Have admit, this chapter was a bit of a chore to write, because large parts of it are just exact copies of the actual episode. The only reason I even wrote this chapter was because of the minor tidbits of information that pops up here and there that will play a part later on in the story. If not for those, I would have skipped this chapter entirely and moved on to the next one scheduled. Hope you lot will find some form of entertainment in this, at least.


Chapter 31: Alpha Male

He was sorely tempted to say "I told you so". He was so, so tempted to say it, but he held his tongue. Gloating and reprimands would do no good now, when the deed had already been done. But seriously, had he been the only one to see the danger? Had he been the only one to realize that you could never trust an Abominable Intelligence? Considering their current situation, with the League working on repairing their trashed base and most of the team sulking around a table, Krieg guessed that to be the case. Well, at least Aqualad seemed to be doing something productive, conversing with Batman about something in seclusion. Krieg was not envious of him, he would never be envious of a filthy abhuman, but he did wish he had something to occupy his time with. After all, every hour spent doing nothing was an hour-

"You knew?!" and suddenly the clone went berserk as he rushed Aqualad and slammed him into a wall.

"Connor, what are you doing?!" the Martian cried out in surprise as she and the team rushed to the commotion, Krieg making sure his weapons were within easy reach.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!" Superboy accused, which had most of the team exploding in outrage.

"You knew?!" that would be Robin.

"And didn't tell us?!" and that would be Kid Flash. Kaldur meanwhile tried to explain himself.

"I sought to protect the team from-"

"Protect us from what?! Knowledge that might have saved our lives?!" but was thoroughly ignored, which had Krieg's head swiveling back and forth in bewilderment. Seriously, they were upset about this? What did it matter that he withheld information from them? He was their commanding officer, it was his prerogative to decide what to share with his subordinates. But apparently, that was too hard a concept to grasp for the rest of the team.

"Enough," Batman finally stepped in and brought some order to the chaos. "With Red Tornado missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift," but even he had to be the bringer of bad news, as the aforementioned captain stepped up with a big and stupid smile on his face.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys," he announced with great enthusiasm, while taking special care to never once look in Krieg's general direction. Not that the team, or Krieg for that matter, really cared about that tidbit. Especially when some of them, like Superboy, had other matters they wanted to discuss with their team leader.

"After I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are gonna-"

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League, that makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us. I have another assignment for this team," Batman yet again cut in as he brought up holographic news reports. And Krieg had to admit, even he found the information to be a bit sketchy.

"Gotham mayor attacked by guerilla gorilla?" Kid Flash read aloud, disbelief etched onto every visible surface of his face. For once, Krieg could not blame him.

"Batman, please tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape-chase," Robin pleaded with his mentor, who remained completely stone-faced.

"I never joke about the mission," he stated with finality, a sentiment Krieg appreciated beyond description.

"I've checked the sources, I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out," Krieg was already moving the second Batman uttered the last word. Finally, something to do. And it seemed like Batman had even forgotten the fact that Krieg was supposed to be on probation. That, or he was making an exception due to current events.

"Hmph, your team," he heard Kid Flash sneer at Aqualad, and Krieg was but a hair's breath away from drawing his shotgun and shooting the mutant. Regardless of his personal feelings regarding the abhuman, he was still their commanding officer, and what the mutant just did came dangerously close to being interpreted as insubordination. And that was something that Krieg had no tolerance for. Except when you're doing it, a traitorous part of him whispered as images of Luthor and Pyg appeared before his eyes, images that he ruthlessly squashed as he followed the team to the hangar. Where he was met by a very unwelcome sight.

"You're coming with?" Robin asked in confusion as Captain Marvel stepped aboard the bioship. Already Krieg wished that his probation was still in effect.

"Sure, we'll have a blast," Captain Marvel answered, his enthusiasm still unbroken for some reason. Though was it Krieg's imagination, or did Captain Marvel's smile look a bit strained as his eyes accidentally landed on him? Irrelevant in the end.

"Then get on board already, you're holding this entire mission up," Krieg said as he stomped to the front. That wiped the smile right off his face as he glared down at Krieg.

"You're not the boss of me," he whined petulantly, like a child trying to stand up to its teacher. A pathetic gesture when it came from an adult.

"Don't care, either move of your own volition or I will make you," Krieg warned, hand already grasping his kukri in preparation. Captain Marvel looked sorely tempted to make a scene, but eventually relented and stepped aboard, with Krieg following close behind. When the rest of the team finally joined them, they found both of them seated on completely opposite sides of the bioship, Marvel shifting between staring resolutely out the window to glaring at Krieg's back while Krieg himself sat immobile and uncaring of the world around him, like Marvel was beneath his notice. With issues of their own, the team wisely did not bring up the subject.


Commissioner John Steele had served a long time in Los Angeles. Fifteen years on the streets, another ten behind a desk at police headquarters. Even though Los Angeles was a calm city compared to the hotspots like Metropolis and Gotham, he had seen his fair share of super powered lunacy. Therefore, he was not surprised in the least when the Justice League showed up on his doorstep, nor was he surprised about their reasons for being here.

"Black Canary, pleasure to make your acquaintance," the blonde woman that dressed like a member of a biker gang said with an outstretched hand.

"Commissioner John Steele, likewise," he answered as he gave her a firm handshake. "I take it you're here about the incident with one Professor Pyg?"

"Yes, we try our best to keep tabs on all high profile criminals, even deceased ones," she answered as the two of them seated themselves at the commissioner's desk.

"I honestly don't know what else I can tell you that isn't already in my report. We managed to track him to his lair with the help of one of his victims, I sent in a SWAT team, and they cleared out the building. Pyg and his Dollotrons refused to surrender, even when cornered and outnumbered, so the officer in charge ordered him gunned down to avoid unnecessary loss of police lives," he had to be honest, it hurt his sense of pride to have to lie so blatantly about the event. But then again, it was not for his own sake that he was lying.

"Yes, I've read your report, but I was wondering whether your SWAT team had some support. After all, doesn't Los Angeles have its own hero as of late?" and there was the crux of this meeting, they suspected Krieg had gotten a bit of blood on his hands. Granted, their suspicion was wholly justified in this instance, but he doubted the League would be in a forgiving mood if that came out. Luckily, he had already briefed the SWAT team on what to expect, so unless the goddamn Batman himself showed up, they should be in the clear.

"Nope, that weirdo was nowhere in sight. If memory serves, I believe I got a call saying he was down by the Pacific Palisades," he lied without a shred of guilt. He may not know the exact details concerning Krieg's relation with the Justice League, but he had a strong suspicion that it was not the friendliest of relations. Better then that certain dirty secrets stay buried for the time being. This is the least I can do for you, Krieg. The world needs more heroes like you, not fewer.


The flight to India was a silent and awkward affair. Krieg and Marvel did their utmost to ignore one another, and the team did their best to ignore Aqualad. It was the most comfortable Krieg had ever been in the presence of his team. Alas, all good things must eventually come to an end, as they arrived at their destination and Aqualad tried to give directives.

"Switch to stealth, and we'll review mission parameters,"

"Parameters? We don't need no stinking parameters!" Kid Flash cut in with a scathing glare at the abhuman.

"It's recon, we know what to do," Robin spoke up in support of his mutant comrade. Then they simply turned their backs and began walking away.

"Kid, robin!" Aqualad tried to call them back, with little success.

"The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from us," Robin pointed out.

"Or did you forget that, like you forgot to tell us about the mole," Kid Flash added as the duo made to just walk away. Under any other circumstance, Krieg would not have gotten involved in this dispute. If the abhuman was too weak to control his own squad, then it was his problem. But this time, something snapped in Krieg. Weeks of frustration at the League boiled over at this blatant display of disobedience, and Krieg acted out of instinct as he stepped forward to block their path.

"Fall back in line, soldiers. Aqualad has not given us orders yet," Krieg ordered as he stared the duo down, something which had both of them gaping at him in astonishment.

"Dude! You're willing to take orders from him, after what he's done?!" Kid Flash burst out, but Krieg was unmoved.

"He is our commanding officer," was the only explanation he offered, and that should have been enough. To his frustration, it was not.

"The guy kept secrets from us! Secrets that could have helped us a great deal! You may be able to overlook it, be we won't!" Robin shot back as he glared at Krieg in accusation.

"Irrelevant, fall back in line. Now," Krieg ordered as he loomed above the diminutive thirteen year old. As expected of someone raised by the Batman himself, Robin was not intimidated.

"Forget it, man. I ain't taking orders from him," Robin declared. That did it for Krieg. Before anyone had a chance to react, he drew his shotgun and aimed it right between Robin's very much shocked eyes.

"I will not repeat myself again, fall back in line," Krieg warned, finger resting on the trigger. He was fed up of all the favoritism and leniency that was doled out to the team, he was fed up of being the only one distrusted and monitored by the League, and he was fed up of all the insubordination that went unpunished. If neither Aqualad nor the League would do anything about it, then he would. Or he would have, if not for a sudden red blur that sent him stumbling back with a painful ache in his chest and his shotgun nowhere to be seen. Wait, scratch that, he could see his shotgun. It was in the hands of the red blur, who he now could identify as Captain Marvel, right before it was snapped in two like a dried up twig.

"That's enough from you," Marvel warned as he blocked Krieg's path towards the team. Krieg for his path only grunted in annoyance as he crouched into a fighting stance with a hand on his kukri. He knew it would do him no good if push came to shove, but he cared not at this stage.

"Stop this! We're here for a mission, not to fight each other!" Aqualad hastily interjected as he stepped between the two. Glaring between both Aqualad and Captain Marvel, Krieg nevertheless relented.

"Yes sir," he responded as he slowly removed his hand from the kukri and straightened himself up.

"At least you have one bootlicker left, Kaldur," Robin sneered as he took off into the forest, Kid Flash hot on his heels. One minor scuffle later, and Artemis and the xenos had left as well. Leaving only Krieg, Aqualad and Captain Marvel behind.

"Orders, sir?" Krieg finally asked. The look on Aqualad's face was that of a man resigned to his fate.


He was expected at the Watchtower, he had been meant to report in almost half an hour ago. He had delayed, reporting a fictitious crime to buy time, and now here he was in a rundown public restroom in the seedy part of a city he did not even remember the name of. Captain Atom needed solitude, he craved it even. Walking amongst the Justice League was like feeling a knife slowly worming its way beneath his skin, peeling it away layer by layer. He could not be with them, so he had to get away. But when he was alone, the voices returned. Whispering, promising, tempting, taunting, they blended together into a crescendo that drowned out all forms of reason and logic.

On some instinctual level, he knew the danger of these voices, knew they were not natural. He knew that he should seek help, had even tried it multiple times. But every time he even stepped close to the Martian, or Black Canary, that sense of pain and nausea would come over him, and the voices would scream at him until his own thoughts were silenced. Sometimes, he wondered how the hell J'onn did not hear them with how loud they became at his mere presence.

But those questions were not on his mind right now, as he desperately splashed water on his face to cool off a body that did not feel heat or cold and to wash away sweat that did not exist. With each splash of water to his face, Captain Atom's actions grew more and more desperate, as if hoping that he would finally feel something if he applied just enough water. But nothing happened, nothing changed for him. And when he finally tore his eyes away from the sink to stare at himself in the mirror, the torment just continued. For it was not the artificially designed face of his containment suit that stared back at him, but the face that could have been his, the flesh and blood that was once his before his wretched accident. It was a torment worse than anything else he had experience, staring at the one thing he could never have. And it was a torment that had haunted him for days now. Whenever he looked upon a reflective surface, there it was, staring right back at him.

Alone in the restroom, he stared at the reflection long and hard, memorizing each wrinkle, each strand of hair, each miniscule imperfection that marked it out as unique. Slowly, a drenched hand rose to gently poke at his cheek while watching as his human copy in the mirror mimicked his action. A pointless exercise, as he felt nothing from it. He did not feel the smooth material of his suit, nor did he feel his own fingers pressing deeply into what should have been his flesh. He should have expected such an outcome, he had expected such an outcome, but the futility of it all still brought out the anger in him, to the point that he smashed the mirror with enough force to embed half of his arm into the concrete wall. But not even that was enough to chase the torment away, as the dozens of scattered shards all continued to reflect the same thing.

"It hurts, doesn't it? To look, but never touch. To observe, but never experience. Some might even say that it's a fate worse than death," that insidious voice, the one that had been with him since the start of this nightmare, whispered to him.

"Go away," he begged of it, even though he knew it would be a futile gesture.

"But that would defeat the whole point of all of this, my friend," the voice argued.

"What point? To plague me for all eternity?" Captain Atom asked bitterly as he withdrew his arm.

"To open your eyes, to make you see the possibilities ahead of you," the voice assured him.

"Possibilities? All I see is the same thing I see every day," he spat back at the voice, his eyes roaming across the multitude of shards that continued to taunt him with that accursed image.

"So sure of that. Perhaps then you should take a closer look?" the voice enticed. Suddenly, the Captain felt an odd sensation come over him. A sort of tingling feeling that slowly crept its way through his artificial body. Goosebumps blossomed on his skin as his heartbeat quickened while- Wait, a HEARTBEAT?! He was a being of radioactive energy, he did not possess a heartbeat, or a heart for that matter! As if in a trance, Captain Atom raised his hand to touch his face again. The feeling of soft human flesh brought with it a euphoric feeling the likes of which he had never felt before.

"How…?" he asked in utter bewilderment. But then the feeling vanished, and all that was left was an agonizing numbness.

"NO!" he cried out, clawing at his face in a vain attempt to get that feeling back.

"See? A new perspective on the possibilities," the voice spoke, but Captain Atom did not even hear it as he clawed and tore at his face, as if he was trying to rip it clean off. Finally, his futile struggle came to an end, and he collapsed to his knees in defeat.

"Why?" was all he could ask, on his knees as a broken man.

"Because it was the only way to show you the truth. Without it, you would still have been blind to your destiny," the voice spoke again. Except it was not in his head this time, but right behind him. Turning around, Captain Atom was met by a giant in red armor with a staff clutched in his hand.

"What destiny?" he asked.

"Of change and glory, of death and rebirth. With your help, we will change this world like never before seen. And in return, we will grant you the one thing you've always wanted, the one thing you thought you would never have. Help us, and we will return to you your flesh and blood," the giant enticed while offering a hand to him. Hope sprang to life inside the Captain.

"I could have my old body back?" he asked, barely able to believe what he was hearing, yet praying with all his might that it was true.

"That and so much more. All you have to do is help us, and all you've ever dreamt of will be yours," the giant assured him, still offering his hand to him. The Captain did not even hesitate as he grasped the offered hand.


If Krieg was to be honest with himself, he would never be quite at home in jungle terrain. Too humid and too overgrown, with potential ambush sites around every corner. Krieg could fight in the desert, in the city, in pine forests, on plains, but jungles would always be the worst sort of terrain as far as Krieg was concerned. The situation was not helped by his compatriots, a filthy abhuman and a depraved heretic. Worse, his shotgun was completely trashed by aforementioned heretic, so he had to rely on his knife and his fists. Oh well, no use complaining, just work with what you have.

"Krieg," Aqualad suddenly spoke up as they trudged along what he supposed was meant to be a path. "Why did you defend me? Everyone else is angry because I kept secrets from them, so why aren't you?"

"You are the commanding officer," Krieg answered from his spot at the front of their makeshift group, without even turning around to look at him. To Krieg, that was all the explanation needed. But unfortunately, that was still too vague for the abhuman.

"Why would that matter?" he asked, to Krieg's growing frustration.

"The commanding officer leads, the subordinates follow," Krieg elaborated as he pushed on, trying to put some distance between them.

"But we're not soldiers, Krieg. We're friends and teammates. It's not as simple as that," Aqualad tried to argue, but Krieg cared not one iota.

"It is to me," Krieg responded brusquely.

"Is that all you see it as? After all we've been through as a team, you still only see it like that?" and why did the abhuman sound so dejected from that? Not like that should be news to him.

"Yes," Krieg stated. Maybe now the abhuman would leave him in peace so he could focus on the mission.

"Then tell me this, do you even see the team as your friends, or is this all merely duty to you?" Aqualad suddenly asked, and it nearly caused Krieg to stumble in surprise. Seriously, they still had not figured out the answer on their own? With an annoyed huff, Krieg turned around to give an answer. So of course this was the moment when something pounced on him from the foliage. In the time it took him to blink, that something had latched itself onto the back of Krieg's greatcoat and yanked him off the path and into the dense undergrowth. Dragged along like baggage, Krieg barely managed to hear Aqualad shout his name before both him and Captain Marvel vanished from sight, then there was a great rumble as something came stampeding towards their position. Not that Krieg noticed much of that, as he had more pressing concerns.

"Accursed jungle!" he swore as he flailed about like a fish on a hook, trying to strike at whatever was dragging him along. Whatever the thing may be, it was strong and fast. It hardly seemed troubled by Krieg's struggles as the foliage around them passed by in a blur. By a stroke of luck, Krieg managed to strike a blow against the creature's side, but it was like punching a brick wall covered in fur. It did nothing to deter Krieg, even as he bumped across trees and stone in their path. Grasping blindly, he managed to close his right hand around a clump of fur and skin. Gotcha, and then he turned the shock glove on to maximum setting. That elicited a reaction as the creature howled in pain, dropping Krieg in the process and sending him skidding along the uneven ground from the loss of momentum as he lost his own grip on the creature. When he finally came to a stop, his whole body ached like he had gone a hundred rounds with Black Canary. Even as he forced his battered limbs to move, they protested every second of it with copious amounts of pain, but Krieg ignored it all and staggered back up on his feet, and finally came face to face with his attacker.

It was a tiger. Or at least, it used to be tiger. The specimen standing before him was almost as big as a horse, with teeth almost too big to fit inside the mouth and bulging muscles that looked like they would rip the skin wide open. In fact, they had done just that in certain places, exposing the raw flesh and sinews beneath. The foul creature was smoking from the high voltages that had singed the fur, but it looked more angry than hurt from the experience, saliva constantly dripping from its growling mouth as its bloodshot eyes glared at him with a deep hatred that no mere animal should be able to express. Krieg was not impressed.

"Come one then, abomination. I will show you the Emperor's mercy," Krieg said as he drew his kukri and made ready to fight. The creature was more than happy to oblige as it leaped at him, teeth and claws bared. Krieg barely managed to leap clear of the attack, and then he struck back with a slash at the hind legs. The knife did not even scratch the skin, and the tiger retaliated faster than expected as it spun around and raked its claws across Krieg's chest. The claws tore through his Kevlar like wet paper, and the force of the blow sent him flying back into a tree.

"Tougher than normal, then," Krieg grunted to himself as he poked at the claw marks. No blood, so it had not penetrated deeply enough then. Good, meant he could keep fighting without any issues. Without hesitation, he charged at the tiger, aiming his kukri at the eyes this time. But the tiger was faster as it dodged the attack and struck him again with enough force to send him reeling back into the tree. Before he could recover from the blow, the tiger charged again and rammed into him with enough force to knock the breath right out of his lungs and causing cracks to form in the tree trunk.

Krieg could taste blood in his mouth as he collapsed on all four, his innards feeling like they had been squashed into paste. Too weak to get back up, Krieg expected the finishing blow to come at any second now. It never did, instead there was another animal's growl that caused the tiger to back off like a chastised pet. With great effort, Krieg managed to turn his head in the right direction, and found a gorilla wearing a beret and carrying a minigun approaching. Could this day get any stranger? Krieg tried to force himself back up again to resume fighting, but his trembling limbs would not obey him fast enough. Then, the gorilla was upon him, and delivered a single punch straight to the head that sent him into blissful darkness.


Waking up with a splitting headache was becoming a regular theme for Krieg, to his ever growing annoyance. Being held captive was also something of a common occurrence as well, particularly in conjunction with the first one. Now, what was his current situation? Most of his equipment had been stripped away, he was firmly bolted to the wall by steel cuffs, and that accursed gorilla was standing guard over him, dressed like a doctor for some bizarre reason. Oh, and Captain Marvel was strapped down on a table to his right with a much more normal-looking tiger standing guard next to him.

"Uh, where am I?" and it seemed like he was just in the process of waking up as well, as he groggily asked while trying to observe his surroundings.

"In the enemy's base, by my estimations," Krieg answered.

"Krieg! Are you alright?" Captain Marvel suddenly demanded with an urgency Krieg had never seen before.

"I am still breathing and in one piece, if that is what you are wondering," he replied, and was further confused by the obvious exhale of relief from the Captain.

"Thank God for that. When you got snatched up like that, we feared the worst," Captain Marvel said. It caused Krieg to tilt his head in confusion.

"I was under the impression that we were on hostile terms with one another," he said as he stared at the Captain, trying to discern his intentions. And for some reason, Captain Marvel seemed to take offense to that.

"Hey, I may not like you at all, but that doesn't mean I actually want to see you get hurt," he defended, as if Krieg had insulted him or something similar with his comment. Bah, heroes and their morals.

"A touching moment, I'm sure. But I'm afraid there won't be much more time for that," a third voice joined in the conversation, right before the owner of said voice rolled into view. At that moment, Krieg was reminded of his earlier observation that the day just kept getting weirder, and then decided that someone apparently felt that justified throwing everything it had at him.

"A brain in a jar?" Krieg could not help but question. If not for the fact that the thing must have obviously been a heretic, Krieg was certain the Adeptus Mechanicus would have been impressed by such dedication to the machine. Odds were pretty good though that he was a heretic. For all he knew, the brain could have been in a sexual relationship with the gorilla.

"An astute observation, mon ami," even Krieg could detect the abundance of sarcasm in that statement. "But still a bit faulty. I am not a brain, I am the Brain,"

"Is there even a real difference?" Krieg simply deadpanned. The Brain simply chose to ignore him as he turned his attention to Captain Marvel.

"The brain enhancements of this tigre already pays dividend, non? For he has brought us a prize most glorious. Le Capitan Marvel," was it Krieg's imagination, or was there an undercurrent of giddiness in his weirdly accented voice?

"Why can't I move?" Captain Marvel demanded to know.

"It is obvious, mais non? Your collar is set to prohibit tout le movement from the neck down. I have allowed you to retain the power of speech as your reactions may be instructive during la procedure," the Brain explained while tinkering around with a few miniature circular blades. They looked far too frail to be used in combat, but they were just the perfect size for an autopsy or a surgery. Now that Krieg thought about it, Captain Marvel was surrounded by a lot of equipment that would not have looked out of place in a hospital.

"La procedure? What procedure?" and it seemed like Marvel was starting to put a few things together as well now.

"I have often pondered the effect of your power on the cerebral cortex. I long to see le wisdom de Solomon up close," the Brain continued before turning to his gorilla assistant. "Monsieur Mallah, prepare for surgery,"

Brain extraction? That was the Brain's plan? How… unoriginal. Still, if it actually succeeded in killing Captain Marvel, he would consider this a decent enough mission. He would of course avenge the Captain, as was only proper of an ally, even a reluctant one.

"You will be wasting your time on me, heretic. Unlike him, my brain is free from any sort of taint," Krieg warned.

"I can assure you, I care not for your brain, or even you in general, La Guerre," the Brain simply dismissed, more interested in examining his tools.

"Then why am I still alive?" Krieg found himself asking.

"You have powerful friends in high place, who would be most displeased by your untimely demise. So I simply removed you from the field to here, where you will not be able to interfere. However, I would caution you to stay calm and not try anything foolish, else I will not be held responsible for your fate," the Brain explained, briefly turning towards him at the end to brandish a sawblade at him as a warning. Krieg was not impressed.

"I was unaware that the Justice League commanded such respect in the criminal underworld," Krieg commented, which for some reason caused the Brain to laugh at him.

"Oh, if only you knew," was his cryptic reply before he turned his attention back to Captain Marvel. And the second his back was turned, Krieg began working on a way to break free. He cared not about death or dismemberment, only the mission mattered in the end. And then the alarm was triggered, followed by faint noises of combat. Seemed like someone was making a mess outside.

"Go, Mallah. Deal with these intruders. I can handle mon Capitan's brain extraction myself," the Brain ordered, and the gorilla was quick to tear off his medical clothes and rush to do his master's bidding.

"You're not taking my brain!" Captain Marvel vehemently protested, and Krieg felt like shaking his head. As if a villain would actually respect a hero's wishes.

"S'il vous plait, Capitan, do not struggle. Brain extraction is largely painless, and the benefits are enormous. At least for me," rubbing it in now, were you? Just get it over with already.

"That thing won't work on me," Captain Marvel pointed out as some form of laser scalpel was placed above his head. Pity.

"Perhaps. But it works on solid steel, so I'll try my luck. I'm told you have the courage of Achilles, mais non? Perhaps you should have asked for his invulnerability instead," the Brain remarked, and Krieg had a hard time deciding whether he should be satisfied or enraged. In the end, it did not matter, as the tiger came to the rescue of Captain Marvel. Why would a mere animal act so selflessly?

"Traitor! You will suffer for that!" the Brain shouted in outrage, right before the tiger's collar started sparkling with electricity and the animal collapsed while roaring in pain.

"Stop it! Stop!" Captain Marvel shouted, and Krieg almost felt like rolling his eyes as he tested his bindings. Typical, he cares more about an animal than himself. Then that accursed gorilla came crashing through the wall as if it had been fired out a cannon, followed swiftly by the rest of the team. Well, would you look at that, they actually managed to rally together. What then followed was a decidedly one-sided battle as the Brain and his gorilla henchman were steadily pushed into a corner.

"Try it, I hate monkeys," Superboy stated as he cracked his knuckles. The gorilla looked ready to take up the challenge, but was stopped by its master.

"No, Mallah, this will not be our Waterloo," and then his platform started unfolding in the shape of a massive gun.

"Au revoir, mes amis," the Brain said ominously, as the team made ready for whatever would be thrown at them. And then the lights went out. Confusion reigned until the lights turned back on, revealing that the Brain and Mallah had already escaped.

"Wait, that big weapon thing was… a light switch?" Kid Flash asked in as everyone else just stared around them in confusion.

"Obviously, now can any one of you get me down from here?" Krieg demanded from where he was still firmly bolted to the wall.


One embarrassing extraction later, plus a quick farewell to Captain Marvel, and the team was ready to depart India after another, more or less, successful mission. Krieg for his part was more than happy to put this place as far behind him as possible, and return to Los Angeles where he could have some peace and quiet from his team.

"Look, I need to know. Why did you keep the mole Intel a secret?" Robin suddenly asked, and Krieg got the distinct feeling that the return trip just got a bit delayed. A lengthy silenced followed as Aqualad looked at each of the team members, all of them, even if grudgingly in one case, waiting for an answer.

"The source of the tip was Sportsmaster," and when they got it, not even Krieg could keep his cool.

"You would take the word of a degenerate scum as fact?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah, you can't trust him!" Artemis agreed with such vehemence that Krieg was a bit taken aback. It was almost like her dislike of the criminal filth was less professional and more personal.

"I do not. It seemed possible, even likely that he was attempting to divide the team with false information," Aqualad was quick to reassure.

"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded. But you had to consider it might be true," Robin grudgingly admitted with downcast eyes. If he expected sympathy for his blunder, he would not find it from Krieg.

"Yes, as leader I did. In which case, I did not wish to alert the traitor," even Krieg had to admit, that did make sense from a certain point of view.

"Hate to say it, but… make sense," Robin grudgingly conceded at last.

"I am still prepared to step down," Aqualad stated, and that peaked Krieg's interest.

"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?" Kid Flash questioned before raising his hand, followed swiftly by everyone else on the team. Everyone, save one.

"Krieg?" Robin began as everyone turned their attention to the one member who still refused to raise his hand in agreement.

"I may obey your orders as team leader, Aqualad, but that does not mean I actually approve of your position of authority," was the only explanation he cared of offer them. It did not sit well with the rest.

"That's still five to one in favor of Aqualad," Kid Flash was quick to point out, but Krieg just shrugged his shoulders uncaringly.

"Irrelevant. I knew from the start I would be outnumbered," he admitted.

"Maybe you should take that as a sign that your minority opinion is the wrong one?" Kid Flash asked snidely. He meant it as a joke, but he forgot the fact that Krieg possesses not a shred of humor.

"On the contrary, it simply means that I am the only sane one left," he spat out at him before turning around and marching on board the bioship.


"There, all fixed up. Now, I'd suggest you take it easy for a few days to be on the safe side," Yao Fei cautioned, but the cultist under his care only grunted as he donned his vest and walked out without a backwards glance. Alone in his makeshift clinic again, he let out a tired sigh while rubbing his face. For weeks now he had worked as the cult's medical expert, healing battered initiates and curing newcomers of whatever ailment plagued them. He really should be happy with his place, as he helped contribute to the salvation of mankind, and had even been rewarded handsomely for his efforts. He already bore the mark of the true Gods, and their blessings upon him had increased his powers to a level he had never experienced before.

And yet despite all that, he was still deeply ill at ease. Azkillon had promised him that they would save the world, and sometimes he felt like he was really doing it. But other times… Suffice to say that some of the new initiates were not what he would call heroic of even selfless people. On the contrary, many of them would be more aptly described as the very people they needed to save the world from. More than that, Azkillon still kept many secrets from him, had prohibited him from visiting the very heart of their growing revolution. He was stuck in the fringes, forced to wait as the decisions were made outside of his awareness, and it irked him. It reminded him too much of what the Chinese had been doing for so long to his own country.

"Yo, you doing okay in here?" and here came the only person that he could trust in this mess he had landed himself in.

"Metamorpho, good to see you," he greeted with a fake smile on his lips to hide his inner turmoil. Not even Metamorpho was fully trusted in this day and age.

"Doing well enough, all things considered. And please drop that fake smile, you're not fooling anyone with it," Metamorpho admonished. The façade instantly crumbled and Yao Fei slumped into his chair like a sack of potatoes.

"That bad, huh?" Metamorpho could not help but observe in sympathy as he took a seat next to his friend. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," he admitted, but then he could not contain himself. "You ever get the feeling that you made a mistake joining this cult?" and like that, Metamorpho's face scrunched up in anger.

"I did not exactly have a lot of choice in the matter, thanks to that skull-faced Nazi-wannabe," he spat out as heat literally began radiating off of him.

"I know that, but you could have just walked away from it all afterwards," he hastily pointed out, hoping to calm him before his clinic caught fire. It seemed to calm the mutated man down, but only barely.

"True, and for a while, I did consider that. But Azkillon's got a point, this world is rotten to the core, with greedy politicians and self-righteous heroes running the show while regular folks like us pay the price. Something has to be done. And if the Justice League won't fix it, we will," there was an air of almost fanatical devotion around Metamorpho now, and it made Yao Fei a bit uncomfortable.

"But what if Azkillon's cult isn't the right way to fix the problem? What if we're only making it worse?" he questioned, and that seemed to dim Metamorpho's zealotry just a smidgeon, so he pressed on.

"You must have noticed some of the things going on around here. The shady dealings, the secretive rituals, the unstable recruits, the questionable missions. Tell me, does it really seem like we're preparing to save the world, or if we're just preparing for war?"

"Great change requires great sacrifice. Everything in this world comes with a price," Metamorpho recited, like he had heard that phrase over and over.

"And what happens if the price demanded is too much?" he countered. But before Metamorpho could answer, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called out, expecting it to be another dumb initiate who overdid it in training again. As it turned out, it was someone much more important than that.

"Pardon me for just barging in like this. I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Azkillon spoke in apology as he stepped inside the clinic, having to bend over a bit to avoid banging his horns against the door.

"No, not at all. You're always welcome," Yao Fei hastily assured him as Metamorpho scrambled out of his seat to bow before the sorcerer.

"Thank you. With so much work to be done across the globe, you tend to become a bit stressed and forget your manners," Azkillon spoke with a light laugh at the end of the sentence. It was like that simple laugh was enough to lift the mood as the foreboding thoughts from before vanished like smoke in the wind.

"But if you're so busy, why are you here? Surely the two of us can't be important enough to intrude upon your schedule," Yao Fei remarked, but his concerns were waved away by Azkillon.

"Nonsense, nonsense! I'm never too busy to not look after the faithful and the loyal. So come, let us talk and enjoy this small moment," he assured them both. Like children gathering around Santa at Christmas, Yao Fei and Metamorpho seated themselves again before Azkillon began speaking. Hours later, Azkillon would leave, and both his followers would then have been purged of all doubts and misgivings, their faith in the cause restored.


The return trip to the Cave was just as silent and awkward as the trip to India, except this time the sole cause was Krieg rather than Aqualad. And this awkward atmosphere did not dissipate as they returned and began piling out of the bioship, with most of the team actively avoiding Krieg while Krieg pretended like they did not exist as he made his way towards the kitchen. Normally he would just satiate himself with a ration bar or two back at base, but the Justice League were running a bit late with supplies so he was starting to run out back home. Irritably enough, the Cave was still fully stocked, despite that its permanent population was twice as large. It took him a few minutes to throw together a couple of sandwiches, plus snatching a bag of M&M's that he was sure nobody would miss.

"Hey, does anyone know what time it is?" he heard Artemis call from somewhere within the Cave. Normally he would just ignore her, but he was a bit curious himself and took a quick peek on the clock hanging on the wall.

"The clocks stands at two minutes to midnight!" he called back.