Choking Out The Flames
Disclaimer: Don't own Young Justice. Someday I will though (maybe).
A/N at the end.
I don't care anymore.
I don't care that he used to be my friend.
I don't care that the League will kick me off Young Justice.
That my friends will disown me.
That Conner will hate me.
None of that matters anymore.
He needs to pay.
I am going to make him pay.
He kidnapped La'gann.
My boyfriend.
And he killed her.
He killed my best friend.
My sister.
So now here I stand, Aqualad—Kaldur pressed up against the wall, held in place by my telekinesis. I can no longer call him that. The name that used to be heroic, that used to stand for truth, liberty and justice now just fuels the ever-rising fires of my anger. He's still wearing his armor, the one given to him by Black Manta. The man he betrayed us for. I removed his helmet long ago. He struggles against my grip. I laugh bitterly at him, jerking my head as to toss my chopped locks over my shoulder arrogantly. Why bother trying? He knows as well as anyone that Martian Manhunter thought I had stronger telekinetic powers than him. There is no way in hell that I'm going to let him go. Not after all he's done.
Besides, I had rage on my side. Black Canary always said to use anger to our advantage instead of letting it control us. It worked for Conner. Now I was going to make it work for me.
When Nightwing had announced we had a mission involving Black Manta, we had all been fresh off the news that Artemis had died. That Kaldur had killed her. I volunteered to infiltrate their headquarters, trying to force the anger and grief bubbling up inside me to remain hidden deep in my core. Nightwing had raised his eyebrow but agreed, pairing me up with Superboy and Blue Beetle. Our goal was stealth, as it always was. We were to get in, figure out what Black Manta was planning to do with Lagoon Boy, then leave so the League could decide whether or not it was safe to go and rescue La'gann. We were not to cause trouble. We were not to get involved, especially not with Kaldur. Conner had begged me not to engage Kaldur; he made me swear I wouldn't. The pain that had pierced my heart hurt more than it ever had before when I had lied to him, especially all we'd been through together, but I'd had no choice. This needed to be done, I had told myself. Artemis would've wanted this.
The mission didn't go as planned. Wondergirl had accidentally tripped an alarm that Robin hadn't finished hacking. Black Manta's troops were on us in an instant. I noticed Kaldur trying to sneak out a side door in the warehouse. I'd changed into my camouflage mode and cut off my mental link with the rest of the team, following him into a separate room where I had surprised him.
"M'gann," Kaldur says, still struggling against my mental hold. "Why-why are you doing this?" I snort at him. He sounds so innocent. Did he feel nothing when he murdered Artemis? Had he already moved on from the time we all spent together? All the times we watched movies in the den? All the times we'd shared a laugh? All the times we fought alongside one another? All the times he led us in missions?
Against my will, tears start streaming down my face. "How could you?" I cry, slamming him against the wall. He gasps. He needs to realize that I'm not the same M'gann that he used to know. I'm no longer the happy-go-lucky girl who liked baking cookies and quoting people from old sitcoms. "How could you kill Artemis? She was your friend, you bastard!" I slam him again and again until his armor starts to dent under the blows. His head lolls slightly and he is gasping for breath. A small stream of blood flows from a cut on his head. "Now, you're going to pay." I say through clenched teeth. I move my telekinetic hold on him up to his throat.
The choking sound he makes fills my ears. Rage fuels my actions now. I squeeze, forcing his throat to constrict even more. His hands move to his neck, clawing at the invisible hands cutting off his flow of air. I think Superboy is yelling my name, trying to get me to stop before his yells are cut off and a dull thud echoes through the room. Kaldur's face is turning red.
I dive into Kaldur's mind, prying through all the moments he has from the moment he was born until now. Sorting through them, I am surprised to find a memory of him speaking with Wally, Artemis and Nightwing. I gasp as I re-live those series of memories and discover that this was planned, that Kaldur had purposely betrayed the team, that Artemis' death had been faked so she could join Kaldur in his quest to infiltrate Black Manta's team as well.
Before I can move on to the next memory, Kaldur's mind goes black.
I step back in shock, my mental connection broken. Kaldur crumples to the ground, his chest not rising, his body limp. His head faces away from me. That doesn't stop my mind from imagining the light leaving his grey eyes, the flame that had once burned full of life inside him literally choked out. Choked out by my hands. By me. I fall to my knees beside and bury my face in my hands, sobbing desperately. I feel Superboy's arm around my shoulders, forcing me to stand. Blinded by my tears, Superboy gently picks me up bridal-style. In the back of my mind I register him telling me that we had to go or we'd all die. I notice that flames are burning all around me. How did I not notice them before? I subconsciously nod and allow Superboy to take me from the room, to take me away from Kaldur's body.
I killed him.
I killed my friend.
I killed him like I said I would.
I killed him to avenge Artemis' death.
Only Artemis is alive.
Alive.
How am I going to explain my actions to Artemis?
To Wally?
To Nightwing?
To Gar?
To Superboy?
To the Justice League?
What have I done?
What have I done?
A/N: Nakama no otaku kon'nichiwa! Hello fellow geeks! So depressing, I know. I have nothing against Kaldur. In fact I actually think that Kaldur is really cool and rather unappreciated! This fic was mostly for me to get out my predictions for what I think is going to happen after 'Depths'. I feel like M'gann is going to be pissed at Kaldur for killing Artemis and is going to go kick his ass next time she sees him. This totally works since M'gann's attitude has changed a lot from season one. Kaldur's a pretty major character so I don't think that he's actually going to die but I wanted to turn this into a death-fic. Review, review, review! Happy reading and stay asterous! ;)
Oh, and one more thing: I'm going to my cabin tomorrow and I will not be returning until July 29. You guys aren't going to like this, but I have no Internet so I will be unable to update until that time. D: Please don't kill me, readers! However, I will be writing a ton and I should still be able to answer reviews and PM's through my iPhone. (I really wish I could post stories from there!) I'm so sorry guys!