Tear Jerker / Gen¹³

• Gen 13's issue #76 of the vol. 2 series. The entire thing is a sweet, poignantly funny party on the beach, complete with skinny-dipping, drinking, and plenty of hooking-up (with gratuitous Fanservice). Only to find out that it's all a product of Caitlin's mind, as she and the other teens are in the process of getting blown up by a bomb: "Is this a Gen-Active thing... My mind conjuring a delusional unreality in the thousandth of a second before I'm vaporized...? Or does everyone die like this... the brain frantically stretching time into a subjective eternity, trying to comfort itself against the end?..."
• Grunge after the reboot was forced into a situation where he had no choice but to kill Kid Apollo of the Authoriteens to save his friends. Having to actually kill someone for the first time in his life put Grunge into a downward spiral of depression that lasted for weeks.
• In Gen 13 Vol 4 8, the Gen 13 comes into conflict with The Authority, who appear to collect the teenagers as their very existence threatens the Multiverse. The teenagers get utterly decimated in a Curb-Stomp Battle by the team and just as they're about to be captured Roxy makes an impassioned and defeated plea to Midnighter, giving a "Reason You Suck" Speech on how tyrannical the Authority has become and become no different from the despots in the past who imprisoned people for simply being homosexual. The Midnighter, as a victim of homophobic oppression as a gay superhero himself, agrees and orders the team to leave the kids alone.
• In one of the earliest issues of the rebooted series, Caitlin is forced to pose for a number of sexy photos as a form of torture. The thing is, pretty much all of the photos are essentially homages to covers and images from the previous comics. Only here the situation is shown as nothing but humiliating and degrading, and Caitlin is left feeling very upset over the way she's been exploited. It comes across very much as a Take That, Audience! moment since Caitlin continues to be very famous for all the sexy artwork she was used in.

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