(a/n: here we go, the epilog. enjoy and review.)

One week later

It was a cold grey morning.

In the heart of the cemetery Dana Mercer stood in front of two graves with Lieutenant Caldwell at her side, both were dressed in black.

One headstone read "Alex Mercer, Brother, Friend" the other read "Elizabeth Greene, Daughter and friend"

Dana's eyes were red and puffy from crying the previous evening.

She reflected on the past week, new tears formed in her eyes.

Dana was shocked when she heard that Elizabeth was the one controlling the infected and was trying to spread the infection to the entire world. S

he was glad that Alex help save a lot of people that were on the Reagan. She remembered that when she received the news of Alex's death, she felt cold icy sensation pierce her heart.

Dana didn't have anyone left in the world, her mother was in prison, her father had left when she was young and Alex was the only one there for her. He cared for her for years and when the outbreak started, she feared that he died but he came back for her.

But now that he's dead, she had no one, except Ragland, Caldwell and Cross but it wasn't the same.

With General Randall and Elizabeth dead, BlackWatch and New York dissolved into chaos.

With BlackWatch scrambling for someone to take command when most of their senior officers dead or missing, Caldwell decided to leave by faking his death and it worked, no one in BlackWatch went in search of him.

When Elizabeth died, the Infected became disorganized and they began fleeing to the sewers or they turned on one another.

The League and the military quickly gained control of the city and with the help of a virologist named Dr. Koenig who the Young Justice team saved on the Reagan, was able to come up with a vaccine to treat those who were infected but hadn't mutated.

Those who transformed were too far-gone and their genetics were too distorted to repair.

In a conference with remaining New York public officials, senior officers of the military in New York, the Justice League and the press, Dr. Koenig, an elderly man with a head of white hair and a thick beard, hypothesized that he could repair the damages to their genetics but it would take a few years, even with the best equipment in the world it could be done, but it would take a long time.

The League and the government pledged to help New York rebuild and recover.

So far New York was making great progress cleaning the streets of destroyed vehicles and dead bodies. Dana thought back to the start of the previous week.

Dana had awakened a day after the nuke went off, the viral agent was purged from her system but it left her severely weakened and she was bed ridden for the majority of the week.

Ragland had looked exhausted but pleased that she had awakened, Caldwell, Cross and Heller visited her and they told her the recent turn of events. they told her of the vaccine and the decline of Infected.

Heller said that he recently learned that his daughter was found alive in a temporary shelter a few blocks from their home.

They were reunited once the number of infected dwindled and when they reunited, she told him that a hooded man saved her from a walker and he had a blade for an arm, which he concluded that it was probably Alex.

Dana grinned broadly and when she inquired about her brother, everyone went silent.

Ragland broke the news to her gently.

Alex was still on the Reagan when the nuke went off, after that the League did a quick search of the site in case Alex or Elizabeth survived. They only found shards of melted metal and ocean.

Dana didn't believe them at first but when a list of the dead came up in the news paper with Alex's name on it, she finally let the cold truth finally sink in.

She had cried and mourned alone for an entire day till she couldn't shed tears anymore.

The next morning the mayor of New York City publicly thanked the Justice League, members of the military and a few civilians who did acts of heroism that saved dozens of lives. After the mayor's speech one question was on everybody's mind.

Who was responsible for the outbreak?

Somebody went to the press and divulged that Alex was responsible for releasing the virus.

The anonymous source said that Alex was working with a group of terrorists who were stealing government secrets from Gentek and when he was cornered in Penn Station, he released the experimental virus onto the unsuspecting public. The source released computer records showing a number of breaches in security in Gentek's database.

The general public believed it and soon Alex's name became synonymous with the outbreak.

The Black Light virus was dubbed the Mercer Virus by the media and soon the name caught on.

Alex went from an unknown civilian to the most hated person in the history of the United States.

Dana couldn't believe it, after everything Alex had done for them the people he had saved labeled him a terrorist and a monster. Dana tried to ask why the justice league didn't clarify what happened but the Meta humans just ignored her.

After two days of inquiring, she gave up on the Justice league.

Dana's feelings towards them went cold and bitter, after everything they had been through they were allowing the world to tarnish her brother's name and memory. She hated them for it.

One evening while she was still in the hospital, someone had placed a package outside her door, she opened it and discovered a DVD.

She asked Captain Cross to bring a laptop with him on his next visit and when he did, they popped in the video.

They watched a short video showing people being herded onto the Bio ship and she saw in the corner of the screen was Alex. He was on his knees with Elizabeth towering over him with tendrils burrowing into him.

Alex was fighting back with his own tendrils but he looked weakened and tired.

The camera panned over to Miss Martian and Aqualad, they took one look at Alex and they retreated into the bio ship without another word.

Dana saw Alex look back at the bio ship as if he were asking for help but the Bio ship ascended, so did the vehicle containing the camera person and they left Alex and the Reagan behind them.

Dana was at a loss for words, she couldn't believe what she had just seen.

She asked Cross is that what really happened on the Reagan. The captain shrugged saying that he was helping people into the helicopter when he saw Alex having trouble with Elizabeth. He also saw the Bio ship take off without them and he tried to help but Miss Martian forced him back onto the helicopter using her mental powers.

Dana looked at him in disbelief and asked him why would they abandon Alex.

Cross scratched his chin and said that he figured that Justice League probably wanted Alex dead too because he was too dangerous to be alive. But they couldn't kill him publicly for it would make the public distrust them. So when the opportunity arose, they left Alex to die with Elizabeth.

Dana shook her head trying to convince herself that there was probably another explanation but in a way it made sense.

A few days earlier, everyone tried to capture or kill Alex including the Justice League and she found it a little odd that they would work with someone who was labeled a mass murdering psycho by the government.

Dana pulled out the DVD then she hurled the laptop across the room letting out a cry of anger.

She brought her knees to her chest and tears formed in her eyes. Cross placed a kind hand on her shoulder and told her that even though Alex is gone, he, Caldwell and Ragland will be there for her if she needed anything. She thanked him and she drifted off to sleep.

Dana felt a hand on her shoulder bring her back to the present. She looked up and saw standing there was Captain Cross in a black suit.

He asked in a quiet voice "You finished with your goodbyes?"

Dana sniffed and nodded "Yes" she turned and with Caldwell's arm around her shoulder, they departed the graveyard, leaving Cross alone at Alex and Elizabeth's graves.

Captain Cross's body shifted and changed into a slim figure in a tattered grey hoodie.

The young man stood there staring down at the graves of his mother and father. He felt a mixture of rage and sorrow. He was angry with Young Justice for killing them but he was feeling sorrow for failing them both.

But he clenched his fist muttering, his voice like crushed glass "Forgive me mother, forgive me father. No matter what, I will have my revenge on those insects".

His plans had started better then expected.

He had gained the full trust of his father's sister, the Justice League and BlackWatch.

He had even stumbled upon that sniveling wretch McMullen cowering in an abandoned house outside of New York.

After acquiring McMullen's memories, he found the DVD of his parents' final night together. Something clicked in his mind, he realized that he could get back at the Justice League and destroy the human race in one swoop. The first step was to tarnish the very name of his father, much to his regret but it was a necessary step.

Then he had to block Dana's inquiries into the Justice League and convince Young Justice that Dana wasn't well enough to see them.

It was all just a first step, the next step required the child he saved from being devoured by his brothers. He smiled and his body shifted and changed back into Captain Robert Cross.

As he trudged out of the cemetery he smirked, soon they will all feel the wrath of Pariah.

Back at Mount Justice the entire team conducted their business in silence.

Even though a week had passed since of the end of the outbreak, with conditions in New York had gotten better they should've been celebrating but they didn't. They couldn't help but feel that something dark was hanging over them.

Earlier in the past few days, Alex had been their enemy but he became their friend.

In the end he sacrificed himself to save the entire world, leaving his sister alone in the world with no family to care for her.

They had tried to visit her while they were in New York but her nurse told them that she was still very ill and she wasn't able to see anyone.

Not only that, Alex was blamed by the media and all of America for the outbreak, making him one of the most hated men in history

"I should have done something" mumbled Miss Martian

"There was nothing you could do" assured Aqualad "Besides, he wanted us to save those people and if we hadn't, we wouldn't have the vaccine".

The Zeta tube activated and Batman arrived. He called the team together

"What is it?" asked Aqualad

"I never got the chance to say this but job well done" said Batman "Even though you lost a friend, you saved millions"

"Yeah but now Alex will only be remembered for being a psychotic terrorist and not a hero" muttered Robin

"why didn't the League clear Alex's name?" asked Superboy.

Batman was silent for a moment then said, "The League has had a complicated relationship with the government, we couldn't divulge the truth to the press because we would also be giving away government secrets and with the information we have it would cause chaos, people would turn against the government and everything would fall apart"

Batman sighed "and that's not even half of it".

Robin remembered something that Alex discussed with General Randall and he asked Batman what Alex had asked Randall.

Batman frowned "It could be related to something codenamed Pariah"

"What's that?" asked Superboy

Batman shook his head "I'm not sure but whatever it is, it isn't good".

Two figures were walking along the side of a long stretch of highway that cut through a vast field of green.

The sun shone down on the two, a warm breeze blew in their faces. A red truck pulled up next to the two

"Need a ride?" asked the driver, a man.

The taller one looked at his companion then to the driver "Yeah"

"Get in" said the driver.

When the two got in, the driver saw that it was a boy and a girl. One had dark hair and blue eyes, the other had light blond hair and green eyes

"thanks for the lift" said the boy as the truck continued on the highway.

The driver nodded "No problem" he glanced at the two "So where are you heading?"

"North, to the nearest town from there, who knows" said the boy

the driver nodded "Sounds good".

After a few hours, the truck pulled into a small town that rested at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

The boy thanked the driver and the two young passengers got out of the truck.

As they made their way to town the driver called after them "Hey kid, you look familiar do I know you?" the boy shook his head "No I don't think so"

"What's your names?" asked the driver

"I'm Alex" said the boy, he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder "And this is Liz" the driver frowned and he shook his head "Nah, I guess I don't know you"

"I guess I just have one of those faces" remarked Alex.

The driver laughed a little and he drove off.

Alex turned to Liz saying "So where to now?"

"Anywhere but here" said Liz, her voice was soft like silk.

Alex frowned, thinking for a moment then said, "I've always wanted to go to France" Liz smiled "France it is then".

The two linked arms and they made their way into the small, seaside town.

To Be Continued in….Part 2

(a/n: so, what do you think? well thats it, thats the end of Black Light. Hoped you enjoyed it. see you around for part two! Later!)