Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, but I do own Andie Kyle.

Wally rose to his feet with clenched fists. I shook my head, disappointed; even I could tell he had no chance. The speedster sprinted forward, pulling back his chained hands. The masked man didn't move; his eyes latched onto me.

Then he jumped, and Wally skidded to a halt in the spot he'd just vacated. The red head looked up, and swore. Twin feet gave him a swift greeting. I winced as Wally hit the floor, motionless. Gritting my teeth, I stood up. It was hard to breathe; difficult to think. My fear was all-consuming.

This man...this thing...is an abomination. His mind is warped.

The henchman walked closer; I ceased to move. Then, he lunged forward, pinning me against the bars. His hand snaked around my neck with an experts' confidence. Nails dug into my flesh and I yanked at his arm. In my wild panic, I glanced up at his eyes; they were the eyes of a mad man. His grip grew tighter, and even wheezing became difficult. Then the pressure was gone, and he dropped to the floor with a resounding thud.

Doubled over, I took in a quick breath, followed by a series of coughs. When I rose, Robin stood before me. His brow was furrowed.

"You froze back there."

I shrugged, and focused all my attention on the unconscious masked man. "There's... something wrong with that guy. I fought with him before, but this time was different. He hardly seemed sane."

Robin nodded. "I got that feeling as well, like his mind had been messed with..." He fell quiet, his brow furrowing in thought.

I leant against the bars and sighed heavily. I'd been strangled, thrown down stairs, and knocked out; it's fair to say today sucks.

"Hey."

I blinked, re-focusing on Robin. "You figured out who's behind this?"

He nodded. "I have my suspicions. But that's not what I want to talk about." He faced me with a look of steely determination, his voice was grim. "Tell me. What did you mean, before, when you said Selina had made you into a weapon?"

I stood up straight; fists clenched. My courage had long since vanished. "This isn't the time or place Robin."

He stared at me for a few seconds, then bent down to search our attackers' pockets. He rose with a set of keys swaying on his fingertips. "We have an escape route," then he pointed to the unconscious speedster. "And we're all alone. I don't think we could find a better time or place."

I opened my mouth and closed it, repeatedly. Then I lunged forward and snatched the keys from his grip. "Don't be stupid!" I yelled. "You're...you're just being stupid!" I swung around to place the key in the lock. The only sound to be heard was my heavy breathing. The keys fell from my hand before I could turn them. I tried again, and again. I failed each time.

"You're hands are shaking." His voice was calm.

I said nothing. Instead, I picked up the keys and cupped them in my palms.

"What are you so afraid of?"

The metal vibrated in my shaking hands. "I already hate myself for what I am; I'm ashamed of my existence. I don't need you to feel the same way."

He scoffed. "There's no guarantee that I will."

I whipped around to face him. "There's no guarantee that you won't!"

I ground my teeth. How can he just brush off my concerns? Doesn't he understand the seriousness of this situation?

Wally stirred, rising to his feet with a loud groan. "Why do bad guys always attack the face?" He stepped over the prone figure of the masked man, and pointed to the cell door. He looked between me and Robin. "Aren't we gonna, you know, escape?"

I nodded slowly, handing him the keys. "Here."

He gave me a quizzical look. "Why can't you -"

"Just open the door Wally." Robin snapped.

"Fine." He fiddled with the keys, finally swinging the cell door open. "Can't believe you're treating me like this. I mean, I just recovered from unconsciousness five seconds ago. Not everyone can bounce back from a near death experience you know."

That got my attention. "'Near death'?! You only got kicked in the face."

He shrugged, in all seriousness. "For all you know, it could have caused brain damage."

Robin took the first steps out of the cell. He spoke with a bored tone. "I don't believe any more damage can be done to your brain."

Wally frowned and made his way out of the cell. I followed shortly after.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Robin stood opposite me, around the corner of a guarded hallway. He'd set up our comm units for easy communication. I glanced around the corner at our target; the cell. If I squinted, I could just make out Kaldur and the others.

I looked across at Robin, who gave me a quick nod. "That's it."

He seemed to be in 'mission mode', having forgotten our argument with the threat of upcoming danger. I took a deep breath. "About earlier, maybe I shouldn't have yell-"

"Keep quiet and concentrate. We'll attack on my signal." He gripped onto the wall, leaning forward into the hallway.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm trying to apologise here-"

"Andie. It's fine." He turned towards me, his face apathetic - unreadable. Angling his head sideways, he spoke into the comm unit, effectively ignoring me. "Kidflash, you in position?"

"Yup," Wally replied.

"Alright." Robin allowed a small smile to emerge on his lips. "Distraction commencing."

I sighed, and shot out into the corridor. The guards all turned as a collective unit, and I began my attack. Flipping over a high kick, I landed on one foot and delivered a hard punch to a man's jaw. Unlike the other henchmen, these didn't have masks. They were probably too low on the food chain to even warrant secret identities. I scooted away as another punch came my way. Off to the side, Robin joined the fray. He threw a series of metal balls, and I jumped away as they exploded.

Wally hopped down from his hiding place in the ceiling vent. He landed directly in front of the cell which held our unconscious teammates. "Duuuude," he whined through the comm unit. "You had those bombs in your belt this whole time? Why didn't you use them before?!"

"Think." Robin replied, sounding only slightly breathless. "If I had used them before we found the others, we'd have never had a chance to break them out."

"True." I said. "The explosions are seriously loud. We might as well be screaming 'come and kill us'." I slammed my shoulder into a guard, and kicked his face as he tried to gain balance. He dropped like a stone.

"Kidflash, don't waste time. Get that cell open," Robin said.

"Easier said than done...which key is it?" Wally muttered.

I cursed as a fist flew by my face, stumbling backwards from the near collision. "Robin, this is getting ugly, fast…" I took a kick to my temple, stumbling sideways from the force. A whoosh of air caught my attention, and I flung myself backwards, avoiding a scissor kick that hit the pavement. I backed away from the battle, and looked around. Reinforcements had arrived; they wore ski-masks. "…we should fall back."

"No." He kneed a guard in the gut. "Not until that cell door is open. Our teammates are wearing inhibitor collars; we will not leave them in enemy territory."

I took a step back, towards a wall, as more masked men appeared. "But...these men are the same as that other one; they're minds are warped." Suddenly, hands grabbed me from behind. I squirmed against the grip, but a push rammed me into the wall. My nose connected, absorbing all the force.

Then it snapped. I screamed. Blood dripped.

The taste of copper stained my tongue. "Wally. Open the damn door already." My voice wavered slightly with the promise of tears; the pain was immense.

"Working on it," came his stilted reply.

From behind me, I heard the snap of what sounded like a bone. Seconds later, Robin yelled. My unseen assailant slammed me into the wall. Again. This time the plaster cracked. A mousy whine escaped my lips.

"I can't... I can't find the key! It's not here!" Wally's voice came out as a desperate yell.

"What?!" I sputtered through the plaster lodged in my mouth.

"Check again KF. It has to be there," Robin insisted. His voice was raspy, as though speaking through clenched teeth.

"It's not. It's not here! I've tried and re-tried every one. This is the wrong set of keys!"

I fell limp, despair rendering me useless. I shut my eyes on the world. The harsh hands that had held me, disappeared; I can only guess he thought I was dead. "It doesn't matter anyway. Whether we have the key or not, it's too late for us to escape. The masked men are here. We're as good as dead."

"Don't be so pathetic." My eyes snapped open and above me stood a scowling Robin. His left arm hung at an odd angle, like something that didn't belong on his body. Bruises had blossomed on every inch of his face. "You're a hero; you don't give up until you've drawn your last breath." He held out his hand. "And if you do that, I will never forgive you."

There you have it. Just when you thought Andie was willing to spill her secret, she lost her nerve. And it looks like Robin's not gonna drop it either; he's determined to unravel her past. However, someone else might beat him to the punch...