A/N: Hello, folks! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season, and are staying safe as we head into a new year. We're back, with a brand new chapter! This chapter didn't take nearly as long. and so we're finishing 2021 with two chapters!
OC's created by myself, Batmarcus, and Ghost Fire 6. Editing performed by Lord Zeppelin.
Metropolis, October 1, 08:18 EST
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Metropolis. Everyone was going about their daily business, all wrapped up in the doldrum of their daily lives… when the ground began to shake. Everyone looked around, confused, until the concrete at the corner of Welling and Hoechlin began to crack. Vines burst forth from the underground, as a giant, massive plant rose to its full height of about ten stories. The panic was immediate, as the citizens of the City of Tomorrow began to scream and scatter in every direction, as two cops got out of their car. They watched as the vines of the plant began to writhe around it.
"Call for backup!" One ordered, only for the vines to open into flowers that were just as menacing as they were beautiful.
"From who?!" As soon as his partner said that, the vines grabbed their car and yanked it into the sky, throwing it around as they began to wreak havoc.
Undisclosed Location
A monitor displayed the plant creature wreaking havoc in Metropolis, a group of figures watching the feed in shadow. "Lovely! Our test is a complete success!" A female voice declared. "We can proceed as planned."
"Indeed. However, the time for waiting has long passed." The European accented voice stated, as they stepped out of the shadow. He was a tall male with blue eyes, white hair slicked back and a widow's peak hairline. He wore a lime blazer on top of a brown waistcoat and a dark green ascot with a golden brooch, and a dark green cape, and cane. "It is time for the world's new Masters to step out of the shadows…" Count Vertigo stated, as his seven compatriots stepped out of the shadow. Behind the Count stood Poison Ivy, The Enchantress, the Reverse Flash, Ocean Master, The Absorbing Man, Sabertooth, and The Leader. "...and into the Light!"
Mount Justice, 18:18 EST
Carter ducked under a swing from Kaldur, backflipping into a handspring as he got some distance. He rushed Kaldur with a kick that was swiftly blocked, and followed up with a throw. Carter landed with the proportional grace of a spider and resumed his attack on the Atlantean, the Cave's computer logging each dodged and parried strike. It ended when Carter's axe kick was blocked by Aqualad, the two standing there panting. "What's the matter? Getting a little tired?" Carter teased, being met with a smirk from Kaldur.
"Hardly. As the Captain is fond of saying: 'I can do this all day'. Though, I could use a water break."
"You and me both, bud." Carter replied, as their sparring session ceased. As Carter tossed Kaldur a bottle of water, the two turned to see Jason and Laura entering the main area. However, if they saw the two, neither showed it. Instead, they walked hand in hand, and if one listened closely enough, they could hear Laura giggle. "You know they're a couple, right? Guess leaving them out of Latveria so they could go on their date panned out." Carter asked, earning a chuckle from Kaldur.
"I believe I knew before they did."
"Hey man, we all did. Even Cass called it, and she's got no reference for that stuff." The young arachnid said, halfheartedly gesturing to Cass sitting in the corner, observing them as she had taken to doing since her arrival.
"You sound almost disappointed about that. Do you wish for there to be something more between you two?" Kaldur teasingly asked, earning a blush from the spider.
"I, uh, I dunno what you're talking about. I mean, yeah, she's cool, and funny–in her own way, mind you–and uh… Where was I going with that?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure you're not the only one with that kind of frustration." Kaldur remarked, turning to see Connor and Cassie walking by.
"Oh, man, I almost feel bad for her. It's one thing for your crush to have no idea about any of that, but I can't imagine what it's like for your crush to have a head that is literally harder than steel." Carter remarked. "I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure she's been following him around since the day she got here. Cassie couldn't be less subtle if she tried."
"To be fair, it does remind me of another pair who tiptoed around their feelings." The leader remarked, gesturing to Francis and M'gann in the corner.
"It is weird how the literal Martian got the hang of romance faster than any of us. Guess she really liked whatever it was that Martian Manhunter sent over…" Carter remarked, looking over at T'zari sulking in the corner. "Speaking of crossing stars, I feel for T'zari. It's one thing when your girlfriend's parents don't like you, another when her dad is Doctor Doom. Has he said anything about that?"
"I'm afraid not. I suspect he's dealing with it in his own way."
"Well, we can't exactly make him open up about it. Any more than we can get that one to focus on anything other than his suits." The Spider lamented, looking over at Nolan tinkering with something on his phone. The Atlantean couldn't help but chuckle, keeping Nolan's secret to himself.
"I suppose there's someone out there for everyone." Kaldur remarked, as the last two Team members entered in the form of Wally and Artemis.
"So, what do we wanna do about those two? Nudge 'em together, start placing bets, what?"
"I say we leave them be. It is my prediction that they will end up together… or Artemis will murder him."
"I'll take those odds."
"So…" Wally said as he entered the briefing area, looking over at Doctor Strange and Shazam, the latter of whom was eating a candy bar. "If Doctor Strange is our babysitter this week, what's ol' Sparkle Fingers doing here? And… Why is he eating my snacks?!"
"Oh, I just like you guys. As for the snacks… Well, let's just say I don't get to have this stuff at home as much as I'd like." Shazam remarked, and before Wally could pout anymore, the Zeta tube powered up.
"Recognize: Captain America, 0-9." The computer announced, as a flash of light deposited the Star Spangled Man himself.
"Computer, display national news." He ordered, as a holographic screen appeared to display a news broadcast.
"While the initial attack was short lived, the people of Metropolis were only granted a short reprieve." Cat Grant grimly stated, as the feed showed previously recorded footage of the plant creature in Metropolis, as well as Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Hawks on the scene. "Even with the aid of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight!"
"Wait, the plant thing's still happening? I thought that was handled." Jason asked, only for Captain America to shake his head.
"Unfortunately not. It's active in bursts, and all our time between attacks has been spent on search and rescue."
"So what are we waiting for? Let's get out there, and pull that weed!" Wally declared, only for Cap to shake his head once more.
"No, the League will have it under control soon enough."
"So… why are you here?" Francis asked, as Cap summoned a holographic keyboard, summoning a picture of Sportsmaster, which caused Artemis to subtly tense up. "According to the intel you've gathered, Sportsmaster supplied Sin's branch of Hydra with the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus."
"Which she mixed in with Bane's venom at Santa Prisca to create Hydra-Venom, we remember." Jason remarked, earning a scoff from Connor.
"Hard to forget how it made Mammoth even uglier than Desmond." He remarked.
"After that, he supplied the new formula to that new Doc Ock we ran into in India, who was using it to conduct experiments on the animals there." Carter recounted.
"Which were successful, as Alpha here can attest." T'zari remarked, petting the enhanced canine that had taken to him as Cassie folded her arms.
"Doc Ock also used the kind of inhibitor collars they used at Belle Reve. Trust me, I got a real good look at them."
"Wait… are you saying that all this is connected? That plant… thing… is on Hydra-Venom?" She asked, earning a nod from Steve, typing on the keyboard as images of a formula appeared before them.
"Iron Man ran a spot analysis when he arrived at the scene, and Batman confirmed it. The vine's cellulose contains traces of a Hydra-Venom variant, one specifically tailored to plant life."
"These are too many coincidences for comfort. For months now, I've theorized that seemingly unrelated criminals have been cooperating together worldwide. It seems that that theory has been proven true."
"I'm afraid so, Kaldur. You're not the only one who's thought that, and unfortunately we've been proven right. And I'm afraid that with whatever this…Cabal has planned, the attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."
"That's putting it mildly." Nolan said, as he typed on his own holographic keyboard. "In the past ten minutes, more of those plant creatures have been popping up all around the world. Gotham, New York, Star City, London, Taipei, Paris… That's seven in total, all attacking major population centers." He announced as screens popped up around them, displaying feeds from each city's landmarks being assaulted by the plants. "Whatever the Cabal's planning, they're just getting-" Nolan was cut off then the feeds were cut off with static, earning a raised eyebrow from Laura.
"Hit the wrong button?"
"That's… not me. Something just cut into all the satellite feeds. Even that static's all a part of it." The boy genius explained, before the static cut off. It was replaced with the face of a green skinned man with a rather pronounced forehead, arms folded behind him. "Oh no…"
"Please tell me that's not who I think it is…" Wally groaned, as the man on screen began to speak.
"People of Earth. Apologies for interrupting your regularly scheduled programs, but we will be heard. My name is Samuel Sterns, though you may address me as your Leader, and you may address us…" The camera pulled back, revealing that The Leader was flanked by seven more villains they all recognized. "...as your new Masters of Evil."
"By now, you will have noticed the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them before they are reduced to smoking ruins, you will listen to our demands." Count Vertigo stated. "For a ransom of ten billion American dollars, we will spare your precious cities. Directions have already been delivered to the United Nations."
"There is no time limit, but let's just say that the longer you wait, the more our little gifts are going to have their fun. Tick tock…" Sabertooth growled as the feed cut out, and Captain America's communicator beeped.
"Understood, Panther. Have the ransom prepared as a fall back, but it won't come to that." Cap stated, as Nolan rewound to the shot of the Masters of Evil.
"Leader, Count Vertigo, Ocean Master, Absorbing Man, Sabertooth, Enchantress, Reverse Flash, Poison Ivy. All eight of them heavy hitters, all eight having dropped off the face of the Earth in the past six months."
"Looks like we found our Cabal." Jason stated. "Leader provided the formula to Sportsmaster, Enchantress told Klarion about the Tower of Fate…
"Ocean Master most likely organized Black Manta's attack on Atlantis."
"Sabertooth's got connections to the League of Shadows, Ivy must have set Doc Ock up in India, Absorbing Man would have been able to contact the ice villains…"
"Vertigo would've been able to put Zemo in contact with the Shadows, and Reverse Flash must have provided the Shadows with the technology to make the Fog!" Wally finished, as Cass frowned.
"Why attack now? Hidden, secret."
"It must have been after we took down Doc Ock in India. They must have figured we were on to them, and not seen the point in hiding anymore." M'gann rationalized, and Wally smashed his fist into his hand.
"That's their mistake! Let's suit up, and let's kick some plant creature ass!" He declared, getting met with another head shake from Captain America.
"No need. Batman is already mobilizing the League and our reserves. We've already got teams moving out all around the world. Instead, I've got a different job in mind for all of you." He stated, earning a visible deflation from Wally.
"Oh, man. I was hoping for a team up…" He pouted, only for Artemis to elbow his arm. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Uh, hello, Wally? While the League's fighting the plant creatures, what do you think we'll be doing?!"
"I don't know?! I'm not a mind reader, how am I supposed… to…" The speedster trailed off as he put it together, his jaw dropping as a solemn mood spread across the Team.
"Batman and Iron Man theorized that, with so many plant creatures spread out among the world, there must be a centralized control node. While we deal with the plant creatures, your mission is to find that node, and destroy it."
"Steve, you realize what you're asking them to do, right?" Doctor Strange asked, earning a nod from the Captain.
"They're ready." Captain America stated, turning back to face them. "If any of you wish to sit this one out, you are free to do so. I promise, no one here will think any less of you, so if-"
"With all due respect, Captain… there is no need. We accept. All of us." Kaldur stated, earning nods of agreement from all of them. "We're ready."
"Well, with that settled… it will be much easier to carry out your mission if you know where the node is." Captain America stated. "We're working on that now. Iron Man is developing a way to trace the control signals, and-"
"If I may, I believe I can assist with that." Doctor Strange cut off, looking at the Masters of Evil, particularly the Enchantress. "Amora's involvement means that there are very powerful, very ancient magics at work here. While that does make the plant creatures formidable, this is also a boon in our favor. Mr. Stark, can you provide a holomap?"
"Uh, right. On it, Doc." Nolan replied, pulling up a holographic representation of the globe. The Doctor approached the globe, taking a deep breath. He brought his yellow gloved hands together, before performing an elaborate series of motions that generated a glyph in front of him. The medallion that hung around his neck began to glow.
"I call upon the light of the All Seeing Eye of Agamotto, channeling the power of the Vishanti! I beseech you, illuminate our enemy!" The Doctor chanted, his voice taking on an echo as his cape began to billow. His eyes glowed, and a third eye appeared on his forehead… and went away as soon as a blip appeared on the map. "There, a large concentration of magical energy in the Louisiana Bayou. That's where their control node is."
"Uh… what was all that?" Francis asked, as Doctor Strange's amulet closed.
"A simple tracking spell."
"If that was simple, I don't want to see the theatrical…"
"Amora is well versed in hiding from my gaze, so I had to rely on some more complex means of casting the spell. None can hide from the Eye of Agamotto." Strange explained.
"We can discuss the specifics later. Suit up, and get moving. We need to get out there. Now." Cap ordered, and as the Team went to get suited, Shazam went to follow after them. "Shazam. This will only work if the entire League is seen fighting the plants. You, Strange, and I are needed elsewhere."
New York City, 19: 18 EST
Doctor Strange flew towards the vines, courtesy of the Cloak of Levitation, identifying a group of civilians that were trapped by the aggressive plants. Floating into a hover, Strange quickly weaved a series of glyphs in the air. "I summon the Flames of the Faltine!" Flames enveloped the plants, allowing the civilians to flee to safety.
Captain America revved the engine of his bike as he rode towards the plant creature, soaring down the pavement as tendrils moved towards him. He swerved to avoid the plant creature, but eventually his bike hit a groove in the pavement. He soared over his bike, pulling out his shield to catch the impact as he hit the pavement, before sliding into a handspring and landing on his feet. Not missing a step, he threw his shield at the tendrils, the vibranium shield slicing through the vines before bouncing off the nearby cars and building to land back in his hands.
He caught the shield just in time to block an attack by another set of vines, only for more to attack him from behind. Captain America's wrists and ankles were ensnared by the vines, and even his super soldier enhanced strength wasn't enough to break free. He grit his teeth as they began to pull…
Only for a light green pair of giant garden shears to come from above and sever the tendrils, dropping the Captain to the ground as a red blur came out of nowhere and caught him. The Star Spangled Man looked to see two men standing before him: One, an older man with blonde hair streaked with gray, wearing a red shirt with a green lantern symbol on it, green pants, and a high collared cape, his body enshrined in a burning green aura; and the other, another older man in a red shirt with a lightning bolt on it, blue pants, and a silver helmet with golden wingtips on it. "Appreciate the save, gentlemen. Though I gotta say, I didn't expect to see either of you here." Captain America greeted, with Jay Garrick returning a smile as Alan Scott landed next to him.
"What can I say? Pulling your keyster out of the fire reminds me of old times." Jay remarked. "Just make sure you remember to return the favor when Joan finds out I pulled the helmet out of the closet."
"Like he did the last three times you went 'into retirement'?" Alan joked, earning a raised eyebrow from Jay.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you've retired more times than Hepburn at this point." Alan remarked.
"So, I take it you won't be asking me to play the same interference with Jimmy this time?" Steve joked, earning a smirk from the first human Green Lantern.
"Who do you think told me to put the cape back on?" Alan remarked, and Steve was about to make another comment, when a series of vines surrounded them, including tendrils connected to the main creature. The three veteran heroes prepared themselves… only for a plume of flame from above to burn them away. The three looked up to see the Human Torch flying above them, giving a salute, before he regrouped with the Fantasticar, flying over the plant creature to enable The Thing to launch himself at the plant creature, landing a blow on the main body. The three exchanged a glance, before Jay shrugged.
"Well, I suppose we can't let the whipper snappers show us up, can we?"
"Of course not. Gentlemen, let's show them how it's done." And with that, the three last members of the Justice Society of America charged forward.
Bayou Bartholomew, 18:18 CST
In the hidden lair of the Masters of Evil, Count Vertigo and Absorbing Man watched the feed of various heroes engaging their plant creatures, watching as every piece of the plants they shaved away was only replaced by more. "I must admit, I had my doubts, but this Hydra-Venom is more than I imagined…" Count Vertigo remarked.
"As I knew it would be." The Leader, who was wearing special gloves, remarked from the control hub. With every movement he made with his hands, the plants responded, as evidenced by a tendril knocking Colossus into a building in London.
Down below, Ivy frowned as a part of the sizable tree in the center of the facility turned brown, laying down to stroke it. "It might be impressive, but it's all placing considerable strain on my baby." She lamented, Reverse Flash zooming over and kneeling down next to her. He pulled out a device, using it to examine the readings from the tree.
"Don't worry, Ivy. She's performing better than we anticipated."
"And as she helps us, we shall help her." The Enchantress remarked, levitating above them. Her hands were enveloped in green energy as she spoke an ancient chant, glyphs and engravings appearing on the bark as she spoke. "Ocean Master, we need more power!"
"As you wish!" Ocean Master responded, walking over to a pylon at the base of the tree. He aimed his golden trident at it, unleashing a blast of energy directly into it. The energy was redistributed throughout the tree, mixing with Enchantress's magic to restore the giant plant back to its vibrant green.
"That's a hell of a toy you got there, Fish-Face. Bet you could deal some real damage with that thing." Sabertooth remarked from his perch just above it, earning a look of disapproval from Ocean Master.
"Neptune's Trident is no mere toy, Creed. It's a treasured weapon among my people, one that puts any weapon on the surface to shame."
"Heh, I don't doubt it. After all this is over, whaddya say you point that thing in Xavier's direction?"
"In due time, Sabertooth. Our personal vendettas can wait." Leader remarked, as a screen chirped at his command console. "For now, we have guests. Do make sure they feel welcome."
The cloaked Bioship soared above the bio, the full Team seated inside. There was no jokes, no banter, no remarks as they soared towards their goal, instead filling it with silence…except for Wonder Girl bouncing her leg, her shoe hitting the ground. After the 15 minute mark passed, X-23 let out a sigh.
"Cassie, are you ok?"
"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah. Just… just a little nervous." The newbie superhero remarked. "This is, uh… this is my first time going to save the world."
"Hey, don't sweat it. We were all nervous our first time." Trickshot reassured.
"What, uh… what was yours?"
"Eclipso trying to blot out the sun, about six months after I put on the costume. Was so nervous I could barely shoot straight." Francis recalled.
"Hey, you did better than me. When I saw Magneto for the first time, I tried hiding behind a dumpster. Trust me, that is one dude you do not wanna see pissed off." Iron Knight recalled.
"Being nervous isn't anything to be ashamed of. In fact, I think we'd all be a little more worried if you weren't nervous." Robin reassured, and Cassie let out a sigh of relief. Scarlet Spider looked at Superboy sitting next to him, and nudged his foot. He gestured to Cassie, and nodded at a visibly confused Superboy. Eventually, Superboy got the point, and he cleared his throat.
"Don't worry, you'll do great. If you can handle a pissed off Killer Frost and a prison full of supervillains, you can handle these guys." Cassie smiled at that, and Carter gave him a thumbs up.
Wally had been looking out the window and eating a banana, and looked over in Kaldur's direction, noticing a duffel bag under his seat. "What's in the duffle?" He asked, and if the speedster had a bad feeling beforehand, he definitely did after the look Kaldur gave him.
"Plan B." Kid Flash wanted to ask more, but he had a strong feeling he wouldn't like the answer. "Miss Martian, how much further?"
"We're within half a mile of Doctor Strange's coordinates. Should be there…any…" Miss Martian strained out, causing Trickshot to sit up in attention.
"What's wrong?"
"Just…dizzy." She answered, earning a frown from Artemis.
"Since when do Martian's get airsick?"
"You do look a little greener than usual…" Wally remarked, but Miss Martian shook her head.
"No, not me. Her." The girls all exchanged a confused glance.
"Uh, we feel fine."
"No, not you! Her! The Bioship! She's…shielding us from something, but…" The Martian groaned out, as Scarlet Spider's spider sense began to tingle.
"Oh, I've got a bad feeling…"
The bioship began to spin throughout the air, it's flight path becoming erratic…on account of the psychic force being projected from Count Vertigo on the ground below, flanked by Absorbing Man and Sabertooth as they watched for the ship. They were proven correct when the Bioship's cloak failed, barrel rolling just above him.
"There they are! Absorbing Man, go!"
"On it, boss!" The Absorbing Man confirmed, swinging his ball and chain in preparation. When the Bioship got close enough, he tossed it at the ship, impacting it and sending it careening into a spiral. The team held on to their lunch as they were spun around inside, before the Bioship landed in a nearby swamp. No time was wasted as massive vines emerged from the water and wrapped around the ship, and Sabertooth turned to the Count.
"Well?"
"Have fun." Sabertooth gave a toothy grin at the go ahead, leaping towards the Bioship.
On the inside, everyone was getting their bearings. "Is everyone alright?" Aqualad groaned out.
"Oh yeah, just… trying not to throw up." Robin groaned out, as they heard something land on the roof of the ship. Miss Martian winced as a set of claws dug into the hull, before a hole was ripped open to reveal Sabertooth's bloodthirsty grin.
"He's hurting her!" Miss Martian all but screamed as she felt the Bioship's pain in her mind. Superboy wasted no time leaping forward, delivering a punch that sent the feral mutant flying. Before the hole could repair itself, the vines pulled the ship underwater, flooding the cabin with the nasty swamp water.
"Just once, I would like a mission where I don't nearly drown!" Wonder Girl remarked, as Trickshot helped Miss Martian out of the Captain's Chair.
"Rebreathers, now!" Aqualad ordered, as Robin handed one to X-23 and Batgirl. Artemis tossed one over to Scarlet Spider, before turning to offer one to Kid Flash, much to the red head's surprise.
"Oh! Uh, thanks!" He thanked, albeit a little caught off guard, as Trickshot helped his girlfriend to her feet.
"Megs, we need to get out of here!" He suggested as he slipped his own rebreather under his mask, and the Martian shook her head.
"Hello, Megan, of course! I'm on it!" As the water enveloped them, Miss Martian grew gills and floated down to the bottom. At her telepathic instruction, a hatch opened up to allow them to swim under, or in Iron Knight's case, propel themselves out under the Bioship. A brief swim later, led by Aqualad, the team surfaced just beyond where they'd been attacked a few moments prior, where they could see the Bioship pulled fully under the water by the vines.
"Miss Martian, is the Bioship…?" White Wolf began to ask, only for their alien teammate to shake her head.
"She's fine, just in shock. She needs time to recover."
"Time that I'm afraid you simply don't have." A voice stated, and before anyone could react, no one knew which way was up as a psychic blast consumed them, dropping them all to their knees. Scarlet Spider was able to turn his head enough to see their finely dressed attacker, gritting his teeth as his sense of direction was robbed from him.
"Vertigo…"
"That's Count Vertigo to you, peasant." The Count spat, and Wonder Girl swallowed her intense nausea enough to get a vague sense of where the Count was. She launched herself at him, only to get a wrecking ball to the face courtesy of Absorbing Man, knocking her into a tree.
"That was for Titania, ya little brat!" Absorbing Man taunted. As the Team was assaulted by the psychic attack, Iron Knight watched as a reticle in his helmet moved into position.
"Just…a little…more…" He grunted out, and was satisfied when the reticle flashed green. A repulsor blast fired out of his gauntlet and grazed the Count, not enough to knock him down, but enough for Aqualad to activate his water bearers and use a plume of water to knock the Count back.
"Miss Martian, Trickshot, Batgirl, Robin, disappear! Fulfill the mission!" Miss Martian gave a nod as she cloaked, and Robin and Trickshot melted into the shadows, while the others prepared for a fight. Wonder Girl narrowly brought up her bracelets to deflect a slash from Sabertooth as Scarlet Spider, X-23, and White Wolf leapt to her defense, as Aqualad, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Iron Knight engaged the Absorbing Man.
London, 00:25 GMT
Massive vines had begun wrapping around Big Ben, threatening to crack the landmark with the strength of their grip. Fortunately for the landmark, Captain Britain was on the case, flying by and unleashing an energy blast that severed the vines from the main body. The Defender of the Realm grit his teeth as a massive tendril knocked him back, only to be caught by a large metal man. Colossus set him down with a nod as the X-Men's Blackbird flew overhead, an explosion of purple smoke depositing Nightcrawler and Wolverine just above the main body. Nightcrawler bamf'd away as Logan bared his claws, letting out a growl as he began carving into the bark.
Two fleeing civilians had been cornered by several of the smaller tendrils, only for Shadowcat to run through them and grab them, phasing them through the vines just as they attacked. Not a minute sooner as they attacked, a red beam of energy cut through them, the beam ceasing as Cyclops shut his visor. He spun around to blast two more tendrils that had appeared behind him, and would have been blindsided by even more were it not for exploding playing cards courtesy of Gambit.
Wolverine was carving away as best he could, so intent on his task that he didn't notice the sky becoming more overcast and thunder rumbling overhead, as Storm floated overhead. Her eyes glowed as the weather bent to her whim, the winds around one of the plants becoming even more intense as she formed a minitornado around it. The roots began to loosen from the ground, allowing Rogue to fly under it and begin to lift it up, as Colossus went to assist her. Jean Grey floated outside of it, applying telekinetic force to better allow Rogue to uproot it, tossing it into the River Thames.
Gotham City
The Batwing performed a barrel roll to avoid a plant tendril, as Batman approached one of the plants. He pressed a button that opened where explosive ordinance was normally kept, deploying pesticide as the Dark Knight flew over the plants. This visibly weakened the plants, allowing Shazam to fly in and uproot it. The yellow symbol on his chest glowed as he flew it into the sky, past the stratosphere and taking a deep breath as he entered space, spinning the plant around before throwing it in the direction of the sun.
Back on the ground, a terrified family were stuck in their car, unable to open the door, until an escrima stick smashed the window. Nightwing extended his hand to help them out, but unfortunately this left him unable to defend himself from an enclosing group of tendrils. Before he could worry, however, a plume of flames consumed the plants. The first Boy Wonder looked in a nearby alley to see John Constantine give him a small cheeky wink, taking out and lighting a cigarette as he returned into the shadows.
Star City
A plant creature had emerged from the bay beneath Weisinger Bridge, quickly wrapping around the bridge and attacking the cars below. They had begun to wrap around the bridge, but fortunately, Green and Red Arrow were on the scene.
The two fell into old patterns as if they'd never stopped fighting alongside each other, firing arrows in tandem at the vines. Their explosives proved enough to disrupt the grip on the bridge, only for them to turn their attention to the cars below, particularly a school bus. Black Canary moved in, landing on top of the roof of the bus and unleashing her Canary Cry. The sonic blasts shredded the vines with little resistance, but the use of the cry left her guard down for a plant to knock her off. The three heroes watched in horror as the bus was thrown off the bridge…
Only to be caught by a green catcher's mitt. The three looked down to see not Hal Jordan, John Stewart, or even Alan Scott, but Guy Gardner. The red head gave a salute to the two of them, and a wink to Black Canary, whose face twisted into a frown.
"Not this guy…"
"Beggars can't be choosers, Pretty Bird."
Paris
Martian Manhunter flew over Paris, Aquaman holding on to one hand and Black Panther holding the other as they approached the Eiffel Tower, which was currently ensnared by vines. Once they got close enough, the Martian let the two kings go, dropping them in areas where tourist elevators were. Black Panther's vibranium claws sliced through the plants as if they were tissue paper while Aquaman ripped his vines off of his elevator. Martian Manhunter then phased in to save the people on the observation deck. They freed the elevator trapped tourists, just as a well placed arrow from Hawkeye down below blew the vines off the observation deck to allow Martian Manhunter to fly out. The kings and they're rescuees slid down the vines to the street, where Mockingbird was waiting to provide medical assistance.
Taipei
Flash circled the nuclear reactor, slicing down any vines encroaching the power plant that were in his way with his super speed enhanced strikes. Meanwhile, Blue Devil moved in, planting his trident in the ground as the energy cannon powered up. He slid back in the ground as the energy blast destroyed a massive vine, but unfortunately it was too little too late, as the cooling tower was destroyed. Flash and Blue Devil watched in horror as the meltdown alarms activated, only to see a white streak flying overhead.
Captain Marvel flew up to the reactor, the smoke already visibly irradiated. She extended her hand, sweat beading on her forehead as she began draining the leaking radiation. She clenched her hands into fists as she absorbed even more radiation, her body assuming a blue glow as she absorbed the rest. She saw more vines springing up elsewhere, determined to put the excess energy to good use.
Bayou Bartholomew
Poison Ivy watched as Leader manipulated the vines from his control center, watching as he adapted to new situations without a moment's hesitation. "I must say, I'm rather impressed with how you juggle control like that. Even I would have trouble maintaining such fine control over such a distance, even without taking into account the various heroes at work. It's almost like watching a conductor direct an orchestra." Ivy complimented, Leader's eyes not once leaving his screens.
"Hence why I insisted on controlling the plants myself. Multitasking like this is child's play to one of my intellect. With but a thought and a wave of my hand, I can make cities crumble beneath my awesome mental might." The Leader proclaimed, though earning an eye roll from Ivy at his melodramatics.
"Though your humility could use work."
Outside, Superboy let out a yell as he rushed Absorbing Man, only for the steel clad villain's fist to connect with his face, knocking him down to join his comrades. Meanwhile, Count Vertigo had helped Sabertooth dispatch the other four members of the Team, the final one to fall being X-23 who was incapacitated by a roundhouse kick.
"Heh, not bad, kiddies. Anyone else'd be dead right now." Sabertooth remarked, as Count Vertigo noticed that the number of unconscious super heroes was lower than the number that had emerged from the water.
"Wait, this isn't all of them. Where are the other four?"
Meanwhile, Robin led Trickshot, Miss Martian, and Batgirl through the swamp, using a holomap from his gauntlet to lead them to the coordinates. "I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we go back?" Miss Martian asked, but Trickshot shook his head.
"As much as it sucks, that's not the mission." He thought, and Batgirl frowned under her mask.
"Don't like running. Don't like leaving friends behind."
"Neither do I, but Aqualad gave us the big job. Least we can do is carry it out while they buy us some time." Robin thought, looking at his map. "Here we are. Doctor Strange's coordinates are right in front of us…" He relayed, and they all looked from among the trees to see the headquarters of the Masters of Evil. It was a large, domed building, the construction of the building giving it a face-like design that looked like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, with a giant tree emerging from it.
"Well, if my Uncle's videos taught me anything, it's that the creepiest building is usually the bad guy's HQ."
"Agreed, that giant plant's gotta be what's broadcasting to the other plants around the world. Rob, Batgirl, let's move in and-" The archer's thoughts were interrupted by the snapping of twigs behind them, and he spun around and nocked an arrow in time for a yellow blur to slam into him and knock the archer into a tree.
"Hello, Boy Wonder." Before the others could react, vines emerged from the ground to ensnare the three and the downed Trickshot, turning them to face Poison Ivy and the Reverse Flash.
"Hey there, Ive, it's been a minute. How're the plants?" Robin grunted out, earning a smirk from Ivy.
"Oh, far better than you, little Bird. Eobard, care to do the honors?"
"Of course, Ivy." Reverse Flash responded, as Ivy moved the still dazed Trickshot towards him. As she did so, Reverse Flash's hand began to vibrate. "You know, where I come from, the history pages are just filled with all the great things you'll all do. Thing is, I always felt that those old books were more than a little outdated…" The evil speedster stated, preparing to vibrate his hand right through Trickshot's heart…
Only for a telekinetic blast from Miss Martian to knock him back into Ivy, disrupting her control enough for her grip on all of them to weaken enough for Miss Martian to shred them with her telekinesis. "You two get moving! I'll take care of Trickshot!" The Martian stated, earning a nod from Robin.
"Got it!"
"Understood." Batgirl and Robin ran off in the direction of the control center as Ivy and Reverse Flash got to their feet.
"Take your pick." Reverse Flash stated, and Ivy narrowed her eyes.
"I'll take the Bat-brats. Personal business, I'm sure you understand."
"Don't have to tell me twice. I'll handle these two." The evil yellow speedster stated, as Trickshot shook off the last of his daze.
"You good?" Miss Martian asked, getting a nod back.
"Always." Trickshot reassured, reclaiming his bow from the ground and readying an arrow. Trickshot released the arrow, letting it fly towards Reverse Flash… to whom it appeared to be moving at a crawl.
"Hm. I'm almost disappointed." Thawne muttered, moving at super speed to effortlessly catch the arrow. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to-"
*DEET DEET*
The smoke bomb arrow detonated in the evil Speedster's face, only to be met with a scoff. He ran at Trickshot, avoiding two more arrows as he closed in on the archer. Trickshot grunted as he was shoved backward into the tree, rolling to his feet and firing another arrow at the zig-zagging yellow blur. Reverse Flash dodged each and every one like it was child's play, his face curved into a smirk as he effortlessly moved his head out of the way of an arrow.
"You know, even in my time, with the benefit of quite a bit of hindsight and literal centuries of scholarly debate, no one understands you archers. I mean really, why use a weapon that was outclassed by muskets? With all the technology you have access to even now? Hell you have magic, and you still use these pathetic things!?" Reverse Flash said as he smacked Trickshot across the face, breaking the arrow between his fingers
"Pathetic. It's a wonder any of you manage to accomplish anything." He said, sounding bored before firing off several punches at high speed, knocking the archer around with ease.
"Yeah… well, I seem to be 'accomplishing' keeping you talking." Trickshot taunted, and that's when Reverse Flash realized who was missing from this fight.
"Oh you little…" Reverse Flash growled, knocking Trickshot out with a punch. He looked towards the bayou, his eyes scanning for Miss Martian. However, much to his chagrin, she was already cloaked.
"You can run, but you can't hide, Martian!" The future speedster ran into the swamp, a streak of yellow darting through the trees… and right past a cloaked Miss Martian, who let out a silent sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Robin and Batgirl were sprinting through the forest, ducking under and leaping over branches. Ivy's vines tried to trip them up, but they managed to avoid them. However, she was gaining on them.
"Come on, kiddies, I just want to have a chat!" Ivy said, sending a few of her vines lashing towards them, which tore a piece of Robin's cape off.
"We need a plan, I don't much fancy becoming plant food." Robin called over to Batgirl, who sent him a look that even through her mask said, 'I am open to suggestions, if you have any!'
"Right, sorry obvious, uh… Wait! I think I've got something!" Robin said taking out a few incendiary bombs from his belt. Ivy cared about her plants more than anything else, so the solution was actually simple. He threw the bombs at the approaching vines and smirked as they ignited.
Ivy had the opposite reaction, her face contorting in anger as her plants burned. "I'll rip you apart for that!" The supervillainess shrieked, sending a surge of vines at the two… only for them to be gone. "Oh, run all you want! When I find you, there won't be enough left for Batman to put back together!"
Back in the main control room, Ocean Master began to supply the tree with even more power, as Leader prepared for Wave 2.
London
Wolverine held on for dear life as the vine he was on writhed around in the air, gritting his teeth as he felt his adamantium claws loosen from their spot buried in the vine. "Ah, crap…" With another swing, Wolverine was shaken free, and thrown across London, landing in a room in Buckingham Palace and smashing through a table. "Ow…" He groaned out, in pain even with the help of his adamantium skeleton. Just because his bones didn't break, didn't make getting thrown almost a mile away hurt any less. "Hrnm… getting too old for this sh-"
BAMF
"That was quite a tumble, old friend." Nightcrawler commented as he appeared in a puff of sulfur and brimstone. "If you wanted to go on a sightseeing tour, you could have picked another day."
"Save it for the plants, Elf. Help me up." Wolverine grumbled out, taking Nightcrawler's three-fingered hand as he was helped up. "Never thought the day would come I'd miss being neck deep in Sentinels…"
"Eh hem…" A voice behind them cleared their throat, and Wolverine and Nightcrawler both turned in the direction, their eyes widening as they saw who it belonged to.
"Oh, uh, Your Majesty… Sorry about the window."
Metropolis
Spider-Man narrowly avoided the falling rubble, leaping between the pieces of the falling building as he headed towards his target. He ran along a piece of collapsed wall before he leapt towards the falling civilian, catching them under his arm as he swung free of the collapsing building.
Meanwhile, Superman was pulling out weeds as fast as he could, alternating between this and using his heat vision to burn more vines away. Once he pulled enough free, he flew up to join Iron Man, the two unleashing a blast of heat vision and unibeam respectfully that burned away massive swathes of the plant. This enabled Hawkman and Hawkwoman to fly in closer, their Nth metal weapons hacking away at the roots. This allowed John Stewart to encase the plant creature in a bubble, grunting as he pulled it free and into the atmosphere.
Paris
Hawkeye fired arrow after arrow at the plant creatures from the rooftops, destroying any vines that threatened to attack the fleeing civilians who were being led by Mockingbird as Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Black Panther eliminated the vines around the Eiffel Tower. However, a stray vine knocked away a news helicopter that had gotten a little too close, sending it careening and the news crew falling to the ground. Fortunately for them, a streak of pink energy flew by as Rocket grabbed the two, while Icon got the chopper.
Bayou Bartholomew
"Hnnn…" Aqualad groaned out as his eyes fluttered open, his head was sore. He tried to move his hand to check for a bump, but found he couldn't move. Once his vision returned, he saw that he was bound in ethereal green chains, as were his other teammates. Just in front of them on an ethereal green platform floated the Enchantress, alongside Count Vertigo, Absorbing Man, and Sabertooth.
"They awaken. Are you certain your bindings will hold?" Count Vertigo asked, only to get a chuckle in response from the blond sorceress.
"Fear not, Count. Those chains were designed to hold Thor himself. Not even the Superboy or the so-called 'Wonder Girl' can hope to break free." The Asgardian reassured, and Aqualad grit his teeth in determination.
"You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts, Enchantress!" He declared, his tattoo's glowing as he struggled against the bindings, only for the chains to grow tighter the more he struggled. If anything, Enchantress seemed to be amused by the entire thing.
"Oh, that is just adorable. Silly boy, I've been refining my sorcery for centuries. It'll be another hundred years before you can even think of competing against me."
Before Aqualad could respond there was a chuckle and then, to his surprise a full blown laughter from Iron Knight.
"You find me amusing, child!?" Enchantress demanded.
"No, no I find it amusing if not downright hilarious that you captured all of us except the Martian, which makes sense, but then the two normal people escaped all of you and that is great. Seriously, aren't you supposed to be a goddess of some sort?" He taunted, and Amora's face twisted into a scowl.
"How could I forget the disrespectful tongue of a Stark?" She remarked, tightening her fist and causing the restraints to become tighter, causing Iron Knight to audibly groan. "Tell me, Count, do we need all of them alive?"
"Gotta agree with the lady, Boss. I know you said that the more bargaining chips the better, but they won't miss a kid or two, right?" Sabertooth remarked, making the Absorbing Man visibly uncomfortable.
"Hey, I didn't sign up to kill no kids."
"But inflicting brain damage by hitting them with that big ball of yours is fine?"
"They give as good as they get. Just fighting with 'em is one thing, but I ain't gonna kill a kid." Absorbing Man retorted, and the killer mutant just scoffed.
"Ain't you the Absorbing Man? Why don't you go 'absorb' a spine, get used to doing the dirty work?"
"Gentlemen, enough. There is no time for petty bickering."
"No, please, keep bickering. It's fun for us. If those two are going to fight, my money's on Absorbing Man. Victor over there can't even beat Wolverine and he has like a foot and a half, at least, on him." Trickshot offered, earning a snarl from Sabertooth.
"Keep talkin', and your head's goin' on my wall. Right next to her's." The mutant retorted, getting a snort from X-23.
"I'd like to see you try. You know, whenever I go see him, Logan always has me fight your hologram. I've beaten you about… four, five times now?"
"Why you little-"
"Compose yourself, Sabertooth. They're merely trying to get under your skin." The Leader Announced, as they hovered above the Control Area.
"Yes, listen to the man with the overgrown forehead Sabertooth, I mean he's so smart he… regularly loses to The Hulk, and we all know how smart that version of Banner is." Kid Flash taunted, but Leader didn't even look up.
"Young man, I was raised with a brutish lout of a brother. One will have to try harder than that to try and rile me up."
"Oh! I get it, brother was mean and daddy didn't appreciate me, that gives me every right to make other's lives miserable rather than put my supposed knowledge and wisdom to use, fixing problems." Scarlet Spider teased. "Man, this is fun. Superboy, Wonder Girl, Wolf, you guys try!"
"Uh…" Wonder Girl trailed off, a flash of inspiration hitting her. "Uh… Absorbing Man's so dumb, absorbing a brick was an improvement!"
"And… the Reverse Flash is so forgettable, no one cared when Kid Flash took his color scheme!" Artemis called out.
"And Ocean Master… smells like fish!" Superboy tried, earning a shrug from Kid Flash.
"Eh, A for effort." He complimented, as White Wolf thought to himself.
"Have I ever told you what the word for loser is in my country? It sounds an awful lot like 'Vertigo!'" He declared, and Leader sighed.
"Amora?"
"Kill them?"
"No, such bargaining chips are worth the headaches. However, that does not mean that we have to listen to them any further."
"Oh, you do not have to tell me twice." Amora snapped her fingers, and gags formed and covered everyone's mouths, one even appearing on the inside of Iron Knight and White Wolf's helmet. "Finally, some Odin-damned quiet!"
'Please tell me that you three have a plan, because we think we're all out of distractions.' Trickshot said through the Team's mental link.
"Right on time, too. I finally made contact with her." Miss Martian stated, and Scarlet Spider raised an eyebrow.
"With who? Batgirl?"
"Not exactly…" Just as Amora prepared to lower them into the Headquarters, the cloaked Bioship flew out from the trees. It flew past Enchantress, it's wing hitting her and knocking her into the swamp water below. This served to disrupt the spell, sending everyone dropping. Sabertooth dug his claws into the side of the building, as Absorbing Man caught Vertigo as the two landed.
"Don't catch me! The delinquents, get them!"
"Hey, I can't exactly fly!"
The Team landed on their feet, Scarlet Spider rolling his neck.
"Oh, it's good to be free…"
"Enjoy it while you can! It won't last long!" Ivy yelled from the shadows.
Just as she began to raise her vines into the air, another voice cleared their throat, and the villains looked up eyes widening as Robin and Batgirl stood at the very peak of the headquarters each with a small device in their hand.
"I like their odds this time." Robin said with a shrug as he and Batgirl each pushed the detonators.
The explosions shook the entire bayou, as several explosions went off along the plant and the building, sending Leader and Ocean Master flying back from their own positions and plunging into the swampy forest below.
"NO! MY BABIES!" Ivy cried out in rage and sorrow as she too lost her footing.
"We have taken care of the main mission, now divide and conquer! We can't let them escape!" Aqualad thought to the others, who all nodded. "Eight of them, twelve of us! Pick your targets well, and remember your training!"
"On it, boss!" Kid Flash called out, zooming towards Count Vertigo. However, before the Count could activate his psychic blast, a yellow blur came out of the woods, sending Kid Flash sliding in the mud, Reverse Flash standing over him.
"We've played this game before, Wally! You'll never be as fast as me!" Thawne taunted, as Kid Flash scowled at him.
"Dude, at this point, it's less about the speed, and more about how you stole my look." Kid Flash rushed him with a superspeed punch, which Reverse Flash blocked. Kid Flash followed up with a punch, a kick, a chop, and a variety of moves, all at super speed. Reverse Flash dodged each and every one, a smirk on his face.
"Did I base my uniform off of yours, or did you base it off of mine? It's a real 'chicken and egg' conundrum, don't you agree?" Reverse Flash taunted as he caught the red head's punch.
"Not really, I mean you're from the future, so I'm pretty sure I wore it first and better!" Kid Flash said, catching Reverse Flash off guard with a headbutt. The older Speedster staggered back, glaring, but before he could attack again a blue blast of energy hit him hard in the side, sending him flying into a tree.
He looked over to see Iron Knight and Artemis, each with weapons at the ready, trained on him. "Why don't you do us all a favor and give up now?" Iron Knight said, keeping his weapons ready, but the time traveler just laughed.
"Oh, that's adorable. You know that tin can you're wearing is barely more advanced than my childhood toys!"
"Oh my god, we get it! You're from the future! Get a hobby!" Artemis fired an arrow at Reverse Flash, which was easily dodge. However, Thawne barely stopped in time to avoid a repulsor blast, as he realized their strategy. He'd dodge a repulsor blast, only to narrowly avoid an arrow. This continued for what felt like an eternity to Thawne, but lasted about fifteen seconds until the Fastest Teen Alive landed a right hook that staggered the Fastest Villain Alive, allowing Iron Knight to hit Reverse Flash square in the chest with a repulsor blast, knocking him back.
"Not so bad for a toy, huh?" Iron Knight challenged.
Thawne stood up, cracking his neck, and smirking at them, "Not too bad for a bunch of kids either, but let me show you just how overmatched you really are." He said before rushing forward.
In a matter of seconds, he backhanded Kid Flash, punched Artemis in the ribs, dropping her to the ground before rushing Iron Knight, picking him up and slamming him into a tree several feet from the other two, ripping off the right gauntlet of his suit before throwing him to the side and kicking him hard in the ribs.
"You know, the sad thing is you're one of the ones I really wanted to let live. Some of my greatest accomplishments come about because of groundwork you lay down." Thawne sighed before kicking Nolan at high speed, sending him flying as pieces of the suit fell off, and Nolan was pretty sure at least three of his ribs broke as red warning signs flashed inside his helmet.
"Still, I suppose I can ensure others make those oh so crucial breakthroughs."
"Lay off my friend!" Kid Flash called out, landing a few solid blows before Reverse Flash caught his fist again, twisting until he gasped. Artemis' arrow came flying through the air and Thawne caught it.
"Again with the antiquated weaponry!" He declared before stabbing Wally in the side causing him to scream out in pain.
"Oh, stop being a baby, you'll heal up soon enough!" He said, breaking the arrow off inside him and hurling the teen away, sending him crashing into Artemis before she could let another arrow fly. He turned and dodged another repulsor blast. "None of you understand just when to give up, do you?" He called out, before running and slamming Iron Knight back against the tree, pinning him by his neck as he vibrated his helmet off, before repeatedly punching the young Stark hard and rapidly in the face.
He began to tear off piece after piece of Iron Knights armor, hitting him more and more, the world was starting to dim, as Nolan felt his ribs and nose break seemingly at the same time and he coughed up blood on Thawne's hand even as he gripped the man's wrist.
'Nolan! Nolan! Please respond, what's going on your vitals are dropping!' Rhianna's voice called out sounding scared, which didn't improve when Nolan raised the remaining gauntlet on his right arm only for Thawne to rip the Gauntlet off so fast he separated Nolan's arm at the shoulder and elbow as he hit him again in irritation; "The stubbornness, the stupidity of all of you, it's just so…so…"
"Flash is right, you do love to hear yourself talk." Wally groaned out from his spot bleeding on the ground, earning a glare and a kick to the stab wound from the Reverse of his mentor.
"Oh, after I get done with you, I'm going to take your head and-" Thawne had been so caught up in his gloating and irritation that he had failed to notice the dull whine in front of him, and so he was caught off guard when Iron Knight unleashed all the power his suit had in a unibeam blast directly into the Speedster's chest. It hit him dead on, sending him flying backward and crashing through two trees before hitting the ground.
As he fell to his hands and knees groaning and trying to regain his sense's Kid Flash rushed in and kicked him hard in the side of the head, knocking the man out cold.
"Don't worry, you'll heal up soon." He muttered, panting as Artemis fired an arrow at the downed villain, covering him in a red and black foam.
"Kinetic Energy Absorbing foam. When he wakes up, the more he tries to move, the stronger it'll get." Artemis said.
"Good. We win. You guys go help the others. I just need to rest my eyes for a sec." Nolan said, trying to stand before falling over, completely out cold as the other two rushed towards him and he could just hear Rhianna trying to talk to him in his ear.
Meanwhile, Scarlet Spider handsprung away just as Absorbing Man's wrecking ball impacted the ground from where he'd been standing a moment ago, the supervillian swinging it around and launching it once more at the young wallcrawler. "So… I've been wondering…" The arachnid mused, leaping out of the way as a tree was reduced to splinters. "Is the thing about the cocaine true? Daredevil said something about that, and I thought 'there is no way he actually did that.'"
"I don't wanna talk about that!" The Absorbing Man yelled out, swinging the ball at the arachnid. The wall crawler leapt off the ball and web zipped over to deliver a punch to the Absorbing Man, staggering him.
"So that's a 'yes', then?" Absorbing Man growled, reaching into one of his pouches and absorbing a piece of concrete just as Scarlet Spider delivered another kick, wincing. "Ow!" The now concrete Absorbing Man grabbed the leg and threw the arachnid into a tree, and was about to swing his ball into him…
When a surge of water slammed into him, courtesy of Aqualad, knocking him away and into Superboy's waiting right hook, knocking the Absorbing Man through a tree. Superboy leapt at him, but the Absorbing Man reached into his pouch and turned into steel as the Teen of Steel's fist made contact. This allowed Absorbing Man to deliver a haymaker and send Superboy flying, only for his vision to be clouded as a web ball hit him in the face.
"Now, before he touches something else! Maneuver 12!" Aqualad instructed, earning a nod from Scarlet Spider.
"You got it, boss!" The two flanked the former boxer, Aqualad grabbing his left ankle and wrist with his whips and Scarlet Spider grabbing the right side. Kaldur's tattoos glowed while Carter's hands pulsed with red electricity, and Crusher Creel let out a scream of pain as he was electrocuted, allowing Superboy to send him flying with a punch straight to his face. Creel growled as he stood up, holding his hand out and calling his ball and chain back to him.
"Someone needs to learn how to stay down." Superboy spat, and Absorbing Man actually chuckled.
"Bell ain't rung yet, kid. I'm goin' the full 12 rounds!"
Wonder Girl grunted as a blast from Ocean Master knocked her back, her new golden bracelets absorbing the magical blast. She narrowly dodged a swing from the trident, barely bringing her bracelet up in time as Neptune's Trident scraped off of it. She shoved him back, only for him to unleash a blast of magical energy. She barely brought her bracelets together in time, the blast knocking her back.
She dug her boots into the ground to slow herself down as she sailed back, bumping into Aqualad as he had leapt back to avoid the wrecking ball of his opponent. "Still freaking out?"
"Not as much now, just trying to stay alive." She remarked, earning a chuckle from him.
"You're becoming more and more acclimated every day."
"Not sure that's a good thing." She retorted, as Ocean Master prepared another blast of his trident and Absorbing Man tossed his ball again. "Wanna trade dance partners?"
"You read my mind."
The two switched places, Aqualad forming a water shield as Ocean Master unleashed a blast from his trident and Wonder Girl knocking Creel's wrecking ball out of the way to rush him and punch the steel man in the face.
Aqualad grit his teeth as he pushed back against the stream of magical power spewing from Ocean Master's trident. Fortunately, he'd had time to prepare for this since his last encounter with his king's enemy, his tattoos glowing as he absorbed the energy not blocked by his shield. His free waterbearer began to form a hammer as he got close, and he disrupted the blast with a burst of water, before slamming his hammer into the side of Ocean Master's head. The aquatic villain staggered as his helmet was knocked off, his face being hidden from Kaldur as he kneeled.
"Your day of reckoning is finally here, Ocean Master. Just as your alliance with Attuma failed, so too shall your 'Masters' fall." Aqualad declared, and Ocean Master grunted as he gripped his trident.
"You can break my body and shatter my allegiances, 'Aqualad', but as long as spirit remains, I shall never stop. I don't care how many deals I make with how many devils, how much blood I have to spill, how many bodies I have to step over. I shall not rest…" Ocean Master growled out, rising and turning to face Kaldur. The Atlantean's eyes widened as he was greeted with the burning, rage filled expression of a face he recognized all too well. "...until I take my rightful place on the Throne of Atlantis!" Orm of Atlantis declared, causing Kaldur's jaw to drop.
"P… Prince Orm?! I… this cannot be!" Aqualad gasped, as the youngest son of King Orvax reclaimed his helmet. "All this time… you were Ocean Master?! But… how could you betray us?!"
"Your time on the surface has dulled you, Kaldur'ahm. One cannot betray what one was never loyal to in the first place." Orm explained.
"But… King Arthur…"
"Pollutes my bloodline with his surface blood, makes a mockery of the throne by defending the very ones choking the life out of our seas!" Ocean Master growled as he donned his helmet. "First I watched my father make that clod Namor king, and then watched as our whore mother's half breed bastard stole the throne from him. Is it any wonder that I would take up arms against him, that I would-"
"Enough!" Kaldur interrupted, forming both waterbearers into a massive hammer and knocking Ocean Master back. "I do not care for your reasons. All I need to know is that you have turned your back on your family, your kingdom, your own brothers! And for that, I will make you pay!" Aqualad declared, rushing Ocean Master. The trident blocked downward slashes from Aqualad's waterswords, Ocean Master twirling his staff and breaking the stalemate. He jabbed the trident forward, Aqualad twisting his body out of the way to avoid it as he slammed the hilt of his waterbearers into Ocean Master's jaw. This knocked the villain back long enough for Aqualad to gather a large amount of water behind him, lifting it up and forming a dragon as he brought it down on the prince of Atlantis. Insult was added to injury as electricity was added to the water dragon, knocking Ocean Master out. Aqualad stood over the fallen villain, a frown creasing his face.
"Arthur didn't suspect you for a moment because he had faith in you, because he was raised to see the good in people. It is a shame that his trust was misplaced."
Robin ducked under a green energy beam, courtesy of the massive rifle the Leader had produced from what Robin could only suspect was a pocket dimension. The Teen Wonder threw a shuriken that was promptly blasted away, allowing Robin to dive for cover. "You'd think that thing would have some damn recoil…"
"Eh, it's probably all for show. You know, making up for something." A voice mocked, and Robin looked at the tree next to his to see Scarlet Spider.
"What are you doing over here? Thought you were dancing with Creel."
"Eh, Wonder Girl swapped with Aqualad, didn't feel like being a third wheel for her and Superboy. Thought I'd come give you a hand."
"Appreciate it. Pretty sure a newborn puppy could take Leader in a fight, the hard part is actually getting close enough."
"I bet. Think that gun gives you cancer if you get hit by it?"
"I am not looking to find out.
"Come now, boys! Where's all that confidence you had earlier!?" Leader taunted firing another blast, forcing them both to keep cover.
"Really wish Miss Martian weren't busy fighting the vines, having someone who could phase over there would help so much." Scarlet Spider muttered as the boys tried to think of a plan.
"Alright, I got it. Guy doesn't have super strength, right? Means he can only swing that gun around so fast." Robin began.
"I go right, you go left?"
"Sounds good to me."
Leader watched the brush and foliage, that giant brain of his working overtime processing scenarios. Scenario #12 was proven true as Robin leapt out of the bushes, tossing shuriken at the large-headed man. He flipped a switch to 'full auto' as he let out energy blasts at the Teen Wonder, who narrowly avoided each one. So sure was the Leader in the scenario playing out was that, by the time he heard the 'thwip' behind him, he could barely turn around in time to see the gloved fist of Scarlet Spider slamming into him, knocking him out.
"Ahhhh, I punched his brain! His skull's so… weird and lumpy."
"Hey, Gamma Rays are a hell of a makeover. Now, let's go help the others and-" Before Robin could finish his sentence, the boys felt their world turn upside down as they were consumed in Count Vertigo's psychic blast.
"I would worry about your own problems right now."
X-23 grunted as Sabertooth smashed her head into the tree, popping her claws and digging them into Sabertooth's gut. He grunted and coughed up blood, baring his own claws as he prepared to dig his claws into her own chest. Before he could, batarangs buried themselves in his back as Batgirl's foot slammed into his spine, with enough force that would have paralyzed a normal person as he was knocked back. Sabertooth grunted as he got back to his feet, his spine knitting itself back together as the wounds in his chest healed.
"That the best you got?"
"Not even close." X-23 challenged, both sets of claws popped, and Sabertooth bared his claws.
"When this is done, I'm gonna mail you to Logan in pieces."
"I wanna see you try." The two rushed each other, the fight soon becoming a whirlwind of flashing claws as the two fought. Laura ducked under a swing from Creed and slashed his stomach with her foot claw, only for Creed to slash her back with his own claws. She wasn't deterred as she stabbed her hand claws into his leg, sending blood flying everywhere as she pulled them out. As Sabertooth was already healing, she wasted no time, driving her claws into his throat. At least, she attempted to, as the mutant caught her claws, the metal blades diving through his hand.
"Heh, you got some bite, kid. Sure you're not mine?" Sabertooth remarked, not even fazed by the claws in his hand.
"Unlikely, I look too good to be yours."
"Better get to work on fixing that." Sabertooth followed up with a slash to Laura's face, and was about to slit her throat, when a grappling hook burst through his other hand. "Ah, frickin'-" Creed could barely finish his thought before Batgirl zip kicked him in the jaw, before she delivered two strikes to his chest that fractured his ribs. She landed an open palm strike directly to his chest, knocking him back into the swamp water.
"You… alright?" Batgirl asked, as Laura's face was already healing.
"I will be. More than we can say for him."
"Oh… got me right in the heart…" Sabertooth mumbled out as he got to his feet, his jaw resetting. "I know that move. The Bat outsourcin'' from Shiva now?" Batgirl noticeably tensed up, and instead of retorting, she threw two more batarangs at him that exploded into smoke. This allowed X-23 to rush in again, slashing Creed's achilles tendons with her foot claws as Batgirl chopped him in the collarbone. Sabertooth wasn't defenseless, as he rabidly flailed about, causing both girls to leap back to avoid his claws. This bought Creed's heels enough time to heal enough for him to move back. "I can do this all day, sweethearts!"
"You heal… no mercy." Batgirl said, cracking her neck as she and X-23 rushed in again.
Trickshot fired an arrow as he leapt back to avoid a tendril, the arrow he fired being knocked out of the sky by another tendril that protected Poison Ivy. "You'll have to do better than that little toy, Robin Hood!"
"Man, what is it with everyone and dumping on bows today?" Trickshot muttered, as Miss Martian obliterated a vine that had been sneaking up behind him.
"Don't worry, I've got something a bit better!" Miss Martian declared, unleashing telekinetic blasts that shredded any plants that got close, much to Ivy's irritation.
"Every plant you destroy is just a little more reason I'll rip you limb from limb, Martian!"
"Yeah, you keep saying that, and you keep not catching me." Miss Martian taunted phasing through a large vine before solidifying her hand inside it and tearing it clean off and hurling it at Ivy who was forced to dodge.
"You insolent little flesh sack!" She shrieked as more and more vines and branches shot forward and forced both the young heroes to dodge.
"I hate fighting her almost for the gross sounding insults alone." Trickshot said through their linked minds.
"I can see it." She admitted as, try as they might, they couldn't get closer to the plant wielding villain. Every time Trickshot had an opening for a shot, she would bat the arrows away, once sending an incendiary arrow at Miss Martian.
"Look out!" Miss Martian was barely able to knock the arrow away as it detonated, but she was still discombobulated from the heat. This allowed Poison Ivy to finally wrap her in vines, slamming her into the ground. Trickshot scowled, as he reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow with a glowing arrow head and a label on it that read WARNING: DO NOT USE INDOORS. He nocked it, aimed it at the sky, and fired. Poison Ivy watched as it sailed into the sky, raising an eyebrow.
"You're aiming the wrong way."
"I never miss." Trickshot pressed the button on his bow, activating the Pym Particle container on the arrow headed. Ivy's eyes widened as the arrow grew to the size of a semi truck, and she was barely able to leap out of the way before the massive arrow impacted the ground, sending dirt and water flying everywhere.
Including over White Wolf's armor as he dodged a mystical blast from Enchantress, who floated just out of his reach.
"Was that a giant arrow?" He called out to Aqualad in obvious confusion as the two of them continued to avoid Enchantress' blasts.
"It would appear so, I didn't think he would ever use that one!" Aqualad admitted, creating a shield and using his own magic to reflect one of the blasts back at the goddess. She swatted it aside, eyes glowing bright gold.
"FOOLISH MORTALS! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND YOU'RE NO MATCH!? SURRENDER NOW AND I MAY MAKE IT PAINLESS!" She declared, her voice magically amplified so it echoed across the swamp.
White Wolf avoided her next attack, a wolf briefly surrounding him as he sprang from the ground into the air and managed to scratch the woman's shoulder before she sent him flying backwards into the swamp water before trapping him in a dome of water. And holding it in the air as he struggled to escape.
"I will enjoy watching you die, Prince." She sneered smirking as Aqualad staggered to his feet and looked around at the battles and status of his team, and became very aware that they were losing.
Reverse Flash, Leader, and Ocean Master were down for now, but Kid Flash was still nursing a stab wound and an injured wrist, Iron Knight lay on the ground, his armor in pieces. Artemis, Robin, and Scarlet Spider were all struggling to stand as Vertigo bombarded them with his power. Superboy and Wonder Girl were tag teaming the Absorbing Man, but what he lacked in raw power he made up for in experience, cycling through strong materials in order to discombobulate the two. X-23 and Batgirl were strong fighters, but they were not killers like Sabertooth was, and it was only a matter of time before Sabertooth injured one of them. And White Wolf's oxygen reserves would only last so long…
He knew what had to be done. He only wished it hadn't come to that.
"Miss Martian!" He called out, getting her attention. "Plan B!" Her eyes widened, but she nodded. The bioship flew overhead, opening it's bottom hatch to drop the duffel bag at Kaldur's feet. He reached down and unzipped it, and Kid Flash looked to see the glow off of the golden Helmet of Fate.
"Don't do it, Aqualad!" He screamed out, as Kaldur raised the helmet above his head. Amora gasped as she saw the helmet, genuine fear crossing the Asgardian's face. He took a deep breath… and placed it on his head. "NOOOO!"
A flash of golden light engulfed the swamp, blinding them all. When the light died down, Aqualad was gone, replaced with the golden cape and glowing ankh… of Doctor Fate.
"Holy…" Trickshot gasped out, as Doctor Fate floated to face Enchantress.
"Amora. You are mine, Enchantress!" Doctor Fate declared, and Enchantress scowled.
"Not in a million lifetimes, you dusty old relic!" The Asgardian fired a spell at Fate, but a golden blast shot out of his chest medallion, effortlessly dispelling the spell and hitting Amora in the chest. The blonde sorceress was knocked back against the building, the golden beam wrapping around her and forming chains. Enchantress spoke a few words in a language none had spoken on Midgard in centuries, causing the golden chains to turn green and loosen off of her. She sent them flying towards Fate, who summoned a golden ankh that dissipated the chains. "I've always known that you would return one day, Nabu , and you'll find I'm quite prepared!" She fired her spell once more, the green energy blasting through the ankh. Fate quickly recovered, and the two engaged in a mystical battle.
Superboy blocked a punch from the Absorbing Man, hooking his leg around the metal man's and flipping him onto his back. Wonder Girl flew up before plummeting down to deliver a piledriver, the former boxer just barely rolling out of the way. He got some distance, swinging his ball at the two. Superboy leapt in front of Wonder Girl to take the hit, allowing her to rush forward and deliver a punch that sent Absorbing Man flying. Just like Diana showed her, she pulled her lasso off her hip and got it around the Absorbing Man. She flew up and swung him around, before slamming him onto the ground.
Meanwhile, X-23 ducked under a swipe from Sabertooth's claws, taking advantage to drive her own claws under his armpit. He winced as he leapt back, his right arm dangling uselessly, before ducking under a batarang from Batgirl. The projectile flew forward and just barely missed Vertigo just a little bit away, breaking his concentration.
"Careful!" This provided Kid Flash enough time to run from his position off the ground, slamming into the Count and knocking him off balance as the red head took a piece from his cape. This allowed Robin to rush him, knocking the Count of Vlatava out with a kick to the head.
Wally grunted as he slammed into a tree, still slightly dizzy from his surely broken wrist and stab wound courtesy of the Reverse Flash.
"This day sucks…"
"Don't go passing out yet." Artemis called out as she came over to him. "How's your wound?"
"Well, on the plus side, I'm not bleeding out. On the other hand, I've got an arrow in my side…" The speedster groaned out as Artemis pulled two small trick arrow head from the bottom of her quiver, opening it up to reveal some antiseptic and a bandage. "Is that… a first aid arrow?"
"It's like Green Arrow always says, stay prepared. Just something to keep that from getting infected until we can pull it out." Artemis remarked, the speedster wincing as she applied the antiseptic, before applying the gauze pad.
"Aw, you do care..."
"Only so you don't have the lamest superhero death ever. 'Died from swamp infection' doesn't look good on a statue." Artemis stated, taking the piece of Count Vertigo's cape to wrap around his chest. "There. Should last til we get out of here."
Meanwhile, Poison Ivy had finally captured Trickshot with her vines, and was currently trying to capture Miss Martian. "Your little boyfriend's all out of tricks, Martian!"
"Good thing I've got a few tricks of my own!" Miss Martian stated, obliterating any vines Ivy sent her way with her telekinesis. She formed a telekinetic shield around her that shredded any vines that approached her, before unleashing a massive telekinetic blast that knocked Ivy back. This gave her an opening to break Trickshot from the vines, who nocked a trick arrow and unleashed it. Ivy ducked, smirking.
"You missed."
"Lady, did you not hear what I said earlier? I don't miss." Before Ivy could ponder what that meant, the arrow circled back around, hitting Ivy on the back of the head and knocking her out.
"Is that… a boomerang arrow?" Miss Martian asked, and Trickshot shrugged.
"Hey, they never see it coming."
With six down and two to go, Enchantress and Fate's battle raged overhead. Amora had unleashed the full force of her magical might, and while Doctor Fate was more than a match for her, he was still clearly unaccustomed to his new body. Fate cast a spell that engulfed Enchantress in a golden light, only for her to vanish into green smoke and appear behind him, blasting him from behind.
"You've been gone too long, Nabu! You may have been an all powerful Lord of Order once, but-"
"I invoke the Crimson Bands of Cryttorak!" Red bands of energy flew down to wrap around Amora, binding her and dropping her to the ground. Doctor Fate turned around to see Doctor Strange flying towards him, flanked by Iron Man, Hawkman, the Human Torch, and Green Lantern I. "Not today, Amora!" Strange declared, distracting Absorbing Man enough for Superboy to send him flying once more.
Sabertooth had knocked X-23 back as his arm finished healing, baring his claws. However, before he could do so, he heard a loud *thud* behind him, hearing the sound of cracking knuckles.
"Hey, Furball. You wanna tell me what time it is?" The gruff voice behind him asked, and Sabertooth barely had time to turn around as the orange rocky fist of The Thing collided with his head, sending him flying to join the rest of the Masters.
As Leader and Ocean Master regained consciousness and Sabertooth landed in front of them, Leader heard the roar of engines, looking up to see Captain America being lowered on a platform by the Invisible Woman, flanked by Batman, Nightwing, Mister Fantastic and the first Flash. The Blackbird circled overhead as several bursts of purple smoke deposited the X-Men, as John Stewart lowered Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Black Panther, Aquaman, Spider-Man, and Flash. The rest of the flyers, also consisting of Storm, Jean Grey, Rogue, Shazam, Captain Britain, Captain Marvel, and Zatara.
The rest of the Masters that weren't encumbered formed ranks, getting closer together as they were encircled by the heroes of Earth.
"You're a smart man, Sterns. Do the math." Captain America warned, as The Leader did indeed do the math. In total there eight Masters, two of which were already in inescapable bindings, meaning there were six against the combined might of Earth's heroes.
Almost all of Earth's heroes.
"Very well then." The Leader stated, raising his hands. Vertigo, Absorbing Man, Ivy, and Ocean Master all exchanged a glance, before raising their hands in surrender. However, Sabertooth was not as content.
"Ugh canf.." Sabertooth started, before rehinging his jaw. "You can't be serious! We're just gonna roll over and give up?!"
"I never said that, Victor. I am merely doing what Captain Rogers said… and doing the math." Leader explained, clenching his fists and turning the control nodes on his gloves red. "Activate Failsafe Omega!"
All across the remainder of the vines, flowers began to bloom, before exploding outwards into green clouds of gas.
"That gas is filled with gamma radiation! No one breathe it in!" Iron Man warned as he scanned the gas, The Invisible Woman throwing up a sizable force bubble around the heroes to try and shield everyone, but she was already beginning to strain.
"Can't… hold it…" she strained out, as Batman picked Leader up by the collar of his jumpsuit.
"What have you done?!"
"Simply taking advantage of an opportunity. After all, when will it be the next time all of Earth's heroes are gathered in one spot?"
"We'll die too, you ass!" The Absorbing Man yelled, only for The Leader to smirk.
"Not true. My meta abilities give me quite a bit of immunity to gamma radiation."
"You son of a bitch!" Ivy yelled, as Captain America turned to Captain Marvel.
"Monica, can you absorb the radiation?"
"I can try, but we're all so tightly packed I can't guarantee someone won't get a lungful of gamma rays!"
"Plan B. Stephen, Zatara?"
"We can't just snap our fingers and make it disappear, Captain!" Zatara said. "Either of us would need time to prepare the words, time I fear-"
"Fear not!" The voice of Doctor Fate bellowed as the golden-helmed avatar floated above them, holding his hand out and conjuring a golden ankh. The gas began to be sucked into it, and soon there was no trace of the radiation-soaked gas. "Fate has intervened!"
"Or… we let the Lord of Order handle it."
A short while later
SHIELD transports had arrived, outfitting the Masters of Evil with inhibitor collars, and preparing to load them into transports. Not that everyone was happy about it.
"Get your hands off me!" Count Vertigo protested, shaking the SHIELD agents' hands off of him. "Don't you know who I am?! I have diplomatic immunity! I shall not be imprisoned like some common vagrant!"
"We'll have to contact the Vlatavan embassy to verify that. Unfortunately, it seems things are a bit hectic right now, on account of the giant plants. Until then, we've got a nice, cozy cell for you." Agent Coulson stated as Vertigo was led into the transport. Just behind him, a helmetless Ocean Master was being led into the transport, looking towards an approaching Aquaman, a look of heartbreak and betrayal on the Atlantean's face.
"If you think I'm going to beg for immunity like Vertigo, I'd keep moving, 'brother.'" Orm spat, earning a sad frown from Arthur.
"I simply wish to know why, Orm. Why would you betray us? We might not share the same father, but I never for a second considered you and Namor as anything less than family."
"And that's where we disagree, brother. Ours is a proud bloodline, descended from Arion himself, and our mother dared to pollute it with some surface world lighthouse keeper. I could have ignored it, had you not deigned to pollute it further with Xebellian filth. If I have any regrets, it's that I didn't let Black Manta kill them when I had the chance." Orm spit, and Aquaman sighed, his crestfallen look only deepening with sorrow.
"If that is how you truly feel… then you are no brother of mine. I only wish I could have seen this sooner. Farewell, Orm."
Orm scowled as he was led into the transport. Arthur watched him go, as Black Panther placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If you're beating yourself up for your brother, don't. He made his own decisions, and blood relations do not make us accountable for their actions."
"That may be true, but that does not mean I cannot wish it were different." Aquaman stated, as he looked away from the transport. "Now, I believe there are others more deserving of our attention."
"How could you let him put the Helmet on?!" Wally yelled out, wincing as he felt a sharp pain in his side.
"Calm down, KF. You'll reopen your wound." Mockingbird tried to reassure, but Wally wasn't placated as he scowled, glaring at Doctor Fate .
"Nabu will never let him go. Kaldur had to have known what would happen!"
"That's exactly what I said when he told me about his plan." Miss Martian spoke up, frowning as she leaned against Trickshot as they sat against the giant arrow. "I remembered what you told us about what happened in the Tower, but he said it was a risk he was willing to take."
"And you didn't try to talk him out of it?!"
"He said he was prepared to do whatever it took. And… I kind of agreed with him." M'gann explained, and Kid Flash turned to Doctor Strange.
"Can't you do something?! You know, cast a spell and take the helmet off of him?"
"It doesn't work like that. Aqualad willingly put the helmet on, under no kind of external influence or suggestion. Under the terms of the Helm's magic, that means it can only be removed under Fate's own power." Doctor Strange said, as Green Lantern crossed his arms and looked at Fate.
"I can't say I'm thrilled with this, either. There were times Kent spent months, even years before taking the Helmet off. Aqualad's young, with his life ahead of him. He deserves more than to be trapped inside Fate's head."
"I agree, Alan, but unfortunately, none of us here can go against a Lord of Order." Zatara agreed. "Perhaps one of us can speak with Nabu, offer him some sort of bargain or-" as the Magician spoke, Fate, who had been silent the entire time, began to move. He abruptly placed both hands on the Helmet and, much to everyone's surprise, removed it. The gold and blue uniform vanished, replaced with the Team's leader.
"Fortunately, that will not be necessary." Kaldur stated, as Kid Flash's jaw dropped.
"What? But… how?! You're like, Nabu's ideal host! He just… let you go?"
"Nabu would be likely to agree with you. Fortunately, you have quite the persuasive friend." Aqualad stated, looking at Green Lantern, Flash, and Captain America. "Kent says 'hi', by the way." The former JSA members were shocked to say the least, before Jay smiled.
"Heh, Kent always was full of surprises."
"We're done here." The gruff voice of Batman stated, the Team turning to the caped crusader approaching them. "Iron Knight is being transported to a nearby hospital for further examination, but preliminary examination indicates his injuries were not as severe as they looked. The Masters of Evil have been captured and are being transported to holding facilities, and the plant creatures have been defeated. As for your performance here…" The Dark Knight looked over the assembled Team, letting it hang in the air… before giving them the faintest of approving nods. "… It was satisfactory. We'll discuss the specifics later, but for now, take pride in what you've accomplished here. Were it not for your efforts, the Masters would not have been defeated so easily."
"That's Batman speak for 'you guys did great.' Trust me, it's more than I got half the time." Nightwing remarked, and Robin smirked from his spot leaning next to Laura.
"Well, what do you expect? We're a bit more fine-tuned than you old timers." He teased, earning an eye roll from the first Robin.
Hawkeye looked over at the giant arrow his son and his girlfriend leaned against, hands on his hips. "I don't remember giving you this one."
"Well, if you didn't want me to use it, then don't leave it lying on the tool bench for anyone to take." Trickshot remarked, and Hawkeye let out a chortle.
"Uh huh, ok. Just so you know, Pym charges me about five hundred bucks for one of these. Next one's coming out of your allowance." Trickshot's eyes widened at this.
"Uh… how do I shrink this thing down?"
Undisclosed Location
Screens showed the news feeds for the day, showing footage of all the heroes battling the plants. "Impressive. The plant creatures exceeded our projections, and proved themselves as viable weapons." The voice of Lex Luthor stated as he watched the screens.
"As I expected they would. A minimal lag time of 0.616 seconds across vast distances, all while the user is processing multiple scenarios. All it will take now is fine tuning the control interface." Doctor Octopus remarked as he examined the readouts before him, as Doctor Doom did the same.
"Magical and technological integration went perfectly. The process must be refined, of course, but the results indicate what we have planned is indeed possible."
"Blah, blah, blah. Asgardian Magic's so lame and boring. Why couldn't I do it myself?" A bored Klarion asked, only for Teekl to meow in his arms. "So what if they figure it out? It'd have been a lot more exciting than boring old Enchantress!"
"They might have been 'boring' for you, Klarion, but each member of our 'Masters of Evil' was carefully selected so as to best deflect suspicion." Ra's Al Ghul explained, as he and Zemo looked at the feed showing the Masters.
"And I suspect that this particular mix will succeed in that. Sterns is so egotistical, he still believes the idea for the 'Masters' to be his. After all, the best lies aren't the most elaborate, but rather the most comforting." Zemo stated, earning a chuckle from Queen Bee.
"Indeed they are. However, it is a shame to lose operatives such as these. The loss of Ocean Master in particular robs us of a crucial insight into Atlantis, and Vertigo's criminal connections are quite valuable."
"Ocean Master has served his purpose. His assistance in orchestrating Black Manta's attack on Atlantis has already proved invaluable to us, as did the sacrifice of our other operatives. As for Vertigo, his diplomatic immunity shall protect him from long term consequences." The ageless, gruff voice said as he entered the control center, sending a cascade of reactions through the gathered villains. Ra's betrayed no emotion, though Zemo subtly tensed up as he folded his hands behind his back. An amused smile graced Klarion's face, as a smirk crossed Queen Bee's. Doom's metal mask betrayed no emotion, although his eyes narrowed just a tad. Lex Luthor gave him a slight look as he turned his attention back to the screens, while Doctor Octopus regarded the new arrival with a mix of suspicion and respect.
The new arrival was a man of massive stature and height, with medium dark skin, rugged features, and a square jaw. He wore a lapelless blue coat with a red stripe around the edges, and black boots and gloves. His eyes were hard, conveying more wisdom and experience than any one mortal could, and three jagged scars across his face.
"More importantly, our primary goal was accomplished. As Ra's stated, the proxies we selected for our Masters of Evil will serve as adequate patsies, deflecting any suspicion that would have been sent our way. The so-called 'heroes' will believe that our 'Secret Society' was crushed with the Masters of Evil, allowing us to operate with impunity once more. By the time they suspect anything, it will be too late." Vandal Savage stated to his gathered allies. "And once more, shadows… shall conceal The Light."
