Ascension Girls Harem has been updated, line-up likely finalized, live action counterparts maybe finalized, we'll see. Blog in profile.
Chapter 28: Society Part Two.
Grodd and his Secret Society stood basking in the afterglow of what happened. The Justice League had suffered a humbling defeat. The gorilla looked rather smug at what he thought was his success, turning to the team, and sharing the benefit of his observations.
"The Justice League is now a thing of the past," Grodd said, before he paused and continued with a smug tone. "It's quite simple really. The thoughts that were always in the back of their head had been amplified more and more. The seven of them had some cross thoughts against each other before."
The members of the Secret Society all nodded, each of them feeling good about what had transpired.
"We've got this one in the bag, Grodd," Giganta remarked.
Killer Frost continued with a predatory smile. "All we have to do is put on the finishing touches. Why didn't we just kill them there?"
"It's all about picking the right spot," Grodd replied in a rough voice, and Killer Frost seemed dubious regarding this, but did not say anything. "We're going to take out the Justice League at the most public venue possible. When they are at their lowest, we shall put them out of their misery."
The members of the Secret Society conceded that it would be the best way to tackle everything.
"It shall be easy to take them down, when they can barely stand each other," Grodd contiued. He continued to spin around, and looked out into the distance. "The Justice League are such primitives, they should have never tried to intervene with my plans. I should be thanking them though., especially the Flash, for were it was not for his meddling, I would not have the gifts at my disposal. Their own blundering with be their downfall."
The members of the Secret Society nodded. Clayface shifted and looked at Grodd with a warning expression. "Don't get too cocky. It's easy to get caught up in the moment. However, we should strike while the iron is hot. I've been in too many movies where the villain lost because he did not get the better of the hero."
"Mr. Hagen forgive me if I have little use for cinema," Grodd remarked in a dead pan tone.
Clayface decided to press forward regardless. "Hollywood or not, don't let up on anything. The Justice League will need to be taken down, before they figure out what has happened."
Grodd looked at Clayface, and with that look, his expression twisted into sadism.
"Yes, Mr. Hagen, I realize what must be done. My plan is merely twofold. We have achieved the first stage of the plan, no more. This entire team will get what's coming to them in the end. As I promised, you will get the best of both worlds."
Grodd stepped around, and heard the presence of someone who had arrived. He had figured this meeting was coming. It was just unfortunate it happened now.
"Excuse me for one moment," Grodd said. He stepped over, and saw a figure in the background, hovering rather impatiently. "Yes, Klarion, what is it?"
The Lord of Chaos stood before him, knowing full well that the partnership was tentative at best, but they both got a mutual deal out of dealing with the Justice League.
"Arcane, Supergirl, and Power Girl are trapped in their own office building thanks to me," Klarion said, his tone smug. "I think you should be thanking me. For if it was not for my great powers, then you would have been dealing with a headache. Plus, I helped you stirred up the thoughts in the Justice League. So once again, you should be thanking me."
Grodd offered a sadistic expression on his face, nodding his head towards the Lord of Chaos.
"You will get the credit you deserve, my friend," Grodd replied. He detested having to trust this wildcard. "Until the moment that the Justice League and their associates are in the ground, we can't afford to fight amongst ourselves. All credit will be distributed. You just ensure that you will keep your end of the bargain. I have watched those three from afar. While I only know a minor amount about this Power Girl, I know enough about Supergirl and Arcane that they do not have the same hang-ups about killing as the rest of the Justice League. We must ensure that they do not intervene."
"It is almost like you fear their retribution once they find out that you are a part of this plan," Klarion answered.
There was a long pause where Grodd considered the question at hand, and his gaze was fixed firmly on Klarion. Most would have backed down from the murderous expression the gorilla had on his face. Klarion was not most people. The agent of chaos was absolutely fearless in what he was doing. Klarion cleared his throat.
"Just remember our agreement, ape," Klarion said. "I will keep those three out of your hair, and then you will assist me for my aims."
Grodd nodded. He had understood the devil's bargain that he had made with this agent of chaos. He stood, and his gaze remained fixed upon Klarion.
"You shall return, and personally make sure that they are exterminated," Grodd answered in a rough voice. "If you are lucky, I will allow you just a tiny bit of the Justice League. And remember do not disappoint me or the consequences will be dire."
Klarion nodded swiftly, having no problems whatsoever with this arrangement. The more who fell to his powers, the better. He had problems with working with talking gorillas, but that was one of those situations where the enemy of the enemy was someone's friend. He moved off, and turned around to disappear into the night. Grodd watched him leave, with a small amount of distrust dancing in his eyes, and rightfully so given Klarion could decided to screw him over if the mood suited him.
Grodd spun around to the rest of the Secret Society, and considered them, before the gorilla inclined his head with a nod.
"Now, we must prepare for the final battle against the Justice League," Grodd answered. "Soon those primitives will be at our feet, and the world will see how much their so called heroes have failed."
The Secret Society all nodded in the background. Volcana stood, conflict washing over her face. She nodded immediately, even if there was a bit of uncertainty about this entire case. Something about this entire situation did not set right with her. She had a feeling that she was transferring herself from one cage to the other when making this deal with Grodd.
The Secret Society moved off to deal with the Justice League. The time was now, and they wanted to make sure the team suffered the most embarrassing and demoralizing defeat on the way down. Grodd thought that everything was going to plan, and knew that he could not trust this group to work together for much longer.
He needed to move quickly. The League must perish, and the Secret Society would stand tall over their rotting corpses.
The shadow creatures continued to pour into the top floor. They were deflected back from their position with fire attacks as Harry and Kara continued to fight them. They managed to corner them for the most part. Their shields were able to keep up the attacks, and knocked them back. Some of them had faded in powers. Others were stronger, and Harry and Kara managed to keep up the fight each and every second along the way. It was a constant battle of concentration.
"Karen should be back at any moment!" Harry yelled.
Kara vaporized one of her enemies with a magically enhanced blast of heat vision.
"Unless she got caught by something," Kara said to Harry, frowning with distrust at that moment.
Harry and Kara fought the demons off, as they used their magical attacks to hold them back. The spells ripped through them. These monsters were soulless creatures, and only capable of mindless attacks. The floors were sealed off, and Kara knocked one of the creatures, catching it hard with her attacks. A burst of heat vision knocked one of the creatures back,
A flash of light popped. Karen had returned, and just in time. She had a large cylinder like object in her hands. Harry and Kara stood back, and watched her attack them, with the cylinder was pointed towards the shadow creatures. They lit up, and almost burst into flames, and once they disappeared, Harry and Kara let out the breath they had been holding, this appeared to be working.
"Karen, it's working, keep it up!" Harry yelled. More of the creatures had vanished into nothingness, from the attacks she gave.
Karen nodded, gritting her teeth, the magical artifact made her fingers numb, but she suspected that this was done by design by the creator. The truth with all magical artifacts was that there was some kind of drawback to using them; otherwise, people would be using them all of the time.
Then again, where she assumed she was sending these creatures, it was just as well. They were getting sent off to another dimension where they would perish. Harry and Kara corralled them towards the artifact, and the cylinder continued to glow. Each and every single shadow creature had been sucked into oblivion.
Harry, Kara, and Karen collapsed on the floor. The cylinder had been glowing immediately. Then it went completely dull, and numb. They all took a deep breath, trying to regain their bearings. The shadow demons had been defeated and now they felt a bit flushed. The artifact began to vibrate, and Karen passed it off to Harry. It was unwise to hold onto the same magical artifact for too long with the same person. Harry pointed the artifact, and tried to pinpoint the source of who attacked him.
The artifact was blinking, so Harry thought he could follow the threads to the source, and hopefully find out who was behind this.
"You got something?" Kara asked.
"Yeah, I've got something," Harry answered, eyes snapped dead ahead. "I have a feeling that if we follow the threads, we'll be able to find who is behind this. But we better be careful. We're dealing with a really dangerous foe."
"How dangerous are we talking about?" Karen asked. A feeling of dread flooded her body immediately.
It was Kara who answered. "Well look at this logically. We are dealing with someone who was strong enough to control these creatures. We're not going to have any day at the beach against them."
A flash of blinding light had erupted at this point. Harry, Kara, and Karen stood ready to go, and ready to fight. After being attacked in their own main office building, all three of them were jumpy. A figure materialized in the mid-air. He was dressed in blue, with a golden helmet. Harry relaxed his attacks, only slightly, with Kara and Karen copying his movements.
Harry stared him down for a moment, before he addressed him.
"Doctor Fate, I presume," Harry answered, to break the silence.
The powerful sorcerer known as Doctor Fate stood before him, and inclined his head towards him in a nod.
"Yes, Harry Potter. I have been watching you from afar today, when I sensed those creatures be transported into this dimension. I was about to intervene, but you three handled yourselves admirably."
Doctor Fate turned around, and faced Harry, Kara, and Karen, they had only heard of Fate and his exploits, but the three Potters had not the pleasure of meeting him until now.
"It appears that today's attack was only just a minor distraction from the true schemes from today," Doctor Fate continued. "The Justice League was the main target, and the mastermind behind today's events needed you distracted."
"What happened to the Justice League?" Karen asked, immediately on her guard.
Fate decided to elaborate. "There is a dark and looming presence that has infected this dimension."
Harry just groaned. Anything about a dark and looming presence was never a good sign, something like that only leas to headaches; that was one thing that had been proven time and time again. He folded his arms, and tried to remain calm and collected.
"This dark and looming presence is most problematic," Doctor Fate said. The three of them nodded. "I believe that the architect behind it is an ageless sorcerer named Klarion. He is a Lord of Chaos, and he will not take his defeat lightly."
"Another person who wants to kill us," Kara said, and she shook her head at these words before sighing. "You know there's a line forming because of something like that."
Doctor Fate continued to explain the perils of the situation that they were in. "Yes, and Klarion's dark magic has lowered the inhibitions of the Justice League. They are more prone to rip each other apart. They will find fault with each other with the most petty of differences. So far, cooler heads have prevailed, but it will not be long before they eventually are in a situation where they become even more distrustful towards each other. Klarion is just sitting back, and enjoying the chaos."
"Where is this Klarion?" Karen asked, raring for a fight.
"That's what I have been trying to determine," Fate said. He held an amulet to Harry. "This should be able to banish him from this realm. Use it wisely, as it can only be used once. It is not as simple as using the artifact, you must trick him into lowering his defenses."
Harry nodded in understanding. He stood around, and thought about what he was going to do. A plan was formulating in his head, but having a plan and executing it were two different things.
"There is someone else, but Klarion behind this," Fate offered. "There is an earth criminal named Gorilla Grodd. His group fought the Justice League right before they broke up."
"Wait a minute, broke up?" Kara asked, taken completely and utterly off guard.
This was news for her. She looked at Fate with a demanding look.
"Last I heard the Justice League were still going strong," Karen added, but it did seem to be only inevitable given the personalities in the League.
"Yes, the Justice League decided to go their separate ways," Fate continued.
"You seem to know a lot about this," Harry said slowly, whilst he eyed Fate in a suspicions manner.
Fate was quick to explain this before too many bad feelings could be harbored. "I had been observing the League from afar. They had offered me membership previously, but I have had other responsibilities that had distracted me. Perhaps another day, I intended to revisit their proposal. Klarion might be a problem, but this Gorilla Grodd presents a threat. You have heard of him."
Kara, Karen, and Harry exchanged dark looks, and nodded, that did make sense.
"Yes, we've heard of him," Kara answered, and she had heard about Grodd's battles previously with the Justice League, but she, Harry, and Karen had not met him. "He's just a glorified talking gorilla. I mean he had that mind control helmet, but it should have fried his brain."
It hit Harry.
"Unless it amplified his brain wave powers," Harry answered, everything striking him at that moment. "And it affected everyone close to him."
"Why didn't he use that thing on us?" Karen asked.
'I think this psychic link blocks out any attempt at mind control,' Harry thought to both of them.
'That really makes sense,' Kara thought to both of them.
'Yeah it does,' Karen agreed.
'So what are we going to do now?' Kara asked.
'Maybe you should have a talk with Kal,' Karen said.
'Yeah, I think I can knock some sense into his thick head,' Kara thought to them all.
Kara, Karen, and Harry all turned to Doctor Fate, but it was Kara who spoke first.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to make sure the Justice League does not break apart. I'll speak with my cousin."
Kara turned to Harry and Karen.
"Wish me luck," Kara remarked to them, a smile on her face.
"Luck has nothing to do with what you're about to do," Harry said.
Nevertheless, Harry, Karen, and Kara exchanged a passionate goodbye. Karen and Harry proceeded to gather intelligence about what Grodd and Klarion might be up to. Kara flew off to Clark's apartment, where she had tracked him through his League communicator.
It was time for a little cousin to cousin chat.
Kara frowned. This could prove to be rather stressful.
Clark sat in his apartment, and after the last several hours, there was a lot for him to think about. The Justice League did seem like a good idea at the time, however, after some conflicts, Clark was having some serious doubts about everything that had happened.
A knock on his door had brought him out of his thoughts. He moved off to open the door, and it opened. Kara was waiting on the other end, and his cousin had a frown on her face. She looked at Clark with a completely serious expression on her face.
"We need to talk," Kara said to Clark, in a tone that left no room for debate.
"Kara, what is it?" Clark asked.
Kara sighed. She looked at her cousin in the eyes.
"Today, Harry, Karen, and I were attacked by shadow creatures," Kara told Clark. Clark's expression paled at those words.
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No, no one was hurt," Kara answered swiftly. "It looks like we found a practical use for one of those magical artifacts. They're too dangerous, and addictive to use on a day to day basis. However, we were able to banish those creatures back to where they came. Doctor Fate then showed up, and told us what happened. Is it true the Justice League had been disbanded?"
"Yes," Clark said in a stoic voice, and with a motion Kara pressed him for details. "We tried to make it work, but you were right not to join, Kara. I should have seen the signs myself. A team like that was not going to function for long. We were a lot better as solo heroes. I only had to worry about myself, and the people that I had to save. I did not have to worry about the other members of the team tripping over my feet."
Kara shook her head. She felt the need to enlighten Clark on certain manners.
"I always thought the Justice League was a good idea," Kara said softly. "It was just not a good idea with Harry or me in it. We needed to do certain things, and we did not want the League to be dragged down with anything we do. It's obvious you guys have a certain way you feel like you need to do things. And that's your business, not mine. However, I think that you are that shining beacon of hope that the world needs. And you're just going to let Grodd and Klarion try and destabilize everything that has been happening."
Clark was taken off guard.
"There was a Chaos Lord named Klarion, he was helping Grodd mess with your minds," Kara explained.
"No level of mind control could trigger that kind of reaction," Clark persisted. He realized what was happening. "Unless those thoughts were already in there with us, we couldn't have thought them."
"Yes, I'm sure you had some thoughts about the League that you weren't proud about," Kara said. "It's only human…yeah I know technically we're not, but you get my point. You're not going to be perfect. People should not expect that of you. It's just not fair."
Clark just offered Kara a strained smile. He had been getting that feeling that people expected too much of him just because he was Superman. It was selfish to think that he could have some time to himself, or so he thought. However, there were times where the entire fate of an operation had hinged on whether or not he could save the day. He stood there, and took some rather rough shots because he could take them.
That was the kind of pressure that would cause anyone to crack and go off the deep end. And there had been days where Clark just wanted to scream. Then again, he wondered if his other team members had been under similar pressures.
He never asked them, and they were not telling him.
"What am I going to do?" Clark asked.
"You're going to dust yourself up, and make sure the Justice League gets back into the race," Kara said. "Whatever differences you have, you can solve them later. You don't want Grodd to make a monkey out of you."
Clark did a double take.
"Flash would approve of that statement," Clark said. He was smiling
"Yeah, well whatever gets you smiling," Kara answered, a grin on her face as well.
Before Clark could make another movement, the apartment wall burst open, allowing Bizarro to pop on in, and slam Clark hard into a coffee table. The table shattered from the impact. Clark was caught off guard by his double. He was smashed around, and whipped into the wall. Several punches leveled Clark.
Kara was not caught off guard. In fact, she was prepared for Bizarro, and thus pulled out a chunk of blue rock from her bag; it glowed in the light, and she pointed it at Bizarro. The creature staggered, and was suddenly weakened from the glowing rock.
"Pretty rock hurt Bizarro!" the creature growled.
"Yes, pretty rock hurt you, so back away from my cousin now!" Kara yelled, eyes flashing with fury.
Clark pulled himself to his feet. He tried to shake off the cobwebs. Bizarro dropped down to the ground, completely weakened and he shivered from the exposure to the Blue Kryptonite.
"Kara, I think he's been manipulated as much as we are," Clark said.
Kara just stood guard over Bizarro with the blue Kryptonite. Her gaze became fixed on Clark, no humor in her eyes, or tone whilst she spoke.
"Clark, I swear if you say he's practically family; I swear to Rao I will throw you through that other wall."
Clark stopped, and put up his hands defensively. He blinked, and really got a good look at what Kara was holding. This was new to him.
"So wait blue Kryptonite?" Clark asked.
"We brought a few chunks back from our Interdimesional trip," Kara told Clark, offering a little shrug. "I kept them on me, thought they might come in handy."
"Bruce has taught you too well," Clark said.
Kara just nodded, that was the truth in a nutshell.
"I don't know if he's going to recover, but I'll call Harry and Karen, and we'll get him out of here," Kara answered.
"He's impaired," Clark said to Kara.
Kara offered Clark a look of pity. She supposed he had a point. Dealing with Bizarro was like dealing with a small child. Albeit a small child who had super powers, and could hurt people because he did not know his own strength.
"Sure, yeah, I noticed that," Kara said, waving her hands, with a tired shrug. The rapidly degenerated form of Bizarro rested on the floor.
Clark moved over, and flipped up a communicator.
"Hey, guys, it's me. I know we got left on a bad note, but none of us were in completely sound mind today. Meet me down by the docks at Metropolis, and I'll explain everything. Trust me, it's going to all work out."
Clark had made the call. Now all he had to do was wait.
Could the Justice League pull it together?
Grodd had received word that the Justice League was meeting out by the docks. Giganta, Volcana, Killer Frost, Clayface, and Ragdoll followed behind him. Bizarro was currently missing in action, but to be perfectly honest Grodd thought that was only a minor setback. They could still win. He had the power behind his mind.
The Justice League popped up immediately from the shadows. Superman stood in front of them leading the charge. Flash, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern followed next. The Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman popped up next. Batman brought up the rear from the shadows. The entire Justice League stood facing the Secret Society.
"You are fools," Grodd said in a rough voice. "We already beat you once today."
Superman stared down Grodd, the Man of Steel tried to not let his doubts get the better of him.
"We'll see who beats who, Grodd," Superman said in a firm voice.
"Yeah, Grodd, you're not going to make a monkey out of us again," Flash chimed in.
Green Lantern just groaned, and felt the urge to palm his face. "You just had to say it."
"Never mind that, if we're all going to be on the same page, we've got to do this," Hawkgirl said. Her mace was clutched firmly in her hands, and she prepared for the attack.
The two groups stood next to each other.
"So, what is he waiting for?" Wonder Woman asked.
"On your guard," Batman warned them, stern and resolved as always.
Grodd just stepped forward, and tried to exert his control into the Justice League again. He concentrated hard, and the Justice League tried to fight it. Now that they knew it was coming, they were able to fight it off. Grodd's mind was strong.
"I'll see if I can get through," Martian Manhunter grunted. He tried to use his power to fight off Grodd's and to shield the minds of his fellow League members. He closed his eyes tightly, and took a deep breath. The mental battle continued each and every second along the way. It was an intense struggle between the Martian Manhunter and Grodd. Grodd managed to push just a little more.
He was willing to go further than the Martian was ever going to.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold back," Flash managed, his knees buckling. "My ears feel like they're ringing."
Green Lantern grunted, and tried to blast at Grodd with an energy construct. The mental probe was messing with his will power. The Justice League nearly bent to their knees.
"That's it, kneel before me," Grodd said roughly.
"Now!" Superman yelled.
The Justice League and the Secret Society were caught off guard, when a high-pitch sound echoed through the air. This broke Grodd's mind control, and the own power of his mind knocked him completely off guard. Grodd flew head over heels, and crashed onto the ground with a solid thud. He rolled over in absolute agony. Grodd tried to regain his bearings, and he felt stunned. He tried to shake off the attack.
"You can't do that," Giganta managed, standing at her full height.
Supergirl, Arcane, and Power Girl showed up, and they hovered above the ground; the three of them had smirks on their faces, and immediately Killer Frost tried to attack them. Flash zoomed in, and tripped her up, setting up Green Lantern to nail her with an attack. Giganta grew to several times her normal size.
"Whoa!" Flash said, and he was right underneath Giganta's skirt when he saw her grow.
"Stay focused!" Hawkgirl yelled to him, as she flew forward at super speed, and swung her mace hard. The mace connected with the face of Giganta. She staggered from the impact, and dropped to the ground.
Clayface and the Martian Manhunter did battle with each other, they circled each other, and Clayface shifted into the Martian Manhunter's form. The two continued to jockey for position, before they stepped up.
"So which one is the real Martian?" Kara whispered to Karen and Harry.
The three of them watched from high above. The Martian Manhunter fought with his duplicate. Harry used a spell to scan for the heat signature.
"That's him, right there!" Harry called to his wives.
'Clayface?' Kara thought.
'Yeah, Clayface, I can see him too,' Karen said.
Both Karen and Kara used magically amplified heat vision to catch Clayface off guard. He began to solidify, he was now heated clay, and then he hardened when they blew their ice breath at his form. Clayface dropped to the ground, and shattered into several pieces. Batman looked up at them, and they ignored his look of righteous indignation.
Harry, Karen, and Kara kicked up a whirlwind, and knocked Ragdoll for a loop. He was wrapped around with his arms, and legs. The contortionist tried to struggle, but he could not escape.
Several bright lights popped up.
"And there's our witch boy," Kara said, pointing him out.
Klarion looked positively demonic, and an attack blasted from his hands. He sent Kara and Karen scattering. Harry blocked his spell with a shield attack, and launched it back at him. He knocked several attacks back at Klarion. The Justice League tried to move in to help, however they had been immobilized in the spell.
Two bright lights clashed together. Klarion and Harry circled each other. Kara and Karen tried to attack him from behind with heat vision. The heat vision beams ricocheted back off of them. Harry lifted his hand up, and knocked Klarion back.
"You think you can beat me!" Klarion yelled. "I went toe to toe with Doctor Fate. And you have a lot to learn before you are even fit to clean Doctor Fate's helmet!"
Harry sent several spikes set on fire at Klarion, but Klarion dodged the attacks. Suddenly, a burst of fire from below had danced in front of Klarion. Volcana stood from below, and shrugged her shoulders, before she slipped off into the shadows. Klarion was distracted by her timely interfered. Harry reached into his pocket, and pulled out the amulet that Doctor Fate handed him.
The amulet was pressed on Klarion's back, and Klarion screamed in agony. The amulet had caused a negative effect on him, with his magic was betraying him and it was forced inwards to punish him. The Lord of Chaos tried to fight back, but his essence was banished to the ends of a shadow dimension.
The amulet shattered in Harry's hands. It was a one-time situation, just as Doctor Fate had told him. The Justice League was in the process of rounding up the members of the Secret Society, after Klarion had been banished. It would be a long time before he returned.
Grodd got up on his hands and knees, pushing himself up. He tried to get to up, and use his mental powers to attack the Justice League. Harry spotted him out of the corner of his eye. Grodd's eyes were directed right towards Kara and Karen in a way that he did not like Harry took corrective action.
He aimed a golden light at Grodd. The light struck Grodd in the back, and the impact shattered every bone in the gorilla's body, killing him instantly.
The Justice League turned, and looked towards Harry. He was not in the mood for this.
"He used his mental powers to control you, and who knows what he could have done with other people," Harry answered, hovering in the air with his arms folded, and Kara and Karen both nodded as well.
"Surely…we could have found a way to lock him up," Flash stammered. Yet there was a distinct lack of conviction in his voice.
The League tried to find another way to deal with Grodd. The fact that they could not bugged them all.
"I'm not sure about that," Wonder Woman answered, hating how the words sounded on her tongue.
"You can't be condoning what they did to Grodd!" Green Lantern snapped
"Yes, after having our minds being rearranged, we're sympathizing with this guy, right?" Hawkgirl asked. She looked at the entire League with a questioning look in her eyes. No one seemed to want to answer this question. "Yeah, I didn't think we were."
Kara decided to direct this conversation away from the dangerous waters it was heading towards. She took a deep breath, and looked at the Justice League. Her gaze was serious, and she hoped that they can get through this.
"So, is the Justice League back together?" Kara asked.
"Yes, we are," Superman said without hesitation.
"For better or for worse," Wonder Woman agreed.
"But we'll make it work," Flash added, trying to get some confidence back into the battle.
Kara, Karen, and Harry exchanged nods.
"I have to say, you pulled us out of the fire yet again," Superman said.
"You guys do a good enough job of fighting most of your battles," Kara said. She smiled at them. "We just tend to have the ability to get sucked into those things."
"Yeah, and it's not like the three of us aren't immune to getting into our share of trouble," Karen added. She offered a smile. "It comes with the territory."
"For sure," Harry agreed. He turned to the Justice League. "Whatever issues you have, just work them out. You'll be better for it. Grodd messed with your minds, and Klarion did too. However, there were things that were in your minds."
The Justice League nodded and many of them sighed, this was just one of the challenges they had to deal with. They were relatively new as a team, so they had a lot to work with. Hopefully in time they would be able to work through everything in time. Today was about all of the problems, and hopefully they would be much stronger as a team.
Volcana watched from the distance. She turned around, and walked off. Grodd had likely messed with all of their minds too, but of course, that meant that she was back on the run from the United States government. She had to keep running, before Cadmus could get their hands on her. It was going to be a long run.
Harry popped in front of her. The redhead looked at Harry. She gave him a shifty little smirk.
"Are you going to arrest me after I saved your butt back there?" Volcana asked.
Harry just responded with a shake of his head. "No, I can tell that you weren't really with them. Why did you decide to join up with Grodd?"
"It's personal," Volcana said. She stared at Harry for a few seconds. "I need to get going."
"Claire, I read your files, I know who's after you," Harry told her. "I can help you."
Volcana looked at Harry. She studied him intently for a few seconds.
"Yeah, I know you could, but trust me, it's just better if I'm on my own," Volcana said. She looked over her shoulders. "Are you really going to act like my own personal parole offer?"
"Technically you did break out of prison," Harry told her, and Volcana winced because that technically was true, but there were circumstances.
"Only because the United States Government was after me," Volcana said defensively. "I don't want to attack you. Because you have two wives, and they'd both likely kill me. I know Supergirl has a hell of a punch from experience. I'm sure Power Girl is the same."
Harry just stepped to the side. He offered her a way out.
"Remember, you can't run forever," Harry warned her.
"I can try," Volcana offering him a smile, before spinning around, and walking off.
She moved off into the night, and continued to run as fast as her legs could carry her. She was sure the government agents would keep coming after her. She had to keep running. The government agents who had been chasing her for the past five years seemed to have been taken under new, more obsessive management.
She was starting to regret not accepting the offer from help from Patronus Inc, but it was too late to turn back.
It was going to be a long night for her.
After the mission, the Justice League had returned to the Watchtower. The mission was over, but it would be one that they would not forget for a long time. The entire group sat around in the Watchtower; they were all making light, and rather awkward conversation. After some of the things that were said, none of them wanted to bring up the elephant in the room. Finally, Flash was the one who had the courage to bring everything us.
"So, earlier today, we kind of broke up," Flash said. He took a sigh, and the entire team looked at him. "And really, is it a good idea for us to get back together? There are times where we've done some good in the world. But, you can't deny that we weren't tripping over each other's feet out there."
Wonder Woman looked at Flash. "I won't deny we haven't had our growing pains as a team. But are you going to deny all of the good we've done."
"We sure were out there when we were at each other's throats," Flash said.
"That was Grodd and Klarion messing with our minds," Green Lantern offered, raising his hands, and waving them. "We're not going to break up. We just got to keep things together, and keep training. The Corps have had problems like this before. Don't think that that there weren't times where we were at each other's throats."
The members of the Justice League exchanged nods with each other. That seemed to be true for every team. Superman slowly turned his attention to Batman.
"You seem oddly quiet about this," Superman said.
"I admit that I've always had my reservations about this team, and today just proves that those fears may be justified," Batman said. He spoke in a calm, and collected tone of voice.
"After all of the good we've done, we're not going to give up," Hawkgirl answered.
"And I don't think that he is suggesting that, is he?" Flash asked.
Martian Manhunter was the next one to spoke up. "I believe that is not what he is inferring whatsoever. I do believe that today's events show that everything we know can be destabilized in an instant."
"We don't trust each other," Hawkgirl remarked. "Some of us seem unwilling to show our secret identities. What kind of trust is that?"
Batman shifted immediately. His gaze became stern and unwavering. "Trust is something that is built over time. It is not something that is given out blindly."
"So do you trust this team or not?" Flash asked.
Batman responded in a diplomatic manner. "I respect every single person on this team, and their capabilities. This team could become bigger than anything in the entire universe."
"That's really scary to think about," Flash said, shuddering.
"And we've got our eyes on new recruits," Superman answered. He took a long and hard breath. "Perhaps we should table the motion for expanding until the seven of us work out every single issue we have."
Superman looked at the other members of the team, it was true that they had been talking about expanding. The threats out there were getting more and more dangerous. It was an unintended consequence of the Justice League forming. The threats just kept escalating as more time passed.
The three members that were at the top of their recruitment list seemed to be more inclined to do their own thing. They had their own plans for the future of the world, and were only part-time involved in the hero things. Their passion was Patronus Incorporated, and that was helping people in other ways.
"Let's worry about the seven us right now, before we expand," Martian Manhunter said. "Each and every day our team grows."
"And each and every day, the team needs to prevent itself from crumbling," Superman said.
The entire Justice League chalked up today as a valuable learning experience. They would be unable to take back some of the things that had been said. Once words were said like that, they could not be unsaid. Those thoughts would be bubbling across the surface. They sat around the conference table, and reviewed the mission and the last couple. Today would be an experience where they would learn, and grow.
The toughest battles were yet to come. Grodd would not be bothering them again. Some of the members of the Justice League still felt uncomfortable with the killing thing, even though they understood more than ever why Harry took the steps he did. They would be there ready to swoop in if Harry, Kara, or Karen crossed the line too far. And they hoped that Harry, Kara, and Karen would do the same if something happened where they had been corrupted and did something where their power corrupted them.
How could they be heroes if they did not look out for each other?
The sun shined high over the skies of the beach right across the Potter home. Given that it was late into the month of September, Harry, Kara, and Karen figured that this was one of the last days that they would get to enjoy just hanging out on the beach before the winter weather hit. The three of them sat out on a blanket on the beach. Harry was sitting on the blanket, with Kara and Karen on the either side of him.
Harry sat wearing swimming trunks. Kara was dressed in a red bikini. The bikini top was tied loosely around her, with the top just barely containing her lovely breasts, and her ample cleavage was shown. Harry could see her lovely stomach that did not have one once of fat on it. Her legs were long and toned, down to the body of her lovely feet. Her bikini bottom was a red thong, just barely having enough fabric to cover what needed to be covered, and showed her tight ass.
Karen was wearing a white bikini. Two strips of fabric just covered her nipples, and with this attire, she showed plenty of flesh. Harry's eyes traveled down, looking quite pleased at what she was wearing; her large breasts looked about ready to burst out of her top. He looked at her mouth-watering flat stomach, her long, and rather sexy legs that were muscled. Her feet had made him drool as well.
"What a day," Harry said with a sigh.
"I know, tell me about it," Karen said. She wrapped her arms around Harry, and pressed her large breasts against his back, before she nuzzled the back of his neck with her face. "After the day we had, all of us. It's good to finally kick back, and wind down."
"I'll give an amen to that," Kara said. She pressed herself against Harry's side. Harry was sandwiched between two beautiful blondes, and loving every second of it. "So the League…"
"They'll be okay," Harry answered.
"I wish that I could share your optimism," Karen said shaking her head. "It starts with the petty infighting between team members. So far, it hasn't interfered with their missions too much. The League was able to maintain a public face of greatness in my world. Behind the scenes…"
"Different story," Kara suggested. "I really think that Kal is determined to try to keep the peace. My cousin really wants this Justice League to succeed."
"Well he really is the public face of it," Karen said. Perhaps Superman's presence in this world would be the one difference between success and failure of the Justice League. "So, about our little pryokinetic princess…I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let her run off."
"Harry has his reasons, don't you Harry?" Kara asked, giving her husband a dazzling smile.
"I know who's after her," Harry said, shortly. "The only reason Claire has lashed out was because she had been a government lab rat for most of her life. And now they want to tie up loose ends."
"It all goes back to Cadmus," Kara said, letting out her words with a sigh.
"A group that we haven't been able to find anything at all about," Harry told them, shaking his head.
"It must be big, bigger than anything we've ever realized," Karen said. Her expression darkened when she spoke the next statement. "And Luthor is right in the center of it."
Harry and Kara all nodded. It was really amazing how everything just always came back around to Lex Luthor.
For now, the time for business was over. Harry, Kara, and Karen had a lot of work to do. Doctor Fate had indicated that he wanted to meet with Harry, to discuss some of the artifacts he had stumbled upon in the Department of Mysteries. That meeting can wait for a bit later. Right now, the three Potters just relaxed on the beach. If this was the last day before autumn came in full force, they would do so.
They spent some time hanging out, relaxing, and listening to the classic rock hits of the 1980s on the beach. The fun had barely begun for them, but it was some necessary downtime.
Perhaps some downtime before the next insane thing they had to deal with, which would be around the corner.
To Be Continued in the Next Story Arc, Swap.
