The Legend of Young Justice Chapter 1
Summary: The Young Justice team in the world of the Legend of Korra. Together they face the anti-bending revolution, saving the world, and kicking ass in probending tournaments.
A/N: I've always wanted to see this crossover done, my two favorite series Young Justice and Legend of Korra/ Avatar the Last Airbender. I was always scared that I would mess up the characters or totally screw things up, and I was hoping someone with better writing abilities would write this. That's why I was so hesitant about this, but thanks to pandy-snowfalling and opaul on tumblr who both gave me prompts for a YJ/Korra crossover, I started to write. Also, Pandy drew this really cool drawing with Wally, Artemis, and Robin bending. Check it out on her tumblr, there's a link to it on my profile. This is dedicated to you guys and all my other readers. And it may not have everything you specifically asked for, (I tried to get the main ideas) but I hope you like the story. Also, huge shout out and thank you to Intrajanelle also known as JustJanelle on here for beta-ing my story with me!
*Note: With Young Jusctice: Invasion being so new and confusing, I will not be using any of those new characters, for now(maybe in future chapters but who really knows right now?)
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of the Avatar series. Basically, anything you recognize is not mine.
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Wally sputtered water out of his mouth glared at his teammate, Roy, as they both climbed out of the water below the arena. A chime went off and the announcer proclaimed the Traught Tigerdillios as winners of the match, thanks to Avatar Robin. Their team would be moving on to the next round to battle for a place in the champion probending tournament. Robin waved as the crowd screamed their praise for his performance in the fight. It was pretty impressive the way he had expertly dodged the other team's attacks and used his acrobatic skills to strike them after they tired. His cackle bounded across the arena before he back flipped off the stage, riding a wave of water to his fellow teammates. While the crowd continued to cheer madly, the boys waved back with slightly less enthusiasm before heading towards the locker room.
As soon as they were alone, Robin and Wally spun to face their tall, stubborn, and angry, fire bending friend who met their defiant stare with one of his own. But before any of the boys could say anything, their mentors of the Justice Lotus walked in.
The Justice Lotus, commonly called the JL, weren't just their teachers. They were the protectors of peace, balance and justice in the world. They spent their time working to protect everyone and bring down villains. They had bases all over the world, but their headquarters were located in Republic City. It was led by some of the most powerful benders. One of these leaders, who everyone called Batman, due to his dark clothing, silent and mysterious manner, and heroic deeds particularly during the night, entered first. His glare asked the question on everyone's mind. What happened out there? All eyes turned to the increasingly agitated Roy Harper.
"Got carried away," Roy answered brusquely, clenching his jaw.
"No duh, you had no more juice left by the time you plummeted off the stage. We had a full-proof plan so we could've won," said Robin as he crossed his arms, ignoring his aching muscles.
"We did win."
"We almost didn't. Your bullheadedness almost cost us the match, and then we wouldn't have been able to be in the championship tournament. That's the big league man!" Wally said, "We've been waiting for this since we first started bending and you almost threw it all away."
Roy didn't miss Wally's hidden meaning. It wasn't just about a championship title. Winning the tournament would prove to the Justice Lotus that they were ready to fulfill their real duty to help bring peace and harmony to the world. It had always been a dream of the trio, ever since they first realized their bending abilities. Their dreams were only heightened when they were taken under the wing of the Justice Lotus: Wally by the Flash, known for his lightning fast reflexes and quick air bending movements, Roy by GA, one of the sharpest firebending masters in the world, and Robin by Bats, a master waterbender who had vast and extensive knowledge and resources of other bending styles in order to help the young Avatar develop his abilities.
It had seemed like their dreams would actually come true when they were brought together by their mentors and the Justice Lotus, especially for Roy and Wally since they would be helping the Avatar. They soon became the best of friends and decided to join the probending world. Their mentors were reluctant due to fear of it as a distraction from their studies, but Green Arrow reasoned that it would be more practice and allow them to learn how to fight better.
According to Roy, GA had also almost guaranteed him that if they succeeded in probending, it would prove their readiness to join the Justice Lotus in helping save people. Of course, this caused even more desire to succeed, but just when they were getting closer to their dream, Roy had endangered it.
"We had a game plan. Why'd you throw it out the window?" Robin asked Roy, trying to remain as calm as his mentor.
Roy pointed an accusing finger at the mentors, "Their plan! It's always their plan! Those aren't going to get us anywhere. Our fighting styles are older than everyone else's, so we have to work twice as hard to win in a fight because the other teams have fresher, faster, and newer moves."
"Few know the more traditional styles, even fewer practice it. Instead, your opponents' techniques are sloppy. They tire out quickly and focus too much on raw power rather than using strategy," replied Batman stoically.
"Roy, they know what they're doing when they train us," supplied Robin.
"But do you know what they're doing? It's not just their training. It's everything they're keeping from us. They keep us inside the mountain and we have no idea what's going on in the world except when we leave to go to tournaments. I bet they didn't tell you that the anti-bending revolution has gotten a lot worse. More people are joining their side every day and people are getting antsy, all following some masked non-bender named Amon, " he turned to the mentors, "Don't bother trying to deny it. I've seen it with my own two eyes and I've listened to the protestors."
Bats glared at GA who floundered, trying to come up with an excuse as to how Roy had seen what was going on in Republic City. It had been a general rule that the apprentices would not be allowed into the real world while they were training, save for several various cases and reasons such as probending tournaments. Again, the JL didn't want the teens to get distracted by the "minor" issues in the world.
"Well, I thought it'd be good for him so see some of the city. I only took him to the park once. I didn't think he would sneak out more."
"Because you wouldn't take me out anymore," grumbled Roy irritably.
"Wait, is Roy right?" asked Wally incredulously, looking to the JL. They shared a look which answered the air bender's question. "Why?"
"You're not ready for it," Bats replied, his tone leaving no room for argument, but that didn't stop Roy.
"Then what the hell have you been training us for?" shouted Roy, his face as red as his fire bender uniform.
"There are things you still have to learn before you can go out and help bring peace to the world."
"That's a load of bull!"
"Not only does the Avatar still have much to learn, such as fire bending, but so do the two of you since you're going to help him," Batman answered.
"The whole purpose of the Justice Lotus is to bring justice to the world and to train the Avatar and other powerful benders in order for them to bring peace and balance. You guys aren't ready, and if we sent you out now, it could do more harm than good," said the Flash, finally speaking up. "You're talented, don't get us wrong, but you still have a lot to learn before you can really help."
"Why does Rob need us?" asked Wally. "I mean, I guess I always assumed that Roy and I would tag along and help him out because that's who we are. We try to help people and stand by each other, but we never thought it was absolutely necessary. Don't get me wrong, I'd go anywhere with Rob," he slung an around said Avatar's shoulders, "but…did you guys plan this all along?"
"Although Robin is powerful, we realized that having a group of benders to assist his mission would give him a better advantage," answered Batman, his expression and tone remaining unchanged.
"So you want us to help Robin save the world, but you won't let us see the world we need to save?" Roy scowled. "My guess is, even when you do let us out, we'd still be under your thumb. I'm tired of this: your lies and your excuses. I'm leaving," he turned to Wally and Robin, who stared right back at him in shock. Roy had always been hard-headed due to his fiery personality, but never had he actually wanted to leave.
Wally was the first to speak, "Are you crazy? Roy, don't go. We can figure something out-"
"No. I'm done. Are you guys coming or what?"
Though his voice was angry, the other boys heard a twinge of begging. He didn't want to go alone.
Wally and Robin shared a look. They couldn't leave. As frustrating as it was to be kept in the dark about the world's situation, they knew their mentors were right. Plus, where else would they go? How would they finish training? They needed to stay here, for them, for their mentors, and for the world. It was the best place for them, even if Roy didn't see it that way.
"Roy-" Robin started, but Roy knew Robin's answer right away and set his mouth into a hard line.
"Fine," Roy spat, ripping off his uniform and throwing it on the ground. The final sounds they heard him make were the crack of his helmet as it hit the ground and the slam of the door as the firebender stalked out.
GA watched him leave. His hand dangled in the air uselessly before falling back to his side.
Robin pushed the hair out of his face, sighing tiredly.
"He was so not feeling the aster," he muttered to Wally, who smiled slightly despite the situation. Even now, Robin loved to bendthe English language.
"So now what?" asked Wally. Not only had one of their best friends left, but now they were down a teammate for probending.
Batman remained calm despite Roy's outburst. "It appears you've got some work to do. The Lotus will introduce you two to some other apprentices starting tomorrow so that you can compete in the championship tournaments in a couple of weeks. They have also been trained by members of the Justice Lotus. They will begin training with you two and will eventually be joining your endeavor to restore balance to the world. You will also pick one of them to take Roy's spot in the tournaments. I will talk to the tournament's organizers about the addition."
Both of the boys gaped.
"You can't just replace Roy like that!" cried Wally.
"It's either that or no probending. Your decision." Bat's look silenced Wally's other arguments. Robin remained silent, but clenched his jaw. He didn't agree with his mentor, but knew he had a point. "Report to the center of the Mountain at sunrise tomorrow for training."
With a whoosh of his cape, the Dark Knight and other mentors left the room, The Flash placing a hand on Wally's shoulder before exiting.
Robin sighed and began changing into regular clothes."We better do as he says. We've got a big day ahead of us."
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"Is it possible for you to stop stuffing your face for five seconds so we can actually talk about who we want for our new teammate?" asked the Boy Wonder, staring as his friend wolfed down beef stick after beef stick that they had bought from a stall merely two minutes ago.
Wally gave him a sheepish smile and used his sleeve to wipe his mouth. "Sorry, bro, just kind of overwhelmed. First time outside the arena and all."
The boys were out on the town in Republic City, on their own for the first time. After a week of training with the other young benders, the duo had decided to escape the oppressive walls under the cover of darkness to explore the city and relax. It wasn't hard with Wally's air bending and Robin's natural affinity for sticking to the shadows. The escape also gave them a chance to talk freely about who they wanted on their team without worrying about their mentors' prying ears.
"Have you ever tried being just whelmed?" Robin ignored the playful eye roll from Wally, "Seriously though, tell me what you think. We have to narrow them down. The Lotus wants us to give them our decision tomorrow."
He got a dopey smile in response.
"Megan Morse."
"Miss Martian? I'm not too sure about her…" trailed Robin, thinking of the bright eyed, peppy, freckled water bender.
"Dude! How can you say that? Yeah, she and her uncle have weird names, but now no one gets them confused with anyone else! Plus, she's like one of the hottest babes to walk the Earth! Just imagine practicing with her every day. She landed a couple of good hits on me today, and that's almost impossible with my skills. I'll win her over with my charm and she'll love me forever after we win the championship tournament. We definitely need her."
"We are not picking a teammate because of hot they are. And yeah, she's a good water bender , but she's very raw and unstable. John says she's powerful, but she still has some work to do. We don't want to risk it in the arena with her yet."
Wally's face fell and he pouted, "But-but-"
"Plus, I'm pretty sure she's dating that broody earth bender. You really want to go up against Conner?" asked Robin with a smirk.
Wally thought back, remembering the tall muscular protégé of Superman throwing boulders across the room like they were nothing.
"Uh… pass. But I don't like him." Wally heard a loud snort. "Not just because of her, but he's too… lumbering. He doesn't move as fast as we do. He won't really mesh with the new style of fighting we're trying to make."
Robin nodded and took out his red notepad, scribbling notes. "So striking Superboy and Megan from the list. What about Kaldur? I know he's a water bender, but I can always trade elements during the tournament to earth. I think he's exactly what we need. He's smart, great at water bending, in control, super strong but quick…" he stopped when he saw Wally shake his head, "What?"
"But he's ," drew out Wally. "Plus, he wasn't even there for most of the practice. During break, I even heard some of the other mentors mentioning that he spends too much time traveling between Republic city and the Northern Water Tribe to see his family and his girlfriend or something. We'd need him here all the time and I don't know if he can do that. And when he is here, he could be distracted by thinking about his girlfriend. I would too if I was in his place. I don't even know how he got one. How come he gets one and I don't? I'm tons more fun."
Wally's lip stuck out again toward the end, but Robin mulled over his points before huffing out a breath of air.
"Fine, but we can use him as backup if we need him later on." Robin tapped his pen against his chin, "What about Raquel?"
"The new girl? Rocket? I thought she was metal bender." Wally tossed the now bare beef sticks into a trash can, "that's cool and all, but doesn't fly in the tournament."
"I'm sure she can earth bend too," reasoned Robin.
"Maybe, but she's a kick ass metal bender. And, she didn't really practice earth bending a lot today and it doesn't look like it's her strong suit. I'm going to say no on the probending. So who's that leave? There was one more, right?" Wally looked to see his best friend turn away quickly, a small smile ghosting over his face.
"Zatanna Zatara. That's all who's left from today," he replied. Although he was trying to be nonchalant towards the suggestion, Wally interpreted the smile creeping on his face.
"I knew it! You totally have a thing for her! But how could you forget that she's an airbender? Because we already have one, aka yours truly. So, no. Sorry bro, but she's going to have to wait in the wings because I don't plan on going anywhere." Wally swung an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, as he remembered the black haired, blue eyed beauty with the mischievous smile, "and we really don't need another evil mastermind on the team, you're too much already."
Robin responded by quickly flicking his hand upward to raise a small patch of the sidewalk, effectively tripping Wally before he burst into a cackle.
Wally was a centimeter from the ground before he blew against it bringing himself back to an upright position.
"Ugh, not cool!" Wally shrugged, readjusting the new black jacket he wore to try to blend in with regular civilians instead of his bright air bender uniform. When finished, he took a gander around and noticed they had left the busier and brighter part of the city. Gone were the kids running around as cars swerved to pass them and vendors trying to sell goods before closing; now they were surrounded by dark shops and dim, flickering street lamps. A few rats scurried through an alleyway to his left and Wally sped up to catch to his friend. "Where are we?"
Robin stopped and looked around. "I don't know any more. We must've taken a wrong turn." He pulled out a paper map they had swiped from Bats' office earlier. "This road should've taken us back to the main plaza, but it looks like we've gotten farther away from it." His face scrunched up as he considered their options. "Alright, let's try-"
A sudden crash and the sound of roaring flames from an alley up ahead interrupted him. The boys looked at each other, seeing the curiosity and determination reflected in the other's eyes. This was a moment, to actually use their training for something besides probending, a chance to help someone. Simultaneously, they ran towards the dark alley, arguing voices and other fighting sounds growing louder as they approached.
At first, all they could make out were flying rocks, glittering icicles, and dark moving shapes, sporadically brought into light by quick bursts of flame. It looked like a trio comprised of a shady looking earth bender, a fire bender, and a water bender all against one blonde hair girl. The girl was shooting flames as she became trapped against the wall.
Robin thrust out his right arm in a quick, strong motion, raising the ground beneath the gang members and causing them to stumble.
The water bender, a tall pale man with black hair and a goatee, both cut closely to his head, stood up quickly, gritting his teeth as he shot a glare at the newcomers.
"This isn't your battle kiddies. Now if you're smart, unlike her," he jerked his head in the girl's direction as she continued battling the other two, "you'll walk away without being turned into popsicles."
"You'll have to catch us first," replied Wally as he and Robin both took fighting stances.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," the goon replied as he took water from a pouch and flung his hand out towards the two boys, resulting in a barrage of icicles headed in their direction.
Wally dodged nimbly, forming a small air current so he landed on the other side of the water bender, behind the other villains and facing the girl. Robin's blast of air met the icicles, effectively shooting them into a nearby wall. The older man stepped back, confusion coloring his face.
"But I thought-" he frowned and attacked again, sending a wave of water towards the Robin who returned it, soaking the man before freezing him.
By now, the others had taken notice that their leader had been trapped by a boy who could wield more than one element. "The Avatar?" one of them murmured in disbelief.
During their hesitation, Wally met the girl's stone grey eyes and nodded, together they each went after a goon, landing an effective hit before they realized what was going on. Robin ran to help, but hit a patch of ice, sliding into a wall instead.
Wally spared a glance at his friend, allowing the fire bender goon to shoot a blast, which he barely avoided by stumbling into the blonde girl. It was then that Wally realized how young the girl was, probably around his age. Her golden hair, that almost glowed in the dim light, was in a disarray and her eyes turned stormy as she struggled under Wally's weight. "Get off, idiot!" shouted her husky voice as she shoved at him. Wally heard rumbling as the earth bender created a hole in the wall of a store. He quickly got up and shot a tornado toward the villain, sending him into the wall on the other side of the store.
The girl jumped up ready to fight, but the other fire bender was quickly trapped between two slanted walls of earth. She turned to look towards Robin who was walking towards her, smiling despite the battle.
"The Avatar, huh?" she commented as she looked him over, eyebrow raised. "So the rumors are true."
Suddenly a shout brought both of their attention to Wally being crushed by a boulder. Artemis sent a wave of flames at the earth bender to disorient him enough to free Wally, before bursting through them and knocking him out with a solid kick to the head. She helped Wally to his feet while Robin encased the villain in a block of ice.
They barely had time to catch their breath before being drowned in a wave of water. The head crony who Wally had decided to nickname "Freeze" had gotten free.
"I warned you. You should've minded your own business."
The teenagers lined up to face him when wailing sirens and blinding lights illuminating the small alley interrupted them. "This is the police! Stay where you are!" The clanking of grappling hooks pierced the air as the metal bending police force began to lower themselves into the alley.
Wally, Robin, and the girl shared a look before fleeing through the destroyed shop, out the backdoor, and down into tight, dark, back alley. They reached a T intersection. The blonde darted to the left without hesitation while Wally went right. Robin yanked on his best friend's arm and gestured that they should follow the girl. Wally shot him a puzzled look. "We're really going to follow some random girl we just met?"
"She knows this area better than we do, you really want to explain to Bats why he had to bail us out of prison? Just go!" He shoved Wally again in the direction of the fading blonde dot and they quickly caught up to her with the help of some air bending.
"You guys are fast," she huffed, looking back at them, before taking a sharp right and entering an old abandoned building. She let them follow her in her before she silently closed the door. They breathed heavily, trying to calm down before turning silent as the rumbling of running feet and clinking metal passed by the door.
Wally's fingers started to twitch and he shifted his body weight in case of an attack when the girl slugged his arm. He bit down on his lip to stop a yell, glaring at the girl who simply returned it back and pointed at the door. He clenched his jaw and turned away, rubbing his arm until the throb died down. Who did she think she was slugging the guy who helped her save her life? After about ten minutes, Robin slowly poked his head outside, wary of the various street noises in the night. When he finally came back in, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I think the coast is clear." The sounds of shuffling and things falling to the floor filled the room as Robin looked for a light source. After finding a lamp, he passed it to Artemis who gave it a quick shot of electricity, emitting enough light so that he could see them having a face off.
"Lucky for us, Kid Idiot over here didn't give us away," snarled the girl.
"I was getting ready to defend myself. I'd rather not go to prison tonight," Wally shot back, "and the name's not Kid Idiot. You don't even know me!"
"Kid Flash and Avatar Robin, the newest probenders to enter the tournament and the crowd favorite. Whoop-dee-do," she snorted and noticed their shocked expressions. "There's only one person who can bend more than one element, geniuses. Wasn't that hard to figure out."
Wally quickly overcame his surprise and confidently exclaimed,"Exactly! We're one of the best bending teams in the tournament, so you better watch your back."
"I can watch my back just fine. I wasn't the one who got lost in the slums and almost got crushed by a boulder. You're welcome by the way."
"For what!"
"Saving your life."
"Uh, hello, Blondie! We saved your butt from getting kicked by a trio of nasty looking benders."
"I didn't ask for your help!" she yelled, getting up in his face. "Why don't you just mind your own business?"
Robin pushed his way in between them, his frown stopping Wally from saying something stupid. "Alright, how bout we just back up, stay lax, figure out a plan- What?" Robin caught the girl's scrunched up face.
"Lax? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Lax? You know, like relax. But re means to return to something, and relax means to be calm, but when we met we weren't calm, so we can't return to being calm. Therefore, we need to get lax."
Wally chuckled, enjoying the girl's confusion. "Rob here's got a thing for wordplay. You get used to it after a while." He quickly heard the implications of his words and hurriedly tried to cover it. "Not that you'll be staying around for long."
Robin rolled his eyes and turned to the girl, "So you know who we are, but who are you? You're a pretty good bender, strong and fast. You move like you're in a probending fight, but we haven't seen you before."
"That's because you guys don't get out much. Haven't seen you two around before, but I've heard about you on the radio during tournaments…" she hesitated, wary of giving out her name.
"Who are you?" shouted Wally, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Will you shut it? You'll alert every police officer in the whole city!" she yelled back before sighing and slowly meeting Robin's eyes. "The name's Artemis."
"There a last name to that, Arty?" taunted Wally after a pause.
"Not one you need to know," she replied.
"So...Artemis, what brings you out fighting gangs in dark alleys tonight?" Robin jumped in again.
"Just, trying to keep the peace," she shrugged. "There are always gangs running around, thinking they own the town and the shopkeepers. Someone's gotta put them in their place. The JL handles the big guys, but they can't catch every single gang member. That's where I come in." Artemis looked up, catching their startled faces. "What?"
"You-you actually save people?" stammered Wally. Who would've thought? The night they go out to learn more about the city they wanted to defend, they found someone who was already living their dream. "Doesn't the Justice Lotus have a problem with you on their turf?"
"Not really, my mentor's one of them. You've probably met him. You know GA, right?" she asked and was met with more startled looks but continued. "He said they technically don't let protégés on the streets, something went wrong with his old one, but I've got family here and I've been here my whole life. Will you stop looking at me like I've grown another head?"
"You're GA's new apprentice? Now I'm really surprised we haven't met you yet," said Robin while Wally was still trying to form words. "We've been training with some of the Lotus' other apprentices and knew GA was training someone new after Roy left, but it's nice to actually meet you. That's why you've got the probending, fire bender techniques."
Artemis shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but the boys could see a small smile from the compliment. "Thanks."
An idea struck Robin. "Hold on just a sec," he put a gloved finger in the air and yanked Wally to the other side of the room. "I think we should add her to the team," he whispered to him when they were mostly out of earshot.
To say Wally was shocked was an understatement. "Are you crazy? No way. Nuh-uh. We can have Kaldur if you want. But. Not. Her," he emphasized each word in the end.
Artemis glared in their direction from the other side of the room, hearing his not whispered comment.
Robin whacked Wally's head. "Be quiet! Hear me out. She's a good fire bender, up there with us, and she's trained with GA, so she knows the same techniques as Roy, maybe more that she picked up from the street. She has the fighting style we want the arena. And did you see the way we took out that gang? Admit it. We work well together. For the most part, you guys have done nothing but fight, but we can work that out." Wally gave him a look. "Come on, she's supposed to be a part of this team, I can feel it. Just get over your stubbornness for once, and admit that I'm right, as always."
Wally paused and opened his mouth several times without speaking. He glanced sideways at Artemis who pretended to be disinterested by combing her fingers through her long blonde hair, then back at his friend. As much as he knew he was going to suffer from having her on the team, Robin had a point and wouldn't forgive him if he let Artemis slip through their fingers. "Fine."
Robin grinned and walked towards Artemis, Wally sulking behind. "Artemis, we've got a proposition for ya."
She looked warily between the two boys. "Which is?"
Robin spread his arms in a dramatic gesture. "We'd like for you to join our team, the probending and the one eventually restoring balance to the world. You get to be a famous probender and a hero. What do you say?"
She thought for a moment, weighing her options. To join the duo of boys she just met who had the same goals she did, or stick to defeating petty criminals and receiving years more of training before being officially allowed to save the world with the JL. Her determined grey eyes met hopeful blue and wary green ones. She took a deep breath before answering, "I'm in."
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A/N: Tada! I hope you liked Chapter 1 of Young Legends of Justice. This chapter was longer than I thought it would be, but there was a lot I wanted to get in. The others may be shorter. There will also be appearances from more team members, the Justice League (or Justice Lotus or JL (see what I did there?)), and of our favorite villains. Yes, this is technically a crossover, but putting a story in the crossover section is suicide, so my story will stay here. The next few chapters are outlined, they just need to be written. So leave reviews and/ or constructive criticism. I can't wait to hear what you guys think! :D