Beta-ed by Midnight Guardian [edit: now Jacksaw].
The television blared softly in the lounge of Mount Justice, as the seven members of the Young Justice team slouched quietly. Artemis, Robin, Zatanna, and Aqualad were arrayed on the sofa. Conner sat at the kitchen counter and M'gann stood in the kitchen. Wally sped around the living room.
Back and forth. Back and forth. Pace pace pace. Tap tap tap.
"Will you stop pacing already?" Artemis growled from the couch. Uncharacteristically, Wally did not retort immediately.
"How are you guys so calm? Innocent people are getting killed this very minute," he snapped, still pacing at super speed.
"The Justice League and United Nations is doing everything they can to negotiate a peace treaty," Aqualad intoned.
"And it's not working! Bialya keeps bombing Qurac every single hour, while the Justice League is cooped up in a building trying to talk it out! Why can't we do anything?"
"They have a whole army, KF," Robin stated. "We can't go against all that."
"When the UN agreed to sponsor the Justice League, they said we weren't allowed to wage war against any country. If we go to Bialya, they'll view it as just that," Zatanna put in.
"So we just sit here, while Queen Bee murders all those people?" Wally shouted. "How can we be heroes if we allow that to happen?"
"There's nothing we can do, Wally," Artemis interrupted in a low voice. The team fell silent.
The TV continued to play through scenes of the wreckage caused by the shellings. For the past week, every news channel had continued to say the same thing. The conflict between Bialya and Qurac. Queen Bee waging war. Multiple bombings of major cities in the smaller nation. Harjavti's inability to protect the country.
"As of today, the death toll has reached over one thousand. Half of those killed were women and children," the reporter intoned solemnly.
The team held their breaths for a few silent moments, hoping against all hope that the reporter would announce some good news, something concerning the peace treaty efforts.
"Diplomatic envoys from Qurac and Bialya are still unable to reach an agreement, despite the intervention of the Justice League and United Nations."
Conner stood up, fists clenched. "I'm going to the gym," he growled. The team let him go, knowing that punching and working out helped him vent his anger.
"All those people…" M'gann despaired, as she continued to slowly stir the lump of mush in the bowl. For the past few days, she had gone into a cooking frenzy, as if to distract herself from what was happening half a world over. Batches of cookies and cakes littered the counters, uneaten. The fridge had been stocked full of food for days, which in and of itself signaled that something was wrong.
Robin and Artemis remained silent, staring at the screen. Zatanna stood up, walked over to the sink full of dirty dishes, and started washing, a look of sadness etched on her face.
"This is not a war. This is a massacre," Wally said angrily, walking out of the lounge.
Aqualad sighed. "All we can do is wait."
Hm. This could be better but. Eh.