SEPT 2003 - #1

Once Upon a Time . . . by Paul Hahn

Once upon a time there was a team of young super heroes called young justice they fought for truth justice and the american way the public loved them and they always defeated the bad guys they were all friends some were in love together they knew they would always be happy and safe and safe but then a villain from oute4:28 PM 1/31/2004r space kidnaped them and tried to kill them but young justice was good good and they won they then got onboard a space ship and safely made it to earth where they landed on a peaceful island this island was wonderful there was no crime no hate and no worry it was paradise paradise and so they lived happily ever after.

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emandtheyalwaysdefeatedthebadguystheywereallfriendssomewereinlovelovetogethertheyknewtheywouldalwaysbehappysohappy
andsafealwayssafebutthenavillainfromouterspacekidnappedthemandtriedtokillkillmurderthembutyoungjusticewasgoodbetterbestgr
eatgoodandtheywontriumphedtheygotonboardaspaceshipandsafelysafeandsoundsafelymadeittoearthwheretheylandedonapeaceful
quiethappyislandthisislandwaswonderfultherewasnocrimenohatenoworrynodisordernodeathnolonlinessnobadnobaditwasparadise
heavendeliverancerewardparadiseparadiseandsotheylivedhappilyeverafterhappilyeverafterhappilyeverafterhappilyeverafterhappilyeveraft

Chuck Barnes yawned as his body slowly awoke from another long and peaceful slumber. He dreamt of the beach; of family and friends, and of good times. He had to admit to himself, as his eyes began to open to the gentle morning sun, that even in sleep his life had become nearly perfect.

He slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He stretched his arms and yawned again. The weather was always nice, and he never had to worry about being too hot or too cold. He slept in his boxers and was comfortable. He especially liked the ones he was wearing now, the green ones with the red birdies on them. They gave him pleasant thoughts, and, usually, pleasant dreams.

He ran his fingers through his short, black hair as his eyes adjusted to the light, which was never too bright, then stood and surveyed his bedroom, just one small part of his house. He really didn't mind living in a hut, with the sand his only floor. The sand was never hot or cold, and the bugs never came inside. The bugs never really came outside, either, except for the fireflies at night. Everyone loves fireflies.

The smell of bacon quickly flooded his nostrils, and he smiled. Stepping through the doorway, he entered the kitchen to see a young woman standing over the stove, frying up breakfast.

"Morning, beautiful," he said slyly.

"Morning, Robin," answered Cissie King-Jones. Like Robin, she liked to sleep in little amounts of clothing; a pair of black lace panties and a short, white t-shirt that barely went down to her stomach. Her long blonde hair looked especially bright after all the sunlight she'd soaked up spending time on the beach.

He walked over and put his arms around her from behind her, locking them around her naval. He kissed her neck a few times before she turned around so they could kiss on their lips. They never had morning breath, and desired nothing more than to taste each others tongues early in the morning.

"You were amazing last night," she said with a smile after finishing a round of kissing.

"You weren't so bad yourself," Robin said, returning a smile, his pelvis gently fitting into hers. They laughed gently and exchanged a few more kisses before Robin slowly released her from his grasp. "And I have to admit, I never knew you were such a good cook."

"Yeah," she answered. "It was one of the things my mom and I actually did together. She liked to cook, and started to teach me at a young age and I really got into it."

"And I'm lucky to be the only guy you cook breakfast for," he grinned.

"Well, you're the only one who gives me . . . dessert," she grinned slyly at him. "The paper's on the table, by the way."

"Great," he said, sitting himself down to a small table made of palm wood. It was the Washington Post, a great source for worldwide news. He read the front page's headline: "Era of World Peace Continues". He couldn't help but smile. World peace.

"Have any plans for today?" Cissie asked.

"Relaxing," he answered. There was really nothing else to do. And he was fine with that.

After the two enjoyed their breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast with glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice (Cissie's without pulp), Robin stepped out of his hut to take a walk. Yes, life was nearly perfect. He missed his parents; but he knew they were alive, safe and sound, and happy, working with the UN on keeping the world at peace, a task of which they were very successful. His dreams were nearly perfect, too. Once in awhile he would have a bad dream, sometimes a nightmare. He tried hard to always push those out his mind. Sometimes, it was hard though. Sometimes he'd see his parents be shot dead at a UN summit for no reason. Other times, he'd see his good friends Jenn and Sam be killed, but he knew that those were just dreams, because he saw them every day.

"Oh well," he said to himself. "Living in paradise, I guess the subconscious mind has to come up with some sort of conflict to entertain itself with."

He wasn't sure if that was true, but he was sure that that would satisfy him.

He walked along the cool, comfortable sand and headed down towards a section of the beach. The island upon which he and his friends now lived was in a tropical area, where the climate was always right for a swim. A lot of his friends often spent the mornings there. Up ahead, he could see Sam and Jennifer out by themselves in the water, probably making love and enjoying themselves. That's what they did; that's what he and Cissie did; that's what Kon and Linda did. Maybe even what Bart and Hallie did. All they had to do, and all they wanted to do, was be happy; was feel good.

Robin decided--Chuck? No, Robin decided to keep walking, not wishing to disturb the young lovers. Soon enough, he came across some of the others, getting in an early game of beach volleyball.

"Take that one!" Kon-El exclaimed confidently as her over-hand served a fast, powerful shot.

"Easy," Bart grinned. He moved at lightning speed, bumping the ball and keeping it in play with ease.

"Set it up," Hallie said.

"No problem, mon," Anita replied, easily making the set.

Hallie leapt up with ease, using her quick reflexes and speed to fire the ball right back.

"Got it!" Linda said. She used her telekinesis to keep the ball in the play, sending it to her other teammate.

"Thanks, Lin," Cassandra said, firing it back.

"Jeez!" Anita exclaimed, barely dodging. "You almost took my head off!"

"It's just a ball," Kon said.

"I'm guessing you've never been hit by her," Anita frowned.

Cassandra couldn't help but laugh.

Robin smiled as he approached. "Hey gang."

"Hey Rob," Cassandra said.

"He--," he quickly paused, looking at Cassandra funny. A vague feeling he couldn't describe came over him quickly. It was like he was remembering a bit of a dream, or a piece of a childhood memory forgotten long ago. "Uh, hey."

"You okay, bird-boy?" Kon asked.

"Oh, he's fine," Linda said. "If anything, it's because Cissie's been working him to hard."

They all laughed, even Robin.

"Yeah, I just got this weird feeling, that, well . . . Cassandra, have you always talked?"

"Uh, well, I didn't talk when I was born . . . " she replied, a small grin creeping into her face.

Robin nodded, also smiling. "Right. I dunno where that feeling came from. Anyways, have you guys seen Cassie?"

"I'm right here," Cassandra said.

"No, not you, Wonder Girl," Robin said.

"Wonder who?" Hallie asked.

"Uh . . . Wonder Girl?" Robin asked again, a bit confused.

"You mean Wonder Woman?" Linda asked.

"No, I mean our teammate, Wonder Girl . . . " he continued, becoming more bewildered by the moment.

"I think you've been out in the sun too long," Kon-El said. "We've never had a Wonder Girl on our team . . . and I've never heard of a Wonder Girl anywhere else, either."

"Knock it off guys, I'm serious," Robin continued. "Cassie, our teammate, Wonder Girl?"

"I'm serious, too," Kon said. "There's never been a Wonder Girl, much less on YJ . . . "

"Oh."

" . . . You sure you're feeling alright?" Linda asked, now serious.

"Y'know, maybe I should go lay down," Robin said. "Maybe I got up too early . . . "

Robin turned and started back the way he had come.

"What was that all about?" Anita asked.

"Beats me," Kon shrugged.

"Maybe you should go talk to him?" Cassandra asked. "You are his best friend."

"I'll let him get some rest," Kon replied. "I'll talk to him later."

"Okay, then let's play some more," Bart said. "This break has already been, like, twenty hours . . . "

"You're getting really good at this, 'Yana," Cissie said, watching her friend fire another arrow.

"I suppose," Illyana said. "It'd still probably be easier for me to just teleport arrows wherever I needed them to go."

"Probably," Cissie nodded, "but this way's more fun. Trust me. Oh, hey Rob . . . you're back already?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, his eyes fixed completely and totally on Illyana, that feeling coming over him again. "I'm not feeling so well all of a sudden . . . "

"You're not?" Cissie asked. "It's not the bacon, is it? I--"

"No, I just . . . " he started. "I'm gonna lie down."

"Okay . . . " Cissie said. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Right," he said, heading back inside.

"He looked . . . rather odd," Illyana commented. She fired another arrow.

Okay . . . Cassandra should be . . . mute? Why should she be mute? And Illyana . . . I get this sense like . . . like she doesn't belong here. And . . . Wonder Girl? No one knows her? How come I know her? What in the world is going on here? How come I'm feeling so . . . strange? All of a sudden. And, it's like, the more I try to think about Wonder Girl or Cassandra or Illyana, the . . . the weaker I start to feel . . . I . . .

. . . Something isn't kosher.

But what? Remember, Robin, Re--Robin? My name's not Robin, it's . . . it's Chuck. No . . . it's . . . Nii . . . Niight . . . Nightwing! My name . . . is Nightwing . . .

" . . . "

"Chuck!"

" . . . "

"Chuck, can you hear me?"

"..?"

"Chuck, it's me! It's Cassie!"

" . . . Cassie . . . ?"

"Cassie! Wonder Girl!"

" . . . Wonder . . . Girl?"

"You've got to hear me, Chuck! You've got to listen to me! It's wrong, all wrong . . . "

" . . . All wrong?"

"Wake up!"

" . . . What is . . . ?"

"Wake up, Robin!"

"Eh?" Robin awoke with a start, sweat amassing on his forehead. He looked about to see Cissie, Kon and Bart standing over him.

"You okay, man?" Kon asked. "You seemed to be having a pretty heavy dream there . . . "

"I . . . yeah . . . " Robin replied. "A . . . dream?"

"You fell asleep," Cissie said. "But you've been asleep for a long time . . . I was worried."

"Yeah," Bart said. "What's wrong? That's what you kept saying . . . "

"I . . . I don't know," Robin replied. "Something . . . nothing . . . I . . . I don't know."

"You should eat somethin', man," Kon said. "That'll help. Come on, Bart . . . let's leave him be."

Bart nodded, and the two guys left.

"I'll get you some water," Cissie said. "You worried me, y'know. I . . . I really do care about you."

He nodded back. "I care about you, too."

He watched as she left the bedroom to get him something to drink. He was still slightly out of it. He wiped an arm across his forehead, wiping off the sweat. Then he felt his forehead again; it wasn't hot. Not warm at all. He checked his pulse; it was completely normal for a resting heartbeat. So why was he sweating?

The words echoed in his head:

"All wrong . . . "