Before arriving at the cave
Ben flew at super sonic speeds towards the Amazon forest, where Trixx had triangulated the location of the enigmatic group—well, more accurately, she had assumed using the information at her disposal, but it was still a pretty decent estimate.
This kryptonian form is so strong, Ben thought as his body absorbed the far-off UV rays, causing a tingling sensation throughout his body. He was still getting acclimated to the Kryptonians' unique physiology and its advantages. During earths re-entry, he couldn't feel the heat produced from the friction and his attire did not burn up either. The omnitrix really understood its assignment.
Ben mentally asked Trixx, 'Give me a full analysis of this form.'
'Specie is Kryptonian, possesses powers of vast superhuman strength and speed, near- invulnerability, flight, super breath, heat vision, X-ray vision, telescopic/microscopic vision, super hearing and voice synthetizing.
Weaknesses are being exposed to radiation from a red sun or an artificially made red sun radiation which was mostly found in the now extinct Kryptonian home world. Green Kryptonite is also a weakness of his and magic too would cause some damage to the form, according to the files I retrieved from the watchtower. These are yet to be proven by you,' came Trixx voice while she also displayed the information for Ben to see.
If the normal form is this powerful, I wonder how powerful a kryptonian's ultimate form could be. Ben's train of thought started from there.
He accelerated with a BOOM! soaring and cutting through the clouds at supersonic speeds. "I wonder if I'm faster than jet ray."
As he got closer to his target, Trixx's voice interrupted him. 'ETA 5 minutes.'
He came to a halt a few feet above the dense harsh forest. The enormous green tree canopies that stretched for kilometres, reminded him of the beast he had first encountered when he arrived days before.
I'm curious if he's still here, and if so, if he noticed the gang hiding in the forest. Ben thought as he focused his new super hearing to listen for any strange noises coming from the forest.
Swamp thing had indeed noticed the Avengers in the forest, but because they largely utilized renewable sources energy and didn't appear to be anti-environment, he decided to leave them alone in their hideout.
Hovering above the zone determined by Trixx as the likely location of their base of operations, he descended to the forest floor and let her to scan the area for traces of human life, footpaths, or man-made artefacts in the forest.
Trixx scanned everything Ben saw while his enhanced vision explored the forest floor. She outlined the tree species with their ages, as well as the numerous animals and bug species, since he had telescopic vision that could zoom in on distant objects.
'Weak uplink and downlink signal detected; unable to triangulate exact location or data being uploaded due to heavy canopies and dense foliage around us; I recommend using your Methanosian form to locate them.' Trixx mentally responded, while the readings Ben was shown confirmed Trixx's conclusions.
The dense forest wasn't exactly helping their cause. He activated his x-ray vision and scanned the whole forest but could not see any sign of them. His super hearing wasn't much help either, because of the many animal and insect species in the forest, each communicating via their own signature sounds and frequencies, which proved overwhelming for Ben, who had only been using this form for a couple of minutes.
"I bet Superman could find them with ease," he murmured, referring to how he had great experience utilizing his powers, while he relied on natural instincts and the occasional assistance from Trixx, who was already adapting to the kryptonians' traits.
Ben transformed into Swamp fire in a flash of bright green light and began plodding down the forest floor, the creatures peering at him curioisly.
They presumably believe I'm the creature who guards them, Ben thought.
He utilized his chlorokinesis to explore the forest for the group, which he learned was more efficient because he detected the group in a cave some kilometres away. They seemed to have set up a really efficient base with technology and all that. He could feel the solar panels' mild effects on some of the tree canopies encircling the cave.
He wondered how they managed to set up a complete operating base in such a short period of time in the middle of the forest.
Multiple sensors and triggers have been discovered; proceed with caution from this point, Trixx warned via the omnitrix audio system. Swamp fires physiology did not allow him to interface with Trixx as he usually did.
I know the ideal alien for the job. By thinking, he transformed into his Necrofriggian form, Big chill and became invisible / intangible before flying through woods. He knew that Big Chill would be able to dodge all of their sensors and traps.
In the cave after revealing himself
"Who the fuck are you!?" Tony exclaimed once he had recovered from his surprise.
"Ben 10" "Tony language," Cap chastised as Ben responded.
"Is that supposed to mean anything!?" Nat responded by going for the pistol taped under the chair she was sitting in.
Wanda, Thor, Bruce, and Hawkeye stood guard, ready to fight and defend themselves if he posed a threat.
"How did you get past all the sensors and WHO are you!" Tony demanded, his rage increasing as a result of not getting his way and the answers he required in the previous several days.
"My name is Ben Tennyson and I come in peace." Ben, who had turned to his normal self, responded by raising his hands.
"You better answer my question or you'll be in pieces, kid," Tony warned, charging his repulsers. If he was some kind of spy or advance agent he would be sorry.
"Runs on self-sufficient and renewable energy, impressive." Ben's voice was slightly impressed. Trixx had scanned Iron man's suit and made the observation.
'His suit armour is powered by an arc reactor that produces three gigajoules of energy per second.' Trixx mentally explained to Ben. 'The design and structure of the arc reactor in his chest prevents shrapnel from entering his heart and also powers his mechanical suit.' She displayed to him graphic designs of Tony's suit and the arc reactor. The suit was lined with lead, which prevented X-ray scans, thus she obtained all of this information by hacking Jarvis in seconds. He also noted the caves walls were covered in lead and was why his Kryptonian form couldn't find them using his x-ray vision.
Ben thought, 'It appears the various earths are more developed than I thought.'
Tony tensed slightly when his arc reactor was mentioned, but he quickly relaxed. "That's not what I asked you," he said, bored of talking to this youngster.
"My name is Ben Tennyson and I'm also from an alternate earth as I'm sure you've already figured it out by now." Ben simply told them.
"We already know that. What do you want!? How did you find us?" Nat's irritated voice could be heard. She had studied the stranger, who had been either extraordinarily courageous or extremely stupid to sneak into their temporary headquarters, with all of them present and was irritated by his lack of direct answers.
"I saw what happened at the Gotham port and wanted to meet you. I felt we might aid each other because you plainly displayed evidence of being universal travellers...you are superheroes, right...? Because I despise making deals with criminals." Ben couldn't help but add the last part in case his deductions were incorrect. Though Trixx had already pulled up information she retrieved from Jarvis, that showed they were heroes in their earth.
Ironman, who had been monitoring Ben's respiration and pulse rate via Jarvis to see whether he was telling the truth, visibly relaxed by depowering his gauntlets, which had a cascade effect on the others, who were also relaxing down and decided not to see him as a threat...yet. Jarvis had also taken the time to scan and analyse Ben, which yielded some surprising results for Tony.
"Sir, I am unable to analyse his watch. The alloys used are impenetrable by armour systems." Jarvis reported as he was unable to penetrate the first layer of the omnitrix.
"What!? Is it lead? Do it again taking that into account." Tony watched Jarvis rescan the omnitrix.
"Error! Error!" Jarvis highlighted. "No matching alloy and technology on file."
"What! How is that possible?" He was irritated. Nothing was going his way recently. "Hack into it."
"Error! Unable to comprehend given current level of technology." Jarvis reported back as his scan yielded nothing.
"What do you mean you are unable to comprehend it!? You are the most powerful AI in the world!" Tony yelled angrily, grateful of his decision to keep this talk private.
"It's programming language are beyond my technical abilities to comprehend it." Jarvis merely replied while displaying various codes in his HUD.
"Damn it, we've not even accessed the first firewall." Tony murmured to himself after taking in all of the information offered to him."
Trixx had detected the external attempt to hack her and contacted Ben, unbeknownst to Tony and Jarvis.
External intrusion detected. Flashed in front of Ben's HUD eyes.
'What's going on, Trixx?' Ben, nervous, mentally asked Trixx.
'Jarvis, I assume, is attempting but failing to hack me. Should I initiate counter-measures?' Trixx responded calmly.
'Is it dangerous?' Inquired Ben.
'No, it is not.'
'Then let them tire themselves out.'
"How did you get past all the sensors and defences? Teleportation?" Tony asked Ben, knowing that because he couldn't hack him, he'd have to extract the information the old- fashioned way, through interrogation.
I might as well tell them. Ben thought because Iron man would not give up on that line of enquiry given his recent failure. "I flew past them...more like floated..." Ben explained as he slid his hand through the air, gesturing how he flew.
"No mortal can fly. SPEAK THE TRUTH!" Thor finally spoke up, having had enough of the stranger's lies.
"Uuhmm... I hate to argue with you at this time, but we did see mortals flying just a few days ago..." Hawkeye spoke up.
"Superman, Wonder woman and Shazam…" He shrugged as he counted off the opponents with his fingers. They had done extensive research on them.
"Those are not ordinary mortals...I don't sense anything special about him." Thor remarked this while pointing Miljonir in the direction of Ben, which he had summoned when Ben appeared unexpectedly.
"What do you mean by that?" Ben questioned, irritated. "And how stupid do you think I am, coming to lie to the very people who subdued most of the Justice league." Ben was becoming irritated by the vague charges.
Nat, who was excellent at reading people due to the nature of her profession prior to joining The Avengers, took notice. "He didn't mean it like that," she said, "he meant that...What exactly do you mean?" Nat asked Thor after failing to think of a better way to phrase his thoughts. It was common knowledge to them how direct Thor could be with his statements, but other people didn't have the opportunity to spend more time with him, to grow used to it.
Ben beat Thor to the punch before he could clarify himself.
"I became intangible and flew past them, it was..." Ben began to explain but was cut off when he observed the glares directed towards him. Okay...If he were in their shoes, he would think he was insane as well, knowing how insane he sounded.
Tony had heard enough and was going to hurl some expletives and yank the youngster out of there when a bright green light blinded everyone for a few seconds. He gawked at the spectacle in front of him, equally terrified and interested, after adjusting first thanks to Jarvis' assistance and his HUD.
There was a humanoid, moth like alien who had a poncho, it had a black body with cyan patches on his arms, shoulders, legs and the back of his neck that resemble ice chunks. It's torso had three plates. His face had blue cheeks and underjaw. On top of its head sports a blue Y-shaped marking that extended over his scalp. On its chest was the hour glass symbol he previously saw on the kids watch which confirmed his suspicion that it was indeed him.
Ben had decided to transform in order for them to see what he was talking about.
"I call him Big chill." After everyone's vision was restored and they were all too stunned to speak and were just staring at him, big chill voiced out. "I can turn..."
Thor launched Miljonir at him as soon as he started speaking in his icy voice, forcing Big Chill to turn intangible in the nick of time, allowing Miljonir to pass through him safely.
"You guys are crazy!" Big chill whispered, preferring to remain intangible but not invisible in case anyone else tried attacking.
Within the Iron man suit, Jarvis evaluated the immense energy emitted by Ben's watch, which resulted in the blinding green light. When Jarvis scanned Big Chill, all he could report was "Error" or "Unknown specie" in relation to anything connected to the creature.
"The energy and radiation released by the watch while the subject transformed was contained and none leaked out." Tony was informed by Jarvis.
"Great, so there's nothing you can tell me about the kid or this transformation of his." Tony said sarcastically to his A.I.
"I don't think so. My programming and database contain no useful data or information about the subject," Jarvis said monotonously.
"Great, just what a genius needs. A kid who can code better than him." Muttered Tony already disliking the boy more.
Thor noticing the creature appear after the bright green flash, attacked thinking it was initiating an attack, being a century's old warrior who was on edge could do that to you.
Nat, Cap, Hawkeye and Wanda could only watch as they were still shocked by the sight of the floating creature. This was way above their pay grade.
When did we start fighting transforming aliens? Thought Hawkeye.
Banner, on the other hand, was already on high alert, ready to confront his adversary. Since he felt the minute radiation from Ben's transformation, the Hulk was to take control in case the situation became violent. The scientist in him was intrigued about how the transition occurred, and what was used as a binding agent during the transformation.
Is he also a gamma experiment or victim? Banner couldn't help but ponder.
"I didn't come for a fight," though I would gladly kick all your obnoxious asses. Ben concluded with a thought.
"What are you?" Wanda inquired of Ben because she couldn't read his mind. She had tried unsuccessfully ever since he appeared, which troubled her.
"Right now, I'm a Necrofriggian." Ben said unfolding his wings.
"So you're an alien" Tony said as a matter of fact.
"Well...not exactly... I can't turn into different aliens. I also get their abilities when I transform into them." Ben added.
"What do you mean turn into different aliens?" Banner asked becoming interested in studying the creature in front of him.
Ben spent the next few hours explaining to The Avengers how he could transform into different aliens using the Omnitrix, his universe, and how he got to this planet. He knew in order for them to trust him, they needed to know the truth. Though he only roughly explained about the omnitrix to them. As far as he knew, they were strangers to him.
Banner and Tony were fascinated and awestruck by the Omnitrix, but Ben refused all of their requests to analyse how it functioned. It was one of the things Ben swore to Azmuth he would never allow anyone to do with the watch. This was because if its technology fell into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the multiverse as a whole.
"Why can't I read your mind?" Wanda abruptly asked a question.
"Oh...well...the Omnitrix prevents telepaths from messing with my head and also protects me from possession by all, whether spiritual or not." Wanda seemed satisfied by Ben's answer because she started talking to Cap who was in front of the monitor still viewing videos and typing away at something.
At the mention of protection from telepaths, Tony's face plate lifted up revealing his face. "Come on, name your price. You'll be richer than the freaking US govt if you let me get a peak behind the hood. Just some minutes." Tony attempted the method that always got results for him and Banner was also anticipating Ben's answer believing Tony to have finally persuaded him.
"I'm sorry but No. If it's about the money, I have aliens that are made up of extremely expensive and rare crystals, that one shard could buy me everything on this earth." Ben replied nonchalantly. Feeling weird being the only one flying, Big chill changed back with another flash of green.
"Must the blinding light be there?" Nat questioned slightly annoyed by the flash.
"Yes it has to be, they're a package deal." Ben smirked at her.
"So that's how you bypassed all our defence systems, we didn't anticipate an intangible person coming through." Tony observed out loud, already designing various ways to counter intangibility, most of them using energy force fields which he had to test out if they could hold an intangible object.
"Yeah" Ben shrugged.
"You said you can turn into different aliens...how many?" Hawkeye who was mentally analysing everything that happened asked Ben.
"Over a million."
Nat dropped her phone from shock at the number relayed to them. "Excuse me?" she spoke up.
"Well...before it was only slightly over a hundred aliens but since I fully unlocked the Omnitrix some months ago, it tallies up to over a million." Ben responded, enjoying how surprised everyone was. "It is supposed to be a hub for sentient DNA."
Thor, who had stayed stoic during this exchange, was taken aback by the revelation.
"Damn kid, you're full of surprises." Tony remained expressionless as Thor approached Ben to apologize for his earlier rash behaviour.
"I am Thor, son of Odin, god of Thunder, Prince of Asgard. Please accept my apologies for my earlier behaviour. I mistook you for someone with ill intentions toward us," he said, extended his hand to Ben.
"It's fine, I've had worse," Ben shrugged as he greeted him.
Thor was about to turn when he was stopped by a beeping sound coming from Ben's watch.
UNCATALOGUED ALIEN DNA DETECTED...preparing to scan... flashed in front of Ben's HUD eyes while Trixx voiced the same.
"Shit" he cursed the moment the beep sounded and the familiar orange beam of light proceeded to shoot out of the opened Omnitrix face plate and scan Thor from head to toe twice then retract back.
SAMPLE ACQUIRED...PROCESSING... flashed at the same time Trixx mentally voiced out.
"What did you do!?" Thor demanded as the rest of the Avengers rushed forward.
Ben replied, putting up his hands in surrender, "It does that sometimes, it just scanned Thor's DNA so it can be stored. I did tell you that the Omnitrix is a hub of sentient DNA, which means that Thor here, is a sentient life form."
"What will happen to that DNA?" Banner was intrigued by the watch's inner workings.
"Once the DNA sample has been analysed, I will be able to turn into the Omnitrix version of a prime Asgardian." Everyone just stared at him, and the stillness grew to minutes. He generally enjoyed every minute of describing how the Omnitrix worked to individuals since their reactions were priceless.
"What do you mean prime Asgardian?" Wanda inquired.
"The Omnitrix aliens are frequently held up as prime examples of how that specie should have developed. It's like the perfect version of the race." Ben went on to clarify. Most of them had stopped looking at Ben, and we were staring in astonishment at the bulky watch on his hand.
"Is there anything else we should know? I don't want any more surprises." Tony expressed his displeasure. He was irritated that even Jarvis couldn't scan the Omnitrix.
Jarvis scanners were unable to penetrate the Omnitrix's first layer or successfully analyse the components that comprised the first layer. Jarvis had remarked that it was built of an unknown metal alloy. Azmuth made certain that no scanner could ever successfully scan the Omnitrix and even devised methods and contingencies in the event that one did.
"Well now that you mention it, the heroes you encountered at the port requested a meeting with you..." Ben waited for their reaction, holding his breath. This was the pivotal moment that would define how they all moved on in the future.
Tony, who was preparing to yell at Ben, but was cut off when Captain America seized command. "Okay, when do they want to meet?" Caps' commanding voice silenced anyone who dared to speak. He'd had enough and wanted to get this situation resolved as soon as possible, being the diplomat.
"Whenever you're ready, I'll just teleport us to the watchtower where they'll be waiting..." Ben responded, still unsure whether the others agreed with Cap. He knew everyone's name now, thanks to Trixx's display of all the information she obtained while secretly hacking Tony's database.
Looking at his teammates, "we need to deal with this miss-understanding. The faster it is resolved, the faster we can figure out what is going on and can go back home." They all nodded reluctantly and departed to get what they needed for the conference, leaving Thor, Tony, Cap, and Ben alone in an awkward silence.
"So, when you said you could transform into Thor, did you mean with his godly powers? Will you be Odin's son as well?" Tony chuckled, leaning closer to Ben in an attempt to break the stillness.
"I suppose the powers part could happen, but being the son of Odin... I doubt it," Ben grinned back.
"How old are you? Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?" Wanda inquired as she returned to the room with her small bag pack, the others trailing behind her.
"I'm old enough," Ben said with a seductive look, making her cringe at the thought a kid was attempting to flirt with her.
Ben noticed that and quickly added, "I was in the university before being brought here."
"We're ready." Nat decided to assist him, by pulling the spotlight away from his failed attempt at flattery, for which he thanked her with a grateful look.
"So how do you contact them? Earpiece, walkie talkie, or phone?" inquired banner.
"I hacked their system, I'll just teleport us." Ben shrugged and they vanished before anyone could ask what he meant.
Watchtower.
"You should really get some rest, or do I have to get Diana in here?" Clark said as he approached Bruce, looking at the different CCTV footages playing on the display, one of which was their fight against the mystery group.
"I've gotten enough sleep. We need to put a stop to this whole thing. Your girlfriend continues to contact us for a follow-up interview. Handle it." Bruce's monotone voice responded without looking away from the monitor.
"I know," Clark replied, frustrated. "She's left me over 20 voicemails, I'm yet to call her back."
Bruce raised an eyebrow at Clark, "you do realize you're going to sleep on the couch, right?" Lois Lane was one of the few women Bruce appreciated for their tenacity in standing up for what they believed in. Miss Lane also followed issues that no local authorities would dare to examine. For a long time, he assumed it was because she was dating Superman. Because of their mutual regard for one another, Superman was one of the few friends Bruce could talk to about anything.
"Jokes on her," Clark chuckled. "When I'm at work, I can't sleep on the couch." He tried to get even after seeing the expression Bruce gave him.
"You're one to talk...what was that 'home' response about? And I thought playboys were cool." Clark smirked at Bruce, who had returned to staring at the screen due to the change in topic.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," the well-practiced monotonous voice said. He knew that Clark was the only one in the league who knew when to call his bluff.
"Really, you're going to go with that?" Clark chuckled in amusement, "because by the string of curses and rapid footsteps approaching, I suggest you think of a better one before you're literally tied down... pun intended." Clark smirked.
The moment Clarks words set in, he stopped typing and glared up at Clark who was not even trying to hide his amusement towards his friends coming predicament.
"What did you do!?" Bruce narrowed his eyes at Clark which by any indication, promised retribution. "I swear Clark if you told her I'll ..." He didn't get to finish his sentence.
"What will you do!? Huh?" came a pissed off female voice. "What? Don't let me stop you. What will you do? What can you do?" Diana came to a stop next to Clark with her arms crossed glaring at Batman who was doing his best to look at the monitor.
"Hera! It's like you're allergic to relaxing, one minute you are getting your bandages changed and when I come back you're nowhere to be seen. If you don't go to rest right now I will get the lasso and compel you to do it…"
Turning his head to her direction he glared at her. She didn't back down and returned his stare. Diana was never intimidated by him and he didn't know whether he was impressed or annoyed by it. The stare down continued with them oblivious to how Clark was nearly busting out with laughter, if it weren't for the flash zooming in.
"What's up supes?" The flash stopped behind superman peeking at Batman and Wonder woman. "The guys and I thought we should really test out this kids powers. To know what we are dealing with, of course." He spoke with the best poker face he got, which he only used while addressing either Batman, Superman, J'onn or Wonder Woman because they were really scary at times.
"That's actually a good idea." Said superman after a thoughtful look toward the monitor. "We will have to discuss it with..." He was cut off by batman.
"What did you guys bet on!" Batman accused albeit thankful that he had interrupted his conversation with Wonder woman.
"We didn't bet on anything." "What are you talking about?" Superman and the flash spoke at the same time.
"Barry!" Diana impatiently said his official name, wanting him to get on with what he was saying and leave them alone.
A look at her was all it took for him to spill out all the gory details of the bet.
"So you want me to arm-wrestle Ben's Kryptonian form which you have placed bets against. What are the odds if I may ask?" Clark couldn't help his curiosity in the matter.
"Don't encourage them." Bruce warned him. "And NO, it won't happen just because you have placed bets on it. I will deal with you, Shazam and Hal later."
"Shit! Not monitor duty again." Flash groaned while batman smirked at him. The last time the duo got into trouble, they had monitor duty for two months straight and it could get pretty boring for someone as hyper active as them.
Flashing from the room he went to deliver the bad news to his friends.
"You know it isn't a bad idea, we would get to gauge how much of Clark's natural strength his watch can duplicate or clone or whatever..." Diana rumbled.
Clark was surprised by Diana's input since he knew she was usually against Barry and Hal's crazy ideas.
"Tell me you didn't!" Bruce did not hide the accusing tone in his voice while glaring at Diana. He could always sense when a person was guilty and right now, Diana was like a deer caught in headlights, reeking of guilt.
"To be honest at first I didn't know what it was about, but reading on it in the website and seeing the details of the bet, I couldn't contain my curiosity." She held her head high trying not to show how embarrassed she actually was about it.
"You knew about it?" "How!?" Clark half demanded looking between Bruce and Diana. He was practically second in command in the watchtower after Bruce yet he didn't know anything about the bet or the website Diana mentioned.
"I know about the occasional bets, but it's the first I'm hearing about a website." Replied Bruce who then turned to look at Diana just like Clark, waiting for an explanation.
"Fine." She conceded then proceeded to type in some details into the monitor then the website popped up.
LEAGUE BETS. Was the title of the website and the members were The Flash, Green lantern, The Martian Man hunter, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Shazam, Aqua man and others.
"Cyborg!" Batman gritted his teeth. He was the only one who could set this up without him noticing.
"Why aren't we on it?" Clark wondered out loud. "Even J'onn is a member!"
"Because you two would shut down almost all the bets being placed there. This particular one has one hundred thousand dollars riding on it." Explained Diana. " And you can't hide anything from J'onn."
"Wow! So much money. How can I get in on the action?" He asked an astonished Diana who thought Clark never did these sorts of things. She always viewed him as a stickler for the rules.
"What? I also have bills to pay. A reporter's salary can only get you so far." Clark shrugged a response to the stares they sent his way.
Bruce was about to retort back but was beaten to it by the large message flashing across the monitor.
'Sorry for the hack, it's Ben. We're teleporting in, in the next ten minutes or so.'
"Contact the others. And this discussion is far from over." Bruce told them after confirming the message was indeed from Ben.
"Yeah, just like you resting." Diana mumbled while heading out.
"I heard that." Bruce glared at Diana's retreating back.
"I know." Was all she said before disappearing from the room.
"Now I get why we aren't on the website." Clark suddenly said looking at Bruce, then proceeded to walk out with him heading towards the teleporting station previously referring to how uptight they both were.
Elsewhere
Meeting up with the rest of the team, they stood some meters away from the teleporter. Each nervous in their own way about the second, hopefully peaceful encounter they would have. Though in case of anything, they were adequately prepared and also the watchtowers defences were on standby if needed.
The rest of the part time leaguers were off to their assignments and wouldn't be back till hours later to log in the reports for their missions.
The teleporter activated, signalling their arrival, and seven figures appeared on the platform on cue. They sized each other up for a few minutes while Ben was already heading towards the cafeteria, because he was still hungry and wouldn't mind the grilled cheese sandwich they served with whatever type of smoothie they had.
Leaving them alone, it was up to the two diplomatic representatives from each party to make the introductions and shatter the air of impending tension.
Cap and Superman approached each other. They all knew they were heroes and had no incentive to fight, so that helped things move ahead smoothly.
"Captain America." Steve said while extending his hand to him.
"Superman." He accepted the firm handshake.
"I apologize for my rash behaviour at the port. I was clearly on the wrong about the whole situation." Superman apologized since it was he who attacked Captain America and started the whole fight.
"No need to worry about that, we too kept on fighting, so we're all on the wrong. I just hope we can all help each other moving forward" Cap downplayed the event as politely and briefly as he could.
"It's great we're all getting along now," Ben called out while coming back munching on a sandwich and slurping on a smoothie. "If we could all just hug it out then everything would be superb." He said grinning at his own inside joke.
Cap pointed at each of his team mates completely ignoring Ben. "This is Ironman, Hawkeye, Black widow, Wanda, Banner and Thor. We are The Avengers. Our earth's mightiest heroes."
"Batman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, Green lantern, Green arrow, Martian Manhunter and the Flash, we are the founding members of the Justice league. This earths protectors." Superman pointed at his team mates.
Two teams reluctantly met up in the middle to formally introduce themselves, although most were annoyed with each other's presence from their last encounter.
The first thing Wonder Woman did was to seek out Black widow.
"Wonder woman" she said extending her hand for a handshake.
"I know" came the Widows cold reply and glare. She was still nursing a sore rib and arm.
"I'm sorry for knocking into you so hard... I thought you had super strength or powers... if I had known I..." Wonder woman started rambling again.
"It's okay. You were doing your job. It's completely understandable." The widow gave her a small smile, trying for their team's sake to put her pride aside which was working because Wonder woman relaxed.
"Just don't do it again or I will be forced to put you down." Wonder woman tensed at her tone but relaxed again upon seeing her smirk which then turned serious again for a moment before walking away.
"So are we good?" Asked a confused Wonder woman to Widows retreating back.
"Yes you're good. But it will take some time for her to warm up to you." Came a voice behind her which she turned to find out it was Hawkeye, their archer.
"I hope so." She mumbled looking at Nat.
"I'm Hawkeye," they then proceeded to chat for a bit.
Elsewhere
"That was quite a tactic you applied at the port." Batman voice came from Tony's back, making him turn around to face him.
Weird how I didn't hear him approach, must be the ninja package or something, Tony thought. "Yeah, it's what I do, kick ass I mean..." Tony taunted him.
Batman narrowed his eyes at Iron man who grew smug by the minute. "Great, why don't you take over Jarvis too while you're taking his victories." Batman smirked at the clenched iron fists knowing he was angry since he couldn't really see inside his armour.
"What?" Batman was now smug, he didn't really like it but this was worth it. "Child's play" he cracked his knuckles while walking away, implying he had hacked Jarvis.
The only thing that kept Tony from blasting his ass to hell was the grounded hope of returning home to Miss Pepper, hopefully with these guys help. He walked off looking around then noticed Shazam, the flash, green lantern and green arrow discuss something by the computer and moved to join them intending to take a peek at their system.
Elsewhere
Wanda had sort out Martian Man hunter immediately after introductions were made. She had to apologize for the pain she caused him. Sensing he was invisible against the back wall, she moved towards him.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you." A feminine voice spoke out to J'onn from his left side. Turning to face her while regaining his tangibility, he saw the red haired woman looking at him. It still startled him at how easy it was for her to locate him, despite his invisibility.
"There's no need to apologize for your actions Miss Wanda. As I came to later know that it was us who attacked first and you had every right to defend yourselves." Came J'onn sincere apology and declaration.
Wanda gave him a small smile with a nod showing her appreciation towards him being so understanding, considering the pain she caused him just a few days ago at the port. To be honest to herself, she had wanted to apologize ever since they learnt that they had fought against the heroes of this earth and now she could finally be at peace with some of her plaguing thoughts.
Elsewhere
Banner and Hawkeye was standing by the side, watching all that was happening while also surveying the huge room they were in. It looked a lot like an assembly point for the watchtower residents. "I must admit, this place greatly outclasses the avengers tower." Commented Hawkeye.
"Yeah, having a base in space is quite ingenious. Seeing it up-close is surreal, I wonder what their governments are saying about it." Replied Banner looking at Hawkeye knowing how they fear the unknown.
"I'm glad you approve and they got used to it." Batman's base voice was heard behind them but neither moved since they had sensed his approach, which actually impressed the dark knight.
"Banner and this is Hawkeye." He extended his arm which Batman in turn, took and shook.
"Batman. I couldn't help but notice one of your members is missing." He said in a suspicious tone while the two just looked at him confused.
"Who!?" They both asked in alarm while scanning the room trying to spot the avengers for anyone missing.
"The big green guy. And you weren't at the port either, who are you?" Batman accused Banner while Hawkeye just relaxed and chuckled. There was no way this banner could have been at the port and none of the cameras picked him up.
"You're looking at him genius...and here I thought you were smarter than Tony from everything I read." Black widow replied from Batman's side before Banner got the chance to.
Batman was taken a back at her sudden appearance and answer then quirked an eyebrow at her. She just smirked in return before everything clicked into place.
"You're a shape shifter?" Batman inquired looking again at banner.
"Something like that." Banner vaguely answered him.
"So you're the guy who defeated Tony, hmmm not bad." Black widow said while giving batman a once over look from head to toe.
"It's what I do." Came Batman's reply looking black widow dead in the eyes both of them not blinking for minutes determined to win their eye staring contest.
Hawkeye noticed this and decided to intervene or else it would go on for hours. "Where's Thor? I don't see him." He asked Black Widow who was forced out of the staring contest to answer him.
"I saw him talking to the warrior bitch." Was all she said while Banner and Hawkeye cringed at the name calling. They knew that Black widow didn't really like Wonder woman but apparently it was more than dislike for her to be calling her names like that.
Hawkeye then set out to look for Thor when he noticed Iron man talking to the flash, green arrow, green lantern, Shazam, cyborg and Ben.
"She thought you all had super strength." Batman couldn't help but defend Wonder woman. He had seen the footage and also admitted to himself that if he was to be knocked like she had, he'd probably pass out too, Kevlar or not.
"I know." Was all she said before smirking and walking away leaving Banner with Batman, who was subtly staring at her backside in that tight combat outfit. Not bad, he thought.
"She knows you're staring." Banner broke Batman out of his train of thoughts. Black widow was the ultimate weapon, with both brains and beauty which she knew how to utilize when the time called for it.
"What?" He asked him, trying to sound indifferent before looking at the direction Black widow went and saw her look over her shoulder at them, smirk, then joined Hawkeye and the leaguers in what they were discussing.
Elsewhere
Thor had been watching his teammates get familiar with the league members. He wouldn't have believed it if someone would have told him that they would be freely talking to the people they fought against a few days ago. He surveyed the room and saw Hawkeye walk away from Wonder woman who was still looking at Black widow and decided to join in the introductions.
"For all my time in Midgard and with my friends, Black widow is the most understanding. I'm sure she's just giving you a hard time for the fun of it." Thor told Wonder woman, stopping beside her, looking at Black widow who was now talking with batman.
"Well I don't find it funny. Man's world is still a mystery to me sometimes. Mother always warned me about their various social norms and how they contradict one another." She replied honestly.
"It seems we share the same problems. But Tony and Banner have been explaining most of them to me ever since I decided to temporarily stay in Midgard, before becoming the King of Asgard." Thor replied in all honesty too.
Taking a look at him Wonder Woman couldn't help but notice him, saying, "I knew you looked familiar. We have been told stories of your fights and victories ever since we were children. Pictures and statues of All father Odin, you, and Asgard adorn the walls of the gods temple and palace. Hera! I can't believe I'm speaking to the god of thunder." Wonder woman flushed slightly as a result of her rambling, and her gaze was drawn to Miljonir in Thor's hand. "Is that what I think it is?" she wondered.
"Yes," Thor replied, flipping Miljonir in his hand.
"Tales of an island filled with beautiful but very skilled women are told among Asgard's finest warriors. When I was a little lad, learning to wield a shield, my father told me about it. I am proud and pleased to know that the stories about your beauty and fighting abilities were not exaggerated." Thor offered her a little bow, which made Wonder woman blush slightly at the flattery. When Iron man told him about her, he had asked him to help him research on her and it turned out she was the princess from their mythical, Island of Themyscira. His father had told him all about Olympus and Themyscira.
"Thank you, we try our best to defend our land and people who are in need of help." She said trying to regain some form of professionalism.
"Is that the lasso of truth? The Amazonians' most powerful weapon?" He said this while staring at the rope tied to her waist near her very visible smooth thighs, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Wonder woman, who had to hide her blush by coughing, which brought his attention up to her face. For some reason, she didn't feel uncomfortable like when some of the world leaders and leaguers would ogle her every now and then. It must be because he was a god and not a mere man.
"Yes it is. My mother and sisters will be so envious I met the god of thunder." She commented already planning a trip back to Themyscira.
"My brother Loki won't believe me too." Thor said fondly thinking of his brother.
"Yes, the god of mischief," he had to confirm when Wonder woman gave him a questioning look.
"Princess of Themyscira, would you mind escorting me to the place our mutual friend got his sustenance from, I do not know these grounds quite yet." Inquired Thor extending his hand as an invitation, his years of dealing with royalty coming forth.
"Not at all, Prince Thor of Asgard." Came Wonder Woman's voice with a smile while she led them away to the cafeteria since she was quite famished herself.
Elsewhere
Hawkeye had joined Ben and the others in front of the monitor when he couldn't see any sign of Thor.
"What's up Clint." Ben knew he was the one to ease him in the group since he was the only one he knew at the moment, apart from Tony who was busy typing something into the computer.
"Looking for Thor, can't seem to find him." He replied while he nodded at green lantern, cyborg, the flash, Shazam and green arrow.
"Yeah, he's at the cafeteria with Wonder Woman. Doubt they're coming back any time soon, seeing as how Thor nearly emptied the cafeteria." Ben chuckled while watching the CCTV feed Trixx was streaming for him.
"Okay... where's the cafeteria? I wouldn't mind a bite myself." Hawkeye said while looking at the monitor interested in what he read.
"So what are the specifics?" He asked referring to the bet they were discussing in hushed tones on the monitor.
"My Kryptonian form arm wrestling with Superman." Ben pointed out at the screen which brought up a video recording of him after his first Kryptonian transformation.
"I can't get used to that." Cyborg commented at how easily Trixx hacked and operated their systems even with cyborg possessing some form of quantum computing.
"I don't mind some of that action. Put me up for a grand." Spoke black widow who had joined them at the monitor. "Put me up for Superman." She smirked looking at Ben clearly indicating that she thought he would lose.
"Ouch, and people say I'm the heartless one." Green arrow chuckled at the incredulous look Ben was giving her. Most of the bets were on him so he expected Black widow to follow suit.
"I'm with her on this. 5 grand for Superman." Hawkeye said giving Ben an apologetic look. "Hey, I need the money and I happen to go for experienced people." He shrugged implying Ben was knew to his powers.
Cyborg updated the site with the new additions. "I didn't peg you for a looser Hawkeye, but there's a first time for everything." Tony spoke for the first time since Clint arrived implying he had bet in Ben's favour.
"More money for us," Green lantern fist bumped the Flash already planning which planet he was going to spend his winnings on and with which lovely ladies.
"Hold up, if it's going down then I want to raise my stake to 10 grand. I've got some important purchases I need to acquire which will need all the cash I can get." Shazam spoke for the first time since Hawkeyes arrival too. He didn't quite fully trust them yet. Yeah, PS5 and every Jordan's pair I want here I come. He thought to himself.
Elsewhere
"So you can turn into the green guy?" Superman and Captain America came to stand with Banner and Batman after discussing a few details. "He hits hard." Superman continued to rub his wrists which were broken by the hulk during the fight.
"Yeah.. Sorry about that. He didn't mean to... he was just pissed off." Banner casually apologized to him. Hulk will crash stupid blue man if he hurt friends again Banner heard hulks thought but decided not to voice it out.
"You are also one of the most powerful people the hulk ever went up against and managed to hold his own. You must be very powerful." Banner added while observing Superman.
"He gets the job done." Batman replied deciding to change the subject so as not to reveal anything yet. Superman just shrugged.
"Do you have any theories as to why you were brought here to this universe?" Batman asked with a serious tone.
"At the moment, No. We spent the past days researching you to know who we were dealing with, then Ben showed up and now we are here." Banner summarized for them. "What's going on?" He asked batman motioning towards the monitor.
"They must be making bets again." Batman tiredly said while walking towards the group followed closely by banner, superman and captain America.
"Oh shit," the Flash cursed when he saw the group heading towards them. Cyborg immediately closed the opened tab and turned to face them.
"Everyone to the conference room. We have a lot to discuss." Batman said then proceeded to the said conference room with everyone in tow while flash zoomed to the cafeteria to relay the information to Wonder Woman and Thor who were already on their way back, telling each other tales about the various wars they've fought over the 1000 plus years they have been warriors. Most of those wars had been read to them in form of stories signifying each other's triumphs and failures.
"I bet I can take him." Ben whispered to Green lantern, who in turn pointed at his ears then to Superman who was smirking at what Ben said.
"Damn, I forgot about the super hearing." This time it was Shazam who chuckled, not forgetting about how he occasionally overlooked that detail too. "Everybody does."
They all assembled around the large table in the conference room, with Batman and Captain America still standing as they were obviously the leaders of the groups. Ben decided to sit down with the rest of the members since he didn't really like the leadership position that much. It limited one to certain things that he could or should not do according to leadership qualities and bureaucracy.
A few days ago.
"Sire an unknown space ship has entered our orbiting space." Kalibak reported to Darkseid, their supreme ruler and his father, while kneeling down on one knee in front of his throne.
"Who dares to challenge my rule!?" Kalibak was tempted to gaze up but Darkseid's words, both with hints of anger and interest, kept him anchored to the spot looking at the floor out of respect and fear.
Darkseid had already conquered all of the planets and solar systems he required, with the exception of Earth, which he was still aiming to conquer. Every person worthy of confronting or defying him and his cause to seek the anti-life equation, was either dead at his hands or dead at the hands of death, or was staying out of his path. When his second in command, Kalibak, reported the ship to him, he couldn't help but be optimistic. He peered down at Kalibak, his eyes flashing red, waiting for an answer.
"They have not made contact sire. We only know of the ships name. "The Sanctuary II""