Chapter 27: 23a In Young Justice (The Animated Series) Part One

On the Fourth of July, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Green Arrow, along with their respective proteges Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Speedy, defeated various villains with ice powers. The proteges then tell their mentors how important the day is to them, because today was the day they would be inducted into the Justice League.

Later, they all go to the Hall of Justice in Washington DC, so that the proteges could be granted complete access to the Hall and officially inducted into the Justice League by Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado. The mentors stepped out for a discussion of the day's events and Speedy decided that he has had enough with the League and media disregarding them as only sidekicks.

Speedy revealed to the other young heroes that the Hall of Justice was only a front for the League's real headquarters that was on a space station in orbit, then he left. The three remaining young heroes felt disbelief about their mentors, because they had kept such big things from them.

While they were in shock over the revelation, Superman contacted the mentors about a fire at Project Cadmus and Batman mentioned how he always had suspicions about the place. As he considered using the opportunity to investigate the private business, the magic user Zatara contacted the League for their full support to help him stop an evil sorcerer called Wotan from blotting out the sun.

With the large looming threat that needed to be handled, the mentors decided to let the fire department handle the fire and focused on stopping Wotan. The heroes left after they ordered the young heroes to stay put. Robin quickly suggested the three of them investigate Project Cadmus for the League and they could prove that they were ready for full membership and not 'Junior League' status.

The other two agreed and the trio set off and soon arrive at Cadmus Labs. They easily saved the scientists from the fire and subsequently discovered an army of genetically engineered creatures used as weapons by Cadmus. They also encountered the Cadmus head of security named Guardian, who was being mind-controlled by the genomorphs, and he attacked them with deadly force.

After a narrow escape, the three young heroes hid inside a seemingly unused room and discovered Project Kr, which was a teenage clone of Superman engineered by Cadmus and floated inside a fluid-filled tank. The trio broke the being out of his fluid tank and tried to explain to him what was going on. Kr was confused by everything, because it was the genomorphs that normally fed him information.

They were soon discovered and then easily captured by security guards and the head of Cadmus Labs, Dr. Mark Desmond. Afterwards, Desmond contacted the Cadmus board of directors to ask what to do with the young heroes. They ordered him to clone them and to get rid of the originals. He was initially reluctant to do so, until he was reminded of his research and they threatened to have his funding cut.

Meanwhile, the young heroes were awoken by a disembodied voice in their heads, only to discover themselves strapped into pods similar to the one the clone had been in. They weren't covered in fluid yet, however. They also saw that the clone was in a trance and surrounded by other alien-like creatures.

For some unknown reason, the teenage Superman clone suddenly regained consciousness from the genomorph's mind control. He explained to them that he was Superboy, a successful clone of Superman, that was created to either replace him if he were killed or to kill him if he went rogue.

Upon hearing this, the three young heroes offered him a chance of freedom from Cadmus and to meet Superman himself, if he freed them. Before Superboy could make his decision, he was suddenly mind-controlled again and told to return to his pod while the young heroes were subjected to the painful cloning process.

Despite being mind controlled and down the hallway, Superboy still heard the three heroes as they screamed in pain and also heard Aqualad tell him that he had the right to make his own choices before he asked him a very important question.

“What would Superman do?” Aqualad managed to say before he screamed and was subjected to electric shocks.

Superboy listened to their torture for nearly half a minute before he decided to rescue them and fought against his mind control. The small genomorphs controlling him yelped in pain and collapsed. With the loss of the controlling influence, Superboy attacked the larger genomorphs around him and the head of security, Guardian.

He ran back to the clone room and easily defeated Desmond and smashed the control console to turn off the cloning program. When the electric shocks and the screaming stopped, Superboy went to each pod and tore the front off of them. All four of them.

The last one was actually filled with fluid like Superboy's had been and something fell out of the flow of liquid onto the floor. The splat sound it made was not a normal one.

Superboy paused in his rescue to stare down at whatever it was. “Hey, you three! Who's your friend?”

Robin was the first to recover from the torture and unsteadily rose to his feet. He walked over to Superboy and looked down at the body. “I don't know who that is.”

“There's someone else down here?” Kid Flash asked, surprised.

“Apparently.” Aqualad said in his monotone voice and walked over as well. He knelt and carefully flipped the body over and stared at the disfigured face. “It feels like he does not have any bones.”

“He also looks like crap.” Kid Flash added as he zoomed over.

Robin nodded and knelt to check the man over with his hands. “He has multiple healing contusions from head to foot and massive bruising over most of his body.” His fingers poked a few choice places. “It's almost like all of his bones have been broken somehow. His missing arm has been cauterized just below the shoulder, too.”

“This guy's been in a serious fight.” Kid Flash suggested.

“I wonder how long he has been here?” Aqualad asked.

Robin looked over at the console and saw the controls were smashed. “It looks like we're not going to find out this way.”

“I had to stop it from frying you.” Superboy defended himself.

“Hey, no worries!” Kid Flash said enthusiastically and gave him a thumbs-up gesture. “We should take Shredded Wheat here with us. When he wakes up, maybe he can tell us what's going on.”

“Assuming he knows.” Robin said and knelt to check the man's pulse. “Even though he looks and feels like raw hamburger, he's somehow still alive.”

“Should we pick him up if he's all squishy?” Kid Flash asked as Aqualad grabbed a piece of one of the pods that was big enough for them to carry. “Won't it do more damage?”

“We can't just leave him here.” Robin said and helped put the unconscious man onto the makeshift stretcher.

“We will have to go slow if two of us are going to carry this thing.” Aqualad said.

“Only one at a time.” Robin said. “We can also drop him to attack and defend as we make our way out of here.”

“That is tactically advisable.” Aqualad agreed.

“Then let's go! This place is giving me the creeps!” Kid Flash exclaimed.

“You're on point, so scout ahead and let us know what's coming. We need to get out of here before any more of those creatures show up.” Robin said and Kid Flash nodded agreement. “Superboy, you're our heavy hitter. If anything appears and tries to stop us, punch their faces in. We don't have time for any long drawn out fights.”

Superboy nodded and Kid Flash ran out of the room. Robin pulled a lab coat off of Dr. Desmond, who woke up and loudly protested them leaving. Robin ignored him and draped the coat over the unconscious man while Aqualad picked up one end of the makeshift stretcher. Robin tossed several explosive batarangs at the pods to destroy them as Aqualad dragged the stretcher out of the room.

Desmond went to the intercom and ordered the activation of all the genomorphs in the facility to track down the heroes that he was desperate to not let escape.

*

“Uhhhhh.” I groaned and felt all of the damage I had suffered before leaving the last world. My exit from there had been a horrible one. I had also felt a taffy-like and slightly sticky texture, as if the world was reluctant to let me go. It had been an odd feeling, that was for sure.

I immediately started my prismatic regeneration and attempted to cast several healing spells on my organs. Thankfully, they worked and I groaned with relief. It meant whatever this world was, it would let me fix myself fairly quickly.

“Shh! We're trying to stay quiet and sneak out of here without getting caught!” A young voice harshly whispered from above my head.

“I'm sorry.” I whispered back after healing my tongue and lamented about my eyes being sliced apart. I couldn't do anything about that until I checked the bacta I could create, which I couldn't do in mixed company. “I'm kind of in pain here.”

“Kind of?” The voice asked, surprised.

I was shifted around on something and pulled into a room.

“Okay, we're secured.” A second voice said after a metallic click was heard. A gloved hand touched my neck and checked my pulse. “Why aren't you screaming in pain?”

“I've been hurt worse.” I said and heard several sounds of disbelief.

“Mister, you look like ground beef.” The first voice said.

“That kind of happens when a thousand pieces of hardened obsidian explode in your face.”

There was complete silence for several seconds before someone started cursing under their breath.

“That doesn't explain most of your bones being broken.” The second voice said.

I debated saying anything as an explanation, then decided it didn't matter. I needed time to heal up and I also needed to know where I was. “Have you ever been hit by a six foot wide and twenty foot tall tree that a giant used like a baseball bat?” I asked and he fell silent. “I was the ball.”

There was more cursing close by.

“How can you not be dead?” A third and cultured male voice asked.

“I've been hit by worse things.” I admitted. Like a comet and a nuclear bomb.

“Geez, man! Who the hell are you?” The first voice asked.

Once again, I debated answering with the truth, then mentally shrugged. “My name is John Hansen.”

There were several light beeping noises from beside me for a few moments.

“There are fifteen listings for John Hansen in the country's phone registry.” The second voice informed us.

“How many in Kansas?” I asked, just out of curiosity.

“One.” The second voice responded. “Is that you?”

“You're a long way from home if it is.” The first voice interrupted before I could refuse to answer.

“Where are we?” I asked instead.

“Washington DC.”

“Definitely far from home.” I commented and I was very tempted to reach out for the Force. I remembered what happened the last time and decided to not try it until I was healed. I was in no shape to survive if anything bad happened.

“How did you get here?” The second voice asked.

“That is a good question.” I said. “Was there any kind of explosions or odd phenomenon near where I was?”

“Unless you mean from inside a cloning pod, no.” A fourth voice said and sounded a little angry.

“A cloning pod?” I asked, curious. I knew for a fact that I couldn't make copies of myself, thanks to my inherent powers, so there was no chance that someone else could make a clone of me.

“You didn't know?” The first voice asked.

“How would I if I was inside a pod?” I asked and he didn't answer. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I'm Wally W...”

“KID FLASH!” The second voice yelled and cut him off.

I could almost feel the wince from the poor kid being scolded.

“Ah, yeah. I'm Kid Flash.” The first voice said, sheepishly.

I wasn't sure if I knew anything about him and was about to dive into my Halls of Memory when the second voice spoke.

“I'm Robin.”

“Aqualad.” The cultured voice said.

“Superboy.” The fourth voice added and sounded annoyed.

Those names made me flinch. No matter how old you were, certain names just stuck in your head. Names like Batman and Robin, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The implications of them were almost mind boggling.

With my brain going on that runaway train of thought, other names started propagating in my mind. The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. Then on and on it went with Green Arrow, Black Canary, different Green Lanterns, Supergirl, Plastic Man, Hawkgirl, Red Tornado, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Firestorm, Blue Beetle, and a whole bunch more.

“Hey, man. Are you all right?” Kid Flash asked me.

“I... I don't...” I stopped talking and took a long stuttering breath. “I think I might pass out.”

“You have every right to.” Aqualad agreed.

“I think the only reason you're conscious is because your head somehow wasn't pulverized.” Robin said.

“Y-yeah, lucky me.” I said and cast several diagnostic spells on myself. I was a mess. There were still hundreds of tiny obsidian shards left inside my body, which was probably why I wasn't healing as quickly as I should have. I had to concentrate on them and then started vanishing them.

“What are you doing?” Aqualad asked.

Oops. I thought. He must be some kind of magic user and felt it. “I'm trying to remove the shards trapped in my organs, muscles, and bones. I can't heal properly with them in the way.”

“How are you doing that?” Robin asked. “Healing, I mean.”

“I'm not. I just said why I can't.”

Robin sighed. “No, I mean how will you heal after you've removed them?”

“Several ways, which I don't really have to hide, considering who you people are.” I said and created a dermal stripper and the picture guide. “If one of you would be so kind to tear the malformed skin from over my burst eyes, I would be forever grateful.”

Kid Flash cursed from right beside me.

“I'm not even going to ask where that came from.” Robin said and I felt both items be removed from my chest. A couple of minutes later, I felt my eyelids be sheared off. Whatever that fluid had been, it had messed up my normal healing process for however long I had been in there.

“Thank you.” I said and formed a needle of bacta on my chest. “Can you tell me what color this is?”

“Bright blue.” Robin said. “In fact, it's fairly dark in here and it's still bright blue.”

“Wonderful!” I exclaimed, because that meant it was going to be extremely effective. “Please inject it directly into my eyes!”

“He's crazy! I don't want to see that!” Kid Flash shouted and suddenly there was a thump as he apparently bounced off of a wall or something. “Ow!”

“He just tried to run away inside a small room, didn't he?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Yes.” Aqualad said with amusement in his voice.

“Don't make me laugh. This is delicate work.” Robin said and I could hear him fighting to not laugh.

I felt the cool fluid in my left eye socket and counted the seconds in my head. Barely five seconds later, my eye reformed and Robin sucked in a sharp breath. My only working eye turned to look at him.

“That looks so gross.” Robin muttered.

“Here's a dermal regenerator.” I said and the device and the instructions appeared on my chest. “Run it along my eyelids and get the healing started.”

Robin read the instructions for a couple of minutes and then did as I asked.

“We're wasting a lot of time here.” Superboy said. “I can hear them searching for us.”

“Brace the door with something or use your heat vision and melt the door casing.” I suggested.

“That won't hold them for long.” Superboy said and didn't move from standing near me to shoot red beams at the door.

“It'll be long enough.” I said and boosted my healing with several spells. My eyelids grew back a couple of seconds later and Robin stared at me. “The other eye, please.”

“Right.” Robin said and repeated both procedures and I had two working eyes.

“Robin? Can you strip off the scar tissue?” I asked and formed several cases of needles on the floor beside me. “Aqualad? Can you start injecting me all over?”

Kid Flash cursed again when Robin moved the doctor's coat off of me.

“I'm sorry, Kid Flash. This is going to be messy.” I said and nodded to Robin.

“I can't believe I'm doing this.” Robin said and started to liberally use the dermal stripper as I asked.

Aqualad was pretty diligent in giving me injections in each spot after Robin did his work. I had to tell him to give me a few deep injections where my bones were. I cast several realignment spells to let the bones sit into the proper spots as well, just in case.

It only took ten minutes for the grizzly part of the work to be done and I had Aqualad give me a dozen shots into the stump on my arm. I also saw the look that Robin gave the two devices he had used.

“I'm tempted to let you keep them for helping me.” I said and Robin gave me raised eyebrows, as if he thought he could stop me. “I can take them back whenever I want.”

Robin blinked his eyes as the two things disappeared from his hands. “Dammit.”

I chuckled and formed them on my chest again. “I want a share of the patents when you bring them to Batman and he reverse engineers them. Or has a team do it. Whatever is quicker.”

Robin nodded and tucked them into pockets inside his boots. “That's fair.”

“I am done.” Aqualad said and put the last needle into my foot. “How long until you are healthy enough to move?”

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

“They're coming.” Superboy said, unnecessarily. “They're still down the hallway.”

“How are they making that much noise and they are that far away?” Kid Flash asked.

“They are probably huge.” Aqualad offered and covered me with the lab coat again.

“I'd say a ton or more each.” I added and they looked at me. “I have a lot of experience with large creatures.”

“We can get your life story later.” Robin said and stood as the sounds of squeals and chittering were heard passing the door. “I'll repeat Aqualad's question. How long?”

I cast several detection spells on myself. “Maybe another ten minutes. Bones take longer to heal and settle than flesh does. The arm's the main thing that I'd like to get back before I move.”

“We don't have ten minutes.” Superboy said as several of the large bangs happened right outside the door.

There was a bit of grinding as someone tried to open the door with the numberpad. Since it was a sliding door, there was no handle or anything for the creatures to use for leverage.

“We're sitting ducks in here.” Kid Flash said.

“I'd offer to help, except my body can't take the recoil.” I said and then realized what I said. I laughed and formed a plasma rifle from Starship Troopers beside me and the manual on my chest. “Robin, have you ever handled a plasma rifle before?”

“No, but I've handled Dr. Freeze's heavy ice cannon.” Robin said with a grin and picked up the manual. He flipped through the operations part fairly quickly and then checked the gun over.

I walked him through the activation and firing sequence and told him how to use the underslung stun gun, just as the metal door of the room creaked.

“Can I have a gun, too?” Kid Flash asked.

“No.” Robin, Aqualad and I said at the same time.

“Dammit.” Kid Flash said and I chuckled. They must have told him that a lot, considering the smiles on their faces.

Three large fingertips pushed through the top of the door and hooked the edge before it started to pull.

“Anytime now.” Superboy said.

“I'm putting it on the lowest setting.” Robin said and did so, raised it to eye level and aimed at the fingers, then fired. A triple shot flew across the minuscule distance and chewed right through all three large fingers.

“AWOOOO!” The creature howled and the hand disappeared from sight.

“Robin!” Kid Flash gasped as there were a lot of screams and chittering heard through the hole.

“It's the lowest setting!” Robin defended himself.

“It is.” I said from my spot on the floor. “He'll have to turn it up to use the beam function.”

The four of them stared at me.

“What? It works just like Superman's heat vision. Tap the trigger for short bursts and hold for the beam. It drains the fusion battery pretty fast doing the beam, though.”

“You... made a gun... that duplicates...”

I chuckled. “No, it's not a Kryptonian power duplication ray or something similar. It's a plasma weapon that's as hot as the surface of the sun and it takes a lot of power to run it.”

“Then why...”

“It can be used for the same things, obviously.” I said and felt myself almost inflating. I cast another diagnostic spell on myself and nodded mentally. I was almost done. “The grenades are awesome.”

“G-g-grenades.” Kid Flash whispered.

“You haven't seen real destruction until you make a hundred foot wide crater with a single grenade.” I said with a smile.

“You really are crazy.” Robin said and started to put the gun down.

“You're probably going to need that.” I said as more loud bangs started on the walls and the door. A small head appeared on the other side of the hole and the creature hissed at us.

“I'm switching to stun.” Robin said and aimed and shot. The creature easily ducked.

“Do you have any other bright ideas?” Superboy asked me.

“Tons.” I said and then caught my breath. My entire body stiffened as my prismatic regeneration finished and I felt a lot more power flow through me than normal. My skin glowed gold for several seconds and my Chi energy churned and swirled as it flowed along and then settled. I hadn't realized how limited I had been on the last few worlds. It was a total rush to feel myself fill up like that.

“I think you are healed.” Aqualad said and stepped back from me.

“You better believe it.” I said and used a spell to fix my sheared off hair to give myself a styled normal cut, changed the color to dirty blonde, and formed the hero suit around me that I had made back in the Thor universe when I was pretending to be a villain.

It was a costume that was similar to Superman's old style, only without a cape. I had also changed the chest symbol to an 'H' instead of an 'S' and made the main costume color white instead of blue. I also left off the external underwear and kept the slim yellow belt and red boots. The pockets in the belt were expanded with magic, too.

Surprisingly, it was very similar to Superboy's current outfit, except he didn't have the belt or red boots. I threw off the lab coat and stood up to my full height of six feet and took a moment to stretch and flex my fully reformed muscles. I hadn't felt this good in a very long time and glanced around the room, only to see all four young men as they stared at me.

“I can redesign my base costume later.” I said and walked over to the door as I cast 100 Strength, Toughness, and Speed spells on myself using my lands. I never knew there was a limit to how many I could cast on myself. Good to know.

“What are you doing?” Robin asked and held the plasma gun at the ready.

“I'm going to get my mad on.” I said and gripped the center of the door with my left hand. “It's time that someone else feels my frustration about my lot in life.”

The four of them stared as I tore the door out from the wall with the sound of wrenching metal. The piles of creatures on the other side of the door stared at me as I tossed the door aside and it embedded into the wall.

“I'll try to not be too rough with you.” I said and grinned as I cracked my knuckles.

“EEEEP!” They all screamed at the same time, even the ten foot tall creatures, before I waded into them.

I did rabbit punches, front kicks, karate chops, scissor kicks, roundhouse punches, uppercuts, bicycle kicks, mule kicks, knees to the back, elbows to the sides and throats, backhands to the head, shoves into walls, throws into the ceiling, headbutts to the faces, and finally a loud echoing clap to stun them and light taps to their temples to knock them all out.

It took less than five seconds.

I walked back over to the room the teenagers were in and they hadn't stopped staring at me. “Are you ready to go?”

“What... what... what...” Kid Flash muttered and then he yelled. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?”

“That was me kicking ass.” I said and the alarms started blaring.

“I got this.” Robin said and plugged his gauntlet into the wall panel beside the door.

“You know they probably aren't connected.” I said.

Robin gave me a crooked smile and his gauntlet beeped at him. “I'm in.”

I chuckled. “Right, super-smart idiots.”

Robin winked at me and started typing one handed on a holographic keyboard.

“If you don't already have one, see if you can grab a map of this place.” I suggested.

“We are not here to explore. We want to escape.” Aqualad said.

I looked at the others and they nodded. “Okay.” I said and looked at Robin. “Main elevator?”

“Two corridors down and on the right.” Robin said and cut off the alarm. He did a few other commands before he shut the holographic interface off and unplugged. “Let's go.”

We ran down to where Robin said the elevator was and it was locked.

“They blocked access!” Kid Flash almost spat.

“You have someone with super strength among you. There's no such thing as no access.” I said and nodded to Superboy and waved at the elevator's doors. “Have fun.”

Superboy smiled and pounded his fists into the metal. It wasn't very thick, so it only took him a few seconds to get the doors out of the way.

“Allow me.” I said and stepped into the elevator shaft.

“NO!” Robin gasped and grabbed for me.

I chuckled and floated there as his hand gripped my arm.

“What the hell, dude!” Kid Flash exclaimed.

I tapped the 'H' on my chest. “I'm in costume, so call me Hyperion.”

“Warn us next time.” Robin said and let me go.

“Not a problem.” I said and pointed a hand straight up. “Fair warning. I'm going to clear the shaft.”

“Everyone duck!” Robin shouted and the four of them dove to the sides of the hallway.

I chuckled and charged up Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon. I didn't have to say the attack out loud and brought the first two fingers of my hand to my forehead and charged the shot. Because I was so powerful now, it happened instantly and I felt it had sufficient charge to go all the way up the fifty or so floors to the building on the surface.

I shoved my hand upwards as if shooting a gun and the swirling energy beam shot off with an almost sizzling sound and travelled the entire distance in only a second. The only miscalculation I had made was that there might be an elevator above me as well. The beam tore through it anyway and up through the lift mechanism and then right out through the roof on the surface.

The rubble from the attack took a minute to drop down to where I floated and I used several small shots of energy to destroy them before they hit me.

“All clear.” I said and the four of them stood up and walked back over to me.

“Are you sure?” Kid Flash asked.

“Just have Superboy weld shut the elevator doors on each floor as you go past them.” I said and waved to the small ladder at the back of the shaft. “I'll see you at the surface.”

“What?” “Huh?” “You're staying?” “What?”

Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad said at the same time.

“By the time you climb out of here, I'll be done searching this place.” I reassured them.

“Look, even if you're really fast, there's no way you can...” Robin started to say.

“I give you my word that I'll be right up if anything happens.” I promised and put a hand on his shoulder. “Get your friends out before more of those things show up.”

Robin gave me a squinted look for a moment, then nodded.

I smiled and nodded back, let his shoulder go, then disappeared from their sight. I had only run a couple of feet away and put on an invisibility cloak to watch what they would actually do.

“You heard him. Let's start climbing.” Kid Flash said and jumped into the elevator shaft and grabbed onto the rungs of the small ladder. He couldn't really climb fast, because there was no real way for him to build up the proper momentum.

Superboy went next and Aqualad after him. Robin gave the hallway one more look, shrugged, and jumped into the elevator shaft to start climbing.

With them out of the way and myself completely healed, I closed my eyes and finally decided to feel out for the Force. I felt it like a heavy reluctant weight, which was really odd. I had to do several of Obi-Wan Kenobi's mental techniques to attune myself to this version of the Force.

It took me several minutes of precious time before my mind finally grasped what was going on. It was the Force and it also wasn't. For some reason, it was weirdly split up among different wavelengths of light. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which was the color pattern in reflected white light. The thing was, if they were combined once more, it would make white light.

The light of life. The Force.

I sighed at it being both available and unusable, because I could feel strong emotions were connected to those wavelengths of light and each one had a massive living creature that acted as an anchor. Rage, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Hope, Compassion, and Love. I could also tell that the colors were polar opposites as well. Rage and Love, Greed and Compassion, Fear and Hope.

The only sole one was Willpower, or the Green spectrum. It had the least emotional attachment, which meant I could probably tap into it with little repercussions. I just wondered if it would let me function in the same or similar capacity as using the full Force would.

I opened my eyes and felt out for the Green aspect of the Force and my hands glowed green. I reached out with it and to my surprise, it formed into a hand similar to mine and it literally flowed out with a little tendril attached and reached out and touched one of the smaller unconscious creatures. I gained the creature's image in my head and it was a genetically bred slave and psychic manipulator.

I shook my head at that and let the power spread out. A bunch of hands formed from the one already there and each touched the creatures with a single finger, as per my mental criteria. I gained a single image for each creature type and they were all genetic slaves.

Whoever made them all are bastards. I thought and looked at the creatures I had pummelled and knocked out. I felt bad about it now, even if I had fun practising fighting styles with such strong creatures.

I picked them all up and carried them into the room with the torn off door. I used the Green Force to pull the door out of the wall and back into place. I created a welder and hastily melted the door back into place and secured it just enough to stop a quick escape. The big guys could yank it off if they tried a few times.

I floated up into the air slightly and flew down the hallway as I let the Green Force spread out and it checked around for me. Instead of hands, it was now like a search light and lit up the hallway and inside any room I neared. I felt everything that the light touched, copied what I wanted, and flew on.

*

“I don't think he's going to catch up to us.” Kid Flash said as they reached the tenth floor underground.

“He can fly.” Robin pointed out and called a stop to rest.

“What if they catch him again?” Superboy asked, a little worried.

“You saw what he did. He does not need our help.” Aqualad said.

“I wouldn't say that.” A man's voice said from Robin's collar.

“What?” “Huh?” “How did you do that?” “What?”

Hyperion chuckled, because they had reacted nearly identically previously. “I put a comm badge on you when I clapped your shoulder, Robin.”

“No, I mean how are you getting a comm signal up through forty floors of underground building.”

“It's much better tech.” Hyperion said. “I'm on my way to you now.”

Robin looked down into the shaft and tried to see something in the dimness.

“Eyes up, Boy Wonder.” Hyperion said from his neck and from the other side of the elevator doors in front of him.

“Superboy melted those doors together! You can't get through!” Kid Flash shouted.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” Hyperion said and tore the doors out before he tossed them down the shaft.

“SPEEDY!” Robin and Aqualad said at the same time as Hyperion floated into the shaft with an unconscious redheaded young man in his arms.

“I found him in another lab with a few other people.” Hyperion said. “He was the only original.”

“You left the others?” Superboy asked angrily and his eyes glowed red.

“No, you idiot. I only have two hands.” Hyperion admonished him and handed Speedy to Robin. “Latch him onto something and I'll be right back.”

Robin did exactly that and tied himself and Speedy to the closest rung of the ladder.

Ten seconds later, Hyperion came back and he had an older security guard in his arms.

“Who's that?” Kid Flash asked.

“Joe Harper, Speedy's much older clone.” Hyperion said and sat the bearded man beside the elevator hole, then disappeared.

“Oh, crap.” Kid Flash whispered. “What are we going to do?”

“I don't know.” Robin whispered back.

Hyperion came back with Guardian in his arms and sat him beside the security guard.

“We can't take him! He works for Cadmus!” Kid Flash almost shouted.

“Meet Jim Harper, Speedy's slightly older clone.” Hyperion said and took off the man's helmet.

Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash stared at the mature version of their friend.

“Just one more and we can leave.” Hyperion said and the three friends made disbelieving sounds.

“I thought one Speedy was enough.” Kid Flash tried to joke and no one laughed, because they knew for a fact that Speedy had left the Hall of Justice that morning and he didn't look as thin or weak as this Speedy did.

The young heroes stayed there for several minutes as they waited for Hyperion to return. The sound of metal scraping on metal caught their attention and they saw the end of a secured cloning pod coming towards them.

“You have GOT to be kidding me!” Kid Flash exclaimed.

“It's not who you think.” Hyperion said as he put the huge thing down and looked at the elevator door opening. “I'll have to come back for this. It won't fit without a bit of renovation first.”

Robin nodded and looked at the clones. “What are we going to do about them?”

“Climbing harnesses and ropes.” Hyperion said and quickly did up what was needed, three of them, and staggered them to let them hang in a row and not together.

“Can you lift that much?” Robin asked as he helped strap the real Speedy into the first harness.

“I could easily lift you all out, even if I wasn't boosting my abilities.” Hyperion said, to their surprise.

“How?” Aqualad asked.

“A year of training under 1,000 times Earth's gravity and finally being fully healed.” Hyperion responded as he hooked the guard clone into the next harness. He ignored the choking sounds and sputtered words from the teen heroes. He secured Guardian and motioned for them to start climbing again.

They gave him pointed looks before they listened and Hyperion waited for them to get up high enough before he entered the shaft. He floated out into the middle and eased Roy out below him on the rope, then the guard, then Guardian. They looked like they were hung comfortably, so Hyperion looked up at the young heroes and gave them a thumbs-up gesture.

The group moved up the last ten underground floors and Superboy melted the elevator doors together on each floor to stop anyone from sneaking up on them. They had just reached the lobby and Superboy started using his heat vision to secure the doors when they tore apart. A giant grey hand grabbed him by the head and yanked him out of the shaft.

“AHH!” Superboy yelled as he was thrown across the large lobby and slammed into a reinforced wall. He grunted from the impact and fell to the floor, slightly stunned.

“What the hell is that thing?” Kid Flash asked and dove through the opening to dodge the creature's next attack. Aqualad went next and started trying to punch the thing that was twice his height and probably several times as strong.

Robin heard Hyperion sigh from below him and looked to see the man's blank face. “You know we can't leave without Superboy.”

“I know.” Hyperion said and pointed at Aqualad being thrown at Kid Flash and it knocked the both of them across the room and into a concrete pillar. “They dove in without even thinking about working together and they are getting in each other's way.”

“RAAA!” Superboy yelled and tackled the much larger creature.

It fell to the floor and then realized Superboy couldn't hold him down. A large fist later and Superboy's head slammed into the wall beside the elevator.

“Ugghhh.” Superboy groaned in pain.

“Go ahead.” Hyperion said to Robin. “I'll get the others out while you keep the grey giant busy.”

“I'm on it!” Robin shouted and threw several explosive batarangs at the creature before he used his grappling hook to fly out into the fray.

Hyperion flew up at a much faster speed while also being careful of those he was guiding out on the rope. He floated out of the building and over to one nearby and gently landed and placed the three unconscious people down and untied the rope. He wasn't worried about them waking up, because he had put them to sleep and they wouldn't wake until he allowed it.

A second later, he was back down on the tenth underground level and kicked and punched the elevator opening on the floor to match the size of the shaft. It was barely enough room to get the cloning pod through and he flew it up the shaft. He paused at the lobby and used the Green Force to punch the back of the creature's head at the same time that both Aqualad and Superboy punched it in the face.

The creature, that Hyperion now knew was a Blockbuster serum boosted Dr. Desmond, was immediately knocked unconscious. Hyperion easily used a silent stunning spell on the creature because the young heroes were distracted as they recovered from the fight. He nodded to them when they looked over at the elevator and they nodded back.

They were quite happy that he had let them handle it instead of dealing with it himself, which was why Hyperion had done it that way. As far as he was concerned, they needed the experience of working on their own with someone there to help them if it was required.

Hyperion flew the pod up through the roof of the building and over to the next building where Roy and the two clones were. He put the pod down and thought about obscuring the viewport, then looked back at the building. It had to have certain floors and rooms lead-lined, otherwise Superman would have seen something before.

Ten seconds later, the pod was covered in a thin layer of lead-lined metal, including the independent power source that Hyperion had added to the thing and rewired to remove the pod from the building without activating the clone inside. Small naquadah generators were easily adapted for things like that.

Hyperion cast an illusion over them to hide them from view and flew back down to the lobby and saw the young heroes had used steel cables to tie the creature up. “Just so you know, that's Dr. Desmond.” He said and created the doctor's name tag out of their sight. “I found this by the elevator.”

“Cheese and Crackers!” Kid Flash exclaimed.

Robin gave him an amused look. “That's better than what you were saying down below.”

“I was scared and upset back then! You can't hold that against me!” Kid Flash pleaded.

Aqualad smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “We won't say anything.”

“Thanks, Kaldur.” Kid Flash said, appreciatively.

Robin slapped a hand over his face. “KID FLASH!”

“AH! What?!?” Kid Flash asked, surprised.

“You just...”

“It's all right, Robin. I know who you all are.” Hyperion said, because he had discreetly touched them with the Green Force. “Or should I say that you're not as big of a Dick as some people say.”

Kid Flash burst out laughing, Aqualad smiled, and Superboy looked a little confused.

Kid Flash zoomed over to Superboy and whispered in his ear. “His name's Richard.”

Superboy let a small smile appear on his face. “Thanks.”

“No problemo.” Kid Flash said and zoomed back over to where he stood before. “We better get back to climbing up the elevator shaft to get out of here.”

Hyperion chuckled and pointed at the barred and blocked front doors. “Remember what I said before.”

“If you have super strength, there's no such thing as no access.” Robin, Superboy, and Aqualad said at the same time.

Hyperion nodded and motioned towards the front doors. “Gentlemen? After you.”

Superboy and Aquaman exchanged looks, smiled, and ran at the barricade and punched in coordination like they had with the giant creature. The barricade tore apart and the crumpled doors flew out into the small yard in front of the building.

The four young heroes and the man that didn't look that much older than them, stepped out into the fresh evening air. Superboy made an odd sound as he looked up into the sky and saw the full moon.

“That's the moon and now you can see it with your own eyes.” Kid Flash said, proudly.

A few moments later as Superboy stared at it, a black dot appeared in front of it. They stood there and watched as the dot came closer and what it was soon became clear. It was a man in a cape and his name was Superman. He landed not far away and his expression was blank as he looked everything over.

Soon, there were a bunch of people within sight and they all came down to land around the young heroes. Red Tornado, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, and Zatara the Magician. They were quickly joined by Captain Atom, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern named Hal Jordan.

A moment later, another Green Lantern named John Stewart arrived with a green platform that carried Batman, Black Canary, Aquaman, and Green Arrow. Batman walked up to where Superman stood and The Flash ran in to stand near them as well.

The members of the Justice League stood there and stared at the young heroes, as if in judgment. Superboy stepped forward and all attention went to him, because of the symbol on his chest. He exchanged looks with Superman and the emotions that played on their faces weren't hard to decipher. Animosity, disbelief, and anger.

“My name is Superboy and I'm a clone of Superman.” Superboy said, almost accusingly.

Gasps and shocked sounds came from almost everyone in the League.

Batman only glared, like usual. “Explain.”

*

I stood there and listened as Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy did their best to tell the heroes about their exciting adventure in the land of the clones. I clamped my mouth shut to stop my laugh. Joking at a serious time like this was not a good idea.

My eyes went to the two Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart. I was very tempted to try and touch them with the Green Force... hell, I was tempted to touch all of the people here with the Green Force, just so I could get their images in my head.

When my name was mentioned and my situation was revealed, most of the attention went to me.

I gave them a little wave. “Don't mind the old costume. It needs a redesign.”

Wonder Woman's eyes gave me a quick appraisal. “I think it looks fine.”

“Thank you.” I said and gave her a regal bow, which surprised her. “I would return the compliment if I didn't think you would take it as an insult.”

Wonder Woman smiled slightly. “Are you implying that I only look fine?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “I'm not an idiot, your highness. Saying you were anything less then beautiful would earn me the ire of three quarters of Earth's population.”

“Only three quarters?” Wonder Woman asked and her smile was a full one.

“I had to account for the actual idiots.” I said with a grin and she laughed.

“Is that guy crazy?” Green Arrow asked Black Canary in a hissed whisper. “He's flirting with Wonder Woman right in front of everyone!”

“He must be, because Diana is accepting it without getting upset.” Black Canary whispered back.

“If you're done wasting time...” Batman started to say.

“It's never a waste of time to speak to an intriguing woman.” I interrupted and Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Black Canary nodded. “However, I do understand your point. I apologize for socializing before the interrogation is over. You may continue.”

Several snickers and chuckles came from a few of the League members and several soft coughs covered them up. Superman, the Flash, and Green Arrow looked surprised.

“Yeah, um... that just happened.” Kid Flash said and then continued the story.

Ten minutes later, Batman turned to me. “Where did you put the clones and the original Speedy?”

“They are just over there on a nearby rooftop.” I said and floated up into the air. “Would one of the Lanterns mind giving me a hand?”

John Stewart floated up and nodded to me.

“Thank you.” I said to him and took off at a good speed before I stopped above the rooftop. “A flat platform with three beds, if you would.”

John Stewart complied and made it. I opened the harnesses and placed each person on a bed. I picked up the pod and we slowly flew back over to the heroes and landed. The three clones were gently lowered to the ground and the green glowing beds and the platform disappeared.

“Why is it covered in lead?” Superman asked and sounded a little annoyed.

“Please forgive my teenage girl impression.” I said and gave him a crooked smile as I struck a pose and waved a hand at it. “It's so you can't see inside. Duh.”

That earned a few more chuckles and a lot more cover-up coughs.

“Most of the underground facility's walls are lead-lined, too.” I said in a normal voice. “I assumed the Cadmus Board of Directors did that, so anyone with any kind of x-ray vision or deep scanning equipment would only see big blocks, boxes, and platforms and nothing of what was actually inside.”

Batman gave me a pointed look and then did the same to Superman.

Superman let out a little sigh. “I'll start adding extended x-ray scans to my city sweeps when I'm on patrol.”

Batman nodded and looked back at me. “Why didn't you open the pod?”

“Because the clone inside isn't quite as viable as the mostly successful ones.” I said and that got everyone's attention.

“Explain.” Batman said.

“I hacked the Cadmus computers and downloaded their database. It lists the clones and their life expectancy as well as their deficiencies and detriments.” I said. “It's going to take some gene therapy to make the clones stable and to give them normal life spans.”

“Why didn't you just search normally?” Batman asked.

“I searched the database for clone information and projects, because it was quicker than searching floor by floor, even though I did that anyways, just in case they had things that they were intentionally not keeping track of.” I said and saw a lot of approving nods from the gathered heroes. “Like Dr. Desmond having the original Speedy stored instead of killing him like he was ordered to.”

A few hissed gasps came from the League members and they whispered among themselves. I did not tell them that Cadmus was going to do the same to Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash. That was not information that they needed right now, especially since I could tell that the heroes were not happy with the ones that rescued me.

“I want that database.” Batman said in an accusing manner and held a gloved hand out to me.

“Usually someone offers to take me to dinner and maybe some dancing before they decide to screw me.” I said and there was complete silence for several seconds... then The Flash started laughing loudly, realized what he was doing, and ran away in a red blur, the coward.

“He's a dead man.” Green Arrow commented. No one asked if he meant me or The Flash.

I took out a USB key from a pouch on my belt and handed it over. “Before you ask, yes, that is an actual copy of the database.”

“Why didn't you give him a fake one?” Black Canary asked.

“Canary.” Batman almost growled as he tucked the USB key into his own belt pouch.

“I'm establishing trust. I helped save several innocents and I'm cooperating without actually needing to be coerced.” I said and several of the heroes nodded. “On a completely related note, who said I only made one copy?”

Black Canary smiled and nodded, satisfied that I wasn't giving up an advantage.

“Can we get back to the real issue here?” Superman prompted.

Batman nodded and turned to face the young heroes. “Despite the end results, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives.” He paused dramatically. “You will not be doing that again.”

“Yes, we will.” Aqualad said.

“Aqualad, stand down.” Aquaman ordered.

“Apologies, my king. But, no.” Aqualad said and held his head up high. “We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do.” He said in his cultured voice and took a step forward to stand beside Superboy. “Together, we forged something powerful. Something important.”

The Flash ran back in and spoke. “If this is about your treatment at the Hall Of Justice this morning, the three of you...”

“The four of us.” Kid Flash interrupted and stepped up beside Superboy. “And it's not about that.”

“Batman.” Robin said and stepped forward as well. “We're ready to use the skills and training you've taught us.” He said and lifted his head. “Or why bother training us at all?”

“Why are we letting them tell us what to do?” Superboy asked and looked confident as he stood proud. “Either get on board or get out of the way.”

All of the heroes exchanged looks.

“We need to discuss this.” Batman said.

Most of the other Justice League members nodded before they gathered together into a huddle.

Batman glared at the four young men in front of him. “You will listen this time and you will wait right here until we decide what to do with you.”

“I'll keep an eye on them for you.” I offered and Batman's glare tried to pierce me. I easily ignored it and looked over at Wonder Woman. “Your highness, could I interest you in some polite conversation?”

“Perhaps.” Wonder Woman said and walked over to me. “I really should involve myself in the debate over the children.”

I chuckled. “Which ones? The adult ones or the teenage ones?”

Wonder Woman looked amused. “You have already discerned my decision, then?”

“Of course. They have to choose to let them stay as a team. It's the only logical choice.” I said and Wonder Woman nodded, to Batman's consternation. “Otherwise, they will form a team anyway and the League will have no say or oversight about whatever they do.”

Wonder Woman smiled at me. “As an unknown, you seem to have a lot of experience in these matters.”

“I could almost say the same about you, your highness.” I responded and waited.

Batman gave me one more glare and then walked over to the group of heroes before they started a heated discussion about tonight's events.

I turned to Diana and gave her an award winning smile. “I will refrain from asking you how old you are, because I am too much of a gentleman to embarrass a young lady like that.”

Wonder Woman barked a laugh. “I almost doubted that you were flirting with me and you really are.”

“Anything worth having is worth fighting for, Princess.” I said with a smile.

“You do realize I could kill you within moments.” Wonder Woman said with a teasing smile.

I could not refuse the bait. “Please don't make me disappoint you so soon. We just met.”

“Ha ha!” Wonder Woman laughed and pulled her lasso off of her hip. “You are asking for this.”

I thought about refusing, then shrugged as I held a hand out to her and nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Truly?” Wonder Woman asked, clearly surprised. “This is the Lasso of Truth. With it on you, you cannot tell any lies or false truths.”

“I know, your highness.” I said and wagged my hand at her. “I was going to answer your questions anyway. This just lets you know that I'm not lying about the answers.”

Wonder Woman gave me a questioning look for several seconds, then gently laid her lasso over my wrist and wrapped it around several times without restraining me. I could easily pull my hand back at any time and the lasso would slip right off. I also gained the image of it, then I smiled as she took my hand and I gained the image Princess of the Amazons.

“What is your name?” Wonder Woman asked me.

“John Hansen.” I said. “Although, I've adopted multiple variations over the years to fit in.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I'm answering your questions.” I said with a crooked smile and she laughed under her breath, because I had proven that I could answer a question without answering what she actually asked. “If you mean here in a general sense, I have no idea. I usually travel normally and I somehow ended up inside a cloning pod.”

“Are you not worried about that?” Wonder Woman asked, clearly concerned.

“No. I've never been able to copy myself or had anyone else copy me, so clones would never be viable, despite my DNA and genetics being completely human.”

“You don't know how Cadmus found you, do you?” Wonder Woman asked, surprised.

“No. I woke up after I was released from the pod. I don't know how long I've actually been here or how long they had me in containment.” I said. “My records were not in the database, which clued me in about them not keeping official records of captured and held prisoners.”

Wonder Woman nodded and looked thoughtful for a few moments. “You already know how old I am.”

“That wasn't a question.” I said and she waved a hand at me to continue. “I'm not sure what today's date is. Since you were brought into this world around 1925, I have to guess you're about 80 or so.”

“It's 2010, so I am 85.” Wonder Woman admitted.

“Like I said, a very young lady.” I said, smugly.

Wonder Woman's eyebrows rose at my words and she looked at my wrist that still had the lasso wrapped around it. “Do I want to know how old you are?”

“That depends on how you want to measure time.” I responded and she waved for me to keep talking. “If you count from when I woke up, I'm only a few hours old.”

“And if I counted all of the time you've existed?” Wonder Woman asked.

“I am older than this universe and I did not start my life here.” I said and Wonder Woman stared at me. “If I find a good enough reason to stay for that long, I will outlive this universe, too.”

The four young men were left speechless by my words and Wonder Woman was no better.

“What are your powers?” Batman asked as he stepped around Wonder Woman.

“I have the ability to gather lands to use as magical batteries and I can travel through multiple universes, sometimes willingly and sometimes when necessary.” I said and stopped talking.

“I think the lasso is not working.” Batman said and squinted his eyes at the thing. “We all saw him fly and use super strength.”

“Those are derivatives of my main ability.” I clarified and looked at Wonder Woman. “Your lasso has never failed to work, even when others use it on you.”

“He is correct.” Wonder Woman said. “Can I ask you what your main ability allows you to do?”

I had to smile at the open-ended question. “Nearly everything.”

“Why not everything?” Batman asked.

“My body can't handle some things because I really am human.” I said and looked at him. “I once tried to copy Superman's heat vision and it melted my eyeballs when I used it.”

“You can copy powers?” Someone asked and that set everyone off to muttering and talking.

“Technically.” I hedged and Wonder Woman's hand in mine flinched. She knew I hedged.

“Explain.” Batman said.

“Some people's abilities are inherent to them and are a part of their existence, like Superman's instinctual grasp of using his powers. I can't copy that. The same with someone's genius intellect or their ability to eat spicy foods and not crap themselves before they reach the bathroom.”

The Flash laughed and immediately faced away from us to try and hide it. We could all hear him as he struggled to stop laughing, though.

“Your answers are not very helpful in narrowing down what you can do.” Batman accused.

“I'm not sure what you want me to say, so I'll just say what I think you want to hear.” I said. “When boosted, I can fly faster than a speeding bullet, punch through titanium, throw energy blasts that can destroy several city blocks, run about the same speed as The Flash on a full stomach, lift about a hundred thousand tons or so, and I can make myself nearly invulnerable for extended periods of time.”

“Those are some great powers.” Shazam commented and a lot of the heroes nodded.

I looked at Wonder Woman to make sure she knew that I was talking to her and no one else. “I can also cook like a top chef and I can give foot massages that will make you orgasm.”

There were a lot of disbelieving sounds and looks from the men. The three women present were another story altogether. Their interested looks could not be faked, because I had moved my hand to show them that I still held Wonder Woman's hand and her lasso was still wrapped around my wrist.

“You are an intriguing man.” Wonder Woman said with a soft voice.

“And you are more fascinating to meet in person than I could have imagined.” I said and let her hand go. The lasso slipped off of my wrist and I looked at Batman. “What was the League's decision?”

Batman's glare still couldn't pierce me. “It was agreed that if they are going to form a team anyway, it would be better for everyone to keep an eye on them and to ensure that they are under strict supervision.”

I didn't bother saying that I told him so and just nodded.

“We will meet at a special location in Rhode Island in four days for a debriefing in the morning.” Batman said and hit a button on his gauntlet.

A beep came from Robin's wrist and a small holographic map appeared and showed the teens where to go and to be there at eight.

“Don't be late.” Batman said and walked over to a group of heroes assigned to retrieve the Blockbuster enhanced Dr. Desmond. It consisted of both of the Green Lanterns, Captain Atom, Hawkman, and Hawkwoman and they entered the building to secure the prisoner.

“I can't believe it. They actually agreed.” Kid Flash said, shocked.

“Yeah.” Robin said and turned off the map display. “We better head home and get some rest.”

“I doubt I will be resting.” Aqualad said. “Defying my king so openly will have consequences.”

“Good luck with that!” Kid Flash said and waved. “See you guys later!”

A yellow blur ran by us and he was gone.

Aqualad put a hand on Superboy's shoulder briefly, nodded to him, and walked over to where Aquaman waited. The tall muscular blond man did not look happy and they had several whispered words before they left as well.

Robin glanced at Superboy and gave me a pointed look.

“Yes, I'll take care of him and the other clones.” I promised without being asked.

Robin nodded to me, lightly touched Superboy's shoulder, and walked over to where he had left his motorcycle. Or was it a Bat-cycle? A Robin-cycle? I almost laughed at their penchant for naming their equipment after themselves.

“It is commendable that you want to take care of someone you met mere hours ago.” Wonder Woman said to me with a bit of admiration in her eyes.

“I am well versed in the plight of clones. I made a vow a long time ago to do everything I could to help them deal with their new lives and to adjust to being an actual member of society instead of a weapon.” I said. “I need to find a good piece of land to build a facility to fix the failing clones.”

Wonder Woman, Superman, and Martian Manhunter looked surprised. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatara, and Shazam looked like they were unsure how to react. Superboy looked gobsmacked.

None of them saw Captain Atom, the two Hawk people, and the two Green Lanterns fly away with the prisoner.

The Flash laughed. “I think I'm going to like having you around, Hyperion.”

“I'm so sorry, Flash.” I said and pretended to wipe away a fake tear. “Despite my joke to Batman earlier, I am firmly on the straight path.”

The Flash laughed again. “I haven't laughed this much in weeks.” He said and waved. “I'll see everyone back at base.” He looked at me. “Let me know when you get settled.”

“Settled?” I asked.

“You didn't think our decision was just about the teenagers, did you?” The Flash said with a grin. “See you soooooooon!” His voice trailed off as he zoomed away in a red blur.

I looked from Wonder Woman to Superman. “He's not joking, is he?”

“No.” Superman said and walked over to me. He was three inches taller than I was. “We all know you don't have to cooperate with us and we all understand if this might chafe you a bit...”

“Or a lot.” I interrupted.

Superman took a breath and let it out. “You did a great job tonight and we would appreciate it if you would keep doing it for a while.”

The Flash zoomed back in and stopped right beside Superman. “Free room and board!” He said and took off again.

I chuckled. “Thanks, Flash.”

“We can also provide lab space for you to work, since you want to help the clones.” Batman said as he walked over to join us. “If you refuse, you are still going to need the space to store the pod until you find your own land.”

I thought about it and looked at Wonder Woman. “How often are you available for date nights?”

Wonder Woman gave me a demure smile. “At least once a month, perhaps more. It depends.”

“World in danger is more important, I get it.” I said and she nodded. “Would you prefer to be exclusive or stay casual?”

Everyone but Wonder Woman stared at me for asking before we even started dating.

“Casual for now. We can see where it goes in time.” Wonder Woman said with a smile.

“As you command, your highness.” I said and gave her a regal bow.

Wonder Woman gave me a pointed look. “You are well practised in court behaviour.”

“I have attended a queen or two.” I said.

“I'm not sticking around to watch you guys be all flirty and stuff.” Shazam said and floated up into the air as he looked at Batman. “Call me again when I'm needed.”

Batman nodded and glanced around at the remaining heroes. “I think it's time we all went home.”

“I will take Speedy back to base and taken care of.” Martian Manhunter said and picked up the still unconscious young man. “I will see you all later.”

We all watched as he floated up into the air and flew off. The others left as well and only Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman remained.

“Just to remind you, there is still a Speedy clone walking around that thinks he's the original.” I said to Batman. “When you find him, send him to me. I'll check him over and see what his viability quotient is. If he has any ingrained programming to infiltrate and betray the new team or the League, I'll root it out.”

The three of them stared at me, as did Superboy.

“I told you I was well versed in the plight of clones.” I said and put a hand on Superboy's shoulder. “If it's all right with you, I can check you over first. If you aren't comfortable with that, I can deal with the other clones before asking again.”

Superboy gave me a relieved look. “Thanks, Hyperion.”

I smiled at him. “I'm not going to cause you more trauma, Superboy. I genuinely want to help you.”

Superboy nodded and looked determined as I let his shoulder go.

“Where are you going to stay for the night?” Wonder Woman asked.

“What's the most expensive hotel in the city?” I asked with a grin.

“Ba-ha-ha-ha!” The Flash's laugh echoed around us, which meant he was still watching out for his friends.

“When Flash said free room and board...” Superman started to say.

I barked a laugh and held a hand up to stop him from embarrassing himself. “I don't need any money.” I said and looked at Batman. “In fact, if you were going to provide me with a salary...”

“I was.” Batman said.

“...can you set it up to go to a charity like feeding the homeless? It doesn't matter what city.” I said with a shrug. “When I do get settled, I'll start generating my own money and I'll contribute more to the new team's operations.”

“It's not illegal, is it?” Batman asked, almost with a growl.

“Are gold and silver mines illegal?” I asked instead.

“If they are stolen, yes.”

I chuckled. “I genuinely own them, so you don't have to worry.”

“Good.” Batman said and looked at the two clones and the pod that were on the lawn. “How are you going to stay in a hotel with them?”

“In multiple rooms, of course.” I said and looked back at Wonder Woman as I held a hand out to her. “It was a supreme pleasure meeting you, Princess.”

Wonder Woman put her hand in mine and allowed me bend down to kiss the back of it. “It was.”

I let her hand go and looked at Superman. “I need to say something uncomfortable.”

Superman's eyes went right to his clone and back to me.

“It's not his fault.” I said and stepped close to the man. I put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “It's not your fault, either.”

“But... I... but...” Superman stammered.

“It actually doesn't matter how this came about. The circumstances are immaterial to the problem at hand.” I said and he nodded. “I know this is going to be difficult for the both of you and you both need to know that it's okay to be upset about it. Neither of you asked for this to happen and you both have to deal with the fact that the other exists.”

“I... I'm going to need a little time to...” Superman said.

“No, you are going to need a lot of time.” I interrupted and he looked surprised. “There are no rules about how you are supposed to feel about this, Kal El.”

Superman opened his mouth to respond, then closed it and nodded.

“That was the very first step you've taken in dealing with this mess, Kal El. Acceptance. Things can only get better from here.” I reassured him.

Superman glanced at Superboy and saw that his expression matched his own.

“Plus, you both are wearing the Kryptonian symbol for Hope. If there is anyone on the planet that should be feeling it right now, it's you two.”

“You're right.” Superman said and his back straightened. “This is a problem that we need time to deal with.” He looked at Superboy. “I will be contacting you later to talk... and to listen.”

Superboy nodded and looked a little relieved.

“We will take our leave.” Wonder Woman said and both she and Superman floated up into the air.

“Don't be a stranger.” I said and she smiled.

“I will contact you as soon as I am free.” Wonder Woman promised and flew up into the air.

Superman was right behind her. Batman tried one last time to glare at me before he pulled a grappling gun from his belt and hauled himself up into the air and swung away, which left me alone with a bunch of clones.

“Now what?” Superboy asked.

“We go find a room to stay in, find a fast food place that serves bulk orders, then we kick back and relax while we wait for a few days and go to the really really important briefing at the assigned meeting place.” I responded.

“Is being sarcastic one of your powers?” Superboy asked.

I laughed and clapped him on the back. “No, it's just something I sometimes use when necessary.”

Superboy gave me a questioning look, then he nodded. “You were removing the tension from the situation.”

“Exactly.” I said and walked over to the pod. I took out the rope with the harnesses on it and secured the two clones to the top of the pod. “A few members of the Justice League looked like they were itching to fight.”

“The two Hawk people.” Superboy said right away.

“They just oozed killing intent, didn't they?” I asked and he nodded. “How much do you want to bet that they're together?”

“I don't have any money to bet and lose on that.” Superboy said and looked at the pod. “Should I climb on, too?”

“Sure.” I said and he did so. “Hold on.”

Superboy held onto the rope as I picked up the pod and flew up into the air. “Why aren't they waking up?”

“They won't wake until I wake them.” I said.

“Another ability?” Superboy asked.

“Magic spell, actually.”

“YOU CAN DO MAGIC?!?” Superboy yelled.

I laughed and flew us over to a multi-storey hotel. “A form of it, anyway.”

Superboy fell silent and I landed us on the roof. I cast several protection spells over the pod and the two clones before I waved Superboy to come closer. I transfigured his white clone suit into jeans and a black t-shirt with the red 'S' symbol on it and changed his boots into sneakers.

Superboy looked down at his new outfit and nodded. “I like it.”

I generated local currency from all of my Gold and Silver Jewels and caught it with my inventory before it fell to the roof. My inventory sorted and counted it for me and I was pleased at having almost half a billion dollars in cash. It meant despite the harshness of the last world, I wasn't as badly off as I had been after visiting the Warehouse 13 universe.

Superboy just gave me a raised eyebrow.

“I'll explain later.” I said as I changed my hero suit into jeans and a black t-shirt with the red 'H' symbol on it. “Grab on.”

Superboy held onto my arm as we jumped down to the ground floor and I slowed us down at the last moment. We went inside and I rented the multi-room penthouse suite for a week. After that was a trip to a burger joint and Superboy absolutely loved eating a real hamburger and french fries for the first time. I bought a hundred combo meals to go, stored them, and we went back to the hotel.

The two of us went up to the top floor, only from inside the building this time, and I retrieved the other two clones from the roof and brought them inside. I left the pod under the protection spells, since it wouldn't fit in through the balcony doors. After I tucked the Roy clones into one of the beds, Superboy and I watched some television for a while and neither of us felt like going to sleep.

Without any real privacy, I couldn't start working on the clones, either. I sighed, because it was going to be a long wait as the Justice League made a space available for us to live in.

*

It took three long days of work as the various members of the Justice League brought in pieces of lab equipment and containers of parts to do the repairs and things on their old and mothballed base. They had been working for about two hours on the morning of July 8, 2010 when the greeting party gathered together to meet the young heroes that would be using the base as their own.

Not long after that, five people wearing casual clothes showed up. Superboy, Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and the man named Hyperion came in through the side entrance of the main cave near where the transporters were located. The main mission area also had access to the hangar bay and the rest of the base.

“You're on time. Good.” Batman said and started to pace. “Welcome to Mount Justice. This cave was the original secret sanctuary for the Justice League until an old villain discovered it and we had to move. We're calling it into service again, since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight.” He paused dramatically and glared at them. “You will do it on League terms.”

The Flash, Hawkman, Shazam, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Aquaman stood there and observed them.

“As you already know, Hyperion has agreed to live here and to be your supervisor.” Batman said and the four young men nodded. “Red Tornado has agreed to be a liaison for the League and will live in the apartment above this chamber.”

“I want to say that's a bit much, except you want to keep an eye on me as well.” Hyperion said and Batman nodded.

“Until we can establish a good working relationship, which only time can cement, you all should expect more scrutiny than usual.” Batman said.

“That means both expected and unexpected visits by other League members.” Hyperion clarified.

The four young men nodded in understanding.

“Black Canary is in charge of your training and I will deploy you on missions.” Batman said.

“Real missions?” Robin asked.

“Yes, real missions, except that they will be covert. No one can know you're working for us.” Batman said.

“The League will handle the big stuff. There's a reason we have these big colorful targets on our chests.” The Flash said and tapped the large lightning bolt on his chest emblem.

“Batman needs a team to operate on the sly.” Aquaman added.

“The five of you will be that team.” Batman said.

“Cool.” Robin responded and then looked confused. “Wait, you don't mean Hyperion, do you?”

Just then, the transporter activated and announced two new arrivals, Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian. Everyone turned to look at them as they appeared in a flash of light.

“This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian.” Batman announced, unnecessarily.

“Um... hi!” Miss Martian said and looked a little uncomfortable as she awkwardly waved.

“I'm liking this gig more every minute.” Kid Flash whispered to Robin, whom winced a little, because in the quiet room, everyone had heard his friend.

Hyperion coughed and motioned to the green-skinned girl.

“Uh, welcome aboard!” Kid Flash said a bit loudly. “I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, that's Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names.”

Robin gave her a casual wave and Aqualad nodded slightly to her.

“I'm honored to be included.” Miss Martian said and looked pleased.

“I think we would all prefer it if she did remember our names.” Hyperion said and cleared his throat. “The young man beside me is Superboy and my name is John Hansen. In costume, you can call me Hyperion.”

“It's nice to meet you.” Miss Martian said and looked even more pleased.

Hyperion clapped Superboy on the shoulder and motioned for the teens to gather together to talk. They got the hint and walked a short ways away. It was far enough for some privacy and close enough to overhear anything important.

Hyperion turned to Batman and held a hand out for him to shake. “I apologize for not formally introducing myself like I just did for the new team.”

Batman gave the offered hand a glance, paused as if scanning it, then took it to shake. “I'm Batman.”

“It's nice to meet you, Batman.” Hyperion said and let his hand go. “I'll have a briefcase full of money ready for you when I come back here with the clone pod.”

Batman didn't react. “Can I ask what for?”

“Operating costs, power overhead unless you're using geothermal generators, lab usage, the repairs, the refurbishments, and what will become an excessive amount of computer usage looking for... ahem... information.” Hyperion trailed off with a crooked smile.

The Flash laughed and clapped him on the back.

“We are funded by the United Nations and various countries.” Batman said.

“Really? It's not mostly funded by a reclusive playboy billionaire that's cooking his own company's accounting books to cover for the League's expenses?” Hyperion asked and his smile was huge.

“No.” Batman said with barely any inflection.

“My mistake.” Hyperion said and turned to Martian Manhunter to shake his hand. “It's nice to meet an actual alien that looks like an actual alien.”

Martian Manhunter shook his hand. “It is nice to meet another John.” He said with a smile.

“Ha!” Hyperion barked the laugh. “Would you mind showing me what you look like as a civilian, just so I don't blast you if you show up and I don't recognize you?”

“That is an excellent point.” Martian Manhunter said and morphed into his civilian identity, a tall black man that was also a police detective. “My name is John Jones.”

Hyperion shook his hand again. “It's nice to meet you, too.”

That had a couple of the heroes smile and Flash barked a laugh. Hyperion went to each of the other heroes and repeated the process as he greeted Hawkman, Aquaman, Shazam, Captain Atom, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Green Lantern. The last one he pulled aside slightly.

“Green Lantern, can I ask you for a favor?” Hyperion asked.

“You can ask. I might not do it.” Green Lantern said.

“Do you have your power battery nearby or on you somewhere?” Hyperion asked.

Green Lantern squinted his eyes at him and spoke a lot louder than he should have. “Did you copy my powers?”

Hyperion gave him a surprised look, then he laughed. He kept laughing for about ten seconds and everyone was staring at him by the time he stopped. “Y-yes, I copied your immense willpower and your ability to overcome fear! HA HA HA!”

No one but Batman and Martian Manhunter got it.

“He already told everyone he can't copy innate abilities. Intelligence, willpower, or a strong stomach.” Batman said and The Flash laughed at the remembered joke of eating spicy foods.

“I just... wanted to see... alien craftsmanship.” Hyperion said and took several deep breaths. “Wooo. Woooo. I needed a good laugh. Thanks.”

“It wasn't funny.” Green Lantern said.

“It is, because even if I did somehow copy your powers, I neither have an alien-given ring to wield it nor a power battery to power it.” Hyperion said. “I apologize if you assumed I would steal your property.”

“It's not technically mine.” Green Lantern said, a bit sadly.

“No? If it's ever damaged, how would you fix it or replace it?” Hyperion said and perked right up. “Have you run it through various medical scanners or energy readers? You should at least have some basic information about it saved somewhere, right?”

Green Lantern gave him a surprised look for a moment, then shook his head.

“Well, damn.” Hyperion said with a laugh. “If you change your mind about letting me take a look at it, non-invasive of course, you know where I live.”

Green Lantern nodded and Hyperion walked over to where the teenagers stood. “Now that I've copied all of the League's powers, we can kick them out.”

“What?” “What?” “You're such a liar!” “Pardon?” “Oh, my god!”

Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and Miss Martian said at the same time.

Hyperion laughed and laughed at their shocked expressions as he tried to explain. “Can't copy... Hawkman. Has wings to fly. Captain Atom... energy being. Black Canary... strong voice. Batman... is Batman. Shazam... mystical powers. Aquaman... breathes water... strong from ocean depths.”

“Holy crap! He's right!” Robin exclaimed.

“Can't copy... Boy Wonder's wonder! HA HA!” Hyperion said and kept laughing. It was the perfect thing to break the underlying tension that everyone was feeling.

By the time the repairs and refurbishment were done to the base, all of the heroes, both the older ones and the younger ones, had been fully reassured that Hyperion hadn't copied anything from them and they were all relaxed. He had also given each of them a still hot burger combo to eat, which really raised their opinion of him.

Batman accepted the thick metal briefcase full of money without a word and left through the transporter, with Robin right behind him. Kid Flash said goodbye after eating six combos and zoomed away. The only ones left were Red Tornado, Hyperion, Miss Martian, and Superboy.

Hyperion turned to the two teens and held his hands out to them. “Who wants to hold my hand as I lead you around on a tour of our new home?”

Miss Martian took his hand and hopped a little, clearly excited.

“You're joking, right?” Superboy asked with a bit of a glare.

Hyperion turned to Miss Martian and grinned. “It looks like it's just you and me, little lady! Let's hit the air and go explore!”

“YES!” Miss Martian yelled and the pair lifted off with a laugh, then they flew out of the main mission room.

“I thought he was supposed to be our supervisor.” Superboy grumbled.

Red Tornado raised a finger as if imparting great wisdom. “I have heard that acting younger can make you feel younger.”

Superboy gave him a glare. “I'm two days old and I know better than to jump around like a kid at Christmas.” He said pointedly and walked in the same direction that the other two residents had gone.

Red Tornado shrugged and flew up into the ceiling and into his apartment. He had things to do to get settled into his own private laboratory.

*

Miss Martian and I found an area called The Grotto first. It was a nice place to sit and relax and it had an effigy and hologram for a fallen hero called Blue Beetle. His civilian ID was Ted Kord and I checked the hologram and the plaque on it, only for no information to be found about how he died.

We took off flying down another corridor and found the very large open kitchen and eating area, which would be great for casual team meetings and for meals. We hovered there to look at everything and I heartily approved of the well stocked kitchen.

Beside the eating area was the lounge area, which had a huge couch that was over ten feet long with a large rug in front of it and a gigantic television.

“Don't worry, Miss Martian. I'll upgrade that tiny television as soon as possible.” I joked and she laughed.

We flew on and found the workout room next. We landed and saw that it had stair steppers, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, treadmills, dumbbells and barbells.

“This was the League's old gym?” I asked and looked at the pathetic setup. “I will definitely be fixing this place up to have appropriate equipment for people with different powers.”

Miss Martian gave me a questioning look. “You're not joking, are you?”

“No, we are going to need a progressive weight scale for both myself and Superboy. It won't need a high tonnage ratio right away, considering it'll take us a while to build up to where we should be.” I said and she looked interested. “There's not enough variety here for all of the exercises that a person can do to strengthen themselves, either.”

“Wonder Woman was right, wasn't she? You really do have experience with things like this.”

“I do, and I'll make sure you are all taken care of and taught how to better yourselves.” I said and she beamed a smile at me as she hugged my arm. “You need to be careful about smiling like that, Miss Martian. A young lady like yourself might give an older gentleman the wrong idea and make him think you might be interested in him.”

Miss Martian giggled. “Am I really too young for you, Mister Hyperion sir?” She asked and her body started to shift and reformed into a copy of Wonder Woman, except she still had her own face and red hair. “Would you prefer it if I looked like this, then?”

I blinked my eyes at her for a moment, then I asked a serious question that a guy shouldn't ask a girl. “I knew you were a shapeshifter. Is your Miss Martian form what you have adopted to fit in?” I asked and her happy face lost its smile. “Please, don't misunderstand or think I'm asking you for something you aren't willing to give. Not yet, anyway.”

“What... what do you mean?” Miss Wonder Martian asked.

“How old are you?” I asked her.

“I'm sixteen and...”

“No, Miss Wonder Martian.” I interrupted and she blushed with embarrassment. “I don't want the age of the biological body you've adopted to wear as a human. When were you born? In Earth years, please.”

She gave me a kind of sad look before she spoke. “I was born when the Earth experienced 1962.”

I stared at her for a moment, then I gave her a huge smile. “Martians experience teenage years and mature differently than humans!” I said and she looked stunned. “It's the only explanation for you to accept being 16 when you should be 48. If you stayed in the form you are in now, everyone's expectations would be much more demanding on you.”

Miss Martian nodded as she morphed and shrunk down to her teenage self. “I just starting learning about human culture and studied their life cycle extensively. I worked on the math and chose the best age to represent my position in Martian society here on Earth.”

I nodded as well. “That's completely understandable, Miss Martian.” I said out loud and then switched to my mental voice. You can trust me. I won't tell anyone about your secret.

Miss Martian gasped. YOU'RE TELEPATHIC?!?

I barked a laugh and nodded. It's a modification using a subspace cortical node implant that I picked up a long time ago. I thought to her. Oh, and OUCH! There's no need to yell. We're still on the same planet!

Miss Martian's mouth dropped open as she stared at me. Did you just say the same planet?

Well, I haven't been to space yet, so I haven't dropped off any relay satellites or launched any of my automated debris collectors and factories. I thought to her and her stunned face didn't change. By the way, I have a space ship, too.

Miss Martian didn't react at all.

Yep, I still have trouble spacing out announcements like that. I thought with a laugh. Shall we keep going with the tour? I can feel there's something waiting for us in the living area.

Miss Martian nodded and we walked this time. We passed the locker rooms with lockers and benches inside and didn't glance at the showers beside that. We reached the living quarters and as I had detected, there was a tiny genomorph looking for Superboy, because it missed him.

The three of us had a quick conversation and decided that Superboy didn't need someone poking around in his head for a while. It shared an image of where it lived and I thanked it for visiting, promised to visit myself sometime, and cast apparate on it. It popped away with a squeal of happiness and Miss Martian gave me a pointed look.

Can I call you Megan? Repeating Miss Martian in my head all the time is getting annoying. I thought to her and let her feel my amusement.

If I can call you John. Megan thought back and I mentally agreed before we left the living quarters. Are you going to tell me what that was? You can teleport things?

Technically. I thought and she huffed at me. It's magic and it can do a lot of things when its not being suppressed or blocked.

I hate it when I find things that block my natural telepathy! Megan thought, a bit angrily. It's like walking around and only being able to use one arm!

I completely agree. I thought and gave her several images of people that I had previously shared a mental connection with.

Oh... oh, my. Megan thought and blushed at the adjoining feelings. You... ahem... didn't censor that.

I laughed and shook my head. It would lose the important context and meaning if I did.

Megan gave me another pointed look. Did you do that to tease me back for changing into Wonder Woman before?

No, Megan. If I was going to tease you about that, I would tell you that your current breasts feel much nicer on my arm than the larger ones would. I thought and her blush lit up her whole face. She didn't let my arm go, though.

Megan gave me a coquettish smile as she hugged my arm a little tighter and we walked on to find the two storey library. There were also several empty rooms with lots of hallways and passageways to be seen before we went back to the multi-level hangar. We had found everything we could and even discovered all four entrances to the base.

The first was the front entrance located at the base of Mount Justice and it lead into the forest. The second was the side entrance that faced the Rhode Island coastline. The third was through the bay door in the hangar which opened out towards the Atlantic Ocean. The fourth method was the Zeta-Beam teleporter tubes, through which members of the Justice League and The Team could travel to and from various locations.

I would investigate them later and would compare them to the transporter technology that I had gained after I had visited the Voyager universe, even though I was sure that I couldn't duplicate whatever Zeta-Beams were. They seemed a bit too specific to this universe to be considered commonplace enough for those kinds of transporters to work anywhere else but here.

“Thank you very much for allowing me to escort you around our new home, young lady.” I said in a snooty voice that would have been welcome in both the wizarding world of Harry Potter and the Alliance in Firefly.

Megan let out a girlish giggle. “You better not be planning on bowing to me or kissing my hand.”

“Ah, caught even before the attempt! I'm so devastated!” I almost shouted and shook my fist in the air. “Damn fate's fickleness!”

Megan laughed and shook her head. “I didn't think I would ever find someone else that liked old movies with the overacting and outrageous lines.”

I winked at her. “I already told Batman we would be using an excessive amount of computer time for... ahem... information gathering.”

Megan giggled again. “I barely know Earth's customs and even I understood what you meant!”

I laughed and motioned towards the direction of the lounge area. “Why don't we go see what we can dig up with whatever access level old Bats decided to give us?”

“That sounds great, John. Lead the way.” Megan said.

I briefly glanced down at her chest that was still pressed against my arm. “What did I warn you about before?”

“You warned me about something?” Megan asked with a teasing smile.

“Ha!” I barked. “It's right this way, my lady.”

Megan stayed glued to my arm as I led her back into the lounge area and to the computer terminal. We had some computer browsing and a bit more innocent flirting to do. I waved my hand at the stiff chair in front of the computer screen and it changed into a comfy loveseat.

I sat her down near the middle and then sat right beside her. Megan didn't say a word as she put her arms around my arm again in the same manner as when we were taking the tour. Her firm softness really did feel nice on my arm and I smiled warmly at her. I felt her nipples get hard and they pressed into my arm.

Perhaps a bit of not so innocent flirting, too. I thought with a mental chuckle.

Megan blushed and didn't deny it, because she was actually having fun.

*

Surprisingly, no one noticed the new satellites or the new objects cleaning up the lower orbital paths of the satellites that had appeared that same night. The stealth systems worked even better than predicted and soon there were also a hundred automated Fireflys flying around. They used tractor beams as they gathered up the old and disabled satellites that were soon tossed into the jaws of matter converters and broken down into useful materials.

It wasn't long before an entirely new satellite network was in place and modified Crybaby Mappers were sent out to map the local space for planets, asteroids, anomalies, and to record information for hyperspace coordinates. They also worked as communication relays and signals could be sent in real time to any planet or moon from Earth.

Once that was done, ten automated factories were built in the outer asteroid belt of Earth's solar system. They soon had a thousand harvesters on the go to feed them materials to make more Crybaby Mappers with R2 units attached to be sent out into space. The Fireflys did not like being limited to only the local space and the maps they had gained from the Justice League were severely lacking.

With the appropriate materials being harvested, another ten automated factories were constructed and they started to churn out the System Defense Grid. Weapons platforms, drone ships, and an interconnected energy shield network were deployed when they were available.

It would take several months to get them all into place around the entire solar system and the drones and factories would work tirelessly to achieve their main purpose.

*

The afternoon on July 9, 2010, Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad met up at a coffee shop in Central City, Missouri. It was the home of The Flash and because the young heroes had access to the Zeta-Beam teleporters, no distance was really too great for them to cross to meet up.

Since the rescue of Superboy from Cadmus the day before, Robin had snooped around Batman's recent files and investigations dealing with the company. Within the last few hours, several CEOs of prominent businesses that were associates had met with unfortunate accidents. Car crashes and muggings were the common thread, which Robin suspected was evidence of foul play.

Fortunately, Robin also found the name of a local tech company CEO right there in Central City, Selena Gonzalez. His thoughts were to protect her and it would count as a team building exercise. He knew that Kid Flash and Aqualad had enough real world experience to deal with the situation and had decided, completely on his own, that neither Superboy nor Miss Martian had enough experience to be useful.

The three young heroes decided to stake out the CEO's office and to wait for whatever assassin might show up.

*

Megan glared at the computer screen that showed her supposed teammates doing an unapproved mission on their own and they hadn't invited her or Superboy along, which would have given them some of the real world experience that their teammates said they lacked.

“So, are we going to smack them for being so stupid when they get back?” Megan asked me.

“No, my dear. I think I have a much better idea.” I said with a grin and shouted. “Hey, Superboy! Want to come along on a villain beatdown and maybe grab a pizza from The Flash's favorite pizza place?”

Superboy walked into the lounge area a few seconds later. “If it's half as good as those hamburgers, I'm in.”

“Yes! I'll get my bioship ready!” Megan said and flew off.

I chuckled and stood up as I left the computer terminal on with the satellite feed. If Batman was a diligent as I believed he was, he would detect the open connection eventually. Then again, perhaps a bit of a nudge wouldn't hurt, so I sent an inter-base message to Red Tornado to let him know we were going to Central City for a pizza and to pick up the errant boys.

“How are you settling in?” I asked Superboy as we walked towards the hangar bay.

Superboy just shrugged.

“Too soon to ask, right?” I asked and he nodded. “We can head out after this mess is cleaned up and we'll look around for something you can add to your room.”

“Why?” Superboy asked.

“Just because.” I said and he gave me a questioning look. “Posters, a television, and some different clothes if you feel like it.” I glanced at his face. “I'm sure we can find a nice Superman bedspread or pillow for you to cuddle or punch.”

Superboy looked surprised for a moment, then he squinted his eyes at me. “Don't try to shrink my head, John.”

I chuckled and raised my hands in surrender. “I'm not, honestly. I'm just telling you what I would do.”

“You'd hug him?” Superboy asked, surprised.

“Or punch him. He's pretty frustrating.” I said and Superboy nodded.

“I had hoped that... he might call and... and ask how I was doing.” Superboy reluctantly admitted.

“He's on a mission in Africa for the League.” I said and he looked surprised. “I told you that I'm going to do everything I can to help you, which means keeping track of the only real family connection that you have on this world.”

Superboy nodded and we entered the elevator to go down to the small hanger that Megan's bioship was stored in.

“After we grab you a nice television, I'll upgrade it and copy the tracking program into it for you.”

“Thanks.” Superboy said and sounded grateful. The elevator door opened and we walked over to the prepped bioship.

“Remind me when we get back to give you a datapad with Superman's history on it.” I said and he looked at me with wide eyes. “Shh! It's a secret that I hacked the League's database.”

“Of course you did.” Superboy said and lost the wide-eyed look as he huffed. “What else have you done since yesterday?”

“Not much.” I said and lightly ran my hand over the side of the bioship before I entered it. “I set up the clone pod and the two clones in one of the labs, started the orbital clean-up of the planet, mapped half of the solar system for hyperspace jump coordinates, and put relay satellites between Earth and Mars for instant communications.”

“NO WAY!” Megan gasped.

“You don't think I actually went to bed last night, do you? I had work to do.” I said to her.

“You're the BEST!” Megan yelled and jumped up from where she sat and hugged me around the neck before she kissed me several times in quick succession. She suddenly stopped, blushed deeply, and let me go before she dropped back into the pilot's seat without commenting on what she just did. “S-s-strap in. I'm not going to hold back.”

“Really? I couldn't tell.” I said and sat beside her as Superboy let out his first soft laugh.

Megan's blush didn't fade as the ship lifted up. I hit the remote control for the hangar doors and the ship shot out into the air and turned invisible. The hangar doors shut behind us automatically and we flew off to crash the stake-out the others were on.

I did not miss the not so subtle glances Megan gave me, as if she was trying to gauge my reaction to her lip assault. I turned my head to look right at her and her blush intensified. Rather than say anything, I used my own telepathic link to set the ship to autopilot and leaned close to her.

If you're worried I won't think that was worthy of our first kiss, let me just change your expectations a little. I thought to her and pulled her from her seat into my lap and gave her the best kiss that I could.

Megan let out a shaky moan as she saw in my head what I wanted to prove to her and she copied my movements and used her tongue to great effect. Her lips were the right shape to be both firm and soft, which matched mine, and the kiss became heated as we kept kissing and sharing thoughts.

It was almost too much for the young telepath to handle and she had to stop kissing me when the emotional connection grew to such strength that she almost blacked out from the intensity. Megan's breathing was fairly fast as she stared into my eyes. She had to wait for several long minutes before she could take a single deep breath and calmed down.

Woooooooow. Megan thought to me. Woooooooow.

Just so you know, it can get better than that with practice. I thought back to her.

Megan's eyes widened and then she realized where she was. Um... I need to... um... fly the ship! Yes, fly the ship! I need to do that!

I chuckled and opened my arms to let her go.

Megan hopped off of my lap and into her seat and her harness formed around her. How did you get me out of my chair? I was locked in!

I gave her a crooked smile. Any lock can be picked if you have enough determination.

Megan gave me a disbelieving look and concentrated on the bioship. She gave me another surprised look when she saw the autopilot had been engaged without her doing it and I winked at her.

*

Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad had been observing the CEO's office for several hours, because Selena Gonzalez was working late. Kid Flash's loud snacking and general carefree attitude irritated the other two; but, they were quickly called into action when Robin spotted a League of Shadows assassin named Black Spider.

Robin and Kid Flash immediately went after him before Aqualad had a chance to dissuade them. What they didn't know was that Black Spider was not alone. The assassin known as Hook had also shown up and he snuck up behind Aqualad and assaulted him with a cheap shot. To Aqualad's dismay, Hook was a superior fighter to him and quickly put Aqualad out of the fight with several strategic hits.

A quick message to Black Spider let him know that Aqualad had been dealt with, which freed Black Spider to use his abilities to easily fight against and deal with the two teen heroes, who really didn't have any powers beyond speed for Kid Flash and intelligence in Robin's case. In fact, Robin managed to save both himself and Kid Flash from falling multiple stories by using his grapple.

When both were safely on the ground, Hook was waiting for them and swung his hook to knock them out... and then it stopped as Superboy's fist slammed into the man's hook and dented the thing. Both it and the man were flung across the street and landed in a heap from the impact.

Two weblines hit Superboy's shoulders and he was yanked off of his feet as Black Spider leapt off of the building and used his own momentum to toss Superboy down the street.

“Stupid kids getting in the way.” Black Spider groused just in time, because he landed on the pavement and was immediately hit on the shoulders with a pair of booted feet that were attached to Miss Martian. He was driven down into the pavement and it cracked as the wind was knocked out of him.

“Stay down.” Miss Martian said as her cape billowed in the non-existent wind.

Cool effect. Hyperion thought to her.

Thanks. Miss Martian thought back.

You better take his web deployers and punch his lights out before he gets his breath back.

Good idea. Miss Martian thought and dropped to her knees on the man's chest, which caused him to delay getting his breath back even longer. She easily plucked one of the devices off of the man's wrist before he could react and she had to punch him in the face to distract him. He stop struggling and she grabbed the other one.

Toss them straight up. Hyperion told her and she did as asked without even looking. He stored them when they were within his range and he watched as Megan gave the man several more punches in the face before he stopped moving. Handcuffs coming down.

Thanks! Miss Martian thought gratefully and held her hand out to the side for them. They dropped right into her palm and she rolled the assassin over and cuffed him. Legs, too?

Good point. Hyperion replied and dropped another set of cuffs for her.

“How did you guys get here?” Kid Flash asked and rubbed his head. Black Spider hadn't been holding back against them and definitely didn't treat them with kid gloves.

“We flew. Duh.” Miss Martian said and did the same standing pose and hand wave that Hyperion had done when Superman asked about the lead-covered clone pod after their escape from Cadmus.

Teen girls really act like that? Robin asked himself before he was brought out of his thoughts by a yell and then Hook flew across his sight and slammed into the building behind him. He slumped to the ground and was out for the count. His hook was missing, too.

“He dropped this.” Superboy said and bent the thing and crushed it into a mangled metal ball. “Oops.”

Miss Martian giggled and dragged her captured villain over to them, let him go, and held her hands out.

Two sets of cuffs dropped into her hands and she clapped them around Hook's wrists and ankles.

“So cool.” Kid Flash said with a goofy grin as he admired her.

Miss Martian started to smile at the compliment and changed it into a frown as she glared at him. “You might have seen it a heck of a lot sooner if you hadn't kept this illegal mission to yourselves!”

Kid Flash winced and took a step away from her with his hands up. Angry girls were not something he wanted to deal with. It was right up there with crying girls on the things to avoid at all costs.

“Yeah. What she said.” Superboy said and dropped the ruined hook onto Hook's back.

“It was Robin's idea!” Kid Flash said and pointed to the Boy Wonder, totally throwing his friend under the proverbial bus.

“Gee, thanks.” Robin said with an eye roll and then he sighed. “He's right, though. It was my decision to not include you. Neither of you have any experience operating in the real world. Until you do spend some time being out and around to get used to things, you are going to be a tactical liability.”

“Is that what you believe?” Miss Martian asked and he nodded. She looked at Kid Flash and the boy nodded, albeit reluctantly.

“We agreed that he was right.” Aqualad said and walked over to them.

“Really?” Miss Martian asked and they nodded again. “So, not once did it occur to you, when you were out having a private meeting in a very public place, that you could have given us exactly that outside experience by inviting us along?”

“Yeah. What she said.” Superboy said and crossed his arms.

The three boys looked stunned by her revelation. It never occurred to them to start giving Miss Martian or Superboy that kind of experience.

“And that's my cue to intervene.” Hyperion said and dropped down to land beside Miss Martian. “You did this mission as a supposed team building exercise and then specifically didn't include the entire team.”

All three boys looked guilty at his words.

“You're just starting out and it's understandable that there will be rough patches to overcome. No one expects everything to work out right from the start.” Hyperion informed them. “However, you need to bring any concerns you have to me. Or to Batman. Whomever you're more comfortable talking to.”

“YOU.” The three boys yelled at the same time, which made Miss Martian laugh.

“That's my point right there. I'm not here to nurse you or to baby you. That's not my job. I'm a supervisor and advisor, which means I am here to help you as much as I can.” Hyperion said and met each of their eyes, even Superboy's and ended with Megan's. “It's not easy trying to fit into a new place with people you barely know. Believe me, I know.”

Miss Martian nodded, as did Superboy.

Hyperion opened his mouth to say something else and paused before he looked up to the top of the closest building. “Excuse me for a minute.”

Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad stared at the spot where he used to be, because he had just disappeared with a soft crack sound. Miss Martian and Superboy didn't react.

Did he just break the sound barrier? Robin asked himself, surprised.

A second later, Hyperion reappeared and he had a tied up assassin hanging from his hand. The woman wore a martial arts outfit with a weird cat-like mask and Robin did a quick search on his wrist computer.

“Her name's Cheshire and she's a League of Shadows assassin.” Robin said in a defeated tone.

“Whoa.” Kid Flash said, stunned. “They sent three assassins!”

“That's another reason to stay together as a team. Unexpected visitors.” Hyperion said and lifted her mask to make sure it was actually her, then paused once more. “Superboy, hold this for me.”

Superboy caught the assassin in a standing position and looked like he didn't know what to do with her, now that he had her.

“Be right back.” Hyperion said and disappeared once more with a crack.

“Aren't you a handsome one.” Cheshire said in a seductive voice.

Superboy was stunned and he had no idea how she had just adjusted herself enough to press most of her body against him, from thigh to chest.

“Big, strong and quiet, hmm? I like it.” Cheshire almost purred, then she actually purred when his body reacted to her closeness and she felt it. “What's your real name, gorgeous?”

Superboy didn't say anything for a moment, then decided on a safe answer. “Secret identity.”

Cheshire laughed and it sounded seductive. “Sweetie, the only reason I don't already know your name is because you're new.”

That answer surprised the others a lot more than it should have, because it meant she knew who they were in their civilian lives.

“How about Connor?” Hyperion asked as he reappeared, only he had a green-clad young woman in his arms this time and she was blushing. “Team, this is Artemis, Green Arrow's newest sidekick.”

“We weren't supposed to meet like this.” Artemis whispered and pushed away from him.

Hyperion let her go with a smile. “Don't worry about that. Green Arrow would have brought you around sometime, even just to meet the others.” He pointed to each member and rhymed off their hero code names. “The one Connor is giving quite the hug to is an assassin named Cheshire.”

“I... I know.” Artemis said and didn't bother looking at the woman.

“Ah, a bit of personal history. Not a problem.” Hyperion said and everyone looked at him. “What? You all know different people before you joined the team. I'm not going to hold it against you.”

“She's a villain!” Kid Flash gasped and pointed to Cheshire. “She's a killer!”

“Uh huh. Yes.” Hyperion said and nodded several times. “What's your point?”

Kid Flash's mouth dropped open and both Aqualad and Robin looked surprised.

“I'm not going to lecture you about the differences between good people, bad people, good people doing bad things, and bad people doing good things. We'll be here all damn day.” Hyperion said.

“Are... are you serious? You don't care that I'm an assassin?” Cheshire asked, which was the last person that any of the others had expected to talk.

“Why should I? You're not attacking me or my friends right now are you?”

“I would have if they got in my way.” Cheshire said with a bit of a growl. She didn't want to appear weak around a whole group of junior heroes.

“Ha! There we go!” Hyperion said and pointed at her. “Did you hear that qualification, everyone? She would leave you alone if you don't stop her from completing her job.”

“Her JOB is to KILL SOMEONE!” Kid Flash yelled and waved his hands exaggeratedly.

“Hmm? Oh, right.” Hyperion said and waved his hand at the ground. To everyone's shock and surprise, the bloody body of Selena Gonzales appeared there.

“N-n-n-no.” Megan whispered as she felt the sorrow from those around her. She ignored the feeling of apathy from Superboy, the feeling of satisfaction from Cheshire, and the accepting feeling from Hyperion. How can you think like that?

It's all right, Megan. That's a lifeless body clone. The real Selena Gonzales is safe at a resort in Hawaii. Hyperion thought to her. “I figured if everyone wanted her dead, they weren't going to leave her alone until she was.”

“You... you... MONSTER!” Kid Flash yelled and ran forward to punch him.

Hyperion didn't react at all and Kid Flash fell asleep and dropped to the ground in front of him. “By the way, you shouldn't attack your supervisor. He has the power to ground you.”

Both Robin and Aqualad took steps back and readied themselves for a fight.

Hyperion chuckled and snapped his fingers. Both boys dropped to the ground, fast asleep. “Shortsighted people can be entertaining sometimes.” He said and knelt to pull off the slightly bloody necklace from the body's neck. The chain snapped and he looked at Superboy. “You can let her go.”

Superboy did so and the ropes holding her dropped away.

Cheshire held onto him for several moment before she turned and stared at Hyperion. “Are you going to claim the bounty?”

“I don't need the money.” Hyperion said and held the necklace out to her. “I think you can put this to better use.”

Cheshire hesitated for a few seconds before she very slowly reached out and picked up the thing from Hyperion's outstretched hand. “You are a very strange hero.”

Hyperion gave her a big smile. “You're not the first person to say that.”

“She won't be the last, either.” Artemis said.

Cheshire laughed a seductive laugh and wrapped the necklace in a cloth and hid it away. “Are you really going to let me walk away?”

No one missed how she had turned her head to address Superboy and he looked conflicted about it.

“Here's his personal comm code.” Hyperion said and tossed her a data chip. “It's encoded with everything, so it's completely untraceable. You can chat whenever you want.”

“Are you nuts?” Artemis asked, surprised.

“Even the most notorious arch enemies can be civil and friendly with each other.” Hyperion said. “I'm not going to tell Connor that he can't be friends with someone, just because of their profession.”

Cheshire gave him a pointed look that none of them missed. “You might dress in an older style Superman suit; but, you definitely don't act like him.”

“That's who I was talking about.” Hyperion said and those still conscious stared at him. “He and Lex Luthor have been bitter enemies and rivals for years, decades even, and they still talk normally and conduct business with each other and their organizations with both civility and calmness.” He looked at Connor. “If those two can put aside their differences when necessary, there's no reason to stop everyone else from doing it, too.”

Cheshire gave him another look, looked back at Connor, and put the data chip into another hidden pocket. “Maybe I'll call sometime. If you're lucky.”

Superboy only gave her a very slight nod in response before she dropped a smoke pellet and disappeared. Neither he nor Hyperion said anything about still seeing her drop a poisoned throwing star into the body at her feet and then flee. She also hid nearby to make it look like she had completely disappeared in the few seconds that the smoke needed to clear away with the wind.

“Let's go home.” Hyperion said and Megan brought her ship down telepathically. It landed and they loaded the body, the two captured assassins, and the unconscious heroes inside. Artemis went with them when they offered to drop her off and she barely stopped herself from glaring at Cheshire.

Before Superboy stepped onto the ramp, he paused and turned slightly as he rubbed a hand on his chest where Cheshire had pressed her own chest into. He smiled a little and then let his face go blank as he went up the ramp.

Chesire watched as the ship rose into the air and then it disappeared from sight. Her thoughts were filled with the odd scene that she had just been a part of and she couldn't stop her thoughts going over how nice it had felt to be held like that, even with the restraints. In fact, the restraints kind of turned her on, because Connor could have done anything he wanted to her and she couldn't stop him.

She smiled and put her mask back into place and ran down the alleyway. She had a very interesting report to bring to her handler when she collected her payment and she looked forward to keeping a few details to herself. Information was just as valuable to her organization as completed jobs were.

*

“Uhhh.” Kid Flash groaned and then he gasped and jumped up from the bed in the infirmary. Robin sat up on his and Aqualad only turned his head to look at me.

“Thanks for selling the fake body so well.” I said before anyone could say anything about what happened. “Cheshire fully believed that Miss Gonzalez was dead and left without trying to hurt anyone.”

Several different emotions flowed over Kid Flash's face until he settled on disbelief. “You can't be serious.”

I held out my phone with a picture of her at a resort in Hawaii that was timestamped. “I've already arranged a new look and identity for her and she's going to step right back into her role and keep control of the company. The paperwork's already gone through. When she's done relaxing in a few days, it'll be like nothing happened.”

“Except she's not who she was anymore.” Robin said.

I shrugged. “She doesn't have any living family and didn't have much of a social life. Unless something was done, she was going to be hunted by assassins for the rest of her life or until someone succeeded. This was the best way for her to stay safe and not have to worry.”

“Why were they hunting her?” Aqualad asked. “Robin said Batman couldn't figure it out.”

“She was contracted to produce a superweapon for the League of Supervillains, or I guess they call themselves The Council of Humanity or Council of Light or something. It's less evil sounding, anyway.” I said with a chuckle. “It's okay, though. The weapon was disabled, the programming deleted, and the main part destroyed.”

“What was it?” Robin asked.

“I didn't ask and I didn't want to know.” I said and he looked surprised. “Do you really want something else that can destroy the world floating around? I sure as hell don't.”

Robin looked like he was going to say something and nodded instead.

“So, what now?” Kid Flash asked.

“Batman said he endorses my decision to ground you.” I said and all three teenagers groaned. “No powers, superheroing, or costumes for a week.”

Kid Flash sighed and ducked his head.

“I'm sorry, guys.” Robin said.

“No, Robin. We agreed with you. It was important and we tried to handle it ourselves. That was the only mistake we made.” Aqualad said and sat up.

“I agree, which is why Black Canary is still coming over to help train you tomorrow.” I said and they looked surprised, so I waved at the door. “Get changed and store your costumes in your rooms. Casual clothes only.”

“Really? I can't go home wearing it?” Kid Flash asked.

“No superheroing means no superheroing.” I said. “The three of you are staying here tonight, too. I already cleared it with Barry, Arthur, and Bruce.”

The three of them froze and stared at me like I had slapped them.

“Don't freak out because I know everyone's secret identities.” I told them.

“You know EVERYONE'S secret identities?!?” Kid Flash exclaimed.

“I'd prove it to you, except most of them like keeping it a secret.” I said with a knowing smile. “I told you because I'm your supervisor and advisor. You can't tell me about everything that's wrong in your lives if you're hiding half of it on the civilian side.”

Their surprise faded away and they looked thoughtful.

“Anyways, we're meeting in the living area and are having a movie night to give Megan and Connor a more modern cultural background.” I said and walked over to the door. “Individual choice if you want to join in or go do your own thing.”

“Does that include...” Robin started to ask.

“No, not even private sleuthing.” I said and left them there. I walked to the kitchen and pulled out a box of the instant popcorn packs from the snack cupboard and walked towards the couch as I used my firebending ability to increase the heat in my free hand to pop one of the bags.

“I can't believe you actually did replace the huge television with a wall screen.” Megan said and happily accepted the now fully popped bag. “Thanks, John.”

“You're welcome.” I said and sat down beside her and started another one. I held it out to the side and my hair moved when Superboy ran over and plopped down onto the couch in the corner. He accepted the bag and nodded to me.

“If anyone wants chips and cookies, now's the time. After I start the movie, no one is walking in front of me.” I said and took out another popcorn bag and started popping it.

Megan giggled and waved her hand at the snack cupboard. Two bags of chips and a pack of cookies floated over across my view and landed on the coffee table. I had to laugh at her for cheating so well and put my free arm over her shoulders. She gave me a crooked smile and leaned into my side.

I started the movie as Robin and Aqualad entered the room and they sat in the plush chairs on the side of the couch. Artemis came into the room and saw where everyone was sitting and gave the spot between Superboy and myself a cursory look, then sat down and took the bag of popcorn I handed her. Kid Flash zoomed in and stopped beside the couch when he saw my arm over Megan's shoulder.

“I said no powers.” I pointed to the other corner of the couch. “Do you want to wear a power dampener?”

Kid Flash shook his head, picked up a bag of chips, and sat in the corner. I didn't have to hear his thoughts to know he was disappointed that I was the one with my arm over Megan's shoulders.

Megan must have caught my thought and sent one of her own. He's really envious. Like, completely.

I know. I thought back. The problem is that he's looking at you and not really seeing you. I wouldn't discourage him if he was genuinely trying to get to know you better and didn't only want the hottest girl on the team.

Megan blushed and leaned more on me. You really believe that.

I don't give out false compliments. I thought to her and turned my head slightly to place a kiss on her cheek. I never have.

Th-thank you. Megan responded and a sense of contentment flowed into my mind.

I accepted her invitation as I let her in and let her roam around in one of my Halls of Memory. It was the one from the Arrow Universe and Megan dove into it. She completely forgot to watch the movie as she slowly ate her popcorn and watched the life I had lived there.

You really don't care if someone's a villain or not, as long as they treat you fairly. Megan thought.

Villainy properly directed can still benefit humanity, just like I directed Isabel. I thought back. It's the crazy or unhinged murderers that cause the most destruction and the most civilian casualties. Those I'll stop with extreme prejudice.

Time seemed to pass like water in a river and I somehow ended up in my room and had Megan clung to my side. I didn't question it, even though I should have, and fell asleep with our minds connected.

I woke up and felt both weak and strong, which gave me pause, and I looked down at myself. I had a tall lanky white body with two extra arms and I felt light in a weak gravity. It took me several seconds to realize I was in a native Martian body and I lifted my head to look across the 'room' I was in.

“John!” Megan said as her own lanky alien Martian form coalesced into being across the 'room'.

I knew then that it was just a mental construct and the room itself didn't exist. It was just a bridge to let us interact with each other while we were asleep, which was something I hadn't really explored when I shared mental space with Seven of Nine.

“That's what you really look like?” I asked as she walked over to me. Her gait was odd because of her long legs and her extra arms helped her balance.

“It is.” Megan said in the same voice she had in her human form, even though her mouth didn't move. She didn't stop walking, because she knew I wasn't disgusted by what I saw. I didn't have to tell her that I had met a lot of different people and aliens during my travels or that she was nowhere near close to anything I would fear or dismiss as a viable companion.

Megan shivered when I shunted my time in the Star Wars universe into her head and she saw my interactions with Yaddle. She let out a moan that was not safe to let out in polite company and she broke into a run before she jumped towards me. I opened my multiple arms to catch her floating form and after our two forms impacted, they seemed to fit together perfectly.

“You're not faking it.” Megan's voice spoke and it also echoed inside my head, which meant we had a very deep connection. “You really do accept me fully.”

“I won't hold anyone's situation against them. Good or bad, angel or devil, hero or villain, or alien or mutant. Everyone deserves a chance.” I responded. “Like I told Connor, if Superman can treat Luthor civilly after everything he's done, then everyone deserves an equal chance.”

Megan trembled and her thoughts raced past a PG rating and I felt a weird proboscis extend from between my legs. “You can still date Wonder Woman.” She said and moved out slightly and pierced herself on my protrusion. She let out the sexiest moan I had ever heard from any female I had ever been with, then she rode me mentally for what seemed like an eternity.

*

I woke up and I was on top and inside of a very happy Megan. The look of complete joy on her face was unmistakable, too. If she wasn't pregnant from an all night session of however many ejaculations from me, both mentally and physically, then she was never going to get pregnant because of the species barrier. As it was, I could feel how much I had released inside of her and it was an indecent amount.

I pulled out of her and could hear the sucking sound, because her body didn't want to let me go. I had felt the same thing from several women I had been with in different worlds and I almost laughed, because Megan had pretty much snuck into my life and stole me from every other woman I could have been with. I let her feel that feeling from me and her joyous face changed to a satisfied one.

I did laugh at the new look on her face and she kept her eyes closed as her satisfied look changed to a smug one. “Well played, Megan. Well played.”

Megan didn't respond and kept the smug look, so I slid out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower. I was done quickly and changed into a casual outfit. Megan hadn't stirred, probably on purpose, so I left her there in my bed and went out to the kitchen and started to make breakfast for everyone.

I knew both Superboy and Kid Flash needed a lot of carbs and energy for their metabolisms, so I put on several packs of bacon and ham for them and a dozen eggs that I scrambled with milk into a gigantic pile of fluffy scrambled eggs.

As I cooked, I went over what had happened last night. I had taken a teenager to bed and I seemed to be okay with that. I was a little concerned that I wasn't concerned about it, until I remembered that I was living my life over again each time I travelled to a new world. I wasn't holding myself to any set standards anymore, not like I had at first.

At the moment, I looked like I was around 23 years old and if I wanted to, I could regress myself to 18 like I had for Taylor back in the Worm universe. Since Megan chose to look 16, even though she was physically almost 50 and could look however she wanted, our situations were similar enough that I didn't feel like I was taking advantage of her.

I held in my laughter at that thought, because I was pretty sure that it was Megan that had taken complete advantage of me last night. I plated up a huge amount of scrambled eggs and filled a platter with bacon and ham chunks on the side.

“I need to stay over more if this is what breakfast is like.” Kid Flash said as he sat at the counter on a stool and made a gimme gesture with his hands.

“You're lucky you didn't zoom in or I would have only given you half a plate of bacon.” I said and handed him the overflowing plate of eggs and the first platter of bacon.

“You're a king among chefs!” Kid Flash praised me and dug into the mountain of food like he was starving. Considering his enhanced metabolism, he probably felt like he was, even if he actually wasn't.

I put a similar plate next to his and Superboy appeared and sat down to dig in. I added the second platter of bacon and ham chunks beside it and he gave me a nod. I nodded back before I put on more eggs and bacon with a grilled fish and several octopus tentacles.

By the time the two living stomachs were almost done shovelling food into their mouths, the other teenagers managed to crawl out of bed and joined us at the counter.

“Order up.” I said jokingly and Robin laughed, Megan giggled, Artemis looked surprised, and Aqualad looked confused. I gave him the plate with fish and octopus and he looked surprised, too. “Supervisor and advisor means I needed to know what to include as dietary requirements and supplements.”

Aqualad nodded and dug in. Robin looked grateful and Megan gave me an odd look.

“I'll send off an order for anything you want, now that we're connected in realtime to Mars. I can have any specialty foods you want here in an hour.” I said and I was mentally hit with several native Martian dishes as they filled my head. “I'll have something good ready for lunch.”

“Thank you, John.” Megan said and ate the eggs and bacon on her plate.

“I'm not sure what to say.” Artemis said and looked a little guilty as she ate.

“I'm here to make your lives easier and that means meals, relaxing time, proper training, and anything else you think I need to do for you.” I said and they gave each other brief looks before looking at me and nodding. “Let me know what else you need and I'll get it here or arrange for it as soon as possible.”

Various thanks and thank yous answered me and I served myself a generous helping of food and sat across from them and ate. I pointed to the snacks cupboard and Kid Flash and Superboy raided it for packs of cookies and fig newtons. I would have it filled again by lunchtime and no one would miss out. Automated delivery drones were wonderful.

“Black Canary will be here in about twenty minutes, so if you want to handle some personal things until then, like calls and things, go ahead and do them before you meet us in the gym.” I said and the guys all left to go do something.

Artemis gave me a searching look and let her face go blank before she stood up to leave.

I stepped around the counter and lightly touched her arm. “Artemis, you can tell me anything. If you need something, let me know. It doesn't matter what it is, I'll get it for you.”

“I... I can't. I can't ask you...” Artemis had a tear come out.

“I mean it, Artemis. Anything you want.” I said with as much sincerity as I could.

Artemis took a deep breath and let it out. “My mother needs about thirty thousand dollars for medical bills, more for back rent, and even more than that for overdue bills. She can't afford my upcoming school fees, books, or my uniform, either.”

I turned her to look at me and I saw that both of her eyes had tears in them. “Is that all?”

“Is that all? Is that ALL?” Artemis shouted. “Our lives are falling apart and there' nothing that...”

I held up a hand to stop her rant and reached behind the counter. I pretended to move something as I created a suitcase filled with money. I put it on the counter and opened it before I turned it around and showed it to her.

“Here's 25 million dollars. When I asked you if that was all, I meant that if you had any other problems for me to handle, just say so.”

Both Megan and Artemis stared at the case filled with real money.

“Before you ask, I've already given a case identical to this one to Batman for the base's operating costs, lab equipment, and supplies.” I told them and they kept staring at the money.

“I'd like some of that!” Kid Flash's voice said from down the hallway.

I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out a bundle of ten thousand dollars that I tossed into the air. “Catch!”

“DUDE!” Kid Flash said and zoomed into the room to catch it. “This isn't a joke, is it?”

“No.” I said and took out another one to toss to him. “Give this to your mother to make up for having to feed you since you gained your powers.”

“Thanks, dude!” Kid Flash said and zoomed away.

“No powers!” I shouted after him and he just laughed. I shook my head at him and closed the case before I handed it to Artemis. “Do you have any other problems that you want me to handle?”

“My... my mother, Paula. She... she...” Artemis looked at the case in her hands and looked at me. “She's in a wheelchair and...”

“If she's in a wheelchair, do you want me to make a house call?” I asked.

“I guess I... wait, what are you asking?” Artemis asked, confused.

“Depending on her injury, I can treat her with bacta technology like I'm treating the clones. If it's nerve damage as well as broken bones and cartilage, it might take a little longer.”

“How... how long?” Artemis asked in a whisper.

“I haven't run a full diagnostic test on the Bacta fluid yet. Considering the strength of it when I was rescued, I'd say she'll be out of circulation for about six hours if it's a severely broken spine or a day if the nerves have to be fixed first and have the bones realigned and repaired.”

“You... you...” Artemis started to hyperventilate and I stepped close to rub her back.

“It's true, Artemis. It really does work.” Megan said and looked at me. “Are you going to start setting up the same healing facilities like you did in The Glades?”

“I had the proper paperwork then to set it up, thanks to the rebuilding efforts. I need to research things here to see how much I can do legally without having to involve the government. My supply is limited and it takes a while to set things up and to run it. The overhead is ridiculous when the tanks are involved.”

“You need to check the sentience laws, too.” Megan said. “I know Red Tornado has an exception because he's a registered member of the Justice League.”

“That's why this place isn't filled with R2 and Medical droids already, because AIs are so rare here. I haven't even taken Eye out to let him have some fun, because I'm worried he'll be legally co-opted by some agency or kidnapped by everyone else.”

“I think he could help us a bunch, too.” Megan said and looked at the time. “We don't have much time left before Black Canary shows up.”

Artemis made a distressed sound and I smiled at her.

“You're excused for today, since it's just a preliminary meet for Dinah to gauge everyone's level and she can design specific regimens for each of you.” I said and pointed to the hangar bay. “Zeta beams are in the hangar. Do you know the right address to set to go home?”

Artemis nodded and hugged the metal case. “I... um...”

I chuckled. “Megan, go on ahead and let the others know I'm taking a nervous Artemis home.”

Megan walked over to me and gave me a kiss, nodded to Artemis, and walked away. Neither Artemis nor I missed the extra sway in her hips.

I transfigured my clothes into my costume and Artemis stared at me. “Piggyback or princess carry?”

Artemis looked at my muscled arms and at my face.

I chuckled as I scooped her up into my arms and she kept hold of the case. I flew over to the hangar and the closest door opened for me. I flew out and protected the both of us with an energy shield before I really poured on the speed. We were at her mother's place in only a few minutes and I landed on the sidewalk in front of their apartment building.

“Everyone can see us.” Artemis whispered.

“Obscure and stealth spells.” I said and walked to the front door. Artemis used a hand to open it for me and we entered and went to her mother's apartment. She opened the door for me again and I carried her inside.

“Artemis! What happened to you?” A woman's shrill voice asked. It was tinged with worry and apprehension.

“She was too nervous about carrying around a pile of money without being protected.” I said and stood Artemis on her feet. She looked reluctant to step away from me, though. I didn't bother asking if I was more appealing because I was taken or because I was rich, since I knew it was a mix of both.

“A pile of... why does she have a pile of money?” The woman asked, surprised.

“I heard that you might be having troubles and I gave it to her.” I said and motioned to the case. “You have my permission to use the money to pay off your outstanding debts, buy this apartment, the building, or move to a house.”

The woman in the wheelchair gave the case a glance and squinted her eyes at me. “Who the hell are you to give my child enough money to do any of that?”

I changed my clothing back to jeans and a t-shirt like Superboy's, only with an 'H' on the chest, and I held my hand out to her. “My name is John Hansen and I've been assigned to look after the junior League members that are learning to be heroes.”

The woman's glare didn't lessen as she shook my hand. “What's your superhero name?”

“You won't know it, since I'm a new one. It's Hyperion and I haven't done anything publicly yet.” I said and read what her image gave me. She was an ex-assassin for the League of Shadows called Huntress and she had a broken back from fighting a villain. “It's nice to meet you, Paula.”

Paula nodded and let my hand go. “What does my daughter have to do for that money?”

I smiled at her. “You're not going to ask how much I gave her?”

“It doesn't matter how much it is. Everyone expects something for their money.” Paula said, a little angrily, which confirmed that she was used to working for money and not being able to do so bothered her a lot, as did Artemis being the one working for it.

“I'm paying her to let me experiment on you.” I said with an innocent look on my face.

“WHAT?!?” Both Paula and Artemis yelled in shock.

I burst out laughing and waved at them with both hands to calm them down. “Kidding, I'm kidding.” I said and took out a glowing needle. “You need to lay down for about an hour after I inject you with this healing fluid. I'll set your dislocated vertebrae manually and this will rebuild your muscles and tendons in no time.”

Both mother and daughter gave me incredulous stares.

“I was going to bring you to my lab where I have a bacta tank ready for regeneration, only your injury is just superficial and the nerves are fine. Broken bones set quickly if injected directly.”

“You want to stick that thing into my spine?” Paula asked, incredulous.

“Just the broken part. It's covered in a numbing liquid, so you won't feel a thing.”

“I can't feel anything from the waist down anyway.” Paula said.

“That's because the broken bone pinched the nerve. Once it's healed, the pinch will disappear.” I informed her.

“But, medical science hasn't advanced to the point that...”

“Only because I'm waiting for the patents and things to go through and I don't have my trusted AI handy to push it through.” I said and waved to her couch. “We can do it right here and Artemis can hold your hand the whole time.”

Paula gave her daughter a pointed look.

“He asked me what problems I had and gave me a ton of money before asking me about what other problems I had. I said you were in a wheelchair and he asked to make a house call.”

Paula sighed and rolled over to the couch. “I can't believe I'm going to let you do this.”

Being the helping soul I was, I helped her transfer to the couch and Paula took several minutes to situate herself properly on the couch on her stomach.

“Okay, I'm ready. Go ahead and give me this miracle cure or whatever it is.” Paula said.

“What are you talking about? I'm already done.” I said and showed her the empty needle and tossed it into the trash. I had injected her while they were both distracted and they didn't notice. “Just stay there and you'll be right as rain in an hour.”

“Are you joking?” Paula asked and turned her head to look at me, surprise clear on her face.

“No.” I said and cast several diagnostic spells on her and everything was fine. “Make that 45 minutes. Your exceptionally toned body is adapting the bacta fluid faster than a normal person would.”

“What... what do you mean by a normal person?” Artemis asked, nervously.

“People that have fit bodies can use food, medicine, and workouts much more efficiently than someone that hasn't done any training at all.” I said and they looked like they didn't believe me. I chuckled and took out a lightsaber and activated it.

“AHH!” Both of them gasped.

“It's cool, right?” I asked and poked my palm with the tip and burned a hole in the skin.

“What are you doing?!?” They both asked and their voices sounded similar.

“Proving my bacta works.” I said and turned off the lightsaber and stored it, created another needle, and injected my palm with it. The two of them watched as my skin grew back in under ten seconds.

“Wow.” Artemis whispered.

“Once I get my full research lab up and running to check the numbers on the more powerful bacta, I'll file for federal approval to open a medical clinic and I'll be regrowing people's lost limbs every day.” I said and stored the barely used needle. “That's assuming they don't block it because it's going to put a lot of pay for healing hospitals out of business.”

Paula and her daughter exchanged worried looks.

“I'm still going to hope I can get it approved with the limb growth part and I can do the healing part on the side. They can't deny me after already giving me approval because the public would tear them apart if they can't have lost body parts replaced without surgery and massive amounts of anti-rejection drugs.”

“You just gave the best reason for them to not allow it.” Paula said.

I chuckled and had a weird thought. “Do you think if I went villain so I could ignore federal regulations and opened a healing clinic anyway, that the Justice League would raid it and shut me down?”

Artemis looked surprised for a moment and then laughed. “That's just like you said to Cheshire before! Bad people doing good and good people doing bad!”

I grinned at her and held a hand up to get a high five from her. “I need to get back to base.”

Artemis' face lost the amusement. “John, I... I can't thank you enough for...”

“The paperwork for the money and where it came from is in the pocket in the top of the case, so give that to the bank when you deposit the money. It lets them trace it and they won't assume it's stolen or counterfeit.” I said and stepped close to give her a brief hug. “Take care of your mom and I'll see you at the base next weekend.”

“I have summer school homework to do and...”

“I'll visit tonight to help with that if you want me to.” I said and she looked at her mother. Paula nodded and Artemis nodded, too. I smiled and stepped back, saluted, and disappeared with a soft crack.

I arrived just in time to watch as Black Canary kicked the asses of the other team members during their first ever spar with her. I went to each student and whispered encouraging words about copying her movements and to watch how she moved, then copied her fighting ability over to them. With her there to teach them how to use the copied moves, they would excel very quickly.

By the time lunch rolled around and the automated delivery drone from Mars had arrived, the students were on fighting par with Black Canary and had beaten her 50% of the time. Her surprised state remained until she left, probably because I had cooked prime steaks with succulent vegetables on an open grill and everyone loved them.

Aqualad had grilled swordfish with a kipper chaser and oysters while Megan's main meal was a Mars variant of a range animal and it had a side dish of her favorite Martian tubers. She devoured the food like it was going to disappear unless she ate it as quickly as possible.

“I think someone's been learning lessons from Kid Flash.” Robin joked and everyone laughed, even Megan. Her psychic ability let her know that they were laughing with her and not at her.

“You're on free time for the rest of the day. I suggest doing your homework this afternoon if you've got it, either here or at home.” I said and they all nodded. “If you need help, I'll be in my lab working and you have my permission to interrupt me for any reason.”

As they started to leave the dining room, Robin stopped to ask me something.

I held out a datapad and interrupted him and saw as his eyes widened at what was on it. “Have fun.”

“Best advisor ever.” Robin said and pretty much ran to the transporter room and disappeared.

“I seriously thought he was going to ask you for money.” Kid Flash said as I handed him the same bank papers for the cash I had given him. He nodded before he ran into the transporter room and disappeared in a flash. Aqualad waved before he ran to the harbour access and dove into the water to head home in the sea.

“Superboy, you're welcome to join me.” I offered and he looked thoughtful, then shrugged. “It's going to take time to work on the clones of Speedy and I'll do my best to figure out the genetic drift and treatment to fix them. Anytime you want me to give you a check-up, let me know. There's no rush and no pressure.”

“Thanks.” Superboy said and left.

Megan gave me a pointed look and I chuckled.

“I think I've released a sexy monster.” I whispered and she giggled. “Come on. I have paperwork to work on and you can help yourself while I'm busy working on the massive ball of red tape that surrounds the government.”

“Thanks, John.” Megan said and took my arm as if I was escorting her.

I led her into my lab and she caught her breath at the equipment. “This is only part of the massive amounts of patents and technology that I need to sort through and register legally, again that's assuming there's nothing similar or the patent gets blocked because the tech will destroy certain industries if it becomes commonly known and used.”

“Like that datapad you gave Robin?” Megan asked.

“Batman will be calling me in about fifteen minutes about copying it or suborning the tech, so yeah.” I said and she laughed. “That's kind of the problem with innovations that are simple and broad ranging. The impact on society if such a simple thing is sold to them, will change how a lot of things are handled.”

Megan nodded and I sat down at my work desk that already had a bunch of papers on it. The computer terminal was an upgraded version of the one in the living room, too.

“Don't mind me.” Megan said and slid under the desk.

“Honestly, I don't mind at all.” I said and she gave me a happy smile as her hands worked on my jeans and then her mouth was solely occupied as she helped herself.

*

Artemis stared in disbelief as her mother, that had been in a wheelchair for as long as she could remember, strutted around the apartment like she was a runway model. She also did various poses that used her back to exaggerate her pushing out her chest and stuck out her butt as if she was being photographed.

The knock on the door made the both of them jump slightly. Before Artemis could offer to see who it was, her mother ran over to it and yanked it open, grabbed Hyperion's arm and hauled him inside, slammed the door, then she hopped up onto him and clung to him like a monkey as she kissed him.

Artemis stared at her mother making out with a man she had just met for nearly ten seconds before she realized that her mother was making out with a man she had just met. “MOM!”

Paula broke the kiss with a laugh and let the man go. She dropped to the floor and stared up at him. “Damn, you're a fantastic kisser.”

“I've had a lot of practice.” Hyperion said. “I assume you're a little happy to be walking again?”

“Happy? I'd have stripped you off and ridden you already if my daughter wasn't such a prude.”

“MOM!” Artemis gasped and her mother laughed.

“Oh, relax. If you didn't notice, he held me up by my waist and didn't grab my ass, so he's either seeing someone or he's having sex with them.” Paula said and waved her hand in dismissal. “I might have been a bad girl when I was younger; but, I've never poached a man that didn't want me to.”

Hyperion looked thoughtful or a moment and then chuckled. “Megan said as long as you're not planning on keeping me, she won't begrudge you letting off years of frustration after I help Artemis with her homework.”

Both Paula and Artemis looked surprised by his words.

Hyperion walked over to the kitchen table where Artemis had her school books out. “All right, what are we working on first?”

“Calculus is a pain in the ass.” Artemis said and pushed the book towards him, thankful for the change of subject.

Hyperion nodded and moved one of the chairs to sit right beside her.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Artemis asked.

“Teaching you.” Hyperion said and then he did so.

Both Artemis and her mother were stunned when he gave them both the most impressive and informative lesson on advanced math that either of them had ever experienced. His little memorization tricks worked and calculus went from incomprehensible to downright easy in the space of three hours.

Artemis stared down at her homework and she couldn't believe that she had been the one that did it. Hyperion hadn't touched a pencil or anything, so it had been all her own work. It was amazing that after so many months trying to learn the stuff at school and almost failing every test she had taken all year, that she could do it without straining her brain or her wrist from having to constantly redo the work to get it right.

“You know I have to do this now.” Paula said and took Hyperion's hand.

Artemis nodded and ignored the bedroom door shutting, because she had to do something to prove to herself that it wasn't a fluke. She flipped to the front of the school book she hated and started to redo the assignments that she had mostly blown and gotten red marks for all year.

By the time she was done four hours later, Artemis had a stack of papers an inch thick and she sat back on her chair, stunned. The evidence was right there in front of her and she still couldn't believe it. She had done all of that mind-numbing work that had frustrated her for months and it was easy. It. Was. Easy!

Her mother's bedroom door opened and Artemis looked up to see Hyperion walk out and he closed the door silently. He walked over to her and looked at the stack of papers.

“I think if you pass those in after passing in your current homework, the teacher won't think you cheated. If they object to how well you've done, call me immediately. I'll give them an abbreviated lesson on how to really teach calculus.” Hyperion said and Artemis gave him a rare smile. “See you next weekend.”

Artemis nodded and didn't react when the man disappeared with a soft crack. She packed up her school things and put her massive amount of finished homework into her backpack and went to her room to change and go to bed. As she laid there under the covers, her only thoughts were about the look on her mother's face when she said she had to have sex with the man that had helped them.

You are reading story Accidental Multiverse Planeswalker at novel35.com

She hadn't done it for the money or for healing her. No, she had done it because Hyperion had helped her daughter with her homework. Helping her daughter was more important to her than healing her broken back or getting millions of dollars.

Artemis fell asleep with another rare smile on her face, because she hadn't realized that she needed the confirmation that her mother loved her above all other considerations.

*

It took a week for myself and Panacea to diagnose the clones. Unfortunately, my original supposition about their genetic drift and damage was correct. They only had a few years left on their lives from the artificially accelerated growth and mishandling of the original samples. Both Panacea and I groused at them for how heavy-handed the original doctor had been in creating bio-engineered constructs.

“It's going to take a while to fix them without reverting them to become identical to the original.” Panacea said with a sigh. “We both know doing that would be the easiest thing to do.”

I sighed as well and rubbed my face in frustration, because I had pretty much been awake for six straight days as I took care of the young heroes during the day and worked on the clone problem in the lab at night. I couldn't keep the clones in comas for much longer and any lengthy treatment was going to cut into that time like a hot knife through butter.

“What about the Miracle serum? Could we use that as an enhanced binding agent for the DNA strands to stabilize them?” I asked her and handed her the datapad with the information on it.

Panacea took several minutes to look it over and she placed a hand on the fake Speedy that Batman had captured and sent over. He had also stopped a criminal named Brick from robbing a shipment at the docks. Will Harper had been the first Speedy clone created and we used him as a basis for everything we attempted for treating the clones, since he was technically the oldest.

“You know, this serum you fixed is quite a breakthrough.” Panacea said, her face serene as she lightly rubbed Speedy's arm. “Can I touch someone that's already been enhanced by it?”

“Of course.” I said and created a modified River assassin. “Her name's Lake.”

Panacea's eyes roamed over her muscular form and she almost looked hungry. They were also about the same height.

I had to hold in my laugh as Panacea stepped close to use both hands to take the assassin's hands tenderly and hugged them as she looked into Lake's eyes. I didn't comment that she was a little too close for a normal examination, mainly because I didn't want to distract her. I also didn't offer to create a magical copy of Glory Girl, because that was someone this world did not need. She wouldn't have her original powers, either.

“I see.” Panacea whispered and had a conflicted look on her face.

“Are you trying to decide how to apply the changes to the clones or are you trying to decide if you can kiss her without getting your ass beaten to a pulp?” I asked, genuinely curious about how she would answer.

Panacea didn't take her eyes off of the assassin's eyes. “My body's already decided. I'm just trying to convince my brain that the beating is worth taking the chance.”

I laughed at the admission and the assassin smiled and leaned forward and kissed her. Panacea moaned and wrapped her arms around Lake and made out with her. Before I could ask them to go into the back room, they were already naked and had claimed one of the medical beds.

I wasn't someone to refuse a free show and I sat there and watched as two very passionate women got it on and pleased each other. Their moans and pleasure sounds filled the lab and they went at it for nearly an hour before they were cuddled up on the bed and held each other tenderly.

“I want to keep her.” Panacea whispered as she looked over Lake's shoulder to look at me.

“After letting me see a sight like that? You can have whatever you want.” I responded and she smiled. “Have you worked out how to apply the changes if you're given enough genetic material to work with?”

“Yes, my... thorough examination... has let me assimilate as much as possible. We can start constructing the gene therapy treatments tomorrow and we should have a viable model that will work on all of the Harper clones and not just the fake Speedy.”

“That's great.” I said and stood up. My erection almost tore through my pants and both Panacea and Lake let out girlish giggles. “If you'll excuse me, I have a green-skinned woman that's going to have my direct attention until tomorrow.”

Panacea waved and I walked out of the lab and locked the door. I ran to Megan's room and she was already naked and waiting for me. I dove into her bed and she made a similar giggling laugh as Panacea and then moaned loudly as I plunged into her depths.

The first time was a bit rough and Megan didn't mind as I used her to get off. When I unloaded my first shot inside of her, she moaned loudly and felt like putty in my hands. Her eyes glowed a little and she morphed into a more muscular version of herself. She let out a possessive sound and it was suddenly her turn to use me to get herself off. I didn't mind it, either.

*

Batman sat in his Batcave in front of the Batcomputer. He stared at the piece of technology called a datapad on the scanner because the computer was still constructing the schematics for it. Just the design itself would set the world on fire and spark ingenuity. The little bits of tech inside would probably blow people's minds.

If it could be adapted for cell phone technology, or just for Justice League communications, it would allow them to cut their technology overhead by a third of its normal budget. The satellite maintenance alone took more man hours than it was supposed to when it was designed. If part of the datapad tech was added to them, the operational life would double. At least.

Robin had told him about the thing as soon as he came home over a week ago. He had called Hyperion after examining the thing that night and gained permission to examine it when Robin wasn't using it, as long as he didn't disassemble it, because it had failsafes to stop tampering and adapting the tech for anything else.

Batman appreciated the warning, because he had similar failsafes for his technology as well. Some of the datapad's parts were easy to figure out and other parts were so far beyond known technology levels that it was almost like magic. That wasn't really the concerning thing about the datapad, though.

It was loaded with all the generic knowledge that currently existed in the world. All of it.

For a budding detective like Robin, it was a treasure trove. For someone like Batman, it was a warning. He knew that this was the basics of whatever tech Hyperion had and it could access any and all information that was available on any computer network anywhere if it was connected to the internet. It was proof that Hyperion had probably bypassed the locks on the Mount Justice computer network and he had ignored the limited access he had been approved to use.

Batman turned slightly in his chair and used a separate keyboard with a different monitor to start searching for anything Hyperion or his civilian identity John Hansen had done in the last week and a half. His eyes widened as more than fifty technology patents had been submitted and over half of them had been approved.

A quick inquiry showed him that ten of the approved ones were for parts of the datapad. If he started manufacturing them and sold them to retailers and other companies, he could overrun the tech market in a few days or a week at most. Everyone was going to want the extra processing power the computer chips provided and the memory chips and storage devices would utterly destroy the competition.

Batman sat back and browsed the pending patents and he felt a shiver go down his spine. He didn't quite recognize everything; but, he was a very smart man. He accurately guessed that if you combined a few of them with the technology patents, you could create a revolutionary medical treatment technology.

“Is something troubling you, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked as he approached with a silver platter and a sandwich.

“Thank you.” Batman said and pulled his cowl off to reveal a handsome face and took a bite of the sandwich. “It's the new hero, Hyperion.”

“Master Dick thinks highly of him.” Alfred said and tucked the empty silver tray under his arm.

“Yes, and that's a little concerning on its own.” Batman said and took another bite of sandwich as he motioned to the datapad.

“It is a funny little device.” Alfred said and motioned to the Batcomputer that took up a good portion of the wall of the cave. “It has almost the same amount of storage as that does.”

Batman nodded and pointed to the patent list. “He's seeking federal approval for medical technology.”

Alfred nodded. “Master Dick did tell us how he healed himself with glowing blue fluid.”

Batman put the last of the sandwich into his mouth, wiped off his fingers, and typed on the computer again. It highlighted several chemical formulas and they showed that there were several parts that were not part of a normal biological process.

“It uses alien cultivated spores and techniques?” Alfred asked with a shake of his head. “Those patents will be denied.”

Batman pulled up the relevant documents and read through the testing reports and looked at the submitted pictures. “I wouldn't be too sure of that, Alfred.”

Alfred looked over his shoulder at the pictures of a grizzled old soldier with a missing arm and leg floating in a tank and the next was the same old man, except he was no longer grizzled and had all four limbs restored.

“That is surprising.” Alfred said and had already mentally composed a list of people to discreetly send this information to. He knew several acquaintances that something like this would greatly benefit them.

“Assuming the pictures weren't switched from before and after to after and before.” Batman cautioned. “Even date-stamped pictures can be faked and...” He stopped talking when he found a time-lapsed video in the media portion of the submission and the request for peer review if an appropriate subject could be found.

“Master Bruce, you need to get behind this in your civilian capacity.” Alfred said. “If that much damage can be regrown in only a week...”

Batman could only nod. He was sure that he knew exactly who he could recommend as the first test subject. Someone that had been a thorn in Superman's side for over a year and was just as difficult to defeat. He pulled a Batphone out of his belt and hit speed dial.

The phone rang for only a quarter of a second before it was picked up. “It's three in the morning. If this isn't Lois Lane asking me to make a late night visit, I'm going to hunt you down and make you regret it.”

Batman almost lost his composure and held in his laugh at getting Clark angry. He was such a boy scout that any negative emotional reaction was always a delight to coax out of him.

“It's Bruce, Clark. I'm sending you some important data that I just became aware of. I think we just found the perfect way to deal with the menace of a certain Kryptonite powered metal monstrosity, once and for all.”

“Metallo.” Clark said, getting it right away.

“It's on your secured terminal. Call me back after you look at it.” Batman said.

There was a whoosh sound and several clicks.

“I just looked at it.” Clark said. “When can we get this done? I'm sure Hyperion has an initial setup for testing purposes that we can use.”

Batman actually did chuckle at this. “I'll message him and see when he can handle it.”

“I'll wait.” Clark said.

Batman put him on hold and sent a text message to Hyperion with a the priority signal. He received a response right away and it said he would meet them at 8 in the morning in the hangar of Mount Justice.

“Clark? Bring Metallo to the hangar in Mount Justice at 8.” Batman said.

“Excellent. See you then.” Clark said and hung up.

Batman put the Batphone away and looked at Alfred.

“I could be persuaded to attend and can carry various measuring and recording devices.” Alfred said.

Batman smiled slightly and nodded.

*

“I don't need to know what happened to him.” I said after Superman and Batman appeared in the Zeta Beam transporter with a body on a stretcher that had a steel girder wrapped around the young man's chest. “My lab's down this way.”

I nodded at Batman's butler Alfred and they all followed me to my assigned area and we went inside. The three men paused when they saw all of the technology that they didn't recognize.

“I can give you a tour later.” I said and waved them into the regeneration area. There were six glowing blue bacta tanks and three of them were occupied.

“You've already started working on the Harper clones?” Batman asked.

“My assistant and I worked out an innovative solution for genetic therapy, DNA restructuring to fix the inherent degeneration in the flawed cloning process, and fixed the biologically programmed limited lifespans and brainwashing.” I said and Batman and Superman stared at me. “I would be further along if my AI patents weren't stuck in endless debates over if they count as sentient or not.”

“You have a fully functioning AI?” Batman asked, his voice deeper than normal.

“No, I don't. I'm not permitted to unleash any until those in charge decide if it's creating life or only simulating it, as if there's a difference.” I said with a sigh. “Is it really necessary to argue about creating a new race of living machines when there are how many androids and robots already roaming around?”

Both heroes knew I was talking about Red Tornado and his siblings. They had shown up unexpectedly and been deactivated when they entered the base through a hidden tunnel. They hadn't been found until I checked the security logs and saw where the breach had taken place. The tunnel was followed back to a random spot inside the nearby forest and then filled in to stop anyone else from using it.

“Red Tornado is having a great time pulling them apart to see where they are different and improving himself with similar upgrades.” I said and started prepping one of the remaining tanks. “It's going to take a lot longer than just attaching a breather, since he won't have lungs or blood flow after I detach the metal body from his human head and neck.”

Superman didn't say anything and Batman nodded as he watched me. Alfred seemed stiff as he stood to the side and watched everything.

I tapped my comm badge. “Panacea? Can you give me a preliminary scan of the patient and let me know if there are any brain modifications besides the controlling computer chip and hardware?”

A panel in the wall opened up and Panacea walked out with Lake. Superman stared at the formfitting costumes on them and Batman tensed for the same reason. He knew that both of them were dangerous in their own right and I didn't bother trying to reassure him. Alfred just nodded at Lake and she smiled and nodded back. Professional courtesy had to be observed.

Panacea lightly touched Metallo's face and sucked in a sharp breath. “He's heavily brainwashed to hate Kryptonians, especially Superman and Superboy. I can't detect any of the timed programming or triggers that were in Match's or Superboy's heads, though.”

“That's a relief.” I said and ignored Superman's gasp as I retrieved a modified life support device from a cabinet. I walked over to her and set the backpack-sized device beside the stretcher. “Do you mind giving me a hand hooking him up to this? The metal body can't go into the bacta fluid.”

“Not to mention the radiation emanating from the irradiated rock in his chest will poison the fluid and probably turn him green before he dies from overexposure.” Panacea said.

“It is a ridiculous power source to rely on, I agree. The half-life is pretty good if you don't mind poisoning yourself over time.” I said and Superman stiffened. I turned to look at him. “Please tell me Luther wasn't stupid enough to fasten a ring or a pendant out of it to make sure you were always weaker around him.”

Superman let out a sigh and he didn't have to tell me it was true.

“Does he have power armor as well? Using Kryptonite as a power source will only expose him to harsher doses of the radiation. If you can, perhaps a suggestion of getting a discreet medical radiation scan might smarten him up.” I said and glanced at Panacea. “What's Juan Cordero's prognosis?”

“Six years if we detach him from the radiation source and it's left untreated.” Panacea said. “Fifteen if we can purge him of the radiation poisoning while he's in the tank. Thirty-five years if we do it first and then put him in the tank.”

“What if we adapt some of the clone treatment?” I asked and didn't have to tell her that I meant the Miracle serum.

Panacea had to think about that. “Hmm. If we do it before regrowing his body, he could probably live a normal life of another sixty-eight years.”

“Do it.” Superman said before we could discuss it further.

I exchanged looks with Batman and he shrugged. “All right. I'll accept that as a guardian's consent.”

Batman nodded and Superman smiled.

“Have a seat, gentlemen. This is going to take a while.” I said and waved at a trio of comfortable chairs at the side of the room. The heroes sat down and looked surprisingly okay wearing their costumes and sitting down like normal people. Alfred stayed standing and observing. I didn't stop him from taking his recordings or readings, either.

Panacea and I started working on the Metallo villain and it took us a good two hours to transfer his life support from the internal robotic body to the portable life support device. There were a lot of tubes to attach and electrodes to integrate to make sure the detached head didn't die.

“Superman, I assume you're going to toss that into the sun or a volcano or something?” I asked and nodded at the metal body.

“Those are great ideas.” Superman said and walked over to it. “I was worried you would want to keep it or something.”

I chuckled. “I can make better cyborg bodies in my sleep and also give them completely living external skin so they can pass for human.”

Both Superman and Batman froze at my words. Alfred just raised a single eyebrow.

“Relax, gentlemen. I have no desire to do so. I had researched it to give one of my previous AIs a body to pull her out of the ship body she felt she was trapped in.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “Unfortunately, I lost her long before my research could be completed to her satisfaction.”

Superman put a hand on my shoulder briefly and he gave me a sympathetic look.

It was then I had a great idea. “Oh! I almost forgot.”

Panacea had been hooking up a dialysis-like machine to the life support module to clean the blood and paused to hand me two datapads.

I handed one to Superman and the other to Batman. “This was a modification to the limb regrowing process that I figured out. I haven't built an appropriate tank for it yet because I was waiting for my medical facility permits to come through. Despite having a lot of space here, it's not suitable for public access.”

Batman's eyes didn't change and his face didn't show anything as he read the information.

Superman on the other hand shook slightly and hyperventilated for a few breaths. “Is this real?”

I gave him a huge smile. “You don't really think I'm only 23, do you?”

Superman blinked his eyes several times and then chuckled. “How much will this cost?”

“I'd say a vacation on the Justice League orbital base for a week will earn Martha and Alfred a month inside the regeneration bath to shave about fifty years of age from them.”

Batman immediately looked at his butler and saw the distinct nod. “Fine. Go ahead.”

I gave him a knowing smile and he nodded. Alfred endorsing my facility pretty much guaranteed I was going to get approval with the support of the Wayne Corporation.

“You need to keep that aspect a secret or every crackpot and crazy nut will be all over you wanting to be young again.” Batman said.

“Don't forget normal people.” I said with a laugh. “Thirty-something women and housewives, especially.”

Superman laughed as well. “Lois would be first in line.”

I tilted my head slightly and nodded. “I'm sure a quick test to skim off five or ten years would give me a great baseline for my research.”

Superman looked surprised for a moment and held up the datapad.

“You can keep it and show her as proof.” I said and pointed at the Metallo body. “I suggest dropping off the garbage before surprising your girlfriend with such a great anniversary present or early birthday gift.”

“Not a problem.” Superman said and clapped my shoulder. “Thank you, John.”

I waved his thanks away and he grabbed the body and disappeared with a whoosh of air.

“Miss Lane is not going to keep it quiet.” Batman said.

“Well, she's not going to broadcast it across the world immediately. She might bend the ear of a senator or two with a promise to get them a recommendation for a visit.” I said with a crooked smile.

Batman nodded in understanding. He understood backroom deals in politics and what was necessary to get what you wanted when you needed it.

“You're welcome to stick around and snoop until I'm free to give you that tour.” I offered.

Batman glanced around at the high tech lab equipment, glanced at Alfred, and gave me a pointed look.

“Just the manuals, then?” I asked and he nodded. I handed him another datapad and pointed to the first machine on the list. “Gene separator and re-sequencer.” I pointed to the machine beside it. “DNA analyzer.” I waved at the rest of the lab. “A whole bunch of other stuff. Have fun figuring it out.”

Batman nodded to me and went over to the DNA analyzer. I knew he had one as well and he was going to compare them using the manual and the machine's operation.

I went back over to Panacea and we both worked on removing the radiation sickness Juan's head and brain had. When we were done, I was tempted to vanish the computer hardware in the brain that had been used to control the robotic body. I gave Panacea a questioning look and she nodded at the computer terminal.

We sat down and poured through the thing's programming and we both softly laughed at the simplicity. It was only a single step above the basic soldier droid from the Star Wars universe and that was saying something. It was pure luck that the life support was automated just enough to keep functioning and it wasn't linked to the simple control system that the rest of the body had been run by.

“It's read only.” Panacea said and pointed to several lines of code. “He's not consciously using it, so it's not linked to active memory usage, either. It should be safe to remove and we can regrow any missing parts.”

I sat there for a minute as I thought about it. “Does it have to be removed, though? What if we replace it with appropriately upgraded hardware that could be used as memory storage and hook it into the brain's normal memory functions? He could use the long term memory storage in the brain like a hard drive with such easy access.”

Panacea took a moment and nodded. “Since it's already hardwired in and linked to the brain anyway, I don't see why not. It should let him recall everything nearly instantly as well.”

“I agree. He's going to be very smart after we delete the aggressive subroutines and cut out the constant buffering that intentionally stalls his thoughts when he's angry.” I said. “I'll get the replacement parts and you can open him up enough for us to start working. The access port for programming is in his parietal lobe.”

Panacea shook her head. “Luthor should have installed a dedicated wireless connection and not an area effect one.”

“We can fix that easily, now that we have a plan of attack.” I said and stood. “I'll get the treatment ready, too. It should speed up the recovery time after we finish the hardware modifications.”

Panacea nodded and went to the patient and I went to the parts cabinet. We both did our chosen tasks and then met back up to keep working on the patient.

Off to the side, Batman pretended to examine the dermal regenerator as he whispered to Alfred and both men observed us closely. I was sure Batman was trying to figure out if what we were doing was violating the patient's rights, except we weren't. Not only were we going to save him and give him a new body, we were taking his disadvantages and were changing them into advantages.

Four hours later, Juan Cordero was successfully suspended in a slightly modified bacta tank and his neck had already started growing more spine.

“Whew.” I said, exhausted. “Batman, Alfred, raincheck on the lab tour. I'm going to bed.”

Batman didn't say anything and Alfred nodded, accepting the unlimited access I was giving them to my lab. I waved to Panacea as I left the lab and she was already entering her own room with Lake, and both waved back. The secured panel door and the lab door shut at the same time and I walked down the hallway to my room and entered.

Megan was on my bed and wore a barely there t-shirt that revealed a decent amount of under-boob and had on a pair of silky boy-shorts that covered almost nothing, because the slits on the side went up to her hips. She rested on her stomach and elbows as she read a copy of the original Alice in Wonderland and kicked her feet in the air as if she really was the teenager she was pretending to be.

I locked the door behind me and walked over to the bed. “I'm too tired to enjoy your sexy teasing look right now.” I said and bent over to place a kiss on the right cheek of her pert green ass, which made her giggle. I stored my clothes and plopped down onto the bed on my back, sent her a mental message to enjoy herself if she wanted, and fell right to sleep.

*

“Team! We have a mission.” I said after breakfast the next weekend on Saturday and everyone perked up and looked over at me. “Get changed and assemble in the meeting room.”

“Finally.” Robin said and he ran out of the living room to get his costume from his room.

Kid Flash zoomed and was changed in an instant and ran to the briefing room. Aqualad took off his hoodie and had his costume on underneath. He hung the hoodie on a chair and followed Kid Flash at a slow walk.

I looked at Superboy. “Are you sticking with the casual clothes or do you want something similar to my costume? Or maybe Superman's?”

Superboy gave me a slightly squinted look. “You're not going to force me to wear a hero costume?”

I chuckled. “Connor, I'm here to help you. If you wanted to fight naked, I'd advise you to at least wear something to protect your frank and beans; but, that's it.”

Megan snorted and covered her mouth to stop her laugh. Artemis blushed and smiled.

“I'm not your mother or your nanny. I won't baby you or make you wear anything you don't want to.” I reminded him and gripped his shoulder.

“You cook all the meals.” Superboy countered.

“That's because I kick ass when I cook and I'm used to cooking for a large group of people.” I said and let his shoulder go. “My skills also make it taste delicious, even when it's just porridge, toast, and fruit slices.”

“That's so true. I'm actually starting to like Earth-based dishes.” Megan said and waved Artemis close. “I'll give you a hand changing if you want.”

“Thanks.” Artemis said and the two girls walked off together.

“I'm good wearing this.” Superboy said.

I looked down at his feet. “Reinforced boots instead of sneakers? They kind of squeak.”

Superboy nodded and I changed his sneakers into nice armored boots.

“They'll change back in twelve hours.” I told him and he nodded again. I waved him forward and we walked side by side towards the hangar bay. “How are the mental exercises coming along?”

Superboy glanced at me and looked forward. “I suck at it.”

I barked a laugh and he glanced at me again. “It's not rocket science and it won't happen overnight, Connor. When I helped my adopted daughter deal with her own murderous thoughts, it took us months to work through everything.”

“I don't like other people in my head.” Superboy said, sternly.

“I know, which is why I've never offered.” I said and he nodded once more. “I think it's a bit too soon for me to show you what I did to help a bunch of other clones with similar problems with mental programming. You're not in the same mental state they were in and I don't want to screw up your recovery.”

Superboy stopped walking and glared at me. “So, you're not going to help me.”

I stopped walking and turned to look at him as I glared right back. “Is that what you heard? Because I'm pretty sure I said you aren't ready for that method and it will harm you if you attempt it.”

Superboy's hands clamped into fists.

“Go ahead, Connor. Hit me. Strike me. Give me a good beating.” I prompted him and his face changed from anger to frustration. “If you believe that fighting me physically is going to help you mentally, then go for it. I'm not going to stop you.”

Superboy let out a growl and his frustrated face changed back to anger and he yelled inarticulately as he hauled his arm back and drove his fist forward.

I moved instantly and caught his fist with my hand and held it gently. “What kind of weak sloppy punch was that? You know how to apply the proper force and how to direct it.”

Superboy's face changed from anger to disappointment. “I didn't want to hurt you if I really let go.”

I let his fist go and stepped close. “I meant what I said. If you want to fight me until you're exhausted, you can. If you're not sleeping and need me to tire you out to let you relax, I'll do it as many times as you need me to.”

Superboy opened his mouth, probably to accept, and closed his mouth.

“We can talk about this again after the mission.” I said and reached over to rub his messy hair for a second and stepped back. “Maybe you need a personal day or two away from all of this? I'll arrange something soon and you can decide if you want to or not. No pressure.”

Superboy's face went through several emotions before he nodded and walked around me.

I walked after him into the meeting room with the upgraded holographic table. Batman was there personally and not over video or voice chat. He glanced at Superboy and nodded to me. I nodded back and stood at the back of the group of young heroes to observe.

The briefing was both detailed and empty of information. I kept my silence until Batman said he was done and they needed to depart soon to reach the island of Santa Prisca in the Caribbean Sea by nightfall. Apparently, the Cult of the Kobra had taken over Bane's Venom drug factory and the team was assigned to investigate what the factory was producing instead of Venom.

I waited for the young heroes to move off to the lower hanger bay where Miss Martian's ship was stored before I spoke. “There's something you're not telling them.”

Batman gave me a glaring look of intimidation and I almost laughed in his face. He must have seen me struggling to keep my face composed, because his glare intensified.

“You're going to hurt yourself if you keep your face like that.” I said with a smile.

Batman lost the intense look. “They are waiting for you.”

“You're not going to tell me either?” I asked and he didn't move or respond. “Okay. We'll see you when we get back.”

Batman waited until I was near the stairs before he spoke. “This is a reconnaissance mission only.”

I chuckled and waved at him over my shoulder. “Keep telling yourself that and you might actually start believing it.”

Batman didn't say anything and I entered the small hangar bay. I closed the door behind me as I took Eye out of inventory, despite the various laws I was breaking. He floated there inside his custom Dragon Drone and beeped at me.

“Yeah, I'm really sorry, buddy.” I said. “Check the local mainframe for the archive called AI Bombardment and see for yourself why I had to keep you under wraps.”

Eye was busy for only two seconds and beeped furiously at me.

“Yes, by taking you out of storage, I'm breaking 16 laws, 2 international treaties, and so many policies that I didn't bother counting.” I said and Eye beeped once at me. “I know it's sad.”

Eye beeped and booped several times.

“I needed your help, that's why. Batman is sending myself and a team of teenage heroes into a stealth surveillance mission into a sovereign island nation against international laws and conventions.”

Eye let out a long whistle.

“My thoughts exactly.” I said and walked over to Miss Martian's ship and up the ramp.

“What the heck is that?!?” Kid Flash asked and almost jumped out of his seat as he pointed.

“Nothing you need to be nervous about.” I said. “Eye, say hello.”

The little screen on the Dragon drone lit up and showed the word 'Hello'.

“You didn't.” Robin stated, his face blank.

“I wasn't going to, then your mentor decided to toss us into shark infested waters with a flotation device in the shape of a tasty fish.” I said and sat beside Megan as I hit the remote for the door. “Take us out, Miss Martian.”

Megan gave me a questioning look. You know you're blatantly breaking the law with that thing. She thought to me and powered the ship up and flew us out through the opened hangar door.

It can't be helped. I thought back to her. We need Eye's expertise and he's the best hacker in the universe. Completely untraceable.

Megan didn't look convinced as she flew us at the ship's best speed.

I took out a datapad and looked at the feed of Eye hunting through Batman's computers. He was soon through all of the protections and reams and reams of data poured into our own servers back at Mount Justice. It didn't take long for him to pull up the current mission and the real data that Batman had.

Bane had been conducting a guerrilla war for the last month with his own thugs and weapons as they fought against the cultists and their own thugs and weapons. There were even several powered beings rumored to be in the area. That wasn't the interesting aspect of the whole thing, though.

A villain named Sportsmaster was conducting a deal to buy the new Kobra-Venom drug that the factory was producing. It was made by combining Bane's original Venom formula with the Blockbuster formula that Dr. Mark Desmond, the man that had created Superboy and the genomes, used to change himself into the Blockbuster monster.

Sportsmaster would be flying in to pick up the shipment this evening, which explained why Batman needed the team to head out immediately.

“What are you looking at?” Kid Flash asked as he tried to look at my datapad.

Since I promised to never lie to them, I had Eye float to the front of the ship and had him project the data into a hologram that they could all see. “It's the real reason we're being deployed.”

Robin read it and sucked in a sharp breath. “Goddammit.”

“Hey! Robin cursed!” Kid Flash said and pointed at him.

“That is quite the problem.” Aqualad said in his stoic voice.

Superboy just shrugged. “As long as I get to hit something without having to hold back, I don't care about the reason.”

“Don't worry, Superboy. There's plenty of targets for you, including Bane and the stolen factory.”

“Nice.” Superboy said with a genuine smile.

“What are we supposed to do about potentially invading a sovereign nation?” Robin asked.

“We're going to cheat, of course.” I said with a smile.

“How are we going to do that?” Kid Flash asked.

“By never touching the ground.” I said and stood up. “One of my abilities is boosting those around me temporarily. At least, that's the way it's worked in the past.”

“What do you mean?” Robin asked.

“It means I haven't tried to boost anyone since I've woken up with access to nearly all of my abilities.”

“Nearly?” Kid Flash asked.

“I'm still having trouble with one aspect. It seems during one of my trips, a particular effect was damaged and I don't know how to unlock it again.” I said, cryptically.

Your shield? Megan asked me mentally.

I should talk to Zatara about it. He's the current expert in all things magic. I thought back to her. Or Dr. Fate. It might be locked by either Chaos or Order to stop me from going overboard with the thing's absorption abilities.

Megan's eyes glanced at her martian ship and at my arm. You're joking.

I mentally shared my level and the amount of power I had gained in the Shield Hero universe. The ship stuttered and dropped a hundred feet before Megan shook off her shock.

I'm sorry about distracting you like that. I thought to her and she gave me an incredulous look. I'll make it up to you later.

You better. Megan thought and several sexual scenarios entered my head before they abruptly cut off.

I winked at her as I touched her shoulder and copied her flight ability and the mental pattern to use the power. I then touched Robin and gave him the ability and the mental thread for what to do. Robin stared at me and it looked like his mind had stuttered as well.

“It usually lasts 12 to 24 hours.” I said, because I didn't want them to get overconfident on their first time out. “We have plenty of time to take out both illegal factions that have taken up residence in another country and are fighting over an illegal drug factory.” I informed him and touched Aqualad next. He reacted in a similar way to Robin and looked at a loss for words.

Superboy gave me a searching look when I approached him.

“You should already know how to use this.” I said and gripped his shoulder as I only copied over the flight ability without the mental thread to use it, because he hated having someone else in his head. “Just remember to not land on the ground.”

Superboy's eyes widened. “I... might not... be able to stop myself from touching the ground.”

I chuckled and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “There are a lot of enemies to smash into the ground. As long as we don't touch the soil, we're free and clear from being declared rogue heroes breaking international law.”

Superboy gave me a genuine smile and nodded in understanding. He could still do the cool looking and impractical three point superhero landing to announce his arrival, as long as he did it onto someone's face.

I barked a laugh at his thought and stepped over to Artemis as she also gave me a genuine smile. “I take it you passed your math test?”

“With flying colors, because they were different questions than the ones in all that homework I did. The teacher finally believed that I had done it all myself and hadn't cheated.” Artemis said and then gasped when she gained the flight ability and the knowledge on how to do it. “You could have done that with your math knowledge!”

I laughed and shook my head. “That's one of the drawbacks of my powers. I can't copy anything from myself. I taught you the long way so you would understand how to do the math without just immediately arriving at the answer.”

“That... that actually makes a lot of sense.” Artemis responded.

“It also makes it mean more, because you earned it. I helped, yes. You did the work, however.”

Artemis smiled again and put her had on mine. “Thanks, John. I mean, Hyperion.”

“Either is fine. I'm not hiding my identity, even if it's not public.” I said and walked over to Kid Flash. “You can't abuse this, because it doesn't work the same as your own momentum gathering power.”

Kid Flash almost vibrated in his seat until I gave him the flight ability and the mental thread to use it. He became impossibly still and his eyes almost popped out of his head.

“That doesn't mean you can't use something other than your legs to attain super-speed.” I told him and he didn't react, so I gave him a hint. “Shadow-boxing.”

Kid Flash snapped out of his shock and grinned at me, then he started moving his hands as he pretended to box. As his hands moved, they became faster and faster, until his fists were just blurs.

“Thanks, Hyperion!” Kid Flash said as I handed him a box of energy bars. He ate four of them by the time I reached my seat and sat down. “We are going to kick so much ass!”

They all exchanged looks and smiled. Megan shivered and shared the collective thought that the others had. They all believed that their first mission was going to be a success, no matter what.

*

The Cult of the Kobra had no idea what had hit them. The factory was destroyed, their troops were all knocked out and captured, and their two heavy hitters were down. A woman named Shimmer, who could turn any solid substance into a gas, was easily taken out by having her own gas attack blown back on her by a somehow flying Kid Flash that used his arms like fans.

Her brother Mammoth, a super strong and invulnerable seven foot tall brute, had been knocked out immediately by Superboy crushing him into the ground and created a fifty foot wide crater. Bolos, ropes, batarangs, and a bunch of other tools and things had taken out and secured everyone else. Even their leader, Kobra, had been taken prisoner.

When the villain Bane showed up with his own terrorist group to reclaim the factory, Superboy let out a shout of joy and Bane's crater was even bigger than Mammoth's. The villain was suddenly the size of a normal man for some reason and his apparatus disappeared. Even his green veins slowly faded. His minions were quickly taken out as well.

A few minutes later, Mammoth also reduced in size and became his normal self again, even though the genetic experiments were supposed to be permanent. Shimmer also seemed to change slightly and no one could explain what had happened. Hyperion would never tell them that he had an invisible Panacea change them back.

Once the enemies were all dealt with and secured, the entire area seemed to shimmer and all of the damage was gone and looked normal. Half an hour later, a helicopter carrying Sportsmaster appeared and landed on the beach. The League of Assassins member carried a case of money and had arrived to buy the first shipment of the new drug.

Without warning, the man let out a pained sound and dropped to the ground, unconscious. Apparently, if he couldn't see a punch coming, he couldn't copy the movement and counter it. When the illusion faded away, it was Artemis that had won the chance to take the man out. She looked at her teammates and then at the man that she deeply respected. She picked up the case of money and tossed it to him.

“It has a hidden bomb.” Hyperion said and tapped the spot. “It's disabled.”

“Is that it? No one else is coming?” Superboy asked, disappointed. He had enjoyed letting go. And flying. That had been great.

“That's it.” Hyperion said. “You all did a fantastic job and no one broke the law.”

“Does that mean it's party time?” Kid Flash asked, hopeful.

“We've got the money to stop anywhere on the way back home and buy anything you want, so yes. I'd say it's party time.” Hyperion said and they cheered. “Superboy, we need one of the cargo containers for all the villains.”

Superboy flew at his best speed and crashed through three of them and grabbed the fourth one. He carried it over easily and all of the criminals were piled in. It was not comfortable at all inside and the heroes didn't care. The container was closed up and sealed and Megan's martian bioship decloaked and the container was secured to the underside.

The ship was boarded by everyone except Hyperion. Suddenly, there were a dozen green light tentacles that spread out from him and they touched various parts of the island that were damaged. All of the lands were converted into thick jungle that matched the surrounding jungle and there was no trace at all that there had been a battle or that a huge illegal factory had been there.

Hyperion boarded the ship and it closed up and flew away.

*

Batman watched the remote piloted batplane's footage of the mission and he couldn't believe it. Alfred had done an exemplary job flying the plane in his stead and had kept everything in focus and captured every significant moment. The efficient takedowns and the overwhelming teamwork and cooperation by The Team was a delight for him to see. What shocked him was that they were flying. All of them.

Both Miss Martian and Superboy were understandable, since both had the capability, even if Superboy didn't quite show the propensity to achieve consistent flight. None of the others should have been able to fly. It wasn't possible.

Batman flicked back through the footage and saw Hyperion floating there behind everyone. He hadn't interfered and he easily could have. After he had described his powers when they first met, Batman knew that the more than capable man could have handled the entire thing by himself. He didn't. He had let the teenagers handle it by themselves and by the looks on their faces, they appreciated it.

“You can't gauge his powers if he never uses them, Master Bruce.” Alfred said as he brought over a plate with a nice steak, greens on the side, and a glass of red wine.

“Thank you.” Batman said and accepted the tray and started to eat. “I'm not sure if I want to see how capable he is. We already have a Kryptonian that pretty much outclasses most of the other heroes on the planet.”

Alfred nodded and handed over a short report. “A delivery was made to the mansion this morning.”

Batman put his fork and knife down and quickly flipped through it. He was glad he had swallowed because the medium-sized self-contained generator that could power and entire city for a year was too much of a shock for his normal composure to contain.

“I believe the delivery man said that it is easily installed in whatever power system you have on the Justice League satellite.” Alfred said. “I am unsure how he knew that, though.”

Batman closed the report and handed it back to him. “He's raided the League's computers. It's the only explanation.”

“Quite.” Alfred said and stood there quietly as Batman ate. He picked up the tray of empty dishes when he was done. “Miss Lane called as well. She said that you need to give me some time off immediately.”

Batman raised his eyebrows at him.

“Her time in the regeneration tank was apparently well received.” Alfred said with a small smile.

Batman couldn't stop his brief smile as he thought about what that meant for both her and Clark. “All right, old friend. Make the proper arrangements for a sabbatical and I'll get you to Mount Justice as soon as you're done.”

Alfred nodded and walked away.

*

“You can't be serious.” Martha Kent said. Her voice was a little strained as she looked at the data and then at Lois Lane's youthful face.

“Ma, it's real and it works.” Clark told her and adjusted the datapad's display. “This is Alfred before and after.”

Martha caught her breath as the picture of a greying and stoic older man was replaced with a youthful thirty year old man with a swarthy smile.

“I didn't believe it either until I spent a day inside.” Lois said and her hands went to her breasts as she cupped them. “I'm not even wearing a bra right now.”

Martha looked at her and her eyes widened at how perky she was. Her eyes then dropped to her own quite saggy breasts that she had resigned herself into accepting as reality years ago.

“You don't have to accept it right away, Ma. I just wanted you to know that it's an option.” Clark said. “It's an open-ended invitation and you can have it done whenever you want.”

“And if I choose not to?” Martha asked.

Clark took a deep breath and let it out. “I won't beg you to do it, just so I can have you stay around and be a part of my life. I only want you to be happy.”

“If being old and sore all the time makes you happy.” Lois said with a smile.

“Lois!” Clark gasped.

Lois laughed and leaned against him. “Come on, Clark. You can't tell me that you're going to sit there and not tell your mother that all of her aches and pains will be gone and that she'll be young and beautiful again?”

Clark sighed and looked at his mother. “She's right. You'll gain as many years on your life that the regeneration tank takes from you.”

Martha looked at her wrinkled and liver-spotted old hands and then at her son's face. “I suppose I could stand to be around you for another 50 years or so.”

Clark smiled widely at her and Lois laughed.

*

“Thanks a lot, Eye.” I said and leaned back in my comfy chair. “Getting those last few patents pushed through and that restrictive legislation cancelled, will let me move forward with my plans.”

“Hmm?” Megan hummed from under my desk as she worked on me with her mouth and tongue.

“I'm launching the medical clinic next month, so our morning sessions like this will have to stop for a while.”

“Mmm hmmm!” Megan moaned in protest from between my legs.

“You shouldn't talk with your mouth full, dear.” I joked.

Megan sputtered and choked as she laughed, then she slipped me out of her mouth and kept choking and laughing in equal measure.

“Sorry about that.” I said and cast a healing spell on her and rubbed her back.

Megan shook her head at me as her hand caressed me. “I'm going to miss doing this.”

“You'll be starting school soon with Connor anyway. We have a few more things to discuss and work out before the both of you are ready to interact with other teenagers, too.”

Megan nodded and her hand sped up. “Are you sure we're ready for high school?”

“I'm not throwing you into the deep end, Megan.” I said and then her mouth was on me again as she stared into my eyes. “Smallville High doesn't have a lot of students, so transferring you in won't be a huge disruption and the social dynamics will let you both fit in with little fuss. They have students from several towns commuting there and you won't stand out.”

“Mmm hmm.” Megan said and sped up before she closed her eyes and pushed her face down into my belly and her throat opened up just enough to fit me in there.

“Ohhh, damn!” I groaned and she made a pleased sound as I unloaded for her. I gripped her head to hold her steady while she finished sucking everything in.

Megan slowly slid back and opened her eyes to give me a look filled with love and affection.

“You're driving me crazy with that look.” I whispered and she beamed a smile at me. “On my desk.”

Megan climbed up and perched her toned ass on the edge of my desk and spread her legs impossibly wide for me as she leaned back. She moaned indecently as I gave her as good as she gave me.

An alert rang through the base at just the wrong time as Megan had an orgasm and startled from the unexpected sound. I was really glad I had been using my Chi reinforcement techniques on my body because my head would have been crushed like a watermelon when her thighs slammed together.

I checked the computer as Megan's clothing flowed over her and saw the alert was for a potential bridge collapse in Metropolis. “Connor? Pop by the lab and I'll copy Megan's flight to you.”

The door opened and he was beside us instantly.

I touched his arm. “Secure the bridge support first and then deal with the cars and people.”

Connor nodded and started to run away.

“Connor!” I shouted and he stopped at the still open door to look at me. “You got this.”

Connor smiled and was gone.

“He has been working out a lot lately.” Megan said and her clothing slid away again.

“He absolutely loves the weight variance equipment.” I said and stood to join with her.

“Mmmmm.” Megan moaned and kissed me. “I'm partial to them, too.”

“We'll have you up to a good strength in your normal body soon. I promise.” I said and we fell silent as we concentrated on having sex right there.

*

Superman heard the alert and responded on his communicator that he was on his way. He flew at high speed from his apartment and slowed down when he neared the bridge. He was surprised to see Connor floating near one of the bridge's main support struts. When he flew closer, he saw him holding a large tear in the metal closed.

“Good catch.” Superman said and quickly fused the metal together with his heat vision.

“Thanks. I was kind of stuck holding it together.” Connor admitted.

Superman gave him a searching look.

“Hyperion said that I haven't built up enough energy reserves for more than a few short blasts like I did at Cadmus. Something this thick needs more than that.”

“I'm glad he's actually teaching you the limits of your powers.” Superman smiled and waved at the broken railing of the bridge. “You grab the car and I'll grab the bus.”

Connor looked at both. “I can handle the bus.”

Superman chuckled. “Lifting it is different than shifting all that weight safely to keep the people inside safe, too. Grab the car and watch me work, where I grab, and how I use it.”

Superboy nodded and he rescued the car easily and carefully placed it down, then he flew over to watch Superman handle the much larger bus. He learned a lot with just that one example and he knew that strength alone wasn't enough to deal with everything. They both landed on the bridge and faced each other.

“You'll get stronger over time, so gauging how much to use each time will be a constant thing you need to be careful of.” Superman instructed him.

Superboy nodded just as the communicator in Superman's ear went off.

“I'm sorry, Superboy. Green Arrow just asked for assistance. I have to go.”

Superboy thought about offering to help and opened his mouth to do so.

Superman reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “There's no need to rush into things. When you're ready, you'll be included. Trust me.”

Superboy thought about that and nodded.

“I'll call on the weekend.” Superman said and then whispered. “Ma's having a cookout and you're all invited over to the farm.”

Superboy smiled and nodded again. Superman let his shoulder go and took off flying.

“Wow!” Several of the kids on the bus shouted.

Superboy floated up into the air and saw a little girl wave at him from a car's window. He waved back and she let out a happy shout. He turned and flew out over the water and the smile on his face stayed there for a long time.

*

“The Justice League doesn't trust me very much, do they?” I asked Eye in a whisper as Black Canary ran The Team through more combat drills. Martian Manhunter was there to observe, too.

I had stayed well off to the side of the main workout area while Eye had given me the rundown of the shipments that the parts of an amazing android were being shipped inside. The League had fought it that morning for about four hours and eventually defeated it and disassembled it.

On the positive side, they did trust the young heroes under my care to handle the two trucks with the real parts in them and not the decoy shipments, which meant they had to split up to escort the armored trucks. That was going to be tricky, considering Megan was the only one that could fly under her own power. I was tempted to copy her flight ability to them again, then decided not to. They couldn't rely on that all the time.

“Beep boop.” Eye responded.

I sighed. “You're right. I can't expect them to accept me into their ranks right away. Like Batman said, it's going to take time before anything like that happens. Trust needs to be built.”

“Boop?” Eye asked.

“No, I'm not letting this opportunity pass me by. A new and completely mechanical android? I have to copy it and compare the technology to the others I have.” I said and accessed the tracking devices that Batman was installing on the trucks carrying the disassembled android. “All right, let's get this done.”

Both I and Eye disappeared and then reappeared at the staging area in a field in rural Connecticut. Eye was under cloak and I used several spells to be invisible and soundless. I quickly touched and stored each piece of the android and was surprised they didn't have decoy parts in the other vehicles.

I wasn't going to let that give away the mission, so I made my own decoys and filled all the containers with various parts. What was the point in having decoy trucks if they could be so easily discovered as decoys?

Eye detected the android's own tracking devices in the original parts and I chuckled. He beeped at me and I laughed, patted him, and added them to all the decoy parts and stored the originals. I also removed essential components from all of them, including the main processors from the copied heads.

Even if the supposedly dead scientist named Professor Ivo managed to get his hands on all of the parts, he would never be able to reconstruct his creation. We apparated away when our work was done and went back to Mount Justice for Batman to contact us about the mission.

I had just arrived back in the spot I had disappeared from when a large holographic screen formed at the edge of the fighting area and Batman's face appeared on it.

“Batman to the Cave.” Batman said and didn't bother waiting for anyone to accept the call. “Five hours go, a new menace appeared and attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of studying and then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Green Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant.”

“Whoa.” Kid Flash said in awe. “One guy with the powers of the entire League.”

Everyone turned and looked over to where I stood and I waved to them. Megan gave me a sultry look before everyone turned back to face the screen.

“In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android.” Batman said.

“An android?” Robin asked. “Who made it? T.O. Morrow?”

“Good guess, Robin. But, Red Tornado doesn't think so.” Batman continued.

“The technology bears a striking resemblance to examples from Professor Ivo's creations.” Martian Manhunter informed us.

“Ivo?” Aqualad asked. “I thought Ivo was dead.”

“That's what we all thought... or hoped.” Black Canary responded.

“To make sure this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate Star Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken.” Batman said. “We have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone else tries to recover the remains. You will split into two undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks.”

“Yes! Road trip!” Kid Flash exclaimed.

I stood there and didn't say anything, since I didn't want to give away that I already knew all about the mission and the details.

“Coordinates received.” Aqualad said when his small handheld device beeped a him. “We are on our way.”

I gave Batman a nod and he nodded back and ended the signal. I walked over to Black Canary and she gave me a searching look. I took out a glowing blue needle and she raised her eyebrows at me.

“Don't worry, it's federally approved.” I said and she nodded. I touched her arm for a moment and cast a diagnosis spell on her, then used the needle to inject her arm, her thigh, and a spot on her back.

Black Canary looked surprised when I was done and she peeled off the bandages on her arm. “You have to sell some of that to the medbay on the orbital station.”

I put the needle away. “I'm scheduled to stay there for a week next month and I'll upgrade your medbay with some new equipment. I could probably manage to leave a few AI bots with a decent supply of bacta fluid because you asked so nicely.”

Black Canary smiled. “And what would I have to do to get one of those regeneration tanks?” She asked in a sexy voice and her hand lightly touched my arm.

“I'm sorry. Even if it would be quite fun, Green Arrow wouldn't appreciate it if I ruined you for any other man.” I said with a grin.

Black Canary laughed and patted my arm. “I could claim the same thing, John.”

“I'm sure you could.” I said and walked over to a cabinet and pretended to pull out a small metal case. I walked back over to her and handed it over. “Why don't you give him a few shots like I did for you?”

Black Canary caught her breath and opened the case to see four needles packed in secured foam.

“I'm sure he'll appreciate you kissing his boo-boos.” I said and she gave me a look that said if she wasn't attached, I would have been next in line. I winked at her and waved to Martian Manhunter before I followed the teen heroes to the hangar bay.

The team members were loading six motorcycles of different styles into the cargo area of Megan's bioship, so I gave them a hand. We went to the cockpit when they were secured and flew to the battle site in Connecticut.

We arrived around 8pm at night and we landed in the woods and out of sight. The motorcycles were unloaded from the cloaked ship and Artemis, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Robin, and Superboy, were all ready to follow their targets at a discreet distance. Batman gave the move out signal to the transports and all six trucks drove out of the staging area. Three went right and three went left.

Superboy, Robin, and Artemis went left and Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Kid Flash went right. Once they were on the road for a few minutes, each of the trucks took different off-ramps for different destinations, which left the two real trucks being followed by three motorcycles each.

If anyone had asked me, I would have told them that alone would have given away which ones were the real trucks. I didn't bother pointing it out and flew Megan's ship in an expanding holding pattern a thousand feet up to keep an eye on all the trucks.

“Beep!” Eye told me.

“You're kidding!” I said and laughed. “Robot monkeys? Really?”

“Beep.” Eye said, smugly.

“As stupid as monkeys, too?” I said and laughed some more.

“Team! Our truck is being attacked by robot monkeys.” Aqualad said in his stoic voice.

“Ours, too.” Robin said.

“Move in and attack. Protect the shipment.” Aqualad ordered.

I sighed and shook my head as I tapped my comm badge. “Team. Command override. Hyperion here. Protect the drivers and the guards inside the backs of the trucks.”

“But, our mission was to guard the parts, wasn't it?” Robin asked.

“No, your mission was to guard the trucks carrying the parts.” I responded. “Artemis, you might need to switch to armor piercing arrows if you aim for the chests.”

“Acknowledged.” Artemis said.

“All Team members, engage the enemy.” I ordered and ignored Superboy crushing his motorcycle when he jumped from it to land on the moving transport truck. I switched to a private comm signal. “Drivers of truck two, three, four, and six. Justice League priority code Sigma Alpha Eight. Please pull over and open the rear doors. Your decoys worked perfectly.”

Four thank yous responded and the sound of four sets of brakes could be heard. Not surprisingly, the monkeys stopped attacking as I watched Eye's holographic display and the truck drivers opened up the rear doors of the transports. The weird electronic laughs of the monkeys was off-putting and appropriate, considering they were flying monkeys like in the Wizard of Oz, only with little jetpacks instead of wings.

It was almost funny watching them carry away all of those crates of fake parts. Eye beeped at me and I looked at the feeds watching the other two trucks. Superboy looked like he was having a blast crushing and punching the monkeys and Artemis used her normal arrows to knock several monkeys into Superboy's grasp.

“Nice work, Artemis.” I said on her personal comm signal.

“Thanks, Hyperion.” Artemis said with gratitude and continued to shoot the monkeys with her bow and arrows while she carefully balanced the motorcycle she rode without using her hands.

Robin saw what she was doing and did the same thing with his batarangs, which made Superboy even happier and the three of them were cleaning up their monkey infestation fairly quickly.

On the other feed, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Megan were struggling. I quickly whispered instructions for them to copy Superboy's strategy with Megan as the recipient and Kid Flash kicking them and Aqualad using his water whips to throw them.

Megan started laughing when she landed on the back of the transport and she grew four extra arms to handle the higher volume of targets thrown at her. Her powerful hands caught and crushed monkey after monkey quite easily. Not surprisingly, one monkey from each defended truck managed to stay out of the combat zones and flew off when they were the last ones.

“Hey! One of them is getting away!” Superboy said and pointed at it.

“One of ours is leaving, too.” Aqualad said.

“If you'll accept another command override, send Kid Flash and Superboy after them and the rest of you can stay with your assigned transports.” I suggested.

“Agreed.” Aqualad said.

“It's a good idea. They can track where the monkeys are going.” Robin said. “With luck, they'll lead us right to Professor Ivo.”

“I'm on it!” Superboy said and carefully jumped off of the transport, hit the ground on the side of the highway, then leapt as hard as he could after the monkey.

“Me, too!” Kid Flash said and he jumped off of his motorcycle and ran off into a nearby field. His motorcycle skidded and flipped over several times before it skidded to a stop on its side.

“Kid Flash, next time park whatever vehicle you're in control of before you abandon it.” I said and created a retrieval drone for it, Superboy's wrecked motorcycle, Miss Martian's parked one, and all of the robot monkey parts.

“Sorry!” Kid Flash said and zoomed after the monkey.

“It's all right. They are easily repaired.” I said in an upbeat voice.

“I'm sorry, too.” Superboy said, a little contritely.

“Don't worry about it, Superboy. When you start charging up properly, your speed will be close to his, so you'll have the option to move at super speed, too.” I said.

“Wait, really?” Superboy asked, his voice full of hope.

“Yes, it's a byproduct of your enhanced musculature. Your strength will soon get to the point that you'll leave wind gusts in your wake when you run full out.”

“Sweet.” Superboy said, clearly happy.

“I'm sending the order for the other transports to return to base.” I informed them and did so. Four more thank yous responded and the four decoy trucks closed up their cargo areas before they drove back to where they had come from.

Over the next hour, Superboy and Kid Flash tracked the flying monkeys. I flew the ship to New York and picked up Robin and Artemis when their truck parked at Star Labs, then flew to Boston to pick up Miss Martian and Aqualad. I backtracked with the help of both Miss Martian and the comm badges Superboy and Kid Flash wore.

The two young heroes had met up at a cargo train. It had come to a stop near Gotham City and several of the monkeys guarded one of the train cars. Kid Flash remembered helping Miss Martian by kicking the robot monkeys into her punching range and did that for Superboy. The monkeys didn't last more than three seconds and Superboy tore the door off the cargo container.

“Why? Why, why, why?” A slightly high-pitched voice asked, almost in a chant.

Superboy and Kid Flash exchanged looks and peeked inside, only to see a very short man pulling off an arm piece from a large android and attaching a similar one. When there was no result, the man repeated his chant and pulled off the head and put another head in its place. There was still no result, so the man kept chanting and changed out part of the torso.

Kid Flash tapped his comm badge. “Hey, Team? We found the android.”

“We're less than a minute out.” I said and showed Miss Martian the coordinates, because she had taken over flying duties as soon as she was aboard in Gotham.

“Situation?” Aqualad asked.

“Hilarious.” Superboy said and smiled as the little man became more and more frustrated.

“It totally is.” Kid Flash said and chuckled, because he had to duck a robotic foot being tossed out of the train car. “Professor Ivo is losing it as he keeps trying out different parts and none of them are working.”

“We're here.” Robin said as the rear hatch of the bioship slid open and The Team swarmed into the cargo container. They easily destroyed the remaining monkeys without noticing one of them had disappeared, because I had stored it.

Professor Ivo was cuffed and secured. “Why? Why? WHY?!?”

“Perhaps your vaunted intelligence isn't as deserved as you believe?” I asked as Kid Flash gathered up the scattered parts and put them back into the cases. We loaded them into the cargo area and boarded the bioship as the short man grumbled.

“What do we do with him?” Miss Martian asked as she lifted off with the ship.

“Well, technically we're in Gotham.” I said and Robin grinned, because Gotham was Batman's sole responsibility.

“I'll call him right now.” Robin said and did just that on his wrist computer.

“We should fly around the outskirts of the city until we get instructions.” I suggested and everyone else agreed.

Batman responded after a few minutes with instructions. I wasn't keen on just delivering Professor Ivo to Belle Reve Penitentiary without a trial, then suddenly realized my own hubris. I had been shoving people into Azkaban prison almost automatically whenever they became a point of interest and would cause problems in the future. It was... quite the conundrum.

Do I switch him out or leave him alone? Do I allow Batman to maliciously do the very thing I do so casually? Are the people we dispose of that way really irredeemable or unable to be saved or released? Could I really condone modifying their minds to the point that they are no longer the people they are supposed to be and act like the clones I so easily replace them with?

In the end, I decided to switch them and had the magical clone take Ivo's place with orders to become a model prisoner and gave him an untraceable comm badge to remain in constant contact. I would interrogate the magical clone of Professor Ivo at the first opportunity and find out his plans for the future, if he had any.

Also, it would give me somewhere to apparate to when the Ivo clone was inside. Perhaps a more direct intervention on my behalf could change a lot more in the background than I thought it would.

Batman showed up at the rendezvous and took the Ivo clone from our custody and he kind of looked at a loss for words when Robin asked him if he wanted to take the decoy parts, too. I waved at him from across the cockpit and Batman briefly closed his eyes before he nodded and told us to drop them off at another location.

The Team looked appreciative when Batman debriefed them and praised them for how they handled the mission without complications and we left him there and dropped off the crates at the spot where he would pick them up later.

We flew back to Mount Justice for a well earned rest. The teenagers had been out of school for several weeks already and none of them had ever enjoyed relaxing on a beach, so that was what we did. I set everything up for the next day that just happened to be on the weekend, so I had everyone invite their friends and family to come as well.

It worked out well, because the invitations for family seemed to make the invite list explode. A day off had become a mini-vacation for everyone that heard about it, which was a lot of people because of the Justice League. Superman even convinced his mother Martha to come visit Connor and the home barbecue she had planned for that evening would be joined with mine to serve everyone.

I was really glad for the enormous beach because everyone showed up. I should have made it an RSVP event. I thought with a laugh and zoomed around to create enough lounge chairs, tables, and large beach umbrellas for everyone, then I resumed my host duties at the Zeta Tubes and greeted everyone personally.

They all shook my hand, hugged me, or in a few cases, gave me a kiss on the cheek. They accepted my invitation for a tour, since they all knew about the place anyway. When the Justice League and Junior League members and their friends and families had all gathered together, I led them through the various facilities of the place.

By the end of the tour at the living room exit to head to the beach, most of the Justice League had looked impressed and commented about coming back to check out the workout room's new equipment, even Superman.

“A whole vidwall! I totally want one of those!” Barry Allen, aka The Flash, exclaimed.

“They aren't for sale yet.” I joked and a few of the Justice League members looked a little worried. “I'm kidding, of course. If any of you want one, just submit the requisition paperwork in triplicate to Batman and he'll get back to you in a year or so.”

Flash laughed and clapped me on the back. “Even if you did have them for sale, I doubt any of us could afford one. The optic tech alone...”

“I've already patented everything, so don't worry about that. If you want one at work or at home, at any size, I can have one installed in an hour.” I said. “I'll install a nice super computer for you, too.”

“You're kidding!” Flash gasped.

“Not even a little bit. The vidwall taps into every television signal on the planet and the computer is on par with Batman's Batcomputer.”

Flash just stared at me and I laughed.

“I'm in the process of buying several manufacturing facilities along with the medical clinic in the nearby town. I'll have everything up and running soon.”

“You're really serious?” Captain Atom asked.

“I won't be flooding the market with new tech, if that's what you're worried about. I always go slow and seep into the current market because wrecking everything isn't a smart business approach. Once my tech brand is established, I can spread out into various industrial sectors.” I told them and led everyone out to the beach. “The molecular disassembler is what's going to have the biggest impact.”

That made a few people stumble as they walked, especially Superman.

“Can you explain that, please.” Superman pretty much ordered me.

“Sure, just let me get your lovely mother set up to relax before we delve into the boring details.” I said and held a hand out to her.

A thirty year old looking Martha Kent laughed and took my hand. “My son isn't going to like what you're going to say, is he?”

I grinned at her and led her over to the closest lounge chair and helped her sit. “Not at first. The implications alone are mind-boggling. The results will speak for themselves, though.”

Martha gave me an appreciative look. “I think as long as it helps humanity, he won't be upset.”

“Would removing all the garbage from the world and creating building materials from it count?” I asked her and she laughed.

“Yes, yes it would.” Martha said as a beach ball sized dragon drone painted green floated over to her with a screen display that asked her what refreshment she wanted. “Oh! What's this?”

“A heavily modified autonomous food replicator.” I said and nearly everyone sucked in a breath or gasped. “It has a very limited AI that's run by the base's computer.”

Martha asked for a margarita and a bowl of peanuts. The bottom half of the drone dropped down to reveal a silver tray with her drink and the bowl of peanuts. “Thank you.”

“You. Are. Welcome.” The drone said in a stilted mechanical voice and floated over to the next table where Megan and Artemis were talking to her mother, Paula. It served them drinks and potato chips and moved on.

“Wow, man.” Flash said. “What do I have to do to get one of those?”

“What would you need two of them for?” I asked with a smirk.

“You didn't!” Flash gasped.

“The delivery drone should reach Central City about noon.”

“You are my new best friend!” Flash exclaimed and hugged me before he ran off after the serving drone. “Hey, drone! Drone! I need an endless supply of french fries!”

I chuckled. “He needs to be more specific than that.”

“He'll figure it out.” Martha said and tried the drink. “Mmm, this is really good.”

“I'm glad you like it.” I said and looked at everyone that was just standing around. “What are you all waiting for? This beach party isn't going to happen by itself.”

A few of them looked surprised, a few laughed, and the women took off their various wraps. That was almost a universal signal to start having fun, because they all spread out and started doing so. A few more drones appeared and took care of their needs.

“The blue ones are for equipment like scuba gear and flotation devices!” I shouted. “You need to provide the air and blow them up yourselves!”

A bunch of people waved and Robin immediately went to the closest blue one and started asking it for things. He was soon covered in gear and went over to a redheaded girl about his age and they had a hissed whisper discussion about them, then they put it all on and ran for the water, probably to test everything.

“Hey, Connor!” I said and waved to get his attention. “Come here for a minute!”

Connor talked to the dark haired girl he was with for a second, then he came over by himself as the girl went to sit near Artemis and Paula. “What's up?”

“You obviously know the enigmatic Mister Clark Kent, cub reporter for the Daily Planet.” I said with a grin and Martha let out an uncharacteristic guffaw. “This lovely young-looking woman is his brilliant mother, Martha Kent.”

Connor looked from her to Clark, then back again. “You're kidding.”

“She spent some time inside my preliminary rejuvenation tank. Thanks to Lois taking a quick dip and giving me a ton of new data, I refined the process and Martha didn't have to spend anywhere near as much time inside as I suspected she would.”

“But... she's supposed to be old. She's his mother.” Connor said.

“I had a thought about that.” I said with a contemplative look on my face.

Superman got it right away. “I knew you had another reason to help her.”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “The farm's been getting a bit lonely and harder to take care of with you so busy and Martha hasn't had to look after you except for the occasional weekend.”

Superman sighed and knelt by Martha's chair. “I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot.”

Martha smiled the same motherly smile most mothers used when talking to their children. “You're grown up, Clark. I can't expect you to ignore the rest of the world, just so you can spend more time with your mother.”

“Even if I wanted to?” Superman asked and she laughed.

“You always do what you can and no one can ask you to do more than that.” Martha said.

“Not even your little brother.” I said and Superman, Superboy, and Martha gasped. “Yes, before you ask, the gene treatments worked perfectly. He's not an exact clone of you and never was. The creation process was flawed and he only has most of your genetic structure, just as if he was born naturally.”

“You mean...” Connor's voice drifted off.

“You're not Superman's replacement.” I said and put an arm over his shoulders. “You're his family.”

For the first time ever, a tear appeared in the corner of Superboy's eye.

“I think spending the rest of the summer with someone that needs someone to take care of, will do you a lot of good.” I said and let him go just as Martha stood and opened her arms.

Connor looked at Clark and saw his slight nod, so he stepped forward to hug Martha.

“Thank you.” I whispered to Superman and walked away to let them have a family moment. I saw Cheshire's smile and nod, so I nodded back. I walked by their table and saw someone I didn't think would ever leave the advanced lab and went over to her table.

“That was nice of you.” Panacea said as she tenderly held Lake on her lap. “When are you going to tell them about Match?”

I sat down beside her. “Not until we give him a similar work-up as Superboy and then regress him a few years, maybe make him eight or ten years old.”

Panacea lightly stroked Lake's thigh. “A bit of facial reconstruction wouldn't hurt, either.”

“Hmm. I wonder...” I stopped talking and smiled. “What if we repress Superman's mother's traits and bring out Jor-El's?”

“That would save us a lot of superficial construction.” Panacea said with a nod. “Yes, manipulating his appearance genetically is a much better and safer option. We can work on the restructured formulas tonight.”

I agreed and leaned back in the lounge chair to look over the huge beach party.

“You still need to tell me about the molecular disassembler.” Superman's voice whispered to me.

“Third room from the hangar, lab one, first desk, top drawer. Tablet with the schematics and details.” I whispered back as I looked at Clark. He nodded and excused himself from where Martha and Connor were talking animatedly about the farm and Cheshire walked over to put an arm around Connor's waist.

“He's going to look for a lot more than that.” Lake said when Superman disappeared.

“I know.” I said with a chuckle and closed my eyes. “Clark can't stop his investigative side from controlling his actions. It's almost fun seeing how I can use that to help him more than he realizes.” I said and felt someone slide onto my lap and soft lips kissed my neck several times. “I hope whoever is doing that realizes what she's doing, or she's going to become quite surprised in about five seconds.”

Megan giggled and then moaned softly as I grew hard for her.

“Wonder Woman is coming over to talk to me, isn't she?” I asked when an image of her appeared in my head.

“Yes.” Megan whispered and slid off of my lap.

I opened my eyes and didn't see Megan, which meant she either used the invisibility cloak I had given her or she figured out part of her intangibility powers.

Both. Megan thought and I felt her about five feet behind me.

You're learning to mask your telepathic signature. Good work, Megan. I thought at her, proudly.

Th-thank you, John. Megan thought in embarrassment.

“I hope I am not bothering you, John.” Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman said as she approached. She wore a bikini that was pretty much her hero costume without the abdomen part of the armor.

“A beautiful Amazonian princess wants to talk to me, a mere mortal. It's such a bother.” I said and stood as Diana chuckled. “May I escort you on a short walk for some privacy?”

Diana nodded and accepted my arm.

“Don't do anything I wouldn't do.” Panacea said with a smile.

“I don't have the proper equipment to do what you would do.” I said back.

“I could change that if you want.” Panacea offered with a soft laugh.

I shook my head and walked with Diana down the beach a short ways before I cast a privacy spell. “No one can hear us.”

“Your friend is quite forward and brazen with her love of women.” Diana said.

“That's because where she came from was as oppressive against that type of love as it was against minorities.” I said as an explanation.

Diana huffed. “They would have hated Themyscria. Our population consists of only women.”

“Is that why they call it Paradise Island? If you survive long enough, you have an island full of women to spend the rest of your life with?” I asked.

Diana smiled at me. “I should not tell you that no man has ever been allowed to step foot on our island without being immediately killed.”

I gave her a smile back. “They protect their sovereignty so vehemently.”

“It was a law passed by Zeus himself when he created our race to protect humanity from the ravages of Ares, the god of war.”

I had to think about that. “Please don't be offended when I say that your people have been failing at their task.”

Diana didn't look offended or even angry. In fact, she sighed. “That was my argument to my mother and why I left to spend time in man's world. I have been fighting against war in all its forms with the help of the Justice League.”

I brought us to a stop out of sight of everyone. “Your people have become too secular, haven't they? Instead of protecting mankind, they've grown to hate them.”

Diana looked startled for a moment. “How do you know that?”

“I was once on a world where the people with powers were viewed as both saviors and doomers. If a cape was nearby, it was not good for anyone, or so the people thought.”

“You tried to show them differently?” Diana asked.

“Yes, and no.” I said and told her a condensed version of my time in the Worm Universe.

Diana looked horrified when I was done. “That... that... why...”

“Some worlds are just meant to have the worst incarnations of good and evil. That one just had a lot more evil in it.” I said. “This one, however...”

Diana stepped close and put on an air of intimidation. “Do not tell me that this one is similar.”

I couldn't help but smile. “I only just recently discovered a descriptive term during a routine information gathering session. It's called 'super-science'. Have you heard of it before?”

Diana shook her head.

“There are several definitions. One is that it's a discipline that comprehends more than one aspect of science. Another is that it refers to any science that is considered beyond normal mainstream science. The last is that it is a power that has no limits because things created with it can simulate magic in many forms and achieve similar results, only with knowledge and scientific principles instead of supernatural powers.”

Diana looked intrigued.

“This world allows the last definition to be the truest one.” I said and created a protective shield pendant. “What does this look like?”

“An expensive emerald gem set inside a gold casing.” Diana said.

“It is. It's also an impenetrable force field that will protect anyone wearing it.”

Diana's eyes widened as I broke it open and showed her the miniature shield generator, circuits, and power source.

I crushed it and dissolved it, then created another just like it. “I've used it and perfected it each time I've visited a world with appropriate technology for me to adapt.” I lifted it and hung it over her neck to let the pendant settle between her breasts. “It's keyed to you and no one can remove it from you. If you willingly hand it over to someone, it won't work for them. If they stole it or try to copy it, it will explode at a set time or when the detonation code is sent.”

Diana grabbed it and tried to take it off.

I caught her hand and smiled at her. “Diana, I wouldn't endanger anyone you care about like that. The lethal option only becomes active if it's taken from you.”

“Why would you include it?” Diana asked as she let it go.

“I gave one to a woman I cared about once. She was in the military and a higher ranked officer ordered her to hand it over, because they wanted the life-saving shield. She did so, not knowing she would need it barely a week later.”

“No!” Diana gasped.

I smiled. “She was lucky. One of her guards barely managed to get her out of the way of the explosion and she wasn't killed. I was pissed, though. How dare someone legally steal her personal property like that?”

Diana looked into my eyes. “You tracked it down and detonated it.”

I nodded and sighed. “It was at a research facility and the admiral was killed, as were several scientists. They never attributed it to the necklace.”

“You feel guilty about it.” Diana said and put her arms around me.

“I've done a lot of bad things in my life, Diana. Some I regret and some I don't care about at all.”

Diana looked deep into my eyes. “You've had a recent revelation, haven't you?”

I nodded. “Even knowing what I know now, that what I've been doing was reprehensible when I saw someone else doing the same thing, I decided that I was still going to do it when it was necessary.”

“Heavy is the heart of leadership.” Diana quoted. “My mother says that whenever she anguishes over some of her decisions.”

“Only some?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

Diana smiled. “Some are practical and don't affect her much. Others are... controversial.”

I couldn't resist using a mind reading spell to find out what she meant. The image I had of the Amazons using a raiding party to assault a passing ship, mating with all of the men on board and then killing them and throwing them overboard, made me close my eyes and I sighed heavily.

“John?” Diana asked.

“When was the last raid and what do you do with the boys that are born from them?” I asked and opened my eyes to see shock there. The spell was still active, so I saw it was about eighteen years ago and that they offered the male babies to the gods. The methods were not worth mentioning, since they were both cruel and horrifying, depending on which god they made the offering to.

I stepped back from her and Diana let me go with a look of loss on her face. “Please arrange a meeting with your mother as soon as possible to discuss her problem. I promise to not step onto the island if she chooses to remain on her sacred lands.”

Diana opened her mouth to say something and I ended the mind-reading spell so I wouldn't hear her justifications. She closed her mouth and gave me a sad look. “I will contact her as soon as I can arrange it.”

“You can use my private network to talk in real time.” I said and handed her a USB key. “Plug that into any computer terminal. As long as she has a tablet or something else used for communication, it will work.”

“How?” Diana asked as she looked at the thing.

“Super-science.” I said and stepped back again, gave her a bow, and cancelled the privacy spell. “I need to get back to the party, your highness. Please excuse me.”

Diana nodded and I walked away from her. I pretty much rushed back to where Panacea was making out with Lake and sat back down. I waited until they paused before I interrupted them.

“I have a gene splicing and sperm exclusivity production problem to figure out.” I said and Panacea's face almost lit up at the challenge.

“Lake, go play with the adults for a bit. No sex.” Panacea ordered her lover.

Lake giggled and kissed her passionately, then she disappeared and scared the hell out of Flash when she appeared beside him and splashed into the water. I would be saving the memory of him screaming like a little girl in my permanent storage.

“Let's go.” Panacea said and grabbed my hand.

I pulled her close and apparated us right into the lab. We had work to do and almost no time to do it, considering I was going to split my time between the lab and looking out for the guests. I would make Panacea take a break for the barbecue, too. No one could say no to my honey garlic ribs and rack of lamb.

*

While I was flying off to a meeting with Queen Hippolyta to discuss their 'hunting practices' to gain children and continue their race, Captain Atom was at Mount Justice conducting espionage classes. Everyone was intrigued by this and listened intensely, which let him regale them with his own investigative adventures.

Once they discovered a current case involving a previous hero's associate, they eagerly followed Captain Atom's lead to investigate. They soon discovered that it was a plot by a villain to get a man railroaded into jail to remove him from the playing field and acquire the man's assets without resistance.

It would have been an ingenious plan if they hadn't had six enthusiastic junior investigators probing everyone involved with the case to ferret out all of the facts they could find. The villain and the plot were publicly revealed, the man's children given all of the evidence, and the court's prosecutor and the police were embarrassed to be shown up by a bunch of teenagers.

The Team returned to Mount Justice filled with pride for doing rarely recognized hero work. Robin was the happiest, because his own contributions had led to their biggest breakthroughs on the case.

Eye had kept me up to date about everything while I flew with Wonder Woman to the island of Themyscria. We had taken one of my automated Fireflys to get us there in plenty of time for the meeting. The Queen of the Amazons did not like being kept waiting and we wasted no time flying to the large Greek city in the center of the island.

Wonder Woman leapt out of the ship when we reached the largest building. I floated down out of the ship and hovered a foot above the ground. The instant hate I saw on a lot of the women was as I had expected. The intrigued looks from several of the others when they saw my hero costume gave me some hope.

An Amazon named Artemis met us and gave me a hate-filled look before waving us forward to follow her. Wonder Woman walked inside and I stayed floating. My argument that the cobbled stone wasn't part of the land originally wasn't going to earn me any points with the Amazons.

We entered a large chamber with a throne and about a hundred Amazons were in attendance. Not surprisingly, half looked at me with hatred and half looked like they wanted to spend some quality time with me and weren't shy about expressing it.

“Is this the man that dared to demand a meeting with me?” Queen Hippolyta asked, angrily.

Wonder Woman opened her mouth to argue and I placed a hand on her shoulder. She gave me a look and I shook my head. She sighed softly and stepped to the side to let me take center stage.

“I politely asked Princess Diana to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. I demanded nothing, since I gain nothing by meeting with you.” I said.

“How dare you disrespect our Queen by not addressing her properly!” Artemis said and drew her sword as she took an aggressive stance.

I waved a hand at her and stored all of the swords, shields, lassos, bolas, pikes, staffs, bracelets, and everything else classed as a weapon in the entire room. “I only return respect when it is deserved, Third of the Ranked. It's quite revealing about your society if this is how the Amazons treat invited guests.”

Gasps came from everyone, not only because I knew what Artemis' position was in the hierarchy, they had been insulted and then realized they had all been disarmed, even Wonder Woman. Artemis growled and poised to attack with her fists.

“Hold.” Queen Hippolyta said and held up her hand to stop her warriors from attacking me. “It seems this man is well versed in proper protocols.”

I actually wasn't. It was Eye raiding everything Princess Diana had stored electronically that gave me everything I needed to conduct this delicate meeting. “Should I ask for the first concession to make up for your breach or will you ignore it and move past your mistake to conduct the business I came here to discuss?”

Queen Hippolyta made a sour face as most of the Amazons in the room made sounds of disbelief. None of them had ever heard anyone call out their Queen for her mistakes, let alone a man that she had just met. It had never happened before.

“Mother, I suggest you ignore it.” Wonder Woman said into the silence.

Queen Hippolyta sighed and shook her head. “No, he is right. I made the mistake by not conducting the proper meeting rites. I am at fault.” She said and looked at me. “You may ask for a single concession, nothing more. If it is within my power to grant, it will be so.”

I didn't hesitate as I pointed right at her. “Prepare yourself to be impregnated with my daughter.”

The entire contingent of Amazons let out shouts and yells, decrying me for wanting to defile their Queen in such a way. Letting a filthy man touch her was practically against their current religion.

Wonder Woman slapped her hand over her face. “I told you that you should have ignored it.”

Queen Hippolyta glared at me. “You dare ask...”

“I was tempted to ask for Artemis, except she would damage herself to ensure that she would never bear my child after she tried to kill me.” I said and half of the Amazons nodded while the other half looked embarrassed. “You however, will not deny that a second princess to raise and train to take Diana's place to rule this island in her stead is more desirable than having another foot soldier.”

That had all of the Amazons stop their complaining, even Artemis.

Queen Hippolyta's face was a mix of consternation and thoughtfulness. “Very well.” She said and stood. A young woman attendant took her staff and crown, while another reached for her cloak. When she was down to just a nice toga and her hair bun was undone to reveal long blonde hair down to her waist, she walked towards me. “We shall retire to a more private area to...”

“No, your highness. I believe we need official witnesses to ensure that we both complete the concession to everyone's satisfaction.” I said and a very ornate bed appeared in the middle of the throne room. Of the hundred Amazons present, only Artemis seemed to object to being a witness.

Queen Hippolyta nodded to her attendants and they undid her belt and slid off her toga from her shoulders. Her muscular body was more womanly than I thought it should have been and she noticed my eyes scrutinize her.

“I haven't been as vigorous in my training regimen as I was when I was younger.” Queen Hippolyta said as an explanation.

“I wasn't going to complain, your highness. My thoughts were that you are more womanly than I had expected for the leader of a warrior race.” I said and kicked off my boots, then grabbed the neck hole of my suit and slowly peeled it down over my chest.

This move grabbed the attention of everyone, especially those that hated men. I was sure that they were thinking I padded my suit or something, because there was surprise on all of their faces when I revealed that I had more defined muscles than what the thin fabric showed off. When I pulled it down over my waist, all of them leaned forward to look, especially Wonder Woman and Queen Hippolyta.

“It's smaller than what I've seen before.” One of the unnamed Amazons commented.

“It's not primed for use.” I said and reached down to do just that. “Also, in most cases, it's how you use a tool and not necessarily the size that matters.”

Queen Hippolyta stared at my growing erection until I was full mast. “I would say size has its own merits.”

“It does, your highness.” I said and held my unused hand out to her. “May I assist you as well?”

“My attendants can handle that.” Queen Hippolyta said and took my hand to climb onto the large bed. Without another word, the two young women returned and I hovered there as the both of them pet, rubbed, and caressed their Queen to get her all hot and bothered. Their mouths and tongues were everywhere as they aroused her to the point that she could finish at any moment.

“She is ready for you.” They said at the same time.

I couldn't stop my smile at them revealing exactly what the Queen needed to get off. “Please, don't stop on my account. Your expert assistance is more than welcome while I work.”

The two young women looked at their Queen and she licked her lips and nodded. “We will help.”

“Thank you.” I said and landed on the bed. “Concentrate on her breasts for now and I'll take care of the rest.”

They gave me surprised looks when I lifted Queen Hippolyta's hips high off of the bed and dove between her legs with my mouth and tongue.

“HMMMM!” Queen Hippolyta moaned.

The two young women didn't need any more prompting as they dove for her erect nipples and started caressing her all over once more.

I stayed there for a good hour before the Queen's whispers of needing me to enter her, convinced me it was time to give in to her demands. I plunged into her depths and she cried out with pleasure after being teased for so long. Her arms hugged her attendants and her legs wrapped around my hips.

Of course, now that I was at the main event, I didn't really have anything to do with my hands with the two attendants taking care of that, so I easily moved them into a closer position to me and proceeded to finger the both of them at the same time. This was apparently the best thing to do, because they moaned sexily and made out with each other and Queen Hippolyta.

The Amazons around the room seemed to have a lot of pent up sexual frustration, because more than a few were already rubbing each other as they watched us going at it. Some of them were naked and must have been couples, because they weren't shy about going down on each other with witnesses nearby.

I picked up speed and the Queen panted for me. She was really into the act now, as were her attendants, and they were pretty much lost to the pleasure they were feeling. I kept going and brought the three of them to orgasm after orgasm for another hour before the three of them begged me to fill them up. I obliged by blowing my first load inside Queen Hippolyta.

“FINALLY!” Queen Hippolyta yelled and then moaned as I filled her up to overflowing. Her body shook after receiving something she probably hadn't had in centuries and she collapsed in a breathless heap.

I pulled out and one of the attendants wasted no time pushing me down onto the bed and mounted me. The almost anger-filled look in her eyes let me know that I might have teased her for a bit too long. She rode me hard and told me to hurry up or she wasn't going to be happy. I couldn't have that happen, so I rolled us over and railed her a lot harder than I did the Queen. She loved it.

Right after I blew my load inside of her, I was pulled off and the second attendant was on top of me and she kissed me passionately and rode me gently. I reciprocated in kind and made gentle love to her and drove her crazy. She didn't speed up her movements, though. She took her time and she was almost surprised when I finished inside of her and she looked a little disappointed.

“You are a bit too good at what you do for me to resist for long the first time, Kaisha.” I whispered.

She blinked her eyes at me in confusion, then my words registered. “M-m-more. We can do it more.” She muttered and kissed me passionately.

Two hours later, after another turn each by the Queen and her first attendant, we were all cleaned up and dressed once more. I tried to not show a smug look on my face because Queen Hippolyta and her two attendants looked both sated and in need of a very long nap.

“Mother, may I suggest a short break of at least a few hours?” Wonder Woman asked. “I think we all need to rest after a display like that.”

“Your words of advice are accepted.” Queen Hippolyta said and waved her hand. “We will reconvene this evening after the evening feast.”

Almost all of the Amazons shuffled out and they all gave me pointed looks. Surprisingly, most of them were looks of desire, even from the ones that hated men. Go figure.

Queen Hippolyta looked at me. “You will remain here under guard. For your own safety.”

“I understand, your highness.” I said and bowed slightly.

Queen Hippolyta left the throne room with her attendants.

Wonder Woman sighed. “Why did you do that?”

“For the same reason she ignored calling me by name when I appeared. She knows who I am and she ignored me, so I wanted to ensure that she will always remember me.” I responded.

“Yes, she will. As will all of the Amazons.” Wonder Woman said with resignation. “You've reinforced their beliefs that man is destructive, disruptive, demanding, and domineering.”

I gave her a surprised look. “I think we attended a different orgy, princess.”

Wonder Woman sighed. “You might as well lay down. Mother won't be back for the rest of the day.”

“You are welcome to join me.” I said and snapped my fingers as I stored my hero suit.

“No, thank you. If I partook as well, I would lose any respect that I have earned here.” Wonder Woman said and walked away. “Do not roam around or try to leave this room.”

“I won't.” I said and laid down on the bed under a thin blanket. I was actually a little tired, so I started to drift off to sleep. I felt two people climb into the bed and I opened my eyes to see the two attendants.

“I want to try Kaisha's way.” The other one whispered.

“Sleep first.” I whispered back and pulled the two of them under the blanket. I gave each of them a tender kiss on the lips and hugged them close, which surprised the both of them, and I fell asleep almost immediately. I wouldn't find out until I woke up that they had given me dozens of kisses and caresses all over as they tried to memorize the feeling of my body.

*

The meal was a quiet one, since I had to hover near the table and one of the attendants volunteered to feed me. Some of the Amazons thought Kaisha was demeaning herself and were pretty vocal about it. She simply held her head high and fed me as if they hadn't expressed their opinion.

When the meal was over, I presented her with a shield pendant and told her what it did, what it meant, and exactly who had one. Her and Princess Diana. I also took the opportunity to copy over Diana's abilities of strength, flight, and fighting techniques. It didn't matter that she thought it was the pendant granting her those abilities, either.

The other attendant looked jealous and I couldn't resist using a mind reading spell to see what was going on. She had lost the ancient coin toss to serve me or the Queen and being left out of my attention was bothering her a lot more than she thought it was going to.

Of course, I couldn't let her think I didn't care about her, just because the odds had been against her attending to me instead of the Queen she had pledged her service to. I approached her and gave her a pendant as well and told her that I always took care of those that chose to involve themselves with me. The look Queen Hippolyta gave me, let me know that she didn't believe that.

I smiled at her and waited for her to order us to all return to the throne room. I followed her and the other Amazons and waited until they were all situated where they had been that morning before I bowed slightly and motioned to the Queen.

Queen Hippolyta sighed before she spoke. “I, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, formally greet you Hyperion, representative of HyperTech.”

I smiled at her and bowed at the waist. “I, Hyperion of HyperTech, humbly accept your greeting wholeheartedly. Thank you for the warm welcome, your highness.”

Queen Hippolyta nodded at me. “What brings you here to request an audience with my personage?”

“After a brief and quite informative talk with Princess Diana, I discovered that your race commits horrendous crimes of rape and murder against humanity on a regular basis.” I said.

Every single Amazon sucked in a sharp breath, even Wonder Woman and Queen Hippolyta.

“I immediately set myself and my most trusted advisor, whom is also a medical professional, to come up with a solution to this systemic problem.” I continued.

“How dare you accuse us of crimes that only apply to the land of men!” Artemis ranted.

“Does this woman speak for you, Queen Hippolyta?” I interrupted and Artemis' mouth snapped shut. “If she does, this meeting won't end favorably for anyone.”

Wonder Woman stepped up beside me again. “Hyperion, you shouldn't antagonize us like that.”

“I'm not. I simply want to clarify who gets to speak on your behalf when I am addressing the leader of your people.”

There was a lot of muttering and chatter about my words and the implications.

“I came here to inform you that if anyone outside your island nation ever learned what your people do to create the next generation of Amazons, you would have much more to fear from mankind than what you already fear.”

Queen Hippolyta spoke this time. “You dare threaten my people so blatantly?”

“It's not a threat, your highness. As I stated, the multitude of crimes your people have committed over the years would bring you to the attention of the entire world and it would not be good attention. This sacred land would be trampled by those that would want to bring you and everyone involved to justice.”

“Man's justice.” Artemis spat.

I had to smile at that. “Didn't you previously say this was man's world, Artemis? What other kind of justice would man bring to this island nation?”

That made them all think about that.

“You have some access to technology here, your highness. Princess Diana has kept you up to date with the state of things in the world as well. What do you believe would happen to your people if the Amazons were declared criminals in the eyes of the rest of the world?”

Queen Hippolyta sighed with resignation and that made all of the Amazons talk loudly.

“Isn't it fortuitous that I have come to you with a solution?” I asked.

“I refuse to be bedded by you!” Artemis exclaimed and didn't see the angry looks on the Queen's attendants. The Queen herself kept her face composed.

“Unlike what you believe, I do not take everyone to my bed, nor do I encourage it.” I said and looked back at the Queen. “We have come up with a genetically diverse solution to your problem. I have access to thousands of male specimens and extensive genetic manipulation experience.”

Wonder Woman caught her breath and the other Amazons fell silent.

“Using a recently discovered flawed cloning technique that we combined with a previous version to fix both, we have created a male analog that fits your requirements to not be sentient or bring a corrupting male influence to your society. It can also provide sexual satisfaction if the woman does all the work, since it doesn't have a brain.”

“You can't be serious.” Wonder Woman whispered. “That... that...”

“Before you judge it to be an abomination, it generates genetically altered sperm that will only produce female offspring.” I added and they all gasped, even the Queen. “It only counts as a male in the respect that it has a male sexual organ and needs baby food to eat. There are several models and styles from ones with just the midsection, ones with just a torso, ones with arms and legs, and ones that have a full body with a blank face.”

“How... why...” Queen Hippolyta asked.

“I'm the last person that can act righteously when crimes of necessity are being committed, considering the things I've done to survive. It's the unnecessary murders afterwards that bothered me the most.”

“Why do you claim they are unnecessary? If they had remained alive, they would have brought untold dangers to my people.” Queen Hippolyta said.

“Or it could have been a fantastic dream for them to tell their friends and families.” I said and she looked surprised. “There are countless stories of sirens luring men to have sex with them and them escaping and telling tales back home. Stories like that are centuries old. Instead, you've perpetuated the disappearing crew and ghost ship myths. Ships actively avoid this area now.”

Queen Hippolyta sighed. “That has been a fear of mine. Our tactics have been driving away the very things we need.”

“Yes, and your people need fresh genetic material or you'll become stagnant and your population will drop significantly quicker than anyone would expect.”

Queen Hippolyta gave me a pointed look. “You really do have experience with this.”

“I do. In two cases, actually. I won't bore you with the details, since neither case applies here. Your society is unique and I have brought you a unique solution.”

“You don't feel guilty about producing what amounts to living sex slaves?” Wonder Woman asked.

“They don't have brains, so no. I had been tempted to give them tiny ones and limit them to the mentality of a dog or cat, then realized that existence would be horrible for them, because they wouldn't understand what was going on. It was better to make them fully automatic and all they do is produce sperm.”

One of the attendants stepped forward. “How do they function? Do we need to arouse them or...”

“No, they have permanent erections. They don't feel pleasure or pain, or anything really. You don't even need to have sex with them if you don't want to. Just insert and touch the knob on the side of the biological device. An appropriate ejaculation will fill you and you're done.”

That had the Amazons that hated men speak animatedly about using that option exclusively.

“Because of the genetic diversity with so many specimens, you will never have to worry about crossing family lines or having close family members, as long as you don't let children produced from a particular biological device to use that same one when it's their time to procreate.”

Queen Hippolyta gave me a particular look before she schooled her face. “Your proposal has many benefits for both my people and that of mankind. What is it that you require in exchange for solving this problem?”

“I would like permission to be the first and only man allowed to walk upon these sacred lands.” I said and all of the Amazons gasped.

“And if I do not grant such permission?” Queen Hippolyta asked with squinted eyes.

“I would ask for 100 of your smallest and weakest women to be assigned to me...” I started to respond.

“How DARE you ask us for SLAVES!” Artemis interrupted with a yell and tried to draw her sword, only it wasn't there. Her flailing hand was pretty funny, as was her searching look as she gazed at the floor around her and then at her fellow Amazon guards. None of them had weapons, either.

“As I was saying, I want them assigned to me to learn how to train, fight, and to become elites in a superior fighting force that will be prepared to defend the planet from invaders.”

“By a man and to be owned by a man.” One of the other Amazons said, angrily.

“If that's how your Queen sees it, then yes. I will formally take possession of them. I will ensure they are fed, watered, and left to graze when appropriate.”

Wonder Woman covered her eyes with a hand. “John, I told you not to antagonize us.”

“If your own people think I'll treat them like cattle, despite what they saw me do with their queen and her attendants, why should I tell them differently?” I asked her and she sighed. “It doesn't matter if I won't, does it? They'll believe it anyway.”

Wonder Woman shook her head. “Because of your callous words, you'll be lucky if you're given the worst behaved of us. They will all hate you with a passion.”

“Good. Then they'll never trust me and will know it if I ever lie to them.” I said and that had a few of the Amazons ask if I was insane. “Shall we go with that option?” I asked and looked at Queen Hippolyta. “Just so you know, I will be removing them from here and taking them with me. I can't stay here to train them on lands I can't walk on.”

“So, not only are you demanding slaves, you are going to have them suffer in exile, too?” Artemis asked, her voice deadly.

I pointed at her. “I request she not be assigned as one of the hundred. I need people to follow orders, not encourage the others to defy me and demand to be treated as they deserve.”

Wonder Woman sighed as her mother did the exact opposite as I asked.

“Artemis will be assigned as the commander of your unit. The rest will be corralled and brought to your ship as soon as you hand over your solution to our problem.” Queen Hippolyta ordered.

“Excellent.” I said and waved at the doors. “Shall we go outside the main temple to receive them? I hope you have a building of an appropriate size to house them all.”

“You brought them with you?” Someone asked.

“Of course. Why would I come all this way without them? To wave them in your faces and laugh?” I asked and she didn't respond. I floated out of the throne room and out of the main temple. The Amazons followed me, as did Artemis, Wonder Woman, and Queen Hippolyta. They gasped when a hundred Fireflys decloaked and their rear ramps deployed without landing.

“Before you get upset, they are AI controlled and no one is present on any of them.” I said and hundreds of B1 soldier droids carried out the various containers that held the biological specimens. “If you don't have an appropriate building available, I can have a modern one prepared in an instant if I am allowed.”

Queen Hippolyta saw the stacks and stacks of thousands of crates and knew she didn't have anywhere that she could put them. “Very well, Hyperion. There is a vacant area near the outskirts of the city that you may build a facility to house these specimens.”

“Thank you, your highness.” I said and waved at the droids. “Pick those up and follow me.”

The near instant caravan gained a lot of attention from all of the women in the city as I floated by them and hundreds of metal feet clanged on the cobblestone streets.

“There.” Queen Hippolyta said and pointed to a spot.

“Yes, your highness. I will try to choose a building that won't stand out too much.”

Queen Hippolyta sighed. “I will leave enough guards to ensure your safety while you work. Let me know when it is completed.”

I held in my laugh as a thin beam of Green Force shot out from my hand and touched the land. I converted it into an Alliance Medical Building, the same as I had given Simon to fulfill his dream. The stunned looks on everyone's faces, especially on Artemis' face, made me laugh.

“Spread them out to the various medical beds and have the medical droids hook them up to the feeding mechanisms.” I said to the soldier droids and they trudged by us and inside.

“Hyperion.” Wonder Woman whispered. “How did you do this?”

“I told you. It's part of my main power.” I said.

“You have a Green Lantern's power?” Wonder Woman asked, confused.

“No, that's just the color of the main part of a fundamental force of the universe. There's no real drawbacks to using that wavelength of the spectrum, Willpower.” I explained and told her about the other colors and what they meant, as well as their severe drawbacks.

“Is that why you wanted to examine Green Lantern's battery? Its stronger connection to the Green?”

I nodded. “I wanted to see how it handled and harnessed it. If I could figure that out, then I could possibly create my own and alter it for the other colors, which when combined would let me access the full power and not the truncated version I'm stuck with.”

All of the Amazons around us were stunned to hear me talk like that, especially Queen Hippolyta.

We all stayed right there and watched as the droids made several trips to retrieve all of the samples and the Amazons paid particular attention to the largest containers, because they knew those contained the full-size biological samples.

When the last of them entered the building, I discreetly created a wand and reached out and touched the building with my free hand to distract them all with the movement. I cast a transfiguration spell and changed the outside of the building from a futuristic look to match the external look of the main temple.

Again, the Amazons were stunned at my casual use of powers. I ignored that to float inside and gave them a tour of the facilities. None of them had direct access to modern technology before, so seeing futuristic technology pretty much blew their minds. The advanced medical droids walking around didn't help much, either.

An hour later, with several satisfied Amazons that had tested a few of the biological devices for their suitability, we left the medical building and returned to the throne room. Artemis actually was assigned as the commander of the new group and would be going into exile with 99 other Amazons. They really were the dregs of their society, essentially violent criminals and dissidents.

I thanked them for volunteering and welcomed them to their new lives. Three of them spat at me, half of the rest shouted curses and names at me, and the remainder looked both angry and resigned to a fate worse than death.

“Do you have anything to pack up to take with you?” I asked and they all shook their heads. “Then climb aboard one of the ships. We'll arrive at your new home in a few minutes.”

“What's to stop us from escaping?” Someone asked instead of asking why the trip would be so quick.

“Common sense.” I said and took out one of their spears from inventory.

I bent it in half, bent it in half again, and again, then I crushed it into a ball the size of a marble. I showed it to them all before I crushed the ball between my thumb and index finger to make it into a small disc. I then bit off a piece and chewed on it, swallowed, and then ate the rest of it. I hadn't really done that and just stored it. They didn't know that, though.

I waved at the still hovering ships and they gave their fellow Amazons commiserating looks and climbed aboard. When all 100 had been seated and strapped in, I landed on the ramp of the closest one.

“Well, it's been fun.” I said and my eyes met the two attendants, Kaisha and Malika. “Do I need to ask if you need money or valuables to ensure your family's prosperity?”

Both of them shook their heads.

“Would gifted treasures elevate you in any way?” I asked.

They both looked at their Queen briefly before they shook their heads again.

“Please approach and I will adorn you appropriately anyway.” I said.

Another brief glance at Queen Hippolyta and a nod from her, had both attendants on the ramp and they knelt at my feet.

“Don't do that.” I said and helped the both of them stand.

They looked surprised when I produced a set of enchanted bracelets similar to the ones I had given to Raphtalia in the Shield Hero universe. I put them on their wrists and they gasped when the enchantments activated and they felt power and energy fill them.

I created identical anklets and they almost moaned as they activated. Belts were given to them next and then scabbards with one of the weaker enchanted swords. “These items are bound to you and no one else can remove them from you or use them.”

“What of our children?” Kaisha asked.

“I'll return for their births and gift you appropriate things then. They will grow into them while you keep guard over them and protect them.” I said and both of them looked pleased. I lightly touched their new things. “Thank you for allowing me to attend to you.”

Both women blushed and nodded, then walked down the ramp to stand on either side of their Queen. No one missed the fact that both young women stood taller and prouder than they had only moments previously. Their hands stayed on the hilts of their new swords, too.

“Oh, before I forget. You can have these back.” I said and held a hand out to the side and dropped all of the weapons and shields I had taken from the Amazons yesterday and today. It was a lot. I bowed to the Queen before anyone could comment on the huge pile. “Have a good day, Queen Hippolyta.”

“You as well, Hyperion.” Queen Hippolyta said.

I walked up the ramp and it closed behind me. “Babalonia, how many Amazons tried to take over the ships?” I asked the Firefly.

“All of them.” Babalonia said with a chuckle.

“Ha!” I barked and went to the cockpit.

Artemis and four other Amazons were there trying to tear open a solid panel that didn't have any controls on it or inside of it.

I ignored them and sat down on the comfy cockpit couch. “Hyperion to all ships. I admire your tenacity, ladies. However, you are mine now and I expect a minimum of decorum. Please refrain from damaging anything. You'll have plenty of things to destroy after your training and when we fight our enemies.”

“Don't you mean your enemies?” Artemis asked and turned to glare at me.

“No, I already told you that this world has many enemies. Some want to control it and others want to subjugate the population for their own ends.” I said and waved at the expanded seat, which she ignored. “I won't allow that and you are going to help me.”

“I refuse.” Artemis said and crossed her arms.

“You say that now.” I said and nodded at the cockpit's viewscreen. “Look out there and say that again.”

Artemis turned around, almost defiantly, and stopped breathing. We were at the same height as the Justice League's orbital space station that looked like it had been an asteroid at one point. We were also surrounded by the other Fireflys and were all facing the Earth from on high.

“Home, please.” I said and the faces of the Amazons lost color as we plunged back through the atmosphere towards the planet's surface. I wasn't sure if it was the speed or the fact they weren't feeling anything that shocked them more.

We all flew back down to Mount Justice and entered through a new hangar I had made higher in the mountain. Each ship disgorged their passengers in the main hangar as the empty ships hovered nearby to wait. When they were all empty, the ships took off again and disappeared behind their cloaking devices.

“Follow me, please.” I said and waved them forward.

“Take him!” Artemis shouted and more than three quarters of them rushed towards me.

“At least some of you were smart to stay back to assess my skills first.” I said and proceeded to block every punch and kick thrown my way while casting stunning spells to knock them out when I slapped their shoulders.

The last twenty or so Amazons stared at the piles of bodies on the floor and didn't try to attack me.

“How did I beat them?” I asked.

“You're too fast. I could barely see you move.” One of them said.

“Yes, and no. They were completely uncoordinated. Unfocused. Each of them tried to take me down instead of working together to block me off or set me up for someone else to take me down.” I said and the realization on their faces was worth the impromptu workout. “What would you do differently?”

They exchanged looks for a moment, then one spoke. “Either surround you or confine your movements, then use various pincer attacks to distract you while the real assault takes you from behind.”

I gave her a bright beaming smile. “Excellent reasoning. I would have taken at least a dozen hits with a plan like that. Well done.”

My words made her blush a little, until the others grumbled at her. She lost the blush and glared at me.

“I'm sure you won't be the only one to come up with different ways to make an attack like this work. I will praise them as well if it's deserved.”

That made them grumble and glare more.

I chuckled and cast an area effect Ennervate and all of the knocked out Amazons sucked in breaths and scrambled to their feet. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Congratulations! None of you are dead... this time.”

Nearly all of them gasped.

“If I had a weapon on me, like this one.” I said and took out a copy of the sword Iris loved. It glowed blue as the enchanted flames flowed over it and all of the Amazons took a step back from the heat. “I see you recognize the danger. Good. I'm glad I won't have to teach you to never underestimate anyone, friend or foe.”

“And what are you?” Someone asked.

“Me, I'm going to be the man you are all going to hate with even more passion than you do now.” I said and stored the sword. “You see, I wasn't lying when I said I wanted the smallest and the weakest Amazons, because your hate is going to forge you into becoming stronger, just to spite me.”

Not surprisingly, all of the Amazons fully agreed with that sentiment.

“No longer will you be known as the worst of the Amazons. You are above such things!” I said loudly and they looked surprised. “From now on, you are the Chosen. The Chosen 100.”

Artemis huffed and crossed her arms.

“You will rise above everyone else and you will prove that they shouldn't have ignored you. They had no right!” I shouted and a few of them nodded. “They looked at you and they expected you to falter! They expected you to fail! They expected you to not matter!”

More than half of them made growling sounds.

“You know what I say to that? No more! You are going to take their expectations and you are going to shove them down their throats and make them choke on it!” I said and raised a fist into the air.

A few women moved as if to copy me and barely stopped themselves.

“You are better than them. You are WAY better than them.” I said in a soft voice and let my hand drop. “You are going to become the fiercest warriors on this planet. On any planet. I guarantee it.”

“How are you going to do that?” Someone asked and Artemis looked interested.

“You don't believe I could defend myself from over 70 warriors in close combat without any training, do you?” I asked and created various magical clones of the best fighters I had come across in various worlds behind me. “From tomorrow on, you'll start working out at a pace that will seem ridiculous to even a hardened warrior, and it will be.”

The Amazons looked eager for the challenge.

“I will not be gentle. I will not be nice. I will push you and push you and you are going to absolutely hate me with every fibre of your being.” I said and the Amazons made growling sounds. “When I am done with you, you are going to loathe the ground I walk on... and then you are going to thank me.”

“Why would we thank you?” Artemis asked, her face angry.

“Because every single one of you will be able to fight Wonder Woman, one on one, and win.”

There was almost a visible ripple of shock that went through all of the Amazons, then one by one, each of them placed a hand on their heart and dropped to a single knee. When it was down to just Artemis standing alone, she looked around at her fellow Amazons and she let out a grumble and saluted me before she took a knee as well.

“Thank you for accepting.” I said, to their surprise. “Now get off of the floor and go to your rooms. You're going to hate them, because you didn't bring anything with you.”

They let out a collective sigh and stood, so I pointed to where they could go.

“If you're hungry, let the bots in the kitchen know. If you want different clothing than what's in your closets, tough. Your current clothing won't last long, so I suggest you save it for special occasions, assuming you want to keep it intact.”

The Amazons grumbled and went down the hallway towards the living areas.

“The suites are all the same and have attached bathrooms, so no need to fight. You can bunk together if you want or have your own space.” I informed them. “You also can't leave the base until you take a class about local culture and swear to not kill anyone for looking at you funny or making fun of you.”

Several of them cursed at me in Greek and a bunch of bedroom doors slammed shut.

I chuckled and nodded at the fighting specialists. They left the main hangar to go to their own rooms. I wanted them to train the Amazons as hard and as fast as possible, because I suspected they were going to be needed.

After delving through my Memory Halls and looking at different iterations of media with both Superman and Superboy in them, there were several major characters that were missing. It wasn't really my job; but, I wanted to rescue them and I needed a fighting force to help me do it.

I apparated from the new hangar to land inside my room near the bottom of the mountain.

“How did the subjugation of an entire race of warrior people go?” Megan asked me. She was reading a different book, Pinocchio this time, and she also wore her favorite teasing outfit of a tiny t-shirt that showed off a lot of underboob and boy shorts with slits up to her hips. They barely covered her, which was the point.

“Half as good as I expected and twice as good as you expected.” I said and stored my clothing to climb onto the bed and gave her perky green ass several kisses.

“Wait, they accepted the sex toys and denied letting you walk on their lands?” Megan asked and rolled over to stare at me.

“Yep.” I said and barely had to move the boy shorts to kiss her between her legs.

“Mmmm.” Megan moaned and spread her legs for me. “How many warriors did you get?”

“All 100. They didn't protest the number at all and gave me most of their dissidents.” I said and then hissed as I used my Parseltongue skill on her.

“AHHHH!” Megan screamed and gushed all over me. “John!”

“I'm sorry.” I said and kissed and licked her slowly to make up for it.

“That's better.” Megan said and writhed under my ministrations. “The speech?”

“They ate it up and they even knelt to me when I was done.” I said and kept going.

“Wonderful!” Megan gasped as she came again. “Using their own warrior mentality against them is brilliant.”

“Wait until they find out they can't access the sex toys like the rest of their people.” I said and climbed up her body and kissed her the whole way.

Megan giggled when I stopped to play with her breasts. “The poor things are really going to hate you.”

“Yes, they will.” I said and slid inside of her.

“Ohhh, John.” Megan purred and kissed me. “How can you... settle for me... after having a queen?”

“What queen?” I asked and kissed her.

Megan made a happy sound and formed extra arms to hug me tightly and gripped my butt to help me thrust into her harder. Apparently, me choosing to not have an ongoing affair with Wonder Woman or Queen Hippolyta had pleased her much more than she let on.

*

Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Aqualad were hanging out in the living room when they received a notice that Red Tornado had left his apartment above the main hangar bay. Since that was such a rare occurrence, they rushed to the hangar bay to see what was going on.

A quick debriefing later about a missing person named Kent Nelson, Red Tornado handed Aqualad the mystical key the Justice League had given him to investigate the disappearance. The man was almost ninety and was the caretaker for a mystical helm of power and the magical tower it was hidden inside of. When worn, the helm transformed the wearer into Dr. Fate, the mystical Lord of Order.

Miss Martian tapped her comm badge as soon as Red Tornado retreated to his apartment. “Megan to John.”

“John, here.” Hyperion responded.

“Replay briefing file number 243.” Miss Martian said.

There was silence for about a minute before a muttered curse came out of her badge and then a sigh followed it.

“Those idiots.” Hyperion said. “How could they let Nelson stay missing for over three weeks when he has access to... I guess it doesn't matter. I'll be right there.”

“Casual dress.” Miss Martian said.

“Casual combat dress.” Hyperion corrected and there was a soft crack and he appeared in front of them wearing a kind of body armour and a long duster coat. He had a shotgun strapped to his back, a pair of odd pistols on his hips, and a wicked looking sword strapped to his belt on the left.

“Oh, my god.” Artemis whispered and tried to not react to how sexy and deadly he looked.

“Superboy, third outfit design okay with you?” Hyperion asked.

“Sounds good.” Superboy said and his jeans morphed into a kind of interlocking tech armour and his t-shirt changed into a long sleeved match to them. It gave the impression of casual clothes before a long duster coat formed around him. He reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a pair of reflective sunglasses that he put on.

“Goddamn, you need to wear that more often.” Artemis said with a sexy voice and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Uh! Forget I said that!”

Kid Flash chuckled and zoomed away and returned wearing pants, a shirt, and a waist length leather jacket. “Don't let Cheshire hear you talking like that about her man. She might take it personal.”

“Naw, she's cool.” Superboy said. “She likes this look, too.”

The others nodded and Artemis looked relieved.

“Girls? Any preferences?” Hyperion asked.

“I got mine.” Miss Martian said and her clothing changed to be similar to Hyperion's, only the jacket was waist length. “Well, almost.”

Hyperion stepped close to her and put a hand on her shoulder. There was a slight glow and then the long duster jacket formed completely and her outfit changed to become exactly like his. Miss Martian moaned before she could stop herself and pulled him into a kiss.

“Are you sure you can't make more of her morphing clothing for normal people to use?” Kid Flash asked. “We'd save a ton of money not having to buy different clothes all the time.”

“I don't wear the mimicking cloth as my outer clothing all the time.” Miss Martian said to him and then gave Hyperion a particular look that everyone understood. “I have a normal wardrobe because I like dressing up and putting on nice things.”

“Which is why I said there was no such thing as a clothing budget.” Hyperion said with a smile. “Are we taking the motorcycles, the minivan, or the bioship?”

“Minivan.” They all responded.

“Incognito it is.” Hyperion said and they went over to the side entrance and out into the small parking lot nearby. There was a baby blue minivan there with tinted windows and they climbed inside.

“I love this thing.” Kid Flash said and ran across the twenty foot interior to plop down on his favorite plush chair and sunk down into the cushions.

“Riding in style without anyone knowing, is pretty great.” Artemis said and sat on the couch behind the driver's side bucket seat.

“It's also an undetectable mobile weapons platform.” Miss Martian said and sat at the console on the side behind the front passenger seat. “Running diagnostics. Thirty seconds for the readiness report.”

Hyperion nodded and sat in the driver's seat while Superboy sat in the passenger's seat. Aqualad relaxed on the beanbag chair that was filled with a non-Newtonian liquid, because it simulated ocean waves as the van moved and also became stiff when impacted or if the van suddenly stopped.

“We're good.” Miss Martian said when the console beeped at her. “Holding off on surveillance drone deployment until after transport.”

Hyperion nodded and drove the vehicle out of the parking lot. He drove at a normal speed towards a small tunnel that would act as a perfect block for any surveillance that wasn't theirs and then he apparated the van to Salem, Massachusetts. They followed the GPS directions to where the Tower was supposed to be, only it was a huge empty lot of grass, which Hyperion laughed at.

“What is it?” Artemis asked as Miss Martian deployed the surveillance drones.

“For a supposedly hidden building, it was placed in the exact spot that everyone and their dog would go to in order to relax, run, play outdoor games, and picnic on when the weather barely hints at being sunny.” Hyperion informed them.

Superboy smiled, Kid Flash barked a laugh, Miss Martian giggled, and Aqualad nodded.

“Okay, I agree. That is pretty stupid.” Artemis said.

“There's no one around, Hyperion.” Miss Martian said. “There are two exotic energy signatures nearby. One in the field and one at the old theatre across the street.”

“A normal person repelling field can only do so much, no matter how much magical power you pour into it.” Hyperion said as they climbed out of the van. “So, do we split up to handle two targets or do we let the bad guys try to follow us inside?”

“You're asking us?” Kid Flash asked, surprised.

Hyperion pointed at Aqualad. “You did notice that The Team's leader was given the key and not your supervisor and advisor.”

Everyone turned to look at Aqualad, whom nodded. “What do you advise we do?”

Hyperion chuckled. “Smart man.” He said and Aqualad smiled. “If we confront them out here, there will be a lot of collateral damage. Magic's like that.”

“Agreed.” Aqualad said and we all walked over to the field. He glanced at the key and at the large open area. “I suppose, since it is mystical, it requires a leap of faith to find the keyhole.”

They watched as he held it at the approximate height a keyhole in a door would be and walked forward. There was a soft sound of metal scraping and most of the key disappeared. Aqualad turned the key and pushed open the large wooden door that appeared.

The rest of the tower appeared as well and Hyperion laughed as he explained that it pretty much gave away the secret to anyone even remotely close by. A quite tall square castle tower made of stone was pretty difficult to ignore when it appeared out of nowhere.

“You are right. Just the door would have been enough to allow entry.” Aqualad said and went inside the dark interior.

Hyperion pointedly looked down at the key still in the door's keyhole and looked at Miss Martian. She giggled and waited for everyone to enter before she tried to take the key out. It wouldn't move.

“This is definitely a setup.” Miss Martian said and pushed the door closed. It disappeared and a comfortable living room appeared around everyone as a kind of ghost of an old man appeared in the middle of the room.

“Greetings, visitors. You have entered with a key, but, the Tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent.” The ghostly man said, almost robotically.

Kid Flash smirked and stepped forward. “We are true...”

Hyperion's hand slapped over the idiot's mouth to stop him from lying to a mystical object. “Why don't you let Aqualad state our actual purpose here?”

Aqualad nodded to him. “Tower guardian, our purpose here is to investigate the disappearance of Kent Nelson, the current holder of the Helm of Fate. Our intent is to help him return to his duties.”

The ghostly man looked at each of them in turn, nodded slightly, and disappeared. A coffee table appeared with snacks on it and several file folders appeared as well. Hyperion let Kid Flash go and waved to the food.

“Thanks!” Kid Flash said and zoomed over to the snacks and started eating them. Everyone except him noticed that they replenished themselves as quickly as he ate them.

Superboy gave Hyperion a look and the man nodded, so Superboy walked over to try the snacks as well. Aqualad and Miss Martian went to the file folders while Artemis and Hyperion looked around the room.

*

The smarmy man named Abra Kadabra and the childish teenager-like Klarion the Witch Boy, brought their prisoner Kent Nelson over to the revealed tower. The Ankh Symbol of Fate glowed brightly on the door and it opened into a hallway and not the comfy living room.

“The tower may not appreciate trespassers.” Kent said as they walked.

“Mute.” Abra said and a glowing collar covered the old man's throat.

The three of them walked forward towards a blank wall that opened up for them and closed behind them again. They stepped into a more opulent living room and the ghostly man appeared before them. He looked exactly like Kent Nelson, only see-through and glowing slightly.

“Hello, Kent. How unlike you to bring guests to the tower, especially one with such potent mystical power.” The ghost said.

The collar on Kent's throat glowed. “My. Friends. Come. To. Help. Me.”

The ghost gave each of them a pointed look, then seemed to duck its head and smirked before it disappeared. The wall behind him opened up into an unending room that was filled with a stairway labyrinth and none of the stairs were set in a normal geometric pattern. They entered the room and the wall closed behind them.

*

“Kent Nelson has made it his life's work to debunk charlatans.” Aqualad said. “The last one was a woman named Madam Xanadu and she has been robbing the gullible of their fortunes.”

“He hasn't been seen since.” Miss Martian said. “Do we go and find this woman or is she a dead end like I think she is?”

“If Kent was kidnapped in front of her, she might not be in operation anymore.” Hyperion said and stopped Artemis from grabbing the small cat statue on the fireplace mantle. “Never touch anything that you haven't fully examined first, especially if you're inside a sentient magical construct.”

“Good point.” Artemis said and tried not to blush at the hand Hyperion held. As if he could read her thoughts, he gave her a warm smile and didn't let her hand go.

“Do you think that second energy signature entered the tower, too?” Miss Martian asked.

“I'd say so. Kent wouldn't need a key. He is the current holder of the helm.” Hyperion said and suddenly turned to look over at the side wall. “Oh. That's surprisingly effective.”

“What is it?” Artemis asked and stepped a bit closer to him.

“You know that primer I gave you on non-euclidean geometry that you said looked like a crazy person painted a stairway and didn't know how stairs were supposed to work?” Hyperion asked her.

Artemis made a sour face. “It gave me a nearly instant headache trying to figure out where all those stairways went mathematically.”

Hyperion chuckled. “That was kind of the point. You can't always assume you know how something works by just looking at it.”

“What's your point?” Superboy asked.

“Kent Nelson is leading his kidnappers on a merry journey through those same stairways.” Hyperion said and motioned to the wall.

Artemis groaned and put a hand over her face. “Please tell me there's some localized gravity if we go in there. No matter how much Megan loves to fly, having which way is up change every few feet is going to suck.”

Hyperion grinned at her. “I think we should all refrain from jumping too high.”

“Ugh.” Artemis shook her head and let her hand drop. “Fine, fine. Let's get in there and get Mister Nelson away from his kidnappers.”

“Can you see them?” Aqualad asked.

“Technically.” Hyperion said and tapped his temple. “It's more like telepathically sensing where the strongest magic is. Abra Kadabra and Klarion are holding Kent hostage.”

“Magic? Ha.” Kid Flash said. “The Flash proved that Abra Kadabra uses futuristic technology to simulate magic.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What? It's true.” Kid Flash said and crossed his arms.

“I believe the old saying goes that any advanced technology would seem like magic to any less enlightened species.” Hyperion said and walked over to the wall.

“Exactly.” Kid Flash said, smugly.

Hyperion gave him a knowing look and a wand appeared in his hand. “Abracadabra, hocus pocus...”

Kid Flash chuckled.

Hyperion tapped the wall three times. “One... two... three. Reverto.”

A wave of energy flowed over everything and the entire room changed from the comfy living room into a grimy old stone enclosure and the plush carpet was really a layer of dust an inch thick. The wall Hyperion tapped seemed to unfold as the large stones turned and twisted, slid and ground against each other, and pulled apart to reveal an archway.

All of the teenagers stared at him and then at the archway.

“I'm sorry about using this room as an example, Tower Guardian.” Hyperion said and took out a large glowing sapphire the size of his fist. “I offer you three times the magical energy I dispelled as compensation.”

“A fair bargain. Agreed.” A disembodied voice said and the stone lifted from Hyperion's hand and floated over to the rotted coffee table and landed, then the comfy living room returned and it looked almost the same, except everything had gold accents and appeared more expensive.

“Shall we?” Hyperion asked and waved at the archway.

“You are going to explain this later.” Artemis said, almost accusingly, and walked by him.

“Of course. Mind that first step.” Hyperion said.

Artemis let out a shout as gravity shifted and she and dropped to what she thought was a wall that was actually a floor. “Bastard!”

Hyperion laughed and helped everyone else through before the wall closed behind them and became the ceiling. He helped Artemis stand and held her close for a moment, which made Artemis blush.

“You need to be more mindful of your environment, especially when something distracts you.” Hyperion whispered in her ear, then he let her go and spoke normally. “The only advice I can give you here is to walk with intent. Be clear in what you want and the stairs will lead you there.”

Artemis gave him a pointed look before she stepped to the side to let Aqualad take the lead. He nodded to her and they walked up a set of stairs, turned left, and walked down the underside of the same set of stairs. They stopped walking when they reached a floating cane.

“It's a beacon.” Aqualad said and looked at everyone. “I wanted a way to go directly to Kent Nelson.”

“Well done.” Hyperion said and waved for everyone to gather around. “I've used a portkey before, so everyone has to grab on. By the looks of the glow, we won't need an activation phrase.”

“Do you have any other advice?” Aqualad asked.

“Bend your knees slightly and prepare for a slight drop and a hard landing.” Hyperion said. “Grab it on three. One, two, three.”

They all reached for the cane and grabbed on. The glow increased and they disappeared in a swirl of magic. A second later, they dropped to a platform at the top of a set of stairs in a large heap.

“Ow.” Kid Flash said and pushed Superboy off of him.

“We didn't take into account the change in gravity.” Aqualad said.

“Well, would you look at that.” Kent Nelson said from above them.

The cane glowed and so did the old man, then he flew up to them, or down to them, depending on your point of reference.

“NO!” Klarion yelled and charged up red energy on his hands.

“Come on, through here.” Kent said as he grabbed his cane and a beam of light came from it to open a set of elevator doors in the floor. They all dropped down into the elevator to land on the wall and then dropped to the floor in another heap. The red blasts hit the closed doors to no effect.

“I told you. Crazy stairs.” Artemis commented and she accepted Hyperion's hand to help her stand.

“I didn't say I didn't agree with you.” Hyperion said with a laugh and helped everyone else stand.

“It's nice to meet you all, whoever you are.” Kent said as the elevator started going up floors.

“I am Kaldur.” Aqualad said. “That's Connor, Megan, Wally, Artemis, and John. Red Tornado told us you were missing and we came to investigate.”

“Huh.” Kent said and gave Hyperion a pointed look.

“I called the League idiots for letting you stay missing for a few days, let alone for over three weeks.” Hyperion said. “If anything, since they were going to send an android to find you and keep their flesh and blood people safe from getting involved, they could have kept a much closer eye on you than that. Red Tornado has a brother and sister just sitting in his lab doing nothing, after all.”

Kent huffed and barked a laugh. “You make an excellent point. I could have used some actual company during the last few years, even if it would be as artificial as the Tower.”

The elevator dinged and opened up to reveal a giant golden bell. They all stepped out and surrounded it.

“HA HA! I've found you!” Klarion shouted with joy and several blasts came from his hands and Abra Kadabra's fake wand.

“Moron.” Hyperion said and quickdrew his shotgun and pulled the trigger.

*BOOM!*

“AHHHH!” Klarion yelled and his form blew apart into black slivers of darkness. Abra Kadabra threw up an energy shield and the next shot cracked it, to his shock. He seemingly disappeared and the shield faded. It didn't matter, though. He could run away forever and still never escape the infinite stairs room.

“That won't stop them for long.” Kent said and tapped the giant bell with his cane. “Follow me.”

Everyone turned and walked into the bell. It must have been some kind of teleporter, because Hyperion disappeared and reappeared on the roof of the tower instantly. The Helm of Fate floated in front of him and he felt a very strong compulsion to put it on. That was odd, especially since none of the others were appearing around him.

“HA! IT'S MINE NOW!” Klarion said as soon as he and his weird looking cat appeared. He charged up his hands to blast Hyperion and another loud boom tore him into black shreds of darkness.

“Definitely a moron.” Hyperion said and holstered his haymaker before he held a hand out to the helm. It floated over to him and he didn't gain an image of it, which told him it must have been a singular item. With that knowledge, he sighed and put the helm on.

*

I appeared in a shadowed place under a dim light.

“Hello, John.” A deep voice said and I somehow recognized it, even though I was sure I had never heard the voice before. “They really did a number on you, didn't they?”

I turned around and saw a tall handsome man with dark skin and a calm face. His short beard and extremely long hair gave him a very distinguished look. “Who are you?”

“I have gone by many names while I was alive.” The man said, sadly.

“That sounds familiar.” I responded.

“It should, since I was once like you. I was eventually reborn on this world millennia ago as Naabu and I tried to bring Order to the Chaos. Since this universe uses the embodiment of Aspects of Reality to control things, the mystical energies I controlled at the time eventually changed my helm into that which you have encountered.”

I blinked my eyes at him and then understood. “You've become bound to the helm.”

“Yes, my soul, that of the original Lord of Fate persona that I created, was anchored to remain as a part of this universe for all eternity.” Naabu said.

“Not until the end of the world?” I asked.

Naabu smiled. “We both know we are not so limited in our abilities.”

I had to think about that and then the blood drained from my face as I felt faint. “Oh. Oh, damn. You're stuck here. As in, you are never leaving, even when the universe dies and another takes its place. You will still be the Lord of Order, because it will always be needed to balance the Chaos.”

Naabu's smile changed to sadness. “Just like the Lord of Chaos, only my hosts and whom wields my powers will change.”

My mind immediately thought of a solution. “Is the tower an extra-dimensional independent entity?”

Naabu tilted his head as if confused. “Despite you wearing my helm, I cannot follow your thoughts.”

I had to chuckle at that. “I've made fantastic progress getting magic and enchantments to power certain technologies; but, I always failed to convert the bacta treatment because of the size of the power requirements.”

“Go on.” Naabu encouraged me.

“This world allows for super-science, changing both mystical concepts and outrageous scientific principles into easily used components that normal people can use and create.” I said and started to feel excited about it.

Naabu must have felt it, because he smiled a genuine smile.

“With a mystical tower of this size and magic capacity, my regeneration technology that I'm sure we can both figure out how to get to work here, and adding in the technology from the resurrection sarcophagus and filtered Lazarus Pit fluid...”

“What is your proposal?” Naabu asked and sounded just as eager as I was.

“How would you like your very own custom made magically attuned and immortal host body that can be kept youthful and in its prime forever?” I asked with a grin.

Naabu grinned back at me. “I would say, please allow me to borrow your body for a few minutes to deal with Klarion and his familiar, then we can get to work.”

I laughed. “I had an idea about that. This is what you should do...”

Naabu laughed as well when he heard my plan to cause a little chaos for the Lord of Chaos.

*

The Team and Kent Nelson were shocked when they appeared on the roof of the tower and saw Hyperion wearing the Helm of Fate. However, he hadn't transformed and just floated there as Klarion blasted him with red energy and used various spells to try and attack and tear him up. None of it worked. Klarion's familiar, an orange tabby cat with bright red eyes, looked on with disinterest.

“I honestly don't know what's going on here.” Kent said and scratched his head. He could normally feel it when the helm tried to take on a new host, like something was poking at his soul and his mind. This time there was nothing. Even the Tower itself seemed to be extremely quiet.

“Mrow?” Teekl, the familiar meowed when a small shadowy thing appeared at Hyperion's feet. When the shadow seemed to unfurl and stretched its back to reveal it was a pitch black cat with a long silky tail, the familiar stiffened and its tail stuck straight out in shock.

“Meeeeow.” Shadow said with a soft purr, then she sauntered over to the slightly larger orange cat.

Everyone stared as the black cat seemed to judge the orange cat, then it let out another purr and walked around the other cat and rubbed her face on him.

Teekl stayed completely stiff as the black cat finished walking around him. Shadow gave him a pointed look, gave his face a quick lick, then she turned around and faced away from him, her tail high in the air.

“MROW!” Teekl yelled and jumped on her. He bit into the fur and skin on the back of her neck, forced her to submit with growls and yells, then he proceeded to have his way with her... very, very loudly.

Both Artemis and Miss Martian blushed and turned their heads away while Superboy took mental notes and Kid Flash laughed. Aqualad just looked on with a stoic expression.

Klarion's powers cut off and his image started flickering. “What? No! I will not be denied when I'm this close to reaching my goal!”

“You're not the only one that's close to reaching it.” Kid Flash joked and then both cats let out ungodly howls and collapsed to the roof, exhausted. “Oops, it looks like you're too late.”

“No! Nooooo!” Klarion yelled and his image started to fade.

“I think most of his power went into creating several cute little bundles of chaos.” Hyperion said and took off the helm. “Maybe after they're born, his familiar might let him out to play again.”

“Don't think this is over!” Klarion spat at the heroes and waved a hand to create a portal. He tried to pick up Teekl, only to see he was quite attached to his new mate. “Dammit, you stupid cat! Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

Kent Nelson chuckled as the Lord of Chaos scooped up both satisfied cats and jumped through the portal. “That was hilarious.” The old man said and turned to look at Hyperion. “How in the world did you not get possessed and taken over?”

Hyperion pat the helm and tucked it under his arm. “We've come to a satisfying agreement that we will both benefit from.”

Kent nodded. “I won't ask you for the details, since I can still feel my connection to it. I know you're not the new host.”

“No, and if it works, the helm won't ever need another host again.” Hyperion said and reached out to put a hand on Kent Nelson's shoulder. “Why don't you come to Mount Justice with us for a visit? I'm sure we would all like to hear some stories from your time in the Justice Society fighting villains and keeping Order in the world.”

Kent glanced at the youthful faces around him and saw some interest there. “Why not? I might as well have one last outing before my time is up.”

Hyperion chuckled and let his shoulder go. “Are you really that eager to head on to the next great adventure, Kent?”

Kent smiled. “My Elsa's been waiting for me for long enough. I've done my duty and now I'm done.”

Hyperion nodded. “Let's get back to the van and head out.”

“Yes! Riding in style!” Kid Flash said and raised a fist.

Artemis shook her head at him and the others chuckled.

Kent tapped the bottom of his cane on the roof and a trap door opened. “Follow me.”

“Not the stairs again!” Artemis gasped when they entered a stairwell.

Kent laughed and pointed to the elevator sticking out of the wall. “It's simple to navigate in here if you know where you're going.”

Artemis nodded and they all carefully stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the bottom. They stepped out, went down a single flight of stairs, and the wall opened into a hallway. The end of the hallway opened and there was the front door. It opened for them and they all stepped out.

Hyperion turned back and grabbed the key, turned it three times to the left and once to the right. There was a click and the key popped out of the door. The entire tower disappeared and the key glowed for a second.

“I don't want to know how you know how to do that.” Kent said with a smile.

Hyperion laughed and tucked the dimensional access anchor into his pocket. “Since we're already out and about, who wants some genuine Louisiana deep fried chicken before we head back?”

“ME!” Nearly everyone said and Miss Martian giggled.

“One side trip to artery-clogging goodness, coming right up.” Hyperion said as they loaded into the van. The kids made sounds of happiness and Kid Flash cheered.

Kent gave them fond looks and sat on the middle couch as if sitting on a throne. He kind of missed camaraderie like this with his old team members.

They are waiting for you, too. The helm projected into his head and Kent smiled.

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