Stealthily creeping through the empty halls, the Justice League vigilantly searched for a clue as to where they were and how to get out. During their wanderings, the team grew even more confused and determined to get answers as their mysterious symptoms began to intensify. Within an hour of their directionless wandering, the entire team had fallen victim to the loss of their powers, sudden bursts of exhaustion, and the odd and excessive growth of body hair. Remaining wary of any signs of security or surveillance, they continued to press on in their search for an exit.
As they moved on, Batman paused for a moment and looked ahead of the group in deep thought. "Batman?" Wonder Woman asked in concern as she watched her friend tensely flex his hands in pain before pushing his now chin-length hair out of his face and massage his eyes- tentatively minding the positioning of his fingers.
"Give me one of those syringes," he grumbled, his voice sounding deeper and more grainy than usual- like the growl of a large dog. Obediently, Flash handed him one of the half-full syringes; but as the Dark Knight reached forward for the object, Flash felt his heart stop in shock at the sight of his friend's gloves- the fingertips torn open by Bruce's razor-sharp nails. Ignoring his expression, Batman took the syringe and held it close to his face in closer examination. "We have to find a lab for further examination," he declared, still holding the needle in his hand. "I need to find out what's in this and what it's for. Maybe then I'll be able to reverse its effects," he paused and put a hand to his head. "Or at least create a suppressant to keep whatever's going on at bay until we get out of here."
"Works for me," replied Green Lantern while uncomfortably scratching and fidgeting with his back and forearms. The excessive scratching and squirming continued, as Green Lantern aggressively pushed his sleeves up, and series of small brown and grey flurries floated down from his arms, and landed at the team's feet. Curious, Wonder Woman bent down and plucked one of the oddly familiar entities from the ground and held it up for further study.
"Is that what I think it is?" commented Flash as Wonder Woman opened her hand and allowed the others to gawk at the little brown feather that had fallen from their teammate's arm.
"That came off of me?" exclaimed Green Lantern as he began to prod and study his arms in shock.
"That's it," said a shocked Flash. "Let's hurry up and find out what's in that pink ooze so Bats can get to work on an antidote."
"Agreed," added Superman as his attention was directed to what appeared to be the sound of footsteps turning down the corridor. Knowing that they were clearly at a disadvantage without their powers, and, with these odd symptoms, their handicap would only be exploited, the League sneakily hid in a nearby cell and watched from the shadows as Giganta and Cheetah casually walked past in the middle of a conversation.
"...Well I know it's not what Grodd wanted, but Lex insisted that I alter the serum," explained Cheetah as she conversed with Giganta. "Not that I'm choosing sides or anything, but Lex's choice of final outcomes does do them some justice."
"Yeah," agreed Giganta giddily. "Flash really is a fox!" She joked as she affectionately placed her hand over her heart. Playfully the two women pushed one another and continued to giggle as they walked down the hall. Once they'd turned the corner and walked out of site, the team left their hiding place to continue their escape, but only after analyzing the women's words.
"Well, not my first pick for a crush... but I do like tall women," said Flash with a cheeky grin.
"Well at least now we know who's behind all of this," commented Green Lantern matter-o-factly.
"And I'll bet this is the 'serum' they were talking about," said Superman as he held up one of the syringes.
"Yeah, but what did they mean by 'final outcome'?" asked Wonder Woman as she looked down at the various spots and speckles on her arms and legs. "You mean this isn't the end of it?"
"They must be heading back to our cells," Lantern observed as he followed the women's direction with his eyes.
"Then we'd better hurry," ordered Superman as he made his way in the opposite direction. "Once they realize we're not there, they could sound-" before he could finish, bright lights began to flash red, and a howling alarm blared through the halls. Immediately, the group ran down the hall, catching their foes off guard as they blasted through them in search of the headquarters' lab. After several minutes of evading recapture and fighting off attacks, Flash spotted a door leading to a large chrome room filled with scientific charts and medical equipment.
"Found it!" he shouted as he held the door open and allowed his friends to enter before closing the door in hopes that they hadn't been seen. Immediately, Batman leapt to the nearest computer and began to hack into its system in an attempt to crack the code of the mystery serum inside the syringe. Within minutes, he'd managed to locate a series of files which appeared to have something to do with the mysterious pink liquid at the center of this mess.
"Well?" asked Superman as he diligently stood behind his friend, trying to follow the various formulas and equations as they flashed and changed on the screen. "What is it?"
"Some type of splicing agent," Batman replied, his eyes glued to the main screen while his clawed, black fingernails aggressively stabbed at the keyboard.
"Splicing?" Lantern asked in confusion. "You mean, like DNA?"
"Only one problem," Batman said as he pulled up a series of alleles and DNA sequences. "This isn't normal DNA; not human anyway..."
"Then what is it?" Superman impatiently interjected; but before he could receive an answer, the sound of angrily shouting voices approached the door.
"There's no time," Batman shouted as he punched in a series of buttons and ran to a nearby chemical hood to remove five small vials, brimming with a fizzy orange substance. "Here," he said as he handed each of his teammates a vile and an empty syringe. "There's no time to completely analyze and reverse the serum, but I've managed to find a way to temporarily freeze its affects," he explained as he filled his syringe and injected its contents into his arm. Suddenly, there was a banging at the door outside as the Legion of Doom began to force their way inside. Immediately, Superman and the others filled their syringes and followed Batman's lead as they administered his suppressant.
Discarding their needles, the team quickly assumed a defensive stance as the door blasted open and the swarm of raging villains charged their captives. The fight was intense, albeit brief as, with the home advantage, the Legion quickly overpowered their prisoners and brought them before their arch enemies: Gorilla Grodd and Lex Luthor.
"Well now," sighed the great ape, clearly amused by his captives' disheveled appearances. "Trying to escape were we?" At first there was no response as the five heroes simply glared up their foe hatefully. "I must admit, I didn't expect any of you to make it this far," he paused and spitefully examined the blotches and spots that littered Wonder Woman's body, "Looking like this anyway..."
"What are you talking about?" Wonder Woman hissed in anger. "What have you done to us?" she shouted as she struggled to get out of her bindings and attack the primate.
"Never mind that," the simian crime lord cooed sadistically. "Though I must admit, I didn't expect the effects of my mutagen to take this long," he sighed mockingly, sneering at the thick white coat of hair that enveloped Superman's face, and looking Batman's eyes, now glowing an eerie yellow, through his cowl. "Trust me when I say, you'll find out soon enough..." He promised, unaware of the suppressant Batman had just administered to his teammates. "You people have always been inferior. I'm simply correcting Nature's evident flaw... Soon, you five will all succumb to the true, lesser beings you really are!"
"Dude, you are one sick monkey," commented Flash, much to his adversary's disgust; but instead of indulging in the Scarlet Speedster's taunting, Grodd confidently turned away and allowed Lex to give the final orders in regards to the League's fate.
"Throw them back in their cells!" he shouted arrogantly. "Keep them apart, and this time-" he paused and sneered at Batman spitefully, "Confine them properly..." Without another word, the five were hauled off and directed back towards their cells. As they walked forward, the team, eyes directed forward in deep thought as they plotted their next move, marched down the hall in silence. As they arrived at the first cell, all was silent as Wonder Woman was pushed inside and made to face the wall as Giganta prepared her handcuffs, chained against the wall in the far corner.
"Come on Princess," the villainess teased. "We're all ready for you!" At first, Diana didn't reply, and remained still in the corner. "What, did Grodd's mutagen mess with your hearing?" Giagnta grumbled as she approached the warrior. "I said-" the gargantuan gal was cut short as she fell to the ground in response to a sudden blow to the face. Once she'd been taken down, Wonder Woman leapt over her foe and dashed out of the cell, where she found she was just in time to prevent Green Lantern from being led to his prison. Once she had helped him overpower his escort, they continued to liberate their friends until they were all able to make their way back the Legion's control room. Hurriedly they rushed down the halls, ignoring the crippling pains and dizziness that plagued them as Batman's suppressant began to wear off.
Mere feet from the main control room, the team ignored the booming sound of Lex's furious shouts ringing through the halls. "You morons let them escape again!?" he shouted, before grumbling to himself about how clear it was that he'd have to handle the matter on his own. Weakly staggering into the room, the League searched dizzily for their means of escape. Finally, Green Lantern pointed out the building's transport system and led the way to the machine. Ignoring the sounds of footsteps and shouts swiftly approaching, the group climbed on the transporter's floor while Batman punched in their coordinates- his hands, engulfed in thick black hair and his jagged, clawed nails, made the task difficult as he struggled to enter the final few coordinates. As the sound of shouts and approaching footsteps rose, Batman finalized their destination and- weakly crawling on all his hands and knees- dragged himself to the transportation pad beside his friends. Just as the door blasted open, the team managed to activate the transporter and escape the Legion of Doom before they could be captured a second time. With a final flash of light and a low buzzing, the transporter carried its passengers- weakened and on their knees, as Grodd's mutagen finally took effect- to their new destination, leaving Lex Luthor and his minions to angrily gawk at their captives' escape.