A huge thank you to everyone who tried to answer my question in the last chapter. I have a general idea now of the ages (Well, enough to work on) but since I wasn't even born when a lot of this was going on, it does tend to become a little confusing. And I just realised, I am older then the 2nd Robin, despite him being created many years before I was born. Now that's weird. Anyway, I am not going to babble on when everyone wants to know what has happened to Ollie. On with the story.
None of the heroes could believe what they were seeing as Green Arrow stumbled on the ice. The three sick-kicks (Don't ever call them side-kicks!) found themselves frozen in horror on the warm morning sand as before them, the battle began.
Lord Aquaman held the advantage, breaking the ice apart from underneath as Green Arrow fought to keep his balance on the slippery surface. Finally it seemed that the Lord was sick of playing, jumping onto the ice to face the League member. The three Young Justice members watched in horror as the sudden movement jolted the hero. With a shout of surprise, Green Arrow overbalanced and hit the water before sinking out of sight.
"Ollie!" Roy found himself shouting, the shock of seeing his former mentor attacked, enough to break him out of his frozen state. In a few seconds, he was running towards the scene, flipping himself up onto the ice. Behind him, there was another shout. There was a movement of air only inches from his head as behind him Artemis let an arrow fly, the projectile racing towards its intended target. But Lord Aquaman was already gone, diving off the edge of the ice.
Sliding to a stop, Roy peered over the edge, trying to find any trace of the older archer in the depths. Behind him, Kaldur and Artemis appeared, breathing hard as the ice shifted underneath the group. Roy ignored them, crouching down to help keep himself steady as he waited for Ollie to resurface. Finally, in a mess of bubbles, something resurfaced. Roy started at it.
"His Oxygen Mask!" The male archer shouted.
Aqualad was about to shout out, to call Roy back but he was too late. Red Arrow threw himself off the ice, diving into the water. Sensing movement behind him, Kaldur swung around, wrapping his arms around Artemis as the girl began to move forward, to follow the other heroes.
"No! Stay here. Secure the ice!"
Artemis was about to shout as Kaldur pushed her towards the middle of the ice but the Atlantian was already gone, jumping from the floating platform.
Stumbling slightly, Artemis glanced at her surroundings. Stuck on a breaking piece of ice in the middle of the bay with her mentor (and brother figure if she were honest) possibly drowning below her, Artemis tried to fight the hopelessness of the situation. Walking to the edge, Artemis grabbed the oxygen mask as it floated past.
There was a splash from the shore. Artemis turned, noticing something moving fast through the water. There was a glint of blond hair before the figure dived down, following all the others down into the depth.
Artemis rubbed her hands across her face and groaned. The ice shifted again, cracking as it began to crumble.
Securing the mask to her belt, Artemis once again gripped her bow.
Water was not a human's element, Kaldur noted as he shot past Roy, the archer struggling to gain depth as the two swam after Green Arrow and Lord Aquaman. For a moment, Aqualad was tempted to grab Roy, to help him move faster in the water but a flash of green caught his eye. Below the two teen heroes, Green Arrow was still struggling as Lord Aquaman continued to hold him. However, the archer's movements were becoming weaker and weaker as the lack of oxygen started to rob the hero of his senses. Kaldur knew he had little time to get Green Arrow to the surface before the hero drowned.
Using his momentum, Kaldur shot forward, crashing into the Lord. The action had the desired effect as Lord Aquaman released Green Arrow, turning around to face Kaldur.
"Enough!" Kaldur shouted, feeling his temper start to get to him. When the Lords had first arrived, they had promised that no one would be harmed. Glancing over Lord Aquaman's shoulder to the semi-conscious Green Arrow, Kaldur couldn't help but feel betrayed. Almost sub-consciously, the tattoos along his arms and back lit up, pulsing gently against the gloom.
"Kaldur'ahm." The Lord warned.
Kaldur pulled his water bearers from the sheath on his back, activating them into twin blades as behind Lord Aquaman, Roy finally reached his mentor.
Red Arrow threw his arms around Green Arrow and started to kick, trying to pull the dead weight up towards the surface. The movement in the water was enough to distract the Lord. Lord Aquaman turned away from the threat Kaldur possessed to him, instead intent on catching the fleeing Arrows. A blur hit the Lord, dragging him away from the other heroes.
Kaldur turned to find the Lord trying to fight his way out of the hold of the Leagues Aquaman. Ignoring the struggling Lord, Aquaman glanced between the two humans and his protégé.
"Help them!" he ordered.
Aqualad nodded in understanding and deactivated his weapons before swimming towards Roy. Grabbing the leather strap which held the archers quiver to his back, Kaldur started to pull, dragging the two arrows up away from the fight. In a matter of seconds, Kaldur felt his head break the surface. One more pull on the leather and both Red and Green Arrow emerged. Roy gasped for breath as Kaldur released him.
"I have to go back down there!" Kaldur shouted. Not waiting for Roy to reply, the atlantian dived back down into the water, returning to the fight.
Roy swore slightly and re-adjusted his grip on Ollie who had started to cough and choke, struggling for breath. The younger archer looked around. The current had pushed them away from the ice but in the distance, Roy could still see Artemis working. Throwing his free hand into the air, the archer waved. On the ice Artemis picked up her bow, letting an arrow loose, a line flying from the back. The arrow splashed as it hit the water, the drag slowing it down. Roy kicked hard, dragging Ollie towards the line. Getting a firm grip on it, Roy felt the tug as Artemis started to pull them towards the newly reconstructed platform.
Slowly but surely, the two archers were pulled back to the ice. With one last tug, Artemis reached down and grabbed Green Arrows arm as the semi-conscious hero finally started to respond to the situation.
Roy released Ollie, using his free hand to reach for his belt. Pulling out a small knife, Roy drove it into the ice. Using this new grip, he hauled himself up next to Artemis before quickly turning and taking Ollie's free hand. The two teens nodded to each other before pulling, dragging the older archer out of the water, ignoring the groans of pain.
The three collapsed in a heap, panting from the effort. Slowly Green Arrow sat up and looked down at his two kids. Reaching over he grabbed Artemis, pulling the girl into his arms. On his other side, Roy slowly rose to his knees, still breathing hard. Over Artemis' blond head, Ollie glanced at him. Suddenly realising what was about to happen, Roy tried to roll away but he was too late. Reaching forward with amazing speed, Ollie grabbed Roy and pulled him backwards, pressing the younger hero to his chest next to Artemis. Roy thought of fighting, of trying to get free but a strange feeling of peace seemed to fall over him. The younger archer relaxed, thankful that his mentor was still alive.
Ignoring his injuries and wrapping his arms around his little family, Green Arrow silently thanked the universe for allowing him one more chance.
Glancing over at the shore, Ollie couldn't help but notice the two figures dragging a third up onto the beach. Even with his normal 20/20 vision, Ollie could see the unconscious form of the Lord Aquaman as he was set down on the sand before Arthur reached over and hugged Kaldur. The archer smiled, glad that everything was starting to turn around.
Back in the lab, Megan almost cheered in happiness. Kaldur had mentally contacted her, relaying the fight with the Lord Aquaman and his capture. She in return had given him the latest news. The Flash had run off to track down Red Tornado, finding the android buried in one of the vaults and Wonder Woman and Green Lantern had reached the Watchtower to find Black Canary and the rest of the League had taken care of the missing three Lords. Now with only one Lord still active, it looked like the fight was almost over.
However, there was one thing Megan couldn't help but worry about. The moment Wonder Woman had contacted and relayed her information, the Lord Batman had risen to his feet and left the room. Megan had blinked in surprise before asking her uncle if they should allow it. The martian had simply glanced at the door before telling his niece not to worry. The Leagues Batman hadn't even looked up from his work.
With a small sigh, Megan had accepted her uncle's judgement before beginning to verbally spread Aqualad's news.
Following the noise and wreckage, Robin, Kid Flash and Superboy soon found themselves crouching in a hidden corner of the briefing room. The room was a mess, smashed equipment and rubble littering the floor as the two Supermen battled. On his own, Superman was a force to be reckoned with, but fighting himself was something else. The two were equally matched, continuing to gain and loose the upper hand to each other. Even as the younger heroes watched, the two smashed into the wall, leaving a huge hole in the thick concrete and the Lord pinned. Lord Superman his back still buried in the concrete kicked out hitting Superman in the chest and knocking him to the floor with a crash. Pushing himself out of the wall, the Lord floated down towards his younger self. He grinned.
Between Robin and Wally, Connor tensed. Then suddenly he was running. Landing a punch at the floating Lord, Superboy managed to knock the Lord backwards. Beside him, Superman stood up.
"What are you doing?" Superman shouted at his clone.
Connor didn't even flinch as he looked back at the Man of Steel.
"Helping you." He replied.
There was a crash from somewhere up above.
"Connor, get out of here." Superman shouted back.
Connor blinked; surprised the League member would use his new name. However, he had waited too long. Lord Superman jumped to the ground between them, the sudden shockwave knocking both Supers off their feet.
From their hiding place, Wally gave a shout.
"Superboy!"
Lord Superman turned to find the voice of the young speedster. It was enough of a distraction. Superman rose to his feet and crashed into the Lord pulling him up into the air and away from the hiding teens. Connor rolled to his feet and ran back to the shadows, meeting the two in the corner.
"You ok?" Robin asked.
Connor nodded and brushed some dust off his shirt as behind him, Superman was once again thrown. However, the Lord now knew where the teens were hiding.
A hand gripped the back of Connor's neck. The clone was thrown across the room, hitting Superman as the Man of Steel tried to rise to his feet. The two landed in a heap.
Wally and Robin both looked up at the Lord. It felt like an eternity as Lord Superman raised his fist. Wally grabbed Robin, dragging the Boy Wonder out of the way as the fist flew past, burying itself into the floor where the two had sat moments before.
Stopping on the other side of the room, Wally dropped Robin to his feet. The Lord turned and rose to the air. In seconds, he was flying towards the teens. Releasing a line, Robin shot into the air and away from the Lord as beside him, Wally disappeared. Suddenly, Superman was standing where both heroes had been moments before. Lord Superman tried to chance his course but he was too close. As he passed, Superman reached out and grabbed the Lords black cape, pulling him back to earth with a crash.
Slowing down, Wally stopped next to Connor. The clone was looking down at his shirt. There was a large rip across the famous 'S' shield.
The two looked up as on the other side of the room, Robin dropped to the floor and rubbed his chest. He looked over to Superman, who had managed to get the Lord into a headlock. The Lord began to thrash in his captors hold. Something hot shot past Robin. The teen hero looked over at the melting puddle of concrete. Heat Vision.
Robin flipped out of the way as the intense heat swept past him, leaving deep cuts in the wall. Realising the danger, Superman flew up to the roof, dragging the Lord with him. Lord Superman lashed out, hitting the Man of Steel. The two began to fall.
Robin quickly calculated the angle of decent. Below the two was a large generator. It was often used to power the holographic projectors in the room during briefings. Thanks to its thick shielding and amazingly not taking any direct hits, the generator was undamaged. But not for long. Robin knew, if that generator was hit, it would blow.
Robin calculated his chances. He was too close to the generator and there was no time to get out of the blast zone. His cape was designed to handle explosions but he had never been this close to one before. Saving a miracle, he was in trouble.
Almost in slow motion, Robin watched the two Superman's hit the generator, starting off the chain reaction of the explosion. On the other side of the room, Connor grabbed Wally, using his own body to shield the speedster.
Someone grabbed Robin, pulling him backwards. There was black in front of him, blocking off the explosion. An arm wrapped protectively around him. Robin buried his face into his saviour's chest.
As suddenly as it started, the explosion stopped.
Robin took a deep breath as the black dropped from around him, becoming a familiar black cape once again.
Looking up slightly, Robin found his face pressed against a silver bat. Closing his eyes, Robin wrapped his arms around his saviour.
"Thank you." He whispered.
A hand was placed on the back of his head as the Lord accepted the hug. There was a moment of silence before Lord Batman let go of Robin and rose to his full height. From the wreckage of the generator, someone emerged. It seconds, Lord Batman had pulled several Batarangs from his belt, hurling them at the figure. Robin saw the green of them as they hit. Lord Superman roared as the metal cut into him.
The Lord brushed the weapons aside before charging at Lord Batman, a look of pure rage in his blue eyes. Lord Batman stepped forward, holding something up. He lashed out, punching Lord Superman in the chest. To the surprise of everyone in the room, the Lord hit the floor; the humans punch enough to hurt the Man of Steel.
From the other side of the room, Robin saw Connor prepare to dive into the fight. A hand wrapped around the clones arm. Connor looked up at Superman as the Man of Steel held him in place, his blue eyes glued to the kryptonite in Lord Batman's hand.
"Stay." Superman ordered. Connor slowly stood down.
On the other side of the room, Lord Superman was once again on his feet, lashing out at the Lord Batman. But unlike Lord Batman, Lord Superman was not a master of hand to hand combat. The alien relied too much on his strength to handle the brutal assault from the Dark Knight.
After a few brutal minutes, Lord Superman was on the floor again. One punch was enough as the Lord lost consciousness.
With a sigh, Lord Batman dropped the piece of kryptonite next to Lord Superman's head. Ignoring the rest of the group, he turned and left the room.
It was over.
At my estimation, I'm guessing maybe two more chapters. Wow. What am I going to do when this is over?