It had been a day since Kat's training session and things were just settling in for her and Marco, however there was still the others from that group.
"Man, if I hadn't been on shift at the Daily Planet last night, I totally could've helped Kat apprehend Target." Yuri thought as she sat down in the cafeteria alone, she had been one of the earliest arrivals to the Watchtower that morning having woke up a lot earlier than usual. "I could've gone back to bed but nope! I had to get up bright and early, at least things won't be to crazy today." Yuri thought as a familiar figure walked up to her table. "Morning Cap." Yuri greeted Captain America before she took a sip from her drink.
Said drink almost ended up all over the table once she realised that Captain America was indeed in front of her. "Good morning Yuriko, mind if I join you?" Captain America greeted her once Yuri had regained her composure.
"I…I…" Yuri stammered as she processed what was happening in her mind. "Am I still asleep? Is this a weird dream I'm having?!" Yuri managed to blurt out before pinching herself. "Ow, nope, not a dream." Yuri realized before inviting her one time mentor to join her at the table. "Cap, you realise how many questions this raises, right? Not counting the two questions I just asked off course."
"Quite a few I imagine." Captain America chuckled before sighing. "Before I get started, your parents want you to know that they are safe and miss you dearly."
"Please tell them that the feeling's mutual." Yuri nodded before a look of confusion washed over her face. "But why wouldn't they be safe? The home dimension was stable when we left…..." Yuri trailed off before it hit her. "What's going on back home?"
"Morning babe." Ehsan's voice rang out and Yuri glanced up seeing her boyfriend, who had slept in that morning, entering the cafeteria. "Morning Ca…. Ca…. Ca…." Ehsan stammered as he recognized his onetime mentor.
"Ehsan dot exe has stopped responding." Yuri joked as she glanced up at her significantly taller boyfriend. "Please reboot Ehsan dot exe." Yuri added and Ehsan quickly regained his composure before sitting down. "Seriously Cap, who else has jumped over and what's going on back home?"
"You remember when I said that the portal generator was unstable?" Captain America asked and the young couple nodded. "We underestimated how unstable it is, we have already explained the situation to the league."
"What exactly do you mean by "underestimated how unstable it is"?" Yuri asked as it dawned on her. "I thought SHIELD would've tested it more thoroughly."
"It was stolen before more thorough testing could be done." Captain America explained and Yuri nodded as she followed along. "As for how who has crossed over, everyone."
"Everyone?!" Yuri blinked a few times as it dawned on her. "What do you mean by everyone exactly?!"
"I mean everyone, every hero, every villain, civilians, cops, even political figures and world leaders." Captain America explained and Yuri just stared at him in shock. "They have all crossed over, the portal generator is out of control."
*elsewhere in the world*
In the land Down Under, Superman and his group were returning to the javelin after apprehending Atomic Skull, Killer Frost and Giganta.
"No wonder you needed me." Booster Gold boasted as he put his hands on his hips. "Killer Frost would've gotten away from us if it weren't for Booster Gold!"
"Yes, Booster, we heard you the first ten times." Superman responded as he inputted the coordinates for the Watchtower into the javelin's auto-pilot. "Okay, auto-pilot is set, we should have a smooth ride back home."
"Just as long as nothing weird happens before then…" Vigilante trailed off as the portal opened behind them and he shielded his eyes. "I just had to go and open my big mouth!"
"Be on your guard, it could be anyone coming through that portal." Superman instructed the other heroes nodded before they got their weapons ready.
What they weren't expecting was an old Chinese woman in her early fifties to emerge from the portal, though slightly overweight the woman bared a striking resemblance to Kat and for good reason. "Good heavens, where has that portal taken me." Lin said before she took in the surroundings. "This does not like New York."
"No ma'am, you're in Australia." Vigilante responded as he and the other heroes eased up and Lin raised an eyebrow. "By any chance, do you know the hero known as Dragon Girl?"
"Know her? She's my daughter, Katrina!" Lin responded and the four male heroes shared a look. "Is this the dimension she was taken too?"
"Yes, and we know where your daughter is." Superman nodded as he walked up to Lin. "If you don't mind traveling with us in the javelin, we can take you too her."
"It has been years since I've flown in an airplane, Kat was just a few months old at the time." Lin nodded with a warm smile on her face. "Please do, I have been worried sick about my daughter, what's your codename young man?"
"I am Superman, my colleagues are Booster Gold, Shining Knight and Vigilante." Superman introduced himself and the other heroes. "We don't have another moment to spare."
"Agreed." Lin nodded before she followed the heroes onto the javelin.
*later*
By now most of the League were on the Watchtower and had been informed on the situation, however whilst J'onn was awaiting their return Kat and the others had met in the same side room where they had been initially debriefed to discuss everything that had happened.
"I guess one way we can look at it is that we won't have to worry about never seeing our families again." Marco commented as he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed. "I don't know about you guys, but I've given J'onn a description of my dad and my little sister Sophia, he said that he'll start organizing search parties soon."
"I didn't have to do that, Cap told me that my parents are safe and the same goes for my pet dog Kage." Yuri responded before letting out a deep breath. "But I don't know how much good it would've done if I did give a description." Yuri added before doing some math if her head. "We're not talking about a handful of people jumping over simultaneously like we did, we're talking about millions of people being sucked from their home dimension because something went catastrophically wrong with the generator, Cap wasn't even sure if our home dimension still exists!"
"Yuri's right, and I'm not just saying that to get brownie points with my girlfriend." Ehsan nodded in agreement as he folded his arms. "I can't speak for everyone in this room obviously, but as much as I'd like my family to be located as soon as possible, we have to look at the bigger picture here!"
"I just hope that my mom gets found quickly." Kat sighed as she leaned back. "There's two things I've missed since jumping over, my mom in general and her cooking, the sooner we can find her, the better."
"Knowing how good a cook your mom is, I wouldn't be surprised if she uses that as an incentive for whoever finds her." Adriana responded semi-jokingly and Kat grinned in response, Claudia on the other hand remained silent whilst giving her twin sister a disapproving look which Adriana quickly noticed. "Okay, bad time for jokes, I get that! But I was just trying to alleviate the tension in the room."
"Oh, por el armor de dios Adriana, just think for a second, will you?!" Claudia responded as she ran a hand down her face. "Yuri was lucky because her family was found relatively quickly but what about the rest of us? Our parents could be right in the middle of Klu Klux Klanville USA and you're cracking jokes?!" Claudia added angrily leaving the younger of the two twins speechless as she stared at her sister in shock. "Don't get me wrong, I understand why you made that joke, but you really need to read the room before you make jokes like that Adriana."
"I…...I was just trying to help." Adriana responded as she felt the tears well up and Claudia shook her head.
"I know, and we will find our families, until then keep the jokes to a minimum." Claudia responded before quickly changing the subject as Yuri handed Adriana a tissue. "Aside from us and Jessica obviously, who else from the internship made the jump?"
"Cap said that they are still being accounted for, but so far Dreamweaver and Legionnaire were located not long after the Avengers jumped over." Ehsan explained as he ran a hand through his hair. "They were located by Nightwing and Batgirl in Gotham City, according to Travis he was mistaken as a villain at first."
"I hope for his sake, he resolved the situation peacefully, even as a guy with no Superpowers Nightwing kicked my ass in a sparring match." Kat admitted with a shrug before frowning. "Then again, we're talking about a guy who was trained by Batman and we've all seen how good of a fighter Batman is."
"True enough, as for older heroes that made the jump unwittingly, Ant-Man and Wasp ended up on the roof of the Daily Planet, Daredevil was found in Star City and at least four X-Men members were found in Croatia." Yuri explained after thinking for a minute. "I guess we can count our lucky stars that the portal has dropped anyone off in Space yet, no pun intended, or one of the many strange worlds this dimension has."
"How about we do not jinx the possibility of our family members being out in Space or on a place like Apokolips?" Marco suggested and Yuri winced once her bad choice of words hit her before the door opened. "Certain politicians? Fine, certain Supervillains, fine, but I'd rather not have to rescue my family from a literal hell hole!"
"I love how you listed politicians above Supervillains in that scenario." Green Arrow's voice rang out and the four heroes looked up seeing Green Arrow at the door. "I know you kids have a lot on your minds right now, and yes Marco, I know that most of you are in your twenties, but I do have some good news for two of you." Green Arrow added before stepping aside.
And as soon as she saw the first figure, Kat jumped out of her chair so fast that it made the chair fall over. "MOM!" Kat greeted her mother before she rushed over and hugged her mother who returned the hug whilst Adriana righted her chair.
"My little angel, it's so good to see you again." Lin greeted her daughter as the two women embraced. "And I must say, the heroes in this dimension are such gentlemen."
"We try our best ma'am." Green Arrow chuckled before another older Asian woman stepped past Lin and Kat alongside her husband, however they were Japanese and there was no mistaking the family resemblance.
"Mom, dad." Yuri greeted them as she walked up to them, they didn't embrace but it was obvious that they were happy to see each other. "I should've called you at the first opportunity."
"Don't worry about it, Yuriko, we're just glad your safe." Her dad responded and Yuri grinned in response. "We couldn't bring Kage up with us, but he will be happy to see you too."
"That brings me to my next point, the search is on for your families." Green Arrow continued as he turned to the other heroes in the room. "I don't think I need to say this but if you want to join in the search, you are free to do so."
"Like we need to answer that either." Marco chuckled as Green Arrow stepped aside to let Marco, Ehsan and the twins out, Yuri left with her parents soon after but not before Green Arrow turned to them.
"Look, I've only known your kids for a couple of weeks, give or take, but I do mean it when I say that you've all done a hell of a job of raising them." Green Arrow commented causing the two young Asian women in the room to blush slightly. "I mean it, I don't know many kids their age that would jump into battle against some of the founding members' deadliest foes."
"Thank you, Green Arrow." Lin responded with a respectful nod as she ruffled her daughter's hair. "It was never easy, but Kat has grown into a fine young woman and I'm proud of her."
"It was even harder for us and Yuriko, believe me." Yuri's mother nodded as she glanced over at her daughter. "How powers awakened at an earlier age compared to the others, and then there was her diagnosis…." Yuri's mother trailed off before covering her mouth. "I've spoken to much, I apologize."
"If you mean her Autism diagnosis, she's already told me." Green Arrow nodded once he got the idea earning a surprised look from Yuri's parents. "It's a long story but I overheard her mention a diagnosis to another League member and as I was one of her first friends in the League, Yuri saw fit to tell me."
"I see, and I hope that knowledge hasn't affected your opinion of her." Her dad commented and Green Arrow readily shook his head. "Good to know, Yuri, I know we have a lot to talk about so can we go somewhere private."
"Sure, follow me." Yuri nodded before leading her parents out of the room, once they had left Green Arrow turned his attention to Lin and Kat.
"Just one quick question." Green Arrow said as he raised an eyebrow. "My little angel?"
"Oh god, I should've seen this coming." Kat groaned as she shook her head. "It was my mom's nickname for me when I was growing up, I hated it for years but after I took up the Dragon Girl mantle it kinda grew on me."
"Hey, I'm not judging, hell I'd say it suits you with how your costume hides the real colour of your wings." Green Arrow commented with a chuckle and Kat just shook her head in response. "And since you became Dragon Girl before you got those wings, I'm guessing that's why you didn't go with Angel?"
"That and the fact that Angel was already taken." Kat admitted before sighing. "Saying that, I've been considering changing my Superhero name for a while, Dragon Girl was a name that got me laughed at when I first made my debut, but I can't think of anything better."
"Kid, your talking to a guy who named himself after his favourite colour and choice of weapon." Green Arrow chuckled as he shook his head. "Compared to Dragon Girl, my alias isn't all that bad and believe me, I've seen some atrocious ones, remember the Condiment King?"
"Condiment King?" Lin asked with a raised eyebrow and Kat shook her head.
"Long story, I'll tell you later." Kat responded before Lin left the room, once she was alone with Green Arrow Kat sighed. "It was good to see mom again, don't get me wrong, but I have to ask, have there been any sightings of Target?"
"No, he's managed to allude detection so far." Green Arrow responded as he shook his head and Kat frowned. "They did find the Condiment King's car, or rather what was left of it, Black Canary found it burning on the outskirts of Star City."
"And no sign of Target?" Kat asked and Green Arrow nodded. "It would be anti-climatic considering he was the first villain I fought who didn't belong to anyone else's rogue's gallery, but I don't suppose Canary found his corpse nearby, right?"
"That would be too easy, Target was long gone by the time Black Canary found the car." Green Arrow responded as he shook his head and Kat nodded. "We did find out who the car originally belonged to, a little old lady who happened to live next door to the Condiment King, she didn't even notice that it was stolen."
"I hope she gets a replacement car at least." Kat nodded before glancing towards her mom who was waiting for her. "I may have all the Superpowers in my family but she's one of the strongest women I know."
"Yeah, I got that feeling from her when I first met your mom." Green Arrow nodded as he got the idea. "You're lucky to have a mom like her."
"It's funny, growing up I was always closer to my dad than mom, but after his death we got a lot closer." Kat admitted as she leaned back against the table. "I'll be the first to admit that I made a lot of mistakes during my rookie year, some that might get me kicked off the league if I admitted them, but my mom was there supporting me, every step of the way."
"Funny how life works out, isn't it?" Green Arrow nodded in agreement before walking up to Kat. "As for past mistakes getting you kicked off the league, you have nothing to worry about, the League only cares if your still making those same mistakes today but the way you're talking about them tells me that your unlikely to repeat them." Green Arrow added before motioning for her to elaborate and Kat hesitated. "Don't worry, no one else will know."
"To make a long story short, when I was first starting out, I tortured two guys on two separate occasions." Kat admitted as she lowered her head. "The first guy was a thug working for a local mob boss called Julius Drexo, he and his group had been ordered to burn down my house and do unspeakable things to my mom, I happened to be sitting on a nearby rooftop and I just snapped." Kat added before sighing. "It took my dad giving me the "disappointed in you" speech for me to snap back to reality, if there was any good to come out of that it was the fact that Drexo never tried that again."
"I don't condone it but at the same time, I don't know what I would've done in your shoes." Green Arrow nodded in understanding and Kat gave him a thankful look. "And the second time?"
"The second guy was Target." Kat explained and Green Arrow's eyebrows shot up. "The bastard had the gall to attack me after my dad's funeral when I was saying my final goodbyes to my dad, he even went as far as to mock my dad for giving his life to save a Supervillain from one of his agents, my mom talked me down that time but if she hadn't then I don't know what the outcome would've been, unfortunately she also took a bullet for me and spent a week in the hospital but considering that it was one of Target's men who killed my dad, well, you can probably imagine what was going through my head."
"Yeah, in that scenario, I would've been inclined to look the other way as you roughed up that bastard." Green Arrow responded with a frown on his face and Kat nodded. "Explains why you hate him so much at least."
"Believe me, there's plenty of reasons for me to hate Target, but the incident at my dad's funeral was the final straw." Kat admitted with a reluctant nod. "I've been dwelling on the past for too long, I think it's time we joined the search party."
"Right behind you." Green Arrow nodded before following Kat out of the room.
*later*
Whilst the rest of the heroes were out searching for their families, there was two that opted to stay behind on the Watchtower, and for good reason.
"I was just trying to help." Adriana thought as she sat alone in the cafeteria, following the incident with her sister the Mexican teenager wasn't in the mood for going out knowing that it would affect her judgment and as she sat there, there was only one thing on her mind. "Claudia didn't have to be so rude about it! God, there are times I wish I were an only sibling!"
"Adriana." A familiar voice rang out and Adriana glanced up seeing the older of the two twins Claudia. "Are you ready to talk?"
"Unless your going to yell at me again, no." Adriana responded without looking at her sister's face, when Claudia didn't respond Adriana looked up and saw the clear regret on her sister's face and without another word Adriana invited Claudia to join her. "Do you want to start or should I?"
"I'll start, I never should've yelled at you like that and I'm sorry." Claudia admitted once she had sat down opposite her sister. "I know it's been a stressful time for all of us, especially Kat, Yuri, Ehsan and Marco who've been here longest out of all of us but it's like I said…."
"I need to read the room before I make jokes like that, I know!" Adriana responded as she ran her hands through her hair. "But you didn't give Yuri nearly as much shit for that space comment!"
"Mostly because Marco beat me to it, besides, I wasn't going to yell at her whilst her 6ft 4 Bodybuilder boyfriend is in the same room." Claudia pointed out before shaking her head. "And considering Yuri's 5ft 2 I still wonder how she gets up to kiss him!"
"All I'm saying is the power of flight has it's advantages." Adriana responded with a grin getting a laugh out of her sister. "Then again, we're the only girls in that group who are still single so what do we know?"
"True enough." Claudia nodded in agreement before sighing. "Seriously Addy, we shouldn't be fighting like that, we're twin sisters for god's sake, we've known each other far longer than we've known anyone else."
"Yeah, your right." Adriana nodded in agreement as she let out a deep breath. "What was it we told each other when we accepted Wasp's invitation to join the internship?"
"It was going to be us against the world, regardless of how many friends we made along the way." Claudia nodded once she got the idea. "Problem is, what world? We've been in this dimension for several days running and according to Cap, our home might not exist anymore."
"That's a comforting thought." Adrianna deadpanned before shaking her head. "But things will work out, right? Our home dimension will be back to normal and we can go back home with our families, right? I mean, that's how it usually works out on these adventures."
"Back to normal at the end of it all? Will it be normal though?" Claudia asked and Adriana raised an eyebrow. "Back home, we're reserve members of the Avengers, just like the other Internship graduates, but here? Superman wasted no time in extending league invitations to us and we accepted, so did Kat, Yuri, Ehsan and Marco when they were invited, I get the feeling that if things return to normal back home, we're going to be doing a lot of dimension hopping."
"Solve one crime back in New York, then come over here to help the League with another problem? Will that even be possible?" Adrianna asked as she shifted her weight. "We both saw how unstable the generator is and that was before it went loco, how do we know that Cap and Iron Man won't dismantle it when things return to normal?"
"Frankly? I don't, but Tony did design the generator and we've met a lot of geniuses since we made the jump, if anyone can get it working and stable, it's them." Claudia pointed out before she stood up and walked over to the younger half of the twins. "Just one last thing before we join the search party, friends?" Claudia asked as she extended a hand towards Adriana and Adriana grinned before she accepted the handshake.
"Friends." Adriana responded before she stood up and embraced her sister who readily returned the gesture. "Come on, we've got family members to save."
"Right behind you." Claudia nodded before she followed her younger sister out of the cafeteria.
*down in Gotham City*
As had been said, the heroes Legionnaire and Dreamweaver had been found in Gotham City by Nightwing and Batgirl albeit with some initial confusion.
"Okay, look, I know we got off on the wrong foot." The English hero known as Dreamweaver, real name, Travis Puleston said as he backed away from the two heroes. "But that can't be helped when I literally popped out on top of the guy with the bad mullet."
"A likely story." Nightwing scoffed as he stared down the two heroes. "How do we know you won't cheap shot us from behind."
"Because we don't know you?" The French hero known as Legionnaire, real name Pierre DuPont, responded as he ordered his mech to land on the roof. "My name is Pierre, my friend here is called Travis, collectively we go by the hero names Legionnaire and Dreamweaver respectively and we're friends with the six heroes that jumped over to this dimension."
"Silent Tempest, Dragon Girl, Mental Boy, Earthshaker, Lo Divino and El Sombre?" Batgirl asked the two heroes nodded. "Prove it, what are their real names?"
"Yuriko "Yuri" Koboyashi, Katrina "Kat" Sheng Lao, Marco Gordano, Ehsan Sayegh and Adriana and Claudia Alvarez." Travis responded and the other heroes started to ease up. "You want more than that? Adriana and Claudia are twin sisters whose family are originally from Mexico City, Yuri and Kat are dating Ehsan and Marco respectively and Yuri was…." Pierre quickly caught on to what Travis was about to say about Yuri and elbowed him in the gut.
"Travis, we just met these guys, please tell me that you weren't about to tell them about Yuri's Autism Diagnosis?" Pierre whispered to Travis who quickly realised that he was right and shook his head. "Sorry about that, some things are best kept private, I'm sure you understand."
"No problem and I'm sorry for doubting you two." Nightwing nodded towards the two heroes as he looked them over. "My name is Dick Grayson, I go by the name Nightwing, my partner here is Barbera Gordan and she goes by the name Batgirl."
"Charmed." Pierre nodded as he approached the two heroes. "So, Dick, what was it you were up to?" Pierre asked before pausing. "How about I just call you Richard from now on? Much less awkward name."
"Nightwing works fine and believe me when I say that I've heard all the jokes before." Nightwing responded with a nod before motioning for them to follow him. "We are members of the Justice League but here in Gotham and the nearby Bludhaven we're apart of the extended Batfamily, Batman, one of the founding members of the Justice League, is effectively our boss when we're not on a mission."
"Who on earth would willingly live in a place called Bludhaven?" Travis wondered as he scratched his head. "Speaking as someone who lives in New York in my home dimension, that place does not sound appealing."
"It wasn't so bad in the beginning when it was just a whaling town but in recent years, it's a haven for criminals." Nightwing responded as he shook his head. "And it's my duty to protect it when I'm not on League Duty."
"That's all well and good but why are you in Gotham City?" Pierre asked with a raised eyebrow. "From your description, I get the impression that the two cities are next to each other?"
"Think of it like New York and New Jersey, besides I'm here because Barbara needed my help and Batman's off on league business." Nightwing explained as he turned to the two heroes. "Barb?"
"Over the past several weeks, I've been trying to take down a Diamond Smuggling operation, lot's off diamonds were being shipped into the city, many of them were blood diamonds." Batgirl explained as she leaned against the roof's edge. "Things got weird when the diamonds were being sent out with little clown faces painted on them, then I realized that The Joker is up to his usual tricks."
"And that's when she called me in, some of those diamonds had made their way to Bludhaven." Nightwing explained as Dreamweaver and Legionnaire shared a look. "I'm guessing you guys are at the same experience level as Yuri and her friends so…" Nightwing trailed off as the two male heroes started laughing their asses off. "And your going to blow our cover so shut it!" Nightwing warned them and the two heroes quickly shut up.
"I'm sorry, I truly am." Pierre responded as he regained his composure. "But The Joker? And clown faces on diamonds? How are we supposed to take that seriously?"
"Because he's a psychopath who won't hesitate to skin people alive if he thinks it'll make for a good laugh." Batgirl responded bluntly and just like that Pierre and Travis started taking this seriously. "He goes by The Joker because his face is permanently deformed to look like a clown's face, he's also Batman's arch nemesis and has been responsible for some of the worst crimes in Gotham City, don't underestimate him."
"He was cooped up at Arkham Asylum for over a year before he broke out after a missile struck the wall, alongside several other villains." Nightwing continued as he turned to them. "And by the way? That missile came from an escapee from your home dimension, I believe he goes by the name Hellraiser?"
"Oh, joy." Travis grumbled sarcastically as it sunk in. "I don't suppose he hasn't been spotted in Gotham since then?"
"Fortunately, no, Hellraiser disappeared after causing the escape." Batgirl responded as she shook her head and Pierre breathed collective sighs of relief. "But the damage the villains have caused since then speaks for itself, he has a lot to answer for."
"The same goes for our home dimension, he's responsible for a lot of terrible crimes." Pierre responded before clearing his throat. "You were about to ask about our capabilities, correct? Whilst I lack powers of my own, this suit gives me augmented strength, durability and flight, if need be, I have several weapons I can use for crowd control, outside the suit I have a genius level IQ and a talent for engineering, designed this suit myself."
"No one likes a braggart Pierre." Travis deadpanned before clearing his throat. "And my power is that I can enter people's dreams." Travis continued earning significant looks from both Batgirl and Nightwing. "It's far from the most practical of powers because it requires that my target be asleep at the same time as me, during my rookie year I would hang out on rooftops where my target was going to sleep, I got tired of washing pigeon poop off my trench coat after a while."
"Uh, huh." Batgirl responded with a sceptical look on his face. "Trust me Travis, you don't want to enter the mind of The Joker, you might end up insane yourself by the end of it, so unless you have something else to bring to the table I'm having J'onn beam you up before you get hurt."
"Believe me, I know how limiting my powers are." Travis admitted with a sigh. "Fortunately I strived to become the best Martial Arts fighter I can be whilst I was being trained, it was a long process but by the end of the training sessions, I was near the top of my class in terms of hand to hand combat."
"And he probably would've been at the top as well, if Kat hadn't taken up Martial Arts training." Pierre continued as he glanced over at the taller hero. "As far as hand to hand combat skills go, they are about even, helps that they had the same instructor, but Kat's Super Strength gave her the edge she needed over Travis."
"I faced Kat in a sparring match, she is good." Nightwing conceded with a nod as he looked over the two heroes. "But don't take that to mean that you can beat me in a sparring contest Travis, I have years of experience over both of you and her strength wasn't enough to win her that fight." Nightwing added before he started to walk off. "If you two want to help us with this, feel free, but be warned, The Joker is dangerous."
"We'll take your word for it." Pierre nodded before they followed Nightwing and Batgirl.
*later*
Travis and Pierre did their best to follow Nightwing and Batgirl throughout Gotham and although neither of them was familiar with the city, they still managed to make it through it without much problems.
"I will say this Travis." Pierre commented as the duo followed Nightwing and Batgirl. "I didn't think it was possible for an entire city to make the seedier parts of New York look pleasant, but this Gotham City manages to pull it off."
"I'm inclined to agree." Travis nodded as he made his way through the city. "Aesthetic wise? I think it looks cool, kinda of a retro gothic noire look? But once you get past that, it's not exactly pleasant."
"Unfortunately, this city is home to some of our dimensions worst criminals." Batgirl chimed in over the earpiece. "It takes a special kind of hero to look after a city like this, and me, Nightwing, Robin and Batman do our best to maintain order here."
"I can only imagine how much of a headache that is." Pierre commented as he shook his head in disbelief. "Have our friends battled any criminals from Gotham City?"
"Mostly Kat, Adriana, Ehsan and Yuri." Nightwing responded as he turned to him. "Kat battled Killer Croc, a giant of a man with a genetic defect that makes him look like a crocodile with superhuman abilities and a taste for blood, Yuri and Ehsan battled Firefly, an insane pyromaniac in power armor and most recently Adriana teamed with Yuri to battle Bane, a superpowered drug addict with a genius level IQ and Toy Man."
"They sound like formidable enemies for sure." Travis nodded before pausing. "Toy Man?!"
"One of Superman's enemies, deranged toy maker who turns his toys into weapons." Batgirl chimed in and Travis gave her a disbelieving look. "He's a lot more dangerous than he sounds, and one of the creepiest Supervillains I've had the displease of meeting."
"And that's saying a lot, take it from me." Nightwing chimed in at which point Travis and Pierre decided to drop the subject, after a while they found themselves outside a diamond company's warehouse on the docks. "We're here, according to Batman's intel, The Joker took over this warehouse after killing the original franchise owner with Joker Venom."
"I haven't met this Joker but that does not sound pleasant." Pierre responded with a frown and Batgirl nodded.
"It's a poison he designed himself, I'll spare you the gory details but it acts like this, first comes laughter, then comes insanity and, if the victim isn't treated in time, then comes death with a permanent smile etched on the victims face." Batgirl explained causing Travis and Pierre to shudder involuntarily. "And even if the victim is treated in time after stage two, they are often left permanently disfigured and insane." Batgirl added causing the younger heroes to gulp. "And now you know why no other Supervillain likes working with this creep."
"I can't believe I'm saying this but battling the superpowered cannibal sounds preferable to battling this literal clown." Travis responded with a shudder as they approached the warehouse. "The guy must have some associates."
"Mostly common thugs who are easily dealt with, but believe it or not, he had a girlfriend, Harley Quinn, real name Harleen Quinzel." Nightwing responded and Travis and Pierre shared surprised looks. "Former psychiatrist and gymnast who The Joker manipulated into following him to a life of crime, it was not a healthy relationship to say the least and after years of emotional and physical abuse she dumped him and is now in a lesbian relationship with a fellow Supervillain called Poison Ivy, though Poison Ivy hasn't been active as a Supervillain for several years now."
"So, you're saying she's reformed?" Pierre asked whilst Travis pondered something and Nightwing and Batgirl nodded. "Good for her I guess, at least we won't have to deal with his ex…"
"Wow, he was so bad a lover that he turned his girlfriend gay?!" Travis asked bluntly and Pierre face-palmed whilst Nightwing and Batgirl turned to him. "And I'm over here, still single at twenty one."
"Likewise, except I'm twenty two." Pierre responded as he shook his head in disbelief. "Is there any truth to that?"
"It had been rumoured for years that Harley was bi-sexual, Poison Ivy on the other hand? We're not sure if she is a lesbian or another bi woman." Batgirl responded as she shook her head. "And whatever you do, don't bring that up to The Joker's face, it's such a sore topic for him that he's liable to flood the entire warehouse with Joker venom."
"Noted." Travis responded with a wince as Nightwing and Batgirl got their grapple guns ready. "So, what's the plan?"
"We'll go in first, try to get a handle on the situation." Nightwing responded as he turned to the younger heroes. "We'll radio you when we're ready for you, don't enter a second before that."
"So, just wait out here in other words?" Pierre asked and Nightwing nodded before they grappled up to the roof. "Travis, do you still have your Magic the Gathering decks?"
"Left them back home, might need to buy more." Travis responded as he shook his head. "And that's if there's a home to go back too, guess we'll just have to wait here."
"Got it." Pierre nodded as he made himself comfortable.
*inside the warehouse*
Nightwing and Batgirl had snuck into the warehouse and whilst on the outside it looked normal, on the inside it had been done up in the Joker's usual gaudy style.
"Well, if we didn't know before that The Joker was behind this operation, we definitely know now." Nightwing commented as they took up spots on the walkway. "What do you think of our hangers on?"
"Travis and Pierre? They seem like decent guys, but I don't know how well they'll do against Joker." Batgirl responded as she shook her head. "They are older than Kat and her friends, but they seem to have been active for the same amount of time."
"In other words, they can benefit from more training, just like the others." Nightwing nodded as the door to the manager's office was kicked open and an all to familiar face stepped through. "Travis, Pierre, the Joker's been sighted, get ready to move."
"Got it." Pierre nodded as they watched The Joker walk through the ground floor.
"That's it, come on, hurry up!" The Joker ordered his henchmen as they painted the diamonds. "First we flood the market with my glorious Joker Diamonds and then the real fun can begin!"
"Shut it clown!" A new gravelly voice rang out and a much larger man emerged from the shadows alongside a shorter man, Nightwing and Batgirl didn't recognize them, but they were Mr. Hyde and Graviton, two Supervillains from Travis and Pierre's dimension. "We are only following your lead because we're new in town but frankly, we don't like where this is going." Mr. Hyde added and The Joker laughed in response.
"Relax Mr. Hyde, in the end it'll all work out, now Graviton I hope your ready to literally bring down the house if it comes to it." The Joker added and Graviton smirked evilly.
"I have control over gravity Joker, there's nothing I can't do!" Graviton responded before turning to one of the henchmen. "Let me demonstrate on that helpless thug."
"Wait, what?!" The thug yelled out before he was sent flying through the roof by Graviton's powers, after a while he came crashing through the roof again dead.
"Mr. Hyde and Graviton? I don't recognize them." Nightwing commented as he locked eyes with the two villains. "Travis, Pierre, there's two newcomers in the Joker's gang, they call themselves Mr. Hyde and Graviton, do you know them?"
"Oh boy." Travis winced as he heard those names. "Mr. Hyde is a veteran supervillain from our world, the literal split personality of the mild mannered scientist Calvin Zebo, he has Super Strength, durability, stamina and resistance to injury, oh and he's a sadist who once beat the crap out of a butler so yeah, there's that as well."
"Graviton on the other hand, is a lot more dangerous." Pierre added as he took a deep breath. "Like Mr. Hyde, he used to be a researcher, a gravity researcher called Franklin Hall, he can manipulate gravity and has a genius level intellect, back home with a Superhero team called the Avengers, made up of some of our dimensions best, most experienced and most powerful heroes, Graviton is considered an Avengers level threat."
"In other words, we're going to need backup?" Nightwing asked and the two heroes nodded. "I'll contact J'onn to see who's in the area searching for their family, any weaknesses we can exploit in the meantime?"
"Graviton is an egomaniac however we're going to need a heavy hitter to deal with him." Travis continued as he cleared his throat. "Technically he only has one power, but he has learned a lot of ways to use it over the years."
"Well, it looks like we have your backup, they should be beaming in front of you guys." Batgirl responded and Travis and Pierre looked up as Green Arrow, Black Canary, Kat and Yuri teleported in front of them. "They seem to be the only ones available."
"I guess we'll make do." Travis sighed before turning to the four heroes. "Hi there, you're probably wondering what brought you here."
"J'onn said that Nightwing and Batgirl needed our help with something Joker related." Green Arrow commented with a raised eyebrow. "You are not Nightwing and Batgirl."
"Well, no, I still have my male genitalia last I checked." Travis deadpanned causing Pierre to face-palm. "It is good to see you again Kat."
"Likewise, Travis." Kat nodded before turning to Green Arrow and Black Canary. "The tall guy is Dreamweaver, the guy in the mech is Legionnaire, they are from our home dimension."
"Well, any friend of Kat and Yuri is a friend of mine, I'm Green Arrow, she's Black Canary." Green Arrow introduced himself and his girlfriend. "Nightwing said something about two villains from your home dimension?"
"Yes, Graviton and Mr. Hyde." Travis nodded and Yuri let out a deep breath.
"Oh, great." Yuri winced before turning to the older heroes. "Mr. Hyde is a sadist with Super Strength, Graviton is an Avengers level threat because he can literally control gravity and has a genius level IQ to go with it."
"So, we're a little outclassed, that's what your saying?" Green Arrow deadpanned and the four younger heroes nodded. "Okay, well, I can see from here that your mech will do some decent damage but Dreamweaver? What? Do you enter people's dreams or something?"
"How did you guess?" Dreamweaver asked and Green Arrow and Black Canary gave him significant looks. "I can hold my own in a fight, just ask Kat."
"Me and Travis here were at the top of our Martial Arts class." Kat explained as she glanced over at Green Arrow. "In fact, if it weren't for my Super Strength, he might have beaten me."
"I'm still unconvinced but if Kat vouches for your skills, then that's good enough for me." Black Canary responded as she glanced towards the warehouse. "What I want to know is, why is someone as powerful as Graviton working for The Joker? The Joker's earned his reputation as a sadistic madman ten times over but at the end of the day, he's still a regular human and someone with Graviton's powers likely has a few ways to kill him off."
"I apologize, Nightwing and Batgirl weren't clear when they said they needed backup." J'onn chimed in over the earpieces and the four heroes nodded. "When I described this Graviton's powers to Superman and Green Lantern, they grabbed the only available javelin and are on their way, you will have to buy them time."
"There's always a catch." Green Arrow grumbled before he turned to Pierre and Travis. "Did you get that?"
"Yes, and if these additional heroes can help then we will take it." Pierre nodded as he motioned towards the warehouse. "Shall we?"
"Let's." Green Arrow nodded before Pierre went to break down the wall. "Nightwing, Batgirl, we're going in, Superman and Green Lantern are on their way, the idea is to buy time for them to arrive, get ready for action."
"Got it." Nightwing nodded as he and Batgirl got ready for battle. "Just make sure to make a big entrance."
"I'm on it." Pierre nodded as he readied his weapons. "But are you sure Superman and Green Lantern will be able to help?"
"They are two of the founding members of the Justice League and Superman's the most powerful being in this universe." Yuri chimed in as she turned to Pierre. "Take it from someone who helped him battle one of his most powerful enemies on day one, he's earned the moniker of Man of Steel, as for Green Lantern, you'll have to see his powers for yourself."
"If he's as powerful as you say, then we have nothing to worry about." Travis nodded as he glanced over at Yuri. "We're going in."
*inside the warehouse*
"I tire of these games Graviton!" Mr. Hyde whispered to Graviton whilst The Joker's back was turned to the two much more powerful villains. "We could crush that clown in an instant, how much longer must we follow his lead?"
"Give it time." Graviton responded as he glanced over at the dead thug. "And what I did to that poor sap will be merciful compared to what I'll do to the clown."
"I hope your…..." Mr. Hyde never finished his sentence as Pierre blew up the far wall catching everyone's attention.
"I would say "ladies and gentlemen" but I see no ladies and calling you gentlemen is stretching it a bit." Pierre commented as he flew into the warehouse in his red and white armor. "But none the less, allow me to introduce myself, I am Legionnaire."
"And I am Dreamweaver." Travis added as he leapt through the hole in the wall. "And we meet again Mr. Hyde and Graviton, did you get bored off the ass kickings back home?"
"You know these guys?!" The Joker demanded and Graviton nodded.
"Two heroes from our home dimension, one relies on that suit for his powers, the other's powers are laughable at best." Graviton scoffed as he stepped towards the two heroes. "Alone, they are no match for me."
"It's a good thing they aren't alone, isn't its Graviton?" Nightwing's voice rang out before he and Batgirl landed behind the villains and got ready for battle.
"The Bat Brats? What? Does Batman not have time for me anymore?!" The Joker demanded before Kat, Yuri, Green Arrow and Black Canary entered the warehouse and The Joker got out a control panel. "Oh, good, more heroes, I guess it's time to release my patented insanity inducing, life expectancy reducing Joker…..." The Joker never finished his sentence as Green Arrow shot the button right out of his hand.
"I had heard from the other heroes that you talk to much Joker." Kat responded before she got ready to fly towards him. "But nothing could've prepared me for that! In fact, I think it's time you had a nap!" Kat added before she flew right at the Joker ready to send him flying with a kick, Graviton acted quickly using his powers to drastically reduce Kat's flight speed and allowing Mr. Hyde to plow into her from the side.
"My apologies Dragon Girl but he still has his uses!" Graviton responded as Kat kicked away Mr. Hyde and sprung to her feet. "And as powerful as you are, you can't hope to contend with the very force of gravity itself!"
"Maybe not on her own loud mouth, but she might stand a better chance with all of us!" Green Arrow responded before he and the other heroes leapt into battle against The Joker, his thugs, Graviton and Mr. Hyde.
"What hope does an archer have against someone who can control gravity!?" Graviton bragged as he deflected Green Arrow's arrows with ease. "What does the Hawkeye rip-off hope to achieve exactly?!"
"Hawkeye rip-off? That's rich." Green Arrow scoffed as he rolled around an energy blast from Graviton. "Besides, aren't you an Avengers level threat? Isn't Hawkeye a member of that team?"
"Hawkeye may be an Avenger, and the Avengers may have defeated me a few times over the years." Graviton growled before he got hit in the back of the head with a battarang from Batgirl. "I was talking to the Emerald Archer over here!"
"Emerald Archer? I'll give you credit for giving me a catchy nickname, but you can't block what you can't see!" Green Arrow responded before he fired an explosive arrow right at Graviton, the villain looked up just in time to get his shields up to block the blast, but it still knocked him back. "Why don't you just give up Graviton? It's clear as day that you don't exactly care for The Joker!"
"Silence you fool!" Graviton growled before he pinned Green Arrow to the wall with his gravity powers. "I am the master of gravity, I am the most powerful being in all of reality, no mere archer will defeat me!"
"Pierre wasn't kidding when he said this guy was an egomaniac!" Nightwing thought as he defeated a few of The Joker's goons. "Problem is, he's got the power to back up his ego and then some."
"Give it up ladies." Mr. Hyde growled as he battled Black Canary, Dragon Girl and Silent Tempest. "I don't know who the blonde bimbo is, but you can't beat me!"
"Funny, I thought most men dreamt of having three attractive women paying them this much attention." Kat joked right before she got backhanded into a nearby wall by Mr. Hyde, Kat shook her head as she pulled herself out of the hole and flew right back at Mr. Hyde delivering a solid punch to the jaw whilst Black Canary hit him with a spin kick and Yuri tried to sweep the legs. "At least that's what Mental Boy tells me."
"Shut up!" Mr. Hyde growled before he slammed his fists into the ground stunning all three women with the shockwave. "None of you can hope to defeat me.
"Canary, if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them." Yuri commented once she had regained her balance and Black Canary nodded.
"Just one, and I don't think you want to hear it." Black Canary nodded as she glanced over at the Asian women by her side. "Stay behind me, you'll thank me later." Black Canary warned them, and Kat and Yuri shared a look before they got behind Black Canary.
"If a woman with Super Strength and another woman with control over the wind can't beat me, what hope do you have?!" Mr. Hyde chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "You don't have any powers of your own!"
"That's where your wrong Mr. Hyde, I do have powers but due to their nature I can't use them on living beings unless they can take it." Black Canary responded as she got her sonic scream ready. "And from where I stand, you can take it!"
"Enough talk! I will smash you into the ground!" Mr. Hyde shouted before he charged right at Black Canary, unfortunately for him he was charging right into Canary's Sonic Scream which was enough to stun him and rip apart his suit.
"ARGH! What the hell is that sound?!" Graviton demanded as he covered his ears but that was what Green Arrow was waiting for as it caused the villain to lose focus and his grip on Green Arrow. "That vile woman! I will crush her with the very force of gravity!" Graviton commented once he saw that Black Canary was using her Sonic Scream on Mr. Hyde.
"You must be Graviton." Superman's voice rang out and Graviton looked up to see Superman and Green Lantern hovering above him. "We've heard a lot about you."
"I see my reputation as the master of gravity proceeds me." Graviton smirked not noticing that the few remaining Joker thugs who were still conscious had started to flee at the sight of Superman and Green Lantern. "I don't care who you are! I am the master of gravity, there is no one on Earth more powerful than me!" Graviton responded before he pointed to the roof. "And it's time I brought the house down!" Graviton added before causing the roof to cave in on top of Green Lantern and Superman, Graviton smirked before turning to the other heroes. "So much for the cavalry."
"Buddy, you have no idea who you just picked a fight with." Green Arrow responded with a laugh and Graviton turned to him. "That was Superman and Green Lantern, two of our dimension's most powerful heroes, Green Lantern's ring would've protected him from the impact and Superman? He's called the Man of Steel for a reason!"
"So what?! All the power in the world can't compare too…..." Graviton trailed off as Superman zoomed in front of him with his Super Speed. "How?! How did you survive that?!"
"There's only two things that can hurt me Graviton, and a roof crashing atop of my head isn't one of them." Superman responded before he punched Graviton in the jaw knocking the villain clean out. "John, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, the ring protected me." John nodded as he emerged from the rubble showing that he had used his ring's power to form a protective shield around himself. "There's still Mr. Hyde left, and Black Canary's scream can't last for much longer."
"Agreed, let's go." Superman nodded before the two heroes flew towards the other battle.
"Finally!" Mr. Hyde exclaimed as he grabbed Black Canary by the throat. "I've always enjoyed a good screamer, but I think I will enjoy choking the life out of you more!"
"Poor choice of words." Green Lantern responded before blasting Mr. Hyde from the side causing him to lose his grip as Black Canary fell to the floor. "Give it up Mr. Hyde, you're the only one left."
"I don't take orders from you!" Mr. Hyde roared before he charged at Green Lantern only for Yuri to throw a wind fist at his face knocking him back, Kat followed that up with the Spin Dash but as powerful as that move was, it was only enough to knock Mr. Hyde back as he planted Kat into the ground with a Powerbomb. "Is that all you've got?!"
"Far from it!" Superman responded before he flew in and delivered several punches of his own, before Mr. Hyde could retaliate Pierre let loose with a barrage of missiles that impacted against Mr. Hyde's back alongside twin Battarangs from Batgirl and Nightwing and a Roundhouse kick from Travis the combination of which was enough to drive Mr. Hyde to his knees before a boxing glove arrow from Green Arrow finally put the villain down. "Anyone hurt?" Superman asked as he helped Kat up and Green Arrow did the same for Black Canary.
"Considering the power level of those two villains, no." Kat responded as she shook her head. "And that's the second time the spin dash has failed to knock someone out."
"We'll work on getting you to stop relying on the Spin Dash to end a fight, come to think of it, wasn't The Joker running this operation?" Green Lantern commented before he looked around the unconscious bodies. "I see the thugs that weren't scared off when we arrived, but no sign of the Joker himself."
"He must've escaped in the chaos." Nightwing reasoned with a frown on his face. "We'll track him down again, and unless he hooks up with more powerful beings from Kat's home dimension, we should be okay." Nightwing added before nodding to Travis and Pierre. "That reminds me, meet Legionnaire and Dreamweaver, they just made the jump over here."
"I'll have J'onn debrief them in the Watchtower." Superman nodded before he turned to the Kat, Yuri, Black Canary and Green Arrow. "You are going up with them, you need to be checked up after that fight."
"No argument from me, I need to catch up with my mom anyway." Kat nodded in agreement as she ran a hand through her braided hair. "Was anyone else found during the fight?"
"Vigilante and Shining Knight found a guy calling himself Deadpool, warned of possible mental illness." Green Lantern responded as he checked the reports. "According to J'onn, his debrief was exhausting."
"Yeah, I know him, nice guy once you get past his insanity." Kat shrugged her shoulders earning a curious look from Green Lantern. "Worked with him on a mission once, ended up being one of the most fun missions I've had for all the wrong reasons, I'll have to tell you the story sometime."
"I'll take your word for it." Green Lantern nodded before putting a hand to his earpiece. "J'onn, Dragon Girl, Silent Tempest, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Dreamweaver and Legionnaire are ready to be beamed up."
"Understood." J'onn responded before the six heroes were beamed up.
"I'll have Bruce get in contact with Gotham PD so they can arrest Graviton, Mr. Hyde and the Joker's gang." Superman nodded as he turned to Green Lantern. "But if these guys were some of the most powerful villains to make the jump then I'd hate to imagine who else made the jump."
"I was just thinking the same thing." Batgirl nodded as she and Nightwing started looking around. "We need to be on our guard." Batgirl added before the heroes went about their business.