Disclaimer:
I, Syraxes, do not own the Young Justice Animated Series, the Young Justice video game, the tie-in comics, the original comic series that shares its name, or the new comic series that also shares its name. They are the property of Time Warner, Warner Brothers Studio's, and DC Comics. I am simply a humble fan, making this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.
Jump City Nation Mall
February 2nd, 13:09 PST
"Bad guys are heading out the back entrance!" Artemis called over her comm.
"Be there soon," Match called back quickly.
Artemis drew an arrow, aiming it for Tommy Terror's back. She left it fly, but a wall of ice stopped it before it could make contact. Icicle Jr. grinned at her, and Artemis returned it with a glare.
She didn't know what three members of Onslaught were doing in a random mall, but it couldn't have been good. So it was probably good fortune that her, Match, and Harper had decided to go to the mall. All of them needed clothes and other supplies, and the two older Titan members willingly handed them over a credit card.
Tuppence Terror hurled the freight door open, and Artemis grinned when she saw Match was already there. Two punches and both the terror twins were flying backward.
Artemis loaded another arrow and fired it at Icicle. The boy, distracted by what had happened to his teammates, looked back in time to see her arrow strike him in the chest. As the trick arrow made contact, red foam exploded and quickly began to coat his body.
"Ah damn it!" Jr. cursed. He began to freeze it, which did stop the spread of the foam. Given more time, he would be able to freeze it all and escape, but that would take longer than she was willing to give him.
"Having a little trouble there?" Artemis asked, keeping her voice as pleasant as possible.
"Who are you?" Icicle demanded. "Another one of Green Arrow's sidekicks? You're not Arrowette and you're too young to be Artemis."
When he mentioned her real name, a cold feeling tingled down her spine. Did he know the real Artemis? If she could get him to tell her...
"Do I look like I wear green to you?" Artemis asked instead, gesturing to the red and black costume she was wearing. It was tempting to try and get what she wanted to know from him, but right now wasn't the time. She had a job to do.
"Well... No..."
"Then why would you think that?" Before he got the chance to answer her, Artemis raised her boot and kicked him in the face as hard as she could. The coat of ice he wore around would prevent any real damage from just one kick, but it was hard enough to knock him unconscious. Well... Into semi-unconsciousness, anyway.
Artemis turned around and loaded another arrow. Match was taking on both the terror twins at once. He appeared to hold his own against them, but the two were slowly overtaking him. From what she could see, he might be stronger than them both, but whenever one was in trouble, the other would quickly intervene.
Before she could let the arrow fly, Harper came in from above, fully armed. As Tuppence Terror jumped back, Harper caught her right arm with a black stable, nailing her to the wall. Match didn't waste any time hitting Tommy through an open door, sending him flying outside.
Artemis sprinted towards the door, and Match. Harper wouldn't need any help dealing with Tuppence, and though Match wouldn't either, she wanted to watch him work.
Mm. That boy, Artemis thought to herself. She watched Match slam his fist into Tommy Terrors jaw in an uppercut, sending the boy hurling towards the rough. When he fell back down to Earth, Match pulled his hand back, and Artemis could see all of his muscles through his shirt. He was delicious.
He decked Tommy Terror in the face before the supervillain hit the ground. Tommy went flying across the parking lot, ending up in the concrete barrier separating the mall from the street sidewalk.
"Good job," she purred, jogging up to him,
"Thanks," was his swift answer. It was a little awkward, and Artemis couldn't fault him. After that morning on top of the tower, Match had been distant. Artemis hoped she didn't spook him. He just needed time to himself. She was familiar with the concept. Whenever she had to deal with dad, she always needed time alone to blow off steam.
Artemis was torn between kissing him or not. Her conversation with Harper played in her mind. She didn't know how she felt about the other girl in the romantic department, but she did know how she felt about Match. While she tried to work through her feelings for Harper (which wasn't going very quickly), Artemis decided that she wasn't going to stop pursuing Match. With his memories coming back to him, he might even feel the same way about her again.
Artemis decided she was going to go for it, but a shadow passed over her before she could make her move. She looked up in time to see Harper soaring through the sky.
"Beetle!" Match called his attention firmly on Harper. Artemis turned around swiftly, loading her arrow. She pointed it at the door, preparing to fire at whoever came out.
She was startled to see a familiar Reach armor. It was the same blue color as the Outsider's Blue Beetle. For a moment Artemis dropped her guard, wondering why the other hero was here. It was only upon closer inspection that she realized the truth. The beetle's armor might be the same color, and it might have a humanoid figure, but the thing under it was not human, despite how close it looked.
The beetle turned towards her, the armor on its arm changing shape, constructing into a weapon. She had trained with Harper enough to recognize the shape of the stable cannon. Before she could move (or fire) a stable hit her, slamming her in place on the ground. "No one must interfere," the beetle said.
The back of its armor constructed into the familiar jetpack and the blue beetle shot into the sky.
"Is that blue beetle?" Artemis heard Match ask over the comm.
"No!" She snapped back. Artemis grabbed the staple holding her in place and tried to pull it out. It didn't budge. "It's a beetle warrior, but it's not Blue Beetle."
It was at times like this Artemis wished she had super strength. Or the upper body strength her sister had. The damn staple refused to move!
"Our new friend is after me." Harper appeared to be calm, but Artemis could pick up the sounds of a battle over her comm. "Whoever it is, they're good. Really good. I thought I had a handle on the scarab."
"I'll be right there," Match promised.
"Wait," Artemis called, pressing her hand to the comm in her ear. It galled her to have to ask for help, but if she wanted to get rid of the staple pinning her to the pavement quickly, it was help that she would need. "The beetle got him. Match, could you give me a hand?"
"Just make it quick!" Harper hissed. "The scarab is telling me to give it control. You know what happened the last time I tried that."
Yeah, Artemis remembered. That was one hell of a training session.
"We'll be right there," Match promised.
When he said right there, he meant it. Not even five seconds later was he dropping out of the sky above her. Match ripped the stable out of the ground and hurled it across the parking lot. He pulled her up with one arm.
"Can you fly me?" Artemis asked as she started to dust herself off.
She expected him to answer yes or no, but Match scooped her up bridal style. Which she couldn't say she didn't like. The two were soaring in the air a moment later.
Artemis quickly sorted through her trick arrows, until she found the one she was looking for. Which was good, because the two beetles were brawling in the sky. Both had constructed swords and seemed to be content to battle it out.
"Match, drop me on top of the mall!" Artemis ordered. "I'll cover both of you."
She might just make a leader yet because Match didn't question the order. He set her down and Artemis quickly fell to one knee. She drew the arrow back, steadying her bow. She saw Match heading towards the two, and Harper slowly being overpowered by the other beetle.
The blue beetle was a vicious fighter. It didn't pull any punches and took any opening Harper had. Given enough time, Artemis was sure it would overpower Harper. Unless she let her scarab take control, and she did not want to see how that played out.
Artemis waited for the right moment and found it when Harper moved slightly away from the blue beetle warrior. She fired her arrow and watched it shot through the sky, before making contact with the other beetle. It exploded as soon as it made contact, a sonic boom being released. The windows around the area of effect shattered, but the beetle warrior seemed to take the brunt of the attack.
Match took advantage of her attack and sent the battle down to the ground with a single punch. Artemis watched as the beetle impacted into the ground, making a beetle sized whole in the concrete. She couldn't help but whistle.
Harper recovered quickly, joining Match as the two descended to the ground. The people around them began to scatter and Artemis considered the best course of action would be to get the beetle away from the mall. The question was how exactly were they going to make the beetle move? She doubted he would be very cooperative with them.
"Artemis?" John's voice spoke over the comm. "What's going on?"
"We ran into Icicle Jr, and the Terror Twins at the mall. We had them subdued when a beetle warrior attacked us," she explained, loading another arrow into her bow. "Well attacked Harper."
"We're a minute out from the zeta-tube. We'll be there as soon as possible."
"Understood."
As the beetle pulled himself up from the hole, she fired her arrow at him. A small explosion detonated when it hit him, knocking him backward. Harper attacked it, cutting the beetle with her blade.
Artemis was expecting the beetle to recover his ground and retaliate. Instead, after three slashes in quick succession, the beetle kicked Harper away. The booster was constructed on the back of the armor and the beetle took to the sky. Match attempted to follow it, but a blast from the plasma cannon stopped him. Artemis knew Kryptonians were durable, but the fact that he could just brush off a blast of plasma was impressive. It would have incinerated a normal human.
The beetle shot out into the sky, vanishing as he moved beyond the buildings. Artemis released a sigh of relief. She didn't know where the other beetle came from, or why it was attacking, but it seemed that it was over. At least for now. She had a sinking suspicion that they hadn't seen the last of the alien beetle.
Looking back down at her teammates, Artemis was just about to call Match for a ride, when Harper locked lips with him.
Damn it!
United Nations
February 2nd, 18:32 EST
Lex Luthor was a man who prided himself on not being blindsided. When entering into negotiations, he always made sure to do his homework on those he would be dealing with. He looked at the possible outcomes of his going-ons from every possible angle. If they were coming at him with the intent of harming him or his business, what would be the best avenue of attack for them to do so, and how best would he counter.
He was a man who made sure he was kept in the know. To that purpose, he dedicated a not-insignificant portion of his personal fortune to that endeavor. From networks of analysts and agents to his more seedy ventures, Lex Luthor was a man who prided himself in being prepared.
It was that investment that made sure he would find the eldest of his wayward sons. Though unlike Superboy, Match didn't have any of his DNA, Lex nonetheless considered both of them his. He was their creator. He had sunk millions into their creation. Lex had already lost Superboy to the so-called heroes, but Match was yet to be turned against him. Unlike his younger brother, Match was full Kryptonian, and would not only be every bit as strong as Superman, but he would also have access to his full power set.
So when Match was lost, Lex put his people to work to track his ward down. Merely to observe more than anything at this early stage. If he tried to force the boy to come back, he might follow in his younger brother's footsteps. It might only push him away. Better to lead him down the correct path.
But before that could be done, they had to find the boy. His people would see to it he was sure. Miss Row and Miss Crock couldn't hide him forever. Eventually one of the three would make a mistake and their cover would be blown.
Lex knew the day was coming, he just didn't think it would be so soon. He had only set down in his office, starting at the United Nations building when the call came in. A private transmission only one of his people had access to.
Lex watched as a local Jump City news broadcast appeared. He was just begging to question why this had been sent to him when Match himself appeared on the screen. He was wearing a black mask ski mask but Lex would recognize him anywhere. Miss Row and Miss Crock were indeed with him. Fighting a reach beetle warrior, one that he knew couldn't be Blue Beetle. Said beetle was with the outsiders in New England.
Miss Row was still wearing the armor, which meant that it couldn't be her. Another beetle was on Earth, and that was something to look into. He filed the fact away in the back of his head, observing a TV anchor take her place on the screen. Match, Artemis, and Harper stood behind the anchor. Only two people that Lex wasn't familiar with had also joined them.
"Who are you?" The anchor said, thrusting her microphone into one of the masked heroes' faces.
"I'm Red X. Behind me is Starfire, Black Beetle, Selene, and Match. We're the Teen Titans-"
Lex paused the feed, saving it to his hard drive. He'd review it later. He had an important meeting with the Atlantean Ambassador and he couldn't be late. Well, my boy. You didn't do the best job of hiding.
Titans Tower
February 2nd, 16:16 PST
Match rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, John," he muttered.
Red X removed his mask and smiled. "Don't worry about it. We live in a t shaped tower. The press was going to catch on eventually. Better that we got the interview out sooner than later. Besides, despite being ambushed by the press, we did a good job handling them."
"And you three did a good job handling the Reach beetle," Kori praised. That meant a lot coming from her, an alien princess who grew up in a warrior culture. "I'm very impressed."
"We have good teachers," Harper returned the compliment.
"The question we should now be asking is where did the beetle come from," John interjected. Though Match hadn't known him long, he recognized the expression on their leaders face. A calculating look, as if he was staring at a puzzle and fitting the pieces together in his mind. For a reason he couldn't identify, it unnerved Match. "I think we can conclude that it was a Reach beetle. Which means that the Reach, at the very least in a limited capacity, has returned to Earth. There are only three reasons I can think of why they'd bother."
"Revenge?" Match decided to ask. It seemed the most obvious reason to him. "They lost Earth, a source of meta-humans, and one of their scarabs. The scarab they lost helped lead to their defeat."
John turned to him, that calculating look appraising him. He slowly nodded. "Yes. Revenge. From what I know, the Reach operates similarly to a corporation. Earth would have been profitable, and all of their investments amounted to nothing."
"What about Harper's scarab? We know the Light stole it. Killed one of their warriors for it. Perhaps they are here to retrieve their personal property?" Starfire asked.
"That's another possibility. The one that might make the most sense. The beetle didn't go after Blue Beetle or the Justice League. It wasn't after the Light. It went straight for what was stolen. I think that's a pretty good indication of why it's here, don't you?"
Across the room, Artemis' right hand found her hip. The same annoyed look passed over her face. "You said you thought there were three reasons why they could be here? What's the last?"
"War," John told her simply. "They lost quite the investment on Earth. They could be trying to recoup their loss. But they knew Earth is protected by the Justice League and the Light. The Light has a pact with Darkseid, a leader of half the New Gods. I don't think they'd attempt an invasion without more firepower. That's if they think an invasion would be worth it at all. Meta-powers might be worth it, but the League, the Light, and the New Gods? Well if I was planning an invasion, I think I'd weigh if it was worth going to war for the Earth at all."
"So I should be worried about being attacked by the Reach?"
John sighed, pulling off his Red X mask. "For now Harper, I think there's a good chance the Reach will be gunning for you. It seems that the scarabs are valuable to them, which I can understand. I'd imagine the creation of the scarabs involves a considerable amount of resources and time."
John swiped his hand across the air, activating a holoscreen. "Your scarab doesn't have any signal or communication with the Reach, so I don't think they can track it. Now that the interview has gone live, they'll know you're a member of the Titans, but I wouldn't worry too much. If they attack the town, they'll be in for a rude awakening. In any event, you three did a good job. I was going to hold off on team training for the moment and try to assess your individual skills, but I don't think that's necessary anymore. Starting tomorrow, we'll train every day."
"Every day? We're still going to school," Artemis reminded him.
John shrugged. "We'll start after school then."
Artemis shook her head. Match couldn't help but laugh.
Author's Note:
Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the seventh chapter of Teen Titans: Rising.
This is the first time I'm writing a story where romance is featured so preventively It's always the first time I've tried writing a three-way romance, so this is pretty new. I hope I'm not making it completely unrealistic. Match, Artemis, and Harper are all endgame.
Pa tr eon . com (slash) Syraxes