Hello, heroes and villains. Centurion Maximo here and welcome back to Young Justice: Their War, Our World! I know the last chapter was a lot to deal with, but it will get better, just not right away. Batman is dead, courtesy of Bludgeon. Needless to say, there are dark times ahead.

Now, back to the action!

*Outer Space. The Watchtower. 23:00 pm*

The League and the Team had just dispersed from another gathering at his memorial. Robin had been sealing himself off ever since his father figure's murder. Though, who could blame him? He'd been having nightmare after nightmare of Batman being killed right in front of him. Everyone had tried talking to him, but he was just silent the whole time. There was a glowing blue hologram of Batman on a pedestal. "I can't even imagine what Robin's going through." Flash said quietly.

"I can." Green Lantern cut in. "He is mourning the death of his mentor who was basically his father-figure."

"Things in the mountain aren't good." Black Canary said. "Robin has sealed himself off from everyone. He only comes out to train and that's it. He doesn't even eat."

"This is not good at all." Martian Manhunter added. "Losing someone you love is very, very hard to move past. He'll need his friends."

"Easier said than done, J'onn." Black Canary brought up. "He won't talk to anyone."

*Happy Harbor. Mount Justice. Robin's Quarters. 07:29 am*

Robin was just lying on his bed, not moving. He didn't really feel like doing anything, not even surfing the net. People have been trying to cheer him up, but to no avail. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "I'm not interested in talking today."

"It's Zatanna." Zatanna said outside the door.

Robin sighed as he got up and let Zatanna in. "What do you want? Everyone else has already tried."

"I'm not here with anyone else nor am I trying to cheer you up. I know that's kind of pointless. However, you need a friend here." Zatanna said.

Robin sighed again. "I appreciate you not trying to cheer me up, Zatanna. Honestly, I don't want to be cheered up right now."

"I understand that, but you can't be alone, especially in times like this." Zatanna continued as she proceeded to sit beside Robin. "If you let yourself wallow in despair, your sadness will consume you."

"Wow. That's a bit much." Robin quietly quipped. "Thanks, Z." He lightly hugged Zatanna who hugged back. "I'd still like to be alone some more."

"Of course." Zatanna got up and left Robin's room.

*Isla Santa Prisca. 8:09 am*

The Machination had a massive celebration, in honor of Bludgeon killing Batman. They were already pressing their newfound advantage. Gathering more willing recruits, and continuing experiments on the civilians captured. "Wow, that was some party last night." Lucas groaned with a smile.

"You're telling me." Mammoth smiled.

"Oh, remind me to never drink that much again." Killer Frost almost retched, but held it in.

"It was truly a night of good oil and ale!" Hammerstrike grinned.

"Statistically, our performances are much improved. We must keep this up." Ragebyte advised.

"How goes the experiments, Venomsting?" Storm Surge asked.

"They are proceeding excellently!" Venomsting exclaimed happily. "I've managed to unlock the meta-gene inside one of them: Test Subject: Toni Ericson."

"That is excellent news." Admiral Hook smiled.

"Even better, I have made contact with Joshua Joyce of a company called KSI and a disgruntled government agent named Harold Attinger. Both have agreed to join us in our plans." Ivo revealed with a smug smile.

*Happy Harbor. Mount Justice. Robin. 9:12 am*

Robin actually decided to take a walk around while avoiding everyone still when he overheard the Autobots chatting among themselves. "How could Bludgeon be on Earth and gain power from the Earth Gather to become a Pretender?" Bishop asked.

"It is unlikely that the Earth Gather is responsible for Bludgeon becoming a Pretender, Bishop." Optimus reasoned.

"I'm assuming things aren't going well where you are." Bumblebee guessed.

"Well, since Batman's dead and Bludgeon's the one that performed that deed in front of everyone, that's an understatement, Bumblebee." Bishop snarked.

"Robin's the most crushed out of all of them." Windstrike hung her head a little low. "Everyone's been trying to talk to him, but to no avail."

"Who can blame him? His mentor was struck down by the greatest Decepticon Martial Artist." Jazz commented. "It's impressive Batman lasted as long as he did."

"No, it isn't." Bishop said darkly. "Bludgeon probably wasn't even using half his power. Now that he's on Earth, this war just became a lot more difficult to win."

Robin was torn. How could the Autobots keep them from knowing about Bludgeon from him, the Team? The League? Sneaking past them, he hopped on his motorcycle, speeding off into the distance, tears threatening to pool in his eyes once again.

Soon, he was in the city, mainly looking for some thugs to beat up when he heard screaming. He sped to the source where he saw a man with two katanas slicing up weapons and kicking thugs down. Robin's mind immediately drifted to Bludgeon and he ran over. The man saw this and ran off in the opposite direction. "Hey! Get back here!" He shouted angrily, thinking the man was Bludgeon. A minute later, Robin saw the man speeding off in a white, red, and yellow Nissan Silvia S15, and he decided to make pursuit. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. When the stranger was out of sight, he grunted in anger.

*Bali, Demon Swamp. 11:32 am*

Strange things were happening in Demon Swamp as large purple and yellow insectoid robots were climbing out of the trees as well as devouring them. Even worse, the robot insects seemed to be multiplying as there were multiple large dark green and purple pods hissing as they opened up, releasing more robot insects.

*Metropolis. Clark's Apartment. 12:23 pm*

Clark was keeping busy with a new article about the Machination until Lois walked through the door. "How are you holding up?" Lois asked in concern.

Clark sighed loudly as he hung his head down. "Not well, Lois. I failed him."

"It wasn't your fault, Clark." Lois reassured.

"If I'd gotten there faster…" Clark lamented.

"Clark, from what you've told me, this new member of this… Machination was powerful and very skilled." Lois said. "You need to have hope that things will work out at some point."

"I hope you're right, Lois." Clark hugged Lois as tears threatened to spill out of his eyes again.

Hello, everyone. I hope you all liked this chapter of Young Justice: Their War, Our World despite what happened in the last chapter. Joshua Joyce and Harold Attinger from Age of Extinction have been name dropped as well as Joshua's company: KSI thanks to Professor Ivo. Who knows what the Machination will do with KSI's resources. Meanwhile, Robin has seen Drift on Earth, but thinks he is Bludgeon. Before all that however, Robin and Zatanna have a little bonding moment.

We also pay another visit to Demon Swamp in Bali where robot insects are multiplying quickly. Later, we see Clark being comforted by Lois in Metropolis. Clark has told Lois about the Machination so she could be on guard more.

As usual, if anyone has any ideas for this story, please let me know in the comments/reviews, or personally PM me.