Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, Justice League or any of the characters associated with them, all ownership and rights belongs to DC Comics.
Metropolis
Raven could only watch, trapped behind Lex Luthor's force field as Champion battled with Lex Luthor, the two had fought for several hours, leaving downtown Metropolis in ruins, the other heroes had fallen to Lex quickly with his new augmented powers, Champion delivered a powerful uppercut which launched Luthor upwards, Champion quickly capitalised by flying upwards above him and using his superhuman strength and speed, grabbed Lex Luthor and flew straight downwards, the resulting impact shook the ground as Lex Luthor was plunged into it, smoke rose from the crater Champion was thrown from it landing hard on the concrete ground holding his ribs, coughing up blood as he fell to his knees, Lex Luthor leapt out landing next to him delivering a hard kick into Champion's gut, Raven heard the sickening crack of broken ribs, Luthor slammed his foot onto Champion's throat,
"You thought you could defeat me boy? Even Superman could not! I will enjoy destroying…."
Before he could finish, Raven watched Supergirl fly straight into Lex Luthor's path, punching him with all her strength, knocking him through several buildings, she helped Champion to his feet,
"Kara….I told you to get away…We can't stop him….he's become too strong!"
Supergirl smirked as Lex Luthor walked through the street towards them, "I told you I'd stick with you until the very end! I promised it…." The two heroes shared a brief moment of agreement before leaping to action, the pair charged at Luthor as Raven's vision became darkened.
Titan TowerRaven awoke in her bed, disturbed by the dream she had received though she had never seen a hero named Champion. As she got to her feet, she felt a presence behind her, as she spun around to cast a spell she was met by Dr Fate's golden mask,
"My apologies child….my intention was not to startle you." Raven glared at him, Fate continued, "You received a vision did you not? I see it in your eyes, something has troubled you…." Raven frowned,
"You know too much….it was nothing just a weird dream." Raven's voice was stern as Dr Fate paced the room, even behind his mask Raven could sense his doubt and almost fear,
"Raven….it is time that we took a walk together…we must speak."
EarthUN and Cadmus Laboratory
Amanda Waller paced the laboratory as various scientists worked at consoles around a large tank,
"What's our status Doctor Lyon? Is it ready for field testing?" A young doctor raised her head from a large pile of notes, her eyes widened by Waller's sudden attention,
"I…uh….we haven't had him outside the lab yet ma'am…" Waller scowled at Lyon, "It…Doctor, not him….and you will release him regardless. We have to get him inside the Justice League, we need a spy among them after Galatea's failure…" Doctor Lyon sighed "Miss Waller, with all due respect, I do not believe…." Waller simply glared at the young doctor,
"I have no time to listen to your prattling doctor! Release the subject, now!"
Jump CityDowntown
The Teen Titans sat at their favourite pizza parlour alongside Supergirl and Batgirl, the topic of conversation shifted from television to comparing enemies, to the pairs presence in Jump City, it was Supergirl who spoke first,
"We've been sent by the Justice League. We think their could be a potential Cadmus facility being used to create some kind of weapon to use against us." Cyborg shifted uncomfortably,
"They ain't makin' no weapons in our city….we'd know by now!" Beast Boy continued to devour pizza whilst the others conversed, Batgirl activated her headset,
"Batman? He's…headed here?" she paused for a moment and looked around the Titans, then continued, "Yeah….I think we can handle it. Batgirl out…." The other Titans waited as Batgirl took another pause,
"Guys…we might have a…small problem…Bane is here…apparently on some sort of upgraded Venom…Batman said that Bane just beat Superman, the League is coming here but it'll take them a while, so now I get to ask the stupid question…" Before she could finish Robin managed to cut in,
"No need, the Titans will take care of him! If Batman can beat him I'm sure we can!" Beast Boy devoured the last piece of pizza and belched loudly, slumping back in in his chair,
"Anyone for dessert?" Beast Boy's offer was interrupted by a loud explosion as a car was thrown into the busy street, civilians scattered as the Titans leapt to action.
UN/Cadmus HQAmanda Waller and Doctor Lyon stood in General Tyler's office, watching the live feed from one of their satellites above Jump City, they watched as the Teen Titans fought with Bane, none of their attacks seeming to harm his monstrous form. General Tyler paced whilst staring at the screen,
"Miss Waller…how soon can your new project be in Jump City?" Waller turned her attention to the General,
"It can be deployed at any moment, all we need is your authorisation…sir." Tyler looked back at the screen, watching Bane advance, knocking the Titans aside like flies, he nodded slowly,
"Deploy the weapon….time for a field test…Unlock restraints to level 2, should be enough to take down Bane."
Jump City
Supergirl once again flew at Bane as Cyborg was thrown past her, she delivered several hard punches, Bane merely laughed as he swung his arm around, Supergirl braced herself, suddenly hearing a loud crash, she looked up only to find a new figure in front of her, the other Titans stared as the new fighter clad in black armour and full face mask, moved with superhuman speed to attack again, Bane swung his fist once again putting his full strength behind a punch, the ground shook and cracked under the impact of fists, the shockwave knocked down most of the Titans, Supergirl began flying towards the two just as Bane was thrown at a nearby gas station impacting with the pumps and causing a colossal explosion, Bane's attacker stepped over the debris and ripped off Bane's venom tank and used his strength to crush it. The Titans watched in awe, their attention pulled away as Superman flew down to meet them,
"Good job, I was concerned Bane might have been a stretch for you guys…" Supergirl stepped forward and pointed at the one who had defeated Bane,
"Superman….Bane was going to completely annihilate me….But that guy saved me." Superman looked at him carefully,
"I've never seen him before….I'll talk to him." As he walked over he overheard the unknown hero speak into a radio,
"The target has been incapacitated…what is the next objective?" Superman immediately spotted the Cadmus badge, as well as a mind control headband, The Man of Steel cautiously approached,
"I understand you saved Supergirl and the Titans….you have my thanks, might I ask your name, I'm Superman…." he extended his hand to greet the new hero, Superman waited several moments before the man standing in front of him grabbed the Man of Steel's arm and threw him into a nearby building.
UN/Cadmus HQ
Amanda Waller, General Tyler and Doctor Lyon watched in horror as their experiment attacked Superman, the General roared orders into the intercom, "Get the subject under control now! Doctor Lyon ran to the laboratory as she and the other scientists attempted to get the mind control back under their control.Jump City
Superman dodged another attack, the attacker was strong but the Man of Steel had experience, and now the rest of the Titans joined the assault, The Martian Manhunter J'onn J'onzz had joined the battle and was attempting to access the enemies mind,
"Superman! You must remove the head band! I cannot access his mind." Raven emerged from a portal behind their attacker,
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Black energy surrounded him, the sounds of groaning were heard as Superman flew towards the now helpless attacker, as he became nearer he felt an armoured hand around his throat, then a hard impact, Superman fell to the ground, the attacker broke free of Raven's spell, unleashing a blast of telekinetic energy, knocking the remaining Titans to the ground, a sword manifested in his hand, Superman immediately recognised it to be made of Kryptonite, he attempted to back away, the man approached, holding the blade above the Man of Steel ready to deliver the killing blow, Supergirl jumped to her feet and blasted the blade from his hands with her heat vision, Superman capitalised by delivering a powerful uppercut, the man was knocked into the air, Supergirl flew from her position and threw a powerful punch, shattering the mind control headband and forcing the attacker to the ground, leaving an impact crater and most of his face mask and armour destroyed, he lay still as the Titans, Superman and J'onn surrounded him, Supergirl leant over him, J'onn put his hand over him, scanning his mind, Supergirl looked over him,
"He's just a kid….no older than us…how can he have such power?" J'onn's eyes widened, "This boy…is the result of a Cadmus experiment. They took him when he was a child, to exploit his powers. This boy knows nothing other than what they tell him to do….without that headband, I doubt he knows what's going on." Superman turned to Robin and the Titans,
"I'd like to ask if we can use your tower for now….our teleporter system is down." The Titans all agreed instantly, Superman picked up the boy and flew towards Titan Tower, the others made their way back. Superman, Supergirl and J'onn arrived back first, the others arrived close behind, they took the boy to the medical bay, only to find Batman waiting,
"I got your transmission as I headed back to Gotham…Your bleeding…what happened?" Superman wiped the blood from his mouth, Raven glanced out of the window, her eyes immediately widened,
"Uh…we have company…" Batman looked out of the window,
"Cadmus…they want their toy back….and they brought heavy backup…Grodd is with them, along with Deathstroke, Bizarro and….it cant be…" Supergirl joined the others at the window, looking down and meeting eyes with Galatea, her shock was interrupted by their captive boy,
"She's come…don't…let her take me….back…" Supergirl looked down to see him holding her hand, his silver eyes staring up at her pleadingly, she sat on the chair next to the bed he was in, she smirked,
"So we got a plan? Or do we just sit here until Cadmus decides to take their shot?" Superman smiled,
"J'onn, Batman and myself will take care of the three big guns, the Titans can take Galatea, Kara I want you to stay with the kid, he responds to you…." Before she could complain the Titans and the Leaguers were gone to action. Supergirl slumped in her seat sighing,
"Great….stuck with guard duty…" Her complaints were interrupted by the sudden smash from above, Lex Luthor descended in his battle suit,
"They leave a child to defend him? Pathetic….Hand over the experiment or die girl…your choice." Supergirl got to her feet,
"You must be stupid if you think I'm letting you walk out of here with him…so step up baldy!" she put her full strength behind a punch, causing Luthor to be thrown backwards, through the nearby window and using his suits rocket boots, to hover outside, Supergirl saw several missiles fired from Luthor's suit, they stopped inches from her and were flung back at Luthor, he easily deflected them with his shields,
"Impossible….the boy cannot think for himself…Champion respond to my commands!" Champion stood uneasily between Supergirl and Luthor,
"No…I wont…let you…hurt her.." Luthor pressed a button on his suit, Champion fell to his knees, screaming in pain,
"Failsafe…I knew I couldn't trust that idiot Waller and her team of pathetic scientists." Supergirl launched herself through the window at Luthor, quickly intercepted by Galatea and knocked to the ground below, she looked up in time to see Bizarro, Deathstroke, Grodd, Galatea and Luthor dragging Champion through a portal.
UN/Cadmus HQ
Luthor threw the weakened Champion into a cell, activating a force field around it, Luthor stood, towering over him,
"You thought you could stand up to me and win? I created you…and I can and will destroy you!" Champion swung his fist towards Luthor, impacting hard against his battle suit and forcing him backwards into the force field, electricity overloaded Luthor's suit, as he collapsed the force field deactivated, Champion quickly ran from his cell, fighting through waves of soldiers and villains, Grodd and Bizarro stood between Champion and the exit, Grodd laughed,
"You have indeed surpassed all expectations….but you will go no further, Bizarro attack!" Bizarro flew towards Champion, the two impacted hard against each other, Bizarro threw several strong punches, finally delivering a swift hard kick to Champions gut knocking him through several walls, Champion heard Gorilla Grodd's voice in his mind as he dragged himself along the ground, he felt the warm feeling of blood trickle down his face, he held his side protectively as he coughed up blood,
"Pathetic…you can barely control your powers and you think you can stand against us? Perhaps you were too ambitious a project…" Champion dragged himself to his feet, wiping blood away from his mouth, feeling an uncontrollable rage building, he felt his strength growing, the walls cracked, steel creaked as his rage built, Champion finally launched himself forward towards Bizarro grabbing him by the throat and immediately flying him straight through the facility and hard rock until he broke through into the air then sending him plummeting to the surface, Bizarro launched himself back into the air, the two continued to fight through the sky, launching each other miles away with their powerful punches, Bizarro was finally knocked down from the sky, plummeting once more to the ground at high speed, as he hit the ground the force of impact caused the ground to crack open, creating a massive crater and a cloud of dust to rise.
Justice League Justice League Watchtower
Supergirl sat in the briefing room with Superman and Batman, the Dark Knight looked over data taken from scans of the Champion as Superman spoke to Supergirl,
"Your sure? He wasn't acting under Luthor's commands?" Kara sighed,
"Superman…he stepped up to defend me, I don't know why…but he did, so I believe that he isn't under their control…" Batman grumbled,
"Cadmus and Luthor have always wanted to take us down….Galatea failed and Doomsday failed…Luthor himself has failed, and so has Cadmus itself….now they've taken things to another level. I don't like it…." J'onn J'onzz entered the briefing room,
"We found him…he's fighting Bizarro in Jump City." Superman looked at Supergirl,
"Kara…assemble the Titans…We'll help them bring him in…"
Jump City
Bizarro was knocked to the ground, Champion stood above him, his eyes glowed red, he ignored the blood trickling from his mouth and forehead as he drove his fist into Bizarro's face, using his super speed he kept punching, his arms becoming blurs, he ceased after several moments, staring down at Bizarro who was still attempting to rise, Champion quickly grabbed Bizarro by the throat lifting him above the ground, holding Bizarro with ease tightening his grip, Bizarro choked and gagged for air, Champion raised his fist to deliver a final punch, as he swung Superman intercepted his fist,
"The fights over kid…let it go…" Champion dropped Bizarro on the ground turning to face Superman,
"You…you're the one…target…" Champion clutched his head as a searing pain rushed through his head, he heard Luthor's voice echoing through his mind,
"Destroy…Superman….the Justice League…destroy all the 'Heroes'…become Earth's saviour!" Champion roared in rage finally giving in to Luthor's commands he lunged towards the Man of Steel.
Superman blocked and dodged Champions ferocious attacks, the two became locked in a battle of strength, Champion's powers were still drained from the battle with Bizarro yet he felt uncontrollable rage towards Superman, the Man of Steel quickly capitalised by breaking the grapple and delivering several hard gut punches and a fully powered uppercut, the impact sound echoed through the streets, Champion was flung through the air, landing hard on the concrete, as he skidded across the ground he stopped suddenly, coughing up blood and cradling his ribs, Superman stood above him, using his X-Ray vision to see into the Champion's brain, he saw several mind control implants damaged by his attacks. Superman pressed his communicator,
"Justice League Watchtower I need you to teleport myself and one other to you, and inform Batman and Supergirl to meet me in the Medical Bay." Champion saw a flash of blue light, he saw only the Martian Manhunter's ghostly hand before he lost consciousness.
Chapter 2
24 Hours Later
Justice League Justice League Watchtower
Batman paced the Medical Bay of the Watchtower, stopping occasionally to look at the computer screen analysing Champion, then turning to Superman,
"You really think this is a good idea? If Luthor can track him…then he may be led here…" J'onn J'onnz interrupted
"Quite impossible, after Superman brought the boy here we removed the control implants that were in his brain, this eliminates the possibility of Luthor following him to this location. Batman glowered at the Martian Manhunter as he monitored the security systems in place around Champion,
"He's still a Cadmus experiment, who knows what propaganda he's been force fed to turn him against us. We need to watch him carefully…"
Cadmus HQ
Lex Luthor stood in the centre of the badly damaged containment cell which had formally housed Champion, his battle armour was dented and scratched from the brief encounter with Champion, the facility itself had taken heavy damage as a result of Champion's battle with Bizarro. As Luthor examined the containment cell he came across Champion's blood on the floor, Lex quickly took a sample of the blood and stored it within his armour for later analysis. Amanda Waller approached, the concern on her face already telling Luthor that they had failed to capture Champion,
"Mr Luthor…I…" Lex raised his hand to silence her,
"I already know Waller…your people failed to find him and the Justice League no doubt now have their hands on him. It's not a total loss we still have his blood and the genetic makeup for his powers, we can make another more powerful version, to surpass him at every turn. You see Miss Waller there is always another way…." Waller frowned at Lex, though she ignored the maniacal smile upon his face,
"Lex, how do you know you can control another Champion? Surely this one is evidence enough that we cannot keep the subjects under control!" Luthor simply laughed,
"This one will be very different Ms Waller, have faith." Lex Luthor smirked and walked away, leaving a confused and worried Amanda Waller."
Six Months Later
Justice League Watchtower
It had been six months since Champion had been rescued from Lex Luthor's control, he had become an official member of the Justice League though he spent most of his time patrolling with Supergirl and the Titans, Superman, Supergirl and Batman sat in the conference room of the Watchtower, Batman spoke first,
"It's been six months Clark, Luthor is completely off the grid, so is Cadmus, they haven't even attempted to regain their lost project and it doesn't strike you as suspicious in the slightest? For all we know Champion is a ticking time bomb, waiting to turn on us!" Supergirl had become close to Champion since his arrival, he had defended her many times against the various threats the League and Titans faced she cut in before Superman had a chance to speak, "I don't think he's working for Luthor! He's defended Jump City time and time again, and he's been a good friend to the Titans….and to me." Superman put his hand on her shoulder gently squeezing to reassure her, "Bruce, I understand your concern, but Kara's right…Champion has defended Jump City, the Titans vouch for him, most of the League will vouch for him, maybe its time we paid more attention to the good he's doing rather than waiting for him to slip up, what do you say?" Batman grumbled and paced the room for several moments before turning back to the pair, "Then we take him on an assignment, see how he copes under pressure, Flash said he had found evidence of a new Cadmus base hidden in the Himalayan mountains, send him with me to investigate." Batman was not asking, he simply walked out of the room towards the hangar bay, Supergirl followed beside him,
"I'm coming too! He and I always do missions together…" Batman turned to face her, he saw the determination on her face,
"Fine…I'll need another meta-human in case he goes rogue." The Dark Knight continued walking to the hangar, upon arrival he boarded the Javelin transport and took it down to Earth, when the transport was finished with re-entry Batman immediately contacted Champion, his tone emotionless and commanding,
"Champion! This is Batman, meet us in the Himalayas as soon as you can. There's an assignment your required for." Supergirl shook her head and simply sighed as the Javelin arrived at the secret compound in the mountains, Champion arrived several minutes later, landing gracefully next to Supergirl, he looked to Batman awaiting his orders, the Dark Knight simply nodded towards the compound and grappled up to a nearby ventilation shaft, he then turned to Champion and Supergirl,
"Circle around…I'll open the rear access hatch to let you in. Quickly!" Batman disappeared into the vent, Supergirl and Champion flew over the top of the mountain to the access hatch, as they hid in the rocks above it Champion could no longer remain silent,
"Batman doesn't need me here does he? This facility is abandoned…there are no guards, most of the tech has been removed as well." Kara took his hand,
"Batman just….he doesn't trust easily ok? Don't worry about it, remember, the Titans are your friends, and well…there's us…" her cheeks reddened slightly as Champion pulled her into his arms, their eyes met, faces moving ever closer, just as their lips met they were torn apart by the hissing of the access hatch being opened, the two hovered in front of it as they were met with Batman's disapproving glare,
"Champion…I found something you'll be interested in, follow me…" Batman leapt back down into the facility as Champion and Supergirl followed closely behind. Batman lead them to the main laboratory, four guards lay unconscious on the floor, Batman stepped over them,
"They were clearing out the last of the equipment, they knew we were coming. But I've found Luthor's plan…he's building some sort of device to pull the moon closer to Earth, he's determined that whoever survives the initial destruction, he can take his army of villains and make the population serve him. What concerns me is that he isn't at all worried about Superman or the League stopping him…he's developed counter-measures against most of the League, even you Champion, he's created something worse. It will take me a few minutes to break his encryption, but its vital we get this information back to the League…we just have to…" Batman was cut off by heavy footsteps coming from the hallway, the blast doors were ripped from the wall, there stood what appeared to be a hulking mass of a man, completely adorned in thick armour, glowing red eyes were all that could be seen under the mass of metal, his voice was dark, sending a chill down Supergirl and Champion's spine, "So, the infamous Batman, Supergirl and….my predecessor. This would appear to be my lucky day, two of my masters most hated enemies in one day, plus a piece of bonus bait to bring in Superman. Almost too easy." Champion flew forward towards the armoured man
"Batman, Supergirl…get out of here. I'll handle this! Warn the League!" Batman quickly finished downloading all the information from the Cadmus computer as Champion collided with his opponent, the sound of their impact echoed through the deserted halls of the facility, Champion knocked him outside onto the icy peaks, Supergirl and Batman both escaped back to the Javelin as Champion continued the battle charging at his opponent using his super speed, colliding with what felt like a wall as he felt an armoured hand crushing his throat, he suddenly felt his powers being weakened, Champion was thrown to the ground, he felt the cold snow as he slipped in and out of consciousness, the world around him became blurry, the last thing Champion saw was his opponents boot above his face,
"I struggle to believe Luthor finds you to be a threat…you are nothing as to me!" Champion was knocked unconscious as his opponent brought his boot down with tremendous force, the mountain itself shook, an avalanche began to form atop the mountain, Supergirl could only watch as the armoured man, grabbed Champion and disappeared through a portal.
"We have to help him! We cant let that thing take him back to Luthor!" Batman locked the doors of the Javelin, putting his hand on Supergirl's shoulder,
"We have evidence to get the entire League involved now. We have to get back to the watchtower and show this data to Superman! Then we can track down Champion."