IN BLACKEST NIGHT

By: Malaizjan De Jesus

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was working on my other fic, 'The SECRET Training-Season 1'. So I finished that, which gives me time to finish this fic. I think there will be just another 3-5 chapters to this fic. And then I will work on my other remaining open fic, 'Future Misgivings…' To all of my readers, be patient. I will focus on this fic now. But I need time to get the next chapter going, for it will focus on Soleil and Flash. And I want to get Flash right.

In brightest day,

In blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power,

Green Lantern's Light! –Hal Jordan, then later Jon Stewart

Chapter 20

Mount Justice

March 13th

Wally came to. His leg hurt still but it wasn't broken. His speedster healing saved him again. He opened his eyes. His uncle's relieved face greeted him. "Uncle Barry?"

"Wally." Flash wanted to hug the living daylights out of his nephew but there was a certain blonde archer in the way. So Barry took his hand and squeezed. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Wally glanced down at the extra weight next to him. Artemis was curled next to him. He saw her hand and wrist in a cast and grew worried.

"Don't worry, Wally. It was a clean break," Green Arrow told the teen speedster. "She'll be able to use her bow again."

Kid Flash sighed in relief.

Aqualad spoke in his native tongue, drifting in and out of consciousness. Aquaman listened to what his protégé was babbling about. His eyes widened.

Batman eyed the Atlantean King. "Orin?"

"Kaldur'ahm…we must find Robin and Starshine soon, Batman."

"What is it?"

"The only word I've made out is Stara," Zatanna spoke up.

Suddenly, Aqualad sat up, eyes wide open as he coughed violently, water being spit up.

That caught everyone off-guard.

June 30th

Seattle, Washington

1:12pm

"WHAT!?" cried Zander. "She's not Atlantean!"

"I know that. Did either of you asked her if she wanted in on your master plan?"

"Uh…no," Greg admitted. "But she's my twin. Why wouldn't she?"

"You faked her death for her!? YOU TWO messed up. Melody is depressed. If she's not reunited with Aqualad soon, she could die." Cordelia was very serious about depression. Working as a physical therapist and as an emergency center nurse, she had seen it in people of all ages. She'd seen it before in Melody, when she had first met the young teen. Miss Cocoa would never pretend to know the how or why of it but she was seeing the effects of whatever Aqualad and Melody did. Somehow the two had bonded on a spiritual level. And the teen boys before her didn't even consider it all before faking their deaths and hiding from the Shadows until 6 months pass. But Melody wasn't going to make it 6 months.

"So…how do we fix this?" Zander asked.

"I have an idea."

March 13th

Somewhere in Russia

12:18pm

As soon as Robin and Stara were left alone, the Boy Wonder went to work. He rolled/flipped to get his bound arms in front of him. Dick raced over to Stara's limp body and pulled her head up from the bucket and untied her hands. He laid her on the floor, wet hair plastered to her bluish face. HE cleared her face, opened her mouth, pinched her nose and blew a breath into her mouth.

Then he started with the chest compressions.

Her skin was cold to the touch as he blew once again into her mouth. Which confirmed that the water torture was meant to keep her in check and keep him in line. Unfortunately, it worked.

Two minutes slipped by before she coughed up water, then choked.

Robin turned her head as she cleared her lungs. "Stara?" he whispered softly.

"N-n-no…" Her teeth chattered as the cold hit her.

"Stara, listen to me. You can't stay out of it, we have to get out of here." He whispered his words to her, to avoid anyone overhearing him.

"R-r-r-…Robin?" She opened her eyes and coughed more.

He sat her up right so she could breathe.

"Wh-what d-did you d-do!?" she tried to demand but her voice was too weak for that, and she was trying to get her breath back.

"I agreed to join him. To save you."

"Robin," she whispered sadly. "Next time, let me die. No one can keep me safe from the Shadows. Not even you."

"You're being selfish!" he told her outright. "This team doesn't just work together-we're a family. Which means, no one dies. Not even you." Stara's eyes betrayed her fear. Dick noticed it and his expression softened. "We will get out of this. I promise."

Mount Justice

July 1st

It was training time again. With Miss Martian and Aqualad still recovering from their latest run-in with Parasite, the others were staying sharp. Both of the injured heroes sat on a bench set up against a wall. Miss Martian was still pale but watched training with interest.

Kaldur'ahm tried to pay attention but he couldn't. Three and a half months had passed since Stara had died. He had been too late to save her and her twin brother, Storm. The carnage that greeted the team and the mentors…he could still smell the blood…

Aqualad and Red Arrow ran down the hall, the faint smell of smoke assaulting their noses as they followed the train of blood. No one got in their way but the blood trail got bigger and bigger-

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Kaldur?"

Aqualad snapped out of it as Black Canary called his name. "Yes?" he said politely.

"Do you feel strong enough for some light sparring?" the sonic scream asked. She knew Kaldur was distracted and why he was.

"I believe so." Kaldur got up and entered the training ring, even though his heart and mind weren't in it. He went into a fighting stance.

The two ran down the hall once the shots rang out. Trying to get to the origin of those shots proved to be difficult for Aqualad and Red Arrow as Shadow Ninja came out of every corner to slow them down.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Aqualad and Red Arrow fought their way through the Shadow Ninja. Time was of the essence here: The Justice League was taking out one of the Shadow's hideouts. They were all there; mentors and protégés, all there to rescue Robin and Starshine.

When they got to the hall with the flickering lights, there was a trail of blood on the floor. A few drops at first, then there was more as they got closer to a far room ahead of them.

BAM!

One last shot.

Hearts thumping too loudly in their ears, Kaldur and Roy ran for that room. When they got to that room, hearts broke at the sight. Well, maybe Kaldur's did more than Roy's…

Storm De Parra was on his back, seven gun shots in his body, a pool of blood under him. Firecracker laid 15 feet away and Roy managed to courage to go over to the villain.

One side of Firecracker's face was burnt. Like his powers were sent back on him, like a flash fire. He had one gun shot, one to the head. "Damn…" Roy could only say.

Kaldur saw that beyond the villain was Starshine in her own pool of blood, a short blade in her hip. He ran over to her and kneeled next to her in that pool of blood. The short blade had cut her leg from ankle to hip, where it was currently stuck at. Most of the blood lost was coming from that injury. There were other cuts, mostly small nicks, except for on in the shoulder, which went from the shoulder blade to her elbow. He felt for a pulse, even though she was cold to the touch.

There was none.

Roy joined him as Aqualad began chest compressions. The red archer knew she was dead. The amount of blood around her body was enormous. No one could lose that much blood and live.

Kaldur pushed a breath through stiff lips, willing her to come back to him.

"She's dead. They all are."

The teen heroes looked over at the far corner.

There was the real Roy Harper, Speedy, sitting there with a smoking gun in shaky hands. "H-he didn't know th-there was one i-in the chamber. H-he…killed them. So I sh-shot him. Point blank."

"Aqualad!"

Kaldur shook himself out of the memory. He felt something fall from his face. He reached up to his face and touched it.

It was wet.

He was crying. It shocked him. His emotions were showing. His pain, his lost was there for all to see. His team, his friends were there to see him at his lowest, something that he worked too hard to show. No one knew how he felt. They didn't understand the emptiness he felt every day. True, he never finished the mating process with Stara. But she started the process. All these months had gone by and she didn't feel dead to him. They were just apart and he missed her.

But what did that mean? Was he in denial?

He heard the murmurs.

Every Justice League member believed he refused to go on and live life beyond her. Even his own king. But Kaldur endured. He had to.

Aqualad fell to his knees.

Dinah kneeled next to him, holding him to her. "Robin, call the Tower. Get Aquaman here now!"

Seattle, Washington

Cordelia closed the door behind her. Her private bedroom had many meditation items in it to help her focus her power, even though it was low-level ability. She picked up a focus crystal and sat on her bed. She closed her eyes to meditate. To focus her small power and reach out to the one person that could help Melody now.

Being the one of 3 survivors of Project: Dual Element sometimes made her life hellish. But today, it did not. She was able to shelter the other two survivors: Greg and Melody. She only hoped that she could repair the damage done .

Happy Harbor

Mount Justice

King Orin was concerned. His protégé was in the med bay on the bed, his back to the wall, crying. He broke down. For all this time, Kaldur'ahm had been holding his grief in. He never thought that the young man he thought of as a son was grieving so severely. There had never been a case of an Atlantean not being able to complete the mating ritual due to death. Aquaman had to be honest with himself; he didn't know how to help his protégé.

But he entered the med bay anyway. "Kaldur'ahm?"

Aqualad jerked up from his position, eyes on his king. "My King."

"We will speak in our native tongue, Kaldur'ahm," Orin told him. "You must let her go."

"I cannot. She is not dead." The strength of his voice startled Orin. He truly believed those words.

"We gave her a hero's funeral. She is gone."

"No, she's NOT!" Kaldur yelled at Aquaman. "She is not gone! I know it! I feel her all the time!"

"Son, we buried her," the Atlantean King pointed out.

"It was not her," Aqualad told his king.

'Do not be alarmed by my voice. You do not know me but I know of you, Aqualad. Do not continue your current conversation.'

'Who are you?!' the teen demanded mentally.

"Aqualad…you will lose your position on the team if you cannot move on. There is a soul mate for you. You will find her." King Orin wanted to comfort his protégé but he seemed to be thinking on his words so he left, hoping that this would put an end to the conversation.

'Where is she?' Aqualad asked.

'Seattle, Washington. Bring a friend. Your choice. I am doing this on the behalf of the twins.'

'When?' Kaldur knew that responding to an unknown voice in his head wasn't the wisest of moves but if he could see her again, then he would. But something dawned on him. 'Are you Miss Cocoa?'

'Yes. Once you and your friend arrive in Seattle, I will give you my address,' Miss Cocoa said.

'Is she well?' he asked.

'She is still recovering, Aqualad. Bring an overnight bag. There is much to talk about.' And then she was gone.

And Kaldur realized that his King also left.

Seattle, Washington

July 2nd

12:42am

Roy and Kaldur exited the Zeta Tube disguised as a photo booth. Both were in street clothes, each with a duffle bag. Leaving the alley way, the teen heroes walked to the end of the block. Roy was the only one Kaldur was willing to ask to come along. When the two were in Rhelasia, he realized that they worked well together. And if this was some sick joke, then Roy would help him make whoever set this up pay.

'Aqualad?'

'I am here.'

'My address is 05050 Lancaster Drive. I sense you're at the corner of Vernes and Merle. Make a left on Merle until you see Lancaster Drive. Make a left. I'm at the end of the block.'

"Kaldur?" Roy said to break into the quiet of the night.

"I have the address. Thank you, my friend. For coming with me."

"It's you, Kal. You've helped me when no one else could. The least I can do now is return that help." Roy was sincere in his words. Right after the twins' funeral, Speedy took off. And no matter how hard Red Arrow looked, the true Roy Harper could not be found. "What do you think you will find?"

"Not what, Roy. Who."

It only took 20 minutes per Miss Cocoa's instructions for them to get to the house. A woman in red scrubs was waiting on the front porch of a brick-built home that was two stories tall.

The woman in the scrubs looked to be in her early thirties with dark almond-colored skin and black hair in loose curls around her shoulders. She smiled when the teen heroes approached her. "Come in," she whispered to them before opening the door behind her and walking inside.

Roy and Kaldur stared at each other before walking inside. The two heroes were expecting an ambush but there was no evidence of one. It was a quaint home and the entryway opened up to the living room area and you could see the dining room area and the kitchen from it. There was no place to hide, really. Cordelia sat on an ottoman and smiled at them. "I know you have questions."

"Where's Starshine," Kaldur asked.

Roy couldn't believe how blunt his best friend was. But then again, she was his girl. And on top of that thought, Starshine was here!?

Miss Cocoa smiled. "Upstairs. Resting. There is much that you don't know about."

"Why did she do it?" Roy asked tightly, in an almost demanding voice. "Knowing how much Aqualad loved her, why would she fake her death?" That had to be the only explanation for her to being here and not six feet under.

"It wasn't her fault. I didn't give her a choice."

Both turned completely around and saw a tall young man before them with short, cropped red hair and hazel eyes; eyes that took the heroes in and knew their weaknesses. His jeans and gray tank top belied the short knives in his hands.

Aqualad and Red Arrow readied their weapons at him.

"Storm Shadow!" Kaldur hissed.