It's been too long...and this chapter is too short...unfortunately, the majority of the writing I've been doing as of late is college essays and school essays :P

To Layla347: Thank you!

To MemeSoldier: Haha! I didn't realize it, but I am going to be (somewhat) synched up to real time (well, nine years apart XD) with this story!

To Trojan Prince: Thank you! You will see a little taste of that in this chapter :)

To Ayda: Honestly...Venus would probably prefer to be called "Anal" XD. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

To tjgrov157: Glad you're enjoying it!

To Natalie Jarrett: I'm not caught up with Lucifer unfortunately, so probably not as I don't know what happens. But if I get caught up, maybe!

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice


MOUNT JUSTICE
September 7, 06:41 EDT

Venus lit a cigarette, taking a drag and exhaling smoke. The nicotine had little to no immediate effect on her, and her immortality ensured that smoking would do no damage to her health. But she smoked mostly because the taste reminded her faintly of Hell. She supposed this was somewhat nostalgic of her.

Grimalkin meowed loudly, making Venus lift her head. The demon looked at her cat, who was pawing at the door. Venus groaned, sitting up slowly and taking a final drag of smoke.

The demon got up from her bed and walked over to the door, opening it for the cat. She stubbed out her cigarette in the ash tray beside the door as she did so. Grim streaked off in an inky blur down the hallway and Venus sauntered after her. The dark-skinned girl heard voices coming from the hangar and headed over to see what was happening.

Superboy was kneeling on the ground next to his bike, and Miss Martian was standing next to him holding two paper bags. Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter and Aqualad were standing around the two teens. Venus propped a hand on her hip, heading closer.

"The first day of the scholastic season carries great cultural resonance," Manhunter said as Venus approached. "We want to wish you both well." Venus's lips quirked up as she realized what was happening – Superboy and Miss Martian were finally heading to high school for the first time ever.

"Guess it's not a Kryptonian thing," Superboy said, looking slightly downcast. His eyes fell on Venus, and he smiled again. "Came to see us off?" He asked her. The demon smirked.

"Well, I'm certainly not going with you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "School was not part of the deal." Next to her, Aqualad chuckled slightly. The Atlantean nodded at the two teenagers.

"You may wish to change before you depart," Aqualad cautioned his teammates. Both of them were dressed in their superhero uniforms - or in Superboy's case, the only clothes he owned. Miss Martian clasped her hands together.

"Oh, I spent hours picking this outfit!" She exclaimed excitedly. Her uniform shifted to a dark pink skirt with a matching short-sleeved blouse open over a white t-shirt. The Martian did a twirl, glancing at the others. "What do you think?" she asked eagerly. "Can M'gann M'orzz pass as an Earth girl now?"

Venus eyed M'gann, whose skin was still a bright-green color. The demon pursed her lips dubiously.

"Well…" Aqualad began tactfully.

"Just kidding!" M'gann exclaimed, laughing. Her skin changed color so that she resembled a Caucasian teenager. "Meet Megan Morse!" M'gann said, grinning widely and curtsying.

"I like it," Venus said, appraising M'gann's human guise. She glanced at Superboy, a small smile playing on her lips. "You gonna get a new name too?" she asked him. Superboy blinked slowly, his eyebrows pressed together in confusion. Martian Manhunter cleared his throat.

"I chose the name John Jones for myself," he said, shifting to his human appearance of a tall dark-skinned man wearing a suit. "And suggested John Smith for Red Tornado. You could be a John, too." Superboy scoffed, shaking his head.

"Pass," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. M'gann cleared her throat, blushing slightly as she rested a hand on Superboy's shoulder.

"Conner's always been my favorite name," she suggested shyly. Superboy considered for a moment and then shrugged, accepting it.

"A last name will also be required," Aqualad reminded them. Venus rubbed her chin. To her this seemed like something they should have taken care of long before the first day of school, but whatever.

"Perhaps Kent," Manhunter said, a slight smile playing across his face. M'gann smiled widely, nodding her head in agreement.

"Oh, in memory of Doctor Fate!" she said. "The late Kent Nelson!" Martian Manhunter nodded slightly, changing his appearance back to his green-skinned alien look.

"Of…course," he said. Venus frowned. Liar, she thought to herself. She chose to keep this fact to herself, however, deciding from his tone that he had a good reason to not be telling the truth. Instead, the demon looked forwards, locking eyes with Superboy.

"Conner Kent," Venus repeated, testing the name out. Superboy looked up at her, and Venus grinned. "I like it."

"Okay," he agreed, shrugging. "I guess it'd be an honor or…something." M'gann turned towards Superboy, a wide grin stretched across her face.

"Well, Conner Kent, it's time to change your shirt!" she said. Superboy blinked, glancing down at his outfit. He placed a hand on the red S-shield protectively, and M'gann batted it away, poking him in the chest playfully. "You don't want to reveal your identity!" she reminded him.

Superboy gave a long-suffering sigh. He reached down and grabbed the hem of his shirt. Venus couldn't help but chuckle ever-so-slightly when she saw M'gann's face go bright red as Superboy tugged his shirt off completely, showing his chest.

The clone turned the shirt inside out, holding it out in front of him. "Will this work?"

"Yeah, definitely," Venus said. Superboy glanced over at her, and she grinned at him mischievously, sweeping her gaze up and down his shirtless form. "I mean, as long as you plan on putting it on." Superboy chuckled, pulling the shirt back over his head so that it was now a plain black tee. M'gann cleared her throat, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Um, well…we don't want to be late!" she said, hastening Superboy. The clone shrugged, waving at Venus before turning to head out of the Cave.

"I don't get it," he said as he and M'gann walked away, the Martian levitating their lunch bags behind her. "Shouldn't I be Conner Nelson?" Venus laughed.

"They grow up so fast," Manhunter said, watching the two teenagers depart from the Cave. Venus had to fight back a snort at the comment. Aqualad smiled in a slightly amused manner as well as the two Leaguers departed.

"So, Kaldur'ahm," Venus said as she and Aqualad walked back towards the mission room of the Cave. She liked the way Atlantean names sounded. They didn't exactly roll off the tongue, but they had a fun rhythm to them. "What are your plans for the day? Atlanteans don't go to school?" Aqualad smiled.

"I believe it would be a little difficult for me to blend in," he said, motioning to his webbed fingers and gills. He paused in the center of the room, pulling up a holographic computer. He began to type as he continued, "In Atlantis, I studied at the Conservatory of Sorcery before becoming Aqualad, and before that I had a more…human-like education as well." Venus nodded slowly.

"Interesting," she said, mulling over that.

A beeping noise filled the room. Aqualad blinked in surprise, and then hit a button to open the transmission.

"It's me," an unfamiliar voice said, sounding chagrined. "I may…possibly…be in over my head." Venus stepped closer, curious. Someone had called the Cave's transmission line.

"Who's this?" she asked curiously.

"Red Arrow," Aqualad told Venus. The Atlantean then responded to the archer. "I am on my way," he said. There was an affirmative grunt on the other end, and then the transmission cut off. Clearly, whoever was calling had a lot of pride.

"What's the problem?" Venus said, intrigued.

"The peace summit in Taipei," Aqualad said, sounding as if he thought this was a satisfactory explanation. Venus blinked.

"Sorry, I don't really keep up with human issues," she said to the Atlantean. Aqualad shot her a quick grin, seeming amused.

"I will explain on the way," he said. Then he paused. "You are coming, correct?" Venus considered. Whatever this was certainly seemed more interesting than just sitting around the Cave all day. Besides, she was there to assist the Team in any way. She nodded.

"I suppose. It's not as if I have anything better to do."


"Stop." The guard swept his hand out, glaring at Venus and Aqualad as they tried to enter the building where the peace summit was being held. Venus had been caught up to speed about the warring nations on the two-block walk from the Zeta-Tube. The guard pointed to the door and then at the two teens. "Authorized personal only."

Aqualad frowned. He stepped forward, about to begin debating with the guard. Before he could, Venus placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. She stepped forward in his place, smiling alluringly at the guard.

"Nǐ hǎo ma?" she asked in perfect Chinese. She didn't know Taiwanese as well as she did Mandarin, but even though they were in Taipei, she was assuming he would speak Chinese as well.

The guard frowned at her. It was clear he understood her, but he didn't like the way this girl was wasting his time. Venus grinned.

"Wǒmen…zài zhèlǐ wéi nín tígōng bāngzhù," she said. "Dànshì wǒmen bùnéng cóng zhèlǐ kāishǐ. Qǐng ràng wǒmen jìn." She placed her hand on his arm, lowering her eyelids and smiling winningly. The guard's expression became dazed and he nodded slowly.

"Ń... shì de," he replied slowly. "Shì. Jìnlái ba." He stepped aside, and Venus motioned for Aqualad to pass through the doors first. He held the door for her, and Venus passed through after him. She tossed a grin back at the stunned guard as she walked inside.

"Xièxiè nǐ," she said with a grin. Aqualad pressed the comm. in his ear, alerting Red Arrow that they were in the building.

"You know Chinese?" Aqualad asked her in surprise as they walked into the building. The summit was being held just behind the doors they'd walked through, and they stayed at the back of the crowd, behind a small cluster of tables. Aqualad caught Red Arrow's eye, and the elder hero gave the Atlantean a tiny nod, acknowledging that he'd seen them.

"I know a lot of languages," Venus replied breezily, turning her attention to the arguing men up on the dais. She listened to them fight, shaking her head in disapproval. She turned to Aqualad. "You know, people blame my father for war and strife and evil," she said. Aqualad turned towards Venus, his pale eyes indicating his surprise. Venus shrugged. "The Devil made me do it and all that." Venus let out an angry huff of air. "Humans always want someone else to blame," she said, her voice quiet with a fierce anger. "As if my father could care about their petty lives."

Aqualad was a little startled. This bitter side of Venus came out every now and again, a break from her carefully crafted emotionless persona. Though he had seen it before, Aqualad was not quite sure how to react to it, especially given the fact that the subtleties of Christianity were a little lost on him.

"I am…sorry," he said, deeming it an appropriate response. "That seems difficult." Venus's lips twitched.

"I suppose it is," she replied, her eyebrows knitting together. No on had ever sympathized with her before. She was quiet for a moment. "Thanks," she mumbled after a beat, sounding slightly wondering.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Lux Luthor's voice broke through the angry tones of the squalling men. "This is mere rhetoric!" he insisted. "Despite your differences you still share an appreciation for many things, such as the exquisite art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony." Behind Luthor, Red Arrow's eyes narrowed behind his mask. He jutted his chin out ever-so-slightly, the movement only noticeable to Aqualad.

The Atlantean turned around, his eyes falling on the woman pushing the tea cart. Her face was covered with makeup, and she was dressed differently than the last time he had seen her. Still, he recognized her.

"That is far enough," Aqualad said, slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out one of his water bearers. "Cheshire."

Venus had turned around as well, and she watched with interest as the woman's face contorted into a sneer. Behind the table, Red Arrow pulled his bow out, knocking an arrow and pointing it at the assassin. Venus closed her hand around one of her whips, her eyes flickering. Cheshire scowled. She bent forwards slightly, like she was going to leap over Aqualad's head.

Instead, her finger brushed a button on the handle of the tea cart, and she sent it flying forwards with a mighty shove. Aqualad grunted, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he summoned water from around the room. The liquid in the diplomats' cups began to rise towards him, and the Atlantean began to create a water dome to shield them from the impending explosion.

There was a rush of air as an arrow swished past Venus's cheek, hitting the tea cart just before it passed the perimeter of Aqualad's shield. The cart exploded, and the heat and force blew through Aqualad's shield, making the Atlantean grunt as he planted his feet. The force died down slowly, and Aqualad fell to his knees, gasping for air. Venus knelt beside her leader, carefully helping to his feet. Her eyes tracked the Cheshire's movements. The woman was coughing as she rose to her feet, a pained and irritated grimace plastered across her face.

"It's over, Cheshire," Red Arrow said, pointing an arrow at her as Aqualad and Venus stood around him. The assassin grinned darkly.

"You would think so," she replied, straightening up with a sneer on her face. As she spoke, a helicopter appeared behind her, hovering in front of the broken window. The chopper was full of assassins. Behind the heroes, one of the Rhelasians shouted an order to the security members around them.

"Take Sportsmaster!" Red Arrow shouted. "Cheshire's mine!"

"Mm, so territorial and only our third date," the assassin purred. Red Arrow's eyes narrowed behind his mask, and he let his arrow fly. Aqualad ran forwards, flipping over Cheshire's head in a high arc to engage with Sportsmaster, who was ruthlessly taking out the security members.

Venus sighed, picking up both of her whips and rotating her wrists. The holy fire sparked from the hilts, the whips twitching at her side like a live wire. One of the Shadows rushed by, attempting to reach Luthor and the other politicians seated upon the platform. Venus lashed her whip, catching the Shadow around the foot and dragging him back towards her.

The assassin grunted, struggling to sit up. He wrapped his fingers around the holy fire surrounding his ankle. Holy fire wasn't like actual fire. Some said it only burned sinners, but Venus knew it was much simpler than that. It only hurt when she wanted it to hurt them.

"Let it burn," Venus muttered, catching the assassin's gaze. Her eyes flickered to empty sockets, and the assassin screamed, yanking his hands back from the circlet around his ankle. His hands were blistered and bloody. Venus smiled cruelly, rotating her wrist to tighten the circle of flames burning around his ankle.

The power itched at her fingertips. She could drop him straight into Hell if she tried hard enough. Someone grabbed Venus's shoulder.

"Enough! He's not going anywhere." Venus growled in frustration, dropping the whip and turning around. It was Red Arrow.

"You asked for my help," she snapped at him.

"Actually, I didn't," Red Arrow replied coldly, shooting down another assassin with a net arrow. "I asked for Aqualad's help." Despite his sniping, he and Venus ended up back-to-back as he positioned another arrow against his bow.

"You haven't gotten the memo?" Venus said sarcastically, flicking her wrist. The fiery whip hit two Shadows in the chest, making them fall to the ground. "I'm your friends' little pet until 2011. Better get used to me." Red Arrow grunted derisively, kicking another assassin aside.

"I'd rather not." Venus chuckled.

"Your loss," she replied flirtatiously, lashing another Shadow around the chest. The assassin struggled against her power, and she couldn't help but to laugh.

Humans are so fruitless.

"Darling, this will go a lot quicker if you just settle down," she told the Shadow disparagingly as she walked closer. The assassin grunted.

"Do your worst," he snapped back, wrapping his hand around the holy fire rope as he tried to tug it away from him. Unlike the other man, Venus didn't let it burn him. Instead, she grinned darkly at the man's taunt, a fun idea occurring to her.

Most humans couldn't bear the full brunt of her demonic appearance. At the Tower of Fate, Venus had simply been throwing a tantrum – though she'd assumed her demon form, there had been no power to it. Now, however…

Venus stared the assassin dead in the eye, a grin flickering across her face as she used her powers to tug at the anger and hatred inside of him – any sin a person had magnified her ability to scare them. The assassin gulped, feeling a tangible shift as Venus's eyes turned from an alluring hazel to dark, gaping pits.

The Shadow choked on air, his breath coming out in short gasps as he found himself unable to look away from Venus. She stepped forward, her face melting away to show him the daughter of the Devil. He staggered backwards, his whimpering breaths turning into a short shriek.

To the outside observer, Venus appeared to be the beautiful teenage girl of her human appearance. But to the assassin in front of her, Venus was a monster. The embodiment of his inner demons come to life.

Venus chuckled under her breath, her eyelids fluttering at the rush of power that soared through her veins.

"Venus!" Aqualad's voice cut through her concentration. His tone was stern. "Enough. This battle is over." Venus grinned darkly at the terrified assassin in front of her, her grin sharp and deadly.

"Just wanted to see if these guys were as tough as the look," she responded, reverting her face back to her human appearance as she turned to face Aqualad. The Shadow shivered in relief, his breath coming out in short, panicked gasps as he curled on his side. He retched behind her, and Venus grimaced in disgust. "I'm currently not impressed."

Aqualad surveyed the Shadow behind Venus, his frown deepening. Typically, Shadows were beneath his concern, but now he felt a pang of sympathy for this man. Shaking his head, he raised his gaze back to Venus.

"You went too far. We will talk about this later," he warned the demon, his voice ominous. Venus didn't flinch, her lip curling into a smirk as she brushed passed Aqualad dismissively. Her sing-song tone carried back to him as she walked away.

"Looking forward to it."


Venus watched as the North and South Rhelasian leaders signed a peace treaty. Camera bulbs were flashing erratically, as everyone tried to capture what was seemingly a momentous occasion.

Venus…didn't really get it. What was a little signature on a piece of paper going to do? They were human – they could easily back out of it. She shook her head astonishingly, wondering (not for the first time) how the human race had managed to survive as long as they had.

"Grandfather must be looking out for them," she muttered with a shake of her head. Venus was so engrossed in this meaningless display that she didn't notice Red Arrow and Aqualad slipping to the side. The archer glanced furtively at the demon, beckoning Aqualad a few steps away. The Atlantean followed his friend.

"I heard what Sportsmaster said," Red Arrow said to Aqualad quietly, keeping one eye on Venus the whole time. "Do you really think there's a mole on your team?" Aqualad pursed his lips.

"I cannot rule out the possibility," he replied regretfully. "I will investigate, quietly." Red Arrow raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Not tell them?" he asked. Aqualad shook his head.

"I cannot risk the unit unraveling over baseless suspicion," he responded. "And besides, if there is a mole, I have no wish to tip him or her off." Red Arrow nodded slowly, understanding Aqualad's logic. He glanced over at Venus.

"Well, your little friend seems like a pretty good candidate right about now," Red Arrow said, glancing at Venus. "I know who she is, and so do you, and she's certainly proven that she's ruthless enough to be a Shadow." Aqualad shook his head.

"She is not the mole," he said with certainty. "Her father told us her word is bond, and her word is to help us." Red Arrow laughed darkly.

"Not that I'm the most religious guy in the world, but have you thought about who her father is?" Red Arrow reminded Aqualad. "I don't think you should trust her. Did you see what she did to those two assassins?"

"I believe I can trust her," Aqualad replied evenly. "But I also believe she made a mistake today." Red Arrow sighed.

"No doubt about that," he replied, looking over at the demon. His eyes narrowed behind his mask. "What I doubt is that she thinks it was a mistake."

Aqualad followed Red Arrow's gaze. Venus was surveying the scene in front of her with a sort of distant interest. Something about the look on her face sent a chill down Aqualad's spine.

It wasn't that she looked angry or vengeful or anything like that. She looked…remote. She was observing the scene as though others might animals at a zoo.

It was suddenly eerily clear to Aqualad that Venus didn't care about people. She didn't associate with them. She didn't understand them – the way the felt pain or emotion or anything human.

She had said as much before, but he always taken it with a grain of salt. Now, looking at her, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before.

Venus turned towards Aqualad, catching his gaze. Noticing him looking, she gave him a winning smile. Some of Aqualad's fears dissipated. Maybe tonight had just been a fluke. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions.

The demon cast another curious glance at the summit before turning to join the two boys, brushing her long hair out of her eyes.

"Well, then," she said to Red Arrow. "It was so lovely to meet you. Now can we leave?" her question was directed at Aqualad. The Atlantean nodded slowly.

"Yes," he replied. "We are leaving."

"Marvelous. This was boring." Venus's heels began to click against the sidewalk as she turned to head back to the Zeta Tube they'd come from. As soon as Venus turned away from Aqualad, the chilly feeling returned. He and Red Arrow exchanged a look. Boring?

The archer nodded at his friend meaningfully, looking from Venus back to Aqualad. The Atlantean nodded, understanding Red Arrow's unspoken message.

Be careful.


"Recognized: Aqualad, B-Zero-Two; Venus Morningstar A-Zero-Three." The two teenagers stepped into the Cave, and Venus began to walk towards her room. Aqualad frowned.

"Venus," he called after her. She grunted, waving him off dismissively. "Venus! We need to talk." The demon groaned, turning around and rolling her eyes. Aqualad stared at her sternly. "You went too far," Aqualad told her again. Venus rolled her eyes.

"I did nothing to him but show him what he's in denial of," she replied, already bored of this conversation. She turned to leave again. "He'll be fine."

"Venus!" She paused again, turning slightly. Aqualad stared her down, his pale eyes serious. "You drove that man to insanity. Perhaps permanently."

"He'll be fine," Venus repeated in exasperation. Besides the fact that human lives were of little import to her, she knew she hadn't gone far enough to kill him. "If he wasn't dead when we left him, he'll recover soon enough. He'll have nightmares for a few weeks, maybe months, and then he'll be fine."

"And if he had died?"

"Do you think I would have cared?" Venus asked matter-of-factly. The Atlantean's lips tightened in disapproval, and his eyes narrowed.

"I care," he replied. "And you should – or at least you should care what your friends think of you." Venus threw her head back and laughed, the sound sharp and mocking.

"Friends?" She looked back at the Atlantean with something that mirrored sympathy. "Oh, Kaldur. We're not friends. You and your team are a deal. I'm maintaining my end of the bargain and that's it." Aqualad frowned. It wasn't that he'd never seen Venus's angrier side before, but this was the first time he'd seen how cold and calculating she could be.

"We have never treated you like anything less than part of the Team," Aqualad told her, incensed. "We have never treated you like anything less than a friend." Venus snorted.

"Maybe that was your first mistake," she replied coldly. Her tone wasn't defensive or sad – she didn't want to be part of the Team. She didn't want - or need - friends. She wanted to leave. Aqualad stared at her. Venus smirked. "If you hadn't, I wouldn't have disappointed you."


ugh i'm so sorry this chapter is so short. i just was dying to finish it and i did my best.

also there's a lot of subtext in this chapter. idk how well i did it. lol. anyways.

please let me know what you think! your reviews keep me going! please please please leave a review!