Chapter 1: Five Years Later.

Authors Note: Hello everyone welcome back to the Shadow Warriors fight. I hope I get some new readers and I hope my old ones are still reading. I hope you enjoy the start of my next story. Also, I am accepting a few new heroes or villains. Here is what i would need if you are interested.

Name/Alias

Clothes, both street clothes and hero wardrobe.

Back story

Hair color, eye color, gender and nationality. Aliens and demi gods also acceptable.

Powers, Abilities, equipment and weaknesses.

Thank you all and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Justice League.

Jayden stared at the two for a half an hour loving the beautiful sight before him. His daughter Shauna had come in late at night and crawled up and snuggled against her mom Ally. Their cheeks were pressed against each other while the two snored softly. Jayden pressed a kiss to each of their heads before stepping out of bed.

His attention was drawn to soft mumbles at the end of his bed. He slipped his black robe on and tied on the waist band into a knot and walked over to the crib at the foot of his bed. He smiled down at small baby boy dressed in his blue pj's. He smiled while nibbling on his little fingers.

"Hey buddy." Jayden cooed, gently picking his son up. "Guess the ladies still need their beauty sleep huh Jake?" Jake nodded as he reached out and grabbed his daddy's cheeks with his little hands.

Jayden went out to the kitchen and set Jake down in his high chair before turning on the coffeepot and grabbing Jake's bottle from the fridge and set it in the bottle warmer. As he waited for their morning beverages he let out a heavy sigh when he saw how normal his kitchen looked.

If this were five years ago there would be soda cans and junk food wrappers lying around along with multiple dirty dishes. Then there was the living room, it was once crowded with his young companions who were camping out there playing video games but now it was neat and tidy.

When Ally had given birth to Shauna, Jayden knew he had to hang up his coat and put down his sword. Everyone else wanted their normal lives as well.

Flynn and Hilary got married shortly after Jayden and Ally and moved out to their own apartment. Sam and Kris along with Sarah and Zack went to college together out in Gotham University.

Maria and her boyfriend Leon moved in together. Leon took a bullet for Gordon a few years back but managed to take down the gunman Black Mask and arrested him. He's been Gordon's go to guy ever since.

Mark Kyle moved in with his girlfriend Carmen and is now Jayden's chief of security. He and his sister Selina were still very close to this day. Thomas and Christine also lived together and worked separate jobs. Thomas helps Flynn in engineering and special weapons defense systems and Christina works at Gotham General as a professional doctor. Jayden doesn't know what happened to Marcas and Ronin.

Marcas was still battling the Shadow Man last time he had heard and Ronin just disappeared one day. His wife Kei doesn't even know what happened to him.

Everyone else wasn't so quick to give it all up though. Phoenix along with his girlfriend Theodosia and his twin brother Frost, all moved to Tokyo to uphold their own brand of justice. They still check in every now and again. Jayden worries that they might be getting into some sort of trouble though. Whenever Blaze and Jayden talk Blaze is always short on the phone and always gives him the same story making Jayden wonder what was going on over there.

Then there was Dusk and Star, Jayden's brother and sister. He hasn't spoken to them since they joined the Justice League. Their last meeting didn't end well.

Jayden shook his head in annoyance as he tried to shake off the nagging feeling in his head. The warmer for Jake's bottle dinged and Jayden quickly walked over and retrieved it before gently lifting up his boy.

He eased the bottle into Jake's mouth and smiled as the small infant suckled down the formula. After a few minutes the bottle was empty and Jayden patted his sons back causing him to let out a loud burp.

"That's my boy." Jayden said as the two shared a heartfelt laugh.

"Well here are my men." A soft voice said.

Jayden turned and smiled when he saw Ally standing in her blue silk robe. Shauna stood behind her wearing her pink pj's rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"And here are my girls." Jayden greeted.

He walked over and the two leaned in and shared a small kiss before Jayden handed her Jake. Jayden then lifted Shauna up and hugged her tight to his chest.

"Hey starlight, how are you?" Jayden asked. Shauna nuzzled her cheek against her father's chest before looking up at him. Her blue and green eyes matched her father's own pair. Jayden started to panic realizing that her own Adonis power was on the verge of awakening.

"I'm fine daddy." She smiled.

"Yeah, um listen I know you don't like it baby, but it's time for your shot." Jayden said with tension in his voice. Shauna gave him an uneasy look as did Ally.

"Daddy I don't want too, they hurt." She complains.

"I know, but we need to do it." Jayden reassured with a stern voice. He knew she didn't like it, but he couldn't risk her powers being triggered.

Jayden started giving her the shots when she was three, making it difficult for her and putting her in danger of herself. She was still a child and anything could make her angry or sad enough to set off her Adonis power. He wouldn't want her to hurt anyone and be labeled a monster to everyone around her.

Jayden carried her to his office and set her down on his desk. Jayden walked over to the desk drawer and pulled out a cigar box filled with the suppressants. He pulled one out and moved over to his daughter and took her right arm. He gave her a reassuring look before sticking the needle into her forearm and injecting the suppressant into her body. Once the needle was empty Jayden stared into her eyes and sighed in relief when he saw her green eye turned blue.

"There now you are good to go." Jayden cheered as he started tickling her tummy.

"Daddy, stop!" Shauna giggled uncontrollably as Jayden continued tickling her. Jayden lifted her over his shoulder and continued tickling her waist while carrying her back into the kitchen. He set her down next to her brother before turning to his wife and wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

"Morning." He hummed into her neck. He knew she was smiling as she prepared breakfast.

"Hello." She giggled back. "Hey don't forget we're going to have dinner with Flynn and Hilary tonight."

Of course it was Sunday, he and Flynn always have dinner on Sundays. Jayden would have to drop the kids off at Barbra's house tonight. She didn't mind though she loved the kids.

The coffee pot was ready and Jayden went and poured himself and Ally a cup. He then walked into the living room and sat down in his favorite armchair. Once he was settled he grabbed the remote and turned the TV onto the news. He wasn't surprised to see Gotham's Vicki Vale in front of an abandoned building.

"In breaking news the street gang known as the Mutants has gotten into another shootout with the Maroni family while another group has held twelve year old Jeremy Wilson hostage demanding ten thousand dollars in ransom. The parents paid the money, though unfortunately the mutants sent poor Jeremy back dead."

Jayden looked at the picture of the smiling child with a disgruntled look. 'How could those sick bastards do that to the child and the family?' He thought.

Batman should be here but he and the rest of the Justice League have been battling the Light. The Light, Vandal Savage has been hidden since that whole Reach incident eleven years ago. There was still no sign of him, but his agents have been causing all sorts of havoc for the JLA. Once the crooks in Gotham realized that there was no Batman they started to spread like wildfire.

These Mutants for example were mistaken for a group of angry kids, but they proved the media wrong. They were criminals, rapists, killers, thieves and anyone else who was angry at the world. Everyone wants to find a place where they belong and too few would take them. Jayden had to chuckle at the thought of them being similar to the Shadow Warriors.

And there it was.

Whenever he had thought of his days of past he would start feeling his inner demons beginning to surface. He had to suppress that feeling by remembering he had a wife and children. He also had to think of Sam and the rest of the kids who were off living normal lives. He often wondered if they were thinking the same thing he was.

(!)

Sam and Kris were studying for their college courses along with Sarah and Zack in their shared apartment living room. They had decided to rent the place and support their own means without relying on Jayden all the time. Jayden paid for their tuition but they paid their bills and the rent.

"Okay, I ordered the pizza it will be here in twenty minutes." Zack informed as he sat down on the couch next to Sarah across from Sam and Kris.

"Okay, I left the money on the table." Sam said. It had been five years since he and Vulcan separated. When he split up from the warriors he knew that he had to give up Vulcan's Gauntlets. He didn't want to be tempted to go out and fight crime again. He had hidden Vulcan well all throughout high school, but it was tiring work.

Sarah wasn't having much luck controlling her inner demons as well. Whisper was as much a part of her as Vulcan was to Sam. Zack would notice her twitching and muttering to herself as if she were trying to ignore someone. Whisper was always with her doing what she did best, whispering.

Zack and Kris both looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. They loved their other halves as much as they loved them, but they didn't feel like they were as connected as they were when they were Shadow Warriors.

"Are you alright Sam?" Kris asked.

"Hmm, oh yeah I'm fine." Sam reassured with a false chuckle. His false expression fell when he noticed the same looks on Sarah and Zack's faces. "Who am I kidding, do you guys miss it?"

Sam's question took them by surprise they weren't expecting him to be so bold about it. Sarah let out a heavy sigh and dropped her pencil before rubbing her temples.

"I haven't stopped hearing Whisper's voice since the moment my parents died." She whimpered. "And ever since I cased her up I haven't stopped hearing her since." Zack quickly wrapped his arms around her and she willingly rested her head against his chest. "I don't know what to do."

"Me either." Sam grunted in defeat. "I mean I want to live a normal life." He looked over at Kris with honesty in his eyes. "I want to go to college and stress out of my assignments and get a job and start a family." He reached over and collected Kris's hands in his. "I wanted that since those days of living in the sewers, but deep down I feel like I'm just lying to myself."

"You're not lying to yourself Sammy." Kris reassured squeezing his hand tighter.

"Then why do I feel like such an asshole?" Sam asked, not expecting an answer.

"Because you don't want to admit that you can't live without it." Zack said out of the blue earning a few stares from the group. "You know it's been five years since I ran at the speed of light and I don't even know if I can do it anymore."

"I haven't even touched a bow and arrow." Kris chuckled bitterly. "Maybe we've spent so long wishing for normal lives that we never thought about what we would do with our former lives. I think it takes more to get rid of our past than to just lock it up in a chest, stow it away and pretend it never happened."

"So what do we do?" Sarah asked weakly as she silently wept into Zack's shirt. The doorbell rang and Sam quickly grabbed the money and walked over to the living room door. He was greeted by the pizza man and quickly paid him off before closing the door and setting the box down on the coffee table.

"First we eat then we worry about our past." Sam said while opening the box and pulling out a fresh made slice of pizza. Everyone soon joined him and after a few minutes they were soon lost in their own little world trying to ignore the life they had once known.

(!)

Out in one of Gotham's exclusive nightclubs Mark and Carmen were on a double date with Maria and Leon dancing the night away. Thanks to Mark's employment at Warney-Tech and Jayden's ownership of the club they were able to get in avoiding the long wait in line.

"Woo!" Maria squealed as Leon swung her around. Mark and Carmen were at the bar sipping booze before the two finally finished. Everyone cheered and clapped as they shared a quick kiss.

"Those two are made for each other." Carmen giggled. Mark had to agree with that. The two then stared into each other's eyes before kissing one another. Mark ran his fingers through her hair and smiled gently at her. "Got something on your mind Mr. Kyle?"

"Just you." Mark chuckled.

Right before they could continue Leon and Maria joined them at the bar forcing the two lovers to hold off on their make out session.

"It's nice having a friend who is a playboy billionaire." Maria giggled while Leon buried his face in her neck. They would never take advantage of Jayden's good grace, but he never denied his friends fun times and sunshine. They have done as much for him as he did for them in his time of need. What was the harm in letting in the club and drink for free?

Mark slipped his finger into Carmen's hand and she immediately felt a dark energy surge through her. She looked over at Mark and saw that sad look in his eyes. Feeling her eyes on him he let out a sigh and looked over at her.

"Yes my beloved?" Mark asked.

"Are you okay?" Carmen asked. "You've been distant lately."

"A kid was kidnapped a few days ago. He was held ransom before being murdered…after his family paid off the ransom." He deadpanned. Carmen looked apologetic feeling partially responsible. Mark felt this dread and wrapped his arm around her trying to comfort her. "Hey don't give me that look. I gave that life up to be with you."

"You patrolled the area he was kidnapped though didn't you?" She muttered she didn't even know if he heard her over the loud music.

"Yeah…" He whispered.

Mark and Carmen were quickly dragged out onto the dance floor by Maria and Leon. Maria started dancing with Mark and Leon with Carmen. Mark laughed when he saw that Maria had the same look in his eyes.

"I take it you are getting the same repressed feelings as me?" Mark asked while Maria grinded on him.

"Yeah, Leon and Gordon are doing their best but it isn't good enough." Maria pouted while Mark spun her around. "Sometimes I just want to jump out and use my magic and make it all go away."

"We can't we've been out of the game so long that we would draw a lot of unwanted attention towards us." Mark explained.

"Yeah I know that whole truce thing." Maria grunted.

When the Shadow Warriors started to lay low, the Justice League had to convince the politicians and general public that the Shadow Warriors had been dealt with. They said they transferred Shadow to another prison planet and left the remaining warriors to work things out for themselves. This allowed the cops and government officials to back off.

"I miss it Mark." Maria muttered.

"Me too Maria, me too." Mark sighed.

(!)

"In other news today marks the five year anniversary of the Shadow Warriors retirement." The news reporter said. "While the reports say that the infamous assassins were arrested and are being held in a secret prison even though there was no official trial or evidence to support that theory. Others speculate that they are in hiding after being accused of crimes they did not commit. Wherever they are here's hoping they are living safe normal lives."

"Ha, you have no idea sister." Hilary laughed as she downed her third glass of champagne. She was ready for her fourth before Flynn snatched the glass from her hand.

"That's enough love." Flynn chuckled. "So how about you two, is retirement going as good for you as it is for us?" Flynn looked across the table and gave Ally and Jayden a lopsided grin.

"It's not about us Flynn it's about the kids." Jayden chuckled.

They were currently sitting in one of Jayden's high class restaurants seated next to the window overlooking Gotham. The sun had long since set and the lights from the car and buildings sparkled through the darkness. Jayden was sitting there staring out into the darkness of the night before Flynn shook him out of it.

"Jayden." Flynn said getting his attention.

"Hmm, yes what is it?" Jayden asked.

"I wanted to know if you've spoken to Jason recently."

"No, I heard he went out to Metropolis." Jayden said uncharacteristically. "Him, Arsenal, Starfire and Leonae have been trying to clean up where ever they can."

"You know I meant the other Jason." Flynn deadpanned. Jayden knew he meant Dusk he just didn't want to bring up bad memories during dinner. He downed his champagne and looked his friend in the eye.

"Actually it's Jeremy, Jeremy Shepard and no I haven't." Jayden snapped.

"Can you blame him," Hilary asked rhetorically earning a disgruntled look from Jayden. Ally placed a gentle hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him down. "You hated him for joining the JLA and you removed his Adonis from his system."

"Hey I gave it to him!" Jayden gritted through his teeth. "I wasn't about to let him take what was mine over to the JLA."

"I thought we were on good terms with them?" Flynn asked.

"Just cause we'll work with them in times of crisis doesn't mean I forgive them for all they did to us. Especially with that mind fuck orb that Megan used."

"Yeah I hear ya, still I don't know if we did the right thing by retiring. You know I'm still making improvements on my old suit." Flynn chuckled.

"Yeah so have I. Check this little number out." Jayden held up his arm and flicked his wrist back. Everyone jumped back when a black five inch needle poked through the bottom of Jayden's hand. "Pretty cool huh, a hidden blade literally hidden in my wrist."

"And why the hell would you ever need this?" Ally said loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear.

"Relax." Jayden snapped. "It's just for safety purposes. In case I don't always have a gun at the ready."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Hilary said as she lifted her ankle onto the edge of the table. Her dress raised up her thigh to the hem of her stocking, revealing her small handgun. "I go to sleep with this."

"We are always going to be afraid of a simple life, aren't we?" Flynn said with a grim look on his face.

No one said anything else and left the restaurant soon after. When Jayden and Ally got home, after picking up the kids from Aunt Barbra's house, they soon turned in for the night.

Well, not everyone.

Jayden was flipping through the news while scrolling through his iPhone, simultaneously. He was looking up known criminals who had escaped, got out on bail and had killed recently. He could feel his sanity slipping away as his inner demons clawed away at him.

Every damn day there was always something going wrong, and Jayden just had to sit there and watch.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Jayden remembered that voice clearly from five years ago, Shadow.

"It's like you said five years ago, I can't live without you, and you can't live without me." He remembered those words clearly from five years ago, and how much a fool he was for ignoring it. "I think we've both been cooped up long enough, what do you say?"

For the first time in five years, the veins in Jayden's face glowed amber.