Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I've been extremely busy. I'll try to keep it up at one per week, but no promises. I'm also trying a more descriptive writing style, so hit me up with your criticisms.

"Ugh… I'm not up for this at this hour. Couldn't you have called a heavy hitter or something?"

John Constantine lay at the foot of the large statue in the reception room of the Hall of Justice. The bodies of villains and heroes lay scattered around the room, and a small contingent of heroes was fighting for survival against a large group of villains.

"Solomon Grundy… BORN ON A MONDAY!"

"Dnib!"

Solomon Grundy suddenly became encased in steel wires, temporarily incapacitating him.

"Born on a-"

"Peels."

Solomon Grundy started snoring loudly, and he suddenly disappeared as Zatanna sauntered over with her magic wand, casting spells left and right.

"Laeh."

Constantine felt his piercing headache slow down, and he felt one of his ribs heal.

"Thanks, love. Was feeling a bit woozy there. Watch your left!"

Zatanna dodged just in time to avoid a blast from Captain Cold.

"Taeh-"

"Oh no you don't, love. We've got other plans for you."

Zatanna yelped in surprise as Captain Boomerang muffled her mouth with his hand. Before he could stab her with one of his boomerangs, Constantine managed to kick him in the crotch.

"Gah! Why you piece of-"

"Say again, Boomerang?"

Captain Boomerang flew across the room and into a wall. The vibrating visage of The Flash, barely visible, stood over Constantine.

"Watch out, John. You aren't exactly the most versatile here. Would love to stay and fight, but duty calls. See you guys later."

Flash zoomed off, leaving a surprised and slightly irritated Constantine. Over on the other side of the room, Firestorm delivered a powerful energy blast straight into Deadline's chest, smashing him against the floor.

"Why that stuck up piece of… Oh hey, Ronnie, nice job. Looks like we're done here, eh, Zee?"

"Yes, John, I would think so. Erotser."

As Zatanna said that, the damage to the room suddenly reversed. The bullet holes in the walls disappeared, overturned furniture reset itself, and the floor swept itself for good measure.

"So do you wanna go back to my place, or…"

"Not now, John. I gotta phone the rest of the magic division. Before the villains attacked, I noticed a large magical disturbance near here. They have a powerful magic user transporting them, and I think I might know who. Give me a sec, I'll be back."

A base on a small deserted island, Micronesia.

"A fine addition to our collection, don't you think, Gorilla Grodd?"

"Heh. Our collection grows by the day, Luthor. Hard not to be impressed. But remember, every new hero we capture, the more the heroes look for us. My spies report that Arsenal has caught wind of our trafficking experiments. He managed to break out Arrowette, Lightning, and Thunder the other day."

"Of course, Grodd. You didn't think that wouldn't happen, did you? They'll save a few, of course. But we still got one, when we otherwise would have got zero. Those hero types run around all day, we'll just catch them again. But do you want to see our latest trophy?"

Before Grodd could give a response, Luthor snapped his fingers. Two thugs came around the corner, carrying a large bag. They dumped a tied-up body onto the ground.

"Meet Virgil Hawkes, AKA Static. He was on a separate convoy when Arsenal hit our trucks. We've created an electricity-resistant containment unit – see through, of course – that should be able to contain him as well as show him off."

"I'm impressed. Come on, let's lock him up."

Grodd and Luthor carried Static's bound body inside the compound, closing the door behind them. They walked past a series of containers, from a tiny box to what looked like an aviary. Luthor untied Static, and Grodd threw him into his cell. As he began to stir, Luthor watched from behind the one-way glass.

"Almost time, almost time indeed…"