Washington D.C.

November 28, 17:14 EST

Dick Grayson knelt on the cold floor. How long had he been there? His knees were starting to go numb. Slowly, he lifted his head from his hands and stared up at the hologram. Wally had been his best friend for years, but now he was gone. He had disintegrated, so there was nothing left of him, but this holographic statue. It was a kind gesture by the team, to make new statues at the Hall of Justice, but sometimes Dick thought it wasn't enough. These statues couldn't capture who they really were; they couldn't capture their qualities. Dick missed everything about Wally these days, even his flaws.

It had only been four months, but it felt like a lifetime - a lifetime of mourning and sadness. Artemis seemed to be doing better than people expected of her, but Dick knew how she was really handling it. She would talk to others and go on missions like nothing was wrong, but as soon as she was alone, as soon as she thought no one was watching, she would turn away and feel a sadness that very few people knew. Every now and then, Dick would catch her staring into nothingness, eyes filled with despair.

Dick wished she would talk about it. He needed someone to talk to, and Artemis was the only one who knew Wally as well as he did. He knew that he shouldn't talk to her about it, though. For some people, talking wasn't the way to go. Some people (Dick once thought that he himself belonged in this category) just need to think. Words can hurt you, even if they are your own.

Saddened eyes scanned the room, skipping from one hologram to the next. Boy Wonder ran over their names in his head, but he cursed himself. They were more than names, more than statues; they were people, they had lives. They had lives. The eyes scanned the room again. He remembered their names but also their personalities, their words, and their actions.

Ted.

Tula.

Jason.

Wally.

The last name rang through his ears. Pictures and images, memories of the times, flashed in his mind. The words, the laugh, the smile of his best friend. Would he ever see them again in person? No, he couldn't. Wally was dead. Dick's head returned to his hands, and he found his shoulders shaking. His eyes leaked true tears, and he sobbed. Now, he was glad that Artemis wouldn't talk, wouldn't come here to see this hologram. She couldn't be there next to him. No one could see him like this. He and Kaldur led this team, and a leader had to be strong. If the team was going to get over Wally's death, he needed to get over Wally's death, but he wasn't sure if he could.

Dick wiped his eyes on his sleeve and stood. His feet had fallen asleep because he had been kneeling for so long, so he waited for the numbness to recede. He then walked towards the door that entered the Cave. His footsteps were heavier than they had ever been, and he watched them thump on the cold, stone floor, wondering what extra weight made them drag. Dick turned around as he opened the door, the loud creak echoing against the walls. He looked at the holograms again. It seemed right to call this place the Hall of Justice. All of these people had lived for justice and died for justice. He turned away and slammed the door behind him.

Gotham City

November 26, 22:41 EST

Jonathan Crane leaned against the dirty wall. Everything in the city seemed dirty, but the dirtiness was something Crane was used to. Crane had been in Gotham for a while, but he never got to roam like this. He gazed out from the dark alley, looking at a dark building on the skyline. Most people would be scared of the building, but Crane knew it as home. Even if he had never been to Gotham before, Crane wouldn't have feared the building. Crane was barely afraid of anything. Rather, Crane took pleasure in striking fear into the hearts of others. Most civilians didn't even know Crane's name. Most of them knew him as Scarecrow, and the building he looked upon was Arkham Asylum.

The police would be after him, but Crane didn't worry. They wouldn't find him. it was Batman that he had to worry about. Batman was always the one who put him away, always the one who got him locked in Arkham. If Batman wasn't so strange about killing people, Crane would most certainly be dead, but for some reason Batman didn't kill, he only captured. Every time Batman got on his trail, Crane would be captured, but every time Crane would escape. Scarecrow turned his eyes from Arkham and walked down the alley. He would need to make more of his fear toxin. Maybe he could brew up something new and interesting. Batman would appreciate the variety, wouldn't he?

Crane listened to his shoes scuff the concrete. He turned the corners, searching for a laboratory, but never leaving the shelter of the darkness. Crane almost chuckled at the notion of taking darkness as a shelter. He remembered a time when he used to fear the dark. Oh, how weak and scared he had been as a child. Suddenly, he bumped into a tall figure. The man was dressed in a fine suit, and he had a bald head that could be recognized anywhere. The man was none other than Lex Luthor himself.

"What do you want?" Crane asked impatiently. He didn't like those Metropolis folk.

"I'm simply here to make a business proposition," Luthor said, his hands raised innocently. "There's no need to be hostile."

"And what could a businessman as wealthy as you gain from a whackjob like me?" Crane asked.

"Lexcorp doesn't want you. I'm here representing my other- what shall we say?- business group. We want you and your talents," Luthor explained.

"Just say it, Luthor. You want my fear toxin I'm not sure what you need it for, but letting you use it doesn't benefit me. You're probably out for money or power. What I want, what I need is knowledge," Crane retorted. "No, I need mastery."

"Yes, yes, I have done my research," Lex said in his usual pompous tone, "but I do think that you have something to gain from us."

"What would that be?" Crane inquired, losing even more patience.

"My other business group, the Light, has big plans for the world. We want to help the world evolve at an accelerated rate, and we believe that you can help us with that. Your fear gas can help people learn to face their fears, and fear is man's greatest weakness," Luthor said.

"NO!" Crane snapped. "You don't understand fear! You don't understand any of it!" Crane took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Fear is not a weakness. You don't understand that now, but soon you will see."

"'Soon'?" Luthor questioned. "Does this mean you'll be joining us?"

Crane scoffed, "No. Teaching Lex Luthor how to master fear doesn't meet the top of my priorities. Besides, even if I did try to teach you, the moment I started introducing you to my teaching methods, your security would have me arrested and sent back to Arkham."

"I'm not asking you to teach me. I'm asking you to teach them," Luthor gestured out towards the city. "Think of what you could learn from testing all of these civilians."

"I can test civilians whenever I want on my own," Crane said, adamantly refusing Luthor's offer. He didn't trust Luthor, and how could you work with a man you didn't trust?

"Alright, I get it. You don't want to work for me, but what could you gain from a group of young heroes?" Luthor wondered, almost giving up. Crane was more stubborn than he had expected.

"Young heroes?"

"Yes, young heroes."

Crane pressed his hands palm-to-palm and pressed his index fingers to his lips, thinking. "How young?" he asked.

"Anywhere between fourteen and twenty-three," Luthor answered.

A small grin spread across Crane's face, "That'll do. Where are they?"

Lex gave a one-syllable laugh, "Are you serious? You are dissatisfied with an entire city full of test guinea pigs, and you chomp at the bit when I offer you a small team of over-privileged brats with martial arts skills."

"They say you're so smart, but all I see from you is smug ignorance. Those children are something that I haven't had the chance to test yet. I need them. They can help me. I'm already so close; I may be able to complete my research. I can become a true master of fear!" Crane rambled.

"I'll take whatever I can get," Luthor said, slightly confused, slightly offended. "You'll have to wait couple days to get to your precious guinea pigs, but, trust me, it'll be worth it."

Lex slipped a small, black box from a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"I'll take you to meet your new partner. We'll travel via boom tube," Luthor spoke to Crane. He then turned his attention to the box. "Metropolis, please," he commanded.

The alleyway sounded with a thunderous boom, and Luthor and Crane disappeared.

Washington D.C.

November 28, 18:30 EST

"I know that you are now an independent team that works separately from the Justice League now, but we both have a common enemy," Batman paced back and forth in front of the team. "I believe that if we work together now, we have a chance of striking the Light with a blow they may never recover from."

"We've never been able to trap the Light before. They always have their Lord of Chaos to fall back on," Tim objected.

"Plus, we know now that Vandal Savage is working directly with Darkseid on Apokolips. They've probably got twice the Apokoliptian tech that they had before," Conner agreed.

"That's no excuse to leave them be," Batman said. "The Light is a danger to our world, a threat that we can't let grow. They are getting more Apokoliptian technology all the time," he paused and directed his eyes at Superboy. "It's best that we attack them now, before they get even more weapons."

Conner huffed, "Fine. If you came here, you must have a plan. Let's hear it."

Batman turned to the computer and pulled up some images. It was a map of the world, with some points marked. Batman zoomed in on all of these. None of them seemed all that significant except for one that they all recognized: Bialya.

"I know what you're all thinking," Batman interrupted their thoughts, "but you're not going to Bialya. That is where the League will be. Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul, Vandal Savage, and Klarion are all being hosted in Bialya by Queen Bee. The entire Justice League will be seen there, fighting them."

"So I take it there is someone else that we'll be fighting," said Nightwing, "like the Injustice League."

"Exactly. We all know that there are many people that have aligned themselves with the Light. These many allies are all having another meeting. The Light's higher-ups must be using their meeting as a distraction," Batman explained. "We've narrowed the location down to four possible spots, but we're thinking Buenos Aires is the most likely." The computer zoomed in on Argentina. A red dot blinked on a certain building.

"We'll be sending six of you there. The second most likely is Carson City, Nevada. Four of you will be sent there." The same blinking red light appeared over Carson City.

"The next two locations are highly unlikely, but we will send a group of three to one and a group of two to another." Blinking red dots appeared over the cities of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and Nuuk, Greenland.

"Bumblebee, Guardian, Beast Boy, you'll go to Ashgabat," Batman said.

"Aw, come on," Beast Boy whined, "Can't I go where the action is."

Batman didn't answer. He just looked at Beast Boy with a piercing stare that effectively shut him up.

"Static, Batgirl, Wondergirl, Lagoon Boy, Aqualad, Arsenal, you're headed for Buenos Aires," Batman continued. "If the Light is there, do not confront them. This is mission is for intel only. Robin, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Superboy, you are assigned to Carson City. Same rules apply. Nightwing and Kid Flash, I'll be sending you to Nuuk."

Everyone turned to look at Dick. He was one of the team's best fighters. Under normal circumstances he would be put in Alpha Squad, but these weren't normal circumstances. He was still getting over Wally, and that kind of loss could not be got over easily. Batman even excluded Artemis from the mission because he knew she was not ready. He was still unsure about Dick and Bart, so he was going to play it safe.

Dick tried for a smile, "Sure. Who doesn't want to be in Greenland during November?"

Bart scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure if I want to take this one, Batman. I just don't know if I can fill these shoes."

Batman stood in silence for a short moment. "It's no problem. I'll see if Tigress is up to it." Batman worried about this. He had thought that Artemis had been taking it worse than Bart, but maybe she needed to cope in a different way.

"Don't worry about it," a familiar voice spoke from behind. "I'll go."

"Zatanna," Batman turned, "you're in the League now. You need to be in Bialya."

"I've only been in the League for a couple months and I haven't done anything big. The Light's not going to miss me. Besides, if they actually turn up there, it wouldn't hurt to have a Leaguer on hand," Zatanna reasoned.

Batman exhaled through his nose, "Alright, then it's decided. Zatanna, you'll accompany Nightwing. Kid Flash, you can stay behind."

"Thank you," Bart said and walked out of the mission room.

The rest of the team waited for more orders. "Reconvene here at nine tomorrow night. We'll send you off through the Zeta tubes then," Batman said.

The team nodded and dispersed. Dick approached Zatanna. "Why don't you want to go to Bialya with the League?" he asked.

"I don't know," Zatanna responded. "I've just got a bad feeling about this whole thing. The Light always has a plan and now that we don't have Kaldur on the inside, we don't know what that plan is. I can't take that risk of letting you go there alone."

Dick smiled, for real this time. It would be nice to have her around, even if this trip proved uneventful as Batman predicted. It would also be good to get out of Mount Justice. He could use a good distraction from life.

"Well," Dick said to Zatanna, "you'd better get your winter coat. Where we're going, it could be a little chilly."

This is the first story that I have ever published, so I'm not really sure I know what I'm doing, but bear with me.

I would really appreciate any feedback to make me a better writer.

Also, sorry if there are a few grammar mistakes; I'm doing my best.

I will try to post a new chapter every week.

- Napsack