"Then maybe you would understand"

Rob's ankle's busted; I'm wondering how he's still standing. He's probably using some Zen bat trick. Also, I have no doubt he's got more owies that he ain't telling us about, he likes to show off and be stoic like that. Cissie's right eye has a deep purple bruise. She got clocked good and it had to hurt. It's puffy, purple, and swollen shut. Even if she could string an arrow-- which she can't at the moment-- with only one good eye for sight, she sure as hell couldn't hit a target. They really can't help, not that they would want to now.

They're looking at me like I don't know what the definition of retreat is. I do. It's so you can go back and kick ass some other day. Only I'm not waiting for tomorrow. I'm not going to "hang on" while they ring the moon. I'm rearing to go now, and if she was here, she would be too.

"No."

And there it is folks. The word that would be an argument.

"You're not going." Robin's quite vocal about this. He's putting on a good show too, standing in the doorway daring me to move him. It'd be more impressive a gesture and easier for me to be harsh if he looked like he wasn't about to pass out.

I'm tired, I'd love to scream and yell about this, especially to Rob. I know it's not his fault, but hey, it makes me feel better, but part of me knows he's right. And a larger more frustrated part of me doesn't want to listen to that sentiment. That's the part of me that just wants to fly up through the skylight and go off in a huff just to prove my point.

"We need help." There he goes with the logic again. It's really quite annoying. Just makes me want to hit something... or someone.

"Fine. You call for back up. I'm going in." Oh yeah, baby, lay on the slick.

"This isn't some silly stupid action movie Kon!" Cissie protests. "We barely got out of there!"

"That's exactly it! We got out! They didn't. I'm going back. Simple."

"Those bastiches won't even know what hit 'em."

Well that was unexpected and I jump on the defense. "Who said you were comi--" and then it clicks. "Right. Right. So you make your vid calls and tell them to catch up with us."

And Cissie starts protesting again. Quite loudly. Talking quickly and with limited arm gestures. I'm not paying attention cause I just don't want to hear it.

"Let him go."

And of course, shocked as all heck, everyone turns to look at Rob. I nod, it seems only right and it's about as much thanks I'm going to express at the moment. Gotta save face, y'know, 'cause I'm right.

"And good luck," he says.

And we're off.

"Why I feel this way about our love"

The cycle's trashed. It barely made it back, in fact, technically it didn't. It dropped down about a mile south of our HQ. Normally, I'd just fly. Chicks dig the flying thing. But Mr. My-Motorcycle-Is-Burning-Oil-and-Not-Armed Lobo is putting a damper on that plan. He came up with a solution and it's one I never would have thought of.

The Max rides again. Pretty spiffy too. We just hit that big ol' button for hyper speed and kick it into plaid . We're cruising baby, in style. Lobo's piloting and I probably should be getting the game plan together, but so far it simply boils down to a lot of fighting, which annoys me cause I know I can do better than that.

"Didn't think you had the guts to stay in it and frag 'em to the end," Lobo says.

He would have stayed, if he had a choice. Second round he went flying through the air, hitting soldiers, and going through a few walls that by the time we found him we were already ready to retreat. Unconsciousness does not a stubborn teammate make. I think he's going simply cause he missed out on the action, either way it helps my odds.

So, they aren't really my odds. They're Suzie's and Bart's. They're Anita's and Cassie's. And honestly it doesn't look good. We need a strategy and maybe some well time pre-informed cavalry. We'll see if Rob makes the call.

"Never woulda figgered you fer a romantic," Lobo criticizes. Only he could insult love.

So I insult back. "I could say the same thing about you and Anita."

"She's an interesting one, I'll give her that. She's got this dark side, and man, is it great!"

I let the conversation die right there because I'm sure I don't want to know.

"'Nita's one in a million you know," he asserts.

"Cassie's one of a kind."

"And what I must do"

The complex sticks out from the ground like a great giant bull's eye in a sea of green. Isolated in the Oklahoma wilderness the iron and metal is an eyesore. It ain't designed to be discreet but it's located to stay hidden. The Max is hovering many, many yards above as we try to figure out which door to knock on. Not to mention how we're gonna knock. There doesn't look like there's an easy way inside, and part of me is happy that there isn't one. We can't get in the same way we did before... and hopefully we won't leave the same way we did.

So with a choice between the hard way and the hard way, it's time to kick a little ass. My bet's on the nauseating side-- that these guys are funded by the government. Everything they did was too efficient for hired help. But we're not sweating it cause we're the good guys and they're the bad guys and we'd be concerned but we never get past the fact that we're fricking idiots for doing this anyways.

Take one high powered explosive plus one wave registering 5.5 on the Rictor scale and you have a living breathing chaos factor. We set up The Max to give them a few little nifty keep-'em-busy toys. You don't know how much I'm wishing I had the arsenal on the cycle at this moment. So the ship's hovering and kinda dodging and ugh, I have to carry Lobo down. I shouldn't complain 'cause you know, he's really alright.

Soldiers on the ground. A TTK waves knocks them all to the deck. We skirt away and try for the back entrance. Lobo frags the door while I try to find a window. I'm busy watching his back, he's enjoying his assault far too much I think. Soldier's are piling up, more are coming out of the building. By this rate, there won't be anyone left inside, which would be a good thing.

Lobo pries the doors apart, the corridor is black, red klaxons intermittingly flashing but not a soul in sight. We're in and it only took us a good thirty minutes. And yes, all hell has broken loose.

We might not be subtle, but it works.

"If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says"

It takes us a while. And I mean a long while. Sporadically, we'd run into soldiers-- usually on their way somewhere else. Apparently, The Max knocked down quite a few of their systems and they're running blind with radio transmissions filled mostly with static. We take more than a few wrong turns, back track far too often, and I'd put money down that we ran around in circles. I won't admit it, mind you.

Then we find it. The door that says Experimental Subjects. And there's little dates next to the names outside. From today. I'll say one thing about these bad guys, they move fast.

Need a pass code to enter, so we blow the door.

She's not a pretty sight at all.

But, because she's alive, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Her hair is matted with filth, or blood, or stuff I just don't want to know about. All her limbs are hanging in relatively the right position but she's out cold.

There's a monitor by her head, wires and stickies running between here and it. A beep-beep machine keeps rhythm above. I hope it's only measuring her brain waves or something rather then scrambling them. The knee jerk reaction is to turn off the damned machine but too many wires and too many friends make me think again.

"Yo. 'Nita! Snap out of it!" Lobo waves his hand in front of Emp's face. He snaps his fingers and pulls her hair. It doesn't work; she ain't moving. He lifts an eyelid but it's a no go. She's far gone and there's still a lot of wires. I feel like I'm disarming a bomb only the only thing going to blow up is the hearts of three friends.

There's gotta be...

Three friends?

"I've got an idea."

"Hope it involves punching someone."

"Er... not yet."

"When she says she loves me"

It's a long shot. It's such a long shot, so much so that I have this feeling that everything would work out perfectly for Rob. He'd find Secret in the middle of God knows where and she would have seen what happened in the middle of God knows what and then we'd be able to disconnect everyone, God willing.

Hell. Who am I kidding? Rob would have been smart enough to figure out all those dials and knobs and flashing lights. I know, even before trying that if we're going by my luck, we're already doomed. Especially when I haven't a clue where to start.

We race aimlessly, avoid guards, they're too busy anyways. We enter every room that might possibly be housing her. Experimental this. Research subject that. They're some freaky shit, I'm telling you. Like 12.0 on a barf meter of ten. But sooner than later, we find her.

"Suzie!"

I bang hard on the glass, but it doesn't help. She's in a tube, and there some thin blue energy flickering inside of it. Whatever it is, it sure looks painful. Can we say DEO déjà vu? Her eyes are open but not focused. She jerks every time the blue stuff rips through her. I bang again, c'mon girl, give me a sign.

Lobo's touching the glass around her and looking at the monitors. They're measuring something in jigawatts and my Hollywood education clicks in. The blue stuff is electricity, glass isn't a conductor, but apparently Secret is. Here we are, once again, back at display screens and dials. The system's in default accessed by log in and password. We're back to square one.

Lobo takes another look at the readings, touches the glass again, and looks at me. I just know what he's going to do without him saying anything. He pulls his fist way back, waits patiently while the electricity hits a lull in the cycle, and then, thud, smash, some sizzling and I swear I saw his skeleton for a moment.

The glass falls to the floor and the electricity is bouncing in the tube unaware that Secret's slumped out and without her it doesn't have anywhere to go. There's only one problem-- okay two. Lobo's hair got more than a little singed. It had to hurt because he's breathing heavy and two, Secret's still slumping. I mean she's almost gone through the floor and who knows where she's gonna go next.

Before I can blink, Lobo makes a grab for her and sticks his hand in the electricity again. He's crazy, but it works. Literally shocked, Secret's body jerks. She's still out of it thought but she's no longer falling. Lobo motions with a nod towards the computer console.

"What good is that gonna do?" I ask.

"The coffee," he clarifies.

I get it but he's crazy. "You're crazy."

"No choice."

And there's a very good reason why coffee and electricity don't mix. The liquid provides a perfect conductor over most of her body. Her scream is ear splitting and Secret launches herself up and away and has gone right through the ceiling. Damnit! If it's not one thing it's another. Thankfully, she's back in less time than it takes to say Jiminy Jilikers .

"Are you okay?"

She nods, her nerves-- no matter what they're made out of-- are shaking.

"Where is everyone?" she asks and with that statement I know my plan just turned into a impossibility.

"This way. Let's go."

We made our way back to the hallway. Autopilot Max must still be continuing his siege. Secret gasps in horror at the sight of everyone. She doesn't know what to do and that she can't help. That frustrates me more than it does her.

"We're not leaving them here," I assert. It's all or nothing.

Cassie hasn't changed. She's still on that plastic slab, half slumped half standing. They're all still breathing and the beeps are going at the same rate, at least I'm pretty sure. If it weren't for the room, the wires, the uckies, she might actually be able to pass for sleeping. If only she would open her eyes. God, if she would just do that.

"But what do we do?" Secret protests. She floats behind the tables behind the monitors through the wires trying to do something, anything productive.

"We can't just leave 'em," Lobo says and just yanks the wires from above Anita's head out of their sockets.

The effect is instantaneous. Sparks and groaning metal drown out my shout of protest but it's already too late. What the hell is he doing? It's a risk that isn't his to take. Shit! Anita's convulsing. She's going into shock. I blow the restraints still pinning her down and lay her on the floor, hoping it will end soon.

"Shake it off Anita. C'mon..." and I think the Top Teen is truly insane. He notices something I haven't, her eyes are open and no longer unfocused. The convulsions stop and she's breathing heavily but thank God-- she's still breathing.

We give her a moment, more than that really, to get her bearings then hash out the details with her. She was out and doesn't know what happened either. It looks like there's only one way to go. Lobo reaches for Cass but I stop him.

"She might remember, Imp was clocked," Lobo points out.

I'm selfish. I'm selfish. I admit that and if something happens to Bart I'll never be able to forgive myself but if something happens to Cass I would never be able to live with myself.

I pull rank whatever that counts for. Bart's next. Cassie's last. And that's just the way it's gonna be. Lobo steps back, the meaning clear. If I'm the one protesting this, I'm gonna be the one that does it. Anita and Lobo hold Bart up while I blow the cuffs. I take a deep breath and then yank the wire.

So here it is, take two. Instantly, he starts to convulse. His eyes are open but I don't think he comprehends anything he's seeing yet. His whole body is shaking and hopefully nothing will-- shit, shit, shit, no no no no no no no no no-- too fast. It's too fast, he's vibrating... shit shit shit.

Anita tries to grab his shoulder, but it's a no go, she goes right through him. We should all know better than to try. "Mon! Look at me! Try to stay calm! Try to focus!" she commands.

It's all my fault. I kneel down on the floor. "Bart," I start softly but firmly. "Listen to me. I need you to listen. You need to calm down. It'll be okay. Calm. Calm. Nice and easy."

His eyes lock with mine, and thank God he starts slowing.

"That's it. Shhh... just stay calm."

And slowly, slowly, he stops. We're all crowding around him stealing the air but we can't help but be concerned. He blinks and finally registers everything.

"I don't feel too good," he complains weakly. It's the understatement of the year, and we all just sort of smile to relieve the tension. That's the Impulse we know and love.

We take a rest after Bart. Emotionally, we need it. We recover quickly simply because there's not enough time. Anita and Lobo hold up Cass and the restraints go first, I take another breath and here we go. One, two, three. Yank! They drop her to the ground and I get a flying right to the abs and she just goes spastic. I mean insane, and it's not a good sign. Open your eyes Cass! Open your eyes! Come on Cass! Cass!

"Open up your eyes!"

They fly wide open and she gasps for air.

"Easy, easy," I coax. "You're gonna be fine."

Her eyes lock with mine and she struggles to stop.

"Kon--" and just by the look in her eyes I know what's she's going to say. Her eyes have that twinkling blue essence. She looks so run down, so weary, but her eyes have light. I know what it is. It's love without the words.

"I know, babe. I know."

I help her to her feet and she clings to me unsteadily. I hold her tightly, I ain't ever letting go.

"Well you got your reasons"

We're off.

Running through the hallways. Imp wants to scout but he's sluggish so that gets ixnayed. Lobo's got point and I'm bringing up the rear. A long time ago the sounds of the overhead alarms have stopped. I don't know of the bad guys turned them off or if The Max did that much damage. The silence is noticeable only because the explosions have stopped as well. I hope nothing happened to Bart's ship-- after all it's our only way back. Just when everything looks darkest-- the lights go off!

"It can't get much worse," Secret says.

"Don't even be joking about that!" Lobo scolds.

Some generator somewhere kicks in and faint lights come on. They're set to the perfect dimmer setting for romance-- but that thought doesn't even breakthrough my battered skull. Imp stops short, he'd edged in front most likely without even realizing it. Lobo moves deftly to one side to avoid running into him. Cass flies right over them before stopping. Anita skids to stop from slamming into Lobo.

"What's wrong?"

"I think... we're lost." Bart looks around, bewildered.

Splitting up is not an option. We were fighting as a team before and look where it got us. So while Bart and Secret would be ideal scouts-- we're not gonna risk it. Simple as that. So we do the next stupidest thing-- split up into groups.

Lobo, Emp, and Suzie will go thataway. Cass, Bart, and I'll go thisaway. The teams are lopsided, but so long as Anita and Bart are on different sides they can meet up back here without a problem. What should be changed is that Emp and Cass should switch places. That way each team has two victims, one scout, one flyer, and one rescuer. Lobo'd kill me for objecting. Anita probably would too, not that I'm planning to or anything.

When last we came in was from some underground bunkers by the front door. Rob had a map, well an electronic display pretending to be a map. He planned it out and we actually did pretty damn good before we realized we walked into a trap. From that moment on, all the info we had was thrown away and we were running blind.

What we could have used then and still could now is a big flashing neon sign that says EXIT, what we get is just one dark corridor after another. As we plow through people and machines and cameras, I gotta wonder if us being the good guys charging in was the best way to ever go. We had a good reason-- we always have a good reason. The best intentions with the worst planning, that's the YJ media nightmare.

This one actually sounded simple, Anita found a file liberated from her dad and by the time Suze was up in arms about experiments, Robbie had already gotten his brain hardwired into the net. Since we weren't due at the community construction problem for a month, our social calendar was more than open.

Lucky us. It gets us battered, bruised, lost all without nothing to show.

We're paused at an intersection. Bart's zipping down the corridors trying to scout. Cassie's smashing the overheard cameras and I have no doubt that it makes her feel very, very good. I'm reading the carefully stenciled signs. Cafeteria to the left of us. Research labs behind us. Ground level to the right. Control Center dead ahead.

We've come this far, might as well go for all or nothing. Yeah, it's pushing our luck in a major way, but I don't wanna come back a third time.

"Imp, go get the others. We'll meet up with you here. Cass and I are gonna take a look around," and I gesture straight ahead.

Bart frowns. "That’s not the way out."

"We're taking a little detour. Cass doesn't mind, do you Cass?"

"Not a bit," and she fixes that determined look on her face and flies off ahead.

I take off after her and join her before she reaches the main doors. Shoulder to shoulder, baby, right by her side.

"And you got your lies"

"You want to? Or should I?" she asks as she sets down.

"After you my lady," and I gesture grandly to the doors.

She takes a moment to ready herself, an obvious sign she still ain't doing that well. The sweat from exertion is starting to bead on her forehead. The blue in her eyes doesn't twinkle mischievously like it should nor does it have that steely cold determined look. She's fatigued and we both know it. She's hesitating, but I sure ain't gonna call her on it.

"Both of us? On three?" I ask. A little TTK can go a long way.

She nods and readies herself. We're gonna count it off and we're gonna jump. She smiles and looks at me with twinkling eyes. I know what she's gonna say. Extra numbers just get in the way.

"Three!"

Love the TTK. The door doesn't really blow off its hinges but there's a big enough bang. Enough to make people go, "What the hell was that?" No smoke, wish there was smoke. Smoke would be dramatic. But the bent and twisted metal has a charm all its own I have to admit.

The only thing missing is the surprised inept soldier's spilling their day old coffee on themselves. Hell, I'd settle for people period. Rows and rows of computers are daunting. But hey, look ma! Security cameras and look: half of them still work. I'm not that much of a voyeur so I make the monitors and circuits go pop-pop-fizz-fizz and four tiny televisions switch to static.

There's gotta be more electronic stuff here that we can mess with. Other wise it's a pretty low budget Command Center and everything about this place contradicts that. I've got a hinky feeling and I know it ain't the chili dogs from last night.

"Where is everybody?" Cass checks the doors on the walls. Supplies. Lab coats. Supplies. Boxes. Boxes. Boxes.

"Not a clue." Start tapping on the computer touch screen. Another password needed. Great, I give! There's gotta be something here that'll you know, incriminate them by revealing their plans for world domination. Or something like that. They are the bad guys after all.

Cass is rifling through papers and flip charts and I'm trying to find out what row of cameras is where our friends are at. I thought I saw Bart but by the time I got a good look he was already off the screen and I have no clue which camera's got him now. I scan the rest of them but it's a lost cause.

So I get productive and help Cass with the multitude of doors. In mere moments, boxes and files and coats are flung everywhere. There's gotta be something-- Gaaahhh! I stumble back as one of those blue bad guys topples out. Cass looks at me alarmed.

"What?" I stammer. "I didn't do it!" I shove him off me and he feels like dead weight. Belatedly, I fumble for a pulse, but I can't feel through the armor. I try to tug off the blue metal but it won't budge so I try harder and--

KRRRRRrrrrrrrrsheeeeeee!!!!

Cass gasps in horror. "Kon!"

"I didn't--" I don't blame her, his arm came off. Wait. Shit, shit, shit! His arm came off! There's going to be blo-- there's not a bit of blood anywhere. And it's not cause he's been dead for too long either. "This guy's not real."

"What do you mean he's not real?" Cass prods the body-- is it a body?-- with her foot.

I hold up the Terminator-esque arm with the wires dangling. "As in fully automated the life sized, highly armed, technologically advanced G.I. Joe doll. These guys are what we've been fighting all the time."

"Someone has to be in charge! Someone real!"

"Let's hope so. Let's go find the others and hope this isn't some sick experiment gone horribly wrong."

Insert dramatic chord and cliffhanger here, boys and girls.

I bet Supes never had days like this.

"And you got your manipulations"

When we last saw our intrepid and oh so good looking heroes they had just discovered that all was not right in the universe. An evil robotic conspiracy was sweeping over the land and it wasn't the George Lucas type either. And since we're completely confused we're just going to take a moment and figure out what's going on.

"Hold up," I say. "Let's try to make this make sense. What's strange about this place?"

Cass is fidgety, she's pacing and rifling through the papers she's holding without even looking at them. The dead soldier is still at her feet. He's not dead though. He's not real, so he can't be dead. Even when we first got here, we shoulda realized something was up. They were in full armor, face masks, gloves, the works and I never realized until now that they didn't speak. No shouts of "Get them!" "There they are!" None of that stuff, just fire and punching and kicking and ow-ing. A real one track mind, er, program.

They even fooled Rob. I'd be impressed and gloating but I didn't figure it out either. Well, I kinda did now, after dismembering him.

"Besides the robo-soldiers? Besides the freaky science fair from hell? Besides the possible government complex out in the middle of nowhere? Besides the--" She's rambling. She's freaking. I don't blame her but I can't even focus long enough to her my own confusion.

"I get the picture Cass!" I snap. "It makes no sense!"

She stops talking that sour expression on her face. She throws her hands up in the air exasperated. "Well I don't have the answers! I don't what happened! I don't know why we even came here!"

"Well, I don't know either!" I snap even as her last words sink in. Why did we come? They were expecting us. We were set up. I forgot about the set up. We've been manipulated from the start. But why?

The gears are turning in my head. There's gotta be people somewhere. The Caf, the Labs, even a Robot specialist, they can't all be robots. I hope, I hope, I hope. "Look, let's just hang here for a while until Bart gets back and then we'll see what the others think. There's gotta be a reason, you don't go through all this trouble for nothing."

She's still pissed 'cause I snipped and she turns away. "Whatever. You check the computer, I'll take the closets so you don't rip apart any more of your friends."

Disgusted and upset, I toss the robo arm on the computer console. We start to work, our backs to each other, both oblivious to the faint red light on the robo's still attached arm.

"They cut me down to size"

I can open doors.

But I don't do windows.

That is my big accomplishment. Cass has found science supplies Beaker Burners and Glass Bunsons all the stuff needed for make your own test tubes. We're still doing the stubborn thing-- so how you ask-- do I know what she found? The distinct sound of glass tinkling and rolling across the floor and shattering can be distracting when there's no other noise.

We should be talking. Doing the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. But when we talk, first we fight, then talk, then do the kiss and make up thing. Oh yeah. There's no time for all that now, priorities y'know. So the screaming match won't be here and now. But there and later, all that plus the make up thing, oh yeah, bet your life.

She's got this ticklish spot right behind her--

Oh yeah. Priorities. Achem.

You see, there's this button. You flick it up and the door will open. You flick it down and the door will close. And there's this holo-map screen. You touch a door then flick the button. So I can open doors. I can even close them too. It's so exciting and enrapturing and captivating and every so happy happy joy joy . Yeah. Right. Kill me now.

I could wrangle all the baddies in one room and just lock them in all tight and snug and wait 'til someone figured out what to do with them. I can even get the map to change from floor by floor to floor, and trust me, there's a lot. Only like two underground, I am so not impressed. It takes at least five sub terrain floors or one giant lab to make an evil villain headquarters. It's in the V.I.L.E. manual.

The map changes again and check it. It's this room. Hey, there's no door there, so I mean, what the hell right, maybe it's a way out? Or a secret lab or something. Press. Flick. The hydraulic hiss is very, very audible. Cass and me both whirl. And the sound that emanates from the room is very, very, familiar. Or maybe it's the storage center for the evil robots.

Press. Flick. The door starts closing and we just start to breath easy when the door gets forced opened by blue armor. Cass flies up and tries to force it down, but she can't get leverage. She punches at the fingers holding the door and actually gets some to back off. I bang harder on the computer. C'mon baby, don't fail me now.

Before Cass can start dealing with everyone else, a hand snakes out from underneath and grabs her ankle. In a blink, she's off her feet, on her back, and sliding towards them. No more closing the door. Decapitated Wonder Girl's do not a full YJ roster make. No more fiddling with the computer. Press, flick, the door flies open.

Cass gets pulled forward but I'm already on the move. I'm almost ready to play tug of war to get Wondy back when Mr. You-Tore-Off-My-Arm starts shooting at me with his red laser thingy. It catches me on my shoulder and I unwillingly let go of Cass. He fires again, I swerve in mid air, circle around, and land on his back, and blow him apart. No more kid gloves. No more nice. You guys are all scrap metal.

I rush the ones coming in through the door and-- Whomp! I'm flung backwards. Isn't this a nice wall? Awfully soft cushion. Okay, take two, dramatic hero making a rescue. The first time was a trial run, you know. All right, pig pile in the warehouse.

Me and Cass get inside, and we are in deep shit. The room is huge and filled with blue tin men that are moving now. This does not look good. We regroup by the door. I've got her back, she's got mine. Kon and Cass versus the World! Going out in a blaze of glory as they wish the odds were equal.

She connects hard and fast with a robo on her left, he goes flying backwards into three of his buddies. They stagger but recover in no time. I do the same with the guys on the right. They regroup and they get the little blinking lights pointed back at us. They gotta shop at Lasers R Us. Just gotta. It can't be Sponges R Us or something soft like that. We duck and two robo's fry themselves.

Our eyes meet and we just know that, hell, we'll take all the help we can get. Cass grabs the nearest blue guy, gets a good grip and some leverage. I'm already doing the same. We swing around and bad guys collide in midair. They drop like stones. Four are down for the count.

Only about three thousand to go.

We so need a plan.

"Sayin' you love but you don't"

So the idea of communicators, when Rob first gave them out, was an automatic no. Well, honestly it was a "Kick ass! JLA-variety! Uber-cool!" reaction. Then, he would call us for meetings. And for mundane-ities. And for mega-boring shit. Not to mention, half the team would forget to wear them. Cissie always left hers in the bathroom. Secret, well, I shouldn't have to explain that one. And mine, would always get trashed by whoever was on Cadmus's take down list. Especially on 'Clean the HQ' days. So, yeah, the point of it all is, we don't have communicators no more.

And Murphy's law kicks in cause Wondy and I sure could use 'em right about now. But there's no time to bemoan everything now. The Cass-inator flying tackles two of them into the ceiling, then skirts away. They drop like rocks onto three other robos. She hardly gets a moment to breathe when new robos are on her again.

One grabs her from behind, his arm wrapped around her neck, and she jerks as her flight is stopped. Her face contorts in surprise but that quickly gives way to annoyance and she doubles over, digs her nails in, and flips him forward with enough speed to hit glass and still keep on going. She flings him my way.

One good punch is all it takes to send him flying back again. It's a tag team effort and just plain sucks to be in the middle. Cass ducks as the flying robo dude comes back her way. Just when he's sailing over my girl snags his ankle and uses all that pent up SB-inspired momentum to hurl him into the wall.

I'm telling you-- real or not-- that had to hurt. He swan dives into the computer console after ricocheting off the ceiling-- look at all the pretty sparks. The tiny wisps of electricity dance around the metal and you just know it's gonna be bad. But, we don't have time to worry about that now.

Cass is dodging lasers and trying to get them to take each other out. They're simply swarming up on me and since I don't have time to give each a personal touch, it's waves of TTK all through the room. Electronic parts are littering the floor, about half an inch deep more or less depending on where you're standing. So maybe it was the robo she decked into the computer, maybe it was my wave of TTK-age which shorted out half the systems, or just the freaky robo dude's laser but whatever made it overload, the computer definitely went boom.

Sparks, fire, shrapnel, and general uckiness invade the air. We put our feet firmly on the ground and lose our advantage but save our scalps. The blast wakes up more of the closet robo dudes and they come a-charging our way. But besides the intermittent lasers, sparks of doom, and new influx of robos, we've got one huge problem: the control room door is going into lockdown mode or something. I'm telling you it's gone crazy.

Cass has already taken care of one 'Emergency' door. We wedged a few robo's in the doorway to stop the backups from closing vertically, when what of all frickin' overkills do we get? Little tiny laser webs slowly starting to cut across the doorframe. They look more painful than what robo dudes are packing cause they fry off the paint of those guys.

Cass and I exchange looks of horror for just one single solitary moment before we have to go back to the fighting. "Exit? Stage left?" I ask. She nods in agreement and starts heading that way. We get about two inches towards the door when robos come up behind us. Three grab Cass and fling her forward, about four or six or ten or some inordinate amount grab me and try to slam me into the floor. Cass flies through the open door just as I get pig piled. I'm already up and running, making them go back into DIY kits with a touch of the Kid.

There's just too many (hence our retreat) we can't get through them if they don't wanna let us pass and baby, those lasers are counting down. Cass is on the outside looking in. I'm on the inside and damnit, I want out! But I don't think I'm gonna get that opportunity, so it's all on her.

She's gotta make a choice. Despite the fact, I'm punching and dodging my eyes are locked with hers. 'Cause she is where my focus oughta be. Three more beams just kicked on. A few more and she won't be able to get back in and I won't be able to get out. The stupid red beams are ticking.

She looks at me. Her face not conveying anything. Just neutral Cass and she makes her choice. I can see it in her eyes, which have to say everything she wants me to know because it's impossible to hear over the noise. If I could hear her, she'd say it's the right thing to do. She'd say it's the only thing she can do. And that's to go, in search of help. For us. For me. So it ain't the blaze of glory and triumph of Kon and Cass. So it isn't what I wanted from her. I don't want her to leave.

I watch as she turns and flies down the hallway.

Part of me can't help thinking, if she loved me, she'd stay right down to the end.

Or at least a plausible scenario of the end.

"You give your love but you won't"

So, and stop me if you've heard this one before, how many Robos does it take to get to take down a superpowered teen?

The answer: The world may never know.

However, that could most likely change in a matter of moments.

Frustrated and seething and just plain pissed, I hurl a robo at the laser web of doom. He doesn't really stop, just kinda gets spits out of the other side, at least parts of him. That laser web of doom, well you see, it slices, it dices, and it makes mincemeat out of robos. Every household should have one.

I guess, I should be shocked at the sight. Or the sound. The noise and the smell. Battle is really not fun if you come down to it. 'Cause most of the time when it ends you've got a sweaty dirty outfit, ten tons of fatigue, but it's worth it because the world's gets to bask in gratitude until the next time. That's one thing you quickly learn in this biz: There is always a next time.

I get a hard metal uppercut to my jaw. Fuckin' ow! These guys are just like that damn pink battery bunny. Keep going and going. And I just gotta go with them, roll with the punches, boom some of them up. On the bright side, I've got enough of those things piling up the doorway that the robo-flow is actually slowing down. I've got some semblance of a plan too. There's enough scrap metal and spare computer stuff and some of those panels are big, some of them are heavy and some of them are both.

It takes a long while. Approximately a handful of explosions, numerous punches, and even one kick, but the heavy, pointy-sharp, metal panel is covering most of the doorway. And that heavy bulky stuff is in front. Sort of. In that mish-mash sort of way. Regardless, it keeps the panel from moving which keeps the robos in.

So, now it's back to one vs. twenty instead of Kon vs. the World. Bring it on, it's time to rock the casbah and in the slightly changed words of J-Lo's ex: "Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge. I'm tryin' not to loose my head."

I'm in the butter zone now baby . Three robos one strike, slammed into the computer which then blows and takes out four more. Toss three more guys through the door, and I'm so in the zone. I'll have this place locked down and tied up before anyone can even get here.

The song's coursing through my veins, giving me energy. "Can't nobody take my pride..."

Fling some more random robos the SB version of the teacup ride, without the puke afterwards. Everybody's going to the walls and slumming down. Y'know if this keeps up I can have some pretty spiffy bragging ri-- and the makeshift door gives way, of course. Bees got nothing on the robots and whump! I'm on the floor or the ceiling or the wall, my equilibrium is off balance and my world is spinning. I can't tell which way is up, and can't see beyond robos.

"Can't nobody hold me down... Oh no..."

Not a fitting lyric. Need to focus. Pig pile on Kon who doesn't know what he's doing, where he's going, and can't see anything sides blue metal. I try a tactile wave and fly... I think it's backwards. Land hard against something, need a moment that I don't get to catch my breath.

"I've got to keep on moving..."

They pile on me and for the while I'm stuck, just stopped, trying breathe. Help would be so good right about now.

"If you could only see the way she loves me"

I missed the moment where someone screamed "Pig pile on SB!" but here I am, lying under a bunch of machinery in what is so not a comfortable position. I shift slightly. Yep, that would be an elbow or a knee or something annoying in the small of my back. Not to mention the other twenty-frickin’-billion and one atop of him. I’m so going to feel this in the morning-- if there is a morning.

If you guys wanna play, then you’re gonna get burnt. See, there’s this thing about TTK that most people don’t get. It’s the first ‘T’. It stands for tactile. Granted the range utterly sucks sometimes. But right now, when I’m face down on the floor, with the entire scrap heap atop of me, that word is gonna come real handy. In a major, chain reaction sort of way.

I’m pissed enough to milk it for all its worth. I want done and over with so I can work on busting out to find my girl. I think I can, I think I can-- and Wham! For a moment, the room is entirely blue. Just pure energy as telekentic waves rip through. I said whose house? Kon’s house! Even my hair is standing on edge. That’s the type of power I’m talking.

Everything in the room levitates. The robos. The spare parts. Even the crackles of energy from the busted comp just points up to the ceiling like one of those light up things you see in the mall. Everything fizzles slightly but there’s no noise it’s all been burnt out. For a moment everything hangs in space. Just like gravity stops. No shit man, I really did that. It’s such a sight.

So much so that I forget it’s got to come crashing back down. Damn gravity.

Can we say fucking ow?

Minutes, I guess, is what it takes me to dig myself out. Gotta swim and push up through a milieu of parts. It ain’t the weight dragging me down it’s the wires. They wrap and twist and catch and pull and you’ve got to love the skintight suit. It ain’t just show man. If this was Rob (despite the fact he’d probably be hurting a lot worse) he’d have to fight with his cape, not to mention his nifty spiffy utility belt. I like to think I plan my style for the occasion. At least that’s what I’m going to say the next time someone asks.

Everyone who bet against me is gonna be feeling it because Kon-El has run through the robo gauntlet of doom and lives on to tell his tale. Take that you disbeliveers, you! Everything in the room is fried, dead, deader, dead, but somehow the laser web is still alive and kicking. Probably has an external power source and feed. It probably rode out the TTK-age without so much as a blink. Most likely just looked at it, shrugged, and said excuse me are you talking to me? Then laughed and said I didn’t think so. If laser webs could talk, that is.

I ain’t brave enough to touch it. It can strip paint and dismember robos. It eats TTK for breakfast. I dunno wanna know what it does to Superboys. I don’t think I’ll be leaving through the door, but look and see, that’s a perfectly good wall. It would look so much prettier with a giant hole in it. I get to work.

You take one blunt object. Get a firm grip. Charge up the end with some TTK loving and ta da you’ve got a supercharged battering ram. Take that you stupid wall. C’mon, you wanna play? Clang. Brr. Okay, so it’s not shock proofed. I never said it was perfect. Yet it got the job done. Neat little holes just go punch, punch, punch right through. Okay, so what if a mouse could barely fit through? I just need a grip that’s all then I can try to blow the molding.

Hate to see the renovation cost for this place.

I bang the wall again. I just need to get a bit of purchase, just a tiny bit more. A deafening clang drones out the slow hiss of the laser web powering down. I look towards the door startled. Dude. Sweet. There must have been some circuitry or something embedded within the walls and I must have just hit it perfectly in order--

Wait... a scared looking man has just stumbled into the room. The plot thickens. He sees me, looks out towards the door, then backs himself into the corner. With fear in his eyes, he gathers his lab coat tight around him looking as if I’m going to up and put the hurt on him. What the hell is going on here?

Then I hear my angel. A familiar voice, sounding pissed. I never thought I’d ever be happy to hear a pissy Cass. Pissy!Cass is not a force to be reckoned with. She stomps into the room, glaring at the guy. Everyone else follows suit. The gang’s all here. All right, now we’re talking.

Cass looks up and down at the damage I’ve done. She walks the short distance over to me and looks me up and down as well, then smiles. Gotta love my girl. Smoothing my hair back into place, she murmurs into my ear, “Guess what Kid?”

“Yeah?” I grin despite everything. Pissy!Cass turned into Sexy!Cass really damn quick.

“The cavalry’s here.”

"Then maybe you would understand"

“While you guys were playing with the tin men, guess what we found?” Lobo gestures brusquely to the guy. He looks like he’s going to make a mess in his pants if he hasn’t already. Sweat is dripping from his temples and has soaked his shirt. Clearly, this is not his typical workday.

“A real person,” I assert. “I’m impressed.”

Lobo shrugs off my sarcasm. “’Nita figured it out. The whole robot thing, I mean,” he brags. “She couldn’t put the stop mind whammy on ‘em.”

“Not that I didn’t try,” she adds. I swear I can almost see a grin. “We dug him up on one of the sub levels.”

“Under a table,” Impulse says. He points to where the guy is trying to sink lower and lower into the floor as if we’ll just forget all about him. “Yeah,” he adds, “just like that.”

“Please don’t hurt me.” The dude’s whimpering. I mean, really, he’s gotta be like forty years old and he’s simpering scared. Clearly, no one has told him that we are the good guys and he’s contributing to the force of evil.

Cass turns sharply and glares at him. Her eyes narrow and her posture tightens. Tension practically flows through her, knotting her shoulders before resting in her fists. The guy blanches even more. He gets the message. There’s silence for a moment as everyone lets the unspoken warning hang in the air.

Now’s the time to spill the guts. To finally answer the always popular question of what the hell is going on here. No one seems too inclined to start the ball rolling.

I clear my throat. “I’ll bite. What else did you find out?”

“This is Technydrone.” Anita waves an arm around the room. “Leading cybernetics systems.”

“Very much corrupt,” Cass spits out. She still hasn’t left my side.

Oh, yes. Bad robos. Like I couldn’t tell. Not. What I wanna know is what it has to do with me. Whoever’s gonna set up this boy better have a damned good reason, not that it matters because whoever Shanghaied my girl is gonna get it either way. Come on guys just give me any reason.

“And privately funded,” Anita adds.

“But there’s a lot of contracts.” Bart’s rifling through a multitude of computer printouts with Suzie watching over his shoulder. The papers are trailing to the floor as he whips through them at super speed. It’s a comical sight, but amusement is not something we need at the moment.

“Oh, enough of this.” Lobo slams a fist down on some busted robots. “They got us here so they could mess with our powers and try to add them into the new robot designs.”

“Exactly, then sell them to the highest bidder.” Anita turns to glare at the man. Which makes everyone else turn and glare. It’s just one of those things that quickly turns into a team effort. “We’re not the only ones they’ve tried to snare.”

“I was just doing my job,” he stammers. “Look, if I didn’t do it, then someone else would have. So why should they…” he trails off realizing that indignant is not helping his argument in the slightest.

We’re not that judgmental. Ignorance, coercion, that kinda stuff we can deal with and forgive. Lack of a social or moral consciousness, well that’s a little bit harder to gloss over. It’s the oh, yeah, I knew about it, but they have a good 401K plan so I figured as long as I could sleep at night thing that really gets us going.

However, dealing with duped, angry, vengeful superheroes turned guinea pigs, wasn’t in the job description.

Oh well, sucks to be him.

"Why I feel this way about our love"

“You’re crazy.”

Suzie shakes her head. “No, we’re not.”

“It’s impossible,” Mr. Lab Coat insists. “There’s all types of--”

“Of, blah, blah, blah,” Lobo interjects. “Yeah, we get the idea. Impossible, crazy, whatever. We’re still going to do it.”

“But... but... you could just leave. It’s impos--”

“Yeah, mon.” Anita pulls her mask off her face. It’s ripped and stretched. She stuffs it in her pocket, pausing only to take her voodoo hari-kari stick out. She turns to the scaredy-cat. “We heard you.”

“There are back up systems for back up systems. There’s default and safeties. You don’t understand--”

“No! You don’t understand!” Cass breaks away from me and stalks towards him. He cowers. I don’t really blame him. It’s the Cassinator in full force. The only person I’ve seen ever reel Cass in is her Mom and she most definitely isn’t here. “You can’t just go around kidnapping people. We’re human beings, not things to exploit. It’s wrong and if you can’t see that then you have problems.”

The gang nods solemnly, agreeing with her statement and backing her up. Yes, she speaks for all of us. No, you don’t want to see her any more upset than she is now.

“Right,” I reiterate, going to retrieve my girl before she goes spastic. I come up behind her and place my hands lightly on her shoulders. It takes a second but she relaxes into them rather than shrug it off. Now that that’s pretty much kosher, it’s my turn to act all righteous. “We’re going to end this,” I state. “We’re not going to let you guys do it to anyone else.”

No one else is gonna have to walk into a lab and see their girl trussed up with enough electronics to fill stock rooms in Circuit City. They’re not gonna feel that tightness around their heart as they wait to see if she’s okay. We’re gonna spare them that sinking feeling of dismay, of helplessness by hanging that big ol’ condemned sign right outside this place. Guess who’s volunteering to be the wrecking ball?

“You’ll never be able to do it. This place is--”

Lobo grins. It’s a truly disturbing sight. Like really. Like I mean I’m gonna be seeing that one in my nightmares even if I try to exorcise it. Freaky, man, and if we were anywhere else besides robots on acid wonderland it’d say it’s the trippiest thing.

The top teen strides right past us and hauls the guy up by his lab coat until his feet don’t touch the floor. Quite a feat considering how short kid Lobo really is. The guys eyes are wide with fear. Anita comes up behind him, backing him up just like I did Cass. Thankfully she’s got her stick thingy pointed at the ground because I think she’d give him a heart attack else wise.

“That’s where you come in,” Lobo explains patiently.

“Yeah, mon. If you know so much, you’re gonna help us.”

"And what I must do"

I'm in the lead tearing down hallways. Mr. Impossible there is getting dragged along. Cass has a firm hold of one arm and Lobo's just glare-glare-glaring away. I almost feel bad for the mook, he's in over his head and still not cooperating. Some people just like doing things the hard way. Then there's peeps like Lobo that like dealing with people that like doing the hard way. Oh yeah, it's a safe bet I do not want to be in his shoes.

He's not so much talking and directing us as he's whimpering and pointing. Lobo glares. He points some more and we head off in that direction. This is how it goes for a while. Glare. Whimper. Point. Fly. Gets monotonous after a bit I'll tell you. Every once in a while I can hear thrumming, like distance thunder, which I hope is Bart's ship still pounding away. Still, if it is The Max it's been far too quiet for far too long. I've got a bad feeling about it all but there's no way to check, you just gotta have faith. Other than that it's quiet, no robots around. It seems a bit random but since it's not unnerving any of the others, damned if I'm going to ask. I simply figure they've got a bit to do with all that.

Mr. Lab Coat stops dead in front of huge steel doors. I'm about two feet off the ground and my head has to tilt to see the top of it all. In the upper corner are little boxes, glowing blue faintly. I touch the door and it's seething with silent energy. If Cadmus taught this po' clone boy it's how to understand tech. If glowy thing is wired into the door when then the best way to get through is to bust it up. I look again at the boxes, and nod to Cass catching her eye.

She follows my gaze up, and lays a hand on the steel doors checking the seem. I'm quite sure she wants to know what's behind door number one. She floats up a bit then back down to the floor. We're gonna knock this baby off it's hinges. At least that's what I think. Cass doesn't even make a fist. Instead she looks to Secret saying her name and then jerks a thumb at the door.

Suzie nods and slips beteween the metal. The crack between the door shines a brilliant blue, but moments later the doors slides apart with a hiss. I rub the back of my neck and try to look nonchalant. I set my feet back on the ground. Yeah, I suppose the easy way works as well.

We rush into the room but encounter no opposition. No one is exactly sure where we are. It ain't the power supply that we'd been gunning for. It looks like the control room but more high class as if where Cass and were before was just a conveince store. I mean, this thing is class. Sweet. The beeps are all gunning in a line and it's... well, it's choice.

Lobo hops into the main computer chair and starts jamming away on the keyboard. We all watch as pop-up windows pop up above pop-up windows until the entire screen is covered. I shift my weight and try to keep up with the data flow, but it's just not working. The top teen is muttering words of appreciation and we're just standing around looking dumbfounded, this truly is his show. "Got it!" he snaps his fingers, taps the screen appreciatively, and then starts typing again.

All the color has drained from Mr. Lab Coat's face and as I watch building schemematics float up on the screen I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I look slyly at Cass, her face slightly wrinkled in confusion. Bart and Suze both looked dumbfounded. Anita seems to follow it all which is so not fair. Oh, well, I guess, as usual, it's up to me to get some answers.

I stride up behind Lobo and clear my throat loudly. He doesn't even paused.

"Excuse me," I say, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

He turns and gives me a blank stare. "You're excused," he says before turning back around again.

Screw diplomacy. "What are you doing?"

Annoyed at yet another interruption, Lobo turns and crosses his arms. "What do you think I'm doing?"

Damn it. Geeze. Now if I want answers I have to admit I don't have the first stupid clue. Thankfully, Mr. Lab Coat pipes up. "He's activated the auto destruct for the building."

And who says leechy, slimely scientists don't earn their weight.

Cass looks doubtful and it's obvious in her voice. "Why would you even have something like that?"

"In case the wrong people caught wind," Anita explains. "If they had to pull out fast and leave no trace there's nothing better than a big ball of fire."

I nod. Makes perfect sense. A bit overkill but what here hasn't been. Lobo pushes a few more buttons and all the windows disappear. The screen momentarilly goes black before coming back with an ominious countdown. Huge red digital numbers start counting down. Lobo snatches a tiny computer control from the main circuit board. He thumbs it on and an identical countdown starts.

"Here's the deal," he holds up the control and waves it about. "We have this long to get out of here. There's charges secured to the base of this building. When they fire, the supports will collapse, and it'll be a chain reaction throughout the building. We're good to go."

We nod our understanding and are almost out the door when red lights begin to flare. Red lights blinking are never, ever a good thing.

"What did you do?" Anita hisses at Lobo who merely shrugs.

"Get ready?" Cass says, taking to the air.

"For what?" Bart's looking around still confused.

I fly up next to Cass, my eyes scanning the entire room. "For anything."

"Attention all personnel," an overhead recording sounds. "Attention all personnell. Self destruct has been engaged. Please exit the building in an orderly fashion. Secondary security measures will be activated. Attention all personnel..."

Great, it's the song that never ends, at least not 'til the building explodes.

"This might be a really stupid question," Bart starts, "but what exactly are the secondary measures?"

We all turn to look at Lobo who shrugs. We can hear metal clanging in the distance and it's getting louder. Mr. Lab Coat lets out a screech and runs out of the room. We let him go, from the sounds of it we have bigger things to worry about.

Lobo flexes his had before making a fist. He slams it into his open palm. "It's fraggin' time."

We all stand on gaurd ready for whatever robos are gonna come at us now. Whether they slice, or dice, they ain't gonna make mincemeat out of us. I turn to Cass expecting to see her all determined-like but her face is ashen.

"What's wrong?" I whisper.

"I just remembered," she whispers back, "we still don't know our way out."

Bart zips off, intent on finding the quickest route out. Anita jumps on the computer and starts looking that way. The banging is getting louder, so the remainder of us are on gaurd. There's nothing like edge of your seat suspense to get the blood pumping. But we're Young Justice. We don't know the meaning of the easy way, this is only par for the course.