Hey there, everyone! It's me again, SuperHeroTimeFan! I am back with yet another new chapter of Path of the Padawan! It's so great to have gotten this far. Thank you all for supporting me, The Christian Jedi, Logan GC, JacklyinKarst, YellowFlash67, Scourge from BloodClan, Darkest Nightmare's Dread, The Fusion Base, Kamen Rider Blaze, The Advent Master, Master Eubulon Alternative, Neo Kamen Rider Chrome, Hay Lin x Tsukasa Kadoya, Ross Blum the IV, PowerHour2013, Dwayne McDuffie, Slade The Terminator, Sergeant Connelly, Phoenixia8, RTheAwesome, leo0074, Cyber Orteck, iyfan635, Mainalpha, UltraJohn567, revanchists unite,, Virgil1989 The Crossover King, Vergil1989 The Crossover King, ccheng1234, Spartan111MS, rancorlover, Darrian808, Skyblue55, InfiniteWriter, The Eternal Lord Draconious, Flaming Dragon, Sonarkiller27, God's Angel of Music, shin obin, Robin Rani, Falcongal, randomy, Swimmer555, All4TheSnow, Moreanswers24, JediSpiritMonk, trickster3696, Jenn, pootisman343, Princess9903, Hylianodst, Ahsokanerd, Crashingthroughthesnow, link01742, chalant4eva, honorableninja, darkspineodd, witchsoul531, Useless Whispers, Crystal-Rose-Lover, Ahsokalo, KrautYank, Ocnarf, and of course, all of the Guests, and helping me to get this far. This has to be the best story I have ever written. Now, without further ado, here is my next chapter for Path of the Padawan, requested by the Guest known as Flaming Sonar 27. Please be sure to review, rate, and as always, please enjoy!
Chapter 44: Sapphire In The Rough
Gotham City July 20th 1351 Hours EDT
"Fire!" Lieutenant Gordon yelled out. Every member of the Gotham Police Department was at Stagg industries, on fire from a chemical explosion. Harvey Bullock looked to the Fire Department and motioned his hand. "The wind is shifting! Hoses from the air need to drop in from the south!" he called out. Several planes, filled with water buckets, flew by and started to drop water.
Soon, Ahsoka Tano came out from her Starfighter and onto the ground in her Jedi Cycle, unsheathing her lightsabers soon afterwards and jumping out. She then turned to the firemen and nodded. "I'll need the water!" she called out. The chief nodded as Ahsoka started to encircle her arms, letting the water circle around her before blasting it towards the whole factory. She then ran over towards James Gordon and sheathed her weapons. "Where's Simon Stagg? Is he still in there?" she asked.
As if on cue, Robin and Batgirl came out of the burning factory, carrying Simon Stagg himself on their shoulders. "I'm right here! Everything was under control!" Simon called out. Commissioner Gordon ran up to Simon as the Boy Wonder and the female Dark Knight lifted Stagg off of their shoulders. "What happened there? How did this fire happen?" he asked.
Simon chuckled, wiping off some dirt from his shoulder. There was not even a tear or scratch on his whole body. "It was just a standard procedure, Lieutenant, just a minor setback, but nonetheless, like a cat, I've got nine lives and survived." He bragged. Robin and Batgirl rolled their eyes incredulously while Ahsoka just narrowed her eyes at the businessman suspiciously.
"There's something I just don't like about that man." Ahsoka whispered to Robin and Batgirl. "He's a sleaze, there's nothing to like." Barbara remarked. As they were leaving, Simon and his bodyguard, Java, walked up to them. "Thank you, for saving me." Simon said. Ahsoka nodded before walking off. Simon stopped her again and cleared his throat. "May I help you?" Ahsoka asked. Simon pulled out a card from his shirt and gave it to Ahsoka. "Just wanted to give you this." He said. Ahsoka awkwardly smiled and nodded once again. "Thanks." She replied. The three walked off before Simon went to meet with the news crew.
Unknown to anyone, two figures were watching from the shadows. "What now?" one of them said. The bigger, bulkier figure looked to his comrade and craned his neck. "We strike when he lets his guard down." He said. The two the went back into the alley as Ahsoka, Batgirl and Robin went through the Zeta Tubes back to the Cave.
Mount Justice 1615 Hours EDT
Later on, at the Cave, the Team watched the report of what happened at Stagg Industries. Cat Grant placed a microphone up to Simon Stagg and cleared her throat. "Simon Stagg, this has been the sixteenth factory incident this week. Can you give some details as to what is going on?" she asked. Simon only chuckled and took out his notebook before replying, "Miss Grant, I can assure you, aside from a few spills of C3H6N6O6, everything was under control. Why, I would have fired the worker responsible for the incident, but my daughter, Sapphire, is having her Sweet 16 tonight, and I don't want anything to make my daughter sad on what I am planning to be the best day of her life." He exclaimed. While all the reporters awed in admiration, Robin just scoffed. Before anyone could ask any more questions about both the explosion or Sapphire Stagg, Barbara clicked the remote and turned the television off.
"What a sleaze that guy is." Barbara Gordon simply remarked. Dick just nodded in agreement as Ahsoka slightly nodded. "He really reminds me of another dirty businessman back in my universe." She said. "A coward who attempted to take over my friend's planet and is afraid of Jedi." Ahsoka added on. Artemis chuckled and walked up to Ahsoka. "Trust us when we say this: Stagg is nothing but a total sleaze with a façade of innocence." She stated. Ahsoka just rolled her eyes at this and was just about to respond until Batman's voice came through the speakers. "Team, report for Mission Briefing." He announced. Ahsoka looked to everyone as shrugged before they all ran off to see what their new mission was.
As soon as everyone was suited up and in the Mission Room, Batman pulled up a holographic picture of Simon Stagg. "I assume you all are familiar with Simon Stagg?" he asked. Most of the Team rolled their eyes in annoyance, giving the Dark Knight the impression that they all knew. "Very well, a source came in earlier on that Stagg himself is in league with the ORDER." Batman went on. Robin's eyes widened at this before asking, "What makes you think so?"
"I know so, because from recent reports from research teams at the site of the 'incidents', altered Kobra Venom, matching the same chemical structure as the ORDER's Symbio-Enhancer, was found, and only members of the ORDER use it." Batman reasoned. Serra scoffed and craned her neck. "So much for Simon Stagg subtleties." She remarked. Batman glared at Serra, and of course, she had no reaction to the BatGlare, before going on. "Tonight is Simon Stagg's daughter's birthday party. We believe that the ORDER will be meeting with Stagg at that time." Batman went on.
"Where do we start?" Aqualad asked. Batman looked to the Team and started to point a finger. "Aqualad, you will lead Batgirl, Beast Boy, Gerrera, Superboy, Artemis, Zatanna and Ahsoka to Stagg's mansion, where you will investigate for any ORDER activity." Batman announced. Ahsoka scoffed and shook her head. "Maybe Serra can go for this one." She said. Zatanna turned around and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked. Ahsoka pulled out a card and waved it around. "Currently, I got invited to be a special guest at a birthday party for…" Ahsoka started out, before turning to the card to see who the birthday was for. Everyone waited until Ahsoka's eyes widened with disbelief. She then turned back and droned, "Sapphire Stagg, for her Sweet Sixteenth Birthday, how ironic."
Batman nodded and turned back. "It is decided, then. Go and take care of the mission." He ordered. Aqualad nodded before leading the selected Team Members to the Bioship. Ahsoka looked to the card as she ran with Zatanna and Artemis while having some thoughts to herself. Out of everyone, why was I invited? She asked herself with confusion. Shrugging it off, she started to slowly make her way to the Bioship, but Zatanna and Artemis quickly pulled her on, much to the Togrutan's surprise. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as she was pulled into the Bioship, now taking off.
Gotham City 1816 Hours EDT
Soon, the Bioship arrived in Gotham City. Ahsoka looked at Simon Stagg's mansion in awe and wonder, the place seeming to shine like a star in the night. Artemis then tapped Ahsoka on the shoulder, causing her to turn around to the archer. "That would be where everything happens behind the scenes." Artemis stated, pointing her finger towards the warehouse nearby.
Batgirl started to tap away at her new hologlove to scan the area. After a while, she turned back and nodded. "I'm picking up a chemical reaction inside of the warehouse, and it's not good science." She stated. Superboy scoffed as he raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Stagg in possession of some of the Symbio-Enhancer drugs." He deducted. Aqualad nodded. "Batgirl, Beast Boy, Superboy and Zatanna, you come with me to investigate Stagg's warehouse." He ordered, pointing his finger to his selected four members.
He then looked to Ahsoka, Artemis and Saw and craned his neck. "Ahsoka, you get to the party. Saw and Artemis will act as additional guests to keep a close eye on Simon Stagg if he's not at the warehouse." He added on. Ahsoka nodded and put the invitation card away in her pocket. "You've got it." She said. Saw and Artemis nodded as well before walking off. Aqualad then looked to his squad and nodded as well. "Move out." He ordered.
As Ahsoka, Artemis and Saw made their way to the party, a young dark-skinned man with metal armor and another boy with multiple colors as his skin watched from not far away in their own stealth modes. The boy with metal armor, Cyborg, looked to his friend with the multicolored skin, Metamorpho. "We're going way over our heads here, Metamorpho." Cyborg stated. "I know that I owe you for making me the first member of the Outsiders, but right now, I'm not so sure about whether this will all go as planned and if we're doing the right thing." He added on.
All Metamorpho could do was sigh and nod. "I know, Victor, but remember our intention for going through all the trouble of getting here in the first place." Metamorpho reminded. Victor sighed and nodded in response. "Well, let's hope that the Team doesn't get in the way, and that our mission goes as a success." Cyborg stated. Metamorpho nodded back before the two left.
At the Stagg Mansion, Sapphire Stagg came out from her room on the top floor and looked to the bottom level, where the rest of her guests were. She was wearing an aqua-blue dress, with a green belt dividing her torso from her legs, as well as pink stockings and black flats. Even though this was her birthday, something seemed to be missing. I sure wish he could be here for my birthday. She thought to herself sadly before slowly walking down the stairs towards her friends, all cheering for her arrival.
Sapphire smiled at her friends before her father came through the front door with his bodyguard, Java. Her father sent Sapphire a warm smile, in which she smiled back. "I hope that all your wishes are coming true on your sweet sixteen today." He said. Sapphire just nodded before looking down sadly. Not wanting her daughter to feel so sad, he knelt down to her level and placed his hand on her chin. "You know, there are three more guests, one of whom you're a big fan of." He stated. Sapphire suddenly gasped as she looked up at last.
Simon cleared his throat before he and Java stood aside. "Come on in, my fair lady." He said politely, in which the doors opened. Sapphire squealed with excitement as Ahsoka Tano came through the door, followed by a blonde female and a dark-skin colored male. All the other guests gasped as well as they saw Ahsoka walk into the room. "It's Ahsoka!" one of the guests called out. "I can't believe it!" another guest exclaimed.
Ahsoka just smiled as she walked into the room, looking to everyone as if they were seeing a celebrity walk into their homes. As she walked into the room, M'gann's voice came into her head. "Is everyone intact for the Psychic Link?" she asked. Ahsoka sighed mentally and replied, "We're all here."
"I'm good." Saw stated. "So am I." Artemis added on. Ahsoka smirked and looked around. "Can someone help me on how to act for this? I swear, none of the Jedi have ever been looked up to like this." She stated. Zatanna's voice chuckled as Ahsoka winced. "Just smile and wave, Ahsoka, smile and wave." She said. Ahsoka did as Zatanna said and put a smile on her face and waved at everyone, still getting the same fangirl-like reactions from the guests.
Simon Stagg walked up to Ahsoka and extended his hand. "Miss Tano, thank you for attending my daughter's sixteenth birthday." He said happily. Ahsoka chuckled and then looked over to Sapphire. "Anything I can do for the lucky girl of the day." She replied back. Sapphire ran over to Ahsoka and smiled. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you! It's such a Hell of an honor!" Sapphire exclaimed. Ahsoka smiled and placed her hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "The honor's all mine, trust me." She said. To be honest, she couldn't help but feel an aura around Simon Stagg a bit slightly similar to the cowardly leader of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray. Yeesh, how many cowardly businessmen can you find in the know universes? She asked herself. Shrugging it off, she turned back to Sapphire with a smile. "Then again, your father's lucky to have you." She said. Sapphire smiled more than ever as Artemis and Saw enjoyed the party.
At the warehouse, Aqualad ran throughout the place invisibly with his Stealth Tech while Beast Boy ran alongside him as a chameleon. Two guards passed in front of them, but with their tech, they couldn't even be seen. As soon as they passed, Batgirl jumped from the catwalk above and signaled for Superboy and Zatanna to follow. "Superboy, can you see what Stagg is hiding in those crates?" Aqualad asked, pointing towards some crates stacked in the corner of the building. "Worth a shot." Connor replied back before stepping up. He took one glare at the crates and the rest happened like magic.
Superboy looked into the crates very carefully, seeing radiation levels of liquids flowing in each box. "Let's see, 20 Carbon Atoms, 24 Hydrogen Atoms, and approximately 3 Oxygen Atoms, mixed with Kobra Venom." He informed the Team. Batgirl typed in the formula into her hologlove. After a while, her eyes widened with surprise. "It's the Symbio-Enhancer Drug, alright, combined with steroids and… something else." She deducted. "Is Stagg trying to enhance the effect of the Symbio-Enhancer someway?" she asked.
Before anyone could answer the question, Connor raised his hand. "I hear someone!" he exclaimed. The Team all started to hide as the Boy of Steel use his superhearing to listen in on the interloper was. "Where is that burro, Stagg?!" a man called out. "I have a nice knife ready for a quick and painful cutthroat if he doesn't come here soon!" Connor's eyes widened with shock as he hid with the rest of the Team. Beast Boy looked to Connor and gulped. "Who was it?" he asked quietly. Superboy narrowed his eyes at where the guest was, the image of a pocketknife-twirling man coming into his mind. Only one name needed to be spoken to identify who it was. "Xever."
Meanwhile, at the party, Ahsoka was starting to enjoy herself. Even though she had never been a guest of honor before, she was really good at entertaining everyone. She had performed martial arts in the Jedi Temple as a Youngling before, and since she was showing off her skills to everyone, they were going wild. Everything I remember from training, I remember for life. She thought to herself as she backflipped into the air before placing her foot up in front of her chest and then twirling onto the ground, landing on her feet and one hand touching the ground. Everyone cheered for Ahsoka, even Artemis, Saw and Sapphire.
"Thank you, thank you. You're all too kind." Ahsoka said, bowing back and forth towards multiple guests. She then walked up to Sapphire and Simon and smiled. "You're a very lucky girl, Sapphire. One being in the presence of a Jedi is a great honor for anyone." She said. Sapphire smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you. Ahsoka." She said.
Artemis chuckled and clapped her hands as she turned to Saw. "Well, isn't this quite the party?" she mused. Saw nodded and started to think back before the party. "I just hope that this one goes as well as the last one in Paris." He stated. Artemis chuckled and started to think back to that event as well. "Maxwell Lord, Enola, how can I forget?" she asked sarcastically. The two laughed as they looked with much happiness at the sight of Ahsoka and Sapphire.
Simon smiled at the scene as well. "You do my daughter a great thing by coming to her party." He stated. Just then, Java walked up to Stagg, much to his annoyance. "What is it?!" he asked annoyingly. "My daughter's having her party!" he exclaimed. Java whispered into Simon's ear, and when he heard the news, his eyes widened with shock. "I-I see. My apologies." He stammered, causing the four to look to Simon with confusion.
Sapphire walked up to her father and raised an eyebrow, as well as Ahsoka. "What is it?" Ahsoka asked. Simon chuckled and looked to Ahsoka. "Miss Tano, please forgive me, but something has come up, and I need to attend to a client waiting for me in my office." He stated. Java nodded in confirmation before the two walked off. Ahsoka, Sapphire, Artemis and Saw all looked in confusion as Simon seemed to hurry away. Artemis placed her hand to her forehead as she got a piece of cake. "M'gann, what's going on? Something here caused Simon Stagg to leave. Is something wrong?" she asked through the Psychic Link.
Back at the warehouse, the rest of the Team started to hurry in their attempt to find proof of Simon Stagg's contrabands. "Bad news, guys! Xever is here, and he's due to meet with Stagg tonight!" M'gann reported through the Psychic Link to Ahsoka and the others. "Xever! That knife knave is here?!" Artemis demanded. Garfield looked back to the others and shrugged. "Can someone please give me and Barbara some insight on who this Xever is?" he asked. Zatanna scanned one of the rooms before responding. "A nasty swordsman. Likes dissection and cutthroat. Think of Zorro and Puss In Boots combined with the Terminator." The mage joked.
All of a sudden, Aqualad stopped his faction of the Team. "What's behind here?" he asked Superboy. Connor shrugged and started to glare at it, using his X-Ray Vision to see. All of a sudden, he cursed in annoyance and turned back to the Team. "For some reason, I can't see through it!" Connor exclaimed. Barbara checked out the door and sighed. "It's made of lead, the one thing Superman, or you, can't see through." The Female Dark Knight stated.
Connor grunted as he crossed his arms. As he started to mumble to himself about what he'd do when he'd confront Jaybo for another gadget to fix his inability to see through lead, Batgirl started to type away at the mainframe for the door with her hologlove. "Got it!" she exclaimed. M'gann and Zatanna both smiled at this, but then, a door from above started to open, causing Aqualad to unsheathe one of his Water-Bearers as a whip and use it to pull in the rest of the Team into a hiding spot.
Simon Stagg walked out of the door, looking around as if he had seen something. "Could've sworn…" Simon muttered to himself, but was soon interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. There was Xever, twirling one of his pocketknives as he walked up to Simon. Before any of them could speak, Xever brought the blade of the knife to Simon's nose, threatening to slice his nose, much to his surprise. "You're late." Xever simply stated in an angry tone as he pulled back the knife, causing Simon to gasp and feel his nose. "It's my daughter's birthday! Of course I was late!" Stagg remarked.
Xever scoffed and wiped off the little blood on his knife with a handkerchief. "Be thankful, Stagg, that I have decided to spare your life and hold back the urge to take your daughter's." Xever darkly stated. Simon sighed and sneered at Xever. "Well, if you're only here because of Sylas, then this should be quick." He stated. Xever sighed and twirled around his knife before sheathing it.
As the two men were talking, the Team listened from afar. "All that we need are your upgrades on the Symbio-Enhancer, and the funding you promised to the ORDER when you decided to join for the good of humanity." Xever explained. Aqualad looked back to his faction and placed a finger to his mouth. "Not a word." He ordered. Everyone nodded and continued to listen.
However, unbeknownst to any of them, Outsiders Cyborg and Metamorpho were starting to make their move. "You may be one of the many people the ORDER calls in when things go wrong, but I have a right as a Fourths-Ranked member of the ORDER itself." Simon spat. Metamorpho signaled for Cyborg to start tapping away at his cybernetic arm, in which Victor complied with a nod as the two ORDER members continued bickering.
"You'd best wish her daughter a happy life, because if you don't live up to our standards, I can take that away as easily as robbing money from a bank." Xever remarked back. Simon growled and unsheathed a Walther P38 gun from his side. "Never threaten my daughter!" Simon scowled. The two were about to continue arguing until Xever's eyes drifted off to the side. "How long has that puddle of water been there?" he asked, pointing to a nearby crate, leaking with water. Simon raised his eyebrow as he looked to it.
Aqualad gasped as he looked to his Water Pack. "Must have leaked when we entered the warehouse." He deducted. Zatanna panted and aimed her hand at the corner of the room. "Tcartsid Revex dna Nomis htiw dnuos." She incanted softly, causing an eerie noise to come from the other side of the room.
Simon and Xever then turned their attention to the other side of the room. "Did you hear something?" Simon asked. Xever turned to where Simon was looking and raised an eyebrow. He then let out a low whistle, signaling for other ORDER soldiers to come out of hiding. "Come with me." He ordered to them all. Everyone nodded as they followed Xever towards where they thought the noise was coming from.
As the Team watched the ORDER leave to their distraction, Metamorpho and Cyborg suddenly took notice of them. "What are they doing here?" Metamorpho asked. Victor shrugged before two shurikens were thrown at the Team. Batgirl gasped at this as she threw some batarangs to counter them. The rest of the Team took notice as they all got into battle stances, the Yakuza Clan surrounding them. M'gann stared them down for a while, remembering the trouble she, Ahsoka, Artemis, Katana and Robin had to deal with on Ahsoka's first mission. "Onore." M'gann cursed in Japanese. Asakura and Karai just stared them down and scoffed. "Seibei." She remarked back.
Back at the party, it was time for the piñata. After Saw failed to hit the piñata, it was Sapphire's turn to go. "Wish me luck." She said to her friends as she went up. As she was putting on the blindfold, Ahsoka handed her something. Sapphire looked down and saw that Ahsoka had handed Sapphire her lightsaber. "Break a leg off that thing." Ahsoka bid. She then winked at Sapphire, now chuckling, and walked to the rest of the guests. Sapphire took a deep breath, and reached for the lightsaber activator, switching on the sword, its blade the same color as her name.
Everyone awed in wonder as Sapphire held the blue lightsaber up to her side like a baseball bat. With one swift strike, she swung the blade and sliced open the piñata, causing everyone to cheer. Sapphire searched for the deactivation switch and turned the lightsaber off before removing her blindfold, smiling at her success. Ahsoka smiled at Sapphire and patted her on the shoulder. "I knew you could do it." The Togrutan stated before flipping a coin up into the air. Sapphire looked up with surprise as she then grabbed the coin, seeing what it was.
Ahsoka smiled and nodded her head. "A Golden Credit Coin from where I come from. Pure gold, sure to be worth more money than Steve Jobs and Bill Gates could save up in a lifetime." Ahsoka explained. Sapphire smiled and hugged Ahsoka, much to her surprise. Ahsoka then smiled and hugged her back before they sat down.
As Ahsoka was eating her piece of birthday cake, she suddenly noticed Sapphire looking to a locket necklace in her hand. Ahsoka turned her chair to Sapphire and cleared her throat, catching the birthday girl's attention. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.
Sapphire looked up and sighed. "Sorry, Miss Tano, I was just thinking, that's all." She said. Ahsoka placed her hand on Sapphire's shoulder and looked her into the eye. "Tell me." The Togrutan Jedi calmly said.
Sapphire sighed and looked down to her locket one more time. "It's a day I'll never forget." She started out. "I used to have a boyfriend, Rex Mason. He and I loved each other very much, but my father didn't approve of our relationship." Sapphire went on. Ahsoka's happy demeanor changed as she continued to listen. "Even still, Rex did his best to get on good terms with Dad." Sapphire added. "But one day, when Dad offered Rex a spot in his new experiment. The next day, Daddy said that he went missing during the experiment, and I had to fear the worse." Sapphire finished up.
Ahsoka sighed in sadness as she looked back to Sapphire. "I'm sorry to hear that." She said. Sapphire sighed and looked to the locket once again. "He disappeared in the events of Project Metamorpho." Sapphire explained. Ahsoka suddenly stopped moving and dropped her plate, letting it shatter on the ground, much to everyone's surprise. "Metamorpho?" she asked. Sapphire nodded, but Ahsoka was still in shock. It can't be! That Outsider! Ahsoka thought to herself.
Just then, M'gann's voice entered Ahsoka, Artemis and Saw's heads. "Guys, are you there?" the young Martian asked. Ahsoka gasped and placed her hand to her forehead. "I'm here, M'gann." Ahsoka replied. "Me too, and Saw three." Artemis added on. "What's up?" Saw asked. "The Yakuza Clan we faced when we met with Katana in January are here! We've been ambushed!" M'gann exclaimed.
Ahsoka and Artemis both gasped before looking to Sapphire. "What is it?" she asked. "Something came up. Gotta go." Ahsoka said quickly. Sapphire looked to Ahsoka with confusion as she joined up with Saw and Artemis. Looking to see if anyone noticed her, in which they didn't, she started to follow them.
Back at the warehouse, Batgirl was sparring with Karai batarangs to sais. Aqualad faced Asakura as the rest of the Team took on their own ninja opponents. Karai kicked aside Barbara and unsheathed a naginata, in which she started to use against the Dark Knight Female and Beast Boy. Both of them dodged the blade before a sudden blue blast was sent their way. Beast Boy smiled and looked to Kaldur. "Nice one, Aqualad!" he yelled. Aqualad broke off with Asakura and turned to them. "I was here the whole time!" he exclaimed.
At that moment, Cyborg and Metamorpho came out of their hiding places, taking on some of the Yakuza Clan Members. M'gann and Zatanna both immediately gasped in shock. "The Outsiders!" Zatanna exclaimed. Beast Boy smiled as he looked to the two. "Dudes, thanks for the assist!" Garfield yelled. Victor just lowered his cannon arm and shook his head. "Wasn't aiming for you, 'BB'." Cyborg remarked. "We were trying to hit Stagg!" Metamorpho added on.
As soon as Simon's name was heard, he and Xever both turned around in surprise. "What the Hell was that?" Simon asked with curiosity. Xever unsheathed a blade from his arm and the two led their share of ORDER troops back to the room. As soon as they entered the door on the top walkway, Xever's teeth gritted. "Those abominations." The Sword Lord muttered to himself. Simon wasn't paying attention as he took notice to the multicolored Outsider. "That's impossible! It can't be!" he exclaimed. Xever, having had enough, threw five shurikens and five of his pocketknives at the Team.
Just then, ten really sharp shurikens and knives were thrown at the two groups. "Look out!" Zatanna yelled out loud, placing out her hand to incant a shield. "Etaerc a dleihs dnuora su!" she cast, causing a large force field to surround everyone. Cyborg and Aqualad both looked up to the catwalk and growled. "Xever!" the Atlantean spat. Xever only growled as Simon craned his neck. "Take care of these brats. I need to get something from Lab 421." He said. Xever nodded as he and some more Yakuza ninjas landed on the ground, now in pursuit of the Team and the two Outsiders.
At the same time, Ahsoka, Artemis and Saw ran into the room. As soon as they looked around, they caught sight of Karai, Asakura and the rest of the Yakuza. "How'd they survive?!" Artemis demanded. Ahsoka shrugged as she unsheathed her crossbow scabbard. "Maybe ninjas know how to play possum?" she asked. With that, she converted the gauntlet into a sixteen-edged shuriken and ran towards her friends and enemies.
Metamorpho grew bladed arms and slashed at many of the ninjas before Superboy tossed another towards the main lab of Simon Stagg. Asakura looked to Karai and nodded, in which she replied back by doing the same thing. The ninjas were about to retreat until they heard some footsteps. Everyone turned around to see Ahsoka with her large shuriken. "Running away?" she asked Asakura in a taunting voice. "Here," the Jedi added on, unsheathing her star and twirling it around in her palm. With that, she let out all the blades on her shuriken and smirked. "Let me stop you!" she quipped.
Everyone, including the Team and the Outsiders, all gasped as the shuriken was also headed in their direction. Simon soon came out of his lab door and looked to a gun he had in his hand. "This should do the trick." He said to himself before looking to the large shuriken. "Mother F-" Simon started out in surprise before closing the door, but the shuriken stopped at the door, nearly cutting Simon Stagg in half.
Ahsoka ran over and grabbed the shuriken before Artemis shot an arrow at Karai and Saw fired a stun shot at Asakura. "And I thought ninjas were supposed to be smart." The Onderonian soldier remarked. Artemis nudged Saw on the shoulder, in which he turned. "The plural is ninja." She whispered. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and turned back to them. "Don't let that get in the way!" she exclaimed. M'gann and Zatanna then flew over and with the power of the three special-powered girls, they brought the door down, revealing a lab full of chemical experimentations.
Java then appeared, charging towards the group. Ahsoka unsheathed her lightsaber and bow-gauntlet and jumped over Java while some more Yakuza Ninja came. She slashed at one of them before using another as a shield to protect herself from the rest of the Ninja. Six charged, but Ahsoka shot at them with her crossbow, taking them all down.
She then looked to Java, now armed with a large desk and swinging it at her. Ahsoka jumped into the air and slashed at the desk before scarring Java on the back. Java groaned in pain as Ahsoka placed both of her weapons together. The firearm and the lightsaber started to light up, and Ahsoka first shot with her crossbow before sending a wave from a slash from her lightsaber. The following attack subdued Java before he fell into some cables. The rest of the Team, as well as Metamorpho and Cyborg, all ran up as soon as Ahsoka finished her feat.
Cyborg and Batgirl smiled and then ran over to the computers. Ahsoka looked to them and nodded. "You think you both can get all the info from those terminals?" she asked. Cyborg nodded and tapped his head. "Why do you think I have a mind as fast as a MacBook Pro computer?" he asked. Barbara smirked and then started to plug the wires from her hologlove into the terminal.
Just then, Xever walked up. "Hola, mocosos. ¿Como estás?" he asked in Spanish. Ahsoka scoffed and stepped up. "En el estado de ánimo de una patada en el keister." The Togrutan Jedi remarked back in the same language. Xever growled and unsheathed a lightsaber hilt, ready to attack, until he took notice of Batgirl and Cyborg downloading the information. Xever growled and looked to his troops. "Stop those brats before they ruin our plans!" he ordered.
"No need." Simon's voice suddenly said. Everyone looked over to the side, where Simon Stagg was, with a smug look on his face. "Don't touch them." He calmly ordered. Metamorpho growled as he looked to Stagg. "This monster is mine." The businessman added on.
"It's been a long time, Stagg." Metamorpho remarked. Simon sneered and clicked his tongue. "I'm actually surprised you survived all of that, my old friend. To think that the experiment killed you back then." Simon spat back. Metamorpho roared and charged at Simon Stagg, only for him to dodge to the side and unsheathe one of the swords from a Yakuza ninja. "Damn you!" Metamorpho yelled, charging at Stagg and creating his own swords.
Ahsoka watched the battle with silence, as well as everyone else. There's no doubt about it. This man is… Ahsoka thought to herself anxiously. M'gann and Zatanna both looked to Ahsoka with confusion as she finally deactivated her lightsabers and sheathed them back onto her belt.
From the other side of the room, Sapphire appeared. "Well, I guess that following Ahsoka might just be a decent Birthday Gift." She muttered to herself. Her eyes then shifted over towards her father, fighting off Metamorpho. "You did this to me!" the Outsider yelled before breaking Simon's sword. He just chuckled and shot at Metamorpho's legs, causing them to freeze into ice.
Simon chuckled and then punched Metamorpho in the face, causing Cyborg to disconnect from the computer and shoot at him. However, Simon was able to see this coming, and stepped aside to let the blast hit the mainframe, causing the computers to go berserk. He chortled some more before turning back to Metamorpho. "Glad that I was still able to stay King after I made you a pawn, Rex." He spat. Rex Mason just sighed sadly, getting Simon to laugh. "The ace up the sleeve: my daughter never knew that I freed her from you, boyfriend or freak!"
"But she did hear!" a female voice came out. Simon's eyes widened and he looked around just as everyone else did. Out of the shadows came Sapphire, with a disappointed look on her face. Ahsoka gasped and started to stutter. "S-Sapphire? How did you-?"
"I knew something was wrong, so I followed you three to my father's warehouse to see what was wrong." Sapphire explained, stopping to place her hand at the bottom of her dress. "What I saw, that was wrong." She stated before tearing the hem of her dress and running up to Metamorpho, spreading her arms out in front of him to prevent her father from harming Rex. Simon stuttered like Ahsoka as he lowered his Freeze Ray. "Sapphire, you don't understand! This isn't what it looks like!" he yelled. Sapphire just shook her head as Simon continued his rant. "I was doing this-"
"For what, Dad, For. What?" Sapphire asked dangerously. Simon made a 'tsk' noise before handing her the gun. "For your own good." He finished up. Sapphire gasped as she looked down at the gun. She then turned around to face Metamorpho. "I love you, my daughter." Simon said. Sapphire bit her tongue before letting out a sigh. "I know, and that's why I have to do…" Sapphire led off before turning back around and pulling the trigger. "This!" she finished up.
Simon yelled in terror as he was frozen in ice. Ahsoka and the Team gasped at this, as well as Xever and the rest of the ORDER. "Take Stagg and retreat." Xever ordered through gritted teeth. He then threw a smoke bomb at the ground, causing a smokescreen. Everyone coughed as Ahsoka and M'gann cleared away the smoke, as well as Sapphire, using the Freeze Ray. "Does everyone have to run away like that?!" Artemis demanded.
Sapphire then looked to Metamorpho as he broke himself free. As he looked to Sapphire, he suddenly gasped and hid his face away. "What's wrong, Rex?" Sapphire asked. Rex Mason sighed and placed his hands down. "Do you fear me for how I look?" he asked. Sapphire gasped and clenched her fists. After a while, she ran into his arms and hugged Metamorpho. "I'll love you, Rex, no matter what." She said. Rex gasped and smiled, hugging Sapphire back.
The moment was cut short, however, as they heard someone crying. Everyone turned to see Ahsoka with tears coming out from her eyes. "I'm sorry, this is just so moving." She stated before Zatanna pulled out a handkerchief from her wand. Ahsoka blew her nose into it and handed it back to the mage, much to her disgust. "Keep it." Zatanna droned.
Sapphire smiled and looked back to Metamorpho. The two smiled at each other and kissed on the lips, sharing the moment until the need for air came. "What will you do now?" Metamorpho asked his beloved. Sapphire sighed and looked around. "Tomorrow morning, I will announce to the public that my father was in league with the ORDER." She said. Everyone's eyes widened at this as Cyborg stepped up. "But what about the Industry?" Cyborg asked.
Sapphire took a deep breath and sighed. "From this day forwards, I will be the new head of Stagg Industries." Everyone nodded in acknowledgment as Sapphire stepped up to Ahsoka. "Thank you for your help." She said. Ahsoka nodded and sent a salute. "I bid you well, Young Sapphire." She quipped. Sapphire smiled and went back to Rex to kiss him on the cheek. "Promise me you'll visit, no matter how you look." The young Stagg said. Rex smiled and nodded. "It's a date." He said. Sapphire smiled and looked to the two teams.
"Too bad about the data lost." Ahsoka said as he walked over to Barbara. Batgirl removed her mask and smiled. "I got it." She snippily said. "As did I." Cyborg added on. Ahsoka smiled and bumped fists with the two. Sapphire once again smiled and walked away. "Best. Birthday. Ever." She said to herself.
"Thanks for your help." Cyborg said to the Team. Aqualad extended a hand and smiled. "Our pleasure." He replied. Metamorpho smiled and walked away. "You know, there just might be a chance that we may reform." He said. The Team all smiled before the two disappeared through a smoke bomb. Artemis coughed and waved her arm around. "Seriously, why?!" she yelled.
In the morning, a conference was held at the Stagg Mansion. Iris came up and cleared her throat before speaking. "I am Iris West-Allen here, coming to you live on a scoop about a change in the line of business for Stagg Industries." She announced.
Mount Justice July 21st 1138 Hours EDT
"Here comes Sapphire." Ahsoka said. Everyone watched as she came up to the podium and adjusted the microphone. "Everyone, I am Sapphire Kira Stagg, and I am here in place of my father for good reasons." She started out. Everyone started to take pictures, in which Sapphire signaled them to stop. "My father, Simon Ren Stagg, was discovered to be in league with the ORDER last night." She announced.
"The name Stagg is now checkered because of his actions, but I am here to set things right." Sapphire continued. "From today forward, I am taking over Stagg Industries to turn it into a company that can actually help people, and not swindle them." She finished up. Everyone cheered at this before Connor turned the television off.
Ahsoka smiled and looked out to the sky. "She's got class, style and heart, I'll tell you that." She said to herself happily. "Hey, Ahsoka, want some cookies?" M'gann then called out. Ahsoka smiled and nodded. "You bet!" she replied back, running back into the kitchen for cookies.
Bialya 2318 hours UTC
Sylas stood in the middle of a dark room, pulling up a holo-pad before typing away at it. After a while, eight screens with silhouettes of eight figures appeared. "I call this meeting of the ORDER Council for an update on our operations." Sylas announced.
"Just tell us the situation, Sylas." O-5 demanded in her usual sadistic voice. Sylas clicked his tongue in anger before moving on. "We have recently lost Simon Stagg, and now, his daughter is the new CEO of Stagg Industries. The Symbio-Enhancer is not going to be easy to make now." He reported. "I need those Enhancers, Sylas." The second female, O-12, stated. "When will you be ready to carry out with the plan to bring us all together from our Universes?" O-3, who was a male this time, asked. "After all, we still have… a little bit of trouble understanding your plan." O-4 added on.
Sylas smirked and chuckled. "Soon, I'll be able to use my teleporters to open up the Bridge, giving the Complete ORDER a chance to come through and join to rule the Multiverse together." Sylas explained. One of the members of the ORDER on the screen growled before another female member interrupted. "We hope to see results soon, Sylas. They don't say witches hex their enemies for nothing." She stated. "We will keep in touch, my friend." O-6 said. With that, they all signed off.
Sylas growled as he walked out of the room. Barriss Offee was waiting for him. "What is thy bidding, my master?" she asked. "Barriss, keep the Terror Titans training until I say you're prepped and ready to go." He ordered strictly. Black Widow, who was hanging from the ceiling with her spider legs, nodded devilishly and crawled away.
He then walked to Alakshmi, whose leg was now fully healed. "Continue to train my daughter. Her time will soon come." He ordered. Syrena smiled and bowed. "Of course, my liege." She said. With that, she walked over to the Training Room to continue helping to prepare Xion.
Sylas then approached the Mission Room and looked to Xever. "Well?" he asked. Xever chuckled and slasher-smiled. "Though we lost Stagg Industries, we now have some use for Stagg himself." He reported, showing Striker thawing Simon out with one fell swoop from his sword. "Excellent. All is going as planned." Sylas said, chuckling into the night.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I have been preoccupied with school and family so much that I have hardly enough time to focus on my stories. Still, I'll try to get my stories updated every once in a while if I can. Please feel free to review, rate, and if you can, please Private Message me if you can. For now, this is SuperHeroTimeFan signing off. Have a great President's Day Weekend, everyone!