Less screentime for the main team but Zatanna is there again and was cute. She and Kaldur combined their magic! That was really cool :) and the trogowogs are gremlins!
I’m so glad that these YJ episodes focused on Kaldur because finally…FINALLY… the writers (and I’m really looking at Khary Payton here because he helped write these episodes) finally addressed how badly Kaldur has been treated.
I mean…let’s just recap here.
in Season 1:
He took on being Aquaman’s sidekick. Took on being the leader Took Batman’s passive aggressive “Get your head in the game” shit “Died” thanks to Megan in a training exercise Had the Team turn on him during the fallout of the “Mole” episode Had Tula, the love of his life die Found out his father was Black Manta
In Season 2: He took on the undercover mission (WHILE STILL GRIEVING FOR TULA) Had his mind broken by Megan (AGAIN) Was hunted by Sports Master and Cheshire Basically took down the Light from the inside while maintaining cover Probably learned a lot about his biological father and had to reconcile his father’s “noble side” with his “terrorist side” Had the entire team think and treat him like a bloodthirsty villain
Season 3: Became Aquaman and had to help lead the Justice League, and all the BS that came with that.
And now he’s got to deal with the loss of Connor.
And even in those previous seasons whenever his mental health was brought up, it was always in service of others’ stories. When Black Canary was giving therapy sessions to the team, Kaldur’s wasn’t about his mental state, or how he literally chose death to save his teammates, or how he felt guilty for it, or how disturbing it is that a sixteen year old child willingly chose death without a second thought. Oh no, Kaldur’s therapy session was about how no one else could take command of the team and how he still needed to bare that burden.
I mean…WTF is this? Canary, you are talking to a 16 year old kid who places the weight of the world on his shoulders. How about you be an adult and actually do something to help him? Maybe ask him where this huge sense of responsibility comes from? Maybe ask him why he doesn’t seem to have a sense of self-preservation? Maybe start there?
And then when Megan had to fix his brain (after she broke it, BTW) it was all about her guilt and how she needed to get over herself and own up to her mistakes. Excuse me, she just turned Kaldur into a vegetable and I’m supposed to be sympathetic to her?
And the one person…the ONE person who actually calls Kaldur out on how he downplays himself is Wyynde. All throughout these episodes Wyynde has been looking at Kaldur’s health, telling him he needs to take a break, telling him he’s pushing himself way too hard. WYYNDE ASKS KALDUR IF HE NEEDS SOMETHING. And then it’s followed up by his family (his mom, dad and sister Dolphin) asking him if he’s okay. And asking him what he needs.
You see that Black Canary? You see that YJ team? See that Batman? Someone asked if the guy needs something.
WHERE THE HELL WAS ALL THIS SHIT 3 SEASONS AGO?????
And finally. FINALLY, people in the YJ universe are starting to realize that they’ve been expecting Kaldur to do far too much for FAR too little. When Nightwing actually listed all of the things that happened and how Kaldur couldn’t take a break. When his parents listed how he took on far too much responsibility when he was young (and effectively parented his parents). He joined the military at a younge age, joined school, dealt with the racist “impure” issues that ran rampant in Atlantis (from the YJ comics). Like Nightwing said, he’s been the team’s “rock” since it first began.
Yes, Kaldur’ahm is amazing and strong and hard working, but this show, and the people in it ask too much of him and they ALLOW him to push himself. Yes, I’m GLAD that people are finally waking up to Kaldur’s constant need to take on burdens.
Of course, it should’ve been noticed YEARS ago though. Kaldur maybe the team’s “rock” but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to treat him like one.
And while I’m at it…Arthur Curry sucks too. Did Arthur ever talk to Kaldur about Tula’s death? Did he ever talk with him about how Kaldur felt? What about Black Manta being his father? I know Arthur kept that from Kaldur (it was revealed in a video game) but did Arthur ever just….sit Kaldur down and listen to how he felt about it? Like dude. Oliver and Black Canary made a fucking intervention for Red Arrow, what the hell did Arthur do?
You know what? Just give me a full season of Kaldur going on a long vacation with his family. Fuck everybody else. La’gaan and his family can come too.
You want to know what I REALLY love about DC’s treatment of Jackson Hyde/Kaldur’ahm/Jake? Is the fact that they give him so many love interests. He’s got Ha’wea (DC Comics), Kenny(You Brought Me The Ocean) and Wyynde(Young Justice) who have shown so much love and support for him. And I love the idea that a Black Gay (or in the case of YJ!Kalur’ahm, Queer) man can have so many people who care for him and love him. kaldur’ahm/Jackson is totally worthy of love and romance and softness and tenderness. Black Queer men are worthy of love and romance and softness and tenderness.
I think that’s really important.
…I still fucking hate DC for how they handled Cyborg, but I do love this.
A/N: my lazy butt forgot to put this here- agh! Kaldur is probably the only (DC) character I wrote outside of the Batfam tbh XD
I need to expand my boundaries.
- not knowing what to get for him as a gift is an understatement.
- you knew he would love everything you get for him.
- …which makes it even harder to get him anything.
- you had started looking for at least onegift for him since the December 1st and even up until now there is no such luck.
- you’d thought about getting him something you made on your own.
-intenselystaresatasmallaquariumatthepetshop.
- “what do you think I should get him?”
- the store owner looks at you from where they stand as you talked to a goldfish.
- said goldfish reminds you of him.
- you decided to get the goldfish and its tank.
- you also knit two pairs of gloves for him because there are no gloves for webbed hands.
- if there are, those are mittens.
- when the day finally comes, you give him the gloves you had boxed and beautifully wrapped as the first gift.
- “you can rip it, you know.”
- “but I love everything about this,” he answers with that charming smile on his face, fingers still working to open your present without ruining the wrapper.
- he keeps the bow and the paper in his drawer after folding them neatly.
- this bOy.
- the gloves fit perfectly, the glint in his eyes is so precious you just had to place a kiss on his lips.
- “thank you,” he says against your lips, the smile on his face widening as he returned your gesture with a kiss to your cheek.
- “I think it’s time for you to meet, Kaldur Junior.”
- he blinks indecorously, “Kaldur…Junior?”
- then he meets the goldfish and ends up watching the fish swimming around the small tank, occasionally tapping the glass when the fish gaped its mouth at him.
the fact that zatanna and m'gann tricked artemis and they didnt really summon wally as a ghost means its still possible that hes alive and stuck in the speed force. i will keep saying this until i die. even if they explicitlytell me im wrong. i dont care.
Requested by Anon - A story about the justice league employing new recruits in the young justice. Kaldur is both annoyed and in love with one new girl.
Requested by Anon - Can I get a fic where Kaldur falls in love with some badass girl after she rides on his moto to trash some criminal?
Requested by blackafricanqueen - Can I get a fix where Kaldur is both annoyed and in love with a justice league new recruit?
Slight spoilers for season four ahead…
***
Kaldur crossed his arms, eyeing the new recruits standing in the main area of the Watchtower. He and Artemis stood together to one side as Black Lightning addressed the new members. “Black Lightning believes these are the key for the league to stay current with the times?” he asked, glancing at Artemis.
Artemis shrugged. “Yeah, he says we need more diversity.” She snorted. “Diversity in abilities and training anyway.”
Kaldur hummed as Black Lightning finished and gestured for Kaldur to join him. Artemis gave him a supportive look as Kaldur left her side. “This is Aquaman. He’ll be in charge of getting you settled and trained on the League’s methods.” Kaldur barely hid his wince. Why did he become the League’s trainer? Couldn’t Batman do it?
Suddenly, one girl, maybe slightly younger than Kaldur, raised her hand. Black Lightning chuckled at the sight before nodding to her. “Is he Aquaman number one, two, or three? Isn’t there three Aquamans now?”
Kaldur narrowed his eyes at her. She just smiled back cheekily. “He’s the second Aquaman,” Black Lightning said, a smirk on his face. “Now I’ll leave you to him.” Black Lightning turned and walked out of the room.
“What now, sir?” the militant-looking recruit asked, relaxing slightly. He must be ex-military, Kaldur guessed. Jefferson never did give Kaldur the files on any of the new recruits. He’ll have to find them later.
“Now we will train.” Kaldur gestured for them to follow him as he turned to lead them deeper into the Watchtower.
“Yes, Aqua Two.” Kaldur looked over his shoulder at the girl. Annoying girl.
“Aquaman is fine,” Kaldur said shortly.
“But what if all the Aquamans are in the same place, then I’d have to call you Aqua Two, so might as well start now.” The girl grinned. Kaldur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking away. The other two recruits were wonderfully silent. Kaldur led them toward the training room, planning to put the annoying girl through more rounds with higher difficulty as a result.
***
“Is that it?” You panted, grinning at Aqua Two as he frowned deeply. You knew you pushed him too far and he was punishing you. It was very enjoyable to see him become more and more dissatisfied as you met every one of his challenges. Every part of your body ached. You were slowing down. Hopefully, Aqua Two will give up before you do.
“No.” Aqua Two gestured for the other two recruits to leave. “You are done for the day. See you tomorrow.” They quickly left. “I will run another simulation.”
You sighed, taking a moment to catch your breath. However, the simulation started immediately and you barely ducked to avoid a giant ax flying at your head. A huge Viking man formed out of thin air. You smirked and grabbed the ax as he took another swing. Riding the ax up in the air as he attempted to throw you off, you flipped over him to land a kick to his lower back. He stumbled allowing you to flip around him and perform a nerve strike to his neck. The Viking fell hard and disappeared. Two Vikings appeared the moment the other disappeared. You took a deep breath before standing your ground.
***
“Kaldur, aren’t you taking this a bit far? You had her in there for hours,” Raquel said, appearing at Kaldur’s side. Kaldur flinched. He should have heard her come in.
“This new recruit has an attitude problem.” Kaldur crossed his arms. He noticed you were slowing down. You took a hit to the face, toppling over. However, you recovered quickly, rolling back to your feet and taking down the Viking.
Raquel hummed. “You have to stop. This is Wonder Woman’s program. It will kill her.” She reached around and turned it off. You froze as the Vikings disappeared. Kaldur clicked his tongue. Raquel rolled her eyes and turned to you. “Go to the med bay. That last hit must have really hurt.”
“I’m good.” You grinned despite the blood dripping from your mouth. “Ready to keep going, Aqua Two? If you are still up for it?”
Kaldur blushed as Raquel glanced back at him with a smirk. “You’re done. Go home, (Y/N). We’ll see you here tomorrow.” Raquel waved you off and eyed Kaldur. You waved cheerfully and limped out of the room. “So you’re punishing her for teasing you?”
“It is improper.” Kaldur pursed his lips, realizing he was taking out his frustrations on you. Truth was, he didn’t like having to share the Aquaman name. It was the way it had to be, but it certainly led to several situations he didn’t appreciate. For example, being called in when they actually wanted Orin. Very irritating.
“She is just teasing you, Kaldur. No different than how I would.” Raquel shook her head. “I’ll have a word with her to lay off, but don’t take your frustrations out on the newbie because she annoys you.” She crossed her arms.
Kaldur sighed, dropping his shoulders. “I…You are right.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Check on her for me.” He met Raquel’s eye. “I will apologize to her once I have time to…calm down.”
Raquel nodded, patting Kaldur’s shoulder. “Don’t take what she does personally. I’m the one who recruited her. She’s sassy, but her heart is in the right place.” Raquel walked out of the room. Kaldur watched her go before heading toward the zeta tubes to go back to Atlantis.
***
You couldn’t believe you had survived this long in the League. After the first day, you assumed you would be pushed out, but here you were on your first official Justice League mission. You brushed off your brand new suit even though you received it only a hour before.
“(Y/N), are you paying attention?” Aqua Two snapped, nudging your arm as he passed. You jerked back into reality. He waved for you to follow him. You hurried along, smiling brightly at the thought of being partnered with Aqua Two. This is a chance to proof yourself to him.
“I am. Ready to join you on guard duty.” You nudged him back. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he led you toward the zeta tube. You knew you were annoying him again with just your eagerness, but you didn’t care. Today was the day.
***
“It’s not every day you get to see the president in person,” you said as you sat on the edge of the roof next to Aqua Two. “He looks taller on TV.”
Aqua Two hummed in response, standing next to you as he scanned the crowd below. The Justice League was asked to provide extra security for the president when intel about an assassination attempt was revealed. An assassination attempt by a super villain nevertheless.
“No sign of any suspicious activity over here,” Plastic Man reported through the comlink.
“Nothing here,” you said before Aqua Two could speak. He narrowed his eyes at you. You shrugged. “What? I can speak too. Otherwise, why give me a comm?”
“Quiet.” He turned away from you, studying the crowd below. You looked too. Several minutes of silence passed. The crowd grew as the president began his speech. You listened, smiling when the president cracked a joke to lighten the mood. Aqua Two’s eyes were on you. You glanced at him. He blushed when you caught him looking.
You gave him a smile before examining the other roof tops. Nothing seemed to be out of place until you saw a slight flash of light reflecting on metal. Moving fast, you threw one of your shurikens just in time to stop a throwing knife from hitting the President in the chest. The assassin stepped out of the shadows and made eye contact with you. “Brutale.”
Aqua Two was giving orders through the comms, but you weren’t paying attention. Suddenly, Brutale threw another knife, but toward you. You were about to duck only for Aqua Two to tackle you to the ground. “Pay attention,” he growled as he rolled off you quickly and jumped to his feet.
“I was.” You hopped to your feet to see Brutale still on the roof. “I’m going after him,” you said before turning to look at Aqua Two. He looked back at you with a hint of concern in his eyes.
“You’re not ready for this.” He grabbed your arm, squeezing tight. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched the president being escorted inside the building by Plastic Man and one of the other new recruits. Brutale watched the president before looking back at you.
You licked your lips. Brutale stepped back into the shadows. “I’m sorry, but I have to.” You jerked away from Aqua Two and fired your new grapple gun to give chase.
***
“Foolish,” Kaldur mumbled under his breath as he watched you go. He tapped his comm. “Is the president safe?”
“Yes, sir. The president is secure,” the recruit said. “Have we captured the assassin?”
“No, (Y/N) and I are in pursuit.” Kaldur ran for the fire escape and quickly climbed down the stairs. “Stay with the president.” He jumped down into the street, dodging the crowd when he saw you and Brutale fighting in the middle of the stage where the president had just been. Kaldur pushed past people, fighting his way to you. “(Y/N), I’m here. Keep him there.”
“Working on it,” you replied as you dodged several throwing knives. One nicked your cheek, but you kept fighting. Kaldur jumped into the fight. Brutale fell back once he realized he was outnumbered. Moving fast, he hopped into the crowd. You and Kaldur shared a quick look. Kaldur held up three fingers. You smiled before sprinting off to the right. Kaldur moved left. He felt proud you had memorized the signals so fast.
Brutale reached a motorcycle that was waiting for him on the street. He hopped on and drove off. “Crap.” You ran up next to Kaldur. Kaldur hummed, tapping his wrist to call his motorcycle. He had it hidden nearby, sensing it would be needed. Your eyes widened as it parked itself next to Kaldur. “Wow, do I get one of those?”
“Maybe. For now, you ride with me.” Kaldur climbed on. You eyed him before snuggling in behind him. Your arms tight around his waist. Kaldur felt a blush come to his cheeks. Luckily, you couldn’t see. Maybe you weren’t so annoying after all? Maybe even a little cute? He shook his head before zooming off after Brutale.
Kaldur followed Brutale closely. “Get alongside him,” you whispered. Kaldur tensed, feeling your breath on his ear. His body buzzed excitedly. He took a deep breath, pushing his thoughts aside. Brutale attempted to throw a few knives at Kaldur’s tires, but he dodged them.
Your arms left Kaldur’s waist. He felt your hands on his shoulders. A glance behind revealed you were standing on the motorcycle seat. “What are you doing?”
“I got this.” You patted his shoulder with one hand as he sped up to catch up with Brutale. Suddenly, you jumped onto Brutale’s cycle. He attempted to stab you, but you dodged it and attached yourself around his neck. Kaldur dropped back, watching worriedly.
With one jerk of the handles, Brutale’s motorcycle turned sharply, sending you and Brutale into the air. The cycle rolled several time. Kaldur slammed on his brakes. His heart stopped when he saw you hit the ground. The cycle flew over you and landed on Brutale who crashed on the ground after you. He heard a terrible snap.
“(Y/N)?!” Kaldur dropped his motorcycle and ran to your side. He tapped his comm. “We need medical assistance immediately.” Kaldur checked your pulse. He frowned at the blood pooling by your head. “(Y/N)? Can you hear me?”
You moaned, opening your eyes. “That hurt.” Your lips cracked that annoying, yet wonderful smile. “Did we get Brutale?”
“Yes, he is over there.” Kaldur glanced over at him. Brutale moved slightly, but he wasn’t going to be able to get away. Kaldur focused his attention back on you when you hissed. “Don’t move.”
“I think I broke my arm, Aqua Two.” You grinned when Kaldur narrowed his eyes.
“Hush now.” Kaldur sighed in relief as an ambulance arrived. “Never do anything like that again.”
“We got him,” you said, closing your eyes.
“You got him.” Kaldur pulled away as the paramedic came up. He went over to join the paramedic by Brutale to make sure he didn’t try to escape. Your laughter filled his ears and he knew you’d be okay.
***
A few hours later, you laid in your hospital bed. The TV played some old western. You watched it listlessly, wishing the pain in your body to go away. Apparently, they gave you some drugs, but the pain was still there.
A knock on the door frame cheered you up. You grinned, looking over at the door to see Aqua Two standing there with a bouquet of flowers. A smile pulled at your lips. Did he really get your flowers?
“Hi,” you said when he didn’t move, staring at your cast.
“Hello.” He shook his head, stepping inside. “The doctor said you are alright.”
“Yeah, just some broken bones. They want to keep me overnight for observation.” You gestured to the chair with your good arm. He took the seat before handing you the flowers. “Thank you.” You held them to your nose, breathing in their scent.
“I was told flowers are a customary gift for an injured person.” Aqua Two smiled tightly as you set the flowers in your lap. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. The painkillers aren’t kicking in super fast, but I’ll live.” You leaned back against your pillows. “Is Brutale in custody?”
Aqua Two nodded. “He is. You did a good job.”
You smiled, thinking it was only a few weeks ago when he was punishing you for being cheeky. “You did too. Couldn’t have done it if you weren’t driving.”
A nurse came in to check on your vitals. She glanced between you and Aqua Two. You bit your lip while Aqua Two blushed. “Everything looks good. Call us if you need anything,” the nurse said, sending you a wink as she shut the door to your room behind her.
“Tomorrow…” Aqua Two stopped and cleared his throat. Eyes on the floor. You watched him, smiling happily. “Would you allow me to escort you home from the hospital tomorrow?”
You reached out to take his hand. “I would appreciate that.” Your heart skipped a beat, his hand felt so strong. “Thanks Aqua Two.”
“Kaldur.” You blinked in surprise. He looked up at you, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips. “You may call me Kaldur.”
“Kaldur,” you said, testing the name on your lips. You liked it. He entwined his fingers with yours. Your skin electrized at the touch. “That’s a nice name.”
The two of you fell into conversation and the time slipped away. Eventually, you didn’t even notice the pain anymore.
Remember that theory about all the characters in the intro of Young Justice Phantoms being holograms cause that’s the way the League honors the fallen ones, so it was possible they were all going to die?
Well, I laughed at that theory… But I’m not laughing anymore.
