Chapter One

SUMMARY: Gone. The Reach was defeated, but what about the Light? Greyson gone,West dead. What happens next? How will the team cope, and what will happen to the few seniors remaining ?The continue on with life, but when the past isn't as clear as it seems, they need to figure out the next step, and live with everything. A sudden blast from the past will change everything. When people come back to life, you realize the illusions of the the world. When your friends leave you, a lesson is learned. Very Wally and Dick centric, and tons of Tim action as well. The first 10-12 chapters will be pretty light, but after that the themes will get much darker, read with caution! Mostly, Sptifire and CassieXTimXStephaine (yes I'm adding her) with Dick romance later but not with OC.

Well, I am a really big fan of Young Justice and the fact that probably wont be a season got me thinking about this story. It takes place after season 2, and everything that happened in the show will happen, except Wally didnt die (I'm too big a fan to cut him out) It will have a lot of everyone, each chapter will be from a different charaters POV, but the bigger more important characters will get more chapters, aka, Wally, Dick, Artemis. I'm not a very big OC fan, but I wanted to try having one this time around, so there will be one but she will not really be that major, and she will be coming later in the story.

Disclaimer: I dont, and sadly will never own Young Justice.

It was six in the morning, and I still had about half an hour to get up. I was lazily lying on my bed trying to block out the bits of light that were coming from the sides of the curtains. As I turned around, my cell phone started to ring indicating that I had just received a text message. Normally, I would have just ignored my phone, but today I just felt like it was important. I grabbed it off the sir table and as soon as I read the contents, I was suddenly awake.

"Holy shit," was all that I was able to say before dying to wake up Artemis who was laying next to me. Over the eight years we had been together, I had learned one very important lesson. Artemis was not a morning person. She absolutely hated getting up in the morning, and was well aware that I left her to herself before nine, so when I started vibrating the bed, she knew that something was wrong.

"What's the matter babe?" she asked in a tired and totally not fully awake tone. I shoved my cell-phone in her face wordlessly. She grabbed it from my vibrating had to see it better. As soon as she saw the contents she was just as awake as I was.

"Dammit, we've gotta go," she said and we both leaped into action. I ran into the bathroom and was out with a shower and fully dressed in less than a minute. As soon as I ran out, Artemis ran in.

I quickly grabbed some breakfast and as soon as she got out of the bathroom, she jumped on my back and i ran out the door at the speed of light. Something I hadn't done in three years. something I expected never to do again.

It had been over three years since the reach invasion. After that, many things had changed. For one, Artemis decided that she couldn't avoid that life any longer, so had re-joined the team, and then was accepted into the League. But now as Tigress, expert fighter in hand to hand combat instead of Artemis, archer. I hadn't been fully on board with the idea of her constantly risking her life, but had soon come to realize that other than me, that was all she really had in life. I was still retired, and hadn't used my sped for many years, giving the Kid Flash title to my younger much more enthusiastic cousin Bart who had proudly taken the title. My title. My legacy. Which I willingly given up for a regular life.

But there were still many changes that had happened. One of the good things was that Mal and Karen had tied the knot a year ago. They were the first ones to do it, and were celebrated by the League and team. But that also meant that they had both also retired. Two of the teams senior members, no longer fighting.

Then there was Connor and M'Gann. They had the weirdest relationship. After the invasion, and messed up mission with Aqualad, M'Gann had stopped using her powers to fry people's brains. That instantly got her and Connor seeing eye to eye again, but their trust in each other had to be healed in time. so they were friends for a while. Then they dated. Then they were friends again. Finally, now they were dating agin. No-one ever really knew what was going on with them, but we all just gave them the space and didn't ask any question.

The biggest change though had to have happened because of Dick. Right after the invasion, we were all happy. But when all of us were enjoying a day off, Dick had told Kaulder that he was taking a 'temporary' leave. Then he left. He didn't say goodbye to any of us, and just vanished, not to be seen or heard from for three years.

Rumor had it that Bats knew where he was, but Bruce denied any knowledge and he didn't let anyone ask him any more. Of-course, for a little while, we all just thought he was dead. After he left, mentioning the great Dick Greyson suddenly became some sort of sin, We would all avoid talking about him, or bringing him up. He was as good as dead. Then, when we were at Mal and Karen's wedding there was a gift. It had no card, no letter, nothing. There was just a little sticky attached to the big gift that said, Your friend, Nightwing. That little bastard didn't even show up.

I finally arrived at the Palo Alto zeta tube. From there, Artemis put in the co-ordinates to a city that I hadn't been to since the last time Artemis was getting out of retirement. A city that I never had much of an intention of returning to. But, I was zeta-ing there, once again.

As we arrived, I picked up Artemis and ran again. This time, we arrived in a warehouse. I looked around and realized that this place hadn't changed since the last time I had been here. We both just stood there, looking around, thinking of one of the most painful and difficult decisions we ever had to make. One that had thankfully happened safely.

Just like last time, Kaulder walked out from behind the boxes, but this time, he was truly un-expected. We had no idea that he would be here as well.

"Kaulder?" asked Artemis out of shock, "why are you here?"

"Well, it's nice to see the two of you as well," he asked with a faint smile. But it was very faint. Our once fearless leader looked…well, old. He already had faint stress marks and wrinkles. Poor guy was my age, but he had the whole team's responsibility on his shoulders. With Nightwing gone, and so many new members, he had to train and watch after all the new recruits that were un-trained. He was playing baby-sitter all the time, and had no time to be himself. I seriously don't know who he would be if he was not Aqualad. Who was Kaulder? We really didn't know any more. he stopped going to Atlantis after Tula's death. I don't think he had talked to Garth in years. I was in touch with him, but had a other life to live, Artemis had joined the League, and Dick had went missing. That just left M'Gann and Connor who both had made lives for themselves outside the team and weren't there 24/7.

"Well, I take that the contacted the two of you as well. I had a feeling that he would call someone else as well," Kaulder said walking over.

"Yeah, well he alway had all of us wrapped around his finger. I guess that even after leaving for years, he can just come back one day and call us. Of-course, we will all just go running back like a bunch of blind sheep." Artemis commented crossing her arms. She wasn't happy being here, but just like the rest of us, she needed answers.

"Well that is true," came the voice that I hadn't heard in over three years. "I did have that kind of powers." Just like three years ago, we were all here meeting a certin person, but this time, instead of meeting Nightwing, we saw Dick Greyson. A much older, and wearier looking Dick Greyson. As he walked onwards us, I saw that the sparkle that was once in his excited eyes was long gone, replaced by a darkness that could only be there from knowledge and maturity. But really? Dick was…mature? I mean, he did end up leading the team, so yeah, he had to be mature, but now I think that the signs that showed that he was once 13 year old playful Robin were completely lost. This just showed me how much I knew about my once upon a time best friend. Absolutely nothing anymore.

We all just stood there, a bit stunned at seeing him. Even though it had been three whole years, nothing felt different. It was like deep down, we knew that our business with Nightwing wasn't over. That he wasn't dead.

"What? No hello for your favourite superhero?" he asked in a cocky voice that just didn't seem to fade no matter how many years passed by. We just stood there, still stunned until Artemis finally snapped out of it. She walked over to him wordlessly and slapped the shit out of him. But, he didn't seem hurt, or by the looks of it, surprised. He pulled her into a hug, and I could see that tears started to steam down her face.

"It's good to see you Artemis," he said softly letting go. I was still standing in a trance.

Then, he walked over to Kaulder. They shook hands, "it's good to see you my old friend," said Kaulder in his normally formal voice he used all the time. It was the same voice that we could never read between, never know exactly what he meant and which what emotion.

"You too pal," Dick said finally making his way over to me. But I stayed silent. What was I going to say? I could get mad like Artemis, or I could just greet him like Kaulder. But, I didn't know what to say or feel, so I decided to greet him the best way I knew how. By joking about it.

"Look what the cat dragged in," I said lamely, then punching his arm, "long time no see, huh?"

"Good to see you too Wall's," he replied grinning and punching me back. But it was a weak punch. Nothing like his former punches where they actually hurt like hell, no, this was just what seemed like a regular punch by a regular man. But if there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that Dick Greyson, was NOT a regular guy. Ever.

Sure, he looked like a regular 22 year old, there was nothing special about him, except that he was very fit and quite frankly a pretty boy, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. But, after years of the crime fighting, I learned that nothing is as it seems. Nothing happens for no reason. There is always a story behind everything. So I knew that this was not a social visit.

"Well, Dick, as much as I'd like to catch up, I think that we really need to know why you decided to contact us now," I said in a no-nonsense tone.

"What? Couldn't I have called because I missed my friends?" he asked grinning and starting to walk around a bit.

"No, Dick, we know that there's a reason for your sudden call, I mean, you completely cut contact with all of us for three years, then you suddenly decided to call one morning and told us to meet in the old, abandoned warehouse that we met in to plan me going under cover in to black manta's organization all this years ago. I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but I know that this is not a social call."

"Well, as usual, you are right Artemis. This isn't a social call. it's more like I need your help for a little plan."

I groaned under my breath. I may have been best friends with this jerk once upon a time, but I knew that I did NOT like his plans. Not at all.

"Now, as much as I would like to tell you everything, I think that we should go to my place to discuss this," he said catching our attention.

"Wait, you still live in Bludhaven?" asked Kaulder calmly.

"Guys, I know it may seem like it to you, but I didn't cal off the face of the Earth, and I was keeping tabs on all of you," he replied just as calmly.

"Well, that I can say I expected," muttered Artemis.

We all walked for about 5 minutes. It was very silent. The kids that couldn't shut the hell up when they were in high school now had nothing to say to one another. It was sad really.

Finally, arrived at a fancy condo place. Dick led us in and we went up to the pant house level. Just as I thought, this guy still was stinking rick, but where did he get the money from?

As he fiddled to open the door, I saw an anxious look that crossed his face. Before I could ask what happened, the door flew open. We all walked in, and my mouth flew open. Sitting in a chair in the middle of the living room, was someone I hadn't seen in a while. Someone who had a tragic accident in her life. Someone other than Bruce that was smart enough to track down Dick. Sitting in the the middle of the living room was none other than the legend she was, Oracle.

"Ba-babs?" sputtered Artemis out of shock, "you knew where he was?"

"Nice to see you guys, its been a while," she said, her wheelchair moving without he operating it at all.

"I presume that you had always know where our friend," Kauler motioned towards Dick, "was, and where he was hiding."

"Well, that's how you look at it. I always new that he was in Bludhaven, but I just got in con act with him again about two months ago, and he was the one that contacted me, not the other way around," she said simply grabbing a coffee cup from the little table. Looking around, I realized that these two were in tech central,with holographic computers in the whole room. But, Barbra looked exhausted, I was willing to bet that she had been up most if not all of the night ding some top secret research thing that the rest of us couldn't comprehend.

"It's good to see you," i said simply not se what else to say in a situation like this.

"You too," she returned smiling, "Now, I know that you all have a ton of questions, that I'm pretty sure Dick would be more than happy to explain," but as she said that, I looked back and couldn't see Dick there. He then came back in the room holding a bottle of sprite in his hands.

"What? Nothing stronger?" I asked remembering our days as teenagers doing adult shit and getting caught. Dick especially had tons of fun with the stuff.

"Sorry Wally, I'm gonna need you to be completely sober for what I'm gonna tell you," he said grinning but in a serious voice.

"Yes, what is it that out of the blue you decided to call the three of us?" asked Kaulder, "you really need to tell us Dick."

"Yeah, well sit down, and let me explain everything, but I need you to listen to me without interruptions," he told us and we all nodded in agreement.

I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a story I would enjoy listening to that much. Over the years, I had learned that Dick may as well be a geniuse, but his plans were always my death sentence. When we first made the team, I was always stuck with all the work, suck as 'hey! Wally can run out and grab us the movie and food and everything else 7 of us can need for the movie night!' I was stuck doing all the work, and by the time I was done playing errand boy, the movie would be half way finished. Then when we got older, it was more like 'Wally, I need to borrow your girlfriend so she can go in some totally undercover mission where her chances of dieing are exceddingly high!' I knew for sure, that the fact that I hadn't been around him for three years just meant that he had something really terrible pulled up his sleeve. But this time, I had to be smart about the decisions that I made in this.

"Well, I know that you guys are really wondering what happened to me all these years," he started stating the obvious. "Well, as I said when I left, I was taking a leave of absence. I had some things that I needed to figure out, and some work to do." He paused for a moment to examine us. I was getting impatient, he had been pausing the whole time, and I just needed to find out what the hell was going on.

"Well, right after we defeated the Reach, I realized that the Light had all vanished. They were all alive other than Ras Al Ghul, whom we all knew would come back to life. They were all alive, healthy and free. But at the moment, the Justice league was busy putting the world back in place, and they still had to fully win back the people. I knew that they had their hands full, so I made it my little duty to figure out what the Light's next step was," as he explained, everything started to make a bit of sense. I think that we all were catching the drift.

"I realized that they had been putting the plan together before we we even became a team. When we thought that their first plan failed, we found out that, that was just a distraction for the second part. We couldn't be sure wether they had another part planned out or not, it was very likely and possible. So, when I was gone, I was pulling string and trying to figure out their next plan."

"So that is what you have been doing my friend, I had my suspicions, but couldnt be sure of anything. But what I wonder now, is why do you need our help? I completely understand Barbra, she can help the research, but both Artemis and I work in the field while Wally hasn't been in the game for years," Kaulder pointed out. Artemis and I nodded in unison, we wanted to know what he decided to tell us all this one day.

"Well, there is only so much research work you can do Kaulder," spoke up Babs. "When he contacted me, he had done everything major, just needed a bit of hacking done. When we un-covered as many files and information as we could, we found out that we couldnt defeat them with knowledge. For once we needed a little action."

"Well, I still don't know what you need us for, you should talk to the League, us four, we out of all people should know not to keep secrets. They will only end up working against us in the end," Artemis told him.

"Hey, I'm not keeping any secrets, I've talked to Bruce and showed him all of my information. We will have the league and the team involved this time, but I will need you guys to help me. Artemis, I know that the killer assassin is now you style, but I will need you to do some under-cover work for me, Kaulder, since you're the team's leader, I will need you to take missions for me," he explained. But, I couldnt understand why I was here. I wasn't super smart, or even Kid Flash any more, if he needed a speedster Bart would have been a better choice. Before I could get a word in though, Artemis cut to the chase.

"What about Wally?"

He looked a little uneasy. I could just tell that I wouldn't be enjoying this one bit. "Well, I know that you're retired, but I'm gonna need a solid." I just stared back at him with a total poker face. Sadly, he was reflecting that gaze so I was really in the dark about everything.

"Now, before you say anything, I'm just telling you that no, I won't have you doing field work," that was like a load off my chest, but the curiosity rose even higher. "I will need your help with getting some tech ready. Babs will also be here, but I need someone who can made the tech, as well as possible cures, because every time we fight against them, we end up having some big desiese or something, so I will get all of the information needed, but the chem stuff will all be on you. You will get the help from Barbra, but I will need another person on board." I looked at him for a moment. I was not sure about this, it sounded fine, actually. It was probably the most desirable thing he had ever gotten me to do.

"Fine," I finally agreed, "I'll do it."

Well, there you have it, the first chapter. I hope you like it, and the others should start coming in the next chapter. I will slowly uncover all of the information about the Light, and their plan, and what else Nightwing was doing, and anything else that you may want to know.

Just PM me, or ask any questions you have in a review.

Now, I've figured that I will only update if I get reviews, so I want to get AT LEAST 3 before I post the next chapter!

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