Review Responses.Guest: So your ignoring Ultimate Alien and Omniverse because "they're batshit insane" your kidda forgetting about the santa elves and gold pooping aliens, and which series was it that introduced the god alien Alien X? Oh yes, it was Alien Force. Also Ben doesn't learn about alternate universes until Ultimate Alien so why would Alien Force Ben even think to go to a different universe.
Response: Dude in alien force the only thing Alien X did was fix a dam. That's it That's your "god" alien. Omniverse turned Ben into the biggest jobber I have ever seen while at the same time turning him into God, they had him literally create his own universe twice. As for Ultimate alien I like a lot of the ides there but they were pretty poorly done.
Wahid Alam: wow, the first chapter looks really promising and engaging. I'm really curious to where it goes from this. hope you update soon.Response:
Let's hope I don't disappoint.
Yogiri: Should have included events of Ultimate Alien and ignored Omniverse, but not really a big issue.
Response: Again I like the ideas of Ultimate Alien but they were pretty poorly done. The way I rank the series is like this. The Classic series: The one that started it all. Alien force: The one with the most coherent story. Ultimate alien: The one with the coolest concepts but pretty botched execution. Omniverse: The one with the coolest aliens introduced but give Ben massive brain damage.
Chapter 1 Star-crossed
(Metropolis)
Ben and Paradox landed in an abandoned alleyway. The first thing Ben did was look around to familiarize himself with this new dimension, one of the most notable buildings in the area however was a skyscraper with a statue of the planet Earth made in gold.
" Welcome to the Diniverse Benjamin sometimes known as the DC universe." Paradox explained as the two of them made their way out of the alley. As they were walking Ben noticed how unusually baren the streets were, as cities were rarely if ever quiet so why were the streets so empty?
" Halt humans!" A squadron of hawk-people landed flew over their heads and landed several feet in front of Ben and Paradox.
The leader of the squad stepped forward and said." Show you're identification or be punished."
" You weren't kidding Paradox, were here for two seconds and already I've got super villains trying to kill me." Ben quipped three seconds later the Thanagarian soldiers were blinded by a flash of emerald light.
" Big Chill!" The soldier's opened fire at Ben and Paradox but they're efforts were in vain because Ben simply turned intangible while Paradox slowed time down and dodged the laser fire. Using his frost breath Big Chill froze all the Thanagarian soldiers in front of him.
" Well that was easy, you hyped up these guys way to much Paradox."
The time walker merely chuckled. " This is not the threat I was warning you about Benjamin, in fact that threat won't arrive for several years."
That annoyed Ben. " Then why did you bring me here? I thought we were here to stop the multiverse from imploding or something."
" There's much you need to do before you're ready for that conflict. You've got allies to make, villains to defeat, and an Omnitrix to master. Regardless this Earth is currently under siege by a race of aliens known as Thanagarians you should endeavor to endear yourself to the people of this Earth by saving them." With that Paradox vanished into thin air leaving Ben all alone.
" I hate it when he does that." Big Chill looked towards the sky and noticed a giant spacecraft floating above the city protected by multiple Thanagarian soldiers. " That looks pretty important."
(Thanagarian Prison Shuttle.)
In a prison chamber the six greatest heroes planet Earth had ever known were currently sitting in silence. The weight of their failure hung heavy above the atmosphere smothering the fire that once burned in their souls.
Superman was trapped in a chamber that was constantly showering him in red sun radiation, Wonder Woman was tied to a pole by her own lasso, Martian Manhunter was kept in chains that he couldn't phase through, the Flash was trapped in a room that had increased gravity stopping him from moving a single muscle, lastly Batman and Green Lantern were seen as lesser beings without their tools they had no powers and weren't even considered a threat.
The silence was disrupted by the sound of shouting and fighting just outside the entrance to the prison chamber but after a few seconds all that followed was a silence and a moth like humanoid alien phased through the door.
Big Chill flew to the center of the prison chamber. " Who are you guys?" When he started his invasion of an alien spacecraft the last thing he thought he would find was bunch of grown-ups in Halloween costumes.
Superman quickly spoke up desperately hoping that this strange creature would aid him and his friends. " We're the Justice League, the defenders of Earth and all who call it their home."
" Justice League? Cool name."
Big Chill thought about what the man before him said, it was entirely possible that he was lying to him but at the same time if he was telling the truth then this group of people would definitely help him save the planet.
Big Chill decided to trust these strangers and free them from their chains starting by freezing the console that controled the red sun radiation prison cell that kept Superman at bay. To Big Chill's surprise the man took one second to recover from his ordeal before speeding around the room and freeing all of his allies.
" I'm Superman, thank you for saving us." The man in blue and red spandex introduced himself.
"Unknown DNA sample detected." A ray of yellow light shot up from the Omnitrix and scanned Superman.
Superman raised his eyebrow in suspicion, all the members of the Justice League stood next to Superman ready to pounce in the event that the creature in front of them got hostile. " What was that?"
" Sorry it usually only does that when there's an alien nearby. You're not human are you?"
" We can continue this conversation later, right now we need to get out of here." Batman interrupted the two of them.
" Relax, I froze all the Thanagarian soldiers on my way here." Just as Big Chill finished speaking a group of Thanagarian prison guards waltzed into the room and pointed their weapons at them.
" You were saying." Flash quipped.
" It's a really big ship, give me a break here I did single handedly bust into this place." Big Chill defended himself.
Big Chill was about to freeze the prison guards but before he could do anything the Justice League sprang into action even Batman and Green Lantern who had no powers jumped into the fray without hesitation together the Justice League beat the alien invaders with little to no difficulty.
Ben took note of all the powers that the Justice League possessed. Superman had super speed, strength, fligh, and heat vision. Wonder Woman had flight and super strength, The Flash had super speed, Martian Manhunter seemed to have the ability to shapeshift as well as density shifting, and lastly Batman and Green Lantern were fighting with their bare hands and quite admirably too defeating opponents physically stronger than them with skill alone.
Ben joined the League freezing a Thanagarian that almost shot Green Lantern and generally doing crowd control to keep his new friends from being overwhelmed, not that that was likely to happen..
Eventually Superman punched a massive hole on the side of the ship. " Everyone who can fly grab someone who can't." The man of Steel then went on to grab Batman and fly out of the ship followed by Wonder Woman carrying the Flash and Martian Manhunter who held Green Lantern in his arms. Big Chill decided to follow their lead and hopefully get more information on the current state of the planet.
(Metropolis street level)
The group managed to find shelter inside a clothing store where they were trying to catch their breath Ben especially considering the gauntlet of soldiers he had to fight just minutes ago.
" Is that x ray working again." Green Lantern looked towards Superman.
" Just enought to see Thanagarian soldiers flooding the streets of Metropolis."
" They must have covered the entire city by now." Deduced Martian Manhunter.
" Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all go home." Flash suggested.
Big Chill laughed in his face. " Dude fighting bad guys is never that easy."
The Flash shrugged his shoulders. " A little optimism can't hurt at a time like this."
"THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE THANAGARIAN OCCUPATIONAL AUTHORITY. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ARE ESCAPED PRISONERS AND VIOLATORS OF OUR MARTIAL LAW. THEY ARE TO BE CONSIDERED AN ENEMY, AND DEALT WITH ON SIGHT. ANY PERSON OR PERSONS FOUND AIDING OR HARBORING THEM WILL BE EXECUTED."
" Optimism huh?" Green Lantern said dryly.
" Yeah something like that." Flash said in a downtrodden manner.
" We're going to have to lay low and rethink our plan of attack." Batman said taking control of the situation.
" How do we do that when the whole city is looking for us?" Wonder Woman asked.
" Especially with the way you guys are dressed, you're somehow flashier than the Mr.Smoothies logo." When Big Chill noticed the confused looks everyone was sending his ways a look horror crossed his features. " You don't have a Mr.Smoothies in this place? Man this really is the darkest timeline."
" He's not wrong in our hero uniforms anyone can recognize us but if we disguise ourselves in civilian clothing it'll be another matter entirely." J'onn said as he used his shapeshifting powers to make himself look like an ordinary man with a trench coat.
The Flash seemed extremely alarmed as he looked at his friends. " Wait, I trust you guys but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tell you my secret identity, especially since I don't really know the new guy."
Big Chill held up both of his hands placatingly before saying. " We're all heroes here. There's no need for secrecy between each other. Right?"
Flash Scoffed. " Yeah right. You're an alien from another planet I bet you don't even understand why we need to keep our identities secret."
" First of all, I'm not an alien." Big Chill slapped the Omnitrix badge on his chest and in a flash of light Ben returned to his human form. " Secondly the name is Ben, Ben Tennyson."
" A kid!? We were saved by a kid!?" Green Lantern said in disbelief. " We really botched it this time."
Ben was offended by the disrespect that the older man was throwing his way. " I'm eighteen years old." He defended himself.
" A boy who thinks he's a man." Green Lantern crossed his arms in disapproval.
Ben was about to argue with the man a little more but Batman decided to intervene, the Man took off his cowl and pointed at himself and then his companions. " Bruce Wayne, Superman is Clark Kent, Green Lantern is John Stewart, Flash is Wally West, Diana is Wonder Woman, and J'onn is Martian Manhunter.
" Show off." Flash muttered.
A few minutes later, every member of the Justice League was dressed up as a normal civilian, with Superman wearing a blue business suit and glasses, Diana wearing a long sleeve blue shirt and jeans while tying up her hair in a long ponytail, Green Lantern with a skull cap, brown hoodie and brown pants, Batman wearing a leather jacket along with grey pants and a turtleneck, and Flash going with dark jeans and a brown jacket. Ben stuck with his normal attire.
They were now standing outside in the alley that they had come through previously, Bruce poking his head out to see if the coast is clear.
"We need to split up. They expect seven of us," John strategized. "Who takes the kid?"
Before another argument between Ben and John could erupt Bruce intervened. " Diana and I will take Ben, we can disguise ourselves as a family out on the town."
Ben didn't like that idea his mother and father had died a month ago, the thought of pretending to be someone else's son felt almost blasphemous. " That's not going to work, we look nothing alike."
" If anyone asks you're adopted." Bruce said leaving no room for argument.
Above the Gobi Desert
Onboard the Thanagarian mother ship, Shayera Hol, formerly a member of the Justice League under the alias of Hawkgirl, was at a loss for words from what she was seeing on the screen.
The Justice League was free thanks to the intervention of a strange mothlike being and that had her worried. Not because she was afraid of them actually overwhelming the Thanagarian army but because she didn't like the idea of hurting her friends more than she already had.
At the moment, Talak was speaking over a screen with Paran Dul, a female Thanagarian who was in charge of the construction of the shield generator, the one necessary to protect Earth from Gordanian invasion.
"Be aware that the Justice League has escaped, due to the interference of an unknown creature," Talak warned. "Stand ready for an attack."
"Any attack on this base would be suicide," Dul boasted, completely unconcerned about a possible strike on the Thanagarian forces.
"Keep me informed of your progress. Let nothing delay you," the Thanagarian commander ordered.
"By your command." The video screen then went blank.
" Let's hope the Justice League don't attack the hyperspace bypass." Talak said with a sigh. " It would be disastrous if they managed to damage it before we can use it."
Shayera's eyes widened. Hyperspace bypass? What did they did need one for?
"Bypass?" she asked, quickly walking over to look Talak in the eye. "I thought we were creating a force field for Earth!"
"That was simply our cover story."
"When were you going to tell me this?" she growled. "Did you not think you could trust me?"
"Follow me," he said quietly, snapping Shayera out of her thoughts. The Thanagarian leader began to walk away, and Shayera began to do as he said.
After about five minutes of walking and an elevator ride later, the two entered the war room of the ship, were Talak brought her over to a large screen used for battle strategy and tactics.
"As you are well aware, the Gordanian homeworld has been protected for decades by an impenetrable defensive line," Talak explained, drawing up an image of the Gordanian home.
"But this chain of hyperspace bypasses will allow the full force of out armada to go around their defenses by jumping behind them, which will let us wage a direct assault on the heart of their empire."
Shayera saw what he meant, and it was strategically brilliant to be sure. But why lie to the Earthlings if all they wanted was to make a new route they could use to attack their enemies then surely they could have bargained with the U.N.
"Earth is the last link in the chain. Once we finish it, we can finally attack and annihilate the threat of the Gordanians forever."
"But ripping a hole in hyperspace will destroy this entire planet!" she protested.
"Unfortunately, yes," Talak said quietly, his voice becoming heavy, revealing how tired he sounded the long years of fighting clearly taking a tole on his mental fortitude.
"For Thanagar to live, Earth must die."
Outskirts of Metropolis
Ben, Diana, and Bruce were making their way outside of the city with Diana trying to understand her new friend better.
" Tell me about yourself Ben?"
Ben looked a bit confused before replying with. " I don't think now is the time for us to get to know each other."
" I disagree, now is the perfect time for us to build familiarity with each other. Soon we will fight side by side once more and it is important for a warrior to understand her comrades and their capabilities."
Ben couldn't find any flaws with her logic and decided that if he wanted these people to trust him then he need to place his trust in them as well. " About 8 years ago an alien device known as the Omnitrix fell from the sky from then on I used it to fight supervillains for my entire summer vacation shortly after my vacation ended because of an... accident I took off the Omnitrix but four years later I was forced to wear it again to protect my planet Earth."
Diana seemed impressed. " While reckless I must admit it takes true courage to fight evil at such a young age."
Bruce picked up on Ben's wording and immediately pounced. " What do you mean to protect your Planet Earth?"
" Do you know multiverse theory?"
" Of course."
" Well it's real."
That actually made Bruce more suspicious of the stranger in front of him. " You mean to tell me you're from another universe."
" Look I know this is all really weird trust me I've been there and I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know later but for now let's focus on saving the planet."
" Agreed."
Diana hit Bruce with her elbow for antagonizing the younglin who had just rescued them from captivity before returning to her own line of questioning. " Still I wish to know what exactly this Omnitrix is, no doubt you're a capable warrior but if your weapon fails you I must be ready to protect you."
" I can take care of myself you know." Truthfully the Amazons words didn't bother him too much unlike Green Lantern she didn't mean it as an insult.
Diana nodded. " That is true but as an amazon I cannot allow someone so young to perish in battle."
" Alright." Ben conceded. " The Omnitrix is essentially a library for Alien DNA, it let's me turn into those aliens. It was originally made by an Alien named Azmuth for the purpose of interstellar peace but after seeing how easy it was to turn it into a weapon I think he gave up on that."
Diana seemed saddened by Azmuth's tale. " It must be disheartening to create a tool for peace only for it to be fashioned into a weapon but still that's too vague for me to judge your strength."
" I've got about 61 aliens that I can turn into. 62 if you count the DNA I got from Clark." That disturbed Batman that was a lot of power for one person too have but still Ben seemed like a good kid though he was definitely going to have to start keeping tabs on him in the event that he needed to neutralize Ben.
Ben's expression morphed into one of discomfort as he deliberated on whether or not he should tell them about his accident. " There are two transformations in the Omnitrix that I refuse to use, the first on is Atomix and the second one is called Alien X."
" Why won't you use those two?" Bruce questioned.
" I don't use Alien X because I can't use his power at all. Atomix on the other hand is more complicated he's the reason I took off the Omnitrix back when I was ten."
Sensing Ben's guilt Diana put her hand on his shoulder and gently asked. " What happened?"
" Atomix's species is a nuclear energy-based life form inside a containment suit,I was ten years old when I first turned into him. At first I was just messing around all I knew was that I had an alien that could fly around and shoot energy beams like Goku but I didn't pay attention to all the nuclear radiation I was leaving behind. Long story short I almost killed 20 people and if it weren't for Azmuth I definitely would have, after that I just couldn't bring myself to fight anymore at least until I was forced to a few years later."
Diana looked serious as she contemplated Ben's story " I see have you managed to tame this Atomix?"
" I told you I don't turn into him anymore." Ben snapped.
The Amazon shook her head in disapproval. " Power untamed is the most dangerous the only way for you to truly ensure such an incident does not occur again is to master it."
" Just drop it!" Ben almost growled.
(Gotham City, Wayne Manor.)
Bruce, Diana and Ben were the first to arrive at Wayne Manor.As they reached the door, it was opened by an older, balding man. Bruce introduced him as Alfred, his butler. Alfred offered them refreshments, which Ben eagerly accepted fighting tends to build an appetite afterall.
After that, Bruce led them to a grandfather clock, which opened up to a tunnel. At the other side was an enormous cavern. A large computer occupied one niche, while a large black car was parked in another area. In yet another spot were several dozen objects, including a twenty-foot penny and a mechanical T-Rex. Other, smaller objects were in glass containers.
Bruce had a small smirk on his face as he watched Ben's eyes go wide in wonder.
"Welcome to the Batcave."
Several Hours Later
After waiting impatiently the rest of the League arrived at the manor and were led to the Batcave by Alfred.
"You're late." Bruce said barely hiding his displeasure.
"Good to see you too." Replied the Lantern sarcastically.
Wally noticed the T-Rex. "Hey, that's a giant dinosaur."
"And I thought Batman was the detective." Said Alfred causing Ben to laugh.
J'onn spoke as Flash rejoined the group. "We were just speculating why the Thanagarians are really here."
"Obviously not to protect us." Said Clark.
"But if the Gordanians aren't anywhere near Earth," said Wonder Woman, "why do they need to build that force field?"
"If it is a force field." Said Bruce.
Before the heroes could strategize further they were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"I can tell you what it is."
The seven heroes turned in shock to see the traitor, Shayera Hol, emerge from the shadows.
Clark pulled off his glasses. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here."
"We should thank you," said Diana getting into a fighting stance, "it saves us the trouble of hunting you down."
" You guys know here?" Ben confused by the sheer anger that seemed to eminate from the Justice League.
" She's a traitor." Wonder Woman said her eyes never leaving her former comrade. " Because of her the Thanagarians conquered our world."
"I didn't come here to fight, I came to help." Shayera said.
"Hawk-people all over the planet?" Flash said sarcastically, "Martial law? I don't think we can survive any more of your help."
" They're building a hyperspace bypass if they manage to complete it then the Earth will be destroyed." Shayera gave Bruce a purple cassette. " This holds all the information on the project." The League looked at her skeptically.
" Trust me when I say that I had no idea that Talak meant to destroy the planet. I wouldn't have helped him if I did."
Bruce simply took the device and dismissively said." There's the door."
Shayera turned around and left the cave but not before giving John his Lantern ring back making Ben curious.
" What's that?"
John ignored Ben opting instead to put his ring back in his finger. His body glowed green as his street clothes were replaced by his Green Lantern uniform, John then began levitating.
" Woah! A magic ring?"
The two heroes joined the others, who were watching a simulation of the effects of the hyperspace bypass. They watched as a simulated Earth was consumed by a bright, crackling energy.
"Ingenious." Batman muttered.
"Yeah, I'm impressed," said Superman, "let's go wreck it."
"How?" asked Green Lantern, "It's behind a force field."
A bright green flash emerged from Ben's position, " Brain Storm!" A crab like brownish orange alien shouted causing everyone's eyes to go wide.
The cerebrocrustacian moved over to Batmaw's multi million dollar computer and began typing with his claws.
"The bypass is too dangerous to have a crew maintaining the force field on-site. It is highly probable that they operate it from a distance, the most logical and secure place to operate such a device would be on board the command ship." Brainstorm brought up an image of the Thanagarian flagship and highlighted a particular section of it.
Batman glanced at the teen, then looked at the League. "Go shut it down." He ordered. "I'll take care of the bypass."
"That thing's the size of a city," exclaimed a skeptical Flash, "what are you gonna do, throw a batarang at it?"
Batman didn't even blink. "Something like that." He got up and headed to where his spare costume was located. "Proximity sensors were triggered a moment ago. Suit up."
The heroes who wore costumes merely took off their clothes, since they were wearing their costumes underneath. J'onn shapeshifted into what he commonly appeared as, and Brainstorm hit the Omnitrix badge on his forehead causing spikes to come out of it as he quickly started to become an ultimate cerebrocrustacian.
"Ultimate Brainstorm!" A blue-tinted metallic-skinned crab-like alien shouted. He had eight legs with two massive rail gun like claws. (This design was made by the Ink tank go check them out if you like Ben 10 and go read their story called Five years later if it pleases you.)
' The ability to enhance the strength of his transformation beyond their natural limits.' Batman deduced. " Get ready to ambush them."
All of the heroes went into the shadows just as the door to the manor exploded inwards.
Two dozen Thanagarian soldiers marched in, two of them were armed with heavy cannons, while the rest had melee weapons such as spears, axes and maces.
Their leader barked out orders. "Spread out," he said, "they're hiding here somewhere." Before his commands could be put into action a powerful blast of electricity hit him with so much force the Thanagarian was blasted out of the Batcave and outside of Wayne manor altogether and with that the Justice League pounced on their opponents.
"Come and get some." Green Lantern's eyes shined bright with the power of his courage. Two Thanagarians flew towards aiming him their spears aiming for his vital organs but the former marine simply created two pairs of giant hands and clapped them crushing the two Thanagarians between them, the hands disappeared and while the two aliens were recovering Green Lantern rocketed towards them and them both over the head with a warhammer knocking them out.
Wonder Woman used her lasso to catch one Thanagarian by the neck and swung him towards the Martian Manhunter, who raised both his hands and brought them down on his foe.
In an incredible feat of speed and agility Flash jumped and reached towards Thanagarian soldier disarming him before using him as stepping to jump on another doing the same to him. As the two hit the ground they were hit by Ultimate Brainstorm's rail gun blast though now having a better understanding of his strength he only shot them with the power necessary to knock them out.
The two Thanagarians with laser cannons aimed at Ben and fired but Superman stood between Ben and the laser fire. The man of Steel used his heat vision to overpower the Thanagarians laser cannons and once they reached their targets the laser cannons exploded putting their wielders out of commission.
Two more Thanagarians were pursuing the Flash, but he avoided every shot they fired. He zoomed around them and spun his arms fast enough to create a small tornado. The twister blew them into the bottom of the giant penny, which collapsed on top of them, tails-side up.
Flash ran on top of the penny. "Tails," he quipped, "I win."
Batman swung from the ceiling on a grappling line, kicking one soldier in the face. He let go of the line to land on the ground. As he did so, he threw three batarangs into the chest armor of three Thanagarians. The blades didn't penetrate, and the warriors hovered in the air with a look of contempt on their faces.
"Your weapons are pitiful."
"Wait for it." Behind the Dark Knight, hundreds of eyes glowed in the darkness. Hundreds of bats swarmed the Thanagarians, attracted by the signals emanating from the batarangs. The soldiers were quickly reduced to unconscious, bleeding wrecks.
Soon the fight ended and Ben quickly turned back to human form so the Omnitrix could recharge. The seven heroes began to walk away from the Batcave and back into the mansion.
" Mind the glass sir." Alfred warned as he swept up the the broken glass.
Batman turned to Green Lantern. "I want you, Superman, Wonder Woman and Ben to go to the command ship, and shut down the force field."
"And the rest of us?" J'onn gestured to Batman, Flash and himself.
"You're going to help me retake the Watchtower."
"It's crawling with Thanagarian soldiers," Flash pointed out, "how are we going to get inside?"
"With that." Batman pointed outside towards the space shuttle the Thanagarians used to get to Wayne Manor.
" It's settled then. Let's head out team." Superman flew off followed by , Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
Ben looked towards Batman, Flash, and Martian Manhunter. " Good luck guys!" He activated the Omnitrix and choose his fastest alien.
" Jetray!" In no time at all Ben caught up with Superman.
Meanwhile Flash just scratched his head. " Okay so is his super power just the power to have all of them?"
Flash was promptly ignored as Batman and Martian Manhunter began walking towards the shuttle with Flash following behind them.
Thanagarian Fleet
It would seem that the Thanagarian fleet had been warned of their coming seeing as hundreds of ships were sent to intercept them but they're struggle was pointless Superman and Wonder Woman simple tore through the spacecrafts as if they were made of paper Jetray stayed close to the two of them knowing that his neuroshock blasts would be useless against ships.
In the chaos no one noticed Green Lantern slip away and infiltrate the flagship. As soon as he entered the ship he was spotted by security cameras and Talak in his rage rather than send soldiers to kill the hero decided to confront Green Lantern himself.
Had Talak been thinking clearly he would've been there when the bridge was under attack by Wonder Woman and Jetray who had burst into the ship using her incredible super strength. Now that he was fighting opponents that actually had nervous systems Jetray began firing his neuroshock blasts at Thanagarians freely paralyzing them with ease while Wonder Woman resorted to the old fashioned way of subduing them with her fist. The fighting didn't last long and by the end of it Wonder Woman had picked up a sword and Ben having decided that Jetray didn't have enough space to move around inside the ship changed into a plant-like humanoid with a black body with orange hands, and a green outer layer. He had two long, red petals coming out of his shoulders that resemble flames with a green and yellow collar, resembling a blossoming flower.
" Swampfire!" He shouted.
" Great Hera!" Wonder Woman complained. " What is the stench."
" I don't smell that bad do I." Swampfire fire raised his arm up and the sniffed his arm pit.
" Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way."
" Agreed"
As the two went their separate ways Wonder Woman battled her way through the Thanagarian guards and while they were fierce foes they were no match for her. As she made her way through the flagship she ran into Shayera Hol who had been placed into a prison cell for betraying the Thanagarians and helping the Justice League.
" I should let you burn." Wonder Woman declared but inspite of that she freed Shayera and left the room.
On the engineering deck, Green Lantern used his ring to pry open a set of door Behind them was a large room with a force field, shaped like a pillar, inside of which was a small device with a plunger-like attachment.
"The force field controls." John looked up to see Hro Talak, the Thanagarian commander, land in front of the force field. "That is what you came for, yes? You want it?" he raised his axe into a ready position, "All you have to do is get past me."
" That's fine by me."
Talak glared at Green Lantern. " No this won't be like the last time you took something from me."
" Anything I took was freely offered maybe you should take better care of your things." Green Lantern made a hammer and charged at Talak.
Swampfire bathed a group of soldiers in flames leving them Charred and unconscious but alivr, he noticed another one out of the corner of his eye, a pretty female with long, red hair. As he turned to attack her, she held up her hands.
"Wait, please!"
"Shayera?"
The Thanagarian blinked. "Yes, it's me. You're… that boy right? the one that was with the rest of the League. "
Ben nodded. "What are you doing?"
Shayera hefted her borrowed mace. "I want to help take down the shield controls." She looked down, shame obviously on her face. "And I want to atone for what I've done."
Ben decided to give her a chance but first he made sure to transform into Goop. If She did stab him in the back then Goop would be able to survive it with little difficulty.
" You're a shapeshifter." She stated. " You must have been the moth creature that freed the Justice League."
" Got it in one, give the lady a prize."
As the two reached the shield control room they were met with sight of Green Lantern on the ground with a broken arm. Talak had his axe raised in the air ready to claim the life of his foe but Shayera interfered flying towards Talak grabbing his hand to stop his death blow.
" The fights over.You're a soldier not a murderer" She reasoned but was backhanded viciously by Talak.
" I was a fool for ever loving you!" He declared. the Thanagarian would have struck her again but Goop wrapped himself around the Talak and made his body much more acid like, burning the Thanagarian general.
" Ahhh!" Using his strength Talak freed himself from Goop's grip and splattered him all across the room.
" Ben!" Shayera shouted seeing her former lover kill a child broke Shayera's heart and she was about to attack Talak but then she saw something amazing happen. Goop's anti gravity generator started gathering all of the pieces of Goop until he took his normal shape again.
" Shayera! Jon! Shut down the shield while I deal with this tool." Goop then slammed the badge on his anti gravity generator turning himself into.
" Ultimate Goop!" Ultimate Goop is a large viscous blob of purple to teal coloration. He is rotund, with two eyes atop a large central mass connected to small sub-eyes. (Again this belongs to the Ink tank.)
Ultimate raised his arms and swung it toward Talak the blow causing him to flinch and almost fall to the ground. Talak retaliated by swinging his axe at the slimy hero but Ultimate Goop grabbed the weapon and absorbed it into his biomass disarming his Thanagarian foe.
After a few more back and forths it became clear to Talak that he was no match for this strange creature. It's body was gelatinous and capable of changing his density allowing it harden or soften it's body to block his blows as he saw fit. with no way of hurting the creature Talak knew it was only a matter of time before he lost.
Ultimate Goop hardened his arms as much as he could before sending them out towards Talak one fist hitting his head and the other on his ribcage, talak felt a crack on his ribs and then darkness as he fell to the ground.
The Omnitrix on Ultimate Goop's head began flashing red and soon Ben was back to his normal form. " How's it coming along, you two."
Ben turned around and saw that Green Lantern had broken into the force field that was protecting the controls and was trying to operate the device with only one arm but Shayera helped him together they deactivated the shields around the bypass.
From a distance John, Shayera and Ben watched as the hyperspace bypass was destroyed by Batman dropping the Watchtower right on top it.
Suddenly several dozen Thanagarian soldiers marched in to the room.
" This isn't good." Ben thought to himself. " John's hurt and my Omnitrix is recharging."
That's when cries of pain from the back of room caused everyone else to turn. Standing over the unconscious forms of several Thanagarians, bloody, was Wonder Woman ready for action!
"Who's next?" she asked, raising her sword. As more of the soldiers began to charge, a voice rang out.
"Stand down!" The injured and burned, Hro Talak commanded .
"Lower your weapons." The soldiers quickly obeyed.
"Our mission is a failure." Talak went on. "There's no more reason to fight. Let them go." He ignored the incredulous looks from both his soldiers and the heroes and limped over to Shayera. "I hope you're proud of yourself. It'll take years for us to rebuild elsewhere."
Shayera stared at him, unflinching. "Then you'd better get started."
(Wayne Manor, the next day.)
Shayera and Ben were waiting for the Justice League to call them in. Ben had been trying to cheer up Shayera who was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she betrayed her people though the most Ben could get out of her was half smiles
Currently the Justice League was discussing what to do with Shayera and Ben. Shayera was quite anxious to hear what they would do with her and Ben sensed this so he looked her in the eyes and said.
" I think you're a good person." The words clearly caught Shayera off guard judging by how astonished she looked.
" You sacrificed everything you had to save an entire planet, I just want you to know that no matter what I'll always respect you for that." Ben said honestly.
" Thank you Ben." She said giving him a full smile.
"She exploited our weaknesses, betrayed us…" Wonder Woman had been ranting about what Shayera had done to them, she could not and would not forgive her.
"Come on," Flash said, in Shayera's defense, "she was in the ultimate no-win situation; but when push came to shove, she came through for us, just like always."
"She is a pariah to her people." J'onn added. "We are all she has left."
"Believe me, J'onn, I feel for her." Said Superman, "But after everything that's happened, I honestly don't know if I can ever completely trust her again."
Green Lantern looked at the table, silent since the discussion began.
"We're arguing in circles." Said Batman, "It's time to take a vote."
Shayera had been called into the room that Justice League was using as a meeting room.
Shayera found the six League members standing in a line. All stood with their backs straight and their shoulders squared. Even Green Lantern, who got the most injured during the invasion both physically and mentally.
"Hawkgirl…" Began Superman.
Shayera interrupted him. "Before you start, I have something to say." She took a deep breath. "I came to this planet as a patriot. I had a mission and I carried it out. What I couldn't know was that I would come to care for the Earth, and her people." She looked at each of her teammates in the eye; even Batman, who looked at her in suspicion, and Wonder Woman, who still gave her a look of contempt. "That I'd come to care for all of you. I've spent the last five years torn between my feelings and my duty. I won't ask you to do the same." Her spine straightened, and some of her old fire returned. "Therefore I am resigning from the Justice League, effective immediately."
She turned and walked towards the door, leaving six stunned ex-teammates behind.
"Great," muttered Flash, "no Hawkgirl, no Watchtower; what's gonna happen to the League now? Do we all just walk away?"
"No," said J'onn, "we rebuild. Starting today."
"J'onn's right," agreed Superman, "Earth still needs us, and we'll never let her down. It's our duty."
Green Lantern looked down, still silent.
Shayera had left the mansion after saying goodbye to Ben and now it was Ben's turn to see what the League had decided to to do with him.
Ben stood in front of all the Justice League his posture was relaxed and he tried to look confident as he got ready to be properly interrogated by the League.
" Now then, what to do with you?" Superman began.
Shayera stood at the edge of the cliff near Wayne Manor. She heard footsteps, but didn't turn around. She knew who it was.
"You never asked how we voted."
Shayera barely glanced at John Stewart before returning her gaze to the sunset. "It doesn't matter."
"So… where're you gonna go?"
"I don't know." Said Shayera after a moment. "Some place where the fate of the world isn't in my hands. Some place where there are no more secrets, no more lies."
"Was it all a lie?"
Shayera turned to look at the Lantern. "I love you, John." She said that with a small smile. "I never lied about that."
After a moment of staring into his eyes, Shayera Hol turned around, opened her wings, and flew off into the sunset.
John Stewart watched her go, once she was gone he allowed himself to cry.
"I love you, too."
