Omarnosian10: Hmmm…
Wally: What are you thinking?
Omarnosian10: Given that this episode and the next take place a week apart, I am internally debating on whether or not to include the Gorilla City arc.
Conner: I hate monkeys!
Omarnosian10: I get that, but given that it showed a large number of DC characters, it intrigues me.
Megan: What about going to "Revelations"?
Omarnosian10: Still have plans for that, but it may be delayed.
Conner: Can't you skip Gorilla City and consider it an off-screen thing like my psychic attack?
Omarnosian10: Maybe. And before anyone asks why the title isn't the canon "Alpha Male", I disliked it for the sexism.
Megan/Artemis/Jasmine: THANK YOU!
Omarnosian10: And even if the 'male' was referring to the duo of Brain and Mallah, I'm adding another Brotherhood of Evil villain to the mix.
Dick: Who?
Omarnosian10: Find out in the chapter. ON WITH THE SHOW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or Power Rangers. All rights go to Brandon Vietti, Greg Wiesman, and Saban. Before editing, portions of this chapter belong to JokerCyclone and The Incredible Muffin. I only own my OCs and unidentified upgrades of any sort. Ownerships of OC Power Ranger teams are in Profile.
Chapter 15: Animal
(Mount Justice)
Less than half a day had passed since the attack on the Cave, and nearly a third of the Justice League was hard at work repairing the damage the two androids had left in their wake. The Leaguers who weren't on repair duty or out doing their job were in the briefing room with the Team, going over details of the attack.
Specifically, Batman was debriefing Aqualad and Josh merely stood on the sidelines of the discussion. The rest of the Team was on the other side of the room in various degrees of depression, while Zatara finished healing the last of their injuries.
"You are quite fortunate that your burns aren't lethal enough to reach your nerves. Not even Dr. Fate can repair nerve damage," sighed Zatara, healing Artemis last. The archer nodded solemnly, rubbing her arms; without those, she could say goodbye to her hero activities. She isn't the only one in a lowly mood, however. Red Tornado's betrayal had hit them pretty hard; though none of them could claim to be close to the android, he had been a constant presence in their lives since the Team was founded. It made them all uncomfortable to think that their 'den-mother' had been a spy all along. It was even worse for the Justice League; most of them had known Red Tornado for several years, yet none of them had suspected a thing.
'Damn it…' Superboy found himself distracted and angry. His girlfriend had almost died, and not only had he been unable to help her at the time, he wasn't going after the ones responsible now. While he held Jasmine's hand in one of his own, he found his attention drawn to his leader, SIC, and Batman. Without really thinking about it, he reached out with his super-hearing and listened in on their conversation.
"—Revealed to us and Red Arrow by Sportsmaster that there may be a mole within our midst. With last night's attack, Tornado appeared to be the Traitor. Whether it was willingly or programmed is still—"
Like a switch had been thrown, Superboy snarled; he let go of Jasmine and, in a blur of super-speed, tackled Aqualad into a wall.
"You knew?! (picked Atlantian up by shirt angrily) That android and his maniac family almost killed us, and you knew this was coming?!" snarled Superboy.
"Whoa!" widened Kid Flash, the others rushing over.
"Conner, what are you doing?" questioned Jasmine as she and Miss Martian tried prying the angry Kryptonian off of their SIC.
"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us, and he said nothing!" revealed Superboy. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Wait, you knew?" asked Kid Flash.
"And you didn't say anything?" demanded Robin. Aqualad frowned at the reveal. This wasn't how he wanted this to come out.
"Aqualad informed me the day after. (attention shifts to him) Steel knows at the same time he did, although he offered other explanations as to how the enemy could've gained knowledge, such as bugs or shapeshifting," explained Josh.
"The Zeta Tubes would've fried the first one and wouldn't have worked on anyone using a disguise," retorted Robin.
"That's what Red Arrow told him," nodded Josh.
"That pretentious prick knows too?!" scowled Artemis. Kid Flash would've defended his friend, but given how he screwed up in giving away Artemis' position last night, he lets her have that one. "Who else knows?!"
"No one else. (sighs, folding arms) However, there are several reasons I agreed with Kaldur to withhold the information." informed Josh.
"Such as?" scowled Robin. With Batman's permission, Josh activated the Cave's holoscreen, bringing up an image. "O~h, that's a good reason."
"Who's the old guy cosplaying as Mad Hatter from the Wonderland story?" asked Jasmine curiously. Most of the team is curious as well.
"Jervis Tetch. He's a Gotham villain with an obsession with that story and uses custom tech that mostly… does mind control," explained Artemis, widening her eyes at the last part. Her teammates follow suit.
"Exactly. (nods) Given that I fell victim to his technology a small number of times, I hold no grudge against Aqualad or Omni-Ranger for withholding the information," admitted Batman. A small part of him felt gratitude for the Mad Hatter; after all, if it wasn't for his dream world-making device, he never would've decided who he wanted to have a serious relationship with. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean he won't put Tetch behind bars whenever he has the chance.
"Wait… (looks at Miss Martian) M'gann, could Psimon have similar powers? To control minds?" clarified Superboy. Miss Martian frowns uncertainly.
"Maybe… I mean, Uncle J'onn can too, but he rarely does it and hasn't finished teaching me that yet," answered Miss Martian.
"****… (folds arms) OK, you got me there. But what other reasons do you have?" frowned Kid Flash, the others feeling frustrated. Josh cleared his throat, standing straight before sending the Team grim looks, starting with Robin.
"Alfred Pennyworth… (Robin's masked eyes widen) Rudy and Mary West… (Kid Flash frowns) Jonathan and Martha Kent… (Superboy narrows eyes) Rose Wilson… (Miss Martian gasps, covering her mouth) Paula Crock… (Artemis' eyes widen) While I believe that none of you would be bribed into giving out classified information… Could you honestly tell me that if someone had your loved ones hostage, you wouldn't turn on this team?" asked Josh sternly. Many on the team wanted to confirm their loyalty verbally… but their leader's words struck deep within them. None of them could, in good conscience, sacrifice their loved ones for the mission.
"Any other reasons?" asked Jasmine sadly. While Josh and Conner are her only loved ones in this universe, she can't say that she hasn't made friends in her home universe.
"Two more. Given Wally's animosity toward Artemis, I believe if I shared this knowledge, he would likely plant evidence to implicate her as the mole," revealed Josh. Everyone sent dirty looks toward the speedster, who flinched in guilt.
"With how he ****** up yesterday, good call," agreed Superboy.
"And the Tower of Fate." scowled Robin. Kid Flash looked down in shame. Josh sighed, preparing himself.
"The last reason is the source of this information. The tip… was from Sportsmaster." Artemis's eyes widened as soon as he said the villain's name.
"You can't trust him! He's a lying, manipulative nutjob! (gains looks aside from Robin, Josh, and Batman) At least, that's what Green Arrow's told me," lied the archer.
"Why else do you believe we doubted the possibility?" retorted Aqualad. Artemis slumped.
"Still… (sighs, folding arms) Josh raised a few good points. None of us may be the mole now, but how could any of us stay that way if someone bad gets ahold of our loved ones down the line?" asked Robin rhetorically.
"And mental defenses for tech-based mind control are a lot different than ones for regular or magic-based," frowned Miss Martian. A somber mood filled the Cave with this conversation. Batman stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention.
"Rest assured that the League and I, along with a small number of associates, will be preparing contingencies for those scenarios. If all goes well, the odds of your loved ones being used as hostages along with mind control will be diminished greatly," commented Batman.
"Greatly? Not completely?" questioned Miss Martian.
"Given everything you've seen on this team, can you be certain that anything can be 100% guaranteed?" retorted Batman. Miss Martian shook her head.
"Still… (sighs) It's better than nothing," admitted Robin. Batman nodded before interacting with the holoscreen.
"At any rate, I have a mission for you. (holoscreen shows newspaper) You'll be going to India to investigate a series of attacks that were committed by unusual animals," notified Batman.
"What is this? 'Gotham Mayor Attacked by Guerilla Gorilla'?" read Kid Flash.
"What, was this the only thing he could think up to distract us?" scoffed Superboy via Miss Martian's link.
"Considering everything Josh told us, I think we need one," countered Jasmine. The clone reluctantly agreed.
"Batman, tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape-chase!" scoffed Robin.
"Says the guy named after a tiny bird," retorted Jasmine. Batman leveled an even more menacing glare at his protégé.
"I never joke about the mission, Robin." scolded Batman. Robin looks away in shame.
"Go on," offered Aqualad.
"I've studied the patterns. Done the research. Verified the sources. Hill was a part of an illegal hunting party that consisted of him and two men. While in India, they were attacked by what Hill claimed to be a 'gorilla packing heat'. (Kid Flash snickers) In my investigation, I uncovered a rash of similar incidents. (holoscreen scrolls through articles) Poachers, tourists, ivory hunters… very few left the same general area alive in the past two months. While a couple reported similar attacks that Hill went through, others reported unusual-looking animals of many kinds." reported Batman.
"Sounds like something up Animo's alley," scowled Josh.
"Who?" blinked most of the Team.
"Did someone say Animo?!" Leonel rushed to them, Gatling Morpher in hand.
"I've heard of him. (nods) In my and Josh's universe, he's a mad scientist with the know-how to mutate and control animals, including cryptids from what I saw a few months before coming here," explained Jasmine.
"Not just that. (folds arms) In my friend's first encounter with him years ago, he also had the knowledge to bring fossilized animals to life, added Josh.
"In other words, an enemy to animals everywhere!" screamed Leonel, showing off his passion for animals.
"You mean there's a chance we're gonna be fighting living dinosaurs?!" gawked Robin.
"None of the reports had anything of the sort, but given the variety, there's still a chance. I need this Team to travel to India, and investigate," informed Batman.
"Question. (raises hand) Why can't we get Josh's friend to help since this Animo guy might be involved?" asked Kid Flash. Given that they've faced enemies from Josh's universe and beyond, it's a valid concern.
"We have no solid evidence that this Dr. Animo is involved, and even so, Josh's friend is busy off-world at the moment," answered Batman.
"Aw, man!"
"As support, I'm sending Captain Marvel and Wild Warrior with you," added Batman. Leonel shows off his personal Ranger Gear.
"Hey, guys!" a tall, muscular man in a red outfit, along with a gold lightning bolt on his chest and a short, white cape that hung on one shoulder, smiled enthusiastically. "Let's not waste any time; this is gonna be fun!"
"Yeah, fun," nodded Kid Flash sarcastically, the group walking toward the Bioship. Robin pulled Josh back a bit, letting the others.
"OK, I know you know most of the League's identities, so mind telling me if Captain Marvel is on the list?" asked Robin. Josh sighs, shaking his head.
"I'm as clueless as you. Whenever I get a DNA sample from him like spilled blood, hair, or saliva, lightning comes out of nowhere soon after and destroys them, even indoors, and when I put them in insulated cases," admitted Josh.
"Seriously?! That's the same with me! (sighs) And I'm guessing facial recognition is a no-go," relented Robin.
"A few close matches, but none have the same build or height. Given that his powers are magic-based, my running hypothesis is that he's enchanted himself so that any piece of himself that's too far for too long destroys itself as a contingency," theorized Josh. Robin snorts.
"Sounds like something Batman would do if he had magic powers."
(Northern India)
The cloaked Bioship sailed through the sky, descending over the forest. The bottom opened up, allowing Robin and Artemis to drop down. They surveyed the area and signaled for the Bioship to land. Once doing so, the hatch opened, allowing the rest of its occupants to exit.
"You included animals in your analysis?" Josh's current suit resembles a DNA suit, although mostly black with his left sleeve and torso side being silver, and his right sleeve and side being gold, although it could be mistaken for a shade of orange at first glance. Unlike the regular DNA suits, three animals' heads are present on the torso as opposed to one; a black rhino, a silver wolf, and a gold crocodile. His helmet was black with a rhinoceros horn above his head, red eyes above the visor, and a gold mouthplate. This is DNA Black.
"Roger." signed Robin.
"Apart from some normal-looking bugs," cringed Artemis, moving a foot away from some dung beetles. DNA Black nodded before looking at everyone.
"Alright everyone; switch to stealth mode, and we'll review mission parameters," ordered the Sixth Ranger. Those with the tech nodded before doing so.
"So glad I came in as a ninja to compensate." Jasmine's current suit is white and from the Ninja Steel team, with her visor and sash highlighted in pink. Her visor resembles a floral shuriken. This is Ninja Steel White; one of Jasmine's favorite suits.
"I'm a predator; I don't need any fancy suits to hunt." Leonel's armor is yellow, with shoulder pauldrons with a strip of armor dangling over each side like tassels, with the right one having the silver image of a lion's head. His arms are black with yellow cufflinks. His chest has a large lion head. His thigh armor is silver with the rest of the leg armor being yellow from the knee down. His feet are in claw-like shoes. His helmet has a pair of large yellow spikes formed on each side and curved upwards with a black stripe running through each, a singular yellow spike protruding from the top of his helmet, the number on his forehead being '25'. His mouth is covered by a flat silver mouthguard. This is Wild Warrior.
"We'll split up in four directions; Martian, Artemis, White, you three take North. Wild Warrior, Robin, and Kid will take East. Aqualad and Superboy will take West. Marvel and I'll take South. Keep in contact with the link and report anything unusual," ordered DNA Black. Everyone nodded before splitting up. "May the Power Protect You."
(Minutes later, Team A)
It wasn't long before DNA Black and Captain Marvel found the first sign that something was wrong. In a clearing were tracks of several animals, all of varying species, but the tracks appeared to have been made at the same time. One thing in particular that disturbed them was a pile of bullet casings next to a gorilla's footprints, with trails of blood leading away.
"I'm a little torn between making a 'Planet of the Apes' joke or a 'monkey-business' joke," admitted Captain Marvel nervously.
"Planet of the what?" asked DNA Black, confused. Captain Marvel blinked.
"Dude, haven't you seen any movies?" asked the magic-user.
"Only ones that my sister starred in," answered DNA Black, kneeling and grabbing a handful of bullet casings.
"What are you doing?" asked Captain Marvel.
"Examining the casings… Judging by the sizes along with the number, these were fired from a minigun; what kind, I can't say until I take these back for further analysis," noted DNA Black.
"Good thing we're both bulletproof," smiled Captain Marvel nervously.
"But not all of the team." sighed DNA Black worriedly, thinking of Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Artemis. The Sixth Ranger stood and dropped the casings, keeping a couple. Right when he put them away, he and Captain Marvel felt the whole ground shake, the magic-user's brow furrowing in confusion. The stomping sound grew closer, and the trees were knocked away as a massive elephant emerged from the jungle. Even by elephant standards, this creature was massive, easily one-and-a-half times bigger than a normal elephant, with cracks in the skin that reminded DNA Black vaguely of Mammoth.
"Holy moley!" exclaimed Captain Marvel, getting over his surprise to rush forward and meet the charging elephant. The collision shook the ground, and Captain Marvel grunted as he was slowly pushed back in the air by the pachyderm. He pushed back as best he could, only to feel the elephant's trunk wrapped around his leg. Before the Leaguer could react, the elephant swung its trunk and flung Captain Marvel away, smashing him through a tree. The Leaguer groaned, looking up to see a large tiger staring right at him, its red eyes gazing directly into his soul…
"Beast Striker!" DNA Black summoned a yellow fishing rod-like device. Just as he prepared to charge in and aid the Team's temporary 'den mother', he felt vibrations behind him and narrowly jumped out of the way before the foot of a second large elephant crushed him. Looking at the mutated elephants, the Sixth Ranger lets out a groan.
"Should've gone with DNA Green…"
(Meanwhile, Team B)
The rest of the Team's status was not good. Robin, Wild Warrior, and Kid Flash were attacked by a mutated rhino (which they found ironic given their leader's present suit) that was nearly twice the size of a normal one.
"Hey, does that thing look familiar?" asked Robin as he threw a bola around the rhino's legs, tripping it momentarily before its enhanced strength ripped the chords apart.
"Yeah, it looks like Kobra-Venom!" nodded Kid Flash before grimacing as the rhino's six-foot horn almost impaled him.
"You mean that cult with their snake-obsessed leader? They're responsible for this crud?!" shouted Wild Warrior, jumping away from the rhino's stomp.
"Or someone that worked with them!" retorted Robin, throwing a smoke bomb in front of the rhino's face. It went through without hesitation and impaled Robin's cape into a tree. Snorting, it lifted its horn, along with the tree, and shook Robin around.
"I got you, birdy!" shouted Wild Warrior, swapping Gears.
12th Gear!
"Animal Squad Gear, Activate!" 3 Power Ranger projections came out and dived into the heroes; Red for Robin, White for Wally, and Green for Wild Warrior.
"Falcon Sword!" Robin used a sword with a red bird-themed guard to cut at the tree he was stuck on.
"Tiger Launcher!" Kid Flash drew the rhino's attention by pelting it with energy blasts from a silver tiger head-shaped gauntlet with a barrel in its mouth.
"Rhino Rangs!" Wild Warrior threw a pair of green boomerangs that cut Robin's cape, freeing him. Leaping away and onto a different tree, Robin noticed the collar on the beast and, on instinct, threw a birdarang into the power source. With the collar off, the rhino snorted at the heroes but didn't attack. Giddy, Wild Warrior approached the animal and rubbed its neck. The mutant rhino closed its eyes and leaned to the touch.
"Kobra-Venom-infused animals and control-collars. That's not a good combo," mused Robin. At that point, the Gear's power wore off, their weapons vanishing.
"I don't know… I get the feeling there's more in these animals than that stuff," hummed Wild Warrior. Curious, Robin took out a cotton swab.
"You have that kind of stuff in your belt?" asked Kid Flash dryly.
"Did you forget who my mentor is?" retorted Robin, silencing the speedster. With some persuasion, he collected some of the rhino's saliva and put it in a vial.
"While Boy Wonder is there doing his thing. (Robin snorts, tinkering with his glove) Let's check with the others; I don't think rhinos were the only things attacking tonight," noted Kid Flash.
(Team C)
The silence between the SIC and the clone was thick enough to be cut with a knife. To Superboy, while he understood why the information was excluded, it did little to hide his anger for his leader potentially endangering his sister. He understood it wasn't Josh's fault, but he needed time to process everything, and being paired with the one who told Josh about it wasn't helping. Fortunately (depending on perspective), he found a chance to work out his surplus anger when a pack of giant wolves, each more than twice the size of a normal wolf, had surrounded him and Aqualad.
"You take the few on your side, I take the few on my side?" asked Aqualad, the two back-to-back. While worried about his partner's state of mind, he was relieved that the clone didn't take it out on him. However, he still realizes that Superboy needs an outlet for everything he has. Given their present dilemma, it's a perfect opportunity to, as some surface dwellers say, 'let off some steam'.
"Screw you, I'll take more than a few!" snorted the clone competitively. Suddenly, one of the wolves howled, releasing a sonic wave. Surprised, Aqualad barely had time to put up a water shield around them, the sound attack being absorbed.
"Unless I am mistaken, that is unusual for canines, correct?" commented the SIC, releasing the shield.
"You got that right. (nods) Alright, you pack of biteless *******, bring it on!" shouted Superboy, raising his arms. The pack felt insulted by his words, one deciding to prove the clone wrong by leaping toward him, but Superboy backhanded it into a tree with ease. The next one unleashed a sonic howl which Aqualad blocked with a single-handed water shield, then brought down a water whip onto the wolf, bringing it to its side. The next few wolves were knocked out in a handful of seconds. After another minute, all but one wolf was unconscious, but it was the one Superboy took seriously. This wolf was clearly the Alpha: standing straight, its ears went over Superboy's head, and it was almost double the mass of the other wolves. Its fur was snow-white, which made the slightly yellowed fangs all the more noticeable when it snarled.
"You desire that I leave this beast to you?" asked Aqualad, putting his water bearers away. The clone responded by snarling and charging at the Alpha. He missed his first punch, and while he was off-balance, the wolf sank its teeth into the clone's arm. Superboy yelled in pain as the fangs actually penetrated his skin, albeit not by much, but the fact that the wolf was strong enough to hurt him was alarming.
"At least you're interesting,"
(Team D)
"OK, since it's only us girls here, I think we need to address the elephant in the room, no pun intended," noted Ninja Steel White, hopping over a fallen tree, Artemis right behind her, while Miss Martian flew overhead.
"Such as…" Artemis has a bad feeling about where this is going.
"You two competing over my brother," answered the White Ranger. This made the others stop, blushing.
"How'd you know?" squeaked Miss Martian.
"You mean aside from how you kissed his helmet last night when you thought those were his actual lips? (Miss Martian squeaks, pulling up hood) And Artemis, you weren't that subtle when you tried making moves on my brother," shook Ninja Steel White.
"How many know?" sighed Artemis.
"I'm pretty sure only Josh and Wally don't know; my brother because he's still grieving over his last girlfriend… (Artemis and Miss Martian wince) Wally, because… he's a pervy idiot that can barely comprehend the thought of a girl not wanting to get into his pants." answered Ninja Steel White bluntly. Miss Martian snickers while Artemis nods.
"Yeah, even if Josh never came, I wouldn't wanna be with Wally." admitted the Martian shamelessly.
"And you're OK with us crushing on your brother?" asked Artemis worriedly.
"If I can deal with two classmates having the hots for my brother, teammates should be no biggie," shrugged Ninja Steel White.
"What?!" The two were furious at the thought of more love rivals.
"And before either of you ask, no; I'm not gonna put a good word for either of you so my brother has a better chance. It's up to him to decide when it's time for him to move on and whether or not it'd be one of you too," advised Ninja Steel White. Deeming the conversation over, she carried onward, the others slowly following. Eventually, they began crossing a river. When Ninja Steel White jumped onto what she thought was a rock, it turned out to be a forty-foot crocodile! Artemis, who had been in mid-jump when that was discovered, was unable to dodge the reptile's flailing tail that knocked her into the river.
"Get Artemis!" shouted Ninja Steel White, even as the crocodile tossed her into the air. Before the mutated animal could eat the girl, however, she took out a Ninja Blaster and fired it into the crocodile's mouth. It closed in pain, letting Ninja Steel White land on its head. Before she could fire anymore, a second crocodile bursts from the water, jaws wide open and lunging toward the Ranger. Before it could get close, it got struck by a pair of explosive arrows, launching it into a tree.
"Thanks, Artemis!" called Ninja Steel White.
"Actually, that was me. Artemis hit the water pretty hard and it took me a while to sort through her trick arrows," corrected Miss Martian. Before Ninja Steel White could respond, she watched as the crocodile got back on its feet, its tail blown off. Shock at the mutated reptile's stump turned into disgust when a new tail came out of it.
"OK, I know reptiles can regrow limbs, but that looked a little too fast for my taste," gagged Ninja Steel White. Her concentration was broken when the crocodile she was on began spinning to shake her off. While holding onto its scaly hide, Ninja Steel White fired at the softer flesh under its jaw. The crocodile slowed long enough for Ninja Steel White to see a collar around its neck. Then the moment was over, and Ninja Steel White was bucked off, landing in a tree near the riverbed.
"Hope this works. Ninja Star Blade! (takes out sidearm and inserts five-pointed yellow Power Star) Element Star: Ninja Lightning Attack!" Ninja Steel White swung her Blade downwards. From the clouds above, bolts of lightning struck the crocodiles' collars, blowing them off their necks. Freed, the crocodiles then crawled into the water.
"Nice work! (descends with semiconscious Artemis levitating behind her) Sorry I couldn't do much to help; I didn't want Artemis getting hurt in all that," apologized Miss Martian. As if on cue, Artemis coughed and groaned.
"Ugh, first that water-robot, now this river… this is the second night in a row I've nearly drowned!" cursed Artemis. She's starting to hate water.
"How much you girls wanna bet the others were attacked by collared animals too?" said Ninja Steel White dryly. Artemis snorted.
"Sucker's bet."
(Team A, Earlier)
DNA Black jumped to the side to avoid an elephant's foot turning him into a stain on the ground, as Captain Marvel blocked the downward swing of an elephant trunk.
"Oof! (holds up trunk) Elephants… aren't normally this big, right?" strained out the magic brute, shoving the trunk to the side before rushing in to punch the oversized pachyderm. Out of the corner of his eye, DNA Black saw it stagger, and it acted as if it was about to give off… before something shocked it, sending it back on the attack.
Turning his attention to the elephant attacking him, the Sixth Ranger saw that around its neck was a large, black collar with red lights on it. Playing a hunch, he took out the Beast Morpher; a black flashlight which had three animal heads matching his theming in a triangle around the head of the light, a small square just below it. He tapped the button at the bottom, reconfigured it so that the wolf head was prominent, and then pressed the button again, letting off a bright silver light that blinded the elephants. The top half of his helmet moved upwards, revealing a silver, wolf-like face, with the wolf emblem on his chest glowing.
"Wolf Mode, Ignite!"
"You have multiple animal powers in that suit?" asked Captain Marvel excitedly.
"That's not all! Rifle Mode!" Shifting the Beast Striker, DNA Black then dodged the elephant's trunk with incredible athleticism. Once he got far enough, he aimed and fired an energy blast at the collar, shooting it off. No sooner did the elephant cease its attack.
'Knew it.' "Captain Marvel! The collar!" called DNA Black. The Team's temporary supervisor was about to ask what he meant… when he noticed the collar. Using the Speed of Mercury, Captain Marvel zoomed around to the top of the creature, grabbing the collar with both hands. Electricity coursed through the collar, but it didn't faze Captain Marvel, who simply ripped the collar in two. As it fell to the ground, the mutated elephant seemed to calm down, and Captain Marvel floated down to the ground as the pair of pachyderms retreated into the forest.
"Good call with the collars. Guess now we know why they were so angry," stated Captain Marvel, bending down to examine the collars.
"This rules out Animo; he rarely puts control tech on the animals he controls. He prefers having the tech on him and controlling them from a distance," noted DNA Black, mirroring the Captain.
"Speaking of… (picks up collar part that lit red) I thought I recognized these things; these are the same power-inhibiting collars that prisoners in Belle Reve have," noted Captain Marvel.
"I'm guessing these were modified to control rather than depower. (places hand on helmet) Can anyone in the link hear me?" asked DNA Black.
"Yup/Yes/Roger." Various words of confirmation came in the link.
"Superboy is busy at the moment, but I can speak for him," chimed Aqualad.
"Girls, you go first," ordered DNA Black.
"Artemis, Ninja Steel White, and I were attacked by giant animals with inhibitor collars, similar to the ones used in Belle Reve," answered Miss Martian.
"Let me guess; animals looked like they were hooked up to Kobra-Venom?" commented Kid Flash.
"I do not believe that is all. Superboy and I were attacked by a pack of wolves with similar symptoms, yet a number of them possess a howl similar to Black Canary's Cry," added Aqualad.
"You think that's weird. When Miss Martian saved me from a surprise attack, the crocodile's tail was blown off, but it soon completely regrew in a matter of seconds," added Ninja Steel White.
"OK I know for a fact no reptile can regenerate that quickly," commented Kid Flash.
"The closest I think is Killer Croc, but he takes minutes," remarked Artemis.
"Sounds like it is not just the collars that are modified, but the formula as well," hummed Aqualad.
"Bingo! Just ran an analysis on the DNA sample from the rhino that Wild Warrior is cuddling with. It looks like half the stuff's Kobra-Venom; the other half's a mix of something I haven't seen before. I'm sending you all an image of the formulas now," informed Robin. On cue, mental images of a pair of chemical makeup formulas flashed through the link.
"Wait, I recognize the first one, that's the Mr. Hyde Formula." identified DNA Black.
"Hyde? As in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" questioned Artemis, the team sharing her wonder.
"It's not a story in my universe; Dr. Jekyll's serum was created from an uncatalogued alien's blood and can temporarily fuse alien and human DNA," explained DNA Black, thinking of what Ben told him when searching for Excalibur.
"Who would wanna drink alien blood?" gagged Artemis.
"Someone desperate for power," answered Aqualad solemnly.
"But the formula was lost when the last of the serum was used and the rest were destroyed," remarked DNA Black, confused.
"Sounds like whoever used it memorized the formula and recreated it," theorized Kid Flash.
"From the look of things, said formula was used as a binding agent to make the fourth thing stable," added Robin.
"Which is…" trailed Miss Martian nervously.
"Don't recognize it." shook DNA Black.
"Looks like some kind of mutagenic agent, which might explain some of these animals' extra powers," examined Robin.
"Save the formula; I'll send a copy to Plumber HQ and see if anyone can identify it," ordered DNA Black.
"Done." It was then that the Sixth Ranger noticed one member of their group had remained silent throughout the briefing. Turning around, dread grew in his veins when he found Captain Marvel nowhere in sight. Worried, he looked around until he spotted footprints and followed them. It wasn't long until he found pylons, gorilla prints, and drag marks. Cursing, he reaccessed the link.
"Everyone, we have another problem, Captain Marvel has been abducted," reported DNA Black.
"WHAT?!"
"This is my fault; if I hadn't looked away from him to brief you, or at least request Martian to include him in the link, he would be safe," swore DNA Black. The Team became saddened at him belittling himself. One of the reasons they aren't angry with their leader anymore is because the few times he makes mistakes (or believes he does), he has a habit of blaming himself unless proven otherwise.
"To be fair, I'm pretty sure we'd vote no since we all figured the League would assign the new 'den-mother' to all our cases and didn't want the guy smothering us in our heads too," assured Robin. Before any more can be said, a bush began rustling. Swiftly, DNA Black aimed his Beast Striker at the source… only to lower it at the sight of Captain Marvel coming out of it, cradling his arm. Judging by appearances, he looks like he's been through a wringer.
"Hold your fire, Power Ranger, it's me," said Captain Marvel, raising a hand peacefully. Sighing, DNA Black tapped his temple.
"Good news Team, the Captain's—AAAAHHHH!" An overwhelming surge of pain, followed by an odd-looking energy, came over his body after he felt something press against his back. First falling onto his knees, then the front, the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the Captain shifting and transforming into a black-haired woman and a gorilla coming to her side, clad in body armor and a red beret, dragging the real Captain Marvel. The last thing he heard however was…
"JOSH!"
(India Hideout)
"Look, Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rouge, la Capitan awakes."
Captain Marvel opened his eyes to a blinding light. He tried to move, but could barely get a twitch from his fingers. He felt something around his neck and wagered that it was another inhibitor collar. From the way he was positioned, and from what little he could see of his surroundings, he was in what looked like a room used for surgery, and he was being prepped to be cut open. He isn't alone either. Strapped to a chair with a different-looking collar is DNA Black, with what looked like IV tubes around his arms and legs, some kinda red glowing liquid being drawn out of him. Judging by the lack of movement, the Ranger is unconscious.
"Where are we?" demanded Captain Marvel.
"Ah, so brave. This must be the courage of Achilles that I have heard so much about, oui? In answer to your question, mon Capitan, you are in my lab," answered a robotic voice with a French accent. The sound of wheels on the floor caught Captain Marvel's attention. He turned his eyes as far as he could and found the source. Wheeling towards him was a vaguely cone-shaped machine, covered in plates, studs, and other protrusions that likely hid various devices. On top of the black-and-silver machine was a transparent dome that contained a human brain. Behind it is some sort of machine with DNA Black's Morpher, weapon, two cubes, and a miniature transport truck (likely his Zords) floating above it, being scanned from below.
"What the…"
"I imagine that you have many questions, no? One of them is probably why I have allowed you to regain consciousness. The answer is quite simple: the feedback you provide for la procedure will be invaluable," stated the machine.
"La procedure? What procedure?" echoed Captain Marvel. A scanner briefly went over his head; a moment later, a screen appeared in front of The Brain to show Captain Marvel's own brain.
"I have long desired to examine this 'Wisdom du Solomon' for myself, (a small arm emerged from the side and briefly picked up a scalpel from a tray) Unfortunately, in order to truly understand it, I must cut you open. Do not worry, mon ami, the process is painless… well, mostly." chuckled the machine.
"Am I too late for the show, Monsieur Brain?" Appearing from the side is a beautiful French woman in her early 30s with long black reaching her thighs and blue eyes. She is clad in blue spandex with her limbs and belt black, blue gloves, and silver armor on her shoulders and collar.
(A/N: DCAU design)
If it weren't for the situation he is in, Captain Marvel would be blushing like a schoolboy. That… and the red liquid dripping off her gloves is terrifying him. Judging by the fact that he's not feeling any pain or wetness, he has a morbid feeling that he and the Black Ranger aren't the only prisoners here.
"Nonsense, Madam. In fact…" The Brain moved to the side, with the gorilla from before appearing in Captain Marvel's vision, but now he was wearing a surgeon's scrubs. "It is just beginning."
(Team, Outside)
After a few minutes, the remaining Team regrouped, with Superboy and Wild Warrior staying behind for their own objectives, then followed Captain Marvel's trail until it led to a large bunker that sat in a clearing. A circle of pylons ringed the structure; together, they emitted a large, semitransparent dome over the bunker. Suspiciously, no guards or animals of any kind are spotted.
"See a weakness?" asked Aqualad.
"I do. Near the door, there's a small control panel. One good shock will probably short out the whole thing," informed Robin.
"I could fly up to it in camouflage mode?" offered Miss Martian.
"Bad idea. That energy being emitted would probably fry you," warned Kid Flash, analyzing the dome with his goggles.
"I can see a fuse box. If you get me a hole, I can hit it," stated Artemis,
"Make that we," added Ninja Steel White, bringing out her Ninja Battle Morpher — Bow Mode.
"A good shock could disrupt a small part of the field long enough for them to get a shot…" thought Kid Flash.
"Allow me. Artemis, White Ranger, be prepared," suggested Aqualad before venturing forward, approaching the pylons. He cast a look back at the archers, who simply nodded as they prepared an arrow; one physical and one energy. Aqualad took a deep breath and activated his tattoos. The energy field crackled, and the Atlantean grunted as he began digging his fingers into the dome and pulling it apart, causing a hole to form. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he pulled it apart, and his effort paid off as Artemis and Ninja Steel White were given the opportunity they needed and let their arrows fly, allowing them to hit the junction box and explode in a flash of sparks, shutting off the pylons and the field. Once it was down, the rest of the Team surged forward, only to be intercepted by a swarm of Unknown-Hyde-Kobra-Venom-enhanced baboons. The monkeys shrieked and charged, but they were no match against a team of disciplined superheroes. Still, that didn't mean that Aqualad wanted to hurt innocent animals.
"Remove the collars!" shouted the Atlantean, using a water whip to slice off one of the devices.
"Easy for you to say!" grunted Artemis, kicking a baboon away, then drawing two arrows and firing both at once. The shots ripped off the collars of two baboons that were trying to maul Robin.
"Element Star: Ninja Forest Attack!" Ninja Steel White loaded a Power Star into her Blade before stabbing it into the ground. Below the baboons, vines emerged and bound them. This allowed the others to use their skills and/or powers to destroy the collars. Afterward, the baboons looked around in confusion. Once Ninja Steel White released them, they dispersed into the woods.
"Well, that was annoying," commented Kid Flash.
"It was a delaying tactic. Whoever is in that bunker just wants us kept busy until they are done with Captain Marvel, Omni-Ranger, and whoever else they have as a prisoner," realized Aqualad. This worried Ninja Steel White.
"Let's move!"
(Bunker)
The Brain watched the brief fight on the security cameras. If he had lungs, The Brain would have sighed; he had hoped that the baboons would have held the children off for longer, but the female Ranger was far more versatile than the initial reports had suggested.
"I have made progress, Monsieur Brain. The prisoner has temporarily caved in and created a hybrid," smirked Madame Rouge evilly, a large shadowed figure behind her.
"Go, I can proceed on my own," ordered Brain. The shadowed figure nodded before arming himself with a minigun and backpack-mounted ammunition before vanishing. Madame Rouge went to the lower levels again. With his associates gone, Brain aimed a large tube at Captain Marvel's head.
"That thing won't hurt me," bragged Captain Marvel, looking at the tool with hidden nerves.
"Perhaps, but it works on solid steel. I have been told you have the courage of Achilles, no? Perhaps you should have asked for his invulnerability, instead," laughed Brain. On the floor of the room, the tiger moaned and pawed at his collar, but he never took his hate-filled eyes off his tormentor. If he had, he would've noticed a small, navy machine flying to his collar.
(Outside)
"Is that… some kinda tiger-gorilla fusion?" asked Ninja Steel White in bewilderment once the door opened and a figure stepped out. True to her words, while the creature has the fur, head, claws, and tail of the feline, it also has the height, shape, and limbs of the primate.
"Guess we figured out what messed up Mayor Hill…" observed Kid Flash, looking at the creature's beret and weapon.
"And got a feisty upgrade by the look of things," winced Robin. Mallah looked at his opponents before catching the scent of someone he wasn't seeing. With a growl, he reached out, grabbed the invisible Miss Martian by the shoulder, and slammed her into the ground. The hybrid aimed his minigun at the fallen Martian but was distracted by a voice.
"Get your paws off her, you ****, dirty ape!" yelled Kid Flash, shoulder-checking the creature—which he telepathically dubbed a Tigerilla. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on what colliding with a minimum 700-pound hybrid in body armor at high speeds would do to him. While Mallah was barely knocked back a step, Kid Flash bounced off like a rubber ball and slammed into a tree.
"You're not the only one with some new tricks. (takes out red four-pronged star with Red Ranger on it before loading it to Battle Morpher) Legendary Ranger Mode: Wild Force; Wild Access!" shouted Ninja Steel White, spinning the Power Star. A golden logo came spinning off like a shuriken and consumed her, replacing her suit. Like the previous suit, it's white with pink accents; a pink line at the bottom of her skirt, a pink line near her neck, and a few pink stripes on the helmet. Said gear has orange eyepieces, four fangs on the visor (two on top, two on bottom), feline ears on top, and a silver mouthplate. She has golden arm and leg bands, a golden belt with an emblem on the buckle, a golden slash down the chest, and a gold tiger face on her left breast.
"Noble Tiger! Wild Force White!"
"Legendary what?" blinked Artemis, astounded.
"Oh right, you never saw any of Omni-Ranger's Pirate Legacy suits," realized Robin.
"Legendary Ranger Mode is a power that a small number of Ranger teams possess, which allows them to fluidly use the abilities of their predecessors and/or successors," explained Aqualad. True to his words, it's not just the suit that's now different; evident by Wild Force White lunging and tackling Mallah to the ground like an animal. Taking the opportunity, Artemis fired an arrow upwards, which soon went down after reaching a few stories. Right when it changed course, the arrowhead popped off, revealing a boxing glove that went down onto the Tigerilla's face. Even without super-hearing, nearly everyone present heard the crunch as the gorilla's nose broke. Despite the blood pouring from his nose, Mallah stood up, roared, and charged.
"Take him down!" ordered Aqualad, leading the charge.
(Inside)
"I told you that it wouldn't work," smirked Captain Marvel smugly. The laser drill overheated before it even cut his hair. "You're not taking my brain!"
"Please, mon Capitan. (scoffs) That was but the crudest of my instruments. Besides, brain extraction is largely painless, and the benefits are enormous. Just look what it has done for me," bragged The Brain. As The Brain reached for another tool, an orange-and-black blur slammed into him. The tiger snarled and placed himself between Captain Marvel and The Brain.
"Traitor! (sprouts arm and pushes himself upright) You will suffer for this!" shouted The Brain. A red tube popped out of his side and began to glow. In response, the tiger smirked. This confused The Brain… until he noticed something missing from the 'traitor'.
"Looking for this?" They looked to see DNA Black, free and holding the tiger's broken inhibitor collar. On his shoulder is a small navy Bat Zord with gold wings and red eyes. The Brain looked between it and DNA Black's contained arsenal.
"Inconceivable! Monsieur Mallah and Madame Rouge had only found three Zords on your person!" denied The Brain.
"Threw it before I was captured. While you have my main Zords, Bat DataZord here's an auxiliary Zord. You were so focused on the Captain, you didn't notice my friend here free me and his new buddy," explained DNA Black. The Brain robotically growled.
"Madame Rouge! I require your—"
"Oh, so that's her name." A new voice chimed in before the villainess was thrown into The Brain's side. Approaching the heroes while dusting his hands is a muscular man in his early 30s with a bare chest, a fang necklace, crimson gloves with black/yellow-striped cuffs reaching his elbow, crimson military pants, boots matching his gloves, and a red mask covering his head except for his eyes and lower face, with jaguar-pattern cloth around the eyes.
(A/N: Design on Pinterest by Caleb03_3)
On his shoulder is a lavender Mole Zord with cyan eyes and a drill for a nose.
"Who are you?" asked DNA Black, confused.
"The name's B'wana Beast and those three had me under the place all day!" answered the hero, pointing at The Brain and Rouge. If the two need evidence, they need nothing more than the blood coming off his body and how some parts of his uniform are darker than others. It's a miracle he's still standing.
"This cannot get worse," groaned Madame Rouge, using The Brain to help herself up. As if wanting to prove her wrong, the semiconscious, monstrous form of Monsieur Mallah was thrown through the wall behind them. Through the new hole emerged Aqualad, Wild Force White, Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis.
"Took you all long enough," chuckled Captain Marvel. The Mole Zord went to his table and worked on destroying the collar while the Bat Zord went to the machine holding DNA Black's arsenal.
"Holy ****, it's a Dalek!" shouted Ninja Steel White at the sight of The Brain. If it wasn't for the crisis, DNA Black would ask where she learned such language.
"No, it's The Brain!" corrected Kid Flash.
"I can see it's a brain," gagged Artemis, sticking out her tongue in disgust at seeing a brain in a jar.
"No, not a brain, The Brain!" elaborated the speedster.
"In the flesh… so to speak," chuckled the villain. On cue, the Bat Zord managed to shut off the machine. Soon, the cubes unfolded into their respective animal forms; a red-eyed silver wolf Zord and a green-eyed gold crocodile Zord. The miniature transport truck, which turned out to be the red-eyed black Rhino DataZord, slung its body around and struck the Morpher and Striker, launching them to DNA Black. The Sixth Ranger caught them.
"I believe these belong to me." laughed DNA Black, twisting his Morpher and pushing the button, his upper faceplate sliding down. "Rhino Mode, Ignite!"
"What an interesting guy…" hummed B'wana Beast. The Zords nodded in agreement before most retreated to the Morphin' Grid.
"Get 'im!" yelled DNA Black, and the group of heroes charged. However, they didn't go more than a few steps before The Brain sent a wireless signal that caused several pylons to surround them. They powered up and emitted a green field, and the Team all felt their legs turn to jelly beneath them.
"Guys!" shouted Captain Marvel in worry. The villains expressed malicious joy at the sight before them… only to grow shocked when DNA Black, with sounds of effort, stood against the increased gravity and stepped forth.
"Absurde! Not even ze great Capitan Marvel could resist ze gravity confinement! How could a regular Humain do so?!" gasped The Brain robotically.
"That's the thing, Brain! When push comes to shove, humans have the potential to overcome any obstacle in their path! We never give up!" declared DNA Black, stepping forth after every few words. Inspired, the others slowly and painfully, but surely, fought against the increased gravity, eventually standing on their feet. Snarling, Madame Rouge borrowed Mallah's minigun. Just as she prepared to open fire…
"Superboy, now!" yelled Aqualad. The wall on the other side of the room exploded inward; when the dust settled, Superboy and the white Alpha wolf stepped into the room. Superboy, who was more than a little scratched up, shared a look with the mutated animal, now free of an inhibitor collar.
"Sic 'em," ordered the clone. The wolf snarled and dashed forward. Its speed wasn't impressive compared to Kid Flash or DNA Black's Wolf Mode, but it was still faster than any normal human could react. The wolf bounced off of Mallah, who was trying to rise, then ripped apart the pylons in a blur of fur and shredded metal. The rest of the heroes relaxed, and they looked very annoyed.
"It appears we are in need of reinforcements," noted The Brain before his sides opened. From them, an orange, pixelating gas emerged and surrounded the villains before forming into Cyversed; Flood, Wild Bruisers, and two new kinds that Robin and Kid Flash recognized. The first are Archravens; bird-like Cyversed with a predominantly black and grey coloration. They lack legs and instead have a wide, fleur-de-lis-shaped tail. Its body and wings have thin, green patterns decorating them. It's head also sports a five-pointed crest. The Archraven's green eyes are set in a happy expression and the Unversed emblem is emblazoned on its chest. The second and last are Mandrakes; small Cyversed with black skin, wide hips, and short legs. It has green and light green highlights on its body, and it lacks arms. The Mandrake has a spherical, grey head that is partially surrounded by a dark green 'collar,' and its eyes are green and set in a sorrowful expression. A red marking between the Mandrake's eyes resembles a mouth. The Mandrake's most prominent feature is the three white, leaflike blades atop its head. These blades end in pale green, arrowhead-like tips. Just as they prepared to charge, the other wall exploded. Various kinds of animal noises were heard, and the others looked to see Wild Warrior emerging from the hole, flanked by dozens of freed animals of many kinds.
"Anyone call in the cavalry?" joked the Yellow Ranger, bringing up his Wild Claw; a silver gauntlet vaguely resembling a shield with three long blades over his knuckles. The villains found themselves between a rock and a hard place.
"No holding back, everyone! DNA… (twists Morpher and presses button) Ultra Charge!" shouted DNA Black. His arms suddenly took on the features of his three animal motifs, with a pair of black rhinoceros horns emerging from his shoulders, his right hand turning into a gold alligator tail and his left hand becoming a silver wolf's claw.
"A rhino, a wolf, and a crocodile, huh? (looks at freed animals) Not a bad idea," grinned B'wana Beast, aiming his hands at it. They then took a multicolored glow.
"What are you doing?" blinked Artemis, several heroes confused.
"You wanna know why people call me B'wana Beast?" grinned the veteran, ignoring her question. From the horde of enhanced animals, a rhino, a wolf (not the one by Superboy), and a crocodile levitated while having auras matching DNA Black's Zords. They soon turned into spirals of energy before reaching B'wana Beast's side and coming together. It eventually formed into a creature the size and mass of a rhino, with the hide of a crocodile all over. It has the limbs of a wolf covered in crocodile scales, along with thick, long claws. It has the tail of a crocodile, although it's proportionally like a wolf's. The head mostly resembles a wolf's but with the elongated snout of a crocodile, a rhino horn on top of it, and the ears mixed with a rhino's, along with the eyes being a mix of reptilian and mammalian.
"You can fuse animals?!" gawked Kid Flash. He's not the only one amazed by the display.
"So we have you to thank for the Tigerilla thing with the gun?" snarked Robin, pointing at Mallah.
"Thanks for the reminder." Unbothered by his audience, B'wana Beast snapped his fingers. In a flash of light, Mallah was defused with the tiger, the feline swapping sides.
"Take them down!" ordered DNA Black, lashing his crocodile arm like a whip.
~Battle Song: Fight by Ron Wasserman~
Mallah, frustrated at the power taken from him, roared and opened fire with his minigun. While several heroes and animals evaded, Aqualad brought up a water shield that stopped the hail of bullets. The gorilla paused for a moment, which was long enough for an enhanced elephant to spin him around with its trunk. Kid Flash dashed up, kicked him in the head, then swiped his beret, all in the blink of an eye. The elephant lifted Mallah into the air with his trunk, then slammed him back down. The gorilla tried to fire again, but explosive arrows to his ammunition and weapon rendered both useless.
"Safari Crash!" DNA Black coated himself in a black aura before ramming at Mallah, finishing him.
"White Tiger Baton!" Arming herself with a white/pink baton with a tiger head on top, Wild Force White bashed through the Flood around her. Hearing something get thrown behind her, Wild Force White turned around to see Superboy having uppercut a Wild Bruiser that was about to sneak attack her.
"Thanks!" nodded Wild Force White. Superboy nodded back before using an arm to block some Mandrakes' barrage of sharp leaves. "Mind giving me a boost?"
"Sure!" Keeping his eyes down to not look up at his girlfriend's skirt, Superboy prepped himself. Wild Force White jumped onto his hands before he launched her into an unkindness of Archravens. She flipped forward through the air, dodging several attacks while her Tiger Baton lit up.
"White Tiger Baton, Tiger Thrust!" A spectral tiger appeared behind her. The White Ranger slashed her Tiger Baton from right to left, then downwards, hitting the center Archraven both times. Wild Force White landed on the ground, then held up her Tiger Baton sideways, then she turned around and held it up, before running her left hand down it.
"So long, fake birdies." taunted the White Ranger. On cue, the central Archraven exploded, taking the rest of the unkindness with it. Suddenly, she fell to her knees, reverting to Ninja Steel White. Noticing after sweeping away some Mandrakes, Superboy rushed to her side.
"You alright?" asked Superboy, concerned.
"I forgot… some Ranger teams weren't created with Legendary Mode in mind, so it takes more energy than usual," explained Ninja Steel White.
"Can you still fight?" frowned Superboy.
"Does this answer your question?" Ninja Steel White cuts down an Archraven that was about to hit her boyfriend with her Blade. Grinning, the clone turned back and continued his pummeling.
"So you're the shapeshifter that tricked DNA Black!" scowled Miss Martian, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the female villain. She's suddenly grateful for her leader and Black Canary drilling fighting skills into her.
"What's the matter, little girl? Envious that I had my hands on your precious [man]," smirked Madame Rouge while blocking a punch. Her taunting irritated the Martian, who put more energy into fighting. Seeing that her foe's gotten sloppy, Madame Rouge stretched back and delivered a sweep kick, knocking Miss Martian off her feet. She psychically caught and corrected herself… only for an outstretched arm to wrap around her upper body and arms. With a bloodthirsty grin, Madame Rouge swung and slammed the Martian into a machine, which exploded and consumed the females in smoke.
~End theme~
"M'gann?!" Noticing, Robin approached the scene. Spotting two figures tussling, he threw a pair of bolas at them.
"Need some help, Boy Wonder?" asked B'wana Beast, approaching. With a whistle, another hybrid animal soared above them. It has the wings, torso, legs, and head of a vulture, and the claws on the tip of the wings, tail, and coloration of an Indian red scorpion. Screeching, the Scorpture flapped its wings, blowing away the smoke hiding the fighters. When it dispersed…
'So glad Wally isn't here to see this.' blushed Robin. Trapped in his bolas and facing each other are two Miss Martians.
"Well, this is quite a dilemma," commented B'wana Beast, arms folded. He dismissed the Scorpture, letting it get back to the fight.
"Can you let me go, Robin?" asked one of the Miss Martians sweetly.
"Don't do it! I'm the real Miss Martian!" insisted the other.
"Yeah, right!" scoffed the first sarcastically. While they argued, B'wana Beast looked at the Boy Wonder.
"Since you're Batman's sidekick, (Robin's eye twitches) you got any idea on how to settle this?" asked the veteran.
"A few… but they'll involve giving away Martian's identity," sighed Robin. B'wana Beast hummed, looking at the Martians before snapping his fingers, then bringing up his hands, which then glowed. From the fight, two spirals of energy came to the veteran's side and formed another hybrid. It has the fur, claws, and bipedalism of a Himalayan brown bear, and the legs, bulk, and head of an elephant. To Robin's mild amusement, it looked more like half a wooly mammoth than a modern-day elephant.
"Let this guy sniff out the pretender among them," assured B'wana Beast. The Bearphant nodded before extending its trunk, taking a sniff at the two. For the second one, it can smell the distinct scent of flour, eggs, and other kinds of food. As for the other…
"WHOA!" jumped Robin when the Bearphant let out a trumpeting/roaring sound, its trunk pointing at the first Miss Martian. The two stopped arguing, looking up at the hybrid in confusion.
"Fun fact about bears and elephants, ladies. (grins) They have the best noses among the animal kingdom," chuckled B'wana Beast, looking at the first Miss Martian smugly. She snarled, realizing that the torture she gave the hero backfired. Right when she reverted to her regular form, Robin forced a pellet down her throat. Madame Rouge unconsciously swallowed it, before her entire body is iced over.
"Ice pellet; something Batman and I whipped up in case of Firefly," explained Robin, freeing Miss Martian from the bolos, then retying them around the villainess.
"Clever," nodded B'wana Beast. With an eager grin, he grabbed Madame Rouge's frozen body and, after looking around, threw it at The Brain, knocking the machine down. With the chaos dying down around him, the Mole Zord finished drilling through the inhibitor-collar, disabling it.
"Thanks, (removes collar) Now, time to join the fun." smiled Captain Marvel cheerfully, joining in the fight. It wasn't long until all the Cyversed were destroyed. United and reinforced, the Team and their allies surrounded the trio of villains. Mallah snarled and beat his fists against his chest.
"Try it. I hate monkeys," scowled Superboy, crossing his arms. Apparently, the wolf did too, because it snarled at Mallah. Angered, the gorilla prepared to charge.
"No, Mallah, this will not be our Waterloo. Au revoir, mes ami," said The Brain darkly. Dozens of devices unfolded and popped out of his chassis.
"Oh no you don't!" shouted DNA Black, shrouding himself in black aura before charging his Safari Crash, assuming that The Brain's preparing to attack. However, instead of being overwhelmed by lasers, missiles, or any form of tech-based attacks…
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Flashbangs, smokebombs, and many other kinds of nonlethal attacks came; all overwhelming the heroes' senses: sight, hearing, and smell. Blinded, DNA Black crashed into a wall, reverting to Rhino Mode. It took a while, but they found that The Brain, Madame Rouge and Monsieur Mallah were gone once everyone got their heads straight.
"Wait. (blinks) All that stuff… was just to escape?" asked Kid Flash, bewildered.
"Can any of you track them? (animals shake heads) ****it, they're clever ********," swore B'wana Beast. A squeaking is heard before the Mole Zord went to Captain Marvel's boot and rubbed against it. Chuckling, the veteran kneeled and rubbed its head. DNA Black lets himself smile at the scene before turning and addressing everyone.
"Time to go home."
(One Hour Later)
An hour later, after the Team had scoured the bunker for anything useful—aside from accounting for every animal that Wild Warrior freed—they also found empty canisters, which is likely how The Brain contained whatever he drained from their leader, and likely took the full ones when they left. Robin also found that the machine that scanned DNA Black's arsenal had transmitted the data to an unknown location, which he can't find because it bounced around dozens of servers. This worried the group, not looking forward to whatever The Brain is planning with the data and the contents of those canisters. It is in that mood that they began heading into the Bioship.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Artemis sullenly, noticing a smug Kid Flash.
"One word, (places Mallah's beret on head) Souvenir!" cheered the speedster.
"Two words. Tigerilla-lice!" winced Artemis, disgusted.
"Oh, ew!" Kid Flash ripped off the beret and held it as far away as he could.
"Not it on cleaning that!" shouted Ninja Steel White, hand raised.
"Not it!" added Robin. Multiple cries followed, ending with Kid Flash groaning and borrowing an evidence bag from Robin to put the beret in. While that was going on, Captain Marvel was kneeling in front of the tiger.
"I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble? (tiger growls and nodded) Cool. (pets tiger) I think I'll call you… Mr. Tawny," smiled Captain Marvel. The tiger growled in appreciation before running into the forest.
"You know you can keep the guy, right?" asked Wild Warrior, approaching the veteran. Captain Marvel sweats nervously.
"My… landlord has a 'no pet' policy, and it'd be very hard to hide the guy," answered Captain Marvel. A valid answer, Wild Warrior still feels like the veteran's hiding something. Also, with the tiger absent and the Rhiwodile being the only hybrid present (with B'wana Beast having defused his hybrids earlier), that left only one pure animal remaining, and he was getting his ears scratched by Superboy.
"The rest of the pack is gone. What are you still doing here?" asked the clone curiously.
"Maybe he wants to stay with you?" guessed Ninja Steel White, petting the wolf.
"Can I keep him?" asked Superboy excitedly.
"If he gets along with our robotic birds, then I don't see why not," shrugged Ninja Steel White.
"In that case… (approaches) what are you gonna name him?" asked Miss Martian, following the White Ranger's lead. The wolf perks his head, curious.
"J—White, were there any Rangers with Wolf Zords?" asked Superboy curiously.
"Plenty. (nods) The first known honor goes to Billy with his Blue Wolf Ninjazord… (wolf snorts and shakes head) OK, then just to make sure, Maya with her Wolf Galactazord… (wolf gives dry look) Sorry, had to be sure. And then there's Merrick— (wolf barks) You like that, boy? You like being called Merrick?" asked Ninja Steel White a bit childishly, rubbing her hands over the wolf's head.
"Uh, what kind of Ranger was Merrick?" asked Miss Martian curiously.
"From what Omni-Ranger told me, he's the Silver Ranger of the Wild Force team," recalled Superboy, remembering the names his leader tossed at him for his identity.
"This should be good until you get yourself proper medical attention." Speaking of the leader, DNA Black is tending to B'wana Beast's torture wounds, bandaging them up with the medkit his sister stashed in the Bioship.
"Appreciate this, kid. (nods and rolls pants back down) And don'tcha worry, I got some stuff back home that'll do the trick easy enough," assured B'wana Beast, sitting on a tree stump.
"Speaking of home, what were you doing in India?" asked DNA Black curiously. The others gathered.
"You have that French lady to thank for that. (folds arms, sighing) Back in Africa, there's been rumors of animal smuggling and poaching, which led me to some docks where I found her crating a safari's worth of animals up and preparing to ship them. When I confronted the lass, she scurried off, but I fused a greyhound with a fly and used it to track her down. When I caught up, I found the guy growling at a tied up dockworker. Figuring the lady was the one who did that and left her scent, I tuned out the noise and untied him. It wasn't until I looked away and smelled some kinda chloroform that I realized my folly," explained B'wana Beast.
"Madame Rouge shapeshifted into the captive and knocked you out when your guard was down." realized Kid Flash, wincing. B'wana Beast nodded, scowling.
"I mean no offense to you, Martian, but I am disliking shapeshifters more and more recently," noted Aqualad.
"None taken," said Miss Martian.
"So your animal-fusing thing is why you were abducted?" asked Robin.
"Looks like it. (rubs wrists) Been in that place for what seemed like hours until I stupidly caved and gave their gorilla guy some claws," sighed B'wana Beast.
"Don't beat yourself up. I mean, the fact that it took you so long to give in speaks for itself," assured Captain Marvel. B'wana Beast solemnly nods.
"And for the being fooled thing, she did the same to me, pretending to be the Captain here. (sighs) Like you, I ignored the signs of him not being who he appeared to be," added DNA Black. Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow.
"What gave 'me' away?" asked the veteran curiously.
"The fact that 'he' referred to me as 'Power Ranger', not 'DNA Black' or anything similar." answered the Sixth Ranger.
"Sounds fair," hummed Captain Marvel. Mood lifted, B'wana Beast stood and stretched before getting on the Rhiwodile.
"It's been a blast teaming up with everyone here, but I gotta get in touch with the authorities back home to let them know what happened. See ya around, kids," waved B'wana Beast, riding off with the hybrid.
"Gotta admit, those powers of his could come in handy on the League," admitted Kid Flash.
"Indeed. (nods) I am also curious about what creatures he can create from the ocean, as well, added Aqualad.
"No kidding. (chuckles) Next League meeting, I'll be sure to give the guy a recommendation," assured Captain Marvel. With the African hero gone, the group began entering the Bioship, with Captain Marvel staying behind.
"You coming?" noticed DNA Black.
"Nah, (shaking his head) I've got somewhere to be. But I'll be back; you guys are fun to hang out with!" smiled Captain Marvel. Then he took off into the air, a crimson blur that rapidly disappeared into the night.
Dick: Are other Brotherhood villains like General Immortus and Mister Nobody gonna show up?
Artemis: Why those two in particular?
Dick: My TT counterpart and the DC Nation shorts.
Omarnosian10: Not anytime soon, but they will be referenced. And before anyone asks, it'll be a similar case with Doom Patrol.
Megan: Will Beast Boy be part of it like some of his counterparts?
Omarnosian10: Temporarily, but that's for another time since I gotta explain some stuff. The incident Batman was referring to near the beginning was a take on a BTAS episode called "Perchance to Dream".
Dick: Kind of happy for the guy.
Omarnosian10: Also, for when I referred to the Archravens as something other than a flock. I looked it up; a group of ravens is also called an "unkindness".
Artemis: Interesting, yet morbid.
Wally: Huh, wonder what a group of robins is called?
Dick: *rolls eyes* Haha…
Omarnosian10: I looked it up for curiosity's sake; they're called either a round, or a… breast.
Wally/Artemis: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Dick: *blushes furiously* So glad I'm gonna grow out of that name in the future.
Conner: You gotta be ******** me.
Omarnosian10: I'm not. Look it up when you get the chance if you don't believe me.
Megan: Anything else you need to explain aside from that.
Omarnosian10: Oh right, Legendary Mode. While Pirate Legacy, and the adaptations of Donbrother and Gozyugers are built for that specifically, other Ranger teams with legendary items are mostly toy-exclusive, with the real world drawbacks being that it takes more energy while the three I mentioned could use them harmlessly.
Megan: So it's like being in two places at once, but psychically.
Omarnosian10: Yeah. The drawbacks's lessened if the Legendary Mode used is compatible motif-wise. For those that can use Legendary Mode tiredly, here's the list. Dino Charge, Ninja Steel, Dino Fury, Rail Squad, Zord Surge (via Pirate Legacy Gear) and Nitro Surge.
Dick: Wait, I thought Zord Surge is made for other Ranger teams. How could that team have a taxing Legendary Mode?
Omarnosian10: I may have phrased that wrong; while they can use other Ranger powers, the suits themselves are another story. If using powers of a team that specializes in Legendary Mode, they can use it without the drawbacks as well.
Kaldur: Intriguing.
Omarnosian10: One last thing I need to explain is the appearance of B'wana Beast. His appearance in this story is mainly because he's one of my top 5 favorite DC heroes.
Josh: With how you included fusions in Ben GX and Globs of Doom story, I can see why.
Omarnosian10: Given the setting of the episode, I found it fitting to add him here. Am I missing anything?
Kaldur: I do not believe so.
Omarnosian10: Alright. SMOKEBOMB!