The New Girls
(part five)
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…

Since her escape from the D.E.O, Secret had seen many, many strange things, but none compared with what was happening right in front of her at this very moment.

About a minute ago, a girl in a red and yellow suit had appeared in the entrance to the Young Justice headquarters, which was a cave in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Without any invitation, she had stalked straight up to Robin and started a very interesting conversation.

"You owe me a favor."

Though the green mask that Robin wore hid most expression, Secret could tell that he knew the intruder. His face was calm, not surprised, and he looked at the girl with an air of recognition.

"I do?"

"I've hauled your butt back to the Batcave before you bled to death enough times for you to owe me. I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about."

"I think so."

"Good. Like I said, I need your help."

"With what? And why me?"

"Not just you, you and your group."

"Do they owe you?"

"We'll see."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that they might owe me."

"Why?"

"The D.E.O. have Green."

At the mention of the D.E.O, the slightly annoyed look that had been developing on Robin's face evaporated. A complete silence hung over the room. Nobody dared to breathe. Finally, Impulse broke the stillness.

"I'll get her!"

The boy zipped away for a second as Robin counted to three. By the time he was finished, the two-year-old teenager was back.

"What's her name again?"

With almost as little patience as Impulse had, the red and yellow girl let out a sigh.

"Look. I was told that you guys have had the most experience with the D.E.O. I came here for help, not a bunch of teenage superhero wannabes with no clue at all as to how to do anything."

WonderGirl, who had remained silent for the entire time, finally spoke up.

"WANNABES?!?" She cried, indignant. "Look who's talking, Flash."

"Yeah!" Impulse quipped, obviously insulted, too. "I'M supposed to be the Flash! Who let you use that costume, anyways?!?"

"For your information, I got permission from the Flash himself. If you don't like my costume, well than TOO BAD! I'm not going to change it. And the name is Flash Girl."

The two speedsters bickered for the next minute or so, both vibrating angrily, making their words buzz. Finally, Robin cut in.

"STOP IT!" He yelled at the two. Shocked, they momentarily shut up. Seizing the opportunity, Robin continued. "The main problem here is that the D.E.O have Green Lantern Girl or whatever she calls herself. Judging from the knowledge that a Green Lantern wouldn't be much of a prize for the D.E.O we can tell that they're probably keeping her as bait."

"Bait for who?" Flash Girl wanted to know.

"Most likely you," Robin replied, ignoring the rhyme he had created. "Subjects with high metabolism are always a treat for these guys- they can see the results of a new chemical in half the time it would take if they tested it on a normal person."

Flash Girl swallowed nervously.

Secret spoke up. "We have to get her back! Who knows what they'll do to her- they'll kill her!" Secret's voice was full of worry.

At that, Flash Girl broke into tears. Sitting down in what was once the Flash's chair, she folded her arms on the table and cried into them. Almost immediately, Superboy was at her side, ready to "console" her.

"It's not that bad," he cooed, squatting down so that his head was level with hers. "You can cry on my shoulder, if you'd like…"

"Buzz off, creep," Flash Girl said, lifting her head a little.

Taken aback, Superboy stood up and stalked off like an insulted cat. Arrowette moved into his vacated spot. Feeling bad for Flash Girl, she sat next to her and soothed her carefully until the flood of tears stopped.

Liz sat cross-legged on her cot, eyes closed. Her free hand was formed into an odd gesture, with the middle finger and thumb creating a circle while the other digets stayed straight. Had her left hand been free to move as well, she would have duplicated the shape. Instead, the trapped hand was slightly cupped, facing palm up. Liz was meditating.

Suddenly, she was interrupted by the sound of the room's door opening. Looking up, she found Paul, the D.E.O agent that had been nice to her on the first day. In his gloved hand he held a tray of food, her lunch.

"Hi, Paul," Liz said, voice a monotone. Though the man wasn't especially mean to her, like her other guard, Harris, she didn't have a real reason to like him. After all, he was her captor.

"Hello, Liz," the man returned, trying not to sound too friendly. If his supervisor thought that he was becoming too fond of the girl than he'd be reassigned, something that neither Liz nor Paul would have liked. Careful not to upset the tray he handed it to the girl, who clumsily took it. Steadying the tray by putting her boxed hand underneath it, she nodded her thanks. Paul left the room.

As she nibbled on the saltine crackers that went with her tomato soup-which was cold- she thought about how the food could be poisoned. The crackers could be sprinkled with a clear, crystaline chemical that looked like salt but could, instead, kill her. Something could be in the soup. The water could be laced with lead. These thoughts didn't bother her much- she knew that either way she'd die, sooner or later. She wasn't going to get out of this deathtrap.

read part six | return to fan fic index