Disclaimer: Neither Young Justice nor anything of the Justice League series belong to me.

Chapter 11: To Catch a Count

"Any idea where to start looking for this...Count Vertigo?" Green Arrow grunted as he landed in the back alley of the hotel, retracting the grappling hook arrow he was using. Batman was putting his own grappling hook away as he turned to face Green Arrow.

"It won't be hard to track the Count down if he entered the country as a Vlatava diplomat. However, if he planned the attacks on Perdita with the intention to succeed her, I doubt he would risk being implicated. He is most likely here illegally, so to avoid her attention, as well as the attention of her supporters... I suspect he made contact with the criminal element in your city. Any ideas?"

Arrow let out a long suffering sigh, "Yeah... If you want something illegal done in Star City, there certainly is a top dog you would go to for help. Brickwell."

Batman tilted his head, thinking for a minute before speaking, "Right. Daniel Brickwell. Otherwise known as Brick. The kingpin of Star City's underworld. I heard he tries to keep out of political crimes these days. Would he be willing to help Count Vertigo?"

Arrow shrugged, "From what you and Artemis told me, sounds like Count Vertigo's situation is mostly outside of the country. Maybe Brick figures that the Count's money and favor is worth whatever trouble it'll bring. I doubt Brick is losing sleep over it."

"I'm going to assume you know where to find Brick?"

Arrow smirked, "I always keep my eyes and ears on him, yeah. Want to go pay him a visit?"

"Your city, your criminal. Lead the way."

"The great Batman, letting little old me take lead. I'm honored. I heard you rarely let Superman lead your little Justice Club when you're around, and even when you're not." Arrow smirked, checking the string of his bow before putting it away on his back.

Batman ignored most of that comment, "Like I said, your city. Your lead. Your criminal. It'll be foolish of me to try and take charge of a situation I do not fully have knowledge over. You have more familiarity and clarity of the situation than I do. You are competent enough and I value your input. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

"Hm. Flattery will not convince me to join the League."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Arrow snorted, turning and walking towards the street, "Sure, whatever you say."

/0/

"Kind of disappointed how the movies in this dimension are all pretty much the same as ours. Only small differences here and there. Honestly expected more." Wally had his hands behind his head, walking backwards as he spoke to the rest of the group.

"Hey! We got to see the sequels for the Star Wars films, and some live action remakes of classic Disney movies." Robin rolled his eyes under his sunglasses, throwing some leftover popcorn at the younger speedster.

"Yeah, which were mostly, if not all, huge disappointments!" Using his lightning reflexes, Wally maneuvered himself around to catch each piece of popped corn in his mouth. Swallowing them down quickly, Wally bowed to M'gann clapping her hands before speaking up again, "I enjoy the new animated stuff, sure, but the remakes are so stale and flat. All just cash grabs!"

M'gann wrapped her arms around one of Conner's, "I liked them! They were entertaining to watch and cute."

"You like everything!"

"That's not true! I didn't like...um..." M'gann thought hard but could not seem to come up with something bad to say.

"Give it a rest Wally. Every company out there are cash grabbers. Just enjoy the two hours of entertainment and move on dude." Robin shook his head, placing his hands inside his pockets.

"Hard to call that entertainment dude. Most of what we saw today was not fun. Just disappointing. Conner agrees with me."

"Please, Conner doesn't care. But M'gann likes them, so he does too."

Everyone looked at the boy in question, who just shrugged, "They were alright. Something to watch for a few hours. Beats just learning about them in..." The half-Kryptonian stopped himself, glancing at Diana and Barry who were looking at them curiously, "In school."

Wally looked at Conner then at the two older heroes uncomfortably before nodding his head, "Uh yeah, good point dude."

"Anyways." Zatanna cut in, trying to change the subject and divert attention, "It was cool watching movie after movie that we do not have in our dimension, but I am sick of sitting in dark rooms staring at giant movie screens. Let's hit the town, move around, get some exercise!"

"It's getting late, and trust me, you don't want to be out in Gotham at night. Even uptown. We should head back, I'm sure Mister Barry and Miss Diana have had enough of all of us for one day." Dick grinned at the two adults, both of whom shook their heads.

"You all are no trouble at all. It is actually quite refreshing hanging out with all of you. I am enjoying myself quite a lot." Diana smiled warmly, Barry nodding his head right besides her.

"Yeah, most of the League are not the hanging out type. Not much fun, present company excluded of course." Barry gave Diana a thumbs, "Haven't had this much fun in a while. As a civilian anyways."

"Well I'm always glad to hang out with you Uncle Barry!"

"Aw shucks. Right back at you kid!"

Kaldur smiled slightly before glancing at a nearby clock, "What Dick says is true, it is getting later into the evening, and I would not tempt fate by joining the nightlife of Gotham."

"Boo, no fun." Zatanna jokingly made a thumbs down gesture at Kaldur, "Let us stay out dad!"

Rolling his eyes, Kaldur gestured towards Dick, "Please call Mister Alfred for a ride. We will have plenty of time to explore Gotham City in the days to come."

Everyone voiced their agreement when they all heard a beeping sound. Everyone looked around when Dick held his finger up, "Oh that's me." All heads turned to look at the Boy Wonder, some watching in curiosity as he pulled out a circular device, roughly the size of his palm, with a short antenna on the left side, much like a walkie talkie.

"What the heck is that?" Wally moved closer, glancing curiously down at the device.

"Oh this? It's a long range communicator. Something I've been working on for a while. I gave Artemis one before she left, kind of a test. First time I've tried using it when someone is a city away. Looks like it works!" Robin opened the device up, the front casing opening up like a pocket watch. There was a small screen on the device which switched one. Everyone let out little "ooos" and "ahhhs" when Artemis appeared on screen.

"Holy crap dude! That's some quality picture there! How did you fit a video communication device into such a compact device?" Wally grabbed for the communicator but Dick dodged the younger speedster.

"Dude! Hands off. It's still a prototype. Very delicate!" Dick glared at his best friend before turning to see Artemis staring at him with a raised eyebrow, "Hey Artemis. Glad to see the device works!"

"Yeah, surprised me too. I was going to call but I realized we don't have phones or anything really to communicate. Nice work giving me one of these before I left. It's pretty cool." Artemis glanced at the device she was using before focusing on the screen, "We've got a problem here."

Dick looked around before moving back to the group. Everyone circled around the young Bat, looking down at the small communicator screen.

"Hey babe, you alright?" Wally looked at his girlfriend with some concern. She smiled at him before nodding her head.

"I'm alright, thanks Wally. But there is a...situation here. Something Batman and I did not expect when we came looking for Green Arrow."

"Are you in trouble? Do you require assistance?" Kaldur frowned, trying to calculate in his head how long it would take them all to get to Star City from Gotham, and how.

"No no, I'm alright. For now at least. I'm calling to give you guys an update, and to let you know why Batman and I will not be back tonight."

"Babe, what's going on?What happened?"

"Well, see for yourself." Artemis turned her communicator around, showing the Team a young blonde haired girl, who waved at them with a small smile.

"Is that...?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Queen Perdita? Is that Queen Perdita of Vlatava?" Wally grabbed Dick's hand, bringing the communicator closer to his face, "Why are you with Queen Perdita?"

Dick yanked his hand out of Wally's grasp, the younger speedster muttering an apology as Artemis brought the communicator back around, "She's visiting Star City. Specifically, Star City Museum. Some anthropologists discovered old Vlatava relics and treasure, she came to take some home, make some speeches, you know, goodwill stuff. When we got here, it was to see Green Arrow stopping an assassination attempt on Queen Perdita by Deadshot."

"Gun for hire..." Wally frowned before his eyes widened, "You don't think..."

Artemis glanced up from her communicator, looking at Queen Perdita who tilted her head in question. Artemis smiled at the young queen before looking back down at the communicator, turning around and speaking quietly, "Yeah, I think it's Count Vertigo making a move, but we don't have any proof yet. Batman and Green Arrow are on it while I guard the queen quietly."

"Be careful babe. Count Vertigo's little mind powers are formidable but how he schemes is no joke. But I'm sure you three are more than a match for him."

"I know. I'm just calling to let you all know what was going on, and to not worry."

"Let us know if you need help Artemis, we'll be there as fast as we can." Zatanna waved at her best friend, who nodded with a grateful smile.

"Thanks Z, I will."

"Be careful Artemis!" M'gann popped her head over Dick's shoulder. The archer laughed quietly.

"I will M'gann. Don't get into trouble without me."

"It wouldn't be any fun without you!" The martian giggled, earning another laugh from Artemis.

"That's my girl."

"Are we a bad influence on M'gann?" Wally looked at Kaldur with fake concern. The Atlantian chuckled.

"I believe we are...helping her come out of her shell more is all."

"He means we are a kick-ass influence on her!" Zatanna wrapped her arms around M'gann, who hugged Zatanna back.

"Yeah!"

"You know." Barry crossed his arms, causing Diana to look at him, "I wish our team was this close."

"We are, just less directly." Diana chuckled when the older speedster gave her a look, "Okay, perhaps we could do with more team bonding."

"Do you think I could get John and Bats to come watch five movies with us?"

"It could not hurt to try. Although, perhaps you should leave asking Batman to me."

/0/

"Three shipments. About two hundred automatics and three hundred semis and five hundred small arms coming in today. We're supposed to get some boys and go pick them up at the docks. Boss has buyers lined up for the automatics and semis but wants us to deal the small arms locally."

"Deal to who exactly? There aren't enough people in this city to sell five hundred around."

"It's not like the boss wants us to sell them right away or in one big shipment. It's inventory."

"Yeah, whatever. Where's the boss anyways? Doesn't he usually stick around for these big shipments?"

"He said he has some business. Some big player who came to town."

"Who? Someone we might have heard about?"

"Boss didn't say."

"You didn't ask?"

"Who the boss deals with is none of our business. We go where the boss says."

"Guess Brick has you guys trained pretty well." The two thugs whipped around, drawing their handguns and pointing into the darkness of the warehouse.

Green Arrow stepped out of the shadows, crossing his arms as he glared at the two thugs, "Hey fellas, nice night for crime?"

"Arrow. Surprise surprise." One of the thugs sneered, cocking his handgun and pointing it straight at the archer's head, "You heroes can be pretty stupid, huh? Swaggering in here without your bow drawn and surrounded by dozens of our guys. Brick's going to pay us a fortune when we tell him we got rid of the Green Arrow."

"Relax tootsie roll. I just need to talk to your boss. Bigger fish to fry right now."

The two thugs looked at each other before looking back at Green Arrow. The one on the left pointing the gun scoffed, "Are you out of your mind? Do you see this gun? Now, you're good. But at this range, I'll kill you before you can draw your bow."

"Maybe." Arrow glanced up quickly before looking back at the thugs, "But that really doesn't matter tonight."

The thugs looked at each other again. The one on the right hesitated, "What are you..."

The thug on the left screamed as he was dragged back into the darkness from behind, making the thug on the right whip around, "What the- Hey!" The thug turned back around, only to see Green Arrow gone. He quickly turned around again, whipping his gun left and right, "What the hell is this? Hey! You guys get in here! Hey!" The thug started screaming at the top of his lungs, hoping to attract the attention of the two dozen or so gang members that should have been hanging around the warehouse.

The thug whipped around left and right, the single source of overhead light making the darkness around him more prominent. He wiped the sweat from his eyes, his breath coming out in heavy pants, "Arrow! This isn't funny man! Come out and face me like a man!" The thug twisted around when he heard something swish by behind him, firing off three shots.

"Where the hell are those guys..." The thug grit his teeth, wishing he had a flashlight for the first time in the warehouse, "You boys better be making your way here, or I swear to god I'm going to kick your asses!"

"They're not coming." The thug froze when he heard a voice behind him. It was definitely not Green Arrow. The voice was different, a little deeper, more grave. A single bead of sweat ran down the thug's cheek, and he gulped before quickly turning. He tried to fire off a shot but a hand grabbed his wrist. A black gloved hand, strong with a grip of steel, twisted his wrist and made him cry out. His gun dropped from his hand and his eyes widened in terror.

"Batman?!"

"I'm afraid so." Green Arrow stepped up besides the Dark Knight, "Sorry, did I not mention he was here?"

The thug stared at the Caped Crusader with fear, trying in vain to tug his wrist free, "What the hell is the Batman doing here!"

"Oh he's just visiting, seeing the sights, looking for someone Brick knows." Green Arrow waved his hand, speaking as if they were just coworkers talking at the water cooler.

"I-I don't know where the boss is... Honest!" The thug looked at Green Arrow before looking at Batman, "I'm just a grunt! Why would I know where the boss is?"

"You were sure talking like you knew." Arrow quirked an eyebrow. Batman glared at the thug, making the man lean back as far as he could with his wrist trapped in the Bat's grasp.

"I... I don't..."

"I'm losing my patience." Batman growled, making the thug flinch as he waved his other hand hysterically.

"Okay! Okay, I'll talk! Please, just don't hurt me!"

Arrow nodded, placing a hand on the thug's shoulder, "There now, don't you feel better already?"

The thug whimpered, "Not really..."

"Where is Brick?"

The thug gulped, look at Batman with fear, "B-Boss is at the docks. On some fancy boat called The Wave. He's meeting some big shot there." When Arrow made to speak, the thug held his free hand up in surrender, "None of us know who! I swear!"

Arrow looked at Batman, who glared at the thug for a few moments before nodding, "Thank you." Batman swiftly delivered a punch onto the thug's face, making the man fly back and hit the ground with a groan, out cold.

"I'll call this in. Let the police handle them." Arrow made a call to the chief of police as he followed Batman out of the warehouse. When he finished the call, the archer faced the Dark Knight, "So, a fancy boat, sounds like something the Count would be on, huh?"

Batman nodded, "I'm going to bet we'll find the Count there with Brick. Hopefully along with some evidence we can provide Queen Perdita of her uncle's treachery."

"We'll need to tread carefully. Even if the Count entered our country illegally, he is a powerful man from another country. Unless we get that proof, we'll be in for some trouble if this goes public and we have nothing to show for it."

"We'll find something. Even if we don't, Brick seems like the type to have some leverage against someone he makes deals with. We can persuade him to turn it over to us I'm sure."

"You know, you're way more optimistic than I thought you'd be."

/0/

"You have failed me. Twice now. Tell me, why should I continue this...partnership of ours any further? All you have shown me is how unreliable and pitiful your organization is. You assured me you were the true power of this city, and that you could have this taken cared of swiftly. More importantly, you assured me questions would not be asked. Yet, the city is abuzz with talks of attempts on Perdita's life!" Count Vertigo stood proud, wearing a dark green suit and a cape wrapped around his shoulders. He had a cane gripped tightly in his hands, the bottom end slamming into the ground to emphasize his displeasure.

Brick was a hulking of a man, wearing an expensive white suit, a gold watch and a gold chain around his neck. His white hair was pulled back in thick dreads and his bulky, muscular skin bulged all over, a testament to the metahuman body he possessed.

Brick leaned back on the couch he was sitting on, face uncaring and posture relaxed, "Watch what you say, Count. I won't tolerate any disrespect. Especially when you are in my city. Clear?"

Vertigo snorted, turning his back on the hulking man and stared out the large yacht window, his eyes staring up towards the penthouse window at the top of the hotel Perdita was supposed to be staying at, "You are merely a meager fish in a small pond. Do not demand respect from me until you have earned it through action. So far, all you have shown me is that you are not a man of your word, and that your efforts are pitiful."

Brick stood up, stomping his way towards Vertigo. The Count turned, sending a wave of psionic energy towards the metahuman, making the giant man grunt and lose his balance, stumbling onto his knees.

"Do. Not. Presume to touch me, peasant."

Brick let out a growl, pushing up onto his feet and charging at the Count. Vertigo dove to the right, narrowly escaping Brick's grasp before rolling up onto his feet and firing another mental blast towards the mob boss.

Brick was quick however, grabbing the Count around his throat with one hand, lifting the smaller man up in the air, "Listen here, princess." Brick squeezed harder, cutting off Vertigo's air. The Count grabbed at Brick's thick wrists, trying in vain to pry the giant's hand off, "You come into my city. Ask for help, then disrespect me when things don't go your way. I've been putting up with your little 'noble air' attitude, but only because you are a good source of income. Don't push your luck, little man."

Brick released the Count, dropping the man onto his hands and knees. Vertigo gasped, holding his neck as he coughed and gulped in air.

"Now. I admit, the man I hired failed. And the squad I sent after that didn't find her. That is on me. But I have men looking for her all around the city, and have people posted on every way in and out of the place. We'll find her. Why don't you just sit back, and stay put." Brick waved his hand at the Count, sitting back down on the couch, picking up the glass of scotch he was sipping on, "My boys will call me as soon as there is news."

Vertigo stood back up, straightening his clothes out before glaring at Brick. He spat on the ground towards Brick's back, "I'm going to go get some air." The Count promptly left the room, heading towards the upper deck.

Brick scoffed, taking another sip from his glass, "Punk."

Neither of them noticed the small device attached to the bottom of the large yacht window, nor the two superheroes hanging a few feet down directly below it.

/0/

Green Arrow pulled one of the headphones out of his ear, Batman doing the same with the other one, "That sounds like an admission of guilt to me."

Batman pressed a button on his belt, stopping the recording and making sure it was saved on the disc in his belt, as well as copied onto the Batcave's supercomputer, "It should be enough to present to Queen Perdita. We should head back."

"Head back? We have Count Douche and Brick right here, right now. We can take em."

"Even if he is here illegally, we don't want to risk an international incident by trying to take the count down here and now. Artemis explained how they arrested Vertigo in their dimension, on US soil legally and cleanly. We should try the same approach. Brick will always be here, so you can pursue him later. Right now, we need to get back to Queen Perdita, show her the evidence, have her denounce Vertigo, and bring him in. Her safety comes first."

Green Arrow grumbled but nodded in agreement, "Who knew the famous vigilante was such a stickler for the law."

"I always abide by the law, as much as I can. I hope one day that Gotham will not need me. I only do what I do, because it is necessary, not because I enjoy taking the law into my own hands."

"Sounds mighty hypocritical of you Bats."

"I know."

DC Extra #6

Kid Flash grunted as he helped Aqualad drag the man along, cursing inside his head as he slammed the doors open. His feet banged against the metal grates as he adjusted his grip on the man, Kaldur doing the same from the other side as they lifted the man up and carted him deeper inside their destination.

They heard Superboy screaming outside as he took on another blast of blue-white laser to his chest, the distinctive sound of it firing filling the air. Artemis rolled inside the room they were in, slamming the door shut just as another blast of energy struck the door instead of her back, "They're holding them off, but I don't know for how much longer!"

Wally nodded at her before he and Kaldur lowered the man down onto his back. Aqualad grabbed one of the man's hands, holding it tight as he looked down at the man with concern in his eyes, "What do we do? How do we help you?"

The man's breath came out in gasps, clearly in pain and hanging onto life the best he could, "Y-You can't... Help me..."

Kaldur looked up at Kid Flash, who looked back with a helpless expression. Aqualad shook his head, "There must be something we can do..."

"There is..." The man grabbed Wally's shoulder, "Help me up..."

Wally shook his head, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Help. Me. Up." The man spoke in a commanding tone, even in the weak dying state he was in. Both boys slowly nodded, Wally looking at Artemis and silently asking for help. The archer nodded, sheathing her bow and helping them lift the man to his feet.

"Thank you..." The man grinned at them, "It's funny, in all my lives, all my years, you are all the most fantastic things I have ever seen. It's too bad I can't be around longer to travel with you all."

The man pushed back from them, stumbling slowly a few feet away before turning around, "It is too bad...that I won't see you all again. But..." The man held up his hands, seeing the golden glow starting to flow out of his sleeves, "You'll certainly be seeing me."

Aqualad stepped forward, noticing the glow, "Doctor, what is happening?"

The man chuckled, looking at Kid Flash's face, then Artemis, then Aqualad, "I'm regenerating."

The Doctor screamed, pushing his arms out to the side as a massive blast of golden energy exploded out from his hands and face, filling the room in a light so bright, the three young heroes had to look away.

The scream was drawn out before abruptly stopping. The man before them no longer had an oval face, chiseled chin, large ears, and short black hair. His face was a little rounder, he had longer brown hair, and a smaller nose. His face and body had completely changed.

The man shook his head, as if he were clearing water from his ears and clapped his hands together, "Now then. Wow." The man paused, running his tongue across his teeth, "New teeth, that's weird. Anyways, where were we?"

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" They heard the familiar mechanical, rage filled voice outside as the TARDIS shook.

"Oh right, the rest of the Team is dealing with that... Let's go say hello, shall we?"

Crossover: Doctor Who (TV Show) 9th Doctor into the 10th Doctor. Alternate.