Part 4: Who can you trust?

Nikola the Einstein: Glad you liked it. Goddard usually is with him, but this was a special, very private meeting, so he stayed in his Cadmus lab (he has another private lab elsewhere). As for Dipper and Constantine, I imagine that Dipper went out for drinks once with him and swore to never do it again after all the trouble John caused him (Constantine is a great character, but he is still a con-man and an asshole). It would be funny to see who's the bigger con-man, actually: Constantine or Grunkle Stan?

As for Mabel, she has mellowed a bit with age, as anyone should growing up, but she's still quirky because she wouldn't be Mabel otherwise. She still is very fun loving, but has to be responsible now that she has twins of her own and-OHHHHH! I said nothing!

1.) Umm…well, I mean experimentation would hopefully have never been on the table in the first place. Batman's paranoid, certainly, but he's not a monster. He'd never do anything to risk hurting a little kid.

2.) That was the idea.

3.) Not quite. Sorry, but what HIM did was much worse than that.

4.) I will say, I find the premise of that idea hilarious. Grim probably hates superheroes because they keep coming back to life and messing up his job. I can imagine Clockwork being annoyed with the Speedforce because it keeps messing with and breaking time.

5.) That's pretty close to the truth actually.

Guest: Sadly, that's not likely. Bill is a pretty big character and I think he'd be more of a fit for another Grim Tales story for now.

AMTT94: Dexter did hack the government and find the files on Cadmus, but those were on old Cadmus, back before it got shut down and later brought back with Kim Possible in charge. This new Cadmus's information was kept separate from the old one as no one wanted a repeat of the Ultimen or more Supergirl clones. As for why Cadmus hasn't yet told the Justice League about Mandy, the League didn't even know that this new Cadmus existed and this new threat of the Dark Heart for now seems to have no connection to the Underworld or the Domain of Death, so there was never any reason why Mandy would be brought up.

Don't worry, Chase Young will appear in due time, along with a few other familiar (and possibly not familiar) faces.

nightmaster000: Glad you liked it, and I also hope I can pull off the J'onn/Mimi relationship well. The Martian Manhunter I feel is the heart of the JL in a way and Mimi is what connects PPGD and Grim Tales together, so I figured having the two of them bond was only natural. And yes I do have a plan for some of the Titans members to show up or at least make cameos (you can already probably guess one of them).

I'm trying to think if Batman ever came up with a plan against a kid. He's done it to his friends and teammates but never a member of the Teen Titans or Young Justice and it's hard to imagine Tim and especially Dick doing it for him. Not that Batman's contingency plans are always the best mind you. In the comics, his original plan to take down Superman was using this new Kryptonite he created that turned Superman's skin transparent, causing him to absorb even more solar energy and become even MORE powerful, to the point he couldn't control his power. Not the best thing to use on someone who may have turned evil or is under mind control.

1.) Hopefully.

2.) I'm definitely thinking of a certain mystic to bring in later.

3.) Not quite. Sorry.

4.) Correct.

5.) Right.

Major144: Thank you. I'm really glad you liked it.

DPSS: Let's just say that they did something worth doing with their lives.

Guest: Yeah, Dee Dee sees Mimi as her step-niece. So she does try to keep as much of an eye on her and Dexter as she can. Unfortunately, I've never played Undertale, so I have no idea who Gaster is. Sorry.

That guy: Thank you for your very kind words. Funny enough, I do have a few ideas for how a sequel story to this one could go, but given that this is going to be a longer story, that sequel is a long ways off, if I ever even do it. Though Batman Beyond is of course something I've thought about it regards to both that story and this one.

Guest: I admit, I've never thought of the Professor creating Chi. I've thought of Blossom accidentally creating her in a lab (same with Mimi) but not the Professor, so I'll have to give it some thought.

Chapter start

With an undignified snort, Blossom accidentally woke herself up. Her eyes squinted uncomfortably against the morning sun as it came rolling in through the kitchen windows.

"I must have dozed off." She remarked to herself with a yawn as she looked at the microwave clock, which read 8:48 AM. "Jeez. I really dozed off." She said as she tiredly rubbed her face.

As her brain rebooted itself for the day, Blossom then realized with a quick jolt of panic that Mimi and J'onn were nowhere to be seen. But thankfully, as she bolted up from her chair, her fears were cast aside just as quickly as they'd come, as the Powerpuff heard familiar voices coming from the other room.

"…-personally I've never seen the point in it, myself." Blossom recognized as the Martian Manhunter's voice as she walked towards the doorway of the living room. There she found both him and her daughter sitting cross-legged on the floor by the small wooden coffee table, pigging out on the now nearly empty package of Chocos. Mimi in particular, Blossom noticed, had a good deal of messy chocolate crumbs all over her cheeks. "I see nothing wrong with double-stuffed, of course," J'onn continued saying to Mimi as he still held one of the cookies in his hand. "But I'd honestly rather just have two cookies than one slightly bigger one."

Mimi nodded her head, seeming to agree with what the hero was saying. But she then held up her finger, signaling for him to wait as she pulled out two more Chocos. With J'onn watching in interest, Mimi pulled the tops off both sandwich cookies and smooshed the cream-fillings together.

"…I suppose that's one way to go about it." J'onn admitted.

Mimi shook her head and motioned for him to keep watching. She then removed the cookies away from both sides and rolled the cream center up into a ball before popping it happily into her mouth.

J'onn blinked at the action but couldn't help but to let a chuckle break through his lips. "Well…the cream is my favorite part, too. Though I most certainly hope you'd never let the actual cookie go to waste. That's a near unforgivable crime in my books, you know." He said playfully as picked up one of the now bare tops, getting Mimi to act like she was giving him a small dirty look for stealing it.

Blossom did her best to suppress a laugh over how adorable the scene was as she leaned with her shoulder against the doorframe. "The worst part is this isn't even the unhealthiest breakfast you've snuck for yourself under my nose." She commented aloud, announcing her presence to the room and quickly getting the two to turn towards her.

Mimi was quick to use her pajamas to wipe the crumbs off her mouth before getting up and running over to her. "Momma!"

Blossom scooped her child up in her arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Good morning to you too, monkey." She said before getting a whiff of Mimi's breath. "Ugh. Mimi, you'd didn't brush your teeth at all last night, did you?"

Mimi shut her mouth tightly and held her breath in, like that would take back what her mother already smelled.

Setting her back down, Blossom said "Mimi, go and brush your teeth. Then I'm going to make you some eggs, or at least something that won't have you bouncing off the walls before noon."

After a bit of visible pouting, Mimi did what she was told and ran off towards the bathroom.

"And I will be checking this time!" Blossom called out after her, giving her daughter plenty of fair warning.

J'onn rose up from where he'd been sitting. "My apologies, Blossom." He bowed his head respectfully. "I was feeling quite drained of energy when the night finally ended and after she shared the Chocos you'd given her with me she pointed out there were more in the cabinet. I, in my shame, didn't realize she probably shouldn't be having any this early until they were almost gone." He rubbed the back off his head awkwardly.

"Ah, it's fine." Blossom shrugged it off. "Mimi once devoured the entire birthday cake Jeff made for her before Dexter and I even got up. Now she can't even look at frosting without looking like she's about to barf." Blossom laughed a little at the memory of it all before staring off fondly down the hall. "Besides…this is the most rested I've seen her in a long time." She looked back at him. "I…I don't know how to thank you enough, J'onn."

"You are quite welcome and I was happy to help how a could." J'onn told her before his expression became a little more dour. "Unfortunately, what I could do was rather limited. Mimi's telepathic powers are very strong, far stronger than I've seen in even any Martian child her age. It took a great deal out of me to keep them suppressed and it's likely they'll only get stronger with age. Tonight was manageable but being able to do this continuously for her is…unlikely. …I'm sorry."

Blossom had to admit, the Martian's words did kill a lot of the hope for her daughter that'd been building for most of the night, but she still did her best to put on a strong face. "Yeah…I kind of figured it was going to end up being something like that." She said to him, able to tell with just a look that J'onn indeed felt almost as bad about this as she did. "But still, even a small break is better than none, so don't go beating yourself up when you did in fact help her."

Blossom gave him a small, painless punch to the arm and a warm smile, to which J'onn did his best to give in return.

Taking a look at the hands on the living room's mounted clock, Blossom said "Hey, I'm sorry to impose on you any more, J'onn, but can you keep watching Mimi while I change? At least until when Jeff gets here in a couple minutes?"

"It is no imposition. …So long as I can have the rest of the Chocos pack…" J'onn said charmingly, unable to resist himself even a glance at the remaining cookies.

"All yours." Blossom waved her hand at the package with a laugh, at that moment her super-hearing picking up the sounds of a door opening and the soft patter of tiny feet on carpet, letting her know that Mimi had just come out of the bathroom. As the hyperactive girl ran back into the room, ready to play more with J'onn, Blossom stopped her with her hand. "Ah, ah, ah. Breathe." Blossom ordered her, getting down on a knee to be more on her level.

With an almost roll of her eyes, Mimi exhaled at her mother's face.

"That's better." Blossom nodded, picking up the strong smell of bubblegum toothpaste.

Standing back up to leave, all three were give a sudden momentary attack of panic as a show of light filled a corner of the room, only to allay those fears when the light died out and Dexter's form rematerialized from it.

"Morning, sweetie." Blossom greeted him as she felt Mimi's hand relax around hers, the child having immediately darted to her when the unfamiliar light had started. "You're just getting back?"

"Bit of a long night." Dexter answered back simply before noticing J'onn. "I take it it was the same for you?"

"Yes, though thankfully not without at least some results to show for it." J'onn replied to him. "If you do not mind me asking, what were you doing out so late at night after I arrived?"

"Zeta-beam tests. Figured it'd be a handy escape tool in case of emergencies." Dexter lied straight through his teeth, the slight robotic echo in his voice helping to cover up any apparent flaws or quivers in his speech. "And you were right, Blossom, the problem was the cooling unit." Dexter stalled further as his eyes completed their full body scan of the three, something what went unnoticed by them all, save for Blossom, whose own eyes could practically see electromagnetic waves as they passed over her. While this was greatly concerning, she didn't say anything, as there's no way her husband would have thought she wouldn't notice and thus there had to be a reason behind it.

Unaware of it himself, J'onn said "Well, since you are here now, Dexter, I suppose you will wish to hear how the night went with Mimi."

"In a minute." Dexter told him, his scans thankfully not picking up any anomalies in their bodies, though with his limited knowledge of Martian anatomy he was to remain cautious. "I require a change of clothes too, as unfortunately not all of my sweat glands are cybernetic and one's nerves certainly take an uptick when they accidentally Zeta-beam themselves up three miles above the Atlantic Ocean. I and my wife will be back shortly."

Casually holding Blossom by the waist, like any loving couple would, Dexter lead his wife towards their bedroom with him as inconspicuously as he could make it.

"I have something I need to tell you." Dexter whispered out of the corner of his mouth to her, letting her know that she was making the right choice by playing along with him on this.

…Earth's orbit: JLU Watchtower…

A few years ago, Superman got dragged into battle just outside of the moon's orbit with a group of three very frog-like alien bikers that the bounty hunter Lobo had ticked off. That was actually when he'd first met Jenny and why he'd been almost immediate to second Shayera's nomination of her into the League.

During the fight, Superman's spacesuit was basically shredded and had to continue the rest of it while holding his breath. That battle lasted for over two hours because he and Jenny had to deal with Lobo afterwards and during that entire time he realized he never once felt any strain from his lungs. It was after that day and much testing later that Superman realized just how much he'd expanded his lung capacity over the years (thank you, artic super-breath) and that with enough prior warning, he could practically survive for over a week in space before he'd need oxygen again. Possibly longer if he didn't encounter any heavy space traffic or supervillains.

And yet, somehow even with all of that, the revelations in what he was seeing now and the weight of it all made it feel like he couldn't get enough air.

"The implications of this are…deeply disturbing." Superman remarked to the other two, turning his head from the projector as he just needed a moment to take it all in.

"You're telling me." Flash said, patting the big guy on the back, having a good idea exactly what thoughts were going through his teammate's head right now.

Trying to recompose himself, Superman turned to Batman. "Guess this explains why you had me scan the room again after you had already run your own. Even your cave might be compromised now." He said to him, in a rare moment of his grimness matching the Dark Knights own. "You sure this information can be trusted? New or not, it's still Cadmus."

"I'm still running my own private investigation." Batman assured him. "I don't trust them either but so far all the information Director Possible and her scientists have given us is lining up with what I have so far. Since they're going to be studying Scarecrow to find out if he's been infected, I'll do what I can to keep watch over the situation. Though I do believe we should take a look Brimstone's core for ourselves and see if we make the same findings."

Superman nodded in agreement at his friend's suggestion for cautious belief in what they've been told. Still, if this new Dark Heart is real…and knowing the League's luck, it probably is…

"So, this is all that know the full details on this…infection?" Superman asked. "The three of us, the three at Cadmus, and Dexter?"

"I think by now it's safe to assume that he's told his wife about all this, given how loyal he seems to be to her." Batman said, making an educated guess. "She's smart enough to be unlikely to share this information with anyone else but I can't say that for sure. From what I've heard, the bond between her and her sisters is notoriously strong."

"Guess we'll have to deal with that when it comes up." Superman said, almost with a grunt before pinching the space between his eyes tiredly. "This is just like with the White Martians all over again. I hate the idea that we might not be able to trust the rest of the team."

"We'll beat this, Clark." Batman said, trying to reassure him.

"I hope you're right. But what I don't understand is, with all the problems the Justice League and the government has had in the past over trust, why were the three of you brought in on this? Even you admitted I'd be the first person you'd expect to be a target for infection." Superman pointed out.

"Yeah, it's just such a crazy thing, right?" Flash said. "But apparently, as in according to the Director, I-"

"I was brought in because Waller vouched for me, much to my shock too." Batman interrupted him, deliberately changing his tone to sound like it was that of impatience and not of trying to keep Flash quiet. "Dexter's cybernetics are probably the best maintained in the world, so he'd detect any infection. And since I didn't know what I was walking into after getting the call, I brought Flash in with me as insurance in case I needed to get out fast. Very fast. Since this was before I knew about the Dark Heart infection, I had no choice but to bring Flash all the way into this after everything he heard."

"I see." Superman said with a nod, seeming to buy it, but Batman knew his friend's reporter's instincts well enough to know that if he and Flash slipped up even a little, Clark would easily see through the lie.

"We've secured this room as best we can, but the rest of the Watchtower could still be compromised." Batman said to Superman. "How fast do you think you could run your x-ray vision over the entire satellite?"

"Doesn't matter how fast as long as it's done." Superman said before all that was left of him was his momentary after-image as he flew off towards the hanger doors on the other side of the Watchtower. Seconds later and the other two heroes could see their teammate outside the window, his eyes with a small white glow as they searched over every inch of the satellite's exterior.

"You can talk now." Batman said to Flash. "Even he can't hear us through a vacuum."

Flash shot him a look. "Why did you lie to him like that? You already told him everything else we know about the Dark Heart tech. Why not tell him that I can't be infected?"

"It's precisely because you can't be infected that I couldn't risk telling Clark. Not until I'm absolutely sure the Dark Heart hasn't already gotten to him." Batman explained. "The less people who do know, the greater chance we'll have of finding out if anyone is compromised if and when something does happen to you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Flash, look at the records of the incident." Batman gestured at the flash drive inserted in the projector. "This new Dark Heart technology, whatever it is, it's shown signs of intelligence. When it took over Private Bean, it didn't just attack the Cadmus workers at random, it made sure to destroy the prototype copies they made of Diana's lasso. It went out of its way to destroy one of the few things it discovered could expose it and if whatever hive mind that's controlling the cells finds out that you can't be infected by it, then it has no reason to let you stay alive. That makes you a target."

"But if just the prototype lassos could expose the cells, doesn't that make Diana a target too?" Flash pointed out.

Batman was quiet for a moment. "I have…considered that possibility, yes." He admitted hesitantly.

"Well then we at least need to warn her!" Flash exclaimed, quickly ejecting the flash drive out and ready to run with it. "If she could be attacked at any moment then we have to let her know what she's up against!"

"Flash!" Batman yelled strongly before the speedster could bolt away. "We can't tell her or anyone else until we've got a better handle on what we're dealing with! The incident at Cadmus happened months ago! She could already be infected and not know!"

"But what if she's not?!" Flash shot back, jabbing his finger at the bat-symbol on his teammate's chest. "What if she and the rest of the team haven't been infected with the Dark Heart cells yet? By keeping this information from them, information that the hive mind might already know we have because some of its cells were already exposed by Cadmus, our friends won't know that there's this thing about there that's after them. We're practically guaranteeing that they'll be infected at some point!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Batman snapped at him, finally hitting his breaking point after having it all build up inside him since leaving Cadmus. "Diana and Clark are my friends and it took an incredible amount of self-convincing to justify to myself even bringing him in. There is no one I'd rather have at my back than the League after all we've been through. …But if we screw this up…if we make the wrong move and you get killed or I get infected…what is there to stop the entire Justice League from being taken over too? All our teammates brought down because we shared too much with the wrong person or jumped too early without knowing some critical piece of information."

Flash's mouth opened to respond but soon closed itself. His pointed finger rejoined the rest of his curled fist as he pulled his arm back, his body and mind struggling with and hating the fact that he really couldn't argue with the man's point. "Bruce…I didn't mean to imply that you didn't care or were just being stubborn…" He said apologetically, looking slightly away as he spoke.

"…Wally," Batman spoke up, placing his gloved hand on his teammate's shoulder and regaining his attention. "For what it's worth, I am glad that I can trust you."

Flash gave the Dark Knight a funny look before cracking a smile. "Jeez…Batman's handing out compliments? This really is a dire situation." He quipped.

"But be careful how much you trust me." Batman then added. "I'm still human and could be compromised at any moment. So be sure not to keep your back to me unless you're absolutely certain I'm not a threat to you."

"And there's the dour pragmatism we've all come to know and love from you. World didn't feel right there for a second." Flash chuckled.

Batman was tempted to smirk but decided not to give Flash the satisfaction quite yet. "Go on home to Central City. It'll be suspicious if we start acting too much outside our usual activities. I'll let you know if Clark and I learn anything new."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm starving for some Big Belly Burger." Flash said as his final words before he was gone like his namesake and heading for the teleporters.

As his cape flapped before him in the wind created by the speedster's run, Batman looked out the Watchtower window, still seeing Superman scanning another of the satellite's many outer sections. He'd known Clark a long time and studied him longer than he felt willing to admit. He knew he hadn't heard any of the conversation just now, but still Batman couldn't help but feel a little paranoid.

"For all our sakes, Flash, let's hope that I am just being needlessly stubborn."

Blossom had finished getting dressed over five minutes ago. But still, she sat in still silence upon her and her husband's shared bed.

"Are you alright?" Dexter asked gently as he turned off the hologram emitting from his arm.

Blossom rubbed her head tiredly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just…just a lot to take in, that's all." She said, waiting a moment before speaking again. "So my sisters…?"

"Yeah."

"And the Professor."

"Mm hm."

"And even myself and Mimi could be infected without even knowing it."

"I'm going to run tests." Dexter assured her, sitting down next to her and placing his arm gently over her shoulder, allowing his wife to lean into his chest. "An outside contamination like these Dark Heart nanomachines, there's no way they don't leave behind some kind of hint as to where they are and where they've been that I can't pick up on. Especially if Neutron and Cadmus have already started making progress. If there are any bits of the Dark Heart in you or her, I will find them and cure you both of them."

Silence passed for a bit as Blossom processed it all and thought of what she felt had to be said next. "Do you think that he's behind this?" She asked.

Dexter was quiet for a moment. "…There's no reason to believe he is." He stated simply, trying to sound reassuring. "HIM's preferred machinations are more magical than mechanics, and even if he did decide to switch things up, you know there's no way he wouldn't make sure we knew it was him."

"I suppose." Blossom said, her tone making it clear she still had her doubts. "But you know he's probably still watching. Which means if we're involved with this Dark Heart tech, then he might get involved as well."

Dexter gave a pause. "That is certainly a…morbid thought. HIM with its power or it with his."

"…J'onn…the Martian Manhunter…he said he and the league would be willing to help us if we asked." Blossom admitted.

"The same Martian Manhunter whom is in the other room with our daughter and could also be potentially infected as well?" Dexter pointed out.

"Yep." Blossom said with a tired sigh, showing she'd clearly thought the same thing as her husband. "He was in direct physical contact with her all night, so there's certainly been opportunity for infection, and I suppose it only figures that the one person of the Justice League who discovered out secret would conveniently be able to help Mimi with her nightmares."

"Now, now, there's no reason to give up hope quite yet." Dexter said, trying to offer positives on the situation. "Like I said, I'll be running tests on all three of us. If Mimi is not infected, and given that no one outside of your family knows what she really is, she is unlikely to be a target for infection, then it is unlikely for the Martian to be infected either. Though as for seeing if he himself might be to guarantee it…I'll think of something."

The husband and wife pair, both with too many thoughts to count swimming around inside their heads but with no idea of which was the right one to say, sat on the bed in silence together for a few more minutes, finding at least some comfort in the holds they had on each other.

"…We've fought too hard to get some stability back into our lives again after both Dr. X and HIM." Blossom said, angry bitterness in her voice slowly turning into determination. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you two."

Dexter placed a gently kiss atop Blossom's head as his metal hand rubbed her back. "Isn't it usually the guy's job to say stuff like that?" He said with a dry, joking tone.

Blossom gave a short chuckle as she hugged her face further into her husband's chest. "Who's the one with super strength and invulnerability here?" She asked with a smirk.

"Fair point." Dexter smirked back, still worried over what might be to come but still far more willing to face it when his wife was still able to smile.

After a few more minutes of just letting themselves rest up before they'd face the day, Blossom and Dexter got up and left their room. As they walked down the hall back to the living room, they heard a familiar voice and clicking of tusks that let them know that Jeff had already arrived.

"-And as long as you've got the right amount of Nutella, they'll stay pretty soft after they come out of the oven." He was explaining to J'onn as Blossom and Dexter entered the room.

J'onn looked at the recipe the spider handed him in almost fascination. "Interesting. I'd never considered baking the Chocos into a brownie, or really baking them into anything at all. I'll have to keep this in mind." He said in thanks as he folded the paper and put it into his belt (which Dexter suspected morphed into his body).

Having a small smile spread across her lips as she saw Mimi sitting in her usual spot on Jeff's back, Blossom turned to J'onn. "Thank you again. Really, for everything you've done."

J'onn smiled and gave a small bow in welcome. Turning over to Mimi, the young girl simply stared back at him. Blossom suspected there was some kind of telepathic goodbye going on in the space between them right now as the Martian Manhunter said nothing for almost a solid minute before finally moving to leave.

However, once he began his walk, J'onn's leg wobbled a bit and he nearly tumbled over, saved only by Dexter catching him by the arm.

"Hey, whoa, buddy, you okay?" Dexter asked him as he pulled him back up to his feet.

J'onn rubbed his bald head, not in pain but more tired embarrassment. "Y-yes, yes, I'm fine. Like I said, it was a long night and my mental facilities are not quite all back to full strength yet."

"Do you need a lift?" Dexter offered.

"No, no, it's alright." J'onn politely waved off the suggestion as he stood back up more fully. "Once I step outside the Watchtower will be able to beam me back up, so it's only a few steps. (Then I can look up what Nutella is)." He then added to himself under his breath.

Letting the matter drop, Dexter relented and no longer supported him up. Once final goodbyes were said, J'onn exited the home onto the front lawn. "Watchtower." He said as he tapped the com-device hidden in his ear (or at least where it'd be if he had any).

After the neighbors collecting their morning papers got an eyeful of the green alien man leaving the Utonium household and J'onn took a moment to admire how good a job Dexter's machines had done repairing the hole in the wall Blossom had made with his body, the Martian Manhunter's particles were scattered in a show of light and sent shooting upwards into space.

With all that excitement over, Blossom, Mimi, and Jeff ventured back into the kitchen, where Jeff was very insistent that Blossom sit back and relax so that he could make them all up some breakfast. Dexter meanwhile did as he always would and headed for the bookshelf that hid the entrance to his lab behind it. Tilting forward the copy of Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World to activate the doorway's unlocking procedure, Dexter looked down at his palm as a small tube, no bigger than the tip of his finger, filled with a light green substance ejected itself out carefully for him to see. He'd designed the syringe built into his arm and the chemicals it secreted to cause the least amount of pain and presence felt possible, so it didn't seem like the Martian had noticed anything. Still, Dexter figured, best to get to work fast just in case.

"Sorry for the invasion of privacy, J'onn." Dexter thought, his practicality admittedly causing him to not feel much guilt over it. "But I have to be sure."

Dipper Pines knocked on the open door of his boss's office as he gave one last read through the report he'd made. "Hey, director, going to need you to give this a look over. It's a couple of proposals the organization has thought up in dealing with containing the Dark Heart cells. And given the possible breaches in civil liberties for some of them, probably a good idea to workshop-…whoa."

Dr. Pines had walked into the director's office without really paying any attention and now that he'd finally looked up from his report, he could finally see the many other papers messily scattered all over her desk, each one marked either Top Secret or Classified and no doubt each relating to some new crisis on the rise, with sadly the Dark Heart cells simply being one of the more prevalent among the masses.

And there was Director Possible, slumped over all the files and her head firmly planted against the woodwork.

"Uhhh…boss? You, uh…you okay? You're not looking very well." Dr. Pines said as he stood there awkwardly, suddenly feeling very guilty about the document in his hand.

"If I said I don't feel very well, you imagine I could give myself the day off?" Kim asked dryly, her monotone voice slightly muffled by the desk.

"Well, technically speaking you are your own boss." He shrugged, trying to carefully set the report down amongst the rest without her noticing.

Kim gave a groan and sat back up in her chair. "Yeah, but literally speaking the president is my boss. Job pays well but I do miss the website sometimes." She remarked as she rubbed the red spot on her forehead. "You said your report is about containing the cells? How are we doing on actually detecting them?"

Dr. Pines rubbed the back of his neck ashamedly. "Sadly, still about where we've been for a while now. Outside of the radiation tests, which we're not even sure how well that particular method even works, we've got nothing to go on. Jimmy's still grinding away in his lab to find a solution, especially now that we've brought Dexter into this, but whether he's got anything new I can't say."

Kim sighed deeply. "You know, I remember back when I was sixteen and my husband and I only dealt with the typical supervillain of week type of stuff and the occasional cult of monkey kung-fu fighters. Whatever happened to those days, Dip?"

"If it makes you feel any better, when I was twelve the town my sister and I were spending our summer at was taken over by a malevolent demon from another dimension who turned everyone into stone statues for his throne. So…you know…relatively speaking these Dark Heart cells are not…too far outside the worst thing that could be happening to us."

Kim actually did find herself able to chuckle at that. "You should've added optimist to your resume when we hired your organization." She remarked just before her desk's phone started to beep. Recognizing who was calling her, Kim hit the speakerphone button. "Jim, tell me you've got some good news for me."

"You need to turn on Channel 6 right now." Dr. Neutron said urgently from the other end of the line, the clear echo of a TV in the background.

Kim and Dr. Pines exchanged a look between each other, having never heard the scientist talk in such an apparently alarmed manner. Fishing out the remote from underneath the piles of reports, Kim turned on the flat screen bolted to the wall of her office.

"-Another truly historic day here in Washington D.C, as our own President Bellum welcomes forth to our planet a new alien visitor and possible ally to the US and others." The reporter in the very bright yellow jumpsuit told the camera as she stood in front of the large press conference stage, where the president stood at the podium waiting. The reporter put her finger up to her earpiece. "I'm being told that he's coming out now, folks." She said as she turned to face the curtained off right area of the stage. The curtain opened up and the first to exit was a human looking male, wearing a long black trench coat and blue-lensed goggles, with his bizarre black hair pointing up and going back over his head in an almost lightning bolt shape. There was a murmur of confusion from the audience of other reporters before a second person came out from behind the curtain, this one being much more clearly the alien.

Very thin, very tall, and a body seemingly composed entirely out of silver-tinted cybernetics, the alien's talon clawed feet clicked against the stage sharply as it walked up to the podium, a long purple cape (and the alien's only apparent form of clothing) trailing behind it. Once finally standing next to the president, his height was made even more impressive, as Bellum stood about 5'8 and the alien was a good two feet over that at least. While the alien's body was overall humanoid in shape, the head that looked down at the world leader as was long and slicked back to a point, almost like that of a Kineceleran. It had no mouth, though a few vertical lines at the base of where its jaw would be indicated a speaker of some kind, and its eyes, which more strongly resembled the headlights of a car, made an odd clicking noise like a camera every time its shutter-like eyelids came down to presumably clean them.

A bit awkwardly due to their height difference, President Bellum and the alien shook hands respectfully, gaining applause from the audience.

Turning back to the camera, the reporter said "As many of our more casual viewers may or may not know, this marks only the third time that another alien race has contacted the Earth and wanted to make his presence known through the properly established channels and protocols set up by the UN. The first was the Guardians of Oa, the aliens responsible for our Earth's many own Green Lanterns, and the second being Azmuth of the Galvan. Though it is my understanding that this is the first contact we've had with the alien seeking a working relationship with the Earth instead of merely just showing their support for diplomacy."

Eyes still on the screen, Kim spoke back into the speakerphone. "Why bring this to my attention, Jim? Was this guy never actually screened by Cadmus?"

"No, he was. Took a few weeks but his paperwork went through. The bureaucracy probably being the reason we didn't pay much attention to the process. However, this just came back from the lab after a secondary screening of a sample of his body." Dr. Neutron said before Kim's laptop dinged, signaling the arrival of the file he'd just sent her. Kim opened it up and almost immediately jumped out her chair in shock.

"His body! It's composed almost entirely out of the Dark Heart nanotech!"

"What?!" Dr. Pines yelled before quickly running around the side of the desk to view the file. Taking a good long look as his eyes rapidly scanned over the sample's readings and chemical composition, his head then jerked back to the TV. "We just say him shake hands with the president! We know that stuff can spread through direct contact! We've got to quarantine the area! Get civilians out of there! Get-!"

"WAIT!" Dr. Neutron shouted from the other end of the line, nearly blowing out the speaker from his volume. "Read where the sample came from."

Kim and Dr. Pines took another look at the file, searching for the correct paragraph. "Subject pulled off his own finger and presented it willingly for study before growing a new one." Dr. Pines read aloud, his tone changing from fearful to confused as he went. "Wait…this sample came directly from the alien?"

"Exactly." Dr. Neutron said, his more strained voice showing that his brain was racking itself for all the possibilities such a thing could mean. "Skyway Patrol and the Plumbers thought it was just some new programable metal they'd never seen before, so they found it more interesting than alarming. Cadmus only knows what it is now because we have other samples of the Dark Heart to compare it to that they didn't have access."

"So he's not trying to hide what he's made out of." Kim remarked tentatively as she opened up more files about the alien's information. "Wait…it says here that he presented the sample so that the governments of Earth would quote "know what to look for". He wants us to find more of the nanotech?"

There was a silence from Dr. Neutron that followed, but given what he said next, it was likely that he'd given a habitual nod of his head, to distracted by everything to care that the other end couldn't see him. "From what I'm reading, the White House doesn't want everything to come out all at once but they are planning a press conference in a few days where they'll let him reveal the real reason he came to Earth seeking a partnership."

Dr. Pines read the lines on the file his colleague was building up to. "He says his homeworld's technology was stolen."

As the doctor immersed himself more every detail of the report, Kim turned her attention back to the TV, where the alien now stood before the podium, ready to give his address to the crowd of reporters and cameras. Given his great height he had to bend over quite a bit in order to talk into the microphones. After a bit of feedback and his speakers making a noise that sounded like a radio adjusting, the alien finally spoke.

"…Gsghghbt-my thanks. Ahem. Many governments and people of Earth, I am Rilx Vod, of the planet Mocolu, in the Vega system." He said, his slightly echoing voice matching that of a grown man. Whether this was the aliens real voice was quite doubtful, as the occasional shift in high and low pitches showed his voice was constantly tuning and altering itself so that he could be understood. "It is my greatest of thanks that you have welcomed me with open arms to your world. I look forward to what will be hopefully a very mutually beneficial partnership between our two worlds. I am sure that there are many questions you wish to have answered and that I in turn will wish to answer in turn. However, your government has informed me that the appropriate time to answer those answers those questions is not now, but rather in a…press conference, I believe it was called, that will be held in a few days' time. While I am not used to delaying such a trivial thing, I do not wish to show any disrespect for the laws and ways of your world and shall of course comply. Please, bring all questions you wish to know. To Mocoluans, very few things are more treasured and worth seeking than knowledge. I hope that we share such a wondrous trait with you many Earthians." President Bellum walked up to Rilx and whispered into where she presumed his ear was. "What? Earthlings?" He asked her, barely covering up the main microphone with his hand. "Really? That can't be right."

The black trenchcoated man whom had led Rilx up onto the stage then tapped him on the shoulder, pointing back to the curtained off area where they'd come from. After a shrug from Rilx, he followed him back off the stage, triggering a large collection of butts and voices to rise up from chairs as the many reporters shouted their questions to try their luck at any last official comment.

"And with an escort back behind the curtain by Dr. Dib Membrane of Skyway Patrol, looks like that's all we're getting out of our new visitor from another world, now known to us as Rilx Vod, until further notice." The reporter said back to the camera. "Looks like President Bellum is going to give her own address to try and ease the crowd's hunger. We'll see if we can get any sneak previews of what to expect at the next conference. Until then, this is April O'Neil, Channel 6 news."

As the president spoke to the crowd of chattering reporters, Dr. Pines looked with worry for instruction to Kim, whom sat fingers entwined and very deep in thought.

"Call Batman and Dexter." She told Dr. Pines and Dr. Neutron in a calm but commanding order. "Now."

Mini-Epilogue:

Metropolis: Lexcorp Tower

Bodyguard/chauffeur/one time and sadly probably never again CEO Mercy Graves burst into her boss's office. "Lex! Did you see the news? Did you see what-"

"I saw it, Mercy." The man known as Lex Luthor said simply and calm, his back kept turned to her as his eyes stayed glued to the large TV screen, even though Rilx had already left the scene minutes ago. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of something."

Mercy recognized that cold tone in his boss's voice and, upon seeing who was sitting in his desk's guest chair, made a quick exit, making sure to close the door behind her.

Pulling out the remote, Luthor turned off the TV. "Well, it appears that part of your story checks out." He said as he walked back to his much larger chair on the other end of the desk. "So then, Mr.…Jojo, was it? Or do you prefer a more first name basis?"

"I, Mojo Jojo, am not very picky about such trivial things." The green ape grunted, scratching under the sling that held his itchy broken arm.

"Very well then, Mojo." Luthor said as he sat down. "Since I can now put more stock in your story, please, tell me more about this meeting you saw.

Chapter end

Author's notes: I figured that with Justice League coming out to theaters now I should try to get at least something for this story posted. I'll probably see it some time this weekend, so here's hoping it's good. I'll probably enjoy it well enough, given my love for superhero stuff in general. I grew to like Man of Steel, I like the Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition in spite of its flaws, I loved Wonder Woman, and even with the DCEU movie I feel is too messy for me to consider it good, I still found some stuff to enjoy in Suicide Squad. Even with the Marvel movies I seem to get more enjoyment out of them than others do. I didn't get some of the hate I heard for Captain America: Civil War (which was WAY better than the comic it was based on), I really enjoyed Doctor Strange. Heck, I was surprised to find out that there are a lot of people who didn't like Avengers: Age of Ultron and I thought it was better than the first one, if only just because I thought the character interactions were way better. Just kind of goes to show how movies can get differing opinions on them.

So a new alien visitor has come to Earth named Rilx Vod, who's body seems to be made out of the Dark Heart technology and is quite honest about that fact. I'm curious if anyone else is having flashbacks about the Reach from Young Justice? That story, both from the show and the comics, is what helped inspire this story a bit. Though how much of a similarity there'll actually be remains to be seen.

As for Rilx Vod himself, he's actually not an OC. He's an existing character, though one who's been altered significantly due to events that'll be revealed later. I won't give away too many details right now, nor whether or not he should be trusted. I'll only give this one hint as to his identity because I'm sure it'll eventually be asked: He's NOT Grim Jr from the future.

By the way, if you are having trouble visualizing Rilx, imagine the body of General Grievous (only with a purple cape), the head of XLR8 from Ben 10, and a voice somewhere between Ultron's from Age of Ultron and Metal Cooler from Team Four Star's Dragon Ball Z Abridged.

This is a bit of a shorter chapter, I know, as there wasn't a lot that needed to happen here. If all goes to plan, next chapter should have more going on.

QTP: Was it wise for Batman and Flash to tell Superman about the Dark Heart tech? Was it a good idea to keep Flash's immunity a secret from him? Will Dexter find anything in the sample he took from the Martian Manhunter? What is this Rilx Vod's story and can he be trusted? Why is Mojo Jojo meeting with Lex Luthor?