A/N: Just read the final YJ comic. So sad they aren't making anymore. And this Saturday is the FINAL ep of the show too, so enjoy it :'(
Anyway, prepare for about 6 pages of fighting lol Hope it lives up to your expectations! FYI, the battle takes place in the same room the Reds were holding the Team hostage. Just thought I'd mention that to give you all a better picture in your mind.
Disclaimer: "I don't own Young Justice. DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Cartoon Network have the rights to it. I'm just having some fun :)"
Rated T for some language, suggestive themes, and descriptive violence.
Italics mean thoughts
"Italics within quotes" mean telepathy
Fate leads he who follows it, and drags he who resists . . .
Tangled Web
Chapter 17: Threads of Fate
Mount Justice
October 25, 16:48 EDT
"Intruder alert. Bioship hanger has been breached. All available personnel please respond."
Wally and Artemis wordlessly sprang up from the couch and tore out of the common room, Wally only a few steps in front of Artemis, not willing to race ahead and leave her behind.
"Who the hell could break into the cave?" Artemis huffed, mind reeling.
"No idea, but we're about to find out."
They rushed into a wide, high ceilinged natural cavern, located just outside the bioship hanger, with a small pond, massively tall cement platform, and two zeta tubes that were currently off-line thanks to the attack, and immediately jumped apart as a surge of lightning struck the spot they'd just been standing in. The threat had clearly advanced from the bioship hanger. Artemis somersaulted to the right, pulling her bow and notching it with a trick arrow so that she had it ready to fire as she made it back onto her feet. She did a quick sweep of the room with her sharp grey eyes. Zatanna and the other members of the team – minus Conner – reached the cavern from an adjacent hallway and stopped to eye the intruders warily. There were five of them, and at least four of them reeked of raw power. All five had a young, otherworldly appearance to them that set Artemis's nerves on end. Kaldur suddenly stepped forward to address them.
"Who are you? State your business with us," he demanded, voice filled with authority.
A hulking man almost twice the size of Superboy with long red hair stepped forward and stared menacingly at Kaldur. "We are the Forever People of New Genesis!" he proclaimed. "We have come to reclaim what you stole and destroy you for your crime!"
He didn't wait for a response and charged at Kaldur. Before he could lay a hand on the Atlantean, Conner barreled out of a different hallway and tacked the bigger man like a linebacker sacking a quarterback. The pair rolled across the floor, Conner already swinging. Enraged, the Forever People moved to help their friend and the Team rushed forward to intercept them. Pandemonium ensued as a free-for-all erupted. Artemis took a step farther into the room, but a dark haired man in purple blocked her path. She could see sparks of electricity bouncing around his gloved fingertips and inwardly groaned. She wasn't looking forward to being electrocuted two fights in a row.
"They call me Mark Moonrider," the man said as he slowly stalked towards her.
Artemis scoffed, her arrow trained on him. "Tell it to someone who cares," she replied as she loosed the arrow.
He dodged but she'd already let two more arrows fly, this time steel tipped ones in the hopes of pinning him by his clothes to the nearby wall. To her utter shock, the arrows halted in mid air, turned, and sailed towards her head. She jumped to the side, avoiding their deadly arch. Moonrider was smirking, his eyes looking at something behind her. She whirled around to see a dark skinned man standing within arm's reach. She backed away a few paces.
"Nice one, Vykin," Moonrider commented.
With a wave of Vykin's hand, all of Artemis's steel tipped arrows levitated out of her quiver, making it clear to Artemis that the man named Vykin had magnetic powers of some sort. Light glinted off the steel tips as Vykin positioned them all at Artemis. Before he could force the arrows to impale the blonde, a wave of water from the nearby pond engulfed him, sweeping him off his feet. His concentration broken, Artemis's arrows harmlessly dropped to the floor. She quickly scooped them up and dumped them back in her quiver as Kaldur approached the trio, waterbearers out, but empty. The wave dispersed and Vykin spluttered, rising to his feet.
"Let us see how you fair against my weapons," Kaldur said as two swords made of clear blue water materialized from his waterbearers. He charged at Vykin, leaving Artemis to handle Moonrider.
A few feet away, Robin back flipped three times, each flip causing the bullets from Serifan's cosmic cartridges to narrowly miss their mark.
"Stand still you no good, dirty vermin!" Serifan growled in frustration.
Robin cackled merrily. "Yeah, 'cause that'll happen."
A bolt of electricity strayed from the fight between Artemis and Moonrider, forcing Robin to haphazardly dodge to the right. His rhythm thrown off, it was the perfect opening for his opponent. Serifan released another bullet and a shimmery yellow haze exploded forth, encasing the Boy Wonder in a translucent sphere.
"Yee-haw! I gotcha, you rotten scallywag!"
"Etaerc Dik Hsalf snoisulli!" Zatanna said. Kid Flash was on bended knee in front of her, her hand touching his shoulder. A dozen identical copies of Kid Flash sprang up out of thin air and charged at Serifan, cutting his victory short. He unleashed a round of bullets at the speedster copies, all but two missing their mark.
Big Bear wrestled against Superboy and managed to slam him into the wall of concrete that made up the massive base of a giant cement platform not far from the pond. For a millisecond the stone became soft and malleable and Conner sank into it, then it hardened all around him, trapping him. Having neutralized Superboy, Big Bear turned his attention elsewhere. His eyes landed on Serifan, Kid Flash, and Zatanna. He let out a low growl and stomped towards them.
With Serifan distracted by Kid Flash and his copies, Zatanna approached Robin's force field. She put her slender fingertips against it and opened her mouth, but a meaty hand cracked her in the back of the head before she could utter a word, and she crumpled to the ground.
"Zatanna!" Robin cried, voice muffled by Serifan's barrier, his hands pressed against the unbreakable bubble.
Big Bear raised his balled fists above his head ready to hit her defenseless form again when he was lifted off the ground by an invisible force. Half way across the room, Megan's eyes glowed green, her right hand held out in front of her. With a quick flick of her wrist, Big Bear was hurled clear across the room, his whole body colliding with the far wall. He tumbled to the ground in a heap. She took a step, intent on attacking him again, but the woman in pink with hair blacker than night cut her off.
"We don't have to do this," Megan said, in an attempt to reason with the beautiful woman.
"Yes we do. You must pay for your thievery."
"We didn't steal anything!"
"Lies!"Dreamer accused. "You will be punished for that too. I will turn the sweetest of your dreams into the stuff of nightmares."
Kid Flash and his seven remaining copies stepped up alongside Megan, arms crossed over his chest. Serifan was lying on the ground where Kid Flash had left him, less than useless now that the cowboy's six shooters were sitting at the bottom of the pond where Wally had thrown them before knocking him on his butt. "Oh yeah? How exactly do you plan to do that, huh?"
With a wave of her hand, the seven Kid Flash copies winked out of existence, unable to fool a master of illusions. A pointed glare directed at Kid Flash had him running around, arms flailing, as he yelled about hundreds of spiders crawling over his body that only he could see.
"You're an illusionist," Megan stated.
"And you're a Martian," Dreamer countered.
Dark orange flames erupted around Megan, encircling her until she was trapped. The searing heat immediately zapped her strength and she sank to her knees, sweat beading her forehead. Despite her knowledge that the fire was nothing but an illusion, the flames that danced around her felt life threateningly real.
"M'gann!" Conner called from his position in the wall. He gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might. A few small cracks formed on the sold surface, weakening his prison, but the wall still held.
Not far from Megan, Robin banged his fists on the force field still holding him, calling out to Zatanna. She finally groaned and looked up to see Big Bear lumbering towards them again. She hurriedly reached her hand out and touched the yellow sphere once again.
"Ecrof dleif etapissid!" she shouted. The yellow glow surrounding the Boy Wonder instantly disintegrated in a fizzle of color.
Without missing a beat, Robin threw a smoke bomb at his feet. As the smoke covered their forms, he helped Zatanna up.
"Thanks," she said.
"Right back at ya."
The pair heard the giant redhead snarl in frustration, and as the smoke started to disperse, they knew it'd only be a matter of seconds before he had them.
With the last vestiges of her energy, Zatanna whispered, "Etativel su." She and Robin shot up off the ground and out of the smoke. Together they landed on the corner of the tall concrete platform. Head throbbing, Zatanna tipped forward and it was all Robin could do to get her on the ground gently.
To the side of the cement platform, Artemis huffed, slightly winded from the last volley of kicks and punches she and Moonrider had exchanged. The two had been going back and forth physically, electric bursts and arrows interspersed in the mix.
"I have to admit, your skills are admirable, but there's no way you will be able to beat a new god of New Genesis!"
At that exact moment, Wally sprinted by Moonrider screaming, arms brushing all down his body. The hallucinating speedster drew Moonrider's attention for only a moment, but it was all Artemis needed. She front flipped at her opponent, thighs landing on his shoulders. Then she hooked her legs around each other behind his neck and swung the upper half of her body down. Her weight pulled him forward and she placed her hands on the ground as if she were doing a handstand. She used his falling momentum to pull him over her. He landed on the ground on his back, with her straddling him. She immediately pulled a trick arrow from her quiver and slammed him in the chest with it. The pressure activated it and foam spewed forth. Artemis hurriedly jumped off him as the goo spread, covering most of his body before hardening.
She towered over him with a smirk. "You were saying?"
Wally stopped not too far from Conner, and sighed in relief as the last of the imaginary spiders fell from his suit. "Ugh, finally. That was gross." He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see part of Conner struggling against the rock he was embedded in.
Kid Flash let out a low whistle. "Not a good look for you, Supey."
"Forget about me. Go help M'gann! That witch is doing something to her!"
Wally followed Superboy's line of sight and took off when his green eyes landed on Megan's hunched form sitting on the ground. He swooped through the fire Megan was seeing and scooped her up as he passed. Instead of running away, he continued straight, plowing right into Dreamer. Her body hit the ground hard and tumbled a few feet away from the force of the hit. Before Wally could gloat, he and Megan were slammed into the ground – Megan jarred loose from his grip – an unseen force holding them down. It was so heavy Wally could hardly take air into his lungs. A tilt of his head revealed the blonde Cowboy at the edge of the pond, soaking wet, his six shooters back in his hands. The barrel of one was smoking, as though it'd just been fired.
"Your new accelerated gravity bullets are rather effective," Vykin said, suddenly joining Serifan's side.
Wally glanced at Megan. She hadn't moved since they'd been forced to the ground under the weight of too much gravity. He gritted his teeth and forced his head to turn. His eyes landed on Artemis fighting against Big Bear. She sent a quick jab at his solar plexus – too short to reach his face – but he moved aside, wrapped his arm around her waist as her momentum carried her passed, and easily flung her aside as though she weighed nothing. With the archer out of the way, he reached down to his teammate covered in hard foam from one of Artemis's trick arrows and held his massive palm to it. The hardened substance immediately turned to a thin liquid, and ran off his body like water. Together the two men advanced on Artemis. She quickly notched another trick arrow and shot it at the ground near Big Bear's feet. A greenish gas spiraled out of it, quickly rising up to his face. Within seconds he fell to his knees violently coughing, though it didn't seem to knock him out cold like it was supposed to. The tall guy with electricity coursing around his fingers grabbed her by the neck and slammed her body into the nearest wall, holding her there, her feet dangling a couple feet off the ground. Her eyes widened as his hands started squeezing. She scratched at his fingers, but they stayed firmly in place, slowly choking the life out of her.
"Artemis . . ." Wally rasped out, the pressure making his lungs feel as though they were about to collapse.
With Conner stuck in the wall, and Zatanna, Robin, and Kaldur nowhere in sight, they were in serious trouble.
Just when Wally thought they were done for, a blinding flash of golden light flooded the room accompanied by a deep, booming voice. "Enough! Order shall be maintained!"
The golden light snaked around Serifan and Vykin and yanked them away from Wally and Megan. Wally saw the same thing happen to Big Bear and Dreamer. The golden rope-like light wrapped around Moonrider's waist as well and dragged him away from Artemis. She slid to the ground, gasping for breath, her left hand rubbing the tender skin around her neck. The sound of shattering rock filled the room from the other direction. Wally turned his head and Conner was suddenly in his line of sight. He'd finally cracked through the solid rock wall. He pulled Megan free of the area temporarily affected by Sarifan's accelerated gravity bullet, then pulled Wally free as well. The redhead took several deep breaths, enjoying the feel of his lungs expanding to full capacity, then he staggered over to Artemis and helped her to her feet.
"You okay?" he asked, eyes abundantly concerned.
"I'll live," she replied, voice raspier than usual.
All five of the intruders were huddled together on the ground, golden chains made of light still trapping them when the blinding brightness finally began to recede. Wally and Artemis looked up, shocked to see Dr. Fate floating above them. Wally immediately did a quick scan of the room for the missing members of their team. He saw Robin sitting on the edge of the cement platform watching with curiosity, an unconscious Zatanna next to him. The only person he couldn't find was . . .
"It's Kaldur," Artemis said, beating him to it. "He must have run to the souvenir room for it sometime during the fight."
"Dude . . ." Wally whispered, his voice filled with sadness. "Nabu will never let him go."
"What do you mean?"
Before Wally could answer the blonde, Dr. Fate descended from above them, coming to land in the middle of the room. "Fate has seen fit to intervene on your behalf."
"Great, but what about Kaldur's fate!?" Wally cried indignantly.
Dr. Fate turned to look at him, but his eyes fell on Artemis instead. He stared at her intently for a moment, then he approached her in three fluid steps. Though she looked uncomfortable under the weight of his gaze, she held her ground.
"I can see everyone's fate but my own . . . and yours," he stated to her and Wally's surprise. "Your thread appears to have abruptly ended a long time ago, and what exists now is too broken up and muddled to read. I have never encountered something such as this before." His eyes moved to Wally's. "But I can see her in yours. And though her role is unclear, she is certainly present, as if your thread is joined with hers." He leveled his gaze at Wally. "You will suffer great despair and turmoil, the likes of which you have never experienced before."
An eerie chill swept up Wally's spine at Dr. Fate's words. He'd normally cast aside such supernatural notions like fate and destiny, but based on the unexplainable things he'd seen as of late, he found it difficult to completely brush off his warning.
Overcoming her shock, Artemis glared at the sentient being in front of them. "We don't care about our fate right now; we care about Kaldur's. Are you going to let him go, or what?"
"Nabu won't release him, Artemis. He almost didn't release me and I hate magic." He sighed dishearteningly. "Kaldur will be trapped inside of Dr. Fate forever."
Dr. Fate silently stared at the pair for a moment longer, then he raised his hands to his helmet and pulled it up, revealing Kaldur's face once more as Dr. Fate's blue and gold costume faded away.
Wally and Artemis sighed in relief.
"Nabu let you go," Wally stated.
"He almost did not, but your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello." Wally smiled. "He was also wondering about the progress of your search for a spitfire of your own. He said you'd know what that meant."
Wally coughed uncomfortably, aware of Artemis's questioning eyes on his back. Wally decided to change the subject. "So, what do we do with them?" he asked, turning his gaze on the five, angry intruders.
"It is clear they think we stole something from them and are currently in possession of it," Kaldur said.
With Conner's help, Megan rose to her feet. "I can try to read their minds to find out." She approached the Forever People, all five steadfastly glaring at her. Her eyes turned green as she concentrated. A moment later a look of utter shock covered her face.
"They think we stole Sphere!"
"What?!" Conner growled.
"How dare you deny it!" Big Bear bellowed. "We tracked her signal straight to this very place."
"Well-wait, Sphere's a she?" Wally questioned.
Conner ignored the speedster's question. "We didn't steal it, we found it."
"So you thought it was okay to just keep it!?"
"We didn't know where it came from and it was a heck of a lot safer in our possession than the people who had it!"
At that moment, Sphere rolled into the room and down the ramp located in the middle of the staircase on the west side of the room, beeping and whirring as it moved.
"The New Genisphere!" Dreamer cried in relief.
The golden chains of light binding the five Forever People finally faded away, and they hurriedly approached the sphere. Dreamer hugged the mechanical ball while Vykin placed a loving hand on it. Sphere beeped several times and Vykin pulled a small electronic box from his pocket. The box dinged and he gasped in surprise.
"She says they speak the truth, that they are not the ones who stole her."
Big Bear turned to the Team, a sheepish expression on his face. "Apologies! The Forever People embrace you all as friends, allies, and worth warriors."
Conner crossed his arms over his chest. "Just like that we're supposed to be cool? You're kidding, right?"
"Dude's gotta point," Wally said. "You did just spend a half hour trying to decimate us."
"It was a misunderstanding," Moonrider explained.
"Pretty painful misunderstanding," Artemis grumbled, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her still sore neck.
Dreamer clasped her hands forlornly. "We do apologize for the misunderstanding and any trouble we might have caused you. We'll take the New Genisphere and be on our way."
Conner narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
"We thank you for rescuing her from those who stole her, and for taking care of her all this time, but we must take the New Genisphere home now," Dreamer explained.
"No, no way!"
"Why should we leave her with you?!" Serifan suddenly asked. "To us she lives, to you she's merely technology."
"It's not like that."
Big Bear crossed his arms over his chest. "Then what is it like?!"
"We bonded, okay?!" Superboy yelled, to the surprise of everyone.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Vykin smiled and extended his hand to Conner. "In fact, it is. You may keep her as a show of our regret for the battle that took place between us, and a sign of faith."
Conner glanced at Vykin's outstretched hand, then took it in a firm grasp.
x x x
Most of the Team was outside seeing the Forever People off and gushing over Sphere after the Forever People showed them the nifty motorcycle-like vehicle she could transform into – to which Wally rechristened her the 'Super Cycle' – but Artemis was in the cave, opting out of the farewell. Truth be told, she didn't feel much like socializing after what Dr. Fate had said about her fate, or lack thereof. She knew why he saw her fate as having ended abruptly years ago: because it had, the day she'd tried to stop a petty thief from robbing her uncle's temple in Thailand, and had been killed in the attempt. It made sense, but it didn't stop her from feeling as though she were adrift with no clear path. It was kind of depressing. What bothered her even more, however, was what Dr. Fate had said to Wally. Her fate might not be clear, but Wally's was and it involved her, along with untold pain and suffering from the sound of things.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that her presence in Wally's fate would be the cause of the despair and turmoil Dr. Fate spoke of. It just confirmed what she'd feared the moment they'd started getting close.
The blonde had almost reached her quarters to change when someone called her from behind. She turned to see Zatanna standing at the other end of the hall.
"You got a second?"
Artemis shrugged. "Sure. How are you feeling?"
"Better. Using all that magic always takes a lot out of me. If I'd have known we were going to fight a bunch of near gods I wouldn't have used so much sparring with Robin," Zatanna laughed as she approached the archer. "Anyway, I wanted to say I'm sorry for almost blowing your secret with the others."
"I don't have any secrets."
"Seriously?" Zatanna deadpanned.
"Look, I already told you-"
"Yeah, I know what you said, doesn't make it true though. I know great power when I sense it, and you have great power. I don't know exactly what it is, just that it's there. And I wanted you to know that I'm sorry for bringing it up in front of the others, and that I won't bring it up again. If I'd have known it was a secret," she said the word 'secret' pointedly, "I never would have said anything in the first place."
Artemis raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise showing on her face. "Really?"
Zatanna shook her head. "It's not my secret to tell. But . . ." Zatanna paused to collect her thoughts before pressing on, "if you ever do want to talk about it . . . well, if anyone understands magic abilities, it's me."
"Uh, thanks," Artemis replied.
"Sure." Zatanna grinned. "Anyway it was nice hanging out with you guys today. A lot more exciting than sitting in the library at the Hall of Justice anyway."
Artemis smiled in return and said, "I can imagine."
The overhead computer announced Zatara and Red Tornado's arrival in the zeta tube chamber and Zatanna sighed. "Hopefully it's not the last time considering how bad my dad is gonna freak when he finds out what went down here after he left." With a wave, Zatanna turned back down the hall and disappeared.
Artemis smiled softly at the empty spot. She really hoped Zatara would let his daughter join the Team permanently. She was sure Zatanna was going to fit in great.
To be continued . . .
A/N: Well, I hope everyone liked the melee brawl between the Team and the Forever People. I personally thought the original ep with the Forever People (Disordered) would have been more interesting if the Team had had to fight them (truth be told, I found most of the eps that revolved around Superboy to be rather boring) so there's my re-write of sorts. I really hope it met everyone's expectations. I'd love to hear what you thought :)
For the record, though I do have an idea for Red Arrow (someone asked about that in a review), I will NOT be bringing Rocket into the mix. For one thing, we only saw her in, like, 3 eps while on the Team and ZERO issues of the comic, so I don't know her well enough to write for her. Second, I just plain don't care. She didn't interest me at all, and I thought the Team was plenty big before they even added Zatanna (but Zee ended up being awesome so I was happy they added her in the end) and felt the addition of Rocket was unnecessary and ultimately pointless since we didn't even get to know her seeing as by S2 she was in the JL. So don't be looking for her in this fic because you won't see her. Sorry.
SakuraJade