Young Justice: Final Exam

Chapter 4

In the exact second that Harkness hurled his trademarked projectile ever precariously close to his unprotected face and torso, time itself seemed to operate in slow-motion for Roy Harper.

Despite the stoic nature of his domino mask, his eyes were flooded with nothing but raw emotion as he faced down the very weapon of his demise. In his moment of self-realization, his life as a costumed vigilante and partner to the Green Arrow was put into full perspective.

But for all the good deeds and friendships, what truly stood out in his mind were all the things he had yet to do: his yearning to be accepted by both friend and foe as an equal to his mentor, his desire to be admitted into the Justice League, his dream to be a hero in his own right.

However, in his emotional whirlwind what he failed to notice was the sudden gust of wind breezing by his right followed by a familiar blur materializing right in front of him.

A gloved hand plucked the boomerang right out of the air, mere inches away from his face. As the blur continued to dash forwards, Boomerang was none the wiser with his pompous smile still etched across his face.

However, he was certainly made aware when a lightning-quick haymaker courtesy of Kid Flash rammed full frontal into his face and knocked him backwards.

Shock soon yielded to slumber as the now groggy Boomerang staggered backwards into a 360 spin before finally stumbling forwards blindly and falling flat on his face, rendered unconscious.

Skidding on the floor to decelerate before grinding to a halt, Kid Flash tossed the boomerang aside before racing back to help Speedy up to his feet.

"Dude, I swear I'm not doing this on purpose!" he insisted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his half-mask as Speedy produced some light gauze from one of his belt pouches and tied it around his injured shoulder.

Switching bow arms, he nodded in appreciation at the slightly fatigued speedster. "Thanks, but we're not out of the woods yet."

"Well ain't that an understatement!"

Both teens twirled around to face the other Rogues, Captain Cold and Heat Wave who confidently sauntering towards them with their weapons primed and at the ready.

Drawing back another trick arrow, Speedy narrowed his eyes as he zeroed in on the duo while Kid Flash assumed a running stance.

"What, too much heat for you kids already?" Captain Cold sneered, his usual vindictive snark present even now.

"I am the heat!" Mick deadpanned in his usual growl, a palpable fire in his eyes as he stared down the two vigilantes.

"Well well, if isn't the other two stooges! Look, if you guys are mad over what we did to Kangaroo Jack we'd be more than happy to spread the love," Kid Flash declared confidently.

In response, Snart merely chuckled to himself before hefting his weapon against his shoulder. "That's funny coming from you, kid. After all, how proud must the Justice League feel sending three boys to die attempting to do a man's job? Sure, they'll mourn once we send them your charred corpses but I hear they've got a pretty good track record when it comes to replacing their sidekicks. Now that's cold, even for me."

"Try this on for size," Speedy responded simply, before letting go of the projectile.

The arrow whistled through the air for maybe a few feet before it was suddenly encased in an icy block, courtesy of Snart's patented cold gun. Instantly weighted down by its now crystallized shell, it plummeted back to the ground and shattered into a dozen pieces at Snart's feet.

"Enough games," Cold scoffed impatiently, before levelling the gun at both of them. "Time to put you boys on ice, permanently."

"Put us on ice? Really, dude?" Kid Flash groaned, before crossing his arms and leaning against Speedy's shoulder. "Snart, ice puns are beneath you. Just like that arrowhead thingy lying on the floor right now."