I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.


Interstellar Mission

Cassius watched calmly as Nightwing hurled La'gaan, winning the match.

"Neptune's beard!" La'gaan said, thumping a fist on the ground. "You did it to me again!" He accepted Nightwing's help up. I don't care how many years you trained as Robin and then as Nightwing. One of these days, you're my chum."

"I don't doubt it, Lagoon Boy," Nightwing said.

"Recognize Superboy, B-Zero-Four, Miss Martian, B-Zero-Six, Orphan, B-One-Zero Bumblebee, B-One-eight, Beast Boy, B-Two-Zero, Robin, B-Two-one, Blue Beetle, B-Two-Three," the computer announced as the group, labelled Delta team for their mission to catch Clayface, appeared in the Zeta tube. Bumblebee, who had a suit that could shrink her body, returned to her normal size just in time for her boyfriend, Mal Duncan, the Team's new Mission Control, to walk over to talk to her. Cassandra, who Tim was in the middle of talking to, ran over to hug Cassius instantly, Cassius hugging her back, smiling.

"How'd it go?" Cassius asked.

"Good," Cassandra said, then signed, "Connor, Megan, and Tim had dealt with him before the rest of us arrived. And no sign of Shadows."

"Good," Cassius said, just as Megan and La'gaan began to make out, Connor walking past them silently.

His and Megan's breakup had not been pleasant. However, both were handling it fairly well. Megan was using La'gaan as a rebound, and a little bit to make Connor jealous, and Connor was using Cassius to vent his anger and frustration about it, since Cassius could take it."

"Mind a spar later?" Connor asked as he was passing Cassius.

"Sure," Cassius nodded, then looked back to Cassandra. "So, any plans for tonight?"

"Tim asked me out to dinner," Cassandra signed.

"Oh," Cassius said, trying not to frown, though she saw it anyway. "Well, I hope you have a good time. I'm going to head over to visit Evaline's grave after I spar with Connor. I thought maybe we could stop by your dad's, but I can take you to see him some other time."

Cassandra shook her head instantly. "Yes."

"You sure?" Cassius asked. "What about Tim?"

"I can reschedule with him," Cassandra signed, smiling, then turned to Tim, who was talking to Nightwing.

As he finished, he turned to her, probably meaning to talk about that, only to stop as he saw the apologetic smile on her face. "You want to go some other time?"

"Sorry," Cassandra said.

"It's alright," Tim said. "Have fun."

"I'll try," Cassandra signed.

Cassius smiled and they headed toward the room, only for Captain Atom to call with an emergency alert about the United Nations building being attacked. Nightwing told him Beta Squad was nearby and would be there in three minutes and Captain Atom nodded and disconnected.

"What're they going to fight?" Cassius asked, walking over with Cassandra.

"Not sure," Nightwing said. "We'll know when they get there. I'm sure Ravager will be fine, though."

"I don't doubt it," Cassius said, hands gripping his opposite biceps a little tighter. "I still want to know who they're up against."

Cassandra tugged his legs arm down by the elbow, lacing her fingers with his. He smiled, giving her hand a light squeeze and turned her attention to the screen where Nightwing was just pulling up several security feeds from the embassy, showing a white-skinned, black-haired alien bounty hunter named Lobo working his way calmly through the guards. Lobo was a powerful foe who went toe-to-toe with Superman from time to time and always gave him a hard time.

"Heads up, Beta," Nightwing said. "It's Lobo."

"Understood," Barbara said. "Wonder Girl went on ahead. She'll stall until we get there."

"Be careful," Cassius said. "Don't forget, Lobo has given Superman a run for his money in the past."

"We'll be fine," Rose said.

"Still be careful," Cassius said.

Beta went silent and after a few seconds, they watched as Batgirl and Rose escorted Secretary General Tseng into a concealed elevator while Wonder Girl tried to delay Lobo. She didn't last long, however, and Lobo smashed the elevator door open and dropped, crushing the elevator less than three seconds after the girls and Tseng left it. Batgirl used a purple smoke bomb to obscure Lobo's sight and Rose hurled an electrified bolo at him, only for him to let it wrap around his arm, then rip it off and follow them. When they reached the assembly building, Lobo caught up with them and Batgirl and Rose tried to stall him, as did Wonder Girl a moment later, only for Lobo to hurl Wonder Girl into Batgirl, then backhand Rose and knock her out. Then, he leapt across the room to land in front of Tseng just before he could escape, then picked him up by the arms and pulled, splitting his upper body in half the long way. Except, it was a robot with a small, greenish yellow, imp-looking alien seated in a miniature chair inside, the alien about as tall as Cassius's forearm, he was pretty sure, if that. Lobo had then taken the alien alive, told the girls that their world was theirs, and left on a flying bike.

"What the fuck just happened?" Cassius asked.

"I have no fucking idea," Nightwing said.

"Tell me Tseng hasn't been an alien this entire time," Cassius said.

"I have no fucking idea," Nightwing said again. "Go spar with Connor to calm him down. Be back in time for the briefing once the rest of the Team gets back."

"Understood," Cassius nodded.

He and Cassandra headed to Connor's room, and Cassius gave him the short version. Connor was about as confused as Cassius, but they headed outside anyway to spar for a few minutes, both beating each other brutally, as always, until Connor called it about twenty minutes later. Then, they headed back inside just in time for the brief, finding Batman present. Batgirl explained what had happened on their mission, and Nightwing played the security footage of Lobo exposing the alien.

"The League will look into it," Batman finally said. "Have everyone be ready for any missions that come up. There's a good chance we'll be sending you somewhere."

Everyone agreed and once Batman was gone, Cassius, Cassandra, and Rose all changed and left, telling Nightwing where they were heading on the way out. Cassius flew the girls to his wife's grave first, buying some flowers as they walked through town before setting them on the grave and spending a few minutes telling his family about what had gone on since he last visited. Then, once he was done, he flew them to where Cassius had found Cain's grave for Cassandra. They'd been caught there by Lady Shiva once but she had agreed not to attack them there. Cassandra sat in front of the grave in silence for a while, as she usually did. Cassius understood why. What she wanted to say was for Cain only, and she didn't know how to say it anyway. Finally, she stood and nodded and Cassius picked them both up, flying back tot he Cave. Then, the three of them headed to bed for the night.


Cassius frowned as he stepped up next to the others. The small alien had been identified as Krolotean, a race that built its culture off of stolen technology and that always travelled in massive groups, meaning the one that controlled the robot Tseng was not the only one. The scientist that maintained the Zeta tubes, Adam Strange, had told the League he was accidentally brought to a planet called Rann where he met a scientist there who told him about the Kroloteans, and that they had stolen his Zeta tube technology, then had given Strange a way to track the Kroloteans. The League had decided to split both the League and the Team between the fourteen locations on Earth, with one group from the Team going to Rann to find the Kroloteans at the one and only site there. It had originally been planned for the League to go, but Strange had informed them that not only were humans not a favorite species in that region of space at the moment, but that six of the Justice League members, the exact same six that had been unaccounted for during a sixteen hour span of time while Savage was controlling them, were wanted criminals, and that every Leaguer had a watch order and standing orders to be arrested. So, the Team was selected to go. As such, he, Cassandra, Rose, Strange, Connor, Megan, and Beast Boy were all about to be sent to Rann by Zeta tube.

"Is everyone ready?" Strange asked.

"We're ready," Megan nodded.

Strange typed the coordinates on the control panel and the Zeta tube activated, leaving them on a platform on Rann, which Strange explained was an advanced version of the Zeta tube. They all looked around at the world around them. They were on top of what Cassius would definitely call a mansion, a huge, round one with a building to their right, then more buildings far below them, and the entire world around them being a huge forest of trees with extremely dark, almost black, bark and some with orangish red leaves and others with dark purple.

"Whoa," Beast Boy said, looking around at the trees.

"Zeta squad, welcome to Rann," Strange said, leading them to a stairway off to the left heading up to a walkway leading to the building to their right, wrapping around behind the Zeta platform.

As they got to the top of the walkway, Cassius stopped, staring at a massive city of tall, pure white towers in the distance. Beast Boy's jaw dropped, his eyes darting from the city to the green moon just above the mountain range horizon behind it

"Whoa," Beast Boy said again. "I'm totally walking on an alien planet! Oh, Sis, you must say that like every day on Earth!" He looked to Megan expectantly.

"Actually, I kinda do," Megan said, ruffling his hair.

"Wait, we can breathe the air here, right?" Beast Boy asked, holding his hands to his throat.

"Only if you're at least fourteen years old," Cassius said, Beast Boy rolling his eyes.

"Adam!" a feminine voice off to one side called out. "Adam!"

They turned to the girl running toward them as she began to speak in her native language, probably welcoming them and asking who everyone but Adam was. She had pale, slightly yellow skin, blue eyeshadow-like markings under her eyes shaped like inverted shark fins, pointed ears, black hair, a blue tiara-like headdress framing her face with a pair of yellow lines reaching outward from the front on top and curling at the outside ends, a yellow cape, a blue shirt with three-quarter sleeves, black pants, and blue knee-high boots.

"Oh, great!" Strange smiled. "I think." he turned tot he Cassius and the others as a bald Rannian with a white lab coat and green goggles reached them too. "Zeta Squad, these are my Rannian friends, Sardath," he held a hand out to the bald Rannian, "and his daughter, Alanna." He smiled at her fondly, his voice betraying his attraction to her heavily as he introduced her. After a moment, he stepped back, beginning to try and introduce them in Rannian, saying they were from Earth.

Once he was done, Sardath welcomed them, Cassius only understanding the word Earthlings, Adam, and Zeta. He asked them a question, but when everyone turned to Strange, he shrugged.

"I'm sill learning the language," Strange said. "This is usually where we start playing charades."

"Megan, would you mind?" Cassius asked.

"Not at all," Megan said, her eyes glowing green as she linked everyone but Cassandra, including the two Rannians, both of whom cringed at the unfamiliar feeling.

"What was that?" Alanna muttered to her father, Megan allowing everyone to understand them, despite their languages differing.

"Such an odd sensation," Sardath shrugged.

"Wait, you're speaking English!" Strange said excitedly, walking over to them.

"Not quite," Cassius said. "I had Megan link us all mentally, so now we can understand each other despite speaking different languages."

"I'm serving as a...sort of like a psychic translator," Megan said. "They speak Rannian, we speak English, but we all hear the language we understand."

"What an amazing ability," Sardath said.

"That will make communicating so much easier!" Alanna said, smiling up at Strange.

"Speaking of different languages, Megan would you mind teaching me Rannian?" Cassius asked.

"Sure," Megan nodded. "Sardath, Alanna, who you two mind if I copied your memories of your language to Cassius's mind so he can speak it if our connection's broken?"

"You can do that?" Strange asked.

"It's painful for the person receiving the language, and uncomfortable for the people giving it," Cassius said. "It'll feel like you just felt, but about ten seconds long."

The two Rannians grimaced, then nodded.

"Gently, Megan," Cassius said.

"I will," Megan said, her eyes glowing green.

Both Rannians cringed again, gritting their teeth and remaining like that for about ten seconds before relaxing.

"Sorry about that," Megan said. "Are you two okay?"

"Yes," Alanna said. "Not a very pleasant experience."

"Better to be giving the language than receiving it," Cassius said, face scrunched up in a constant wince, one hand held to his head. "And if there were only one, that'd be double the amount of time it took to copy the language."

"What a pleasant thought," Sardath said, just before what sounded like a sort of police siren grew louder, then faded again. "Perhaps we should take this inside. It is wise to use caution when harboring Earthlings."

"Excellent idea," Cassius said.

They took an elevator inside, and as soon as they stepped out, they found a green animal that had what looked like a cross between a reptile and a bird. It had a lizard-like body, a long, pointed snout, two small bone spikes on top of the snout, the one in front slightly longer than the one behind it, a pair of horns, a line of short, soft-looking, light green spines around the top and sides of its skull behind its horns, small bone spikes running along its back, and a pair of green feathered wings.

"Alien animalage!" Beast Boy cheered, running forward on his monkey-like arms and legs. "Cool!"

Cassius wasn't entirely sure why Beast Boy always kept himself looking like a cross between a West African Green Monkey and a Martian, except with his fur and hair all a dark forest green and his skin the same shade of light green as Megan's usual form. However, Beast Boy seemed to enjoy it, so he never really gave it much thought.

"Sardath, have you learned anything more about why Earthlings are unwelcome in this corner of the Galaxy?" strange asked as they were walking through the house.

Sardath sighed heavily. "The Rannian Science Command was xenophobic in general, which is why my research into interplanetary Zeta beam travel has been conducted quietly."

"And why you haven't reported the theft of your technology," Strange realized.

"Exactly," Sardath said. "If Science Command learned I had made it possible for aliens, especially you Earthlings, to Zeta here to Rann, the consequences could be dire for myself and my daughter."

"Well, Megan and I can disguise ourselves as Rannians," Cassius said. "The others can all remain unseen."

"That is good," Sardath nodded.

"I still don't get it," Connor said. "Why the big hate for Earthlings? How do they even know any Earthlings too hate?"

Alanna reached over to a small triangular device with the corners missing, touching the top of it with her hand, the top opening in three plates, a holographic yellow screen forming over it, cycling through the six Leaguers who had gone missing, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hawkwoman, Martian Manhunter, and the Green Lantern, John Stewart.

"I assume Adam showed you this," Alanna said. "We are still unclear on the details."

"Science Command is not inclined to share intelligence with its people," Sardath said.

"But we have learned there was an incident on the planet Rimbor involving Earthling criminals known as the Justice League," Alanna said.

"I assume you are not associated with these outlaws," Sardath said.

"We are not members of the League," Megan said, leaving out the fact that she and Connor both had open invitations to reserved seats on the League.

"Only these six were on Rimbor," Sardath said, pulling up the images of the six Leaguers. "Since then, the Kroloteans have posted planetary watch alerts for every member of the League."

Cassius's eyes narrowed slightly, Cassandra tensing, and Strange stepped forward, eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

"The Kroloteans!" Strange said. "That's who stole your Zeta platform tech! They used it to secretly invade Earth, which is how they found out about the other Leaguers!"

"I know," Sardath said. "I told you that the last time you were here."

"Of course!" Strange said, thumping his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Kroloteans! I misunderstood you! I thought it was just the Rannian word for thief."

"It might as well be," Alanna said.

"Yeah, Krolotean culture revolves around stolen tech," Connor said. "We heard. Question is, what do we do about it."

"I'm in favor of either smashing their stolen tech, or stealing it back," Cassius spoke up.

"My father's Zeta Shield will help," Alanna said, typing on the triangle device's controls.

"If I can perfect the design," Sardath said. "Your primitive Zeta tubes would still work within the confines of the Earth's atmosphere, but unauthorized travel to and from other worlds would become impossible. In short, this shield will prevent more Kroloteans from invading your world via Zeta beam while trapping any still entrenched there."

"And in the mean time, Adam tells us you've located the Krolotean Zeta platform here on Rann?" Megan asked.

"Indeed," Sardath said. "But the jungles of Rann can be dangerous. You Earthlings will need a guide."

"I'll go Father," Alanna volunteered. "You must complete your work on the Zeta Shield."

"The transportation out of the city of Ranagar is also not without risks, Alanna," Sardath said. "We must disguise these Earthlings."

"Look, enough of this Earthlings thing," Connor said. "I'm half-Kryptonian and Miss Martian is...Martian."

"You came here from Earth, did you not?" Sardath asked.

"Yeah, but we're not..." Connor sighed heavily. "Nevermind."

Cassius shrugged, transforming into goo and back, leaving him as a Rannian with short, pale green hair, violet eyes, and clothes similar to Alanna's but dark grey and slightly less form-fitting.

"How do I look?" Cassius asked.

"Very good," Sardath said.

Megan shifted into a Rannian with black eyes, a tight black long-sleeved shirt and cloth over the top of her head with green hair in a ponytail showing behind the cloth, a white short-sleeved dress over the black one and a gold belt. Connor was given a red robe with a hood and a black diamond with a circle missing from the center on the front, a loose gold belt, and a brown belt. Beast Boy shifted into the same type of creature as Sardath had for a pet. Strange was given a red robe with white on the hood, an "X" across the chest, a white belt that bent down in a "V" in front, and a pair of yellow boots and gloves. Cassandra and Rose Cassius gave some of his goo as full-body disguises, making them look like Rannian children, with Sardath and Alanna's directions for appearance and clothing. Then, they all headed to the train stop, waiting for it to arrive before loading up and finding seats.


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