AN: Firstly, I have to address something that I wanted to in the last chapter but forgot. Fae is actually 17 now (remember the 1 year timeskip?). 'Cause a lot of you thought she was still 16. Nope. Her birthday's in December, which I hinted to in the 1st chapter. So she'll be turning 18 in this story later on. I don't know why I mad her so old, I just really wanted her to be the oldest on the team for some reason (excluding Miss Martian who's probably waaaay older in Martian years). So I have to find out when everyone's birthday is because I think Aqualad is 16 in the show (I know he's the oldest on the team excluding Miss Martian again)? But yeah…she's 17 right now.
Secondly, Guest, who reviewed yesterday, are you secretly creeping in my brain? Because I do plan on doing one-shots throughout this story and it will probably be way more than 26 chapters because the story has taken on a life of its own. Seriously, though! I have a little script/scene thing that I've planned up to chapter 17, and the storyline's just like, "Nope! I'm my OWN story!" And SHH! The poll results come out next chapter!
Anyway, thanks to all who faved/followed/reviewed! Seriously, you guys must've ate some awesome-sauce, and they do say you are what you eat. ONWARDS TO THE STORY!
Disclaimer: One day, I was rejoicing over having the rights to Young Justice. All was right in my world…And then the Fire Nation attacked. I no own song(s) either. I only own Faith, Emily, Joe, and any other OCs that I create.
Summary: Faith Evans, a 16-year-old girl, was just trying to make sure that she and her little sister got by in the world. "She was prepared to die when she took that bullet. So can someone explain to her why a dead guy's ring just decided to hitch a ride on her finger?!"
Genre: Humor/Adventure/a little Angst/a little Drama(cause you always need just a bit of Angst/Drama in every story)/Romance(?)
Song(s) used: Playing God-Paramore
Word Count: 6,397
"Communicating through something (ie: communicators, phones, rings, etc…)"
"Thinking"
Dreams/Flashbacks
"Talking"
Quotes/Lyrics
Chapter 10: The not so Nice Meeting of Superboy
Can't make my own decisions,
Or make any with precision.
Well maybe you should tie me up,
So I don't go where you don't want me.
You say that I've been changing,
That I'm not just simply aging.
Yeah, how could that be logical?
Just keep on crammin' ideas down my throat.
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!
"Whoa…"
The teens stared in shock at the boy who looked exactly like, if not a younger version of, the greatest superhero in the world.
Kid Flash zoomed over to get a closer look, still trying to process exactly what they were seeing.
"Big "K", little "r"! The atomic symbol for Krypton!"
"Why in the world would they make an atomic symbol for another planet that's literally freakin' GALAXIES away AND destroyed? Like we would actually visit! Stupid scientists…"
Aqualad's mind was working a mile-a-minute trying to figure out what was going on in this demented place.
"Robin, hack."
"Oh. Yeah. Right."
The clicking of computer keys filled the air as the Boy Wonder worked his magic. It wasn't long before he found the information he was after.
"Superboy, a clone force grown in…16 weeks?! DNA acquired from Superman."
"Really, Robin? Superman obviously has no idea about this. Pretty sure he'd wanna do it the natural way. With Lois. Or Wonder Woman. Or WHOEVER this universe pairs people up with! Stupid DC and their alternate universes…"
Stuck in her mental rant, Fae didn't hear Aqualad disagreeing with Robin about how the DNA was obtained and Kid Flash saying they were making a slave out of Superman's "son". What she heard next though, was enough to send a cold rush through her veins.
"Set him free."
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! We can't free him yet!"
They looked at her incredulous that she would actually leave the clone to his fate, and here they thought she was good (she was a Green Lantern after all). Maybe they'd been wrong about her?
Fae rolled her eyes.
"I said "yet"! Robin," said teen snapped to attention. "Didn't you say that those genomorphs were force-feeding him information?" Luckily, she didn't have to pay attention to know what was going on.
"Score: 1 for the girl from another dimension."
He fidgeted a little before nodding.
"Yeah. An education, among other things probably."
The junior speedster obviously didn't understand where the Green Lantern was coming from. What did the genomorphs have to do with setting the guy free?
"And? So they've been feeding him information, big deal. He's still trapped in there, and it's up to us to release him." Didn't she understand how important this was?
Fae resisted the urge to smack the guy.
"That's just it! We don't know what kind of information they've been giving him. The genomorphs are telepathic, which means they can control his mind. Who's to say once we've released him, he won't attack us?" "Other than me." "We need to figure out a way to take them out before we can free Superboy."
She knew that at this time, Desmond was probably already ordering the genomorphs to make Superboy attack. And after a quick glance at their brightening red eyes, she was right on the money. They needed to act, fast.
The three junior heroes looked surprised at her reasoning ("They couldn't have figured that out on their own?") before looking down in thought.
Aqualad spoke with a sympathetic but torn expression on his face.
"She's right. We don't know what he'll do once he's released, but we can't leave him here to be exploited either."
He turned towards the Boy Wonder who was still at the terminal.
"Robin, is there anything that could suggest how to…stop these creatures?"
A few clicks from the keyboard.
"Ugh, nothing! They're definitely controlled but not tech-wise."
Kid Flash ran a hand through his ginger hair.
"So, like, a telepath, only stronger than these ones?"
"Exactly. If we can find him than-"
Robin wasn't able to finish as a 'whoosh' sound filled the air.
Turning around quickly, the group came face-to-face with an open pod and an awakening Superboy.
While the others went towards him, hoping he'd be a friendly, Fae had no such delusions. In fact, she was wondering just how in the world the doors had opened. It was as if everything she did to either speed up the process of the show, or make it somewhat safer, would backfire. She didn't understand, and it was beginning to get on her nerves.
But she wasn't able to dwell on that any longer as the clone's eyes snapped open, and he launched himself at them.
Fae jumped out of the way and rolled into a crouch as the clone took down Aqualad.
"Showtime."
Gritting her teeth, she constructed a giant fist with her ring and slammed it into his side, sending him into the dark red wall.
Flying over to Aqualad, she helped him up before going into her usual fighting stance, her ring glowing brightly.
Kid Flash and Robin tried to talk the clone down instead of fighting him.
"We're on your side!"
"Yeah, we're trying to free you! Fight their control!"
But their words fell on deaf ears as Superboy staggered to his feet and snarled before attacking them once more.
The speedster moved out of the way as Robin leaped up and used the clone's shoulders as a springboard to flip over him.
Before he had a chance to whirl around, Robin used his wire taser to stun him. It shocked him for a moment, but he overcame it soon and pulled the Bird towards him by the wires.
Lucky for him, Kid Flash was able to get him out of the way before Superboy's fist connected with his chest.
Creating a manacle, Fae shackled his torso and slammed the clone into the ground, doing it two more times for good measure. She released him after he stopped moving and floated down.
Fae went over to the rest of the teen heroes who were catching their breaths from the unexpected mini-battle.
"Is everyone okay?"
No one was able to answer as the previously thought unconscious clone rammed into the Green Lantern from behind.
She heard the boys' shouts of alarm as the clone took ahold of her hair and threw her into the terminal that was used by Robin just moments ago.
Black spots danced in Fae's vision as she heard Kilowag's lecturing voice ringing through her head.
"Rule number five, Pooser. Just because they're down, doesn't mean they can't get back up. Always make sure. Ya got that?"
Apparently, she hadn't.
"Kilowag's gonna have my ass if he hears about this…"
Shaking it off, Fae rose to her feet, just in time to see Aqualad get smashed into the ceiling by an enraged Superboy and fall to the ground unconscious.
Looking around, she noticed that the other teen heroes were out as well.
"So it's just me and him now, huh?"
Fae faced the growling Superboy, who was ready to attack again, and glared.
"Challenge accepted."
Incasing her hands and legs in green, armor-like energy (he was Kryptonian after all and she didn't want to break any bones just punching him), she rushed him.
When she got close enough, Fae dropped to the ground and did a quick leg-sweep, sending the clone to the floor. She twisted her body and rose her left foot in the air and slammed it into the ground where Superboy's torso would have been if he hadn't rolled out of the way in time.
Getting up, they both traded jabs and punches, Fae landing most of hers and dodging all of his ("Experience. What a wonderful thing.").
Landing a hard kick to the clone's head, Superboy was sent flying into the door of his pod ("When the heck did that close?") which broke on impact.
Making sure to keep her stance up and armor on, she inched towards the groaning teen…infant…whatever.
"We are trying to help you Superboy. Fight their control. I know you can do it."
He just glared before glancing at something that was behind her.
"What are yo-"
She was cut off as something small, but extremely sharp, dug into her back, eliciting a cry of pain from the Green Lantern.
She had forgotten all about the little genomorphs in Superboy's pod. How could she be so stupid?!
As Fae was forced into a dreamless sleep from the genomorph's telepathy, she couldn't help but think that this was far better than being physically knocked out by the half-Kryptonian…
And that she had total bragging rights for it.
If "God"'s the game that you're playing,
Well we must get more acquainted.
Because it has to be so lonely,
To be the only one who's holy.
It's just my humble opinion,
But it's one that I believe in.
You don't deserve a point of view!
If the only thing you see is you!
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!
"Time is short. You must awaken. NOW!"
Three pairs of eyes snapped open as the mysterious voice finished.
They immediately noticed the clone, who they were trying to save, staring at them.
Kid Flash obviously didn't like it and decided to voice his aggravation.
"What? What do you want? Quit staring! You're creeping me out!"
"Uh, KF? How about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?"
Robin wanted to get out alive and getting a laser to the head was kind of counterproductive.
Aqualad, too, wanted to get out, but there was still the matter of Superboy. If what GL said was true, which he didn't doubt was the case, the clone would need help to get free just as much as they did.
"We only sought to help you."
Again, Kid Flash vented his frustration.
"Yeah! We free you, and you turn on us! How's that for grat-"
The Atlantean interrupted. He got the feeling that they didn't have a lot of time, and Kid Flash was wasting it.
"Kid. Please, be quiet now." He looked back at Superboy. "I believe our new friend is not in full control of his actions."
"Wha- what if- what if I wasn't?"
It was painfully clear that the teen had never spoken before; the roughness in his voice and pauses in his speech making it apparent.
"He can talk?"
The speedster really needed to learn how to think before speaking as his words clearly rubbed the clone the wrong way.
"Yes, he can."
Robin and Aqualad shot Kid Flash a look.
"Not like I said "it"…"
The Atlantean took over the conversation, hoping that there'd be no more interruptions from the younger hero.
"The genomorphs taught you telepathically."
"They taught me much. I can read, write. I know the names of things."
The clone sounded hesitant and, dare they say it, shy when talking about the things he knew. Robin used this opening to his advantage.
"But have you seen them? Have they ever actually let you see the sky? Or the sun?"
Superboy looked and sounded melancholy when he answered.
"Images…are implanted in my mind, but…no. I have not seen them…"
Aqualad asked the question that'd been on his mind since GL had pointed him out.
"Do you know what you are? Who you are?"
The Kryptonian stood up straighter, pride evident in his voice as he spoke, much more confident in this answer than his previous ones.
"I am the Superboy. A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the light."
That was obviously not the answer any of them were expecting. Cadmus was planning on turning Superman's own…SON against him? For what purpose? Why would they need to do this in the first place? What, exactly, were they planning?
The dark-skinned teen pushed these questions to the back of his mind for later. Right now, they just needed to focus on trying to get out, and maybe they could get Superboy to come with them, away from Cadmus and whatever they had in store for him. He needed to choose his words carefully if he wanted this to work.
"To be like Superman is…a worthy aspiration. But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus."
He could tell right away that his last words weren't what the clone wanted to hear as Superboy instantly got defensive.
"I live because of Cadmus! IT IS MY HOME!"
"Your home is a test tube."
Robin. As blunt as always…
"We can show you the sun."
"Uh, pretty sure it's after midnight." Robin's glare spoke volumes, making Kid backtrack in order to fix his statement. "BUT, we can show you the moon!"
Aqualad sweetened the deal.
"We can show you, introduce you, to Superman."
"No. They can't."
Their conversation was interrupted by a middle-aged man with long brown hair in a low ponytail wearing a white lab coat and black slacks.
"These three will be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."
Robin was just about to retort and say that the Batcave was crowded enough when what the scientist had said caught up with him.
Three? There were four of them?
He looked around, catching KF and Aqualad doing the same, and saw that GL wasn't anywhere to be found.
"What did you do with our friend?!"
The scientist looked up, only slightly confused, when the sidekicks addressed him.
Aqualad, trying to force his growing panic down, spoke next, but he was unable to keep the growl out of his voice.
"The Green Lantern that was with us, where is she?"
He had the audacity to smirk at the trapped teens when he heard the question which made the three stiffen.
"We've been interested in the power of the Green Lanterns for quite some time, and obtaining your friend presented us with the perfect opportunity to study it closer."
The speedster glared at the ponytail wearing scientist, wishing he could knock the smirk right off his face.
Said man turned to Guardian.
"Now get the weapon back in its pod!"
Aqualad focused on Superboy then. They needed him to get them out of these pods so they could save Green Lantern. Who knows what she was being put through while they'd been talking with him earlier. How could they have not noticed her absence?
"Help us."
The clone stepped forward, shrugging off Guardian's restraining hand in the process. But the heroes' hope was quickly dashed as a genomorph leapt onto his shoulder and put him under their control once more. The scientist commented on how he was just a weapon, not a real boy, and belonged to Cadmus.
Soon, the cloning process was underway and all thought was removed from their minds as they were assaulted with pain from the needles that were roughly stabbed into their bodies.
"Green Lantern. You are in grave danger. You mustawaken!"
Green eyes snapping open, Fae gasped in surprise at the voice invading her head.
Pushing it to the back of her mind for now, she took in her surrounds, or as much as she could anyway.
Fae quickly realized that she was lying down, staring straight at the ceiling, and couldn't turn her head. She couldn't even lift it!
Trying to sit up despite that (maybe she was still recovering from the mental knock-out?), she found that she couldn't move any part of her body at all.
"This…is definitely not supposed to be happening."
Not letting her panic get the best of her, she closed her eyes and focused on her ring. Fae was happy to know that she was still in her Green Lantern uniform, but a little despaired to find out that she was running low on energy.
"It was probably the energy armor. I really need to practice with that more."
She had invented it a while ago to enhance her strength since she was more of an up-close fighter, but because it was consistently using energy (the amount depending on the opponent), it drained her reserves.
Before Fae could assess her situation further, she heard the 'whooshing' sound of a door opening and footsteps soon after. She guessed that the people were scientists since the only other people were genomorphs and Guardian.
"We'll start with finding out how the energy from the power ring melds with her body, and then try to recreate it with electrical pulses."
What?
They couldn't have been talking about her power ring. And electrical pulses?
"…Damn."
She had an idea where this was going (watching action shows and movies would gave her a clue, but this was real life now), and she didn't like it at all. Why was she here anyway? Wasn't she supposed to be with the others being cloned and then saved by Superboy?
One of them walked up to where she was restrained, and she wasn't surprised in the least when she recognized the pony-tailed psycho, Dr. Desmond. She did wonder why he wasn't making his way to where the others were, but she needed to focus on the present.
"Just my luck that you and your…friends would come meddling. Seems like the so-called "heroes" can't handle their little sidekicks."
He scowled down at her, and she answered with an angry glare that soon turned confused when she saw him start to smirk.
"But no matter. We can finally test our theories about Green Lantern energy, so that we may duplicate it to further our cause. And you'll make a great guinea pig after your little performance with Project Kr."
Wait.
When was Cadmus ever interested in Green Lanterns? There was nothing in the show that pointed to this. And how could he have seen her fight Superboy when she knew for a fact that they didn't have any security cam-
Oh.
OH!
"The freakin' genomorph!"
She'd forgotten about the creature (AGAIN!). If its telepathy was anything like a Martian's, it would easily be able to recall and show what it'd seen from its mind.
And apparently, it'd been watching them.
"This universe hates me. I just know it!"
Dr. Desmond walked off, calling orders to the other scientists as he made his leave.
"Begin the testing, but make sure she remains in one piece. We'll still need her alive in order to study the Green Lanterns' power. I'm going to pay the other sidekicks a visit now."
There was another 'whooshing' sound as he exited, leaving the other scientists to their work.
"I need to get out of here. FAST!"
Fae didn't know what they were planning on doing, but if it involved Cadmus, then it wouldn't pleasant.
She decided to test out her limbs again to see if there were any weak points in the restraints, and was sorely disappointed when she found none. Although she did find out that she was held down by metal if the cold, hard feeling wrapping around her was anything to go by, which only hindered her goal further.
The metal restraints went over her hands, trapping them, all the way to the end of her forearms. The same thing could be said for her feet and calves. Her midsection was also held down by a metallic belt of some sort.
In short, there was no way she could maneuver her way out of this.
As the scientists continued to work, Fae once again took inventory on the energy reserve in her ring.
There really wasn't much, but she needed to get out of here and this would be the fastest way. So powering up her ring, she was just about to use it to break free when a horrible pain spread through her body making her cry out in agony. The tv shows really had NOTHING on the real thing.
It felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand needles that were on fire in multiple directions.
The pain lasted for a few moments more before dissipating completely, leaving her feeling incredibly weak.
One of the people was oh so kind (note: sarcasm) as to answer her unasked question of "what the hell".
"I'd advise you not to do that. Those restraints react to Green Lantern energy and suppresses it by sending out electric shock waves through the source."
So they were prepared for it. That begs the questions of "just how long have they been interested in Lantern powers?" and "what purpose would they have for wanting to wield it?", wasn't having Kryptonian DNA enough?
Grimacing, Fae thought about the implications that the answers to her questions might have.
She DEFINITELY needed to get out of here NOW.
Gritting her teeth and focusing on her center, as Kilowag and Hal taught her to do, she once again drew energy from her ring.
Searing pain shot up and down her body, but Fae did her best to ignore it.
She couldn't fail, not when so much was on the line. This was just another obstacle that she had to get through, and she'd be damned if she couldn't do it!
Letting out a yell as sparks from the restraints danced across her body, she fought to keep the energy going, the scientists in the area scrambling for a way to get the situation under control.
Soon the white-blue electricity was joined by green energy as it exuded from her body.
"Just…a little more."
Letting out a furious yell, Fae broke free, overloading the metal trap that she was on in the process, making it explode.
Floating back down from where she had flew to get out of the mini-explosion's range, her legs buckled as soon as she touched the floor, and she dropped to the ground.
Lucky for her, the people had ran out as soon as they saw she was about to break free so they didn't see her in this state of weakness.
Her ring chose the perfect time to start glowing and inform her just how drained she actually was.
"Energy levels: 15% Find power source immediately."
"Just great…"
Rising slowly to her feet, Fae stumbled towards the door, using the wall to lean on so she would fall flat on her face.
Exiting the room, she looked around the red, intestine-looking hallway, wondering where to go.
The Green Lantern snorted in amusement at her situation.
"Bizarre-looking hallway number one? Or bizarre-looking hallway number two?"
The question was answered for her, much like it had been before, when she heard a crashing noise and shouting in the distance.
"Looks like it's bizarre-looking hallway number one…again."
Staggering down the hallway, still leaning heavily against the wall, she slowly but surely made her way to the others.
Fate must've chose to be helpful in that moment because as soon as she was about to turn the corner where the noise was the loudest, the junior heroes, along with Superboy, rushed by her and then immediately back-peddled when they realized she wasn't just another scientist.
"GL!"
The happy looks on their faces, however, quickly dissolved when they saw the horrible state she was in.
The three teen heroes were by her side within seconds, Superboy standing back, uncertainty clear on his face. They barraged her with questions, the main one, however, being "what happened to you?".
"Escaped from becoming a guinea pig, but there's no time to chat. We need to get outta here."
Fae pushed herself off of the wall to walk forward and immediately fell back into it, grunting in pain as her body screamed in protest. Her muscles made it clear that she should not leave the wall.
"Well this just makes things unnecessarily difficult."
"GL!"
"We can't go anywhere with you in this condition…"
"Can't you just fly?"
She would've loved to answer Robin with a positive, but sadly, she couldn't.
"I would, but I can't. Getting out of the thing they had me in practically drained me, and I want to save whatever energy I have left to fight if we have to." "Which we WILL…"
They all looked down in thought, trying to figure out a way to escape with her incapacitated, only for Kid Flash to shoot his hand up a moment later, an excited, and slightly lecherous, grin on his face.
"Oh! I can just carry her to safety."
He crossed his arms over his chest with a triumphant look, only for Robin to shoot him a deadpanned stare.
"That would work if you actually knew a way out and didn't run ahead all the time and straight into danger."
That burst the speedster's bubble as he visibly deflated.
Aqualad was about to open his mouth, but Superboy beat him to it.
"I'll carry her."
All four teens stared at him in surprise, the Atlantean looking slightly put out.
The clone turned his head away, a little hesitant from their combined gaze.
"I'm practically indestructible. So she'd be safest with me so you guys can focus on finding a way out."
If Fae wasn't grimacing from the dull pain she was in, she would've smiled at his…shy?...nature. He'd just "woken up", and they were his first contact with people around his own "age" after all.
"Okay, but we need to hurry."
After being helped onto the Kryptonian's back, they were off again, Robin fiddling with his holo-computer.
"We're still 42 levels below ground, but if we can make it to the elevator-"
He was interrupted by multiple growls as they ran into a group of humongous genomorphs.
As the rest of the teens ran and dodged through the horde, Superboy growled, ready to fight, until Fae hit him on the shoulder.
"I'm still here ya know. And our goal is to escape. We can't waste time here."
He glared at them once more before hopping onto one and used its head as a springboard to leap to the other side of the room.
Aqualad pried the doors to the elevator open and Robin used his grapple-gun to lift himself and Kid Flash up the shaft.
Before Fae could shout at Robin to throw down an extra grapple-gun (she knew that the Bat and Bird probably kept at least five on their person with how much they used and discarded them) when Superboy shifted her and grabbed Aqualad, jumping up the shaft as if taking flight.
Fae hoped this was an alternate universe where he could fly.
They started to fall after a few stories.
Guess not…
Quickly creating a platform, she was able to catch them in time and started to ascend.
The clone looked down at the platform startled and confused, his voice sounding distressed.
"Superman can fly. Why can't I fly?"
Kid Flash, ever the optimist (when he wanted to be), tried cheering him up.
"Dunno, but it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound."
He gave him a thumbs up.
"Still cool."
Superboy gave a weak smile, looking somewhat put out, before turning his head to Fae.
"Thank you, but doesn't this drain your…energy?"
She nodded at his gratitude and gave a weak laugh at his question.
"Yeah, but it's better than falling to the bottom, don't ya think?"
He nodded while Aqualad expressed his thanks as well.
"Uh, guys? This'll have to be our stop."
They all looked up after hearing Robin's voice along with a faint screeching sound.
"Oh, great! NOW the elevator wants to go by the script! Eff you Fate!"
Superboy and Aqualad got the doors open just in time for them to avoid being crushed.
When Fae was re-situated onto the clone's back (though she wanted to see if she could make it on her own, the others weren't willing to take a risk and told her to take it easy. She just glared), they took off once more.
After a beat of silence, Superboy started to yell out directions.
"Go left! Left!"
"Finally Dubbilex. Took your sweet time helping us huh?"
They went left.
Another beat of silence.
"Right!"
They ran into a dead end with a vent at the top of the wall.
Kid Flash instantly went into a rant.
"Great directions, Supey. You trying to get us re-podded?!"
Fae sighed, wishing Superboy would move a little closer to the speedster so she could smack him for making the clone question himself. If he would actually use the smarts she knew he had, then he would see that they weren't trapped at all. She was just about to say that, but Robin beat her to it.
"Don't apologize. This is perfect!"
After Aqualad lifted him up to take off the lid, they all climbed in. Robin first, then Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy helping Fae in, and then himself.
After a while of crawling, the junior speedster started to get anxious.
"At this rate, we'll never get out!"
"Shh. Listen."
They all quieted down and stopped, turning around and trying to hear what the Kryptonian heard.
They didn't have to wait long to hear the sound of claws on metal.
"The genomorphs."
Fae looked at Robin and saw him opening his mouth.
"And God help you if you say "this'll have to be our stop" again."
He laughed sheepishly and kicked off the lid of another vent before jumping through.
By the time they were all out, the Boy Wonder was typing away on his holo-computer.
"Hacking?"
He answered her with a smile.
"The motion sensors!"
Kid Flash placed his red goggles over his eyes with a smirk.
"Sweet, and now I've finally got room to move."
He raced off, leaving all of them behind.
Robin turned to her.
"Glad we didn't let him carry you?"
"You don't even know…"
Superboy came up to her to place her on his back once more but was stopped when Fae held up a hand.
"I think I'm good now. Thanks."
She was still a bit sore and achey (how high a voltage did they shoot her with?), but she could deal.
He stared at her for a second more before nodding.
They ran to catch up with the speedster, coming across sprawled out genomorphs, no doubt his handy-work, and ran up the staircase to get to the first floor. Superboy stomped on one of the staircases to dissuade a group of genomorphs from following them.
When they got to the first level, they found Kid Flash on the ground, rubbing his head, in front of a closed, huge metal door.
"We're cut off from the street."
Kid Flash snorted and answered the Atlantean sarcastically.
"Gee, thanks. My head hadn't noticed."
Before any attempts could be made on opening the door, Fae butted in. She was ready for this day to be over, but she reasoned that anyone would feel the same if they'd been telepathically knocked out, electrocuted, and almost rammed by an elevator, TWICE.
"We don't have time to try and open it. We've gotta find another way."
"GL's right. Come on! This way!"
Robin ran towards a door that was to the left, kicking it open when he was close enough.
However, as soon as they were through the door, they were surrounded by genomorphs along with Guardian.
They each got into a fighting stance, Fae slumping when she saw Dubbilex. Her final thoughts were along the lines of "oh crud" and "not this crap again" before they were all telepathically knocked out.
This is the last second chance.
(I'll point you to the mirror.)
I'm half as good as it gets.
(I'll point you to the mirror.)
I'm on both sides of the fence.
(I'll point you to the mirror.)
Without a hint of regret,
I'll hold you to it.
When they awakened from their forced slumber, they heard Superboy saying "I. Choose. Freedom." to his fellow genomorphs.
While the rest were confused by his words, Fae felt proud of the clone and made sure to send Dubbilex a smile, which surprised the blue genomorph greatly.
"I guess there's just one more thing we have to do before we leave."
Guardian had a hand to his head and looked to be in some sort of pain before it smoothed over.
"Feels like…fog…lifting."
Aqualad watched him, still a bit wary.
"Guardian..?"
He looked back at him, determined.
"Go! I'll deal with Desmond."
"I think not."
They all turned to see the ponytailed scientist holding up a vial of blue liquid.
"And here we go…"
Desmond went on to rant about how the blue liquid, Project Blockbuster, was going to give him the power to restore order.
Fae inwardly snorted.
Maybe he should have a chat with the Guardians.
He drank the liquid and Fae was once again unprepared for what she saw.
Just like with Dubbilex's appearance, Desmond's transformation in reality was much more horrid (no offense to the genomorph).
While the scientist grunted in pain, his muscles tore through his skin as he grew, making a wet ripping sound. Dark blue scales started to grow over the muscles with his previously human skin still hanging off various parts of his frame.
She held back a gag.
There was an extremely short fight after that between the Blockbuster monster Desmond had become and Guardian, where the latter was quickly beaten and thrown back.
Superboy rushed forward with a battle cry, slamming into the monster before getting punched and smashed through the ceiling.
"Superboy!"
Fae was stopped from flying after him by Aqualad, who let Kid Flash and Robin go first before checking on her.
"How much energy do you have left in your ring?"
She lifted her ring to check, it glowing softly as it responded aloud.
"Energy levels: 10% Find power source immediately."
Fae pursed her lips in agitation before speaking.
"Apparently not much, but enough to help."
The Atlantean nodded before picking her up, much to her surprise, and jumping through the ceiling.
After he released her, he gave a slight smile.
"Sorry, but as you said once before, "time is of the essence"."
Fae looked shocked for a moment before giving a small laugh and nodding, refocusing her attention on the fight at hand.
She rolled away just in time to avoid a thrown Superboy who collided with the dark-skinned teen.
Constructing a giant baseball bat, Fae swung it at Blockbuster, catching him in his side and sending him into the far wall, just as Kid Flash was about to be stomped on.
But they couldn't rejoice just yet as he got up with grunt and rushed her.
Making a bo-staff, she crouched low just as he made it to her and jammed the end of it into the underside of his chin before jumping up and slamming the weapon into his face with all her might.
The blue monster shouted in pain, but unfortunately for Fae, it flailed its left arm out and hit her into a pillar, her body making a small crater on impact.
Pain blossomed throughout her right side, and she could've sworn she heard a crack or two.
Gritting her teeth, Fae made to stand, only to feel a large hand wrap around her torso and slam her into the same pillar she flew into, making the crater even bigger.
This time, she definitely heard a crack.
Before it could slam her again, Superboy and Aqualad attacked, the latter smashing a water hammer into its face and the former tackling it afterwards.
She slumped against the almost destroyed pillar to catch her breath, turning her head when she heard "GL!" being shouted by Robin.
She was wondering when he'd finally come up with his plan.
Steeling herself, she limped/jogged over to the Boy Wonder just as the speedster ran up as well.
"Here's the plan. We need to take out the pillars so we can cave the place in on this guy. KF: you distract him. GL: try to take out as many pillars as you can. I'll get Aqualad and Superboy to do the same."
They both nodded before taking off to do their separate tasks.
Standing in front of two pillars, she created a wrecking ball, hearing "I got your nose!" from Kid Flash in the background.
Destroying the pillars as fast as possible, she dismissed her creation just as quickly as she'd made it. Her ring was probably at 5% at best. She didn't want to waste any more energy than was necessary.
Turning back to the fight, she watched as Aqualad electrocuted Blockbuster.
"Move!"
They all ran towards the end of the room, opposite of Blockbuster, at Robin's shout as the explosive bird-a-rangs he threw went off.
As the building collapsed, Aqualad pushed down Kid Flash and Robin and covered them with his body, Superboy doing the same to Fae.
Making one last construct, she made a shield over the group of five just as large chunks of rubble fell onto them.
After a few moments of listening to the sound of crumbling rocks and debris, all was quiet. Fae took the opportunity to shove off the pieces that fell onto them and dismissed the shield directly after.
Superboy helped her up as Aqualad did the same to the other two teens, Robin facing Fae.
"Did I mention how cool it is to have a Green Lantern on the team?"
Fae just smiled, even though she knew that her ring probably had less than 1% energy left.
"Hey Supey!"
Said clone turned towards the speedster as he pointed to the sky.
"See? The moon!"
Fae's smile widened as she looked at the absolute wonder spread across his face as he looked at the white satellite for the first time.
Maybe today wasn't so bad after all.
"Oh. And Superman! Do we keep our promises or what?"
As the great hero descended, so did the rest of the league, including three angry looking Green Lanterns.
That wiped the smile completely off of her face.
Strike that last thought. It definitely was, and it was about to get worse…
I know you won't believe me!
But the way I, way I see it,
Next time you point a finger,
I might have to bend it back,
Or break it, break it off!
Next time you point a finger,
I'll point you to the mirror.
Chapter 10 End
AN: So this was the longest chapter I've made so far, and sorry if I made Superboy seem OOC but I just wanted to really point out how unsure he was since it IS the first time he's been out of his pod and saw the world with his own eyes. So of course he's gonna be uncertain of how to go about doing/interacting with things/people.
Poll Status: It will be closing in the next chapter. I'm going to be combining poll results with review votes, so if you've already voted, via review or poll, it's been counted. And if you could be so kind as to tell me if you've voted, particularly the non-anonymous reviewers, and how, so I won't miscount, it would be much appreciated. I pretty much already have a result and will post it in the next chapter. And unless there's a landslide of votes coming in for another pairing, most of you will be happy and the rest, a tad disappointed...maybe…I don't know how you'd feel unless you told me.
So the pairings, again, are:
AquaFae (thanks mysterious reviewer who came up with this couple name that makes me think of the toothpaste "AquaFresh")
SuperFae
HalFae
KidFae
RobFae
RoyFae
Teen!KyleFae
VOTE!
And don't worry, the romance shall be interesting. And be ye for-warned, I'm a die-hard romantic on the inside and no romance is complete without DRAMA! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! But don't worry, this fic is mainly adventure, romance taking a backseat. To be quite honest, I hadn't even thought of making this fic a romance in the beginning, but then my romantic side threw a fit like, "there must be love in ALL the stories (unless it's family fluff)", and I had to oblige.
But yeah, adventure comes first! 'Cause let's be honest, if any of us ever got transported to a universe with freakin' superheroes AND you got powers? We'd all be to busy messin' up stuff and testing out our powers to find love. I, for one, would probably never walk again if I could fly (unless I was in one of those movies/cartoons where the government kidnaps and tortures you if you have powers…). So fear not!
Now go over to that little section in the bottom-right and review!
Reviews=Love=Motivation=Updates!
-SP