A/N- Okay, so I recently got into Young Justice and I had this fanfiction idea. This is the product of this very sad idea. Hope you like!
Chapter 1: Mission Gone Wrong
The ground shook the ground beneath their feet from the roar admitting from down the hall, making the rocks above them rattle dangerously. Artemis looked up, her eyes wide with terror, fearing that the cave would come right down on their heads. Robin was trying to hack the metal door that led outside of the cave as quickly as possible so that they may escape. Superboy was staring down the hallway in front of the group, acting like the front liner. Aqualad was beside him, his arms were raised behind him to grab his weapon if needed. Mrs. Martian floated in the air above the two, arms raised as telepathic back-up. Kid Flash was pacing behind the two nervously, quickly glancing at the group before continuing what he was doing.
"Done!" Robin shouted out as another roar shook the earth. The door opened slowly as they rushed out.
"What do we do now? Those guys aren't going to stop until we're dead!" Wally shouted over to Kaldur.
The leader sighed, "Maybe now would be a time to call the Justice League?"
"Ah, now why would you want to do that?" A giggly voice responded from behind the six. They turned around, not realizing that they'd been there. A woman about 4'7 stood slouched, twin gauntlets on her hands dripping with poison. She had blond hair tied up into pigtails with deep brown eyes. She was dressed in red spandex with orange and white seams. This is Mistress Ember, a new villain that had popped up in the last three months from who-know-where. Beside her was a brute of a man, her brother Marshall Law. He had short blond hair with cold black eyes that stared deep within your souls. He stood at almost seven feet tall, just a few inches shorter. He had a similar spandex outfit like his sister except for the splotches of black on his joints. The two looked like a deadly duo, one is sadistic while the other was cold-hearted. Together, they seemed to be an unstoppable force. An example of their strength is still in the team's seared clothing and their many bruises.
The team was instantly on guard from the appearance of their tormentors. Conner felt his blood boiling from the presence of Marshall Law, having already had a run-in with the beast of a man. Said man let out a rage-filled shout, "Give back what you stole!" It was then that all hell broke loose. Marshall Law rushed forward, slamming his full body into Kaldur, knocking the Atlantian back a few hundred feet. Mistress Ember appeared behind him, spewing fire from her mouth down to the group. Instinctively, Wally managed to get his friends out of the way before the fireball had hit them. She huffed, seeing that her ball of destruction hadn't hit anything besides the dirt underneath her feet. Robin jumped up, throwing a birdarang at Mistress Ember but it was swiftly deflected by her claws. M'gann rose into the air, using her telekinesis to raise boulder into the air before throwing it at both Mistress Ember and Marshall Law. Kaldur had gotten up, a few newer cuts on his body, and was rushing towards Mistress Ember with water whips. Conner was on top of Marshall Law's shoulder, bashing his fist into his head which had no effect on the man. His large hand reached up and grabbed Superboy by the neck before throwing him right at Kaldur who was just about to attack his sister. Kid Flash was running around Mistress Ember, letting her claw through thin air. She gave a frustrated shout before lighting herself on fire and expanding it outwards in a circle, effectively making Wally rush away. Artemis was on higher ground, shooting arrows down at the enemies. They were either deflected or had no effect. The team regrouped afterward near her.
"How are we supposed to defeat them?" Wally questioned, sounding a little out of breath.
"I'm not sure. Marshall Law is the strongest here while Mistress Ember has more tactics that we are unaware of." Kaldur stated monotonously, "Anyone else have an idea?"
Robin tapped his chin, "We need to separate the two. They are stronger together so they become very protective of each other. If we split them up, they won't know what's happening to each other."
"How are we supposed to do that when we can't even land a hit on them?" Artemis exclaimed, catching the enemy advancing towards them.
"We have to use restraints like Kaldur's whips and my telekinesis," M'gann said.
"So, we'll need to split up?" Conner asked, getting into a stance as Mistress Ember and Marshall Law were approaching.
"Kaldur, Conner, Artemis. You three should go for Marshall Law. Do hit-and-run tactics to get him moving away from Mistress Ember." Robin stated, "The rest of us will go after Mistress Ember. Clear?" They all nodded, splitting into their groups.
Kaldur jumped from the hill, using his whips to wrap around Marshall Law's large forearms and dragging him down in a quick move. The blond haired man was about to get up, only to have Superboy's knees jab into his back. The two jumped back, running towards Artemis' position. Marshall Law howled in rage, rushing towards the two. Just as he was approaching, the two side-stepped, letting Artemis' quiver of arrows stick into Marshall Law's skin, exploding on contact. He growled, an animalistic look covering his face. The three started to run from him, not wanting to be on the end of another punch.
Around the same time, Kid Flash was running some more circles around Mistress Ember. She laughed, "This again? Do you kids really have no other tricks?" Her body ignited, pushing outwards quicker than before. The fire caught Wally's arm as he ran away. Mistress Ember gave an insane laugh as she let her sphere of flames expand, wishing it to just burn the world. However, it stopped much to her annoyance. M'gann's hands were out, letting a force field cover the destructiveness of Mistress Ember's powers. She started to decrease the oxygen in the force field, making the flames dissipate. Mistress Ember groaned, getting her twin gauntlets ready as the force field fell. Robin appeared before her as the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat. For the majority of the time, the black haired teenager was on the defensive, having to look out for the claws on the gauntlets but he did manage to get a few hits in. Mistress Ember was growing tired of these games. "You three are getting on my nerves!" She yelled, her fists balled.
"Maybe if you weren't trying to destroy the water supplies, we wouldn't be here!" Wally shouted back sarcastically, standing beside Robin and M'gann before whispering, "Now what? We have her at a good enough distance."
"I have about twenty-five bombs on me right now. Wally, if you can distract her, I can throw the bombs at her. If she tries to deflect or destroy them, M'gann do you think you can redirect them so they will hit her?" Batman's protégé responded. The two nodded, getting ready to enact their plan.
Marshall Law narrowed his eyes at the three in front of them. They had suddenly stopped running from him. Conner took a step forward, before hopping into the sky with his fist raised. Marshall Law laughed, meeting him up halfway before knocking his own fist against Superboy's head. He landed heavily on the ground. Marshall Law was about to advance towards Kaldur and Artemis when an explosion caught their attention. They looked at him, seeing a smoke cloud in the distance. His eyes widened, "Sister!" He started running towards the smoke, hoping that nothing had happened to his sister. Artemis, Kaldur, and the now recovered Conner chased after him. When they arrived at the scenes, a burnt body laid lifeless in a crater. Marshall Law's rushed over to the corpse, seeing remnants of his sister. "N-No…" His eyes body for any signs of life, but when he found none all he could do was scream out to the world. The ground beneath their feet shook uncontrollably. Marshall Law's eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body convulsing with power. He grew taller, stronger, and angrier.
Clearing seeing what was going on, Kaldur looked to the group, "EVERYONE TAKE COVER!" Following their leader's orders, the teenagers dove behind boulders as everything shook.
M'gann quickly set up a communication link between everyone, "What's happening?!"
"I'm not sure but it's really freaking me out!" Wally practically shouted into the link.
"He's powering up." Conner stated, "We need to stop him before he gets any stronger or else we'll all be dead."
"T-Too late for that…" Artemis said with fear in her voice as she peered behind the rock, watching as Marshall Law finally calmed down. He stood about 7'8, his arms glistening with sweat. He was buffer and was most likely stronger; one punch could probably kill anyone in their group. They gave a collective gulp. They were nervous bordering on scared.
Kaldur took a deep breath, "I believe that now is as good enough time to call Batman. This is-"
The leader was effectively cut off by the roar emitting from Marshall Law, "COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARDS!" The blond haired man peered at the rocks, growling at them all. He crouched down before hopping into the air and smashing his feet into the boulder, hoping that it had crushed one of those pesky brats. Unfortunately, there was nothing. He proceeded to hop around to try and kill the teenagers in hiding.
"We won't have the chance. The minute one of us turns on our coms to talk to Batman, he'll hear us and slaughter us all." Robin sighed, "We need a plan, one that won't get us killed. Hit-and-run tactics will probably be our best shot, but he's already seen us do it before. I don't think he'll fall for it twice. He'll most likely be ready for an attack."
"Well, you seem to be the only one with a plan," Wally started, shrugging even though no one could see him, "we might as well give it a try."
"But what if we all end up dying because of this plan?" The Kryptonian clone questioned, rolling to the right so he wouldn't be crushed by Marshall Law.
"Ah! So there you are!" The older male gave an insane laugh, launching himself towards Superboy. The black haired boy barely managed to dodge but wasn't fast enough to stop the kick from hitting him on the side. He flew a few hundred feet away, sliding across the ground. Conner clenched his teeth, breathing through his nose painfully.
"Conner!" M'gann shouted out worriedly, effectively gaining Marshall Law's attention.
"I see how it is." The man gave a sickening grin, walking over towards the fallen teenager, "So if I hurt one brat, then the whole swarm comes to his rescue. How interesting."
With her arms raised, she used her telepathic prowess to stop his movements, "Don't even think about it!" Internally, she was telling the team to grab Superboy and take him to safety. Marshall Law grits his teeth, his eyes moving between Conner and M'gann. He saw a yellow streak rush by and grab Conner before he was off in a blink of an eye.
He howled in rage, "YOU ALL WILL PAY!" M'gann yelped, her telepathic hold on his body broken. Marshall Law grabbed a piece of broken rock that he'd previously smashed and threw it at her. She barely had any time to collect her thoughts as the rock flew at her, slamming her into the stomach. M'gann fell to Earth harshly, forcefully making her lose her breath as her head hit the ground, losing consciousness.
"What now?!" Whispered Wally frantically, "He's going to get us too!"
Robin placed a hand on his shoulder, "Get a hold of yourself, Kid."
"I agree with Robin." Superboy stood up, "We need to get out there and stop him."
"Hey, I never said to go out there and get pummeled to death." He narrowed his eyes, "Don't make such rash decisions. We need a plan."
"He hurt M'gann. That gives me every right to go out there and-"
"Get yourself killed." Artemis snarled, "Is that what you really want? If you died, M'gann would be a wreck. She'd think that your death was her fault. Stop being so selfish, Superboy." He flared his nostrils but didn't say anything else.
"ONE DOWN, FIVE TO GO!" Marshall Law shouted, stomping around the area in search for new prey.
"We need to get a hold of ourselves." Kaldur stated, leaning against the rock hiding them, "The only way we have a chance of going against him is to work as a team. Robin, what should be our plan of attack?"
He blinked, "Why're you asking me?"
Kaldur gave him a reassuring smile, "You were the one to suggest hit-and-run tactics twice."
Robin smirked, nodding, "Well, alright then. So here's the plan…"
Marshall Law was growing angrier and angrier by the minute. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. Maybe he'd killed them all when he was smashing everything in his wake. His heart stung with guilt over his sister's death, wishing that he'd been there for her. They were family, a team that couldn't be reckoned with. Now she was gone and he was alone to avenge her. Suddenly, a smoke bomb went off around him. Marshall Law spun around quickly, scanning through the gray cloud around him for anything to pummel. Yellow flashed before his eyes as a red fist hit him in the face three times and before the larger man could throw anything back, the blur was gone. His ears twitched as he turned around to catch a fist from Superboy. Seeing his hand caught, Conner reared his other one back but Marshall Law already beat him to it. The older man's fist smashed into the teenager's face, sending him away. Blood fell from the Kryptonian's nose harshly as his back connected with the ground, rolling around before coming to a stop unconscious. "Two down, four left." He grinned, obviously proud of his actions.
He suddenly felt something like a slap on his back. Marshall Law turned around, not fazed by the water whips Kaldur was currently using against him. The blond haired man had the nerve to laugh as he grabbed the whip. It tangled around his arm as he jerked Kaldur towards his fist. The wide eyes on the Atlantian's face was highly satisfying to watch as Kaldur's head connected face first with Marshall Law's fist. He laughed insanely, as he repeated the same move twice before an arrow flew at him. He promptly threw an unconscious Kaldur at Kid Flash, knocking the two away. Marshall Law dodged the quick arrows, grinning to himself as he spotted Artemis on top of a ledge, "Three down, three to go."
Arrow after arrow, she fired. None affected him, not even her special explosive arrows had an effect on him. Artemis was starting to get nervous, her bow quivering in her hands. She tried to calm herself, but with some of her friends in danger from a practically unstoppable man, she was losing hope in herself. However, Artemis would not give up. She vowed to protect her friends even if death was just around the corner. So, she let out her flurry of arrows on the enemy. Marshall Law jumped up, startling her. He landed in front of Artemis, an evil grin plastered on his face. She felt frozen to the spot, fear running through her body. "Die…" He whispered, holding his whole arm out and slamming it into her chest. Blood flowed out of his mouth forcefully as Artemis flew off of the ledge. Marshall Law laughed like he'd never had before, "FOUR DOWN, TWO TO GO!"
Wally ran towards Robin, his eyes tearing up. "I'm freaking out man!" He stated in a whisper-shout, "We're going to die!"
"Kid, we're not going to die, w-we just need another plan…" Robin said, not really believing himself.
"There are two of us left. The rest of our team is gone. I don't even know if they're still alive." He took deep breaths, looking at his best friend, "Robin…"
"What?"
"I'll create a distraction while you call Batman." Kid Flash said seriously, taking in nervous breaths.
"You can't! You'll-"
"Die?" He chuckled, "Yeah, I've realized but if it'll save you guys, then I'll do it. Wish me luck!"
"Kid-" Robin tried to say, but his friend was already gone. His heart hammered in his chest. He looked over the boulder he'd been hiding behind. Wally was running circles around a furious man. Robin gritted his teeth and tried calling Mount Justice. It rang for a few seconds before ending. No answer. He peaked around to see how Kid Flash was doing. Marshall Law had Wally's neck in his hand, raising him in the air. Robin frantically called Mount Justice again. Nothing. An agonized scream alerted Robin to the fight again. Marshall Law grinned satisfactorily, "Five down… one to go!" He laughed once more before peering around the area. Robin called again frantically. Nothing. What the hell is going on?!
"Where are you, bird-boy?" Marshall Law spoke loudly, getting his attention again, "Are you just going to cowardly hide from me? How disappointing, however, I know your weakness. Your friends, am I right? Oh, course I am!" The large man walked around the area, his head turning from left to right. He reached Wally's unconscious body. He snickered, "What if I just smash their heads in? What a bloodbath that would be!" Marshall Law raised his foot above the speedster's head, cackling to himself.
Robin's eyes widened, knowing that this man meant business. His body acted on its own, jumping out from behind the boulders. "Stop!" He shouted, catching his enemy's attention, "Leave them be! They… They had nothing to do with this!" He lied.
"Oh really now?" Marshall Law smirked, "Why should I believe that?"
"Because…" Robin bit his lip, knowing that what he was about to say will end up killing him, "they had no part of your sister's death. I killed her by myself."
The man's eyes widened, his foot leaving its position over Wally's head, "WHAT?!" Marshall Law ran forward, faster than Robin had ever seen this man go, kicking him harshly. He flew away before his body came into contact with the ground, rolling him onto his stomach. Robin's eyes darkened. With a shaky hand, he pressed his com to call the only last resort he could think of.
The Batcave.
It rang twice before being answered, "Robin."
"Bruce…" He started, trying to get up. His side still hurt, making it take a harder time to get up than it should have, "We need… backup…"
"What happened?" Batman questioned, already signaling to several other Justice League members.
"Mistress Ember was killed. Marshall Law freaked and has gotten strong. I fear that he's become unstoppable." Robin said, taking careful breaths, trying to regain feeling in his legs, "The whole team is unconscious. I'm the only one left. Batman, we need immediate-" Suddenly, a sickening crack was heard, Robin's scream emitting through the com.
"Robin!" The Dark Knight shouted out. The teenager kept screaming.
"Trying to get away, are we now?" Marshall Law chuckled, his foot putting more pressure on the boy's broken leg. He smooshed his boot deeper, Robin's scream becoming louder. He gave a feral grin, "Is Batman on right now? Great. I hope you can hear me, you son of a bitch! I am going to make your little bird sing before I ultimately destroy him. All you'll have left it a smear on the ground!" Batman ended the call, the alert was given out. He rushed towards his private jet, powered it, and left quickly. Aquaman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Mr. Martian would meet him there.
Robin bit his lip, trying to hold back his screams after the initial few. "I never go back on my word. When I said I'm going to make you sing, I meant it!" His teeth showed as his boot rushed towards Robin's chest. The forceful cracking of his ribs was heard as the teenager rolled away onto his back. Marshall Law walked up to him and placed the same foot on Robin's chest gingerly. He gave a wicked grin, starting to apply pressure to the boy's ribcage. His eyes widened as a fire of pain spread through his body. Robin desperately tried to claw the leg away from his chest, but it was to no avail. Marshall Law pushed his foot deeper, waiting for the rib cage to split open underneath his boot. A rib cracked under the pressure, sending pain flaring angrily up Robin's spin. He let out a scream that echoed across the plains, blood falling from his mouth like a waterfall. Marshall Law laughed happily, lifting his foot up slightly before letting it crash down, earning another scream. He continued slamming his foot into the trapped bird's chest, laughing manically the whole time.
Robin knew this was it. There was no way he'll be coming out of this alive. However, he didn't regret his decision to throw himself out there to give his friends enough time to be rescued. He internally laughed at himself. Wally was going to sacrifice himself to protect everyone but in the end, it'd be him six feet under instead. Robin coughed up more blood, his vision darkening. He will die with that crazed look on Marshall Law's face burned into his memories. Tears escaped him as his life flashed before his eyes. The days in the circus came in bursts leading up to his parents' deaths and Bruce finding him. He became a sidekick to the famous Batman for several years. The two had a bond stronger than any friendships he'd had in the past. Robin considered Bruce his father who was always there for him when in danger, his savior. Then, the day came when the Young Justice was formed. All of their crazy adventures that came to him and his friends almost on every mission. The lectures he'd get from Batman before a compliment was handed to us. It was nice while it lasted, but it seems that this is it. Robin let out a choked sob before the darkness finally consumed him, but not before feeling a weight lift off of his chest.
Maybe this is how it feels to die.
