Here is the big battle everyone has been waiting for! It's kinda long so you have a lot to read! I may create another chapter after this one, but that'll be the last chapter!
The last scene in this chapter I have actually drawn up in a mini comic on my deviantart page! So if you'd like to see it, go to TenshiNoCrystal on deviantart and look for Love Overcomes Fear. It's not exactly the same, but it's close!
I have a question for my readers! I got to thinking as I wrote this chapter about writing a sequel to it...what do you guys think? I was thinking maybe in the future, like the time jump from season one to season two of young justice. Bring in the next group of heroes too? I'd like to know what you think! Tell me in the review!
R&R Enjoy!
Assassins surrounded them quickly as Nightmare clenched his fist and teeth in anger. The glares between Nightmare and Crystal was unbreakable; neither was looking away, neither even blinked. It wasn't until Jay stepped forward towards Nightmare, revenge set into her eyes, that Nightmare finally looked away. He narrowed his eyes at Jay wiggling his fingers so the darkness slipped out of him like tentacles from all around.
Crystal held up her arm in front of the small girl, stopping her before she got any closer. "Andrew," She said, making the red head look at her in question. "I don't care if you want to fight in this, but you leave him to me. Got it?"
"But Crystal!" Jay said, stopping as she realized the blonde had still not looked away from her father with eyes as cold as steel with murderous intent raging inside. Her mouth clamped shut before she let Andrew grab her wrist and back away towards the others. "What do you want us to do?" She asked instead, wanting to do something major.
"Help the league, they're going to have trouble against 'The Light', and they need all the help they can get to keep people safe." Crystal commanded, seeing from the corner of her eye that they nodded.
"Watch out!" Wally shouted, racing towards Crystal and knocking her across the floor in his arms just as one of the tentacles shot out of the ground and slammed down right where she was.
Another tentacle darted towards them, making Wally push her away before he realized that it wasn't even aiming for her. It wrapped around his arms and abdomen, locking them to his sides and squeezed the air out of him.
"Wally!" Crystal shouted, pushing herself off the ground and staring at him in fear. She clamped her mouth shut, realizing she just said his real name accidentally from said fear. The last thing she wanted was for her father to take another person she loves away from her. She wouldn't let him get that close.
Nightmare smiled evilly and began laughing, making Crystal's heart clench in fear at the very thought of what he was going to do next. "Seems I have your little boyfriend here. Whatever will you do if I use him to destroy you?"
Cold crept into her bones and froze her to her spot. She took a step forward forcefully, stopping instantly as Nightmare raised his hand towards Wally. Wally closed his eyes ready for Nightmare's darkness to creep into his mind and consume it completely. He didn't know if he should expect pain, or cold, or searing heat, but he waited for something to happen.
Everyone was waiting in anticipation, not daring to move with the assassins around them and Wally in Nightmare's grip and possible control. Wally peeked his eyes open looking at Nightmare to see if he was trying something yet. Nightmare furrowed his brows, placing his hand in contact with Wally's forehead this time, pressing harder with the darkness. Wally glanced around Nightmare's face, not feeling anything going on in his mind, especially not any control he couldn't stop.
"Why?!" Nightmare shouted angrily, the tentacle tearing Wally from him and jerking back and forth in irritation.
Crystal's face broke into a smile, her fear draining instantly as she looked from Nightmare, to Wally, and finally to Jay. "Jay! You did it!"
Jay smiled proudly as her wings whipped out from her body. "Of course," She nodded at Andrew, signaling him to open his wings too before they rocketed into the sky, heading towards Flash who kept getting smashed into the ground by brain.
Crystal jerked her wings towards the ground, pushing her into the air, before racing towards the tentacle holding Wally. She reached her hand out, letting light erupt from her hand and dissipated the darkness of the tentacle until it was completely gone. Wally dropped to the ground, smiling up at her as he slid his goggles down over his eyes.
"Give em hell," She said with a smile to him.
Wally raced towards the assassins, circling a couple of them and disorienting them before grabbing a rope and wrapping them up. Robin jumped up into the air, reaching out his hand and letting Wally spinning around in one spot before letting him go over a larger group of assassins. He threw a couple of his batarangs at the group, letting it attach to their backs before exploding and knocking them out with gas.
Super boy shot aqualad towards his mentor who was up in the air fighting black Manta now, allowing him to help. Miss Martian flew into the air, flying towards her uncle who was helping Wonder Woman with Ra's al Ghul before he pointed towards Superman and Batman, signaling her to help them instead. She nodded her head, sending her psychic powers towards Queen Bee, stopping her from sending out any more pheromones. Super boy pounded through the remaining assassins on the ground, sending them crashing into walls and flying through the air from a direct hit from his fist.
"No!" Nightmare shouted, his tentacles lashing out in anger and grabbing onto Crystal's wings.
She winced in pain as they pulled either way, trying to rip the wings from her back forcefully. Two arrows shot at either tentacle, striking their target and making them retract from her. She looked over and saw Roy and Artemis working together to keep the tentacles away from her.
"Go for it!" Roy shouted to her, hitting another one that was aiming for her wing again.
Crystal pushed towards her father, slamming into him and lighting her hands up with light as she pressed them to his back. He screamed out in pain as the tentacles behind him vanished into smoke from the sudden attack of light to their origin. She pushed her feet off the ground hard, lifting him into the air with her and towards the rooftop and away from the others. She flung him towards the rooftop forcefully, her anger flaring up inside of her. She was angry at him trying to take Wally away from her; she was angry at him for attack her city, her people; and she was angry at him for trying to take her wings from her. Though she had these wings forced upon her, they were proof she wasn't like her father, and they had become a part of her.
"Enough," She growled, floating down towards the roof with her wings outspread. Sound of explosions and fighting erupted behind her, and shouts of the enemy as they were slowly being defeated.
Nightmare stood up, eyes flashing red at her as the darkness covered around him, making him into utter darkness with no defined features aside from his blood red eyes. "I'll destroy everyone around you! I'll kill them all and spill their blood at your feet!" He shouted at her in utter lividest anger. "I'll make you watch as I torture them and take them from you."
Her anger finally bubbled over, making her power go from being used, to overflowing in her body and exploding outwards. She put her wings away and walked towards him, her eyes flashing at him with her own bright blue. A long wooden rod, taller than her was on the ground; being torn from its place sometime during the battle. She picked it up and rotated it in the air around her before pointing it at him.
"As you always said father, all I need is a weapon to let my power course through." She said, remembering one of the horrid memories from her past with him and his tortures.
He laughed at her briefly, bringing out swords for his own weapons. "You think you can defeat me with that weak thing? My swords will slice through it easily!"
She tightened her fists around the rod, getting a better grip on it before smirking at him to irritate him further. "I guess we'll see about that then."
Wally and Robin were taking down assassin after assassin as they continued to file down or get back up from the ground. Robin jumped over Wally as he kicked one of the assassins in the face, his foot hitting right in the front of the nose and breaking it, while at the same time knocking the assassin unconscious.
Shot's rang out as an assassin aimed at Wally as said superhero raced around them. He weaved through them, letting the one assassin hit his own comrades with the bullets. Wally raced towards the assassin, jerking his hand upwards and smashing the gun upwards, giving enough space for Wally to spin on his heel and smash his foot into the man's side. The gun dropped to the floor as the man slid across the floor, letting out a groan of pain before falling unconscious.
"Is that all of the KF?" Robin asked, breathing heavily, feet apart in a battle stance still.
"I think so," He replied breathing just as heavily from the fight. He looked down at his wrist, opening up his compartment and eating a sustenance that was left in there. "I'm on my last power streak. I'll be running on fumes soon."
"We need to go help the league," Super boy said, jerking his chin towards the assassins going after Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter.
Jay clenched her head in pain as she looked at Andrew who was doing the same. Brain was going into their minds with force, trying to turn their own brains to mush. She reached behind her to the bag at her hip, grabbing a vile from it quickly. She downed it in a second, feeling it's affects immediately as Brain was pushed from her mind and sent recoiling at the force of it.
"What did you do?" He asked confused, looking at the empty vile she threw at the building, hearing it crash and shatter into a thousand pieces. "A serum?" He asked confused. "I've never heard of a serum that can stop mind control or psychic abilities."
"Well then, I guess you're just not as smart as I am" Jay told him with a smirk. She smirked wider when she saw the fury envelope him at the thought of someone saying they were smarter and better than him. "Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"
Andrew was slowly floating behind him as Jay had his attention, floating in the opposite direction so Brain kept his eyesight on her. Andrew wrapped his arm around Brain, locking him in place and allow Jay to rocket towards him with her superior speed. She grabbed another vile, placing a needle on the end and injecting Brain with the serum inside.
"UGH!" Brain groaned as the serum spread through his brain and quickly enveloped it. His psychic powers shut down quickly from the own protection of the serum. He writhed and wriggled in Andrew's arms, trying to get out of the hold to grip his head from the excruciating pain.
His brain wasn't able to take the force between his psychic powers and serum, his eyes rolling back inside his head as saliva dripped from his mouth. He dropped limp in Andrew's arms before he let Brain go to drop to the ground.
"Thanks," Flash said, getting up from the small crater he had created from Brain smashing him into the floor.
"You okay?" Wally asked, skidding to a halt by his mentor and looking him over briefly.
"Yeah," Flash nodded, dropping his hand from his head. "Who do we have left?"
An explosion erupted from the rooftop nearby, making them look up in time to see Crystal skidding at the edge of the roof, before pushing off back towards Nightmare.
"I'm going to her," Wally said, looking at the others before nodding and jogging off to Crystal, feeling that he had no more energy in him.
"No! No! No! No! NO!" Klarion shouted, seeing the battle from his little hiding spot. He was giving the enemy some of his magic to help them become stronger, but even then they were still being defeated. "You can't win this!" He complained like a child, pounding his fists on the magic screen before him.
"We will win this." Fate said, appearing behind him.
"We'll see about that Nabu," Klarion glared, turning mid air and snapping his fingers, letting a sphere barrier capture fate in it's hold. "Now just stay there like a good old man."
"You're magic is futile," He told the dark mage.
His arms jerked out either way as the barrier shattered and Nabu disappeared, reappearing once again behind Klarion and locking him in his magic cross. Klarioni jerked his head around, placing his fingers on the cross and making it dissipate from around him.
"You know as well as I do that my dark magic is as strong as yours. We can't destroy the other," Klarion said proudly, letting his face twist with anger into the cat like features.
"But I can confine you," Fate said floating near him, lifting a hand up slowly, making Klarion put his arms up defensively, ready to counter any magic attack Nabu will shoot at him. "Or take away your familiar."
Klarion seemed to realize one second to late as his face melted back to the original, just in time to watch Nabu shoot a spear of light at the cat who hissed with its hair standing on end. The spear stabbed into the cat's shoulder, sending it flying into a tree before falling to the ground unconscious.
"Teekl!" Klarion shouted, disappear and reappearing by the familiar. "How dare you harm him!" He growled, the magic around him forming him into a tiger.
"Without a familiar, your magic is limited," Fate stated, reaching a hand out once again towards Klarion, this time, locking him in the cross.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Klarion shouted angrily, feeling his magic being zapped from the cross keeping him contained.
"Aquaman!" Kaldur shouted, watching as Black Manta shot at him and knocked him across the rooftop.
Green Lantern trapped Black Manta in a box formed from his ring as the enemy smashed his fists against the surface, looking around them in anger. He placed his hands flat on the surface, concentrating as that same energy shattered the box and flung Green Lantern through the air and into Aquaman who was trying to get back up.
"Why don't you just stop? Can't you see you are already losing this battle?" Kaldur reasoned with him, watching him tilt his head either was as if cracking his neck in preparation.
"This battle is to stop the wrong doings of the league!" Manta shouted at him, anger dripping off his words.
"Is that what Nightmare has convinced you?" Kaldur asked, his water attachments forming whips. "Can't you reason enough to know that Nightmare tricks people?"
Black Manta seemed to stop and think about that, his mind clearing from the dark fog that was entrapping it. He shook his head, anger flaring up inside of him once again. "Stop!"
He lashed out at Aqualad, pushing against him as Kaldur wrapped the whips around his arms and sent electricity towards him.
"Please, think through this and see his control over you!" Kaldur begged, trying to get the villain to see his reasoning.
Black Manta grunted in pain as electricity coursed through him again while he tried to get closer to Kaldur. He dropped to his knee's, muscles spasming from the current.
"Aqualad!" Jay shouted, tossing something through the air towards him.
Kaldur looked up just in time to react and catch whatever she threw at him. He opened his hand and saw a syringe laying there with the same serum that Jay injected Crystal with. He nodded his head at her, understanding what she was telling him to do with it. He reached forward and took off the helmet, freezing in surprise at who knelt there.
"Father?" Kaldur asked, staring at the man who gripped his head.
Kaldur clenched his teeth, injecting the serum into his father and letting the mind control slip from him and out of Nightmare's hold. His father sat there for a moment, his mind clear and allowing him to think on his own now.
"Even you were succumbed to his power," Kaldur sighed, kneeling in front of his father and placing a hand on his shoulder. "It is alright now. You are free from him."
"I made such a mistake," Manta mumbled, glancing at Green Lantern and Aquaman get up shakily from the harsh hits.
Superboy made quick work of the remaining assassins with Wonder Woman, throwing them around and knocking their weapons from their hands. This gave Martian Manhunter enough time to slip behind Ra's al Ghul and place his hands on either side of his head.
"I suggest you give up now," Martian Manhunter said, glancing at the assassins who realized their master was now in trouble.
Superboy shouted in a fit of force as he plowed through the distracted assassins, knocking them over and unconscious before they could react.
Manhunter sent his psychic power through Ra's al Ghul, sending his mind into a spiral of confusion. He wobbled from side to side as he sat down mumbling about how he loved the kitten in front of him.
"What did you do?" Superboy asked, watching as Ra's played with an invisible kitten in front of him with a smile, a childish laugh escaping from his throat.
"I put his mind in a memory from his childhood. A happy one to keep him from the darkness in his mind." Manhunter answered.
"I find it creepy that he seems so innocent now," Wonder Woman said, crossing her arms across her chest and stared down at the man.
Batman grunted as he threw a batarang of his own at Queen Bee, making her jump out of the way and break contact with Superman. Meghan flew towards Queen Bee, gasping as she the men under her hold grabbed her and flung her away.
"Nice try girl," Queen bee chuckled, waving her hand in the air at the attempt. "Oh Superman, do be a dear and stop Batman,"
Superman turned in the air as he looked down at Batman who backed up and brought his batarangs out. Superman flew towards Batman, aiming his laser vision at him and trying to hit his feet. Batman jumped from the laser vision, throwing a batarang at his friend. Superman didn't even flinch as the batarang exploded on impact.
"Stop!" Meghan shouted, picking Queen Bee up with her telekinesis and tightening the hold on her.
Queen Bee gasped as the air left her and Superman left her hold from the pheromones. Bat threw a batarang attached with a rope, wrapping around Queen Bee. Meghan set her down and went into her mind.
"Go to sleep!" Meghan commanded to her, watching as her head swiveled until it fell forward and she fell asleep just as she said.
"Ugh," Superman groaned, putting a hand to his head. "Sorry about that,"
"No problem," Batman said, nodding to him. "Don't let it happen again."
A loud explosion rang from the roof far from them, watching as debris from the rooftop puffed up into the air with the explosion.
"Crystal's fighting hard," Meghan said, watching the fight with worried eyes, her hands clasping in front of her in hope that Crystal would stay safe.
"You'd be a magnificent accomplice!" Nightmare told her as he sliced her cheek slightly with the sword.
She gritted her teeth and swung the rod like a baseball bat, hitting him in the side hard. "Only in your dreams."
He slashed his sword at her once again, anger seeping off of him as she dodged and hit his hand holding the sword, knocking it into the other. She spun the rod in a circle, making his hold on the swords loosen and allowing her to fling them into the air and away from them.
He growled and lashed out at her, hitting her in the stomach and making her skid across the ground. The rooftop was ruined with craters from their hits and attacks. She was covered in debris and dirt from the rooftop along with bruises from the hits she's taken.
"Why don't you join me?" He tried to persuade once again.
"And hurt people?" She asked, running towards him, and swinging her rod at him fiercely. "No thanks,"
He grabbed the rod, pulling it so she was closer to him and staring at him in his eyes. "Isn't that exactly what all of you are doing now? Admit it, you're scared that tomorrow will come and you won't be able to contain that power inside of you." He poked, knowing her birthday was the day her power reached it's peak. "If you can't control your power, you could hurt those around you. You will be like me in the end."
She clenched her teeth so hard it felt as if they were going to break and chip. She was scared about exactly what he said, but she wasn't going to fill his pride by admitting to it. "I won't be like you."
His eyes narrowed at her and her sureness of her not losing control. "Because of that boy?"
"Because of the people I have around me. They're called friends, something you wouldn't know about." Crystal told him harshly, jerking back on the rod, taking it from his grasp.
"And what would you do if I killed them all now? What if I killed that boy?" He threatened. Crystal could see the threat was true and that he was intent on keeping it if it meant her turning dark.
Her mind was shouting at her not to do what she was going to do next, but her anger was just overflowing, churning the darkness inside of her and making it control her body. She spun on her heel, bringing the rod across from her before gathering the wind and light around it. She spun back again quickly, allowing the wind to carry her faster and stronger than what could be possible.
Nightmare jerked back, but forgot how long the rod was and couldn't avoid it as it slammed into the back of his head, sending him rocketing towards the ground. His face smashed into the rooftop concrete, cracking the surface from the powerful force.
She jumped away and had the wind carry Nightmare away from the darkness as it gathered together and tried to attach to Crystal. She reached out, delving her hand into the darkness and enveloping her hand with light. The light encompassed the darkness quickly, before destroying it and letting the darkness let out a scream of pain and disappearing completely. Her senses knocked into her hard as she glanced around, her anger dissolving away.
Wally walked onto the roof, catching sight of Crystal as she stood there with the rod in one hand as it crossed across her back. Her hair blew in the wind as silence enveloped the rooftop and he saw Nightmare laying a few feet away.
"Crystal?" He asked, seeing her body tremble as she stood there.
"I…" She spoke, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I didn't even hesitate to hurt him. This power…" She sucked in a breath, trying to calm her trembling. "It's consuming me…"
She dropped the rod, letting her anger slip completely with the clatter of the rod hitting the floor. She glanced around again, seeing the craters that covered the rooftop around her.
"Just look! This power inside of me…caused all of this…" She said, a hiccup coming from within her. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably as she slid down to the roof with her legs on either side of her. Tears spilled from her eyes as they cascaded down her cheeks, dripping to the floor. She put her hands to her head, the panic of her own power, along with what Nightmare said of her fears, making her lose her mind. "It's not a gift! It's nothing but a curse!" She shouted at nothing really. "It just kept telling me to kill! And no matter how much I thought 'No' my body wanted to…" She shook her head, trying to get the killing thoughts away. "What if…what if this power is exactly as everyone said it was?" She paused, letting her words sink into Wally. "It turns me into a monster! It scares me! I don't want to be a monster!"
Wally looks away from her as she shook there on the floor, looking at Nightmare instead. He kicked Nightmare slightly, hearing him let out a groan from the pain already in his body. He looked up and smiled, seeing Crystal frozen from the sound of the groan.
"He seems pretty okay to me…" He told her light heartedly, trying to make her feel better about it. He sighed, seeing it wasn't helping much. "You're not a monster. You just need to learn to control that power better…Don't worry, no matter what I'll always be there to protect you." He told her, stepping closer to her so she could look at him. He smiled at her, flashing his white teeth at her teasingly. "And stop you with my killer looks."
She couldn't help but let out a small laugh as the relief flooded her body and she looked up at him thankfully. "Mm! Ok then! I'll hold you to that promise!" She laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes quickly as a smile stayed on her face.
He leaned down to help her up, reaching his hands out to her, when she put her hands behind her and started to stand up on her own, eyes closed and lips out. Their lips connected as he closed his own eyes, relief of his own flooding him at her safety. He cupped her head in his hands and pulled her closer to him, making the kiss deeper and more meaningful than the small peck she intended.
She pulled back for some air as they were millimeters apart from one another, his hand on her neck gently. She looked at him warmly as she still felt the feel of his lips on hers, and the heat that coursed through them with the kiss. She saw the relief in his eyes, making her laugh lightly and put her hands to his chest. He dropped his hands to her upper arms, placing his forehead against her own as he chuckled with her. Both of them realizing with relief that it was all over.
They ended up grasping hands in front of one another as she looked up and him and he looked down at her, both of them sharing in the comfort of one another. Wally smiled at her before letting her hands go and lifting her up, sliding her to his back and grasping underneath her legs.
"How's about we head home?" He asked her, watching as Flash appeared on the rooftop, and immediately headed over to Nightmare.
Crystal smiled, feeling relief as Flash looked at them with a smile, nodding his head that it was done and over with. "Sounds great!" she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.