captain Cold and Weather Wizard approaching them.

"How's James?" Captain Cold asked him, allowing a twinge of worry to escape his usually cold demeanour.

Hartley sighed. "Well, he's sleeping," he finally answered, "But he cried for about an hour first."

"Must be hard on him," Captain Cold sighed, "James really likes Wally. It must be killing him not knowing what's happening. Speaking of which, what are the chances of us getting him to go back to being Blitz?"

Of course he would say that, all the Rogues, minus James of course, were well aware of his slightly obsessive manipulative way. Still they had agreed to let him brainwash little Wally, as they all had a soft spot for the kid. Captain Cold had even volunteered to help in any way he could.

"Hate to say it," Weather Wizard added, "But I really miss the kid; especially the version you made. I'd hate to see him go back to being Kid Flash."

Hartley allowed himself to give off a confident smirk. "I just need to get him alone him a bit," he told them, "Get him to listen to me. Maybe throw in a few hundred lies to get him to trust me again, and then he'll be Blitz again."

Captain Cold nodded approvingly. "It shouldn't be long before he comes back to Central City," he mused, "The real problem will be getting him away from the Flash."

"We'll manage," Hartley told his leader.

"We always do," Weather Wizard agreed with him.

"Well, until then, I want you to work on a way to prefect that mind control of yours," Captain Cold told him, "Try to find a way to make it work faster, and more permanent."

Hartley's smirk widened. "It gets better everything I edit it," He declared.

"Good to hear," Captain Cold said before walking away.

"Good luck Piper," Weather Wizard told him before chasing after Captain Cold.

Hartley grinned to himself as he began to walk back to his own room. He stopped when he arrived, but instead of opening the door to his own room he turned around to face the door to Wally's room.

A soft sound was emanating from the child's room that Hartley could barely hear, even with his inorganic ears. This was strange… why was someone in little Wally's room? And why were they snoring?

Hartley furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and went to open the door, only to find it locked. Yet another thing to add to the list of strangeness.

Without a second thought Hartley pulled out his lock picks and broke into the room.

He stood in the doorway in shock at what he saw.

It was a sight he had feared he wouldn't be able to see in months, his little Wally curled up and fast asleep in his bed.

"What a pleasant surprise…" He whispered, as not to wake the sleeping child.

Yes, a VERY pleasant surprise for the evil maniac.

Yet something was wrong. Something didn't seem to fit into place…

Determined to find out the cause of the disturbance Hartley walked into the room, silently shutting the door behind himself. He listened for a moment, but all he could was the sound of the child's heart beating, and his breathing…

Oh, that's what was wrong.

Although it is of uncommon knowledge to most people, it is very important to Hartley that when someone is under his hypnotic control that they emit a sound at a frequency only his ears can pick up. It's a failsafe, in a way, used to determine who was and who wasn't under his control.

And his little baby wasn't emitting the sound.

This was strange. If the child wasn't still under his hypnotic control, than why has he returned? The obvious reason would be that he returned to rescue James, but if that were the case… then what was he doing taking a nap in his bed?

In his civvies, no less!

Hartley shook his head in his hands, an evil smirk appearing on his face. "Silly Wally, you don't sleep in your street clothes," he whispered, allowing himself to laugh lightly as he approached the boy, "And you wonder why I feel the need to control your mind. You can't even take a nap without making mistakes."

He reached out a hand and stroked Wally's hair gently. His smirk widened when the child's head nuzzled against his hand in his sleep.

"Is this why you're here?" He mused aloud. "Did you feel so safe here with me that you came back of your own free will?"

Oh how Hartley wished this to be true. And for now, he would.

Still… there was always the chance that the mind correction had simply taken to much out of the little boy. So when he came here on his mission sleep tugged at him and the familiar room had lulled him to sleep.

Hartley would have to wait to tell the others. He didn't want James to know Wally was here, not until he was certain that the little red head wasn't going to run away –or worse, try to get James to run away with him.

No, that would break the little clowns heart to hear such horrid words come from his friends mouth.

The sleeping child mumbled in his sleep, causing Hartley to chuckle at him.

"No, little one," he answered, even though he knew the child would not hear him, "I am not your 'Uncle Barry', I'm so much better than him. He can't have you. You're mine. Permanently this time. I will not make the same mistake I did before. I will not underestimate those brat sidekicks. I'll keep a close eye on both you and James. Perhaps the three of us should share a room for a while, until you are fully submitted to my will. Would you like that, Wally?"

The sleeping child responded by once more nuzzling the hand stroking his hair.

Hartley smirked. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," he decided before once more shaking his head at the child. "But as cute as you are right now, you really shouldn't be sleeping in your civvies. It's improper, I've taught you better than that."

Hartley thought over whether or not he should wake the child and make him change into his PJ's, but one look at the sleeping angels face and Hartley couldn't bring himself to wake him. Instead he pulled out his flute and played a few notes to ensure the child would not reawaken before taking out a pair of clean bright orange PJs from the child's dresser. PJs in hand he walked over to the sleeping child and carefully changed his clothes before tucking him in.

"There, all better," he declared at he looked down at the boy before sitting down next to him and pulling out a book to read as he waited. "And when you wake up, we are going to have a nice, long talk."

He was going to pull the child back under, and he was going to make him go down without a fight.

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Mist: OoO

Whistle: I think Mist is officially scared of Hartley. So I will be taking over the questioning. How's this for one: Are you scared yet, viewers?

Mist: …

Whistle: Don't waste space on silence.

Mist: I think I created a monster…

Whistle: Well, it could be worse. At least his obsession is strictly a 'Terrifying Big Brother' type. He could be much worse.

Mist: Point….

Whistle: Sweet nightmares everyone!

Both: Please review