Author's Note:
Welcome back guys, I'm back with a new story to follow up Young Justice: Ultimate Superboy and bring in my own Season 3. Now yes, I know that DC is making Young Justice: Outsiders, but that does not come out until next year so I have plenty of time to work with. Also, the chapters after the named chapter are still apart of the episode. So, without further ado, let us kick off War.
THE WATCHTOWER
JULY 5, 02:16 EDT
Two hours and sixteen minutes ago, the planet Earth was saved from destruction at the hands of the Reach by the Team and League with assistance from the Light. Even with the day won, it came at a cost as one of the Team's founding members, Wally West, Kid Flash, died helping his uncle and cousin stop the last of the world-ending devices from killing all on Earth. Friends and family mourned and the world continued with his cousin, Bart Allen, now taking on his mantle as the new Kid Flash. Continuing in the present in the mission room of the Watchtower, Barbara is currently looking over three large holo-screens as she watches over Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. She watches over Beta and Gamma as they carry out their assigned mission from their displays in their assigned cities. Alpha's display is at the top of the two others and was inside M'gann's Bioship.
"Okay, all squads are looking good." Barbara says as she looks over at Kaldur, who is looking at Beta Squad from a CCTV camera from inside the Lex's penthouse office.
"Tigress, how is the search for the Reach drink going at LexCorp?" He says, watching Bumblebee working on the computer while Artemis looks the windows.
"It's coming. You'd be surprised at how many alarm traps Luthor set for his office and computer. Bumblebee's hacked into the server in his office while Kid Flash and Guardian are our eyes on the outside." Artemis says through her communicator.
"Listen, I'd hate to be that guy," Conner says, dropping into the conversation through his communicator. "and I don't wanna rush you but Lex could be there any second. Take what you need. If you see any that could prove useful, take it so we can look at it for further analysis."
"We'll make sure to keep our eyes open. Give us a few minutes. Bee's almost past the firewalls and after that we'll get what we need and get out." Artemis replies.
"Keep in contact and to let us know if you require assistance. Aqualad, out." Kaldur says before turning off the screen and walking over to Barbara as she watches Gamma Squad.
"Batgirl to Gamma, how's it going in there Robin?" Barbara says as she brings up a schematic of Cadmus as she looks at the second monitor. After Kaldur assigned the mission, it is now Gamma Squad's mission to patch into the Cadmus mainframe and check for any of The Light's plans.
"Gamma here. We're inside Cadmus and are going through The Light's file." Tim says as his voice comes through on the communicator
"Did you have to face security?" She asks as she checks through the alarm system to see if anything was set off.
"Negative. Thanks to the Genomorphs and Superboy, we made it past security undetected." Tim answers back.
"It's good that I have friends on the inside." Conner says as his voice come through on the com-link. "The genomorphs will keep you undetected while you're in Cadmus."
"Dubbilex will alert us if any security learns that we're in the building." Tim says. "I have Lagoon Boy and Wonder Girl at our exit while Blue and Static are with me."
Kaldur pulls up his own holo-screen with the Alpha Squad display on it as they are way past the Watchtower as Earth was decreasing in size from inside the cabin.
"Alpha Squad to Watchtower." M'gann's voice comes through on the com-link. "This will be our last call before leaving for Mars. Expect video feed to be lost while we're traveling."
"Acknowledged, Alpha. Safe travels and contact us immediately upon you return." Kaldur says.
"Understood. Alpha Squad, out." She says and the com-link is turned off.
METROPOLIS
JULY 5, 02:21 EDT
Artemis is looking out the window of Lex's penthouse office in Metropolis while Karen is on the computer as she is looking through some of the files. "How are we doing with the download, Bee?"
"Download's almost done. Just need another minute or two." Karen says, typing away on Lex's computer.
"Good, because something seems off about all of this." Artemis says as she turns to face Karen.
Karen looks around the room before looking up at Artemis. "I don't see what you mean." She says, a little skeptical.
"Isn't it a little weird how there's no security or how there isn't even any janitor's here?"
"Is that why we're talking so low?" Karen asks, practically whispering to he blonde.
"Just in case someone, by someone I mean Lex, is watching us." Artemis says, walking to the penthouse door. "I don't want them to hear what we're saying."
"I still don't understand why we're lookout duty?" Bart's voice suddenly coming through on the comm-link.
"Can either of you hack into a computer with up-to-date encryption?" Karen asks and hears nothing as the channel goes silent. "Thought so. Just give us a minute, we're almost done down… Wait, I didn't see this one before. Artemis, come here and look at this." Artemis stops and walks over to Karen as she pulls up a computer folder named "Project: Kr". Karen opens the folder as she and Artemis look at all the files in side the folder. "Project: Kr? Wait, isn't that what Superboy was called a long time ago?"
"Yeah, that's what he was called when he was still at Cadmus." Artemis says, remembering what Conner told her about his time at Cadmus.
Karen scrolls through the folder and looks at the file dates until she stops at the last one of the folder. "The first entry was March 21, 2010 and there's a video."
"That's Superboy's birthday." Artemis says as they look at each other and back at the monitor. "Play it."
Karen clicks on the video and they see Dr. Desmond staring at the camera with Conner in his pod in the background.
"Log 1, Dr. Mark Desmond." The former doctor says, turning back to look at Conner.
"Mr. Luthor brought in this new specimen today, said it's the clone of Superman with his DNA added in it." Desmond takes off his glass and wipes them. "He asked me to care take of his weapon until he needs it and keep it in perfect condition. I never told Mr. Luthor this, but there are inconsistencies with his story. I did my own scan of the weapon, now yes it has Mr. Luthor's and Superman's DNA but there's something not right with the weapon."
Desmond turns his back to the camera and looks at Conner once again. "More research will be required but I need to know more about this new project. Project Kr: the Superboy."
Karen and Artemis look at each other before Karen pauses the video as she looks at the other documents in the folder. "What do you think he meant?"
"I don't know." Artemis says, rather surprised herself. "But from what it looks like, there are a lot of documents and all of them are focused on Superboy. Anything else?"
Karen scrolls through the folder and looks at the files from top to bottom. "There are some files that focus on his powers and then some of the files are locked. We may need Batgirl's assistance but we could probably open them and see what's in them."
"Add it to the drive so we can get out of here." Artemis says.
"Better make it fast." Mal says, voice coming through on the comm-link.
Mal and Bart look down the side of the building and see a limo pull up to the entrance of the building. "Luthor's here and he's heading up so get out of there fast." Mal and Bart continue to watch as he groans while watching Luthor walk towards the front door of the building. "I swear do the baddies know when to take a night off?"
"No they don't and we'll be up there in a minute." Artemis says.
Karen hurriedly closes out the Project Kr folder and all the other folders she had opened as the copied files transfer onto the flash drive. "Just have to close all of it out and shut it down and…" Karen says, working fast so they do not get caught. The computer gives a green check mark, signifying the transfer was complete and she takes out the drive. "Let's go."
Karen and Artemis run out Lex's office and run back to the roof, meeting Mal and Bart as they all board Sphere. Sphere whirls as she flies off the roof just as Lex enters the penthouse, seemingly not noticing them.
Lex walks over to his computer, sits down in his chair, and smirks as he looks out the window. "You heroes never learn. I'm always watching as you seem to catch on."
"Do you know what they took Mr. Luthor?" Mercy asks, looking out the window of the penthouse.
"No, Mercy, not at all." Lex says, still smirking. "But it's good to let your enemy know some secrets."
In an alleyway, Sphere stops in front of an old telephone booth as Artemis, Karen, Mal, and Bart got off of her while Artemis presses on her comm-link. "Beta to Watchtower. Mission complete and on our way back."
"Acknowledged. See you when you get here." Barbara says.
Mal pets Sphere as the other prepare themselves to leave through the Zeta Tube. "Thanks, Sphere. Head to the Watchtower we'll meet you back up there."
Sphere beeps as she took off and headed up into the sky until she can no longer been seen as the others look at the old telephone. Artemis looks at the telephone booth before looking back at the others.
"So, who's going first?"
Young Justice: War
Episode 1
New Member
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JULY 5, 03:59 EDT
Tim and Jaime are looking through The Light's files that are in the Cadmus mainframe, trying to find out anything about The Light's plans. While they continue to search, Jaime stops as he sees a folder that catches his interest. He opens the folder named "PHASE 3" as tons of images and documents show themselves.
'Jaime Reyes, this folder contains the plans of The Light that you are looking for.' The Scarab says.
"Robin, come here. I think I may have found something." Jaime says. Tim walks over to Jaime and looks at the Phase 3 with him as they scroll through the entire document, holding many folders that more than likely contain important information. "What does it say?"
"Scarab says it talks about plans when the Reach invasion failed." Jaime says as he continues to listen to the Scarab. "It mentions stuff about Boom Tubes and a bunch of other stuff."
"Like what?" Tim says, his interest now peaked.
"These things called parademons, father boxes, and furies. There's too much to read right now." Jaime says, leaving Tim to assume he cannot keep up with what the Scarab is saying.
"Download it and let's go." Tim says, unplugging from the server while he waits for Jaime. 'Dubbilex are we still clear?'
'Yes, Robin. Your passage to Genomorph City and back outside is clear.' Dubbilex says, his voice being heard inside Tim's head. 'Your friends are waiting here with us for you to return. I hope you have found what you were looking for.'
'We did and again thank you.' Tim says, sincerity in his words.
'Anything for our brother, Superboy...' Dubbilex stops mid-sentence. 'I advise you to leave, security is heading your way and you cannot be caught.'
'Acknowledged.' Tim says, stopping the telepathic conservation as he turns back to check on Jaime's progress. "We've got to go. Did you download the file?"
Jaime does not answer for a few seconds before giving Tim a thumb's up. "Downloaded and ready to be looked over back at the Watchtower."
Tim and Jaime leave the mainframe room and are heading back to the secret door when they see lights coming down a hallway. Tim and Jaime take cover behind separate desks as the guards walk into the same room as them and look around the room. The guards walk around the room as they check all the desks and are coming up on both Tim's and Jaime's. When one guard reaches Tim's desks, he is nowhere to be seen as the guard looks around flashing his lights around the few desks around him before turning back to the other guard.
"I'm clear on my side. What about you?" The guard asks as the other shines the light towards the desk Jaime is behind.
"Almost. Let me just check this last desk." The guard says as Jaime can hear the footsteps getting closer.
'I'm gonna get seen if I stay here, but I can't stay move either.' Jaime thinks to himself as the guard is right on top of him.
'If you wish not to be seen, Jaime Reyes, all you had to do was ask.' The Scarab says as the guard walks by Jaime to check the desk in front of him. Jaime covers his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, and Tim watches from his the ceiling as that guard shine the light at where he is. The room is silent and the tension is rising as everyone is waiting for the guard to say something.
"Mainframe area clear, continuing patrol." The guard says, seeing nothing behind the desk as he and the other guard walk through the room and continue their patrol.
Tim jumps down from the ceiling and runs over to the last spot Jaime was at as he looks around while keeping his low to not attract the guards back into the room. "Jaime? Jaime!?"
"Tim, I'm right here" Jaime says but Tim could not see him.
"Where?"
"Right in front of you." Jaime says but Tim still could not see him.
"Jaime, I can't see you."
A dim blue light outlines a figure in front of Tim as the dim glow envelopes the figure and Jaime shifts back into sight. Jaime looks down at himself and can now see his arms and legs as he looks up at Tim, sharing the same shocked expression as he did in the moment. "What just happened?"
'You said you wished not to be seen, Jaime Reyes. So I activated my optical camouflage to help you elude the guard.' The Scarab explains.
"I can turn invisible?" Jaime asks. "Awesome!"
"As awesome as that sounds, we should probably keep moving." Tim says, making Jaime nod at him as they continue back to the rendezvous point.
"That was a close one. Wasn't it, Tim?" Jaime asks, excitement in his voice.
"Tell me about it." Tim says. He and Jaime keep running when they hear guards coming from the way they are heading when they make a right into a dead-end. 'Dubbilex, we're outside the entrance and guards are heading this way. Open it quickly.'
The wall of the dead-end lifts up as Tim and Jaime run into the opening and down stairs. The wall closes behind them as the guards pass the dead-end, unaware of what has just happened. Tim and Jaime walk down into the heart of Genomorph City as they regroup with Cassie, Virgil, and La'gaan as they stand next to Dubbilex.
Cassie is the first one to see them and runs up to the pair. "Did you find something?"
"Yes, and now we need to go." Tim says, grabbing her hand.
Dubbilex leads them to the end of Genomorph City and another wall lifts up and there are stairs that are leading up. "This will take you back to the street across from Cadmus."
The five heroes follow the stairs as the wall closes behind them once they entered as a secret door opens at the end of the tunnel. The heroes come out of the secret door, they were right across the street from Cadmus as they run in the direction of the Hall of Justice.
"So, what did you find from the mainframe?" Virgil asks, knowing they would not have left as quickly as they did if not for anything.
"The Light has plans on this folder I downloaded from the mainframe." Jaime answers. "Now all we need to do is get back to the Watchtower and see what it is."
'Jaime Reyes, it is imperative that these files are shown to the others and the Justice League.' The Scarab says.
Tim activates his comm-link while he sees the Hall of Justice out in the distance. "Gamma to Watchtower. Mission complete and we're heading back."
"Acknowledged." Kaldur answers. "We will be waiting to see what you have found."
MARS
JULY 5, 17:42 UTC
Alpha Squad are sleeping in the dimly-lit cabin of the bioship as it guides them into Mars. Garfield sat in a chair as he ears twitch whenever anyone moved. Conner and M'gann are sitting next to each other holding each other's hand as they sleep. The lights in the cabin brighten slowly and the ship makes a light humming sound to wake the three up as it is on its final approach to Mars. Conner wakes up first as he stretches his arms and legs out and he stands up from his seat and walks over to M'gann.
"M'gann, it's time to get up." Conner says, shaking her lightly and he hears her groan as she starts to stir. Conner smiles as she rubs her tired eyes and yawns before looking up at him and gives him a beautiful smile.
"Hi. We're here?" She asks, standing up and starts to stretch.
"Yeah." He answers.
'Gar, wake up. We're here.' M'gann says, using her telepathy.
Garfield falls right out of his chair as he rubs his eyes and looks out the window to see the terrain of the red planet. Garfield looks around the surface of Mars and does not see anything on the surface as they cruise along. "So where are we going because I don't see anything."
"The coordinates of where B'arzz wanted to meet us at are up ahead." She answers.
"So this is Mars?" Garfield asks, a hint of amazement in his voice.
"Yeah." M'gann says. "This is home sweet home."
"I thought Martians lived on the surface." Garfield says, confused on why he is not seeing anyone.
"No. The surface can be too hot at time so we're sometimes underground." M'gann explains.
As they keep flying, Garfield looks out the window as he stares aimlessly at the rock formations in front of him until he is blinded by something bright. Garfield puts a hand in front of his face as he looks around and sees something shiny in front of them. As the bioship comes closer, more came into view as there is an area filled with metallic objects as the bioship turns and lands several yards from the objects. "What were those things?" Garfield asks.
Conner and M'gann look at each other before looking back out at the metallic objects. "I guess we're here to find out."
There is a hard knock on the back of the bioship as M'gann uses to telepathy to see if their friend is there. 'B'arzz is that you?'
'Yes, M'gann. I am at the back of your bioship.' B'arzz answers through telepathy.
"Alright, guys. B'arzz is outside the ship waiting for us." M'gann explains.
"Cool." Garfield says, before taking notice of something he had not. "Wait, don't I need a suit?"
"Don't worry, you're covered." Conner says, trying to make sure Gar does not freak out.
M'gann then opened the back entrance as B'arzz boarded the bioship while Garfield holds his breath. As B'arzz stands in front of them, they see he has taken on a form similar to Martian Manhunter without the cape as he smiles at the three. "Thank you for coming as soon as you could."
"You're welcome." M'gann says.
Conner is listening to the two talk when he notices that Garfield's face looks strained and that he is not breathing. "Gar, you'll be fine. I manipulated my tactile field to go around you so you can breathe."
Garfield looks at Conner with a surprised expression on his face before he takes a breath. "So that's what you meant by covered."
Conner rolls his eyes and looks at the two Martians so they can continue on with the conversation. "So B'arzz, why did you need us?"
"It is better that I show you." B'arzz and Alpha Squad walked off the bioship as they saw other Martians around as they headed in the direction of the metallic objects. "Approximately 16 hours ago, objects fell from the sky and landed not too far from here as it is unknown where they came from."
"You mean those things in the ground we saw when we came here."
"Correct." B'arzz answers. "The council of Mars had this site quarantined and protected so our scientists could see what they are." B'arzz leads them to a checkpoint where guards let them into the quarantined zone as they see scientist looking at broken pieces of metal.
Conner looks around at the Martians that are studying shrapnel and chunks of metal. "So, what are they?"
"The scientists have been able to tell they are containers and that they are not of Martian origin." B'arzz explains. "But when these containers were falling from the sky, our scientists also detected a giant mass passing by Mars at high speeds. They were unable to tell what is what but they knew we would require some outside expertise."
As they pass by more scientists, B'arzz went on as he led them deeper into the center of the quarantined zone. "Now, when we first contacted you we had just discovered several of these containers, which fell planet side. This happened so suddenly, we did not know what to do. We had no idea where it is they are from and hoped you could shed some light on the matter. Although, I do slightly remember something about them from my time under the Reach's control."
Coming around a large pile of boulders, the four see the vast landscape of red sand with metal objects sticking out of the ground. Some of the objects had impacted on their sides or crashed into several boulders but, no matter what condition the objects were in, they were all empty with no covering. Upon closer inspection, M'gann tries to recall something that makes these pods look familiar but when she does both her and Conner look at each other.
'Conner, these-these look like...'
'Stasis cells from the Warworld.' Conner finishes her sentence.
"Was anyone hurt?" M'gann asks.
"Several of our people have been hurt from the crashing pods but none were severely injured." B'arzz answers.
Conner walks up to one of the cells and sees that the glass on the pods is shattered but also sees blood on the inside of the cell. "Where are the bodies?"
"Most have been taken the morgue so they can be sent back to their home worlds." B'arzz says in a depressed tone. "We are still trying to recover bodies from the wreckage."
"How many were there?" M'gann asks, still looking out into the sea of broken and destroyed stasis cells.
"We counted at least fifty-two of these pods. Fortunately, none were human but the others were different alien species possibly captives."
"These are Warworld stasis cells." Conner says, him and M'gann look at each other before he looks at B'arzz."Tim and Gar told me about them when they were captured. But why would the stasis cells end up here?"
"I thought you and Aqualad said Vandal took the Warworld?" Garfield asks, utterly confused at this point. "And what about that Mongul guy?"
"We searched all the pods but we were unable to find Mongul." B'arzz explains. "We believe that Savage must have released all cargo he did not see fit to take with him, and may have kept Mongul for his knowledge of the Warworld."
"Were there any survivors." Conner asks as he looks around at the scientists studying the shrapnel-filled landscape.
"Surprisingly enough, we only have one survivor left and that is a woman with orange skin." B'arzz explains. "That is why we called you, we believe she might have been of Earth origin."
Conner and M'gann look at each other with surprise written all over their faces. After all the grim news they were given today, the fact that anyone in the cells survived the crash is a miracle. "Where is she?"
"Over here. We have yet to move her pod from its place." B'arzz says, leading the group to the stasis cell.
Upon arriving at the cell, they look inside they see the woman and are surprised at what they find. She is around Conner and M'gann's age with long auburn-orange hair and is wearing purple clothing with metallic silver gauntlets. From what the three can tell, she is also wearing a form fitting, long sleeve crop top that connected to her gauntlets and a pair of shorts with a silver band that goes around the waist. The crop top has a green stone in the center above her chest and a stone in the center of the band on her shorts.
The three trade looks at one another, all having the same thought that this woman is clearly not human. Conner and M'gann trade looks before M'gann turns to look back at B'arzz. "Is she okay?"
"She seems to be in fine health but we wanted to see if you knew anything about her."
'Conner let's take her to the Watchtower.' M'gann tells him through their mind-link.
'I was about to say the exact same thing. Maybe she knows something or maybe we can find something out about her.' Conner responds back. "We'll take her back to Earth, she where's from and see if she knows anything."
B'arzz nods at the trio as if that is the best answer. "If that is what you wish. But be careful to not damage the cell as you can tell from the entry marks, it may be damaged."
Conner grabs the cell, trying not to break it, and puts it on his shoulder, heading back for the bioship with the others following him. While Conner and Garfield walk into the bishop, M'gann stands on the ramp before turning back to B'arzz and smiles at him. "Thank you again B'arzz for calling us."
"It was no problem what so ever." B'arzz says. "Just please, make sure you return to Earth safely."
"We will." M'gann says, waving goodbye before turning around and walking into the bioship. When she boards the ship, she sees Conner and Garfield already sitting in their seats as she takes her seat in the pilot's chair. The bioship lifts off the ground and tilts upwards as it heads straight for space. Within minutes, the bioship passes through the Martian atmosphere and flying through space, making its way back to the Watchtower.
M'gann takes her hands off of the controls, leaving the bioship to pilot itself as she leaves the cabin and walks to the back of the ship. Conner pays attention to her as he stands up and walks to the back of the ship to check on her. When looks in the back of the ship he sees M'gann standing with her back to the cabin and can immediately tell something is wrong. 'M'gann, are you okay?'
M'gann tenses up and turns her head but relaxes when she sees Conner standing there. He walks closer to her as she turns all the way around to face him. 'Oh, it's nothing Conner. I'm fine.'
'M'gann, you and I both know that's not true.'
M'gann knows it is stupid to try and hide her true feelings from Conner, the one person she knows it is impossible to hide it from. He knows her better than anyone and never has to use his powers he know what she feels. 'It's just...I noticed how the Green Martians looked at me as we walked around the quarantine zone. No matter what I do I still feel like I'm still looked down upon.'
Conner understands why she feels this way and did not need her to explain it to him. He knows that on Mars, the White Martians as a whole are considered inferior to the Green Martians and even after five years of being gone nothing has changed. 'Well maybe we can come back with your uncle and visit your family one day. But M'gann you got to have hope that things will change on Mars. You're the only White Martian I know that is a hero and you might be the change you want to see for Mars.'
M'gann smiles at Conner's words and nods at him before they walk back to into the cabin and take their seats. As they cruise through space, Conner is in his own head when he has an idea and turns to M'gann and Garfield with a smirk on his face. "Guys, how about I teleport us back to the Watchtower instead of taking the long way back?"
"Wait, can you even teleport that far?" Garfield asks.
"I don't know, but it's worth a shot." Conner says.
"Then why didn't you try and teleport us to Mars?"
"Mars is similar all around." Conner explains. "If I had teleport us there we could've been anywhere on Mars. But seeing how I know Earth better I can just teleport us back to the Watchtower without problem."
M'gann and Garfield look at each other but Garfield looks at her with a grin before looking at Conner. "Do it."
"Hold on, Gar." M'gann says, expressing shock in her voice.
"What? He thinks he can do it, so let him try."
M'gann looks at Garfield before looking at Conner. She knows he sees the worry in her eyes, concerned about what adverse effects it can on him or on them. What if they crash into the Watchtower or what if the bioship is destroyed or what if Conner kills himself. 'M'gann, I know you're worried but I promise, nothing bad will happen.'
M'gann looks at Conner and gives him a nod, giving him the permission he needed from her. With a smile on his face, Conner puts his hand on the bioship and his eyes and hands glow red as it covers the bioship completely. The red energy around the bioship brightens before taking over their view of space and in a instant, the bioship disappears from space.
THE WATCHTOWER
JULY 5, 19:20 EDT
The bioship jolts as Conner, M'gann, and Garfield fall out of their seats and land on the floor, somewhat dazed from the experience. As the three stand up, groaning from the fall, they look out of the cabin and see that they are in the docking area of the Watchtower. While M'gann and Garfield stand up from the floor, Conner sits in his chair as he breathes with exhaustion. "See, told you it would work."
"You sure you didn't shake the Watchtower with that one?" Garfield asks, stretching his neck while kneeling on the floor.
"If that was the case then the alarm would be going off." Conner says, standing up from his chair. He goes into the back of bioship and picks up the pod. "Now let's see where everyone else is."
The trio walks off the bioship, heading to the mission room, to find the Team and report the discoveries made on Mars.
In the meeting room, the League and the Team are standing looking at the files that were brought back from Beta and Gamma Squad's mission. The Team stood in front of the founding members of the League as Tim and Jaime began to talk about the file, "Phase 3".
"When Jaime came across this file, we looked inside and found the Light's plans for after the Reach invasion." Tim says, allowing Jaime to explain what they found in Cadmus.
"There was too much too read but Scarab pulled out a few words from the entire file." Jaime explains. "One word in particular is where Vandal Savage was going with the Warworld."
The word, Apokolips, appears on the holo-projector just as Alpha Squad quietly enters the meeting room. When Conner saw the word, he was shocked more than anything that he would encounter it again because the last time he heard it was a little over five years ago. "Do you know what it means or if it's in another dialect?" Batman asks.
"The Scarab knows it's a place but other than that, nothing. I'm not even sure how to pronounce it, but if I was to guess, it would be..."
"Apokolips." Conner says, causing both the Team and the League to look at him as he puts down the stasis cell. "And Apokolips is a place. Home to the tyrant ruler named Darkseid. I know someone who can explain this better than me."
"How do you know any of this?" Tim asks, just now hearing about this.
"Five years ago, the original team was put in a training exercise that wasn't the highlight of our first year." Conner explains, shaking off the quick feelings from that failed exercise. "Anyway, a week after it, I met the people of New Genesis, the Forever People, who came looking for Sphere. They told me all about New Genesis and Apokolips briefly and I helped them with there Apokolips problem. When I returned to the Cave, I told Batman, Superman, and Canary about what happened that day."
Everyone looks at Batman as if waiting for an answer. They can understand maybe Superman and Canary forgetting, but for Batman it was simply impossible to forget. "I did not forget but I did not follow up on it with him. He had been through enough that day so I had left it alone."
"So how do we find this Darkseid?" Cassie asks.
"We can't." Conner tells her.
"Why is that?" Batman ask.
"Because they're not here." Conner explains.
"Define, 'not here'?" Batman says.
Everyone looks at Conner, now putting him in the spotlight. "Okay how do I explain this? Maybe showing it to you would be better." Conner walks over to the holo-projector and projects a circle for everyone to see. "Okay, let's say this is the entire universe." Conner projects two more circles outside of the "universe". "These two circles are meant to represent the planets, New Genesis and Apokolips and they sit outside of the universe, not limited by time and space the same way we are. The only you can get there is by a Boom Tube and they can only be made by a Mother Box or Father Box."
"But Superboy you can travel between dimensions. Can you not?" Kaldur asks.
"No. I can open breaches in the dimensional fabric but it doesn't work the way you think. Again they'll have more answers than me because this is their science." He explains.
"But the little information you and they have can be helpful." Batman says, entering himself back into the conversation. "Superboy, contact your friends on New Genesis. Tell them we need more information on Apokolips and what to expect."
"I'll see what I can do." Conner says. The League leaves the meeting, leaving the Team by themselves as Kaldur turns to look at Alpha Squad and looks at the stasis cell with curiosity. "Alpha Squad, what took place on Mars."
"Team, does this look familiar to you?" Conner says, patting the side of the stasis cell.
"That's a Warworld stasis cell." Barbara says.
"Yes, it is. We found it along with other stasis cells on the surface of Mars. We assumed Vandal Savage may have thrown out everyone that was captured by Mongul when he was in control of the Warworld." He explains. "All of the stasis cells that crashed on Mars were destroyed and the people in them didn't make it. All except one person survived the fall to Mars."
"Are they in the cell?" Artemis asks.
"She. And yes, she is." Conner says, turning the cell around and shows the woman inside of it to the Team. "Now I'm going to be very clear. No matter what happens, do not attack her. We don't know how long she's been in here and the last thing need to do is cause a fight." Conner moves to the side of the stasis cell, pushes some buttons, and the red cover dissipates as the woman inside falls to the bottom of the cell. "Wait, how do you know how to work it?" Tim asks, very confused on Conner's knowledge on how to work a stasis cell.
"Sphere taught me." Conner says, causing Sphere to beep loudly in joy. He bends down to check on her when her eyes open sleepily and looks at him. The cell bursts with fire as the woman darts out of the pod and pins Conner against the wall next to the giant window overlooking Earth. The others take out their weapons and take aim at her, all taking notice that the end of her hair seems to be on fire. "Put your weapons away!" The other keep their weapon aimed at the hostile floating woman as she keeps her green eyes on Conner. Conner looks at her eyes and sees that her sclera is a lighter shade of green compared to her irises and her pupils are the natural black. She looks scared and angry at the same time as she looks at Conner, yelling at him angrily in a language he does not understand. "Now!"
No one moves until Kaldur retracts his water sabers back into his water bearers and attaches them back to his pack. The others follow suit, either putting their weapons away or stopping their attacks, earning a nod from Conner in thanks. "M'gann can you read her?" Conner asks.
M'gann's eyes glow green as she stops five seconds later with a frustrated sigh. "She's blocking my telepathy."
"Okay, let's try this a different way." Conner says, his eyes glowing red as his hands starts to turn red. With his hands glowing with red energy, he grabs the woman by her forearm as she starts to squirm in his grasp. A second later, Conner eyes stop glowing as the woman shakes her head with a hand on her forehead.
"What did you do to me?" The woman asks, her words now being understood by Conner.
"I learned your language." Conner says in her language as he leans against the wall he was pinned on. The woman looks up at Conner with a surprise look on her face. "I-I understand you."
"More like I understand you." Conner says, standing up straight as his power's effects wear off. "What language is this?"
"Tamaranean." The woman answers.
"Good to know." Conner says, walking over to her as she has now calmed down. "What's your name?"
"My name is Koriand'r. Princess of Tamaran."
"My name is Kon-El, but you can call me Conner." He says, raising his hand to her for a hand shake.
"Thank you, Conner." Koriand'r replies, shaking his hand. "What language were you speaking to me? The one from before?"
"Oh. English."
"May I learn it from you?" She asks, still holding his hand.
"Sure, but it'll take some time to learn..." Before Conner can finish, he is cut off by Koriand'r as she pulls him in and kisses him on the lips in front of everyone. The Team looks on in shock but M'gann looks at Koriand'r and Conner in more shock than the other. Koriand'r pulls her lips back from Conner's a second later with a smile on her face.
"Thank you." She says in English.
"Um, your…welcome." Conner says, still shocked at what happened. Koriand'r lands as she faces the Team with an apologetic frown.
"I apologize if I have showed any...hostility toward you."
"It is fine." Kaldur says, not holding her reaction against her. "We know you did not mean to cause any harm."
"May I ask where I am and who you all are?" Kori asks as she looks at everyone in front of her.
"You are on the Watchtower, an orbital space station of above the planet Earth. We are the Team but we call ourselves Young Justice. We are the protégés of Earth's heroes and defenders, the Justice League." Kaldur explains before raising his hand to his chest to gesture himself. "My name is Aqualad but may call me Kaldur'ahm. These are Batgirl, Robin, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Static, Lagoon Boy, Tigress, Kid Flash, Bumblebee, Guardian, Miss Martian, and Beast Boy."
The others walk up to Koriand'r to talk to her before the alarms in the Watchtower blare as everyone looks around in confusion.
INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! JUSTICE LEAGUE MEETING ROOM!
The League run into the meeting room and the first thing they see is Koriand'r as they pull out their weapons and are ready to attack. Starfire eyes glow green along with her hands as Conner and Kaldur jump in front of Koriand'r and is now between her and the Justice League. "Wait, wait! League put your weapons away!" Conner says, as Kaldur looks at Koriand'r and tries to calm her down
"Superboy, who is she?" Batman asks with a concealed bat-a-rang behind him, ready to throw it at a moment's notice.
"She is what we brought back from our mission on Mars!" Conner explains, trying to defuse the situation. Conner looks behind him as Kaldur talks to an angry Koriand'r as she looks ready to attack the League.
"Koriand'r, stand down. They are not here to hurt you." Kaldur explains with his arms out in front of him, trying to calm her down. "They are the Justice League, the heroes of Earth I was telling you about." Koriand'r's eyes and hands stop glowing and the League put their weapons away as all the Justice League's are now on the three of them. Batman steps up from the League and looks at Koriand'r before he stands in front of Conner and Kaldur.
"Start talking."
THE WATCHTOWER
JULY 15, 17:12 EDT
A week has past since Conner explained to the League his team's mission on Mars and about Koriand'r's situation. The League decided to allow the alien princess to stay, as long Conner and Kaldur supervised her until they find out something for her. In the present, Conner, Kaldur, and Batman stand on the other side of the mission room while Koriand'r talks with some Team and League members.
"We've set up an identity for your newest member, assuming she won't be leaving anytime soon." Batman says, looking on with Conner and Kaldur at Koriand'r smiling as she talks to their respective teammates. Since the League decided to let Koriand'r stay on the Watchtower, the alien princess has been nothing but grateful and has shown kindness to everyone. Although M'gann was a little angry with her and Conner for the kiss, after some explanation from both Koriand'r and Conner, M'gann got over it and Koriand'r gave her a hug and smiled. At first, M'gann was taken aback by it but eventually gave in and smiled back as they both shared a laugh. Within the week she had been there, Kaldur gave Kori the idea to just abbreviate her name like he did to his. In time, everyone called her just Kori, the newest member of the Team.
"I talked to her about it and she decided to stay." Kaldur responds. "She said she wants to learn a lot of the different cultures of Earth and would like to travel down to the surface."
"Speaking of the surface," Conner says, now joining the conversation. "is what I asked for ready?"
Batman reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a plastic card before handing it to Kaldur. Kaldur looks down at the card and sees it is and ID with Kori's picture and other information on it made by Batman. As he read he card, he stops on the Earth name Batman had chosen for her and found it to be simple but rather clever.
Kory Anders.
Kaldur looks at Batman but he does not look at him, instead keeping his eyes on the other group in the room. He looks back at Kori and sees her smiling, causing him to smile as his eyes soften. "Thank you, Bruce."
"It was the least I could do for her." Bruce says, turning around and walking into the main hallway of the Watchtower. Conner and Kaldur watch Batman disappear into the Watchtower before Conner turns around just in time as Kori looks over at the two of them. Conner waves her over as Kaldur turns around to notice Kori walking over to them and stops in front of them. "How are you both doing?" Kori asks.
"We're fine, thank you." Conner says. "We saw that you were having a good time with the others so Kaldur thought we would give you a surprise." Conner says, hitting Kaldur in the arm with his elbow. "Oh, right." Kaldur says, handing Kori the ID as he looks at her with a calm face. "It is an identification card. That way, you have a way to travel on the Earth without trouble. Though we should make a passport for you, just in case."
"Oh, Kaldur," Kori says before giving him a surprise hug. "...thank you for this gift."
"But-"
'It's fine Kaldur. Bruce and I don't mind because you wanted her to be able to go down to Earth.' Conner says, his voice suddenly entering his mind.
Kaldur looks over Kori's shoulder at Conner as he nods at him and Kaldur nods back in gratitude. 'Thank you, my friend.'
"You are most welcome, Kori."