AUTHOR NOTE: Oh. My. God, guys, I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long. School's been hectic, horses' have been crazy and psycho, and I think I becoming an insomniac... which isn't great...
And let's be honest, cos you guys knew I was going to ask it but... WHAT'D YOU THINK ABOUT BVS, HEY?!
Honestly, for me it was one of those movies where you really have to think about it and what message they were trying to convey. When I walked out of the cinema, my immediate rating and reaction was a meh and a half. After thinking about it when I got home, however, I really appreciated what they were doing and what they did a whole lot more. If you guys HAVE seen it, lemme know what your thoughts are. If you haven't seen it, I urge you. GO SEE BVS! IT'S AWESOME AND THE CONTENT (PARTICULARLY WW, BATFLECK AND THE ENDING) IS AMAZING!
K, now that's done, I don't know if I have anything else to say other than: Hope you all had a good Easter and put on like 10 kilos from all the chocolate and ENJOY CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8: Realisation
THE WATCHTOWER
August 30, 05:28 EDT
'Where is she?!'
Nightwing was jolted awake by the sound of Conner's booming voice. He'd been up all night like everyone else, watching over their injured Teammates as they lay in their hospital beds. Dick shook his head in attempt to clear it and glanced down at his watch. Great: one and a half hours sleep in two days. Because that was so healthy for his body.
Getting out of his chair, he looked around to see Superboy running towards him with such speed, he could rival the Flash. He held up his gloved hands as the Kryptonian came to a screeching halt.
He panted out, 'Where is she', whilst looking around frantically, eyes darting everywhere.
'Calm down, Conner. She's asleep at the moment, but I'll show you to her', he said calmly as he gestured for him to follow.
The two young men walked in silence as they made their way through the Watchtower. Dick looked over to see Conner was sweating, and sweating hard. But he knew it wasn't from frantically rushing to his girlfriend's side; it was from frantically worrying about her. His eyes were slightly downcast and he seemed unfocused.
Dick remembered back to when Conner first joined the Team, to when the world first met Superboy. He'd been rash, impulsive, angry. It had seemed that nothing and no one could tame his fiery soul; that was until M'gann turned the blaze in his heart into a soft, yet bright flicker of a flame. Since then, he'd been coolheaded, calm and logical in his thoughts and actions. Nowadays, the only thing and person who could bring out that was M'gann herself. And right now, with his face red and in an anxious sweat, it was blatantly obvious that this was the case.
After rounding several corners and walking through several doorways, they reached the infirmary. Conner pushed past Nightwing as he ran through the door. He stopped short as his eyes found M'gann, asleep in a hospital bed. Garfield, Artemis, Zatanna and Karen were all asleep by her side, each of them slumped over in their chair. Conner heard shuffling and looked over to see Cassie in another bed with her face scrunched up and contorted, most likely in pain. Donna had fallen asleep by her sister, and Tim was right next to her head, holding up one of her hands and stroking it. He started mumbling into it and Conner picked up on things like '-all my fault-', '-so sorry, Cass-' and 'never let it happen again-'. He chose not to pry any further.
Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Batman were talking amongst themselves in the far right corner, obviously discussing the disastrous mission. J'onn looked horrified and Diana had started biting away at her perfect fingernails. Eyes widening in shock, Conner watched on as the Dark Knight gently grabbed her free hand and gave it a small, comforting squeeze, to which the Amazon princess squeezed back. He muttered a few quiet words to the two of them before glancing up at Conner and began walking toward him.
'Conner', he said him a nod, though there was a hint of comfort and empathy in his voice. 'I heard Robin already informed you of what occurred on the mission. Is that correct?'
'Yeah', was all he could breathe out as he gazed upon his immobilized girlfriend.
Batman turned to face the two injured members. 'I took a small skin and blood sample of M'gann's physiology once it was confirmed she wasn't…' Conner winced at where he was going with saying, before he changed route. 'It was safe to do so. I managed to acquire a sample of Black Spider's appendage weapons. It had the same properties within it as the dagger used by Joker to wound her last time. Same melting point, same atomic mass, same composition… everything.'
Oh great. A world-class assassin and a maniacal murderer joining forces to take down my girlfriend? Great, just fucking great. 'So… they're working together?'
'Possibly', the Dark Knight replied. 'It's more likely that they've both been hired by a greater power, however.'
Conner stepped back in shock. 'Joker being hired? Isn't he in it for the mayhem, not the money?'
'That's what troubles me. Joker would rather die than work for another person… Unless he's been promised something other than a better income…'
The clone could see that Batman was deep in thought, so he left him to his own thoughts and devices to walk up to M'gann. He sat on the edge on the edge of her bed and looked down on her. It was one of the rare occasions where she looked fragile. A lock of auburn hair had fallen across her eyes, so Conner reached to brush it back into place. As he made contact, a small shock passed through him, one he gladly welcomed. He let his hand linger on her forehead, gently gliding it down until his fingers began combing through her hair just above her ear. His thumb began involuntarily smoothing over her green complexion, massaging it.
'Conner?' she groaned out, squinting her eyes open.
He brushed his hand through her hair. 'Shhh, M'gann, just try and sleep.'
She minutely shook her head, opening her big, brown eyes up at her boyfriend. 'Not tired. Been asleep all night. Plus, you're here, and I want to see you.'
He smiled and leant forward, lips lightly brushing her forehead. 'That's sweet, and I want to see you too, but the more you rest, the quicker you'll heal.'
Oddly enough, she chuckled. 'It's strange, being injured. I'm used to just resting a couple of hours, letting my shapeshifting sort it out. Doesn't seem to be working.'
She looked around to see her best friends and brother asleep beside her, and smiled. Turning, she saw Cassie in the bed beside her, clearly working through some pain. Tim was holding her hand and she could see his worried eyebrows peeping out from underneath his glasses. She then saw Troia, Wonder Woman, Batman and her Uncle J'onn. Then she realised something.
Turning to Conner, she whispered out, 'Where's Starfire? And Jaime? Are they okay?'
'I heard Dick took Starfire out to calm her; she was pretty shaken up after the mission. Pretty brutal for her first one.'
'Jaime?'
Conner looked away. 'We-we found him unconscious by the building side. He's at his place recovering after head trauma.'
M'gann leaned back and squinted her eyes, urging the tears to stay in. 'It's all my fault. My head wasn't in the game. I-if I'd just been more focused, or-or if we'd approached it differently-mmph!'
She was cut off by Conner's lips suddenly against hers. She allowed herself to melt into the kiss, taking in every bit of him. She snaked an arm up around his neck and let it her elbow bend as it curled over. It was a soft, full of compassion and love. As the kiss came to an end, M'gann's arm slipped back down until her hand was cupping his jaw. They pulled apart and let their foreheads touch, resting against each other.
'Thanks', M'gann breathed out at a whisper, biting her lip. 'I needed that.'
'Thought you did. But M'gann, you can't put this on yourself. You did everything right – Black Spider obviously had some inside information of your attack, and he clearly had an unforeseen advantage with that weapon.'
She slowly nodded, but then her eyes widened and she pulled away from Conner. 'It-it was the same thing as Joker's dagger… wasn't it?'
Conner glanced away, unable to bear looking into her eyes. '…Yes. Yes it was.'
'We need to find this… this weapon. If it did this to me, and did that to Cassie, I don't like to think what it could do to you or anyone else on the Team and League.' She brought her hands up to rub her arms uncertainly.
He cupped the side of her face tenderly. 'M'gann, I promise you, we will stop them. I won't let them hurt you or anyone else again.'
'I know you won't. Just make sure you let me at the guy too.' Looking up at him with big, brown eyes, she whispered out, 'I love you, Conner.'
He leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. 'I love you too.'
METROPOLIS
September 2, 13:45
'Woohoo!' she cried as she flipped over a cloud.
Giggling, she glanced behind to see him gaining on her, a devilish smile on his face. She laughed, thrusted her fists forward and climbed higher into the sky. As she disappeared into another cloud, she slowly began increasing her speed until a large boom resonated around them, and she burst out of the cloud. She spun around and closed her eyes, taking in every detail she could around her. Arms spread like a bird, eyes still closed, a smile crept onto her face as she leaned back and began plummeting to the earth.
Wind rushed past her face, whipping her hair. Her skirt beat against her thighs as her descent quickened. After free-falling for a good fifteen seconds, she opened her eyes just in time to see a skyscraper nearing her. Still grinning, she flew over it and cried out again, unable to contain her extreme happiness. A shiver ran through her, from the top of her head to the tips of her outstretched fingers. Looking behind, she saw him approaching her once more.
'I don't think so, Kal!' Supergirl cried out, before pushing forward, creating yet another sonic boom.
Chuckling as he shook his head, Superman pushed after his cousin. 'You know, Kara, when I said we should patrol and sight-see Metropolis together, I didn't mean a race.'
Up ahead, the young blonde laughed. 'One thing you should know about me, cousin: Everything with me is a competition. Whether it's implied in the suggestion or not.'
Suddenly, a siren sounded below them. Supergirl came to a screeching halt and paused, tuning her ears to the siren. Superman slowed and came up beside her, watching her inquisitely. She closed her eyes, letting every part of her focus on the siren below.
"Truck 16, this is Captain Bankston at the Station. Do you read? Over."
"This is Officer Jones and Lang in Truck 16. We read you, Captain. Go ahead."
"Just got a report in of a house fire at the corner of Olsen and Lombard. What's your ETA?"
"12 minutes, sir, but we've already gotten a call about a powerline on a car… It's got kids in it."
"Dammit Jones. Every other man is on a job… I can't leave the station. Better hope Supes is out there today."
Supergirl's brilliant blue eyes flashed open, and she looked to her cousin, determination written across her face. She opened her mouth, getting ready to take a stance, say she was stopping the fire, whether or not he thought she was ready. However, she was quickly stopped by Superman's raised hand, requesting silence.
'Kara', he said with confidence, 'We'll both go and work as a team. But if I say to you to leave something to me-'
'I will', Kara nodded, and with that, they took off, a blur of red and blue.
'There!' she yelled out, pointing down below them and the flame-engulfed apartment block. A few people waited outside of it, some crying, some wailing, some screaming.
'Are we… too late?' she asked, glancing to her cousin.
His eyebrows furrowed and blue eyes turned red. 'No. I can see them. There's three children in the upper floor, and four adults in the middle. I've got the adults, you-'
'Get the kids. Got it', she said as she blasted through a hole in the burning building. As soon as she landed, she was immediately greeted by the roaring fire. Flames licked her arms as she glided through, careful not to walk on the unstable floorboards. Suddenly, a plank of wood came hurdling towards her. She raised an arm to protect her face, and it bounced off it.
'Right', she sighed out. She was then alerted to the sound of coughing. Her head jerked up and eyes widened.
'Hello?' she called out as loud as she could. She kept focused her hearing.
Coughing replied at first, but then a faint, 'H-help us, pl-please…'
'Hold on!' she called out and hastened her pace toward the voice. 'I'm on my way.'
Turning on her x-ray vision, eyes glowing blue, she looked through door after door until she spotted them. A young girl was huddled over two toddlers, two boys. Eyebrows furrowing, she carefully rushed through the fallen beams and broken railings until she reached the door.
'Damn', she cussed when the door handle didn't turn. Thinking for a moment, she squinted her eyes at the knobbly handle and two, ice-blue lasers shot out, pointing at it. They bore into it for a moment until the handle glowed red, heat radiating from it. After a few seconds, it started drooping and a few seconds after that, all of it had turned to liquid. She then carefully pushed open the door, peeping from behind it. And her heart stopped.
The young girl that she'd seen before, who appeared to be no more than ten years old, was covered in ashes. Her back was hunched, her eyes were barely open, and as yet another cough came onto her, it racked here whole body. Who Supergirl assumed to be her younger brothers were huddled beneath her, wheezing and apparently unconscious.
Supergirl bent down and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, only for her to wince. It was burned. She looked up at her, her eyes widened in awe, in wonder. In hope.
'Are you', she paused to cough. 'A-are you a super… superhero?'
'Yes', she replied, giving her a determined, reassuring smile. 'And I'm here to rescue you.'
The girl looked down and picked up one of her brothers, raising him up all 'Rafiki and Simba' style. Kara had been watching a lot of Disney movies. 'Here, t-take Lachie and A-Angus first.'
Supergirl contemplated her choices for a moment before nodding. She took the one the girl had handed to her first, and pointed at the clouded-over window. 'Wait by this window for me, okay? I'll be back for you in two seconds. Stay low to the ground, and keep breathing.'
After the girl nodded, the young Kryptonian picked up the other boy and super-speed flew them out of the building. As soon as they were out in the open, she spotted an ambulance and rushed them over. The paramedics looked up at her and their eyes widened in shock at her appearance.
Landing, she laid the two boys across the gurneys and looked to the surprised doctors. 'These two need medical attention stat. I think they inhaled too much smoke.'
They slowly nodded, their mouths and eyes still widened at her. As she went to take off again, she looked behind herself briefly to say, 'I'm going back in for their sister.'
She flew up and over to the window. Taking in a deep breath of air, she let it out in a rush, and an icy trail formed from her lips and hit the paned window. With her laser vision, she then drilled a large enough hole into the crystallised, wooden panes, and stretching a hand in, the previously frigid window crumbled to the ground. She flew inside, and her blue eyes met the dark brown ones of the young girl, who was managing a weary, thankful smile up at her saviour.
She scooped up the young girl, and in a nick of time, and the floorboards crumbled beneath her soon after, giving way the fiery depths below. The young girl, even in her state of almost-unconscious, looked down below with a horrified and shocked look on her face. Supergirl touched her arm with the hand closest, bringing her out of the mind-set of 'I almost died' to 'I survived'. And she did, thanks to a certain, blonde Kryptonian.
'This is Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, reporting to you live from downtown Metropolis where a mysterious fire engulfing Blue Air Apartments nearly took the lives of over 20 residents. Police are currently investigating the cause of the fire, which appeared apparently out of nowhere. But the mystery of it isn't what has people talking down here; it's the person who saved them.'
Lois Lane, confidence and all, beamed at the camera at the next thing she said. 'That's right, folks, I'm talking about our hometown Man of Steel, who apparently had a spare minute off saving the world to save a handle of our city's beloved citizens. Witnesses reported seeing the Blue Boy Scout fly into the thick of the fire and pull out a young mother, an elderly couple and a college student. It seems that once again, the day has been saved by Su-'
'Excuse me, Miss Lane? Miss Lane!' Lois turned her head to see a mother running towards her, with an excited, young girl in tow. 'I-I hope you don't mind, but there's something you should know.'
Lois looked back to the camera momentarily, flashing another smile, before muffling the microphone with her hand and looking back to the civilians. 'Sorry ma'am, but I'm on a time schedule. I have to wrap it up in a minute, and I still need to cover a few things.'
'Please', the mother said, raising her hands in a prayer. 'My daughter was also rescued from the fire and she has something to say. It's incredibly important, and I also think it'd make a great story for you.'
Letting out an inward sigh, she turned to the camera, opened the microphone again and said, 'Hold on a moment, Perry. Apparently, a victim of the fire has a story to tell.'
'Go ahead, sweetheart.' She knelt down and held the microphone in front of the girl's face.
'Hi, my name is Genevieve, I'm ten years old, and I live- uh, lived here', she started off, somewhat nervous. But as she continued, confidence flew into her, and she spoke with a smile. 'My brothers and I were stuck in their bedroom on the top floor, and the fire was really close to us. We were all coughing a lot, and after a while, my brothers fell asleep. I was starting to feel sleepy too, but then I heard someone call out.'
'I told them to help us, and then a bit later, this girl came through. She looked like Superman, except she was younger, she had long, blonde hair, a gold belt and a red skirt. She came over to us and took my brothers out. Like, she flew them out. Then, she came back and got me, picked me up, and then the floor broke. We were flying above the fire. It was scary, but it was also pretty cool. She was pretty cool.'
'She dropped me off at the ambulance with my younger brothers and got our mom. Then she just flew off', the young girl, Genevieve, finished with.
Lois, who stood beside her, was in both awe and a considerable amount of shock. Clark hadn't told her that there was a Supergirl… Remembering she still had to deliver to the people back home, she stood up and addressed the camera. 'How about that? According to this brave, little girl, ladies and gents, our city might've gained another hero. And all the young girls and women at home must be ecstatic at there being a superheroine! Is our young friend Genevieve telling the truth? Do we really have a Supergirl? Guess we'll just have to wait and-'
Suddenly, a large gust of wind swayed everyone, ruffling hair and clothes. Glancing up, the large crowd that had gathered stood in absolute awe at the figure in front of them. With the sun directly behind, the silhouette of a flying, feminine figure hovered above them, her skirt, cape and hair billowing majestically in the wind. Lowering herself to the ground, everyone saw the lithe figure of the blonde teenager carrying in her arms a tabby cat. Walking over to a beaming Genevieve, she knelt down and handed her the calm cat.
She smiled at the ten-year-old. 'Saw your name on his collar when I found him up a tree. Pretty ironic, right?'
She was then surprised when the young girl set the cat down safely at her feet, leapt into her arms and squeezed her tightly. Momentarily surprised, the blonde hugged her back just as tight, a smile bright on her lips. She pulled away, beamed at the girl and stood up.
'Thank you, thank you so much… Supergirl.'
She could feel tears welling in her ice-blue eyes, and urged them back in. 'Any time, kiddo. Just try to steer clear of fires.'
With that, Supergirl turned around, bent her knees and leapt into the sky above, a blur of red in the sky. After a few moments of shock, the crowd burst into a cacophony of noise, loud, thankful clapping and cheering. Lois smiled, forgetting that she was going to murder Clark for not telling her about his little sis.
'There you have it, everyone. To me, and everyone else downtown, that's all the confirmation we need that we now have a new hero. You at home just witnessed the first ever appearance of Supergirl, the Girl of Steel. Over to you, Perry.'
THE WATCHTOWER
September 2, 16:16 EDT
'Come on, Blue, you're up to forty-seven now. Pretend that that constant headache from your last mission isn't making your head throb. Come on, you can do it! I believe in you!'
'Hear that, Scarab? My amigo believes in me. Notice I called him amigo, something I don't call you too often, esé.'
'Just remember that the Kid Flash is the one sitting on you, Jaime Reyes', his scarab replied scornfully.
Jaime grunted and screwed up his face, urging his muscles to keep going as he pulled his shaking body up from another push-up. Squinting as he continued to shake, he looked behind him to see Bart sitting cross-legged on his back, giving him a big thumbs-up. Like he'd been doing for the last 48 times.
Carefully lowering himself down, he looked up to see Tim walking in with a wobbly Cassie on his arm. His face lit up, and he pushed harder. His muscles were burning, screaming at him to stop. He said 'shut up and do your shit' to his muscles' face. Bart leaned down to whisper in his ear, 'cough Show-off cough.'
'Shut up', he breathed out through gritted teeth as he pulled himself up, finishing his final push-up. Collapsing to the ground, he lay there a few moments, groaning as his muscles ached, burned, and punched themselves. That's how much it hurt.
Above him, he could hear Tim scoff. 'You right there, Jaime? Trying to be all tough after your beat-up, are we?'
'Yep', he grunted, turning his head to look up at his friends. 'Just waiting for the excess baggage to unload itself.'
Bart groaned and hauled himself off of his collapsed friend. 'Fine. Thanks for ruining my fun, Jaime. Consider my mode felt.'
'You're welcome.' Jaime winced as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Looking up, his eyes found Cassie, whose bright blue eyes were now hazy and dull. Her peppy, upright, full-of-life posture was now slouched, hunched over, and tired. Jaime couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the 16-year-old girl, who now looked like she gained another 30 years on her current age.
Cassie Sandsmark had been his friend since he'd first joined the Team. She was the one who convinced him to join up in the first place, who'd accompanied him on his first mission, who'd helped him in those first few hard weeks, who'd trained with him. She had been his first friend. He'd remembered how strong she'd seemed on that first day, when she appeared beside him and pulled him out of school to bring him on the adventure of a lifetime. All the life and joy that had pulsated from here. Seeing her so helpless and downtrodden – it broke his heart.
'How you feeling, Cassie?'
She looked up and gave him a small smile. 'Much better, still a bit groggy and dizzy though. Lost quite a bit of blood, and Dr Tompkins said no crime-fighting for another 3 weeks. So boo', she said, and he face fell. It quickly lightened up again when she said, 'M'gann's looking a lot better though. Doc thinks she can start training again in a few days and be out in the field again in just over a week.'
Tim smiled as looked at her. 'She's doing really well. Batman also checked her, being, you know, Batman, and he said her vitals are stable, her bloodstream is full again and she'll be fine. He did encourage her to stay off her feet. You can see how that went.'
'Shut up, Boy Blunder', she said as she half-heartedly elbowed him in the side.
'Hey', he replied with a chuckle. 'Just remember who's holding you up.'
'Yeah about that, I wanna sit down. Can you drop me off over there?' she asked, pointing to a padded bench.
She let out a squeal as he picked her up bridle style and begun walking toward her desired destination. 'As you wish.'
Beside him, Jaime heard Bart let out a drawn-out aww at the Princess Bride reference. The Hispanic chuckled at his friend's reaction to the adorable gesture and watched on as a giggling Cassie was lowered gently by her knight in shining armour. Not that Cass was a damsel in distress – she was anything but.
Leaning back into the padded upright of the chair, the Amazon folded her arms as she watched Tim join their two friends on the gymnasium. 'So we saw your impressive push-ups, but what's next? I need some entertainment here, guys!'
'Aren't I entertainment enough, Cass? You honestly don't think that these two delinquents are gonna top your boyfriend, do you?' Tim joked as he moved to the Uneven Bars.
Over at the super-sonic treadmill, Bart scoffed as he pushed it up to Mach 1. 'Pssh, you're gonna look like the delinquent after this. Actually, you're gonna look more like a moron.'
'Can you two just shut up?' Jaime grunted, pulling himself up for a chin-up. 'Tryna get fit over here.'
'Yeah, trying to, Jaime', Bart snickered.
'Maldito, pedazo de mierda! Ya he tenido suficiente de tu mierda y su grasa, puto culo perezoso!'
Whilst Cassie and Bart looked at the fuming 16-year-old confusedly, Tim, who was currently balancing himself in a one-armed handstand on the top of bars, looked over in horror before losing balance and falling, grabbing hold of the bar just in time.
'Language, Jaime!' he yelled over.
He shrugged. 'I know, it was Spanish, so I let all hell loose. Anyway, how was I supposed to know that you know Spanish?'
'You're seriously asking that? Batman knows eight languages. Fluently. Obviously I've picked up a thing or two here and there. Which means I know what you think about Bart's backside.' The Batman protégé narrowed his aqua eyes at the blushing Blue Beetle.
Bart frowned and glanced behind him. 'What's wrong with my butt?'
Cassie, who'd been sitting contently on the side-line, suddenly leapt into the thick of the battle. 'Can you all just shut up?!'
Seeing that had silenced the boys, she smiled ever so sweetly at them again. 'Good. Now that you've finished behaving like *little boys with no natural inclination to share*,' she hung on her words as the teen boys blushed, 'maybe we can have a civil convo now?'
Stealing a quick, embarrassed glance at one another, the guys nodded slowly, allowing a bright smile to creep onto Cassie's face.
'Finally. Yay!' she said and ushered them all over. Gesturing toward the space in front of her, she asked them to sit down in a very granny-like manner. Tim was struggling to keep from laughing due to Bart and Jaime's perplexed faces.
He absolutely lost it when his girlfriend said, 'Now, children. Storytime with Auntie Cass.'
He was soon silenced by a bat-worthy glare being shot in his direction. Once he'd been put in his place, Cassie leaned back into the backrest, crossing her legs and arms. She smiled sweetly down on the cross-legged boys.
'Kay, it's all g, I'm done with that crap', she said to their relief. 'And the story nonsense. When I said that, I meant 'prepare yourselves for a gossip sesh!'
Jaime's eyes widened, and he prepared himself to get up and leave. That was until Cassie's invincible lasso tightened around his frame, and he let out a squeal as he was jerked back to his spot. Shaking he looked up to see Cassie's figure above him, giving him the most serious look he thought he'd ever seen on her face.
'Sit.'
'Yes ma'am.'
Bart exploded with a raucous of laughter, and Tim sat by the shocked Hispanic, smirking at the scene. Leaning across, he then whispered into his ear, 'Trust me, Jaime, there's no escaping her. Believe me, I've tried time and time again.'
The three boys then turned to look up at their new ring leader, and the dreaded gossip begun.
Although none of them would admit it, the girly socialising soon became an accepted second nature, and the boys began to enjoy it immensely. The subjects had varied extremely, from everyone's take on the 'Kimye' relationship to the most recent hooligan-like acts by Booster Gold and Vigilante. Cassie was silently chuckling to herself at the spectacle of three grown boys getting riveted by the information, and pouring their heart and soul into the discussions.
'Oh, I had to bring this one up!' Bart said. 'What'd you guys think about the new recruits?'
Jaime, who'd been sipping a lemon squash, slammed his drink down to rush in. 'Muy Bien! They're awesome! Raven's really mysterious and interesting, Starfire's really sweet and cool and well… she looks like that', he said with a blush, to which Cassie rolled her eyes and the other boys nodded in agreement. 'And Supergirl… Supergirl's just amazing.'
'I've been really impressed with how she's handled this new planet and all the challenges it's thrown at her.'
Tim nodded in agreement. 'I heard Conner saying that she starts school tomorrow. Apparently Barbara and M'gann are going shopping with her today to get some supplies and clothes, and they're 'briefing' her on how to act at school. She's sounds like she's pretty excited by it all. Hardly nervous.'
'And can you imagine being thrown into a world with technology far behind her own? She must feel like she's living in the Stone Age!' Cassie exclaimed.
'I can', Bart said with a small smirk. 'Which means I can relate. It's tough living on an Earth so different to my own, so for Kara… it must be surreal.'
'Clark and Conner must be over the moon, knowing that they're not the only Kryptonians, you know? Gives them hope. But Kara… Kara probably feels like she's lost everything. Technically, she has lost everything. Conner and Clark grew up on Earth and lived the lives of humans, but Kara had a whole other life on Krypton. She has years of memories with her family, friends, and fellow Kryptonians, all who're now dead.' Cassie looked away uncomfortably.
None of the teens knew what to say, how to respond. They all knew that they were thinking the same thing, however; by saving her life, Kara's parents had gifted her with a fate worse than death – living a new life on an established, very different and lonely planet compared to her one on her now dead home. That would be something that'd consume her with every waking moment until the day she died. She'd be traumatised.
After a good, long think, Jaime cleared his throat. 'Yeah, well, this is why we to make sure we're always conscious of that life, and do everything in our power to make her transition to Earth ways as easy as possible, given what's happened.'
'Yeah', Bart said, still lost in thought.
'Absolutely.'
'Of course.'
They then sat in silence for a few moments, until Bart attempted to clear the air with a laid-back stretch and drawn-out yawn. 'Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've been pulling all-nighters all week with school and the Team and everything, and I am pooped! Anyone want to join me for a snooze in the library?'
Eager to talk or do anything but about the elephant in the room, everyone leapt to the feet (Cassie with a bit of aid from Tim) and nodded in agreement. The four teens then raced out of the gym, minus Cassie hobbling along beside Tim, and made their way to the beloved beanbags of the library.
As they raced down the hallway, Bart let his mind wander back to the abandoned conversation. He would've been happy to think about anything but Kara's living nightmare, as it reminded him of his own switch from one 'world' to another. Not like it had been a great life 40 years into the future, with Armageddon ruling over alongside old Blue Beetle and the Reach, but it'd had its perks here and there. For example, he'd learnt not to take a single thing for granted, and had become extremely resourceful. And of course there was Nathaniel, his constant conscience and friend throughout their hellish time there. He'd had other friends too, but most of them had been killed, abducted, manipulated or even joined the Reach.
He shook his head and the thoughts out along with it. After all, there was no need to think about that now, and it'd been changed, saving the future. He thanked God that he could now sleep better at night, knowing he'd always wake up to a better tomorrow.
MOUNT JUSTICE
FEBRUARY 28, 10:05 EST
THIRTY-NINE YEARS LATER
'-day?'
Nathaniel looked around him in unwelcome shock, taking in his displeasing, similar surroundings. 'No… The time stream. It should've all changed, all at once. The mode should've crashed, should've all crashed…'
His eyes widened, knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, looking around him in utter despair. As new memories flooded in of his new past, he couldn't stop his heart racing. It should've been from ecstasy, but it was from dread, impending doom, hopelessness. He began hyperventilating as he dragged his gaze down to the dull, grey ashes before him, scooping it up with a shaking hand, letting the follicles slip through his fingers.
He jumped as he heard a voice behind him. 'Widened, darting eyes, shaking limbs, examining daily objects with such intent, it is as though you've never seen them before? I did always suspect you would eventually… how do you call it? Snap? I just did not believe it would be so soon, Nathaniel. '
The older man sighed, and shakily rose from the filthy ground. 'Oh, it's only you. Thought the beetles were patrolling again.'
Ignoring him, the other person spoke up again. 'I see Bart has left our midst. And your prison wear and scars have dissipated.'
'Yeah, the kid went back-'
'Forty years in an attempt to change our fate? Yes, I had already acquired that knowledge.'
Nathaniel managed a chuckle. 'Yeah, of course. But you know this isn't your fate, right? As in, this isn't your future, and you could go back at any time to where you came from, the age you came from. A better tomorrow.'
The individual suddenly turned around and faced him. 'But I have not, have I? Originally, I travelled back a millennium to discover the ways of the inhabitants of the 21st century, but I have stayed to find a way to save the past and to preserve it from any further destruction.'
'And that is why I have come looking for you at this time. I believe I have found that way.'
Nathaniel's eyes widened and he walked over to the shorter, younger person. 'What?'
'I have calculated the most prominent threats of the universe, and one individual has stood out in my research. His name is Darkseid, and I have reason to believe that he conquers Earth a few short years after Bart Allen's arrival into the past.'
'I have calculated approximately when he begins his invasion, which is around one year and six months after the arrival of Impulse.'
When Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, the other person replied with, 'Impulse. It was the alias that Bart Allen took up when he began his heroics in early 2016. Back onto our previous topic, however, if I can travel back in time, which I obviously and easily can, prior to Darkseid's arrival, I might be able to find a way to prevent the turmoil and destruction he is to later cause.'
'Hold on a second.' Nathaniel jumped in. 'This… Darkseid, he's the person now behind this?!'
'Yes, I believe that the Justice League of 2016 alongside the young heroes known as 'the Team' managed to prevent the Reach from performing their hostile takeover, but this then lead to the arrival of Darkseid.' They then reached for one of their forearms and pressed a button, and the air around them began to light up and swirl.
'I must go now. I will travel to early September 2017, confront the Justice League and the Team, and devise a plan to protect Earth from Darkseid's wrath.'
'Wait!' Nathaniel said, jumping forward and grabbing onto the young being's arm. 'Y-you know that symbol on your forehead isn't exactly a welcome one in the time you're going to be in. You'll probably end up being an outcast, dealing with accusations that you can't help… I know, I've been there. It's unbearable. It's a life I don't want someone as young as you to have to deal with.'
For the first time, the younger of the two seemed unsure of himself. 'I know, Nathaniel. I have predicted that the members of the Justice League, especially Superman, will resent me, will hate me even. But I accept this treatment if it means the rest of Earth's inhabitants can sleep, knowing it will wake up to a better tomorrow.'
Nathaniel offered him a tight smile, and moved his hand up to rest it on their shoulder. 'Always have to be the hero, don't you?'
'It is an enjoyable occupation', he said with a smirk, before giving his older companion a respectful nod. 'Farewell, my friend. I cannot calculate this, but I do hope that we meet again in another, brighter time.'
Nathaniel returned the gesture, stepped back, and watched as his futuristic friend was lifted into the air, dust swirling around him like a Kansas tornado as he got ready to make the leap through time.
'Prepare yourself, 2017', Nathaniel breathed out to himself as the young time-traveller's face grew serious and full of determination. 'You're about to receive one of the most crash people I know. You're about to receive Brainiac 5.'
Good lord, that last section was fun to write. But yes guys, Brainiac 5, or Brainy, is gonna be a member of YJ! ... hopefully...
Still no news on the YJ season 3 front, but I had a dream about it the other night (sad, i know), so hopefully thats a good sign :) make sure you sign the online petition to help secure the chance of more seasons of the best cartoon ever
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: Who/what would you guys like to see more of in upcoming chapters?
Spoiler? Static? Red Hood? Brainiac 5? etc.
Remember to Review, Favourite and Follow :)
Much love xx
~SpitfireWestAllen15
