Disclaimer: i own nothing but my oc and the plot.
Rogue Shadow couldn't shake that bad feeling he had in his gut. Something big was going to happen and he knew he wasn't going to like it.
He walked into the living room of the cave. It was just like every other day at the cave since they joined. Miss Martian and Superboy were sucking face in the corner. Tigress and Kid Flash were arguing in the kitchen. Kaldur was trying to concentrate on his book despite the low moans coming from the couple and the shouts coming from the kitchen. Robin was nowhere to be found. Maxwell's eyes narrowed.
The kid made Artemis' pranks look like, well, crap. The first day Maxwell stayed in the mountain Robin disappeared for three hours and turned up later after Wally caught him trying to sneak a cookie from Wally's secret stash. Maxwell decided to suit up to spar against Superboy and discovered what Robin had been doing for the past three hours. Robin had hacked Maxwell's armor to program the Macarena into it and sealing off the manual motor controls. Needless to say it took Maxwell thirty minutes to undo Robin's programming and get the suit to stop doing the Macarena with him inside of it. Another time Maxwell made the mistake of showering at Mount Justice went he came out. His clothes were gone, his towel was gone, and all that was left was an almost exact replica of Wonderwoman's costume. He figured it couldn't get any worse but was corrected when the computer started announcing names of leaguers. He was going to sneak back to his room and maybe get to his armor when he saw the explosive and electric batarangs just waiting for him to keep to the shadows. He did the only thing he could do at that point. He manned up and walked across the room with his head held high. No one was letting him live that one down.
"Am I the only one with a bad feeling right now?" Maxwell asked out loud. No one responded.
"Recognized Batman 00, Zatara A06"
"Computer bring up national news."
The team made their way to the briefing room.
"Since the plant attack on Metropoli-" The power was cut.
The lights flickered then the back up generator kicked in. The holographic screen came back on.
"Vandal Savage." Batman growled.
"Greetings to you too Batman. As I am sure you are well aware of plants have been attacking all major cities for fifteen minutes now. The Justice league is already stretched thin. Who is left to deal with my injustice league? Better yet, who is strong enough to go head to head with every con in Belle Reve? Who do you have available to defend your sidekicks from the shadows who are already in your mountain?" Vandal questioned. "Food for thought." The screen cut.
"Zeta beams offline."
Batman and Zatara disappeared in a flash of light.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Maxwell cursed as he put on his helmet.
"What happened?" The team asked in unison.
"Someone split the worlds so adults are in one world while kids are in the other." Rogue Shadow explained as he began scanning the cave for any shadows who wouldn't be considered adults. "That means we inherit the plant problem, any under aged cons from Belle Reve, and any mini shadows in this cave while trying to deal with the millions upon millions of things that have gone wrong in this world by the sudden disappearance of adults. I'm sorry team but as bad as things are here the adult world is so much worse. Find Zatanna, Zatara's daughter and get her to locate the magical juncture. Bring Doctor Fate with you. Temi fram." Maxwell's body matured to an eighteen year old and was sent to the adult world.
Rogue Shadow appeared in the middle of an all out brawl between the shadows and Batman. Zatara was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood in a way that immediately reminded Rogue Shadow of Kent. Rogue Shadow charged into the fray a whirl of shadow and light as his fists and energy beams cut through the crowd but the Shadows just kept coming. This is getting me nowhere. Rogue Shadow gathered his mind. There were too many for it to be controlled. "ENOUGH!" The mental attack had a similar effect to a bomb. The destruction was uncontrolled and massive. Every Shadow in a three mile radius was knocked out the problem was that everyone in a three mile radius was knocked out except for him. Great just great. Rogue Shadow revived Batman.
"What happened?" Here goes daddy bats. Batman grabbed him by the shoulders. "What happened to them?"
"A spell that separated the child world from the adult world. The juncture point for the spell needs to be taken out from both sides." Rogue Shadow yawned as the exertions of rapidly aging his own body and mentally knocking everyone senseless hit him.
"Stay awake." Batman ordered as Rogue Shadow started to waver.
"You try aging your body three years in three seconds and tell me if you have enough strength to brain blast everyone in a three mile radius." Rogue Shadow complained as his speech started to slur. "Yust 'ring me 'o 'elle 'eve. 'leep way heir." Rogue Shadow collapsed.
Maxwell was awakened by furious shaking. "What happened?"
"You passed out." Batman stated. "We are here."
Maxwell looked out of the Batplane and saw the prison still intact.
"Good luck."
Rogue Shadow gulped. He wouldn't have given it a second thought if he had been at his prime but he was barely at ten percent. There was only going to be one way he was going to make it out of it alive. One way to victory. So many others to defeat. He had to win.
Rogue Shadow exited the Batplane.
He forced himself to calm down. You have to do this. No matter how painful.
Rogue Shadow expanded his mind to it's fullest extent. He felt the presence of every life form in a ten mile radius. He let a hole appear in the coverage around Belle Reve. You can do this. Rogue Shadow steeled himself. His mind entered the minds of every living thing in his reach.
Rogue Shadow collapsed to one knee. It was tearing him apart but he refused to give in. You will do this. He rose to his feet as booms started to fill the air. Rogue Shadow closed his eyes and with him every other living creature with eyes closed them too. The power around him could move mountains and drain seas. It was too much power for one human to withstand but Rogue Shadow had to try.
A crack appeared on the wall facing him. Rogue Shadow pulled out his blades. The crack got bigger. Rogue Shadow dropped into a defensive stance. His molecules were vibrating with the amount of power he was collecting in his body. The energy needed release.
A hole opened. Villains began streaming out.
Rogue Shadow took a deep breath. He attacked.
Time slowed down. He slammed into Mammoth with enough strength to stop a comet. A resounding crack broke through the shouts of surprise as Mammoth's chest caved. "Slytha!" Fifty villains slumped over unconscious but more poured out through the hole in the wall. He slammed his fist into Blockbusters gut. The force of the hit sent Blockbuster through the wall of the jail opening up another hole for villains to pour out of. He launched himself at the Riddler.
That was when the first death happened. It was a small colony of ants at the very edge of Rogue Shadow's range whose energy went first. Due to their mind link Rogue Shadow felt their deaths as his own. Push through it. You're not dead yet. "Slytha." Another fifty villains fell insects began dying by the droves. Gather yourself. Rogue Shadow gather what he could of his mind and expanded the range of the spell. "Slytha." Everyone in Belle Reve was knocked out. The insects immediately died and were quickly followed by small mammals and birds. The force of ten billion deaths washed over him.
He went down to all fours. Sweat was pouring out of him. His stomach was fighting to release it's contents. All waste left his body. Darkness was creeping into his vision and his heart was palpitating. He was just about to give in when a genomorph picked him up by his ankle and threw him through the prison wall. No. Not now. He tried to pick himself up but his body did not respond. Genomorphs.
Rogue Shadow was in a dilemma. His link with other living things gave him his strength and was the only thing keeping him awake but at the same time it prevented him from erecting walls around his mind. This should be interesting. Rogue Shadow lashed out at the genomorph's minds that were invading his but his other mental exertions prevented him from following the minds to launch an assault against their own minds. The genomorphs took full advantage of his impediment and started using hit and run tactics while Rogue was forced to defend as best as he could.
The larger genomorphs were swarming Rogue Shadow and despite how many he put out of commission with a punch or a kick, two more were there to take it's place. The same could be said for the mental battle as more and more genomorphs entered the fray but unlike the physical battlefield they couldn't be put out of commission.
He thought that things couldn't get any worse but like always it did. Telekinetic genomorphs made their presence known by combining their power to try to immobilize Rogue Shadow. It was working. He was gradually slowing down and that slow down forced him onto the defensive.
Rogue Shadow couldn't think. There was too much noise, too many things that needed his attention, too many parts of him dying.
He was back in the alley. The kicks kept coming but his body wouldn't move. His mind wouldn't react. It was hopeless. He could see the end. He took one step towards it then another. He reached out to touch it. His hand froze an inch from the surface.
"Your mission is to be the perfect hero."
"You are so dead!" Rogue Shadow shouted as he chased Robin around the mountain laughing as he did so.
"Why did you save me?" Wally asked as he got on his shaky legs. "You're like the annoying brother I never wanted but I got stuck with anyways . Who am I to let that come to an end?"
"Why should your appearance matter?" Rogue Shadow comforted as M'gann cried on to his shoulder. She hiccupped. "All of my life, I-" Rogue Shadow interrupted. "The past is past M'gann what matters is the here and now, and right now you have six friends who don't give two" Rogue Shadow caught himself. "about what you look like." Rogue Shadow gave a light chuckle. "Guess that makes us family."
"So Superman is still giving you the cold shoulder?" Superboy only grunted in response. "I'll pay him a second visit."
"You wanna know why it is easier too be a soldier not a leader?" Kaldur remained silent. "A soldier tends to brushes off all his responsibilities while a leader tends to take responsibility for things beyond their control. Name five things you could have done to prevent Robin from taking the bullet."
"I could have ordered him to stay with the crates." "You need someone to scout no one is a better candidate for that except Batman or me." "I could have sent Wally to-" "If Wally left, Artemis would be dead right now." "I could have taken out the gunman on the right first." "The gunman on the left was the more immediate threat and if you neglected him the shot could have been fatal." "I could have taken it."
"Here is something you have to understand Kaldur. The leader must put his troops before him and to do that he has to make sure he is protected because without a leader the team will if only for a brief moment fall into disarray. In combat, a moment means life or death."
"You are like a brother to me." Artemis confessed. Never before had Rogue Shadow seen her so weak, so small. "I don't want to lose you. Not after I lost so much." "I will always be here and I always keep my promises."
Maxwell could see the world falling. The Justice league failing. His team dying. It was the future and there was only one way to stop it.
I'm sorry Artemis but this is the only way. Rogue Shadow rose to his full height. He broke the last barrier in his mind. Power surged through his veins. He took one last breath. At least I'm going out with a bang. Rogue Shadow exploded.
And scene. there is going to be an epilogue. I know that i'm going to go back and rewrite this to add in a heck of a lot more detail and side plots but i'm also looking at two pages of story ideas in size five font so i wouldn't hold my breath.
