DISCLAIMER

The fanfiction is set in an alternate universe (for obvious reasons), with most of its story taking place in a time period somewhere in the middle of the first season of Young Justice. However, time/dimension travel is a major key, so there will be a bit of jumping back and forth. Which is the reason why I'll be putting dates just like in the Young Justice show.

But the dates and times will NOT correspond to what actually happened in the show, so please mind that (aka, try not to compare the dates and times to the actual show, it's only something to make it easier for me and for you guys to get around, thank you!).

This is a crossover fanfic, so there will be hints both from Young Justice and Teen Titans, as well as some minor details from the comics. But be mindful of the fact that the Teen Titans universe here is set in the future as my own interpretation of it with my original next generation characters (aka, the children of the canon characters from the Teen Titans show). Their parentage will not be explicitly revealed or talked about, but their key character traits and features will be mentioned to give you a hint of who the parents are. If you do not support a certain pairing that I've chosen, please refrain from spilling hate on it or me, thank you.

All the characters used in the story belong to their respective owners.

The story has been written in first person, from the perspective of the main protagonist - Adie because I felt it was easier for me to convey the world around her like that and it leaves a bit more of a mystery of what other characters are doing at certain periods of time. If needed, the POV might get switched to other characters, but that's definitely not gonna happen too often.

Chapter I

The past that lingers

"No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away."

― Haruki Murakami

JULY 8, 2006
7:25 PM

"Wally! Adie! It's getting dark, we should go home!" The voice came from behind the swingset that me and Wally were playing at, making a groan of annoyance escape both of us. Sure, it was getting late. Sure, all the other kids had already left to go home. But hanging out at the playground was so much fun! We spent a lot of time at the playground, especially me and Wally. Alie usually just went with us only because she felt like we needed a babysitter. Which we didn't, of course. Most of the time I didn't mind her being there, though. It was nice she still wanted to hang out with us, even if she found books to be more interesting.

"Oh come on, it's not even that late, Alie." I whined at her, turning my head back to where Alis was sitting with her book in her hands, forming the most pleading look in my eyes that I could muster. She wasn't to be swayed, however, and returned my look with her own - a more strict one that I could never say no to. "Fine." A sigh left my lips and I got up from the swing, Wally exclaiming in displeasure of me giving up so easily.

"Seriously?" He threw his hands up in the air and all I could do was shrug at him apologetically. It was obvious he wasn't too excited to go back home just yet either, but what could you do. Aunt Mary would be mad if we didn't get back before dinner. She was such a sweet lady, I always hated to go against her wishes and make her angry when Wally and I were up to no good. Without her and uncle Rudy we wouldn't have had a home after all. We would've ended up on the streets. Or worse, in a lab somewhere. Because that's where people like us ended up. And Alie and I always did try to be good kids and express our gratitude to our best ability. Taking children in when you had your own to worry about wasn't an easy task either. They could've easily refused. But they didn't because they had such kind and gentle hearts. It was amazing what they did for me and my sister. We knew we would never be able to repay them. And who would've thought that we never would...

In a single moment, the whole atmosphere changed. The air became incredibly cold, the wind picked up its speed and the sky lit up so brightly that we were all forced to close our eyes. Only when the wind calmed down and the light disappeared did I dare to open them again. And just a few feet from where we were standing, a man had appeared. He was dressed weirdly, all armor-like and with a shiny device right on his chest. At first he looked around confused, as did we. I glanced back at my sister who had quickly ran up to me for safety, staring up at the man both in confusion and fear. Looking to my other side, I saw Wally also completely mesmerized by this sudden appearance. Well, at least we were all still there and we were all seeing the same thing. Good. It wasn't just my imagination. None of us dared to speak up, however. That was, until the strange man got his bearings and noticed the three of us right in front of him.

"Aha! Found you, you little peasant!" He exclaimed in excitement, pointing his finger right at Wally, which only made our confusion grow bigger. We exchanged looks before our attention got turned back as the man took a step closer to take a better look at the boy. "You're a little older than I wanted. Hmm. Is that damn thing broken again?" Straightening up, he tapped at the device on his chest, thoughtfully mumbling something under his nose. Some technical things probably, as I remember not understanding a single word he said. Everything about him seemed… complicated. Even the way he was dressed. At the time it almost seemed like something out of this world. It made me wonder if he was an alien too. Or maybe something else. A robot? Who knew. I was too young to understand it fully and I still don't.

"Um… S-sir…?" I suddenly heard a silent, almost trembling voice on my left. Glancing to the side, I noticed Alie taking half a step forward as she attempted to start a conversation with him. My heart almost stopped.

"What are you doing?" My hand quickly caught hers as I whispered through gritted teeth. But I never got a response because the man suddenly snapped out of his own monologue and turned to us once more.

"Well, no matter. This'll have to do." He spoke up and we all visibly flinched. What happened next, is still wrapped in a blur. There was another bright light and the next moment I was lying on the ground, a sharp pain in my chest. I could barely breathe. Taking a deep breath to get some air back into my lungs, I rolled on my side only to see my sister lying on the ground as well just a couple feet away from me.

"Alie…" I gasped and took a sharp turn of my head in search for Wally, finally finding him in the hands of the stranger. The man turned his back and pressed a button, which made the wind rise and light up the sky yet again. A sort of a hole opened up, where the light was coming from. And the stranger was just about to step into it. With Wally still struggling in his arms. He was taking Wally away!

"No! Put him down!" I shouted and before I even noticed it, I was up on my feet running towards the man and tackling him with a force I never knew I had. There was a thud. Then a crack. Then it turned dark again. Letting out a silent grunt, I propped myself up to see a cracked device right below me. That's when I realized I was on top of the stranger and quickly rolled off of him, grabbing Wally by the hand to get him out of there.

"Adie, are you crazy?!" He yelled in shock, barely managing to get up on his feet before I started dragging him along with me. "You could've gotten hurt! You did get hurt!"

"And he would've hurt you too!" I yelled back and pushed him behind a slide on the other side of the playground as I heard the man curse about his broken device.

"You little twat! What did you do! You broke it!" He pressed it frantically, trying to get it back in working condition. My hard forehead apparently hadn't broken it completely because after a few failed attempts it lit back up. That's when he started looking for us again. And Alie was the first one that got his attention as she ran towards a playhouse and hid inside it.

"Come back here!" A loud groan left his lips as he was obviously getting angry. Not that he didn't seem angry before already. Now he was just frustrated he wasn't getting what he came here for. Which, for some odd reason, seemed to have been Wally. And I needed to do something about it. I couldn't just stand there. I had to act. I knew I could.

"Stay here." My eyes were completely focused on the man as I suddenly whispered to Wally.

"What? Why?" He asked in confusion. "Adie, what are you gonna do? We gotta get help. That guy's nuts! You can't just… fight him!"

"I- Wally-" I wanted to tell him. I wanted to show him that I could fight people like that. That I was strong enough. That I was more than what he thought I was. But… Things were complicated enough for Alie and I as it was already. I didn't want to bring him into all of that as well. "Wally, you should go get help." I held onto his shoulders as I looked him dead in the eye.

"B-but what about you? You can't stay here." He protested and I could see tears form in his eyes. The kid was scared, it was obvious. And understandable. Heck, I was scared myself. But I needed him out of there.

"He's after you, Wally. I can't let you stay here. Alie and I will be alright. But I need you to get help. Please." I pleaded, but I could see that he didn't want to go. He shook his head and wiped tears out of his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. "We'll be alright." I assured him once more. "We'll be right here when you get back, okay?"

"...Promise?" He asked after a short pause, his green eyes staring right into my gray ones. There was so much fear in there it was almost unbearable. I had to promise him, there was no other way.

"Promise." I gave him a wide smile, although deep inside I didn't know if I could keep that promise. And it's not like I didn't mean it. It was just… There was no way I could be sure that this would end well for us. But it seemed to have calmed him down. He was still hesitant, of course. Because who would love to leave when someone they cared about was left to deal with trouble? I could understand his fear, but at the time it was more important for him to be safe than us. So he ran off. And that was the last time we ever saw each other…

JULY 7, 2037
12:30 PM

"Adie? … Adie! … Do you hear me? … Hello! Earth to Adie!" Fingers snapped in front of my face and I blinked, turning my head to see my sister and a few other people staring right at me.

"What?" I asked, still not completely back into reality.

"Where did you go?" The blue-eyed girl sitting opposite from me asked with a laugh. She was like a second sister to me. Always worrying, just like Alie did. Only Alie knew. Clair didn't. And it was better that way.

"Oh.. I was just.. Thinking." I evaded Alie's knowing look and stood up from my seat. "I'll catch you guys after lunch, okay?" After a forced smile and a quick wave I went back inside the academy walls, leaving the two girls sitting by the table. But I didn't stay there for too long either. For the last couple days I couldn't find a place for myself. I was restless. And how couldn't I be? Tomorrow it will be five years… Five whole years since we got thrown here. Five years away from home, away from our friends and family.

Deep in my own thoughts, I didn't even notice how my feet had taken me to the park. The very same park I always came to when I needed a time off from everything and everyone and to just be alone with my thoughts. With a quick look around, I released a sigh and went to sit on my bench. Well, a bench that I had declared as mine. It had a small playground right next to it and it just reminded me of… home. That was the only thing similar to what I used to know and love. Everything else here was different. So, so different. The streets, the people, the world in general. Even the house they used to live in - it wasn't there. So this was my only solace. A playground.

Sigh.

I leaned back on the bench and turned my head up to the sky that was just as gray today as my eyes, almost reflecting all the sadness I felt inside. Like it knew that it should pour its tears down, just like I did for countless days and nights. Especially around this time of year. Today was hard. Tomorrow would be harder.

"Didn't take you as the lonely brooding type of person." A sudden, deep male voice interrupted my silent pondering and I shot my head up in an instant. "For a cheerleader you don't look so cheerful." I looked at the man before me and didn't recognize him for a few moments. But then it came to me.

"Raphael?" It came as a surprise and confusion to me. But I made a quick recovery and put on a grin, saying: "Right. Because we all know you're the expert at that." To that, he didn't respond with anything more than a small smile. Staring at him for a moment longer as he took the seat next to me, I started wondering why he was here. He never really visited much out of the blue like that, unless it was a mission. And he wasn't in the Teen Titans team either… How old was he again, in his twenties? Yeah. Something like that. He could've been in the League by now. But he'd gone his separate way a long time ago. And Metropolis wasn't exactly the best suited place for a night creature like him.

"So.. What brings you here?" I could see that he was hesitant to continue the conversation, but I grew a little anxious. All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind - from bad to the worst possible scenario. Something must have happened for him to just pop up like that.

"...My brother has something for you." The older male finally said and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Michael? Why didn't he just-"

"No. John."

"What-" Now that's a name I hadn't heard in a very long time. It really came as a big surprise, especially because I didn't even know John all that well. I didn't even know what to say.

"Why?" Raph just shrugged at my question as he pulled out a small bottle-shaped pendant in a chain, filled with blue little grains. Almost looked like super small pills or something. If they didn't have that little glow around them.

"Said he sensed something. And that you're going to need it." He handed the pendant over to me and even though I wasn't sure if I should accept it or not, my hand reached for it.

"But- What is it?" I frowned lightly, taking a closer look at the contents of the pendant.

"Well," the older man put his hands on his thighs rubbing them before he got up, "that's up to you to find out."

And this response baffled me completely. Almost made me irritated too. What kind of answer was that?!

"What do you mean I have to find out?" Raising my voice in clear annoyance, I stood up with him and looked right up him. "You just show up, shove some weird looking thing into my hands and leave? For all I know, this might be a ticking time bomb!"

"It might." He was calm as always and that just made my heart stop for a second.

"What-?"

"Look. Aderyn." Raph sighed and ran a hand down his face. "John told me to deliver this to you and I did. That's about all I know."

"So, you didn't even question any of this?" I scowled at him.

"Of course I did. But John is- Well, John is John. He likes talking in riddles. You know spiritual people. Visions of future and whatnot." He shrugged and paused for a moment. "But I trust him. And he clearly trusts you with this… thing. You'll figure it out."

And with that, he just turned around and started walking away. But I still had so many questions running through my mind. Questions that Raphael seemed to not have answers to. And staring at the pendant didn't bring me any closer to some kind of understanding of this situation either.

I let out a sigh and looked up at the leaving figure. A part of me wanted to stop him and keep questioning him, but another part of me knew that it would just end up being a waste of time for the both of us. But maybe just one more….

"Hey, Raphael?"

"Hm?" He stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"Did John say why me? And… Why now?"

Raphael stood quiet for a moment, as if trying to recall if John had said anything about it. Or maybe just trying to phrase it right. He then put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and turned around completely.

"Why you? Because you have the power to use this. And why now… Because… He said something about tomorrow being… a gateway? I don't quite understand it, but… Whatever it is, you better be careful. You know you don't mess around with magic." He frowned at me in complete seriousness. "And if you do anything that will threaten the lives of others-"

"If you don't trust me so much, why did you give this to me then?" I interrupted before he even could finish his sentence. I knew what he was about to say. Because even though he always made it not seem like it, he cared a lot about people. And his family.

"Because I trust John." His answer was cold. Now, even more than before, it was apparent that he didn't want to give the pendant to me. But he did only because of his brother. Maybe that's why John hadn't come to me directly. Because he needed someone to make sure I didn't fuck this up. Raph didn't trust me. And rightfully so.

If there was even a single person on this planet who questioned my and my sister's existence, it was him. Guess he got that from his father. Never fully trusting, always questioning, always suspecting and investigating. Combine that with his mother's gifts and he could read a person in a matter of seconds without even having to ask anything. Speaking of which, he probably could feel the excessive amounts of nervousness and anticipation from her and just the thought of it made her heart skip a beat.

"A-ah well-" I tried to put on a smile, as my hand clenched onto the pendant, trying to come up with a response. But he didn't let me anyway.

"I know you don't have any bad intentions, Aderyn." The tone of his voice softened again, as if in an attempt to calm me. "Just as I know that you will attempt to use it. Hence-"

"I won't pose any danger to anyone." I quickly defended myself. "I don't want to hurt anyone by using this. That's the last thing I'd ever want." A sigh left my lips as I glanced down at the blue grains in the pendant. "All I want is to go home."

He was obviously baffled by this answer. But I didn't care. I just looked at him and gave him the biggest of smiles.

"And with this, I might just be able to." I giggled happily to myself and ran towards him to give him a hug, completely ignoring any kind of boundaries. "So, thank you."

Of course, he didn't hug back, mostly because of pure surprise, but I didn't mind. I was just happy. Because this- This might be the solution that we had been trying to find all these years. I could go home! So that would mean this just might be the last time I ever saw Raph. And I'd get to leave with hugging him at least once and actually survive. But I didn't want to test my fate here, so I quickly let him go and ran back to the academy.

I'm going home!