What a rush! It has always been a dream of mine to do a collab fic and that dream has finally come true with the help of my friend Puja723. Purely for the fun of it the two of us have gotten together to write this extremely silly story about a trio of friends who get together to celebrate their upcoming birthdays. I'd like to dedicate this story to Thomas Drovin! Without him Puja and I would have never met and we would have never had the opportunity to create awesomness. Happy Birthday!

Anyways, please enjoy and please leave a review at the end J

Run, run, run... Over and over the words raced across Selene's mind as she ran across the street. Beside her ran Tegan. As they rounded a corner a winded Tegan wheezed out, "I...am...going...to KILL YOU AARON!"

Behind the girls ran Aaron who stumbled slightly as he replied, "I'm sorry I never meant for any of this to happen."

Aaron stumbled again and this time he wasn't so lucky. He fell flat on his face with a cry. Selene and Tegan looked at each other and with only the slightest hesitation they stopped.

"We're all going to die," muttered Tegan darkly as she turned back and grabbed Aaron by his arm and yanked him up.

Selene couldn't help but agree with her friend's sentiment. Quietly she crept to the edge of the building and peered around the corner. The coast was clear. She waved her friends to move faster and when they had joined her Selene whispered, "Look, we can throw blame around once we leave this God forsaken place. Right now let's concentrate on getting the hell out of here and back to my house."

Aaron reached up and fiddled nervously with his glasses. "But we don't know where we are."

With a scowl Selene peeked around the edge of the building and studied the street. Relaxing slightly she said, "I think I know where we are. If we head south on this street we can get back to whe-"

A deep chuckle from behind them cut off Selene's words.

"Leaving the little party so soon? That's rather rude don't you think?"

The three friends turned around, faces pale and limbs trembling as they looked into the face of the Joker. His face twisted into a smile as he stepped forward and squeezed the flower on his lapel...

Several hours earlier

Selene sat at her desk scribbling in a notebook. In two days it would be her birthday and while it would be great to be getting gifts she was more excited about meeting her friend Tegan. She and Tegan had met online several years earlier and had become close friends. They had never met beforehand but as luck would have it Tegan had managed to score a decently priced ticket to meet up with Selene on her day. Selene absently brushed some hair from her face. It would be the ideal situation seeing as how Tegan's birthday less than a week after hers. She smiled; they would be sure to celebrate in style. Selene pushed the notebook aside and stood up the smile on her face widening. It was time to go pick Tegan up from the airport.

"Oh my God! This place looks AMAZING!" Tegan pressed her face against the window and stared in wonder at all the tall buildings whizzing by as Selene drove the two of them back to her place.

Selene smiled and said easily, "I imagine it's a huge difference from that small town you're from." She paused to merge into a different lane before continuing, "We'll be coming into the city tomorrow after I get off from work. I figure tonight we can watch shows and pig out on some junk food since you're tired from the flight."

"Sounds good to me." Tegan said as she turned to look at her friend. Tegan had been nervous about meeting her friend in person for the first time but clearly that was dumb. Selene was even better in person than online. Tegan leaned back in her seat and said teasingly, "Too bad Aaron couldn't make it to join the party."

Immediately Selene's face twisted into a grimace. "Uh, yeah no way was that going to happen. He's creepy. Besides my parents would flip if I had brought a guy over to stay the week." Although she was past the age where most people had moved out from their parent's home Selene had chosen to stay with hers to save money while she attended a local university. Once she had her degree there would be plenty of time to move on.

Tegan giggled and said, "I was just joking, it would have been too awkward to have him here. He'd probably spend the entire time fawning over you."

Selene couldn't help but shiver at those words. Aaron was a mutual online friend of theirs who unfortunately had a crush on her. She shook her head and said firmly, "Let's not talk about him anymore." She turned her car down a street and a few minutes pulled up to her house.

As Selene pulled into the driveway Tegan suddenly asked, "Hey who's that standing at your front door?"

"What? I don't know, a salesperson maybe?" Selene stopped the car and the two girls got out as the man on the porch turned around.

Both girls froze as they recognized the familiar bumbling smile of Aaron. In one hand he clutched a duffel bag and in the other hand was a sorry looking bouquet of flowers. Tegan made a choking noise and Selene couldn't help but look horrified. As he took a step towards them she said loudly, "You have got to be kidding me."

Aaron grinned and said cheerfully, "Surprise! You didn't think I'd let my two best girls celebrate alone did you?"

"This is a surprise alright," Tegan muttered darkly, "And it's not a good one."

Selene nodded in agreement. This was a nightmare.

The two girls walked the rest of the way to the front of the house. Aaron's face flushed as he thrust the flowers towards Selene. "H-Happy b-birthday." He muttered.

Selene touched her hand against her forehead, while Tegan watched on silently snickering to herself. The snickers stopped as soon as Selene turned a glare on her. Hesitantly, Selene took the flowers from Aaron; if one would call them flowers. They looked as if they were picked from someone's yard.

"I didn't have time to buy any, so I just picked them from your yard."

Tegan rolled her eyes. "How did we become friends with you?" she asked sarcastically.

Aaron's eyes twinkled like a child. "Don't you remember?" He asked not knowing that Tegan was being sarcastic. "It all started on that website for fans of different movies and TV shows."

Tegan and Selene exchanged dismayed looks and sighed.

"Anyway..." Selene told her friends. "C'mon in. My parents aren't home at the moment, but they know Tegan's supposed to be here…I'll have to inform them later about Aaron." She smiled leading her friends into her home. She led her friends into the foyer leading towards a marble floored living room and kitchen. In the foyer there was a staircase leading to the second level of the house. Selene motioned her friends to follow her upstairs.

"You're house is so big!" Tegan exclaimed as she looked around wide eyed; she lived in a small house in the country. By contrast Selene's city home appeared like a mansion.

Selene giggled. "Not really, this is an average looking home here in the city."

Aaron was about to say something when he noticed something in Selene's room. Her dressing table was filled with early birthday wishes. His hand touched the wooden piece of furniture.

"That's mahogany!" Selene yelled keeping her friend away from her cards and her dresser. One card in particular caught both Tegan and Aaron's eye. Ignoring Selene's concern about her things Tegan reached out and plucked it up off the dresser and quickly scanned the contents, her jaw dropping in shock.

"Y-You. Got. A. Card. From the Flash?!" Tegan asked holding the elaborate birthday card in her hand. She stared at the card with a dreamy expression covering her face as she thought of the handsome super hero. From the corner of her eye she could see Aaron foaming at the mouth with jealousy.

Selene's cheeks turned pink. "H-He's just a friend. Sort of."

Opening the card again Tegan discovered a pair of invite tickets to a benefit dinner promoting Bruce Wayne's new charity. One of the activities would be a special screening of an unreleased movie at one of the city's most expensive and lavishing restaurants.

"Well this sounds fancy," Tegan said as she examined the tickets. She frowned. "They're for tonight!"

"I completely forgot I bought these!" Selene exclaimed. Then she smiled at Tegan, "I know I said we'd be doing something low key tonight but forget that; you're coming with me tonight to this awesome party!" She then looked at Aaron. "Er…If I knew you were coming, I would've bought another ticket."

Aaron sighed and replied, "That's ok I'm used to being left out..." His voice trailed off as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it over to the girls. He grinned and said, "Which is why I managed to procure my own ticket for the event."

Selene and Tegan almost choked as they stared down at the ticket. Tegan handed it back to Aaron and asked warily, "How the hell did you know that Selene got these tickets?"

He shrugged innocently and set his bag on the ground. Glancing around him asked, "Is there a washroom around here?"

Selene sighed inwardly and exchanged a look with Tegan as she led Aaron to the bathroom beside her room. When she came back she and Tegan settled themselves on the bed.

"Is it just me or is it disturbing how much he knows about your life?" Tegan asked softly.

Selene nodded in agreement and whispered back, "It is pretty creepy...I bought the tickets a few days ago and stuck them in the card for safe keeping. I completely forgot to mention them to either of you."

Tegan sighed, "Well I suppose we're just going to have to ditch him once we get there. No offense to him but if I'm going to be going to a swanky party I can't be seen with him. Someone might think we came together." She grinned and finished teasingly, "He's all yours Selene."

Selene squawked in outrage but didn't say anything when Aaron reappeared from the bathroom. He looked at the two girls and smiled in what he must have thought was a charming way. "Well how shall we entertain ourselves as we wait for tonight's festivities to begin?"

"Well...I didn't realize we were going to be going to something so fancy..." Tegan's voice trailed off.

Selene immediately understood her friend's dilemma. "Don't worry; I know some good stores around here that we can hit. You should be able to find something perfect for tonight."

Aaron frowned in confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

Tegan grinned and said, "Shopping of course!"

Four hours later the trio found themselves back at Selene's home. Selene and Tegan walked into the house chatting as Aaron brought up the rear laden with at least 12 bags. Selene motioned for him to take them to her room upstairs and she glanced at the time on her phone. She frowned slightly, "We only have about two hours to get ready."

Tegan cringed slightly. "Only two hours? I guess we shouldn't have hit that last shop; we didn't even buy anything there."

Selene shrugged. "It doesn't matter, come on let's go get ready."

Aaron stood in the foyer for Selene's home adjusting the front of his surprisingly handsome suit. He had no interest in activities such as this but when he had discovered that his beloved Selene was going to attend the event he had become determined to attend. It hadn't been easy to discover that two tickets had found their way into her hands but thanks to some well-placed cameras and internet software he had managed to do just that. Unfortunately for him Tegan had surprised him with the news that she had gotten a plane ticket to visit Selene for their birthdays.

Aaron had been planning to surprise Selene with a visit and therefore go with her to the benefit dinner using the second ticket. Tegan's visit had thrown a wrench in those plans so Aaron had been forced to throw down some serious money to get his own ticket into the event. Luckily he had managed to do so and now here he was, moments away from escorting the woman he loved -and their mutual friend- to what promised to be a romantic night.

Giggling from the top of the stairs pulled Aaron from his thoughts and he straightened. He watched in fascination as Selene and Tegan descended the stairs. Gone were the girls from earlier; in their place were beautiful women. Elegant gowns sheathed their bodies modestly but the way the material clung to certain areas of their bodies left little to Aaron's imagination. He gulped as they reached the bottom of the stairs. He pulled his collar slightly to the side suddenly feeling hot and managed to say, "B-both of you look beautiful."

Tegan's face flushed with pleasure and she said, "Thank you Aaron...you don't look too bad yourself."

Selene nodded in agreement and she said smiling, "I don't think I've ever seen the three of us looking so great." She led the way out of the house and the three of the settled themselves into her car. It was a short drive to where the restaurant was located and when they arrived they were surprised to see how many people were already there. After a quick discussion they decided to do valet parking with the three of them splitting the cost.

As they walked into the restaurant and handed their tickets to a man standing near the entrance Tegan grabbed onto Selene's arm and squeezed it excitedly. "I can hardly believe we're here!" She lowered her voice and glanced around, "Do you think the Flash will be here? And speaking of him how come you never told me you knew him?!"

Selene looked at Tegan smiling sheepishly and replied, "Because if I told you, Aaron was sure to find out." She then turned to Aaron and frowned slightly. "I hope you won't do anything to embarrass us."

Tegan nodded in agreement. "Yeah don't even thinking about quoting dumb lines from movies, that's not attractive."

"Neither is talking about the weather!" Selene added.

"But it's an ice breaker." Aaron tried to defend himself.

"When cavemen existed it was!" Tegan scoffed and then looked at Selene. "Well I'm going to mingle with people, have fun with Aaron." She winked slyly. "He is your date after all."

Selene scowled holding her breath as she watched her best friend walk away from her. "I'm totally getting her for this..." She mumbled.

In the distance Bruce Wayne was answering several questions from reporters. Next to the eccentric billionaire was his son Damian, who was looking agitated as usual. "Father, this is tedious. I'm not even in the movie. It's pointless for me to be here." The small boy said.

Bruce sighed. "It's just for a few hours Damian."

Damian's eye twitched. "You said that the last time and a few hours turned into a fiasco that lasted until morning." He replied and then wandered off to get a drink. He looked back at his father still answering mundane questions. His thoughts were suddenly jumbled as he bumped into Tegan. A vein nearly popped in the small boy's head. "I can't believe they allow buffoons like you in here."

Slightly stung by the comment Tegan looked at the small boy in front of her. "Your parents need to teach you some manners. You're the one who bumped into me!"

Anger boiled in Damian's eyes and he was about to lunge at Tegan when he was suddenly grasped by a large set of arms. "Unhand me Drake!" Damian yelled trying to pry away from Tim.

Tim pulled the unruly boy away from the shocked looking female and said firmly, "Not until you settle down; you're making a scene."

It took a few moments but eventually Damian stopped his antics and with a hissed threat he stomped off. Tegan scowled at Tim and snapped, "Listen...er...Drake, You better keep your little brother in line before someone accidentally kicks his butt!" She turned with a huff and went over to where they had a table with an array of refreshments.

Meanwhile Selene was trying to get away from Aaron. Either he was completely stupid or he couldn't understand the very obvious hints she was dropping. Finally she said irritably, "I'm going to the bathroom." Without waiting for a response she escaped to the bathroom where she stayed for several minutes. There was another girl inside and when she looked as if she were about to exit Selene tapped her shoulder.

The girl turned, her red hair swishing as if it were in a hair commercial. Selene cleared her throat and asked hesitantly, "Excuse me...do you think you could do me a favor?"

The girl smiled slightly. "If it's nothing too difficult I suppose I could."

Selene said quickly, "Can you tell the gentleman with the light brown hair waiting outside the bathroom that I need him to get me some, uh, napkins...or anything along those lines?"

The redhead gave her a curious look but complied with Selene's wishes and several moments later she returned and said, "He took off like a lightning bolt to get those napkins." Her face darkened. "He's not harassing you is he?"

"No, he's just an overly ardent friend." Selene said with a sigh.

The redhead grinned. "I know all about those." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Barbara Gordon but you can call me Babs; most of my friends do."

Selene grasped Barbara's slim hand in her own and replied with a smile, "My name is Selene..." The two girls exited the bathroom chatting and Barbara turned her towards the dance floor that had been set up.

"Let's go this way; I see your friend coming...besides my boyfriend's over here and I'd like to introduce him to you."

Barbara led Selene up to a handsome young man talking to a little boy who had a scowl on his face.

The older man saw Babs and immediately a smile blossomed across his face making him, if possible, even more handsome. He slid his arm around Barbara's waist and gave it a squeeze. "Hey babe, I thought you had gotten lost in the bathroom."

"No, I just bumped into someone I'd like you to meet." Barbara paused to reach out and tug Selene closer. "Selene this is my boyfriend Richard Grayson. Dick, this is Selene."

Dick shook Selene's hand and she couldn't help but blush at the contact. Seeing her red face the little boy's scowl deepened and he snapped, "Not another one! What do you idiots see in this perverted playboy?"

"Be quiet Damian. Jealousy isn't a nice color on you." Dick said this easily and finished the statement by rumpling the other boy's hair. Damian smacked his hand away and stomped off.

Selene ran a hand through her hair and asked, "Is he always that...charming?"

Barbara rolled her eyes and replied, "I personally don't understand but," she paused to shrug a slim shoulder. "It's none of my business though...he just started living with his father and I guess that's rough on a little kid."

"What about his mother?" Selene asked curiously. "Shouldn't she care what her son does?"

"His mother is the head of..." Barbara answered and was suddenly interrupted by her boyfriend whisking her off to the dance floor.

Selene watched as couples slowly began filling the dance floor. She did a double take as she saw Tegan dancing with an older man. Selene couldn't help but wonder if the two had met before since their eyes were locked on one another with intensity she could feel even from where she stood. The young woman would have watched the scene with interest but Selene spotted Aaron making his way towards here and without a moment of hesitation she slipped into the crowd around her.

Eventually Selene found a spot that was Aaron free. She watched her friend dance and sunk against the wall wondering where her 'date' ran off to. "Knowing Aaron he probably got lost, thank goodness." She sighed and nearly tripped as she straightened to move across the room. There was a blur and suddenly strong arms wrapped around her waist to steady her. Selene blinked in surprise; where had he come from?

Selene's cheeks were redder than her savior's hair. She gazed into the boy's green eyes and she felt her cheeks blush again. "H-How were you able to catch me?" She asked blushing.

"I suppose I have good timing." The boy charmingly replied releasing his arms. "I'm surprised to see a pretty face like yours alone at this fancy party.

"I-It's not that I'm here alone...," Selene stammered. "I brought my friends here." She pointed to Tegan dancing with her mystery man. "As for my date," She shrugged carelessly. "I don't know where he went."

"So your date ditched you?" He asked her holding his hand out to her smiling sincerely. "I'm Wally West. I'll be your date for the evening."

Before Selene could tell him her name she felt him take her hand and before she could react the boy named Wally had his arm around her waist and delicately holding her right hand with his other hand slow dancing to the music.

Across the room Aaron watched in disbelief as Selene whirled around the dance floor with the other man. He crumpled the napkins in his hands and felt anger well up inside him. Selene had come with him, not with that red headed loser. Quickly he glanced around for Tegan; perhaps he could dance with her to try and get close to Selene so he could cut in. To his further astonishment he found Tegan dancing close to another man. Aaron couldn't believe this was happening. Clearly he needed to do some serious catching up if he wished to win Selene's heart.

"I-I never got your name." Tegan flushed as she gazed up at her handsome dance partner.

Her charming dance partner smiled and replied, "John…I am called John Jones."

Tegan swayed in John's arms and felt as if all was right with the world. She had noticed the handsome man standing near the refreshment table and needing a pick me up after that unfortunate encounter with the brat she had gone up to him and struck a conversation. He had been surprised as if he couldn't believe that someone could come up to him. After several minutes of pleasant conversation the live band began playing a song that Tegan liked. She had asked him to dance with her and after a moment's hesitation John had agreed.

The song had passed much too quickly but to Tegan's delight John asked her to dance the next number with him. It was a much slower song and Tegan couldn't help but be pleased at the prospect of moving closer to John. As they moved around the dance floor Tegan said appreciatively, "You're a wonderful dancer John."

John nodded and replied gravely, "Thank you; it is an interesting past time."

"Interesting past time? They don't dance where you're from?" Tegan asked curiously.

John's cheeks tinged pink and he replied quickly, "Ah...yes of course they do. I merely did not have much time to dance."

Tegan giggled and shifted so that she was slightly closer to her dance partner. She couldn't believe what a wonderful time she was having. Visiting Selene was turning out to be spectacular and it was only the first day. Speaking of Selene...Tegan peered over John's shoulder searching for her friend. To her surprise she found Selene moving around the dance floor in the arms of a handsome redhead. Tegan narrowed her eyes. Could he be the mysterious Flash that her friend was apparently friends with? The question was thrown from her mind as Tegan suddenly caught sight of Aaron's determined face as he barreled across the dance floor swinging a tall woman with him.

The woman, whose dark hair and beautiful features lent an air of familiarity to her, looked uncomfortable as Aaron clutched her waist with clammy hands. Tegan cringed as Aaron danced straight up to where Selene was, pushed his partner away, and asked determinedly, "May I cut in?"

Selene's expression changed to one of horror but Aaron ignored her and glared into the face of his adversary. Wally frowned and said, "Dude, this isn't the 1700s. You gotta wait for the dance to be over and then ask the lady if she wants to take a spin."

Aaron stiffened and said, "Well Selene is MY date and if I wish to dance with her then I may very well do it whenever I like!"

"This is the guy who you came with?" Wally asked Selene.

Face burning with humiliation Selene could only nod silently. Wally shrugged and turned to Aaron. "Sorry but the lady would rather dance with me. See you later." With that he whisked her away.

The hours passed by too quickly for the girls who were enjoying their night immensely. Selene had managed to avoid Aaron the rest of the evening and had spent her time getting to know Wally West. There was something achingly familiar about him and Selene felt positive that she had met him beforehand. Meanwhile Tegan was seated at a table chatting with Tim Drake.

Unfortunately John Jones had had to leave the party early and thoroughly disappointed Tegan had sat down at a table only to find herself next to the brother of that annoying child. After a few tense moments the tension had broken and she found herself genuinely liking the young man. Unfortunately he was several years younger than her but Tegan didn't care. After those moments with John Jones she was completely uninterested in anyone else.

As the party wound to an end Aaron sought out his friends and it was with great reluctance that the girls left their new friends behind. As they climbed into Selene's car Tegan said dreamily, "I had such an amazing time..."

Selene smiled and said, "I noticed you dancing with someone earlier. Who was that?"

After a brief explanation Tegan shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter; I'll never see him again since we travel in much different social circles..." She was silent for half a second before gushed out, "Ok you have got to tell me; was that cute red head that you were dancing with the Flash? I still can't believe that you know a superhero and you never said a word!"

Selene giggled. "Of course he wasn't the Flash! His name is Wally West...he was pretty cute."

"Oh...well who cares about him then. Tell us how you met the Flash!" Tegan looked eagerly at her friend and even Aaron, who had been sitting glumly in the back perked up slightly.

Selene turned pink and pulled out of the parking lot of the restaurant. "It wasn't anything that spectacular...There was an attack at my college a few weeks ago and the Flash happened to be close by and he came and pulled several of us out of the building before it collapsed." She stopped and saw that Tegan and Aaron were hanging onto her every word. She sighed and said, "He's a real flirt and he asked several of us girls there if we'd like to hit the coffee shop once he finished."

Tegan squealed. "Oh that's amazing! Nothing like that ever happens in my small town!" She gave Selene's arm a squeeze. "Go on, tell us what happened next!"

Selene explained that she and the other girls had decided to go the coffee shop and they had had a surreal coffee date with the famous Superhero.

Aaron sat observing the two girls talking about tonight's affairs. All he could think of was Wally and how he stole his only chance to make Selene his. The redhead would definitely feel his wrath if he ever showed his face near Selene again. His thoughts were interrupted as the car suddenly came to a halt.

Tegan fell back on her seat and Aaron fell on his face on the cushioned seat. He mentally made sure that Selene was wearing her seat belt.

"Selene! I know this is a big city, but you don't have to drive so recklessly." Tegan scolded her friend. "Why'd you stop?"

Selene said absolutely nothing. Her mouth was hanging open as she pointed a finger. The two friends' eyes darted towards the direction where Selene was pointing. To their astonishment they saw the Justice League fighting Lex Luthor in a gigantic green and purple robot. Selene and Tegan suddenly shrieked as Batman crashed into the windshield of the car.

"T-That was Batman!" Tegan squealed gleefully. "Do you think he's alright?"

"He just wrecked my car and your worried if he's ok?!" Selene snapped. "How am I supposed to tell my parents about this?! He better pay for the damages!"

Ignoring Selene's plight, Tegan clamored out of the car eager to see if the infamous superhero was alright. The dark knight shook the stars out of his head. Tegan slowly approached the caped crusader. "A-Are you ok?"

Batman glared at Tegan. "What are you doing here?! Get out of here now! It's not safe for civilians!" He then rejoined his teammates in attempting to subdue Luthor.

"Not so high and mighty are you Superman." Luthor taunted blasting Superman with a wave of bright green light from the center of his enormous robot.

Superman was unable to avoid the blast and the green beam sent him crashing into the building across the street. Large pieces of rubble fell to the street below and Tegan dived back into the car. "I just met Batman!" she gushed. "Can you believe it? This is the best vacation ever!"

Ignoring her star struck friend Selene shifted the car into reverse but when she looked over her shoulder she realized that several other cars had driven up. The owners of the vehicles were abandoning their transportation and running wildly in all directions. Realizing they were trapped in that spot Selene threw the car into park and yanked the keys out of the ignition. "C'mon you two, we're going to have to leave the car here."

Aaron immediately complied with Selene's wishes and jumped out of the car only to fall over and bang his head on the ground. Selene and Tegan jumped out also- and much more gracefully- and they rushed over to Aaron. He groaned slightly and sat up with a dazed expression on his face. Selene reached down and grabbed his arm and gave it a tug. "Get up Aaron! We need to get ou-!" Her sentence ended in a shriek as a sudden blur hit her and she found herself seemingly flying through the air.

When the world finally stopped moving she found herself at the end of the street along with a dazed looking Aaron and an ecstatic Tegan. It took Selene a moment to understand the babble coming from her friend.

"That was the Flash! THE FLASH! Oh I think I'm going to pass out..." Tegan fell back against the ground unable to stand from a combination of nerves and emotion.

Selene shook her head and turned her attention back to the battle. She had seen clips of the Justice League battles on the news but seeing it actually happen in person was another thing entirely. She drank in the scene and gasped as it seemed that the Lex Bot was prevailing. Easily the machine smacked Hawkgirl out of the sky and seemed to crush a flying Wonder Woman between its two hands. Tegan gasped but what she was about to say was interrupted by Aaron suddenly clamoring to his feet and shouting, "That's the woman I danced with!" Then he took off racing down the street back to the battle.

The two girls exchanged horrified glances. "He's going to get himself killed!" Selene said.

"That wouldn't be such a shame," replied Tegan with a shrug of her shoulders. At Selene's immediate glare she quickly added, "But of course we won't let that happen. Let's go get him before he does something stupid." The two girls removed their heels and stashed them underneath a nearby Post Office mail box.

Hitching up her dress to move faster Selene cast a mournful glance behind her towards the shoes. "I really hope we can get those back."

The two girls searched for their friend amidst the battle. Selene sighed and shook her head, "Where could he have run off too?" She then looked at Tegan and continued, "I think we're going to have to split up and look for him."

"Why?" Tegan asked with a straight face. "He's older than both of us. Plus he's a man...sort of. He can take care of himself." She gently squeezed Selene's arm. "Besides," she asked nervously, "It's past midnight, aren't there creeps and weirdoes running around at this time of night?"

"Not always," Selene reassured her friend. "Besides if we get into trouble the Justice League is technically around. I'm sure they would try to save us; they're superheroes it's what they do." The two friends quickly exchanged cell phone numbers in case they got into trouble or got lost amongst the chaos. Selene and Tegan split up and searched for their friend.

Already lost, Tegan wasn't sure where she was going anymore. She tried calling Selene but there was no signal coming from her cell phone. "Great." She muttered under breath. "A dead signal." She warily looked around making sure no one was behind or in front of her. "From what I've seen a bunch of movies this is the part where the psychopath comes up towards the unsuspecting tourist girl and guts her..." Her words were cut short as she heard groaning near a dumpster.

With only a moment's hesitation Tegan slowly approached the figure in pain. "H-Hey you? What's wrong?" She asked meekly. "Do you need a hospital?"

Tegan edged closer to the person and saw that they were leaning heavily against the dumpster. She immediately stopped and took a step back as she saw sea green hand reach out to her. "What the hell! What the hell are you?!" She shrieked almost falling backwards.

Martian Manhunter could not focus because of the raging fire arising from the battle with Luthor. Tegan's scream nearly deafened him as he slowly stood up. Straightening he realized that the figure before him was the girl from the dinner benefit he had danced with earlier. Then he realized that the fear in her eyes was not directed at the fiery battle going around them but at him. J'onn felt his spirits plummet but now was not the time for such things; the fires were burning closer and both he and Tegan would perish in them if they did not move. Ignoring Tegan's fearful whimper as he took a step towards her J'onn said gravely, "Come, we must leave this area."

J'onn grabbed her by the wrist and flew the both of them up onto the top of a nearby building. When they landed J'onn turned away to reenter the battle but he was stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. He looked down at Tegan in surprise. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "T-thank you..." They stared at each other for a long moment before J'onn gave a stiff nod and flew off.

Down below Selene wasn't having much better luck. Although she knew the streets of the city everything seemed much different with all the rubble lying around and the occasional car being thrown overhead. Ducking behind a car on its side the young woman narrowly missed being hit in the face by a hunk of concrete. Silently she cursed her friend Aaron and continued on her way. She had barely gone three steps when suddenly there was a red blur and the Flash stood before her. His normally cheerful expression was replaced by a serious one and he had his arms folded over his chest. Selene's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"A little dangerous to be taking a midnight stroll don't you think?" his voice was stern.

Selene flushed slightly and replied, "I'm looking for my friend. He...er...got lost in the fray."

The Flash grinned. "Don't tell me your lame date from earlier is who you're looking for. He seems like the one to get stuck in the middle of a serious battle."

"How did you know about my friend?" asked Selene in shock.

Immediately the Flash rubbed the back of his head and said, "Did I saw that I knew him? My mistake; I thought you were someone else." He opened his mouth to say more when Green Lantern suddenly flew by yelling for him to come help.

"Looks like I'm needed elsewhere." He winked at Selene. "I'll be back in a minute." As he raced off Selene shook her head. Men.

Meanwhile Aaron was just a little ways ahead crouching beside a street lamp his eyes fastened on the Amazonian Princess, Wonder Woman. He hadn't paid much attention at the dinner who he had been dancing with to get closer to Selene but seeing Wonder Woman again left no doubt in his mind that she was the same person. He had held one of the most beautiful women in the world in his arms and he hadn't even noticed. He shook his at his folly. Surely she would survive this fight and he would get a chance to give Wonder Woman the attention she deserved. Aaron sighed amorously and stood up to find a better a better vantage point.

The Amazon Princess was too busy deflecting lethal beams from Luthor's robot to notice Aaron stalking her every movement. Delicately pressing her com-link, she contacted her teammates. "We have to get Superman out of here," she informed them. "He won't be able to survive another kryptonite blast from Luthor." She then proceeded pummeling the robot with her fists causing an uncomfortable bulge to appear in Aaron's pants. Swallowing hard, Aaron proceeded to watch the goddess fight.

Wonder Woman raised her fist to punch the robot again, but saw Hawkgirl fly forward and smack the giant robot with her mace. "I could've handled it." Wonder Woman said to her teammate who had just interrupted her fight.

"You said we needed to get Superman out of here as soon as possible," Hawkgirl replied. "The faster we destroy this thing, the faster we can get Superman back up to the Watch Tower." She then noticed Aaron watching Wonder Woman's movements. "...Did you know you've got an admirer down there?" She asked the Amazon Princess.

Wonder Woman's gaze fell on Aaron as Green Lantern now took up the fight. She sighed shaking her head. "Hera...why do the strange ones always watch me?"

Hawkgirl shrugged. "I would have thought you would be used to it because of the Flash."

Wonder Woman gazed down at Aaron. "I'd rather have the Flash watching me instead of that child...," She replied. "He kept fumbling over his feet when we were dancing earlier..." Staring down at Aaron she yelled, "Get out of here! It's too dangerous for you to be standing there by yourself!"

Snapping to attention, Aaron looked up. Could it be true? The amazon warrior actually noticed him. Aaron continued gawking at Wonder Woman although she seemed more agitated than a few moments before. His head filled with plots to get closer to the woman Aaron did not notice that there was someone behind them until it was too late.

From her vantage point on top of the roof Tegan could see clearly the battle going on before her. To her delight she saw the Justice League finally bringing the Lex Bot to its knees. Her glee was short lived however when the Injustice Gang appeared to fight the now tired heroes. Tegan covered her mouth in horror realizing that the Gang had probably set this trap to tire the heroes and then kill them at their low point. The horror was quickly replaced by anger.

"Those...Those jerks! Who do they think they are! They're going to wish they had never tricked the Justice League like this..." her voice trailed off as she watched Solomon Grundy punch Batman into a building.

Tegan brushed her hair out of her face. "I have got to find Selene...and Aaron so we can get the hell out of here."

With ease she was able to locate Selene crouched amongst the rubble no longer able to advance to wherever their male friend had run off to because of the newest villain arrivals. Relieved that she had located her friend Tegan now searched for a way to get off the building. This took several moments but she finally located a fire escape on the side of the building. Cursing her long gown Tegan clutched it in one hand as she slowly made her way down to street level.

Her foot had barely touched the floor when a voice behind her hissed, "Well, what is it that we have here?"

Tegan slowly turned and found herself face to face with the notorious villain Copperhead. His eyes gleamed as his tongue snaked out. Tegan recognized him immediately from a news story she had watched not too long ago. She eyed his sharp teeth and took a step backwards lifting her arms at the same time.

"Look Mister...er...Copperhead; you do not want to do anything to me."

"Ssseems to me asss though you aren't in a posssition to be making demandssssss." Copperhead replied as he moved forward, lowering his body into a crouch so he could pounce.

Feeling faint Tegan realized that she had quite possibly reached the end of her life.

Selene was worried. She had abandoned the search for Aaron and now she was desperately trying to find Tegan. Now that the Lex Bot had been destroyed the rest of the League, although tired, were fighting against the Injustice Gang. Superman had reappeared and after several well aimed punches he had brought Solomon Grundy down. Wonder Woman and Green Lantern incapacitated Star Sapphire and Hawkgirl was busy fighting against Ultra-Humanite.

Selene gripped her phone tightly in her hand as she dialed Tegan's number and began walking. To her surprise and relief she heard the sound of Tegan's ringtone. Selene quickened her pace and was in seconds at the mouth of alleyway where she discovered her friend in the clutches of Copperhead.

"Tegan!" Selene's voice startled the villain and his grip on the woman loosened.

Feeling the slackening in his arms Tegan twisted out of his grip with a shriek and ran forward. She grabbed Selene's arm and without stopping Tegan dragged her out of the alley and turned right. The two girls ran without stopping until they reached the end of the block. Breathing heavily they collapsed against a building as they tried to regain their bearings.

Brushing hair out of her face Selene started to say something when her eyes caught sight of an unconscious Aaron several feet away. "Aaron!" she cried out and rushed forward.

Tegan followed close behind and together they knelt beside their friend. "Do you think he's dead?" whispered Tegan.

Selene shook her head. "No, look, he's breathing."

"I wonder what happened to him." Tegan said as she shook Aaron's shoulder.

"I don't care what happened to him," Selene said grimly. "Let's just get him up so we can get out of here!"

Together the two girls managed to rouse their fallen friend. Aaron groaned as his eyes opened and he touched the top of his head with a wince.

"Wh...What happened?" He groaned as he attempted to sit up.

Tegan helped him and said, "We just found you right now. If you weren't injured I would slap you. What were you thinking running off like that?"

Aaron bit his bottom lip replying, "The woman I danced with tonight was Wonder Woman...I needed to get closer to her."

Selene could feel her eye twitch at Aaron's words. "You took off so you could get closer to Wonder Woman in the middle of a battle? Are you insane?" She shook her head and stood up. "C'mon lets go back to my house."

Her two friends stood and they began to walk. They hadn't gone far when quite suddenly Copperhead and Shade appeared before them. Copperhead hissed and locked his eyes on Tegan. "There she issss Shade."

Shade whirled his nightstick in his hands and said, "You sure know how to pick them Copperhead. At least this time she's more attractive than the girl from last week." He raised his nightstick and pointed it at the three friends.

Before he could surround them all in shadow a voice cackled behind him and a familiar looking man appeared and threw his arms around the two villains. The Joker grinned hideously at the three of them as he said, "Don't you just love innocent civilians? They're so useful."

Copperhead and Shade glared at the other villain and the Joker said innocently, "Oh dear me, was I interrupting something?"

"Yes you were." said Batman from above them as he swooped down and kicked all three of the villains to the ground.

Tegan, Selene and Aaron did not hesitate. They ran.

Run, run, run... Over and over the words raced across Selene's mind as she ran across the street. Beside her ran Tegan. As they rounded a corner a winded Tegan wheezed out, "I...am...going...to KILL YOU AARON!"

Behind the girls ran Aaron who stumbled slightly as he replied, "I'm sorry I never meant for any of this to happen."

Aaron stumbled again and this time he wasn't so lucky. He fell flat on his face with a cry. Selene and Tegan looked at each other and with only the slightest hesitation they stopped.

"We're all going to die," muttered Tegan darkly as she turned back and grabbed Aaron by his arm and yanked him up.

Selene couldn't help but agree with her friend's sentiment. Quietly she crept to the edge of the building and peered around the corner. The coast was clear. She waved her friends to move faster and when they had joined her Selene whispered, "Look, we can throw blame around once we leave this God forsaken place. Right now let's concentrate on getting the hell out of here and back to my house."

Aaron reached up and fiddled nervously with his glasses. "But we don't know where we are."

With a scowl Selene peeked around the edge of the building and studied the street. Relaxing slightly she said, "I think I know where we are. If we head south on this street we can get back to whe-"

A deep chuckle from behind them cut off Selene's words.

"Leaving the little party so soon? That's rather rude don't you think?"

The three friends turned around, faces pale and limbs trembling as they looked into the face of the Joker. His face twisted into a smile as he stepped forward and squeezed the flower on his lapel. The purple smoke that drifted out slammed into a wall of green and the three friends gasped in astonishment. The Green Lantern hovered over them and was using his ring to shield them from the poisonous laughing gas. The Joker's face fell but before he could do anything Hawkgirl swooped up behind him and hit him hard over the head with her mace. The villain toppled over and police swarmed over as the green shield was lowered.

"I don't know about you guys," said Aaron weakly. "But I wouldn't mind heading to bed now."

The two girls murmured their assent and with no further drama the three friends wearily trudged home.

And that is the end of chapter one! After the nights thrilling events will anything else be able to top it during the rest of Tegan's visit? Will the girls be able to reconnect with the charming men they met? Will Aaron ever get a life?

All that and more in the next and final chapter of Fates Intertwined...