Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 or DC
Summit
Burj Al Arab Jumeirah; Dubai; May 21st 2019; 9:21AM
Queen Bee sipped from a short-glass of liquor, watching the War-World be completely shattered and sent into space in city-sized chunks, "And you're sure that this was worth it?" With gravity slowly pulling the debris into the void of space, she turned to face her partner.
"My failed experiment was only my way out of the Watchtower; what I was there for is far more valuable," he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled a small-device with three nodes, appearing much like a fidget spinner but, with glowing neon blue energy encased within, "Even more-so than the War World."
"Mreow!" Tinkle mewed.
Klarion placed his hands on his hips, "Yea, what makes that thing so special?" he walked to the open bar in their luxury apartment and took a seat facing them.
"It's a teleporter," he deadpanned whilst observing it in the light, "Created by a highly advanced planet known as New Genesis; confiscated by the Justice League years ago."
Queen Bee made herself comfortable; opening her arms to rest them on the large couch with her legs crossed, "Klarion and Boom Tubes are efficient enough, why would we need another form of teleportation?"
He scoffed, "Those forms of transportation are limited while this is not; star-labs has perfected zeta-teleportation with this advanced technology," he placed it down on the bar and opened a bottle of liquor, pouring two glasses of whisky and dropping cubes of ice into them.
"Sorry about your metabolism, Klarion but, I assure you we all cheers to this victory," He raised his glass as did Bee leaving Klarion to fold his arms.
"And where exactly are we going to go with that?"
Lex narrowed his eyes as his grip tightened on his glass, "To get what we were promised."
…
Watchtower; Morgue; May 21st 2019; 12:38PM
It was an odd sensation, staring down at your own dead-body, the room was freezing temperatures but, Ben had spent two months hiking the mountains of Kunlun in Northern China so, he didn't exactly feel the cold, just the relentless chill that ran down his spine, "I-I'm afraid to die…"
He looked over Albedo's body; the wound was still open, and the Kryptonite was removed and cased by Captain Atom, left in the League's vault. It was his own fault, he should have done something more, he could have done something more… it should have been him. Luthor was aiming for him.
A hand placed firmly on his shoulder snapped him from his daze; M'gaan stepped up next to him, "Should we say something?"
"What would I say?" Ben muttered, looking down at his own corpse, "You were a complete psycho until a day before you died?"
She looked up into his emerald eyes, giving him a look he knew all too well, "I…I don't know," he continued, looking back at his resting face, "He had a lot of demons, a lot of pain; he thought he was too smart to be understood but, I did and I think he knew that."
She moved to swipe the automatic shutting mechanism for the morgue but, he caught her wrist before she could, "Wait," he glanced back down to his wrist, "We're forgetting something…"
"What do we do with it?"
Ben recalled the last time he was in this situation but, he was relieved. Not because history was repeating itself but, because this time, he knew Albedo would have wanted him to have it.
"I'll take it," he said suddenly, reaching towards his lifeless wrist, he double tapped the faceplate, and with its user dead, it simply popped open, ready for removal.
Ben raised his right Biomnitrix and tapped a few commands into the face-plate, letting it slide off of his wrist, "We should put this in the Tower of Fate with the helmet, these weapons are too powerful for the Universe, right now."
"I agree," she said as she grabbed the thicker, bulkier watch into both hands; she'd almost forgotten how much larger Ben's muscles had gotten.
He took hold of the white wristwatch, much thinner than the last two watches he'd used for sure; as soon as he snapped it around his wrist it hummed to life, bonding with his DNA, turning the crimson trim into a shade of bright emerald.
"It suits you…" M'gaan gave a heartwarming smile.
Ben held his wrist up, looking at his newest Omnitrix, he was almost tempted to announce the time being one for heroes but, he was interrupted.
The door behind them slid open quickly, Nightwing approached in full uniform, "We need you both in the holo-ring; Artemis just delivered some promising news," he stopped for a second and cleared his throat, "And Aquaman is retiring from his position in the League…"
…
Watchtower; Infirmary; May 21st 2019; 9:30AM
Ken stretched his back out as he stood, hearing the cracks of a stiff spine, his arms up in the air as he took a long, deep, exhale out; standing up, he was happy to see Bart, Jamie, Cassie, and Tim all surrounding him with friendly gestures.
"We were going to get you a cake but, Black Canary said no food in the infirmary," Bart announced with a chuckle.
"He only thinks about food…" Tim added.
"It's cake!"
"Are you sure you're feeling yourself?" Tim asked turning his attention back to Ken, "No more secret objectives… not that you'd tell us," he gave a chuckle of his own.
"I'm fine guys, really, the only problem I am having is with my watch…" Cassandra grabbed his arm as they all observed his Omnitrix, the dial spun clockwise before switching rotation but, the strangest thing was that its dial was blue instead of green.
"Should you ask the big guy?" Jamie asked as the watch continued to act up.
"He has a lot to deal with already…" Ken sighed and looked toward the direction of the morgue, "I didn't really know the guy but, I don't think anyone deserves to die."
"Because you're a good person," Cassie took his hand with a smile.
"Then… why do I still feel so… guilty?"
Jamie leaned against the wall, "Survivors guilt?"
"No, it's more than that," Ken stood from his bed completely.
Bart dashed over, putting hands on his chest, "Let's take it easy, you can't just go out there alone…" he lowered his hands, "Besides, what do you have to be guilty for?"
Suddenly, flashes of memories flooded his third eye, his mind strobing with images of a memory not his own, "The guilt means…" he paused for a moment and grabbed his black-green trimmed hoodie, "The guilt means my works not finished yet."
Cassie stepped in front of the doorway between the hall and the infirmary, "Like we said, we aren't letting you go out there by yourself; especially, when your watch won't work."
"Who said anything about going by myself?" He looked at the group of young heroes surrounding him, "That is, if you guys are down?"
"What would we even do?"
"I wanna speak with Lex Luthor again, this time a bit more personally…" he turned back to them, "But, I can't get into a facility like his alone, not without powers."
"You're not alone," Cassandra added with a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"So, just like that, we're a team on some sort of… mission?" Jamie pondered.
Tim looked Ken in the eyes before pausing, being trained by Batman, he had several ways of hiding his emotions but, this smile was uncontrollable, "We didn't come for a play date."
…
Reach Flagship; May 21st 2019; 4:22PM
"Now that we've recalled our Martian Beetle, it might be wise to utilize his abilities to infiltrate those heroes," Ambassador was interrupted as a huffing Black Beetle made his way into the control room, "We have an issue," he deadpanned.
The technician beside him stepped back, mostly fearing Black Beetle after watching him battle titan after titan, she was likely the smartest one in the room.
"You'd best have a good reason for interrupting me, soldier," Ambassador didn't seem very pleased at the moment, conquering this world was becoming more and more tedious by the day. "What could possibly be worse than loosing War World?" He shouted nearly exasperated.
Black Beetle used a holographic projector from the palm of his hand to display footage of a mindless Ken Tennyson handing the Crystal-Key over to Deathstroke who vanished shortly after, "It appears our allies haven't been totally honest with us; I believe a summit of collaborative minds is in order."
The Ambassador watched the video and looked back to the ruins of War World drifting off into space, the conquest they could have achieved with it… gone. Now, this 'Light' organization thinks they can double cross the Reach?
"Pitiful humans, woefully outmatched in every regard," Scientist clicked in her native tongue.
"Yes, it seems something is more valuable than War World to the Light," Ambassador noted, "Something valuable enough to risk us using our fleet to wipe out their pitiful hemisphere!" He pounded the dashboard of his computer and turned to Black Beetle pointing at him, "Arrange this 'Summit' immediately but, do not let them know what we've learned."
"Unfortunately, Vandal Savage was vaporized when War World was destroyed, and if he is alive, he is frozen and drifting through space…" the technician explained without taking her eyes from her advanced hard-light tablet.
Ambassador scoffed, looked around, and slapped his thighs in petty exasperation, "Well? Then who do I negotiate with now?"
…
Pocket Dimension; Spaceless; Timeless.
Darkness surrounded him, not like the void of deep space but, just nothing in every direction; he ground his teeth and clenched his fists as he floated through nonexistence.
He focused his power, placing an unbounded vacuum within a temporal field, speeding up time until matter collected to create a world. He was powerful now, more so than he ever had been before but, it wasn't enough.
"How could I fail again?!"
He shouted so loud he shook the entire dimension he'd escaped to; he molded the planetoid into a world, he didn't need an atmosphere, plants, animals, or people. He just needed somewhere to think so, using what was left of his cosmic power, he formed a throne made of stone large enough for himself, without any distinctive design. He suddenly felt the pain of being mortal again… blood seeped from the wound in the center of his chest, where Alien X had penetrated him. It was a fatal wound, however; with his cosmic abilities he could extend his life far beyond what it once was. He'd already attempted to heal his wound but, it wouldn't seal as if he didn't have enough power to undo the damage.
Floating in an endless void, infinite and expansive; he lifted his hands and summoned his cosmic abilities, forming matter from nothing summoning a massive castle around him on his planet, floating in the void. It could have been eons in that dimension, sitting on that throne, thinking through his mistakes… or a few hours, it was hard to tell when time was so much more malleable to him now.
Suddenly, a blue portal opened behind him spitting out a crimson bubble with Klarion, Lex, and Queen Bee protected by a chaotic sphere of energy. At the steps of the castle, Vilgax sat in his throne, still holding his massive wound in his right lung.
"I underestimated your intelligence, Lex Luthor, you have my respects…"
He scoffed in return, "As humbled as I am, we are clearly here for our end of the bargain; we want our cosmic godhood…"
"Does it appear as though my plan was successful?"
Bee spoke up, "You got some power, clearly; the deal was you share it…" she kept her tone cautious considering with whom she was dealing.
"Silence, mulling quim;" he growled, "Lex Luthor, you desire what you sought of me and you have truly earned it…" he reached his hand out, inviting Lex closer to him, "This might sting…" he smiled.
Suddenly, a powerful surge of crimson cosmic energy flowed through his body, "AGH!" he shouted in pain as he suddenly saw the Universe Vilgax had created, the specks of dark matter floating around them. When Vilgax released him, he toppled back for a moment into Klarion and Queen Bee, "Are you alright?" she asked.
Lex looked his hands over before turning up to Klarion, "More than okay," his eyes flashed red and without warning, both Bee and Klarion, whom were grabbing him by the shoulder to support him, slowly evaporated into dust, drifting off into the void slowly. Leaving him alone at the steps of a threatening castle, he murdered his partners, "As if I'd share cosmic knowledge with the likes of you two…" he straightened out his two-piece suit and fixed the cuffs, kicking through the piles of ashes that represented his former colleagues, "Thank you for upholding our end of the deal, Vilgax, I intend to use your gift wisely."
Vilgax derided him with a scowl, "I gave you a mere half of a fraction of the power I have left; enough power for one change to reality, misuse it and the consequences could be…"
"Spare me the warnings of ultimate corruption while you lick your wounds," Lex announced turning around and using the disc he'd stolen to open another breach, "I do hope our paths don't cross again."
"As do I; for your own sake," Vilgax growled as the breach closed in front of his glowing red eyes.
…
LexCorp Tower; Metropolis; May 21st 2019; 5:30PM
The breach opened up in his own personal office, allowing him to step into the room and shut the door behind him, seeing the flash of his red eyes as the gateway shut. Lex dropped the device on the ground and proceeded to crush it under his boot, the glass shattered with its blue glow fading into a dull grey.
He turned to the view of the city from his office-window to bask but, half-way to his view he noticed a group of familiar teenagers sitting on his couch, only, not the group he was expecting.
"I know none of you are of age but, care for a drink?" he motioned to his liquor cabinet less than ten feet from them but, even whilst being in their presence he showed no signs of remorse or even a lack of confidence.
Cassandra nearly got up to toss him out the window but, Ken beat her to it; gesturing her to sit back down, he stood up instead, "I didn't come for a drink."
"Begs the question though," Lex answered, glancing over at Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, and Impulse, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Ken scoffed and looked around, "I don't know, let's start with the fact that you're my half-father?"
He rolled his eyes in response, "I told them to wipe your memory, isn't my fault that removing the inhibitor brought them back…"
Ken turned around, his hands leisurely in his hoodie pockets, "Brings me to number two; you put a mind control chip on my watch so I could spy on people that cared about me!" tears welled up a tad in his eyes, showing more emotion than he cared to.
"You think they care about you?" Lex responded, almost prompting Jamie to stand this time, "Maybe they relate but, they don't care. They felt guilty about letting you be created and obligated to take care of you once you were 'free' of the Light," Lex walked passed the young heroes and grabbed a crystal glass, pouring brown liquor into barely even a quarter of the glass, "The offer for the drink is still open."
Ken was frozen as Cassie stood up to approach him, grabbing his hand.
"We don't want a drink!" Blue Beetle stood and formed his arm into a plasma cannon, aiming it at the back of his bald head, "We aren't joking around here!"
"Sit." Lex announced as his eyes flashed crimson for only a brief second, the Scarab on his back responded forcing Jamie to disarm and sit down, chaotic red electricity binding his body to the couch he'd gotten up from.
Bart, Cassie, and Ken were all stunned by his display of power but, said nothing out of pure stupefaction, "I have no quarrel with any of you; I've just been given something more useful than you could ever know," he set his glass down and turned around to face them, "So, I'm in a generous mood."
Ken finally spoke up, "So, what, did he give you control over Reach technology or something?"
Luthor glanced back over to Ken, "Why are you here, if you're going to try and kill me for what happened on the Watchtower-"
"I couldn't kill you if I wanted…" Ken interrupted as he finally peeked Luthor's interest, "I didn't come here for that," he announced, lifting his wrist out of his pocket and flashing his watch, still spinning in blue and green sequence, "When the inhibitor was removed, it started doing this; and you kinda murdered the only other person I want to talk to about it."
"Mr. Ten Thousand isn't on your list of people you want to ask?"
Ken took a moment to think, lowering his arm a bit, why didn't he go to Ben first? It wasn't more manipulation, was it? No, he could feel the difference, he didn't want to talk to Ben because… what would he even say?
Lex raised his brow, taking a step forwards and gripping Ken's forearm, "Let me see that," he took a long look for a minute which felt like an hour, "It looks like it's rebooting… it should be better than before soon."
"Better how? More tricks and control?" Cassandra had to be held back by Ken's comforting grasp on her shoulder.
Lex scoffed and turned back to his bar, grabbing his drink, "I told you already, you and your little star-labs friends were a… means-to-an-end, for lack of a better term."
"Then, you owe me," Ken sputtered, "For everything you put me through, you owe me," he stared Lex down for several seconds, their glares were almost tense enough to feel it in the air.
"The great thing about being a billionaire is that I don't owe anyone, anything; however, like I said I happen to be in a charitable mood," Lex cleared his glass of whisky and set it down, approaching Ken, reaching down, and light gripping his wrist, "Here…" he twisted the dial a few times, inputting command codes which he learned by studying besides Albedo for the better part of five years. When he was done, he stepped back as the bulky wrist-band illuminated bright green, strobing the room and sending flashes of bright light out into the slowly darkening city.
Cassandra, Jamie, and Bart were astounded that the watch had performed a transformation of its own; now much thinner, the base color was green with only black trim, still sporting the hour-glass symbol on the slightly smaller faceplate.
"There… I sped up the reboot," Lex turned around and waved them off, "You can go now…"
Ken pressed down on the sides, twisting at the same time and, to his surprise, a holographic image of Chromastone appeared; he looked up at Lex but, couldn't think of anything else he wanted to ask or say.
"Is that all we came for?" Bart questioned.
Ken looked down at his wrist and back up to Luthor, "Yea, this is all he could ever give me," he grabbed Cassie by the shoulder, who couldn't wipe the disgusted look off of her face, and led her to the door.
"You can go too, little bird," Lex announced still staring down at the city through the windows of his penthouse; Tim dropped from above fully outfitted in his Robin costume, obviously having been watching the entire time. He scowled at the back of Luthor's head but, turned and followed Jamie and Bart as they escorted themselves out of the office.
Lex stared down at his finger-tips, cackling with crimson cosmic energy; he summoned another drink from thin air, nearly spilling it in a fit of laughter from the mere idea of having such power. But, he could feel it, the more he used the less he had; he was no where close to powerful enough to make the world his own but, maybe… something just as close.
…
Watchtower; May 21st 2019; 9:00PM
"Now that we know what our mission is, and everyone had their role to play…" Nightwing dispersed a holographic map and stepped aside, "We have a hero here that would like to, uh, say something."
Arthur Curry, also known to the world as the Aquaman, stood from his seat outside of the holo-ring and stepped up in front of the entire team and what few Justice League members could be present, "I've devoted a lot of time to protecting the world of man and I have fought great battles besides you…" he showed them very clearly the scars down his face and the stub of what his arm once was, "However, there comes a time in every king's rule where he must step aside to allow the younger generation to take hold. Atlantis' political issues will be dealt with separately…"
He looked them all in the eyes with a smile, "But, as for my part in the Justice League, I believe the sun has set on my time here and I hope that when Kaldur'Ahm has completed his mission, he will be open to making the position of Aquaman his own."
"Cheers," Captain Atom announced, even without drinks, it was still an honorable send-off, "To Heroes!"
"To Heroes!"
Ben stepped to the side with M'gaan after the heroes begun mingling; "Listen, this whole plan we have going on tomorrow, I'm starting to question the survivability of it all…"
"Don't talk like that," she corrected.
He smiled, "Sorry, I guess I'm still getting used to being back to my old self," he took a moment to pause before turning towards the group again, Cassandra and Ken were both in attendance, holding hands as well, "Looks like they grow up fast, don't they?"
"I mean, has he even talked to you?" She asked.
He looked to his feet, "I wouldn't talk to me either."
She put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him, "He isn't our son but, he isn't a weapon either; he's just another young hero now and we should treat him that way."
"I guess you're right…" He noticed the Omnitrix had rebooted on his clone's wrist, just like it had for him all of those years ago, "He's his own person."
…
Isla; Santa Prisca; May 22nd 2019; 6:30PM
Deep within the catacombs of the island were hidden tunnels and caves that led all across the land-mass, however; there was one spot in particular that the Light and the Reach could both agree on. Small battery-powered bulbs lit up all across the insides of a large cave, illuminating one opening on either side of it, it was perfect for meeting in the middle, figuratively and literally.
Black Beetle approached entrance, looked around and folded his arms as Deathstroke did the same from the opposing side; they both gave their respective nods to the inner caves revealing the true members of this summit.
From the Reach's corner came the Ambassador and his Scientist, Green Beetle, a battalion of twelve-armed Reach soldiers spreading across their side of the cave in groups of three; from the Light's corner came Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, The Brain, and Black Manta, with Kaldur, Tigress, Mallah the Ape, and a few League of Assassin members who kept to the same defense grid the Reach soldiers.
Black Beetle stepped up in front of Ambassador, "As head of security for the Reach, I insist no masks be worn during this summit," he pointed directly at Manta.
"Simply because you insist does not guarantee," Black Manta replied but, was convinced by one of his partners.
Ra's spoke up, "Please, Manta, if you don't mind… we're amongst friends here, right?"
He growled in response, the lead to his helmet unlatching as he pulled it off reluctantly; Deathstroke, Tigress, and Kaldur obliged and removed their own masks as Artemis hooked her mask to her belt, she whispered to Kaldur, "We are so in over our heads…"
"Shh," he responded.
Lex cleared his throat, "Is everyone satisfied?"
Black Beetle stepped back behind Ambassador with Green Beetle, clearly not satisfied, "Yes, I believe with these formalities out of the way," Ambassador announced, "Let us begin."
"And the other members of your Light?" Ambassador questioned.
Lex took the lead on the conversation, "Some of our more public members are busy mitigating your recent failures…" this seemed to strike a nerve in the Reach Ambassador, "Regardless, we will suffice."
"Very well, we called this summit because we have grievances against the Light," he began as he started off, "Please tell me, how is it that the Light stole the key to the War World but, still managed to let this worlds champions destroy it entirely!"
Kaldur spoke up first, before anyone could respond, "If I may respond…"
"No, you may not," Black Beetle responded swiping his hand across the air for emphasis, "Manta, keep your whelp meat silent."
Manta paused, turning toward him to answer, "Beetle, your insolence grows progressively less… charming."
Lex held a hand up gesturing Manta to stand down and gathering the Ambassador's attention, "My friends, I believe we can all agree that no one in these recent days has given more, sacrificed more, than Kaldur'Ahm for both the Light and the Reach," he fixed his cuffs and continued, "It is why he was entrusted with security for this summit and it is also why he's entitled to a voice here."
Ambassador rolled his eyes, "Of course," he gestured for Black Beetle to stand down, "He may speak."
"Thank you, Ambassador," he stepped down from his plateau slightly above the summit grounds, "We acknowledge that the actions of my former team has given us some set-backs," he continued to step forward next to his father, "But, you must also acknowledge that the Light had no idea the crystal key was so important until the Reach had already attempted to claim it, had the Reach been more forthcoming about its uses and capabilities, perhaps this entire situation could have been avoided," he continued further as he noticeably aggravated the Ambassador, "Furthermore, the Light wasn't even present in the key chamber until Black Beetle had already been led away, your security failing us forced us to use Deathstroke to protect it."
The Scientist spoke up with a very precocious tone, "I told you had we recalled Green Beetle to Earth much sooner and researched how Blue had gone off mode we-" she was silenced by a single glance from the Ambassador, "I apologize, I spoke out of turn."
Manta spoke up next with a coy smile, "Nonsense, my dear, you are right to bring your masters tactics into question; the Light has provided everything the Reach has asked for and you aliens let it all slip away."
"I don't believe this is a productive direction for our discussion…" The Ambassador spoke a bit slower, still obviously aggravated.
Ra's Al Ghul folded his arms beneath his emerald cape, "Oh, is it not? After the heroes revealed your additive to the Reach drink, your public approval ratings are at a record low, as is said drink you claimed would enslave the populace in less than two decades…"
Lex Luthor continued for him, "You allowed the children to rescue the kidnapped heroes we trapped utilizing the meta-gene you enhanced within them," he pointed directly at them.
"And allowing them to escape after that, had we not gotten the crystal key, the heroes would have been able to use War World against us both," Manta finished.
"On top of it all, you have allowed a hero using your technology to thwart both of our plans time and time again," Kaldur pointed out.
"That is why I have recalled Black and Green Beetle from their posts," Ambassador motioned to them both behind him.
"To kill Blue Beetle…" Black punched his own palm.
"And place his Scarab back on mode to be attached to new host bodies and forever slaves of the Reach," Scientist clarified.
Ambassador turned with a raised voice, "So, do not count us on that score or any other…" he regained his composure and folded his hands behind his back, "Remember that Earth is now property of the Reach, and per our original agreement, the Light are just our favored agents amongst the human slaves."
Suddenly, Kaldur's father spoke up, "There exists no agreement alive that makes a slave of Black Manta," he passed his son and Lex.
Black Beetle had enough, "No agreement exists that guarantees the life of Black Manta!" he stepped up almost two feet taller than him yet, not intimidating him at all.
"Manta guarantee's that himself!" he opened up a miniature rocket-launcher from his left shoulder-blade, aiming it up at his opponent whilst Beetle formed a plasma weapon out of his chest aiming down.
Ra's cleared his throat, "It seems we have a stand-off…" Deathstroke slowly reached for his katana behind them.
"No… we don't…" Black Beetle responded before backhanding Manta out of his way, onto his back in front of Lex's Italian loafers.
He was immediately rushed by Deathstroke and Tigress working together; their blades sent sparks flying off his armor as he backed away, trying to aim his chest-mounted weapon but, only carving a trench in the ground with both of them being too agile for him to hit in close quarters.
Ambassador and Scientist were startled, stepping back as the Reach soldiers open fired with their photon based staff weapons, a beam was about to hit Ra's Al Ghul in the chest, not that it could kill him but, Tigress stepped in anyways using her sword to block the blast. This also sent her into his arms, being a main leader of the Light, he didn't fight as he had assassins to do that for him so, seeing her take this action for him caught his notice. Usually loyalty in the Light's partners is few and far between so, for Kaldur's personal guard to be defending him?
"Apologies, great one," she muttered keeping her eyes on the fight.
At first, he saw this as a simple coincidence, however; he'd been alive nearly a thousand years so, he was a bit more cautious when he saw something familiar around her neck, "None necessary…" he paused as he saw her glamor-charm, "My child…"
Green Beetle shape-shifted the lower half of his body into a serpentine-like form, growing above the battle field, he open fired plasma blasts down, keeping the security for the Light on guard at the time.
Three of the Reach soldiers approached and were quickly encased in a quick-dry concrete fluid shot from a crossbow on Tigress' belt; Deathstroke dodged and weaved between the behemoth's attacks but, was slowing down as the armored thug had the stamina advantage. Slade Wilson was still a super-soldier and capable of using his blades to cut through the armor, in small cuts that healed seconds later…
Beetle managed blast Deathstroke backwards, tumbling in front of Ra's and The Brain; Manta charged in out of rage, aiming both shoulder mounted launchers up into his face as he aimed his sonic-cannon down into his lower-abdomen. They were about to fire when Kaldur stepped in and placed hands on both of their chests.
"Stop this, we are allies, not adversaries," both power-houses backed down, "Any fighting amongst ourselves only leads to a victory at the hand of our enemy; the Justice League and their sidekicks…"
"He's right… you know," Lex stated stepping forwards and announcing his presence.
"Agreed, thank you, Kaldur'Ahm," Ambassador noted as he gestured to Black Beetle, "Stand down, warriors," Green Beetle dropped two assassins and morphed back into his humanoid form.
"Ambassador-" Black Beetle tried arguing.
With an even more serious tone, he repeated his order, "Stand. Down."
He huffed and turned firing a blast of sonic energy that shattered the concrete encasing their soldiers, he then disarmed his weaponry, turning around and moving to stand beside Scientist and Green Beetle once again, very reluctantly.
Kaldur gave his father a glance and he too dropped his weapons and turned back around, to stand with his partners, "Should we not be more concerned that Superman, the Lanterns, and the rest of the Justice League will soon return to Earth, swaying public opinion to their side once again."
Lex smiled, "Superman…" he spat, "And the rest of the convicted will never leave Rimbor; the attack we forced on their world plus a few well placed bribes will ensure their conviction and execution."
"And Lantern's are no longer permitted in this sector now that we've… convinced Secretary General Tsang to invite us to your planet," Ambassador noted, "As for public opinion, I wouldn't be concerned… though tides have turned…" as he droned on about no longer needing the ratings of the Justice League to continue conquest, the ambassador slowly trailed off as Ra's Al Ghul couldn't keep his eyes off of Tigress' neck.
He took a few steps towards her, causing the pause as everyone looked toward him, "Great one?" she asked innocently as he grabbed the charm around her neck and yanked it off, tearing the strap. Her cheekbones and nose changed size, her hair and eyes changed color, and expression was of total shock. This was not part of the plan.
Lex turned and narrowed his eyes, "Artemis?"
The Brain approached from behind with Deathstroke as the Ambassador questioned, "I don't understand, I thought Artemis was dead?"
"As did we all," Lex responded turning toward her as did everyone on both sides, "But, it seems Tigress is Artemis."
Ra's Al Ghul looked the gem over, "This is a glamor charm, I've seen them only two or three times in my life and never around the neck of a common mercenary," he crushed it in his hand, "Given to her by Dr. Fate or Zatanna… to conceal her identity."
Ambassador put the pieces together, "But, Kaldur killed Artemis… and if she is in disguise as his lieutenant that means-"
Black Beetle smiled, "Aqualad duped them all, including his own father," he pointed and chuckled as Manta was completely baffled.
"Kill them both," Ambassador ordered but, before either Beetle could move; Manta moved in front of Beetle to protect Kaldur.
"No, you will not kill my son!"
Before anyone could react, a sword pierced straight through Artemis' chest, splattering blood across the floor at Ra's feet, "He's right," he pulled a glock from his holster and put two armor-piercing rounds in Kaldur's chest, "The Light takes care of its own," Deathstroke stated plainly as he placed his gun on his belt again and sheathed his bloody sword.
Manta moved to grab Kaldur as he fell, dying in his arms as blood spilled over the stone-cold ground, "I-It's too l-late, father, I've already… won."
He stopped breathing as his arm fell limp, a device shun bright-blue as it begun a timed beeping; everyone was on guard for brief moment expecting an explosion but, it never came.
Instead, a holographic image formed of Kaldur'Ahm in the middle of the grounds behind where they'd first arrived, "If you are hearing this, then this summit is truly over. The Light and The Reach deserve each other; they both believe to be partners but, the Reach see the Light as just more human slaves to aid their conquest when in fact, it has been the Light playing the Reach from day one." Kaldur's voice was annoying enough but, not knowing where the projector was hidden was even more aggravating.
Lex growled at Deathstroke, "Shut, it, off…"
"How?" he shrugged, looking around.
Kaldur's hologram continued by displaying images of private secure information only attainable by those in positions of power in the Light, like Albedo, "It was the Light that brought Earth to the Reach's attention with sending the Justice League to attack Rimbor. The trap was set and the Reach took the bait, eagerly plunging the world into the galactic spot-light, part of their perverse 'survival-of-the-fittest' plan for humanity, hoping to put them as the eventual rules of the Milky Way," Images of War World being used by Vilgax, Ken being controlled to fight Black Beetle and help destroy LexFarms, and the Ambassador holding hands with the Secretary General of the United Nations, just this image gave Lex a very sinister idea.
"Though, the Light made a deal years ago to help them take Earth; they've sabotaged them at every turn, keeping the enhanced meta-teens out of their grasp and adding a neutralizing agent to the Reach enslavement drink, and they purposefully allowed the heroes to take possession of and destroy War World to keep it from the Reach's clutches."
The hologram paused with images to prove what he was saying was true popping up around them, displaying every angle, "So, you see, any agenda either side believed they shared was nothing but carefully crafted illusion," the hologram folded its arms, "I trust I have shattered that illusion, good-night," he formally departed dispersing himself and every image simultaneously.
"Kaldur," Manta looked down to his son's corpse, "What have you done?"
"He has done in death, what no man could do to Vandal Savages plans in a hundred thousand years, in fifteen minutes…" Lex announced as crimson energy cackled over his knuckles, he kept them hidden until the time was right, should he need to use his new power, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe the entire island off the map and start from scratch, "I'd be impressed if I wasn't so-"
"Aghhh!" Ambassador shouted in frustration, "You Earthling's are a petulance and a plague, you dare trick us? You dare betray us?! What should keep me from using our armada to carve up this planet as we speak!?"
Lex ground his jaw tightly, "That would impress, since we currently have nuclear weapons targeting your armada beneath the trenches of Earth's oceans!"
"That…" a voice spoke from across the room, "Is all I needed to hear," Kaldur sat up from his position in his father's mourning arms, wiping the fake blood from his chest-plate.
"Kaldur… you're…"
"Alive?" he finished, "yes."
Ra's turned at the sound of a voice, "If you would?" she left her arm out for him to help her up but, he was simply dumbfounded by her still being alive, "And I heard the 'great one' was such a gentleman."
Lex turned to face Artemis also standing to her feet slowly, "I just watched Deathstroke kill you both!"
"Aw," Deathstroke said from behind as he suddenly turned lime-green, instead of puking, his entire body shape-shifted into a shorter, thinner woman sporting crimson hair and a splash of freckles across her nose, "I wouldn't do that," she used telekinesis to levitate one of Tigress' very real swords to his neck, "Not to my real friends, who I actually care about."
Kaldur stepped closer to Artemis and M'gaan, "I heard about the real-life applications for Hollywood practical effects but, our performance on the beach did for a good test."
"Because unlike you, we value our true friends and are not short on them…"
Suddenly, from every possible catacomb entrance came Nightwing, Batgirl, Superboy, Spiritus, Mal Duncan in his guardian suit, and even the retired speedster Wally West joined in the arrival of heroes, "Que theme song, miss me?" he announced with his hands on his hips.
Lex didn't hesitate, "Well played, well planned but, the Light always has contingences…" The Brain deactivated and transferred his conscious elsewhere, leaving his mechanical husk to activate a trigger mechanism, shutting all entry ways to the cave previously used by the heroes.
From above, what appeared to be a regular ceiling of cracked rock opened up as to allow Moon light in, still capable of seeing scattered War World remains in the night-sky, they watched as assassins armed with basic Reach weaponry dropped from the outside, surrounding the heroes on every end.
Lex stepped back as he deemed the need for his power reveal unnecessary now, "I've definitely had my fill of your petty interference, do not expect to survive," he turned his speaking voice to the assassins around him, "Kill them all, Superboy and the Anodite may present a problem but, we will handle them when the other children lie bleeding at my feet!"
M'gaan chuckled as Kaldur shook his head, "Still, you consider us children, no wonder our victory is mount… you still underestimate us," the word 'underestimate' was their key phrase as suddenly, two of the assassins flashed bright emerald for an instant before individually shredding their Light-gear turning into Swampfire and Fourarms. Spite their identical devices, Ben was so much older than Kenneth that his Tetramand transformation was obviously the half-Anodite Tennyson while the former was the clone, Shifter, whom Lex just gave an advantage to less than a day ago.
On the side of the Reach, Blue Beetle used his familiar technology to blend in with their ranks, armoring up shredded his disguise as he flew upwards, aiming down a powerful sonic attack that blasted back half of their forces.
Several other assassins tore their clothes off; Beast Boy and Sunny, the former turned into a rampaging gorilla that tackled the ape Mallah and bit down into his shoulder blade, drawing blood. Sunny flew through battlefield and landed in front of Lex, "Hey…" she said before igniting mana flames around her already glowing powerful body, "You killed someone I cared about…" she paused for a moment before regaining her conviction, "Now, I'm gonna kill you!" She sent a blast of mana that would vaporize him but, it hit a crimson shield first, blocking her energy with cosmic power beyond even the mana dimension of Ledger Domain.
"How?!" Fourarms shouted, "Wait!" he was soon tackled by Black Beetle flying him through a pillar and sending him into the wall, a pile of rubble crumbling down around him.
As an assassin had clear shot at Mal Duncan with his gun, he was suddenly knocked ten feet passed the new Guardian by a punch moving at two-hundred miles an hour. Impulse, Wonder Girl, Robin removed their masks revealing they too had accompanied the heroes.
Batgirl and Nightwing were back to back, one using escrima sticks to beat down the real assassins and the other beating down on them with her gloved fists.
Superboy rag dolled a Reach soldier into a stalagmite hanging from the ceiling, the shattered rubble almost hit Wonder Girl as she round housed an assassin off his feet. She was saved as roots dug up from the ground, creating a full wooden structure above her in seconds to protect from the debris.
She gave him a smile, knowing full well it was Ken, before right-hooking the next obvious bad-guy that came her way; two speedsters zipped through out the battlefield helping everyone and beating down on the extras.
Lex pulled back and clapped his hands, sending a shockwave that knocked Sunny back into her physical form; she looked at her skin, her finger-nails, "H-How did you…" before she got an answer, he vanished with a crimson light unlike any teleportation she'd ever seen, "NO!" she shouted with rage.
"COWARDLY MEAT!" Black Beetle shouted as he made sure the Ambassador was behind him.
Green Beetle engaged in battle with M'gaan as they both transformed into mythical beasts, dragons and serpents tangling and biting into one another savagely.
Ra's Al Ghul was too experienced to be this naïve, "No, Lex has the right idea, the heroes have no jurisdiction here!" he was looking around, watching everyone fight, absolute chaos as the heroes hit them like a plague, knowing them down one by one.
"That means every human in the Light is cowardly meat," Black Beetle set his sights on Ra's as Superboy right-hooked him in the face, doing nothing, he quickly uppercutted the boy of steel into the ceiling with one hand whilst forming a beetle-horn out of the other. He quickly grabbed Ra's by the shoulder while he was distracted and tore through his torso with the blade, impaling him through to the other side.
"Master!" One of the larger thugs shouted, twisting Batgirl's wrist and tossing her aside to quickly come to the falling demon's aid.
He pulled the horn out of his body as Ra's took a gasp of air; letting the blood drip down his arm as he shifted it back into a hand, "Such is the fate of all meat."
Artemis watched it all happen in front of her eyes until a fist knocked her to the side, the assassin caught Ra's like he was a dying family member as Wally zipped to his girlfriend's side, helping her up.
"I will keep you safe, master," he shot a grappling gun into the cave ceiling, pulling himself and Ra's Al Ghul out of the cave, to safety.
A group of assassins dropped around them to protect the Head of the Demon; now, back to back, Wally quipped at Artemis, "I so want to kiss you right now…" he paused, "Or maybe kill you for putting us through all of this!"
She nudged his shoulder, keeping a fighting-stance, "Hold that thought, you can decide later, when we're alone…" a coy grin left her face quickly as they both separated to finish off the remaining goons.
Meanwhile, Kaldur and Black Manta stood in a pool of shallow water as the father couldn't even understand what was happening, "I do not comprehend this betrayal, son."
"I will admit my conflictions, I have seen your more noble side, father, but," he drew his water-bearers and formed twin machete's, "So long as you waste you gifts on evil, I will stand against you."
He wavered for a single moment before shaking his head, "Clearly, I've been too permissive," he reattached his helmet which altered his voice as well, "It's obvious you require… discipline," twin beams of heat fired out from his helmet as Kaldur summoned a spout of water upwards to take the blast for him, sending a mist out across their corner of the cave. Aqualad used his mystical abilities to manipulate the water in the air, turning them into ice-projectiles.
Green Beetle had M'gaan on the ropes, he was still a massive serpentine creature, taking up most of the cave and hissing very loudly; she was in his coils, being squeezed to death. He was going to continue squeezing until a bright flash of green stunned him for only a second or two, suddenly he was grabbed by the end of his tail.
Ultimate Humungousaur tightened his grip on his tail so hard the brainwashed Martian snake yelped like a person, being pulled directly into a right hook that sent its head upwards into a group of stalagmites, furthering his damage. Debris fell to the ground from above as he dropped M'gaan; Humungousaur used his armored shell to stop the debris and she fit right into one of his hands.
He placed her down gently, transforming back into his Base form and then transforming again back into a human; he put up a mana dome to block from debris and enemies.
"You okay?" Ben asked telepathically, helping her to her feet.
"Yea, his armor gives him the upper-" once she looked up into his gleaming emerald eyes, she noticed they were only a few inches apart from each other, "hand," her cheeks flushed as he smiled.
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around a bit, "What? Did you miss this? Convoluted villain plot thwarting?"
She giggled, "No, stupid, I missed you," she grabbed both sides of his face planting him with a firmly graceful kiss, almost lost in the moment enough to drop his guard, a massive boulder fell atop his shield, cracking it slightly and grabbing Ben's attention.
"We should fight…"
"Yea."
Kid Flash and Impulse ran side-by-side one another casually moving at mach nine, "Hey there, KF, whatcha up to?"
"Oh, the usual, driving the bad-guys nuts," he looked him over though, even at that speed he could see his assassins' outfit over the red and white, "Like the threads though…"
"Really?" He pulled on it casually.
"Yea, I just always assumed you'd end up in something more… yellow and red," he made the obvious comment on his own professionally made armor.
"Really?!"
"Hey," he announced to Bart, "Once this invasion shit is over, Artemis and I are going back into retirement; but Barry still needs… no, the world still needs Kid Flash…"
Bart was stunned, one of his lifelong heroes that he never thought he'd even meet telling him that he would make the perfect person to take up his mantle, "Dude… I don't know what to say."
"Talk later, fight now!"
They zipped off in different directions, having had a conversation in under a single second was entertaining and most of this happening simultaneously made the entire event seem far longer, having been only fifteen minutes since M'gaan shot Kaldur and Artemis on que.
The Brain's mobile body had frozen since its host had transferred his consciousness away sometime ago; it had become a sentry, firing at anything that moved with a plasma cannon; Bart came in like a tornado, tearing it all apart, and leaving just the bare skull-faced design on a hunk of metal in less than a nanosecond, "Ta-da!" he announced.
He was knocked over by Garfield's ape form hitting him in the back, tumbling him into a heap; Mallah was about to crush Bart's head when a green Rhino rampaged through, hitting the ape dead center in the chest and into the wall.
"There is no room in this world, no, this Universe for the powerful to be soft," Manta started as he grabbed an icicle inches from hitting his face, shattering it with his grip alone, "I will teach you that lesson even if I have to beat it into your skull!" he fired off another beam causing a larger explosion, whilst Kaldur ducked behind a large structure for cover. Steam overwhelmed the two, making it impossible to see their pool in the battlefield, Kaldur took this opportunity to leap into the air, punching the water and forming a massive fifteen foot tall wave which became a fist of its own, countered only by beams of heat which were overwhelmed by the Atlantean magic.
Aqualad used the steam as cover to create a pillar of water, carrying him up above the battlefield; he formed four liquid-based snaked to attack along side him. His father sent out all four of his personalized missiles from either shoulder-blade, leaving Kaldur to drop on him from above with a studded aqua-mallet. He shattered the helmet open, cracking it to pieces and nearly bludgeoning his father to death in one blow.
Manta dropped to his back with blood dripping down his head, he looked up at his son standing over him as the blood dripped into his eyes, he thought for sure this was the end of his life, patricide at its finest, instead Kaldur scowled down at him, "I believe that was pretty ruthless… I hope I made you proud, father…" He didn't let his 'father' have a say in it as he turned and round housed him into the water, knocking him unconscious.
Ambassador and Scientist hid behind their soldiers and cover for the entire fight until they finally saw an opportunity to escape arise, a staircase leading to an unblocked catacomb; they sprinted for the exit, however; they were intercepted by Blue Beetle flying above them, pinning them to the wall with a large staple gun.
"Warrior!" He called as Black Beetle used her mystic lasso to swing Wonder Girl into Chromastone, knocking them both to the side quite effortlessly, "Warrior! Release me now, we must flee!"
Black Beetle floated down to him, "Pathetic, look at where your machinations have led us…"
"Release me now, soldier, that is an order!"
Black Beetle had never been so satisfied to say something, "No, your numerous failures render all orders moot; under Articlesix-teen sub-section#105 of the Reach Planetary Acquisition Code, I officially declare you unfit to lead this delegation."
For the first time since arriving on Earth, the Ambassador showed true fear, "No! NO! YOU CAN'T!" Black Beetle ignored this and ripped Scientist from the wall.
"You…" he looked down on her, "Actually might still be of use," he held her tightly and looked up, using his thrusters to take to the air.
Stinkfly and Jetray followed closely after him, however; a thick beam of plasma splitting the air distracted them and he went hyper-sonic in an unknown direction.
"Is that a new Omnitrix?" Stinkfly asked inappropriately as the powerhouse of the Reach just got away, "Sorry…"
Jetray smiled, "It's fine and yea, it's new…"
…
After a few minutes of loud thuds, the last Reach soldier and Light assassin had been dealt with; Ben, M'gaan, Wally, and Artemis came together as couples as Blue Beetle bragged a victory beside the Ambassador with Spiritus right next to him, ever so slightly touching hands gave them both a hard blush, only Scarab purposefully let it show, "Oh, c'mon, not that big of a deal! Do you exist to torture me?"
"Jamie Reyes, if that is all that you have gathered from our time together, than you have learned nothing at all…"
"Was that a compliment?"
"You can tell that dirty, traitorous, Scarab of yours to-" Ambassador was gagged by Veronica slapping some mana-tape over his mouth, muffling every word.
"Scarab wants to thank you…" Jamie said as he looked away and rubbed his neck, "Oh, and he prefers you as my-" widened eyes shocked him, "I am not doing that!" he shouted leaving Veronica to giggle in response.
Nightwing huffed, scooping his escrima stick off the ground, he looked around and found Ben and Kaldur facing Black Manta with M'gaan not too far behind them; he approached for the first time not needing to hide their friendship, he was surprised by their solemn tone.
"I was hoping we'd end this tonight…" Ben announced.
It seemed Kaldur agreed, "Yes, Lex Luthor escaped with his new powers, Klarion and Queen Bee never showed, and Black Beetle escaped with the Reach's head-scientist who will no doubt-"
"Dude," Ben slapped his shoulder, "We didn't end it but, we didn't lose! We fucking won!"
Wally and Artemis approached side-by-side, "Won? You triumphed, man!"
She continued for him, "You destroyed the Reach, literally broke the Light in half and we even took out Deathstroke before the battle even started!"
Ben chuckled, "Let's not forget who had their radio stashed on them this entire time!" he motioned to Artemis, giving her a quick high five, "We can use every single one of Lex Luthor's words against him, in a court of law! Drinks are definitely on me, guys."
She chuckled, "Finally, I could use a stiff martini."
Beast Boy grabbed Artemis by the waist, pulling her in and hugging her tightly, she giggled, "What's this for…"
"I'm just still so glad that you aren't dead!" and he turned to Kaldur, "And that he's not a murdering traitor!" he pointed his finger into Dick's face, "No more faking people's deaths!"
"For at least a year…" Ken said from behind M'gaan as they were all gathered in the shallow waters.
"Agreed," Kaldur exhaled, "You would not believe how exhausting being a villain can be…"
Ben, Wally, and Dick surrounded him on all sides, "Kaldur, this was a really good night! Probably the best since-"
Ben interrupted, "Since I talked everyone into going to Cadmus six years ago… or five or something…"
"You convinced us?!" Wally shouted, "I guess we really have Roy to thank for that… but, since the day we first interfered, this is the biggest blow we ever dealt to the Light."
Kaldur looked back down to his beaten father as Wally put a hand on his plated shoulder, "Enjoy the moment, you earned it."
"Yes…" he paused for a moment and looked back up at Ben, "You said the drinks were on you?"
…
Reach Flagship; May 24th 2019; 7:22AM
"After new evidence was presented to the United Nations earlier this morning revealing the Reach are not the saviors they claim to be, a unanimous vote has been made by the senate to rescind our invitation for them to stay on our world," the Washington news outlet was cut off by Black Beetle slamming his fist against dashboard.
"Damn, meat," he growled.
"The Green Lantern core will soon be on their way with six agents for an investigation…" The Scientist announced.
"Forget it, the meat can have their world," he noted backing up and turning around.
"Wont that still break our treaty with the Guardians of the Universe? When they find evidence of our tampering with their gene-pool?"
"No… they won't…" Black Beetle turned back around to see the Earth from orbit; the annoying blue marble was taunting him, "Because there wont be anything left to find."
"I don't follow…"
He turned to her and pulled up a holographic image of their armory, "They may have locked us out of our armada but, we still have ways to annihilate their entire planet."
…
BOOM, You looking for this?
If I could put a picture of Rhodey from Age of Ultron saying that I would.
Thank you everyone whose been reading so far, couldn't do it without you.
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