Disclaimer: same as before, Young Justice belongs to DC COMICS, not to me

Disclaimer: same as before, Young Justice belongs to DC COMICS, not to me!

Young Justice Under Fire, Part 2


"IT WOULD APPEAR THAT I'VE WASTED WEEKS PLANNING YOUR ANNIHILATION. I EXPECTED TO CATCH YOU WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN, BUT THIS CROSSES THE BORDER INTO ABSURDITY." Prometheus said knocking Robin into a stand of lockers and leveling his enormous rifle at Superboy and Impulse in one fluid gesture.

"How-" Superboy managed before the gun discharged, hurling a viscous ball of soft rubber at his chest. On impact, the ball expanded into an oblong disk that held fast despite his being wet.

The impact of the rubber was insignificant compared to his collision with Impulse a minute earlier, but somehow it knocked the breath out of him. Immediately, he began to sway, dropping Impulse back onto the tile floor with a sloppy thud. A half-formed, confused thought about invulnerability feebly circled his mind once before he fell backwards, comatose. He didn't have time to notice, let alone process the implications of, the dime-sized chuck of iridescent green poking through the rubber affixed to his chest.

"ALL TO EASY." Prometheus said, disappointed. They certainly don't make them like they used to. It occurred to him that the promise to Lex Luthor that secured the sliver of Kryptonite might have been extravagant. "NOW FOR THE LESSER BREED. I SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE IN A MOVIE BEFORE HEADING BACK TO THE GHOST ZONE."

Before heading to the control room, Prometheus checked Superboy's vital signs. They were ebbing at a more than satisfactory rate. Impulse was still unconscious, but that could change at any moment: speedsters often heal fast as a result of their variable metabolism. It wouldn't do to have the kid zipping out for help in the middle of the operation. Consequently, Prometheus fitted a neural inhibitor (a thin, crown-shaped device with micro-circuitry nodes on either side that keeps the wearer's brain in deep sleep using steady electrical pulses) on Impulse's head and seated him against the shower wall opposite Superboy. Its creator told him that the Lexcorp device was "water resistant" but he didn't want to take any chances.

Robin had fared poorly. The blow that sent him hurling across the room was too sudden for him to make use of his ninja skills. He had crashed into the lockers, knocking them over, and lay motionless on top of the dented metal heap. Prometheus observed several nasty wounds caused by some of the pronounced metal edges of the locker frame. They were bleeding profusely, but no major arteries appeared to be severed. Interestingly, a small drop of blood was clotting around one of Robin's nostrils. He had hit the lockers from behind, so it seemed likely that the blood was the result of cerebral hemorrhaging due to massive concussion. In short, Robin was unlikely to pose a further threat. Satisfied, Prometheus headed toward the control room. Perhaps he could download some useful information before torching the place.


Back in Western Pennsylvania, Cissie and Cassie were having milkshakes at a local ice-cream shop. Cissie was trying to enjoy hers. She had opted for reduced fat, low-calorie, vanilla yogurt, in spite of Cassie's insistence that she splurge. Cassie, having taken her own advice, was in the throes of multi-chocolate ecstasy.

"Mmmmmm. All I have to say is who needs boys?" Cassie moaned, having managed to smear chocolaty ice cream on her chin even though her cup was equipped with a fully functional lid and straw.

"Yeah…" Cissie said with no inflection whatsoever. "Mine is pretty good too."

"Please, vanilla yogurt is for old ladies on diets. You need to live a little!"

"Speaking of boys, what do you think they're up to?" Cissie said wanting to change the subject. She was very close to tossing her shake and ordering a double of what Cass was having.

"I'm sure it's just the same old thing: Impulse is bugging Superboy; Kon is trying to boss everyone around; and Robin is one second away from strangling them both. …Here have a sip of my shake!"

"I'm serious, Cass! I know we told them we would be busy today, but you know how Robin is; he should have already called to confirm next Saturday." Cissie said, and felt inexplicable worry creep into an otherwise fine day. Nothing could be wrong at HQ. If anything had come up they would have been alerted immediately.

"Robin might not even be there. Remember, he said he might not be able to make it this Saturday. If that's the case we probably won't hear from him today. Besides, if anything happens on Superboy and Impulse's watch, it will probably be caused by Superboy and Impulse." Cassie said, not wanting to detract from the enjoyment of her shake, even if the topic included Superboy.

"I guess you're right. If we don't hear anything by tonight, I'll give Red a call."

"Smart girl! I was thinking we could catch a movie-" Cassie was interrupted by both her and Cissie's digital wristbands signaling alert.

"This is Arrowette. I'm with Wonder Girl. What's up?" Cissie said, trying not to sound nervous. After All, it could just be Robin calling to say, "We're meeting at 9am instead of 10am." Of course, that didn't explain way he used alert, instead of page.

"Arrowette, this is Oracle." Her wristband emitted, causing her heart to sink. Oracle was the eyes and ears of Batman and the JLA. If she was calling non-Robin members of Young Justice, something really bad must be up. "Listen to me very carefully: Young Justice has become the target of one of the most deadly villains to rear-up in recent years, Prometheus. You and Wonder Girl are to get to the Justice Society Headquarters immediately. …I have lost communication with Robin and the rest of your team. …The JLA is preparing to negotiate terms for their release. …Do not! I repeat: DO NOT go to Young Justice Headquarters! Oracle out."

"Cassie! We have to do something!" Cissie screamed, causing more than a few of the ice cream shop's patrons to turn their attention to the girls' secluded corner.

"Like what? Prometheus beat the crap out of the JLA. What can we do?

"I don't care! You heard what Oracle said; they are negotiating with that creep. While everybody is talking, the boys could be dying!" Tears joined the conversation.

"Don't say that! You know how resourceful Robin is! I'm sure they are all right." Cassie said, not believing it herself, let alone convincing Cissie. "Okay, what do you what to do? There is no way that Prometheus would expect us to show up after alerting the JLA."


At the Young Justice Headquarters chaos ruled. The boys were thoroughly beaten, bleeding, sleeping, or dying, in the upstairs locker room. Prometheus was desperately trying to gain control of the main computer, but for some reason cartoons from all over the world danced across every screen. The system was in such disarray that he had been forced to use his own communications network to notify the JLA of his demands. It would have been much more dramatic to appear on the Watchtower Main Screen standing in the Young Justice Control room, but the damn computer system wouldn't respond to anything.

Even so, he had been able to relay his location and demand the JLA surrender its updated database. If they did not comply by uploading the information to the anonymous ftp site that he had instructed, Young Justice would cease to exist. Of course, that was going to happen anyway, and he presumed the JLA knew it, but he was confident that they would agree to his demands, if for no other reason than to buy time.

He was right.

"He's gone to kill them! You have to know that!" Green Lantern exclaimed to a worried Justice League. "Their only chance is for us to go down there and take him out!"

"If we show up, he'll detonate the Headquarters and disappear. This situation requires a more subtle strategy." Batman explained coolly.

"Batman's right. If we go down there en mass, Young Justice doesn't stand a chance." Superman agreed, causing some of the newer members to wonder just who the leader was. Superman always seemed to side with Batman, while Batman never seemed to defer to him.

"I agree with Green Lantern. No matter how long we stall, the result will be the same. We could transport directly into the Young Justice Headquarters and swarm him before he-" The Flash started, unwilling to negotiate with a psycho, but Batman cut him off.

"I'm sure he has the transportation center monitored. If we go down there, he will know…and be sure that he has a contingency for us making such a foolhardy attempt. I will neutralize Prometheus." Batman informed the Flash, and then addressing the group, "Your job is to stall him as long as possible."

"Now wait just a minute!" The Flash yelled. He didn't particularly like Batman, and Batman's continual dismissals were beginning to make him angry. "How do you plan to stop Prometheus by yourself?"

"I have ways." Batman said, as though he had excused himself from dinner, and walked out amid incredulous stares.

Part three (the final chapter) should be out this weekend. Thanks for the reviews! And I apologize for the length of this story. I didn't initially intend for it to be a mini-series! Also sorry about the errors! At this point, I'm more concerned with getting it out than getting it right. -Eddie (…and the Lemming)