Back in the main observatory, the League continued to muse over the situation at hand: several of their founding members had been turned into animals and no one knew how or why it happened. "No way," shouted Booster Gold in disbelief. "There's no way that is Batman!" he said as he pointed to the large wolf standing in front of the other animals.
"Then how do you explain this?" Shayera asked, still holding the bataraang in her hand.
"The mutt could've found it and used it to activate one of the League's teleportation booths," he answered, still unable to wrap his mind around the situation. "This can't be Batman!… He… he's not even a BAT!"
"I don't know," Green Arrow replied as he studied each of the animals one by one, finishing on the black wolf. Its yellow eyes still concentrated in a familiarly emotionless, yet intelligent expression. "That scowl is pretty familiar."
Looking around at the other animals- also waiting for the anxiety to die down- Green Arrow and Vigilante finally put an end to the madness with a proposition of their own.
"Maybe we should get B'wanna Beast and see if he can sort this mess out?" said Vigilante. "He is the expert on critters..."
"Only these aren't just 'critters'," Green Arrow corrected.
"Call in Dr. Fate," ordered Shayera. "He can read their minds and shed some light on this mess." She continued as she turned and looked around the room. "Then we'll know if these guys are who they say they are, and how to handle it."
Not long after, Dr. Fate was contacted and brought to the Watchtower where the outlandish situation was taking place. Upon reaching the infirmary, he studied his subjects and calmly approached the black wolf. Exchanging glances with the creature, he proceeded to kneel before the animal and place his hands on either side of its head. After a few minutes of intense silence, he lowered his hands and rose to his feet as Green Arrow blurted out the question burning in the back of everyone's minds. "Well?" he asked eagerly. "What did you see?"
"Your assumptions were correct," he said calmly, looking back at the group of animals. "This is Batman." Stunned, the others all stared in silence, trying to wrap their minds around the news.
"You gotta be kiddin'?" shouted Vigilante, astounded by the confirmation. "And the-"
"-Your other League members," Fate continued as he pointed towards the other animals.
"No way!" shouted Booster Gold in disbelief.
Shocked, but slightly amused, Green Arrow- now unafraid of the group- stood in front of the wolf- now identified as Batman. Studying his thick black fur, long, muscular legs and confident stance, he exchanged glances with the Dark Knight a moment longer and raised an eyebrow in thought, before looking back to his teammates to voice his opinions. "A wolf," he said observantly. "I have to admit, this is actually what I would expect," he joked. "It suits you," Arrow continued with a smirk, before receiving an irritated growl in response. Awkwardly- and a little fearful- he backed away from Batman, and proceeded down the line of transformed heroes. Stopping at the lion, he briefly studied the beast's above-average size and build before making another I.D.: "Superman?" he said with a smile. "Wonder Woman," he continued in regards to the beautiful leopard as he advanced down the line. Looking at the wily red fox and remembering its jovial greeting with Shayera, it didn't take long for him to identify the cute and friendly creature. "Flash?" he smirked as the fox yipped in response, his plush, red and white tail happily wagging as he looked around at his comrades.
"-Don't tell me," interrupted Shayera as she pushed past her teammates and stood over the clearly embarrassed eagle. "John?" she laughed as she crouched down to get a better look at the bird of prey. Seeing its glowing green eyes, she burst into laughter and began to play with her ex's feathers. "Oh, this is priceless!" she laughed out loud before she stood and turned to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" asked Dr. Fate as she walked toward the hall.
"To find Vixen," she smirked much to Green Lantern's disapproval. "She's got to see this!" Shayera continued as she flew down the hall, leaving the others to ask further questions.
"How did this happen?" asked Vigilante as he knelt in front of Superman, hoping to receive an explanation; but instead of learning what had been done, he was instead informed of what could not be done.
"He cannot answer you," Dr. Fate interjected. "None of them can."
"Why not?" asked Green Arrow.
"They have lost the ability to communicate while in this form. They are able to understand, and they have the answers, but are unable to share them with you."
"Well then how are we supposed to know who's responsible n' how to fix it?" Vigilante asked in frustration. "They can't speak; and it ain't like they can write it down for us to read." he continued as he flexed his fingers in front of his face. "How else do you expect us to get any answers?"
"We could have B'wanna Beast translate for them," Booster Gold suggested as he proceeded to exit the room and find the League's leading animal expert.
"No, that would take too long-"
"-Not to mention be extremely awkward. No offense," Green Arrow mumbled, looking to Lantern and Diana, before he and Vigilante began to argue over how to handle the situation.
"There is another way," Dr. Fate replied. "I could read their minds, collectively, and gather the information necessary to figure out exactly how this happened. Perhaps then, we may possibly even learn how to correct it."
"Sounds good to me," Vigilante responded as he looked around at everyone in the room. After receiving the nod of approval from Superman, he returned his attention to Dr. Fate and replied. "Do what you gotta."
"Alright," Fate replied as he directed the five animals to sit in a circle and close their eyes as he began to chant an eerie mantra, allowing him access into their subconscious to unlock the origins of their predicament...