Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Ben 10
Disordered
Mount Justice; Happy Harbor; October 29th 2013; 6:34PM
Batman stared up at the monitor in the center of the holo-ring where displayed was a CCTV footage snapshot of Ben zeta-tubing to Gotham City the night of the failed mental training exercise and vanishing without a trace; Red Tornado approached not taking his mechanical eyes off of the screen, "Any hints to where he may have gone to?"
"None," he noted as he pulled up twelve cameras that aligned the street for the next ten-blocks, "He doesn't appear in any other cameras vantage points, likely never needing to be seen to begin with."
"Then the trail is cold?" Tornado responded in his monotone.
Batman groaned, "For now," he dispersed the hologram and looked over toward the common area where he could just barely spot M'gaan, Conner, and Dick staring off into the distance. Completely consumed by the amount of unfortunate luck they'd been having the last week. A psychologically traumatizing exercise orchestrated by the mentors they felt they could no longer trust, their leader vanishing without a trace, Vilgax's revenge coming to eventual fruition and the Light's plans reaching their zenith without knowing much of anything about their main objective. They simply stared at the counter-top or ceiling, lost without hope of finding their way back yet.
"How are they?"
"Black Canary has nearly completed her work space and is ready to speak with them soon."
Martian Manhunter and Captain Marvel joined them moments later after being teleported in by the zeta-tubes, "How are they?" J'ohn asked without realizing the question had already been asked, Tornado turned to respond.
"I can only imagine how these youths fair, given what they experienced."
Batman rubbed his chin, "I know the virtual reality simulator effected them poorly but, I hoped they would have rallied by now."
"Trauma tends to linger, as I know you know my friend," Manhunter noted.
"I guess Black Canary has her work cut out for her," Captain Marvel muttered looking back at the group.
Suberboy was the first to enter the room with Canary leaving the others to stare off in their respective positions; M'gaan was sitting on the couch, staring down at the ground in deep thought, only wondering what would have happened had she been more comforting or less powerful, the entire simulation was her fault to begin with.
Artemis sat down after noticing M'gaan growing a tear in her eye, "Hey," she mumbled putting a hand on the psychic's shoulder, "You doing okay?"
"Of course i'm not," she looked up as the tears finally streamed down her freckled-cheeks, "This is all my fault, all of it."
"You didn't know…" Artemis rubbed her back with one arm and looked down, "You couldn't have."
...
Detroit; Michigan; October 289th 2013; 9:34PM
A woman in a hot-pink part dress fled through an abandoned ally littered with trash and dumpsters; as she ran, she turned her head to look behind her to see if she'd lost her pursuers but, alas, the four large men turned the corner after her. Unlike the poor woman, they knew the narrow ally was a dead-end so, they didnt bother running, "Where'ya goin sweetcheeks, you wanna wear a dress like that, ya gotta expect some attention!" one of the men flipped open their pocket-knives as they approached the end of the corridor.
The woman, blonde with make-up smeared across her face, the rain made it hard to see and the night silhouetted everything aside from the moon light projecting shadows down around her, "Now," one of the men wearing a black beanie stepped up, "Are you gonna take that dress off or am I going to have to cut it off?"
She trembled and backed away, placing her back against the brick wall that blocked her escape; the men approached laughing, likely intoxicated as their breath smelt of liquor almost causing the unnamed victim to gag as he and his buddies got within arms reach of her. Suddenly, her eyes darted to behind them, she didnt scream for help because she likely couldn't tell if it was help or more trouble. The men didnt hesitate though, turning to question the figure standing between them and the streets, "Just keep walking, kid," he was noticeably shorter than them but, it didn't seem to bother his demeanor and neither did waving around his pocket knife.
"Please..." the woman muttered as one of the men turned and slapped her across her chin sending her plummeting to her back, in a dirty puddle. She'd been hit hard but, not hard enough to see someone moving like a blur; she watched as the first man approached with the knife out as if nothing could be done so long as he had it. He was proven dead-wrong when the figure reached out and grabbed his wrist, twisting it to the left until the metallic weapon clattered on the ground at their feet. He pulled his foot up and brought it down on the assailants knee-cap, breaking it in an unnatural direction before turning breaking his nose with his free hand.
One of the street lamps above suddenly flickered, revealing a boy barely eighteen with unkept brunette hair hidden beneath a black and green hoodie, his pants were dirty at the hem as if he hadn't had a change of clothes in a good amount of time, and bright green eyes nearly knocked the other men back alone; instinct told him to reach for his wrist when the other three men looked prepared to attack but, regret prevented him from touching the device. As Ben quickly and gracefully pummeled the two other men, the last one grabbed the blonde by her dirty hair and brought her up with a squeal. Ben held the last attacker by the cloth of his jacket before turning an eye over his shoulder to see the armed assaulter, "I'll blow her brains out, I swear, man!" He dropped the unconscious man without taking his eyes off the gun wielder.
Ben took a step forward as the shaking man tried stepping back, realizing he was now the one backed into a corner, "I mean it, I'll do it!" he drove the barrel of the gun into her temple with his finger shaking on the trigger; the brunette vigilante got within arms reach of the frightened attempted-rapist, grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed it directly into his own forehead.
"What're you waiting for?" He asked with an unnatural calmness, "Do it..." The man shook as Ben reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a pint of rum still corked; he popped the lid and took a long burning swig, giving a loud satisfied exhale but, never breaking eye contact. Ben scoffed throwing his palm up diverting the gun upwards into the air and breaking the man's trigger finger before turning and pistol whipping him in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious into the same puddle he knocked the girl into.
The woman backed into the corner between the wall and a dumpster, she feared for her safety slightly less but, was still unsure of what to say or do, "Thank you..." she muttered trying to stand up straight, "I t-think they were d-drunk..."
Ben turned and walked toward the street dropping the empty glass pint he'd just cleared, "Yea," he shoved his hands into his hoodie-pocket, "So am I."
...
Mount Justice; October 29th; 11:13AM
"I can't imagine what it must've been like, losing your friends, comrades, in essence your family, convinced all the while that it was real; it must have been hard for you," Black Canary sat across from Conner in a green arm-chair trying to use her degrees in psychology and sociology to help him through his hard time, "I get it," she announced after a pause of silence in which he refused to speak, "You're Superboy, you're not supposed to have feelings of sadness or weakness-"
She was interrupted by his standing up from the chair, facing the door without looking at her, "You don't know what I feel," he muttered before walking off towards the door which slid open for him and allowed him a quick exit.
"Conner!" She shouted but, received no response as he left the room.
...
"So," Black Canary started staring down at her clipboard, "Where should we start?"
Artemis didn't answer; she simply folded her arms and crossed her legs, "Well, how about with your relationship with the Team? Is that going well?"
"I guess so, look, I don't need the shrink wrap, I'm capable of handling my own feelings by myself."
"You're too tough to need help," Canary said moving forwards placing her elbows on her knees.
Artemis laid back pulling her knees up, "I dunno, maybe?"
"Or, you think you're too tough; Artemis, it's not a sign of weakness to open up to your friends…"
"I know that," she muttered with narrow eyes, staring at the ground and avoiding her gaze.
"Yet, you still keep secrets from them."
Her eyes flashed wide, Canary knew about her real family ties, her real past, "You won't tell them, you can't!"
"I won't," She assured as Artemis quickly lay back again, "But, you should. Starting with telling them that you aren't Green Arrow's niece," she folded her hands and pressed her thumbs together as she received no response from Artemis.
...
Kaldur sat with his elbows on his knees facing the ground, "I was second in command, the lieutenant, yet I acted like a solider and sacrificed myself, I'm not fit to be on this team…"
Canary took on a sympathetic look, "You performed well, Kaldur, especially with the state of your leader."
"I was supposed to be the most logical; I was supposed to be the one Ben looked to if ever torn on a decision but, I wasn't there," he closed his eyes and gave a long sigh.
Canary sat back and analyzed the situation, "Who would you recommend to take your place, considering Ben is missing, as current temporary leader of the team?"
He looked off to the side, "Artemis is too raw and un-trusting, Kid Flash too brash and impulsive, Miss Martian remains too eager to please, Superboy is consumed by anger…"
"Leaving Robin as the most logical choice?"
Kaldur sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, "But, he is so young."
She leaned forward with a comforting smile, "You're all young, Kaldur…"
"I cannot shift this burden to him, not yet," he kept his eyes on the ground and gave a sorrowful exhale; "I suppose I must withdraw my resignation."
...
Wally sat upside down on the armchair across from Black Canary who was bewildered at his nonchalant attitude, tossing popcorn into the air and catching it with his teeth, "So, let me get this straight, you want me to believe that after everything that happened, even your own death by fiery explosion, you're peachy?"
Wally chuckled a bit and tossed another kernel into his mouth, "I'm, uh, fairly certain I never used the word 'peachy' but, you got the idea."
"So, you really have no intention on confronting your complete denial in your team's death?"
He choked on a chunk of popcorn and sat up coughing, "I'd rather talk about you, babe…"
"Wally, you're in denial."
He thought for a second and reached his hands behind his head, sitting back once again, "I'm good with that."
…
"Hurting? Try traumatized," Dick muttered looking down at the ground, "I finally became leader and ended up sending my entire team to their gruesome deaths; I know I did what I had to but, I hated it."
Canary was silent as Dick continued, "When we started this team I was desperate to be in charge, not anymore, and that's not even the worst of it… you can't tell Batman," he gave her a solemn look of utter-shame.
Canary gave a short smile, "Everything you say in here is completely confidential," he sighed and looked back down at the ground.
"I've always wanted to grow up and be just like him, and the hero part? I'm still all in but, that thing inside of him? That thing driving him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission, I'm not sure I have it in me anymore."
Silence erupted and filled the room with a saddened tension, "I don't want to be the Batman, anymore."
…
"It was my fault," M'gaan muttered with her hands tightly in her lap, "Hello Megan, who else could take a simple exercise and turn it into a nightmare that terrorizes everyone?" Suddenly, her skin melded into a milky-Caucasian instead of her normal Martian green.
Canary raised a brow, "You've… You turned white."
M'gaan freaked out, standing up abruptly and glaring down at her hands, "Oh," she gave a sigh of relief, "You mean Caucasian; I'm fine being Megan but, I can't be trusted to use my other powers."
Black Canary chuckled, "M'gaan, you're a Martian, refusing to use your powers would be like me refusing to speak."
"Ben said he liked me better as M'gaan than Megan, too," she mumbled looking down at the ground through her bangs.
"He's a smart boy; you cant just avoid using your powers, which I tried by the way, after my first canary-cry nearly deafened my entire first-grade class
M'gaan looked down at her knees and faced her palms up staring at her skin, "So, I know how you feel but, refusing to accept who you are wont help you feel better and it won't make those fears go away," she leaned forwards with a comforting grin, "Learn from your mistakes, train to make sure it doesn't happen again, I'm sure your Uncle would be more than happy to teach you."
M'gaan smiled back as her skin melded back into the lime-green tone it normally was, "Learn to regain your confidence."
...
Salem; Massachusetts; October 29th; 11:15PM
Ben teleported in a flash of blue-light, which used to give him headaches but, the alcohol helped ease the mild pain; he appeared in the center of a green field littered with due from the damp night-sky; his shoes scuffed against the grass as he pulled a key out of his pocket identical to the one the Justice League kept for safe keeping. Turning the key in mid-air summoned the Tower of Fate, over a hundred feet tall and massive in size he pushed the door open, not at all mesmerized by its mystic properties. Being alone, he wasn't greeted by the tower's defenses but, he would have loved to see Kent's face again, even a mystical hologram of it. After walking down a few corridors, he finally made it to Kent Nelson's personal study, the first room he saw the night he arrived in this Universe; he stared up at the large painting of Kent's deceased love, Inza.
"Was it worth it?" Ben muttered to himself staring up at the painting illuminated by an ever burning fire in a brick nineteenth-century fireplace.
"I'm sure it was, for him anyways," a man in a white lab coat stepped through the door way and stood next to him but, unlike usual Ben wasn't surprised by his arrival, "I won't poke or prod but, a penny for your thoughts?" his thick British accent and use of English-slang always made him sound more charming than he was.
"You know what's happened," Ben repeated staring down at the ground, "You know what I had to do; what I've been doing."
"Do you believe in the devil, Professor?"
Paradox was stumped, turning back to the fire, "As a concept? I'm really not-"
"No," he cut him off, confirming his meaning, "Do you believe he exists, in reality, among us."
"Would you like the short answer or the long one?"
"Just the truth," Ben would be on the verge of tears had he not already cried his eyes out for the first three days after vanishing.
"Yes, I believe there are monsters and demons, devils of temptation and harbingers of death that walk the Multiverse as I do," He didnt take his eyes off the fire the entire time he spoke, as if remembering some sort of horror.
"And what if you could have stopped them?" Paradox turned his head at this, "From ever hurting anyone ever again?"
"Stop them how... exactly?"
Ben was silent, he didn't want to respond but, the Professor caught on quickly enough; Ben smiled in reminiscence, "Ya know, Gwen and Kevin used to say I was too soft hearted but, lately..." he looked down to his knuckles, purple and bruised, "Lately, I feel like I'm not the same person she described."
"Everybody changes over time, Benjamin," he chuckled for a moment, "Take it from someone whose six-hundred-thousand years old."
Ben closed his eyes, "But, what if it's not for the better? What if i'm not changing into the hero everyone expects me to be."
Paradox was silent, as if for the first time in eons, he didnt know what to say, "Like, I can feel it in my heart, in my soul. clawing to be let out. The devil clawing to be let out."
The time-traveler exhaled, "The devil was once an angle, you know?" this caught his attention as he'd never been very religious growing up, "As the story goes, Lucifer was an angle in heaven, at the right hand of the father, cast down to hell by God for trying to become too powerful."
"Are you saying I'm being punished?"
Paradox smiled, "No," he opened his pocket watch and stared at the ticking-spoke, "No, because god didn't just send Lucifer to hell as punishment but, to teach sinners what it was like to defy god; Lucifer was given a mission, to teach pain to sinners who defied god."
"I've been a hero for so long, a good person, punishing the bad guys and saving the innocent," Ben looked back down to his knuckles, brushing his fingers over them and enjoying the stinging sensation, "Why do I still feel so guilty?"
Paradox kept his gaze downward, "Well, the guilt usually means your work is not yet done..." he trailed off realizing what he'd said and what thoughts his words may have given birth to. The room was silent with a stressful tone lingering in the air, the tense mood gripping their throats, "Perhaps this would be easier if you told me what you did, Benjamin."
Ben was quiet for too long before a smile formed across his face, his emotionless stare finally finding some sort of purpose, "I'm not looking for advice on what I've done..." he took his hands from his pockets and turned back toward the exit, a dark corridor leading to the rest of the Tower but, the tone the young changeling was giving off was so drastic and changed that he couldn't turn with him, he kept his eyes on the fireplace, "I'm seeking forgiveness for what I'm about to do." He began walking down the hall leaving the Professor to gather his thoughts.
"Wait, Benjamin!" He didnt stop though, Ben kept walking toward the exit, finally finding what he needed, the conviction growing inside of him until he embraced it. He wasn't ashamed anymore, he was relieved; his mental conflict had faded completely, he was going to kill Vilgax, and he was going to enjoy it.
...
Mount Justice; Happy Harbor; October 29th 2013; 11:49PM
"Here's the ugly truth," Conner admitted sitting across from Canary as her last therapy patient of the day, "I wasn't devastated, even with Superman, Tornado, you, the whole League dead; even though I didn't save Wolf, watched Artemis and Kaldur die, and abandoned the team as a sacrifice… I felt, at peace," he stared at the ground with a completely destroyed expression.
Canary nearly gasped but, held back as she continued to listen to what he had to say, "You see, since the moment I opened my eyes in that Cadmus-pod, there's one thing that I've wanted and feared, to know what it is to be Superman. And with all of you gone, I knew that feeling so, I was happy, hell, I was thrilled!"
A tear formed in his eyes but, he didn't let it fall, "Everyone I know and care about dead and I'm happy… how do I get passed the guilt of that? How do I live with myself?"
She stood and reached a hand out, placing her palm on his knee, "I don't have any easy answers, Conner but, one thing is clear… admitting it is the first step."
He looked up at her and they met eyes, he knew she understood his pain and he lowered his head in thankfulness.
…
Mount Justice; October 30th; 1:39AM
M'gaan, Artemis, Conner, Kaldur, Dick, and Wally all sat in the common-room a bit more up-beat than that morning but, not nearly as happy as they'd once been, it would be a long time before any of them were back to full strength.
Artemis sat on the couch, staring down at the carpet as Wally, flicked a chunk of popcorn across the counter, for the first time in a long time, he wasn't hungry. Dick analyzed his shuriken but, his stare was distant and he wasn't paying attention to it as it might appear, Conner stared at the static TV but it didn't bother anyone else as they were distracted by their own thoughts. M'gaan sat on the ground petting Wolf who slept soundly next to her, peacefully oblivious to the current situation.
Batman and Red Tornado approached them from the main-hall as Naruto perked up, "Any news on Ben?"
"Superman and Flash have scoured the city several times over, they haven't found any traces of him," Batman announced as Red Tornado stepped forwards.
"League satellites are currently scanning at their most precise settings," he stated in his robotic monotone, "If he is still in North America, we will find him."
They were all drawn up towards the Zeta-Tubes as they fired up suddenly, "Recognized: Ben10 B01," from the blinding light stepped the Ultimatrix wielding hero, drenched in rain-water and spelling partially of coal-smoke from a fire and body Oder; they didnt recognize his sweater either but, it hardly mattered.
"Hey, everyone," he announced as he walked into the middle of the group, them rallying around him with either remorse or passion.
"What happened to you?"
"I had a talk with an old friend, I just needed time," M'gaan took his hand in hers and looked him dead in the eye, almost as if she could see the change.
"Are you sure?"
"I promise," he brought her in for a close hug as Batman gave Red Tornado a look, both of them noticing his knuckles but, not saying a word, "I promise."
...
Gotham City; Downtown; October 30th; 1:37AM
Albedo sat alone on a bar stool with empty shot glasses lined up around him; the dive-bar he was currently in was almost completely abandoned but, it still had bulky-men playing pool and other men snorting cocaine off of a mirror, and some drunks just passed out in the corner, every end of the spectrum occupied this spot tonight. Albedo looked up at the attractive red-headed bar-tender whom only raised an eye brow at him, "What?" she asked as he stared at her.
"Have you ever been bound to someone so strongly, you can feel their emotions?"
"I can't say I have," she'd heard it all from the ones who drank until they couldn't think properly, stories of aliens or government conspiracies so, she paid no attention to it.
"How about wanting to beat the brakes off of every single person in the room for no reason?"
"It's called being human, it can suck sometimes, darling," she reached slowly for the taser under the bar which she kept for personal reasons but, didn't yet feel like her safety was threatened.
Albedo sighed, "I'll say," he could feel Ben's strained emotions coursing through him like the liquor that numbed the pain, he could tell his other-half had seen better days.
"Hey!" A man entered the bar and immediately saw the source of his anger, "That's my bar-stool!"
"Don't see your name on it," Albedo spoke as he took another swig of his drink, not even giving the man his attention.
The buff man at least six-foot-three stepped closer with a posse of men following closely behind as the bartender simply watched and kept her hand casually on her taser, "I'll tell you one last time to get up and walk away, or I'm going to start breaking bones..." he put a hand on Albedo's shoulder which turned out to be a huge mistake. The Galvan trapped as a Human gripped the man's wrist and quickly twisted it to the right snapping it three different times as he clutched his arm and fell to one knee.
One of the men standing behind them grabbed a pool-stick and swung it at him but, missed as his silver head of hair dipped down with him avoiding it completely; Albedo took his foot and pushed it against the kneeling man's chest pushing him off his feet and into two other men.
"Are you okay, boss?" one of them asked as a beer bottle was shattered atop the bar, a man lunged at him but, had his wrist redirected into another man whom was simultaneously trying to jump Albedo, instead he would need stitches before the night was over. Everything was silent, the meth-heads stopped snorting, the biker crew stopped playing pool and even the hardcore alcoholics put their drinks down; Albedo burped and quickly grabbed the Glock 26 from the unconscious man's holster, checking if it was loaded, and placing it on the bar next to him, "Next person to bother me gets a bullet in the knee," he announced.
Albedo was happy with the result, everyone returned to doing what they'd been doing before, drinking or smoking or what-have-you; even the attackers checked their losses and pulled back, seeking medical attention elsewhere but, what even Albedo barely noticed was an arrow wizzing by his head, only because he managed to dodge two inches to the left with seconds to spare.
Green Arrow stood at the doorway as he slowly lowered his bow in disbelief, "Well, shit," he staggered as he watched his arrow driven into the wood of the bar beside a more than terrified bartender, clutching her taser like a grenade.
"Yea, you had one job…" Albedo immediately forced his Omnitrix to shift his DNA as Fasttrack appeared in an instant, zipping through the bar and knocking Oliver Queen onto his back with sheer speed. As he exited the bar, he took a sharp left and blew apart every car-window in the area by jumping to his top speed in seconds, several thousand times the speed of sound.
"Are you on him?" Batman asked through a communicator in their ears.
"Yea, does Ben have an alien this fast? Because I'd love to race him some time," Flash asked as he ran through the darkened city-streets, his speedforce lightning being the only illumination that made Superman visible running beside him.
"Focus," Batman ordered.
Superman broke a slight sweat as he stopped running and began flying next to his speedster partner, "We know, we're the only two fast enough to keep up with him but, just how long do you expect us to keep this up?"
"As long as we have to!" Barry shouted as he sped up, nearing Fasttrack but, the alien took off even faster leaving them both in the dust; Clark stopped immediatly watching as the speedster continued without him.
"I'm out, but Barry-" Clark flew up into the upper stratosphere as he watched the race with his super-vision, "He's still on him."
"Keep watching, we can still catch him if we-"
"Oh, crap," Superman dropped his finger from his ear as he looked into the eyes of a massive Evolved To'kustar, being effortlessly swatted away, Clark wasn't used to anything this big being as fast as himself. As Superman dug a trench into the side of a building before tumbling into the ground, an expansive crimson flashed signified another transformation but, this time, Albedo was gone.
"Ben is not going to be happy..."
...
Mount Justice; Happy Harbor; October 30th; 2:38 AM
Ben barged into the mission-room in the center of Mount Justice, not hesitating to step into the holo-ring with Batman, a slightly scuffed up Superman, Flash, and Green Arrow, going over mission data from their present failure, "You went after Albedo without me?!"
"You weren't around, we needed to act," Batman responded without looking away from his screen.
"Why don't you make eye-contact and at least pretend that you give a damn!" Ben shouted furiously as the Bat did turn but, narrowed his eyes instantly after one good look at the hero.
"You stink, you haven't slept, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're drunk."
Ben stepped back before regaining his composure, "So, what? You aren't my father."
"I am your superior, and so I made the decision to exclude you from this mission," the Batman turned with venom back to his screen, "I can do that."
"You... all of you..." He was frustrated and intoxicated, he couldn't think straight, but he was angry, so angry. He needed to release, he needed it bad; he turned and left the room, stomping through the main hall where M'gaan and Artemis were watching a movie.
"Are you okay?" M'gaan asked.
"I'm fine."
...
Detroit; Michigan; October 30th 2013; 3:00AM
The rain hadn't stopped since his last time in Detroit and, apparently neither had the crime; he stood atop a roof top, feeling a lot like the caped-crusader whom he had so much rage for at the moment. Two men, tearing a purse from a middle-aged woman's grasp and sprinting down the sidewalk; he was sure they'd thought they'd done it, that they'd escaped, that they'd made maybe a hundred or two hundred bucks the easy way; They couldn't have been more wrong. Ben hopped down a fire-escape quickly, landing in a muddy-puddle that splattered over his jeans.
"Holy shit," one of them shouted but, quickly gave a sigh of relief, "Thank god, I thought it was one of them hero-types, like Batman or Vixen."
Ben tightened his fist, because in a few minutes they wont be thanking god, they'll be asking why, why did you let the devil out?
...
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Remastered 2/6/2019