It's been a hot minute...I got really distracted by two other stories, and also with working on an update for my other story that I haven't touched since February...and I was also working on the future of Talia's story in my head. I finally decided on something I really really like, which motivated me to finally sit down and write this chapter lol.

To Lady Syndra: That original (well, original-ish) plot is hinted at! Unfortunately, it doesn't really get underway until season 2...but I hope you enjoy the beginning of it in this story!

To Guest: Infinity War will be happening...in the sequel.

To Ayda: Thanks for your feedback! I really really like the fire hair thing, so I hope you don't mind that I used that idea! Venus's story, Monster Among Men is up now (update coming soon!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Marvel, just Talia Stark ;)

MOUNT JUSTICE
October 1, 18:12 EDT

Talia soured through air, coasting over the city of Happy Harbor and landing at the mountain entrance of the Cave. She let the suit dissolve back underneath her skin as she walked towards the door. Talia had found that since she would have to fly to the nearest Zeta Tube from school anyways, it was sometimes just easier to fly directly to Mount Justice. Plus, flying was really just kinda fun.

"Recognized: Artillery: B-Zero-Four."

The half-Korean girl stepped into Mount Justice, walking down the ramp the opening door created. When she stepped off of it, the door automatically closed behind her to seal off the Cave. Talia walked over to join Kaldur and Robin, who were standing in the middle of the room. The two had just finished a sparring session.

"Who won?" she asked her friends in a way of greeting, nudging her glasses up her nose.

"Didn't finish," Robin replied flippantly. He smirked at the older boy teasingly. "I totally would've beat him, though." Kaldur arched an eyebrow.

"I am not so sure," the Atlantean replied in his quietly mischievous manner. Talia laughed slightly, and then M'gann's giggle caught her attention. The three heroes turned around to look at Conner and M'gann as the two entered the room. Conner's new pet, Wolf, was padding after the couple. Robin leaned closer to his two friends, cupping a hand around his mouth as he whispered conspiratorially.

"You know they're a couple, right?" Talia laughed.

"No shit," she replied, nudging the slightly shorter boy playfully. Robin grinned at her.

"I believe I knew before they did," Kaldur responded more diplomatically, though he was also amused. More approaching footsteps made the three turn in the other direction. Wally and Artemis were walking into the room, bickering as always.

"Do we tell them?" Robin asked. Talia had been wondering the same thing. Both Wally and Artemis were harboring feelings for M'gann and Superboy, respectively, and she didn't doubt that they'd be upset to know the object of their affections was unavailable. Kaldur shook his head.

"It is not our place," he responded decisively. Across the room, the Zeta Tube powered up, and Peter stepped into the Cave. As the boy walked over to join them, Wally paused and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So, if Zatara is our babysitter of the week," Wally said, pointing at the magician and then at Captain Marvel, who was eating a candy bar. "Why is he still here? And why is he eating my snacks?" Talia chuckled, but her laughter was cut short when Peter nudged his friend. Talia turned towards him, and he looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Hey," he whispered. "How is everything going with Barnes?" Talia made a face.

"Slowly," she responded with a sigh. "He doesn't remember much." Peter nodded sympathetically as the Zeta-Tube powered up again, announcing Batman's arrival with his name and designation.

"Computer, national news," Batman ordered. The holographic screen opened up to GBS News, where Cat Grant was reporting live from Metropolis. She looked concerned.

"The initial attack was short-lived," she began as the scene cut to old footage. She continued in voice-over as the screen showed giant plants climbing up buildings. They appeared to be growing out from underneath the streets. "But Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." Peter winced in horror as the vines constricted tightly around a skyscraper, and the building imploded, dust and shrapnel flying everywhere.

"Despite the intervention of the Justice League and the Avengers," Cat continued. Talia and Peter started slightly, exchanging a surprised look. "There seems to be no end in sight." The Team watched as, on the screens, League and Avengers' members began to attack the vines and carry endangered people to safety. Talia couldn't help but smile slightly as she saw Iron Man fire a repulsor blast, destroying a vine threatening a young couple and their child.

On screen, Scarlet Witch raised her hands, manipulating her crimson magic to swirl around a vine crashing down on a roof. Her telekinesis tugged the plant back, and Superman swept in, picking up the two civilians who were stranded on the roof to carry them to safety.

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked excitedly. The prospect of being able to join in on an Avengers-Justice League team-up was too good to pass up.

"No," Batman said, squashing the Team's excitement. "The League and Avengers will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here." Robin's shoulders slumped.

"But –" he began to protest. Batman silenced Robin with a look before continuing.

"There is other back-up we can call in should we need assistance," Batman told his protégé, referring to the free-lance heroes the League allied themselves with as well as the X-Men. Changing the subject, he continued to explain to the Team what their role would be. "According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus's Blockbuster formula to Kobra." He typed a few commands onto the keyboard, and a picture of Sportsmaster appeared on screen.

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra-Venom," Wally supplied, looking at the picture of the villain.

"They also tried to get their hands on Extremis," Talia added. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the arc reactor set into her sternum. "Twice." Good thing I destroyed it, she thought, though she couldn't suppress a tiny twinge of regret.

"The Brain used Kobra-Venom to brainwash the animals," Peter recalled.

"And upgrade Wolf," Conner added with a grin as he rubbed Wolf underneath the chin with a grin. The oversized dog purred contently as Conner scratched him, leaning against the clone's body.

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars," M'gann said, remembering how he'd controlled the animals with electric shocks. "Like the ones at Belle Reve Penitentiary." Artemis stepped forward, realizing the pattern that was emerging.

"Batman," the archer said in surprise. "Is it possible that plant-thingy's one Kobra-Venom too?" The Dark Knight nodded his head, inwardly pleased that the Team had come to the same conclusion that he had.

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis," Batman replied, waving a hand through the air to open a new holographic keyboard. He began to type, images projecting in the air as his hands moved. It was a chemical diagram of the plants' make-up. Peter stepped forward for a better look, the science nerd in him practically crying with delight. "The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant."

Talia huffed her breath in surprise as puzzle pieces began to click together. Suddenly, things were beginning to make sense. All the intertwined pieces were becoming clear...except for a few that didn't fit. Talia rubbed her chin, silently wondering how Stane, HYDRA, and the Winter Solider fit into all of this.

"These cannot be coincidences," Kaldur said with a frown. "Unrelated criminals who cooperate with one another worldwide." Robin waved his hand to pull up his own holographic keyboard and began to type. Batman nodded.

"Exactly," he replied, affirming Kaldur's statement. "It is now clear that our enemies have formed some sort of...secret society of supervillains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning." Robin nodded from where he was staring at the results on the screen in front of him.

"Got that right," the boy replied, swiping his hand to transfer the results onto the big screen in the center of the room. Videos began to pop up on smaller screens, one-by-one. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei –" The signal suddenly cut out, making all of the screens turn to static. Wally frowned.

"Dude!"

"It's not me!" Robin insisted, fingers flying over the keys. "Someone's cutting into the satellite signal – all satellite signals!" The static disappeared from the screens, the image turning into a perfectly clear picture of the Joker. The villain was leering at the screen with a broad smirk plastered on his face. He tapped the center of his forehead.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said with a malicious smirk. "We interrupt your regularly schedule mayhem to bring you this…important announcement." He flicked out a switchblade, the crooked grin on his face growing as he moved the camera. "From the Injustice League."

Talia reached for her earpiece, pressing down on it. "J, can you track it?" she asked the AI. There was a moment of silence before JARVIS replied that he couldn't. Talia frowned, stepping up next to Robin and conjuring a keyboard of her own. She opened up the server and began to hack manually. Peter peered over Talia's shoulder. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Trying to trace the signal," she muttered back. The camera zoomed in on the assembled group of supervillains, most of whom Talia didn't recognize. The man in the center, dressed in green robes, began to speak.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities," the blonde villain said. He had an accent that sounded vaguely eastern European. "If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations." The camera zoomed in slightly as he smiled darkly. "There is no time limit…but, the longer your governments wait…" the Joker's gloved hand reached across the camera, pulling it back to focus on him.

"The more we get to have our jollies," the clown, drawing his switchblade through the air. He began to laugh manically, but Talia was barely aware. She had managed to locate the signal being used, but it was being bounced off different servers around the world and she hadn't located the source.

"Just wait…" she muttered; her eyes narrowed in concentration. The signal cut off, the screens returning to static and Talia groaned, her hands falling from the keyboard. "Ugh."

"Did you get it?" Conner asked her. Talia turned around, raising an eyebrow at the clone. He smiled sheepishly under her incredulous, slightly annoyed look. "Right…never mind." Across from the Team, Batman tilted his head as he listened to Aquaman's report in his comm.

"Roger that, Aquaman," Batman said, pressing down on his comm. to relay his end of the message. "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback. But it won't come to that." Robin was still frantically typing, pulling up the automatic recording that had been taken of the broadcast message. He rewound the footage and pulled up an image of the Injustice League.

"Count Vertigo," he said, highlighting the face of the man who'd spoken. "The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan!" He shook his head in shock. "Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced."

"There's your secret society," Wally said gravely. Peter frowned, looking at the group up on the screen. He shook his head slowly.

"I don't know," he replied dubiously. The others looked at him in surprise, and Peter shrugged. "I mean, none of these guys are enemies of the Avengers," he pointed out. "I just…it seems weird, that's all." Talia nodded in agreement.

"I can't see Stane following any of these guys," she said, gesturing to the group on the screen. Behind Talia, some of her friends exchanged looks. Talia had told them about Stane, but they'd sensed it was kind of a touchy subject, and were surprised to hear her bringing it up. "And if he was leading them, he'd want the whole world to know." Artemis shrugged.

"Maybe he wouldn't," she pointed out. "There are advantages to people thinking you're dead, don't you think?" Talia considered this. She hadn't thought of that - death provided Stane with secrecy. Still, she wasn't sure his ego would allow for logic to prevail. "Anyways," the blonde said. "Their society isn't so secret anymore." Kaldur rubbed his chin retrospectively.

"Perhaps, after India," the Team leader said thoughtfully. "They realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding anymore." Wally grinned, punching his hand animatedly.

"Yeah? That was their mistake. Right now, I saw we go kick some plant-creature ass!" Talia couldn't help but smile in exasperated amusement – had Wally not heard Batman nix that plan five minutes ago?

"The Justice League and Avengers will handle the plants," Batman responded. Wally visibly deflated, his shoulder curving in with disappointment. "I have a different job for this team."

"Aw, man," Wally muttered, scowling. Artemis punched the speedster's shoulder, and Wally winced. "Ow!" he snapped, glaring at the blonde in annoyance. He gripped his bicep pointedly as Batman continued talking.

"With the plants attacking so many places simultaneously," Batman said. "There must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." Talia's eyes went wide, and she and Peter exchanged a half-excited, half-nervous look. Next to Batman, Zatara cleared his throat. The Italian man stepped up, looking at Batman with a concerned expression.

"You realize what you're really asking them to do," Zatara reminded Batman gravely. The other Leaguer nodded.

"They're ready," he said affirmatively. Excitement and apprehension raced through Talia's veins. The tension was evident in the air, as other members of the Team seemed exhilarated at the prospect as well.

Well, except for Wally, who was still catching up.

"Ready?" he echoed Batman's statement in confusion. "Ready for what?" Artemis rolled her eyes, punching Wally's arm again in the exact same place. Wally glared at the archer. "Ow! Will you cut that – "

"Hello, Wally!" Artemis exclaimed, shoving the speedster slightly. "If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?" The speedster shrugged indignantly, still rubbing the sore spot on his upper arm.

"I don't know!" he replied defensively. Artemis groaned, and Talia stifled a laugh. "I guess we'll - " Talia walked over to the speedster, putting her hands on his shoulders and rotating him in the direction of the screen. She patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, guys, he's just buffering," she said sarcastically. "He'll get there." Wally stared at the screen, frowning. It was clear the moment realization dawned on him. His mouth fell open.

"Oh…" he breathed out. Talia exchanged an amused look with Artemis, who was holding her head in her hands in disbelief. Robin was snickering.

"Well, Batman," Zatara said, looking at the Team with mild trepidation and doubt. "I trust you are correct."

"I wouldn't, not after that," Talia muttered under her breath. Wally shot her a faux-wounded look, and Peter tugged at the end of Talia's ponytail.

"Behave," he told her, poking her cheek. Talia stuck her tongue out at him. Batman ignored the mumbled squabbles of the Team, instead turning to look at Zatara.

"I trust you can locate the enemy," he said. Zatara nodded.

"Indeed," he said assuredly. "Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled." The magician glanced over at Robin, who was still standing in front of the keyboard. "Robin," he said. "If you could provide a holo-map, I'll search for signs of concentrated sorceror's activity." The Boy Wonder nodded, typing a few commands onto the keyboard. A large spinning globe appeared in front of Zatara.

The magician walked over, raising his hands up so his palms were facing the map. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" he chanted. There was a beeping noise, and four different places were highlighted on the map. Talia frowned.

"Which one is it?" she asked in confusion. Without even hesitating, Zatara pointed to the blip hovering over Louisiana. The other blips were in New York, London, and Hong Kong.

"There," he said without a shadow of doubt in his voice. "The other blips mark the Sanctums of the Masters of Mystic Arts." Talia nodded slowly - her father and some of the other Avengers had been to the New York Sanctum before with Doctor Strange. Robin touched a few keys, saving the location Zatara indicated.

"Coordinates locked in," he announced, looking back up. "The Louisiana Bayou." Kaldur nodded.

"We are on our way," he announced. He looked at his friends. "Suit up," he ordered. "Meet at the hangar."

BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW
October 1, 18:52 CDT

The BioShip broke through the cloud cover, soaring closer to the water and ground. Apprehension was heavy in the air - they hadn't been this nervously quiet since the trip to Santa Prisca on their very first official mission.

The Team had been silent for almost the entire ride over, preparing themselves for the battle. All of them had changed to stealth-mode – Artillery had recently discovered a way to shift her nanites' color from the usual red and gold to a more muted black and grey that resembled Rhodey's War Machine armor. As for her flight suit, though the colors were already relatively dark, the grey turned to black and the silver turned to dark grey.

Artemis and Robin were checking the inventory of their weapons, and Spider-Man was reloading his web shooters. Kid Flash was eating an energy bar, trying to regain any calories he'd lost before the battle began. His eyes cast around the ship, falling on a bag near Aqualad's seat. The speedster pointed at it with his candy bar.

"What's that?" he asked curiously. The Atlantean glanced down at the duffle bag surreptitiously.

"Plan B," he replied shortly, offering no other explanation. Kid Flash frowned, taking another bite of his energy bar as he stared at the duffle bag apprehensively. He glanced up, catching Artillery's eye. The girl shrugged - she didn't know either. Kid Flash was about to ask for a further explanation when Miss Martian suddenly groaned loudly.

"You okay?" Superboy asked his girlfriend quickly, concerned. The others turned around as well - now was not the time for any of them to be ill. The Martian's face looked pained, and she was holding her head with her hand.

"Dizzy," she admitted, sounding surprised. She lowered her hand from her forehead back onto the controls, but she still looked a little out-of-it.

"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked in surprise.

"You do look a bit green," Spider-Man said in concern as he surveyed the Martian's face. He paused, and then added, "– er than normal." Miss Martian shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Not me, her," Miss Martian said, glancing to her left. Artemis and Artillery, both of whom were sitting to Miss Martian's left, blinked in surprise.

"I feel fine," they said at the same time. The Martian girl shook her head, realizing that she hadn't spoken clearly enough. But it was getting really hard for her to think straight.

"Not them," she clarified with a shaky breath. "The BioShip. She's trying to shield us, but –" Miss Martian cut herself off as she groaned again, her hands falling from the controls briefly as she gripped her temples. The ship stuttered in midair, and Miss Martian quickly returned her hands to the control panel.

"Miss, I believe Miss Martian is referring to the sonic attack being administered by…Count Vertigo," JARVIS supplied in Artillery's ear. The AI was keeping tabs on the Team from his satellite, and he could make out the villain targeting the ship.

Artillery opened her mouth to relay that information, but before she could, the BioShip began to shake violently and spiral out of control. She curled her hands around the straps of her seatbelt, wincing as the BioShip nearly hit the ground. Suddenly, Count Vertigo's attack stopped, and Miss Martian sighed in relief. She put her hand back on the controls, bringing them back into the air. Then her eyes widened with realization.

"We're not in camo-mode!" she gasped. No sooner had the words left her mouth than did another blow rock the BioShip. Artillery grimaced, squeezing the sides of her seat as the ship rose into the air before falling back down in an uncontrolled tumble.

The BioShip splashed into the water of the bayou, and the entire Team sat still in their seats, dazed. Artillery opened her eyes, looking out the window. Her mouth fell open as she saw giant vines stretching out of the water to constrict around the BioShip. "Guys!"

Above Miss Martian's head, a hole opened up. Artillery noticed that it wasn't the normal type of hole that the BioShip usually opened – instead of smooth edges, the sides were ragged. Miss Martian gasped, gripping her head in pain.

"He's hurting her!" she exclaimed. As Artillery stood up, she realized that Black Adam had in fact ripped a hole through the hull of the BioShip. Superboy got to his feet, launching himself at the supervillain and punching him in the face. The villain fell backwards. The vines pulled the BioShip down farther, and water began to gush through the open hole.

"No," Artemis said was water began to rise around the Team. She shook her head, pulling out a rebreather. "No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row." Artillery let the nanites break through her skin, surrounding her face to create the helmet. She ducked under the water, breathing comfortably as Miss Martian swam down to the bottom of the BioShip. The Martian opened a hatch on the floor, and Aqualad's voice rang through the mental link.

'Out. Everybody, out!'

It was a short swim to the surface, and when the Team staggered onto land Miss Martian caught sight of the BioShip being pulled underneath the surface. The alien shook her head.

"She's in shock," she said, sounding pretty shocked herself. "She'll need time to recover." Artillery let the nanites of her helmet sink back beneath her skin, looking around at her friends.

"Where did –" she began to ask. Before she could even finish her question, the answer came. A shrill sound echoed through the air and a piercing pain shot through Artillery's head. She cried out in pain, so dizzy that she fell prone. Around her, she could see her teammates falling to the ground as well.

If that's what the BioShip felt, she thought dazedly. I don't blame her for crashing.

The pain faded, and Artillery managed to climb to her feet. Dazed though she was, the nanites swirled around her wrist, creating a gauntlet. She fired a blast at Black Adam, who had attacked Superboy. The blow distracted the villain long enough for Superboy to get to his feet. Behind Artillery, Aqualad had attacked Count Vertigo and the others were clamoring to their feet as well.

'Robin, Miss Martian, disappear!' Aqualad ordered over the mental link. 'We'll keep them busy – you two fulfill the mission objective.' Miss Martian went into camouflage mode, and when Artillery glanced up to check, Robin was also gone. The two Team members had disappeared quietly enough that they hadn't drawn attention to themselves - the Injustice League members didn't seem to realize that any of them were missing yet.

"It's seven against two," Spider-Man said as the reaming members of the Team squared off against Black Adam and Count Vertigo. "How hard can this be?"

"Famous last words," Artillery muttered, her voice becoming distorted from the voice modulator in the helmet as she armored up.

"Have some faith!" Spider-Man replied cheerfully, shooting his web to a nearby tree branch. He swung onto the web, gaining momentum and kicking Count Vertigo straight in the chest. The villain stumbled back as his breath was knocked out of him, and Artillery took the opportunity to send a sonic wave in his direction.

The Count cried out in pain, falling to his knees and holding his head with his hands. Artillery couldn't help but smirk beneath the helmet. "Yeah!" she crowed from where she was hovering a few feet in the air. "That's how that feels!"

"Miss!" JARVIS said reproachfully, disapproving of the way she allowed herself to become distracted.

"Artillery, look out!" Superboy shouted. The girl spun around in midair, her eyes going wide beneath as she saw Black Adam leaping at her. She didn't have enough time to react, and the villain tackled her to the ground. Artillery grunted as her back whacked against the soft mud, and the villain loomed over her.

Black Adam reached out, wrapping his fingers around the faceplate of the helmet. Artillery growled, mentally preparing a repulsor attack. As the weapon charged, Adam dug his fingers into the face plate and began to pull.

Artillery cried out in pain as the nanites ripped away from her face, tearing away from the rest of the helmet. The ripping feeling was agonizing, and her vision went fuzzy as Black Adam crumpled the metal nanites in his hand.

Superboy grunted, spinning on his heal and launching himself at Black Adam. He tackled the supervillain aside, punching him in the face. Behind Superboy, Artillery lay on the ground, gasping.

Artillery had to fight the need to vomit – the pain was that intense. The crumpled faceplate began to dissolve, returning to Artillery's body as the nanites slowly recovered. Still, when the girl staggered to her feet, her eyes were teary from pain.

Count Vertigo had recovered from Artillery's attack and had been avoiding attacks from Artemis and Spider-Man. Now, he reached up to his headpiece, turning it on full-power and targeting the three teenagers.

Artillery was the first to fall down – already dizzy from the pain Black Adam had inflicted, the sonic wave only made the throbbing in her head worse. Her hands and knees collided with the soft mud of the ground, and she felt her vision go dark once more.

Please just let this stop, she thought despondently, just before blacking out.

"Artillery," Spider-Man hissed, nudging his friend's shoulder. "Wake up." The teenager's eyes opened slowly, and she sat up with a loud groan. Her head was pounding even worse than it had when Psimon had brain-blasted the entire Team in Bialya.

"What happened?" she muttered, closing her eyes to try and relieve the pain.

"We got our asses kicked, like you predicted," Spider-Man whispered back. Had her head not been aching so, Artillery might have laughed. She cracked her eyes open, peering around. The other members of the Team, minus Robin and Miss Martian, were also awake. Aqualad and Artemis had been stripped of their weapons, and the six teenagers and Wolf were in a golden cage that – Artillery peered through the gaps – was floating through the air.

"You're certain this will hold them?" Count Vertigo asked someone Artillery couldn't see. The response was prompt.

"This cage is impenetrable. Even the Superboy has no chance of escaping." Aqualad scowled at that statement, wrapping his hands around the bars of the cage. His eyes were narrowed as he spoke.

"You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts, Wotan!" he said. His tattoos began to glow a golden-yellow, and the glow surrounded him and the bars of the cage. He grunted a few times, trying to absorb the energy of the cage and break it. His plan backfired, and instead simply drained him of energy. The glow faded from around him and Aqualad slumped against the bars, his tattoos smoking slightly. Above them, Wotan chuckled.

"Please, Atlantean," he said patronizingly. "Do not pretend you're in my league." Aqualad scowled hard as he pushed himself up as much as the low ceiling of the cage would allow. Spider-Man looked down, watching the forest move below them. The familiar buzzing sensation of his spidey-sense rang up his spine, and he turned around.

Miss Martian's BioShip was flying towards them, swooping low through the air. As Spider-Man watched, she hit Wotan at full force. The sorcerer's concentration broke, and the cage dissolved, allowing the Team members to fall through the air.

The Team landed knee-deep in muddy water. They had made it all the way to the Injustice League's headquarters - a large observatory with a giant plant sprouting from the middle of it.

Ultra-Humanite stood in front of the Team, growling. Spider-Man stretched his arm out, pressing down on the center of his palm in an attempt to shoot a web at the gun he was holding. To the teen's surprise, he pressed down on the skin of his palm – his web-shooters were gone.

"Huh?" he gasped in shock. Ultra-Humanite growled, and Superboy tackled the villain, Wolf following his master. Spider-Man groaned, realizing that the Team members had been stripped of their weapons when they'd been captured.

Artillery flew past Spider-Man, hitting Poison Ivy and picking the villainess up. As Artillery and Poison Ivy rose into the air, Spider-Man was relieved to see that Artillery still had her arc reactor – without her heart would have stopped.

Refocusing on the matter at hand, Spider-Man rushed across the muddy battlefield to engage with Count Vertigo. Kid Flash had been rushing the villain, but Vertigo's sonic beam was slowing the speedster down considerably. Spider-Man hit Vertigo from behind, throwing the villain off-balance and allowing Kid Flash to recover.

Before Spider-Man could celebrate too much, Black Adam came out of the shadows and hit him square in the gut. The hero grunted loudly as he hit the ground, sliding back through the muddy water.

Up above the battlefield, Ivy was struggling in Artillery's arms. The villainess stretched her arms out as much as she could, summoning her plants. Two of the vines wrapped around Artillery's ankles, halting her ascent.

"Get off," Artillery muttered in annoyance. "JARVIS, increase thrusters by twenty-five percent." The AI responded wordlessly, and Artillery began to rise again slowly. Poison Ivy grunted angrily, narrowing her eyes and her focus to increase the strength of the vines. Suddenly, she gasped, her concentration breaking.

"My baby," she whispered as the vines fell to the ground. Artillery's thrusters adjusted to the lack of force automatically and the teen followed the villainess's gaze, smirking when she saw what had happened.

Robin had placed charges over the entirety of the plant, and the whole thing was lit up like a Christmas tree. There was a shrill beeping noise as all the charges armed themselves, and then the plant exploded. A wave of smoke and heat washed over the battlefield as bits and pieces of the vine rained down around the muddy field.

"No!" Ivy screamed. Her rage fueled her powers, and vines burst out from the ground, once again surrounding Artillery. Two of them encircled her wrists, yanking her arms outwards and forcing her to drop Ivy. The woman slid down one of the vines to land on the ground, whirling around to face Artillery with narrowed eyes.

The vines slowly surrounded the heroine, intertwining around her waist and legs until she was almost completely cocooned. One of them crept around her face, covering the eye slits in the faceplate and making it hard to see.

Grunting, Artillery forced herself to relax as much as she could. She summoned energy, feeling her weapon systems all around her body turn on with her mental commands. Closing her eyes, Artillery released the trigger on all the systems.

A mini-explosion radiated out from Artillery's body, destroying the plant tendrils around her. As vine pieces fell to the ground, Artillery heard Count Vertigo growl an order to his teammates.

"Kill them. Kill them all."

Spider-Man was facing off against Ultra-Humanite, avoiding the gorilla's gunfire. He was so busy evading Ultra-Humanite that he missed Wotan's electrical attack flying out to target all Team members. The lightning hit him square in the chest, making him fall to the side.

Crying out in pain, Spider-Man instinctively curled to his side. As he did so he caught sight of Aqualad kneeling over Miss Martian. The Team's leader had managed to absorb the electricity meant for both him and Miss Martian, his tattoos glowing blue as he did so. Miss Martian's eyes were glowing green as she summoned the BioShip.

All at once, Wotan's electricity faded as the sorcerer stared in shock at the object in Aqualad's hands. Spider-Man sat up, gasping.

"The Helmet of Fate," he said in a mixture of awe and terror. Spider-Man struggled to his feet, holding his head as he stared at Aqualad in surprise. He hadn't been on the Team at the time and given that Artillery had been attacked just a few days after, it was one of the few missions he hadn't heard about. Kid Flash, on the other hand, knew exactly what was happening.

"No, Aqualad, don't!" the speedster shouted, sounding horrified. He rushed over the Aqualad in an attempt to stop him, but he was backhanded by Black Adam. Kid Flash collided with a tree, grunting in pain and grabbing his wrist.

"What the hell is going on?" Spider-Man asked as he got to his feet, rubbing his chest. Aqualad lowered the golden helmet over his head, and there was a flash of bright light. Spider-Man held his hand up to block it, wincing. When the glow faded, a completely different hero was floating where Aqualad had just stood.

Artillery landed next to Spider-Man and he turned to stare at her in shock.

"What the – what the –" he stuttered, breaking off as Ultra-Humanite came charging at them. Artillery shifted backwards, raising her arm and building a shield of nanites to cover her and Spider-Man from the villain's attack.

"Spark Notes version!" she ground out as she began to slide backwards. The muddy ground provided absolutely no traction, and Ultra-Humanite was strong. "We went to make sure that Helmet was safe, it wasn't safe, we made it safe. KF put it on, got possessed by an insanely powerful magic-dude and almost didn't get it off." She shifted her weight, throwing Ultra-Humanite across the clearing. "Yes, it's bad Aqualad put it on," she responded to his unasked question. "Now, fight!"

"R – right," Spider-Man replied, shaking his head.

"Wotan," Doctor Fate said as he rose ominously into the air. "You are mine." The sorcerer blasted Wotan with golden energy, easily overtaking Wotan's counterattack and slamming the villain against the broken glass of the roof of the Injustice League's headquarters. Golden chains appeared around Wotan, binding his arms to his sides.

Across the muddy field, Ultra-Humanite got to his feet. He was growling. Artillery and Spider-Man began to step backwards as the gorilla advanced on the pair.

"I think I made him mad," Artillery said worriedly. The gorilla roared and began to charge at the two teenagers. Spider-Man yelped, flipping forwards. He landed on the gorilla's shoulders, crawling around the back of the large animal as he beat his chest.

"You think?!" he shouted back sarcastically, gasping. Ultra-Humanite roared again and plucked Spider-Man off his back, tossing the teenager through the air. Spider-Man soared high, yelping as he twisted downwards in an uncontrollable plummet.

"Gotcha!" Two hands wrapped around Spider-Man's upper arms and Spider-Man was yanked upwards again. He tilted his head back to see who had caught him.

"Mr. Stark!" Iron Man grinned behind his face plate, coasting downwards to place Spider-Man safely on the ground. Spider-Man glanced around in surprise, realizing that the entirety of both the Justice League and the Avengers were here – and so were the X-Men, it seemed.

The Hawks, Storm, Falcon, and War Machine were descending from the sky. Members of all three teams who couldn't fly, such as Batman, Green Arrow, Cyclops, Captain America, and Beast were being carried on the Green Lantern's platforms. The Flash and Quicksilver came speeding out of the bushes in blurs, coming to a halt at the edge of the battle field. More heroes descended from, surrounding the villains and cutting off any potential escape.

Iron Man turned around to look for his daughter. Artillery was across the battle field, facing off against a villain. Superboy had tackled Ultra-Humanite aside, but Black Adam was racing towards the mutant.

Artillery raised her repulsors in preparation, but before she could fire, two blasts of a familiar blue energy sent Black Adam flying into the center of the ring of heroes. Artillery dropped her hands, her mouth falling open before her expression of surprise morphed into a grin. "Shuri!"

The girl grinned back at her friend. She was wearing what she normally did in battles – Wakandan battle armor, with her hair pinned up around her face, which was adorned with flecks of white paint. Encasing both of her hands were her Panther Gauntlets.

"You know I can't resist saving your fine ass," she said mockingly, walking over to join the younger girl. Artillery grinned, letting the faceplate melt back into her skin.

"You look hot," she said, unabashedly flirting back with Shuri. "You should hero shit more often." The princess of Wakanda's mouth dropped open in mock-outrage.

"Don't objectify me."

"Please," the Black Panther's exasperated voice cut through their conversation. Artillery turned around to face the monarch sheepishly, and Shuri looked indignant. War Machine landed next to the Black Panther, his faceplate sliding up as he fixed his goddaughter with a stern look.

"Yeah, if you two are done flirting, we're kind of in the middle of a battle." Artillery looked around, spreading her hands out. The Injustice League was completely surrounded by the Team, the Avengers, and the League.

"What battle?" she asked sarcastically. As if agreeing with her point, Batman spoke.

"It's over," he told the Injustice League. His eyes narrowed behind the cowl, daring any of them to argue with him. The villains exchanged looks, and then raised their hands in surrender in an unspoken agreement. All of them except the Joker.

"There will be another day," Count Vertigo said ominously, his eyes narrowed and his chin tilted haughtily. Artillery couldn't help but think he looked awfully cocky for someone who had just been caught. One of his teammates seemed to agree. The Joker was shaking with manic rage.

"Another day?" the clown repeated scathingly. "Another day?! There won't be another day," he spat. "Not for any of us." He began to cackle manically, throwing his head back. His gloves were glowing as he typed on an invisible keyboard in midair, laughing all the while. All around the heroes, vines began to sprout out of the muddy water. Small buds on them became engorged, and then exploded, spewing a thick green gas.

"You had to jinx it," War Machine said to Artillery, his voice muffled by the modulator as his face plate closed once more.

"Joker Venom spores!" Batman shouted, rushing forwards. He brought his fist down on the Joker's face, knocking the villain unconscious with a powerful right hook. "Don't breathe!"

"Fear not!" Doctor Fate shouted. The Lord of Order flew up into the air, conjuring a large golden ankh. The ankh glowed a soft golden light, a hum echoing out over the muddy field. All of the gas rose through the air, the ankh absorbing it until there was none left. "Fate has intervened!"

Doctor Strange walked forwards, his boots swishing through the mud. He narrowed his eyes at Doctor Fate's form in the air. "Who is under the Helmet?" he asked.

"Our leader," Kid Flash said quietly, glaring at Doctor Fate. The Lord of Order descended until he was standing in front of the assembled group. The speedster shook his head. "What were you thinking?" he shouted at Miss Martian as he walked forwards. He was shaking with anger.

Spider-Man blinked – he still didn't really understand what was going on, but if Kid Flash was yelling at Miss Martian, it must be serious.

"How could you let him put on the Helmet?" Kid Flash continued more morosely, his voice cracking ever-so-slightly. "Nabu will never release him now." He looked at the ground, his voice quiet. "Kaldur will be trapped inside Doctor Fate forever."

There was a long moment of silence. Doctor Strange's eyes were narrowed as he locked eyes with Doctor Fate, waiting to see what the Lord of Order would do. Just as the Sorcerer Supreme was about to intervene, Doctor Fate lifted his hands, removing the helmet from Aqualad's head.

There was a flash of golden light, and Aqualad stood where Doctor Fate once had. Kid Flash looked up, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He rushed up to the Team's leader.

"Nabu let you go?" he asked, relief and surprise coloring his voice.

"He almost did not," the Atlantean admitted. "But your friend Kent was most helpful." Aqualad smiled. "He says hello." Doctor Strange cleared his throat, walking over to the two Team members. He held out his hands.

"Pardon my interruption," he said. "But to ensure that this does not happen again…" he reached over to take the Helmet from Aqualad's hands. "I'll keep this safe at the New York Sanctum," he informed them. "If Nabu is ever needed again, one of the disciples there will don the Helmet." Artillery frowned.

"Won't they become trapped?" Artillery asked, surprised. Doctor Strange shrugged, turning to face the teenager.

"Perhaps," he replied. "Fate may see it fit to release a disciple to deal with the lesser-threats. And if he does not," Doctor Strange shrugged. "Many there would consider it an honor to be host to a Lord of Order." Artillery stared at him with a deadpan expression, trying to see if he was telling the truth.

"God, it's such a cult," she muttered under her breath. It wasn't the first time she'd shared this opinion. Doctor Strange raised an eyebrow at the teen disapprovingly but said nothing. He walked back over to join the group of heroes. The supervillains had been bound and were being collected in a Green Lantern's bubble.

As one of the Lantern's flew off into the night sky with the Injustice League, the other one collected the heroes incapable of flight or superspeed. Shuri squeezed Artillery's arm and murmured a good-bye before walking back over and stepping up onto the platform next to her brother. The other heroes took to the sky as well, disappearing one-by-one until only Batman, Aquaman, Captain Marvel and Zatara remained.

"We're done here," Batman announced. "The supervillain's secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…" The entirety of the Team tensed, waiting to hear their verdict. Batman scanned the Team, taking in their battered, mud-splattered appearances. "It was satisfactory," he finished.

Artillery's shoulders relaxed, and she exchanged a grin with Superboy. Around her, the other Team members were trading proud looks as well. Captain Marvel was grinning excitedly also, and he came running up to the Team with a broad smile.

"Awesome, you guys!" he cheered exuberantly. "High-fives!" He held his hand up for the others to slap. Spider-Man exchanged a bemused look with Artemis next to him before slapping Captain Marvel's offered palm. The other Team members followed suit, all of them grinning in an amused manner at Captain Marvel's childlike excitement.

"Let's get home," Batman said once they were finished. Miss Martian nodded, her eyes glowing green as she summoned the BioShip. The ship landed on the ground before the group of heroes, the door opening and the gangplank descending.

As the Team climbed aboard the BioShip, followed closely by the remaining League members, Artillery couldn't help but whisper to her friends.

"Did any of you see Ultra-Humanite yeet Peter?"

"Talia!"

A tall man with an imposing figure stood in a room surrounded by screens. He had three scars across his face, thick and white with age. The presence of the scars magnified his intimidating figure.

All of the screens in front of him displayed videos of the Justice League, Avengers, and X-Men battling the plant creatures earlier that day. He seemed duly pleased with the efforts.

"Impressive," the man, Vandal Savage, said thoughtfully as he surveyed the videos. "The plant-creatures have proven their usefulness as weapons. More importantly," he added with a dark smirk. "The so-called heroes now believe our secret society has been revealed and crushed."

Savage paced to the center of the room as he continued, "With the Injustice League serving as our proxies. We are once again free to operate with impunity." He turned to face his comrades – Queen Bee, Ocean Master, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Klarion, Obadiah Stane, and the Brain. Queen Bee crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowed in concern.

"I worry that Obadiah's little progeny and her friend are suspicious that the Injustice League were the true enemies," she said with a frown. Stane chuckled.

"Rest easy, Your Majesty," Stane replied. "I've been laying low – at present, Talia is preoccupied by the emergence of a Winter Solider after the 'fall' of HYDRA." Stane turned to look back at the woman standing behind him. His bodyguard looked up when she felt her handler's gaze, and he waved a hand at her dismissively.

"I don't understand your need for her," Queen Bee responded, following Obadiah's gaze to the woman in the corner. The monarch crossed her arms over her chest, and Stane shrugged, a malicious smile plastered on his face.

"Well, besides the fact I've never claimed to be above petty revenge," the former businessman drawled. "Was she not the perfect test subject?" Queen Bee didn't answer verbally, instead tossing her head with an acquiescing sigh.

"Obadiah is right," Savage said. "Shadows still conceal our light." A beeping noise caught Savage's attention. He walked across the room to pick up the communicator that was beeping. He pressed a few buttons on it to answer the call – he knew who was on the other end.

Savage's ally had given him upon their last meeting. It was made specifically for interdimensional communication to ensure that they would be able to scheme no matter where the two were. The communicator flickered on.

"Nebula, step closer," Savage heard his ally order. The communicator on his end was in fact set into the forehead of his daughter. The transmission shifted angle slightly and Savage's ally became clearer. Savage smirked, beckoning the other members of the Light into view.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Savage asked his ally, motioning to himself and the other members of the Light surrounding him. The Titan leaned forward; his eyes narrowed.

"There is another Infinity Stone on Earth," Thanos replied. "I need you to get it for me." Savage turned to face his allies. His eyes fell on Stane, and then moved to Winter Soldier behind him. Stane nodded, understanding Savage's plan. Savage smiled darkly, and turned back to face Thanos.

"Consider it done."

so that's revelations and a hint of what's to come :)

also - i published two new stories in the last few weeks. one of them is another YJ one cuz i have issues. it features the oc i put in the last chapter, venus morningstar (i made some adjustments) the other one is a clone wars fanfic that i've been meaning to write for a while. check them out if you're interested, let me know what you think! i would love some feedback :)

anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you think. i would LOVE some feedback on any and all of my stories, so please don't be shy!

thanks!