In the Place of Mortals

Chinese Fairy: Hello, hello, hello people who come to read my stories that worship the Young Justice fandom that has me by the fangirl hair! It is the story you have all been waiting for! The new story to my collection! Regarding, "The Choice in His Hands", I will finish that one soon, but for right now, I will try balancing this story and that one.

Disclaimer: Yes, yes I finally have the rights to "Young Justice"… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course I don't own the rights! The title of this website is "fanfiction". I do not own any of the rights! Everything belongs to the rightful owners: D.C Comics, Warner Bros., and of course Cartoon Network. Jeez!

Chinese Fairy: I offered this idea to you all and now here it is, the new crazy story! ENJOY!

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In the Place of Mortals

Chapter 1

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A swift back flip allowed a lithe form to dodge the crack of a liquid whip. Another strike from the hydro-weapon made Robin dodge roll out of the way and in the same motion, he flung two birdarangs towards Aqualad.

The whip shapes retracted back into the Atlantean's channeling weapons and spat back out to form a shield. A small detonation caused a plume of smoke to surround the older teen and Kaldur lost sight of the younger hero. When the gray clouds cleared, Aqualad came face to near contact with the end of the Boy Wonder's boa staff.

"Enough," called Black Canary as she ended the mock battle.

Both teenagers pulled back from one another with smiles on their lips. "Great work, Robin." Spoke Kaldur, this made his younger brother grin madly and he replied brightly, "You too. You nearly got me with that move a couple minutes back."

Megan and Wally both ran to their friends sides smiling widely, "That was incredible!" chirped the Martian; the speedster added just as enthusiastically, "You guys were epic!"

Conner and Artemis now joined the rest of the team and the archer spoke, "Come on speedster, I wanna go up against you now." She taunted; Wally turned to face her and replied, "Sure, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you." They both walked back into the center of the room and posed their bodies in neutral stances.

Robin somersaulted off the ring with Aqualad and Superboy trailing after him and Megan was floating in midair.

Black Canary took a step back and glanced at both teenage heroes before crying out, "Begin!"

Artemis took the first offense and quickly fired an arrow at Kid Flash. As expected, he easily dodged and ran behind her in a blur of red and yellow with a smug smirk on his lips and the look of triumph in his eyes. Just as he was about to tap her on the shoulder playfully, the archer swung her bow upwards and nicked him on the side of his head with the tip of the lower limb.

"Yeow!" he cried out in shock more than pain. Kid Flash managed to duck his head down and winced slightly as he tried to right his form after his last-second-dodge. He was too busy trying to right himself to notice her quick roundhouse kick and "oof"-ed as her leg impacted his chest. Almost as fast as him, Artemis crouched down to a kneeling position and swung her leg in a swiping motion to his calves and he splayed out on the floor.

Wally grunted as his back collided with the bright flooring and it illuminated a message that read, "FAIL" in bright red letters. Artemis was panting lightly as she appeared over him with a triumphant smile.

He grinned sheepishly back and stated, "I guess I'm getting dinner for us tonight, huh?" she nodded and offered him a helping hand to stand up. He took her smaller hand into his and the speedster pulled himself up wit her help. Artemis placed a quick kiss to his cheek and replied, "You were so taken with my beauty that you were distracted."

As they grinned to one another, Black Canary spoke, "That is true, what was Kid Flash's mistake?" her question broke their moment and Robin piped in, "He was too taken by Artemis's beauty that he forgot he was training!" he teased.

Kaldur smiled and answered his trainer's question, "He was overestimating his abilities as I did." Dinah nodded with an understanding gaze. "Correct. Kid Flash and Aqualad both know that even though their allies are capable fighters, they still underestimated Robin and Artemis, thereby losing their matches."

She turned to give each young hero an even look as she warned them all, "Be confident in your abilities and not overconfident. You will make a mistake and your teammates will suffer the consequences. This warning is more for the Metahumans of the team. You are all gifted with abilities that two of your teammates do not posses, but don't let that power go to your head."

Aqualad and Megan nodded; Wally and Conner did not nod in acknowledgement that they heard, but Black Canary saw that they were listening. After a moment she nodded and sighed silently, "I have a previous engagement; we're done for today. Good job everyone." They all murmured good-byes and the team of heroes dispersed.

Artemis and Megan strolled to the girl's locker room on one side of the to shower while the boys made their way to the opposite side of the room that opened to the boy's locker room.

Black Canary walked through the main doorway that lead into the large training room and shut off the lights.

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Kid flash zoomed into the dining room with a brilliant smile on his lips as he balanced two large cardboard boxes in his hands and one perched on his head. "I got us all pizza!" he exclaimed to the room's inhabitants. Robin, Kaldur, and Conner all glanced up from the television, which displayed a video game, while Artemis looked up from her job of painting her Martian friend's fingernails a matching red to her hair.

Aqualad stood from his seat and helped his friend take their dinner to the coffee table in front of the couches. Robin and Artemis both strolled over to the refrigerator and brought back one soda can each for everyone.

"What are we watching tonight?" asked Megan as she levitated several DVD cases off their places on the shelves and hovered them in front her friend's faces so they could see their vast collection.

"Mystery," answered Robin.

"Horror," requested Aqualad.

"Action," synchronized Kid Flash and Artemis.

"Adventure," said Superboy after he took a gulp of grape soda.

"I'd like comedy," commented Megan. Artemis turned to the youngest member and smirked; he nodded in return and they both called out, "Rock, paper, scissors!"

Robin grinned, "Mystery won!" he declared, she pouted, but the pizza slice that Wally offered her dispersed her loss. The Boy Wonder made his way over to Kaldur and they repeated the hand game; now it was his turn to pout. The Atlantean turned to his right and faced Megan. Once again he won and she shivered involuntarily. "He's going to make us watch another foreign horror films!"

Finally, the Atlantean face Conner and they began the final round that held their movie watching in the balance.

A klaxon went off and all the teenagers glanced at one another. Kaldur sighed silently and turned to face his team, "Let's put this all away and we can eat when we get back." He ordered in a soft tone; everyone mutually agreed and Miss. Martian lifted the boxes into the air and Robin, who flipped over the counter and landed gracefully near the oven, opened it so their dinner could fly into its mouth.

Artemis turned to run down a hall that would lead her to her room where a green bow and a quiver of arrows waited for their owner, but Wally flashed down the same hallway and returned a moment later with her equipment. "Can't a guy do something nice every once and a while?" he questioned while offering her the weapons.

His words made her smile and reply, "Only if you minimize the doting to once a week." He grinned and ran down the corridor that would lead the Young Justice Team to the briefing room where Batman was waiting for them.

Everyone else followed at a more leisurely pace and the team came face to face with Batman, Superman, and Aquaman.

"Annex Orin," greeted Kaldur as he placed his enclosed hand to his forehead; his king smiled and nodded in return, but any other greetings were silenced as the Dark Knight dove into the briefing.

"Two hours ago, there was a security breech in the S.T.A.R Labs on New Troy Island, Metropolis. The facility reported that one of their doctor's walked into the biochemical sector and he made out with a case of the anthrax virus," Robin's form became rigid. Kid Flash and Artemis both glanced at one another and the Dark Knight continued.

His fingers typed furiously onto the keyboard and images of the virus appeared in 3-D form on the large screen in front of the group. "This is the normal strand of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, but this batch was altered by two scientists who worked in the lab." Two pictures of two middle-aged men snapped opened from a file on another screen and Superman spoke, "The man on the left is Dr. Jarred Portland and the other is Dr. Sean Wisely. They took a sample of the Bane Venom and integrated it into the Anthrax strand."

Conner felt his hands ball up into fists and his glare settled upon the two scientists. The Man of Steel stepped closer to the keyboard and typed in a command of his own. Crime scene photos flooded onto a third screen as they displayed a murder that had Megan squirming when she saw the blood bath.

The images showed different angles of an office that was psychotically painted in blood with the victim slumped to the floor by the mahogany desk. The deceased was Doctor Sean Wisely who was covered in as much blood as the walls were.

Batman ignored the winces from the protégés and continued speaking, "Dr. Wisely was killed in an attempt to notify the board of Dr. Portland's illegal actions with a third party. He was selling his altered biochemical weapons for half a million dollars per batch and when it was about to be brought to the director of S.T.A.R Labs…" his voice faded as he shut down the monitor with the gruesome slaying and opened a map that showed off the east coast of the United States.

"A trail of the thief's movements go from Metropolis northward," his protégé cut into his sentence in a murmured statement, "He's going to try and cross the Canadian border."

Batman nodded and zoomed in to the border that lined the state of New York and Canada. "His trail has stopped right outside the margin in the city of Constable where it will continue into Canada via Quebec; here is where the mission begins." He glanced at Superman with a disapproving frown.

The other hero flashed his friend a quick encouraging smile and began speaking where the glaring Dark Knight left off. "The mission is straightforward and if you all continue working as well as you have these past three months, it should be easy. Find the assumed suspect, Dr. Portland and retrieve the case of altered Anthrax."

Aqualad took in all the information that was just given to his team and spoke, "How do we know that that is really him and not a decoy?" his question was answered by Robin; the youngest teenager took a step closer to the 3-D rendering of the virus and stated, "The case is from S.T.A.R Labs and for insurance, they line each case with a tracking device that is in liquid form. The moment the box leaves the laboratory without it being cleared for transportation, the liquid will break and create… kinda like a heat trail for us to follow."

Batman's aura radiated pride in his son's quick-minded conclusion and Aquaman now spoke up for the first time, "This is a dangerous mission, but since Dr. Portland is expecting us, the League, we thought it would be to everyone's advantage if you took the mission." The King of the Ocean's tone was still calm and composed, but his adoptive son, Kaldur'ahm also heard the tint of disapproval.

Both Batman and Aquaman subtly glanced at Superman and the Young Justice Team realized who really thought this was a good idea. Kaldur quickly nodded and replied before his father could try and negate their upcoming mission. "We have proved ourselves ready; you believe we are ready."

Finally, the Dark Knight turned to the team and stated, "Very well, go suit up and prepare to leave for Constable, New York."

The six teenagers walked at a faster pace to their rooms and changed from their casual clothes into their hero attires. Wally adjusted his goggles as he ran out of his room in his second identity: Kid Flash. Megan phased out of her maroon skirt and blouse into her blue skirt, boots, cape, and white t-shirt and flew out of her room.

Robin flipped out of his room in his black and red suit with his yellow and black cape fluttering behind him. He met Conner at the end of the hall since the clone did not need to change and they both ran down the rest of the hall. Artemis smiled as she placed her green mask onto her face in her room, "I guess it was silly of Wally to get me my bow since I ended up here to change…" she couldn't really foul him. Ever since she got rid of Pandora, the archer felt more comfortable around the speedster… her smile grew serene. "It seems almost… weird to have someone to have as my anchor." She pivoted out of her room and ran right behind Kaldur as he sprinted out of his own room, which was located in the same hallway.

They all met in the hanger, which housed the Bio-Ship and Miss. Martian woke her vessel up from its resting pose. While the Young Justice Team prepped the ship for departure, the three League members stood at the mouth of the bay entrance.

Aquaman was frowning as he stated his dislike for the mission; away from his son's ears, "Are you sure they can handle this mission?" it wasn't that he did not trust his son, but he did not trust the man Kaldur was going after.

Batman sided with his Kryptonian friend as he stated indifferently, "They can handle themselves; if Portland wants to sell the anthrax he will not use it against them. Also, he is not a Metahuman. The odds are in their favor."

Superman said with confidence, "They can do this… With all the gathered Intel in our favor, they will be able to take on the doctor. The past three months they fought against Dr. Light, Mad Mod, and Two-Face. They held their own then and they will be able to continue this good teamwork even on this mission."

The Bio-Ship lifted off the ground and their eyes trailed after the ship, as it turned invisible and melded with the late afternoon sky that was soon reaching twilight.

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It was dark when the Bio-Ship touched down in a small clearing surrounded by large pine trees and they exited the vehicle. The County of Franklin was part of North County, New York; if you continued on via NY 30, it would transition into Route 138 and you would soon reach Canada by passing through Quebec.

This town of Constable held their target. The group of heroes silently made their way down a hill that was dusted with the puff of freshly made snow and Wally cursed under his breath. "I-It's not what I expected…!" he gasped as his yellow boot sloshed into a puddle. No one really paid him mind as Aqualad scanned the area around the team.

"If Dr. Portland was really here, he would be in a safe house… Robin," he started, but the younger of the two nodded. The Boy Wonder was already two steps ahead of his leader; sliding open his portable computer embedded in his left glove, he brought it to life and a few beeps later, he grinned at the others. "He's in a house about half a mile from our location. The case of Anthrax is still with him."

The Atlantean nodded and his posture took on the stature of confidence and patience.

"Kid Flash and Miss. Martian will make a perimeter. Run around town; scan the air for anything that may be connected to Portland. Once you have become familiar with the sector, you can carefully begin moving inwards towards our target." They both nodded and waited to be dismissed.

Kaldur turned to Artemis, "I want you to stick with me; we will be going after the target. If he decides to try and flee without the case, you and I will track him." She nodded once and the archer relaxed her tense position closer to Wally.

Lastly he turned to the Boy Wonder and the Boy of Steel, "Robin, we are going to need you to secure the case. On the hypothetical chance that Portland is away from the virus, we are going to need you to disarm the tracking device; if we were able to follow the trail, I am going to assume other enemies can too." Robin grinned up at his leader and nodded energetically. The oldest of the group face Conner and continued, "If he is busy with disarming the box, I want you to defend him."

Superboy had his usual scowl in place, but it had underlines of a determined expression that also flowed protective waves off his body.

Aqualad now looked at everyone as he finished his plan, "I know the Justice League wants to show us that they will not interfere with our missions as much, but this one has my King nervous. Let us take it by the book and do not defer from our plan."

The other five heroes nodded in agreement and Megan levitated her body from the snowy ground, "I will keep us all connected via out minds." She offered; Kid Flash grinned and stated in hushed excitement, "Come on, we can do this!"

Kaldur'ahm nodded his head once and whispered, "Go!"

Their forms blurred out of their clearing.

The mission had begun.

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Kid Flash sprinted all across the town of Constable with no sign of anything amiss. He glanced upward to see the shadowed outline of Megan hovering over him while she scanned the skies.

"Anything, Megan?" he asked out of habit. She replied in the negative and he sighed dramatically; "This may be another boring mission…" Artemis replied to his complaint. "Think of it this way," she was grinning through the connection, "The faster we finish this mission, the faster we can go back and eat dinner." His head perked up in reply and he sped off again, "I'm going to check the other side of town!"

Kaldur and Robin felt amusement radiating from the archer as she slunk through the darkness with the Atlantean two feet in front of her. They were nearing the house.

Superboy and the Boy Wonder easily hopped a fence that lead them through someone's backyard, but since it was a new moon night, no one would be able to see them without a light source. The thirteen-year-old flipped over the next fence and smirked up to Conner who jumped over the blockade with less finesse.

The said teenager grinned back and whispered, "Not all of us are built as shrimps." Robin smiled back and they stopped clowning around to track the heated red trail that would soon bring them to a two-story house with faded white paint peeling off its walls. They were hidden across the street from the lonely home perched on the opposite side of lined houses.

Conner's gaze flickered to two other forms in the area slinking around in the darkness like his partner was. Artemis and Aqualad had used another path to reach the house, coming in from the opposite direction. They were moving closer to the house until their backs were pressed against the faded white side of the abode.

Aqualad scanned the deathly silent street before he spoke in their mental chat room, "Robin, where is the target located in the house?"

Superboy glanced at the younger teen next to him while Batman's protégé checked the buildings schematics. A moment later, he replied, "Portland is located on the second floor, but his body…" his voice faded and dread filled his mind. This caught everyone off guard and Kid Flash faltered in a step.

"What's wrong, Rob?" he questioned while righting his running posture. Conner now stared at his friend, whose heartbeat increased; the only reason he knew this was because of his super hearing. The team waited for him to respond and Superman's clone was about to place a supportive hand onto the youth's shoulder, but Robin snapped out of his daze.

"He- his body is not radiating heat; Portland is dead…" his breath hitched in his throat as he hissed out in the link, "There may be someone else in the basement! I can't tell because of the lining stone walls!" frustration was clear in his voice. Superboy turned his blue eyes towards the lawn where snow was sleeping on and he concentrated on the "ground level".

His hardened gaze continued to burrow into the ground until he broke off with a growl, "I can't see in there! It… Its walls are also lined with lead." This took everyone by surprise. "Why would a cheap, murdering doctor need a lead lined basement?" demanded Artemis as her rigid form shifted slightly beside Kaldur.

Moments ticked by before Kaldur spoke, "Robin, can you find out who owns the house? If it really belongs to Portland, then we can just assume it is him being paranoid."

Wally and Megan were now finishing up their perimeter scan and he sighed, "Nothing to report in, boss…" he informed Aqualad. The Martian flew above him and agreed with her friend, "From what I can hear, there is no one connected to Portland and the virus."

Her statement was meant to be consoling, but Kaldur snapped his head in her direction. Artemis felt the tug of uneasiness in his mind and straightened her form, "What is it? What are you questioning?"

Mental eyes were now locked onto the portion of the town that held her leader as he tried to dissect Megan's statement. "If no one's minds are thinking about the Anthrax virus or Portland… Then who is in the house? If Robin's computer is correct about an intruder, then who can it be?"

This froze the blood in everyone's veins as he questioned the unknown… anomaly in the dead man's house. Robin's quick words startled everyone, which made Wally and Megan jump slightly at his loud answer.

"The home does not belong to Portland… It doesn't belong to anyone!" Conner raised an eyebrow, as he asked, "Couldn't it be an empty house where Portland hides away for a little bit before crossing into Canada?" A moment later his partner stated, "The building has been condemned and its entrances were bordered up four months ago. Cause of condemning it was a burglary that turned bad and killed the family of five… None of the people in this town want to go near it."

Artemis and Kaldur searched the outside of the house and saw that the windows were not boarded up like the Boy Wonder contested to. On closer inspection, it seemed like there was a lot of cardboard boxes and other things inside, a sign of someone using the residence. The archer peeked up to her team's "boss" as Kid flash had said and whispered, "If this place is condemned and no one is using it whether they are connected to the drugs: buyer or sellers and if none of the townspeople go near it, then who…?" her question made Kaldur's authoritarian tone flow into his words.

"Even if Portland is dead we still need to go in there and collect the virus. Here's what we'll do, Megan and Kid Flash will stay outside and maintain a smaller perimeter that only encircles this one block. Two of us will check out the body to confirm it is Portland. Robin, where is the Anthrax?"

Zooming into the house's schematics, the Boy Wonder tracked the said object via the heat-seeking software in his computer and replied, "It's in the basement."

Aqualad stepped close to the backdoor and ordered, "Then you and Superboy will go down there to get the virus. Artemis and I will go upstairs and confirm that it is really our target." Once again, a small sea of agreements rippled in their minds and each hero moved to do as they were told.

Kid Flash sprinted towards the house and began running around the enclosed area. Megan flew high into the moonless sky and soared overhead to ensure that everything remained quiet. She gasped to herself as her body passed through a gray cloud that left her body slightly soaked and it made her body feel heavier as well, but shook it off.

"Must have been the water in it…" she continued her search.

The archer crouched down in front of the splintered back door and pulled out a lock kit from her back pouch. Kaldur stood behind her with his eyes dancing over the shadows of the yard with his channeling weapons clenched in his hands. A faint click informed them both that the old fashioned bolt was unlocked. Nodding to one another, they silently moved into the kitchen that smelled of rust and cleaning solutions.

Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Aqualad's eyes zeroed in on a flight of stairs to his left and swiftly began moving upward. Like a wraith, Artemis followed him up the stairway that protested to their weight upon each step.

Robin and Superboy dashed through the quiet street with no sound coming from their rapid moves. The Boy Wonder slithered to the front door and easily unlocked the front entrance. "Another thing my younger brother is learning to do," he commented airily as he waltzed into the house; his feet did not make any noise as he stepped on the moth-eaten carpet and Conner followed his relaxed posture into the living room.

Listening intently, the clone of Superman heard his allies upstairs; their soft steps overlapped with the beat of their hearts; they would not be heard from by human's senses. The basement held a heartbeat; it was calm and collected. Conner's eyes pointed to another aged door and Robin nodded subtly. The younger teenager took three quiet steps to the designated door and praying it would not creak in protest; he opened the door.

The door seemed like it understood his silent plea, as it did not creak or whine. Smiling it himself, the Boy Wonder glanced over his shoulder and one encouraging motion from Superboy gave him the "go ahead" to make his way down the wooden stairs.

As they made their way down the stairs, everything in that one second change. The door automatically closed shut behind Conner, which made him turn and see that the front of the swinging panel was a façade of an old wooden door. The other side of the door was metal plated. Robin, who was already down the stairs in a crouching position, quickly turned around at the loud sound of their exit closing and he bit back a gasp.

"Guys! Something is wrong with this house! GET OUT!" he shouted in his mind, but… no one replied.

Ignoring Conner bashing his hands against the door, Robin scanned the room and saw some sort of machine emitting a red light from the center of the room. He gasped loudly as this scenario came together. "Super men absorb yellow sun light for strength, but when a red sun is near them…" his trembling lips whispered the last part unconsciously, "A Kryptonian would lose his abilities…"

His first action was to inform his friend of this conclusion, but then Robin thought better of it. Superboy's cursing and swearing lapsed in time with the banging of his fists, so the first thing he should do was get rid of the rays of red sun.

Whipping out a birdarang, he threw it towards the device and blinked as he saw the disk miss the machine by five feet. Blinking back the confusion, he suddenly lurched forward and felt his knees scrap against the cement ground of the basement.

"C… Conner…" he gasped out; somewhere in the recesses of his mind he felt dizzy and nauseous, but at the moment it took all of his concentration to try and get his friend's attention. His world faded fast and Robin fell unconscious due to hypoventilation.

Superboy managed to hear his partner fall limp over his loud racket and turned to see Robin at the bottom of the staircase. Immediately, he forgot about his anger induced fit towards the door and rushed over to his friend's side; a grave mistake. Shaking his head from side to side, Conner felt his mind being muddled by something in the air, but he couldn't smell what it was. He tried to blink back the fatigue; it was no use.

He felt his body sway dangerously from side to side and in attempt to balance his equilibrium; he rested a hand onto the table that held the red light but his disoriented body still toppled forward. Grunting as he hit the floor, Conner's blurry eyes caught sight of a small white object that still had the sound of a heartbeat pulsing through its speaker.

It was a ruse used to lure part of the team here.

"Well damn…" he thought and his world spun into darkness.

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Miss. Martian was floating thirty-feet above the street level when she felt an uncomfortable feeling surge through her mind. It wasn't painful, but it was like walking into a thick fog in the morning. She slowly descended to the ground and silently landed near a telephone pole. She placed a gloved hand against the wooden structure and paused, trying to catch her breath.

"Wally," she called out.

Nothing.

Looking up from the graveled floor, Megan searched the partially lit street for her friend, but no sign of the speedster. Gently pushing away from the pole, she tried to walk in a straight line down the abandoned area, but her steps were becoming sluggish. The fog in her mind was somehow increasing in thickness, which caused her to break her silence.

"W-Wally!" she cried out, a tint of panic in her voice.

No response from the speedster.

Her mental eyes searched the street for any sliver of where Kid Flash and she came up empty. Her mind now tried to look for Aqualad or Superboy, but what she saw from one of their points of view caused a scream to rip though the cold night air.

Kaldur's webbed hand tried to reach towards an unconscious Artemis that was just out of his reach- that was the last thing she saw from his perspective before his eyes slid shut.

Megan shrieked and ran down the street; she did not know where she was going, but she needed to find Wally! If he was still in this section of town, he could race to the house and try to help Aqualad and Artemis.

Her telepathy felt her mind brush against the impulsive mind that was identified as Kid Flash; at the same time, her body stumbled due to her boot being snagged by a root protruding from a crack in the cement. A gasp passed her lips as she tumbled forward with a whimper of pain while Martian flash collided with the cold late autumn cement.

The female Martian focused all of her ability on that small trace of Wally's mind and finally found him. From his perspective, he was lying on the ground with his vision blurry and quickly losing focus in a dark alleyway.

Attempting to get up, Megan could not find the strength to move… Her last conscious thought was thinking about her fading over friend and she fell unconscious.

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Kid Flash had just made the twelfth lap around the street when he heard something clattering faintly to the icy road. Pausing mid-stride, Wally glance down the alley where the noise came from and cautiously scanned the darkened side street. A normal person would have listened to the whispers in their ears of danger and move on, but this was a mission. Everything was accountable, even if it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on ends.

Straightening his form, the speedster slowly took a few steps closer to the mouth of the alley and tried to adjust his eyes faster to the darkness; the cones and rods in his eyes did not obey and continued to keep the place in darkness.

Kid Flash took a few more steps to the alley until he was at the "edge of the precipice" and still saw nothing out of ordinary.

Shrugging, he turned his back to the darkened alley and was about to sprint off when something hit him on the occipital bone of his head. Soap bars placed in a small sack made contact with the back of his head and Wally West's world went black.

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Silence echoed in the mind link that the team shared as Artemis pushed her index finger against the door that was left ajar and it opened to the gentle nudge of her digit. There on the bed was a male lying on his stomach and blood splashed on the old bed cover.

She walked swiftly in the room with her weapons poised and ready to attack anything that may have been gone unnoticed by Robin's holographic computer. Aqualad followed in after her, but not before glancing to their six o'clock. His eyes raked up and down the wallpaper-peeling hallway and saw nothing had changed in the last five seconds.

He righted his crouched posture and walked into the room with his body emitting a calm attitude, but he still had his weapons ready in his hands.

Artemis pointed to the closed closest door and he nodded in response. Neither bothered using the mental chat room since simple hand signs were enough. Aqualad walked over to stand in front of the seemingly normal entrance and tightened his right-handed hold on the channeling weapon.

The archer pulled back her arrow and was standing by the bed ready for anything. He pulled on the yellow handle of the door and it opened without a sound. There was nothing but old clothes dangling on rusted co hangers.

He sighed in subtle relief and turned to see Artemis smiling at his small movement. The Atlantean smiled in returned and closed the door shut back in its original position.

Her eyes danced over the corpse laying face down on the bed with a raised eyebrow. Kaldur also noticed the odd positioning of the body and closed the distance between him and the queen-sized bed. Artemis caught his gaze with her sapphire eyes and gave him one nod of her head and her lithe hand inched towards the body.

Aqualad saw no danger in rolling him over so they could verify if it was really Portland, so he gave her the go ahead sign.

Artemis grabbed a hold of the stone cold shoulder and rolled the man's form over onto his back. She attempted to cry out in shock as a small glass ball in his mouth clinked against his teeth and broke, allowing a powdered cloud to be released into the air.

Violent coughing filled the room as the archer cupped her throat unconsciously; "Damn it! The vapors are entering my system with every cough I let out!" she cursed under her breath and she staggered around the side of the bed in order to reach out for Kaldur. Her form gave way under her weight at the foot of the bed and Aqualad saw that she had fallen cataleptic.

Aqualad shook his head and cleared his airway of the powder, but it still entered his system through his gills. His Atlantean blood tried to fight off the unknown puff of chemicals, but no matter how much his system fought against the pull into darkness, his form already felt like it was going numb.

His knees made contact with the moth-eaten carpet and he tried to crawl to Artemis's side. Aqualad reached his hand out to her unresponsive form and he soon followed Artemis into unnerving nothingness.

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Kid Flash was lying limp against the icy pavement as a large form distorted by a black cloak swept over him and they disappeared back into the alley.

Ten minutes later, that same individual found its way to where Megan was laid out on the sidewalk and his black attire seemed to swallow her whole.

Both heroes were gently placed in a large SUV trunk and covered by a blanket before the said person made their way into the house he called his safety zone. The black SUV was parked in front the condemned abode and the darkness of the street kept it hidden from anyone who may peek out from his or her windows.

The large person, definitely male, padded up the stairs and walked down the hall before entering the master bedroom where Artemis and Aqualad laid unconscious. With a vast amount of upper body strength, he plucked up the archer's limp body and threw her over his shoulder; he then tucked Kaldur's body under one arm and he loudly made his way down the front stairways and back out into the crisp cold air.

He deposited their flaccid bodies in propped positions in the backseats. He set Artemis in the backseat that aligned to the driver's seat and buckled her in. He copied the same movement with Kaldur and sat him upright. The Atlantean's head lolled to one side, but he ignore it and shut the door.

Lastly, he moved to backtrack towards the entrance and made his way down to the basement that still held Robin and Superboy. He first took Robin into a bridal hold and stomped up the stairs and out the front door. The cloaked man opened he trunk again and placed him in between Miss. Martian and Kid Flash.

He now made his way back into the now tainted home for the Kryptonian.

Conner was placed in the front passenger seat with his limp form buckled in securely; before closing the metal platted door, the dark form dropped the same red sun lamp onto the super man's lap. It was still shining with its red rays against his pale complexion when the door closed shut.

It was more like the final nail being shut in their coffin.

Turning back to face the house, the being sighed and thought in an indifferent tone, "Time to leave the Justice League the Anthrax case…"

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Batman, Aquaman, Superman, and Red Tornado all stood tensed in front of the super computer in the Watchtower that orbited the Earth.

"They should have checked in by now," commented the King of the Oceans. Batman shifted a step closer to the keyboard and opened a channel to Megan's Bio-Ship.

"Batman to Young Justice League, come in." moments ticked by before he repeated the statement; no response made his eyes narrow underneath the white lids of the cowl.

He turned on the ball of his right foot as he walked out of the large bridge of the space station; he did not show acknowledgement as he heard four pairs of feet walking after him. Martian Manhunter joined them as the five heroes stalked into the javelin bay and all gathered into the ship that was capable of functioning in space and under heaven. With all of them safely on board, the rear hatch ramp shut closed.

The Dark Knight sat in the pilot's seat and did not even bothered waiting for his allies to buckle up as the bay doors slid open to grant them access to outer space. Without another moment being lost, the Javelin shot out away from the Watchtower and it would soon enter the Earth's atmosphere.

With J'onn tracking M'gann's ship, the Justice League members soon touched down near the invisible Bio-Ship in Constable, New York.

Superman and Martian Manhunter flew out of the descending ramp and into the air, "We'll go on ahead and see if they are still at the house!" called out the Man of Steel and they disappeared into the new moon night.

Aquaman and Batman ran towards the Bio-Ship, which reacted to their presence and automatically disabled its own defensive mode. They rushed in and found the cockpit empty; noting to even hint that they had returned with the Anthrax case.

A beeping noise came from the Knight of Gotham's earpiece at the same time the golden "A" of Aquaman's belt lit up. It was Superman calling with news.

"… You guys should come meet us at the house." The Kryptonian's voice was thick with emotions as his voice broke on the word, "house". This made both League members sprint out of the red ship and they ran towards the target's safe house with the last ally flying above them in a swirling tornado.

When they reached the faded white two-story house, they saw J'onn standing at the doorway looking pale and sick.

Batman fluidly sidestepped around his friend as he stomped into the living room where two televisions that did not look as old as everything else in the house were connected to two separate cameras. Superman was standing next to the machine with tense eyes that flickered to Batman's cowl. "I was going to play it when the rest of you got here." He stated in a rough voice.

The hero garbed in red and blue stepped away from the machines and pulled out a case with bright yellow tape on the sign that read: "BIOHAZARD".

"The case has not been opened nor tampered with. It was just sitting here by the set up…" informed Superman as Red Tornado took the item from his ally.

All the gazes turned to pay attention to the footage left for them as Batman pressed play and the show began.

Robin made his way down the stairs and suddenly lurched forward and felt his knees scrap against the cement ground of the basement. Robin fell unconscious due to hypoventilation.

Batman felt his world shatter once again.

Conner now appeared in the camera's view and the reenactment continued. His body swayed dangerously from side to side and in attempt to balance his equilibrium; he rested a hand onto the table that held the red light but his disoriented body still toppled forward.

Superman's breath hitched as he saw Superboy pass out.

The second T.V showed them what happened to Aqualad and Artemis on the second floor.

Artemis and Kaldur's bodies rippled with violent coughs as the puff of smoke filled their breathing air and entered their system. Her form gave way under her weight at the foot of the bed and Aqualad saw that she had fallen cataleptic.

Red Tornado felt all his circuits freeze mid-cycle and dread filled his form.

Aqualad's knees made contact with the moth-eaten carpet and he tried to crawl to Artemis's side. His hand reached out to her unresponsive form and he soon followed Artemis into unnerving nothingness.

King Orin clenched his hands into fists in order to prevent himself from punching the screen.

Both screens turned blue as the home movies ended. No one moved for a minute until the right T.V flickered back into a filmed video. The same man dressed in the pitch-black cloak was standing in the same living room with a scarf hiding his lower face and welding goggles blocking the eye colors of his orbs.

"Hello Justice League members. I am Nero… As a token of honor, I am returning to you the stolen Anthrax case that your protégés came to retrieve… Unfortunately, they will not be able to give you the item themselves… We will be gone by the time you find and watch this video.

"Do not worry about them. I will take care of them and give them a lesson I think all heroes must undergo. They will be the first ones to test out my theory. Thank you for allowing me to borrow them and good bye."

The same dull blue color reappeared on the screen as their enemy, Nero vanished with no trace for them to follow.

It was a reenactment of the Manipulus case, but now… The entire Young Justice Team was stolen.

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Chinese Fairy: I am so sorry that this story took two weeks for me to finally post. I've been meaning to, but school is beginning to unwind and finals are coming up. Right about now, I'm studying my butt off and praying that this will make some people happy until I can post the next chapter. "The Choice in His Hands" will be updated soon so don't worry about that.

NOTE: Regarding all that happened, don't worry, the next chapter will explain everything in case this chapter left unanswered questions, but I wanted you all to be as lost and confused as the team.

Please excuse any errors or mistakes. I still have not found a Beta reader and BUWA! I am trying to catch all of the mistakes, but I am only human. If you see any, please tell me about them and I will fix them as soon as possible!

THANK YOU AND PLEASE REVIEW!