chapter thirty-eight.
( running home to you. )

     It's now or never.

The comforting, familiar weight of the mind-link rests over her, and the thoughts and feelings of her closest friends occasionally pass over her mind. She can see flashes of the team, briefly, from the various spots they hide in preparation for the ambush. Nightwing and Kid Flash are on the other side of the Cave's entrance, and Superboy and Artemis are perched up on the high ground awaiting the signal.

She hadn't realised how comforting their presence always was on a dangerous mission like this.

The floodlights scattered around the cave flicker, the bright lights hazing in and out, casting the cavern in darkness for a mere moment before the light returns. Miss Martian – still disguised as Kestrel – leads the members of the Light into the Santa Prisca cave. She carefully looks over the area, then steps aside to let Vandal Savage, Ra's al Ghul and Black Manta enter. The Brain and Mallah, wearing a new red beret to replace the one Wally had stolen six years ago, follow shortly behind.

Cardinal walks in at Kaldur's side, one hand resting over the hilt of her sword.

Across the cave, Black Beetle leads the Reach's Ambassador and Scientist, followed by a group of armed soldiers, inside. The guards hold onto their weapons tightly as they scatter across their side of the cavern, carefully observing the leaders who meet in the centre.

"Ambassador," Vandal Savage greets the short, lanky alien. His lips are curled into a smirk– though Yue believes it to be his best attempt at a smile.

The Ambassador grins back at him. "Savage."

"As head of security for the Reach," Black Beetle takes a step forward, his eyes narrowing at the humans suspiciously. Though he points at Manta, his eyes flicker between Cardinal and the disguised Miss Martian, as well. "I must insist, no masks be worn at the summit."

"Simply because you insist is no guarantee." Manta replies.

Ra's al Ghul turns to the supervillain, a humble smile crossing his face. "Manta," he says, "If you wouldn't mind. After all, we are among friends."

Black Manta growls in response, though makes no new attempt to object as he instead slowly removes his helmet. With a quick glance at Kaldur, Cardinal carefully lowers the red mask covering the lower half of her face.

"We're so in over our heads," she complains, carefully rubbing the glamour-charm that hangs around her throat before she lets her hand fall back to her side. If she's discovered and her identity is revealed while her mask is off, Bruce would kill her for revealing herself in a room full of supervillains.

Behind her, Miss Martian slides Kestrel's cowl over her head.

"Babe." She can hear Wally's voice through the mind-link, his tone dreamy and lovestruck, "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

She presses her lips into a thin line, keeping her expression impassive despite the urge to smile at the cheesy line. The rest of the team soon speaks up in unison: "We heard that!"

Ra's al Ghul turns back to Black Beetle and the Ambassador with a polite smile. "Satisfied?" He asks.

The armoured beetle grunts in response and moves back to stand behind the Reach's Ambassador and their lead Scientist. "Excellent," the Ambassador claps his hands together, his eyes gleaming mischievously beneath the cave's dim lights. "Then with these formalities out of the way..."

"Let us begin," Vandal Savage continues.

The Ambassador's shifty yellow eyes scan over the human faces in front of him, his grin slipping into a frustrated frown. "And the rest of The Light?" He inquires. "Won't they be joining us?"

"Our more public members are occupied, conducting damage control to mitigate your recent defeats," Ra's al Ghul explains.

The Ambassador's eyes narrow, and Black Beetle shifts from one foot to the other as he stands diligently behind him, the two aliens share a malicious look in their eyes. Cardinal's grip tightens around the hilt of her sword; she hoped this wouldn't turn into a fight quite so soon, they were still lacking the valuable information they needed to take the Light down and expose their alien allies, but she knew first-hand that Black Beetle was trigger-happy.

He wouldn't hesitate to turn this meeting into a bloodbath.

"And in any case, we are sufficient," Vandal Savage says.

"Fine," The Ambassador rolls his eyes. "I know you called this summit, but the Reach has come with grievances against the Light. Please explain how the young Earth champions were allowed access to the Bialyan scarab temple under your control?"

Zatanna, Batgirl, Rocket and Impulse had broken into the temple just a few weeks ago, or so Cardinal had heard in the report from Nightwing. With a mix of ancient human spells and wards from the scarab's crash site, they freed Blue Beetle from the Reach's control.

Cardinal's eyes flicker over to Kaldur as he takes a step forward, his head is held high, and his shoulders are squared back as he glances down at the members of the Reach. "If I may respond–"

"No, you may not," Black Beetle growls. "Manta keep your whelp meat silent."

"Beetle, your insolence grows progressively less... charming," Manta snaps.

Clearing his throat, Savage raises a hand to silence both Manta and Beetle. "My friends," he starts– and Cardinal can feel her teammates bristle as they prepare for a fight. "I think we can all agree that in recent days, no one has done more, sacrificed more, for both the Light and the Reach than Kaldur'ahm."

The immortal Neanderthal glances over his shoulder to meet the young Atlantean's gaze. "That is why he was entrusted with security for this summit, and why he's entitled to a voice here," he concludes.

"Of course." The Ambassador lifts his hand, signalling for Black Beetle to stand down. "He may speak."

"Thank you, Ambassador." Kaldur nods his head gratefully, then takes a step away from Cardinal's side. He continues walking forward until he stands in the middle of the room, side-by-side with Savage and Ra's al Ghul.

"We acknowledge your concerns over the actions of my former team. But you must acknowledge that the Light could not have known the significance of the temple or that ancient Earth magic could overcome Reach technology to free Blue Beetle and Green Beetle from your thrall." He doesn't falter under the glares from both the Ambassador and the Scientist. "If the Reach had been more forthcoming about how long ago their scarab was sent to infiltrate Earth with a beetle warrior, the Light might have made the connection to the temple and certainly would have provided better security for it."

"I told you; I wanted to study how Blue Beetle's scarab had crashed prior to putting it back on mode. If you had followed my advice, we would have known about the temple and–" the Scientist falls silent as her leader turns around to glare at her. She clears her throat, then bows, "Apologies, I spoke out of turn."

"No, my dear. You were quite correct to call your master's tactics into question," Manta tells her. "The Light has provided everything the Reach required, and you aliens have let it all slip away."

The Ambassador growls. "I don't believe this is a productive direction for our discussion," he states firmly.

"No?" Ra's al Ghul wonders aloud. "Your public approval ratings are at a record low. As are sales of the Reach drink, which you had hoped would enslave the populace."

Cardinal watches as the Ambassador grows increasingly uncomfortable, while Black Beetle's hands clenched into fists angrily. They were both losing their tempers, if they continued this way then the Reach and the Light would take each other out without the team needing to lift a finger.

"You allowed the young heroes you kidnapped to be rescued by the very teenagers whose meta-genes you enhanced," Vandal Savage points out.

"After allowing their escape as well," Manta added.

"Worst of all," Kaldur continues. "Blue Beetle and Green Beetle have slipped from your grasp and fallen into the hands of the enemy: the Justice League."

"Rest assured," the Ambassador takes a step forward, his voice taking a soothing tone as he attempts to win them over once again. "Both Beetles will soon return to the fold. In fact, Black Beetle has been summoned to Earth from his post, guarding access to the Key Chamber on the Warworld–"

"To kill Blue and Green," the large alien growls.

Cardinal's shoulders tense and her eyes subtly flicker over to Miss Martian– her friend stands just a few feet away, facing toward the centre of the room where the rest of the Light is gathered. Through the mind-link, she can feel Blue Beetle's fear wash over her like it's her own.

"So that their scarabs may be reset and installed upon new host bodies that will forever be slaves to the Reach," the Scientist explains.

The Ambassador glares at them. "So do not question us on that score or any other," he demands. "Remember, the Earth is now the property of the Reach. And per our original agreement, the Light is merely our favoured agents amongst the humans."

"Show the proper respect or suffer the consequences," Black Beetle warns them.

"No agreement exists that makes a slave of Black Manta," Manta snaps angrily. He takes two steps forward and Cardinal lets her hand fall back onto the hilt of her sword; Manta was a supervillain, and he had been out to get her team for years, but he was also a father who deeply cared for his son.

She would protect him from the Reach if she had to, just for now.

Black Manta meets him in the centre of the circle they all stand in. "No agreement exists that guarantees the life of Black Manta."

"Manta guarantees that himself." A compartment on the shoulder of Black Manta's armour opens and a small rocket launcher pops out, aimed directly at Beetle. Standing in front of him, the armoured chest of Black Beetle shifts into a weapon.

Miss Martian readies Kestrel's bo-staff.

"It seems we have a stand-off." Ra's al Ghul takes a step away from the two villains, his arms behind his back and his tone firm as he tries to settle the tense atmosphere.

"No, we don't." In the blink of an eye, Black Beetle bats Manta away. The Atlantean flies across the room, his body rolling across the ground until he winds up back at Kaldur'ahm's feet.

Kaldur falls to his knees at his father's side, then glances over his shoulder to meet Cardinal's gaze.

With a nod of her head, she leaps into action with her sword drawn. She lands in front of Black Beetle, her sword swiftly slicing through the air in front of him– the Beetle throws his armoured hand out and blocks the attack, then takes a step back as Miss Martian joins the fight from behind him.

The armoured alien fires a beam from his chest-cannon and Miss Martian leans back, narrowly dodging the blast. He spins around, swiping an arm out in Cardinal's direction. With practised ease, she vaults over his shoulders, acting as the perfect distraction for Miss Martian to run back at the villain.

She raises Kestrel's bo-staff and jams it through the centre of Black Beetle's chest-cannon. With a growl, Black Beetle grabs the end of the bo-staff and pulls it out of his chest before angrily charging at Miss Martian who continues to evade his attacks.

The Reach soldiers stationed behind the Ambassador begin to move in, firing their weapons at the members of the Light. Vandal Savage doesn't shrink away from the fight, only stands there in front of both Kaldur and Black Manta as he simply watches it unfold around him.

One of the soldier's fires in the direction of Ra's al Ghul and Cardinal jumps in front of him, deflecting the blast with her sword without an ounce of hesitation. If he was hit, he would be carried off to the nearest Lazarus Pit and revived within minutes. He would be fine. But there has always been a sense of mutual respect between him and Bruce– despite knowing who was behind the mask, Ra's al Ghul had never attacked their home or made a move to reveal their identities, and Yue has always admired that.

The pressure of the blast has her stumbling back into Ra's al Ghul, though she quickly regains her balance and bows her head in respect. "Forgive me, Great One," she apologises.

"Not necessary, child," he shakes his head. "You have my–" The rest of his words fall on deaf ears as Cardinal runs back into the fight.

She faces the soldier who had shot at Ra's al Ghul. The alien's red cape flows behind him as he moves closer to her, his staff swinging with clumsy movements as he swings it down at her. She parries his attacks with her sword, then side steps as the staff strikes the ground– the alien's eyes widen as she strikes the side of his helmet with the blunt end of her weapon, the impact reverberating with a loud clang as he falls to the ground unconscious.

Another soldier charges at her. His sword swings out horizontally and Cardinal ducks beneath the weapon, then kicks her leg out and sweeps at his feet. As the alien hits the ground, she stands up and presses the heel of her boot against his chest to keep him down as she carefully observes the quieting fight.

"Enough!" Kaldur's voice rings out loudly. She turns around, her shoulders relaxing as she spots the man standing between his father and Black Beetle. "We are allies, not enemies! Any conflict between us only benefits our true opponents, the Justice League and their sidekicks."

Savage steps forward. "Kaldur'ahm is quite correct," he agrees. With one last glance at the soldier trapped under her foot, Cardinal sheathes her sword and walks back toward Kaldur and the Light. The alien soldier scrambles back onto his feet and returns to his position behind the Ambassador.

"Agreed," the Ambassador nods. "We must not allow petty disagreements to drive a wedge between us. Gratitude, Kaldur'ahm." With his hands clasped together, the Ambassador somewhat bows to the young Atlantean, then glances up at Black Beetle. "Stand down, warrior."

"But Ambassador–"

"Stand down." He orders, his eyes narrowing into a cruel glare.

Black Beetle growls, though makes no other objection as the cannons on both his chest-armour and hand disappear and he moves to stand behind them.

With a breath of relief, Kaldur's eyes flicker back to his father, who nods his head and lowers his own weapons. "Should we not be concerned that Batman, Superman, the Lanterns, and the rest will soon return to Earth and once again sway public opinion to their side?" Kaldur questions both the Reach and the Light.

"Superman and those accused with him will never leave Rimbor," Savage answers. "The attack we forced them to make on that world, plus a few well-placed bribes, has guaranteed their convictions."

He tries not to show it, but Cardinal can feel Kaldur's surprise wash over her through the mind-link.

"And the Green Lanterns are forbidden by Guardian Treaty from returning to Earth now that we've convinced the UN Secretary, Tseng, to welcome us here," the Ambassador explains. "As for public opinion, I wouldn't be concerned. Though the tide has turned to a certain degree, it will be a simple matter to build on the foundation of half-truths we have already used to discredit the League in order to–"

The Ambassador cuts himself off as Ra's al Ghul turns away from the conversation, gaining the attention of everybody in the circle as they all watch him storm toward Cardinal.

With furrowed brows, she glances up at the man. "Sir?" She asks innocently. He stares down at her with an intense gaze, as if he could see straight through her disguise. "Kaldur," she calls out to her friend fearfully, as the man in front of her rips the glamour charm away from her neck.

In a flash, Cardinal – the blonde haired and green-eyed mercenary upstart, Arlene Hart – disappears and Yue Harlow is left in her place. Her dark brown eyes widen as she stares up at the Shadow's leader.

"Flamebird," Ra's al Ghul greets, his lips twisted into a smirk as he glances between her and the glamour charm gripped in his hand. While the others had never seen her face without a mask, Ra's al Ghul knew her identity just like he knew Bruce's. Of course it would be him that recognised her even out of costume.

"I- I don't understand," the Ambassador calls out in surprise. "I thought Flamebird was dead."

"So did we all," Vandal Savage growls, "But it seems Cardinal is Flamebird."

Ra's al Ghul glances over his shoulder to meet the gazes of the supervillains around him. "This is a glamour charm created, I'd wager, by Zatanna or Doctor Fate to hide Flamebird's true identity."

Yue's hand balls into a fist as she fearlessly stares up at Ra's al Ghul. They wouldn't be able to kill her, not when they were severely outnumbered, but she needs to keep up the illusion that she and Kaldur are alone. They need to buy more time. They need the Light and the Reach to incriminate themselves further.

"But Kaldur'ahm killed Flamebird." The Ambassador looks between the two undercover heroes with furrowed brows. "If she lives, and in disguise as his lieutenant, then that means..."

"That means Aqualad duped them all, including his own father." The words fall from Black Beetle's lips with a sense of glee, as if he enjoyed the thought of Black Manta being betrayed by his own son.

The Ambassador sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Kill them both."

The armoured alien's hands changed into two sharp swords. Yue swiftly reaches for her own weapon as she takes one step back from Ra's al Ghul.

"No!" Black Manta objects as he runs forward to stand in front of his son, protectively placing himself between Kaldur and Black Beetle. "You will not kill my son!"

"Now, M'gann," Kaldur orders.

"He's right." Miss Martian, still disguised as Kestrel, reaches for the handgun tucked into a holster around her waist. Before anybody can stop her, she shoots a rubber bullet at Kaldur then spins around to fire the weapon at Yue.

The blood-pack she had tucked into her suit earlier that day, in case of a situation like this, explodes against her chest. The fake blood seeps through her suit and against her skin as she falls onto her back, her eyes wide and unblinking.

The members of the Light, all except Black Manta who falls to his knees at Kaldur's side, don't blink an eye at Miss Martian's heartless attack as she tucks the gun away. "The Light takes care of its own."

"Kaldur." Black Manta cradles his son in his arms.

"It is too late, father," Kaldur says weakly. "I have already... won." He lets out one last, weak breath, before his eyes close and his hand hits the ground; a small device tumbles out of his grasp, and a hologram of him appears in front of the group.

"If you are watching this, then your summit is truly over." The holographic-Kaldur'ahm announces. "The Light and the Reach deserve each other. Both sides play at being partners. But the Reach believes the Light to be their naive tools of conquest when in fact, the Light has manipulated the Reach from day one."

Vandal Savage turns to face Kestrel and demands, "Shut this off."

"How?" Miss Martian asks cluelessly.

A holographic screen appears by Kaldur's head. It flicks between the pictures of the six Justice League members Savage and the Light sent to Rimbor six years ago. "It was the Light that brought Earth to the Reach's attention by sending the Justice League to Rimbor," Kaldur points out. "The Light set their trap and the Reach snapped at the bait, fulfilling the Light's desire to thrust our world into the galactic spotlight. Part of their perverse survival of the fittest scheme for the planet, which they believe will transform the Earth and the Light into the eventual rulers of the Milky Way."

A second screen appears, this time showing a video of Black Manta shaking hands with the Reach's Ambassador. "Though the Light made a deal to help the Reach take Earth, they have also sabotaged the Reach's efforts," he continues. "They kept the enhanced meta-teens out of the Reach's hands. They added a neutralising agent to the Reach's drink, so Earth's population would not become servile. They turned public opinion against the Reach, and they intentionally allowed the team access to the scarab temple to cleanse Blue and Green Beetle."

Kaldur's hologram smirks. "So, you see, any agenda either side imagined they shared was naught but a carefully crafted illusion. I trust I have shattered that illusion as well as whatever remains of this sorry alliance. Goodnight."

His hologram disappears, and Black Manta glances down at his son's body with a look of sorrow and disappointment. "Kaldur... Kaldur, what have you done?"

"He and Flamebird have, in death, done more to damage my plans than any living creature has wrought in fifty thousand years," Vandal Savage spits venomously. "I'd be impressed if I wasn't so–"

He's cut off by a guttural scream of anger from the Ambassador. "You Earthlings are a pestilence and a plague!" The Ambassador accuses. "You dare sabotage us? Dare betray us? Have you forgotten who controls the Warworld?!" He gestures upward, in reference to the large alien spaceship which had almost destroyed their planet a few mere weeks ago. "The Light is fortunate we do not carve up your planet as we speak!"

"That would indeed impress." Vandal Savage smirks as he walks forward. "As I have the Warworld's Crystal Key."

"And that's all we needed to know." Yue rises to her feet, an amused grin painted across her face as the supervillains turn to her surprise. "Thanks, Savage." Ra's al Ghul backs away from her, his eyes widening in shock.

"Kaldur–" Black Manta gasps as his son stands up from his arms. "You're–"

"Alive, yes," Kaldur answers.

"Impossible," Vandal Savage gasps. "Kestrel killed you both!"

"Just for a little while." With glowing eyes, Miss Martian levitates Kestrel's dagger, the pointed tip aimed for Vandal Savage's throat as she steps past him. "After all, I wouldn't want to do any permanent damage to my best friends." She morphs out of Kestrel's form and back into her own as she smirks, "Not when a little misdirection and Hollywood special effects will do instead."

The Martian walks to the centre of the cavern, where Kaldur moves to stand at her side as he faces Savage. "For we value our true friends," he states. "And unlike you, we are not short on them."

Mal in his Guardian uniform, as well as Superboy and Bumblebee, enter the alcove through the entrance the Reach had used. While Batgirl, Nightwing and Kid Flash come running in from the archway behind the Light.

"Hey there, Vandy!" Kid Flash calls out playfully, a grin tugging at his lips as he waves down at the supervillain. "You miss me?"

"Well played. Well planned," Vandal Savage compliments the heroes sarcastically. "But the Light always has contingencies."

Yue turns around as The Brain begins to glow behind her, she carefully readies her sword, only to watch as the entrances of the alcove are closed and the ceiling of the cave opens up to reveal both the moon and the large, glowing Warworld. Dozens of League of Shadows assassins drop into the Cave, groups of them each surrounding the heroes.

"I've had my fill of your interference. Do not expect to survive," Vandal Savage tells them, then glances around at the assassins littered across the room. He demands, "Kill them all. Superboy may present a problem, but we'll deal with him when the other children lie bleeding on the ground."

"Still you refer to us as children," Kaldur points out. "No wonder our successes mount. You consistently underestimate us."

The Assassin behind Yue removes his mask and, slowly, the armour of Blue Beetle covers his lanky figure. He flies up into the air, then shoots a sonic ray down at the Reach soldiers lined up behind the Ambassador.

Up on one of the ledges, Lagoon Boy takes out the two assassins surrounding him and Beast Boy – as he shifts into the form of a giant green ape – charges at Mallah. On the other side of the cave, Kid Flash evades the attack of three assassins, each trying to slice at him with their swords. He dodges between them and then, at a speed faster than they could detect, he pulls at the pins of the smoke grenades hanging off their waists.

A thick dark smoke fills the cave.

In the haze, an assassin emerges near Yue, the blade of his sword gleaming in the moonlight. Her instincts kick in and she ducks low, narrowly avoiding the attack. With a twist of her hand, she blocks the next slash with her sword; the metal clangs loudly, even in the midst of the combat surrounding them. With their swords locked and the assassin momentarily distracted, Yue raises a leg and knees him in the stomach, before pushing him backward into another of his allies.

A scream echoes through the cave and Yue spins around on her heel, her eyes widening as she watches a giant snake formed of fire knock M'gann onto the ground. The smoke begins to part, just enough for her to catch a glimpse of Klarion's tiny figure standing at Savage's side as they both disappear through a glowing red portal.

"Cowardly meat!" Black Beetle yells.

"No! Vandal has the right idea," Ra's al Ghul explains to the alien warrior. "This battle is pointless. Do not resist, the heroes have no jurisdiction here."

Yue sprints forward, trying to reach the centre of the room, only to skid to a stop as she watches Black Beetle bat Superboy away like he was nothing more than a fly. "Meaning every piece of meat on the Light is a coward," the alien growls as he walks toward Ra's. His hand morphs into a pointed sword that he runs through him. "Such is the fate of all meat."

"Master!" The henchman that had followed Ra's al Ghul into the summit gasps behind her, then punches Lagoon Boy away as he turns to face his leader.

Yue stands shocked still in front of Ra's, her wide eyes watching as the sword retracts from his chest and he sways on his feet. Her glamour charm falls from his hand and clatters against the smooth stone ground beneath them.

Her hands tighten around her sword as her eyes flick back up to Black Beetle, she tries to take a step toward him but the man who had come to protect Ra's al Ghul rushes forward – knocking her out of the way – to catch him in his arms before his body can even hit the ground. Her sword clangs against stone, sliding out of her reach.

With a grunt, Yue lifts herself up off the floor and glances around. Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing are still fighting against the League of Assassins, Artemis in her new Tigress suit is shooting arrow after arrow from the high-ground, and Bumblebee flies across the cave firing beams at the enemy.

"I have you, Master. Ubu will keep you safe." Cradling his master's corpse in his arm, Ubu fires a grappling hook at the ceiling of the cave. Yue lunges at the man from her spot on the floor; she didn't have any grudge against Ra's al Ghul but too many people have escaped already, and they couldn't afford the League of Assassin's resurrecting their leader once more. But as she leaps toward them, Ubu kicks her away and she's sent flying back.

Kid Flash speeds past, all too easily catching her in his arms before she falls to the ground. He skids to a stop a few feet away and Yue spins out of her fiancé's arms, their backs pressing against one another as they both face the assassins that surround them.

"I so want to kiss you right now." He sighs dreamily as he glances at her from over his shoulder, his lips curled into a grin before he shakes his head and attempts to frown at her. "Or kill you for putting us through all this."

She can't stop herself from laughing at his poor half-hearted attempt to scold her. "I'd ask what's stopping you, but–" Her eyes flicker to the assassins and she raises her fists in preparation for a fight, "-I think we have a few obstacles that need to be taken care of first."

He grins, "Later?"

"We'll be doing a whole lot more later, babe." With a playful wink at him, the two heroes laugh as they push off one another.

She charges for the Shadow in front of her, then throws one fist at him. As he goes to block it with his staff, she drops to one knee and kicks her foot out, knocking the assassin off his feet and stealing his bo-staff before it can hit the ground with him.

Yue jumps back onto her feet, grinning at the familiarity of a bo-staff in her hands as she twirls the weapon around once. "So much better than a sword," she says to herself as she spins around on her heel, bashing one of the flat ends of the staff against a Shadow's skull. As they hit the ground, another assassin jumps at her.

She loops the bo-staff around the back of his neck, using the leverage to bring him down into her knee as she slams it up into his face. She glances around herself triumphantly, a proud look in her eyes as she realises the fight has begun to die down.

Letting the staff fall from her hands, her heart begins to beat loudly in her chest as she lets her feet carry her in Wally's direction. He meets her halfway and, as soon as he's within reach, Yue doesn't hesitate to throw her arms around his neck and pull him down into a kiss. His hand falls into place at the bottom of her spine, gently pulling her closer as he kisses her back. When they part a minute later, neither of them can look away from the other.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," she whispers, leaning her forehead against his as she tightens her arms around him. The adrenaline of battle is beginning to wear off, and she can feel the exhaustion rising to take its place, yet she can't bring herself to move away from him because three months has been far too long without seeing his face.

He grins down at her, then tightens his embrace as he slightly lifts her off the ground, his face hidden against her shoulder as he excitedly twirls them around. Her laugh echoes through both the cavern and his heart.

As he sets her back on her feet, and they finally pull away from one another, two figures in the distance catch their eye. Kaldur and Dick stand by the water, engaged in a conversation that has a sigh falling from Yue's lips. "Gotta play the hero a little longer," she jokes as she takes Wally's hand in her own, their fingers intertwining.

Together, they join their friends by the small pool of water at the back of the cavern.

"I had hoped to end this tonight, but Savage escaped with Klarion, as did Black Beetle and the Reach's head scientist," Kaldur says disappointedly. "Luthor and Queen Bee never showed, and even Ra's al Ghul will no doubt–"

"Are you kidding me?" Dick cuts him off. "Kaldur, you won!"

"Won? Dude, you triumphed!" Wally points out with a grin.

"Kal, not only have we crippled the Reach and broken the Light in half, but we've also destroyed any hope they have at an alliance," Yue points out, glancing down as the light reflecting off her former glamour-charm catches her eye. She lets go of Wally's hand and leans down to pick up the necklace. "Not to mention, we recorded the whole thing. We can use their own words against them and clear the Justice League's name."

"Yue!"

She doesn't get the chance to turn around as a small figure comes barrelling towards her. Garfield jumps at her, his arms wrapping around her waist as she stumbles forward from the sudden impact. With a smile, she twists around in his grasp and wraps one arm around him. "Hey, Gar," she gently ruffles his hair. "What's this for?"

"I'm still just so glad you're alive!" He grins up at her, then glances over at Kaldur as he steps away from the hug. "And that Aqualad's not a traitor." His smile falters for a moment as he turns to face Dick, pointing one finger up at him sternly. "No more faking anyone's death for at least a year, okay?"

Wally laughs, throwing his arm around Yue's shoulders as she happily leans into his side. "Yeah, seconded," he agrees.

Kaldur sighs, "Agreed."

Dick places his hand on Kaldur's shoulder and smiles. "This has been a good night," he says. "Maybe the best we've had since the four of us took off for Cadmus six years ago."

"Come on. Enjoy the moment, my friend," Wally tells him.

Yue smiles fondly and nods her head in agreement. "We've more than earned it."

Palo Alto is just how Yue remembers it, though it's not like she expected drastic changes to happen in the three months she was gone. Wally's textbooks are still scattered over the left-side of the kitchen table, the bright-pink slippers she had bought last winter are still near the door, and the framed photo of their friends – taken six years ago before Roy's induction into the League – still hangs crookedly on the wall.

Two discarded dinner plates, with the remnants of Mary West's homemade lasagna, sit on the coffee table in front of them because though the day had been long and tiresome, Wally near-perfected his mother's recipe in the time she was gone, and Yue had gone three months without a proper home-cooked meal.

There's a comfortable silence settled over the apartment, except for the faint voices that emit from the television neither of them pays attention to. The couple sits on the couch, her legs thrown over his lap and one of his hands gently rubbing circles against her back as she leans her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you for coming back." It's only a whisper as Wally presses a gentle kiss to the top of her head, but it has Yue tilting her head up to glance at him.

Her lips curl into a soft smile, and she lifts her hand to cup his cheek. Her engagement ring – he had slipped it back over her finger somewhere between the summit and the mission briefing afterwards – twinkled in the light of the tv. "No way I don't come running home to you, Wal," she says as she stares into his emerald eyes. "I love you."

For a moment, she lets her gaze rake over his face, before she surges forward to press her lips against his. Three months had been too long without him, longer than either of them has gone since moving in together, so it doesn't surprise Yue when Wally's hand moves away from her back, in favour of threading his fingers through her black hair as he deepens the kiss.

It's only when her tongue sweeps against his bottom lip that he shifts. His free hand falls to her waist and with his lips still connected to hers, and her arms winding around the back of his neck, Wally moves so that she's lying beneath him on the couch, her legs on either side of him.

Smirking against his lips, she wraps a leg around his waist to pull him closer. When his hips press against hers, she parts from the kiss with a quiet moan. They'd have the rest of their lives to take things slow, but right now she wants – needs – more.

And with Wally trailing molten hot kisses down her jaw and across her throat, it's easy for the world outside their small apartment to fade away. The Reach, The Light, and the mission could all be damned.

There's nowhere else Yue Harlow would rather be than in Wally West's arms.

AUTHOR'S NOTES.

   ✶     One chapter left... I was planning to do a double update, this and the final chapter, but decided against it because while posting this without my beta-reader going over it felt okay for now, I'm insane about the next chapter and need it to be perfect.

   ✶     I'm not entirely happy with the final scene of this chapter, I always feel so awkward writing scenes like that when they fade to black and are kept ambiguous. But Flashbird possessed me and the voices made me write it.

   ✶     Anyways, I'm planning to hopefully finish off some oneshots I have set in the timeskips soon (see: a Jason Todd centred oneshot, and one that covers something that happens right before Act Three starts), but aside from that, I've recently posted another Flashbird fic — Laurel Hell — set in the Justice League Animated Universe. They're just my sweet little babies. If you'd like to see an older Yue and Wally, and a fic full of Batfamily conflict, I suggest checking that out!