Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

[TertiusHuman]

Garfield, who have made no move to get out of Thea's headlock, just sighed.

"You guys know that no matter what we do, there will be some cover-up program. I will not be surprised if there are hackers already wiping evidence of this ever happening. You want to deal with something? Just float this chunk out to the 'Trench and bury it deep. Just remember to leave a piece for the scientists to tinker with. And you know we can't just run off to drink milkshake, we need to get changed, get a common convergence point, get clothes, get lava man here a hamburger flavored rock to eat, get the Titans who want to join us to join us and perhaps follow Velocity's lead and help with clean up before the shower."

He grinned, "And not be a Batman."

 

[UnseenMaiden]

Billie Batson (past now. present soon.)

New York City
Two weeks prior​

The plan needed to be explained to her again. Zatanna's voice washed over her as she mutely nodded, doing her best not to waste the precious minutes needed to jog her brain. Hope Taya had already given her the rundown a couple of hours ago in the car, when they had had a car, but between the painkillers and the curiously numb leaking that was her right side, she had a hell of a time keeping all of that in her head. Lex's people knew their stuff. Hope Taya had performed admirably as bodyguard and field nurse. When their car, punctureless tires were useless when they were torn off of the car along with part of the axle, had been taken out of commission Billie had been exposed to the full scope of what was happening here. Street after street had been rent with screams and slick sickening sound of flesh being torn asunder. That word hung her lips the whole time, so close to being uttered, but Hope Taya had dispatched of the murderers within range before she could speak. Then it had begun to get harder and harder to hold on to consciousness so that she was dumb in more than one capacity.

It was good plan, to use Captain Marvel's transformation like the switch to what composed all of the magical energy they could harness given the League's MIA status and the whole lack of warning before this battle. She didn't have the heart to tell them that it might not work. She'd never transformed after garnering this much damage before. Her stitches had ripped during the journey over and she could resolutely feel the warmth of her life ebbing out of the bandages that were swaddling her torso. She was bleeding to death and even if she had enough time in her to transform, she knew that transforming back wouldn't somehow magically keep her wounds from getting worse. Captain Marvel could shrug an injury off like this, but Billie Batson didn't get any magical healing run off.

Then Zatanna had no more moments to spare and left Billie in order to get Constantine to where he needed to be able to make their last ditch efforts work. For a moment, the space behind where Zatanna had stood was left clear of the enemies that had begin to crowd them, perhaps they sensed what the four of them were trying to accomplish, and the dying woman's gaze came to rest upon a familiar figure, a woman cloaked in shadow staring her down as a crystal pendulum swing from her lithe fingers. In the next she was gone but it was enough to bring a smile to Billie's lips, enough to give her a shred of hope to cling to, enough to claw her way to some semblance of working consciousness as Constantine's accented voice reached her ears.

"Dunno 'ow long we can 'old out, Traci love,"

“Long enough.”

She may not have been entirely sure she would make it out of this battle alive, in the back of her brain a small part of her was screaming that she wasn't ready to die yet, but she had thought she was going to die earlier that day as well and quite a few times before the terrible day that was this massacre had occurred. She wasn't presumptive enough to assume that Kali had appeared to save her once again, but she took comfort I the glimpse of a friendly face all the same. If this was to be Billie's last moments, well it wasn't such a bad moment to sacrifice herself for the billions of people that she had yet to fail. She had never been one to think about the afterlife, but perhaps death wouldn't be so bad, perhaps it would be rest.

Whatever Danny was saying was coming faster now, an ever shifting series of swirls and dips, another dark swirl of guilt swallowing her up as she gave what she hoped was reassurance with a squeeze and a murmur. It had never been her intent to keep it trapped in brick form forever. Captain Marvel would take care of it, she knew, but that would probably manifest as an impeccably clean display case and little else. Her other self was a really good person, the epitome of hero, but being her was like being lost in a dream and that made it hard to see the trees for the forest. That kind of grandiose thinking was what had made her shy away from being little more than a demigod for all this time. She had seen what happened when gods stopped thinking about mortals as people and she hadn't wanted that weighing on her heart, hadn't wanted to be the one responsible for screams of pain and anguish like she was today.

With a shaky sense of balance, she peeled her shoes and socks off of her feet, trusting in those around her and Hope Taya's aim to keep the surrounding enemies at bay, and placed the living brick on the ground. The fleeting thought of cutting herself entered into her head, but she shrugged it off. She was bleeding so much already that there really wasn't much point. Blood plus magic brick plus magical lightning fueled transformation should really be more than enough to slam through the miles of concrete, wires, and piping to reach the ebb and flow of the leylines below. A million bitter thoughts buzzed through her mind as she tilted her head towards the sky. She should have transformed sooner, when she still held the ability to transform back and save the many lives that had no doubt been lost during her trek to this moment. She should have kept in better touch with the few that had cared about her once she'd left the League. She should have found someway to be more herself as Captain Marvel, harness the power in a way that ultimately wouldn't leave her making the kinds of choices she had watched Superman and the rest of the Justice League make, a path that surely would have led her ever closer to becoming a second Black Adam. She should have just died before the wizard Shazam had found her. She didn't want to die now.

“SHAZAM!”

Lightning struck in an instant and Captain Marvel stood where Billie had once been and she grinned at the scene that laid before her, each terrible enemy mourning the loss of their horrible demonic power. They were too shocked at having their plans foiled to attack them just yet, but Captain Marvel was sure that they would soon regroup. Evil could be insidious in that manner. Still there were a few things to set in order before attending to the terrible scourge that had so recently been ravaging New York City. Kneeling down she picked up the brick she had been standing on and gave it a kiss.

“Thank you, my friend. You have performed most admirably on this day. I do apologize for my compatriot conscripting you into service without your leave though.”

The piece of masonry unfolded a terse “We are NOT friends.” in response, but that hardly made the hero's smile waver. Instead she turned and handed the brick to Lex Luthor's lackey.

“Too true, but strangers are merely friends that have yet to get to know each other. We will be friends in good time, I assure you. Ms. Taya I trust that you will keep my friend safe while I dispatch of our foes. I also trust that you will have medical staff on the ready when Ms. Batson returns to us as I am afraid her grasp on life was tenuous as best before she called on me. I will be very disappointed if it turns out my trust has been misplaced.”

Captain Marvel nodded to both Constantine and Zatanna in turn, though in truth she knew the latter a bit more than the former. Constantine she mostly knew through a reputation that Billie had heard about over the years. He sounded a nasty fellow, but it was possible that rumor had exaggerated what was a good heart. He was attempting to hold back the demonic tide on this day after all and that was more than worth the benefit of a doubt in her books. With no more moments to spend on pleasantries, she bent her body to the most important task at present, the speed of Mercury awakening in her muscles to let her whisk through the buildings and streets, an exhilarating experience, in order to gather each murderous villain to be brought before the proper authorities and answer for their crimes.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Titans Loosened.

Shrugging he thought back to the battle and then winced. "Ooohh. That reminds me. I should really speak to Arsenal is it? I owe him an apology. I said a few things that might have been a little below the belt when I was under the influence as well."

Aztek winced. "Yeah, Red Arrow-- though 'Arsenal' is kind of a good name for him --bailed as soon as he woke up. The moment a DEO medic looked away from him, he quick-faded. Batman-- our Batman-- actually looked impressed."

"I haven't worked with our Arrow much, but he doesn't seem like the apology type. He seems more like the type to carry those grudges you were talking about. That might... come back to haunt you. I hope it doesn't."

Fortunately, the topic shifted to more opportune things.

Connor's grin widened as he heard the news about Zatanna. "That would be great. I have to find out about this Constantine thing as quickly as possible. Hopefully we can get to her before she leaves or I am going to be in a whole heap of trouble."

As he waited for Aztek to provide the lift back to the shoreline he asked him. "Do you really think she knows anything about Constantine? I really need to get to it and fast."

With almost less than a thought, Aztek again activated the option in his armor that deployed the "feathered" cape/wingsuit that permitted his flight-- scooping up Connor when he was ready, he soared them both towards shore.

"Like most of The Titans, I haven't known 'Zee' for very long, but I know one thing. She knows Constantine. She told me and the other Titans West that she had gotten out of the hero game before the Kobra event, and it was Constantine that called her to help save New York."

"She's literally got his number."

Seattle rushed by beneath them, and Aztek touched down lightly, setting Connor down neatly before him.

Various DEO incarceration hovercraft were flying off towards the nearest metamax prison with the contained Extremists.

The Titans were in various states of disarray.

Captain Marvel, in particular, was hugging a very shaken Teen Lantern and looking more than a little rattled himself. It seemed so dissonant to see the usually easygoing Mightiest Mortal with tears down his cheeks... and Jessica was struggling to steady her breathing, her PTSD in full panic mode after what she'd been made to see and do.

Batman "Red" had been standing off to one side, looking somber and sober, having to rethink himself hardcore.

And the speedsters, Kid Flash and Silver Bullet, weren't in much better shape as they talked quietly with Superboy-- who kept glancing out towards the shore as if there was someplace else he wanted to be.

DEO Agents were talking with a few of The Titans-- Grunge, Knight, Solstice, Starfire --debriefing them. Finding out what went wrong.

As Arrow and Aztek arrived, Zatanna was finishing talking things out with Kate Spencer, who shook the sorceress' hand and glanced at the green and gold heroes before moving on to her next debrief.

"Hey, Curt," Zatanna smiled faintly, exhausted, dark rings under her otherwise dazzlingly pretty eyes. "Thanks again for being our air-uber when the sky was falling."

"I've got a really good autopilot," Aztek admitted.

And then he gestured to Connor: "Green Arrow has a question for you."

Zatanna nodded. "Hey, Arrow. Good to meet you... again? Sorry it had to be like this. What's up?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Unburials at Sea.

"I'll be fine," Renegade replied as she stood up, and shifted to Male. "Takes more than that to drop me forever." Running his tongue across his teeth he grimaced. "Tingles. Like Magic and Lightening bolts. With just a hint of BBQ'd beef."

"So resurrection is like a hibachi restaurant on The Rock of Eternity," Aquagirl wisecracked with a hint of... fascination. "Good to know. I ever get married, I know what I want for my bachelorette party."

 

[ChasNicollette]

"A Man's just a Man, but a Machine ain't nothing but a Machine."

NJLHQ.
Later.
********​

Walking through the halls, Renegade left the Armoury making sure ALL of her weapons had been properly stowed and cared for. Some of them cost a pretty penny, and several were unique and impossible to replace.

Eventually she stopped at a door and watched as Natasha Irons worked. “If you ever change your mind about Tahiti, you have my number.” Then she stepped back and merged with a group that was talking technical mumbo jumbo. Vanishing until she was needed again.

Natasha glanced up from what she was working on--

--it was gleaming, metallic--

--an "S" on the chest--

--shut off her plasma welder and snapped up her welding mask, looking around with brow furrowed.

She felt like she had... missed something?

But all she saw was a gaggle of techs discussing upgrades to The NJLHQ intranet, like what if they could use the teleport wavelengths for impossibly-fast wifi...

...and didn't spot the assassin who had seamlessly blended in with them and moved on.

Natasha winced, annoyed at how self-absorbed she could be sometimes, but then snapped her mask back down and kept working. One problem at a time.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Who Was that Masked Man, Anyway?

“Take your time, I’m patient.” Karan replied, watching the surrounding area just incase the psychopaths had left anymore surprises.

"Thank you," Rose smiled gently, adoringly-- not only was her girlfriend a warrior goddess in that mysterious armor of hers, she was a benevolent warrior goddess.

“Yeah, he did a teleport thing. And far enough away that I can’t see him. Raven took his armour with her, so he’ll be a little less formidable next time. I hope.”

"Ugh," Rose shook her head, "the thought of a next time. Can you dislocate your brain? Or-- hyperextend it? Because I kind of feel like I've done both."

“Yeah, How are you feeling?” Wondergirl asked, looking at her feet. “I’m sorry I left you. There was just so much going on and I lost track of where you were then I was getting hit a lot..” Trailing off she didn’t know how to say I’m sorry enough without sounding like a fool.

Rose blinked. "You didn't leave me! We made a plan and followed it! I'm the one who flew away from you, remember? You're the fighter, you were fighting! I'm... support. I was supporting!"

She reached out to touch Karan's shoulder, well, supportively, and her fingers passed through Karan's gorgeous skin like she was as ghostly as her pale skin would suggest. Grimacing, she focused all the harder, concentrated on re-normalizing her molecular density... and tried again.

Contact. Her fingers grazed against Karan's invulnerable epidermis. And Rose smiled.

"Besides. Remember what I said earlier about catching a falling rock from space being like our... our first date or something? It was my turn to do the heavy lifting."

"It would appear that he has." Batman replied to the Manhuntress' question. "And as such I should go as well. If you should ever have need of me call me." he told her. As he finished saying a vehicle that looked like a Bat arrived and hovered. Batman tossed a small device to the pale Martian and then flew up to the Batwing and like that he left.

Now that Rose had re-asserted her physical structure, she was able to catch the "Bat-Signal" device without too much effort.

She stared after Batman as he and his Batwing soared away, and then down at the device in her hand.

"Did... did Batman just give me his phone number?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

"Dust. Wind. Dude."

"Once we get home and cleaned up it'll be shake time." She started to say more and stopped. She looked down at her feet. Or more aptly, her paws. She was going to say the kid had earned the rare treat of seeing Thea Grant in heels. That ship had sailed for the last time. Hell, she didn't even have any clothes that would fit her anymore. She was going to have to cut herself out of what she was wearing with the mass she'd gained this time.

"Clothes shopping, clean up, and then the shakes begin. And burgers. Definitely burgers. I am starving."

Thea looked over at Ruby. "Shawarma? Shawarma could be good too." Damn why did food sound so good right now? The curse must have used up a lot out of her this time.

"Togs, sweets, cut lunches," Ruby chuckled. "Good priorities. I'm sure at some point The DEO will want us to give them mission reports, but they can wait until we've had a breather."

Jo was caught off guard for a second as she fell before catching herself with her own flight. Damn, she was gonna miss that ring. It had felt kinda natural. She lowered herself to the ground and laughed at her team mates' banter. The talk of food sounded really good too. She found that when she used her powers a lot that it made her hungry. And she had used those powers a whole lot. Then she remembered her state of near undress. "Y'all think Mister Luthor would mind payin fer a pair a jeans and a t shirt?"

Aquagirl grinned at her, winked. "Oh, sure, ultra, bald man's got deep pockets. But even if he doesn't... I bet Superboy would have some vestidos you could borrow..." ...yeah, Lorena wasn't above teasing her friend and teammate for the flirting Jo'd been doing on the battlefield earlier...

GRID walked over to the group of heroes, sending his armor back to the ship for maintenance. "I know this great diner in Lawrence, has the best pie."

Ruby blinked. "That's what you look like under that thing? That's what I looked like when I was you? Not bad, for a bloke, though I don't swing in that particular direction." She paused. "Lawrence, huh? You've been so mysterious. Nice just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion."

As everything came to an end, The Sandman took a moment to collect himself.

He looked around, realizing that he didn't really know any of these young heroes. Except the Manhuntress. Sort of.

"So... that was a thing. By the way... we sort of have a large,
currently floating chunk of extradimensional moonrock to deal with still. Before everyone goes for Milkshakes, maybe we can figure that out? I can connect it to the ocean floor, or if anyone has a better idea?"

The part of Rose that was M'gann had gone quiet for the moment, probably helping Rose's exhausted psionic energies collect themselves and recuperate.

"For lack of a better plan," Ruby considered, "let's do that for now. Anchor it?"

"The DEO can do what it needs to do, clear it and scrub it or whatever. And figure out what to do with that axe. And then if we need to dispose of the moon-chunk later we can cross that bridge when we come to it?"

Then she held out her hand for a shake. "I'm Hotline, by the way. Mostly people just call me Ruby. Well, when I'm me, and not someone else."

She glanced between Sandman and Braggock. "On behalf of The New Justice League, I'd like to thank you and your big craggy friend for helping us out, here. I dunno if we could have done this without you."

Garfield, who have made no move to get out of Thea's headlock, just sighed.

"You guys know that no matter what we do, there will be some cover-up program. I will not be surprised if there are hackers already wiping evidence of this ever happening. You want to deal with something? Just float this chunk out to the 'Trench and bury it deep. Just remember to leave a piece for the scientists to tinker with. And you know we can't just run off to drink milkshake, we need to get changed, get a common convergence point, get clothes, get lava man here a hamburger flavored rock to eat, get the Titans who want to join us to join us and perhaps follow Velocity's lead and help with clean up before the shower."

He grinned, "And not be a Batman."

Ruby and Aquagirl exchanged worried looks about their former Titans teammates.

Yeah, they would need to check on those guys. Sooner rather than later.

Fifteen years ago, Ruby had once helped the original Justice League on and adventure where they'd gotten body-swapped with supervillains, and The League had been haunted for weeks about what the baddies had done with their likenesses. This wasn't a lot different-- and possibly even more traumatic, because they'd been in their bodies while the bad stuff was happening.

"Just one thing at a time," Lorena smiled encouragingly. "Take it from a combat triage 'cleric.' You try to do everything at once, you'll just wipe yourself out, and then you're no good to anyone. As for coverups, in my experience most government people are douchebags, but at least the free press in this country is still-- mostly-- free? I don't think they can sweep this under the rug. And I don't want us dumping a new reef to the bottom of 'my' ocean until the hazmat people clear it of unearthly pollutants, okay Chico Bestia?"

"As for clean-up," Ruby considered, "only do it if you still have petrol in the tank. It's good to be conscientious and-- and-- to show the people that superheroes aren't all property damage and action sequences. But-- one of the first things I learned working with The Hero Hotline back in the day --we don't want to exhaust ourselves in case something else goes down over the next few hours. Do right by your neighbor, but-- at the risk of sounding callous-- we're The Justice League now. We're it. We need to be on call for the big stuff no-one else can handle. Use your own best judgment, hey? Velocity has her speed powers for stamina, and I don't blame her for wanting to do a little cathartic rock-breaking. Don't feel obligated to run yourself ragged just because you see a friend doing it. Twenty years of this life-- it's all about striking that balance and knowing your limits."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Follow the Arrows.

Wayne Enterprises.
Gotham.
Now.
********​

Bruce Wayne sat at his desk, his computer monitor replaying satellite imagery, his grip on his cane so tight one might worry that he might snap it in half.

But then his phone rang.

Normally the lines on his desk phone blinked green when they were active-- but this particular line, one he hadn't been able to use in-- too long-- now blinked red.

He narrowed his eyes, paused the video playback, engaged the bug scrambler as a precaution, and snatched up the phone.

His old Batman voice came back like instinct, like inevitability. "Who is this? Is the line secure?"

"Relax, Bats," Red Arrow snapped. "I'm not an amateur. You never did give us Arrows any damn credit."

"Harper," Bruce grimaced. "How did you get this number?"

"I know lots of things you don't expect," Roy fired back. "Because unlike you, my mentor actually trusted his partner. I know lots of things. How to get a hold of you in an emergency. And I know about your clubhouse. The Justice League's real clubhouse. The one in space, not the storefront one in DC. The one that used to be in space."

Bruce hmphed. "We kept that knowledge full League members only for a reason. Supervillains could attack the Hell out of The Hall of Justice and never really hurt us."

But Roy didn't relent. "Except someone found out about it, didn't they? And when everybody was up there for an emergency team meeting... everyone, full assembly... they took it out. I hacked a private radio telescope while I was in Rheelasia the other week and confirmed it-- The Watchtower's gone. And you don't know how, do you?"

Narrowing his eyes, Bruce hunched in a very familiar way, like he was poised on a grotesque statue over his city and ready to attack. "Stop showboating, Harper. You have a lead?"

"Me and the other Titans got possessed by some Doctor Destiny type from a parallel universe and while he was in our heads we saw his thoughts, too. About how his world got destroyed-- by a space portal that sucked one Earth out of its universe and threw it into 'Dreamslayer's' Earth like my best fastball."

"Yes," Bruce replied curtly. "I was just watching satellite overwatch footage of 'Lord Havok's' holographic recap. You buy his story?"

"Like constipation, that asshole was full of shit," Harper scowled. "But think about it. If there's a force out there in the-- whatever-verse-- that can snatch whole planets out of the sky... then maybe that's what took out The Watchtower. Took it away."

Bruce Wayne narrowed his eyes, mind racing.

"Think about it," Red Arrow repeated. And hung up.

In the deafening silence that followed, Bruce Wayne sat very, very still for a moment. Brooding. While outwardly his stony expression never wavered, in his mind and heart big things were moving, and changing.

He had been on the sidelines too long. But even from the bench, he could make a difference. He could act.

With a stabbing finger he then activated that line once more, the bug-scrambler still in effect. And he dialed.

********​

It was going to take him hours to get back to Gotham. But at least he'd have some time to think. Plus he needed to start making some calls.

Before the newest Batman could begin making his own calls, however, the transceiver on The Batwing's console began bleeping urgently.

And Damian couldn't help but express mild surprise at who was on the ID readout.

He answered: "Father."

"Batman," Bruce Wayne replied without a hint of irony. Not that he was insisting that Damian should call him "Batman," but that he was calling Damian "Batman." Simply, directly, stating this to be the case: Damian was Batman now. "I need you back in Gotham ASAP. We need to compare notes. In... in person."

He paused. "Good work today."

Damian's eyes widened slightly behind his armored cowl. The number of times Batman had paid him an unmitigated compliment he could count on the fingers of one hand. "Thank you, sir. I'm hours from The East Coast, but I'm on my way."

"Acknowledged," the elder Bat nodded.

And hung up.

 

[Wyldfire]

Aquagirl grinned at her, winked. "Oh, sure, ultra, bald man's got deep pockets. But even if he doesn't... I bet Superboy would have some vestidos you could borrow..." ...yeah, Lorena wasn't above teasing her friend and teammate for the flirting Jo'd been doing......

Shit! Supes. And Jo was gone in a blur. She was blushing furiously from Lorena's teasing, but she felt horrible for not seeing if he was okay.

She almost ran him over in her hurry. She managed to stop but she was way into his personal space. "You okay sweet... um Stoops?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wheedling and Dealing.

Luthorcorp.
Metropolis.
Now.
********​

"Luthor," the wheedling, snide voice emanated from Lex' penthouse speakerphone. "You've been avoiding me."

Lex' eyebrow twitched as he stood with his back to the speaker phone, facing the panoramic windows of his office and out across The Big Apricot's skyline with a LexIcon tablet in his hand. "Thaddeus. I've been busy running a pancontinental corporation and preparing to lead the so-called 'Free World,' I assure you it's nothing personal. Happersen had full instructions to--"

"I'm not some rancid rabid brown gangbanger," Dr. Sivana snarled, "to talk to your lackey, Luthor. I am one of the three foremost intellects on the planet and I demand to be treated as such!"

Luthor turned and squinted at the phone, half-lowering the tablet. "Right now, I'm coordinating my campaign's response to the death of Justice Scalia, bolstering certain fledgling alliances South of The Mason-Dixon, narrowing down my choices for interim CEO of Luthorcorp during my inevitable Presidential tenure, and keeping tabs on the aftermath of my Justice League's work in Seattle. My agenda demands subtlety, which is something of which even with your allegedly vast IQ you have very little grasp, giant attack zeppelins over Fawcett--"

Sivana barked a short, sharp laugh with an undertone of hiss. "'Your' Justice League. Funny you should mention that. My sources reported a brief sighting of Captain Marvel on the day of the Kobra incident-- the real Captain Marvel, not this newbie-come-lately nuisance who's just started disrupting my operations. And they saw her talking and working with your beefcake bodyguard 'woman' Taya. Were you trying to recruit her for your League?"

Lex tutted. "Unsuccessfully, for what it's worth."

Sivana crowed with fury-- more like a vulture than a crow-- "Ah! Luthor, you know that Marvel-- the Marvels plural-- are mine. Mine to toy with, mine to destroy. Bad enough that--" Sivana paused and said the next pronoun with the kind of revulsion humans of normal conscience would reserve for cancer or The Black Plague "--HE is picking off Marvels from other Earths with impunity. These ones are mine!"

"Whatever obsessive nemesis relationship you think you have with the good Captains," Luthor replied calmly, "the agenda takes precedence. Even you can see that. We need her and her powerset. The male Marvel's connection to The Titans is sufficient to my purposes-- they've always been allies of The League in all their various incarnations. But we need her, too. She was once the brightest, purest member of the original Justice League. We need her to be again-- if not fighting for us, then alongside us."

Sivana chewed this over bitterly for a moment, then spoke again: "I want in. This... 'side hustle' you have with Dox. Whatever you're planning. If it has to do with my nemeses, if it interferes with HIS intentions for my Marvels, I want in."

"Again, Thaddeus," Lex cautioned him. "Subtlety."

"You owe me, Lex," Sivana hissed. "You promised your people would secure the entropium sample from Keystone-Central, but instead it got vaporized. You. Owe. Me."

Luthor weighed and measured this for a long, long moment. "Very well, Doctor. A Luthor always pays his debts. Next time when Happersen calls you, don't hang up on him."

And with that, he closed the channel. And turned back to his tablet.

He had work to do. Real work.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Knock-kneed.

Shit! Supes. And Jo was gone in a blur. She was blushing furiously from Lorena's teasing, but she felt horrible for not seeing if he was okay.

She almost ran him over in her hurry. She managed to stop but she was way into his personal space. "You okay sweet... um Stoops?"

His eyes went wide and he half-stepped back. Not that he was scared, but both the last times she had come at him that fast she'd really made him see stars. Like, exploding red suns. "Oh, uh-- 'scuse me guys," he glanced awkwardly at Kid Flash and Silver Bullet.

Wally rolled his eyes, so very very tired but suddenly remembering other priorities. "Sure. I gotta call Linda anyway."

And he vanished in a blur.

Hiro, meanwhile, arched an eyebrow, chuckled, patted Superboy on the shoulder. "Good luck, man. Vaya con Dios."

And then he was gone, too.

Superboy watched them go for a second and swung his gaze back to Rebel--

"Sure. I heal like a mofo, ain't no thing but a chicken--"

--oh, hey, shredded outfit--

"--wing?"

--eyes up eyes up eyes up--

--eyes... down--

--eyes up!

"Um. Yeah. Seriously. I'm... okay."

"How... are you?"

"Sorry I... kneed you in the... knockers..."

Oh, for Christ's sake.

 

[Varshanka]

"So resurrection is like a hibachi restaurant on The Rock of Eternity," Aquagirl wisecracked with a hint of... fascination. "Good to know. I ever get married, I know what I want for my bachelorette party."

"Me, with a little honey on the side?" Renegade replied with a smile. "I can play for on any team I need to."

 

[Wyldfire]

His eyes went wide and he half-stepped back. Not that he was scared, but both the last times she had come at him that fast she'd really made him see stars. Like, exploding red suns. "Oh, uh-- 'scuse me guys," he glanced awkwardly at Kid Flash and Silver Bullet.

Wally rolled his eyes, so very very tired but suddenly remembering other priorities. "Sure. I gotta call Linda anyway."

And he vanished in a blur.

Hiro, meanwhile, arched an eyebrow, chuckled, patted Superboy on the shoulder. "Good luck, man. Vaya con Dios."

And then he was gone, too.

Superboy watched them go for a second and swung his gaze back to Rebel--

"Sure. I heal like a mofo, ain't no thing but a chicken--"

--oh, hey, shredded outfit--

"--wing?"

--eyes up eyes up eyes up--

--eyes... down--

--eyes up!

"Um. Yeah. Seriously. I'm... okay."

"How... are you?"

"Sorry I... kneed you in the... knockers..."

Oh, for Christ's sake.

And the blush was back. What the hell was the matter with her? He just did what probably everyone had done since the fight cooled down. Why did HIM checking her out make her all squirrelly?

"Yeah, S'okay. The twins'll live," she managed to get out. "Umm, how mucha the last like two hours do you remember?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

I like the sushi 'coz it's never touched a frying pan.

"Me, with a little honey on the side?" Renegade replied with a smile. "I can play for on any team I need to."

Lorena blinked. "I appreciate that. You go girl. Or-- boy. Wherever you're at on the spectrum. But I'm... strictly pescatarian. By which I mean... merpeople are kind of my type. Some girls go through an experimental phase in college. My college just happens to be... at the bottom of El Océano Atlántico."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Squirrel of Steel.

And the blush was back. What the hell was the matter with her? He just did what probably everyone had done since the fight cooled down. Why did HIM checking her out make her all squirrelly?

"Yeah, S'okay. The twins'll live," she managed to get out. "Umm, how mucha the last like two hours do you remember?"

"Basically all of it," Superboy nodded with a sheepish wince, his own cheeks taking on a color that hinted at the hue of his chest-"S." "Even the parts I was magically asleep for. Also I got some weird memories off of that Dreamslayer guy when he was ferreting around in my north head."

He hesitated. "Which means I remember the stuff you said to me to make the blood rush south and get me thinking more like myself again. So, uh. Yeah."

 

[Wyldfire]

"Basically all of it," Superboy nodded with a sheepish wince, his own cheeks taking on a color that hinted at the hue of his chest-"S." "Even the parts I was magically asleep for. Also I got some weird memories off of that Dreamslayer guy when he was ferreting around in my north head."

He hesitated. "Which means I remember the stuff you said to me to make the blood rush south and get me thinking more like myself again. So, uh. Yeah."

Jo's head dropped down between her shoulder blades letting her hair cover her burning cheeks. Damnitall. Everything. "I thought you were a goner. Din't realize my whole hatin you was a copin mechanism." She shook her hair out and gave it a toss to put it back in place.

She looked around to make sure they had some imitation of privacy. "Now ya c'n go ahead an tease me 'bout it. Cause I ain't no tease, and I meant most a what I said. An I know I ain't yer cuppa coffee. So go on ahead an let me have it."

 

[Wyldfire]

Garfield, who have made no move to get out of Thea's headlock, just sighed.

"You guys know that no matter what we do, there will be some cover-up program. I will not be surprised if there are hackers already wiping evidence of this ever happening. You want to deal with something? Just float this chunk out to the 'Trench and bury it deep. Just remember to leave a piece for the scientists to tinker with. And you know we can't just run off to drink milkshake, we need to get changed, get a common convergence point, get clothes, get lava man here a hamburger flavored rock to eat, get the Titans who want to join us to join us and perhaps follow Velocity's lead and help with clean up before the shower."

He grinned, "And not be a Batman."

Thea let Gar go so she could turn away and openly laugh. She let herself have a second or two of it before turning back to Gar. "No. We are not making that a thing. We are not making the new guy a joke. Even if it is funny as shit."

She looked at the team. "But yeah. Do what we can here until Luthor's clean up squad can get here. 'Cause you know, yeah, Luthor's got the looking good in the public eye thing down to a science."

 

[Varshanka]

She stared after Batman as he and his Batwing soared away, and then down at the device in her hand.

"Did... did Batman just give me his phone number?"

"Yes, but you may not call him at three A.M. and ask 'how's it hangin?'" Karan replied, then she whispered. "You might be busy saying other things.."

 

[Varshanka]

Lorena blinked. "I appreciate that. You go girl. Or-- boy. Wherever you're at on the spectrum. But I'm... strictly pescatarian. By which I mean... merpeople are kind of my type. Some girls go through an experimental phase in college. My college just happens to be... at the bottom of El Océano Atlántico."

"I prefer.. Renegade. Gender non descriptor and all. Just remember there is no such thing as Dryland."

 

[ChasNicollette]

"The clock on the wall has been stuck at 3 for days."

"Yes, but you may not call him at three A.M. and ask 'how's it hangin?'" Karan replied, then she whispered. "You might be busy saying other things.."

Rose chuckled, smirked at her.

But then shook her head. "It's 3 AM! He must be lonely?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

"Cup of Blood."

"I prefer.. Renegade. Gender non descriptor and all. Just remember there is no such thing as Dryland."

Lorena flexed her newly-healed hand, testing it out, impressed by Aztek's ability. "So no pronoun, just a name? I can dig that."

And then she shot Renegade an odd look. "I thought Dryland was the top of Mount Everest? I mean, I haven't seen the movie, but they make fun of it a lot at The Conservatory. Almost as badly as they make fun of the work of Suli Stellamaris..."

 

[UnseenMaiden]

Gotham
Present Day​

Billie puzzled at her reflection for an ungodly amount of time in the hotel mirror, before finally scrubbing the makeup off of her face and starting all over again. The magazine made it sound so very easy, but a lifetime of neither time nor funds for this kind of thing probably had her below the level of pre-teen girls at their first sleepover in putting this stuff on. She was also fairly sure there hadn't been any mention of contouring when she'd been said pre-teen either. Her day had started off not great, what with Luthor's syrup sweet attempts to most definitely not guilt her into joining the newest version of the Justice League over breakfast and her medical discharge forms. It was definitely seemingly like her clumsy attempts at a makeover was destined to be the filling of a shit sandwich as commentary from Seattle came filtering from the news on her room's tv. Things seemed to be calming down over there now. Fewer field reports were coming on air and more blow by blow's along with the latest news of some celebrity's dress that didn't fit quite right over her pregnant belly. Slowly but surely the Dark Skies Over Seattle was being filed away as yet another Tuesday in the minds of citizens everywhere.

There was a part of her that reasoned it all being swept under the rug by the media was better this way. The human mind could only take so much tragedy before you started up wholesale riots and talks about the world ending everywhere around you and discounts on special kool-aid. It seemed a convenient enough excuse for her to slip through the cracks again and let her little brush with death be forgotten. Still another part of her was sorely tempted to go back to Luthor with her remaining cash and take him up on his offer, be the mentor that the New League would need because they sure as fuck were not handling things right themselves. Here was supposed to be the newest generation of heroes inheriting the good fight only to start it by squabbling like a bunch of kids without a lick of training that she knew damn well some of them had had. She had fought alongside some of the heroes present in that fight, had fought along other teams that had nothing in common with each other but the need to save some innocent lives that day, and while some squabbling about hierarchy is to be expected any mixing of groups they still managed to pull their heads out of their asses without too much fuss.

No matter what she chose to do in the end, Billie knew that this paint on her face, the product in her hair, and the dress and shoes that were easily worth a year's worth of food and shelter for her was all necessary for her to accomplish today's goal. It wasn't that she thought Luthor was perhaps using her for some fiendish scheme. The man seemed to be all good these days if the news she caught glimpses of was anything to go by. However, he had tracked her down after over a decade of her seeing neither hide nor hair of anyone from her old hero days. He had also insisted she take an ungodly amount of cash from him despite refusing his very generous offer of room and board while taking up the mantle of Captain once more of course. His technology and his staff had nursed her back to full health from the brink of death in a miraculous amount of time. She didn't need the wisdom of Solomon to tell her a man that confident and determined wouldn't find some way to keep her in his sights after going through the trouble of catching her. So after getting rid of everything she had owned up until that moment, excepting of course her book of sumerian gibberish, a tattered and grubby friendship bracelet, and her ornery new traveling companion(Danny had upbraided her through the entire train ride to Gotham), that only really left one way that she could possibly think Lex Luthor would be able to track her movements.

By some miracle, her eyes actually looked like they had elegant winged tips after tenth attempt to get it right and over all she supposed she could actually pass for someone that did not spend their nights under bridges. Ignoring how wobbly she felt in heels, Billie took a deep breath, reminded herself to keep her back straight and balance on the balls of her feet, and left the relative safety of the hotel room she had rented for that night for the trek to Wayne Enterprises. Granted, she could be completely wrong and the only other company she could think of that would remotely be able to compete with Lex Corp's technology would find absolutely nothing. Or, despite her attempts at looking like a productive member of society that deserves to meet with the type of person with enough power to validate her paranoia, they would just throw her out on her ear for sounding completely batshit.


“Well, let the Fantastic Voyage begin.”

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Aztek winced. "Yeah, Red Arrow-- though 'Arsenal' is kind of a good name for him --bailed as soon as he woke up. The moment a DEO medic looked away from him, he quick-faded. Batman-- our Batman-- actually looked impressed."

Connor winced. He was sure he had heard Ollie once call him that but maybe he had been wrong. He would have to remember he was going by the name Red Arrow from now on.

"I haven't worked with our Arrow much, but he doesn't seem like the apology type. He seems more like the type to carry those grudges you were talking about. That might... come back to haunt you. I hope it doesn't."

"Oh well most of what I said was true, but I just could have phrased it better. I also need to talk to him about a few things, but if he wants to hold a grudge that is his problem not mine. I can't control the way he thinks and I am not going to let it rule my life," he shrugged.

Fortunately, the topic shifted to more opportune things.

With almost less than a thought, Aztek again activated the option in his armor that deployed the "feathered" cape/wingsuit that permitted his flight-- scooping up Connor when he was ready, he soared them both towards shore.

"Like most of The Titans, I haven't known 'Zee' for very long, but I know one thing. She knows Constantine. She told me and the other Titans West that she had gotten out of the hero game before the Kobra event, and it was Constantine that called her to help save New York."

"She's literally got his number."

Seattle rushed by beneath them, and Aztek touched down lightly, setting Connor down neatly before him.

Various DEO incarceration hovercraft were flying off towards the nearest metamax prison with the contained Extremists.

The Titans were in various states of disarray.

Captain Marvel, in particular, was hugging a very shaken Teen Lantern and looking more than a little rattled himself. It seemed so dissonant to see the usually easygoing Mightiest Mortal with tears down his cheeks... and Jessica was struggling to steady her breathing, her PTSD in full panic mode after what she'd been made to see and do.

Batman "Red" had been standing off to one side, looking somber and sober, having to rethink himself hardcore.

And the speedsters, Kid Flash and Silver Bullet, weren't in much better shape as they talked quietly with Superboy-- who kept glancing out towards the shore as if there was someplace else he wanted to be.

DEO Agents were talking with a few of The Titans-- Grunge, Knight, Solstice, Starfire --debriefing them. Finding out what went wrong.

As Arrow and Aztek arrived, Zatanna was finishing talking things out with Kate Spencer, who shook the sorceress' hand and glanced at the green and gold heroes before moving on to her next debrief.

"Hey, Curt," Zatanna smiled faintly, exhausted, dark rings under her otherwise dazzlingly pretty eyes. "Thanks again for being our air-uber when the sky was falling."

"I've got a really good autopilot," Aztek admitted.

And then he gestured to Connor: "Green Arrow has a question for you."

Zatanna nodded. "Hey, Arrow. Good to meet you... again? Sorry it had to be like this. What's up?"

Connor nodded to her and smiled. "Hey no hard feelings, especially on my part. You guys were mind controlled by a being that was literally on a Global threat scale. Nothing you could have done."

He then looked at her with a look of intensity. "Aztek say's you know a guy called Constantine. It is really important that I get in contact with him. Our companion Ghost rider is having some problems with the demon trapped inside her Xarathos and before it disappeared it said one word, His name."

 

[Zet_Cross]

Surveying everyone talking Milton lowered his voice. "Lysl, if that really was an inter-reality teleport that brought them here he will have detected it and will be heading here. I need to to put the passive scanners at max; if and/or when he gets close we need to be the first ones to know."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Echoes.

Surveying everyone talking Milton lowered his voice. "Lysl, if that really was an inter-reality teleport that brought them here he will have detected it and will be heading here. I need to to put the passive scanners at max; if and/or when he gets close we need to be the first ones to know."

The teleport signature of that transmatter symphonic array was like nothing I have ever encountered, Milton. Like nothing in The Genitor's arsenal. It is unlikely that he would associate such discharges with us.

Lysl paused.

Agreed, however. Caution, as ever, should be our watchword. Mothership passive sensorium to maximum.