Sorry its been soooo long since my last update! It wasn't only because I was busy, but really also because I initially didn't know what to do with this chapter :p
Hugs to all of you who have favorited, story alerted and reviewed! I so feel the aster when you do! Even those who just read, thank you so much! Anyways, on to the story~ I apologize if it seems rushed! I still hope you guys enjoy it! Happy reading~
p.s NIGHTWING IS HOT! (that is all :3)
"_" normal converstion
'_' mind link
Klarion cackled and held up his arms, summoning an army of shadow creatures around him. They rose from the ground and took on monstrous shapes, varying in size and appearance. Teekl, who was standing poised beside his master, grew to the size of a large tiger and let out a fierce growl that shook the cave.
"Attack!" Klarion yelled, pointing to the group of older heroes. His shadow army targeted the league members, pushing them to the far corner of the room, while the young justice team was left to face Klarion head on.
The lord of Chaos snickered at them, breathing out a burst of dark fire from his mouth. The team spread out quickly, dodging the fire and took a battle stance. Teekl pounced forward and began attacking as well, swiping his long sharp claws at Robin and Kid Flash; both who evaded easily. Robin countered by throwing several of his birdarangs in Teekl's direction, only for them to be cut swiftly into halves by the cat's razor sharp claws.
'Anyone have a battle plan?' Artemis asked through the mind link while firing an array of explosive arrows at the protective dome of dark magic Klarion had conjured around himself.
Megan flew through the air and hurled pieces of debris at Klarion. 'What about the helmet of Fate? Maybe it could-'
'NO.' both Wally and Kaldur voiced through the mind link.
'When I adorned the helmet during our fight with the Injustice league, Nabu almost took me for its permanent host. If it wasn't for Kent Nelson's assistance, there is no question that I would still be under his control.' Kaldur continued. 'We cannot afford such a risk.'
Kaldur shaped and hardened the water from his water bearers into maces and swung powerfully at the dome.
'What about his cat?' Wally suggested while skidding across the floor; swiftly changing direction to avoid blasts of dark energy Klarion had aimed at him. 'From the time Nabu took over my body, we discovered that Klarion couldn't remain in this realm without his 'familiar'. It's what's keeping him here.'
The team nodded and changed their target of attack from the Lord of Chaos, to his large pet. Conner, who was the closest at the time, managed to land a punch on the overgrown feline and sent it flying to the wall. Klarion's form wavered a bit, but turned solid again after a few seconds.
He glared at the team. "How dare you hurt Teekl!" he yelled. His eyes glowed red and soon pillars of dark fire rose from the ground around the team. Teekl transformed back into a normal sized cat and stood on his wounded leg next to Klarion inside the protective dome.
'Looks like we need another plan.' Wally thought.
'You don't say..' Artemis rolled her eyes.
The team tried attacking the dome again, this time simultaneously. It didn't cause so much as a scratch, and the team was propelled backwards from the backlash.
'We need to fight magic with magic!' Robin shouted through the mind link. Wally was opened his mouth to speak, but quickly snapped it shut when the boy wonder growled softly with a glare, 'Don't even try to say it doesn't exist right now, Wally.'
Kaldur continued to strike Klarion's shield. 'My level of ability in the mystic arts cannot compare to his. We will need someone stronger and more experienced.' He grunted as the force of another of Klarion's blasts threw him backwards.
'Aside from the only other magic user here strong enough to face Klarion is..'
'Zatara!' the entire young justice team yelled through the mind link. Klarion swept his hand playfully through the air, sending out a wave of dark energy. Conner, Megan and Kaldur jumped into the air, while Wally, Robin and Artemis ducked under it.
'Well then, lets get him here!' Artemis shouted, letting loose another arrow that bounced harmlessly off the dome.
'Yeah, about that. Looks like he's a little busy.' Conner said, after turning to look behind him. The rest of the team followed his gaze and saw that their mentors weren't faring any differently than they were.
Every time a league member destroyed a shadow creature, 3 more would take its place. And now, they were greatly outnumbered.
'Artemis, Robin, Kid Flash, go assist the league while the rest of us here distract Klarion. Get Zatara and regroup back here.' Kaldur ordered.
The three teens nodded and ran towards the direction of their mentors. Megan turned invisible, floated through the air and sent psychic attacks at Klarion. Conner and Kaldur, punched at the dome, trying to divert Klarion's attention toward themselves.
The lord of Chaos snickered playfully, and lifted up a single finger at the two boys, sending them both hurtling through the air. Conner tried to shift his weight but wasn't quick enough, and eventually knocking into Megan. The three teens fell to the ground the struggled to stand up.
"Bye bye Baby Justice." He laughed and sent large blasts of fire at the trio. The attack came at the teens, who closed their eyes preparing for the impact. Though, it never came. The fire seemed to hit an invisible wall a few metres away from the teens and dissipated into nothing.
"What the?" Klarion frowned and fired again only for the exact same thing to happen.
"Stop this Klarion!" a voiced boomed behind Klarion. The dark lord turned only to see Zatara floating above him with Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis on another floating platform behind.
"Ergghh. Not you again old man.. You know you're no match for me." he smiled wickedly.
"Alone, perhaps not. But I'm not exactly alone now am I?" Giovanni smiled back.
"Soahc Emod Yort sed!" Zatara chanted aloud. The dome wavered and fell apart, exposing the Lord of Chaos and his familiar.
"Now!" Kaldur ordered, and the team sprung into action.
Conner and Megan threw furniture, Artemis shot her exploding arrows, Wally ran in and got a few punches in before speeding away from the flying furnishings. Kaldur swung his electrified water whips and Robin threw his well-aimed birdarangs.
Klarion was able to deflect most of the attacks, but one of Robin's birdarangs eventually got through and hit Teekl. The feline yelped in pain and fell onto his side. Klarion yelled out in anger as his form wavered again.
"No no no no no! This wasn't supposed to happen! How are you brats still fighting so well? 'Knightmare' was supposed to split you guys apart!"
"I guess you didn't think this through, Lord of Annoyance." Artemis smirked.
"Yeah! If anything, we ought to thank you. Thanks to the dreams, we're now closer than ever." Wally smiled and glanced at Artemis. She smirked back.
Klarion bent down to pick up Teekl and clutched him in his arms. He held up a hand beside him and summoned a swirling black and dark red portal.
"Ah, whatever.." Klarion sighed. "At least you brats cured my boredom a bit. Oh well, until next time then kiddies." He laughed and jumped into the portal. The team watched as the portal swirled closed, and collectively sighed in relief. A few moments later, their mentors arrived at their sides and looked over their proteges.
"What happened to the shadow creatures?" Megan asked after her uncle checked for any injuries.
"They vanished when Klarion disappeared into the portal. It seems that they were not able to hold onto their forms without their master."
Megan nodded and hugged her uncle, glad that the fight was over. The rest of the team members smiled and chatted with their mentors before eventually settling down onto the couch.
Batman addressed the present league members and the team, with Robin standing proudly at his side. "It seems that Klarion will not be attacking again anytime soon, so it would now be best for the team to get some rest and sleep. Proper sleep. The team will meet back in the mountain at 2pm tomorrow."
Every member of the young justice team didn't bother to question Batman's order. 1) Because he was the Goddamn Batman. and 2) Because they all felt that they were going to collapse anytime soon. They had just been in a long, painful battle with the Little lord of Darkness, not to mention the strain on minds from the experience with their shared nightmares from earlier that day. They needed some serious shut eye.
Batman and Robin were the first to move, heading towards to the zeta tubes. Robin turned back and waved as his teammates as Batman keyed in the code to transfer them to the Batcave.
"Bye Dick!" Wally yelled from the couch, a knowing smirk stretched on his face. Artemis and Megan gave similar farewells. "See ya Dickie!" "See you soon Dick!" "Till tomorrow my friend" (Kaldur you spoil sport xD) Conner just nodded and smiled.
Batman twitched and stared down at his little bird, who was waving back to the team. The league members and team watched in amusement as Robin smiled back up to his father and let out a "What?" before the light engulfed them both and transported them away.
Flash ruffled Wally's hair, "You hungry kiddo?" Wally beamed up at his uncle. "You bet!" And they speedsters left too, in a flash of white light. One by one, the number of people of the cave lessened as they left through the zeta tubes. Aquaman and Kaldur left for Poseidonis, as he thought it would be best for Kaldur to recover there. Artemis returned to her home in Gotham after waving goodbye to Green Arrow and Black Canary, with Zatara leaving right after them.
Megan reassured her uncle she was unharmed, and opted to stay in the cave since it was her home. J'onn checked her over one last time before nodding and promising to visit again tomorrow before leaving through the tubes.
After Conner watched each member leave, he turned to walk towards his room, when suddenly a hand gently grabbed his shoulder. Conner turned around in surprise and stared at Superman. After all, this was one of the rare times the man of steel had actually tried to make contact with him. Megan saw what was happening and floated into the kitchen smiling, leaving the kryptonians to themselves.
"Hey, I just wanted to say that.. you did a good job today." Superman said awkwardly. Conner couldn't help but smile.
"Ermm. Thanks. Maybe.. I'd be better if you could, you know, train me a little." the teen asked nervously.
Superman just nodded softly and smiled back. 'Well, at least thats something', Conner thought. He didn't accept, but he didn't refuse either, so maybe he still had a chance. Superman waved goodbye to Megan and Conner before finally leaving the cave.
Megan came out from behind the counter and kissed Conner. Both wrapped their arms around each other and just stood there holding each other for awhile, before deciding that the should get some sleep. They gave a final kiss goodbye and retreated to their rooms.
That night, every member of the team had the most peaceful sleep they'd had for years. With all the secrets finally out, what was left behind now was immense trust. They couldn't wait to see each other tomorrow, knowing it was definitely going to be an asterous day.
Hope you guys liked it. I swear this is the longest chapter I have ever written! I was originally going to stop at the part where Klarion left, but the rest just wrote itself! :D I'm sure you guys are glad I continued though!
Note: For those who don't know, this story was written before Zatanna and Rocket joined the team and is set in the first season, so.. no time skip.
Anyways, please please review! They always make me happy! I'm probably going to write one more chapter after this, so look out for it :D
I miss Supermartian.. :'(