#secret third option: murder camel

[modest-starr]

I can be your everything.

[formlesscopycat]

Meet Me at the Red Bridge

A Kuroko no Basuke fanfic.

Pairing: Aomine x Kise

Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya means well, he really does. So he takes matters into his own hands and goes into a mission to get his dumb friends, Aomine and Kise, together.

Read on AO3

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He’s already fifteen minutes late to their meeting but Daiki doesn’t give a fuck, after all, it’s just his best friends, Tetsu and Satsuki, asking him to hang out with them on their stupid Valentine’s date.

He’s got nothing better to do than mope at home tonight, and honestly, Tetsu and Satsuki are infinitely more tolerable than watching his folks get lovey-dovey with each other. At least with his friends, they just hold hands and blush a lot like fuck, it only makes Daiki gag just a little bit. Add to it the ultimate deal breaker, Tetsu and Satsuki promised him free food, all the burgers and milkshakes that his appetite can hold, no holds barred, all Daiki gets to do is to show up on time.

Tetsu said they’ll wait for Daiki by the arched wooden red bridge overlooking the river, the one they always passed by on their way to and from Teiko.

5pm, sharp! Satsuki had reiterated. But to hell with punctuality, Tetsu and Satsuki should’ve accepted the fact that he, Aomine Daiki, Teiko Ace and future NBA star, had no sense of urgency in his bones.

Past the clearing, Daiki approaches the red bridge with careless, unhurried steps and braces himself for Satsuki’s inevitable tantrum. But instead of teal and pink heads, a splash of gold breaks into Daiki’s vision, the smoothest, softest-looking blond locks he’ll never mistake for anybody else no matter the distance. The other teen has kept his back turned towards Daiki, his lean, athletic frame half-bent against the red-painted railing, seemingly too engrossed with the rushing waters under the bridge that he fails to sense Daiki’s presence drawing near.

“Kise?”

There’s also an obvious mark of astonishment on the blond’s face, that of which on an equal level with Daiki’s, as soon as Kise pivots to face the Teiko Ace. For a moment, Daiki gets lost in his thoughts as he takes in Kise’s appearance, and he wonders how the hell Kise pulls off a look like that, casual yet quite dashing in camel-colored trench coat, layered over a knitted-gray turtleneck and dark skinny jeans.

“A-Aominecchi?” Kise stammers, his amber eyes blown wide like saucers.

“What are you doing here?” Daiki and Kise both ask at the same time. Daiki reflexively looks away out of embarrassment, and from the corners of his eyes, he’d noticed Kise do the same, almost furtively, and Daiki feels his cheeks heat up despite the February chill hanging in the air.

Predictably, it’s Kise who speaks first.

“I’m waiting for Kurokocchi, said he needs to tell me something important.” Kise clears his throat before adding,  “I didn’t know you’re coming, too.”

Daiki likes to think that he didn’t just imagine the blush that briefly colored Kise’s cheeks just now.

But still, there’s something quite puzzling in their situation that Daiki can’t put a finger on.

“Huh? But I’m supposed to meet him and Satsuki, no mention of you, either!” Aomine exclaims.

“What?” Kise gets caught up in the confusion, as well. “Wait, you’re like, third-wheeling with Kurokocchi and Momoicchi?”

“Only for free food, yeah.”

“Aominecchi, it’s Valentine’s Day!”

“So?”

“So you ought to give the love birds some privacy!”

“This wasn’t my idea, Tetsu insisted that I tag along! And where the hell are those idiots, anyway?”

“Weird… ain’t likely for Kurokocchi and Momoicchi to run late like this.” With his thumb stroking his chin, Kise looks upwards into the afternoon skies already bathed in purples and oranges.

Daiki nods. Satsuki, at least, should’ve been here already. She hates being late. Daiki squints his eyes and searches around for Tetsu, but there are no traces of the Phantom Sixth Man anywhere. And how come nobody said that Kise’s coming along, too? It’s not likely that they’d just forget to mention this.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Daiki pulls out his phone from his jacket pocket and immediately dials Tetsu’s number. After six rings, Tetsu finally picks up the call.

“Tetsu, where the hell are you and Satsuki?!” Aomine jabbers on the phone.

“Are you with Kise-kun?” Tetsu asks in his usual calm monotone.

“Yes, he’s here! Why didn’t you say he’s coming?”

“Put me on loudspeaker, Aomine-kun. I’d like to speak with you both.”

Still utterly clueless about what Tetsu could be up to, Daiki catches Kise’s eyes first, the latter meeting his gaze with an equally baffled look, before he taps the loudspeaker icon on his phone.

“Kurokocchi, where are you, is everything alright?” Kise inquires worriedly, sliding closer to Daiki as he holds out his phone.

“Listen,” Tetsu’s voice cackles through the phone’s speaker. “You two are huge dumbasses so I decided to make things easier for you both. I’m so fed up with the two of you mooning over each other all the time and not doing anything about it. Aomine-kun, you’re crushing hard on Kise-kun since the first time you saw him, aren’t you? You always like to poke fun at Kise-kun if just to hold his attention all the time. And don’t you dare deny, you secretly collect his photobooks, I knew because I saw the stash under your bed when the Miracles had a sleep over at your house!”

“What the--the fuck are you saying, Tetsu?!” Daiki shouts, already feeling an angry vein bulge and throb on his forehead. Holy shit, did Tetsu actually exposed him like that? He never expected to be pushed off the cliff of humiliation in this manner, his well-kept secrets divulged in the open, right in front of Kise, whose eyes are blown wider than Daiki has ever seen, the blond’s gloved hands are both clapped over his mouth. Daiki swears, he’ll definitely gut Tetsu when he sees him.

“Don’t interrupt, I’m not done yet,” Tetsu continues, with barely a hint of emotion in his voice, which makes it more scathing, somehow. “And you, Kise-kun. You’ve always admired Aomine-kun, too, right? And we’re not talking about his basketball skills. Too many stolen glances don’t escape me during practice.”

At this, Kise gasps and buries his face in both of his hands.

“Always… admired?” Daiki repeats, his mind barely keeping up with the information Tetsu has just revealed. This is certainly new, and Tetsu better not making this shit up or Daiki will hunt him down and kill him again.

“...And you can’t stop talking about ‘Aominecchi this, Aominecchi that’, I’m betting my milkshakes, you keep talking about him in your sleep.”

“Kurokocchi!” Kise lets out a muffled squeak, Daiki assumes the mortification gets too much for him to handle, too.

However, Tetsu, the little shit, is unstoppable. “...But you thought Aomine-kun only likes big-chested girls. Well, you’re wrong, he likes you. A lot. So there, enjoy your date. You can thank me later, bye.”

The line goes silent, as simple as that.

Dead air weighs around the two teens, stifling and awkward.

Daiki’s throat goes dry, he can’t look at Kise, running away and hiding forever in his bedroom seems like the most convenient option and yet, he freezes on the spot, his legs feeling like a ton.

He is going to fucking murder Kuroko Tetsuya.

“Is it--is it true, Aominecchi likes me?” Kise suddenly blurts out, snapping Daiki out of his homicidal thoughts.

“I don’t know what made Tetsu spout that crap. After all the help I gave, this is how he repaid me. What kind of friend is that?”

“Uh, okay.” Kise looks down, as if his boots are the most interesting things to look at in the world.

“Don’t mind him, Tetsu’s probably having a bad case of being a huge-ass prick,” Daiki puts in, waving his hand in the air dismissively.

Pressing his lips together in a tight line, Kise just nods and turns around to go.

“Hey, Kise, where are you going?”

“There’s no point of me being here, Aominecchi. You should go home, too.” Then Kise begins to run, the rows of wood slightly creaking against his steps.

Kise’s reaction makes Daiki’s thoughts swirl and churn into a messy heap but before he figures what to make out of the situation, Daiki’s reflex had pushed him to chase after Kise. As soon as he gains ground, he seizes the blond by the wrist in a tight clasp, the effort makes Kise wince.

Kise whirls around, enabling Daiki to get a good view of his face. He sees the slight trembling of the blond’s lips as he fights the urge to cry and Daiki doesn’t quite understand why, but the sight wrenches his heart painfully.

“Please let go, Aominecchi.”

There are a million things Daiki wants to say but how and where to begin, he has no freaking idea. And there are a million possible ways for things to go downhill from here, but he knows, he knows…

It’s worth a try.

Daiki swallows the lump lodged in his throat, tries to ignore the fluttering of a hundred butterflies in his stomach.

Now or never. Daiki pushes himself to take the leap of faith.

“I never said Tetsu was lying,” Daiki begins. He doesn’t know where his speech will lead him but he’ll say it, anyway. “Yeah, I like you… not as a friend, that is. And maybe I like you a lot, I think about you all the time. That’s a lot, right?”

It all sounds so lame, so absurdly lame, and Daiki had really wished he knew how to properly articulate the flurry of sentiments he’s kept to himself for so long, all coming down to these stupid impulses, how much he likes to look at Kise, and to be around Kise everyday, and how much he thinks about Kise when they’re not together.

The soft rustle of water beneath the red bridge seems to mark the moments slipping away as Daiki waits for Kise’s reaction, fretful and breathless, the silence that chased after Daiki’s words intensifying the roar of his own heartbeat.

Kise blinks, then a smile blooms from his lips. Daiki lets go of his hand.

“Aominecchi really likes me.”

Daiki shrugs his shoulders. It feels strangely pleasant coming from Kise. “‘kay. But what about you?”

“Same.”

“Same, what? Speak clearly, you idiot!”

“You can’t be mean to the person you like, Aominecchi!”

This is so unfair. He wants to hear it from Kise himself. Did Kise make him admit his feelings so he can poke fun at him?

A staring contest commences between them before Kise says quietly, “I always like you, Aominecchi. As in more-than-a-friend like.”

Daiki lets that sink in while steadily holding Kise’s gaze, he lets himself and Kise bask in the quiet comfort of finally letting the truth out.

“So uh, what do we do now?” Daiki is still clueless as to where the revelation will take the two of them, exactly.

“Would you, um, like to go out with me?” Kise asks, amber eyes shining with expectation.

“You mean, date? The two of us?”

“Yes, that.”

“Yeah, sure. I like that, Kise.” Daiki grins as he scratches the back of his head, disbelieving how ridiculously simple things are. They just agreed to date and that had been it. The prospect of going out with Kise starts to toy with his teenage fantasies and for a fleeting moment, an image crosses his mind, of Kise and himself kissing behind the lockers after practice. For sure, he’s earnestly looking forward to that. “We can start right now.”

Kise’s smile grows bigger. “And where would you like to go?”

Daiki thinks for a moment. “How about we hit the movies?” he suggests, vaguely remembering that couples always go to cinemas in those drama series that his mother enjoys. “But I didn’t bring money with me so you’ll have to pay for everything.”

“Eh? How can you leave the house without bringing money?” Kise scowls.

“I told you, Tetsu and Satsuki promised me free food, not a… a boyfriend. Anyway, I’ll let you choose the movie. If you want the latest chick flick, fine.”

“Alright, let’s do this! Be my, um, Valentine?”

Daiki isn’t sure how to respond to that, it’s all happening too fast.

And Kise doesn’t wait for his words, either, he just takes the initiative to entwine his and Daiki’s arms together. For a tad longer, Daiki takes it all in, he lets his eyes linger on the blond because Kise at that moment, is a picture of complete bliss and the ray of sunshine that is his smile brings so much warmth into Daiki’s heart.

-x-

Daiki, admittedly, has no first-hand experience on dating and it annoys him to an extent, that he keeps on second-guessing himself, so he still blames Tetsu for putting him in a tight spot.

In the cinemas, there’s nothing much to choose from except a handful of chick flicks, Daiki thinks he’ll just sleep through it. But the fact that Kise’s right beside him, their elbows touching, the two of them actually sharing the biggest bucket of honey-butter flavored popcorn, keeps Daiki awake and hyper-conscious of even the tiniest of Kise’s gasps all throughout the duration of the film.

After Daiki cleans his fingers with tissue, he debates whether he’ll hold Kise’s hand or put his arm around Kise’s shoulder. Both are equally nice, he thinks, and it’s not an easy choice. Just yesterday, Kise and himself are mere classmates, teammates, one-on-one buddies, yet today, they’ve gone through the friends-to-lovers phase quite fast, it’s a mixture of terrifying, confusing and incredibly wonderful feelings Daiki has to find a name for.

A moment later, Daiki feels Kise shift a little from his seat, gingerly sliding closer to lean his head on Daiki’s shoulder.

“I hope this is okay, Aominecchi,” Kise whispers. In response, Daiki slides his arm around Kise’s shoulders, making more room for the blond to get closer, his head now comfortably rested on the crook of Daiki’s neck. Daiki then puts his chin on top of Kise’s head, he sniffs on Kise’s hair and catches the scent of his shampoo. The freshest strawberries. Daiki likes it so much.

“This is more than okay,” Daiki drawls. He and Kise can stay forever like that.

-x-

It’s dark outside when they left the cinemas. Daiki barely understood the plot of the movie, he hadn’t really paid a lot of attention, but he did quite enjoy the feeling of having Kise’s body pressed against his, the warm, velvet smoothness of Kise’s hand on his skin. He remembers, though, that there are lots of kissing scenes, and now, he wonders if Kise would want to be kissed later and when would be the perfect time execute his plan (though he’s very worried too, that he might not be able to do it properly).

“What’re you thinking, Aominecchi?” Kise peers up at him, curious, honeyed eyes focused on Daiki’s features.

“Nothing,” Daiki replies, looking away.

“Are you thinking of me just now, hmm?” Kise teases with a slight tilt of his head to the side. There’s this mischievous smile playing on the corners of Kise’s lips and fuck, it’s doing these things to his heart again.

Daiki’s hand moves on its own, it has given Kise’s cheek a hard pinch.

“Ouch!” The blond yelps, gently stroking the tender spot on his face.

“That’s what you get for being so cheeky. I was thinking about what to eat.” Daiki feigns a little annoyance, then he pulls Kise’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go to Maji!”

But then Kise easily pouts, refusing to move from his spot. “No way, that’s not even a good place for dates. I’ve got a better idea!”

-x-

Daiki lets himself be dragged through several train stations, no questions asked, since he knows that his new model boyfriend is adept and more experienced at these kind of things for completely obvious reasons.

When they reached their destination, it’s not really what he has in mind so Daiki turns to Kise with raised eyebrows and asks, “What do we do here, exactly?”

“Oh, I’d be perfectly happy walking around and holding hands!” Kise chimes.

They arrived at Hanegi Park at half past seven in the evening, and of course, it’s bursting with people who came to admire the delicate plum blossoms in full bloom at this time of the year. The wide pathway leading towards the lake at the center of the park is lit by hundreds of hanging paper lanterns that gently flutter with the night breeze, bathing everything else under a soft yellow glow. With their hands intertwined, Kise leads Daiki past the countless stalls selling street food, flowers, toys and other trinkets, stopping at intervals to stuff themselves with whatever snack that rouses Daiki’s appetite. Daiki makes Kise buy mozzarella cheese dog, yakitori and several bowls of heart-shaped Umaki while Kise insists on getting taiyaki, on the belief that they bring great happiness, and though Daiki’s really not that fond of the sticky red bean filling, he chooses to humor Kise in the end, who whines and keeps making these cute, stupid faces until Daiki caves in.

-x-

They stroll past the plum orchard, treading through the bushes until they hear the loud pounding of a drum from somewhere. Curious and excited, Kise pulls Daiki to the direction of the drumbeat, making their way across the sea of people while being careful not to step on anybody’s foot. Their quest leads them to a crowded open field, and when Kise realizes what the drum is for, he gets even more restless.

“Calling all couples to come join the game!” A woman in megaphone announces before she swings and pounds on to the large, makeshift percussion before her. “First couple in piggyback to round up a hundred-meter dash across the field wins this little guy over here!” She points to a short girl with dark braided hair, her assistant, carrying a giant stuffed bunny.

And the look on Kise’s face, even before the blond utters a single word, tells Daiki where this leads to, so he makes his case and declares adamantly, “Don’t give me that look, I’m not gonna do that!”

“But Aominecchi, please?” There he goes again, wielding his silly little pout and stupid puppy eyes— rounder, softer under the glow of paper lanterns above their heads—and Daiki is certain that Kise knows the extent of his charms and just how much Daiki is powerless over them.

In defense, Daiki shakes his head and deliberately looks away. “No way, I’m not carrying you around!”

“Oh, but you don’t have to. I’ll carry you!”

“No, never!”

“Pretty, pretty please, Aominecchi, do you really love me?”

“Shut up, Kise!”

“But I want the bunny! I can carry you, I’m fast, we can totally win this!”

Daiki gives Kise a sharp, warning glare but the blond is relentless on his pursuit to play. He gives Daiki a shock, jaws unceremoniously dropping in awe just as Kise crouches in front of him, an imploring demand for Daiki to hop onto his back already.

“C’mon, Aominecchi!”

“You idiot! Get up!” His nostrils flaring, Daiki grumbles and yanks Kise’s upper arm, forcing the blond to stand on his feet despite vehement protests.

“Aominecchi, please I--”

“Shut up, I’ll carry you, I’m so much faster!” He bends his knees and swoops low before Kise.

“Huh?”

“What are you waiting for?” Daiki growls, “get on before I change my mind!”

After Kise throws his arms around Daiki’s shoulders, Daiki gets to his feet, hauling Kise high on his back by grabbing under the blond’s knees before he marches closer to the row of other couples preparing for the relay.

“On your mark!” The gamemaster yells.

“Ah, this is so nice, being carried off by Aominecchi like this,” he hears Kise murmur over his ear.

“This isn’t. You’re heavy, my spine’s about to snap.”

“Get set…”

Kise retaliates by hugging him tighter, nuzzling his face on Daiki’s nape, sending in waves upon waves of warm current to the tips of Daiki’s toes.

“Stop that, do you want us to win or not?”

A round of silvery laughter coming from Kise fills the air while Daiki feigns annoyance as much as he can, blanketing his words under a growl, to save face, because he won’t be caught dead admitting out loud just how much he loves the way Kise is making him feel, Kise’s arm draped around his shoulders, feather-light breath ghosting over the back of his neck, the soft thud of Kise’s heartbeat against his back.

The gamemaster’s whistle goes off, and Daiki’s legs break into a sprint, soon he’s soaring, soaring, towards the finish line, to the edge of his emotions, the wind against his face, Kise laughing behind him, chanting his name over and over, and then nothing else matters in the world except the two of them, earning a piece of heaven tonight, the beginning of many nights and days of making memories together, him and Kise.

-x-

He’s pretty sure it’s Satsuki who tells him that first kisses are like a thunderclap, a kind of explosion that resonates inside you, the crashing of waves against the shore. Tonight, Daiki has found out otherwise--his first kiss is much comparable to the break of dawn, warm sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, the calm of the morning before everything else stirs to wakefulness. His first kiss hadn’t turned his world upside-down in an exhilarating fanfare as he initially pictured it to be, rather, it quiets everything in him, slowing all senses, all thoughts, to a standstill.

Much to Daiki’s delight, Kise lets himself be kissed more than once, as they sit together on the front step of the Kise house, the huge stuffed bunny perched raggedly beside Kise almost a foot away. And Daiki’s lack of experience poses no problems at all, because Kise has made it so easy, so effortless, as they slot their lips together and the sensation overwhelms Daiki just as he savors everything at once: soft lips pressed on his, shifting ever so carefully with each bated breath, fingers threading through his hair, Kise’s warmth washing over him, vibrant and comforting.

“Aominecchi, we should really thank Kurokocchi for this. I want to hug him and give him all the milkshakes in the world.” Kise tells Daiki when they pulled apart to catch their breath.

“Thank him however you want. But those hugs, they’re all mine from now on. And the kisses.”

“Okay, deal.”

Daiki leans in to kiss his boyfriend again, however, the momentum gets shattered when the front door suddenly bursts open.

“Ryou-chan, it’s cold out here, why don’t you and your boyfriend go inside?” A petite, blond woman in her pyjamas, the splitting image of Kise, peeks through the door and throws the two of them an impish gaze.

The intrusion startles them and both teens stood up at once. “Onee-chan, why are you still awake?”

“Good evening, Onee-san,” Daiki curtsies, bowing his head.

“Aomine-kun’s finally your boyfriend, huh? I’m so glad! I mean, it took you forever to confess!” Kise’s sister gushes, pressing both hands to her cheeks.

“Onee-chan—!”

Yet his sister ignores Kise, commenting, “and is that Aomine-kun’s gift to you? That’s so cute!” She wheezes as she inspects the enormous stuffed animal. Then she steps back, making way for her brother and Daiki to come in. “Get inside, love birds.”

“No, Aominecchi’s already leaving, he needs to catch the last train!”

“Are you sure? We can always set up the extra futon in your room, your boyfriend’s welcome to stay the night!” She teases with a sweet smile that’s almost identical to Kise’s but not quite. Daiki thinks that the smile he comes to love is far more radiant, somehow.

“Shoo, stop embarrassing me in front of my…” Kise awkwardly pauses, and he visibly stiffens. “Aominecchi!”

“Whatever you say, lil bro!” She singsongs, biting back a fierce laugh before she disappears behind the door.

Out of embarrassment, Kise sidles over to Daiki, nestling his forehead into Daiki’s chest to conceal his face. “I’m sorry, Aominecchi, my sister wants me miserable.”

“It’s okay, she’s only worried we’ll both catch a cold.” Daiki’s arms move on its own accord, wrapping Kise in a protective embrace. “You should get inside.”

“Aominecchi is such a sweet boyfriend,” Kise remarks, lifting his flushed face towards Daiki. “Had I known you’re like this, I wouldn’t have waited—“

Daiki shuts him up by closing the distance between their lips.

When Daiki pulls back, Kise still has both of his eyes shut.

“Kurokocchi’s mission is a huge success,” Kise quips, rather dreamily.

“Wow. Thinking of some other guy while kissing me.”

Kise’s eyes snap open. “It isn’t like that! Aominecchi is the only one who has my heart!” And then, “Oh!”

Too abashed by his own words, Kise gasps, clapping both hands over his mouth. An even deeper shade of crimson overtakes his face, Daiki notices with pure amusement, despite the scant amount of light slipping through one of the windows.

“God, that’s too much sap in one night.” Daiki palms his face with a slight shake of his head, a feeble attempt to hide the blush crawling on his own cheeks. “I’m leaving.”

“Alright, just go home.”

“But you were my home.”

“Oh my god, Aominecchi!”

Daiki lets go of Kise, and he runs away as fast as he can, out into the street, his heart drumming so hard it’s swelling with bliss, with inexplicable contentment.

Fuck. He thinks. He’s gone from a brick wall to a disgusting cheeseball in a span of one night.

But Daiki has no regrets.

[ramajmedia]

Young Justice: Outsiders Ending Explained: What Happened & What’s Next

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Young Justice season 3's finale.

Young Justice: Outsiders ending episodes proved a perfect capstone for a fantastic season 3. Fans of the cult animated series fought tooth and nail to see it renewed for a third season after it was canceled after two years on Cartoon Network. The wait for the series' return was long, but it did not disappoint in the end.

Season 3 of Young Justice opened with an embittered Justice League seemingly breaking up after Batman leading a number of heroes to form their own independent team (which Black Lightning sarcastically dubbed Batman Inc.) that would be able to act independently of the bureaucracy demanded by the United Nations. This increased regulation was work of UN Secretary-General Lex Luthor, who was using his position to keep the Justice League tied up in red tape and unable to combat the growing problem of teenage metahumans trafficking. Naturally, the supervillains running the Light were profiting handsomely off of this black market, with brainwashed teens being shipped off-planet to act as soldiers and test-subjects for the New Gods of Apokolips.

Related: Young Justice Theory: Vandal Savage Didn't Save The Outsiders (He Doomed Them)

Independent of Batman and his plan to divide and conquer while secretly managing the seemingly splintered Justice League from behind the scenes, a new team of teen superheroes that could operate outside the system and inspire their peers to heroism was formed by Beast Boy and became known as the Outsiders. The forces of good largely won out by the season's end, but their victory came at a high cost and not everyone emerged unscathed. The final episode also suggested that even as the conflict between Good and Evil on Earth continues, a larger conflict with consequences reaching into the depths of space and far into the future will unfold in Young Justice season 4.

Victor Stone Becomes Cyborg & Joins The Outsiders

For the better part of Young Justice: Outsiders, former star athlete Victor Stone was content to stay on the sidelines, hoping to find a cure for the New Gods' technology that had taken over his body after his father used it to save him from a fatal accident. However, episode 24, "Into The Breach," saw Victor fully embrace his new superpowers to help his friends among the Outsiders. Indeed, Victor came to take an active role and became the MVP of the rescue mission.

It was Victor's powers that allowed the Outsiders to locate Granny Goodness' new base on Earth, scanning hundreds of Goode World Studios sites until he found one that contained New Gods technology. It was Victor who hacked Granny's computerized follower Overlord, freeing himself and his friends from the Ghost Dimension. It was Victor who opened a Boom Tube into Granny's space base, the Orphanage, and followed after Granny's avatar, Gretchen Goode, as the technology that allowed Granny to be in two places at once failed. Finally, it was Victor who freed Halo from Granny's influence, allowing her to undo the damage she had done while mind-controlled, freeing the Justice League and her friends from the power of the Anti-Life Equation.

Once everyone was safely returned to Earth, Victor was humble about all he had accomplished, insisting it was a team effort all the way. Both the openly-operating Outsiders and the covert Team offered him a place among their ranks, though Superboy was quick to remind him that he didn't have to become a superhero just because he had helped save the day once. In the end, Victor joined the Outsiders, saying that he had never been afraid of the spotlight as a football star and he wasn't going to hide himself anymore. To that end, he chose the codename Cyborg and decided to put his celebrity to good use as a publicly-recognized superhero.

Read More: Young Justice: Outsiders Is Finally Introducing Cyborg

Forager Decides To Stay On Earth & Reveals Himself As An Alien

The alien bug-man Forager faced the same choice as Cyborg following the events of Young Justice: Outsiders episode 24 but for different reasons. Mantis, the leader of Forager's hive, was discovered to be in league with Granny Goodness and was arrested by the Green Lantern Corps. Since Forager had been exiled because of false charges of treason that Mantis had leveled against him after Forager had plead for peace with the good New Gods, Forager now had the chance to return home to New Genesis. Yet as much as Forager missed his home and longed to stop hiding behind the magic charm that made him appear to be a human teenager named Fred Bugg, he had come to value his work as a superhero on Earth and did not want to abandon the friends who gave him a new home.

Superboy offered Forager a third option, taking him to the small town of Geranium City, in episode 25, "Overwhelmed." The small town was shielded from prying eyes by a telepathic illusion generated by the community's leader, Dubbilex, and served as a haven for creatures like the Genomorphs who had been created by Lex Luthor and Project Cadmus, but, unlike Superboy, could not pass for human. After touring the community, Forager became inspired and agreed to stay in Geranium City when he was not helping people as a member of the Outsiders. He also decided to abandon his Fred Bugg persona and to live life openly as an alien on Earth, revealing his true form to his classmates at Happy Harbor High School in the final scenes of Young Justice season 3.

Metron Recognizes Halo and Cyborg As His Grandchildren

As they were babysitting Lian Harper in the Outsiders' base in episode 25, Halo and Cyborg were abducted by the New God Metron. The three were suddenly floating in deep space, and while Lian found the experience thrilling, Halo and Cyborg were horrified to find they could only speak in the pings and drones of the Motherbox and Fatherbox that fueled their respective powers. Metron was quick to assure the two heroes that they, and their charge, were quite safe, even as he addressed Halo as "grandaughter" and Cyborg as "grandson."

Metron explained that while he was originally unimpressed with Cyborg upon their first encounter in episode 20, "Quiet Conversations," he had come to watch him and Halo from a distance after realizing their full potential as organic beings fused with the sentient machines that he viewed as his computerized children. Given that Halo was born as a result of a Motherbox soul inhabiting a human body and Cyborg's body was rebuilt by a Fatherbox later reprogrammed by his Mobius tech, Metron had come to regard the two heroes as his grandchildren and looked upon them with no small amount of pride given their accomplishments. He further noted that the two of them were destined to "become extremely important players in the coming galactic conflict." Metron then returned them to Earth, saying that he would enjoy watching their continued evolution, assuming that Darkseid did not kill them, as they were both potentially major obstacles to his plans.

Related: How Halo Became Young Justice's Breakout Character

Terra Is Exposed As A Spy, But Sides With The Heroes

After the Light freed Baron Bedlam from prison and helped him to facilitate a coup of the government of Markovia in Young Justice: Outsiders episode 25, the Outsiders and the Team joined forces to reclaim the country (the United Nations refused to let the Justice League get involved). This played into the plans of Lex Luthor and Deathstroke, who had been using Terra to spy on their enemies for months. Their goal was to have Terra "accidentally" kill Beast Boy on a live video feed, seemingly proving Luthor's claims that metahuman vigilantes are a menace to society while killing the charismatic leader of the Outsiders' social revolution. This would allow Luthor to pass global legislation that would require mandatory registration of all metahumans and outlaw those superheroes who did not agree to reveal their secret identities to the public.

Before Terra had a chance to fulfill her orders, she was stopped by Tigress, who revealed that they had known that Terra was an agent of Deathstroke and the League of Shadows since before they rescued her in episode 13, "True Heroes." Tigress explained that Batman discovered that Terra had been set up as a double-agent while spying on Deathstroke during the events of episode 10, "Exceptional Human Beings." Torn between her brainwashing at Deathstroke's hands and the kindness and trust that the heroes showed her, even knowing what she was, Terra ultimately defied Deathstroke's orders and joined the heroes against him and the Light. By the end of the Young Justice season 3 finale, Terra had stood trial for her crimes at The Hague and been granted probation, working to make amends for her past as a member of the Outsiders.

Geo-Force Kills His Uncle & Claims Throne of Markovia…

The news that his beloved sister was a spy proved to be the straw that brakes the camel's back for the hot-tempered Geo-Force. Barely holding himself back when he first confronted his uncle, Baron Bedlam, the revelations that Terra was a willing agent of the League of Shadows and that his friends knew this but did not tell him pushed Geo-Force over the edge. When Bedlam taunted the hero and said that the conflict between them would never end so long as he drew breath, Geo-Force coldly replied, "Uncle, I believe you," before plunging his hand into the villain's mouth and creating a flow of lava that instantly suffocated him.

The sudden act of violence stunned Geo-Force's allies but enraptured the crowd of Markovian citizens who had stormed the Royal Palace under the direction of their ambassador to the United Nations, Zviad Baazovi. The ambassador was quick to lead the people in cheering Geo-Force's actions, declaring them the act of a just king executing a traitor rather than a cold-blooded act of murder. Baazovi also persuaded Geo-Force that he should assume the throne in the place of his usurped older brother because only he had the strength to see Markovia restored to its former glory. Geo-Force accepts this, but is stunned when Terra refused to accept his pardon in exchange for acknowledging his claim to the throne and Halo's likewise refused to become his queen.

Related: Young Justice Tackles Superhero Registration Better Than Civil War

 … But He’s A Puppet Ruler, Working For The Light.

By the end of episode 26, "Nevermore," Geo-Force has assumed the throne of Markovia and accepted Dr. Helga Jace back into his employ as an adviser. While he was reluctant to allow her back into the country at first, Geo-Force was persuaded that Dr. Jace deserved a second chance by Ambassador Baazovi. The closing scenes of the episode reveal that Ambassador Baazovi is a psychic metahuman with remarkable powers of persuasion, which he can use to "nudge people toward their own worst impulses." It is also revealed that Ambassador Baazovi has taken Granny Goodness' place among the leadership of the Light.

Despite Luthor’s Legal Woes, The Light Endures

Despite the Light's plan to kill Beast Boy failing, Lex Luthor was still largely pleased with the outcome of events in Markovia. Luthor felt that having Geo-Force kill a man on live TV and declare himself king of a small nation is just as useful for making the Outsiders look bad. It also enabled Luthor to make his case about the dangers posed by superheroes while presenting his metahuman registration act to the United Nations.

Thankfully, Luthor suffered a vicious one-two punch of legal challenges before he got the chance to make his case. Black Lightning and Cyborg appeared before the United Nations with documents proving Luthor had illegally continued to run his company while serving as the UN Secretary-General and had ties to the metahuman trafficking organizations overseen by the Light. This was followed by Superboy publicly accusing Luthor of illegally creating new life forms that were genetically engineered to be weapons of mass destruction and revealing himself as a clone made from the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. These twin revelations were enough to trigger an immediate vote of no confidence on the floor of the United Nations, forcing Luthor to resign in disgrace.

While this left Lex forced to lawyer-up in the face of multiple criminal charges and killed his squeaky-clean image with the public, the scandal had little effect on the business of The Light. A meeting of their leadership at the end Young Justice season 3 revealed that their operations are expanding, with Markovia now under their control. Vandal Savage also confirmed that he and Darkseid have reaffirmed their partnership after some initial saber-rattling over their "mutual sense of betrayal" in the wake of Granny Goodness turning on the Light to secure the Anti-Life Equation on Darkseid's behalf. Savage warned his allies, however, that Darkseid will continue to search for the Equation and that they must prepare for an inevitable conflict should he uncover it again.

Related: Young Justice Outsiders Could Be Setting Up a Villain Civil War

Black Lightning Is Leading A Reunited Justice League

The recent events in Markovia also prompt a change in the leadership of the Justice League. After revealing that they had been involved in a plan to publicly break the team into separate groups while still coordinating their activities in secret, Miss Martian, Aquaman and Wonder Woman step down from their command posts. When it comes time to elect a new chairperson, it is unanimously decided that the job should go to the one person everyone trusts to keep them honest in the future - Black Lightning. Jefferson Pierce reluctantly accepts the job, but only on the condition that Batman, Nightwing and the rest of what he called Batman Inc. officially rejoin the Justice League. It is a condition they gladly accept.

Related: Young Justice: Batman's Secret Team's True Purpose Explained

Miss Martian and Superboy Are Still Getting Married

With Superboy having revealed himself and the rest of the Genomorphs to the world, Miss Martian attempted to return his engagement ring, saying they can't be together if Superboy can't truly trust her or forgive her for having lied to him in the past. The two had argued extensively after Superboy learned about the secret leadership task force behind all the superhero teams. However, Superboy refused to take the ring back, saying he was afraid Miss Martian couldn't trust or forgive him after he reopened their old wounds and that he still wants to spend the rest of his life with her if she'll have him. Her answer is delivered with a kiss, which he quickly returns. The wedding of Superboy and Miss Martian will surely come in Young Justice season 4.

Here Comes The Legion of Superheroes

The final scene of Young Justice season 3 is a wordless montage where the founding members of the Team and their families join together for a private party at Bibbo's Diner in Metropolis. A blonde waitress moves between the tables, eventually coming to where Superboy and Miss Martian are sharing a booth and enjoying some pie and coffee. As the waitress - likely Saturn Girl - refills Miss Martian's mug, a close-up on her hand to reveal that she is wearing the distinctive ring of the Legion of Superheroes.

Given the difficulties involved in time traveling in the DC Universe, it rarely means anything good when the Legion of Superheroes shows up in the 21st century. Considering that the writers of Young Justice: Outsiders are fond of adapting relatively obscure event comics, one possibility is that season 4 could adapt The Final Night, where the time-lost Legion helped prevent a monster called The Sun Eater from devouring Earth's sun and destroying their future. Another possibility is that the new season will adapt The Great Darkness Saga - a classic story believed by many to be the greatest Legion of Superheroes miniseries ever, which saw the Legion and their allies fighting Darkseid.

More: What To Expect From Young Justice Season 4

source https://screenrant.com/young-justice-outsiders-ending-season-3-finale-explained/

[thefireinside59]

Caitlin Snow-Killer Frost-Multiple Personality Disorder - If only!

fyi I wrote a long time ago before Caitilin “died” and was reborn killer frost. it’s just a if idea for what the writers could’ve done. Everytime I read quote from writers or DP saying this the evil powers making Killer Frost and not the real Caitlin feel so let down because this could’ve been a really good story for Caitlin exploring her dark side. It feels like spacegoat to use the evil meta powers card. They took the cheap easy way out by making it ‘evil powers’. 

They did leave open option of Caitlin good and this ‘her’ this ‘Killer Frost’ taking over her as mental disorder. But once again the writers choose not to take it and went to cheap easy way out. Setting it Caitlin and Killer Frost as two separate personality could have been a really good mental illness story for Caitlin which would last the rest of series which would be interesting in it’s own ways. But the writers don’t seem to even have guts or care or respect to follow through on that either. They kinda half assed it.

When I look over the story so far. There is a lot here that sounds exactly like Multiple Personality Disorder (which now called Dissociative identity disorder.) Killer Frost isn’t some wicked dark other being that has taken over Caitlin’s body.  It’s all Caitlin and trying to pretend Killer Frost is something you cut out like cancer or invading alien that go is not helping with the situation. The Killer Frost personality is scared of ‘dying’ basically but being forced to go away and she wants the Caitlin Snow personality to go away for good. Caitlin wants the same thing for Killer Frost. For this whole storyline Caitlin has refused to look at the psychological side of her problems. She’s looked at this as physical problem that needed to be cured. It’s really short sighted of doctor to refuse to look at mental health side of things but Caitlin decided meta powers were to blame and thus meta powers were the answer to the problem. She also refused to try to learn to control her power.

I don’t believe Killer Frost is just the “evil” meta human powers. Killer Frost is dissociate personality who has better a control of meta powers they both share. Caitlin has used the powers many times without becoming Killer Frost. When Caitlin becomes emotionally upset she becomes unstable and Killer Frost personality emerges. When the  Killer Frost personality comes out she uses her powers because that’s what this dissociative personality thinks she is - aka Earth 2 Killer Frost. This personality is protecting both of them from whatever threat is making them feel bad. It’s said Dissociative identity disorder second or third personalities can be more aggressive and hostile as means to deal with trauma that created disorder. This certainly fits with Killer Frost. When Killer Frost is aggressive or hostile and she uses the tools has to act out on her negative feelings which means she uses their powers in ways Caitlin normally doesn’t. Caitlin fears her powers so she doesn’t use them. Her fear when she uses them causes so much stress it brings on her other personality taking over. From what I’ve been reading it’s often the case that one personality is the “apparently normal part” of the personality responsible for day-to-day functioning and another alternate personality often is personality emerging in survival situations (involving fight-or-flight responses, vivid traumatic memories and strong, painful emotions. Which fits perfectly with Caitlin and Killer Frost who emerges whenever Caitlin gets really emotionally upset or stressed.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in adults may become Dissociative identity disorder as it is caused by traumatic stresses forcing the mind to split into multiple identities. What Zoom did to Caitlin in season two IMO is traumatic enough to bring something like this on. The old timeline she was in pieces riddled by PTSD brought on by what he did to her. Oh top all the loss and trauma of watching her lovers die before her eyes again and again (Ronnie not once but twice. Zoom murdered Fake Jay before her eyes. Her father died, her mother withdrew from her emotionally. Dr. Wells turned out to be Eobard. Jay was Hunter. On and on and on it goes). The writers used Flashpoint/timeline change to do a big old skip it with Caitlin when it came to her extreme PTSD from season two. Even using Flashpoint’s changes you still use Dissociative identity disorder to say she seemed to get her PTSD much faster in changed timeline but what really happened what she had mental break down which was her mind splitting into multiple identities to cope with that happened. Again the writers are just to lazy for that.Dissociative Identity Disorder works a lot better than a half baked ‘evil powers’ nothing really explained. 

Caitlin was in a very fragile state post Zoom and she discovers her powers and it’s the straw that broke the camel back. Zoom laid into her about having darkness within her and letting it out. She scared of becoming Killer Frost after having met E2 KF and suddenly she has these powers? It’s too much and breaks her mentally and emotionally. The fact that she kept everything secret did not help her. The more isolated is she with this fear the she it run right over top of herself. She decided the powers equaled evil and that was that exactly how things ended up.

There is no magic cure for Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s an ongoing thing that needs to be treated with long term therapy for years. There has to be deep trust with therapists which is often hard because alternate personality, especially those who particularly those associated with illegal or violent activities, distrust therapists as they think goal of therapy is to eliminate them. There two healthy treatment goals for Dissociative Identity Disorder. One is goal of unified identity. The other finding a way to have each aspect of each personality coexist, and work together. The goal of achieving a more peaceful coexistence of the person’s multiple personalities is quite different than the reintegration of all those aspects into just one identity state. Medications can be helpful in managing emotional symptoms. Remember that Caitlin gave Ronnie and Martin these sorts of drugs to help them recover after spending a year trapped in one mind. So that’s hand waving Flash medicine for you.

Given how Caitlin, Killer Frost, Team Flash and Savitar are handling the situation eliminate the alternate personality is goal of each side. Killer Frost’s fears are based reality because everyone does any to eliminate her. Since no is treating this as mental illness thus there is professional help guiding their hands they all just ‘we’ll get the real Caitlin back’. No one is thinking of middle ground - YET. Caitlin sure as heck won’t agree to it because she fears Killer Frost too dangerous. I guess the question is Killer Frost cartoon evil? What could she look like if she was offered the right to live and given psychological and emotional help along with Caitlin? I think medication to help both their mood would be in order. She’d still likely be someone ready to kill at snap of fingers but would she be out raising hell? Or would be able to function in the world?

I always wondered why and how she made that absolute belief about her powers being evil. Perhaps it was because she had already started Dissociative Identity Disorder with the second personality emerging as this aggressive and hostile person before her powers started she decided her powers had to be related to slipt dark personality. The powers have to be evil because this emerging personality is so dark and Caitlin refused to consider psychological answer. Perhaps the stigma against mental illness was driving factor in all this. Again that make for interesting subject for show to discuss. Caitlin refused to look at psychological l side because of stigma involved. You would think ‘but she a doctor should be more enlightened on subject and not caught up in the stigma’? But that’s the thing no one wants to admit it’s happening to them personally. There is a ego factor of ‘I’m a doctor! I am not mentally ill. I have this under control. It is physical issue which I can cure myself. I have control of this situation’. Caitlin didn’t use her resources wisely as she tried to cure her “problem”. At every single turn she cut out everyone and tried do this alone on her terms. She only included the team when she was forced to. She only went to her mother when there was no other place to turn to, she manipulated Julian and the team to let Julian join team Flash without ever outright stating she needed help with a cure, she took a piece of the stone and kept it hidden for MONTHS risking Iris’s life and not caring about Iris dying in search for her cure, again all she needed to do what talk to the team. When Wally was crystallized in pod she went behind everyone’s backs to seek out Alchemy for cure. She went out of her way over and over and over to keep secrets and not get help from people who only want to help her and not judge her. Fuck they didn’t even blink at her betraying them they care that much. So why does she do it over and over again? Her go it alone secret path to cure keeps failing her so why keep doing it? Maybe because part of her is scared someone will look at the situation and go “this is your evil meta human powers fault. They aren’t evil at all. Their is part of your that is Killer Frost. This is mental and emotional issue”. She can’t deal with that. She scared of the word ‘crazy’. Look at her reaction when Julian pretty much told to take responsibly for her actions as KF. She got so upset over it and on top of being so worked fearing becoming Killer Frost she reacted by the Killer Frost personality coming out in a rage going ‘Fine I’ll take responsibly for myself. I’m evil. Haha! Iris dies’. Caitlin was talked back into taking control of the body by Julian when he said ‘that’s not the real you blah blah blah’. My point is Caitlin cannot handle the idea of being evil or Killer Frost without it ending her off the deep ending. Which is what brings out the alternate protective personality even if she’s scared of alternate protective personality..

Something that could scare Caitlin and Killer Frost, since they know the same thing, is that Doctors treating people with this illness sometimes find the more prominent personality states as the “host” personality may not be the “true” identity of the patient. Just think if they have secret fear they aren’t real owner of body.

We’ve had three version of Caitlin this season. Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost and CS/KF hybrid in 3.07  who shared the same goal of getting rid of meta human power & not caring about hurting people. You could say there are 3 alternate personalities. To find people deal with alternate personalities doctors often have them face that trauma that created it. The trauma that created the CS/KF hybrid was caused by Barry’s betrayal and was “cured” when Barry hashed things out with her. The alternate personality let go and the stronger personality of Caitlin took hold again. There was no need for the CS/KF hybrid defensive personality anymore. The two larger personalities remain.