I would like to start off by saying, this episode was not in my outline, it just happened. The first part yes, but the following chapters, no. The entire thing just flowed from my mind like water from a sprinkler, which is why this is being posted so fast. I'm also glad you all liked the interaction between Bruce and Damian. Tried not to go for too much cheesiness with that one, but I wanted to aim for the feels at the same time.

Paragon Eight - No, Bone Daddy was here for a limited time to supply clues for the League.

Black Victor Cachat - To me, Garfield's shape shifting powers would not simply be him imagining an animal and mimicing it, but he would need to come into contact with said animal to morph into it. I really don't see him growing extalimbs unless he morphs into an insect. As for Dinos, I think he would have to come into contact with their fossils to be able to assume their form. As for his brain, I see it as changing to match the animals but maintaining his human psyche. I would even say his mind woud be harder to read for weak telepaths due to that.

The Darkman - You know, before the N52, I thought they might do something with Catgirl and Daminan. Would have been funny for Batman and Catwoman to be standing on a bulding watching Catgirl and Damian Robin behave like younger versions of them.

Phoe Phoe - I think your message cut off, but thanks. Happy to be writing this and happy to see peole enjoy my work.

Batty For Bart - Thanks so much for that. As for Bart, there may not be a compleate episode focused on him, but he has a very important role later on.

11. Rebound

1.

April 29

With the vacuum of space pulling everything out of the Watchtower hanger, Blackfire struggled against the pull of the space vacuum. Ahead of her, Batman clung to a grapple line to keep himself from becoming lost in the endless void on the other side of the open doors.

"Rrr, You're going to pay for that!" Using all she had, the Tameran sister of Starfire inched her way closer to the boots of the Dark Knight when she was struck with a projectile.

Instantly, a gel-like substance covered her body, forcing her to lose concentration and become victim to the yawning vastness of space. She had no way of knowing what direction she came from as she tumbled end over end, attempting to escape her confines until charging her fists and eyes with a massive amount of energy and burst through the red colored substance.

With pieces of the dried gel floating around her, the dark haired alien woman had her eyes glow a bright purple as she looked around for where she came from. The station she came from was some miles away, only the size of her hand from the distance. Knowing better than to head back to continue the fight, she had her eyes go back to normal, snorted, then flew away.

A trail of laughter followed her as she left Earth, Watchtower, and her sister behind.

Watchtower

Present day - August 27

09:58 UTC

Sitting at the main computer terminal in the gathering hall of Watchtower, Red Tornado and Cyborg monitored the current team in the field. Responding to a mission off the coast of Africa, Superboy, Blue Beetle, Guardian, and Bumblebee were scouring an island in search of a new Venom factory making shipments to Somalia for Bane to recruit a new crop of soldiers for his own use. At least that was what the reports were when they came in.

"Guardian to Watchtower, come in," the only non superpowered member of the squad said over the com system.

"Watchtower responding, over," Cyborg replied as he adjusted the frequency to clear up the transmission. "You're one hour late for check in.

"Uh, yeah, had some problems but nothing worth mentioning. Mission complete, by the way. Ran into some light opposition but no sign of Bane anywhere, only around fifteen to twenty guards."

"Where is your squad leader?" Red Tornado asked.

"SB's making sure the factory's wired for demolition with Beetle and Bee subduing the guards. I was asked to make the call in."

"Are you certain Bane was not in the area. It is curious as to why he was not at his own facility."

"Certain. Beetle hacked into the computers here and found we missed him by a day. He left by helicopter by the footage we found and may have headed to the mainland. Looks to me he's planning on taking over a small country, but I could be wrong. He may just be in it for the money."

"I concur, Guardian. Inform Superboy to radio us when he can-"

"Wait. Something's..."

With Guardian's voice fading into the background, the two monitoring League members grew anxious. They could hear muffled shouting in the background but nothing to be concerned about as it was mostly to get someone's attention when a loud explosion occurred over the radio.

"Guardian?!" Cyborg yelled into the microphone on the terminal before him. "Guardian, come in!"

"I will try to hail the others," Red Tornado announced as he immediately went to work. "Blue Beetle, come in"

"Superboy, sound off!" Cyborg ordered into the transmitter.

"Watchtower!" Bumblebee's voice came over the radio. "Watchtower, come in! We are under attack!"

"Bumblebee?" Cyborg called out. "What's happening!"

"Watchtower, do you copy?!"

"The lines of communication are down, Cyborg. All my sensors indicate we are cut off from them," Red Tornado reported once he went through the lines t the squad.

With the battle still ongoing, all the two monitors could do was listen and alert the other teams.

"Activate a red alert to the closest League members to their location," Red Tornado ordered. "I will attempt to get radio communication back online as best I can."

Doing what he was told, Cyborg switched his communicator to the League alert frequency. Once he was online, he grabbed the mic and began to call for backup. "Red alert, repeat, red alert. Hawkwoman, Flash, John Stewart, I need you to respond to Alpha Team's current location. They are under attack by an unknown enemy and you're the closest to them. Communications with them are down. Respond as fast as you can. All other team members, stay on alert. Again, Hawkgirl..."

Titan Tower

August 27

10:03 UTC

Sitting in the living area, Garfield and Raven occupied the coffee table with a few text books between them as they quietly went about their studies. Inside the kitchen area, Terra was making herself a drink from the juicer, which provided the only noise in the room with the blending of fruit and ice. With the few weeks since their encounter with Scarecrow and following joint nightmare, the Titan team had been less than enthusiastic with what they were doing.

While not traumatized, per se, the experience left each member questioning their worth on the team. Kyle was constantly checking the charge in his ring, sometimes recharging four to five times a day even when he had not formed any constructs whatsoever. The lingering feeling he was low on power and defenseless stayed with him constantly.

Cissie was a different story. Her usage of projectile weapons had her thinking she was close to useless on missions. She relied more on her equipment in the shared nightmare and not herself, the complete opposite of how she was trained by Artemis and demonstrated in the field. She was now carrying a crossbow and several bolt packs on her at all times. She was even nearly caught with her gear on the first day of her classes. Had it not have been for a 'mysterious' fire drill, she would have had her cover blown. She thanked Oracle for the assistance as she was checking up on the team members attending public school via hacking into the security cameras.

Letting the last of her smoothie drain into a glass, Terra breathed heavily as she set the plastic pitcher in the sink. Since the joint nightmare, she felt as if she were in a fog twenty-four seven with no clear way out. She remembered wanting to help the others in any way she could but being so far away from the ground, she really could not use her powers to control the very Earth he tower sat on. That fact alone left her feeling helpless until being told to get out through the beach entrance. There was no need to mention her Claustrophobia as it was only an issue in dark, enclosed environments and not a problem with enough light and open entrances. Possibly from being captured in the Blood Cult's Amazon temple for so long.

Staring at his textbook on American History, Garfield zoned out on what he was supposed to be doing. Instead of writing down notes for a test Snapper would give later in the upcoming weeks, he absentmindedly drew circles on his paper. For the first time, his grades were not up to par with his usual past work. He still could not get his mind off of losing his friends from the poor decisions he felt he made and hoped he would not be placed in a similar situation again.

Across from him, Raven supported her head on a hand as she leaned forward on the table. Two things were going through her mind. The first was how she stood against both Titan leaders in the shared dream. Her reactions were purely on survival until she was presented with the opportunity to put one of them down. She could not help but think somewhere along the way she had slipped from being completely independent, to actually trusting the veteran couple. She also knew somewhere when she was brought in on the team, she felt accepted for who she was and not for what she was. Then there was the second thing on her mind, the secret she wanted to tell Garfield but never got the chance to. Of all people, besides M'gann and Conner, he was the first one she wanted to tell.

Looking at he green skinned teen with her head facing downward, Raven watched as his face stayed gloomy, even after they all spoke with Black Canary about how they felt. Her empath ability picked up on him wanting to be closed off from those around him but wanting to be close to them at the same time. It was truly a strange mixture of feelings he was giving off, until Terra rejoined them and sat beside him when his spirits lifted slightly. Whatever she was wanting to say to him stayed in her the moment she felt the slight uplift in his emotions the moment the blonde girl took her seat.

Coming around the corner of the living area's entrance, M'gann saw the three teens quietly sit around the coffee table. Normally, they would be congregating while going about their studies but the lingering emotions they went through we're still taking their toll. The episode had her recall the failsafe mission she and the other original black op team members partook in and knew the best way for them to get back to themselves was to do something to bond them back together. It would take time, but they would be stronger for it.

"Red alert, repeat, red alert," Cyborg's voice came from the speaker system. "Hawkwoman, Flash, John Stewart, I need you to respond to Alpha Team's current location. They are under attack by an unknown enemy and you're the closest to them. Communications with them are down. Respond as fast as you can. All other team members, stay on alert."

As the alert repeated itself, M'gann heard Carter begin to cry from being woken up from his nap suddenly and not only ran to get him, but had the Bioship prep for take off once she knew Alpha Team was in trouble. As for the other three, they too sprang to action and quickly made their way to the locker rooms.

African Coast

August 27

11:57 UTC

In the middle of a large clearing with a thick bundle of trees creating a cul-de-sac around it, fire and puffs of white smoke were scattered about as the few members of the Justice League closest to the area searched for any clues as to what happened to the squad deployed to the area. The building where Bane's Venom was being manufactured lay in ruins and was the main cause of the smoke as the flammables finished burning out.

Descending from above, the Martian Bioship landed not far from the building with the rear ramp opening. Flying out, Mrs. Martian and Raven looked over the area and saw a disaster zone with Terra running behind them. Scorch marks were burned into the dry, yellow grass and a large patch carved into the ground stretched from the center of the clearing to near the tree line.

"Whoa. It looks like a war happened here." Joining the females last, Beast Boy was the first to say what they were all thinking and the first to spot Hawkwoman tending to two people. "Hey, over there."

"Raven," Mrs. Martian said when she saw what her blood brother was pointing out, "you and Terra see what information you can get from Flash. Beast Boy, see if John needs help searching the area."

With her team moving out, Mrs. Martian flew over to a shaded area where Hawkwoman had a portable tent set up and several medical supplies sitting on a large slanted rock. Near her sat Bumblebee and Guardian in less than pristine condition with a bandage over the woman's forehead and the armored man's arm in a sling.

"What happened here? Where are the others?" Mrs. Martian asked as she landed behind Hawkwoman.

"As far as I can tell, they got ambushed. These two got it worse." Pulling out a bandage, the winged League member placed it over a cut on Guardian's shoulder. "Could have been a lot worse actually."

"Who did this?"

"It was that sister of Starfire's," the maskless Guardian said. "Her and about ten others like her."

"What?"

"They came from the forest," Bumblebee told her. "Guys like her hit us hard and fast. They took Beetle down first, pinned him with their weapons before going after the others. Blackfire came in last. Also made it perfectly clear she didn't want us."

"Yeah. Said she needed males with power. And since my suit does the heavy lifting, they just literally threw me aside."

"Found him in a tree" Hawkwoman said.

"Hey!" Coming out of the dense line of trees, Atom and Captain Marvel approached the others with the former reaching for a bottled water next to the medical supplies. "Found where they went."

The size changing hero took a long drink, almost half of the bottle. "There's another clearing about a mile or so from here. Can't see it from the air, but it's there."

"Are they still in the area?" Mrs. Martian asked.

"No," Atom said with a shake of his head. "They had a ship. Far as I can tell, they loaded up Superboy and Blue Beetle then took off for who knows where."

"Can't you, like, feel SB, or something?" Captain Marvel asked Mrs. Martian.

"I can't. I've been trying to but if he's off planet..."

"He will not be here. The same for the Beetle of Blue."

Walking up to the small group, Starfire stopped just shy of Mrs. Martian. "My sister would have most likely taken your mate and friend to our home world. If she is after strong males, she most likely is looking for a mate herself."

"What?!" Mrs. Martian said with both surprise and shock.

"If that is the case, we must act fast. When the queen seeks a mate, it is not as easy as simply asking someone and presenting to them an old clear rock or piece of glass like here on Earth."

"What exactly do they do?" Bumblebee asked.

"First they bathe them in ceremonial waters and oils to cleanse them of their old life. Then they make sure they are thoroughly relaxed with deep tissue messages. Following that, they must feast on delicacies only royalty may partake in, all the while being groomed and pampered in private chambers. It is a truly horrible experience, but one in which they will enjoy."

"That doesn't sound horrible at all," Guardian commented. "Sounds like a spa retreat."

"Well, that is before they are forced to fight to the death before my sister to see who she claims to be her betrothed in the gladiatorial ring. That, or she kills them herself by opening the pit containing the horrendous Slithal where it's victims are slowly digested for a period of over a thousand years while it keeps them alive through it all. It's a horrible fate but one that will provide them with a feeling of euphoria as they die."

"Suddenly, that doesn't sound so good, does it, Mal?" Bumblebee asked.

"Star, how far away is your planet from here?" Mrs. Martian asked.

"With how fast your ship can travel," Starfire said, "it should take us no more than three months."

"Three months?!"

"What about the Boom Tube tech we have?" Hawkwoman asked. "Just take it and-"

"Won't work. It only works with line of sight or preexisting coordinates," Atom told her.

"Just take the ship into space and use the teleporter to get you where you want to go as you fly," Captain Marvel commented. "With the speed you fly at and the teleporter acting like a NOS system or something, that should cut down the time tremendously. Speaking of which, I gotta go. Free period's almost up." In a bright flash, Captain Marvel disappeared through a Boom Tube."

Doing the calculations in his head, Atom gave a curt nod. "It could work. Essentially, it could work as a jump gate and cut the time to around several days instead of months."

"Starfire," Mrs. Martian said, "how long does Conner and Jaime have before they're forced to fight."

"The entire preparation takes nine days. It is tradition and even my sister must keep it if she wishes to stay queen of Tameran." Lowering her gaze, the orange skinned woman shifted in her feet. "But should you go, I am afraid I cannot go with you."

"Why?"

"I am still banned from my home. My presence there would mean dishonor and death."

"Star, Koriand'r," Mrs. Martian said in caring voice. "These are your friends, my husband. We cannot turn our backs on them. That's something I would never do. I'm going after them but I need your help. Please, help me in getting them back."

"But, if I go, I may have to, to fight my sister."

"But if we don't go, they may die. And I cannot let that happen."

With her head down, Starfire thought of those captured. They would be in for a horrible time if they did not get free. She had seen others face the same fate and while it was a way of life for her when she was younger, she did not wish it upon those she now considered to be her friends.

"Okay, Mrs. Martian. I will go. I will help. But I just wish to avoid meeting my sister in combat if at all possible."

Tameran Ship-Space

August 27

15:27 UTC

Waking up within the confines of a small room, Jaime felt as if his head were lighter than air. Everything was like a dream with how the sides of his vision slightly blurry until he noticed it was not his vision that was out of focus, but an energy wall a few feet in front of him. Everything was the same red color with the wall a near clear pink. The hum of the energy powering the barrier was near deafening, making his head ache even more than it was.

"Don't bother donning your armor," a deep voice said from outside the electrical wall. "Your blue scarab beetle has been deactivated for the time being."

Rubbing his eyes, the Hispanic teen looked for the source of the voice but did not see anything besides another holding cell across from his. Working out the creek in his neck, Jaime tried to focus on the individual across from him when another voice caught his attention.

"Don't bother."

Switching his attention to the wall beside him Jaime scooted the three feet to the left to cover the gap. "Hey, who're you? Where are we?"

"The who doesn't matter," the voice said. "Where, even less. It's the why you should be worried about."

"Okay, then why are we here?"

"I have no idea."

Jaime rolled his eyes at the response given.

"But I do know some woman who looks like a hot alien chick I met once caught me while running a job in Texas. Something about me having skills that thrill. Can't blame her. Everybody wants to be like Mike."

"Your name's Mike?"

"No. I just like the rhyme."

"Is there any part of this you bother taking seriously?"

"..."

"Well?!"

"...No. Not really, no."

Letting out a sigh, Jaime hung his head for a moment. "Can you tell me who you are and where we are right now?"

"The name, no. Let's just say I know you and even brought you down before. As for the where, we're on a spaceship."

"A spaceship?"

"Yes. Boldly going where no man has gone before. Or most men. Chicks even less."

"Anything else you know?"

"Your friend over there, big guy, bad attitude, 'S' shield on his chest. They're keeping him sedated with gas. She got extremely, quote unquote, excited, when he tossed around three of the guards like rag dolls. Took around eight to slow him enough to gas him."

"Conner?" Getting close to the electrified wall, Jaime could just barely make out the slumped form of Superboy within the other holding cell.

"They said it would take us a few days to reach where we're going. Until then, just make yourself comfortable." The voice from the other cell sounded as if it were moving around and came to a stop near the electrical wall Jaime was looking through.

Catching a glimpse of reflective metal overhead and just outside his cell, Jaime tried to make out the person behind the voice. With the shade of the barrier preventing him from seeing any other colors beside pink, he could not tell what color the person's hair or skin was. There was even no way on telling what he looked like with his face obscured. All he could do was wait, wait and see what was happening and where he was going.