SECTION I: DAWN

Chapter 1: Today's the Day


Note: I do not own Young Justice, DC Comics, or any related characters. I'm merely borrowing them for creative purposes. Enjoy!


GOTHAM CITY
JULY 4, 12:00 EDT
2020

Gotham City Park was truly alive on this most special day. Dozens of families were grilling out in the beautiful weather, the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers wafting through the green space. One family, the Jones, had taken up a position under one of the many trees in the park. Mr. Jones flipped burgers on the grill while his wife sunbathed next to their teenage daughter. Their son, Caleb, was off somewhere fooling around with his friends. Mr. Jones stood back and looked for his son in the crowds, eventually finding him a few families over. Sighing loudly, he put down his spatula and walked over to get his young son.

Without a word, he grabbed Caleb by the wrist and dragged him towards their grill. "Caleb, how many times do I have to tell you…" His retort faded away as he heard the sounds of screaming coming from somewhere ahead of them. What he saw made him blanch white as a sheet. "Mary…" He turned to his son and shoved him gently in the other direction. "Caleb, run!"

As his boy ran off, Mr. Jones ran towards the rest of his family, both of whom had earbuds in and couldn't hear the commotion. The whirring of a weapon powering up only made Mr. Jones run faster to save his family. Reaching them in a matter of seconds, he yanked the earbuds out of their ears and screamed. "RUN!" Confused for a moment, the two women turned their heads to the right, their eyes widening in fear.

A man in an armored suit, carrying some sort of weapon attached to a backpack, strode calmly through the crowd. The weapon belched cold fire, freezing anyone in its path. The man's expression was furious, his whole body shaking with rage, firing on the crowd in a blind fury. "WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS NORA?" The supervillain turned his gaze on the next family in his path: the Jones. He leveled his cold gun at the terrified family, the barrel glowing blue as it powered up. "Oh, enjoying family time? My family has other plans."

Mr. Jones shielded his family with his body in a futile attempt to save them. Freeze watched with apathy as he targeted the three cowering in fear. Suddenly, his shot went wide as a Batarang knocked his cold gun away. The Jones watched in awe as the spear of icy flame lanced out to engulf the nearby tree. An echo of cackling could be heard through the park, a young boy laughing at Mr. Freeze's misfortune. "Batman…" Freeze raised his weapon up again, now on the lookout for the Dark Knight.

Suddenly, a small figure, dressed in an unforgettable red and black uniform, soared down towards Mr. Freeze, planting both feet on the villain's helmet. The force of the kick was staggering, forcing Freeze to back up as a web of cracks began to form. Robin, laughing at the ice man's misfortune, effortlessly rolled into a somersault to land behind the villain. He flung two of his Batarangs, which took the appearance of red discs, at Freeze's exposed backpack. The attack was useless, the projectiles bouncing off the armored suit and doing no damage.

Still, Freeze's attention was now solely on the young hero. "Robin. The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison?" The villain, undaunted by Robin's damage to his suit, charged up his weapon again. Robin stood boldly in place, interposing himself between Freeze and the now fleeing Jones. The teenager was five foot five inches, his tight fitting uniform revealing a surprisingly toned body for someone of his age. His eyes were alight with mirth, distinguishable even through his domino mask. Mr. Freeze continued with his monologue, focusing his attention entirely on the Boy Wonder. "Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

Robin's smirk vanished, replaced with a look of vague irritation. "Great, but I'm kind of in a hurry here." He made no move to attack, still standing at ease even as Freeze's cold gun powered up with a whine. Freeze chuckled and prepared to fire on the acrobatic hero. "Kids-always in such a rush." His finger nearly depressed the trigger until a familiar shadow fell over him. At the same time, Robin smirked. "Not talking to you."

Freeze's eyes widened as he whipped around to confront his new attacker. The Batman descended from the daytime sky like a vengeful god, waiting to dole out punishment to those wicked persons who had earned it. And Freeze was certainly a candidate. Before he could raise his weapon to defend himself, the supervillain's helmet shattered as the Caped Crusader dealt a powerful blow to the glass casing. Freeze passed out almost immediately, only remaining conscious long enough to see Robin take his place at Batman's side.


STAR CITY
JULY 4, 09:01 PDT
2020

It was early in the morning in Star City, but as usual, the Glades were far more lively than its sister neighborhoods in the sleepy city. Crime never slept, much to the consternation of Star's citizens. However, they could take comfort in one thing: its heroes. For years now, the city had been under the protection of the Green Arrow, who was then joined by a number of other vigilantes over the course of his tenure as Star City's guardian. The citizens of Star had nothing to worry about: as long as the Emerald Archer protected their city, no great harm may befall them.

Even that morning, the archer and his team were hard at work, trying to stop two gangs from igniting a deadly war in the inner city. In a warehouse deep in the Glades, Green Arrow rolled behind cover as at least a dozen gangsters opened up with automatic weapons. Bullets pinged off the floor and walls of the expansive space, but the archer was safe behind several crates. He tapped his chest, opening a channel to the rest of his team. "Spartan, Speedy, you're up."

Two gangsters suddenly collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, with another three slowly falling to the ground as arrows with red fletching, carrying a tranquilizer payload, pierced their shoulders. The remaining gang members whipped around to fire, allowing Green Arrow to fire off an arrow of his own into the crowd. Tapping a button on his wrist guard, the hero smirked as the powerful magnet mounted on the arrow yanked the guns right out of the gangsters' hands.

Two other heroes leapt out of cover on the other side of the warehouse, sprinting towards the now weaponless thugs. One, a teenaged male dressed in a red protective suit similar to his mentor's, had slung his recurve bow over his back and drew two eskrima sticks strapped to his lower legs. The other, wearing black leather clothing over an armored chest plate complete with a silver mask, simply resorted to using his fists to fight his opponents. The two dove into the crowd of waiting gangsters, dealing several decisive blows to many of them. Green Arrow smiled as he fired into the crowd, dropping two more thugs with non-lethal arrows.

In about twenty seconds, it was over. Speedy smacked one last thug to the ground with a powerful blow, just as Spartan released a now unconscious man from his chokehold. Green Arrow tapped his chest again to open a radio channel. "Overwatch, is the area secure?"

A crackle of static washed over the line before a familiar voice answered. "You're looking good Arrow. Police are on their way to collect the suspects." Green Arrow nodded as he walked to join his teammates. "Roger that, Overwatch. Over and out." He closed the channel just as Speedy walked up to him. The young archer stood even with his esteemed mentor at five foot eleven inches, both possessing a lean yet powerful physique needed for their line. The redhead was frowning, a common look on the young hero's face, much to his mentor's enjoyment.

"Can we go now? Today's the day." Oliver smirked at his protégé, who was now nervously playing with his eskrima sticks. He turned to his other teammate, who was cuffing the gangsters together. "Dig, you good to stay here by yourself?"

John Diggle, otherwise known as Spartan, retracted his visor and smiled. "Yeah, you two go ahead. Wouldn't want to keep the kid waiting. It's a big day."


PEARL HARBOR
JULY 4, 06:02 HST
2020

Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was once again helpless against a surprise attack. However, unlike in 1941, these attackers came from the sea, not from the sky, and were not interested in destruction, but rather information. The two Manta Subs had surfaced near the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, disabling nearby weapon systems with a localized EMP. Nearly thirty Manta troopers had boarded the ship, aiming to hack into its data banks for undoubtedly nefarious purposes. Fortunately for the overwhelmed military forces on board, they were not alone in the fight.

Aquaman smacked a Manta trooper to the ground, breaking the soldier's rifle in half over his knee. Behind him, his young protégé, Aqualad, lashed out at two other troopers with whips formed from his water bearers. The sixteen-year old was muscular due to both his biology and his training, coming up just two inches short of his king. His tattoos glowing bright blue as he wrapped the water whips around the troopers' rifles, he let out a shout as he yanked the weapons from their grasps and tossed them into the ocean. Aquaman smiled warmly and turned to his protégé. "Don't tell me you're not excited."

Aqualad responded quickly, ducking a particle blast from a rifle. "Right now, my king, I'm more focused on the matter at hand." He let Aquaman deal with the disarmed troopers as he turned his whips into a shield in order to protect himself from another three troopers' rifles. As the particle blasts slammed into his hard-water shield, the teenager felt himself being pushed closer and closer to the edge of the flight deck.

Stretching his magic to its limit, Aqualad summoned more water from the lagoon below. Sweat dripping down his face as he rolled to the side, the young hero swung his water bearers to the left to direct the torrent of seawater towards his opponents. All three Manta troopers yelled as the water, solidified by Aqualad's magic, knocked them off their feet. Aqualad sheathed his water bearers and knelt down to touch the trail of water between him and his three opponents, who were still recovering from the previous attack.

His black tattoos, made in the shape of eels, crackled with electricity as he channeled his magic through them. The water electrified, knocking the Manta troopers out with a powerful shock. His tattoos fading from a glowing electric-blue to their normal black, Aqualad stood up as his mentor dealt a powerful blow to the last remaining trooper. The Atlantean king turned once more to his protégé. "Well?"

Aqualad smiled, his usually calm and respectful demeanor falling to the wayside. "Yes, I'm excited. Today's the day."


CENTRAL CITY
JULY 4, 11:03 CDT
2020

"Uncle Barry, you're killing me here." Wally West groaned and banged his head against the desk. Barry Allen, momentarily distracted from his work, turned back to the workstation, where he was inputting data into a program he had been working on for quite some time. The younger metahuman raised his head back up, pouting like a child deprived of his toys. "Come on, can't that wait?"

Barry chuckled as he typed in a few commands. "Wally, you know what I'm working on is important. As much as Doctor Wells and Cisco have helped, Gideon is my brainchild. She still needs a lot of work before she's good enough to actually use." Wally simply responded with another groan as three familiar faces walked into the cortex.

Two were walking, while the third was in a motorized wheelchair. The first walker, a pretty brunette wearing what could be described as the attire of a middle school principal under a white lab coat, smiled at Wally as she entered the room. "Hey Wally." Doctor Caitlin Snow passed Wally to enter into the mini-laboratory behind him, preparing to go over a few samples from their latest metahuman encounter. The second, wearing his classic Darth Vader T-shirt and jeans, walked up to give Wally a fist bump. "What's up, Wall-man?" Despite his bad mood, Wally couldn't help himself and returned the favor, bringing Cisco in for a bro-hug. "It's good to see you Cisco." Standing next to Cisco, the five foot-seven speedster looked to be quite tall: a fact that Cisco frequently bemoaned.

Cisco pulled back with a wide grin and went up to help Caitlin with her work. The third and most prominent figure of the three rolled up to Wally, smiling softly at the teenager. "Mister West, how are you doing today?" Doctor Harrison Wells, the director of STAR Labs-Central City and one of the smartest men on the planet, adjusted his glasses as he leaned back in his wheelchair. Wally shrugged and answered while glaring at an oblivious Barry. "Well, it could be going better." Doctor Wells chuckled as he followed Wally's gaze. "Well, give him some time. I'm sure he'll remember soon enough." At that, Wally only groaned for a third time.

Suddenly, a tone from one of the computers at Barry's workstation got everyone's attention. His head pivoting to read the alert, Barry's eyes widened. "We've got a robbery at 16th and Prescott. Suspects…" He trailed off, his mouth now set in what Cisco had determined his "game face." In a flash of yellow lightning, Barry changed into his Flash suit. "Wally, suit up. Girder is back."

Wally grinned like a maniac. "Finally, some action." In a burst of super speed, he ran over to the display case housing his suit and changed as quickly as he could. As soon as he was done, he raced out of the building towards the crime scene. Looking over to his left, he saw his uncle casually running along, not even putting in the slightest effort. 'At one point, he wasn't running much faster than me.' Sighing, Wally laid on more speed as they zoomed towards Girder's last known position.

They found it soon enough, with several police officers taking cover behind their cars as the metahuman rampaged with two duffel bags tucked securely under his arms. Both speedsters stopped about a block out, trying to formulate some kind of plan. Wally decided to move in, but was held back by Barry. "Wait. I need you to get the cops out of here. I'll handle Girder." Kid Flash groaned but followed his mentor's orders.

Kid Flash zoomed off in a yellow streak, moving each police officer several blocks away from the fighting. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see his mentor running in a circle around an angered Girder. Eventually, Wally had managed to move all eight cops away, and decided to sprint back to the fight. When he got there, all he saw was Girder, unconscious and in his human form, smoking slightly as Flash slowed to a halt. Wally sighed and asked one question. "So can we go now? Today's the day."


WASHINGTON, D.C.
JULY 4, 14:00 EDT
2020

Just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall stood a building that had only recently been refurbished. Once a museum, it was now headquarters to a group unlike any other before it: the Justice League. The giant marble building, first built for the Justice Society of America, was abuzz with activity as tourists in town for the Fourth of July came to see this international landmark. A few hundred meters away, six heroes stood calmly waiting for the arrival of two more.

Batman placed a hand on the shoulder of his young protégé, Robin. A rare smile was spread across his face, the only part visible due to his cowl. "Today is the day." Green Arrow, his bow at his side, spoke next. "Welcome to the Hall of Justice." The third and final League member present, Aquaman, who stood with his arms crossed proudly over his chest, also addressed the young heroes. "Headquarters of the Justice League."

A loud whooshing sound could be heard behind them, accompanied by a strong wind buffeting the heroes temporarily. Robin was the first to whip around, smiling as he saw his best friend, Kid Flash, panting with his hands on his knees. Next to him stood his mentor, the Fastest Man Alive, smiling at the assembled group of heroes. Once he caught his breath, Kid Flash looked up to notice the six heroes gathered in front of him. "Ah man! I knew we'd be the last ones here!"

Robin chuckled and walked forward to fist bump the young speedster. "Kid, how you been?" Despite his bad mood, Wally immediately lightened up when he saw his best friend. "Not much dude. Sorry we're late. We would have been here sooner if someone didn't make us run here all the way from Central City." Kid Flash stared daggers at his mentor, who had moved to greet Green Arrow. The elder speedster sighed and shook his head.

"I told you, the only way you'll increase your speed is by pushing your limits. You made progress today, right?" Kid Flash merely rolled his eyes and turned back to talk with Robin. Flash shook his head and turned to the pair of archers still standing together. "So, how's Star City? Must be nice this time of year."

Green Arrow smiled at his old friend. "It's good. You should bring the missus and come out to visit us sometime. We'd love to have you." Flash nodded animatedly, looking back to find his young protégé engrossed in a discussion with Robin. Sighing once again, he turned back to Green Arrow. "Did Speedy give you this much trouble when you started training him?"

The Emerald Archer chuckled softly. "Like you wouldn't believe." Speedy scowled at his mentor, who merely laughed some more. Behind them, Batman cleared his throat. "It's time to get moving." Slowly but surely, the group of heroes formed up and began to walk towards the Hall of Justice. As they did, tourists began to take notice, the crowd beginning to clamor as people from across the world recognized them. "Is that Batman?"

Another person, his camera flashing, spoke up. "I see Flash and Flash Jr." A woman shook her head. "His name's Speedy. Duh." Yet another man chose to chime in. "No, Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick." The woman from before looked confounded. "Well that doesn't make any sense." Speedy, hearing the conversation, merely shook his head and kept walking.

Green Arrow caught up to his protégé's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Speedy looked back, the red head flashing his mentor a smile. "Born that way." Both archers turned their attention forward again, just as Kid Flash spoke up.

"Have all four sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Speedy snarled: he hated that term. "Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today." Taken aback by the young archer's ferocity, Kid Flash took a few steps back. His hands rose up in defense as he apologized. "Sorry. First time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin shook his head as the heroes ascended the steps in front of the Hall. As they walked towards the front door, Batman's protégé spoke up. "You're overwhelmed. Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" The group of heroes was silent after that, walking through the sliding glass doors into the atrium of the Hall of Justice.

Robin gasped as soon as he entered. Towering along the opposite wall were bronze statues of the eight founding members of the Justice League. The likenesses of Superman and Batman flanked the entrance to the League's chambers, with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter to the left of Superman and Flash, Aquaman, and Green Arrow to the right of Batman. "Oh, maybe that's why." All four young heroes marveled at the sophistication of the Hall, including the beautiful statues of their mentors. Tourists snapped photos of the eight heroes as they walked up to the double doors emblazoned "Authorized Personnel Only."

The doors slid open to reveal two more members of the League: Martian Manhunter and the android known as Red Tornado. The Martian stepped out to greet them with a demure expression. "Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash. Welcome." Without another word, the green alien turned around to lead them deeper into the Hall. The young protégés followed, flanked by their mentors.

As they walked into a large library, Martian Manhunter spoke up. "You now have unlimited access to our fully-stocked galley, our gym, and of course our library." Kid Flash lit up at the mention of a galley, while Robin seemed anxious to check out the gym. Speedy and Aqualad looked unconvinced, however, at the offer. Flash sped around and opened his arms. "Make yourselves at home." Without asking, Robin and Kid Flash collapsed into two comfortable arm chairs, lounging about as Aqualad and Speedy remained standing. The Leaguers walked up to a door labeled "Justice League Members Only." The Dark Knight, leader of the Justice League, turned to address both his fellow members and their protégés. "Quick debrief on the events of this morning. We shouldn't take long."

Batman finished speaking and turned to face the door. A scanning device dropped from the ceiling and bathed him and the others in a roving blue light. "Recognized: Batman, 02; Aquaman, 06; Flash, 04; Green Arrow, 08; Martian Manhunter, 07; Red Tornado, 16." Upon scanning all six League members, the door slid open to admit them. The veteran heroes began to walk through the door before being stopped by an angered Speedy. The young archer marched towards them, furiously gripping his bow at his side.

"That's it? You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." All Leaguers turned to recognize him, Aquaman and Batman narrowing their eyes at the presumptuous teenager. The King of the Seven Seas crossed his arms and replied. "It's a first step. You've been granted access few others get." Speedy's fist curled even tighter around his bow. "Oh, really?" He angrily jabbed a finger at the viewing gallery above them. Several camera flashes indicated the presence of tourists in the room, observing the confrontation above but luckily unable to hear. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

Concerned for his protégé, Green Arrow walked calmly right up to his adopted son. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he tried to calm him down. "Roy, you just need to be patient." The redhead's eyes narrowed as he shook off the elder archer's touch. "What I need is respect." He turned around to face his peers, who had taken an interest in the conversation. Aqualad looked the most troubled, but Robin and Kid Flash were blissfully ignorant. "They're treating us like kids. No, worse: like sidekicks. We deserve better than this."

Robin and Kid Flash exchanged a glance, while Aqualad looked down at his bare feet. Speedy smiled briefly as he saw his Atlantean companion conflicted, but scowled at the other two. "You're kidding me? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be the day: step one to becoming full-fledged members of the League." Aqualad nodded along to his best friend's tirade, but Kid Flash decided to interject.

"Well, sure, but I thought that step one was a tour of the HQ." Speedy's eyes narrowed and his scowl deepened. "Except the Hall isn't even the League's real HQ." All three protégés were shocked by Speedy's revelation. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching Zeta Tubes to the real thing, an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower."

The other three teenagers were absolutely floored by Speedy's revelation. Robin thought that he had finally entered Batman's most inner circle of trust: a bond between a father and his son. Aqualad, having served his king faithfully for over two years, similarly thought that his king would have trusted his most loyal subject with this information. Kid Flash, on the other hand, was jealous of Speedy's relationship with his mentor, now seeing that his own teacher hadn't trusted him while Green Arrow had entrusted his protégé with this information.

As the protégés stewed in their anger and doubt, Green Arrow turned sheepishly to face Batman. Even five years on an island in the North China Sea couldn't prepare the archer for Batman's cold fury, shown by the vigilante's signature glare and crossed arms. Raising his hands, Green Arrow tried to defend his actions. "I know, I know, but I thought maybe, with the kids, that we could make an exception." Batman's eyes merely narrowed at the comment, causing Green Arrow to blanch. "Or not."

Aquaman started to walk up to Green Arrow's side. "You're not helping your cause here, son. Stand down or…" Speedy quickly interrupted the Atlantean king, much to the elder heroes' chagrin. "Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son! I'm not even his!" He directed his burning gaze at Green Arrow, who looked shocked by his protégé's statement. Flash placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in support. Speedy continued on speaking. "I thought I was his partner. I guess some things are just too good to be true."

The other three protégés walked forward to stand by their friend. Robin spoke up first, directing his confusion towards Batman. "Batman, I thought you could trust me. After everything we've been through…" Robin's voice died out, the usually happy boy trying to hold back tears. Kid Flash, on the other hand, was nearly vibrating from his fury. "How could you not trust us? Especially you, Flash. I thought we were a team, but I guess I am just your sidekick." The venom in Wally's voice stung, but Flash managed to remain expressionless, borrowing some tricks from Batman. Aqualad, years of military training drilled into his head, remained silent but placed a hand on Speedy's shoulder in support of his actions. Not even Aquaman's stern gaze stopped the dark-skinned Atlantean.

The awkward silence was ended by the sound of an alert going off. Suddenly, Superman appeared on the big screen of the computer bank located behind the older heroes. "Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at the DC branch of Project Cadmus. It's on fire." The six Leaguers gathered around the computer, Batman standing front and center as he addressed the Man of Steel. "I've had my suspicions about Project Cadmus. This may present the perfect opportunity to-" The Dark Knight was cut off by another alert and Zatara popping up on a smaller screen next to Superman. "Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman simply turned to talk to Superman once more. "Superman?" The Kryptonian debated himself internally, before addressing the gathered group of heroes. "It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control." The decision was made right then and there by the two most prominent members of the League. Batman dealt out the League's next orders. "Then Cadmus can wait. All Leaguers, rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out." The four protégés, still standing stunned after Speedy's outburst, started to come to and walk towards their mentors. The heroes began to file out as Batman held up his hand to stop the younger crime fighters. "Stay put."

Robin, still angered from before, thrust his arms out in exasperation. "What? Why?" Aquaman, still nettled from his student's support of Speedy's rebellion, spoke with a steely tone. "This is a League mission." To soften the blow, Flash quickly interjected. "You're not trained." Unsatisfied with that answer, the other speedster in the room responded to his mentor's claim. "Since when?" Flash sighed and gestured towards his fellow Leaguers. "I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team."

Aquaman, dismissive of the young heroes' concerns, spoke again. "There will be other missions… when you're ready." Before any of them could respond, Batman shut down any other objections with a glare. "But for now, stay put." As the Leaguers walked away, Green Arrow turned to Martian Manhunter. "Glad you didn't bring you know who?" The green alien's response was short. "Indeed."

As the door shut behind the departing Leaguers, Kid Flash walked forward angrily and swiped at the air. "When we're ready? How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like…? Like sidekicks." Speedy smirked as the other three heroes acknowledged their mentors' lack of trust. "My mentor, my kind, I thought he trusted me." Speedy turned to see his usually confident Atlantean friend sporting a look of self-doubt and even betrayal.

Kid Flash continued to rant as Robin just stared at the door that his surrogate father had left through. "Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!" Aqualad bit his lip at that last comment. "What else aren't they telling us?"

Speedy piped up once more. "I've got a better question: what are we all still doing here? I don't need Ol-Green Arrow to hold my hand." He turned to leave, only to be held by Aqualad. "Wait, Roy, perhaps there is another way." The young archer, puzzled by Aqualad's sudden determination, decided to stay. Aqualad turned back to question the other two heroes. "What is Project Cadmus?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, but then looked at the computer and started grinning. "Don't know, but I can find out." He jogged over to the computer, soon joined by the other three protégés. He began to type commands into the computer bank at lightning speed, at first failing to breach the system's security. Access denied. The Boy Wonder merely took it as a challenge. "Huh. Wanna bet?" His typing tripled in speed, lines of code whizzing by fast enough that even Kid Flash was impressed. "Whoa, how are you doing that?"

Robin looked back and smirked at his best friend. "Same system as the Batcave. And done." He pressed one final key, the screen now lighting up green. Access granted. Robin combed through the League's database, opening the files on Project Cadmus. "Wally, if you don't mind." Wally nodded and took over, speed reading through all the files in mere seconds. Shaking his head and blinking rapidly, he turned back to face the waiting heroes. "Project Cadmus, nationwide series of labs specializing in genetics. Apparently, Batman has tagged some of their funding: thinks it might be coming from suspect donors like LexCorp and even parts of the government. There's not much to go on." Robin cut in. "But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

Speedy grinned while Aqualad contemplated what Robin was saying. The young archer spoke up before Aqualad could interject. "Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice." Robin chuckled and placed a hand on Kid Flash's shoulder. "Hey, they're the ones who are all about justice." Aqualad decided at this point to be the voice of reason. "But they said stay put."

Robin shook his head. "Only for the blotting out the sun mission, not this." Kid Flash's eyes lit up. "Wait, are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going." Both of them and Speedy, who made up his mind the second Robin suggested it, turned to face Aqualad. The dark-skinned Atlantean cracked a wry grin. "Just like that, we're a team on a mission?" Robin's response was short and sweet.

"We didn't come for a play date. Are you in?"


A/N:

Welcome, one and all, to the saga of Young Justice: The Heroic Age! This is an idea that's been stewing in my brain for like one and a half years, spurred by my love for Young Justice, Flash, and Arrow. You'll notice that I have incorporated characters from the latter two shows, as well as changed a few things about Young Justice. This will not follow the storyline directly. I have very closely adapted the first few episodes into this story, up until about Chapter 9 of this story. Then, I will bring the characters into an entirely different direction. I have planned pretty far ahead, adapting the characters you know and love from the show into this work.

Hopefully I do the characters justice. You'll notice that I used some of the exact lines from Independence Day; this is to help set up the same kind of story of young heroes branching out and doing their own thing. Anyways, enjoy the entire first section of the story, entitled Dawn. There will be more changes up ahead, so stay tuned!

Side note: The character designs are mostly in line with Young Justice, with a few exceptions. Kid Flash and Flash have the same color schemes as in Young Justice, but their suits are more reminiscent of the one from The Flash TV series. They're designed by STAR Labs for speedsters to reduce friction, provide technical readouts, etc.

Also, in this universe, Flash cannot run at light speeds: theoretically, he certainly can but his maximum speed is somewhere near Mach 50 for now. To put that in perspective, that's over 38,000 mph, meaning he could run across the US in under 5 minutes and around the world in less than 40. Kid Flash will remain as fast as he was in Young Justice (under Mach 1) - for now.

Second change for costumes is Green Arrow and Speedy. I love the costumes from Arrow, so I'm basing the suits off of the show. Green Arrow is wearing a suit similar to the one from Season 4 (which apparently is similar to his New 52 look), while Speedy's original look is similar to the one from Season 3 for Roy Harper/Arsenal. I don't like the Speedy costume from the first episode of Young Justice: it doesn't fit with the origin stories for this saga, so I'm ditching it, along with Green Arrow's Robin Hood look. In addition, Spartan (John Diggle) has a suit exactly the same as the one in Season 4.

More changes will most likely come, but I will explain them in good time. Until then, enjoy the story!