"Joker, I presume." Savage rumbled, crossing her arms behind his back.
"Ooh, goody, it's Vadie!" The bone white woman tilted her head almost ninety degrees, staring at him with an odd glint in her eyes. "Although... Not the Vadie I know. I think I like this one even better than you, Lexi old boy." The businessman refused to acknowledge the remark, instead taking a seat across from the mad clown. Curly green hair bounced as she swiveled in her chair to follow his motion.
"I'm sure you remember our proposition from earlier, Joker." He began smoothly.
"Yap, yap, yap, something about helping you ninnies track down those goody two shoes brats I was fighting before things got really crazy." She kicked up her feet to rest leather shoes upon the table they sat at. "Although, Lexi, after that nasty trick you goobers pulled on the seven of us, I'm wondering why I should pitch in with another group effort."
"We can make it worth your while. I'd assumed you were satisfied with the dollar amount from our last business deal."
"Oh, phooey with your money, Lexi! I've got enough of that left I don't need more." Pouting now, the clown waved an affronted hand in his direction, the other one fiddling with her suit's lapel.
Savage felt it was time for him to step in. "Then what would interest you?" Slowly, Joker turned her head to look up at him, a truly massive grin distorting her face.
"When we catch the kiddies," The madwoman practically purred. "You let me spend some one on one time with my favorite birdie."
-CC-
"How was Gotham?"
"Oh, you would not believe it, Zee - I looked in the closet of this world's me, and he has literally the same clothes that I do. Same style, same colors, even the same size! I'm just short back home, but this kid has to be scrawny compared to his teammates here."
"Ouch. That's gotta be annoying to live with."
Robyn shrugged. "Eh, from what I've seen, it probably doesn't bother him too much. And if he's anything like me, the guy makes up for it by messing with his friends." Zetenni snorted at that, still focusing in putting one foot in front of the other. Robyn had just come in from the zeta tubes to find the magician slowly walking around the Mountain, testing his wounded leg.
"Think it's getting better?" She asked now.
"Yeah... The gash itself is pretty much closed up, I'm just seeing how long I can put weight on it before I fall over." Chuckling, Robyn slipped an arm around Zee's waist.
"Well, let me know before that happens, and I'll help you get back to the kitchen so Mar'gann can fuss over you."
Zetenni rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that, Rob."
"Anytime."
When Willow teleported in a little while later, she ran straight for the kitchen and narrowly avoided crashing into Apollo.
"Hey, Babe! Didja miss me?"
The archer glared at her, miffed over his nearly-dropped plate. "Only a little." Willow's face fell, and Apollo had to correct himself. "Okay, more than that, but it kind of goes out the window when you almost make me spill my food."
"Ooh, what have you got there!" The speedster gasped. "Gingerbread men!"
"Mar'gann made it before he left with Cailin to do some shopping. Both of them look like they're doing okay." Apollo explained even as his red haired companion wolfed down half of the cookies on his plate.
"Ohmygosh, these are good!" At least, that's what he thought Willow said. It came out more like Oormigush shese rgud! around the gingerbread. Once the speedster swallowed, her words came out a bit more clearly. "I thought he said we wouldn't be getting any more of those until next Christmas?"
"Special circumstances, Baywatch." Willow stuck her tongue out at him for the old nickname.
"I wanna know when you're gonna stop calling me that."
"Probably the day they invent a time machine and you stop yourself from running into the Mountain with your arms full of stuff for a beach party, wearing only a bikini."
"I couldn't help it that I was late!"
The two continued to bicker cheerfully as the Bioship touched down in the hangar where Rocket was waiting. As the hatch opened, the teen stepped forward, expecting to be handed an armful of groceries. Instead, he was shocked as Supergirl hurried down, a stumbling Martian Junior supported in her arms.
"What happened?" Rocket asked in alarm. Cailin glanced up at him, her eyes full of fear and concern.
"I don't know. He won't talk to me!" The clone reined back the desperation in her voice, carefully guiding her hazy-eyed boyfriend across the hangar floor. "Call J'onn, or Tornado, or somebody!"
Just like his namesake, Rocket flew off down the hallway towards the mission room where he could call a Leaguer or three. By the time he got there, Aqualass was just coming in through the zeta tube, and their other four teammates were gathered on the training platform.
"Guys! Something's wrong with Mar'gann!"
-CC-
"So, what have you figured out?" Selina asked, leaning against the chair Bruce was currently brooding in.
"Not a thing." He growled, slamming a fist down on the one spot of the desk that didn't have any buttons or controls - probably specifically left there just for that purpose, Selina mused to herself. "The information the Team was able to gather only detailed what materials were coming and failing - the mixture that brought them here was new, not fully recorded or tested. Replicating it's effects to switch them back is next to impossible."
"Good thing you're the best at doing that: beating the odds, I mean." Bruce merely grunted at her words, causing Selina's own frown to deepen. "Look, you'll figure something out, I know you will."
The Bat was about to respond when an alert started beeping from one of the screens. Scowling, Bruce reached out to accept it - and felt his eyes widening.
"What is it?" Selina asked, not recognizing the scientific jumble.
"There's an energy surge sweeping the country, and it's signature matches that of the explosion that exchanged the Teams." His fingers began rapidly flying across the keyboard and holo-screen, checking data points and configuring equipment to begin analyzing the energy.
Bruce didn't slow down until several minutes after the surge dissipated, and he'd gotten all the information he could.
"This could be the key," He muttered at one point, and Selina could detect the hint of hope creeping back into his voice. She still had no clue what had just happened, but it seemed things were looking up for getting Robin and his teammates back home.
That hope was forgotten when a message came in from Mount Justice.
-CC-
*Mar'gann, can you hear me?*
*Y-yes... What... What happened?*
*That is what we would like to know.* Slowly, the young martian opened his eyes, blearily taking in the ring of concerned faces around him. All of his teammates were there, along with several League members. Mar'gann realized he was being supported on the rec room couch by Cailin, who looked like she wanted to both collapse from relief and strangle him for scaring her.
"Um... Hi?" He squeaked, and his girlfriend sighed, but settled for hugging him.
"I am glad you have awoken, Mar'gann, but can you tell us what happened to you?" J'onn asked gently. The younger martian brought a hand to rest against his forehead, and winced at how sore he felt.
"We... We were going to get groceries... But there was this... Wave." He shuddered slightly. "It felt like the explosion, at the plant, but, darker. I heard laughter, evil laughter. And it was gone in an instant, but I felt so weak..."
"He barely managed to put the bioship in manual steering before he collapsed." Cailin added. "I got us back here as fast as I could."
"My scanners picked up an energy surge just before you called." Batman said from across the room. "From what I could tell, it was sent out from a medical facility not far from the plant where you all were switched."
"Meaning that someone might be trying to repeat what happened?" Kid Flash asked.
"Or trying to find us, since we're the ones who actually crossed the dimensional barrier." Robyn pointed out. "Either way, we need to look into it."
There was silence for a few moments as the adults exchanged glances, which the teens watched warily.
Just as Green Arrow opened his mouth to speak, Apollo beat him to the punch. "Oh, please tell me you guys aren't thinking of trying to get us to stay put." The apologetic glance was enough to send the teen into a rage. "Come on! I know we might not be the Team you're used to, but haven't they at least proven that they, and by extension, we don't deserve to be treated like mushrooms?!"
"What?" Aquaman couldn't help but ask, baffled.
"Kept in the dark and fed bullsh-"
"Robyn." Batman warned, cutting her off. "It's not a matter of having proved yourselves, it's about avoiding playing into the enemies hands, as we have unfortunately in the past."
"Which we got you out of," Kid Flash muttered darkly, arms crossed. Again, several of the adults looked to each other, until Superman sighed.
"We'll go there tonight." He said. "All of us."