Young Justice Fanfic - DEFCON 1 : Below Sea-Level

Chapter 7

"No..." Kid Flash stood among the rest of the team and the League, standing before the flames, "no, no, no, no, no..." he fell to his knees and pounded at the dirt and grass underneath him, tears bleaching their color to shades of gray.

"Oh my goodness..." Miss Martian covered her mouth, "Dick...Barbara..." She felt Superboy pull her into a comforting hug...the hug he never gave her when Artemis had 'died'.

"This is all my fault..." Aqualad muttered, tears threatening for their escape.

"No..." Batman's fists clenched, his pupils dilated beneath his mask, staring into the burning abyss. He cursed silently under his breath as he clenched his teeth.

"Bruce..." Robin tapped Batman's shoulder. He turned to his protege and he could see his tear-stained mask.

"Let's go..." he said, not bothering to acknowledge the rest of the team or the League, he and Robin made their way through the crowd, and vanished before anyone could ask where they were going.

"Aqualad. Your father..."

"Was a good man..." Aqualad turned to Aquaman, who nodded in approval and agreement.

"I'm terribly sorry."

"He did die a martyr." Aqualad nodded, then he turned to the team, who stood in mourning, looking out at the moonlit sea.

"Let's go home." Kid Flash whispered, finally, grabbing Artemis' hand and squeezing it tight. Artemis wiped her eyes as they walked off to find the nearest Zeta Tube.

"There's no avoiding this this time..." Impulse looked away as Blue Beetle patted his and Beast Boy's backs for comfort.

"We've lost two Mount Justices already... and we've lost our leader...twice..." Wonder Girl sniffed, "oh, and what luck, our alternate leader as well..." She felt the tears escape her eyes, and she just didn't hold them back anymore. She fell to her knees, and Bumblebee leaned down to comfort her.

"Everyone to the Watchtower. If you lived in the cave, you can stay there." Superman said, and everyone started leaving. Impulse looked back at the ocean, the waves and the tides, then sighed,

"We definitely felt the mode today...."

______________________________

Everything was far too calm on Happy Harbor. Mark Mardon is dead. Black Manta is dead. Nightwing and Batgirl are.....

Nightwing gasped as he burst from the surface. He panted and looked around to take in his surroundings. He had drifted out pretty far. He saw the giant fire and the voluminous number of firetrucks at work. He had also noticed that there was no cave. There was no Mount Justice anymore. In its place was a pile of debris, mass destruction, and giant flames.

"Barbara!!" Nightwing yelled, looking around him. He suddenly saw a figure out in the distance. He swam over to it, and it just so happened to be a piece of debris from the cave, among a handful of other debris, also floating around. Some had small flames, still burning. He held onto the piece of debris and looked around. He was holding onto her the entire time, but then she had slipped out of his grasp in the midst of it all. They had actually survived. He then spotted a black and yellow cape. He swam over to it, and his heart stopped. There, he saw Batgirl laying on the piece of debris. He picked her up and felt her neck, then huffed a huge sigh of relief. She was alive. They were both alive. The cave was burnt to pieces, and they were still alive.