Long Past Dawn

So in the past hour, I was upgraded from kid to girl only to be downgraded to lab rat..... I'm having a great time, you?

"You still haven't explained in detail what these tests involve, I'm as interested as you but if it could in any way harm her I don't think we should," Superman says. Thank you! Finally, someone who cares about the lab rat! Human rights for the lab rat!

"Well...." Batman says glancing at Martian Manhunter, I have a sneaking suspicion on what he might say. "If both Manhunter and Dawn agree then I do have an idea for a test."

Annnnnnnd I was right..... as much as I don't want my mind projected to everyone in this room I guess it's fine..... maybe..... not really..... ok I really don't want to do this but fine I want answers to my questions.

"As long as it does not harm the child I will do it." And we're back to me being a child again! Yay!

"I'm fine with it too..." I try to say with confidence but failing miserably.

"Well, I think Manhunter and Dawn already know what I'm thinking so let's start then."

I nod because at this point I don't think words can save my b.u.t.t.

Two chairs are brought over and Batman motions for me to sit in one. I do, as soon as I sit down I feel like I throw up whatever is in my stomach before I realize that I only had breakfast, no lunch or dinner... then how do I feel not hungry....? Ok Dawn, not the main problem here, we'll figure that one out later.

Martian Manhunter sits down in the chair in front of me. "Now please close your eyes and try to clear your mind, this will not hurt."

I do as I'm told and close my eyes and clear in my mind, after a moment I feel the light touch of fingers on my temples. A feeling rushes through me like I'm not alone in my body like something else is in here with me.

I feel it move around my mind, searching through memories, emotions, thoughts. I don't like it, it's going too deep, no, no, no, I don't like it, it's going to see, I don't want it to see. It's a threat. It's going to see. No. No. No. Stop! It does, it stops, it won't see. I'm safe, the threat is gone.

But it's still in here with me, and I don't like it, it will see if it wakes up. It will see the one thing no one can. Leave! It does, it goes, it goes back into those fingers at my temple and before long even the fingers retract, leaving me alone in my mind. It didn't see.

Wait, it didn't see what? What happened? I closed my eyes and Martian Manhunter started but then..... What happened?

I open my eyes, I'm sitting in the same chair with Martian Manhunter in front of me, but..... it's not right. He's the same as the car and Batarang, he looks normal, his eyes open and looking at me but..... He's frozen. I sit there staring at him before it truly sets in, I froze a living being.

I stand up so suddenly the chair falls behind me, the other heroes look at me alarmed. I froze him. I can't think, I scream as he looks at me, unblinking. He's frozen, I froze him. I scream. I froze him.

I can freeze the living. I can freeze the living. I can freeze the living. The realization rushes through me as I scream. I can feel people around me trying to calm me down, no one knows what I did. No one can tell I froze him.

I can't calm down, the power was so easy to use. I just thought and it happened. A knot forms in my throat and I feel sick. How can I do this? I froze a person. I froze Martian Manhunter.

"Dawn! Dawn! What happened?" Wonderwoman shouts at me, shaking my shoulders, trying to wake me up.

He was in my mind and I froze him and sent him back. I froze him and sent him back. I fall to my knees. I froze him. I feel bile rising up my throat. I froze him. It's in my mouth now. I froze him. I vomit it out on the ground in front of me. I froze a living being. I blackout.

***

I let my eyes flutter open. What happened?

"Is she going to be ok?"

"She should be. She gave us all quite a shock."

Voices? Is that Wonderwoman and.....?

"How was that possible. I've never seen someone break the connection with Martian..... but to freeze him.... what happened in there? What did he find?"

"Maybe it shouldn't be what did he find but what did she not what him to see." Is that..... Batman?

"What could she be hiding?! She's only 13!"

Are they talking about me? It suddenly comes rushing back to me, I didn't want him to see something and I froze him. I froze a living being. Batman's right, I am hiding something, not just from Martain Manhunter, but also myself and I don't have a clue about what it could be.

I look around me, I seem to be on some sort of bed. I'm still in the warehouse and Flash, Superman, Wonderwoman, Batman and Green Lantern all seem to be standing and talking around something. I push myself into a sitting position to get a better view, I can just see between them, it's Martian Manhunter and he's still frozen. I feel a chill go through me, it looks like he hasn't moved, blinked or even breathed. I did this to him.

"I-I'm sorry...." I mumble, my eyes feel hot and I think I might burst into tears at any moment.

They all turn to look at me. "You're awake. You gave us quite the scare there Dawn." Wonderwoman says giving me a pitying expression, I hate that expression, that's the expression they give me when I say I don't have a father, when I say I skipped a grade, when I say that my mom's been clean for five years.

"Y-yeah." I put my hand to my temple, its been throbbing for a while. "What time is it?"

Wonderwoman and Batman exchange glances. They do know I can see them do that right? "It's five in the morning...."

Sh*t mom is going to kill me when she finds out I've been out so late..... "I have to go home!"

Wonderwoman and Batman look at each other again, I'm starting to get real sick of them doing that. "Don't worry, we already went by your house earlier, this was on the kitchen counter."

It's a simple yellow sticky note, mom loves to use them because she can leave them anywhere, it reads 'Hey Dawn, I'm heading out with Charlie today so I won't wake you up but just wanted to tell you.'

Ok, they won't know about me staying out all night then. " Where's Aquaman and Green Arrow?" I haven't seen them yet.

"They went to get food and to pick up some people, they'll be back soon....."

"A-and.... Martian Manhunter....?" my voice cracks but I don't care anymore.

No one answers, we all know already. "I-I'm sorry....."

"It's ok." But it's not. I froze a person and I wanted to too.

But it's not. How far do these horrible powers reach? If I can freeze a person then could I freeze the world? I have all these questions and more, questions I'm not sure I want to be answered.

"S-should I try to wake him up?"

"We're not sure if that's a good idea. He seems to be frozen in time, not blinking or breathing, he also has no pulse, we're not sure how it will affect him if we bring him out of that. It could be dangerous even if he is a martian." Batman says, carefully picking his words for the first time since I've met him. But I figured it would be something like that.

"C-can I just try? Please?" It's all my fault so I can at least try.

They all glance at each other, I don't judge them for it this time.

After a moment Batman nods and I slip off the bed and walk over to the chair where Martian Manhunter is sitting, unmoving.

I have to think this through carefully. I can't use start or restart because those would be used for objects and I don't want to know what would happen if I used restart, would he go back to being whatever he was before he came to Earth? I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that.

Ok, Dawn, this is just like a math problem, I have to come at it logically.

Let's say that being frozen is like being asleep, then maybe the answer is 'wake up'. There's no way to know for certain that that's the answer but it's the best thing I've got right now so it's worth a shot.

I breathe in, my nerves are killing me, and raise my arm so that my arm is straight and my palm is facing him.

"Wake up!"

Silence. There's no answer.