Gravity Falls: Broken Bonds

by TheBaneOfHumanity

(INFINITY VERSE ONE-SHOT) In the wake of recent events, the Pines family has been forever changed. As Mabel and the others try to pick up the pieces left behind by Dipper's betrayal, secrets are revealed, and the rise of a new hero, and villain, begins.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Think of this as sort of a one-shot tie in comic that compliments the main event, specifically the fallout of what happened at the end of Act 1 of The Dark Phoenix. The Gravity Falls side of things had, of course, had some of if not the biggest development in the IV, so my collaborator decided to have this one-shot detail the aftermath and several developments that'll play into the future.

DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.

---

Gravity Falls: Broken Bonds

---

One of the earliest memories Mabel had was the first time the Pines family ever went to a theme park. And though she couldn't quite recall which park was their first, what the sweater-loving girl did recall was that during their time at the amusement park, she was separated from the rest of her family. One moment the then six-year-old was looking at a toy that caught her eye at a gift shop, and the next thing she knew, she was alone in a sea of strangers and costumed characters. The sights and sounds were so overwhelming that the young child ran to the nearest hiding spot so she could sink into her sweater. There she wept, fearing that her family had left her alone of purpose.

"There you are, Mabel!" came a familiar voice. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Mabel poked her head out of the sweater to see her twin brother there, looking back at her with concern in his eyes. Now crying tears of joy, Mabel shot forward and hugged her brother tightly.

"You found me, Dipper!" she cheered.

"Of course, I did, Mabel," her brother replied. "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you."

Or so Mabel thought...

---

"Mabel? You alright?" a voice said through the darkness. "Come on! You gotta show me a sign you're okay!"

At first, Mabel thought that the voice she was hearing was her brother's voice making sure she was okay. Sadly, when she opened her eyes, she instead saw the face of the leader of the Mutanimals, Slash, looking down at her. It was at that moment a flood of memories came back to her. She remembered fighting her own twin brother in a brutal fight as the Society of Supervillains laid siege to Skyward Tower until she was knocked out by him during their battle. It was also then that she remembered that Ford had been beaten down by Wendy. She turned to see that Ford was also waking up at roughly the same time she was up.

"What happened?" he asked in a groggy tone.

"We got our dicks handed to us, that's what," Slash bluntly answered as the members of the Pines family got up. "You two missed some serious shit."

"Is everyone okay?" Mabel inquired as they began to walk out of the room.

Before the mutant could answer that, Doc walked past them as he wheeled a slab with a sheet over a body with a bloody stain where the head was. A green gloved hand slipped out from under the sheet as the body was rolled past the heroes. Mabel gasped at the sight of what was undoubtedly Volutra's corpse. She had encountered the dead before as zombies while she was in Gravity Falls, but to see an unmoving body that once belonged to a recently living person chilled her to the bone.

"Depends on who you ask..." Slash finally answered solemnly.

"Who killed Voltura?" Ford questioned.

"The security footage showed the strangest thing," the leader of the Mutanimals began. "Voltura tried to kill Wendy and Mason, then the Baroness suddenly came up behind her and blew the birdy's brains out. Doc's gonna do an autopsy to see if he can find any clues as to where the Society ran off to, but I doubt he'll find much."

Hearing her brother's name instantly reminded Mabel that the status of her now rouge brother was unknown.

"Where's Dipper?" she demanded.

There was a small part of Mabel that was praying that Slash would say that her brother had been captured, fearing that he had been killed by either friendly fire or by the villains he now worked with.

"I'm sorry, kid, but he and Wendy escaped with the Baroness via the teleporters," Slash informed her "That cat-girl from Remnant nailed him in the face pretty good right before they got away though."

There was a flurry of emotions flowing through Mabel right now. Sadness, betrayal, and anger raged through her like an unleashed flood. Her brother had committed treason and was now an accomplice to murder. Even if it was a villain, he was still a part of taking someone else's life. In fact, Mabel had no doubt in her mind that he played a major role in the siege of Skyward Tower. But the question remained: Why did he do it? True, he kept claiming that it was to protect Wendy, but why go through will siding with the Society of Supervillains? She then thought back to what else Mason had said during their fight about his anger toward the Infinity League. He had felt betrayed by their lack of help towards Wendy's situation. She sympathized with his frustration but didn't think once that he would turn on the League itself.

"The leaders gave me orders to pass along to you," Slash then informed them. "They told me to tell you that you are both to report to the council room at once."

Mabel nor Ford questioned that order, for they knew what the leaders wanted from them: How long did they know about Mason's treason?

But still, the question remained: Where was he now?

---

Agony.

"His heart rate is spiking!"

Pain.

"Get me another sedative! Now!"

Fear.

"He's lost a lot of blood!"

Rage.

"His fucking jaw is going to fall off if you don't do something!"

Hate.

"Keep him still!"

Hate.

"-might need to replace parts of his skull with metal plates."

Hate.

"Damnit, hold him down!"

HATE.

This was the only emotion Mason could feel at this point. Between the pain and the anger that burned inside him like an inferno, it was the only world he knew right now. The pain he was in caused his mind to be filled with gaps, but he could remember some things. He remembered the attack on Skyward Tower, the Baroness killing Voltura right in front of him and Wendy, and above all else, he remembered his fight with Mabel. As the memories stormed through his mind like a typhoon, he began to slowly register what was going on now. All around him were strangers in both medical and military attire, and though he couldn't quite make out the uniforms entirely from the bright lights shining in his eyes, he knew that these were not any troops that he knew of.

With a gargled cry, Mason used his strength to hurl one of the soldiers that were holding him down before kicking a doctor back. As he did, he took note of the gargled sound that he heard before realizing that the sound was coming from HIS mouth! He began to kick and punch furiously like a wild animal at the strangers that were trying to pin him down before finally managing to jump back to his feet.

"Mason, stop!" a voice pleaded.

The former hero spun around to see Wendy, now with her mask off and hood down, standing before him. Standing beside her was the Baroness, who was watching the young villain intently as she kept her hand close to her sidearm. Mason tried to speak, but all that came out were more gargles, further filling Mason's heart with fear and confusion.

"You've got to calm down, okay, Mason?" Wendy furthered in a gentle voice. "These people are trying to help you. You were wounded, remember?"

Another memory flash in Mason's mind like a grenade going off in his brain. He recalled just as he, Wendy, and Baroness were just about to escape Skyward Tower during the Society's retreat, one of the heroes from Remnant, Blake, managed to whip him directly across the face seconds before they could make their proper getaway. He must have blacked out from the pain he was in during the trip to wherever the Baroness had brought them after she took over the Tower's controls.

"She's right, boy," Baroness added coldly. "You will calm down, or I will MAKE you calm down."

"You stay out of this!" Wendy hissed at the woman before focusing on her lover again. "Just lay back down on the table, Mason. It'll be okay."

Heeding his girlfriend's words, Mason cautiously laid back down on the operating table and allowed the surgeons to properly sedate him in order to continue to try to heal him. Once he was asleep, Wendy turned her attention toward the Baroness.

"If you're expecting a 'thank you' for what you did back there, don't bother," she growled. "You weren't giving us a lot of options."

"Would you prefer to be thrown in prison for the rest of your life instead?" Baroness retorted fiercely. "I expect that you show me some gratitude!"

"For what? Twisting our arms into following you here?" the ginger snapped back. "You didn't need to blow Voltura's brains out! What were you even thinking?!"

"Yes, Baronessssss," came a cold, low, rasping voice. "What were you thinking?"

Every person in the room stopped what they were doing before collectively turning to the source of the voice. Standing in the infirmary's doorway was a tall figure dressed in a dark blue uniform with a large Cobra symbol on the chest and a red cape draped over one side of his shoulders. A cutlass was strapped to one side of his hip while a pistol was strapped to the other. But the biggest draw for the figure was his blue helmet, which also had a faceless mirror covering his face. There was only one name that this man, who ruled over the greatest terrorist cell in the world, went by, and it struck fear into all who spoke it.

"Cobra Commander..." Wendy whispered in terror.

The man known only as Cobra Commander was both a man of mystery and of great evil. The Infinity League had little information on the head of Cobra, and even what information they did have was more like theories than anything else. The origins of who Cobra Commander was and where he came from were completely unknown to anyone. Some thought that Cobra Commander was a wealthy aristocrat who used his money and influence to form Cobra so that he could make the world that he wanted it to. Others thought that there was no one Commander, but more of an honorary title bestowed on some random person while some shadow organization used them like a figurehead to run Cobra. Then there were more wild theories, mostly thought up by Gung-Ho, who had the idea that Cobra Commander was really a humanoid snake who was using Cobra to usher in his race of snake-men from the pre-human civilization of Cobra-La to rule the planet.

But regardless of who or what the man behind the mask was, all that mattered was that Cobra Commander was a force to be reckoned with. Like a flash of lightning, Cobra Commander's blitzkrieg of the world back in 2002 set the world ablaze, decimating armies and bringing world leaders to their knees with his Weather Dominator. Had it not been for the formation of G.I. Joe, then the world would've truly fallen into Cobra's grasp. Since then, Cobra Commander had lead one campaign after another, and though they failed in the end, Cobra always left a scar on those who had fought them, be they physical or mental. And it wasn't just the Joes or the League that had to worry about the Commander's fury, but his own troops as well. It was even recently documented that after a recent failure, Cobra Commander skinned his own son live and displayed his corpse over Times Square with a sign that read 'No one is safe.' A clear show to the world that there were no lengths that Cobra Commander would go to to achieve his goals.

"Commander, if I can explain-" Baroness attempted to explain.

"Yes, please explain all this to me," her leader cut her off. "Perhaps you can tell me what exactly was going through your head when you brought two members of the Infinity League directly into our headquarters!"

Baroness was at a loss for words. She wanted to say why she had brought the two former heroes into the Serpent's Lair, but with Wendy in the room, she couldn't bring herself to reveal the truth just yet. And even if she did, that didn't guarantee her daughter's safety, for that would mean that she may be putting her child in even greater danger than before if she didn't choose the right words. But those words never came. As such, her Commander gestured for two guards to suddenly grab Wendy and force her onto her knees as he drew his pistol and pressed it up against her forehead.

"And do make it quick, or else they may not live much longer," her leader continued coldly.

Wendy looked to Baroness with confusion and fear in her eyes, clearly scared at the aspect of having her and her boyfriend's only chance of survival was the villainess. It was at that moment that Anastasia knew that the only way to save her daughter's life now was to tell the truth.

"Wait! Wait!" the Cobra Agent pleaded. "You can't do this!"

"Oh? And why not?" Cobra Commander asked in an amused tone.

Baroness looked to Wendy for a brief moment before taking a breath to steel her nerves.

"Because..." she began hesitantly. "Because she's my daughter."

Four words. That's all it took to utterly destroy Wendy's world. She looked at Baroness to see any trace of a tell that the Baroness was lying, but from what she could tell, there was no sign of it. It was a lie. It had to be. There was no way that she could be the daughter of a terrorist. But as she continued to stare in shock at the woman who now claimed to be her mother, it all began to make sense as to why she had been so adamant in protecting her. Safeguarding her identity, killing Voltura to protect her, and bringing her and Mason here, this level of protection would only come from a parent defending her child. But even if that could count as evidence for Baroness's actions to prove she was Wendy's mother, she still refused to believe it until she saw something truly definitive.

Cobra Commander remained silent after hearing this revelation. He too was skeptical of what his lieutenant just said. But on the other hand, of all the things Baroness could've said, why would she choose such an outlandish lie? It was simple: Because it was the truth. He looked back at Wendy, whose face was filled with confusion by what the agent had said, meaning that she was just now learning about this as well.

"Very well," the Commander finally relented. "But tell me..."

He then aimed his gun at the still-sedated Mason.

"Why should I let him live?" he questioned Wendy.

Wendy, though her mind was still reeling from Baroness's supposed revelation, now had to think of a way to convince the leader of Cobra not to murder her lover right in front of her. She looked over to her supposed 'mother' for help, but Baroness said nothing, already knowing that there was nothing that she could help at this moment. Wendy had already lost the Phoenix. And she refused to lose the man she loved on the same day.

"Because he can give you what you always wanted," she answered. "The world."

"...Go on," Cobra Commander replied, now curious.

"Back when Mason was a part of the League, he was secretly stealing and stockpiling weaknesses that could wound or kill the rest of the team," the fallen heroine explained. "He's been hiding them in his base back in Gravity Falls. If you save his life, he can go and get them for you."

"And what's to stop me from killing him anyway and sending a strike team to get these items?" the terrorist leader reasoned.

"Because he's the only one who can access it," Wendy informed him. "If you kill him, you kill your only chance to take out the League and G.I. Joe for good."

Cobra Commander was silent for several tense seconds. He then holstered his pistol before gesturing for the guards that were holding Wendy down to let her go and let her stand back up. He then nodded to the doctors, a silent sign to them to continue their surgery on the boy. Wendy let out a sigh of relief, but that feeling quickly faded when she remembered that one of Cobra's top agents was claiming to be her long-lost mother.

"I'll leave you two to catch up," Cobra Commander said. "I'm sure you both have quite a lot to talk about."

With that, the head of Cobra left the room, allowing the Baroness to finally speak to her estranged daughter.

"You have questions," she began. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Yeah, I got a question, alright," the ginger growled. "Where the hell do you get off saying your my mom?!"

"Because I am, Wendy," Anastasia reaffirmed. "I know this is hard for you to accept-"

"It's not, actually," her 'daughter' snapped. "Because your lying!"

"I swear to you that I'm not," she told her. "Think about it for a second, Wendy: Why would I go through all this trouble protecting you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because Mason and I are now ex-League members with a ton of inside information on how they work?" the ginger reasoned.

"What is it going to take to convince you that what I'm saying is the truth?" Baroness said in a defeated voice.

"A hell of a lot than what you have now," the former heroine informed her coldly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mason needs me."

Seeing that her daughter was not going to accept the truth without any hard evidence, Baroness finally relented. She turned and left her child alone to watch over her lover. The anger and confusion that Wendy was feeling now were unlike anything she had ever felt before. In the span of one day, she had been betrayed by the Phoenix, who swore that she was the chosen one, forced out of the League by their own incompetence, and now the Baroness was trying to convince her that she was her mother. After all the pain and betrayal she has suffered, she refused to let Mason, who had done everything for her, die on her watch. As the surgeons continued to repair Dipper's damaged face, Wendy reached out and gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"We'll be okay, Mason," she promised in a whisper. "We'll be okay..."

---

Even before she and Ford took a step into the council chamber, Mabel already knew what the subject at hand would be. The question, though, was if she was going to be kicked off the team for her hand in keeping her brother's secret. As she and her uncle entered and approached the seven leaders, she was greeted by their collective scowl. She couldn't blame them for their foul mood, for they had been put through hell for the past 48 hours, and Mabel's twin played a major role in said suffering.

"Do you know why you're here, Mabel?" Kim began in a firm voice.

"I do," the girl acknowledged. "But before you say anything, I'd like to plead my case."

The leaders looked among themselves for several seconds before finally giving their answer.

"You may," Optimus allowed.

"To begin with, Ford knew none of this until I told him right after I told all of you. I also know keeping my brother's identity as Red Talon a secret was a bad idea, but you have to understand where I was coming from. And more importantly, where HE was coming from, too," Mabel began. "Mason has always felt inferior about not being strong enough or smart enough like other people, but being accepted into the League made him feel like he was finally worth something. But then he saw that the League could be taken apart by the simplest of plans, and he wanted to stop it before someone could exploit your weaknesses before some villain could."

"So, he became the Red Talon to protect us?" SheZow surmised. "Well, forgive me for not giving him a medal."

"I convinced him to stop what he was doing, and he swore never to be the Red Talon again," Mabel continued. "I swore to keep his identity a secret because, despite how he was going about it, his heart was in the right place. I've pulled Dipper out of more problems that he's got himself into than I can count, so I thought after I had knocked some sense into him that it would be the end of it."

"Well, we all now know what a promise from Mason Pines means," the Ninja concluded. "That was poor judgment on your part, Mabel."

Mabel clenched her fists at the protector of Norrisville's remark. She was not going to stand here and be ridiculed for trying to help her brother.

"If anyone is to blame for him and Wendy going rouge, it's all of you!" she suddenly snapped. "If you'd have taken Wendy and the others seriously right from the goddamn start, then none of this would've happened!"

"Mabel, please-" Ford tried to say.

"And you!" she snarled at her uncle as she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You could've come clean about the Phoenix at any time, but, as per usual in this screwed family, you kept it a secret! At least when I kept Mason's identity a secret, it was to protect him! You just kept yours because you were trying to save your own skin!"

She then looked back to the Leaders with anger in her eyes.

"I don't condone what Mason did, and I tried to arrest him, but honestly, I almost don't blame him for what he did," she told them fiercely. "So if you want to take your anger out on me by firing me, then go right ahead!"

With that, Mabel turned and attempted to storm out of the council chamber before the leaders could pass their sentence, but before she could take a single step, Kim spoke up.

"You stay right there, Mabel," she commanded. "We're not even close to being done with you."

Mabel halted in her tracks before forcing herself to turn around and face the leaders.

"While we understand that what you did was what you thought were the best intentions, it was still reckless," Danny said. "Because of Mason, Peridot is now lost in the Multiverse, and we don't know if we'll ever be able to find her. Not to mention the list of heroes who are now injured."

"Oh, and don't forget the mountains of data and inside information they can give to Cobra now," the Dragon added. "It's going to take us days to change the entire security system in the Tower."

"If you're going to fire me, then get it over with it," Mabel sneered.

"Giving the circumstances. that's what you would be faced with." Kim answered. "But we need all the help we can get right now."

"But you will be facing an eight-week suspension when all of this is done," Jenny finished. "And be grateful we're not handing you over to the GJN."

"Fine..." Mabel agreed. "Can I go now?"

"Not yet," Optimus denied. "There is still the matter of the weapons Mason stockpiled."

"Do you know where they are?" Danny asked.

"He kept them all in an underground base below McGuket's mansion," Mabel explained. "Only he, Stan, and McGuket had access to it."

"Of course, Stanly was in on what Mason was doing..." Ford muttered under his breath.

"Don't wanna hear it from you, Ford," his niece snipped at him before continuing. "Both Stan and McGuket were against what Mason was doing, but they went along with it because they thought it was all for a good cause. If you let me go back down to Gravity Falls, I can get them to help get into Mason's base and bring back everything he stole before he has a chance to give it to Cobra or the Society."

"How can we be sure that we can trust them to even help us?" Kim inquired.

"Because they never wanted any of this," Mabel answered.

"Let me rephrase the question, then," Kim added. "How can we be sure that we can trust YOU to help us?"

Mabel's already clenched fists tightened when she heard that. After everything she had done for the League, they still had the audacity to question her loyalty. Thankfully, another leader spoke up in her defense.

"That's enough, Kim," Danny sternly cut in. "When the chips were down, Mabel stood with us when she could've turned on us as Mason and Wendy did."

Kim backed down from further questions, or rather, accusations, against the sweater-wearing girl.

"We need you to go to Gravity Falls to either recover or destroy everything that your brother stole," the half-ghost ordered. "We can't afford to have a single trace of that stuff falling into anyone else's hands."

"Oh yeah, totally," Mabel agreed sarcastically. "Wouldn't want anyone to have the power to challenge you, right?"

"Mabel..." Danny warned in a low voice. "I understand that you're angry, but we're trying our best to make it up to you."

"If this is your idea of making it up to me, then you need to try a hell of a lot harder," the Pines girl sharply retorted.

Six of the leaders glowered back at her, but Mabel remained defiant before them. She wasn't going to cower before a single one of these living gods for even a second. Prime, however, simply placed two hands on the bridge of his now exposed mechanical nose, sighing in an almost tiresome to himself. He knew that these tensions were at a boiling point, which was the last thing he and the others needed right now during such a crisis.

"You're both dismissed," he finally said.

Mabel wasted no time turning and leaving the room with her uncle following close behind her. Once they had left, the leaders began to talk amongst themselves.

"She's right," the Ninja said to the others. "We shit the bed on this one big time."

"I'm sorry, but when do we take fault for when one of our teammates goes rogue on us?" Kim argued.

"When we're the ones who cause it," the protector of Norrisille replied.

"The Ninja's right. We screwed up," Jenny added. "If we hadn't just cut the others off instead of trying to help them more, then maybe Mason and Wendy wouldn't have gone off the rails."

"I agree that the seven of us are not guiltless, but that still doesn't give them the justification to do it," Optimus reminded the others. "Nor does it absolve Mabel of hiding the truth from us."

"Okay, you are the last person in this room to talk about hiding the truth, Prime," Kim harshly interjected.

"I kind of see where she's coming from, though," the American Dragon added. "I mean, she was just trying to protect her brother. Can any of us say that we wouldn't do the same thing for someone we cared about?"

The other six leaders weren't quick to argue or answer that right away. Everyone on that board of leaders had someone whom they would've done anything for, even if that meant crossing lines. But could any of them turn on the team as Mason did for Wendy? None of them had the answer to that.

"Mason and Wendy aren't blameless, but we need to acknowledge that we messed up, too," Danny finally said. "Mabel was only doing what she thought was right. I mean, yeah, it was wrong, but Dragon's right. She was only trying to protect her brother, and Mason was only trying to help Wendy, which is a hell of a lot more than what we did for them."

"Are you shitting me right now, Danny?" Kim growled. "You're agreeing with them?"

"No, of course not!" Danny snapped back. "I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't be taking our anger out on her!"

The other leaders were shocked by Danny's words but did not try to refute them, for they knew he was right. It was true the leaders were angry at both everything that had happened and themselves. The Phoenix had merged with Rei, Peridot was missing, and two of their teammates had joined sides with one of their greatest foes. And while they weren't responsible for everything, their mistakes had played a hand in everything that had happened. While this was their first major blunder as leaders, they would not only need to learn from this mistake but also not make this same mistake again. However, it was then that Kim got up from her seat and began to leave the room.

"Wait, where are you going, Kim?" Danny questioned.

"I'm not spending another minute in this room with you," Kim sneered. "You want to defend those traitors? Fine, but don't you dare forget that it was your vote that allowed this to happen!"

With that, Kim stormed out of the room. All the while Danny could only glower in contempt at the one leader whom he constantly fought with. No sooner had Kim stepped outside did Danny suddenly flew after her, phasing through the door as he did before flying right in front of her.

"That's it!" he shouted in her face. "I've had it with you! Ever since this whole shit started, you've done nothing but be a total bitch to every single person on this fucking Tower! We're a team, but you act like we're all just in your way!"

"You better step off right now, Phantom, before I-" Kim attempted to say.

Suddenly, a high-pitched wail cut in, making the two leaders break away from again starting a fistfight. The two heroes turned to see SheZow and the other leaders standing before them.

"We don't have time for this bullshit right now!" the Glamazon warrior declared. "We need to be united, but you two can't stop fighting for two goddamn seconds! So, either makeup now or the next time, we'll just let you two beat each other's brains out!"

The two warring leaders, again, backed down from another fight. But rather than try to apologize to one another, they instead went their separate ways.

"Maybe we should have Jazz talk to them?" the Ninja suggested.

"I doubt they'd listen, honestly," Optimus answered. "Besides, Jazz is still bonded to Ozpin. It would be best to separate the two of them before she can resume her duties as a psychiatrist."

"Well, they gotta talk to somebody, or this is gonna keep going," Dragon pointed.

"I'll ask Ron to talk to Kim," Jenny spoke up. "In the meantime, I'll talk to Danny."

As the leaders went back to picking up the pieces of the recent events, Optimus couldn't help but think about how his actions had played a hand in destroying the Pines family forever.

---

The first thing Mason woke up to was the pain.

That was all he felt in his mouth as bright lights overtook his opening eyes. He didn't know how long he had been under them, but at least it felt as though his face was still in one piece. As he slowly pulled himself up, he put a hand to his face, but instead of feeling his skin, he felt the rough touch of bandages. Mason's pulse began to quickly race as he started to panic at the thought that perhaps something had happened during the surgery. All around him were doctors and surgeons, all of whom wanted to stay out of his reach out of fear of being flung around the room again. Thankfully, before Mason could have a full-on panic attack, Wendy pushed her way through the doctor to be at her lover's side.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, honey." she soothed/ "It's okay. I'm here. Just stay calm."

"M-My face..." Mason muffled out through the bandages. "W-What happened to my face?"

"The doctors managed to repair your jaw," Wendy explained. "but they had to replace some of the parts of your skull with metal plates."

"Its hurts..." Mason groaned

"I know it does, Mason, but the pain lets you know that you're still alive," the Head Huntress softly reminded him. "But you need to rest now, okay?"

"But Mabel-" her lover tried to say

"We'll deal with Mabel soon, but you can't take her on like this," Wendy pointed out. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving your side for a second. But right now, just try to get some sleep."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid he can't do that just yet," one of the doctors said. "Our orders were to inform Cobra Commander the moment the boy was awake."

"Is Cobra Commander here?" Wendy coldly addressed. "Oh, he's not? Then fuck off!"

"I'm sorry, miss, but our orders stan-" the doctor tried to say.

The doctor's words were cut off when Wendy's axe was pointed directly at his face. Mason wasn't shocked by the aggression his girlfriend was projecting. Not only had she just betrayed her friends and team but the Phoenix had essentially lied to her by choosing Sailor Mars instead of her as its vessel. However, Mason also had the sense that there was something else that was feeding his lover's rage.

"If you want Cobra Commander here so badly, then you can go get him yourselves," Wendy sneered. "But if any of you so much as reach for your COMMs, then I'm taking off the entire arm that's holding it before you can even press a button!"

Getting the message, the doctors quickly scrambled for the exit to personally retrieve their leader, leaving Mason alone with his love.

"What happened to you, Wendy?" he asked curiously.

"You know what happened to us," Wendy answered. "What kind of question is that?"

"No, there's more to it than that," Mason persisted. "Something happened to you while I was under. The last thing I saw before I went back under was you talking to the Baroness. What did she say to you?"

Wendy wanted to change the subject so badly but knew that now they were here, it would get out at some point. So, it was best to talk about it now rather than have more of the facts twisted around than they already were.

"She... She said that she was my mom," she forced herself to admit.

"Oh, my God..." Mason gasped. "Why would she-"

"I don't know, Mason!" the former heroine snapped as she fought back tears. "She just said that she was my mom and then tried to convince me that she wasn't some lying bitch who wanted to pretend to be my deadbeat mother who up and ran out on me when I was a kid!"

There were no words that Mason could think of that could mend Wendy's heart. All he could do was reach out and hold her as she began to weep in his arms, releasing all the emotions she had long held at bay. However, this moment was cut short when Cobra Commander entered the room, now flanked by a pair of Crimson Guards on each side. Fearing for Dipper's life, Wendy quickly picked up her axe and put herself between them and her love. The Crimson Guards raised their rifles but were stopped by a gesture by their leader.

"You must be Mason," Cobra Commander greeted. "We have ssssso much to talk about."

---

The moment Mabel and Ford were teleported in front of the Mystery Shack, the sweater-wearing girl went straight inside the gift shop. She was fuming at this point about the roles her own family had played in her brother's downward spiral into villainy, and she was ready to take it all out on her uncle. However, when she threw open the door, who she found sweeping the floor wasn't Stan, but Soos.

"Oh, hey dudes, what's up?" the handyman greeted warmly. "Did you guys beat the Phoenix? I'm guessing yes since you're here, and we're not all dead."

Mabel was at a loss for words. She was so wrapped up in everything that had happened that she had completely forgotten that Soos was moved off Skyward Tower before the Phoenix attacked, meaning that he was unaware of Mason and Wendy's betrayal as well. What could she say to him? There was no way she could let him down easy. All she could do was tell him the truth and break his heart.

"Where's Dipper and Wendy?" Soos then inquired. "Oh, I know, probably k-i-s-s-... I forget how the rest of it goes."

"Soos..." Mabel began slowly and sadly. "Mason... he... he and Wendy betrayed the Infinity League."

The new owner of the Mystery Shack dropped his broom the moment he heard that.

"W-What?" he asked, refusing to accept he heard.

"There was an attack on Tower," Mabel continued. "They were a part of a raid on the base by the Society of Supervillains."

"Mabel's right, Soos," Ford sadly confirmed. "We fought them during the attack. Look at the bruises on Mabel's face. They were made by him!"

"N-No... They wouldn't do that," Soos denied, though more to himself than anything else. "They're good guys, dudes. Why would you even say that about your own brother, Mabel?!"

Mabel could almost feel her heart being ripped right out of her chest. With just those words alone, she had destroyed her friend's whole world. It almost made her understand the reason why Mason had kept his own secrets from her. Almost. The sheer force from the truth alone made Soos stumble backward, leading Mabel to quickly rush over and catch her friend before he fell. As Soos wept in her arms, Mabel could no longer hold back her tears and soon began to also unleash all the emotions that she had been suppressing during this entire ordeal. As the two friends cried, all Ford could feel was sadness and shame. He may not be the Pines who helped Mason become the Red Talon, but he was responsible for hiding the truth about the Phoenix, which played a part in his true betrayal of the League.

Making deals with Bill was one thing. He was manipulated into doing the demon's bidding. But he was fully aware that his actions with the Illuminati were wrong and went ahead with it anyway. Because of his actions, he had not only dammed the world but, more importantly, he had dammed his family to be broken forever. Mason, a boy he had seen so much of himself in, had turned his back on his own family, and it was partly his fault. What was worse was that while the rest of the League had written off Mason as not much of a hero when he was recruited, Ford knew and understood the untapped potential the boy had within him, and now he feared it.

If there was one thing Mason had over the rest of the Pines was that he had determination. It was with that determination to prove himself to the rest of the Infinity League that he could run with the rest of them. It began with training April, and while he wasn't the best fighter at the time, he was a fast learner. Then when Professor Utonium gave the twins the Chemical V pills to help with their training, Mason's mind and body expanded to new levels. But now, any chance of the boy using those skills for good was over, and Mason had become something far more sinister. With the skills he learned from Zack and Jason after April's time being benched, Dipper's newly acquired fighting styles, and his sharpened mind thanks to the Chemical V in his system, he could be a force to be reckoned with. Now that, added with the limitless teach, weaponry, and contacts at his disposal with his alliance with Cobra made Ford shudder in fear, for he knew that his nephew could now easily become one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

As Ford was lost in thought and Mabel was trying to comfort Soos, Stan came down the stairs, allowing him to see the scene that was unfolding. Mabel, upon seeing her uncle, pulled away from Soos and stormed toward him.

"Mabel, wait, I-" Stan attempted to say.

Stan's words were cut off when his niece grabbed him by his suit and slammed him up against the wall, all the while rage burned in her eyes.

"Do you realize what you've done?!" she shouted in his face. "Do you?!"

"Mabel..." Ford said in an attempt to calm her down.

Stan didn't try to defend himself or shout back. He instead looked back at his niece with shame in his eyes. He already knew what this was all about, or rather, who this was all about.

"What did he do?" he weakly asked.

"He turned on the League!" his niece informed him in anger. "He and Wendy nearly killed us! And it's all your fault!"

"...Your right, Mabel..." Stan meekly admitted

Seeing all the pain in Stan's eyes made Mabel relent and back away from her uncle. She had already lost her brother. She wasn't about to lose her great uncle as well. Mabel knew that Stan was no doubt in a great amount of mental pain as it was for his hand in Mason's betrayal.

"I thought I could stop him if you talked some sense into him..." he said in a defeated tone. "I should've done more."

"We all should've..." Mabel finally admitted to him and to herself.

Mabel had been so caught up in trying to place her anger in something during all this, but at the same time, she never once considered something: Her own hand in all of this. True, she covered from her brother, but rather than press further about the matter, she let it go, thinking that her twin sibling had moved on from his mad schemes. But she should have known better. Mason wasn't the type of person to simply walk away from something, especially when it involved someone he cared for. It was then that Mabel noticed several packed suitcases sitting off to the side, all of which belonged to Stan. At that moment, Mabel's anger instantly returned. And this time, it was directed right at the person she wanted to stop being infuriated with. But that was the thing with Stan Pines: He knew how to get under your skin even when you tried to forgive him.

"Stan, why do you have packed bags?" she demanded.

All eyes fell upon the old con artist, who instantly caved, knowing that he couldn't hide anything from them now.

"I wanted to wait until this shit with the Phoenix was over to tell you, but I guess that's gone out the window," he began in a somber voice filled with shame. "I'm gonna be heading out of Gravity Falls."

"To do what, exactly?" Ford insisted.

"...To find my daughter," his brother admitted

The whole room went dead silent upon hearing those words leave Stan's mouth. Of all the things he had hidden from them over the years, this was something none of them expected to hear from the old con artist. Just then, a sound began to cut through the stunned silence. It was the sound of laughter, and it was growing into a cackle. Everyone turned to see that it was none other than Mabel who was laughing.

"Of course! Why am I not surprised?!" she said through the laughter. "All this family does is keep secrets! It's like breathing for us!"

"Mabel, I know you're upset-" Stan tried to reason.

"Upset?! Oh, I am waaaaaaaay past upset, Stan!" Mabel cut him off. "You know, after that shit with Bill, I thought you, Ford, Mason - everyone! - in this fucking family would be done with keeping secrets with one another, but none of you can help yourselves!"

Stan looked down in shame as Mabel continued to berate him.

"How long were you going to wait to tell us about your daughter, Stanly?" Ford suddenly demanded.

"After everything I've done, I thought it would've been best if she didn't know about me," Stan admitted. "I wanted to stay out of her life. But after Wendy and I got kidnapped by Cobra a while back, I just kept thinking about her."

"And when were you going to tell us that you were leaving?" Mabel questioned. "Or were you trying to cut and run without saying a word?"

"Mabel, I swear that I was gonna tell you guys. But this whole mess with the Phoenix and now your brother going off the rails, I wanted to wait until all blew over to say anything," her uncle explained. "I didn't want to leave until everything had calmed down."

"I want to believe you, Stan. I really do..." Mabel began slowly. "But I just can't anymore."

Stan's heart shattered when he heard those words leave his niece's mouth. This was it. He had utterly failed his family. And this time, there was no chance of fixing everything. He looked over to his twin brother and Soos, both of whom looked away in shame, further crushing his soul.

"But if you wanna start trying to fix things, then you can help me by destroying Dipper's base," Mabel added firmly.

"Dipper had a base?" Soos said, stunned.

"Long story," Mabel answered simply as she kept her gaze on Stan. "You and McGuket helped him build that base. There has to be a like a self destruct sequence for it."

"Dipper did have something like that built into the base, but he never shared it with either me or McGuket," Stan explained.

"Then we are going in there and tearing apart every single piece of whatever he built to fight the League," Mabel ordered.

---

A chill ran down Mason's spine as he looked upon Cobra Commander. Not many outside of G.I. Joe had been able to do such a thing. Yet here he was, gazing at one of the most evil men in history. Mason had encountered pure evil before in the shape of Bill. Yet there was something more sinister about the leader of the terrorist organization than the reality-warping demon ever was. Wendy was about to open her mouth to protest this intrusion, but a single glance from the leader of Cobra in her direction made her instantly fall silent. Cobra Commander's featureless mask may have concealed his face, but it felt as though his unseen eyes were burning straight into Mason's soul.

"You're lover tells me that you posse something of great power," Cobra Commander began. "I trust she wasn't saying that only to try to protect you."

Mason wasn't going to blame his lover for telling him about the weapons he was building to combat the League, for he knew that it was the only thing she could offer to save his life.

"I've got the weapons you want, but they're sealed up back in my base in Gravity Falls," Mason confirmed.

"Then why are you still sitting there?" Cobra Commander questioned. "You will take us there at once!"

"My sister's no doubt already told the League about what I've been working on and is probably on her way right now to destroy it as we speak," Mason refuted. "We'd never make it back in time to stop them."

"Then what do I need you two for?" the terrorist leader mentioned before looking to his guards. "Kill them."

The Crimson Guards raised their rifles and took aim at the lovers. But before they could pull the trigger, Mason spoke up yet again.

"Wait!" he called out. "That doesn't mean it's lost! I can still get the files!"

Cobra Commander said nothing, only giving his guards a gesture to stand down and allow the former hero to continue. Without wasting any time, Mason brought his still gauntlet-covered hand up to him.

"Computer," he began. "Initiate self-destruct. Code: Sigma-6-Gamma-Delta-5."

---

The first thing Mabel, like everyone else in Gravity Falls, heard was the boom. It was like the sound of a plane falling from the sky and colliding with the earth below. The sheer force of the blast rocked the Mystery Shack for several seconds, even knocking over some of the knick-knacks from their selves. Mabel didn't need to be told what had just happened, for she thew this was her brother's doing. She quickly took out her phone and went directly to social media, knowing that it be faster than heading toward the source of the blast. No sooner had she done that did she see the image of the charred remains of what was formally Northwest Manor.

Mason was one step ahead of them. Mabel's twin knew that they'd she'd be coming after his work and wanted to beat them to the punch. Granted, Mabel was planning on doing the same thing, but she was hoping to at least look through the base to try and find out where Baroness had taken Dipper and Wendy. Mabel, along with everyone else, ran outside of the shack and saw the smoke billowing high into the skies above as sirens could be heard of fire trucks and police cars rushing to the scene. Mabel looked over to her uncles and Soos, all of whom had a look of utter shock on their faces. She needed to report this to the League as soon as possible, but just before she pulled out her communicator, a shocking thought crossed her mind: What if someone was inside at the time?

"Please tell me McGuket wasn't in that mansion," she said after realizing that the old coot now owned the former home of the Northwest.

"Christ, I hope not," Stan replied, still stunned by the smoke in the sky.

"We need to move! Now!" Ford said to the others.

With that, the group quickly headed to the car, all the while praying that they were not about to discover a body in the rubble.

---

All eyes were on Mason after he had single-handedly destroyed the only thing that could keep both him and Wendy alive right in front of Cobra Commander. However, rather than feel any trace of fear, Mason remained steadfast, even though it was more of a poker face than anything else. It was one that the Commander saw right through.

"I trust that you had a good reason for destroying the only thing keeping you alive!" the head of Cobra surmised.

"I did," Mason confirmed.

A small thumb drive popped out of his belt, which he held up in front of the Commander.

"I kept everything I was working on backed up on files in case something happened," he explained. "Every piece of data I had for the Babel Protocols is saved in this thumb drive."

"Babel Protocols?" Cobra Commander repeated.

"As in the Tower of Babel from the Bible," the traitor answered. "The League was getting too powerful for its own good. So, like God, I decided that should they become a threat, they would be struck down."

"How poetic," Cobra Commander noted in an uncaring voice before holding out his hand. "Now, if you would be as so kind as to hand over those files to me, I'll make certain that you and your lover are well taken care of."

"Yeah, about that..." Mason began as he put his thumb drive away. "That's not gonna happen."

"You are either really brave or ungodly stupid to say no to me, boy," the terrorist leader sneered.

"The files are heavily encrypted, and only I can unlock them," the bandaged-faced traitor pointed out. "If anyone but myself types in the right code, the data will delete itself entirely."

Even though Cobra Commander's face was hidden by his helmet, Mason could almost feel a deep glare from the head of Cobra. He had to play this next part smart, or both his and Wendy's life would be ended right here and now.

"I want your word that Wendy and I are granted safe haven with Cobra," Mason furthered. "In return, I will rebuild the Babel Protocols for you, no matter how long it takes."

Cobra Commander remained silent for several tense seconds. Mason may have had a brave face on, but on the inside he was mentally sweating bullets. If Cobra Commander didn't agree to the terms, then it would mean a long, painful death for him and Wendy.

"Fine," the terrorist leader finally said. "But, should you fail me, you will spend weeks screaming for death."

With that, Cobra Commander and his guards turned and departed from the infirmary. However, just before he stepped out, the Commander turned to face the lovers once more.

"Welcome to Cobra, Red Talon, and Head Huntress," he regarded, using their code names as he did. "I do so hope that you survive the experience."

After speaking those final words, Cobra Commander departed. However, just when the traitorous lovers thought they finally had a moment alone, a female Cobra trooper entered the room.

"The Baroness requests your presence, Ms. Corduroy," she informed the redhead.

Wendy gave the agent a sneer in contempt and turned away from the Cobra trooper, for her concern was on staying at Mason's side. Not only that, but she had no further interest in whatever lies the woman who claimed to be her long-lost mother. She had enough of lies. From Baroness, from the League, and from the Phoenix. All she wanted, if even for a moment, was a moment's peace.

"She requests your presence now, ma'am," the trooper insisted.

Wendy let out a growl as she picked up her axe so she could bury it through the messenger's skull. But before she could do so, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Wendy turned to see Mason looking back at her.

"You should go," he advised. "It's the only way to put all this to an end."

Wendy wanted nothing more than to keep as much distance as she could between her and the Baroness, but she knew that if she and Mason were to stay within the ranks of Cobra, then she'd have to face the woman who said she was her mother now and get it over with. So, with an annoyed sigh, she followed the trooper to face the source of her pain. After his lover had left, Mason forced himself to climb out of the bed he was laying on. He had so much work to do, and he needed to work fast if he was to be ready to face the Infinity League and, more importantly, his family again. And to do that, he needed to find the nearest laboratory.

---

Smoke continued to rise into the sky as the firefighters housed down the burning smolders of the rubble that was once Northwest Manor as Mabel and her family looked on in shock and horror at the destruction that a member of their own family had wrought. The explosion began from below the manor where Mason's lair was as more charges were set off throughout the rest of the building, causing it to crumble and burn faster. Stan was unaware of the self-destruct sequence within the base. He was shocked that his nephew had planted more explosives within the building without anyone's knowledge showed further proof that Mason had only been descending further into madness.

The Pines family wasn't the only one who was witnessing the scene of the fire. For nearly all of the residences had gathered to watch as the once great Northwest Manor crumble into ash. This manor, which sat high above the town since its formation, had been reduced to burning rubble. However, it wasn't the mansion that the Pines were worried about, but the whereabouts of the mansion's current owner. Once she found a firefighter who wasn't busy putting out the blaze, Mabel went to question him.

"Excuse me," she began to get his attention. "But do you know if there was anyone inside the building when it blew up?"

"Honestly, we don't know," the firefighter admitted. "There's so much wreckage, and there are parts of the mansion that are still burning, so we haven't had a chance to sweep the area yet."

A mounting sense of fear began to take over Mabel's thoughts as the image of McGuket's charred corpse began to form in her mind. She wanted to take a look among the smoldering rubble to either find the old inventor's remains, or lack thereof, but was unable to, lest she be forced to reveal her membership to the Infinity League. So, for now, she had to wait and see if McGuket was, in fact, inside the mansion or not. In the meantime, she had to make a report to the League about this sudden turn of events. Mabel returned to the backseat of Stan's car so she could pull out her communicator in secret.

"This is Mabel to Skyward Tower," she spoke. "Sheila, I need you to patch me through to the leaders."

"I'm sorry, Mabel, most of the leaders are all busy at the moment," the AI replied. "But I should be able to get you in touch with the Dragon."

"That'll do. Get a hold of him, please," Mabel said.

Complying with the request, Sheila connected Mabel to the protector of New York.

"Mabel, it's good to hear from you," the Dragon greeted. "Everything taken care of?"

"If by 'taken care of' you mean 'Mason blew the whole damn thing up,' then yes, it's going great," the rookie heroine answered.

"Wait, what?!" the Dragon nearly shouted in shock. "How did that happen?"

"Dipper had the entire mansion rigged to explode. He blew it up before I had a chance to get in there," Mabel answered. "The good news is that I don't think he had a chance to move any of his weapons before he destroyed everything."

"I feel a 'but' coming up," the League Leader noted.

"...But knowing my brother, he probably already has it all backed up on files," Mabel furthered. "He wouldn't have destroyed everything if he didn't have what he wanted"

"Shit..." Jake swore under his breath. "And now that he's with Cobra, we'll never find him again."

"I'm sorry, I tried to get there as fast as I could, but-" Mabel attempted to say.

"It's not your fault, Mabel," the Dragon assured. "Just get back to the Tower as soon as you can."

"Understood, Mabel out," the rookie complied.

"Oh, before I forget, when you get back up here, go talk to Bismuth," her boss mentioned. "She said that she has something for you."

With that, Mabel shut off the communicator. She wasn't exactly in a rush to return to the orbital base, even if Bismuth had something for her, which she assumed was an upgrade for her batons. There was still the matter of finding McGuket, and to be honest, she didn't feel like being among those who had helped further her brother's descent into betrayal. Mabel wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings as she stepped out of the car until she found herself standing face-to-face with the last person she'd ever see again.

"P-Pacifica?!"

---

Wendy silently followed the Cobra trooper through the halls of the base, all the while thinking about what to do or say when she met the Baroness again. Those four words the Cobra agent said had not left the redhead's mind and were starting to truly gnaw away at her. It wasn't the thought that Baroness was lying that scared her. It was, if she was telling the truth, that truly terrified the hero turned villain. It still made no sense to Wendy. Of all the things that she would say to her, why did the Cobra Agent claim that she was her mother? Did she think that the former League member was an idiot? That she would just be like 'Oh, you're TOTALLY my mom. Please hug me!'? Because that was the last thing she wanted to do.

It was then that Wendy's train of thought was interrupted when she brought before a door which no doubt was the entrance to Baroness' quarters. The trooper gestured for the traitor to step inside, which was the last thing she wanted to do. But, seeing as she had no choice in the matter, she stepped forward, allowed the automated door to slide open and let her step inside. The room itself was large and quite lavished as opposed to most of the regular drab bunkers the normal troops slept in. It was very classic European. A clear reflection of the Baroness' heritage of great warriors from across the continent. And there, standing at the center of the room, was Wendy's would-be mother.

"I'm glad you came, Wendy," the Baroness greeted.

"Wasn't like you were giving me much of a choice," the newly made villain countered in a sharp tone.

"Do you like the room?" the Cobra lieutenant inquired. "It's my private quarters when I'm needed on the base, but I have a private mansion in Budapest that puts this room to shame. As a DeCobray, you're more than welcome to live at the-"

"I doubt you brought me here just to ask if I wanted to chill at your pad," Wendy cut her off harshly. "Also, you can drop the 'DeCobray' bullshit. I know that's not your real last name, Madame Cisarovna."

"I see you've read the Joes' private files on me," her would-be mother said. "You truly are a smart girl, my child."

"Okay, first off, I'm not your child," Wendy corrected sharply. "Secondly, call me 'child' again, and I will lay your scrawny ass out."

"Wendy..." Baroness growled in a tense voice. "I'm trying my best to be accommodating to you, but you will show me respect!"

"I don't gotta show you shit, bitch," the ginger seethed back. "Especially since you tried to say that you were my mom."

"Wendy, I realize there's nothing I can say that will convince you that I'm telling you the truth," Baroness began. "But I know someone who would change your mind."

She then looked over to a nearby closed door that lead into another room.

"You can come in now," she said.

The door opened to allow the last person she thought she'd ever see again to walk in: Her father. In the ensuing chaos and being so focused on bounding to the Phoenix, she had all but forgotten about her father and brothers. However, rather than gasp in shock or run up to embrace her father, she instead broke out in laughter.

"Nice try, Zartan," she noted as she laughed. "You almost had me for a second."

"Wendy, it's me," her father insisted.

"Prove it," Wendy simply taunted.

With a saddened, defeated sigh, Dan turned to Baroness, who in turn handed him a knife. After taking hold of the knife, the lumberjack took the blade and ran it along his arm, leaving a fresh stream of blood to seep out of the wound as a result. Wendy gasped in shock. Normally, whenever Zartan's disguised form was shot, stabbed, or punched hard enough, the disguise would vanish. Not bleed like Dan's arm was currently doing. From that single cut, Wendy's whole world began falling apart. However, rather than hold her father, she instead cracked him across the face in a moment of pure, blind rage. Dan stumbled back from the blow but did not retaliate. He knew that he deserved the punch. Without even saying it out in the forefront, her father's presence confirmed Wendy's dread that Baroness was, in fact, her biological mother.

"Start talking!" she demanded with a voice cracking from anger and sadness. "Right now!"

Dan slowly went over to a nearby chair and sat down before speaking.

"Long before you were born, I was an agent of Cobra," Dan started slowly.

Another blow came down on Wendy's reality. Her father, a man whom she always thought was a simple lumberjack, was openly admitting that he was once an agent for a global terrorist organization.

"You have to understand. When I was growing up, things weren't going great for me. I was homeless, and my parents were both dead. Cobra gave me the chance to survive," he continued. "I joined years before Cobra publicly revealed itself to the world. It was a shadow organization still in its infancy and looking for recruits with nowhere to go. So, I joined up, knowing what these guys were all about, but I didn't care. I just wanted somewhere to belong. I rose through the ranks and even got the codename Konstrictor."

"This doesn't explain what this has to do with her," Wendy pointed out as she pointed a thumb at Baroness.

"One day, I was given a deep cover assignment by Cobra Commander," Dan answered. "Cobra had become interested in the strange activity that had been rumored to be within Gravity Falls. Baroness was tasked with infiltrating the town and reporting back whatever findings she had, no matter how long it took."

"Since your father was a native of the town, it made sense to have him as my bodyguard and guide within Gravity Falls," Baroness added. "We went into the town under the guise of a wedded couple, all the while searching for whatever could be used as a weapon for Cobra."

"But then you two got really in 'deep cover,'" Wendy gathered.

"We thought that having children would help with the cover story," Baroness replied.

"So, that's all my brothers and I were to you? A cover story?" Wendy said in an appalled voice.

"No... No, no, no," Dan denied in a soft voice. "You and your brothers were the best things that ever happened to me."

"I know, Dad," Wendy assured before turning to face Baroness. "I was talking to her."

Baroness didn't answer right away, only looking away in shame. Her silence was the only answer she needed to give Wendy.

"As the years went on, I started to give up on the Cobra cause and wanted to start a real family with your mother," her father continued. "But your mother never gave up on it. And shortly after Cobra revealed itself to the world, she went back to them. I tried to convince her to stay, but she had already made up her mind."

"And was all ready to move on to Destro," Wendy added sharply. "Am I right, 'Mom'?"

"Your father and I came to an agreement," Baroness replied, ignoring Wendy's question. "I would return to Cobra and claim that he had died in an accident. In exchange, I would not only secretly send money to your family but also make sure that no other agent of Cobra would come to Gravity Falls. I also erased any trace of your father's involvement with Cobra to keep the Joes from ever coming near you as well."

"And you think that makes everything okay?" the ginger questioned sharply. "You ditched us to go be a terrorist! How the fuck do you think anything you did is going to justify yourself!"

"I had to leave!" Baroness snapped back. "If Destro found out about you, he would've killed you all!"

"Well, he knows us about now!" the Head Huntress fired back. "Maybe if you just fuck off again, he'll leave us alone!"

The Baroness' response to her daughter's insult came in the form of a slap across her child's face. No sooner had she struck her daughter did she instantly regret it. For a brief moment, Wendy had a look of shock on her face, but that shock quickly melted away to become one of pure rage before she lunged at her newly revealed mother. However, before a family fight could break out, Dan got between his daughter and ex-lover before pulling Wendy aside. As the lumberjack did so, the enraged Wendy turned her fury on her father.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she demanded as she hit him. "Why did you keep this all secret from me?!"

"I wanted to, Wendy. God help me, I wanted to every day," Dan answered. "But if I did, then I would've been putting you in danger. Not just from Destro, but the Joes and even Global Justice as well."

"I don't care!" his daughter exclaimed. "I grew up without knowing who my mother was, and all this time, you kept the truth from me!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to!" Dan replied. "It would've destroyed you if you knew the truth!"

Wendy continued to hit and kick her dad in a wild haze of unfocused anger. She understood her father's reasoning in keeping this all hidden from her all these years but after everything that had happened, from being betrayed by the League and being denied the prize of bounding to the Phoenix, she just needed an outlet for all the anger she pent up in her soul. After burning herself out, she slumped into her father's arms as she began to weep. Baroness, however, stood off to the side, unsure of what to do in this situation. Anastasia had been out of her daughter's life for the vast majority of it, so she had no idea how to comfort her estranged child. She had to hand it to Daniel. Raising four children on his own would've driven a lesser man to drink or go insane. The Cobra agent turned simple lumberjack was a stronger man than she ever thought.

"You have to be strong now, Wendy. Stronger than you've been," Dan said gently. "I know you're angry with your mother, but you have to stay here with her. She's the only one who can protect you now."

"What about you?" Wendy asked

"I can't stay here. In fact, your mother had to smuggle me into the base just to speak to you," her dad informed her. "I have to get back to Gravity Falls. No doubt the GJN will soon come looking for us to put us in protective custody after everything that happened on the League's base."

"Dad, what I did-" she attempted to explain her actions.

"I'm not going to judge my own daughter," he cut her off. "Just be safe, and we'll see each other again one day."

With one final hug, they parted ways. Not wanting to stay another second longer in the same room as the Baroness, Wendy left the area to be reunited with her lover. After their daughter had departed, the two estranged parents spoke.

"She doesn't accept me," Anastasia stated.

"She just found all this out today, and right after everything that happened with the League, no less," Dan reminded her. "What? Did you think she'd just throw herself into your arms and call you Mommy right out the gate?"

"I saved her and that miserable boy's life, and she treats me like I'm holding her hostage!" Baroness chided.

"Well, newsflash, Ana: You are!" Daniel retorted sharply. "You weren't a part of her life, so of course she's not going to trust you!"

"Well, she can at least show me some respect!" his former lover shot back.

"Respect you? She's not one of your mindless soldiers!" the lumberjack pointed out. "She's your daughter that YOU abandoned!"

"You knew damn well that I couldn't stay in Gravity Falls!" Baroness informed him. "Unlike you, I believed in Cobra's cause!"

"No, you believed in climbing through the ranks!" Dan corrected her. "And you knew you weren't going to do that by raising a family!"

"You think I didn't want to be a part of our children's lives?!" Anastasia exclaimed. "All the money I sent you? Every report I censured about Gravity Falls? All the agents I had secretly killed to keep them out of that damn town?! Did you not think that I wasn't doing it for them?!"

Daniel let out a sigh as he calmed himself before speaking again.

"Look, just... just try to understand where Wendy is coming from," he began. "She's scared, she's angry, and she doesn't know you. Just give her some time and some space, and she may come around to you."

"I can't give our daughter either of those things now that she is a part of Cobra," Baroness said. "She has to accept the facts, or she'll suffer for them."

"Well, like it or not, she's your daughter, and she needs you," Dan informed her. "And you need her, too."

"You do understand, now that she is a member of Cobra, she'll be forced to undertake certain missions," Baroness addressed "And carry out any orders given to her."

"I know..." Dan acknowledged, knowing full well what she meant by that. "Just promise me that, no matter what, you'll keep her safe."

"I swear, Daniel," his former lover compiled. "Now you must go. Destro is due to arrive at the base within an hour. I'll have my Valkyries smuggle you back to Gravity Falls."

"What are you going to do about him, anyway?" the former Cobra agent inquired.

"Don't worry about him," Baroness assured. "I'll deal with Destro personally."

With that, one of Baroness' agents arrived to escort Dan back to Gravity Falls. All the while Anastasia began to think about not only how to handle her daughter, but her lover as well.

---

For the first time in a while now, Mabel was speechless. Pacifica was someone who was, for a time, a thorn in her side back when the Pines twins first came to Gravity Falls. Since then, however, the two had become something of wayward pen pals. In the time between they visited the town and when the twins joined the Infinity League, the two former rivals had remained in touch via social media. After Pacifica had been humbled by the hyperactive girl, she realized that they had quite a lot in common. They enjoyed the same music, the same movies, and even the same stupid jokes. However, after joining the League, Mabel's friendships, including Candi and Grenda's, had become distant due to her duties as a member of the superhero team.

Since last she saw the heiress of the Northwest family, it was clear that she, like Mabel, had changed since they last met. Pacifica had grown up a bit. Granted, she wasn't as tall as Mabel was now, but then again, she wasn't the one with an experimental super soldier drug coursing through her veins. Pacifica also wasn't alone. For standing next to her was a tall, dark-haired man wearing a butler's uniform. It was odd to see her with any sort of servant, considering that the Northwest family could no longer afford to keep extra help.

"Well, look who finally decided to finally show up," the blonde noted in a steely voice. "And all it took was for my old house to blow up."

"Pacifica, I'm so sorry that I haven't been around lately," Mabel apologized. "Things have been... complicated in my life lately."

"So complicated that you couldn't even text me back just to see how I was doing after my parents were killed?" the heiress coldly chided.

"Candi told me about that," the secret heroine replied gently. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Did she tell you the part where a fucking demon tore my parents apart?" Pacifica questioned harshly. "I needed you and weren't there!"

Mabel hung her head in shame. Pacifica was right. Her friend needed her in her most dire moment, and she wasn't at her side. But it wasn't that she didn't care. It was that she was on Skyward Tower, something that she couldn't tell her. Or could she?

"Pacifica, there was a reason I couldn't be here," Mabel began. "But I can't tell you here."

"Oh, of course, you can't," her friend sarcastically answered. "Wouldn't want to break the Pines family tradition of keeping secrets."

"I'm not aware of what exactly 'secrets' you have, but they seem to be distressing her," the blonde's butler mentioned.

"I'm sorry, but who are you exactly?" Mabel demanded.

"Me?" the butler asked. "Why, I'm simply one HELL of a butler."

"Right..." the sweater-wearing girl noted slowly, suspicious of him now, before looking back at Pacifica. "Listen, I want you to get Candi, Grenda, and even Gideon. Bring them all to the Mystery Shack later tonight. I swear I'll explain everything to you guys then."

"You'd better," Pacifica added sharply.

Mabel then glanced over to Stan, who was gesturing for her to come back to where he and the rest of her family were. Mabel nodded back in acknowledgment before looking back at Pacifica.

"I have to go now," she informed her friend. "Just promise me that I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"...Fine" Pacifica agreed with a sigh. "But you better be there, Pines."

With that, Mabel left to return to Stan and Ford's side. As she left, Pacifica let out an irritated groan, though it was not on Mabel's behalf but on her.

"Ugh, why can't I stop being a bitch to the only friends I have?" she asked herself.

"Because you have a fear of letting people in out of fear of being seen as weak or being hurt?" Sebastian coyly surmised.

"Wasn't asking you, Sebastian," his master growled.

"My apologies, my master," the demon replied before asking. "So, will you go tonight?"

"I have to give Mabel the benefit of the doubt," the blonde answered. "But it better be a damn good explanation."

Back with Mabel, she had reunited with Stand and Ford, who were now joined by a tall man in a GJN uniform. Mabel didn't have to be told that this wasn't going to be anything good.

"Mabel, this is Agent Bronson," Ford introduced before asking the agent. "Why don't you tell my niece what you told us?"

"And why would I do that?" Agent Bronson asked in an insulted voice.

"Because I have the clearance to hear whatever you gotta say," Mabel stated, flashing him her Infinity League I.D Card as she did.

"Oh, uh, apologies, ma'am," the Agent corrected himself.

"So what did you have to tell us, agent?" the young heroine asked.

"I'll cut right to the chase," Agent Bronson began. "We have Fiddleford McGuket in custody."

"Wait, why?" Mabel questioned. "What has he done?"

"You mean aside from aiding and embedding a supervillain?" Agent Bronson pointed out. "We picked him up while he was... dancing in the junkyard before he could return home. It looks like we saved his life."

"Let him go!" Mabel ordered. "It wasn't his fault for what my brother did!"

"No, he just helped him build his weapons and the tech he used to attack the League," the GJN agent answered. "You're lucky that we're not arresting your uncle for doing the same thing."

Mabel was confused by what Agent Bronson had meant by that at first. Why would they want one person who was connected to her brother and not both? Then the truth hit her. McGuket may have been driven mad by the Society of the Blind Eye and their machines, but he was still a brilliant inventor.

"You don't want to arrest him... You want to use him!" Mabel realized. "You bastards!"

"He didn't have much of a choice," Agent Bronson pointed out "It was either come with us willingly or be thrown in prison. I can assure you though, that he is being well taken care of."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Mabel noted dryly. "I swear if you hurt him-"

"You'll do what?" the GJN Agent cut her off. "From what I'm seeing, you're not much of a League member."

"Hey asshole, you can't be talking to my niece like that!" Stan chastised, raising a fist as he did.

"I'd advise you to stand down, Mr. Pines," the Agent warned. "I could have you thrown in a federal prison for any number of things you've done over the years, and that goes the same for your brother for hiding what he knew about the Phoenix."

The Pines family was forced to begrudgingly stand down, knowing that this was one battle they couldn't win.

"Now, as I stated before, Mr. McGuket will be taken care of in our custody," Agent Bronson reaffirmed. "Once he is done, we will release him."

"What are you having him build for you?" Ford demanded, obviously worried about his friend's safety.

"I'm afraid that's classified," the GJN Agent refuted. "And you should be thankful that I've told you this much."

Having said that, Agent Bronson turned at left the scene, leaving the family in a state of anger.

"That bastard!" Ford swore. "Dr. Director has crossed a line!"

"There's nothing we can do about it, Ford," Stan said. "For now, at least."

"We have to at least report this to the League," Mabel mentioned. "They have to know about this"

Ford nodded in agreement. The two League members went off to somewhere where no one could see them being teleported back to Skyward Tower. As they did, Mabel couldn't help but feel as though everything was caving in around her, and at this point, she couldn't help but point the finger at the one who had destroyed his life: Her brother. Once they found a safe place, Mabel took out her COMM again.

"Beam us up, Sheila," she said.

The AI compiled with the request, beaming them both back to the League's orbital base.

---

When McGuket opened his eyes, he found a bright light that nearly forced him to shut them once more. He didn't remember much of his abduction, for whoever had snatched him up had crept up behind him. During his daily routine of junkyard dancing, he was snatched up by some unseen group. In a matter of seconds, he was bound, gagged, and blindfolded before being tossed into what he could only assume was a van. At first, McGuket feared that he had been abducted by the remnants of the Blind Eye, who sought vengeance on him for his hand in decimating their secret society.

After he had been freed of his bindings, the old inventor found himself handcuffed to a metal table in a small room. As crazy as the old coot was, he knew an interrogation room when he saw one. He didn't know how long he had been left here. But he also understood that he wouldn't be stuck in this room forever. As expected, someone entered the room and wordlessly sat down in the chair opposite the old prospector. It was a tall man in a grey suit with short-cut blonde hair and wearing glasses. The man pulled out a partly burnt file and placed it on the table for McGuket to see.

"Do you know why you're here?" the man asked.

"I'm starting to get a good idea now," the old inventor mentioned as he looked at the file in front of him. "How did ya-?"

"Your accomplice blew up his base shortly before we appended you," the interrogator cut him off in a sardonic voice. "We had a team scour the debris and could only find this file still partly intact."

"So, I'm being arrested," McGuket said. "Oh well, I guess it could be worse."

"Oh, it could still be much worse," the man corrected. "But we have a proposal for you."

"Whoa there, mister, I don't even know who ya are," McGuket replied. "And I ain't sayin' anything else till I get a lawyer."

"I'm afraid that any rights you thought you had have gone out the window when you allied with a wanted supervillain," the interrogator denied. "The only way you get out this unharmed is if you do what we say."

Now McGuket was really scared. He was starting to get the idea that whoever was holding him was some government agency, and one was willing to do anything to get what they wanted. If McGuket wanted to see his family again, he would have to comply with them, lest he be buried in an unmarked grave out in the desert.

"What do you want me to do?" he finally relented.

"As I said, this was the only file could recover," the man answered. "And something tells me that Mr. Pines kept most of his other files even away from your eyes."

"This was the only thing he let me see," McGuket said. "It was the first thing he wanted me to help him to build."

"To fight Danny Phantom, correct?" the man inquired.

The old prospector nodded in confirmation. The file that they had recovered was known as Project: Steel Specter, and it was Mason's first line of defense against the half-ghost hero should he ever go rogue. However, if this failed to stop Danny, then Mason would use the Ecto-Bullet he stole from Fenton Works to put an end to him for good.

"Here's what's going to happen, Mr. McGuket," the man stated. "You're going to build the Steel Specter for us. In exchange, we will allow you to remain in contact with your family, and once you are finished, we will drop all charges and release you."

McGuket had been around long enough to know that it wasn't going to be as simple as that, but what else could he do? If he refused, these people would either throw him in a hole and throw away the key or kill him outright. So, with a heavy heart, he was forced to give his answer.

"I'll do it..." he relented.

"Good," the man said simply. "Welcome to the Global Justice Network, Mr. McGuket."

The man then stood up and promptly left the room, where his boss had watched the whole ordeal unfold via a two-way mirror.

"I think that went well, Owen," the deputy director noted. "I thought he'd put up a fight."

"Apologies for the lack of show, Mr. Xanatos," Owen answered. "But at least you got what you wanted."

"Don't I always?" Xanatos mentioned with a smirk.

"I still fail to understand why you wished to keep this entire operation under Dr. Director's nose, sir," his manservant pointed out.

"What Betty doesn't know doesn't hurt her," the billionaire answered. "Unless she gets in my way."

"You are aware that she isn't a business rival she can buy out," the secret fair-folk addressed. "She is your boss."

"Yes, that is true," his boss agreed. "But you know how that old song goes, Owen: Oh, the times they are a changing."

---

Wendy, still stewing in her anger toward her newfound mother, had hoped to just have a few quiet moments with her lover before they would be forced into doing whatever Cobra Commander wished of them. But when Wendy returned to the infirmary where Mason was being held, she found a trail of torn, bloody bandages that lead from the infirmary to down the hall. The Head Huntress followed the bloody trail down the hallway, all the while fearing the worst until she came to a lab that belonged to one of Cobra's lesser-known scientists, Hotwire. The door had been forced open, and the sound of metal being etched into could be heard from within the lab. Wendy stepped into the broken lab to find an unconscious Hotwire laying up against the wall, clearly knocked out by the person who wanted into his lab.

"Relax, I didn't kill him," came Mason's voice from across the room. "He wouldn't let me in, so I chose a more 'direct' approach."

Wendy turned to see Mason, who was hunched over a nearby desk wearing a blacksmith mask as he toiled away on some unknown project.

"I gotta say, I'm starting to be really turned on by this new assertive you, babe," Wendy mentioned as she looked over the still knocked-out Hotwire. "But won't Cobra Commander be pissed off when he finds out about this?"

"I imagine he'll be madder at Hotwire than he will at me for not putting up more of a fight," the Red Talon surmised as he continued his work. "You know how it goes: Cobra rewards the strong and punishes the weak."

"You should focus less on... whatever is your doing and more on healing." his lover advised.

"I can't, Wendy," Mason denied. "I'm too angry to sleep."

He then stopped his work as he turned around to face Wendy. As he did, he pulled his welding mask to reveal his no longer bandaged face. Wendy couldn't help but let out a shocked gasp at the sight of Mason's face. A massive scar ran down from the right side from the top side of his head all the way down to the edge of his lip. The stitches and staples that held his face together were still new and leaked small traces of fresh blood. Wendy couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of pain her lover was in right now, which only worsened every time he spoke.

"I see this, and all I can think about is how my own family betrayed me!" he exclaimed. "I swear that I'm gonna make them and the League pay for what they did to us, even if it's the last thing I do!"

He then picked up the object that he had been working on off the table and held it up for Wendy to see. It was a small, black rod with a slightly bent back top. As expected, Wendy was confused as to what it was she was looking at. But before she voice her question, Mason pressed a button on the side of the rod, making it extend twice its length until it became a full-sized staff. Once it had reached its full length, a red, sickle-shaped blade of energy shot out of the bent part. To show off his lethal new piece of weaponry, Mason swiped the scythe's energy blade across a nearby chair, slicing it in half in one clean strike.

With the demonstration over, Mason pressed the button again, causing the staff to dematerialize the blade and retract it into its original shape before placing it on his belt. Though Head Huntress couldn't help but be impressed by her boyfriend's ingenuity, she knew that he was overworking himself when he should be taking time to recover. She gently reached out and touched the scarred side of Mason's face as a silent sign that she still loved him no matter what he looked like.

"Mason, while I'm glad to see you still able to do so much after being injured, I still think that you need some rest," she suggested to him. "Let's just go back to the infirmary and-"

"No!" Mason snapped. "I can't rest! Not while Mabel and the rest of them are still out there!"

Mason managed to mentally register the shock on Wendy's face from his sudden outburst. Realizing this, Mason collapsed in her arms, weeping as he did.

"God, I'm so sorry, Wendy!" he wept. "I forgot how they hurt you worse than me!"

Wendy said nothing, only holding onto the young man she loved as she too began to cry. They had been hurt by those they saw as friends and their own family. It seemed like the ones that they could truly depend upon was one another. All they felt now was anger and sadness, but it was a feeling that they would soon avenge.

"Let's make a vow to each other, right here and now," Wendy began. "From now on, the only people we trust are you and me."

"Agreed," Mason replied. "It's just you and me from here on out."

"How touching," came a voice from the doorway.

The two lovers looked to the doorway to see Destro standing before them. Sensing danger, Mason quickly put himself between Wendy and the arms dealer, knowing full well that Destro was like a lion looking to kill the cubs of the previous pride's leader. Red Talon popped his wrist blades as he took a defensive stance, ready to lay down his very life for the woman he loved. However, rather than be threatened by the boy's posture, Destro only scoffed at the gesture. Hotwire was one thing, but Destro was an entirely different beast. In fact, the iron-masked arms dealer didn't seem fazed by the scientist's knocked-out form in the slightest.

"You think I am scared of you, boy?" the Scotsman mocked.

"No, but I know you're scared of ME," a female voice said from behind him as he felt the barrel of a guy touch the back of his helmet.

Destro glanced behind him to see his lover, the Baroness, standing behind him with her sidearm drawn and aimed directly at his head. The two terrorists may have been lovers, but that didn't mean that they were afraid of killing one another to achieve their goals. Or, in this case, protect a member of their family.

"Relax, my dear, I only came to see your bastard child for myself," Destro said. "You hid her quite well from me all this time."

"Like how you hid Alexander from me?" Anastasia chided coldly, referring to the arms dealer's son. "Two can play this game, James."

"Call him off, Baroness," Wendy ordered.

"Quiet, dear, the adults are talking," her mother replied before refocusing on her lover. "Now then, 'Destro darling,' here's what's going to happen: You're going to leave my daughter alone, and should anything happen to her or the boy that could even be remotely traced back to you, then I will reign down on you like the wrath of God!"

Wendy couldn't help but be slightly impressed that her estranged mother was trying to protect her from the person she had left her family for, though that still wasn't enough to win her over.

"My dear Baroness, you think me a savage?" Destro refuted. "I wouldn't dare harm a hair on the girl's head. Who knows, perhaps I will become her stepfather someday."

"Yeah, hard pass," Wendy denied.

"I think it's time you left," Baroness advised her lover. "You're upsetting my daughter."

With a few grumbled words, Destro gave one final glare to the young villains and his lover before taking his leave. However, just because she had saved their lives didn't mean that they were going to start trusting the Baroness.

"You're welcome," Anastasia said sarcastically as she holstered her weapon.

"I had it under control," Mason stated.

"Don't be stupid, boy," Baroness chastised. "Destro may not be much of a fighter, but he's well-connected within Cobra. You'd be dead within the next hour, and it would be made to look like an accident. I'm the only hope you have of staying alive here."

"And we should be so grateful," Wendy deadpanned.

"So, it's true then," Mason commented. "You really are Wendy's mother, aren't you?"

Those words seemed to hang in the air after Mason had spoken them. It was something that Wendy didn't want to accept out loud until now.

"I am," Baroness confirmed.

"It's funny. My sister always thought Shego was Wendy's mom," Mason noted. "It looks like she wasn't too far off."

"How charming," Anastasia mentioned. "if you'll excuse me, I need a moment alone with my daughter."

"No, I think I've had enough 'moments' with you," her daughter refused sharply.

"Wendy, please, just give me this one thing, and I swear to leave you be after that," Baroness insisted.

Wendy wanted to continue to deny her newfound mother anything out of spite for her. But when she saw the almost pleading look in her eyes, the redhead couldn't help but feel some semblance of stirring within her of a longing to connect with her mom.

"Fine," the Head Huntress finally relented. "But Mason comes with us, understood?"

"I can accept that," her mother agreed. "Please, follow me."

Still unsure what Baroness wanted from them, the two lovers followed after them, all the while staying on guard.

---

When Mabel and Ford returned to Skyward Tower, the former inter-dimensional traveler offered to give the report to the League leaders, thereby allowing Mabel to visit Bismuth. However, as she walked the halls, she bore witness to the aftermath of the Society of Supervillains' attack on the Tower. All around her were the torn circuits and scorched walls from the battle to repel the legion of evil that was still being repaired. Some of the hallways within the orbital base were darkened due to the limited power that the Tower was running on for the time being to stay in orbit. On occasion, the sweater-wearing girl would pass by a hero who had bandages on them, a symbol of the battle to protect the base.

Mabel could only feel shame as she passed them by. It was partly because of her brother that they had been put in this position, and now the League was paying for her silence. While some of the heroes she passed didn't seem to mind her, even smiling and waving at her, there were some who gave her the side eye or even a glare. A sign that they held a grudge for her inaction to stop her twin when she had the chance. When she reached Bismuth's workshop, the door slid open to reveal the Crystal Gem working on something at her table.

"Great, you're just in time," Bismuth said.

"Uh, what am I in time for exactly?" Mabel inquired.

To answer that question, Bismuth held up what she was working on from her desk for Mabel to see. It was a black leotard suit of body armor with a blue 'v' shape on the chest piece that came all the way down to the torso of the suit. It had long long arm and leg pieces with padded armor on the elbows and kneecaps, as well as on the shoulders and thicker armor on the chest. Bismuth also held up a pair of black boots, a blue utility belt, and a black domino mask. Mabel couldn't help but gasp in joy at the sight before her, knowing full well what this was all about.

"Is that my..." she asked.

"Yep," the Gem confirmed. "This is your costume."

Mabel squealed in pure, unbridled joy before she ran up and snatched the suit out of Bismuth's hands in order to hold the one thing she had been dreaming of owning since she joined the League. She looked over every detail of her new costume like a child getting a Christmas gift, all the while giggling like the girl she once was.

"This is amazing, Bismuth!" she shouted in joy before asking. "But wait, you said my suit wouldn't be ready yet."

"I decided to bump it up in my schedule," the engineer replied. "After everything you've been through, you needed a win."

"That's putting it mildly..." Mabel muttered

"Oh, almost forgot," the Crystal Gem added as she took something else out. "Here, just as you requested."

Mabel's eyes widened with glee as she saw what Bismuth had shown her. It was a dark blue colored grappling hook gun, built almost like the one she used to carry when she was younger.

"I added a cable launcher to the right wrist of your suit as well," Bismuth added. "Your belt is already stocked with flash-bangs, smoke pellets, mini-boomerangs, a taser, a flashlight, and some brass knuckles, for when you need to fight dirty."

"I don't think Zack or Jason would approve of that," Mabel pointed out, knowing how her teachers almost wanted her to fight with honor.

"You think your brother's gonna show you that kindness the next time you face him?" Bismuth pointed out. "Look, I'm all for a fair fight, but I've been in too many wars to know that your enemy ain't gonna show you the same honor that you'd give them."

Mabel hated to admit it, but the war veteran had a point. Just from the last fight, it was clear that Mason would do anything to win, and next time they faced off, there was a good chance that Mason may go in for the kill. As much as she hated that thought, she had to be at least prepared for a fight like that nonetheless.

"I'm not saying break out the knuckles right out the gate," Bismuth continued. "Think of it as like what you humans call a condom: Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them at all."

"Okay, gross comparison, but I get it," the young heroine agreed. "Thank you so much for this, Bismuth."

"Hey, pleasure doing Bismuth with you, Mabel," the Gem joked before asking. "By the way, you think of a code name yet?"

"I kicked around a few, but there's one that always seemed to come back to me," Mabel answered. "Call me... Knightingale"

---

Baroness had said nothing to either Mason or Wendy as she lead them through the base. They had no idea where exactly Cobra's head intelligence officer was going to show them but they had a feeling that it was going to be something of an attempt on Baroness's behalf to make amends to her estranged daughter for not being in her most of her life. Finally, they reached the upper deck that overlooked rows of female Cobra Troopers. Only their uniforms were black and silver. They stood at attention as they awaited orders. The two lovers knew exactly who these women were. They were the Black Valkyries, the Baroness's personal regiment of soldiers that served only her.

"Uh, what is all this?" Wendy asked.

"It occurs to me that I owe you several birthday presents," her mother answered. "Consider this me making up for lost time."

She then stepped forward before the troops.

"Valkyries!" the intelligence officer called out to her troops. "Today is an historic occasion. For today, I have been reunited with my daughter!"

Anastasia then gestured for Wendy to step forward. After some minor hesitance, the redhead stepped forward beside her mother.

"From now on, you shall also serve under the command of her, as well," Baroness continued. "Treat her orders as if they came from my own mouth. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the Valkyries shouted in unison.

"Wait, time out," Wendy said in disbelief. "Are you seriously giving me command of your troops? I haven't even led a successful class project before!"

"Yes, I'm aware of your grades," her mother deadpanned before adding. "But I've seen how you lead others. How you inspire them in times of crisis. You are every bit a leader as our great ancestors were when they rode into battle to conquer their foes."

"I hate to say it, but she's right, Wendy," Mason agreed. "You were a great leader during Bill's invasion. Imagine what you could do with a regiment of highly trained warrior women!"

Wendy couldn't argue with that. She and Mason were strong on their own, but now, having military backing only increased their odds of vengeance. So, with a silent nod, the redhead accepted her mother's gift. Just then, one of Baroness' troops came over to them and presented her with another gift from her mother. It was a new costume. Much like her previous Head Huntress, this one had much of the same hooded design. Only this one was purple with black sequenced armor plating around the chest, torso, arms, and legs. The featureless mask was silver with a dark green visor shape for the mask's optics. The armored chest piece also bore the Cobra insignia to signify her new allegiance to the organization.

"I had it made specifically for you," Baroness said. "The armor is denser around the chest than the suit you have now, but is also much more flexible. Though I must admit that I didn't bother adding any new gadgets since I'm sure your beloved wishes to handle that."

"Damn straight," Mason muttered.

"However, there is one more piece I had built for you," her mother furthered.

With a snap of her fingers, another Valkyrie approached them, this time carrying a large, double-headed battle axe like that of a medieval executioner. The trooper held it out for Wendy to take, which she did.

"Tighten your grip on the handle," Baroness advised.

Wendy did as instructed. No sooner had she done that did the axe's blades begin to heat up, even glowing red hot in a matter of seconds. Wanting to test her new weapon swung the axe directly into the steel wall beside her, cutting through it as if she was cutting butter.

"Do you like it?" her mother inquired.

"Ask me that again after I bury it through someone's head," Wendy replied as she marveled at her new weapon. "Thank you for all this. But don't think for a second that you're off the hook with me."

"I figured as much," the Cobra agent sighed. "I should also mention that the axe can cut something down to the sub-atomic level. So, use it wisely."

"So, it's an atomic axe... nice," Wendy noted.

"I, too, have a gift for the girl," came a voice.

Everyone turned to see that none other than Cobra Commander standing before them. Just as Mason had done earlier, Anastasia put herself in front of her daughter, placing her hand on her sidearm as she did. However, rather than hide behind her mother, Wendy moved out from behind her and stood her ground.

"Do you want revenge, girl?" the Commander asked. "Do you want the League to be brought to its knees for what it has done to you?"

"More than anything," Wendy confirmed.

"Then follow me," Cobra Commander ordered.

Baroness attempted to open her mouth in protest, but a single look back at her from her leader silenced her. The intelligence officer wanted to protect her child from whatever the Commander had in store for Wendy. But Anastasia was forced to keep quiet, fearing that her leader would take his fury out on her daughter. That was the major drawback of having her child now within the ranks of Cobra. For the longest time, Baroness didn't have something to have of hers that could be taken from her if she upset Cora Commander, until now, that is. So, she, along with Mason and Wendy, followed the terrorist leader deeper into the base.

---

Mabel, despite everything that happened in the span of less than 24 hours, was finally feeling good about something. She looked at the box that now contained her costume and couldn't help but smile at it. But then, her smile faded when she realized that she wouldn't be able to show off her costume to her brother when she got back home. He'd only be able to see it on her when the next time they crossed paths on the battlefield. It broke her heart that she had gained such an achievement, and her family wasn't here to witness it. However, before her sadness could fully settle in, someone approached.

"Ah, Mabel, I'm glad I could find you," Professor Utonium greeted. "I need to speak with you on a certain matter."

"What's up, Professor?" the young heroine asked, though she had a good idea what this was all about.

"I've been giving it some thought lately, and I've decided to halt your Chemical V supplements," the father of the Powerpuff Girls informed.

Mabel didn't need to be told as to why he came to that conclusion.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" she assured. "What Dipper did was entirely his choice. The Chemical V you gave had nothing to do with it."

"No, but it might've had a hand in it," the Professor reasoned. "If he had been taking more than his regulated dosage, then it might be affecting his mental state."

Now that the young heroine could believe. She always had a feeling that her twin sibling was taking more of the pills than he was meant to compete with his metahuman teammates, despite knowing that it would alter his already troubled mind.

"Besides, even if I stopped giving you the pills, it wouldn't do anything at this point," Utonium added.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Mabel asked.

"I recently did a blood test on you and your brother and discovered that you and Mason both have taken enough Chemical V for it to permanently alter your DNA," the Professor explained. "For all intents and purposes, you're officially a metahuman, Mabel."

Mabel's eyes widened upon hearing that revelation. She didn't care that she wasn't going to be getting any more doses of Chemical V, for her training with Jason and Zack more than made up for it. But now, knowing that she had become a full fledge superhuman was shocking. Sadly, this also meant that Mason was augmented as well. And that made him all the more dangerous.

"I don't know if I should take this as good news or not," was all Mabel could say to that. "But thank you for telling me."

With that new piece of information in mind, Mabel departed and headed back down the hallway toward the teleporters. After all, she still had a promise to keep.

---

"So, explain to me again why I was dragged all the way out here?" Gideon asked.

After getting together with Candi and Grenda, Pacifica and her demonic butler had brought the former villain along with them to the Mystery Shack to hear whatever excuse Mabel was going to give them as to why she had been so scared as of late. The heiress was angry that her friend had been so distant, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to fully hate and abandon Mabel for good. The sweater wearing girl's two closest friends remain steadfast in their loyalty to Mabel, knowing that whatever was pulling her away from them was a good reason. However, the same could not be said for Gideon, who saw no real reason to be here.

Ever since the last time the Pines twins had been in Gravity Falls, the former darling of the town had been continuing his change from being a foe to the Pines family to being someone less of a monster than he was before. Granted, he still used his friends from his old prison gang to scare the people from time to time, but now they deterred dark forces from outside the town from coming in, such as racist organizations or cults. Gideon had also considered giving the money he had scammed from people back to them, but he loved money too much to do so. Gideon may have turned over a new leaf in life, but it wasn't that big a turn. Unlike the trio of girls, he was indifferent to whatever the twins were doing, focusing more on himself than anything else.

"Because Mabel asked you to be here," the blonde reminded him before muttering. "Though I don't why..."

As the group entered the Mystery Shack, they were greeted not by Mabel but by Soos, who was busy closing the shop for the night. However, this wasn't exactly the person they wanted to see.

"Of course, she ditched us," Pacifica said in a defeated voice. "Why did I even think that I could trust her?"

No sooner had she said that did the group hear a loud 'thump!' behind them. They collectively turned around to see none other than Mabel standing before them as she stood back up from making a dramatic landing from the rafters she was hiding in. Everyone's jaws nearly hit the floor as they were all stunned speechless by the sight of their friend in what looked like a superhero costume. Not only was she in this new suit, but she had also braided her long hair into a ponytail. Candi and Grenda gasped in excitement at the sight of their friend's attire, while Pacifica only blushed a bright red at the all thoughts that were currently running through her mind.

"Oh, no she's hot!" she screamed in her mind as she saw Mabel's muscles through her costume.

"What did you..? ...How did you..? ...What?" Gideon was at a total loss for words.

"Okay, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but I swear I have an explanation for all this," Mabel offered.

"You're a member of the Infinity League, aren't you?" Candi surmised.

"Well... actually... yeah," Mabel admitted before giving them a sheepish, embarrassed smile "Surprise."

"I'm sure no one is anywhere near as surprised as my master is," Sebastian mentioned with a coy smirk.

"Shut it!" his mistress commanded

"So, wait, this whole time, you've been a superhero?" Grenda put together. "That's awesome, Mabel! I bet you get all kinds of boys!"

"Or girls, we don't judge," Candi added.

"Well, I'm on the League, but I'm not 'on' the League," Mabel explained. "Technically speaking, I'm still a rookie."

"Does that mean Dipper is a member too?" Gideon inquired.

Mabel went silent upon hearing her brother's name. She looked down in shame, making her friends begin to feel uneasy about whatever it was that she was about to say next.

"Mason and Wendy... did something... something terrible," she said slowly. "I can't go into detail, but they betrayed the League and joined Cobra."

Everyone was stunned by that. Dipper Pines, the young, intelligent boy, who had brought much of Gravity Falls's great mysteries to light, had turned joined one of, if not the greatest terrorist group that posed a threat to the world. It was then that Gideon let out a small chuckle.

"Something funny?" Mabel growled.

"I'm sorry, Mabel, I really am," the former villain apologized. "It's just... the idea of Dipper, of all people turning out to be... well, a villain, is ironic."

"Wait, why are you telling us all this in the first place?" Pacifica finally realized.

"I believe it's because she has no intention of coming back to Gravity Falls," Sebastian surmised.

All eyes fell on a now guilty-looking Mabel.

"...It's true," Mabel confirmed sadly. "Between the League and what Dipper did... Gravity Falls just doesn't feel like home to me right now."

A feeling of sadness overcame everyone, including Gideon. The Pines family was the lynchpin in the entire town, but that that that family was broken, it seemed like everything that had happened that one wild summer was all for naught. Mabel was no longer that happy-go-lucky, sweater-wearing girl and her brother had become nothing short of a monster. Suddenly, in a fit of unchecked anger, Pacifica marched right up to Mabel and shouted right in her face.

"How dare you?!" she cried out. "You leave us all behind for months, and then all of a sudden, you show up dressed like that and just say 'so long and thanks for nothing'?! I mean, Jesus, Mabel, do your parents even know what you've been up to?!"

Mabel looked shocked when she mentioned her parents. As if she wasn't expecting to hear them mentioned at all.

"Oh my god, I forgot to tell you..." she said with sadness in her voice. "Pacifica... my parents are dead."

Pacifica felt as though she had been hit by a bus when she heard her friend say that. She turned to look at the others, and while Soos, Candi, and Grenda looked as though they knew, it was evident by the shock on Gideon's face that he was not aware of this until now.

"They... They were killed in a car accident," Mabel continued as her voice cracked. "Gunkle Stan took us in, and by that time, the League recruited Dipper and me."

Tears were rolling down her face at this point.

"I thought the pain would go away when we joined the Infinity League. But now... Oh, God!"

Mabel collapsed into Pacifica's arms as she cried. The heiress, not knowing much else to do, put her arms around her friend and embraced her tightly. It wasn't before long that the others gathered around Mabel and also hugged her tightly as she continued to weep. Everything felt as though it had been falling apart. Her parents' death, Stan's soon-to-be departure, and now her own brother's willing descent into darkness. However, it was good to finally feel like she still had some light in her life. But now was not the time for tears, for Mabel knew that she had much to do as a member of the League, and if she was going to catch her brother, then she had to focus on the here and now as Jason had taught her to.

"Thanks, guys," she said as they all parted. "But there's another why I called you all here."

"There was?" Grenda asked.

"With me gone, Gravity Falls is left unprotected," Mabel addressed. "There are still a lot of mysteries and threats that Dipper and I never stopped. And someone has to keep the peace between the townspeople and the creatures in the forest."

This was true. Despite defeating Bill, the Society of the Blind Eye, and countless monsters and madmen, the Pines twins only scratched the surface of what lies within the strange little town. Not only were there still unsolved mysteries yet to be uncovered but there was also another major issue that needed to be looked over by capable hands. Ever since the townspeople of Gravity Falls had discovered that they had been living side by side with supernatural creatures, it was at first overlooked since the entire town was in the middle of Bill's otherworldly incursion. However, since the cat was out of the bag, both humans and creatures had to come to terms with the fact they were aware of one another's existence, to which some of both sides were not happy about. Originally, Dipper and Mabel were going to be the ones to keep this peace intact, but that sadly was no longer the case.

There was also the matter of not just internal forces that could bring harm to the town but outside as well. Between the creatures, artifacts, and weapons within Gravity Falls, it was only a matter of time before someone with ill intentions would come to the little town looking to exploit it. At this point, even Dipper and Wendy could be among those very same threats.

"You guys are the only ones who are capable of protecting the town now," Mabel furthered. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I know you guys are the perfect choice to keep Gravity Falls safe."

"Even me?" Gideon noted, clearly dumbstruck.

"Of course," Knightingale confirmed. "You've got a nasty little mind, Gideon. And Mystery Inc. needs some nasty in the group."

"Mystery what now?" Pacifica questioned

"Oh, that was the name of the team name Dipper and I wanted to call our group," Mabel explained. "It was a name used by a group of teen mystery solvers back in the 60s."

"Groovy," Candi quipped.

"Well... I don't hate it... or the idea of the team," Gideon said "Ah, what the hell, I'm in."

"Me too!" Grenda added. "I wanna kick a wolfman in the nards!"

"Count me in," Candi agreed.

Everyone looked at Pacifica as they awaited her answer.

"Okay, fine, I'll join!" she conceded. "And Sebastian can be like our mascot dog."

"I utterly detest dogs," her demonic servant grumbled.

"Then it's settled," Mabel said. "You guys are now officially Mystery Inc."

Though Candi and Grenda were excited by the prospect of this new team, the same could not be said for Pacifica and Gideon. Two once rich and entitled youths who did more harm than good to a town they were now being asked to defend by someone who was, for a time a, thorn in their side. But at the same time, they knew that they couldn't say no to Mabel.

"Ford and I might not be here, but Soos will still be around from time to time when he's not on the Tower," the superheroine continued.

"What about Stan?" Candi asked.

"He's leaving too, but he has... different reasons for it," Mabel mentioned.

It was then that Mabel made a sudden realization: Her great uncle was nowhere to be found. However, it was at that time that Soos came up to her with an envelope.

"Stan wanted me to give you time to think before he left," the new owner of the Mystery Shack said in a saddened voice. "I wanted to wait until you were alone, but I just couldn't do it."

Mabel, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness at Stan's departure without saying goodbye, opened the envelope to see that there was a handwritten letter within it.

Dear Mabel,

I know that you're probably mad at me for leaving this letter instead of talking to you in person, but I never really was good at saying goodbye. And after what I helped your brother do, I couldn't bare to face you again. As you might've already guessed, I've left Gravity Falls and have begun my search for my daughter. I don't know where she is now or how I'll find her, but I'm going to use something that you gave me a while ago: Hope. Hope... no, that's something that I never really put much stock in. That was until I met you. I know this is hard for you, but your the toughest girl I know, and you'll be okay without me. I've watched you go through so much pain and come out on top, and this time will be no different. I understand if you hate me right now, and I don't blame you if you do, but this is something I need to do, and I have to do it alone. I hope that someday you'll forgive me for everything I've done, and we can even be a family again, or at least some version of one.

I'm sure that Ford isn't going to be all that forgiving with either, but just try to let him down as easy as you can. This isn't the first time we've had a split up after all. As for your brother, the newfound optimist in me says that maybe one day he'll see the light and come back too, but deep down, I know that isn't going to be the case. This isn't something you may not want to believe or even hear right now, but Mason is dangerous, and you might be the only one who can stop him. You might think there's still some good in him, but I'm afraid that anything that was good in him is gone. I'm going to give you some advice: The next time you see Dipper again, just go right at him. Don't try to talk him down, don't hesitate, just put all that training you've gotten from the League and beat him down. Maybe after you kick his head in, he'll listen to reason, but you have to bring him down first before you try anything else.

I'm not going to lie to you, kid. This going to get rough, but like I said before, you're the toughest girl on the planet, and I'm sure, one day, you'll be one of the biggest names in the Infinity League. But right now, you've gotta put yourself into the grind and never give up even for a second.

Now get out there and kick some ass!

With love, your Grunkle Stan.

After finishing reading the letter, she folded it up and put it in her pocket. She would honor her uncle's last words to her and become the legend he knew that she could be. And if she ran into her twin brother again, she would do what she must.

---

Cobra Commander did not say a single word as he lead the trio into the depths of the base. With every trooper they passed, a salute was given to their leader as he walked through the base and lead Mason and the others into the depths of the headquarters. While Mason and Wendy were unsure where they were being taken, Baroness already had a good idea what her Commander had in mind. She wanted to speak out against whatever it was Cobra Commander had in mind for her daughter, but she knew that if she did, then she'd be putting both herself and her child in danger for upsetting the organization's leader. Cobra Commander then lead the group to an elevator which they stepped inside.

"Deck level 13," Cobra Commander ordered the elevator computer.

Warning lights in Anastasia's head the second she heard. She knew exactly where that was and refused to let her child anywhere near that place.

"Commander, you can't-" she attempted to protest.

"I only wish to show to show our new recruits our latest project," her leader cut her off. "After all, you brought them here, so it's only fair that they see that they've chosen the right side."

Baroness fell silent yet again as the elevator began to take the young villains downward into the lower depths of the base. As they traversed further into the lower levels, Cobra Commander spoke directly to Mason and Wendy.

"So, tell me," he began. "Are you two truly committed to our cause?"

That was a question that the lovers were dreading. Neither of them were really interested in being new pawns for Cobra Commander's mad quest for world domination. But after being brought here by the Baroness in order to keep them safe, they didn't have much choice in places they could've gone other than prison. Furthermore, they were both well aware that being 'committed to the cause' meant that they would have to carry out any and all orders given to them, no matter how bloody and dangerous they were. And though they hadn't killed anyone yet despite wanting both the Pines family and the League's heads, there was a big difference between talking about taking someone's life and actually doing the deed.

Perhaps that was why they left Mabel and Ford alive during the attack on the Tower. Because they weren't ready to cross that line yet. However, Mason did not seem all concerned when he detonated the bombs he had planted throughout the Tower, which, had it not been for the League and their new interdimensional allies' efforts, it would've killed every hero in the base and countless more on the planet below from falling debris. So, maybe the young villain was more willing to take the plunge into death than he was ready to openly admit.

"We'll do what we have to," was all Mason said in response.

"Will you?" Cobra Commander noted in an unconvinced voice. "Tell me something: Do you know why I wear this mask?"

Neither of the traitors could give an answer to that question.

"Most think it's to conceal my face, and while there is some truth to that, there is another, more direct reason," the Commander furthered. "I wear this mask so that people can look back at themselves and see how they've disappointed me."

He then leaned forward so that he was only inches away from Mason's face, allowing him to get a good look at his reflection.

"So, tell me, boy..." he said in a voice as cold as ice. "What do you see?"

Mason only glared back at the mirrored mask of Cobras Commander but was unable to say anything.

"Commander," Wendy said. "Where are you taking us?"

"As I said, you want revenge, do you not?" the terrorist leader said. "As it just so happens, I have the perfect weapon for you to carry out your vengeance."

No sooner had he said that did the elevator stop and opened the door to allow them to step out into the bowels of the hidden base. The moment they walked out of the elevator they gazed up in shock at what Cobra Commander had brought them to see. There, standing in an old missile silo, was the Dragonzord. Formerly in possession of the Green Ranger, who would later take on the mantle of the White Ranger, the Dragonzaord was a great and terrible mystical machine that brought down many of Rita's monsters and ensuing schemes before Zedd's arrival. The horrors it could and did bring for the forces of evil was what forced the Green Ranger to banish the Zord to the depths of Angel Grove Bay.

"That's... impossible!" Mason said in disbelief. "How did you find it?!"

"We dredged Angel Grove Bay until we found the Zord and dragged it back here," Cobra Commander answered. "As you can imagine, it wasn't easy. We had to drag it across with every submarine we had in our fleet while at the same time having our organization's leading mystic, Crystal Ball, use every ounce of magic he had at his disposal to hide our plans from that fool, Zordon."

"But why would you even want it?" Wendy asked. "Without the Green Power Coin, this thing is completely useless to you."

"And the coin was destroyed," her lover added.

In response to their points, Cobra Commander reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object, and held it up to Mason and Wendy to allow them to see the Green Power Coin. The coin, though once broken, had been welded back together.

"It took quite a bit of time and magic from our mystics, but we managed to piece together the Power Coin," the Commander stated.

Mason and Wendy were shocked by this news. It was known that Cobra had dabbled in magic in the past ranging from using ghosts to battle the Joes to trying to steal relics that belonged to the Egyptian Gods. There was even a report of Storm Shadow temporarily taking ownership of the legendary sword, Excalibur. However, there was a question on Mason's mind that he needed answers.

"Wait, if you have both the Zord and the coin, then why haven't you used it yet?" he asked. "I would think that you'd be morphing into the Green Ranger and unleashing the Dragonzord on the League."

"Because the Power Coin is unstable," Baroness suddenly answered. "We've tried to harness its power, but so far, its killed every test subject."

The intelligence officer then glared at her leader as she turned her fury on him.

"And my daughter will not be the next one to die!" she continued defiantly. "That's why you brought her here. Isn't it? To try and make her your next lab rat!"

It was no surprise to either young villain that their new leader would want to use one of them to test out his latest war machine, but what was surprising was that the Baroness was willing to stand up to Cobra Commander in order to protect her child. But rather than be taken aback by this, the head of Cobra was unfazed by this moment of defiance.

"I'm going to overlook that little outburst and chalk it up to motherly instincts," he said. "But I would advise you lower your tone with me, Baroness."

"Apologies, Commander, but she's just a child," Wendy's estranged mother reasoned. "There's a chance that she might burn out faster than our past test subjects after over an hour."

"On the contrary, I think it might mean that she may last longer," her leader refuted.

"If that's the case, then why not have me do it instead?" Mason offered firmly. "The Chemical V in my body might allow me to survive longer than Wendy could. I could even be able to master it."

"And that's exactly why I don't trust you with it," Cobra Commander replied. "Besides, I have another task for you for when we make another play for the Phoenix."

"Then you'll do it without Wendy," Red Talon denied. "She's not going to-"

"I'll do it," Wendy suddenly answered.

Mason and Anastasia were stunned by Wendy's acceptance. Neither of them wanted to see the person they mutually loved harmed by Cobra Commander's mad scheme, but they could see it in Wendy's eyes that she would not be deterred in her desire to take the fight to the League and even the Phoenix that had turned their back on her.

"Wendy, do you understand what your signing up for?" her lover said. "This could kill you!"

"I can handle, Mason, I know I can," Wendy argued. "If the test subjects only lasted an hour, then that can be your window in getting Sailor Mars. Besides, an hour is all I need to take the League down!"

"And what if you don't last an hour?" her mother pointed out. "What if your body burns out faster than the others?"

"If it means I can take out as many heroes as I can, then I'm willing to take the risk," her daughter answered.

"Then it is settled," Cobra Commander said, putting to end to any further argument. "Head Huntress will be our Green Ranger."

With that, Cobra Commander placed the damaged Power Coin in Wendy's hand before handing her a Cobra-shaped morpher Mindbender had built. Mason and Baroness wanted to further protest the matter, but they saw that there was no way of changing her mind at this point. All they could do now was hope that the person they loved would be strong enough to overcome the pain that was soon to come. And should any harm come to her, then they would have Cobra Commander's head for it.

On the other hand, perhaps Mason should be thanking the Commander, for he may have given him the proper tools to put an end to not only the Infinity League but every threat on the planet and bring real peace to the Earth at last. While he was looking through Hotwire's computer, the Red Talon came across an old file of an unused plan that Cobra had discarded. In theory, this plan could end the era of super beings and leave only order in its wake, but the plan was too ambitious even for Cobra Commander. So, it was left forgotten. That was, until Mason came across it. It may take years to even bring to light, but should the Babel Protocols fail, now Mason had a backup plan.

One day, the age of the metahumans would end, thanks to Project: Brother Eye.