High School Sweethearts : BO1 : Dick Grayson

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

*Tomorrow I post the last chapter! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. Y'all gotta tell me what you think after you read it!

"Celestial measures have failed. Initiate terrestrial measures" Red Tornado ordered to Giovanni Zatara. "Affirmative. See you in the field" Zatara replied, ending the meeting quickly. Red Tornado turned to the team.

"I must join the league. We will protect the planet at all costs, but should we fail.. the responsibility falls to you" Red Tornado explained. 

Aqualad glanced over the team, seeing their combat-ready expressions. "We stand ready" He said, prompting Red Tornado to leave, gone to save the planet. Renner stood next to Robin, watching the android walk away with a grim, but hidden expression. 

He knew this was a simulation, an exercise for the team in a scenario to train them for failure, to get them to do their best. Even knowing this, he still found it a bit hard to watch his mentor, Batman, get killed in space without a word. He sighed and they got to waiting, pulling up news channels to see what was going on.

The news was only worse for Renner, seeing the rest of the Justice League die off was quite an experience. 

"We are Earth's heroes now" Aqualad stated, seeing the last of the Justice League go dark, gone. "So what are we waiting for? A theme song?" Superboy asked sarcastically, trying to get the exercise over and done with.

"A strategy. Earth's weapons are ineffective and it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed" Aqualad explained. Robin quickly pulled up a map to help with a plan, showing that the aliens had invaded almost everywhere in the world. 

"It's Superman's Fortress of Solitude! It's power source must have attracted the aliens' attention, at least enough to send a scout to investigate" Robin explained, pointing to an almost completely blank area on the map, one red dot showing a single alien ship had landed there.

"We will target the lone ship" Aqualad instructed.

-------->

In the Arctic, their plan to take down the ship worked wonderfully and Robin and Superboy took the main weapon- a lazer giant that incinerated everything- from it to incorporate it into the bioship. Superboy took the death of Wolf quite easily, brushing it off to continue the simulation and commenting about how he'd have to give him an extra treat for saving him. 

The bioship had only just started to take in the new weapon when two alien ships came over the horizon, heading straight for the team.

Artemis shot the ships down and make a run for their own ship, but only one of them blew up.

The alien ship aimed, 

                                         shot,

                                                   and hit.

Artemis was dead.

Renner wondered where he got the idea this was a simulation. This wasn't. This is real, Artemis was really.. dead. M'gann and Wally screamed out her name, not wanting to believe she was dead, wanting to run over and check on her. Aqualad recovered quickly enough to destroy the ship before it killed another person and ordered them to get into the bioship.

Instead of returning to the cave to regroup, Aqualad made the decision to get to the Hall of Justice and inform the world there were still heroes trying to defend the Earth, to give some people hope. 

When they got there, they found the place in shambles. After saving what could've been the last of the US Air Force, finding Martian Manhunter under a fallen statue of himself, figuring out that the lazer beams were actually giving off zeta radiation (therefore teleporting it's victims), and losing the bioship, they were off again.

They had run further into the building because they were under attack again and Aqualad planned to use the zeta beams to transport everyone back to the cave. Great idea, except for the fact that they could only go one at a time because Martian Manhunter had to grant temporary access to everyone individually.

Renner had just gotten through when he heard gunfire, and then Wally stumbled in after him claiming that the aliens had gotten through. There was a delay, but then a soldier had made it through, then Superboy, then Martian Manhunter, then....

Aqualad didn't make it.

"Our next mission is clear, if we're believing the aliens are teleporting their victims then the only reasonably detention facility is here" Robin assumed temporary leadership quite easily. "Their mothership. Atop what used to be Smallville."

Robin made a somewhat sound plan in to infiltrate the mothership that Renner listened to intently. He was partnered with Robin and Kid Flash to get inside the ship while Superboy distracted most of the aliens. Inside, they would look for the detention center and rescue any abductees. 

It was all going great. Until it wasn't.

First, there was a near miss with a patrol droid. Then, they figured out there was no one there, no detention center. Everyone that had been hit by lazers were gone, gone for good. Renner wasn't sure if he had even processed this fact yet as they lowered down onto the power core. 

It glowed brightly with the power of the sun and they were going to blow it up. Robin had Renner help him bring along ammo belts full of explosives and now it was clear he knew this moment was coming from the start.

Renner wasn't sure if he was glad Robin let him have some hope going into the mothership or if he was a little miffed about him lying to his face. He didn't have time to dwell on it now as they fell into the endgame.

"Sixteen seconds and counting. Manhunter, take Miss Martian and go" Robin instructed, they had been backed into a corner. "No! We won't leave you!" M'gann tried to argue. "That's an order" Robin added seriously. "We'll follow as we blow those doors!" Robin explained.

 M'gann gave him one last look, one of sorrow and understanding, and they density shifted, leaving the ship. 

The three remaining heroes all looked at each other in their dying moments. 

Renner took off his gold accented wolf mask- his favourite mask, he thought grimly- and kissed Robin one last time. "I love you, Dick" Renner confessed, pulling his mask back on and stepping out, using his powers to push some of the aliens back and away, disorienting them. Robin followed quickly, throwing explosives while Kid Flash ran around to disorient them further.

Renner pulled Robin into a hug just as the explosives went, warmth encasing his body quickly becoming to much. Justine always said burning to death was the worst way to die. At least this way it was almost instant.

He felt the fire quickly work at his skin to first burn it, make it blister and bubble, and then before he knew it he was completely encased in the horrible heat and then he was dead.

-------->

Renner gasped awake with a scream, patting down his body quickly. He could still feel the fire on him as he thrashed around quickly, falling to the floor. 

"What in all of Tartarus just happened!?" He asked loudly, hoping someone in the room with him would hear. "The exercise, it went all wrong" Martian Manhunter replied, holding his head in pain. "Exercise?" Robin asked. "Try to remember" Batman responded, making Renner look up so fast he thought he got whiplash. 

"Batman? You- You're alive?" Renner's mind was suddenly filled with an onslaught of memories. Renner looked around the room to find everyone was there, alive. He found Robin next to him, wearing casual clothing instead of his suit, gasping for breath as well as he got a grip on reality. 

Renner stood up shakily and quickly took a seat next to him before he fell. The two hugged again, like there was no tomorrow. Which, for a moment, there wasn't.