A/N

Hello, and welcome to this newest chapter of YJ, or the highway. Where we have officially reached 3,000 views! Whoop! Whoop!

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Chapter 13: Sub-delight...

10th October, 10PM- Somewhere in the Atlantic

Kyle's POV

Floating in the supposedly freezing water, I calmly await the signal, mind swirling in a constant war of emotions. Despite the sub-zero conditions of the Atlantic Ocean, my atmospheric field maintains my body at the optimum temperature for a human. So, around 37 degrees celsius. This gives me a welcomed advantage over the rest of the underwater team. All apart from Artemis, who is also sharing my protective aura. Luckily for her, I decided not to cut it off and watch her scramble for warmth and oxygen. What's the matter with you, Kyle? Inwardly chastise my sinister, and downright disturbing thoughts.

The past few hours on the plan were both unproductive and boring, to be frank. Whereas I at least attempted to focus on something related to our mission, Superboy took it upon himself to make my miserable existence that much worse. Hence, my abysmal mood. The 'Boy of Steel' did this by shooting me malicious glares and snide remarks, every so often. Just to make matters that tiny piece more annoying, he enticed Miss Martian into breaking (or trying to) into my mind. That worked out terrific for her... not.

Taking my sweet time in procrastinating, I form bubbles and spectate them rising gently to the awaiting surface. In my opinion, this infernal waiting will be the death of me- the boredom, the sighing, and the exruciating conversations that occur. At one point, Artemis actually asked Kaldur if the Atlantean washes his gills. Out of the garbage that has been sprouted from someone's mouth in history, that has to be a quote worthy of legend. Nevermind, that he replied to her stupid question.

If I could whistle right now, I would be irritating the heck out of everyone in my vicinity. Including, but not limited to Artemis, Miss M, and Aqualad.

Finally, Kaldur swiftly raises his right hand, signalling phase one of our 'perfect' plan. Without delay, I join Megan up to the side of the submarine, surprising her in the process. "What are you doing, Kyle? " she asks, curiosity riddled on her facial expression.

"Getting inside the boat, duh. " I respond, rolling my eyes in the process. "What else would I be doing? Going for a quick hug? "

"Oh... how do you plan on doing that? " she beams, her gills weirdly flaring to intake extra air. "I want to say sorry for earlier, Conner said that he would find it funn-"

"Don't sweat it, I'm not mad." I interrupt with a blatant lie. "As for getting in, you'll see." I ambiguously answer, to which she practically giggles in anticipation. There are times I have no clue why M'egan M'orzz took the choice to sign up with the Young Justice, mainly as she always seems too innocent to be caught up in this messy business. In fact, only one thing in this employment is certain- it will mould you into a monster, free of regret; monsters never be heroes for long, only until the slayers come around.

Not allowing her to patiently wait any longer, I focus my pure anger and utter fear within me, using it to phase through the solid hull. Smoothly reaching the other side of the exterior, I await Megan to repeat my technique. But, I soon realise that she hasn't mastered it, yet. "Hang on... what was you doing there, Megan? " I confusedly scratch the base of my skull.

"Hello Megan, I completely forgot that lanterns can shift. " Miss Martian gasps. Along with that sentence, I can visually picture her slapping her forehead with a fin. I'm not going to lie, that is pretty amusing to imagine. "Now, we have to get in."

"Don't worry Megan, I have all the faith that you ca- speaking of the devil. " I cut assurance off as a hand rudely taps me on the shoulder. Judging by the weight and fingernails, it's the blonde archer in the flesh. "I'm having a convo here." I inform her, spinning around to face the she-demon.

"I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I do not care." Artemis sassily smirks.

"You are so boring." I huff and brush past her, heading deeper into what appears to be a machine room of some sort. Around me are endless whirring machines and pumps, chiming together like a synchrony. To an artist such as me, it's particularly beautiful to behold; it would make a spectacular painting, or a sketch. However, I suppose work comes first, as it also tends to be viewed as more important.

"Kyle, your assistance would be appreciated, please." I unconsciously stumble onto Aqualad attempting to unlock a door, or... break it down?

"What are you doing?" I chuckle at the way he is oddly alternating between twisting the handle and knocking on the front, as if someone will pop up, and answer. "I'm sure that the door has never done anything to you." I coolly shuffle him out of the equation and lift up the locking handle, therefore overcoming the obstacle.

"Thank you." he cordially gives his gratitude. Even after everything I have done, Kaldur still retains his usual dignity and respect; good for him, I guess. "The door design is unfamiliar to me." he adds on, brow furrowed in thought.

"It's new," I explain. "called the Anti-Atlantean, I think." I joke, in a hearty try at raising morale. After, it takes Kaldur a good three minutes before he came to terms with my jest. Still, he only puffed and marches away in a style that Darth Vader would be astonished by. "You're welcome." I mutter under my breath.

"Come with me, Kyle, the others may have found a way into the hold." he orders out of the blue, stopping halfway into the machine room to let me catch up. Wondering how he knows, I hastily dart to his position, falling a brisk walk beside him.

As we head to the others, I take a moment to have a brief think about recent catastrophes. Considering that I was kicked out of my life's ambition, I feel like I am handling it well. Yeah, the corp may have ruined my dreams, yet I am on track to achieve another. The Green Lantern Corp gifted me a short insight into the twisted reality of heroism. In theory, it's about saving countless civilian lives. On the other hand, it's far from the true nature- characterised by pain and sacrifice. It has its shortcoming, but so too does every job in the present Earth. Most people worry about wages and taxes, but we stress about when the next supervillain will assault the world. Oh the joys.

Then, you have the ones similar to us- Young Justice. Those few that are outshone by their mentors, struggling to create our own future. Those few that give their everything each day, to be confronted with content from Batman. Those few that are ready to take a leap of faith, jumping into a world shaped by us, and us alone. Mark my words, as when that fateful day arrives, I will achieve what I set out to do. I will attain pure peace.

"Keep your head in the mission." Aqualad bluntly snaps at me, washing away my reflective musings.

"But... I was." I return with a snort.

"Being serious is never your specialty, is it? " he rhetorically asks.

"What's got you in such a foul state? " I beseech for information, deeply concerned for the Atlantean. Taking into account he barely ever shows a flicker of emotion, this must be a dire circumstance. "Is this about your Queen?" I apprehensively presume.

"Yes, it is." he divulges, without revealing any further details about his emotional wellbeing.

Taking his following silence as a hint that he no longer wants to converse, I do the correct thing for once and shut up. Every painstaking angle of approach closed off, I purse my lips and sway as I follow Kaldur to the others. Exiting the engine room/Machinery galore, we literally bump into the two females of the YJ strike force. "Watch it, Kyle! " Artemis telepathically shrieks like a banshee the instant I collide with her.

"Calm down, you might wake up the bad guys." I cheekily wink at her.

"I swear." she starts, waving her fist threateningly in the air. "Ughh... forget it." she furiously drops her head, sliding her hand onto her hip instead.

"If I was you, I would learn to check that anger of yours." I advise her, a flicker of truth in my words. Only god knows how much I understand her fury.

"Back to the mission." Kaldur directs us to deeper within the metal beast. To be honest, it's a shame that Aqualad doesn't scream and yell at us; maybe then will we finally heed his orders. "Kyle, go with Artemis and secure the bridge. Me and Miss Martian will rescue my Queen. " Kaldur commands with a hard as steel tone, subtly telling us not to screw it up by arguing.

Almost mockingly saluting the leader, I halt my arm midway and transform it into a yawn. Then, I follow Artemis to our supposed target. After all, he is assuming that we reach the bridge and not maul each other before we hit the midsection of the submerged vessel. From time to time, we have a fair chance of getting along, but as of late it's becoming substantially tougher; guess I shouldn't have saved her backside in Bialyia, though that would be a douche move. And, I am not a douche... only a half-douchbag. The other half is a cross between a god and Michael Jordan, who are practically the same species of awesome.

"Damn it Kyle, you're doing that thing again." I blurt out before I remembered that the link is still active in our minds.

"If you're going to annoy me, do it with your voice, please. Having you in my head will cause permanent brain damage." Artemis drowsily says with her actual voice.

"Sorry for being a nuisance." I sarcastically sneer. "We all know that your brain is your best asset."

"What was that!?" she spins around, scarcely holding her volume down to an acceptable level. I mean, we are on a highly important mish to rescue a damsel in distress, right? It's the least the sassy cretin can do.

"What do you mean?" I teasingly smirk back at her, not flinching under her wrathfilled gaze.

"You know what I mean." she menacingly waves a finger in front of nose, vexing me a bit. "Do you ever think before you open that big hole you call a mouth?" she shakes her head. Just as I found a witty defense, I realised that she has a valid point in some perspectives. Throughout my existence, I normally talk with my instincts, uttering the first sentence that emerges in my throat.

"Do I have to answer that?" was my eventual avoidance of her thought provoking question. In typical fashion for Artemis, she puffs and struts away like the diva she is. "Hey! Wait for me!" I call out whilst speeding to catch up with the female blonde.

Upon reuniting with my inconsistently empathetic ally, I slow down and reduce my pace to match her co-ordinated powerwalk. Her movements are balanced and straight, never straying from a direct path. Huge amounts of contained rage flow off her posture, being detected by my power ring.

However, her emotions gradually fade as we approach the bridge, both confidently and hesitantly. Whether we are feeling brave or not, we can only estimate the amount of soldiers that await us on the other side. Couple that with uncertainty in my current capabilities and we have a predicament that I can't solve by smashing it with a massive hammer. Still, I could pretend that the anxiety is creeping into my thoughts.

"Wait." I instruct Artemis, begging her somewhat. "Can we talk for a second? You know, before we enter a room which is bound to be filled with several... guys with big guns? Just so we're... clear about our... plan." I ask, my voice unwillingly croaking towards the end.

"OMG, are you scared?" her tone is a mix of nihilism and absolute amusement. I can't deny that she is quite sharp; picking up my fear was intelligent enough, nevermind that I didn't believe I was frightened, until she pointed it out to me. "Ha, you are, aren't you?"

"Woah, hold up there Robin Hood. Who said anything about being scared?" I clench my teeth in annoyance.

"You can't lie to me, Kyle." she teasingly shrugs off my question. "Your face tells me all I need to know- scared like a baby boy in the dark."

"How dare you lecture me about being scared!" I exclaim, taking a brazen step forward in her direction. "I know fear! It's the thing that both demotivates you, and drives you on! It's a living nightmare that never goes away; It's that phobia that plagues you, since you were a small child!" I gasp for air, calming down from the outburst. "I am fear." I sinisterly whisper directly in her face, causing her to stumble back a few paces. "Now that's settled, let's begin."

Rubbing my hands together from a dark delight- fuelled by fury- I observe the door slide open with a morbid fascination. Shocked at our abrupt arrival, the guards inside dart up and boldly aim their laser weapons at us. The tenseness of their shoulders conveys to me that they won't hesitate in shooting us, if given the hostile signal. Every Manta soldier in the bridge is focused on our bodies, paying special care to the limbs- arms and legs. Furthermore, they seem to have lost a competent NCO, judging by the fact they haven't already fired upon us. We are their sworn enemies, after all. "Me, or you?" I imply to Artemis. Out of my peripheral vision, I can make out her slender form, bow raised in hand.

"Such a gentleman."

Those three words catapulted a chain of events that led to a serious encounter between the lackies and us. Firstly, Artemis' premier trick arrow sliced into the control panel, jolting electricity through and frying the computers. Shortly after, a constructed ball slams into a guard's helmet, knocking him to the ground like a potato. Utilising my rage, I help lay waste to the soldier, sending several backwards with a singly burst of energy. Their bodies land painfully on the hard, metal floor, contacting with an audible thump.

Before any of the rest could hope to fully raise their guns, Artemis releases smoke into the room via one of her non-lethal gadgets, aiming it at the floor in the centre of the bridge. The remaining soldiers cough and splutter, clearly unaccustomed to the harshness of tear gas; the helmets must not provide an air filter along with the evil appearance. If you are designing a helmet, it's common sense to place in a filter of some kind.

My blood boils as Artemis dispatches another shaking guard. There is no way I'm allowing her to outscore me. I motivate myself. Scratch that, she just did! I groan, spectating as she neutralises the last combatant with a shock arrow to the armoured chest.

"I can hear you." her pestering voice enters my mind.

"Shut up! And, help me secure this bridge! " I push back. "How are the things on your end guys? " I feebly ask anyone that will answer.

"Uh, good, I suppose." Miss Martian's curiously forced words shoot back via the link.

"Is it just me, or are you doing something... intense? You know, some hero stuff... like fighting? " I cheerily imply. "Then again, you could be baking, as you tend to get excited when doing that."

"Oh no, we are fighting. There's two of them, and they are really angry. Do you mind helping us? " Miss M randomly grunts during her question, signifying that she may have been introduced to a fist or foot.

"We're on our way."

Kaldur's POV

My body screams at me to halt as I vigorously continue my frontal charge, dealing with the two villains that are blocking my path to the brig; my Queen is in danger, and I cannot afford to submit to these foul beings. One of them is the King's mortal enemy, the Black Manta; the other is what I can only describe as a young boy, but... more chaotic. This attack is my third venture into the fray of this biased battle. The fruitless assaults that preceded this one were equally one sided- the felons hold the major advantage.

This time... I will succeed.

A/N

Did you people enjoy?

Just so you know, once this is over I will be writing a second series, which will focus on a 'B Team '. This backup squad will include several new heroes: Hawkboy, Kid Shazam, Raven, Chilled, and Terra. So, a few new faces and a few old. I hope you like the idea.

Still, there is too many chapters of this left to go, thus... you will have to wait and see about the dramatic ending of this book. I'm so sorry, but that's the way it has to go.

See you soon,

Kyle Rayn-

No, just me.