Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.
Mount Justice
Superman and Ben, as Jetray, landed outside mountain rather than just Zeta to the cave. This was due to the fact it was still being repaired. After the Reds attacked the League put the team on leave to rest, recuperate and repair. Naturally they wanted to help, but League wouldn't have it.
"How's the team?" Ben asked, once he transformed back into human.
"They're fine, a little rattled but-" Superman tried to say but his was cut off.
"How would you feel if you were attacked in your own home and you nearly died?" Ben asked, knowing that the team would likely be anything but fine.
"Well I'm gonna take off." Superman told Ben.
"You know you're gonna have to treat him like he's family eventually." The shapeshifter spoke as the Kryptonian flew off. As he turned around to go back into the cave he almost bumped into Batman, causing him to jump in surprise. "How do you do that?" He asks.
"Come on." Batman simply says, turning into the cave.
The young hero looks around and see's that it's been nearly repaired. "I see you did a remodel." He lamented plainly. Batman just kept walking.
"So how mad is the team?" When they entered meeting area. Suddenly his shirt was grabbed. "Please tell me it's Wally." He hoped before his was shoved to the nearest wall and was met with the face of Connor.
"You knew!?" He shouted.
"I'm guessing you're still mad." Ben commented, with slightly less breath.
"That android and his maniac family nearly killed M'gann!" Superboy shouted.
"And the rest of us." Wally reminded him. Not knowing about his an M'gann's relationship status.
"We deserve an explanation." Aqualad requested, his tone polite with a hint of anger.
"In case you haven't noticed I just got back from trying to prove that I wasn't a mole." Ben reminded his team. "Also RT's a friend, no way I thought he would attack."
"He's an android, meaning he's hackable." Robin informed.
"Still didn't cross my mind." Ben responded in a bored tone.
"We almost died!" Wally pointed out.
"I almost drowned. Several times I might add." Artemis spoke in anger.
"Not to mention nearly being burnt to a crisp." The boy wonder added.
"You think I wanted that to happen?" The shapeshifter asked incredulously. However he soon grunted in pain when Superboy pressed him against the wall more. "That hurts."
"Sorry. Didn't cross my mind." The clone said, using Ben's words.
"Enough." Batman spoke sternly. Immediately Ben was dropped and everyone cooled down. "With Red Tornado missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors." The Dark Knight then gestures to another part of the room. "Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."
Said hero walked over and said. "I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys." Then looked at Ben. "No hard feelings?" He asked awkwardly, having participated in the whole Ben and Albedo drama.
"Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to copy me and I had to take the fall." Ben remarked casually, remembering his first visit to New York and Kevin.
"After I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are gonna..." Superboy began to threaten. But Batman cut him off.
"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. That makes him a league responsibility. You will leave him to us." The founding league member then began typing in the computer. "I have another assignment for this team in the meantime."
"Gotham Mayor attacked by Guerilla Gorilla." Kid Flash read aloud as the image of a newspaper.
"You'll be going to India to investigate a series of attacks that were committed by unusual animals." Batman explained.
"Was this the only thing he could think up to distract us?" Superboy said via a psychic link with Miss Martian.
Robin scoffed. "Batman, tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a mission!"
Batman leveled an even more menacing glare at his protégé. "I never joke about the mission." He told him making Robin scowl.
"Right, we're going on a mission under his leadership?" Kid Flash spoke jerking his thumb to Ben. "I don't think so."
"You either do this mission or your rest period is extended." Batman threatened.
The team then headed for the Bioship. But as Ben was walking with them, he was stopped by Captain Marvel. "Psst. If I were you I'd get the whole trust issue sorted ASAP." He told him.
"How?" Ben asked, stumped.
"Trust starts with the truth and ends with the truth." The leaguer hinted, using his wisdom of Solomon, before walking away.
Ivy Town
Zatanna and her father sat across from each other. Both felt very nervous, but only one was unsure if they wanted to have this conversation.
"What. Happened. To Mom?" Zatanna plainly asked, but before Zatara could speak she added. "And spare me the 'I Love You' speech I already know you do. Just tell me why is she in Hell."
Zatara sighed. "Years ago, when I just joined the League John Constantine, you're mother and I were trying to help a friend. Turns out that friend sent us on a goose chase so he could bring back a great evil named Destiny."
Flashback years ago
Zatara and Constantine were in an old medieval castle in England. Both dodging and blocking dark magic from the revived destiny who surrounded himself in a sphere of magic that blocked any spell.
"Only you're mother's magic was able to do anything." Zatara narrated as a Pink Mana wrapped around the sphere and began crushing it. The sphere exploded and Destiny glared the caster.
Flashback pause
"Mom had magic." Zatanna spoke with surprise. To her knowledge she had no magic capabilities.
"She did." Zatara answered with a nod.
Flashback resume
Later in the battle a weakened Destiny was being pulled into the ground via magic chains. "I escape once, I'll do it again." He vows. "All doors open both ways."
"You're not going in a door you're going in a hole." A powerful voice of woman declared. "Forever." She adds as more chains wrap around Destiny and begin burning him.
"Nooooooo." The dark magic user cried out in anger when he realized she was right. His cries only ceased when he was completely pulled down to Hades.
Flashback over
"I still don't get what happened to mom." Zatanna said. "Like if she stopped him why is she in Hell?"
"The spell she used to trap Destiny had a requirement." Zatara began to answer. "A sacrifice and your mother offered herself." He finished causing his daughter's eyes to widen.
With the Team, Northern India
Robin and Artemis were the first ones on the ground, jumping out and hitting the ground before Bioship even landed. "All clear!" Robin stage-whispered as the rest of the Team got out.
"Stealth mode guys you know the drill." Ben ordered, as he made his white sweatshirt become black.
"No duh," Kid Flash said, activating his own stealth-mode. "We know what to do." He adds.
"We started this team because the Justice League didn't trust us, and then you did the exact same thing." Robin commented.
Before the situation could get even worse Ben transformed. "Let me tell ya something ya big babies!" Rath called out, putting any team split up on hold for now. "Rath's in charge, so you do what Rath say's, when Rath's say it."
"As for me not telling you something, it's because you didn't need to know. As for why. Because I said so ya dweebs." The tiger alien add.
"If you think-" Superboy began to reply but was cut off.
"Let me tell ya something Super knock-off, this is not a debate!" Rath yells. "Rath is in charge until this mission is over. Then you can decide if Rath can still be in charge or even in the team! Got it?" He finishes, looking at the entire team but gets no response.
"The alternative is going back to Bats and explaining why Rath canceled this mission and before you know it the league will cancel you. Just like people tried to cancel Eminem!" He threatens.
He then got an assortment of reluctant approvals from the team. With that Ben transformed back into human and began the mission.
Ivy Town, with Zatanna
Zatanna was quiet as she absorbed the knowledge of her mother's sacrifice to stop some evil god wannabe. But finally she began to talk again after a few minutes of silence. "Hospital." She mumbled.
"Mom died in the hospital." The younger Zatara said more loudly. "She was sick, that's why we moved here from New York after she died. Because being there was too hard for us." She recalls. "She-she was cremated and we scattered her ashes in the ocean when we visited Long Beach." She adds.
"This doesn't make any sense." Zatanna say's, grabbing her head. She tried to think about her past with her mother, she could remember it clearly, but if she tried to dig into certain memories her head hurt. It's like they were... sealed... by magic.
"What did you do?" Zatanna asked.
"I did it to protect you." Giovanni tried to reason before he told his daughter.
"What...did...you...do?" Zatanna demanded to know.
"I adjusted your memories of your mother so would not miss her as much." He admitted.
"Wha-what?!" Zatanna spoke with shock, which quickly turned into anger. "So you thought it was ok to trick your daughter into not missing mom."
"Zatanna let me explain." Giovanni tried to say, but she wasn't having it.
"NO!" Zatanna shouted, getting up from the table and running to the door not wanting to hear from her father anymore. Quickly using her invisibility and flying spell she flew away undetected.
India
After being split up into teams and fighting several species of mutated animals the team regrouped. Except for Superboy who said he would 'call back later.' Thanks to Robin tracking a large source of power they found a large bunker that sat in a clearing. A circle of pylons ringed the structure; together, they emitted a large, semitransparent dome over the bunker.
"I'll fly over." Miss Martian offers, while getting into camouflage mode.
Kid Flash though see's something she does and nixes the idea. "Negatory. The field extends like a dome over the whole compound." He informs.
"Any way to get past that?" Ben asked over the mental link.
"Pylons are insulated, but one good shock could cause a momentary gap." Robin theorizes.
"I see a target." Artemis tells them, readying an arrow.
"Aqualad your powers should give an opening for Artemis so get ready." Ben orders.
"Ready and now." Ben signals.
Aqualad moved as quietly as he could as he made his way to the field. As soon as he reached it, he charged up his hands with lightning, put them together and shoved them into the field. There was some resistance, but he was able to force open a small hole.
"Now." Aqualad grunts as he struggles to hold it open.
"Artemis had kept a shock-arrow ready the instant Aqualad had reached the field; as soon as she heard the order, she let fly. Her aim was perfect, passing right through the hole and hitting the control-panel, shorting out both it and the field itself.
"Once it was down, the rest of the Team surged forward, only to be intercepted by a swarm of Kobra-Venom-enhanced baboons. The monkeys shrieked and charged, but they were no match against a team of disciplined superheroes.
"Remove the collars!" Ben shouted as he became Diamondhead, just in time since 3 baboons pounced on him.
"Easy for you to say!" Artemis grunted, kicking a baboon away, then drawing two arrows and firing both at once. The shots ripped off the collars of two baboons that were trying to maul Robin.
The rest of the battle was largely simple. With Ben, Aqualad and Miss Martian getting the attention of the Baboons while the others focused on taking out the collars without harming the animals. Eventually they succeeded and all the Baboons were collar free and running into the jungle.
"That was annoying." Artemis groaned as she picked up a spare arrow that cut off one of the collars. She wasn't running low but between the cave attack and having used quite a few arrows already she did not want to run out at the worst time. Again.
"This was likely just a delaying tactic." Aqualad correctly theorized.
"Let's move then." Diamondhead ordered.
However as they did the entrance to the bunker opened. Out stepped Monsieur Mallah with a mini-gun connected to a large pack of bullets.
"Anyone not bullet proof move!" Ben shouted as the large ape began firing. While everyone else scattered Ben slowly advanced as the bullets bounced off of him. What he didn't count on was two rockets being fired at him. This sent the rock like alien flying and when he recovered he was greeted by an old sight.
Behind Mallah and purple armoured being flew up into the air. It was SixSix. "Oh crud." The bounty hunter then flew at the Petrosapien with a reddish purplish blade. However Artemis fired an arrow at his helmet, causing it to foam up blinding him. Allowing Diamondhead to thrown a left hook with ease sending him through a tree. "Thanks."
"Who is that?" Artemis asks, as she ducks behind some cover from Mallah's bullets.
"Alien mercenary. Same one from my dimension." Diamondhead answers. "Aqualad, Artemis you try and take him. We'll take in Mister Banana's." The shapeshifter orders.
The Martian tried to enter the bunker in camouflage-mode, but as Monsieur Mallah caught the girl's scent. With a growl, he reached out, grabbed her by the shoulder and slammed her into the ground. The gorilla aimed his minigun at the fallen Martian, but was distracted by a voice.
"Get your paws off her, you damn, dirty ape!" Kid Flash yelled, shoulder-checking the gorilla. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on what colliding with a 500-pound gorilla in body-armor at high speeds would do to him. While Mallah was knocked back a step, Kid Flash bounced off like a rubber ball and slammed into a tree.
"Time to go Humungousaur." Diamondhead spoke he tried to change for to end this battle quickly. However when he changed it was too the form of a blue monkey with four arms and eyes. "What the? Another new guy." He say's in surprise, though this doesn't last long as he has to jump out of the way to avoid Mallah's bullets.
As Ben was jumping around Robin threw several birdarangs at the gun. But the gorilla saw this and adjusting his aim to shoot them down. However a webbing to his face blinded him momentarily until he was able to rip it off. When it did though he was met with a three fisted punch to his face, 2 from Ben and 1 from Robin.
With Aqualad and Artemis
The Bounty was in the air trying to blast Aqualad into smithereens, but he was able to deflect his rockets. So the purple armored alien took out a device that extended into a purple blade. The mercenary flew down and began trying to cut down his target.
Despite having his water-bears making swords the Atlantean settled for dodging the blade. After several swings an arrow was shot SixSix's armor with an electric shock. Aqualad followed that up with a two handed water hammer swing. This sent alien into a large tree, which he was then stuck to with a foam arrow.
"That was easy." Artemis commented happily, before going back to the others.
"Indeed." Aqualad agreed with narrowed eyes before turning around. He was right to be suspicious as the trapped alien got read to fire a rocket from his shoulder. But the Atlantean was quicker and used his water-bearers as whip to grab and large stone and throw it.
When the explosion happened a large smoke cloud blinded SixSix until a large blue object came at him. It was another hammer swing this time smashing the mercenary through the tree and into the mud. "Now it's over." Kaldure admitted before joining the rest of his team.
Scene Cut
As the Brain was finishing some last minute details the semiconscious form of Monsieur Mallah was thrown through the wall behind them. As the Brain turned he saw all of the team, except Superboy, stand in the open hole.
"It's The Brain!" Kid Flash exclaimed.
"I can see it's a brain," Artemis said, sticking out her tongue in disgust at seeing a brain in a jar.
"No, not a brain, The Brain!" The speedster correct.
"In the flesh… so to speak." The villain said, rolling closer into the lighting.
"Enough Monkeying around." Ben quipped, then made some monkey sounds. "Get him." He ordered. However, they didn't go more than a few steps before The Brain sent a wireless signal that caused several pylons to surround them and emit the same gravity-effect that took down all the previous animals.
"Superboy, you here yet or on vacation?" Ben said via the mental link.
The wall on the other side of the room exploded inward; when the dust settled, Superboy and the white Alpha wolf stepped into the room. Superboy, who was more than a little scratched up, shared a look with the mutated animal, now free of an inhibitor-collar. "Sick 'im." He ordered.
The wolf snarled and dashed forward, faster than any normal Human could react. The wolf bounced off of Mallah, who was trying to rise, then ripped apart the pylons in a blur of fur and shredded metal. The rest of the Team stood up, and they looked very annoyed.
"Let's finish this." The monkey like alien spoke before they all attacked.
Mallah roared and opened fire with his minigun, causing Aqualad to bring up a shield for him, Artemis and Robin. For obvious Reasons the rest of the team were able to avoid the onslaught of bullets. Ben swung by firing webs at his faceJust before Kid Flash dashed up, kicked him in the head, then swiped his beret. Miss Martian lifted Mallah into the air with her telekinesis, then slammed him back down. The gorilla tried to fire again, but explosive arrows to his ammunition and explosive disks to his weapon rendered both useless.
The Gorilla remained defiant and roared, even as all the heroes, and Wolf surrounded him and The Brain. Superboy only crossed his arms. "Try it. I hate monkeys."
Apparently, the wolf did too, because it snarled at Mallah. "No, Mallah." The Brain said, when it looked like his partner was about to charge, "This will not be our Waterloo."
"No way it's gonna be your Austerlitz." The Arachnachimo replied with a smirk. Never thought history would actually be used for a good comeback.
"Au revoir, mes ami." The Brain said darkly, as dozens of devices unfolded and popped out of his chassis.
"Get down!" Kid Flash shouted, assuming a massive attack; the speedster tackled Artemis into cover behind a computer, while everyone else followed. However, instead of an explosion or other attack, the lights in the room went off. When they came back, The Brain and Monsieur Mallah were gone.
"Wait." Kid Flash said in disbelief. "All that stuff… was a light-switch?"
"Apparently." Artemis replied. "Now, would you get off of me?"
Kid Flash's face was as red as his mentor's costume when he realized that he had been lying on top of Artemis in an effort to shield her. In the fastest display of super-speed in his life, he was up on his feet, then helped Artemis up, but wasn't looking her in the eye.
"Let's finish the job before we get caught up in any more monkey business." Ben said, as the rest of the team got up.
One hour later
After the Team had scoured the bunker for anything useful—aside from finding out that all the animals that The Brain had enslaved were now free, there wasn't—they all began heading to the Bioship. Unfortunately SixSix managed to somehow escape, but since he was a mercenary he either fulfilled has contract or it was terminated.
"What are you so happy about?" Artemis asked a smug Kid Flash.
"One word." Kid Flash said, placing Mallah's beret on his head. "Souvenir!"
"Two words." Artemis responded. "Gorilla-lice!"
"Oh, ew!" Kid Flash ripped off the beret and held it as far away as he could.
That left only one animal remaining, and he was getting his ears scratched by Superboy. "The rest of the pack is gone." The clone said. "What are you still doing here?"
"Maybe he wants to stay with you?" Miss Martian said.
"Can I keep him?" Superboy asked excitedly, like when first saw Sphere in Biyalia.
"You sure make it a habit of collecting strays." Kid Flash comments.
"Maybe because he's such a stray." Miss Martian said, then switched to a private telepathic link with Superboy. "Aren't you?"
"M'gann I'm sorry." Superboy said; now that he'd had time to think about it, he was ashamed of his earlier behavior. "I was just… worried."
"Which is sweet Connor." Miss Martian said, placing a tender hand on her boyfriend's cheek. "But on a mission, I'm your teammate, not your girlfriend, agreed?"
"Yeah." Connor replied with a smile.
"Gonna need a name." Kid Flash commented. "How about crypto?" He suggests.
The wolf growled; and instant later, Superboy said. "Pass."
"Besides, isn't that taken?" The Martian added.
As the Team started to gather together, Robin had to confront him about one thing. "I have to know: why didn't you say anything about a mole?"
Ben felt all eyes on him and sighed. "Two reasons. First I never really thought it could be any of you." He replies.
"And the second?" Aqualad wonders.
"The source was Sportsmaster." Ben informs. Gasps of shock were made by all present, except the Wolf.
"What!" Artemis exclaims with the most shock. "You can't trust him!" She adds.
"Exactly." Ben agree's. "I figured that it might be a strategy to divide us. You know classic divide and conquer."
"Which, given how this mission almost started, sounds like a safe be.t" Robin mused.
"So new leader any volunteers?" Ben wondered, willing to step down. But nobody raised their hand.
"All in favor of keeping Ben?" Aqualad asked. Every member of the Team raised a hand, while the wolf tilted his head, pointing one ear up. "It is unanimous." With that the team began their departure
As Miss Martian walked, she glanced down at the wolf that remained close to Superboy's side.
"So, what are you going to call him?" She asked.
"What's wrong with Wolf?" Superboy suggested.
"Generic, but acceptable." Kid Flash said.
Tower of Fate
Zatanna was sitting by the fire which was lit under a picture of Kent Nelson's wife. After running from her father Zatanna came straight here. She wanted to be with Ben but she knew he was on a mission, despite spending the better part of a week fighting the League. The time she didn't spend crying she tried to unlock her distorted memories, but only the caster could open the locks. She thought about contacting Constantine or Lucifer, but she decided against it.
Ship sought to comfort her, but his normally cute antics did nothing. Instead he settled for laying on her lap ash tenderly stroked him like he was a cat. Which actually did help her somewhat.
Eventually she got a text from Ben and looked at her phone. "Mission over. Team trust's me again. You wanna meet them?" He asks.
"Not tonight." She answers plainly.
"You wanna talk?" Ben replies.
"Not sure." Zatanna tells him, feeling conflicted. On one hand she wants to talk to him about this on the other he just went through clearing his own name and having to deal with his team not trusting him.
"Need company?" Ben asks, but she doesn't reply.
Later
After debriefing Batman, Ben checks his phone and saw Zatanna still hasn't replied. So he decided to travel to the Tower of Fate to see her. As he entered he saw Zatanna sitting in front of the fire who made no move to greet him.
"Hey." He said. "So I take it the talk didn't go well."
"No." Zatanna says, still staring at the fire.
"Did you get the answers you wanted?" Ben asked sitting on the chair next to her's.
"Not all of them." Zatanna answered honestly. "But I couldn't stay there anymore." She adds.
"You gonna go back?" Ben questions.
"Not right now." Zatanna answers simply.
"Ok." Ben said, and the two just saw there.
"You're just trying to get out of doing homework aren't you?" Zatanna asked with an amused smile.
"I will not deny that it's a nice side benefit." Ben responds with a smile.
Hope you enjoyed it. I didn't want to do an entire rehash of the episode so I decided to modify it a little. I also excluded Captain Marvel from joining because well he shouldn't have been captured that easily. SixSix made and appearance, purely for the sake of the fight not being like 6 vs 1 even if Mallah had the mini gun.
