superpierce: okay first of all who was the evil speedsters name in the previous chapter. and seconde WHAT THE HECK WAS IN THAT BURGER?

Re: When it comes to the identity of the "Purple Slasher", short answer is he was a "jobber", a villain whose sole purpose for being created (by me) was to lose to Flash Girl (Roberta Madeline Coleman). Long answer, he's the unofficial sidekick to Professor Zoom/Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne) and was sent back in time against his nemesis (who at-the-time is still "She-Flash"), Eobard's hidden agenda being that his accomplice going back in time first made it "safer" for he himself to go back in time at a later date (or rather, to arrive at a later date; they "left" at the same time), like a "Temporal Icebreaker".
As for "WHAT THE HECK WAS IN THAT BURGER?"… The chemical additives in Oreos/Chocos have one affect on Martians, while the GAMMA BURGER secret Barbecue Blend which includes (but is not limited to) Carolina Reaper and Dragon Breath Peppers has certain chemical responses to Martians that differ from Humans because of a sheer difference in biology; even if she is Transformed into a Human.

LuckyShadowWolf: I cannot believe I got Hecate and Circe mixed up! Anyway I have to wonder if Virgil "catching" the arrow that Merlyn shot is going to have repercussions somewhere down the line. Cause I could easily see people (IE Merlyn or The League of Shadows/Assassins) becoming interested in a supposed model being capable of catching his/one of their agents arrows. Otherwise a good overall light hearted chapter and also fun to read.

Re: I doubt anyone would really be "interested" in him for the reasons you're thinking. If he'd been able to LEGITIMATELY "catch" the arrow, as in the arrow doesn't STILL have enough Momentum to hit him, then the Shadows would be interested. Since "all he did" was wrap his hand around the shaft-

Deadpool: Giggidy~

Re: WADE! SHUT UP! Anyway, as I was saying, since "all he did" was wrap his hand around the ARROW shaft-

Deadpool: Buzzkill.

Re: -all the Shadows would see it as is "a fluke". The attempt might earn him a raised eyebrow, but in the context of the DC Universe where "Peak Human" radically outclasses Olympian Athletes IRL, what he did wasn't really all that great. If anything, the Shadows might decide to treat the incident as a novelty, something to be gawked at by the other Shadows before being "forgotten" as other more-important/impressive feats come up.

Jebest4781: this was quite fun and enjoyed how this all turned out. wonder how much longer things'll be until the start of YJ starts

Re: The events of Young Justice will start on July 4th, 2010, but there will be a Timeskip in the interim, so the whole of it won't be a total slog.

justinq719: Bricks, Virgil took out two killer androids with bricks... Home Alone anyone..

Re: That was the intent, yes.

Raidentensho: not bad at all. hmm, so Virgil is a RTB(real tenacious b***). besides knowing subconsciously that he's an experiment, I wonder if he's going to look like an American EMIYA when he hits his prime. that would be interesting. would being blasted by Vita rays be just the thing to really awaken his meta power that is in the works? pretty sure there would be some fallout rays by warming up the machine when trying to defrost Capt. America. considering that New York is still a Hazard then using Cleveland would be a second choice. looking forward to more. until then, later!

Re: He doesn't know that he's an experiment, only that he's being experimented on; there's a big difference. As for looking like EMIYA, that isn't quite what his "Final Form" will be like.
As for whether or not exposure to Vita Rays would awaken his meta-abilities, that isn't how they work. The Super Soldier Serum by itself is highly dangerous; however, subsequent exposure to Vita Radiation "stabilizes" the formula, acting as a "bonding agent" which is why Steve needed to be exposed to it before he got totally ripped. And even when Steve gets thawed out, his body won't emit Vita Radiation.

*I BELONG~*

Ohio Airspace
November 21, 14:23 EST

"God, that was sooooo embarrassing…!" M'gann moaned the moment they were back in the Bio-Ship, face in her palms as they soared through the air.

"At least you have the decency to feel embarrassed," Virgil stated before Zatanna ribbed him in the side.

"What do you think could've caused that?" she asked. "All you had to drink was a Coke; no Oreo cookies in sight."

"Well, it…" she paused. "We don't have spices like that on Mars, so maybe…" M'gann trailed off awkwardly, her cheeks flushed purple.

"What is food like on Mars? Compared to Earth?" Virgil asked curiously.

After all, when was the next time he was ever going to be able to ask that sort of thing from a first-hand source?

"Well… Earth has so many different flavors, and Mars…" M'gann trailed off. "We live underground and grow everything with artificial light, so 'flavor' on Mars is usually… well… As hard as this is to say, Earth food is just sooooo good!" she moaned wistfully.

"I can't imagine what it's like. Having to live underground," Zatanna hummed.

"I can, but only because I've played so much Fallout," Virgil hummed. "I bet the 'ceiling' must've been so high the first time you saw our planet's skyline."

"Oh yes, it was very overwhelming," M'gann admitted, her blush beginning to fade. "There's just… so much open space on your planet! I mean, I know that Earth is larger than Mars, but the sheer scope of it…" she trailed off as she looked at the eastern horizon. "You have such a beautiful planet," she said wistfully.

"Well, maybe in some places…" Virgil trailed off, since he'd seen planet Earth at her very worst; rotting away like a cancerous, open wound. "Just a heads-up, Bludhaven… It isn't as bad as Gotham… but it's still pretty bad. You're more than free to drop me off at the edge of town and I can take the bus home."

"Nonsense! I want to see what your home is like, even if it isn't as… idyllic as the upper-middle-America portrayed on Hello, Megan!" the Martian answered.

"Fine, but forewarning… My boarding house sits atop a bar and is filled with eccentric weirdos."

"The bar or the boarding house?" M'gann asked.

"Yes."

"Virgil, you're talking to a literal magical girl and an alien. How much weirder can you get than that?" Zatanna cut in.

"Obviously someone hasn't lived in New York long-term," Virgil said with a flat expression.

*I BELONG~*

West Virginia Airspace
November 21, 15:05 EST

"Sooo… Your Bio-Ship turns into an egg when it's at rest?" Virgil asked making conversation a while later.

"We don't actually call them that on Mars, but yes, that is the shape she turns into when she's at rest," M'gann answered.

"Can she turn into other shapes?"

"I suppose she can, but why do you ask?"

"I dunno. Got the idea in my head a second ago that maybe she could take on the shape of a private jet. You know, so that way you don't have to use Camouflage Mode."

"But why wouldn't you want to use Camouflage Mode?"

"Not sure. Just a thought I had," Virgil shrugged. "If you disguised her as an RV, you could even park her overnight somewhere instead of parking her out-of-the-way or having cloak on all-the time. I'm not sure how energy-intensive that is for a Martian Bio-Ship, but I figure, that changing shape and holding it overnight would be less labor-intensive than actively bending light around itself."

"Huh… I never thought of that," M'gann hummed.

"Well, I don't see why you would. You don't exactly have to hide these things on Mars, I imagine," Zatanna added.

"Hmmm… I'll have to give that a try later," M'gann stated. "That's actually really creative. Thanks, Virgil!"

"No need. Live on Earth long-enough and I'm sure you would've come up with a similar idea," Virgil shrugged.

"You know, you're taking all this extremely well. Magical girls and aliens in the same week? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you dealt with stuff like this daily," Zatanna hummed, arms crossed as she quirked a brow his way.

"There's an old Earth saying I'm rather fond of. Not sure who said it first, but all I know is, someone else said it before me."

"What did they say?" M'gann asked curiously.

"Adapt or die."

*I BELONG~*

Maryland Airspace
November 21, 15:46 EST

"So where're we now?" Zatanna asked their pilot, she and Virgil taking a break from the latter's magic tutoring.

"According to the Earth Map I downloaded, we should be over the state of Maryland," M'gann answered.

"Maryland… There's something we should avoid here, but I don't quite remembSTOOOOOOOP!" he suddenly blurted out, M'gann squealing and metaphorically slamming her foot on the brakes, Zatanna letting out a blood-curdling shriek was she was thrown from her seat into the front of the bridge.

"Auuuugh…! Why'd you suddenly stop for?!" the magi demanded.

"Bitch at me later, I need to be sure… we haven't… Phew!" he sighed in relief after looking up from his phone. "Okay… Good… We didn't hit Camp David yet. That's good."

"Camp David?" M'gann asked with a tilt of her head.

"Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States. Located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountan Park near Thurmont, Maryland and Emmitsburg, Maryland, about 62 miles north-northwest of Washington, DC, it holds a restricted airspace and civilian aircraft that get too close are escorted out by F-15s."

"How the heck do you know that?" Zatanna asked incredulously, seeing as how he didn't have his phone out.

Seeing as how Virgil couldn't blame the DNA Computer in his brain…

"I find interest in the weirdest things; so sue me."

"Well, I'm just glad we didn't enter restricted airspace then. After the way the White House was blown up by those alien invaders in 1996, I doubt they'd really appreciate an extraterrestrial vehicle flying towards the president's private retreat."

" . . . Where… did you see that…?" Virgil asked incredulously.

"One of your Earth documentaries; Independence Day. Fascinating movie really. I had no idea Earth could mount such an offensive against a technologically superior race and manage to win. Compared to Martian spacecraft, your own are so… rigid, yet they were able to compete with alien fighters and-"

"M'gann… I think maybe you're blurring the lines between fact and fiction a little too much…" Zatanna said awkwardly.

" . . . "

M'gann's only response was to have her face darken to a horrendously-embarrassed shade of purple, snap her head to the front of the bridge, and fly off once more, a conscious effort to avoid the Camp David restricted airspace now in mind.

*I BELONG~*

Opal City, Maryland
November 21, 16:05 EST

"M'gann… Are you okay," Virgil asked a while later.

"I'm fine," she answered tersely.

"You sure? Because you don't sound fine."

"Well, what do you want me to say?! That I'm absolutely humiliated I can't separate fiction from reality!? That I feel like a complete idiot?!"

"M'gann… No-one's faulting you for thinking Independence Day really happened," Virgil said softly as he took a knee in front of her. "You're literally from another planet, and until you came here, you had no point of reference," he said as he took her hand in his own. "Honestly, with how much comic book nonsense happens in real life on this planet, it's no wonder the line between reality and the silver screen got blurred for you. So please… don't cry."

" . . . Thank you… *Snifff* I really needed to hear that," M'gann said with a smile, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Any time," Virgil said, returning a smile of his own.

"You know… It's a shame you're already taken, otherwise I might've fallen for you just then," she giggled.

"Well… Thank god for small miracles," Virgil nodded awkwardly. "So… Where are we now?" he asked looking out the window, hoping to change the topic.

"Says here we're approaching Opal City, home of Star Girl and S.T.R.I.P.E.," Zatanna answered over her phone.

"Who?"

"A new hero who made her debut just-last-year," she answered pulling up a picture of the two heroes.

"I'm getting some distinct Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot vibes coming off the big guy," M'gann hummed.

"I only saw a couple episodes when I was a kid, but I see what you mean?" Virgil nodded. "Is the big guy actually a guy in a robot suit, or is he a legit android like Red Tornado?"

"A guy in a robot suit," Zatanna answered. "Says here on the wiki, that S.T.R.I.P.E. is a man by the name of Pat Dugan Dr., son of the Justice Society hero Stripesy from back in World War II; seems he works for a military contractor making powered exoskeletons for both combat and domestic use. Stargirl, real name Courtney Whitmore, used to be a television presenter on a pop culture show, but an incident with a Metahuman named 'Paintball' led to her Metagene awakening; her original show was cancelled, but now she and her stepdad operate though an internet channel as a way of decreasing suspicion of heroes and prejudice against metahumans."

"Wait, they're on a wiki?" Virgil asked incredulously.

"I'm sure there are other sites with info on them, but it says the Opal City Tourism Board has cited the information as credible," Zatanna answered as she scrolled through the page. "The two of them aren't really Justice League material yet, just a couple small-town heroes making their home safer for everyone."

"Hmm. Well, the mech-suit does seem pretty cool," Virgil admitted.

Once-again, while the S.T.R.I.P.E. armor wasn't nearly as sophisticated as the Nanosuit, but easily better than the replica Power Armor he'd donned at Halloween, there was still something so… awe-inspiring about a mechanized suit of armor.

Maybe it was just one of those stupid guy things, only instead of monster trucks or muscle cars he held a subconscious appreciation for full-body hardware. Or maybe it was the sense of safety a suit of armor offered in a world where most folks were one supervillain attack away from being killed by no uncertain terms.

That or he was just over-thinking things.

"So, you girls wanna meet some tried and true superheroes?"

"You? Running towards 'comic book nonsense'?" Zatanna quipped with a raised brow.

"What can I say? Robot suits are cool," he shrugged. "And besides, what're the chances that two superhero teams we happen to cross paths with on our cross-country flight just happen to be fighting villains at the exact moment we arrive?"

*BOOOOOOOM!*

"HecatEEEEEEE!"

*I BELONG~*

Zatanna Zatara and M'gann M'orzz, members of their own hero lineages, were not the sort to turn their backs when trouble was brewing and they could actually do something about it.

Virgil, needing to find something to vent his frustrations on before his Bullshit Level reached a critical threshold, decided if Hecate was going to continue screwing with him, he might as well farm XPs off of it.

That and… bleeding out of the eyes was far from pleasant.

Rising high into the air with the floor turning into a one-way window, the three of them saw that while the fight had started at a large stone-hewn high school, that the trail of destruction led away into the center of town; a large town square in front of a courthouse with a clock on the roof.

"I'm getting some serious Back to the Future vibes from this place," Virgil said as he eyed the topography. A speck in the distance swiftly growing into a full-sized Sedan that someone, or something, had thrown in their general direction, was swiftly avoided as M'gann bobbed and weaved with a practiced hand. "Okayyy, so there's something down there strong-enough to throw cars like softballs. And you're sure you're ready for this?"

"If Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. can't handle whatever's happening down there, we'll help. However, since my dad told me heroes can get a little… territorial… we'll only get involved if they need our help," Zatanna stated.

"Right now I can only Shapeshift and Fly, so I'm not sure how-much help I can be," M'gann found herself admitting.

Since everyone on her planet had what would be considered "super strength" on Earth, she didn't feel it worth mentioning.

"Hey, that's loads better than what I've got. One big spell or just three small ones and I'm down for the count," Virgil conceded. "If you need me to throw a brick, I can do that much. It'll be just like in World War I when the first fighter pilot decided to throw live grenades overboard hoping they hit something."

"Let's try to avoid caving anyone's skull in until we're sure they can handle it," Zatanna stated plainly, their sight line opening up to the Courthouse Square.

Upon arrival, the sight they were greeted to was a classic "Heroes vs Villains" setup.

Stargirl, a shapely young thing in her early 20s with long blond hair, a midriff-baring star-spangled long-sleeved top connected to a face-concealing mask, tight blue shorts with white stripes, red gloves, boots, and belt with a gold crooked staff in her hands, was fighting an "archnemesis-type character"; a Caucasian-European in his 30s with gold-white eyes with black sclera, gold skin, and short spiky white hair. A gold-white glow forming a halo around his body, his attire consisted of a black jumpsuit with a broken star pattern on the chest, a gold collar, belt, wristbands, and boot rims, minute circuitry patterns visible therein; all in all he looked like a comic book hero from the 80s.

S.T.R.I.P.E. in all his mechanical glory was facing something that reminded Virgil far too much of Augustine's "Golem Forme"; a hulking golem hewn of concrete, asphalt, masonry, molten glass, and bits of metal as though it'd cannibalized the surrounding buildings. 3 meters in height and 75 inches from shoulder to shoulder, the golem resembled a grotesquely muscular man of stone and magma, golden veins running across his body.

The two of them were giving it everything they had, but it was clear to anyone they were on the losing end. Every time Stargirl sent a blast "Starkiller's" way, it seemed like he would absorb her attacks. And Stripe, firing rockets, missiles, and lasers into the hide of "Earthquake" was barely making a dent; and yet, it was all the man could do to stay in the game as the rock monster threw cars and the like as if they were softballs.

" . . . Somehow I imagine throwing bricks at that guy would only make things worse," Virgil said as a part of the rock monster's shoulder got blasted, only for part of the nearby sidewalk to be sucked up into its hand and take place of the destroyed matter.

"And Stargirl's fight doesn't seem like a good matchup either," Zatanna hummed as Stargirl was knocked back by what looked like one of her own "Starbolts", the young woman thrown back as she blocked with her staff.

"Plus, the collateral seems pretty significant," M'gann hummed.

"We have to help them!" Zatanna cried out.

"Hey, you won't be getting any arguments from me," Virgil said as he got to the center of the cabin, raising his arms above his head and intonating- "S'tel teg suoregnad." –in a cool tone, black and cyan smoke swirling around him before he was oncemore clad as his Wildcard persona.

With a little something extra from his closet back home.

Sure, it'd cost him a little extra "MP" -he'd felt the extra tug on his "pool", that much was certain-, but there was no way he was going to partake in comic book shenanigans without it.

Not with how-far his base stats had carried him last time. Getting shot sucked!

"Love the invocation, but what's it from?" Zatanna asked stepping out of her own plume of smoke.

"Let's get dangerous? It's from-"

"Oh! My cousins love that show!" M'gann squealed happily.

"You know, that reminds me for whatever reason, but how much family do you have on Mars?" Virgil hummed off-handedly.

"Twelve sisters, seventeen brothers, and an extended family of three-hundred cousins," she answered with a completely straight face, whereas Zatanna was openly gaping.

"Twelve sisters and seventeen brothers?! I'd hate to see the line for the bathroom," the magi shuddered. "No! Wait! We don't have time for this! There are lives in danger!"

"What's the game plan?" M'gann asked, turning to Virgil.

"You're asking me…?! Alright… fine. Here's what we're going to do."

*I BELONG~*

When word got out to them that a costumed villain and his "pet rock monster" were attacking Opal City High, Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. were quick to ready their gear and make their way over.

While crime wasn't anything new in Opal City, counterintuitive to the fact that costumed Heroes who could tank small arms fire made the place their home, criminals of the costumed variety were much more rare. In fact, the only previous costumed villain to attack Opal City -the term "costumed" being used loosely in that case- was a meta by the name of "Paintball", a former art teacher of Courtney's who attacked her for the very reason that they were acquainted before man had become monster; the incident in of itself which resulted in Courtney's latent Metagene activating.

Attacking a public venue like a school or a hospital with the express motive of drawing out Heroes was an easy way to earn their ire, but when the costumed villain, calling himself "Starkiller", was not only able to absorb Courtney's starbolts, but empower himself to the same degree as her…

Sure, they'd been able to draw the villains away from the school and into the Courthouse Square by using themselves as bait, but whoever had an axe to grind against them had really thought this through. Starkiller made Stargirl's attacks completely useless, and "Earthquake" as he was called was able to fortify himself with rubble taken from the surrounding buildings no matter how much S.T.R.I.P.E. blasted away.

In short, Courtney Whitmore was not having "a good day".

"Ready to give up?" Starkiller asked mockingly as he floated above her, her own cosmic energy shining around raised fists.

"You kidding…?" Stargirl panted. "I'm just… getting started."

"Heh. Fine. Your funeral~" the mercenary said in turn, a manic look in his eye that caused Stargirl's blood to run cold.

Before Starkiller could carry through with his threat, a distortion in the air caught Stargirl's attention.

"Look out behind you!" she blurted out.

"Really? That old gag?" Starkiller asked incredulously. "You must be really fucking stupid if you think I'm going to fall for that, you dumb cun-"

The next moment he was struck by something invisible from behind, sailing through the air before his face dug a furrow across the Courthouse Square. Stargirl gaping openly as she tried to find the outline on whatever it was that just hit him, was shocked as an alien-looking vessel colored red with black accents bled into view before her.

The alien vessel whirling around so its rear was facing her, a doorway opened up like melting wax before a blur shot out of it and sailed toward the rock monster pinning her step-dad to the ground, eyes going wide as it slammed headlong into the golem with a deafening *BOOOM!*, a mushroom cloud of dust and asphalt kicked up by the blast.

The dust clearing away moments later, Star Girl took in the sight of a cute-looking green-skinned girl with a line of freckles running across her nose, hair and eyes differing shades of red, clad in a black bodysuit with a red X across the torso, black shoes, and a blue hooded cape not completely dissimilar to Martian Manhunter.

"Star Girl! Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… Who are you?"

"Miss Martian, at your service!" the alien girl said with a heart-warming smile; the sort you'd find in a wholesome family sitcom from the 80s. "Don't you worry! The three of us have your backs!"

"Three?" Star Girl asked confusedly as the spacecraft strafed around her nemesis' back, two people disembarking. The first was a dark-haried girl dressed like a stage magician, the second a white-haired boy clad like a gentleman thief with a butterfly mask on his face. The moment the two stepped out into the open, the airship rose into the air before vanishing.

"So, is this a private fight or can anyone join in?" the white-haired teen asked, cracking his gloved knuckles as he eyed the battlefield.

"You two! Stay back!" Stargirl called out. "This guy steals energy!"

"Sorry, Stargirl, but we're neck-deep in this already," the magical girl countered, whipping out a magician's wand and pointing it at the villain who'd introduced himself as Starkiller. 'Wildcard, where do you want me?'

'That depends. M'gann. can you handle that golem on your own?'

'For the time being,' M'gann answered, their surface thoughts linked together. 'You two help Stargirl. I'll call you over if I need a hand,' she thought before letting out a growl, her fist plowing into Earthquake's face as he rose, throwing him off his feet.

'Alright. Break!' Wildcard thought back as he surged toward Starkiller, he and Zatanna fanning out in a V, forcing Starkiller to alternate fire at the two of them, rising into the air so he was out of range. 'Zatanna, I need you to test whether or not he can absorb magic. I don't have much MP left in me for today.'

'You got it,' the girl nodded. "Llaberif!" she called out, a ball of flame leaping out of her wand and screaming towards Starkiller, the villain crossing his arms before he was sent back through the air. "He can't absorb magic!"

"Alright!" Wildcard said with a nod. "Stargirl! Don't feed him any more energy! The two of us will handle him! You go help S.T.R.I.P.E.!"

"You talk as if you've already won!" Starkiller growled as he fired a blast at Zatanna, the girl conjuring up a shield to deflect it before his attention turned to Wildcard. "DIE!"

"Really? That old line?" Wildcard asked with a roll of his eyes.

The protective suit beneath his costume clinging tightly to his body, Virgil's speed immediately doubled much to Starkiller's shock. Adrenaline coursing through his system, sliding underneath another blast, a brick found its way into his hand before he leapt up into the air.

'Zatanna! Boost!'

'Got it!'

The air beneath his feet solidifying before he was thrown upward, Wildcard drew his arm back before striking Starkiller in the face with a deafening *CRACK!*, the improvised weapon turning to powder under the force of the blow.

"DAMN YOU!" Starkiller growled as he held his bleeding nose. Raising up his hands and priming another energy blast at the masked hero's exposed back, before he could discharge, an energy lasso materialized from the end of Stargirl's staff, wrapping firmly around his body before he was hauled through the air and held under her free arm, the star-spangled hero whipping up totaled cars and chucking them at her nemesis. The villain dodged the first two, but was struck in the back by one of Zatanna's fireballs kiting him into the path of a third, the two tons of metal bringing him down to earth.

"Thanks for the assist," Stargirl said with a smile as she took them to the ground. "I don't think I've heard of you. You new to the superhero scene?" she asked eyeing him over.

"I'm new. She is Giovanni Zatara's daughter, and she is Martian Manhunter's niece," Wildcard said pointing to the two girls.

"And where do you fit into the picture?" Stargirl asked, eyes drifting to his snow-white hair before returning to crimson eyes.

"I'm their chaperone," he shrugged noncommittally, the vehicle pinning Starkiller to the ground groaning behind him. "You think you can help your uncle with that rock monster?"

"Sure, but who's gonna bail you out if you're caught in the air again?" Stargirl asked skeptically.

"Wildcard! I heard your call!" Miss Martian said dropping down next to them.

"M'gann, tag out for Stargirl. The three of us are-"

"Wildcard! You just gave away my secret identity!"

"What secret identity? Your skin is green!"

" . . . Okay, that's fair," she admitted, realizing being called "M'gann" wouldn't matter unless she was "Megan". "Tag in!" she said holding up her hand, Stargirl blinking before slapping her palm against the Martian's, firing off her Cosmic Staff to give her stepdad some breathing room while Wildcard and the others formed a phalanx before Starkiller.

*I BELONG~*

"So, who're the new kids?" S.T.R.I.P.E. asked as he got back to his feet, hydraulics whining and armor rattling.

"They're new, with ties to the Justice League," his step-daughter answered. "Starkiller's able to absorb energy from my Cosmic Staff, so it wasn't like I'd be much use against him."

"Well, I'm just glad they showed up when they did. Even if we had swapped dance partners, I don't think you could've taken this thing on your own."

"Oh yeah? I'll show you who can't take this thing on their own!" Stargirl huffed, rearing back her staff as she lunged into the fray.

*I BELONG~*

"Dammit…! Who the hell are you guys!" Starkiller raged, the vehicle holding him down thrown furiously over his head.

"We-"

"Together we are… The Wildcard Gang!" Zatanna announced, striking a pose.

"Yeah! That's right!" Miss Martian chirped readily, striking a mirrored pose of her own.

" . . . "

Wildcard had no words.

"Fucking… kids…! Stargirl'd be dead by now if it weren't for you!" the villain raged.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing we showed up then, huh?" Zatanna asked, her teenaged girl brand of sass raising the villain's hackles.

"Rrrgh…! DIIIIIE!" he raged, firing energy bolts at the now-named "Wildcard Gang", who scatted.

'Girls, don't let on that we know, but I think his energy is weakening.'

'What makes you say that?' Zatanna asked.

'That 'aura' of energy around him's gotten weaker since we first showed up. It might be a trick of the light, but it's possible this guy is only a 'battery', not a 'generator'.'

'I agree. Stargirl said he could steal energy, but my magic scorched his costume, so I think it's only her energy he can absorb,' Zatanna returned.

'So we just have to wear him down, then?' M'gann asked.

'Seems like a good idea. We don't have to 'win' we just have to 'not lose',' Virgil thought as the Sneaking Suit under his clothes empowered him, a piece of masonry taken into his hand before he hurled it with the speed of a major league baseball player.

"Agh! Shit!" Starkiller swore as he crossed his arms, fine particulates getting into his eyes causing him to howl in pain before he was pinned to the ground by a car M'gann dropped on him. "DAAAAMNIIIIIIIT!" he raged as he blasted the car above him to smithereens, the aura around his body weakening.

"Keep hammering him! He's weakening!"

'Dammit Zatanna! You're not supposed to tip your hand like that!' Wildcard groaned as Starkiller shot toward Stargirl's exposed back, hands outstretched towards her as she blasted Earthquake with another energy blast. "M'gann! Restrain him!"

"Right!" she called out. Arms stretching out and coiling around him like serpents, digging in her heels, the Martian pulled back causing Starkiller to fly wide, the turnabout throw slamming him into the side of a ruined truck and embedding him in the metal.

"Zatanna! Before he can break free!" Wildcard called out, a hand to his temple as he sent his idea for a spell her way.

"Yeah! I can do something like that!" the magi nodded. "Kcerw emoceb a egac!" she invoked, the smoldering wreck folding in on itself until it enveloped Starkiller, leaving only his face, right arm, and left leg sticking out. "Phew! That's way harder than working with cloth," she admitted, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Rrrgh! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Starkiller raged, the grown man actually throwing a tantrum. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET IN MY WAY!?" he demanded.

"Because it's a Hero's job to stop Villains!" M'gann said confidently.

"And don't give us any of your crap about how you're the 'good guy' and society is 'evil'!" Zatanna said planting her hands on her hips.

"Tch…! You…! Fucking…! BIIIITCH!" Starkiller raged as he angled his hand and fired an energy blast at Zatanna, the girl's eyes going wide before-

"Look out!"

-she was pushed aside, M'gann almost cut clean in two.

"M'GANN!" Wildcard cried, eyes going wide as the Martian dropped to the ground in a heap before he whirled on Starkiller. "YOU BASTAAAAAARD!" he roared as adrenaline coursed through his veins, his fury palpable through the air as he blitzed Starkiller.

"N-No! Stay back!" he cried as he desperately launched energy blasts, an absolutely murderous glint in the teen's eyes.

"DUORHS FO EKOMS!" Wildcard roared, a jet-black plume spilling out of his coat and enveloping him, the wall of darkness rolling across the courthouse square and descending upon Starkiller like a wave. The villain letting out a terrified scream as a single pinprick of crimson light pierced the darkness, fired energy blasts into the wall of darkness with wild abandon, only for the mote of light to bob and weave around each one until he was swallowed up.

"P-P-P-P-Please…! D-D-D-Don't hurt meeeee!" Starkiller squealed, the barest hints of an aura enveloping him.

"When you ripped that high school a superfluous new asshole… did they ask you not to hurt them…?" Wildcard whispered into his ear in a guttural growl as he settled upon the cage of steel away from his arm, the two pinpricks of baleful crimson light pinioning the panicking man with a gaze filled with wrath.

"E-E-E-EEEEEEEEEK!" Starkiller squealed as an arm was drawn back amidst the darkness, fingers curling into a fist before it descended upon the man's visage again and again and again…

*I BELONG~*

"M'gann! M'gann speak to me!" Zatanna cried as she knelt beside M'gann, completely unaware of the terror her friend was invoking on the grown villain behind her.

"I'm… fine…" M'gann panted, her cape and the back of her costume blasted away, as was half of her abdomen where the small of her back was. "I'm… a shapeshifter…" she said scrunching her brow. "It'll take a lot more than this… to bring me down…" she said as new bands of flesh began to grow over the wound, her "cape" growing back as well concealing the healing process. "What's that?" she said pointing over Zatanna's shoulder, her eyes widening as a column of black smoke clung around Starkiller's metal prison, only to begin evaporating a couple moments later.

*CRACK!*

"Yow!" M'gann winced as Wildcard walked out of the smoke.

Or rather, "walk" was a strong word. It was more-accurate to say he was shuffling out of the smoke, shoulders drooped and arms hanging loosely at his sides, the curtain of smoke evaporating completely behind him, Starkiller's face beaten black and blue, his visible arm completely broken.

"What… What happened in there?" M'gann asked, sitting up with Zatanna's help.

"M'gann… you're alright…" he breathed out, dropping to his knees a moment later.

"V-Wildcard! Are you okay?" Zatanna cried rushing to his side.

"I… I think I… over-cast again…" he panted, his eyes heavy.

"Here, take this," she said drawing a Mana Potion from her pocket and raising it to his lips, the white-haired teen hungrily drinking it down before letting out an exhausted sigh.

"M'gann… Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm a shapeshifter," the Martian said taking a seat across from him. "All I had to do was grow a new spinal column and muscle tissue."

"Hearing you say 'all I had to do' when you talk about growing a new spinal column doesn't make the feat any less ludicrous…"

"What about you?" the Martian asked. "I heard Starkiller squealing through our link. What did you do to him?"

"Dunno. Guess I scared the hell out of him. And after that I broke his arm so he couldn't attack us again."

"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Zatanna asked, wincing at the sight of black and purple bruising through the villain's ruined jumpsuit.

"Z, if that energy blast had hit you, unlike M'gann, you would not have gotten back up," Wildcard said flatly.

" . . . Okay, that's fair," she admitted. "You sure he's out for the count?"

"Even if he wasn't, it's not like he can aim energy blasts with a broken arm," Wildcard shrugged. "My tank's on-empty. What about you guys?"

"I can still fight," Zatanna answered.

"Not me. I'm bushed," M'gann sighed, eyes going wide as her arm was thrown over a shoulder and Wildcard raised them into a standing position. "V-Wildcard?"

"Come one. I'll get us back to the Bio-Ship," he said walking the two of them away from the fighting. "Zatanna, put a sleeping spell or something on that guy before you go help Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. Just in case."

"S-Sure…" Zatanna nodded.

*I BELONG~*

"Is it really alright? For us to sit out of the fighting like this?" M'gann asked as she and Virgil sat in the Bio-Ship, looking through the bottom of their ship toward where Zatanna was helping Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. fight the rock monster, who was now on the defensive.

"M'gann, fighting when you're running on fumes is only good for getting you killed," Virgil said flatly, shedding out of his costume. "Why do you think Superman doesn't do this 'Cape-and-Undies Show' 24/7? All that shit he does has to be exhausting."

Or at least that's what he and some of the internet believed. The only other explanation was that he was willfully letting people die by not doing his 'Cape-and-Undies Show' 24/7.

Both lines of thought were rife with their fair share of haters and trolls.

"Yeah… I guess I see what you mean," she admitted. "I can barely hold this form as-is."

"If you need to take a break, I can wait in the back."

"No, no, I'm fine. I didn't mean that literally."

"Oh. 'Cause when it comes to SPBs, I can never really tell."

"What does that mean? 'SPB'?"

"Super-Powered Being. It's an umbrella term for Mutants and Metas and Demi-gods and Aliens and whatever other comic book nonsense happens to exist on this planet."

"Ah…" she hummed, looking down at the fighting below before turning back to him. "It still doesn't feel right; doing nothing like this."

"Well, do you have any onboard weapons on this thing?"

"Ah, well… No, not really," she admitted. "I mean I could always use her as a battering ram again, but I don't think she'd appreciate it," she said giving the floor a pat.

"That's probably a good call. You don't take the whip to a beast of burden unless you really have to."

"Is that an old Earth proverb?"

"I dunno. Probably," he shrugged.

" . . . That was some amazing sorcery you performed back there."

"Eh… I was honestly just flying by the seat of my pants," he shrugged tiredly. "I don't even know what came out of my mouth; just… blurted out what came to mind."

"Well, even if that's the case, that doesn't make it any less amazing. And Zatanna says you've only been magical for a few days, so on top of the fact you aren't from a magical lineage like she is, that makes it even more amazing in my book. From what I hear, faith is a pretty big barrier between non-magi being able to cast magic."

"Trust me, I've seen enough weird shit in my lifetime that is isn't too hard to believe magic is real," he waved off as he looked down the window. "Huh? Did that thing seriously expose its core like in a boss fight?" he asked as, after accumulating enough damage, the golem's chest opened up to expose a glowing yellow core as vents of steam billowed out of its body.

"Boss fight?"

"Video game term. They're these things we play on Earth where we control a character on a screen and have adventures."

"Hmmm… From the sound of things, they're like the equivalent of… Well…" she paused. "The closest translation in your language I can come up with is… 'Mindgames'."

"How do those work?"

"Well… Essentially, young Martians link minds with another who's been off-world and seen enough that they can create a fantastical simulation of a place or time that isn't Mars."

"Huh. Sounds like The Matrix but with less probing."

"That one actually terrified my siblings quite a bit," M'gann shuddered.

"Good rule of thumb; if at any point in the movie it says 'Based on a true story', it's a pretty good indicator it's based on reality. Anything too-fantastical is just that; a fantasy."

"Oh… Good to know," she said breathing a sigh of relief.

"Maybe before you go to a high school for your secret identity, you should brush up on your World History so you don't get fact and fiction jumbled up and make everyone think you're a complete weirdo," he suggested.

"Yeah… I guess I should," she said with a small flush of purple at her cheeks. "Um… Thank you for being so-patient with me."

"No problem," Virgil returned. "That's what friends do for one another," he said ruffling her hair, the alien girl beaming under his praise.

*I BELONG~*

"Well…" Zatanna hummed as the "core" of the rock monster went dormant after receiving enough damage. "That was new."

"Yeah, it was like something out of an old video game," Stargirl hummed.

"Sensors indicate this guy's dormant… And so is the other one," S.T.R.I.P.E. stated as he eyed the two over. "Huh. Looks like Starkiller got a little more roughed-up," he said taking note of the beaten-in-face and the broken arm. "Life signs are faint. They're still alive, so now's as good a time as any to secure them."

"And what do we do after this?"

"Leave 'em to Star Labs. After that they'll go to the courts."

"Does it ever get any easier? The carnage I mean."

"Not really," S.T.R.I.P.E. answered, wiping his brow inside the cockpit. "My father told me what the great war was like… But I didn't think I'd see something like that on American shores. We'll need to amp up our training if we want to stop something like this from happening again."

"For once I agree with you," Stargirl panted before realizing she'd forgotten something. "Oh! I almost forgot to thank-Where'd she go?" she asked doing a double-take, the third party that'd come to their rescue completely vanished.

*I BELONG~*

"Well, you're back early," Virgil hummed as the Bio-Ship soared away from Opal City. "Not gonna soak up the limelight?"

"I didn't feel up to it," Zatanna pouted, knees drawn up to her chest while M'gann manned the helm. "By the time we got here, there was already so much destruction… And just because we didn't see any bodies didn't mean there weren't any."

"Yeah, well… Get over it."

"WHAT!?" she shrieked at his callous words.

"You aren't a god. None of you, not even Superman, can 'save everyone' all the time," he told her with a flat look. "In order to save one person, you have to forsake another. That's just the world we live in, and the sooner you accept it… You know I was going somewhere with that, but I lost it… Whatever. The point still stands."

" . . . I know you're right… but that doesn't mean I have to like it," Zatanna pouted.

"That sounds like your problem, not mine," Virgil sighed as he laid on his back, too-exhausted to do anything else. "M'gann. How long 'til we get to Bludhaven?"

"To get to the address you gave me, ETA is… a little over thirty minutes," M'gann answered.

"Cool… Cool… I'm… going to take… a power…"

Before he could finish that sentence, he was already out like a light.

*I BELONG~*

[UNKNOWN LOCATION]
November 21, 16:34

"Hmmmmm…" a caped man with a hooded mask hummed from atop his throne, a replay of his most-recent test subjects' exploits playing out before him in his darkened throneroom.

Starkiller, a formerly-crippled mercenary who was not only given the ability to absorb cosmic radiation, but also the full of his mobility back; all he had to do to keep it was kill Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl.

Earthquake, a mentally ill homeless man transformed into an earth-manipulating monster composed of living earth and stone with a core-based physiology.

Though both were the fruit of recent advances in gene manipulation technology he didn't have access to when he first began to express his grand designs, they were far from his greatest feat.

Then again, compared to stonewalling the entire Justice Society from the eastern front of the war, it was pretty much impossible to top that.

"Shiv. Killer Wasp. Report," the hooded man stated in a heavy Japanese accent.

"Well, Starkiller croaked on his way to Star Labs after the last of his radiation charge bled out. Do you want me to harvest some DNA?" a woman with a heavily Americanized Japanese accent asked.

"There is no need for that, I did so beforehand. However, based on his performance, in all likelihood I'll simply discard it. What of Earthquake?"

"The rock-hobo's still inert," an American voice replied. "Don't know if they know he's a person under there; should we retrieve him?"

"There is no need for that. Since the Core cannot be adjusted in its finished state, it would be more cost-efficient to start from scratch with what I've learned from this failed test," the masked man answered.

"Should we kill Stargirl and her robot sidekick?" Shiv asked.

"Hmmm… No. Leave them be for the time being. They may prove useful later," he answered. "Besides, if anything were to happen to them, their 'sponsors' might be tipped off to my presence."

"Very well, father. We shall leave them be," Shiv stated, the line going dead before the man on the throne pressed a button, another screen, this one obscured by a bright white light, appearing.

"Greetings, L-1."

"It has been six months. Status report. How is the development of the new living weapons progressing?" the one addressed as "L-1" stated, getting straight to business.

"We have seen improvements concerning those augmented through mysticism. The process shortens the lifespans of most, but longevity is not needed. I intend to create weapons, not 'supervillains'," he spat, as though the last word were poison on his tongue.

"And have the previous problems been corrected?"

"Cellular Deterioration levels have dropped and predictions say we will have fully-stable units ready within another six months. Processing time will likewise be reduced by 60%. I predict a further decrease in processing time to 50% of the original value in another six months."

To himself, he noted that when the process plateaued, that invisible ceiling could only be surmounted by advances in technology that as-of-yet did not currently exist.

"Excellent."

"Is that all, L-1?"

"Not yet. While the cosmic energy subject was not up to your predicted standards, other researchers in our organization have become interested in your work. Similar weapons may prove useful against our Partner's enemies during the endgame, so they are requeusting samples.

"Very well. I will arrange for transport," the man on the throne replied, glad he was told this before disposing of Starkiller's tissue samples. "Still, the third party that intervened… Their presence during today's test was… worrying. They made no signs on their approach and while I was able to recognize the kin of Zatara and Martian Manhunter, the white-haired boy that was with them doesn't match up to any SPB we know of."

"Hm. Yes. It appears The League has gained access to stealth technology, even if only tangentially," L-1 replied. "I will have feelers sent out to determine the identity of the third, but unless they move to Opal City, I doubt they'll interfere with future tests. Also, while you may test weapons against the Justice Society and their descendants, do not forget our ultimate goal. The living weapons you create are property of The Light, and will be our pivotal tools to win The Game."

" . . . Yes, sir," the man on the throne said after a brief pause.

"All that being said, you have done good work, young one. L-1, out."

With those passing words, the screen deactivated, the room going dark leaving the hooded man to his thoughts, the silence only broken by an irritated chuff.

"Tch. 'Young one'? I'm over 90 years old. Of course… I guess anyone would be an infant compared to you, Old Man."

*I BELONG~*

AN:
As tempting as it is to go the Harem Route from the beginning, that sort of thing needs proper buildup.

That and America being America is also a contributing factor to this early outcome.