[IC] Young Justice 2021

[Omega Man]

The new team was ready, their first real mission since the old guard all returned was upon them. After a few moments after the briefing Ditto made a few duplicates to help Black Canary if anything came up while the team was out. After Cal decided to stay where he was at, the original Ditto rolled his eyes. Cinderblock is a virtually unstoppable talking brick. It would most certainly take the entire team to take the metahuman criminal down seeing as how the law enforcement and all of their new technological improvements and gear couldn't do the job. Their vehichle was constructed from parts of an old Justice League sky cruiser along with some spare tech in the base and the nanites of a fallen teammate's robotic body. Within minutes the team hit the scene and Ditto took point.

"You guys take care of getting the rest of the civilians to safety," he ordered a dozen or so duplicates who leaped from the back of the vehichle roughly twenty feet above ground one at a time as they were spawned seemingly out of nowhere, "..the rest of us need to break into two teams. Fenrir, Fate, Brick, Shadow, Frost... you guys are with me on the bridge. We need to knock this freak off before he causes damage enough to make it collapse. Shock and everyone else.... get down by the bay and don't let block-head make it out of the water." Ditto instructs as he looks over to Frostbite.

"I need you to play both sides. Once Cinderblock is knocked off the bridge I need you to give the ground team support. Sheets of ice to run on, ice barriers, whatever the situation calls for." Ditto continued instructing.

"Everyone stay aware of your surroundings at all times so this thing doesn't catch us off guard throwing a Volkswagon at us. Ten of us answered the call, I want ten of us back on the sky cruiser heading to HQ when this is over..." and with that the team leaped out of the back end of their transport ship.

The dozen Ditto duplicates dodged in and out of traffic getting any and all survivors off the bridge as quickly as possible. As one of the duplicates lead a woman and her five year old daughter to the police line on the end of the Star Bridge, Ditto couldn't help but overhear what one of the 'cops' had been saying.

"When are these metas gonna learn we don't need 'em to do our job..." said the officer when Ditto notices something strange.

Some of the tech on the officer wasn't attached to his more durable body armor looking uniform, but his visible bare areas like his neck. What could it mean? Now clearly wasn't the time. With two tossed cars overhead and a team heading in to battle the fifteen foot tall giant Ditto knew the city was still in good hands. Despite their misfortune in the past.

---

Back at HQ

This felt weird.

It felt like he was visiting his old high school. The halls are turned the same way, but there was a different air about the place like he’d never been there before, and yet he knew the way by heart. As Robert turns a corner headed for the monitor room, he can’t help but be overcome by a feeling of nostalgia. It wasn’t that long ago, but it all still felt like yesterday…

That yellow sea creature had just been the first incident in a very active year for the team. Magnus left the team during his brief tenure, and pretty soon Gabe followed him. Then there was Heartbreaker, Red Nova, Fate trading up to the Justice League Dark team, Ditto’s own turmoil not too long ago… much of that had been heard through the grapevine, something Robert knew he shouldn’t be ashamed of, but still was. He left after only a few months, called away to earn the mantle that Billy had lost, but he tried to keep in touch the best he could. He’d wanted so badly to join Young Justice after he learned about them, to be around other superpowered people his own age was a dream. He almost felt cheated his time here was cut short, and that the team had dwindled in numbers after his departure disheartened him.

But he couldn’t afford to look back; he had larger concerns to worry about.

As he enters the monitor room, he notes the screen lit up and active, displaying the fight on a bridge from multiple angles. It’s the team, new members and all, taking on Cinderblock, a foe Thunder had never come up against but knew about by reputation. Some of the newer members he had a hard time pinning a name to a face, but the power sets spoke for themselves. He could spot Ditto, Fenrir, or Fate a mile off, but the man hurling ice, the woman weaving shadows, and the turtle-looking fellow were all new to him.

So distracted is he in watching the new breed of teenage superhero that he didn’t even hear Black Canary sneaking up on him. Or see one of the Ditto duplicates raiding the refridgerator...

“Enjoying the show?” Canary asks him. Her tone is soft, not meant to startle, but he still nearly jumps out of his skin, his eyes faintly sparking just for a second before the energy and adrenaline surging through his body subside.

~KL~ / Fearless

[RumikoOhara]

First Blood

As soon as the transport arrived at the bridge Fumiko was outside and hovering in midair seemingly standing atop a tiny black cloud of solid smoke. She allowed her eyes to sweep over the area as she surveyed the scene.

"Only a fool leaps into battle before he sees all he may in a glance" she thinks to herself as she takes into account the Stone Oni's position of the bridge structure.
Taught by her father and his retainers in the Art of War and the Book of Five Rings Fumiko is akin to a feudal Lord in knowledge and ease of emotion.
This is her first time deploying with her team and she wants to assure that she uses her most powerful tactics.

As she watches the Concrete man move she notes how careful he is near the edge often glancing down to assure his distance less his feet end his advantage. Smiling she conceives a plan of attack for herself.

"He who cannot see is on shaky footing" says Shadow Dancer just before she launches herself at Cinderblock like an arrow from a bow.

In the distance between her observation point till she hits Cinderblock in the face she becomes intangible. She is like an inky smoke through which no light passes but as impossible to strike at.

The walking monolith might try and shake her off his face but her flight speed means that his glimpses of the world outside of her black body are brief and quickly extinguished.

"Attend me dogs of night" says Fumiko summoning three Shadow Mastiffs to hary her foes footing with powerful swipes of teeth and claws.

[An Outsider]

The ride to the bridge was mercifully brief, Fenrir having long since realised that he wasn't one made for flying. The feral meta leapt out of the transport before the craft had even landed, keen to be out of the metal death-trap, and took the scene in front of him in quickly. A sorcerer was on site, his smell revealing him to be Fate. Magnus experienced a twinge of guilt and embarrassment at that, memories of the battle against Deathstroke and his loss of control hurtling to the fore. No time for that now though, not while a foe stood before him.

Ditto handed out orders, no more than a repeat of what Black Canary had already dictated. Regardless of what the den mother or the Cargitte wanted, Fenrir was going to do this his way. The Pack had failed him in the past, all save Gabe, and he would be damned if he was going to allow them a second chance. The demon girl was the first to strike, shooting forward to disrupt Cinderblocks sight. Useful. The Wolf urged him to make use of her distraction, so he obliged, sprinting forwards, vaulting cars and obstacles with the ease of an experienced athlete.

He took a circular route, coming up behind the stony villain, silent as a predator in the undergrowth. Then, as Cinderblock was engaged with Shadowdancer and her mastiffs, Fenrir drew his knife and with a snarl pounced. His powerful legs rocketed him upwards, blade drawn back for the strike. He landed on the escapee's upper back, and drove his knife deep into were the stone-man's trapezius muscles should have been. Before the foe could retaliate Fenrir flipped back wards, leaving his knife lodged in Cinderblock's back. With any luck it would retard the golems movements, disabling his ability to fight back properly.

[riurik]

It wasn't long before friendly faces arrived on the bridge. Ditto, all business, layed out the two-pronged plan of attack. Phil would be working with his old teammates Ditto and Fenrir, along with a turtle-like alien, an ice user, and a shadow user. Phil only had time for a quick nod to greet to his old friends.

Chunks of pavement flew through the air as Cinderblock tried to retaliate against his unseen antagonists with his one good arm. Blinded by the shadow user and wounded by Fenrir, the concrete convict seemed close to tottering off the bridge. All he needed was a shove in the right direction. Phil tried to blast him with arcane bolts, but the behemoth shrugged them off like flies.

A phantom voice floated into Phil’s mind. ”Your power seems a little...lacking. Just slip on the Helm and all my power is yours…” Phil shook his head, not dignifying Nabu with a proper response. Let’s go with Plan B…

Summoning arcane energy, Phil concentrated on the brute’s stubby legs. His signature golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping like shining boa constrictors around Cinderblock’s ankles and anchoring themselves into the ground.. The convict bellowed in resistance, struggling against the mystic bonds as Phil struggled to keep them intact.

“I’ll hold him as long as I can. He's off balance, hit him hard!” Phil shouted to his teammates.

[Omega Man]

[posting the rest of this for Fearless/Thunder/Capt. Marvel]

Back at the underground HQ...

“Oh, Black Canary,” He fights the embarrassment he’s sure is coloring his cheeks, her getting the drop on him doing nothing to build up his confidence, “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I’m always here.” She tells him, taking her seat in front of the monitors and setting down the mug filled with piping-hot coffee on top of the control console, “I’m den mother, remember?”

“Right.” Robert nods, having forgotten since she wasn’t den mother when he was with the team.

Billy was.

“What are you doing here?” She asks him after a beat, sipping her beverage.

“I came to talk to Ditto about something.” Robert explains without tearing his eyes away from the fight.

“That [Italicize]‘something’[/Italicize] wouldn’t happen to be Superman’s offer of League membership, would it?”

Robert tenses a bit. He hadn’t expected Black Canary to know about that, but then again maybe he should’ve.

“Don’t be so surprised.” She says, as if reading his mind, “Superman had to bring the proposal to the League before bringing the offer to you. It’s standard procedure.”

Robert turns to face Black Canary, leaning back against the edge of the console, “…Do you mind if I ask how the voting went?” He asks.

“Do you really want to know?” Canary returns quickly, “After all, you obviously made the cut.”

“Yeah, and if that were all that mattered, I’d be satisfied. But it isn’t.”

He doesn’t say another word, the implication hanging in the air between the two of them.

“…What are you so worried about?” She prods him.

“I’m worried that I’m not good enough.” Robert sighs, running his hand over his tired face, “I’m worried I won the sympathy vote because of what happened to my mentor.”

Black Canary sets her mug down, leaning forward in her chair towards Robert, silently urging him to look her in the eye, “What happened to Billy was unfortunate, but it was his own doing. As for you winning the sympathy vote… the League doesn’t work like that. We vote people in based on merit, not because we feel we owe them anything.”

Robert nods along, though not quite sure he believes it. He didn’t want to talk to any Leaguers because he can’t be sure what happened behind closed doors or if they might have some sort of agenda. He did ask her how the voting went, but then she goes and changes the subject… anything Canary might say could be construed as her trying to get him to say ‘yes.’

Acceptance into the Justice League wasn’t something to dance around. It was a serious responsibility, carrying with it serious risks and rewards. It required commitment, discipline, and experience Robert wasn’t sure he had. That was why he made the trip out to Star City. He needed to hear he was ready from someone who wasn’t already with the League, and the shift that Ditto had undergone in the last few months, turning more serious and strategic as a result, made him a prime candidate for giving Robert an honest opinion. Not to mention Ditto was a friend, so there was that…

“You wanna join them?”

Black Canary’s words shake Robert from his reverie, bringing him back to the present, “What?”

“The fight,” She nods her head towards the monitor, “You wanna go out there and show ‘em what the new Captain Marvel’s got?”

Robert looks back over his shoulder at the fight, playing out as any usual encounter would. Crowd control, hammering the foe until he shut down… it looked to him as if they had it all wrapped up. But then he gets an idea, remembering something from the past... When he first came to Star City, he interfered in a fight between the team and that damned yellow sea creature. Now, he had the chance to crash the fight between the new team and Cinderblock, maybe even show the newbies a thing or two about how to get the job done.

His fist tightened at his side, his mind telling him to leave it alone and let the new team prove their worth, and his heart telling him to bust in there for old time’s sake. He wasn’t sure what call to make… in the end, though, he let his gut decide.

[Exodus]

Frostbite looked over at his teammates in the aircraft. He'd read up on the recruits newer than himself, but he hadn't seen them in action yet... That was hopefully all about to change. He'd been twirling one of his hoodie's drawstrings around his finger idly as he listened to Ditto's orders, clutching his mask in the other hand. He was paying attention, of course, but his full attention was grabbed when the leader addressed him directly.

"I need you to play both sides. Once Cinderblock is knocked off the bridge I need you to give the ground team support. Sheets of ice to run on, ice barriers, whatever the situation calls for."

He nodded. "Yessir," he replied, his tone rather nonchalant. This was going to be a little more fun than he thought. He slipped the mask on, pulled the hood up, and crossed his arms as he waited to arrive...
__________________________

The scene before him was unfolding quickly. The others started attacking Cinderblock as Frostbite started to coat his body in ice. He was going to need power if he was going to push the big guy around. At first, it only appeared as a thin layer over his normal shape. As the process continued, he continued to bulk up until he resembled more of a monster himself (think almost like Fantastic Four's Thing). By the time he'd finished building up, Shadowdancer had blinded the villain, and Fenrir had disabled an arm. Frostbite ran at the stone giant, fists at the ready. He started a brief assault of punches against the villain, which were shrugged off or blocked with its remaining arm. Cinderblock made a powerful sweep with his arm, knocking Frostbite back. The force of the blow slammed him into a truck several feet away from the fight.

He shook his head as he pulled himself out of the indent left in the truck, hopping back onto the ground. He briefly considered creating an ice slick behind the stone giant, but he dismissed the thought, as the villain was more than likely too heavy and would just crack it rather than slide. As he looked around, he saw that the monster was being held in place by golden chains.

“I’ll hold him as long as I can. He's off balance, hit him hard!”

Frostbite saw the opportunity immediately and charged at the giant, delivering a single powerful punch to the monster's thigh, caving it in.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Orbit had parked her bike and started to bring her telekinetic power to the forefront as Ditto ran over the plan of attack. It seemed solid. Orbit could pack a punch if necessary, but they were usually hay-makers meant to end a fight. She would be better suited to ending the battle than being in the thick of it, when the opponent was this large. In her head, though, she couldn't help but think about what that one guy had said. There were ten of them versus this stone giant, and yet she could only think of their very first mission over a year ago. They had been overzealous, they had almost killed their opponent... Even though she wasn't entirely sure that one of their new members wasn't a lazy prick, there was a point to what he'd said.

She watched the pitched battle, pressing a button on the side of her goggles. It had taken her months of experimenting and fiddling, but she'd linked her goggles with the heads up display on her bike. Letting her gaze sweep over the bridge, she let her mind work as the goggles gave her information on the threshold of the bridge's cables, the depth and temperature of the water below, the locations of her teammates, and basic readouts on civilians and cops below. It was a lot of info at once, and she flinched slightly as data and digits flashed before her. There would be time to modify it later. Her eye caught something sticking out of Cinderblock's back. She recognized the look of it, and got a running start before she pushed off the bridge into the air. Focusing her telekinetic strength on the knife, she forced it upward, digging it through Cinderblock's stone flesh. Once it had torn a decent hole, she yanked it free with her power and retrieved it. Then she hit the ground running, and got to Fenrir. "Hey, Alpha..." She held the knife out to him, hilt first. "You might need this."

[QT]

Brick/Tintoretto

"Enough!" Tintoretto called out as he started sprinting towards the beast. It had only been a couple minutes ago since all the heroes had been transported to the incident location. At first sight, Tintoretto did not turn towards CInderblock, but the environment. It seemed that his attention was caught by the beauty of the outdoors of Earth. Because he was immediately apprehended as he crash landed, the only thing he remembered from his arrival was being taken to HQ. At times, he still felt like a prisoner though he was claimed a teammate.

But his sight seeing ended when he noticed Frostbite fly pass him and crash against a truck. Tintoretto's eyes turned from the colossal buildings and turned towards the walking rock. Immediately, his eyes seemed to dilate, but it was mere anger that made his pupils pulsate like his beating heart. Blood pumped through his veins as fast as speeding metros and his brain seemed to take in information quicker than before.

Shortly enough, after the attacks of his fellow comrades, Tintoretto charged forward towards - the somewhat chained - Cinderblock. It didn't seem that Gold Head's magic was constraining the enemy enough to prevent his counterattacks. Even with weakened legs, the beast managed to kick vehicles in Tintoretto's general direction, but the Slider managed to evade them. The rolled to the right, dodging the first car, then jumped high into the sky to dodge the second.

His speed increased as he returned to his regular sprint and was managing to get close enough to strike. After Orbit managed to get CInderblock close enough to the edge, Tintoretto made one last rush and burst forth in a complete spinning motion. Soon enough, he clashed against the giant's chest with his brick-hard shell, causing the beast to stumble off the bridge and start free-falling into the water.

Step one had been complete, but Tintoretto didn't seem to enjoy himself enough as he followed Cinderblock off the bridge. He jumped with him and landed on his chest yet again, this time, softly on his forefoot. The Slider pulled out his twin sai and started to cut the rock's chest. He also laughed as he continuously struck Cinderblock, finding battle to be rather amusing to him.

Suddenly he jumped off before Cinderblock could strike and allowed the giant to crash land into the water below. Tintoretto himself managed to dive perfectly into the blue mass. He remained underwater, watching Cinderblock sink a little before he could regain his balance to meet the second group who would kick his ass.

[An Outsider]

Fenrir gave Jin a level look, his gaze, and whatever the thoughts behind it, inscrutable. He took his knife from her, the movement neither rushed nor slow. With a small twirling flourish he thrust the weapon back into it's belted sheathe, all the while his stare was for Jin alone. Then, after the silence between them, a small bubble of peace in the warzone that was going on around them, seemed like it would never end, he spoke.

"This changes little. There shall still be a reckoning for your previous failures." As he spoke there was a screeching of metal and an almighty roar, signifying Tintoretto forcing Cinderblock off the bridge. The Wolfman briefly considered joining the turtle like alien in pressing the attack, but then a helicopter passed into his line of site. A news copter. . .

Fenrir paled at the sight, cursing his own foolishness. Of course there would be reporters here, brining their live news feeds with them, after all was that not what the Pack had watched earlier? The Pack would be plastered across all the news channels and internet already, Fenrir amongst them. Granny and her agents probably knew he was in Star city already, and no doubt the census station he had identified as one of her operations were already rushing themselves to clear the city. He had foolishly revealed himself, and in the process perhaps burned his only lead.

Without another word to Jin or the rest of the Pack he took off at a dead run. Perhaps if he was quick he could arrive at the census station before they managed to escape. As he cleared the police cordon he heard one of the strange smelling officers remark. "Look, the mutts running again. All he's good for."

[Mistress Dizzy]

Orbit stared at Fenrir, trying not to show apprehension. What did he mean, reckoning? Was he going to hurt her, like he did Phil? Before she could respond, she watched Fenrir go into shock at the sight of... something. She scanned the area, looking for another enemy, and while she was doing that, Fenrir bolted. "...the hell?" She spoke into her comm device, sending a message to the rest of the team. "Someone get a read on the Wolfman for me." Without another pause, she took off toward the water, and toward Cinderblock. A gesture of her hand send pink light through her gloves, and her orbs responded with same light. They flew off her belt ahead of her, flying in a atom pattern. Orbit's eyes flared up bright, and she pushed herself forward, skimming over the water. Orb after orb smashed into Cinderblock's head. Her aim was always incredibly accurate, and every orb smashed into the same spot, creating a dent in the side of the monster's square cranium.

[Lord Wraith]

Despite having opted out of the mission to stop Cinderblock, Cal had several of his screens displaying the local news networks whilst he tinkered with the motorcycle engine in his room. Keeping the comm channel open but turning off his mic, Cal was able to listen in on the group's chatter musing to himself while he was able to silently mimic and mock their voices. Turning his attention to the screens, he noted the unusually heavily armored officers looking at the team with disdain.

"Pause live feed four, project at a one to five scale." Cal said as his eyes focused on the armor. Standing up, he began to spin around the three dimensional projection as he magnified the armor, noting the odd technology on the man's neck and around his abdomen. "Computer, prepare a diagnosis. Analyze all possible origins of this technology. Additionally, verify the officers are in fact alive. I just finished my Zombie Apocalypse kit, not quite prepared yet for the Robot Nazi takeover."

Turning his focus back onto the team, Cal watched as Cinderblock toppled into the water before noting a quick discussion between Orbit and Fenrir. Fenrir seemed as grizzly as usual but then something changed. Cal followed his line of sight realizing he was staring right into the news camera before he began to hoof it away from the battle. Something about being recorded set Fenrir off, and if Cal was correct, the team would likely need him around. While Cal wasn't about to join the battle, he could still help from where he was. Activating the interface on his gauntlet, Cal quickly backpacked onto the news' copter's broadcast signals and entered their systems through a backdoor. Overriding the system, Cal cut the broadcast leaving behind a minor virus to slow them down without doing any real damage.

"Heh, let them say I didn't do anything for them." Cal said turning back to the now blank screens as he switched them over to Gateway City broadcasts as he resumed his work.

[RumikoOhara]

Shadow Dancer tumbled part way towards the water still obscuring Cinderblocks vision so he couldn't by chance spot anything to grab which might arrest his fall. She disengaged from her target a second before he impacted the water and hovered above him dispassionately observing his battle a moment with density and displacement.

She then turned her attention to the bridge and drifted up to it's road deck an supports.. While not a trained engineer she did as the owner of a shipping and shipbuilding company have at least a layman's understanding of immense metal structures.

Remaining intangible to move with more ease among the parts of the bridge she appeared to be more a projection of shadow than an actual person.

As she performed her mundane task Fumiko wondered if any of the others felt as impotent as she did at this moment. She was in her own battles a frightening foe but against foes like the one below she was little more than a blindfold. She must become stronger if she were to be a useful member of her chosen team. It would require that she immerse herself for long periods into the Shadow Realm and confront an control or bargain with the powerful dark hearted creatures there.

She could if she wanted summon any creature from the Shadows but once they were loosed on the world of light she couldn't guarantee their good behavior. Within the Shadow world few beings if any dared to oppose her power for in that place where light was alien she was the Shogun of a limitless army for she was the source of that Infinite host.

It was the thought of her army that drew her to think of Ditto as the only person here who might understand what it meant to be a divided being. She smiled as she thought of inviting him to join her for dinner aboard the Typhoon or at her residence. It wasn't romantically that she thought of him but as a friend and equal.

Fumiko as the CEO of a huge corporation had no real friends or equal even though she treated her retainers as such for the most part. No at any time and all to often their's and her position of authority remind each of them of their station in this life.

[Omega Man]

The young heroes on Star Bridge had hit their mark. After the large turtle like Brick knocked the large supercriminal into the water below the second team hit him hard with everything they had. Shock, with her electro magnetism, hurled pieces of shrapnel from the wrecked cars on the bridge while riding her pipe staff. Owlet does what she can with tasers and anything else she has in her utility belt while Frostbite appeared to be making ice shields while also regenerating his frozen armor. Ditto and team one remain on the bridge helping any civilians as the high tech authorities make their way closer to the scene. The Carggite duplicates begin being reabsorbed into the original who's looking just over the edge. As Hellfire took a blast at the behemoth Ditto looked around back up on the bridge and spoted a cement truck and had an idea. As team two pressed the attack it was clear nothing they were doing was going to stop the behemoth despite damaging his rock like exterior.

"OUT OF THE WAY, I NEED THAT CEMENT TRUCK!" Ditto shouted heading towards the vehicle splitting into three people to take the back end off of the rest of the truck.

A few of the enhanced law enforcers looked on with contempt...

As the alien hero began working his way through the cars and crowd with the cement truck held over his many heads like a large basket, team two continued to press the attack with the turtle like Brick emerging from the water to land a few more strikes with his pointed weapons. The joints of the monstrous enemy were now weakened after already taking some serious injury to one arm as well as other strikes from the rest of the team.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" yelled the group of Dittos crashing the still liquid cement container over Cinderblock.

As the liquid seeped into the cracks and joints of the monstrous man the plan was quite obvious now...

"LIGHT HIM UP HELLFIRE!" Ditto screamed one last time reabsorbing his duplicates and jumping/swimming out of the way.

Moments later the black and orange clad vigilante teen from Gotham hardened the cement with his flames immobilizing the threat. The team regrouped below the bridge near the edge of the Star City Bay. News crews began hitting the scene once their equipment started working ever so slightly, making their way past some of the law enforcement who was clearly observing the heroes themselves now. All would be revealed soon.

"Anybody in the mood for pizza?" Shock asked, wondering if they would celebrate their victory like a little league basbeball team at Pizza Hut as the reporters made their way closer to the team and the cocooned villain.

~KL~

[Fearless_2814]

Young Justice HQ

He didn't join in the fight.

It wasn't that he didn't want to; part of him, the part that had been dealing with Billy riding him for the better part of two months, wanted nothing more than to leap into the fray and lay into an enemy of stone, maybe chip away at him a bit and let loose some anger. But he didn't do that. This new team needed its chance to prove itself, to work on their own to accomplish something, not get help from a kid with the powers of a god. As brief as it had been, Robert had had his chance. He needed to step back and allow the next generation to step forward.

Listen to me, sounding like an old man, he chuckles to himself, Canary casting an odd look his way as he swivels in his seat beside her. Without much else to do until Ditto returned to the compound, he'd taken a seat beside her and watched the fight unfold with an eye in the sky. It had been entertaining to say the least, especially the part with the cement truck... he'd laughed out loud at that. More than that, though, this team had some raw talent. That Ditto and Shock had advanced in skill was no surprise to him, they had always been at the head of the pack, but these newbies, however untested, were quickly proving their worth.

He's torn from his internal assessment of the new members by the sound of the monitor room door sliding open, the light blasting a muscled figure from behind so that he can't really see who it is until he steps closer.

"Well, that's one cement truck that'll never piss you off again, eh, Ditto?" He laughs, greeting his friend.

"For somebody with the speed of Mercury, you'd think you would've come around before now! How've you been, Robbie?" Ditto asked, excited to finally be in the same room with his former ally once again.

"Ah, you know how it is, a super-strong criminal here, a killer android there... makes it hard to come out and see the team." Robert replies, "Though Billy running my schedule isn't making it any easier." Just as he's about to rejoin his pity party, he pulls himself back, "But that's a story for another time!" He slings his arm around Ditto's shoulders as easy as breathing, leading him back out the door he just came through, "For now, why don't you show me around, introduce me to the new crew..."

--
*Collab with The Kid Lantern

[Endrance]

"Oh man that pizza smells so good. Should have let me just hide a pie..."Veronica said the last half quietly, as the fumes licked her nose. Best part about fighting a bad guy (with pretty bad ass new teammates) was justifying really unhealthy food. Ditto 2 graciously let her in since she was barely able to see above the 6th pie.

"Hey guys...pizza's here!"She whispered with a huge grin on her face. She set the pizza's down on the counter and shrugged. "Three for you and three for me?" as she opened a box and grabbed a slice. After using all of that energy, she felt like she could eat all six (although her eyes were being bigger than her stomach). All that training really paid off though, it felt amazing not fainting and waking up groggy the next day.

"If I was ever to be religious, it'd probably be to the pizza god. Pizza tastes great, gets delivered in 20 minutes or less, never lets you down and always cheers you up!" Although it was kind of burning her tongue right now. She had to blow in and out while the pizza was still once chewed in her mouth to cool it down. Perfect amount of grease to salt ratio! She put the pizza down for a quick second to grab some water from the fridge and a napkin to wipe the grease off her face. As she did so she stated "You can hunt for the bbq pizza in the stack..."

"You're the best, V..." Ditto2 said with a smile as the original Ditto began showing the new blue clad Capt. Marvel around a bit.

"Pizza?" Phil's eyes widened at the familiar grease-stained cardboard boxes. "I haven't had pizza in forever. Did you get supreme?" Phil dug through the boxes, looking for his favorite. "Mmmm and BBQ chicken too? You're the best! " Phil felt like Veronica wasn't even listening to him. Ditto 2 seemed likewise occupied, so Phil decided now was as good of a time as any to meet his new teammates. Swallowing his anxiety, he called out, "Hey, uh, new guy! What kind do you want?"

"Hawaiian with no ham, double bacon and added chicken." Cal said strolling into the room, his lower arms covered in engine grease. "See the battle went alright for you. Didn't kill anyone I see, that's always good." Cal walked up to the kitchen sink as he began to rinse his arms off turning to look at the stack of the pizza. "Oh, you've already ordered. That's unfortunate." He mumbled helping himself to the first slice he saw as he leaned up against a counter and looked at the gathered crew. The alien, the 'magician', the sister of Static, all senior team members. Cal was among the first of the new crew to venture into the kitchen it would seem as he looked around.

"No surprises out there I take it?" He added with a mouth full of pizza as he opened the fridge in search of a drink.

"We keep a separate fridge for the drinks, Cal! It's the one over to the left side of the kitchen, everything is in cans or bottles already..." Ditto2 said looking up while making faces at Shock while also eating pizza.

--
Collab with: KL, Ruirik, Endrance, LordWraith

[Fearless_2814]

"...the War Room is pretty much the same as it was. Only the upper part of the HQ was damaged during the fight with Deathstroke. Or Bronze Tiger. Whatever you wanna call that guy..." Ditto1 explained as they walked past the elevator leading down to the War Room level of the headquarters.

"Hey, your call on what you call the guy; it was before my time anyway..." Robbie tries not to let his words sound bitter, but a part of him can't help it. He still laments that he missed out on more of an experience with the team, "Anyway, it seems you guys have upgraded a bit since the last time I was around. I'm impressed."

"It's all thanks to Billy and the Flash really, back when Billy was still the one wearing the cape. We have a couple spare rooms, and I thought about asking Canary if we could have like a 'Hall of Fallen Heroes' shrine or something. Maybe statues or plaques with pictures of Red Nova, Patriot, Plas, Cyber, and Apollo..." Ditto1 started to suggest, "How've things been back in Boston?" the young hero with the glowing green eyes asked.

Robbie pauses, as if lost in thought, and then shrugs nonchalantly, "It's fine. According to Billy, I've got a new Monster Society to look forward to. Lately though Billy's been riding me pretty hard. More training, talking down to me like I'm some dumb kid... he was Captain Marvel when he was 10, and he's giving me crap!" Any mirth that Robbie had once felt is gone from him now, an inadvertent airing of pent-up resentment overtaking him, "I mean, what do I have to do to get him to wake up and realize he isn't Captain Marvel anymore, I am! I undertook the trials, I earned the right! I..." Robbie stops when he realizes he's rambling, and Ditto openly staring at him isn't exactly a subtle clue.

"...Sorry."

"It's cool Rob, it's like a right of passage for most heroes with mentors. I'm just glad there was never a Multiple Man running around in Metropolis..." the Carggite responded with a little laugh, "Superman knew I was a stranger in a strange land and got me in on this Young Justice program early on. Back on Cargg I never thought twice I'd ever be considered a hero. Let alone get the power upgrade I did. It's so strange having more than two duplicates..."

"...that up there's the new Meeting Room. The League thought it'd be good to have most of the HQ visible from up one spot and that's it. Should we get a room ready for you or...?" Ditto1 asked not knowing where the young Marvel stood as far as being a member of the team again.

Robbie feels like his stomach is about to drop out from under him, "Actually, that's kinda what I'm here to talk to you about. ...Can I get your opinion on something?" He asks, his tone becoming hushed as if it were some secret what he was about to say.

"What's up?" the alien responded.

"Superman came to me a few days ago." Robert sighs, "He offered me League membership."

"...Seriously?" Ditto1 asked raising his eyebrow.

"I know, right? I can barely believe it myself..." He drops his head down, "I don't know if I can do it, Kilian.

"You're one of the toughest humans I've met, Rob. And one of the most honest. I'm sure you'll do great. And if not we've always got room for one more..." Ditto1 said jokingly at the end.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Kilian." Robert grins, his face quickly falling, "But... but what if they just feel sorry for me? Y'know, because of Billy... what if this is all because of him losing his spot? What if I'm not good enough and I screw up... in front of Superman no less?!" His shoulders slump.

"Superman isn't the type to look down on somebody for making mistakes. He told me once you can never learn from them if you don't make them." Kilian said sternly and to the point.

"Yeah, that sounds like Superman." The blue-clad hero said.

"The Flash called Superman a big boyscout. But I don't know why Superman would go out looking for boys..." Ditto1 commented oblivious to all of Earth's customs even still.

Robert breaks down laughing at that, beside himself at just how alien Kilian really is. He's gasping for air, nearly falling over by the time he gets a handle on himself, his face reddened, "Oh man, and here I thought you got all serious after that Cadmus run-in." He pats Kilian on the shoulder, "Who says you don't have a sense of humor anymore?"

Robbie takes a moment, "...So, you think I should accept?"

--
*Collab w/ The Kid Lantern

[Exodus]

Orbit parked her cycle in the garage and stowed her helmet. She shed her gear on the way to her room, and ruffled her helmet hair back into it's usual wildness. After throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a top with a cartoon cat on it, she headed toward the scent of pizza and celebration.

"Please tell me someone got pineapple." Even though Jin would eat anything, she had a fondness for the sweet and tangy beauty of a well-done Hawaiian pizza. Her stomach was already roaring, begging for food in a way that made her ears ring. It made her realize that she hadn't trained hard enough in the interim. Sure, she'd been throwing a lot of power around, but for it to drain her this hard and make her this hungry? It wasn't a good sign. She really needed to step it up, especially with so many new people.

Opening a box and snagging the first, largest slice she saw, she started to eat with a sigh of contentment and a lot of lip smacking.

Beck tossed the damp mask into a hamper in his closet as he walked out of his room, the door closing behind him. Sure, the whole ice monster deal looked cool, but it soaked his costume... That said, it would inevitably end up freezing back over quickly... He'd thrown on some jeans and a black t-shirt, his standard casual clothes.

As it would happen, punching giant rock monsters makes one pretty hungry. His stomach growled as he approached the kitchen. He stopped, and took in the scent; someone ordered pizza. He strolled into the room, glancing at the boxes. He casually lifted one open to check the toppings, and seemed pleased. He grabbed a plate from the cabinet before grabbing a slice himself. He couldn't help but feel that it was a little too unhealthy, though, prompting him to grab one of his stalks of celery from his bag in the fridge.

Jin let her gaze sweep the room in a lazy way. Fenrir hadn't returned, which was okay with her. She didn't know what he planned to do to her, and she wanted to be fully prepared. Or at least full. Gabe hadn't shown up yet. That was disappointing. She had missed him, and realhad missed him, and really wanted to catch up.

Watching some of the new members mingling with the old ones, she figured she might need to at least attempt to be social. Her gaze stopped on a taller, lean guy, who had a pizza in one hand and a taller, lean guy, who had a pizza in one hand and a stalk of celery in the other. Her mouth opened, and she meant to say hi.

"You know that's useless, right?" was what fell out of her mouth instead. Wincing internally, she figured she had to at least finish what she'd started. Gesturing to the celery, she continued. "That crap's got nothing to offer. No carbs, no protein, no taste... You might as well eat cardboard."

--Collabs between Ex and Mistress Dizzy--

[Mistress Dizzy]

Beck looked to the girl that criticized his celery. He didn't really seem to be fazed by the comment, instead replying,

"Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calms my nerves, and it stops me from eating more of that delicious junk." He gestured to the pizzas with the stalk. "Besides, the actual good stuff comes later when I actually get to working out... Fight wasn't much to recover from." He gave a sly smile. "Name's Beck. Or, Frostbite... I'm the snowman."

Jin shook her head a bit. "If you want vitamins, have an orange. It tastes better, has more vitamins, and you don't make that awful crunching noise." But then she shrugged. "I'm Jin. Orbit. I was the one with all the pink and.. well, orbs." Taking another large bite of pizza, she scratched the back of her neck in a sort of shy way. "I'm more used to taking down opponents that are closer to my size. At least double or less. That guy did a number on me. Guess I'm out of practice, because I am starving." As if to demonstrate, she started gnawing on the crust of her second slice.

He raised an eyebrow. "An orange... With pizza?.. Sounds like a stomach bomb to me." He'd finished the stalk and started on his own slice at that point. He figured he would keep the meal light so he could train sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be enjoyable at all on a full stomach. "Nice to meet you, then, Jin." He folded the slice in half, before another small smile pulled at one side of his lips. "Won't be that long before you're back into the swing of things, I'm sure."

"Yeah. I'll get there." Her gaze shifted off, as she thought. She had to meet the one team member who had a power that could scare the crap out of her. Just great. "So, uh... can you eat that pizza like it is, or does it get cold really quick if you touch it?" Maybe if she knew for sure that he had a really solid control over his power, she could feel less terrified about it.

"Weeeeeeeell," he started, as he bit his lip, "I mean, I can finish it before it gets cold, yeah. My body temperature is just lower, is all, so it gets cold faster when I hold it." He grinned. "That said, my drinks never get warm. It was pretty rough when I first got them, though. My powers, I mean. Froze everything I touched for a couple weeks." He shrugged. "Guess it could have been worse."

"Ah." She grinned faintly. "My powers came out early, but they hit a nasty upswing when I was like... 14ish. I could barely walk into a room without everything that wasn't tied down starting to circle around my head. It sucked... I got it under control really quick, mostly because I couldn't build anything with my powers messing up my toolkit."

He almost laughed. "I had a really rough time with drinks, so I had to live off hot chocolate and hot tea so I didn't freeze them solid.... Good times..." He looked down briefly, before picking his head back up. "Not really, it was pretty awful. Suppose that's how it was for most of us though." He set aside the now-empty plate on the counter behind him where he stood.

Jin nodded, though her gaze was vague. She didn't really remember discovering her powers, and didn't have anyone left who could tell her when she started. Even so, she'd had enough of a time hiding her power on the streets.

"Well, I've got some quick work to do before I can relax today, so I'm gonna have to take care of that now." He smiled as he walked out of the kitchen. "I'll seeya 'round." He headed immediately back to his room to start preparing himself for his training.

"Yeah. See ya." Jin grinned after him, but the smile faded after his back was turned. Reflexively, she hugged herself and rubbed her arms briskly. She was cold.

[An Outsider]

Grannie's census station, ironically once a postal office, was situated inside Orchid Bay, downtown Star City. It was now owned publically by Adam's and O'Neil Accounting, but Carter had discovered the business was a front for Grannies organisation. There was never usually more than a dozen people working in the building at any given time, but today it was unusual quiet. Fenrir just prayed he could find one, but as his search of the premises continued he was beginning to loose hope. Only one room left, the executive office. His pace began to pick up as he approached the office door, the smell of man-flesh coming from it was strong and fresh, and his excitement for the hunt grew.

A swift kick to the lock broke the doors off their hinges with a satisfying crash, revealing an opulent looking office. Oak desk, comfortable leather chairs, wide bay windows, the works. The only thing looking out of place was the portly, sweating, balding, Caucasian man in the expensive suit behind the desk, his fingers hammering away at the computer in front of him. He released a small whimper as the doors crashed open, sparing Fenrir a short glance before returning to his work, no doubt tasked with deleting sensitive information before the feral meta arrived. To bad for him he was slow. The Wolf-man stormed into the room, stomping around the desk quickly and spinning the executive towards him, delivering a bone crunching headbut into the mans nose. A pained shriek was torn from the man's mouth as his nose burst in a fountain of blood, and he would have slipped to the ground if Fenrir hadn't snatched at his shirt collar, pulling him up right just to deliver him two swift gut punches.

"Please. . ." The man wheezed as Fenrir heaved him upright again. "No. . . more". The meta snarled in his face, feeling no pity or remorse. This man worked for Gretta Tante, he knew it, he could smell it on him. Gretta's agent's were unworthy of pity. The Wolfman heaved the chubby office worker up, flipping him over his shoulder and throwing him bodily into a book case. The case shattered under the executive's weight, the shelves collapsing and dumping heavy books and case ledgers onto his head. Before he even had time to stop the spinning in his head Fenrir was on him again, pressing a heavy boot into the executive's throat.

"You wish for mercy? You are prey, and the predator shows the prey no mercy! Your leader taught me that, with her knives and experiments, her cages and drugs, her tests and her tortures. Tell me where she is and I shall grant you sweet relief. Choose silence and your pain will be immense!" This was a long sentence for the usually taciturn Magnus, and he found himself shouting the end of it. Granny and all things connected to her always had this effect on him. The executive began to whimper something, so quiet Magnus had to lean in to hear him properly.

"The. . . Computer. . . Look. . . At. . . it" The man whimpered. Tears tracked down his flabby cheeks then, and pitiful sobs wracked his body. Fenrir backed up, the man's display of weakness startling him somewhat. Grannies calibre of agent was usually more resilient than that. Still, it was no more than he deserved, as someone who knowingly and wilfully helped that crone kidnapped and brainwash children. The Wolfman turned to the computer, eyes widening in shock at the screen. There on the screen, with the iron grey hair pulled back into a severe bun, the horn rimmed spectacles gracing a hooked nose, the smoky blue eyes that seemed to take measure of him a find him wanting, was Gretta Tante.

"Guten tag Magnus, or is it Fenrir now? I do so love the colourful codenames you children all pick for yourselves." Her voice was calm and melodious, soothing in an almost hypnotic manner, the friendly tones completely at odds with her intimidating appearance. Fenrir took a step towards the screen, recovering his composure slightly.

"You've been looking for me, I gather? I'm afraid you must wait for a while longer my dear. I am very cross with you, you see, and before we reconvene I must take some time to calm myself. You and your friend, Hellfire, have been causing me no end of headaches since last we crossed paths, so much so that I've been forced to seek some foreign aid. A group well versed in dealing with costumed nuisance's like you two"

As she spoke Fenrir became aware of several sets of footsteps in the corridor outside, an unfamiliar scent accompanying them. He looked up from the screen to the door to see several dark garbed warriors enter. There was at least eight of them, with more awaiting in the hallway. Each was wearing exotic looking battle armour, with black full faced masks, while covered in knives, shurikens, swords, chains and all other kinds of outdated armaments. The Wolf told him they would know how to use them though, taking note of the fluid grace to their movements and the confident way the held themselves. They had a look of the wild to them.

"They call themselves the League of Shadows, and their leader has agreed to work with my little organisation." His attention was dragged back to Granny. "I will not deceive you Magnus, I doubt you will survive this encounter. A shame really, for I so hoped for you to see what I had planned for your friends, new and old, led by that Cargitte who Cadmus so foolishly allowed to slip out their fingers. Oh well, what's done is done, or at the very least shall soon be done. I'm sure you can use your imagination as to what awaits them in the limited time you have left. Know that I shall give special attention to Hellfire."

Gretta seemed like she was going to log off, but seemed to think better of it just to slide in one last parting shot, her controlled features splitting into a visage of pure hate and rage .

"You really should have stayed the fuck out of my way you stupid mutt!" The screen blinked black, the only sounds now being the sobbing coming from the executive in the corner. Fenrir slowly scanned the assassins entering the room, at least a dozen now, as they spread out in a half circle around him. As one they drew their weapons, a symphony of metal rasping against leather. The Wolfman pulled his knife, holding it in an under arm stance. The assassins began to close in, Fenrir breathing heavily through his nose as they approached, snorting faster and faster in anticipation of the fight ahead.

Perhaps Gretta was right, perhaps these strange men would be the end of him. Perhaps not. Only one thing was certain. One way or another, this would end bloody.

With a snarl he vaulted the desk and charged at the centre of the assassins, the black garbed men responding with a charge of their own.

And the Wolf howled.

[RumikoOhara]

Shadow Dancer felt a bit of a let down when Cinderblock was defeated because she couldn't shake the feeling that her part in the fight was acting as nothing more than a distraction. She was a member of the team because she sought fame and glory, she had joined in the hope that she could be a force good. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was an outsider tolerated by them for reasons she couldn't fathom.

As the others left the bridge she faded into the shadows and drifted back towards the team's Head Quarters. She waited for a bit for the others to assemble before stepping from the shadows and into the recreation room. She had unfinished work to do so she summoned two warriors and had them aid in wiring up the video game system and Kareoke machine. It only took her and her servants a few minutes to add them in and run a check to see everything was operational.

Dismissing the two shadow warriors Fumiko considered leaving and returning home but some inner voice bid she stay. Always aware of the importance of the mystical nature of intuition she listened. So she looked around herself and decided that she'd have a seat and activate one of her favorite fighting games. It was called "The Heart of War" and it revolved around the story of a young woman named Akane who was kidnapped by the Monkey King and asked to participate in the Heavenly games.

How many hours had she spent playing this game when she was alone in one of her houses, one of her ships or one of her planes. She actually thought once of buying the franchise rights but reconsidered when she checked the numbers. She had invited the creators of the game to her home in Tokyo and spent the day chatting with them and even gained their promise of receiving their next game before anyone else.

As she played she was amused by the fact that the game she was playing was a product of varied lights collected on the screen and completely under her control. She was by this time an expert at the most secret moves the game had.