FLOATING ISLAND, PART 1.

Unknown location. 8:00

"Everything is ready, master," Lady Shiva said to Ra's Al Ghul who was sitting in his chair as leader of the League of Assassins.

"Well done, Shiva. Today is the day the city will be destroyed, and neither Wayne nor his useless Rangers are going to stop us. He will finally see that he cannot save her. The Rangers will either join us or we will have to eliminate them depending on what they choose, but remember, Shiva, I do not want any more mistakes from you," Ra's said, looking at Lady Shiva with anger as If words weren't enough.

"I will not fail this time," Lady Shiva said, bowing her head and showing him her submission.

"I hope so, Shiva. Not only from you, but from Wilson also. Go for him. He also has to make amends for his mistake," she ordered.

Lady Shiva just nodded at him and went off to find the mercenary Deathstroke who had waited too long to get revenge on the Red Ranger. Shiva did not care if Wilson managed to get revenge on him. In the end, the League of Shadows would fulfill the mission that had been denied them for years, and no one was going to be able to stop them.

XXX

Base of Zone C. 12:00

Commander Wayne sat in his chair waiting for Ra's to begin the attack. He had been in that position ever since Killer Croc's attack. There were several days when he didn't even go to sleep. He ate in the same place, but he always left the room every time he had to go to the bathroom. However, he didn't even attend morning training with his Rangers but always kept an eye on them and gave them the odd advice using the base's security cameras and loudspeakers.

This behavior greatly worried J'onn, who tried to get him to leave the room to relax. He only got a cold and distant response from the commander. He asked the Rangers to help him without any success. Even Diana, who felt more comfortable with him since her exclusive training to stop Killer Croc, did not have an optimal result when she tried to make him eat outside the conference room.

Commander Wayne would do everything in his power to prevent the same tragedy from happening to his Rangers, but he had been doubting himself these past few days, and his Rangers quite a bit. He still didn't think he was strong or fit enough to stop Ra's, and he didn't think his Rangers would make it out alive, not if he wasn't there.

These thoughts were interrupted when he remembered that he had tasked J'onn with doing something very important. He got up for the first time in hours and went to the lab. Upon arrival, he found J'onn was working at his desk. Since they had known each other for a long time, the two already knew when the other entered the place.

"It's good that you've finally decided to get up from that chair, commander" J'onn said without taking his eyes off the monitor.

"You know why I came here, J'onn. I've been reminding you every day," Commander Wayne said, his tone cold, not friendly. He was showing that he was getting impatient.

"I've done my best, but I still need some time, Commander. The soul-stealing sword chant is too hard to figure out, especially when it's so old and there's so little information about it. I hate to say that to you," J'onn said. He was also impatient that he couldn't do it faster than he expected.

"I need that chant as soon as posible," said the commander still with a cold tone. "Ra's will strike at any moment, and having that chant ready is crucial. If the souls entered that sword, it is likely that they can get out."

"Sorry for being late, but the jets like the base itself need my upkeep, just like the Rangers need their commander in training," J'onn reminded him.

"I'm not telling you to stop maintaining the base and vehicles, J'onn, but with the Rangers, it's different. I have to defeat Ra's and they can't do it. I'm the one who has to do it," he said, looking away.

"Aren't they supposed to be a team and everyone has to make the same commitment?" J'onn asked. This made the commander sigh.

"We are a team, but I will not let them face Ra's again. They don't know him, and he's unpredictable. I can't take that risk again," said the commander staring at J'onn.

On the other side of the base, the Rangers were resting and having a good time after morning training. Interestingly, the training sessions were more relaxed when the commander was not present in the training room. Now, Barry was eating something to keep his energy up, while John was still reading the rulebook. Shayera was throwing and catching a ball, and Kal and Diana were talking very quietly about how his relationship with Lois was going well. They had been quite enjoying these days, even with the commander's obsessive behavior to watch the city at all times. They even wished that no attack from Ra's would come, but they knew that it was impossible.

Unfortunately, that would be the last break they would have for a long time. The alarm sounded, so the commander spoke into the speaker and ordered them to go to the conference room. They ran and saw Commander Wayne standing but looking at the monitor.

"Cadets, the base's radars are designed to detect potentially dangerous objects, and we've detected an island headed for the city," Commander Wayne said with his back to the Rangers.

"Let's see if I understand: an island is headed for the city. How is that possible? Do they have sharks or any animal that carries them?" Barry asked. He wasn't the only one confused. The others were also wondering how that was happening.

"The island is not in the sea. It is in the air. It's using thrusters to get here," the commander replied. This was another surprising thing for these Rangers.

"How is it that a floating island is headed for the city?" Shayera asked.

It's the League of Assassins. They not only hire the best assassins, but they can also create or steal the best possible technology to make that posible," Commander Wayne answered. "The best we can do is go with the jets and scan it for weaknesses. Ra's surely has something prepared, so avoid fighting them for the time being."

This plan was quite strange. He had been ordering scan and watch actions instead of attack for a while now. Before anyone could move, J'onn reached the conference room.

"Commander, I'm getting a signal. It looks like someone is transmitting a message," J'onn said with her eyes on his tablet.

The commander sat in his chair and pressed some buttons. The screen changed from the floating island to Ra's Al Ghul's face.

"Surprised, right?" Ra's asked.

"Absolutely not. It is obvious that you sent us a message as a warning, Ra's," Commander Wayne answered.

"This is not a warning, Wayne. I'm communicating with you to tell you my last words before the destruction of the city," Ra's replied. "We have been in an endless fight for years since that night. Three of your Rangers died thanks to you and your stupid belief that Zone C could be saved. With only you were left. You did your best to mobilize the city, but the agony for the city was inevitable."

The commander wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. It was so terrible to keep reliving his greatest failure from that night…that and the fact that he hadn't done enough to save the city. The Rangers didn't know what to say either. A big villain was mentally beating up their commander, but they couldn't do anything, especially since J'onn put his hand out to stop them from stepping forward. This was something the commander had to do on his behalf.

"You were delusional if you thought you could save the city by becoming the commander of the area, but thee ships had already sailed. You guys have just been trying to save a rotten fruit," Ra's continued. "If you think about how I got these resources, then it's simple. Seeing as how you and the other Rangers would be focused on theft, we tried a more subtle weapon: economics. We bought the guards and employees who were desperate for money and gave us the necessary resources to modify the island that goes to the city. I am sure you already saw it," he finished, knowing the commander very well.

"If you think I'm going to let you destroy the city, along with all the good people in it, you're sorely mistaken," the commander said through clenched teeth.

"You keep defending a city with so many bad people. Disappointing, but not unexpected. So if you're here to try and stop me, you're not going to make it. I told you before: No matter what you do, you can't beat me," Ra's said before the call signal was lost.

Commander Wayne remained in that position for a few more seconds until he quickly turned around.

"Cadets, as ordered, go to the jets. Scan the island for a weakness and stop it before it reaches the city," he ordered again. The Rangers took a few seconds to respond.

"Yes sir," said the five in unison.

"Ready?" Kal asked.

"Ready!" The other four responded in unison.

"Justice League, actívate," said the five at the same time and transformed. "Justice League Rangers."

Once this was done, the Rangers went to the hangar, took the jets and went directly to the island. All quite determined to prevent the island from reaching the city. The initial shock they'd had with Ra's call had already worn off.

Minutes before arriving, Barry began to ramble. He didn't like how Ra's was making fun of them, but he was also upset with the commander's treatment. He was just starting to feel unrecognized, so he decided to talk to the others.

"Don't you think Wayne should relax a bit?" Barry asked.

"How do you want him to relax when his biggest enemy is challenging us, Barry?" Shayera asked, annoyed by the comment. This was not the time for this.

"I'm not saying he should be as cool as me, but I think he should give us more than just a 'good job' or a 'well done,'" Barry replied.

"Do you want him to give us money?" Kal asked. He was also interested in the conversation.

"No, I'm not asking for money. Maybe something else, like a small object of celebration, or at least a thank you for being here," Barry replied.

Kal thought to contribute. The commander's attitude continued to annoy him from time to time, but he didn't want to demand something from him that he knew would bring him severe punishment. Shayera saw that Barry was also right because the environment needed to change, but she decided not to say anything. She was more concerned about the battle that was approaching than asking for congratulations.

"I think he would be nice, but…" Kal said, but was cut off.

"But we have to focus on the battle, so we better leave it for later," John said.

"John is right, Kal. Let's save this for later. If we can't clear our minds, we will most likely lose like I lost the first time against Killer Croc," Diana said.

"It's fine. Come on," Kal said, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted, but he knew he was right.

Already being a few meters away, they did not expect the island to have laser turrets that fired at them once they were within range.

"Evasive maneuvers," Kal said.

"You don't need to say it twice," Barry said.

The Rangers dodged the gunfire over and over again, while back at the base, J'onn continued to work tirelessly to get what the commander had asked for ready. At the same time, he was scanning the island. Yes, a lot of work, but it would be worth it, or so he thought. Scan finished, he called the Rangers.

"Rangers, I have scanned the island with your help. Now I tell you that you have to destroy the turrets, then disable one of the island's thrusters. Use the one you disabled to enter the island," he told them.

"Thank you J'onn," said the five in unison.

"Each one choose the turret you want and destroy it at all costs," Kal ordered.

"Understood," the four said in unison.

So, the five of them split up. Kal went for the turret on top of the island, Diana for the right, Barry for the back of the island, and John and Shayera for the ones on the surface.

After this, Ra's was comfortably watching the show sitting in his chair at the island controls. This was nothing he hadn't anticipated. He knew the Rangers would let their guard down.

"They just destroyed the turrets, but they won't be able to destroy this," Ra's said before moving his hand, which caused the other members to press buttons.

"Well done! Time to grab a booster," Kal said.

"Remember not to underestimate Ra's," the commander reminded them before they could choose a thruster.

"Thanks for the reminder, but we already know that Ra's is dangerous, Commander," Diana said. She was still stubborn in various ways.

Right after she said that, giant tentacles started coming out of the island and attacking the jets.

"Can not be. This is new," John said starting to dodge the attacks.

"Do you have an octopus or giant squid?" Barry asked.

"No, they're roots," J'onn answered. "They are modified plants. So that's why Ra's didn't try to steal the ion crust again."

"Just when Poison Ivy wasn't enough, now we have more plants to deal with," Shayera said.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," John agreed.

"Great. So, what can we do now?" Barry asked.

"I think the best thing for now is to stick with the plan of entering using a jet pack as a conduit. We can't hack the island if it operates on that technology, and it's heavily armored everywhere else. The best way to stop her is to do it from the inside," J'onn answered.

"Got it, J'onn," Kal said, but began to think about how they could keep the plants busy. "John, create more ships to draw attention away from the roots."

"Understood," John said.

He went to the front of the island, and created several of the same jets with his mind. They all went to attack different parts of the island. This was a great challenge. While the ships were a good distraction, Ra's led all attacks against him, already knowing that if he lost his focus, the ships would disappear.

With the distraction being effective, the other Rangers fired their weapons at a jet pack and managed to hole it. So, everyone started to enter the island through that hole, except Kal, who decided to go back to help John.

"John, go through the thruster first. I'll take care of this," Kal said.

"No, I can't leave you here," John said. "You are the Red Ranger and you are necessary."

"I'm not asking you to leave me. I'll follow you quickly," Kal said. This seemed fine to him.

"Understood," John said before going to the booster, though he still held the jets he created with his mind to make Kal's way easier. Once he entered, he followed him and entered the island where the other four were already waiting for him.

"Alright, that was tough, but now we have to stop Ra's once and for all. We can't let him get away this time," Kal said.

"Exactly. We will not allow him to continue causing harm to others," Shayera said.

"Yes, but for that, let's be alert. As the commander said, they probably already have something prepared for us," added John.

"Yes, but we can win. It's us," Barry said.

"Barry is right. We can beat them, that's the way of an Amazon."

"I think we can, but we have to be careful," Kal said. "By the way, don't think I forgot that you are the one who will face Lady Shiva."

"Thanks, Kal," Diana said.

"Okay, let's go there," Kal said before moving as the others followed him.

In another part of the island, Ra's Al Ghul was watching how the Rangers had entered the island, but, since he had not been affected by anything that had destroyed his turrets, this had not surprised him either.

"It's time to start the second phase of the plan," Ra's said.

Hearing this, the ninjas pressed buttons and the island took out two cannons and began firing, but not at the jets. They fired at the city.

XXX

At the base in Zone C, Commander Wayne was waiting for the denouement since he did not have a jet. He was keeping an eye on the situation of his Rangers. However, the alarm forced him to pay attention to another situation, and that was that what Ra's had shot were genetically modified plants, which were growing by leaps and bounds. They were destroying streets and skyscrapers, obviously also hurting the citizens of the city. The plants were in The Bowery, so now he had to act.

"J'onn, keep an eye on the city and the Rangers, but don't stop working on the chant," the commander ordered before getting up and pulling the Morpho out of him. "Justice League, actívate," he said and transformed.

Afterwards, he pressed a button and the screen lifted revealing the duct, and he jumped inside. He slid down that chute and landed inside his car. He hit the accelerator and the car started to run. He was going to have to be the guardian of the city this time, but he kept thinking that his Rangers were in trouble. The first thing was to save the civilians or keep the city stable at minimum.

NEXT: FLOATING ISLAND, PART 2.