Chapter 36

Disclaimer: i do not own Young Justice and/or any DC comics characters

Rated T for language, violence, and sexuality

Enjoy and R&R

Hall of Justice, Washington DC, March 25, 2017, 7:35 am...

Nightwing sat down and set a manilla file on the table, "Did you honestly think you could fool us with that bullshit of a social security?"

Evony smiled timidly, "Can you blame a girl for trying?"

"But, we ran your prints."

"My prints aren't-"

"On any worldwide databases. Yes, I know. Still," he flipped the folder open, "you aren't camera shy."

Inside the folder, several pictures of Evony at various ages were shuffled together. She glanced at them all with distaste. Nightwing closed the folder, "Evony Sierra Castellan, born January 1, 2001 in El Paso, Texas. Your father, Scott Nightwolf, is a retired, Apache chief. And your mother? Well, she sure has a long history with the law."

Evony fiddled with her handcuffs, "My family doesn't define me."

"True, but curiously enough...you and your sister, Ivory Sienna, were shipped off to a mental hospital by your maternal grandmother," he raised a brow at her.

"That old hag thought there were demons inside us. I scared her with my abilities...when she couldn't 'cleanse' us of the demons, she assumed we would be fixed at that hospital," she smiled politely at him. "Now, do you see why I caught Mr Luthor's eye?"

"Mutual attraction," he guessed.

"Hardly. I refused his offer and he kidnapped my sister," she leaned forward. "Its only because of that...that I don't slip into his room at night and slit his throat."

"So there is some madness to you," he faked admired.

"Five years in a psych ward will do that to you. I was 8 when they put my in that hellhole. My sister was only 5. Physical pain is nothing compared to the torture of the mind," she leaned back in her chair. "You already know I'm telling the truth about my sister."

"I do."

"So why am I still chained up?" she tugged on her handcuffs.

"You're a killer, a thief, computer hacker, and you work for the Light...you can understand why we're hesitant in trusting you."

"I killed to keep my sister safe. I steal to put food in her stomach and money in her pockets for school. I hack into computers because I need to keep us invisible. And I work for the Light because they have my sister...the only person left who loves me and whom I love," her voice cracked and her eyes began to water. "You can go ahead and sit there, judging me. These aren't crocodile tears. I am desperate. I want my sister and I want out of this life. Please. I'm begging you. Please, help me."

Watchtower, March 29, 2017, 2:57 pm...

"Vitals look good."

Sophie paced the room. She doubled checked the IV, heart monitor, and brain waves analyzer. The room was small, just big enough to house a bed, a small desk shoved into the corner, and the machines. Jeline laid on the bed in a nice light gray gown with the machines hooked up to her. She stared at the ceiling with a blank, unreadable expression. Sophie wrote down the stats on the clipboard, "Everything seems to be in order. I just wish...I knew why you won't snap out of it."

Jeline blinked.

"At least, you're blinking now," Sophie sighed.

She sat down on the stool at the desk. She leaned on her palm and shook her head. It was only six days ago that Jeline was raped by Tommy Terror. Her body has healed. Her mind is calm. But the initial shock hasn't worn off. Day after day, she lays there, staring at nothing. Sophie felt tears spring up every time she thinks about when Caleb came to see his catatonic mother. His cries of pain and misery of his unresponsive mother. Connor is still searching for the Terror Twins.

Sophie rubbed her forehead, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Another blink.

"Its Dick, Jeline. He's gotten so...he let all this happen. He brought all this chaos upon us," she shook her head. "Sometimes I find myself wondering what it'd be like to have a normal life, you know?"

Blink.

Sophie stood up abruptly then sat back down, getting suddenly dizzy. "Damn it. Not much sleep. I-I'll come to check on you later."

Blink.

Pacific Ocean, March 30, 2017, 6:28 pm...

Annie screamed in pain as the Scientist probed her with red hot surgical tools. The Scientist put away her torturous tool and watched as Annie's wound glowed brightly then disappeared, leaving no scar. The Scientist spoke in a strange, clicking language, but Annie could understand her just fine.

"Marvelous. That healed nicely," the Scientist rubbed the girl's skin. "No suit and it still heals you. Perhaps...is it inside you?"

The Scientist stepped back as the computer scanned Annie's naked body. Annie coughed, shivering from her cold sweat. "Jaime...where's Jaime?"

"Amazing," the Scientist admired the scan. Nestled in-between her stomach and liver, was a small orb that glowed even in the scan. "One of the lost Power Stones. How did a mere human like you obtain such a thing? You hold the power of life inside you. The living power of life and light itself. Spectacular."

Annie turned away from the alien, "Jaime. Jaime!"

"Now, that simply won't do." The Scientist grabbed Annie's chin, forcing the girl to look upon her. "Be quiet...or I will cut out your tongue. You don't really need it."

Star City, March 30, 2017, 9:57 pm...

Evony, Tim, and Barbara watched from the crates as Manta henchmen guarded a pen of teenagers. Tigress ordered the men to bring out pods. Evony scratched her head and Bumblebee flew up near her. "Stop that or it'll fall off!"

"But it itches like a motherfu-"

"Hey, you needed a disguise," Tim reminded.

"You don't have to be so snappy." Evony frowned. She wore a black wig that was stuck annoyingly tight to her head, and contacts to hide her red eyes.

She slithered back into the shadows and the others followed. She led them towards the balcony that was directly over the pen full of kids. All three of them jumped down. Some of the kids gasped in surprise. Barbara shushed them, "We're here to help."

A blond girl frowned at them, "Why should we trust-"

Bumblebee flew past her and into a secret pocket inside Tim's jacket. The blond girl's eyes widened, "Never mind."

"Move it!" Tigress ordered.

The Manta henchmen opened the pen and started grabbing kids. Evony kept her head down and struggled a little bit when one of the big guys grabbed her. As he stuffed her inside, she planted a small chip on the pod. The pod closed, cutting off all sound from outside. She saw Tim and Barbara being loaded up and put to sleep. Evony smirked and closed her eyes, enjoying a little nap.

Bio-ship...

M'gann flew the ship in stealth mode after the flyer. Natalie sat on one side and Cassie sat on the other with Nightwing in front. "Good," he sighed. "They're leading us to Lagoon Boy."

"How can you be so sure?" Natalie asked.

"Wishful thinking."

Cassie glanced up, "Wait, the abductee shipment...how'd you know about that?"

"Aquaman came across the intel while searching for La'gaan."

M'gann slowed down as the flyer attached to a unknown alien ship. Nightwing stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, "So that's the Light's partner. It has the same alien design sensibility as the bombs that destroyed Malina Island and Mount Justice."

"Kinda reminds me of Blue's armor," Cassie stated.

"Miss M, you're up."

The Ship...

Evony opened her eyes as the Manta-men loaded the pods out of the flyer. Alpha Squad, I'm about to enter, M'gann's voice filled her head. Are you aboard?

Whoa. This feels...really weird and kinky, Evony glanced around. Oh! And there's an echo!

Shut up, Tim scolded.

We're on some kind of loading dock, Barbara informed. And there's the Light's partner. Uh-oh, Aqualad's here.

Evony's eyes widened and she huffed, And that's my cue. Kaldur'ahm's the only one who'd recognize me even in this clown suit. I'll resurface when its safe.

Evony, don't diverge from the-

Too late!

Kaldur walked over to Evony's pod. "Was this one empty when you loaded the test subjects?"

"N-no, sir. I put a girl in there."

Kaldur opened the pod, finding no trace of anyone being inside. "Perhaps you were simply mistaken."

"Yes, sir." The henchmen closed the pod.

She's gone, M'gann gasped. She's just gone. I-I can't sense her telepathically.

Nightwing growled in frustration, Damn it. Stay whelmed everyone. We proceed as planned. If we need to leave Invisible Girl behind, so be it. She's not one of us and the Light will do worse to her if they catch her.

Main Hallway...

Evony moved through the ship, walking casually like no one could see. And no one could. To the naked eye, she was invisible. To the mechanical, technological, animal eye and minds, she was utterly undetectable. Despite her dislike of her powers, it came in handy when she needed it. He footsteps made no sound and the aliens passing by didn't even hear her occasional coughs.

She glanced up upon hearing the alarm. "Great. I should've just come alone."

She poked her head into the loading dock. Cassie and Natalie were loading the abducted kids onto the bio-ship. "Okay. They're safe. Time to find what I came here for."

She turned around and someone grabbed her by the neck. Conner held her against the wall, "Where are the Terror Twins?!"

"Not here, you dumbass!" she struggled against his strength. "I need to find-"

"I don't care what you want. You're gonna help me find Tommy Terror...or you'll never see your sister again."

Evony ceased her struggling and frowned, "You're half-human, right?"

"What?"

She poked his eyes. Conner let go and Evony sprinted out of the hallway and towards the laboratory. She turned invisible as the giant Black Beetle passed by her, heading for the loading dock. Evony skidded to a halt, "Should I...no, I can't. Not yet."

East Wing...

Jezebelle entered the hallway were M'gann telepathically dominated Kaldur, sending his mind into oblivion. She smirked and snuck up behind them. Garfield noticed her first and she stroked his chin. He closed his eyes and smiled before falling over, happy and dazed. Jezebelle placed her hand on M'gann's shoulder and turned her around. The Martian's eyes ceased their glowing. "You...Jeanne?"

Jezebelle gently stroked M'gann's face then kissed her. M'gann froze, stunned. Jezebelle pulled her lips away, sucking green energy from M'gann. "No one plays with my toys," she whispered, taking a large gulp of energy, "not even a crazed alien bitch like you."

M'gann embraced Jezebelle, overtaken with emotion as the red-head drained her. They slowly fell to the ground. Tigress entered the hallway, "What the hell? Kaldur!"

Jezebelle stopped, glancing over at a catatonic Kaldur. "No!"

She clambered off of M'gann and ran over to Kaldur. She lifted his head up and kissed him, giving him pale-pink energy. "Come on. Wake up!"

She gave him more. Kaldur coughed weakly and groaned before passing out. Jezebelle glanced up at Tigress. "We have to get him out of here. Now!"

Laboratory 3...

Evony hacked into the alien computer system and opened the door. The Scientist was too busy running torturous tests on Annie while Jaime was being probed. "Okay. Now, what?"

Suddenly, Impulse zoomed past her, knocking the Scientist aside. Evony snapped to attention and went to the computers. Impulse appeared next to her, "Who are-wait, I know you. Evony Castellan, right?"

"Do I know you?" she asked, absently hacking into the computers.

"No. But you will! I'm surprised you're here already. You're really famous in the fut-"

"That's great and all, but can you help your friends while I copy the alien's entire system?"

"Oh, right!" He zoomed around to get Jaime out of the pod. Jaime groaned and rubbed his forehead, "Where...Annie?"

"I got her," Bart set Jaime down and zoomed over to Annie. He glanced around for something to cover her with. He raced out of the lab then came back with a gray hospital gown. Jaime wobbled over, "Oh, no. Annie."

"She seems to be fine. Just unconscious," Bart said. "I don't know how we're gonna get her out, though."

"I-I'll carry her," Jaime slid his arms under her body.

"Are you sure?"

"She's my girl." He scooped her up into his arms, steadying himself from the extra weight.

Evony pulled the flash drive from the computer, "Done. Everything's copied. Let's go."

Jaime's eyes widened in anger, "Wait, you were with Aqualad in the raid on Mount-"

"Yeah, now, I'm helping you under Nightwing's orders. Can we go before the Black Monster decides to massacre your friends?"

Loading Dock...

Natalie scanned the kids' faces as they boarded the ship. "I don't see Annie."

"Relax," Cassie said. "M'gann's gonna find her. And the others. We need to focus."

"Right."

"The link's down!" Conner informed. "I'm going in."

He jogged out of the loading dock then was thrown right back in. Black Beetle stepped into the room. "Apologies, meat," he said with a mechanical accent. "But no one goes anywhere."

He touched the wall and all of the doors closed, including the one to the bio-ship. Cassie stepped forward, "Listen, uh, Black Beetle! You're totally outnumbered. Open those doors now and we'll go easy on you."

"You will go easy on me?" Black Beetle clenched his fists and chuckled maniacally.

Natalie stood up and blasted his face with a ball of dark energy. Black Beetle stumbled back from the impact. "You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."

Natalie's eyes glowed dark and she flew straight at him. Black Beetle caught her by her neck then slammed her down. Cassie pounced, aiming her fist at his head. The others closed in. Black Beetle, while still holding onto Natalie, shoved Cassie against Barbara then Conner against La'gaan. Conner rubbed his chin and charged. Black Beetle let go of Natalie and punched Conner. Cassie flipped over the brute and kicked off his chest. He stepped forward and grabbed her fist, squeezing her knuckles then punched her gut. Karen flew around, zapping him with her energy stingers. Black Beetle bombarded her with his sonic cannon.

Natalie took this opportunity to try and crawl away. Black Beetle knelt down and grabbed her ankle, dragging her back to him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Tim and Barbara threw several explosive batarangs at him. As he stood up, La'gaan banged his massive fists on the brute's back. Beetle grabbed onto the Atlantian and shocked him with electricity. Beetle turned around and fired his sonic cannon at La'gaan, sending him crashing into a computer. Tim and Barbara fired their tazers. Beetle fired his giant staples.

"Lookout!" Barbara cried.

They ran in different directions. One staple caught Tim and pinned him to the wall. One of the abducted kids picked up a Manta henchman's gun, but Shimmer knocked him aside. Barbara charged her. Black Beetle turned his attention back to Natalie. "Now, where were we?"

Conner and Cassie tackled Beetle to the ground. He kicked Conner aside and grabbed Cassie by her hair, throwing her against the wall. Natalie got onto all fours, her limbs were shaky. Come on...come you stupid thing...work! She begged, work! What the hell's wrong with you? I can beat him. I just need...

She yelped as Black Beetle grabbed her by her hair and lifted her to her feet. "You have power. But you don't know how to use it. I will take great pleasure in removing that Power Stone from your body."

"Get off her!" Conner shouted.

Black Beetle latched onto Conner's face then tossed him onto the floor. Before he could get up, Beetle began pounding his foot onto Conner's face repeatedly. Cassie tackled Beetle again. He tossed Natalie aside and grabbed Cassie by her shoulder and pinned her against the door. He smirked and began banging Cassie against the door. He let go and she slid to the ground unconscious.

Black Beetle turned around and walked over to Natalie who was still on all fours. "Trying to activate your powers in a moment of emotional instability? Not very clever."

He, again, grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up. She struggled for air under his grasp, "Where's...my sister?"

"The other Power Stone?"

"Let her go. Please," she begged. "You can have me...just let her go."

"Hm. I'm not sure which is more powerful...the power of life and light? Or the power of death and darkness?" He smirked and contemplated. "I have to say I'd prefer the matched set."

"Life is life. Death is inevitable...inescapable. The power of...darkness is far greater than...than that of light."

Black Beetle considered this. "Hm. You do know the unlimited power you hold. Very well. I will take you and your sister. The power of life and light is still quite useful"

Suddenly, the doors opened. Garfield stood in his gorilla form with M'gann in his arms. Bart stood next to Jaime who was armored up and helping a weak, conscious Annie walk. Evony stepped away from the controls. Jaime touched the wall and the door to the bio-ship opened. Black Beetle casually tossed Natalie onto the floor. "Little brother, one way or another I'm putting you back on mode. You are of the Reach and cannot escape it."

"Jaime...I'm fine," Annie whispered.

"Don't worry," he said, setting her down gently. "Everything's gonna be alright."

"I know."

She smiled at him. Jaime smiled back then turned to face Black Beetle. His eyes glowed white and he charged the bigger Beetle. Annie rubbed her forehead and crawled over to her sister. "Natalie?"

Barbara knelt down next to them, "Hey, we need to get you guys inside. Come on."

"No, we have to stay. Get everyone else out."

"What? Annie, we don't have-"

Annie grabbed Barbara's collar, "There is something only Natalie and I can do. We won't die, but everyone else could if they got in the way. Get everyone out. Blue will be fine. He'll stop, uh, Black. Go!"

Barbara hesitated then ran off to help the others. Suddenly, water began to pour in. The bio-ship closed up and left the loading dock. Annie pulled her sister into her lap, "Natalie?"

"Why did you lie? You know we're not supposed to merge," Natalie scolded weakly.

"I know, but...I can't leave yet. I can't leave Blue. I can't leave you."

"I hate this place...I can't use my powers," she groaned.

"I know. Merging may be our only option."

"No. It's not." Natalie clenched her fist and punched her sister hard in the stomach, hitting something hard inside her. Annie's body glowed and her gown disappeared, replaced by her superhero suit. Natalie shoved her sister aside and stood up.

Jaime and Black Beetle were on opposite sides of the dock, blasting their plasma cannons in full force. Natalie's body glowed with power. She blasted both of the Beetles with her dark energy. She flew over to Jaime who was struggling to stay conscious, "Annie's hurt. Take her to the bio-ship outside. Keep. Her. Safe."

She lifted him up and shoved him over to Annie who was bobbing in the rising water. Jaime stumbled to her, scooping her up into his arms. Natalie blasted them out through the hole in the ship. Black Beetle touched the wall and closed the hole. Natalie sighed and shoved her power down. Her suit disappeared, leaving her naked and exposed. Black Beetle approached her from behind and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You will suffer for saving your sister. I will make sure of it."

Later, the bio-ship...

Annie woke with a start. Jaime went to her side, "Hey, hey, relax. You're safe."

"Wh-wh-where's Natalie?" she gasped. "Where's my sister?"

Jaime slumped his shoulders. "She stayed behind...to give us a chance to get away."

Annie frowned in anger then cried out, "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Annie, calm down."

"No! She knew we could save you together, but still she...she...," her voice trailed off as tears began to pour down her face.

Jaime pulled her into his arms, letting her sob onto his shoulder. She cried hard and long, holding onto Jaime for dear life. She leaned away, "You're...not wearing a shirt."

"Yeah, but it's okay," he rubbed the tears from her eyes. "I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you."

Annie smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a kiss.

Watchtower, March 31, 2017, 6:40 am...

Sophie sat at on the couch on the League lounge room with her face buried in her hands. Dick entered the room and Sophie sat up straight, "Oh, hi."

She closed flipped the papers over on the coffee table. "How'd the mission go?"

"Not as planned. We lost Blackstar, but we got everyone else back. And M'gann..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need you to heal her. I think your mother was on the alien ship. M'gann's showing signs of-"

"Fine. I'll heal her," she said, standing up. She turned around to face him, "But after this, we're done."

Dick sighed, "Sophie, I know I ask a lot of you, but if you can just be a little more patient-"

"No, I mean, we are done."

Dick frowned, "What? Thing's get a little rough and you back out?"

She rolled her eyes, "Thing's aren't a little rough, Dick. We're neck-deep in shit. Artemis is dead. Kaldur blew up the Cave. Jeline was raped by a psychopath. And you lost Natale. Thing's are worse than ever. I can't do this anymore."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't."

He walked around the couch to face her, "Damn it, Sophie. After everything we've been through-"

"Dick, don't."

"No. I don't believe you," he shook his head. "Why are you breaking up with me? Huh? You were so insistent on getting together."

"That was before all this crap you started. I can't deal with it right now." She turned to leave, but Dick grabbed her arm.

He took his mask off, "Why are you doing this? Sophie, you know I love you."

She furred her brows, like she might take it all back. "I love you, Dick. I do. Nothing you do can change that. But, I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be apart of it and I don't want to just sit by while you tear everyone apart for your stupid mission."

"I told you, it's-"

"Relevant, I know." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. Dick frowned and glanced down. Her once, flawless, smooth, flat belly was now a bit round. He should've known. She had stopped wearing her tight clothes. He should have known. "Sophie..."

She pressed her shirt down, and made her small bump more visible. "Four months. I went to the doctor several weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, still touching and staring at her belly.

"I was afraid to," she sat down. "The things you've done, Dick. I just...you scare me sometimes. I didn't plan on this. Who wants to have kids at 20?"

Dick sat down slowly. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. Sophie shook her head and stood up, "You do what you have to. I'll take of this on my own."

He lifted his head up, "What?"

"I talked to Wally. He's agreed to let me live with him so long as I do all the housework. It's a fair deal. I'll get a teaching position at a dance studio in Palo Alto."

"No," he stood up. "No, no."

He gently grabbed her face, "Sophie, don't go. Please. Just stay, okay? Stay with me. We'll figure this out. We can buy a bigger apartment. Whatever it takes. Please."

She searched his eyes, only seeing desperation and sincerity. She grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands from her face, "You can't afford to have any distractions. You made that pretty clear."

"Sophie...this is mine, too," he placed his hands on her belly. "I don't just need to be apart of this baby's life. I want to be apart of the baby's life. This thing with the Reach...it's almost over, I can feel it. I can't promise that everything will be fine...but we can try. I want to try."

"You can't 'try' with babies, Dick. Either you're in or you're out," she shoved his hands away and turned to leave.

"Sophie, damn it. You're not even giving me a chance."

"I shouldn't have to," she snapped, glaring at him. "We've been together for over two years and we've known each other for seven. You said you love me. But I don't expect you to be there."

"That's not fair."

"Yes, it is. You're 19 and the leader of the Team. With your secret missions and conspiracies and the Reach and half the League gone...where does this," she pointed to her belly, "fit in?"

"I told you...we'll figure it out. We didn't plan this, I know, but now, we're gonna have to figure all this out together." He lowered his voice, "I want to be there. I want to be the father our kid deserves."

Sophie sighed and blinked away her tears in thought. She hadn't expected this. She wanted to break-up and leave, but now he knows. Slowly, she nodded. "Okay."

"Yes?"

"Yeah."

Dick kissed her, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you."

Sophie smirked, "You might change your mind once they come."

"'They'?" he frowned.

She stroked his hair lovingly, "We're having twins."

The Infirmary...

Conner entered Jeline's room. The heart monitor beeped in steadily, and Jeline was still staring at nothing. He pulled the stool to her bedside and sat down. "I got nothing on the Terrors," he confessed. "But don't worry...I'm gonna find him. And I'm gonna make him pay."

Blink.

Conner reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. It was a small gold band with a simple ruby with two small diamonds. He slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. As he sat back down, Jeline took a long blink. She opened her eyes and and blinked some more, frowning. Conner sat up, "Jeline?"

Her eyes met his, "Conner?"

end of chapter 36

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