(A/N: I do not own Young Justice or any DC Character. That right belongs to Warner Bros.)

There was a silence within the Conference room as the League members sat in their usual assigned seats while those that tuned in remotely stood up, their holograms within the room as well. No one in the room held a smile. There were a few that even held a few small tears within the room, including Black Canary, Zatanna, Rocket and Kaldur as they tried to do their best to keep their composure.

Black Lightning and Nightwing stood at the head of the table as they prepared to deliver the official announcement, even though they were fairly certain everyone, even those remotely, knew about what they were about to say.

Nightwing stood as stoic as ever, his face like stone as he wore possibly the grimmest expression he ever wore on his face. It had been just a few hours ago when he had heard the news and had just finished delivering the news to Artemis and Will alongside Kaldur. However, the memory of when he had received the news was still fresh on his mind.

*Earlier that day, Watchtower briefing room*

"Recognized, Nightwing 28" The computer said as Nightwing appeared into the room, fresh back from a mission.

Black Lightning, Martian Manhunter, Batman, Superman and Kaldur were all there, all seem to be waiting for someone…and Nightwing had a feeling it was him. Not one person was wearing a smile on their face. Actually, it seemed as if Superman and Kaldur were about ready to cry.

Nightwing stopped, his heart stopped as he took in the faces and realized what this could possibly mean. No matter how many scenarios his mind cooked up in the past few seconds, they all came back to a grim idea, an idea he never wanted to consider ever again since Wally's death.

"There's something we need to tell you" Batman told the young man.

"Steel has brought back horrible news as we were able to bounce the signal from the watchtower to the Javelin to Mars" J'onn announced. "It….It is about Conner"

That was all Nightwing could bring himself to recall…the memory was already to painful…and he was about to announce it to the entire League.

"As many of you may have heard recently…there was an…incident on Mars" Black Lightning said, deciding he should be the one to start.

The older man turned to Nightwing, thinking he should carry on with the announcement as he believed he should get his feelings out now, considering he was one of the most hurt within the room.

"...The Martian terrorist known as Ma'alefa'ak, also known as M'comm M'orzz, M'gann's brother and J'onn's nephew placed a bomb within the royal arena of Mars….He intended to set it off while nearly if not all the population green and red Martians were present. Having discovered the bomb, Superboy….Conner…" Nightwing said, taking a deep breath as he tried to hold himself together before continuing.

In the conference, Zatanna blew her nose on a handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

Kaldur just had his eyes closed as he tilted his head down towards the table, not trying to hide his sadness as tears fell down his face.

"Conner tried to stop the bomb from going off by throwing it in lava near the core of the planet. To do that, he had to pound through the ground to gain access to it. However, he himself fell through….and landed in the lava" Nightwing said, getting choked up again before continuing. "Usually, this wouldn't necessarily harm him due to his strength and abilities as a Kryptonian…However, he was below Mars' surface as that's where their civilization lives. Having been underneath the surface and therefore being more vulnerable due to not directly feeling the energy of the sun, he didn't have the strength he usually had. According to initial reports, there were also traces of Kryptonite within the bomb. With the lava already burning him alive and the bomb failing to be deactivated…the bomb went off…and taking Conner with it" Nightwing said, finally getting to the point that he dreaded. At that point, a few tears escaped from under his mask as he wiped it away with his gloves.

It was true too, Nightwing thought. There was no way Conner could come back from this. He knew that for sure because he had been informed that there was an outline of Conner's body on the rock wall near where the lava had been. Of course, there was no evidence to say that it was in fact Conner's outline but considering he was the only person pounding through the ground to get the bomb to the lava, he felt it was safe to say that was indeed Conner's outline.

The silence that carried on after Nightwing explained the situation as no one dared say a word. Not even Dr. Fate had anything to say as he just stared at Nightwing through his helmet. Even then, there was still a sense of stress Nightwing could see in his eyes (Although he wasn't sure if that was Dr. Fate's or Zatara's).

"Conner passed doing what he loved doing: protecting the innocent. Because of his actions, Martians of all races were saved from the explosion that threatened their species" Black Lightning added, wanting to note Conner's heroic deed in his sacrifice.

Superman couldn't help but let out a small smile. That was the man he eventually came to see as his brother. Despite his hard attitude throughout his first few years after being cloned, he always strived on saving the innocent. It was one of the many reasons he had been proud to call himself his brother…it was also one of the many reasons why he would miss him terribly. The idea that he would never see him again was a horrible thought…yet it was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

"I knew Conner for about half of my life…Me and Kaldur both met him on that same day at Cadmus. With him, we formed the Team with M'Gann…and Wally" Nightwing, his voice cracking as he recovered before continuing.

However as he said this, he could see Kaldur along with Flash's expressions worsen at the mention of their fallen friend/nephew.

"Conner was probably one of the best friends I ever had ... .to have him pass so soon and in such an atrocious way is a thought that's too terrible to even let out" Nightwing said as more tears fell down his face before continuing. "He went to Mars not as Superboy on a mission for the League, Team or Outsiders. He wasn't there as a representative for some diplomatic mission, no. He was there as a man getting married to the love of his life…who now has to live on without him by her side all because of the actions of some vindictive terrorist"

Of course, Nightwing knew he was talking about J'onn's nephew (Who was looking even more miserable than previously) but as of the moment, he honestly didn't care. This is someone that had taken the life of one of his closest friends and probably would've taken the lives of who knows how many more lives his plan had gone through like he had planned. He felt this description had been justified and was therefore going to use it.

"In this hard time, we have to mourn Conner…but we also have to be sure to be there for M'Gann, Garfield, the Kents as well as each other" Black Lightning announced. "It's a very sad time for us all and it will be for the unforeseeable future. During that time, let us be reminded that we're not just a team of heroes…we're also friends…family that are there for each other no matter the circumstance"

Both of the leaders gave the League time to consider this as they looked around the table, looking at several members they came to see as practically family throughout the years whether they had been in the League from the beginning or just a few short years. Even Batman could be seen looking throughout the room as this seems to be one of the only moments in time where the circumstance was too much even for him.

"Services for Conner's funeral will be handled by Superman and the Kent household at their own convenience. Proceedings for the funeral will be paid for upfront by the League and everyone on the League, Team and Outsiders will receive an invitation. It's strongly encouraged that everyone goes" Nightwing said, more in a pleading tone than a commanding tone.

However, the one thing Nightwing wasn't sure of was whether or not he wanted them there for the sake of M'Gann, Garfield, Clark and the Kents….or for himself.

Before he could figure that out though, the meeting was soon over and everyone had been beginning to leave whether to home or to an assignment they were supposed to go on.

Members of the former team like Zatanna and Raquel seemed too upset to speak to anyone as they left before anyone else had spoken a word to him. Kaldur just gave him a sad look before leaving as well, no doubt back to Atlantis where he could be with his boyfriend and really, Nightwing couldn't blame him. He didn't really feel like he was in a speaking mood anyway. Not yet anyway. However, there was something he wanted to do before he left.

The young man walked towards Black Canary who had just kissed Green Arrow goodbye as it seemed he was needed somewhere else, a mission probably.

"Dinah" Nightwing said as he approached the older woman who turned and looked at him approaching.

"Yes, Dick. What is it?" Black Canary asked. However, she could probably tell where this was going.

"I…know it's probably a lot to ask for given all the recent mental evaluations you've been assigned and I imagine M'Gann will need to cancel a lot hers as well but-" Nightwing tried to ask but Black Canary cut him off.

"It's not a problem, Dick. Meet me in the atrium garden next week from today at noon, Eastern time, alright?" Dinah asked, still wiping a few tears from her face.

Nightwing could understand why she was particularly upset. Her and Conner had developed a relationship that had almost been akin to a mother and son throughout the years, especially during the first few years of the original team. Losing him probably devastated her as much as it did him, Kaldur and as well as the others (Except for M'Gann, Clark and Garfield that is).

"Yeah…yeah that's fine" Dick said as she pulled Dinah in for a hug which she returned.

They stayed in that position for a while until separating. She then went off with Ollie towards the Zeta Tubes along with mostly everyone else.

Soon, Nightwing was mostly by himself with only a few League members still around chatting amongst themselves. To say he had no idea what to do now was an understatement. He couldn't even give his condolences to M'Gann because she was still in mourning on Mars. Gar was also still not back as he made his way back to Earth.

The young man felt hollow. He had lost Wally, Jason and Conner now, all three of them like brothers to him. They had been his family after he had lost his parents more than a decade ago. One by one, they were slowly disappearing from his life and he had no idea if it was going to stop any time soon…and that sense of not knowing was probably the thing that hurt the most.

What if it didn't end at Conner? Losing him was bad enough as it was but losing Kaldur? Will? The original Roy Harper, M'Gann, Raquel, Tim, Barbara….Zatanna?

Dick didn't know why but the idea of losing Zatanna seem to hurt the most. He didn't really know why. They had been drifting apart ever since they broke up. The closest they had been since was that surprise birthday kiss she gave him those years back and even then, it might as well have been more or less like he didn't exist.

Of course, this wasn't to say they didn't speak at all…but their relationship was a lot colder than it was when they first met. They only really talked to each other when they needed something from the other, mission briefings as well as get togethers for the original team (Like last year at Bibbo's). The fact that they weren't as close as before hurt…but he understood. They were broken up, after all. What right did he have to her attention? Her friendship?...Her love?

However, before getting himself into an even deeper can of worms, Nightwing let it go. He was getting tired and he honestly didn't feel like going back to his apartment right now. With that, he turned and started to head towards his private quarters, ready to take a nice, long….long nap.

Soon, the only sound the young man could hear was just his footsteps…he couldn't even hear his own thoughts, to be honest. Not that there was much to think about it with his currently blank mind.