Author's Notes: Special thanks to Red Witch, asha-man72, L1701E, Sparky Genocide, GothikStrawberry, Dante Tigerwolf, Animation Lasi, Nikki-De-Kitty, and Adre for the wonderful reviews and e-mails! They really make my day and encourage me to write this story and continue the loveable yet insane series of Red Witch's wonderful Misfit-verse! That said, enjoy the chapter as we finally see who is our mysterious savior in…
CHAPTER 4: Can Someone Explain What's Going On?
"Dios Mio!" gasped Mas y Menos in unison as the intense attack flashed brightly through the night sky. Quinn then gasped with horror when she managed to get a split-second energy reading with her pink scanner before she shouted the order to Jean on her communicator.
"Jean! Use a shield to protect everyone, quick! The energy reading from this attack is off the scale! Hurry, shield all of us!" Jean's heart nearly stopped at the sentence as the roaring, ethereal lion-head converged onto the Heartless. If Trinity, of all people, was worried, then that meant…
Jean the telepathically screamed in everyone's mind, her voice roaring like a foghorn, Everyone, get down!
With that, Jean put up the strongest telekinetic shield she had ever summoned out of thin air before in her entire life, and knowing that it was risky to depend on just Jean for the strain, all the teenage X-Men and Razor (and surprisingly, Trinity as well) summoned the Telsa-barriers from their respective glovatrixes to the highest setting before holding them aloft like umbrellas, protecting themselves and their neighbors, not caring if they were an X-Man, a Misfit, a Joe or a Titan. Blob managed to shield Dragonfly, Scarlet Witch, Cyborg, and Bumblebee while Low Light transformed into reinforced steel and shielded Cover Girl, Professor Xavier and Blind Master. Shadowcat then grabbed Colossus and Whitelighter, phasing them so that the energy would have no effect on their bodies when it caused the inevitable explosion. All this was done in several seconds right before the lion-head attack struck the fire Heartless…
"Oh holy son of a gun!" gasped Lance, his face white at the incoming missile as it approached, wondering if he could somehow summon some amount of earth out of nowhere to shield both him and Spirit, but then, to Avalanche's surprise, a large giant jumped next to him and his father before grabbing the both of them securely and roughly.
"Hold on!" the giant commanded as he wrapped his large arms around the two humans.
"What in the name of the Great Spirit?" gasped Spirit right before the Fist of the Beast King struck…
WHOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
The fire demon roared as the glowing, translucent yellow energy engulfed it fully, swarming over the flames of hellfire like flies on honey. And as predicted, the force of the discharge was enough to nearly knock everyone off their feet and go flying from the sudden increase of winds all around them, yet thanks to the intervention of Jean and several of the heroes, everyone was relatively safe. The creature writhed in agony as the Fist of the Beast King attack tore it apart, mortally injuring it as the temperature and the fires lessened in intensity and plummeted rapidly upon the mysterious blast. Even the nearby metal shipping containers and buildings crumbled and were crushed from the explosion. Blind Master gasped as he sensed the spiritual presence.
"This is no ordinary attack! It's ki energy, energy of a soul, and a very powerful one at that!" the Joe ninja exclaimed in a mixture of wonder and shock.
"I don't give a crap what it is! Where's Spirit and Avalanche?" roared Low Light in worry as the monster Slade had created perished with a mighty wail, collapsing and withering into a small cloud of smoke and ash as it disintegrated into nothingness. In less than a minute, the fire abomination was completely erased, the heat gone, and all that was left was the now serene yet charred hole of where the Heartless once stood, a cool and fresh breeze from the nearby ocean blowing peacefully and gently upon the battleground. Except for the bruises and the blackened wood and strewn metal all around, there was no sign that a gigantic demon made of fire and brimstone ever came into being here at the Jump City docks. However, while the creature was nowhere to be found …so were Spirit and Lance.
It was amazing how much everyone was horrified and completely frantic in a matter of seconds the instant they realized that their friends had disappeared.
"Oh no!" Boom-Boom cried out, covering her mouth with both of her gloved hands, "They're gone! Rocky and Spirit are gone!"
"But…but they couldn't be - !" Roadblock stammered, his steel resolve nearly breaking, the gun going limp in his hands.
"Lance? Lance, where are you?" Scarlet Witch called out, her face white as Quicksilver was about to dash off with his speed to find the Joe and their teammate, but then Lance's voice called out in the background from behind the large gathering of people.
"You guys! Over here! It's OK! We're all right!" and they all turned to see that, indeed, Spirit and Lance had managed to make it out of the fires, unscathed, and though they were a bit sooty and tussled, both the Joe and the mutant teen were indeed safe and miraculously out of harm's way. And they were standing next to a huge, lofty figure that was slowly being revealed in the moonlight of the night sky…
"Lance!" gasped Kitty in joyous relief, now fully healed thanks to Whitelighter, but then she and the others stopped short of their jubilation when they saw who was standing next to Spirit and Avalanche.
Simply put, it was a gigantic, upright humanoid lion. The first thing the Titans, the Joes, and the mutants could sere was that the lion figure was towering over them; he had to be at least twenty feet tall, and the stark contrast between his height and Spirit and Avalanche's heights was a bit daunting. Add the fact that the humanistic lion has a broad, muscular, built chest, arms, legs, and oversized, sinewy paws laced with razor-sharp black claws, and anyone could easily see this animal was not something to trifle with lightly, especially since he bore horrific scars on his body. Still, some of the X-Girls and even Wanda couldn't help but stare at the rock-hard, muscular curvatures of the lion's extensive form. His fur, though cropped short, was shiny and a pale yellow-ochre if not a light orange color which neatly contrasted against his tawny, wild mane and beard and the tuft of yellow fur at the end of his long tail. The lion had deep blue eyes that were glittering with anger, ferocity, and a general "mess-with-me-and-I'll-eviscerate-you-in-ten-different-ways" demeanor while his snout and muzzle were formed into a thin line of the calm caginess most warriors have gained over years of horrific warfare. His ears were long, like a deer's, with a gold hoop earring in his left one while draped around his neck was a red necklace made of red teeth and talons strung together. Though the lion was bare-chested, he wore pants held up with a black, leather belt as well as a black, studded strap of leather wound and coiled tightly around his left wrist and paw like a handwrap of a boxer. And right now, the lion was gripping a hilt-less sword with a slim, leather handle and a bronze-colored double-edged blade, as if he was ready to use it should the fire demon have somehow survived the energy blast. Yet upon finding it satisfactorily subjugated, the lion then smoothly sheathed the sword into the scabbard lashed behind his back with barely a noise, his movements fluid and practiced, like a true warrior.
Out of all the possible things the heroes had expected to come to their aid when they saw the attack blitz the fire demon Slade had summoned, the lion was certainly not one of them.
"Whoa! Dude!" marveled Beast Boy in fascination.
"Oh my furry stars and garters!" blurted out Beast.
"Who are you?" Shipwreck asked, his eyes wide with shock and his jaw dropped wide. The lion turned to the sailor, his face still in a slight frown but Lance and Spirit could honestly say that they could detect no sense of hostility or evilness from this lion humanoid.
"My name is Leomon," the lion-man answered in his deep voice. Spirit then turned to the heroes before they could suddenly jump to the conclusion that the stranger was their enemy.
"Don't worry, he's not our adversary! He rescued me and Lance! He jumped into the fire and grabbed the both of us before the energy could destroy us as well as that fire spirit. He saved our lives!" the Native American Joe said strongly. Still, even though what Spirit said was true, most if not all the group were incredibly defensive and suspicious of the lion, especially since he was probably the one who threw the blast that destroyed the fire monster and endangered Lance and Spirit's lives in the first place.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Robin called out in the background as he and a still shaken Raven rushed behind, her cloak and uniform now tattered with rips and holes (but to her relief, the red markings and runes Slade had caused to appear no longer were visible).
"Robin!" gasped Starfire in relief as her two teammates approached the congregation. Robin and Raven were then both shocked to see the X-Men, the Misfits, the Joes mingling in the crowd along with the Titans, but they were even more stunned when they spotted Leomon. And Raven wasn't enjoying the way the brawny animal was frowning upon her, deep rumbles growling lowly from the back of his throat. Leomon then ambled his way towards Raven, his face completely dark and his eyes glittering with vicious mercilessness. Spirit was taken aback to see how quickly the lion-humanoid was able to switch his previous demeanor all of a sudden. And he wasn't the only one who noticed this…
"Uh-uh, back off kitty-kat," warned Cyborg in a calm yet dangerous voice as he and the rest of the Titans rushed in front of Leomon, blocking his path to Raven and with their weapons drawn out, "You try hurting our little Raven, and you're gonna find yourself painfully de-clawed, if you get my drift."
"We'll also have no problem removing other body parts of yours as well if you still want to fight us," Robin said lowly, his staff now drawn. Raven was just standing as still as a statue, a look of fear, dismay, and grief etched on her face as she positively withered underneath the lion's stern glare. Leomon crossed his arms as he then coldly addressed to the Titans.
"Don't jump to conclusions, kids," he rumbled, "I don't take pleasure in attacking children or those who are weaker than I am. There's no honor in that."
"Then back off!" Mas y Menos snarled in Spanish, but this time, everyone could guess what the two Hispanic twins were trying to communicate, so Leomon took two steps back to show that he was submitting to their wishes and that he had no desire to fight…for now. The Titans and Titans East then relaxed a bit. The X-Men, the Misfits, and G.I. Joe looked on the scene with a mixture of circumspection and amusement (it was a little humorous to see a twenty-something tall behemoth trying to avoid a brawl with kids who at best only reach slightly above the lion's kneecaps). Speedy of Titans East then turned his attention to the crowd watching.
"Uh…so can someone explain what's going on? Who are you guys specifically and why are you here?" Speedy inquired a bit warily, still eying the X-Men, the Misfits, and the Joes with some confusion. Robin, however, was able to deduce several parts about tonight's events with his quick logic.
"I think they're here to investigate those unknown teenagers that were accompanying Slade and H.I.V.E.," Robin said. Cover Girl, Wolverine, and Professor X all raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed that the Boy Wonder came to the conclusion so quickly.
"Yeah, you're right on that one, bub," Logan snorted as he lit a cigar he kept in his uniform pocket, "We were sent by Green Lantern because he and the other members of the Justice League discovered that the Hellfire Club sent their Hellions to give you guys a hard time. Since we dealt with those jackasses before, the Justice League figured we could do a world of good by being here."
"The Hellions?" echoed Cyborg in disbelief.
The Teen Titans and Titans East then just listened as Wolverine, Xavier, Cyclops, Spirit, Blind Master and Beast explained to the ten teenagers in further detail why they were in Jump City and their suspicions. Though several such as Cyborg, Bumblebee, and Robin were briefed very thoroughly by reports from the Justice League (and all of the Titans paid the Flash a very generous amount for a tape of Batman being bested by Trinity), the other Titans have only heard about the Misfits, the X-Men, and G.I. Joe through tabloids, word-of-mouth, or the television, so meeting the three strange associations face-to-face was quite informative and helpful. Of course, it wasn't lost to everyone that Wavedancer and Aqualad were glaring at each other poisonously during the discussion, but thankfully, nothing happened from it.
"Well, whatever the reason, it was a good thing you guys came to help us out. We really needed it," Cyborg said at last. Aqualad gave a soft, derisive snort, but Bumblebee angrily heel-stomped brutally on the Atlantian's foot for being so rude, making him shut up instantly. Roadblock then turned to Leomon who was still quietly waiting by the sidelines and overhearing every word being discussed; he had forgotten that allowing the swordsman to listen in may prove dangerous, especially if he wasn't on their side.
"And what about you, Leomon? Care to explain to us why you're tagging along?" the Joe asked in verse.
"I am here for my own reasons, Joe," Leomon said brusquely.
"But then why did you help us? I mean, we've never met the likes of you before, and I'd doubt that the Teen Titans have run into ya' as well! And now that I think about it, why should we even trust ya'? How do we know you're a good guy?" demanded Cannonball bravely.
"Word of advice, kid: don't be ungrateful to those who do you a favor," Leomon growled while giving a glower, "If it wasn't for my involvement, that Heartless would have surely killed some of your friends and allies before you could ever figure out how to vanquish it. I destroyed it not for your sakes, but because it is part of my duty, as a warrior and - "
Leomon then caught himself before he could blurt out the rest of the sentence, already mentally chastising himself inwardly for nearly revealing more than he should have.
"Heart…less?" repeated Razor, forming the unknown word on his tongue. The lion turned to the relatively diminutive kat.
"It is a term for those without hearts. That is why they are called the 'Heartless'. It is a powerful creature of great strength and not to be taken lightly, born from the darkness and evil. They can easily be identified by the symbol of the deformed heart on their bodies."
"Heartless? So you know what that thing Slade summoned was? You've dealt with them before?" Robin asked, surprised. This was certainly a boon.
"You could help us, then," Low Light said with a spike of interest. Leomon just gave the G.I. Joe sniper a disdainful glare.
"I'm sorry, but you must think that I am actually stupid and willing enough to fight your own battles. Whatever issues you have with your enemies is none of my concern," he said gruffly before he walked away.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Scarlet Witch pouted, "If you're not going to help us, then why the hell were you even here listening with us for?"
"Because I have already learned what I needed to know. Keep in mind, I did not request you Misfits and Joes and X-Men to share that information with me. You freely gave it for easy pickings for any being who wished to listen in on your conversation. I highly advise you to watch out for that in the future," the lion replied rudely as he threw Raven a final glare. The witch then wondered if the entire universe was out to get her; it just never seemed to end in the unpleasant surprises.
Leomon's snide comment rubbed Rogue the wrong way as the gothic mutant then flew into the air before she hovered herself right in front of the lion-man, blocking his path while remaining suspended off the ground.
"Hold it, sugah! You're not going anywhere till we ask ya' a few questions!" she said in a threatening manner. Leomon's eyes narrowed as several of the other heroes then uneasily tensed their bodies for a fight; they could tell this was not going to end well.
"I suggest you step aside and just handle matters that concern you, kid. Now get out of my way and let me pass," Leomon growled.
"Not without you getting a few bruises," Rogue snapped as she held up a fist before she continued to demand, "Now you better tell us what the heck are you doing here and what do you know about that big - !"
Yet Rogue wasn't able to say anything else before Leomon's paw flashed out so quickly, the X-Girl didn't even have time to flinch as she gasped in pain when the lion's hand gripped around her waist like a vise. Before she could even snarl a threat, Rogue felt herself being thrown with incredible force as she was tossed aside and crashed to the ground. Hard. With enough force to even stun the X-Girl, despite her invulnerability. Had Leomon truly wanted to, Rogue would have easily been crippled.
"Rogue!" gasped Jean and Boom-Boom as they and several others rushed over to their friend's side while Gambit, Cyclops, Wolverine and Colossus looked absolutely murderous, glaring at the lion's retreating back as he continued walking away.
"You've made a big mistake, mon ami," growled Gambit as he readied five, glowing kinetically-charged cards in one hand.
"Ya' mangy, overgrown furball!" snarled Wolverine as he unsheathed his claws, but Leomon regarded him coolly, not the slightest bit intimidated.
The lion said stoically without turning over his shoulder, "I told her to step out of my path, and she did not listen. You cannot say I didn't give the kid a chance to back down."
"You don't have to be such a jerk about it! You could have hurt her!" Cover Girl snapped, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at the lion's retreating back. Gambit had enough, and both he and Cyclops then let loose a combination attack, uniting the energy cards and a powerful optic blast directly into the vulnerable lion-man's back. Yet with a simple strafe, the energy blast soared past his side by several feet harmlessly.
"You missed," Leomon said snidely.
"Summers, Gambit, leave him alone!" Avalanche snapped at the two X-Men before continued to the lion.
"Leomon, wait!" Lance called out. Yet the lion-man did not even turn his head as he gave a mighty pounce and leapt high into the air before he landed on the rooftop of a nearby warehouse. Without even pausing, nimbly leapt from crown to crown until he disappeared entirely and vanished as quickly as he came. Lance just looked at the night sky numbly. Spirit ambled over to his son and laid a calm, strong hand of the teenager's shoulder.
"I didn't even get a chance to tell him thanks," Lance muttered, a bit put off.
"I don't think he wanted it, Lance," Spirit replied sagely as he tried to just make some sort of sense of the fact that he and his son were saved from being burned alive from a fire monster by a lion warrior.
"Boy, this night just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Beast Boy groaned in the background.
---
At the same time, back at H.I.V.E. Academy…
"Aaaaaauuuuuuggggggghhhhh! Will you watch it, you red-haired, dim-witted glue-sniffer? That hurt!" Gizmo screamed as Selinda finished dabbing a bloody scrap on the inventor's arm with several cotton-balls soaked with a powerful antiseptic.
"Oh stop whining and being such a big baby!" teased Shimmer, giggling, clearly enjoying this, as she finished placing the sterile bandage over the wound, "There, see? Good as new. And now for being such a model patient, would the 'widdle Gizmo like me to get him a 'widdle 'wolly?"
"Razzum frazzum, no-good, little…" grumbled Gizmo as he glared daggers at the annoyingly chirpy Selinda as she fished out a cherry-colored lollipop from the candy-jar of the infirmary, earning a few chuckles from Jinx as she tended to See-More and Mammoth. Upon arriving back to their school, Gizmo, Mammoth, and See-More were heavily drained and slightly battered from their run-ins with the Teen Titans, and worried, Jinx and Selinda offered to accompany their friends to the H.I.V.E. infirmary where they had been various and countless times before to treat injuries or sicknesses. The room was spacious, pure white and faintly reeking of bleach from the sterilization along with their shiny, metal cabinets now fully stocked with various medicines, supplies, and the beds now cleanly set and made with comfortable white sheets and pillows. Jinx had to marvel slightly as she bandaged a deep gash on Mammoth's head from X23's claws; the H.I.V.E. foundation must have recently gotten some hands on profitable ventures for before, all the students could see that the academy was falling apart at the seams, going into apparent disarray from a lack of funds for materials, food supplies, and maintenance. Ever since the Hellions had arrived at their institution, life has gotten slightly better for the H.I.V.E. students. They didn't really need to have such a dire urge to steal anymore…
"Thanks, Jinx. That feels a lot better…" sighed Mammoth in relief as the pain subsided to a cooling, refreshing feeling from the salve.
"So the X-Men and the Misfits and G.I. Joe came to help the Titans?" Jinx asked as she put away the bandages back into their original containers on the shelves. Mammoth nodded.
"Yeah, and though they were a rough bunch, us and the Hellions were able to hold them off while Slade was able to do his thing, whatever it was," he said.
"You mean he didn't tell you what he wanted?" Selinda asked curiously, but Gizmo answered for Baran as he stopped sucking loudly on the sucker he was given.
"Nah, but I'll tell you one thing about that one-eyed, two-faced, bug-eater: I don't trust him. I mean, you didn't see what that toilet-licker was able to do with those fire-powers of his, and it really freaked me out to see that weird sign glowing on his forehead. I'm telling you, I didn't like Slade when he first sent us to take care of the Titans, and I sure as hell don't like him any more now, even if he is here to help us out according to those snot-nosed Hellions! You think Raven looks scary, sometimes? Try taking a look at Slade when he summons whatever that thing was next time! I'm telling you, whatever that thing was, it was scary, something more twisted and depraved than every horror movie and flick we've ever watched! Slade could give Satan a run for 'Biggest Devil-Like Bastard of the Year' when he goes into that freaky, fire mode!"
"But how did he get those powers in the first place? That's what I'm interested in," Mammoth commented as he flexed his bruised and sore fingers. Suddenly, the five students could hear two girls shrieking in rage as they then glimpsed Private HIVE running eagerly, holding several items of lingerie and a Polaroid camera while the two female Hellions, Roulette and Tarot, were chasing after the H.I.V.E. student with absolute murder in their eyes and with promised, swift, bloody vengeance.
"C'mon, Hellions! You have to do better than that if you wanna catch this army man!" laughed Private HIVE as he dashed madly away from the various object hurled at him, "Of course, I' m just wondering if you ladies can't resist the charm of a man in full uniform!"
"More like a dead man, soon-to-be buried in full uniform! Give us back our underwear, you pervert!" screamed Roulette as she kept throwing hex energy discs at the brawny teenager as he expertly and adroitly danced and darted in between the energy balls. It got to the point where Roulette was angry enough to throw various implements and objects she could manage to grab while chasing Private HIVE, including a vase, a textbook, and a hatchet (though no one knew where she got it). Tarot was quickly going through her stock of tarot cards in her hands as she kept on animatedly bringing the attacks and objects to life as she summoned them to attack Private HIVE.
"Lightning card! Axe card! Anvil card! Pepper Spray card! Fire card! Chainsaw card! Kill him, kill him, kill him!" she screeched like a banshee as the red-haired Hellion kept calling forth various attacks to disembowel and decapitate the H.I.V.E. student ten times over in thirteen different ways, but due to her reckless anger and Private HIVE's dumb luck, Tarot kept missing.
"Oh man, I know several fellow privates who would be interested in the pictures I got of you two in the showers!" cackled Private HIVE.
"They won't be once they find out which one of your body cavities we're going to put that camera in the minute we get our hands on your worthless hide, you dumb ox!" screamed Roulette as they scurried after their tormentor and went out of sight of the five students observing this in the medical ward.
"I see Private HIVE's helping the Hellions adjust," remarked See-More.
"Are you kidding? They must be getting used to here! They didn't look half as mad as yesterday when the Hellions, Jetstream and Bevatron, found out that we used their designer clothes as rags to scrub the bathrooms in during our detentions!" Jinx grinned.
Then Jinx, Selinda, Gizmo, Mammoth, and See-More could hear the Hellion, Monet, screaming loudly enough to wake the dead from another part of the H.I.V.E. building.
"What's her problem?" Gizmo muttered disdainfully, his face darkened with annoyance, "Not that I actually care about Miss Prissy, here, mind you…"
See-More then winced as he explained, "Well, remember how I'm still traumatized by seeing…"
See-More shivered to himself into a fetal position, but the other four classmates knew he was referring to Blob and how See-More accidentally used his X-Ray vision on him to reveal…everything.
"Yeah? And?" Mammoth pressed.
"Well, the Headmistress said that the Hellions are responsible for the safety and well-being of all the H.I.V.E. students who they train for battle, and since Monet is an experienced telepath, the Headmistress told her to go into my mind and erase the image of seeing…him…with her powers."
"So she was able to help you?" Jinx asked. See-More made a very big wince.
"Not exactly…" he said a bit hesitantly, but his sentence was interrupted by another harsh scream from Monet in the neighboring wing.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God! THAT is the most disgusting, most revolting, most depraved image I could have ever been cursed with! I will never view nudity again! Oh God, this is even worse than seeing Beef in his birthday suit! Oh God, oh God, oh God, get it out! Get it out! GET IT OUT!"
See-More then explained as the H.I.V.E. Five and Selinda could hear Monet pounding her head hard against the plaster of the wall outside the infirmary room, "See, when Monet was ordered by the Headmistress to erase the image from my mind, it kinda got stuck in hers. And since Ms. Frost isn't available to help her, and none of the H.IV.E. students are as experienced in telepathy as Monet or Frost…"
"Yeesh," murmured Mammoth, making a sympathetic face. Normally, he didn't like the Hellions any more than the rest of the students, but even that could be considered cruel and unusual.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Selinda asked her brother, Mammoth.
"We somehow get hundreds of pictures of the Misfit named Blob and hang them everywhere in the school so that there won't be a single place Monet can go here without being reminded of him and remembering seeing the mental picture of the fat lard-bottom in his full glory, thus torturing her to relive that scarring memory for life over and over again?"
"Yep…" grinned Shimmer mischievously.
"I'll start printing out the photos from the Internet," Gizmo said casually as he waddled his way out of the infirmary to his dorm room.
"Be sure to get them in poster-size, Gizmo," called out Jinx.
---
At the same time, in a secluded room at the headquarters of the Hellfire Club…
"It is done," announced Slade in his cold voice as he approached the Inner Circle, pure triumph and satisfaction gleaming proudly on his mask under the light of the candles. The other members, Blackheart, Selene, Pierce, Leland, Luthor, Emma Frost, General Eddington, Sebastian Shaw, Brother Blood, and the leading Lord Imperial, turned their attention to the assassin.
"And the gem?" Lord Imperial asked.
"The inscriptions are in place, and she knows what she must do. The prophecy will be fulfilled."
"Excellent. You have done you task well, Slade," Frost purred as she quaintly sipped from her tumbler of expensive malt whiskey, the few ice cubes lazily floating around.
Slade then said, "As long as my master is pleased, I could not care less about your affirmations, my dear Emma. A few praises from a seductress such as yourself has no redeeming value in my position. And…how fare the heroes and the Titans? Have they suffered heavy losses as I had intended?"
"Actually, it has not. The X-Men, the Misfits, the Joes, and the Titans were able to defeat the Heartless specimen you created," Brother Blood frowned at last. Slade was slightly taken aback, though he did not show it. Yet…that should have been impossible. The Heartless were invincible, created by forces that were far beyond the coils of heaven and hell, and only the powers of a Keyblade or very powerful magic could fully kill them (neither of which were at the hands of the Titans or the mutants or of G.I. Joe). And Slade was not the only one surprised; the other members of the Inner Circle were also a bit stunned.
"And how is this possible?" Pierce asked coldly to Brother Blood.
Brother Blood then conjured an image in the middle of the Inner Circle with a few choice words of magic as they were displayed as a holographic picture for everyone to see. There, in the throes of death, was the Heartless, disintegrating away into a gory mess under the fierce attack of a mysterious being…
"I see the Titans and the Misfits and the X-Men have help," Slade commented coldly as the image of a hulking and powerfully built animal, a lion, his face stern, pure steel and rock, unfaltering and courageous. Selene felt her interest perk up slightly, a sudden prick of animal magnetism. Despite being a beast, Selene could have honestly said that the lion-being was one of the finest specimens of a human male she had ever laid eyes on. However, Blackheart's red eyes widened with surprised horror the instant he viewed upon the strange anomaly.
"Leomon…" hissed Blackheart. The Superior was not going to like this turn of events…
"You know him?" Selene asked sharply and coldly, able to pick up and detect the slight troubled aura in the demon's demeanor. As one, the rest of the Inner Circle turned their eyes expectantly to the messenger of the Organization. Blackheart regarded them emotionlessly with his glowing red eyes.
"He will be a problem if we do not execute the operation soon on the portal," Blackheart rumbled.
"Surely you must be kidding," grumbled Luthor, already a bit peeved that a variable threat has now come into play. This was the last thing the Hellfire Club needed as of now…
"This lion? He is just one being, a single, flea-ridden animal that can be easily put down like all other strays if he dares strikes against the Hellfire Club, Blackheart," laughed Frost cruelly, finding it amusing that the so-called powerful demon of the Thirteenth Order was bothered by a mere lion. Blackheart ignored her; if the White Queen wished to underestimate the digital warrior, she would learn her mistake soon enough. He turned to Lord Imperial as he intoned coldly, his voice ill-mannered.
"I shall report this to Marluxia and the Superior and the Thirteenth Order, but I can easily inform you that they will not be happy to learn that he is here."
"Then we can simply kill him as well once we eliminate the Titans along with the Misfits and X-Men. His arrival should be of no consequence to us," Leland shrugged off.
"More powerful warriors have attempted at that and failed, Black Bishop. So forgive the Organization for having little faith in that promise when you cannot even destroy G.I. Joe, a mere group of mortal humans," and with that, Blackheart shimmered into thin air before disappearing entirely.
"Sometimes, I truly hate that overgrown, black Treasure-Troll reject," muttered Pierce under his breath.
"Either way, I agree with our resident demon: if this…'Leomon' is enough cause for concern by the Organization, then we must ready our plans with the Titan if we ever hope to continue with 'Operation: Kingdom Hearts'. After all our careful planning with the Phoenix Spirit, it would be disastrous if we will not be able to execute our plans with Trigon and his portal, so to speak," Shaw put in.
"Not to worry, Shaw," Eddington commented as he frowned at the screen, "Oxymandias' vision will come to pass. The portal will be opened. Of this, I am sure."
Lord Imperial then turned to Slade and Brother Blood.
"You two, move to the next phase with H.I.V.E. and Raven…" he ordered steely as the rest of the Inner Circle looked on warily at the image of Leomon defeating the Heartless on the monitor.
---
"But what I don't understand is how did Slade come back? I mean, dudes, no one could survive being dunked in a pool of lava! Not even Terra made it out! And how the heck could he do all that weird fire mumbo-jumbo?" Beast Boy asked no one in particular. It was late at night at the Titans Tower and the Titans were gathered in the main operations center of their home, and seated among the couches and comfortable furniture were the Misfits, the X-Men, and the handlers from G.I. Joe, all of them drinking hot cocoa from steaming ceramic mugs, topped with marshmallows. The Titans and Titans East felt that it was best and safest for them to discuss matters at their base of operations, and as visitors, they invited the fellow allies into their home with great heart and honor. However, Althea made it a point to sit as far away from Garth as possible, and she kept giving him looks of the purest hate and death which was returned wholeheartedly by Aqualad. Shipwreck made a mental note to talk with his daughter; he was no fool and he certainly knew why there was tension. At the same time, Lockheed and Silkie, the pet worm of the Titans, surprisingly got along famously, and indeed, the dragon and the mutated worm were happily gurgling and squealing with odd squeaks and noises as they munched on several graham crackers and marshmallows Starfire thoughtfully laid out for them to eat on the coffee table. Side by side, it was a bit comforting for Raven, watching the two creatures play and nibble on snacks like best friends, not knowing of anything about death, horror, and evil. The mug was warm in her hands, but her hands felt cold, icy even with fear.
The Professor then leaned over and put aside his empty mug.
"Tell us everything you can about Slade and the H.I.V.E. Academy," Professor X requested cordially, bringing his hands in front of him in a steeple as he prepared to mentally take in everything the Teen Titans would be willing to share.
Obliging to their guests, the members of the Teen Titans and Titans East then explained to G.I. Joe, the Misfits, and the X-Men everything they could about their enemies. The mutants the soldiers learned about H.I.V.E., how it was a growing academy with thousands of young, gifted minds to breed future villains and how they had run-ins with the Teen Titans before in the past, especially when it was led by the tyrannical and overzealous Brother Blood. They also learned of Slade, an assassin who was, though human, not to be taken lightly with abnormal cunningness, deadly attacks in the martial arts, and the ability to coerce others to serve him. Slade was the ultimate warrior; not only did he hate to lose, but he would take every miniscule possibility to ensure that he would never lose. Nothing ever escaped Slade. However, the Teen Titans and Titans East could not explain how Slade suddenly had the ability to generate tremendous amounts of fire and bend it to his will. Not only was Slade human, but he had supposedly perished when he tried to use an ex-member called Terra (a geokinetic and an earth-manipulator like Lance) to kill them, only to have Terra choose to destroy herself and him as well rather than turn on her friends. Though it was a tense peace, the Titans eventually assumed it would be safe to say that Slade was dead. Until now, at least…
"And we don't know how Slade returned or why he's after Raven," Robin muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. For clarity's sake, all the Titans felt it was best if they explained to Xavier, the Joes, and their charges that for some unknown reason, Raven was being targeted by Slade specifically.
"We also don't know how Slade got such weird powers and that symbol that's been burning on his forehead," added Cyborg.
"We've never seen it before," mused Wanda aloud, "I even studied magic and spells with my tutor, Agatha Harkness, when I first moved into the Brotherhood house, but I don't ever remember that sign on the creature or on Slade's head in any of my magic books and scrolls that I kept for my reference."
"It kinda gets worse," Brittany commented as she held up her trusty, pink handheld scanner, "We did a quick scan of the site where that Leomon lion-guy blasted that creature over at the Jump City docks, just to see if we could positively identify anything or any residual traces in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases or the Mainframe's databases back at the Pit or the Watchtower's databases. We couldn't find anything!"
"What? But…but the thing got blasted and there's traces of the places where this Slade guy burned the buildings and what not! Couldn't you find anything that could positively give us some info on what we're dealing with? I mean, you even have data on the DNA from the Furies back at Apokolips!" Pietro blurted out.
Quinn shook her head as she explained, "No, nothing! Whatever this thing is, it isn't Earthly and it's never occurred in this planet before! It's like there's no evidence that the fire monster Slade created ever existed before! It's like…I guess the best way to put it is like some kind of ghost, something that's not tangible."
"So we have no idea what we're up against or whatever is this mysterious force or benefactor that gave Slade the ability to harness fire attacks that powerful," sighed Hank.
"Not exactly," added Jake as he addressed his suspicions to everyone, "Remember what Leomon called the creature? He referred to it as a 'Heartless' due to that strange insignia they bear like some coat of arms. If we can't discover or trace Slade's mark, we can try tracing the term 'heartless' as well as that symbol."
"Far out, man," Forge exclaimed, "And Trinity, I have another idea! We can try contacting Supergirl, Batgirl, and Dr. Strange and Benny again for help on this!"
"Are you kidding me?" snorted Pietro, making a face, "You remember the last time what happened when Benny came to visit us?"
"Yeah, but Dr. Strange is a really powerful and groovy wizard, remember? And Benny told us that Dr. Strange also knows a lot about forces from other dimensions and stuff. Think about it! If there is anything about the Heartless stuff or Slade's mark, then Dr. Strange will know all about it for sure! And Benny and Dr. Strange can help us with the research if Trinity can somehow fix up a machine to create a portal to contact them with in their dimension! And Batgirl and Supergirl can help us out too! I remember them telling me that they and the Justice League know several magic users as well! Well, if it turns out Slade really is back from the dead and he has magic powers and such, then we can see if any of their contacts know about it!" Forge hurriedly explained. Robin gasped, catching on.
"That's right! I forgot about that! We know Etrigan, Zatanna, and Dr. Fate! You're right, Forge! It could give us some clues, and if someone knows anything about the Heartless crisis or Slade's new abilities, it definitely has to be them!" Robin exclaimed.
"And building a portal to call them with wouldn't be so hard, especially if we all work on it. It can be done within a matter of days if we concentrate hard enough," agreed Daria.
"But there's a problem, though," Fred chipped in, "Even if we do find out, it won't explain what exactly those Hellion guys and the Hellfire Club's after."
"Actually, we may have a lead on that one, Fred," Xavier said gently, "I did manage to look into Slade's mind with my telepathy before I was forced out…"
Professor Xavier then explained to the attentive Robin and his friends as well as his own students, staff, and the Misfits what he saw when he probed into Slade's mind, able to recite the prophecy he heard while trying to stop Slade using his telepathy. Raven felt her heart beat faster with apprehension and dread when she heard this, cold ice sinking into the pit of her stomach. Luckily, the others were far off the mark with the guessing and interpretation of Xavier's visions…
"A gem? You mean like the M'Kraan crystal Darkseid had when he tried to harness the Phoenix Force?" Ororo asked worriedly.
"It sounds dangerous. If anything, if we can't make sure that this gem doesn't fall into the wrong hands, then we'll have to destroy it before the Hellfire Club and Slade and H.I.V.E. get their grubby hands on it. It'll be better to eliminate it so that no one could ever use that as a weapon and endanger innocents," Low Light said grimly. Raven felt like crying as she winced and inwardly flinched; Low Light would have no idea how excruciating it was to hear those words.
"So where could we possibly find this gem? Here in the city? It would make sense since the Hellions just started popping up in this place," Sam asked.
Piotr snorted, "But what are we going to do, Sam? Check out every museum and jewelry store in a city that rivals the population of Metropolis? Analyze every stone and mine that could contain a jewel or mineral or rock? It shall be like trying to search through a needle in a haystack. If anything, we'll be at a disadvantage now since it's possible that Slade and the Hellions know what they're looking for."
"I get the feeling so does this Leomon guy," Aqualad said, "If he knows so much about this Heartless threat, then he probably knows what's Slade's agenda. And considering that he just shows up around the same time we have to deal with the Hellions and the Hellfire Club, I can't say it's a coincidence that he's here right now."
"Mien Gott! You're right," Kurt mused, "We do not even know if Leomon is a friend or an enemy!"
"He didn't seem that bad, yo. After all, he helped us," Toad pointed out.
"I know, Toad, but we can't be too careful," admitted Kurt, "Remember the thing about a wolf in sheep's clothing? Leomon could be pretending to help us so that we could lead him to this gem right before he turns on us and uses it as some sort of evil power to destroy the world! I mean, it's awful if you think about it! Whatever this gem is, it has the power to destroy all things mortal! That's a power not even Magneto has!"
Todd was still adamant as he still continue don, "Nah, I doubt that, Fuzzy. Leomon seems like a good guy."
Rogue snorted as she rubbed her arm on a lingering bruise, muttering, "Yeah, as if, wart farm! You ain't exactly a good judge of character! I swear, the next time I run into that overgrown housecat, I'm gonna use his hide as a new rug in my room!"
"Serves you right for going into his face like that," Xi shot out without much sympathy. Remy's eyes immediately turned cold as he got into Xi's face in a threatening manner.
"What was that, mon ami?" the Cajun snarled, brandishing his metal bo, "Are you saying chere had that coming? Answer wisely, lizard, or you'll find Remy's staff lodged painfully in that big mouth of yours! Or really, any other body cavity will do considering Remy isn't really picky on where he can stick this!"
"Leave him alone, swamp rat!" Rina snarled at Xi's defense, much to Logan and the other X-Men's collective surprises. Rina had never argued against the X-Men before (fought or threatened them, yes), so her defense of Xi was a little out of the blue, to say the least.
"Hey, only I get to call him that, Rina!" snapped Rogue before she pointed at Xi, "And why on Earth are ya' on his side for anyways?"
Rina didn't even bother taking a breath as she hissed angrily at Rogue, "Did it ever occur to you that you had no right to demand anything from Leomon? How did you expect him to react when you just got into his face like that and refused to let him leave? God, Rogue, it's just like trying to keep someone prisoner when they haven't done anything wrong! And you out of all people should know what it's like when you don't want to talk with others! You're the one who tells me how you prefer to be alone half of the time whenever you and Xi explain human social life with me! So don't blame Xi for saying how it is! God, even animals know better than to go against an opponent who's more powerful than they are!"
"Yeah, testify X23!" Pietro shouted, cheering.
"Like, shut up, Pietro!" snapped Kitty heatedly, "No one's in the mood to hear something totally stupid come out of your fat mouth, so just like use whatever you pass of as a brain and like keep a lid on it!"
"You first," quipped Pietro before he dashed off the couch with his super-speed before Kitty's fist could connect with his chin, "And you're still too slow, Kit-Kat! Maybe if you lost a few pounds…"
"I'm warning you, Pietro…" growled Shadowcat as she made a fist.
"Oh quit being so melodramatic, Kitty!" snapped Roberto in exasperation, "They could be right about Leomon too, you know!"
"Roberto! How could you? He attacked Rogue!" Amara protested, her hands on her hips. The Brazilian mutant held up his hands in surrender as he emphasized his point.
"Look, I'm not saying that the Misfits are always right and all…"
"Oh gee, that would surely kill you to admit that, wouldn't it, yo?" Toad griped with a sour face. Roberto ignored Todd as he continued.
"But did it ever occur to you guys that maybe this Leomon guy has his reasons for not telling us what we wanted to know? Everyone's got secrets. If he wanted to share what was going on, it would have meant that he trusted us with his reasons for being here. But just because he doesn't trust us doesn't mean that he's a bad guy; he just doesn't know us, like we don't know him. And like or not, you can't deny that he did help us with that fire thing before it could destroy all of Jump City."
"I agree! I don't see why we should be so suspicious of him. He saved our lives, so he can't be all bad," Lance defended for Leomon in a hard tone, "And if he didn't defeat that thing, then it would have killed all of us!"
"Of course, figures you'd defend him, especially if he turns up being one of our enemies!" Scott shot back in a mocking voice.
"Hey, you know not everyone who saves us is doing it out of some grand plan to win us over for their own uses, Summers!" Lance snarled back, ready to fight with his fists, "And of course I'd trust Leomon considering that he saved my Dad! It was definitely a lot more than you or any of the other X-Men have done for the Joes!"
"Lance, that is enough! Stand down or it will be KP duty for two weeks! You know better than to create a scene now!" Spirit barked, raising his voice dangerously. Lance became mulish as he listened to his adoptive father and calmed down, though still a bit resentful and aggrieved. Scott had a huge, elated smile on his face, the emotions of gloating dancing across his features, but Spirit made quick work of that.
"Wipe that smirk off your face as well, Cyclops," Spirit said in a stern tone, shooting him a look directly into Scott's visor, "You are just as responsible for instigating the fight."
Cyclops' face burned into a lovely vermillion shade from being scolded condescendingly like he was a rookie or a new recruit or a child, and frankly, it made him like G.I. Joe even less (if that was humanly possible). If there was one thing Scott absolutely hated, it was being reprimanded by those with no authority over him. Yet a warning look from Professor Xavier and Logan made him keep his mouth belligerently shut.
"This happens often?" Beast Boy asked Razor as the other Teen Titans watched this with a mixture of amusement and discomfort. Jake smiled ruefully and half-heartedly.
"You'd be surprised, kitten," Jake replied.
"I suppose this kind of thing unnerves you, huh?" Cover Girl suggested to the Titans, yet Bumblebee and Cyborg all shook their heads, to the woman's surprise.
"Makes sense when ya' think about it," Cyborg answered, "This just shows they're good friends deep down."
"WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" chorused all the teenage X-Men and Misfits is shock and outrage upon hearing the bicentennial's observation. Well, all except a select few…
"We told you so," muttered altogether Jamie, Xi, Justin, Rina, Kurt, Tabitha, Kurt, and Lina a little resentfully in the background, as if, to the Titans' observations, that they have voiced that same sentiment numerous times on deaf ears.
"OH SHUT UP!" their fellow teammates snapped back at the eight mutants.
"And think of it this way," Bumblebee said in a no-nonsense sort of tone, "If you guys did nothing but agree with each other and get along like everything was perfect, then that would mean you really didn't care to truly express your own thoughts and opinions to each other and just stay under some sort of delusion that nothing is wrong. Trusting a person doesn't necessarily mean you want the people to tell you what you want to hear; you also need to trust the other person to tell you what you don't want to hear. Conflict and disagreements just show that both the Misfits and X-Men aren't afraid to be candid with each other. In other words, fighting's generally healthy. It's when they don't fight at all that you should be worried."
"Does anybody else find it kinda weird that just made some sort of sense in a very warped and frightening kind of way?" Shipwreck groaned. Starfire then offered her opinion, bothered at the tension and hoping she could do something to make everything happy again.
"Please, friends, let us not fight," Starfire gently offered to the bunch, her voice as tranquil as rose petals falling on spring grass, "It will truly be a sad day for the lyanerkolks if we do not wishfully give each other great happy thoughts of hugs and kisses and some strange custom that involves turning the other cheek. The lyanerkolks can die if there are no happy thoughts of great joy and love to bless our home."
Ray snorted at the orange-colored girl as he said a bit perturbed, "Um…Starfire or whatever your name is? Why the heck are you talking so weird? I mean, you act like you're new to Earth or something."
"That's because she is. Starfire's an alien, Bezerker," Speedy commented. Ray's eyes went wide with shock as he turned to Starfire.
"You…you're an extraterrestrial?" he let out in a rush, fighting the urge to point and gawk like an idiot. Starfire quizzically looked at Bezerker before she smiled and nodded, thinking that the mutant had never met an alien from another galaxy before and was simply intrigued.
"Yes, friend Bezerker, I am a Tamaranean," she supplicated modestly, so she was a bit startled when Ray backed away from her hurriedly as if she was a disgusting, contagious beast. Starfire then cocked her head to the side at the increasingly nervous mutant adolescent.
"I am sorry, is this a custom a mutant does when he or she greets a Tamaranean? Shall I do the same with you, then, friend Bezerker?" she asked, puzzled. Robin, however, narrowed his eyes at the electricity-generating redhead, already guessing the truth.
"Do you have a problem with aliens, Crisp?" he said a bit too harshly.
"Uh…no, no problem at all," Ray nervously spluttered, though it was pretty much obvious that the mutant was lying through his teeth. Robin let it pass but not before giving out a warning.
"Good, Bezerker…because I hate to tell you to keep your big mouth shut if you actually did have a problem with aliens."
Bezerker's face turned a nasty purple from anger and embarrassment, to which Starfire naively pointed out.
"Oh dear, I think you must have caught the ever dreadful Tamaranean Qauzartog. Your face is indeed the same color of the tasty zorka berries on my planet! Do you wish for me to make for you some Tamaranean medicine? I can ready the necessary fungus and glorg in two shakes of a lamb's horn if you desire it so," Starfire offered kindly. Ray gracefully had the common sense to bite his tongue.
"So what do we do now?" asked Piotr to no one in particular.
"Yes, what do we do?" Menos asked in Spanish, echoing Colossus, and the other Teen Titans looked at the speedster twins blankly, but then Cover Girl surprisingly then spoke to Mas y Menos is Spanish before relaying her opinions in English to the rest of the heroes.
"Simple. The Joes, the Misfits and the X-Men will stay here in Jump City until we can get to the bottom of Slade, H.I.V.E. and the Hellfire Club and what exactly are they attempting to achieve. We'll help each other out during this crisis since we have a common goal and a mutual enemy."
"You can speak Spanish? Ms. Cover Girl, that is absolutely wonderful!" gasped Mas, his eyes shining brightly. He, like his brother, was already quite annoyed with the fact that not many of their acquaintances knew how to fluently and intelligently converse in their mother language. Storm then turned to the Titans' leader.
"Is that all right with you, Robin? It would make sense to team up for this threat since this Slade character seems more dangerous than before, and with our enemies joining together, it will only even the odds if everyone from all four of our teams can do the same. If we have any hope of discovering what Slade and the Hellfire Club intends to achieve, we must team together against our common enemy."
Robin agreed, giving a single nod, saying, "It's definitely all right with me, and I think I can speak for all of us, for both the Teen Titans and the Titans East, that we have more than enough room at the Titans Tower to accommodate everyone."
"You might soon live to regret that offer, Robin. Just be prepared to have your local contractors on speed-dial for the inevitable damage that will happen to your building's infrastructure in just a matter of hours," Spirit told the masked teen in a self-amused yet weary tone as the teenagers cheered excitedly for the prospect of having a sleepover with new heroes and super-powered beings at their age. Robin and Bumblebee both gave the Joe a deadpanned smirk.
"Believe me," Bumblebee said insistently, "With our dysfunctional teammates, we feel for you and completely understand what you Joes go through with the Misfits and X-Men. Trust us on this."
As the Titans were chatting excitedly with prospects of hang time and fun with the X-Men and the Misfits, Shipwreck then noticed Althea stiffly leaving the recreation center with a dark look on her face, and concerned, the sailor followed his daughter quietly as he tailed her leaving the operations room and into the corridor. Wavedancer was not the slightest amused as she whirled on her father angrily.
"What?" she snapped, "Can't you see I want to be alone for a while?"
Shipwreck then sternly regarded his eldest daughter, "Althea, stop it. Now. It's not getting anywhere if you keep acting like this around Garth."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Althea muttered coldly. Shipwreck wasn't fooled.
"I know you're not happy, but this is not the time to hold grudges, especially if it may come down to the both of you depending on each other in the battle with Slade, Althea. I don't blame him for what happened. And neither should you," Shipwreck frowned, chastising Althea gently.
"You should! It wasn't right, it wasn't fair what his uncle did to us, did to you! How can you just stand there and not be reminded of how Aquaman and Namor didn't give a damn about us, about our feelings when that happened, how they sided with him just because he was a respected official and nobleman of the city? And Aqualad laughed in our faces when we tried to ask the Altantian Council to intervene and stop it! You remember that, Pops?" Althea snarled.
Shipwreck then looked pained, as if exposing a old wound and causing it to bleed again, as he sighed, "Althea, he was young, and he believed everything his uncle did was right and good. Remember, at that age, kids always put their relatives and parents on pedestals, and in their eyes, they could do no wrong. If Garth was given a choice between believing us and believing his uncle, of course he'd side with his family. Now he's older, and I don't think he thinks of the same way about us anymore; I think, deep down, he knows what his uncle did was wrong."
"He has a problem showing it," Althea said, her voice slightly hoarse, before she tuned her heel and walked away, not willing to hear this anymore. Shipwreck just watched his daughter, his eyes following his child with pain and regrets.
At the same, Robin was privately talking with Raven as she solemnly and forlornly looked at the sea from the window of the Titans Tower. Never before had Robin felt so helpless as he then encouraged his friend, placing a warm and strong hand on her shoulder.
Robin said with passion and promise, "We will find Slade. We'll figure out how he did what he did, and why he was after you. We even have the Misfits and the X-Men now eager to help us out with the Hellions and H.I.V.E. But right now, you're safe."
Robin turned back, leaving his friend some privacy, as he attended the congregation with the mutants. Raven shivered to herself before she looked at her exposed palms, and for the briefest instant, the red marks of fresh blood appeared on her skin again, displaying the language of her destiny and her heritage before they faded into obscurity.
"No…this was only the beginning," Raven whispered to herself, the haunting vision of the end of the world shoving itself into a permanent and foreboding place in her mind and nightmares.
Author's Notes: Next Friday, the Misfits, the X-Men and the Joes finally have a relaxing vacation for once as they spend some fun and time with each other amid the general wackiness and insanity that can only come with hyperactive mutant teenagers! Check back for the chapter "Hang Time" as the Teen Titans, Titans East, Misfits, X-Men, and G.I. Joe bond with much understanding, friendship, love, and crazy-glue! Until then, read, enjoy, and continue to leave me wonderful reviews!
Teen Titans and Titans East (grumbles): Out of all the insane, irresponsible, and idiotic authors to write about us, we HAD to get him…
Misfits and X-Men and G.I. Joe (groans): Now you see what we go through with him and Red Witch…