Ring!

The phone continued to ring throughout the silent room, as the four heroes of Dakota City watched the interlopers warily. The three time travelers, meanwhile, were far more relaxed, glancing around the room and interest. They were seated on the couch in Augustus' living room, waiting for the call to pick up.

Finally… "Hello?" Clark Kent's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Superman," Augustus started, keeping his gaze trained on the three visitors. "I have two men and one woman in front of me, saying that they are here in Dakota City on an errand for you. Are they telling the truth?"

"You mean Kaldur and the others? Yeah, they're telling the truth. I wanted to go myself, but there's been some trouble in Metropolis—" as if on cue, an explosion sounded in the background, "—so I sent them instead. Please, hear them out Icon. Their offer doesn't just come from them, it comes from me as well."

Another explosion sounded. "I need to go. It's good to hear from you, Icon."

Augustus gave a short nod. "And you as well, my friend." The call ended.

"Okay, so you're telling the truth." Raquel crossed her arms. "Now can you please introduce yourselves?"

Kaldur smiled. "Of course, Raquel. My name is Kaldur'ahm, and my superhero identity is Aquaman. These are my friends Wallace West, aka the Flash, and M'gann M'orzz, or Megan Morse as humans know her, aka Miss Martian."

The other heroes stared. Richie blinked. "But Aquaman is a white guy, how can you…" Realization dawned on his face. "…You're three of the time travelers, aren't you?"

M'gann leaned back into her seat, daintily lifting a leg over her knee, watching as shock flickered over the other three Dakota City natives. "I see our reputations precede us."

"'Precede you?' Man, the entire superhero world is up in arms about you guys!" Virgil exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Seven future members of the Justice League, all aged up by a souped-up Vandal Savage and nearly wrecking the three most prominent teams today while brainwashed is kind of hard to miss, you know!"

"You're well-informed," Wallace observed. "So I guess that means you already know about our camp?"

Raquel nodded. "We have."

"Are you trying to say you're offering us spots there?" Richie interjected.

"We are," Kaldur admitted, "But that's not the only reason we're here. We're also here to see Icon, on behalf the Justice League."

Augustus blinked. "The…Justice League."

"Yes." Kaldur cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "In light of recent events, the JLA has elected to expand its membership to handle the increasing amount of supervillain collaboration throughout the world. On top of reactivating former members, they've also elected to inject new blood into the team." He made eye contact with Augustus. "And you are at the top of this list."

Raquel's jaw dropped. "Are you saying…?"

"Yes. On behalf of Superman and the JLA, we would like to invite you, Arnus of Terminus, or Icon as you are know to this world, to join its ranks as its newest member. Know that you are not under any pressure to accept, but also know that should you do accept, you will be doing us a great honor and will be afforded the due respect as a full-fledged member of the Justice League."

The room once more quieted as all three teenagers openly gaped at Kaldur. Even Augustus looked stunned, struggling to make a response. Finally, he said, "…Really?"

(Even the great Icon couldn't be eloquent all the time.)

All three of the visitors, for their part, looked amused. "Yes, really," Kaldur confirmed, a smile in his voice. "Before you make a decision, would you like to know what benefits come from being a member of the JLA?"

"…That would be helpful to know."

Kaldur nodded, then took out an envelope from the inside of his jacket and slid it towards Augustus. Hesitantly, Augustus tore it open and took out the papers inside, peripherally aware that his protege and her friends were reading it alongside him over his shoulders.

"The primary benefit, of course, is the ability to call on the help of Justice League for any major disasters you may encounter during your membership. Along with that, you will be more innately integrated into Oracle's network, allowed to contact her and use her resources to seek out whatever information you may need for your own investigations. You will also have access to all JLA resources, including their primary reparations fund for any fees your city may charge you with. If you ever find yourself in dire financial straits in your civilian life, you are entitled to a monthly stipend to supplement your basic needs and even a personal suite in the Watchtower if you can no longer afford to live planetside anymore. There is more, all detailed on the parchment, but those are the main benefits."

Augustus nodded along with Kaldur's words, eyes scanning down the page. "And what responsibilities would I have were I to join the JLA?"

"You are obligated to take on any mission the JLA calls on you for, in lieu of a sufficient excuse such as an emergency in your own city. You will be required to attend the monthly JLA meeting, and take on a shift of monitor duty at the Watchtower at least once a week. You may also be occasionally called on to make public appearances at various charity and diplomatic events, and to act as a mentor to various younger heroes, including those currently under our tutelage."

Virgil blinked. "That's it?"

Wallace snorted. "Trust me — it's way more work than it sounds. The JLA is always high-in-demand and even with the recent expansion initiative that's unlikely to change. If anything, that'll just convince Batman and Martian Manhunter to accept more requests for aid." The JLA always went where they were most needed, after all, but unfortunately there were far too many places where they were 'most needed'.

"This is a…momentous offer," Augustus finally said. "I will need time to ponder upon it."

"We understand," M'gann responded, not looking surprised. "Take as much time as you need. The offer does not have a time limit. If you refuse now, you can always accept it later."

The other alien blinked. "That is pleasing to hear. It is doubtful I will be able to accept this offer immediately."

Wallace frowned. "Why? You guys have something big going down here in Dakota City?"

"Yes. Recently, the city made an…extreme attempt to combat the ongoing rise of metahuman crime in Dakota the past few years."

Kaldur narrowed his eyes. "You mean their attempt to cure the Bang Babies that were created as a result of the Big Bang two years ago? The one that gave Static and Gear their powers?"

Richie blinked. "You guys know about that?"

Instead of answering, the three just gave him a look.

"Oh, right. The whole future thing."

"Yes." Kaldur turned back to Augustus. "I assume that some of the Bang Babies are trying to regain their old powers? I remember all of you mentioning something about that in the last timeline."

"Indeed. Someone managed to collect an original sample of the Quantum Vapor and recreate the formula from it. Now they're beginning to distribute it to various customers through a drug ring that's rapidly spreading throughout the poorer parts of the city. Already we've had several old and new Bang Babies spring up and cause havoc across Dakota."

"Have you managed to find out the identity of the supplier? Or a possible location?"

"No. We've tried questioning the dealers but they're tight-lipped. Even when I have taken to interrogating them myself, they do not spill a word."

Upon hearing that, Kaldur and Wallace turned to M'gann. The Martian crossed her arms. "Would a telepath be helpful?"

Augustus blinked. "You are…offering your aid?"

Wallace shrugged. "I don't see why not. See, we're going to be staying in town for a couple of days because we also need to talk about the camp with the parents of those kids over there." He nodded towards Virgil, Richie, and Raquel. "But in-between that we don't really have anything else to do — at least, nothing urgent. And you are a high-priority recruit for the JLA, Icon. They really want you on the team. So, I don't think the JLA will mind if we help you on this case."

"Not to mention, there's a possibility this drug ring could potentially expand beyond Dakota City depending on who the supplier is," Kaldur's face darkened, "And if that happens, then the JLA will involve themselves in the case. The last thing the world needs right now is an influx of metahuman criminals."

Augustus looked reluctant, but upon seeing the eager expressions on the faces of his child cohorts, sighed. "Very well. I shall accept your aid."

"Do not worry, Icon. We shall not step on your toes. You and your proteges will have lead on the investigation unless you say otherwise."

"First things first, though," M'gann turned to the teenagers, "what about our offer to you?"

The three teens looked to each other, making silent conversation with one another. "Well, what are we doing at this…summer camp? What are the benefits?"

"Other than direct tutelage from the seven of us?"

"Yeah. I mean…what exactly do you guys teach?"

M'gann hummed. "That's a loaded question with far too many answers. But, if we were to sum it up in a few words, I guess it would be how to succeed as a superhero. Not in just terms of skill and power, but also in terms of general knowledge and etiquette. We will help you connect with other members of the superhero community, help you make your own connections and your own network of allies, while also helping you increase your own individual abilities and skills. For example, have any of you had any formal training in hand-to-hand combat?"

Raquel looked away, rubbing her arm, while Virgil and Richie cringed.

The three older heroes, meanwhile, looked unsurprised. "Do not be ashamed. That's common among young heroes with powers, especially independent heroes that don't have official mentors," M'gann soothed them. "While we can help you connect with a teacher either way, it would be much easier if you were to join the camp as physical conditioning and hand-to-hand combat are a part of the curriculum. Every single one of us is well-versed in martial arts and weapons, and we have three masters of CQC among us — including Kaldur here."

"Really?" Virgil asked.

Kaldur shrugged. "I was trained to be a member of the Atlantean army, starting a young age," he explained, "And was trained extensively as a warrior by the current Aquaman. As my powers lean towards the physical side of things, it only made sense to further my training in that area."

"That's what we'll help you do, too," Wallace jumped in. "While it's important to be well-rounded, it's also important to play to your strengths. For example, you, Gear, will have access to all the resources at our disposal and will be able to work with some of the brightest minds in the world."

"Like who?"

"Well, Cyborg of the Titans—"

Richie cut him off before he could finish. "I'm in."

Everyone stared at him.

"What? It's Cyborg!"

Kaldur sighed. "Right." The Titans alway were more popular with the younger demographic. It helped that they were young themselves. "And you two?" He directed the question at Virgil and Raquel.

Virgil shrugged. "If Richie's down with it, I am too. I've always wanted a mentor anyway."

It was Raquel who was the hold out. "I don't know," she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "I want to, but I'm also stretching myself thin with the stuff I do here and with my job. I was planning to work for the summer too, save up some money. I've always wanted to be a writer, you know? Like Toni Morrison."

The time travelers exchanged looks. "We can discuss that with you and your parents. If need be, we can easily secure you a full scholarship to a school of your choosing," Kaldur answered smoothly.

"You can?" Raquel looked curious. "How?"

"Did you think we were staying in Dakota City on our own dime?" Wallace asked back, raising an eyebrow. "Two of us were preteens that have only just recently been transformed back into adults. We don't have jobs, and depending on how long this transformation lasts, we're not getting jobs any time soon. Instead, we just borrowed one of our Batman's credit cards with his permission to stay in one of the hotels in the city."

"Batman's rich?"

"Richer than God," M'gann lightly corrected. "How else do you think he and his family afford all those wonderful toys?"

"Huh," Richie glanced at his friends. "She's got a point."

Raquel crossed her arms, looking more contemplative. "I'll think about it, but I won't promise anything," she finally said.

"That's fine. That's all we ask. Now, let's get to work — what do you have on the drug ring so far?"

"Impressive," Wallace complimented as he observed the hologram of Dakota City emanating from Back-Pack, waving his hand through the projection. "This technology won't be commercially available for at least another decade."

Richie blushed. "Thanks."

"Do you think you can bring up the general trends of Bang Baby activity since the drug ring began?"

The teenager nodded and typed in a few commands on the remote interface he used when not using the neural-feed built into the helmet he used as Gear. Almost immediately, certain areas of the hologram lit up in a red color. "Most of it is centered in Paris Island, since that's where most of the gas is being distributed, and the city, since that's where a criminal would get the most attention or would be able to steal anything of value," Augustus explained for the benefit of the non-natives. "However, there have been dealers found elsewhere, including here in Prospect Hills."

Kaldur hummed, thinking hard. "…How do they pay for the gas?"

Raquel blinked. "…with money?"

He shook his head. "I imagine that producing this gas isn't cheap, correct? And considering how desperate these Bang Babies are to regain their powers, the supplier and their dealers are in prime position to offer it at a steep price. Combined with you four and Hardware combating crime all across the city, money must be hard to come by for any prospective buyers, especially since they don't have their powers."

"So you're saying they're not paying for the gas with money," Raquel summed up slowly. "Then how are they paying for it?"

"The only other thing they have to offer once they have their powers back," Kaldur replied. "Their services."

Everyone else's face lit up at that, and Richie immediately started typing in new commands. He zoomed the hologram inward so it showed a close up of the main city, and then lit up the general locations of all the recent Bang Baby attacks the past couple of months. Several dots appeared on the screen, and running feed of the names what, exactly, was located at each dot was projected in another hologram next to it.

Virgil scanned the list. "That's weird. None of these are banks or jewelry stores or anything like. These are all hardware stores."

"Nothing like RadioShack or Circuit City either," Richie commented. "These are high-end, specialty places. The kind of places I go to when I'm tinkering with our equipment."

"What would a bunch of drug dealers want with that kind of stuff?" Raquel wondered.

Augustus crossed his arms. "There is only one way to find out. We must locate another dealer and interrogate them."

"You guys know any potential former Bang Babies that haven't sought out a dealer that might try searching one soon?" Wallace asked the teens.

Virgil and Richie glanced at each other and exchanged a smirk. "We might know a guy…"

If there was one thing Ed Tochi hated, it was being Ed Tochi.

Ed Tochi grew up in a shit part of town and attended a shit school and had shit parents and shit everything. That's why Ed Tochi ran off to join a gang as soon he was old enough to bust wallets from the unsuspecting plebes that walked through his part of town. Of course, that led to trips to Juvie and shouting matches with his asshole dad, but it's not like Ed had anything else going for him. At least, not until the Big Bang.

Like any other gangbanger in the city, Ed Tochi was there at the docks that night, backing his crew. He was braining some guy with a pipe he found when the cops showed up and threw that fateful gas of tear canister that changed everyone's lives that night. Ed Tochi got off lucky, he managed to escape with Ivan and Teresa and hit up back home, and the next day he woke up with knives for hands, and suddenly, he wasn't Ed Tochi anymore. He was Shiv.

Shiv was strong. He didn't need to take shit from his parents anymore. He could turn his hands into anything he wanted, which mean he could do whatever the hell he wanted. So when Ivan showed up with Teresa, calling themselves Ebon and Talon, and asked him to hook up with them again as the Meta-Breed, Shiv didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer. Together, they'd rule this city and no one would be able to stop them.

…Or, at least that was how things were supposed to go. Then stupid do-gooder Static showed up, then Ivan's little bro decided to go straight too, and then Icon and his hot sidekick and Hardware and Gear — they all started ruining everything. Every time they got something started up, one of those 'heroes' would come along and stop them cold. So many false starts and Shiv wouldn't lie, it was starting to get old.

Then the antidote came. And suddenly, he wasn't Shiv anymore. He was back to being Ed Tochi, and that's when everything really started going to hell.

Apparently, just because they got cured didn't mean all their troubles went away. All the Bang Babies that had been using their powers to commit crimes, especially members of the Meta-Breed, had to finally face the law. Some, like Teresa (the traitor) didn't mind and were just happy to finally be back to normal. But for others like Ed Tochi? It was a living hell, their worst nightmare come to life. Especially since Static and Gear had managed to get a whiff of the gas at the docks and regain their powers. It just wasn't fair.

Ed had just about resigned himself to jail when he caught a lucky break. His lawyer, some underpaid public defender, managed to argue that since he committed most of his crimes while underage (kinda — he was sixteen when he got gassed) and hadn't managed to causing lasting damage (like kill someone), he was operating under the influence of someone else and deserved to have his sentence reduced. Even Ed thought that was bullshit, but for whatever reason, the judge bought it, and a few months later, here he was.

He made all the promises he needed to make to get out, but they were all lies. The only thing Ed had on his mind was becoming Shiv again. With Ebon and Hotstreak gone and Teresa deciding she was gonna turn her life around, the board was clear for Shiv to make his own way. No more having anyone tell him what to do. He was his own man now, but if he wanted to get anywhere, he needed to have his powers back.

Luckily, during the time he was locked up, someone had managed to figure out the science junk behind the Bang Baby gas and had been dealing it out by the bucketloads in exchange for a few favors. It was easy to find a dealer for him — he was a big name as Shiv and he still had some contacts from his time in the Meta-Breed. He called in a few markers and he had all the information he needed to know.

Walking through the winding, trash-strewn streets of Paris Island, Ed finally spotted it — the broken-down convenience store where the latest dealer of Bang Baby gas was located. He smirked.

As he entered the abandoned storefront, he didn't notice the air behind him shimmer briefly.

The first thing Ed noticed when he got inside was that he wasn't the only former Bang Baby there. "Slipstream? Kangor?"

Brian Richardson, aka Kangor, gave a nod to his former crewmate. "Shiv."

Conrad 'Heavy C' Robinson, the former Slipstream, snorted. "Oh great. Another of Ebon's ex-flunkies."

"Excuse me?" Ed fumed, getting up into Heavy C's face. "If I remember correctly, it was your fat ass that was at the docks a couple of months ago taking orders from Ebon too!"

Heavy C growled, pressing his forehead against Ed's as he glared intimidatingly at him. "That's 'cause he had the gas. Once I had that stuff back in my veins I was going to ditch all y'all and do my own thing. Same here, but I think before I do I'm going to toss your skinny little ass into the stratosphere with a tornado or two!"

"Go ahead and try it, chunky! I'll gut you like the pig you are before you even get the chance!"

Off to the side, Brian groaned. "C'mon, mon. Can't you guys wait until after we get our powers back?" he complained.

"Indeed. What a lively lot you are."

The three young adults froze before glancing to the back of the abandoned store, where a much older man emerged. He was rather nondescript, with brunette hair and dark eyes, except for his clothes. A business suit of clearly fine make — far finer than anything any native of Paris Island could afford.

"Edward Tochi, aka Shiv; Brian Richardson, aka Kangor; and Conrad Robinson, aka Slipstream. I assume you're all here to buy the Quantum Vapor and regain your powers?"

Ed and Heavy C immediately separated, while Brian spoke for all of them. "We are," he confirmed, looking serious. His orange shades glinted dangerously.

"And do you all know the price for the gas?"

"We steal a bunch of stuff for you guys and drop it off somewhere," Ed rattled off. "Can we please get the gas now?"

"Very well," the man nodded, before producing a canister. "We've enhanced the formula to counteract the antidote. Just one whiff of this and whatever is suppressing your metagene will break down, and you'll regain your powers."

The three boys reached eagerly for the canister, pushing against one another to take it first before suddenly freezing in place. The dealer blinked and tried to move himself, stunned and scared to realize he couldn't.

"That's good to know," an unfamiliar voice reverberated throughout the room, as the air above them shimmered to reveal Miss Martian. "I'm sure the police and their contacts at GenomaTech would love to have a sample to counteract it." I've got them. Come in so I can secure them.

She landed onto the ground and approached the dealer. "Now, to find out your supplier…" M'gann pressed her hand against his forehead and probed.

Loneliness…alienation…fear—

"GAH!"

M'gann stumbled back in shock, briefly breaking her concentration. "That…was…" she stuttered out, eyes wide, as her former captives let out breaths of relief.

The dealer didn't bother to wait. He drew his firearm, hidden within his jacket and fired the bullet directly at the canister before smoothly exchanging it for a gas mask. Almost immediately the gas was released and began spreading throughout the room. The newly-empowered Bang Babies coughed, before Slipstream blew the gas away with his newly-regained powers, a scary, hostile grin on his visage.

M'gann moved to recapture them but Slipstream was faster, blowing her away with a powerful gust of wind. She slammed into the glass doors, which eventually gave way to the rush of air and sent her flying outside. The Bang Babies were about to make their escape, Slipstream literally blowing the roof of the place for good measure, before the storefront was once again blown wide open, debris sent flying everywhere.

The three metahumans stared as Kaldur, Wallace, Static, and Gear cornered them. Kangor tried to take them out with a large fissure, only for Wallace to blow him back with his own handmade whirlwind. Static and Gear immediately chased after him to restrain him, while Slipstream tried to counter the whirlwind with his own.

Shiv, realizing that things were no longer in their favor, tried to make a break for it, only to freeze when Kaldur took a running leap and landed in front of him, his water-bearers already drawn and shaped into a pair of swords. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, unimpressed.

The metahuman growled, his own hands forming into two amethyst blades. "What's it to you?" The boy shouted, attacking with powerful but wild swings. Kaldur parried them easily.

"Disgraceful," he couldn't help but comment. "The Shiv I knew, the real Shiv, would be ashamed and insulted by your performance."

"He'd wish he was as good as me!" Shiv roared back, only to trip over Kaldur's outstretched foot and land face-first onto the ground, completely knocked out.

Kaldur shook his head as he glanced out the unconscious metahuman. "The Shiv I knew was a woman," he idly commented, rolling his eyes.

Wallace ducked under another blast of wind, dispersing a thrown tornado before ducking under another air slice. "Stay still!" Slipstream shouted, getting frustrated.

"No," Wallace bluntly told him, before rolling under another attack and snapping his fingers upwards. A shockwave emanated from the snap, slamming into Slipstream and knocking him into the roof of another derelict house, rendering him loopy. Wallace sped forward and caught him, grunting slightly at the heavy weight in his arms.

Just then, Static and Gear reappeared with Kangor, the man tied up in one of Gear's Zap-Caps and being carried by Static via an aura of electrostatic forces. Kangor was dropped into a pile in the center of the abandoned (and now wrecked) storefront along with the unconscious Shiv and the addled Slipstream, who Gear promptly restrained with two more Zap-Caps.

"Well," Static said, scratching the back of his head, "we got these guys, but what about the dealer?"

Kaldur smirked. "I wouldn't worry about him."

He ran and ran, as far as he could go. He knew he couldn't outrun a speedster, but if he found a decent enough place, he could hide himself long enough so he could use the Box to escape. Even a speedster wouldn't be able to find him after that.

Another explosion sounded, and he couldn't help but flinch. Screw it. He was using the Box now and getting the hell out of this shithole of a city. He reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out the device the boss had given him—

Only to suddenly freeze, unable to move.

M'gann, much more put together, descended from the sky like an unholy and vengeful angel. She lifted the Box with her telekinesis, observing it closely. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She peered at it, frowning, before glancing at the dealer. "You're no ordinary drug dealer, are you?"

The dealer said nothing, just glared at her.

"No matter. You'll be telling us plenty enough later." Her eyes glowed crimson. "I don't need to probe your mind to do this."

That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? A little less than usual, but I think that's enough for this chapter. The fight scenes were kind of subdued, but that's because the real action doesn't come until later in the arc. I've got a lot planned for this one, and I think you guys are going to love it!

The Shiv Kaldur is referring to, by the way, is Cindy Burman, the daughter of Dragon King and the arch-enemy of Courtney Whitmore. Remember her — she's not going to appear in this arc, but she'll be a marginally important character later on in the story.