BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AND THAT WON'T CHANGE, NO MATTER HOW MISERABLE I MAKE THEM. I FEED OFF OF THEIR ANGUISH; IT SUSTAINS ME.

Sorry I haven't been posting as often for this story, but I was having fun writing Outcast Effect, my sequel to Star Wars: Outcast Blades. Although this story has nostalgia-value to me, military sci-fi is what really interests me. I'll still update for this, but updates will be coming slower.

Also, the original title for this was going to be 'Targets', just like the episode, but then I decided not to do that.

Unlimited Justice, Part 1

Chapter 13

A Different Kind of Date

San Francisco, September 7, 10:20 PDT

"Come on, come on, where is it?" Ken muttered to himself as he went through his closet, before finally giving up and yelling, "Mom, have you seen my jacket?"

A moment later, Kara walked into his room. "Which jacket? Civilian or hero?"

"Civilian," Ken replied, "I know I put it… somewhere… oh, I give up! I'll just go without a jacket."

"Where are you going?" Kara asked, and then Ken slowly turned to face her, looking sheepish.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you… I'm going out with Valerie today."

Kara blinked, then blinked again. "You're going out with Valerie. Like, on a date?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah. On a date."

For a moment, Kara didn't move; then, in a blur of super-speed, she hugged her son with a squeal.

"Ooh, good for you! I was hoping that you'd ask her out!"

Ken was just glad that his mother was taking the news so well. He was also glad that he was half Kryptonian; if he wasn't, his mother's hug would have probably killed him.

"Wait, Ken's going out on a date?" Jen's voice from outside Ken's room made the mother and son turn around; the youngest Tennyson was standing in the doorway, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Yes, and you are not allowed to bug Ken or Valerie while they're out," Kara said sternly, "They'll have enough problems having dates while being superheroes, they don't need anyone making it worse."

"Ugh, fine," Jen said, rolling her eyes, but then became more serious. "Hey, I thought you were still mad at Valerie because she lied to you about being a superhero?"

Ken wasn't even aware that Jen knew he'd been mad. "Well, I forgave her."

"Right," Jen said, walking away with a troubled expression on her face.

Kara had no time to comment on her daughter's behavior, as an epiphany struck her. "Um, Ken, have you used your X-ray vision to look for your jacket?"

Ken stared at her for a moment, then smacked himself in the forehead, while his mother laughed.

…

Seattle, 10:35 PDT

"Do you have your cell phone?"

"Yes."

"You'll call when you arrive, when you leave and if something comes up?"

"Yep."

"Got your purse?"

"Uh-huh."

"Pepper spray?"

"Mom!" Valerie glared at her mother, who only grinned.

"Just making sure you were paying attention, kiddo," Helena said, giving her daughter a quick hug, "Go on and enjoy yourself."

"Thanks, Mom," Valerie returned the embrace.

When she had told her parents that she was going on a date with Ken, she had been a little surprised by their reactions. Helena had only smirked and held out her hand to Question, still in costume after coming back from the Watchtower, who then gave her fifty dollars and muttered something about being glad that they only had one child, because he didn't want to lose any more bets.

With a wave goodbye to her parents, Valerie went into her home's basement and stepped onto the teleporter; a moment later, she was gone.

Helena sighed as she sat down next to Question. "I hope things go well."

Question raised an eyebrow at her from behind his mask. "You think things may fall apart because Valerie kept her identity a secret from Ken?"

"Maybe," said Helena, shrugging, "I know Ken seems all right with it now, but what if it becomes an issue later?"

"Then they'll work it out," Question said, "And if they don't, and things fall apart, you've still got those Kryptonite arrows, right?"

Helena only laughed.

…

Happy Harbor, 13:45 EDT

When they met up, Ken and Valerie found that, for the first time in years, things were a little awkward for them. Then again, they had always been friends, and this was entirely new territory.

In an effort to break the ice, Ken, who was wearing his civilian clothes, sans glasses, held out his arm to Valerie.

"Shall we?" he asked, a lopsided smile on his face. Returning the smile, Valerie looped her arm through his, and the two made their way to the coffee shop that Ken had told her about.

The date itself was fine, and the two enjoyed themselves. They made small-talk over things like school and missions with the Team, though they discussed the latter only when they were sure that no one was listening to them.

"I wonder how many more people will join the Team?" Ken asked, "I mean, how many other heroes our age are out there?"

"Are you thinking about anyone in particular?" Valerie asked.

Ken shrugged. "The only one I know is Raven, but she isn't even an official superhero yet. I can't think of many others, though I think Aquaman has a protégé."

"He does," Valerie said, briefly slipping into Seeker, "She goes by Aquagirl, though from what information I have, she doesn't leave Atlantis that often."

Ken stared at her. "Do I even want to know how you know that?"

Valerie smirked. "Probably not."

In their minds, both teens wondered how they could be on a date, yet also feel like they were still just best friends. Though they didn't realize it, the only thing that had changed was that they had acknowledged their buried feelings for each other.

For the next hour, they simply enjoyed their time together as they walked around town, until they passed by Mount Justice.

"Hey, why don't we see what's going on in the Cave?" Valerie suggested, then her smile turned playful. "If nothing else, it would be a fun place to make out."

"Uh…" Ken's mind screeched to a halt, his face turning red, much to his new girlfriend's amusement.

"Oh, come on," Valerie said, pulling him towards the Team's base. It was then that Ken decided that two could play the teasing-game.

"Sure, but can we still make out?"

Now it was Valerie's turn to blush, while Ken laughed.

…

Mount Justice, 14:45 EDT

As Ken and Valerie entered the Cave, they were greeted by Ship, who was sitting on top of Sphere. The alien ball beeped once at them, then seemed to go to sleep.

"I think it misses Conner," Ken commented.

"Wasn't he and M'gann coming over here later?" Valerie asked.

"I think so, but I'm not—" the sound of an incoming alert interrupted Ken; he and Valerie moved to the main room of the Cave, and Ken answered the comms. "This is Ken 10, go ahead."

"Red Arrow here. I need the exact height of the League of Shadows' member known as Cheshire."

"Couldn't even bother to say please," Ken muttered to himself as he moved to check the Justice League's database, but Valerie spoke before he even got there.

"She's one-point-six-seven meters tall," she said into the comms.

"Uh…" Red Arrow seemed stumped.

"Five foot six," Valerie supplied.

"Thanks… who are you?"

"Seeker," Valerie said, "Question's protégé."

"Red Arrow, what's going on?" Ken asked.

"I'm trying to make sure that the Rhelasian peace-talks in Taipei don't turn into a bloodbath," Red Arrow replied tersely.

"Do you need backup?"

"Please, I don't want help from the Junior Justice League."

"Yeah, you just wanted our info," Valerie said smugly, "Speaking of which, why aren't you asking the League directly? Aren't you a reserve-member?"

When Red Arrow didn't respond, Ken and Valerie initially thought he was fuming or something. Then the sound of screams in the background of Red Arrow's comms alerted them that things were not going well.

"Feel like going to Taipei?" Ken asked.

Valerie nodded. "We should get changed."

They headed to their own rooms in the Cave; when each member was added to the Team's roster, their rooms were supplied with extra supplies, weapons and costumes, just in case they needed to move out quickly.

A minute later, Ken and Seeker were ready to go; Ken called Ship over to work the teleporter controls, and in a flash of light, they were gone.

…

Taipei, 21:50 NST

The situation was even worse than they had imagined. As they teleported in, throngs of screaming people ran past them. Ken used his X-ray vision to quickly locate Red Arrow, who was firing arrows at someone.

"What's the situation?" Ken asked as he and Seeker got closer to the archer.

"Really bad," Red Arrow replied, "I stopped Cheshire from killing anyone, but when I almost caught her, Sportsmaster showed up, along with a lot of goons from the League of Shadows."

"Is anyone hurt?"

Red Arrow shook his head. "Nothing serious, just scrapes and bruises, from what I could tell. I managed to keep the bad guys' attention on me. The main problem is that they've jammed all comms, so until we stop that, we're all we've got."

"I'm betting that they weren't expecting you to have any backup, so they might be surprised enough for us to win," Seeker said, more to herself, but Ken caught it.

"Where are they?" Ken asked.

"Right behind you, blondie," a female voice said, causing all three heroes to spin around; Ken saw something headed their way and, out of reflex, made a wall of Mana, stopping the shuriken in its place.

"Oh, I forgot how much I hate that he can do that," Cheshire snarled, then jumped back into the shadows.

"And I forgot how much I hate her," Ken muttered.

"You've faced her before?" Red Arrow asked.

"During the mission with The Fog. I stopped her from killing Dr. Roquette."

"So you know her tactics," Red Arrow guessed, "Anything useful you can tell us?"

Both Ken and Seeker took the fact that Red Arrow used 'us' instead of 'me' as a good sign.

"She likes to keep you off-balance with taunts… flirts," Ken said, feeling a hard stare from Seeker behind her blank mask.

"She hit on you?" Seeker asked neutrally.

Ken shrugged, but was inwardly cringing as he worked around this particular landmine. "She tried, but don't you remember who my dad is? Trash-talk is practically hardwired into my DNA. It was easy to turn it around."

Seeker nodded. "Good. That's something I can work with; I've been trying to add more to Cheshire's psych-profile."

Ken blinked. Oh. Maybe she wasn't mad at me.

Red Arrow nodded at the information, then set off after Cheshire. Ken was about to follow him when Seeker tapped him on the shoulder.

"It happened before we started dating, so I'll cut you some slack," she said in a tone that carried both the subtle threat of her father and the direct threat of her mother, "And since we're on a mission, I can't say anything now, but when we finish here, you and I are having a discussion about this."

Ken gulped. "No problem."

For a girl without any powers, Seeker could be really, really scary.

With that out of the way, they began following after Red Arrow, but a familiar sound reached Ken's super-sensitive hearing.

"Look out!" a storm of lightning blasted out of his fingertips, blowing up a pair of rockets that were headed towards them. Ken followed the direction the rockets had come from, and when he located the source, a chill went down his spine.

"Seeker," he said softly, "Find Red Arrow and tell him to call the Justice League, the rest of the Team, anyone and everyone he can reach."

"Why?" Seeker did not like the fear in Ken's voice. It was strange and unnatural, and anyone who gave someone as powerful as Ken pause was worth fearing.

"Because of him."

Seeker followed Ken's pointing finger, and her eyes went wide. There, hovering on a pair of rocket-boots and layered in a set of thick power-armor was one of the most wanted men on the planet.

Lex Luthor.

For a brief moment, Seeker saw red; she had hacked the Watchtower's computers one day when she was bored, and had read the file on how Luthor, then influenced and empowered by Brainiac, had severely beaten her father, which led him to be tortured by Cadmus. However, her own discipline kicked in; she nodded at Ken and ran after Red Arrow. Of the three of them, Ken was the only one whose power might be able to stand up to Luthor's plans.

"Be careful," she whispered, knowing that Ken could hear her.

…

Once Seeker was gone, Luthor landed a few meters away from Ken. "I was hoping for more of a challenge. Really, the whelp of that shapeshifter and Supergirl? Honestly, I think that archer would provide more entertainment."

"Oh, I'm sure you won't be bored long," Ken said easily, but inside, he was worried. This was a man who had been so powerful that his father had had to use Ultimate Way Big. Thankfully, Luthor had lost his connection to Brainiac after the AI had been destroyed, but still, Luthor wasn't to be underestimated.

As if to prove the point, two large cannons unfolded from Luthor's armor, one over each shoulder, and fired. For most energy-based attacks, Ken could simply absorb it, but when the two green beams hit him, he felt an unfamiliar sensation: pain.

"Kryptonite lasers," Luthor explained, rather unnecessarily, "I always have some with me, just in case."

Ken grimaced; thankfully, Kryptonite lasers, while painful, didn't have the same debilitating effects as raw Kryptonite, so he could keep fighting. It didn't mean that he'd get out of this unharmed, however.

"Didn't keeping Kryptonite with you for so long give you cancer?" Ken asked, if only to keep the man talking so that he could try moving to a better position.

"Turns out that Brainiac's influence has made me immune to its effects," Luthor said, "You, however, are not so lucky."

"Gee, really? I hadn't noticed."

Luthor shook his head, as if he was disappointed. "Sarcasm really is the lowest form of wit, you know."

Instead of answering, Ken launched himself forward in a blur of motion, hoping to get inside Luthor's guard and do some damage to the armor. Instead, he was viciously backhanded into a bus, which crumpled from the impact.

"My armor was rated to be as strong and fast as Wonder Woman," Luthor sneered, "What hope do you have of beating me, with only half the strength of Superman?"

"Oh my god, shut up already!" Ken groaned, standing up, "Seriously, you're still hung up on that? 'Oh, I'm not as powerful as Superman, so I must destroy him and everything he loves'—you've been gone for almost twenty years and you haven't come up with anything new? At least add 'taking over the world' to your list of goals; it'll freshen things up a little."

Luthor scowled, then activated his armor's thrusters and shot forward, intent on crushing Ken. Rather than try to defend himself, Ken went intangible, jumped through Luthor, turned around and hit him in the back with a bolt of lightning from his mouth. He didn't get a chance to follow through, however, because the cannons on Luthor's back turned around and blasted him again.

This might be bad, Ken thought.

…

"I am really, really starting to hate ninjas," Red Arrow growled as he fired an arrow full of knockout-gas into a handful of Shadows, putting them to sleep.

"Tell me about it," Seeker said, suddenly appearing behind him, deftly spinning her nightstick to block a sword, then kicking the man between the legs, finishing him with a blow to the temple.

"Gah! Where did you come from?" Red Arrow shouted. He hated when people did that, but he thought it was reserved for Batman and those he trained.

Seeker ignored his question. "Lex Luthor is here. We need to disable whatever is jamming comms and call the League."

"No way!" Red Arrow said, "Don't you see, this is the chance of a lifetime! If I can catch Luthor—"

The archer wasn't given a chance to finish his sentence, because an uncharacteristically angry Seeker punched him in the gut, doubling him over.

"Listen and listen good," she whispered, "Ken is fighting for his life right now, all so that we can do our part and take down the jammer. He is trusting us to do this, and we will not betray that trust. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Red Arrow wheezed, his sudden desire for recognition suppressed in the face of this girl's wrath. She had to have been half his age, but at that moment, he feared her more than anyone he'd ever fought before.

"Good," Seeker said, her voice its normal, neutral tone, "Now let's get going."

In the back of her mind, Seeker filed away Red Arrow's behavior. The information she had on him suggested selfish behavior, but willingly putting someone else in danger for the sake of getting the glory was new. It was also something to watch out for.

Once Red Arrow got his breath back, the two of them set out, occasionally battling small groups of the League of Shadow's ninjas. When they reached an alley, and there was a lull in the fighting, Seeker activated her holo-computer.

"I thought so," she said, "The jamming is getting stronger, but it would have to be higher up to have this kind of coverage. We need to get to the rooftops."

"Understood," Red Arrow said, drawing a grappling-arrow, "You need a lift?"

Seeker didn't answer; instead, she ran at the nearest wall, ran upwards for several steps, then flipped back, bouncing off the opposite wall, then grabbing the jutting rooftop of the first building. She had made it to the roof in five seconds, all on her own.

"Showoff," Red Arrow muttered, then fired his arrow.

…

"To be honest, I think you've been hyped up way too much," Ken said conversationally, using his super-speed to dodge another of Luthor's lasers, "I mean, you were kind of like the boogeyman for a lot of heroes my age when we were younger, and now you're just… meh. Now I'm disappointed."

Ken threw another punch, but Luthor used his thrusters to shoot upwards, avoiding the strike, then fired a barrage of small rockets. Ken didn't have time to go intangible, and was blasted backwards, smashing through a small fountain that had been in front of the building where the peace-talks were being held.

Dazed, Ken was unable to react as Luthor landed in front of him, the picked him up by the throat.

"I clearly don't need to kill you," Luthor gloated, "Not just because you're not worth my time, but because I now know that I can beat you at any time. However, the look on your face when you find out who has betrayed you will be worth keeping you alive. Then again, killing you will hurt Superman so, so much…"

"You are a broken record, you know that?" Ken said, then went intangible again, slipping out of Luthor's grasp; as soon as he landed on the ground, he placed his still-intangible arm through Luthor's chest.

"My intangibility isn't like the Martian Manhunter's. I have no idea what happens when I go tangible while still inside something." Ken smiled grimly. "Why don't we find out? I'm sure my durability will win out over your frail human heart."

Luthor was a genius, and had spent decades reading people in boardrooms and business dealings. Unlike Superman, who was too noble, Ken seemed completely willing to go through with his threat; from his files on the boy, he was far more willing to hurt people than either of his parents. Then there was the fact that he was a teenager; they all thought that they were invincible. A super-powered teenager was even worse.

In light of all that, Luthor made the wise decision to jump backwards, just as Ken went tangible again. However, while Ken had been bluffing—it had been one of a few things he'd picked up from Robin—he still went tangible while his arm was still inside the arm of Luthor's exoskeleton. That part of the armor exploded, though it didn't harm Luthor himself. Ken, for his part, grimaced; while doing that hadn't hurt, it was still uncomfortable.

"So that's what happens," he muttered.

Luthor scowled. "Another time, then."

The villain rocketed into the air, leaving Ken to allow himself to fall to one knee. He'd been hit by those stupid Kryptonite lasers quite a few times, and it was really tiring. He only rested for a minute, however; Red Arrow and Seeker still needed help.

Then he corrected himself. 'Seeker might appreciate the backup' sounded better. He didn't want to make his girlfriend even angrier by rushing off to protect her when she didn't need it.

It wasn't because she was scary when she was mad. It wasn't.

…

Red Arrow gritted his teeth as he punched another ninja who was in his way. He and Seeker had split up once they were on the rooftops to cover more ground.

It wasn't because the girl scared him. Really.

Still, when he became surrounded by dozens of ninjas, he was starting to miss her presence. At the very least, maybe he wouldn't have as many bruises. These Shadow guys weren't that good, but there were a lot of them, and only one of him.

Just when it looked like he was going to be overwhelmed, the ninjas stopped, then backed away. In their place, Sportsmaster walked up, his hands in his pockets, acting like Red Arrow wasn't even worth his time.

That infuriated the former protégé.

"About time you showed up," Red Arrow snarled, "I was getting tired of beating up all your goons."

Sportsmaster shrugged. "I'm not a member of the League of Shadows, so technically, they're not my goons. Beat 'em up as much as you want."

Red Arrow drew an arrow and aimed it at the mercenary. "I'd rather settle for you."

Sportsmaster scoffed. "Like Green Arrow's ex-sidekick is worth my time. Say, didn't you change your name a while back? Oh yeah, you're called Red Arrow now. Ha, more like Broken Arrow."

Then there was a flash of light; when Red Arrow's vision returned, Sportsmaster and the ninjas were gone. He scowled and kicked a loose shingle in his anger. He'd lost the chance to go after Luthor and Sportsmaster had gotten out from right under him.

How was he supposed to be made a full-time member of the Justice League with mistakes like that?

…

Finally, Seeker thought, I was starting to think I'd never find the stupid jammer.

After she and Red Arrow had split up, she had worked her way towards the ever-growing signal being emitted by the jammer. Unlike Red Arrow, she stuck to the shadows, only fighting when it was necessary. That meant that by the time she made it to the jammer, she was still in good shape.

That was good, especially since she'd encountered someone who she really wanted to hurt.

It was a testament to Cheshire's skills that she was able to locate and throw a shuriken at Seeker, who was using the shadow of a chimney for cover.

"Finally," Cheshire said gleefully, "It's about time I got something to do. Assassinating politicians is so boring."

"Because they don't fight back?" Seeker asked, drawing her nightstick.

"No, it's just that their reactions are all the same," Cheshire said, "They're all, 'oh, please, don't hurt me, I have a family', or 'I'll give you a position of power if you let me live'. You wouldn't believe how old it gets."

Seeker heard the words, but hadn't really listened. Her eyes had been on Cheshire's hands and feet the entire time. As soon as the assassin twitched, Seeker was moving to the side to avoid another handful of shuriken.

"Is that all you've got?" Seeker asked, idly spinning her nightstick.

Cheshire drew her collapsible sword. "Not even close."

Not counting her bushy hair, Cheshire was actually a few inches shorter than Seeker. It wasn't a surprise, really; Valerie had always been tall for a girl her age. Still, from the way Cheshire liked to flip over her and strike, she might as well have been the taller fighter. For the first few moments of the fight, Seeker stuck to defensive moves, studying her opponent as she did.

It didn't take long for her to reach a conclusion: there was no way for her to beat her fairly. Cheshire had the better weapon, more experience and didn't hold back. Seeker, however, had a weapon designed not to kill, was much younger and had been trained in nonlethal takedowns. Aside from metahumans and more experienced fighters—like Batman or Black Canary—Cheshire was in a league of her own.

Then again, this all revolved around Seeker fighting fairly. Just because she was on the side of good didn't mean she had to be nice about it.

"Efficient moves," Seeker said tonelessly, narrowly dodging a strike that would have hit her jugular, "I can see why Sportsmaster likes having you around; you get the job done. Of course, that's not the only reason you work with him, is it?"

Seeker saw it; it was the barest flicker of uncertainty, but it meant she had gotten a foothold in Cheshire's mind.

"What makes you think Sportsmaster keeps me around for any one reason?" Cheshire asked, "We work together. It's a work thing."

"Don't try fooling me… Jade." Behind her mask, Seeker grinned victoriously; by saying the assassin's real name, she had definitely thrown her off-balance. Now it was time for the hard-hitting stuff.

"At least your tools are efficient. Your father's equipment is so… themed. Really, now; a mace that's shaped like a tetherball, a javelin that explodes? Why doesn't he just try out for the Olympics already? Oh, wait, he did, but he got caught sabotaging the competition, got kicked out and now kills warlords in Africa to make ends meet."

Unlike her father, who only used facts to get inside someone's head, Seeker did it with a pinch of her mother's attitude. It made messing with people all the more satisfying.

Cheshire had been rocked by how much this girl knew, so much so that she had stopped attacking and merely stared, but Seeker kept talking.

"I also know that it's not just you and daddy-dearest. I know about the other members of the family too. You should really visit your mom more often; I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

That set Cheshire off; she leaped forward with a snarl, her sword raised. "Stay away from them! They have nothing to do with me and Dad!"

Seeker easily dodged Cheshire's swings. In her rage, her strikes were sloppy and uncoordinated, easy to avoid… and easy to counter.

First, Seeker grabbed Cheshire's wrist and yanked it in a way it shouldn't move. Stunned and in pain, Cheshire wasn't able to avoid a kick to her ankle, made all the more painful by the steel-toed boot. Then the butt of Seeker's nightstick hit her in the solar plexus, winding her, followed by a knee to the gut.

In desperation, Cheshire dropped a flash-grenade. The sudden flash of light momentarily blinded Seeker, but instead of attacking, Cheshire used the opportunity to escape. Satisfied that she'd worked out all of her aggression towards the assassin, Seeker took a moment to study the now unguarded jammer. There was a way to disable it via a command, but rather than try to crack it, Seeker spent a few minutes smashing it with her nightstick.

Just because she wasn't angry with Cheshire didn't mean she didn't have aggression to work out.

Once the jammer was a sparking mess, she activated her comms. "Seeker to Watchtower…"

…

An hour later, the entire city was swarming with police, UN forces and, most importantly, most of the Justice League. This had been the first time since Darkseid's invasion of Earth that Luthor had been seen, and everyone wanted to start searching while there was a scent.

For Ken, Seeker and Red Arrow, however, it was time to rest. They'd been fighting a lot, and two of them had bumps and bruises, while another was recovering from Kryptonite-inflicted wounds.

"Anything you want to say, Red?" Ken asked the archer, "After all, if it weren't for us, you'd probably be dead."

Red Arrow scoffed. "Please, if you two kids hadn't been in the way, I'd have settled this in twenty minutes, tops."

"Twenty minutes, huh?" Ken looked over at Seeker. "Didn't this whole mess get sorted in less than that because we were here?"

Seeker checked her holo-computer. "We were fighting for sixteen minutes, twenty seconds."

Red Arrow grumbled something incoherent, then stood up. "Whatever. I don't need help from a bunch of kids, and I don't need the League watching my every move."

"Then why do you want to be a full member so badly?" Seeker asked.

"None of your business," Red Arrow growled, then headed to a car, presumably his, but before he got it, he briefly turned around. "Thanks for the assist."

With that, he was gone. A few seconds later, Green Arrow, Huntress and Superman showed up.

"Was that Spee—I mean, Red Arrow, leaving just now?" Green Arrow asked.

"Yeah," Ken said, "He was kind of a jerk, then he said thanks and left."

Green Arrow sighed. "I was hoping to talk to him. It's been a while since we just… talked."

Superman patted the archer's back sympathetically. "You'll get through to him. You just have to be patient."

While Green Arrow nodded, Seeker approached her mother. "Any progress on Luthor?"

Huntress shook her head. "No such luck. The bald bast—" she stopped at the glare Seeker was giving behind her mask. She didn't like her mother swearing. "Er, I mean, the jerk is as slippery as he is smart. But at least he's stuck his head out of whatever hole he's been hiding in."

"At least there's some good news," Superman said, trying to lighten the mood, "The peace talks are going better now; apparently, this attack proves that someone doesn't want North and South Rhelasia from getting along. Now, both leaders are pushing for peace just to stick it to whoever tried to kill them."

"Cool," Ken said, holding out a fist to Seeker, "We helped stop two countries from killing each other!"

Seeker completed the fist-bump. "Of course we did. We're that good."

The older heroes laughed at the teens' antics. It was good that they were acting like this after going up against supervillains and assassins.

"All right, you two," Superman said, "You've done your part, now we'll take care of things. Why don't you go home and get some rest?"

"Sure thing, Superman," Ken said, "We'll teleport back to the Cave, then head home."

Superman briefly looked up to see his cousin flying overhead, alongside Jet Ray. "I'll be sure to let your parents know."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Like Mom wasn't listening the whole time."

Huntress heaved a mock-sigh. "Oh, to be cursed with a parent with super-hearing. It must make sneaking out impossible."

Ken nodded. "You have no idea. Then again, it makes my plans to sneak out all the more crafty."

In the distance, an indignant 'hey!' could be heard, prompting laughter from everyone else.

…

Mount Justice, 16:30 EDT

When Ken and Seeker returned to the Cave, they found almost all of the Team there as well. The only one not present was Cyborg. For the briefest of moments, Luthor's words about him being betrayed ran through his mind, but he dismissed it. No one here would ever betray the Team.

"Hey, guys," Ken said tiredly, "Why're you all here? And if the rest of you are here, where's Vic?"

"We got an alert," Robin said tensely, "Batman said to come to the Cave in case we needed to be deployed."

"False alarm," Seeker said, much to the disappointment of those who wanted to see some action, "The League has things in hand. And you didn't answer Ken's other question."

"Oh, I know the answer to that one," Safari said, raising her hand like she was in school, "He said he was in the middle of stopping a bank robbery in San Francisco."

"Are you two okay?" Miss Martian asked, spotting their dirty outfits; the self-repairing Kryptonian tech that made up most of the Team's costumes may have taken care of rips and holes, but it did nothing against dirt.

Ken shrugged as casually as he could. "We had a run-in with League of Shadows…"

"And Sportsmaster…" Seeker continued.

"And Lex Luthor," Ken finished, leaving the rest of the Team in shock.

"Lex Luthor was there!?" Kid Flash cried out, "Luthor; as in the guy who almost destroyed the universe with Brainiac, the most wanted non-metahuman on the planet Lex Luthor!?"

"Is there another Lex Luthor that we don't know about?" Artemis asked, smacking the speedster upside the head.

"Yeah, he showed up, got me a few times with his Kryptonite lasers," Ken said, wincing slightly when he accidentally brushed his hand against the wall, right where a burn was still healing.

"But you're okay?" Superboy asked, concerned for his cousin.

"I'll be fine by tomorrow," Ken assured him, "You should see Luthor, though; I blew up his suit's arm, it was awesome!"

"Nice," Warhawk said, high-fiving his friend, "You can tell us the blow-by-blow tomorrow."

"Sure," Ken said, "Why don't you guys head home first? Seeker and I had to leave our civilian clothes here, so we need to get them anyway."

"Okay, dude," Kid Flash said, "See you both tomorrow!"

After the rest of the Team left, Ken and Valerie went back to their rooms to change and throw their dirty outfits into the Cave's washing-machine. It was fully-automated and would move the clothes to the dryer, then separate them according to who they belonged to, so neither teen really worried about it.

"So," Ken said, "Fighting assassins and super-criminals, then indirectly helping peace-talks between warring nations… not bad for a first date, is it?"

Valerie smiled. "It makes you wonder how the second date will be better."

Ken waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I'm sure we'll be saving the universe or something next time. It's best to start small, like what we did today."

Valerie laughed, then leaned up to kiss Ken on the cheek. "Thanks for everything today. I had a good time… and the date was okay too."

"Hey!" Ken said, but then stopped when Valerie kissed him again, this time on the lips.

"I was just teasing," Valerie said, "Seriously, I'd love to do it again soon… you know, without the ninjas and grumpy archers."

Ken grinned, then wrapped his arms around her to draw her in for a deep kiss. "I'd like that too."

…

Seattle, 20:00 PDT

Valerie was home, flipping through TV channels but not really paying attention to what was on. Her attention was diverted between adding notes to the files she had on Cheshire and thinking about her relationship with Ken.

She hadn't been lying when she'd said she'd enjoy more dates with Ken that involved less threats to their wellbeing, but when they were on a mission… she blamed her mother, really, because when she was on a mission, she felt alive. If she was ever faced with a choice between staying as Ken's girlfriend or not being Seeker anymore, it would be a tough call.

Thankfully, that wasn't an issue.

Wrapped up in her thoughts as she was, she almost jumped when her cell phone rang. According to the caller ID, it was Jen, which was weird; she and Jen were friendly towards each other, but they rarely called the other's phone.

She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Val," Jen said in a low tone, "I wanted to say something now, while Ken is out getting groceries."

"Your parents are still out?" Valerie asked. Her own parents were out, too; Luthor's return meant that a lot of protégés were going to be home alone for a while.

"Yes, and don't change the subject," Jen said, "Look, Ken told me that he forgave you and that he trusts you. I, on the other hand, have only done half; I forgive you for hurting my brother, but I don't trust you, not yet, and not for a while. It's because I don't trust you that I'm giving you this warning: don't hurt Ken again. If you do, you'll have to deal with me."

Before Valerie could say anything, Jen hung up. With a sad sigh, Valerie brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She had thought that everyone had moved past that, but it looked like she was wrong.

As deceptive as she could be, Valerie was also extremely loyal. She had sworn never to betray Ken again, and she'd prove it to anyone who doubted her.

It was too bad that protective siblings were among the hardest to convince.

…

San Francisco, 20:15 PDT

My parents can move mountains, fight crime, save the entire freaking universe, but when it comes to remembering to buy eggs… it makes me wonder who the adult is, me or them.

After the mission in Taipei, Ken had wanted to just kick back and relax. However, when he got home, there was a note on the fridge, asking him to buy groceries. He grumbled, but did it anyway; he was a good son like that.

It was after he left the supermarket that his super-hearing picked up the sound of someone following him. There weren't too many other people out at this hour, but there were enough to not make it suspicious. The suspicious part was that the person following him was stepping in the exact same place that he was stepping in, and making sure that their feet hit the sidewalk at the exact same time.

Finally, Ken turned around, ready to either tell the creepy person off, or fight if the person was actually dangerous.

As it turned out, Question was a dangerous man, but he wasn't here to fight. "Ken."

"Uh, hello, Question. Why are you here?" Also, why are you still in costume?

"You went on a date with Valerie." It was a statement.

"Yes…?" Ken said uncertainly, not sure where Question was going with this.

"She likes you," Question said, "I know your parents. They're good people. I've read your file, and I know that you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt Valerie."

Ken was torn between saying that he would never hurt Valerie, intentionally or otherwise, and asking how Question had gotten his hands on Ken's file. Also, he had a file?

Then Question leaned in close. "However, if you do hurt my daughter… well, I'd say that not even Batman would find what's left of you, but I'd rather leave you as a warning for anyone else who wants to date Valerie."

Ken had gone up against criminals, supervillains, monsters and angry clones, but he still felt his blood run cold.

Question then briefly lifted his fedora in farewell. "Other than that… have fun, and unless you're on a mission, I want her back home by ten."

Before Ken could reply, Question was teleported back to the Watchtower, leaving Ken to silently swear to be the best boyfriend ever.

So… yeah. I know that it's been a while. I'm sorry. I tried writing this weeks ago, and my brain just… stopped. I ran out of steam for this story, but not for Outcast Effect. I finally got my inspiration back, but I have no idea for how long. One thing I will say is that I probably won't update this story often, but at least I'm thinking about it again.

Now, as for this chapter… I thought it would be cool to put Lex Luthor back in, but using that cool suit he had from the opening cinematic of DC Universe Online, with the dual cannons and stuff. Remember, in this storyline, Luthor has been in hiding for almost twenty years, so the events in the episode were basically nonexistent.

I hoped you liked Seeker's parts in this chapter, because I've found that writing her is really fun.

Anyway, I'll try to get more chapters out for this story faster, but since I'm on a roll with Outcast Effect, I can't make any promises.

Finger on muffin means death… metaphor!