"It's hard to believe, but it's only been one day since a warrant was officially placed for the arrest of the supposed hero group Young Justice. In that time the team has clashed with the Department of Extranormal Operations, the Super-Unit Police and the terrorist group the Point Men.

"However, two more events have occurred that some sources say may be linked to the team. Earlier in the evening yesterday, the authorities were anonymous tipped off to a fight in the harbor district downtown. Though there was a warehouse and harbor all but destroyed, in the surrounding waters the entire Egyptian treasure, previously declared as missing, was found. It seemed as though a man with super powers, calling himself the Living Monolith was responsible for the stolen treasure.

"He claimed he was bringing the treasure back to those it belonged to, and that the ones who stopped him were terrorists. He seemed to describe certain members of Young Justice, including Wonder Girl and Cannonball, as well as adding more weight to the suspicion of a masked hero called Robin. Robin, for those of you unaware, is an urban legend, like the Batman. However, it is possible that both are real.

"The second event yesterday occurred even later at night, when a small mountain in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island mysteriously exploded. None of the surrounding area was damaged or touched by fire, just the mountain. Some of you may remember that that mountain was a reserve base for the Avengers League back before they disbanded the first time. Was this an assault by Young Justice? Were they attempting to strike at the League? Or was there something else going on? We don't know for sure . . . and the only way we will know is when someone finally brings them in.

"And my guess? It's gonna take the Avengers League to do it."

Seven young heroes sat in their seats, pondering the mission ahead. It would be their first time encountering another team of super-heroes . . . and their feelings were mixed. What would be the outcome? What if they lost? What if they won?

The members of Generation Next all had their own thoughts . . . but most of them revolved around their targets: Young Justice.

Superboy and Graviton sat as they had for the past day and a half since Kon-El found himself trapped down there. He had no idea what had happened to his friends, where we was, or what was going to happen. All he knew was that this guy, Graviton, could get him out of the hole they were trapped in.

"Now, I've told you everything," Superboy said, sighing. "There's nothing I know that you don't."

"Though there's plenty I know that you don't," Graviton grinned. "For I know the reason why you've been feeling weak."

"What?" Superboy asked. I didn't tell him . . . that I haven't been feeling up to snuff. Ever since the explosion* I've felt weaker than ever. That's why I haven't tried escaping myself or fighting him.

*(He's referring to YJ #16 - Paul)

"Yes," Graviton grinned, his eyes almost glowing. "I know more than you think, young hero. The reason for your weakness is not my doing. No. It appears that, before you wound up down here . . . you were cloned."

"What?" Kon asked. He was caught totally off-guard.

"I told you this place is no longer my prison. I knew everything going on up in that castle . . . well, before your teammates got it blown up. And Zola made a clone of you. A clone which is currently free . . . and probably roaming around with your precious Young Justice."

"No . . . " Superboy frowned.

"So long as the clone exists, your powers will continue to weaken," Graviton continued. "He must be destroyed for you to regain your natural powers."

"But how can I do that if I'm this weak?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that," Graviton grinned. "Care to make . . . another deal?"

There are many old and abandoned warehouses throughout the city. And in one such harbor warehouse we find our heroes.

Robin sat in a corner of the building, watching his teammates slowly awake from their slumber.

Last night didn't go as I had hoped . . .

(Detective Comics #12 - Paul)

I didn't want to have to blow up our old base . . . but it was necessary. Now I wonder how the team's gonna handle it. It can't be good.

"Hey stranger," Cissie King-Jones said as she walked over to him. She leaned against the wall and slumped down beside him.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah . . . I guess the Monolith gave me more of a beating than I thought," Cissie answered. She was lying, of course. The extra soreness came from me being the Spoiler and helping you blow up our base. That's also why I didn't get much sleep. God, I just barely beat you back here, Rob . . . this is getting totally out of hand. I need to do something about this. Hopefully, when this whole mess is over with . . . if it's ever over . . .

"Welcome back, Rob," Sam Guthrie said to him. "How'd the mission at base go?"

"Not good," Robin frowned. "Might as well gather everyone to hear this."

And everyone did gather. Cissie King Jones: Arrowette; Sam Guthrie: Cannonball; Kon-El: Superboy; Bart Allen: Impulse; Cassie Sandsmark: Wonder Girl; Linda Danvers: Firebird; Jennifer-Lynn Haden: Jade; Hallie Takahama: Jolt.

And Robin could see it in their eyes. In their body language. They had only been on the run for one day . . . but it was taking its toll. The constant fighting, with no clear idea of when things would be safe again. This wouldn't help.

"I got to our base," Robin started, swallowing nervously. "And found it had been infiltrated by the Hellfire Club."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Oh, man," Wonder Girl frowned.

"They'll never leave us alone," Linda frowned.

"So what'd you do, wonder boy?" Superboy asked.

"Well," Robin started. "I surveyed part of the base to see what they were doing . . . and I learned that they were in the process of downloading and decrypting our computer core. The core which has all the information on us and our missions . . . "

"What aren't you telling us?" Jade asked, noticing his hesitation.

"There were files on all of us in there," he continued. "Including possible ways to take any of you down should you go rogue."

"What?!" Superboy exclaimed.

"It was Batman's idea," Robin said, quickly displacing blame. "He has files like that, too. He and I were the only people who had access to them."

"You actually know how to take us all down?" Superboy asked. "You know how to exploit our weaknesses?"

"Easy, Kon!" Robin said. "After what happened with Linda? Of course I did! Imagine if it happened again? Then I'd be able to stop things from getting out of hand."

"It's understandable," Linda said quietly.

"No it isn't," Superboy frowned. "So what'd you do, huh? You let the Hellfire Club learn how to kill us?"

"No!" Robin said, standing quickly. "I would never allow something like that! So I . . . I rigged the place . . . and blew it up."

"You . . . " Cassie started.

" . . . What?" Jade finished.

"He said he blew it up," Bart recapped.

"Asshole!" Superboy exclaimed. He grabbed Robin by the shirt and flung him across the warehouse at an incredible towards the far wall.

Robin's legs impacted the wall and pushed off. The boy wonder leapt into a forward roll that brought him back onto his feet. Just as he did, Superboy came flying at him. Robin fell to his back, catching the charging Superboy with both feet and kicking him across the stomach.

"Superboy, stop!" Linda yelled.

Wonder Girl quickly grabbed his arms and tried to hold him back. As Robin stood, ready to strike at him, Sam held him tight.

"I don't need you guys to save me," Robin frowned. "I could've handled Kon just fine."

"Of course you could," Superboy replied trying to shrug off Wonder Girl. "You know all our weaknesses, remember?"

"This has got to stop," Sam said. "An' Ah mean now. We're in enough trouble as it is without you two goin' at it every five minutes. We need to work together and stay together."

"You're not at all upset that he blew up our home?" Jade asked him.

"He did what he had to do," Sam frowned. "Ah was a team leader once . . . an' Ah did what had to be done. And one time, that got one o' mah team killed. Bein' a team leader's all about makin' the hard choices. Y'just gotta hope that you make the right one. Ah'd say, it looks to me like Robin made the right choice. We all know how bad the Hellfire Club is . . . me, prolly more than most. The information we had at base was too important to fall into their hands. End of story. Right now, we got bigger plans to worry about."

"He's right," Jolt chimed in. "I mean, I never lived in your base, so it could be out of line for me to say this, but . . . well . . . whatever was in there was material possession. You can get those again. What matters is that we're alive and with friends, right?"

"Says the girl who was in a prison cell," Superboy frowned.

"No, she's right," Bart said. "We're alive and with friends. That's what's important . . . we just gotta stay that way!"

Hallie smiled at Bart, showing her appreciation for someone finally siding with her.

"Tensions are a bit hot right now," Cissie took over. "I think the best course of action would be to lay low for awhile. Get some street clothes, maybe split up into smaller groups . . . let the buzz die down. Then, maybe when everyone's stopped looking for us we could find a way to clear ourselves."

"Clear ourselves from what, though?" Robin asked. "The more I think about it, the more I realize that this isn't something where we can just capture the bad guy and have him confess to the authorities that he framed us. All those times we caused property damage in our fights . . . the only way to truly clear our names is to go to court and defend ourselves, legally."

"They'd eat us alive in court!" Cassie exclaimed. "And what if Shaw is involved? We'd never get a fair trial!"

"I'm not turning myself in," Superboy frowned.

"There's gotta be another way," Linda said.

"I do have some files on Shaw's illegal activities," Robin said. "They're in a safe place . . . but that won't be enough to clear our names. It would be a start, though."

"So . . . what's the plan?" Hallie asked.

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Bart echoed.

"Ah've been an outlaw hero before," Sam said. "Ah think we should turn in any evidence we have against Shaw . . . and then just let our actions speak for ourselves. We should keep on bein' heroes . . . fightin' the bad guys, savin' the world. Hopefully, by doin' that, we could show people that we're just misunderstood."

"That's a longshot," Jade frowned.

"It could take years," Superboy added.

"I . . . I don't know," Robin shook his head. "Maybe . . . maybe if I turned myself in? As leader of YJ, I could probably get you all pardoned . . . strike a deal, y'know? If I--"

"No way," Cissie said.

"Notta chance," Sam added. "We're stickin' together on this . . . no matter what."

"Does that mean you'll all surrender?" a voice called from the entrance to the warehouse.

"Eh?" Robin asked as the team turned to the doorway. For a moment, he thought: Why is someone always coming in a door somewhere, making one of us ask 'eh' and causing all of us to turn around? I could go for something a bit more original right now . . .

[[Hey! At least I'm consistent, bird boy! - Paul]]

"The name's Valor," the boy in the doorway said. "With me here are Chamber, Secret, Damage, Skin, Argent and Husk. We're Generation Next . . . and we've been sent by the DEO to take you down. Young Justice . . . you're under arrest."

The TV was on.

"And the search continues for the group of rogue heroes Young Justice currently on the run from the law. They've clashed with both the Super-Unit Police and a task force released from the Department of Extranormal Operations. Neither were successful, though the DEO has said that they are currently operating in New York City under full authority by the Mayor's office to find the renegade super-humans. Sebastian Shaw, wealthy industrialist, has said that he is doing everything he can to support the search for Young Justice, hoping that by captured them, they won't be allowed to do to anyone else what was done to him and the Hellfire Club."

"Rather dangerous for their first real mission," Mister Bones said quietly.

"You doubt my plan?" Mitchell Shelley asked. Even if he was not the head of the DEO, he would still be a dangerous man.

"Of course not, sir," Bones answered. "It's just because of the media's involvement. And since Husk is Cannonball's sister. I am rather certain they will recognize each other."

"No they won't," Shelley replied. "Golden Eagle will take him out of the fight first thing. It is necessary."

"But if she realizes?"

"She is replaceable. Any member of that team can step up and fill her spot." Shelley had a hint of a smile on his face. "After this mission we should have eliminated any weak links."

Inside stood the members of Young Justice:

Hallie Takahama, a.k.a. Jolt: Enhanced speed and reflexes, on top of electric shock punches!

Linda Danvers, the Firebird: Flight, telekinesis, super strength, invulnerability, and large fire-like wings of a psionic nature!

Jennifer-Lynn Haden, the emerald Jade: The green-skinned beauty could create and maintain any object with her own force of will!

Cissie King-Jones, a.k.a. Arrowette: A keen eye and one of the greatest archers alive!

Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl: With her ionic powers, she's super strong, invulnerable, and capably of flight!

Sam Guthrie, the human Cannonball: He blasts into the air like a rocket, while being protected by an indestructible blast field!

Bart Allen, a.k.a. Impulse: Too fast to tag!

Kon-El, Superboy: Super strength, invulnerability and flight are provided by his tactile telekinesis!

Chuck Barnes, the urban legend named Robin: A normal human pushed to physical and mental perfection, team leader and highly skilled fighter!

In the door stood the members of Generation Next:

Thomas Palmer, Valor: Invulnerable, super strong, heat vision and flight are only the tip of the iceberg for this young man!

Jonathan Palmer, Chamber: Releases psychokinetic biochemical blasts from his face and chest!

The mysterious Secret: A body made of smoke than can be shifted to any size, become temporarily solid, teleport and more!

Paige Guthrie, Husk: A shape-shifter of sorts, Paige can tear off her skin and become something completely new!

Grant Emerson, Damage: Fires intense concussive blasts!

Toni Monetti, Argent: Ability to create and maintain anything with her own force of will!

Angelo Espinosa, Skin: His body has six plus feet of extra skin that he can stretch, shape, or control any way!

"My name's Valor. These are my associates: Chamber, Secret, Damage, Skin, Argent and Husk. We're the DEO task force Generation Next. You're Young Justice, and you are under arrest."

"Wasn't there another member of our team here?" Chamber asked psionically.

"Oh yeah," Skin said. "Where'd Golden Eagle go?"

"Raaa!" the last member of the Generation Next task squad burst through the ceiling. He wore a golden suit of armor and gold wings. He flew straight at Cannonball and tackled him, carrying both of them outside the warehouse and into the water beyond the harbor.

"There he goes," Argent said, matter-of-factly.

"Young Justice," Robin rallied his team. "We didn't start this fight, but I'll be darned if a bunch of rookies are gonna handle us!"

"Rookies?" Valor asked. "Remember the briefing, take them down."

"Bring it!" Superboy yelled.

Kon-El flew right to Thomas, and both began slugging it out. With their similar powers, that's a fight that could last.

Skin's fingers stretched forward, grabbing and quickly trapping Impulse before he could get away.

"Eeeewwww," Impulse said, looking at the grey skin. Bart vibrated his body at an incredible speed and became intangible, allowing himself to escape. "You're disgusting!"

"Hold still!" Damage said, taking aim with his arm at Wonder Girl. "It'll only hurt a second or two!"

"Yeah, sure," Wonder Girl said, taking flight. "It'll take more than you to -- "

Damage fired a blast that connected dead on with Wonder Girl, sending pain through her body.

"Umm . . . nevermind," she said, then coughed.

Argent leapt at Jade and created a group of blue plasma spheres to send flying at her. Jade quickly defended herself, creating a green sword and shield, blocking and cutting through the spheres.

"You have my powers," Argent said.

"You have my powers," Jade answered. "Guess this battle'll just come down to force of will! And, of course, seeing if you can create anything more than little spheres!"

Chamber pulled down the leather scarf keeping his energies from showing. He took aim at the flying Firebird and cut loose, trying to take her down.

Linda easily created a telekinetic shield to block, yet found her shield barely held against the opening salvo. This one's really strong . . .

Jolt leapt over to Husk and tagged her with a bio-shock punch, causing the young blonde's hair to frizzle.

"So, whatcha got?" Hallie asked her.

"You'll see!" Husk said, tearing her skin off. Her body was then that of dense stone. She slammed a fist into the ground which Jolt barely dodged.

"Make it easy on yourself," Secret said as her misty body swirled all around Robin.

"Sorry, I always do things the hard way," Robin said, pulling a gas mask off of his utility belt and sliding it on.

"Who's left?" Arrowette asked, pulling a pair of trick arrows from her quiver. "Oh, come on . . . there's gotta be someone I can fight . . . "

"There's plenty of fight to go around!" Wonder Girl yelled, dodging another blast from Damage. "Just jump in and help out!"

"Cripes!" Sam said, blasting free of Golden Eagle's grip. No place to land over all this water . . . means Ah'm lookin' at an aerial battle. Don't have too much experience with the sort . . . but I'm not totally unprepared.

The Eagle took another pass at Sam, slashing at him with the talons on his gauntlets. They slashed harmlessly against Sam's blast field, which kept him protected.

"Why'd you start this fight, buddy?" Sam asked, punching the armored Eagle in the chest. "Ah was hopin' we could talk our way outta this . . . but chances are, by knockin' me out here, all you've done is start a fight!"

"Just following orders," the Eagle replied. "The DEO says you're to be taken in. I listen. I get told you're my primary target and it's my job to distract you, that's what I do."

"Distract me?" Sam asked, dodging a punch. "What is it that you're distracting me from?"

"Beats me," the Eagle said. "But don't worry . . . soon you'll be unconscious and have no more worries about distractions . . . "

"Not a chance!" Sam exclaimed. He tore one of his fists through one of the Eagle's wings at rocket speed, tearing a small hole through one. He then turned and rocketed back towards the warehouse.

Sebastian Shaw sat in his private office as he had many, many times. Emma Frost entered, called as she had been, many, many times.

"You rang?" she asked.

Shaw didn't answer. Instead, he grinned.

"What is it?" Frost pressed.

"Project: Wideawake?" Shaw asked her, though he knew she needed no refresher course to remember it. "The Sentinels, White Queen. They launched ten minutes ago."

"They did?" Frost's eyes went wide."

"Their primary target . . . is Young Justice."

"Trade partners!" Robin ordered. "Bart, I need you to handle Secret! Arrowette, tag Husk! Jolt, on Chamber! Wondy, Firebird, give Superboy a break and take Valor! Kon, do some damage to Damage! Jade, get Skin! I'll handle Argent!"

And in moments, the tide of battle turned.

Bart began running circles around Secret at incredible speeds, trapping her smoke body in a vortex and causing her to slowly lose consciousness.

Arrowette fired an explosive arrow at Husk, smashing her stone body.

Chamber turned his attention to Impulse who had just taken down Secret. In his moment of distraction, Jolt leapt up behind Chamber and gave him a shock punch to the head.

Superboy floored Damage with a couple of quick punches.

Jade trapped Skin in a green cage, and Robin tore a path through Argent's defenses to give her a quick whack with his bo-staff.

Wonder Girl and Firebird pounded Valor with a barrage of punches. He stayed in the air trying to fight back. He was the only member of the team left so he fought harder and more persistently than ever. Robin was right when he called Generation Next rookies. Young Justice had quickly beat them using teamwork honed in countless other battles.

Cannonball entered back in the hole in the wall that marked his exist. "Ah see things're mostly under control," he said with a smile.

"Sam?!" Husk exclaimed as she saw him enter.

"Paige?" he exclaimed back.

"Who?" Bart asked.

"You two . . . know each other?" Jade was curious.

"Of course we do!" Sam exclaimed. "Paige's mah sister!"

When Firebird, Wonder Girl and Valor heard the word sister the battle suddenly stopped. Valor was glad for the pause . . . he didn't know how much longer he would have been able to hold out.

"Omigod . . . " Paige said. "Ah - I had no idea!"

"That's why Golden Eagle's orders were to distract me," Sam frowned. "Ya'll've been set up. The DEO gave Eagle orders to keep me distracted from the fight . . . prolly 'cause they knew that Paige an' I'd stop the fight if we recognized each other."

"We haven't been set up," Skin frowned. "You're a menace to society, hombre! We were sent to take you down. And we were eager to do it . . . especially after you trashed that DEO task force the other day."

"They attacked us," Superboy frowned.

"Look," Robin said. "There's obviously been a misunderstanding here."

"I'll say," Paige said. "Sam, since when did you become a criminal?"

"We're not criminals," Sam frowned. "We're just misunderstood. Yeah, we're a little reckless sometimes . . . but we have reason to believe Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the Hellfire Club's secret Inner Circle, is using his pull on government officials to see to it we get in jail. See, he's really mad at us for our fight with him an' his forces . . . which we won."

"Is this for real?" Valor asked as he landed on the ground.

"It is," Paige said. "Sam had told me about the Hellfire Club. And he wouldn't lie to me. He's telling the truth."

"We couldn't have been duped," Argent frowned.

"You weren't," the Golden Eagle flew back. "So rocket boy is Husk's brother. Well, that sucks for her. But we've still got an assignment."

"No," Secret said. "This is wrong. It must be a mistake . . . "

"It is a mistake," Robin said, walking over to Secret. "We're not the bad guys. We've just been wrongfully blamed. And we want to clear our names."

Chamber watched Robin approach Secret carefully. He wouldn't let him harm her . . .

"Well, then," Valor frowned, "seems like it's time for me to make a decision . . . I was told I was going to be team leader, so . . . "

"But you don't want to be team leader," Paige cut in. "And I was told I was being considered too . . . "

"But you're emotionally involved here," Valor frowned again. "So, I'm going to make the decision. I see no reason for this fight to continue until we find out what is going on."

Golden Eagle tensed, but did nothing.

"That's good to hear," Robin said, extending his hand.

Valor nodded, accepting the arm in a handshake.

"Now what's say we -- " Robin started. "What the -- ?"

The roof of the warehouse was suddenly torn off. Through the gaping hole the two teams saw three, large, mechanical heads with glowing red beady eyes staring down at them.

"Halt, mutants," the middle one's voice boomed. "We are Sentinels. Surrender now. Resistance is futile . . . "

Sebastian Shaw grinned. He had finally done it. After years of preparing . . . of pulling favors, making alliances, and spending so much money, he had finally done it. He had released . . .

The Sentinels.

It was his long term goal. He didn't invent them, of course. He knew the government was secretly developing them should the mutant menace become uncontrollable. Shaw merely took advantage of that.

By putting his people in the right places, he enabled certain extra . . . aspects . . . to be programmed into their systems. It was very fortuitous that all Sentinels would recognize him as their master. Not only would they not attack him, they would even do as he said! And, of course, they didn't just hunt mutants. They were programmed to deal with the super-powered ilk as well.

It was genius. A small group of those giant robots could conquer New York City in hours. He could rule the world!

But no. That would be too overt. He would rule the world someday, he believed. But he wouldn't conquer through force. He was a business man. He would rule through economics. The Sentinels would just be there to enforce him, when he needed it.

In the meantime, however, the Sentinels allowed him something far better: Revenge.

Ever since Young Justice attacked the Hellfire Mansion and won, Shaw had been furious. He knew he had to strike back. The Sentinels were perfect. Now, he knew . . . now they'd get what was coming to them.

Inside the warehouse stood the members of two teams: Young Justice and Generation Next.

Young Justice role call: Chuck Barnes, Robin: normal human pushed to peak mental and physical perfection. Kon-El, Superboy: Tactile telekinesis makes him super strong, invulnerable, and capable of flight. Bart Allen, Impulse: Super fast! Sam Guthrie, Cannonball: Mutant rocket protected by an indestructible blast field. Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl: Ionic based powers let her fly, and make her super strong and invulnerable. Cissie King-Jones, Arrowette: An amazing archer armed with an array of trick arrows. Jennifer-Lynn Haden, Jade: Able to create and maintain objects with her own force of will! Linda Danvers, Firebird: Flight, super strength, invulnerability, telekinesis and large, fire-like wings of a psionic nature! Hallie Takahama, Jolt: Enhanced speed and reflexes, topped with electric shock punches!

Generation Next role call: Thomas Palmer, Valor: Invulnerability, super strength, heat vision and flight! Jonathan Palmer, Chamber: Releases psychokinetic biochemical blasts from his face and chest! Secret: A body made of smoke than can be shaped into any size, become temporarily solid, and even teleport! Paige Guthrie, Husk: A shape-shifter! Grant Emerson, Damage: Fires concussive blasts! Tony Monetti, Argent: Ability to create and maintain objects with her own force of will! Angelo Espinosa, Skin: Six extra feet of skin are his to control! Charles Edmond Parker, Golden Eagle: A suit that not only makes him well armored, but large metal wings that let him fly!

The two teams had recently clashed. Generation Next was sent by the DEO to take down Young Justice. Young Justice was on the run from the law, though the team was innocent of any charges.

After fighting for awhile, it was revealed that Cannonball and Husk were brother and sister, and that the teams were being duped! They agreed to stop fighting, but before anything else could happen, the warehouse roof was torn off.

Three giant Sentinels stood, peering in.

"Halt, mutants," the middle Sentinel's robotic voice boomed. "We are Sentinels. Surrender now. Resistance is futile."

"Mutants?" Sam asked. "They must mean Me an' Paige!"

"And me," Skin frowned.

"Scanning," the first Sentinel spoke. "Three mutants detected. Fourteen super-humans detected. Orders: Capture beings known as Young Justice. Eliminate anything else."

"They're targeting super humans, too?" Jade asked.

"I thought they were mutant hunters," Damage said.

"Well, apparently not!" Robin yelled. "Everyone, scatter!"

Both teams did just that as laser blasts from the Sentinel's eyes tore into the warehouse and sank it into the water below the harbor.

Cannonball blasted forward, scooping up Paige. He then carried her into the air and past the three sentinel's heads into open air. He instantly wished he hadn't.

There were four more Sentinels standing outside.

"Seven of 'em," Paige gaped.

"This is gonna get a whole lot worse 'fore it gets better," Sam frowned.

"This may attract way more attention than we need," Robin frowned from a point on the harbor deck. Secret, Valor and Arrowette stood with him.

"Got a plan?" Valor asked.

"Here's one," Arrowette said, pulling an electro-shock arrow. "Take 'em down!"

Wonder Girl flew at a Sentinel and slammed her fists into it's chest. She managed to dent it, but barely. The Sentinel smacked her away with a wave of it's hand.

Damage fired a concussive blast at a Sentinel's arm, causing minor damage. The sentinel replied with a concussive blast of it's own, knocking Damage away.

Two Sentinels targeted the harbor, blowing up the wood deck with ease.

"They're going to try to sink us," Jolt exclaimed. "We can't fight them if we're too busy trying not to drown!"

Roberto DaCosta was in his room, quickly packing things into two bags. He didn't have time to be picky. He sent a letter to Shaw, informing him he was leaving.

There was a knock at the door. Before Bobby could go to answer it, James Proudstar came in. He, too, carried a bag.

"You're sure I can come?" Jimmy asked.

Bobby nodded. "Did you offer Magma and Tarot?" Bobby asked.

He nodded. "Tarot said she can't leave . . . she can't dodge fate. Magma laughed in my face. She may have told Frost."

"Then we've gotta go now," Bobby frowned. Shaw had somehow discovered that Bobby had infiltrated the Hellfire Club on a mission from Professor Xavier. He hadn't been confronted yet, but Martinique Wyngarde told him. He believed her.

Jimmy was leaving because Tarot told him that, in the future, all the Hellions would die. He didn't want to die.

"Where are we headed again?" Jimmy asked.

"Muir Island," Bobby answered. "If we can make it there, we'll be safe."

Bobby zipped up his bags and flung them over his shoulder. He peeked out his door and slowly made his way down the hall with Jimmy close behind.

Martinique watched them go, but said nothing.

Frost watched them go, but did not interfere.

Shaw knew they were leaving, but did not care. His revenge on Young Justice was at hand. Sure, the Inner Circle was down to himself and Frost. But that could be dealt with later. For now . . . it was his moment of triumph!

[[For more on Sunspot and Thunderbird, keep an eye peeled for X-Force #1! - Paul]]

"Impulse!" Robin yelled. "Get intangible . . . run through the sentinel's chests . . . and plant some of my bat-bombs!"

Robin tossed the three he had on him to Impulse. Bart quickly vibrated the molecules of his body fast enough to make himself intangible. He went into the center of a Sentinel's chest and planted all three. A few seconds after he came out, the bombs went off, blowing the Sentinel's chest out. The robot fell backwards onto another warehouse, crashing it inward.

"One down," Robin said. "But I'm fresh out of bombs . . . "

"Superboy, Wonder Girl, Firebird!" Valor called, taking charge. "We're the strongest people here." He looked at the three of them with a cool calm and pointed at one of the sentinels. "Let's take that big boy down!"

All four did just that, slamming their fists into the Sentinel and doing major dentage.

The only problem is . . . Linda thought . . . is that I'm not as strong as I used to be. I haven't told the others, but . . . since I was with the Hellfire Club . . . my strength, my invulnerability . . . it's been decreased. My telekinesis has been increasing, sure . . . and I think that's the only reason I can still fly and do any major damage. I have to reinforce everything I do with my TK. I don't know how long I can keep this up . . .

Skin ducked and covered. His powers were useless against those things.

Husk tore off her skin, and found herself made of Adamantium. She charged forward at a Sentinel's leg and smashed her fists through it.

Cannonball charged at the Sentinel and blew a whole in it's chest. It's damaged systems caused it to fall to the ground.

Damage stepped in and fired a blast at it's head, making sure it was finished.

Jade and Argent teamed up against one, using their powers to tear it apart. They kept creating sharp objects and tearing through the robot's armored body.

Arrowette blasted a pair of electroshock arrows at another Sentinel, giving it minor damage.

Jolt hopped over to Arrowette. "Doesn't do much damage, huh?"

"Nope," Arrowette frowned. "I'm almost useless."

"Hey, my powers are the same as those arrows," Hallie said. "Imagine how I feel? All I can do now is jump around and try not to get hit!"

Chamber cut loose with a psychokinetic blast, frying a Sentinel's arm and finishing the job that Damage had started earlier. Secret made her smoke body grow large, her fists become spikes. She solidified for a moment, then punched the Sentinel's head, doing major damage.

One of the Sentinels took off into the air. "New orders. Terminate all superbeings and mutants in the immediate vicinity."

"Uh-oh," Wonder Girl said.

"We can take 'em!" Superboy yelled. He charged at the one Chamber, Damage and Secret were working on, knocking it's head off and finishing that fight. "Now there's only two left!"

The one left on the ground began firing like mad. It shot blasts from it's eyes and hands as quickly as could be, sending all the heroes into a mad, frenzied scatter.

"I can reach him!" Impulse yelled. He made himself intangible again and charged towards the sentinel. He smacked right into it's chest and fell to the ground, dazed.

"This Sentinel has adapted."

"They adapt, too?" Argent asked.

"Guess so," Sam said.

"Bart!" Jolt exclaimed, a worried tone in her voice.

"No worries, he'll be okay," Superboy said, dodging a blast. "He's thick headed."

"Y'know, Linda," Jade started, "some of that wacky 'Phoenix' stuff might go good right about now!"

"I've already told you," Linda replied, "I don't remember doing that! It's not something I can turn on or off, since to me, it never happened!"

"We need to finish this," Valor said. "Now."

"I know," Secret said. She twirled her smoke body around herself, initiating a smoke jump. She reappeared around the sentinel's waste and then smoke jumped again. She teleported away half the Sentinel's body, taking it out of the fight.

"Way t'go, love," Chamber replied enthusiastically.

"Now there's just the one up there," Arrowette said.

The Sentinel in the air raised both arms and, at the same time, fired blasts from them and it's eyes. The wide stream of laser blast tore apart what remained of the deck, sinking both teams into the water below.

"This isn't good," Argent said.

"Lowering coils," the Sentinel said as two large coils started to drop from his hands. "Electric shock power at 100% efficiency."

"What?" Skin asked.

"He's gonna drop electric coils into the water!" Robin exclaimed. "He'll electrocute us!"

"Great observation, Boy Wonder," Superboy said. "Let's do something about it!"

Jolt looked around nervously. Bart was unconscious when the Sentinel blasted us . . . what if he's drowning?

Superboy, Cannonball, Wonder Girl, Firebird, Jade, Valor, Secret and Argent and flew straight at the Sentinel, hitting him with everything they had. It was just enough. The sentinel blew up before the coils could hit the water.

"We did it," Cissie said. "We won!"

"Cool," Impulse said, standing on a some of what was left of the deck.

"You're alive!" Jolt exclaimed. She jumped up and hugged him.

Bart stood there, both nervous and uncomfortable. "Umm . . . yeah, I guess."

"Sorry," she said shyly, letting him go.

"I'm glad that's over," Damage said.

"Hmm . . . " Robin pondered as he swam towards the deck.

"What is it, Boy Wonder?" Valor asked with a smile.

"Well, besides the fact that there's a lot to question about the behavior of these Sentinels," Robin explained, "I was just noticing . . . where was Golden Eagle during all this?"

"Right here," Golden Eagle's voice called. It seemed different . . . almost hollow. His features had changed. His armor had been shed. He now wore a black uniform with pink along his collar. His hands seemed to radiate energy, and his eyes glowed red. "I am a Sentinel: Prime. You will be destroyed."

"You've all but lost everything."

Sebastian Shaw sat in his comfy chair behind his nice desk. The words came from the mouth of Emma Frost, White Queen of the Inner Circle. He was the Black King.

"First, Young Justice attacked us and utterly defeated us," she continued. "A feat which should have been impossible. The aftermath of that fight saw Jason Wyngarde's brains blown out, Linda Danvers returning to the young heroes, and Contessa and Klarion, bum Bum BUM, the Witch Boy quitting. Then, Doom joins . . . and then quits, but not before exposing the traitors in our midst. Your personal assistant, Tessa, was an agent of Xavier's. As was Sunspot. They both left. Thunderbird, one of my Hellions, went with them. And Jason's daughter, Martinique? The one who, supposedly, assisted Young Justice in their attack against us, you do nothing against, and order me to do the same? Even though she probably knows that we know? And that she's secretly plotting against us? And to top it all off, you finally get the Sentinels approved . . . and send the first batch made against Young Justice . . . only to learn, as you have, that they defeated them? And here you sit with a smile across your face."

"You have a point?" Shaw asked.

Frost growled.

"You can always actively recruit more for your Hellions," he leaned forward. "Thunderbird, while full of potential, can be replaced. As can the Inner Circle. For the moment, I do not need a full circle. And, of course, you can't possibly blame all those mishaps on me. Cerebro was your job. You screwed that one up."

She growled again.

"My dear Emma, you must relax. There is a method to my madness. I sent the weakest Sentinels we made. They received a measure of the array of powers and abilities presented by the young heroes. They have absorbed and analyzed the data, and the next time they fight, they will be far more difficult to defeat."

"And what of the circle?"

"When the time is right, we shall rebuild," Shaw answered. "When the time is right . . . "

In one corner: The members of the currently outlaw heroes, Young Justice!

Chuck Barnes, a.k.a. Robin: mental and physical perfection, trained by the world's greatest detective.

Kon-El, a.k.a. Superboy: tactile telekinesis makes him invulnerable, super strong, and a flyer.

Bart Allen, a.k.a. Impulse: super speed's his move.

Sam Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball: the human rocket, protected by an indestructible blast field.

Cassie Sandsmark, a.k.a. Wonder Girl: ionically powered strength, invulnerability and flight.

Cissie King-Jones, a.k.a. Arrowette: mistress of archery.

Jennifer-Lynn Haden, a.k.a. Jade: able to create objects with her own force of will.

Linda Danvers, a.k.a. Firebird: telekinesis, waning super-strength and invulnerability, and increasingly strong fire-like wings of a psionic nature.

Hallie Takahama, a.k.a. Jolt: enhanced reflexes, speed, and electric shock punches.

Aaaaaand . . . umm . . . in the same corner! The members of Generation Next!

Thomas Palmer, a.k.a. Valor: invulnerable, super strong, flight, heat vision and more.

Jonothan Palmer, a.k.a. Chamber: fires psychokinetic biochemical blasts from a hole in his face and chest.

Suzy, the Secret: A body made of smoke that can be formed into anything, on top of teleportation.

Paige Guthrie, a.k.a. Husk: a shape changer who pulls off her skin and becomes something new.

Grant Emerson, a.k.a. Damage: fires concussive blasts.

Tony Monetti, a.k.a. Argent: creates and maintains objects with her own force of will.

Angelo Espinosa, a.k.a. Skin: six feet of extra skin is his to control.

And, this time, in the other corner . . .

[[Forgetting of course that, the world is round, and while outside, there are no corners . . . ]]

It's not literal, dummy! << ahem >> As I was writing . . . in the other corner:

He was Charles Edmond Parker, a.k.a. Golden Eagle. But now, he's transformed into a Sentinel: Prime!

"A Sentinel . . . Prime?" Superboy asked.

"Prime Sentinel," Robin rephrased. "I heard about them . . . they were rumors, though."

"Guess they're more than rumors," Damage frowned.

"He was one of ours . . . ?" Secret questioned.

"No, he wasn't," Paige frowned. "Bones and Shelley just dropped him on us for this assignment!"

"He was a plant," Valor said. "We were set up."

"DESIGNATES: Generation Next," the Sentinel analyzed. "Ignore. DESIGNATES: Young Justice. Subdue."

"I'm sick of this stuff," Superboy frowned. He slammed a fist into the Sentinel's chest, expecting that to be enough. The Sentinel just stood it's ground.

"DESIGNATE: . . . Superboy? Query on genetics of Superboy. Log and save, explore later. Powers: Tactile telekinesis. Negated."

"Query on genetics?" Linda asked.

"Negated?" Superboy asked.

The Sentinel punched Kon in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

"Oh," Wonder Girl said. "Negated."

"This unit has adapted to your powers," the Sentinel continued. "Superboy, Impulse, Cannonball, Wonder Girl, Firebird and Jolt provide no more threat than the average humans, Robin and Arrowette."

"Average?" Arrowette asked.

"Maybe you Gen-Nexters might wanna assist?" Jolt asked.

"DESIGNATES: Generation Next," the Sentinel addressed them. "Do not interfere. Interference will cause this unit to defend itself. Note: Your powers, too, have been rendered ineffective to this unit."

The Sentinel then moved in a blur, physical attacking the members of Young Justice. Occasionally, it fired energy blasts from it's hands and eyes, hitting YJ with it's full force.

"We can't just stand here!" Secret exclaimed.

"We're gonna help, right?" Paige asked.

Valor paused. "I don't trust the DEO. If they did put this thing here . . . then they don't trust us, either. Young Justice isn't a group of criminals . . . they're heroes! Let's save 'em!"

The group leapt into the fray, attacking the Prime Sentinel with everything they had. That is, except for Skin. He hesitated. He had been with the DEO longer than the others . . .

"Generation Next," the Sentinel spoke, unaffected by Valor's heat vision or Chamber's psychokinetic blasts. "This unit is now forced to defend itself."

Cannonball blasted straight at the Sentinel. Though Sam knew he couldn't directly hurt it, he hoped he could at least move the fight away from the others. Sam grabbed hold of the Sentinel and carried it into the air, up and away.

"Ah'm takin' you outta this," Sam said. "Ah've about had it with these surprise attacks! Are you from the DEO? Are you from Shaw? SHIELD? What?"

"This unit will not answer your questions," it replied. "Soon, your powers will be completely negated. They will shut off. You will fall to your death."

"Ah'll take you with me, then," Sam replied.

"No." The Sentinel grabbed hold of Sam's arms. "This unit can fly. You shall perish."

Sam's eyes went wide as he slowed. Then, he stopped blasting altogether. "Oh, Lordy . . . "

The Sentinel dropped Sam. He fell.

"Got you!" Valor exclaimed as he caught Sam in mid-fall.

"Thanks," Sam answered.

"Anytime," Valor answered. "Why'd you take him away from the rest of us?"

"Ah didn't want him to hurt any o' y'all," Sam answered. "Hoped Ah'd be able to get him away and then take him out. Didn't go as planned."

"I think you've only made things worse," Valor frowned. "Now we've brought the fight into a more public area."

Sam smacked his head. "Ah'm so dumb . . . Ah wasn't thinkin' ahead at all."

Down below, the rest of the young heroes charged on to fight the Sentinel.

"I've got a plan," Robin said. "We're by power lines . . . we could use them to fry it's circuitry!"

"Worth a try," Wonder Girl said.

"Jade, Argent," Robin ordered. "Create some giant scissors and cut those lines! Everyone, steer clear!"

The two did as they were told. Soon, several city blocks were without power, and several lines were crackling with energy.

"Now we just gotta lure him there," Paige frowned.

"He's coming back for another attack," Chamber stated.

"Scatter!" Robin ordered. He stood, ready for the attack, right in front of the downed lines. He doesn't think me a major threat . . . but hopefully, just standing here as everyone else runs, I'll look easy . . .

Sure enough, what was once Golden Eagle took the bait. It charged for Robin at a high speed. Just as it was about to hit him, Robin grabbed it's arms and flipped him backwards into the downed power lines. The electricity began to flow into the robot's systems, but it, too, had grabbed Robin, and wasn't letting go. The electricity coursed through both of them.

"Rob!" Arrowette exclaimed.

"No!" Secret yelled as well. She flew to Robin and instantly smoke jumped him and herself away. When they reappeared, Secret was screaming in pain.

"Suzy!" Chamber yelled, running over to her.

"Rob!" Arrowette said again, running to him.

"I . . . d-don't like . . . e-e-elec-electricity," Secret said, matter-of-factly.

"You s-saved my life," Robin said to her.

"I . . . d-didn't want you t-t-to . . . g-get hurt," she answered.

Robin smiled at her, though his teeth chattered slightly from the intense electricity. They exchanged a quick glance of relief. "Thanks."

"It's dead," Impulse said, happily pointing to the fried remains of the Prime Sentinel.

"Good," Valor frowned.

"Was he sent after us by the DEO?" Husk asked.

"Ah don't know," Sam frowned. "Ah hope not."

"Seems like we'll have to ask our superiors," Valor frowned again.

"What're we gonna tell 'em?" Damage asked.

"That we got attacked by Sentinels while trying to apprehend Young Justice," Valor answered.

"And that they helped us when Golden Eagle changed," Secret said.

"And that, after the confusion, they got away," Paige added.

"Sounds good to me," Wonder Girl grinned.

Skin stood in the back of the group and said nothing.

"Sam, I . . . " Paige started. "It's good to see you again."

"Good t'see you, too, sis," Sam answered. "How come y'don't talk like y'used to?"

"I phased out the accent," Paige grinned. "I didn't want to be a country bumpkin."

Sam laughed. "You're one weird gal, Paige."

"Says the guy who just went Hyuck-Hyuck!"

"Ah do not say that!"

Valor and Robin shook hands.

"I'm sorry we attacked you," Valor said.

"You were only following orders," Robin replied. "I'm just glad that you came to your senses. Are you sure you're going to be able to explain this okay to the DEO?"

"No," Thomas replied with a grin. "But they'll have to deal with it."

Jolt stood next to Impulse.

"Y'notice how eager Cissie was to get to Rob when he was hurt?" Hallie asked.

"I guess," Bart replied.

"You think maybe she has a thing for him?"

"A thing?"

"Yeah, like a crush."

"A crush?"

"Yeah, when a girl likes a guy . . . "

"Ummm . . . sure. I think I had a dream like that once . . . "

[[Sorta . . . in Detective Comics #11 - Paul]]

"What do you think about girls?" Jolt asked.

"What's there to think about?" Bart asked. He gave Hallie a funny look.

"Nothing, nothing," Hallie said, grinning. "Nothing at all."

"Well, we'd better get going," Valor said. "We've been at this longer than expected."

Robin nodded.

"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do for you?" Secret asked. "Can't we help them?"

"It's probably better that you don't," Robin answered. "We'll get ourselves out of this mess. But it is nice to know we've got friends."

Secret smiled. "I hope we'll stay friends."

Chamber gave her a funny look, wondering at her curiosity about Robin.

"Alright, team," Valor called, "let's go home. Young Justice . . . good luck. You'll probably need it."

"Thanks," Robin said.

"Yeah," Arrowette added. "We are gonna need it."

Mister Shelley and Mr. Bones frowned.

"What will become of this?" Bones asked.

"Whatever I decide shall come of it," Shelley replied. "This was exactly what I figured would happen. They are tighter together than what they ever could have become in the training room. They went on a mission and stood toe to toe with a real team. Nothing was lost and everything was gained."

"And what about the Golden Eagle business?" Bones frowned.

"Simple," Shelley said. "We deny any knowledge that he was a Sentinel. It all is better than expected."

"If you say so, sir."

"Don't worry," Shelley grinned. "This will all work to our advantage yet . . . you'll see."

A young DEO agent walked into the office.

"Director, can you sign these papers?" the young agent asked.

"Not now, there are more important things right now," the director said with a smile.

Recent events had thrust the young members of Generation Next into the media spotlight. The hot topic on the news was young heroes, specifically, Young Justice. The DEO had been sent to bring the rogue heroes in. After conventional forces failed, they sent their meta-human teens.

The conflict didn't go as expected.

After a brief tussle, the two teams found that neither side were bad guys. But before they could sort things out, the teams were ambushed by Sentinels, giant robots that were supposed to be used only for mutant hunting. After surviving that battle, the two teams found themselves facing one of the Gen Nexters: Golden Eagle, who revealed himself to actually be a Prime Sentinel, a human-sized robot in disguise.

Though they were victorious, and found peace between the two teams, both were unsure of what had just happened. While Young Justice continued to be on the run, the members of Generation Next returned to their home for a debriefing.

Later . . .

"I can't help but feel like we've been lied to," Thomas Palmer frowned. As Valor, he's super strong, invulnerable, can fly, has heat vision and a wide array of different talents. He's also the unofficial team leader for Gen Next.

"Now why would you say that?" Jonothan Palmer asked sarcastically. He was Tom's brother, a mutant code-named Chamber. When his powers manifested, he blew off the lower half of his face. He's constantly spewing psychokinetic, biochemical energy and must speak telepathically.

Tom led Jono away from the other members of the team. They had just finished their debriefing.

"Bones and Shelley are hiding something," Tom said. "They said they had no idea that Eagle was a sentinel . . . but I don't believe 'em."

"Neither of us trust the DEO," Jono shrugged. "Especially not with how they detain Suzy every night . . . "

"No kidding," Tom frowned. "Things just aren't right here. And I think we deserve some answers. Let's talk to dad."

Ray Palmer was once the Atom. He currently serves as a teacher and trainer for Generation Next. He was sitting in a La-Z-Boy reading the paper when his sons walked in.

"We need to talk," Jono said.

"Alright," Ray answered, putting down the paper. "What about?"

"Did you know about Golden Eagle?" Tom asked.

"About him being a sentinel?" Ray asked back. "Not at all. If I had, I would've stopped it."

"So you admit that Bones or Shelley were involved?" Tom continued.

"I didn't say that," their father answered. "I honestly don't know. I hope they weren't. But I wouldn't be surprised."

"Okay," Jono nodded. "Then maybe it's time we found out?"

"Now boys," Ray stood, "don't think about doing something stupid. I suggest you both stay in tonight and rest. I'll talk to the Director tonight, and we can all talk in the morning."

"Alright, dad," Tom shrugged. "We're probably better off doing things your way."

"Now that's what I like to hear," Ray grinned. He sat back down in his chair.

"Come on," Tom said, motioning to his brother. The two left the room.

"We're actually gonna drop this?" Jono asked.

"Not a chance," Tom answered. "We're gonna find out the truth. But we're going to need a little help . . . "

"This could be one of the stupider things I've done."

"If stupider was a word."

Cassie Sandsmark, a.k.a. the ionically powered Wonder Girl was flying through the air. She was the one who replied to the man she was carrying, Chuck Barnes, better known as Robin, the boy wonder. Both were members of the currently outlaw team of heroes, Young Justice.

"Even I'm allowed to speak improperly sometimes," Robin said.

"Sure," Cassie answered. "But I do agree."

"Eh?"

"This is a pretty stupid idea."

Robin smiled despite himself. A little less than an hour ago, another of their teammates, Cannonball, received a brief message from his sister, Husk, a member of Generation Next. In it was a request for some help from Robin regarding the DEO and Generation Next.

"I hope we can trust them," Cassie continued.

"Me too," he replied. "I was a bit wary, of course. I mean, we did just meet them . . . but I have no reason to believe they'd try and lure us into a trap."

"What if she was put up to it? Or worse yet, was a Prime Sentinel, just like that other guy?"

"That's why I've brought you along."

"Huh?" Cassie asked.

"I figured, if I was walking into a trap, it'd be a lot better to have some extra muscle with me."

"Great. But still . . . why me?"

"Well . . . Superboy and I haven't exactly been getting along lately. And Linda, well . . . while I'm glad she's back, we haven't exactly had much of a chance to do a full run-down of her abilities. With that whole 'Phoenix' thing, I'd rather not take her on a mission like this."

"But not too long ago, my powers went through some crazy change. Now I've got ions bursting from my body every time I power up."

"I know. But even though we don't know the full extent of your changes, you're still the better choice."

"Thanks . . . I guess."

" . . . "

" . . . Hey," Cassie pondered.

"What?"

"If this is on the up and up . . . how do we know the regular DEO forces won't still be out to get us?" she asked. "Maybe the Gen Nexters need our help, but DEO still has its standing orders."

"Husk said she'd be able to disable their scanning equipment for a few minutes, letting us slip in," Robin shrugged. "If it works, good. If not, well . . . then at least we know it wasn't a trap."

"Great . . . "

"They should be coming within range soon," Tom said.

Paige Guthrie, a.k.a. Husk, nodded. Her hands grazed a keyboard and began typing away. "I should be able to shut down all scanning systems across the board for at least a minute or two before the back-up generators kick in."

"Will that be enough time?" Jono asked.

Tom sighed. "Only one way to find out. Do it."

"Done and done."

Silence . . .

"Is everyone's fingers crossed?" Paige asked.

"And toes," Jono replied.

"I hope Robin brings Sam with," Paige said. "I miss my big brother."

"Will Suzy be able to receive?" Tom asked.

"Well, we bought her a few minutes of freedom," Jono shrugged. "All we can do is hope she uses 'em . . . "

"We're probably within their scanning range by now," Robin said. "But they haven't done anything. Keep on ahead . . . we're approaching the coordinates they gave us."

Suddenly, a swirl of smoke and mist exploded into the air from out of nowhere, appearing in a burst of silence. It was another Gen Nexter, the Secret.

"Hey, Robin," she said. "I don't have much time before they realize I'm out of my containment cell . . . so this'll have to be quick. Try and stay calm."

"All right . . . "

The smoke swirled about the two members of Young Justice. They soon found themselves in a world of black. It gave them both chills. A few seconds later, the blackness returned to smoke, and Robin and Wonder Girl were standing inside the DEO facility.

"Whoa," he said.

"Nice to see you again . . . bye!" Secret said before imploding and teleporting away.

"That was weird," Cassie said.

"Hey," Valor said. "This way."

He motioned the two over to a computer where Chamber and Husk stood.

"What's the situation?" Robin asked.

"Jono and I were trying to find out the truth about the DEO's involvement with the Golden Eagle thing. Husk was working the computer angle, but she's met with too many blocks that she can't get past."

"You were hoping I could help?" Robin asked.

"Yup. After all, you are being trained by the World's Greatest Detective, are you not?"

Robin sighed. "I'll give it a try. No promises, though."

"Hey, Wonder Girl," Husk grinned, stepping aside and letting Robin try his hand at the computers. "I'd just like to say that you are an inspiration to the young, female, aspiring super-heroes of this country."

"Me?" Cassie asked. "An inspiration? Like, whoa . . . "

"Yeah," she grinned. "I'm sorry that our first meeting didn't go so well."

"Don't worry about it," Cassie shrugged. "It seems to me that any time super teams meet, there's always a misunderstanding that leads to a fight. It's par for the course."

"Any luck?" Chamber asked.

"Not as of yet," Robin replied, his hands busily working across the keyboard. "Why'd Secret have to run off so quickly?"

"The DEO keeps a tight leash on her," Chamber frowned. "They won't tell us why. But I managed to sneak her out briefly to help us."

Robin nodded. "She's interesting. Her powers are quite mysterious. I guess that's why she's called the Secret."

"I guess," Chamber answered. A frown could be seen in his eyes. He didn't like the interest Robin had been showing in his girlfriend. "Can we just keep to the task at hand?"

"Whatever," Robin shrugged. "Here we go . . . "

"What is it?" Valor asked. He, Husk and Wonder Girl gathered around the computer.

"I've gotten through a few layers of blocks and done a search," Rob explained. "I've found a few files on Young Justice. D'you mind if I download 'em for future reference?"

"Those are top secret," Chamber frowned.

"It's alright," Tom answered. "So long as you can find out something about Golden Eagle . . . "

"Thanks," Rob said. He quickly popped in a disc and downloaded. "They're encrypted, but I'm sure Batman would be able to help. Here we go . . . I found something on the Eagle."

"What is it?" Paige asked.

"It says that Golden Eagle was recruited before you guys," Robin summed up as he read. "He was seriously injured in a training exercise, nearly fatal. He was bed ridden . . . presumably forever."

"How is that possible?" Valor asked.

"It says that DEO head Mitchell Shelley recommended him for a special treatment called Sentinel: Prime."

"That means that Shelley knew," Jono said. "He sent the Eagle to become a Prime Sentinel . . . "

"That doesn't mean he was directly responsible," Robin said. "He could have done it because the procedure gave him back a life."

"But at what cost?" Paige asked.

"Well, at least it answers our main question," Tom sighed. "Shelley knew that the Golden Eagle was a Prime Sentinel. Whether or not he knew that the Eagle would activate, we don't know. But he was aware. And he lied to us when he denied knowledge about it."

"The DEO doesn't sound very trustworthy," Cassie said.

"It isn't," Chamber frowned.

"Is there anything else?" Tom asked.

"Lemme see . . . " Robin said as he continued typing. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Paige asked.

"Random security checks . . . the system's protected," Robin said. "They know I'm in illegally!"

The building's security alarms went off on cue.

"They'll trace us here in no time," Paige said.

"Then we better go," Robin said. He ejected the disc he had downloaded the YJ files onto and put it in his belt. "Got a speedy way out of here?"

"Yeah," Valor said. His eyes glew red and he blasted a hole through the ceiling, exposing the night sky. "Wonder Girl, pick up Robin and start flying. The DEO won't attack you if I'm in pursuit."

"Got it," Cassie said. She grabbed Robin and took off, her body glowing a light blue as its ionic powers exposed themselves. Valor took off after them.

He fired energy blasts from his eyes now and then, missing the YJers. He grabbed his communicator. "This is Valor to DEO . . . do not interfere. I'll capture the intruders."

"I think it's working," Wonder Girl said.

"Good," Robin answered. "Keep going the direction we came in."

"Wonder Girl!" Valor called.

"What?" she answered.

"I need you to sucker-punch me and then get out of here quickly," he said.

"I don't wanna hurt you!" she said.

"Don't worry . . . you won't."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

She stopped, turned to him, and hit her with a hard punch. Valor, not really injured, played along and flew himself into the ground below. Wonder Girl then turned and sped away into the sky back to where she came from.

Tom walked down the hall to Jono's room. He knocked and was let in.

"How'd it go?" Jono asked.

"I got yelled at for letting myself get beaten so easily . . . but they accepted that I tried. How'd it go with you guys?"

"Paige was able to delete the download records," Jono answered. "They think that Robin was trying to get into some files, but never succeeded."

"Good," Tom nodded. "That's one less problem to worry about."

"Yeah. Now we've only gotta deal with the other five million . . . "

The members of Young Justice had found some civvies and discreetly rented two connecting motel rooms.

The boys had one: Chuck Barnes, Kon-El, Bart Allen, and Sam Guthrie, better known as Robin, Superboy (or at least a reasonable facsimile), Impulse, and Cannonball.

The girls, the other: Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Jennifer-Lynn Haden, Linda Danvers, and Hallie Takahama, better known as Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Jade, Firebird, and Jolt.

After recent events* the team had decided to lay low.

*(Recent events kinda means everything since Young Injustice started . . . as insane as it seems, it's only been a few days since it all began!)

Robin took a slice of pizza from the Domino's box. Everyone had gathered into the boys' room for dinner.

"So, did you enjoy seeing your sister again?" Jen asked Sam.

He nodded, swallowing a bite of cheese pizza. "Hadn't seen her, really, since Ah joined the New Mutants years back. Ah'm just sorry that she got involved with the DEO."

"What about you, Rob?" Cassie asked. "Seemed like that mist girl took a liking to you."

Rob shrugged. "It's the cape. Chicks dig the cape."

"You wish," Cissie smiled, then laughed.

The laughter spread. It wasn't anything that funny that she said. But everyone took part. It felt like they hadn't laughed in ages.

"So, Jolt," Superboy started. "I mean, Hallie. Are you regretting joining us yet?"

"Not at all," Hallie grinned. "Sure, it's been one heckuva ride these past few days, but it's the biggest thrill I've ever had in my life. And I like having so much to do . . . helps me from thinking about anything else that's ever happened."

"As soon as this is all worked out," Robin said, "we're going to get to the bottom of what was going on back there. We'll get you help."

"I don't need any help," Hallie kept on grinning. "I've got a bunch of great new friends, awesome powers, and thrilling adventures alongside my friends!" She put Bart in a headlock and gave him a tight hug. "Right?"

"Right!" he said cheerily.

"Looks like those two have taken a liking to each other," Linda whispered to Kon.

"Whatever," he answered absently.

"Kon, what's wrong?" Linda asked. "You've been acting strange since . . . well . . . since the DEO fight that started this mess."

"Or maybe you've been acting strange," he replied, frowning.

"Y'know," Sam said, "that Prime Sentinel said something about a query on Superboy's genetics or something . . . what did he mean by that?"

"Beats me," Kon shrugged. "I don't know my origins. Maybe it's got something to do with that."

"Maybe," Sam shrugged.

"I'd like to investigate further," Robin said.

"Of course you would," Superboy replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin asked.

"What do you think it means?" Kon replied, standing.

"Not this again," Hallie shook her head.

"We never did finish that . . . 'discussion' the other day," Kon frowned.

[[He's referring to YJ 22, and their brief tussle!]]

"You want to finish it?" Robin asked. "Bring it."

"Guys!" Linda exclaimed. "Stop it. Stop it now!"

"Stay outta this," Kon said to her coldly.

Her expression changed to one of hurt.

"For God's sakes, we're in a Motel 6!" Cissie exclaimed. "At the very least, think of the property damage that we can't afford right now!"

"Always have to have women come to your defense, huh?" Kon kept at it.

"I don't need anyone to protect me from you," Robin replied angrily.

"Now that's enough!" Sam yelled. "Both o'ya . . . you're actin' like children! Both of you, stop it . . . Robin, go soak your head. Kon, take a walk."

"Screw this!" Kon threw up his hands. He threw the door open and walked outside.

Linda put her head in her hands and just shook. Cassie bit her lip, then went out after Kon.

"Should she--?" Sam asked.

"Let her," Cissie frowned. "Maybe she'll keep him from smashing things."

"Robin, what's wrong with you?" Sam asked.

Rob shook his head. "I don't know . . . I know I shouldn't let him goad me. It's probably because we're all on edge. But . . . I don't know. He's been acting strange . . . since . . . "

Linda shook her head. "I can't deal with this right now . . . " She walked back into the girls room.

"I just need some time to think," Rob sighed.

Cissie put her hand on his shoulder. "We're here for you."

"Ah don't want to lead this team," Sam frowned. "But if this keeps up, Ah may take charge."

"I'll support you," Jade nodded.

"Everyone's so serious," Impulse frowned.

"Yeah," Jolt said. "It's crazy."

"Wanna go play that arcade game in the motel lobby?" Bart asked.

Jolt's eyes lit up. "Okay!"

Kon-El walked side by side with Cassie Sandsmark.

"So . . . " she said absently.

"Yeah," Kon answered.

"Are you and Linda okay?" she asked. "You seem kinda . . . distant to her."

"Yeah," he said again. "So?"

"Just curious," she said.

"Or are you using wishful thinking?"

"Excuse me?"

"Maybe I've realized that I don't love Linda at all," he answered, taking her hand. "Maybe I've been in love with you all this time . . . "

"Kon, that's mean," she frowned. "You know how I -- "

"Maybe I wasn't joking?" he asked, pulling her closer. "Maybe I really am in love with you . . . "

"I . . . " she started.

"Shh," he smiled. "We don't need words . . . "

This has got to be the dumbest move I've ever made . . .

Superboy stood silently still. Graviton sat in a chair in front of him, focusing.

He reveals that the reason I'm feeling so weak . . . is because I've been cloned. And since energy can neither be created nor destroyed . . . it's being transferred from me to him. I grow weaker . . . as some clone of me running around gets stronger. And until I can find the clone and, supposedly, kill him, I'll continue to get weaker . . . until I'm completely powerless.

But now I've been offered another way . . . a way to give me powers until, at least, I can take down this clone. Graviton, the self proclaimed master of the fundamental force, is going to give me some of his. He thinks he's powerful enough to do this. He'll give me limited control over gravity . . . let me keep flying, boost up my strength and invulnerability a little. One things for sure, I'll start relying on my shield more.

But this is really stupid. He's supposed to be a super-villain . . . only he's never done anything except fight and lose to Thor.

"Are you ready?" Graviton asked.

This is the way it's gotta be. I get a power boost . . . then I take down my clone and find a way to get my powers back . . . and then I come back and take this guy down before he can cause any trouble. It's not the best plan . . . but it'll have to do.

"Okay," Superboy said. "I'm ready."

Graviton grinned. "Excellent . . . "

The Hellfire Club mansion.

"I've authorized another batch of Sentinels," Sebastian Shaw spoke to Emma Frost. "Twice as many as the last time . . . and each one fully prepared to deal with Young Justice. As well as some other catalogued heroes, like Generation Next, the Avengers League, the Shadow, even a member or two of the supposed X-Men. They are prepared."

"Will it work, this time then?"

Shaw grinned. "Better than you could imagine . . . "

The Morlock Tunnels underneath New York City.

A young mutant walked off by himself. His name was Caliban. He sniffed the air. He didn't mind the smell so much. He was used to it. Suddenly, his eyes glowed.

"Caliban senses . . . a new mutant?"

The child-like muscle-bound mutant leapt towards some shadows. "Hello? Hmm . . . Caliban sensed him . . . but he is gone."

I wish I was gone . . . a shadowed figure thought. This job is getting more and more risky. The money better be worth it. At least my employer says . . . it's almost over.

And unbeknownst to the shadowy figure watching the Morlocks . . . another figure watched him!

She didn't think anything. She didn't have the words. She knew right and wrong. And this was wrong. She needed help. If she knew how to pray for it, she just might.

End Interludes

Robin, Arrowette, Cannonball and Jade sat in the boys' room.

"Okay," Robin sighed. He hated the fact that everyone else could take off their masks, yet he still kept on sunglasses to hide his identity. "We need to confront Superboy. He's been acting erratic for awhile now. Something is wrong."

Cissie nodded. "I agree."

"But I can't confront him," Robin said. "Every time I try, we only fight."

"That's why you're askin' me?" Sam asked.

"And Cissie and Jen," Chuck said. "I don't see Bart or Hallie wanting to choose sides. And Linda and Cassie, well . . . they'd stick by him."

"You're dividing us up," Sam frowned. "When we need more unity than anything."

"We'll never have unity unless we address our problems," Robin answered.

"Fair enough," Jen said. "Do you have a plan?"

"And if you do . . . I want in on it."

They all turned to see Linda enter the room.

"Linda?" Cissie asked.

"Something is wrong with Kon," she said. "I want him to get like he used to be . . . loving and caring . . . "

"What's going on?" Superboy asked, walking in the door. "Team meeting?"

"Something like that," Sam said.

"Thanks for inviting me," Kon shrugged.

"Where's Cassie?" Cissie asked.

"Wonder Girl's outside," Kon shrugged.

Cissie got up and walked out to see her.

"Cassie?" she asked.

"Yes?" Cassie answered, her voice happier than ever.

" . . . What happened?"

"He told me how he feels for me," she answered. "And . . . he kissed me."

"He kissed you?"

"And I kissed back. And then we did it again . . . and some more . . . and it was wonderful!"

Cissie stared in disbelief. "I just . . . I don't know what to say."

"Me either!" Cassie grinned. "Except that it was great! Poor Linda . . . "

"Poor Linda?"

"He's gonna dump her," Cassie said. "He wants to be with me! Can you believe it?"

"No, not for a second," Cissie frowned. "You actually do?"

"Yeah, and I know why you don't," Cassie replied. "You're just jealous that Superboy and I have finally gotten something . . . while you still can't get Rob at all."

"That's not it," Cissie frowned. "That's so far off. I can't believe you'd say that."

"Heya," Bart said as he and Hallie returned from playing the arcade game. "I'm gonna take my meds and go sleep."

"I'm gonna hit the hay, too," Hallie said. "Don't make too much noise, gals."

"I think I should go . . . too," Cissie frowned. She turned and walked back into their motel room.

"Whatever," Cassie shrugged.

As Cissie walked back inside, she noticed the group had dispersed, and everyone was preparing to go to bed.

"Rob?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Now's not the time. In the morning."

She nodded. "I only hope we'll still be a team by the morning . . . "

Captain America sighed.

"What's wrong, Captain?" the Martian Manhunter asked.

"It's our assignment," he frowned. "I didn't like it when Gyrich asked us to take down the X-Men. I like this even less. They're just kids."

The Manhunter nodded. "I understand. But they must be brought in."

"Y'know," Cap said, "one of them idolizes me. Superboy, I think."

"One of them is Batman's protege. Another is a friend of Flash. It won't be easy. But it is needed."

Cap nodded. "We'll leave in the morning."

"It is complete," Graviton spoke.

Superboy nodded. "I do feel stronger."

"As I promised," Graviton replied. He removed his chair from the wall, exposing a tunnel. "Here is your exist, also as promised. Fly through, and eventually you shall reach open skies. Find your clone, or never regain your full powers."

Superboy nodded. Without another word, he went forward. He would be free. And he had to find his clone . . .

It's not really such a beautiful sight. Because, by the time the sun has risen, the noises of traffic are already well on their way to waking everyone up. The skyline becomes faintly illuminated by the rising sun, though. That's kinda neat.

Chuck Barnes walked slowly from his Motel 6 room towards the motel lobby. He was planning on checking out. Young Justice couldn't afford to stay stationary for very long.

Y'see, they're on the run. They've been declared reckless and dangerous. They're wanted. And so far, they've clashed with the DEO, Generation Next, the Super-Unit Police, giant Sentinels, Prime Sentinels, and the terrorist Point Men. They've finally caught a break.

So call Chuck paranoid. He has reason to be. As Robin, he's been trained by the World's Greatest Detective, Batman. And as Batman's 'sidekick', there's lots he knows. A lot that scares him. A lot that he doesn't like. From little things like not being able to trust his friends with his real identity, to not even being allowed to really exist outside of urban legend. Even out of costume and in his civvies, he has to wear sunglasses to hide his eyes.

Does he want to eventually replace Batman? No, not at all. Does he want to stay Robin forever? Heck no. How much longer will he do it? Depends . . . on how soon something makes him snap.

And so much has happened that's getting me to that point, he sighed. This whole outlaw thing isn't working for me. And everyone's at each other's throats. Me and Kon keep butting heads . . . Linda's upset over Kon, Cassie's interested . . . Cassie and Cissie fought last night . . . Sam's frustrated 'cause he's been having to take charge a lot . . . Jade's worried about everyone . . . and then Bart's oblivious to everything. And Hallie, well . . . I think she's trying to be oblivious. Kid's been through a lot lately. I hate to put her through more.

He walked into the lobby and went up to the "desk clerk". He handed him the money for the two rooms.

"Checkin' out?" the guy asked.

"Yup," Robin nodded.

"Make sure y'clean up first."

Robin nodded again, then turned and walked out. What we need is more hard proof. Evidence and whatnot. I know Shaw's involved. But I can't really prove it. Most of the files I had on the Hellfire Club I destroyed when I blew up our HQ.

What little info I have left on hardcopy is in my Robin suit. And it's nowhere near extensive enough to prove anything. But it does provide leads, and where to look . . . ways of connecting things. Like Shaw's involvement with Project: Wideawake . . . his string-pulling in the government. I could get it to Oracle, but . . .

. . . No. I haven't involved any of my old contacts since we went rogue. I can't afford to. This is YJ business. I'll make a copy or two of the info . . . maybe send a copy to Lois Lane at the Daily Planet. She's supposedly the top investigative reporter around. Hopefully she could do something with it.

He turned and headed back to his room. He was the first one up, he knew. He always was. He hoped he didn't wake anyone.

"Hey," Sam Guthrie called out.

"Morning," Robin replied.

Sam nodded back. As Cannonball, he could rocket into the air at incredible speeds while being protected by an indestructible blast field. He was a founding member of the New Mutants. When they disbanded, he joined YJ.

"I've got a question, Sam," Robin said.

"Shoot," Sam shrugged.

"When you first joined . . . I figured there'd be tensions over leadership. After having been the leader of the New Mutants for so long . . . "

"Ah figured there woulda been, too," Sam sighed. "But that's mostly 'cause Professor Xavier had assured me Ah wasn't t'blame for Garth's death."

"Tempest," Robin nodded.

"Yup. His death was the reason we disbanded. Killed in the line o' duty. Killed because Ah wasn't a good enough leader."

Robin shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's one of the drawbacks of leadership. We always assume blame."

"Xavier swore then that he'd never put our lives on the line again. Any of our kind. But Ah still wanted to be a hero . . . wanted t'prove that Ah could do it. Wanted t'make amends for Garth's death. So Ah joined YJ. Ah don't even know why Illyana did . . . "

"You've been a great addition," Robin said with a smile. "I don't think we would've come this far without you."

"Ah don't know whether that's a compliment or an insult, the way this situation is."

"Just take it as a compliment. That's how I meant it."

"Well," Sam said, "Ah figure Ah better take a shower. Who knows when we'll get another chance, right?"

Rob nodded.

"We're movin' on, right?"

"Right."

"Any ideas?"

"Maybe."

Sam nodded. "Ah'll keep prayin' that we find a way outta this."

"So . . . here's the plan," Robin started.

The tensions were thick, he could tell. Superboy was ignoring everyone. Cassie was staring at Superboy. Linda was ignoring Superboy. Bart was twiddling his thumbs at light speed. Hallie was watching him. Cissie was frowning at Cassie. Sam was paying attention. Jade was paying attention to Sam.

"I'm going to get some of the info I've got to Lois Lane and the Daily Planet," Robin started. "Hopefully, she can use that to provide some support for us. If it works, I was thinking of setting up an interview with her and Sam, maybe Cassie too. Get our story out there. We're still gonna lay low, but we're gonna try this. We're not gonna ignore crime . . . if we see it, we'll fight it. But we're definitely not gonna go looking for it. Sound good?"

"Whatever," Superboy shrugged. I've had it up to here with bird boy . . . all I need is another good excuse . . . and I'll crush him. I'll take charge of YJ . . . and then the real fun'll start.

"So, if you're all ready?" Robin asked. "Let's go."

The group walked down the streets of New York City, looking for a computer place they could use to make a copy.

Little did they know, however, that they were being watched. Up in the sky, the Avengers League Quinjet looked on.

"They're there," the Flash pointed out.

"Time to go," Batman said.

"How can you be so cool about this?" Wasp asked him. "Robin's your partner!"

"It'll be a good field test for him," Batman answered.

"You're frightening," she replied.

"All right," Captain America said, sliding his shield onto his left hand. "I wish we could to this somewhere less public . . . "

"The streets are virtually empty," Martian Manhunter said. "I can use my telepathy to suggest that passersby avoid this area."

Cap nodded. "Let's do this."

"Hear what?" Impulse questioned.

"That!" Arrowette pointed.

The Quinjet disengaged its cloak as the Avengers League poured out: Martian Manhunter, Captain America, Batman, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Wasp, Flash, Quasar, and Hawkeye!

"Quick, costumes!" Robin called.

YJ acted with blinding speed to get into their uniforms.

The Avengers League stood on one side of the street, YJ on the other.

"None of us want this fight," Robin said quietly. "But we're more than ready for it. The choice is yours."

"Robin," Captain America replied, "believe me, we don't want this either. Please turn yourselves in."

"They're gonna attack," Superboy said quietly.

"Easy, Kon," Sam said.

"You don't understand," Kon replied, flicking on his energy shield. "They're gonna attack . . . but not if we hit them first!"

Robin yelled, "Kon, no!"

With that, Superboy leapt into the fray, smashing a fist into Wonder Woman.

"League, scatter!" Cap ordered. "They can't be trusted . . . we have to take them down!"

Both sides suddenly jumped to the attack.

"You'll find out pretty quick, Cap," Cannonball said, "That we're not just the Junior Avengers League!"

His rocket punch connected with Iron Man's armor, sending him back a ways.

"Woof!" Tony Stark yelled out under the armor.

Arrowette fired a pair of gas arrows at Hawkeye, who easily dodged.

"You call those trick arrows?" Hawkeye asked. "This is a trick arrow!"

He replied with a single arrow that exploded before her, both blinding her and capturing her in a net.

"This is foolish!" Quasar yelled, firing a blast of energy at Jade.

She easily countered with a green shield created by her own force of will. She flew into the air on wings of her own making, and replied with a giant mallet. "You bet it is!"

"I don't want to do this, Bart," Flash said, swinging a lighting fast punch at Impulse.

"So don't," Bart replied, ducking. "I won't mind." He became intangible and ran right through him. The Flash kept up to him.

"Our records say nothing of you, honey," the Wasp said, firing her sting at Jolt.

Jolt leapt and dodged. "Good. That means I'll be a nice little wild card!" She hit the wasp with a shock of her own.

Wonder Woman, recovered from Superboy's punch, stood before Wonder Girl.

"Oh, like this is fair," Wonder Girl frowned. "I'm not really even your counterpart anymore! I'm more like Wonder Man!"

"There's a Wonder Man?" Wonder Woman asked. "Great Hera, will my name ever always be borrowed so casually?"

"Probably," Wonder Girl replied. She hit Wonder Woman with her hardest punch. It didn't do anything. "Uh-oh . . . "

Iron Man and Cannonball continued their aerial battle. Iron Man would keep firing repulser blasts, but they'd do nothing against Sam. Come on, Armor . . . find his weak spot!

Superboy tried his best to land a punch on Cap, but the red, white and blue shield blocked them.

"You know you're the one who started this fight, son?" Cap asked.

"You were about to," Superboy replied.

"For someone who's supposed to idolize me, it didn't take much to get you to fight me."

"Maybe I've found a better hero to worship!"

Cap swung a punch against Superboy's jaw, knocking him back.

Cap replied, "Don't try to hurt my feelings now."

The Martian Manhunter easily withstood Firebird's telekinetic assault. "I sense such a power in you . . . "

"I get that a lot," Linda said. She flashed her wings larger than before. "I recall you being afraid of fire . . . does this do it for you?"

Robin was on the offensive from the start. His partner was Batman. And he knew, the only reason he was still on the offensive, was because Batman was letting him.

"It's some mess you're in, Robin," Batman said, easily blocking the hand-to-hand combat.

"Tell me about it," he replied. "You guys didn't have to attack us in such a public area. Bystanders are going to get hurt."

"Then I guess we'd better wrap things up."

Batman kicked Robin hard, sending him into the air. The Boy Wonder turned his flying body into a flip and landed gracefully.

"Congratulations," Batman said. "If I had tried that kick on anyone else, they'd probably be unconscious."

"Great," Robin replied, refusing to show his pain.

Before they could continue fighting, a streak of red and blue tore between the two. They both stopped and turned to see it.

"Raaaa!" the streak yelled. It rammed right into Superboy.

"Some new member?" Robin asked.

"Beats me," Batman replied.

"Some detective," Robin answered.

When the streak cleared, everyone stopped fighting to find . . . two Superboys?!?

"What the?" Sam asked.

"I found you, you, you . . . clone!" one of the Superboy's yelled.

"Me?" the other replied. "A clone? You're a clone!"

"There's two Superboys?" Iron Man asked.

"There's one Superboy!" one of the Kon-El's replied. "This one's an impostor!"

"Well," Robin pondered. "That would answer a lot of question . . . why Superboy hadn't seemed himself lately . . . "

"No!" one of the Superboys yelled, tackling the other. The two rolled on the ground in a fight.

"Which one is the real Superboy?" Arrowette asked, having freed herself of the net.

"There was . . . an impostor?" Wonder Girl asked. "Boy do I feel bad . . . "

"Firebird, separate them," Robin ordered. Using her telekinesis, she did as told.

"I shall scan their minds," Martian Manhunter said. "The one on the right is a clone."

"Yes . . . so I am a clone," he replied. "But I'm more than a match for the real Superboy! I had to hold back my powers . . . but I'm stronger than he ever will be!"

The clone broke free of Linda's grip. He fired heat beams from his eyes, knocking the Manhunter back. He used his telekinesis to throw the real Superboy into Captain America.

"Superboy's been goading us into so many confrontations," Robin said. "He's been manipulating us . . . "

"I can't believe you guys didn't notice," the real Superboy frowned.

"Now that I've been discovered, I no longer see any reason to fight on," the clone said. "From now on, my name is Match . . . because I'm more than a Match for the real Superboy! Have fun, YJ . . . in jail!"

With that, Match flew off at incredible speed.

"No!" Superboy yelled. "We need to catch him!" 'Cause if I don't, he'll keep stealing my powers until I've got nothing!

"I'll go after him!" Impulse exclaimed.

"No you won't," Flash replied.

"Despite that revelation," Captain America said. "We still have our orders. Young Justice . . . "

"Holy crap!" Iron Man exclaimed.

"Holy crap?" Jolt asked.

"No, look there, in the sky!" Arrowette yelled, her keen vision seeing what Iron Man's sensors told him. "Sentinels!"

"There's . . . there's fourteen of them," Jade said. "How on earth . . . "

"Are these your doing?" Robin asked.

"No," Cap replied in protest. "But they're headed right for us."

"Shaw," Sam frowned. "It's Sebastian Shaw's doing. He's had it in for us ever since we fought him . . . a fight which, by the way, we did to free one of our teammates, Linda!"

"We'll talk later, hot shot," Hawkeye said, pulling a pair of shock arrows. "For now, let's carve those tin cans to bits!"

As the Sentinels began to land around them, one called out, "Halt! All mutants and super-beings in this vicinity are to be eliminated."

"Super-beings?" Batman asked. "They're supposed to only target mutants."

"Like Sam said," Robin frowned. "They're Shaw's doing. And he wants us dead."

"We'll sort it all out later," Captain America said. "Right now, those things need to be stopped. "Bury the hatchet for the moment . . . both teams, take them down!"

The eighteen super-heroes swung into action with everything they had.

Martian Manhunter tore into one. Firebird used her flame wings and telekinesis to help. Captain America's shield sliced through one's hand. Superboy pummeled one, using up his pent-up aggression.

Batman and Robin used their batarangs to cripple the robot's weapon systems. Iron Man fired repulser rays as Cannonball rammed into them.

Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl used their brute strength to pummel one together. Jolt and Wasp used their size and speed to avoid being hit, while using their own stings and shocks against them.

Flash and Impulse moved with great speed to attempt to disassemble one robot. Jade and Quasar cut loose with their powers on another. Hawkeye and Arrowette stood side by side, hitting the robot with various trick arrows.

"Not bad, doll," Hawkeye said to her.

"Not so bad yourself," she replied.

"Hey hey," Spider-Man said as he swung in on a web-line. "Captain America! It's an honor, sir!"

"The pleasure's all mine," Cap replied, blocking a laser blast with his shield.

"I was just in the neighborhood and saw these huge monstrosities and decided to check it out," Spider-Man continued. "Need a hand?"

"Sure," Cap answered.

"Okay," Spider-Man replied. He fired streams of his webbing at the Sentinel's head. "Here's web in your eye!"

"This is insane," Iron Man said. "We can't keep fighting them and actually win . . . they're adapting to our attacks!"

"I hadn't noticed," Wonder Woman said as she kept pounding away.

"Any ideas?" Robin asked.

"I could use an interface between my armor and a Sentinel's systems," Iron Man said. "Introduce a virus into it's system . . . maybe it'll transmit the virus to the others?"

"Worth a try!" Captain America said. "Everyone, cover Iron Man!"

"Done and done," Superboy said, punching a Sentinel in the head.

Iron Man landed on a Sentinel's back by it's head. He began working quickly.

Robin and Batman kept up their attack.

"I have to say, I'm disappointed," Batman said.

"Disappointed?" Robin asked.

"You didn't realize the truth behind Superboy," Batman frowned.

"We were a little busy dodging attacks from everyone and their mother!" Robin replied angrily. "And right now isn't the time for this discussion! Just fight!"

Batman stopped as Robin continued. He looked at the man who was to be his replacement. That attitude wouldn't do. Robin had spent too much time on his own lately. Things would have to change . . .

"Got it!" Iron Man yelled. "I've transmitted a virus . . . with any luck, this should do it!"

"Cross your fingers," Wonder Girl said.

The Sentinel Iron Man was on suddenly died. It's systems shut down and it collapsed, smashing into the ground. One by one, the following Sentinels did the same. A pile of fourteen giant robots left a city block ravaged.

"That was crazy," Spider-Man said.

"Thanks for your help, web-head," Hawkeye said.

"Yeah, yeah," Spidey replied, firing a web line. "I'm gettin' outta here . . . no way is the Planet gonna blame me for this one!"

Both sides had taken a beating, both in their first fight, then against the Sentinels.

"Glad that's over," Jolt said.

"We still have our orders," the Manhunter frowned.

"Your move, guys," Hawkeye said.

"Robin?" Superboy asked quietly. "What do we do?"

He hesitated. Then . . . he raised his arms, putting his hands up.

Robin swallowed nervously. "We surrender."

It's been two weeks since the fateful showdown between the Avengers League and Young Justice. For awhile, the young heroes were kept separate from each other. The League thought it best that they cool off.

That was then. This is now.

"So," Robin said quietly.

"Take a seat," Captain America offered.

Robin stood. He was in the Avengers League briefing room. He was on one side of the table. Captain America, Martian Manhunter, Batman, and Red Tornado were on the other.

Batman held back a grin.

"As you know, the League has taken great pains to keep you here," the Captain continued.

"The Captain is a firm believer in justice," Martian Manhunter continued. "As are we all. But it took some persuasion to not turn you over to the proper authorities."

Robin maintained his silence.

"We felt that, if what you said was true, you would never get a fair trial," the Captain resumed. "The evidence you supplied did help. He passed on a copy to Lois Lane, as per your request. Allegations have been made at Shaw, but they were easily dismissed."

"My private research, however," Batman cut in, "proved you correct. That's why the League didn't turn you in."

"We've taken this time to let the media die down," Cap explained. "We had an interview with Lane and expressed the situation. The outlook seems hopefully."

"So we're not charged with anything," Robin said.

"No, you're not," the Manhunter spoke.

"But that doesn't mean you're free to go," Cap frowned. "We haven't decided what to do with you yet."

"With all do respect, Captain," Robin started, "you've had two weeks. I think it's time we decided what to do with ourselves."

"In time," Batman said. "In due time."

Robin turned back around and exited the room.

Cissie sat alone and looked out a window. She sighed.

"Hey," Cassie said quietly.

Cissie turned to see her and answered her with a brief smile.

"Beautiful out, huh?" Cassie asked, sitting down.

"Yeah," Cissie replied. "It's awesome. The snow . . . so white, so pure."

"Cissie, I . . . " Cassie started. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For the way I acted . . . what I said to you. I mean, you know how I feel about Kon . . . and I thought, finally, he felt the same way for me . . . and I just wanted my best friend to be happy for me. And I shouldn't have said what I did . . . "

"It's okay," Cissie managed another smile. "We were all under a lot of stress. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" Cassie asked. "That didn't sound very reassuring . . . "

Cissie sighed. "I'm not mad at you or upset with you . . . we're cool. It's this whole situation. How much longer are we gonna stay like this? Under house arrest with the League? I want out . . . "

"Me too," Cassie frowned. "Rob was supposed to talk with them today."

"I hope so," Cissie sighed. "This has got to stop."

"Ah miss you, too," Sam Guthrie's voice came through. He was on the communications monitor.

"I just wish you were still here," Jennifer-Lynn Haden said, putting a hand up to the screen.

"Ah know," Sam nodded. "But this is what they did. Me an' 'Yana . . . they sent us both to Muir. Really, it's for YJ's best. The AL was reformed with the purpose of hunting mutants . . . if they were harboring two of 'em in YJ, there'd be no way ya'll coulda gotten off."

"Are you coming back?" Jen asked.

"Ah . . . don't know," Sam frowned. "Ah hope YJ does go free . . . and Ah hope ya'll'er okay. But there's a lot happenin' at Muir. An' Ah think . . . Ah just might be needed here. 'Least, for now."

"But I need you here, with me," she replied.

"Ah know it'll be hard, Jen," Sam forced a smile. "But we'll see each other again . . . Ah know it."

"My allotted time is up," Jen frowned.

"Then you better go," Sam said quietly. "Call me again when you get the chance?"

"I will," she replied. She blew him a kiss.

"Take care."

The screen went black and Jade began to cry.

The blue-skinned mutant named Maggot stepped forward into what appeared to be an empty room.

"I did as you asked," he said. "I gave you all the information I got on 'em . . . "

"It is appreciated," a voice answered from both everywhere and nowhere. "Your services will be required on more time."

"Oh . . . okay," Maggot shivered.

"I have gathered more mutants," the voice continued. "You will lead them into the Morlock tunnels. Then you shall leave."

"Sounds easy enough," Maggot replied. "What're they gonna do?"

"That . . . is not your concern."

"So . . . this Jolt girl," Superboy started. "New member?"

"Yup," Linda answered. "She and Bart seem to be hitting it off . . . though Bart might be oblivious to it."

"I hope she doesn't hate me," Kon frowned. "The only me she knows is the clone, Match."

Linda nodded. "I can't believe we didn't realize."

"No, it's my fault," Kon sighed. "I've always been the hot head . . . and Rob and I have butted heads more than once. It just shows me how terrible a person I am."

"You're not terrible," Linda said. "You're wonderful. That's why I love you."

The two hugged.

"So Bart's really got a girl interested in him?" he asked.

Linda laughed. "Totally interested."

They both laughed together.

"They seem happy," Flash observed.

"No kidding," Hawkeye replied.

The two stood in the kitchen, watching Jolt and Impulse play a video game in the next room.

"You'd think this whole ordeal didn't phase them at all," Hawkeye continued.

"That's Impulse all right," Flash smiled. "Nothing ever phases him . . . "

"Shaw, your sentinels were defeated," Emma Frost frowned. "The heroes know all about your schemes. We're through."

"Not just yet," Shaw frowned. "I was able to call more favors . . . I, and the club, shall be fine. But for now, I need to distance myself from the Sentinels. Which is why it's imperative you locate Cerebro."

"I've got Hellfire people searching constantly," she answered. "As soon as he's found, we'll act."

"Good," Shaw answered. "Then I leave everything to you."

" . . . ?"

"I'm leaving," Shaw said. "I've trips planned . . . I'm visiting our other chapters. Montreal, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. Business. I trust things will be fine here?"

"Of course," Emma replied.

"Good."

Robin walked slowly as he turned the corner and saw Batman standing there, waiting for him. He took a deep breath and approached.

"Robin."

He didn't reply. He just noted how his name wasn't even Chuck Barnes anymore. Always Robin. Something he had come to really resent the past two weeks.

"We need to have a talk," Batman started.

"Gee, you really are the World's Greatest Detective."

"Do I sense . . . hostility?" Batman asked sarcastically.

"The League forces Magik and Cannonball off my team. Then they keep us locked up for almost two weeks. Now that we're out of our cells, we're free to roam around some areas of the League's base. It's ridiculous."

"What do you want?" Batman asked. "To be treated like adults? Given freedom? After all that recent trouble? Your hearts were in the right place, sure. But the road to Hell--"

"--Is paved with good intentions, I know."

"We need to discuss your future as Robin."

" . . . "

"Things'll have to change if you continue. You need more supervision. More guidance. You'll be coming back in under my wing. You'll leave Young Justice. You'll--"

"Whoa, whoa," Robin put his hands up. "Leave Young Justice? Are you trying to disband the group?"

"Not at all. The group can continue, if that's what the League decides. But Robin won't be a part of it."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll be looking for a new Robin."

" . . . "

"I have no real hold over you, Charles," Batman said in a lighter tone than usual. "If you want to leave, you can. But you have great potential. At least think it over."

Robin nodded. Batman stepped aside, and Chuck Barnes continued on his way.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Jolt asked.

"Totally," Impulse replied.

"It's, well . . . stealing."

"We're just borrowing," Bart shrugged.

"From the Avengers League."

"What have they done for us?" Bart asked. "Besides, the stuff I'm borrowing is just gonna help us fight criminals. It's info and stuff. Bios."

"You sure have thought this through," Jolt replied.

"I know," Bart grinned. "I really thought about this a lot and tried to focus . . . so it's gotta be the right thing." He pulled the copied disk from a computer bank.

"I hope so . . . "

Superboy sat outside. The cold didn't phase him through his tactile telekinesis, really.

Robin stepped out beside him, wearing a winter parka. "Hey."

Kon looked up briefly. "Yo."

"Crazy weather, huh?"

"Yeah," Kon said absently. " . . . Listen, Rob, I'm--"

"Save it," Rob sighed. "You don't need to apologize. Any trouble caused was your clone. Yeah, we've had our trouble . . . but I wanted you to know . . . I trust you. And I'm always glad to know that you've got my back."

Kon smiled. "Right back atcha, Wonder Boy."

The two stood in silence for awhile, neither one minding the cold.

"You know, it is a nice day," Kon said at last. "A nice day to just . . . be."

"I was thinking it was a nice day to decide what we should become."

"Really?" Kon asked. "And what did you decide, Rob?"

"Head back in and gather the others," Robin said. "And we'll tell the Captain."

"We'll tell the Captain?" Superboy asked.

"Just go on."

"Aren't you coming?"

"Be there in a second," Robin said, ducking low and looking about. "I have to find something out here first."

Captain America, Martian Manhunter, the Red Tornado and Batman stood on their side of the table. On the other side, in uniform, stood Young Justice: Robin, Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Jade, Firebird and Jolt.

"You realize what a difficult position this puts me in, don't you?" Captain America asked.

"We do sir, and we're sorry," Robin was the team's spokesman. "But it's time for us to leave."

"Would that it were so simple," the Manhunter frowned.

"Frankly, I don't see why it isn't," Robin continued. "We haven't been charged with anything . . . and it seems like, even if they did now, it'd be hard to make it stick."

"Nothing you say is untrue," Red Tornado said. "Although a bit simplistic."

"It can all be boiled down to simple questions," Cap took over. "Will you walk the path of violence or salvation? Disruption or unity? Young Justice has been a team of reckless youths . . . while the Avengers League has fought for Justice with care. This only begs the question, which will you use? The open hand . . . or the closed fist?"

"Funny you should bring that up, sir," Robin said. He punched the air in front of Cap and left his left arm extended. "Here's my closed fist. It can be used to hit, to hurt. Ways you say you don't agree with, right?" He opened his hand, revealing a small squirrel. "But it can also be used to warm . . . to protect." He closed up his left fist and put it to his side. "As for the peaceful approach of the open hand, well . . . that can be used to hurt as well!"

Captain America blocked Robin's moving palm, stopping it a split second before the Boy Wonder slapped him across the face. Robin's teammates were dying in shock.

"Your point is made, Robin," the Captain said, clearly displeased. "Though you are children, we have no reason or right to be your judges. The world is changing, growing ever more dangerous and dark. You must take the path your conscience dictates you to take. You're all free to go . . . free to decide your own destiny."

"Not quite," Batman frowned. "Robin."

"The answer, Batman, is no," he said. He put a hand to the little 'R' symbol on his chest. He tore it off. "I'm quitting."

The members of YJ were in shock once again. He held up his arm to keep them from saying anything. Batman, too, remained silent.

"Come on, Young Justice," Chuck Barnes said. "We're free."

He turned around and led the team out. Captain America followed them.

"Robin, are you certain about this?" he asked as the team stood assembled outside.

"Nope," he answered. "But it's the choice we've made. I've left Superboy with instructions for a new place to go. They'll be fine."

"And what about yourself?" Cap asked.

"I'll be fine, too. Let's just see where the road leads us, Captain."

"Walk the path with care, son," Cap said as the team began to fly away. "Walk the path with care."

Superboy carried Impulse, Wonder Girl carried Arrowette, Jade carried Jolt and Firebird carried no one. They approached what looked like a mansion.

"There it is," Superboy said. "Rob said it's the old Concordia resort that's gone into receivership. It's cleared out, but the furnishings are still there. The plumbing works. The electricity hasn't been disconnected. And the assets lists enough canned goods and frozen meats to feed a hundred of us."

"I still can't believe he did that," Arrowette frowned as Wonder Girl lowered them both to the ground. "Why would he just quit?"

The team stepped inside the lobby.

"Who said anything about quitting?"

"Huh?" Superboy's eyes went wide. "Rob . . . is that you?"

"Yup," he replied. Sitting in the lobby was Chuck Barnes. "Except Robin won't work anymore. When I'm in my civvies, it's Chuck Barnes. When I'm dressed like this . . . "

He was wearing a dark blue, almost black bodysuit. The boots and gloves were a lighter blue, but still dark. The same shade of blue formed a v-type shape for a fake neckline. His eyes were covered by a slightly changed bat-symbol. His gadgets and accessories were all hidden in an all but 'invisible' belt, including his bo-staff.

"It's Nightwing."