86 CHAPTER 80

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[David Lance POV]

The fourth of July started like any other day.

During my time in this world of heroes and villains, many questions and mysteries have inhabited my mind free of rent, one of them being, what universe or iteration was I?

At first, the list of possibilities was simply endless, as the number of universes itself. There were simply too many things against me when it came to this particular question.

For one, while a fan of comic books and other forms of media similar to them, I wasn't particularly big on the subject, as in I didn't have much in-depth knowledge of anything comic-related.

I knew a lot, by normal standards, and to non-comic readers, but what I knew was considered in most comic circles nothing but common knowledge.

This limitation of knowledge, so to speak, would in this world come to be a big chain around my neck when it came to finding the answer to the question of what universe was the one I had been sent to?

That was point one against me. As for point two, well…

Lack of events, or rather, lack of famous events.

By this, I meant that the events of my world, of my iteration, were simply too common, as in they didn't stand out from any other comics at all.

All comics, and universes, have a general line or event that makes them stand out, that makes them shine, and while the rest might remain the same for a vast array of reasons, there's always something that makes a universe in the comic world unique from the other.

Until today, that something that made this iteration unique from the rest hadn't appeared, at least to my knowledge. 

You see, as I spend my day with Rachel doing nothing, the following events happened.

Batman and Robin defeated Mister Freeze, who was attacking parkgoers in Gotham City.

Green Arrow and Speedy defeated Icicle Jr. on a bridge near fourth avenue in Star City.

Aquaman and Aqualad defeated Killer Frost aboard a naval battleship in Pearl Harbor.

Flash and Kid Flash defeated Captain Cold, who was stealing diamonds in Central City.

All of these events made my question very easy to answer, not only because I had had my doubts, but because these events pretty much sealed the answer to a single universe. 

Without a question, this was the Young Justice universe, or if you wanna be technical, Earth-16.

Of course, the without a question part was nothing but a nice saying, as there was a possibility of being wrong regardless of the data at hand.

However, things kept rolling in favor of the Young Justice answer.

You see, a few hours after Batman and the rest had taken care of the ice-themed villains, Rachel and I were invited to the Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. 

Knowing what would happen, I cordially rejected the invitation, with Rachel doing the same, saying she had no interest in going if I wasn't going.

From there, well, from there, things got interesting because now that I knew with a bit of confidence where I was, well, it was time to test my knowledge.

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"Why are we here again?" Raven asked calmly.

~You'll see…~ I replied with a smile as I rested in a sitting position above a gargoyle that was hundreds of feet above the street, in a building a few blocks away from CADMUS.

"Well, that's very insightful…." Raven sighed, giving me a look before summoning a bag of chips and a book. 

~Don't be like that, Rae Rae, you know I love ya,~ I winked.

"The best part of having a mute friend is that I can ignore them quite easily," Raven replied, a small smile gracing her expression as she brought the book she had summoned to her face.

Well, that's rude. 

"That's the intention," Raven replied, reading my emotions as a chip slowly levitated into her mouth.

I rolled my eyes at her, turning my attention back to CADMUS, taking a deep breath, catching the faintest whiff of smoke as I did so. 

Well, that pretty much settles it….

"So, what's happening?" Raven asked before floating to my side, as I gave her a look. "I felt your emotions get all… I was right, or something…"

~Hmm, didn't know that was a thing, but yeah, I was right,~ I nodded, pointing at the building.

Before Raven could ask me to elaborate, CADMUS exploded in flames answering her question, with the entire structure being engulfed in fire, as the panicked onlookers on the streets watched as the flames spread out of the building, consuming everything in their path. 

"Should… should I be worried you feel happy with that happening?" Raven asked, pointing at the building while giving me a playful, yet not too playful worried look.

~You insult me! How can you think so bad of me?! But, no, you… You really shouldn't be worried, that building is like a child molester, they both need to be burned,~ I replied with a nod.

"I can't argue with that logic," Raven replied, turning back to her seemingly emotionless self.

I blinked. ~You're not even gonna ask why?~

"Not really, I trust you, so… yeah," Raven shrugged.

Well, that works for me.

~Very well now, how would you feel about fucking the plans of some evil organization before they even began?~ I asked, tilting my head.

"I find that idea… excellent," Raven replied, a small grin on her face. 

I smiled, turning my gaze back to CADMUS, just in time to see the future members of the Young Justice team appear to help the people around.

Robin included.

One would've thought he would've learned from almost killing us both from the Joker fiasco. But shit, it seems he didn't, I mean… here he was, going against Batman… again, for a mission, he was never given…. AGAIN.

If there's any hindsight to this, is the fact the ones he's with know they are not on a mission, so… not as bad as the Joker incident.

"That's the kid, right?" Raven asked, staring at Robin.

I nodded.

"I don't like him…" Raven muttered, crossing her arms.

I smiled, pulling her into a hug.

"You have… four seconds to stop this before I strip you naked and throw you into Harley's cell," Raven said in a joking tone… I think.

I broke the hug before I could find out.