The glow of her ring faltered as she tried to focus it on Kaldur. Kaldur, of all people!
"Kal," Her voice cracked. After that, he seemed to avoid looking at her, instead glancing up at Blue Beetle, who had floated upwards for a vantage point to take on the former Aqualad and his mysterious ninja friend.
"This battle is over," He announced.
Jaina forced a laugh. It was too funny. "Why? Because you say so?" She snorted. "You've got alien smart-armor and the most powerful weapon in the universe pointed at you. You're not in a position to be giving orders."
"And you are not in a position to bargain, Jaina Solo." He said. Just the sound of her name, especially her last name, whispered from his lips made Jaina feel like she'd had the wind knocked out of her.
Jaina glared at Kaldur, her face hot and threatening to spill her emotions all over the place, as he knelt on the floor to reveal the contents of the duffle bag on his shoulder.
"This is the same type of bomb that obliterated Malina Island. I am holding down the dead man's switch," Kaldur held up his fist, showing off just enough of the cylindrical remote for proof.
Jaina tried to grab it from him, but Kaldur held it out of her reach. "If my thumb comes off this switch- for any reason- Mount Justice falls." He nodded to the group on the floor. "With your experience and power, your ring would more than adequately shield yourself from the explosion, and perhaps Beetle's suit is enough to withstand it, but I doubt Nightwing and Impulse will be able to make it, or even Superboy. And what of your trainee?"
Jaina quickly looked over at Jessica, who began to come to with a whimper as she held her head.
"Would she have the concentration and willpower to save herself?"
Jaina hated how ruthless he sounded. She looked up at Jaime, both with the same helpless look, and raised her hands.
"We're standing down," She growled, just before Tommy Terror got back up and snapped a collar around her neck. The glow of her ring went out completely, and she could no longer feel the familiar, sentient tingle in her arm that told her the ring was there, that it was alive.
Blue stood next to her, a collar around his neck, and helped Jessica up. The collar she was wearing had apparently shut off her connection to Volthoom's ring, which was not hissing or glowing as usual.
"Are you two okay?" She whispered, quickly wrapping her arms around them protectively.
"I'm fine," Blue mumbled, "I just wish I could've done more."
"My head hurts again." Jessica said blankly.
"It's okay," Jaina hugged Jessica tightly. "We're gonna be fine. We've been in tougher spots before, we'll get out. We always do."
Icicle Junior's whining brought her attention back to the five villains that had invaded the Cave.
"Escort Impulse, Beast Boy, and Blue to the flyer," Aqualad instructed.
Tuppence threw Beast Boy over her shoulder again, Tommy carried still-out Impulse, and Blue looked up at Green Lantern, as if asking permission to do what Aqualad said.
"Go, we'll be right behind you." Jaina promised quietly.
"What about the rest?" The ninja-girl asked, gesturing to Superboy and Nightwing. Connor was still out, but Nightwing was slowly getting back up again. Jaina pulled Jessica closer as her apprentice began to shake.
"As hostages here they have value here." Aqualad reasoned. "But Nightwing is an ordinary human-" Jaina snorted at that observation "-Superboy, a human-Kryptonian hybrid clone, and a Green Lantern's metagene is activated by their rings. Neither category is of any interest to our partner."
"What, are we all choosing our groups for a school project now?" Jaina snapped irritably.
Aqualad ignored her. "However, Power Ring is an interesting case. Rather than activated by her willpower, like a Green Lantern ring, or by other's fear of her, such as the Yellow Lantern ring, the ring is activated by her own fear, and has no association with any of the known Lantern corps. Our partner has expressed interest in studying that."
"You're not taking her!" Jaina growled, her willpower threatening to overcome the collar similarly to Jessica's fear.
"You are not in a position to argue." Aqualad pointed out.
Jessica clung to Jaina, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Don't let them take me!" She begged.
Icicle Junior came to escorted Jessica away, and Jaina did something she hadn't done in months.
She tapped into the little bit of the force she could reach, as a last resort. They had cut off her connection to her ring, but not to the force. The force was the connection to all living things. It was around them every day, all the time, whether it was seen or not. Even when she hated it, despised it, tried to push it away, it was her ally.
And a powerful ally it was.
Her hand shot out, shoving Junior back against the wall. She did the same to the ninja-girl, and she was about to do the same to Aqualad when he held up the trigger.
"This is your final warning." He announced. Jessica sobbed.
"Jessica-" Jaina whispered as Junior approached again.
"No, please!" Jessica cried.
"Listen, I promise, I'll come after you. I am going to save you Jessica. If I have to tear apart the entire galaxy to find you, I will do it."
Icicle Junior dragged Jessica away, and the broken girl offered no resistance. Blue Beetle shoved between Junior and Power Ring, taking hold of Jessica and leading her so that she wouldn't have to be manhandled by Junior.
"If something- anything happens to her, Aqualad, I won't stop until I have your head on a platter." Green Lantern threatened.
Nightwing stood next to Jaina, watching Aqualad and his cronies leave.
"Aqualad, you'll regret this!" He shouted.
Aqualad paused, then turned and walked back to his old friends. Pulling back his fist, he struck a blow to Nightwing's stomach. Jaina immediately slapped him. He made no retribution, but turned and walked after his new team.
"I believe I have outgrown the name Aqualad, as well as anything resembling regret."
He stopped next to the bomb, which he had left neatly in the center of the room.
"I will leave the bomb with you, as a souvenir," He offered politely. "Oh, and the switch has a five-mile range. Do not pursue."
The ninja girl was waiting for him at the exit, smirking at Jaina as the two disappeared into the shadowed hall.
Jaina tried to run after them, not caring if it got Mount Justice blown sky-high if it saved Jessica and the boys, but Nightwing grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him.
"They're getting away!" Jaina said, struggling to escape.
"Hold still, one second!" Nightwing pulled out a lock-pick from his belt and fiddled for a collar for a second before it fell off.
"You couldn't have done that earlier?" She asked as he took off his own collar and Superboy's
"Kaldur wasn't bluffing," He pointed to the bomb, blinking steadily every so often, "That thing is active, I saw it's twin at Malina Island. We have to get out of here. Now. Grab Wolf and scan the cave to see if anyone else is still here. Meet me in the garage at Sphere."
"What about the bioship? It's bigger isn't it?"
Gritting his teeth, Nightwing hefted Superboy, still unconcious, up onto his shoulders. "Miss M took it out for her joyride with La'gaan." He ran down the hall to the garage, at a much faster pace than any normal human would while dragging a Kryptonian around. Even a half-Kryptonian.
Tingle returning, Jaina scanned the whole mountain, but there was just the three of them and Wolf, who was asleep as usual.
"Get up, boy," She yanked the collar off.
"Get tot he garage with Connor and 'Wing, now," She told him. Wolf jumped up with an affirmative bark and ran in the direction of the garage, but Jaina had to make one more pit stop.
"Bee, get your rotund butt over here!" She shouted, ripping off her bedroom door.
Bee beeped in alarm, but rolled after Jaina as fast as he could, making it to the garage just as Nightwing was lifting off in Sphere with Superboy and Wolf. Jaina tossed Bee in and leaped after him, gripping the sides of the Super-Cycle as they shot out the bay doors.
"There! I see the flyer!" Jaina pointed at the dark shape blocking out a cluster of stars int he sky.
"Jaina, wait-!"
The explosion roared in her ears, shaking the earth and sending out rippling shockwaves that sent Jaina head over heels.
The heat and bright light seared her eyes, but not enough that she couldn't see the fire and debris aimed right for the cycle.
"Jaina!" Nightwing screamed.
She looked back at the flyer, which had turned and was now flying out to see. Through her brief connection to the force, Jaina could sense Jessica's fear and the shock of all three boys getting farther and farther away.
The only one she could help right now was Nightwing.
A rock that had once been the cap of the mountain was bearing down on the cycle after being tossed up into the atmosphere and back down again. Jaina shielded them just in time, but it wasn't enough.
The force of the rock pushed her shield back, hitting her in the head. She was able to divert it down to the water before she fell back onto the cycle, but she couldn't keep herself awake.
-------
"I have got to stop blacking out." Jaina told herself. She rolled over onto her back, expecting to look around and find herself in some sort of hospital. Not a blank, vast, empty, black expanse.
"Huh?" She whispered, pushing herself up to look around.
Before she could think to ask where she was, tiny, blurry pinpricks of white light dropped into existence, millions of them glowing faintly.
"Wait a minute, this is-"
"Yes. You're back here again."
Jaina closed her eyes, counted the three, and wished for it to go away.
When she opened her eyes again, she was still there, and this time a blue ghost was staring down at her.
Jaina threw him a lopsided smirk. "Hiya grandad."
Anakin Skywalker noticed her sarcasm and didn't even pretend to look happy to see her.
"Listen, I know you're like the force's personal messenger boy to me or something, but they're gonna have to reassign you, okay? I've got my ring back now, I don't need the force anymore."
"That's not what you thought four years ago. Why won't you use the force anymore, Jaina?" The force-ghost of her grandfather asked
"Because it's brought me nothing but crap all my kriffing life." She crossed her arms and looked away, but no matter where she looked, Anakin was there.
"Jaina, that's what I thought, but it's like you told Godfrey about the aliens. Just because you don't want it to be there doesn't mean it's gone!"
"Yeah, but ignorance is bliss, isn't it?" Jaina snapped back.
Anakin was clearly angry, and Jaina was only adding fuel to the fire, but she didn't care. He didn't act on his anger though, death had been good for Darth Vader.
"I am done being the force's pawn," She said, "find someone else who wants to sacrifice everything."
Anakin's eyes began to glow, well, more so than the rest of his body, losing their pupils.
"I name you the Sword of the Jedi. You are like tempered steel, purposeful and razor-keen."
"Uncle Luke?" Jaina whispered. She heard his voice, crystal-clear and authoritative, just as he had spoken on the day of her knighting, but it was Anakin who was speaking.
"Always you shall be in the front rank, a burning brand to your enemies, a brilliant fire to your friends."
"No," Jaina aimed her ring at Anakin, but it wouldn't work. Not against him. Not against the force.
"Yours is a restless life, and never shall you know peace, though you shall be blessed for the peace that you bring to others."
"No!" Jaina screamed, "No, I don't want this! I don't want any of it!" She shouted, but Anakin continued.
"Take comfort in the fact that, though you stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow that you cast."
-------
For a moment, Jaina thought she was drowning. Her uniform was soaked through, there could be no other explanation.
Her lungs gasped for air as three different people called her name and rushed to her bedside.
"Jaina!" Wally grabbed her arm as she tried to point her ring at them.
She blinked, and finally saw them. Wally, Connor, M'gann, Zatanna, and Raquel, all staring at her.
"You're alright," She whispered. Wally pulled her in for a hug, and she held him tightly.
"Bee? Wolf? Nightwing?"
Bee made a twittering noise, humming right by Wally's feet at the side of her bed.
"Wolf's trying to find a place to sleep somewhere around here. Nightwing's being to much of a workaholic." Raquel told her with a smile.
"You keep getting your head hit! I think you need a psych eval with Canary before you go out there again," Zee told her.
Jaina shook her head, sliding her legs over the side of the bed and ignoring the throbbing in her head. She gripped her hand into a fist, her ring glowing.
"Resting will have to wait. Jessica needs me now."