As promised, I have given you all this month's chapter. Just to let you know, this chapter is somewhat filler, mainly used to show the relations between Ezekiel and the rest of the Team. Worry not, though, for Santa Prisca is next! Now, onto the reviews.

johnymike98: Glad to hear that you're interested in seeing what's next. All I can say for the next chapter is that it's where canon starts to get shaken up. Besides that? Spoilers!

Oxygen Destroyer 1954: Y'know what? I like that name! It's canon now.

Death Fury: Well, he has Oceania (Overflow from the reboot), so he already has an aquatic alien unless you're talking appearance wise.

RedBurningDragon: His Martian form is more like Atomix (Combo platter powers + Natural personality = Recipe for disaster) than Alien X (Too Dangerous to use unless there's literally no other option). Also, probably should state this now, but Ultimate Aliens aren't going to be a thing here. I'm not really a fan, so there's point to it.

Raidentensho: Well, Rath's not currently in the plans, so it will be a long while before his debut appears. Also, neither Stargirl nor Wonder Girl will be paired with Chimera (Stargirl because I don't know her well enough to write her with confidence, Wonder Girl because the age differences makes it uncomfortable [Ezekial's 18 during Team Year Zero, while Cassie's 8-9]) Also, Connor's Blue Sun Suit will debut next chapter, so there's that.

Mount Justice

July 20th, 2010 21:28 EDT

So, here I am, pacing in the cave because I wanted to do something superhero related (even if it's just hanging out with fellow heroes in civvies). Now, you may be wondering why I'm not out on patrol by myself right now? The answer to that question is fairly simple: I'm more or less benched from all public patrols since yesterday due to using CheMystery to make a chemoweapon that only affected people with narcotics in their system while I was fighting the Snowflame Drug Cartel.

Long story short, until the League's legal and public relations departments can deal with my one count of 'accidental chemical warfare' by turning it into a legal precedent for future superheroes (something Batman's been aiming to do for a while, curiously enough), I can only fight crime publicly under the request of the CCPD or under Leaguer supervision. And despite wanting to vent by beating up muggers and the occasional supervillain, I can't do that today because the CCPD didn't call me and the two League Lanterns are off planet dealing with the Spider Guild, whoever they are.

Hence me pacing in the cave. With nothing better to do, I figured I would drop in and participate in whatever activity would spontaneously happen while I'm there. After all, I'm probably the most normal of the group due to being from a different universe, and even I have my quirks if you look closely.

Right now, I'm in the cave's common room walking behind the couch where Wally seems to be channel surfing. He stops for a second before dropping the remote and leans back on the couch.

"Hey Zeke, you want to watch some television together?" I stop pacing to see Wally looking at me like a friend giving another friend something to do. Thank god, because I am bored as hell.

"Eh, sure." I shrug my shoulders a bit. "Pop Culture here is much different than my home's. Knowing a bit here and there helps me get by in my civilian life. Not to mention, I need to take my mind off things."

"Glad to hear it! Just let me get a pizza and we'll be good to go!" With a sudden blur moving from the couch before moving back, Wally comes with seven Pizza boxes and a few sodas and sets them on the couch.

I look at the excessive food brought over for what I assume is for our channel surfing session. "...I don't need anything to eat. And if I did, I wouldn't need that much."

Wally dismisses my concerns with a wave of his hand. "Oh, this? This is just for me. I burn several hundred calories an hour by sitting."

"Have you seen somebody about that?" Didn't the Flash Family manage to figure out a way to bypass their hunger limitation through various means?

"I asked both Flashes and they said that they managed to get rid of the metabolism problem a few weeks after they got their powers." How does that even work?

"Just how does that happen? I may have not taken any Biology classes since I was in the ninth grade nor do I know much about genetics, but there is no way changes to your metabolism are going to be temporary when it's the result of mutations."

"I know." A somewhat dejected Wally tells me before continuing with "Look man, can we not talk about this right now?"

"I won't continue with this conversation now, but we are continuing it someday."

A smile crosses Wally's face. "Thanks, you're the best."

"Well, spending time with the rest of the team is practically parenting in itself."

An offended expression appears on Wally's face. "Hey!"

I hold my hands in a 'don't-continue-it' gesture. "Kidding!" before muttering under my breath "Only somewhat."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Wally shifts his eyes to look at me. "Whatever you say. So, are we going to begin or what?"

"Yeah sure."

With the press of a button, the TV flashes to life from a static filled channel. Before I manage to get comfortable, Wally grabs a slice of pizza and starts flicking through the channels.

A Star Trek-esque show appears on the screen. "Seen it."

A costume drama appears. "Seen it."

A stereotypical nature documentary with a british narrator appears. "Seen it."

An anime based off of the Justice League appears. "Seen it."

The G. Gordon Godfrey show appears, talking about, of all things, chemical regulations, presumably as a result of my actions fueling the man's anti-cape bias. "Don't want to see it."

What appears to be the Walking Dead pops up. "Boring."

A financial channel appears. "Don't own any stocks."

A TV infomercial appears. "Already got a Slap Chop."

The title screen for The Mistborn Trilogy (whatever that is) pops up. "Seen it."

The Lord of The Rings (with different actors? I never saw the films, only read the book) comes up. "Seen it."

A cartoon about an orange robot appears. "Seen it."

Wally turns to me. "I can't believe we get six hundred channels and there's nothing on."

"That's because you're flicking through the channels without actually watching what's on."

"Well yeah, but that's to be expected from a speedster. I can see faster than most humans."

"Well, I can't. I'm still a baseline human if I'm not transformed."

A look that could be best summed up as 'How-did-I-forget-about-that?' appears on Wally's face. "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about that."

"How? As far as I can tell, you live with normal parents."

"How do you know that?"

"I guessed. I thought that your parents were either normal human beings or your dad was The Flash."

"Why do you think that my dad's the Flash?"

"Well, you both have super speed and you two act like you're related, not to mention you have a weaker version of his powers and the both of you are science wizards with a tendency to joke around."

A 'I-just-realized-why-that's a thing' look crosses Wally's face. "Okay, now I see why people think that my dad's the Flash."

I turn my head around and I see M'gann walking around with a copy of Ray Bradburry's Martian Chronicles. Just as I begin formulating a plan to talk to her without letting Wally know of her presence until it's too late, Wally moves his head to see what I'm looking at.

"Hey, why'd you stop talk-" Without another word said, Wally zooms to M'gann and begins another pickup attempt with a cocky grin on his mouth. "Hey there."

M'gann looks up from her book with a smile. "Oh. Hello, Wally."

"Hey! Are you busy?...Uhhh….I mean….What's going on?"

M'gann, completely oblivious to Wally's flirting, responds as honestly as she can. "Not much. I was just going to make a sandwich. Would you like one?"

Wally scratches the back of his neck. "Oh. No, thanks. Besides, I pretty much cleaned out everything that was in here anyway." Wally stops scratching his neck and M'gann puts her book behind her. "Which reminds me, somebody-not naming names-" Wally turns to me (come on man, it's not my turn to buy groceries for the cave today. I checked!) before turning to M'gann "needs to go shopping. You got any plans for tonight?"

M'gann replies with "No. I was just planning to hang around the cave tonight."

"Oh, really? That's cool!" Oh my god, just ask her out! "Hey, uh… here's an idea. Do you, like, want to go to the movies?"

"Sure. I would love to! But… I don't have any money!"

"Oh. Me neither." Wally then goes into a pose imitating surfing. Oh my god his attempts at seducing M'gann are just so awkward they become entertaining. "How about surfing? Do you want to go surfing? You and I can hit the waves, I could teach you how to surf Kid Flash style!"

"Wouldn't it be better in the daytime?"

"Oh, I guess you're right. Probably too dark out."

An awkward pause ensures as Wally thinks of ways to attract M'gann while I'm here feeling the tension that's thick as steel. Before it grows too tense for me to cut it down like a chainsaw through an overused cliche, the metaphorical lightbulb flashes in Wally's brain.

"There's a full moon out tonight. Want to sit outside and look at the stars?"

"Oh, that sounds nice."

"Great! We can build a fire and everything."

"Oh! A fire?" M'gann asks in her naive tone of voice.

"Yeah, you know, a nice roaring campfire…" Wally covers his face with his mouth as he realizes his mistake. "Oh, wait, sorry, I forgot."

M'gann holds her hands out in a somewhat reassuring pose. "No, it's okay. As long as I don't have to sit too close."

"Great! Tonight would be perfect! We can roast marshmallows and everything!"

"Marshmallows? I never had a marshmallow before!"

"If you think marshmallows are exciting, we can make s'mores. Y'know, with crackers, chocolate and stuff."

"I've heard of them but never had one. Can we make one?"

"What do you think?"

"Yes!"

"Great!"

"Oh! This is going to be so very exciting!"

Wally runs off into the cave. "Give me a few minutes and I'll grab some things and then we'll go!"

And with that, Wally's out of sight, out of mind. While he gathers the camping supplies, M'gann floats to me and begins talking. "Hey Ezekial? Would you like to come camping with us?"

"Sure. Been a few years since I went camping with my family." I nod my head as if remembering something. "Well, about a decade, give or take several years. And that's me not counting cabins as a part of that."

"Ah!" And with my positive response, M'gann pulls out her phone, much to my curiosity.

"Excuse me M'gann, but what are you doing?"

"Oh! I'm sending a message in the group chat asking if anybody wants to come."

"Ah. Well, go ahead. The more the merrier." And with that, I motion to her with my arm before getting up from the couch and readjusting my jacket. A few seconds later, I hear the ever so familar vworp vworp vworp that is my phone's notification sound, and I see M'gann's invitation in the group chat.

Extraterrestial (M'gann): Hey guys, does anybody want to go camping tonight?

Birdbrain: Sure! But what brought this on?

Extraterrestial: Wally invited me to go camping with him.

Birdbrain: Say no more, I'm in.

Icarus (Connor): I'll join if it means that I get to experience something new.

Hero Time (Me): Glad to hear it! Also, been meaning to ask this for a while: when did you get a cell phone?

Icarus: A few days ago from Batman. Why do you ask?

Hero Time: I could've got you one on the same plan that I'm using if you asked.

Icarus: Oh.

Posideon (Kaldur): Let us return to the main topic of conversation. Speaking of which, I will join the campfire.

Extraterrestial: Great! When will you come to the kitchen (in the cave)?

Birdbrain: Gotta change into civves and tell Batman where I am.

Poseidon: I will be heading down to the kitchen with Connor as we speak.

A few seconds wait is all we need as Kaldur and Connor in their civvies arrive from one side of the room and Robin in his civvies arrives from the other side. "So, where's the walking human aster?"

I raise my eyebrow in response. "If you mean Wally, he's gathering supplies for the upcoming camping trip."

Connor opens his mouth. In response to his unspoken question, I go "It's because we need food and a place to sleep for camping. Camping is spending some time in the wilderness without modern amenities after all." and Connor closes his mouth, satisfied with the answer.

Just as we finish up the small talk, Wally arrives with his eyes closed, announcing his plans to flirt with M'gann. As he takes a good look at us, a surprised "...just the two of us?" is the only thing that comes out of his mouth.

Robin tilts his head a bit, as if inspecting the goods Wally brought. "We're gonna need a lot more stuff than that if we're gonna go camping!"

M'gann raises her arm in a flourish to motion to us. "I hope you don't mind, I invited all the others to join in the fun with the s'mores!"

A dejected look crosses Wally's face, though he tries to hide it. "It's no biggie."

And with that, I clap my hands together. "Alright, shall we get going?"

Robin smirks. "We shall."

I continue the friendly teasing with "Lead the way." A groan and a "Follow me." is all we get as a response from Wally.

Within five minutes, we find a spot in the woods and set up the necessary equipment. The spot itself is perfect: a small patch of grass with nothing else growing out of it, making it ideal for a campfire. As we begin enjoying the experience, Robin speaks up. "This was a great idea, don't you think Wally? Camping in the great outdoors!"

"I don't remember inviting you. Besides, I didn't say anything about camping. I said a campfire. Big difference between just a campfire and the whole camping thing. I don't like camping outside…" Wally's eyes darted to M'gann. "Unless of course I'm camping with that special someone."

"Dude, kinda bordering on creepy."

I butt in with my own two cents. "And a bit concerning that you wouldn't go camping unless you're with that 'special someone'. What, are you afraid of the dark?"

Wally nods his head. "No, not really."

A M'gann on a sugar high suddenly shouts out "Well, I think all of us camping is a wonderful idea!"

I glance at the hyperactive Martian. "M'gann, you should probably cut down on the s'mores." Which reminds me, aren't Martians addicted to a chemical in Chocos? Need to clear that up with Martian Manhunter and put it on the 'Do not buy' list for groceries. After setting up such a list, of course.

"Just after this one. Thank you for teaching about s'mores by the way, Wally!"

"Heh, what can I say? I'm a sweetie!" and with that, I groan at the pun. "Hey!"

"What did you expect from us?" I reply. "That was a dad-worthy pun you just made."

Connor looks at us confused. "'Dad-worthy pun?,"

"Most dads are known to have a bad sense of humor. Hence, dad-worthy pun."

"Ah."

Just as soon as we end the three way squabble, Connor motions around the little camp we have. "So, this is what you do when you go camping? Sleep in these flimsy things called tents and sit around the fire?"

As always, Wally is the first one to speak up. "Yeah, that's pretty much it so if you feel like heading home I can sit out here with Miss M...alone."

Robin smirks. "You're as subtle as a trainwreck, you know that?"

Oh, this is on. I smirk as well, seeing what Robin's thinking. "And as dense as the Titanic."

"Really, guys?" Wally asks us. "Do you really think I don't have any chemistry with her?"

As bluntly as we can, Robin and I respond with "Yes." simultaneously.

"Gahh, why do I hang out with you two?!"

"Because we're some of the only ones you can relate to? Or maybe it's because of the fact that you're one of our fans?" I cheekily respond.

Robin looks at me and says, "That's pretty much why. Though I'm curious as to why he's one of your fans."

"I turn into aliens. Unless you've got a horrible sense of what's cool or just hate superheroes, you're likely one of my fans."

M'gann asks me "How does freezing temperatures relate to you?"

"'Cool' in this context means 'impressive'."

"Oh. Well, that explains a lot. Uncle J'onn isn't great at Earth slang."

"Go figure."

Before we continue on our conversation about slang, Connor speaks up. "So, what are we going to do around the campfire?"

I respond to the question. "Usually we tell stories."

M'gann turns her head and cheerfully perks up. "Oh, I would love to hear your story, Kaldur. Could you tell us how you became Aqualad?"

The fire catches its reflection in Robin's sunglasses, with Robin using this moment to speak. "Personally, I was thinking more of a ghost story type of thing but I guess...whatever."

I do a facepalm at the mere thought of fighting Robin in a ghost story contest before pointing out "You'll kill it at ghost stories. For the love of God, you live in Gotham City, the stereotypical noir setting where there's criminals practically every corner."

"Point made."

Kaldur takes a look around. "I suppose I could tell my story if you do not think it will be too boring."

"Not at all! I would love to hear it!" M'gann excitedly proclaims. I find myself silently agreeing with M'gann, as the only version of Kaldur I'm familiar with is the DC Rebirth version, and even then, they're practically two different people due to the different upbringings.

Kaldur begins the story in his best storyteller voice. "Well, I grew up in the city of Shayeris, which is in Atlantis. Many surface dwellers think Atlanteans are all the same, but our kingdoms have many cities, many people, many cultures.

When I was twelve, I completed my education and began my mandatory service in the Atlantean military, which is standard for all at that age. After a while I was transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Sorcery in the Atlantean capital of Posedionis. Queen Mera is the Headmistress of the conservatory and wife of King Orin, Aquaman.

It was a very… different time for me. It was difficult, as it would be for anyone at age fourteen I suppose, but also a time in my life where I met friends that I know will be with me for a lifetime.

Then came a day, a horrible day when Posideonis was attacked by the Ocean Master. I can remember it vividly, as if it only happened yesterday. It was the day Aquaman nearly met his end.

Aquaman and Ocean Master fought for what seemed like hours. When Aquaman and Ocean Master clashed, it seemed to shake the very foundations of the city. Ocean Master had gained the upper hand and nearly defeated Aquaman."

Kaldur pauses for a hot minute almost as if he was dreading what was about to come out of his mouth. "Correction. Aquaman was defeated.

Garth, a fellow student,"-and the first Aqualad in most, if not all, other universes besides the ones that are related to this one-"and I intervened on the king's behalf. It was the only thing we could think of doing. The danger did not occured to us, the only thing that mattered to us at the time was that our king was in trouble.

It may have been one of the most foolish things Garth and I have ever done, as we nearly met our own end. We had no hope of defeating him whatsoever, but the time we spent engaged in battle against the Ocean Master was time enough for our king to recover." Passion starts to grow in Kaldur's voice. "That was all he needed as Aquaman finally triumphed over the Ocean Master! He was able to drive him away from the city and save us all!"

The passion dies down as Kaldur takes a more reflective tone. "Aquaman is a being of two worlds. On the surface, he fights for justice for all beings. Under the sea, he is a leader to many. Both carry the weight of his responsibilities, overwhelming responsibilities only even the best of men can carry for so long. Even Aquaman cannot do both forever. Realizing that both Batman and Green Arrow had taken on apprentices"-the last word stressed like it's censoring something that shouldn't be said in polite company- "that could one day take over their respective mantles, King Orin had been contemplating the same idea.

With this in mind, he approached both Garth and myself with the possibility of being his proteges.

I must admit the possibility intrigued me immediately. I had never been to the surface world. And I am the first to admit that I am a bit of an adventurer. Many is the day in class I would dream of visiting distant oceans and possibly one day even the surface world. Both Garth and I seriously considered the King's offer. Garth ultimately chose to continue his studies with Queen Mera at the Conservatory of Sorcery. For me, however, the chance to visit the surface world was a dream come true.

I miss my friends. Garth. Tula…. But the chance to work with my mentor and king was not an opportunity I could not pass up. I like to think that the work that I am doing makes a difference. The rest of the story you know. Aquaman brought Aqualad to the surface world… and now I am here with you."

An amazed M'gann asks "Wow, so you wanted to be Aqualad?"

"Yes. The opportunity arose. I could think of no better path."

I decided to chip in my own two cents. "To be fair, not quite what I expected, but I still want more. What happened to Ocean Master?"

"Ocean Master managed to flee somehow. Even to this day, Atlantis still lives in fear for his next attack." Does Aquaman know Ocean Master is secretly his traitorious half-brother Orm? I'll have to bring it up next time I see him.

"Yikes. Really hope you'll find him. Now, does anybody else want to share your origins?"

Wally raises his hand. "I do! If you think he wanted to be Aqualad so bad, let me tell you how I got started."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"It literally goes back a couple of generations...Each generation of Flash started with a bang! Literally! Jay Garrick was in a freak lab accident. Boom! There it is! During the 40s and 50s he was everywhere! The Fastest Man Alive! Jay Garrick was the world's first Flash!

Then one day this guy comes along, a huge fan of The Flash, wanting to know all about Jay Garrick-back in those days Jay didn't really care about his identity. He contacts Jay and the two spend hours talking about his adventures and the accident that turned him into the Flash. This guy even goes so far as to recreate the accident that created the original. But where Jay Garrick's accident was a total freak thing, this guy recreated the accident under laboratory conditions. He set the whole thing up in a lab and tried to make it happen! Result? Still a big explosion! But lo and behold! He becomes speed itself! Now he's the Flash! Well, the second one."

At this point Wally begins rambling. "I mean, there's the Jay Garrick Flash and then there's the new Flash. Y'know, it just occurred to me that they could probably use different names. Anyway…this time he's even faster than Flash, well, the old Flash...it gave him even more speed."

Wally moves his hands around like he just doesn't care. "Okay, so check this! The second Flash is a fan of the first Flash-Jay Garrick. It turns out great minds think alike, because I was a fan of the Flash-the second one, not the first one." Wally scratches his neck for a bit before getting back on track. "Well, I am a fan of Jay Garrick, the first one after I got to know him better. He was a little before my time.

Long story short, One day I was in my uncle's house, stumbled across his notebooks and got the shock of a lifetime! That was the day I found out my uncle was The Flash! Once the shock passed a bit, I kept reading. He was keeping a journal of all his experiences and experiments! Especially the one that made him The Flash, the second one, not the first-"

Robin interrupts with a much needed "We get it already!"

Wally continues his story without missing a beat. "When I found that out, I would keep on hinting to my uncle that The Flash could maybe use a partner. I tried to convince him that Flash could use and probably need a partner. I mean come on, by this time Bats already had Robbie over here and Green Arrow had Speedy! This was a no brainer! I've got to admit, Flash was a bit resistant at first."

Connor asks "Does this sound confusing to anyone else?"

I respond with "Yeah."

"Just let me finish and neither of you will be confused no more. So, having seen his journal with notes on how to recreate the experiment just like the previous Flash's, I try to recreate the experiment myself with my own chemistry set. And what do you know? I was able to do it!" There's no way that it would have been perfect. In fact, now that I think of it, that's why Wally's slower than normal.

I get interrupted from my thoughts by Kaldur asking "The experiment actually worked?"

"Well...Not at first, actually." Wally goes quiet, presumably at the unintentional grief his family had from his actions. "I spent a week in the hospital. Once I recovered, I waited for my powers to appear. It didn't happen at first, but a couple of weeks later, I was off and running. I couldn't wait to show Flash! When he saw that I had powers, how could he not want me as a partner? You guys should have seen his face when I showed him! This time he jumped at the chance to have a partner!" Given Wally's issues over his speed and what I'm getting, I highly doubt that's what happened given that Flash wouldn't want a liability unless he had control.

"Flash was beyond ecstatic and couldn't wait to show the world! It was the greatest day in the history of the world! Why, you ask?"

"Just for the record, we didn't." And with that, Robin smirks.

"That's the day the world got Kid Flash! You. Are. Welcome."

Everybody except for Wally stops whatever they were doing and adopts a 'you're-kidding-me' look.

Robin snarks at Wally. "Yeah, we're all thrilled you're so speed capable."

"What's the matter? Jealous?"

"Sheeyeah, right! Jealous of you?"

Before the bickering between the Bolsterous Bromance can continue, M'gann asks "Can you tell us how you got started, Robin?"

And with that, the mood of the Boy Wonder turns sour as Wally laughs, snorts and mimics the iconic pointy ears of Batman using his fingers. "Are you kidding me? Bats won't even let him tell you his real name!" Wally breaks out laughing again before continuing with "We'll probably get a better response from Connor here."

"But we were there. Unless he has memories from before our rescue, he doesn't have any memories to share."

Connor hesitantly speaks up. "I have some memories… from the G-Gnomes. It would teach me about the world outside while I was in the containment pod."

"So you can remember things? When you were in the containment pod they would feed you information and you could remember it, right?"

"I guess so."

"Well, if you can remember what they taught you, you must've been thinking about things as they fed you information. What did you think about?"

"When I was in the containment pod, I was fed...information." Information drawn out like it's something he fears. Connor continues with "I really didn't start thinking for myself until after I got out."

M'gann asks the one thing on all of our minds. "Well, what kind of things do you think about now?"

We all wait for an answer. "The one thing...that's always on my mind...is killing Superman."

We all panic for a bit as the statement knocks our trains of thought off the rails (except for Robin, who was somewhat distracted). Once we regain our bearings, Wally asks Robin (who I'm pretty sure was reflecting on his origin story in his own head) "Robin, did you hear what he said?" After a few seconds waiting, Wally restates with added emphasis "Did you hear what Connor said?"

"Hunh? What?"

"He just said he wants to take down Superman!"

M'gann turns her head slowly to Connor. "Are you serious?" When no reply is given, a "Connor?" escapes M'gann's lips.

"...It's how I feel...sometimes."

"You're not really helping your case, Connor." I tell the closest thing to my younger brother.

Before I can muse on what Conner means to me family wise, Connor broods on. "What if that's why I was created? What if that was the only reason I was created?"

M'gann shouts out "That's not possible!"

"Yeah, look at all the good stuff you've done so far!" Wally exclaims.

Kaldur tries to play armchair psychiatrist with "What would be the possible reasoning behind this thinking?"

"I just feel…" Connor presumably fails to put his feelings into words as he continues with "I don't know what I feel. Sometimes...thoughts happen."

A well-meaning but somewhat naive "Those would be silly thoughts! You should put them out of your head." from M'gann seems to calm Connor down.

Wally grabs a s'more, walks up to Connor and motivates him with "Yeah! You put those thoughts out of your head, Con! Here. Have another s'more!"

Robin, presumably reflecting from experience, tells us "He does have a valid point. We really don't know anything about what they did to him yet."

Wally, holding a s'more, points out what Connor should be focusing on. "We know he's one of the good guys and we know he's part of the team!"

"In my experience, actions speak louder than words. Connor has proven his intentions with actions." Kaldur wisely informs us.

I shrug my shoulders. "Look, I'd be a bit of a jerk if I said somebody with incredible powers and a troubled past who wants to be a hero would do something wrong of their own free will."

"Thanks...everyone." And with that, Connor walks from the fire and eats his s'more while Wally walks up to Robin. "Hey, what's with you? Not like you to zone out like that."

"I guess Superboy isn't the only one lost in thought tonight."

We spend the next few minutes brooding in front of the campfire before I speak up with "If everybody else is done sulking, perhaps I can share my backstory." The statement above immediately shifts the general mood to happiness as M'gann goes "I would love to hear your backstory!" which is supported by cheers from everybody else sans our Kryptonian.

"Well then, I guess I should begin with the official, Justice League supported origin is very loosely based on a true story with some falsehoods thrown in and that I'm using some of the Omnitrix's history provided by the Omnitrix itself for this story. It's unnecessary but needed and wanted for some context.

First of all, I was not born on this Earth. In my universe, there's no superpowers, no aliens, no magic, no superscience, none of that jazz. The closest thing we have are a bunch of untrained vigilantes who spend more time doing charitable acts of good like helping the homeless instead of actually fighting crime. With that said, you may be wondering how I got the Omnitrix if aliens never existed.

You see, the Omnitrix is from an alternate reality that's different from both of ours where alien life flourishes outside of that universe's equivalent of our Solar System with over a million species, each species having different powers from others. Among these alien species are the Galvan, who hold the undisputed claim of being the smartest anywhere you go. And before you ask, Brainstorm is a Cerebrocrustacean."

I put on my best storyteller voice before continuing with "Among these Galvan is the First Thinker Azmuth, who's called that due to being a supergenius without peer, even amongst his fellow Galvan. One day, he decided to create the Omnitrix in response to his previous Magnum Opus; Ascalon, a sword he created when struck by inspiration that harnessed the power of the universe to do magnificent things.

Seeing as how one swing from Ascalon destroyed an entire planet, Azmuth became repulsed as to what he had done, which was further fuelled by Zennith, his greatest love left him when she saw what he was creating.

Wanting to redeem himself and show Zennith that he had changed, he created a device that allowed a member of a sapient species to transform into members of other sapient species. Naming this device the Omnitrix, Azmuth intended for it to act as a peacekeeping tool where the user would 'step into the shoes of others' so to speak.

However, all was not perfect. Where Azmuth saw a peacekeeping tool, others saw a weapon. In a desperate hope to prevent the Omnitrix from falling into the wrong hands, it was sent to Earth. But in the process of doing so, something happened and the Omnitrix was sent to my Earth.

Enter me. I was an eighteen year antisocial college student who didn't really have much going for him at the time. When the Omnitrix arrived in my universe, it chose me based on a program scanning for 'Best user given motivation and opportunity' because it needed a user, even an unwilling one, to activate all of it's potential. So it strapped itself to my wrist while I was sleeping and teleported me to a random forest near Gotham City. However, because of the haphazard method of multiversal travel, some of my memories were overwritten by knowledge of this universe.

When I woke up, I found that I was in an unfamiliar universe knowing things that man should not know with a ridiculously advanced piece of technology on my wrist. Upon processing what happened, I activated the Omnitrix for the first of many transformations and I ran into Gotham City, fighting crime for all of 11 minutes." Memories of the one person who I failed to save during my first night fighting crime flashes through my mind briefly before I resume my story.

"As I was pondering my options for finding a place to stay, I was knocked out by Batman and taken to the Batcave where I was interrogated by all of the founders of the League sans Flash and Aquaman once I regained consciousness. I told them my story and they helped set me up with a new life under the condition that I became the protege of Green Lantern-the one who has a secret identity. And that's how I'm here."

Once I finish my story, I turn to my captive audience who react with various levels of surprise.

Wally speaks up first with "How are you even coping with all that?"

"I have Black Canary as a League provided therapist. Not to mention, I get to beat up criminals as a way to destress. Or got to, after the whole incident with CheMystery and the Snowflame Cartel." At the looks I get from the others, I answer their unspoken question. "It's on several newspapers and superhero dedicated websites due to both my part in it and the League's attempt at creating a law for chemistry themed superheroes. Just look up the Snowflame Cartel when you have the chance."

This time, M'gann asks a question. "How many aliens can you turn into right now?"

"Thirteen so far, but I'm only allowed to use twelve of them regularly."

"Why can't you use all thirteen?" A curious Kaldur asks.

"As I said on the day of the Mister Twister fiasco, the thirteenth alien is my Martian form, which I'm not allowed to turn into because of it reacting weirdly with the Omnitrix." As in, the Omnitrix doesn't sense the weakness to fire all Martians have as being natural. "Unless I get permission from a League founder, The Team's leader-who cannot be me-, or if the situation is worse off without me turning into it, I cannot turn into my Martian form."

"Is Ezekial your real name?" A paranoid-fuelled Robin asks.

"It's on my birth certificate." Granted, the birth certificate I have isn't my original one, but the point still stands.

"Are you hiding something?" Connor bluntly states.

"I am, and I'll tell you what that is once I feel like you won't reject me for it. And no, it's not something that would betray you all. It's classified, yes, but it won't kill you all. The League founders, Lantern Stewart and Black Canary already know what it is, but don't bug them." Probably Robin too, but better not bring that can of worms up.

With nothing else to ask me, the questioning/interrogation session is deemed over with. In what I hope isn't another one of his flirting attempts, Wally turns to M'gann. "Hey! You still haven't told us about your story. What's the dealio with you, M'gann?"

A nervous M'gann goes "Oh… Okay. Since all of you told your stories...I guess… Well, I'm from Mars." Upon hearing those last three words, M'gann facepalms "Ugh! Hello, M'gann! You guys already knew that!"

I reassure her with "We don't know what your life, or Martian life in general is like. Can you tell us about it?"

"Sure. All martians live in underground tunnels since the surface is inhabitable." No thanks to the 'Guardians of the Universe'. Did they really have to render the surface inhabitable to deal with the potential threat of the Martians? "Our family lives are very intertwined. As you may or may not know, we mostly communicate telepathically. The form of communication we use helps large Martian families maintain a sense of community and stay closer."

A question asking "Large? How many are in your family?" comes from Robin.

"Martian families are usually quite large! I have twelve sisters and seventeen brothers! In my extended family, I have over three hundred cousins." How does that even work from a logistical standpoint?

Wally suddenly bursts out of his chair at high speeds and asks "Three hundred? Are they all hot girls like you?" God, didn't you take a mandatory sex ed class in high school, Wally? I know I did. It was a unit in my english class, granted, but still.

"Wow, you are a class act." Robin tells Wally.

"Dude! Three hundred girls that look like her? That's a planet I want to visit!"

"Well, half of my cousins are males, but yes, most Martians look very similar...Mostly green like myself and Uncle J'onn. But there are others with...differences." With that last word, M'gann practically says it like it's poison. Given her history, it pretty much is. "There are also Martians that are Red and White. Some on my planet do not see the whites as equals. My parents and I were both green and I was raised in what you would call a 'liberal' type of environment. My family… I… had no issue with White Martians. Others were not as tolerant and the treatment of the White Martians was especially horrible."

"How did you happen to come to Earth?" Kaldur asks.

M'gann's eyes shifts away, a clear sign she's lying.

"Of all the brothers, sisters, parents, uncles and aunts, the family member I was closest to was Uncle J'onn. We had a great relationship! We would watch his exploits with the rest of the Justice League! He grew to be a true beacon of hope and stood for what our society could achieve. He became the most famous Martian in our history! Upon his return to Mars, it was declared a day of planetwide celebration."

What. Is M'gann aware that she's making herself a Mary Sue in her own origin?

"When he came back, it was not just for the adulation of our population. He also had a specific purpose in mind. Having learned about all of you-Robin, Aqualad, Chimera, Speedy, Kid Flash-J'onn decided now was the time to introduce a younger martian hero to Earth.

J'onn J'onzz came to Mars and declared he would hold a competition to find the next Martian champion that would be returning with him to fly amongst the heroes of Earth.

I decided I would enter the contest, as did what seemed like half the Martian population. I, however, was coming to Earth. The competition was fierce… and dangerous. It was exciting and consumed or touched the lives of every Martian on the planet.

At first, Uncle J'onn seemed as if he didn't want me to compete. I thought maybe it was that he didn't want me coming to Earth. I had seen some of the adventures, and they were life-threatening and dangerous.

But I was not going to let that stop me. I was determined to win! From everything I had heard and seen of Earth up until that point, I found that I... loved it. I wanted to come see it for myself. I would not be bested! I won! The whole competition!"

M'gann starts raising her arms like a stereotypic olympic runner celebrating their gold medal. "My heart soared! I was coming to Earth! This was the most exciting time of my life! Now I am here with all of you, and I am part of the Team! I truly love it!"

My heart melts as I feel the extreme passion that M'gann is putting in that final statement. A "We are happy you are here with us as well, M'gann." comes from Kaldur.

"You could say that again!" Wally exclaims.

Robin grins and "We are happy you are here with us as well, M'gann." in an impressive imitation of Kaldur comes out of his mouth before he tells us "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think I had one s'more too many. I'm going to hit the old sleeping bag."

"Yes! This has been a wonderful evening but I am excited to sleep in a tent." M'gann said.

Wally tries to join M'gann with "I'm right behind you." only to get stopped by Robin grabbing his arm and going "Yeah, but you're sleeping in this tent right over here." before pointing at the mountain, which was a few meters away from us.

"Right, well, I'm going home after fifteen minutes. If you need me for something, make sure you call me on my cell phone. If you need me for backup in case of a surprise assault on the cave, call me on the Omnitrix's communication systems. All the data you need to do that is on the computer." And with that, I walk to the cave.

Overhearing the discussion between the Bolsterious Brosome over how exciting it would be to go camping for real, I ask M'gann telepathically So, what actually happened for your origin? You don't have to share obviously, but go ahead if you feel like it.

Alright, but don't tell anybody else. I'm only telling you because I trust you.

You have my word that I'll keep it secret between us. And I swear, I would not betray my trust to somebody I consider a sister.

You consider me a sister of yours?

Crap. You overheard that.

Is that bad?

No, not really. Just some private musing.

Well, if you say so. I was born a White Martian 48 Earth years ago to an ordinary White father and a Green Martian mother who's one of Uncle J'onn's sisters. The thing is, if you're born as the result of a White and a Green marrying, it's a fifty-fifty shot for what your skin color and telepathic imprint would be. Out of my twenty nine siblings, I only had one white brother; My fraternal twin, M'comm. Note to self: Investigate M'comm. Something tells me this guy is important somehow, even if this guy is 'foreign'.

Life wasn't easy for the two of us. Out in public, the only people who would look after us were our parents and each other. As a result, M'comm grew a bit furious while I grew saddened at the general Green population for tormenting us just because we exist.

What about your Green siblings?

Out in public, they made sure to not stop our Green tormentors. At home, they acted like normal siblings. I isolated myself from them as a result of their hypocrisy and I escaped from my worldly troubles watching my uncle's adventures and Hello, Megan!

Hello, Megan?

It's an obscure sitcom that ran for only one season in the 1970s. It was my favorite because of the similarities between my name and the protagonist's, and the fact that all of the problems were solved in 22 minutes.

An odd reason for liking a show, I'll admit.

It was one of the few shows the high council deemed appropiate for the average citizen to watch. We only got cable from Uncle J'onn sending whatever television and movies he recorded to the high council in preparation for first contact with Earth.

I see. Now, back on track. You were talking about your origins?

Right! So, imagine my surprise when I overheard Uncle J'onn visiting my parents late one night last month. I didn't plan to do anything that night, but I decided I had my chance. I spent enough time 'eavesdropping'-somehow, I felt the air quotes-that I managed to identify J'onn's psychic pattern after a short while.

When he left my home hours later, announcing that he would be heading back to Earth, I snuck out and followed him to his ship where he took off with me aboard. Partway through the journey, he sensed my telepathic imprint, and I explained everything to him. He was sympathetic to my plight, and got my parents to agree with him that I would live with him from that moment on.

One thing led to another, I met you, and then I met the rest of the team. And I'm soo happy to be here! People judge me for who I am, not what.

Well, I'm glad you're here. You seem happy.

Happier than I've ever been.

Glad to hear that. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to Zeta my way home. Goodbye, M'gann.

Bye, Ezekiel. And with that, the telepathic link is cut and I step into the Zeta Tube.

Coast City, Oregon

July 20th, 19:18 PDT

Recognized: Chimera, B-0-4

Seeing that nobody's around the alley, I walk out of the Zeta Tube, only to be stopped by a muscular arm. I turn my head around, and I see Red Arrow in a predominantly black sleveless suit with an arrow pattern and collar and fingerless black gloves. The quiver itself has changed as well, being attached with two grey straps like a backpack. The domino mask is still the same as always, though.

Red Arrow goes ahead and kicks things off. "Knew I'd find you here."

"What do you want, Harper?" I ask, practically spitting out the last name as a sort of intimidation tactic. It's a trick that I rarely get to use due to the fact that it's based on my impressive yet somewhat limited metaknowledge, but given said basis, it's managed to make me rather feared in some circles.

Unlike the other people who I used the tactic on, all Red Arrow does is narrows his eyes. "If you think that little trick of yours would work on me, think again. I've done my research on you, and all of it leads back to one thing: Until two months ago, you never existed. All legal documentation with the name 'Ezekial Arakelian' not only seems as if it had been in the system the entire time, but seems to be forged so well that only the very best of criminal forgeries can even hope to match the level of quality as your credentials. So, what I want to know is who are you, how are you so well resourced, and what do you want?"

"I'm a stranger in a strange yet familiar land, and I want to be a hero. When I first arrived in this universe, I explained my plight to the League, who agreed upon supporting me in various matters in exchange for me becoming a hero, which was something I was planning once I found out I have the Omnitrix."

A hmpph is all I get before "Consider this a warning that I'm keeping my eye on you. If you hurt my friends, I will hunt you down." comes out of his mouth.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing since we share the same friends. Now, if you're done, I'd better be going. I'm planning on reading a few chapters of a book I've been putting off and having pizza for dinner. See you around." And with that, I walk away from the argument and into the sunset.