"What… WHAT!?" Lex Luthor shouted in outrage, pacing back and forth in his office, as he took in some outrageous news on his phone. "What do you mean they escaped? TWICE!" he fumed, shouting over the shamed poacher on the other end. "How do you lose a five hundred pound, white lion? Of all of the incompetent…" he grumbled as he gripped the phone tighter in his fist. "And what about the other four I sent you? Were you able to take care of them?" he asked, apprehensive of any more negative news; but the reply he received was the exact opposite of what he wanted to hear. "You lost all of them! That wolf was just as rare- if not more so- than the lion! And do know how valuable that leopard was? There are fewer than 100 living specimens in nature! And do you have any idea how much a white lion pelt is worth!?" he paused and looked down at his desk and opened a drawer, revealing several vials of the splicing serum. "Do you have any idea how much work I had to put in for such specimens?" Luthor continued to rant, growing more furious with every thought of his priceless trophies never adorning his house.
"You imbeciles couldn't even handle the bird!" he continued to shout. "And I know you've dealt with foxes on numerous occasions; how could you let this one escape? Even a forty pound fox was too much for you to keep in check? How does that hap-" immediately his harsh scolding was cut short when the poacher explained how Luthor's prized animals escaped. "What…?" he asked, suspiciously listening to the poacher's claim. "That's preposterous!" he scoffed in response to the hunter's story, "how could those filthy beasts be capable of picking a lock? Let alone several?" he remarked arrogantly. Refusing to acknowledge the idea of an animal knowing how to unlock a cage, he laughed to himself as the hunter continued to back his story of the black wolf escaping from three cages with ease, and then opening a heavily-locked kennel, and helping the fox and lion escape as well. But as the poacher continued his accounts, Luthor's prideful ignorance slowly turned to startled suspicion. "It released the leopard too…?" he said in a chilling whisper as he imagined the black wolf expertly evading recapture and stealthily liberating an endangered leopard from peril. 'Just as Batman would…' he thought to himself as he picked up one of the vials and slowly twirled it in his hand.
"Nonsense!" Lex finally shouted into the phone, snapping himself out of his paranoid stupor. "There's no way five stupid beasts could be capable of such a feat. And if you think I'm going to believe your story and let your failure slide, then you're even dumber than I thought!" he shouted as he slammed the vial down onto his desk "Get. Them. BACK!" Luthor ordered, "Use your traps, your guns! They can't have gotten far. Split up; find them. If you ever expect to see even a penny from me, you'll get every one of them back, and take care of them once and for-" Just then, Luthor's commands were cut short, as the poacher countered the orders with some comments of his own.
"What do you mean you're charging me?" Lex shouted, shocked. "Damages!? What damages?" he asked, before having his bill read to him over the phone. "It did what?" he said in disbelief when he was told of how the poachers' computer and electrical systems had been hacked and damaged by Lex's 'super wolf.' "It accessed your computers?" Lex scoffed suspiciously. "How stupid do you think I-" again he was cut off when the poachers told of how they would now need a new computer- considering how the wolf's hacking prowess was too much for the warehouse systems to take, and that their main computer was fried shortly afterwards. He was then told of how much it would cost for them to rewire and repair their electrical systems, after having the power shut off, multiple times, by his fleabags. Listening to the claims, Luthor's feeling of suspicion slowly returned, as the hunter's accounts bore striking similarities to Justice League's stealth tactics. 'But, they'd only be capable of such acts if…' he paused and looked back at the vial of splicing mutagen on his desk. "But that's impossible," he said to himself in a low whisper, "they would have to have negated the mind-altering agents of the serum. There's no way they could've done that; they would've had to know about it," he continued to himself, completely ignoring the poacher's demands for damage payment. "There's no way they could've known… they didn't even know what we'd done to them," he continued to mutter to himself as he picked up one of the vials and read its label: Grey Wolf. 'Batman…'
"No," he said to himself as he threw the vial back into desk, slamming the drawer shut, and erasing any lingering doubt from his subconscious. "Enough!" he finally shouted into the phone, remembering the stupid poacher on the other end. "I don't have time for your pitiful excuses. Get them back! Do whatever it takes. I don't care if you-" just then he was cut off by the poacher's unexpected reply. "What did you say…?" Luthor asked, a slight tremble in his voice. "Hawk Girl?! She took them?" he said in confused disbelief, nearly choking on his own words. "What on earth was she doing there-" but then, Lex remembered the poacher's story of how they caught the wolf using the warehouse computers… 'He was contacting the Justice League…' he thought to himself, frozen in his realization that he and Grodd's splicing serum hadn't completed it tasks. "The League knows…" he whispered to himself, before hanging up the phone, completely ignoring the poacher's story.
Immediately, Luthor pulled another phone from his desk, and proceeded to call Legion headquarters. "Grodd," he shouted into the phone, not even waiting for a response, "they know! We have to reconfigure the splicing serum! We need-" suddenly, out of nowhere, the power went out. Alone in the stale darkness of his office, Lex sat in his chair, startled, and listening for any signs of activity. "Wha- who's there?" he shouted as he strained to see in the pitch black emptiness. When no one answered, he slowly began to calm down, assuming that it was no more than a blown fuse. But as he rose from his desk and proceeded to look for a flashlight, Luthor felt his blood run cold, when the haunting sound of a howl echoed through his office… Scanning what little he could see in the darkness, Lex stumbled forward, bumping into a filing cabinet near the back corner of the room. Pulling a flashlight from one of its drawers, Lex quickly switched it on and investigated the origin of the ghostly cry; but after taking only two steps forward, he was stopped short in his tracks by the unnerving sounds of growling- like that from a wild dog 'or wolf…' he thought as he hurriedly shone the flashlight in front of him- only to find that there was nothing there. Waving the light in front of him and checking his surrounding area, Luthor was secretly relieved to find that what he thought was there, was nowhere to be seen. Starting to relax, he turned around and proceeded to make his way to the door to figure out what happened to the power. Shining the light on the floor to see his path, Luthor continued to listen out for another howl, but never heard a sound. Growing closer to the door, he watched his feet carry him across the floor, listening to the rhythm of his footsteps, before he suddenly noticed the end of a long, spotted tail slowly floating off into the darkness, the bone-chilling sounds of a snarl, following it out of view. Nervous, Lex chased the sight with his flashlight, but again, saw nothing. Convinced that he was losing his mind, he put a hand to his head, and turned back towards the door; but as he shined the light in front of him, he jumped in terror at the sight of two sets of yellow-green eyes staring at him from the shadows! Dropping the flashlight in shock, he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground in response to the sight.
Sitting in the dark, Luthor began to panic as the vicious sounds of snarling became louder, and the eyes grew nearer. Searching the floor for his flashlight, he was caught off guard by a sudden whoosh of air, blasting him from overhead. Covering his head in response, he frantically continued to search for his flashlight and crawl backwards toward his desk as another eerie howl passed through the room, overshadowed by the cry of an eagle. Finally finding the flashlight, he immediately turned it on, only to drop it in fear as it reflected off of two haunting yellow eyes, and dripping fangs, bared inches away from his face! Jumping back, Lex stared at the glowing eyes and listened to their owner's feral snarling a moment longer before the lights were restored and he was able to see the full image of an angry red fox. Its thick red and brown fur stood on end, and its pointed ears were directed forward as it aggressively held its ground in front of Luthor.
Still shaken, it took a minute before Lex realized who he was staring at, and immediately began to question how he'd gotten there. "Flash?" he said nervously, looking at the aggressive canine- its lightning-tipped tail standing erect as it continued to stare hatefully at him. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker on and off, disorienting Luthor as he continued to stare at the snarling fox; but then, just as mysteriously as it had appeared, Lex was baffled to see that the fox had disappeared. Again, the lights shut off and Lex was left alone in the dark. Contemplating on whether or not what he'd just seen was real, his assumptions were confirmed ten-fold, when the lights came back on and, in place of a fox, stood a large Amur leopard- its claws digging into his Persian rug and its eyes fixed on his throat, as the big cat stalked around him in circles. Scared, Luthor began to back away from the creature, only to have his motions halted by a hateful hiss, joined by the command to 'stay put.' Looking past the still-snarling cat, Luthor was startled by the human figures approaching him from the shadows. "What…?" he whispered to himself when he saw Green Arrow- now covered in black and grey feathers, his nose hooked in the shape of a beak- and Booster Gold- his once blonde hair, now a shaggy dark grey, and his full, black-striped tail wafting behind him as he walked- slowly approaching before stopping to stand behind the leopard.
"I reckon you ain't goin' anywhere," another voice said with a gruff southern drawl as another anthropomorphized figure stepped forward- this one carrying a large green-eyed eagle on its arm. Frozen as the figure grew closer, Lex stared in shock as the werewolf-ish creature, soon identified as Vigilante, lifted its clawed hand and removed the red bandana that covered the lower half of his face, and revealed a set of razor sharp teeth as the golden eagle spread its wings and leapt from Vigilante's arm and flew towards Lex Luthor, aggressively flapping its wings and scratching his hands with its talons. Struggling to protect himself from the powerful bird, and swinging his arms in an attempt to drive it from his face as his suit was torn to shreds, Lex continued to back away from his attackers, stumbling backwards until he bumped into a large, sturdy entity. Stiffening upon contact, Luthor felt his heart stop when he heard the sounds of breathing, and he felt the bone-chilling sensation of a growl rumbling through his body. Slowly he turned around and shined his flashlight on whatever, or whoever, was waiting behind him…
Again, he was caught staring into the glowing yellow-green eyes of an animal: a huge, muscular white lion whose almost ethereal eyes reflected the slowly weakening power of Lex's flashlight. "Superman…?" he said in fear, forcing the words out as he stared at the dagger-like three-inch canines, shining beneath the beast's feral snarl. Unable to move as the lion continued to study his actions, Lex's unease intensified as, slowly, the star-spotted leopard stalked forward and stood beside the lion- its eyes also shining under the dimming light. "But… how-" before Luthor could utter another word, the entire building trembled under the thunderous power of the lion's mighty roar! His bones rattling from the powerful vocalization, Lex was helpless as the ghostly white lion raised its paw and swatted the flashlight out of his hands, smashing into pieces with a single effortless blow. Alone in the dark, Lex wasn't even given the chance to watch the flashlight reach the floor, before he heard another threatening roar- this time, from the leopard- and was forcefully pinned to the floor!
With the weight of the lion's massive musculature pressing into him- one of its paws baring into his shoulder, while the other pressed into his chest- he could feel the needle-like points of the big cat's claws on his skin, as he listened to the mighty beast's hostile breathing. Struggling to breathe under the immense weight of the lion, Luthor lay pinned to floor in terror, assuming this was how he'd meet his end. Terrified, he briefly looked up into the darkness and managed to make out the vague outline of the white cat's broad shoulders and full mane, as he waited to be done in; but instead, he was left to endure the great pressure of the lion's heavy paw, slowly moving from his chest, and sliding directly under his throat! It was then, that the snarling stopped. Abruptly silenced by the unnerving echo of a wolf's howl and an eagle's cry, the hushed growling was followed by the steady rhythm of footsteps and the clicking of claws on the hardwood floor as someone approached Luthor's restrained body. The encroaching footsteps stopped, just as the office's lights wildly began to flicker back on, allowing Lex to look up and see- not the fearsome white lion, but instead- a demonic black wolf, silently looking down on him. Even with the lights on, the animal's eyes remained an eerie gold as they looked directly into Luthor's- staring through his dilated pupils, and directly through to his soul. Its expression unchanging, the large black wolf continued to stare at Luthor, alone, in arid silence.
Each of his arms, strategically pinned down by its large heavy paws, Luthor was left to look up at the brooding canine, still staring down at him coldly. Like a statue, the wolf lifelessly watched Luthor. Its eyes unmoving; its expression set in stone; Luthor lay beneath it, helplessly forced to stare into its bold amber-yellow eyes, surrounded by pitch-black, unnaturally dark fur, before the silence became too much for him to bare. "What!?" he shouted anxiously, still looking upward, but refusing to look directly into his challenger's eyes. "Is this your attempt to scare me!?" Lex shouted, with empty confidence. Though he tried to hide his fear, it was obvious how terrified he truly was, pinned down on the floor beneath the strong black wolf. In an attempt to end the madness, Luthor continued to shout at his attackers, hoping his words would scare them into submission. "Batman!" he screamed in an almost accusatory tone, "I know you- all of you- can understand me!" he shouted in a desperate attempt to break the silence. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work! You're stuck like this! … And I'm the only one who can fix it," Lex said in disillusioned arrogance. "Well if you think this is enough to scare me into changing you hairballs back, then-" suddenly, his crazy rant was cut off as the wolf- silent and still mere seconds ago- shot towards Luthor! Its sharp, dripping fangs bared and directed on a crash course for his throat! Not even granted time to react, Lex gasped and slammed his eyes shut in fear, bracing himself for the gruesome attack; but instead, he was left in unsettling anticipation when his throat was left intact.
Slowly opening his eyes, Luthor was both terrified and relieved to see the brooding wolf's scissor-like teeth: not wrapped around his throat, but instead, halted mere centimeters from his face! Frozen stiff and still too startled to breathe, Lex watched the wolf slowly draw its jaws back and step away from his now-trembling body as a voice spoke up behind him. "Looks like someone's afraid of the big bad wolf," the voice remarked as Lex clumsily and- eyes still fixed on the intimidating black wolf, joined by the white lion, leopard, and fox, as the golden eagle landed on the lion's back, - nervously returned to his feet.
"Who's there?" Lex shouted when he couldn't recognize the voice; though it sounded familiar- like a woman's he'd heard before- its gravely, almost growl-like, undertones kept him from pinpointing its familiarity. "Show yourself!" he demanded.
"No problem," the voice complied. As Lex waited for the comment's owner to reveal herself, looking around his office for the woman, he was suddenly caught off guard and blasted in the face by a furious blow to the jaw! Thrown backwards and slamming into his desk, Lex came to just in time to see a woman covered in a thick pelt of sandy grey and cream-colored fur, dappled with subtle black speckles. Her large pointed ears that were topped with long tufts of fur, faced forward in aggression, as she approached him from the side, snatching him up by the collar of his shirt.
"Hawk Girl?" he asked in disbelief before she brought him closer to her face.
"Not anymore, thanks to you!" she shouted furiously, before taking a brief look over her shoulder at her now nonexistent wings! Vengefully she punched him again, her furious screams, overshadowed by the sounds of a roar emanating from her throat. Staggering up from the blow, Luthor came to just in time to see an arrow, adorned with a boxing glove, speeding towards his chest, and blasting the air out of his body on impact. "You bald-headed creep!" Shayera shouted as she watched Vigilante and Booster Gold scoop Luthor's gasping body from the floor and slam him into a wall. "Do you have any idea what you did to us?" she roared, looking at her still transforming team members. "To them!?" she fumed, looking to Diana and John approaching from behind.
"You know, we could let them eat you…" Arrow joked as he looked over to Superman- both he and Batman watching the scene intently. "Fortunately they're smart enough to know how bad junk food is."
"You've pulled some shifty stunts in the past, Lex," Vigilante added, wearily looking up from his bushy grey tail. "But I reckon, this, is an all-time low…"
"And if you think we're going to let this go," Shayera scoffed as she drew what appeared to be a cherry bomb from her pocket, "then you're even dumber than I thought," she said before throwing the smoke bomb to the ground. As the whistling mist began to expel from the smoke bomb, she and the others stepped back from Luthor and left him alone, coughing in the mist as they disappeared.
When the smoke cleared and the once-dimmed lights finally brightened, Lex found that he was once again alone. The Justice League- both humanoid and animal alike- were gone. Still disheveled from his confrontation, Lex stood up from the wall and suspiciously searched the office, making sure that everyone was actually gone. As he returned to his desk, he proceeded to straighten himself up, and, disgustedly, dust the traces of black and white fur from his suit, before reaching for the phone to contact Grodd. Growing closer to his desk, he reached forward to grab the phone, only to feel his heart stop, at the sight of his wrinkled, loose skin and clawed nails! 'What the…' he exclaimed to himself, his eyes widening at the sight, before looking down at his arms and hands and making the terrifying discovery that his splicing serum had been used against him! "How did-" he shrieked to himself as he ran to the nearest mirror and gawked at his long snout and sharp incisors, and looking over his shoulder in disbelief at his long pink tail! 'How could this have happened? And so fast!?' he thought to himself in horror, before reflecting on Hawk Girl's final words before she and the rest of the Justice League left his office in a puff of smoke- "the smoke!" he said to himself, realizing that the League 'Batman's idea, no doubt,' had managed to reconfigure his splicing serum into a fast acting gas; turning Luthor into the very embodiment of his actions: a filthy hairless rat.