New week, new chapter! This one is nothing super special, but it was fun to write plus things are about to kick up a notch again. ;)

~/~/~/~

Star City

April 1, 16:20 PDT

"Secretary Tseng and I are so glad you accepted the Reach's invitation to meet, Captain."

Jenna grimaced when she viewed the very tight and very fake smile on Captain Atom's face as he reluctantly shook the Ambassador's hand. This is such a mess.

She moved around her couch to sit down while she watched the broadcast, tucking a foot under her other leg. It felt like she was watching the news more and more as of late. And it seemed to make her stomach roll every time.

"The Justice League always supports peaceful diplomacy," the Captain said.

"And should diplomacy fail, you have your wanted meta-powers to enforce peace."

Jenna bristled as she absentmindedly petted her cat. "Oh, you have got to be joking," she said, glaring at the television screen. "How can they fall for this bullsh-"

A knock on her door made Jenna stand. She muted the audio before crossing over to see who had arrived.

"Tina, good to see you. Come on in." Sam's aunt entered the apartment as Jenna closed the door behind her. "What can I help you with?"

"I had some questions…and a few concerns."

Jenna wasn't all that surprised. "I'm all ears. Why don't you have a seat?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Sam was doing all he needed to take care of himself," Tina explained. "I understand the kind of risks that come with your line of work, but, well, I'm worried about him."

She lowered onto one side of the couch after she accepted Jenna's invitation. "He got a concussion a couple of days ago, after all. What if something worse happened later on?"

Jenna settled into a chair beside the couch, shifting to face her protégé's aunt. "Sam is doing really well during our training and our patrols. He's catching on really well with proper offensive and defensive techniques that I'm teaching him," she assured. "In fact, they're the very ones that my sister taught me years ago. But you're right. There's going to be risks."

She leaned back in her seat, glancing up at the ceiling. "I can't say that I haven't been injured on the job either. I don't want you or your family to worry, but I also want to be transparent with you.

"Because Sam is still a minor, I find it important that you know everything that is going on. But I promise you, I wouldn't put him in situations that I didn't think he could handle. Our last mission just…took some unexpected turns."

She tried to fight the wince as she thought about how her team had to go toe to toe with that Black Beetle guy. And epically failed.

She had been able to hold out on her own for a little while after Sam was knocked unconscious, but it wasn't for long as Superboy had been grabbed and slammed directly into her. She was lucky that it just dazed her—and gave her a massive headache—so she laid low until Blue Beetle showed up to take on the big guy himself. Then she helped get the rest of her team inside the Bioship to make their escape.

"I know my nephew has been one to ignore what he really needs if his mind is on something else," Tina continued. "When his parents were killed, it took a lot of work to get him to eat, much less out of bed."

She looked down at her lap, muttering, "My husband's…opinions didn't make our home very welcoming either."

Jenna gave a sympathetic look. "I was really young when my dad was killed and, some years later, when my mom died from cancer," she said. "I had my sister, Dinah, to take care of me and to raise me, but it was still hard to cope with."

She fiddled with her necklace absentmindedly. "And several years later, when I was Sam's age, there was an incident. Everything turned out okay, but it hurt a lot of us." She recalled as her eyes cast to the side. "Long story short, we thought a lot of people had died, but they didn't. It was hard to come back from that."

A small smile returned to her face. "Being around my sister, I've learned to pick up certain signs. I watch for them in Sam daily," she explained. "And I've made it clear to him constantly that if he can't handle some of what we have to go through, it's okay to step away."

A momentary silence fell over the two adults.

"Don't know why you're surprised, folks. After all, most of your heroes wear masks."

The duo jumped as the sound of G. Gordon Godfrey's voice went through the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tina apologized, retrieving the TV remote that had been caught under her leg in the couch cushion. She muted the audio again, setting the remote down on the coffee table in front of her.

"It's fine, I should have turned that off," Jenna brushed off.

The older woman examined the broadcast for a moment longer. "I'm not sure what I think about these…Reach people."

Jenna slumped in her chair with a sigh. "That makes two of us," she grumbled.

~/~/~/~

Blüdhaven

April 1, 21:15 EDT

Siren frowned down at her phone, rereading the string of messages she had sent during the past week. None of which, along with several calls, had gotten a response.

She sighed before typing another message although she knew it was going to be fruitless.

Wally, please answer me. Talk to me.

"There they are."

Siren looked up into the night sky as Nightwing spoke up, opening the warehouse door behind him. The Super-Cycle was touching down with Superboy, Miss M, Wolf, and Mal in tow. Those of the team who had lost their home when Mount Justice blew up.

I'll bet it's just one more thing my ex didn't put into consideration. "Hi, guys," Siren greeted.

"Nice. Perfect cover for our new digs," Mal commented, looking up at the worn-down warehouse exterior. "On the outside, I mean, it's downright nasty."

Siren cleared her throat as she reached up to lift the door higher. "Well, about that…"

The team members ducked inside and Mal's enthusiasm immediately dropped.

"It's nasty on the inside, too," he mumbled, walking around the small area.

It wasn't very exciting. Nightwing had been using the place during his caped crusading to act as his personal Batcave. And as he so often liked to point out, he wasn't Bruce Wayne. There was only so much he could do when he wasn't a billionaire. There was just enough space to provide beds and an upstairs seating area. Other than that, well, it was just going to have to make do.

"April Fools, right? I mean, this is the team's new HQ? Where's the secret trapdoor to our real base?"

"No secret trapdoor," Nightwing corrected Mal. "And it's not our new HQ. For the time being, we'll operate out of the basement of the Hall of Justice. This is just a place to crash."

Before Mal could object like Siren could very clearly see he wanted to do, she continued, "Temporarily, Mal. I understand it's not ideal, but we're doing what we can in the meantime for those of you who had been living at the Cave."

"It's fine," Superboy assured.

Siren had to fight a wide grin. "It looks like Wolf is already getting comfortable anyway," she said, eyeing the big dog as he yawned and settled his head in his front paws.

Nightwing quickly showed all of the accommodations to the trio. "I'm sorry about the lack of privacy, M'gann," he said as he guided her over to the beds. "This curtain will have to do for now, but we'll figure something else out."

Siren crossed her arms with a sigh. "Do you just want to come and stay with me?" she asked her friend softly. "I've got an air mattress, but it's more privacy than you'll get here."

Her light smirk was quickly wiped when Miss M averted her gaze. "N- no. It's fine," she said quickly, almost urgently.

Siren's brow furrowed. Something's wrong. Before she could address it though, Mal spoke up instead.

"Oh, no. No way. I am out," he said firmly. "I'm heading for the Hall where I'm making other arrangements, my friends."

"Sorry, Mal," Siren called out.

"You two should go along," Nightwing suggested to the other two. "Pick up the boxes of your stuff we salvaged from Mount Justice."

He gave a tentative grin. "It might help this warehouse feel more like a…ware-home."

Siren groaned, pushing off the wall she was leaning against to walk past her co-leader. "That was terrible, even coming from you," she ribbed.

Nightwing gave her a grin before he noticed her walking away entirely. "Where are you going?"

Siren paused, glancing over at Miss Martian who was following Superboy and Mal to the warehouse exit. "The Hall," she said. "M'gann seems a bit…off and I want to make sure she's alright. It's been rough for all of us and I haven't had a chance to see how she's been doing after everything."

She slipped out of the warehouse just as her teammates were piling onto the Super-Cycle. "Got room for one more?"

She settled in the seat beside Miss Martian who immediately turned away. Siren frowned. She wanted to speak to her friend as soon as possible, but not when there were others around in case that would deter her from opening up. She could wait.

~/~/~/~

Washington, D.C.

April 1, 21:24 EDT

Siren set down a box on the library table, glancing up at her friend copying the same action on the other side. "Hey, M'gann, got a sec to talk?" she wondered.

The Martian suddenly looked nervous, but she still nodded at the team's leader as they stepped off to the side.

"I wanted to check in and see how you were doing," Siren continued. "I know it's been kind of crazy these past few weeks, especially with Artemis being…gone."

She swallowed hard, averting her gaze. "But I just wanted to make sure you were alright. That we were alright."

Miss M looked startled, momentarily forgetting her hesitation. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Siren shrugged. "You tell me. Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" She blinked at Miss Martian's outburst. "Uh, no. I promise it's not you."

Why do I feel like there's an unspoken 'it's me'? Siren's eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to press for answers.

But before she could, a loud series of beeps echoed from the Hall entrance. It was very startling, considering that it was well past the set hours where civilians could tour the building. What the-

"Greetings and salutationisms, Earth champions!"

Zatanna and Captain Marvel, who had been helping sort through the salvaged items, dropped what they were doing to sprint out of the library and out of the Hall entirely.

"Your four, stay here," Siren ordered.

She hurried out of the room, but rather than join the two Leaguers, she hung back. She stepped closer to the Hall entrance, pressing herself against the wall to remain hidden while she eavesdropped. She yanked out a knife from her holster, angling it to look through the reflective surface.

What is that? Her eyes narrowed as she caught a glimpse of a little robot floating in front of Zatanna and the Captain. There wasn't a way to hear what they were saying otherwise, but Siren took the chance to examine the intruder. Its gestures were big and grand, but without a face, she couldn't exactly read its lips if it didn't have any.

Captain Marvel crossed his arms, making movements as if he was conversing with the robot which at least alluded to the fact that he and Zatanna could understand what the robot was saying. But in turn with whatever the Captain said, the robot pressed a button on its wrist and all of a sudden, a red shield closed over the entire building.

Siren let out a gasp, eyes going wide as something teleported into the figurative cage. A very large, purple alien that stared down at the two Leaguers, but Captain Marvel in particular. And before any of them had time to react, the creature punted him back into the building like he was a football.

Crap! Siren dove out of the way to dodge the shards of glass that flew out into the room once the Captain made contact with the door. The weight of the man and the force of the kick sent him sliding across the floor, digging up the once pristine tiles.

Siren's hand flew up to the comm in her ear. "Guys, heads up, we've got company," she reported, only groaning when she heard nothing but static. Comms are down.

She ran over to the man who was still knocked down, kneeling beside the Captain as she glared toward the entrance. Zatanna had gone very still, almost as if she was unresponsive while still standing. But she didn't have time to worry about that as the alien and robot were walking toward her.

"Allow me to introduce my master," the robot said. "The warlord Despero. Gladiatorial champion of ninety-two star systems."

It flew up in Siren's face, making her scowl. "Working on ninety-three now," it added as he flew over to Captain Marvel once the Leaguer had stood. "He has come to this backwater planet seeking a challenge to prove his superiority to all life forms. It's quite the complimentism. You really should feel honored."

Captain Marvel glared at the robot. "Oh, I am," he said, jerking his shoulder away from the robot's touch. "Here, let me show him."

He lunged forward, sending him and Despero straight into the closest wall. It hardly seemed to faze the creature though as he threw the Captain straight up into the ceiling. Once the man fell back down, Despero chucked him into the large League statues in the center of the room.

"Guys?!" Siren yelled as loud as she could, hoping her team could hear the ruckus as she rolled away from the falling Leaguer and debris.

"Here," Superboy answered as he and Bumblebee ran out of the library. "You two, check on Zatanna. Thin head's mine."

As he charged forward, Siren shot her grappling hook into the ceiling to launch high above Despero. Once she was behind him, she bolted out of the Hall entrance where her friend was still unmoving.

A quick examination told her that Zatanna was physically okay, but she couldn't say the same about the Leaguer's mental state. It was like she was stuck in some sort of trance, unflinching even as Siren snapped her fingers in front of Zatanna's face.

"Zatanna?" Bumblebee said, tugging on a strand of the woman's hair, making her head tilt sideways. No response. "Wake up!"

Siren leaned in close, pulling a small penlight out of her jacket to shine in Zatanna's eyes as she held one lid open. The magician's pupils remained constricted even after the light was removed. And her eyelids were droopy, returning to the sleepy expression as Siren let go completely.

"I'm getting nothing," Siren said with worry in her tone.

"Zatanna!" Bee yelled in their friend's ear, but even the loud noise resulted in nothing. "Why do they always make me do this?"

"Do what?" Siren questioned.

She got her answer when Bumblebee hovered in front of Zatanna, sending a quick blast into the woman's chest. Siren winced, knowing that Bumblebee's stingers would be painful, but she was surprised to see that they provided no results other than making Zatanna rock back and forth from the force.

"That," Bee added. "But since it clearly didn't work, let's try getting help." The small hero flew up, firing her stingers at the shield keeping them caged in.

"Sounds like a plan." Siren moved down the steps, planting herself right in front of the red pyramid.

She opened her mouth, letting out a scream as powerful as she could make it. It caused ripples to go through the shield like it was the wind blowing a curtain, but other than that small reaction, it didn't give off the impression that her powers would break their confines anytime soon.

"So much for that," she grumbled, looking up at Bumblebee.

"Yeah, I think I'm losing my touch," Bee answered.

"We're not gonna have luck with that anytime soon, so we need to get back in there and try taking the big guy down," Siren pointed out. "Maybe if we defeat him, we can force them to free us."

"Not like there's much else we can do in the meantime."

Siren moved back up the steps, eyeing Zatanna with concern as she passed by. Bumblebee flew ahead of her, firing at Despero, but as Siren wisely chose to steer clear, she noticed that he didn't react besides angrily grunting.

She and Bee slowed to a stop by the library doors as Mal and Miss Martian rushed out, having noticed Despero knocking both Superboy and Captain Marvel around with no problem.

"Big Ugly's wiping the floor with our heavy hitters," Mal mentioned.

Siren shot him an annoyed look. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Mal."

"I tried stinging him, but he didn't even feel it!" Bumblebee added. "Miss Martian, you have to do something."

Miss M hesitated before letting her eyes glow green. She spun around, grabbing her uncle's fallen statue from the side of the room. It slowly rose in the air, gravity trying to pull it back down until she threw it like an arrow straight at the purple alien.

There's no way he'll- Siren flinched as the statue was demolished with a single punch, dust and debris flying everywhere. -oh what the hell.

"Watch out!" she shrieked when she saw Despero pick up another statue's head, throwing it right at the four heroes.

Miss M and Bumblebee went up while Siren and Mal lunged to the side. Mal had landed hard, but Siren slid to a stop with one leg bent low and the other extended out to slow down.

She glanced over at Mal who had fallen on his side. "Dude," she said judgmentally. Do my lessons mean nothing?

"Come on, Miss M!" Mal called out, ignoring the team leader. "Brain blast him or somethin'!"

"No!"

Siren's head whipped up to stare at the Martian floating in the air. She had never seen Miss M be so hesitant to use her powers. Not since it led us all to believe our friends and teammates were dying in a training simulation. But why was she acting that way now?

Siren's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What did she do?

Superboy had managed to stand again, glancing back at his ex-girlfriend. By the frown on his face, Siren wondered if he was picking up the same vibes she was. But there wasn't time to assess it properly when they were under attack.

"Then we need to catch up with those two and try to find a solution," Siren determined. "Something in his fighting patterns, physical weaknesses, anything."

She spun on her heel, taking off to the corridor where Despero had knocked Captain Marvel down. Bumblebee shot ahead to scout, leaving the other four to follow. By the time they caught up, they quickly found out that another one of the Leaguers was down.

"Oh no," Siren mumbled.

"A-ha! This one wears the symbolism of Superman, one of Earth's mightiest champions," the robot said excitedly.

Siren glanced over at Superboy with wide eyes. That didn't go so well last time he tried fighting this thing. But the Kryptonian only readied himself by shifting into a fighting stance.

Despero only grinned. Oh dear.

Superboy leaped forward, pulling back a fist to swing at the alien's face, but his arm being grabbed immediately halted his movement. Despero grabbed his shirt, swinging the clone around to slam him into the display cases lined up against the wall.

"Well, that's not going to be successful anytime soon," Siren sighed from her kneeling position beside Billy, having checked on him as soon as the coast was clear. He was out for the count too, having the same appearance as Zatanna.

Realizing that there was nothing she could do to help them, Siren ran forward to rejoin her teammates as Miss Martian rescued Superboy from the one-sided fight. We need to find out how to take ol' nasty down. And fast.

"Do you Earthlings truly have no concept of honorable single combat?" the robot said incredulously.

"There's not much honor when one easily overpowers the other," Siren muttered under her breath.

The alien leaped into the air, slamming into the still-hovering Superboy. They both collided with the ceiling, crashing through to the next floor. Boy, isn't that familiar? She shielded her face from the falling concrete before grabbing her grappling gun to fire up at the open hole. It latched onto the second level's floor, sending her straight up alongside Miss Martian and Bee.

"Do not follow, Earth females, do not interfere! It is poor sportism!"

Siren just ignored the robot's cries as he tried to beat them to the fight. "I'm about to put a dent into that shiny head," she snapped.

She and the other girls caught up with Superboy and Despero, looking out of the new hole in the observation deck's window. Superboy was down for the count, being held up by the back of the shirt. He's going to be killed.

"M'gann, now or never!" Bumblebee cried out, also realizing the severity of the situation.

But Miss M just took a gasping breath after a brief silence, like she was remembering something horrible. "I can't," she said helplessly.

Siren scowled. "Bee, distraction. Now."

She watched as the small heroine flew down to the lower level. While Despero was distracted by Bee's stingers, she dropped down behind him.

"Did I get your attention?" Bee quipped.

It was hard to tell what happened next. Siren had been creeping up to try and get the jump on the big guy, but all of a sudden, Bumblebee had dropped out of the air. Except before she did, one last blast fired out of her hands, impacting the alien.

Siren had thought that it wouldn't do anything like the several other blasts, but she jumped when the creature suddenly recoiled, cupping his forehead after he dropped Superboy. She stumbled away before Despero could slam into her, huddling back by the doors.

"Master, they have no honor," the robot declared angrily. "It's time they pay in blood."

It pointed at Bumblebee laying on the ground. "There, master. Start there," it said, before turning to Siren. "Do not worry, you shall have your turn soon."

Despero began stalking toward Bee, looming over the woman. He slowly lifted one foot, making Siren panic. "No!" She ran forward, yanking out her garrote.

"Enough!" Then she froze, whipping around to the sound of Mal's voice. Except Mal looked…different.

Siren stared with eyebrows raised at her teammate who was dressed in the Guardian's old uniform. Since giving up the mantle, Jim had left it in the Hall for it to be displayed. But why was Mal wearing it?

"You want Earth's champion? You found him!"

What the fuck…

"Your fight is with me, alien," Mal continued. "I am Earth's guardian. Its greatest champion, its secret champion."

It took everything in Siren not to facepalm. This is too much. She did raise her head though, sharing a glance with Miss Martian.

"He is not listed in the Krolotean database, master," the little robot told Despero. "Bu- but their records may be incomplete."

Siren glanced back at the robot. The what database?

"Miss Martian, Siren. Take the others and leave," Mal told the two women. "This is my fight alone."

"Mal, what are you doing?" Miss M spoke through a link.

"Keeping Ugly busy, at least until you two and Superboy get a better idea."

"You don't even have powers or special tech!" Siren pointed out. "He wiped out Cap and Superboy, what makes you think you'll be able to hold your own against him?!"

"Trust me. Your lessons are enough for me to last a while."

Time was running out. They had to get out of there to come up with a plan. "Fine," Siren grumbled.

"Uh, a- as you command, Guardian," Miss Martian said out loud, bowing toward Mal.

Rolling her eyes, Siren did the same. "If you survive this, Mal, I'm gonna kill you."

She straightened up, catching Bumblebee—when Miss M dropped the unconscious heroine in her hands to instead grab Superboy—before booking it out of the room and to the elevator.

Siren slammed the button to send them back to the first floor. She remained silent, her mind racing with any possible ways to fight back against the alien. Not to mention that little robot asshole.

Superboy began to stir, groaning in pain. "What happened? Where's Mal?"

"About to play the most important game of keep away in my life," their teammate spoke up in their minds. "So how about you guys figure out a plan B? Fast."

"Working on it!" Siren snapped, handing Bumblebee over to Miss M.

She whipped out her communicator, opening up blueprints of the Hall that she had saved. A small frown creased her face as she examined the layout of the building.

"How could you leave Mal up there alone?" Superboy demanded, standing back up.

Siren didn't look up at him when she responded, "That alien was about to kill both of you, and we needed a way to keep him occupied until we could figure out how to outsmart that thing."

Which would be much easier if M'gann would use her telepathy.

"I'm sorry."

Siren finally glanced up at Miss M's sudden, random comment to find her friends staring right at her. Oh, they heard that. Whoops.

"Not your fault," she said after a pause, casting her gaze back down to the communicator.

Superboy grabbed Miss Martian's arms as the doors opened up. "She's right though. You need to get your Martian mind in the game."

Siren immediately stepped out of the elevator but waited until her teammates were ready to follow. She knew which direction they needed to go so she looked away from her communicator, back at the former couple.

"N- nothing I've thrown at the alien telekinetically has had any effect," Miss Martian explained. "And I can't attack him psychically. I just can't."

"Then don't," Superboy grumbled, releasing her. "But do something!"

Siren eyed Miss Martian one last time before focusing on the matter at hand. "Come on, I have a tentative plan."

Superboy followed her down the short hall, straight into the interrogation rooms. "If we can get him down in a confined space, it would make it easier to get up close and personal," she explained, pointing up at the ceiling. "It might make it a bit cramped, but it would at least throw him off his rhythm, right?"

"Uh, how we coming on that plan B?" Mal called out desperately.

Superboy glared up at the ceiling. "Coming…right…up!"

He leaped into the air, slamming both fists into the ceiling. He managed to break through easily, pulling the rest of the rubble—and Mal—down into the room.

Siren shrunk back into a corner to avoid getting hit by debris or her teammates, grabbing her garrote in preparation. When Despero landed with a heavy thud, Siren threw her weapon out, wrapping it around the alien's large body.

Crap, crap, crap! Her feet slid against the floor unwillingly, proving that their enemy was hardly movable.

His body turned to face her, yanking her off her feet. He grabbed the chain, holding it up so she dangled off the end. But that left her right in front of his face and she knew that Despero was doing something when he faced her teammates that sent them into their trances. So in a panic, she let out a scream right at his face as a third eye opened up.

The scream was abruptly cut off as her entire face went slack.

That was the last thing Siren remembered before she woke up with a heaving gasp. She was on the ground, her chain tangled at her feet. She groaned when she felt the sudden ache in the back of her head.

When her mind fully cleared, she could hear Zatanna speaking, but through Mal's body. "Superboy, I've used M'gann's link to possess Mal and turn the alien's power back on himself. But I don't know how long it'll last…"

"Long enough." Siren had just enough time to slide out from under the alien's feet before Superboy sucker-punched their foe through the one-way window and into the observation room then into the next room.

Siren got to her feet and clambered through the broken window to rejoin her teammates' sides. When she looked through the hole in the wall, she saw Despero was down and made no move to get up. "Thank god," she sighed.

"Cheaters!"

She whirled around to see the robot minion hovering in the window. "Sneaks! Frauds! You will all suffer for your crimes!"

"Our crimes?! You're the one who attacked us unprovoked!" Siren snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him.

She recoiled back as the robot's eyes glowed bright red and technology sprung out of various spots on its body. Uh oh. As she stared warily, waiting to see what would happen, a familiar teenage boy dropped down from the second floor and clung to the robot.

"Let's try this again," Billy said. "Shazam!"

When the bright flash diminished, Captain Marvel had returned once more and the robot was in pieces on the ground.

"Poor sportism! Poor sportism! Poor…spor-"

Captain Marvel flew forward as the robot's decapitated head began to shine brightly, tackling all five team members to the ground. Siren landed with a grunt, bracing herself just in time as there was a massive explosion.

The whole room shook, and something told Siren that it was more than that.

Which it was. The entire Hall of Justice crumbled to the ground, raining down upon the helpless heroes. If it wasn't for the Captain, they would have all been crushed.

Once everything had settled, Captain Marvel heaved the debris off of them, revealing the night sky.

"The others, are they-" And one Zatanna Zatara.

"We're fine, Zee," Siren assured. She ran a hand through her hair when she stood, shaking free the dust that had rained down on her head. She also frowned, noticing the shield that was still keeping them all trapped.

"Can't believe that guy Medusa'd me," Bumblebee said, appalled.

Siren grunted. "I'm pretty sure when he dropped me, I hit my head because now I have a raging headache," she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Bee looked past her with wide eyes. "Uh, why are you dressed like that?"

Siren glanced back at Mal and let out a snicker. "Please don't make me bow to you ever again," she added.

Mal smirked in return. "Now that part, I didn't mind," he teased.

He let out a cry of indignation when Siren punched him in the ribs, making her laugh more.

But her lifted spirits only lasted temporarily. Because once they got to work on taking down the shield trapping the seven heroes, Siren's irritation only grew.

Nothing. Was. Working.

Between Zatanna's magic, Siren's Canary Cry, Captain Marvel's brute force, plus some extra effort from Captain Atom and Black Lightning who had finally come to their aid, the shield wasn't budging.

Once the other Leaguers arrived, Siren sent her teammates to once again salvage what they could from their belongings. Besides that, all four of them weren't public heroes like she was, and she didn't want them to be noticed by any passersby.

Siren finally took a break from using her scream on the shield, seeing as no matter how hard she tried, it wasn't going to make any sort of difference. She had to cover her eyes anyway as Captain Atom fired an energy blast at the shield. When the smoke cleared, there wasn't even a scratch.

"Okay, together!" he called out to Captain Marvel. The two Leaguers lunged forward, both striking the shield from both sides. There was a loud clap as the ground rumbled. Of course, to no avail.

"My spells aren't working either," Zatanna said from beside Siren. "We could try digging our way out?"

"But what if this thing goes into the ground like that bubble in Metropolis we dealt with back in December?" the team leader pointed out.

The sound of a helicopter interrupted their discussion as the aircraft lowered to the group in front of where the Hall once stood. Siren gritted her teeth upon seeing the Reach Ambassador arriving with the Secretary-General. What is he doing here?

The Ambassador approached the group before the helicopter had even fully landed, walking with full confidence. "Perhaps I might be of some help," he offered, raising his hand.

Siren quietly scoffed when he placed something that he had been holding on the shield. A small device. What is that going to do that we haven't been trying to do already?

Her unspoken question was instantly answered. She went deathly still when the shield began to fade in and out before it was completely gone. The device fell right back into the Ambassador's hand.

"There, problem solved," he said, pretending not to notice the shock on the heroes' faces.

Siren's hands curled into fists.

"Thank you, Ambassador," Captain Atom said, barely hiding his annoyance.

Siren barely hid her glare either. That felt way too coincidental for her liking. An alien that belonged to a species who kidnapped several people, including members of her team, going public before the League could warn the world and coming to save the day in front of even more witnesses? Something wasn't right.

"Such a shame your Hall was destroyed," the Ambassador said sympathetically. "I suppose it is fortunate you still have your other headquarters."

No…he doesn't know…does he?

"The one in orbit about us now. What is it you call that one?" Don't you dare. "The Watchtower?"

Siren's breath caught in her throat as the Secretary-General said, "What?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry…" the Ambassador said slowly. "Was that fact not for public consumption?"

Siren slowly turned her head to share a wide-eyed look with Zatanna. Oh, we are so fucked.

~/~/~/~

"What kind of game are they trying to play?" Siren demanded to know. "And how are we supposed to win?"

"I'm not sure if we can," Captain Atom admitted. "The Reach used our own secrets against us, beat us without firing a shot, even offered to take Despero off our hands…and I couldn't come up with a reason to say no."

Once they could get away from the Reach Ambassador, the two of them reconvened with Black Canary, who had been spending the day providing counseling to the kidnapped teens, and Nightwing. Siren recounted everything that took place at the Hall and continued on with Captain Atom to explain what had happened when the Reach Ambassador showed up.

"Hope you have some good news," Captain Atom said hopefully, looking to Black Canary.

"Some answers, at least."

Siren's eyes fell to the communicator in her hands, debating on something that she had been considering since they left the Hall. A conversation she thought needed to be done.

We need to talk.

She raised her head, refocusing on what her sister was telling them, "With the obvious exception of Blue Beetle, the Reach abductees are of two types. Those with a known superpower and those with the potential to develop one."

Black Canary held up a ball of paper clips that looked like they were fused together. Or at least magnetized. "I believe we now know what a meta-gene is"—Siren leaned forward, interested—"a genetic anomaly that allows certain humans to adapt new survival abilities when exposed to trauma," she explained. "The Reach, I think, seeks to cultivate the gene and weaponize it."

"Which is probably what brought the Reach and the Kroloteans here in the first place," Nightwing said, making Siren subconsciously frown at him from where she sat on the arm of his chair. "All thanks to the Light sending the League to Rimbor and putting Earth and its heroes square in the galactic spotlight."

"Fucking Vandal Savage," Siren cursed. "Yet another thing that we have to deal with all thanks to him and his-"

She was cut off when the door swung open, revealing Blue Beetle who looked troubled.

"Beetle?" Black Canary said cautiously.

"I'm sorry," the kid apologized. "I've been hiding something, but I can't- I just can't."

Siren's brow furrowed. Before she could ask him to elaborate, Impulse sped into the room. "Uh, Blue, Blue, Blue. What happened to keep quiet?" he said in a hushed tone.

Keep quiet about what? Siren's eyes flickered down when she felt her communicator vibrate, but she didn't look at the message for the time being. She instead stood, resting a hand on Blue Beetle's shoulder.

"What's going on, Jaime?" she asked gently.

"Time for the truth," Blue said determinedly, glancing around the room. "Impulse says that sometime in the future, I betray Earth and bring on a Reach apocalypse."

Siren's hand fell when the young hero stepped further into the room. She was stunned, unable to comprehend what she was hearing.

"That's not a future I can live with," Blue Beetle said helplessly. "So whatever it takes"—his armor retracted to reveal his bare back—"get this scarab off me."

Siren stared at the blue scarab for a moment, but her communicator vibrating again made her look away. Miss Martian had responded.

Okay. You deserve the truth.

How soon can we meet?

~/~/~/~

Oh boy. I bet you can guess what conversation's about to happen. Come back next week to find out. And to see what Sam'll be up to! See you next week!