The New Girls
(part four)
by Green Lantern Lady

Author's Note: Liz Paige and Caitlin Arnold were ordinary girls from our world, the boring one where superheroes are only little dots of ink on paper. They idolized the Green Lantern and the Flash, their favorite heroes, and wished that could have their powers, even though they knew it was impossible. Then, one fateful day while they were walking home from school, Liz picked up an odd-looking marble, like the type used in fish tanks. Thinking nothing of it, Liz showed Caitlin the marble. They accidentally touched it at the same time and were sucked into another world- one that they knew well, Metropolis. They eventually were able to blackmail their way into the home of Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, and during their stay, attained the powers they had always dreamed of. The girls discovered how to use the “marble” to travel back and forth between the two universes that they called home. And now they know that dreams really can come true…

"Your boudoir, miss," one of the guards said as the two tossed the girl into a darkened room. With a creak, the door shut, and the single, naked light bulb that hung from the middle of the ceiling turned on, illuminating the room. Liz stood up and brushed herself off, looking at her new- and probably last- surroundings.

The room hadn't looked very remarkable when she had come in, and the light didn't help much. The main color was gray. The only color was gray. The sheets on the little cot in the corner were gray, the cord that the light bulb hung from was gray. Liz felt like she was the only thing in the entire room that had any real color to it.

Depressed, she leaned against the wall, then suddenly backed off from it. Carefully, she reached out and touched it- and the wall gave under her hand. Looking at it, she smirked.

"Padded walls," she said, looking around. "I knew I'd end up in one of these rooms someday. I just didn't know it'd be now." She smiled insanely. "I guess it's fitting, considering I'm never going to get out of here. Maybe these things are bouncy." Carefully, she leaned back onto the wall, then bounced forward a little. "It's kind of like one of those giant air castles. Kind of." Turning away from the wall, she walked around the room, which was a short trip- it was only about nine feet by eight feet all together.

"Not exactly spacious living quarters," Liz muttered. Something in the corners of the room attracted her attention. Dropping on her hands and knees, she crawled over to investigate. The minute she saw what they were, though, she let out a little gasp and backed up hastily. What she had seen were medium-sized, rectangular boxes fixed in the corners with three holes bored into them, each about the size of a nickel. She recognized them from pictures of Nazi gassing rooms- they were where the toxic fumes came out.

Liz sat there, shocked dumb with the realization of what she had just discovered. She didn't move until the guard came with breakfast, an hour later, though she couldn't tell how much time had passed.

As the guard was leaving, she spoke up.

"So, you guys are going to gas me, huh? With what- Zyclon B?" she asked, looking up at the man.

"If you're lucky, kid. The scientists here are always developing new gases for chemical and biological warfare. They're probably not going to pass up the chance to test this stuff on you. It could be anything from the Joker's laughing venom to a deforming nerve gas. I'm sorry, kid," the guard said, looking down at Liz.

"Why are you telling me this?" Liz asked, puzzled as to why the guard was giving her this information.

"I have a daughter your age, at home. You remind me of her. It doesn't mean I can let you go, but I'll try not to let anything happen to you for as long as I can, okay?"

"I guess not all of you guys are monsters," the girl said, trying to smile.

"Most of us are," the guard said, walking out the door.

Superman and Flash Girl arrived at the docks, heaving from the effort of getting there. Below them, it looked like a battle field. The shattered fragments of wooden crates littered the alleyway and parts of the boardwalk. The contents of those crates were scattered around, too, some badly burned by- at Flash Girl's best guess- the energy of Green's ring. Still, there was no trace of who- or what- had caused the mess. The D.E.O. had left no trail.

"We're too late," Superman said, his voice tight. "They took her."

Caitlin sniffed, and found a seat on one of the crates that was still standing. She held her head in her hands and cried. This was her fault. This was all her fault.

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