In the first-ever Review I got for this story, GreedEman asks if this story is a direct sequel to Teen Titans: Two of Four Elements "or an AU". The answer to that is... "Kinda both." It is meant to be treated as a continuity of my "Earth-12V" Teen Titans storyline, but it is possible for this work to "stand alone" as its own separate Justice League Unlimited story.
You'll miss out on half of the jokes and meta-commentary, but it was the intent that this story lean more into the world of JLU than TT.
*JLUxTT*
"You must be out of your god-damned mind."
"Well, you haven't hit me or booted me off your island, so this is already going better than I anticipated," Amanda Waller hummed in response to Ventus' retort toward her proposed mission briefing.
At the moment, they were all standing on the beach of Titans Island on the side that faced the sea. The engine of the boat her chauffeur had ferried her to the island on was still warm, as was all the equipment of the obstacle course the Titans had been using just-prior to her arrival. The Teen Titans as a whole were standing within spitting distance, and even though she was Liaison to the Justice League, they didn't trust her one bit.
Good. At least the next generation wasn't stupid. Even if one or two of them were a tad neurotic with unresolved psychological shortcomings.
Then again, what superhero didn't have that sort of baggage?
"I read the files on Galatea, or 'Power Girl', or whatever. Even though she never drank the Kool-Aid, she was still a complete headcase."
"Technically we had her checked; she was quite sane. At least before things turned ugly and Luthor played us for a bunch of suckers."
By the look on Ventus' face, he recognized the move she'd just pulled, and wasn't falling for it.
Also good. Meant Wilson hadn't raised no fool.
Him being the one to "terminate the Terminator" was presently what kept the League's run-off from trickling into Jump City. The Teen Titans' aerokinetic didn't actively kill supervillains, but two-and-a-half Wilsons put in the ground sent a pretty clear message. She was honestly amazed the D-Listers even tried at this point.
"I'm amazed you kept her alive all this time, what with her going rogue at the last moment."
"It was the humane thing to do. After the League finished piling up all the braindead bodies, they insisted she be given the best of care, despite all the damage she herself had done."
" . . . There's more to this. I know it."
"I'd be lying if I didn't admit to wanting you to pull off another of your miracles," Waller said glancing over Ventus' shoulder to a few of the Titans' newest members.
Tara Markov aka "Terra", crown princess (out of wedlock) to the tiny European country of Markovia; former apprentice of Deathstroke the Terminator. Kathryn Walker aka "Kitten" aka "Star-Girl", daughter of Drury Walker aka "Killer Moth"; one-time attempted domestic terrorist. Kom'andr aka "Blackfire" of Tamaran; former dictator of her home world in the Vega System who betrayed her own sister to the Gordanians, who were also a long-time nemesis to the people of Thanagar.
And it wasn't just the girls whose fates he'd changed.
With his daughter being well-cared-for, Drury Walker had become a model prisoner, even if only so he didn't have to fight his own kid as soon as he got out of max-sec. Eugene Reak aka "Control Freak" was on a working probation in the Tower after a near-double-Omega-level threat had almost leveled the city. Murphy Jimbo aka "Mumbo Jumbo" had turned his life around and was opening for Zatanna Zatara after pure logic had eviscerated the lunatic haze that conjurer's hat & wand had afflicted his unshielded mind with.
Vincent didn't go out-of-his-way to redeem every villain he and his team faced, but what he had accomplished was probably why Superman had vouched for his admission into the League's reserve roster, even after the death of Slade Wilson. Sure, the over/under between Ventus actively killing Slade at the moment or just failing to save him was pretty even, but that he'd gotten the League's attention through the death of a high-profile villain was still a dividing point within the capes & undies crowd.
"And you're sure you don't have any Kryptonite or Red Sunlight generators?" Vincent asked, recognizing the point behind Waller's momentary glance.
"As I already reminded Mr. Terrific, most of it was confiscated when Cadmus got downsized. And using any of it now might cause a relapse, either deepening her healing coma or just killing her outright."
" . . . I take it you want me for my Power Ring instead of the other thing," he said drawing out the thin chain from his shirt, the indigo-colored Power Ring of the still-largely-unknown Lantern "Tribe" glinting in the noon light.
"Cadmus discovered early on that Kryptonians don't actually need air. Only reason Superman ever did was likely a self-imposed limitation; not that going into a vacuum without a breather is something you actively stress test."
Then again, it could've been so he could actually speak to his peers since microphones didn't work in a vacuum...
" . . . How much time do I have."
"Days, hours, minutes. At present she's still down, but that could change at any moment. This isn't like with Doomsday where Superman got beaten to death; Galatea had the business end of an entire binary fusion reactor pumped through her. I'm honestly amazed she survived that at all, given the damage the Watchtower's orbital weapon did to our New Mexico facility."
" . . . I'll pack an overnight bag. But if you wind up sending another fucking clone back to the Tower in my stead while I'm away, you can be damn sure we won't take this lying down."
"Don't worry, we aren't in that game anymore."
"And no windowless vans!"
"I am never going to hear the end of that, am I?"
"No you are not."
*JLUxTT*
Later, in the depths of the currently-downsized Cadmus headquarters, or at least its tertiary location after the ones in New Mexico and DC were both totaled, hospital equipment beeped in a largely sterile room.
Over time, the amount of life support the wing's sole occupant required had been decreased, though the low dosage of ultraviolet light similar to Earth's yellow sun had been a continual constant. Not enough to completely recharge the cloned Argoan, but just-enough to keep her alive after the energy output comparable to nuclear ordinance had been dumped through her abdomen and nervous system.
At present, the brainchild of Professor Emil Hamilton slumbered in her bed, fingers twitching and low groans like one in the throes of a nightmare leaving chapped lips. Her hair had regrown since her final fight up in the Watchtower, and had easily become waist-length. On the side, Cadmus harvested the super-durable follicular fibers for advanced materials research; but only once it had grown out to a significant-enough length, given how-expensive to operate the laser cutters needed for the task actually were.
Ventus, against his better judgment, was sitting in the corner of Galatea's room, Power Ring clutched tightly in his hand and a tablet with access to Cadmus files immediately-prevalent to the present situation in the other. While he'd been able to power through the Indigo Tribe's brainwashing aspect of the tech he now wielded, it was still a cross he was reluctant to bear, but one he would bring to bear if Galatea proved to be hostile.
Whether by good luck or bad, he hadn't had to wait very long for Galatea to awaken.
With a horrified shriek, the young-ish woman shot awake, twin lances of fire spearing through the ceiling and who-knew-how-many floors above, the restraints holding her to the bed lasting only a paltry few seconds before they snapped like tin foil, her gaze snapping forward and then down the wall in front of her before she found herself.
Crimson-colored eyes dimming to green, with ragged pants the young-ish blond looked about. The room's only other occupant was a white-haired young man (a little cute and a little handsome to her eyes) with mismatched eyes of crimson & violet wearing plain clothes and sandals, his body tensed and ready to fight. Her hand going to the space above her left brow, found only a slight starburst-shaped divot where Cadmus' psionic relay for the new-gen Ultimen had once been implanted.
"How… When… Where…?" she gasped raggedly as she took in more of her surroundings. Cadmus tech at her flanks, a weak sunlamp overhead. There were broken restraints on her extremities, and the last thing she remembered…!
The next moment she shot forward to the first person she saw, hand outstretched, in pursuit of answers.
To her surprise, he was able to roll underneath her extended hand and out of the way. Augmented human, perhaps?
But no, it wasn't just that. She was also weaker. Much weaker.
"How long… have I been out…?" she demanded, voice ragged and scratchy from who-knew-how-long of disuse.
"You've been out for a while," the white-haired teen answered her, the hairs on his arms and neck standing on end and pupils dilated. Getting into a low stance, with no warning he threw out a hand, eyes glowing with silver light and a powerful air blast knocking the door open.
Galatea, making another grab at him, was shocked upon meeting the business end of a Super Breath attack, a thin coating of ice forming over her. The teen kicking off the floor and evading her second lunge, right as he disappeared into the hallway, she broke the layer of ice coating her body before looking around.
" . . . Lead…"
Kicking off the floor and into the ceiling fists-first, the panels and ductwork crumpled, but didn't break. Dropping to the floor before kicking off again, she desperately clawed her way into a vacant ICU room. The draft ghosting across the naked body beneath the teal hospital gown she found herself in, the cloned Argoan paid it little mind as she shouldered her way through the room's door and into the hallway. Through her super-hearing she was able to pick up that barely-anyone was in the wing of the building she was in, but she recognized enough of the topography to know where the stairwell was.
*JLUxTT*
Her power of flight was spotty at best, but she was able to "leap tall buildings in a single bound", and already she could feel the faint, phantom tingle of ultraviolet light that came with being close to the surface. As she leapt up and up and up the empty space in the center of the stairwell, tearing pieces of guardrail on occasion, the sound of rushing wind came at her back and she redoubled her efforts. Why was no-one here? Who was he? And why was she so weak?
The next moment she felt a vacuum forming beneath her, spiraling winds swirling around her as a silver cyclone from below tried to drag her down.
"Trying to take my oxygen? Hah! Never touched the stuff!" she taunted, her voice coming back since she'd torn open a hall fountain to quench her thirst.
"Can't blame a guy for trying!" the white-haired young man said as she brute-forced her way through his aerokinetic grasp. Flying through the final barrier between her and the surface, non-sterilized air washed over her as yellow sunlight slowly renewed her strength.
"Cadmus' war with the Justice League is over, so why don't we just settle down and we can talk things through," the white-haired teen said as he rose to her level.
"You don't know me at all, do you?" Galatea taunted before she shot at him.
"I know more about you than you think."
The next moment there was a flash of indigo light and Galatea found herself plowing through her old bed, right back where she'd started.
"What the…?!" she gawped as indigo light shone down on her, the white-haired teen, now clad in monk-like robes in shades of monochrome and indigo, slowly descending the wormhole that'd carried her so-far underground before he settled down beside her, a brilliantly-glowing ring on his right middle finger.
"I was sent to babysit you for a reason," he replied, heterochromatic eyes now shining with indigo light, the tell-tale sign of a significantly-powerful Lantern; of course, the indigo light, the insignia on the ring, and the uniform were all new to her.
Dodging a blast of indigo-colored light from his ring, Galatea burst through the nearest part of the wall and into the hallway, wind whirling as her eyes darted about. She'd gotten a little true yellow sunlight in her, but she'd been warped back underground before she could get any real sort of charge.
"Galatea, please calm down."
"You're cute, but you're not that cute," she smirked as she lunged at him, a chevron of indigo light around him as he levitated away from her, dodging a volley of blows that could shatter steel blocks.
"Supergirl is gone," her adversary spoke suddenly, taking the wind from her sails.
" . . . What?" she blinked after a moment, her charge faltering.
"Supergirl, Kara, your genetic donor. One day she went on a mission and she never came home again," he explained, her bare feet meeting the linoleum flooring.
"You're… you're lying!" Galatea snapped fiercely, a hint of desperation in her tone as she took an involuntary step back. If anyone was going to kill Supergirl, it was going to be her. It should've been her.
Looking out into space, focusing on the psychic connection she had to her genetic donor, to her shock, she realized that link was completely empty.
It wasn't that it was being cut off half-way, or that Kara's end of the mind-link was being shielded by the Martian or some comparable telepath. It was just… completely gone…!
"Galatea," the teen before her repeated as he stepped up to her, hand extended. "Why don't we go over to the cafeteria, get some real food in you. We can talk more there."
" . . . You're a bit of a sucker, aren't you?" she asked as both hands came down around his hand, tightening like an industrial vice around his environmental shield.
"Fine. We'll do this the hard way," the young man said as his eyes narrowed, a crimson sigil of alien origin forming on his forehead, red frothing out of his mouth as Galatea felt the hairs on her neck starting to stand on end.
"Oh crap."
The next moment, her world turned crimson red.
*JLUxTT*
One small "altercation
later...
"Since when could a Lantern vomit napalm? And when did they come in different colors?" Galatea asked as she raided the supply closet for something to wear, her teal hospital scrubs completely incinerated by the retaliatory strike that Ventus had sent her way when she thought she had him played for a sucker.
Sure, she was still largely invulnerable to anything aside from Kryptonite and legit magic, but whatever he'd barfed on her really hurt; the second-worst pain she could properly recall. Not only did that shit burn when it got into her eyes, but it got into her hair too. Ugh, and the smell...!
If anything, it was quite obvious now why this young man had been sent to act as the welcome wagon.
"Cadmus didn't think Lanterns came in only green and yellow, did they?" Ventus, as she came to know him, returned as he stood outside with his back to the wall.
"Honestly, I never put too much thought into that," Galatea said as she found a lab coat and buttoned it up.
She was still as tall as she remembered, slightly taller than Hamilton had been, and still as curvy as she was before, but she'd lost a bit of muscle mass over the period of time between her failed "sanitation" of the Watchtower and waking up in the Cadmus ICU. Something that disappointed her deeply because, as an Argoan, she had to work much, much harder to build up muscle mass, even under the empowering light of Earth's yellow sun.
" . . . Is Supergirl really gone, or is that just something you said to get in my head?"
"You're the one with the psychic link; you tell me."
" . . . How long was I out?" she asked, giving up on finding anything more than hospital socks to put on her feet.
It wasn't that the cold bothered her, but it was the principle of the thing.
"A good while. You missed a planetary invasion or two. Luthor, Grodd, and Darkseid all bit it."
As did most of the Legion of Doom, but since they were partly known for alwasy losing to the Justice League on a 1:1 basis, only the "big names" got remembered in passing.
"Darkseid?" Galatea blinked as the name stirred something in her. "Didn't Superman kill him already?"
And boy had that been a shock to the wider world.
"Yeah, but it didn't take."
" . . . Was that how Supergirl bit it? One of those planetary invasions?" she paused before asking the obvious question.
"That's senior League-level info, and I'm just a reservist."
"A reservist with the same power as Wind Dragon, wormholes, and napalm vomit."
"Hey, Wind Dragon has my powers, not the other way around!" the whitette said testily, slightly averting his eyes as she stepped out of the supply closet.
"Oh? Did I touch a sore spot~?" Galatea inquired as she leaned forward slightly and undid a button, giving a teasing glimpse of the tender flesh just out-of-view.
"No. Waller's people in the white van? They touched the sore spot," he said turning his head the other way as Galatea strafed to stand in front of his gaze.
"So you come from good stock then. Good to know~" Galatea hummed appreciatively as she eyed her current warden up and down, X-Ray Vision giving an unobstructed view of his lean, muscular frame, possessive of a fiber density that was superhuman. Apart from the scars littering his skin, looking deeper she was able to see that his heart had been replaced with some form of prosthetic of a make she didn't recognize; definitely not Cadmus, it looked too... cyberpunk-y. And it definitely looked like it did more than pump blood through his body.
"I can have some clothes sent down if you like," he returned, unaware of how deep her wandering eyes gazed.
"Nah, I'm good. I'm pretty much indestructible~" she replied, continuing to drink his body in.
"That isn't why."
"I know~" Galatea purred before she linked arms with his. "Come on, let's see if there's anything in the pantry worth raiding."
*JLUxTT*
AN:
Reason I don't have [Galatea] in the Character column is because she isn't on the List, for some reason...
Assuming she isn't on the list by the time I post the 2nd Chapter, maybe send an email to support fanfiction dot com and follow the instructions for "New Category/Character(s) Requests". Help speed the process along.
I'd thought about using "Supergirl"'s character tab, but that'd have given conflicting messages. Since she's presently in the 31st Century.