Happy New Year, y'all. Hope it's as good as YJ: Outsiders is.
Failsafe
Mount Justice
October 16, 16:01 EDT
Holy shit. That just happened. Almost half the League... gone in the blink of an eye. I didn't think I'd ever see it. But there it was. Right in front of us. Zatara appeared on the holo-screen, his face macabre.
"Tornado. Did you-?"
"Yes, Zatara. We saw." RT cut the sorcerer off, "Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."
"Affirmative. See you in the field." Zatara disappeared, along with the live feed of the League's failed defense. Red Tornado turned to us.
"I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."
I steeled, my fists clenching. This wasn't a game. This was the end of the world. Kaldur looked around at all of us, before turning back to Tornado.
"We stand ready."
The robot nodded once before taking off, leaving us behind to wait in suspense. Robin turned the live feed back on, this time to watch the Central City feed. Iris West-Allen, Wally's aunt, was reporting as Flash and Zatara were trying to quell the invasion in Central City.
"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live. The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City."
I stepped away, not wanting to see the destruction. There would be plenty of that later, when the League was finally dead. When the fate of the world rested upon our shoulders.
My feet led me to the hangar, which was empty with the exception of the Bioship. I stood in silence, thinking about the gravity of everything that was happening, but my thoughts were interrupted by a familiar face appearing on the screen of my watch.
Shaggy blonde hair, a few razor cuts covered with tissue paper on youthful cheeks and crystalline blue eyes all tied together with a smug expression. This was none other than John Constantine. He was my age, roguish and a lady's man like no other, but he was far more powerful than I could ever hope to be. His training in the mystic arts and supernatural was truly unparalleled. But excitement wasn't the first emotion to cross my mind. Rather it was discontent.
"Not like you to call, John." I snarled, "And I'm kind of in the middle of something so now isn't really the best time."
"Aw, c'mon, Kar. I know you be'er than that." John smirked, drawing a cigarette to his lips and lighting it with a silent incantation, "You want to know if there's anythin' I can do with this bloody invasion. The unfortunate answer is no. Even if I 'ad the proper spell, I'm not powerful enough to stop these critters."
"I figured as much, Constantine." I replied with an eye roll as I began to make my way back to the mission room, "Right now, I'm wondering why you called me."
John ran a hand through his messy hair and took a long drag, "You always were perceptive. One of the things I liked about you, love."
"We've been over this, John. You lost the right to call me that after you broke up with me."
"Old habits, Kar." He shrugged, before taking another drag of his cigarette, "I was worried you wouldn't pick up. You know, with you and your lot workin' for the Justice League now. I suppose I was worried 'bout you, in truth. I just hope that bloke you've been runnin' off with is keepin' you safe is all."
My expression softened a bit. Despite his rough exterior, John Constantine truly had a heart of gold.
"Considerin' 'ow more than 'alf the League is gone... I wanted to make sure you were alright."
I had since stepped back into the mission room, where the news feed had been taken offline and the others were geared up and ready to go. I glanced up briefly and looked back down, my face now stern.
"We're fine. For now, at least. We've received the call, John. We're headed into the field. If you can, help as many civs as you can. I'll keep in touch."
John hesitated for a moment, crushing out his cigarette, then he nodded, "Right. Go save the world, love. Constantine, out."
And then he was gone. Silence followed my conversation with my ex, at least until Artemis broke it, her arms crossed and her face smug.
"Who's Constantine?
I began to pull my mask over my face, a snarky grin drawn on my lips, "An old friend from overseas. Checking up on me as he usually does when there's an international crisis. Moving on to the more important subject, what's our plan? I'm assuming RT is... you know..."
"Yeah. He's gone." Robin looked down at his feet.
"And... so are all the others." Artemis said quietly. I hesitated for a moment. I should have broken down, I should have been bawling my eyes out. But I didn't. Instead, I steeled up, nodded my head stiffly and turned to Kaldur.
"Earth's weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed." He began, his pale eyes riddled with a mixture of uncertainty and grief.
"Checking satellite imagery." Robin pulled up a holomap, a multitude of red dots scattered across the globe, concentrated on major cities for the most part, but relatively spread out. The map rotated, stopping when I noticed a stray dot at a familiar location in the Arctic Circle.
"Here's where the aliens are now."
"This one get lost?" Connor pointed to the stray ship.
I shook my head, "No. It's the Fortress of Solitude. Superman's secret sanctum."
"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" Connor asked, a bit hurt that he had been left unaware. Robin and I nodded.
"It's power source must have been enough to send a scout ship to investigate."
"Must be some fortress." The clone grumbled.
M'gann set a gentle hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off, "It's okay. I guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know. You know, now."
"We will target this lone ship." Kaldur decided, his expression now determined, resolute.
"Yeah," Wally finally piped up, "Break it down. Build more. Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!"
He was getting a little too into this mission, which Artemis quelled with a punch to his lower back.
"Ow!"
"Martian and Kryptonian in the house." She pointed out. M'gann and Connor softly glared at Wally who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Uh, heh. Not that all aliens are automatically ugly."
"Gear up. Polar stealth." I instructed, "We leave ASAP."
I had been eager to wear my polar stealth uniform since I received it from Batman. Everyone else had their own stealth gear for night work, but since I was already dressed for the part, I was the only one without it. Now, instead of black and charcoal, I wore shades of white, pale gray and blue. I turned to head to the hangar, but something... held me back, made me hesitant. Made me fear.
"We are all ready." Kaldur had appeared in front of me, switching his uniform from red to white. I immediately wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips to his with a fervor that I had never felt before. He responded with as much passion, as much desire, and when we finally pulled away from each other, the look in his eyes held that same passion. I decided then. It was now or never.
"I love you." I whispered, loud enough for him to hear, "I may never have the chance to say it again. But I'm certain of it now. I love you, Kaldur'ahm."
He was stunned into silence for a moment. Clearly, a proclamation of love was not what he was expecting. But then... he began to smile. Pulling me closer, he pressed his lips to my brow, before resting his forehead on mine.
"And I love you, Kara Grant. More than you could ever know." We stood in blissful silence for a brief time, until Robin rang in over the comms.
"Robin to Aqualad. Everyone is ready."
"We are on our way."
Arctic Circle
October 16, 18:07 EDT
I crouched next to Artemis, waiting for M'gann to disable the scout ship that sat outside the Fortress of Solitude.
"So tell me the truth. Who's Constantine?" Artemis whispered, shutting her comm off in the process.
"Nothing gets past you, does it?" I groaned. She grinned wickedly and shook her head.
I sighed, "John Constantine. British sorcery prodigy, demonologist and my ex-boyfriend."
"Ah. Now that is what I wanted to hear. But why was he contacting you?"
"Like I said in the Cave, he was checking on me. And making sure Kaldur was taking care of me."
"Aw, sounds like a sweet guy." Artemis smiled.
"Yeah. I think he'd like you." I nodded, a smile forming on my lips beneath my mask.
"Communications disabled." M'gann psychically interrupted our conversation.
A loud crash followed M'gann's announcement.
"Propulsion disabled."
Artemis peered over the ice wall, notching a hardening foam arrow. She loosed it with ease, striking the ship's entryway and covering the front of the ship in red foam.
"And ETs are sealed inside!"
What happened next seemed to pass in a blur. At first, everything seemed to be routine. We converged on the ship, and Robin, M'gann and Superboy went to work on removing the gun from the alien ship. Kaldur, Wally and Wolf kept the remaining defenses busy, but in the process, we lost our canine companion. We paused for a moment of honor, but then went right back to work. As M'gann began to attach the foreign gun to the Bioship, though, a second alien ship arrived, firing on us as it came to its comrade's aid.
"Miss Martian, open fire! NOW!" I yelled mentally as Artemis and I made our way to the Bioship.
"Can't. Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that's not fully integrated either!" The Martian replied.
"Got you covered! Get inside!" I glanced over my shoulder to see that Artemis had turned back, firing explosive arrows at the oncoming ship. Her distraction must have worked, but M'gann's cry told me that it was temporary.
"Artemis, behind you!"
I heard a blast, a scream and then suddenly, as if a bolt of lightning had struck me, I collapsed to the ground.
"ARTEMIS!" M'gann wailed. That meant only one thing. Artemis... she was gone. I blinked back tears and stood up carefully, seeing Kaldur appear at my side, destroying the second ship from a safe distance.
"Kara, get inside. Go!" He told me quietly. I nodded once and took off toward the Bioship, forcing myself not to look back. Everyone else was already on board, adrenaline still pumping through our veins, causing us to be unable to grieve. We did a drive-by pickup of Kaldur and headed into the upper atmosphere where we lingered out of sight from any alien ships. I ripped my mask off and threw it to the ground. I refused to wear it any longer. Tears began to spill out, I couldn't hold them back anymore. Behind me, I could hear M'gann sniffling. On my right, Wally pounded his fists against the dash, growling angrily to himself.
Kaldur sat on my left, but he sat closer than Wally, gripping my hand in his and allowing me to lean into him for support. He spoke to the others.
"There will be time to mourn later. Now, we have a job to do- defend the Earth and ensure Artemis' sacrifice was not in vain."
"Back to the Cave?" M'gann asked shakily.
"The Hall of Justice." I answered for Kaldur, finding my confidence and wiping my tears away. "The human race needs to know that there are still heroes defending them. That there's still hope."
Washington D.C.
October 16, 20:06, EDT
The sky was the color of rust over Washington D.C., though it did in fact rival the color of blood. Below, members of the US Armed Forces were taking evasive action against oncoming alien ships. We, and by we I mean the Bioship, destroyed the few remaining ships with the new gun and landed in front of the Hall of Justice. I left my mask behind on the Bioship, descending the ramp with Kaldur. The soldiers that I saw looked weary, shell-shocked and hopeful. A battle-worn, five star general approached us, looking at Superboy, who was mumbling something about Superman.
"I don't know who you are, son, and right now, I don't care. You were the 'S' and you got the job done." The general turned to Kaldur and I.
"General Wade Eiling. US Air Force." He gave us a firm salute.
"Aqualad and Wildcat. Justice League." Kaldur's expression was stern, confident. The face of a true leader. "We'll help you salvage as many of the aliens' cannons as possible. Then we will start taking back what is ours."
"If you don't mind, General." I cut in, "We need access to the Hall of Justice. And your troops can use it as a base of operations for the time being."
He nodded and stepped aside. We walked inside. What we saw was not the sleek and imposing homage to the founders of the League. Instead, there was nothing but rubble, hardly anything compared to what they once were. M'gann flew past us to the remains of her uncle's statue, where she fell to her knees in tears.
"They're really gone." Rob said sadly, the impact of what had transpired, finally catching up with all of us. I looked at my feet, realizing now that I would never see Ollie or Dinah again. It broke my heart. The shifting of rubble and rock drew my gaze away from the ground to see a shocking sight. Martian Manhunter was there.
"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann made to hug him, but Kaldur rushed in front of her, blocking her path.
"M'gann, check his mind. Make sure he is whom he appears to be."
She did so quickly and smiled.
"It's him. He's real and he's alive!"
Things only seemed to get worse. We were granted only a brief reprieve from the alien attack, but an armada of ships soon arrived, driving us back into the library. We were pressed between a wall of alien ships and the Hall's zeta tube with no way out. I drew my Glock, knowing full well that it wouldn't have any effect against the alien ships' defenses.
"We're trapped!" Wally shouted, dodging beams as fast as he could. He was starting to run on fumes, I could already see it.
"Maybe not. We can all zeta to the Cave, if you grant us computer clearance to access the tubes." Kaldur said to J'onn. I ducked behind a large shard of bronze that had blown through the library from the main atrium.
"I can only authorize one at a time." J'onn told us.
"Send the soldiers first." Kaldur instructed.
"Belay that! The seven of you are assets we cannot afford to lose!" Eiling replied, disregarding Kaldur's order. Manhunter nodded and stood in front of the zeta tube.
"Override. Martian Manhunter, zero-seven."
"Recognized. Access granted."
"Miss Martian, B zero-six... Robin, B zero-two... Kid Flash, B zero-four."
An explosion ripped through the library. Wally tried to turn and help, but Kaldur grabbed him and forced him through the zeta tube. Superboy came to the tube, carrying a wounded Marine.
"He goes next." The clone said firmly.
"Fine, then you." Kaldur nodded once, before moving J'onn out of the line of fire.
"Private Jason Bard, USMC... Superboy, B zero-five."
"Kara! We have to go! NOW!" Kaldur yelled as J'onn passed through the zeta tube. I ran to meet him at the entrance.
"Go! The Team needs you!" I told him, tears stinging the back of my eyes.
"I will not leave you behind." He replied, grabbing my hand. But I had made my decision. This was it. I pulled my hand from his grasp and placed my finger on my trigger.
"You don't have a choice, love. I will not die on their terms. I'll die on my own." I pushed him to the entrance of the zeta tube and raised the pistol to my temple.
"I love you, Kaldur."
"Aqualad, B zero-three."
"KARA DON'T!"
I pulled the trigger. And all I saw was darkness.
I awoke with a gasp, for a brief moment uncertain of where I was. I was in uniform, lying on a table in the Cave. My head spun like a top, so I lifted my self up slowly. I saw that the rest of the Team was just as groggy and confused as I was. Next to me, Kaldur sat on the edge of his table, looking sick to his stomach.
"What the hell happened?" I asked through gritted teeth, my head still pounding. Then it all came rushing back, all at once. I had killed myself. I should be dead. I ripped the Glock from its holster on my belt and threw it across the room.
"The exercise, it all went wrong." I turned to see Martian Manhunter struggling to stand, even with the help of Batman and Red Tornado.
"What exercise?" Robin asked.
"Try to remember." Batman began, "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise."
"So no matter what progress we made, the scenario would continue to get worse." I continued, earning a nod from the Dark Knight.
"Still, you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League"
"That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf disintegrated before your eyes." Manhunter explained, "But that all changed when Artemis died."
I glanced over at Artemis, whose gaze was glued to the floor. My heart began to sink.
"Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious could not make that distinction. She forgot it was an exercise and her subconscious took control, making you all forget too."
M'gann was shocked to say the very least, "I- I'm so sorry."
"This isn't her fault." Connor stepped in to defend her, "Why didn't you stop the exercise?"
"We tried." J'onn continued to explain, "But M'gann had a... death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death, was so convinced she had passed, she slipped into a coma."
I huffed. This was more serious than I thought.
"I realized that I would have to wrest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within. But upon entering the reality, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was... too much noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. When Wildcat killed herself-"
"You did what?" Batman asked, his voice mixed with a combination of anger and shock.
"I went out on my own terms. For the good of the Team." I said, my voice suddenly quiet and shaky, my gaze dull as I stared blankly in the direction I had thrown my pistol. I could feel everyone's gaze on me in that moment. It made me want to curl up and cry. "And I will never use a gun again. For any reason."
"After her death, followed by the deaths of Aqualad and Superboy, helped in restoring pieces of my memory. But only after the mothership exploded and Robin and Kid Flash were finally silenced did I recall my true purpose. To shock M'gann out of the exercise, before your comas became permanent. My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous... so damaging..."
I finally stood and walked to the zeta tubes, leaving my mask behind on the table were I had layed.
"I need to be alone."
"Recognized, Wildcat, B zero-one."