Thankfulness: Shout out to betas- grannyhitsuzen, and WhyMustIWrite. She didn't know the fandom but jumped in anyway. What a trooper. Now hopefully she'll watch the show.

Also, two pieces of art have been done by yesterdaysluminary on Tumblr. She did the current cover and another piece for the Batman Beyond Segment. Thanks, mate!

Setting/Spoilers: Takes place a few weeks before Season II officially begins. Minor Season II spoilers scattered throughout but hopefully nothing earth-shattering. Timeskip deaths have been revealed and absence of several Season I characters is probably going to be noticed by more astute readers.

Ships: This story is not romantic in nature, however, canon YJ ships have been used whether I ship them or not. This means current Angelfish and RedCat (We seriously need a better name for Roy/Jade) and past Supermartian, Chalant, DickBabs. The only non-canon pairing that appears is Jason Todd/Donna Troy.

Author's Note: Written for the 2012 Young Justice Big Bang.

{I love the Animorphs books waay too much. Anything in these brackets signifies telepathic communication.}

BLÜDHAVEN, 16:16

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

They were only about two hundred feet away from the warehouse when it exploded.

La'gaan threw his arms up to shield from the debris, the heat, then he froze in horror.

Neptune's Beard. No one could survive that. Not even a Bat.

Not even Rob-

Donna surged past him, a roar rumbling from her body.

It snapped La'gaan out of his trance. Entering puffer mode, he dashed towards the rubble. Grabbing any debris that came to his hands, he threw it behind him

Please please please let him be alright don't be dead please please let him li-

A pale white hand.

A moan.

"Troia, he's over here!" She darted over to join him and together they tore up the shattered stone. One slab took the both of them to lift, and once they had, La'gaan nearly dropped it in shock.

The sight of Robin, usually so exuberant and full of life, lying pale and unmoving amidst the rubble was like being shot again. Blood leaked everywhere. Robin was a mass of bruises and smashed bone, his face unrecognizable as a human's save for his agonized dark brown eyes. He struggled just to breath, the rhythm of his breath more sounding more like a car that wouldn't start than a living thing.

Troia turned away and began a lengthy monologue in Ancient Greek oaths.

Robin's lips moved. Slow. Slurred. "Is she- is she Ok?"

La'gaan forced himself to look Robin in the eye. "Yes. The client isn't dead."

The Boy Wonder smiled, just as if they'd pulled off another successful prank. "Then in the end, we won."

His familiar smile brought no comfort to La'gaan. He couldn't stop staring at Robin's missing teeth.

"Troia to Team." Troia's fist slammed down on the slab they had moved. It shattered into rubble. "My communicator isn't working. Call for back up, La'gaan"

"I did! It's not going to get here for another ten minutes!"

"Then tell them to hurry!" She knelt by Robin and began to unclasp his body armour. "Clear off the rest of the debris. I think- maybe I can- Robin, don't-"

Robin coughed. Crimson splattered onto La'gaan, onto Donna's pale skin. His eye closed for a moment before opening to stare at the sky. Tearing his left hand free of the debris, he grasped at the air. "My na-" Robin whispered after a moment, "My name- it's-"

"Don't," Donna snapped back.

Troia finished unclasping Robin's smashed body armour and pried it off. La'gaan's stomach turned as he stared at his friend's ruined body.

Donna's mouth pressed into a thin line. The determination drained from her face. Slowly, she took Robin's good hand, and bowed her head.

"No, don't give up!" La'gaan snarled at her, "He'll be fine- just- when the others get here- they can- he's not dead yet-"

"La'gaan. It's OK. I got what I deserved."

"No one deserves this," Donna said, "Especially not you."

"Robin. Listen to me. You're going to live, got it?" La'gaan said, grabbing his friend's shoulders, "Promise me! Promise me you're going to live!"

But one look into Robin's eyes told La'gaan that Robin had given up. His eyes, though dull with pain, were serene. The strength, the laughter, the love of life that defined him- it was gone. Whatever had happened in that warehouse- it had shattered Robin emotionally. He was giving up. He'd already accepted that he was going to die. And Robin- Robin never gave up.

Robin was already dead. This person bereft of hope- he wasn't Robin. He was Robin's ghost.

La'gaan shook his head, a moan escaping his throat as he tried to beg- something- anything just don't-

"Jason," Robin said. This time, Donna leaned closer and did nothing to silence him. "Jason Wayne."

And Jason died with a smile.