Young Justice 1. Chapter 1

Before this begins, not really my idea; Mala and I were talking about the episode of Bane from B:TAS and she stated the fact that the storyline could be tweaked for Young Justice...so this story was born.

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><p>Bane's Revenge<p>

Santa Prisca; Team Year Two

The meeting had been set up days ago, but then again it took time to get two of the attendees out of Belle Rev.

"So nice you could all make it." The largest of the three standing side by side said.

"This better be good, Savage." The woman staring at three said.

"My dear Ivy, did you think we wouldn't have a good reason for you all to get your revenge on the Team." The woman of the 'leaders' said.

"What those brats did is retributionable." The skinny man of the 'guests' said; his white face showing even in the dark.

"I am still down much money from when they destroyed my factory." The largest of the 'guests' said.

"All of you will get what you wish; an end to the Team once and for all. The three of you all know the children well enough through your encounters with them, and so we have a plan to get them out of them….and make them suffer." 'Savage' said.

It was then that the three leaders walked into the one large diameter beam of light and they were revealed to be three members of the light. They were revealed to be Vandal Savage, Queen Bee and Lex Luthor. The three guests then walked into the beam and were revealed to be Joker, Poison Ivy, and Bane.

"What about the Kryptonian clone?" Bane asked.

"Ah yes, Superboy. I have planned for his…..removal as well." Luthor said as he pulled out a large briefcase and threw it in front of the Venom enhanced villain.

Bane bent down to open the case and as he did, a green glow covered him. The case was completely open and the glow was coming from the chains and shackles within. Also in the case was an IV bag filled with the same green glow within a liquid and there was also a needle that was green as well.

"A little bit of overkill, don't you think, Luthor." Ivy asked, seeing the contents of the case.

"Oh this is just to lure in the main bait. Superman and Superboy have become close, so if the clone is in trouble…then Superman will come running. Once he does, the bullet within the briefcase will END him." Luthor stated.

The three guests all grinned as evilly as they could as Bane closed the case.

"The children are all off in their own cities tonight. Choose your first target, then the others will come running." Queen Bee stated.

"Oh goody…I finally get to have my….jollies; hahahahahahaha." Joker said and with that, the three guests left out with Bane carrying the briefcase full of the Kryptonite items.

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Gotham City; Two Days Later

Batman was on monitor duty on Watchtower, so it was up to the 15 year old twin wonders to take care of Gotham for two days. They were out patrolling the city when suddenly a plant came up behind them and almost captured them. The girl was able to send fire at the plants and burn them. As the plants started to burn, the smoke coming off of them looked funny, and that's when the boy realized what it was.

"Cardinal, that smoke is Joker Venom; careful." The boy said, and with that he reached for a mask that covered the whole lower half of his face.

Cardinal did the same thing, and soon enough, the Joker Venom and the plants were gone. The twins didn't want to leave anything unchecked, so they followed the ashes from the burned plants, and soon they found who sent them.

"So, the twins are all alone…wonderful." The female with vines moving all around her said.

The twins were worried at first, but then the man of the duo took off running, his familiar laugh echoing though the alley he went down.

"I'll get Joker." The Boy wonder said and he ran off to follow the clowned prince of crime.

"You two shouldn't have split up, girl wonder." The woman said as she sent some of the vines around her toward Cardinal.

"Well, we figured two on two wouldn't be fair to you and Joker, Ivy." Cardinal said as she dodged the fast moving vines and sent a fireball at their creator. The fireball hit its mark, but when the smoke cleared, Ivy was still standing, and vines were burned instead.

"Your brother destroyed my baby back in Bayou Bartholomew; so you'll BOTH suffer for that." Ivy said, and she created vines that were as fast as Kid Flash that wrapped themselves around Cardinal's arms and legs.

Cardinal struggled and was about to heat up her body to burn the vines, but she heard movement behind her and suddenly, without seeing who did it, an inhibitor collar was placed around her neck. The young heroine had experienced the collar before, so she knew that she was going to get weak quickly. Cardinal struggled even harder to get free, but the vines did not give way.

"Hello chica." A familiar heavily accented voice said.

"Bane. Since when do Gotham's villains team up like this?" Cardinal said as the venom using South American came into view.

"Oh this is much bigger than Gotham…..soon you, your brother and **all** your little friends will be out of the Light's hair…..for good." Ivy said, and she commanded the vines holding the Girl Wonder still started to grow thorns and injected poison into Cardinal.

Cardinal immediately started to feel like she was going to vomit and a weakness even more than having her powers cut off was hitting. She couldn't stay conscious and within a minute, the Girl Wonder was out of the game…at least until she came to later.

"I must say, my dear Ivy; I'm curious as to what you did to the young chica." Bane said as he lifted the heroine's head by the chin.

"Toxins from the Black Locust plant. She was already weak from the collar, but with that toxin in her, she couldn't stay conscious." Ivy said, and the plants holding Cardinal released her.

Bane picked up the girl and gently carried her away. Ivy wasn't far behind as she made sure that all of her 'babies' were gone with no trace that she was there.

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Joker's Funhouse; Half an Hour Later

The clowned prince was ready for Robin, and the boy wonder didn't know how ready. Joker headed into the large clown mouthed building and Robin was close behind.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Joker laughed and Robin followed it all the way through the house of mirrors.

The Boy Wonder found himself surrounded by mirrors and as he turned back to the exit, he saw Joker blocking it.

"You are mine, Wonderboy. HAHAHAHAHAHA." Joker said and he pulled out two knives and started right into attacking the 15 year old acrobat.

Robin was dodging everything, and when he found an opening, he pulled some birdarangs from his belt and threw them. Joker dodged them and they hit a mirror and that's when Robin stopped moving.

As the mirror fell, Robin saw his sister hanging by her wrists with thick vines as the restraints. Robin was both angry and worried.

"Curious, Niño; your Hermana is very skilled, but once her powers were cut off, well…..you get the idea." A voice said.

Robin knew exactly what was going on when the voice said 'her powers were cut off', and so he relaxed a bit to show that he was willing to listen.

"Cardinal is experiencing a bit of poisoning along with the collar, so you'll have to forgive her for not saying hello." A female voice said.

"LET….HER….GO." Robin said; a deep and dark tone to his voice.

"I'm sorry Niño, but both of you will be coming with us." The first hidden voice said.

"Want to take me down, Bane; then you'll have to come out and fight me." Robin said.

Soon enough, Bane came walking out of the shadows, and so did Poison Ivy. The boy wonder was nervous, but he had to get his sister out of there, and so he would. Bane activated his Venom and was twice his size now. Robin went right for Bane and had his eskrima sticks at the ready to fend off any punches. The two were fighting hard, but what Robin didn't know was that Bane was just the distraction. Ivy kept out of this fight as she knew that Joker would be the one to injure Robin, so she let the clown have his fun. Just as Robin was thrown into a mirror far away from Cardinal, Joker was ready to strike, and so he pulled out some of his signature razor edged playing cards and threw them.

Robin was still getting up when the cards reached him, and all five hit him in different places. He didn't feel strong right after they hit; then he saw the three villains grinning. There wasn't any time for Robin to fight back as Bane grabbed him and squeeze very hard. The boy wonder wasn't crying out but he struggled very hard and this caused Bane to squeeze harder. Robin felt a couple of his ribs crack and soon enough he passed out from the strain on his body and whatever was on the playing cards.

"It's too bad we can't finish them off now, but they are only two of the seven we want, so the twins can still be of use to us." Bane said as he gently held Robin's unconscious body.

Joker and Ivy began to grin wickedly and Ivy told her vines to bring Cardinal along with them as all three headed out of the hall of mirrors and to their real base of operations.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Metropolis; Five Hours Later

Ever since the invasion of Watchtower by The Light; Superboy and Superman have been working on their relationship. Clark Kent would never admit it in front of Bruce, but he was glad to have found out what Conner was really like. Today, they were just hanging out and walking around town having a bonding day.

"Conner, I'm sorry for how I acted when we found you, Robin, Kid, and Aqualad at Cadmus. Batman tried to get me to see that you needed me and I wouldn't listen." Clark said.

Conner laughed and Clark looked confused.

"After the AMAZO incident, Batman was congratulating us and said that we had impressed the League. I jumped in and said 'the WHOLE League' then Batman answered with 'Given time, yes…Kryptonians, as you know, have **very** hard heads.'" Conner said, remembering how he felt when the team was first starting.

"That sounds like Batman; but he's also right." Clark said as he let out a chuckle. "How about I fly you around?"

"That would be cool." Conner said.

He never developed the power to fly because of the human part of his DNA, and without Luthor's shields, he never would again after using the last one to fight Mammoth when the team was ambushed in the Smokey Mountains. With that, Clark quickly changed after they entered an alley way and took to the skies, after grabbing Superboy's hands.

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Central City; Same Time

Flash and Kid Flash were racing around the city trying to stop the Central Rouges from robbing the first Central City Bank. Captains Cold and Boomerang had split off from Mirror Master and Trickster, so the speedsters had to split up.

Kid Flash followed the captains and it wasn't an easy fight to take them down. These two worked well together, and that's when the fastest kid alive had to think even faster. He saw an opening in the way they were attacking, so he went for it. As Boomerang threw some of his signature weapons, Cold was trying everything to put a sheet of ice down in front of Kid Flash. The young hero was able to dodge all attempts AND as he ran between the villains, Cold fired his ice gun and hit Boomerang.

As Cold was trying to get over the shock of freezing his partner; Kid was able to run up and grab the ice gun and shot Cold with it, freezing him as well. With two of the four Rouges taken care of, Kid went to help his mentor/uncle with the other two.

As Kid Flash arrived at the bank, he saw that Flash had already taken care of Mirror Master and Trickster.

"Alright, let's get out of here, how about a race to see who can home first." Flash said as the police started to handle things.

"Alright, but no splitting up or shortcuts; longest way through the city and first one to your place wins." Kid said, hoping this time he would surpass his faster uncle.

"You're on, Kid." Flash said, and they took off.

They were running up the side of the largest building in the city and Kid stopped on the roof. Flash stopped when he saw his nephew had and followed the 17 year old's stare.

"No." Flash said as he and Kid Flash walked over to the objects.

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Back in Metropolis

As the brothers flew near the Daily Planet, Superman spotted something moving on a rooftop beside the newspaper's home.

"Superboy, we need to investigate that rooftop next to the newspaper." Superman told his brother.

"Drop me. I can land softly now thanks to your help." Superboy said, and the Man of Steel fulfilled the Kryptonian clone's request.

With Conner being the first of the two on the roof, he inspected the area and dread came across his face just as Clark landed.

"What's wrong, Conner…" Clark started to say, but then he followed his younger brother's eyes and saw what had Conner's attention.

The two walked over and as soon as they saw the colors of the items, Conner started to get mad. The Kryptonian on the covert Team then reached up to his comm to get in contact with the others.

"Guys, someone's captured Cardinal."

There were several gasps coming back of the comm, but there was one that Conner didn't hear. "Wally, did you hear me."

"Then I'm not seeing things; whoever has Cardinal, has Robin too." Kid Flash said back.

"Clark, the team's meeting up at Mt. Justice." Conner said, and Clark just nodded.

Superboy then headed out after grabbing the slate gray cape; red gloves and red orange utility belt.

"Good luck, Con-El." Superman said, and with that he went out to patrol the city since he was already in uniform.

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Mt. Justice; Five Minutes Later

"Recognized Aqualad B02; Kid Flash B03; Superboy B04; Miss Martian B05; Artemis B07; Red Arrow 21"

Red Tornado turned at the mention of all the original protégés of the team, and was confused. "Team, what are you doing here; is this not your day off."

"We are sorry, Red Tornado, but matters have come to our attention that must be handled quickly. I do not think Batman would mind if we did a mission on our own." Aqualad said.

As if on cue, a large holo screen opened up and Batman was staring at the team. "What has happened Team."

"Superman and I were in Metropolis when he spotted something. As we got a closer look, we found these." Superboy said as he held out Cardinal's cape, gloves and belt.

"Same thing happened in Central City." Kid said as he held out a black and yellow cape, black gloves and a yellow belt.

"I have just heard that Joker, Ivy and Bane are out of Belle Rev. Search for the twins…and watch your backs as well. These three villains have a large hatred toward the ENTIRE team." Batman said after a minute of reflecting on the fact that his protégés…..no his children were captured.

"We'll find them Batman." Red Arrow said.

"Why are you there, Roy; you're a League member now." Batman said.

"The twins were there for me the most after Savage and Klarion left Watchtower. I'm a protégé first, and a League member second." Red Arrow responded.

Kaldur nodded. It was good for Roy to be on this mission. They were going to need all the help they can get. The original five protégés were always close, but the twins were the connector between them.

"Very well; I will leave this to you. Remember, should you need help; the League is here." Batman said, and with that, the screen closed.

"So...all Gotham villains in this one," Artemis said. "Why do I feel like there's more to this?"

"You could be right, Artemis." Kaldur said, but just as he looked at Superboy, he saw something inside one of Cardinal's gloves.

The Atlantean born walked over to the boy of steel and took the glove. As Kaldur pulled out the object; everyone saw it was a piece of paper.

_Hello niños;_

_ I hope you all are okay….which is something I cannot say for the gemelos. They will be the first to fall from your team and the others will not be far behind. We will give you a chance to save them, but you must find them first. There are clues hidden around the world, and you must find them before five days have passed._

_ 30°43'N 95°33W_

_ 29°24'N 90°58'E_

_ 40°06'N 22°23'E_

_ 38°28'N 28°31'W_

_ 21°40'S 45°10'E_

The map coordinates ended the note, and everyone that was there already had vengeance on their mind.

"Are Zatanna and Rocket not coming?" M'gann asked, realizing that two of their members had not arrived.

"Zatanna is helping Dr. Fate fight Felix Faust. Turns out Faust got the better of the good Dr.; so he called for Zatanna's help. As for Rocket, she and Icon are handling a problem in the Amazon jungle of South America." Kaldur explained.

Just as Kid Flash was starting to worry about Robin and Cardinal, his grip on Robin's gloves loosened and a picture fell out of one of them. The fastest boy alive picked it up and dread was soon plastered on his face.

The team gathered around and saw what had Kid Flash worried. The picture was of the twins: Robin was chained and hanging by the wrists and with a heavy weight keeping him still at the ankles. Cardinal on the other hand was hogtied and everyone saw the collar around her neck. Superboy looked like he was about to go into a rage like when he used Luthor's shields.

It wasn't long ago that they learn Reiena could pass out from having her fire power disabled and it was because of an inhibitor collar like the one she was wearing now.

"We will find them." Red Arrow said; a tight grip on his bow.

"Let us see where the coordinates lead us." Kaldur said and Kid Flash started typing them into the computer.

"It will take a bit to lock them in." Kid said.

"We're ready when they come in." Superboy said.

"I just hope they're alright." M'gann said.

"If they're not, then those three has another thing coming." Artemis said; pulling off an almost perfect batglare.

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><p>What have I done with the twins. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA<p>

Chapter Three shouldn't take long to get out of my head, but I'm wiped tonight, and need to wind down, so chapter 3 should be up by Monday night...if I don't get writers block.


	3. Chapter 3

Before Chapter Three starts; I want to make a statement.

I had a review with Chapter Two through the night on 1-27-14 from a guest. Cardinal's true potential has not been seen as she was attacked in too precise a way for her to really get any attacks in. She is a Meta and that's why the inhibitor collar was used on her and not Robin.

I have been using Cardinal for a decade now, and others have liked her. I know not everyone likes OCs, but to those with the creative mind to come up with them, it's nice that some others DO appreciate them.

This only goes to that guest reviewer, but I wanted to say that before going any further.

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><p>Chapter Three<p>

Unknown Location; Same Time Team is Meeting

His head hurt, and he felt like he was going to be sick, but what really got his attention as he started to wake up was the fact that his arms were being held above his head and a weight was chained to his ankles.

The young boy started to look around, and that's when he saw a girl lying on the ground, her wrists and ankles hogtied.

"Cardinal." The boy said.

This caused the girl to stir and she looked at the boy, a sick look in her eyes. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" The boy said.

"Not really, Robin." Cardinal said.

"We split up to go fight Joker and Ivy." Robin said.

It took Cardinal some time, but she was slowly recalling what happened. "Right, Ivy's vines were faster than usual, and…..BANE. He snuck up behind he while I was trying to get free."

"He stuck that inhibitor collar on you….that's why you look so sick." Robin said and with that he started to try and get free.

"That's not all, there's some kind of toxin in me. Ivy's plant grew thorns and they pierced my skin." Cardinal stated.

"You're not known as the 'world's greatest detective's sidekicks' for nothing." A female voice said.

"What was on the playing cards, Ivy?" Robin asked; a tone in his voice.

"Black Locust, and there's enough in your dear sister to keep her sick for a long time." Ivy remarked.

Robin knew the effects of the plant Ivy mentioned, and he looked at his sister.

"Now it's time to carve these birds." Another familiar voice said and Joker came walking out of the shadows, knives in hand.

"I'm afraid not." A third voice said.

All of a sudden, Joker and Ivy both had inhibitor collars put on them and the collars zapped them. The two Gotham villains were now unconscious, and the owner of the third voice appeared.

"Luthor." Robin said as he batglared the new arrival. "Why take out your own people?"

"They were only part of the plan until now. The rest of the plan can be handled by Bane." Luthor stated.

It was then that Robin felt himself being lowered to the ground and he was able to stand, but the weight was still connected to his ankles, so he couldn't fight back. Bane then grabbed Robin under one arm as Luthor cut the rope keeping Cardinal hogtied and Bane then picked her up as well. The member of the Light and the Venom manufacturing villain then headed out with their prizes.

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Mt. Justice

It didn't take any time once the five sets of coordinates were put into the computer. The holo globe then popped up and five red dots were showing.

"Huntsville, Texas; Tibet; Mt. Olympus, Greece; the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and Madagascar. There must be one clue in each place, so we have to split up." Kaldur said.

"The Atlantic Ocean is a given as to who goes there." Wally said, munching on some chips.

"That is true, so Artemis will take Texas as her assassin training will come in handy with all the trees in that area. Superboy and Red Arrow will head to Tibet; Kid Flash, your speed can get you to Madagascar quickly. That leaves Greece for Miss Martian. Stay in contact with each other and report back any finds." Aqualad stated, and with that the team had their orders.

"One question, why team me and Red up?" Superboy asked.

"Your hearing and strength along with Red's archery skills is enough to get around the Tibetan mountains and surrounding area." Aqualad said.

"Just wondering why." Superboy said.

Superboy and Red saw each other as siblings since they were both Cadmus clones, so they didn't mind working together.

"We will leave out in ten minutes. Make sure you have anything and everything you need for this mission." Aqualad said, and with that, the team headed to the armory and other rooms to get ready to search for the clues that would lead them to their teammates/family members.

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Watchtower

Batman was still on monitor duty, but suddenly a call came in from Green Arrow.

"I've found something in Star City that belongs in Belle Rev. I'll stay here until you arrive." Green Arrow stated over the vid call.

"Why call me, Arrow." Batman said.

"You'll want to talk to these two, they come from Gotham." Green Arrow told the Dark Knight.

Batman was out of his chair with a speed that Barry would be proud of and entering into the Zeta Tubes. Superman had been there since the meeting started at Mt. Justice and he headed over to Batman before the Gotham hero typed in his destination.

"Stay out of this, Clark." Batman said.

"Someone has to be there to keep you in line." Superman said.

Batman knew that Superman cared about the twin wonders as much as he did, so he sighed and nodded.

With that, Batman finished typing in the destination and the two League members/friends left out to interrogate the two that Green Arrow called about.

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Mt. Olympus, Greece; Three Hours Later

Miss Martian and everyone else was in Bioship but Kid Flash as he ran from Mt. Justice to Madagascar. Everyone had been dropped off at their assigned areas, and the Martian heroine arrived at the legendary Mt Olympus from Greek Mythology. Right now Miss Martian was happy that Cardinal insisted she read up on the myths, and that's when Bioship picked up something. The alien craft flew to follow the signal she was getting and soon enough Miss Martian saw it; a single beacon.

Bioship stayed in the air while Miss Martian opened a hatch and flew to the beacon. As she reached out to touch it, a beam of ice came right for her, but she dodged it just in time.

"So, they sent you to Greece, I was hoping they would. Now I can get you back for what happened in Belle Rev. You made me fall for you, and now I'll pay you back." A voice said.

"Icicle Jr.; how did you get out of Belle Rev." Miss Martian stated as she was dodging more ice.

"You'd be surprised." Jr. said; stopping in his attacks for a moment.

It was then that Miss Martian flew toward Jr.; ready for a big fight.

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Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Kaldur had dropped into the water after arriving close to the coordinates and was heading for the clue that would lead them to the twin wonders. He saw the small beacon and was about to reach it, when he was blasted backward by magic. It took only a moment to recover from the blast and as Kaldur looked around, he saw who had sent it…Ocean Master.

"You will have to go through me to reach the clue, Kaldur'ahm." Ocean Master said; his mouth the only part of his face seen to be moving.

"So, you have lowered yourself to working with Bane, Joker and Poison Ivy; I am surprised at this." Kaldur said as he reached back and pulled his water bearers.

Ocean Master scoffed. "Those three are just the minions; the Light will finish you insects off and then I will end Aquaman and his family's rule of Atlantis."

Kaldur was tired of Black Manta and Ocean Master trying to end King Orin's rule. Not only that, but the team was on a deadline to get the clues, so Kaldur went right after Ocean Master with his water bearers as maces.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Secondary Undisclosed Location; Same Time

The twins had been conscious when they arrived in this new place and…..secured to a beam that kept the roof from collapsing. Robin noticed that the chain used was a continuous one and after it was padlocked, the ends were left pulled out.

"Okay, why did they ever make these things?" Cardinal questioned; her voice weak.

"Until last year we never figured they'd be used on us." Robin answered.

Just then, movement was heard in the room and the twins looked in its direction.

"I'm sorry for your accommodations children, but we didn't want you getting away." Luthor said as he came into the light.

Bane came walking up and undid the padlock, but kept a tight hold on the chain so the twins couldn't get free. Robin and Cardinal were both curious as to what he was going to do, but that question was put out of their minds when he powered up his venom distributor and his body grew to three times its original size. Once he was done growing, he grinned and started to pull the chain.

The twins cried out in pain as the chain was crushing both of them, but Bane and Luthor just laughed. Cardinal couldn't take it anymore; she had to do something to get herself and Robin out of this.

"Fight me, you coward." Cardinal said; the pain showing in her voice.

Luthor laughed. "My dear; with that collar on, this would be a one sided fight."

"I don't care if I do have this collar on, I'll fight for our freedom." Cardinal remarked.

"What do you say, Bane?" Luthor questioned, seeing as the Metropolis villain didn't fight.

"I'll take this wager, chica." Bane said as he walked forward, giving the chains **some** slack then padlocking them once again.

"I will give you one advantage…..Ivy shouldn't have poisoned you two, so I will let you have the antidote." Luthor said as he pulled out two covered syringes.

The twins glared at him, but he just looked right back. "How can we trust that's really the Black Locust antidote?"

"You can't, but you'll have to if you want the nausea to go away." Luthor remarked.

The villain then walked over to the captive twin wonders and injected each of them with the contents of one syringe. It didn't take but a couple of minutes for the antidote to work, and soon enough, both 15 year olds felt the effects of the Black Locust disappear. Bane came over, while Luthor made sure Robin didn't move by holding a gun on him, and freed Cardinal from the chain. Robin was chained back to the beam.

"You get the first move, señorita Cardinal." Bane said as Cardinal started to regain her balance from being so weak.

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Beroroha, Madagascar

Kid Flash arrived quickly at the small African island nation, and it reminded him of Santa Prisca, but that didn't matter. He followed his small wrist comm to find the clue and he just arrived at the signal and saw the beacon when suddenly a familiar feeling came over him. His world started to spin, and the feeling was making him sick.

"That's nauseatingly familiar." Kid Flash remarked as he tried to get up, but the 'vertigo' feeling was not going away.

"Long time no see….peasant." A familiar foreign voice said. "I believe that is how the American saying goes."

"Vertigo." Kid said as he tried to fight the feeling he was getting from the former Injustice League member.

"That's COUNT Vertigo….brat." Vertigo said as he came into Kid's blurry view.

"So, Strange let you out of Belle Rev…..good; I was hoping for a change to kick your butt….since I didn't really have the chance to when I saved Perdita."

"I'm sure you have more…..pressing….matters to attend to boy. The way I hear it, your Gotham friends do not have much time." Vertigo said.

It was then that Kid saw his opportunity and started to run away from the Vertigo then did a quick turn around and punched the villain. What the speedster didn't know was that Vertigo was NOT alone.

"Mitte illum in vinculis." (1)

Strange orange chains came toward Kid, but hearing the voice put the young speedster on alert and he was able to dodge them.

"You will go down, boy. Your win in Louisiana was a fluke. Had your friend not donned the Helmet of Fate, we would have won and the world would have been ours." A familiar voice said as a new figure came floating up beside Vertigo.

"That is true my friend…..also, your team would have been FINISHED had the Justice League not interfered." Vertigo remarked.

"We had you down for the count, and I'll beat you now." Kid said as he turned to the two villains and was ready for whatever they could throw at him.

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Huntsville, Texas; Inside Eastham-Thompson Park

Artemis had entered the park and took to the trees to locate the clue that would lead her and the rest of the team to the twin wonders. She heard something beeping and found the beacon that was there.

"This is too easy." Artemis remarked.

Just then a javelin came her way and the young assassin-trained archer just barely dodged it. Artemis landed in a clearing not far from the beacon, and the limb she had been on exploded when the javelin made contact with it.

"Think again…..Baby Girl." A voice said.

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Tibetian Mountain Range

Everything seemed to be going alright, and Aqualad was right….Superboy could get both he and Red over the high parts of the mountain, and Red was keeping an eye out for anything or anyone. It didn't take long before Superboy heard a constant beep coming from the next ridge.

"You got something?" Red Arrow remarked.

"Over the next ridge there's a constant beeping; it has to be the site of the clue." Superboy said.

"Alright, let's go." Red said as he took Superboy's hand and the boy of steel then did a super jump and was over the ridge in no time at all.

He landed softly and the two heroes were about to reach the beacon they saw when all of a sudden, Superboy heard a familiar robotic voice.

"Access….Captain Atom." The voice said.

Red Arrow was able to get Superboy out of the way as a beam of nuclear energy came toward him. As the two heroes got up and Superboy was about to go after the robot that shot the beam….someone quickly flew up and grabbed Red Arrow by his quiver, pulling him away from his partner. When Red was able to get a look at who else was there, he only recognized the lightning bolt on the chest, but the outfit was black…..not red.

"I will stop you from getting the clue." The villain said.

"Who are you?" Red asked

"Not that it would matter to you, but you may call me Black Adam. After I take you down I will go after Captain Marvel."

"So, you're the evil 'Champion'; good to know." Red remarked as he quickly had his bow loaded and ready to fire.

"Accessing...Superman." Red beams came from Amazo as he came into view and hit Superboy, shredding his shirt.

Superboy was mad. "Why does my shirt need to go missing?"

As the Boy of Steel fought this new AMAZO; Red Arrow was having trouble with Black Adam. No matter what kind of arrow the 20 year old archer shot at Black Adam, the magically powered villain was able to either destroy or dodge them.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Undisclosed Location

Cardinal had been uneasy on her feet, but Bane being the 'fair' fighter he was gave the young fire controller time to gain her balance and even removed his venom dispenser. It only took a couple of minutes, but she was ready to go and since Bane offered her first attack, she took advantage of that and went for a flying roundhouse kick….and it connected. Even in her weak condition, Bane was thrown back and as she landed, a small grin came to her face.

"Very good, chica, I like that determination, but even without my greatest weapon, I will STILL defeat you." Bane said; having noticed the grin.

"You've never really dealt with me; other villains know that when the chips are down….I fight back harder." Cardinal said as she when for Bane again, and feinted a punch. She then dropped down and leg swiped him.

Bane fell onto his back and as Cardinal jumped up to kick him in the head to end the fight, he grabbed her ankle and threw her all the way across the room. She hit the far wall and Robin started struggling to get free, but it was no good….Bane had chained him back too tight.

"I see you want to help your sister, but that would break the wager and you two would be trapped anyway." Luthor said as he was smirking at how Bane was fighting.

Cardinal wasn't getting up, and Bane walked over to her, smiling. He picked her up by the front of her tunic, but was surprised when she kicked him right between the legs. He released her tunic to hold himself, and as he did, Cardinal started attacking with everything she had. After five good hits, Bane caught her arm and twisted it behind her back.

"Wrong move, chica." Bane remarked as he took her arm in both hands and snapped it.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." Cardinal screamed as the pain from the break radiated to her brain.

Robin didn't care how he got free, but he had to save his sister. Bane then released her arm and Cardinal lost consciousness, from a combination of the pain and loss of the meta power, before she hit the floor. Luthor grinned as Bane picked up the young girl, taking care with her arm. He may be a villain, but he did have to give the 15 year old some respect for lasting so long with her Meta power cut off.

"Let us get the children ready for our next visitor. He should be here soon enough." Luthor said then left the room. Bane headed out with Cardinal….and he would be back for Robin in due time.

"They'll find us…..I have faith in them." Robin said to himself; hope still strong in his mind that his friend would find him and his sister.

* * *

><p>(1) Send Chains his way. A latin spoken spell.<p>

Who is this visitor Luthor mentioned...you'll have to wait till chapter five is posted to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, I don't know why, but I'm getting attacked because of the way I use Cardinal, my OC.

This time Yoka472 is the one I'm speaking of...

I actually have been using Cardinal since 2004. But she's not just in Young Justice, I first used her in my first crossover, Two Worlds Helping Each Other. I'm sure the story will not say 2004 because I tried updating it about a year ago, and then Cardinal was mentioned in the first story in my Collab Series with Malaizjan Dejesus as she is the mother of another OC of mine. Batman's New Sidekick was first written around 2006, so as you see, Cardinal was not born JUST for Young Justice.

I know she may seem Mary Sue, but to be honest about something...the reason she is in so many of my DC stories is that most of the ones outside of my collab series are based on dreams I've had over the years.

I think I've said what I needed to and if Yoka finds this story agian, I hope they understand where I'm coming from.

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

Tibet

Red was able to hold his own, but he was down to his last five arrows. In between firing off the arrows, he was getting some martial arts in, but Black Adam was unharmed. The evil Champion to Shazam was going easy on the archer, but that was just to give AMAZO time to wear down Superboy.

"Access…..Black Canary." AMAZO remarked and soon enough he was letting out a canary cry.

With his super hearing, Conner couldn't take the sound and had to cover his ears. Even with his ears covered, the sound was getting through and soon enough, Superboy was on his knees.

"Access…..Captain Atom." AMAZO said, and a red beam of energy came from his hand.

The beam hit Superboy hard, but it didn't do anything to him. AMAZO started toward him, and Superboy punched. The young Kryptonian clone was shocked when nothing happened AND his hand was throbbing in pain.

"How?" Superboy asked himself as he held his hand.

While Superboy was pondering what had happened….Red Arrow was grabbed by Black Adam and now in a bear hug having the life squeezed out of him.

"You're pathetic…clone." Black Adam said.

Red didn't respond at first, but he soon found his voice. "I may be a clone, Black Adam, but I'll stop you soon enough." The archer was able to get out with pain in his voice.

"You've never faced Marvel then…..he is as strong as I am, and I HAVE hurt him before. With that in mind, imagine what I can do to you. I was chosen as a Champion five millennia ago, but believe me when I say that protecting people is overrated." Black Adam said, and with that he squeezed harder.

Soon enough, Red felt both his lower arms break…along with about five ribs. The pain from the breaks was too much to handle, and with the pressure on his chest restricting his breathing, Red Arrow passed out.

AMAZO kept at Superboy with the red radiation from Captain Atom and soon enough, the boy of steel was not, as Robin would say, feeling the aster. Something was wrong and Superboy couldn't figure it out. He was able to see what Black Adam did to Red, but he couldn't get away from AMAZO long enough to help his 'brother'. Black Adam dropped Red Arrow and pulled something from behind his back.

Superboy felt even weaker than he did from the radiation blasts. As he looked around, the boy of steel saw what was causing the weakness…kryptonite. It looked to be in the form of chains. With his attention on Black Adam, Superboy didn't see AMAZO power up a super strong red radiation blast. The blast hit Superboy square in the back, and he screamed out in pain. Black Adam was quick in flying over to the ambushed Kryptonian clone and he wrapped the chains around Superboy's entire body. The radiation from the Kryptonite hit him hard, but he didn't pass out right away. For right now, he was thankful to be part human. Any other time he would berate himself because he didn't have all of his brother's powers, but after Robin used Kryptonite to stop Superman two years ago, he was actually grateful for the half human in him.

That was just a small amount two years ago, and then Robin protected him by closing the lead lined case it was in, but this was about five or six feet of the stuff, so the radiation from the alien substance was more than the HALF Kryptonian could handle and he passed out.

"Grab the Kryptonian and head to the next destination…Priority Alpha." Black Adam told the android.

The 'Champion' knew how to command AMAZO after a talk with Professor Ivo. With that, AMAZO followed the command and flew off. Black Adam's job was done in Tibet, so he returned to his hiding place to plan his revenge against Captain Marvel.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Atlantic Ocean

Kaldur'ahm AKA Aqualad was fighting Ocean Master; but something didn't seem right with this fight. Kaldur saw the way Ocean Master fought hand to hand, and so he kept that in mind and started into his 'studies' from Black Canary and fighting back hard.

"You are a fool BOY." A new yet familiar voice said, and a laser blast hit Kaldur'ahm in the back.

"So, you are once again working for Ocean Master. Why am I not surprised, Black Manta." Aqualad remarked.

"You will soon regret those words...and your loyalty to HIM." Manta stated as he came out of the nearby shadows.

Black Manta wasted no time in attacking, and soon enough the young Atlantean hero was ambushed. The Atlantean villain's eye beams clipped Kaldur in the shoulder as he turned to fend off the man that was his father.

He was pushed back slightly by the injury and Ocean Master kicked him in the small of his back. Kaldur whipped around with his water bearers, shaped as whips, catching the staff of Ocean Master and ripping it from the villain's grasp. Aqualad then attacked him with a kick to the jaw. Black Manta then swam at the young protégé of Aquaman and got him in a headlock, cutting off his air.

Kaldur struggled to get air, watching as Ocean Master regained his equilibrium and swam to the pair. Kaldur saw the fist coming and pulled himself out of the headlock and the punch got Manta instead. A quick twist of his wrists and the water whips caught a limb of each villain and he turned where he was, spinning in place, and the two villains were stuck and dizzy.

Kaldur released the two and went to attack them quickly. What the young hero didn't know was that Manta came to this fight prepared. Without being seen, a couple of Manta Troopers came out of hiding and blasted Kaldur'ahm with a couple of energy beams. When the beams hit, Kaldur was severely shocked and barley holding onto consciousness. Manta motioned for the Troopers to leave, and Ocean Master joined the villain in beating up the hero.

"If you would join me, you could go BEYOND your abilities now, Kaldur'ahm." Manta remarked.

"Luthor will pay you handsomely for bringing in one of the Team, Manta." Ocean Master stated as he kicked Aqualad right in the face.

Manta then pulled out some restraints and connected Kaldur's arms together behind his back. Ocean Master swam up in front of the Atlantean and was ready to knock him out, but as Kaldur looked Ocean Master right in the face, a figure came swiftly swimming up and punched Ocean Master with enough force that the member of the Light was sent far enough away from Aqualad and Black Manta.

"So…..Sea King, you still protect this one. He WILL join me today, and I WILL destroy you." Black Manta said as he realized it was King Orin AKA Aquaman.

"You can threaten that all you want to, Manta, but you will never win." Aquaman said as he swam toward Manta.

The villain didn't wait around, so he cut his losses and retreated. Ocean Master refused to go. He used his recovered staff to blast at Aquaman from a distance. King Orin countered with a dodge, then quickly swam and delivered a punch of his own and won that exchange. Ocean Master turned tail and swam away.

Once the King of the Sea was sure that both villains were gone, he turned to Kaldur'ahm and a look of worry was on his face.

"Kaldur'ahm, speak to me." Aquaman said, and it was then that Kaldur slowly looked toward his king.

Kaldur was panting, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. "My...King... the beacon." Then Kaldur fainted.

Orin swam to his protégé and broke the restraints on his arms. Then, he gently cradled Kaldur in his arms. He was going to swim to the Zeta Tube but a beeping sound drew his attention. King Orin followed the sound and found the beacon. Figuring that was what the 18 year old Atlantean was talking about, he grabbed it as well. Making sure he was careful with both Kaldur'ahm AND the beacon, Aquaman headed out for the nearest Zeta Tube.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Star City Police Station

Batman and Superman arrived and were greeted by the city's protector.

"Glad you made it. Joker and Ivy won't talk, but I'm hoping you can get them to," Green Arrow told them. "By the way, any word from Red Arrow?"

"None; go to Watchtower, GA. You might be able to catch him." Superman then realized that Batman wasn't with them. He was already at the other end of the hall. "Damn." Clark hurried to catch up to the Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight threw open the door, his demeanor a foul one.

The Star City PD had both villains collared and chained from neck to ankles. Both were also seated on opposite sides of the room. Neither looked happy to see him, but neither were intimidated by him.

"Where are Robin and Cardinal?" he asked.

"No hello, Batsy? How rude!" said Joker, but he gave his maniacal laugh.

Ivy said nothing.

"Who were you working with?" Batman continued.

"Now you know me better than that. Besides, we were just chatting with the kiddies."

"They are growing up so fast, just like weeds." Ivy chimed in casually.

Batman was losing his patience so he grabbed Joker by the front of his jacket and tossed him to the wall. There was a resounding thud and Joker laughed as he slid down the wall.

"You'll never find them if you put us in comas," Ivy cut in. "And Bane, IF you must know."

"He's not leading this; someone else planned it?" Batman was in Ivy's face, his cowl lenses glaring into the biochemist's eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bane called us together and planned the caputres." she told him.

Batman's patience snapped. He picked Ivy up, threw her against the wall, pinning her to it with a forearm to her throat. She gasped. "Start talking or lose your head; your choice."

Superman flew through the door and pulled Batman's forearm from Ivy's throat. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Both heroes were in a match of mental chess.

"I thought I told you before we got here to stay out of this." Batman said.

"I know you're worried about your protégés, but you're going to have to let them face the RIGHT kind of justice." Superman said.

Batman glared at his colleague, but deep inside, he also knew that the Man of Steel was right. "Fine; they can just sit here." Batman said, and soon enough he turned to the villains. "Be lucky that Superman came in when he did."

With that said, Batman walked out of the room without saying another word.

"Before you go, Supey….hope you survive while you rescue the kiddies. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Joker said as Superman started to walk out of the room.

The Man of Steel stopped to ponder over Joker's message, but then he logged it away for later and left the room, closing the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Quick thanks to my buddy Mala for the help she gave with the last two chapters.

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

Undisclosed Location; One Hour Later

AMAZO arrived at his destination and threw Superboy across the large room. The boy of steel started to come too after he landed.

"Hello…son." A familiar voice said.

"Should have known it was YOU." Superboy remarked, pain lacing his voice.

"I'm sorry for your current situation, but if your friends follow the beacons…..**should** they get all five, then you will be out of here soon enough."

Superboy didn't respond a first; he had to find out if the twins were okay. "You better not have done anything to Robin and Cardinal."

"I will let you see them….if you wish."

"Yes, Luthor; I wish to see the twins." Superboy stated.

"Very well; Bane if you would be so kind as to help Superboy up and escort him to where his friends are." Luthor stated.

Superboy saw Bane coming his way, and it wasn't long before he was on his feet and being pushed by Bane to the open air. The boy of steel stumbled a couple of times from his weakness; but soon enough he arrived at his destination and so wished he was not tied up with Kryptonite right now so he could beat the crap out of Luthor and Bane.

The twins were each in a different predicament. Robin was still chained the way he had been in the picture, but now he was dangling over a large opening. Superboy realized now that they were on a ship and that the team's hacker was hanging over the ship's hold. Looking to the left, the Kryptonian clone saw a pod….like the one he woke up in two years ago, and Cardinal was restrained within.

"You should know, son; the temperature within the pod is right now at forty degrees and will drop one degree every hour." Luthor remarked as he came walking out onto the ship's deck.

"You will pay for all of this." Superboy remarked, loudly.

This stirred Robin from his thoughts and when he looked up, shock was on his face. The boy wonder was struggling to get free, but the heavy weight chained around his ankles was keeping him from moving enough to get free.

"Superboy!" Robin's heart sank when he saw that Conner was chained with Kryptonite. Even his human half couldn't protect him fully.

Cardinal woke up and the weakness along with a pain was seen in her eyes. Before turning his attention from Cardinal, Superboy noticed something about her. The fire controller's left arm was swollen, and even though he couldn't use x-ray vision at all, he didn't need it.

Conner knew he'd have to try something desperate. He jerked from Bane's grip and with one good leap, crashed into Luthor with enough force to knock them both to the floor. Despite his own weakness, there was enough give to try to get one section of chain around Luthor's neck, but Bane was onto him. He yanked him off of Luthor by the chains on his chest and glared hatefully at the clone.

"I thought you were a fair warrior, but it looks like I was wrong." Bane said.

"He deserves it for breaking Cardinal's arm." Superboy remarked as he glared back at Bane.

"Ah, then I am the one you should have gone after." Bane said as a grin appeared on his face.

Superboy started struggling to get out of the Kryptonite chains, but it was no use, he was at Luthor and Bane's mercy.

"Why don't you get him set up in his…..special…..seat? It won't be long before the team, and HOPEFULLY Superman arrive to save these three." Luthor said, and with that, Bane carried the still struggling Superboy back into the ship.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Mt. Olympus

The past hour had been really hard, and it wasn't made any easier when Shimmer joined the fight about a half hour ago. Miss Martian was fighting back hard against the two, but they did manage to injure the young Martian heroine. Icicle Jr and Shimmer were about to finish her off, when suddenly Jr's right hand went to his ear as Shimmer kept the Miss Martian busy. Soon enough Jr launched ice right at her and she was frozen for a moment.

"Let's go, Shimmer; the plan worked." Jr stated, and with that he and Shimmer ran off.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Huntsville Texas, Spur Trail

Artemis has always been able to hold her own against her father, but about five minutes ago her sister joined in the fight.

"I really wish you would join us, sis." Cheshire remarked as she was able to scratch Artemis with one of her sais.

"Sorry, Jade, but as long as I'm able to fight, I'll stay a hero." Artemis remarked, but soon enough, she started to feel dizzy.

Sportsmaster started to attack when he turned his attention to the comm link in his ear. "Time to go, little girl."

"See you later…..sis." Cheshire remarked and with that she and their father headed into the forest.

It was then that Artemis fainted.

YJYJYJYJYJ

Beroroha, Madagascar

Kid Flash fought hard, but even with his speed healing he was hurt.

"You will not win this fight…..peasant." Vertigo remarked as he once again activated his vertigo effect, but Kid didn't let it get to him.

"Excipio Speedster in rete." (1) Wotan said, but Kid had a plan before the spell could actually cast.

The fastest boy alive moved to where he was in front of Wotan and Vertigo got his own teammate with his power. With Wotan distracted enough, Kid got behind Vertigo and soon enough the spell that Wotan chanted was cast and the net went after Kid, but it caught Vertigo instead.

"See you guys later." Kid said and with that he went for the beacon while Wotan worked on the spell to free Vertigo.

Once the beacon was in his hands, Kid took off for home, but he got a call on his comm. "Kid here."

"Wally….help." The voice said, and as quick as a flash he detoured to help his teammate; his destination was Huntsville, Texas.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Mt. Justice; Three Hours Later

"Recognized Kid Flash B03; Artemis B07

Wally was the first one back, and he didn't even drop off the two beacons as he ran quickly to med bay. When the soul mates arrived and Kid was shocked; Kaldur was bandaged up and BOTH of Roy's arms were in casts. Green Arrow was talking to Roy, who Kid also noticed his ribs were wrapped in bandages.

"Woooo; what happened?" Kid Flash asked as he set Artemis on an unoccupied bed.

"Black Adam and AMAZO were at the site in Tibet….and they took Conner. GA told me that the Thanagarians came looking for me and found me unconscious." Roy said; his tone showing that he was hating himself for passing out.

"The Light seems to be….toying….with us. Ocean Master and Black Manta were waiting for me at the beacon in the Atlantic Ocean." Kaldur remarked, having just woken up at the sound of Wally's voice.

"They were too well prepared, Artemis told me that Cheshire poisoned her before she and Sportsmaster left suddenly." Wally remarked.

"The same thing happened with Icicle Jr and Shimmer. They froze me in a block of ice, but I watched as Jr got a call and they just walked away, but I was able to get the beacon there." A new voice said.

Everyone turned around to door to see Miss Martian; but she didn't need any medical treatment as her Martian physiology already healed itself.

"Before Kaldur'ahm fainted, he mentioned a beacon. Before I teleported here, I heard it and brought it along with me." Aquaman said as he, Hawkman and Hawkwoman came into the room.

"I grabbed mine and was able to get away from Vertigo and Wotan. Artemis contacted me and when I found her; I also found the beacon not far from her." Wally said as he pulled out two machines.

"When we recovered Roy from Tibet, we also brought back the beacon there." Hawkwoman stated.

"Then we have all five; we must decipher the clues within and find out captured friends." Kaldur said, but as he started getting out of bed, Aquaman walked over and stopped him.

"Your injuries are too severe, Kaldur'ahm; the League will handle this part of the mission." Aquaman said.

"What…..happened?" A new voice said and everyone knew it right away.

"I'm sorry Superman; I couldn't get to Conner to save him from AMAZO." Roy said; knowing Clark and Conner's relationship since the invasion of Watchtower. "AMAZO was using what looked like red radiation after a certain point."

Superman sighed. "So, AMAZO was told about the radiation of a red sun." Superman said as he thought about everything that could hurt him, which would do the same to Conner.

"Must have been; Black Adam was squeezing the life out of me, so I couldn't do anything to save Conner." Roy stated.

"We'll find Robin, Cardinal AND Conner." Wally said. "The Light is going to get it for messing with my friends."

"Alright; M'gann and Wally will join me and after we find the location, we'll go get them back."

"It's jellyfish toxin that my sister used on me." Artemis weakly stated.

Wally remembered that Kaldur brought some antidote for jellyfish toxin to Mt. Justice not long after their FIRST encounter with Cheshire. The speedster ran over to the medicine locker and located it. After filling a syringe, he headed to his girlfriend and injected the medicine into her.

"Thanks, Wally; it won't take it long for the antidote to work. I'm going with you as soon as I'm over the initial part of the toxin." Artemis said, and with that she closed her eyes to rest.

With everyone that needed it resting, those that were going on the mission made sure they had all five beacons, and so they went to start deciphering them to find Robin, Cardinal, and Superboy.

* * *

><p>(1) Capture the speedster in a net.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Mt. Justice; Five Hours Later

Kid Flash, Superman, Miss Martian and Artemis (now over the initial effects of the jellyfish toxin) worked hard to decipher the code within the beacons, but they were not getting anywhere. Each beacon had some kind of cryptic image or clue that was downloaded into Mt. Justice's computer. The clues were: A riddle; two different images; something written in a foreign image and an audio clip.

"Whoever did this is so asking for it when we find them." Kid Flash remarked.

"I think they wanted us to retrieve the clues, but to also put some of us out of commission." Miss Martian stated; thinking about how Jr and Shimmer didn't finish her off.

"Has to be the Light; this time they've gone too far." Superman stated; worry creeping faster into his mind.

"Well, the Light will wish they never started this fight." Artemis said; her grip on her bow as tight as it could be.

"Alright, let's look at the riddle first." Superman said, hoping to break the tension in the room.

Kid opened the file and they saw the riddle.

I am alive but remain stationary under moving water

I am home to different species of animals

I have not been seen for over 100 years

I am not as colorful as other members of my species

What am I?

"Riddler had to come up with this one." Kid said.

"So, let's focus on the rarity of the item and it being under moving water first." Superman said and Artemis started typing on the computer. "I've found two things: A rare species of sponge and a rare species of coral."

The two images were on the screen, and Wally soon enough saw what the riddle was talking about. "It's the coral!"

"Wally's right; it matches the riddle. The Elkhorn coral hasn't been seen in over a century and ALL coral is home to smaller animals. Looking at the picture, it's not a colorful as other coral I've seen." M'gann stated.

"According to the literature about it; Elkhorn coral was recently found near the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. So we have a general area, let's see if the next clue can narrow it down." Superman said.

"Alright, so next looks to be a foreign written language."

桟橋2027

"I'll run the data through the computer's translation software." Kid said, and soon enough, it came back. "Pier 2027; so right now the clues are pointing to a ship, but there's still three more to check out."

Artemis moved to the third screen and tapped the play button on the audio file. The sound of a gunshot was heard, but then a deafening sound radiated through the entire room. The three young heroes fell to their knees covering their ear, but as they were able to catch a view of Superman, they noticed that as he held his ears, they were bleeding.

M'gann shape shifted so her ears were closed, then she headed to the computer and turned off the file.

"Okay, so…..some kind of special bullet." Wally said as he stood up and helped Artemis to her feet.

"Let's search the league files to see if anything has been made or sold." Superman said as he recovered and started into researching the bullet in the League files. "Thank you for stopping the file, M'gann."

The young Martian heroine nodded.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Luthor's Ship

Superboy had not stopped struggling since he was restrained into the chair that Bane put him in five hours ago. A few things were still going through his mind from the fight with AMAZO: how did AMAZO weaken him so badly before the kryptonite was used; why would Ivo rebuild AMAZO years after the first was defeated; and was this all a trap for the team. Superboy was pulled from his thoughts as the door to the room he was in opened.

"Hello, son; I hope you are….comfortable." Luthor said as he entered the room.

"Trying to take down the team again, Luthor." Superboy said; hating the fact that the Light had been after the team ever since they first formed on July 4th 2010.

"Oh not just your friends, but your….Kryptonian donor as well." Luthor remarked, an evil smirk on his face.

Superboy started struggling again, and that's when Bane came into the room with an IV bag and a needle that had a familiar green tint to it. As he inspected the bag more closely, dread came over his face.

"Yes, my boy; its liquid Kryptonite. You've been a thorn in my side since those three sidekicks freed you. I had big hopes for you after your programming was complete, but instead you join the….heroes….and have derailed my plans around every turn. You are supposed to be MY son and yet...he always gets what he wants. If I can't have you; NO ONE will."" Luthor said as Bane got closer to the young Kryptonian clone.

With Superboy restrained as tightly as he was, there was no way to move his arm away from the villain from Santa Prisca as the green needle was INSERTED into his skin. Right away a high level of weakness hit Superboy, and he was starting to display labored breathing.

"So, even before the liquid Kryptonite is administered, the kryptonite needle starts affecting you internally." Luthor said; his ever expanding brain logging away the look on Superboy's face. "Alright, Bane; you may start the drip."

"With pleasure, Luthor." Bane said and it didn't take two seconds before Conner saw the first drop of the liquid Kryptonite enter the line.

"Have fun, my boy." Luthor stated with an evil grin and it was with that line that Luthor and Bane left the room.

As the first drops of the liquid slowly entered his veins; he felt the pain….the burn as it started to enter him. His body was on fire and he couldn't stop it.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Mt. Justice

Superman's hearing seemed back to normal and the blood was cleaned away, so they needed to figure out what kind of bullet would do something like they heard.

"I wish Rob were here." Kid said, but then Artemis took over the keyboard and shocked everyone.

"He taught me some basic hacking skills last year, and Cardinal's not bad at hacking either." Artemis said as she stayed focused on the holo keyboard in front of her. It took another couple of minutes, but finally a smile came to her face. "Got it; there's only one company in the WORLD with a contract for sonic pulse bullets…..LEXcorp."

Superman was about to go haywire when the company name was said out loud. "Should have known." The Man of Steel pulling off a batglare of his own.

"Alright, so we know Luthor is behind this, but we still have two clues to figure out." M'gann stated.

"Yes, so the last two are pictures, pull them up side by side." Superman said.

Kid Flash took care of that and they were looking at them. Right away, Superman recognized the image of the boat dock. "Somewhere in Japan, I recognize the area and as for the battleship, I recognize the design, it's one of Luthor's."

"Alright, so at a boat dock somewhere in Japan, there's a LEXcorp battleship docked at Pier 2027 with three of our teammates on it….probably being tortured." Artemis stated.

"We'll take Bioship and start checking out the area as soon as we can." M'gann stated.

"I'll leave out right away and start looking around the ocean itself." Superman said and after the teen heroes nodded, the Man of Steel flew off at top speed to get to his destination.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Luthor's Ship

The twins had not seen Superboy in five hours, and they could only imagine what Luthor was doing to him. Robin had been working through escape scenarios, but even with Superboy and the scenarios on his mind, he never took his eyes off of Cardinal.

"Cardinal?" Robin questioned, hoping she was still conscious.

"I'm…..alright." Cardinal said as she opened her eyes and turned her head to her brother.

"I heard Luthor tell Conner that the temp in there was 40 degrees AND it would fall one degree every hour. It has to be close to freezing now." Robin told her.

"To me if feels like it's below zero. Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or was Conner chained up with Kryptonite." Cardinal remarked.

"It was no trick; we have to get free somehow." Robin said as he started struggling again, and was not deterred by the heavy weight. He was going to get free and get his sister out of that pod then they were going to find and free Conner.

"Sorry, Niño; it's time to set the trap." Bane said as he came walking up to the ship's hold.

The villain set down a package then started to work the nearby controls to the crane that Robin was chained to. With the push of a single button, Robin was quickly lowered deep into the hold, and a sound was heard. Soon, Robin and Cardinal saw what was causing the sound; water was being pulled into the hold from the ocean.

"You won't get away with this, Bane." Cardinal weakly shouted as she started to struggle.

"Oh, but I will, chica; now if you will excuse me, I have to deliver a message to your mentor." Bane said as he picked up the package and headed out.

The twins were left in their situations, and both were struggling to get out of them. They didn't want to lose anyone they loved or cared about, but if Luthor had his way, the entire team would be taken out, and even Batman. Both twins also had the same thought…..if Conner was captured, would Superman come to.

* * *

><p>What could be in the package that Bane's delivering to Batman? Will Wally, M'gann, Artemis and Clark find the twins before Conner, Robin and Cardinal are...finished?<p>

All these questions will be answered soon; for now, you'll just have to wait to find out.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Hall of Justice; Two Hours Later

The public Headquarters to the Justice League had high security levels, but that didn't stop a figure from entering the building and setting a package at the foot of the huge Batman statue and the figure just walked out without anyone saying anything. None of the visitors to the Hall said anything, but it was then that the League's public affairs officer, Catherine Colbert, saw the package and made an announcement closing down the Hall. She quickly made it to the computer within the library and contacted Watchtower.

"Batman here, what is wrong, Miss Colbert." Batman said as he appeared on the large screen.

"Someone left an unmarked package under **your** statue at the Hall. I have already evacuated everyone within and am about to head to the safe area." Miss Colbert told the Dark Knight.

"Good job, Miss Colbert. The League will be there right away; Batman out." With that said; Catherine closed down the computer and headed for the indestructible panic room that was within the hall should anything like this possible threat happen.

"Recognized Batman 02; Wonder Woman 03; Green Lantern 05; Captain Atom 12; Green Lantern 14"

The five League members quickly headed to the statues of the seven founders and located the box right where Catherine said it would be. The founding Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, scanned the package with his signature power ring.

"No wiring or explosives within." Hal told the others.

Batman was still careful as he opened the package, but all that was inside was a flash drive. As quick as the Dark Knight could, he headed into the library to check it out. The other League members were right behind him and saw that he was already working on decrypting the file. It turned out to be a video and Batman quickly clicked play.

_Cardinal was weak on her feet, but after gaining her balance, she attacked Bane. He was thrown back by the attack._

_ "Very good, chica, I like that determination, but even without my greatest weapon, I will STILL defeat you." Bane said; having noticed the grin._

_ "You've never really dealt with me; other villains know that when the chips are down….I fight back harder." Cardinal said as she when for Bane again, and feinted a punch. She then dropped down and leg swiped him._

_ Bane fell onto his back and as Cardinal jumped up to kick him in the head to end the fight, he grabbed her ankle and threw her all the way across the room. She hit the far wall and Robin started struggling to get free, but it was no good….Bane had chained him back too tight._

_ "I see you want to help your sister, but that would break the wager and you two would be trapped anyway." Luthor said as he was smirking at how Bane was fighting._

_ Cardinal wasn't getting up, and Bane walked over to her, smiling. He picked her up by the front of her tunic, but was surprised when she kicked him right between the legs. He released her tunic to hold himself, and as he did, Cardinal started attacking with everything she had. After five good hits, Bane caught her arm and twisted it behind her back._

_ "Wrong move, chica." Bane remarked as he took her arm in both hands and snapped it._

_ "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." Cardinal screamed as the pain from the break radiated to her brain._

_ In the background, Robin was still struggling go get free._

The video stops there, and Superman, the two Green Lanterns, and Captain Atom thought Batman was going to destroy the computer with a batarang, but they were surprised when he walked away and said nothing.

"That last move she got in had to hurt, I don't care if he's a villain." Captain Atom said.

"It may have been a LOW blow, but she had to do something." John said.

"It was genius for her to play possum like that." Hal stated.

"Cardinal has the courage of an Amazonian. To take on someone with her strength diminished like that, I guess she inherited that from Batman." Wonder Woman remarked.

After Batman typed in his destination of the Batcave, he walked into the Zeta Tube and before he started to disappear, he smiled a GENUINE smile.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Coastline of Japan

Bioship wasted no time in making it to the land of the rising sun; and all three heroes within the alien ship were looking over the boat yards; they came across a couple of areas that had the same characters as the clue, and were also 2027; but none of them had a battleship in it. Miss Martian did a telepathic sweep and didn't find any traces of Robin, Cardinal or Superboy.

All of a sudden, all three young heroes' comm links beeped. "I've found the ship; the boat docks and pier number were a distraction. Luthor's ship is near the Marshall Islands."

"How are you sure that's the one?" Kid asked.

"Completely lead lined, and the battleship has to be disguised as I'm looking at one of Luthor's yachts." Superman said back to the team.

"Alright, Bioship is locked onto your comm link's signal, we'll be there." Miss Martian said and the call was ended.

Bioship took off at top speed to get to where Superman was.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Over the Pacific Ocean

Batman had left the Hall of Justice to return to the Batcave to get the Batjet; and left out after linking up with Mt. Justice's computer and finding the clues. Once he got to the area near the Marshall Islands he started scanning for any League and Team signals. It didn't take but a moment for him to find Superman's signal and follow it.

As quickly as he could; Batman changed his course and took off to join his colleague in the hunt of the missing young heroes. It wasn't long before he saw Superman floating over a yacht.

"Superman; did the clues lead you here?" Batman asked over the comm link.

"Yes; Kid Flash, Artemis, and Miss Martian are on their way from Japan. We split up to check out both possible areas, and as soon as I found Luthor's ship, I contacted them." Superman told the Dark Knight.

"Alright, once they arrive, we will go and search the yacht for Robin and Cardinal." Batman said.

"Conner was captured as well. Red Arrow and Aqualad are out of commission for now." Superman said.

"Alright." Batman said, and that was when he saw Bioship coming their way over the horizon.

"Batman; what brings you here." Miss Martian said on the comm link.

"A flash drive was left at the Hall of Justice with video of Cardinal fighting Bane WITHOUT her powers. She's got an inhibitor collar on so time is of the essence." Batman said.

"Alright, let's go." Kid said; determination in his voice to free his teammates.

The odd matched group of heroes got closer to the yacht and that's when they saw a large hold on the ship.

"Image inducer; this is no yacht." Batman confirmed as he climbed out on the wing of the Batjet; ready to save his kids.

"Let's go, looks like someone's in that hold and the water is rising fast." Superman said, and he went ahead of the others.

Miss Martian had Bioship create two zip lines so Kid Flash and Artemis could get on the ship safely. Batman did the same with a built in zip line from the Batjet and everyone headed out to back up Superman in the fight to save three young heroes.

They were all on the ship's deck in no time, and that's when Kid and Batman started to get really angry. They saw Cardinal inside a Cadmus pod, and figured that Luthor had set up a temperature regulator. When they looked over to the ships hold; that was the straw that broke the camel's back for Batman. Robin was already chest deep in rising water and it looked like someone had locked the hold's controls.

"Welcome….heroes; oh, Superman, I see you came as well. It's too bad you won't find Superboy in time." A familiar voice said, and all the heroes turned in its direction.

Superman didn't wait for any of the heroes to respond as he flew over to the area and grabbed someone by the throat as gasping sounds could be heard. "Where…..is…..he."

"I will tell you where he is, Superman; but first you must pass the test." Lex Luthor, as everyone saw when Superman pulled his arm back, said, trying to free himself from the Man of Steel's grip. "If you would be so kind as to release me; I will explain."

Superman had to save Conner and the twins, so he released Luthor. Batman, Kid, Artemis and Miss Martian were ready to attack if anything funny happened.

"Start talking Luthor." Batman said.

"All three….children…are fine; for now. All you five have to do is survive in a fight with Bane and AMAZO and I will let them go." Luthor said and as their names were spoken, the two that were to fight the heroes came out of the shadows.

_"Miss Martian, link me up with Wally and Artemis." Batman mentally said._

_ "Yes, Batman; alright link established." Miss Martian said._

_ "Kid, Artemis; I want you to find Superboy. Miss Martian, free the twins while Superman and I deal with Bane and AMAZO." Batman ordered._

_ "Yes, sir." The three Team members said and with that they split up._

"Access Superman." AMAZO said and he used heat vision to stop Miss Martian from getting to the pod.

She had been working with her uncle over the past two years on density shifting, and as the beams came close, she was able to change her density and the beam went right through her. The resulting blast actually helped, as it hit the lock on the pod, and Miss Martian worked at getting Cardinal out of the pod.

"Get her to Bioship." Batman hollered as he started defending himself against Bane.

Miss Martian didn't waste any time as she levitated herself and Cardinal into the air and made her way to the alien vessel. Once Cardinal was safely inside, and covered up with a blanket; Miss Martian started to return to the fight, but then she thought about something as she looked back to her teammate. She was about to go for the special key to the inhibitor collar when Cardinal grabbed her arm.

"Go; Robin and Conner need you. I don't know where they took him, but Conner was exposed to a LOT of Kryptonite." Cardinal weakly said. "I'll be alright, even with the collar on. At least I'm out of that pod."

"Cardinal…" Miss Martian said.

"Stay traught out there." Cardinal stated; smiling weakly.

Miss Martian nodded and left out to save the rest of her team.

Back on the battleship, AMAZO and Bane were giving the Leaguers a hard time, so while Miss Martian was helping Cardinal, Kid and Artemis were trying everything they could to get Robin out of the hold, but the controls were too well locked.

"Forget me; go find Superboy." Robin hollered.

With their attention drawn to him, they couldn't help but notice that the boy wonder's head was almost under the water.

"No way; we're getting you out of there first." Artemis said.

"He's been chained up with Kryptonite, who knows what else has been done since he was taken away." Robin said and just as he finished talking, the water covered his mouth for a moment.

_"Go find Conner; I'll get Robin." _Miss Martian mentally said as she flew into the water.

_"Be careful M'gann; about an hour ago they dropped underwater mines in here." _Robin mentally said, but Miss Martian could tell that he was struggling to keep his mind focused.

Kid and Artemis knew Robin would be okay once Miss Maritan got to him, so they took off to the interior of the ship to find Superboy. The fights were becoming harder for the Leaguers as AMAZO had started using Captain Atom's power and hitting the Man of Steel with the same red radiation he had used on Conner.

Batman was already pretty messed up, but he continued the fight. Bane was using his greatest weapon in this fight, so Batman didn't seem to be doing much damage.

"I am almost ashamed that this fight will end soon; I was hoping you would see the end of your male partner, but defeating the great Batman will be enough for me." Bane said as he punched Batman right in the face.

The punch sent him back into a nearby wall, but that wasn't what put him off his game. At the same time as Batman hit the wall; and explosion occurred in the ship's hold and the two Leaguers looked in its direction.


	9. Chapter 9

After thinking about it, I realized that the title of this story does NOT match the content. Bane was in this less than I thought he would be, so I'm changing the title.

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

Five Minutes Earlier

Miss Martian was under the water within the ship's hold and made her way swiftly to her captured teammate after changing into a mermaid. As she got close; she heard something moving in the water. As the 18 year old Martian turned around, she saw what Robin had warned her about, but they were not any ordinary underwater mines…..they were locked on to Miss Martian. She tried everything to get away from them, but they even followed her swimming pattern. It felt like hours had passed as she tried to get away from them, but it had only been about three to four MINUTES.

_"Hold on Robin, I'll be right there, just let me stop these mines." _Miss Martian said, and that's when she turned around and faced the mines coming at her.

She knew there was only ONE way to stop them for good, so she made sure to protect Robin and used her telekinesis to move all the mines to hit each other. It worked, but her telekinesis couldn't keep the explosion from backfiring and hitting her.

_"Miss M!" _Robin screamed in his mind as he continued to hold his breath.

The smoke in the water cleared, and the boy wonder saw M'gann floating where she had been…..unmoving. It was lucky for him that she was able to put up a protective telekinetic shield around him otherwise he would have been hurt as well. She started moving slowly, and it wasn't long before she turned around and Robin couldn't hold his breath when he saw the injuries on his teammate.

M'gann WAS hurt, but she had to save Robin as she felt his mind was radiating despair and knowing of the fact that this was the end. She gathered all of her remaining endurance; and swam over to Robin. She was weak, but she was determined to get Robin out of there.

_"Get the weights. With those off; I can keep my head above the surface of the water." _Robin said.

Miss Martian knew that the boy wonder was right, so she used her telekinesis once more and was able to break the chain holding the heavy weight to his legs. He soon started kicking his legs and sure enough he broke the surface of the water.

After the explosion was seen above the water (the smoke cloud and some fire); Batman and Superman were distracted and that's when Luthor saw his chance. He made sure that Superman's attention was either on AMAZO or the hold, and when he saw his opportunity, Luthor pulled out a gun, and fired it.

As the bullet headed for its target; Batman noticed the glow, but he couldn't get away from Bane long enough to get in front of said bullet. Superman was too busy punching at AMAZO to even hear the bullet until it was too late. As he turned, Superman felt the bullet tear into his body…..right in the chest.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Inside the Battleship

Conner was dying. He knew it. In fact, he was kissing death's door.

The bag of liquid Kryptonite was almost empty, its contents inside Conner's veins. He was still chained to the chair he was left in. With the chains & shackles firmly in place, he could not get free. Every breath tore at his lung tissue. He coughed, swearing that he had liquid Kryptonite leak from the corner of his mouth with each cough.

He kept his eyes closed; it hurt too much to keep them open. He only wished he could see M'gann one last time, to hear her voice one last time... It was then that he heard movement in the hall outside. Conner had to get their attention, but he was so weak, he didn't know if he even had the voice to call out. He was giving in to despair when he thought of something.

"_Can anyone hear me?" _Conner weakly asked in his mind.

"_Supey!" _That was Wally's voice.

"_Wally, are you inside the ship?" _Conner questioned.

"_Yea, Artemis and I are searching for you." _Wally answered.

"_I'll try to make some noise…..but I don't know if I'll be conscious when you find me." _Conner told his friend.

"_Conner, what did Luthor do to you?" _Artemis chimed in, hearing the pain that was present in the Kryptonian clone's mind.

"_Kryptonite chains and the topper is that he used a Kryptonite IV needle to feed a liquid form of Kryptonite into my body; the bag's almost empty." _Conner answered, but it was then that the couple could hear their teammate fading away.

"_Alright, we'll find you just make that noise." _Wally said.

Back in reality; Conner had an idea; the chair he was in was metal, and even though it was bolted to the floor, the metal would still make a sound if it were hit with enough force. He made a fist and started pounding on the arm of the chair under him as hard as he could.

Outside in the Hallway of the Ship

A knock.

Artemis stopped moving, listening. A second one got her attention.

But Wally was faster. That second knock was faint but Wally was running full speed ahead and crashed into the room where the knocks came from.

Artemis followed.

Back in the Room Superboy Occupied

It wasn't long before the door to the room started to rattle, but it soon stopped. Conner figured the door was locked, so there was only one way his two teammates could get in. Sure enough the sound of something small hitting the other side of the door was heard; then an explosion that blew the door off its hinges. The green glow was so bright; both heroes entering the room covered their eyes to ease the brightness.

Conner was slumped over in the chair he was chained to, the bag of liquid Kryptonite nearly empty, as he had informed them. Artemis assessed the situation and ran to Conner, pulling the needle from his arm.

From his visible skin, they saw the faint glow showing all the veins within his body. He was barely breathing…..Superboy was dying.

"Bane's going to pay." Artemis bit out with malice and anger.

"Wow, not looking good, Supey." Kid said.

He was soon hit in the back of the head by the green clad archer before she began to inspect the locks and quickly pulled a lock pick kit out of her small utility belt. It wasn't long before she was helping Conner up out of the chair, but she almost stumbled while holding him up.

"I'm here." Kid said as he sped over and got Conner's other arm.

"Thanks." Conner said, and as soon as the word left his mouth, he passed out.

The two young heroes then helped their friend out of the room and headed toward the area where the fight was taking place.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Back at the Fight

Miss Martian had gotten Robin out of the ship's hold with enough ease but her burns, which were not fully healed, took a toll on her and she collapsed to her knees. Robin was right at her side, but then he noticed that his mentor was having a hard time fighting, and Superman was down.

_"Go, I'll be alright." _Miss Martian mentally told the youngest boy of the team.

He was reluctant at first, but he had to help, so he listened to his 'sister's' words and went after AMAZO to keep him from Superman. Even without his belt, Robin was doing some good work at getting AMAZO away from the Man of Steel.

He came at AMAZO with a flying kick but the robot turned and said, "Access...Martian Manhunter."

Robin's kick didn't hit its mark as his foot flew right through the android's body. Thinking fast the boy wonder pulled his leg back before AMAZO could solidify. He back flipped away and was ready for another round.

"Access Black Canary." AMAZO said.

Robin may have been excellent at hand to hand combat, but Black Canary was the best, and for AMAZO to start using her skills, this was going to be a challenge. The fight was turning in the android's favor, but just as he was about to use his Canary Cry; someone came up behind him and kicked him forward.

"Get Superman closer to Bioship." The new fighter said, and Robin was shocked.

"Sis, you're in no shape to fight." Robin said.

"I'm sure something's happened to Superboy and that's what's taking Kid and Artemis so long. You get Superman; I'll take care of AMAZO." Cardinal said as she started fighting AMAZO.

Batman saw that her moves were weak and when he caught sight of her neck he saw why…..she still had the inhibitor collar on. AMAZO was going to hurt his daughter more than she already was, and he knew he had to help her. Bane came at him while he was lost in thought but the Dark Knight felt him coming. Batman blocked the oncoming punch and with a spinning heel kick, launched Bane into the water filled cargo hold.

As Robin was dragging Superman close to where Bioship was, Miss Martian came flying to him, and she was healed completely. With the young Martian hero taking over getting Superman to safety, Robin went back to the fight. It wasn't long into the fight after Bane was thrown into the water that the twins and Batman heard a nearby door open and three figures were coming out, one not moving all that well.

"I will NOT let the Kryptonians leave this ship alive." Luthor shouted as he held up the gun he still had in his hand.

Kid Flash and Artemis readied themselves for a fight just as the member of the Light pulled the trigger. The plain metal bullet went flying through the air and hit Kid Flash right in the right leg. The Fastest Boy Alive released Superboy as he started to go down. As Artemis struggled to keep her teammate up, Luthor aimed again. He may not be at his best, but Superboy was able to get in front of Artemis just as the trigger was pulled and the bullet flew through the air…..and right into Superboy's stomach.

"Superboy!" Was screamed for the whole ship to hear, and that's when Miss Martian appeared at her boyfriend's side as Artemis swiftly pulled out an arrow and launched it with a speed that made Kid smile.

The arrow hit Luthor square in the chest and soon enough, he was covered with electricity and passed out within a minute of being hit. With Luthor taken care of, AMAZO was the only one left and the heroes from Gotham were really giving him their all. As Artemis watched the fight while Miss Martian levitated Superboy and Kid to Bioship where Superman was already laying; the young archer remembered something from the first time the team ever faced AMAZO….before she was even **part** of the team.

"Robin…Gotham Academy." Artemis said as she readied a regular tipped arrow.

At first he didn't know what she was talking about; then he realized what arrow she had set and knew INSTANTLY. Cardinal was a little confused, but Batman knew, so he let the team handle this while he went to check on the two Kryptonians and one speedster that were hurt.

"Sis….go with Batman, Artemis and I have this." Robin told Cardinal, and even though she wanted to help; Cardinal listened to her brother and ran over to Bioship to check on her friends and a man she considered to be an uncle.

Artemis was ready, and she saw that Robin was too, so she fired her arrow.

"Access Martian Manhunter." AMAZO said as the arrow was closing in, and he density shifted so the arrow would pass through.

That's when Robin took the lead and punched at AMAZO.

"Access Superman." AMAZO said, but Robin's arm was already through the android as he solidified.

It wasn't long before AMAZO blew in half at the disruption in his design, and Robin was blown back by the explosion. Artemis ran to him and caught the boy wonder before he fell backward holding his left arm to his body.

_"Miss Martian, we need Bioship here…..NOW." _Artemis called mentally to her friend, and the alien ship was there at the speed of light (well, you get my meaning).

Artemis carried Robin into the ship and after the docking bay was closed, the heroes headed out as fast as possible for the ship to return to Mt. Justice to help the two injured Kryptonians.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Mt. Justice; Three Hours Later

Bioship had flown at a speed even Miss Martian didn't know she could reach and they were back at the cave quickly. Superman and Superboy were rushed to med bay by Wonder Woman and Green Lantern (Hal). Everyone else was filing out of the ship, with Batman being the last to leave out, carrying a sleeping Cardinal. Her inhibitor collar had been removed in transit to the cave but having her powers come back after being without them for hours; she passed out.

Once everyone was in Med Bay and getting assessed; a gloom filled the room as everyone saw Conner's veins glowing green though his skin. Martian Manhunter had arrived to get the bullets out of the two Kryptonians, and that was done quickly. As Superman started to come to, he looked over to his brother and wanted to hold him, but seeing the green glow, he didn't want to be affected by the alien rock again. Clark knew Conner was in for the fight of his life.

Batman was ALWAYS prepared as he pulled out a dialysis machine, and pushed the **regular **needles into Superboy's arms. The machine went to work, but everyone knew it was going to take time to get all the liquid Kryptonite out of the clone. Robin's arm was treated for second degree partial thickness burns and wrapped to protect it.

"Uncle J'onn….is Conner going to be okay?" M'gann asked as tears came from her eyes at the thought of losing Conner.

"As you have seen over the past two years; Batman is very prepared for anything. I do hope that the Kryptonite has not done any permanent damage." Martian Manhunter said.

"Don't worry, girl; If Conner is ANYTHING like Clark, then he'll be just fine, even after what happened." Green Lantern said.

M'gann smiled at how Hal spoke of Conner, as she felt he was right. Kaldur was feeling better, but stayed in bed as he had learned after the others left that he had two broken ribs. Roy was still laid up with both arms broken, but he was happy that the twins were out of danger. Most of the team may have been out of the game for even a little while, but they came back alive, and that was all that mattered.

"You know, Bats; I've been thinking about this for years, but how is it that Reiena has powers, but Dick doesn't." Flash asked as he turned his attention from his nephew for a moment.

"I'm sure the potential has been in their family for generations, but Reiena's showed the heart and ability to handle it. She and Dick may be twins, but even identical twins are different. Seeing her in the circus that fateful day, she looked like she had been working as a fire dancer since she was born. It must have come to her naturally to see the beauty in fire." Bruce said as he removed his cowl.

The team had learned the twins' identities last year, so Batman didn't have to hide behind his cowl any more than he had to. It was at the mention of Reiena and her powers that everyone looked over to the special chamber that she had been placed in. As she slept, the chamber was regulating her body temperature slowly to get it back to normal. Robin was at the chamber's side as he watched his sister sleep to regain her strength.

"We'll leave you all to talk; you need the time as…..siblings." Bruce said as he pulled his cowl back up and left the room.

Hal, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and the now fully healed Superman headed out as well. The team…..and Roy were alone now, and they kept looking at Conner.

"I'm sure you guys heard the pain in his mind." Artemis said as she thought back to when the Kryptonian clone reached out with his mind through the team link.

"I wanted to come help you guys find him, but…" M'gann told her family.

"It's alright, the twins were in major trouble, and we didn't know Conner's situation till we found him." Wally said.

"You did what you had to, M'gann." A familiar voice said and everyone turned in its direction.

Conner was awake now, and his body didn't show as much of the liquid Kryptonite as it had when he first arrived back at Mt. Justice.

"Conner!" M'gann shouted as she flew over to her boyfriend and hugged him.

"I'll be alright, M'gann. Did Luthor get what was coming to him?" Conner asked as the hug broke and he looked to Artemis.

"Tazer arrow set to high." The young archer remarked.

"Deserved worse, but I'll accept that." Conner said as he weakly grinned.

"The Kryptonite's going to take some time to get out of your bloodstream; you get some rest, which is what we all should be doing." Robin said.

Kaldur heard the tone in the boy wonder's voice and knew that it wouldn't be much longer before he was ready to become leader of the team as he was destined to be. Everyone settled in and Artemis said goodbye as she had to head home to help her mother. The team was asleep in no time, and Robin was asleep in the chair by the special chamber his sister was in. M'gann had lain down in the bed with Conner to know that he was still alive and fell asleep quickly.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Luthor's Ship; Two Hours Later

The League had returned to the ship to arrest Luthor and Bane as well as disassemble the second AMAZO but they found the ship abandoned. AMAZO's body was there, but Luthor and Bane had escaped as the injured and dying heroes were taken back to Mt. Justice.

"We'll get Luthor one of these days." Batman said; the thought of what the Metropolis villain has done to the twins…..along with the other young heroes over the past two years coming to his mind.

"You're right about that, Batman." Superman said, rubbing his hand across the tear in his suit where Luthor's Kryptonite bullet hit him.

"The gods showed favor to the children today." Wonder Woman stated; seeing what happened to AMAZO, and the FILLED hold of the ship.

"I think they show favor to ALL heroes, Diana." Batman said.

He did not really believe in the Amazonian Princess' beliefs, but he learned early on to never question her faith in the Greek Gods. Wonder Woman smiled at Batman and returned to physically breaking apart the android.

"Will Kon-El be okay?" Superman asked, not caring about identities right now.

"Yes, and you don't need to worry about the Kryptonite affecting him from within the machine, I had it lead lined for just such an occasion." Batman said as he made sure the circuit of AMAZO would not connect back up in any other way.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Mt. Justice; The Next Day

Robin had woken up several times to adjust the temperature within the chamber, and he even removed the dialysis machine from Conner when he saw that no more Kryptonite was coming out in the exit IV. There was still a lot of recovery for the boy Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad found in the Cadmus pod those two years ago, but the boy wonder knew that Superboy would come out of this back to his old self.

As Robin was checking the chamber is sister was lying in, a soft moan came from within. Cardinal turned her head to the left and smiled at her brother. Her smile then turned to a frown as she caught sight of his arm.

"Just second degree burns, I'll be fine in a couple of weeks." Robin said, knowing what made his sister frown.

"How did it happen? I lost consciousness just as I boarded Bioship." Cardinal asked.

"Well, Artemis remembered a little trick that Conner pulled off with AMAZO and we went with it. My arm was burned when AMAZO blew in half." Robin answered.

"Getting as reckless as Conner now, huh." Cardinal remarked as her smile returned. "Oh, how much longer do I have to be in here?"

"Was just waiting for you to wake up, your body temperature is back to normal." Robin answered as he worked the controls of the chamber and it opened to allow Cardinal to exit.

She was happy to be free of the inhibitor collar and to be back to full strength, but she wanted a piece of Luthor for what he's done to her family. She figured from the way Roy and Kaldur looked, the attacks on them must have been precision planned.

Kaldur started to stir and as he opened his eyes, he smiled to show that he was happy that the twins were safe. He then caught a glimpse at Conner and was worried as he was unmoving except for breathing.

"He'll be alright, Kaldur." Robin said, seeing the smile change.

"I am glad to see you safe, my friends. I am only sorry that I could not be there to help in your rescue." Kaldur said.

"It's fine; the team was great even with you and Roy, it seems, laid up." Cardinal said.

"You need some more rest, Kaldur; Batman said you have two broken ribs and well Roy's not going to be fighting any time soon." Robin told the team leader.

"You should rest as well, my friend." Kaldur said, looking at Robin and seeing how tired he was.

"I have been resting, just waking up enough to take care of Reiena." Robin said.

"You and Reiena have a bond unlike any I've ever seen in a family." Kaldur remarked.

"When you lose your family the way we did and are the only ones of the bloodline left, you have to watch each other's backs." Reiena, having removed her mask, said.

"Well, she is awake and seems to be, as you would say, feeling the aster. Why do you not get some true rest?" Kaldur said.

"Was just about to." Dick Grayson, as he had also removed his mask, said and with that he headed out of the room and left his sister to watch over their family.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Two Months Later

Today was the day.

Roy was the last one to heal as BOTH of his arms had been broken, and now came his rehab, which he was going to hate, but he had to do it anyway. The twins, Kaldur and Wally were there to help him through it; the five original protégés together again. Wally was being his usual self as he teased Roy about not being out in the field for a while, but that was soon stopped as Reiena threw a fireball at him.

"Oh come on guys, do I really have to go through this, I should be fine." Roy said.

"Sorry Roy, but you have lost muscle mass in the past two months, so you have to build up your strength." Kaldur remarked.

"It doesn't take long if you stay at it." Reiena said

"Says the girl that was doing gymnastics the MORNING her cast was removed after Bane broke her arm two months ago." Conner said.

"Alright, I get it; I'm as stubborn as can be, but can you blame me…..I mean look who I live with." Reiena said, blushing a bit.

"I won't be that stupid, but thanks for being here guys." Roy said as a smile came to his lips.

"We're a family; we'll always be here for you." Dick stated.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

Undisclosed Location

The past two months, Luthor has been working hard with the Light to get some new partners in their plan for world domination, well world evolution in Savage's case. Today they were meeting with them to plan their arrival on the planet.

"Gratitude for the meeting, Vandal Savage, but why is it only two members of your organization?" One of the partners said as they stepped into the light of the room.

The new partners looked like insects in a way, but they also had a human look to them. There was a male and a female; then along with them was a large member of the species that seemed to be clad in all black armor that looked oddly familiar.

"The other members of the Light are dealing with different scenarios to prepare for your arrive in a couple of years." Savage said.

"So the young heroes you mentioned have been hauled for a while?" The male of the alien species questioned.

"The past two months have been very easy to work with as two of the young heroes had broken bones, and the one we mentioned that might be a problem only recovered from his ordeal about a week ago." Luthor said.

"Very well, our competitors should be arriving soon enough, let them believe you are helping them, then when we are ready to come forth, they will be….ended."

"Very well, Ambassador. I must say that your enforcer wears a type of armor similar to one I have seen before, yet it was blue." Savage said as he noticed that the large member of the alien species. "The similarity is the metal components that come over your enforcer's shoulders….the bug legs if you will."

"This is…..interesting news, we will look into this before we return." The Ambassador said, and with that the three aliens left the meeting area.

"Well, we can't wait around here; there is much to do to ensure that the Kroloteans are not interrupted in their endeavor." Luthor said and with that, Savage agreed and the two Light members left the area.


End file.

Young Justice, Mystery, Suspense