Author's Notes: After Archer83's unfortunate but planned departure and realizing we had screwed up royally by trying to cram all of the DC universe into a Young Justice crossover story, myself and Nomad-117 have decided to give this a fresh coat of paint. The general story will be the same, but we'll be rewriting the majority of this to stay true to our original intent rather than trying to mix and match elements from various DC continuities. At any rate, take care folks and sorry for the very late update/revision.
Episode 1: Business as Usual
Star City, Star Labs
November 23rd, 2016
8;01 AM
Bartholomew 'Impulse' Allen, commonly referred to as Bart by his friends and family, was bored out of his skull as he and the gathered class listened to some Star Lab egghead drone on and on about some distant pulsar their astrology department had recently discovered. To make matters worse, he couldn't even doze off, otherwise his team leader would skin him alive, something he made quite clear with the glares he threw his way when he'd dared to yawn early into the tour. It's not like he and the rest of the gang hadn't been in the world famous science labs before, but they were undercover as 'tourists' for this mission, so Bart was stuck in civilian clothes, unable to run literal circles around the building until they had something to go on.
Besides, it wasn't like anything the scientists had discovered would actually shock the League, multiple members of the team were aliens after all, one with his own hideout in the arctic which contained all of the accumulated knowledge of his people. Whatever they had discovered was probably old news for Supes. Not that their mission entailed the pulsar in the first place, no, he and the four man team were supposed to be investigating rumors of stolen tech, likely smuggled out by a grunt working for one of the remaining members of the Light organization. Turning to whisper out the side of his mouth, Bart said, "Yo hermano, why're we standin' around with the tour guide from Hell again? I could phase through a wall and be back before ya know it, multiple times."
"I know." His partner, Jaime Reyes, whispered back in exasperation. "I got it the first five times."
"Well… yeah, but I could still do it." Bart offered excitedly as he practically bounced on his sneakered feet, sneakers that could withstand the incredible force he'd exert on them if he were to run off, which he was really hoping he'd be allowed to because sitting still was not something he enjoyed. Still, for his main man Jaime, also known as Blue Beetle, he'd stay put…. even as he turned his head to regard another of the group as they and the rest of the class began to trail after their tour guide. "So whatcha think Garth? Care to blow this popsicle stand?"
"Meh, if I was interested in pissing off my big sis, maybe." Garfield Logan replied and smirked sheepishly, one green skinned hand rubbing at the back of his neck. At least, normally it'd green, but thanks to the holographic projector he had on his belt, he appeared as mundane as any of the other teens in the group. Beast Boy didn't mind though, he loved being able to shapeshift into any animal he'd seen up close, even if he couldn't make himself appear fully human anymore without technological assistance. "But ya know how Megan gets, and that's not getting into the former Boy Wonder."
"Yeah…" Impulse agreed and sent a quick glance towards Dick Grayson, who stood further in the back. "Still, can't blame them… not when it's about the Light." He finished with a just detectable growl in his voice. The Light had a lot to answer for, the death of Wally being chief among them even if it'd been the Reach that had been directly responsible for the tragedy in question.
"Not really helping with the covert there Bart." Dick chuckled, the only non empowered member of the team as he adjusted his dark sunglasses so they were closer to his baby blue eyes. As a member of the Bat family, some of the first if not THE first vigilantes to ever walk the face of the planet, Nightwing had a legacy to uphold as he idly 'checked' his cellphone which, like the young man himself, was far more than it appeared as he did a scan of the immediate area under the guise of snapping pictures. "Just be grateful that Artemis isn't here… and that we got a pretty interesting topic to listen to."
Bart's disbelieving if deadpanned look he shot at Dick spoke volumes. "Are you serious… not the Artemis bit but the rest."
"Of course, my training covered a wide variety of subjects, you never know when something like this might come in handy." Dick nonchalantly replied as he continued to scan for anything out of the ordinary.
"It's a pulsar dude! What good is that supposed to be?" Bart exclaimed, louder than he intended. He immediately calmed thanks in no small part to Jaime jabbing an elbow into his side.
"Yeah, it's not like League business ever takes place in space right?" Dick countered, his little smirk widening somewhat as he finished his scan with nothing to show for it.
Bart sighed in defeat, knowing he'd lost, but nodded his head in agreement despite this. "Point made, point taken. Still think ya should let me run off the chain there boss. I am seriously wanting to crash this mode."
"I'm tempted, but let's give it a few more minutes." Dick replied, the amused note in his voice making it to clear to everyone that he was enjoying this just a little too much as they continued down the brightly lit hallway, passing a variety of labs dedicated to every kind of science one could think of.
"A few more minutes?" Bart whined and shuddered. "Do you know how long that is for me?"
"As long as it is for everyone else, only your perception of it is different." Dick countered, smoothly as ever.
"You are a cruel man." Bart accused him and looked at Garth. "Back me up here."
"Well… he's got you there." Garth replied as he put his hands behind his neck and looked towards the ceiling, innocent as he pleased.
"That's not what I wanted you to tell him! Ugh…." Defeated and receiving no support, even from his best friend, Bart let his arms flop out in front of him as his head fell. "Someone send me back to the future." He groaned, but he didn't actually mean that since his future had been a post apocalyptic nightmare, courtesy of a previously successful Reach invasion.
"I'll start looking for a DeLorean." Jaime promised him with a smirk and a pat his back. "On a more serious note, hermano, hang in there, we're almost done." Only those closest to Jaime that weren't aware of what was fused to his spine, gave him an odd look when he began talking to himself. "You didn't need to tell me that."
"So….what'd the Scarab say this time?" Bart sing songed as they rounded a corner.
"We still have a half hour of the tour to endure, amigo." Jaime regretted admitting as much when Bart gave another, rather pathetic sounding groan.
"Ugh… can't we send someone else next time? Like literally anyone else?" The speedster asked, his right foot tapping impatiently against the linoleum floor. In his case, said 'tapping' was done at such a speed that his foot was a literal blur until Dick 'coughed' to remind him they were supposed to be undercover. Slowing it down to a much more normal pace, Bart muttered something that suspiciously sounded like 'and this is what it's like to be surrounded by slow, old people. I am so glad I'm a speedster.'
Dick sighed but smirked despite how he too was starting to lose his patience with Bart's continued complaints. Pulling out his phone again, he paused as his X-Ray enhanced search of the area revealed something quite interesting to the ace detective and computer whiz. "I think I got something. Now why am I not surprised to see you here?" He mused more to himself than anyone in particular as Bart zipped up to Dick's right shoulder while Garth and Jaime slowed down to trail after him. Seeing what was on the screen before Dick put his phone away, they shared a nod before they all too casually slipped away from the crowd without anyone being the wiser. With how long they'd been slipping into enemy encampments and the like, the stealth approach was practically second nature to them these days.
Ducking into a bathroom, the four man team exited in short order via a ventilation shaft. Nightwing, once again clad in his blue and black Bat styled suit, was in the lead, with Garth having turned into a small, green skinned mouse that was perched on the young man's right shoulder. Blue Beetle, fully encased in his own blue and black, insect like armor, was just behind them, with Impulse bringing up the rear. The trademark lightning bolt and tech goggles, as well as the full body yellow and red speed suit, made him stand out, but speedsters weren't typically known for their stealth. This was one of those rare exceptions though, and he was just glad they were finally doing something. "Parasite the one collecting all this Star Labs tech, but why is he interested?"
"It's been suspected the Light were recruiting new members ever since we shattered their group, cutting their ranks in half. If Parasite's working for them, then it makes sense they'd send him to collect their smuggled goods." Nightwing explained as he effortlessly navigated the lab's vent system, having already hacked the security so that their progress would go undetected while also giving himself a full map of the entire complex. Having spotted him being handed a number of metallic containers and boxes by a few of the local guards and a scientist, all of them located in a parking garage deeper inside the building, Nightwing was all too happy to rain on their parade. "Parasite proved his technological prowess during that fiasco in Geneva a few years ago, and given his unique powerset, he's the perfect combination of brawn and brains."
"Just don't let him touch you, or you'll find out why he's called Parasite." Jaime warned, to which Garth squeaked his agreement.
"Don't underestimate him, I doubt that we'll have an easy time with this guy." Nightwing warned them and rolled his shoulders. "After we defeated him with fire, once he'd absorbed Miss Martian's powers and weaknesses, he's undoubtedly made sure that it won't be that simple this time."
"We'll manage jeffe." Blue Beetle offered before his face mask, which moved as easily as his own face, morphed into a grin. "Besides, I have no powers, only what the Scarab gives me, so the most he'd get from me is Espanol."
"Still, don't risk it BB." Jaime nodded, not about to underestimate a guy who could readily absorb the powers and skills of anyone he got his hands on as Nightwing paused in front of a vent cover. Pulling out a small wire camera, he fed it through the grate in front of him, and slowly began to scan the next room. The image on his right arm showed them that Parasite and his hired thugs were still loading up a large semi trailer full of Star Labs tech parts. "Still hard at it. Shall we introduce ourselves?"
"Hehe, oh yeah! Let's do it!" Bart cheered as loudly as he dared as the others did the same.
"Alright, but be careful… Bart if you would?" Nightwing said and nodded towards Parasite. "Keep him distracted." Impulse grinned widely as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes as Nightwing carefully pushed the grate out of their way before lowering it to the ground. Slipping out first, he darted behind a stack of metallic containers on the far side of the garage, with Bart, Garth, and Jaime finding their own hiding spots. BB made his way to an upper catwalk that spanned the length of the garage, while Garth, having transformed into a pigeon, landed on a steel rafter just above the hired guns. Bart had since ducked behind a nearby steel column within sight of their team leader. On his signal, Impulse darted around the corner just as time slowed down to an imperceptible crawl.
"I love being me!" While no one heard him as he ran up to the purple skinned, mutated mountain of a man as he was just about to grab one last container from another of the guards, Impulse punched the back of Parasite's right knee before hitting him several times in the chest and his other knee, tripping him up before he slammed a fist into the nearest guard's face. Running towards the rest of the group, the speedster stripped their weapons and deposited their equipment in a safe place before he slowed down to a much more perceptible speed. Parasite went down first, growling defiantly at having been hit without being the wiser for it, while the rest of the guards were either dumbfounded by the fact they were no longer armed, or were on the floor from having been blindsided in the opening salvo.
"Another speedster." Parasite grumbled as he rubbed a hand across the bottom of his chin. "It's too bad really, I'd have loved to have gotten my hands on Kid Flash until there was nothing left, but the Reach beat me to it. How is the Flash family holdin' up these days?" He had his answer when Impulse shot out of hiding with a growl, his fists a blur as he pummeled the mutant from every angle before zipping away. Taking a knee, Parasite growled a curse right before a blue bar of glowing metal slammed into his chest, pinning him to the unforgiving ground. "Ugh! Blue Beetle….I didn't think escargot would be on the menu! I take it you're done being the Reach's lap dog, Jaime Reyes?!"
"I was never their lap dog Parasite." BB retorted angrily as he fired another staple, trapping the man's right arm to the ground before he followed that with a shot to his neck. Another two shots had his left hand pinned to the ground before he could try and pry the 'staples' loose. "I do have to ask, but why're you working for the Light? I didn't think a guy like you were much of a team player."
Between Garth, who stomped up to the downed mutant as a giant, green skinned gorilla, and Nightwing, they were able to mop up the rest of the guards and their lab assistant before joining Blue Beetle and Impulse as they soon surrounded their downed adversary. Parasite, despite being trapped and at their mercy, merely grinned wickedly. "Times change, and the Light pays better than anyone I've ever worked for. Besides, getting to be a thorn in your side is far more entertaining than my usual gigs!" Much to their surprise, Parasite's flesh turned into a thick, goopy mess as he slipped through Blue Beetle's staples and reformed himself, standing at his full, intimidating height once more. "Clayface sends his regards, Boy Blunder."
"I'll be sure to make room for you in his cell, so that you two can catch up." Nightwing shot back and fired his grapple gun up only to disappear in the shadows. A few moments later Parasite was hit right in the back by an explosive batarang, though they did little else but make him stumble forward.
"You're gonna have to do better than that." Parasite boasted and swung at one of the metallic beams in the room, his fist, changing to look more like a giant mace, crushed it against the wall before he drew his arm back to repeat the process. "Better hurry up, you gonna run out of hiding space soon."
Just as he finished, the claw of a grappling hook burrowed itself deeply in his chest, only to light up with electricity a moment later. Parasite screamed in pain as he could no longer maintain his form and slowly became little more than a puddle on the ground even as the energy continued to course through him. "That good enough?" Dick asked, his voice holding a dark, chilling undertone as he glared down at the growing puddle at the team's feet.
"Better get a barrel and a blowtorch so we can get him back to Belle Reve without him slipping away." Impulse stated as Nightwing nimbly landed just in front of the puddle. "And maybe a giant sponge." He cackled, but the wide grin on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. The jab at Wally's untimely death had struck them all, made worse by the fact that it was still a raw wound for many of them.
Central City, City Cemetery
November 23rd, 2016
1;24 PM
Artemis Lian Crock could only stare dejectedly at the grave marker in front of her. The sad irony was that she had had to fake her own death in order to infiltrate Black Manta's sub alongside Kaldur'ahm, while they'd been trying to take down the Light and the Reach, but she wasn't standing in front of her own 'grave' in downtown Gotham. That would have been depressing enough on its own since she had lied to pretty much everyone, her own mother and sister included, about what she'd really been up to during that time. It didn't help she knew most of her remaining family and friends had held a funeral for her, truly believing she'd died, only to find out later that Artemis had been alive and well in the months that followed. No, she wasn't standing in front her own grave marker, which last she'd heard had been removed fairly recently anyway once she'd properly returned home. Running a hand over the front of the stone marker at her feet though, she read Wally West's name, as unchanging as it'd ever been since booting the Reach from Earth after their failed attempt to destroy the planet.
"H-Hey Wally." She began uncertainly and sighed, annoyed with herself. No matter how often she had been here, it never got any less awkward, seemingly talking to herself, nor did she ever stop to pause as if she was expecting him to answer her. "It's been awhile, huh? Sorry I couldn't show up sooner… Work you know, someone has to make sure the world keeps spinning and all that." Her weak attempt at humor had a ghost of a smile appearing on her face even as a tear formed in the corner of her dark brown eyes. "Everyone misses you...I miss you, and you know it's bad when even my sister Jade keeps 'insisting' in paying me visits with her little one in tow, under the pretense of having me babysit for her." Considering her sister was a member of the League of Shadows, an ancient order of powerful and skilled assassins, it wasn't like Jade could simply walk through the front door and say hello. That and it was more her style to jump through a window or crawl through an air vent first, just so she could scare the Hell out of Artemis and their mother for the entertainment value, to quote Jade herself. Though to be fair, both things were rather difficult to do when you were carrying a baby around with on your back.
"I even miss your lame jokes you know… Ugh, I am so pathetic. Coming here every chance I get to whine to you." Artemis growled and narrowed her eyes. "It's stupid, if I wanted to talk to you I could do it anywhere, so why do I keep coming here? If you were here you'd have some dumb answer prepared… but you aren't… and I need to learn to live with that." She finished, her voice dropping to a despondent whisper.
"It's not a weakness to mourn for a loved one...Artemis." Without looking up, Artemis sighed but even as age old annoyance flared in her eyes, she was glad for Jade's presence as she stepped up to the blonde haired woman's side. Despite their very different paths in life that had put them on opposite ends more than once, things had….gotten better between the two of them.
That didn't mean she couldn't still be annoyed with Jade though. "Do you have to keep stalking me?"
"What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't?" Jade asked, the usual, playful note in her voice as evident as ever.
Jade was shorter, but not much so, than Artemis herself, with a wild, lioness's mane of black, voluminous hair that framed the woman's olive colored skinned face. Unsurprisingly, she wore clothes that, while less noticeable than her usual kimono she often wore whenever she was 'on the job', shared its dark green color tone with a pair of mundane, gray jean pants and a pair of dark black running shoes. Artemis could only guess at the number of hidden blades, sais, and shurikens were tucked about her sister's person though.
"A normal one." Artemis retorted without missing a beat as she crossed her arms over her brown leather jacket and the gray, long sleeve shirt she wore underneath.
"Yeah, right, because you are oh so normal yourself." Still, Jade sighed and looked away, down towards the grave marker between them. "For what it's worth, little sister, I saw how happy you were with him. Despite my trying to kill him a few times, I was honestly a bit jealous you had found someone so good for you." Artemis managed a weak, grateful smile despite being reminded of the fact they were still not on the same side. Still, she begrudgingly accepted her older woman's hug as Jade leaned in close. "I know...we've not seen eye to eye in years, that you have no reason to trust me….especially not after I left you when I did all those years ago, but I'm always around, Artemis, and I'll always be glad you didn't follow me and dad."
"It's not too late to change professions you know." Artemis offered, but she was just glad they were having this moment at all as she returned the hug as best she could.
"Ah ah ah, no redemption speech now little sister." Jade chided her softly and pulled her closer. "Just us hugging, like normal people. I am your older sister. You know you can talk to me, complain to me, scream at me, hell I'll even get you ice cream. Not sure how that's supposed to help, but in the movies it seems to do the trick." Stepping back once she deemed a sufficient amount of time had passed, Jade ran a bare thumb under Artemis's eyes before she could protest.
"Normal's overrated." She retorted, but smiled gratefully all the same as she caught Jade's hand before she could pull it away completely. "Thanks...Jade, really. It's...just gonna take time."
"I know sis. So, shall I tell Roy he can drop off little Lian?" Jade chuckled and nimbly jumped back, freeing her hand just as Artemis took a half hearted swing at her. "I'll take that as a yes. See you soon." With that, Jade stepped out of sight, behind a large stone platform that bore a statue of a winged angel on its flat surface, and promptly disappeared from the cemetery just like her codename, Cheshire, taken from Alice in Wonderland's stories, was prone to do when it pleased him. Artemis sighed but smiled despite her sister's disappearing act, feeling...a little better as she gave Wally's grave one last glance before stuffing her hands into her jacket's pockets, before she too made her far less dramatic exit in short order.
Paris, France The Eiffel Tower
November 23rd, 2016
9:42 PM
Zeta beam technology, and being able to use it whenever the mood struck them, outside of missions anyway, had its advantages as 'Megan Morse' and Conner Kent stepped out of a seemingly decrepit telephone booth deep in a secluded alleyway, a flash of light the only hint that they'd teleported to the city in question. It didn't take them long to find themselves swept up in the crowds, the cheerful atmosphere quite infectious despite the late evening and the early winter chill as they made their way to the premier tourist attraction in the 'City of Lights.' An apt name, since Paris was lit up from one end of the city to the other with quant street lamps and more than a few street corners, while a number of strobe and multi colored lights gave off their respective luminances from behind store windows and apartment buildings.
Despite neither of their mouths moving however, the kryptonian super clone and the white martian shapeshifter were having quite the lively discussion between them. I'm not saying it's weird that Roy and Jade have a baby girl, I just think it's weird that Jade's been going out of her way to drop Lian off on Artemis every chance she gets. Conner stated as he followed after the petite redhead just a few steps ahead of him, their hands joined together as she excitedly dragged him behind her.
I think that's her way of helping Artemis… and it might actually be working. Artemis would never admit it, but she really loves little Lian, no matter how much she complains about her. M'gann replied with a small smile on her face, having disguised herself as a Caucasian young woman. Though who could blame her? She's adorable.
Her slightly tanned skin was practically glowing from her more than evident feelings about Artemis's baby niece as she turned to look over her shoulder at the black haired 'young man' hot on her heels. Her round, smooth, lightly freckle covered cheeks flushed with warmth as her amber hued eyes practically glowed at the very thoughts circulating in her head as she used her free hand to straighten her shortly cropped head of soft, cherry red of hair, tucking a strand behind her ear before letting her long, delicate fingers fall to the bottom of her long sleeved, deep red cardigan, straightening out the wrinkles although a mere thought could have done the same thing since her entire wardrobe was made from her martian bio-clothes. Dark jeans clung to her long if slender legs, with a pair of dark blue sneakers adorning her feet.
She's also pretty smart. Barely nine months old and I swear she called Roy 'dada'. Conner, for all his blunt moodiness, couldn't help the little smile on his face, nor the gleam in his pale blue eyes as they found a clear path to their destination at last. Conner, in typical fashion, hadn't bothered to dress up much at all despite their plans to have a romantic weekend in Paris. Despite his admittedly straightforward approach to fashion, among other things, Conner looked good in his typical black, long sleeved shirt with its classic S shield hidden beneath his brown leather jacket which he kept zipped up more to appear as mundane as possible than anything else. Dark blue fatigues adorned his long, stocky legs, tucked into thigh high black combat boots. Even beneath the coat though, there was no mistaking the fact he was powerfully built and it was a safe bet that he could likely take a beating, with piercing dark blue eyes and a near perpetual frown on his otherwise handsome, strong jawed and angular cheeked face, a head of jet black hair that didn't go past his ears nestled atop his head.
Mmhm. M'gann agreed and looked at Connor from the corner of her brown eyes.
Don't get any ideas. We're a little young to be starting a family just yet. Still, the thought had its appeal, he'd be lying if he said otherwise, but he was barely four years old, from a chronological standpoint anyway, and they had the rest of their lives yet to figure things out. Despite his flat refusal though, he gently pulled M'gann into his hard, muscular chest and smiled as he gently pushed her head back with his thumb and forefinger, before proceeding to deeply kiss her soft, pink lips. Pulling away some time later, with the Eiffel Tower looming over them, Conner 'said', But there are few places I'd rather be than with you, M'gann.
Conner… Her lightly freckled cheeks turned several shades brighter as she pulled a strand of her red hair back behind her ear, her brown eyes, flecked with slight red around the iris, gleamed with her abject approval of what she was feeling as well as hearing from the super clone, holding her against him. Would you...consider retiring? N-not right now, she was quick to add when his eyes widened comically at the mere suggestion, but one day soon.
What brought this on all of a sudden? He asked as they began to walk once more towards the long line that meandered away from the tower itself. He forgot all about their destination though when M'gann let slip an image of Wally's face, something he should've expected, but it still took him by surprise as he looked away. Of course she was upset by his passing, they all were, so it made sense she'd consider quitting their superhero lives if it meant they'd be able to be happy together for however long they were around, which in M'gann's case, meant she'd be around for a very long time. No one could say for sure how long Conner would live, but if he was even remotely similar to the real Superman in that regard, chances were good he'd be around a good long while himself.
But as had been proven with Wally, with Tula before him, and a number of other heroes that he could name, the future was uncertain. So when M'gann spoke again, Conner made it a point to listen intently to every word, his eyes focused solely on M'gann's 'human' face. While I agree that we're not ready to buy a house or to start settling down, I don't want us to wait too long on the off chance….something happens to one or both of us.
Nothing's going to happen. Conner stated with steely conviction, and put a hand to the back of M'gann's head as she leaned into his chest while his other hand fell to the small of her back. She was right to worry, but he wasn't going to let her feel such uncertainty, such fear of an unknown tomorrow, not if he had anything to say about it. But reassuring her was an easy enough feat since their telepathic link allowed his emotions to filter through as surely as his thoughts, and while the link went both ways, the waves of love and warmth he emanated were able to gently wash away the cold fear and sorrow he felt pouring off of her in turn. We all know what this job entails, M'gann, but we can't surrender, not when there's still a lot we have left to achieve. Pulling her tighter against him, Conner ran his hand along her spine, making small, soothing circles against her. I'm scared of losing anyone else too, even though we went into this with the knowledge it was a possibility. But life itself is dangerous, M'gann, but we keep going on despite the risks. I'm trying not to belittle your feelings-
N-no, I know. It's just… Conner's sad, understanding smile was as much felt as seen by the martian when she looked up, but whatever she was going to say was left unfinished as she shook her head against Conner's chest. A slow, grateful smile spread across her face at last, and she sighed contently despite her lingering doubts. I probably sound pretty silly right now.
No, you don't. Conner whispered in her thoughts as his hands moved to her shoulders. And I miss him too, he's one of the first people I ever met when he, Dick, and Kaldur went into Cadmus Labs to investigate a seemingly random fire, set by Dubbilex for the sole purpose of drawing the attention of the Justice League. Instead, he got three sidekicks that were tired of the League keeping secrets from them, and I got three friends, and more importantly, my freedom, all on that same day. Then you, Artemis, and Zatanna came around shortly afterwards, and before I knew what had happened, I found myself surrounded by a 'family' I will always be thankful and grateful for. So yes, I miss Wally, Artemis lost her lover and I lost a brother that day, but your feelings matter too M'gann. Putting his forehead against hers, M'gann closed her eyes and simply basked in Conner's presence, in and out of her mind. While it was only a few moments, Conner was glad to note that her emotional state had vastly improved by the time they parted. Better?
M'gann's brown eyes gleamed brightly as she took his right hand in hers and brought them up to her cheek with a firm nod. Yeah. Let's go.
The Watchtower, geosynchronous orbit above Earth
November 23rd, 2016
3;17 PM
Kaldur'ahm, his hands crossed over his chest, looked over the redhead's shoulder as Barbara Gordon, another member of the Bat family and a very talented hacker, more so than Dick by far, continued to type at the holographic keyboard in front of her as image after image flashed in front of their eyes. "Still no luck Kaldur." She replied with a sad shake of her head as she looked over her left shoulder. Possessed of a slender, muscular build, one used to acrobatic feats as any member of the Bat clan were known for, Barbara was equal parts beautiful, intelligent, and undisputed combat prowess as her dark blue eyes fell somewhat. "Whatever's going on in Metropolis, none of the usual spots are turning up any new leads."
"Keep the sweep going for as long as you can Barbara. We need to figure out where these people have disappeared to." Barbara nodded, her long mane of auburn hair, tied into a ponytail, bounced against her back as she turned back to the massive computer array in front of her, her fingers soon tapping furiously away once more. Hacking into every street cam, security feed, and satellite she could gain access to, Barbara and Kaldur were busy trying to locate any trace of where dozens of people had seemingly vanished into thin air. The only reason they knew anything about it was simple, they'd noticed unusual seismic activity at the sight of the latest string of seemingly random abductions, but so far, only the homeless in the shining beacon that was Metropolis, the City of Tomorrow and the adopted home of Superman himself, had been targeted.
Letting his tattooed arms fall to his sides so that his webbed hands fell to his hips, Kaldur narrowed his pale green eyes when he saw something of interest. Running a hand across the back of his shortly cropped head of blonde hair, the Atlantean nodded for her to pause the sweep. Barbara nodded in turn before she tapped a short series into the blue and white keyboard, and pulled up the image before blowing it up and enhancing it as much as she could. "What is that?" Kaldur asked as he leaned forward, trying to make sense of what they were staring at.
"Well since it's a little late for Halloween, your guess is as good as mine." Barbara replied as she too stared at the creature, half covered in shadow, that they'd caught on one of the various feeds as it disappeared into an alleyway. What they could see of it though filled both heroes with an unnatural dread as they glanced at each other before Barbara rewound the frozen feed frame by frame. When she'd backed it up enough so they could get a better look, both heroes had more reason to be concerned because what stared back was clearly not human. "Hostile contact situation again?"
"It would seem so." Kaldur replied as his eyes took in the creature frozen on the screen before them. Even with Barbara's efforts to enhance the image, the dark shadows and the late hour made it difficult to see the entirety of the entity, but they could see more than enough to discern a great deal about its appearance as it dragged an unconscious, blonde haired woman away by the back of her gray sweat shirt, her forehead damp and slick with blood from where it'd no doubt struck her. As for the creature itself, to call it ugly would have been a kindness.
Deep set, gray and black eyes peered at the screen in a sunken, almost skeletal face. With its bald head facing directly at the camera, Kaldur could see it had no visible ears to speak of, but it was its misshapen maw, filled with jagged, razor sharp teeth that worried him, as did its sickly, dark yellow skin pulled a bit too tightly over its skull, just visible black veins running across its flesh. And that was saying nothing about its crude, yet cleverly constructed, bone and flesh like armor, woven in such a way to replicate a much more traditional suit of leather armor. The crude yet sharp iron axe in its free hand, the bony handle splotched with fresh crimson as it was gripped tightly between its fingers, would no doubt prove deadly if they made the mistake of underestimating the creature, especially if it wasn't alone.
"Whatever that thing is," Kaldur and Barbara both jolted upright when another voice tore them back to the present as a veritable, cascading wave of voluminous, raven black hair filled their vision as Zatanna Zatara put her weight on the side of Barbara's high back computer chair, "it certainly won't be winning any beauty pageants."
"When did you get back Zat?" Barbara asked, smiling a little as she relaxed despite the mystery currently in front of them. To that end, she nodded her head as her smile faded to a much more grim visage, her hands folded just beneath her chin.
"Just a few minutes ago, it turns out Hawaii's nice this time of year, although chasing down Arsenal wasn't all it was cracked up to be." Zatanna replied, her cyan eyes losing little of their luster even as they affixed themselves upon the entity on screen. "So what are we planning to do about this thing?" The sorceress supreme asked, all business as she cocked her right hip to the side, her slender arms crossed just beneath her chest.
"We'll need to get a team together to investigate Metropolis's underground, starting with the subway and sewer systems where these seismic disturbances are the most prevalent. Whatever that thing is, it could merely be a lost being, trying to figure out where it is and scared for its life, or it could be a scout for an impending invasion. Either way, we can't let it go unchallenged, not with it clearly taking hostages." Kaldur stated firmly as he gestured towards the screen for emphasis, to which the two women nodded in abject agreement.
"Well, not that I needed an excuse to get out of these high heels, but…" Zatanna trailed off before she shouted an incantation in her typical backwards speech, just as the black, low cut shimmering dress she was in was enshrouded in smoke, along with the rest of the magician, before the smoke cleared a few seconds later. When it did, Zatanna stood in her superhero costume which looked more appropriate to a master magician about to step on stage than a scouting mission. In its place was a black jacket with a white undershirt, a matching white bolo tie around her long, slender neck, and a pair of gray pants and black leather boots that went up to her knees. "That's better." She smirked before her smile faded just as quickly, her gaze settling on the screen. "Who are you planning to take with you?"
"Yourself if you're up for it, as well as Wonder Girl, Lagoon Boy, and Blue Beetle once Nightwing gets back with the others from transporting Parasite back to his cell in Arkham. His Scarab could prove invaluable in translating and hopefully talking to whatever that thing is, so we might figure out what it wants and why it's here." Even as the words left his mouth though, Kaldur had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, not if its monstrous appearance was anything to go by. But he pushed those thoughts aside before turning to Zatanna more fully while Barbara kept looking for anything more they could use. "We'll likely have a few hours before then, so get what rest you can."
"Will do," she firmly stated and started away, but before she had crossed the large, circular chamber, Zatanna turned, her gaze heavy on the Atlantean's back, "and Kaldur, it's good to have you back with the rest of us." Kaldur smiled over his right shoulder as Zatanna's grim visage melted to a much more cheerful one. "Babs."
"Zat. Sorry to hear you didn't get Arsenal locked down, but at least us girls are back together." Zatanna laughed then as Barbara chuckled, looking away just long enough to shoot the sorceress supreme a playful, mischievous grin while Kaldur simply shook his head in amusement. It truly did feel good to be surrounded by his friends, his 'family', once more, but once Zatanna had walked away, Barbara turned her attention on him next. "Why not have Conner and M'gann tag along?"
"Because they need the time off, and besides, I wouldn't feel right in dragging them into a simple scouting mission, not when it's clear they need time away from the team and the League both." Kaldur replied convincely enough, but Barbara's narrowed eyes suggested she didn't completely buy his reasoning, as sound as it seemed on the surface.
"The fact M'gann mistakenly shattered your mind when most everyone thought you had killed Artemis has nothing to do with it I'm sure." Barbara muttered before she sighed, knowing immediately she had crossed a line when Kaldur audibly grimaced at the reminder. Looking down at the floor, Barbara slowly looked up with a sigh. "My point being, you and her need to have a long chat. She might have undid the damage she caused, but you can't keep avoiding her, Kaldur."
"It's….just been awkward, trying to talk to her since that day. I've forgiven her," Kaldur was quick to say when Barbara glanced over her shoulder, "especially since even without her telepathy, I know that she was nearly destroyed by her guilt, but she hasn't forgiven herself, not completely."
"And you'd rather not open up the wound if you can help it." Barbara finished for him as she sighed and nodded in understanding. She didn't like it, but she understood. All the while, she did her best to follow the trail the creature had taken through the sewers by hacking into the various security cameras scattered in the underground. No easy feat since long stretches of tunnel were devoid of cameras she could hack, but she wasn't one to give up easily. "Perhaps talking to her would help with that more than you might think Kaldur."
"Maybe….it doesn't help that I've seen the doubt in her eyes, the uncertainty that she even wants to continue on this road we started all those years ago when Dick, Conner, myself and...Wally, initially founded Young Justice. Talking about it now might push her to make a rash decision, and while I'd not begrudge her if she decided to quit this life, I'd rather not be the cause behind her doing so." Not for his own sake, as Barbara now knew, but rather M'gann's. Kryptonians weren't the only ones with exceedingly hard heads after all, and the white martian was still fairly young as far as martian maturity was concerned, putting her about in her late teen years, with all the emotional angst that came with it.
"And everyone knows wherever she goes, Conner would follow." Barbara stated, to which Kaldur nodded his head in grim agreement. It was no secret to anyone that the two were joined at the hip once more, and that they were deeply in love with each other. It only made sense that they'd either stay together or leave together, depending on what the other wanted and how convincing they could be.
Whatever his personal feelings on the matter, Kaldur would respect the two's decision if and when the time came for them to make a choice. For now he put it out of his mind, just as he heard Barbara stiffen in her seat, a startled gasp escaping her mouth. Looking up, he immediately felt a wave of horror and revulsion before he stilled, centering himself almost as quickly as Barbara did moments later.
"This is turning out to be much bigger than we thought." He was no longer doubtful about what was going on deep beneath the streets of Metropolis when his pale green eyes focused solely upon the screen, his face becoming hard as stone while his webbed hands clenched into bloodless fists. Without a word needing to be said, Barbara activated the secure channel for the entirety of Young Justice. "Aqualad to all squads, pull back and return to the Watchtower. We have a hostile invasion on our hands brewing beneath the streets of Metropolis."
"I'll get Batman on the line, hopefully we can put a stop to whatever these things are." Gesturing to the screen, Kaldur didn't waste time in acknowledging her or the horrific live feed that was on display before them. The only reason they were able to see anything at all was because of the immensely large stone chamber that opened up into a long abandoned sewer tunnel. The camera had an unobstructed view of what was going on below, despite the distance and the limited angle, but it was enough to give the two heroes an idea of what they were up against. He was just glad there was no audio to go with it as dozens, possibly hundreds more of these twisted creatures milled about, most of them covered in the blood of those they had dragged down to the ever expanding network of tunnels they had begun to dig.
Their helpless slaves, even if they wore no chains, were given crude digging implements before shoved towards the nearest wall. Some of them pulled those too weak to continue aside only to viciously tear them apart with their crude, wicked weapons, or their jagged teeth and filthy looking claws in full view of the rest of those still able to dig. Just out of sight, Barbara could see what looked like a forge and a much larger creature, wearing a suit of heavy plate covered in wicked looking spikes, pounding at an equally large anvil. Despite their bestial appearance, it was obvious there was something driving them beyond sheer animal impulse, which made them all the more disturbing in the young woman's mind as she too got up from her seat, but not before sending the feed to Batman. As much as it made her stomach do flips in equal parts shock and revulsion at the mere idea, Barbara got to work in trying to find another angle into the expanding network of tunnels. Every scrap of intel they could get now would save them a lot of headaches later.
End Notes: Vergil1989: And that is how you start a story. D Granted, I liked our Arkham Asylum opening, loved it really, but a new take on what we started some time ago seemed appropriate now that we have a far better idea of what we're after. That and it helps all of the hype for all of those live action TV shows, Arrow, Flash, Gotham, etc, has worn off for us both, myself more so, so we won't be trying to cram every side character and their mothers into the same continuity, which overloaded us to no end once we got started getting the two main groups together. There's enough characters in Dragon Age Origins alone, so making our work that much harder will only serve to burn us out that much quicker if we're not careful. Besides, Young Justice has a lot of good characters in its own right that we don't need to include EVERYTHING ever put out by the folks in DC lol. Jokes aside, we hope everyone enjoys this and we apologize for both the delay and the fact we couldn't finish the original.
On a more serious note though, Arsenal having gone rogue makes sense, even though they'll likely find a way to rationalize his returning to Young Justice at some point during the promised 3rd Season, (which I am definitely excited about lol). For this however, with all that he did during Season 2, and the fact he was rightfully kicked from both the Justice League and Young Justice, it made sense to me that he'd need to be brought in by force now, especially since he may or may not be working for the Light these days due to how twisted he's gotten up inside. It's a sad fact that his clone is far better person than he is, but for this he'll serve a much bigger purpose than simply being an asshole lol. As for what that role is, stick around and you'll see what it'll be. D
Take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone. (Having finished this the day of after our own celebration, it counts as still being Turkey Day. : P)
P.S. As a quick side note, for those on AO3 seeing this despite a fresh update to the original Welcome to the New Age, I fully intend to upload the rest of the chapters for the original work this is based off of, I'm just giving it a few days before I do another chapter, but there's still quite a few yet to go before that one 'ends' due to the aforementioned circumstances, so don't worry about that so much. I just want to apologize, again, although I seem to do that a lot, for not finishing it the first time around. At any rate, take care everyone. And hold onto your hats, this is going to get...rough, a fair bit sooner.