Vestra's Base: Unknown Location

Vestra smiled, as she saw the battle scene decay on her large screens. She knew that the League was no more and that Tempest was as good as hers.

A guard stood in the doorway and saluted. "Madame?"

"What is it?"

"The package has arrived."

Vestra walked quickly to the loading docks, guards behind her heels. When she arrived, all of the guards stood behind her. All work had stopped. In the center of the room there was a chair, and on that chair there was a man with a burlap sack on his head. She walked up to the man and ripped the sack off.

The man's head rolled back and forth. He was analyzing the scene. She lowered her voice and whispered to Green Arrow. "Now you're going to listen very carefully."

Green Arrow spit on her and she didn't hesitate to draw a knife to his throat. "Feisty. I hate feisty."

He held still.

"Now Arrow, you're going to help me get my daughter, even if it's the last thing I make anyone else do. By now everyone knows her as Tempest, but her real name is Amber. Amber Kane."

Green Arrow screamed as Vestra shoved the knife into his charred leg. She repeated herself. "Got that?"

He hesitantly nodded in submission as his wound began to bleed onto the floor.

******

The Bat Cave

It's been long and hard in this life. Overall, it has just been so tiring. My reactions and skills are not as fine tuned as they used to be and I've had to watch a psychopath grow up to be a hero with a twisted sense of justice.

It's been long and hard in these years where I have grown old. My hands are shaky when they used to be steady and firm. My eyes need the help of rimmed spectacles perched precisely on the tip of my nose, and they only make the bags under my eyes more clear. My hair has faded along with my spirit. Sometimes it's hard to see, "The Great Alfred Pennyworth," they were all talking about.

It's been long and hard these past hours. I've seen a mighty force be destroyed by another more threatening one. A force that beat the other power only because they fought harder with the bigger sticks.

And it's funny how destiny and fate have a way of ruining people. As the days of my life have gone, I've seen so many men and women walk away with blood forever staining their hands and eyes and memories.

They were the ones who started out so innocent.

Even though the blood is invisible, I can still see it in Bruce's eyes sometimes. They way he remembers having blood on his hands. The way he pauses and stares off in thought. I can tell he thinks about war, if not the one we are fighting.

With a sigh, I focused my attention back to the present. I cleared my throat as Bruce and I began mixing different chemicals and started burning different solutions. Apparently, he needed a serum. One that would be able to put Tempest to sleep.

I didn't know if it would kill her or not, but I knew that the chemicals we were mixing had enough potency to at least put her into hypersleep.

Bruce pulled away his mask and gave me a sideways glance with his tired eyes, "Do you think this will work, Alfred?"

"Well, it has the same ingredients as your injection did."

"Do you think she'll be immune?"

I looked away and into the far corner and gestured with my right hand. In that far corner, a dull bronze light illuminated a long glass case. The base of it was white and the top of it was a rounded glass dome. It poetically reminded me of Snow White's coffin in a way, though this reality isn't a fairy tale.

"That's what the cryo-chamber is for. The serum should knock her out, and then we can put her to rest in there for as long as possible."

"You don't have to say it so kindly, Alfred. It's a prison."

I stood in silence. Bruce was always one for hard logic.

"Of course it is."

Bruce kept his eyes on the environment around him, mostly keeping a calculated stare on all of the ingredients. Bruce took his hand to a beaker with a pink liquid that rested on the bottom of the glass. It had a syrupy texture and it gave off a strong aroma of magnolia's. He began to swirl it around so that the liquid separated from itself, creating large pink bubbles.

Bruce looked back at me eagerly. "It's almost done Alfred. Hand me the liquefied Yendolinene."

I grabbed a black watery substance from a nearby shelf and handed the vile to Batman. "You must hurry, the longer we sit here, the worse it gets."

"You think I don't know that, Alfred?" He subtly hid his annoyance.

"Just hurry, Master Bruce."

Bruce took that vile and poured it in with the beaker. The substances began to fizz and bubble until they both settled into each other to create a purple water. Bruce poured the mixture into a small syringe and hid it in his cloak. He pulled his mask back on and rushed to the nearest zeta tube in the cave. He looked back at me and nodded.

I nodded back and a flash of light appeared, then he was gone.

Now was the time for me to prepare the cryo-chamber, but I still worried about Bruce. This war had been long and hard for him too.

******

The Center of the Gotham Storage Facility

I sat on the ground, with my hands squeezing the roots of my hair, rocking back and forth. My head hurt so bad. It was worse than anything I've ever felt before. My head pulsed and thumped and my brain felt like it could explode. What had he done to me?

Tempest, the voice was menacing, I warned you this would happen.

I swallowed, what's going to happen to me? Please tell me I won't die, I don't want to die.

Your powers don't work like they used to. You're going to be lucky if you have them at all.

I wanted to cry, let out my pain, but instead I gave out a huge cough that sent a splatter of blood to the ground. I kept my head down, but put a shaky hand out to feel the pool. I touched my face and felt the blood running from my eyes. I felt the scratches that were on my bare arms.

Why did you tell me to kill him? I asked the voice.

I didn't. You came to that decision on your own.

I wheezed as I took a shallow breath in and looked up at the two remaining fighters. They stared at me like I was something broken and abused.

I clenched my teeth and yelled at them.

"What do you want?! Go away! The battle is over now, you can go," but words wandered away. I began to fall into my tears. I just let them come.

Clark was angry, I knew that much, but to my surprise, he came and kneeled down in front of me. He was gentle when he questioned me. "How did you do that?"

I sneered. "Do what?"

"Do all of those things with your powers?"

I looked away from his pleading stare and raised one of my wrists. "They let me do things I see and analyze. I can copy powers."

Clark grabbed my wrist and I flinched. He looked at me, and then continued to examine them. "How did you get them?"

I scoffed at that. What a good question. What was I supposed to tell them? I was an experiment who died and then came back to life? I was just another Frankenstein to my dear old dad? I stared at my father's lifeless body and tilted at it with my chin. "Who do you think?"

Clark looked at my father and then rested his eyes on the ground, letting go of my wrist. I let it drop to my side. I needed to go, get out of here. I just needed to get away.

I stood up and stumbled. Clark caught me, and soon Martian Manhunter was at his side. I shook away from Clark's embrace and tried to walk away, but Manhunter froze me in my place.

"What are you doing to me?!" I yelled in frustration. "Just let me go! I'll never bother anyone, ever again."

Manhunter came in front of me. "I need answers. Who was it that killed Cassie and Beast Boy in the lab?"

I thought they would leave me be. Out of all the members of the League, I thought Manhunter and Superman would be the most kind. I swallowed, avoiding eye contact with them. I guess if I thought logically though, Superman probably hates my guts for what I did and doesn't understand why I didn't kill dad earlier.

"It was me," I hesitated to continue on, "I was in the initial stages of testing, they said. Father made me do it."

I saw an evil change in Manhunter's eyes. "How do we get the Young Justice back?"

"I have to unfreeze them."

Manhunter violently threw me in the air at the block of ice. I hit the hard surface and felt the wind leave my lungs. I panted as I felt my head pulse more and more and my ears rung. I slowly got up and held my head, squinting at Manhunter.

He yelled at me. "Then unfreeze them!"

I whispered, "I can't."

"Do it!"

I yelled, "I can't!"

"Why can't you?!"

I felt light headed and so I collapsed onto the ground again on my hands and knees. I kept eye contact with Manhunter. "I'm not strong enough."

"The hell you aren't!"

Clark grabbed Manhunter by the arm and faced him. They whispered chaotic whispers until Manhunter escaped Clarks grasp with a shove. "They were right about you," he said. Manhunter began to walk toward me. I lifted my head enough to look him in the eyes. He shook his head and levitated the block of ice. He flew away.

Clark grabbed me and hugged me then. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Restraining you."

"What?"

At that moment I felt a sharp prick in my neck. Darkness began to pull at my eyelids and I struggled to see what was going on. From the corner of my eye I could see Batman. There was not a mark or scratch on him, but Clark looked fairly battered and bruised.

I finally let the darkness pull me into a warm, peaceful sleep.

******

The Bat Cave

The den was silent as Batman placed Tempest into the cryo-chamber. Her face was finally beautiful when she was out. Nothing bothered her.

Clark and Bruce faced each other as the coffin closed.

Clark lowered his voice, "So what now?"

Bruce didn't know how to answer, "We do what we always do and keep fighting."

"What about the League?"

"I don't think there is one anymore without any heroes in it."

Clark sighed. "I'm sorry, Bruce."

"For what?"

"I started this mess, and I can't clean it up."

"Well, neither can I."

The two stood in silence and looked at Tempest. Clark sighed. "What about her?"

"She'll be guarded."

"No, Bruce. I mean why is she in there?"

"We may need her later." Batman began to walk away from Clark, who only followed closely behind his heels. Bruce was heading for the zeta tube.

Clark and Bruce let the light of the contraption surround them as they looked into each other's eyes. Clark spoke again. "I'll always be here for you, Bruce. Always." The light flashed. And then the two were gone.