A/N: I had originally planned to rewrite my fanfiction "Only Him," which can be found on my profile; however, when I wrote that, we were still in Season One. With Wally's death in Season 2, I figured it would be more prudent to simply continue with my own version of Season 3, as many of the themes I would have explored in "Only Him." Without further ado, here's Young Justice: Resurrection.
Title: Young Justice: Resurrection
Rating: T
Episode One: Dominoes
JULY 5th – APOKALIPS 23:16 EST
"Business as usual."
The New God refrained from narrowing his eyes and released Savage's hand, turning to face the fire pits of Apokalips once more. "I trust it's fully operational?"
"Indeed." Savage came up and stood next to Darkseid and took in the sights of the Fourth World. Nowhere on Earth could one find such technological marvels, such innovations in order and control. The entire planet, as Savage understood, was a machine—and, like any machine, the fumes and heat were expelled through these pits of molten fire and torment to lay in the oppressive atmosphere of the world. Even Vandal Savage, a man of many thousands of years, could not help but be impressed by the power that stood next to him. They were men of the same feather—if someone like Darkseid could even be called a man.
"And I trust our friend Gordon will hold up his end of the bargain?" Savage clasped his hands behind his back and straightened. It was a bold move, to interact with Darkseid on a more familiar attitude. He knew no one on Apokalips would dare think of themselves as Darkseid's equal, but they were business partners and Savage wouldn't allow himself to be put into a position of reaction rather than action. He held his gaze towards the fire pits, pointedly ignoring the slight glow emitting from Darkseid's eyes.
"Glorious Godfrey will uphold the deal and use his abilities to influence the humans and instill Luthor into whatever position you so desire. Desaad, alert Granny that it's time. Go into the War World and lock onto New Genesis."
"My lord, they will generate the planetary shielding before we can calibrate the War World with our technology." The silence from Darkseid was answer enough for Desaad. "I shall calibrate the War World with all haste and commence firing."
"Good. I will expect your preparations to be complete soon, Savage."
"Within the week. With the War World distracting New Genesis, and the Light continuing our plans, you will have the necessary cover to procure your items."
"The last shipment of our technology will be in in place when I have what I need."
"Lord Darkseid," said Godfrey, interrupting. "Our little incursion on Mars was successful. The first piece of the device has been recovered."
"Then soon, the Fifth World will be mine. Godfrey, go with Savage and plan whatever it is he needs of you. Leave me."
Savage stood there for but a moment longer, if only to assert the fact they were equals, and then walked away with Godfrey to discuss their plans. The Fifth World was the enigma in the equation—Savage had no idea what it was, nor did any other member of the Light. He knew better than to ask Darkseid directly for the information. Savage would find out in time, and then the secrets of Darkseid's power, and the Earth, would be the Light's.
July 6th – ARLINGTON CEMETARY 14:46 EST
Since Nathanial Adams—Captain Atom—was, in fact, not dead, his spot in Arlington Cemetery remained vacant. Since Wally West died in the line of duty, and—being only nineteen—had no real burial plans, Captain Atom readily gave up his spot in the cemetery to the former speedster in recognition of his heroism. At best, it was a hollow gesture to the West family, because no amount of recognition, awards, or tears would bring Wally West home.
"Does anyone want to say a few words?" Bart asked, his words cutting through the silence. Barry and Iris stood with him on the right side of the grave, the Garricks on the left, and Wally's parents smack dab in front. Artemis was noticeably absent.
"Bart," Iris said, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly.
"What? Standing here, sulking… it's not doing anything. We should… we should be doing something. Anything. Feeling sorry isn't going to help us move on or..." Bart sighed, scratching his head. There was no body, and the go-to conclusion was that he was still alive somewhere. Out there. Alone. With everyone else burying Wally in the ground, Bart couldn't help but wonder when the best time to bring up his point of view would be.
Jay Garrick frowned at him, clearly indicating this was not the appropriate response the situation. Being the eldest among them, in both age and experience, this wasn't the first superhero burial Jay attended. They were awkward affairs, all of them, but nothing that couldn't be solved with a couple shots of bourbon and reminiscing the best times. But that was the norm for an adult burial. Burying a child, even a superhero… well, that was another matter entirely.
Barry slid his hands in his pockets and bit his lip. Who else was there to blame besides him? Losing a partner, Barry didn't know what to do. He hadn't slept in days, made constant apologies to the family, and stayed up at night, watching reruns of Wally's favorite cartoons, wondering where exactly he went wrong and how he could have saved his nephew. "Mary, Rudy…" he began.
"Wally always said you were the best thing that ever happened to him. Him and Artemis… you both made him so, so happy. A mother couldn't ask for anything more," Mary said, her voice hoarse from crying. "It was so nice of Captain Adams to give us this plot—it was fitting of Wally. I just wish we were all here."
"I tried calling Artemis, but she wasn't picking up," Iris said.
"Whatever it is," Mary said, confidently. "I'm sure that it's important."
July 6th – GOTHAM CITY 16:58 EST
"This is the last favor I do for you, Artemis. And then it's back to business as usual." Chesire printed out the schematics of LexCorp's subterranean levels to assist Artemis in her mission to gain samples of the rebranded Reach drink.
Artemis sat in the living room of Jade's little hideaway, a small place in the mountains outfitted with high-tech security and amenities, with her niece Lian. Lian sat in Artemis' lap and played with her hands; Artemis couldn't help but smile at her niece, wondering how her family could have been with Wally. Would they have had a beautiful baby girl? Or perhaps a handsome son? Of course, she would never know now.
"I thought you were done with the Light," Artemis said.
"I am, but we can't have you coming over here whenever you need something, let alone Red, who shows up whenever he pleases. Both of you coming and going will give Ra's a clear indication I'm giving you information—it's already under his grace that Lian and I aren't in danger, and I'd rather not have that change."
Not many people in Ra's service got out of the League of Shadows in any way other than death, so Jade knew she had been considerably fortunate to be off his and the Light's radar. She knew better than to expect the amnesty was granted solely because of Lian—it would make more sense to keep both herself and Lian alive as potential bargaining chips against Artemis.
"You've gone to see Mom, right?"
"Yes. She is grateful I've decided to include her in Lian's life. Sportsmaster, however, is not so lucky. He's been off doing some vendetta or another; I've long since stopped caring."
"He's still our dad," Artemis said softly, pulling Lian closer to her. Losing Wally had been abrupt and unexpected—that senseless, childhood notion of immortality evaporated when Wally left Artemis alone in that god-forsaken tundra, so Artemis knew now how important it would be to keep her remaining family safe and close. Of course, Artemis hadn't always felt that way—her past interactions with her father were a testament to how little she wanted to do with him, but it seemed right to at least attempt to mend ties.
"And our dad is a deadbeat, B-list villain without a future. He can be someone else's dead weight." Jade exhaled, remembering to be less callous. "But it's your choice. Just don't expect any favors from me. Now get out; I don't want Lian too excited to sleep tonight."
"I know she likes it when I come over." Artemis smiled and kissed her niece's head, before handing Lian over to Jade. "I'll see you when I see you, then." Artemis took her leave, fully acknowledging they weren't the hugging type. "Artemis to Beta," she said after well away from the apartment, "I've acquired the plans to LexCorp's secret underground facility in their Metropolis branch. Meet at rendezvous point in the morning."
JULY 6th – WAYNE MANOR 19:52 EST
"Master Dick, I absolutely must protest."
Alfred stood in the doorway of Dick's old room while the other man continued to haphazardly throw clothes in a backpack. It took all of Alfred's willpower to refrain from folding his shirts and putting them back in the dresser.
"Really?" Dick looked down at his blue shirt. "You're right, red would be much better." He peeled off his shirt and began looking for another.
"I mean, I must protest you packing up your things and leaving out of the blue." Alfred softened. "You don't have to grieve alone. Master Wally's death still lingers for all of us."
"I'm not grieving alone, Alfie. Trust me, everyone from the Team and Superman and Bruce are here for me, but I just need to keep moving forward, alright?" Dick pulled on a red shirt and his jacket, checking his things. His suit was in his bag, along with several changes of clothes and whatever pocket money he could scrounge up without delving into Bruce's or his parents' trust fund money. "Don't worry, I'll check in from time to time, I promise. I won't be gone too long. I just have to get my head screwed on straight."
"Sir, your head is "screwed on" perfectly fine." Alfred sighed. "Master Timothy will miss his brother."
"And I'll miss him, too. But this is something I gotta do." Dick hugged Alfred and left, going out to the garage, taking his motorcycle.
Tim watched Dick leave from the window of his bedroom, slightly resenting the fact that Dick didn't say goodbye. A smart cookie like Tim knew Dick left because living with two deductive geniuses and a surprisingly non-superpowered empathy—Bruce and Tim, and Alfred, respectively—could be rather irritating. Still, it would have been nice to at least get a "See ya."
Tim made his way down to the study, turning the clock to 10:47—the time of the Waynes' deaths—and made his way down into the cave. "He's gone, Bruce."
"Hnn."
Pretty standard response from the Batman. Tim saw Bruce sitting down at the Bat Computer, in his Batman uniform with the mask down, reviewing footage from the recent break-ins in the various museums of the city. On the footage, there was nothing. Nothing broken or stolen, but at the scene of the crime, a window would be broken, indicating the method of entry, and things in the museum would be in disarray, indicating the perpetrator was looking for something. The cameras had obviously been tampered with, but Bruce couldn't figure out why. Even more curious was the lack of exit. There were absolutely no signs of egress at any of the crime scenes.
"You aren't worried about him?" Tim asked, going up behind him. "Do you think Dick knows we know?"
"That's why he didn't say good bye, Tim. He's looking for Wally." The tone was monotonous, Bruce obviously keeping his mind occupied by analyzing the footage, looking for some sign of tampering, some indication as to where the footage changed from real time to loop, if the perpetrator had even done that.
"We're going to help him though, right?"
Bruce didn't say anything, but simply stood up and pulled on his cowl. "Suit up. We're going to see Catwoman." That would be a "no." There wouldn't be any going after Dick, apparently. Tim figured Bruce wanted to leave Dick to his own devices, to help him realize that Wally really was gone. No one was taking harder than him, except maybe the Flash and Artemis.
July 6th – WATCHTOWER – 21:24 EST
The Watchtower held its orbit above the Earth. Only a few on the face of the Earth truly experienced the total silence of space, alone with the slight hum of technology. Barbara felt at home amongst the League's array of machinery. Standing in the Command Center, in front of the translucent screen, Barbara had the world at her fingertips. "Beta," she said over the comm, "you're ready to zeta to Mars. B'arzz O'oomm should be waiting for you."
"Roger that, Batgirl," Miss Martian said. She turned to Superboy and Beatboy, who nodded back at her, recognizing her as the mission leader. They headed towards the zeta tubes with M'gann leading them.
"So, Miss M," Beastboy said, "is this whole white martian thing going to be a problem? I mean, you said they're kinda persecuted, so…"
"It'll be fine, Gar. Just don't bring it up or think about it and we'll be fine. I'll be shielding both of your minds while we're on Mars, so no one picks anything up they shouldn't. All martians communicate telepathically, so you'll have to open your minds at least that much."
Kon stifled a groan. He never really enjoyed telepathy, not since Cadmus and not counting Miss Martain's invasion of his mind less than a year ago. It was a lot for Aqualad to ask him to trust her enough to have such control of his mind, to shield it from the other martians and open up to them at the same time. He took comfort in the fact that M'gann seemed to be taking it seriously. An uncomfortable silence passed over them, M'gann remembering her guilt and Kon caught up in his thoughts.
"This is going to be so cool!" Gar said, getting in between them. "You're going to have to show us everything on Mars while we're there! Where you live, what's to do… it'll be awesome! What's it like?"
"We live underground, because the surface of Mars is inhospitable. It's still really bright and warm, and just… beautiful. We'll zeta to the capital, where the Royal Family presides—around them, you both have to be very careful not to reveal that I'm a white martian, alright?" They nodded and she nodded back, taking them through the zeta tubes.
Meanwhile, Aqualad, Blue Beetle, and Wondergirl convened in the Command Center with Batgirl to go over Gamma's mission. Because Barbara was only 18, and still lived at home, she was unable to go with Gamma and would instead act as mission coordinator on the Watchtower.
"I've found several leads on Vandal Savage's location," she said, highlighting the places on the map. "It seems he's traveled to Tibet, which is very heavy with League of Shadows activity. More than likely, he's hiding out with Ra's Al Ghul. You're to go to these locations and scout them out—if you find his presence, I'll alert the League immediately and they'll come in hard. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Jamie said. "Where's Lagoon Boy? And Vergil?"
"He's in Atlantis with Aquaman—he'd be especially disadvantaged on this mission, so far away from his natural element. And Vergil is with Black Lightning in the field. " Aqualad spoke with the new authority his position entailed. It had been a long while since he held the leadership position on Young Justice, but he was no stranger to the duties of being leader. He would faithfully hold Dick's place until he returned from whatever foolhardy journey he was on.
"If that's it, I've primed the zeta tubes and they're ready to go."
"Um… is that really it? We go and check it out? That's it?" Cassie scratched her head, a little confused. There was usually more direction when Nightwing assigned the missions, like, more apparent bad guys, but she believed Barbara knew what she was doing.
"Yeah, that's it," Barbara confirmed.
"Come, let us move out." Aqualad led them towards the zeta tubes, while Barbara remained in the Command Center. After they left, Barbara reveled in the silence and took the opportunity to use the League's satellites and imagery to get a lock on Nightwing's location. She sighed to herself and watched him drive down a highway on his motorcycle—they were so far away from each other, and Barbara took comfort in just watching him from afar.
Black Canary walked into the Command Center, with Captain Marvel and Dr. Fate beside her. Barbara quickly switched the feed on the screen to team business, hiding her surveillance of Dick.
"All I'm asking is for a leave of absence," Captain Marvel said—Barbara noted he sounded rather stressed in his tone, but for what reason she didn't know.
"And I'm saying that, right now, it's not possible. With the Reach fiasco ending, any change in our roster could lead the public into thinking we're punishing you or something. Besides, you haven't even given me a good reason for it—if it's something important, then you can tell me."
"It is important," Dr. Fate said. Rarely was he ever on the Watchtower, and his presence indicated something dreadfully important. "I vouch for Captain Marvel's authenticity in his claims. There is something stirring the magical world; no doubt he is setting out to find out what's causing the imbalance."
"Is this true, Billy?" At Dinah's question, he nodded. "Why didn't you say so?"
"I've been… forbidden. Old guys and their rules and all that." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled apologetically. "I just need one more thing…"
"Recognize B14 Lieutenant Marvel. Recognize B15 Sergeant Marvel."
The zeta tubes powered up and came through two teenagers. Lieutenant Marvel and Sergeant Marvel, better known as Freddy Freeman and Marry Bromfield respectively, was one of Billy's best school friends and lent the power of Shazam to assist Captain Marvel in his work. Freddy stood dressed in a blue colored outfit, very similar in make to Captain Marvel's—he had a strong figure, but a smaller stature. Mary, on the other hand, looked well built, but not muscular, in an outfit very much like Captain Marvel's in make and hue, but sported a skirt instead of pants.
"Damn," Freddie said. "I've waited so long to be up here."
Barbara turned refrained from smiling and fought the urge to grow excited. These were two of her friends, who left the team before 2015. They had been drafted as Marvels to assist Billy fighting, but their powers had been taken away by the wizard after their purpose had been served—they had defeated some demon that wanted to overtake Hell and reign on Earth, Sabbac, Barbara believe he was called. In any other circumstance, she would have embraced them in open arms, but their presence meant something was on the verge of becoming a very serious threat.
"Barbara!" Mary said, heading over and hugging her tightly. "I've missed you so much. You have no idea. Donna sends her regards—we're both so sorry we couldn't make Raquel's bridal shower. Did she get the gifts?"
"Yes, Mary, she did." Barbara smiled and returned the gesture, watching Freddy almost strut over to Captain Marvel and company. "Have you talked to her yet?"
"No, I haven't gotten a chance. With all this invasion business, everything's just cooling down. I'll talk to her in a couple days, though." She smiled. Mary was always very beautiful, with a creamy skin color that made her seem flawless.
"Good to know your codes are still working," Black Canary said, folding her arms. She disliked surprises, not that she wasn't happy to see her two former wards. "What was it you needed, Billy?"
"Nothing… Later. Freddy, I told you and Mary that I'd meet you in Fawcett."
"And we got bored, so we decided to see if our designations still worked. And now we've met you here. Good to see you, too." Freddy grinned at Black Canary, who overcame her dislike of the surprise and smiled back. "And now that we're here, made our grand entrance, and let everyone know we're back, we can go."
"Well, we can get on our way, then, boys." Mary smiled once more and looked at them. "Come on, we've got a job to do."
"It shouldn't take too long, Black Canary. Promise! Come on, guys." They said their goodbyes and Captain Marvel led them out the airlock. With all of them possessing the stamina of Atlas, none of them required breath to function.
"So," Freddie said. "Mary and I got our powers back, but we don't exactly know why, as the Wizard wouldn't tell us, and you wouldn't tell us over the comm. Why not?"
"Because it's too secretive… too important," Billy replied.
"What's going on?" Mary asked, picking up her pace to keep up with them.
"One of the Seven Deadly Sins has become active. They're shifting the balance of magic… We have to find the Sin and put it right before the others start to awake."
"Well," Freddy send. "Don't keep us in suspense! Which Sin is it?"
Billy paused for a moment, focusing on his flying, and then answered, "Pride."
July 7th – MARS 01:27 EST
The first thing Gar noticed upon successfully zeta beaming to Mars was that he felt extremely tired. His eyes drooped and he yawned, leaning against Miss Martian. She put her arm around him and turned to look at Superboy. He was taking in the view—they were standing on a platform, a high rise that overlooked the capital city of Mars. From up above, they could see the towering structures of glistening red earth and hear the profound silence echoing throughout the underground.
Welcome to Mars. They could all hear the voice in their head as B'arzz O'oomm came up behind them.
Gar straightened up in surprise, clearly not anticipating the invasion of his mind. Miss Martian hadn't set up the wads yet, and he tried to clear his mind, but his thoughts turned to Miss Martian; Kon scowled a bit. Her eyes glowed green and she blocked the appropriate spaces in Superboy and Beast Boy's minds. B'arzz O'oomm looked at Miss Martian for a second, and Gar clenched his teeth, trying not to give away his apprehension. He couldn't tell if he gave up Miss Martian's secret.
I apologize for the intrusion, he continued. If we had spoken, our voices would have carried and disturbed the city.
It's not a problem, Green Beetle, Miss Martian said.
Please, call me B'arzz.
We got your message, Kon said, bringing the conversation back to business. What's the problem?
Someone made an attempt to steal on of Mars' sacred treasures. We need your help to find who did it. We have tried ourselves, but to no avail.
Which treasure? M'gann asked.
The Gregada Stone.
The Gregada Stone? What's that? Kon asked.
It's an ancient meteorite martians recovered in some of their first surveys of Earth. It's a very sacred treasure to the Royal Family. B'arzz said. Come. The Royal Family is waiting to greet you.
We're… meeting the Royal Family? M'gann asked.
Why, yes. They've been waiting for you. They've been waiting for you all.
July 7th – GOTHAM CITY 02:16 EST
"How is that I'm always the one that gets beat up and bruised when we fight Lady Shiva?" Tim asked as he and Bruce headed towards Catwoman's apartment. Lady Shiva held the title of one of the most feared and professional bounty hunters in all the world; she reported to Ra's Al Ghul personally and made it her business to seek out the best fighters in the world and kill them for fun.
To this day, even Batman has never bester her in single combat. Batman grunted, standing up and concealing his own injuries—Shiva had broken several of his ribs, one of them dangerously close to his lung. But, they had to press on and continue. Something was wrong, for Lady Shiva to be in Gotham without Batman hearing about a target. As soon as they consulted with Catwoman, he would send Robin home and he would continue the night's endeavors himself.
"Uh… Batman…" Robin said, pointing out Catwoman's apartment from the building they stood upon.
The window was broken open and Batman could tell from afar that it was broken from the outside. His eye widened and he thought of Selina, how vulnerable she really was beneath that hardened exterior and layer of leather. "Stay," was all Bruce said before he grappled off to the window, going faster than he normally would—he held back a grunt as his rib rubbed painfully against his lung, threatening to puncture it. His thoughts were only on getting into that room, pushing images of a dying and broken Selina from his mind. He didn't know what was in there, if anything at all, and Bruce possessed the resolve and discipline to focus on the task at hand instead of jumping to conclusions.
As he swung, his cowl lenses switched to infrared and saw no heat signatures in the room. Batman burst through the window and landed in the living room. The first thing he noted was the silence—her cats were gone; the second was the complete disarray of the room—several broken items of furniture, signs of rifling through her possessions, and finally the scratch marks on the floor and wall, indicating someone dragged Selina kicking and fighting from the room. But there was no sign of exit, no sign of egress.
"Robin, return to the Batmobile. It'll take you back to the cave," Batman said through the comm.
"But what about you?"
"Things have become much more dangerous." He ended the conversation there and began to look over the scene, trying to find any clues pertaining to Catwoman's whereabouts or the identity of her kidnapper. Someone took Selina, and Batman resolved to find them, no matter the cost, and then break them before bringing Selina back.
July 7th – METROPOLIS 04:16 EST
Not many of Metropolis' many citizens found themselves awake before dawn. The park was completely empty, so no one saw a boomtube open in the middle of the night. Out from the tube came five individuals on their first trip to Earth since their pursuit of the New Genesphere.
They were the Forever People: Vykin, their leader—dark skinned and dressed in a green accented outfit; Bear—the large, muscular man with red hair and purple tattoos; Moonrider—the lightskinned man dressed in an pink accented vest; Serifan—the smallest of the group, dressed akin to a cowboy; and finally, the only woman of the group and the most beautiful—aptly named Beautiful Dreamer.
As they poured out of the boomtube, Bear raised his hands and grinned, "The Superboy! It has been very long! We—" and upon realizing Superboy was not in the park—"where is the Superboy?"
"Motherbox?" Vykin asked. Motherbox glowed yellow and spoke to Vykin. "She says Superboy could not be found. There is another in the vicinity she confused him with. She will guide us to him. He is the Superman."
"Mm, will he be able to help?" Dreamer asked.
"Hopefully, so," Vykin said. "He will understand that our mission is of the utmost importance. High Father himself sent us to Earth as New Genesis is assaulted to recover the Artifacts of the Source before Darkseid does. If we fail, he will use the Artifacts to become the Source and take over the Fifth World. He will be unstoppable and all we know… will be at an end."
A/N: Please read and review! Also, share the story, if you've liked it, on Tumblr or any other social media! You can connect with me at .com. Thank you so much, and I hope you've enjoyed the first episode!