Young Meets Young

Chapter Five

Author's Note: I am so sorry for taking nearly a month to update! I was having major writer's block, but hopefully I am back in the groove of things. So, without further ado, here is chapter five!

"What happened to him?"

The teens all shrank under the glares of the Justice League as they returned on the bioship, getting off in the hangar to be met by most of the adult heroes.

How did they know we snuck out? I thought we shut off our communicators.

Its the Justice League, Tommy, they seem to know everything. At least Batman does.

At that comment, Batman narrowed his eyes at the teens as if he knew they were talking about him telepathically. They all gulped.

Kaldur was the one to step forward and explain the mission, how they went to the prison to speak with Ivo, how they ended up at Yellow Stone National Park, the fight with the androids, retrieving Red Tornado, and finally, Billy's powers backfiring. "- and we don't know exactly what happened, none of us were close enough to see, but when Teddy flew up to catch him he saw what condition Billy was in. Tommy took his brother back here faster than the bioship would be able to."

"We tried to talk him out of using his powers but Billy is very head strong." Kate sighed, dropping her bow on the table as they made their way into the lounge.

"How is he, by the way?" Cassie asked, trying to shove her way past the adults to get to the med bay only to be met by resistance. "Why can't we see him?"

"He is still being treated for his...condition." Black Canary worded carefully.

"What the hell does that mean?" Teddy thundered, getting up in Batman's face.

"It means Zatara is doing his best to find the source of Billy's ailment but for now he is in a medically induced coma."

"'Source of his ailment'? Don't you know already that it was the Joker Venom?" Tommy spat, sitting down in one of the arm chairs with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.

"That was our original hypothesis, yes. Now..." Superman looked to the other Leaguers, unsure of if he should be sharing this information with the teens. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he decided they deserved to know what was happening with their teammate. "Now, we're not so sure."

"Do you have any theories?" Cassie sounded hopeful, or at least that was the front she was putting on. Inside, she was frightened. Billy was one of her best friends and she would never forgive herself if something were to happen to him.

"As of right now, no. We are focusing on keeping him alive." The teens all let out shocked gasps and Black Canary realized her mistake. "Not that there is a big chance of his death! But our main focus is on his health, is what I should have said."

The two groups of teens nodded, sinking into their various seats as the adults dispersed. Batman and Zatara were staying to look over Billy while the rest of the Justice League had other matters to attend to.

No one said a word as they let the last few days sink in, everyone lost in their thoughts until Wally let his curiosity get the better of him. He turned to the other group of teens with a thoughtful expression. "You never said what your mission was that you were on right before you arrived here, did you?"

"That's right, you didn't!" Dick snapped his fingers, looking over at the Young Avengers. "Care to tell us now, since we have nothing else to do?"

The Young Avengers exchanged a look amongst themselves and shrugged, Kate leaning forward on her elbows to tell the tale. "Alright, we got nothing to lose. It all started, not surprisingly, when Billy's powers began to malfunction..."

Flashback

"Gah!" Billy cried out, a ball of blue energy engulfing him as his powers over loaded. The HYDRA agents the Young Avengers were going up against instantly passed out, along with the rest of his team. Billy stumbled over to his friends, still emitting waves of bright blue energy, shaking them awake one by one. Once they were all conscious once more, he began to shake with fear. "Guys...what's happening to me? I-I'm scared...I almost killed you!"

"You're...you're glowing." Tommy helpfully pointed out, poking his brother only to get zapped by a shock of electricity. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"I didn't mean to do that!" Billy sobbed, his hands icing over. "What's happening?"

"Billy, I think we need to find the Scarlet Witch and have a chat with her. She's the only one that can help."

So the Young Avengers went to Avengers Mansion, asking for Wanda Maximoff. She appeared before them, surprised to see her two sons. "What are you two doing here?"

"Billy needs your help, mom." Tommy explained the situation as Billy tried his best to stop the ice from spreading on his body, the blue glow still surrounding him. "What do we do?"

"I'm afraid I can't help, this is something Billy must overcome on his own."

"How? What do I do that?"

Wanda didn't have a chance to answer as the Avenger's alarm went off, signaling an emergency. She told the team she would catch up with them later, rushing off to help her own team. The teenagers stood there for a moment before deciding to follow, lending a hand to the grown up Avengers. When they arrived at the battle, they found Loki was causing mischief yet again in New York.

"Cap, what can we do to help?"

"Go home, you don't want to mess with Loki!"

"But-"

"That is a direct order! Please, Eli, we've got this under control."

Eli grumbled, turning to Billy. "Take us back to base. We can regroup there and try to figure out a plan for your power surge."

"Okay. There'snoplacelikehomethere'snoplacelikehomethere'snoplacelikehome."

End Flashback

"You guys relied on Billy's powers even though you knew they were malfunctioning?" Dick asked, a bit incredulous.

"We had to get out of there quickly...and we might not have been thinking that we would end up in an alternate dimension." Kate snapped.

"Could this Loki fellow be responsible for Billy's powers malfunctioning? You said he likes to cause mischief, right?" Conner asked, watching as realization dawned on the Young Avengers.

"Oh, that Asgardian is in for a world of hurt when I see him. I don't care if he is on Billy's top five list." Teddy mumbled, cracking his knuckles with a glare.

"Down boy, we don't know for sure that it was Loki." Kate sighed, slumping in her chair. "This sucks, Billy going into a coma right before his favorite holiday."

"Well, I guess we will just have to celebrate extra for him." Tommy waggled his eyebrows at the archer, earning a punch to the shoulder. "Ow, okay."

"There is a dance at our high school we can go to while we wait. You know, to take our minds off this." M'gann shrugged. "What do you say, Young Avengers? Want to party on our Earth?"

The other worlders exchanged a look before nodding. "Sure, but we need costumes."

Artemis smirked, clapping her hands once. "Leave that to me."