Young Justice

These kids don't worry about changes…they MAKE them…

Chap. 5

Point Taken

"Alright, Rip Roar," said Nightwing, spinning his bo staff in his hands. "You're going down!"

"Alright, Young Justice!" said Ray. "Hit him hard and make him cry!"

Nightwing and Young Justice had responded to a distress call from the county fair downtown. It turns out that a mighty, four armed, beastly warrior who calls himself Rip Roar was causing an uproar at the fair, destroying rides, food stands and everything else in his path.

"Bring it on!" shouted the large behemoth, as he charged for Young Justice with his clubs in his four arms.

Quickly, Ray flew out of the way, followed by Secret who flew off in her ghastly form, followed by Empress who teleported away, and followed by Impulse who ran off, leaving Slobo there on his own.

"Huh?" said the muscular teen as he ran for Rip Roar, wondering where his teammates went.

WAM! Rip Roar slammed his clubs across Slobo's face, sending him flying into a cotton candy stand.

"HEY!" shouted Impulse. "That's my buddy there!"

Impulse turned around and ran for Rip Roar. He ran up his large body up to his head and began giving him a noogy. Before Rip Roar could grab him, he ran down to his armpits and began tickling him.

"Ahahahahaha!" laughed Rip Roar as he dropped his weapons. He then stopped laughing as he stared ahead of him and saw someone charging for him at full speed. "Huh?"

"TIME TO RETURN THE FAVOR!" shouted the person, who turned out to be Slobo. The powerful fist, belonging to Slobo, rammed into Rip Roar's face, sending him flying backwards into a row of stands.

Impulse turned to his friend next to him and smiled, until he saw that he had a large pink beard.

"What?" Slobo asked.

Rip Roar managed to stand up, and then stared at Empress, who stood right in front of him.

"Awww," he said sarcastically. "Look at little girly…"

"HYAI!" she screamed as she leaped into the air and began kicking away at his face.

The large hulking beast's head went left and right and up and down as she continued kicking him.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he shouted as he grabbed her by the leg and held her upside down.

"…Uh, hi?" said Empress, nervously. Rip Roar then leaned back and hurled the young hero away. She quickly teleported away, and then reappeared in front of Slobo.

"WHOA!" screamed the two as they collided and fell to the ground. Impulse stared at the two as they stood back up. The cotton beard was now gone off of Slobo's face, but now it rested on Empress's face. The two now stared at her.

"What?"

"It ends here, Rip Roar!" shouted Ray as he and Secret stood back to back, holding up their guards.

Just as Rip Roar was ready to pound them into the ground (or at least attempt to), Nightwing leaped into the air and held his staff pressed against Rip Roar's neck, bringing the beast to his knees.

"Grr—what's your problem, Rip Roar?" asked Nightwing. "All these innocent people—for what?"

"Rip Roar mad! Rides stink bad! I not even feel sick on ride! It weak! Rip Roar give rides two thumbs—DOWN!"

Rip Roar grabbed Nightwing's body and slammed him into the ground. He raised his fists high into the air, ready to pound the living day lights, and everything else, out of Nightwing. Just then….

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! A series of laser blasts were shot at Rip Roar's back, causing the beast to stop what he was doing and jump up in pain.

"Huh?" Everyone looked into the direction the blasts came from, but only saw a cloud of smoke and the silhouettes of five figures inside.

"Point Men, take it to the house!" commanded the voice of what sounded like a female. And then, from out of the smoke, emerged five young heroes. They all wore tight blacks uniforms with silver linings. In the team of five was a short, black male; a large muscular boy with rough, gray skin; a reptilian like kid with a long tail; a white ghostly being; and a winged gray skinned girl.

"Short Cut!" shouted the winged girl. "Pass the rock!"

"Gotcha!" responded the short black boy known as Short Cut. He stared at Rip Roar and concentrated on him. Just then, the large beast vanished and reappeared in front of the large muscular brute.

"A teleporter?" said Empress, scratching her head.

"Go get 'im, Blockade!" shouted Short Cut.

"I'm on it!" shouted the one known as Blockade. He rushed for Rip Roar and began wailing his fists at his face, doing more damage than Young Justice did. He then cocked his leg back, preparing for a powerful kick. He did just this, and sent Rip Roar flying backwards yet again into more stands.

"Rip Roar no like you!" shouted the beast as he rose to his feet. He was then confronted with the ghostly member of the team, Blank Slate. "RRAAAHH!"

He began swinging all of his fists at Blank Slate, but to his dismay, all his blows went straight through his target.

"…My move," said Blank Slate, as she transformed her body into a physical form, and uppercut the brute.

The reptilian boy, known as Serpenteen, lashed out his tongue at Rip Roar and wrapped it around his leg.

"Gway Yady—cath!" shouted Serpenteen as he yanked Rip Roar into the air and flung him towards the winged girl, leader of the team, Gray Lady.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" screamed Rip Roar as he went flying for Gray Lady.

"My ball!" Gray Lady leaned back in the air as Rip Roar flew over her, and kicked his large body into the air. She quickly moved out of the way, allowing him to come crashing down the ground.

"Ugh," he said before losing consciousness.

The team of five then came together and stood over the defeated body.

"Ummm," who are you guys?" asked Ray.

"We're the Point Men," answered Gray Lady.

"…Well that answers one question," said Nightwing as he walked over towards the two teams. "But where'd the laser blasts come from?"

"They came from me," said a voice from behind.

Young Justice and Nightwing quickly turned around to see a tall, red headed man holding to laser guns in his hands.

"It's been a while, Robin—or should I say 'Nightwing'?"

"…Speedy?"

The man clicked his guns together and then grinned. "It's Arsenal now…"

Arsenal and Nightwing stood atop of a tall building in Jump City, staring at the night skies above them. There was a long uncomfortable silence amongst them.

"…So, umm, 'Arsenal'?"

"Yeah," replied the gun wielding hero. "I kinda outgrew the bow and arrows. It's all about these babies now." Arsenal held up his laser and twirled them in his hands. "'Nightwing?'"

"Uh yeah, I kinda outgrew the whole Bird Boy thing. So what brings you down here?"

"Well, I heard that the Titans have been doin' pretty lousy. What with the gang split up and Starfire gone…"

"Yeah," said Nightwing, coldly. "I know."

"I thought that you and I could fix that. I heard you were still active, so why not help out an old friend."

"How's Titans East going?"

"We're still together, surprisingly enough. Well, except for Tempest, he left a while back…"

"Tempest?"

"Aqualad. You'll meet him someday."

There was another long silence.

"So, you're here to help, huh? What's with the kids?"

"Well, actually, I found them. They were a group of kids who had great talent, but weren't using it the right way. I decided to help them and train them; be their mentor, and that's how the Point Men were born. Gray Lady's their leader. She's quite the commander I was hoping for. Once again, we're here to help out, Nightwing."

"Thanks for the offer, Arsenal, but I've already got kids of my own. They can handle the job just fine."

"…Like they handled Rip Roar and might I add my team took him out in exactly 3 min. and 29 sec.?"

"…You were timing them?"

"They gotta be quicker next time if they want to be top team."

Nightwing grinned at Arsenal. He knew just what he was implying.

"Do I smell a challenge?"

"You always were one for competition. I guess you could call it a challenge, then. Whaddya say? Young Justice VS The Point Men."

"For what?"

"To see who's the better mentor and better team?"

"Winner gets?"

"Nothing. Just a friendly battle between friends."

There was a slight pause in the conversation, and then Nightwing grinned.

"Alright then. We'll see who has the better team. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

And at that, the two heroes stood at the edge of the building and continued staring off into the sky.

"You know, Nightwing?"

"What?"

"I still have that bow of mine that you broke. You remember that, don't you?"

"Don't tell me you're still mad about that? We were playing to win," laughed Nightwing.

"Nah, I'm over it. It's just that whenever I look at that, I remember how you and I were just itching to win that tournament. We wouldn't let anything stand in our way, or at least you wouldn't, and my bow is proof of that—ha ha! I just thought I'd let you know that I'm gonna return the favor."

Arsenal and Nightwing then stared at each other.

It was sun rise in Jump City, and not even the villains were awake yet. Nightwing had gotten no sleep whatsoever. All night he trained and trained, going at it with his punching bag and studying what little he knew about the evolution of Speedy.

He stopped hitting the punching bag and walked into the main room. There he saw Young Justice sitting around waiting for their mentor.

"Hopefully you guys got a good night's rest," said Nightwing.

"No way!" said Slobo, jumping up. "I was WAY too excited about this match. I SOO wanna teach those guys what's what and who's who around here!"

"Yeah," Ray added. "I can't wait to start. A little competition is just what we need to start off the day."

"Nice to know you guys are up for the challenge, though you didn't really have much of a choice."

"Man, I'm gonna run circles around those guys!" said Impulse as he began zipping around the room. "Like this. And like this. Or maybe like this. Or even this. No this!"

Before Impulse could zip off again, Nightwing grabbed him and held him by the collar.

"Yeah, whatever. This fight isn't gonna be that easy, guys. Arsenal and I partnered you guys up with the perfect match for the competition: Slobo VS Blockade due to brute force…"

"Alright!"

"…Empress VS Short Cut, seeing as how you both share teleportation powers…"

"Doesn't mean a thing," replied Empress. "I'm still the kin—queen. Hehe."

"No you were right the first time," Slobo said.

"…Impulse VS Serpenteen because his slender slick body can easily evade anyone of these guys, but you Impulse are quick enough to keep up…"

"Too young to die, too fast to live," cheered the young speedster.

"…Secret VS Blank Slate. The two of you both share similar powers. Pairing her up with anyone else would just be murder."

"Fair enough," Secret nodded.

"I guess that leaves me with Gray Lady, huh?" asked Ray.

"Of course. The both of you can fly; she doesn't seem to carry any other abilities but flight, so maybe you can use that to your advantage."

"Uhh, Nightwing. I have to admit, I don't feel comfortable hitting a girl."

"…Then DON'T hit her, just blast her—do whatever. But we have to win."

Everyone stared at each other win the thought of victory on their minds, especially Ray and Nightwing.

"Alright," Ray answered. "I won't let you down. Young Justice, GO!"

Arsenal and the Point Men sat atop the same building he and Nightwing were on last night. They were sitting there, relaxing before their match.

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Gray Lady. "I mean, I thought we were here to help out, Arsenal, not fight them."

"Yeah," said Serpenteen who was slung around Blockade's shoulders as if he were a feathered boa. "Those guys were pretty cool. What's the deal?"

Arsenal sat away from his team, reloading his weapons. He turned to them and grinned.

"Retribution, my dear team," he answered. "Retribution."

"…Huh?" asked Blockade, scratching his head in confusion.

"Meaning someone isn't over their defeat back in the Tournament of heroes," commented Blank Slate.

Arsenal shot a dark glare at the ghostly figure, grinding his teeth.

"She didn't mean it, Arsenal," Gray Lady said quickly, jumping to her teammates' defense. "Really."

"Watch it, Blank Slate. I formed this team, so I can easily get rid of anyone of you—and right now you've just made my naughty list."

"…So are we gonna fight or what?" asked Short Cut.

"What's the prize anyway?" asked Serpenteen.

Arsenal and Gray Lady scolded Serpenteen.

"Just asking."

The sun finally lit up the sky, awakening everyone to the new day. The streets were still empty, which allowed plenty of room for Young Justice and the Point Men to have their battle.

The two teams walked down the street; each one standing on opposite ends. They all stared at each other, all of them burning with enthusiasm.

The two leaders of each team, along with the mentors stepped forward to each other, leaving the rest of the team standing behind still.

"Why are we still standing like this?" asked Impulse to Slobo.

"Cause is makes us look all heroic and cool," he answered while hiking up his pants and puffing out his chest. "You'll learn about being hip like me someday, kid."

Empress and Secret both rolled their eyes.

Nightwing, Arsenal, Ray, and Gray Lady were all standing face to face.

"So this is where the fight's gonna be?" asked Nightwing.

"Nope," answered Gray Lady.

"Then where?" Nightwing and Ray were both confused.

Arsenal smiled and then pulled out a set of keys with a car alarm attached to it. He pressed the button and then a small beep sound was heard.

Ray looked behind Arsenal and saw a trailer that was parked on the side of the road.

"…Are you serious?" he asked. "And here I thought superheroes got—paid—a load of—WHOA!"

Ray did not get to finish his line as he and Nightwing stared into the sky and saw a large dome like ship float down above Jump City, engulfing it into a dark shadow.

"You were saying?"

"I fold."

"Shall we step inside?" asked Gray Lady. Just then, all of the young heroes and mentors were transported onto the large dome as it took off into the sky.

"I soo feel like I'm in a 'Clash of the Planets' episode right now," said Impulse as he appeared in a flash of light inside of the large dome.

"How'd you afford this?" asked Nightwing, brushing himself off.

"We built it. I think it looks pretty good, don't you think?"

"…And exactly HOW long have you been planning this rematch?"

"Hey Gray Lady," called Ray, looking around inside the dome.

"Yeah?"

"You guys just finished building this recently, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you had enough time to test it out, right?"

"Yeah."

"What'd you test?"

"If it was suitable for a fight to be held here."

"What about a test flight?"

"…Actually, this is the first time it's been off of land."

Ray then grew quiet as he looked to the rest of his teammates.

"I guess now would be a bad time to mention I get a little air sick," said Slobo, holding his stomach.

Impulse quickly grabbed Slobo and dragged him to the other side of the dome, separating the sick hero from the other members of the team.

"Are we gonna get started or what?" asked Blockade, flexing his muscles. "I'm just itching for a fight! And I really wanna take on lil' runt over there. everyone knows who they're facing?" asked Arsenal. Everyone nodded. "Then let the fight begin!"

Arsenal raised his hand in the air, and as he did this, each and everyone in the dome began to vanish in a small, booming explosion, one by one.

"This looks familiar," said Nightwing, grinning just before he vanished as well.

Slobo and Blockade both appeared in a large virtual simulation of a construction site.

Secret and Blank Slate both appeared in a desert.

Impulse and Serpenteen appeared a large city.

Empress and Short Cut appeared in a castle.

Ray and Gray Lady appeared in a lava pit.

And Nightwing and Arsenal appeared in a battle arena that was very similar to the one they fought in years ago.

"This looks even familiar," commented Nightwing. Just then, he heard a clicking sound, as if a gun was being cocked. He looked over at Arsenal who held up his laser guns up at him. "But this is new."

"And we start now."

BLAM!

"Come on, Blockhead!" shouted Slobo as he backed up, dodging the blows that Blockade threw at the small hero. "This is getting boring real fast! I guess that's the advantage of being a runt! You can't lay a hand on me!"

Blockade then stopped and backed up.

"Who said I was going to lay a hand on you?"

"Huh?"

Blockade quickly grabbed a large metal pipe and swung it at Slobo, knocking him back into an unfinished wall. Blockade looked at the pipe he just struck Slobo with and saw a large dent in it.

"Jeez, kid. You've got one tough noggin there."

"…You don't know the half of it." Slobo stepped out of the wall and charged for the behemoth at full speed, ready to head-butt him.

WAM! The two collided with a powerful force, sending Blockade flying backwards into a pile of steel bars.

"Am I here?" asked Impulse as he began jumping here and there with his super speed, circling Serpenteen. "Or am I there? How 'bout now? Now?"

Serpenteen nearly broke his neck trying to keep up with Impulse's speed. He lashed out his tongue numerous times, trying to catch him, but failed.

"Here we go," he said as he cleared his throat and began hacking out purple gunk from his mouth. He collected it in his cheeks, and spit it out at Impulse. He managed to get it to land on the speedster's face, causing him to loose sight of what was going on. "Take that!"

"HEY!" screamed Impulse as he began running around all over the place, not knowing where he was going. "No fair!"

Serpenteen fell all over the ground laughing at his opponent's predicament.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Impulse screamed and shouted and ran left and right in confusion. He crashed into building doors and cars, still blinded.

Nightwing ducked, dodging Arsenal's blast. He quickly tucked and rolled away from him and whipped out his staff.

"Missed," said Arsenal.

"Why don't you try again?"

Arsenal began firing more blasts, but Nightwing quickly swung his staff around, reflecting all of the attacks back at Arsenal. The sharp shooter then leaped out of the way and continued firing.

"Humph." Arsenal put away his guns and then began swinging his fists at Nightwing.

"I see—you've—been—practicing," said Nightwing, still trying to dodge his opponent's assaults.

"Nothing beats hand to hand combat."

"I totally agree."

Nightwing swung his staff for Arsenal, but the latter leaned back, avoiding the swing and then flipped back. He wrapped his feet around the bo staff kicked it in the air.

"My staff!" Nightwing leaped in the air, caught it, and brought it down with tremendous force. Arsenal looked up and blocked with his foot as he executed a powerful back kick.

The roaring boom of the collision echoed throughout the arena. It was then followed by silence, and the sound of something cracking: Nightwing's staff.

The metal weapon broke in half and fell on the ground, leaving Nightwing to mourn over his loss.

"Told ya' I'd return the favor," Arsenal said with a grin.

"…Karma. How I hate it so."

"HYAI!" shouted Secret as she fired pockets of gas at Blank Slate, but to her dismay, the latter dodged them all with very little effort.

"Just because you have the same powers as me, doesn't mean that you know how to use them," said Blank Slate.

"Who are you?"

"Blank Slate: your worst nightmare!" Just as she said this, she grew larger and larger until she exploded into a large cloud of dark blue mist.

Secret was engulfed in the smoke, blinded. She had no way to see where she was going. She was trapped.

"Thank you, Nightwing," she said to herself. "Instead of giving me someone to fight that I might have an advantage over, you put me against my exact equal. But how does she have my powers?"

"You mean you don't know?" asked Blank Slate's voice.

"Know what?"

Blank Slate appeared behind her and swiftly moved in front of Secret.

WAM!

Secret was punched in the face, causing her to lose her balance.

"No time for idle chit chat, Secret. This is a competition, and fight we must."

"Humph." The young hero rose to her feet and ran for her target. She swung her fist, but to her dismay, it went right through Blank Slate. It wasn't the real one.

"Here I am."

"HYAI!" Secret whirled around and executed a back kick, but still the blow went through her. "GGRRAAAAAAAAAAHHH! Stop doing this!"

"Here I am," said Empress as she began teleporting back and forth throughout the castle dining room. Short Cut stood there, trying to find out where she'd be teleporting next in hopes of stopping her. He looked up and saw her hanging from the chandelier. "Now I see why Impulse has so much fun doing this."

POOF! Short Cut then teleported away and appeared in front of Empress.

"Not cool."

The two then vanished as Short Cut teleported them away from the dining room and into the hallway. Lined up on the walls was a long row of knight's armor with axes in their hands.

"Alright, Shorty," said Empress with a grin, as she whipped out her staff. "Let's do this."

"Whatever you say, Queen." Short Cut then looked to his side and stared at the knight's armor. He then vanished, leaving his opponent still standing there.

"Huh?" Empress slowly walked down the hallway, wondering where he could be. She had no idea where he could be. As she continued to walk, she had not noticed the pair of eyes that were following her from within the knight's armor behind her.

Clunk! Empress quickly turned around as she heard the sound a clunking metal, and saw one of the knight's armor holding an axe in his hands.

"AAAHHHH!"

The knight swung the axe into the wall and broke off the blade. It then began swinging the stick around at Empress, who was teleporting away from harm. The knight followed her every move.

"What ever happened to chivalry?" exclaimed Empress as she blocked the stick with her staff. She then teleported again and appeared behind its legs. Quickly, she sliced her staff through the legs and watched as it collapsed to the ground, revealing Short Cut inside.

"Alright, Shorty. It's over."

"Yeah right."

Short Cut then looked past Empress towards another knight's armor and teleported inside of it.

"It ain't over until I win, Empress!"

Empress continued dodging his assaults with the axe. She then began to think to herself as she noticed something about Short Cut.

Short Cut's always focusing on something right before he teleports, something that I don't need to do. Maybe he has to concentrate hard on where he's gonna teleport to next. So if I can throw him off concentration, then I'd have the upper hand…

Ray leaped from stone to stone in the lava pit, avoiding Gray Lady's assaults. As Ray hopped off of one stone, Gray Lady came and destroyed it with her powerful fists.

"You can run, I can fly," said Gray Lady, "and there's no way that you can hide."

"Who's hiding?" said Ray as he leaped onto another rock. He turned to his opponent and readied his fists for attack. He charged up his fists and fired a blast of energy to Gray Lady.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed as she was struck by the blast, causing her to lose balance and crash land onto another rock. She quickly stood up and extended her wings.

"Ready?"

"Lady, I was born ready."

Gray Lady flew off at full speed from her stone to Ray, who in turn flew off of his rock towards his opponent.

The two stared at each other as they grew closer and closer. They could see the determination in the other's eyes. Nothing was going to stop them. Nothing.

WAM! Slobo landed a powerful blow to Blockade's head. The latter retaliated with a head butt, sending Slobo flying backwards into a cement truck.

The truck tipped over and all of the wet cement poured out on top of Slobo.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed. "THIS IS SO NOT FAIR! OH YOU'RE SUCH A NOID!"

Blockade walked towards Slobo who was neck deep in cement. It would be only a matter of time before he was stuck for good.

"I wouldn't move so much if I were you. That things like quick sand: the more you struggle, the worser your situation becomes."

"….Worser?"

"Winner: Blockade," said the computer system as it teleported Slobo away.

"How does it feel?" asked Serpenteen, who dodged all of Impulse's failed attempts at punching. Still blinded by the gunk, Impulse could hardly tell where Serpenteen was.

"When I get my hands on you…!"

"Which you haven't even managed to do yet!" laughed the snake like hero. Serpenteen leaped into the air and began kicking Impulse in the face. He was as helpless as a baby.

"GAAAHHHH!" screamed the speedster. He backed up, dazed. "There is no way I'm losing!"

Just then, Impulse began to shake and vibrate. Serpenteen could even feel the pulse waves coming from him. Impulse began to look like a still giant blur.

"What's he doing?"

Serpenteen watched as he saw the gunk on Impulse's face slowly dissolve, letting the light shine on his skin once again.

"What the…?"

"I can speed up actions to bring about my future actions and anything else happening to me."

"Huh?"

"I used my incredible speed to speed up time. So what would've taken maybe a day to get rid of, I did in a few seconds. No more gunk in this trunk."

"That stinks on so many levels."

Impulse ran for Serpenteen and cocked his fist back, winding up for a powerful punch.

WAM! The reptilian boy was sent flying into a group of buildings.

"It's over. I win."

"Winner: Impulse." Serpenteen then vanished.

"Come out and fight me!" cried Secret as she kicked and punched all of Blank Slate's copies, still trying to find the real.

"If you say so." Just then, the real Blank Slate appeared in front of Secret. "BOO!"

"GRRAAAHHH!" screamed Secret as she then began to transform into her ghastly form. As she did this, she morphed her gaseous form into a physical monstrous form of a large bat like thing.

"Boo to you, too."

Secret extended out her claws and grabbed Blank Slate, who has morphed into her physical form.

"Now tell me who you ar—"

"Winner: Secret."

Blank Slate then poofed away, leaving Secret behind.

Empress swung her staff at Short Cut, who still hid in the knight's armor. She managed to slice off the legs again, causing him to fall. All of the armor fell off except for the helmet.

"Perfect!" Empress then ran for her opponent and turned the helmet backwards.

"HEY! I CAN'T SEE!"

"As blind as a bat. Looks like I got the upperh—"

Just then, Short Cut teleported away.

"Huh? Hey!"

"I know what you were trying to do," said Short Cut's voice as it echoed around the hall. Empress had no idea where he could be. "You thought if you take away my sight, then I don't know where I'm teleporting to. Well you're right about that. But you're forgetting one thing…"

Empress looked up as she saw a helmet fall over her face.

"…this is my turf, and I know what's up and what's down."

Short Cut leaped down and tripped Empress down to the ground. He grabbed her staff and held her down.

"It's over."

"Noo!"

"Winner: Short Cut."

Ray blasted as many balls of energy that he could at Gray Lady, who dodged them all with her maneuverability. She flew for Ray and began clawing away at him, but Ray was just as quick and hopped out of the way.

Gray Lady grabbed him from behind and flew into the air with him.

"You're quick," she commented.

"Likewise," he answered with a grin.

Once they reached to top of the pit they were in, they let go of each other and continued fighting.

Gray Lady continued to block Ray's assaults. It was useless. Gray Lady had the upper hand.

"This fight's going to the Point Men!" exclaimed Gray Lady as she flew and grabbed Ray.

"One thing wrong with that." Gray Lady and Ray both dropped down head first at full speed. "My team's better."

They continued to drop at full speed for the pit.

"You're a good leader, Ray. But I'm better."

"Says you."

Closer and closer they grew.

"And if you ever need someone to take lessons from, you know who to talk to."

"Sorry…"

Closer.

"…but position of tutor has already been filled…"

Ray then pushed himself away from Gray Lady as they came up to the bottom of the lava pit. Gray Lady struggled to stop herself from hitting the lava. She shifted her body away from the lava and ended up flying straight into the side of the pit. Her dazed body crawled out of the crater she made, only to see Ray hovering above her with glowing fists.

"…but if it doesn't work out, I'll give you a call."

Gray Lady fell to the ground, weakened. She had lost.

"Winner: The Ray."

The winners were then teleported to Nightwing and Arsenal's location. Blockade, Short Cut, Secret, Impulse, and Ray all looked around, confused as to why they were here, until they saw their mentors battling it out. Ray looked down at his feet and saw Nightwing's broken bo staff lying on the ground.

"You know—ah—this could—grr—go on all day," said Nightwing, blocking Arsenal's fists and kicks.

"I'm prepared."

Nightwing stared at Arsenal. It was like reliving an old memory.

Robin and Speedy looked beneath them as the ground began to crumble. The asteroid they stood upon was giving way.

"May the best man win," said Speedy.

"I intend to."

The ground disintegrated as they began to fall down towards the nearby moon.

"COME ON, NIGHTWING!" cheered Ray as he held the broken staff. "YOU CAN DO IT!"

"Nice kid you got there," complimented Arsenal as he backed up.

"You have no idea."

Nightwing leaped into the air and landed on top of a floating rock. Arsenal followed his movements but leaped even higher. He pulled out his guns and fired at Nightwing. The latter hopped off of the rock and landed back on the ground, running from the blasts. The laser blasts rained down from the sky, circling Nightwing. He looked behind him as he saw Arsenal land safely on his feet.

CRACK! The ground around them began to break apart. Soon there would be nothing beneath their feet. But even still, they stood their ground.

The two finally fell through into the dark crater that formed. They soon ended up in a deep dark cave, both of them at a disadvantage to the blackness.

"Alright, Nightwing," called Arsenal. "It ends here. The final fight between you and me to find out who's better."

"I thought it was just a rematch?"

"Whatever you'd like to call it. But I still see it as taking back what's mine: the rightful spot in the light! My rightful spot. I could've one, and you took that from me that should've been mine. I'm taking it back. That's true justice."

"True justice? Dante. You've talked to Dante."

Nightwing walked around aimlessly in the darkness, trying to follow Arsenal's sound.

"He made me realize what I was missing. That empty void in me needs to be filled, and it can only be filled with victory, Nightwing. It'll make everything right again."

Nightwing swung his fist, thinking he finally caught up to Arsenal's voice, but to his dismay he missed.

"Does winning mean that much to you? It isn't everything…"

"It's just the—"

"Only thing that matters." Nightwing finished his sentence, knowing what he was going to say. He hadn't realized it until now, but Arsenal was turning into himself. He remembered when he was that determined to win. And it was that determination that brought him to victory. Without it, he'd probably be in Arsenal's shoes now. And if that same determination helped him those years ago, then it would him now.

"Game over, Nightwing!" shouted Arsenal as he leaped up behind the former, his fists wailing in the air. "You—"

"Win!" Nightwing preformed a powerful back kick at Arsenal, sending the gun wielding hero out of the crater.

Nightwing jumped out of the crater as well and stood over the defeated friend. Arsenal looked up at the former boy wonder and saw his extended hand.

"Dante can't help you win. You're heart and determination is all the power you need."

"I thought he could help me," Arsenal said as he grabbed Nightwing's hand.

"A lot of people have thought that."

"NIGHTWING!"

"ARSENAL!"

Both the Point Men and Young Justice ran for their mentors and tackled them to the ground.

"Did ya win did ya win did ya win did ya win did ya win did ya win?" they all asked.

The two adults looked at each other and grew quiet, awaiting the results from the computer.

"Winner:……Nightwing."

"WWWOOHOOO!" exclaimed Ray and his teammates as they jumped up and down. They were clearly excited by the news. They looked over at the Point Men and Arsenal, all of them with grim looks on their faces.

"Don't worry about it," Nightwing said. "It was kind of fun catching up with an old friend."

"Likewise."

Gray Lady and Ray walked up to each other and shook hands.

"Next time," said Ray.

"Agreed, cutie."

"…Huh?"

Nightwing and Young Justice took a step back from Arsenal and the Point Men. They all waved goodbye as Arsenal ordered the computer to transport them home.

"So what now, Arsenal?" asked Gray Lady.

"We move on out. We need to have a little chat with a man named Dante." He slammed his fists together and walked off. "Next time when I'm in town, Nightwing. Next time."