Willow Lake - Tripoli, Wisconsin
A ripple of light appeared in mid air and it began to ferociously beat and almost as soon as it had started, there was a final bright flash of light and the ripple disappeared, leaving a small box floating in midair. This then dropped down and landed on the grassy bank of the lake. A second later, the box began to transform and once again Alex's laboratory door was standing in its place. The door opened and Alex popped his head out, looking out and around at the scenery they had appeared in.
"Its ok, there is no one around," he said stepping out into the open.
Stephanie, James and Ben followed each other out of the laboratory. The gazed around at the location Alex had brought them too.
"Where are we?" James asked.
"Willow Lake, Wisconsin," Alex replied.
"Why here?" Ben asked.
"Because it is remote, off the beaten path and away from anyone spying on us."
There was a whistle of wind and a flash of yellow, that suddenly became Wally, holding an unconscious Samantha in his arms.
"Get her inside," Alex said to Wally, pointing at the door as he rushed towards it.
The three of them entered the laboratory where Alex had already prepared a makeshift infirmary. Wally laid Samantha down onto the bed, whilst Alex pulled out various bits of equipment and began to attach them to Samantha.
"What are those?" Wally asked.
"These are to monitor her vital signs. I need to make sure they haven't done anything to her that has damaged her."
Outside, there was another pulse of wind and Jason came to a halt, holding a weeping Tim in his arms.
"What happened?" Ben asked, concern filling his face. "What is wrong with Tim?"
Jason set Tim down and he curled up into a ball, continuing to bawl his eyes out.
"It's a long story and maybe we should go over it another time," Jason said as he knelt down beside Tim and rested his hand on Tim's shoulder. "Where is Wally?"
"He's in there with Alex and Samantha," Stephanie replied pointing at the door.
"How did you get out here?"
"It was the laboratory," Alex said, emerging through the door. "It has the ability to make short hops through space and make sure that it stays safe."
"So it teleports?" Jason asked.
"Yes."
"Right, that wasn't hard to say was it?"
"No I suppose not."
A beeping began to fill the air.
"What's that?" James asked.
"It's a proximity alert. There is something coming towards us and at great speed," Alex replied looking at a hand held unit.
"What could it be?" Stephanie asked.
"Could it just be a military aircraft?" James inquired.
"It isn't any aircraft, the speed that it is going and the distance it is away, mean that it is no way an aircraft. The alarm was triggered from a thousand miles away, a plane needs to be within one hundred miles. This is intriguing."
"What?" James ask.
"It has suddenly come to a halt, just like that. No gradual slowing down, just straight to a stop."
"I think you might want to look up," Stephanie said.
The group moved their gaze upwards, including Tim who had stopped crying and joined in. They saw a figure descending from the sky downwards, a cape billowing behind it in the wind.
"Who is that?" Stephanie asked.
"I know exactly who that is," Jason said.
"Who?!" Alex asked, his head snapping in the direction of Jason.
"That is my cousin. May I introduce Kara Zor-El."
"Your cousin?" Stephanie asked.
"Hello Jason," Kara said as she touched down to the ground.
"Hi. How are you doing?"
"I am fine, but it seems as though you have been going through a rough patch."
"Wait, she is American?" Stephanie asked.
"Yeah, Kara was raised over here like my parents. I was raised in the UK," Jason replied.
"Cousin, I think it is time you told me what is happening. I have been unable to receive communications from the Justice League. What has happened to them?"
"We don't know, they have disappeared. Batman left us with instructions to get a team together and work to find them. We have just rescued someone from that list."
"Ahh Batman, always with the mind games," Kara said. "Have you gotten any closer to finding out what happened?"
"Not yet," replied Ben. "Why aren't you with them? Aren't you a member of the League?"
"Good questions," Kara answered. "The reason I am not wherever the League is, is because I haven't been on Earth for a while. I only got back yesterday."
"Where were you?" Stephanie asked.
"I was conducting League business on Metebelis Two. I lost contact with the Watch Tower and came straight back."
"Alex, I think you..." James started to say as he emerged through the door. "Sorry, I didn't know we had company."
"This is Kara, my cousin," Jason said.
"Oh ok. Hi."
"Hello," Kara replied.
"You were saying," Alex interrupted, snapping James back to reality.
"Yes sorry," he said, shaking his head. "You might want to come back inside. Samantha is waking up."
Alex rushed back inside and over to Samantha's bedside.
"Hey there, how are you doing?"
Samantha tried to sit up, but cried out in pain as she did so.
"No, no that's probably not the best idea. You need to rest for a little longer. Whatever they were doing to you has sapped a lot of your strength."
"Where am I," Samantha asked, groggily.
"You're in my laboratory and you are safe," Alex replied.
"I remember being with Kid Flash, Superboy and Robin. Where are they?"
"They are just outside. There is something they have to deal with at the moment."
"Who are you?" Samantha asked.
"I'm Techno, I make all the gadgets for the team."
"Team?"
"The New Justice Team," Jason said walking in to the lab and over to the bed. "Good to see you're awake."
"How long have I been out?"
"Only about 40 minutes," Alex replied.
"Do you remember why we rescued you?" Jason asked.
"You said something about Batman.."
"Yes. Batman left us with a file that he compiled on you and other people, to help us form a team to help look for the Justice League who have gone missing. If you want to, you can join us. If not, we can patch you up and drop you off at a safe location."
"Are there any other females on your team, or is it just males?"
"We have two other females working with us," Jason replied.
"She's joining us then?" Alex asked him.
"Yes, she is going to help. She feels guilty about not being here when the League went missing."
"Sorry who is she?" Samantha asked.
"My cousin, Supergirl," Jason replied.
Samantha gasped slightly.
"Supergirl! I used to have posters of her on my bedroom walls, she was one of my teenage idols."
"Glad to here it," another voice chimed into the conversation.
Kara appeared around the corner of a cabinet, coming into Samantha's view.
"It is always good to have and meet an admirer. I hope we can have a good time together."
"So do I," Samantha slightly bemused at what was happening in front of her.
"Ok, I think we need to let Samantha rest for a little longer, whilst we decide our next move," Alex said.
"Of course, we want you back on your feet as soon as possible," Kara said as she began to walk back out to the lakeside.
"Yes, we'll be back later, try and get some rest," Alex said.
Both he and Jason walked back out to the others, closing the door to the lab behind them.
"Ok, what are we doing next?" Ben asked.
"Well we have one more file that Batman left us and then the team will be complete. We can then begin the search for the Justice League," Alex confirmed.
"Who is the final member of our team going to be?" asked Wally.
Alex pulled out the file from his pocket. He opened it and studied the notes for a moment.
"Her name is Kylie Rayner and she is from Coconut Grove, Darwin, Australia."
"What are her powers?" Jason asked.
"According to this, she doesn't have any. Batman notes her skills in martial arts and gymnastics as her strengths. I think she can be a real asset."
"No powers? How will that be an asset?" Stephanie asked.
"Hang on a minute," Tim said, having now recovered from his earlier breakdown, "Both Alex and myself don't have powers. Are you saying we aren't assets?"
There was a moment of awkward silence as the tension spread across the group.
"No, sorry I didn't realise," Stephanie said meekly.
"Ok," Alex said, trying to break the tension and show that he wasn't too bothered by the statement. "All we need to work out now is how to get to Australia."
"Can't you just do that teleport thing again?" James asked.
"It only does short hops and takes 5 hours to recharge. We don't have a plane anymore, so we can't use that to get there."
"Couldn't Jason and Kara give us a lift?" Wally inquired.
"Could you fly all the way to Australia and carry the seven of us?" Alex put to both Kara and Jason.
"How small can your box go?" Jason asked in reply.
"It can fit into my pocket."
"And it is light to carry?"
"Yeah, I hardly feel the weight at all."
"There is your answer then. If you all go into the lab, we can take it in turns over the flight to carry the box and get to Australia."
"Sounds like a plan," Wally said.
"How is Samantha doing?" Tim asked.
"She's resting right now, just trying to build her strength up," Alex said.
"Ok, we better get going soon, so we can get to Australia and get some rest before we find Kylie. It will be night when we get there, so we'll also need to find somewhere to stay," Alex said.
"I might be able to help with that," Kara said.
"How?"
"The League has an outpost in the Northern Territories of Australia. We can bunk down there for the night."
"Sounds good," consented Jason.
"I didn't know that the League had an Australian location," Alex said.
"Well if anything were to happen in the Northern Hemisphere, then there would be somewhere for any remaining members to congregate," Kara informed the group.
"Shall we get going?" Alex asked.
"The sooner we go, the sooner we get there," Kara pointed out.
Alex directed everyone apart from Jason and Kara into the lab and then shrunk the door back down into its box.
"This is not human technology," Kara said as she picked up the box. "How did he get this?"
"It was given to him by a friend and you're right it isn't human."
"I recognise the concept, but can't place its origin."
"Gallifrey. It comes from Gallifrey."
Kara turned her head sharply as he said it and dropped the box to the floor. She moved with lightning speed towards Jason and slammed him down to the ground sitting on top of him.
"You have been fraternising with the Time Lords! How could you!?"
"It was a gift, they helped us out and we helped them out," Jason stammered, trying to free himself to no avail. He may be stronger than his dad, but Kara was stronger then him. "What is wrong with them?"
"They let Krypton burn, they let everyone die as a result of one of their people ruining the planet."
"I thought it was the Kryptonians exploiting Krypton that destroyed it."
"It was, because they followed after a Time Lord and his people took no responsibility. If I ever see the Master again, I'll kill him myself."
"That might be a little harder than you think. Gallifreyans have a little trick to help prevent death and he is locked away on Gallifrey and is inaccessible."
"You have met him?"
"Um, yeah. He actually helped to save Dad, Mum and me from the Daleks and anyway, it was the Doctor who we worked with and helped."
"The Doctor, he is still alive?"
"The last time I checked."
"He was supposed to have died at Lake Silencio. That man is just impossible."
"Can you get off me please?"
"Yes, sorry."
"Just because one person from a group does something terrible, doesn't mean you should condemn every member. The Master may have done these things, but the Doctor helps to undo them and help those who have suffered. We did nothing bad, we did what heroes are supposed to do. Anyway, the Doctor has said we will never see him again, so you don't have to worry about him."
"Ok, sorry I just overacted a little. We had better get going."
Jason retrieved the box and they both shot in the air and directed themselves towards Australia. As they flew, they talked more and shared various stories about their escapades. Kara slowly calmed down and listened intently as Jason told her about when his powers developed and how his friendships with Wally, Ben and Alex came about.
I hope you have liked this chapter. Please review! More coming soon.