Young Justice: Christmas

Stars Were Gleaming

FINALLY!!!! I spent DAYS sketching and coloring all the separate drawings for the new cover, and it took an hour or so to edit it all together.

BUT IT WAS FUN!!! :D :D

Kaldur aimlessly wandered the streets of Star City, lit with hundreds of tiny Christmas lights that twinkled like the celestial bodies the city was named for. He wore a wool hat, his typical civilian turtleneck jacket, and Miss Martian had been able to help him find a pair of boots that felt the slightest bit comfortable on his unusual feet. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and he was slightly hunched over for warmth.

Kaldur had just come from visiting Roy and his family in their apartment. Jade was a tad overbearing, but she was grateful to Aqualad for keeping Artemis safe while they were undercover, even if she did have a strange way of showing it. And it was easy to see that Roy loved her.

Little Lian, Roy and Jade's one-year-old daughter, had been quite taken with the electric blue tattoos that Kaldur had on his hands. But that game quickly came to an end when Jade threatened to decapitate both of the men if Lian got electrocuted.

Seeing Roy and Jade comfortably settled together only made Kaldur's heart ache more. He hadn't quite gotten over Tula before she died, and no one else had popped into his life since then.

An explosion interrupted his self-pity party. Smoke slowly rose from the gray-blue stone building of the Star City Museum, and two of the doric columns guarding the grand front entrance crumbled into marble powder.

Screams of fear and sounds of a violent scuffle spurred Kaldur into action. He left his boots in the snow, hopefully someone who needed them more than he did would find them. Adrenaline flooded his veins as he placed his hands on his familiar, ever-present water bearers. He ran through the crowd, pushing through the mass people.

Bright flashes of light were now emanating from the base of the smoke, and a streak of light almost like a shooting star would appear out of the smoke and leave behind frightened but mostly confused civilians out on the front steps of the museum. Some were covered in dust, and others had scratches on their faces.

Aqualad acted fast, guiding those who could support themselves after the other panicked civilians and carrying those more extensively injured to the fleet of ambulances waiting on the street.

When it appeared that all civilians were out of harms way, Aqualad entered the building.

The same light he saw saving the bystanders was now attacking some sort of monster that appeared to be made of stone. Kaldur could sense the ancient chaos magic resonating from the creature, this was clearly the work of Klarion the Witch Boy, his Christmas gift to himself, and Kaldur knew that whoever was fighting this thing would need help.

Their moves were sloppy, their aim off-target, and they appeared to be overall inexperienced.

The stone creature reached out a hand and slapped the beam of light as it came in for another attack, sending it flying towards the stone wall. It crashed through a display case and scraped the side of an antique cabinet before Kaldur leaped in front of it, catching it in his arms.

There was a light coughing noise, and when the smoke cleared, a beautiful young woman rested in his arms.

Kaldur found himself quite speechless at the sight.  She had caramel-colored skin, long, loose black hair, and startling blue eyes that made Kaldur think of the sea. She wore a yellow shawl made of sheer fabric over a yellow tunic shirt with matching pants, and an intricate yellow tattoo glowed on her right wrist.

She smiled up and Kaldur, and he helped her to her feet.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed suddenly, "You're Aqualad!"