Sector 13121
Thanos sat in the huge throne room originally occupied by the emperor of this pitiful world. Despite his vanity, Thanos heeded Darkseid's advice and traveled to this specific area, where they rapidly subjugated the species and gained control of their world and resources, which were tremendously impressive for such a little planet.
They had then tapped into the universe's communication systems with the assistance of Nebula, his cybernetic daughter. She could hack into any known technology, however it took her some time to acclimate to the codes and programs of this universe. They were looking into when, where, and why they had traveled.
I'm curious if there are infinity stones in this universe. Thanos considered his life aim of gathering all of the stones, uniting their power, and harnessing it for use in his crusade. Will these be easier to find, as opposed to our universes? His stream of thinking was interrupted as Nebula, Gamora, and Ebony Maw entered the room. They had some good news for him.
"Master, it appears the Avengers have made their way to this same universe," Ebony said, as everyone came to a halt in front of Thanos' throne, slightly kneeling before gazing up again.
"Those pesky humans from Earth?" Thanos inquired, curious. He'd always wanted to meet those who had defeated Loki, a god he'd sent to aid him with his chitauri fleet.
"Yes...and that is not all..." Ebony maw kept going nervously. Thanos frowned at his subordinate for taking too long with his presentation. He despised being denied information, no matter how bad it turned out to be. He clenched the helmet tightly in his palm, knowing that unleashing his rage on Ebony Maw would result in his death, as he was not as tough as his other children. The Maw took note.
"It seems this universe's Earth has its own set of superheroes unlike the Avengers." The Maw informed him and then motioned to Nebula, who brought up the hologram videos they had tapped into from all around the cosmos of Thor fighting a beast and some equally powerful individuals like Superman assisting him.
Things just keep becoming more fascinating. Thanos reflected. "Is that a shapeshifter?" he enquired as he watched Ben turn into many beings, each with their own special strength.
"It is unknown Father. No sector seem to have any information partaking to the Avengers or him. We however found information on this Earths protectors called the Justice League." Nebula explained to her father while showing him holograms of various folders and videos of the Justice league in action. "They seem to be very popular in this universe much like the Avengers."
"And what is your report on them?" he inquired, gazing at Gamora, who was pleased to observe silently while the others reported. Everyone in the black order recognized her as the master tactician and great planner, second only to her father, Thanos, who had previously praised her for it.
"Because this Earth has many heroes, each with unique abilities, the Justice League poses a threat to those who wish to invade and conquer it." Only the founding members reveal to be extremely dangerous...especially the one known as Superman." Gamora spoke to her father while Nebula showed a video of the founding members fighting Darkseid and this superman going toe to toe with him occassionally managing to subdue him.
"He may be stronger than that green beast from earth that has been stirring up controversies all over our universe ever since it joined the Avengers." A video of Superman and Hulk fighting on the dock came up and Thanos looked at his daughter who explained, "The superman guy was holding back for the most part."
He looked back to the videos in thought. "It seems the Avengers and the Justice League are now a team." He stated. "What about the Infinity stones?" He asked them.
They all looked unsure and at each other silently conversing on who was going to tell him.
"There are no infinity stones in this universe." Nebula informed her father whose eyes immediately hardened at the news.
"Explain!" Thanos commanded straightening up in his seat. The news shocked him, but he soon controlled himself.
"In all my research and all these planets databases, there is no such thing as an Infinity Stone or even Arsgard." Nebula conveyed the results she was continuously getting in hologram form to him.
Thanos sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating his next move, when an idea flashed into his mind. If the Justice League and the Avengers are virtually the same thing, then he and Darkseid are probably the same people with the same but somewhat different goals.
"Nebula, run a search algorithm for Anti Life Equation." he ordered her , who immediately resumed hacking databases.
Various outcomes were presented, and the most of them cited Darkseid once or twice in relation to the most powerful weapon of knowledge in this universe.
"This Anti Life Equation is basically the same weapon as the infinity stones and according to the database of a person named Zod, Darkseid has been going after it for a millennium if not more." Nebula responded.
"That shall be what takes us back to our universe. Send out scout ships and start a search for it." Thanos ordered his children who departed to fulfil their master's orders except for Gamora who stayed behind.
"What is it you wish to say? Daughter." Thanos asked already knowing what she wanted to say.
"Won't we start a war with Darkseid if we go after this Anti Life Equation?" Gamora asked her father. They both knew they needed an ally in this unknown universe because once they were found out especially by these Green Lantern Guardians they would definitely pay them a visit whose outcome may not be favorable for both sides.
"I will handle Darkseid." Was Thanos only reply to which Gamora nodded her head and walked out?
I will kill them all, take the Anti Life Equation back to our universe, use it to get the infinity stones then combine their power to rule every dimension there is after completing my crusade he thought smirking.
"What!" Lex Luthor demanded into the speaker at the person calling him. He was brain storming on a lot of his projects, especially the one he was currently going to discuss about with Grodd then possibly implement it as soon as there was an opening.
"It is done." The voice spoke up.
"Any complications?" Lex Luthor listened keenly, his attention captured by the voice.
"The samples were contaminated from rain water." The voice explained unsure of his employer's reaction.
"Fix it." He ordered into the speaker ending the phone before the scientist replied.
"Excellent." He smiled for the first time that day then looked out the helicopter window.
At a distance you could see the island the legion of doom had made into their base of operations. He smirked. It was all coming according to his master plan.
Watchtower
Batman had woken up in the infirmary a couple of hours ago but was still on his bed watching the news on the infirmaries television while flipping through his tablet catching up on what happened when he was indisposed.
Normally he would have already gotten out of the bed and headed to the bat cave or the watchtowers monitor but this time he waited patiently bidding his time till Black widow who was on the bed beside his woke up.
He had read and watched about the new alien shapeshifter in the news. Ben was his first thought. The aliens he had turned to were new ones and just as powerful as the others according to the footage of it pummeling doomsday to the ground.
The news channel helicopter did a pretty good job of recording most of the fight. This was because Doomsday was too busy with the Leagues heavy hitters to notice them hovering high up around the battlefield. He knew it was Lois Lane and Jimmy Nelson in the chopper because those two had a knack for getting themselves in the middle of any justice league operation, no matter how dangerous it was.
He observed how every sentient specie he turned into was quite powerful. Especially the one with the four arms who had a physique much like the hulks and doomsdays who if not for doomsdays superior speed and reflexes would no doubt have fought it to a standstill. He then vaguely remembered telling Natasha to tell Banner to stand down lest the city get destroyed by the two giants. It was a good thing her judgement was as sufficient as his.
He had also retrieved CCTV footage of how Ben had changed into a fluid like alien seemingly with circuit lines running all over its body, which then merged and completely restructured one of their holding cells to fit one that could hold Doomsday...at-least long enough for them to come up with a sufficient strategy to handle it.
"That watch sure is something else." Black widow spoke up making him pause for some seconds then continue flipping through the videos.
"All these forms seem powerful." he replied looking at her then at the machines hooked up besides her checking her vitals.
"Yeah...that is what happens when you are dealing with technology above level 15" she said. Batman looked at her again.
"How do you know that?" he asked curiously.
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Is it not quite obvious?" She asked then continued. "The fact that it can change him into different aliens with different powers makes me think it is way above these lower levels." She explained shrugging.
He thought for some seconds, "Perhaps" he agreed with her before turning to the tablet again.
"FYI...Your utility belt is impressive" she initiated a conversation already bored of the seconds of silence.
"I am not telling you what is in that compartment." Batman stated.
"Who says I want to know." Black widow looked offended and defended herself. Indeed she was angling this conversation to eventually ask him that.
"Besides if I wanted to know I would have opened it." She smirked at him even though she had tried that particular approach very many times during the battle but she just couldn't get it open. All her skills could not get it open.
Batman merely looked and gave her an are you serious look to which she just shrugged.
"Thank you." She spoke up. "We both know it's supposed to be the other way round." He stated.
She ignored his answer and continued. "I wouldn't have survived that fall."
"We were doing our job." He said saving them from the awkward moment creeping up through the emotional thanks being given.
"Yes we were." She agreed. "This earth has way more dangerous Villains. Abomination does not compare to that Doomsday." She said still watching the news replaying parts of the fights from the television in her side of the room.
Batman looked at her, "Abomination?"
"He is basically an underdeveloped and corrupt version of the hulk which was attempted to be recreated using an altered process different from Banners. He is a villain." She explained to which he nodded and continued scrolling through his tablet.
Black widow was bored once more and considered turning to either make conversation with him or annoy him...a decision that would depend on her mood and how interesting the television set was. He had tilted his head slightly and was staring at her but not at her face from the corner of his eyes, she noted. Her glance followed his line of vision, perplexed, and her face smirked.
"Like what you see?" She inquired aloud while continuing watching the news. Silence.
Batman was swiping through the tablet, his gaze fixed on it.
"You're not so bad yourself." she added, her eyes lingering on batman's upper body which was not covered. His back was still too sore and a couple of ribs broken from the fall that he did not put on his costume upon waking up in the infirmary.
Batman was about to reply but was interrupted by the door opening revealing Wonder woman.
Upon arriving at the Watchtower, she had witnessed Ben reconstruct one of their holding cells to fit a being with Doomsdays powers albeit temporarily till it broke out again. She then headed to the infirmary to check up on batman and Black widow after she had escorted Thor to his room. Despite everyone not recognizing him at the moment because they were busy looking at a knocked out Doomsday, she knew that if it were not for him, a lot more damage would have occurred by Doomsdays hands. He had managed to hold it up in one particular part of the city before back up arrived.
"Are you alright?" she asked Thor upon arriving at their wing. He was already healed up from all the bruises and injuries he sustained from the fight and looked brand new except for his torn warrior suit and armor.
"I assure you, Wonder woman, that I am OK."It will take a lot more than an alien weapon to bring down the Mighty Thor," he smiled. She adored the sound of her name coming from his lips, as well as his attractive smile, well-chiseled chest, and rock hard abs poking through the holes in his armor.
HERA! What is going on with me? I need to return home and possibly talk to mother. She must be concerned, as must everyone else. She reflected on not seeing her mother and sisters in a long time, as well as never having felt or experienced anything like this before.
Thor failed to notice her discomfort and continued, "Besides, it is my duty to protect the nine realms, whether our universe or a different one." he spoke with so much conviction.
Wonder woman was brought back from her thoughts, "Thank you for that. You probably want to rest and fix that... I will go and check up on Batman and Black widow" she told him gesturing to his torn up armor.
Thor looked down at his damaged armor and apologized, "My apologies." He admitted, little embarrassed, to walking through the Watchtower in his damaged warrior armor. It was usual for them to wander around in their torn armors in Arsgard, but he had learnt that any type of indecent exposure in Midgard was frowned upon, especially if you were not a model or a celebrity.
He clutched Miljonir, and small bursts of lightning sparks traveled all over his body, much like Shazam's, and his armor began to mend itself. Wonder woman was not astonished by any of it because she has experienced similar events on Mount Olympus following their duels and sparring sessions. This just proved to her how powerful Thor Odinson was.
"How is she?" Thor asked referring to Black widow. "She's a fighter." Wonder woman replied thinking back how she pushed through the pain and fatigue to help her search for Batman. She really needed to check up on them.
"I should get going..." she told Thor who simply nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you for your hospitality." he spoke up before she left.
"You're welcome," she said, backing away from him and turning to walk away. He remained there watching her walk away with a swing of her hips enhanced by her feminine warrior gear.
She is a true goddess. He paused before retiring to his chamber.
Wonder woman walked into the infirmary and winced, noticing the tension between Batman and Black widow. She had definitely walked into something.
"Is that cell going to hold it?" Batman asked meaning to diffuse the tension in the room. "It will hold it temporarily till we figure out the best way to handle it." Wonder woman explained. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.
"I've had worse." was his only reply. "What about you?" she asked looking at Black widow who was now trying to get up from the bed. "I've been better." she answered her. There was now a mutual respect between the two female superheroes. This was attributed to Wonder woman saving her from near death to her also saving Batman.
"We need to convene a meeting immediately." Batman informed them before proceeding to send out emergency meeting text to the founding members of the league while he knew that Black widow would also inform her respective team of the same.
"You are in no condition to attend such a meeting. You are on bed rest." Wonder woman complained looking at the struggling Batman who was putting on his costume and proceeding to try and get up from the bed.
"You can either help or get out of my way." Batman told them with Black widow now standing beside Wonder woman.
"Hera! You're as stubborn as Loki." Wonder woman moved to help him. "That's about right...considering I met the guy." Black widow spoke up much too both their surprises.
"I forgot you're from the same place Thor comes from" Wonder woman expressed her surprise.
They assisted Batman in getting up and then walked out of the infirmary before Batman dismissed their assistance and continued on his own, despite the agony. "Men!" both Wonder woman and the Black Widow said.
"Stop!" Superman shouted at Supergirl, who was approaching him, as well as an amused/concerned Supreme. "What's going on?" he asked his cousin, knowing how her temper might get the best of her. Teenagers.
"How dare he tarnish the memory of our people!?" Supergirl demanded, her gaze fixed on him, who stood safely behind Superman. "I swear I did not..." said Supreme, raising his arms in surrender.
"Shut up!" Supreme, who was not assisting his cause, was ordered by Superman. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop his cousin from attacking him if her rage grew dramatically. "I understand that, but did you listen to his explanation or why he would say such a thing?" He inquired, his brow furrowed.
"Well...no..." she started "but he still should not tarnish the name of Krypton!." she said with conviction.
"I know... but let him explain before this gets out of hand," advised Superman. He had observed that their stunt had drawn unwanted attention to them. Some of the heroes were staring at the trio, trying to figure out what was going on. Since the battle with Doomsday, Supreme and Thor had become the buzz of the Watchtower. They recognized Supreme as Ben because of their remarkable resemblance and the same large watch fastened to his wrist, but they still thought he was a shapeshifter.
Supergirl narrowed her gaze at Supreme, who continued to refuse to leave the protection of Superman as a human shield. "I am...uuuhhh.." He was still considering how to inform her without annoying her again. His thoughts were utterly blank. He couldn't think of a way to explain himself to her without sounding like a jerk.
"Currently he is a Kryptonian." Supreme couldn't create the necessary words, so Superman decided to assist him. "What exactly does that mean?" Isn't he a human, a shapeshifter, or whatever he is?" Supergirl wondered, perplexed by the revelation.
Supreme seemed to find his voice at that particular moment, saying, "I usually am...most of the time... but I can turn into sentient beings if I choose to." Supergirl appeared to be processing the new information. "So you're a shapeshifter," she explained, the only explanation that made sense to her.
"Both yes and no." My watch enables me to shift into different aliens at any time, each with their own set of abilities. Supreme elaborated. "Oh... and no one except the founding members and the avengers know about it."
Supergirl nodded. That makes more sense, she reasoned.
She had earlier been taken by surprise when she could not seem to overpower Supreme, a mere shapeshifter. Only a handful of leaguers could be able to contend with her in terms of strength and Ben had not been anywhere in the list, until now that is.
"Okay" she said finally relaxing making Ben to come and stand beside Superman after noticing her calmed state.
whaaack The sound echoed through the watchtower bringing everyone to a halt and turn towards the source of it only to see Supreme holding his left cheek wincing and an astonished Superman.
"Now we are even" Supergirl announced before turning and walking away not giving them the chance to react to what just happened.
Sure, the pain had lessened, but his palms were still plastered to his left cheek, clearly taken aback by what had just occurred. "Did she just slap me!?" Supreme inquired of Superman, who had emerged from his stupor and was softly chuckling at Ben. "I think that would definitely qualify as a slap," He said, instinctively stroking his own cheek. He was only relieved that the Supremes' biology could withstand the power of a Kryptonian.
"Why would she do that!?" Supreme exclaimed. Gwen was the only other person who had ever slapped him, and it reminded him of his home world, which made him unhappy. Supreme's sorrowful demeanor caught Superman's attention; it was the first time he had ever seen Ben sad.
"That is a question best suited for her, don't you think?" he replied to his own query. He knew it had something to do with the fundraiser they'd gone to, but he couldn't tell him what. He had to take a couple of days off work the last time he messed with his cousin's business to repair everything she had ruined during her temper tantrum at the farm, and he wasn't going to rebuild the barn from the ground up again.
"I believe you are right." Supreme spoke up before following Supergirl through the CCTV footages, using Trixx to monitor her route.
"Good luck," Superman said back to Supremes.
Mount Olympus
The gods had assembled in the throne room to witness how the biological weapon named doomsday by humanity had destroyed most of the conventional weapons used to subdue or kill it. Even after most humans no longer revered them, they nonetheless kept an eye on humanity, supporting them from the shadows, much like gifting them with Wonder woman, who kept them safe. When Ares arrived and informed them about the Apokolips weapon, all the gods present assembled to vote on whether or not to help.
"It appears you were mistaken son, humanity seem to be able to handle themselves without our help." From her throne, Hera told her son Ares who had noticed Doomsday as soon as it entered Earth's orbit and informed his parents, the king and queen, Zeus and Hera. He had hoped that after the other gods had voted, they would send some of their Olympian guards to assist in slaying the beast. It would be a spectacular battle, and he would feed off of it, eventually gathering enough power to take over as Lord of Olympus. He knew the Justice League would not be able to contain it, even with the help of that kryptonian, Superman, who thought he was a god just because he had extra ordinary abilities under the yellow sun. He however did not anticipate the arrival of the new heroes, especially one who looked eerily familiar to him and the other gods.
"Who is that...?" To the chagrin of her husband Hephaestus, the goddess Aphrodite asked numerous questions. They were all watching Thor fight Doomsday in a ferocious battle. The gods were intrigued by his command of the elements because the only other person they knew who possessed such ability was Shazam, who had been bestowed to them by the great magician who guarded the seven sins. Aphrodite was said to have slept with both men and women. Her husband, Hephaestus, was aware of this but did not mind because he considered it a luxury to marry the most beautiful goddess among them despite the fact that he was not particularly attractive.
"I believe my protégé knows the answer to that." Hera responded, seeing how Wonder woman arrived with the strange hero. The other gods stood by silently, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. "He looks eerily familiar to Thor, the mythical god of thunder and prince of Arsgard." Hera responded after a little pause.
The gods' eyes brightened in recognition when Thor's name was mentioned. They were taught about Arsgard mythology since they were children. They even possessed a massive statue of Odin, the Allfather, on Mount Olympus, as well as miniature sculptures of Thor's statue.
"Nonsense! We all know those are just tales told to encourage warriors to battle." Zeus bellowed out. He should know since he was king of the gods and knew everything about them. Once he had become of age his parents had told him all about Arsgard and their courage during battle. It was the first tale they were told as he had also done with his children.
"He is definitely a god...whoever he is." Hera pointed out upon seeing Doomsday getting frustrated by the man wielding a hammer which was eerily similar again to that of Thor. Zeus scoffed, "I will be the judge of that" he declared. I will not let some imposter desecrate the name of our legend. He thought knowing it was just one of those Earths heroes who was an imposter.
"Interesting" Ares spoke up when Iron man and Ben joined the fight. "I have never seen such a creature before." he continued motioning for four arms who was now fighting Doomsday while the others evacuated the remaining civilians.
"It's most likely a new alien recruited by the Justice League." Heroes are joining their cause at an alarming rate." Hera spoke up, and they agreed for a brief moment before Ben transformed into Supreme, stunning everyone once more. "He is some kind of shapeshifter...a powerful one at that." Hephaestus mentioned it. He should know because he knows every strong weapon or person on the planet, and this one had the potential to become one.
"His current form is eerily similar to that of Superman... even the abilities he seems to possess." As Doomsday was ready to be overrun by the fury of the strikes, Hephaestus pointed out. Zeus, on the other side, remained silent as he observed the new beings or heroes.
They watched as Ben changed again to Cannonbolt before proceeding to completely neutralize Doomsday by literally pummeling it repeatedly to the ground before changing again to Supreme.
I've got to get my hands on that watch. Hephaestus had already deduced that this was the basis of his shapeshifting talents. He was the best weapon smith in Olympus, and some say the entire cosmos and was famed for designing the most powerful weapons in the cosmos, including Wonderwoman's armor and the Annihilator, which was commissioned by Ares. He had no idea the watch was the source of his power at first, but when Ben tapped it before changing into Cannonbolt, he immediately put the pieces together. It had to work on the same basis as the Green Lanterns ring, which he will discover once he had access to it.
"Summon your protégé," Zeus said, staring at his wife Hera, who simply nodded, expecting to be handed that responsibility. Zeus was curious about the new Justice League members and whether they posed a threat to humanity or them. The other gods were quite interested in this unexpected turn of events, as the Justice League had just neutralized one of Darkseid's most formidable weapons. They had seen how Doomsday had decimated an entire planet filled with one of the most well-known and powerful armies in the universe without breaking a sweat, so when it was neutralized by a small group of heroes, it was time to re-evaluate the Justice League's true potential and decide how to handle them lest they become a threat and too powerful.
No one noticed when Ares had slipped out of the great hall nor where he went.
Watchtower
Supergirl was angry and bewildered as she walked to the hangar to take off and head home. She had heard and seen enough for the day. How can a watch transform him into a Kryptonian? Is he an alien, or is that a watch made by aliens? If that's the case, it must be similar to green lanterns ring. And why are only the league's founding members aware of this? What more are they withholding from us? Her line of thinking was interrupted when she noticed the holding cell with the hideous beast still comatose within. She came to a halt and looked at it. It was hideous and enormous, just like the green thing who had knocked out her cousin.
"Cool... isn't it?" Ben's voice sounded from behind her. She heard someone approach from behind and thought it was her cousin coming to scold her for her behavior just minutes ago.
She was partially relieved that it was Ben, not that she wanted to see him but because she could not face her cousin at the moment, he taught her better and he was probably disappointed in her outburst. And to think I told him to treat me like an adult she thought mentally slapping herself. "What is it?" she asked still looking at Doomsday.
"It is a biological weapon made from Kryptonian DNA and the suns radiation." Ben explained taking one step back in case she gets offended again. He had changed to Ben before approaching her reasoning that she probably won't be comfortable talking to Supreme.
Supergirl remained motionless as she processed what Ben had just informed her. "How? Is it possible that additional Kryptonians could have survived besides us?" She inquired, her voice a touch upbeat. She remembered her home planet and Krypton, and how she would have done anything to rescue them. If there was even a remote chance that any Kryptonians had escaped the tragedy of their planet, they should be saved wherever they ended up; it was all she and Clark could do to assist them.
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for the second question." Ben responded truthfully. Trixx was unable to compute or identify whether there were additional Kryptonians in the universe. She didn't have enough information to go on with. Trixx was booted out of the system before she could fully hack or adapt to their coding and programming language, hence their initial attempt to hack the database from Oa failed. She was able to put an undetectable bug in their system, which was currently inactive and ready to be activated when the moment was right so that it would not be found and removed, something Ben knew was Guardians had also patched the backdoor she had exploited to get access to their system, which made Ben and Trixx realize how technologically advanced they were. It was evident to Ben and Iron Man, who were with him during the hack, that the Guardians were extremely powerful, which was why they were in charge of maintaining peace throughout the universe, with their headquarters, OA, located in the center of the cosmos. Trixx calculated answer to that particular occurrence was that she did not devote much of her processing power to the work, allowing them to simply override her by increasing their processing power to maximum. Trixx's notion that all technology was lightyears behind hers was shaken a little.
Supergirl moved her gaze away from Doomsday and toward Ben, waiting for him to continue. "It's DNA signature suggest that it was artificially created in a scientific lab and subjected to various evolutionary tests in a very harsh environment which is responsible for its adaptability to any harm done to it." Ben explained everything to her.
"What does that mean?" She was worried by the implication, and if it was what she believed he meant, they were all in severe danger.
"It can only be killed or neutralized as in our case, once using any method before it adapts to what caused it harm." Ben agreed with her assessment. "So it can wake up at any moment!?" Supergirl shrieked, terrified of the potential consequences.
"Don't worry...it will take a long time before it can regenerate the fried part of its brain." assured Ben to the freaking out hero. That was one detail the rest of the leaguers did not need to know about otherwise they would all panic.
"How do you know that!?" Supergirl inquired, relieved that he had returned to his former shape. She had planned to ask him about his transformations and possibly apologize to him for the slap she had given him. Not at all! He deserved it, she thought to herself.
"Trixx told me," he said, his countenance puzzled at the mention of the name. "There is no member of the justice league with that name." She answered thoughtfully, swiftly recalling all of the members' identities. Kryptonians were born with a brain that was far superior to that of a typical human. They could contain and save any information they came across and recall it whenever they needed to.
When Ben stated Trixx, Supergirl kept a straight face since she couldn't associate that name with anyone she knew, implying that Ben knew her outside of their workplace, most likely at the charity event they had attended. Her rage flared up again at the thought of the ball and the implication that followed.
Ben had been watching the many emotions on her face gently flicker before settling on rage, "She is the AI in my watch." Ben shouted out before the same thing happened again a few minutes earlier. Supergirl narrowed her eyes at him. Everyone knew AI are integrated in almost every technology on Earth, however all of them are not powerful enough to determine something as complex as Doomsdays physiology, even the AI from the watchtowers super computer.
"Seriously!? Is that all you can come up with?" Supergirl's rage was swiftly building. She'd heard more plausible justifications from criminals than his. Ben let out a sigh.
"Trixx... help me out here." He raised his voice to no one in particular that Supergirl could see. "Certainly."How are you doing, Supergirl?" The omnitrix emitted Trixx's voice.
"Come on..." Every time I turn on my phone, it greets me." Smirking at Ben, she said. "I understand if you do not want your source of information to be known" She was friends with Lois Lane, so she recognized how vital information sources could be in certain situations.
"Says the girl who has not picked up her phone 34 times when the username Douchebag, who is actually a very successful entrepreneur attempts to contact her" Trixx stated as Supergirl blushed deeply from embarrassment and turned to face Doomsday, who was more interesting than Ben at the time. "Trixx! What the hell!" Ben clenched his teeth as he chastised Trixx for making that remark. "I'm really sorry for that, there seems to be some technical error with her programming right now..." Ben tried to apologize, but was cut off by Trixx.
"My diagnostic shows all systems running at 100%, the error you are speaking of has not been registered." Trixx spoke up, much to Ben's chagrin. Can this night possibly be any worse? Ben reflected inwardly. "It is okay, apparently I had a wrong assumption of it." Supergirl brushed him off.
"Thank you Supergirl, studies show that it is customary for an apology to be issued out if one is on the wrong" Trixx acknowledged her apologies, demonstrating how far she had progressed. Supergirl turned to Ben and glanced at the watch on his wrist, the nerd in her coming to life at the AI, similar to the one in the Fortress of Solitude who appeared inform of Superman's father.
Ben spotted her glancing at his watch and realized he owed her an explanation now that she was clearly in the loop. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" He half-joked, hoping to lighten the mood. "You think!?" She raised an eyebrow at him, folding her arms in anticipation of his explanation. He motioned to the Cafeteria, where they could chat in peace because everyone else was distracted by the unexpected guest they were hosting.
Superman met up with J'onn and a recently arrived Green lantern who sped to the watchtower when he caught wind of the ongoing threat that had landed on earth.
"What happened?" Green lantern asked them.
"We had an unwelcomed guest from our favorite villain, Darkseid." J'onn responded. When the name was mentioned, the green lantern froze. The last time they confronted Darkseid, the world had nearly terraformed to Apokolips, and they had barely vanquished him given Superman's captivity. Even the Guardians and Olympian gods were afraid of him and did everything they could to avoid direct conflict with him because he was the most powerful new gods and his alleged weapon had already slain a green lantern.
"Do not worry, it has been taken care of...at least for the moment." To his relief, Superman told him. Anything related with Apokolips usually meant trouble for them. "Batman has called an emergency meeting to discuss our next steps." We'll meet in the conference room in 10 minutes. The Avengers have already begun their journey."
Before heading in that route, the Martian and Green Lantern nodded in agreement. This was a critical matter that needed to be resolved immediately. Superman flew out in search of Ben, as his communication line had gone down for some reason. It didn't take long to find him in the cafeteria, where he was conversing with his cousin.
"Wow! So, basically, the omnitrix can process and execute all of those functions!?" Supergirl was astounded by what that watch was capable of. She reasoned that Trixx might be more powerful than Jor Els AI in the fortress of solitude. "Yes, and many other things I have yet to discover." Azmuth is the most brilliant being I've ever met." Ben agreed. He'd spent the previous several minutes telling Supergirl about the omnitrix and the predicament he and the Avengers were in, including the part regarding multidimensional travel. Their snacks remained untouched on the table since the conversation was too captivating.
"Are you technically enhanced like cyborg?" She inquired about Trixx's ability to communicate with him and his brain. It was too intriguing to pass up an opportunity to ask.
"No, my brain is the only technically advanced part of my body, which is how I know almost every heroes identity and probably the villains too. Trixx created her own database from this earth and when she gets the chance she could do that for the whole universe too." Ben explained to her. "And that's how I can also turn into a kryptonian."
"Wait...if it collects sentient DNA samples, then the Martian and..." she looked at Ben, who nodded his head in agreement. She was captivated and all geeked out, which Ben thought was sweet, and she had now, albeit briefly, forgotten about their little quarrel. "Why haven't you turned to him or any other alien from the league yet?" she wondered. "Because I have not met everyone yet and i have not gotten the perfect time to do so." Ben responded. He'd answered so many questions that he began to feel like he was being knew his next inquiry would almost certainly result in another slap, but he had to ask, he had wanted to since Trixx blurted it out. "So...the douchebag..." he began, but stopped when he noticed her expression, which promised a world of agony if he finished the sentence."Ok... another time then." Supergirl was about to tell Ben what she thought of him when she was interrupted.
"I hope your curiosity has been satisfied at the moment because we are needed in the conference room." Ben informed her of the situation. Trixx had informed him of the arranged meeting, and he noticed Superman seeking for them because he had stopped all electronic communication surrounding them since not all leaguers had access to that kind of information.
"What?" Supergirl asked once more confused. "Batman has called for a meeting...probably concerning Doomsday." He informed her.
"Supergirl, Ben." Superman called out floating above them. "Conference room in 10" He ordered then flew away. Due to his advanced superhearing only rivaled by his cousin and now Supreme, he had heard Ben explain to his cousin everything that was going on thus she could attend the meeting.
"After you, you will get used to it after some time." Ben told her knowing how everyone had trouble believing a simple watch could execute all those functions. He stood up and pulled her seat out motioning for her to lead the way. When did you get accustomed to proper etiquette Trixx asked him mentally displaying the various videos of him goofing around in his home world and teasing Kevin and Gwen about their relationship. Shut up! Ben said annoyed at the comment before following Supergirl to the Conference room.
In the conference room
The heroes had assembled to plan their response against Doomsday. None of their holding facilities or cells could hold a being as powerful as Doomsday, and even though Superman and Supergirl were as powerful as Doomsday, Batman had a backup plan for them if they were ever corrupted in any manner. Handing up Doomsday to the world's governments was also out of the question because some secret factions among them would try to convert it into their personal weapon, accidently freeing it.
"How about OA?" Hal inquired aloud, glancing at Superman and a stitched-up Batman who presided over the conference. The room was deafeningly quiet.
"What is an OA?" Captain America asked The Justice league members, Ben and a now informed Iron man who were nodding their heads to the suggestion.
"It is the headquarters of green lanterns." Hal came through. "So you are not the only one with the fancy ring?" Hawkeye questioned, while the rest of the Avengers waited for Hal's response. They were all curious, but Hal was enraged by the tone with which the question was asked. The majority of the Avengers initially thought the ring was a one-of-a-kind weapon or technology, similar to Ben's watch.
"Will the guardians accept it, and do they have a holding cell capable of restraining it when it heals?" Batman inquired of Hal.
"It is a planet that is home to the universe's most powerful peacekeeping force..."I'm sure it won't be a problem for them," he retorted.
"What if you ask them now?" With every eye on her, Supergirl suggested. She had remained silent during the meeting, observing the events and the arguments. It was her first time attending a meeting with the founding members, and her actions just a few hours before made her wish to remain anonymous for the discussion. When everyone in the group turned to face her, she realized her advice was verbal rather than mental, as she had intended. Because of the stares, she slid into her seat. It was nothing like her usual brainstorming sessions with her teammates. The majority of the Avengers had already deduced that she was connected to Superman or a member of his species.
Everyone turned to face Hal waiting for his answer. The suggestion was actually brilliant since instead of dealing with the unknowns and ifs, they could contact the guardians and start dealing with facts. Hal saw Batman of all the people also looking at him and sighed. "Okay" he had no choice but to agree since it was known the ring was a direct link to the guardians.
Do you think they will inquire or tell on the supposed attempt to hack their database? The words flashed on Iron man's HUD screen. He was taken back at first thinking he was hacked or Jarvis was malfunctioning but looking at Hals projection on top of their conference table he put the pieces together. I doubt it since they had also attempted to breach the watchtower. We were acting out of self-defense Iron man typed back through the message board Trixx and Jarvis had opened for them, the response appearing in Bens HUD eyes.
I think we should attempt tapping into their system now Tony suggested already thinking of all the knowledge he could gain if they managed to tap into the Green lanterns database, the supposed hub for all this universe data. That is a great idea, especially when they partially open a link through Green lanterns ring Ben agreed with him.
"That may not be the best option right now" Trixx voiced out over Iron mans in suit speakers while also replying to Ben telepathically. Iron man was again taken a back for some seconds before regaining his composure. "Why is that?" Tony asked irritatabely not having used to someone hacking his systems so flawlessly and Jarvis not executing the required protocols for such breeches. "Jarvis!" He gritted his teeth in warning. "Explain!" Ben told Trixx albeit telepathically with also Iron man listening.
"Sorry sir, she threatened to rewrite all my programs if I did not give her immediate access." Jarvis explained to his creator making Ben let out a laugh disguising it as an abrupt cough. "What!? She can't do that!" Iron man demanded out loud, (he was very glad his suit was sound proof when he needed it.) He actually paused for a second, "Can she?" Trixx and Ben ignored his question.
"They are expecting another breach and have installed counter measures into their system during this call and you may want to concentrate now..." Trixx explained and suggested to them. Ben was about to reply when he noticed Batman looking at him with narrowed eyes. He knew what they were doing. Glancing at Iron man, he had already restructured his attention back to the proceedings. Sell out! Ben thought.
Green lantern had managed to get InTouch with the guardians making it seem that they were waiting for his call all along because the guardians were all gathered together when the transmission connected.
"We are aware of your current dilemma." one guardian who looked like he was their spokesperson said. Before anyone could respond he continued... "We have a facility that may hold him."
"What do you mean MAY!?" Black widow asked. She did not like that word one bit. It was either they were capable of holding it or not. They could not afford to make any mistakes when dealing with Doomsday, it was more dangerous than Abomination ever was.
"We understand your skepticism Black widow but we assure you it will be taken care of." The guardian's hologram looked at Black widow. "Okay..." was all she could say since she was surprised they knew her name yet she did not even know they existed up until a few minutes ago.
Green lantern saw the surprised looks of the avengers at the mention of Black widows name and decided to intervene before questions that he could not answer were asked. "Great...I will just grab my package and be on my way..." He spoke out while standing up. "Green Lantern" the guardian called out making Hal and the other heroes to stop on their tracks of getting up to see him off. "You need an escort to OA, the prisoner is be considered a valuable asset too many sinister forces."
"I will be happy to go with him." Superman offered. It was either him, Wonderwoman or J'onn that were qualified for space travel because of their various abilities but since it was doomsday, superman saw it as his responsibility since it was from his DNA that it was created. Green lantern was nodding his head in approval of the suggestion.
"We thank you for your selflessness superman but it would be better if Ben, the shapeshifter be the one to take on that task." The guardian spoke, turned and looked at Ben who was just staring at him too. What is your endgame? Ben thought about their request. The other heroes just looked on waiting for Bens answer, surprisingly batman was in agreement to the guardians up until now since he did not comment nor complain once about their request.
Seeing as it was the most logical move in regards to doomsday and that he had an assortment of aliens to choose from should doomsday regain consciousness before they arrive at their destination, he accepted. "When do we leave?"
"Immediately, it is already healing and the more you delay the less time it requires to awaken." The guardian explained.
"I trust you can acquire one of your space ships for transportation." The guardian asked Green lantern.
"It will only slow us down...or do you not have anything space compatible." Green lantern mocked Ben. Finally something his watch cannot do...so much for being all too powerful. He gleefully thought.
"Actually, I have some that can manage." Ben simply replied missing green lanterns dig at him with him busy telepathically commanding Trixx to do some various tasks for him before they left.
All the other heroes in the room looked on nonchalant but Supergirl who was still new to the entire situation could not help but be surprised. How long were they going to keep us in the dark she thought angrily Everyone deserves to know what was going on as much as the heroes in the room. She was also slightly worried about the development. Incase doomsday regained consciousness before they arrived in OA, it will just be the two of them trying to subdue it and whatever innocent planet that was dragged into the fight.
Green lanterns smirk turned into a frown for a few moments before righting himself and ending the hologram heading to the door. "Come on, we have a long journey ahead of us, try to keep up."
Everyone was walking out of the conference room heading to the hanger to see the two off.
Doomsday was still out cold with a few younger superheroes still observing and ogling the brute lying in the improved containment cell in the hanger. They saw the justice league and the avengers approach and made themselves scarce some watching from the top decks while others a few meters away from them. Everyone was weary of batman and his no nonsense attitude.
"What if it wakes up when you haven't reached OA?" Wanda asked them having sensed doomsdays mind healing and reorganizing itself albeit at a very slow rate. It appears as though J'onn had sensed it too because he too was focused on doomsday.
"We will deal with it." Green lantern answered her with a wink much to her annoyance.
"When it is done return immediately, we still have things to handle." Batman told them before patting Green lantern on the back then moved back to stand with the rest of the league.
"We will, it'll be a piece of cake." Green lantern spoke up while Ben was opening doomsdays cell before green lantern encased it in a green circle bubble while the green aura surrounded his whole body and he floated midair looking at them.
"Well..." Hal called out when he saw Ben was not changing to anything.
Ben had zoned out a little. This situation reminded him of the time they had to escort Vilgax out of the earth making him really miss his home. It was about time he started researching on ways on how to get back to his dimension. How hard could it be? He had enough smart aliens to help deal with that.
"Oh, was just thinking about something..." Ben said a little awkward when he saw everyone look at him obviously waiting for him to change since he could not go into space with his original form.
Trixx, which one do you suggest for this particular adventure? Ben asked Trixx since he could not decide. He was stuck between Jet ray and Supreme because he had to consider speed in this little traveling of theirs since interstellar travel required traveling at blinding speeds.
In a flash of bright green light, Ben was gone and everyone looked on with curiosity and amazement at the what or who was standing in front of them.
Everyone shielded their eyes from the bright green light, it was just too much for them to handle because they were not used to it like most plumbers back in his home world.
In Ben's place stood a slightly taller human figure with black wavy hair and green eyes, as well as a highly formed cheek bone. His face is quite attractive to the eyes. He was built like Thor, but with significantly more muscle visible through his armor, which was more updated than Thor's and created from the same unique material or element as Thor's armor. The chest plate was tough and weighty. He was relieved that it didn't come with a cape. His bottom half was encased in the same armor, but there were pockets for storing items. Yes, the Omnitrix was extremely intelligent and circular disks on the shoulders and midribs remained, as they had in Thor's armor which was green and white, similar to the outfits Ben likes to wear. His armor was a simplified version of a navy seals combat outfit sewn together with ancient warrior garb, replete with black boots and a set of gloves that seemed to be held in place on his hands like a second skin yet quite comfortable. He spoke in a low tone. The Omnitrix was still on his wrist, masked by his combat gear, and the symbol was where the belt buckle was supposed to be. His armored attire appeared to be a cross between Thor's warrior armor, Superman's costume, and a modern-day soldier.
"Wooaahh" Ben commented inspecting himself. I already feel godly, not like when I am Chromastone but it is still a great feeling He thought to himself.
"Is that...?" Captain America started asking but couldn't finish because...he actually didn't know the reason either. Ben's current form looked all too familiar.
"I think it is." Hawkeye answered him suspecting the same.
"Why do I feel a connection with you my young friend?" Thor asked him coming to stand in front of Ben. Thor sensed the presence of an Asgardian close as the dazzling green light faded and hoped for a few seconds that Heimdall could sense him now or the other way around. Heimdall could find him since his sight could see past countless other gods and galaxies.
Because he hadn't formed a professional relationship with Heimdall, he assumed it was the being Ben had become. Some of the Avengers shook their heads in response to the query; Thor was a prince, but he couldn't always see what was right in front of him, literally.
"That may be because I am an Asgardian." Ben replied waiting for Thors reaction much like everyone else.
"HAHAHAHAHAAA...that is great my friend, that way we may spur when you get back, I haven't found anyone capable of keeping up." Thor answered by smiling heartily before hitting Ben in the stomach.
Ben, to his amazement, felt nothing from the strike. I must be more impervious than I thought.
"Hold up...can you also control lightning like Thor and Shazam...or can you lift up his hammer?" Flash inquired, pointing to Miljonir, which Thor was carrying.
"I don't know yet but as for powers..." Ben replied sticking his hand out and a ball of flames formed out of thin air before increasing in intensity till the other heroes took a step back from the heat before closing his fist and the fire dissipating to nothing. Trixx informed him briefly what he was capable of but Ben dismissed that for later, right now they had a mission to finish. He would figure it out later.
The others looked on astonished. Ben took this opportunity to float up into the air next to green lantern and smirked at Thors dumbfounded expression. He was probably wondering why Ben got to fly on his own while he himself required the assistance of Miljonir.
"Are you a god too?" Wonder woman asked out of nowhere. She had been observing for quite some time. Now she had seen everything. If a simple device could replicate one of the most powerful gods they were taught about then everything else was fair game. She had to know if it had the capability of turning Ben into a god.
"Good question but as of now I have no idea but i think so." Ben replied and wondered about it himself.
"If you are indeed an Asgardian then how can you fly yet Thor can only use the Might of Miljonir?" Black widow asked finally snapping out of her many thoughts of this new development. "Yes my friend, how is that possible?" Thor asked finally finding his voice.
Ben looked around making sure the other league heroes without clearance could not hear their conversation. "I told you guys the Omnitrix turns into the prime sample of the said specie. So probably Thor can fly but does not know how yet." Ben explained to them still floating next to Hal who was getting impatient. Thor had a lot to think about.
Okay...that watch is pretty cool he admitted to himself after Ben's transformation. "We have to get going." He spoke out because the questions directed at Ben did not seem to have an end.
"Yeah right...let's go." Ben answered before green lantern started flying away into the vast space surrounding the watchtower. Ben looked back once looked at everyone nodding then eyes landed on one person before turning and taking off after green lantern who was dragging doomsday behind inside the green circular construct.
At his arrival beside him, they took off disappearing from their view and the watchtowers radar immediately showing just how fast they were flying.
"What do you mean about not having anyone to keep up with you? You could ask Superman or Shazam or Wonder woman or Supergirl to spur with you? There's like a bunch of them capable of keeping up with you" flash asked Thor thoughtfully.
"I would not want to trouble them from their busy schedules." Thor answered him truthfully. This world seemed to have very strange villains that required the leagues attention almost every time. Flash had a wicked glint in his eyes.
"You want to spur right?" He asked Thor with them being the only ones remaining in the hanger. "Yes I do" Thor nodded.
"Great, I will contact you with the time of the session." Flash informed him then disappeared in a flash. Thor walked towards the cafeteria.
I should have said something Supergirl chided herself. At least tell them good luck...way to be professional and in the big leagues now Kara. Since arriving at the hanger with the rest of them she had been quiet listening and observing everything she had missed before and when Ben turned into an Asgardian she was shocked.
Apparently he could rock any specie and still look good doing it... She had momentarily thought before banishing the thought from her mind.
"They will be fine" she told herself before dispersing like the others. Captain America and Wanda headed to the cave to relieve Banner from his watch duty. The justice league also dispersed, some going back to earth while others retreating to their rooms.
OA
"They are on their way." One guardian said, having witnessed Hal's and Ben's departure from the watchtower. "How will we meet him without his watch scanning us?" One asked. They had all seen him turn into his version of Thor, a supposed god and that was not something to overlook.
"We have till before they arrive to figure that out." One guardian responded before they all floated away in a straight line.
Over the ocean, an angelic figure was gliding through the air at high speed. Wonder woman took this chance to go home. Back to her home, back to her mother, her sisters. She had really missed them. She could also take this time to seek advice from her mother and also inform them of the ongoing events. In a distance, she could see the magical barrier separating Themyscira from the world of man...she headed straight for it.
Batman had retired back to the Batcave where he was seated in front of his huge super computer going through all the reports from the battle of doomsday. He had tapped into every news channel database and duplicated every footage they had recorded that included most of the government and private organizations. According to the videos he compiled, doomsday was too powerful, it could easily go toe to toe with superman, Thor and Ben. A weapon that powerful was something of great concern to him. He had to find out where the creature originated from or if it was indeed sent to earth by Darkseid, if so, they need to prepare for whatever he was planning.
After a few hours of reviewing the footages, he was about to call it quits when something caught his attention. After the fight ended his keen eyesight caught a dark figure moving in one of the buildings shadow. He watched a group of hooded figures in black suits skewering the battle field collecting things in the downpour. His detective skills figured they were collecting DNA samples. He had to identify, then track them and retrieve the samples. Having clones of the donors running around following orders blindly could be more dangerous than any of Darkseid's invasion plan.
Thor, Hawkeye, Black widow and Iron man were in the cafeteria grabbing a bite to eat. From all the tension due to doomsday, most of them had not eaten anything in a couple of hours.
"So...you and the bat guy huh?" Iron man couldn't help himself much to Black widows dismay. "What can I say, I like mystery." She attempted to shrug off Iron man.
Hawkeye was having a good time...at their expense. He knew where this conversation would eventually lead to and decided to spice it up, after all, he was bored.
"Careful now...we wouldn't want another bump now, would we?" He smirked at Black widows facials clearly displaying betrayal but quickly turned into a smirk directed at Thor. "Oh don't worry about that..." she paused for dramatic effect, "I have a feeling she wouldn't mind since she's totally smitten about something or someone..."
Thor wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, he had a huge empty stomach to fill and a lot to think about. After a couple of bites in, his senses picked up all eyes staring at him and he looked up at them. "What?" He asked curiously since he did not really mind if anyone disapproved of his methods of eating.
"I knew there was something going on there...I knew it!" Tony bellowed happily while raising a high five to Thor who looked more confused than ever.
"What are you talking about Stark?" Thor asked looking at his other chuckling colleagues.
"You and the warrior princess." Tony answered him. If there was something Tony was good at was agitating people and making them be as uncomfortable as possible.
"What about Diana?" Thor asked again. "Are you fucking her?" Tony asked with a grin on his face although his faceplate hindered anyone from seeing it but his voice betrayed his tone.
Thor spat out everything he was chewing to his side, he was certainly not ready for that question. "Noooo... why would I? I mean... I haven't. That is no way to speak about royalty." Thor fumbled and reproached him.
"I was just asking what everyone is too chickened out to ask." Tony defended himself.
"That is ludicrous! Why would anyone think of that? And don't speak of that anymore or I would not defend you from her wrath" Thor said. Princess Diana was a very respectable warrior princess that his father usually told tales about when he was just but a boy. He would not want her reputation to be soiled by Tony's wild theories.
"Okay okay… Not yet.." Tony yielded much to Thors satisfaction who carried on eating but his mind racing with a thousand and one thoughts.
The rest of the avengers smirked at Tony's hidden meaning of "not yet" which Thor did not pick up on. He was as ancient as the oldest historic site in the USA.
Back in the avengers cave Banner was still on monitor duty dozing off time to time from exhaustion. He took this time alone to do extensive research on this earth. He hacked every medical research center he could get access on and compared notes on their development and breakthroughs in the medical sector as well as technological wise. Natasha had sent to him the particulars of the conference meeting via email that Tony had solely designed using Googles mail version for the avengers, it was a good thing it also worked in this universe since they also had Google.
The past 24hrs was a very hectic one, from doomsday attacking earth to him wanting to help but was ordered not to. The destruction was way more than the hulk could cause in a single rampage of his own when not too angry. Soon, he would be relieved of duty and head back to the watchtower...he kind of missed it and being in the cave alone was hela boring.
WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT! WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT! Jarvis alarms went off startling Banner from his short nap. "What now!?" He asked exasperated. "It appears we have uninvited guests Mr. Banner. Do not worry yourself, the automatic defenses will intervene when they reach the marked zone, and I have informed Mr. Stark of our current predicament." Jarvis explained to Banner who nodded in understanding at the CCTV footages Jarvis displayed for him of the intruders appearing to search around a couple of meters from the start of their hide outs property.
Lex Luther and the legion of doom were treading through the thick vegetation of the Amazon forest searching. Lex was a very smart man. He had managed to pin point the avenger's route towards the Amazon forest and used Poison Ivy to track them down by connecting to the plants, her babies, as she usually called them to track down their base. Lex found it rather ingenious to set up a base of operations in the Amazon forest because no one will come looking for anything here. Though he was disappointed that he wasn't the one to think of it first.
"How far?" Grodd asked poison ivy whose eyes were closed in meditation and was walking ahead of them. They had left their jet in a clearing far behind them, deciding that they may have a better chance of going unnoticed without the rumbling of a plane or jet.
"It is near." Poison Ivy answered to the groans of the others. "That is what you said last time." Lex Luther gritted his teeth. "Because we are near, my babies would never lie to me." She said with conviction. The plants told her the base is near.
This mission was of high value to Lex Luther that is why only a handful of legion members were invited along and Poison Ivy was due to her powers in understanding plant life. Bizzaro and Grodd were the other ones invited along. He had calculated due to the fight with doomsday, most of them would be at the watchtower since it was pretty obvious they had joined the justice league and their base would be vulnerable or at least have one member protecting it thus the need for bizzaro and Grodd and his battle suit. They were to acquire all the data and technology the avengers had and also acquire some of their DNA from the equipment they handled since all the samples collected from after the fight were unusable...somehow they just disintegrated in the cryogenic chambers used to store them. The mission thus utilized stealth and discretion among its members which Bizzaro was the complete opposite of but he had no choice than to bring him along for his immense strength in case they encounter difficulties during the mission.
"Turn back! This is a restricted zone! Military actions will be taken if you persist." Jarvis warned them via one of the cameras audio system. The legions were startled at first looking around for any sign of the police or military which were not visible. Lex luthors suit fired a shot and the camera was destroyed. The others looked at him.
"The military does not have an outpost here...trust me." He told them. Luther had Intel on every military base around the world and the Amazon forest was not on any of his lists. They continued forward.
"You are advised to turn back or I will have to resort to unsavory ways." Jarvis warned them then the camera was blown out again by Lex. They continued forward. "I bet that is just a motion sensing AI programmed to greet guests like that." Grodd joked since his telepathic abilities could not sense any living being around them for miles.
Canons appeared out of branches and started shooting at them. Jarvis had initiated defense protocols. The legion of doom took out most of them but others kept on appearing infuriating them, rendering them except bizzaro unable to move forward with all the blasts aiming for them with extreme precision. It must be a useful AI for it to accomplish that...aiming for all of us at the same time with great precision Lex thought. Bizzaro was destroying as much as he could with his super speed and invulnerability. "Poison Ivy! Do something!" Lex shouted at poison ivy who was shielded by thick barks of trees. "You don't have to shout Lex, that's just rude!" She replied in a mocking tone before closing her eyes again meditating. The branches of the trees housing the various canons suddenly attacked and dismantled all of them in seconds. "Bizzaro loves canons." He shouted after the firing stopped and floated down to them. "Yes Bizzaro, we love them too." Grodd told him. They knew how bizzaro worked being the opposite of superman and all that. When bizzaro loves something, he actually hates it and when he hates something, he actually loves them. They handled the remaining defense weapons and headed for the cave poison ivy had carved a way to and saw a man wearing glasses standing in front of the cave waiting for them.
Inside the cave Banner watched how they dismantled the defense weapons quickly. For a minute he thought superman was with them till he saw the symbol on his chest was facing the opposite side to that of superman. Captain America and Wanda would be arriving anytime soon not to mention Tony and the rest who were no doubt on their way too. He had to stall them as long as possible. No doubt the superman clone, he had made an educated guess on what he was, would punch his way into the cave thus damaging their equipment and compromising their data along the way.
He moved to the entrance and walked out before pressing a red button in his phone and the whole cave went into lockdown mode with Jarvis monitoring everything.
"You have no business being here." Banner shouted at them a couple of meters away. "Turn back and leave!"
Lex studied the man keenly. He was definitely human, according to his vitals. A very calm human despite the situation he was in, which was quite dangerous for him where any other human in his place would have run by now or started pleading for their life. He did not have any Intel on this guy but by Lex's deductions he was one of the new hero arrivals because he was currently standing guard at their base. Stupid of them to leave a defenseless human to guard their base Lex thought.
"Grodd, get him out of our way." Lex ordered. He had no time for this as they had wasted too much already treading through the jungle.
"I can't...interesting" Grodd replied back. He had been trying to get into Banners mind for the past few minutes only to be blocked each and every time.
"What do you mean you can't? This is no time for insubordination!" Lex was getting angry and impatient.
"I mean that I cannot get into his head, he is protected somehow" Grodd responded narrowing his eyes at Luther. He did not appreciate a being with his intellect being scolded in such manner. The time is near... He thought.
"Poison Ivy" Lex called out. Upon hearing her name she commanded one of her babies to tie up Banner.
His reaction time in his human form was significantly enhanced thanks to his occasional training with Steve and Nat, which he utilized to escape all the weeds reaching for his arms and legs in an attempt to restrain him. Poison Ivy became impatient and sent a few more plants that were too much for Banner, forcing him to be restrained.
"You're quite agile for a human your age" Grodd noticed Banner floating in midair and fighting against the bonds.
Banner was able to rip some of them with the strength he gained from the Hulk awakening and landing on his feet on the ground.
"We don't have to do this" Banner spoke up to them. He could feel the hulk threatening to emerge from the distress and danger he seemed to be in, after all, threaten Banner and you threaten the hulk.
"You must be one of the Justice League's wannabe superheroes." I have nothing against you, but this is business, and I know the occupants of this place are probably on their way here right now, so...Bizzaro likes him." He pointed to Banner, and Bizzaro rushed up to him, knocking him to the side and disappearing into the massive trees. "Bizzaro loves weak humans," He declared after noticing the guy had passed out from his bump.
Banner didn't have time to dodge since the strike was too fast, and he was knocked down into the shrubs and woods that surrounded their base.
Lex Luther was having difficulty hacking the door open because the system technology and programming was on the same level, if not more sophisticated, than his. He had to crack this door open because they'd come too far and he'd burned up far too many resources just to figure out the avengers flight paths so he could triangulate their supposed base, and now that he'd found them, no door will stand in his way of victory.
"Just blow the damn thing open," Grodd said, growing restless. He did not argue with Grodd for the first time. Sure, he'd hack it in a couple of hours at the pace he was going, but that's time he didn't have, so he took a step back and fired a missile at the door, which managed to survive it with small dents on its surface. "Bizzaro!" Lex called out to him, pointing to the reinforced door.
"Wait!" Grodd abruptly yelled. "Do you hear that?" He enquired of his colleagues. He also sensed wrath, far too much rage.
Lex and Poison Ivy couldn't hear anything, but Bizzaro heard what Grodd was saying and flew to the location where he had knocked the guy down.
"What is it?" Lex asked Grodd trying to scan the area using his suit but the dense vegetation was a nightmare on his scanners.
Loud punches were heard before Bizzaro flew past the others and crashed into the trees on the other side. "What the-" Lex's curse was cut short by a tremendous roar, which was followed by heavy footsteps approaching their location, before a gigantic green form emerged from the trees, eyes set on them and anger radiating from every pore on the being.
Lex recognized the being right away. It was the one who was able to defeat Superman. The Incredible Hulk charged at them. Things just got harder for them.
Hulk took control just as Bizzaro was about to attack Banner, and therefore managed to neutralize the most of the force behind the hit. Then Bizzaro showed up again, looking for trouble. Hulk's strength surprised him; the only other individuals whose strength frightened him were Superman and Wonder woman, but this beast or entity was equally as powerful. During his moment of contemplation, Hulk punched him across the route they had made, into the base clearing, and back into the trees.
Grodd intercepted the hulk with his modified gorilla strength. He wasn't finished with Lex Luther or his money, so he had no choice but to defend him.
Lex on the other hand knew that Grodd was oblivious to who the hulk was by the way he moved to intercept him but he was grateful nonetheless for he would have in no doubt been crushed despite his mechanical suit armor.
Grodd was surprised by the hulks strength, he was barely holding on in this fight. For every punch he landed, the hulk returned in kind a punch that was ten times stronger and with each punch being stronger than the last. The only other people to hit this hard was superman, Wonder woman and Bizzaro. Telepathic attacks was not an option either since the hulk had adapted or developed an immunity to them from the time Wanda had brainwashed him.
The hulk was putting in minimal effort. The massive gorilla was not as powerful as it appeared. Lex was still trying to blow open the door with a salvo of weaponry, he noticed out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed Grodd by the neck, suffocated the breath from his lungs, and tossed him at Lex, both colliding against a tree on the side, Grodd passing out briefly and Lex's suit suffering slight damage but remaining aware.
Bizzaro hit the monster hard, sending him tumbling through the woods and up into the air before landing some distance away. "Bizzaro love green beast very much!" He yelled angrily before charging after Hulk.
Bizzaro hated the fact that hulk took him by surprise and that he actually felt pain from that blow.
Lex Luther got up from the ground pushing Grodd from him and headed for the door preparing the most powerful weapon in his suit to blast it open. If it fails he will have to make a tactical retreat...they had overstayed their welcome already and back up was bound to arrive.
"I would not do that if I were you!" came a voice from behind. Turning, he saw the man with the America themed shield with a woman beside him. He recognized them from the video clips of the port incident.
"Would you believe me if I told you we were the good guys?" Lex inquired innocently, allowing time to plan his exit route. The presence of these two signified that the remaining members, as well as maybe some Justice League members, were on their way. Thunderous fists exchanged between Bizzaro and the Hulk could be heard from afar, accompanied by the sound of trees tumbling down.
At the same time Grodd was regaining consciousness, rising up, and taking a moment to absorb his surroundings, Captain America raised an eyebrow at Lex Luther.
"We need to get out of here" Lex told Grodd who nodded his head in agreement. "These two are just humans" Lex informed him with mild suspicion who proceeded to cast illusions in Caps and Wanda's mind to give them time to escape. The last person they thought was human turned out to be the green guy, allegedly.
"Where are they!?" Cap asked Wanda as they just vanished before his eyes, the illusions working. Wanda seemed to remember Captain America was affected before waving her hand in his face clearing the illusion cast upon him. Wanda saw the psychic attack coming and shielded herself from it then helped Cap out.
"Why are they still looking at us?" Lex asked impatient. He was waiting for the illusion to take effect and fly them to their jet. "It seems that most of these humans are immune to my telepathic powers" Grodd answered irritated. In a single mission he had met three people immune to his telepathic powers, something that never happened before since they did not seem to be using advanced technology like Luthor to prevent his attacks.
"Great! Just what we needed. Useless imbeciles. Where is Poison Ivy?" Lex asked realizing they were one member down. As soon as he asked for her, branches sprang to life restraining Captain America and Wanda before poison ivy descended from one tree. Apparently she had just been watching the whole show.
"All you had to do was ask" she retorted to them. "And we should probably leave, my babies are telling me Bizzaro is not doing so well..."
Just then Wanda used her telekinesis to cut through the branches restraining them and Cap launched his shield directly at them with Lex blasting it away with his canons.
More plants sprang to life restraining them and this time she used some of the strongest tree barks she could find around. Wanda was already breaking out of it.
"Let's get out of here" Lex ordered before grabbing Grodd and poison ivy and flying away to their jet. "What about Bizzaro?" Grodd asked after seeing hulk punch him sending him toppling a short distance.
"He can fly, he will follow us" Lex replied.
Bizzaro charged after the hulk, attacking him in the clearing created by his impact without a second thought. Hulk started getting up when he was bombarded by heavy powerful punches from bizzaro. Bizzaro's punches were not as powerful as that of superman but he made up for it by punching wildly ensuring that hulk did not have time to regroup and counter the attack.
The more punches landed on the hulk the angrier he became and caught Bizzaro right fist in a grip with his powerful left hand. Sure hulk was known to be less intelligent when in battle but he too knew what bizzaro would do next…it was a no brainer. Bizzaro's left fist came rocketing down to land a blow but was again caught in a grip by hulks powerful right hand. Bizzaro was momentarily stunned by the level of strength exerted by hulk just to hold him steady while hulk lifted himself off the ground then towering over him.
For a moment he thought he saw the hulk smirk at him before head-butting him to the ground further enlarging the crater initially made by the hulk. In his time as an avenger, the hulk has delivered his fair share of head butts to villains rivaling his strength such as abomination thus his head had adapted and the bones and skin hardened extensively that he only felt a little sting from the head-butt because he did not apply that much force to the attack.
Bizzaro was a little dazed on the ground but it was quickly fading away, advantages of being a kryptonian clone…he could take almost anything. Hulk picked him up by his legs and smashed him severally on the ground just like he had done to Loki and Wonder woman then threw him into the nearby trees with his momentum shattering tree barks as they gave way to him.
Hulk jumped back to the base to deal with the remaining intruders, but a projectile struck him in mid-air, bringing him back to the ground. It was Bizzaro. Kryptonian physiology was quite useful. While decelerating to the ground, heavy blows were exchanged. The blows were so powerful that they could be heard from kilometers away, breaking any tree they collided with; the massive Amazonian trees with thick barks that had existed for hundreds of years could not compete with the two powerhouses.
Bizzaro was actually straining. Sure, he'd fought Superman and Wonder woman with ease in their many encounters, but he'd never fought a being with the same degree of power as him, and the said person wasn't holding back like Superman and Wonderwoman, who knew their strengths and typically balanced them. The Hulk had no sense of restraint... he assaulted Bizarro as though he were confronting an abomination...Bizzaro, after all, could take it.
Because of his enhanced senses, bizzaro was able to spot his companions going for their plane, implying that they had begun (completed) what they desired (everything about bizzaro is contrary). Looking ahead, he could see the Hulk racing at him again, and he couldn't do another round with him, which would surely take forever because neither of them was getting tired. Bizzaro's tremendous blast of fire breath caught the behemoth head on, throwing him back to where he charged from and burning off most of the skin and flesh in his chest. Bizzaro threw everything he had at the monster, knowing full well that no meager attack would slow him down. The hulk roared out loud at the intensity of the fire breath but as soon as they were cut off his skin started healing immediately.
He did not wait to see if the hulk was down or not and took off for the jet. He had to get out of there before he ended up in a prison in the watchtower. Lex, Grodd and Poison Ivy were already taking off in the jet, which did not worry him because he could just fly after them and join them.
WHAAAACK! A massive tree connected with him in mid-air, sending him tumbling to the ground in a heap, when a projectile, the hulk, dropped on him, even angrier than before, hitting him as well as the tree that struck him down, which was still on top of Bizzaro. Nothing enraged the Hulk more than someone making him bleed or causing him severe bodily injury, even though he would eventually recover from the ordeal. The tree was quickly broken to splinters, leaving Bizzaro entirely exposed and now the recipient of the strikes. With each strike, the crater grew in size.
Bizzaro was being hammered into the ground, each hit more violent than the last, further confusing him. The hulk was unfazed by the counter-punches delivered by him. He was far too enraged. Drops of blood were flowing from his mouth and falling to the ground, but the Hulk kept attacking. He had tried to use his fire breath to blast the hulk away from him, but it only succeeded for a few seconds before the hulk was on him again, and his rage grew.
Thick branches sprung from the ground and wrapped around Hulk, preventing him from harming Bizzaro further.
"I think that's enough, he got the point." A gruff voice sounded from behind him. Swampthing emerged from the ground. Immediately the hulk and bizzaro started fighting he sensed it because the rate at which trees were falling was abnormal and the green had called out to him too. He arrived after some minutes and quickly took note of the situation recognizing the villain bizzaro and the hulk who was from another universe. Yes, the green told him about it. The green knows almost everything.
Hulk struggled against the branches, they were surprisingly strong but hulk was getting angrier. He saw a human like figure standing a few meters away from him and was completely covered in plants, more like his body was made up of plants. Hulk did not know him and he interrupted hulk while he was in the middle of smashing…at that thought he looked at bizzaro who was getting up and surveying the scene. Noticing the hulk is restrained and swamp thing standing a few feet away from him, he took off without a second thought. Even in his twisted mind he knew he would never win against the hulk and swampthing especially if they were working together. Every hero and villain knew who swampthing was and that he defended the Green or nature of the earth.
Watching bizzaro fly off angered the hulk so much so that he shattered the binds holding him and attacking swampthing thing who merely disappeared into the ground and appeared meters away from the hulk. "We shall meet again under different circumstances. Don't worry about bizzaro, I am sure he has learnt his mistake…if not he will soon be apprehended." With those words swampthing disappeared into the ground just as hulk threw a fallen tree bark at him.
ROOOOAAAAARR Hulk roared in anger and destroyed some few trees before jumping heading back to the base to check on it.
Themyscira Island
Queen Hippolyta was in her throne room tending to her royal duties comprised of assigning tasks to the amazons. They had all watched the fight between the justice league and doomsday to the end.
Being in a magically hidden island did not mean that they were technologically under developed. Princess Diana had campaigned to her mother the advantages of modernizing some parts and features of the island such as having electricity and a good plumbing system for them to use. They also installed reinforced doors to their treasure caves adding to the already existing security measures. The amazons welcomed technology and modernization with open arms.
It turned out to be quite useful because they could now be informed on whatever important was happening in the world of men at the same time keep tabs on their princess. The doomsday situation had them worried for some time and also raised too many questions for them because they saw a hero who looked eerily familiar to the Norse god of thunder, Thor fighting side by side with the league. They however did not see Princess Diana during the battle and that worried her mother, Queen Hippolyta, whose mind found peace only when Diana turned up after doomsday was already neutralized.
"Hello, mother," Diana said as she floated into the throne room, landing in front of her and bowing to show respect, as she had learned a long time ago. Queen Hippolyta raised her eyes from the scrolls she was reading to see her daughter standing in front of her. She hadn't seen her since the previous year, when she paid them a visit just after Darkseid attempted to attack Earth. She appeared as lovely as ever and all grown up, despite the fact that she couldn't physically age past her peak age. Diana, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable. Hippolyta could read her child like a book, despite her stern façade that she normally displayed to everyone.
"My child," Hippolyta acknowledged, rising from the throne and approaching her. "Man's world has not been easy on you." She wrapped her arms around her.
"I'm fine, mama... I was missing you and my sisters. The entire doomsday scenario was also one of the reasons I came; I knew you'd be concerned, so I came to explain what was going on." Diana explained to her mother as she hugged her. To the rest of the world, she was a fearless woman, a warrior, and a hero, but to her mother, she was still Diana, the sweet lady who is never quick to anger but always ready to forgive, and who needed a shoulder to cry on at times.
"We have so much to discuss. Go ahead to your room and freshen up then join me and your sisters for dinner. Your room is just like you left it." Hippolyta informed her. "Thank you mother."
A small figure bumped into her at the door when she was leaving. "Diana! You are back!" The small figure gushed overjoyed turning the accidental bump into a full blown hug.
"Yes I am little sister." Diana hugged her back. She had missed her little sister, Cate, so much and as it appears the same could be said for her.
"Now that you are back could you please convince mother to let me join you in when you go back?" Cate was hopeful. Since the modernization of Themyscira, she had watched so many movies and documentaries that she was determined to explore man's world even if for a month or so. All the adventures she could go on. She was also hoping to attend one of the schools for a while just to know what it was like to live a normal life away from the island.
"I do not think now is the best time for that, with all that happened just days before." Diana started explaining to her but reconsidered when she saw the sadness and disappointment on her face. "But since you have been so patient I will ask mother so that you may accompany me when I return for a month or so then you can return."
"You would do that for me?" she asked with a huge smile on her face.
"Yes I would do that and more…you are my sister." Cate hugged her so tight that if she weren't incredible durable she would definitely get couple of broken ribs.
Cate was turning 19 in a few months and her abilities had started manifesting, though at a slower pace compared to when Diana's had manifested. Diana knew she was grown and could make decisions on her own and if their mother continued denying her request to go to the mainland, she might just stop requesting much like Diana had done.
"Thank you so much. Come, let me escort you to your room while you tell me everything that has happened." Cate told her excitedly dragging her along the corridors towards her room. She had really missed her sister. Not that that the Amazons were not her sisters but she missed her biological sister. One can onyly say so much when talking to her other sisters because they were bound to obey her mother and that would be unfortunate for her if she were to tell them her secrets.
"She doesn't give up…" Queen Hippolyta sighed having overheard their conversation. She prepared herself, for the next hours would definitely drain her with both her daughters fighting for the same thing and Hera knows they could be quite determined if they set their minds to something.
Back at the cave, Thor, Black widow, Hawkeye and Iron man had arrived. Jarvis had managed to lock down the cave and prevent Lex from hacking into their system while the rest of the avengers were on their way. The hulk had turned back to banner when he found Cap and Wanda assessing the damage and joined them. The question on everyone's mind was how they had been tracked down to the jungle.
"All systems integrity at 100%" Jarvis informed via the speaker. "That is Lex Luther." Tony said pointing at the screen replaying the CCTV footage of the attempted breach. "Poison Ivy, Bizzaro and Grodd"
"How did they locate our base?" Natasha wondered out loud since Jarvis usually provided different untraceable routes every time any of them needed to report there.
"The same way I did." a new voice added from inside the room making everyone to turn around.
Batman stood there watching the CCTV footage. Contrary to their belief that no one except Ben knew where their base was... batman had traced the location the third day after the avengers and the justice league joined forces. He had to actually buy two more satellites but it was all worth it seeing their surprised faces.
"Lex Luthor is a very smart and resourceful man. It would be wise not to underestimate him or any of the villains of this earth." Batman further explained to the group.
"How did you find it?" Tony whose face was visible from the faceplate disengaging for a moment asked. He was angry and curious of how they had managed to do just that.
"What's important is that you need to scrub this place and either find a new base which will be traced and located eventually or just shift to the watchtower." Batman spoke the words most of them were thinking but did not want to voice them. Silence followed each deep in thought.