A/N So after so long I have finally finished the second chapter. I will be posting the following chapters at my own pace so please don't ask me when the next one will be coming out but I will love to hear some reviews. Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters. They are owned by DC comics. There are a few characters that I created to help the story move along.

Chapter 2: Opening Ceremonies

Somewhere in space

19:00

The flight to wherever there going was a long one, no matter how fast they were flying. Within minutes they had left their solar system. Now everyone was sitting in a large room where it looked like they kept all of the passengers to keep them away from the crew. Host had left them as soon as it had dropped them off there. A few hours ago Host had returned to give them all food. The food was all from Earth so they didn't have to worry about eating anything their bodies couldn't agree with. One thing that they did notice though was all of the food was natural non-processed food. There was fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, and there was also some bread. Now they were all sitting around, waiting in boredom. They agreed that since they didn't know what was going to happen once they got there they all took turns taking short naps to preserve their strength.

Now as they were half way through the eighth hour of being on the space craft, Artemis was the one taking a nap while everyone else kept watch. Everyone could tell though that Artemis kept a firm hand on her blade even as she slept. The only good thing about the room there were being kept in was that all of the chairs were cushioned and could be leaned back almost like a laze-y-boy.

That was what Jaime and Bart were doing. They had the chairs leaned back as they sat next to each other and talk. It was the closest they were going to get to being comfortable while they were still suit up.

"I feel bad, ese." Jaime said.

"Why, Blue?"

"You're first Christmas in the past and you're going to be stuck fighting for your lie in some dangerous tournament."

"So it'll be like every other Christmas I've ever had."

"That's not divertido hermano."

"I know. Sorry."

"Well, at least we'll still get to celebrate New Year's correctly… hopefully. Do we even know how long these games are supposed to last?"

"I don't know. I don't recall Host mentioning how long it was supposed to last."

"Dios Mio. That means we can be gone for months or years."

"I don't think the League would approve of that. I can see it now. In a couple of weeks they are going to storm the place, taking down everyone that gets in their way."

"How are they even supposed to storm the place if we don't even know where we're going?"

"Hello. Batman. There is no doubt that that guy can find us. No matter where we are. He'll crash the mode in no time."

"Don't forget hermano, he's still one guy. He can't do everything by himself."

"Fine, fine. You win." Despite the fact they should be keeping their guard up and not be giving the bad guys any leverage against them, Bart couldn't help himself and grabbed Jaime's hand in his own. He needed the physical contact. He knew what Jaime was trying to do. Being on an alien space ship, surrounded by potential hostiles brought up to many memories of The Reach. Jaime was trying to distract him with thoughts of Christmas. He admits that missing out on his first real Christmas, with a boyfriend no less, was totally moded. In the post-Reach-apocalypse-future the need to celebrate holidays completely lost its worth. So the last several months when all of the holidays started being celebrated Bart had been experiencing completely new things. He loved how both Halloween and Thanksgiving revolved around eating food. He knew there was more to it than the food, but he couldn't help it. He loves food.

"Either way, once we've returned we'll celebrate a proper Christmas, mi amor."

"That'll be totally crash."

Jaime reached over to give Bart a loving kiss on the lips. Bat had to force himself to relax into the kiss since Jaime was till currently in his Blue Beetle armor. At least he was getting better. In the beginning he couldn't even hold Beetle's hand for long periods of time.

"Ahem, while I have no problems with you two being together, we would all appreciate it if you kept the PDA down to a minimum," Aqualad's voice came from the chairs there were behind them.

The two quickly broke apart. Jaime ducked his head in embarrassment while Bart pushed his head over the back of the chair to see Kaldur giving them a scolding smile and Connor trying to his best to ignore them by looking the other way.

"Sorry," But Bart really wasn't and they could tell he wasn't.

Right at that moment the only door in the room opened. Everyone was up and out of their seats, including Artemis whose grip only tightened on her sword. In walked Host, not even taking notice of everyone's stances, "We shall be landing at our destination in 20 minutes. If you wish to get a look of the outside you may follow me."

The Team followed Host down hall after hall. Nightwing kept a mental image of all of the halls and different rooms he saw. He never knew when what information would become important.

"May I ask where exactly our destination is?" Aqualad asked.

"As you have been told before, there are many individuals from many different planets that are involved in the sponsoring of the games. That being said, the games could not be held in any one location for fear of any one group having the advantage over the location. Thus, the games had to be held in a neutral location, so the game makers instead created a location that could be altered for any teams' unique needs. So they built this." They had reached the bridge and from there they could see a large yellow star and orbiting it was a strange looking metal structure.

The station was illuminated by the yellow sun that was scary close to it. The station itself was strange looking. The best way to describe it was that it looked like the marks on grass after lightning struck. The center, where the initial strike would have been, was a large sphere. Branching off the sphere were arms-that looked like lightening-going off in different directions.

"Welcome to Purgatory." Host's voice broke through their observations.

They landed on one of the many lightening branches that were coming off from the center of the sphere. Host guided them off the ship. They didn't beam off the ship, like how they had gotten on, because the station had anti-beaming technology for security reasons. They had barely taken one step off the ship though before twenty tall creatures carrying large staffs that had glowing red energy at the end surrounded them from all sides.

"Your team is the last to arrive." Host spoke to them from the outside of the ring the guards had created around them. "Our security team is going to escort you to your chambers but I don't get comfortable. The opening ceremonies will start in just over one standard Earth hour. There the rules will be explained to you and you will meet your sponsor."

"Sponsor?" Aqualad asked.

"Of course. You need a sponsor to pay for your food, your housing, and any and all medical needs. Those aren't cheap you know." Host ended the conversation by abruptly turning around and leading the guards down a long hallway, forcing The Team to follow them in neat formation.

Nightwing fell in line beside Aqualad. "A sponsor? Could be trouble."

"Yes. This means they could hold all the power."

"It also begs the question: what do they get out of it?"

The living arrangement they were taken to was not small. It had a kitchen with a dining area and a living room with multiple screens in the main area. It almost reminded them of the cave before it was blown up. There were two separate hallways that went in different directions. One hallway led to the bedrooms. The bedrooms looked like prison or military rooms with single twin beds that could be moved and dressers for their things. The rooms themselves were small with sliding doors that could not be locked. The walls were thin and since the rooms were all right next to each other so everything could be heard from the other rooms.

All the team did was dropped off their extra gear in their rooms then wait in the main living room. They didn't want to explore the other hallway that led to a far off location. They wanted to be close for when Host and the guards returned to take them to the opening ceremonies. So they all sat there in silence. The tension in the room was the only thing that wasn't silent.

They didn't have to wait long before their front door was opening again and Host was there with even more guards than before. "Well, I hope you are ready for the opening ceremonies because you don't have a choice."

The Team followed him out, getting into line again. Nightwing and Aqualad took the front, followed by Kid Flash and Blue Beetle. Tigress and Miss Martian took the next spot while Superboy and Beast Boy took the rear.

As Beast Boy got into line to be taken to the opening ceremonies he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The more animalistic part of him reared back on guard, ready to defend itself. It felt like someone or something was watching them but when he looked back, all he could see was an empty corridor behind them before the guards took their places behind him, blocking Beast Boy's view.

Everyone but Nightwing gasped as they entered what he could only described what looked like a ballroom with a steel and futuristic look. There was a wide open floor where seven other teams of aliens stood waiting. The other alien teams ranged from looks to sizes. The smallest team only had tree aliens. All of teams were lined up perfectly, looking at a set of stairs that led to a stage where nine other extra-terrestrials stood watching them. Nightwing had to admit that the scene almost reminded him of one of Bruce's many galas that Dick was forced to go to.

Nightwing wished he could say that as there were lined up on the far left side of the ballroom, he took the time to study the other teams and the nine people standing on the stage, but he would be lying. He started to examine the other competitors and sponsors but then his attention was drawn to one specific sponsor that stood towards the center of the stage. He couldn't explain it but he was drawn to this odd looking alien.

She was female, no doubt. Her skin was a dark purple that looked like the midnight sky and her hair and eyes were a shocking emerald green. Despite her odd looks the thing that stood out the most was the fact she looked underweight, almost anorexic. You could see her bones sticking out in unhealthy ways. The loose hot pink dress she wore did nothing to hide it.

She was a sight to see and Nightwing had the distinct feeling she was watching his as well.

"WELCOME! Contestants to the Massacre Games!" Host shouted form in front of their team. There appeared to be a Host in front of every team, in fact. Every Host looked basically the same with its humanoid form but each one's colors were different. Nightwing figured each one was designed to look like that team's world. The Hosts were not just simply announcing to each team though. They were actually translating the alien that stood in the center of the stage.

"All of you know your Host android but you do not know me. I am Cleareon, your true host and these are the opening ceremonies for The Massacre Games. Don't worry though. We won't be doing much today. We will just be going over how the games work, the rules and you will then be meeting your sponsors and making your arrangements with them."

"Arrangements?" Nightwing heard Tigress whisper.

"Starting tomorrow each of you will participate in the first round of The Massacre Games. There will be three rounds total. After each round half of the teams will either be dead or knocked out of the running. Meaning after tomorrow there will only be four teams, after the second round there will only two teams left, and after the third round only one team- the winners. It matters not if all of your teammates live to the end of the final round. It only takes one member to win. During the games cheating, sabotage, and eliminating the other teams is allowed. At any point you may forfeit. If you do though the original conditions of losing the games stand. Your world will then be faced to lose three fourths of our world's populations. If you manage to win then each surviving member of your team will be granted one wish each." Cleareon stopped to look at the eight sponsors that stood on either side of him. "These are your sponsors. Whether or not you actually get one though depends on you. Each team must come up with a reasonable deal with a sponsor that is to the sponsor's liking. If your team is unable to come to an agreement with any of the sponsors then your team will be without one. I can guarantee you that you will not survive the first round without a sponsor; your sponsor has what is called special emergency powers. At any time during the games your sponsor can step in to help you if you are losing. But this can only happen if your team creates a new deal with your sponsor. So if you find yourself in an unfavorable situation at any point, all you have to do is create a new deal with your sponsor and they can step in to help in any way possible. So make sure you get yourself a sponsor today."

Once more Cleareon paused to look at the sponsors before continuing. "With that being said, the sponsors will now approach your teams to see if there is any chance of coming to an agreement. Each sponsor has spent the last few years studying your worlds. Determining who they think will most likely win…and who will most likely lose. They will approach the teams who they want to make a deal with. Once an agreement has been made your team and your sponsor will come up with a name your world's team will go by during the games. Good luck." At once the sponsors left their places from on top of the stage to approach the different competitors. Immediately several of the sponsors rushed over to one team that had only women that looked very close to being human. Clearly the sponsors thought that world had the most likely chance to win the games.

"So let's get this right." Superboy spoke up from the back. "So far today an alien space ship showed up over Washington D.C.; we found out some douchebag signed us up for a tournament where we either have to win or all of Earth gets a major declined in population; we travel lightyears away to some space station where we are surrounded at all times by prison guards; and now we have to make a deal with one of eight devils or we won't survive when we were told the Game Makers would take care of our needs. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, I think you got everything." Beast Boy said.

"I am liking this less and less."

"Was there ever anything to like?" the rhetorical question came from Miss Martian.

Nightwing watched as none of the sponsors approached their team but approached the other worlds'. He watched as one by one different sponsors created deals with other worlds, created names for their teams, and then shouted out the names back out to Cleareon. Eventually there were only three sponsors left. The other two worlds that were left were getting desperate to come to an agreement with the remaining sponsors. They were shouting out promises and offers to them. Only Earth remained silent.

While The Team remained silent and watched all of the sponsors conversed with the remaining two worlds, Nightwing's main focus was only on one sponsor. He watched as the purple alien moved with a grace he didn't think she was capable of having. She wandered from team to team, watching are they conversed with other sponsors or tried to bribe her with offers but she never said a thing. Finally she reached their team, the last team in the line. She watched them intensely, having a stare off with them; neither side saying a thing for the longest time. Eventually it came to when the last two teams had finally come to an agreement with the other sponsors that the purple alien broke her silence.

"I am Lady Arkel. Team…Earth, correct?" she asked in a silky voice.

"That is correct." Aqualad answered.

"It seems to me that your team is the only team that does not have a sponsor. So either you make a deal with me or you will die."

Nightwing could practically taste the tension and anger that came off from everyone. They were pushed into a corner and this alien with her strange colors was taking advantage of that.

"What do you want?" Tigress growled out. Her fingers twitched as if to grab her crossbow and point it at this woman.

Lady Arkel slowly circled them; studying them, one by one. They could feel her eyes looking right through them. "My species is a strange species compared to others. We are not warriors but we do have certain…interests. We are called-how do you say-the whores of the galaxy. We seek only to fulfill our physical satisfactions."

Instantly the tension around them increased. They watched as Lady Arkel's eyes stopped on Kid Flash, freezing him in place. Blue Beetle and Tigress pulled him behind them, as if they could block Lady Arkel's lustful sight. They were determined she was not getting anywhere near him.

Lady Arkel's head moved in a sensuous fluid movement as she turned to look at Aqualad, never moving her body from in front of Kid Flash. "I require a new…companion to keep company during the games. The one you…hide will do nicely."

"No-

"Fine." Kid Flash said, interrupting Aqualad.

Tigress and Blue Beetle spun towards Kid Flash who stood there with stiff shoulders, looking only at Lady Arkel.

Lady Arkel turned her eyes back to Kid Flash, a large smile spreading on her face. "You agree to be mine while during the games?"

"Yes."

Lady Arkel pushed Tigress and Blue Beetle out of her way. She bent over to put her face directly in Kid Flash since she towered over him. In a quiet seductive voice she asked, "You also agree to do whatever I wish, whenever I wish?"

You could hear Kid Flash's gulp before he answered. "Yes. As long as you promise to make sure my team wins."

Lady Arkel's hand moved faster than they could see, before she had Kid Flash's chin in a tight grip. She pulled him towards her, smashing their lips together.

Kid Flash could only stand there as this strange woman kissed him. Her grip on his chin hurt and her lips were warm but all he could feel was a cold feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Normally when Bart kissed Jaime he would feel a warm, jittery feeling in his chest and his toes would curl. This was the exact opposite of that feeling but he would tolerate it for the sake of the team.

Superboy had to pull Blue Beetle back from attacking her. He could feel his anger going past the breaking point while his heart shattered his chest.

Finally after a few long moments, Lady Arkel pulled away. She allowed her hand to slip away from Kid Flash's chin and slip down his neck to collar bone, onto his chest until it stopped at his stomach where she could feel his runner abs through his suit. "Deal."

Lady Arkel turned back towards Aqualad, a smile still on her face. "Now, a name. Team Earth is just too…cliché. Do you have a better idea?"

Aqualad had to take a few deep breaths before he could answer her abrupt question. It took every ounce of his self-control from not taking out his water barriers and attacking this alien woman for forcing herself onto Kid Flash. "No. We do not. We've always gone by The Team."

Lady Arkel lifted a finger to her chin in a thinking pose. "Hmmm. Correct me if I am wrong but you are the younger partners to the ones known as the Justice League, yes? The ones that attacked that planet?"

"Yes. That is correct." Aqualad growled out.

Lady Arkel continued to tap her chin in a thinking way. "Younger Justice League? No." She looked at the team until her eyes finally landed on Nightwing and stayed there. "How about Young Justice?"

When she said that, something in Nightwing's mind went yes. He nodded to Lady Arkel who hadn't removed her eyes from him.

Lady Arkel gave him a large grin before turning back towards the stage where the other sponsors waited for her. She then shouted in a voice that echoed throughout the ballroom, "I present to you Earth's champions: YOUNG JUSTICE!"

December 22nd 21:13 Purgatory