Young Justice: The Mimic Contingency (A Young Justice Fanfic)

Knightfall Protocol

HAPPY HARBOUR - November 13th

1:18AM 

Savage looked at Desmond with rage.
"What?!" he roared. "You dared to conspire against me?!"
"No, Savage..." Desmond smiled. "To conspire against you would imply that I was on your side at some point, but I have NEVER been on your side."
Savage then leaned forward, almost as if he was about to start begging.
"But how did you do it?! I saw you murder them all! I saw monitored their heart rates and biological activity until they were dea-"
But Desmond suddenly punched Savage across the face, knocking him out.
"Yeah..." Desmond sighed. "That's enough outta you..."
With a happy, content smile on his face, he looked at the bewildered Justice League members.
"Well, I'd say that went quite we-"
But before he finished his sentence, he saw Superman's fist flying straight into his face. With a sudden 'crack' sound, Desmond fell to the floor unconscious.

MOUNT JUSTICE - November 13th

3:07AM

Desmond groaned as he slowly began to wake up, his jaw throbbing like hell.
"Oh, God that hurt..." he groaned.
But when he sat upright, he felt something tight around his waist. He followed the rope that was tied around him to a scowling Wonder Woman, who squeezed the lasso as if she were trying to choke it to death.
And she wasn't the only one. The whole Justice League and Young Justice teams towered over him with their arms folded. Their scowls were nothing compared to Wonder Woman's. They made Desmond feel like he was going to catch fire.
"Come on, Diana..." he sighed. "Knocking me out and tying me up while I'm unconscious? That's a bit of scandalous behaviour for a Queen isn't it?"
She didn't answer, but Superman did.
"Start talking." he ordered.
Desmond suddenly realised what he was talking about.
"Oh, that's right..." he laughed awkwardly. "I never explained thing properly did I?"
He fidgeted a bit within the rope, trying to sit in a more comfortable position, before he looked at Batman with annoyance.
"Didn't you explain it to them like we agreed on?"
Batman shook his head slightly.
"No." he said. "It's better that they hear it from you."
Suddenly, Dick cut in between them.
"What do you mean 'agreed'?!" he asked. "What the hell's going on?!"
Desmond rolled his eyes and slouched back on the lounge.
"Well, this is a long story guys..." he told them. "And I don't want to explain it again..."
He cleared his throat and looked at them all.
"It all started the day that you booted me out of the Justice League..."

THE BATCAVE - August 3rd

9:19PM

Three Months Earlier...


Batman walked into the Batcave calmly, unfazed and non-chalant about the scene that Desmond and the League had made. As far as the League knew, Desmond was already missing, but Batman knew better.
That was confirmed when he walked over to the Bat Computer and saw a figure leaning against the wall.
"Quite the performance, Desmond." Batman said.
Desmond smiled and walked over to him.
"Well I did come first in my class for Drama Studies..."
Batman walked over to Desmond and sat down on the chair in front of the Bat Computer, quickly pressing several keys on the keyboard.
"And with the Justice League's members fooled, you and I can move on with our plan..."
"Yes." Desmond agreed.
"I have to say," Batman added. "When you came to me after your run-in with the Injustice League, it was quite disturbing to hear that Vandal Savage met you face-to-face..."
With another keystroke, several files on Vandal Savage opened up an filled the screen.
"He's never been this brazen...He always stayed in hiding and operates mainly through proxies..."
Desmond didn't say a word but inclined his head at the screen.
"How worried should I be exactly?" Desmond asked him. "This guy's the head of some secret group? If he's really the head of the Illuminati-"
"The Light." Batman corrected him.
"Whatever he's the head of, should I be worried or consider this an opportunity?"
"I don't know." Batman said. "Perhaps the extremity of both."
"Explain."
Batman opened up some more files.
"We have all been trying to stop Savage from gaining too much power for many years now and if he has come to you, then he's also come to us. He's unknowingly put himself in the spotlight..."
Desmond shrugged with confusion.
"Sooooo...What has all this got to do with me?"
"What did you say that plan was called, Desmond? The Mimic Contingency?"
Desmond nodded.
"Yeah. It's kinda like your Contingency plans, except it's pretty much a step by step guide to killing the League."
Batman looked down in worry. He never realised that Savage would have such an elaborate plan...
"What do I do the next time I see him?" Desmond asked.
Batman suddenly smiled, which made Desmond worry.?
"You'll accept his offer."
Desmond's jaw dropped.
"Wait, what?!"
Batman stood up and walked over to some shelves and safes next to the Computer, with Desmond following him closely.
"You do know what I just said right?" Desmond asked curtly. "How to kill the JUSTICE LEAGUE?!"
"I did." Batman said. "That could work in our favour..."
"Again, how the hell is killing the League going to HELP the League?!"

"Because you won't actually be killing the League."
Now Desmond was lost.
Batman opened up the safe and handed a small file and gauntlet like the one Robin had, the one that allowed the use of holographic communication.
"I want you to gather your things from your apartment in town and meet me at this location."
Desmond read the file. It showed the location of a cliff face very close to Arkham Asylum. It looked like another Bat Cave.
"I'm giving you a new mission, Desmond: Neutralize the Justice League's members and pose a spy for me within the Light."
Desmond felt overwhelmed and was about to ask a question before Batman walked over to the Computer.
"Alfred." Batman said into the microphone. "We're activating the Knightfall Protocol."
Alfred's confused, wrinkled face appeared on the screen.
"Has your identity been discovered, sir?!" he gasped.
"No," Batman replied. "This is for something else. For the next few months, I'm going to need you to take a small...vacation of sorts...How's your family?"
Alfred took the hint and inclined his head.
"Very well, sir." he concurred. "I'll be leaving shortly."
Then the screen went black as Batman began to download some files from the Bat Computer, not bothering to fill the confused Desmond on what was going on.
"What exactly is it that you are doing? What's the Knightfall Protocol? Where's Alfred going?"
"Alfred is like a father to me, Desmond." Batman said as he downloaded the files. "What we're going to do next, he doesn't need to be involved. I don't want him getting caught in the crossfire, so I'm giving him a vacation to England for a little while..."
The files finished downloading as Batman pulled out three small charges and put them on the keyboard.
"As for what the Knightfall Protocol is..." he added. "It means I'm going to fake my death..."
Before Desmond could say another word, the charges went off, leaving a large, smouldering crater where the keyboard was and cracks long the screen.
"What the hell?!" Desmond exclaimed.
Batman looked at him sternly.
"Go get ready Desmond!" he ordered. "The mission starts now!"

The Team could barely believe what Desmond had just conveyed to them.
"So wait," Artemis said. "You helped Batman destroy the Cave and help him fake his death?! Why?!"
Desmond sighed.
"Because Batman believed that making it look like I murdered him, stole the plans and trashed the Cave was the best way to make all of you think I had gone bad..."
Artemis' eyes were wider than they had been in her life.
"I can't believe this..." she muttered.
But Kid Flash cut in, his eyes wandering between Desmond and Martian Manhunter.
"Then how do you explain what happened to Manhunter?!" he asked. "We all heard and felt him getting beaten to death!"
Desmond rolled his eyes.
"Well..." Desmond began. "That was a little more complicated..."

Batman's death was indeed faked after all?!
But how was Desmond able to convince them of the deaths of the other League members?!
Find out in the next chapter! :D
Be sure to vote if you enjoyed the chapter and comment your thoughts and feedback so far! :D
- Kai-Shiro :D