Title: Villains of Tomorrow

Summary: AU. Batman was to busy to adopt Dick. Aquaman never found Kaldur. The Flash never met his nephew. Green Arrow didn't come in time to stop Artemis from going with her sister. Martian Manhunter didn't know his niece left Mars. Superman didn't start the search on Camdus. Because of what seemed like small mistakes, the villains raised their own protégés, and Young Injustice was born.

Disclaimer: I don't own YJ or any of its characters

How the Past Affects the Future

Drip, drip, drip.

To anyone else, the sound in the otherwise silent, echoing cave may have been maddening. But to Bruce Wayne, the cold, damp hole in the rock was like a second home. Dressed with fancy gadgets, speedy vehicles, and high tech computers, the den might as well not be a cave at all. In fact, if it weren't for the bats overhead and the stone walls, one might hesitate to call it that.

A long, very Bruce Wayne like and very un-Batman like, which he was currently half-dressed as, escaped his lips as he tried another key word. "Search unexplained Gotham business fires."

Nothing.

His eyes scanned the few links once more, before growling and grabbing his cold coffee with so much force it spilled in one big mess over the clean clothes Alfred had laid out for him hours ago, which he still failed to change into. "Master Bruce, do calm down. I just washed those."

He relaxed his death grip on the cup, not bothering to cover up what he was searching before turning to face Alfred, crossing his arms as he read the computer screen. "Sorry Alfred." He mumbled, turning back to his work.

"Apology accepted, sir." He answered. Silence passed them before Alfred cleared his throat, gaining the young man's attention once more. "Looking more into young Richard's case, Master Bruce?"

Bruce sighed, nothing got past Alfred. "I am. I've been looking more into this Tony Zucco person that the kid mentioned before getting sent to Juvie. He's been taken in for petty thefts and stealing a car, but not anything to suggest he offered 'protection'." He rested his hand on his chin, "but, a year later Tony completely disappeared. He hasn't shown his face in Gotham for four years now."

Alfred cocked an eyebrow, "and you think this has to do with Richard Grayson's death? Tony sent a man to finish off the last Grayson before he could talk, perhaps?"

Bruce shook his head, "as plausible as that sounds, unlikely. Tony isn't that smart, the security cameras were shut off as far as twelve blocks away, and not even I could recover it. Whoever this guy is, he's got skills that could match my own." A sad look passed over his face, which was rare for the stone-faced bat. "I'm starting to doubt I'll ever find out who murdered Grayson."

A look of sympathy overcame Alfred's wrinkled features, "that's no way to talk, Master Bruce." He said firmly, placing a light hand on his shoulder. "If anyone can find a connection, it would be you. Now, off to supper, then bed with you. Staying up this late into the night isn't healthy."

Bruce grumbled, but complied. There was no use arguing with Alfred, he'd never win. Standing up and grabbing the fresh clothes Alfred handed him, he slipped to the changing room and soon walked up to the elevator.

Richard Grayson had died four and a half years ago by the hands of an unknown assassin group. All the security guards that night were wiped out by both swords and bullets, pointing to that there were multiple men. Why the man, or woman, wanted Grayson of all people was beyond him, but they apparently held a grudge against his family.

It was funny, because even though he'd been against the idea of adopting the boy on the long, silent trip home, he had been warming up to it more and more as he heard about Grayson being thrown into Juvie, a terrible place for a child so small and breakable. He at least had Alfred when his parents died, Richard had no one.

But before he could get all the papers ready, Grayson was kidnapped, and his blood was splattered against the sidewalk. While there was never a body found, there was no possible way he'd still be alive. Even if he had been kept alive for a year, they'd have no use for him now.

So, he'd made it a mission. A mission to find out who killed his parents, and maybe even find out who kidnapped him along the way.

He owed it to him, after all.

Aquaman's grip on his trident tightened, sending withering stares at the scene in front of him.

A large section of their land was destroyed in a raid led by Black Mantis' son, Riptide, who had become the newest evil face around here. He and his small group of assassins had single-handedly slain hundreds of Aquaman's men and destroyed at least a thousand acres of land.

Riptide was proclaimed armed and dangerous, and anyone found harboring him would be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and that when Riptide was found, he would be executed. After that announcement a few days ago, there were a few protesters outside his castle, saying that because Riptide was no more than a child, execution was something unneeded.

Ha, this attack showed them.

How dare they say all those things while hundreds of innocent men were slaughtered. That boy was a spawn of the Lord of Hell himself- he should not be given special treatment. He chose this life.

Okay, that was a lie.

Well, he definitely wanted this life.

That was questionable.

It was then that thoughts of doubt hit him. Was he making the right choice? Just like the children who grew up bullying because of the lack of attention from their parents, was this one any different? A much grander scale, perhaps, but really different?

His eyes roamed the wasted land, before being downcasted to the floor.

He really needed to think this through.

Barry looked over to his wife, unusually quiet as they munched on popcorn and watched A Christmas Carol despite being the middle of July. Iris loved that movie; it was a big family tradition with her dad, and Barry knew she could use some happy memories right now.

He glanced at the shelf to the right of the T.V., a picture of a giggling toddler with bright, red hair- much like his mother -that she had received in the mail last Christmas. She'd never seen the boy past age four, where a school picture had been sent along with a birthday card. His parents had no recent pictures of him, not even school pictures.

He looked away as Iris sighed softly, putting her head on his shoulder for comfort. She blamed herself for Wally running away. After all, the Allen's never took the time to try and mend Iris and Rudy's rocky relationship, and apparently Rudy had done the same with his son. He'd run away five years ago, and most likely died somewhere.

There had been chemicals, the dangerous kind usually locked up in school labs, sprayed all over the carpet and walls. According to his parents, Wally wanted to be a scientist, and the broken locks and school video tapes proved Wally was trying something big. It was wonder he didn't blow up the whole house.

Well, inhaling that much plus getting that many chemicals on his skin meant he had probably died in the woods, too embarrassed, or too scared, to tell his parents he trashed his room was the most likely cause.

Either way, Barry never took the time to meet his only nephew, and he regretted it ever since.

Mary and Rudy's relationship had only gotten worse since Wally was proclaimed dead, it ended with kicking and screaming and a divorce weighing heavily on their shoulders. Now, they lived on opposite sides of the country.

Iris seemed to take it the hardest out of even Wally's own parents, which made him angry. They didn't even know him, yet his passing meant more to them than his own mother and father? In what universe does that make any sense?

His attention came back to the T.V., where the ending was showing Scrooge throwing money gleefully out his window. Sometimes, he wished he could be Scrooge; getting a second chance at life. He'd do so many things so much differently.

"Yesterday I saw this kid," he said before he could stop himself, earning an eyebrow raise from Iris. "He looked like an older version of Wally." He gave a dead laugh, "really thought, well, more like really hoped it was him."

She gave him a sad smile, grabbing his hand and giving it a light squeeze. "It's not just your fault, Barry. This rests on both the Wests and the Allens. We should have done more to help that kid."

He nodded, drawing her in for a tight hug. His mind, however, stayed on the strange boy he'd met the day before. There was something about that kid that just wasn't right, it was like he was keeping something from him. But, that was just absurd.

He frowned, shrugging it off. He was just a kid, how much trouble could he get into?

Something told him he would find out.

Oliver sighed, fiddling with an arrowhead.

"Hey, Oliver. You okay?" Said a voice from behind, Oliver turned to see Red Arrow, or Roy, giving him a small smile. "You seem upset about something."

"I'm just thinking about this girl," he said, earning an eyebrow raise from Roy. "Not that kind of thinking about a girl, I'm with Black Canary now, remember? I mean the news about Sports Master's daughter. You heard anything about her?"

Roy bit his lip, "no. Even though I worked with Sports Master after his daughter went solo, he never really revealed much about himself. I knew he had another daughter, but I know zip about her."

Thankfully, Oliver was staring out the window instead of at Roy, or he might have seen the nervous look in his eyes. "Well, I'm just remembering the first- and admittedly only -time I ever ran into her. I didn't get a good look at her face, wearing a tiger outfit and all." He sighed, "I made her the same offer I made you, but she just blew up the building behind her and left without saying a word."

Roy nodded, covering his smile. Sounds like Artemis all right, she'd use explosions in a heartbeat to make her point. His eyes, too, flickered out the window, not noticing when Oliver stood up. "I'ma head to bed, don't stay up too much later."

Roy just nodded in reply, noticing the movement on a nearby building. He smiled.

A few minutes late, his feet dangled off the side of the building, noticing a shadow creep up behind him. "Don't even try to scare me. I got used to that trick ages ago, Jade."

"You didn't tell him anything?"

Roy looked up at her, frowning at her bluntness. Her trust in him was starting to dwindle after he joined the League, which hurt, even if he knew she had a good reason. "Of course not, I know how much she means to you."

She scoffed, "it's not that she means anything to me, Roy. It's just that-"

"That if the Justice League found out more about her she'd be locked up forever, I know I know." He gave her a grin, "you do care about her, why else would you let her leave with you all those years ago?"

She frowned, crossing her arms, but didn't deny anything. "You've heard that they've formed a team, yeah?"

He nodded, "yeah. I always knew the Light would have them make a team. When they don't want to do the dirty work themselves, they'll send those kids to do it for them." He spat that last part, "that's why I left. I don't want to be a pawn in their stupid game anymore."

"But you still refuse to reveal anything about the Light to the League."

He looked up at her, shrugging. "Same reason you don't want them to learn about Artemis. Renegade, Riptide, Mercury, even Artemis despite our constant fights are my friends. They're my family. Always will be, even if we're on opposite sides. I can't let the League lock them up, and they're too brainwashed to consider anything besides killing for their masters."

Jade nodded, eyes resting on the moon. "It's getting late, and I have a job to do." She bent down, giving him a light peck on the cheek. "Night, Speedy."

He groaned, "stop calling me that, you know I hate that name. I don't even know why Oliver suggested it."

"Didn't you go by it for a solid week?" Jade said, ruffling his hair.

"Only because Oliver kept insisting it! Thank god it didn't catch on, even Batman told me to come up with a better name." Roy grumbled, but smiled anyway as she laughed. After they bid their goodbyes, Roy headed back to the house.

How much he wished he could talk to his family, tell them how amazing the hero life is. And how sorry he is for betraying them. There was no way they hadn't heard about it by now, and they were probably heartbroken. He would have been.

Shoving the painful thoughts aside, he snuck back in through the window. He just hoped they were doing okay.

In, out, in, out

J'ohn clenched his fist and opened his eyes. This wasn't working, he needed a better way to relax.

Ever since that mission where he was ordered to raid the trucks, his mind was blurry. He couldn't get a clear shot at what had gone on. Being a martian, it should be no difficulty, but something was keeping him from remembering that day.

This was only common on his home planet when, after an emotionally terrible thing happened, their minds decided to physically shield the memory in hopes of letting the martian relax and keep from going insane. However, it was incredibly unhelpful when you're the only one who would be able to tell others what happened on the mission. Red Tornado had smashed his memory chip, and while he had many backups, all memory of the last few days would be lost. He was useless, and apparently, for the first time, so was J'ohn.

Something had happened on that mission, something that was emotionally painful that created a memory block. And while the mind wouldn't remember, his soul did, stopping him from breaking it.

For the sake of what happened, he needed to break the blockage and tell Batman about what he had faced. It must have been very powerful- the way he had felt waking up on the side of the road was what humans call a very bad migraine, or at least that was what Flash had referred it as. For one reason or another, his eyes drifted to a picture sitting on his desk. It was of M'gann M'orzz, his admittedly favorite niece, on mars. She had begged to go with him on his latest trip to Earth, which he had said no to because of her reluctant parents, but now it was his biggest regret.

Just over two years ago, without his knowledge, a massive evil fleet of aliens had attacked Mars, wiping everyone out. While the Justice League had been able to stop the same fate from happening to Earth, everyone on Mars, all his family and loved ones, had perished. M'gann being one of them.

He could have saved her, he knew her parents would have said yes with just a bit more coaxing. He didn't want her to leave mars because he selfishly thought about not wanting to take care of her. His hands gripped his head as a burst of pain went through his skull. He sighed, that was enough for one night. He'd try again tomorrow.

Telepathically flickering off the light, lightly sat on his bed. At least, he thought, wherever M'gann was now, she was happy amongst the stars.

If only he'd known the truth.

"You thinking about Cadmus again?"

Clark looked up, eyes locking onto Lois Lane, a shiny ring firmly stuck on her left hand. He'd proposed to her a few weeks ago, and much to his delight, she said yes. "I swear, you're a mind reader." He said, giving her a grin.

"And don't you forget it, you're not the only one with superpowers," she said, but her face grew serious as she sat next to him. "What is it this time?"

"I think Luthor has some sort of connection." Clark said, scrunching his eyebrows together. "I just need to figure out what."

Lois frowned, "is this the 'I-need-to-find-ways-to-blame-Luthor' side of you talking or the 'I'm-a-reporter-with-evidence' side?" She asked.

"I've got evidence," he defended, grabbing the stack of paper sitting on desk in front of him. "Remember four years ago when I discussed launching an investigation on Cadmus, but we decided we didn't have enough evidence yet?" He asked, earning a nod from Lois. "Well, just a few weeks later, Luthor is seen coming out of one of the Cadmus buildings with.. Something."

"With something? What do you think it is?" She asked, scooting closer. "Like, files?"

Clark shook his head, "these are some photos from the security cameras I've managed to collect. But look, you see how nothing's standing next to him?" Lois squinted, seeing he indeed came out alone. "Look at this next photo."

Lois watched as Clark flipped to the next photograph, eyes squinting. "He.. opened the door?"

"Precisely. Look, then he closed it and got in on the other side." He flipped to the next photo, showing that was exactly what he did. "Why would Luthor open one door, then close it and go to the other side? It doesn't make any sense."

"Someone must've hacked the cameras," Lois said, eyes widening. "I think you actually got something here! Not enough for anyone to take you seriously, but it's a start."

Clark laughed, "thanks for the cheery reminder, Lois. But who, or what, could Luthor have? That's what I can't understand. Why would Cadmus go to such great lengths to cover this up?"

Lois shrugged, glancing down at her watch. "You'll figure it out, you always do," she planted a kiss on his cheek, "I've got an interview with the mayor, so I'll be heading out. Dinner later?"

He smiled, "as far as I know, yes. I'll call you if anything changes."

She sent him a little wave then walked out, leaving the sweet smell of her perfume behind. Clark listened to her fading footsteps before flipping back through his notes, a frown placed on his lips.

What was Luthor planning? What was going on behind that big wall made of lies and false promises?

He was gonna find out.

And whatever Luthor was planning would be coming down like a brick wall beneath his fists.

Here it is! The promised chapter. And.. it's a mentor's chapter! Woohoo!

Yeah, okay, so maybe the one with Ollie was more about Roy than him, but still. I hope you guys liked it!

(I got a drawing tablet, and it's awesome. I think I'm in love)

-REVIEWS-

zachlor16: Thank you! Here's your update!

Kichona Cho: They're first season ages, so Dick's 13, Kaldur's 16, etc. etc.

Weiver: Well, originally, yes, Queen Bee wiped all memories of her uncle. But, if you're asking if it still is.. you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Guest of honor: You'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for the review. :)

Burreto: Yeah, Wally's pretty awesome. Thanks!

KaliAnn: Yeah, I thought about all of that, which is why I changed it. Go back and re-read the last chapter. Thanks for the review!

Unlucky Alis: Thanks! I'm writing a real betrayal, not only does it fit in better for the next for chapters but I like him better this way. And yeah, thought about all that, that's why I changed it. Thank you!

Dreadrose: Thank you!

Angel Ruth: She's an assassin for hire, has no ties with either side. As long as you have money, she'll work for you. Thanks for the review!

Guest (1): As far as the world knows, Bruce Wayne was never going to adopt Dick. In fact, the only people who knew about it was Alfred and Bruce. Thanks for the review!

Dratias: Ah! Thanks for the long review! Nah, Roy's not a spy, I like him better being legit. And thanks! I try my best with the Deathstroke and Renegade scenes, I hope they turn out well! And yeah, I know, it's pretty weak, but I'm trying to add more depth to it. :( As for your last question, I have very special plans in mind for TBBB, stick around to find out more!

the batpearl: Haha, thanks!

TJW351: Thank you so much! I appreciate your review! :)

Guest (2): Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. ;)

HH: So far, not planning on it. But nothing's concrete.

SunSunTheRebirth (chapter 4 & 5): Oh, uh, how about we just stick with that I update, hmm? I'd rather not die today. And for the abuse thing with Deathstroke and Dick, undecided. I love a little Robin!Whump as much as the next person, but I'm not sure that it fits in with the story line. Thank you!

Leo-TheHunter: Thank you! Here's your update!

Dossypet: Haha, thanks! Here's that update! :)

(Chapter Five)

Guest (1): Uh.. I think that was established. No, not yet, anyway.

Guest (2): Thanks! And, more interesting? Well, as awesome as that would be, and I've reflected on that myself, Artemis in the T.V show never liked her father or really wanted to become a villain, she wanted to break the family tree, so the only way she'd ever join the criminals is to be with her sister, and eventually she just got sucked up into the life. Everything else would have just been a wild swing in a random direction that didn't make a whole lot of sense with her character.

19-1037992: (I messed up typing your name so many times it's not even funny) Thank you! :)