chapter seventeen.
( in my heart and in my head. )

     Yue didn't remember coming to the Cave that morning.

She didn't remember being told about the alien ship invading their solar system, their planet's atmosphere, and she didn't remember Batman leaving to space in the Batwing. It felt like something she would remember, why in the world would she forget something so significant in just under an hour?

Standing in the meeting hall, she crosses her arms over her suit as she watches the transmission from the League's celestial defence squad. Both Green Lanterns, Hal and John she remembered from Batman's personal files on the heroes, were the first to perish in a flash of light from the warship's weapons. Superman was the next, followed by other members of the Justice League, and when the warship's ray strikes the Batwing, Yue only feels numb inside.

Bruce Wayne, though he could be annoying at even the best of times, had been like a father to her in the last three years. Now, staring at the static filled screen that almost certainly meant he perished in that flash of light, she can only think that he couldn't be gone. He couldn't be because he was Batman, he was resourceful and smart, and he had made it out of worse things than this.

Her eyes flicker over to Dick; just like her, he doesn't let his reaction to the static transmission show. Instead, his gaze hardens behind his domino-mask and he lowers his head.

Another holo-screen appears to replace the static. Zatara sits in the centre, his brows pinched together in worry. "Tornado, did you-?" He cuts himself off, a heavy sigh falling from his lips as he finds himself unable to explain what he just saw.

"Yes, Zatara. We saw," Red Tornado steps away from the screen, revealing the team of young heroes standing behind him. Zatara's eyes widened, as if he was unsure how to feel about the teens watching the decimation of over half the League. "Celestial defences have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative." Zatara nods. "See you in the field."

Yue is the first of the teens to step forward, her head held high with determination. "What do you need us to do, Red?" She asks.

"I must join the League," he states firmly, his eyes scanning over the faces of the young heroes. "We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

Any other day, his words would overwhelm her– but today doesn't feel like any other normal day. Just like Bruce's death had filled her with determination, Red Tornado's words strengthen her resolve. She's a hero, she tells herself, and heroes don't cower in the face of evil.

Kaldur nods his head. "We stand ready."

While Red Tornado leaves the Cave, the teens scatter through the meeting hall on edge. Wally, however, remains seated as he stares at the GBS news broadcast. Unblinking, he watches the camera shift from Cat Grant to Iris West-Allen, his aunt, as she relays the news.

"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live!" The woman calls out. The skyscrapers of down-town Central City fill the background behind her, along with dark smoke and the quiet echo of screams as alien ships zoom through the cloudy skies. "The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City! " She ducks, a gasp falling from her lips as the building behind her explodes.

Yue reaches over to take Wally's hand, gently squeezing it as they both continue to watch. The Flash swoops in, plucking Iris off the ground and running her to the rooftop of a building further away while Zatara rescues the camera-man.

"You should both be safe here." Zatara assures them, a deep frown taking over his face as he observes the city around them. "At least for now."

"Thank you... Flash." Iris smiles toward the speedster– her husband– then turns to face the magician. "And you, Zatara." The Flash gently pats her shoulder, the two sharing a look that Yue knew all too well; she had given Wally that same look countless times on a mission; it was the "don't die on me" look.

As both heroes leave the rooftop, the camera-man turns back to Iris. "Danny, you okay?" She asks, and when he gives her a thumbs-up, she continues the report. "As you can see, the Justice League is attempting to hold the line."

Yue can't hear her following words as she focuses on the camera zooming in on a nearby building; The Flash and Zatara stand together with a few newly rescued civilians, and before Danny can move the camera back to Iris, the apartment building explodes. She's sure, in that moment, she will never forget the heartbreaking scream Iris lets out as she falls to her knees. The woman sits at the edge of the building, her hand stretched out towards the destroyed apartments like she could go back in time to save her husband.

"Iris! Iris, get out of there!" Cat Grant shouts to her colleague. The last thing the world sees before the camera cuts out is an alien ship flying toward Iris and Danny.

Wally lets out a shaky breath, his hand holding onto hers tighter as he tears his gaze away from the news. "Wal," she murmurs his name quietly, then lets go of his hand to wrap her arm around his shoulders. He sinks into her embrace and she frowns as she tightens her embrace, it's all she can offer him; a little bit of warmth in this cold world.

"Tornado to Cave." The android's voice cuts through the comms. The screen portraying the news broadcast is pushed to the side and a video from Smallville begins to play. "I fear I am all that remains of The League."

"RT!" Dick calls out, his eyes widening as the android is struck by a beam from the alien's mothership. Just like all of the other heroes, they could do nothing but watch as he disintegrated before their very eyes.

A shiver runs down Yue's spine, and it takes all she has to hold back the urge to vomit. The Justice League is gone. The entire Justice League, Bruce included. Her eyes scan over the room; Artemis has a stoic expression painted across her face, Conner stares at the ground while M'gann hugs his arm, and Dick holds a hand to his forehead.

Kaldur rises to his feet, clearing his throat to gain the attention of his team. "We are Earth's heroes now." His voice is steady and firm, unaffected by watching their mentors murdered.

Conner crosses his arms. "So, what are we waiting for? A theme song?"

"No. A strategy," Kaldur answers with a sigh. "Earth's weapons are ineffective, and it has been made tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed."

"Checking satellite imagery." Dick announces, then with a swipe of his hand, moves the holo-globe from his gauntlet to sit in the middle of the team's circle. Red dots litter the map, mostly gathered in the largely populated cities. "Here's where the aliens are now."

"A full-blown alien invasion..." Unwinding her arms from around Wally, Yue turns to face the holo-globe with wide eyes. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"This one get lost?" Conner reaches forward to point at a lone red dot– an alien in the middle of the arctic.

Across from the clone, Dick and Yue both share a look. They had read Batman's files on The League, they knew his contingency plans and his thoughts on his teammates, and they knew what was out that far in the northern arctic region.

Dick gulps, then turns back to the team. "That's Superman's Fortress of Solitude." He informs them.

Conner blinks. "Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?"

"Its power source must have gained the aliens' attention somehow." Yue, with a frown on her face and no time to explain why they kept the secret from the clone, crosses her arms. "They might even recognise its signature as something alien in origin."

"Yeah," Dick agrees. "At least enough to send a scout ship to investigate."

"Must be some fortress," the clone whispers, causing M'gann to rest her hand against his shoulder. "It's okay," he assures her. "I guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know. Uh, you know, now..."

Now that he's dead, Yue thought. Even as she thought about it, the League and Bruce's deaths, she couldn't wrap her mind around how unreal it all felt despite having watched it transpire with her own two eyes.

"We will target this lone ship," Kaldur cuts through the silence with his decision.

"Yeah, break it down, build more!" Wally, snapping out of the trance he had been in while watching his aunt and uncle die to the aliens, chimes in with a pump of his fist. "Hit those ugly aliens with their own moj- Ow!" His eyes flicker to Artemis, who had reached over to punch his arm.

"Martian and Kryptonian in the house." The archer rolls her eyes as she nods her head over to their two teammates. They both stare back at Wally with raised brows.

"Uh–" He immediately backtracks. "Not that all aliens are automatically ugly!"

In the arctic snow that made the front-yard of the Fortress of Solitude, Flamebird and the team– dressed in the white stealth suits for missions in snowy climates– hide in the snow as they wait for the alien ship to approach.

Even with the fur outlining her hood and cape, she can feel a chill run down her spine as she glances at Robin. He sits beside her, both bird-themed heroes hiding behind a snowy hill, ready to scan the alien ship once Miss Martian and Artemis take it down.

"Communications disabled." Miss Martian announces as she uses her telekinesis to rip various parts of the ship off its hinges. The alien ship falls down into the snow at her feet. "Propulsion disabled."

Artemis, from the top of a small snow-hill, rises to her feet and shoots an arrow at the small ship's entrance. Foam releases from the rounded tip of the arrow, then hardens. Artemis throws herself to the left, and Flamebird feels her breath catch in her throat, as the ship begins firing the cannon at the archer. She dodges every attack with a smirk, "And ET's are sealed inside!"

Aqualad emerges from the icy water below and lands atop the ship, just as Wolf and Superboy hold the cannon in place to prevent it from firing again. Flamebird, emerging from her own hiding spot, leaps onto the ship's roof and digs her bo-staff into one of the cannon's nooks.

Robin stands beside them, scanning the ship with a small hand-held device. "Identifying weapon's structural stress points and links to the ship," he announces, then shows the three red dots to Miss Martian and Superboy. "Here, here and here."

With a nod of her head, Miss Martian stretches her hands in the ship's direction. Her eyes glow bright green as she begins to tear the cannon off its hinges with Superboy's added strength, Flamebird glances over at them, then toward the two wires that fall from the cannon.

Her eyes widen as the wires begin to glow, it was the same yellowy coloured she had seen when the League was murdered, and it has her stepping away from the cannon with a shout.

"Get down!" Her hand brushes against Superboy's shoulder, but before she can push him off the ship, she feels something collide into her. The two heroes fall into the snow with a thump, looking up to see the cannon's beam strike Wolf down.

The wolf disappears.

"Wolf," she murmurs his name in shock. Carefully, she sits up, the snow clinging to her dark hair as she whips her head around to face her friend. "Conner, I'm-"

"There- there was no indication of feedback." Robin chimes in, his own wide eyes staring down at his screen hopelessly. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Superboy glares down at the ice below his feet, then slowly rises to his feet with an almost emotionless look in his eyes– the same one both she and Robin wore when watching their father die. "Can't do anything for him now," he breathes out as he climbs back onto the ship.

Kid Flash slides off the ship to help Flamebird off the ground. He didn't need to say a word, even without the mind-link causing all of their emotions to wash over her splintered mind, for her to know he was concerned; with a soft smile on her face, she stands up and nods her head.

Sighing, he lets go of her hand and reaches out to brush the snow off her shoulder before lifting her hood back over her head. "You gotta be more careful," he warns her aloud with a frown. "What if something happens to–"

"I'm fine, KF." As his hand falls from the hood of her cape, she takes it back in her grasp. Even with the cold winds howling around them, his touch felt so warm. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

A loud clunk, the sound of Miss Martian ripping the cannon off the alien ships, draws both teens out of the moment. "Rerouting systems to integrate the weapon into Bioship's bio-matrix," she informs the others as the Bioship reappears in front of her. "We'll need to de-camouflage for a few minutes."

Kid Flash climbs back onto the ship, then leans down to reach for Flamebird's hand. As she lifts her gaze, her dark eyes fall onto two alien ships coming down from the cloudy sky behind Kid. "Uh, guys," she calls out. "I don't think we have a few minutes. Two alien ships incoming, the ship must've sent out an SOS before we disconnected comms!"

The team watches as the two ships fly past, only to circle back around toward them. "Miss Martian, open fire!" Aqualad orders.

"I can't!" The Martian answers with a shake of her head. "Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon, and that's not fully integrated yet either!"

"Got you covered!" Artemis takes off running away from the downed ship, slowing to a stop as she pulls an arrow back in her bow. "Get inside, I'm almost there!" The archer fires three arrows at the approaching ships, and while both hurtle down into the snow, one skids across the ice and comes face to face with the young hero.

Time slows and M'gann's scream of the archer's name as she gets hit by the cannon's beam pierces through the cold silence.

It feels real.

More real than Bruce's death, more real than Wolf dying, and more real than watching the entire Justice League get murdered on that screen back in the Cave. This was Artemis, her teammate, her friend– and now she's dead.

Flamebird's knees buckle beneath her, and as a cry racks through her chest, Kid Flash is there to catch her in his arms. The weight of their deaths seem to hit her all at once as her heart pounds in her chest. She stares out to the spot Artemis had been standing in just seconds prior. There was no body, nothing to bury or mourn; just the haunting image of her dying while they helplessly watched.

"Get inside, all of you!" Aqualad, with regret in his eyes and a snarl on his lips, slides off the Bioship and runs at the alien ship. His order was clear but the team didn't move. The world shakes with the ship's explosion and a silence settles in its place as the team stare out into the emptiness.

Artemis was gone and they were still here.

Nothing would be enough to take that burden off their shoulders.

The entire team is quiet as they enter the Bioship. Miss Martian weakly falls into the pilot's seat, sobbing into her hands while Superboy hovers at her side. Aqualad finds a seat at the front of the ship, his lips twisted into a frown and his eyes shut. Robin sits at the back of the cockpit, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at the window beside him.

Flamebird is the last to step into the Bioship, her hands hanging limply at her sides as she shuffles inside. She snaps out of her trance only when a warm hand wraps around her wrist and pulls her into the Bioship's back-room. "Wal? What are you-?" She finds herself cut off when the boy in front of her breaks down into tears.

With her own heart weighing heavy in her chest, all she can do is stare in surprise. Wally was never one to cry in front of others like this, she could count on maybe one hand the times she had seen him cry over something that wasn't a sad romance movie she had forced him to watch. Slowly, she reaches out for the boy and pulls him into her embrace.

She wanted to be strong for him, she thought as she felt his arms wrap around her waist, his forehead pressing into the crook of her neck. She wanted to be strong for him, but how could either of them be strong when their friend just died?

His hand snakes around her back, gripping tightly onto the material of her cape as he pulls her even closer, as if he were afraid she would disappear when he lets go. "Don't– Please, don't leave me." He stumbles over every other word, and his voice comes out small and quiet, but she hears him perfectly.

It breaks her heart and her mind races, every thought starting with Artemis's death and ending with the painful reminder that Dick or, god forbid, Wally, could be next. Sniffling, she rests her cheek against the top of his head.

"I won't." She promises– and she knows she can't possibly keep it, that they were in the middle of a war and surviving from here on out was a luxury not a guarantee, but whenever she thinks about the shake of his shoulders or the tears soaking through her suit she can't bring herself to do anything but promise. She didn't want to leave him, just as much as she didn't want him to leave her. "I'm not going anywhere. I swear."

They wait in that room, quietly holding onto each other, before they return to the cockpit. A heavy silence hangs in the air when they return, and as Kaldur's eyes fall onto them, he clears his throat and stands up. "There will be time to mourn later," he says. "Right now, we have a job to do. Defend the Earth and ensure Artemis's sacrifice was not in vain."

M'gann swallows. "Back to the Cave?"

"The Hall of Justice." He answers. "The human race must know that there are still heroes defending them. There is still hope."

Washington had become a battlefield, Flamebird realises as she peers out the front window of the Bioship. Dark clouds cover the sky above and rubble, along with tanks and other military equipment, is scattered along the ground. The Bioship flies over the three alien ships attacking the army below and Superboy, with his hands clenched into fists, jumps through the hatch that opens in the floor.

He lands on one of the ships, knocking it out of the sky before leaping to the next. His hand punches through the surface of the roof, guiding the ship to crashland near the Hall of Justice.

Miss Martian pilots the Bioship to follow after the last alien aircraft, then shoots it out of the sky without a second thought. Inhaling a deep breath, the Martian lands the Bioship in front of the army's base.

Flamebird gulps as she stands from her seat, her hands are shaking at her sides and she can't seem to take a step forward. They weren't ready for this. It was Aqualad's idea, announcing themselves as the Justice League to give hope to the survivors, but in the back of her mind she knew it wasn't right.

They were never going to live up to the Justice League's legacy.

"Yue." Kid Flash whispers her name, his hand wrapping around her own as he draws her out of her thoughts. She glances over her shoulder and finds him already staring at her, a concerned look glazing over his green eyes. "Come on," he murmurs, gently guiding her to the Bioship's exit.

Sucking in a deep breath, she hesitantly follows the team down the ramp and toward the soldiers who come out to greet them. "See? It is Superman!" She can hear one of the soldiers exclaim as Superboy lands at his team's side. "I told you he wouldn't leave us out here alone."

"I don't know... He looks kinda young." Another mumbles. "And where's the cape?"

Superboy frowns. "I'm not Superman."

"I don't know who you are, son. And right now, I don't care." The general steps forward, his posture stiff as he addresses the clone. "You wear the 'S' and you get the job done."

The boy lowers his gaze to the rubble at his feet, his frown only deepening as he repeats himself. "I'm not Superman..."

"Tell that to the enemy." A smirk tugs at the General's lips as his eyes scan over the faces of the young heroes. "General Wade Eiling," he introduces himself. "U.S. Air Force."

"Aqualad, Justice League." Their leader claims, keeping his head held high when the man in front of him raises a brow. "We'll help you salvage as many of the alien's cannons as possible, and then, we start taking back what is ours."

The Hall of Justice, when they step through the shattered glass doors marking the entrance half-an-hour later, is in ruin. Merchandise and mementos are scattered along the once pristine white floors of the building, and as Flamebird looks up to the statues of the League's founding members, her heart falls to her stomach.

The statues were in a worse state than anything else, broken and barely standing in the centre of the main-room. Flamebird stares up at where Batman's statue had been when she visited the Hall in July; the cowl is in pieces and cracks run along the rest of his face.

Tears sting the corners of her eyes. She lost her family three years ago, her mother was dead and her father was shipped off to Blackgate, but her dad died in space just over five hours ago and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to wrap her head around it.

Bruce, Victor, Artemis, even Barry and Iris; they were all gone now. Wiping the back of her gloved hand along her tear-stained cheek, she turns to glance at her teammates. She had already lost so much, so many of the people she considered family were gone, and she couldn't lose another one.

No matter how far she had to go, no matter what she needed to do, she was going to protect them.

"They're really gone." Robin breathes out as he stares up at the smashed statue of their mentor.

Her eyes flicker from her brother, over to Kid Flash. The head of Flash's statue sits at his feet, and without a second thought, she steps across the rubble to take his hand in her own. He lifts his gaze, smiling sadly as he meets her dark eyes.

Miss Martian floats toward the statue of her uncle, sobs rack through her body as she falls to her knees at its side. The Martian falls silent a second later, then gasps as she shoots away from the statue and flies into the air; she waves her hand, raising the fallen head off the ground.

Martian Manhunter, the real Martian Manhunter, lays underneath the fallen statue.

"Uncle J'onn!" She throws the levitating statue head to the side and rushes toward her uncle, all too happily throwing her arms around the martian as he winces.

"M'gann, check his mind." Aqualad orders as he stares over at the martian suspiciously. "Make sure he is who he appears to be."

"It's him, he's real and alive!" Miss Martian cheers. Behind the girl and standing with the rest of the team, Flamebird crosses her arms. She was happy for her friend, of course she was happy that somebody still had family left, but she had watched the Martian die with the rest of the League and she couldn't help but question his presence.

Her thoughts wash over Superboy, who takes a step forward. "But we saw you get disintegrated," he points out with a frown. "You and Superman, and everyone."

"Yes, I remember." Martian Manhunter says weakly, a groan falling from his lips as his niece helps him back to his feet. "But I do not remember how I survived, or how I arrived here."

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed straight through you," Miss Martian suggests, her brows pinching together in thought. Flamebird's dark eyes flick over to Robin, who stares back at her with the same look of disbelief at their friend's feeble theory.

"My mind is clouded," Martian Manhunter frowns, cradling his head in his hands. "I feel I had something important to tell you."

Flamebird turns around as Kid Flash tugs at her hand gently. Facing him, the first thing she notices is the smile on his face, one he had been lacking ever since Artemis. He taps the palm of his free hand against his forehead. "Hello, Wally!" He grins, then waves Robin over. "Come on." With little explanation to the team, he leads both Gothamites outside to the alien ships they destroyed in their landing. "Scan it again," he tells them excitedly. "I think I have an idea."

"You think?" Flamebird raises a brow as she activates the screen of her gauntlet. A blue light emits from the screen, scanning over the alien ship, before the data begins to appear on the holo-screen. "What are we looking for?"

He leans his head over her shoulder, his eyes reading over the words at a faster pace than any normal human could think to imagine, then grins. "I knew it!" He reaches over to point at one of the data collections. "It's giving off zanopenes. The same thing that powers our zeta-tubes!" He looks between his two friends excitedly, stumbling over his words. "Artemis and The League, they're alive!"

He throws an arm around Flamebird's shoulder, pulling her into a side-hug, while she shares a look with the youngest of the trio. Robin's hesitancy to accept Kid's theory rolls onto her like it's her own and, for one of the only times since becoming Bruce's ward, she wishes the Dark Knight hadn't trained them to be so realistic in times like this. "Maybe." She answers Kid. "But that doesn't explain-"

"No maybes!" Kid Flash cuts her off, his arm still hanging around her shoulders as he holds her close. "They're all alive."

Flamebird can feel her mind splinter for the nth time as Miss Martian lets her uncle into her mind. "That must have been what you wanted to tell us!" The Martian girl tells him.

None of this was making sense, Flamebird thinks as she stares down at the collected data on her gauntlet screen. She wanted, desperately, for Wally's theory to be right, but there wasn't enough evidence to back it up. They watched the League – watched Artemis – die in front of them.

Robin's eyes narrow behind his mask as he glances up at the sky. "Everyone take cover!" He shouts to the soldiers surrounding them outside the Hall. The heroes, one by one, slide off the alien ship and take cover behind a nearby Humvee.

"We're on our way!" Aqualad says, only for Robin to shut him down.

"Negative. We can't win this." The boy replies through the mind-link. "Miss M, camo the Bioship and–" His eyes widen as an alien ship swoops down and fires at the Bioship, their team's main form of travel disintegrating just like their mentors had.

Flamebird reaches over to grab his cape, gently pulling the boy to face her instead of their fallen ship. "Robin, we need to go." She snaps him out of his thoughts, then turns toward the General. "Get your men ready, we're heading back."

General Eiling peers out from behind the humvee, using two fingers to signal the nearest soldiers to take point. They lead the three heroes, and a dozen other soldiers, back to regroup with the rest of the team. Eiling comes to a stop, his eyes widening as he looks around the Hall. "We're trapped." He points out as the doors hiss open.

"Maybe not." Aqualad is the first to step through the doors to the library– just as he was the first to walk through those doors four months ago when they founded the team. "We can all zeta to the Cave," he waves a hand toward the closed doors of the League-Only zeta tubes, then glances at Martian Manhunter. "If you can grant us computer clearance to access the tubes."

"I can only authorise one at a time." Martian Manhunter nods as he lets go of his niece to stroll towards the large computers.

Aqualad pauses, his lips pressing together in thought as his eyes scan over the faces in the room. Few soldiers had made it back inside, while the rest were scattered along the Hall of Justice to distract the aliens; Superboy has his arm wrapped around the waist of an injured soldier no older than himself, and he decides. "Send the soldiers first."

"Belay that!" General Eiling steps forward. "You seven are assets we cannot afford to lose."

"That's crazy." Flamebird shakes her head stubbornly. "We're not leaving civilians behind."

"Manhunter." Aqualad, without a second thought, faces the League hero. "Do it."

She stares back at her leader; hurt and confused. The first thought that comes to her mind is that Batman would never allow this, he wouldn't sit by and let innocent civilians sacrifice themselves for his safety. It wasn't right, and yet the more she thinks about it, the more helpless she begins to feel.

The whirring sound of the teleporter silences the outside gunfire as Miss Martian disappears through the zeta-tube.

"Flamebird." Her head snaps in the direction of Kid Flash as he speaks, his voice alone drawing her attention away from the soldiers. "You alright?"

Suddenly, she's thankful M'gann was the first to leave. Thankful that M'gann is all the way in Happy Harbour by now, rendering the mind-link null, and leaving the boy in front of her oblivious to the inner-workings of her mind as she thinks no ; she's not alright, but what choice does she have?

What choice do any of them have?

They're heroes, with the lives of these soldiers resting delicately in their hands and millions of other survivors waiting for rescue throughout the world, so they weren't allowed to be scared. They weren't allowed to grieve, or worry, or think about how much they wanted to be back at their foster father's mansion.

Staring into the worried pools of emerald, she knows she can't admit her feelings. Wally was, for the first time in his life, believing in something beyond reasonable understanding and she didn't want to be the person in charge of ruining his hope.

She could surely use some of it herself.

"I will be." She answers with a forced smile, even as her mind continues to think of all the places she'd rather be. The Manor, with Bruce, and Alfred, and Dick, is at the forefront of her mind. Then comes the West family home in Keystone, with Mary West's homemade dinner on the table and Wally telling some corny joke that rivals his uncle's.

The gunfire grows louder, closer, and the apartment on the cusp of Crime Alley crosses her mind; even that would be better than here.

Robin disappears through the zeta-tube and, with one last look at the soldiers behind her, Flamebird follows behind him. "Flamebird, B-Zero-Two."

When Martian Manhunter appeared through the zeta-tube after the young heroes, a heavy, saddened look in his eyes and the words "I'm sorry" falling from his lips, it took only mere-seconds for Yue to storm away from the main hall.

She finds solitude in the Cave's library and as she collapses to the ground, her heart heavy in her chest, she finds that the tears refuse to fall.

Bruce is gone. Artemis and Kaldur are gone, and all she can do is stare hopelessly at the blank wall across from her as she hugs her legs close to her chest. She wanted to believe in Wally, that his theory about the cannons was right all along and none of them were really dead– but then, a nagging voice in the back of her mind tells her it's all wrong.

She was going to lose everybody she cared about and there was nothing she could do to prevent it from happening. They were all going to die. They were all going to leave her.

A knock taps against the library doors and she lifts her gaze off the floor. One tap, a pause, then another two. She sucks in a deep breath, then calls out, "You can come in!"

Her answer is met with silence, then the door slowly pushes open and Dick peeks his head inside. "Are you... Are you okay?" He asks, closing the door behind him before he moves to sit beside her on the floor.

"Yeah.... No? I-" She frowns as she stumbles over her words. She liked to think Wally was the one person she could never lie to, and maybe he was for a time, but she had been lying to him ever since falling head over heels and she was sure she'd keep doing so until the feelings went away, but Dick? She could never hide from her brother, so she settles for the only answer she can: "I don't know."

He averts his gaze and nods. "Me either," he answers truthfully. "I... I know we can't stop, that we need to keep pushing forward with the mission, but-"

"But you don't want to replace him?" She questions, leaning against the bookshelf behind them as she stares down at the boy.

"You remember what Wally said, back at the Hall?" Dick lifts his head to meet her gaze. Rather than repeating her question about their late-leader, she nods her head in response. "I don't think he's right about the zanopenes, Yue. I think... We need to start considering our options."

"Like what? There's not much the six of us can do on our own against an entire army of–" She cuts herself off as Dick gently, and carefully, places a box-shaped item on the ground in front of them. A timer sits atop the explosive, not yet turned on. "Dick..."

"It's the only way." He states firmly. "If we can sneak aboard the mothership, we have a chance at ending all of this. They won't be able to kill anyone else."

Gulping, Yue glances around the otherwise empty library. "Have you told the others?" She finds herself asking in a whisper. "What do they-?"

"They don't know." He shakes his head. "They can't know. You really think KF is just gonna stop believing they're alive because we told him to? And M'gann and Conner– none of them are gonna understand it the way we do."

As she stares down at the explosive, she reminds herself this is what Batman would do. He wouldn't sacrifice the lives of innocent soldiers and he wouldn't hide away in the Secret Sanctuary, he would do anything to see the mission through to the end.

Dick sighs, then reaches out to pick up the explosive. "If the aliens tamper with the bomb or if they try to follow us out, someone needs to be there and distract them."

"I'll do it." She offers, her head whipping toward him. He was only thirteen, this couldn't fall to him, she tells herself as she accepts both the explosive and the detonator. He was thirteen, a child, and he was going to make it out of this even if she didn't because she couldn't imagine a world where Dick Grayson was dead. "Leave it to me, alright?"

"Yue..." He frowns as he watches the girl stand up.

"It's okay." She assures him with a small smile. "Besides, you have the harder job of convincing everybody to go along with it." When silence washes over them, she tucks the small explosive into her utility belt and steps off toward the one room she knew Wally would've disappeared to.

If she was going down with the ship, she didn't want to take any regrets with her.

Quietly, she steps into the room, her brows furrowing as she watches the speedster move around the kitchen to collect various ingredients. "Wally," she speaks up, leaning against the doorframe with a frown.

His eyes flicker to her, then back to the bread as he holds it up. "You want one?" He asks as he tosses the bag onto the counter, slowly taking out two slices and dropping them onto the black and white plate. "There's a lotta turkey in there, I think it might've been Supes but he said he wasn't hungry."

She shakes her head and walks over to the counter. "Wally, I–"

"I know what you're thinking." He says with a sigh. "It's not a last meal because we're all gonna make it back when this is over," he glances back at the sandwich as he butters it. "Artemis and Kaldur, and the League. They're all making it back." He rambles. "And if this was a last meal, you know I'd be making a lot more than just a turkey sandwich, so this can't be my last meal, I need–"

"Wally." She repeats his name for a third time, and then, before he can cut her off, she lets go of the feelings she had been bottling up since the day they met. "I love you."

He freezes, the butter knife in his hand falls onto the counter, and he stares over at her like she had uttered something so unbelievable.

His gaze feels so strong, so unfaltering, that it has her looking away as she whispers. "I know you said we're coming back from this, but I just needed you to know-" She's cut off by the feeling of his lips against hers; they were softer than she ever imagined and while her eyes begin to flutter shut, she can feel his hand against the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

It would be a lie to say that she hadn't thought about this moment since first admitting her feelings to herself. She had dreamed of it, wondered if she'd ever have the courage to say something, but every thought always ended with the possibility he wouldn't feel the same way.

Now, she can only wish she didn't have to find out like this.

The sun sets over a grim Smallville, painting the night sky with dark clouds, as the team gather on the edge of a cliff out-looking the alien mothership. Flamebird stands beside Robin, her brows furrowed as she glances at the younger boy. "You sure you're up for this?"

He lowers his binoculars. "Are you saying that genuinely?" He asks. "Or because you think somebody else is better fit to lead?" When Flamebird shakes her head, he sighs and lets his hands fall to his sides. "You- You don't have to do this, Flamebird. I know I'm asking a lot of you, so if you want to back out-"

"I'm doing this." She cuts him off with a stern look. "Rob, you're our leader now. They're gonna need you when this is over." She can't bring herself to look behind her, to look at their friends as they say goodbye to Superboy– in a few minutes he would set off as the distraction, another necessary sacrifice to ensure the team wins this fight.

This is what Batman would do, she has to reassure herself.

Robin's masked eyes flicker over to Kid Flash, the speedster stands away from them with Superboy and Miss Martian but his eyes are trained on Flamebird as the two bird-themed heroes quietly converse. "Bad timing and all, but I'm happy for you and KF," he glances back to his sister.

A sad smile forms on her face as she nods. "I never thought it was gonna happen in the middle of a damn invasion, but hey, who am I to complain?" She jokes with a shrug of her shoulders. "I need you to promise me something," she says after a moment. "If I don't make it out of this, make sure he knows it's not his fault."

"I will." He promises, then turns to address the team. "First team, deploy."

Martian Manhunter floats into the air and Miss Martian, sparing Superboy one last saddened look, follows after her uncle as they turn invisible to the naked eye. "Ready, in position." She announces as she touches down inside the ship.

Superboy glances over to Robin, and when the younger boy nods his head, he leaps from the cliffside onto the ship. He charges at the first cannon he can see, his arms wrapping around it as he adjusts it in his grip.

"Careful!" Robin reminds him as the rest of the team– him, Yue and Wally– observe from the ground. "Don't disconnect the power source."

"Alright, you glorified trespassers! You wanna see how a real alien fights?!" He shouts, then begins to shoot at the other cannons. Below him, the large entrance doors slide open and small fighter jets fly out in droves. "Now or never," he tells the team.

Kid Flash rolls back his shoulders, stretches, and then scoops Flamebird into his arms while Robin carefully hops on his back. "You sure about this, Kid?" Concern laces over her eyes as she stares up at the boy, her arm wrapping around his neck. "You've never run with this much weight."

"I've got this." He reassures her with a grin. "Just, both of you, hold on tight." His eyes narrow at the landing pad on the other side of the open doors and he takes off into a sprint, as he lands inside the ship, he sets the girl back on her feet.

Doing a quick sweep of the room, she nods back to the boys. "Way's clear," she informs them. "Let's go." The three heroes sprint through the hangar, ducking behind another pillar as a patrol-drone passes by. With their attention focused on the lone droid, they miss the one creeping up behind them.

A crashing sound has Flamebird's head whipping around. A camouflaged Miss Martian lands behind the droid, her eyes narrowing as she telekinetically destroys the drone. Flamebird stares up at the girl, then with a quick wave of her hand, motions the team to follow behind her further into the ship's halls.

The walk is silent, until an explosion rocks through the ship. Briefly, pain travels through the mind-link and Miss Martian de-camouflages, losing her balance and pressing her weight against the wall as tears fill her eyes.

Flamebird could feel it; in her bones, in her heart, and through the mind-link that briefly shared his pain with the rest of the teammates. Conner is gone. There was no teleportation or zeta-beam, just the hurtful realisation that she and Robin were right all along.

"No." Miss Martian sobs, her voice cracking as she knocks away her uncle's hand when he reaches out for her. "He's gone."

Kid Flash, with a frown on his face and a hopeful look in his eyes, crouches down beside the girl and gently pulls her into his arms. "It's alright," he reassures his friend. "We'll find him with the others. I know it."

Flamebird glances over at Robin, the two heroes sharing a look. What they did was right, she tells herself. It had to be right, sacrificing Conner like that, because it was what Batman would do. He was a good hero, and just like him, she had to be prepared to sacrifice everything for the mission.

It was the only way.

"No." Martian Manhunter speaks up. "My mind is clearer now, the disintegration beam is exactly that. There is no detention facility, no prisoners to rescue. Our mission holds no purpose."

"No, you're wrong!" Kid jumps back to his feet, then grips onto the collar of Manhunter's cape. "The zeta-radiation proves they're alive! They're all-"

The pain in his voice has Flamebird's heart breaking as she watches Robin step between their friend and the Martian. He places his hands on Kid's shoulders, pulling him down to face him. "Stop it, KF," he orders the boy. "We've been scanning for League and team signals since we got inside. They're not here."

She can feel his eyes burning into her as she turns away to hide her frown. This is what Batman would do, she reminds herself again as she avoids the saddened gazes of her friends; she's doing the right thing. "Our mission still has a purpose," she states firmly. "We need to destroy the ship."

She doesn't wait for her team to process her words, instead, she leads them down the hallway and toward the ship's main generator. She crouches behind a row of machinery, her eyes scanning over the room before she turns to Robin. "This is the power core," he confirms with a quick look at the data appearing on his glove. "Blow this and the whole mothership goes down."

"Then let's get this show on the road." Flamebird pushes herself over the machinery, following both Robin and Kid toward the centre platform. Her eyes widen as the gravity in the room shifts, while Manhunter swiftly grabs her hand to stop her from falling, Robin shoots his grapple into the wall and grabs Kid's wrist.

Manhunter lowers her onto the generator with the rest of the team, and Flamebird is quick to fall to her knees, placing the explosives against the warm surface below her. Her eyes flicker to Kid Flash; it was a mistake, she finds, as she watches a look of realisation cross his face.

"You knew." He murmurs. "You both knew from the beginning why we were really here."

"Four minutes." Robin chooses to ignore his friend's words. "Let's go."

Kid Flash looks between the two heroes, then sighs heavily. He's the first to take off toward the doors, hoping to keep them open long enough for the others to escape. When Flamebird and Robin catch up to him, they realise he was too late. Droids swarm into the room, forcing the team apart as Yue, Robin and Kid hide behind a pillar while Miss M and her uncle fly upward.

"What do we do?" Miss Martian's panicked voice echoes through her mind. "They're covering all the exits!"

Flamebird glances down at the countdown on her gauntlet's screen, then lifts her gaze back to Kid. Without a second thought, she leans forward to kiss him. It's short and sweet this time, and when Robin clears his throat beside them, they pull away with sad smiles.

"That better not be a goodbye kiss, Birdy, " Kid says, leaning into the warmth of her hand on his cheek.

"Someone needs to clear a path for the rest of you." She explains. With her shoulders straight and her head high, she can only attempt to mimic half of Batman's strength. This is what he would do to ensure the others could live. "Get out of here, I'll distract them."

She takes a step forward, and the boys share a quick look, before Robin's hand shoots out to stop her. She turns back to him, her eyes widening as she tries to shake her arm out of his grip. "There's no time for-"

"If you're going, we're going." As Robin speaks, she looks between the two boys with a teary-eyed gaze. It wasn't fair, she thinks as her eyes flick back to Robin– it wasn't fair either of them had to be like Batman, it wasn't fair that they sent Conner to his death and were now sacrificing themselves to save the world.

It wasn't fair.

But there's nothing she could do to stop either of them when they set their minds to something, she realised that so long ago now, so she nods her head. 30 seconds, the timer reads. "If we're doing this, we gotta do it now." She tells the boys.

Kid Flash grabs her hand, lacing his fingers with her own and squeezing it softly as a heartbroken smile crosses his face. "I love you," he whispers with a quick peck to her forehead. He kissed her back in the cave when she said it, and he kissed her again just now, but this was the first time he was actually saying it.

She wished they had more time to say it again and again.

"Sixteen seconds and counting," Robin announces. "Manhunter, take Miss M and go."

"No!" Miss Martian shakes her head. "We won't leave you."

He closes his eyes, huffing out a sigh. "That's an order! We'll follow as soon as we blow those doors," he lies. Reluctantly, Miss Martian phases through the wall behind her.

Eight seconds. Flamebird unfolds her bo-staff.

Seven seconds. Kid Flash lowers his goggles.

Six seconds. Robin unfurls five birderangs.

Five seconds. The three heroes glance at each other, Kid's hand squeezes Flamebird's one last time, and they nod their heads in a silent agreement. They weren't going down without a fight. They take off running from behind the pillar, charging at the drones surrounding them.

The mothership explodes around them.

Yue's body jolts forward as she awakes with a loud gasp for air. The cold draft breezing through the Cave brings only momentary relief to the girl's burning skin as she looks around with wide eyes.

She's not dead, none of them are, she realises as a hand wraps around her own. Wally had, somewhere in the time between her waking up and looking around, moved from the table he laid on to stand at her side. When her gaze meets his, a sound – something between a laugh and a sob – falls from his lips and he pulls her into a tight embrace.

Her hands are shaking and yet she still wraps them around the boy as he buries his face into the crook of her neck. He holds her closer, if that was even possible, his breath warming against her skin.

"You're all alive!" M'gann cries out, her arms wrapping around herself as she sits up. Dick sits at the table next to her, his eyes scanning over the room as he breathes heavily. Conner has his arms wrapped around Wolf, while Artemis hugs her legs and Kaldur rests his forehead against his hand.

Batman, hovering between the tables both his wards sit on, glances down at Martian Manhunter as he rises to his feet. "What happened in there?"

Manhunter cradles his head in his hands, just like he had done when they found him by the statues in the Hall of Justice. "The exercise," he murmurs, "It all went wrong."

"Exercise?" Dick wipes the sweat from his brow, then leans forward as he curiously stares up at the two heroes. "What exercise?"

"Try to remember." Batman urges him, his eyes flickering between each member of the team. "What you experienced was a training exercise, Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a training for failure exercise, no matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf disintegrated before your eyes. But that all changed when Artemis died." Manhunter explains with a frown, and the archer's shoulders stiffen. "Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise and her subconscious took control, making all of you forget, too."

Yue, with an arm still wrapped around Wally's waist as he stands at the edge of the table, tears her gaze away from the Leaguers and glances toward her friend. Miss Martian stands up, her eyes widening as she stares down at the floor. "I'm– Uh, I'm... I'm sorry," she whispers, tears falling from her eyes.

"This isn't her fault!" Conner exclaims, his hand still gently running along Wolf's white fur as he glares at Batman and Manhunter. "Why didn't you stop the exercise?"

"We tried, but M'gann had a death grip on the scenario." Manhunter answers. "Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death, was so convinced she passed that she slipped into a coma."

M'gann lets out a sob into her hand, too ashamed to meet the gaze of her friends.

"I realised I would have to wrestle control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within, but upon entering the reality, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion." A sigh from his lips as he shakes his head. "There was too much noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped, but it was only when the mothership exploded and Kid Flash, Flamebird and Robin were silenced that my mind cleared enough to remember my true purpose."

Yue lowers her own gaze, her heart hammering in her chest as she repeated his explanation over and over in her head. The League, their mentors who were supposed to protect them, couldn't even put a stop to a fifteen year old's unconscious mind games.

Manhunter's eyes scan over the disturbed teens; none of the heroes could look into the eyes of their friends. "My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous... So damaging..."

M'gann lets out another sob, then finally crumples into the arms of Captain Marvel, who swiftly catches the girl before she can fall to her knees. Conner, with widened eyes, jumps from his table and rushes to the girl's side worriedly.

Yue's arms fall from Wally and she tears her gaze away from the Martian. Her eyes meet Batman's, but rather than feeling comforted by the man she considered a dad, she only feels angered by the knowledge that he willingly sent them into such a dangerous simulation.

"Nice to know my death helped clear your mind," she spits in frustration as she pushes herself off the table. "I'm out of here."

She makes it to the zeta-tube before she freezes up, her shoulders stiffening and a shaky breath falling from her chapped lips as she stares at the tube in silence. She didn't want to be at the Cave anymore, the simulation still felt so real and she wasn't sure she could look at her teammates again without reliving their deaths; she couldn't go home to the Manor, either. She didn't want to be there when Bruce got home, she didn't want to sit down and talk about the simulation and how none of it was real because, to her and the team, it was just as real as standing here right now was.

"Yue, where are you-" Wally comes running into the main-room, his lips curling into a frown as he slows down at her side. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know," she mumbles with a shake of her head. "I can't stay here and I can't go home and I have nowhere else to go, I don't-"

He takes her hand, interlacing their fingers as she turns to look back at him. "You can come stay with me tonight." He smiles sadly.

Sniffling, she nods her head and lets him lead her into the zeta-tube. "Thank you, Wal."