Iron Justice

by Person002

The Avengers and the Justice League fight crime...well, not side by side, per se. Talia Stark is eager to prove herself, but her father made it clear that fighting as an Avenger is strictly off-limits. Bored one afternoon, she wanders off to Cadmus. Soon after, the Team is formed and Talia and her new friends realize they stumbled upon something huge: something no one expected.

17. Failsafe

BRUH this chapter has been an absolute butt to write. I've literally been working on it...for like...a month (and lowkey not satisfied ngl). And it's so long and I'm so tired of editing it lmao.

Anyways.

To Bane61: I honestly didn't even think of that! Too bad, it's clever...and Talia would like to be called the same name as a band.
To Guest: Here is the update! I'm so sorry it took so long :(
To Ayda: Those are both cute! They actually sound like nice name-names not ship names lol...
To WitchLove: Yay! I'm glad you like the banter, I was hoping I'd portrayed it well!
To DragonMack: Thank you for the feedback!
To Natalie Jarrett: It has begun!

Also...I don't want to directly respond to this person because I don't think they deserve it. But at the same time...I want to rant. So here's a message to people like that person and a little context. Someone left an implied homophobic review. If you're homophobic, I'm honestly very sorry for you that you're so close-minded. Must suck tbh.

It's almost 2020 people. Wake up. Love is love is love is love is love is love is love.

Mini-rant over. On with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel.

Also - TW for panic attacks.

---

MOUNT JUSTICE
October 16, 16:01 EDT

How had this happened?

Artillery blinked in confusion, certain that she'd processed the video feed incorrectly. But when she reopened her eyes and looked at the screen again, there was still only empty space where both of the Green Lanterns had been.

The disintegration beam the aliens had fired...it had ripped through the shields of the Lanterns, shattering them and dissolving the two men into thin air. It didn't leave a trace behind - no blood, no clothing, nothing. They were just...gone.

Frowning, Artillery watched the feed, her brow creased in concern.

The hatch of Batman's jet opened, and four Leaguers flew out. Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, and the Atom could all withstand the pressure of space, easily surviving with only an oxygen mask to assist them. Batman, though human, was an excellent pilot and could maneuver the spacecraft.

As the Leaguers poured out of the ship and towards the alien vessel, the foreign ship opened a hatch of its own. Dozens of smaller ships, each easily dwarfing Batman's jet, filled the space around the mothership. All of them were equipped with the same cannon that had fired the disintegration beam. The ships swarmed the heroes, cutting through the sky as they attacked.

Within seconds, all four Leaguers were gone.

One of the alien ships flew up in front of Batman's jet, firing the orange beam and dissipating the Dark Knight in seconds.

An oddly desensitized feeling spread through Artillery. She was in disbelief - probably even in shocked - at the enemy that they were facing. She exhaled slowly; her eyes wide.

A transmission from Zatara appeared on a holographic screen to the left of the initial video feed. The magician's face was grave.

"Tornado," he asked somberly, addressing the only Leaguer still at the Cave. "Did you – "

"Yes, Zatara," Red Tornado replied, cutting the magician off. "We saw. Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures. That includes the rest of the Avengers and the X-Men." Zatara dipped his head once.

"Affirmative," he agreed. There was no time to waste. "See you in the field."

The transmission shut down, and Red Tornado turned to face the Team.

"I must join the League," he said, looking at the teenagers in front of him. "We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

Aqualad turned his head, surveying his teammates. This was what they'd been training for. They were prepared to face this threat, no matter the cost.

"We stand ready," the Atlantean assured Red Tornado, turning back to the android. Red Tornado nodded his head once before striding to the Zeta-Tubes. As the machines powered on, transporting the android away, Robin walked up to the holographic computer. The boy typed in a few commands, and the largest screen opened to the GBS News channel. It was covering the alien attacks.

"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live. The extra-terrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City." Before the red-headed woman could say more, an alien ship swooped down from behind her, zapping a group of people running for their lives. Like the Leaguers before them, they disappeared instantaneously.

Before Iris could fall victim to the aliens next, there was a blur of red and yellow as the Flash zoomed in a carried her to safety. Off-screen, Zatara's voice echoed over the channel.

"Tropnsnart siht namaremac ot ytefas!"

A golden glow covered the screen. When it had dissipated, Zatara was standing in front of the camera, on top of a roof. The Flash ran into frame, carefully setting Iris down. Zatara nodded at his fellow Leaguer.

"You should both be safe here," he said to the reporters. "At least for now."

"Thank you, Flash," Iris said, her gaze lingering slightly on the speedster before she turned to the other hero. "And Zatara." The Flash placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly before speeding off. Zatara raised his hands towards the sky.

"Noitvtivel won!"

The two Leaguers disappeared from frame and Iris let out a slow breath. She ran her fingers through her hair and turned back towards the camera.

"Denny, you okay?" Iris asked. The cameraman gave her a thumbs-up. Iris nodded, tucking another loose strand of hair behind her ear as she composed herself. Holding the microphone back to her mouth, she begin to speak to the audience again, "As you can see, the Justice League is attempting to hold the line." The camera panned to a nearby building.

Both the Flash and Zatara were making their way to the people trapped on the rooftop. Before they could get to them, a ship zapped the roof, sending up a wall of smoke and flame. Iris's face dropped in horror.

"No," she whispered, stretching a hand outward in disbelief.

"Iris, Iris, get out of there!" A new voice broke through the video feed as the screen shrunk into the corner of the newsfeed. Cat Grant was seated at the desk, her eyes wide with horror.

The transmission was lost; the screen reverting to grey static with the ominous flashing message of NO SIGNAL. Cat's face dropped, and she sank back into her seat slowly. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the cameras.

"I'm sorry, we're experiencing technical difficulties from our Central City feed." The reporter hesitated, and then took a deep breath. "We take you now to a devastated Taipei, where a team-up between the Avengers and League is having a bit more luck."

As the camera picked up the scene, Hawkman was flying away from the wreckage of one ship. Before he could get too far, another ship appeared behind him, zapping the Thanagarian. Falcon coasted to the left, narrowly avoiding being claimed by the same shot but only to fly directly into the path of another alien ship.

Sam Wilson was gone.

Black Canary and Green Arrow were fighting on a rooftop nearby with Captain America. The super soldier slung his shield towards an alien vessel. The combination of the vibranium metal and Captain America's strength bisected the alien craft, and it plummeted to the ground. Cap flexed his wrist, activating the powerful magnetic arm holster that Iron Man had manufactured.

The shield careened back towards Captain America, and he caught it easily.

Black Canary let out a sonic scream that reverberated throughout the city, making several ships in its path implode. Green Arrow was knocking a few explosive arrows against his bow, ready to knock the enemies out of the sky.

Still, the combined efforts of the three heroes wasn't enough to hold of the barrage. Green Arrow let the explosives fly, and the resounding explosion destroyed several ships. However, it also sent up a cloud of smoke that concealed the approach of another alien vessel. It fired its beam, and the screen went black.

Cat Grant's face was horrified. When she spoke, her voice was shaking with the struggle to contain her emotions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, Falcon, Captain America, and the Hawks. Other heroes reported to be dead or missing include Batman, Icon, Quicksilver, Atom, Vision, Wolverine, Hawkeye and Aquaman."

Artillery sucked in her breath, exchanging a look with her teammates. Despite the horror on the screens, she felt oddly calm. Clearly, the grief hadn't hit her yet. Her gaze fell on another screen, where Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, and Cyclops were fighting against another wave of alien ships.

Iron Man swooped through the air, firing a blast at a ship. It exploded, sending a shower of wreckage down to the ground below.

A ship hovered behind Iron Man, its cannon powering up. Before it could fire at him, Scarlet Witch's red magic wrapped around it. She pulled the ship away, her face contorted in a focused grimace as her muscles strained.

A laser beam hit the ship, destroying it. Scarlet Witch's shoulders sagged in relief as she bent forwards, catching her breath. Cyclops placed a concerned hand on her shoulder, briefly taking his eyes off the battle field to check on the younger hero. Iron Man whipped around, seeing another ship coming up and powering up its weapon.

Iron Man landed in front of his two allies, spreading his arms and projecting a shield in front of the three heroes. It did nothing to stop the beam, and the three heroes vanished.

Artillery let out a slow breath as she watched her dad disappear. To her surprise, she still remained calm.

"Red Tornado to Cave." The android's voice broke over the Cave transmission line, and Artillery moved her gaze to the screen that showed his battle. "I fear that I am all that remains of the League. The X-Men and Avengers have suffered great losses as well."

"RT!" Robin cried, spotting a ship flying up behind Red Tornado. "Look –" Before the boy could finish his warning, Red Tornado was gone.

There was a long beat of silence as the Team stared in shock. Then Aqualad spoke.

"Artillery," he ordered. "Try to figure out which of the X-Men and Avengers are still alive. If possible, we should regroup with them." Artillery nodded, stepping up to the computer. Her fingers flew over the keys as she pulled up a map and began to track the remaining heroes.

There weren't many left. Even as Artillery pulled up the map, the blips signifying Phoenix and Beast vanished almost immediately. Only War Machine, Black Widow, and the Hulk remained. Artillery quickly opened up a channel to War Machine.

"Rhodey, what's it looking like?" Artillery asked her godfather, hoping for a good answer. She was out of luck.

"Not great, Widget," came the breathless reply. "We're – "

The connection broke, leaving Artillery with only static on the other end. Her heart thumped uneasily. "Rhodey? Rhodey!" She took a deep breath, shaking her head in disbelief as she turned to face her friends. "He's gone," she said, feeling slightly dazed. She looked at the map in front of her, watching as the blips on the screen that signified Black Widow and the Hulk faded away.

"They're all gone," Spider-Man said, shocked.

There was a long beat of silence as the Team processed what had happened, what it meant.

"We are Earth's heroes now," Aqualad said at last. Artillery could only nod, still trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. Superboy frowned, crossing his arms and turning to face his friends.

"So, what are we waiting for? A theme song?" Aqualad frowned at the other boy.

"A strategy," he corrected, sounding slightly disapproving. "Earth's weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed." Robin nodded, seeing Aqualad's point. The Boy Wonder tapped in a command on his wrist keyboard, projecting a three-dimensional globe in front of them. The globe spun around slowly, rotating on its axis as Robin typed.

"Checking satellite imagery…here's where the aliens are now." The globe froze in position, each alien ship highlighted in red on the holographic screen. Artillery studied the map carefully. The aliens were densely populated on every continent. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there was one red blip separated from all the rest.

"Um, is that one lost or something?" Spider-Man asked, pointing at the lone blip. Robin zoomed in on the dot, frowning. Something was familiar about this location...recognition flickered over his face. Robin double-checked the coordinates to make sure and...yup, it was -

"That's Superman's Fortress of Solitude!" Robin announced, looking at the Team with wide eyes. Surprise and anger flashed across Superboy's face.

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" he repeated. Robin nodded.

"Its power source must have attracted the aliens' attention. At least enough to send a scout ship to investigate." Superboy scowled, glaring at the ground as he took a few steps away from the group.

"Must be some fortress," he muttered angrily. Miss Martian stepped after her boyfriend, reaching out to him.

"Conner – " she began, trying to comfort him.

"No, it's okay," Superboy responded sarcastically. His voice was bitter. "Guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know." Superboy paused. "I mean, you know, now."

Artillery eyed Superboy sympathetically. She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say but wanting to comfort her friend. Before she could think of anything, Aqualad began to speak again.

"We will target this lone ship," he said, pointing at the dot on the screen. He looked at his friends, his silvery eyes determined. "It is our best bet." Kid Flash whistled enthusiastically, pumping his fists. A wicked grin was spread over his face.

"Yeah! Break it down, build more! Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!" He slammed his fist into his other hand excitedly. Artemis rolled her eyes at Kid Flash's word choice, elbowing the speedster in the ribcage. He yelped in pain, rubbing the sore spot on his side as he glared at the archer.

"Martian and Kryptonian in the house?" she hissed pointedly, motioning to their alien friends. Kid Flash looked up. Recalling what he'd said, he grinned at his friends sheepishly.

"Uh, not that all aliens are automatically ugly."

---

The BioShip landed silently behind the lone ship, safely concealed in camouflage mode. The Team poured out of the hatch, all wearing their polar stealth uniforms. Once again, much of the technology had been designed by Tony Stark. He had made the suits warm but still easily maneuverable, not too clunky to move around in on the battle field.

Artillery felt a quick stab of sadness when she thought about her father, but it vanished quickly. She figured she was still in shock – her father's death just didn't feel real yet.

She would mourn him later. Right now, she needed to focus. The mutant watched as Artemis dashed across the snow, taking refuge near an icy heap. The archer knocked an arrow against her bow and peered around the corner, waiting for the right moment.

With her HUD as assistance, Artillery could make out the faintest of shimmers as Miss Martian flew over the snow in camouflage mode. The alien used her telekinesis to attack the ship, effectively cutting it off from its allies.

'Communications disabled. Propulsion disabled,' she announced as the ship crashed to the ground, cracking the ice beneath it. There was no movement from who or what was piloting the ship, but Artemis moved forwards anyways. She shot her arrow at what appeared to be the hatch of the ship, covering it with foam to trap any lifeforms from escape.

The ship's weapon rotated, swiveling around towards where Artemis had shot from and firing rapidly. The archer dove back to the relative cover of the hills, ducking to avoid being hit.

'And ETs are sealed inside!' Artemis announced triumphantly after a moment. Another blast hit overhead, and Artillery grimaced, concerned for her friend.

Aqualad burst through the ice behind the alien ship, landing on the side of it effortlessly. It shifted precariously, threatening to slip under the sheet of ice.

The weapon of the ship swiveled, focusing on Aqualad. Before it could fire, Wolf came leaping through the air, knocking the gun to the side so it fired harmlessly to the ground. A chunk of ice disappeared, revealing the ocean beneath. Superboy followed his pet, landing on the ship beside Aqualad.

"Let's move!" Robin hissed, beckoning the remaining members of the Team.

Spider-Man and Robin swung through the air, and Kid Flash took off in blur, throwing up ice and snow in his wake. Artillery flew after them, keeping low to the ground.

The Team landed on the alien ship, all keeping one eye on the gun to make sure it wasn't being prepped for fire. Superboy was holding it in place, ensuring that it couldn't target anyone, but they couldn't be too careful.

'Artillery, can you control it?' Aqualad asked the mutant. Artillery frowned, looking at the ship. She opened her mind, searching for the usual pull that came from potent technology but felt nothing.

'Negative,' she responded, shaking her head. 'I don't think my mutation works with alien tech. Robin, can you scan it?'

'On it,' the Boy Wonder replied. He pulled up his computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard. The computer loaded the image, displaying the schematics on the screen. 'Okay. Weapon's structural stress points and links to the ship – ' Robin looked up and motioned with his hand. 'Here, here, and here!'

Miss Martian thrust her hand out, using her telekinesis to meticulously destroy each section Robin indicated. Once she had done so, Superboy yanked the weapon up and held it aloft. He strained as the remaining wiring fought back against him. Artillery eyed it nervously, hoping that Superboy's rough treatment of it wouldn't damage the weapon beyond repair.

Suddenly, Wolf let out a loud warning yelp. Artillery started, but before she could pinpoint what had distressed the animal, Wolf had knocked Superboy off of the ship's helm.

The clone rolled to the ground, sliding a few yards away on the icy surface. The ray powered up, zapping the spot where Superboy had just been.

Wolf was gone.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and Robin consulted his schematics frantically.

'There was no indication of feedback!' Robin turned towards Superboy. 'I'm sorry.'

Superboy looked away for a moment, at the spot where Wolf had just been. There was a beat of silence, and then the clone shook his head.

'Can't do anything for him now,' Superboy muttered, leaping back up to the ship. He wrapped his hands around the weapon again, tugging at it fiercely. 'Let's go.'

There was a loud creaking sound as the wires finally gave away, and Superboy wrested the weapon aloft. Miss Martian looked up at the sky. Her eyes glowed green as she summoned the BioShip, her gaze tracking the horizon. Moments later, the BioShip appeared next to the Team. Superboy leapt onto it easily, still holding the cannon over his head.

Miss Martian hovered beside him, looking at the BioShip. She placed her hands on the helm of the ship, her eyes glowing again as she mentally accessed the structure of the ship.

'Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into ship's biomatrix,' she announced to the rest of the Team, glancing behind her briefly. 'I'll need to de-camouflage for a few minutes.'

Spider-Man stiffened as the familiar painful twinge rang down his spine. The mutate turned around, his gaze sweeping over the horizon. Sure enough, danger was imminent.

'We may not have a few minutes,' Spider-Man warned his friends, motioning to the two ships sweeping over the ice. As if on cue, the ships coasted hard to the side, turning around and flying directly at the Team.

'Miss Martian, open fire!' Aqualad shouted, his gaze locked on their quickly approaching adversaries.

'Can't! Weapons systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon! And that's not fully integrated yet either!'

Artillery turned around, spotting the two ships barreling towards them. She let the armor form around her and took off into the air, powering up her repulsors. She dropped down low, dodging the first blast the aliens took at her.

'Artillery, look out!' The mutant's eyes widened in surprise as she realized one of the ships was dangerously close to her. She tried to rise up above it, but it swooped down low. Artillery dodged the cannon's blast narrowly, but clipped off the side of the ship.

The teenager went spiraling off through the air, her thrusters reacting automatically to her panic as they struggled to stabilize her.

'Got you covered!' Artemis shouted over the mental link. 'Get inside, I'm almost there!' There was a loud explosion as Artemis's arrows found their mark, and both ships went crashing into the icy terrain.

Artillery was still struggling to find her balance as she heard Miss Martian's panicked warning. 'Artemis, behind you!' The mutant flipped over once more, and her thrusters flared as she finally managed to hover straight.

From her bird's eye view, Artillery could see everything. Artemis was racing towards the BioShip, an arrow knocked against her bow. The alien ship she'd taken down had spun around in the crash. It was grounded, but still operational. The ship was facing the archer, and its cannon was powering up.

Artillery's eyes widened. Swearing under her breath, she took off towards her friend, speeding through the air as fast as she could. Her thrusters flared behind her, leaving a trail of smoke in the air. Hearing Miss Martian's warning, Artemis whipped around and raised her bow.

"No," Artillery said aloud, increasing the power on her thrusters as much as she could. She stretched her hand out futilely, a desperate attempt to reach her friend before it was too late. "Artemis!"

The glow of the disintegration beam surrounded Artemis. Artillery was close enough to hear her friend's startled gasp just before the mutant's fingers closed around nothing.

"ARTEMIS!"

Miss Martian's despairing shriek ripped through the air. Artillery crashed into the ice, too shocked to peel off back into the air.

Artillery could hear the panicked screams of her teammates behind her as she slowly rose to her feet. She looked around at the barren terrain, half-expecting to see Artemis still there.

"Artillery! Get to the BioShip, now!"

Aqualad's command barely registered in the mutant's brain. She was still scanning the icy tundra around her, desperately looking for any sign of her teammate.

Artemis couldn't just be gone. She couldn't…this must be a mistake.

"Artillery!" Aqualad's shout was much closer to her now. She blinked slowly, feeling like she was coming up from underwater. The mutant turned slowly, seeing the Atlantean running across the ice with his water bearers out. He locked eyes with her, raising his voice again, "Bioship, now!"

Her heart hammering in her chest, Artillery rose back into the air, flying back over to her friends. She landed at the BioShip, the armor melting back into her skin as she stared at her teammates in horror. Miss Martian was crying, tears streaking down her face as she shook uncontrollably. Kid Flash was pacing back and forth, shouting angrily, and the others just looked shocked.

"Where – where did she go?" Artillery asked plaintively, her face pale. Spider-Man stepped forward, gripping his friend's arms as she stumbled. Despite his own grief and shock, he focused on Artillery, recognizing the symptoms of her panic attacks. Her breath was coming out unevenly already, and there was a faint sheen of sweat over her face. Despite the shelter of the BioShip and the warmth of the thermal suit, she was trembling.

"Talia." Spider-Man's voice was shaking even as he tried to console his best friend. Her teeth were chattering violently, and he squeezed her forearms gently, trying to get her to focus. "Deep breaths." She obeyed reflexively, her eyes wide and panicked as she inhaled deeply. "Close your eyes."

Artillery shut her eyes obediently and took another deep breath. Her head was still spinning, and her muscles were tensed, but she slowly began to relax as she focused on her breathing. She took another deep breath of air for good measure, and her shoulders loosened.

As her shock-induced panic attack faded, the grief set in just as quickly.

Artillery opened her eyes slowly, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Artemis?" she gasped out, staring at Spider-Man. She was desperately hoping that he was going to tell her near panic attack was messing with her head, that Artemis wasn't really gone.

But he didn't. Artemis was gone. She was dead.

---

Artillery sat slumped in her seat; her gaze locked on the empty one in front of her. It was as if Artillery hadn't been able to process any of the losses until just now. Maybe the shock had worn off, maybe her panic attack put her in a more vulnerable emotional state. Maybe actually seeing a friend's death in person instead of on a screen had done it.

Whatever it was, all the losses were suddenly hitting her. Artemis, the X-Men, her dad. They were all gone.

The mutant's eyes filled with tears again.

The BioShip had been silent except for Miss Martian's quiet sobs. Suddenly, the air was filled with Kid Flash's angry yells. Artillery slid her gaze to the speedster, who was beating his fists against the control panel in front of him in rage.

"There will be time to mourn later," Aqualad said. His voice was quiet, but it cut through the air easily. He stood, facing his teammates. Despite the sadness in his eyes, he maintained the role of the leader. His mouth was set in a hard, determined line as he scrutinized his teammates. "Now we have a job to do – defend the Earth and ensure Artemis's sacrifice was not in vain."

"Back to the Cave?" Spider-Man asked quietly, his eyes locked on the ground unseeingly.

"The Hall of Justice," Aqualad corrected. It was time for the Team to do more than reconnaissance. People needed reassurance, they needed to see them. "The human race must know that there are still heroes defending them. There is still hope."

Despite Aqualad's assured voice, Artillery couldn't summon even the semblance of hope inside of her. She wrung her hands in her lap, tracing the invisible seam lines of the imaginary baseball cap. She swallowed hard, wishing that JARVIS was there. Tony had installed a new AI immediately after JARVIS had evolved into Vision, but Artillery hadn't been able to bring herself to yet. Despite JARVIS's "death" being her idea, she still hadn't quite come to terms with it.

"We're entering DC airspace now," Miss Martian announced from the helm, breaking through Artillery's thoughts. She looked up, and upon looking around, realized her teammates had changed out of their polar stealth. She tapped the arc reactor on her chest, and the nanites of her suit rippled and shifted back to its normal black and grey.

"Approaching Hall of Justice," Miss Martian said. She looked down at the building, and her eyes widened. "Alien ships are targeting soldiers!"

"Superboy, Artillery," Aqualad ordered, pointing to the three ships flying ahead of the BioShip. The two teenagers nodded, moving to the center of the BioShip. Artillery let the armor form over her as Miss Martian opened a hole for the pair to drop through.

Superboy leapt onto the ship directly below the BioShip, and Artillery peeled off into the air. She could see the clone punching his fists down out of her peripheral vision. His blows dented the ship beneath him and sent it spiraling into the ground.

Artillery spun outwards, gripping the underbelly of the ship nearest to her as to avoid its cannon. Flexing her muscles, she spun again, clinging onto the alien ship as she did so. With the enhanced strength of the armor, she was able to maneuver it with her.

Powering up the thrusters as fast as they could go, Artillery slammed the ship directly into the ground, effectively destroying it.

Superboy's ship crash-landed next to her, and he leapt off of it. The two teenagers stood up, facing the stunned soldiers standing in front of them. The BioShip landed behind them, de-camouflaging. The door opened, and the remaining members of the Team descended, gathering around Superboy and Artillery.

The soldiers in front of them exploded into applause and cheers, and Artillery lowered her head, her heart heavy. After all they had lost, it seemed impossible to be glad about this tiny, tiny victory.

"See!" One of the soldiers said, pointing at Artillery and Superboy. "It is Superman and Iron Man. I told you they wouldn't leave us out here alone." Artillery glanced over at the two men talking. One of them was young, at most twenty years old. The other was older and looked more doubtful that hopeful.

"I don't know…" the older soldier responded. "He looks a little young, and there's no cape. And the other one…I'm not sure that's Iron Man." Artillery let the helmet disappear back into her skin, revealing her face.

"I'm not my father," she said quietly. Recognition flickered over the two soldiers faces as they recognized the young heiress. Most people wouldn't know who Talia Stark was if they saw her walking down the street, but in context people knew. Artillery looked down.

"And I'm not Superman," Superboy replied, almost angrily. Artillery put her hand on his shoulder, and the other members of the Team gathered around.

"I don't know you are, son," General Eiling stepped forward. Artillery recognized him; he and Rhodey had crossed paths before, as had Eiling and her father. "And right now, I don't care. You wear the 'S' and you got the job done." Superboy frowned, looking at the ground.

"I'm not Superman," he said again, this time quieter. He sounded almost defeated.

"Tell that to the enemy," Eiling replied, perhaps not hearing the tone in Superboy's voice. Aqualad walked up to the man, and the general turned towards the Atlantean, saluting. "General Wade Eiling, U.S. Air Force."

"Aqualad, Justice League," the teenager responded without missing a beat. A jolt ran through Artillery and she took a deep breath. Aqualad continued, business-like as always. "We'll help you salvage as many of the aliens' cannons as possible. Then we start taking back what is ours."

"Agreed," Eiling responded. He turned towards his men. "Form a perimeter!" He ordered. "We'll talk inside."

The Team and Eiling walked up the stairs and into the Hall of Justice. The building was abandoned, and already in debris. Artillery looked up at the statues of the founding members of the League – they were crumbled.

"They're really gone," Robin said softly, staring at the statue of Batman. Artillery's heart clenched at the sadness and disbelief in the boy's voice. Even with Batman's cold, stoic exterior, Artillery suspected that he and Robin were close – or as close as one could be to Batman.

She wondered, faintly, if Robin had anyone else.

The other members of the Team fanned out, each standing in front of their mentors' statues as they quietly mourned. Superboy hung back, eyeing Superman's statue in an unassured manner. Spider-Man and Artillery paused behind the clone, respecting their friends' space and giving them a moment. Eiling walked up to Artillery. She turned towards him.

"I've been trying to get in contact with Colonel Rhodes," Eiling said quietly, looking at the teenage girl. She still had her helmet down, and he could see that her eyes were rimmed red. Eiling had already assumed what had happened to his fellow Air Force officer, but he wanted confirmation. Artillery lowered her head.

"Colonel Rhodes is dead," she replied quietly. Eiling sighed. Even though he'd known, he'd been desperately hoping for a different answer.

"He was a good man," he told Artillery sorrowfully. She nodded, swallowing hard. Eiling paused, and then added, slightly more stiffly than before, "I'm sorry about your father, too. He had his – eccentricities, but I know he fought for the greater good."

It wasn't exactly as heartfelt as Artillery would have liked, but she didn't expect much more than that. She knew that Tony had clashed heads with a lot of military officials at many different times in his life, and she didn't doubt that Eiling had been one of them.

"Thank you," she replied, turning back to her friends. Eiling nodded, murmuring something about checking on the other troops as he slipped away. Artillery watched as Miss Martian flew up to the crushed head of the Martan Manhunter. The girl knelt down, sobbing quietly in front of her uncle's figure. Suddenly, the Martian froze.

She let out a startled gasp, flying backwards. The girl hovered in the air for a moment and then gasped again. Spider-Man and Artillery exchanged a look.

"Miss M?" Spider-Man called, concerned. She didn't answer, but instead thrust her hands out. There was a cloud of dust as she strained to lift the head of the statue with her telekinesis. Small pieces of stone crumbled down as the statue rose.

Underneath was the Martian Manhunter. The real Martian Manhunter.

Artillery gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She couldn't believe it.

"Uncle J'Onn!" Miss Martian cried in relief, flying towards her uncle. He was holding his head, seeming disoriented, and made no move to respond to her desperate cry. Before she could reach him, Aqualad rushed forward to block his friend.

'M'gann,' he said telepathically, concern edging his voice. 'Check his mind. Make sure he is who he appears to be.'

'It's him!' Miss Martian insisted, elation lacing her thoughts. 'He's real, and he's alive!' She flew past Aqualad, moving to help her uncle up. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she supported him. He was still holding his head, and he made no move to explain his sudden reappearance.

"But we saw you get disintegrated!" Spider-Man said in shock, staring at the Martian Manhunter. Superboy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you and Superman. And everyone!"

The Martian looked up slowly, staring at the Team in confusion. There was a long beat of silence, and then he nodded.

"Yes," Manhunter replied. "I remember. But I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here." He sounded confused, dazed. Manhunter looked around the Hall curiously, like he was expecting something to happen.

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you," Miss Martian offered, smiling at her uncle hopefully. It was clear that she didn't really care how her uncle had survived; she was just glad he was there. The elder Martian tipped his head to the side, considering.

"Yeah!" Robin agreed. "Scrambling your brains along the way!"

"My mind is clouded," Manhunter agreed slowly. "I feel certain I had something important to tell you all." Beside Artillery, Kid Flash let out a sharp intake of breath. He slapped himself on the forehead, a grin blooming across his face.

'Hello, Wally!' The speedster beckoned Artillery, Robin, and Spider-Man – the science nerds of the Team. 'Come on!' Kid Flash disappeared in a blur, rushing through the doors and back outside. Confused, the three others followed their friend.

When they got outside, Kid Flash was waiting by the BioShip impatiently. 'Rob, Artillery. Can one – or both – of you scan this thing?' He pointed to the cannon. Robin and Artillery exchanged a look, and both of them shrugged. Artillery let the helmet form over her face and her HUD scanned and displayed the data in front of her. She blinked, realizing what Kid Flash was excited about.

'It's giving off – '

'Zeta-Beams!' Kid Flash exclaimed, peering over Robin's shoulder as he confirmed his own suspicions. 'The same stuff that powers our ZetaTubes!' Spider-Man snapped his fingers excitedly, his shoulders straightening.

'So, this thing doesn't disintegrate, it teleports!' Kid Flash nodded, grinning broadly. The rest of the Team and Manhunter was still inside the Hall of Justice, but they could hear the telepathic conversation. Artillery could practically feel the mood lifting.

'Artemis is alive!' Kid Flash crowed excitedly. Robin frowned, looking at the scan displayed on his screen. Despite the data before him, he looked a little doubtful.

'Maybe,' he replied cautiously. 'But – '

'No buts!' Kid Flash cut the younger boy off, refusing to have this moment be ruined. Kid Flash grabbed Robin's shoulders. 'No maybes! They're all alive!'

A small glimmer of hope lit inside Artillery. If there was any chance that her dad was alive…well, it seemed like he was! She grinned underneath the helmet, relief spilling through her.

Before they could get too carried away with celebration, Spider-Man pointed at the sky. 'Incoming!' Dozens of alien ships were racing towards the Hall of Justice. The teenagers leapt off the tank they'd been standing on, taking cover on the ground behind it.

'We're on our way!' Aqualad reassured their teammates, having heard Spider-Man's warning.

'Negative!' Robin responded, looking around. They were clearly overwhelmed. 'We can't win this! Miss Martian, camou the BioShop!' Just as he said it, an alien ship swooped down, hitting the BioShip directly. It disappeared, and Artillery grimaced.

'We're falling back!' Robin said, nodding at the others to move. Artillery nodded, rising up into the air and flying towards the Hall of Justice. Spider-Man swung behind her. He landed on the steps of the Hall of Justice, and Artillery touched down slightly in front of him.

Artillery made it through the doors and turned back to see where her friend was. He was about to run inside when there was a loud grunt behind them. Spider-Man turned around, and Artillery looked over his shoulder. The sound had come from the young soldier, who was sprawled on the ground. He'd been hit by debris, and his leg was trapped.

Spider-Man pivoted, heading back for the young man without a second thought. Artillery stepped out after her friend, watching anxiously. She raised her hand, powering up her repulsor in case she needed to lay down cover fire. The mutate had already reached the solider. Spider-Man wrapped his hands around the debris, grunting as he heaved it off of the man. The solider crawled out of the way, and Spider-Man gently set the debris back on the ground.

"Behind you!" Artillery shouted, probably unnecessarily given Spider-Man's sixth sense. She fired a blast, aiming strategically at the wing so that the craft wouldn't explode. It coasted sideways, slamming into the ground.

'Knew you'd have my back,' Spider-Man replied, turning to his friend as he carefully pulled the solider's arm over his shoulders.

'Yeah, yeah. Get the hell in here, would you?'

'I'm coming – ' Another ship flew in behind Spider-Man and Artillery fired another blast. This time, she misjudged the hit, and the repulsor blast hit the ship head-on. Debris flew everywhere. One piece flew directly towards Artillery. It struck her in the chest and forced her backwards, pinning her to the ground.

"Ugh…" Artillery sat up slowly, dazed. She glanced to see that Spider-Man and the solider were okay. Luckily, the debris had missed them, and they were making their way towards the Hall. Her fingers instinctively checked the arc reactor, though it wasn't necessary – she wasn't going into cardiac arrest, so clearly it was fine.

Grunting, Artillery strained to shove the fragment of the alien ship off of her. She was still standing up slowly when she spotted the ship flying low over the horizon.

"No – " Artillery instinctively tried to raise her hand to blast at it, and the debris she had been balancing on her hands slipped, threatening to crush her to the ground again. She grunted, readjusting her grip in a desperate attempt to hit the ship before it was too late. "Shit. Peter!"

Spider-Man had already felt the tell-tale shock down his spine that came with impending danger. Without turning around, he placed his hand against the chest of the soldier, and then raised his arm.

He shot the web, the sticky substance connecting the soldier's chest to the doorway of the Hall of Justice. The mutate let go of the soldier, and the man went flying towards the steps. He stopped in the open doorway, his toes brushing the ground as he swung slightly back and forth. Artillery could hear his startled, slightly pained gasp.

Artillery glanced back towards Spider-Man, who was still standing on the ground about a hundred meters from the steps. His arm was raised, poised to shoot another web.

The cannon fired, and Spider-Man was gone.

"PETER!" Artillery screamed. She shoved the debris aside, adrenaline racing through her. She looked around, hoping that she'd missed him swinging out of harm's way. But he was gone. "No!" She took a step forwards, but before she could move someone had grabbed her arm. Artillery turned towards Superboy, her eyes wild.

"He's okay!" The clone reminded the mutant. Superboy was supporting the young soldier now, holding the other man's weight easily. "We'll save him when we save the others – he'll tell them we're working on it!" Artillery nodded, letting out a slow breath. Right. Peter would tell everyone that they hadn't given up, that they were still fighting. He was okay. They were all okay.

"Right, right," she replied, turning and following the Kryptonian into the relative safety of the building. Still, her stomach felt funny as she instinctively glanced around her, still expecting to see Spider-Man swinging somewhere behind.

Artillery followed the Team members and soldiers through the entry hall and towards the library. As she got there, Aqualad was explaining his plan. "We can all Zeta to the Cave if you," he looked at the Martian Manhunter, "can grant us computer clearance to access the tubes." Manhunter nodded slowly.

"I can only authorize one at a time," the Leaguer cautioned as the group came to a halt in front of the Zeta-Tube. Aqualad nodded.

"Send the soldiers first."

"Belay that!" Eiling barked, shaking his head emphatically. "You all are assets we cannot afford to lose." Artillery swallowed hard, looking to see how Aqualad would react. Unsurprisingly, he looked hesitant. After a moment, he nodded reluctantly, either realizing it was not wise to argue or that perhaps the general was right.

Martian Manhunter carefully extracted himself from Miss Martian's supportive grasp. He limped over to the computer, and it scanned him.

"Override: Martian Manhunter, Zero-Seven."

"Recognized," the computer replied. "Access granted." The wall slid open, revealing the Zeta Tube behind it. It was smaller than the ones in the Cave, which was why it could only transport one person at a time.

"Miss Martian, go," Aqualad ordered. The girl nodded, stepping up to the computer. It scanned her, and the two boys behind her in quick succession.

"Miss Martian, B-Zero-Six. Robin, B-Zero-One. Kid Flash, B-Zero-Three." There was an explosion behind them, and Artillery winced. Kid Flash turned around, indecision flickering over his face.

Before the speedster could run into battle, Aqualad thrust his hand out, knocking the speedster back into the ZetaTube. Kid Flash disappeared, transporting away.

"He goes next," Superboy said to Aqualad, nodding at the injured soldier he was still supporting. Artillery nodded in agreement. Spider-Man had given – well maybe not his life, but certainly his safety – for this soldier's, and Artillery was going to make sure that it wasn't in vain.

"Fine," Aqualad replied. "Then you two." Superboy helped the solider over to the scanner, holding him steady as the computer authorized him.

"Private Jason Bard, USMC." Superboy carefully let go of the solider, and he limped into the ZetaTube. There was a flash of light as the solider was transported away, and then the computer scanned Superboy.

"Superboy, B-Zero-Five." The Kryptonian walked into the ZetaTube, and Artillery glanced back at Aqualad anxiously as she stepped forwards. The Team's leader had his bearers out, fighting against the aliens with long whips of water.

"Aqualad!" she called. "Come on!"

"Artillery, B-Zero-Four." The mutant stepped in the ZetaTube hastily, not wanting to hold up Manhunter, Aqualad and the soldiers from escaping. There was a bright flash of light, and when it faded, Artillery stepped into the Cave.

She stepped out of the ZetaTube, turning around expectantly. After only a moment, it powered up again. The flowing light faded, and Martian Manhunter stepped out. Miss Martian rushed up to her uncle, supporting his weight and helping him sit on a nearby bench.

"Uncle J'Onn, where's Kaldur?" Miss Martian asked desperately. The elder hero sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"He is…gone," the Martian replied quietly.

There was a stunned silence as the Team absorbed this. Their leader was gone.

Miss Martian looked around, suddenly realizing that there was another member unaccounted for. Her mouth fell open, and she turned towards Artillery slowly.

"Peter?" Miss Martian asked quietly. The mutant looked up, meeting the other girl's gaze. Artillery shook her head, and Miss Martian's eyes brimmed with tears once more. Artillery lowered her head, tears pricking in her own eyes. She took a deep breath. Everything's okay. We're going to find them all. They're all going to be okay.

"We'll get them back," Artillery said in what she hoped was an assured tone. She was pretty sure her voice was too shaky for it to actually be reassuring. "We just need to find – to find where they're being held, right?" She looked at the others, and Kid Flash nodded.

"Right!"

"Okay," Robin said, stepping up to his friends. "So, if we believe that the aliens are teleporting – "

"We do!" Kid Flash broke in. Robin shot the speedster a look and then took a deep breath.

"Then the only reasonable detention facility is here." He tapped on his keyboard, pulling up a large image on the holographic screen. Artillery looked at the screen.

"The mothership," she murmured, nodding her head. She squinted at the coordinates marking the ship's location and raised her eyebrows. "Smallville?" She glanced back at the Martian Manhunter for confirmation, her teammates turning around as well.

Feeling their gazes, Manhunter raised his head. He saw their expectant looks and shook his head ruefully. He still couldn't remember anything about a detention center. Robin shrugged, turning back towards his friends. The teenager nodded at the Kryptonian standing across from him.

"Superboy. You'll be the distraction." Miss Martian's eyes went wide, and she grabbed her boyfriend's arm.

"No!" she protested. "He's offering you as a sacrifice!" Miss Martian whipped around, glaring at Robin in a mixture of shock and anger. "Aqualad would never do that!" Robin didn't flinch.

"You're right," he said quietly. "Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader." Robin pointed at Superboy again, taking a step forward. "Superboy is the most likely to be perceived as a threat, motivating the aliens to deploy."

Miss Martian glared at Robin, clearly unconvinced.

"Besides," Kid Flash jumped in, seeing that Miss Martian wasn't backing down. "Worst case scenario, he's teleported inside, and we set him free along with Artemis. And, um, Aqualad and Spider-Man and everyone." Miss Martian frowned, looking down at the ground. Superboy stepped towards his girlfriend, carefully wrapping an arm around her.

She looked up at him, staring into his eyes. Artillery could tell from their facial movements they were having a telepathic conversation. She absent-mindedly thought that that was maybe something the Team should get better at; having a mental conversation without tipping off those around them. Miss Martian sighed, looking down at the ground. Clearly, Conner had convinced her.

"We need to mobilize," Robin said, looking at his teammates. "Artillery, can you cast some nets? Mutants at your school, maybe?" The mutant nodded thoughtfully.

"Let me try," she replied. "Most of them have been trained to control their powers, not use them in combat, but…" She stepped up to a holographic keyboard, opening up a transmission line.

Please pick up, she thought fervently, struck by the sudden thought that maybe something had happened at the school. What if they were –

"Talia." Relief flooded through Artillery. It was Professor Xavier. If he was alive and well, no doubt the students were okay too. She sighed, her shoulders slumping in relief. "I'm very glad to hear your voice," the professor added somberly. Talia swallowed hard, looking at the man. Despite his age, Professor Xavier always seemed spry and energetic. But now, he looked terribly frail. The heavy losses had taken their toll on him.

"Professor," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "My team and I are planning an attack on the mothership." She bit her lip, knowing that what she was asking would not be appreciated. Professor Xavier had seen his old friends and most advanced former students lose earlier that day; no doubt he would be reluctant to let children fight.

"I'm very sorry to ask this," she prefaced quietly. "But we're low on resources. Are any of the students able to fight?" Professor Xavier nodded, very slowly. He had been expecting her question, as had many of the elder students in the school.

"Bobby and several others," Xavier told Artillery. "They've been waiting for you to call." Artillery let out a slow breath.

"Do you have the jet?" she asked. There wasn't yet a ZetaTube installed in the X-Mansion, so the quickest way to get the mutants to the Cave would be flying, even if she didn't love the thought of them in the air. Professor Xavier nodded. "Good. Tell them to exercise extreme caution."

"You as well, Talia," Professor Xavier said.

"Yes, sir." Artillery hesitated. "And – Professor. We're going to fix this, I promise." Before the elder mutant could respond, Artillery cut the communication. She told herself it was because she had one more call to make, and that there was no time to waste.

In reality, Artillery knew that she'd hung up because she couldn't bear to hear what Professor Xavier was going to tell her. Artillery already knew, deep-down, but she couldn't hear it. She couldn't face the fact that this situation might not be fixable.

Shaking that thought off, Artillery sent out another transmission. To her relief, Shuri picked up in seconds.

"Lia, thank Bast," Shuri breathed. Artillery swallowed hard, staring at her friend. Shuri was dressed for battle, but it was clear she was on a Wakandan fighter jet. She seemed to be alone, except –

"Is that Imani?" Artillerty asked, looking at the small girl curled up in the seat behind Shuri. The princess glanced back instinctively, even though she knew it was her little sister behind her. Shuri nodded, looking back at Talia.

"Yes. We…we managed to escape. But my mother, and brother –" her voice broke off, and Shuri took a deep breath. "The Dora Milaje said they would contact me. I haven't heard from them…I think they're – "

"We think the aliens are teleporting the victims," Artillery cut in before Shuri could finish. Shuri's face dropped with shock and then hope began to glow in her eyes. "There's Zeta Beams coming off of the cannons," Artillery said. "Look, I need to go. But it's not safe in the skies – how soon can you get to Mount Justice?"

"I've already set course," Shuri replied. "Thirty minutes, maybe?" Artillery nodded.

"Good. I'll see you soon." Shuri stared at her best friend.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Stark."

---

Artillery stared around Mount Justice, feeling mildly dazed. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Around her, young heroes were preparing for battle. Some of Artillery's classmates – Bobby, Clarice, Kitty, James and a few others – had come to Mount Justice. Shuri was there as well, holding the hand of her nine-year-old sister, Imani.

Zatanna and another teenage protégé named Rocket were standing in the corner, also getting ready. Red Arrow was kneeling on the ground in front of them, checking his arrow supply. As the young heroes prepared for battle, the Team members were broadcasting a message worldwide to rally the people of Earth. The transmission played on a loop, reminding people to stay calm and hopeful.

They would get through this.

"Everyone!" Robin's voice echoed around the Cave's mission room, and the teenagers turned towards the boy. Though he was the youngest, everyone knew he was the most experienced and no one argued with his leadership role. "The Team is mounting an attack against the mothership," Robin said, filling in those who didn't know already. "But there is still plenty to be done around here. Red Arrow will run point for this group," Robin said, gesturing to the non-Team members. Red Arrow nodded curtly.

"Lia," Shuri said quietly. The mutant turned towards her friend. Shuri gestured at her younger sister. "What about Imani?"

"I can fight!" The nine-year-old protested. Shuri leveled her sister with a stern look.

"You absolutely cannot," Shuri replied. "Mother would – " her voice broke off and she looked away. "Anyways, no." Artillery looked at the two sisters sympathetically. She didn't know how much Imani understood, and she could tell that Shuri was trying to protect her sister.

"Imani will be safe staying here," Artillery said. "And there's a soldier here – Private Jason Bard. I'm sure he'd keep an eye on her. He's in the med-bay right now – you remember how to get there?" Shuri nodded, taking a slow, deep breath.

"Yes." The princess squeezed her friend's arm, her eyes serious. "Thank you."

Shuri led her sister down the hallway, and Artillery watched them go. Approaching footsteps made her turn her head. She shot a quick smile at Zatanna. Given that the girl was still grounded, they hadn't seen each other in person since the Red Volcano debacle.

"Hey," Zatanna said, shooting Artillery a weak grin. "You okay?" The mutant let out a slow breath, but before she could respond, Robin was calling out to her.

"Artillery! We're leaving." The mutant turned back towards the magician.

"Be safe," she said to the other girl, squeezing Zatanna's hand. The younger teenager nodded, looking down at the ground.

"You, too."

---

Artillery stood next to Robin as the two teenagers scoped out the alien ship. Robin held a pair of binoculars as he scanned the ship, and Artillery used her HUD to check out the ship's stats. Given that it was alien tech, she didn't feel the usual pull that powerful technology now gave to her.

Miss Martian stepped up to her two friends, her feet moving nearly noiselessly over the dry ground. Robin looked at the other girl, and then glanced back at her uncle. Martian Manhunter was standing behind them with the other Team members.

"Stay close to J'Onn," he murmured to Miss Martian. "He's still a little…" Robin's voice trailed off, but he twitched his hand from side-to-side as a physical representation of the elder hero's mental clarity. Miss Martian nodded in agreement, and Robin turned to the Team. "First team, deploy!"

The two Martians rose into the sky, disappearing into camouflage mode as they got closer to the mothership. Artillery tracked their heat signatures with her HUD, holding her breath as they bypassed the weapons.

"They're in," she breathed out, retracting the helmet briefly to look at her friends face-to-face. A moment later, Miss Martian confirmed this over the telepathic link.

'Ready. In position.' There was a beat of silence, but Artillery saw Superboy's face twitch up into a smile. Miss Martian must have opened up the private link between the two of them.

A funny feeling rose up into her throat as she realized, really for the first time, the danger that Superboy was being deliberately placed in. Artillery loved all her teammates, but – besides Spider-Man, of course – she was particularly close with Superboy. She turned towards the Kryptonian, and he caught her gaze. She offered him a tiny, reassuring smile that she didn't feel.

"Good luck, Con," Artillery whispered to her friend. Superboy grinned at Artillery, giving her ponytail a gentle tug.

"See you soon," he replied casually. The clone glanced at Robin for confirmation, and once the younger teen had nodded, leapt towards the mothership.

Superboy's approach was far less graceful than the two Martians and, poor eyesight aside, Artillery could easily track him as he leapt onto the mothership. Robin and Artillery watched as Superboy ripped off a weapon from the top of the ship. It was the same disintegration beam - teleportation beam, Artillery reminded herself - that all the small ships had been equipped with.

'Careful!' Robin warned. 'Don't disconnect the power source!' Then he turned towards Kid Flash and Artillery. "Get ready to move, guys." Kid Flash nodded, stepping forwards to let Robin climb aboard his back. Artillery let the nanites of the helmet form over her face again and she hovered above the two boys.

'Now or never!' Superboy told his friends urgently. Kid Flash took off in a blur, and Artillery flew off after him. She made sure to stay close to the two boys as Kid Flash took the leap from cliff-face to mothership, hovering nearby in case he had misjudged the jump.

She needn't have worried – Kid Flash and Robin landed easily upon the face of the ship. As Kid Flash rolled to a stop, Robin gracefully leapt of his friend's back. Had it been Artillery, she would have ended up in an embarrassing tangle with the speedster, but Robin easily evaded colliding with the other boy.

The three teenagers ducked into a crevice in the side of a ship to avoid detection from a scouting alien craft. Artillery let the armor sink back into her skin in order to be stealthier – the suit was comfortable, given that it was an extension of herself, but the metal was still loud.

She followed Kid Flash and Robin a little farther into the ship. They didn't make it far before they had to duck for cover again. The ship was swarming with aliens – not that Artillery had really expected anything less.

The hairs on the back of Artillery's neck rose, and she swung around. There was an alien craft behind them, hovering in midair. She let out a startled gasp, the choking sound echoing around them in the otherwise quiet air.

Before either she or the alien could react, there was a quiet whoosh through the air, and a crate collided with the alien craft. Electricity sparked from the machine as it crashed into the ground.

Relief poured over Artillery, and she glanced to the side. Both Martians were still in camouflage mode, but given the close proximity she could make out the slight shimmer in the air that indicated the presence of the two friendly aliens. She nodded in their direction, too frazzled to express her gratitude verbally or even via the mental link.

Without a word, Robin beckoned the other heroes forward. The group set out through the hallways, occasionally ducking to the side or taking detours in order to avoid detection.

Suddenly, there was a gasp from behind Artillery. The teenager whirled around. Miss Martian was slumped against her uncle – both of them had de-camouflaged. Artillery's heart thumped uneasily - there was only one reason right now that Miss Martian would be upset.

'No,' Miss Martian said quietly, her voice shaky and heartbroken. Artillery closed her eyes. 'He's gone!' The teenager slumped forwards, falling to the ground in shock. Kid Flash turned around, rushing over to Miss Martian. He put his arms around her comfortingly.

'It's alright,' he reminded the girl. 'We'll find him with Artemis. I know it.'

'No,' Martian Manhunter responded. Artillery let out a low gasp, staring at the older Martian. He gazed back at the remaining members of the Team. 'My mind is clearer now. The disintegration beam is exactly that,' he continued. 'There is no detention facility. No prisoners to rescue. Our mission holds no purpose.'

Artillery felt sick. But, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, she didn't feel surprised. Part of her had known that the teleportation was too good to be true. That if all the heroes – the X-Men, the Avengers, and the League – had all been in the same place, they wouldn't have found a way to contact the Team or mount an escape. It was nearly impossible.

'No, you're wrong!' Kid Flash exclaimed. But Artillery could hear the desperation in his voice – he also knew that their mission was a lost cause, but he wasn't ready to face it yet. 'The Zeta radiation proves she's alive!' Kid Flash insisted, a panicked edge to his voice. Robin stepped up, grabbing the speedster's shoulders and pulling his friend towards him. The ginger stared at Robin. 'She's – '

'Stop it, KF!' Robin commanded. Kid Flash took a deep, shaky breath as he stared at Robin in disbelief. 'I've been scanning for signals since we got inside. They're not here.' Then, more quietly, he added, 'Artemis is gone.' Robin looked around at his distraught teammates. 'But our mission still holds purpose,' he reminded them determinedly. 'To destroy this mothership.'

Robin looked from Kid Flash to the other heroes around him. Artillery gave the younger boy a shaky nod. He whipped around, his cape fluttering behind him as he started down the hallway again. Artillery followed.

She knew they were too late to save her friends now. Too late to save her dad. But maybe, just maybe, they could save the remaining people of Earth.

And that would have to be enough for her.

Robin led the group to the very center of the ship. There was a glowing mass of energy in the center of the room – even with the alien tech blocking her mutation, Artillery could sense its power.

'This is the core,' she said, probably unnecessarily. Robin nodded in confirmation, scanning it just to make sure.

'Blow this and the whole mothership blows,' he agreed, leaping over the barrier and rushing towards the energy core. Artillery followed, letting the armor form around her as she soared closer to the mass.

As the mutant approached the energy core, she felt a shift in the pull of gravity. Instead of tugging her down, it began to pull her towards the core. Grunting, she powered up the thrusters, straining to resist the tug of the alien tech.

Artillery glanced to the side. She could see Robin and Kid Flash also struggling. Both boys were dangling off of Robin's grappling hook. The two Martians stood on the platform above them. Powering her thrusters again, Artillery managed to descend to the glowing floor beneath her. Once she was out of the direct line of the power core, the pull lessened, and she was able to stand normally.

Above Artillery, Miss Martian placed her hands on her temples. The alien's eyes glowed green as she used her telekinesis to guide Robin and Kid Flash down to safety, next to Artillery.

The two boys landed beside her, and Robin the two extra utility belts he'd been carrying across his chest. He laid them on the ground in front of the other two teenagers, and Kid Flash looked down at the contents.

Explosives. The speedster's eyes widened in realization. Robin had planned this.

'You knew,' he said to Robin. He didn't really sound accusatory, just sad. 'You knew from the beginning why we were really here.'

'We need to set these charges,' Robin replied, avoiding Kid Flash's statement. 'Then we'll have two minutes to get out – '

'That's not enough time,' Artillery said, staring at Robin. The acrobat looked back at her calmly, and she lifted her chin. 'No way. This is not a suicide mission, Rob.' The mutant weighed her options, and then she bent down and picked up the charges. 'Go,' Artillery said to her friends. 'I'll set them – I'm most likely to survive the explosion if I get caught in it.'

'Lia – '

'Robin, I can't see any more of my friends die today,' she responded desperately. She absolutely could not take no for an answer. 'Please, just let me do this. I'll be right behind you.' Robin hesitated. He didn't want to abandon his friend, but at the same time…

It was the strategic choice. Artillery's armor was far more durable than the Kevlar he and Kid Flash wore, and the Martians would be vulnerable to the heat even if they escape the debris.

'Fine,' he acquiesced sharply. 'Be quick about it.' Artillery nodded, picking up the explosives and taking off. Her four allies left the way they'd come in, quickly disappearing from her sight. She skirted around the spherical energy source to avoid its pull, placing the bombs strategically.

Once she was done, Artillery flew back to the way they'd come in. She used her HUD to examine the points she'd placed the bombs at, and then ran a simulation to see the results of her work.

The virtual simulation played in front of her eyes – the power core would be destroyed, no problem. She stretched her arm out, ready to activate the bombs and then get out.

'Robin? You guys out yet?' she double-checked. They should have had enough time to escape, but she wanted to make sure.

'Um…yeah,' Robin said, sounding a little distracted. 'Arm them.' Artillery nodded to herself, focusing. She felt the alignment of the explosives shift as the devices armed themselves.

'Two minutes starting now,' she announced, turning around and flying out the way she'd come. Artillery turned the corner, easily maneuvering through the hallways they'd come through. She was almost there…

"Huh?" she said aloud, her eyes going wide. The mutant stopped, hovering in midair as she stared at the hallway in front of her.

On the far end of the corridor from Artillery was the door that led out of the ship the way they'd come in. It was closed, their only mode of escape cut off. The Martians, Kid Flash, and Robin were all in front of the barrier, and between them and Artillery was a plethora of alien ships. There was no way out, for any of them.

Robin looked up, catching Artillery's eye. She sucked in a slow breath, realizing that he'd lied to her just now. He'd known she wouldn't set the charges until she was out, and he couldn't risk her not setting them.

'How much time?' Robin asked her.

'Twenty-eight seconds,' she responded quietly, eying the countdown at the edge of her HUD. The simulation she'd run…the explosion started in the power core and radiated throughout the entire ship. They'd be caught in it for sure.

'Manhunter, take Miss Martian and go!' Robin said.

'No!' Miss Martian replied, distraught. 'We won't leave you!'

'That's an order!' Robin insisted. 'We'll follow as soon as we blow those doors.' Another lie. Artillery knew that Robin knew there was no time to blow the doors, nor did they have enough explosives to do so. One of Artillery's cannons could maybe have done the trick, there was no way she could make it past the wall of aliens to reach the door. Not in twenty-eight seconds.

Artillery rolled her shoulders back, focusing as hard as she could. She had nothing to save – there was no need to conserve energy, no reason to hold back. Cannons and lasers and every type of weapon she could imagine popped up over her body. Spreading her arms to create maximum reach, Artillery fired everything she had towards the ships in front of her.

As she did so, she could faintly see Robin and Kid Flash weaving in and out of the battle, mounting their own attacks against the aliens that had destroyed their home. As Artillery let loose on the aliens, she caught gaze of the countdown in the corner of her eye.

Three…two…one.

A wave of heat spiraled across Artillery's back, sending her flying forwards. She careened into the metal door that had blocked their escape, sliding to the ground in a heap as fire and debris rained around her.

The mutant coughed, dazed. In her haze of pain, she was faintly aware that the armor had retracted from her body. It had protected her from the initial blast to the best of its ability, but Artillery knew she was doomed.

For one thing, she couldn't move the right side of her body. It was a strange mixture of tingly pain and numbness that told her she was badly injured – nerve damage either from burns or the collision, she wasn't sure. For another thing, the armor retracting was a sure sign that her body was shutting down. Her mutation was failing her…not only was the armor gone, but her nanites weren't trying to heal her wounds. Her subconscious knew she was beyond saving.

And lastly…Artillery could always, always see the blue glow of her arc reactor in her peripheral vision. But now it was gone. She didn't even need to look down to see that her pacemaker was dim and broken.

Artillery lay there, wheezing for breath as she stared across the destroyed from. Tears trickled down the side of her face as she stared at her friends' bodies. Kid Flash and Robin…they were both dead, no doubt about it.

Maybe she should have called for M'gann, but she didn't think to do so. She knew she was doomed, for one thing, and for another her entire body felt heavy, too slow to act logically. Instead, as she lay sprawled across the ground, Artillery was struck by a sudden, random thought. A memory.

Talia had been ten years old. She had accidentally managed to get in the middle of firefight involving the Avengers and Ultron, who Wanda – at the time – had been allied with. Talia could still remember the incident very clearly.

She had stuck aboard the Quinjet, knowing that the Hulk wasn't expected to be needed and that Bruce would be there. She'd hacked JARVIS to not rat on her, but she'd been discovered quickly by Hawkeye, who'd been looking for extra arrows.

"Well." Hawkeye looked down at the girl, curled up in the supply closet. She gazed at him, the expression on her face an amusing mixture of defiant and sheepish. "Stark, we got a stowaway!" Hawkeye called.

Talia's dad headed over, frowning. The confusion on his face morphed into anger when he saw Talia and he sighed.

"Talia Maria Stark. What do you think you're doing?" Tony had picked Talia's middle name after his mother, and Jesse had often joked that Tony had wanted to trademark – TM – his daughter as well. Tony had never quite found it as funny as Jesse had.

"Sorry, Dad," Talia muttered, standing up.

Had there been more time, Tony would have given his daughter a long lecture right then and there. As it were, the mission they were on was extremely time-sensitive, and he left her with the explicit instruction that she was to "stay put" and the ominous warning that they would "talk later."

Thirty minutes later, everything went to shit.

Talia had been in the cockpit, Bruce waiting in the main part of the ship just in case the Avengers ended up needing the Hulk. A loud creaking sound made Talia jump, and she got up from her seat.

"Bruce?" Talia poked her head out of the cockpit cautiously. The gangplank was open – the Avengers must be returning. She took another step out, peering down the corridor. "Dad?"

A roar ripped through the air, and Talia stumbled backwards, her back colliding with the co-pilot's seat. The girl's eyes went huge and round as she saw the Hulk leaping away from the Quinjet, towards the city. Her heart hammered in her chest – the Hulk was going towards people.

Talia scrambled to her feet, leaping into the chair. She sat up on her knees, her fingers flying over the controls of the Quinjet. "J?" she asked shakily. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, miss?" The AI's voice was a comfort, and Talia drew in a shaky breath.

"We need – we need Veron – " Before Talia could finish deploying the Hulkbuster armor – made by Tony and Bruce in case of an emergency such as this – someone grabbed onto her shoulder.

Stifling a scream, Talia whirled around. A teenager was standing behind her. The young woman had reddish hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a black dress and a red jacket.

"Sh…" the woman said, looking at Talia warily. "Don't be scared."

Wanda hadn't expected to see a child here. The mutate hesitated, looking at the little girl cautiously. She didn't want to use her powers on her, it seemed…wrong. She'd only come aboard to make sure the ship was empty, and other than this child, it was.

Wanda was about to leave the child unaffected, when Talia's hand jerked out. She was reaching for an alarm button, one that would draw the Avengers back to the ship. Swearing in Sokovian, Wanda reacted purely out of instinct.

"Don't," she chided the little girl, stretching a hand outward. Her magic flowed out from her fingers without her say-so – it was instinct, pure and simple. The red strands touched Talia's forehead, and her eyes went wide and glassy.

To Talia, everything faded away. The Quinjet, the teenager, the seat she was sitting on. Talia was standing alone, in a sea of darkness. Talia inhaled slowly, whirling around in a circle. She couldn't see anything.

"Dad!" Talia screamed into the darkness, her heart pounding. "DAD!"

There was no answer. Swallowing hard, the preteen moved through the inky smears. She held one hand aloft, her fingers trembling as she imagined them brushing against…spiders, spikes, a gun, anything. Not knowing was unbearable.

"Oof!" Talia grunted as tripped over something. The little girl went crashing to the ground, wincing as she rolled over. Her toe was aching where she'd stubbed it. She scooted closer to the prone object, cautious. As she dragged herself towards it, she realized that she was staring at the Iron Man armor.

Half of the mask had been ripped away, and Tony's unseeing eyes gazed through the hole. He was dead.

When Talia came out of the vision, she had a full-blown panic attack. It was the worst one she'd had in years – similar to the ones she'd had when her father was missing in Afghanistan, when she'd found out her mom was dead.

Later, at Clint's sister's farmhouse, Tony was putting Talia to sleep. Her eyes had been red from crying, and when Tony had reached to turn out the light, she grabbed his hand.

"Daddy, please don't," Talia whispered. Tony gazed at Talia, his heart aching. He hated seeing her scared. She rose up onto her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck helplessly. He hugged her, rubbing her back gently.

"It's going to be okay, Widget," he promised her.

"Can you stay? Until I fall asleep?" she asked him. Her voice was a tiny, quiet squeak.

Tony sighed, but not because of her request. Talia hadn't needed Tony to tuck her in almost two years, and now she was so panicked she couldn't bear the thought of him leaving.

"What did you see?" he asked, mostly to himself. Of course, Talia overheard, and of course, Talia answered.

"I was alone," she whispered. "You were…you were…" her voice broke off and she let out a quiet sob. Tony took a deep breath, anger and sadness filling him. Talia didn't go into details about her vision, but he could guess where her anxiety was coming from, given what she did tell him and what he knew about her.

Tony soothed his daughter gently and tucked her back into bed. She lay back on the pillows and closed her eyes, still clinging to his hand as her breathing slowed. Tony watched her, his mind whirling.

Talia had been completely, utterly alone in her vision. Lost. It was no wonder that she'd been so panicked afterwards, was so freaked out now.

When Tony had escaped from his captors in Afghanistan and made it home, Jesse had told him that Talia had started getting panic attacks while he'd been missing. Jean had done a psychological evaluation and concluded that Talia was suffering from separation anxiety mixed with a generalized panic disorder. Once Tony had returned, her panic attacks more-or-less abated, only to pick up again when Jesse had died suddenly.

For Talia to be completely alone in the dark, left with just her father's dead body…no wonder she was freaked out now. Tony stared at his daughter. Her breathing had slowed, and her grip on his hand relaxed. She was almost asleep.

"Oh, Widget," Tony murmured to himself. Talia's eyelids flickered slightly. "You're too much like me, aren't you?"

Talia hadn't been meant to hear that. To this day, she wasn't sure if Tony knew she'd heard – he would never know she'd heard, now. Talia had often recalled those words with confusion.

Her entire life, Talia had been told she was like her father, usually with some amount of amusement or exasperation. Sometimes, people said it like it was an insult, like it was something she should be ashamed off. Talia had always taken offense to that – she had always been proud to be like her father.

But this time her dad had said it…Talia had heard, months later, Tony telling Pepper that he'd had a vision of the Avengers. All dead except Tony – Tony had been alone, unable to help his friends.

Talia hadn't really understood it at the time, how painful something like that could be. But now, as she looked at the broken, twisted forms of Kid Flash and Robin, she realized.

And for the very first time – and the last, she thought, feeling her consciousness and life fading away – Talia understood that maybe being exactly like her father wasn't completely a good thing.

---

MOUNT JUSTICE
October 16, 16:21 EDT

There was a loud gasp, and Talia's eyes flew open.

Confusion flashed through the teenager as she took note of a few things. One, she was in the Cave's mission room. Two, she'd just awoken from the most realistic dream she'd ever had.

But it hadn't been a dream. It had been real – she was sure of it.

And it had been the single most terrifying thing Talia had ever experienced.

Talia sat up, swinging her legs over the bench she'd been lying on. A wave of vertigo washed over her and her knees buckled. She managed to grab onto the edge of the bench before she hit the ground, and she clung to it.

Wide-eyed with shock, Talia gazed around the room. Her friends…they were all there. They looked a little bit worse for wear, but they were alive. Talia's eyes fell on Peter, and a rush of relief went through her. Had she felt more balanced, she would have thrown herself at the boy. Instead, the best she could do was make a startled, raspy sound in the back of her throat.

"You're all alive!" M'gann's voice echoed around the mission room, surprise and joy clear in her tone. Talia blinked, surprised. So…she hadn't been the only one to experience that, then?

"What happened in there?" Batman asked, his voice urgent. Talia turned her head, confused at the tone and the question. Batman was supporting the Martian Manhunter, who looked slightly dazed. Talia frowned. In where?

"The exercise…" Manhunter said, clutching his head. "It all went wrong."

"Exercise?" Robin repeated, confused. Batman looked at the teenagers around him.

"Try to remember," he said, looking at the Team. "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter physically linked the eight of you in an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse."

Talia's breath caught in her throat as this registered. None of it…none of it had been real? The League had locked them in that nightmare. Anger slowly built up in her, but before she could lose it, Batman continued.

"Still, you were aware that nothing was real. Including the deaths of the entire Justice League, the Avengers, and the X-Men."

"That is why you hardly grieved," Manhunter broke in. "Even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes." Talia could recall the numbness she'd felt upon seeing her father disappear, and she swallowed hard.

"But all that changed when Artemis died," Manhunter continued. "Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise, and her subconscious took control, making all of you forget too."

Talia turned towards M'gann, shock pulsing through her. The Martian girl looked horrified; her eyes wide with shock. She wrung her hands, looking around the room at her friends.

"I'm – I'm so sorry," she whispered. M'gann caught Talia's eye, and Talia dropped her gaze. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Talia turned around, bracing her hands against the bench as she bent her head.

"This isn't her fault!" Superboy insisted loudly, his voice echoing around the room. Talia closed her eyes. Not her fault, Talia repeated to herself. Not her fault. "Why didn't you stop the exercise?"

"We tried," Manhunter explained. "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 that she slipped into a coma." Talia let out a gasp, pressing her hand to her mouth. She felt sick to her stomach.

"I realized I would have to wrest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within," the elder Martian said. "But upon entering the reality, I was so overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much…noiseto think clearly. To remember why I was there."

"The deaths of Spider-Man, Aqualad, and Superboy helped. But only when the mothership exploded and Kid Flash, Artillery, and Robin were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose – to shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent."

Talia knelt to the ground, resting her head against the cool metal of the bench. Her eyes were filled with tears as she grappled with her emotions. Her anger and fear and guilt were all bubbling to the surface, laced together by the string of panic. She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate, and she curled closer to the ground in a poor attempt to ground herself.

"My apologies," Manhunter said. His voice, at this point just background noise, was full of regret. "I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous…so damaging."

Talia couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe.

How had this happened?

---

okay y'all that was a WILD ride for me to write.

i really really really hope i wrote it okay. i've been looking forward to this chapter for so long and then it was just SO hard to write.

i hope i did the tropes i've been planning forever justice. please let me know if there's confusion about the scene where talia's thinking about being like tony, if so i'll try to clear it up in the next chapter.

(SPOILERS IDK? STUFF I WANNA ADDRESS. NOT RLY A SPOILER)

also...love my bb tals but she is sometimes...like...not the best person in the world lmao. it's just subtext here, will be made more explicit in the next chap (idk if y'all know what i'm tlaking about rn, but it will be made clear)

anyways. i'm like. delirious with exhaustion. please leave me a review on this chapter and i will cry tears of joy. this chap was acc a butt to write , it's been so many hours.

please review! and HAPPY HOLIDAYS Y'ALL