Disclaimer: Both characters and products of the Justice League Unlimited and Ben 10 franchises do not belong to me.

Still recovering. Another week or so until I am good enough to move around. For now, enjoy.

Chapter 7: Old Enemies

Batman expertly maneuvered the Batmobile, zooming around tight corners and finding the shortest route towards Arkham Asylum. Years of honing his reflexes allowed him to drive with near perfect precision despite the high speed in which the Batmobile traveled, avoiding pedestrians and surface street traffic without causing any accidents.

Still too slow. Batman grit his teeth as he pressed down further on the accelerator, having already pushed the boosters to their limits as he made for the increasing smoke plumes in the distance. While they were considered the criminally insane, the patients at Arkham were his responsibility and had human rights that he would not allow to be violated, by anyone and anything. His eyes briefly left the road when the communicator went off, the screen to his right showing the Bat symbol. Pressing a small button on his steering wheel, Batgirl appeared on the screen.

"Batgirl. Good. I need you to call the Batcycle and head over to-"

"Arkham. I know. We're currently heading towards GPD headquarters though. I'm assuming you already stopped by there?"

"Yes. I spoke with Gordon and he is sending any available units to Arkham. Did you say 'we'?"

Batgirl nodded on screen, holding the communicator she had up and showing the grinning face of Supergirl, "Hi Batman."

"Supergirl. Good. Both of you listen carefully. This is not a breakout."

"It isn't? What's going on then?" Batgirl pulled the communicator back so her face was showing.

"A break in. Kidnapping, most likely."

"Okay... Who the heck would break into Arkham Asylum to kidnap criminals?"

"I'm not completely sure, but they are alien in nature. Robotic. Orange bodies with glowing red eyes. Metal that is hard and very resistant to all manner of attacks. Traditional weaponry does not work. There are two types of machines. One is large, almost as tall as a bus is long. Very sturdy and capable of firing lasers from its eyes and arms. Has metal tentacles protruding from its body. Then there are the smaller drones, fast and has cannons coming out of their chests. Follows the large ones around in greater number. Their main goal seems to be criminals around Gotham. For what purpose, we don't know but it does not seem altruistic. One broke into GPD headquarters to snatch a criminal out of their grasp. It seems Arkham is their next target."

"Jeez, what the hell is going on in Gotham?"

"Now aren't you glad we were around to help?" Supergirl spoke up from off screen, making Batman glare at Batgirl.

"Again, what does she mean, 'we'?"

"Uh... Well, as you may remember, Kara did not come to visit me alone..."

"The Tennysons." Batman did not know whether to feel relieved or worried, "Are they there with you?"

"Well... Supergirl and I wanted to check on GPD headquarters first before heading towards Arkham. Ben was worried about the guards and employees at Arkham so he and Gwen went ahead."

Batman scowled. While he was not particularly worried about Ben and Gwen, knowing how powerful they were, this was an unknown threat. Who knew what these machines were capable of.

/0/

Ben had mixed feelings about how the day was going. Mostly positive, he wanted to say. Meeting Barbara was great, amazing even. She was as beautiful and funny as him, and smart and sassy like Gwen. Someone he knew that he and Gwen would get along with well in the future. Then he had gone and made Gwen worry, enough to give her a panic attack and he felt so careless and thoughtless. He never wanted to see Gwen hurt, especially when it was his fault. Good and bad but overall, he thought it was good. Then the hero life reared its ugly head and he found himself carrying Gwen over high rooftops and shady alleyways, not something he thought he would be doing again, and so soon to boot. As they neared the smoking asylum that Barbara had told them about, Ben's breath had hitched, almost at the same time Gwen let out a choked gasp.

Down below, they saw something they never dreamed to see again, especially in this dimension.

Vilgax's drone army.

"No. No no no..." Ben's arms, Big Chill's arms, tightened around Gwen as she whispered those words. Fire, chaos, giant orange robots shooting and destroying things without regard or mercy. A sight so familiar, so painfully similar to what they had left behind, both cousins could not help the fear and panic filling their souls.

Big Chill did not even notice them falling until Gwen screaming his name finally cut through his panic, "Ben!"

Big Chill flapped his wings, taking them back up into the air at the last moment, dropping them both down on a nearby rooftop. Gwen got down from Big Chill's arms, breathing rapidly before falling to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. Big Chill slapped the Omnitrix dial and in a flash of green light, was back in his human form.

Seeing Gwen in a panicked state, Ben crushed the feelings bubbling up in his own chest, stumbling forward and grabbing her shoulders, turning her around to look at him, "Gwen, Gwen come back to me!" He could see how hazy her eyes were, how she was not seeing what was in front of her but what had happened. Even through the panic, Ben knew the situation was bad and that they were needed.

"Gwen." Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pushing one of his hands up onto the back of her neck, running his fingers through her hair. She never admitted it, but this had relaxed her when they were younger, during the rare moments when they needed comfort from one another. While they had loved the summer of adventure and hero time together, they had still been ten years old back then. And some of the horrors they had seen and experienced left scars that even Grandpa Max did not understand or could help with. They did not just miraculously became good friends during the five years after Ben had taken off the watch. They had shared trauma, shared fears and experiences that brought them closer together than any friend or family could be.

"Gwen, come back. I am right here. Remember? Right here." Ben stroked the back of her neck, through the hair right at the base of her skull. A spot he knew comforted and relaxed her. Out of instinct, and habit that they had not done since they were thirteen, Gwen reached up, finding the same spot on his head and stroking the shorter strands of his hair.

He knew she had come back when she started that, being in a more right state of mind to try and comfort him. Ben pulled back, grinning weakly at her. Gwen returned the grin with a brittle smile of her own, her breathing having calmed down as she took a deep breath, "I'm okay. I'm alright. Thank you Ben."

"Any time Dweeb." That earned a quiet laugh from the redhead. She stood up, closing her eyes and taking a few more deep breaths before opening them. There was fire back in her eyes, a resolve had had not seen in a while and that made him feel relief.

"We've got to stop them."

"Yeah." Ben stood up, dusting his green jacket off as he made his way to the edge of the roof, "I don't know if Vilgax is down there, but those are definitely his type one and two drones." Ben noticed a large amount of drones heading towards one particular building, while a few were engaging a small number of guards still putting up a fight.

"Gwen, go help the guards. Evacuate everyone and anyone you can find."

"What about you?"

"It looks like a lot of them are interested in that particular building." Ben pointed at the building one of the drones blew a hole in, "I'm going to go see what they want, and take out as many of them as I can while I am at it."

"Alright. But Ben... Please be careful."

"You know me Gwen, I'm always careful!"

At the flat look Gwen gave him, Ben coughed, looking down at his feet, "I mean... I will. Be careful that is."

Nodding her head, Gwen gave her cousin a small smile before jumping off the roof, a purple platform forming under her as she made her way towards the guards currently firing at two large robots and some drones.

"You better not be here Vilgax... Or I'm tearing you apart like 10,000 said." Ben pressed the button on his watch, turning the dial before slamming his hand down, a brilliant green light filling the air.

/0/

"You're not Batman." Ben looked down at the clown in front of him. He honestly could not make heads or tails of the man. On one hand, he was a clown dressed in a gaudy purple suit and was clearly a resident of Arkham Asylum. On the other hand, Vilgax's drones clearly wanted him. And the guy with half his face burnt off.

Unable to help himself, Ben smirked at the clown, "How do you know? Maybe I fancied a change."

The clown blinked at him before letting out a very loud, very manic laugh, "Oh now I know you aren't Batman! The Bat has no sense of humor! Trust me, I know. We're best friends after all."

One of Diamondhead's crystal ridges, that looked like eyebrows, went up, "I thought Batman's best friend was Superman?"

"Oh no no no. I assure you. I, am Batman's bestest, truest friend in the whole world."

"Right..."

"Can you two shut up and help me over here?" Two Face was still backing up, firing the large magnum gun without pause, emptying the spent magazine and pushing a new one in without pause.

Diamondhead turned both his hands into giant crystal blades, jumping over Joker and letting out a mighty scream. He body slammed the orange robot, making it tilt back before he shoved the sharp tips into the underside of the robot's head, making it spark and whine before exploding, falling back and slamming into the ground.

"Thanks." Two Face put his gun away inside his suit, glancing at the crystal man with vague interest. He then looked at the downed robot, "This thing grabbed one of our fellow cellmates and dragged him inside its body. Can you get him out?"

Diamondhead shook his head, "Not safely no. I can't tell where he is being kept, and if I just stab away there is a chance I might hit him." He paused, "So you two are inmates here."

"Guilty." The clown laughed loudly, "And who are you? Clearly not from Gotham if you haven't heard of me or the dynamic duo over there."

"I hope you fall into a vat and die, Joker."

"I love you too Denty!"

"My name is Two Face."

"Whatever you say!"

Before the two could get into, what looked like a fight, Diamondhead stepped between the two, "Will you focus? Do either of you two know why these things are after you?"

Two Face shrugged, "Beats me. One minute we're playing cards in the cafeteria, the next, these things were busting down the wall and grabbing people. We made ourselves scarce. Not that helped Scarecrow or Riddler."

"Maybe they were looking to make new friends!"

"Only you would think that is how to make friends, clown." Joker laughed at that, making Diamondhead reach up to rub at his forehead.

"What is wrong with you two..."

"With us three! You can't forget Two Face's two faces!" Joker waved his hands at Two Face's face, as if he were presenting some kind of special prize.

"Right..." Diamondhead backed away from the two, "If it's all the same to you two... Uh, three. I'm going to go destroy more robots."

"And that's our cue to go! Have fun with robot cleanup, Rocky!" Joker laughed, pointing at Diamondhead before turning around to leave. He smacked right into a well developed chest, with a very distinct bat-like symbol printed on it, "Batsy old pal! Old friend! Did you come to check on little ol' me?"

Not even acknowledging what the Clown Prince said, Batman fired his grappling hook, making it wrap around the Joker's whole body and making the clown yell as he fell onto his back. Two Face made to draw his gun but blue crystals shot out of the ground under him, trapping him in a prison of hard rock.

"No fair! No fair!" Joker struggled against the metal cables, glaring at Batman from the ground, "And to think I called you my best friend!"

Once again ignoring the clown, Batman made his way towards Diamondhead, throwing a curious look at the trapped Two Face before focusing on the crystal man. He spoke very quietly, enough that Two Face and Joker could not hear him, "Ben?"

Diamondhead nodded, showing Batman the Omnitrix symbol, "Hello Batman. Welcome to the party."

Batman nodded back, "Thank you for the backup."

"We couldn't just leave these things to rampage. Especially since..."

"Since what?"

"These are from my home."

Batman's eyes widened under his cowl before he stepped closer, "You're going to have to explain when this is all over."

"I intended to even if you didn't ask."

Batman nodded again before facing the struggling Two Face and Joker, "Stick around. I'm saying this for your sake. Out there, where I don't know where you are, these machines can take you any time, quite easily. But if you're here, my friend and I."

Ben spoke up, "My name is Diamondhead."

Batman nodded, "Diamondhead and I can protect you. If you still want to escape, by all means, go ahead. But you will end up back here in the end. Whether it is by me catching you or rescuing you from these things."

Two Faced sighed while Joker stuck his tongue out at the Bat.

"These machines seem to have taken some of the criminals in here. Two Face says this one took one of his friends."

"More of an acquaintance really." Two Face sounded bored now. The man looked at Batman, "That one took Scarecrow. The one behind Joker took Riddler."

"Hm." Batman turned to Diamondhead, "No manner of explosives, liquid nitrogen, high density lasers, or blunt force trauma that I could apply could break through these machines. But it seems you can damage them."

Diamondhead nodded, "I'm made of something, special. Can pierce through almost anything. Supergirl's strength could probably bash through these things with enough force. And..." Diamondhead looked at Two Face and Joker before looking back at Batman, "Lucky Girl's mana attacks could penetrate them quite easily."

Batman frowned at the mention of Lucky Girl for a second before coming to a quick realization, "I see. Where is Lucky Girl?"

"Helping the guards evacuate innocents."

"Good. We should work on getting rid of the rest of these machines."

"Looks like you won't have to." At Two Face's words, both heroes looked over at the man. When they noticed Two Face looking out the hole one of the robots made, they turned around and saw dozens of smaller drones and eight or so larger robots rocketing away into the night sky.

"Crap!" Diamondhead ran out the hole, pressing the Omnitrix dial and transforming in a flash of light, "AmpFibian!" In place of the crystal man was some blue and white jellyfish man. It had six tentacles, two functioning as legs while four hung by its sides like arms. It has no pupils, just bold green eyes and the familiar Omnitrix dial where its mouth should have been.

AmpFibian shot up into the air, planning to take flight after the drones and robots, "Wait!" AmpFibian made a U-turn in the air, glaring down at Batman.

"What?!"

"Are you planning on going after them by yourself? I know you're powerful, but you have no idea their numbers or what other weapons they have. I can't follow you like this, and I doubt Lucky Girl can too. Going off half cocked without a plan is going to get you killed."

Biting back the anger and frustration that threatened to rear their ugly heads, AmpFibian looked at the retreating drones before looking back down at Batman. Letting out an angry cry, AmpFibian lowered itself down next to Batman, glaring at the Dark Knight with its alien eyes, "I'm staying for Lucky Girl."

Turning around without a comment, Batman made his way back inside, "She should be at the main courtyard."

/0/

Gwen had made platform after platform with her mana, making an impromptu staircase towards the front entrance of the asylum where guards were firing their guns at two giant drones making their way towards the guard station. She felt her chest tighten at the sight of various guards already down on the ground, some groaning while others were unnaturally still. Tearing her eyes away from them, she felt anger build up, her eyes filling with purple energy.

Mana surrounded her hands before she threw ball after ball of explosive purple energy at the smaller drones buzzing around, knocking them clear out of the air. The two large robots swirled their heads around, detecting a bigger threat and ignoring the guards scrambling to make a barricade.

"Not again, you are not doing this, again!" Power seeped from Gwen's voice, her red hair flying wildly around as she drew the life energy from around her. The half-Anodite drew the energy to her hands before swiping her left hand down, a whip made of purple energy lashing out and cutting one of the large robot's head clean off. She then pointed her right hand at the other one, four purple tendrils of energy shooting out and piercing through the orange metal like butter, lifting it high up in the air before tearing it completely apart.

"You will not harm anyone again!" Gwen lifted up in the air, purple tentacles made of energy protruding from her back and moving up in the air, making her look like some bizarre purple winged creature of vengeance.

The guards stared up at her, one or two in fear while the rest only saw something divine, "An angel..." One of the guards spoke quietly in awe, "A purple angel..."

"Gwen!" The guards looked to the left, their eyes going wide when some kind of, jellyfish creature came floating over. Their fears were slightly lessened by the sight of Batman walking up, no fear in his body language.

The jellyfish flew up towards the purple angel, reaching four of its arms out to touch her arms, "Gwen. Gwen come back to me! You're going full Anodite! Please Gwen, if you do that, I lose you! I can't lose you, not like this! Please!"

"Ben...?" Gwen's face was already peeling, slowly dissipating from the energy overflowing from her body, "If I had embraced my power... The true power I had in my grasp, I could have stopped Vilgax. I could have stopped everything..."

AmpFibian looked at her, his silence heavy in the air before he spoke, "Maybe Gwen. Maybe you could have saved them, maybe you would have been too late. No one can know. We can't ever know. But right here, right now? I need you Gwen Tennyson. I need you who feels sad and angry. I need you who sasses me every time I do something stupid and I need you who feels disgust at the chili fries I eat. Please Gwen. Please. I need you, not the Anodite."

Gwen's face was half gone, her hair turning into small tendrils of mana. AmpFibian feared she could not hear him when suddenly, the power was gone. Her eyes changed back to their brilliant emerald color, her face reformed into smooth creamy skin, and her hair changed back into flowing strands of crimson. Tears were in her eyes as she grabbed AmpFibian, no, her cousin's arms, "I should have done more..."

AmpFibian squeezed her arms, "We both could have, but we can't keep dwelling on what happened. We can't keep wishing for things to be different, we need to start moving forward."

"I don't know if I can..."

"I know you can. You're stronger and smarter than I could ever be. No matter what I say in defiance."

Gwen smiled slightly at Ben, "I'll hold that over you forever."

"And I'll let you forever, as long as there is a forever."

AmpFibian lowered both of them down, touching down carefully. Batman walked up to the two. While they could not see any visible signs of concern, the fact that the Dark Knight was being careful and slow in his approach said volumes.

"We're alright." Gwen turned to Batman, offering the Caped Crusader a shaky smile.

"Are we too late?" The three heroes looked up, seeing Supergirl approach with Batgirl hanging from her arms. The redheaded Bat let go of her friend, dropping down into a crouch before running over to her mentor and new friends.

"Are you alright?" Seeing the clearly tear streaked face of her fellow redhead, Batgirl resisted the urge to hug her in front of so many people.

Batman had already positioned himself to cover Gwen from the guards, making sure they did not get a good look at her, "We need to get Gwen out of sight. While she is not well known, her identity being exposed might cause problems down the line." Batman pressed a button on his utility belt, remotely calling the Batmobile. It came roaring down the street before skidding to a halt next to the ground. The top slid open, "Get in."

Gwen gave AmpFibian one last look before climbing into the Batmobile. Batman spoke up, "I'm going to program the Batmobile to take you to the cave. Alfred will be waiting. We'll join you when we finish up here."

The female Tennyson nodded, smiling slightly at Batgirl before leaning back in her seat, "Thank you Batman." The Dark Knight nodded back before pressing the button on his utility belt, the top sliding shut on the Batmobile before it shot off down the street.

Batman turned back to address Batgirl and Supergirl, "We took down a few of these machines, but a majority retreated as soon as AmpFibian and Lucky Girl showed up." Both girls raised their eyebrows at the names but did not comment, already guessing who was who, "AmpFibian attempted to chase them but without knowing their numbers or plans, I asked him to hold off and help us deal with the mess here first."

"Sorry we didn't make it in time, even with my speed." Supergirl looked apologetically at the two.

AmpFibian shook his head, "It was over pretty quick. I think these things recognized me and Gw-, me and Lucky Girl. Judging by how quickly they ran after we took some of them down, I think I'm right."

"Wait, you make it sound like you've seen these things before?" Batgirl held a hand up, gesturing towards one of the downed robots.

"Oh yeah... Lucky Girl and I have seen these things before. We've fought them multiple times since I was ten years old. They're from my...home."

"That means..." Supergirl's eyes were wide as she glanced at the downed drones and larger robot counterparts.

"Yeah, they're from another dimension."

/0/

Wayne Industries had generously offered speedy and efficient clean up of the robots that had attacked Arkham Asylum. GPD had arrived in force, SWAT and patrol officers surrounding the prison and sweeping for any stragglers or escapees. The cells were mostly undamaged, and with the help of Supergirl, Batgirl, and AmpFibian, Batman had rounded up the more unusual criminals that had been released during the chaos. Even with the dedicated GPD, Batman and his companions, there were quite a few criminals missing from Arkham's lineup.

With the help of Supergirl's x-ray vision, and AmpFibian changing back into Diamondhead, the heroes were able to extract the criminals trapped inside some of the downed robots. The two that Gwen had destroyed were empty, busy keeping the guards occupied while the two Ben had brought down only had Scarecrow and the Riddler.

"Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Mister Freeze, and two dozen other patients from Arkham are still missing. Eye witnesses say that most of them were taken by the drones and robots. I wouldn't put it past the first three just escaping in the chaos though." Batgirl let out a frustrated sigh, looking over the list they had made with all the guards.

"While it is worrying, I would find it more of a relief that they escaped instead of being taken in this case." Batman was looking over his own list, taking note of the other small time criminals that were missing, "Killer Croc escaped last week but hasn't made a move. We can only assume he was taken while in the city."

"That's no small feat. He's really strong, not to mention, vicious."

"Even with his enhanced strength and teeth, I doubt Croc could take on these machines himself."

"Unless he has the strength of Supergirl, it's most likely he was taken." Diamondhead crossed his arms with a grim look.

"Good to know I can probably take these things on." Supergirl gave Diamondhead a smile, one the crystal alien barely returned.

"This is one hell of a mess." Commissioner Gordon walked up to the four heroes, his hands in his pockets, "No offense Batman, but I miss the days when Joker was the craziest thing in Gotham." The commissioner paused before rubbing his hand over his face, "Maybe I should retire."

"And leave us with this mess sir? That seems cruel and unusual." Detective Bennett walked up behind Gordon with his partner, Detective Yin.

"We just completed the sweep commissioner. I doubt anyone slipped past our net, underground or up above. No sight of those robots though." Detective Yin crossed her arms, looking at the assortment of heroes, "If it wasn't for you four, I guess we'd be looking at a completely empty Arkham instead of a partially empty one. Thank you."

"I'm sorry we couldn't do more, Detective Yin." Batgirl smiled slightly at the detective, who shook her head.

"With insanity like this, I'm just glad you guys did something. I'm beginning to understand why Batman joined the Justice League."

"Speaking of, why aren't they here? Isn't this something you'd call them to help with? An army of giant, hard to destroy robots sounds like something up their alley." Bennett raised an eyebrow at the Dark Knight, who remained silent.

Diamondhead held his finger up, "I think Batman prefers to call them only when his back is completely against the wall, in a corner, about to be vaporized."

Both Batgirl and Supergirl held back a giggle, making Batman turn and glare at the crystal alien humanoid. When Diamondhead poked his fingers together, Detective Bennett laughed while Gordon shook his head with a smile.

Detective Yin shrugged, "Well, it seems like Batman already has a good team at his back. I just hope you'll be enough. GPD is good, and this is our city to defend, but even I will admit we are out of our depth with this. We need help."

"And I'm sure Batman knows that." Commissioner Gordon gave the Dark Knight a pointed look before running his hand through his hair, "I'm stationing a group of officers here until we can get the placed fixed up. We lost some good men here. And with the criminal underworld picked clean, I have plenty of officers to spare. Please Batman, get to the bottom of this craziness. I don't know how much more our city can take."

With that, Gordon turned to give orders to his men. Bennett waved at the four heroes, following the commissioner. Yin nodded at Batman before following her partner.

Batman turned to the three teens, "I had Wayne industries gather every piece we could find and take it to Wayne Industries. We'll keep it tightly locked up and under close surveillance around the clock. In the mean time, Ben. You have to explain what these things are, and how you are connected to them."

Even in his crystal form, Batman could see Ben tense up, "I can tell something about these things shake you up. But we can't afford to take our time anymore. I need to know everything I can about these things and stop whatever they are planning."

Diamondhead let out a long, deep breath, his shoulders sagging, "I know. Trust me, I know. It's just...complicated. But Gwen needs to be here when we talk about it. I won't do this without her."

"I figured as much." The Batmobile roared down the road behind them, coming to an abrupt stop behind the Dark Knight, "Get in, all of you. We can talk more freely back at the cave."

"Supergirl too?" Batgirl looked at her best friend, not distrusting her but knowing how Batman was.

"Supergirl too. This is too important to delay. If you and Ben trust her, then I will too." Batman turned, getting into the driver's seat while Batgirl gave Supergirl the thumbs up.

"You won't regret this Batman! You can trust me." Supergirl jumped into the back, Batgirl taking a seat next to her. Diamondhead looked around before hiding behind the Batmobile, hitting the Omnitrix dial and transforming back into his human self. Ben hopped in next to Batgirl before the top slid shut.

"Can I drive?" Ben scooted up so his arm was hanging over the driver seat, giving Batman his best puppy dog eyes.

"No."

"Boo."

/0/

Gwen stood up from where she was drinking some warm herbal tea, Alfred turning to peer over the edge of the middle metal platform in the Batcave when he heard the Batmobile's engine, "It seems they are back."

When the Batmobile's top slid open, Alfred only raised an eyebrow at Supergirl floating up out of it. He smiled when he saw Ben jump out, holding a hand back for Batgirl who took it with a grin and slipped out. Batman jumped out himself, grabbing one of the rails going all the way up and down the Batcave. The pole glowed blue where Batman was grasping it, a quiet hum filling the air as Batman was taken up the pole and to the level Alfred and Gwen were on. Batgirl was explaining how the pole worked to Ben while Supergirl touched down next to Gwen.

The Argoan looked at Alfred, waving her hand, "Hi. I'm Supergirl. Batgirl's friend."

The old butler nodded, bowing his head, "Yes ma'am, she mentions you quite a bit. I am Alfred Pennyworth. The butler. It is wonderful to finally meet you."

Batman pulled his cowl down, revealing his handsome face and blue eyes. Supergirl's eyes widened, "Bruce Wayne."

Batgirl had come up the pole, pulling her own cowl off as she grinned, "Yeah, kind of obvious when you think about it, huh?"

Supergirl nodded, "I guess so... Who else has the resources and means to be Batman."

Ben let out a yelp when he landed on his back after using the pole, groaning from the ground, "Oh...that was fun but it needs a better landing system..."

"You get used to it." Barbara giggled, helping Ben back onto his feet.

"Ben..." Gwen made her way over to her cousin, worry in her eyes, and not because of his graceful entrance. She grabbed his hands, her eyes searching his. When she saw what she wanted, she smiled and hugged him tight.

"Don't do that again." Ben whispered into Gwen's ear, hugging her right back, his arms shaking slightly now that all the action was done.

"I'm sorry... I won't do it again. I promise. I won't leave you alone like that." She could feel Ben shaking, his whole body shivering now that the adrenaline was completely gone and that he could really process all that had happened.

"Perhaps some more warm tea could help. I will go brew some. Earl Grey for you, Miss Barbara. How about you Miss Supergirl?" Alfred smiled warmly at the teens.

"Please, just call me Kara. And I'll have some Earl Grey too, thank you Mister Alfred."

"Of course Miss Kara. Miss Gwen, some more herbal tea?" Gwen still had Ben in her arms, rubbing his back soothingly. She nodded at Alfred with a grateful smile.

"Some milk tea with sugar for Ben please. Lots of it."

"Of course ma'am."

Alfred disappeared up the stairs, leaving the four teens, plus one adult hero alone. Batman had taken a seat by the Batcave's supercomputer, the chair turned around to look at the four young heroes, "Gwen."

At Batman's voice, the redheaded Tennyson looked at the Dark Knight, "You and Ben both recognized those machines attacking Arkham." Gwen nodded slowly, "Ben tells me you have encountered these things many times since you were young, and that you both have something to tell us about them. Something he wanted you here for before speaking."

Fear filled Gwen's eyes, her shoulders tensing as she drew Ben in closer. For a moment, Batman saw what she felt. It was no longer five heroes united in one room. It was Gwen and Ben against the entire world. It was two cousins, with only each other to rely on, versus all the bad and uncertainty the universe had to throw at them.

Both Kara and Barbara sensed the same thing, both girls going still and giving Gwen their gentlest looks.

Batman remained in his seat, just staring at Gwen and waited. If he learned anything hanging out with Flash over the years, it was patience. Endless, boundless, zen-like patience.

Ben finally stirred from where he had his face buried in Gwen's neck, pushing back and taking a deep breath. Gwen's head snapped to him, meeting his eyes, so similar to her own. Not just in color in shape, but in pain and sorrow and loss and so much more. It was only a few moments but an entire conversation passed between their eye contact, which ended in Gwen nodding a tiny bit before Ben stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it, using his support to stand before taking her place next to him, squeezing his hand back. It reminded them, both of them, of how they still had each other. And that their support of each other could overcome any pain that they faced, or would always endure.

"We were heroes." Ben spoke up first, his voice surprisingly steady, "Since we were young. Since we were ten, we have always been heroes. I sometimes played it down when I was young, but Gwen has always been there next to me, fighting with me. Sometimes directly, sometimes just keeping me safe with her smarts while all I had was my brawn."

"Our Grandpa Max was an intergalactic peace keeper, called the Plumbers back in our dimension." Gwen picked up where Ben left off, a small smile on her lips at the mention of their favorite grandfather, "He was a legend, for many of his deeds and sacrifices. He knew so many things and I can't remember a time when I didn't want to hang out with Grandpa Max. And I'm sure Ben did too."

"Grandpa Max was the best. Though his cooking definitely, definitely needed work. I can't tell you how many times Gwen and I woke up to some bizarre food he prepared for us. Squid and bait pancakes, chocolate covered locusts, sea cucumber surprise..." Ben scrunched his nose up as he recalled all the horrors he and Gwen had to go through, "But he taught us almost everything we know. About being heroes, how to kick butt, how to handle a gun, how to hunt, how to camp, how to survive."

"For the whole summer, and a little bit afterwards, Ben and I went on many adventures with our Grandpa Max. Fighting magicians, bad aliens, and some crazy humans here and there. We saved the world more times than we can count, and some of my powers even came from a magic book I took from a bad witch named Charmcaster." Gwen smiled fondly at the memory of their ten year old selves fighting various villains, "Through it all, we faced many dangers. Almost lost our lives more times than ten year old kids should. We never blamed our Grandpa though. We had power, we could do something about the wrongs in our world and we jumped head first into danger. Grandpa Max did his best to make sure we were safe."

"But there is a limit to what we could take. We were still kids. Some could say we grew up too quickly." Ben had a pained smile on his face, "There came a point where the Omnitrix was more of a burden than a privilege. I had Grandpa Max help me find the Creator of the Omnitrix, Azmuth, and get the watch off. It gathered dust in a shoe box under my bed for almost five years before another galaxy threatening alien incursion called for me to put it back on. Gwen, being Gwen, joined me in the hero life again to look out for me." Ben nudged Gwen's arm with his, making her laugh quietly.

"We, along with a new...friend." Gwen paused, swallowing the lump in her throat, getting strength from Ben squeezing her hand, "Fought this incursion, saved the world and the galaxy again. Then continued to be heroes. We fought aliens, helped aliens, helped people, fought people, spent every week doing something. But out of all the enemies we have faced, one was the most persistent, most dangerous, and the most frustrating."

"Vilgax." Ben practically spat the name, "A squid faced, cowardly, piece of filth alien. He had been after the Omnitrix since I was ten. His thirst for power was only proceeded by his cruelty, and he stole and pillaged technology from all around the galaxy. My longest, and most annoying enemy. One that I beat again and again. But I always showed too much restraint, too much mercy. It finally came back to bite me."

"No Ben... Not killing, not going too far even against your enemies is what made you, you. It is one of the things that made you a hero. Don't blame yourself for that..." Gwen looked at Ben with such sorrow, her voice quiet and broken.

Batman could relate to Ben, always fighting with the dilemma of sparing all the psychopaths and killers he captured, only to have so many of them escape again and again to hurt and kill more people. Some criticized him, while others commended how he upheld his ideals. Who was right? Who was wrong? Who could really say?

Barbara was staring at the two cousins, speechless and unable to comprehend who they were and all the deeds they had done. She had to admit, when she first started out it was not completely noble or quite so grand as the stories these two Tennysons were sharing. She could not fathom it to be honest, and her respect for both of them only grew.

Kara just looked sadly at the two, having already sensed the trauma, the pain they felt deep inside and not being able to help in any meaningful way. She already suspected a little bit of what had happened, and was bracing herself for what was to come.

Ben gave Gwen a pained smile before continuing, "Vilgax caught up with me. He worked alone for a while but always had an army of drones and minions to do his bidding. Gwen and I did not really hide our identities, at least from our enemies but hid it from our friends and family, at least for a while. Stupid, so very stupid when I think about it... I understand why all the heroes in this world have a secret identity. You do it to protect the people you love." At the nods Supergirl, Batgirl, and Batman gave Ben, the male Tennyson chuckled without humor, "I wish I thought of that when I was younger."

"We both do..." Gwen squeezed Ben's hand again. Ben squeezed her hand right back.

"Vilgax knew who I was, from the very beginning. And it wasn't that hard for him to figure out who my friends and family were."

"Oh no..." Barbara covered her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah... Vilgax tricked me, and Gwen, and our friend Kevin. He lured us away while he attacked our families, our friends, the people we loved. He wasn't there for the Omnitrix anymore. He was there to hurt us, to destroy everything we ever cared about. And he succeeded. He crushed our parents, our siblings, he killed our Grandpa Max, and he murdered our friends, my girlfriend Julie. And Gwen lost Kevin. There was a fleet above Earth, ready to decimate the planet. And it would have succeeded, if not for Kevin getting past the fleet and taking out the main battleship. The chain reaction destroyed the whole fleet. He saved the world, at the cost of himself." Gwen had teared up by now, shaking her head as she whimpered into her hand. Barbara rushed forward, hugging Gwen close and rubbing her back through her own tears.

"Gwen and I were the only ones left. And we planned to tear Vilgax apart, piece by piece until nothing was left. Except Vilgax had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, and one was an experimental bomb. Gwen tried to contain it but the energy mixing with her mana created a blast that sent us...here." Ben shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "With all that happened...we never considered Vilgax would have been sent to this dimension as well."

Bruce had listened to their tale with grim determination, his face completely blank. Kara had joined Barbara, comforting Gwen as she quietly cried, still clinging to Ben's hand like a lifeline. Ben kept his eyes on Bruce, refusing to look away.

The Dark Knight stared right back, his hands under his chin. Ben had no idea what the man was thinking, his eyes never betraying one emotion or another.

The billionaire finally spoke, his voice quiet but firm, carrying through the silent Batcave easily, "You believe Vilgax is behind the robots?"

Ben nodded slowly, "They are his type one and type two drones. I'm guessing one of his transport ships carried over somehow and he only had enough resources to create drones, not his battle droids."

"Do you have any ides what he is doing with the kidnapped criminals?"

"Sorry, that's new. I have no idea."

Batman nodded before standing up, "I think you should all get some rest. It's been an eventful night. I'll call Commissioner Gordon, tell him that Ben is a friend of mine and you all came over to stay at Wayne Manor. I'll tell him it's late so you'll all be spending the night here." With that Bruce made his way towards the stairs, passing Alfred along the way and speaking quietly with the old butler.

Alfred nodded before making his way down to where the four teens were, not commenting or showing any visible reaction to Gwen, Kara, and Barbara huddled together. The butler held the milk tea out to Ben, the young man's shaky hands grabbing the cup and taking a sip quickly. Alfred made his way to the three ladies quietly, handing them their teas and letting them warm up slightly, "I have prepared some rooms for you all, when you feel you are ready, please come up the steps and I will be waiting."

Kara nodded at Alfred, answering for all three of the girls while Ben nodded absent mindedly. The butler made his way up the stairs with a heavy heart, pretending not to hear the sniffling of three young ladies behind him.

/0/

"That's...terrible." Batman was staring up at the Batcave's main monitor, Superman and the rest of the current League all on separate split screens. After the four teens had taken warm showers and settled into their rooms for a night of rest, Batman had called for an emergency League meeting. He had already gotten Ben's permission to fill the League in on his situation, stating how he trusted them with his past and that neither he nor Gwen had the strength to say it again. Superman ran his hand through his hair, "That's some heavy stuff for sixteen year olds to go through."

"For anyone to go through." J'onn's calm voice did not waver, but the worry he was feeling was clear, "Should we provide some sort of...counsel for them?"

"Sounds like they could use it." Green Lantern crossed his arms on screen, shaking his head at how messed up the situation was.

"I do not think they are ready for such things yet." Wonder Woman looked at Batman with concern.

"Isn't counseling meant to be there for people who aren't ready?" Flash's voice was completely serious, not hint of his usual jovial self there in this situation.

"Pushing them into something they aren't willing to accept, or feel like they are ready for, can be more damaging than helpful in some situations. I say we hold off on that for now." Superman also looked at Batman, the Dark Knight nodding at the Man of Steel.

"I agree. They only really opened up to me because the situation called for it. They aren't ready to deal with it head on yet. But they will have to, eventually."

"Anyone else have a strong urge to find this Vilgax guy and rip his arms off, or at least break his stupid squid face?" Flash slammed his right fist into his left palm, glaring at the thought of the villain who caused the cousins so much pain.

"I second that." Green Lantern scoffed at how he agreed with Flash whole heartedly on something.

"I believe this situation needs to involve both Gwen and Ben. This not only has something to do with their home dimension, but is something they must deal with to overcome the traumatic past that is holding them back, and prevents them from truly moving on with their lives." J'onn made sure to drive his point home, pointedly looking at Flash and Green Lantern.

"Agreed." Superman nodded, crossing his own arms, "They need to deal with this. It's part of the healing process they both need to start healing. If we do it for them, they will never have the closure they need."

"But we cannot let them deal with this on their own. As powerful as they both are, they need help dealing with this problem. Isn't that why you held this meeting as soon as they went to sleep?" Wonder Woman spoke to everyone but addressed the question towards Batman.

The Dark Knight let out a rare, tired sigh, "I wanted to let you all know what happened to Ben and Gwen. This problem itself, can probably be handled by the people I currently have here."

"Speaking of that... Kara?" Superman did not sound displeased but he did not sound thrilled either.

"She has been very good support. Both as a hero, and a friend to the Tennysons."

"I guess, that's all I can really ask for. But please, look out for her."

"It's not necessary from what I have seen so far, but I promise she won't come to too much harm Clark."

"That's all I ask Bruce."

/0/

"Helloooooooo." Harley screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling against the restrains that held her against the metal wall. All around her, she could see men and women of all ages, race, shapes, and sizes clamped to walls. Down below, she could see even more in pods, floating in some kind of orange clear liquid. Only some were awake like her, struggling against the restrains and ranting about their rights or screaming about how they were going to die in some kind of horror movie death game.

"Harley? Harley is that you?"

"Red!" Harley grinned, straining her neck to see her best friend chained to the wall to her left, "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

"Me too hon, but I wish it was under better circumstances... Where are we?" Poison Ivy looked around, "I can't feel any plants anywhere. Too much metal and interference in the air... My head aches from it all."

"Really? Has that happened before?" Harley looked at her friend with concern, "You ain't dying or nothing right?"

"No Harley, I'm fine. It just...feel uncomfortable. Like some pressure pushing down on the back of my head. It feels...wrong. I can't feel my babies." Ivy tugged on her restraints, growling in frustration as she hit her head against the cold metal she was tied down to, "So did I go crazy, or were we grabbed by..."

"Large, orange robots with glowing red eyes?" Harley managed to sound excited, even in their circumstances, "Yes ma'am!"

"Harley, you know we're most likely going to die or go through some horrible torture. Right?"

"Well aren't you a party pooper! You don't know that!"

"I know we weren't kidnapped for cookies and cotton candy."

"Maybe we were kidnapped for cupcakes and ice cream!"

"I will literally give you everything I have ever stolen if we were kidnapped for cupcakes and ice cream."

"Woo hoo! Deal!"

All the conscious people went silent when they heard metal doors creak open. All their eyes strained to see through the darkness, and a few whimpered when glowing red eyes suddenly appeared. Out of the dark came a hunched over creature covered head to toe in some black metal armor. Small circular slits were the only indication of eyes, glowing a mechanical red while its mouth was covered by some kind of circular rebreather that looked like the end of a gas mask. When it spoke, its voice was cracked, broken like someone who did not have water for far too long, "Welcome, human subjects. I am the Archivist. Rejoice, for you have been chosen for experimentation by the great and mighty Vilgax. Your glorious sacrifice will ensure not only Lord Vilgax's recovery, but make a pathway back to his glorious empire."

"Hey ugly! We don't want to be part of nothing you're offering! Do you know who you're even messing with? We're the Dark Suns!" A big, Asian man with a black sun tattoo over one of his eyes screamed hysterically, still struggling against his restraints.

"Oh, a volunteer!" The Archivist floated forward. Up close, the Dark Sun gangster could see the grotesque form of the darkly dressed creature. It had a hunched back, one arm was smaller than the other and its feet were both pointing towards the left side. Despite all its mismatched limbs, the Archivist stood at an astounding ten feet tall, dwarfing the six foot eight Asian man and making the gangster whimper in fright for the first time.

The Archivist reached out with his big arm, grabbing the Dark Sun gangster around his head fully, the restraints releasing. The gangster struggled against the Archivist's hand, kicking and punching to no avail as he was dragged across the room and through the metal doors which shut loudly with a bang.

Silence filled the room, and some feared they would hear screams of pain and torture but heard nothing. Somehow, that was even worse.

"We don't know he isn't getting cupcakes and ice cream."

"God damn it Harley..."