The Inquisitor

Chapter 30

Gorilla Warfare part 2

A/N: Well it looks like Miss Martian won the poll…I'm honestly somewhat surprised by this as I mostly put her in as a joke. I expected everyone to go for Dante remaining single or for another character to be selected. Still though I am a man of my word and Miss Martian will be paired up with Dante.

Wow, now I'm going to have to make this work in a believable manner without this turning into a "Love can Bloom" clone. And to the readers please try to restrain yourselves from making TOO many references to that fic in the reviews if possible.

Also there was a reader who contacted me about Dante's deductions in regards to Captain Marvel and his past and noted how it is very wrong in comparison to Captain Marvel's actual backstory. Well I have an answer, the vast majority of us know about Billy Batson's past but the Inquisitor doesn't and his reasoning was simply showing his own bias. Dante is of the opinion that anyone who believes in the same kind of…well, extremely naïve ideals that Captain Marvel espouses would be someone who has been extremely sheltered and in many cases he'd probably be right but he is wrong in this case.

EDIT: I have to say that this romance won't be a one chapter "they have a moment and then they both hook up kind of a thing," it's going to be a very, very, very gradual process. I know full well that this is going to be an extremely difficult pairing to make believable but I've come up with a plan that I think may work. I can't give too much away due to spoilers.

My God this chapter was the biggest pain in the ass. I must have written and rewritten at least half of the thing twice when I was writing it. I originally was going to add in Gorilla Grodd but halfway through writing it I realized that he just distracted from Mallah and I reluctantly decided to follow most of the canon episode save for the whole thing about the mole being revealed because while Aqualad and Batman suspect a mole (and they aren't completely wrong just not in the way they think) they haven't found anything at all and are simply keeping an eye on things.

And one last thing before we begin, I have a preview for a new story I'm writing about Warhammer Fantasy (the good Warhammer Fantasy not Age of Sigmar) at the end of the chapter, please tell me what you think of it.

Now remember, I love hearing constructive feedback, so please leave a review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I create, everything else is owned by their respective copyright owners.

-South African Jungle-

The combat began almost immediately. Once Kid Flash's stun grenade had gone off the two immediately leapt into action and engaged the mutated animals. The animal pounced at Kid Flash but due to his far superior reflexes managed to duck underneath it as it did so before grabbing its unprotected belly and using the momentum of the creature, to redirect its lunge…so that it went face first into the nearest tree.

The resulting smack almost made him wince as the creature seemed to have been knocked out cold. However there was no time for the speedster to celebrate as another mutated tiger lunged at him from behind. This time the beast managed to knock Kid Flash off his feet and onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him. While Kid Flash struggled to regain his breathing the tiger's head lunged forwards, its fangs bared and ready to sink into the flesh of his face.

Kid Flash was only just able to move his head out of the way enough for the monster's maw to miss his head while swinging around as best he could to face his attacker. The creature's head reared back again for another strike but Kid Flash pulled out one of the weapons that the Inquisitor had ordered that they start carrying around, in this case it was a high powered taser.

Kid Flash thumbed the activation stud, causing sparks to begin shooting out of the two metal prongs at the front of the weapon. Without any hesitation Kid Flash drove it into the belly of the mutant tiger. For several seconds the monster roared in abject pain while the electricity coursed through its body before Kid Flash decided to deactivate the taser. When the electricity stopped flowing the now unconscious creature fell on top of the speedster the muscles continuing to spasm uncontrollably as a result of the electrical damage. As the creature fell atop him Kid Flash gave a muffled "Oh, come on!" In utter exasperation.

As Kid Flash struggled to get the unconscious creature off of him, Aqualad took up a position that would help keep any of the other creatures away from him if they decided to try and take advantage of the situation. Aqualad meanwhile sliced at the mutated animals that got too close with his water constructs. Aqualad was keeping the mutated tigers back for the time being but given how they were attempting to surround him it was clear that that he could not do so indefinitely. He needed help from Captain Marvel but he was still fighting those Elephants.

If Aqualad was speaking honestly, Captain Marvel seemed to be holding back against the creatures quite considerably in his fight. Aqualad had seen Captain Marvel fight before during news broadcasts in Fawcett City, he could easily wipe the floor with these things. And yet he was doing everything in his power to not harm them. In fact he seemed to be trying to disarm them without injuring them whenever possible but considering the sheer ferocity of these creatures and the fact that they were knocking him around into trees and if Aqualad was being honest, seemed to be trying to keep him as far away from the rest of the group as possible.

That meant that either these creatures were either extremely intelligent or something else was directing their actions, and considering the metal collars that were similar to the ones that were in use by Belle Reve it was quite possibly the latter. "Captain Marvel, we could use some help over here!"

Almost immediately Captain Marvel managed to avoid another strike by the oversized elephant and turned to face his comrades. In split-second the Leaguer managed to go from fighting the mutated animals to flying towards Aqualad and Kid Flash.

What happened next happened so fast that by the time it was over Kid Flash and Aqualad weren't even sure what had just happened. For a brief second it looked as though Captain Marvel was flying right towards them, the next there was a loud "fwoosh" noise accompanied by a fiery contrail heading directly at the hero. Then there was an enormous explosion sending both Aqualad and Kid Flash flying backwards into the foliage from the shockwave.

Both Kid Flash and Aqualad were dazed and the world around them almost seemed to be spinning but Aqualad managed to regain enough of himself to hear a loud, high pitched "whirring" noise coming from the direction of where the rocket that had just been fired at Captain Marvel was located.

What Aqualad saw was something that made him wonder if he was suffering from some kind of serious concussion. A good distance away was a bulky looking gorilla that didn't seem as overly buff as the other animals. In its hands however was an oversized minigun aiming right at them, one that was already spinning up in preparation to fire.

Aqualad's eyes widened considerably and he grabbed Kid Flash who was still too out of it to realize what was happening and hit the ground just as the weapon opened fire. The bullets tore through the foliage above them like tissue paper and the pair was struck by pieces of bark, vines and leaves as the bullets continued to tear apart the jungle above.

In all honesty it was a complete and utter miracle that none of the bullets managed to hit them. In fact under the pounding of heart, Aqualad wondered if the oversized ape was even aiming at them. If it was trying to hit them then it clearly needed to spend more time learning how to properly aim its weapon but given the situation Aqualad wouldn't complain.

The gunfire continued for a few moments more before it suddenly stopped.

Kid Flash looked as though he was about to peek up out of cover to see what was happening but Aqualad dragged him back down, admonishing him as he did so "You want to get your head blown off?!"

The speedster at least had the decency to appear sheepish at that "Sorry." Kid Flash may have been fast, but the situation was one where it would be awkward and difficult for him to try and get up quickly. Besides if the speedster exposed himself even slightly then whoever their attacker was may just decide to spray down the area that Aqualad was in in a hail of bullets. Yes Kid Flash could in theory run around bullets but this wasn't just one or two, it was practically a hurricane of them, and Kid Flash wasn't nearly as fast as his mentor, and in this situation he couldn't possibly dodge them all. No it would be better to 'play dead' so to speak for the time being.

Aqualad activated the comm. link and said "Captain Marvel are you alright?" There was nothing but static on the other end of the line. The Atlantean repeated his query but still received no reply. This meant that either Captain Marvel was incapacitated, dead, or the communicator had been destroyed. While Aqualad had hoped that it was the latter, he could not shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to the leaguer.

While the two only had to wait for a few seconds before they heard footsteps approaching their position "Knight!" The voice of the Inquisitor called out and waited for Aqualad to give the appropriate response "Checkmate!" he responded.

Immediately Aqualad and Kid Flash stood up and looked at the group that was around them "You alright?" Artemis asked in a rather concerned manner. Kid Flash gave a reassuring grin "It'll take more than a bunch of mutated animals and a monkey with a machinegun to take me down!"

Artemis sighed before rolling her eyes at the display, but there were several amongst the group that noticed her trying to fight off a grin at the speedster's antics.

Dante however remained unconcerned "What happened?"

Aqualad explained everything that had occurred only a short time before and when he eventually finished he was surprised that the Inquisitor wasn't verbally tearing him a new one for getting pinned down in such a manner. It seemed as though the Inquisitor knew what he was thinking "You did well. You saw that you were in a tactical disadvantage and took steps to remedy that."

He must have seen the look on the Atlantean's face and gave a sigh "I will not admonish my subordinates for taking cover in the face of overwhelming enemy fire, you read the situation as it was and reacted appropriately."

Aqualad and Kid Flash were both more than just a little bit surprised by the words but it soon became irrelevant as the Inquisitor addressed what was quite obvious about the situation "Where is Captain Marvel?" he asked.

That was something that neither of the sidekicks could truly answer but eventually they admitted that they had no idea. They had been separated from him during the fighting. Immediately Dante put his hand to the side of his helmet and said in a voice that radiated authority "Captain Marvel this is the Inquisitor; if you are receiving this transmission, respond immediately!"

There wasn't a response but then no one had really expected there to be one. He immediately turned to the two sidekicks and asked "Did you see which way he was taken?"

Aqualad shook his head "No. Kid Flash and I were taking cover when that happened."

The Inquisitor then proceeded to fish out a small hand-held device from one of his equipment pouches and turned it on. A series of symbols appeared on the screen before it showed a small map of the immediate area as well as a small dot some distance away.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was that the Inquisitor was playing with but it was Robin who put it into words "You put a tracking device on Captain Marvel."

The Inquisitor then replied in a flat tone "An astute observation, I placed the device on him when I admonished him earlier."

Kid Flash looked at him with an almost exasperated look "You know I don't even know why I'm even surprised at this point." It was then that the abhuman asked "So you decided to place a tracking device on one of our allies…why?"

There wasn't even a hesitation in the Inquisitor's answer "I was operating under the assumption that the enemy was using this mutated gorilla as bait, likely to draw out a member of the Justice League and lead them into a trap. Therefore I decided that the best way to find the location of this enemy was to spring the trap and use it against them."

"And you didn't think it was a good idea to tell us the plan?" asked Superboy.

The Inquisitor turned to look at the xeno clone and said "Giving you this kind of sensitive information could have tipped the enemy off in any number of ways. For example, if they were using a psyker then it would be possible for them to learn of the tracking device and remove it if they captured him."

The group of sidekicks still seemed rather upset that their new commanding officer was keeping secrets from them. He wasn't stupid, Dante knew full well that these weren't the Imperial Guard or Inquisitorial Storm Troopers that he would normally order around. He couldn't count on absolute obedience from such a band of heretics, xenos, abhumans and mutants "To clear up any murky details I will say this: there are times where sensitive information will be kept from you. That is how it works in any organization, and I will not risk the possibility of potentially critical intelligence falling into the hands of the enemy."

There were many in the group that were clearly upset by Dante's words but at the very least they seemed to understand that now wasn't the time. Especially with a member of the Justice League seemingly captured by whoever was mutating animals into their own personal army. Still though it clearly wasn't a well led one if whoever had created these things hadn't even bothered to confirm the kill.

Of course it could very well be that whoever this individual was they were attempting to lure them into a trap by gathering them all into one place and then killing them. Like right now…

A series of roars echoed through the jungle canopy interrupting the Inquisitor's train of thought. Immediately the Inquisitor turned to the source of the roars and shouted "READY WEAPONS!" As he drew his AK-12 while the Team drew their own weaponry.

Out of the jungle foliage came a dozen mutated lions and cheetahs.

The Inquisitor raised his weapon to his shoulder and aimed at the closest mutant and pulled the trigger.

-Africa, Brain's Laboratory Site:17-

The laboratory that Brain had found himself in was not up to the usual standards of the disembodied French scientist. In fact in any other circumstances he wouldn't have been caught dead in a sub-par facility. While more than half of the various computers and instruments were something that only some of the most powerful and well-funded scientific institutions could hope to afford, it still was below the average that the Light had been letting him use since he was accepted into their ranks.

Though considering the expendable nature of the Site: 17 facility in comparison to Site: B that should have been expected. The light only wanted this laboratory to remain up and running long enough to produce the results they wanted. After that it was easy enough to convert the facility for his own personal uses for the immediate future. Though he wouldn't be working there for much longer.

Currently the Brain was looking over some of the preliminary data and was certain that his colleagues would be relatively pleased with the current batch of the modified Kobra Venom. It wasn't as powerful as they had hoped due to the destruction done to the Santa-Prisca facility but the current strain was more than adequate for their present needs. The amount used in the formula would cause massive muscle and bone growths in the human body for several hours, giving the user enhanced strength and speed. The only problem for it however was that when it began to cause muscle and bone growth it didn't stop until the drug had run its course through the person's system, whereupon the bones and muscles would slowly, over the course of several hours begin to return to normal.

Almost all of the initial test subjects died from either organ failure or because their now enormous muscles crushed them. They wouldn't be very useful for the roles that the Light needed them for, especially with the use they needed it for in less than a week. With that in mind, the Brain discovered a workaround.

The inhibitor collars that they 'acquired' from a certain prison in the United States would be put to good use by making a copy, of sorts that would be specifically modified to prevent the Kobra Venom from taking too much of a toll on the body. He had already used it on various mammalian animals, and had worked it on a few primate specimens, and each one worked perfectly, in fact he had already sent the specifications over to his colleagues. They were somewhat disappointed that the Brain wasn't able to perfect the formula but such a thing required more time, even for one as brilliant as he. However Vandal Savage seemed extremely satisfied with the scientist's current progress.

Not only that but it appears as though his side-project had paid off. His…activities in getting combat data from his animal subjects had inevitably caught the attention of the Justice League albeit a group of their sidekicks, the Inquisitor but most importantly it drew out one of the more…foolish members of the League. Captain Marvel.

Brain had long had a scientific interest in discovering a scientific explanation for how magic worked. Perhaps dissecting Captain Marvel's brain and replacing it with his own might prove to yield some interesting findings. In any event he had already sent out Monsieur Mallah and some of the altered test subjects out to capture Captain Marvel. The result was a near complete success but it was obvious that the Inquisitor and the Sidekicks still lived. He would need to move quickly if he was to secure any data from this new subject.

The Brain's mobile casing moved down the laboratory and towards the dissection room he had prepared for this occasion. He had hoped that there would be more time to ensure that he could remove absolutely everything from the body including the organs, blood, skin, bone fragments for analysis. But he supposed that he would have to settle with the hero's brain even if it would prove to be a somewhat messy extraction.

As he made his way there, his faithful creation/lab assistant/bodyguard, Monsieur Mallah was already waiting for him, "Ah, Monsieur Mallah travail incroyable, you managed to bring in the subject in and with very little damage, rest assured you will be rewarded joliment for this."

The enhanced gorilla, as stoic as ever simply nodded and followed the Brain down the hall even as he came across one of the more…interesting individuals that Brain had made contact with during his time in this poorly constructed laboratory. It was another gorilla though unlike Mallah, was not one that had been made more sentient through scientific means, rather he had been altered through the same Kobra Venom formula he had been using on other mammals. Their muscles were all overdeveloped to the point where they were practically ripping through the skin and fur not to mention the bones, which were so enlarged that they were poking out of the skin.

Mallah looked at the creatures with what Brain could easily tell was a mixture of disgust and contempt. The enhanced Gorilla saw these specimens as little more than grotesque parodies of his own species, and was somewhat frustrated at the Brain for creating them but at least he managed to keep his place as the alpha among the group. After all it didn't matter if you were bigger or stronger, if you were more intelligent, then one could easily overcome almost any opponent. As several of the more belligerent specimens had found out the hard way.

The Brain wheeled himself into the operating room and felt an almost immediate satisfaction when he saw one of the Justice League's members awake and fully aware that he was at the Brain's non-existent mercy. Still though he didn't have too much time to bask in such a thing when there was work to be done.

"Bonjour Captaine, I trust that you had a good sleep?" He asked, manners after all couldn't be ignored, even to one he was about to vivisect. The Brain's newest specimen's eyes darted around left and right, presumably as he attempted to move his limbs. "What is this, why can't I move anything?"

"It is obvious non? The collar wrapped around your neck is made to prevent votre movement from the neck down, though it will allow you the power of speech. I believe your reactions during la procedure will prove tres Intéressant." The Brain then began to use his manipulator claws to go over a wide variety of surgical equipment before settling on a laser scalpel.

"La procedure?" asked Captain Marvel.

"I have long pondered just how magic works, especially en consideration to your own powers. Therefore, J'ai l'intention to perform a little Chirurgie to find out. I expect your cerebral cortex will provide données utiles." The Brain then turned to his assistant "Monseiur Mallah, prepare for surgery!"

-Outside The Brain's Laboratory-

It had taken more than just a few minutes for the team to deal with the mutated animals but in the end the enemy was defeated and they were the victors. After having dealt with the enemy the Team turned their attention to locating their missing ally. There was a bit of a trek but they managed to make it to what was quite obviously the place where the Brain had taken Captain Marvel.

In simple terms the whole place screamed "evil villain's lair" to anyone who so much as glanced at it.

The Team was observing the facility from the nearby tree line. They kept away from the clearing in order to stay outside of any kind of scanning equipment the building might have on hand. "Well I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only one here who thinks that this is the place, even without the Inquisitor's tracker," Kid Flash remarked.

The Inquisitor ignored the remark and instead focused on what was in front of him. There didn't seem to be any checkpoints, patrols or anything really in the way of defenses. The only thing he could see that might be considered security devices aside from what appeared to be a series of pylons jutting up from the ground. This meant that it was far more likely that the facility had defenses that simply weren't visible.

"What kind of defenses are we looking at here?" he asked. Immediately the Team went to work. Miss Martian began using her powers to scan for anything that might resemble a psyker using their powers to check for the presence of others. Kid Flash checked the perimeter with his scanning goggles. There was a brief silence while Wally scanned the perimeter. It took only a moment or two but he quickly reported back that there were pylons that were generating a force field around the entire building "Looks like a forcefield extending like a dome around the entire compound, and something tells me we don't want to see what happens when we poke the thing."

Robin meanwhile was going over the facility with his wrist computer and said "The pylons that are powering the field are all insulated but if it gets struck with enough electricity it should short out and make a gap in it for a few seconds. It would be pretty small but it should be enough to get something small through."

The Inquisitor looked over at Artemis and Aqualad, both of whom gave nods of understanding. Aqualad's tattoos gave a bluish glow before he aimed both of his hands in front of him, palms open, while Artemis nocked an arrow and aimed it squarely at the facility's door control panel. A large burst of lighting came from both of his hands and shot forwards at the nearest pylon.

The reaction was almost instantaneous, there was a brief flash of light from where the shield pylon was impacted and for several seconds the shield was not only visible but there were multiple gaps in it. Artemis didn't need to wait to be told to set the arrow free.

Artemis' aim was true and the arrow struck the console in the exact spot that was needed for it to power down the shields. Sure enough the domed energy barrier became visible and immediately began to dissipate at a fast pace and within moments it was down completely.

As if to signal everyone that the time for stealth had passed, the doors leading into the facility opened and what came out were a group of overly-muscled apes. The instant that the things were out of the facility several of them either immediately pounded their chests or let out roars (though some did both). This clear attempt at intimidation didn't seem to work and the mutated apes immediately and without any real form of strategy charged at the intruders.

While the mutated primates were extremely strong and more intelligent than the animals that had been thrown at the team earlier they were still animals. In the case of the group of apes that were in the front of the charge the team hit the first group with a unique set of grenades that once they went off, fired high powered tasers in every direction. The moment that they were struck, the shocks instantly sent the gorillas that were struck onto the ground roaring and writhing in pain as electricity coursed through them. Eventually they stopped convulsing and roaring but it was clear that they weren't going to get back up anytime soon.

The scene was something that Dante had expected the sidekicks to be somewhat aghast over as they had long been criticizing his methods long before Aqualad asked him to take command. This time however, the scene of the mutated animals in pain didn't even seem to bother the sidekicks nearly as much as he thought it might. For a brief moment the Inquisitor entertained the possibility that these children might have been hardened by their experiences with Shifter in the border region.

The second group of apes that weren't hit by the taser grenades continued forwards and engaged the Team.

Dante raised his rifle and fired off several tranquilizer darts at the oversized gorillas. Unfortunately the needles in the darts lacked the velocity and the penetration power required to pierce through their abnormally thick hide. However The Inquisitor noted that some of the apes had exposed muscles and tendons and shifted his aim towards that before pulling the trigger.

This time the darts struck their target and while the projectiles did penetrate through some of the muscle, they either didn't inject enough of the drug to affect the target, or –more likely– the modified Venom formula was interfering with the drugs in the darts. Either way it was obvious that close combat would become an inevitability at this point. Slinging his AK12 he drew his chainsword and pulled back on the throttle, causing the weapon to roar as though anticipating the bloodshed to come.

The mutant apes swung their oversized arms at the group in an attempt to either bash their heads in or just tear them limb from limb. However their attempted blows were clumsy and utterly predictable, enabling the group to dodge them with relative ease. Of course that wasn't to say that they weren't fighting back. When one of the apes swung at Superboy with its oversized fist, the clone immediately grabbed the extended limb and swung it into a nearby tree, knocking the mutant out cold and likely breaking its spine in the process if the loud crunch was any indication.

Artemis let loose a trio of stun-arrows at four of the approaching Gorillas, or rather the ground that was in front of them. There were a trio of bright flashes that caused the mutants to start roaring in pain as they covered their eyes and bumbled forwards swinging blindly at Artemis. The blows were so predictable and slow that Artemis was easily able to dodge them but it was something that they wouldn't be able to do indefinitely, especially if the Apes got back up. Artemis knocked another arrow, this one containing a specialized net that was capable of withstanding over two thousand pounds worth of force. Of course the net wasn't large enough to ensnare all four of the animals but it was enough to make sure that at least two of them wouldn't be a problem for a while.

Unfortunately this meant that there were still two more that were coming straight at her. Artemis was about to nock another capture arrow but before she could she heard a very familiar voice shout "Get away from here, you damn, dirty ape!"

It was at that moment that Wally ran at the nearest mutated primate from its right flank, punching the thing in the face at such a speed and force that the mutant ape actually stumbled backwards and fell. When the creature impacted the ground the back of its head struck a rock knocking it out cold.

Kid Flash's taking down the creature allowed Artemis to nock and send another net-arrow into the last remaining Kobra-Venom enhanced ape entrapping it.

When that was done, Artemis immediately looked over at Kid Flash with a flat look, trying to hide at least some of her amusement "A 'Planet of the Apes' reference? Really?" She asked.

Kid Flash just shrugged "I know it's a bit clichéd but honestly, when am I ever going to get another chance?"

Artemis just rolled her eyes in amusement, not bothering to give him any sort of a response as it would only serve to make more movie references or one-liners.

There was a loud slamming noise and the two sidekicks turned to see Troia standing over a pair of doped up apes that were both on the ground while the woman herself was neatly dusting off her hands. "What the hell happened here?" asked Kid Flash with a cocked brow.

Troia looked at both of them nonplussed and said "I remembered hearing a saying about 'putting two heads together' or something to that effect and I decided to apply it to a more…literal effect."

Artemis and Kid Flash looked at each other and the latter whispered "Remind me never to make her angry." Artemis nodded and replied "Same for me."

It was at that moment that the trio heard the sound of the Inquisitor's chainsword striking flesh as well as a loud series of slamming noises. The trio turned just in time to see the Inquisitor finish decapitating one of the mutated apes but while it was a horrific sight, it was something that they had seen from the Inquisitor time and again, especially when they were trapped in the Qurac/Bialyan border region. As much as they hated to admit it, there was a part of them that was starting get used to seeing him like this and it was getting less and less horrifying each time they saw it.

However just a few meters away was Ms. Martian, using her telekinetic powers to repeatedly slam one of those same Kobra-Venom enhanced apes repeatedly into the ground.

The three were utterly flabbergasted at the act of brutality and ruthlessness that was coming from the normally kind and socially-awkward Martian. The most horrifying thing however was her face. She was almost completely expressionless even as she continued to slam the creature into the ground. After the second impact they witnessed the ape didn't seem to be moving and its limbs were bent in abnormal angles while several bones were jutting out in such a manner that clearly meant that its limbs had open fractures. Several in the same limbs if what they were seeing was any indication.

"M'gann STOP!" shouted Aqualad in one of the few times that any of them had ever truly heard him raise his voice in such a manner.

Almost immediately as though a spell had been broken, Miss Martian immediately snapped out of her torpor like state and the mutant gorilla fell back to the ground. The instant that it struck the ground, the creature let out a short choking/gurgling noise before falling completely still.

The instant that the ape finally died, M'gann's face took on a horrified expression as she truly took in what it was she had just done.

A few seconds afterwards M'gann felt a grumbling in her stomach and felt something rising up to her throat and only just barely managed to push down the bile back down into her stomach. She then turned to see the rest of the team approaching, looks of shock and disbelief plastered all over their faces.

"M'gann, what did you just do?" Robin asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Miss Martian started to shake, her eyes wide and almost appeared on the verge of a panic attack. She kept staring at her handiwork, her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing as if attempting to form words but nothing came out.

For several seconds this continued until she finally managed to stutter out some semi-comprehensible words "I-I didn't mean, I-I didn't…" though it still wasn't the explanation as to why she had performed such a ruthless and bloodthirsty action.

Before anyone could say anything the Inquisitor butted in "We will deal with this later. Right now there are far more important things than this!"

It was obvious that the sidekicks were not pleased by this one bit but much to the Inquisitor's surprise they let the matter drop though it was obvious just by their facial expressions that there would be words on this later. Still though for the time being they were remaining focused on the task at hand.

The group made their way over to the main entrance and Dante noticed that the door was more akin to something found on a fortress. Dante noted the terminal that Artemis managed to hit a few minutes ago to deactivate the shield surrounding the facility. Why anyone would leave a control panel for the shield outside the facility was something he couldn't even begin to guess at but the enemy's own stupidity would be their undoing.

When he considered the situation and that it would likely take up precious time for Robin to hack into the terminal and get the door open. By the time they managed to get in the abductors would quite possibly have already escaped. Instead perhaps it would prove beneficial if a somewhat more…brutish approach was taken.

The Inquisitor turned to Superboy and said "I believe now is the time for some brute force, wouldn't you agree?"

Superboy nodded with a vicious grin on its face as it cracked its knuckles before grabbing the edges where the two sections of the reinforced door met. The xeno clone then began pulling at the edges and within seconds the metal began to crumble around Superboy's fists. A few seconds more and the doorframe had almost completely given way enough to allow the group entry.

"Into the breach!" The Inquisitor yelled as the group pressed forwards.

Once inside they found that there weren't any guards, or even defense turrets like what would normally be expected. Instead there was nothing in their path whatsoever. "Where are all the guards?" asked Robin.

"Out to lunch maybe?" Kid Flash remarked though no one deigned to give that a response.

The Inquisitor pointed to one of the doors that lead into a sealed section of the facility "He should be right through this door."

Superboy looked as though it was about to repeat what it did just a few moments earlier. However instead of the xeno clone tearing apart the door like what was expected, the reinforced steel door simply opened up. On the other side however was another oversized primate, only not nearly as mutated and was wearing some human clothing, most notably a combat harness and a military styled beret.

In its hands however was a rather unique looking weapon. It was a heavily modified four barreled minigun that the gorilla was holding one handed despite the grip that was mounted farther down on the weapon. Behind the creature though was a strange mechanical construct in the shape of a metallic cylinder hovering over the captured Captain Marvel. At the top of it was a clear glass casing filled with liquid and a fully preserved brain. The Inquisitor recognized the entity almost immediately from his time perusing the files Batman had given him, it was The Brain. A mad scientist that had placed his own brain into a robotic shell.

"Brain," said Kid Flash while Artemis, her bow at the ready rolled her eyes "I can see it's a Brain," she remarked. Kid Flash to his credit didn't even take his eyes off of the immediate threat when he made his own remark "Not a brain, The Brain," he insisted.

"Monsieur Mallah, deal vith zem!" a synthesized voice likely belonging to Brain demanded as the abomination ceased attempting (and unfortunately failing as the Inquisitor noticed) to use a surgical laser to cut open Captain Marvel's head and instead a series of weapons unfolded from the mechanical cylinder, each one giving a soft "hum" as it powered up.

It was at that moment that the oversized ape gave a feral roar and aimed the minigun in their direction, the barrel already starting to spin. Fortunately this minigun variant didn't seem to be capable of firing until the barrels had spun completely giving the Team a vital two seconds before it began to open fire.

The group spread out, forcing the ape to choose between one of them when it made its attacks. The fact that the Brain and its ally were outnumbered was a definite advantage that the Team had on their side and they made full use of it. The gorilla turned to get one of the team into its firing arc, even as the minigun continued to spray bullets carelessly in whatever direction the weapon was pointed at, failing to hit any of the intruders.

Robin fired his grapnel at the ceiling of the room and swung himself at the oversized ape. From there Robin delivered a kick to the creature's head that knocked it off balance. The attack was followed up by a punch to the face by Kid Flash who managed to hit the thing hard enough to prevent it from getting its bearings anytime soon. This allowed Artemis to fire several explosive bolts at the backpack that housed the minigun's ammunition and the ammunition belt. The belt itself was blown in half cutting the ammo feed off but the weapon was still capable of firing for a few more seconds. The weapon itself was soon rendered useless completely when Troia brought her sword down on the minigun, slicing it in half diagonally.

Mallah threw the weapon down in a rage and let out a feral roar before charging at those that had disarmed him. The mutant then adopted a stance that made it like it was about to start charging at the ones who had dared to injure. Before it could charge at them though the creature found itself being picked up off the ground by Superboy and then tossed in the general direction of the entryway that the team had just used.

Meanwhile the Brain was moving as quickly as cylinder shaped carrier possibly could, all the while firing a red laser from a weapon that was mounted in its chest. Unfortunately the weapon was unable to penetrate the water shield that Aqualad had set up using his water-bearers.

The Brain continued to attempt to flank the abhuman with a speed that should not have been possible for such a clunky machine. It made it too difficult for the Inquisitor to get a decent shot on the thing with his AK-12's underslung shotgun and the way it kept shooting only served to keep the rest of the team in a defensive position.

"Miss Martian, deal with this thing!" ordered the Inquisitor. The xeno psyker was hovering just a few feet nearby and everyone could see the xeno's eyes glow a whitish hue and a strange energy field appear around the Brain's mobile container causing it to hover above the ground but at an angle preventing the thing's torso mounted gun from firing at them. This allowed the Inquisitor to finally get a decent shot at the mechanical abomination with the underslung shotgun.

He fired off a trio of birdshot at the machine but even when he aimed for the seeming glass case, the armor of the mobile container held ridiculously firm. Whatever that container was made out of it was clearly durable. Then again it would make sense considering that the Brain's mobile container also doubled as a life-support device, it would explain much that it was well protected.

A pair of hatches opened up on the Brain's container and what looked like electrical coils emerged. Before anyone could truly react to this new development, electricity arced out from the coils and directly at Miss Martian. The xeno gave a horrific shriek before her body erupted into spasms in mid-air. The next second she was on the ground gasping for breath as started to get back up on her feet.

The Brain moved its container over to where its ape comrade was standing, the creature breathing heavily and a mask of pure fury etched all over its face. "No Mallah," the synthesized voice coming from the canister commanded "This will not be our Waterloo."

Several hatches and fins began to open up along the Brain's container and a mechanical humming started to grow louder and louder "For now bien que we must say au revoir to our new acquaintances."

While the humming continued to build and just before the team readied their weapons to strike at their two enemies every light in the facility went out for a split second. When the lights came back on the Brain and Mallah had completely vanished without a trace.

Immediately the Inquisitor turned to Robin who brought up his wrist computer and punched in a number of commands into it before he shook his head "It's not any cloaking, there's some strange residual energy readings in the air but nothing harmful. I think they just used some kind of teleporter."

It was more than just a little bit infuriating to the Inquisitor that the enemy managed to escape but at the very least the mission had been a success so there was that.

"Uh, can someone please get this thing off my head so I can move again?" a certain annoying voice called out. Dante resisted the urge to let out an annoyed sigh. Of course that idiot was still alive.

-Unknown Location-

Silver Swan had no idea how long she had been awake. Had it been a few hours? Minutes or seconds? In fact she wasn't even sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. Had she been asleep for days? Months? Years? Was everything before this point some strange dream that she was just waking up from? Her head was so mixed up it was hard to make sense of anything anymore. It was like her entire brain was bouncing around in her skull and she could barely figure out anything. The only thing that she could think clearly on was that she hated Wonder Woman. She abandoned her, tortured her, murdered her over and over again, and left her to…to this!

In her cell, quarters or room –she hadn't decided on which yet- she patiently awaited the moment when she would finally be given the opportunity to kill Wonder Woman, she just had to be patient. Silver Swan looked down at her hands and extended the blades that were embedded in her new –or were they always like this?- fingers. Each one was made of a monomolecular titanium and capable of ripping through just about anything. Just the thought of tearing open Diana's neck and feeling her blood coat her hands and splash her face was enough for Silver Swan to give a truly deranged smile while her blade-like wings extended and contracted excitedly.

Oh how she wanted to just leave right now and hunt the bitch down and gut her open. "Be patient Silver Swan your time will come," the voice in her head soothed, which was accompanied by another euphoric feeling in her mind when she decided to do what it said. The feeling was incredible, something that simply couldn't be described with mere words and it just made obedience almost second nature to her. Yes she would wait, wait until the moment when she could finally kill Wonder Woman.

To be continued.

A/N: Well I think it's safe to say that Vanessa has gone off the deep end completely. Next chapter we deal with the fallout/aftermath of the mission and we get into the Injustice Gang Arc. After that though, nothing will be the same again.

Here's the preview for Warhammer Fantasy: Falling Stars

-Altdorf, Capital of the Empire of Man, Celestial College-

Raphael Julevno Patriarch of the Celestial Order of the Empire's Colleges of Magic was sitting down in his personal chambers going over one of the tomes he perused every now and again when he found himself with some time for leisurely activities. While he had gone over many of the Celestial Order's tomes in the time he had found himself in this particular book was one that he had always enjoyed reading no matter how many times he had pored over its contents.

The wizard had only just begun to open the book when he felt a slight tingling sensation at the back of his mind that was quickly spreading throughout his mind. Julevno recognized this sensation almost immediately as he had felt it many, many times before. The sensation quickly overtook his mind as Julevno found himself no longer inside his chambers but instead he found himself in a seemingly endless black void that was covered in tiny white lights, stars he realized almost instantly. He and his fellow wizards at the Celestial college had gazed up at them countless times to the point that if he didn't recognize such a thing at first glance then there would truly be some cause for concern.

It was then that the vision truly began in earnest. A bright flash filled Julevno's vision and suddenly he wasn't among the heavens anymore. Instead he was back on the surface of the world, at night where the only illumination came from the white glow of Mannslieb. The Patriarch of the Celestial Order took in his surroundings in full and saw that he was on the sands of a beach that bordered an endless ocean out in front of him and when he looked behind Julevno saw hills, plains and an enormous forest that lay beyond.

All of the sudden Julevno felt compelled to look upwards back at the sky. He then saw three fiery streaks slowly making their way across the sky, but they seemed to be slowly making their way towards the surface below. As the streaks made their way across the sky Julevno felt an almost unmistakable feeling of something that was coming over the horizon, something that he couldn't understand at first, but he quickly realized what it was. Change, and not just change for the Empire but for the very world itself. Whether this change would be for good or ill, the Patriarch did not know and it made him uneasy.

Soon the vision ended and Julevno found himself back in his personal chambers, sitting at his desk with a tome placed atop it, waiting to be read. However now it seemed as though the book would be forgotten as he had to take this message to Emperor Franz as quickly as he could. Coincidentally enough though, there was a frantic knocking on the door leading out into the hall.

Julevno opened the door and one of the younger Apprentices in the order, was looking at him with a nervous yet at the same time, disturbed expression "Magister Patriarch, there has been a strange development. All of the senior Magisters and most of the Apprentices, have all had the same vision." Now that definitely got Julevno's attention and when the young Apprentice finished elaborating on the details of the vision that many other members of the Celestial Order had, it became ever more obvious that this was something that Emperor Franz needed to hear as quickly as possible.

The Patriarch of the Celestial Order was broken out of his thoughts once again when the young Apprentice in front of him spoke up with a voice that held both anxiety and nervousness "W-what would you have m-me do Lord Patriarch?" asked the Apprentice. Julevno looked at the boy for a moment with a small reassuring smile "You have done more than enough young one, return to your master and inform him that I will be taking this to the Emperor immediately."

As Julevno made his way out of his chambers and through the college he was unaware that there were a number of other magically inclined individuals who had received similar visions elsewhere in the world.

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On the Islands of Ulthuan, several Loremasters of Hoeth including one by the name of Teclis, beheld a similar vision and they all began set about trying to decipher what they had beheld as best they could before taking it to the Phoenix King. Whatever change was coming to the world it would doubtlessly effect the High Elves as well, and they needed to be ready for whatever came to pass, be it good or ill.

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In the seemingly endless jungles of Lustria in the Temple-City of Hexoatl the many Kroxigors, Skinks and Saurus Warriors went about their daily tasks, whatever they may be, but in the center of the city in one of the Stellar Pyramids, The Slann Mage-Priest, Lord Mazdamundi's eyes opened as a vision of things to come faded from his mind. However this vision was something that made him ponder what was coming from the stars.

Was this a sign that the Old Ones were returning? Had they at last deigned it important for them to return to the world that they had created to help shape it according to the Great Plan? Or was it something else, something that would bring ruin onto this world that the mighty Old Ones had helped create? Whatever the case may be, Mazdamundi had to find the answer as quickly as he could in order to prepare for whatever was to come. The Slann Mage-Priest would need to meditate further, and consult with the other Slann or perhaps even Lord Kroak if possible as they doubtlessly had seen the same visions that he had just beheld.

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Ghrond known to many in the lands of Naggaroth and beyond as the Tower of Prophecy was once again living up to its name. In the inner sanctum of the tower was a sorceress of unsurpassed beauty that had lived for millennia, always plotting and scheming to help her son take what she believed to be his birthright. Morathi, the Hag Sorceress of Ghrond, the First of the Hag Queen's and mother to the True King of Ulthuan, came out of her vision with a smirk on her face. This particular vision was interesting, most interesting. It was a strong vision to be sure but at the same time it was, -like almost all visions- rather vague.

The only thing that Morathi could discern form it was that a time of change was coming for the world. Whatever these messages meant it was clear that something was coming, and if change was on the horizon then she would need to send word to her spies in Ulthuan to see if they could gather any information from the usurpers. If Morathi had seen such a clear and decisive vision then there was no doubt that the fools in the White Tower of Hoeth did as well, and as unlikely as it was, perhaps they had seen more than she had.

Morathi would need to bring this to her son –although being a gifted sorcerer in his own right, he had probably seen the vision as well- and then they would need to begin their own preparations for whatever was to come. If this coming change would weaken Ulthuan for the return of its rightful ruler, then they would need to be ready for such an event.

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Far to north in the Great Chaos wastes, Archaon the Everchosen, the Three Eyed King and the Lord of the End Times sat atop his throne in a massive encampment filled with the warriors of the lost and the damned. When his sorcerers had all seen the vision, they interpreted it in several different ways. Many of the bootlickers interpreted it as a sign from the gods of the Everchosen's coming victories over the unenlightened in the south and the rest of the world. Others saw that it was an omen of ill fate for their master, of course they never really said it outright as they did not want to risk their lord's wrath but Archaon could see it in their eyes whenever he glanced at them.

The Everchosen was able to get the sorcerers to shut up after he decapitated some of the more vocal and expendable of their number. With the irritating jabbering gone, Archaon focused on the upcoming campaign to bring about the End Times. There was much to prepare for and he would make sure that vision or no, he would destroy this accursed world and everyone in it. It was his destiny and there was nothing that there was no Emperor, no God real or false that could possibly prevent this unavoidable future from coming to pass.