(A/N): As promised I have the character bios for Season 3. Characters have simply aged up one year from the start of last season. Those of you that know the characters ages from the show may be a little confused but I have eliminated the massive time skips between seasons for this story. So this takes place roughly one year after the start of Season 2.

Thanks for reading.

Nightwing/Dick: 20

Tigress/Artemis: 20

Zatanna: 20

Vanguard/(Y/n): 20

Aquaman/Kaldur: 21

Oracle/Barbara: 20

Superboy/Conner: 20

Miss Martian/M'gann: 20

Rocket/Raquel: 20

*Outsiders/Team* (I am only listing characters that occur more than once in this story because there is a lot of people in season 3 and as much as I'd like to, I can't cover everyone.)

Beast Boy/Garfield "Gar": 17

Blue Beetle/Jamie: 17

Robin/Tim Drake: 17

Wonder Girl/Cassie: 17

Static/Virgil: 17

Kid Flash/Bart Allen: 17

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*1 Month Later*

3rd Person POV:

Rann, Deep Space

The massive armies of Apokolips arrived on Rann without warning. The massive warships of Apokolips arrived through boom tubes and quickly overwhelmed what little military defences the peaceful planet had. With no other options available, the government of Rann was forced to turn to the Justice League for help.

Since Zatanna's suspension the League had spent months countering Apokolips' expansion. They've gotten almost nowhere, as soon as they beat back one army, another one emerges halfway across the university and targets a different planet.

On Rann two massive warships are launching a final all out assault against Rann's military and the Justice League's expeditionary force. Leading the force is the co-chairman of the league, Wonder Woman. She's backed up by Superman, Ice, Black Lightning and a close friend of the League, Alanna.

The massive spaceships lower their ramps and release a massive onslaught of parademons. Once the parademons emptied out a lava creature, slightly larger than a human, jumped out. The transparent creature looked like it was entirely made of lava with a heart in the middle, pumping the creature's blood to the rest of its organs.

The creature jumped out of the spaceship and landed in the forest below. The massive impact of the creature landing sent a shockwave of lava in all directions, instantly melting some soldiers of Rann's military as they screamed out in a mix of pain and horror.

The creature saw Superman in the distance. The man of steel was lifting a massive tree and threw it at one of the space ships, crushing it instantly and sending it crashing to the ground in an incredible fireball.

The creature lunged at Superman but was to far away to reach him. The lava creature landed several feet in front of Ice and instantly tried to kill the newest member of the Justice League.

Ice managed to block the creature's initial attack by creating a massive wall of ice that the creature slowly started melting through.

Black Lightning: "Hang on Ice! I've got you covered!"

Wonder Woman: "Lightning! Don't let that thing touch you!"

Black Lightning: "Yeah! Kinda figured! I'll just zap ugly into dream world for a few hours!"

Black Lightning ran to Ice's side and attacked the lava creature. Lightning's attack caused the creature to stagger back and bring its arms up to defend itself.

The creature roared in pain as it fell to its knees before collapsing and turning stone cold, all the lava hardening in an instant.

Black Lightning: "What... what just happened?"

Superman landed beside Lightning and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Superman: "I don't hear a heartbeat."

Lightning: "No! No no no! That wasn't enough juice to kill anything! It can't be dead."

Alanna, the leader of Rann's military in this sector and close friend of the Team after helping them fight the Kroloteans during the lead up to the Reach's invasion of earth, landed beside the group of heroes who were now joined by Wonder Woman and Ice after the pair made sure that the forces of Apokolips were retreating into their boom tubes.

Alanna: "She, it is a she. Or was. My scans show that it's an Earth female, approximately 14 years old. Cause of death was heart failure."

Black Lightning: "Earth female?! T-this... I-I killed a child..."

Alanna: "I'm so sorry."

————————————————————————

*Gotham City*

Three white vans race into the loading docks. They all drive into the same warehouse bordering a pier with a large freight ship docked. Once the vans pull inside the large garage door is quickly shut before the occupants get out.

The masked men are all part of the Bedlam organization, wearing Russian made military gear to conceal their identities. The men began unloading the vans, pulling out children and stuffing them into small cages.

The children scream and thrash about, only to revive a devastating punch to the head or stomach as they are thrown around like trash.

Eventually one member of the crew dressed in a lab coat takes the first child into a separate room of the warehouse. The boy is forced into a small airtight chamber made of glass. The chamber has a grate at the floor and once the "scientist" activated the machine, the grate opens and the chamber slowly fills with a black tar like substance.

The helpless boy screams and smashes his hands off the glass as the tar overtakes his entire body. A few minutes later the tar is drained, leaving nothing but the boy's lifeless body crammed in the bottom of the small chamber.

Scientist: "Another negative result. Clean this one out and bring in the next subject."

Guard: "Copy that boss."

As the guard went to grab the next terrified child the large garage door blew up in a massive explosion. The door shattered and left the warehouse completely exposed to the night sky.

(Y/n) rushed into the room, followed by a team of Joint Task Force soldiers. The strike team leveled their rifles and opened fire, slaughtering Bedlam's men as they stormed the warehouse.

Children and guards screamed as (Y/n) surged forward, leaving his soldiers behind to secure all exits. The agent was dressed in full tactical gear with the hunters combat axe he revived long ago, attached to his belt.

Without saying a word, (Y/n) moved methodically and swiftly through the warehouse. The agent quickly found his targets and eliminated them with one or two well placed shots.

Once the agent secured the main area he charged towards the laboratory where the last of the child traffickers were hiding.

(Y/n): "ISAC, open the door."

Three seeker mines dropped from (Y/n)'s backpack and started racing towards the small door. The first seeker mine blew the door off its hinges, allowing the following mines to race inside and find their victims.

After two small explosions (Y/n) entered the room, quickly finding his targets through the smoke and placing a single shot in each of their heads. Eventually the scientist was left scrambling back, attempting to force his way out a door that had jammed.

The scientist realized it was hopeless and attempted to surrender to the agent.

Scientist: "Please I surrender! Don't hurt me!"

(Y/n) didn't answer. He simply raised his rifle one final time and shot the scientist three times. The scientist collapsed onto the ground as his blood stained the door he was attempting to flee through.

(Y/n): "You tortured and experimented on children. I hope you suffer in hell."

*Short Time Skip*

A few minutes later (Y/n) was watching the warehouse in Gotham burn to the ground. After freeing the captive children and gathering all the evidence they need, (Y/n) ordered the JTF to torch the building.

The JTF strike unit was checking their gear as they loaded up in a Blackhawk helicopter that landed nearby. (Y/n) had ISAC run a search for any patterns the supercomputer could find.

With the amount of political resistance he'd been facing when moving his strike team across the world became an annoyance, (Y/n) had bypassed the political chain of command and come to suspect that the Bedlamb organization has strong diplomatic connections to a sovereign nation, the only problem was figuring out what nation.

The sirens of the GCPD tore (Y/n)'s gaze away from the burning warehouse. The agent slowly started walking towards Commissioner Gordon as his police forces swarmed the scene.

Gordon: "Would it kill you to tell me you're in my town? Or at least give the fire department a heads up when you plan on torching a warehouse."

(Y/n): "The best way to keep a secret, is to keep it to yourself. I can't trust anyone in this town. If I notified the GCPD the warehouse would've been empty by the time I entered the city's airspace."

Gordon: "Hmm. Have you gotten much sleep recently? Barbara and Dick keep talking about you and your girl."

(Y/n): "I'm fine. An agent will be around to Index the kids that revived powers and take them to a secure location."

Gordon: "Index? Secure location? Why not just keep them at S.T.A.R?"

(Y/n): "The Index is a detailed list of every kid that's been given superpowers, so if they ever go over to the wrong side and start hurting people, the Division will know exactly how to stop them."

Gordon: "That can be a very dangerous list in the wrong hands, especially since you would've no doubt put Batman's information on the League on your Index."

(Y/n): "I have, and the list is safe. The Division won't let anything happen to it."

Gordon: "You never answered my question about this secure location, or S.T.A.R."

(Y/n): "S.T.A.R has the security of a grocery store, this location will have everything we need to keep these kids safe."

Gordon: "From the people attempting to turn them into weapons or themselves?"

(Y/n): "Both."

————————————————————————

Kelso shot up and gasped. She was tied to a hospital bed with a bright light positioned above her head. She immediately began thrashing about, attempting to break the restraints and free herself.

She only stopped struggling when two familiar voices called out to her.

Ortega: "Hey, hey, Kelso it's okay!"

Sutton: "Stop! You're safe!"

When Kelso's vision cleared she sat up as far as she could while Sutton released her from the restraints. She realized she was in an underground bunker of some kind. The small room clearly was never intended to be used as a medical room but a small amount of hospital equipment was hastily prepared and stacked around the room.

Kelso: "What... WHAT THE FUCK!"

Ortega: "Calm down! We will explain everything."

Kelso: "Oh this better be good, because she should be in prison!"

Kelso pointed to Alicia Coswald who was standing in the back corner of the room fiddling with a knife.

Coswald: "I was betrayed, I never wanted to stop being an agent. Some other agents killed my team and framed me for their murders."

Kelso: "Oh that's rich! So I guess your natural next step was to join Keener before trying to kill (Y/n) and his family!"

Coswald: "He's not related to any of them."

Kelso: "They're the closest thing he has and you worked with a lunatic to kill them!"

Coswald: "We only tried to kill them."

Kelso: "I'm going to put my boot through your skull!"

Coswald: "Ortega said you were calm and collected, I'm beginning to think he's full of shit."

Kelso: "I'm sorry for getting a little worked up when my co-worker rams my car!"

Ortega: "We needed a safe way to bring you in, and we needed it to look good so they don't suspect anything."

Kelso: "So who doesn't suspect anything?"

Ortega: "The Black Tusk. We know they have spies within the Division. We've managed to narrow the list of suspects down to about thirty potential candidates. We need your help to figure out who the spies are."

Kelso: "Do you know how many spies we're looking for?"

Ortega: "No."

Kelso: "Fuck."

Sutton: "You've been in a coma for a month."

Kelso: "WHAT?!"

Ortega: "Sutton! I wasn't going to break the news like that!"

Sutton: "Well you put her into a coma when you rammed our car. Let me handle breaking the news."

Coswald: "We're wasting time."

Ortega: "Listen, we need you to go back to the Division and pretend like you escaped from your attackers with Sutton. You're going to give us remote access to the SHD network and wait until we find the mole. Coswald and I will look through the network and find a digital paper trail through the communication logs."

Kelso: "Those communication logs are massive. It will take months for you two to sort through them all."

Ortega: "Yeah, but it's the only lead we have for the moment so we really don't have any other choice."

Kelso: "Alright, give me a few minutes, my head is still spinning. Wait, I've been here for a month, who's been taking care of me? None of you have the level of medical training required to deal with someone in a coma and keep them alive for a month."

Ortega awkwardly scratched his head and looked away while Sutton froze.

Sutton: "Oh yeah... about that."

Kandel: "Hey, Kelso."

Kelso snapped. Her face instantly flushed red as her fury was directed solely on Ortega.

Kelso: "People are trying to kill us and YOU DRAGGED HER INTO THIS!"

Ortega: "I didn't really have another option!"

Kelso: "Well you could've not RAMMED MY CAR!"

————————————————————————

*12 Hours Later*

*Watchtower*

M'gann and Conner are reviewing the Team's progress on recent missions. The roster of heroes on the Team has changed drastically in the months following Zatanna and (Y/n)'s vacation. The Team now consists of Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, Thirteen (Traci), Arrowette, Static, Wonder Girl, Robin (Tim Drake), Spoiler, Arsenal and Orphan. M'gann is leader of the Team with Conner acting as second in command.

M'gann: "Excellent work Beta, textbook operation. Gamma, you could learn something from-"

M'gann was interrupted by the zeta tube announcing Black Lightning's arrival. He was one of the last Leaguers to arrive.

Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce), arrived through the zeta tube, dressed in civilian clothes, earning a strange look from the Team.

Jefferson: "Hmm, where are they?"

M'gann: "Already inside, most of them anyway."

Jefferson walked into the conference room without saying a word. The Team was left wondering and whispering amongst themselves as they tried to figure out why Black Lightning wasn't in costume.

Inside the conference room, Zatanna was seated in her normal spot beside Rocket and Batman. She's incredibly nervous as this is her first meeting with every leaguer present since her suspension ended.

Rocket tried to reassure her friend that everything would be alright and Zatanna put on a confident face but deep down she knew this was the worst possible time to walk back into the League. The League's popularity is at an all time low and they have faced major setbacks on everything they've attempted to do since her suspension.

Normally Zatanna wouldn't pay too much attention to the politics of the League, things always had a way of working out in the end anyway. However, this time was different. It was affecting her personal life. Her time with (Y/n). Sure she just had a three month long vacation with him but she liked coming home to him or being at home when he arrived. She's been busy with her students and avoiding the public spotlight and coming home to an empty apartment almost every night.

(Y/n) and the Division were forced to pick up the majority of the League's responsibilities after the U.N placed every legal restriction they could think of on the League.

Even the Division didn't have the resources to handle the massive and sudden increase in activity. The Division was forced to split up its agents and activate the JTF once again, the first time since the Reach's invasion of Earth.

Each agent was assigned a JTF strike team and has been tasked with eliminating as many meta-human trafficking rings as they possibly can. That task alone has done an excellent job of keeping (Y/n) and Zatanna separated. He is constantly on the move, travelling across the world, tracking these meta-human traffickers, who predominantly target children and young teens.

(Y/n) has taken to picking up shifts from his fellow agents, using his enhanced endurance, strength and stamina to stay awake and allow his fellow agents to spend some time with their families. The small amount of time (Y/n) spends at home he spends asleep. Zatanna can't bring herself to wake him as his body is on the verge of giving out after working for days with little naps whenever he's on an aircraft to keep him going.

Zatanna was thinking about last night when she saw (Y/n) for the first time in four days. He looked exhausted and slept the entire time she was at their apartment. She snapped out of her dazed state when Kaldur and M'gann entered the conference room. She instantly sat up and tried to look as professional as possible without making a fool of herself.

Kaldur: "I hereby call this emergency meeting of the Justice League to order. I see that all the Leaguers stationed on earth are here, either in person or via hologram. So let us get right to it. My co-chair has urgent news from the various heroes she is leading in deep space."

Wonder Woman: "Alright, we have confirmation, meta-human trafficking on Earth has spilled out into the galaxy. On multiple worlds, meta-humans are being deployed by the enemy as weapons of mass destruction."

Green Arrow: "The Division told us this weeks ago! What have we done about it? We need to know how these kids are getting past us!"

Kaldur: "Here on Earth, our ongoing struggle has-"

Green Arrow: "Struggle? Try disaster."

Black Canary: "Teens and children are being abducted on an unprecedented scale. They're tested for the meta-gene and if they test positive they're used as guinea pigs to create new weapons."

Green Arrow: "Even if they test negative, they're rarely seen again."

Red Tornado: "We must find a way to eliminate these meta-human trafficking rings. The U.N seems to be our biggest obstacle."

Batman: "The Division is stretched too thin to be effective. Meta-humans are being treated as the next exploitable resources, by first world and third world nations alike. Even some corporations are experimenting on people, it's a global pandemic that's about to get worse."

Wonder Woman: "How could you possibly predict that?"

Batman: "Zatanna, when's the last time Vanguard spent a full night to your apartment?"

Zatanna was caught completely off guard. Her eyes widened as everyone in the room looked at her. After a brief moment of silence she cleared her throat and answered as confidently as she could.

Zatanna: "Well... it's been a while. You're right, the Division is stretched as thin as it can be. (Y/n) covers other shifts for his fellow agents so they can go home to their families once a week, but... he's pushing his body to its limits. He can't keep it up for much longer. His body is going to crash. I don't think he's had a full night's sleep in a month."

Batman: "We need to act now, before the Division caves in on itself from exhaustion."

Kaldur: "Globally we are faced with obstacles at every turn. Lex Luthor continues to place more restrictions on us, even though we want to help, it may be some time before we are in any position to offer any meaningful help."

Zatanna felt her throat dry up at the thought of (Y/n) doing this for months. The physical toll it was taking on his body was enormous. She tried to push the thought away and prayed for a solution that just set everything back to normal.

Batman: "We can't wait that long, the U.N is by far the biggest obstacle stopping us from providing help to the people. So we remove the obstacle, by removing the League. We've outlived our usefulness on Earth."

Kaldur: "Please, you're a founding member."

Wonder Woman: "That's overstating things don't you think?!"

Kaldur: "Think of all the good we do."

Batman: "Did. Past tense. We've become far too distant from the people and the U.N isn't going to let the League get close again. I'm sorry, but I hereby tender my resignation to the League."

The following seconds were a complete disaster for the League. Over half its members followed Batman's lead and resigned. Katana, Batwoman, Hardware and Plastic Man all followed Batman's lead and left.

Green Arrow: "Are you kidding me?! You arranged this in advance!"

Black Canary: "Batman, this is only going to make things worse!"

Batman: "No, it won't. Spoiler, Orphan, Robin and Arrowette are all leaving with us. Goodbye."

————————————————————————

*Abandoned Warehouse, Upstate New York."

Crimson steps into the open warehouse. The Hunter is wielding a flashlight as he searches through the empty warehouse, quickly arriving at a small crate in the center of the building.

The Hunter carefully uses his knife to open the crate. Once he lifts off the lid he admires the rows of neatly packed and properly secured vials. The vials are full of a red liquid, a modified version of the Eclipse virus Keener attempted to use to kill the League.

Crimson activated his radio after gently placing the lid back onto the crate.

"This is Crimson, the package has arrived at the staging ground. We're almost ready for Dark Winter."

————————————————————————

*The HUB, Division Command*

(Y/n) was sprawled out on a cafeteria table, attempting to sleep while ISAC finished analyzing the data he'd collected from the Bedlamb organization.

Kelso joined (Y/n) and gave a simple explanation on her absence, that combined with (Y/n)'s busy schedule and massive lack of sleep, managed to fool the young agent.

Kelso sat down at the table, returning from granting Ortega remote access to the network. She let out a small sigh of relief knowing that she wasn't seen entering or leaving the computer server room and that (Y/n) believed her lie, for now at least.

(Y/n) woke up to ISAC announcing that a connection was found. As the agent sat up on the table Kelso lightly laughed.

ISAC: "Bedlam meta-trafficking ring locations consistent with locations visited by the Markovian Royal delegation. Leader of the delegation, Fredrick DeLamb."

Kelso: "Holy shit kid. You just hit the jackpot. That's one of the largest meta-human trafficking rings."

(Y/n): "Yeah, the only problem is he's the brother of the king and the head of Markovia's security forces. In other words I can't touch him."

Kelso: "Oh... well... we don't have to touch him."

(Y/n): "What are you suggesting, and no we're not killing him."

Kelso: "What?! Why not? It's an Eastern European nation, political figures there get assassinated all the time. Who will really care if they don't find the sniper that got the king's brother?"

(Y/n): "Well I imagine the king will care, and besides, Markovia has been blindly accepting Quraci refugees since the Bialya conquered the nation. They've been in the international spotlight ever since and are hailed as heroes. Fredrick has constantly supported his brother's policies so we'd be assassinating a popular political figurehead. We'd create more problems then we'd solve."

Kelso: "Look at you go, we just need to work on that sarcastic response at the start and you'll be a perfect fit for the role of Director again."

(Y/n): "No thanks, you keep it. And YOU of all people raised me, I inherited my sarcasm from you, it's not going anywhere."

Kelso: "Sometimes I think I instilled too much of my sarcasm in you."

(Y/n): "Oh yeah, way too much."

————————————————————————

Zatanna arrived back at her and (Y/n)'s apartment early in the evening. Once again she found the apartment completely empty. She didn't even bother changing out of her magician's uniform. After witnessing over half the League members stationed on Earth quit in a moment's notice, she was devastated.

Zatanna poured herself a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table. She wouldn't be alone for long as (Y/n) entered their apartment shortly after she finished her drink.

Zatanna: "(Y/n)!"

Zatanna raced across the apartment and threw herself at her agent. (Y/n) instantly wrapped Zatanna in a tight hug as she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

(Y/n): "Hey, Zee."

Zatanna: "You look terrible. You need to sleep."

(Y/n): "Yeah, yeah I know..."

(Y/n) POV:

Zatanna's right. I'm about to collapse in our kitchen. I can tell that Zatanna is just as exhausted and I've barely seen her this week. I hate it.

As Zatanna snuggled into my embrace I moved my hands under her jacket. A split second later and she was taking off her jacket. Before I could comment on how good she looks in her magicians outfit she grabbed my hands and pulled me over to the couch.

Zatanna: "We can make dinner in a bit. I want to hold you for a few minutes."

(Y/n): "That's dangerous. We're both going to fall asleep."

Zatanna: "I assure you, we won't."

I laid down on the couch and rested my head on a pillow and Zatanna laid down on top of me.

(Y/n): "You know, this magician's outfit, especially when you have the jacket off... it's really..."

Zatanna: "Arousing?"

(Y/n): "Yeah."

Zatanna smiled before leaning down and pressing her lips to mine. I'm way too tired to fight her for control and she knows it. Within a minute she's exploring my mouth and softly moaning as I grab her hips. 

Zatanna tore her lips away from mine and I capitalized by pulling her up a small amount and exposing her neck. My lips connected with her neck and I swiftly found her weak spot.

Zatanna: "D-dinner is overrated... don't stop."

I let out a small giggle as Zatanna started pressing her body into me as much as she could. A moment later she was trusting against my crotch.

(Y/n): "Mhmm, someone's needy."

Zatanna was panting and struggling to control her breathing. I know exactly what she wants and she must have been thinking about it for the entire week. But now that it's here, she's frozen in the moment.

Zatanna: "Y-you leave me alone for a week... a-and I get why, but... mhmmm, I-I have needs too."

I smiled and re-connected my lips with her skin, earning several soft moans from Zatanna as I moved around her neck.

(Y/n): "I know you do, and I'm so sorry for not finding time to see you."

Zatanna: "You don't need to be sorry, you're keeping kids safe all around the world and ensuring those monsters can never hurt them again. But if you really want to make something up to me, you can keep going."

I pulled Zatanna down into a passionate kiss and she instantly moaned into my mouth. My hands started exploring her back and moving down towards her waist when we suddenly heard a knock on our door.

Zatanna groaned and sat up, whining and complaining as she stood up and stretched out. I couldn't help but smile as I stood up and moved towards the door.

Zatanna: "I swear this better be a world ending crisis or I'm going to seriously hurt whoever's on the other side of that door."

I couldn't contain my laughter and let out a small laugh as I walked to the door. Zatanna groaned and lightly slapped the back of my head before her own smile slipped out.

I quickly composed myself before I opened the door and was face to face with Dick.

Dick: "Hey, guys. Is this a bad time?"

Zatanna: "Yes."

(Y/n): "Come on in."

I couldn't bring myself to face Zatanna. I know she's glaring at me just from the awkward look on Dick's face.

After I closed the door I had no choice but to turn around and was face to face with an incredibly annoyed Zatanna.

Dick: "Uhh, this won't take long."

Zatanna: "It better not."

Zatanna pouted like a child as she walked back to the kitchen and started making food.

I couldn't hold back my laughter and by now Dick was starting to figure out why Zatanna was so grumpy all of the sudden.

Dick: "Did I... interrupt something?"

(Y/n): "Kind of, but it's alright. What do you need?"

Dick: "I need you for a mission. A quick in and out, no long term requirements."

Zatanna: "No. The Division is working him nonstop. Find someone else, he needs as much rest as he can get."

(Y/n): "Zee, it's alright. Let's hear him out first."

Dick and I moved over to the kitchen table while Zatanna made food for everyone. I know that no matter what Dick says, she won't agree to let me help. I can't blame her, even Kelso noticed how terrible I look.

Dick: "I'm sorry to have to ask for your help but things have changed. We're going to Markovia and after the assassination of the king and queen I need more people."

(Y/n): "Wait, Markovia? The JTF and I have been tracking and striking at the Bedlam organization. ISAC just found a link connecting it to the Markovian royal delegation led by the former king's brother."

Dick: "That's close to what I found. But I'm not sure he's involved, he's too public and too popular with the people. I think we're looking for someone behind the scenes in the medical field. Someone who would have the connections to hospitals, specifically children's hospitals where they could find an abundance of test subjects. Someone like Dr, Simon Ecks."

(Y/n): "Makes sense. Who else do you have for this mission?"

Dick: "Artemis and Conner for sure and Jefferson is still undecided."

(Y/n): "I was going to lead a JTF team to Markovia to deal with Bedlam, but if you're going then I'll join up. When are we leaving?"

Dick: "Tomorrow at midnight, Central Park zeta tube."

(Y/n): "Copy that. If I'm your last stop, you can stay for a drink."

Dick: "Well, I'm not sure Zatanna will-"

Zatanna: "It's fine Dick, I have him all to myself tomorrow so I'll be alright."

*Small Time Skip*

3rd Person POV:

Later in the evening the three heroes were watching TV and talking the night away.

Zatanna: "It's nice seeing you, Dick. If I head to bed can I trust you two to clean up?"

(Y/n): "I'll take care of everything, goodnight Zee."

Dick: "Goodnight, Zatanna. Sorry for crashing your evening."

Zatanna: "It's alright, I'll survive."

Zatanna left the two friends and made her way to her bedroom. She quickly washed up for the night and climbed into bed. Moments later she was sound asleep.

Back in the kitchen, Dick and (Y/n) were cleaning up from the group's evening dinner and drinks.

Dick: "I just wanted to say thanks for agreeing to help with this mission."

(Y/n): "Dick, you don't need to. I may not be on the best terms with the League, but I'll always help."

Dick: "I know you will, it's just... we never say thank you. So let me take this chance and say it. Thank you for everything you do for the League, for the Team and for our family."

(Y/n): "Thank you. It means a lot. It means more to me than you'll ever know."

————————————————————————

Zatanna awoke and suddenly found herself in her magician's outfit. She's standing in complete darkness and freezing cold.

"You can't stop it."

"It's coming."

Zatanna started to panic as the distinctly feminine voice echoed around her. No matter which distraction she turned she was faced with total darkness.

"Give me your power. It's the only way."

Zatanna forced herself to start running, only to find her immediate surroundings change in a bright flash.

"Give in to me!"

"I can stop it!"

When Zatanna's eyes finally adjusted she stood in downtown city street. Cars were scattered all across the road, with their doors open and windows smashed. The street was filled with snow and she could see what looked like Times Square in the distance.

"I can save him! I can save everyone you care about!"

"Only I can stop it!"

"It's coming!"

Zatanna walked forward and saw (Y/n). He's dressed in full winter combat gear. The white gear is covered in blood and he's bleeding from his mouth. (Y/n) pushes off the hood of a car and starts limping down the street, towards Zatanna.

Suddenly a Hunter jumps out and attacks (Y/n). The agent is barely able to dodge the first few strikes from the Hunter before he is knocked down.

"The Dark Winter."

The Hunter swings his axe down at (Y/n) as the agent raises his pistol to shoot the Hunter. A single gunshot rang out and everything went black.

Zatanna screamed as she woke up in her bed, alone and covered in sweat. The feminine voice rang out in her head, slowly getting quieter as her vision returned.

"I will find you." Was the last thing she heard before (Y/n) came running into the room.

(Y/n): "ZEE! Zee are you alright?!"

(Y/n) immediately pulled Zatanna into a hug as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

Zatanna: "I-I... I don't know. I don't know..."

(Y/n): "Shhh, it's okay. I've got you."

Zatanna buried her face into (Y/n)'s neck and sobbed as he sat back onto their bed.

Zatanna: "I-I know it sounds crazy... like I'm some clingy girlfriend... but please just hear me out."

(Y/n): "Of course, you can tell me anything."

Zatanna sighed and tightened her grip on (Y/n) before speaking.

Zatanna: "W-whenever you go away, I occasionally get nightmares. They don't happen every night and they are normally few and far between but..."

(Y/n): "It's okay, I believe you. Keep going."

Zatanna: "They've been happening far more frequently. Normally I just feel scared or hear voices... but this one, this one was so real. I-I saw a big city completely deserted in the middle of winter. Cars were scattered about, snow was everywhere a-and you were there. You were fighting a Hunter..."

(Y/n) tightened his hold on Zatanna in a vain attempt to reassure her that everything would be alright. Over the course of a few minutes (Y/n) shifted into bed beside Zatanna and laid down.

Zatanna refused to let go of (Y/n) and pressed herself into his body as much as she could. Her soft sobbing soon subsided and was replaced by shaky breathing as she rested.

(Y/n): "Shhh... it's going to be alright, it's just a dream. It's never going to be real."

Zatanna: "I-I know I can't ask you to stay, you need to help those kids... but I don't think I'll be able to sleep while you're gone. The dreams keep happening each night I'm alone."

(Y/n): "I want you to stay with Kelso while I'm gone. I'll call her in the morning and make sure it's okay but I can't imagine she'll object."

Zatanna: "Thank you..."

(Y/n): "It's no problem, Zee. I'm going to make sure you're safe no matter what. I hope they're just bad dreams and that they don't mean anything, but if I'm wrong then we'll be ready."

Zatanna mumbled a "thank you" in response as (Y/n) gently ran his fingers through her hair. Zatanna drifted to sleep against her will and (Y/n) held her in a loving embrace the entire night.

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(Y/n) POV:

The following morning we packed up quickly. Dick said this was only going to be a quick mission but I know better than that. I made sure Zatanna had enough clothes for a few days.

Kelso was more than happy to have Zatanna over. That combined with the fact that Kelso's home is in Hawaii and a two minute drive from the marine base, made me somewhat confident that she'd be alright.

(Y/n): "I've got to get to Central Park before midnight. Kelso will meet you at the zeta tube and drive you to her house. She's going to be with you until I get back."

Zatanna: "Thank you and promise me you'll be safe. I love you."

(Y/n): "I will, Zee. To be honest I'm far more worried about you."

Zatanna: "We're a wreck, aren't we?"

Zatanna turned and looked into my eyes, her eyes watering as she's fighting off a wave of devastating emotions.

Without warning I pulled her in and smashed my lips against hers. A soft moan escaped her lips as the zeta tube activated.

(Y/n): "We are not a wreck, Zee. Everything's going to be alright. Say hi to Kelso for me."

Zatanna smiled at me as she left my embrace and stepped into the zeta tube. Once she disappeared I sighed and entered the Central Park data into the computer. Within moments the zeta tube was activated and I stepped into the light.

When I emerged through the zeta tube I was face to face with Artemis and Dick. Conner was a few feet away, sitting on the Supercycle.

Artemis: "Hey, (Y/n)."

(Y/n): "Hey, guys."

Dick: "Glad you could make it. I wasn't sure if you'd come."

(Y/n): "Well, taking down Bedlam with you guys beats doing it with the JTF. I've been crammed on a C-17 for the last week so this is a nice change of pace."

Artemis: "That sounds terrible."

(Y/n): "The worst part is being away from everyone. Other than that, I don't mind it."

Conner: "Is this everyone?"

Jefferson: "No."

I took a few steps out from under the bridge and looked up to Jefferson Pierce. Jefferson jumped down and landed between Artemis and I.

Jefferson: "Don't look at me like that."

Dick: "What? I'm glad you're here."

Jefferson: "One mission. Save the kids and then I'm done."

Dick: "That's all I ask."

Jefferson: "Oh, you're here."

(Y/n): "Nice to see you too."

Jefferson: "We won't be killing anyone on this mission."

(Y/n): "I think you've done enough killing so yeah, I won't be killing anyone."

Jefferson grabbed my collar and tried to slam me into the side of the Supercycle. I instantly broke the hold and slipped out of his way.

In an instant he spun around and threw a punch at me. I managed to dodge the punch and elbowed him in the chest before I punched him in the gut. As he staggered back I pinned him up against the Supercycle.

(Y/n): "Get out of your own way Jefferson! You think we can afford to fall apart every time we make a mistake?! You did your job and a kid died! It fucking happens! We can't save everyone! We can sure as hell try, but we aren't gods! We can't afford to stop just because one fell through the cracks, all we can do is commit to being better and try our hardest to make sure it never happens again!"

Jefferson: "Easy for you to say! It wasn't your shot that killed the kid! It was MINE!"

(Y/n): "Get your head on straight! It wasn't your fault, moping about it isn't going to change anything. You can't turn back time and save that kid, but you can save these ones. The kids in Markovia, we can save them, so if we're going into hostile territory, I don't need you questioning how the Division gets the job done. I need you to be focused on the task at hand, I need to be able to turn my back to you, and trust that you'll have me covered."

Jefferson: "Yeah, okay."

(Y/n): "Sorry about the punch and the first comment, but I needed to make sure you were good for this."

Jefferson: "Don't mention it, let's just go."

I let Jefferson out of my hold and everyone climbed onto the Supercycle after giving me a strange look. Once we were seated, Conner flew us into the zeta tube.